By PTI

BUlANDSHAHR: The narrative in Sudiksha Bhati's death case is being "twisted by some people:, the Bulandshahr Police said on Thursday as it ruled out "harassment" in the episode after initial probe but assured thorough investigation.

Senior Superintendent of Police Santosh Kumar Singh said the FIR, which does not have harassment or eve-teasing charges, has been filed under relevant sections of the law based on a complaint by Sudiksha's father and statements of her cousin brother and an eye-witness.

Sudiksha, who hailed from Deri Scanar village in Gautam Buddh Nagar's Dadri, died on Monday in a road crash in adjoining Bulandshahr district while she was pillion riding a motorcycle with her cousin brother, a minor.

The 20-year-old woman, an academically bright student, was pursuing a graduation course in entrepreneurship at Babson College, Massachusetts (the US) on a Rs 3.80 crore scholarship and was scheduled to go back on August 20.

ALSO READ: Sudiksha Bhati wanted to help rural children access education, says father of US student killed in mishap

Her family has alleged that the road crash took place because two unidentified motorcycle-borne men were "following" her two-wheeler and harassing her.

"It appears that after the body reached her village, some people tried to twist the narrative of the incident. Since the girl had got a huge scholarship package (for studying in the US), there could have been a thought of demand (for compensation) in the people," Singh said.

The district police chief said the boy (Sudiksha's cousin) who was riding the motorcycle is a high school student, and there emerged a narrative that the woman's paternal uncle, Satendra Bhati, was riding the motorcycle.

But during the probe, his mobile phone location was analysed which showed that at 9.17 am he was in Dadri, while the incident took place at 8.50 am in Bulandshahr's Aurangabad area.

"He reached the spot at 10.49 am, after almost two hours of the accident. We have a complete route chart of his travel," the SSP said.

"There was an attempt to present this incident with a new narrative. And if a lie gets repeated by 50 people again and again, then even that lie begins to appear like truth," the officer told reporters.

Singh said the police were also "shown as a party in the incident" and it was being projected that the death took place because of police's irresponsibility and tampering.

"In the investigation so far and on the basis of the eye-witness's statement, there has been no confirmation that it was a case of harassment," he said.

Singh said Hemant Sharma, who lives in Mustafabad, is an eyewitness of the incident who told the police that because of a milk tanker coming from the opposite direction, a Bullet rider applied brakes after which the motorcycle on which Sudiksha was riding rammed into the Bullet from behind.

"This led to the accident and head injury to Sudiksha because of which she died. Her cousin brother suffered minor injuries in the accident," the SSP said.

The FIR, he said, was lodged on the basis of a third complaint which was given by the woman's father Jitendra Bhati.

The first complaint was made by the cousin after the incident at the hospital but he took it back immediately, saying the family would give a complaint, while the complaint by the maternal uncle, who lives in Bulandshahr, was not lodged by the police in order to not let the family doubt that his version was taken under any police pressure, the officer said.

The senior police officer claimed that even in those two complaints there was no mention of harassment.

The FIR has been lodged under "relevant" sections of the Indian Penal Code -- 279 (rash driving on a public way), 304A (causing death due to negligence), 184 (dangerous driving), 192 of the Motor Vehicles Act, among others.

He said five police teams are working on the case currently so that the actual culprits involved in the accident could be nabbed and the public be presented with the facts.

On the FIR mentioning that the Bullet twice or thrice came ahead and went behind Sudiksha's motorcycle, the district police chief said, "The FIR mentions only the movement of the two-wheeler and not harassment."

"If any such point (harassment) emerged in the probe, then strict action would be taken and whichever law is applicable that would be incorporated in the case. But so far, there is no evidence which suggests harassment. Neither does the eye-witness or the deceased's brother have mentioned anything about it," Singh said.

He said the police file cases of grave crimes under the severest sections of the IPC and here it was a meritorious girl whose death has pained everyone then why would the police want to hide anything.

"The police do not have any motive or intention to do it. We are with the family of Sudiksha and probing the case. If even an iota of truth is found regarding the allegations, legal action would be ensured," he said.

"The charge of harassment is not a big matter for us, we deal with such cases regularly. It is our appeal to everyone, please do not twist the case. The police are doing their job with utmost sincerity, truthfulness and in an unbiased manner," he added.

Singh said the accused are unidentified and there was no way the police would want to hide the facts to save someone who is unidentified.
H.E. Chinese Ambassador Hu Zhangliang Meets with Hon. Deputy Minister of Youth Affairs Mr. Lusine Kallon and Commissioner of National Youth Commission Mr. Ngolo Katta

2020/08/07

H.E. Chinese Ambassador Hu Zhangliang met with the team led by Hon. Lusine Kallon, Deputy Minister of Youth Affairs(MYA) and Mr. Ngolo Katta, Commissioner of National Youth Commission (NAYCOM) today at his residence and donated a batch of items on behalf of the Embassy to support NAYCOM's efforts of empowering the youths in Sierra Leone.

Ambassador Hu spoke highly of H.E. President Julius Maada Bio's vision of promoting youth development. Ambassador Hu noted that the youths are the future of the country. He said that China has been supporting capacity building of the young people in Sierra Loene through various cooperation projects, training programs and scholarships over the years. He promised that China would continue to do so within its capacity.
For people living on Archers Road, a small-town street of mostly modular homes with toys strewn across the front yards, losing 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant ached like losing a limb.

Kids here knew each other well, said Consuela Groves, a grandmother who lives next door to Hinnant.

She pulled an iPhone from her pocket and showed a video she took of the boy playing with her Chihuahua mix, Nick, who tolerated no other toddlers company.

When he played with him, she said, Nick calmed down. Everyone is crying. Everyone is, Why? If someone could do this to a little boy ... .

Cannon died from a gunshot wound Sunday at his home on Archers Road, Wilson police said. Officers, Wayne County sheriffs deputies and U.S. marshals chased Darius Sessoms, 25, to Goldsboro, where they arrested and charged him with first-degree murder. The two towns are around 30 miles apart.

Officers on Wednesday did not allow an N&O reporter into the Wilson police station to obtain a police report from the shooting, citing COVID-19 safety protocol. Instead, the reporter was referred to the police website, which did not include a report from Sundays shooting as of Thursday morning. Police have declined to comment beyond a press release.

Troubled lives

Groves said she knew Cannons family from years of living there but she said Sessoms, their neighbor on the other side of Cannons house, was a mystery to her. In Sessoms yard was a large sign that read, Be Humble, Pray, with a reference to Corinthians. Many other yards in the neighborhood displayed the same sign.

But records in the Wilson County Courthouse show trouble coming from the homes of both the suspect and the victims father.

Sessoms served two short prison terms in 2017, one for felony drug possession and another for felony firearms and drug charges.

Three times, his record shows, police charged him with maintaining a house for drug activity while living on Archers Road. He was convicted in one case; another was dismissed and another charge was still pending.

Austin and Bonny Hinnant had three children before divorcing last year, court records show; and the children were at the fathers house on Archers Road on weekends. Austin Hinnants court record showed a 2019 conviction for assault on a female, a misdemeanor, and he was ordered to complete a substance abuse assessment. He had a conviction for resisting a public officer in 2017.

A funeral for the boy was scheduled to take place Thursday night at a funeral home in Wilson, with the burial set for Friday, according to media accounts.

Meanwhile, a vigil scheduled at the courthouse Friday evening to honor him has been canceled.



Josh Shaffer of The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) wrote this story.

2020 The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.)

Visit The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) at www.newsobserver.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Obviously, government should do whatever it reasonably can to save jobs at these companies. Thats not what Mr. Trump is doing, though  and never mind that tariffs raise costs, and kill jobs, at other companies. His legal rationale  national security  under the trade law known as Section 232 is just plain phony. Canada not only possesses abundant cheap hydroelectricity for aluminum smelters, but it is also a stable, democratic country and close friend of the United States  so close that U.S. law has for decades recognized its industries as part of our National Defense Technology and Industrial Base. For U.S. aluminum processors to import most of their raw material from Canada, as they have for years, is no security threat; to the contrary, the United States is fortunate to have such a stable, low-cost supplier next door, which is why there is so much cross-border integration of the aluminum industry generally.
Dr Hafiz Bin Salih, the Upper West Regional Minister, has advised children to be disciplined wherever they find themselves and must exhibit good conduct appreciable to society.



He counselled them to also take their studies seriously and to cling to their ambitions since that was the surest path to success.



Dr Bin Salih gave the advice when the leadership of the Upper West Regional Children Parliament called on him in Wa to, among other things, advocate the dire need for the protection and safeguard the interest of children in the region.



The concerns of the Children Parliament hinged on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, teenage pregnancy and menstrual hygiene on the childrens education as well as election 2020 and its possible implications on the development of children.



It is when you are young that you lay the foundation, and from your presentations, each of you have the capacity to reach the height that you aspire to reach, the Regional Minister counselled.



He said they should not allow their present circumstances and challenges to serve as impediments to their success, but must strive to surmount all difficulties to succeed.



Dr Bin Salih explained that since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, government had put in stringent measures in fighting the pandemic, which paved way for the final year students at all levels to return to school.



He said government was working to create a safer environment to enable the re-opening of schools amid the COVID-19 pandemic.



The Regional Minister said all schools in the upper West Region, for instance, were disinfected as part of efforts to protect the lives of the students when schools resume.



He said the interest of children was paramount to government hence the introduction of the Free Senior High School programme to enable every child to have access to education irrespective of his or her economic and social status.



Ms Zakia Ibrahim, the Speaker of the Upper West Regional Children Parliament and member of the National Children Parliament, commended the Regional Minister for giving them the opportunity to interact with him.



She urged the minister to continue to open his doors to the Children Parliament and to support in their activities to enable them to become responsible leaders in future.



She asked for the blessings and support of the minister and the Regional Coordinating Council in the running of the activities of the parliament for the betterment of children in the region and the country at large.



The Pollie Kids, a Wa based youth-led group, inaugurated the Upper West Regional Children's Parliament in March 2020 to help develop the intellectual and leadership skills of the children in the region and to advocate their welfare.

Source: GNA









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Hungary has called on the European Union to pursue "dialogue" with Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto issued the call on August 13, despite the brutal suppression in Belarus of protesters who say the authoritarian leader's recent reelection was rigged.

"We are interested in the EU making decisions based on dialogue, which do not make it impossible for the European Union and Belarus to build their relationship in the future, or set back the Eastern Partnership program," Peter Szijjarto said in a Facebook post.

The Eastern Partnership program was launched in 2009 and is meant to bring Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine closer to the EU without a clear offer of future membership.

In Belarus, at least two protesters have died and some 6,700 people have been detained since clashes erupted on August 9 following electoral authorities' announcement that exit polls showed Lukashenka winning a sixth term with about 80 percent of the vote, a claim rejected by opposition candidate Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya.

The brutality displayed in Belarus by the security forces against unarmed protesters, which has included the use of live ammunition, has resulted in widespread condemnation from Western countries.

Tsikhanouskaya's campaign team says she was forced to leave Belarus by law enforcement officials when she tried to file a formal complaint with the Central Election Commission about their official results on August 10.

EU foreign ministers have scheduled a meeting on August 14 to discuss the brutal crackdown.

EU foreign-policy chief Josep Borrell called that meeting after saying that the EU could impose sanctions against "those responsible for the observed violence, unjustified arrests, and falsification of election results."

In 2016, the European Union lifted most sanctions it had imposed against Belarus after Lukashenka freed political prisoners and allowed protests to take place.

During a visit to Belarus in June, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called for a complete lifting of EU sanctions on Minsk.

"Hungary takes the view that the European Union should finally lift sanctions against Belarus," Orban said after talks with Lukashenka on June 5.

Lukashenka has praised Hungary, which has been at odds with Brussels over the rule of law and media freedom, as "Belarus's closest partner in the European Union."

Meanwhile, Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek tweeted that he summoned the Belarusian ambassador to Prague on August 12 to voice disagreement with the "violent crackdown on opposition protestors."

Petricek also dismissed Lukashenka's allegation that the EU-member Czech Republic was behind the protests in Belarus.

With reporting by Reuters
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 10:37:22|Editor: huaxia

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GAZA, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli authorities announced late Wednesday night that it decided to bar the fuel shipment to Gaza and slash the allowed fishing zone for Gaza fishers from 15 to eight nautical miles.

The Israeli decision was made in response to the launching of incendiary balloons from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip into southern Israel, according to the Times of Israel website.

Earlier on Wednesday, some masked young men launched balloon-borne explosive and incendiary devices into Israel, sparking around 24 fires, the news website said.

The Israeli side held the Hamas movement "responsible for everything that happens in the Gaza Strip," adding that "Hamas will bear the repercussions of the violence that targets the citizens of Israel."

The Gaza-based Fishermen Committees said in a press statement that Israeli naval forces chased fishermen and forced them to fish only within eight nautical miles off the coast. Enditem
Ivanti, Inc., a Salt Lake City, Utah-based provider of enterprise-grade intelligent IT management and security software solutions, received a strategic growth investment from TA Associates.

TA will join existing investor Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. as institutional shareholders in Ivanti.

The amount of the deal  expected to close in the second half of 2020, pending customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions  was not disclosed.

The company intends to use the funds to increase its investment in innovation, accelerate its global growth and continue its acquisition strategy.

Led by CEO Jim Schaper, Ivanti provides solutions that automate IT and security operations, enabling customers to discover, manage, secure and service their IT infrastructure from cloud environments to edge devices. The software is utilized by over 24,000 customers across various industries and five continents, and its solutions allow administrators to discover IT assets on-premises, in the cloud and at the edge; improve IT service delivery; and reduce risk with insights and automation.

Harry Taylor, a Managing Director at TA Associates, and Hythem El-Nazer, a Managing Director at TA Associates, will join the Ivanti Board of Directors upon the closing of the transaction.

Sidley Austin LLP represented Ivanti, Inc., in their definitive agreement with TA Associates for a strategic growth investment in the company.

FinSMEs

13/08/2020
An F-35B fighter jet prepares to take off from an aircraft carrier - Belinda Aker/PA

South Korea has confirmed plans to start building its first aircraft carrier next year as tensions grow in the Indo-Pacific region between the US and China and the question of North Koreas nuclear ambitions remains unresolved.

The acquisition of the billion-dollar, 30,000 ton aircraft carrier, expected to be be equipped with F-35B fighter jets and helicopters, was unveiled in the defence ministrys national plan for 2021-2025, reported the Naval News.

The carrier would lead a fleet to protect sea lanes and overseas Korean interests and would be dedicated to air operations, it said, adding that the project schedule had been fast-tracked to be launched in the late 2020s.

According to the defence ministry, the ship will be used to transport military forces, equipment and materials as well as operating jets capable of vertical take-off and landing.

"It will enable the military to more effectively suppress threats and dispatch forces and materials to a disputed region in the sea by playing a role of a controlling vessel for the navy unit, it said in a statement.

Seoul is expected to purchase the F-35B combat aircraft from the US. The jets, which have short takeoff and vertical landing capabilities compatible with a small aircraft carrier, will also be deployed by Japan and the United States in the western Pacific.

All three countries have troubled relations with Pyongyang, which resumed missile testing this year after Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, and Donald Trump, the US president, failed to reach a deal to dismantle the regimes nuclear and long-range missile programmes.

Other Indo-Pacific nations are also looking to shore up their defence capabilities as Washington and Beijing clash over Chinas territorial claims in the region.

Taiwan is in talks with the US to acquire underwater sea mines to deter amphibious landings as well as cruise missiles for coastal defense, Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwans new ambassador to Washington, told the Hudson Institute think tank on Wednesday.

Story continues

The island was facing an existential survival issue because of Chinas territorial and sovereignty claims and needed to expand its asymmetric capabilities, she said.

China seeks to annex Taiwan, a democracy of 23 million with its own government, military and foreign policy, and Beijing has threatened to use force to do so. In recent months, it has stepped up its air and sea military operations around the island and Taipei has warned that the threat is rising.

What we mean by asymmetric capabilities is cost effective, but lethal enough to become deterrence - to make any consideration of an invasion very painful, said Ms Hsiao.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 13)  The City of Manila has purchased 2,000 vials of Remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19 patients in its district hospitals.

Manila Mayor Francisco Isko Moreno Domagoso on Thursday said the local government unit allotted 13 million for the purchase of the drug. They were originally priced at around 20,000 each, but the city was able to buy them at only 6,500. he said.

Domagoso said they will be used to complement the efforts of the nation's capital to fight the viral disease. Remdesivir will be used to treat mild, moderate, and severe COVID-19 patients in the citys six major health care facilities as approved by the Food and Drug Administration, he said.

It will be distributed to the Ospital ng Tondo, Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center, Ospital ng Sampaloc, Justice Jose Abad Santos General Hospital, Ospital ng Maynila, and Sta. Ana Hospital  the city's COVID-19 referral hospital.

However, Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna-Pangan noted that they will not be available for sale.

"Kung saka-sakali kakailanganin pa, bibili pa po tayo mapataas lang namin ang probabilidad na kapag kayo ay na-infect ng COVID-19, kayo ay mag-recover," Domagoso said.

[Translation: If the need arises, we will purchase for more just to increase the probability that if you were infected by COVID-19, you will recover.]

Remdesivir is an antiviral medication that is now being widely used as an additional medication for severe COVID-19 patients. It is one of the drugs included in the World Health Organization's Solidarity Trial.

The Department of Health said its early clinical trial results have shown positive effects on patients, but data are not conclusive yet.
Watertown, NY (13601)

Today

Cloudy. Snow showers developing this afternoon. Some sleet may mix in. Temps nearly steady in the mid 30s. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 40%..

Tonight

Cloudy skies. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 4F. Winds WNW at 15 to 25 mph.
The new drama "Apgujeong Report" releases the names of its lead cast, including well-loved actors Ma Dong Seok, Jung Kyung Ho, Oh Na Ra, and Oh Yeon Seo!

On August 12, Showbox which is the distributor of the upcoming film announced the lead cast of its newest production. Fans are excited to know that Ma Dong Seok, Jung Kyung Ho, Oh Na Ra and Oh Yeon Seo are confirmed to appear in it. The drama will be directed by director Lim Jin Soon who is known for his work in "Superstar" (2012) and "Ordinary People" (2018).

"Apgujeong Report" tells the story of two locals residing in Apgujeong, Gangnam District of Seoul. One is unemployed and often meddles into other people's business, and the other is an unapproachable successful surgeon. Later on, both of them join forces to become the top surgery business in all of Gangnam.

One of the characters, Dae Guk, is portrayed by actor Ma Dong Seok. Dae Guk has lived in Apgujeong his whole life and fails to earn a living for his own. Instead, he involves himself and meddles in other people's businesses.

Actor Ma Dong Seok is quite known for his roles in "Train to Busan" (2016), "Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds" (2017), "Unstoppable" (2018), and "Start-Up" (2019). He was also recently casted in the approaching film "The Outlaws 2." Fans are also anticipating his portrayal of Gilgamesh, who is a hero whose superpower is his incredible strength in Marvel's 25th movie called "The Eternals" which is set to premiere on 2021. The expected hit film will also include casts with big names such as Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Gemma Chan, and Kit Harrington.

Also included in "Apgujeong Report" will be Jung Kyung Ho, who is set to portray the role of Ji Woo. Ji Woo is a successful surgeon who also lived in Apgujeong his whole life. His unmatched skill in surgery is known to all of Apgujeong, and he is immensely praised for it. Jung Kyung Ho is popular for his portrayals in television dramas such as "Prison Playbook" (2017) and "Hospital Playlist" (2020). Jung also left viewers in awe of his performances in the movies "Manhole" (2014), "Amor" (2015), and "Deja Vu" (2018).

Teaming up with Ma Dong Seok and Jung Kyung Ho is actress Oh Na Ra. She will be taking on the role of Mi Jung, who will join Dae Guk and Ji Woo's surgery business and quest to dominate all of Apgujeong's surgery clinics. Actress Oh Na Ra is famous for her roles in movies "Casa Amor: Exclusive for Ladies" (2015), "Because I Love You" (2017), and "Misbehavior" (2017). Oh Na Ra is currently in a thriller-mystery drama called "Chip-In".

Actress Oh Yeon Seo completes the lead cast with her portrayal of Kyu Ok, who is a charismatic and mysterious woman who runs a beauty clinic. Actress Oh Yeon Seo is commended for her roles in "Just Friends" (2012), "Run-Off" (2016), and "Cheese in the Trap" (2018).

Continue to support actors and actresses Ma Dong Seok, Jung Kyung Ho, Oh Na Ra, and Oh Yeon Seo as we wait for the approaching film "Apgujeong Report!" The new drama is said to start filming this month! Stay tuned only here at Kdramastars for more updates!
(Newser)  In her first full day as Joe Biden's choice to join the Democratic ticket in November, Sen. Kamala Harris had her right to be there publicly questioned. John Eastman wrote an op-ed piece for Newsweek headlined, "Some Questions for Kamala Harris About Eligibility." In it, the law professor discusses the 14th Amendment of the Constitution and what "natural-born citizen" means, Mediaite reports. Eastman kicked off the debate with a promotional tweet, which began "Is Kamala Harris eligible for the office of Vice President?" and ended with "Short answer: It depends!" Experts, politicians, and voters immediately answered that it does not. A constitutional law professor at Harvard was among them. Eastman's argument is "vicious and legally baseless BS. Its racist #birtherism redux," Laurence Tribe tweeted. Others agreed the argument sounded a lot like Donald Trump's "birther" attacks on the only other Black person to be on a national ticket.

story continues below

"Oh, we're doing this again?" author Darlene McDonald tweeted. "Does every person of color heading to the White House need to show their Freedom papers?" Frank Luntz tweeted, "Spoiler: She was born in Oakland, California." Erick Erickson, a conservative blogger, posted that we can expect another round of birtherism "as stupid as the first time." Axios points out that Eastman once wrote that Republican Sen. Ted Cruzwho was born in Canadais eligible for the presidency, and it would be "downright silly" to question that. Acknowledging the backlash, Newsweek posted an editor's note Thursday defending Eastman's argument as nothing like "the racist 2008 conspiracy theory" about Barack Obama. But it also posted an op-ed piece by UCLA professor Eugene Volokh answering the "it depends" column under the headline, "Yes, Kamala Harris Is Eligible to Be Vice President." (Harris has been called "not an American Black.")
As the world reckons with COVID-19, the healthcare industry has pivoted toward telehealth services. In addition to pressures from patients and providers, recent policy changes have streamlined access to telehealth services.

During a pandemic, the appeal of virtual care is obvious: Providers can meet with more patients with less risk. Patients who need routine care and prescriptions like birth control can get it without setting foot in a doctor's office.

The question is, is the surge in telehealth temporary? Or will virtual care continue to be the norm after the pandemic ends?

Nobody can predict the future - if they could, they should've warned us about the virus. But there are plenty of reasons to think virtual care may be more than a fad. Let's start by taking a look back at the trajectory of telehealth services.

Interest in Telehealth Has Been Building

Those who follow healthcare trends will tell you: Telehealth has been the "next big thing" for some time. Half a decade ago, providers began offering virtual therapeutic services to veterans with PTSD.

Especially in mental healthcare, many offices gave patients the choice of in-person or virtual services before the pandemic existed. Approaches like talk therapy work just as well remotely, and patients often feel more comfortable in their own home.

So why didn't telemedicine catch on sooner? The primary concern was that the model might reduce quality of care. If a doctor can't be in the same room with a patient, the thinking went, could he or she get the same read on that person's condition?

Although there are still medical services that require in-person contact, of course, technology has come a long way. Videoconferencing services have improved in accessibility and quality, allowing virtual visits to accommodate more and more conditions. Whereas a doctor might have once asked a patient with a skin rash to come in for an examination, that physician might now be able to see it well enough through a screen to make a diagnosis.

The second key concern around telehealth had to do with insurance coverage. Reimbursement restrictions for telehealth services made it tough for patients to take advantage of virtual visits.

At the urging of groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, many insurers have tweaked their policies to encourage patients to use virtual services. Health insurers aren't likely to revert to their old coverages once the pandemic passes.

Trends are powerful. But what's more powerful is patients experiencing the benefits of virtual visits for themselves.

Virtual Care's Perks Are Permanent

Perhaps the most convincing evidence that virtual care will remain popular after the pandemic passes is that many patients are having their first brush with the model.

Although it may not feel temporary right now, the pandemic will pass. People who give virtual visits a try during it, however, will remember the advantages of telehealth the next time that they go to schedule a doctor's appointment.

 Telemedicine makes care more accessible.

This is especially true in rural areas, where there are less than 40 physicians per 100,000 people - compared to 53.3 per 100,000 in urban areas. Even patients in cities, however, are likely to appreciate that they can see a physician without leaving their living room.

Telemedicine also makes healthcare less intimidating. Talking to your doctor from your bedroom isn't nearly as scary as walking past wards with patients. That could encourage more people to seek care in the first place.

 Telemedicine is safer.

Another permanent perk of virtual visits highlighted by the pandemic is reduced risk of disease transmission. Because sick people frequent doctor's offices and hospitals, otherwise healthy people can catch serious illnesses at traditional appointments.

This isn't a rare occurrence, either: Roughly one in 20 patients contract a healthcare-associated infection, costing the system more than $35 billion per year. And because many of the patients in healthcare environments take antibiotics, many of those infections are notoriously tough to treat.

 Telemedicine is cheaper.

Healthcare costs are out of control for patients, insurers, and providers. Because COVID-19 requires new research and complex treatments, they're only going to rise during the pandemic.

Cost pressures will continue to push everyone to find efficiencies. On average, a virtual visit appointment costs $79, while an office visit costs $146. At twice the cost, patients and providers will struggle to justify the expense of an in-person visit for routine care.

 Telemedicine is flexible.

Virtual healthcare allows for asynchronous communication, especially when the session is recorded. By reviewing the video, the patient's doctor can double-check her symptoms before making a final call. The patient can re-listen to her doctor's advice before she takes a new prescription.

Adaptability also makes personalization easier. If someone wants a hybrid system, with alternating virtual and in-person appointments, providers that embrace telemedicine can make that happen. Someone who feels more comfortable bringing a trusted friend or family member to her appointment can do that much more easily on a videoconference.

In-Person Care Won't Disappear

However the pandemic pans out, the reality is that some patients will still need to pay traditional visits to their doctor. It's hard to imagine, for instance, that surgeries will ever be conducted virtually. Other patients may simply prefer the in-person experience, and that's OK.

As British comedian Stephen Fry points out, elevators did not replace stairs. The same will be true of virtual visits: While they are likely to grow in popularity, both types of healthcare appointments will continue to exist. Chances are, in-person visits will simply be reserved for special requests, surgeries, and certain types of examinations.

Still, the writing is on the wall that the virus and the need to minimize contact won't be short-lived. Many experts don't expect a vaccine to be available for a year or more. In that time, more patients are likely to learn about and use virtual care.

The coronavirus crisis has highlighted the advantages of a model that's already been on the rise. Agan, while nobody can predict the future, it's difficult to see virtual visits being anything but the default once the virus pandemic passes.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
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Christians in both political parties will tell you, if pressed, that the Bible holds the answers for lifes problems. But if thats true, we have to wonder why we as Christians have failed to adhere to the Scriptures command to hate evil, love good; establish justice in the gate (Amos 5:15 NKJV). There has never been a time when this nation has been so divided. There is war in the streets, war in our hearts, and war in the halls of Congress, where two political parties are doing their best to destroy one another. How in the world have we come to such a pass?

Part of the problem, no doubt, is the spirit of rebellion that has poisoned so much of the cultural debate in recent years. The founders warned us at the beginning that the idea of liberty would be a dangerous gamble without moral restraint, and we may have fallen into that trap. But an even bigger problem, I believe, is that we have failed to teach our children what a biblical worldview looks like, and how to live faithfully according to the principles of our Christian faith. For at least four generations, young men and women have been denied the moral teachings that could have prevented such a collapse, and the church must bear a share of the blame for that.

The secular worldview that dominates contemporary society is engaged in a constant battle against traditional values, and many in the mainstream culture have little patience for the beliefs that define the Christian church. Nonbelievers scoff at the counsel of Scripture and reject the values and practices of those who name the name of Christ. I suppose some of their fears may be warranted, because even the most sincere Christians are fallible. We say and do things that cause nonbelievers to doubt our motives. But Im convinced we have the ability to transform the debate through informed engagement, and we have a mandate to show the world a better way.

During the 2004 election, a study from the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies indicated that the number of blacks who would vote for the Republican candidate had doubled since 2000. The reason? A large number of black voters said they were more concerned about moral priorities than political ones. In other words, the Christian moral values espoused by George W. Bush during the campaign meant more to them than the social and political causes exalted by John Kerry and the Democrats in that hotly contested election.

After that report came out, I spoke about the changing dynamics on national television and said what we call the new black church is more like its white counterpart than most of the nation understands. Although the percentage of blacks voting for Bush only increased by a few points, important swing states like Ohio and Florida reported a doubling of black votes since the 2000 election. Fully 16 percent of black voters in Ohio responded positively to the Bush proposals despite the race riots that had taken place there in recent years. At the same time, 13 percent of Floridas black voters went with Bush in 2004, a big increase over the 8 percent he had received in that state in 2000.

Why the change? The answer is that black church leaders in those places were leading their flocks toward a unified Christian front. This was a risky step of faith because there was no clear guarantee that the Republican Party would address the issues black Americans believed to be most important. But these courageous pastors and teachers understood the power of unity, and they believed that there would come a day when the entire body of Christ would come together politically and spiritually. Since that time, many of those leaders have introduced new political and community development paradigms, and new alliances have been formed.

A mature coalition of black and white Christians is absolutely essential if there is any hope of changing the cultural dynamic of the United States. The African American church is one of the most vibrant of all the ethnic sectors in this country. Its no secret why that is true: more than 47 percent of African American adults are born-again Christians. This means that nearly half of the men and women in the black community today are motivated by their Christian faith, and that is bound to have a dramatic impact on the social, cultural, and political life of the nation.

Of course, it will take more than a Christian president to see Gods agenda manifested in our country. The men and women who speak for us in the Capitol and in statehouses around the country are there as our representatives. They are there to carry out the will of the people. But think what that could mean if those people were truly and faithfully committed to carrying out the will of God. We can never unite around mere ideologies because ideologies will never supplant the Word of God. Our commitment must be to unite around Gods truth, follow His leading wherever it may take us, and elect leaders who do likewise.

The basis of a biblical political agenda is a commitment to the pursuit of righteousness. Scripture teaches that righteousness and justice are needed to reflect the glory of God in the earth. Let me put it this way: righteousness is my individual connection with God and my stand before Him. Justice is what I produce for others in the name of God. Righteousness is how I live in the sight of God, while justice is how I begin to release His ability and power on behalf of others.

The light of Gods presence will be seen in the United States in an even greater way than ever before as the church learns to move from theology and political ideology into the realm of practice. The Lord desires for this nation to live up to His divine calling, which is a place where personal righteousness motivates leaders to produce justice for the oppressed and needy. Just saying that we pray for those in need every day wont get the job done. The greatest political leaders from now on will be those who help to create a culture that lifts the heavy burdens off the backs of the oppressed by strategic acts of justice, and supports those acts with public policy.

Both conservatives and liberals will need to hear from the minority church; the black church, with experience at social change, must take the lead in tackling the problems of family formation, poverty, and personal freedom. We must also take the lead in redesigning the American dream, so that every citizen will have access to the opportunities and privileges this nation provides. We live in stressful times and we cannot live by the rules of a less fractured time. A new biblical justice movement must come forth to address different social problems than those that existed a half-century ago in a cultural landscape that was very different from our own.
- The phones are manufactured and assembled by SIMI Mobile Uganda, a subsidiary of Engo Holdings Group Limited

- A set of the phone costs KSh 11,230 in the open market

- The functions of the phone do not require calibrating as is the case with temperature guns

Uganda has launched locally-made smartphones with in-built sensors for testing body temperature.

The phones are manufactured and assembled by SIMI Mobile Uganda, a subsidiary of Engo Holdings Group Limited in Namanve Industrial Park.

READ ALSO: Detectives arrest man defrauding Kenyans by pretending to be a civil servant

The in-built sensors are able to read one's temperature on the surface without attaching the body. Photo: Bloomberg.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Rwandese woman seeks justice after Kenyan husband eloped with househelp, 2 children

A report by Bloomberg showed the phones were launched by the state minister for investment Evelyn Anite.

The smartphone has infrared temperature sensors integrated into the rear camera block which can measure one's body temperature

The company's Executive Director, David Beecham Okwere, said the phone has functions similar to those of a temperature gun used to detect fever which is an early symptom of COVID-19.

READ ALSO: Mwingi: COVID-19 fear after 70-year-old man who complained of breathing difficulties dies

Okwere also said a set of the phone costs USh 380,000 (KSh 11,230) in the open market and it uses the Google Play Store to update itself.

According to the executive director, the functions do not require calibrating as is the case with temperature guns.

"The multi-purpose smartphone will be useful in the fight against the COVID-19 and will enable users to regularly test their own body temperature," Okwere explained.

READ ALSO: Barack Obama's sister Auma shaves dreadlocks, puts on short blonde hair

The in-built sensors are reported to be able to read one's temperature on the surface without attaching it to the body.

Anite also launched another product by the same company, a solar-powered feature phone with an in-built solar panel to enable self-charging.

It charges itself once placed under the sun and can serve as a power bank for other phones.

READ ALSO: Just divorced: Man celebrates ending his marriage, announces it on back of car screen

The phone, which is locally known as kabiriti, also has social media applications and has a battery capacity of 4,000mAh, which according to Okwere, can last between one to two weeks.

Anite said she was impressed by the solar-powered phones suitable for use in rural areas where the Ugandan government wants to extend power to all.

She further advised bodaboda riders who had been complaining they cannot afford temperature guns to buy the smartphones.

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

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Kenyan journalist Yassin Juma, who has been in detention in Ethiopia since last month, has contracted Covid-19, his lawyer Kedir Bullo has told me.



Mr Juma was due to appear in court in the capital, Addis Ababa, but failed to do so because of his illness, Mr Bullo added.



A federal court ordered his release on bail last week, but Addis Ababa police said they were still investigating charges against him and kept him in detention.



He was arrested with two Ethiopian journalists. They have been accused of inciting ethnic violence and plotting to kill senior Ethiopian officials.



All three deny the allegations.

Source: BBC









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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TORONTO - As the Canadian economy continues to adapt to the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic, some restaurants in Toronto are saying goodbye to a service industry staple: tipping.

Three restaurants  Richmond Station, Ten and Burdock Brewery  have publicly signed onto doing away with the practice, with the aims of making the industry more equitable and providing service workers with access to the social safety nets afforded to other professions.

While some restaurants are implementing whats known as a hospitality included fee, Richmond Station has opted to include the price of service in its menu prices.

Another restaurant, Anthony Rose, has added a mandatory 15 per cent gratuity to all of its takeout orders as more people skip dining out in favour of eating at home or in outdoor spaces.

Unlike the practice of tip-pooling, which typically pays back-of-house staff such as cooks and dishwashers significantly less than front-of-house staff, a hospitality included fee is designed to be more evenly distributed.

Ryan Donovan, co-owner of Richmond Station, said his team decided it was the right choice when they saw how badly service workers were hit by the pandemic.

The reality is that for a really significant portion of our staff, their earnings arent insured, Donovan said, noting that an employees tips do not contribute to either employment insurance or the Canada Pension Plan.

That social safety net is so important, and for people in this industry, its just not there for them.

Donovan also acknowledged other issues related to tipping, including racialized employees being tipped less than their white colleagues and women having to deal with harassment and sexism from patrons in order to receive a tip at the end of their meal.

In his view, tipping inequity is one of the major roadblocks that stands in the way of creating a more equitable restaurant industry.

But for 23-year-old server Hannah Kavoosi, who works in downtown Toronto, the idea of getting rid of tipping is not something shes ready to get on board with yet.

Kavoosi, who said she has previously worked at a restaurant without tipping, sees the practice as an effective tool in incentivizing engagement between customers and servers.

I think the quality of service you give is reflective of the tips you get, Kavoosi said.

When theres no difference in how much Im being paid with one customer to the next, it becomes a less personal experience.

Another server, 29-year-old Natasha Fernandes, told The Canadian Press she is also against the idea of ending tipping, and agrees it would likely result in a less enthusiastic workforce.

Fernandes, who is Black, also noted that racism in server-customer interactions goes both ways.

There is a lot of racism in the service industry, Fernandes said, arguing that the potential of a tip is sometimes the only factor that dissuades servers from picking and choosing which guests to serve well.

A lot of servers unfortunately wont give certain people equal service if tipping is axed, she said.

James Rilett, vice-president of the industry group Restaurants Canada, said he believes ending tipping would not go over well with customers.

Rilett said conversations with restaurant owners and customers over the years have led him to believe that consumers tend to prefer tipping over price increases on menu items.

I think the biggest problem is sticker shock, he said. Just seeing the price of your burger go up 20 per cent  people are going to react to that.

Rilett said in his experience, most restaurants abandon the (no-tipping) model within five to six months after implementing it.

Although aware of the arguments against the hospitality fee model, Donovan said the move is a sacrifice on the part of the employee and the business.

Some people like the tipping system because they get more take-home money, and thats OK.... Our goal is just to offer a stable alternative.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 13, 2020.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version misspelled James Riletts surname.
Samsung isnt wasting time when it comes to updating the Galaxy Watch 3. The company has started rolling out its blood oxygen monitoring apps  VO2 Max and SpO2  on Samsung Health. Theyll let you keep track of your maximum oxygen uptake and relative blood oxygen, respectively. Samsung had previously said these features were coming later this year, so its nice to see that it was actually able to deliver them close to the Watch 3s launch.

Unfortunately, were still waiting for more details on the Galaxy Watch 3s ECG feature. It has FDA approval, but so far the company has only brought the feature to South Korea. Once thats available, the Galaxy Watch 3 will have feature parity with the Apple Watch, making it an even better option for Android users.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  A lawyer representing a group that bills itself as an advocate for Cleveland Public Power customers has accused City Council of intimidation for proposing to investigate whether the group and others might have tried to harm the city-owned utility.

Attorney Subodh Chandra states in a letter to all council members except council President Kevin Kelley that council launched the probe based on fantastical assertions about his client, Consumers Against Deceptive Fees, and others.
Jinesh Jain, a junior at The Woodlands High School, has been a tech wizard since he was young, helping his teachers and fellow students manage computer problems for years. Now, he has teamed up with a local literacy organization to put those skills to use for the larger community.

A few weeks ago, Jain took stock of the technology that he had and the skills he had taught himself and decided to find a way to give back. After asking around his community he was introduced to Childrens Books on Wheels, a local nonprofit organization that helps connect kids to books and after-school programs.

Rita Wiltz, executive director of the organization, met with Jains father, Jayesh, to make sure it was a good fit. It was a good niche for us because we want to help children, Wiltz said.

After some back and forth on names, and how the program would be run, Kidstech Helpful Hardware was ready to launch. The program will take donated technology that Jain will restore and Childrens Books on Wheels will help distribute to a child in the area who needs it. Jain saw this need at his school.

Related: Montgomery County schools invest in technology for distance learning

I saw many students who struggled to either access a computer at home or would have to stay after school and stay in the library and complete their school assignments because they didnt have the internet or they didnt have time to do it at home, he said. This would just make it difficult for them, generally, to participate in school because many things were online back then and now, especially with the pandemic, literally everything is online.

Technology as necessity

As the school year begins, schools across Montgomery County are starting online. Technology isnt just a luxury, its a necessity now.

Theres a lot of concern about schools being online, being at home, having the resources, having the bandwidth, having the technology, said Childrens Books on Wheels board member Heather Nehila. Theres a limited amount that the schools are providing to families, but this has a way of creating technology for them so they can use it, so they can familiarize themselves with it, so they can be comfortable with it.

Jain has been teaching himself how to fix technology for years. To some students at his school, hes known as the tech kid.

Technology in general, I just looked at it and I loved it, as a kid, Jain said. I learned most of what I know from the internet and from there its been a growing interest because its a never-ending stream of information. You always learn something new.

Seeking donations

Kidstech officially launched Aug. 7 and will be taking donations on an ongoing basis on Fridays. If necessary, more days will be added. Donors can call Childrens Books on Wheels at 281-844-7596 to set up a time to donate, and masks must be worn when dropping donations off.

To help keep the program manageable, and make sure its giving kids the best product it can, he put limits on what kind of technology can be donated. Computers and laptops from 2015 or newer, computer parts  such as hard drives, RAM, screens, monitors, networking hardware  and peripherals like keyboards and mice. The older the computer, the less amount of time it will be useful to the child it is donated to.

Donors are strongly encouraged to donate their computers with the charger because it will make them easier to give away and saves the organization money. Technology with cracked screens are more expensive to fix and are less likely to be accepted.

Related: Conroe ISD set to roll out its ramp-up plan for return to class

Connecting children

Childrens Books on Wheels, which operates out of the Sleepy Hollow Multipurpose Building in Tamina, is an after-school site and a host for the local YMCA after-school programs. But anyone is allowed to come and use the WiFi, especially students. With the addition of the new program, children will be able to get the technology they need and be able to connect to the internet in the same place.

Refurbishing technology this way helps connect those who may not have had the means to access necessary technology also comes with the bonus of being environmentally friendly. Instead of throwing your old tech in the trash, with a little help from Jain, it can continue to live on for a few more years, sometimes as parts in other computers or as a refurbished whole.

Wiltz said they are actively seeking donations from local businesses and corporations, through donations of technology or funding. Jain wipes clean every donated computer that he works on so that there is no chance of personal data being accessed by a new owner or user.

jamie.swinnerton@chron.com
Srinagar, Aug 13 : Online learning in Jammu and Kashmir, on even 2G Internet access, is now going to be smooth and without any hiccups, thanks to 'Wise App' developed by two IIT graduates, including one from the Union Territory.

Due to security reasons, only 2G Internet is allowed in J&K and this has seriously impeded the smooth functioning of online teaching and learning for thousands of local teachers and students during the ongoing pandemic.

The 'Wise App' Android application works on 2G without the headache of sharing meeting IDs and passwords. Additionally, it enables teachers to send and receive assignments, facilitate discussions, share material and receive automated attendance reports etc, all at one place.

The app has been created by Mubeen Masudi and Bilal Abidi, both 2011 IIT Mumbai graduates.

Masudi has been preparing Kashmiri students for JEE, NEET, SAT etc for the past eight years.

"Post Covid, like every other teacher, I started teaching online through Zoom. I realised the challenges of conducting classes online. I used to share meeting IDs/passwords through Whatsapp, assignments through mail and study material through Google Drive links. It was very chaotic and difficult to manage.

"My focus shifted from teaching to juggling across multiple apps. Consequently, this negatively affected the learning experience of my students. That is when I realised the need for a unified platform myself," he said.

Masudi then reached out to his friend Abidi in Lucknow and the two discussed the idea and went to work on it. After two months, Wise App was launched on Google Play Store last week.

"The application is extremely simple to use and unlike the existing ones in the market, it does not expect the teacher to be tech savvy. Anyone can just download the app and start using it right away. It is completely free of cost," said Abidi.

In last one week, more than 50 teachers have started using the app and the feedback received is encouraging, as it works on 2G, requires no IDs/passwords, and meeting creation and joining is all automated.
The Republic of Belarus is in turmoil. The last time its capital, Minsk, the epicenter of current events, happened to be so much in the news occurred around 194344, when the Red Army with its Belorussian Fronts was slowly pushing the Nazis back west. So what happened this time? The forever re-elected president of this small Eastern European country, Alexander Lukashenko, has yet again stolen, falsified, or cheated in local presidential elections. This news is as surprising as the discovery that Count Dracula is drinking blood again: shocking and yet so comfortably familiar. This time, though, many citizens of Belarus decided they'd had enough. Western commentators express delight at seeing the crowds standing up to President Lukashenko's well equipped security forces. What they don't realize is that the situation may not actually be moving in the direction of freedom and democracy.

With the breakup of the Soviet Union, the newly independent republics took very different paths. Some, like the Asian contingent, decided to go back to their Middle Ages, to the time when they first met the Russian Empire. Some, like the Baltics, chose to embrace their liberal European roots. A few, like Belarus, got stuck in time, neither moving back nor stepping forward. Anyone visiting Belarus today finds most of the country frozen in time circa 1992. The old factories and industries, the remnants of the Soviet military industrial complex, functioned for a few decades and then stopped being competitive or even relevant. High-tech outsourcing has gained some ground, but the Byzantine Soviet system has prevented it from becoming anything remotely resembling the one developed by Estonia. The system ruling the country resembles apparatchiks running a large collective farm. Lukashenko ran one in his earlier years, and his approach to running the entire country is not very different.

The population of Belarus, especially in its eastern and central regions, is very Russified, with the Russian language prevailing over Belarusian. Lukhashenko has found it relatively easy to keep Belarus in Russia's orbit without actually uniting with the big brother to the East. He has successfully resisted numerous attempts by Vladimir Putin to unite two "brotherly nations." However, Lukashenko's cunning and street smarts are slowly losing their potency.

Putin has made it clear that he does not see either Belarus or Ukraine as legitimate countries and their inhabitants as people separate from Russians. He has also indicated in his speeches and actions that he considers moving Russia's western border to its Soviet frontiers of paramount strategic importance. In Ukraine, he has achieved part of his plans. Now in Belarus he may finally strike a tactical Klondike of his strategy.

The West is absolutely uninterested in events in Belarus. Probably none of the Western leaders can even place the country on the map, short of the German chancellor Angela Merkel, for reasons she would rather not admit. If Putin wants to take Belarus, the time is now. A few dozen saboteurs arrested by Belarus's security forces on the eve of elections vividly show the Russian president clearly understands the opportunity. He has learned from Ukraine 2014.

Here is one possible scenario. The demonstrations will continue despite the government's crackdown. The pressure will grow on Lukashenko. He will become more aggressive, thus leading to new cycles of violence that will eventually spiral out of control. Russia will move its forces across the border (as the Belarus army does not really exist) in a purely "humanitarian" gesture. The "green men" of Crimea will start being spotted in the regions bordering Russia. The Belarus security forces (in tight cooperation with Russia) will depose Lukashenko and ask already present Russian forces to spread throughout the country to help the brotherly nation to re-establish peace and security. A referendum (and Putin knows how to conduct one) to unite two nations will follow.

Perhaps it is worth asking what could have been done. It is not possible to bring back those 30 lost years, but in the early years of independence, it did not look so bleak. Some suggested an economic union with Poland. Geographic, cultural, and linguistic proximity could definitely provide the impetus for such a move. Indeed, Poland has managed to become one of the most successful Eastern European economies and a vibrant democracy. With active help from the U.S., Poland could have helped Belarus extract itself from the suffocating wings of Russia. Today we may just hope the people of Belarus will prevail on their own despite all odds, as this struggle may well sadly be their Last Belorussian Front.

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Linkedin Seb Starcevic (Thomson Reuters Foundation) Melbourne, Australia  Thu, August 13, 2020 18:00 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066dd5893 2 World Queensland,Australia,gay-conversion-therapy Free

Queensland has become the first state in Australia to criminalize so-called gay conversion therapy after regional lawmakers voted on Thursday to make the practice illegal.

Under the new law, healthcare professionals could face up to 18 months in jail for attempting to change or suppress a person's sexual orientation or gender identity using practices such as aversion therapy, hypnotherapy and psychoanalysis.

"The ban sends a clear message to Queenslanders that conversion therapy is harmful in all contexts," said Peter Black, president of the Queensland Council for LGBTI Health.

"It is important that there are penalties for this dangerous and discredited practice," Black told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"There continues to be a need for education and further research on the harms of conversion therapies, as well as support for survivors of conversion therapies."

Moves around the world to outlaw the practice, which involves attempting to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity, have gathered pace in recent months.

In July, Israel took the first step towards an outright ban, with a bill passing the first stage of the parliamentary process.

Worldwide, several countries have partially or fully outlawed gay conversion therapy, including Malta, Brazil and Germany.

Addressing parliament on Thursday, Queensland Health Minister and Deputy Premier Steven Miles said conversion therapy was a "highly destructive and unethical" practice, adding "the risks are even greater" for LGBT+ young people.

"Being LGBTIQ is not an affliction or disease that requires medical treatment," Miles said.

"No treatment or practice can change a person's sexual attraction or experience of gender."

Doctors, counselors and psychologists who perform conversion therapy could face up to 12 months imprisonment, or 18 months if the victim is a minor.

Some Australian survivors of conversion therapy, however, said they were "extremely concerned" about the limitations of the legislation, which only applied to healthcare professionals.

"Overwhelmingly, the bulk of harm occurs over time in informal settings ... not in therapeutic contexts," SOGICE Survivors and Brave Network, two organizations advocating for survivors of conversion therapy, said in a joint statement.

"Health professionals are only very rarely involved in conversion practices in 2020, and therefore must not be the sole focus of any legislation or response."

In 2018, a report by La Trobe University and the Human Rights Law Centre found conversion therapy is "pervasive" in Australian faith communities, with at least 10 organizations offering the practice in Australia and New Zealand.

Two other Australian jurisdictions  Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT)  have committed to banning conversion therapy.

On Thursday, the ACT introduced a bill to outlaw conversion therapy for minors, and last October, the Victorian government began public consultation on similar legislation.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India will continue to support the Maldives in mitigating the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, asserting that their "special friendship" will always remain as deep as the waters of the Indian Ocean.

Modi was responding to Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's tweet thanking him for India's financial assistance to the island country.

"A landmark moment in Maldives-India cooperation today as we receive Indian assistance of USD250 million as budget support and USD500 million for the Greater Male Connectivity Project. I thank PM @narendramodi and the Indian people for their generosity and friendship," Solih said.

In his reply, Modi said, "Thank you, President @ibusolih! India will continue to support the Maldives in mitigating the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our special friendship is, and will always remain, as deep as the waters of the Indian Ocean."

India will fund implementation of a major connectivity project in Maldives through a USD 400 million line of credit and USD 100 million grant, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said earlier on Thursday after holding wide-ranging talks with his Maldivian counterpart Abdulla Shahid.

The 6.7 km Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP) will be the largest civilian infrastructure project in Maldives, connecting Male with three neighbouring islands - Villingili, Gulhifahu and Thilafushi, officials said.
Bella Thorne is reminiscing on her luxurious trip to the private enclave of Punta Ballena in Cabo San Lucas Mexico.

The 22-year-old Famous In Love star posted a series of photos from her recent getaway, including one with her Italian beau, Benjamin Mascolo, sharing a kiss.

While displaying her enviably taut midriff in her throwback pictures, the actress paired a tiny red and white gingham bikini with a string of pearls around her neck.

Bella Thorne is reminiscing on her luxurious trip to the private enclave of Punta Ballena in Cabo San Lucas Mexico

'Take me back,' the beauty captioned her four revealing Instagram pictures during an afternoon yachting, which showed off her svelte summer body on Wednesday.

Wearing her signature red hair down, she added a pair of Chanel sunglasses to her look and posed on her knees in front of a distinctive rock formation at the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula.

As they appeared to cruise by the arch of Cabo San Lucas, the Disney Channel alum flashed her pert derriere in a pair of barely-there bottoms and looked out at the clear blue ocean.

Lockings lips: The 22-year-old Famous In Love star posted a series of photos from her recent getaway, including one with her Italian beau, Benjamin Mascolo, sharing a passionate kiss

While displaying her enviably taut midriff in her throwback pictures, the actress paired a red and white gingham bikini with a string of pearls around her neck

Mascolo looked smitten with his girlfriend, as they posed with their lips grazing and jut a glimpse of the mesmerizing views behind them.

While only one of Thorne's tattoos were showing, her man had at least seven pieces of ink in view.

As they prepared to lock lips, he closed his eyes and displayed his chiseled chest.

'Take me back,' the beauty captioned her four revealing Instagram pictures, which showed off her svelte summer body on Wednesday

Bella has been dating her hunky boyfriend since early last year, but the pair had to go into self-isolation separately for nearly five months amid the coronavirus pandemic.

During their period of separation, Benjamin hunkered down in his native Italy while Bella stayed home in Los Angeles.

In March, the United States imposed a travel ban on European countries and this summer, as cases spiked in America, the European Union responded in kind.

Together again: The Famous In Love star has been seen since last month soaking up the sunshine with her boyfriend Benjamin Mascolo

Bella and Benjamin finally met up again on July 7 and she gushed on Instagram: 'After 5 months reunited & it feels so good' in Mexico.

The location worked out perfectly, since he isn't 'allowed in America yet' and she 'cant go to Italy' without a work permit.

The young celebrity duo clearly enjoyed their trip to the city, which began reopening in mid-June.

Looking fab: Bella Thorne showed off her svelte summer body on her Instagram page this Friday as she got ready for the weekend

The lovebirds were recently at the center of engagement rumors, after she was seen with a ring on the fourth finger of her left hand.

However, her representative told JustJared: 'Bella and Benjamin are very much in love and very happy, but there are no wedding plans in the near future.'

In late July, it emerged Bella is selling her quirkily designed Sherman Oaks home on the market with an asking price of $2.55 million.
Over the last several years he has immersed himself in participating in professional societies, earned awards and honors, and has attended multiple meetings and conferences hosted by our respected academies and societies.

Dr. James Shep Russell joins the largest ENT practice in the state of South Carolina, Charleston ENT & Allergy. Dr. Russell will be joining Drs. Kenneth Brown, Don Christian, David Maurer, and Julien Norton in serving the Beaufort County market. We are pleased to welcome Dr. Russell to our team. Over the last several years he has immersed himself in participating in professional societies, earned awards and honors, and has attended multiple meetings and conferences hosted by our respected academies and societies. We are excited for the enthusiasm and professionalism he will add to our practice, Dr. David Maurer, MD, speaking on behalf of the Beaufort County physicians.

Dr. Russell received his undergraduate degree from Washington & Lee University with a B.S. in Accounting. He worked in finance for two years before deciding that his true calling was medicine. He went on to earn his M.D. from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences where he also completed his internship and residency.

Charleston ENT & Allergy utilizes advanced technology to provide patient-friendly care for all ages. The practice is equipped to diagnose and treat the full range of ear, nose, throat and head and neck conditions.

With a team of board-certified specialists, including allergists, immunologists, plastic surgeons and ENT doctors, Charleston ENT & Allergy provides the comprehensive care needed to get patients feeling like themselves again. If this requires surgery, state-of- the-art surgical suites and comforting post-op rooms ensure patients are on their way to recovery, not the hospital.

Since seeing its first patients in 1997, Charleston ENT & Allergy has been devoted to making high-quality care both affordable and accessible. Since then, Charleston ENT & Allergy has grown to South Carolinas largest private ENT practice, with 12 locations across the Lowcountry, 22-board-certified physicians, 8 mid-level providers, and 14 audiologists. Its fully-accredited, state-of-the-art Surgery Center, with pediatric anesthesiologists to care for even the littlest patients, ensures those undergoing surgery are on their way to recovery quickly. An in-house compounding pharmacy makes medication pick-up convenient, allowing patients to spend more time getting better, and less time driving around town. Thats better care in every sense.

For more information on Charleston ENT & Allergy, visit CharlestonENT.com.
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SEATTLE  The Seattle Office of Housing said it is contributing $60 million to help fund 599 new units of permanent supportive housing in six buildings, and has awarded funds to four service providers.

Awards were made to Chief Seattle Club for 125 units in Lake City; DESC for 100 units in Bitter Lake and 124 in Green Lake; and to Inland Group for 147 units in two Ballard projects. Inland will work with Catholic Housing Services on one project and with Plymouth Housing on the other.





. . .
In his introduction of Harris, Biden talked about the deadly events of Charlottesville three years ago when white supremacists marched through the city carrying torches and chanting hate. During Bidens speech, no video rolled, no still photographs appeared on a screen to remind people of the angry faces, of the sheer numbers of protesters. Instead, Biden asked his audience  the folks watching from afar on televisions or phones  to close their eyes and remember that day. He asked them to re-create that scene in their mind and, more importantly, to recall the emotions they felt. He asked them to look inward and to consider what Charlottesville represents in the trajectory of this country.
Around 72 hours since Sachin Pilot's truce with the Congress party after a long-drawn internal battle, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is yet to meet with the sacked deputy CM. In order to manage the situation, the Congress high command on Thursday sent senior leader KC Venugopal, who has been communicating with the two leaders.

However, in a series of tweets, Gehlot said that he was ready to "forget and forgive" and added that it was time to move on.

"The Congress's fight is to save democracy under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. In the past one month, whatever internal discord happened within the Congress party, we have to, for the state, for the country and for the people for Rajasthan, move on with the spirit of forget-and-forgive," Gehlot wrote on the micro-blogging site.

We have to put all our energies in this fight to save democracy with the spirit of forgive & forget and move forward. Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) August 13, 2020

Gehlot also alleged that a conspiracy is being hatched to topple elected governments in the country and termed "a very dangerous game."

"#SaveDemocracy should be our priority with the spirit of forgive and forget. The conspiracy that is going on to topple elected governments one by one in the country, the way governments were toppled in the states of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh & other states, how ED, CBI, Income Tax, judiciary have been misused, it is a very dangerous game that is going on to undermine democracy," Gehlot added.

Earlier, on Tuesday, Gehlot said the fight to save democracy will continue and added that it was "natural" for the MLAs to be upset. "The manner in which this episode occurred and the way in which they stayed for a month, it was natural," he said.

The political crisis in Rajasthan Congress ended on Monday after a meeting of Pilot with Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi. The rebel MLAs later met top Congress leaders and were assured that their grievances would be redressed in a time-bound manner. Congress president Sonia Gandhi also announced the formation of a three-member committee to hear the grievances of rebel leaders.

Nineteen Congress rebels, including Pilot, had revolted against Gehlot, posing a threat to the Congress government in Rajasthan. Congress removed Pilot as the deputy CM and as the state chief of the party on July 14 but also sent many feelers to Pilot. Tensions simmered between the two leaders when Gehlot had called his former deputy "nikamma" (useless) and had accused him of playing a part in toppling the government.
Irish-based Greencore is one of the largest manufacturer of pre-packed sandwiches in the UK, suppling most of the country's big retailers, including Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Sainsburys and Tesco.

A spokeswoman for Northamptonshire County Council said 79 people returned positive NHS tests and a further 213 tested positive through Greencores private testing.

The company, which was set up following the privatisation of Irish Sugar, took the decision to test workers as a result of a rise in cases in the the area.

In a statement, Greencore said: As a result of the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the Northampton area, we took the decision to start proactively testing all of the colleagues at our Northampton site."

The company added: In each case we have immediately conducted contact tracing and instructed potentially affected colleagues to self-isolate.

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All of Greencores sites have wide-ranging social distancing measures, stringent hygiene procedures and regular temperature checking in place, and we are doing everything that we can to keep our people safe."

Lucy Wightman, director of public health at Northamptonshire County Council, said employees have been asked to act now after the number of confirmed cases in the town increased from 66 in the week ending August 2nd to 85 for the week ending August 9th.

Ms Wightman said: It is evident that Greencore has highly effective measures in place and they continue to work extremely hard to exceed the requirements needed to be Covid-19 secure within the workplace."

In a 2017 article, The Guardian claimed Greencore was the largest sandwich maker in the world, operating eight facilities in the UK.
Fairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

Light snow this morning will give way to mostly cloudy conditions this afternoon. High around 5F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 60%..

Tonight

Overcast. Low -1F. Winds light and variable.
A large fire at an apartment complex in Mandan, N.D., has displaced its tenants.

Flames could be seen shooting from the roof of the three-story Sunset Bluffs Apartments Monday night. The Red Cross is assisting an unknown number of people whose apartments were lost or damaged.

Mandan Fire Chief Steve Nardello said Tuesday the roof of the complex is burned off. The fire started on the third floor, possibly on a balcony.

Deputy Police Chief Lori Flaten said there were no known injuries to residents or firefighters.

Firefighters were on the scene until 3 a.m. Tuesday.

The complex is next to the building that burned in July 2019 and was later razed, the Bismarck Tribune reported.

The cause of Monday nights fire is under investigation. A Mandan police investigator trained in fire investigation will assist the fire chief and the Mandan Fire Department in the investigation.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics North Dakota
Canberra, Aug 13 : Nick Coatsworth, Australia's Deputy Chief Medical Officer (CMO), has described criticisms against authorities that they were not prepared for COVID-19 outbreaks in aged care as "insulting".

Coatsworth told reporters on Wednesday afternoon that the criticisms were insulting to every Australian who has been affected by the virus, reports Xinhua news agency.

His comments were in response to geriatrician Joseph Ibrahim, who told the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety on Wednesday that aged care residents have been treated like 'second-class citizens' during the pandemic.

"In my opinion, hundreds of residents are and will die prematurely because people have failed to act," Ibrahim said, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Coatsworth strongly rebuffed Ibrahim's testimony to the commission, saying that sweeping changes to society were introduced across Australia to protect the elderly.

"The assertion that there was an attitude of futility towards death in residential aged care in Australia is frankly insulting to the entire Australian community who locked down to prevent deaths amongst our most vulnerable," he said.

"There were many words used in the royal commission witness statements today that perhaps don't reflect the totality of the Government's response, both at federal and state level, to preventing deaths in aged care." Authorities on Wednesday confirmed 21 new deaths from COVID-19 in Australia, all of which were in the worst-hit state of Victoria, taking the national toll to 352.

A statement from the Department of Health and Human Services in Victoria said on Wednesday that "16 of the 21 new deaths are linked to known outbreaks in aged care facilities".

Brendan Murphy, who served as Australia's Chief Medical Officer from 2016 until June and commenced as the Secretary of the Department of Health in July, also gave evidence at the royal commission on Wednesday, refuting allegations that the government did not have a pandemic plan for aged care.

However, he did acknowledge that mandatory use of face masks in aged care in Victoria should have been introduced sooner.

"In hindsight, you could have implemented that earlier, absolutely," he said.

"The situation in Victoria changed very, very rapidly in July." Australia's overall caseload currently stands at 22,127.
As New Jersey movie theaters remain closed, AMC is reopening more than 100 out-of-state locations with a 15-cent ticket promotion.

The theater chain is promising movies in 2020 at 1920 prices in celebration of its 100th anniversary, the company announced Thursday.

Maurice, Barney and Edward Dubinsky, who would change their name to Durwood, opened their first theater in Kansas City, Missouri in 1920. Durwood Theatres eventually became American Multi-Cinema.

When AMC opens theaters this month, capacity will be significantly reduced to comply with social distancing, the company says. All tickets purchased August 20 will be available for 15 cents.

We are thrilled to once again open our doors to American moviegoers who are looking for an opportunity to get out of their houses and apartments and escape into the magic of the movies, Adam Aron, CEO and president of AMC Theatres, said in a statement.

Elizabeth Debicki, left, and John David Washington in a scene from "Tenet," due in theaters Sept. 3.AP

An executive order from Gov. Phil Murphy has kept state movie theaters closed for months in the COVID-19 pandemic. A federal judge rejected a lawsuit from AMC, other movie theater companies and the National Association of Theater Owners in July that challenged the theater shutdown in New Jersey. The lawsuit pointed to the fact that places of worship have been able to reopen in New Jersey.

During the pandemic, movie studios have postponed the release of many films and released others via premium on demand, or have changed course to release them on streaming, as with Mulan, which was originally scheduled for a theatrical release in March. Disney is releasing the film on Disney Plus Sept. 4 for a premium price of $29.99, on top of the subscription price for the service.

About 300 more AMC theaters are set to open after August 20. The chain is touting two major releases in conjunction with the reopening: The New Mutants (August 28) and Christopher Nolans Tenet (Sept. 3).

Other promotions on deck at AMC include screenings of Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, Black Panther, Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back and Grease for $5.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Send a coronavirus tip here.
By Andreas Rinke and Michael Georgy BEIRUT (Reuters) - Germany's foreign minister said on Wednesday that Lebanon needed a government able to fight corruption and enact reforms as he toured Beirut port, scene of the devastating explosion that has kindled protests and led the government to resign. The Aug

By Andreas Rinke and Michael Georgy

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Germany's foreign minister said on Wednesday that Lebanon needed a government able to fight corruption and enact reforms as he toured Beirut port, scene of the devastating explosion that has kindled protests and led the government to resign.

The Aug. 4 blast at a warehouse storing highly explosive material killed at least 172 people, injured some 6,000, left around 300,000 without habitable housing and wrecked swathes of the Mediterranean city, compounding a deep economic and financial crisis.

"It is impossible that things go on as before," Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said. "The international community is ready to invest but needs securities for these investments. It is important to have a government that fights the corruption.

"Many in Europe have a lot of interest for this country. They want to know that there are economic reforms and good governance," Maas added.

The resignation of Prime Minister Hassan Diab's government has deepened uncertainty. His cabinet's talks with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout had already stalled over internal differences about the scale of financial losses.

Forming a new government could be daunting amid factional rifts and growing public discontent with a ruling class that many Lebanese brand as responsible for the country's woes.

The foreign ministers of Russia and Saudi Arabia agreed on Wednesday on the importance of creating "beneficial external conditions" for the formation of a new Lebanese government, the Russian foreign ministry said.

Humanitarian aid has poured in but foreign countries have made clear they will not provide funds to help pull Lebanon from economic collapse without action on long-demanded reforms to tackle systemic graft, waste, mismanagement and negligence.

INVESTIGATION

Some 30-40 people are still missing more than a week after the blast. The Lebanese army said on Wednesday that rescue teams pulled another body from the wreckage of a silo in the port.

Aoun has promised a swift investigation into the detonation of what authorities say was more than 2,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored at the port for years without safety measures.

Reuters reported that the president and prime minister were warned in July about the warehoused ammonium nitrate, according to documents and senior security sources.

The presidency said on Wednesday that as soon as Aoun received a state security report on the ammonium nitrate on July 20, the president's military consultant instructed the secretary general of the Supreme Defence Council to "do the necessary".

He later tweeted estimated losses from the blast exceed $15 billion, a bill Lebanon cannot pay given its financial crisis.

Sitting amid the debris, Lebanese said the state had abandoned them.

"Who knows what will happen. How will we get back to business?" said Antoinne Matta, 74, whose safe and lock store was heavily damaged by the blast. Five employees were wounded.

A donor conference raised pledges of nearly 253 million euros ($298 million) for immediate relief. Maas gave a cheque for more than 1 million euros to the Lebanese Red Cross, part of 20 million euros in humanitarian aid from Germany.

"EVERYTHING IS GONE"

The central bank has instructed local banks to extend interest-free dollar loans to individuals and businesses for essential repairs, and said it would in turn provide those financial institutions with the funding.

Bandali Gharabi, whose photo studio was destroyed, said local authorities had only given him a compensation sheet to fill out. "Everything is gone," he said. "I just want someone to rebuild my shop."

Volunteers and construction workers with bulldozers were still clearing wreckage from neighbourhoods, where rows of cars were flattened.

Nagy Massoud, 70, was sitting on the balcony when the blast gutted his apartment. His pension is frozen in a bank account he cannot access due to controls prompted by the economic crisis.

"Where is the government?" he said, looking around his shattered apartment.

(Additional reporting by Ghaida Ghantous Editing by Alison Williams and Mark Heinrich)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Kumar Vikram By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: While the Civil Aviation Ministry has ordered an investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) in the Air India Express plane mishap in Kozhikode, many aviation safety experts have raised questions on the move, suggesting that there could be a conflict of interest and non-transparency in the probe as it operates under the supervision of the ministry.

The AAIB is expected to submit its report on the Kozhikode accident by the end of this week. According to the experts, in the past, there was a deliberate effort on the part of the investigators to cover up serious violations of air regulations.

They have also demanded a Court of Inquiry (CoI) into the incident.

Aviation safety expert Captain Amit Singh said: The fact that the AAIB reports to the MoCA is a conflict of interest.

Pointing out flaws in a report by the AAIB, Singh said: The same AAIB had carried out an investigation into the Ghatkopar accident. The probable cause of the accident was attributed to the flight crew. However, after a study of the report, I found several flaws in it that made me investigate the cause of the crash in greater detail... I have produced a 35-page technical analysis of the accident which conclusively proves that the probe was flawed and there was a deliberate effort on the part of the investigators to coverup serious violations of air regulations. The report contradicts itself in many areas and key evidence is misrepresented, he said in his blog.

The independent nature and credibility of the AAIB are under doubt. There are several other investigation reports which lack quality and standards, he said, adding that he has written to the secretary of the MoCA, requesting him to order a re-investigation of the accident.

There is a need to establish a safety culture and determine the root cause, not just fix the symptom, Singh added.

Aviation safety expert Mohan Ranganathan, who was part of the safety committee formed after the 2010 Mangalore crash, said: Anything in civil aviation in India is not an independent body. If it is an independent body, which is not controlled by the aviation ministry, then you can say that it is something which can come out with facts. As long as you have the ministry controlling everything, you will never find the facts coming out, he said.
Royal Caribbean Group RCL is leaving no stone unturned to boost liquidity in a bid to counter the coronavirus crisis, which has driven the cruise industry to standstill. The company has secured a $700 million term loan facility from Morgan Stanley.



The company can withdraw the loan at any time prior to Aug 12, 2021. Following withdrawal of the loan, the company will bear interest at LIBOR plus 3.75% and mature 364 days from funding. We believe the company has enough liquidity to navigate through the ongoing crisis. As of Jun 30, 2020, the company had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $4.1 billion, compared with $3.9 billion at the end of Mar 31, 2020.



On May 19, 2020, the company completed its $3.3 billion senior secured notes offering. Further, the company announced that during suspension of its operations, its estimated cash burn is anticipated between $250 million and $290 million per month. This includes ongoing ship operating expenses, administrative expenses, debt service, hedging costs and anticipated necessary CapEx. Although the companys long-term debt at the end of second-quarter 2020 stands at $17.7 billion, its anticipated debt maturities for the remainder of 2020 and 2021 are $0.3 billion and $1.3 billion, respectively.



Shares of the company have fallen 57.2% year to date, compared with the industrys decline of 45.1%. Other major cruise operators like Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. NCLH and Carnival Corporation & Plc CCL have declined 73.9% and 70.1%, respectively.





Healthy Sail Panel to Counter Ongoing Crisis

Notably, the ongoing pandemic has compelled companies to forget rivalries and come together to counter the scenario. Case in point, Royal Caribbean Cruises and Norwegian Cruise have teamed up to develop safety standards. Former Utah Governor Mike Leavitt and former U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, are serving as co-chairs of a newly formed group of experts called the "Healthy Sail Panel." The expert panel, which has been working for approximately a month, will provide their initial recommendations by the end of August.

Story continues

Zacks Rank & a Key Pick

Royal Caribbean has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). A better-ranked stock worth considering in the same space includes Camping World Holdings, Inc. CWH, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Camping World Holdings current-year earnings are likely to witness growth of 327.3%. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

These Stocks Are Poised to Soar Past the Pandemic

The COVID-19 outbreak has shifted consumer behavior dramatically, and a handful of high-tech companies have stepped up to keep America running. Right now, investors in these companies have a shot at serious profits. For example, Zoom jumped 108.5% in less than 4 months while most other stocks were sinking.



Our research shows that 5 cutting-edge stocks could skyrocket from the exponential increase in demand for stay at home technologies. This could be one of the biggest buying opportunities of this decade, especially for those who get in early.



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The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has threatened to sanction broadcast stations over messages that insult Nigerian leaders and ...

The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has threatened to sanction broadcast stations over messages that insult Nigerian leaders and elders.

In a letter to broadcast stations, Chibuike Ogwumike, zonal director of the NBC Lagos office, warned against such messages from guests during radio programmes.

Ogwumike referred broadcasters to sections of the NBC code that provides for professional rules against content that denigrates the social norms, values and culture of the society.

Monitoring activities indicate that in the recent time, some broadcast stations have abdicated their editorial responsibilities such that guests and callers on programmes abuse and insult leaders and those in authority freely and without caution, he said.

May I please draw your attention to the following provisions of the Broadcasting Code: Section 3.1.: Professional Rules: 3.1.1: No broadcast shall encourage or incite to crime, lead to public disorder or hate, be repugnant to public feelings or contain an offensive reference to any person or organization, alive or dead or generally be disrespectful to human dignity.

Also, 3.1.19: The broadcast shall not transmit content that denigrates the social norms, values and culture of the society.

The NBC said while it understands that broadcasters have a duty to hold government and leaders accountable, this must not be done in abusive language.

To denigrate our elders and leaders in abusive terms is not our culture. We respect our leaders as a positive cultural value, it added.

We expect Broadcasters, especially anchors to show professionalism in the handling of programmes such that guest or callers that exhibit such tendency are professionally handled.

The recourse to abusing, denigrating and insulting the President, Governors, MPs and other leaders does not show us as cultured people.

The letter came to light amid the controversy generated by the new NBC code recently launched in Lagos, and which has been condemned as targeting press freedom.

Among those that kicked against the code is Tonnie Iredia, former director-general of the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), who accused Lai Mohammed, minister of information, of hijacking NBC powers.

He said the NBC code, which was supposed to be a professional guide and masterpiece that promotes professional excellence in broadcasting is now filled with sanctions and what you will do and not do
Former President Pranab Mukherjee is in a comatose state, but his vital parametres are stable, the Armys Research and Referral (R&R) Hospital said on Thursday morning.

Mukherjees condition remains unchanged and he continues to be on ventilatory support, it further said.

The former President was admitted to the R&R hospital after suffering a fall at his house earlier on Monday. He underwent a brain surgery after a clot was discovered.

His son Abhijit tweeted on Thursday asked people to stop circulating fake news about Mukherjees health. Speculations & fake news being circulated by reputed Journalists on social media clearly reflects that Media in India has become a factory of Fake News, he said.

My Father Shri Pranab Mukherjee is still alive & haemodynamically stable !

Speculations & fake news being circulated by reputed Journalists on social media clearly reflects that Media in India has become a factory of Fake News .  Abhijit Mukherjee (@ABHIJIT_LS) August 13, 2020

Mukherjees daughter Shamistha also said that rumours should not be spread about the former President.

Rumours about my father is false. Request, esply to media, NOT to call me as I need to keep my phone free for any updates from the hospital  Sharmistha Mukherjee (@Sharmistha_GK) August 13, 2020

On Wednesday, she had shared a prayer on Twitter. Last year 8August was 1 of d happiest day 4 me as my dad received Bharat Ratna.Exactly a year later on 10Aug he fell critically ill. May God do whatever is best 4 him & give me strength 2 accept both joys & sorrows of life with equanimity. I sincerely thank all 4 their concerns, Sharmistha had tweeted.

Mukherjee, 84, had said on Monday on Twitter that he tested positive for Covid-19.

On a visit to the hospital for a separate procedure, I have tested positive for Covid-19 today. I request the people who came in contact with me in the last week, to please self isolate and get tested for Covid-19, Mukherjee had tweeted.

Mukherjee, who was the Indias president between 2012 and 2017, had been keeping his public interactions at a minimal level after the coronavirus pandemic swept cross the country.
Schultz has won multiple awards for her poetry and is the team captain for her schools poetry competition team, a news release said. She calls herself a poetic activist because shes been involved in social issues, works as a paralegal assistant and participates in national events like Day of Silence, the release said.
TORONTO - The Chinese company trying to buy TMAC Resources Ltd. has appointed a Barrick Gold Corp. veteran as CEO of its Canadian operations even though the deal is still being reviewed by Ottawa.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 13/8/2020 (524 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO - The Chinese company trying to buy TMAC Resources Ltd. has appointed a Barrick Gold Corp. veteran as CEO of its Canadian operations even though the deal is still being reviewed by Ottawa.

Hong Kong-traded Shandong Gold Mining Co. Ltd. says it has appointed Mark Wall as CEO of Streamers Gold Mining Corp. Ltd., its wholly owned subsidiary in Canada.

Shandong's $230-million offer to buy TMAC, owner of the Hope Bay mining project in Nunavut, has received Chinese regulatory approvals and TMAC shareholders voted in favour of it in June.

The Commissioner of Competition has issued a "no action" letter, but it is still being reviewed under the Investment Canada Act and Ottawa could veto the deal if it finds it would harm national security.

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

Wall has more than 24 years of experience in the mining industry, most recently at Nevada Copper Corp.

During a 12-year stint at Barrick that ended in 2018, the Canadian citizen served as executive general manager of the Veladero gold mine in Argentina. Shandong bought a 50 per cent stake in the mine in the high Andes mountains three years ago.

"We have worked closely with Mr. Wall during our successful partnership with Barrick Gold and welcome him to lead our Canadian business," said Liu Qin, director of Shandong Gold, in a news release.

"His extensive background in the industry will serve us well in Nunavut, beginning with the development of an expansion feasibility study aimed at doubling the output at Hope Bay."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2020.

Companies in this story: (TSX:ABX, TSX:TMR)
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Cuba Gooding Jr.'s lawyers on Thursday argued that they should be able to cross-examine one of his groping accusers about her history as a victim of sexual abuse, the fact that she complained online about having small breasts and that she said she 'prefers' threesomes to monogamous relationships when he goes to trial later this year.

The actor, 52, attended court in New York on Thursday for a pre-trial hearing as part of his ongoing groping case where his attorneys alleged police misconduct and tried again to paint him as a victim of malicious prosecution.

He was pictured arriving at the courthouse in Manhattan, wearing a mask, with his attorney Mark Heller. Heller did not have on a mask as he entered the courtroom but he put one on when the proceedings began.

Gooding Jr is facing six groping charges over three alleged incidents which occurred in 2018 and 2019.

One of the women alleged Gooding pinched her buttocks. Another said he squeezed her breast at the Magic Hour rooftop in New York City in June last year.

Gooding Jr's attorneys said on Thursday that the woman speaks openly about the fact that she is self-conscious about her 'small breasts' online, and that it can cause her to 'misconstrue things'.

They want to be able to ask her about her history of body insecurities, and about her history having been sexually and mentally abused by her family.

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Cuba Gooding Jr. removed his mask to show off the Black Lives Matter logo on it after a court hearing where his lawyers laid out their intention to quiz one of his accusers about her sexual history, including abuse, and the fact she was self-conscious about having small breasts

Gooding Jr. sits at the defense table with his lawyer Marc Heller, during a hearing in his sexual misconduct case

Gooding Jr is facing six groping charges over three alleged incidents which occurred in 2018 and 2019

Cuba Gooding Jr. arrives in court in Manhattan on Thursday morning for a pre-trial hearing

'I believe that her decade long physical and mental abuse by her famly sexual nature and mental is completely relevant to her credibility, to her pre-disposition, sensitivities, her mindset.

'It creates a foundation for who she is... she speaks about it in blog posts endlessly on the internet.

'It is part of who she is, it's sewn into her personality,' his attorney said, adding that the woman suffers from 'distortions'.

He also said it was relevant that she posted online about preferring threesomes to one-on-one sex, saying: 'This accuser speaks very publicly on her blog posts about her desire and interest and preference to be in menage a trois rather than monogamous relationships.

'I find it relevant that in this case she represented to the police and DA's office that there were discussions of menage a trois.

'She's a psychology major - it's a psychological, personality decision. That is nothing to do with her sexual history. It's philosophical,' the actor's attorney said.

The judge disagreed and said it could be discussed only if the woman 'opens the door to it'.

Of her 'small breasts', the attorney argued: 'I believe it's very simple: one plus two equals three.

'She actually talks about the fact that she is self conscious about her breast size. She talks about how she is self conscious about hair style, she does talk specifically about her breasts.

'She actually, because of her own sensitivity sometimes, misconstrues what other people are saying to her because of her own self-esteem issues. She openly talks about it in her blogs,' he said.

The 52-year-old actor denies all of the allegations and says he is the victim of malicious prosecution

Gooding Jr. waved at photographers who had gathered at the court before his arrival

Gooding Jr. had been scheduled to go on trial in April, but that was postponed as coronavirus cases surged in New York and the state shut down most court matters.

Now that the number of new positive cases and hospital admissions are down in New York, courts are starting to reopen.

No new trial date for Gooding has been set.

On Thursday, Gooding Jr.'s lawyers argued that detectives acted inappropriately when they started their investigation. Among their complaints was that one sergeant wrote a 'separate' police report about one of the incidents which they said was 'out of character'.

They also claim they refused to interview 'witnesses' that they told them to speak to after one of the alleged incidents.

Prosecutors argued that their evidence - which includes screenshots and affidavits - is solid.

Gooding Jr. and his attorney, Mark Heller, leave Manhattan Supreme Court on Thursday

Gooding Jr. is seen arriving at court for a hearing in his case of sexual abuse, in New York on Thursday

The case began last year after he was reported to police for allegedly groping a woman at Magic Hour Rooftop in Manhattan.

After her case took off, prosecutors piled more charges on top including one involving him allegedly groping a woman in Tao in New York in October 2018.

A third set involves an incident in New York City in September 2018.

Heller has tried repeatedly to have the case thrown out. He claims Gooding Jr. is the victim of a malicious prosecution that should never have been launched.

The women involved in the incidents in the criminal case have not been named, nor have the women cited by prosecutors.

A handful who have spoken out in media reports to air their allegations, including a hairdresser from Spokane, Washington, have agreed to be named.
Hyundai Creta | Rs 9.81 lakh | The Hyundai Creta is by far the best performing SUV in the market today. It is big and spacious and has ample space for luggage on long drives.

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Korean twins Hyundai and Kia have seen no let-up in demand for diesel engine-powered variants of the Creta and Seltos, respectively. Three out of every five new Cretas (65,000 bookings since March 2020) and one in every two Seltos units sold are powered by diesel engines.

Again, warhorses Scorpio and Bolero, made by SUV-specialist Mahindra & Mahindra, continue to generate significant demand in rural markets. Neither has a petrol option. And Indias third-largest carmaker Tata Motors has committed to produce diesel options as long as there is demand for them.

Contrarian view

But not every passenger vehicle maker is swayed by this trend, particularly car market leader Maruti Suzuki.

With the onset of Bharat Stage VI (BS-VI) emission norms from April 1, Maruti Suzuki totally abandoned the diesel category. The maker of Swift and Baleno believes that diesel variants would become unaffordably expensive for the compact car buyer.

Speaking to analysts, Shashank Srivastava, Executive Director, Maruti Suzuki India, said: Diesels share was about 20.6 percent in Q1 as against 29.5 percent in FY20. Maruti Suzuki, of course, is at 0 percent because we don't have diesel (models). And as far as the competition is concerned, they are at 36 percent.

Running cost factor

Maruti Suzukis belief has been strengthened by the rise in the price of diesel in recent days, almost to the petrol price level. It does not make economic sense to have a diesel car if the criteria is running cost as it is roughly similar at about Rs 4/km for both. There is no economic logic in buying a diesel vehicle because of the large difference in acquisition cost and a very low difference or none at all in the running cost, said Srivastava.

There are some segments like the mid-SUV and above, where buyers are still looking for diesel because their preference is torque rather than economic requirements. And that is why we have said that Maruti Suzuki is also looking very closely to evaluate whether it requires to be present in the larger diesel category, Srivastava added.

There has been an increase in the upfront price differential of Rs 50,000 to Rs 70,000, post BS-VI implementation, which, along with narrowing fuel price gap, is accelerating this shift to petrol and CNG, said rating agency ICRA. The increase is over and above the Rs 1 lakh-1.25 lakh premium there was before BS-VI implementation.

Diesels share in PVs is expected to decline to 15-18 percent in FY2022 from 29 percent in FY2020. Within this, the share of diesel vehicles in the car segment will stabilize around 5-7 percent (from 11 percent), whereas the UV segments share will gradually reduce to sub 40 percent (from 65 percent) over the next 2-3 years, ICRA added.

The end of BS-IV norms brought the curtains down on Maruti Suzukis diesel bouquet: the Brezza, S-Cross, Swift, Baleno, Ertiga, Dzire and Ciaz models. The company currently offers a pure petrol engine option or a petrol+CNG option. But Marutis competition is not letting this opportunity go away.

Filling the void

Hyundais compact SUV Venue, which takes Marutis Brezza head-on, is sating the consumer appetite for diesel. One third of Venues sales are made up of diesel engines. Brezzas other competitor, Mahindra XUV300, has also not witnessed much change in diesel demand.

Rajesh Jejurikar, Additional Director & Executive Director of Automotive and Farm Sectors, M&M, said: On the rural side, we are not seeing any consumer desire to move to gasoline in the segments we participate in. In the urban market, especially in the compact SUV segment, where we have XUV300, about 35-40 percent is gasoline. So, there is some shift on the urban side. But on the rural side, and products like Scorpio and Bolero, the customer continues to have a distinct preference for diesel.

Kias new launch Sonet, which will hit the market in a few weeks, will also have a diesel engine option. The Sonet, too, will go head-to-head with the Maruti Brezza. Sources in Kia Motors say that the diesel composition of the Sonet is expected to be north of 30 percent.

Commenting on Tata Motors strategy, PB Balaji, CFO, said: We have consciously maintained the strategy that customers have choice and whatever they prefer they can buy. The mileage and torque characteristics are different for diesel. Our objective is to give choice and let the customers decide rather than ordaining that this is what we will give you.
Talks between presidents of Russia and Iran start in Kremlin

Armenian FM: This is not first time Baku makes nonconstructive statements

Ombudsman: I urge not to give in to Azerbaijani manipulations, to visit Artsakh

Armenian FM: Armenia passes a package of proposals to Azerbaijan

France names the main favorite of presidential election

Garo Paylan concludes address in Turkey parliament in Armenian

Russian Foreign Ministry believes there is no risk of large-scale war in Europe

Dollar goes up in Armenia

Sharmazanov: Armenia ex-President Sargsyan did not decide to hold press conference, he did not change his mind

Blinken: Russia has plans to increase force on Ukraine borders

:       

Azerbaijani military participate in Turkish drills

Taliban say all conditions for recognizing legitimacy of government are met

Azerbaijan MFA statement distorts events of Armenian massacres in Baku 32 years ago

Karabakh ombudsmans office: Azerbaijans anti-Armenian, genocidal policy has clear chronology

US official, Barzani are photographed against backdrop of Greater Armenia and Kurdistan map

Armenia ex-defense minister, army General Staff chief, some others criminal case court hearing kicks off

FM: Most important direction continues to be international recognition of Artsakh

Armenia revenue committee chief on opening of Turkey border: Shall we live with closed borders? In fear?

US selects Los Angeles to host Summit of the Americas in summer 2022

Karabakh Foreign Minister: Return of refugees can only be like mirror

Iranian president arrives on official visit to Moscow

All CSTO peacekeepers leaves Kazakhstan

Artsakh Foreign Minister: Unacceptable to bracket NKAO and NKR together

Karabakh FM: Format of OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs' visits needs to be restored

Media: Air communication between Turkey and Armenia will start on February 2

Artsakh FM: Azerbaijan attack on Karabakh will mean attack on Russia

Gold prices hardly change

American professor angers Erdogan's son-in-law

Hovhannes Khachatryan is elected Armenia Central Bank Deputy Governor

15 years pass since Hrant Dink assassination

563 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Guterres offers Merkel job at UN

Armenian church revamped in Iran

World oil prices going up

Newspaper: ECHR rulings increase after Armenia revolution in 2018

Newspaper: Armenia ex-President Sargsyan to give interview instead of press conference

Azerbaijan MFA falls into hysterical rage by France FM statement

The Pope to donate 100,000 to help migrants on border of Belarus and Poland

Fourth vaccine against COVID-19 is not enough for Omicron

World is on verge of country defaults

French Foreign Ministry considers unacceptable Azerbaijan statements about Pecresse

US to return two valuable artifacts over 4,000 years old to Iraq

Germany may consider halting Nord Stream 2 if Russia attacks Ukraine

Israel successfully completes test of anti-ballistic missile system

Plane landing in Sochi struck by lightning

Putin and Aliyev discuss Ukraine situation

Greek PM Mitsotakis threatens Turkey with sanctions

Handelsblatt: US and EU abandon idea of disconnecting Russia from SWIFT international payment system

Artsakh President meets representatives of non-governmental organizations

Avalanche kills person in Iran

Erdogan says he is pleased with decline in volatility of lira

NEWS.am daily digest: 18.01.22

Turkey and Azerbaijan to start laying gas pipeline to supply Nakhichevan

UK begins to supply Ukraine with anti-tank weapons

Armenian PM holds meeting on Armenia's Transformation Strategy until 2050

Nagorno-Karabakh: Remains of another Armenian soldier found in Jrakan region

Tehran to not accept any border change in South Caucasus

Dollar holding relatively steady in Armenia

Armenia special representative: Future process depends on Turkeys constructiveness degree

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Iranian Consul General discusses customs cooperation in Nakhijevan

Inecobank brings Apple Pay to customers

Parliament vice-speaker says he is familiar with Armenia proposals on border demarcation commission work

US Secretary of State to visit Kyiv

Russia, Iran and China to hold joint naval drills

OSCE Chairmanship on Aliyev statement: We reiterate our full support to Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Artsakh NSS denies rumors about penetration of Azerbaijanis into Karabakh villages

Indonesian parliament approves bill to relocate capital

Armenia PM to Bulgaria colleague: Our interstate relations are marked by continuous development of cooperation

Armenian President meets Abu Dhabi Crown Prince

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European Parliament new speaker elected

Armenian National Interests Fund participates in Abu Dhabi Sustainable Development Week summit

North Korea fires missiles for fourth time this year

ECHR recognizes violation of Armenian PM's rights after 2008 elections

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Copper price is stable

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Armenia President, UAE Minister of State discuss possibilities of cooperation in science and technology

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LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / August 12, 2020 / The Schall Law Firm, a national shareholder rights litigation firm, announces the filing of a class-action lawsuit against Kingold Jewelry, Inc. ("Kingold" or "the Company") (NASDAQ:KGJI) for violations of 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Investors who purchased the Company's securities between March 15, 2018 and June 28, 2020, inclusive (the ''Class Period''), are encouraged to contact the firm before August 31, 2020.

If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate.

We also encourage you to contact Brian Schall of the Schall Law Firm, 1880 Century Park East, Suite 404, Los Angeles, CA 90067, at 310-301-3335, to discuss your rights free of charge. You can also reach us through the firm's website at www.schallfirm.com, or by email at brian@schallfirm.com.

The class, in this case, has not yet been certified, and until certification occurs, you are not represented by an attorney. If you choose to take no action, you can remain an absent class member.

According to the Complaint, the Company made false and misleading statements to the market. Kingold fraudulently secured loans in a scheme utilizing fake gold. As a result, the Company faces creditor lawsuits and was delisted by the Shanghai Gold Exchange. Based on these facts, the Company's public statements were false and materially misleading throughout the class period. When the market learned the truth about Kingold, investors suffered damages.

Join the case to recover your losses.

The Schall Law Firm represents investors around the world and specializes in securities class action lawsuits and shareholder rights litigation.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and rules of ethics.

CONTACT:

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The Schall Law Firm

Brian Schall, Esq.,

www.schallfirm.com

Office: 310-301-3335

Cell: 424-303-1964

info@schallfirm.com

SOURCE: The Schall Law Firm





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https://www.accesswire.com/601500/SHAREHOLDER-ACTION-NOTICE-The-Schall-Law-Firm-Announces-the-Filing-of-a-Class-Action-Lawsuit-Against-Kingold-Jewelry-Inc-and-Encourages-Investors-with-Losses-in-Excess-of-100000-to-Contact-the-Firm




She added, I have had a chance to talk to my physician colleagues and had a chance to research to make the best decision for my children about going back to school. Most of my physician colleagues have chosen to send their kids to private school five days a week, more concerned about the long-term academic effects than their health effects. I just feel like there is going to be more of a divide with our children if we choose plan C, between those who have the means to send their kids to private schools and those who do not. I urge the board to continue with plan B to help serve all of the children in our district and to maintain options for parents and students.
The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and FBI released an advisory on cybersecurity on August 13 warning about previously undisclosed Russian malware.

The malware is a set of hacking tools named Drovorub, the agencies said in a news release.

It said a unit within Russias GRU military intelligence agency -- the 85th Main Special Service Center (GTsSS), military unit 26165 -- was deploying the malware as part of its cyberespionage operations.

The GTsSS, the agencies said, is associated with the hackers who broke into the Democratic National Committee in the months leading up the 2016 presidential election.

That group, known as APT28 or Fancy Bear, and other Russian hacking groups have been blamed in recent years by multiple Western governments, think tanks, and corporations for carrying out numerous cyberattacks.

The cybersecurity advisory published on August 13 is the latest statement from the U.S. government aimed at publicizing Russian hacking operations ahead of the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

The 45-page advisory is an extensive, technical analysis on specific threats, NSA Cybersecurity Director Anne Neuberger said in the news release.

"By deconstructing this capability and providing attribution, analysis, and mitigations, we hope to empower our customers, partners, and allies to take action, Neuberger said.

The Drovorub hacking tool is designed to break into computers based on the Linux operating system, which is commonly used to run web-based computer servers.

Among the actions that Drovorub enables are file download and upload capabilities, the execution of arbitrary commands, and techniques to evade detection.

The advisory provides guidance to systems administrators and network security specialists so they can defend against the malware. It includes detection strategies, mitigation techniques, configuration recommendations, and other tips to reduce the risk of compromise.
Health experts in New York City are urging residents to get tested for COVID-19 at least once a month as schools and business are set to reopen, drawing the criticism of doctors who insist the suggestion is 'unrealistic' with results already backed up by two weeks.

Since June, city officials have encouraged New Yorkers to get tested, whether theyre exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 or not.

That idea was taken a step further by Dr. Jay Varma, Mayor Bill de Blasio's Senior Adviser for Public Health, on Monday, who said coronavirus tests should be repeated every month.

The rule of thumb that I follow myself, and encourage others to do, is to make sure youre tested at least once every month, Varma said in a press briefing with the mayor. In an ideal world, we would have readily available tests that people could even just get in their homes, but were not in that world right now. So about once a month is practical.

We know this infection can be spread by people who don't currently have symptoms, and so the only way we can do this is by having New Yorkers continuously and regularly seeking out as much testing as possible, Varma added.

Since June, city officials have encouraged New Yorkers to get tested, whether theyre exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 or not. That idea was taken a step further by Dr. Jay Varma, Mayor Bill de Blasio's Senior Adviser for Public Health, on Monday, who said coronavirus tests should be repeated every month

Since June, city officials have encouraged New Yorkers to get tested, whether theyre exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 or not

But doctors in the Big Apple have pointed just one slight problem with Varmas plan.

Were hearing there are delays from seven of up to 14 days for some people, Dr. Purvi Parikh of NYU Langone Health told FOX5. If there are those many delays, the question is should we be more focusing on those that need the tests more urgently.

Parikh agreed with Varma that testing is the key to containing COVID-19 and keeping infection numbers down, however the delays in results being receiving isnt providing an accurate snapshot in time.

Lets say it does become more reliable and testing results are coming back sooner, then I think it would be helpful for people to have frequent testing so we can keep track of the numbers, Parikh said.

With a formal plan yet to be implemented by the city with regard to the frequency of tests, experts say you should get tested  but only if necessary.

Until we can get more expedited test results, we may want to limit it to as needed or if you need it to go back into some kind of environments like a school or your work environment, the doctor added.

City Council health committee chair Mark Levine appeared to side with Parikh Monday, tweeting that NYC has *got* to start focusing testing resources on the people who need it.

New York City currently has the capacity to conduct up to 50,000 test per day, however only around 30,000 are actually being administered.

Were hearing there are delays from seven of up to 14 days for some people, Dr. Purvi Parikh of NYU Langone Health told FOX5. If there are those many delays, the question is should we be more focusing on those that need the tests more urgently'

New York City currently has the capacity to conduct up to 50,000 test per day, however only around 30,000 are actually being administered

City Council health committee chair Mark Levine appeared to side with Parikh Monday, tweeting that NYC has *got* to start focusing testing resources on the people who need it'

Even though testing has increased, the positive test rate has stayed at 1 percent or below since June and no spike has been reported after progressing through all the planned phases of its reopening.

New cases have increased among residents in their 20s, but fallen among people over 40.

As of Tuesday, the last time local government released coronavirus statistics, 82 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in New York City. The Big Apples highest single day surge came on June 4, when 6,377 people were diagnosed with the deadly disease.

In total, the city has reported 233,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 23,602 deaths recorded.

Hospitalizations are also way down, with just four admitted to hospital on Tuesday  a 1,718 person decrease on June 4. 285 patients, meanwhile, remain in public hospital Intensive Care Units.

Bill de Blasio announced plans Tuesday to reopen the citys schools, sending more than 760,000 kids back to the classroom for between one to three days a week this fall, if the infection rate stays below three percent.

However, a coalition of school principals penned an impassioned letter to the mayors office Wednesday, urging officials to delay the decision.

Bill de Blasio announced plans Tuesday to reopen the citys schools, sending more than 760,000 kids back to the classroom for between one to three days a week this fall, if the infection rate stays below three percent

A woman wearing a mask is seen rollerblading in Times Square as the city continues Phase 4 of re-opening

Hospitalizations are also way down, with just four admitted to hospital on Tuesday  a 1,718 person decrease on June 4. 285 patients, meanwhile, remain in public hospital Intensive Care Units

Even though testing has increased, the positive test rate has stayed at 1 percent or below since June and no spike has been reported after progressing through all the planned phases of its reopening. New cases have increased among residents in their 20s, but fallen among people over 40

Mark Cannizzaro, president of the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators (CSA), said the New York City school principals represented by his union still have many unanswered questions about how schools can reopen safely.

'We believe that NYC school leaders do not yet have enough information and guidance from the (Department of Education) to reopen their buildings properly,' he said.

Cannizzaro penned a letter to de Blasio on behalf of New York City's 6,400 school leaders urging him to heed 'their dire warnings concerning the city's September 10 reopening plan'.

In the letter, which was obtained by the New York Post, Cannizzaro wrote: 'Given the lack of information and guidance available at this time, CSA believes that NYCDOE's decision to open for in-person learning on September 10th is in disregard of the well-being of our school communities.'

'The slow rollout of guidance has forced us to once again address an unfortunate truth: schools will not be ready to open for in-person instruction on September 10th. A more realistic, phased-in approach would instead welcome students for in-person learning toward the end of September, following a fully remote start to the year,' Cannizzaro continued.

During a press conference on Wednesday, de Blasio addressed the letter briefly, saying: 'I've talked this through with Mark Cannizzaro and I appreciate he's raising real concerns but I've also said to him we have been systematically addressing those concerns and we have a whole month until school opens and we're going to do a lot more.

'I hear their concerns but this ball game is far from over. We're going to make these schools safe.'

A coalition of teachers, students, and families protest during a rally called National Day of Resistance Against Unsafe School Reopening Opening on Monday

De Blasio then addressed a question regarding teachers and administrators who do not agree with students going back to school in the fall.

'Look, you're talking about professionals. Unions will always sound various alarms and unions will say things sometimes in a very dramatic fashion.

'I spent a lot of times with educators over the years and they are in it to help kids. And right now the way to help kids is to get back in person with them and give them the support they need. Kids have been through so much,' de Blasio said. 'Teachers are going to show up and get the job done.'

De Blasio then admitted that some schools would likely eventually get cases of the coronavirus.

'There's been research that shows a lot of schools are not gonna have a case in the beginning; they'll maybe eventually have a case in the school. We'll deal with that.'

The mayors comments came 24 hours after he reported there had been an uptick in coronavirus cases in a Brooklyn neighborhood, prompting the launch of expanded testing.

The uptick of 228 cases over the past two weeks in Sunset Park was found by doing hyper-local testing through the Test & Trace Corps. De Blasio called the discovery a warning light.

The positive results came from 3,380 neighborhood residents tested in the last two weeks and represents a 6.7 percent positivity rate, compared to the citywide average of around one percent.

The city will offer expanded testing capacity, door knocking, and increased phone calls. There will also be two mobile testing units in the area.

This is a neighborhood of about 38,000 households, and it's an area that we can saturate to get people tested as quickly as possible, de Blasio said, adding that the goal is to get all 38,000 households in the area tested.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 11:06:42|Editor: huaxia

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NAIROBI, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- The visit to Taiwan by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Washington's so-called sanctions against Chinese officials are an affront against China that flouts basic norms of international relations, a Kenyan analyst has said.

Despite decades of productive relations, Washington appears keen on upsetting Beijing, which can only leave the two countries worse off, Cavince Adhere, a Kenyan international relations researcher, told Xinhua in an interview.

"Both the United States and China should learn from the perilous history of great power politics and fashion a new form of big power relations that can prop and sustain global stability and wellbeing. Instead of erecting walls, established powers like the United States should be more open to the ideas of new actors including multinational corporations," said Adhere.

China on Monday announced sanctions against 11 U.S. officials with egregious records on Hong Kong affairs.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the announcement in response to a request for comment on the so-called U.S. sanctions against 11 officials of the Chinese central government and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government.

Adhere noted that no single country can forestall or inhibit the development of other states, therefore, every country should emphasize the need for cooperation while respecting other countries.

China has become an engine in global economic growth, Adhere said, noting "Beijing has operationalized homegrown solutions, providing wide-ranging public goods and lifting hundreds of millions of poverty."

Instead of harboring increased hostility, "the United States should capitalize on China's potential and jointly work together and help humanity confront the most pressing challenges, including the COVID-19. Fervently opposing China is a non-strategic foreign policy anchor and risks denying Americans and the rest of the world desirable results of strategic cooperation in various fields," he said.

The COVID-19 pandemic, according to Adhere, has made it clear that humanity is a community with a shared future.

"The Trump administration should abandon the high horse of American exceptionalism and embrace progressive frameworks of international relations that place a premium on respect for other countries," cooperation and responsibilities, Adhere said. Enditem
Apple and Google yanked Fortnite, one of the worlds most popular video games, from their app stores in an escalating battle over the fees they charge developers to distribute their software and process in-app purchases.

The conflict reflects growing pushback against Apple Inc.s App Store and Alphabet Inc.s Google Play store on how they operate. Other app makers, including Netflix Inc. and Spotify Technology SA, have also butted heads with Apple on developer fees. At stake is a global market for mobile apps that generates roughly $120 billion (U.S.) annually, according to App Annie Inc.

The decisions Thursday from Apple and Google preventing people from downloading or updating the Fortnite app came after the games creator, closely held Epic Games Inc., rolled out a new way of making in-game purchases that circumvents the 30 per cent cut tech giants take from digital transactions within apps. The survival game is free to download but generates revenue through purchases of items such as digital costumes and dance moves for players avatars.

Fortnite, which made its debut in 2017, has more than 350 million registered players worldwide, according to closely held Epic.

Apple and Google said they removed Fortnite because Epics new payments feature violated their policies. Both said they are willing to work with Epic to be able to bring the game back to their stores.

For game developers who choose to use the Play Store, we have consistent policies that are fair to developers and keep the store safe for users, Google said.

Googles decision only affected the games download and updates from the Play Store, but it could still be accessible on Android devices through other marketplaces.

Epics move was seen by many as a declaration of war against Apple and Google.

Epic chief executive Tim Sweeney has waged a years-long public campaign against the App Store and Google Play store, saying their developer fees are exorbitant. On Thursday, Epic released a video parody of Apples 1984 commercial aired nationally during Super Bowl XVIII skewering International Business Machines Corp., and pushed users to promote the hashtag #FreeFortnite across the internet.

We must all choose to fight a painful battle now, or accept an all-powerful middleman with unbounded ambition to extract tribute and limit innovation in the decades to come, Mr. Sweeney said in an interview.

Epic took the additional step of offering players 20 per cent back on their in-game purchases over the past month. The discount was extended to purchases of V-bucks  virtual currency Fortnite players can use for in-game purchases  made on gaming consoles, PCs and Macs.

Epic sued Apple in U.S. District Court in California after Fortnites removal from the App Store, accusing the company of monopolistic behaviour in how it distributes apps to devices and processes payments for digital content. Epic said it isnt seeking monetary damages from Apple but asked the court to issue an injunction to end Apples unreasonable and unlawful practices, according to the complaint. Mr. Sweeney declined to comment on whether Epic would sue Google as well.

Apple, the worlds most valuable company by market capitalization, didnt comment on the lawsuit but did attack Epic for launching the payments feature without its approval.

The fact that their business interests now lead them to push for a special arrangement does not change the fact that these guidelines create a level playing field for all developers and make the store safe for all users, Apple said in a statement.

Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives described Epics action as a bold move and said the company was testing the waters especially in light of the antitrust pressure that Apple has faced from the recent congressional hearings.

If the lawsuit is successful, it would open up a Pandoras box for other app developers to make the same move, Mr. Ives said.

Last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook defended Apples policies on its App Store during a more than five-hour-long congressional hearing with other tech company leaders. Before the hearing, Apple touted economic research it commissioned showing that the fees it collects from developers are in line with those charged by other app stores and videogame marketplaces. Both Apple and Google have argued the fees are necessary because of the services the stores provide, including security and safeguarding user privacy.

The European Union in June opened antitrust probes into Apple to determine whether the companys App Store and Apple Pay service violate competition laws.

Spotify last year filed an antitrust complaint in Europe against Apple accusing the tech giant of abusing the App Store to limit competition against Apple Music. In response to the lawsuit Apple said it wanted apps that compete with its services to thrive and that it approved and distributed app updates that helped expand Spotifys business.

Spotify on Thursday commended Epic for its move, saying, Apples unfair practices have disadvantaged competitors and deprived consumers for far too long.

Originally available only on computers and then consoles, Fortnite surged in users after launching on Apples App Store in 2018. It made its debut on Googles Play store earlier this year after Epic gave up a years-long battle with the company to get permission to include its own payment system inside Fortnite  essentially the step Epic took Thursday. Previously, Fortnite was available on devices running Googles Android operating system independent of Google Play.

The Fortnite app has been installed 133.2 million times on Apple devices since its creation and has produced $1.2 billion in global App Store spending, according to research firm Sensor Tower Inc. Since launching on Google Play in April, the game has been installed roughly 11 million times and has generated nearly $10 million in global spending, the analytics firm said.

For the first seven months of this year, Apples App Store generated nearly $39 billion in global revenue from in-app purchases, subscriptions and premium apps, while Google Play reached almost $21 billion, Sensor Tower said.

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Decks have been cleared for the creation of a new statutory agency for tackling the twin dangers of flood and erosion in the crisis-prone Northeast.

A bill will be tabled in the next session of Parliament for establishing the North East Water Management Authority (NEWMA) which will replace the Brahmaputra Board.

The board, however, will not be dissolved as planned earlier but merged with the new body following certain changes incorporated into NEWMAs charter over the past three months.

The amendments were based on the recommendations of some chief ministers from the Northeast at a conclave in the capital in March ahead of the lockdown.

NEWMA will be a more powerful agency and cooperative body. All the NE states are to be represented in the governing council, said Rajiv Yadav, chairperson of Brahmaputra Board, who has also been tasked to head the executive board of NEWMA as the first chairperson.

With headquarters in Guwahati, NEWMAS objective is to chart a new trajectory in the region by overcoming the hurdles faced by the Brahmaputra Board. It will have a governing council with the minister of Jal Shakti as the chairperson and the post of the vice-chairperson moving in rotation among the Northeast chief ministers in alphabetical order.

NEWMA has been modeled on the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) with the power to raise financial resources for the schemes to be implemented. And similar to NHAI, there will be an executive board for implementation of the projects across the region where the opinion of all the Sixth Schedule Autonomous Councils would be given importance.

The constitution of a more efficient agency in lieu of Brahmaputra Board was mooted one-and-a-half decades ago during the first United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime. But the initiative failed to make headway following opposition from some Northeast states. Arunachal Pradesh, in particular, was apprehensive that such an agency would override its concerns and views on schemes designed to check flood and erosion.

More meetings were convened during the second UPA regime without any result. The project was fast-tracked from 2017 after a high-level committee headed by the vice-chairman of the Niti Aayog submitted a detailed report spelling out the role and function of NEWMA.

Why Was Brahmaputra Board Crippled?

The Brahmaputra Boards failures stem from a combination of factors which was allowed to drag for many years without any ameliorative measures by the government.

It is incredible but true that not a single project begun by the board could actually be completed. The best example is the controversial Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric Project in Arunachal Pradesh where problems faced in land acquisition had put the scheme in limbo for many years till it was handed over to NHPC Ltd.

Officials said that the Brahmaputra Board was unable to forge inter-state cooperation considered imperative for the completion of such jumbo projects. Other states in the region considered the board as being biased in favour of Assam.

During the formative phase after the agency was constituted in 1981, there was a severe crunch of technical manpower since experts were reluctant to shift from other parts of the country to Guwahati due to the disturbed conditions in Assam.

Some former officials of the Brahmaputra Board underscored that it was never granted financial independence. Till 1999, no construction activity was entrusted to the agency. It was tasked to compile reports for multipurpose hydroelectric projects, drainage schemes and preparation of master plans of the Brahmaputra, Barak and other tributaries.

The board was engaged with implementation of projects post 1999 but the quantum of such work was smaller than the schemes executed by the state governments. It could take up only those projects which were requested by the state governments and for which the Centre was willing to provide funds, said former secretary of the Brahmaputra Board DJ Borgohain.

Will NEWMA Be Effective?

For the government, tackling flood and erosion in Assam has meant repetition of the same policies every year  repair of embankments, approaching the Centre for funds and occasionally briefing the media on the controversies that erupt over the allocation and implementation of the schemes.

What is, however, certain is that the situation in Assam and other regions in the Northeast ravaged by flood and erosion have not improved over the past several decades. It has only turned worse with the increase of population and encroachments.

Some experts on these issues are certain that NEWMA could be hamstrung with the same set of problems if the approach and strategy are not amended.

 NEWMA is welcome but we hope it will not end up like the ineffectual Brahmaputra Board. A holistic framework fixated on research and development based on latest solutions should replace the current piecemeal and temporary solutions of Porcupines, geo-bags, etc, used only on guesswork. Capacity building focused on modern advanced technology should pivot the continuing process for the new agency, said Prof Nayan Sharma.

Doubts have also been raised on whether NEWMA would be able to earn revenue since there is hardly any scope to generate income from flood-control and anti-erosion schemes. Income generation could be possible through the hydroelectric projects that have been planned but they could take years to complete given the problem of land acquisition and the long procedure that such projects have to undergo before being executed.

DJ Borgohain is apprehensive that Assam could be deprived of its due if all the states have an equal stake in NEWMA. It is necessary to understand that more than 90 per cent of the flood and erosion problem in the Northeast lies in Assam. Therefore, it appears like an exercise that will enable the government to say Look, we have created NEWMA which will solve your flood and erosion problem. So, it looks like another political move to fool the people for some more time and then blame NEWMA for its failure to deliver, he said.

Borgohain has drawn attention to certain grey areas that could impact the role and function of NEWMA. He explained that most of the projects on flood and erosion are executed by the state governments since water is a state subject. So what will be the role of the state governments now after NEWMA becomes functional? Will water be moved to the central list? he asked.

A few days ago, Assam minister for water resources and science and technology Keshab Mahanta told this correspondent that the 15th Finance Commission had agreed to include the expenditure on anti-erosion projects which means enhanced allocation of funds from the Centre and increase in the schemes undertaken by the state government.

(Rajeev Bhattacharyya is a senior journalist in Guwahati. Views expressed are personal)
M etropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick has denied that the force is institutionally racist.

Britains most senior police officer told Channel 4 News on Thursday that allegations around racism in the Met were not helpful labels for the force.

"We have zero tolerance of racist behaviour within the Met," Dame Cressida said. "Just last week somebody was sacked for racist conduct. And everybody knows that is the case.

"We embraced the challenge, if you like, that was set for us 20 years ago by Sir William Macpherson in the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry in which he came up with a definition of institutional racism.

"I was the person charged with implementing the recommendations and Im very proud of what we did. I think weve come a very, very, very long way."

Dame Cressida said she cared deeply about the investigation into Stephen Lawrence's death / PA

The police chief said she regularly looked for signs of bias in the way the force operated, and that she was "horrified" to discover that black, Asian and minority ethnic staff in the Met were twice as likely to find themselves in a misconduct process.

Dame Cressida also said she also cared deeply about the investigation into Mr Lawrences death.

The 18-year-old was murdered by racists in Eltham, south east London in April 1993.

Two of the killers, Gary Dobson and David Norris, were jailed for murder in 2012, but three remain at large.

She said the investigation would be reviewed every two years to see if there was any further evidence to pursue.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick during events to mark the anniversary of the Paddington rail disaster / PA

"I dont want to hold out false hopes, but it seems to me extremely likely if you look forward, that at some stage we will not be in an inactive phase (of the investigation), Dame Cressida said.

On the issue of police stop and search, she said young black men were "hugely disproportionately stabbed and killed" and "hugely tangled up" in the criminal justice system.

She said police carry out stop and searches in high violence areas to ensure knives were taken off the street, with 4,500 weapons removed last year.

Dame Cressida was also asked about the investigation surrounding American paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and the Duke of Yorks alleged involvement in the case.

She said the focus of the investigation was "clearly" in America, but added the Met would assist US authorities should it be required "at any stage".

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Police Commissioner Cressida Dick / PA

"The locus and focus of any investigation in relation to Jeffrey Epstein for example is clearly in America," Dame Cressida said.

"If the Americans need our assistance at any stage, then we will give them that."

Epstein killed himself last August before facing trial on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.

One of Epsteins victims, Virginia Giuffre, who claims she was trafficked by the financier, alleges Andrew had sex with her on three separate occasions, including when she was 17, still a minor under US law.

The duke categorically denies he had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Ms Giuffre.

Moment Labour MP Dawn Butler was stopped by police

Dame Cressida's comments come after MP Dawn Butler accused officers of racial profiling and said the force was "institutionally racist" after she and her friend were pulled over in Hackney, east London, on Sunday.

The MP for Brent Central, who recorded a video of the incident which was later shared widely on social media, claimed they had been pulled over by officers simply for "being black and driving a nice car".

But Scotland Yard's deputy commissioner Sir Steve House defended the officers' conduct after reviewing the incident, saying they acted "professionally and politely".

He also said it was wrong that officers were facing "trial by social media".

Dawn Butler (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) / Getty Images

Sir Steve's comments echoed those of Metropolitan Police Federation chairman Ken Marsh, who urged force officials to release body-worn camera footage from the officers involved, saying: "We've got nothing to hide".

After the incident, Scotland Yard said the stop was a result of an officer having "incorrectly entered" the car's registration plate into a computer and wrongly identifying it as a vehicle registered to Yorkshire.

The force said that, once the mistake was realised, the officer explained the situation and let the pair go.

Sir Keir Starmer said the Met Police must take allegations of racial profiling "extremely seriously, and that the black community must have "trust and confidence" in the police following the incident.
Have a penchant for squashing bugs? New Jersey is requesting your service.

The New Jersey Department of Agriculture released instructions on Wednesday to slow the spread of the spotted lanternfly, an exotic invasive insect that feeds on 70 different types of plants and trees.

The bug is currently in its full adult stage and will begin laying egg masses in September. If residents notice the grayish putty-like masses, usually attached to trees, they should scrape them off, double bag them and throw them away. Additionally, they can be placed in alcohol, bleach or hand sanitizer.

The NJDA has an instructional video on how to kill the masses as well as a list of treatment options if residents have an infestation on their property.

We have been working diligently to slow the advance of this bug, NJDA Secretary Douglas Fisher said, according to a press release. We are targeting areas where severe infestations have been confirmed, and we also encourage residents to destroy the Spotted Lanternfly if possible when they see it. It will take a combined effort to help keep this pest from spreading.

Native to China and South Korea, the spotted lanternfly arrived to the U.S. in 2014 on a shipment to Berks County, Pennsylvania. After spreading rapidly, Pennsylvania placed 26 counties under quarantine, meaning that businesses, agencies and organizations traveling through the areas must obtain a permit for moving vehicles and products through the zone.

Currently, Mercer, Hunterdon, Warren, Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Somerset counties are under quarantine in New Jersey. All vehicles crossing into the state from Pennsylvania must be inspected, as the bugs are known for hitchhiking on vehicles. Both states want travelers to check any items before they move them out of the quarantine area.

The department is also asking residents outside of the quarantine areas to report sightings by emailing Slf-plantindustry@ag.nj.gov or calling 609-406-6943.

Though the bug does not pose a threat to humans or animals, it is deadly to plants because it feeds and extracts sap, creates wounds in trees, excretes honeydew which builds up sooty mold and impacts the overall quality of outdoor life.

NJDA and USDA crews have worked to control the spread of this invasive pest, Joe Zoltowski, NJDA Plant Industry Division Director, said, according to a press release. Its ability to travel easily on any mode of transportation has allowed it to spread. We are asking residents to do their part by eliminating this bug whenever possible.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Josh Axelrod may be reached at jaxelrod@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
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(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Joe Biden has fulfilled his promise to choose a woman as his running mate. Lets turn our attention to another promise he made: to name a Black woman to the Supreme Court.

A number of women with different kinds of legal experience have been suggested by NGOs and journalists. But to legal insiders, Bidens options narrow down very quickly to two names: Justice Leondra Kruger of the California Supreme Court, and Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of the federal district court in Washington, D.C.

Both are extremely accomplished, with gold-plated resumes that are reminiscent of the justices picked by President Barack Obama, and for that matter by President Donald Trump. Both are also super-smart and well-liked. And realistically, they are the only two Black women who are young enough to serve for the long haul and have the relevant judicial experience to make their confirmation straightforward, even boring  which is just what a nominating president wants.

To be clear, there are many more than two Black women qualified to sit on the court. They include legal activists, law professors, judges and government officials with experience at all levels. And in prior decades, it wasnt unheard of for justices to come from the Senate, the cabinet, or even private corporate law firms. They didnt all have fancy educational backgrounds, either.

But thats changed in recent years, partly as a product of bruising confirmation battles and partly as an effect of elite consensus on what a nominees record should look like. Todays nominees tend to have attended an Ivy League law school; clerked for a Supreme Court justice themselves; and served as a high-level judge by a relatively young age. Thats one reason the possible Biden nominees are, in reality, so few. There are just not that many Black women who both fit that incredibly narrow mold.

With a Democratic Senate  likely the only way Biden could get any nominee confirmed  Biden could try to change the norms and push through someone with a different resume. Yet that sort of risk-taking seems unlikely from Biden, who has just made his VP pick according to the most conventional of conventional wisdom.

Story continues

By pure insider resume standards, Kruger has a slight edge over Jackson. She went to Harvard College and Yale Law School, was editor in chief of the Yale Law Journal, and clerked for Justice John Paul Stevens. She spent six years in the office of the solicitor general, arguing 12 cases before the Supreme Court and rising to acting principal deputy solicitor general, the number two position in the office. She then served in the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department, which, like the SGs office, is a breeding-ground for judges. All that was before she was 40, and shes only 44 now. (Yes, you should be feeling bad about your career accomplishments at this point. I know I am.)

Had Kruger been successfully appointed to the federal appellate bench by Obama, she would basically be the presumptive Supreme Court nominee. But by the time she was even plausibly old enough to be considered for such a spot, back in 2014, Republicans controlled the Senate. Mitch McConnell wasnt likely to let her nomination go through  because he knew perfectly well it would be a decisive step toward getting her on the Supreme Court.

So Governor Jerry Brown of California put her on the state Supreme Court.(1) And there hasnt been a Supreme Court nominee from a state court since Justice Sandra Day OConnor, who was on an Arizona appellate court.

As for Jackson, she also went to Harvard College. (Disclosure: We lived in the same freshman dorm and were friends; she was and is a totally lovely, fun, and brilliant person.) She attended Harvard Law School, was on the Harvard Law Review, and clerked for two distinguished federal judges, Patti Saris and Bruce Selya, before clerking for Justice Stephen Breyer. She worked at the U.S. Sentencing Commission and later became its vice chair. She found time along the way to serve as a public defender in Washington, D.C., and as an appellate lawyer at a prestigious D.C. law firm.

Jackson became a federal judge in 2013. There was no major fight over her nomination, probably because it was for a district court position, which is not the traditional path to the Supreme Court. (Of the current justices, only Justice Sonia Sotomayor was a district court judge, and she followed that with a long stint on the court of appeals.) Shes now just shy of her 50th birthday.

Jacksons national profile rose significantly in 2019 when she presided over a case in which the House Judiciary Committee sought to enforce its subpoena against Donald McGahn, the former White House counsel. Jacksons opinion rejected the Trump administrations claim of absolute immunity and insisted that presidents are not kings. No comparably high-profile case has come before Kruger.

If Biden stays conventional, he will nominate one of these two women. Either would be a stellar choice. Provided the Senate goes Democratic, one will become the first Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court.

(1) That court has become a kind of waiting room for brilliant potential Democratic Supreme Court nominees, including Krugers colleagues Justice Goodwin Liu (whom Obama did try to get on the federal bench, only to be blocked by McConnell)and Justice Tino Cuellar.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Noah Feldman is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and host of the podcast Deep Background. He is a professor of law at Harvard University and was a clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter. His books include The Three Lives of James Madison: Genius, Partisan, President.

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

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Epidemiologists are cautiously optimistic Victorias epidemic has turned a corner after the state posted its lowest number of new infections in weeks.

The state recorded 278 new cases on Thursday, less than half the record total of 725 notched up last Wednesday.

Eight people lost their lives to the virus, bringing the state-wide death toll from the virus to 275. Another 106 healthcare workers also tested positive.

"If you look at the trend over the last seven days or so, these stage four restrictions, as challenging, as heartbreaking [and] as painful as they are, they are working," Premier Daniel Andrews said.
Seeing your ex posting sweet pictures of her new beau is just heartbreaking and annoying at the same time - this is what Brian Austin Green thinks of, looking at all of these sexy Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly pictures all over social media.

The highly-publicized split between Brian Austin Green and Megan Fox has been played out in every detail in the media ever since news broke. This is also thanks to Green's openness to discussing the topic and issues surrounding his personal life on his podcast.

However, an unnamed friend has currently claimed that Green is "annoyed" by the fact that his ex-wife has moved on so quickly and publicly after their split.

The source spoke to People Magazine and revealed, "Brian is annoyed that she is so focused on her relationship with Machine Gun Kelly."

They revealed that Brian Austin Green thinks it's highly disrespectful for her sexy ex-wife Megan Fox to post a bunch of PDA overload pictures all over the internet, as they are still officially and legally married.

"He doesn't understand the need to post social media pictures with silly captions to proclaim her love for him. They aren't divorced yet."

The 47-year-old dad is also reportedly hurt that Megan Fox has moved on so quickly and publicly.

"Megan was always very private, so Brian just doesn't get what changed."

Fox and Green share three kids together, Noah, 7, Bodhi, 6, and Journey, 3.

A few hours after Megan Fox posted a sexy picture on Instagram with Machine Gun Kelly,

Fox captioned the photo, "Achingly beautiful boy... My heart is yours."

A few hours later, king of comeback Brian Austin Green mocked his ex-wife's Instagram post by posting a gallery of pictures of his son Kaissus, 18, and the three kids he shares with Fox.

Green captioned the post, "Achingly beautiful boys... My heart is yours."

Brian Austin Green was previously asked how he found out his estranged wife was dating her new beau.

Speaking on the Hollywood Raw podcast, he responded, "I found out in my own way. And that's as much detail as I'll give you on that one. I didn't read about it or anything like that."

Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green continue to co-parent their kids, and it's going "as well as it can."

"There's no rule book to it. There's no way of doing it right or doing it wrong. We're learning as we go. The important thing for us is just communicating as much as we can."

Their family's new dynamic has also meant being realistic about how their kids will be experiencing.

Green explained that it's up to the parents to give realistic views for the kids on how separations and divorce will affect the kids, saying, "Whether it's a really negative experience for them or it's okay, and they feel safe in it, and they feel loved."

Explaining to his kids what happened to their marriage, he said, "Everyone still loves and respects everyone, things are just being different. It's not bad, and it's just different."

READ MORE: Jessica Mulroney Returns: Host Stole Meghan Markle's Thunder On the Day of 'Finding Freedom' Release
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Tata Steel reported a higher than expected consolidated net loss of Rs 4,609.17 crore for the quarter ended June 20, 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns affected the steelmaker's sales volume, mix and realisation. The Indian steel major had posted a net profit of Rs 695.19 crore in the year-ago period.

It was the third straight quarter of losses for the company. Tata Steel saw a net loss of Rs 1,095.68 crore in the March quarter, which grew to Rs 1,229 crore in the September quarter.

Tata Steel's gross sales slipped 27.54 per cent during Q1 FY21 to Rs 23,812.50 crore from Rs 35,382.16 crore in Q1 FY20. Total revenue from operations fell 32.43 per cent to Rs 24,288.51 crore in the quarter under review from Rs 35,947.11 crore during the corresponding quarter in the last fiscal.

ALSO READ: Tata Steel and its same old plans to turn around Corus

The company said that it had to scale down its manufacturing and distribution operations for a considerable period during the June quarter. "Though, the operations resumed during the later part of the quarter with limited availability of workforce and disrupted supply chain, the restrictions imposed adversely impacted the Group's sales volume, mix and realisation," Tata Steel said in a filing to the exchanges.

The Indian steelmaker reported Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) of Rs 1,455 crore for June quarter this fiscal, as opposed to Rs 5,117 crore in the same period last year. Production declined to 2.99 million tonnes in Q1 FY21 from 4.5 million tonnes in Q1 FY20.

Tata Steel said that it is continuously monitoring changes in future economic conditions while taking steps to improve operational efficiencies and financial outcome. Based on assessed potential impact on steel demand due to COVID-19 by Tata Steel Europe (TSE), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Steel, the outlook for its UK operation is expected to be adversely impacted with respect to its ability to continue as a going concern and meet its liquidity requirements, the company said.

"In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, TSE as a whole including Tata Steel UK Limited (TSUK) continues to implement various measures aimed at conserving cash including but not limited to deferral of capital expenditures, reduction in administrative expenses, use of non-recourse securitisation programmes, seeking government-backed funding, etc," the company stated.

TSE's performance was affected with the overall weakness in economic activities in Europe and sharp drop in spreads. The company did receive short support from the UK and Netherlands governments, including cash flow deferrals of payables.

ALSO READ: Tata Steel offers British taxpayers 50% share in Port Talbot plant

Tata Steel said that its operating level has recovered to 90 per cent by June-end and has since then increased further to 95 per cent, catering to both domestic and export customers. The company said that it has been reducing its exports ratio with improvement in the domestic market.

"India average steel realizations were lower due to the COVID impact during the quarter and about Rs 2,000 crore of costs were under absorbed due to the lower volumes and have been charged to the profit and loss account. Despite the drop in margins, there was a reduction in net debt of Rs 1,677 crore in India, including a reduction of Rs 577 crore and Rs 291 crore, respectively at Tata Steel BSL and Tata Steel Long Products," the company said.

In view of the uncertain economic environment, Tata Steel said that it has built up a liquidity buffer of Rs 20,144 crore, including Rs 14,178 crore of cash and cash equivalents. To preserve cash flows and focus on disciplined capital allocation, the company has curtailed its growth capital expenditure for this year and will be focussing primarily on safety environment and sustenance capital expenditure.

"During the quarter, we recalibrated our operations and our sales across geographies in line with underlying regulatory and market conditions. While this had an adverse impact on our volumes and our margins, we were successful in mitigating the impact as we pivoted the business towards export markets and successfully generated free cashflows despite adverse market conditions," said Tata Steel CEO TV Narendran. "While the risk of further COVID-19 outbreaks remains, we are cautiously optimistic that the worst is behind us. We continued to remain extremely focused on cashflows and liquidity management through this crisis."

ALSO READ: Tata Motors' credit rating reaffirmed by CARE Ratings across bank facilities, retail borrowing
She turned 23 on Monday, and by the looks of it, Kylie Jenner is turning her birthday into one week-long luxury celebration.

On Thursday, the make-up mogul shared more envy-inducing Instagram snaps of her getaway to Turks and Caicos, where she is believed to have traveled to on her private jet.

The trip goes against the current ban in California on non-essential travel, which is set in place to aid cutting down the risk of catching and spreading coronavirus amid the global pandemic.

In a state of heady bliss: Kylie Jenner strips off for a bubble bath outside as she breaks non-essential travel ban for luxury birthday trip to Turks and Caicos on Thursday

California's guidelines for travel currently reads: 'You can travel for urgent matters or if such travel is essential to your permitted work,' adding: 'Even though businesses around the state are opening up, avoid traveling long distances for vacations or pleasure as much as possible. This is to slow the spread of the coronavirus.'

However, rules and regulations appeared to be the last thing on Kylie's mind as she looked to be in a state of bliss, while stripping down to pose in a bubble bath outdoors.

The reality star - who shares two-year-old daughter Stormi Webster with rapper Travis Scott - has been posting a number of sexy snaps for her millions of adoring fans.

Judging by various social media posts, it appears Kylie is on vacay with sisters Khloe Kardashian and Kendall Jenner as well as Stormi, and her BFF Anastasia Karanikolaou, aka Stassie Baby.

Letting her hair down: Kylie, 23, appeared to be in relaxation mode on her cheeky getaway despite there being a ban on all non essential travel in California

She thanked Balmain designer Olivier Rousteing for gifting her a special dress for her birthday yesterday, saying 'thank you my love... for the most perfect bday dress,' adding: 'Best way to bring in 23.'

In a colorful design, the designer dress featured a low-neckline, lined with large blue gems, that she pushed against her chest.

It seemed to be perfectly tailored to Kylie's hourglass curves, cinched at her wrist and it hung perfectly on her body.

Hair raising: Kylie certainly caught the attention of her fans with this birthday snap

Busting out poses: The beauty showed off the lavish looking ensemble

Busty: Kylie showed off her assets in the top

Getaway: The reality TV star posed on a white stone staircase outside of the tropical vacation home she is renting after jet setting out of LA

Large black gems lined the straps and created a divide down the center of her body.

Earlier on Wednesday, Kylie had mini-me daughter Stormi, two, at her side during a breathtaking visit to the beach.

The mother and daughter looked simply radiant as they stared into the sunset and held hands in the snapshot.

Dream like: Kylie's sister Kendall also posted this shot, proving she is part of Kylie's birthday party crew

Jenner oozed Grecian goddess vibes while wearing a long white dress with a high ponytail.

Little Stormi was dressed to match in her own girly version of the flowing frock.

Though their dresses swept to the ground, the girls waded into the water and let the ocean wash over their feet.

Nature's beauty: Earlier on Wednesday, Kylie had mini-me daughter Stormi, two, at her side during a breathtaking visit to the beach

Wow: On her Instagram Story she shared a quick clip of the waves rolling, writing 'Best way to bring in 23' in the bottom corner

'No place id rather be,' Kylie wrote in the caption.

On her Instagram Story she shared a quick clip of the waves rolling, writing 'Best way to bring in 23' in the bottom corner.

Stormi's dad Travis Scott was not along for the trip.
By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Transportation said on Thursday it will suspend private charter flights to Cuba to increase U.S. economic pressure on the Cuban government.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote on Twitter that he had sought the suspension of "private charter flights between the U.S. and Cuba."

"The Castro regime uses tourism and travel funds to finance its abuses and interference in Venezuela. Dictators cannot be allowed to benefit from U.S. travel," he wrote.

The order suspends all charter flights between the United States and all airports in Cuba, except for authorized public charters to and from Havana and other authorized charter flights for emergency medical purposes, search and rescue, and other travel deemed in the U.S. interest.

For most existing charter flights, the suspension becomes effective on Oct. 13. The order was issued on the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro's birthday, one U.S. official noted.

In May, the Transportation Department imposed a cap on charter flights to Cuba at 3,600 per year.

That action capped charter flights at about 2019 levels, preventing any increase. The United States last October banned regularly scheduled flights to all Cuban cities except Havana. In January, the Transportation Department barred charter to flights to any Cuban airports except Havana.

Trump has clamped down on Cuba following the historic move by Democratic predecessor Barack Obama to reopen U.S.-Cuba ties.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Jonathan Oatis)
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
This article is part of the Free Speech Project , a collaboration between Future Tense and the Tech, Law, & Security Program at American University Washington College of Law that examines the ways technology is influencing how we think about speech.

Last October, a neo-Nazi livestreamed his attack on a synagogue in Halle, Germany. The video of the shooting, which killed two people, stayed on Twitch for more than an hour before it was removed. Thats long enough for a recording to go viralbut it never did. While users downloaded it and passed it around less moderated platforms, such as Telegram, the recording was stopped in its tracks on the major platforms: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube. The reason, Vice reported, is that Twitch was quick to share digital fingerprints, or hashes, of the video and its copies with these platforms and others. All Twitch had to do was upload the hashes to the database of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism, or, as its been called, the most underrated project in the future of free speech.

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The GIFCT has gone largely unnoticed by the public since it was established in 2017 by Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, and YouTube. One reason is that what it does is complicated. (Another may be its terrible acronym that no one can remember or pronounce, says Daphne Keller, director of the Program on Platform Regulation at Stanfords Cyber Policy Center.) Yet while onlookers pay close attention to Facebooks Oversight Board, or its civil rights audit, or Twitters warning labels on President Donald Trumps tweets, the GIFCT is making some of the most consequential decisions in online speech governance without the scrutiny of the public.

The GIFCT started as an industry response to pressures from governments, and especially from European Union legislators, to assume greater responsibility in countering terrorism online after attacks in Paris and Brussels. The basic goal was to coordinate content removal across different services. So together, the tech giants set content norms by creating a hash database of what they consider violent terrorist imagery and propaganda. This database, which serves as a kind of blacklist, helps other member sitesmany with modest content teamsmoderate their own platforms. At least 11 companies are members of the GIFCT, and an additional 13, including small operations such as Justpaste.it, have access to its database. Other than this basic structure, however, the inner workings of the GIFCT are opaque. Even as the coalition transitions to an independent organization, we still dont know how individual platforms use the database. Are uploads blocked immediately? Do the platforms check each piece of content? Its unclear.

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At its best, a coalition like the GIFCT can serve as a way for services to leverage resources to counter extremist content. And since the GIFCT includes smaller platforms, it may allow those platforms to regulate content that would otherwise skate by unnoticed. The GIFCT also embraces a multistakeholder approachsomething thats often accepted as best practice in internet policymakingin its recently established Independent Advisory Committee, which includes members from civil society, governments, and intergovernmental bodies.

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Yet the GIFCTs potential dangers, which were apparent to researchers from its inception, are just as clear. And they stem from the same places as its potential.

The GIFCTs structure typifies what Evelyn Douek, a doctoral student at Harvard Law School and affiliate at Harvards Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, has termed content cartels, or arrangements between platforms to work together to remove content or actors from their services without adequate oversight. Many of the problems with the GIFCTs arrangement lie in its opacity. None of the content decisions are transparent, and researchers dont have access to the hash database. As Keller recently laid out, the GIFCT sets the rules for violent extremist speech in private, so it defines what is and isnt terrorist content without accountability. Thats a serious problem, in part because content moderation mistakes and biases are inevitable. The GIFCT may very well be blocking satire, reporting on terrorism, and documentation of human rights abuses.

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All of this isnt so different from what platforms do every day, free from constitutional or democratic legal restraints, but its far more impactful, as the GIFCTs content decisions flow from large platforms to smaller ones. This dynamic isnt inherently problematic. In an ideal world, according to Keller, platforms would share the ability to find and assess content, while the actual judgments and enforcement of a speech policy would fall to each platform. In theory, GIFCT should enable that because it doesnt force platforms to automatically take down whatever it flags, said Keller, but it so far doesnt. Realistically, small platforms end up following the content recommendations handed down to them, since they dont have the resources to reevaluate content that may be flagged for review.

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Now, those concerns are compounded by the risks of extralegal censorship. Spurred by the Christchurch Call, a political summit of countries and tech companies to combat terrorist content online after the New Zealand mosque shootings, the GIFCT announced in 2019 that it would overhaul its internal structure. One component of that, the Independent Advisory Committee, includes government officials from Canada, France, Japan, Kenya, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Again, in theory the inclusion of government would make the GIFCTs work more democratically accountable. Yet it could also be an opportunity, as Emma Llanso, the director of the Free Expression Project at the Center for Democracy and Technology, said, for governments to have just as much power as they usually do and none of the accountability. On July 30, the Center for Democracy and Technology joined 14 other human rights and digital rights organizations in a letter to Nick Rasmussen, the new executive director of the GIFCT, that outlined concerns about the coalitions lack of transparency and its use of government participation. Counter-terrorism programs and surveillance have violated the rights of Muslims, Arabs, and other groups around the world, and have been used by governments to silence civil society, the letter states. We want to ensure that the boundaries between content moderation and counter terrorism are clear.

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Government participation in the GIFCT is a sort of Pandoras box. First, theres the question of whether platforms will decide to add content to the hash database under pressure from a government. Theres also the issue of governments looking to voluntary industry bodies like the GIFCT in the future to push for censorship that wouldnt be lawful to pursue otherwise. Even government officials with the best of intentions, Llanso said, will likely face tensions between their work on the GIFCT and what their governments are doing in, say, national legislative processesespecially if theyre considering an online hate speech law, such as Germanys Network Enforcement Act in 2017. Perhaps most importantly, added Llanso, this entanglement leaves us with a troubling question: How do people hold either the government or the companies accountable for the decisions that the GIFCT makes?

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Despite these criticisms of the GIFCT, few seem to think its irredeemable. One general consensus is that the organization and its practices would be far more trustworthy if it heeded calls for transparency. In July, the GIFCT did release a transparency report, which details new initiatives that Keller finds promising, such as a tool that allows platforms to say that an image, video, or URL should not be in the database. That could be useful with parody, news content, or borderline content. But many fundamental aspects of the GIFCT remain unknown. Kellers transparency wish list includes granting researchers access to copies of the actual content that the GIFCT blocks, which would then allow researchers to assess bias and mistakes, and to release information about whether a user is notified (and given the chance to appeal) when the hash database blocks their content. Llanso, meanwhile, wants to know what exactly the Independent Advisory Committee doesand to ensure that it remains truly advisory.

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Without these changes, among others, researchers and civil rights advocates cant help but feel disappointment at the missed opportunity for the public to weigh in at a crucial moment in the formation of a new, semiprivate system of online speech governance. Decisionsabout internal governance, about content moderationare clearly being made behind closed doors, rather than through open, transparent, multistakeholder discussions. I feel like the evolution of GIFCT is a real illustration of just how slippery terms like platform responsibility or platform accountability turn out to be in practice, Keller said. When politicians demand initiatives like the GIFCT, she continued, it appears as though democratic governments are forcing platforms to act justly and lawfully. But thats not what its turned out to mean at all in practice, said Keller. In practice, it meant that four platforms got together and made this totally opaque, really powerful system thats applying rules that arent the law  to control online speech.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
INTRODUCTION Chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, neurological disorders, autoimmune disorders and various types of cancer, are known to be the leading causes of death and disability across the world.

New York, Aug. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Large Volume Wearable Injectors Market (5th Edition), 2020-2030: Focus on Bolus, Basal and Continuous Delivery Devices" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05950924/?utm_source=GNW

The clinical conditions associated with these diseases affect patients overall quality of life. In fact, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 50% of the global population is currently estimated to be suffering from at least one chronic disease. The past few years have witnessed introduction of several innovative pharmaceutical interventions for the treatment of a number of such diseases. However, majority of the available treatment options require parenteral administration of the drug, frequent dosing, and involve repeated hospital visits. Treatment administration via the parenteral route is also associated with various concerns, such as dosing errors, risk of microbial contamination and needlestick injuries. These are known to be the primary factors affecting medication adherence and, thereby, have a significant impact on therapeutic outcomes. Over the past few years, a number of companies have developed advanced therapeutic delivery solutions (such as autoinjectors, pen injectors, prefilled syringes) to overcome the challenges associated with the administration of both conventional and novel drug / therapy molecules. In fact, these drug delivery devices can prove to be potential vehicles for drug administration in disease outbreaks / pandemics (such as the one being faced due to the novel corona virus / COVID-19). Amongst modern drug delivery practices, the concept of self-injection has facilitated the administration of medications outside the clinical setting. Such practices also allow reductions in healthcare costs and enable the optimal usage of healthcare resources.



Specifically, large volume wearable injectors used for subcutaneous drug delivery, have become a preferred choice for administration of drugs in the home-care setting. Variants of these wearable devices have been designed to administer highly viscous drugs (such as biologics) in large volumes (more than 1 mL), offering numerous dosing options (basal, bolus or continuous), integrated safety mechanisms, and an almost negligible risk of needlestick injuries. Such devices have captured the interest of several stakeholders in this industry and are being used for the administration of both insulin and non-insulin drugs. The field is presently witnessing a lot of innovation, such as the development of integrated mobile applications with smart health monitoring, artificial intelligence algorithms and other interesting features (including provisions for reminders, and the ability to connect to web-based portals for sharing medical data with the concerned healthcare providers), visual / audible drug delivery confirmation notifications, automatic drug reconstitution, and error alerts. We believe that such efforts are likely to drive growth in this market over the coming years.



SCOPE OF THE REPORT

The Large Volume Wearable Injectors Market (5th Edition), 2020-2030: Focus on Bolus , Basal and Continuous Delivery Devices report features an extensive study of the current market landscape and the likely future evolution of these self-injection devices, over the next ten years. It specifically lays emphasis on the emergence of patient-centric, convenient, cost-effective and user-friendly wearable drug delivery solutions that are capable of administering large volumes of a drug subcutaneously, in the home-care setting. Amongst other elements, the report includes:

- An overview of current market landscape of the large volume wearable injectors available for delivery of insulin and non-insulin drugs, providing information on status of development and device specifications, such as type of device (patch pump / injector and infusion pump / injector), type of dose administered (basal, bolus and others), route of administration (subcutaneous and others), mode of injection (needle, needle / cannula and needle / catheter), storage capacity of the device, actuation mechanism (electromechanical, rotary pump, cell / expanded battery, pressurized gas, osmotic pressure and others), usability (disposable and reusable), availability of prefilled drug reservoir and availability of device connectivity. The report also features additional information on availability of prefilled insulin cartridges, availability of continuous glucose monitoring / blood glucose monitoring (CGM / BGM) systems, availability of Automated Insulin Delivery feature and type of remote control features (control within device / personal diabetes manager (PDM) / smartphone) in the insulin delivery devices.

- A detailed competitiveness analysis of large volume wearable injectors based on various relevant parameters, such as supplier power (based on the experience / expertise of the developer) and product specifications (type of device, type of dose, storage capacity of the device, usability, route of administration, connectivity and availability of a continuous glucose monitoring / blood glucose monitoring (CGM / BGM) systems (in case of insulin devices).

- Elaborate profiles of the prominent companies that develop large volume wearable injectors. Each company profile features a brief overview of the company, its financial information (if available), information on its product portfolio, recent developments and an informed future outlook. Additionally, the report includes tabulated profiles of wearable drug device combination products.

- An analysis of the partnerships that have been inked by the stakeholders in this domain, during the period between 2015 and 2020, covering acquisitions, product development agreements, product integration agreements, technology integration agreements, distribution and supply agreements, commercialization agreements, clinical trial agreements, licensing agreements, manufacturing agreements, service agreements, and other relevant types of deals.

- A detailed analysis on acquisition targets, taking into consideration the historical trend of the activity of the companies that have acquired other firms since 2000, and offering a means for other industry stakeholders to identify potential acquisition targets.

- An in-depth analysis of the various patents that have been submitted / filed related to large volume wearable injectors over the last three decades. It also highlights the key parameters associated with the patents, including information on patent type, issuing authority / patent offices involved, Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) symbols, emerging areas (in terms of number of patents filed / granted), company type and leading industry, non-industry and individual patent assignees (in terms of size of intellectual property portfolio).

- A list of marketed drugs / therapies and pipeline candidates that are likely to be developed in combination with large volume wearable injectors in the near future, identified on the basis of an in-depth analysis of potential candidates, taking into consideration multiple parameters, such as stage of development, dosage, dose concentration, route of administration, type of dose and drug sales (in case of marketed drugs).

- A social media analysis depicting prevalent and emerging trends, and the popularity of large volume wearable injectors, as observed on the social media platform, Twitter. The analysis was based on tweets posted on the platform in the last few years.

- A detailed analysis of completed, ongoing and planned clinical trials of various large volume wearable injector products based on the various relevant parameters, such as trial registration year, current trial phase, trial status, study design, study focus, targeted therapeutic area and clinical outcomes.

- A case study on the role of contract manufacturing organizations in the overall manufacturing process / supply chain of wearable injectors. It includes information on the services provided by contract service providers for manufacturing of various device components (primary containers), infusion sets, adhesives, closures and injection moldings.

- An elaborate discussion on the various guidelines established by major regulatory bodies for medical device approval across North America (the US, Canada and Mexico), Europe (the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific and rest of the world (Australia, Brazil, China, India, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand). The report also features an insightful multi-dimensional, heat map analysis, featuring a comparison of the contemporary regulatory and reimbursement scenarios in key geographies across the globe.



One of the key objectives of the report was to estimate the existing market size and potential future growth opportunities for large volume wearable injectors. Based on parameters, such as the number of commercialized devices, number of devices under development, price of the device and the annual adoption rate, we have provided an informed estimate on the likely evolution of the market over the period 2020-2030. The report also features sales forecasts for the overall large volume wearable injectors market with a detailed market segmentation on the [A] type of device (patch pump, injector and infusion pump and injector), [B] usability (reusable and disposable), [C] therapeutic area (neurological disorders, cardiovascular disorders, infectious disease, oncological disorders and others) and [D] key geographies (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and rest of the world). In order to account for future uncertainties and to add robustness to our model, we have provided three market forecast scenarios namely the conservative, base and optimistic scenarios, which represent different tracks of the industrys evolution.



The opinions and insights presented in this study were influenced by discussions conducted with several stakeholders in this domain. The report features detailed transcripts of interviews held with the following individuals:

- Mark Banister (CEO, Medipacs / RxActuator)

- Michael Hooven (CEO, Enable Injections)

- Jesper Roested (CEO, Subcuject)

- Pieter Muntendam (former President and CEO, scPharmaceuticals)

- Menachem Zucker (VP and Chief Scientist, Elcam Medical)

- Graham Reynolds (VP and GM, Biologics, West Pharmaceutical Services)

- Mindy Katz (Director of Product, Sorrel Medical)



All actual figures have been sourced and analyzed from publicly available information forums and primary research discussions. Financial figures mentioned in this report are in USD, unless otherwise specified.



RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The data presented in this report has been gathered via secondary and primary research. For all our projects, we conduct interviews with experts in the area (academia, industry, medical practice and other associations) to solicit their opinions on emerging trends in the market. This is primarily useful for us to draw out our own opinion on how the market will evolve across different regions and technology segments. Where possible, the available data has been checked for accuracy from multiple sources of information.

The secondary sources of information include

- Annual reports

- Investor presentations

- SEC filings

- Industry databases

- News releases from company websites

- Government policy documents

- Industry analysts views



While the focus has been on forecasting the market till 2030, the report also provides our independent view on various non-commercial trends emerging in the industry. This opinion is solely based on our knowledge, research and understanding of the relevant market gathered from various secondary and primary sources of information.



KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED

- Who are the leading large volume wearable device developers?

- What are the prevalent trends within competitive landscape of large volume wearable injectors for delivery of non-insulin drugs?

- What are the prevalent trends within competitive landscape of large volume wearable injectors for delivery of insulin?

- What are the types of drug candidates that are suited for delivery via large volume wearable injectors?

- Who are the key contract service providers involved in this domain?

- What are medical device regulations across different regions?

- How is the current and future market opportunity likely to be distributed across key market segments?



CHAPTER OUTLINES

Chapter 2 provides an executive summary of the insights captured in our research. It offers a high-level view on the current state of the large volume wearable injectors market in the short-mid-term and long term.



Chapter 3 provides a general introduction to large volume wearable injectors, highlighting the growing demand for medical devices that enable self-administration. The chapter lays emphasis on the need for such devices, in terms of the rising incidence and prevalence of chronic diseases. Additionally, it provides an overview of the different types of self-injection devices available in the market, listing their various advantages. It also features a brief discussion on the concerns related to the use of such devices.



Chapter 4 presents information on the large volume wearable injectors that are capable of delivering drugs and drug device combinations designed for delivery of specific drugs. In addition, the chapter includes a detailed analysis of these injector devices based on the status of development, type of device (patch pump / injector and infusion pump / injector), type of dose administered (basal, bolus and others), route of administration (subcutaneous and others), mode of injection (needle, needle / cannula and needle / catheter), storage capacity of the device, actuation mechanism (electromechanical, rotary pump, cell / expanded battery, pressurized gas, osmotic pressure and others), usability (disposable and reusable), availability of prefilled drug reservoir and availability of device connectivity. In addition, the chapter provides a list of the large volume wearable injectors for delivery of insulin, along with the information on the aforementioned parameters and availability of prefilled insulin cartridges, availability of CGM / BGM systems, availability of Automated Insulin Delivery Feature and type of remote control features (control within device / PDM / smartphone).



Chapter 5 presents a detailed competitiveness analysis of large volume wearable injectors based on the supplier power and key product specifications. The analysis was designed to enable stakeholder companies to compare their existing capabilities within and beyond their respective peer groups and identify opportunities to achieve a competitive edge in the industry.



Chapter 6 provides detailed profiles of the key players that develop large volume wearable injectors. Each profile presents a brief overview of the company, financial information (if available), product portfolio, recent developments and an informed future outlook.



Chapter 7 provides tabulated profiles of drug device combination products. Each profile includes drug specifications, mechanism of action, current status of development, dosage and sales information.



Chapter 8 features an in-depth analysis and discussion on the various partnerships inked between the players in this market in the time period between 2015 and 2020, covering acquisitions, product development agreements, product integration agreements, technology integration agreements, distribution and supply agreements, commercialization agreements, clinical trial agreements, licensing agreements, manufacturing agreements, service agreements, and other relevant types of deals.



Chapter 9 provides a detailed acquisition target analysis, taking into consideration the historical trend of the activity of the companies that have acquired other firms since 2015, and offering a means for other industry stakeholders to identify potential acquisition targets.



Chapter 10 provides an in-depth patent analysis, presenting an overview of the filed / granted patents related to wearable injectors for the delivery of drugs in large volumes. For this analysis, we looked at the patents that have been published by various players over the last three decades. The analysis highlights the key information and trends associated with these patents, including patent type (granted patents, patent applications and others), patent publication year, issuing authority / patent offices involved, CPC symbols, emerging focus areas, type of players (industry and non-industry players) and the leading industry players, non-industry players and individual patent assignees. The chapter also includes a patent benchmarking analysis and patent valuation analysis.



Chapter 11 presents a list of marketed and pipeline molecules that are likely to be considered for delivery via large volume wearable injectors in the future, identified on the basis of an analysis of the potential candidates, taking into consideration the various parameters, such as stage of development, dosage, dose concentration, route of administration, type of dose and drug sales (in case of marketed drugs). For the purpose of this analysis, we collated a list of over 100 top-selling marketed drugs, which were initially screened on the basis of route of administration (subcutaneous / intramuscular / intravenous). Additionally, we compiled a list of pipeline molecules that are being investigated for delivery via the aforementioned routes. The likelihood of delivery via a large volume wearable injector in the future was estimated using the weighted average method.



Chapter 12 provides insights on the popularity of large volume wearable injectors on the social media platform, Twitter. The chapter highlights the yearly distribution of tweets posted on the platform and the most significant events responsible for increase in the volume of tweets each year. Additionally, the chapter showcases the most frequently mentioned keywords / phrases and social media activity of the most popular players with the comparison of the tweets associated with their product. It also presents a bubble analysis of the most influential authors related to large volume wearable injectors on Twitter.



Chapter 13 presents a comprehensive clinical trial analysis of the complete and active studies being conducted to evaluate the combinations of drugs and large volume wearable injectors based on the various parameters, such as trial registration year, current trial phase, current trial status, study design, study focus, targeted therapeutic area and clinical endpoints.



Chapter 14 includes a brief case study on the role of contract manufacturing organizations in the overall manufacturing process / supply chain of a wearable injector. It includes information on the services provided by such organizations for manufacturing of device components (primary containers), infusion sets, adhesives, closures and injection moldings. In addition, it includes a schematic world map representation highlighting the location of the CMOs and their device manufacturing service portfolio.



Chapter 15 features a discussion on the various guidelines established by major regulatory bodies for medical device approvals across North America (the US, Canada and Mexico), Europe (the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific and rest of the world (Australia, Brazil, China, India, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand). The report also features an insightful multi-dimensional heat map analysis, featuring a comparison of the contemporary regulatory and reimbursement scenarios in key geographies across the globe.



Chapter 16 presents an insightful market forecast analysis, highlighting the future potential of large volume wearable injectors (for delivery of non-insulin drugs) till the year 2030. We have segregated the opportunity on the basis of the type of device (patch pump, injector and infusion pump and injector), usability (reusable and disposable), key therapeutic areas (neurological disorders, cardiovascular disorders, infectious disease, oncological disorders and others) and key geographies (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and rest of the world). In addition, the chapter presents an opportunity analysis of the market for large volume wearable injectors for delivery of insulin, till the year 2030.



Chapter 17 presents a detailed discussion on the future opportunities of wearable injectors for large volume drug delivery. It also highlights the key parameters and trends that are likely to influence the future of this market, under a detailed SWOT framework.



Chapter 18 is a collection of interview transcripts of the discussions held with key stakeholders in this market. In this chapter, we have presented the details of interviews held with Mark Banister (CEO, Medipacs), Michael Hooven (CEO, Enable Injections), Jesper Roested (CEO, Subcuject), Pieter Muntendam (former President and CEO, scPharmaceuticals), Menachem Zucker (VP and Chief Scientist, Elcam Medical), Graham Reynolds (VP and GM, Biologics, West Pharmaceutical Services) and Mindy Katz (Director of Product, Sorrel Medical)



Chapter 19 is an appendix, which provides tabulated data and numbers for all the figures included in the report.



Chapter 20 is an appendix, which contains a list of companies and organizations mentioned in this report.

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05950924/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



__________________________

Story continues

CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001




Calendar items may be sent to calendar@martinsvillebulletin.com, brought to the office at 204 Broad St., Martinsville or mailed to P.O. Box 3711, Martinsville, VA, 24112. Dates and times must be included. Recurring events are published in Sundays edition. To see a complete calendar, visit www.martinsvillebulletin.com.

FRIDAY

 Blood Drive held at Blackberry Baptist Church, 3241 Stone Dairy Road, Bassett, at 1-6 p.m. For information, call 1-800-733-2767 to schedule an appointment.

 MHC Coalition for Health and Wellness offers a no-contact application assistance for Virginias free or low-cost Medicaid plans for adults ages 19-64. Call or text Ann Walker at 276-732-0509. Questions can be answered and applications completed by phone.

 Martinsville Henry County Chamber of Commerce meets at 9 a.m. virtually, with featured speaker U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Salem) of the Ninth Congressional District. RSVP to mhccoc@mhcchamber.com to reserve a space and receive event link.

 Stuart Farmers Market is now open for on-site shopping at 8 a.m.-noon. No sales before 8 a.m. For more information, check out the Stuart Farmers Market Facebook page or call 276-694-3811.

SATURDAY

 Fish Fry drive-thru held at The American Legion Homer Dillard Post 78, 139 Creekside Drive, Martinsville, at 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Available will be fish sandwiches ($5) and drinks ($1). Customers must remain in their car to place orders. You may call 276-673-7663 to place an order.

 First United Methodist Church Food Bank, sponsored by church members, Morningstar Foundation and Food Lion, is at 8-11 a.m. each third Saturday at 145 E. Main St., in the parking lot beside Ranias Restaurant. Each family will receive meat, apples, carrots, etc.

 Martinsville Farmers Market is open at 8 a.m.-noon through Nov. 14 at the corner of Moss and West Church streets in uptown Martinsville. Vendors are required to wear face coverings and sanitize their hands between each transaction. Social distancing is required. Orders remain available via martinsvilleuptown.net and the markets Facebook page. Some portion of the parking lots will be closed.

MONDAY

 MHC Coalition for Health and Wellness offers a no-contact application assistance for Virginias free or low-cost Medicaid plans for adults ages 19-64. Call or text Ann Walker at 276-732-0509. Questions can be answered and applications completed by phone.

 Harvest Foundation/United Way food box distribution for residents of Martinsville-Henry County will be at 9 a.m.-noon with volunteers delivering boxes to vehicles. Each person receives one box per month. Distribution sites are: Henry County Food Pantry, 3321 Fairystone Park Highway, Bassett; Grace Network of Martinsville-Henry County, 16 Liberty St., Ext., Martinsville; Salvation Army, 603 Memorial Blvd., South, Martinsville; and The Community Fellowship, 2674 Virginia Ave., Collinsville; Moral Hill Missionary Baptist Church, 50 Moral Hill Drive, Axton.

TUESDAY

 Drug-Free MHC meets at noon via zoom. For information, tpanos@piedmontcsb.org or 276-201-2382.

WEDNESDAY

 Uptown Martinsville Farmers Market is open from 8 a.m. to noon through Sept. 30. SNAP and EBT payments are accepted. It is located at 65 W. Main St.

THURSDAY

Aug. 20

 Studio with Karen Despot is at 1:30-4:30 p.m. at Piedmont Arts. Bring your own supplies. Cost is $30 for members; $35 for nonmembers. Advance registration required at PiedmontArts.org or call 276-632-3221.

 Clyde Hooker Awards will be presented at 5:30 p.m. at Piedmont Arts. Free admission. Please RSVP attendance at Piedmontarts.org. Face coverings are required, and 6-foot distancing will be observed.

FRIDAY

 MHC Coalition for Health and Wellness offers a no-contact application assistance for Virginias free or low-cost Medicaid plans for adults ages 19-64. Call or text Ann Walker at 276-732-0509. Questions can be answered and applications completed by phone.

 Stuart Farmers Market is now open for on-site shopping at 8 a.m.-noon. No sales before 8 a.m. For more information, check out the Stuart Farmers Market Facebook page or call 276-694-3811.
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Digital Editor
YBO - Yen Bai province attended a national video conference on the implementation of a plan to enforce the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) on August 6, during which it defined that the implementation roadmap will be divided into two phases.

Vice Chairman of the Yen Bai provincial Peoples Committee Nguyen Chien Thang and leaders of sectors attend the national video conference.

In the first phase (2020), the province will review legal documents, issue documents on the enforcement of the agreement, and raise awareness of local businesses and people of the necessity and benefits of the deal.





In the second phase from 2021-2025, Yen Bai will focus on inspecting the implementation of the EVFTA at relevant departments, sectors and units, and building support programmes to improve its national competitiveness.





The provinces commodities that hold potential for export include garment and textiles, wood and wood products, vegetables and fruits, processed farm produce, and those related to mineral processing./.




By Josh Smith

SEOUL, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Satellite imagery suggests recent flooding in North Korea may have damaged pump houses connected to the country's main nuclear facility, a U.S.-based think-tank said on Thursday.

Analysts at 38 North, a website that monitors North Korea, said commercial satellite imagery from August 6-11 showed how vulnerable the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center's nuclear reactor cooling systems are to extreme weather events.

The Korean peninsula has been hammered by one of the longest rainy spells in recent history, with floods and landslides causing damage and deaths in both North and South Korea.

Located on the bank of the Kuryong River about 100 km (60 miles) north of North Koreas capital, Pyongyang, Yongbyon is home to nuclear reactors, fuel re-processing plants and uranium enrichment facilities that are thought to be used in the country's nuclear weapons programme.

The five-megawatt reactor - believed to be used to produce weapons-grade plutonium - does not appear to have been operating for some time, and an Experimental Light Water Reactor (ELWR) has not yet come online, but such flooding in the future would likely force a shutdown, the 38 North report said.

"Damage to the pumps and piping within the pump houses presents the biggest vulnerability to the reactors," the report said. "If the reactors were operating, for instance, the inability to cool them would require them to be shut down."

While there was further flooding downstream, it did not appear to reach the Yongbyon facility's Uranium Enrichment Plant and by August 11 the waters appear to have somewhat receded, 38 North said.

South Korea's Ministry of Defence declined to comment on the report, but said it is always monitoring developments related to North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes and maintaining close cooperation with the U.S. government.

At a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Vietnam in 2019, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offered to dismantle https://www.reuters.com/article/northkorea-usa-denuclearisation-yongbyon/explainer-nkoreas-yongbyon-nuclear-complex-takes-centre-stage-in-stalled-talks-idUSL3N20J05S Yongbyon in exchange for relief from a range of international sanctions imposed over North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.

At the time Trump said he rejected that deal because Yongbyon is only one part of the North's nuclear programme, and was not enough of a concession to warrant loosening so many sanctions. (Reporting by Josh Smith. Additional reporting by Hyonhee Shin. Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
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...
Disclaimer The results here are provided for general informational purposes from the CMLviz Trade Machine Stock Option Backtester as a convenience to the readers. The materials are not a substitute for obtaining professional advice from a qualified person, firm or corporation.

Preface

There is a trigger in Alaska Air Group Inc (NYSE:ALK) that has preceded a large stock move and that move has created a powerful option trading opportunity in the past.

The Short-term Option Volatility Trade in Alaska Air Group Inc

RESULTS

ALK: Long 40 Delta Strangle

% Wins: 67% Wins: 14 Losses: 7 % Return: 373%

Tap Here to See the Back-test

Setting Expectations



Checking the Moving Average

Back-testing More Time Periods in Alaska Air Group Inc

ALK: Long 40 Delta Strangle

% Wins: 66.67% Wins: 2 Losses: 1 % Return: 59.8%

Tap Here to See the Back-test



WHAT HAPPENED

The strategy won't work forever, but for now it is a volatility back-test that has not only returned 373%, but has also shown a win-rate of 67% while taking no stock direction risk.Simply owning puts and calls together, like a straddle or a strangle, can be a huge winner, as it was at the end of 2018. But, equally, it has been a huge losing strategy outside of that time frame. So, the need has arisen -- an empirical and structured trigger that indicates when a large stock move is coming so owning a strangle has a higher probability of succeeding.There is such a technical condition, and we will review it, right now.Here is a quick 3 minute video that demonstrates the back-test:It's time to take advantage of volatility. Fear, uncertainty, doubt, unclear news headlines -- these are all trade-able events. Today we look at exactly what has worked in ALK, and the special technical trigger that starts it off.We will examine the outcome of going long a short-term out-of-the-money (40 delta) strangle (buying an out of the money call and buying an out of the money put), in options that are the closest to 14-days from expiration. But we follow three rules:Let's not worry about stock direction or earnings, let's try to find a back-test that benefits from volatility. Here it is, first, we enter the long strangle.Wait until the day that the stock price crosses below the 200-day moving averagethe stock price is below the 10-day moving average. Here is a nice simple image of the technical requirement:* Use a 20% limit* Close the trade after 10 days, if the limit has not been hit.At the end of each day, the back-tester checks to see if the long strangle is up 20%. If it is, it closes the position. If after 10-days the limit has not been hit, the strangle is closed so not to suffer total time decay.Here are the results over the last five-years in Alaska Air Group Inc:The mechanics of the TradeMachine stock option backtester are that it uses end of day prices for every back-test entry and exit (every trigger).We can also see that this strategy hasn't been a winner all the time, rather it has won 14 times and lost 7 times, for a 67% win-rate and again, that 373% return in less than six-full months of trading.While this strategy had an overall return of%, the trade details keep us in bounds with expectations:The average percent returnwas 21.29%.You can check to see the moment a stock dips below the 200-day MA for ALK on the Pivot Points tab on www.CMLviz.com Now we can look at just the last year as well:We're now looking at 59.8% returns, on 2 winning trades and 1 losing trades.The average percent return over the last yearwas 37.05%.This is how people profit from the option market, its empirical testing, not luck. Trade Machine gives you the capacity to trade beyond luck. This is just one example of what has become a tradable phenomenon in Alaska Air Group Inc.


PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The European stock markets could not sustain early support on Thursday, quickly slipping into the red with the losses accelerating as the day progressed.



The negative sentiment came as stimulus talks sputtered in Washington and an atmosphere of uncertainty swirls around Congress as negotiations for the next stimulus package have stalled.



Investors also look ahead to the latest weekly U.S. jobless claims numbers for clues to economic recovery.



Germany's DAX shed 64.92 points or 0.50 percent to 12,993.71, while London's FTSE tumbled 94.50 points or 1.50 percent to 6,185.62 and the CAC 40 in France lost 30.93 points or 0.61 percent to 5,042.38.



In Germany, thyssenkruppe plummeted 16.31 percent, while Wirecard plunged 10.56 percent, Deutsche Bank tumbled 2.26 percent, Volkswagen skidded 1.36 percent, Deutsche Telekom climbed 1.32 percent, Deutsche Lufthansa and Heidelberg Cement both dropped 1.21 percent and Deutsche Post lost 0.42 percent.



In London, Royal Dutch Shell tanked 3.73 percent, while British American Tobacco sank 1.75 percent, Standard Life Aberdeen retreated 1.63 percent, Rolls-Royce Holdings shed 1.36 percent, Tesco lost 0.87 percent, Scottish Mortgage Investment added 0.67 percent, Vodafone gained 0.37 percent and BAE Systems slid 0.34 percent.



In France, BNP Paribas plunged 2.21 percent, while Credit Agricole tumbled 2.00 percent, Peugeot declined 1.54 percent, Carrefour surrendered 1.21 percent, Societe Generale lost 0.80 percent, Danone added 0.43 percent and Veolia Environment rose 0.15 percent.



In economic news, German consumer prices fell in July due to the reduction in the value added tax, data from Destatis revealed on Thursday. The consumer price index fell 0.1 percent in July after a 0.9 percent rise in June. On a monthly basis, consumer prices fell 0.5 percent July.



The French employment rate declined drastically in the second quarter to the lowest since early 2017 as the lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus dampened job creation, the statistical office Insee said Thursday. The employment rate fell 1.6 points to 64.4 percent in the second quarter, the lowest since 2017.



The UK housing market recovery gained further momentum in July as the stamp duty holiday helped to boost demand, survey data from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) showed Thursday. A net balance of 75 percent of survey participants reported an increase in buyer enquiries in July.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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International passengers arriving in Delhi by Vande Bharat flights may not have to stand in long queues to exit the airport anymore. After launching Air Suvidha, an e-service that allows passengers to fill self-declaration forms online and upload their non-Covid-19 reports to seek exemption from institutional quarantine, the Delhi airport operator has now set up a dedicated channel for exempted passengers to speed up their exit from the terminal.

Delhis Indira Gandhi International Airport announced last Friday that it has developed Air Suvidhaa portal wherein passengers can apply for an exemption from mandatory institutional quarantine.

Before this facility was started, all international passengers were screened at the airport upon their arrival, were divided into groups of 20, and were escorted by Central Industrial Security Force personnel up to the triage area where Delhi government officials allotted them hotels for seven days of quarantine.

Because passengers started being exempted from institutional quarantine, it was decided that a dedicated corridor be set up to facilitate quick immigration and customs clearance. With the new set up, it does not take more than 2 to 2.5 hours for an international passenger to exit the airport, which is the usual time the procedure took even before the pandemic, an official from the airport said, wishing not to be named.

However, only passengers exempted from institutional quarantine can avail the new facility, the officer added.

The officer said a dedicated channel will take the passenger out of the Terminal 3 building through the immigration counters and customs area. The passengers can then leave right away to quarantine at home.

The Air Suvidha facility was started on August 8, under which passengers seeking exemption under five categoriespregnancy, death in the family, serious illness, accompanied by children below 10 years and tested negative for Covid-19 via a recent RT-PCR testwill need to fill up an e-form on the Delhi airport website, www.newdelhiairport.in, and submit supporting documents, including a copy of their passport, at least 72 hours before boarding their flight.

A spokesperson from Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) said passengers who have applied in advance for online quarantine exemption through the Air Suvidha portal on Delhi Airports website will have to show their approved e-Exemption pass after arriving at the airport.

This will provide them with a hassle free experience, with digital pre-approved exemption from institutional quarantine. DIAL has created a special corridor at Delhi Airport which will help them walk out of the airport safely, avoid mixing with other passengers and save time as well, the spokesperson said.
Aiming to make Eversource Energy pay for spoiled food and other costs of extended outages incurred after Tropical Storm Isaias blew through the state, a trio of customers have filed suit in Connecticut Superior Court.

West Hartford acupuncturist Stan Baker, Krysztof Kosieradzki of Farmington and Michael ONeill of New Britain are seeking class-action status that would allow others to join the lawsuit, as first reported Thursday by the Hartford Courant. Arguing Eversource failed to take appropriate and effective measures to prevent blackouts  despite weather forecasts showing Isaias on track for Connecticut  plaintiffs are seeking $1.5 billion.

A judge would have to certify the lawsuit for class-action status before any final damages would be determined as part of the civil litigation process.

Eversource generated profits last year of $411 million from its historic Connecticut Light & Power operations.

We recently learned of the lawsuit and are reviewing it, but we believe it has no merit, stated Eversource spokesperson Mitch Gross, in response to a Hearst Connecticut Media query on Thursday. We recognize the tremendous impact the storm and resulting outages have had on customers across the state. We remain focused on getting the power back for those customers still without power. This has been an incredible team effort by our employees and the thousands of outside crews who have worked tirelessly on this massive restoration.

The Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Commission plans hearings in a contested proceeding to determine any lapses by Eversource and United Illuminating, which is owned by Orange-based Avangrid. PURA has the authority to impose civil penalties, and to reduce the amounts Eversource can charge customers on future bills to pay for storm restoration.

Attorney General William Tong late Wednesday called for Eversource to reimburse customers for the cost of lost food and medicine  a move Consolidated Edison is doing in New York. Tong said he had not calculated the estimated value of the reimbursement.

Tong told Hearst Connecticut on Thursday that he has yet to determine whether to file a lawsuit against Eversource or United Illuminating, with plans to testify at the PURA hearing in 11 days.

Were looking at every available legal option, but ... the law says that these disputes are adjudicated in front of PURA, Tong said Thursday. The distribution companies are heavily regulated ... by a whole legal structure that we have to work within, and the head of that structure is PURA.

More broadly, Tong and other elected officials  including Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a former longtime state attorney general  have called on Eversource to agree to pay for the entire cost of the cleanup. Blumenthal also called for rebates to customers that lost power.

Con Ed agreed to pay up to $540 for spoiled food for households that lost power for at least 48 consecutive hours, and up to $10,700 for businesses, according to media reports including WPIX-TV Channel 11.

Eversource issued a statement Wednesday night, saying: We understand how difficult it is for our customers to be without power. As this was an act of nature we dont provide reimbursement, but we encourage our customers to reach out to their insurance carrier to see if its in their homeowners or renters policy.

Tong said he intends to argue before regulators at upcoming hearings on the storm, and at future electric rate hearings, that Eversource shareholders, not ratepayers, should shoulder the restoration cost  which has not been estimated publicly.

Its probably more than the $40 million they paid their executives last year, Tong said, referring to the publicly listed pay of the top five executives including nearly $20 million for CEO Jim Judge if factoring in the future value of pension benefits he is slated to receive.

Correction: Due to a reporting error, an initial version misstated the focus of an Aug. 24 PURA hearing, which will focus on higher customers bills this summer.

Dan Haar contributed to this report.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman
Senior police lieutenant Hayk Sargsyan was sent to forced leave for liking a Facebook post by Armenias second president Robert Kocharyanand entitled "Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)] is the supreme value;" Sargsyan himself informed about this on Facebook.

"Yes. Artsakh is a supreme value for me, and Artsakh should be a supreme value for any pure Armenian.

() outside of working hours, it is my right to like this or that post on Facebookand in the online domain in general, and, in these difficult conditions, sending me to the[police] reserve under the pretext of liking [the aforesaid post] is an unconstitutional, illegal phenomenon.

I have in my possession a telling proof, which is a living fact and substantiates my theory that I was sent to the [police] reserve wholly illegally and arbitrarily. Gentlemen in charge, in the event that the issue I raise is not resolved, I promise to publish the evidence I have. Do not take this as blackmail, but as an invitation to dialogue and a call for a fair and objective approach, police officer Hayk Sargsyan added, in particular.
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Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 13:45:25|Editor: huaxia

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ULAN BATOR, Aug.13 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia reported four new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking its total tally to 297, the country's National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) said Thursday.

"A total of 487 tests for COVID-19 were conducted across the country yesterday and four of them were positive," said Amarjargal Ambaselmaa, head of the NCCD's Surveillance Department, at a daily press conference.

Two of the new cases are Mongolian citizens who returned home from the Czech Republic on a chartered flight on Tuesday, and the other two are Mongolian nationals who returned home from Russia, said Ambaselmaa.

All the confirmed cases in Mongolia were imported, mostly from Russia, according to the center.

The Asian country has registered 269 recoveries, but no local transmissions or deaths from the contagious disease. Enditem
Elantra N Line delivers a spirited driving experience, powered by a 1.6-liter GDI turbocharged engine with six-speed manual or seven-speed Double Clutch Transmission (DCT) that produces up to 201 horsepower and 195.2 lb-ft torque. Hyundai engineers implemented several mechanical improvements to Elantra's suspension to increase stiffness for a gripping performance, aided by 18-inch alloy wheels, multi-link independent rear suspension and larger front brake rotors.

Driver-oriented features, such as paddle shifters and Drive Mode Selector system, enable a racing-inspired experience behind the wheel. Interior design elements, including a leather-wrapped perforated N steering wheel with metallic spokes, N sport seats with leather bolsters, gearshift with metal accents and leather inserts, and alloy pedals, complement Elantra's sporty exterior styling.

N Line design elements complement a dynamic driving experience

Elantra N Line's 'low and wide' exterior styling and 'Parametric Dynamics' design theme imparts a look of sophisticated sportiness. Elantra's cascade grille gets a more aggressive look with an N Line badge and intricate geometric pattern. Arrow-shaped air curtains on the lower fascia support aerodynamic performance and engine cooling while giving the model a high-performance image.

Elantra N Line's sporty side skirts and 18-inch alloy wheels accentuate the fastback sedan's low and wide aesthetic. From the side, the car's dynamic styling is defined by arrow-like creases in its body panels that suggest forward motion. Glossy black molding on the wheel wells, side-view mirrors and side skirts provide a touch of modern sophistication to the overall appearance.

Elantra N Line's fastback profile merges with a sculpted rear, designed to enhance aerodynamic performance and further express the low and wide aesthetic through horizontal lines. The integrated spoiler, chrome twin exhaust and N Line rear diffuser add to the car's performance-inspired styling.

Hyundai also launched N performance parts for those who want to further customize Hyundai N Line models to suit their preference. The N performance parts provide a more dynamic driving experience beyond the base model, allowing customers to get more of the N experience.

An array of driver assist, safety and convenience features add to the N experience, including Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA), Lane Keeping Assist (LKA), Lane Following Assist (LFA), High Beam Assist (HBA), Driver Attention Warning (DAW) and Blind-Spot Collision Avoidance Assist (BCA) with Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (RCCA). In addition, Elantra N Line owners get a Hyundai Digital Key, Wireless CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.

Following the launch of the new Elantra N Line, Hyundai plans to launch Sonata N Line with 2.5-liter turbocharged GDI engine in 2020 to further expand the N Line lineup.

New Elantra Hybrid Electric on the way

Elantra Hybrid is due to go on sale in Korea during the third quarter of 2020; sales in global markets will follow soon after. It is the first new Elantra hybrid in 11 years since the launch of Elantra LPI Hybrid in 2009.

Elantra Hybrid is equipped with a 1.6-liter GDI Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder engine. The permanent-magnet electric motor will deliver 32 kW, powered by a lithium-ion-polymer battery with 1.32 kWh of capacity positioned under the rear seats. The 1.6-liter GDI engine combined with the electric motor in Elantra Hybrid delivers a total system output of 139 horsepower and up to 195 lb-ft of torque. The high-efficiency electric motor has an electric-only driving mode that delivers instantaneous torque at low speeds, with available power-assist at higher vehicle speeds. The 2021 Elantra Hybrid is projected to have a combined EPA-estimated fuel economy rating of more than 50 miles per gallon.

"The new Elantra lineup, with N Line and HEV variants, will satisfy a wider variety of customers. The N Line model will appeal to customers who favor a sporty look and spirited driving performance while the HEV model will appeal to those who prefer high fuel efficiency," said Thomas Schemera, Executive Vice President, Head of Product Division at Hyundai Motor Group. "The expanded selection will help solidify Elantra's position in the compact sedan segment."

About Hyundai Motor Company

Established in 1967, Hyundai Motor Company offers a range of world-class vehicles and mobility services in more than 200 countries. Hyundai Motor sold more than 4.4 million vehicles globally in 2019, and currently employs some 120,000 personnel worldwide. The company is enhancing its product lineup with vehicles designed to help usher in a more sustainable future, while offering innovative solutions to real-world mobility challenges. Through the process Hyundai aims to facilitate 'Progress for Humanity' with smart mobility solutions that vitalize connections between people and provide quality time to its customers.

More information about Hyundai Motor and its products can be found at:

http://worldwide.hyundai.com or http://globalpr.hyundai.com

Disclaimer: Hyundai Motor Company believes the information contained herein to be accurate at the time of release. However, the company may upload new or updated information if required and assumes that it is not liable for the accuracy of any information interpreted and used by the reader.

SOURCE Hyundai Motor America

Related Links

www.hyundainews.com






Haiti - Security : United States support to the PNH





The State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) Director David Mosby met with the Director General of the Haitian National Police (PNH) Rameau Normil to discuss the Haitian National Police's strategic priorities, including combatting gang violence and kidnapping, strengthening the rule of law and protection of human rights, as well as plans for the next class of PNH recruits. They also discussed U.S. support for the PNH's community police, counter-narcotics unit (BLTS), and border police (POLIFRONT).



Both men agreed on the importance of strengthening the capacity of the PNH Office of the Inspectorate General (IG/PNH) to ensure police officers are held to the highest standard and the Central Administration Directorate (DCA) to ensure proper management controls of PNH resources.



At the end of the discussions Rameau Normil inspected equipment and materials INL is providing to the PNH. These items include protective equipment for police officers serving to ensure public order and citizen safety in the crowd control and anti-riot unit (CIMO), communications gear for the counter-narcotics unit (BLTS), and supplies for assisting the prison administration (DAP) to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in Haiti's prisons.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















The results represent Ukraine's population, excluding the temporarily occupied areas.

Almost 60% of Ukrainians now support the idea of their country's accession to the European Union.

Half of the respondents speak up for joining North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), that's per the latest poll conducted jointly by Socis Center and Razumkov Center.

Had the corresponding referenda been set to be held in July, 57.9% of Ukrainians polled would have supported joining the EU, and NATO  some 47.7%.

Read alsoUkraine's defense minister invites NATO Allies to join national drills this fall

Only 26.9% of respondents would vote against joining the EU, and 32.8% spoke up against becoming part of NATO.

Another 5.8% and 6.5%, respectively, would not take part in the referendum. Undecided on the EU accession are 9.5%, as well as 13% - on NATO.

More Ukraine poll results

About the poll

Sociologists interviewed 4,000 respondents over the age of 18 door-to-door.

The results represent Ukraine's population with the exception of the temporarily occupied Crimea and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
The entire Veyo team has been working tirelessly to ensure continuity of service for our members during these difficult times, and we are excited to have a little something to celebrate.

Inc. magazine revealed that Veyo is No. 3550 on its annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nations fastest-growing private companies. The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economys most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses. Intuit, Zappos, Under Armour, Microsoft, Patagonia, and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000.

Were proud to be on the Inc. 5000 list for the second year in a row, said Josh Komenda, CEO of Veyo. The entire Veyo team has been working tirelessly to ensure continuity of service for our members during these difficult times, and we are excited to have a little something to celebrate. Well be sharing many virtual high-fives around the country today.

Veyo, the nations first and only full-service, tech-enabled Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT) broker, proudly delivers high-quality Non-Emergency Medical Transportation service in Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Michigan, Virginia, and their home state of California

Not only have the companies on the 2020 Inc. 5000 been very competitive within their markets, but the list as a whole shows staggering growth compared with prior lists as well. The 2020 Inc. 5000 achieved an incredible three-year average growth of over 500 percent, and a median rate of 165 percent. The Inc. 5000s aggregate revenue was $209 billion in 2019, accounting for over 1 million jobs over the past three years.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000. The top 500 companies are also being featured in the September issue of Inc., available on newsstands August 12.

The companies on this years Inc. 5000 come from nearly every realm of business, says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. From health and software to media and hospitality, the 2020 list proves that no matter the sector, incredible growth is based on the foundations of tenacity and opportunism.

The annual Inc. 5000 event honoring the companies on the list will be held virtually from October 23 to 27, 2020. As always, speakers will include some of the greatest innovators and business leaders of our generation.

About Veyo

Veyo, headquartered in San Diego, CA, is a full-service transportation brokerage designed specifically for healthcare. Veyo has reinvented the patient transportation model by integrating consumer technology with rideshare fleets to decrease costs and increase efficiency. Veyo is delivering dramatically higher levels of reliability, quality, and transparency to customers, partners, and members. Operating in six states with over 28 million completed trips and a 97.1% on-time rate, were changing NEMT  one trip at a time. For more information about Veyo, please visit http://www.veyo.com.

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000

Methodology

The 2020 Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2016 and 2019. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2016. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2016 is $100,000; the minimum for 2019 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Companies on the Inc. 500 are featured in Inc.s September issue. They represent the top tier of the Inc. 5000, which can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000.

About Inc. Media

The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com.

For more information on the Inc. 5000 Conference, visit http://conference.inc.com/.
A man once branded 'Britain's biggest player,' who bragged about bedding 2,500 women in a decade has been jailed for four years after repeatedly biting and attacking Gerard Pique's ex-girlfriend in a string of jealous assaults.

Daniel Wagster, 31, left his victim feeling 'scared, depressed and anxious,' after a series of brutal attacks.

A court heard Wagster, from Hale in Greater Manchester, beat and bit the woman in a series of violent arguments.

One row started during a New Year trip to Amsterdam, when he lashed out over the victim's previous fling with former Barcelona and Manchester United defender Gerard Pique.

In a chilling incident, the victim was woken up by Wagster to see him standing over her and moving his finger across his neck saying: 'I would love to slit your throat, if I did I would only get 15 years.'

And in a menacing phone call personal trainer Wagster told her: 'I don't care if you call police. If they catch up with me they will catch up with you. Right you watch, watch.'

Daniel Wagster, from Hale, Greater Manchester, has been jailed for four years after repeatedly biting a woman's face and fracturing her finger in two places

Daniel Wagster was once branded 'Britain's biggest player,' after he claimed to have slept with thousands of women

In a statement the woman, who asked not to be named told police: 'It has been traumatic for me to have to relive all these incidents and I am emotionally exhausted and scared of this man.

'I had to lie to my family and friends about the injuries and no one knows what happened in Amsterdam. I am embarrassed and feel stupid for staying with him.

'On two occasions I tried to take my own life because of how he makes me feel. I felt physically and mentally could not do it anymore.

'At the time of the assaults I was scared, depressed and anxious. I had financial problems having to provide for him and everything I tried to do was to make him feel happy and safe.'

She added: 'He may feel remorse but no doubt he will do it again to someone else.'

At Manchester Crown Court, Wagster, of Hale, near Altrincham who has string convictions for violence against other ex-girlfriends, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Wagster was described as a 'practised and habitual domestic abuser' by Judge Hilary Manley

The court heard the pair had been in a relationship since February last year after being friends for five years.

Last August he moved in with her but falsely claimed she was cheating on him.

The first assault occurred on his birthday when Wagster grabbed her by the hair, bit her nose, then pinned her against a wall at home.

She stood by him but after a night out a club they rowed again back home and he pinned her down on a sofa and bit her on the face three times.

The woman threw Wagster out but refused to make a complaint to police due to his claims he had schizophrenia. However they later arranged to meet up again after he apologised and promised to change.

Mark Kellet prosecuting said: 'They left for Amsterdam on 30 December and that day was fine. On New Year's Eve they had both been drinking and were in a club where a Shakira song had been playing.

'She made a comment but he became angry because she had been in a relationship with a man who had gone on to marry Shakira. This was a known joke between the victim and her friends.

'The defendant said it was disrespectful and grabbed her by the neck and bit her in the face near her right eye.'

When interviewed by police, Wagster denied assault and said problems with harassment came from the victim.

While in their hotel room Wagster pinned his arms down on his victim's left middle finger, fracturing it in two places.

After threatening to slit her throat and throwing her against a coffee table, the victim told Wagster to leave, telling him she would call the police.

When interviewed by police he denied assault and said problems with harassment came from the victim.

But sentencing Judge Hilary Manley told Wagster: 'You took a young, vibrant and hardworking woman and turned her into a fearful, traumatised and damaged victim.

Wagster's victim told police she had attempted to take her own life as she lived in fear of her attacker

'Your demeanour when her victim impact statement was read out in the court suggests you feel no remorse at all.

'You are a practised and habitual domestic abuser. You have criminal convictions for assaults, threatening behaviour, home invasion, harassment and criminal damage- all committed against women you had been in a relationship with.

'Your schizophrenia is no excuse. You have not committed violence against other people, just the women in your life.

'Your relationships with women are typified by physical and emotional abuse.'

Wagster will be on licence until 2025 following his release from jail under the terms of an extended sentence. He was also banned from contacting the victim indefinitely under the terms of a restraining order.
Actor Sonu Sood has become a real-life hero for many during the pandemic, and one of his fans showed his love in a rather creative way. The man, named Shubham, got Sonus face and name tattooed on his arm.

In a video that is doing the rounds online, Sonu says that he is having a really good time on the sets of the reality show, Indias Best Dancer. He goes on to say that one of the reasons for this is the love of one of his fans he befriended during the pandemic.

Sonu introduces the fan, Shubham, and says that he got a surprise from him. Shubham then shows the camera a tattoo of Sonus face he got on his arm and another of the actors name. Sonu says that when he heard about Shubhams gesture, he asked him, Aapne aisa kyun kiya (Why did you do this)?

Also read | Sushant Singh Rajputs sister Shweta on CBI probe: Family will never be able to live a peaceful life until truth is out

Appealing to his fans to not show their love for him in such ways, Sonu then says, Shubham, aisa dobara mat karo, mere dost. Koi bhi aisa mat karo. Mujhe pata hai ki aap mujhe bohot pyaar karte ho but please (Shubham, please dont do such things again, buddy. I request everyone to not do something like this. I know you love me a lot, but please).

Earlier, a plumber from Odisha who was able to return to his hometown with Sonus help, named his welding shop after the actor - Sonu Sood Welding Shop. Sonu had said that while he has endorsed many brands in the past, this was something special. He had also promised to visit the shop whenever he is in Odisha and also try his hand at welding.

Sonu has been at the forefront of relief efforts since the coronavirus pandemic hit the globe. He has been arranging special buses, trains and flights for stranded migrant workers and students to return to their homes.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
Maharashtra Police neither registered an FIR on actor Sushant Singh Rajputs suicide nor did it extend any support to Patna Police for investigating the case on account of political pressure, the Bihar government told the Supreme Court on Thursday.

The Bihar government and Rhea Chakraborty, against whom an FIR has been filed in Patna for allegedly abetting Rajputs suicide, have filed their written submissions in the top court on the actress plea seeking transfer of the FIR to Mumbai.

Chakraborty said that transfer of investigation to the CBI at the behest of Bihar Police was without the states jurisdiction in the case.

Rajput, 34, was found dead at his apartment in suburban Bandra in Mumbai on June 14 and since then Mumbai Police has been probing the case.

The Bihar government, in its submission filed through its lawyer Keshav Mohan, said: It is apparent that it is on account of political pressure in the State of Maharashtra that neither the FIR has been registered by the Mumbai Police nor did they extend any cooperation to Bihar Police in discharging their obligation to conduct investigation expeditiously. The submission, settled by senior advocate Mainder Singh, said that nothing further is called for in the present Transfer Petition of Rhea and it deserved to be rejected or disposed of.

In the facts and circumstances of the present case, it is humbly submitted that no impediment would deserve to be allowed to come in the way of CBI to undertake and complete the investigation expeditiously, the Bihar government said.

On the other hand, Rhea submitted that Bihar had no jurisdiction to either to lodge an FIR or to transfer it.

It is submitted that the investigations in Bihar are totally illegal and such illegal proceedings cannot be transferred to CBI in the present manner by way of illegal executive orders. The Petitioner has no objection if the transfer of investigation to CBI is done in exercise of powers conferred upon this Court under Article 142 of the Constitution of India. Otherwise, the present transfer from Bihar Police to CBI as is done is totally without jurisdiction and contrary to law.

The apex court had on August 11 reserved its order on Chakrabortys plea and asked the parties concerned to file their written submissions by Thursday.

Rhea dealt with the legal provisions and said her transfer plea was maintainable.

Even on a reading of the FIR, no part of the offence has taken place in Bihar. Even the FIR alleges that all acts have happened only in Mumbai and as such Patna (Bihar) has only been mentioned owing to the Complainants residence being at Patna, she said.

A plain reading of the subject FIR is clearly indicative of the fact that no such consequence of such alleged act has ensued within the State of Bihar, she said.

The maximum that may be done in such instance, is for the FIR to be registered as a Zero FIR and the same may be forwarded to the Police Station having jurisdiction over the matter, she said.

The transfer of probe to CBI at the behest of Bihar police is wholly without jurisdiction, she said.

However, the Bihar government referred to legal provisions and said that it had the jurisdiction as some of the consequences of the offence were there under its jurisdiction.

It said: The Mumbai Police had only been carrying out inquest proceedings u/s 174 / 175 CrPC...The proceedings are only for the purpose of ascertaining the cause of death.

The proceedings come to an end on ascertaining the cause of death and in any case, when the post-mortem report is received. In the present case, on receipt of the post-mortem report by Mumbai Police on June 25, the proceedings...came to a close. Admittedly, no FIR has been registered by the Mumbai Police and hence it has not been carrying out any legal investigation as envisaged in law after receiving the postmortem report, it said.

This court had made observations regarding the said IPS Officer of Bihar police being incapacitated in the name of quarantine  in the hearing... The State of Bihar had expected that the said IPS Officer would get relieved from quarantine immediately... it said.

It is a matter of anguish and pain that it had taken a time of almost 3 days for Maharashtra, which decided to relieve him only in the evening on August 7, it said.

Rhea had tweeted to the Union Home Minister requesting for investigation by the CBI, the state government said, adding that now the CBI would be filing the report after investigating the case.

It termed Rheas plea was not maintainable.

On August 11, the Bihar government had the Supreme Court that political clout has not allowed Mumbai Police to even register an FIR in the Sushant Singh Rajputs suicide cas, even as the Maharashtra government maintained Bihar completely lacks jurisdiction in the matter.

The FIR in Patna has been registered against Chakraborty and others for alleged offences under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 306 (abetment of suicide), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 380 (theft in dwelling house), 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust) and 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property).
New Delhi: Megastar Chiranjeevi sent his good wishes to actor Sanjay Dutt, who was recently diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer. Chiranjeevi shared an old picture of himself hugging Sanjay Dutt and wrote, "Dearest Sanjay Dutt bhai, pained to know you are confronted with this health situation. But you are a fighter & have vanquished many crises over the years. Have no doubts you will come out of this with flying colors too. All our love and prayers for your speedy recovery."

Dearest @duttsanjay bhai , pained to know you are confronted with this health situation.But you are a fighter & have vanquished many crises over the years. Have no doubts you will come out of this with flying colors too.All our love and prayers for your speedy recovery. pic.twitter.com/uMTf3sN5R3  Chiranjeevi Konidela (@KChiruTweets) August 12, 2020

Sanjay Dutt was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer on Tuesday. He is expected to fly abroad for treatment soon.

The 61-year-old actor was hospitalised over the weekend due to breathing problems. He was discharged from the hospital on Monday. Later, he revealed that he is taking a sabbatical from work for medical treatment. However, he didn't reveal about his ailment.

A day later, Sanjay Dutt's wife Maanayata issued a statement thanking his fans for their well-wishes for the actor's speedy recovery and urged people "not fall prey to speculations and unwarranted rumours".

On the work front, Sanjay Dutt will be next seen in 'Sadak 2', also starring Alia Bhatt and Aditya Roy Kapur. He also has 'Torbaaz', 'KGF: Chapter 2', 'Bhuj: The Pride Of India' and 'Shamshera' in the pipeline.
551 Gulf Boulevard, Clearwater Beach We are so excited to strategically position this unique property to reach the perfect buyer who will contribute to the spirit and growth of Clearwater Beach.

Engel & Volkers today announced Kelly Montgomery-Kepler, License Partner of Engel & Volkers Belleair and advisor, Sylvia Tzekas have obtained the co-listing of one of the last vacant, buildable lots on Clearwater Beach. Listed at $26,900,000, 551 Gulf Boulevard is situated at the base of the Sand Key Bridge and offers the opportunity to develop 3.2 acres into the next destination resort, condominium or restaurant.

My husband and his family proudly served the community with their restaurant for nearly three decades, said Tzekas. The property is ready for its next chapter. I believe this is an incredible opportunity for a discerning investor to build a destination resort on the number one beach in America, said Tzekas. The white sugar sands and picturesque sunsets offer absolute tranquility.

The property was once home to the iconic Fisherman's Wharf restaurant, opened by Dalip Tzekas, an Albanian-immigrant, in 1963. Owned and operated by the family of eight, the Fisherman's Wharf served the community for 27 years. The property has also been leased to Leverock's Great Seafood, Shells Seafood Restaurant, and Five Five One. Known for its infamous and rare basement, the building was recently demolished in April 2020, leaving the property bare and ready for its next chapter.

We are so excited to strategically position this unique property to reach the perfect buyer who will contribute to the spirit and growth of Clearwater Beach, said Montgomery-Kepler.

Clearwater Beach is known for its impeccable sugar sand beaches that stretch two and a half miles and has frequently been ranked one of the best beaches in the United States. Its Sandpearl Resort was named one of the best beach resorts in the United States, and in January 2013, Clearwater Beach was awarded the of Floridas Best Beach Town by a USA Today reader poll ranking 10 Florida beach destinations. In February 2019, Clearwater Beach was named the best beach in the United States and the sixth-best in the world by TripAdvisor.

Clearwater Beach home values have gone up nearly three-percent over the last year, according to Zillow. The median price of homes currently listed in Clearwater Beach is $867,000, while the media price of homes that sold is $754,400. The median rent price in Clearwater Beach is $3,500, which is higher than the Clearwater median of $1,750.

Press contact:

Linzee Werkmeister, Director, Public Relations & Franchise Support

Email: Linzee.Werkmeister(at)evrealestate.com

Tel: (239) 348-9000

About Engel & Volkers:

Engel & Volkers is a global luxury real estate brand. Founded in Hamburg, Germany in 1977, Engel & Volkers draws on its rich European history to deliver a fresh approach to luxury real estate in the Americas with a focus on creating a bespoke, white-glove concierge client experience at every stage of the home buying or selling process for todays savvy homeowner. Engel & Volkers currently operates approximately 175 shop locations with more than 4,000 real estate advisors in the Americas, contributing to the brands global network of over 12,000 real estate professionals in more than 30 countries, offering both private and institutional clients a professionally tailored range of luxury services, including real estate, yachting and aviation. Committed to exceptional service, Engel & Volkers supports its advisors with an array of premium quality business services; marketing programs and platforms; as well as access to its global network of real estate professionals, property listings and market data. Each brokerage is independently owned and operated. For more information, visit evrealestate.com.

About Engel & Volkers Florida:

Engel & Volkers Florida is the Master License Partner of the global luxury real estate brand Engel & Volkers in the state of Florida. Recognized for uniquely recruiting, training and equipping some of the top professionals in the real estate industry, Engel & Volkers Floridas exclusive franchise model positions its license partners at the top of the premium market to gain market share and support their bottom line. The company represents franchise locations in: 30A Beaches, Belleair, Boca Raton, Bonita Springs-Estero, Cape Coral, Clermont, Delray Beach, Destin, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers Downtown, Gainesville, Islamorada, Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, Jupiter, Leesburg, Madeira Beach, Marco Island, Melbourne Beachside, Melbourne Central, Melbourne Downtown, Miami Coconut Grove, Olde Naples, Orlando Downtown, Orlando-Winter Park, Palm Beach, Palm Coast, St. Augustine, St. Pete, Stuart, Wellington, and Windermere.

Engel & Volkers Florida is continuing to strategically strengthen and expand its presence in premium real estate markets across the state of Florida. If you would like to know more about the Engel & Volkers brand or how to join its global network, which is known for demonstrating competence, exclusivity and passion, feel free to call our corporate office, located at 633 Tamiami Trl N, Suite 201, Naples, FL 34102 USA. Tel: +1 239-348-9000.

For more information about Engel & Volkers Florida, please visit florida.evrealestate.com
Why are people of colour, particularly Black Canadians, suffering from COVID-19 at a disproportionate rate? As doctors in the medical field, we see that racism is the viruss risk factor.

There is a long history of racism and prejudice that has siphoned away the health of racialized people in Canada. The latest COVID-19 data  with racialized people making up 83 per cent of Torontos cases  is just another stark reminder.

In the 19th century, the Canadian government viewed Indigenous peoples as a dying race, destined to vanish. Conditions of rampant illness, malnutrition, poverty, tuberculosis and staggering disease rates presented an existential threat for Indigenous peoples culminating in one of the largest depopulations in human history.

Two centuries later, this inequitable distribution of disease continues to have a strong hold in our society. Whether chronic conditions, like diabetes or cardiovascular disease, cancer, or premature and preventable death, racialized and low-income patients bear the brunt.

When we look at the alarming and persistent health status gaps in Canada, it is tempting to say that race is the critical factor, but its not. Race does not determine health outcomes  racism does. Structures of racism shape life opportunities, and are insidious, prevalent and so deeply interwoven into our societal fabric that they influence every aspect of our lives.

Just this week, a new report from the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) underscored the punishing reach of structural racism in law enforcement. Black people in Toronto are over-policed, over-charged, and over-harmed by our systems of law enforcement. At less than a 10th of the population, Black people make up one third to one half of all people shot, pepper sprayed, Tasered, struck, or grounded by police, and almost 60 per cent of incidents involving police dogs.

Like the stats on police brutality, we know that there are structural forces that are far more impactful than access to health care alone. These social determinants of health  capturing everything from employment, income, wealth, education, housing and so on  are what ultimately determine who survives or how long we live. In many ways, the single most important protective factor in this pandemic was having the privilege to stay at home. But thats if you had a home and a job that would allow you to work remotely and take paid leave if sick or unwell.

This is why the lockdown only seemed to work in white affluent neighbourhoods in reducing COVID-19 infections. The intersection of race and poverty left many exposed, as low paying jobs that kept life moving became essential work.

The shift we now need is to understand that any onus isnt all on individuals, but that we are all interconnected in a system  rife with its own racism, prejudice and ineptitude. We cannot shirk this shift in our own health-care system either. Health-care providers operate in environments with deeply rooted bias, and as a result, study after study has shown Indigenous and Black individuals being harmed, mistreated and ultimately killed by racism. Whether it is poor care in the emergency department, or being charged without cause by the police, the effects of racism are damning on either side of our hospital walls.

It has forced us to reflect upon the societal fault lines along which wealth, health and well-being divide. We simply cannot cure COVID-19 without tackling the health and social inequities that have plagued too many lives. We finally need policy-makers to commit and act on the recommendations in reports that are now collecting dust.

Yet lasting change will also require greater diversity and representation at the tables where such decisions are made. This will also have to happen within health care as well, with more practitioners reflecting the communities they serve and upending our professions own history of discrimination and prejudice. And no app or technology will provide the protection our populations deserve  it is a societal commitment to health equity that is more important than ever.

We can no longer feign shock or surprise at racisms devastating toll. COVID-19 has brought it out into the open, and a failure to act will only deepen this damning divide.
NSW Tourism Minister Stuart Ayres has backed a federal warning that states will be responsible for their own damaged tourism sectors should they keep borders closed longer than necessary.

Mr Ayres said border restrictions limiting interstate travel should be removed "as soon as practically possible", as he endorsed the position advocated by federal Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham.

Tourism Minister Stuart Ayres has backed the federal government's proposal to turn off the funding tap to states' domestic tourism sectors if they keep borders closed longer than necessary. Credit:Louise Kennerley

"I think Senator Birmingham's comments are perfectly reasonable, that if states are going to put border restrictions in place there is going to be a tourism consequence," Mr Ayres said.

Senator Birmingham has warned state and territory governments that they should not expect to rely solely on federal support for their tourism industries if they kept border closures in place beyond what was necessary to address the health risks posed by COVID-19.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given the nation what he called a new mantra to defeat the coronavirus: testing, tracing, isolation and treatment.

The Prime Minister also said if the 10 states that account for 82 per cent of the number of Covid patients are able to contain it, then India will win the war against the pandemic.

He has asked the chief ministers of West Bengal, Gujarat, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Punjab to step up testing.

It is welcome that the Prime Minister is seen to be taking an active interest in the war against the virus but the mantra he has given is by no means new.

This formula to test all the people who could have been in contact with infected people, trace all their contacts and isolate or quarantine them, and treat all those who have been infected has long been employed successfully across the world.

Several Indian states have aggressively pursued this path and have been able to contain the virus.

Even Delhi, once considered the corona capital, and Dharavi, the slum in Mumbai, have employed this mantra successfully.

The World Health Organisation has been talking of increased number of tests from the very start of the campaign against the virus.

The Prime Ministers advice comes at a time when Indias daily caseload has crossed 60,000; of late, we are ahead of even the United States and Brazil on this count.

At present, India with over 23 lakh infections is at the third position in the list of the worst affected nations. With a doubling rate of 22.7 days, India is projected to overtake Brazil in a couple of weeks.

The only silver lining is case fatality rate of 2.1 per cent, which is lower than the global average of 3.75 per cent.

However, the number of deaths has shown an alarming trend with the figure touching 1000 on some days. Indias number of tests per million of population is low compared with other severely affected nations: 18,300 per million against 1,99,803 of the US and 62,200 of Brazil.

Indias test positivity rate is higher than these two countries, too. An early roll out of the mantra across the country when it was under lockdown would have stopped India from coming to such a pass. However, it is always better late than never.

Apart from the new mantra, what the states who are in the front line of the war want is money. Most states are now exhausted in terms of their financial and human resources.

The increasing cost of the corona fight and the decreasing economic activity stare the states in their faces.

The suggestion of Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappady K. Palaniswami that the PM-CARES fund meet at least half of the testing cost merits the Centres serious consideration.

The government must also drop its reported move to renege on its statutory obligation to offset the shortfall in GST collection. It must open its coffers and help the states instead so that India emerges a winner as Mr Modi suggested.
Amid strained relations between India and China, Indian state-held oil firms have stopped chartering China-owned or flagged tankers for import or export of oil and oil products, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing people with knowledge of the situation.

Vessels owned or registered by China are prohibited from taking part in tenders for oil tankers that import crude oil into India or export refined petroleum products out of India, Bloomberg's sources said.

In addition, India's state-controlled oil majors also plan to ask its oil suppliers and oil traders not to deliver oil to them by chartering Chinese tankers, according to Bloomberg's sources.

The recent hostility that erupted between two of the world's biggest oil importers  and the two largest in Asia, China and India  has strained business and trade relations between the two countries. The relationship between India and China has always been shaky, but a recent flare-up of tensions on the border between the two became the most violent in 50 years, since China and India fought a war to establish where precisely this border would pass. Both countries are nuclear powers, which has worried the UN, who has called on Beijing and New Delhi to "exercise maximum restraint."

The India-China standoff reverberated in many trade areas, with Chinese imports suddenly held up at Indian ports for scrutiny without warning, trade organizations told CNN Business at the end of June.

Despite the fact that India's state oil majors will not be using vessels linked to China, the Indian companies do not expect major disruptions in oil trade flows because their use of Chinese vessels was limited anyway.

India's companies charter Chinese tankers mostly for the transportation of liquefied natural gas (LNG), Indian oil executives told Bloomberg. Most of the non-Indian oil tankers the oil firms hire have Liberia, Panama, or Mauritius as their flag state, according to the executives.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Priti Patel has ordered the Governments official drug experts to help combat Britains cocaine epidemic.

The Home Secretary wants a plan to cut spiralling use of the Class A drug.

Cocaine abuse is growing, particularly among white men under 30  with the largest increases in the South West and East Midlands.

In a letter to Professor Owen Bowden-Jones, the chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), Mrs Patel said: I would... be grateful for the ACMDs considered attention to this area of work, focusing on the following two questions.

Why do some young people start using powder cocaine, and why do some of those continue to use it into adulthood?

Home Secretary Priti Patel has ordered the Governments official drug experts to help combat UKs cocaine epidemic in a written letter to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs

How could we use this insight to prevent young people using powder cocaine for the first time, and divert them from ongoing use?

Ms Patel wrote that cocaine use has increased across a wide range of demographic groups, but much of the increase in the number of users has been driven by white males aged under 30.

An independent report for the Home Office by Professor Dame Carol Black in February found that hard drugs including cocaine were as easy to obtain as a takeaway pizza.

Violent county lines gangs  widely reported by the Daily Mail  have usurped local dealers in most parts of the country.

They are now flooding Britains streets with abundant supplies of drugs, said Dame Carol, former president of the Royal College of Physicians.
A Chinese state-run tabloid has refused to carry the Indian embassys response to an interview of the Pakistani ambassador to China, who repeated Islamabads lies and half-truths about Jammu & Kashmir. In a tweet, the embassy said Global Times declined to carry the response.

After the refusal, the Indian embassy on Thursday tweeted its rejoinder to Pakistani envoy Moin ul Haques interview, which was published with the headline Urgent actions on Jammu, Kashmir needed last week, two days after the first anniversary of the scrapping of Jammu & Kashmirs special status. The two-page rejoinder called out unsubstantiated allegations by Haque and described Pakistans Kashmir policy as a campaign of cross-border terrorism.

Haque was slated to be sent as the high commissioner to India but never took up the post because of fraught bilateral ties.

Global Times, which is affiliated to the ruling Communist Partys mouthpiece Peoples Daily, did not give a reason for not carrying it.

The Indian embassy approached the tabloid to share its views on Kashmir but was told Global Times would not run it. This was after the tabloid had asked for  and received  the key points in Indias response.

The state-run medias refusal to carry New Delhis views on a sensitive issue is in contrast to Chinese ambassador Sun Weidongs wide access to media in India. His articles have been carried by mainstream newspapers, including HT. He has also been interviewed by Press Trust of India, Indias largest news wire, on the India-China border standoff.

There is a growing feeling within the external affairs ministry that Chinas state-run media have not been giving any space to the views of Indian officials, especially after the standoff began in May.

The Chinese ambassador in India gets adequate coverage in the Indian media whenever he issues a statement or makes a speech. Can the Indian ambassador in Beijing or any other official expect the same sort of exposure in the Chinese media? It just wont happen, said a person familiar with the developments who declined to be named.

People familiar with the developments said it appeared Chinas media, which is tightly controlled by the state, is being told not to carry anything that goes against the official line, and this includes the views of Indian officials.

China and Pakistan are all-weather allies and have close military ties.

Indias concerted efforts to bring peace, stability, and progress to J&K stand in stark contrast to Pakistans strategy, which is little more than a blatant and rapacious campaign of cross-border terrorism aimed at debilitating the region, the embassy said.

Its unprovoked ceasefire violations, numbering close to 3,000 in the first seven months of 2020 alone, provide support for terrorist infiltration along the India-Pakistan Line of Control (LOC).

The Indian embassy pointed out terrorists trained and armed by Pakistan have disturbed peace and order in Kashmir, with more than 450 incidents of terrorist orchestrated violence since August 2019 that have caused civilian casualties.

And it is in fact Pakistan that has repeatedly effected administrative and demographic changes in territories that it has occupied illegally and forcibly in J&K and Ladakh.

Describing the Pakistani envoys claims as lies and half-truths, the embassy said he should consider holding up a mirror to his own regime and reflect on Pakistans own actions in the region before making ludicrous characterisations of the Indian governments actions.

Haque also told Global Times Islamabad expects the global community to play the role of honest broker in the dispute and take concrete actions to ameliorate the sufferings of the Kashmiri people.

On August 5, Pakistani journalists in Beijing raised the scrapping of Jammu & Kashmirs special status at a Chinese foreign ministry news briefing. In response, spokesperson Wang Wenbin said China closely follows the situation in Kashmir, which was a dispute left over from history between Pakistan and India. He added, Any unilateral change to the status quo is illegal and invalid.

INDEPENDENT COMMENT
Bay Area residents this week join the global race for a coronavirus vaccine, with developers of two of the most promising candidates seeking hundreds of volunteers in San Francisco, Oakland and Santa Clara County.

Kaiser Permanente enrolled its first Northern California participants in a global clinical trial for a vaccine made by Pfizer and the German technology company BioNTech on Monday. In San Francisco, researchers with UCSF and the Department of Public Health expect to start giving volunteers a vaccine made by AstraZeneca and Oxford University next week.

Sutter Healths East Bay AIDS Center, located at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland, also expects to join the AstraZeneca trial.

Both experimental vaccines are entering Phase 3 trials, the last step before federal approval, assuming the products prove safe and effective. In all, about 1,400 Bay Area participants are expected to be enrolled in both trials, but given the speed at which vaccine development is happening, scientists expect to seek many more hundreds, if not thousands, of volunteers in the coming months.

This pandemic has had a huge negative impact on every aspect of society and our daily lives. Its caused so much pain and suffering. To be able to be part of the solution is tremendously exciting, said Dr. Susan Buchbinder, co-lead investigator of the Bay Areas AstraZeneca vaccine trials and director of Bridge HIV, the San Francisco public health HIV prevention unit.

Even though were going to be testing AstraZeneca, we anticipate well be part of other trials as well, she said. I would be thrilled if any of the vaccines are successful. Im rooting for all of them.

Global vaccine development has moved at explosive speeds since the new coronavirus was identified in early January. More than 100 products are being studied, and dozens have been tested in humans.

The coronavirus has spread far and fast around the world, infecting more than 20 million people, including 5 million in the U.S., and killing 745,000 globally. Many infectious disease experts believe that vaccines are the best, and perhaps only, hope for ending the pandemic and rebuilding economies shattered by social restrictions without even more devastating loss of life.

The United States has identified five vaccine candidates it considers most viable. In addition to the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines, the U.S. is betting on products made by Johnson & Johnson, Merck and Moderna. The Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines all are in Phase 3 trials, collectively planning to enroll nearly 100,000 volunteers worldwide.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services already has awarded up to $1.95 billion to Pfizer to start manufacturing 100 million doses of vaccine and up to $1.2 billion to AstraZeneca for 300 million doses. Manufacturing vaccines while they are still being tested is risky, but the hope is they could be given to the public right away if they prove safe and effective.

These are heroic efforts, truly noble efforts to fight this pandemic, said Dr. Bali Pulendran, a vaccine specialist at Stanford Health Care. And I think its wonderful that these premier Bay Area institutions are playing a very active role in this effort.

Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle

Both the AstraZeneca and Pfizer trials are double-blind and placebo-controlled, which means some participants will be given the vaccine and others a placebo. All participants will be given two doses via injection, one month apart. Neither participants nor researchers will know who got the vaccine.

The trials will last two years, but investigators expect to have early results within a few months. The AstraZeneca trial is part of the National Institutes of Health COVID Prevention Network. People can sign up online to participate at coronaviruspreventionnetwork.org. The Pfizer trial is sponsored by the vaccine developers. Only Kaiser members can join the study in California for now.

The goal in both trials is to determine whether the vaccines prevent people from getting COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. The studies also will look at the long-term safety of the vaccines, and whether the vaccines trigger a strong immune response and prevent infection altogether. Early studies of both vaccines found them to be safe, causing only mild, short-term symptoms such as fatigue or body aches in some volunteers.

The vaccine trials brought to the Bay Area are tapping into existing research networks that have been used for decades to study immunization efforts for HIV and a variety of other infectious diseases.

In some ways (the trial) very much looks like the type of vaccine trials we do all the time. What really is not typical is the speed at which all of this has taken place, said Dr. Nicola Klein, director of the Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center and lead investigator for the trial in Northern California, which is enrolling participants in Santa Clara County and Sacramento.

Networks like the ones at Kaiser and in San Francisco employ dozens of researchers and health care providers with years of critical experience in running clinical trials, which can be complex and expensive. These networks already have nurses who are familiar with explaining complicated science and medical terms to prospective volunteers, for example, and analysts who know how to collect data and process it to protect the double-blind protocol.

The AstraZeneca vaccine trial is using San Franciscos extensive HIV clinical trial network, which dates to the 1990s and has contributed to HIV vaccine research along with prevention and treatment studies.

An HIV vaccine has proven frustratingly elusive after nearly 40 years of research. But scientists said theres reason to be hopeful that a coronavirus vaccine  or more likely multiple vaccines  is close at hand.

For starters, most people are able to naturally fend off the coronavirus without serious illness, as evidenced by the millions of people worldwide who have been infected and have no symptoms or mild disease and fully recover without treatment. Thats not the case with HIV.

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.

That means the human immune system already is built to attack the coronavirus  a vaccine just needs to harness and boost that response.

Yes, HIV has stymied us, but the coronavirus is very new and uncharted territory, and theres a lot of reason to be enthusiastic, said Dr. Annie Luetkemeyer, who is leading the AstraZeneca trial at UCSF. Its great to leverage these experienced clinical trial networks in an area thats new to all of us, which is COVID research. Its a good way to not start from scratch.

As with the Kaiser trial, the San Francisco study plans to enroll people who are most at risk of infection and of serious illness, including people who are older, have underlying health issues, or work in jobs where they face greater risk of exposure to the virus.

Luetkemeyer and other infectious disease experts said its critical that multiple vaccines using different technologies are studied at once. Not all of them will be successful, and some vaccines may be more appropriate for different groups of people. For example, one vaccine may work well in people over age 60 while another may not work at all in that age group.

The Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines use different technologies for triggering an immune response. The Pfizer vaccine delivers synthetic genetic material, called messenger RNA or mRNA, to prime the bodys immune system to develop cells and antibodies to attack the virus. Its a new approach to immunization that has never before been used in a vaccine. Moderna also uses the mRNA approach.

The AstraZeneca vaccine, developed with scientists at Oxford University, uses a chimpanzee adenovirus  essentially a virus that causes the common cold in chimps  to deliver a small segment of the coronavirus to humans. The adenovirus, weakened so it cant harm humans, is tagged with the coronavirus segment, specifically a protein found on the spikes on the surface of the virus. The immune system attacks the adenovirus and develops antibodies and other defenses specific to the coronavirus.

Both vaccines have been shown to prompt a double-barreled immune response: antibodies that neutralize the coronavirus to prevent it from infecting human cells, and immune cells that stop the virus from replicating once its already invaded. Scientists dont yet know if one response is more important, or if both are necessary to develop immunity.

Its also not known how long immunity might last, assuming the vaccines work. The Food and Drug Administration has said any vaccine needs to be at least 50% effective in order to be considered for approval.

Dusta Eisenman, a pediatric nurse at Kaiser Santa Clara, was given her first dose in the Pfizer study Wednesday morning. She said that though shes a little nervous to be one of the first participants in the trial, Im pushing that down for the greater good.

I understand its warp speed and its going really fast, but weve dedicated a lot of smart people to this. Im putting my trust into that, she said. To be able to feel like Im contributing something now, and maybe theres a light at the end of the tunnel, thats exciting for me. Im trying to be a light for friends and others who are feeling hopeless at this point.

Erin Allday is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: eallday@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @erinallday
SAN DIEGO, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- San Diego branding and marketing agency Workshop Built today announced a new brand identity and website for IQHQ , a life sciences real estate investment trust (REIT) founded by a team of the industry's top leaders.

Workshop worked with IQHQ to develop the company's new name and brand, creating a distinctive voice, and crafting a cohesive visual and verbal identity ( view presentation ). The company recently changed its name from Creative Science Properties to IQHQ.

"Workshop Built was an excellent partner for our brand development," said Tracy Murphy, President of IQHQ. "They have a talented team that employed a clear and comprehensive process that identified our new brand identity that situates us well for the growth we envision for IQHQ."

The newly developed brand and website will communicate to tenants, brokers, analysts and investors that IQHQ is a provider of premier life sciences real estate. The rebrand includes a new tagline  'Giving Progress a Home'  to convey the company's singular focus on developing life sciences workplaces that inspire progress and growth.

"Our team undertook a detailed process to discover what makes IQHQ unique," said Robert Laplante, Founder of Workshop Built. "This is an exciting company with big plans for the market, and now they have a distinctive brand that expresses their purpose."

IQHQ is focused on the acquisition and development of major life sciences projects in the innovation hubs of San Francisco, San Diego and Boston in the United States, and the Golden Triangle in the United Kingdom.

View a detailed case study on IQHQ's branding here .

About Workshop Built

Workshop Built is a branding and marketing firm that helps build and grow world-class brands through strategic design thinking. Led by founder Robert Laplante, Workshop Built is focused on the commercial real estate industry, helping companies drive business results with powerful branding, digital marketing and media. Workshop Built has offices in California and Spain. Visit www.workshopbuilt.com to see more.

SOURCE Workshop Built

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https://www.workshopbuilt.com/


On the surface, carmakers have staged a remarkable recovery toward pre-pandemic production. But within the walls of U.S. auto plants, it was incredibly challenging to pull off  and is proving difficult to sustain.

Manufacturers rushed to restart assembly lines months ago because sales stayed surprisingly buoyant in the midst of the pandemic. Several companies said they restored output completely within weeks after reopening, and the industry has avoided the nightmarish outbreaks seen at meatpacking plants. But along the way, automakers have been stretched thin by absenteeism, distancing protocols, quarantines and supply-chain constraints.

In several of Americas biggest auto-making facilities, foot traffic appears to have never gotten back to February levels, according to Orbital Insight, which collects a large, stable and nationwide sample of mobile-device location data. While some carmakers downplay the challenges theyve been having, others acknowledge coming under serious strain in getting their factories fired back up.

The data is surprising because of just how standout a comeback the auto industry has staged. Since April, the motor-vehicle and parts sector has added 289,000 to U.S. payrolls, a more than 45 per cent surge that dwarfs employment growth in other manufacturing categories. Cars also have been the bright spot in the Federal Reserves monthly report on industrial production. Boeing Co., by contrast, continues to be plagued by scrapped orders that have had a debilitating effect on other aviation businesses, including jet-engine maker General Electric Co.

Toyota Motor Corp.s factories are emblematic of the unevenness of the foot-traffic recovery across some of the industrys most important plants. Activity is picking back up at its Highlander sport-utility vehicle factory in Indiana but lagging at its facilities making trucks in Texas and Corollas in Mississippi, according to Orbital Insights data.

We do not anticipate our operations to return to normal for some time, Toyota said in an emailed statement.

Other plants that are far from bouncing back or struggling to sustain their foot-traffic recovery include two key Ford Motor Co. SUV facilities, a Daimler AG factory that is a key source of Mercedes-Benz vehicles globally and Kia Motors Corp.s only U.S. manufacturing site.

Automakers caution that the number of people in their plants may not necessarily correlate with production. Foot traffic at Fords factories is down primarily because the company is limiting admittance to critical staff, a spokesperson said. Many suppliers that drop by in normal times have called off visits. Public tours have ceased at its full-size pickup plant in Dearborn, Michigan.

Gary Johnson, Fords chief manufacturing and labour affairs officer, acknowledged at an Aug. 3 investor conference that automakers and their suppliers have been struggling with absenteeism. But said the company says it has been operating at close to 100 per cent of pre-virus production levels.

For Ford and General Motors Co., the stakes involved in keeping plants cranking out vehicles  particularly pickups and SUVs  are massive. GM almost broke even in North America during the second quarter, a phenomenal feat considering the amount of time its plants were shut down during the period. But both companies count on the region in normal times for vast portions of their profits.

At GM, production was down for eight out of 13 weeks during the quarter. The number of vehicles it shipped to retailers plummeted 62 per cent, and U.S. inventory is a little more than half what it was a year ago. Yet Dhivya Suryadevara, the automakers departing chief financial officer, cautioned last month that wholesale levels will remain below normal in the second half.

Even though production is running all-out, it is not quite back at the levels, that pre-Covid ability to run all-out, Suryadevara said during GMs July 29 earnings call. She is leaving the automaker to become CFO of financial-technology company Stripe.

While the Orbital Insight data suggest that foot traffic at GMs truck factories in Michigan and Indiana hasnt gotten back to where it was in February, the two facilities are among those that have recovered the most. Dealers are champing at the bit for Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups  Send me all you can get was the message Mike Jackson, chief executive officer of retailer AutoNation Inc., delivered on Bloomberg Television in May.

But production may not return to normal this year because of weak demand from fleet customers  both rental companies and government agencies  and since the company is not running plants on overtime, said Jim Cain, a spokesman. GM has kept open facilities in Texas and Missouri despite calls by the UAW to shut them down over COVID-19 concerns.

Elon Musk has not brought up absenteeism specifically regarding Tesla Inc.s lone U.S. auto assembly plant, although the CEO did allude to a bunch of firefighting on supply chain and production issues during the electric-car makers July 22 earnings call.

Representatives for Tesla didnt respond to requests for comment on Orbital Insights data, which suggests there has been a bit of a decline in foot traffic since June at its plant in Fremont, California.

Orbital Insight detected a pick-up in activity around the time that Musk said he would reopen the facility regardless of a local shutdown order. By the time county authorities signed off on the company resuming production, the number of devices detected was close to the levels seen before the CEO gave in to pressure to suspend operations in March.

In a regulatory filing last month, Tesla said its ability to sustain output will depend in part on a stable and motivated production workforce.

BMW AG resumed the first shift at its X3, X5 and X7 SUV factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in early May after a five-week hiatus. It took until the end of the month for the German carmakers supply chain to return to full strength and enable the company to restore a second shift, said Phil DiIanni, a spokesman. All furloughed workers have been reinstated since then.

Production at the plant  its largest in the world, employing 11,000 and boasting annual capacity to make 450,000 vehicles  has approached pre-virus levels, DiIanni said, and BMW has trained staff to be able to fill in at different stations to maintain output.

Daimler, on the other hand, appears to have much lower foot traffic at its Mercedes GLS and GLE SUV factory in Alabama than it did in February.

While staffing levels havent been impacted at the plant  it had more than 4,200 employees at the end of last year  Daimler has staggered shifts to reduce personal contact as much as possible, according to a spokesperson. Those who can complete tasks at home are working remotely, and the company is limiting non-essential business visits.

Volkswagen AG described similar measures at its assembly plant for Atlas SUVs and Passat sedans in Tennessee. Staffing is at normal levels and the company is actually hiring, according to Mike Tolbert, a spokesman. Office and support staff are working from home, and VW is staggering shift start times and breaks to reduce the amount of foot traffic at any one time.

Production is back to where it was pre-virus, and the company remains on schedule with an expansion of its facility for electric vehicles that will be completed by the end of this year, Tolbert said.

Honda Motor Co. has had to get creative.

As with other automakers, the Japanese company isnt just requiring employees who test positive for COVID-19 to quarantine but also those staffers who may have come into contact with them. This has led to worker shortages and spurred the carmaker to ask some U.S. office employees to join assembly lines so it can keep up with consumer demand.

Kia also is looking to make as many of its hot-selling Telluride SUVs as it can in Georgia, but its had to gradually restore output due to supplier constraints.

Absenteeism has been higher as a result of the pandemic but has not resulted in reduced production, said Patrick Sands, a U.S.-based spokesman for the South Korean company.
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Tokyo, Japan  Thu, August 13, 2020 15:30 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066dc55ec 2 World Agnes-Chow,Hong-Kong,Hong-Kong-activist,Hong-Kong-protests,Hong-Kong-security-law,pro-democracy Free

She has been dubbed the "Goddess of Democracy" and found fans among politicians and actors. There is little doubt that Hong Kong activist Agnes Chow is big in Japan.

The 23-year-old's arrest this week was headline news and lit up social media in Japan, far eclipsing the detention of other high-profile figures under Hong Kong's new national security law.

Media-savvy, telegenic and fluent in Japanese to boot, Chow has managed to cut through the relative apathy with which foreign affairs are sometimes regarded in Japan, winning unprecedented attention for Beijing's crackdown on her home city.

After her arrest this week, the Japanese hashtags "#FreeAgnes" and "#I protest against the arrest of Agnes Chow" quickly went viral, with public figures from across the country's political spectrum, as well as writers and actors, tweeting their support.

Veteran ruling party lawmaker Akihisa Nagashima posted a string of tweets on the arrest, saying Chow had "spent her entire youth for the freedom and democracy of Hong Kong".

Opposition lawmaker Renho, who uses one name, actress Sayaka Akimoto and sports writer Hirotada Ototake were among others who hailed the activist and condemned her arrest.

"She's young but she's brave," one Twitter user wrote, with many praising Chow's Japanese language ability.

Twitter, tunes and takoyaki

Chow's popularity in Japan stems in large part from a savvy campaign directed at the country, which includes running a Japanese-language Twitter account with more than 470,000 followers and appearing in Japanese media.

Her language skills have given her rare unmediated access to the Japanese public, and she has endeared herself to many with her love of anime and J-pop music.

Chow was released on bail on Tuesday, and told reporters -- in Japanese -- that the song "Fukyowaon" by J-pop group Keyakizaka46 was playing in her head while she was detained.

She also paid tribute to the support she received from Japan, saying in a YouTube live stream that she "felt Japanese people were cheering for her during the arrest".

Chow is also a fan of Japanese food, even sharing pictures of her failed attempts at the popular octopus ball dish takoyaki.

Last year, she made Forbes Japan's list of the 50 most influential social media accounts in the country, alongside a group of mostly Japanese celebrities and public figures.

For all her popularity, it is unclear if Chow has had much influence on Japanese government policy.

Chief spokesman Yoshihide Suga has made no specific comment on her arrest, though the government has expressed more general concern over the application of the national security law, which outlaws subversion, terrorism and foreign collusion in the semi-autonomous city.

Japan had been in the process of rehabilitating ties with Beijing, with Chinese President Xi Jinping previously scheduled to make a state visit this year to cement the warming relations.

But the visit has been delayed, seemingly indefinitely, and while the government has blamed the coronavirus pandemic for the decision, there has been growing discomfort among some Japanese lawmakers about the country's relationship with Beijing.
Go slow.

The Ontario government is now facing growing calls from teachers unions, advocacy groups and health experts to delay or phase-in the start of school this fall amid concerns about the spread of COVID-19 if all two million students return to class at once.

In British Columbia, the government has announced teachers will now have until Sept. 10  an extra two days  to prepare their classrooms for students.

Its part of what the B.C. government is calling an orientation week for students and teachers, with staff members meeting on Sept. 8 to discuss how the health guidelines will work in their school.

Experts say Ontario would be wise to follow B.C.s lead.

Dr. Anna Banerji, a pediatrician and infectious disease expert at the University of Toronto, thinks a delay to school reopenings would be a very good idea across the country.

Even just a couple of days, as B.C. has done, would give teachers a chance to problem-solve and look at implementing simple but effective measures, Banerji said, such as drawing arrows on the ground to create one-direction pathways, or rearranging larger spaces like gyms and auditoriums to create more classrooms.

Some have called for an even longer delay to the start of the school year, suggesting classes begin later in the fall or even in January. Banerji says creating an orientation week, and giving teachers an extra two days before students arrive, is a smart balance.

We could wait until a couple years until the pandemic is gone and we have a vaccine, but I think people are suffering and children are suffering, she said. Waiting until January makes it very difficult for a lot of families and children.

But some education experts say a gradual return, drawn out over days or even weeks, would be the best approach.

It is understandable that there is an urgent quest for some forms of normalcy, including the reopening of schools, says a paper released by University of Toronto education professor Carol Campbell and Ryerson professor Beverly-Jean Daniel, Annie Kidder of People for Education, and education researcher Ruth Baumann.

However, these are not normal times and we cannot simply return to the old status quo. We urge that as well as a safe return to school, we need a gentle return to the upcoming school year. We need to go slow.

While each board could do this differently, and while we all want to see children returning to attending school five days a week when it is safe and possible to do so, there is no compelling reason for having every student return on the very first day, says the paper.

Ontario schools have often done staggered re-entries in the past and other countries have also used it to reopen after getting past the first wave of COVID-19, including Denmark and Germany.

The paper suggests that younger students could go in first as older students gradually return; in high schools, Grade 9 students could begin classes first since they missed out on orientation after schools were shut down in March, or start with Grade 12 students to ensure they get in as much instructional time as possible before graduation.

The province has mandated that all students wear masks, all day, starting in Grade 4, and that high school students in larger urban boards will be in classes of 15 and only attend part time. Concerns have been raised about elementary class sizes, which will remain unchanged.

The government is providing boards more than $309 million on COVID-related costs, including hiring 500 public health nurses for schools.

Premier Doug Ford said Wednesday that hed be flexible when he was asked about delaying the start of the school year.

We have to be able to sit down and listen to everyone, and that's what we're doing, Ford said. We have to be flexible when it comes to education and protecting the kids.

The premier also said he wants to work with teachers unions, to sit down and listen, and put aside any differences.

But critics warn that with just a couple of weeks to go before school starts, time is running out.

We must consider delaying the start of back to school in order to give school boards more time and more resources to deliver a safe return, said Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca. Most school boards need more time and more provincial investment to get class sizes down.

In British Columbia, Education Minister Rob Fleming noted that schools are going to look different in September. Staff, students and parents need time to get familiar with all the new health and safety procedures that are designed to keep them safe and confident in their school settings, Fleming said.

B.C.s teachers union says the two-day delay is a reasonable approach.

I think a couple of days right now is a good start, said Teri Morring, president of the B.C. Teachers Federation. There will need to be time throughout the school year dedicated to health and safety training.

B.C. school boards can ask students to arrive at school earlier but are required to have students in classrooms by Sept. 10, when students will be assigned to their class, find out who is in their learning group, practise their new routines and familiarize themselves with how to safely move from the class to outdoor and common areas of the school, according to a government news release.

Podcast | Schools are the best place for kids mental health? Not so fast

The belief that schools are the safest place for kids is not the lived reality for many students who faced problems even before the pandemic. Dr. Tyler Black, child and adolescent psychiatrist at the University of British Columbia, talks to Adrian Cheung on the mental stress of reopening schools and why the pandemic is the moment to reshape and rethink how education works in Canada.

Read more about:
By Sanjeev Miglani

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India announced a $500 million package to fund a project in the Maldives on Thursday to help it connect the capital Male to three nearby islands, stepping up New Delhi's diplomatic efforts in a region China has also been focusing recently.

The Indian Ocean island nation, popular with tourists for its beaches and turquoise waters, has become a focal point in China's Belt and Road Initiative aimed at building trade and transport links across the region.

On Thursday, India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told his Maldivian counterpart Abdulla Shahid that New Delhi will support the Male connectivity project with a grant of $100 million and a new line of credit of $400 million, the Indian foreign ministry said.

Jaishankar said the plan linking Male to the islands of Villingili, Gulhifahu and Thilafushi will be the largest civilian infrastructure project in the Maldives, the foreign ministry said.

"EAM (external affairs minister) and Foreign Minister Shahid emphasized that greater connectivity results in prosperity," it said.

India has sought to regain diplomatic influence in the islands after a new administration led by President Ibrahim Solih took power following the defeat of the pro-China strongman Abdulla Yameen in elections in 2018.

Yameen was convicted of money laundering and sentenced to five years in prison last year, after facing allegations of awarding contracts, including for a major bridge connecting Male to the island of Hulhumale and an extension to the international airport, to Chinese companies at inflated prices.

"Since November 2018, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, India and Maldives have embarked on a dynamic and ambitious phase of the partnership that builds on our enduring ties based on mutual trust and shared interests," the foreign ministry said.

(Reporting by Sanjeev Miglani; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Anti-vaccine websites, which could play a key role in promoting public hesitancy about a potential COVID vaccine, are far more likely to be found via independent search engines than through an internet giant like Google.

The study, led by researchers at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS), showed that independent search engines returned between 3 and 16 anti-vaccine websites in the first 30 results, while Google.com returned none.

Lead author Professor Pietro Ghezzi, RM Phillips Chair in Experimental Medicine at BSMS, said the study raises concerns that people who are being exposed to these websites are often people who have turned to alternative search engines because they are worried about use of their personal data by the internet giants.

"Vaccine hesitancy was defined by the World Health Organisation as one of the top ten threats to global health last year," said Professor Ghezzi. "Since then we've had the COVID crisis, a recent report showed that (50%) of people in the UK would not take a Coronavirus vaccine if it was available. This is frightening - and this study perhaps gives some indication as to why this is happening."

"There are two main messages here. One is to the Internet giants, who are becoming more responsible in terms of avoiding misinformation, but need to build trust with users regarding privacy because of their use of personal data; and the other is to the alternative search engines, who could be responsible for spreading misinformation on vaccines, unless they become better in their role as information gatekeepers. This suggests that quality of the information provided, not just privacy, should be regulated."

The study, involving researchers in the UK, Belgium, Italy and Spain, has analysed 840 websites returned by 28 search engines in four languages, and compared the ranking of anti-vaccine websites.

The study also found that some localised version of google (English-UK, Italian and Spanish) also return more anti-vaccine websites than the main, US English, Google.com.

###

The study was published in Frontiers in Medicine and can be read at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2020.00400/full
U.S. multinational corporations are pushing the Trump administration to soften the presidents executive order banning Chinese app WeChat, fearing a total ban will hinder their business efforts in China.

Trump ordered the Commerce Department earlier this month to draw up a plan to ban WeChat within 45 days. WeChat is Chinas most common messaging app, and allows users to send texts, buy merchandise, and browse the news, all on the same digital platform.

The app is owned by Tencent Holdings, a company with deep connections to the Chinese Communist Party, and China has used data gathered on WeChat to censor political content and keep track of citizens movements even outside the country.

Over a dozen major U.S. multinationals, including Apple, Ford, Disney, and Walmart, raised concerns over the prospective ban of WeChat in a Tuesday call with White House officials, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The companies warned that their business inside China would suffer from a total U.S. ban of WeChat.

For those who dont live in China, they dont understand how vast the implications are if American companies arent allowed to use it, Craig Allen, president of the U.S.-China Business Council, told the Journal. They are going to be held at a severe disadvantage to every competitor.

The Trump 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, a White House spokesman said in a comment.

Apple in particular is worried that a ban will hurt its sales of smartphones in China. The company relies on the Chinese market for up to 20 percent of sales, Nikkei Asian Review reported.

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Post Covid-19: What would universities look like?

Three South African vice-chancellors paint a post-COVID picture for universities.

Across the world, the higher education sector is changing because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Conversation Africas Nontobeko Mtshali asked vice-chancellors from three South African universities to share their insights about what these changes could mean for the countrys higher education landscape.

Questions and answers

What long-lasting changes to South Africas higher education sector has the pandemic brought? And how will these affect the way universities deliver teaching and research?

Mamokgethi Phakeng, University of Cape Town: University teaching will draw from various methods that range between fully face-to-face and fully online. Long before COVID-19, the University of Cape Town recognised the need to prepare students for a digitally mediated world. For example, by the beginning of this year about 60% of UCT lecturers had chosen to record their lectures.

COVID-19 fast-tracked this process as we launched emergency remote teaching.

Many of our academics say they will never again teach in the same way as before. The new way puts the needs of students with barriers to learning at the forefront. It helps us design good learning experiences and reconsider methods of assessment. Students can revisit online course material, ask questions and get personal support, in and out-of-normal teaching hours. Its especially helpful to students who are second-language English speakers or who have a disability.

Lecturers have found how easy it is to engage with students in a WhatsApp group. There are challenges, of course, such as how we can conduct assessment for some invigilated exams, and in data access and electricity provision for some students at home. We are surveying students and academics to monitor their experiences and review lessons for the future.

Tawana Kupe, University of Pretoria: The reliance on face-to-face or contact teaching was under question because of the rise of digital technologies that were slowly disrupting it. For a number of reasons, higher education institutions were taking their time. Some lacked capital. There was also the issue of students lack of access.

A return to purely contact learning is not going to be possible. People have experienced something that seems more relevant to a future marked by increasing digitisation. Universities will now need more resources allowing them to move with greater speed in changing to hybrid or blended teaching and learning. When it comes to research, the use of simulations will increase, as will the use of technologies that can gather research data.

Adam Habib, University of the Witwatersrand: I believe we are going to see a stronger shift to a blended learning model. Anecdotal evidence is showing that our students are performing better in the online environment than face-to-face. This suggests we need to re-imagine how we test and assess our students capabilities. Obviously certain degrees still require face-to-face learning but this can also be re-imagined.

The shift to online also means we are going to see the digital divide in our country grow sharper unless we are able to develop public-private partnerships to assist. Government will also need to adjust its thinking about how we achieve this financially and in terms of curriculum changes.

Do universities have the human and financial capacity to respond to these long lasting changes?

Mamokgethi Phakeng: New ways of teaching can release human capacity by allowing lecturers to manage their course loads more easily. And if they make it possible to increase the number of students who can enrol in certain courses, then they could bring more income to the institution, to help finance human capacity or infrastructure development.

Of course, there will always be courses that require students to work collaboratively, or to have access to labs, and those courses remain available. Other universities are now beginning to use the extensive resources weve developed under Creative Commons licences, to benefit the sector during the pandemic.

Tawana Kupe: Most universities do not have the human and financial capacity to respond to these changes given that they have not been adequately funded for decades. Many face an existential crisis if governments do not include them in the stimulus packages meant to reverse the impact of COVID-19.

The training of staff who manage the information technology infrastructure and academic staff who teach and do research is critical for a successful transition from contact teaching to hybrid teaching. Innovative and creative ways to fund the transitions will have to be developed. They should include partnerships and collaborations among universities and with governments, the private sector and international donors.

Adam Habib: Many academics and professional staff have been able to adjust fairly quickly to the new online mode of teaching. This has been under discussion for some time now. I do not believe we will have a human capacity issue. The real issue will remain how to finance higher education. There is going to be a significant financial challenge both as a result of subsidy cuts (given state finances) and the inability of students to pay fees (because of the economic crisis).

In South Africa, we will also see a growing missing middle cohort as a result of job losses. Providing financial support to these students is going to be more important now than ever.

Are South African universities unique in facing these long lasting changes? What can they learn from other universities?

Mamokgethi Phakeng: Universities around the world are re-examining how they teach, do research and serve their students, staff and alumni.

Digital technology has opened up ways for people and institutions around the world to discuss and collaborate on problems that are universal. COVID-19 is demonstrating that across the globe we are facing the same problems, so we need to work together to find solutions.

Tawana Kupe: No, South African universities are not unique. What South African universities can learn is how to navigate changes in modes of teaching, learning and research from those universities that are ahead in adopting hybrid or blended modes.

Adam Habib: South African universities have similar problems to other institutions across the world. The big distinction with South Africa is that we are undertaking these activities in the midst of deep inequalities.

This means that we have much to teach the world on how to engage in blended learning in unequal contexts and how to assist poor people in this regard.

Mamokgethi Phakeng, Vice-Chancellor, University of Cape Town; Adam Habib, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, University of the Witwatersrand, and Tawana Kupe, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University, University of Pretoria. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte soaked up the sunshine on a Mediterranean summer holiday while France battles to contain a surge in coronavirus cases.

The French president, 42, took a shirtless ride on a jet ski while Brigitte, 67, relaxed on a boat off the island of Porquerolles off France's Mediterranean coast.

The couple took their staycation near Fort de Bregancon, the medieval fortress on the Cote d'Azur which has been the official retreat of French presidents since 1968.

Macron's government is set to ramp up police checks to enforce social distancing rules after health officials announced another 2,524 new cases last night - the biggest one-day jump since the lockdown was lifted in May.

With France at a 'tipping point', police will be deployed to enforce the one-metre safety distance and the tougher face mask rules that cities including Paris and Marseille have recently imposed.

'It's not the police people should be afraid of... they should fear the virus, that lurks and contaminates,' said government spokesman Gabriel Attal.

With Macron battling to keep a lid on the country's growing Covid-19 cases, Twitter users lined up to mock the jet-skiing president with one calling him 'our national Rambo training to save the world'.

One wrote: 'Mad Max Macron at full speed on a jet ski. The planet does not thank him.'

And another questioned his decision to take a holiday as 'France sinks into violence and chaos, the second wave of Covid-19 threatens and many French people don't go on vacation'

The increase in cases in France comes alongside rising infection rates in Germany - which today recorded its worst daily spike in cases since May 1 - and an ongoing outbreak in Spain where cases are surging in the Balearic Islands.

In the driving seat: French president Emmanuel Macron takes a jet-ski ride in the South of France during a Mediterranean summer holiday while the country battles a potential second spike in coronavirus cases

Summer holiday: Emmanuel Macron speaks to his wife Brigitte, 67, on a boat off the Mediterranean island of Porquerolles during the presidential couple's staycation in the South of France

Coronavirus cases have been rising sharply in Spain, France and Germany amid fears of a second wave in Europe, while Italy's numbers have also crept up in recent days - although there are signs that serious cases are rising more slowly because more younger people are being infected

British tourists in France may be spared quarantine despite surge in cases British holidaymakers in France could be spared quarantine for now despite a surge in coronavirus cases. A review due to be completed today is expected to keep France on the list of countries that are exempted from the UK's 14-day isolation rules. However, the Netherlands and Malta are at risk of being taken off the roll call of safe destinations, as they have worse rates. Speculation has been mounting about quarantine exemptions being scrapped as infections rise across much of Europe. Hundreds of thousands of Britons are either on holiday in France or planning to go there, but yesterday it recorded more than 2,500 cases - a record since lockdown was eased. The country appears to be perilously close to the yardstick of 20 cases per 100,000 population in a seven-day period. But ministers are believed to be prepared to hold off on restrictions when changes are announced today, with the situation kept under close observation. MailOnline understands that Malta and the Netherlands, which have higher prevalence, are more likely to be returned to the quarantine list - which already includes Spain and Portugal. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not believed to have signed off on the adjustments yet. Travellers are expected to be given around 30 hours notice of any changes coming into force, so they can make new arrangements if required. The Netherlands (23.1 per 100,000), Gibraltar (35.6), Monaco (38.2), Malta (46.7), San Marino (53.0), the Faroe Islands (198.5), Turks and Caicos (278.9) and Aruba (547.9) all have higher rates of new cases per 100,000 than France. Those on the list with a slightly lower rate than France are Denmark (15.3 per 100,000), Iceland (14.7), the Czech Republic (14.0), Switzerland (13.3) and Poland (12.7). All the above have now overtaken Portugal's rate of 12.4 new cases per 100,000 people in the last seven days, but despite this, Portugal remains on the list of countries from which all arrivals to the UK, including those returning from holiday, must quarantine for two weeks. Downing Street reminded potential holidaymakers this week that 'there is no risk free way of travelling overseas' with Boris Johnson adding that he 'would not hesitate' to bring in travel restrictions for other countries. The latest data on coronavirus cases on foreign soil is being analysed by the Government's Joint Biosecurity Centre (JCB), which reports to Health Secretary Matt Hancock. Britons in France and other countries could be forced to make a dash home or risk being forced to quarantine on their return to the UK, should the government decide to remove more countries from the list. Advertisement

France has recorded more than 11,000 cases in the last week - up from fewer than 4,000 a month ago - while a higher share of tests are coming back positive in a sign of 'increased viral circulation' in the country.

The 7-day average now stands at 1,810 cases per day, having been continuously below 1,000 from mid-May until late July.

'It's imperative that we keep up our efforts to avoid the epidemic picking up again, individually and collectively, everywhere and at all times', health officials said.

However, health minister Olivier Veran said that the number of infections that lead to serious complications was now much lower than in February-March.

'There are several explanations, notably the fact that patients diagnosed with Covid now are younger, 20 to 40, and less fragile, and because older people continue to protect themselves well,' Veran told French television.

The number of hospital patients fell by more than 100 on Wednesday while the number in intensive care is also down.

Veran said the government would do all it could to avoid a new lockdown, with children due to return to school in September.

Health officials identified 18 new virus clusters on Wednesday, bringing the total to 896 nationwide.

France's death toll stands at 30,371, of whom nearly 20,000 have died in hospital including 17 in the last 24 hours.

Prime minister Jean Castex said on Tuesday that the country needs to 'pull itself together' to control the outbreak, saying that people were becoming careless.

Talking of the risk of another lockdown, Castex said: 'Nobody wants to live through that again.'

Castex said he would ask local authorities 'to extend as far as possible the obligation to wear masks in public spaces'.

Some cities including Paris, Lille, Toulouse and Biarritz have already imposed a mandatory face mask order in crowded outdoor spaces despite the hot weather.

Masks are already compulsory in shops and banks across France.

The increase has led to fears that France will be the next country struck off Britain's approved travel list, as Spain and Belgium have already been.

Elsewhere, Germany today recorded its worst daily spike since May 1 as 1,445 people tested positive in the space of 24 hours.

The rising cases - linked to summer holidays and other social gatherings - have alarmed German officials because they are occurring across the country.

The last seven days have seen 6,897 new cases in Germany, up from 5,239 the week before and fewer than 3,000 per week as recently as mid-July.

'This obviously - if we don't all watch out now - can lead to a certain dynamic' and the reemergence of the pandemic,' health minister Jens Spahn said.

However, Spahn also voiced optimism that an effective vaccine would be developed in the coming months - after German public health agency RKI withdrew a report suggesting there would be one in the autumn.

'I'm optimistic that in the next months, and certainly in the next year, there can be a vaccine,' Spahn told ZDF television.

The RKI issued a report on Wednesday saying a vaccine was expected by the autumn, but later withdrew it and said it was published in error.

Spahn said it was not yet possible to know how often people would need to be vaccinated or how long-lasting the immunity would be.

He added: 'But one thing we can say is that thanks to us all working together - researchers, scientists, the public - we will probably have a vaccine faster than ever before in the history of humanity.'

En vacances: The couple took their staycation near Fort de Bregancon, the medieval fortress on the Cote d'Azur which has been the official retreat of French presidents since 1968

Shirt off: Emmanuel Macron aboard a boat (left) and taking a jet-ski ride (right) during the couple's Cote d'Azur holiday

Looking ahead: Macron on the water as his government prepares to launch a police crackdown on non-compliance with mask and social distancing rules in France

France has recorded more than 11,000 cases in the last week - up from fewer than 4,000 a month ago - while a higher share of tests are coming back positive in a sign of 'increased viral circulation' in the country

France's death toll stands at 30,371, of whom nearly 20,000 have died in hospital including 17 in the last 24 hours

Meanwhile in Spain, the Balearic Islands saw a record 279 cases yesterday in a fresh blow to local businesses struggling against the lack of British tourists.

The Spanish islands have been battling for an exemption from Britain's travel restrictions but cases have surged in the Balearics in recent days.

Cases jumped by 3,172 on Wednesday with more than 24,000 new infections counted in the last week alone.

The surge has prompted the construction of a military field hospital in the hard-hit Aragon region in scenes reminiscent of the peak of the epidemic in March and April.

Air force personnel were setting up dark green tents to serve as a field hospital in Zaragoza, the regional capital of Aragon.

Set to open on Friday, the facility attached to Zaragoza's University Clinic hospital will be used as a triage centre and temporary ward, the air force.

With 571 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, Aragon has the highest infection rate in Spain. Navarre, with the second-highest rate, has just 159 cases per 100,000 people.

Despite having some of the lowest levels of the virus, Galicia issued a blanket ban on smoking on the street and on restaurant terraces when social distancing cannot be guaranteed.

Catalonia is set to expand a mass-testing program in the coming days to include several neighbourhoods of its capital Barcelona.

People wear masks in Montmartre in Paris yesterday after face covering rules were tightened
Today the Ukrainian consul is visiting all detention centers in Minsk.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says the Belarusian authorities have not yet provided the Ukrainian side with information about the whereabouts of the Ukrainian citizens detained in that country.

"We demand the immediate and unconditional release of those persons for their return to Ukraine," he said at a briefing on August 13, 2020.

According to Kuleba, it is known three citizens of Ukraine were detained in Belarus on August 12. These are Vostok [East] SOS human rights activists Kostiantyn Reutski and Yevhen Vasylyev, as well as Oksana Alioshyna.

Read alsoTwo detained human rights activists from Ukraine facing criminal charges in Belarus

On the minister's instructions, the Ukrainian Embassy sent two notes to the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, requesting information on all Ukrainian citizens who were detained from August 9 to August 12, as well as explanations why they were apprehended.

Kuleba said that, according to available information, Reutski and Vasylyev are facing charges of "mass riots," which provide from three to eight years in prison. Last night, searches were carried out at the place of temporary residence of the two Ukrainians in Minsk, during which investigators seized Reutski's computer, Vasylyev's Ukrainian passport, and other things.

Today the Ukrainian consul is visiting all detention centers in Minsk, but so far he has not obtained information about the Ukrainians, the minister added.

Protests in Belarus: What is happening?
Around this time of year, Curtis and Tana Howard would have begun planning for the painstakingly elaborate Halloween display inside the Avenue, the Bay Areas only bar themed around the holiday all year long and the last dive bar of its kind left on Telegraph Ave.

Today, however, the Oakland couple faces a series of real-life horrors: the pandemic, for one, as well as a reduced clientele and the challenges that come with adhering to constantly shifting public health protocols.

Still, the Howards are doing their best to adapt, creatively repurposing some of their decor to maintain a spooky, yet socially distanced ambiance while serving a rotating menu from local restaurants forced to shutter due to the pandemic. Using a projector and a large outdoor canvas screen, the Avenue has rigged up a DIY movie theater of sorts, allowing guests to watch a film on the front patio while they enjoy a meal.

I tested it out on Monday with Spirited Away and people loved it, Curtis told SFGATE over the phone on Wednesday morning. A couple of guys Ive never seen before just happened to be walking by, saw the movie we were playing and decided to sit down. They ordered hot dogs and a couple of drinks and stayed there until I had to take things down.

RELATED: Meet the 'Brokeass Cooks' who started a pop-up in their Oakland backyard

On Wednesday, the bar kicked off its movie nights with the fittingly post-apocalyptic thriller Mad Max, also dishing out $4 tacos from Blakes Grillery, a Southern-influenced Mexican eatery run by the former proprietors of Bar 41.

The Avenue will screen the classic Miyazaki anime Spirited Away again on Friday, accompanied by vegan sushi from Salvage Hausu, a pop-up restaurant that opened late last year. They hope to round out the roster with Star Wars in addition to more horror movies as Halloween nears.

Were trying to survive within the parameters we seem to understand, said Curtis, adding that the bar is operating at about 10% of their typical capacity. Until we can get people inside again, were trying to keep our heads above water. Its more like we have one nostril underwater while were barely breathing through the other with a straw. This is all we have.

Though the bar recently received an SBA loan, Curtis said he will have to go back to bartending full-time to pay off the business accumulating debt. In the meantime, hes implemented a chain of safety precautions throughout the outdoor patio area while preserving a bit of the Avenues signature charm.

Curtis and Tana Howard

A chalkboard sign adjacent to the entryway reminds guests to assume EVERYONE has the cooties, while a nearby zombie mannequin named Bob brandishes a list of additional health guidelines. A hand sanitizer bottle is placed on each table as well as the counter where customers order their food and drinks. Masks must be worn upon entering the bar, while ordering food and drinks as well as using the bathroom, and guests temperatures are taken with a touchless thermometer before they sit down. Only one representative from each table may order drinks at a time, and people arent allowed to move from table to table.

Im doing everything I can to keep customers safe, but I also want them to have fun, said Curtis.

He described the joy he felt on Monday night as he watched complete strangers begin to chat amongst themselves while the movie played. For the first time in a while, it felt like a real bar scene again.

ALSO: Here are all the San Francisco restaurants reopening outdoor patio seating

Last weekend, Tana outfitted the back patio with skeletons, monster masks, jack-o-lanterns and a full-scale graveyard. She hopes they can set up an additional screening area there for adults to enjoy horror movies, with the street-facing front patio serving as a space for more kid-friendly fare like Paranorman and Coraline.

Curtis and Tana Howard

The day we spent pulling the graveyard scenes out of our storage space and working together on that project, it was like a tonic for Curt and I, she said. Even though it was a small thing, it put us back in touch with our feelings about the bar. Were all just trying to have these little moments of fun and forget about how bizarre and hard this year has been so far.

The couple says theyre grateful for the local restaurants that have reached out to work with them so far, and that they hope to partner with other recently-shuttered eateries as the pandemic lingers on.

The silver lining in this is that all of us have met and come together, said Tana. Im getting a little sniffly here, but were trying as a community to help each other during these uncertain times. Its an example of the service industry coming together to keep everyone afloat in a proactive, positive way.

The Avenue is located on 4822 Telegraph Ave. in Oakland and serves outdoor dining every day from 4-11 p.m. Friday's screening of "Spirited Away" will begin at 8:45 p.m.

Amanda Bartlett is an SFGATE culture reporter. Email: amanda.bartlett@sfgate.com | Twitter: @byabartlett
by Sumon Corraya

Revealed in an International Organization for Migration report. About 10 million Bangladeshi work abroad, especially in the Persian Gulf, generating remittances of over 15 billion euros. One migrant worker supports on average three members of his family. Without work, they go into debt to buy food and pay for coronavirus treatment. Many returnees hope to leave soon.

Dhaka (AsiaNews) - 70% of migrant workers who returned to Bangladesh for the coronavirus pandemic are now out of work revealed the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in a study published yesterday. About 10 million Bangladeshi live and work abroad, mainly employed as low-skilled labor in the Persian Gulf. In 2019, they generated remittances worth over 15 billion euros.

The survey, carried out on a sample of 1,500 people from 12 districts, takes into consideration the returns that took place between February and June. According to IOM, unplanned and large-scale returns of unemployed migrants affect communities that depend on remittances: one migrant worker supports on average three members of his family.

"Bangladeshi migrant workers and their remittance-dependent communities are adversely impacted by the unprecedented global restrictions on mobility and the Covid-19-induced recession", explains Giorgi Gigauri, head of the IOM mission in the country. The returnees encountered difficulties in reintegrating. 55% of them are in debt; if they contract the virus, they do not have the means to pay for their healthcare costs.

Sumon Rozario, a Catholic from the diocese of Rajshahi in Natore, returned to Bangladesh in late March. He worked in a resort in Dubai, which was later closed due to Covid-19. He has been unemployed for five months, unable to find a job as a cook. He hopes to return to the United Arab Emirates as soon as flights between the two countries are re-established. "I contracted the coronavirus - he tells AsiaNews - and to be treated I asked for money on loan. I can't find a good job and I want to go back to Dubai as soon as possible .

Benedetto Corraya, a faithful Catholic father of three, has a history similar to that of Sumon. He wants to return to Kuwait, from where he returned last March. In order to survive, in recent months he has borrowed money and raised cattle in Natore: "My employer wants me to return to Kuwait, but air connections with the Persian Gulf are still blocked".
The first black journalist on British television relived today how station management axed her after showing her letters from racist viewers demanding Get that n-word off our screens.

Barbara Blake Hannah, 79, paved the way for Moira Stuart and Trevor McDonald after she made her debut in 1968.

But she told how Thames TV bosses renewed her colleagues' contracts, but not hers and justified it with the appalling notes complaining about her presence.

At her next job she was sent out of the office after right-wing politician Enoch Powell  fresh from his anti mass-immigration Rivers of blood speech  was due in.

She revealed he had only agreed to be interviewed on the condition she was not in the studio at the time.

Barbara Blake Hannah paved way for Moira Stuart and Trevor McDonald after her 1968 debut

Ms Hannah arrived in England in 1964 from Jamaica with huge journalistic experience and as the found of the countrys Press Association.

She said when Thames TV bosses introduced her, Jane Probyn and Eamonn Andrews to the press they rushed out of the room to file stories on her appointment.

Speaking from Kingston, Jamaica, Ms Hannah said: I wondered What was that and it turned out they were all rushing out to file the story there was the first black TV journalist. It was nothing to me at the time, it was just a job.

Many viewers didnt like it I discovered later. Every now and then I would meet Jamaicans who were in London living in England at the time and theyd tell me how proud they were, how happy they were, how they would rush home each evening to the get to the Today show at 6pm, there was huge support but they never wrote in letters to the station saying that.

It turns out there were people who really didnt like it, who would phone in and write in saying Get that n-word off our screens.

I didnt know that at the time, they were very kind to keep that from me. Eventually when my contract came up for renewal, they took that into consideration and didnt renew.

Jane Probyn, Eamonn Andrews and Barbara Blake Hannah in a publicity shot for Thames TV

That was when I first learned this was happening because they actually showed me some of the letters that had come in, maybe not to be cruel but to justify not renewing my contract when they renewed the contract of the other two presenters.

Later after she went to Birmingham to work on Associated Television she experienced worse racism in the city.

One disturbing occasion saw her shepherded out of the office because Powell was coming in.

She told Radio 4s Today programme: When I got back into the studio I learned Enoch Powell had been interviewed in the studio.

He agreed to come into the studio if I wasnt present.

Racism in Birmingham was so normal, I could never get a hotel room, I had to come back to London every night after the programme by train

Barbara Blake Hannah seen in one of her reports for Thames TV during her trailblazing run

No hotel would rent me a room thats how serious it was in Birmingham at the time.

Now recognition of her importance in broadcasting has seen a new journalism award named after her.

Press Gazette has launched the Barbara Blake-Hannah prize to recognise up and coming non-white journalists.

Editor in chief Dominic Ponsford said: Im ashamed to say I was not aware of Barbaras story. But having spoken to her and read up about her history I cant think of a better role model for the next generation of BAME journalists who are breaking through barriers in the way that she did.
LONDON, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new market research report titled, "Big Data Security Market by Component, Technology (IAM, Security Information and Event Management, Intrusion Detection System/Intrusion Prevention System, UTM), Deployment, Industry Size (SMEs, Large Enterprises), and Geography- Global Forecast to 2027", published by Meticulous Research, the big data security market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.3% from 2020 to reach $28.02 billion by 2027.

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The growth in this market can be attributed to the rapid growth in the volume of business data, rising cyber-attack & data breaches, and increasing demand for high-security solutions. Furthermore, the factors such as advancements of IoT and other intelligence devices, growing e-commerce industry, and evolving regulatory landscapes are driving the growth of the big data security market. However, the lack of security expertise and skilled personnel are some of the key factors expected to hamper the growth of this market in the coming years. Moreover, the risk associated with data security due to IoT and cloud platforms is challenging the market growth. Besides, the big data security is not considered as a comprehensive security measure, especially by small and medium scale enterprises.

Impact of COVID-19 on the Big Data Security Market

With many employees working from home and students learning virtually, enterprise virtual private network (VPN) servers have now become a new lifeline to organizations and institutions during COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the rapid adoption of new approaches exposed the vulnerability of organizations and institutes against potential cyber risks. One of the major factors in the rise of attacks on corporate emails includes spurts of COVID-19 websites offering fake prepositions in exchange for personal information. For instance, spear-phishing email attacks related to COVID-19 have increased by 667% since the end of February.

Speak to our Analysts to Understand the Impact of COVID-19 on Your Business: https://www.meticulousresearch.com/speak-to-analyst/cp_id=4984

In 2020, the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the global big data security market started in China, one of the world's largest producers and consumers for portable devices, including smartphones, computers, and tablets. Moreover, this pandemic is also expected to adversely affect the big data security market in many countries across the globe, including India, the U.S., Brazil, and European countries. However, as most of the IT companies adopted work-from-home policies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, cybersecurity has become a grave issue for organizations across the globe and thus, is expected to provide some relief to the global big data security market and help the market to recover at a much faster rate.

The global big data security market study presents historical market data in terms of value (2018 and 2019), estimated current data (2020), and forecasts for 2027. The market is segmented on the basis of component (solution, services), technology (identity and access management, security information and event management, intrusion detection system/intrusion prevention system, unified threat management, and others), deployment (on-premises, cloud), industry size (SMEs, large enterprises), and geography. The study also evaluates industry competitors and analyses the market at a country level.

Based on component, the solutions segment is estimated to command the largest share of the overall big data security market in 2020. The growth of this segment is attributed to the increasing concern regarding the endpoint device security & privacy and increasing number of new entrants providing security solutions against the cyber-attacks. Besides, prominent players are investing valuable resources to enhance the capabilities of big data solutions for more dynamic security threats. This has encouraged organizations to incorporate big data security solutions according to their needs. However, the services segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period. The growing demand for big data security solutions from small and medium scale enterprises is one of the key factors contributing to the growth of the services segment over the forecast period.

Based on technology, the identity and access management segment is estimated to command the largest share of the overall big data security market in 2020, owing to the continuous developments in data security and rapid use of web and smartphone application. The identity and access management market growth are primarily driven by the increased demand in security governance, distributed systems, and workforce & enforcement concerns, as well as lower quality of security services within organizations. However, the intrusion detection and prevention systems segment is expected to witness rapid growth during the forecast period. With a consistently growing demand for employee mobility software and mobility service management, the intrusion prevention and detection segment is expected to register progressive growth rate in coming years.

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Based on deployment model, the on-premise segment is estimated to command the largest share of the overall big data security market in 2020. The on-premise model of deployment is majorly adopted by well-established and large companies that are capable of making capital investments towards the required hardware and hosting environment. In addition, these organizations also need sufficient in-house IT expertise to maintain software efficiency. Internal big data security is one of the major benefits of an on-premise deployment. However, the cloud segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period. The adoption of cloud computing and storage systems is gaining popularity among small and medium scale enterprises. The benefits of cloud infrastructure, such as ease of adoption, minimal requirement of in-house infrastructure, scalability, and easy installation of data security solutions are supporting the growth of this segment.

Based on industry size, the large enterprise segment is estimated to command the largest share of the overall big data security market in 2020. There is a greater adoption of internet-connected devices by large corporations, which is driving the demand for real-time big data security solutions and services. However, the small and medium-sized category is projected to grow with the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Currently, the market is witnessing an upsurge of several SMEs, and the subsequent requirements for establishing a secure network is also growing. These companies readily incorporate big data security solutions in order to protect business data from unauthorized access, information misuse, and other malicious activities. Consequently, the growth in the number of small and medium scale enterprises and their proliferating demand for big data security is propelling the growth of this segment.

Geographically, the North America region is estimated to command the largest share of the global big data security market in 2020. This region is a home to several leading big data security providers and has also experienced several cyber-attacks in the recent past. The region produces a huge amount of data, which can be attributed to early adoption of technologies and high penetration of security solutions in multiple verticals and thus is the largest market for big data security solutions. However, Asia-Pacific region is expected to witness rapid growth during the forecast period. The growth of this market is mainly attributed to growing technology expenditure in the region and the demand for cost-effective advanced analytical solutions among SMEs during the forecast period. Besides, developing countries in the region are marching towards digitalization and are quite vulnerable to rising cyber-attacks and frauds. This encouraged the players in the Asia Pacific region to invest in security and thus stimulating the market growth in the region.

The global big data security market is fragmented and dominated by several major players, namely Cisco Systems Inc. (U.S.), Check Point Software Technologies, Ltd. (U.S.), IBM Corporation (U.S.), Fortinet, Inc. (U.S.), FireEye Inc. (U.S.), Microsoft Corporation (U.S.), Symantec Corporation (U.S.), Oracle Corporation (U.S.), Dell Technologies Inc. (U.S.), Gemalto N.V. (Netherland), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (U.S.), McAfee LLC (U.S.), Imperva, Inc. (U.S.), and LogRhythm, Inc. (U.S.), among others.

To gain more insights into the market with a detailed table of content and figures, click here: https://www.meticulousresearch.com/product/big-data-security-market-4984/

Scope of the Report:

Big Data Security Market, by Component

Solution

Encryption

Backup & Recovery

Security Intelligence

Big Data Governance

Access Control

Services

Professional Services

Managed Services

Big Data Security Market, by Technology

Identity & Access Management

Security Information & Event Management

Intrusion Detection/Prevention System

Unified Threat Management

Others

Big Data Security Market, by Deployment Model

On-Premise

Cloud

Big Data Security Market, by Industry Size

Small and Medium Enterprises

Large Enterprises

Big Data Security Market, by Geography

North America

U.S.



Canada

Europe

U.K.



Germany



France



Italy



Spain



Rest of Europe

Asia-Pacific

China



India



Japan



South Korea



Australia & New Zealand

&

Rest of Asia-Pacific

Latin America

Middle East and Africa

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Amidst this crisis, Meticulous Research is continuously assessing the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on various sub-markets and enables global organizations to strategize for the post-COVID-19 world and sustain their growth. Let us know if you would like to assess the impact of COVID-19 on any industry here- https://www.meticulousresearch.com/custom-research.php

Related Reports:

Endpoint Security Market by Component, Enforcement Point (Workstation, Mobile Devices, Server, Point of Sale Terminal), Deployment, Industry Size, End User (Aerospace and Defense, Government, BFSI, Healthcare, Manufacturing) - Global Forecast to 2027

https://www.meticulousresearch.com/product/endpoint-security-market-5096/

Cybersecurity Market by Type (Network Security, Endpoint Security, Application Security, Cloud Security), Solution (Unified Threat Management, Antimalware, Firewall, Disaster Recovery, Web Filtering, DDS Management, Encryption) - Global Forecast to 2027

https://www.meticulousresearch.com/product/cybersecurity-market-5069/

Network Security Firewall Market by Type (Unified Threat Management, Next-generation Firewall), Component (Solution, Services), Deployment (On-premise, Cloud) Industry Size (SME, Large Enterprises), and Geography - Global Forecast to 2025

https://www.meticulousresearch.com/product/network-security-firewall-market-5065/

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Meticulous Research

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Content Source: https://www.meticulousresearch.com/press-release/big-data-security-market-2027/302

SOURCE Meticulous Market Research Pvt. Ltd
WASHINGTON - In her first 24 hours as the presumptive Democratic vice-presidential candidate, Kamala Harris was labeled "nasty" by President Donald Trump, "phony" by his reelection campaign and "a far-left radical" by his surrogates.

The messages emanating from Trump and his allies about the senator from California varied wildly - casting her as both an overzealous prosecutor too tough on crime and an advocate for defunding the police, and as being so far to the left she would institute socialism as well as too moderate to satisfy her party's progressive base.

Meanwhile, Trump's allies in conservative media road-tested an assault on Harris as soft on crime, an avatar of political correctness and a danger to the safety and security of American families. Some argued that she was not African American because her father emigrated from Jamaica and her mother from India, and repeatedly mispronounced her first name. And in the darker corners of social media, some of the attacks were more overtly misogynistic and racist.

All that was before Harris made her first public appearance on Wednesday afternoon alongside presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, who made history Tuesday by selecting her as the nation's first Black and Asian American major-party candidate for vice president.

The blizzard of attacks against Harris from the political right illustrated the urgency Republicans feel to demonize her as a way for Trump to recover some of the ground he lost this spring and summer over his handling of the novel coronavirus. The scattershot nature of the intersecting lines of attack also underscored the lack of consensus within the GOP about how best to take on Harris.

"It's clear that they don't have a message on Kamala Harris, much like they haven't on Joe Biden. They are flailing," said Christina Reynolds, vice president of communications for Emily's List, a group that helps elect women who support abortion rights and is among a coalition of political organizations forcefully defending Harris. "The sad news is I assume Trump will fall back to racist and sexist tropes that have nothing to do with Kamala Harris. The good news is that won't work on suburban voters, and it will energize Democrats."

It took Trump a few minutes into lobbing his first attacks on Harris at a White House news conference Tuesday to reach for one of his go-to labels, accusing her of having been "exceptionally nasty" in her questioning of Judge Brett Kavanaugh during his 2018 Supreme Court confirmation hearing.

Trump continued his assault on Harris during a White House news briefing on Wednesday, maligning Harris for performing poorly in the Democratic presidential primary and claiming that she left the race "angry" after being "insulting" to Biden.

"Is anyone surprised Donald Trump has a problem with a strong woman, or strong women across the board?" Biden said at his Wednesday event with Harris. "Kamala Harris has had your back, and now we have to have her back. She's going to stand with me in this campaign. And all of us are going to stand up for her."

Considering Trump's long history of misogynistic comments and his declining popularity among female voters, some Republican strategists suggested that he proceed with more caution when talking about Harris - and, better yet, leave it to surrogates who might deliver criticism on his behalf with more discipline and less personal baggage.

"If I were advising the Trump campaign, I would not have Donald Trump attacking Kamala Harris," longtime Republican pollster Frank Luntz said. "He's doing poorly among women with school-age children. Attacking her will not help that deficit. Other people in the White House and in the campaign should be responsible for that effort."

On Tuesday evening, Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity teed up an opportunity for Trump to make the case against Harris on his 9 p.m. show, but the president's answers to Hannity's questions veered from attacking Hillary Clinton, his 2016 opponent, to pontificating about "windmills."

By Wednesday, the official Trump campaign had settled on a tighter, two-pronged argument: that Harris is a phony and that her liberal voting record would pull a Biden administration to the left. The campaign seized upon an analysis last year by GovTrack that rated Harris as the most liberal U.S. senator based on her voting record in 2019.

"Kamala Harris was rated the most liberal U.S. senator in 2019 and completes the radical, leftist takeover of Joe Biden and the entire Democrat Party," Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh said. "She pushes Biden even further to the left than he had already moved. Biden and Harris together make up the most extreme liberal ticket in American major party history."

Cliff Sims, a former Trump White House official who is helping to lead messaging and speechwriting for the upcoming Republican National Convention, said of Harris: "She has an air of inauthenticity, which is a major problem at a time when plastic politicians just aren't connecting with voters. That's why the 'phony' line of attack really hits. It rings true."

An array of Trump surrogates amplified these arguments throughout the day.

"Phony Kamala is Joe Biden's living political will, and her radical leftist beliefs should cause every American to worry about her being just one heartbeat away from becoming president," Stacy Washington, one of the Trump campaign's more prominent Black supporters, said during a conference call with reporters.

But Biden campaign advisers characterized Team Trump's opening assault on Harris as ham-fisted and contradictory and said the absence of a consistent and coherent message underscored the president's weak standing and desperation to improve his reelection hopes.

"Senator Harris is tested and ready to lead on Day One," Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates said. "The Trump campaign certainly wasn't ready on Day One, as their response to her nomination has been an incoherent, self-defeating train wreck."

Outside of the Biden campaign, an army of Democratic leaders and operatives are prepared to defend Harris and attempt to inoculate her against whatever attacks come her way.

"Donald Trump has no idea what he's going up against if he's going to try to mess with Black women," Democratic strategist Karen Finney said. "We're mobilized to have Kamala Harris's back, to have Joe Biden's back. We're not going to let him get away with this, and we're going to call it out when we see it."

Shaunna Thomas, co-founder of the feminist group Ultraviolet who is monitoring disinformation and hate speech surrounding the presidential campaign, said, "There are immediately, out of the gate, sexist and misogynistic and racist attacks having absolutely nothing to do with her record or the substance of her leadership."

The subtext of Team Trump's critique of Harris is that Biden, who has referred to himself as a "transitional" candidate, will not really be at the helm, instead relinquishing the work of governance to Harris.

Figures from One America News, the far-right channel welcomed by Trump into the White House, quipped that Harris herself would need to pick a second-in-command.

Fox News host Laura Ingraham made the subtext explicit in signing onto a meme from pro-Trump media that Biden is enfeebled and incapable of wielding executive power. "Even Joe is witted enough to understand that he's not really going to be running the show if he wins in November," Ingraham said.

Another Fox host, Tucker Carlson, repeatedly mangled Harris's first name (which is pronounced "comma-la") and scoffed when a guest, Democratic operative Richard Goodstein, corrected him on air.

"OK, so what?" Carlson responded.

Attacks lobbed online drew more explicitly on sexism and racial bigotry. Harris's family members were also put in the crosshairs. In entries on right-wing blogs and in images posted to pro-Trump groups on Facebook, attacks on Harris that gained viral popularity during her primary campaign resurfaced.

Pro-Trump personalities with thousands of followers on Twitter boosted the false claim that Harris is not eligible to run for president because of her foreign-born parents. The erroneous smear, which Donald Trump Jr. amplified last summer, carries echoes of the birther conspiracy theory directed at former president Barack Obama that was popularized by Trump.

Purported news articles airing the baseless accusation, from sites known to traffic in conspiracy theorie, such as the American Thinker and AIM Truth Bits, gained thousands of shares on Facebook. Some were marked for containing false information; others were not.

In similar pro-Trump spaces online, Harris was ridiculed for a past relationship with Willie Brown, the former mayor of San Francisco and former California State Assembly speaker. One meme that circulated widely referred to her as a "high-end call girl." Others used wordplay to describe sexual acts. This emphasis on the relationship played into sexist tropes about opportunistic female politicians.

Some of the figures who went on the offensive have an online audience with Trump and his family members. The conservative author Paul Sperry - who helped precipitate a quest last fall to unmask the Ukrainian whistleblower that culminated in the president's eldest son tweeting out the presumed name - went after Harris's sister Maya, posting that she takes hydroxychloroquine. The 53-year-old recently documented her struggle with lupus, which some patients manage with the anti-malarial drug touted by the president as effective against the novel coronavirus.

There was substantial overlap between the themes and images circulating in right-wing echo chambers and those promoted by top campaign officials. Biden is regularly depicted in far-right communities online as handsy, especially with women. Brad Parscale, Trump's recently deposed campaign manager who is now a senior adviser to the campaign, on Tuesday night tweeted a manipulated video of Biden coming up behind Harris, grasping her shoulders and sniffing her hair.

Ian Sams, who worked for Harris as national press secretary on her primary campaign, said "Trump is clearly flummoxed by her," and predicted that attacks on Harris by the president and his allies would get uglier.

"It's going to get nasty," Sams said, noting that the president's eldest son shared a variety of personal and at times racist attacks on Harris during the primary campaign. "The far-right ecosystem that they love to play in is firing up bottom-barrel attacks that I think are really going to turn off a lot of voters."

- - -

The Washington Post's Colby Itkowitz, Anne Gearan and Michael Scherer contributed to this report.
Taking the center stage of American for the first time after becoming the presumptive vice-presidential nominee of the Democratic party, Indian-origin Senator remembered her mother Shyamala Gopalan, saying it was she who taught her not to sit and complain about things during the time of problem but do something to improve it.

Presumptive Democratic party presidential nominee on Tuesday named 55-year-old Harris as his vice presidential running mate, making history by selecting the first black woman to compete on a major party's presidential ticket.

Making her first appearance along with Biden in Wilmington in Delaware, Harris said her mother had a great role in her life.

"My mother, Shyamala, raised my sister Maya and me to believe that it was up to us, and every generation of Americans, to keep on marching. She'd tell us, Don't sit around and complain about things, do something, Harris during her appearance in Wilmington, Delaware.

Harris, whose father is from Jamaica and mother an Indian, is currently the US Senator from California.

"You know, my mother and father, they came from opposite sides of the world to arrive in America, one from India and the other from Jamaica, in search of a world-class education, she said.

Harris' mother Shyamala was a breast-cancer specialist who emigrated from Tamil Nadu in 1960 to pursue a doctorate in endocrinology at the University of California Berkeley.

Father Donald J Harris, who migrated from British Jamaica in 1961, is a Stanford University emeritus professor of economics.

"What brought them together was the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, and that's how they met as students in the streets of Oakland, marching and shouting for this thing called justice, in a struggle that continues today," Harris said.

And I was part of it. My parents would bring me to protests, strapped tightly in my stroller. And my mother, Shyamala, raised my sister Maya and me to believe that it was up to us, and every generation of Americans, to keep on marching," she said.

Inspired by her mother frequently telling her to do something, Harris said that she did something.

So I did something. I devoted my life to making real the words carved in the United States' Supreme Court, Equal justice under law. And 30 years ago, I stood before a judge for the first time, breathed deep, and uttered the phrase that would truly guide my career and the rest of my career, for the people, she said.

The people, that's who I represented as district attorney, fighting on behalf of victims who needed help. The people, that's who I fought for as California's attorney general, when I took on transnational criminal organisations who traffic in guns and drugs and human beings, Harris asserted.

Taking a jibe at President Donald Trump, Harris said she has worked to hold his officials accountable to the American people.

And it's the people who I have fought for as a United States Senator, where I've worked every day to hold Trump officials accountable to the American people. And the people are who Joe and I will fight for every day in the White House, she said.

In her maiden speech, Harris also talked about her family.

"I cannot wait for America to get to know my husband, Doug, and our amasing kids, Cole and Ella," she said.

(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.)
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Denny Bos's ministry is the foothills of Mt. Baker, in east Whatcom County, Wash., a vast forest home to hundreds of people without addresses. Some live in ramshackle RVs, some in tents, some under tarps.

People go there when they lose their jobs or homes, when their addictions get too serious, or to get away from society, Bos said.

"They just disappear into the woods," said Bos, who's had to build trust to be accepted into the camps.

When Bos, a former pastor who runs Seeds of Hope Ministries, finds someone who's ready for drug treatment, it used to be hard to get them to go see a doctorthe trip to the nearest clinic in Bellingham is 45 minutes, and the foothills' campers can be reclusive.

But that's changed since COVID-19 reached the U.S. and Washington's governor ordered the state to stay at home. In response to the pandemic, restrictions around in-person visits to prescribers for medication-assisted treatment have been suspended across the country, restrictions on billing phone visits to Medicaid were eased, and providers began expanding telemedicine options. At many clinics, you can now get a substance use disorder assessment over the phone, and pick up your prescription at a local pharmacy.

Leading experts in the field want the changes to stay, at least until expanded access can be studied. Twelve members of the federal Interdepartmental Substance Use Disorders Coordinating Committee wrote a letter to federal officials this month asking for the rule changes to stay in place after the pandemic so researchers can study their effects.

To Jim Vollendroff, director of the Behavioral Health Institute at Harborview Medical Center, who has been training providers around the state in the telemedicine expansion, it's one bright spot in the darkness that is COVID-19.

"During this time, which is a devastating time, the silver lining for healthcare in particular, is we've been sitting on the sidelines; we've been wringing our hands" when it comes to expanding telemedicine, Vollendroff said, because of complicated medical privacy regulations. But since COVID-19, "I have seen at least five years worth of progress happen in four months," Vollendroff said.

This does not mean more people are getting treatment in Washington: Between March and June, the number of Medicaid patients in Washington in opioid treatment programs, outpatient treatment, recovery houses or other services for substance use dropped 17.7%, according to data reported to the Washington State Healthcare Authority.

But the sudden jump to telemedicine could pave the way to make it much easier to get into drug treatment, Vollendroff and other experts think.

That's been true at Sea Mar, one of the biggest treatment providers in the state, where new admissions to treatment initially dropped after the pandemic began.

But at the clinic outside Bellingham, where people in rural Whatcom County can now call in to start treatment and where Bos has been connecting campers via phone, admission rates have been rising in the last two monthsthey're now above average across the network compared to last year, just because of the rise at that Bellingham clinic, according to Chris Watras, director of the Medication Assisted Treatment program at Sea Mar.

"I've really been preaching: There's a ton of positive outcomes with COVID and how it's changing the treatment industry," Watras said.

There are plenty of cons to telemedicine as well. UW Medicine surveyed 329 clinicians, doctors and nurses primarily serving Medicaid populations across the state, and key commonalities were that rural areas often don't have good connectivity to Wi-Fi or cell phone signals, not everyone has access to the equipment needed, and telemedicine isn't often appropriate for people who have serious and persistent mental illness, Vollendroff said.

But they're hearing about more pros than cons, Vollendroff said.

Rates of people who don't show to their first appointment appear to be down across the system, Vollendroff said: At Sea Mar, they were cut in half between March and June, according to Watras.

"My guess is, not everybody is comfortable going into a clinic and talking about their personal issues. They might be more comfortable at home," Watras said.

Meaghan Mugleston, a family nurse practitioner at Neighborcare Health at St. Vincent de Paul in Seattle's Aurora neighborhood, said initially in March there was a drop in new patients and current patients' visits. Since then, across Neighborcare's myriad services, all patient visits have dropped by almost half.

But starting in May, Mugleston began seeing a rise in patients coming to her via telemedicine, particularly for drug treatment. The number of clients Neighborcare is seeing for buprenorphine is back to pre-COVID-19 levels now, according to a Neighborcare spokesperson.

Most of Neighborcare's clients are low-income and some are homeless. Many of them, Mugleston said, haven't seen a primary care provider for years but were more willing to start that process with a call than with an in-person visit. For people whose lives can be hectic and dependable transportation hard to come by, it's provided flexibilityif they miss an appointment, Mugleston can call them back later in the day if her schedule allows.

For Nicole, 32, who didn't want to share her last name because of stigma against people who use drugs, telemedicine has made getting her Suboxone much easier. She's been taking the opioid medication for the last year or so, and once a month, she used to have to take a bus to an appointment with Mugleston at Neighborcare's Aurora clinic.

But after the pandemic hit, Mugleston told Nicole she'd just have to do a phone visit and pick up the prescription. Nicole was surprised; she'd always picked up a general sense that the system was worried about "helping too much" when it came to people with addictions.

"Just saying, 'Oh, they're addicts, we don't want them to try and take advantage of the system,'" Nicole said. "So yeah, it was nice; I can get my medicine like everybody. To be treated more like a normal person."

And after being laid off at the bar where she waitressed, it helped to have one less thing to stress about.

"This is when people would relapse under stress," Nicole said. "It's basically reduced the amount of time I had to invest in getting care for myself from potentially three hours or more to a 20-minute phone call and a 30-minute walk (to the pharmacy)."

Neighborcare's outreach nurses have even been taking donated cell phones to their homeless clients who need telemedicine services but don't have phones. These and other phones and laptops expressly for telemedicine use are from the state Health Care Authority, which has distributed more than 6,000 cell phones donated by cell companies to Medicaid clients since the pandemic hit, and a few hundred laptops to local tribes.

But while telemedicine has helped people start treatment, the pandemic has also created challenges for many in recovery from addiction, according to Jason Bliss, senior outreach director at the Washington branch of the Oxford House organization of recovery homes, shared living where people stay while in the early stages of moving beyond addictions.

Even though drug treatment providers were among the quickest to get telehealth options up and running, losing an in-person connection with a counselor or an Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous group is hard.

"It's started to really take a toll on some of them," Bliss said. "We've seen an increase in relapses, we've seen an increase in the decline of people's mental health. It's been rather tough."

Experts like Watras and Vollendroff see telemedicine not as a cure-all, but as an option that can help people without transportation, who live in rural areas or who are limited some other way. And they hope that whatever happens with federal law, providers will keep expanding telemedicine options now that they've started.

"Part of what COVID did was push us out of our comfort zone," Watras said. "We kicked the door open. And I don't see it closing."

Explore further Addiction care barriers fell due to COVID-19; experts see challenges in keeping them down

2020 The Seattle Times

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Minnesota Churches Chafe at Mask Mandate, Sue Governor for Overreach

Three Christian churches and churchgoers in Minnesota filed suit in federal court Aug. 13 against Gov. Tim Walz for his pandemic-related executive orders mandating social distancing and the wearing of face masks during in-person religious worship services.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Cornerstone Church of Alexandria and pastor Darryl Knappen; Land of Promise Church and pastor Gerald Ernst; and Lifespring Church and pastors Eric Anderson, Matthew Franzese, and Jeff Backer.

The plaintiffs argue that Walz, a Democrat, and other state officials are infringing on their First Amendment-protected religious liberties by limiting attendance at services, as well as by requiring face masks, and that worshipers keep a distance of six feet away from other worshipers.

The newly filed complaint asks the court to declare Minnesotas combination of executive orders regarding social distancing and mask-wearing at church to be in conflict with the First and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

Walzs executive orders have strayed far from Minnesotas constitutional admonition that the right of every man to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience shall never be infringed, the complaint states, citing Article I, section 16 of the state constitution.

Violating the orders can lead to a conviction for a gross misdemeanor, accompanied by a fine of up to $3,000, plus up to a year in prison. Officials are also able to seek civil penalties of up $25,000 per violation from businesses, the complaint states.

The fiats dont make any accommodations for religious practices by houses of worship, religious leaders or church-goers such as large religious gatherings, communal prayer, holding of hands, laying of hands, personal blessings and receiving communion, the complaint states.

Minnesotas governor is wreaking havoc on the religious freedoms of the faithful. Christians of all denominations, Muslims, and Orthodox Jews are bound by their faith to worship together, the plaintiffs attorney, Erick G. Kaardal, of the Minneapolis-based law firm of Mohrman, Kaardal & Erickson, said during a press conference conducted online.

Erick G. Kaardal, attorney. (Courtesy Erick G. Kaardal)

Time-honored rites and rituals, including prayers, singing, communion, and a laying of hands in blessing, are among those elements that comprise the free exercise of religion, for which the First Amendment disallows the prohibition thereof, said Kaardal, who brought the lawsuit under the auspices of the Chicago-based Thomas More Society, a public-interest law firm specializing in religious freedom issues.

That is the central tenet of the complaint. It is only compounded by Walzs expressly imposed no-exception, six-foot social distancing requirements on religious ceremonies in churches and Minnesotas conflicting laws that concurrently criminalize wearing a mask as well as not wearing a mask.

Governor Walz, a former teacher, gets an F in religious liberties, Kaardal added.

Other states, including Texas, Illinois, and Ohio have excluded churches from COVID-19 mask mandates. Unlike Walz, those states have recognized that you cannot criminalize religious attendance at houses of worship for any reason.

We are also seeking a pronouncement that Walzs executive orders violate the Minnesota Constitutions Article III separation-of-powers provision, he said. Walz is exercising pure legislative lawmaking powera thing only the legislature can constitutionally do.

During the teleconference, Backer, whos also a Republican state representative in Minnesota, said: People are being prosecuted and persecuted. They are not able to exercise their faith.

Knappen said his congregation has been defying the executive orders.

At Cornerstone Church, we have been practicing civil disobedience since May 3. Weve been meeting publicly since that time, and informed the governor through a letter that we are doing that, come what may, and if people want to wear masks theyre welcome to do that, but the majority do not.

Kaardal summed up the purpose of the new lawsuit.

We are a religious people. The constitution reflects that. Governor, dont you understand that you cant prohibit religious practices? Youve got to allow people to have communion, communal prayer, the laying of hands, personal blessings. Its part of our response to the pandemic. And Im sure thats why the U.S. Supreme Court back in 1905 said if the government goes too far in a pandemic, the federal courts are still here to help. And so the battle now goes to the U.S. district court, because the governor has targeted houses of worship.

Kaardal seemed to be referring to the Supreme Courts ruling in Jacobson v. Massachusetts, in which the high court validated the authority of states to enforce compulsory vaccination laws.

The court found that individual liberty isnt absolute and can be subordinated to the police power of the state, but that there are also limits to what the government can compel during a public health emergency.

Walzs office didnt immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.
China has long been the manufacturing hub of iPhones due to various government benefits, easy availability of labor and suppliers, and multiple other benefits. However, it looks like Chinas days as the worlds factory are done. This is true not just iPhones but other Apple and consumer tech products and it is happening due to the ongoing trade war between China and the US.

Young Lui, chairman of Hon Hai Precision, popularly known as Foxconn, has confirmed that the company is looking to move its production base from China to other parts of the world. Foxconn is one of Apples largest suppliers. It also assembles products for Nintendo, Dell, and major other tech companies. The company has been increasing its production capacity in factories outside of China which currently stands at 30 percent, up from 25 percent in June last year.

Foxconn has been working on moving its production capacity to more Southeast Asian countries including Vietnam and India. He noted that the

No matter if its India, Southeast Asia or the Americas, there will be a manufacturing ecosystem in each, Liu told investors on a conference call, adding that while China will still play a key role in Foxconns manufacturing empire, the countrys days as the worlds factory are done.

A number of Apple suppliers have already started setting up a manufacturing unit in India. Foxconn itself already has a manufacturing unit in the country where it recently started assembling the iPhone 11. Before this, Apple manufacturing partners had typically assembled older iPhone models in their factories in India.

It is not just Foxconn that is moving production outside of China. The ongoing US-China trade war has forced many other companies to also look for other regions to set up a manufacturing base.

[Via Bloomberg
In this file photo taken on May 11, 2020, a man and a woman wearing face masks walk on Trocadero Plaza as a French national flag flies on the Eiffel Tower in background in Paris on the first day of France's easing of lockdown measures in place for 55 days to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus. Wearing a mask will be compulsory in parts of Paris and its wider region from August 10, 2020, to combat a rise in coronavirus infections in and around the French capital, the police said. The mask will be obligatory for all those aged 11 and over from 8:00 am (0600 GMT) on August 10 "in certain very crowded zones", the police said in a statement on August 8, without yet detailing which areas were affected.(Photo: PHILIPPE LOPEZ / AFP)

Coronavirus travel restrictions have kept lovers and unmarried couples apart since the outbreak, but governments around the world are now showing more understanding of their plight, with some introducing measures to allow a happy and long-awaited reunion.

Before the pandemic, Frenchman Nicolas Perret would meet his partner -- who lives in Russia -- in one or the other country using a tourist visa.

They last saw each other several months ago.

"At some point this will all come to an end. We know that much, but no one knows when, or how much harm it will have done," the 50-year-old engineer told AFP, saying they have considered changing jobs, taking up studies again or even getting married in order to reunite.

Some governments permitted married couples and civil partners to get round travel bans and join their other half, but couples lacking official paperwork to prove their relationship were kept separated.

The rules -- judged unfair by melancholy lovers -- prompted a worldwide social media campaign called "Love is not tourism".

"It is obvious that we must halt tourism to protect us and others," the lobby group said on a website set up to back the campaign.

"But love is not tourism. This is not just about a summer holiday, it is about mental health and the future of people all around the world."

- 'Tragic' -

Non-essential travel to the European Union remains prohibited from a number of countries, including the United States, with exceptions for EU citizens, residents and their families.

In theory, member states can choose to allow unmarried partners in documented relationships to enter the EU, but in practice few do so.

On Friday, the European Commission urged member states to end many couples' torment and allow entry for unmarried partners of European citizens and residents.

Germany, which holds the rotating EU presidency, has sent a questionnaire quizzing the 27 member states on their policy.

Travel restrictions have prevented Emeric Tonri from returning from France to Vietnam where he lives with his wife and their four-year-old daughter.

"It's tragic, I haven't seen her since December," said Tonri, who has worked in the southeast Asian country for the past six years.

Writer Lucie Azema had been living with her Azerbaijani boyfriend in Iran's capital Tehran for over a year when the pandemic tore them apart.

Since the outbreak, Azema has been stuck in France and her boyfriend in his home country, where he fled to escape the worsening health crisis in Iran.

"We're being worn down, as we can see the situation isn't getting better and it could well go on for another year," Azema told AFP.

For the past week, Azema has been waiting in Turkey in the hope of a loosening of the restrictions or a loophole that will allow her boyfriend to leave Azerbaijan.

But entries and exits from the ex-Soviet state remain strictly prohibited.

- 'Time is ticking' -

According to the Love Is Not Tourism movement, only 11 countries allow binational couples to meet up.

On Sunday, France became the latest to announce measures to put an end to these couples' plight.

They will be able to apply for a pass to allow their partner to enter France, by presenting documents at their local consulate which prove common activities, their identity, residency in France for one of the two people concerned as well as a return ticket.

"This virus doesn't like love. We do," the minister in charge of tourism at the French foreign ministry, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, told Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper.

Frenchman Fabien Lefebvre, who has not seen his Iranian partner since February, welcomed the measures.

"But time is ticking, and the level of tension and despair is already very high," Lefebvre told AFP.

"Many are at their wits' end. For some, their employers won't let them leave again after the summer holidays, so they won't be reunited before Christmas."
1. The coronavirus summer surge hit its deadliest day so far this month.

Officials across the U.S. reported at least 1,470 virus deaths on Wednesday, the highest single-day total yet in August, according to a Times database. For more than two weeks, the country has averaged more than 1,000 deaths a day. Medics in Houston responded to a nursing home on Wednesday, above.

But even that stark statistic doesnt tell the whole story. A Times analysis found that at least 200,000 more people have died than usual since March. This is about 60,000 higher than the number of deaths that have been directly attributed to the coronavirus. And by any account, the US. has suffered far more deaths than any other country.
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On Aug. 11, Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, announced his pick for the office of vice president he once held: Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif.

"I have the great honor to announce that Ive picked @KamalaHarris  a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the countrys finest public servants  as my running mate," he tweeted.

About a week prior, some social media posts prematurely announced that Biden had tapped Harris for vice president  and declared that she was ineligible to take over the presidency.

"If crazy Joe cannot serve his full term, Kamala cannot by constitutional law become president," the post says. "She is an anchor baby, mother is from India, father is Jamaican, and neither were American citizens at time of her birth."

This post was flagged as part of Facebooks efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

Harris father and mother were born in Jamaica and India, respectively. But Harris herself is a natural-born citizen and eligible to be president of the United States.

Back when Harris was still a Democratic presidential candidate, we fact-checked a similar claim: that she was ineligible to run for president. Thats wrong.

"If you are born in the U.S., you are automatically a natural-born U.S. citizen under the constitution," Harvard Law professor Einer Elhuage told PolitiFact in 2019.

Harris was born in Oakland, Calif., a spokesperson for her campaign told us that year, "which is, was, and presumably will be, in the United States of America."

Harris is 55 years old, two decades older than the minimum age to become president.

Her father, Donald Harris, was born in Jamaica and immigrated to the United States after he got into the University of California-Berkeley, Kamala Harris wrote in her autobiography, "The Truths We Hold: An American Journey." He is an emeritus economics professor at Stanford University. At the end of a bio on the schools website, he notes his citizenship status. "Jamaica (by birth); USA (by naturalization)."

Kamala Harris mother, Shyamala Harris, was born in Chennai, India, and moved to California after graduating from the University of Delhi to pursue a doctorate in nutrition and endocrinology at Berkeley. She met Donald Harris at the university and the couple married, separating around the time Kamala Harris was five and divorcing a few years later, according to "The Truths We Hold."

Harris lived in California until she was in middle school, when she moved to Montreal after her mother was offered a teaching position at McGill University. She went to college at Howard University in Washington D.C.

The U.S. Constitution says that "no person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible for the office of President."

Experts say that Harris meets the definition of "natural born citizen." Other federal laws and legal opinions to know for this fact-check:

 The 14th Amendment, which says that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside."

 8 U.S. Code  1401, which says people born in the United States are "nationals and citizens."

 The 1898 Supreme Court decision in the Wong Kim Ark case, which ruled that people born on U.S. soil (with a few exceptions that arent relevant in Harris case) qualify for citizenship under the 14th Amendment.

Sarah Duggin, a Catholic University law professor, told us: "Her birth in the United States, to someone other than a member of a foreign diplomatic corps or otherwise not subject to U.S. jurisdiction, makes her a U.S. citizen.  There is no reason to look at where her parents came from, how long her parents were U.S. residents before she was born, or where she was raised."

Several other fact-checking organizations  AFP and the Associated Press among them  have also looked into these claims and agree that they are inaccurate.

We rate this Facebook post False.
Sanaa, Aug 13 : Yemen's internationally-backed President Abdu-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has left for the US for his annual medical check-ups, state-media reported on Thursday.

According to a report by the Sanaa-based Saba News Agency, Hadi, 74, left for the US on Wednesday night from his temporary office in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

The news was also confirmed to Xinhua news agency agency by a government official.

The Houthi rebels aligned with Iran launched a large military campaign and seized Yemen's capital Sanaa in late 2014, forcing Hadi and his government to flee into the southern port city of Aden.

Subsequently, the pro-Houthi forces backed by armoured vehicles attacked Aden, leading Hadi to escape into exile in neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia along with other Arab countries intervened militarily and began pounding the Houthi-controlled Sanaa in March 2015 in response to an official request from Hadi to protect Yemen and roll back Iran's influence.
The government has begun a large-scale rehabilitation of cocoa farms affected by the cocoa swollen shoot virus disease (CSSVD) in the Western North Region.



The exercise is aimed at reversing the dwindling cocoa production in the area, which used to produce about one-third of the nations annual cocoa output.



Within the last 10 years, the production of cocoa in the Western North Region, previously, the Sefwi area of the Western Region ,has dropped from 340,000 tonnes to 140,000 tonnes a year, a development attributed mainly to the devastating effects of the swollen shoot disease.

The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) is spearheading the rehabilitation exercise.



More to benefit



The Western North Regional Manager of COCOBOD in charge of the CSSVD, Mr Kwame Owusu-Ansah, said during a tour of some of the affected farms last Monday that the rehabilitation of the farms was the surest way of salvaging the situation and increasing national output.



More than 500,000 hectares of cocoa farms will benefit from the initiative which is being financed with part of the $600 million syndicated loan granted COCOBOD by the consortium of Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), led by the African Development Bank (AfDB).



Mr Owusu-Ansah said the previous rehabilitation was funded solely from the companys board budgetary allocation, which was quite unsustainable considering the threat at hand.



Currently, we believe that apart from facilitating a successful implementation of the Cocoa Rehabilitation Programme, the AfDB loan will support us to strengthen the cocoa value chain, help alleviate poverty by increasing productivity and promote a progressive and sustainable cocoa economy, he sad.



Mr Owusu-Ansah said after the rehabilitation of the farms, the farmers would be supplied with high-yielding cocoa varieties likely to triple the output of the region in the nearest future.



Survey



He said a second survey conducted on cocoa farms in the region revealed that 42 per cent of tree stocks in the region were diseased.



Our third nationwide survey has been conducted on 225,953.92 hectares of cocoa farms, which revealed that 156,114.4 hectares, representing 69.09 per cent, are diseased and, therefore, unproductive. This means that the spate of the spread of the disease is alarming and really affecting the cocoa industry, and the farmers are on the verge of losing their livelihood, he said.



He explained that the cocoa swollen shoot virus disease has no chemical control, therefore, the only measure is to cut all trees in the diseased cocoa farms and pay compensation to the affected farmers and land owners.



Mr Owusu-Ansah said at present, a total of 4,500 farmhands had been engaged from the beneficiary communities to support the programme.

The regional manager said so far, 10,205.52 hectares of the spotted diseased farms had been treated, with plantain suckers and cocoa planted on them.



Massive rejuvenation



Mr Owusu-Ansah commended the farmers for the cooperation after the initial hesitation.



A beneficiary farmer, Mr Stephen Awuah, said initially they were not in support of COCOBOD but after seeing the prospects of other model farms and the explanation of the officials, they agreed to rehabilitate their farms.

Source: graphiconline.com









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The central government and Hiroshima local governments appealed Wednesday a landmark ruling last month by the Hiroshima District Court that had recognized more victims of radioactive ablack rain,a caused by fallout from the atomic bombing of the city, as eligible for support.

But the central government also said it would discuss expanding designated areas of support for the victims so that they would be able to receive assistance.

aSince the (Hiroshima courtas) decision is different from successive Supreme Court rulings, the decision was made to appeal,a Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters Wednesday afternoon.

aWe canat say the courtas decision was based on sufficient scientific evidence,a health minister Katsunobu Kato said Wednesday after announcing the governmentas decision.

With the appeal, there are concerns about how much longer the elderly plaintiffs, many of whom are in failing health, can wait.

In Hiroshima, plaintiffs and their lawyers criticized the decision to appeal.

aItas clear that the health of the plaintiffs has been damaged by the effects of the atomic bomb. An appeal based on a political judgement, using (insufficient) scientific evidence as an excuse, tramples on the feelings of the aging people who suffered from black rain,a they said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

The Hiroshima prefectural and municipal governments were reportedly reluctant to push for an appeal but went along with the central government after it said it would review the areas of support.

aThe central government is picking on the judicial judgement. The appeal is extremely regrettable, but weall continue to fight to win,a said Masaaki Takano, 82, head of the plaintiffsa group.
Seven has renewed rural dating series Farmer Wants A Wife for 2021, following a strong debut last month.

Angus Ross, Sevens Network Programming Director, said: We knew Farmer Wants A Wife had its heart in the right place and this has resonated with viewers across Australia  with huge numbers on 7 and 7Plus.

This is just the beginning: were excited to build on this years momentum by delivering a scaled-up season with even more of Farmer Wants A Wife for 2021. It continues the successful reinvention of Sevens content slate in 2020 using proven, power formats.

Natalie Gruzlewski will return as host.

Im so excited to guide another crop of hard-working Aussie farmers in their search for true love. As Australia has seen, our farmers and ladies wear their hearts on their sleeves and its a privilege to be a part of their life-changing love stories.

Fremantle Director of Unscripted, Jonathon Summerhayes said: Everyone loves a love story, so its great to be teaming up with Eureka and Seven again to help our Aussie Farmers find true love on the land.

Chris Culvenor, Eureka Productions CO-CEO, added: Australian audiences have fallen in love with Farmer Wants A Wife and were thrilled to be working with Seven and Fremantle to ramp up the romance in an even bigger and bolder season next year.

Casting is now open at farmerwantsawife.com.au
MEXICO CITY - Residents of Mexicos Gulf coast state of Veracruz have complained after photos showed mountains of bagged hospital waste piling up in a patio outside a government hospital.

The 10-foot (3-meter) tall garbage pile outside the Adolfo Ruiz Cortines hospital has apparently been growing for a couple of weeks, according to hospital employees and residents of the states biggest city, also known as Veracruz.

The hospital treats patients with COVID-19, raising fears of a spread of infection. However, the Mexican Social Security Institute, which runs the hospital, said that the waste was not infectious or biological and late Wednesday said that six tons of garbage had been removed and more would go on Thursday.

Improper disposal of medical waste has become an increasing problem in Mexico amid the pandemic.

In May, authorities found 3.5 tons of hospital waste dumped in the woods on the outskirts of Mexico City and 6,000 cubic yards (meters) of medical waste piled ceiling-high at a clandestine warehouse in Puebla state, leaking out of over-crammed trailers and buildings.

Teetering piles of coffins, meanwhile, have piled up outside Mexico Citys overworked crematoriums.

In the town of Nicolas Romero, in a wooded area on the outskirts of Mexico City, someone had been dumping tons of medical waste on a hillside starting sometime around mid-April. By the time inspectors came to clean up the area between May 4 and 11, they found 3.5 tons of the stuff, including tissue and partly incinerated human tissue scattered around the area.

Specialized waste incinerators are already over-taxed by the flood of disposed protective equipment and infectious tissue being generated amid the pandemic.

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Los Angeles City Mayor Announced L.A. Connected Responding to Massive Financial Struggles Among Family Households

Wednesday, August 12, the Los Angeles City Mayor Eric Garcetti acknowledged critical spaces infected by COVID-19. Many family dynamics made polarizing turns for the worst; Garcetti announced the bridge that will navigate those who search for immediate assistance. The mayor also updated the community about new features within L.A. Testing sites. The demand for more testing options continues to grow, Garcetti touched on a factor in the near future that might be available.

Adjustments have been made to the hours of testing site operations due to the summer season. They will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Garcetti reassured that this will not affect the level of tests available. The mayor is still calling for more efficiency within testing capacity and turnaround time. Garcetti announced the assembly of a National group to explore rapid at-home testing. Pilot tests will be distributed in Los Angeles, if approved there can be a testing capacity of one million test results a week.

Garcetti admitted to the hardships felt across Los Angeles, unstable financial situations have shattered and are exasperated to the point of devastation. The mayor announced the launch of L.A. Connected, it will be the bridge for resources for extremely affected financial situations. The city created a platform to support families that are seeing their darkest days.

Found within the city press release, the mayor stated, COVID-19 has dealt a devastating blow to Angelenos economic security, and L.A. Connected will be the bridge between tens of thousands of households and their ability to make rent, pay the bills, put food on the table, and stay afloat, He continued, Our job as a City is to save lives and safeguard livelihoods  and todays effort will help us build a sturdy foundation of justice, equity, and stability for our neighbors struggling to get by.

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Deputy Mayor of Economic Opportunity and Chief Equity Officer Brenda Shockley stated, Equitable recovery from the COVID-19 crisis begins with ensuring that all Angelenos receive the Economic Impact Payments they are entitled to, She continued, This moment of unprecedented health risks and unmatched economic insecurity requires the Citys infrastructure of social service systems to serve a vital role in addressing the continuing needs of Angelenos. WorkSource and FamilySource Centers are central to the foundation of our Citys social safety net. We want and urge everyone to get connected.

The goal for L.A. Connected is to Magnetize the resources to the communities that need them the most. The city plans for this platform to be an educational tool to empower families to receive the help they need. It is a network that includes various service providers through Los Angeles City WorkSource and FamilySource that will help Angelenos apply to the following: unemployment insurance, file their taxes, apply for as much as $8,000 in tax credits, and access federal stimulus checks, known as Economic Impact Payments, which total up to $1,200 per adult and $500 per child.

Mayor Garcetti shared the latest updates regarding the coronavirus outbreak on Wednesday. The level of severity remains at Orange, current county statistics reflect 2,428 new infections, bringing the total to 217,197. Mayor Garcetti disclosed 851 of those reports came directly from the city of Los Angeles. The average cases in the city fall over 2,000 reports; the positivity rate in the city of Los Angeles is slightly over 7%. There were 51 additional deaths due to COVID-19, bringing the total to 5,109 fatal cases.

In relation to the current condition of the pandemic within Los Angeles, the mayor said we are making progress. He described the actions that took place over the last three weeks as success. The gradual mission of flattening the curve is growing visually within the numbers. Five out of six state ordered benchmarks were heading in the right direction, reflecting a glimmer of silver lining for healthier statistics in the future count.
The head of the NEA said vote-counting will be held inside sub-committees, with headcount of each committee sent to general committees to announce final headcount for each districts polling stations nationwide

Polling stations closed nationwide in Egypt on Wednesday at 9 pm, wrapping up the two-day Senate elections that began on Tuesday amid strict precautionary measures against the coronavirus pandemic.

The head of the National Elections Authority (NEA), Lashin Ibrahim, said the second day of voting passed smoothly without any reported violations that would affect the electoral process.

The turnout on the second day was moderate, according to live footage by satellite TV channels throughout the day, similar to a light to moderate turnout on the first day as soaring temperatures dropped.

Ibrahim said the vote-counting will be held inside sub-committees, with the headcount of each committee sent to general committees to announce the final headcount for each districts polling stations nationwide.

The committees are then tasked with sending a headcount with the number of registered voters, casted ballots, the number of correct and void votes and votes garnered by each candidate to the NEA.

The vote-counting is held inside every sub-committee, with independent system and closed-list electoral cards counted separately.

The results of the first round of the Senate Elections are set be announced on 19 August by the NEA.

A run-off round will take place in September.

Around 63 million Egyptians from the country's population of more than 100 million people are eligible to cast ballots.

The two-day vote for the second chamber of parliament was held at some 14,000 polling stations across the country under the supervision of around 18,000 judges assisted by 120,000 clerks.

The elections were held under strict preventive measures against the pandemic, as the NEA said masks must be worn with social distancing maintained inside polling stations.

A total of 787 candidates have been vying for seats in the new legislative body, which is to be set up as part of constitutional amendments approved last year. Voting for Egyptians living abroad took place in 124 countries on Sunday and Monday.

The Senate, whose term is set at five years, will have 300 members.

Two-thirds of the members are elected via the individual candidacy and the closed party list systems, and the rest will be appointed by the president. Women will hold a quota of at least 25 percent of the seats in the chamber.

The polls are expected to be swept by the pro-government Mostaqbal Watan (the Future of Homeland) party, which fielded the largest number of candidates. A list led by the party will seek 100 seats allocated to party lists uncontested. Mostaqbal Watan has 59 candidates on this list.

Another 100 individual seats will be up for grabs, of which 95 will be contested by Mostaqbal Watan candidates.

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On a typical day, he woke at 5 a.m. to work a business breakfast at one end of Paris, then headed to another part of town to service a glittering political or social dinner ending after midnight. Grabbing a few hours of sleep, he headed to a fresh gig in the morning, where he signed new temporary contracts all over again.

The work pulled in 3,000 euros ($3,500) a month  enough to pay living expenses, his 1,000 mortgage payment and support for his two teenage children. But his savings were liquidated last year when he and his wife divorced and he bought her share of the apartment, in Fresnes, a working-class suburb south of Paris.

When the pandemic wiped out his contracts, the catering firms that employed him put only permanent staff on furlough, reaping a subsidy from the government for not firing them.

Europes furlough subsidy programs dont extend the same benefit to contract workers, throwing Mr. Hombert into an uncertain future.

His jobless benefits, which are less than half his normal income, last for only 180 days under unemployment rules governing the catering industry. After they expire in mid-August, he will go onto Frances basic welfare, which provides around 600 a month, not enough to take care of his expenses.

Covid-19 has created a huge financial crisis, said Mr. Hombert, who traded in his car, cut back on all but the basics and scrapped plans to take his children on vacation. You try to plan two months out, but you cant even do that, he said. Then you find yourself having to sell the apartment to get by.

But engineering less pain may prove impossible. In Britain, the government also acted quickly to protect the economy, and was lauded for the scale of its measures. A plan to pay up to 80 percent of workers wages was announced before the nationwide lockdown went into force in March. By the middle of July, 9.5 million jobs had been furloughed.
Seagulls Don't Exist on Oregon / Washington Coast - Just Gulls (About Western Gull)

Published 08/13/20 at 5:44 AM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Oregon Coast)  It's perhaps the biggest misnomer used on the Oregon coast or Washington coast: the term seagull. They dont technically exist. The correct term is gull  not seagull  and yes, it drives birders crazy. Thanks to the internet this fact is slowly spreading, but in the meantime there are scores of coastal businesses named for seagulls and who knows how long it will be before the rest of us catch up.

Just ask Tiffany Boothe of Seaside Aquarium.

Did you know that there's no such thing as a seagull? she said. Say what!? Yep, there are actually many different species of gulls that live near the sea - 28 types in North America to be precise, and not one of them is named seagull.

Indeed, for the Washington and Oregon coast most of what we see here are Western gulls. While theyre the most prominent species of gull around these parts, Boothe said they actually have the smallest population of gulls in North America.

You can tell its them by the gray wings, white head  and most importantly the yellow beak. Thats the big giveaway as other gulls can look similar. That yellow schnoz comes with a little red spot as well. Juvenile western gulls look much more gray, and they too can then resemble other birds to the untrained eye.

Photo Seaside Aquarium: this western gull named Simon hung out in front of the aquarium for ages

They also have another unique quality: they're the only gull that nests along the rocky coastline, rather than in estuaries, Boothe said.

While common from California through the southern Washington coast, they come through the northern Washington shoreline and British Columbia as theyre migrating. Down in the San Francisco area, theres an offshore island that has the largest population of them.

Western gulls are almost exclusively marine-dwellers, but theyve been known to come inland as far as about 100 miles. This explains why youll periodically spot them scavenging and hear that instantly-recognizable squealing sound in say a Fred Meyers parking lot in Portland.

In early summer, western Gulls begin forming breeding pairs, Boothe said. If possible, they'll reunite with their previous years partner. Females lay 2-3 eggs per season, and both partners aggressively protect their chosen nest site. Believe it or not, baby western bulls are some of the cutest chicks on the planet. To see these fluffy spotted cotton-balls, check out Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach at low tide between June and August.

Boothe also wanted to reiterate you should NOT feed the gulls.

Processed foods are very unhealthy for them, even though they might seem to love your bread and popcorn, Boothe said. If you see an injured bird and want to help, call the Wildlife Center of the North Coast at 503-338-0331.

According to Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, several other kinds of gulls inhabit the Oregon coast. Among them youll find the Mew gull, Thayer's gull, Glaucous-winged gull, Sabine's gull, Black-legged kittiwake, Common tern, Arctic tern, Elegant tern, Parasitic jaeger, Pomarine jaeger, and Long-tailed jaeger.

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WASHINGTON  KPS Capital Partners is acquiring Humvee-maker AM General, the private equity firm announced last month, marking a new chapter for the South Bend, Indiana-based vehicle maker.

AM General President and CEO Andy Hove will continue to lead the company, and KPS Partner Jay Bernstein said the firm would continue to build on the ubiquitous Humvee, leveraging the companys research, technology, innovation and new product development, as well as its heritage and iconic brand name.

The Humvee appears to have some growth ahead. For one, U.S. Army budget documents call for $1.5 billion through 2025 to pay for modernization of its fleet of High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles and their up-armored variant. That can include replacing major components, applying new technologies or replacing vehicles entirely. After the Army reaches its procurement objective for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, made by Oshkosh, it will have an enduring requirement for 54,800 Humvees.

Otherwise, AM General  which has advertised both its Brutus 155mm and Hawkeye 105mm mobile howitzers  is expected to participate in the Armys mobile howitzer shoot-off evaluation at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, next year.

Meanwhile, the Army is expected to complete a new tactical wheeled vehicle strategy in fiscal 2021, which has thus far received congressional support, per the House and Senate versions of the annual defense policy bill.

Hove, who has said KPS will continue to execute AM Generals existing strategy, spoke with Defense News on Aug. 6. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Private equity firm KPS Capital Partners is in the process of acquiring AM General. At this preliminary stage, what would you say are KPS plans and vision for the company?

I think [KPS partner] Jay Bernstein represented it in his quote in the announcement that they feel really good about the capabilities of AM General and the strategy weve been executing. Weve discussed with them where we can go. Theyre confident in our business and the growth prospects of AM General. They feel good about and stand behind our strategy, and were going to work together with them.

Story continues

Will the company focus more on the Humvee, or do you see it becoming more flexible? What is the future for the Humvee? Who are its customers these days?

To say were only focused on the Humvee today would not be a correct premise. Weve made investments across the board, in base automotive systems, and then automotive systems that have a particular special use. Our core focus is in solving very complex mobility challenges for customers. So the Humvee has a great future. I would offer that you turn to not what I say about what the Army will do but what the Army says theyre going to do on the Humvee fleet, which is to steadily and systematically manage a very large fleet by systematic replacement of that fleet and recapitalization of that fleet going forward.

Theyve been buying new-built Humvees to replace old Humvees over the last four years at a pretty heavy clip and have announced their intention to continue to do that going forward.

Were obviously going to focus on the Humvee because theres significant demand. It is today the worlds leading military 4x4 in its class, and we build more of them than any other military vehicle manufacturer in the world, and especially more than anybody in our weight class.

That wont be the only thing we invest in. You can see our investments in the Hawkeye, which brings game-changing breakthrough technology [in relation to] how artillery systems are moved around and employed on the battlefield, together with a whole other range of implementing technologies such as autonomous navigation, off-board power and those kind of things. The U.S. Defense Department is an important customer, but a considerable portion of our businesses is global business, so we take a global view of how we solve mobility challenges for our customers around the globe.

The Army recently issued a request for information about replacing heavy trucks. Is that a potential opportunity?

We certainly feel like we have something to offer, a range of things to offer there, and that RFIs only been out for a couple of weeks. Well will certainly take a closer look at that. Were also taking a look at the JLTV competition they announced back in February.

Defense News recently characterized AM General as largely stagnant since losing the competition for the JLTV in 2015 to Oshkosh. Do you want to push back at all to talk about AM Generals time under McAndrew & Forbes?

The JLTV decision was 2015, and the four years since the announcement on the JLTV competition weve built more military vehicles than Oshkosh or any other military vehicle manufacturer by a long shot, and sold them to more customers around the globe than anyone else. I think thats far from being stagnant. There are a lot of adjectives you can apply to the company. Stagnant would not be the one I would apply.

Private equity firms will typically set up companies they buy for faster growth, and then potentially thatll lead to a future sale. Do you think thats something that might happen here, and what do you predict? Is there any indication of time horizons for KPS?

KPS has made a lot of smart investments, they have a pattern, but theyre not going to be pigeonholed into a particular time frame for a next-step strategy.
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In the Journals 1979 edition, I found a reprint of Tilmans chronicle of their finest caper. In 1934, the two men spent four months surveying the Garhwals trackless upper reaches. Their journey exposed hidden dimensions to the snowy contours I had been mooning over through my bedroom window. What appeared from Khalis vantage to be a depthless rampart was in fact a citadel fit for the gods: two concentric circles of 20,000-foot peaks, with the tallest and most sacred, Nanda Devi, a twin-peaked mountain of uncommon beauty, erupting from its center. For 50 years, the glacial basin at Nanda Devis foot had defied every effort to reach it, until that summer, when Shipton and Tilman shinnied along the formidable box canyon of the Rishi Gorge. When they emerged into the inner sanctum, confronted by what Tilman describes as an appalling cirque of reddish-brown cliff draped with ice-fluting, they had taken nine days to cover four miles.
The US State Department may announce as soon as Thursday a requirement for Chinese government-funded cultural centers at US universities to register as foreign missions, Bloomberg News reported, a development that would be signal further deterioration in ties with Beijing.

The move would amount to a conclusion that the so-named Confucius Institutes are substantially owned or effectively controlled by a foreign government and subject them to administrative requirements similar to those for embassies and consulates, the report said, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The State Department and other US government agencies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. One Congressional source, who did not want to be identified, said he had heard such an announcement was coming.

Last year, the US State and Education Departments promised stricter monitoring of the institutes, which have been criticized in Congress and elsewhere as de facto propaganda arms of Chinas Communist government.

In June, the State Department announced it would start treating four major Chinese media outlets as foreign embassies, calling them mouthpieces for Beijing.

US-China relations are at their lowest ebb in decades, with President Donald Trump taking a tough line on Beijing ahead of his Nov. 3 re-election bid.

The worlds top two economies are at loggerheads on issues ranging from handling of the coronavirus pandemic to Chinas crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong and what US officials say is rampant espionage activity to steal US business and military secrets.

According to the US non-profit organization, the National Association of Scholars, there were 75 Confucius Institutes in the United States as of June, including 66 at colleges and universities.

The NAS charges that they compromise academic freedom, defy Western norms of transparency, and are inappropriate on campuses. China rejects criticism of the institutes, calling it politicized and baseless. (Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by David Gregorio)
Not too long before people of PoK would want to be part of India: Rajnath Singh

Medical degrees from Pakistan occupied Kashmir not recognised: Why India passed this order

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Aug 18: The degrees awarded by medical colleges in Pakistan occupied Kashmir will not be recognised by India. The Medical Council of India declared in a public notice the move.

The announcement comes months after the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir asked the MCI and External Affairs Ministry to review its stand to see if students who study medicine in these territories will be allowed to practice.

A Kashmiri woman who studied medicine in Pakistan occupied Kashmir filed a petition in the High Court after she was not allowed to sit for the exam meant for those who studied abroad.

India has lost 196 doctors to Covid-19, most of them general practitioners: IMA

PM Modi launches platform for 'Transparent taxation-Honouring the Honest' | Oneindia News

The MCI in its order said, this inform all concerned that entire territories of UT of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh are an integral part of India.

Pakistan is in illegal and forcible occupation of a part of the territory. Accordingly, any medical institution in Pakistan occupied Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh (POJKL) requires permission/recognition under the Indian Medical Council Act 1956.

Such permission has not been granted to any medical college in PoJKL. Therefore, any qualification obtained from medical colleges within these illegally occupied areas of India shall not entitle a person for grant of registration under

Indian Medical Council Act 1956 to practice modern medicine in India.

It may be recalled that the security agencies had red flagged the outreach by the Imran Khan government, which had in February announced a scheme to extend scholarships to 1,600 Kashmiri students.

The security agencies had said that Pakistan had been offering cheaper education options to Kashmiri students for many years and this had been done on the recommendation of the separatist. It was also pointed out that many had gone to Pakistan through legal channels and some had even been indoctrinated into terror and then returned through the Line of Control.
Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reached a historic US-brokered peace deal on Thursday to fully normalize diplomatic relations between the two Middle Eastern nations.

Praising the breakthrough as one that will advance Middle East peace and unlock the great potential in the region, a joint statement released by the White House said that Israel would suspend declaring sovereignty over parts of the West Bank.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pledged to annex large portions of the West Bank as outlined in the Donald Trump administration's controversial Middle East peace plan. The Emirati government hailed the accord for dealing a death blow to Israels annexation ambitions.

But those plans are reportedly still on the table. During a televised address Thursday, Netanyahu said he is "committed to annexing parts of the West Bank and that the suspension is only temporary.

Prior to now, Israel had no formal diplomatic ties with Arab countries in the Gulf. In the coming weeks, Israeli and Emirati delegations will meet to sign bilateral agreements on investment, tourism, direct flights, security and other areas, in addition to setting up reciprocal embassies, the statement said.

The deal was sealed in a phone call Thursday between President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Abu Dhabis Crown Prince and de facto UAE ruler Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The UAE and Israel will also join the United States in launching a "Strategic Agenda for the Middle East," focusing on diplomatic, trade and security cooperation.

The deal hands Trump a significant diplomatic victory heading into Novembers presidential election. His Democratic opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, hailed the milestone as one built on the efforts of multiple administrations.

In a statement, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Thursdays news a remarkable achievement.

The agreement, Pompeo said, reflects their shared regional vision of an economically integrated region. It also illustrates their commitment to confronting common threats, as small  but strong  nations.  Blessed are the peacemakers. Mabruk and mazal tov.

The accord makes the UAE only the third Arab country to normalize ties with Israel, following Egypts peace deal in 1979 and one with Jordan in 1994. During the Oval Office announcement on Thursday, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said the deal would be referred to as the Abraham Accord, named after the father of all three great faiths."

Senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi blasted the UAE on Twitter for its secret dealings with Israel, adding that "Israel got rewarded for not declaring openly what its been doing to Palestine.
Actor Dennis Quaid has just expanded his fur family by adopting a 6-year-old black cat.

The cat's name? Dennis Quaid.

We're feline good about this.

Dennis Quaid, Hollywood actor. (TODAY Illustration / Getty Images)

"It was really off the wall, but I just couldn't resist. I had to," the star of "The Parent Trap" told WSLS-TV in Lynchburg, Virginia. "I'm out to save all the Dennis Quaids of the world."

Quaid, 66, recently started a pet podcast called "The Pet Show" with Jimmy Jellinek, and had to jump on Zoom to virtually meet the cat and prove to the Lynchburg Humane Society that they were serious: Quaid wanted Quaid.

"I was like there is no way this is real, like, someone is pranking us," Danielle Ulmer, Lynchburg Humane Society, Adoption Center Manager, told WSLS.

Dennis Quaid, luckiest black cat alive. (Courtesy WSLS/Lynchburg Humane Society)

Life has been busy for Quaid lately: He got married in June by eloping to Santa Barbara, California, with Laura Savoie, 27, and participated in a virtual "Parent Trap" reunion for charity last month.

Meanwhile, the news report indicated that Quaid (the cat) will be picked up over the weekend (by Jellinek) to begin his new celebrity life. The kitty joins Peaches, Quaid's miniature English Bulldog, who he reportedly carries around everywhere.

And as Quaid (the human) noted, this could be a great ploy for humane shelters everywhere. He noted, "Maybe they should start naming animals in shelters after different celebrities and see who bites!"

Well, maybe not literally bites. But we know what he means!




File photo

A husband has taken his wifes life before hanging himself over alleged infidelity.

The jilted man identified as Pride Hove, from Zimbabwe was said to have hung himself after fatally axing his estranged wife following a dispute over suspected infidelity.

According to iHarare, Patience Matura received a love text message on her cell phone, which angered her estranged husband leading to a misunderstanding that turned violent.

Surprisingly even after a neighbour had spent two hours counseling the troubled couple, her husband still went on to axe Patience once on the neck before hanging himself with a rope from a roof truss at his lodgings.

Midlands Provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Joel Goko confirmed the deaths of Hove and his estranged wife Matura who were on separation.

It was suspected that on Monday at around 2am, Hoves landlord, Mr. Phiri, also his uncle was in Masvingo when he called his neighbour, Mr. Mavhunduka requesting that he checked on the couple since he had heard that they were having a domestic dispute.

Mr. Mavhunduka allegedly proceeded to the house to try to solve the dispute. The dispute was started when Pride Hove allegedly saw some text messages in Patience Maturas phone and suspected that she was having an affair with someone, said Insp Goko.

Mr. Mavhunduka returned to his place of residence after two hours of trying to counsel the couple to no avail. Concerned about the domestic dispute, Mr. Phiri decided to travel to Gweru to handle the dispute.

Upon arrival, he saw Hoves body hanging from the roof truss through the window of the dining room and immediately proceeded to Gweru Central Police to make a report. He didnt enter the house since all doors were locked. Police officers attended the scene, said Insp Goko.

The lifeless body of Hove was found hanging from the ceiling. When the police officers proceeded to one of the bedrooms they also found Matura lifeless body laying on the floor in a pool of blood with an axe on her neck.
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OMAHA, Neb., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Nebraska's senators today approved Legislative Bill 1107, drawing praise from the Greater Omaha Chamber, regional CEOs and area business owners.

"Passing LB 1107 represents a huge win for our state. It keeps Nebraska competitive with other states, and continues to position us well for growth and accelerated recovery in the post-pandemic economy. This was truly a collaborative effort and I congratulate all the elected leaders in our Legislature who showed how we can come together for the greater good," said David G. Brown, president and CEO, Greater Omaha Chamber.

Brown added, "What senators and constituents quickly began calling a 'grand compromise,' was truly that. A spirit of altruism and collaboration contributed to today's success."

LB 1107 combines attributes of three former bills impacting business incentives (LB 720, the ImagiNE Act), property tax relief and UNMC's NeXT project (a national pandemic-response center).

The combined, potential economic impact of today's outcome is substantial. As an example, the previous incentive bill, the Nebraska Advantage Act, stimulated more than $12 billion in capital investment over 14 years and led to projects in 170 Nebraska communities.

"This is a triumph of leadership and compromise that will lead Nebraska into the future. It is the result of intentional efforts from development professionals, business leaders and policymakers," said Tim Burke, president and CEO, OPPD, and Greater Omaha Chamber's chairman of the board. "This is an example of what can happen when people come together and craft something that is good for all Nebraskans. There is no doubt that everyone across the state will benefit from the increased opportunity represented by the passage of LB 1107."

That "increased opportunity" translates into increased talent attraction for the State, where Lincoln ranks No. 3, and Omaha, No. 10 in Best Cities for Young Professionals, according to a SmartAsset study that analyzed the 150 largest cities across nine metrics, including the percentage of the population between the ages of 25 and 34, the May 2020 unemployment rate, the median earnings for full-time workers and the cost of living.

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Jill Bruckner, Communications/PR Manager

Greater Omaha Chamber

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Professors from several of the states regional universities appeared before the legislatures higher education committee Thursday to complain about a disparate system of coronavirus testing as students return to campuses that they see as unfair.

This is a difficult and stressful time but we cannot allow COVID-19 to pick winners and losers within the state of Connecticut and Im sorry to say this is happening right under our noses, Central Connecticut State University Professor John OConnor said.

The COVID crisis is bringing to light the inequality that defines our state and is bringing into light an important failing that students and faculty are treated differently from institution to institution, he added.

Under guidelines developed by the state Department of Public Health all students returning to any college or university in the state must present a negative COVID-19 test when they come to school or be tested by the school and quarantine while awaiting results.
"I will ignore her breach of protocol by pronouncing herself on the situation in Zimbabwe ahead of report back by special envoys of the two Heads of State, odd even though that is, so we engage on substantive issues on the situation in Zimbabwe.
An unexplained death within the inner circle of Togo's military is posing a challenge to the authorities in a tightly-ruled country where for nearly 60 years the army has been the cornerstone of power.

Lieutenant Colonel Bitala Madjoulba, commander of the elite 1st Rapid Intervention Battalion, was found dead in his office in a military base on May 4, the day after President Faure Gnassingbe was sworn in for his fourth term.

An autopsy found that the 51-year-old, a fervent Gnassingbe supporter whose unit helped to crush mass protests in 2017 and 2018, died of a bullet wound.

But the investigators, who are being overseen by Security Minister General Damehame Yark, have been tightlipped, breaking their silence on July 13 to say Togo had asked France to provide "technical help."

In the dearth of information, speculation has ballooned that Madjoulba was murdered -- there is no indication that a weapon was found nearby, pointing to possible suicide -- and local media have suggested divisions within the military, "a settling of scores."

The investigation "is a hot potato," said David Dosseh, spokesman for an umbrella group of citizens' groups called Togo Citizens' Front Upstanding, or FCTD in its French initials.

"There have been enough incidents in the past to show that in Togo, investigations are opened without people knowing what happens afterwards," he said.

One theory, he said, is that "several figures who are close to the regime could be called into question" if investigators pushed their work to its conclusion.

A source close to the investigation told AFP, "All you have to know is that the commission of inquiry is doing its job".

"The victim's body is in the morgue, if there is any need (of it) for the inquiry," the source said.

The ministry is already overseeing several other inquiries touching on high-profile deaths linked to the security forces -- and some cases date back years.

Story continues

One concerns a 12-year-old boy who was shot dead during a demonstration in April 2013, and another concerns a young man killed in February 2017 during a spontaneous protest about fuel price rises. More recently, investigations have been opened into the deaths of two young men in Lome in April and May.

- Anger -

Gnassingbe took over in 2005 from his father, General Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled the impoverished West African state with a rod of iron for 38 years.

The younger Gnassingbe was returned to office in February after elections marked by accusations of fraud and an amendment to the constitution enabling him to bid for two extra terms. He was also granted lifelong immunity from prosecution.

Residents of the dead colonel's home village in Siou, more than 500 kilometres (300 miles) north of the capital Lome, have staged several protests to demand transparency on his death.

"This murder concerns everyone, regardless of our political orientation," said Komi Edoh, a pastor who is president of the Martin Luther King Movement (MMLK), a local rights group.

Nathaniel Olympio, head of the opposition Party of the Togolese, said the affair highlighted "flaws" in the state institutions.

"When someone murders a senior officer in his office, inside a military camp, it shows that the state is unable to guarantee the safety of its officers where they work."

Three local rights groups in May urged Madjoulba's family to file a lawsuit against the state of Togo, a move that was followed in July by a request for the UN's Human Rights Council, an inter-governmental body based in Geneva, to intervene.

The request was filed on behalf of one of the colonel's relatives by an association of three lawyers, said Mawaba Songue Balouki, a Togolese lawyer based in the southern French city of Marseille.

"We are asking the United Nations' Human Rights Council to invite the state of Togo to provide details on this issue, because so far it's been a complete blackout," she said.

ek/lzf/jhd/ri/bsp
Creating a COVID-19 vaccine is not the same as proving a vaccine is safe and effective, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. This is his take on reports from Moscow that Russia has approved and is slated to market a novel coronavirus vaccine.

The infectious disease expert said that he hopes but "seriously doubts" that Russia has concocted a safe and effective vaccine prepared for usage.

Russia President Vladimir Putin declared earlier this week that the nation approved of the globe's first coronavirus vaccine months before a vaccine is anticipated to be made available globally.

The Russian vaccine will be named "Sputnik V" in honor of the globe's first satellite launched by the Soviet Union. It has not yet completed the last trials.

Since the declaration of Russia's president, experts have been concerned; Russia has stunned the globe with its declaration of statutory approval for the public use of the novel coronavirus vaccine.

According to the United States Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, it is essential to provide a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine. He was also dubious of Russia's claim, remarking a lack of transparency in trials and information to back that the vaccine is effective, reported Rappler.

"I hope that the Russians have actually definitively proven that the vaccine is safe and effective. "I seriously doubt that they've done that," Dr. Fauci remarked as part of a keynote interview for Stopping Pandemics, an exclusive event slated to air August 13 via National Geographic, reported National Geographic.

Also Read: Some Type of Dog May Help Smell, Detect COVID-19 in People

The Russian health ministry plans on mass-producing the said vaccine in the fall. However, there is a lack of prevalent testing to back the vaccine's safety and effectiveness. All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi Director Dr. Randeep Guleria also agrees that there is a need to assess its safety and effectiveness.

Guleria stated, "If Russia's vaccine is successful, then we will have to see critically whether it is safe and effective. There should not be any side effects of the vaccine and it should provide good immunity and protection. India has the capacity for mass production of vaccine," reported Hindustan Times.

According to Azar on Wednesday, August 12, phase 3 trials for the Sputnik V vaccine was only just starting. The process usually takes months to conclude.

Azar added, "And the data from the initial trials in Russia have not been disclosed, it's not transparent."

Russia has alluded the entire summer that it is developing fast on its vaccine candidate. The director of the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow, where the vaccine is being concocted, said in May that he and other scientists had begun testing the vaccine on themselves prior to the human trials' first phase that started with 76 subjects a month later.

Dr. Fauci said connected to the Russian vaccine, while the US has in line some vaccines in development, "if we wanted to take the chance of hurting a lot of people or giving them something that doesn't work, we could start doing this, you know, next week if we wanted to."

The infectious disease expert said that is not the way it works.

Related Article: New Normal Lifestyle in the Advent of COVID-19: What Happens Now?

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Senior education group critical of exam results  claiming significant inconsistencies at learner and subject level within individual schools

This article is old - Published: Thursday, Aug 13th, 2020

A range of concerns surrounding todays A Level results have been voiced by a group representing senior positions in education across North Wales.

In a regional statement issued this morning the six education portfolio holders representing the 6 North Wales Local Authorities, their Chief Officers, the Regional School Improvement Consortium, GwE and secondary headteachers say they would like to congratulate all Year 12 and 13 learners on their achievements this year. We know that some learners will be very happy with the results they have achieved and it will allow them to go on to the next steps in their careers.

The statement then moves on to stronger stuff, However, on behalf of those learners, their parents and schools who have been disappointed and possibly let down by the standardisation process adopted here in Wales, we would like to seek reassurance from Welsh Government that pupils in North Wales will not be disadvantaged and miss opportunities to attend the university, further education or employment pathway of their choice when compared to their peers in other countries in the UK, especially Scotland.

Following receipt of the results this morning, a significant number of schools report that they have no understanding or confidence in the standardisation process adopted in Wales which has led to significant inconsistencies at learner and subject level within individual schools. The lack of transparency is very concerning.

Some of the issues the group say have been raised by schools are:

Number of schools reporting significant disparity between centre assessed grades and grades awarded by WJEC at AS and A Level.

Several examples of learners of equal ability in a subject which were awarded the same grade by the centre having at least 2 grade difference between them after standardisation by WJEC.

Methodology used by schools for awarding CAGs seems to be at odds with standardised grades.

School Leaders cant understand the rationale behind the inconsistency. It is clear that individual learners have been let down and unfairly treated.

Schools concerned that learners in Wales will lose out to other parts of UK especially Scotland.

Early decision needs to be made as clearing will be starting imminently.

Concerns regarding emotional wellbeing following individual learners not being awarded grades they deserve or anticipated on top of months of stress due to the COVID-19 situation

Evidence base behind these statements seems to be growing as more information coming in.

HTs are in a very difficult position of communicating grades to learners as they have no or limited confidence in the awards that they are sharing.

Some examples are: Centre Assessment grade A downgraded to D. Centre Assessment grade B downgraded to U.



The statement goes on to say, The matter has been further compounded following the significant U-turns seen in both Scotland and England. If ever there was a need for consistency across the UK qualifications bodies it is now. It seems that in Wales there is a grave danger that protecting the examination brand is more important than recognising the needs of leaners, especially the most vulnerable in these unprecedented circumstances that we are managing. The late announcement last night that a learners final A level grade will not be lower than their AS grade does not in any way address our concerns around the standardisation process but actually goes some way to acknowledge that Welsh Government themselves are not comfortable with the outcomes of the adopted process. We are also concerned and question that the Appeals process that is in place is no longer fit for purpose.

The group also warn the same could happen again next week for GCSE students: We want to put on record that we have equal concerns about what may happen to our GCSE learners next week as this process has not filled us with confidence and that there is no meaningful appeals process for learners to appeal against the grades they might receive.

Top picture, Cllr Phil Wynn the portfolio holder or Lead Member for Education in Wrexham.
Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has urged all tiers of government to extend palliatives to the pastoralists community to cushion the effects of Coronavirus pandemic on them.

Othman Ngelzarma, the national secretary of the association, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.

Mr Ngelzarma frowned at the negligence of the pastoralists community for decades by the governments in terms of policies, programmes and incentives in such pandemic situations.

The group says that during any outbreak and societal vices, they had not benefited or enjoyed anything from the government.

He noted that since the outbreak of coronavirus that other sectors of the society were given some forms of palliative, nobody considered extending such to the pastoralists to cushion the effect.

According to him, the pastoralists are the worst affected in any societal vices be it cattle rustling, banditry, insurgency, kidnapping and the current pandemic yet government never thought of extending a helping hands to this group for decades.

I appeal to the government to find ways of extending the palliative to reach the pastoralists community in the country which has been their plight.

They have been neglected for decades; they have never enjoyed anything from the government till date.

Even with this pandemic nothing much is done to them to cushion the effect on pastoralists in the country.

None of the palliatives designed has reached an average pastoralist community living within the communities in this country.

All these news about ranching, Ruga, colony and whatsoever is just on paper, till date we have not seen a pilot plan put in place to address the plight of the pastoralists being the worst affected by all the vices taking place today in the country.

Is it insurgency, cattle rustling, kidnapping and banditry? Of all this vices happening in the country the pastoralists, remain the worst affected.

A lot of families were rendered poor, lost their financial fortune, lives, loved ones and portion due to societal vices.

It has been on the news daily that bandits have ransacked a community wrestled and went away with 100,000 of cattle, so, who are the sole owners of those cattle they remain the pastoralists, he pointed out.

The national secretary lamented at the poor condition of pastoralists and explained that in states like Zamfara and Katsina where pastoralists predominantly occupied in the event of banditry they become both victims and culprits.

According to him, in spite of this challenges the pastoralists are neglected, they are not given attention by the government.

(NAN)
you went shopping, walking in the Park and drove a Taxi  despite Corona infection office home quarantine. A woman from Germany has been sentenced in Austria, because of repeated break their quarantine to 10.800 Euro fine. The prosecution, however, calls for a prison sentence on probation and notified in accordance with the judgment of the land court of Innsbruck on Thursday to appeal, as a spokesman for the Prosecutor's office of the German press Agency in Vienna, said. Previously, the station ORF had reported about the process.

The 54-Year-old, who lives in Schwaz in the Tyrol, had been tested positive in April on the Coronavirus, and had to get a decision on your home quarantine. In the days that followed, she went shopping, according to the ORF, you stated that you had been the minimum order for food via the Internet to high, although they have received information 2100 Euro pension.

one night in jail

Also, they used the information after the Elevator in her apartment building, went walking in the Park, and drove with an injury, take a Taxi to the hospital, instead of calling for the ambulance. Finally, the police arrested the 54-Year-old and brought her into the prison after she had repeatedly been at the controls at home encountered. A custody judge dismissed them after a day.

Updated Date: 13 August 2020, 12:19
In her video Wednesday, Lingafelt said: "First, I would like to start out with saying I don't really care if anyone believes me as this is my story and my life and something I went through. It wasn't until recently that I actually realized that abuse is something that all women have to go through. When I started dating Drake, I was 16. I was home-schooled, I moved in with him, I was singing. It wasn't until about a year when the verbal abuse started. And when I say verbal abuse, imagine the worst type of verbal abuse you could ever imagine, and that was what I got. It then turned into physical -- hitting, throwing, everything. At the pinnacle of it, he drug me down the stairs of our house in Los Feliz. My face hit every step on the way down. I have photos of this."
MINSK Workers from state-run industrial plants joined tens of thousands of people on a fifth day of protests against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, despite a violent crackdown that has prompted the West to consider new sanctions.

Protesters formed human chains and marched in Minsk, joined by at least two television presenters from the tightly-controlled state media who resigned in protest at the violence that followed Lukashenkos contested re-election.

A former Soviet collective farm manager, Lukashenko is grappling to contain the biggest challenge in years to his rule of the country seen by neighbouring Russia as a strategic buffer against NATO and the European Union.

The protesters accuse Lukashenko of rigging last Sundays presidential election to win a sixth term. The president, alleging a foreign-backed plot to destabilise the country, has dismissed the demonstrators as criminals and unemployed.

The authorities began releasing some of the thousands of protesters who were detained this week.

Some of those freed from a detention centre in Minsk had bruises and described being tightly packed inside cells and complained of mistreatment, including beatings. A spokeswoman for the interior ministry declined immediate comment.

RUSSIA ALLEGES MEDDLING

Thursdays protesters were joined by workers from some state-run industrial plants that are the pride of Lukashenkos Soviet-style economic model, including the Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ) that makes ?trucks? and ?buses.

In Minsk, ambassadors from EU countries laid flowers at the site where one protester died, as a crowd cheered and chanted.

Lukashenko has sought better relations with the West amid strained relations with traditional ally Russia.

The EU partially lifted sanctions, imposed over Lukashenkos human rights record, in 2016, but could introduce new measures as early as this month. Germany called on the EU to put pressure on Lukashenko.

Russia, which has nudged Lukashenko into accepting closer political and economic ties, expressed concern over what it depicted as attempts by external forces to destabilise Belarus.

We note unprecedented pressure that is being exerted by individual foreign partners on the Belarusian authorities," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

We can see clear attempts of outside meddling in the internal affairs of a sovereign state to create a rift in society and destabilise the situation," she told reporters.

The 65-year-old Lukashenko has ruled for more than a quarter of a century but faces increasing anger over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic - which he dismissed as a psychosis" - a sluggish economy and human rights.

Anna Krasulina, spokeswoman for opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who fled to neighbouring Lithuania earlier this week saying she feared for the safety of her children, told Reuters she expected Tsikhanouskaya to release a video message later on Thursday.

Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. human rights chief, has condemned the mass detentions including bystanders, as well as minors, suggesting a trend of massive arrests in clear violation of international human rights standards".

People outside the Okrestina detention centre, some in tears, waited in the hope of gleaning news of friends and relatives inside. Police and soldiers with machine guns drove them away when they got too close.

Sergei, one of the freed detainees, said there had been 28 people in a cell that would normally contain five. Prisoners took turns to sleep, he said, and were given a single loaf of bread to share out over two days.

They did not beat me in the cell, they took me out of the cell and beat me there," said Sergei, who declined to give his last name.

Reuters could not independently verify his account.

Vartan Grigoryan, another freed detainee, had injuries on his face. I was seized, beaten, taken to prison and beaten again," he told Reuters. After that, I felt bad and was taken to the hospital by ambulance."

(Additional reporting by Anton Zverev in Moscow and Gabriela Baczynska in Brussels; writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Andrew Osborn, Nick Macfie and Alex Richardson)

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
ANA Holdings is in discussions for 500 billion yen ($4.6 billion) in financing from the Development Bank of Japan as well as private financial institutions, Nikkei has learned, as the airline company braces for a prolonged plunge in passenger numbers amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Japanese airline, which has secured bank loans for the time being, is requesting DBJ, MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Mizuho Bank to issue subordinated loans, which are considered similar to equity. ANA Holdings is looking to raise nearly 400 billion yen to 500 billion yen, though it has not settled on a figure.

With a subordinated loan, if a company faces bankruptcy, that debt has a lower priority for repayment than other debt. In addition, when a company receives a subordinated loan, its financial condition is considered to have improved. This gives the company a greater ability to borrow from banks.

ANA Holdings had secured about 1 trillion yen in loans and credit lines by June. The airline goes through about 100 billion yen every month to lease aircraft and make interest payments. It expects to have enough operating funds for about a year.

However, if passenger numbers continue to decline amid the pandemic, the airline's financial condition will deteriorate, potentially increasing costs when it issues corporate bonds and borrows from banks.
Tunisia celebrating Women's Day Personal Status Code came into effect on 13/8/56

(ANSAmed) - ROME, AUGUST 13 - Tunisia was on Thursday celebrating National Women's Day, marking the 64th anniversary of the entering into effect of the 1956 Personal Status Code. The code was revolutionary for its time in terms of rights for women in an Arab country, with the abolition of polygamy and the possibility to divorce. Special measures to help rural female workers were announced by outgoing prime minister Elyes Fakhfakh during a recent visit to Siliana, a modern farming town in northern Tunisia. The process to get an ambitious draft law on equal inheritance rights to parliament remains difficult, however. The draft law was drawn up by the Individual Freedoms and Equality Commission (COLIBE) in June 2018 and backed by the late president Beji Caid Essebsi. With a heavily fragmented parliament such as the one that resulted from the latest elections, it will not be easy to deal with such delicate issues as ones linked to individual liberties and equal rights for men and women, especially when these touch on the religious sphere. In Islam, the Quran explicitly states that women heirs receive less than male ones. Debate on these issues has been shifted to the background due to economic and social ones being considered more of a priority. ''The COVID-19 pandemic has shown a strong female presence in vital sectors: 65% in healthcare, 80% in media, 47% in town councils.



However, there are still few women in decision-making roles,'' Tunisian Minister for Women's Affairs Asma Shiri noted in recent days. (ANSAmed). (ANSA).




Kamala Harris meeting PM Modi is 'coming of age' moment for Indian diaspora, says her home state newspaper

In meet with PM Modi, Kamala Harris refers to Pak terror role, agrees on need to monitor

Kamala Harris to become first woman with Presidential power: Here's why

Biden nailed it says Obama on selection of Kamala Harris

International

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Washington, Aug 13: Former US president Barack Obama has joined top Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, to praise Indian-American Senator Kamala Harris' selection as the party's vice-presidential candidate in the November election, saying Joe Biden has "nailed this decision".

Presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee Biden on Tuesday named 55-year-old Harris as his vice-presidential running mate, making history by selecting the first black woman to compete on a major party's presidential ticket.

Harris, whose father is from Jamaica and mother an Indian, is currently the US Senator from California.

Kamala Harris VP nomination historic but not a surprise: Delhi uncle

"Choosing a vice president is the first important decision a president makes. When you're in the Oval Office, weighing the toughest issues, and the choice you make will affect the lives and livelihoods of the entire country you need someone with you who's got the judgment and the character to make the right call," Obama said in a statement.

PM Modi launches platform for 'Transparent taxation-Honouring the Honest' | Oneindia News

Obama, who served in the White House with Biden for two terms, said the former vice president "nailed this decision" and by choosing Harris he "underscored his own judgment and character" attributes that are "requirements of the job" of president.

Obama said that he has known Harris for a long time. "She is more than prepared for the job. She's spent her career defending our Constitution and fighting for folks who need a fair shake," he said.

Harris is the first Black woman and the first South Asian woman to be picked as a vice-presidential candidate for a major party in the US. Prior to being a Senator, she served as California's attorney general and was the district attorney in San Francisco.

She herself was a presidential aspirant until last year before she dropped out of the race because of lack of popular support.

"Her own life story is one that I and so many others can see ourselves in: a story that says that no matter where you come from, what you look like, how you worship, or who you love, there's a place for you here. It's a fundamentally American perspective, one that's led us out of the hardest times before. And it's a perspective we can all rally behind right now, Obama said.

Who is Kamala Harris? Tracing her Indian origins

Former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said she is thrilled to welcome Harris to a historic Democratic ticket.

"She's already proven herself to be an incredible public servant and leader. And I know she'll be a strong partner to Biden," Clinton said.

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Harris as the Democratic nominee for vice president "marks a historic and proud milestone" for the US.

"As vice president, Senator Harris will continue her legacy of trailblazing leadership to move our nation forward," she said.

Indian-origin senatorial candidate from Maine, Sara Gideon said she is thrilled that Harris "will make history as our next vice president".

"She's the leader we need to fight for families in Maine and across the country. Together, she and Joe Biden will move us into a better and stronger future. Now let's defeat Trump and flip the Senate," Gideon said.

Former national security advisor Susan Rice said she is confident that the Biden-Harris combination will prove to be a winning ticket.

"I will do my utmost to help them win and govern," Rice, who was herself a contender, tweeted.

Democratic Congressman Steny Hoyer said Harris is an outstanding choice to be the next vice president of the United States.

"An accomplished leader in our party and devoted public servant for our nation, Senator Harris will be an excellent partner for Joe Biden as he gets to work restoring the soul and character of America, addressing the most pressing national challenges like COVID-19 and its economic impact, and cleaning up the mess that Donald Trump and his associates have made in Washington," he said.

She is ready to serve and ready to make history as the first woman, first Black American, and first South Asian American to ascend to the vice presidency of our country," Hoyer said.
Lahore The Lahore High Court on Wednesday allowed Jagit Kaur of Nankana Sahib, who married one Mohammad Hassan in September last against the will of her family, to go with her husband or any place of her choice, saying she was not a minor.

Since September 2019, Kaur has been living in Darul Aman (shelter house) in Lahore following her familys allegation that she was kidnapped by Hassan who forcibly married her.

India had voiced its concern with Pakistan over the alleged abduction and forced marriage of the Sikh girl and sought immediate remedial action from the Pakistan government.

LHC justice Chaudhry Shehram Sarwar gave the ruling on the petition of Hassan, seeking custody of his wife Kaur whom he gave Muslim name Ayesha.

Police brought the Sikh girl to the court amid tight security. Her brother and other family members were also present in the court who expressed their dismay over the decision.

Representing the Sikh family, Khalil Tahir Sindhu, argued that the school-leaving certificate was enough to prove that the girl is minor. He challenged the record of the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) regarding her age.

Sindhu also informed the court that as per a settlement reached by Punjab governor Muhammad Sarwar between the two parties, the girl is supposed to be handed over to her family. Emotions of the Sikh community will be hurt if the girl is allowed to go with the Muslim man, he contended.

Counsel for the petitioner Sultan Sheikh told the court that as per the record of Nadra, the girl was 19. He said a medical board previously constituted by the court had already declared the girl a major.

The judge rejected the arguments of Sindhu, saying only the documents of Nadra were valid to establish the age of a person. Justice Sarwar further observed that the high court had nothing to do with any decision made by the governor in a private capacity.

The Constitution of the country safeguards the rights of Kaur and she is free to live with a person of her own choice, the judge said. The judge also ordered the police to provide foolproof security to Kaur.

At the previous hearing, Kaur told the court that she married the petitioner with her free will, after converting to Islam, and did not want to go back to her family.

Tension between Sikh and Muslim communities in Nankana Sahib has risen following the court decision. Nankana police have been put on alert, officials said. PTI
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 15:09:29|Editor: huaxia

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PHNOM PENH, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia on Thursday confirmed four new imported COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections in the country to 272, said a statement from the Health Ministry.

Three new cases were Cambodian men, aged between 26 and 30 years old, who arrived in the country last month from Russia via a connecting flight in Malaysia, the statement said.

"Their samples were tested for the sixth time on Wednesday, and the results showed that they were positive for the COVID-19," it said.

Currently, the trio are undergoing treatment at isolation wards in the Kampong Speu Provincial Referral Hospital, it added.

Another case was found on a 27-year-old Cambodian man, who returned to the kingdom last month from Indonesia via a direct flight, the statement said.

"The man's samples were tested for the fifth time on Wednesday, and the result showed that he turned out to be positive for COVID-19," it said.

He has been sent to the Preah Norodom Sihanouk-Tboung Khmum Hospital in southeastern Tboung Khmum province, it added.

The Southeast Asian country has so far recorded a total of 272 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 223 patients cured and 49 remained in hospital. Enditem
JUNEAU, Alaska - The parents of a man who died after being shot by a Juneau police officer want the state to reopen its review of the case, citing evidence one of their attorneys says indicates the officer was formulating a plan to shoot Kelly Stephens.

Attorneys for Stephens parents, during an online news conference Wednesday, offered video footage they said was released to them through a records request. They contend audio from Officer James Esbenshades body camera, which they had enhanced and transcribed over the video, indicated the officer was saying such things as, If you came at me with that, Id shoot you. Drop you dead. You cant do that. The police report they cited contained similar language.

Stephens had been accused of threatening a grocery store patron and swinging a long chain before the fatal shooting.

Attorney Ben Crittenden said the comments they are seeking to draw attention to came after the officer responded to the incident at the store to take a witness report late on Dec. 28. The shooting occurred at an apartment complex after midnight on Dec. 29.

Crittenden cited the materials in a letter to the state Department of Laws Office of Special Prosecutions asking that its earlier conclusion  that the shooting was legally justified  be re-evaluated.

The video the familys attorneys cited was not among the videos and photos the Juneau Police Department publicly released last month, after Stephens parents, Kevin and Virginia Stephens, filed a civil lawsuit.

Jack McKenna, a chief assistant attorney general with the Office of Special Prosecutions, in a March report concluded Esbenshade was legally justified in his use of deadly force in order to defend himself from the threat of serious physical injury posed by Mr. Stephens.

McKenna in his findings said the state would not bring criminal charges against Esbenshade.

McKenna said he had reviewed the results of the Juneau Police Departments investigation and materials including video and audio recordings and witness statements. His report said Esbenshade, through his attorney, declined to be interviewed about the shooting.

Maria Bahr, a Department of Law spokesperson, said Wednesday the video referenced in the news conference was provided to the Office of Special Prosecutions as part of the initial investigation materials by the Juneau Police Department. The Department of Law is reviewing the material in light of the familys request and will respond by early next week.

A message seeking comment was left for an attorney who represented Esbenshade.

According to McKennas report, Esbenshade responded after police received a call of a shot fired around 12:30 a.m. Dec. 29, with the caller saying someone was trying to get into her apartment.

The report said a man later identified as Stephens yelled expletives at Esbenshade and told the officer, I will kill you, as Esbenshade backed up. The report said Esbenshade had ordered Stephens to stop and said Esbenshade was retreating when he raised his gun.

The report cited footage that McKenna said showed Stephens walking toward where Esbenshade was and swinging a leash and chain.

Steven Glickman, another attorney for Stephens parents, said they worked with a company to make the audio louder and added transcription to a copy of the video they released Wednesday.

A portion of the police report highlighted and released by the attorneys references Esbenshade driving around after conducting a witness interview following the grocery store incident and talking to himself, something similar to: you cant come at me with that, that is a deadly weapon. Id shoot you and drop you dead. He later stated, you get one chance, you better make it good. Because when I get ahold of you... Thered be nothing left of you, according to the police report the attorneys shared.

Crittenden, in his letter to McKenna, said the police report describes in bone-chilling detail Officer Esbenshade talking to himself and formulating his premediated (sic) plan to shoot Kelly if he found him.

A Juneau police spokesperson referred questions to the city attorney, Robert Palmer III, citing the litigation. Palmer and attorneys for Stephens parents noted the city has yet to be served with the civil lawsuit.

Palmer said attorneys are prohibited from holding press conferences and talking about lawsuits in the media, with rare exceptions. So read into that as you will. He declined to elaborate.

Crittenden said Palmers office warned us not to go forward with this press conference because they believed we would be in violation of ethical rules.

Crittenden said his side was fully within our right to hold the press availability.
A state appeals court panel has ordered a new trial for a central Pennsylvania man who is serving a prison sentence after being convicted of homicide by vehicle and other charges for a car-train crash that killed his fiancee.

Akim Sharif Jones-Williams must be retried because state police secured samples of his blood for intoxication testing without his consent and without first securing a search warrant, Judge Judith Ference Olson found in the Superior Courts opinion.

The new trial order comes more than three years after a York County jury convicted Jones-Williams, now XX, on the homicide by vehicle charge and other counts including, DUI and aggravated assault for the July 2014 collision with the train at Slonnekers Landing near York Haven. The crash killed Williams fiancee Cori Sisti and injured the couples daughter.

Jones-Williams was sentenced to 4 to 8 years in prison.

Olson concluded his convictions and sentence must be voided because a county judge should have approved a defense request to prevent prosecutors from presenting the jury with blood test evidence that Jones-Williams had used marijuana before the crash. She noted police suspected drug use because the train conductor and EMTs who treated the crash victims reported Jones-Williams smelled of marijuana.

A police officer secured a blood sample from the hospital where Jones-Williams was being treated while Jones-Williams was lapsing in and out of consciousness and so was unable to consent to a blood draw, Olson noted. The officer didnt secure a search warrant for the hospital sample.

The county judge rejected the evidence suppression request on grounds that exigent circumstances existed because of Jones-Williams medical condition and the chaotic situation of the crash that justified the warrantless search. That was the wrong call, Olson said, ruling that the warrantless search violated Jones-Williams constitutional right against unreasonable search and seizure.

The so-called implied consent every Pennsylvanian gives in order to obtain a drivers license does not in itself allow for such warrantless blood testing, she found. Simply put, statutorily implied consent cannot take the place of voluntary consent, Olson wrote.

She concluded there were no circumstances in Jones-Williams case to justify the warrantless search because hospital staff had already drawn a blood sample, that evidence was therefore preserved, and police had ample time to secure a warrant.
BJP to move no confidence motion against Ashok Gehlot tomorrow

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Aug 13: The BJP will move a no-confidence motion in the Rajasthan Assembly against the Ashok Gehlot government tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the six MLAs who shifted from the BSP to the Congress will be able to vote during the trust vote. The Supreme Court was hearing a petition for a temporary freeze on the merger. The SC left the decision to the Rajasthan High Court.

"We will not interfere in this case at this stage since High Court is already hearing it," the SC said. The matter will be taken up on Monday after waiting for the decision of the Rajasthan High Court, the three judge Bench also said.

Rajasthan political crisis: Ahead of Assembly session, Congress likely to hold CLP meeting

With no interim order, the BSP legislators are free to take part in the proceedings to be held tomorrow.

PM Modi launches platform for 'Transparent taxation-Honouring the Honest' | Oneindia News

Meanwhile Congress leader Sachin Pilot returned to Jaipur on Tuesday, nearly a month after he rebelled against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

On Monday, a meeting between Sachin Pilot and Rahul Gandhi on Monday signalled an "amicable resolution" of nearly a month-long Rajasthan political crisis ahead of the crucial assembly session beginning August 14.

A large number of his supporters gathered outside his residence to welcome him as he drove down to Jaipur from New Delhi in his car.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Thursday, August 13, 2020, 16:01 [IST]
Many diverse backgrounds are needed at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, especially in areas where veterans are likely to have experience.

On top of murders and other violent crimes, the FBI tackles money laundering, kidnappings and various forms of cybercrime. So it needs accountants and coders, along with gun-toting door kickers.

What it doesn't need are "profilers." That's not even a thing.

Read: How to Join the FBI After Leaving the Military

Today's film and television lineups are filled with shows about people with the ability to "look inside the mind of a killer" or "analyze the nation's most dangerous serial killers before they strike again."

In the real world, any FBI agent that can suddenly see the crime from the victims point of view or gets a perfect vision of exactly how the crime was committed while at the crime scene is probably going to undergo a mental health evaluation -- or get arrested for actually committing the crime.

Because that sort of magical clairvoyance only happens on TV.

As a matter of fact, that's exactly what the bureau wants you to know about special agents. It takes a lot more than magic visions to catch violent offenders. But inquiries happen so often, the bureau had to address it on the FBI's Frequently Asked Questions page:

"The FBI does not have a job called 'Profiler.' Supervisory Special Agents assigned to the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC) at Quantico, VA, perform the tasks commonly associated with 'profiling.' Despite some popular depictions, these FBI Special Agents do not get 'vibes' or experience 'psychic flashes' while walking around fresh crime scenes."

The agency apparently gets so many questions about becoming a "profiler" that it had to add a disclaimer about it to its FAQ page. But those still interested in crime scene and criminal behavior analysis should keep reading:

"In reality, it is an exciting world of investigation and research -- a world of inductive and deductive reasoning, crime-solving experience and knowledge of criminal behavior, facts and statistical probabilities."

The actual job is called criminal behavioral analyst and, using a mixture of psychology and good old-fashioned police work, they help the FBI and local law enforcement generate leads based on the type of person who commits a particular crime.

Retired FBI behavioral analyst Jim Clemente sat down with Wired magazine to talk about some of the skills and tasks the FBI site mentions that are commonly associated with "profiling." He was a supervisory special agent in the Behavioral Analysis Unit, which is part of the NCAVC. There, they study violent and sexual crimes committed across the U.S.

Essentially, the unit is researching lessons learned from crimes committed elsewhere (along with the criminals who committed those kinds of crimes) in order to apply those lessons to unsolved cases, giving FBI special agents the benefit of that hindsight.

"We help out where forensics fail," Clemente says in the interview. "If we look at how the crime was committed, that leads us to why the crime was committed. And that leads us to who committed the crime ... and it helps us hunt them down."

Based on criminal interviews and existing research, the "profilers" study the psychology behind why certain serial killers, kidnappers and other violent offenders commit their crimes -- and what goes through their minds as they commit them.

"Criminal profiling is basically reverse-engineering a crime," Clemente says. "The choice of the victim, the crime scene, the organization level and then pre- and post-offense behavior. Together, all those things tell us the kind of person who committed the crime."

If you still love the idea of being a real-world "profiler" -- also known as a criminal behavioral analyst -- apply to join the FBI. If you love true crime from the point of view of a "profiler" with all of the research and none of the magic visions, Clemente is co-host of "Real Crime Profile," a true crime podcast distributed by Wondery.

-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook.

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NEW DELHI: A full dress rehearsal is being held at the historic Red Fort in Delhi on Thursday morning for the 74th Independence Day celebrations. The Independence Day Ceremony will be held on 15th August. A full dress of the I-Day parade is also being held in other parts of the country today.

Though the Covid-19 has been a dampener for most events and occasions this year, the spirits of the participating personnel in the full dress rehearsal events across the country soared high and in full enthusiasm for the event that is to take place on August 15.

The visuals shared by news agency ANI showed armed forces personnel in mask observing social distancing while marching in line to the tune of the band in fromnt of the iconic Red Fort in Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unfurl the Tricolour and address the nation from the rampart of Red Fort.

This years Independence Day celebrations in the national capital shall consist of the ceremony at the Red Fort which will include the presentation of a Guard of Honour by the Armed Forces and the Delhi Police to the Prime Minister.

The unfurling of the National Flag will take place as usual accompanied by the playing of the National Anthem and firing of 21-gun salute. The prime ministers speech shall be followed by the singing of the National Anthem and the release of tricoloured balloons towards the end.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police has issued a traffic advisory to ensure safe and smooth vehicular movement across the national capital.

The rehearsal will have the same traffic restrictions as on Independence Day.

In its advisory, Delhi traffic police has said, roads will be closed for general traffic from 4 AM to 10 AM in the morning at Netaji Subhash Marg, Lothian Road, S P Mukherjee Marg, Chandni Chowk Road, Ring Road from Rajghat to ISBT and its Link Road.

In view of the COVID-19 situation, Delhi Police has requested the invitees to follow guidelines issued by the Home Ministry and Health Ministry while they are in the function area at Red Fort. 381 more Maharashtra Police personnel test positive for #COVID19 & 3 died in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 124.

Total cases in the police force stand at 11,773, out of which 9,416 have recovered and 2,233 are active cases: #Maharashtra Police

Here is the full advisory issued by Delhi Police. Please follow to avoid getting stuck in a jam:

TRAFFIC RESTRICTIONS AROUND RED FORT

The following roads will be closed for general traffic from 4.00 AM to 10.00 AM and only labeled vehicles will be permitted:-

1. Netaji Subhash Marg from Delhi Gate to Chatta Rail.

2. Lothian Road from GPO Delhi to Ghana Rail.

3. S.P. Mukherjee Marg from H.C. Sen Marg to Yamuna Bazar Chowk.

4. Chandni Chowk Road from Fountain Chowk to Red Fort.

5. Nishad Raj Marg from Ring Road to Netaji Subhash Marg.

6. Esplanade Road and its Link Road to Netaji Subhash Marg.

7. Ring Road from Rajghat to ISBT.

8. Outer Ring Road from ISBT to IP Flyover i.e. Salimgarh Bypass.

Those vehicles which do not have parking labels for the rehearsal may avoid C- Hexagon India Gate, Copernicus Marg, Mandi House, Sikandra Road, W Point, A point Tilak Marg, Mathura Road, BSZ Marg, Subhash Marg, J.L. Nehru Marg and Ring Road between Nizamuddin Bridge and ISBT bridge and Outer Ring Road from IP Flyover through Salimgarh Bypass to ISBT and take the other routes as advised.

ROADS THAT MAY BE AVOIDED FROM 04.00 Hrs to 10.00 Hrs:

North-South Access

Alternative-1:

Aurobindo Marg  Safdarjang Road  Mother Teresa Crescent  Park Street Mandir Marg  Panchkuian Road Rani Jhansi Road and reach their destinations in North Delhi and vice-versa.

Reach Connaught Place  Minto Road  Bhavbhuti Marg  Ajmeri Gate  Shradhanand Marg  Lahori Gate Chowk  Naya Bazar  Peeli Kothi  S.P. Mukherjee Marg up to ODRS and reach their destination in North Delhi and vice versa.

Reach Nizamuddin Bridge to cross Yamuna  Pushta Road  G.T. Road and cross Yuddhiisthir Setu to ISBT and reach their destination in North Delhi and vice versa.

East-West corridor:

DND - NH24 (NH9) - Vikas Marg  Shandara Bridge and Wazirabad Bridge will remain open to reach Ring Road. Vikas Marg  DDU Marg  Bhavbhuti Marg  DBG Road  Rani Jhansi Road/Qutub Road  Barf Khana  Boulevard Road and vice versa.

Geeta Colony Bridge will be closed towards Shantivan:- Similarly, Traffic would not be permitted on lower Ring Road from ISBT Kashmere Gate towards Shantivan and from IP flyover towards Rajghat.

People are advised to reach early to avoid last minute rush and inconvenience.

RESTRICTIONS ON MOVEMENT OF COMMERCIAL TRANSPORT AND INTERSTATE BUSES:

SIGNAGES

Adequate informative signages will be displayed for the guidance of vehicular traffic destined for the Red Fort at all important traffic junctions.

1. Goods vehicles will not be permitted between Nizamuddin Bridge and Wazirabad bridge from the 12:00 midnight of 12.08.2020 to 11:00 AM on 13.08.2020.

2. INTERSTATE BUSES WILL NOT BE ALLOWED BETWEEN MAHARANA PRATAP ISBT AND SARAI KALE KHAN ISBT FROM 00.00 midnight TO 11.00 AM on 13.08.2020.

RESTRICTIONS ON MOVEMENT OF CITY BUSES APART FROM RESTRICTED ROADS:

Local city buses including DTC will not move on Ring Road from 0000 midnight AM to 11 AM on 13.08.2020 between ISBT and Ring Road - NH-24(NH-9)/NH it point (Nizamuddin Khatta) and take alternative route available. Buses ordinarily terminating at Red Fort, Jama Masjid and Delhi Main Railway Station will be curtailed/diverted as below:-

1) Opposite Ramlila Ground on J.L.N. Marg for buses approaching from South and West Delhi.

2) At Mod Gate and Tis Hazari for buses coming from North, North West and East Delhi via ISBT Bridge. 3) At Boulevard Road opp. Maharaja Agrasen Park for buses coming from North Delhi side from Ring Road. Normal bus service will be restored after 10:00 AM

How to Approach/Reach Important places:-

1) Old Delhi Railway Station: a) From West and South Delhi: Mother Teresa Crescent Park Street  Mandir Marg  Panchkuian Road  Rani Jhansi Flyover  Azad Market  Boulevard Road  Mori Gate  Pul Dufferin  S.P. Mukherjee Marg to reach the Railway Station. b) From North: Mori Gate  Pul Dufferin  S.P. Mukherjee Marg to reach the Railway Station.

2) New Delhi Rly. Station: There is no restriction.

3) ISBT Kashmere Gate a) From New Delhi and South Delhi: Mother Teresa Crescent  Park Street Mandir Marg  Panchkuian Road  Rani Jhansi Road and Rani Jhansi Flyover Boulevard Road. b) From North Delhi: There is no restriction.

4) J.P.N. Hospital: There is no restriction.

5) Kasturba Hospital : Ajmeri Gate  Ajmeri Bazar Chowk Hauz Ouazi Chawri Bazar Chowk Barshabullah  Urdu Bazar.

IMPORTANT NOTE

In view of care to be exercised during the Covid-19 situation, the invitees are requested to follow guidelines issued by MHA & Ministry of Health & Family Welfare at all times while they are in the I.D.C. function area at Red Fort. In this regard, attention is invited to the following:

i) In the event of any invitee experiencing/having a history of any symptoms of Covid-19 within 2 weeks of the Independence Day 2020, which is yet untested or confirmed POSITIVE for Corona (Covid-19), the invitee may consider refraining to attend the event.

ii) At the entry gates, markings will be available at adequate distance and invitees are requested to position/move on these markings while entering the gate.

iii) Controlling officers & Ushers will be on duty to assist & guide for seating inside the designated enclosures.

iv) Similarly, on conclusion of the function at Red Fort, all invitees are requested to remain seated until requested/ guided by the Controlling officers/Ushers of the designated enclosures to proceed to avoid crowding at the exit.
They labored under unbelievably difficult conditions, said Pierce. The hazards were extreme.

The records are incomplete, but the calculated information available is that at least 139 inmates died on this project, according to Little and Pierce. Some of them died of sickness, some from construction accidents, some from fighting, and some from being shot by guards.

The total number of deaths may be as high as 300. When an inmate died, he was buried essentially where he was.

Little and Pierce told the aldermen that a memorial should be placed at Andrews Geyser to commemorate these forgotten inmates who did the labor. The Old Fort Depot has a marker commemorating Major James Wilson, who was the superintendent and chief engineer for the Mountain Division. Andrews Geyser is a memorial to Col. A.B. Andrews, the first vice president of the Southern Railway.

It is time to acknowledge the huge contribution by the thousands of incarcerated men and women who labored to build this railroad under harsh conditions that we could not tolerate today, reads a proposal from Little and Pierce.

The memorial would be made out of stone and would be similar to an older one that is already at the geyser park.
Rosemary Rangel Gutierrez sat in vigil all afternoon Thursday in front of San Fernando Cathedral as she participated in a national movement to remember her father and those who have died from COVID-19.

She, her husband, Rey Gutierrez, and close friend Brenda Li Garcia, all of San Antonio, braved triple-digit heat on a humid, sunny day to remember Juan Carlos Charlie Rangel of Brownsville, a man who loved fixing cars and making things with his hands. He died July 12, leaving behind Rosa, his wife of 34 years, four daughters, two sisters and six grandchildren. He was 61.

Gutierrez wrote his obituary herself, directly blaming President Donald Trump and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for his death.

They (Trump and Abbott) downplayed the virus, refused to provide adequate testing and contact tracing, and littered the airways with mixed messages on how to remain safe, she wrote in the obituary. While Trump and Abbott stayed safe and sound, the virus wreaked havoc throughout the Rio Grande Valley. Trump and Abbott lose no sleep while people of color, unable to breathe, are suffocated by the virus each and every day.

In what has become to be known as an honest obituary, she writes that it was those officials neglect of the Hispanic community, which has been hit particularly hard by the disease, that resulted in what she believes was her fathers unnecessary death.

Why are these politicians telling us it is OK to go back to school and open up our cities when we are the ones dying, Gutierrez said, after setting up an ofrenda, or shrine, in memory of her father. What message are they trying to send us when they know the demographics?

The San Antonio event, which was sparsely attended, likely because of the heat, mirrors those held across the country Thursday as part of the Marked by COVID Day of Action. It began with the story of Mark Anthony Urquiza, a Phoenix father who died of COVID-19 on June 30.

His daughter, Kristin Urquiza, also wrote his obituary and slammed Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, stating he has blood on his hands. The scathing obit made headlines and led to the formation of a group that asks those who lost loved ones to write those honest obituaries to honor all those who have died of the virus.

Gutierrez recalled the problems faced in the Rio Grande Valley for people with COVID-19: EMS could not pick him up; hospitals were at capacity; there werent enough nurses; and two hours after he passed away, the family was called to claim his body because the hospital was at capacity..

The hospitals were completely full. Their refrigerators were full, and they said they didnt have anywhere to put him said Rey Gutierrez, who spoke fondly of a father-in-law he loved like his own father. We had to get him ASAP.

Rosemary Gutierrez criticized conflicting numbers from governmental agencies on the amount of cases and deaths among Hispanics, specifically, and in the Valley; inadequate planning and testing; and politicians she says downplay the seriousness of the virus.

On ExpressNews.com: COVID-19 deaths concentrated on San Antonios South, West Sides

The entire RGV is suffering, Gutierrez said. Based on my calculations, Hispanic/Latinos make up 60 percent-plus of all COVID deaths.

According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, Hispanics make up 53 percent of the 9,289 fatalities in the state as of Thursday.

It didnt seem right. People were walking around with a false sense of security, and thats what happens when you dont do adequate testing and adequate reporting. And yet again, you hear messages from politicians, trying to open up schools and make you feel like it is safe, but it is not.

To compound their grief, on the same day her father died, one of his uncles passed away, also from the virus, she said.

The experience of loss has been difficult for the Rangel family, but also for Garcia, who said she lost her father-in-law 12 days after Gutierrezs father died. Garcia has now lost four family members to the virus.

When they were going through it, I was messaging her ... not to overwhelm her ... but I would just message her, telling her we would be praying, said Garcia, who is a registered nurse working in mental health. Then it transitioned into us going through it (with her husbands father).

Garcia is helping Gutierrezs bid for a mural in San Antonio. Garcia related a story about a mural project in New Orleans called Before I die, and both women are actively working with City Council members to create a free-standing structure for people to write down the names of their loved ones who have died of COVID-19.

I reached out to local artists on a permanent structure for San Antonio that symbolizes the scar left in San Antonio, the scar left in our city, she said.

Once their San Antonio project is complete, they want to pursue something similar in the Rio Grande Valley.

The dead need to be acknowledged, Gutierrez said. They arent just numbers, they are people we loved.

Elizabeth Zavala covers county and state courts in San Antonio. To read more from Elizabeth, become a subscriber. ezavala@express-news.net | Twitter: @elizabeth2863
Election 2020 Militia Leaders Son in Myanmars Kachin to Seek Reelection to State Parliament

NDP-Kachin members attend the partys office opening ceremony in Kachin State. / NDP-Kachin / Facebook

YANGONThe son of a Kachin militia leader plans to defend his seat in the Kachin State parliament in this years election, representing a constituency in territory held by the group on the China-Myanmar border. Ruling party members came under attack while campaigning in the constituency ahead of the 2015 election.

The sitting Kachin parliament member, Zahkung Ying Sauthe son of Zahkung Ting Ying, the leader of the New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDAK) militia group in northern Kachin Statesubmitted his application to the Union Election Commission (UEC) to contest the seat in the state parliament representing Chipwe Township for the New Democracy Party-Kachin (NDP-Kachin).

The NDP-Kachin was formed in February last year. Zahkung Ying Sau joined as vice president after his former party, the Unity and Democracy Party of Kachin State, merged with other Kachin parties. A total of 13 representatives of the NDP-Kachin submitted candidate applications to contest the election in militia-held townships including Waimaw, Chipwe and Tsawlaw.

A former local commander of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Zahkung Ting Ying defected to the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) in 1968. Forces under Ting Yings control were transformed into the NDAK following the CPBs collapse in 1989. The NDAK was converted into a Border Guard Force (BGF) in 2009, becoming a government-sponsored militia.

One month before the 2015 general election, armed members and supporters of Ting Ying attacked NLD candidates and members who were attempting to campaign in Chipwe Township, which was under NDAK control. According to the NLD, up to 20 of its members sustained minor injuries in the attack. Ting Ying also issued a statement ordering NLD candidates not to campaign in NDAK territory.

In 2016, a UEC tribunal ordered Zahkung Ting Ying to vacate his Upper House seat after it found he was guilty of breaching the Election Law. The commission cited electoral malpractices including committing violence, false accusations, creating public unrest and obstructing a party or person for the purpose of electing a candidate.

The NLD candidate in that race also brought electoral complaints against Ying Sau to the UEC but they were dismissed for lack of evidence.

Currently, Zahkung Ting Ying does not hold a position in NDP-Kachin. However, the partys Facebook posts show him participating in the organizations activities.

In the upcoming election, Zahkung Ying Saus main opponents will be candidates from the NLD, Kachin State Peoples Party (KSPP), United Democratic Party (UDP) and Lisu National Development Party (LNDP).

Zahkung Ying Sau told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that Conditions in our area are quite different from other areas. We signed a ceasefire agreement with the military in 1990. We also transformed into the BGF. We are maintaining all development works that we have implemented in our areas. Our main priority is to maintain the lasting peace that we originally created.

He said, We will also try to focus on improving education and health as well.

The local people from our areas support out party 100 percent. The other parties will also contest in our areas but we will try our best. I think we will surely win in these areas, Ying Sau added.

When asked whether the other parties would be able to campaign in NDAK-controlled territories without facing similar hostilities to those faced by the NLD in 2015, he said, It wont happen again. We will follow all the rules and regulations set by the UEC.

Zahkung Ying Sau added, The problem happened in 2015 because those people had little knowledge about the situation on the ground. But we could not guarantee the security of all the people who carried out campaign rallies in our areas.

However, I am sure that I personally wont cause them any problem. We, ourselves [the NDAK] have returned to the legal fold. So, we will compete by following the rules and regulations set by the government, he said.

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Burma Myanmar Peace Process Back on Track, Says Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (right) and deputy army chief Vice Senior General Soe Win (left) attend the 9th Joint Implementation Coordination Meeting in Naypyitaw on Thursday. / Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy

Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said the Myanmar peace process is back on track after a number of postponements and the fourth session of the Panglong peace conference is set to proceed, referring to next weeks event.

We are now able to hold [another session of] the 21st [Century] Panglong peace conference, having overcome a situation where the peace negotiations were not able to be held, as well as the postponement of the NCA [Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement] path. Furthermore, we have been able, through step-by-step implementation, to secure political agreements on a democratic federal union, national reconciliation and peace, she said in her opening remarks to the 9th Joint Implementation Coordination Meeting (JICM) on ceasefire implementation on Thursday.

The JICM was attended by government representatives led by the State Counselor and representatives of ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) that are signatories to the NCA, as well as military representatives led by the deputy army chief. The last JICM was held in January.

The JICM leaders agreed on seven points to be added into the Union Accord at next weeks Panglong peace conference, according to spokespersons for the government and the EAOs.

Among them, Nai Ong MaNge, the spokesman for the EAOs negotiating team, said both sides agreed to continue their discussion with regards to chapters 3 and 4 of the NCA text, which are related to strengthening the ceasefire; the framework for implementing the NCA; step-by-step process and implementation beyond 2020; and a five-point road map toward a democratic federal union.

Other points agreed were that there will be 230 delegates in attendance at next weeks Panglong peace conference; and a recommitment on the part of the government, the Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw) and the EAOs to maintain their efforts to bring other non-signatories of the NCA into the process.

The government invited seven ethnic armed groups that are non-signatories to the NCA to the latest UPC. They are the Karenni National Progressive Party, which has already said it will not join the event, as its officials are busy next week, and six members of the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee (FPNCC), excluding the Arakan Army.

The FPNCC is led by the United Wa State Army (UWSA). The other members are the Kachin Independence Army, the Taang National Liberation Army, Mong Las National Democratic Alliance Army, Kokangs Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Shan State Progressive Party/Shan State Army-North.

The government earlier said it would not invite the AA, which it declared a terrorist group in March.

Late Thursday afternoon, the FPNCC released a statement announcing that the six members who were invited will not be able to join the fourth session of the UPC, mainly due to COVID-19.

It said the decision was made at their meeting on Thursday at Pang Hseng, the headquarters of the UWSA, and added that they deeply regretted that the AA was not invited.

Despite the fact that not all ethnic armed organizations will attend, and many other delegates will not be present for the peace conference, partly due to COVID-19, the peace negotiations under the NCA are moving forward.

Looking at the draft of Part 3 of the Union Accord, its clear how much effort the members of the negotiation committee put into debating and negotiating to come up with this text, the State Counselor said.

General Yawd Serk, the chairman of the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), who is leading the negotiations and the 10 EAOs Peace Process Steering Team, urged everyone involved to work together to build a federal union, to achieve a smoother peace process and to make the upcoming peace conference a success.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi reiterated that while Myanmar is going through a democratic transition and building a federal union, both of which are long-term processes, the country is also trying to achieve peace and national reconciliation.

She said, These long-term processes are linked to constitutional change, adding that the peace negotiators have established a process that is inclusive of all these important issues.

During the second and third sessions of the 21st-Century Panglong Peace Conference in 2017 and 2018, peace negotiators agreed 51 basic principles for a future democratic federal union to be added to the Union Accord, whose compilation is an ongoing process.

After that, formal peace negotiations stalled for more than a year as the Karen National Union and RCSS announced they would suspend their participation in the process. After numerous rounds of informal negotiations, the peace process got back on track in January this year.

Both the State Counselor and Gen. Yawd Serk expressed thanks for the efforts of the leaders and negotiators of the government, Tatmadaw and EAOs, noting that the negotiators kept on working even through the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Since late March, peace negotiations have continued via video-conferencing. Since late July, both informal and formal talks have been continued in person with COVID-19 preventative measures being observed.

The negotiation teams will continue talks on the drafting of state/regional constitutions, security reintegration and other key federal principles on governance, finance, and land and resources, according to U Zaw Htay, the governments spokesman.

U Zaw Htay added that the State Counselor, who is also the head of the National Reconciliation and Peace Center (NRPC), will honor those working on peace and ceasefire negotiations in various ways, such as by bestowing peace-making and peace-keeping prizes at next weeks peace conference.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi also honored the leaders of the 10 EAOs, including the RCSS chairman and KNU chairman Saw Mutu Say Poe; NRPC members; and military generals including the deputy army chief, with peace-steering prizes during Thursdays JICM.

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Military Chief Says National Peace Deal Must Guarantee Non-Separation

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to Run for Seat in General Election, Myanmars Ruling Party Says
The Central government should consider amending the Official Languages Act of 1963, to include scheduled languages other than Hindi and English as official language of the Government of India, the Supreme Court said on Thursday.

Scheduled languages are those languages which are listed in the 8th schedule of the Constitution and are given official recognition and encouragement by the Central government. However, all official communication and publication of rules and notifications by the Central government are in Hindi and English.

Chief Justice of India (CJI), SA Bobde said that people in various parts of the country might not know either English or Hindi and communication by the Central government in vernacular languages will come to their aid.

There might be people in Karnataka, Nagaland or rural Maharashtra who might not know Hindi or English. Your government should consider amending the Official Languages Act, CJI Bobde told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was representing the Central government.

The court was hearing an appeal filed by the Centre against a judgment passed by the Delhi high court on June 30, directing the Centre to translate the draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification of 2020 into twenty-two scheduled languages.

The Central government submitted on Thursday that as per Article 343 of the Constitution, the official language of the Union is Hindi along with English.

The Constitution of India does not have any provision whereby it may be inferred that all the languages mentioned in the 8th schedule of the Constitution would be used as official languages of the Union, the plea said.

Further, it was also pointed out that section 3 of the Official Languages Act states that Hindi and the English shall be used for resolutions, general orders, rules, notifications, administrative or other reports made by the Central government or any of its ministries or departments.

The Supreme Court after examining the high court judgment observed that the arguments raised by the Centre before the Supreme Court were not raised before the high court.

It, therefore, directed the Centre to withdraw the petition before the top court with liberty to file a review petition before the high court.

The apex court also said that no contempt of court proceedings can be initiated against the Centre for non-compliance with the high court order till the review petition is decided.

The draft EIA notification was issued by the Centre on March 23 and was published on the website of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for the information of stakeholders and public inviting their comments and objections.

Environmentalist, Vikrant Tongad approached the Delhi high court seeking extension of the window allowed to the public to send in their responses, till September 30. The initial deadline allowed by the Centre was till June 11 and the same was later extended by the Centre till June 30.

The high court extended the deadline till August 11 taking into account the fact that there was an error in the Centres notice extending the deadline to June 30.

Tongad in his plea had also canvassed the issue regarding the language in which the EIA notification was issued.

The draft has been published only in English and Hindi, whereas it is proposed to have effect all over India and to several industries and comments have naturally be elicited from all over the country, Tongad had submitted.

The high court allowed the plea holding that EIA notification should be translated and published in all the scheduled languages.

Considering the far reaching consequences of the public consultation process for which the draft notification has been published, we are of the view that it would be in aid of effective dissemination of the proposed notification if arrangements are made for its translation into other languages as well, at least those mentioned in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution, the high court said.

Such translations should also be published through the website of MOEF as well as on websites of Environment Ministries of all the States and State Pollution Control Boards, the high court added.

The Centre challenged this aspect of the high court order before the Supreme Court.

Such direction (by high court) apart from causing massive procedural and administrative difficulties is also devoid of any statutory requirement for the petitioner to do so, the Centre said in its plea.

You (Central government) are right as far as the law is concerned. But we think the spirit in which the high court order was passed is correct, CJI Bobde said.
Our ability to build relationships with our community has been something that has been on the police departments heart and mind, but also on the city councils heart and mind, Waco police Officer Garen Bynum said. We are starting to get new city council members, and some of the longer-serving city council members remember when we had the old community policing unit, and the work individual officers did in the community still stands out.

Some police officers are already making time to do community policing even before a special unit is established.

Officer Jeremy Angel, a six-year police veteran who works in the traffic unit, hit the streets this week and visited with businesses and community members in East Waco. His stop at restaurant Tru Jamaica and visit with owner Charles Aniceto Jr., was welcomed.

(Officers) come pretty frequently and some of the officers come eat here, plus check on us to make sure that everything is good with us, Aniceto said. I think its good when police are active in the community and Officer Angel has been here many times, plus other officers too, and its really reassuring.

Liaison with city
A former carer charged with manslaughter after allegedly leaving a disabled woman to rot in her own excrement has been released on bail so she can babysit her infant granddaughter.

Rosemary Maione, 69, has been charged with the manslaughter of Ann Marie Smith, who had cerebral palsy.

The 54-year-old died, from Adelaide, in hospital in April from septic shock, multiple organ failure, severe pressure sores and malnourishment.

Ann Marie Smith, 54, died in hospital in April from septic shock, multiple organ failure, severe pressure sores and malnourishment

Rosemary Maione (left), 69, was released on Thursday on bail for manslaughter charges over the death of Ann Marie Smith in Adelaide

Maione will live at her Hectorville home on strict home detention bail, where she will be electronically monitored around the clock, Adelaide Now reported.

Her lawyer Stephen Ey said she will surrender her Italian passport, promised not to get an Australian passport and would give up her job as a carer.

'Where she is going to live, she has her granddaughter there, aged six months,' he told Adelaide Magistrates Court.

'She will not be working as a carer but she may babysit  and we don't want there to be any misunderstanding about that which leads to a breach of bail.'

Prosecutor Sandi McDonald SC told the court she didn't try to prohibit babysitting from Maiones bail conditions.

Her release comes after the company responsible for the care for Ms Smith was banned from operating and had its registration revoked.

The National Disability Insurance Scheme commission has been investigating Integrity Care, which took two weeks to report her death to the NDIS Commission.

The provider was slapped with a $12,600 fine over its failure to notify the commission within 24 hours.

NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commissioner Graeme Head said Integrity Care was advised early in June of the commission's intention to revoke its registration and to ban it from operating over several contraventions of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (NDIS Act).

The room where Ms Smith lived out her final days before she was taken to hospital

'There are very clear requirements under the NDIS Act as to how the NDIS Commission takes compliance actions ... This includes giving ample opportunity for the party subject to these actions to respond,' he said in a statement on Wednesday.

The revocation of Integrity Care's registration will take effect from August 14, while the ban will come into place from August 21.

Integrity Care will no longer be a registered provider of NDIS-funded supports and services and will be banned from providing them to people covered by NDIS.

The commission's investigation into Integrity Care is ongoing and further regulatory action may be taken.

A carer for the disabled woman, Rosemary Maione, 69, was last week charged with manslaughter over Ms Smith's death. Maione was sacked from Integrity Care in May.

Police allege Ms Smith died of serious criminal neglect and her death was preventable.
Despite the challenges bought about by Covid-19, Saudi Arabia's tourism outlook for the long-run remain's strong as the Saudi government has launched a SR15 billion ($3.9 billion) tourism fund as part of the first phase of its National Tourism Strategy, which aims to develop 38 sites across seven destinations by 2022, a new report revealed.

As part of Vision 2030, the Saudi Arabia government is aiming for the tourism industry to make-up at least 10 per cent of its total GDP, up from 3 per cent currently, according to a report released by by Knight Frank Middle East.

With the international arrivals being curtailed across the kingdom, corporate, leisure and religious tourism has come to all but a standstill since March 15.

Given the current challenges associated with inbound corporate visitation, cities that have historically been centres of business activity have faced challenges attracting hotel guests. Areas which have traditionally received religious visitation have fared no better given that Hajj and Umrah have been reduced in scale significantly this year.

Looking forward, it is reasonable to expect a rise in leisure visitation on a domestic level not only to traditional destinations but also to secondary cities such as Abha, Baha and Al Ahsa. In response to declining revenues, owners are looking to cut costs universally at an unprecedented scale - a trend which is likely to continue into next year.

Taimur Khan, Associate Partner at Knight Frank Middle East, commented: The Covid-19 pandemic is forecast to have a material impact on Saudi Arabias economy, with GDP and employment forecast to decline in 2020 by 7.5 per cent and 9 per cent respectively. This weaker economic backdrop combined with the hike in VAT from 5 per cent to 15 per cent will also mean challenging conditions for Saudi Arabias real estate market as both corporates and consumers scale back discretionary spending plans. Overall, the depth of the contraction and rate of recovery will be dependent on the rate at which the global economy and global mobility returns to some form of normality. These factors will underpin demand and activity in the hydrocarbon, travel and tourism and wholesale and retail trade sectors, all of which form significant parts of Saudi Arabias economy. - TradeArabia News Service
Syndicate Claim Services, Inc. Ranks No. 2852 on the 2020 Inc. 5000 With Three-Year Revenue Growth of 139.77 Percent.

New York, NY, August 12, 2020  Inc. magazine today revealed that Syndicate Claim Services, Inc. is No. 2852 on its annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nations fastest-growing private companies. The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economys most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses. Intuit, Zappos, Under Armour, Microsoft, Patagonia, and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000.

Dream big, think differently, work hard, stay focused and surround yourself with great talentgrowth and success are a fortunate by product.  Josh Morgan, President/CEO

Not only have the companies on the 2020 Inc. 5000 been very competitive within their markets, but the list as a whole shows staggering growth compared with prior lists as well. The 2020 Inc. 5000 achieved an incredible three-year average growth of over 500 percent, and a median rate of 165 percent. The Inc. 5000s aggregate revenue was $209 billion in 2019, accounting for over 1 million jobs over the past three years.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at www.inc.com/inc5000. The top 500 companies are also being featured in the September issue of Inc., available on newsstands August 12.

The companies on this years Inc. 5000 come from nearly every realm of business, says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. From health and software to media and hospitality, the 2020 list proves that no matter the sector, incredible growth is based on the foundations of tenacity and opportunism.

The annual Inc. 5000 event honoring the companies on the list will be held virtually from October 23 to 27, 2020. As always, speakers will include some of the greatest innovators and business leaders of our generation.

About Syndicate Claim Services, Inc.

Syndicate is one of the nations fastest-growing independent adjusting companies and an industry-leading, national claims insurance solutions service provider. Syndicate is improving the IA industry by offering innovative, people-focused solutions for insurance carriers, brokers, third party administrators, and self-insured entities.

Media Contact:

Cara Gilliam, Marketing/PR

Cara.gilliam@syndicateclaims.com
Justice BR Gavai, reading out the judgment, said Bhushan had committed 'serious contempt of the court'.

The Supreme Court on Friday found senior advocate Prashant Bhushan guilty in the suo motu contempt case for his tweets against the Chief Justice of India SA Bobde and the apex court, according to several media reports.

A bench of justices Arun Mishra, BR Gavai and Krishna Murari rendered the verdict around 11 am.

Justice BR Gavai, reading out the judgment, said Bhushan had committed "serious contempt of the court", as per Live Law.

The hearing on the quantum of punishment will be held on 20 August, as per Bar and Bench.

A contemnor can be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend up to six months or with a fine of up to Rs 2,000 or with both.

The apex court had on 5 August reserved its verdict in the matter after Bhushan had defended his tweets, saying they were against the judges regarding their conduct in their personal capacity and they did not obstruct administration of justice.

Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for Bhushan in the matter, had said, The two tweets were not against the institution.

Bhushan has made immense contribution to the development of jurisprudence and there are at least 50 judgments to his credit, Dave had said, adding that the court has appreciated his contributions in cases like 2G scam, coal block allocation and in mining matters.

Referring to the ADM Jabalpur case on suspension of fundamental rights during the Emergency, the senior advocate had said that even extremely uncharitable remarks against the judges were made and no contempt proceedings were made out.

In a 142-page reply affidavit filed in the matter, Bhushan had stood by his two tweets and had said the expression of opinion, however outspoken, disagreeable or unpalatable to some, cannot constitute contempt of court.

Bhushan, in the affidavit, has referred to several apex court judgements, speeches of former and serving judges on contempt of court and the stifling of dissent in a democracy and his views on judicial actions in some cases.

Preventing citizens from demanding accountability and reforms and advocating for the same by generating public opinion is not a ''reasonable restriction'', the affidavit had said, adding that the Article 129 cannot be pressed into service to stifle bonafide criticism.

The contempt proceedings were started against Bhushan last month after the senior lawyer had put out a tweet critical of Chief Justice of India SA Bobde and the apex court.

He had tweeted: "CJI rides a 50 Lakh motorcycle belonging to a BJP leader at Raj Bhavan Nagpur, without a mask or helmet, at a time when he keeps the SC in Lockdown mode denying citizens their fundamental right to access Justice! (sic)"

The tweet was removed by Twitter "in response to a legal demand."

The court had noted that Bhushan's tweet "brought administration of justice into disrepute" and were "capable of undermining the dignity and authority of SC and office of CJI".

According to news agency PTI, the bench headed by Justice Mishra also observed that initially the contempt issue was placed before the administrative side of the apex court but it was directed to be listed on the judicial side.

Earlier on Thursday the court had allowed former Union minister Arun Shourie, veteran journalist N Ram and Bhushan to withdraw their plea challenging the constitutional validity of a legal provision dealing with criminal contempt for "scandalizing the court".

The three had moved court on 1 August in wake of the contempt case against Bhushan.

Their petition had challenged the validity of Section 2(1)(c) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 as being unconstitutional and incompatible with the basic features of the Constitution and is vague and manifestly arbitrary.

The provision defines what constituted criminal contempt and said that if by way of publication of words, the dignity of the courts is lowered and if they scandalize the courts then the offence of contempt of court is deemed to have been committed.

The petition alleged that the provision violated the freedom of speech and expression. The provision violates the right to free speech to the extent that it is not covered under the reasonable restrictions enlisted under Article 19(2) of the Constitution, it said.

The offence of 'scandalising the court' cannot be considered to be covered under the category of the contempt of court and under Article 19(2) of the Constitution which permitted reasonable restrictions on free speech, it said.

However, on Thursday, senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, who was representing the petitioners informed the bench that they want to withdraw the plea as several petitions on the same issue are pending before the apex court and they don't want "this to be entangled" with them.

The bench allowed the petition to be withdrawn with liberty to the petitioners to approach the appropriate judicial forum, except the apex court.

During the brief hearing conducted through video-conferencing, Dhavan said that at this stage the petitioners want to withdraw the plea with liberty to approach the top court again, maybe after two months.

The petitioners had challenged the constitutional validity of a legal provision dealing with criminal contempt, saying it was violative of freedom of speech and right to equality.

With inputs from PTI
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United Arab Emirates and Israel have agreed to establish full diplomatic ties as part of a deal to halt the annexation of occupied land sought by the Palestinians for their future state.

The announcement makes the UAE the first Gulf Arab state to do so and only the third Arab nation to have active diplomatic ties to Israel.

Trump tweeted a statement from the countries, acknowledging the deal. He then told reporters in the Oval Office that it was a truly historic moment.

Now that the ice has been broken I expect more Arab and Muslim countries will follow the United Arab Emirates, he said.

The recognition grants a rare diplomatic win to Trump ahead of the November election as his efforts to see an end to the war in Afghanistan have yet to come to fruition while efforts to bring peace between Israel and the Palestinians have made no headway.

For Israel, the announcement comes after years of boasting by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that his government enjoys closer ties to Arab nations than publicly acknowledged. Netanyahu has sought to build settlements on lands sought by the Palestinians and embraced a Trump proposal that would allow him to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank while granting Palestinians limited autonomy in other areas.

For the UAE, home to skyscraper-studded Dubai and the rolling, oil-rich sand dunes of Abu Dhabi, it further burnishes its international campaign to be seen as a beacon of tolerance in the Middle East despite being governed by autocratic rulers. It also puts the UAE out first in a regional recognition race among neighboring Gulf Arab states.

And for the Palestinians, who long have relied on Arab backing in their struggle for independence, the announcement marked both a win and setback. While Thursday's deal halts Israeli annexation plans, the Palestinians have repeatedly urged Arab governments not to normalize relations with Israel until a peace agreement establishing an independent Palestinian state is reached.

A joint statement from the U.S., the UAE and Israel was issued immediately after Trump's tweet. It said delegations would meet in the coming weeks to sign deals on direct flights, security, telecommunications, energy, tourism and health care. The two countries also will partner on fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

Opening direct ties between two of the Middle Easts most dynamic societies and advanced economics will transform the region by spurring economic growth, enhancing technological innovation and forging closer people-to-people relations, said the statement by Trump, Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the day-to-day ruler of the UAE. It said the leaders had a three-way call discussing the deal.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised the deal.

This is a remarkable achievement for two of the worlds most forward leaning, technologically advanced states, and reflects their shared regional vision of an economically integrated region, he said in a statement. It also illustrates their commitment to confronting common threats, as small  but strong  nations.

He added: Blessed are the peacemakers. Mabruk and Mazal Tov.

Among Arab nations, only Egypt and Jordan have active diplomatic ties with Israel. Egypt made a peace deal with Israel in 1979, followed by Jordan in 1994. Mauritania recognized Israel in 1999, but later ended relations in 2009 over the Israels war in Gaza at the time.

In addition to Trump, the main U.S. mediators for agreement were the presidents senior advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner, special Mideast envoy Avi Berkowitz and David Friedman, the U.S. ambassador to Israel.

The UAE is a U.S.-allied federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula. Formed in 1971, the country like other Arab nations at the time did not recognize Israel over its occupation of land home to the Palestinians.

Arab oil is not dearer than Arab blood, the UAEs founding ruler, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, once pronounced when agreeing to an oil boycott over U.S. military support to Israel in the 1973 Mideast war.

The UAE relied on white-collar Palestinians in creating its nation. Over time, it maintained its stance that Israel allow the creation of a Palestinian state on land it seized in the 1967 war.

But in recent years, ties between Gulf Arab nations and Israel have quietly grown, in part over their shared enmity of Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Prince Mohammed also shares Israels distrust of Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and the militant group Hamas that holds the Gaza Strip.

It remains unclear what prompted Israel and the UAE to make the announcement now. In June, the United Arab Emirates ambassador to the U.S. warned in an Israeli newspaper op-ed that Israels planned annexing the Jordan Valley and other parts of the occupied West Bank would upend Israels efforts to improve ties with Arab nations.

The agreement gives Netanyahu a domestic boost at a time when Israels shaky coalition government is plagued by infighting and facing the possibility of early elections in the coming months. Netanyahu has seen his popularity plummet as the country grapples with a renewed coronavirus outbreak and skyrocketing unemployment as the result of earlier lockdown measures.

Netanyahu also delivered a valuable diplomatic achievement to his good friend, Trump, ahead of U.S. elections.

Still, by dropping the annexation plan Netanyahu may be hedging his bets ahead of a possible change in the White House. Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, has made clear that he would oppose any moves by Israel to unilaterally redraw the Mideast map and annex lands sought by the Palestinians.

Netanyahu also risked criticism inside his own hard-line Likud Party, whose members strongly supported annexation. Netanyahu appears to be betting that Likud members  and the small, but influential settler movement  will agree the peace agreement delivers more benefits than unilateral annexation. Opinion polls have shown that annexation is not a high priority for the vast majority of the Israeli public.

Abandoning its annexation plan changes little on the ground. Israel already holds overall control of the West Bank and continues to expand its settlements there, while granting the Palestinians autonomy in a series of disconnected enclaves. Some 500,000 Israelis now live in the rapidly expanding West Bank settlements.

Next year, Israel will take part in the UAEs delayed Expo 2020, the worlds fair being hosted by Dubai. A secret synagogue also draws practicing Jews in Dubai. The UAE also has announced plans to build the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi, which will house a mosque, a church and a synagogue.

Israelis traveling with Western passports routinely enter the UAE without a problem, though one still cant make a phone call between the two countries. Israelis also work in Dubais gold and diamond trade as well.

Emirati officials also have allowed Israeli officials to visit and the Israeli national anthem was played after an athlete won gold in an Abu Dhabi judo tournament. Israel also has a small mission representing its interests at the International Renewable Energy Agency in Abu Dhabi.
Published on 2020/08/12 | Source

Olleh TV original drama "School Strange Stories - 8 Years" is starring Song Won-seok, Joo Woo-jae, Lee Kyu-sung, Han So-eun, Kwon So-hyun and Lee Ha-eun-III.

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"School Strange Stories - 8 Years" tells the story of the murderer's memory being distorted and the victims' spirits unable to remember their deaths after a terrible murder in a rural village eight years ago, when they reunite at the scene of the incident eight years later.

Song Won-seok appears as Eun-chan, an exorcist from Eungbo High School, Joo Woo-jae as Eun-chan's high school friend and a teacher at Eungbo High and Lee Kyu-sung is detective Cheol-min.

Han So-eun is Min-goo, Eun-chan and Cheol-min's friend Myeong-jin, Kwon So-hyun is Hye-mi, a student from Eungbo High and Lee Ha-eun-III is Hye-mi's friend Joo-min.

This drama is helmed by Lee Chul-min-II.

"School Strange Stories - 8 Years" is being released on KT Seasons on the 27th, on Olleh TV on the 3rd and on TV Chosun on the 12th next month.

Another part will be "School Strange Stories - The Child Who Wouldn't Come".
June Sarpong said BBC not diverse enough at 'mid-level and senior leadership'

The BBC's diversity boss has admitted the corporation is 'nowhere near' hitting its own targets and says it will 'take longer than we hoped' to reach them.

June Sarpong, 43, said she believes the BBC is diverse at 'entry level' but 'not enough in terms of mid-level and senior leadership'.

The broadcaster's Director of Creative Diversity added that examples need to be seen of progression from people from 'all backgrounds and all walks of life'.

It follows the BBC investing 100million of its TV budget into increasing diversity over three years, starting from April 2021.

June Sarpong (pictured in 2018), 43, yesterday said she believes the BBC is diverse at 'entry level' but 'not enough in terms of mid-level and senior leadership'

Yesterday, Ms Sarpong told BBC Radio 4's The Media Show: 'I think the BBC, like many big media organisations, is diverse at sort of entry level.

'But certainly not diverse enough in terms of mid-level and senior leadership, not at all. I think anybody would agree and accept that.

'If you look at the targets that we've set ourselves, we're not hitting them in the way we would like and so there's a concerted effort being made to try and address that.'

Comparing the BBC's target to that of the UK's BAME working population, which is 12 per cent, she said: 'So in terms of leadership for BAME, 15 per cent is the target.

'It will take us longer than we would have hoped to reach it and to get there, but I think it's important.

'It's important for so many reasons. When you look at some of the problems not just the BBC has had, but I think broadcasters in general have had, a lot of that has to do with leadership.

'Also, if we want to send the right message to the rest of the organisation in terms of talent that are coming through it, they need to be able to see examples of progression from people from all backgrounds and all walks of life.

'As Matthew [Syed] has said and as I have said, it makes for a better product, particularly when you're working in a creative industry. So, we have to get it right.'

The 43-year-old added: 'Our focus is about looking behind the camera or behind the microphone, which is nowhere near where it needs to be.'

It comes after Director general Tony Hall said the BBC's 100million investment will be a 'big leap' following the Black Lives Matter protests.

It follows the BBC investing 100million of its TV budget into increasing diversity over three years, starting from April 2021 (file photo of the BBC Broadcasting House in London)

He said last month: 'The senseless killing of George Floyd - and what it tells us about the stain of systemic racism - has had a profound impact on all of us,' said Lord Hall.

'It's made us question ourselves about what more we can do to help tackle racism - and drive inclusion within our organisation and in society as a whole.

'This is our response - it's going to drive change in what we make and who makes it. It's a big leap forward - and we'll have more to announce in the coming weeks.'

Ms Sarpong was chosen by the corporation for the newly-created role of director of creative diversity.

BBC bosses hope the appointment will make the broadcaster better reflect modern Britain and its audience.

She provides expertise on all diversity matters, and lead the BBC's relationship with media watchdog Ofcom.

Ms Sarpong also works with diversity monitoring group Diamond, which measures the diversity profiles of UK media staff.

Lord Hall previously said: 'I am delighted that June Sarpong is joining the BBC.

'While we have made significant progress on diversity, we also have to accept that the BBC has much further to go.'
In the past, we might have criticised the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for being a repository of party political hacks but we are hardly alone in that assessment.

Now we can report some brighter news. The tribunal, which independently reviews government decisions, has sent out this missive to Melbourne staff. In and amongst the doom and gloom that stage four had brought us, what could be better than a trivia afternoon for those doing it tough in the Melbourne AAT offices?

Denis Dragovic will act as quizmaster at the AAT trivia afternoon.

Presumably that will be the easiest question to answer at the staff jolly, scheduled for next Friday, somewhat cheekily for an organisation not known for its speed, during work hours. But when has the legal profession ever been productive on a Friday afternoon?

The quiz master is honorary fellow at the University of Melbourne and commentator about town Denis Dragovic (fee undisclosed). Special quiz masters for the event are AAT deputy president Stephanie Forgie and registry manager Angela DallEst.
President Donald Trump called Sen. Kamala Harris 'angry' and 'mad' from the White House podium Wednesday directly after she made her debut in Wilmington, Delaware as former Vice President Joe Biden's running mate.

'I didn't watch, I saw a moment of him speaking, a moment of her speaking and it was enough,' the president told reporters gathered in the briefing room.

Trump continued to push the narrative that he was surprised by Biden's pick because 'she said far worse [things] about Biden than I ever did.'

President Trump criticized Joe Biden's pick for vice president, Sen. Kamala Harris, from the White House podium Wednesday

President Donald Trump made the comments in the hours following the Democratic ticket's first campaign event together

Joe Biden (left) and running mate Kamala harris (right) appeared together for the first time Wednesday in Wilmington, Delaware

The president was referring to Harris' time on the 2020 campaign trail when she went after Biden over race.

Biden had talked about working with with southern Democrats who supported racial segregation in his early years in the U.S. Senate, trying to make the case that he could get things done with even the worst in the body.

That had set off 2020 candidates including Sen. Cory Booker and Harris, who are both black.

'It's personal, and it was hurtful to hear you talk about the reputations of two United States Senators who built their reputations and career on the segregation of race in this country,' Harris said on the June 2019 Democratic primary debate stage in Miami.

She then memorably went after Biden for his record on school bussing.

From the White House Wednesday, Trump also pointed out that Harris didn't do great in the 2020 race.

The California senator dropped out in December 2019, before the first votes were cast, blaming fundraising troubles.

'I watched her poll numbers go boom, boom, boom down to almost nothing,' Trump said, adding later that she 'dropped like a rock.' 'And she left angry, she left mad, there was nobody more insulting to Biden than she was,' the president went on.

'She said horrible things about him, including accusations made about him by a woman where she, I guess, believed the woman,' Trump added, referring to the controversy surrounding unfounded accusations made by former Biden Senate staffer Tara Reade, which Biden denied.

In Wilmington, Delaware, at a high school gym with an audience of masked reporters, Biden and Harris appeared as the Democratic ticket for the first time.

They both talked about their families and how Harris had been a close friend of Biden's late son, Beau.

And then they took on Trump for - in the words of Harris - 'running the economy to the ground,' midhandling the coroanvirus crisis, his comments after the Charlottesville racial violence of which the anniversary was Wednesday and refusing to believe in global warming.

Biden also had something to say about the smattering of adjectives the president was already trying to attach to Harris.

'You all knew it was coming, you could have set your watches to it, Donald Trump has already started his attacks calling Kamala "nasty," whining about how she's "mean" to his appointees,' Biden said. 'It's no surprise because whining is what Donald Trump does best, better than any other president in American history.'
ESCANABA, MI - In what state officials are describing tongue-in-cheek as a brazen attack, a bald eagle recently snatched a $950 drone belonging to the state of Michigan that was being flown to document shoreline erosion damage in the Upper Peninsula. After a brief tussle, the big bird ripped off one of the propellers from the small spinning aircraft and sent it to the bottom of Lake Michigan near Escanaba, state workers said.

The drone was being operated by a pilot for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) when the July 21 attack occurred. Is the departments acronym a coincidence when considering the predator? The state thinks not.

The attack could have been a territorial squabble with the electronic foe, or just a hungry eagle. Or maybe it did not like its name being misspelled, the department said in a news release today. EGLEs drone team is considering steps to reduce the possibility of a repeat attack, including possibly using skins or other designs on the aircraft to make them look less like seagulls.

Heres what we know about the airborne attack:

EGLE quality analyst and drone pilot Hunter King was on his fourth mapping run of the day with the drone, capturing images of shoreline erosion so the state agency can document how recent high-water levels have affected the Great Lakes and give them data on which communities need help coping with damage.

The pilot said the drone was about seven minutes into its mapping flight when he noticed that its satellite reception was getting weak. He pressed the Go Home recall button. The drone dutifully turned, reacquiring a strong satellite feed, the agency said.

King was watching his video screen as the drone beelined for home, but suddenly it began twirling furiously, like a bad rollercoaster ride, he told the department.

When he looked up, the drone was gone, and an eagle was flying away. A nearby couple ... later confirmed they saw the eagle strike something but were surprised to learn it was a drone. Both King and the couple said the eagle appeared uninjured as it flew from the scene of the crime.

King and the couple all searched for the drone, but found nothing.

Flight data showed the drone had hit the lake about 150 feet from shore, and landed in 4 feet of water. Employees used that information days later when they returned to search for the little aircraft.

EGLE Unmanned Aircraft Systems coordinator Arthur Ostaszewski brought a kayak and snorkeling gear to the search. With near-zero visibility in water darkened by tannin, Ostaszewski scrapped the snorkel and instead walked a grid pattern shuffling his feet for two hours in soft muck (like I was playing Battleship and wanted to cover the entire board). He too was luckless, abandoned the search when lightning began to accompany a cold drizzle.

The drone was a Phantom 4 Pro Advanced, which will be replaced, the department said.

Here were the ill-fated flights final moments, according to the drone data released by EGLE:

The eagle strike occurred 7:39.7 into the flight, roughly four-tenths of a mile from King and 162 feet above the water.

Its speed instantly dropped from 22 mph to 10. Within a half-second, the flight record shows the beginning of downward spiral along with excessive spinning warnings.

In the next 3.5 seconds the drone sent 27 warning notifications including one indicating a propeller had been torn off.

Gaining momentum as it fell, its last communication came at 34 feet above the water, falling at 30 feet per second, or 20.4 mph.

Eagles have enjoyed a nice uptick in Michigan in recent years, the state said. In 2019, a federal survey found 849 active nesting sites in the Upper and Lower Peninsulas. This is a big jump compared to the low numbers of the 1970s, which saw just 76 nesting sites in some years.

A little more levity from the EGLE staff: They said they contacted the DNR hoping to get a citation issued to the rogue eagle.

Unfortunately, theres nothing we can do, the spokesman said. Nature is a cruel and unforgiving mistress.

READ MORE

DNR investigating fish kill affecting a dozen species in Escanaba River near paper plant

6 cougar sightings confirmed in Michigan so far this year, DNR says
(Natural News) As a third wave of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) hits several cities in China, authorities have implemented strict new quarantine rules in the regions. The strict new rules, however, have not gone well with some citizens, who have spoken out against them.

Coronavirus infections have spiked in both the northwestern region of Xinjiang and the northeastern city of Dalian. In response, the government has implemented strict quarantine rules, with residents being punished harshly for breaking regulations.

Residents have since spoken out, stating that, not only have their lives been severely restricted but that authorities have forbidden them from posting online about the outbreak.

Cities locked down after a new surge in cases

The city of Dalian in northeastern China is experiencing a third wave outbreak of the coronavirus. In response, the city has implemented strict measures in an attempt to stem the spread of the disease. (Related: Panic grips northeastern Chinese city hit by new coronavirus outbreak.)

The lockdown measures, which disallow residents from leaving their homes, have angered some residents with how draconian they are.

Talking to the Epoch Times, Ping Li, a resident of the Daoxin Jiayuan residential compound in Dalian Bay, stated that authorities were keeping them in their buildings using security guards and unmanned drones. According to Ping, anyone caught violating the rules is detained for seven to 15 days.

In addition, Ping said that her residential complex was required to test for COVID-19 four times, and each time the restrictions were getting tighter.

The restrictions are getting tighter and tighter  You cant even throw the trash out now, Ping said. The drones are monitoring us. It can capture whether there were people outdoors.

Similar draconian measures have been implemented in the city of Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region. Here, a surge in coronavirus infections has caused the government to declare a wartime state in the city.

As with Dalian, the restrictions in Urumqi have severely limited the everyday lives of citizens. In addition, citizens have also been prohibited from posting online about the outbreak.

The restrictions on posting about the outbreak online may have something to do with the sensitive situation in the region. Xinjiang is home to mainly Muslim Uyghur people and other Turkic minorities and has been subject to intense state control.

To keep these minorities in line, Beijing has established a system of controversial detention camps where hundreds of thousands of mostly Ethnic Uyghurs have been detained as part of a mass de-radicalization program.

With these detention camps already under scrutiny from the international community, word of a mass outbreak of COVID-19 in the camps would be a PR nightmare for Beijing.

Lockdowns cause food prices to soar

More than just restricting citizens lives, the draconian measures have also impacted them economically.

With the restrictions, residents in both cities can only buy from online stores or government-approved volunteers. This has resulted in prices rising even as many citizens remain unable to go to work and earn money due to the restrictions.

Talking to the Epoch Times, Urumqi resident Li Quing has said that food is very expensive, especially meat and fruit. Li recalls buying some grapes over a week ago at $1.3 per pound. During the same time last year, grapes only cost $0.63 per pound. In addition, the price of meat has gone up to $6.4 per pound from $4.9 per pound in late July.

The same is also happening in Dalian, with Ping confirming that food is becoming really expensive. In addition, the quality of the food being sold in the official online platform was suspect.

But the ones you get are often rotten, Ping said of peaches she buys from the official platform for $0.72 per piece.

The negative effects that Chinese authorities draconian lockdowns are having on its citizens raise questions of whether or not these are really worth it. However, with Beijing seemingly more focused on covering up the countrys real coronavirus caseload than just stopping their outbreaks, its likely that addressing these isnt high a high priority for Chinese authorities.

Follow Tyranny.news to learn more about how the Chinese Communist Party is suppressing its own citizens.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

BBCNews.com
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University of Illinois Hospital has worked to battle bias in its system by hiring diverse workers and recruiting employees from the Near West Side neighborhoods surrounding its campus, said Nicholas Haubach, chief of human resources for the hospital. Also, those who sit on committees responsible for hiring medical school faculty must undergo implicit bias training every three years, said Charu Thakral, associate vice provost for diversity at University of Illinois at Chicago. There are discussions now about expanding implicit bias training into the medical school curriculum as well, she said.
WASHINGTON  An Air Force helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing at a Virginia airport Monday after someone shot at it, injuring a member of the crew, local and military officials said.

The UH-1N Huey helicopter is assigned to the 1st Helicopter Squadron at Joint Base Andrews. It was flying about 1,000 feet off the ground, about 10 miles northwest of Manassas Regional Airport, when the incident occurred, the Air Force said in a statement.

The injured crew member, who was not identified, was treated at a hospital and released.

Initial findings are that the helicopter was struck by a bullet resulting in a minor injury to an aircrew member and damage to the aircraft, the Air Force said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking into the incident.

Officials at Manassas Regional Airport said they received a call at about 12:20 p.m. alerting them that a military helicopter was inbound and that paramedics were on the way, said airport operations officer Richard Allabaugh.

The helicopter remained at the airport as an investigation was launched into the shooting.

Joint Base Andrews, which is home to Air Force helicopter and fighter squadrons and the presidential aircraft Air Force One, said it had no further details to release.

By Tara Copp, McClatchy Washington Bureau (TNS)

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SUV driver who hit women stops, checks on them, fatally runs over one again: Chicago police

N.J. gym owners who repeatedly defied coronavirus restrictions lose business license
She is enjoying a girls getaway to Greece with her Love Island co-star.

And Maura Higgins looked sensational as she showcased her latest chic holiday look during her trip with Molly-Mae Hague on Thursday.

The Love Island 2019 star, 29, put on a leggy display in a pair of icy white thigh-high boots paired with a matching bustier dress in the sultry snap captioned: 'Let me remind you.'

Wow: Maura Higgins looked sensational as she showcased her latest chic holiday look during her trip with Molly-Mae Hague on Thursday

The stylish polka dot dress teased a glimpse of the star's cleavage while cinching in at her trim waist.

It flowed into a flirty mini skirt which revealed the beauty's lithe legs as she posed.

Her brunette locks were styled in soft waves while a rich palette of make-up enhanced her pretty features.

Molly, 21, also wowed in a busty white cut-out bodysuit, worn with denim hotpants and a white blazer. as she stepped out in Crete.

Chic: Molly-Mae, 21, also wowed in a busty white cut-out bodysuit, worn with denim hotpants and a white blazer

Molly-Mae and Maura have struck up a close friendship after initially battling for Molly's boyfriend Tommy Fury's affections on last year's series of Love Island.

Bombshell Maura appeared to turn Tommy's head following her arrival, however his heart ultimately lay with Molly-Mae and the three of them are all now good pals.

Maura has recently been embroiled in drama with ex-boyfriend Curtis Pritchard, who she met on the 2019 series

She recently branded ex Curtis, 24, the 'villa villain' after learning of the dancer's new romance with dancer Amber Pierson.

Rage: Maura has recently been embroiled in drama with ex-boyfriend Curtis Pritchard, who she met on the 2019 series (Pictured before their split)

Taking to Twitter, the former grid girl 'liked' a post comparing the exes; with Maura labelled 'the perceived villa villain' and Curtis labelled the 'ACTUAL villa villain.'

MailOnline has contacted Curtis Pritchard's representatives for comment.

The not-so-subtle swipe comes after it was reported that Maura is so furious about Curtis's new romance with Amber, 21, that she's said to be 'on the warpath to make his life hell'.

The professional dancer was pictured putting on a cosy display with dancer Amber, with a source close to Maura, saying the pair's outing was 'a kick in the teeth'.

Denied: Amber (pictured centre right) and Curtis (pictured centre) branded claims of their alleged affair as 'complete lies' despite their recent park rendezvous

And while Curtis has denied accusations he cheated on Maura with Amber, a source told The Mirror: 'Maura is on the warpath and has been telling everyone she is going to make Curtis life hell.'

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.

Meanwhile Molly-Mae almost missed her holiday with Maura, after new coronavirus regulations meant that she failed to fill in a form on time.

On Monday, the influencer took to Instagram to detail her Gatwick Airport experience, in which she had failed to correctly fill in the required Passenger Locator Form (PLF) in the right time frame, yet was thankfully saved by her sister's form.

While the reality personality conceded that the entire incident was her 'own fault', she did however warn fans that the coronavirus restrictions are 'SO STRICT' and urged followers to fill in their forms on time.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 13, ARMENPRESS. Member of My step parliamentary bloc, former Minister of Diaspora Mkhitar Hayrapetyan says Armenia must become the second and final home for Armenians arriving from the Diaspora, ARMENPRESS reports Hayrapetyan announced at the parliament.

Mkhitar Hayrapetyan reminded that Armenia has adopted the policy called Strong Armenia, strong Diaspora, meaning that Armenia has assumed great responsibility in front of the Armenian communities of the Diaspora.

The recent horrifying incidents that occurred in Lebanon claiming numerous lives among both the friendly people of Lebanon and the Armenian citizens of Lebanon push the Government and National Assembly of Armenia to take active steps. Speaking about the Armenian communities in the Near East, it should be noted that those communities are in full compliance with our understanding of ''ideal communities'', because our dream community is the following  we think that our communities should be a full part of the given country and an integrated citizen, at the same time preserving the national identity'', Hayrapetyan said.

He noted that back in 2018, still when the Minister of Diaspora, he visited Lebanon, Syria and Egypt and can say with pride that Armenia's partners were greatly impressed with the local Armenian community, emphasizing the centuries-old contribution of Armenians to the economic, social, political, cultural and scientific life of Lebanon, Syria and Egypt.

''It was a great pride to hear that from our partners, because our Armenian community in Lebanon passed through many hardships throughout decades, and I want to thank the people of Lebanon from the National Assembly of Armenia for they were able to protect our people during and after the civil war, people whose contribution has been appreciated by the authorities of the given countries'', the MP said.

Hayrapetyan noted that today Armenia feels responsible not only for the Armenian community in Lebanon, but also for the people f Lebanon, adding that the recent humanitarian aids sent to Lebanon by the Armenian Government will be continuous.

''It's very important that we do our best to take care of our compatriots, who face hardships today, but at the same time we have to say that those of our compatriots that will make an important decison to leave any country where they see no more opportunities to exist, live and create, the Republic of Armenia will be their second home'', he said.

Mkhitar Hayrapetyan noted that for decades Armenia has been perceived as an emotional area, but not as a home, not as a state where one can come, live, create, get rich and make others rich.

''Today we create a Republic of Armenia which will be a home, which unfortunately, due to our mistakes, was not perceived and did not become a home for our compatriots that found refuge from other countries of that region in the past. It should be a lesson for our political team and our compatriots, because it's very important how the repatriates will be treated here. It's very important that if our compatriots make a decision to move to another country, Armenia should be that country and not any other country. Armenia should be the second and final home for our compatriots'', Mkhitar Hayrapetyan said.

The MP noted that Armenia will spare no efforts to become home for its compatriots from any parts of the world. Summing up his speech, Mkhitar Hayrapetyan wished the people of Lebanon strength and endurance, adding that Armenia stands with them.

A huge explosion took place in Beirut on August 4. Death toll is over 220 and over 5 thousand are injured. 13 Armenians are among the victims. Armenia has sent 3 relief planeloads to Lebanon.

Lebanese Government stepped down a few days after the explosion.

Reporting by Norayr Shoghikyan, Editing and Translating by Tigran Sirekanyan
GREENWICH, Conn., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Dolphin Limited Partnership III, L.P. ("Dolphin III") and other entities, long-term holders with approximately 4.9% of the Series A Common Stock of A. H. Belo Corporation (NYSE Ticker Symbol: AHC), announced today that a May 2020 letter was sent to both Robert W. Decherd, Chairman, President and CEO, and John A. Beckert, lead independent director, with request to forward to the entire board.

Dolphin III's recent correspondence, notwithstanding AHC's valuable franchise assets and approximate 9% pro forma annual dividend yield, noted: (i) with an approximate $1.70 share price, $36 million market capitalization and no analyst coverage, it believes it is no longer logical to remain public, (ii) FY 2019 recurring cash operating expense appears to have been approximately $184 million, (iii) there was approximately $77 million or $3.60/share of 2019 FYE ($71 million or $3.30/share as of June 30, 2020) cash, assets convertible to cash, investments and tax recovery and no debt, (iv) in April, AHC advised of an expected 2020 $8.0 million cash decline (before a $2.3 million tax recovery), (v) while AHC had generally managed years of secular revenue declines with corresponding expense reductions, AHC should implement deeper cuts to achieve attractive and consistent profitability, (vi) adjusting for approximately $3.6 million of non-recurring expense, FY 2019 EBITDA appears flat, (vii) FYE 2019 tangible book value, adjusted for lease accounting, was approximately $2.75/share, (viii) AHC, at cost, has hundreds of millions of fully depreciated assets requiring valuation, and (ix) AHC had made significant strides with its frozen defined benefit plans.

Therefore, it remains Dolphin III's view that AHC should (i) pursue strategic alternatives, including a going private transaction (possibly with an ESOP), (ii) pursue deeper expense cuts to achieve consistent attractive profitability, (iii) discontinue acquisitions based upon recent sizable goodwill writedowns and (iv) pay stockholders a $1.06 per share ($22.8 million in the aggregate) special dividend with realization of secured notes receivable expected June 2021.

Dolphin also noted that in 2018, AHC reincorporated to Texas from Delaware and, like Delaware (but unlike some states), the fiduciary obligation of a director of a Texas corporation, is solely to its shareholders. Accordingly, Dolphin III expressed concern for AHC, under its corporate opportunity, not having acquired the available nearly 1.0 million shares of Series A and Series B Common Stock (representing approximately 7.1 million votes) from affiliates and insiders including its former CEO and a director and deny voting control. During 2019-2020 and, as recently as February 2020, approximately 1.0 million shares of Series A and B Common Stock were purchased by Mr. Decherd at $4.00 and $5.00 per share, respectively, while AHC's active 2.2 million share repurchase program covering both Series was not renewed upon its Q4 2019 expiration.

Dolphin III outlined and concluded that it believed a strategic transaction would generate value above the prices paid, including recently, by Mr. Decherd reflected in the above paragraph and had offered support for such, including public merger transactions at attractive valuations.

While AHC was asked to comment as to any factual inaccuracies in Dolphin III's recent letter, AHC offered no corrections in its reply letter.

About Dolphin:

Dolphin Limited Partnership III, L.P. and other Dolphin Partnerships have a history of working constructively to generate value on behalf of all shareholders. Dolphin was initiated in or about 1995.

Contact: Margaret Bae, Esq.

Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP

(212) 451-2300

SOURCE Dolphin Limited Partnership III, L.P.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown says her stay-home mandate and other executive orders to control coronavirus did not hurt a redistricting campaigns signature gathering effort and that the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals should throw out a lower courts decision to give the campaign a lower threshold to qualify for the November ballot.

In a friend of the court brief filed July 31, the governor said Oregons constitutional requirements for the number of valid signatures and deadline to qualify an initiative for the ballot do not violate the redistricting initiative supporters free speech rights, even as social distancing during the pandemic made that bar more difficult to meet.
GREENWICH  Police have made an arrest in a stolen car case from last year in Old Greenwich.

Daniel Gillespy, 19, of Hollister Street, Stratford, was picked up Tuesday on an arrest warrant charging him with first-degree larceny in the incident, police said.

Police said a Land Rover was stolen from town on Sept. 8, 2019 and later recovered in Stratford. Another suspect is wanted in the case  a suspect who is already in custody in another jurisdiction and has yet to be booked in Greenwich, police said.

Bail was set at $50,000 for Gillespy, police said.

Meanwhile, two other cars were stolen in the community, for a total over 70 this year, police said.

A Mercedes-Benz was stolen on Cat Rock Road, and it was reported Wednesday night, police said. The vehicle was later recovered in Bridgeport, and a juvenile was detained in connection with the theft, police said Thursday.

A Nissan was also stolen from North Maple Street early Thursday morning, and it was left in the road a short distance away, police said.

About 30 cars have been stolen this summer in town in less than a three-month period, police said. A number of arrests have been made of youths under the age of 18 who came to Greenwich to seek out unlocked cars with keys inside them, police said. Thieves often engage in high-speed escapes from law-enforcement pursuit, and the stolen vehicles are used in other crimes, police said.

Five juveniles in Bridgeport were apprehended in connection with the theft of three cars in early May in Greenwich.
Former First National Vice-chairperson of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Anita Desoso has described as unfortunate some persons tagged as non Ghanaians and barred from registering by the security forces in the just ended voters registration exercise.



The claims that some foreigners wanted to register in favour of the NDC was unfortunate. It created unnecessary pressure and marred the beauty of the registration, she said.



According to her, many of those who were vetoed from registration exercise are Ghanaians with different nationality parents  this she said qualifies them to be Ghanaians.



I am very sure that Nana Addo [President] who has children in Nigeria would have registered if they were in the country, she said in an interview with NEAT FMs morning show Ghana Montie.





Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Joe Biden announced Thursday that he believed Americans should be wearing masks outside their homes until after the November presidential election to blunt the death toll of the coronavirus.

'Every single American should be wearing a mask when they're outside for the next three months, at a minimum,' Biden said during brief remarks in Wilmington, Delaware. 'Every governor should mandate mask-wearing.'

His new running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, chimed in saying, 'That is what real leadership looks like, we just witnessed real leadership' - though neither Democrat took reporters' questions at the event.

The presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden (right) announced Thursday that he believed there should be a nationwide mask mandate for the next three months to save the lives of 40,000 Americans from the coronavirus

Both Joe Biden (right) and his newly announced running mate Sen. Kamala Harris (left) appeared at the Hotel Du Pont in Wilmington, Delaware wearing masks before they briefly addressed the public

'That is what real leadership looks like, we just witnessed real leadership,' Kamala Harris said taking the podium and praising Joe Biden. Biden announced she was his pick for the vice presidency on Tuesday

Sen. Kamala Harris, wearing a mask to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, watches her running mate, Joe Biden, speak in Wilmington, Delaware on Thursday

Biden and Harris participated in a briefing with medical experts Thursday on the COVID-19 crisis at Wilmington's swanky Hotel du Pont and then each delivered short remarks.

Biden said that experts estimated the move could save 40,000 American lives in the next three months, 'if people act responsibly,' the former vice president said.

'It's not about your rights. It's about your responsibilities as Americans,' Biden went on. 'Again when I occasionally get confronted with a person in public about wearing a mask I say, "Look, this is America, be a patriot. Protect your fellow citizens ... step up, do the right thing.'"

President Donald Trump has politicized mask-wearing over the past four months as COVID-19 continues to spread and kill Americans.

He, at first, refused to be seen publicly wearing a mask amid the pandemic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on April 3 that mask-wearing was recommended in order to prevent those unknowingly infected with COVID-19 from passing it on.

'Well, I just don't want to wear one myself,' Trump said that day at the daily briefing.

The Associated Press reported in May that Trump feared wearing a mask would 'send the wrong message.'

He said he'd look ridiculous and worried those images would be used in political attack ads.

The president has since sporadically worn one, but not mandated mask-wearing at his events.

His disastrous June 20 campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, featured a number of high-profile Republicans sans mask, including GOP 2012 presidential candidate Herman Cain, who's now dead from the virus.

Cain's people said they couldn't be sure where the 74-year-old cancer survivor contracted the disease, though he tested positive of COVID-19 nine days after the rally.

On masks generally, Biden said, 'I hope the president has learned the lesson.'

Harris also suggested that Trump was overpromising the expediency on which vaccines would be distributed to the American people.

'And when Joe talks about this, I think it's important that the American people looking at the election coming up ask the current occupant of the White House when am I going to get vaccinated?' Harris said. 'There may be some grand gestures offered by the current president about a vaccine, but it really doesn't matter until you can answer the question, when am I going to get vaccinated?'

As they wrapped their remarks, reporters from the pool shouted a number of questions, which the Democratic duo ignored.

Earlier in the day, Biden answered a query about Trump's refusal to fund the Postal Service.

Trump had tied funding to wanting to stop the election proceeding by mail-in voting.

'Pure Trump. He doesnt want an election,' Biden scoffed.
G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. GIII recently renewed its license deals for the Levis and Dockers brands. The company has extended the licenses for these labels with Levi Strauss LEVI through Nov 30, 2024. Impressively, G-III Apparel and Levi Strauss entered into a partnership 22 years ago. Notably, the Levis brand covers mens and womens outerwear while Dockers includes mens outerwear. Levis outerwear collections will be available at select department outlets, specialty stores, premium-outerwear retailers and Levis retail outlets, whereas Dockers outerwear will be sold at select department stores throughout the nation.



G-III Apparel will continue to bring creativity and innovation in the outerwear category, alongside capitalizing on its diversified distribution across all platforms. G-III Apparel boasts a robust portfolio of over 30 licensed and proprietary brands, highlighted by five global power labels including DKNY, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Karl Lagerfeld Paris. Apart from Levis and Dockers, the companys other well-known licensed brands are Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Karl Lagerfeld Paris, Kenneth Cole, Cole Haan, Guess?, and Vince Camuto.



Last year in June, G-III Apparel had inked a license agreement with PVH Corp.s PVH subsidiary, Calvin Klein, for a term of five years. This allows the company to design and distribute Calvin Klein Jeans womens jeanswear assortments across the United States and Canada besides other womens Calvin Klein businesses licensed to G-III Apparel.

G-IIIs Performance

Shares of the New York-based company rose 6.6% during the trading session on Aug 11. Over the past three months, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock has surged 41.5% compared with the industrys 42.7% rally. G-III Apparels shares might have probably been gaining on restructuring actions of its retail business, which has been dismal over the recent quarters due to weakness in underlying brands.

Story continues





A couple of months ago, management informed that it has been on track with the restructuring of its retail business, including eliminating the underperforming stores. This restructuring includes shutting down the 110 Wilsons Leather and 89 G.H. Bass outlets. Post restructuring, the retail unit will initially comprise 41 DKNY and 13 Karl Lagerfeld Paris outlets. Also, it will have e-commerce sites for Donna Karan, Andrew Marc, Karl Lagerfeld Paris, DKNY, Wilsons Leather and G.H. Bass. Meanwhile, G-III Apparels robust strategies, including licensing of well-known brands to expand its product, portfolio bode well.



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A Los Angeles police officer is being sued by the family of a woman after camera footage allegedly showed him fondling her corpse.

In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, officer David Rojas is alleged to have sexually molested Elizabeth Baggett, a young mother, after she was found dead in October.

Ms Baggetts family are represented by attorney Gloria Allred, who described Mr Rojas alleged actions as mean, vile, base, and contemptible.

The lawsuit is filed against the city, Mr Rojas, and several unnamed parties. The family are seeking jury trial and unspecified damages, NBC News reports.

Ms Baggett died of an accidental overdose on 20 October, 2019, according to the medical examiners report.

Officer Rojas is alleged to have groped her after he and his partner had determined she was dead when they responded to a call to the home where she was found.

When his partner left the room, Mr Rojas turned off his body camera and the assault is then alleged to have taken place.

However, the camera still filmed the incident as it has a built-in two minute buffering to capture activity before being switched back on, according to a report by the Associated Press.

The footage was discovered during a random inspection of camera footage a month after the incident.

He was charged in December with one count of having sexual contact with human remains. After pleading not guilty he was released on $20,000 bail.

Officer Rojas remains employed by the Los Angeles Police Department, but is not on active duty, according to a police spokesperson. He has been with the force for four years. The LAPD is not named in the suit.

The LA Times reports that Jane Baggett, the victims mother, speaking at a news conference in in Ms Allred's office, said: I am infuriated that this man had so little respect for another human being, our Elizabeth, for not having the thought that she is someones daughter, granddaughter and mother.

Ms Baggetts teenage son, Preston Sertich, had wanted to work in law enforcement until learning about the incident. In a statement directed at Mr Rojas, he said: All I can think is, 'Why?!' How could you do something like that? You had to know what you were doing was undeniably wrong and immoral."

LAPD chief Michel Moore said in December: This incident is extremely disturbing and does not represent the values of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Weather Alert

.An arctic cold front will move across the region on Wednesday, causing rain to change to snow Wednesday afternoon and evening. ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 6 AM CST THURSDAY... * WHAT...Mixed precipitation expected. Total snow accumulations of one to two inches and ice accumulations of a light glaze. * WHERE...Portions of southwest Indiana, western Kentucky and southern Illinois. * WHEN...From 4 PM Wednesday to 6 AM CST Thursday. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous conditions could impact the evening commute, especially along the Ohio River. The transition from rain to a wintry mix and snow may not occur closer to the Tennessee border areas until after 7 PM CST. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...The combination of gusty winds, falling temperatures and wind chills, and falling snow will cause hazardous travel. Freezing of residual moisture on roads from rain earlier Wednesday could also cause some icing of roadways. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Slow down and use caution while traveling. &&
An investigation by Suffolk University Housing Discrimination Testing Program and then referred to the Attorney Generals Office revealed widespread systemic housing discrimination against low-income tenants in the South Shore and has resulted in four real estate brokers and agents agreeing to pay up to $110,000 and attend fair housing training in settlements.

What does this investigation tell us? Those with vouchers face high levels of discrimination while trying to find a safe place to live, said William Berman, clinical professor of law at Suffolk University Law School. Those participating in the real estate market have a responsibility to treat those with vouchers fairly and will be held accountable for their misdeeds if they dont.

Free and Clear Realty, Century 21 Annex, Unlimited Sothebys International Realty and Success! Real Estate Inc., violated state fair housing and consumer protection laws by illegally denying low-income people the opportunity to rent an apartment because of their receipt of public assistance through the federal Section 8 housing voucher program.

Section 8 helps low-income residents afford rental housing in the private market. Some of the settlements also resolve allegations of discrimination against families with children or the publishing of discriminatory advertisements marketing rental apartments.

The South Shore is an area thats experiencing increasing rents and homelessness.

Rental assistance programs are critical to the economic security of our most vulnerable residents, particularly people of color and people with disabilities. Unfortunately, this type of widespread discrimination is representative of the barriers many face in the search for safe and affordable housing, said Attorney General Maura Healey. Housing providers cannot use the requirements of these programs as an excuse to refuse to rent. We will continue to hold accountable those who deny residents access to housing based on bias.

Between July 2018 and March 2019, a tenant inquired about the rental of at least four separate South Shore properties listed by Free & Clear Realty. The allegation from the attorney generals office is that in each of these instances, the broker terminated contact with the tenant after she disclosed receipt of public assistance or that a minor child would live with her in the apartment.

Under the terms of the settlement with Free & Clear Realty, the broker will pay $15,000 in restitution and attend annual training on state and federal fair housing laws for three years.

Century 21 Annex is alleged to have increased the rent on a Braintree property after a Section 8 voucher holder applied and disclosed her receipt of public assistance. In the settlement, the broker paid $9,000 in restitution and attended fair housing training.

A broker with Unlimited Sothebys is alleged to have told a prospective tenant, who was a Section 8 voucher holder, that the landlord had selected another applicant, while the property remained on the market for weeks. The Sothebys broker also paid $9,000 in restitution and completed fair housing training.

The fourth real estate company, Success! published advertisements for rental apartments throughout the South Shore area that included discriminatory statements based on familial status, source of income and disability.

The slogans included: One person only, which discriminates against couples and families, you must have good credit and decent work history and verifiable employment required, which discriminates against people who receive public assistance and may be unable to work.

Under the Massachusetts state fair housing law, housing providers cannot make statements or place advertisements that discriminate against a potential tenant based on familial status, source of income, disability and other characteristics. Housing providers are also prohibited from placing advertisements that suggest a preference for tenants without housing vouchers, without children, or without disabilities.

Under the terms of the settlement, Success has undertaken significant efforts to ensure company-wide compliance with fair housing laws, will implement fair housing training policies for its brokers and agreed to pay $79,200 to the state, of which $66,000 will be suspended and then waived pending compliance with the terms of the agreement.

Healey issued a new guide on Thursday in English and Spanish to educate tenants, landlords and those in the real estate industry on their rights and obligations under state and federal fair housing laws.

This investigation provides a powerful illustration of how insidious discrimination impacts real families, said James Matthews, practitioner-in-residence and director of Suffolk Law Schools Accelerator Practice. Our client and her family were turned away from numerous properties on the South Shore just because they had a voucher. Its hard to overstate the extreme stress of being denied a fair and appropriate process for finding a home. This joint enforcement effort sends a clear message to housing providers: Dont engage in this type of illegal conduct.
13.08.2020 LISTEN

Religion and Good morals are the only solid foundation of public liberty and happiness. - Samuel Adams

In this our generation, growing up as a Christian apologetic has been one of the toughest adventures in life. My Christian journey is like that of Ancient Philosopher Socrates: always asking questions and probing further into existing ideas for truth. As a boy, my mum always advised me not to accept facts without probing further logically and experimentally to prove its true meaning. But applying this kind of lifestyle to my Christian faith sometimes proves futile, but the best way of learning is always asking questions. Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God is a master of questions. He expertly digs down deeply into reality to produce both self and God-awareness in others. According to theologians and historians, Jesus asked about 307 questions in the gospel; Luke 18:19, Luke 18:35-41, John 4:7, John 5:6, etc. At age 12, Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem while walking with his parents just to sit with the teachers of the law at the temple courts asking question. Are we more like Jesus when it comes to asking questions and providing outstanding answers to the big questions?

Our Christian moral values bridge with the habit of asking questions could show the nature of God, Our Father to the world. But the true nature of our worldview and the window to which worldview we really hold can be shown by how we respond to the key ethical controversies of our generation. Some of these include; abortion, racism, adultery(which is our topic of discussion), poverty, natural evil and sexuality issues in general. In our response to such controversial ethical issues, we must always remember to hate sin(the act) and love the sinner(the person in the act). Also remember that God created all things good. Evil is just an intruder into creation and not part of Gods ultimate plan or nature. Yet I know some Christians fail to consider scriptures when addressing such sensitive issues. But in attempt of considering these issues, lets first ask the question What does the Bible say? But in this article we would like to understand what the bible says about Adultery?

Most people understand what adultery is even if we masquerade behind pretenses. We all understand how relationship, marriage can be destroyed by adultery. How then can we love an adulteress? There is a passage in Johns Gospel; Jesus and the woman taken in adultery(John 7:53  8:11) often called the Pericope Adultarae. In this passage, Jesus was tested by the Pharisees to entrap him in a dilemma. But according to the Old Testament death is fixed as the penalty of adultery. Jesus response to adultery is very fascinating, full of wisdom. Jesus stood and said to the accusers(Pharisees and Scribes) He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first. Jesus did not condemn the woman(adulteress) but instructed her to go and sin no more. Most modern Christians are fond of condemning sinners, instead of them to love unconditionally and hate none. But if we profess to be the light of the world then its our core mandate to turn every darkness into light but not to judge according to appearance. (John 7:24).

As Christians we need preaching the message of hope but not of hatred, love unconditionally and be mindful of our words and actions. Our message to adulteress should not be of condemnation but to share with them the message about how Jesus opened a way out of sin for all of us (Hebrews 4:15-16). Telling them that the momentary pleasures of adultery soon pass but the word of God stands forever. Amen

Compiled By David Adjei

God is my Helper.
Natural gas exports from Russia's Gazprom to Europe, including Turkey, fell 18% in the first half of the year to 78.94 billion cubic metres from 96.43 bcm a year earlier, the company reported on Thursday, Reuters reports.

The sharp decline makes its harder for Gazprom to reach its target of more 166.6 bcm in exports this year, as gas demand has been depressed due the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

The company has said it expected European gas demand to start recovering from the third quarter.

Gazprom said on Thursday in its report under Russian Accounting Standards, that its gas supplies to China, started in December 2019, reached 1.57 bcm in January-June.
Standing in front of a mural honoring Spc. Vanessa Guillen at Houstons Taqueria Del Sol on Wednesday, Trae Tha Truth gathered with family members of the slain Fort Hood soldier in the neighborhood where she grew up.



The Houston rapper, whose given name is Frazier Thompson III, presented Vanessa Guillens sisters, Mayra and Lupe Guillen, with a $30,000 check to help with expenses.



It means a lot anytime youre able to take the stress off somebody, even for a moment, knowing that they'll be going through this for a lifetime, said the Houston rapper,  I wanted to let them know theyre not by themselves.



Vanessa Guillen's older sister, Mayra Guillen, said Thompsons support has been unwavering since her sister's death. Trae has been there for me and it means a lot.



Lupe Guillen, Vanessa Guillen's younger sister, said she is grateful not only to Thompson but also to the countless people from around the globe who have reached out.



We all have to stand together as a family," said Lupe Guillen. "It doesnt matter if youre blood. We're all brothers and sisters."



Thompson echoed Lupe Guillens remarks.



No matter your race or anything else, we're in this together, he said. We need to keep saying her name: Vanessa Guillen. We need to keep saying George Floyd and Breonna Taylor's names. This is going to be a long fight but we need to stand for whats right.



Vanessa Guillen, who originally disappeared April 22, was killed in a brutal attack before her body was dismembered and buried in a shallow grave near Fort Hood in late June.



The Armys handling of its investigation on Vanessa Guillens death has been criticized by activists, lawmakers and civil rights groups. It's also led to a call for the reform of how to report sexual abuse and harassment in the military.



Vanessa Guillens killer shot and killed himself on July 1 as law enforcement tried confronting him, officials said.



Cecily Aguilar, charged with helping dispose of the body of murder victim Vanessa Guillen, is awaiting trial.



Lupe Guillen said a public memorial service for Vanessa Guillen will take place this Friday from noon to 8 p.m. at Houston's Cesar Chavez High School, where Spc. Guillen attended.



A private funeral is scheduled for Saturday at Forest Park Lawndale Funeral Home.



Everyone is welcome to attend on Friday. Face masks and social distancing will be required, said Lupe Guillen. We're asking for privacy on Saturday. It will just be for our family and close friends."
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Six former bureaucrats have approached the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Centre to appoint a commission of inquiry into the alleged mismanagement of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.

A bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao is scheduled to hear the plea on Friday that sought the panel to be headed by a retired apex court judge.

The petition has alleged that the Centre has failed to undertake timely and effective measures for containing transmission of the virus and an independent inquiry by a commission, appointed under the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1952, was essential to inquire into the lapses.

The petition, filed through advocate Prashant Bhushan, has claimed that the Centres response to the pandemic and its deleterious impact on the lives and livelihoods of the citizens is a definite matter of public importance and warrants appointment of a commission under Section 3 of the Act.

The plea has claimed that the nationwide lockdown, which was imposed from March 25, and the manner in which it was implemented has had a devastating impact on jobs, livelihood and the overall economy.

In spite of being the harshest and most restrictive lockdown in the world, it has failed to arrest the spread of the disease, the plea claimed and also referred to the exodus of migrant workers and daily wagers during the lockdown from cities to their respective home towns.
Iranian special forces boarded an oil tanker and seized it for hours near the Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions between Tehran and the US.

The US Central Command posted a grainy black-and-white video online showing a helicopter hovering low over the Liberian-flagged MT Wila.

The Iranian Navy allegedly then descended and were seen fast-roping on the deck of the vessel, whose last position appeared to be off the eastern coast of the UAE near the city of Khorfakkan.

The Iranian navy held the vessel for five hours before eventually releasing it on Wednesday, a US military source said.

Two other Iranian naval vessels took part in today's seizure, the Central Command said.

No distress calls were made from the Wila before, during or after the seizure, the official said.

The helicopter involved appeared to be a Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King, which only Iran's navy operates.

The waters where the ship was boarded, near the Strait of Hormuz, are a chokepoint for a third of the world's seaborne oil.

The escalation of Iran-US tensions in the last year over America's unilateral withdrawal from its 2015 nuclear deal saw ships mysteriously attacked, drones downed and oil tankers seized in the strait.

Tankers sailing in the Middle East became targets, particularly near the strait, the Persian Gulf's narrow mouth.

Suspected limpet mine attacks - that the US blamed on Iran - targeted several tankers.

Iran denied being involved, though it did seize several tankers.

A black-and-white screenshot from video released by the U.S. military, allegedly shows Iranian forces members fast-roping onto the civilian tanker

The Iranian navy handles all operations in the Gulf of Oman on the eastern side of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of all traded oil passes.

The US military did not offer any reason why Iran seized the vessel.

The Wila's registered owner is a Liberian firm called Bandit Shipping, managed by Greek firm IMS SA, UN records show.

The ship had been off Khor Al Zubair, Iraq, in early July before it travelled near Dubai and later Khorfakkan, where it has been for around a month, according to data firm Refinitiv.

Private maritime intelligence firm Dryad Global said it suspected two other ships had been harassed by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in the Persian Gulf over the last week as well, based on the ships' behaviour.

In July, a US-sought oil tanker was 'hijacked' off the coast of the UAE after allegedly smuggling Iranian crude oil.

The vessel later ended up back in Iranian waters, suggesting Iran seized the vessel.
Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP and two of its attorneys are finalists for Chambers & Partners 2020 Diversity & Inclusion Awards. The firm is a finalist for Inclusive Firm of the Year. The awards ceremony will take place virtually Sept. 24.

Chair of the firms Global Agribusiness Practice and Shareholder in its Minneapolis office, Arleen A. Nand is a finalist for the Diversity & Inclusion Lawyer of the Year. Litigation Associate, Allison M. Stewart, located in Dallas, is a finalist for Future Leader  Diversity & Inclusion.

The finalist honor is recognition of Greenberg Traurigs commitment to creating and supporting an inclusive environment where individuals are encouraged to be their authentic selves. A firm commitment since it opened its doors in 1967.

According to Chambers & Partners, the UK-based legal directory publisher, its Diversity & Inclusion awards celebrate firms and individuals who are furthering the advancement of diversity and inclusion in the U.S.

About Greenberg Traurig, LLP: Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has approximately 2200 attorneys in 41 locations in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, diversity, and innovation, and is consistently among the largest firms in the U.S. on the Law360 400 and among the Top 20 on the Am Law Global 100. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law.


The role of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) in Tuesdays violence in Bengaluru that left three people dead was under scanner, Karnataka home minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Thursday.

A mob went on a rampage in the city on August 11 over a social media post with alleged derogatory references to Islam. The mob, armed with machetes, swords and sticks, vandalised the residence of a Congress legislator  the post was made from the Facebook account of his nephew  attacked two police stations, damaged vehicles, and smashed an ATM machine into pieces in a violent five-hour spree that also left 100 people, including 60 police personnel, wounded. Three people were killed after police opened fire to bring the situation under control.

As per the information gathered so far and video footage [available], most importantly the role of SDPI is coming to light. We are collecting more information regarding it, we are investigating deeply in this regard, Bommai said.

State deputy chief minister CN Ashwath Narayan said the government was also considering banning SDPI, four of whose members are among the over 140 arrested in connection with the violence.

Seventeen people have been booked for the clashes.

Already, several SDPI office bearers have been arrested. Muzammil Pasha, the SDPI district secretary is the main [accused]. Firoz, Afraz Pasha and Shaik Adil, all of them are from SDPI, have also been arrested. Their role is completely being investigated, Bommai added.

SDPI, however, has denied any connection to the violence and instead accused the police of failing to bring the situation under control.

Congress MLA Akhanda Srinivasa Murthys nephew Naveen was among those arrested in the case. Naveen , who is in his 20s, said his account that was used to make the controversial post was hacked into.

The post was made on August 10 and it went viral a day later, police officials said on condition of anonymity

Authorities have also extended Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which prohibits the gathering of four or more people at a place, in areas under DJ Halli and KG Halli police station, till August 15.
Public schools in Boston plan to reopen on Sept. 21, delaying the start of school by 11 days, the citys Committee on Education said during a six-hour city council meeting Wednesday night.

The meeting discussed plans for schools in Boston including remote and hybrid models. The committee said a final decision hasnt been made. School districts in the state have until Friday to submit their final plans.

In Boston, regardless of the model, students in kindergarten through grade 12 will start classes on Sept. 21. Originally, the first day of school was scheduled for Sept. 10. Teachers are scheduled to report to school on Sept. 8, which has not changed.

The new school year will be 170 days, the Committee on Education said. Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeff Riley said last month that districts could start their school years two weeks later this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Students must receive a minimum of 850 and 935 hours of structured learning time for elementary and secondary students, respectively.

The delay, the committee said, allows officials extra time to decipher the latest public health trends prior to students beginning classes.

By that point, though, a final plan will have already been submitted by the school district.

Boston Public Schools is the largest school district in Massachusetts, with more than 50,000 students enrolled in grades pre-kindergarten through 12th grade last year across more than 100 schools. Classes were shifted to start at a later date following approval from state education officials for schools to reopen up to two weeks later than initially planned this fall.

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By PTI

BLED: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Slovenia on Thursday to make the case for high-speed wireless networks that bar Chinese companies like Huawei.

On the second leg of a four-nation tour of central and eastern Europe, Pompeo met with Slovenian officials in the mountain lake town of Bled and signed a joint declaration on "5G Clean Network Security" that aims to keep untrusted telecommunications vendors out of Slovenia.

"Free nations must work together to confront authoritarian threats," he said.

"It is absolutely critical that every nation makes a good sovereign decision about how the private information of its citizens is going to be handled."

Pompeo has led a US campaign across Europe and elsewhere against Huawei and other Chinese companies that the Trump administration accuses of sharing sensitive data and personal information with China's security apparatus.

The campaign has had mixed results, but NATO ally Slovenia is on board.

"Protecting communications networks from disruption or manipulation, and ensuring the privacy and individual liberties of the citizens of the United States and Slovenia are vital to ensuring that our people are able to take advantage of the tremendous economic opportunities 5G will enable," the declaration says.

Slovenia last month rolled out a nationwide commercial 5G network with the Swedish telecoms giant Ericsson, which Pompeo and other U.S. officials frequently mention as a "trusted" alternative to Huawei.

"The tide is turning against the Chinese Communist Party and its efforts to control information," Pompeo said.

Besides the 5G declaration, Pompeo discussed energy security with Slovenia's president and prime minister.

The United States is keen to wean Europe from its dependence on Russian oil and gas and has launched numerous initiatives throughout the continent to diversify European energy sources.

It has offered to sell U.S. fuel to Europe and has been promoting nuclear energy.

Pompeo arrived in Slovenia from the Czech Republic, where he called upon the young democracies in the region to embrace hard-won freedoms and counter threats from Russia and particularly China, which he said is in many ways more dangerous than the former Soviet Union.

"The CCP is already enmeshed in our economies, in our politics, in our societies in ways the Soviet Union never was," he told Czech lawmakers, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.

Pompeo, however, said that "even more of a threat is the Chinese Communist Party and its campaigns of coercion and control."

"In your country alone," he said, "we see influence campaigns against your politicians and security forces, the theft of industrial data that you have created through your innovation and creativity, and we've seen the use of economic leverage to stifle freedom itself."

Pompeo said they should continue to resist Chinese attempts to assert economic and political leverage over them.

He noted several recent developments in which China has threatened Czech officials with retaliation for showing support for Taiwan, Tibet, and Hong Kong.

China has accused the United States of "oppressing Chinese companies" through its declarations about telecom equipment suppliers Huawei and ZTE being national security threats.
Today, India faces its most serious military challenge on our northern borders since the Wangdung incident of 1986. Although the violence that accompanied the initial transgressions has not reoccurred and the current focus is on dialogue, it is apparent that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has occupied territory across Indias perception of the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Attempts to use terms like grey zone and obfuscate the matter by making distinctions between incursion, transgression, and occupation cannot hide this reality.

It is now apparent that neither India nor China is looking for a military escalation, and we are in for an extended period of heavy deployment on both sides. The PLA would be happy with the existing status quo in which the LAC has shifted westward in partial conformity with their claims. The Indian Army is readying to keep additional troops in Ladakh during the winter, although it is doubtful whether this alone will force a retreat of the PLA.

Irrespective of how the current crisis plays out, there are some larger issues that the political and military leadership must now address. These have to do with how we approach our national security challenges. I am listing three key topics, two for the political and one for the military leaders.

Defining a National Security Strategy

For a country with the fifth-largest economy and the third-largest military spending in the world, we are inexplicably coy about articulating a national security strategy (NSS). A well-defined national strategy is a clear vision of the path that India must take in pursuit of its national vision. It also provides a guide for all organs of the state on the policy directions that they must follow.

The most critical part of the NSS is the statement of national objectives and core interests. These are redlines for a country that are non-negotiable and convey a clear message to the adversaries. If these redlines are breached, then the use of military power becomes inevitable. Territorial integrity is at the heart of any nations core interest, and that is at stake in Ladakh. We could argue that the barren and uninhabited areas of Ladakh are not worth a conflict, but the Chinese apparently do not subscribe to this view and are willing to risk conflict for their territorial claims in the same desolate area.

A NSS also outlines a consistent path and prevents ad hocism in policymaking. It commits the political leadership to a specific approach and forces the building of capabilities to meet the desired objectives. Instead of mere platitudes to win social media approbation, there is a functional action plan.

Understanding the Political-Military Interface

In India, there has been considerable resistance to the military's participation in decisions taken at the national level, and this has resulted in the military preparing its strategies without political guidance. Due to a lack of understanding of military strategy, the political leadership has also adopted a hands-off approach towards the military and failed to define clear political objectives.

The military is the main instrument of national power, and its role is to convert the political objective into reality. Carl von Clausewitz wrote, The political objectthe original motive for the warwill determine both the military objective to be reached and the amount of effort it requires. Thus, it is extremely important that the political aim is clearly spelled out to the military.

A close interaction between the political and military leadership is essential not only during a crisis but also during periods of peace. It is in peacetime that strategic assessments are made, contingencies analysed, and capabilities built up. Unfortunately, the current state of civil-military relations, characterized by Anit Mukherjee as 'The Absent Dialogue', has resulted in incoherence in our strategic planning and a reduction in military effectiveness. Some results of this are evident in how we have responded to the current crisis in Eastern Ladakh.

Military Reform and Professional Advice

Although the Indian military has long recognised China as the primary threat, the political leadership has been excessively focused on Pakistan, which has prevented a serious look at the type of capabilities and organisational structures required for deterring China from exercising the military option. This is in sharp contrast to the very comprehensive reforms undertaken by the PLA in the last five years that have improved military effectiveness.

The leadership of the three services must now shed their parochial attitudes and get serious about the transformation of the military into a joint warfighting machine. India's geography confers it with some advantages that can be exploited by the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force, and a synchronized approach would multiply these advantages. We must also look at capabilities to neutralize the PLA's current dominance in missile technology, space, cyber, and electronic warfare. It is equally important to revise our military doctrine to handle a range of contingencies from coercion to a limited conflict to an all-out war.

Finally, military advice to the political leadership must be entirely professional and honest. The military has a "can do" spirit, but that must not stop its leadership from pointing out the dangers of under-resourcing the military while expecting ambitious results. We have seen the disastrous consequences of this in the American war in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is well understood that the political leadership has many competing requirements, particularly in the time of a stressed economy, but military leaders must clearly communicate capability shortfalls and avoid making exaggerated claims.

Even if the current standoff with China is resolved peacefully, it must lead to a deep introspection on the manner in which national security issues should be handled. The current government has taken some important steps towards defence reform, which must now be expanded by articulating a national security strategy and ensuring a vibrant and honest civil-military dialogue.
Islamabad, Aug 13 : The Pakistan Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday rejected Afghanistan's insinuation that Islamabad was conducting "illegal fencing" along the two countries' border, adding that it was being done to address "serious security concerns".

In a statement. FO spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said that the fencing was "fully in accordance with the established norms of international law without encroaching into Afghan territory", reports Dawn news.

On Tuesday, the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said they had protested the move through diplomatic channels.

In a statement carried by Tolo News, the Ministry spokesperson said: "Any action which has been taken by Pakistan, the Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has recorded its protest through the Afghan embassy in Islamabad to Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Pakistani Embassy in Kabul." Reacting to the report, the FO spokesperson said that the Afghan side would be well-advised to engage on border matters through the relevant institutional mechanisms to "address any misconceptions".

"Regrettably, Pakistan's suggestion for conducting joint topographic surveys had not been positively responded to by the Afghan side," Dawn news quoted Chaudhri as saying.

The spokesperson also reaffirmed that Pakistan respected the territorial integrity of Afghanistan and conducted its relations with the brotherly country in accordance with the principles of the UN charter and expected "reciprocity from the Afghan side".

Thursday's development comes after at least three people were killed and over 20 injured on the Pakistan side in a clash on July 30 between an unruly mob and security forces at the Friendship Gate border crossing in Chaman, while a heavy exchange of fire also took place between Pakistani and Afghan security forces.
Joe Biden is counting on his running mate Kamala Harris and her deep connections to the Black community to boost turnout from one of the Democratic Party's most important voting blocs.

But Harris's difficulty stirring enthusiasm among Black voters during the Democratic primaries show that she still needs to prove she can motivate this constituency, some activists say. Her efforts could be crucial in swing-state cities like Philadelphia, Detroit and Milwaukee where Black voters may prove decisive in defeating President Donald Trump.

"These are questions that she has to answer head on, she actually has to talk about her evolution and talk about the way the world was in terms of her progressive prosecution back when she was a prosecutor, talk about the challenges that she's had and talk about where she's moved," said Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change, a racial justice organization.

Prominent Black Democrats are cheering her selection, and political strategists say that Harris, the first Black and Indian-American woman to be on a major party presidential ticket, will enhance Democrats' efforts to win over Black voters.

Since the announcement on Tuesday, many Black Democrats have said it shows a long overdue commitment to African-American voters and the issues that matter to them.

"For once in my lifetime, it doesn't seem like the Democratic Party is taking Black people totally for granted," said Charlamagne Tha God, a host on "The Breakfast Club," a nationally syndicated radio show popular among young Black people. "And you know Black people, we want to show up for who shows up for us."

Yet Democratic strategists say Harris, California's junior senator, was held to a higher standard during her presidential run because voters also worried she couldn't beat Trump. She consistently polled in single digits among Black voters, who overwhelmingly supported Biden, followed by Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. In particular, she was skewered over her tough-on-crime record during her years as San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general.

"Joe Biden was a candidate that was known," said Chryl Laird, an assistant professor at Bowdoin College who studies the Black electorate. "He had already sat alongside Barack Obama. If you are risk averse, if you are somebody who doesn't want to take a risk in a system that often doesn't allow for that kind of behavior, I think African American voters thought he is the safer bet."

Now, the calculus has changed, Laird said, arguing that Harris, 55, will excite middle-aged and older Black women. She also predicts that Harris will energize younger Black women, including those whose views are to the left of Harris's.

"Even though they are more progressive leaning, the symbolic nature of what she represents as a woman of color will be significant for them," she said.

Still, Harris faces skepticism from progressives, and the concerns about her prosecutorial record have faced renewed scrutiny in the aftermath of nationwide protests against police brutality.

Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, the highest ranking African American in the U.S. House, said that reputation should help her in key areas.

"She brings to this ticket a smorgasbord of qualifications," he told Bloomberg Television. "I think that she gives to this ticket the ability to win in those strategic places."

Many Black progressives were championing Warren as a possible vice presidential nominee. A CNN poll conducted in May showed Warren had the highest favorability rating among non-White voters with 72%, compared to 57% for Harris. A CBS News poll from the same month showed Warren as the favorite vice-presidential prospect among Democratic or Democratic-leaning African-American voters, with 28% saying Biden should choose her, compared with 23% for Harris.

Yet as Harris is re-introduced to the country as Biden's running mate, allies of the 77-year-old presidential candidate say they hope she will infuse more enthusiasm into the campaign that will draw more younger people and people of color into the fold.

Even though Biden already has deep support from Black voters, Harris's allies say her background as a graduate of Howard University and a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha, a Black sorority, gives her a closer connection than Biden would be able to make.

"The ancestor gotta be pleased about the pick of Kamala Harris," said Bakari Sellers, a former South Carolina state representative who supported Harris's presidential campaign. "I mean, she's on the shoulders of Shirley Chisholm, she's on the shoulders of Ella Baker, she's on the shoulders of Barbara Jordan. And so there is going to be a momentum wave that is going to have ripples in all of the areas that, while Joe Biden understands Black voters and Black voters understand him, his arms weren't long enough to touch."

After depressed turnout among Black voters contributed to Hillary Clinton's loss in 2016, the expectation that Harris will excite Black voters could prove critical to the Democrats' electoral success.

"This is not going to win you any new voters. We're not talking about swing voters. We are talking about increasing turnout in the Democratic base," Patrick Murray, the executive director of Monmouth University Polling Institute, said about Harris joining the ticket. "Being able to turn out another 25,000, 30,000 votes in a city like Philadelphia or Detroit could be the margin of victory. It would have been the margin of victory four years ago."
Over $114,000 will be up for grabs in stakes action at Kawartha Downs on Saturday (August 15), as Ontarios top three-year-old trotting colts will arrive at the Fraserville oval for the third leg of their Grassroots campaign.

Local colt Awesomedabra heads into the event with a flawless record of two wins in the first two legs for a share of top spot in the divisional point standings. In his most recent start, the Kadabra gelding finished second in the August 1 Dream of Glory final at Hanover Raceway, drawing in off the also eligible list after two horses were forced to withdraw from the final due to sickness, something owner-trainer Gary Lance was dealing with before the elimination.

He was sick the week before and he just wasnt himself, said Lance, a resident of Port Perry, Ont. Luckily, he drew in. He was the second also eligible and he drew in, you dont see that happen very often, and he raced [well]. Chris has done a great job with him.

Awesomedabra will be without regular pilot Chris Christoforou, who is currently sidelined with injuries suffered at the beginning of the month, but top Kawartha Downs reinsman Nick Boyd will step in to steer the gelding from Post 4 in the fourth Grassroots division. The pair will face a stiff test, as they will start in between last years Grassroots champion and current Gold Series regular Lovedbythemasses, who is trained and co-owned by Peterborough resident Ed Peconi, at Post 3, and Dream of Glory champion and division co-leader Remember Titans at Post 5.

We kind of drew in a little tough on Saturday, but you never know. Thats why they give the money out after the race, said Lance, with a chuckle. Hopefully well have some luck.

So long as Awesomedabra emerges happy and healthy from Saturdays start he will embark on a new adventure next week. The gelding was bred and raised in Kentucky, and, as a result, he is also eligible to that states sires stakes program.

Im going to send him down to Anette Lorentzon. Theres only 46 colts eligible and Ive be been keeping track of them all spring and summer, so I think hell be competitive. Hell go down there probably Monday or Tuesday and then hes got three races, and hopefully hell make the final, and then hell be back here for the (Grassroots) semi-final (on October 2), explained Lance. I just wanted to do it for the experience. I go to the sale all the time and watch the races during the Grand Circuit and I would have just loved to go down there and race one, but unfortunately with this COVID its not worth taking the chance.

Before heading south, Awesomedabra will look to pad his Grassroots point total in Saturdays fifth race. The other Grassroots divisions have been slated as Race 1, 2, 4, and 6 on the program, which also features a single $7,200 Prospect Series division for Ontario-sired two-year-old trotting fillies in Race 8. Post time for the stakes-laden program is at 4 p.m.

With on-track attendance limited to 100, fans can download a program and catch all the stakes action via the live stream on the Kawartha Downs website.

In addition to Saturdays stakes action, Kawartha Downs also has three more Prospect Series legs on its 2020 calendar. The two-year-old trotting colts and three-year-old pacing fillies will battle in their fourth leg on Saturday, August 22 and the two-year-old pacing fillies will square off in leg four on Saturday, September 5.

To view the harness racing entries for Saturday at KD, click the following link: Saturday Entries - Kawartha Downs.

(Ontario Sires Stakes)
CHICAGO, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Travelers searching for flights and hotels online in the early 2000s likely remember Orbitz among the leading travel sites of the dotcom boom. What they may have forgotten is why the travel brand was much-loved. The answer stems in large part from its early commitment to the LGBTQ community, which the travel brand is reigniting today with the launch of Orbitz.com/Pride, a new online travel destination featuring LGBTQIA welcoming hotels, travel guides and advice from diverse travel experts and influencers in the queer community.

"Culturally, we've come a long way since 2001 when Orbitz created the first gay print ad for travelers," says Orbitz Brand Director Carey Malloy. "Still, we know that there is much work to be done in making the larger travel community more open and accepting for everyone. That's why we're re-launching a LGBTQIA microsite we first pioneered almost two decades ago for a new generation."

The original Orbitz LGBTQ microsite, GayOrbitz.com, launched in 2002 and was one of many firsts for the Orbitz brand in support of the LGBTQIA community. Since then, Orbitz created the first mainstream TV ad featuring an unambiguously gay couple, was the first travel brand to hire a drag spokesperson, Miss Richfield 1981, and last year the travel site celebrated the 50th anniversary of Pride with its list of trending destinations and celebrations.

Among what's new to Orbitz.com/Pride are hotels that meet a higher inclusivity standard. Hotels must meet criteria  such as staff training on sexual orientations and gender identities or inclusion of LGBTQ-friendly activities and recommendations to guests  to be listed on the site. Orbitz is planning further enhancements and additions to the microsite later this year and into 2021.

"As a brand, we're rededicating ourselves to making a more inclusive travel experience, and that starts with our travel partners and extends to how we use our data, travel reviews and more to serve up recommendations and advice," says Malloy. "This is another first step for our brand of many more to come."

Visit Orbitz.com/Pride to search for LGBTQIA welcoming hotels and travel advice and follow Orbitz on Instagram and Twitter for inspiration and travel deals.

About Orbitz.com

Orbitz is a leading travel provider where millions of customers are rewarded when they search for and book hotels, flights, car rentals, cruises, vacation packages and destination activities on Orbitz.com and Orbitz mobile apps. Through the award-winning Orbitz Rewards loyalty program, travelers instantly earn Orbucks on bookings which can be immediately redeemed on 385,000+ hotels worldwide. Members also receive hotel perks and travel benefits the more they book, and earn up to 10 percent back with the Orbitz Reward Visa Card. See Terms and Conditions.

 2020 Orbitz, LLC, An Expedia Group company. All rights reserved. Orbitz, Orbitz.com, and the Orbitz logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Orbitz, LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other logos or product and company names mentioned herein may be the property of their respective owners. CST #2063530-50

CONTACT:

Mel Dohmen

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SOURCE Orbitz
Revamping the schools Part II  Higher Education

In my previous column I discussed some basic strategies for raising our influence on school curriculum. The next level that needs to be addressed is on the State level. Our Legislators not only carry the purse strings for all of Education in North Carolina, they have a powerful influence on what is being taught in our schools. An example is when cursive writing was being dropped for the State Curriculum, the State Legislators passed a law making it part of the instruction in North Carolina. North Carolina was one of 21 State legislatures to do so. We must hold our State officials to revamping the curriculum and demand they do so. Election time is a great time to find out where they stand on issues like teaching American Values etc. Then we must hold them accountable so they do not just pay lip service to the ideas we present.



Another prong of this program would take place at the University Level. While we have been asleep at the wheel the Left has successfully taken over Higher Education. They control the minds of college students studying to be teachers, media personalities, or working in Government. Unless we work for an even playing field we will continue to graduate teachers, media people and lawyers who lean far left in their beliefs and ultimately seek to destroy what this nation is all about. Years ago the Universities were havens for free and diverse thought. Though the Left and the Right did not often agree they would defend the other side's right to believe so. Today things are quite different. A Conservative can no longer say what he/she feels without being at a minimum verbally harassed. Being called a Nazi and other threats are common place from the Left in Control. Conservative Professors, if you can find one, on Campus are often isolated by the Liberal Faculty and at times denied Tenure based on their beliefs. To be a Conservative Republican student on today's campus is a frightening experience and often an intimidating one. It is no wonder that Conservative students on campus might be labeled an "endangered Species".



We need to stand up and force changes in the University systems. Diversity of thought should be a mandated item. Remember the State University System is supported by taxpayer money. In addition, private institutions of higher learning most likely receive federal or state funds in some way. The purse string is an effective method of forcing change.



We need to demand that voices of all groups be heard regardless of how you personally feel about it. In addition we also need to have the State Legislature establish Committees to review course content at the University. The purpose is not to censure thought but to ensure what is being taught is based on fact and not deluded thoughts of a Left Leaning Instructor. Our universities need to also teach critical thinking to allow students to hear a variety of opinions and sift through the information to develop a conclusion on the topic based on all the information. This cannot happen when he only voice students hear is from Leftist professors with an agenda that is mostly anti- American.



We must fight to return our places of higher learning to spaces where a variety of philosophies can be heard. These institutions must be a place where instructors can offer diverse opinions for student consumption. This would allow students to critically review these opposing thoughts and decide which one they may choose to support. We need to graduate critical thinkers into all work fields not preprogramed Leftists.



Although peaceful protest is guaranteed by our Constitution, when protesters become violent and refuse to allow dissenting voices to be heard on a campus, they need to be disciplined and possibly dropped as a student from the university/college. Professors who support and or initiate such violent demonstrations should be removed from their posts.



Education did not get to this status overnight. Likewise it cannot be fixed overnight. We must commit to the long haul to restructure education at all levels. Another piece to this is discipline in schools. How we address the issue is important because NC Law requires an equal education for all. At the same time we must guarantee our students from kindergarten through the University a safe environment. But that is another article........ Stay tuned ........


The Covid pandemic has proved to be the biggest change agent for the education system. No regulatory authority or leadership has been able to do what this pandemic was able to in a matter of days. Recent data from UNESCO suggests that almost 1.06 Bn students in 105 countries are currently affected by school closures. This includes those enrolled in tertiary education and makes up more than 60% of the total enrolled learners globally. The situation seems a little better than in April when the number of countries affected was a staggering 190 with 90% enrolled learners having to study from home. In India, the technology impetus within education is irreversible and the New Education Policy has also laid emphasis on this (apart from other things) with the proposed creation of the National Educational Technology Forum (NETF).

The lack of physical or facility-based instruction across the globe has created a fertile ground for the rapid rise of online education and various EdTech firms are fuelling this growth. According to the World Economic Forum, global EdTech investments were around $18.6 billion in 2019 and the market is projected to grow to more than $350 billion by 2025. India, which in 2019 had more than 37 million Higher Education students enrolled in Universities and Colleges, has seen frenetic activity in the online education space. Some commentators have even referred to this as EdTechs demonetisation moment. Since March 2020, students across the country have been undergoing a range of courses online including the sciences, business, yoga, art, languages and many other subjects in front of laptops, smartphones and tablets with instructors and faculty joining in from other parts of the city or country. Its no surprise that new broadband connections had increased 40% in urban India (according to Dept. of Telecommunications data) just after lockdown was announced.

The Indian education landscape is witnessing a great number of previously unimagined alliances with online education companies collaborating with traditional education setups. The reasons could be many  growth, scale, robust certification, tacit knowledge, signalling effect etc. All partners are hoping to gain from such collaborations in a rapidly changing ecosystem. Traditional educators too are trying to understand how to harness online learning for their existing students/programs and also for future growth prospects by way of new programs or courses.

The technology impetus within education is irreversible and the New Education Policy has also laid emphasis on this (apart from other things) with the proposed creation of the National Educational Technology Forum (NETF). If a Gross Enrolment Ratio of 100 in school education and 50 in Higher Education is to be achieved, online seems to be the only way to go.

However, to what extent can online education positively impact learning? There is frantic adoption of online teaching by way of various communication technologies and in many cases the medium is the only thing that has changed. The teaching pedagogies and the overall philosophy remain not too different to past practices. Online courses are at times an extension of an offline teaching approach that may or may not induce learning across the entire spectrum of students.

Research conducted by Prof. Susanna Loeb and academics at Stanford University suggests that for advanced learners, their performance across the online or in-person modes does not vary as much. However, the same may not hold true for slower learners. Their findings indicate that slower learners perform relatively worse in online settings as compared to physical settings. According to them, this is not an inevitable situation and can be rectified by a different approach to engagement and knowledge facilitation. This problem may also be one of the major contributors to higher dropout rates in online courses and it is not a surprise that a fledgling group of innovative education start-ups have come about to help solve this student retention problem. They tend to use data, AI & Machine Learning, and a customised learning environment to improve academic performance.

Of course, this is a drop in the ocean and all education institutions who have ventured into online learning have to build a very different learner centric capability. Whilst everyone in the academic fraternity including students maybe waiting to get back to in-person class sessions, returning to the old normal is not something we can afford to do. The benefits of technology assisted learning or even a blended approach are far too many to deny and the search for Educations new normal has to continue in earnest.

About The Author

Dr. Vishal Talwar is the Dean  School of Management, BML Munjal University. Dr. Talwar has worked as faculty in leading universities and business schools, including the London School of Economics and Henley Business School, University of Reading. Dr. Talwar is a PhD from Manchester Business School where he was awarded a doctoral scholarship by the Shell Oil Company. With research and consulting interests in customer portfolios, marketing resource allocation and consumer ethics, he has presented his research at prestigious conferences such as the American Marketing Association Conference, Informs Marketing Science Conference, Academy of Marketing Conference and the International Marketing & Purchasing (IMP) Conference.

Editors' Note: This article is part of the 25 Years of Internet In India series, where we try to capture how the state of mobiles, home broadband, services and content have evolved, particularly in the past few years. We try to understand what the internet means for us, be it for the new reality of work from home, for entertainment and the Netflix binge watching, music streaming, online gaming and more. With the Industry Dialogue being a multi-part series by News18.com, the industry talks about the impact of digitisation, the adoption of technology by the masses, the proliferation of smartphones and the wider demographic going online, and what that means for India going forward.
This is the third of three planned previews of the new (Summer) issue of the Claremont Review of Books. Having reviewed the issue in galley, I selected essays and reviews I thought some Power Line readers would find of interest. With the indulgence of the editors of the CRB, we are extending the preview with a bonus edition tomorrow. Please stay tuned.

Today I have two books reviews that I found inherently interesting. In the first, Mary Eberstadt reviews the new Kindle book The Lost History of Western Civilization, by Stanley Kurtz. Eberstadts review is Canon fodder. With respect to what she calls the long march of multiculturalism through our institutions, Eberstadt writes: What has gone largely unexamined is another question: whether multiculturalism ever made sense on its own termsi.e., whether the creation story it came to tell of itself even holds up. With The Lost History of Western Civilization, published by the National Association of Scholars, Stanley Kurtz has now delivered that crucial missing piece.

In the second review, we have the Federalists John Daniel Davidson reviewing the new book on immigration by New York Times reporters Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Michael Shear, Border Wars: Inside Trumps Assault on Immigration. The review is Theyre not sending their best. In the New York Times, Joe Klein declared the book [e]ssential reading for those searching for the beating heart of the Trump administration. Klein further declared that Davis and Shear are scrupulously fair reporters[They] are right: Immigration demagogy is at the heart of the Trump show  and the Trump show is at the heart of our tragic decline as a civil and humane society.

By contrast, Davidson observes: [O]ne can read an entire book that purports to be about immigrationa book written by two veteran New York Times correspondents, advertised as an insiders look at three tumultuous years of Trump Administration infighting and congressional intrigueonly to realize the whole thing is really just an extended argument that Trump is racist. The contrast is telling. What it tells is an old story with which Power Line readers are familiar, but there is more:

On one level, Border Wars is simply an extended ad hominem attack on the president and his advisors. But on another levelone that seems to escape Davis and Shearthis is really a book about how the Trump Administration has tried to wrest back control of U.S. immigration policy from an administrative state that commandeered it decades ago at the behest of a quiescent Congress. The border wars referred to in the title are not, as the authors suppose, conflicts between Trump and the Democrats, or Trump and Mexico, or even Trump and the migrants hes trying to screen. The real fight is between Trump and the professional bureaucrats in the executive branch who have resisted executive interference in their administrative fiefdoms for decades. These entrenched pols are not about to obey a president and administration whose preferred immigration policies they loathe.

Highly recommended.
As Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulops family grows, so will his house.

Fulop has applied to the city Zoning Board to renovate his Ogden Avenue house, proposing to add nearly 900 square feet to the 3,400-square-foot home that overlooks the New York skyline.

A spokeswoman for the mayor could not be reached for comment, but according to a report in Tapinto, the renovation was due to the couples expected second child.

Its really not a big deal or change, Fulop told Tapinto. Our family is growing, and we dont want to leave our current home, but we do need to have a plan for the new baby.

The baby is due in early October, Fulop said in a tweet.

According to documents filed last month with the Zoning Board, the mayor is planning to expand the houses dining room, great room, master bedroom, and fifth bedroom. Plans call for the roof to be squared off and for a third floor deck to be added.

For the current renovations, the Fulops are requesting variances to shrink the size of the backyard and to expand the three-story building. Neighboring houses are developed... in a similar manner, according to documents filed with the Zoning Board.

No additional rooms are being created as a result of these improvements and there is no increase to the intensity of use on the property or an increased parking demand, the application reads.

Its unclear how much the new renovation will cost, but its at least the third major construction project the Fulops have undertaken since buying the house in 2015 for $845,000. Soon after purchasing the property, they embarked on a half-million-dollar renovation. The board granted variances then, exempting the home from rules about what percentage of the lot the building could take up.

Documents filed with the Zoning Board list Kirk Mitchell, of Englewood-based AKT Designs, LLC, as the architect for the newest renovations.

According to his LinkedIn page, Mitchell was previously the director of architecture and design at Dixon Advisory, the Australia-based wealth management firm that oversaw the first renovation of Fulops home.

Dixon Advisory also designed the Fulops second home in Jaclyn Fulops native Narragansett, Rhode Island. The couple bought the property in Narragansett for $820,000 and built a house there for an estimated half-million dollars. Features include ocean access and a rooftop pool.

Mitchell could not immediately be reached for comment. AKTs website cites the importance of a strong, functional and mutually educational relationship between the architect and a client in order to fully exploit a projects full potential.

The Zoning Board will consider the renovations on Thursday night.
Hyundai Motor India on Thursday launched the Hyundai Mobility Membership (HMM) as it seeks to deepen engagement with its customers and enhance brand loyalty, said a top company official. The owner of a new Hyundai car can download the HMM from an application store.

The app generates a unique code and the car owner can use the code to avail attractive offers from close to 21 brands in various categories. These include OYO, Dine out, Revv, Zoomcar, JK Tyres, Shell, Chayos, to name a few. "The benefits one gets will always be over and above what one can normally avail from the ...
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) who receive medical marijuana to treat pain may require fewer visits to the hospital, according to a new study in Blood Advances. Adults with SCD who requested and obtained medical marijuana were admitted to the hospital less frequently than those who did not obtain it.

SCD is the most common inherited red blood cell disorder in the United States, affecting an estimated 100,000 people. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, SCD affects one out of every 365 Black or African American births and one out of every 16,300 Hispanic American births. SCD is characterized by abnormal, sickle-shaped red blood cells that can adhere to and block blood vessels, preventing oxygen from reaching the tissues. When this occurs, individuals living with SCD experience severe pain events which may drive them to seek emergency care. It is estimated that there are more than 100,000 SCD-related hospital stays in the United States each year.

There is a need for other options for management of pain so that individuals with SCD do not have to go through the time, hardship, and expense of hospitalization and can manage their symptoms at home. Previous studies have shown that cannabis and cannabinoid products can effectively treat chronic pain associated other conditions such as cancer. More controlled studies of marijuana for the treatment of pain in SCD are still needed.

"When we offered medical marijuana as an option to our patients with sickle cell disease, we found the majority of people who were interested were already using illicit marijuana to treat pain," said the study's lead author Susanna Curtis, MD, of the Yale School of Medicine and Yale Cancer Center. "Illicit marijuana is not regulated, so its quality and contents are not standardized. And particularly for people with sickle cell disease, many of whom identify as Black, we know that while Black and white people use marijuana at similar rates, Black people are four times more likely to be arrested for possession. We didn't want our patients using unsafe products or being arrested for trying to control the pain of their condition."

Dr. Curtis and her team examined data from 50 individuals with SCD at the Adult Sickle Cell Program at Yale New Haven Hospital who were certified for medical marijuana use. Of those certified, 29 obtained medical marijuana and 21 did not. Those who obtained medical marijuana visited the hospital less frequently on average over the following six months. Several patients even reduced their hospital admission rates by three, four, or five visits. Receiving medical marijuana was not associated with a change in emergency room or infusion center visits, total health care utilization, or opioid use. Researchers did not observe any change to hospitalization rates in individuals who did not obtain medical marijuana.

Dr. Curtis suggested a possible reason for the reduced hospitalization rates could be that medical marijuana helps individuals better tolerate their pain at home.

The researchers also sought to understand why many patients were unable to access medical marijuana, and why some continued to occasionally use illicit cannabis despite obtaining medical marijuana. In a survey, individuals who obtained medical marijuana reported that they felt it was safer than illicit marijuana and they felt it was effective at controlling their pain; however, they did also report barriers such as greater expense and difficulty of access.

Race and socioeconomic status may also be barriers for patients with SCD. "About 80% of our clinic population identifies as Black, and another 15% as Latinx, and unfortunately people of color who visit the hospital with pain are often not believed or accused of being drug-seeking. Medical marijuana is associated with significant stigma, and stigma is already a big part of the life of a person with sickle cell," said Dr. Curtis.

Cannabis and cannabinoid products also present legal and medical challenges. While 33 states have medical marijuana laws, only five of those states list SCD as a qualifying condition. Medical marijuana products vary greatly in their chemical content and forms of administration. In the study, patients who obtained medical marijuana were more likely to use edible products as opposed to inhaled products. Previous research suggests the pain-relieving effect of edible products has a slower onset but a longer duration than that of inhaled products. This variability between different products can cause difficulty for patients trying to manage their symptoms.

Dr. Curtis highlighted the need for further research to understand the efficacy, side effects, and drug interactions of various cannabis products on SCD treatment. "My patients are living with a very difficult disease that causes them a lot of pain. We need controlled trials to look at each product, and the effects of how it is taken, so that we can offer regulated, pharmaceutical-grade treatment options."

Blood Advances is a peer-reviewed, online only, open access journal of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), the world's largest professional society concerned with the causes and treatment of blood disorders.

Blood Advances is a registered trademark of the American Society of Hematology.

SOURCE Blood Advances

Related Links

www.bloodadvances.org


Climate change is a progressive, complex, multifaceted phenomenon with inconsistent patterns from one area to another and casting a dark shadow over vineyards worldwide.

In addition to rising temperatures and severe drought (viticultures greatest challenges), it involves other diverse manifestations from increased rainfall, storm surge, rising sea levels, violent hurricanes and the tornadoes they spawn, devastating snow storms and blizzards, along with an increased incidence of pests and disease throughout agriculture.

Climate change has been observed, documented and debated over the last several decades. Its effects, existence and man-made contributions are proven by the global scientific community in more than 90 percent of their exhaustive and meticulous studies. Yet, an ardent group of deniers continues to remain vocal on the subject by resisting suggested lifestyle, industrial and community changes we must enact in an effort to stem the tide.

My intention is not to debate the existence or causation of climate change. I look to science and recorded data to prove that as a given. Rather, Ill explore critical viticultural options being implemented to accommodate its deleterious effects. In a couple weeks I will follow-up with an insight into what the international wine community has launched to combat further expansion. This is truly a two-pronged battle with both efforts lending valuable contributions.

A few weeks ago, I was invited to join a webinar focused on how viticulture can adapt to climate change hosted by Aron Weinkauf, winemaker and vineyard manager at Spottswoode in St. Helena, in conversation with Dan Petroski, winemaker at Larkmead Vineyards in Calistoga.

Both have been experimenting with various concepts over many years and agree on most aspects of climate change and its effects but differ somewhat on what direction to explore in Napa Valley. Theres no question that Cabernet Sauvignon is king in the valley, but there may be some issues on its ability to continue (as we know it) with rising temperatures and extended drought.

To maintain Cabernets dominance, growers can look at various rootstocks, clones and inventive farming practices to find answers. An alternate route involves accentuating the Napa brand (also being explored in Bordeaux and elsewhere) with other varieties better suited to rising temperatures in an effort to produce wines at or above the quality level expected from our Valley. The good news is even while climate is changing, our diverse Napa Valley soils are not.

Both Aron and Dan are experimenting with different varieties and introducing various farming protocols that have proven advantageous over the last 20 or so years. Aron is a strong proponent of working with Cabernet Sauvignon, which he says is the cream of Napa Valley that will always rise to the top.

Dan is more inclined to aggressively experiment with different varieties that hail from warmer Old World growing areas and are more heat/drought tolerant. This quest is focused on supporting the Napa (not necessarily the Cabernet) brand. Both agree the ultimate answer lies somewhere in between. Heres a glimpse at the philosophies they discussed.

Aron observes, Variable conditions as becoming more variable and extremes becoming more extreme. Since agriculture doesnt move as fast as the media patience and long-term studies are [necessary]. Aron has dedicated several acres in Spottswoodes vineyard to look at the growing potential of Californias old blacks like Carignan, Mourvedre, Petit Sirah and some hybrids.

In addition to multiple and significant adjustments in his farming practices, Aron maintains a strong focus on a variety of Cabernet Sauvignon clones and complementary rootstocks that have shown some adaptation to changing conditions. Currently, he has 10 different rootstocks on the property and 14 others in trials. As Cabernet vines are grafted to the rootstocks and begin to bear fruit, the weaker ones are eliminated and the emphasis remains on those showing promise.

Aron is also a strong believer in blending for added complexity in the finished wine. And even though other varieties planted to flourish in a warmer/drier climate may gain strength in Napa Valley, he envisions Cabernet as most likely remaining a significant portion of the blend while maintaining its local importance.

Dan considers, Napa Valley as the worlds foremost viticultural leader while staying ahead of the curve with 20-plus years of vineyard experimentation on shade control, irrigation models, and a broad range of other [adaptive] regimens.

He agrees we should continue experimentation and adopt new vineyard practices to protect Cabernet. But we must also be aware that change is advancing and it is crucial that the Napa brand remain the core of our focus regardless of what grapes go into the bottle and ultimately our glass.

On the varietal side, Dan respects Cabernets premier role and said it may survive with newly adopted viticultural practices. However, he fears we may be facing a chop at the knees so extensive research must continue with other compatible varieties that could carry Napa Valley through the new normal ahead.

Currently, Dan has planted eight trial varieties at Larkmead and about half of those had been grown on-site at some time during the vineyards 125-year history. They now warrant revisiting for their adaptability. Others include Touriga Nacional (Portugal), Tempranillo (Spain), Aglianico (Italy) and Mourvedre (France), all originating in warmer and drier climates.

During the webinar, both Aron and Dan went into great depth on what we need to do in Napa Valley and stressed the ever-decreasing window of opportunity to realize positive results in the face of persistent climate change. Were not alone in the world when it comes to vineyard and varietal modifications to preserve quality in the wines we enjoy, and here are a few examples:

Bordeaux remains active as well. In 2007, Chateau Brane-Cantenac in the Margaux appellation planted an acre of Bordeauxs somewhat forgotten and late developing Carmenere. It was first used in the warm, uneven 2011 vintage in the Grand Vin for the first time since the late 19th century. Planted acreage has now increased to 10 acres.

In 2009, an experimental planting of 52 different varietals (from Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal) in the Pessac-Leognan appellation was begun under the leadership the French National Institute for Agricultural Research and Bordeaux Wine Council. The aim of this continuing experiment is to maintain the character of great Bordeaux wine with varietals more acclimated to warmer temperatures.

And last year, the Bordeaux AOC and Bordeaux Superieur districts elected to expand from the top five sanctioned varieties with seven (four red and three white) additional grapes from elsewhere that would better adapt to hotter and drier conditions. These additions have yet to receive the blessing or approval from Bordeauxs Institut National de lOrigine et de la Qualite (INAO) before implementation can officially begin.

Australia is also encountering extreme weather events and compressed vintages. Research is being done at the University of Adelaide with grapevines from Cyprus for their drought-coping and heat-resisting qualities. Some Beaujolais vintners are considering experimentation with Syrah. And Oregons Willamette Valley is re-examining its long-held practices of dry farming and limited irrigation.

In addition to challenging virtually all classic wine- producing regions of the world, climate change has offered new opportunities to other areas previously considered inhospitable to growing wine grapes. New Zealands South Island and Tasmania are experiencing success with additional varieties and southern England  a recent producer of world-class sparklers  are a few examples. Scandinavia has also surprisingly joined the wine grapegrowing world with production from Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

Adaptation is necessary but fighting the expansion of climate change is also critical in avoiding ultimate disaster. Well explore some of the international wine communitys efforts on that front next time, so stay tuned.

Watch now: Harvest 2020 at Schramsberg

Share your experiences with other readers by commenting on this article with an e-mail to me at allenbalik@savorlifethroughwine.com. Allen Balik, a Napa resident, has been a wine collector, consultant, author, fundraiser and enthusiast for more than 35 years.
FLINT, MI  News travels fast in Flint.

Moments after Terence Green took part in a press conference Wednesday afternoon to discuss his appointment as the new police chief, he was accepting congratulations from residents while walking to his vehicle outside Flint City Hall.

Green will take on the role by Sept. 1. His salary will be set at $100,000 per year.

Im accepting this position due to the fact that I have an everlasting love for the city of Flint, said Green. Being able to be appointed to the chief of police for the city of Flint will be the pinnacle of my law enforcement career.

He and Mayor Sheldon Neeley have known each other for years. Green said their relationship goes back to pre-kindergarten at Bunche Elementary.

His love for this community is measured by his love of commitment by being here and bringing his skill and his talent back to this community, said Neeley.

Green graduated from Flint Northern High School, but his desire to help others dates back to his elementary school days.

Neeley recalled Green being part of the patrol boys group that would monitor the halls.

I dont have to guess about his character or what hes going to bring to the quality of law enforcement here in the city of Flint because I know his heart, said Neeley.

Green felt it was a positive that the pair have a relationship, having conversed about the city and its issues.

We both love the city of Flint and I think I know when he stands at this podium what he says is sincere and honest, said Green.

After earning his bachelors degree in criminal justice from Minnesota State University-Moorehead in 1991, Green began his law enforcement career in 1992 with the Genesee County Sheriffs Office until his retirement in 2013.

He then took over as the first Black police chief in Mt. Morris Township in September 2014, after a brief stint with the University of Michigan-Flint Department of Public Safety while attending the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command, graduating in 2014.

Green noted he will evaluate all things in the department when he starts the job.

My first concern would be the morale of the employees. Thats my priority, day one, he said. Its simple for me. If morale is high, the employees are going to want to come to work every day, give 100 percent and go home safely.

If an employee, an officer, or any employee dreads coming to work, then thats usually a sign of low morale, then its going to be counterproductive for the police department, added Green. I want every employee including our officers, janitorial, secretarial, I want their morale to be high. Im going to do everything I can within my power to make sure the morale is high.

When asked about the Black Lives Matter movement, Green said he is in favor of any positive protests.

I think a lot of people are listening, including me as a police chief. I get it, he said. I think they have a very important agenda and well try to cooperate with them as best we can.

As the city is in the hiring process for new officers, Green pointed out he would prefer candidates familiar with the area but is concerned its not always possible.

Im from this area, so I know the streets of the city of Flint, he said. As the chief of police, my goal as it was in Mt. Morris Township, is to be an integral part of the community. We need the community to be successful. If we can, diversity definitely will help the police department and also would help fill that gap between the police department and the community.

Green and Neeley both said they are looking to maintain a continued partnership with Michigan State Police in the community.

Neeley stressed the importance of other partnerships including Mott Community College and University of Michigan-Flint police departments, faith leaders and the community at large.

We need all of these entities working together to make a community in which we can be proud of, he said. We love our community, were proud of our community, but we have to build our community into what we want to see.

Green wears his pride for the city on his sleeve, at all times.

Im proud everywhere I go, Im proud to announce I was born and raised in the city of Flint, he said.

More on MLive:

Flint names Mt. Morris Township Chief Terence Green its new chief of police

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 22:09:47|Editor: huaxia

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BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Brunei recorded a 193.9 percent year-on-year rise in trade surplus for May 2020 due to a major decrease in imports and an increase in exports.

Brunei's trade balance for May 2020 increased to 427.6 million Brunei dollars (311.7 million U.S. dollars) from 145.5 million Brunei dollars in May 2019, according to the latest International Merchandise Trade Statistics released on Thursday by the Department of Economic Planning and Development (DEPD) at the Ministry of Finance and Economy.

This was largely due to a decrease in imports valued at 437.6 million Brunei dollars from 572.6 million Brunei dollars, an 23.6 percent year-on-year drop. Exports increased in the time frame to 865.2 million Brunei dollars from 718.1 million Brunei dollars.

Mineral Fuels recorded the highest contribution of total exports (70.9 percent) with a value of 613.2 million Brunei dollars.

The highest share of exports in May 2020 went to China (36.2 percent), followed by Japan (20.3 percent) and Singapore (17.4 percent).

The highest share of imports in May 2020 came from Malaysia accounting for 26.5 percent, followed by Singapore (12.0 percent) and China (12.0 percent). Enditem
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) San Francisco, United States  Thu, August 13, 2020 10:15 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066daa8b4 2 Business Apple,lawsuit,patent,tech-companies,4G-technology Free

A Texas court has ordered Apple to pay more than US$500 million in damages and interest for 4G patent infringements held by intellectual property company PanOptis.

The United States tech giant  now worth almost $2 trillion  vowed to appeal Tuesday's decision.

"We thank the jury for their time but are disappointed with the verdict and plan to appeal," Apple said in an email response to an AFP inquiry.

"Lawsuits like this by companies who accumulate patents simply to harass the industry only serve to stifle innovation and harm consumers."

PanOptis, which specializes in licensing patents, took Apple to court in February last year, claiming it refused to pay for the use of 4G LTE technologies in its smartphones, tablets and watches.

"The plaintiffs have repeatedly negotiated with Apple to reach an agreement for a FRAND license to the Plaintiff's patent portfolios which Apple is infringing," the court filing read.

FRAND refers to terms that are "fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory" and is the IT industry standard for technology use.

"The negotiations have been unsuccessful because Apple refuses to pay a FRAND royalty to the Plaintiff's license."

Apple argued unsuccessfully that the patents were invalid, according to legal publications.

The case is one of many patent suits from licensing firms that make no products but hold rights to certain technologies. Critics call these firms "patent trolls."

Patent suits are typically filed in states where jurors have been found more inclined to rule against Silicon Valley giants.

The Texas court has twice ruled against Apple in the past, demanding it pay hundreds of millions of dollars to VirnetX  another company specializing in patent litigation.

On its website, PanOptis offers to manage its clients' patents, allowing them to concentrate on "innovation and new development."
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday that there had been no progress this week in negotiations with Congress over another economic stimulus package, and accused Democrats of being intransigent for political reasons.

The talks collapsed last Friday, spurring President Trump to roll out several executive actions intended to extend additional unemployment insurance benefits and deter evictions. Since then, the lines of communication between Republicans and Democrats have fallen silent.

Perhaps they think that any deal is good for the president and thats why they dont want to do it, Mr. Mnuchin said in an interview on the Fox Business Network.

Mr. Mnuchin highlighted federal funding for state and local governments as the most significant area of disagreement. He said the White House was willing to provide an additional $150 billion to states to deal with coronavirus-related costs, while Democrats wanted to give states approximately $1 trillion.
As the magical creatures of Middle Earth prepare to resume venturing through Auckland, New Zealand, for Amazons Lord of the Rings prequel series, the mythical world of Pandora has been bursting into life for James Camerons Avatar sequels in Wellington, just one hours flight south. Meanwhile, on the South Island, stars like Viggo Mortensen are planning to embark on The Greatest Beer Run Ever in Dunedin, while a game-changing production studio has been proposed for Christchurch.

As filming hubs like Los Angeles and London continue to face restrictions and increased health and safety costs amid the coronavirus pandemic, New Zealand called action on international productions in June.

More from Variety

I think the pause was beneficial to all of us because we were grateful to finish our film healthy and safely, says actor Kirsten Dunst about returning to work on Jane Campions The Power of the Dog. We pushed ourselves more because no one knows when well be able to work again.

Everyone was very gung-ho, adds the films production designer Grant Major of his first day back on set. We all loved the film, actors and director, so were pumped to get going and do the best job we could.

That can-do attitude is what will likely tide the industry over despite Tuesdays late-night announcement that the country will enter a three-day lockdown, which went into effect at midday Wednesday local time. The measures came after Prime Minster Jacinda Ardern confirmed four members of an Auckland family tested positive for COVID-19, acquiring the virus from an unknown source. The cases ended the nations 102-day streak of having no new community infections (cases have been limited to the strictly-quarantined border).

Story continues

While New Zealand dropped to level one  the lowest of a four-level alert system  on June 8, the Auckland region is now on level three restrictions until Friday, meaning residents are asked to work from home, only interact with people in their household bubble, and practice social distancing and mask-wearing in public. Filming can continue if strict health and safety protocols are followed.

Several international productions were in pre-production in Auckland at the time of the announcement, including LOTR, Robert Downey Jr.s Sweet Tooth, anime adaptation Cowboy Bebop and The Greatest Beer Run Ever, directed by Peter Farrelly. The New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) tells Variety that the Auckland projects are now continuing with pre-production, but working from home.

The remainder of the country  including Wellington, where the Avatar sequels are filming  has been placed in level two, which encourages mask-wearing and social distancing and allows social gatherings of up to 100 people. Large-scale productions such as Avatar can continue under level two screen production rules, such as physical distancing among crew and following recommendations for scenes involving intimacy or fighting.

Avatar has played a significant role in the booming period of screen production New Zealand has experienced in recent months, thanks to being one of the few largely coronavirus-free locations with strong filming infrastructure, highly skilled crews, incentive schemes and award-winning VFX and post-production houses. What may have once seemed a deterring 12-hour flight across the Pacific, presented itself in June as an opportunity to get on a plane and wake up in Middle Earth, ready to make movie magic. Cameron has even expressed his wish to make all my future films in New Zealand, in a letter to the government.

And while the virus community comeback impacts the level of precautions that must be followed on sets, Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford is confident the sector can continue to thrive.

We have guidelines in place to allow filming to continue, provided productions meet health and safety requirements, he says. Going hard and early with our response provides the best chance we have to continue taking advantage of the huge boom our screen sector is experiencing.

Indeed, while the prospect of needing to enter level four again looms in the minds of many locals, New Zealanders have proven their ability to come together and tackle the virus at any given alert level, and when it comes to screen production, the country remains in a better position than many other filming hubs.

Border exemptions keep business moving

Of course, getting there requires the golden ticket of a government-approved border exemption, followed by two weeks of quarantine. That was the most challenging part, Dunst says. Having a 2-year-old in a hotel room for two weeks!

The exemptions are part of the economic recovery efforts which have helped the industry bounce back and keep locals in jobs. Prior to Marchs shutdown, around 2,000 New Zealanders were employed on foreign productions and 47 local projects were active. The pandemic was going to have a devastating effect on our screen sector. People were very worried, says NZFC CEO Annabelle Sheehan. It became a matter of thinking through the elements that needed to come back into place for production to resume.

The first step was commissioning the Aotearoa Screen Guild to work on post-pandemic protocols to ensure health and safety on set, says Sheehan. Then, the priority was working with the government on border permits for foreigners involved in large-scale productions pumping substantial jobs and money into the economy.

The guild created filming guidelines for the four alert levels, and although the country dropped to level one in June, Sheehan says most sets have since been exercising extra caution and operating at level two recommendations, which indicates that projects outside of Auckland are not being significantly impacted by the change of alert level.

On The Power of the Dog, Dunst says her temperature was taken daily and masks were worn, but she felt very comfortable. Major adds that crew tracked studio entry and exit on an app and signed weekly health declarations, while cleaners circulated all day.

Projects only involving locals have also been exercising extra caution, with Jordan Mauger, assistant director on a New Zealand series, noting that sanitation stations and distancing are the new normal.

However, some shoots require close interaction, which is where workers have been able to proceed with a level of comfort thats scarce elsewhere. Power Rangers: Dino Fury, for instance, is currently in pre-production and scheduled to commence shooting in Auckland in October, with sanitization stations, workers signing in and out of set and a bubble system restricting interaction between different departments.

Ultimately, though, scenes will film normally providing alert levels allow them to do so. Power Rangers involves combat, stunts and person-on-person fighting, showrunner and executive producer Simon Bennett told Variety prior to this weeks lockdown. If everyone had to distance, it wouldnt be Power Rangers. If we were to move to a higher level, wed have to be very careful about how we worked, but one of the advantages is that most people fighting are wearing masks  the superhero kind! And the masks, costumes and props are heavily disinfected between use.

Containing the latest outbreak and keeping foreign production rolling as much as possible remains important to the sector, given that the seven productions are injecting 3,000 jobs and NZ$400 million (US$262 million) into the country. Twyford says border exemptions for Avatar alone enabled 400 locals to resume working in June. Meanwhile, for the 20 Japan-based stunt performers and six U.S. actors permitted entry for Power Rangers, the shows employing 700 local crew and 2,650 performers.

Sheehan notes resuming production has been equally important to the global industry. Production companies around the world partner with us to make films here. Were conscious of that eco-system and the worldwide screen sector New Zealand is a part of. Were also conscious countries are suffering. We want the world back to right, but want to ensure opportunities continue for content creation in the meantime.

While New Zealand has beamed as a filming hotspot since Peter Jacksons Lord of the Rings movies, and spawned substantial film tourism, interest has been surging in recent months. Since heading home from L.A., The Frozen Ground director Scott Walker has been asked to direct three American movies that are hoping to relocate to New Zealand from other locations. One hopes to use Otago to portray California.

Expanding for the future

Sheehan confirms there has been a significant increase in foreign queries and applications, and work is subsequently underway to ramp up infrastructure. Twyford already announced more than NZ$230 million ($151 million) of screen sector recovery funds and has plans to further aid the booming industry.

The sectors aware of gaps in our infrastructure offering, particularly with two large-scale productions based here [Avatar and LOTR,] says Twyford, who hopes to develop local skillsets to support increasing production. Now is the time for New Zealanders pondering career changes to consider film and television, he says.

The need for a national infrastructure plan is an initiative in the sectors Screen Strategy 2030, which is being finalized. Having said that, our industrys able to accommodate different types of projects and they dont all need large soundstages, says Twyford, noting that, in addition to its location shoots, New Zealand digital/VFX houses are consistently attracting projects.

Boosting such capabilities, Weta Digital has partnered with Avalon Studios and Streamliner to launch a LED-stage virtual production service.

Other projects include a studio facility proposed by Mauger for Christchurch, which could attract millions to the Canterbury region, where Disneys Mulan was partly filmed. It would be the first purpose-built studio in the South Island and start a whole industry down south, says Mauger, who has applied for government funding. The new COVID-19 outbreak exposes the need to spread the industry to wider regions throughout New Zealand, rather than cluster it in Auckland and Wellington.

The Eastern Screen Alliance, meanwhile, wants to transform popular wine region, Hawkes Bay, into a filming destination, and is working with a domestic company on a proposed studio.

While such plans could further open up the country to Hollywood projects, domestic storytelling remains a priority. Its why NZ$50 million ($33 million) of the governments recovery package will benefit new local films and series. Telling New Zealand stories to New Zealand and the world is a key driver, Sheehan says. And our creatives work across international and national projects  the two are closely-integrated.

Its an exciting time because were an operating film industry, which can do all the big stuff, adds Mauger, one of the Kiwis jumping between local and foreign productions. Theres always been a feeling of, What if we go back into lockdown? But with the ScreenSafe protocols, we have great ways of maintaining production under various levels.

Were a small isolated country that can swiftly handle moving to various levels, which puts our film industry in a good place globally. Weve done it once and we can do it again.

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Justin Dilley is Loopios New Senior Vice President of Product. Justin is a seasoned Product team leader, and he has a lot of experience at fast-growing companies. Hes also familiar with our software and the challenges of the professionals we serve. I can think of no one more qualified to lead the charge on Loopios product strategy.

It was announced today during Loopicon 2020s product keynote that Justin Dilley has joined Loopio, the leading provider of Request For Proposal (RFP) response software, as its new Senior Vice President of Product. In this role, Dilley will lead Loopios overall product strategy and help develop a world-class digital experience for the platforms users.

Dilley has over a decade of experience in product management, having held various senior leadership positions over his career. Most recently, Dilley acted as VP of Product at FullStory, an analytics engine that helps companies improve their digital experience. Before FullStory, he served as Senior Manager of Product Management at The Home Depot and Senior Manager of Product Management at Amazon. Dilley will be integral in helping Loopio drive strong alignment and partnership between their product and design teams.

Were very excited to have Justin join us, says Matt York, CTO and Co-Founder of Loopio. Justin is a seasoned Product team leader, and he has a lot of experience at fast-growing companies. Hes also familiar with our software and the challenges of the professionals we serve. I can think of no one more qualified to lead the charge on Loopios product strategy and help take our platform to the next level.

Dilley looks forward to joining the company after being a Loopio user in his previous role.

As a happy Loopio customer at my previous company, Ive seen firsthand what its like trying to respond to RFPs and Security Questionnaires with and without the platform, says Dilley. The problem Loopio solves for its customers is what attracted me to the opportunity. I think the RFP software market is in its infancy and that theres so much innovation Loopio can deliver over the next few years.

Dilley is looking forward to using his past experiences at rapid-growth companies to help Loopio expand its user base and further develop its Product team. I'm excited to help accelerate Loopio's growth. I've had the opportunity to build and grow several Product teams, which will help shape an exciting product vision and strategy for the future.

Were thrilled to welcome Justin to Loopio and our Senior Leadership team, says Zak Hemraj, CEO and Co-Founder of Loopio. Weve been building out our Senior Leadership team over the past year, including hiring a Vice President of Customer Experience (Greg Elliot), Senior Director of Revenue Operations (Cailin Radcliffe), and Vice President of Marketing (Andrew Hastings). With Justin rounding out our executive leadership, were well-positioned to take Loopio to its next stage of growth.

About Loopio

Loopio is a Toronto-based software provider that helps companies streamline their response process for RFPs, DDQs, and Security Questionnaires. With Loopio, teams can respond faster, improve response quality, and win more business. Loopio is one of Canada's fastest-growing tech startups. It was ranked as the 13th fastest growing company on the 2019 Deloitte Technology Fast 50 list and selected twice as one of LinkedIn's Top Startups in Canada.
Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners, which spun out of Alphabet's Sidewalk Labs to fund and develop the next generation of infrastructure, has taken the covers off its first big project -- the launch of a subsidiary called Cavnue to develop roadways for connected and autonomous vehicles.

Starting in Michigan, Cavnue will be working with partners including Ford, GM, Argo AI, Arrival, BMW, Honda, Toyota, TuSimple and Waymo on standards to develop the physical and digital infrastructure needed to move connected and autonomous cars out of pilot projects and onto America's highways, freeways, interstates and city streets.

The starting point for Cavnue is a 40-mile corridor between downtown Detroit and Ann Arbor, Michigan that will be dedicated to autonomous vehicles. Ultimately, Cavnue envisions numerous corridors designed for autonomous shuttles and buses, as well as trucks and personal vehicles.

Cavnue will be the master developer of the 40-mile roadway, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Thursday in a joint announcement with Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners .

"The action were taking today is good for our families, our businesses, and our economy as a whole. Here in Michigan, the state that put the world on wheels, we are taking the initial steps to build the infrastructure to help us test and deploy the cars of the future, Whitmer said in a statement. As we rebuild our roads to ensure every Michigander can drive to work and drop their kids at school safely, we will also continue working to build smart infrastructure to help prepare us for the roads of tomorrow."

GettyImages 1124381926

Image Credits: Getty Images / petovarga

The Detroit-to-Ann Arbor corridor will include communities along Michigan Avenue and Interstate 94 in Wayne County and Washtenaw County, like the University of Michigan, the Detroit Metropolitan Airport and Michigan Central Station. The corridor will also include up to 12 "Opportunity Zones" where communities and small businesses will be able to connect to the industrial, technological and academic hubs of the region, according to the company's statement.

Story continues

For the first phase of the project, Cavnue will work with a slew of Michigan state agencies, including the Office of Future Mobility and Electrification and the Michigan Department of Transportation, on a feasibility and design study that is expected to last about two years.

Initial work during the project's first phase will look at the commercial and technological viability of the roadway's design. Connected buses and shared mobility vehicles like vans and shuttles will be the first users of the roadway before it is eventually expanded to other types of connected autonomous vehicles, including freight and personal vehicles, according to a statement from Cavnue.

Key partners

In 2018, Bill Ford envisioned a connected corridor similar to the one that Cavnue is proposing to build -- envisioning the company's Corktown innovation hub as an east end node in a circuit that would run along the Ann Arbor to Detroit corridor. Now Ford is a key partner in Cavnue's project.

However, there are numerous others that Cavnue is also leaning on, including the University of Michigan with its CAV research center and Mcity Test Facility, Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) and facilities along the proposed corridor, as well as the testing facility American Center for Mobility.

"My vision for Michigan Central is to create an open mobility innovation district that solves tomorrows transportation challenges and improves mobility access for everyone, said Ford, the executive chairman of his eponymous car company, in a statement. "Building out a connected corridor cements Michigan as a leader in creating a more connected, autonomous and electrified future. We thank the state for recognizing the community and economic benefits and the importance of creating smart infrastructure across southeast Michigan.

GettyImages 846875220

Image Credits: Andrey Suslov / Getty Images

Human error behind the wheel of cars is a leading cause of death around the country; in Michigan, 10,000 people have died in fatal automobile crashes over the last decade. Companies like Cavnue's partners including Ford, GM, Argo AI, Arrival, BMW, Honda, Toyota, TuSimple and Waymo argue that connected and autonomous vehicles can reduce those fatalities while also cutting the hours commuters spend in traffic.

The sweeping nature of Cavnue's mission is also an admission of sorts that the commercial deployment of autonomous vehicles is further away than this nascent industry initially thought. Born of an innovation event at Google's headquarters, the seed for Cavnue comes from the realization that level five autonomy (the fully autonomous vehicles that require no human intervention) are still a concept for futurists, rather than a near-term opportunity.

To justify the billions of dollars of investment required to continue research and development around autonomy, companies need near-term applications. And those applications will require physical infrastructure to work.

The Michigan startup scene is growing, and venture capitalists see several key areas of opportunities. Read more on Extra Crunch here.

For municipalities worried about congestion and the abandonment of light rail systems and other mass transit solutions in the age of COVID-19, these dedicated lanes may provide new sources of revenue for autonomous public transit and a way for companies to test their autonomous systems safely in the context of a much larger pilot project.

One thing that some of the planners envisioned was the use of autonomous shuttles as a replacement for light rail and the potential for a far more dynamic solution. Vehicles could be scaled up and down according to demand, and shared routes could speed efficiency and reduce the time it takes to get to a destination, these planners said.

Financing could come from the manufacturers of autonomous systems who would get new testing grounds for their technology and eventually individuals who owned cars with advanced driving systems could pay for access to the lanes using the dead space between public transit vehicles.

Ostensibly, someone could pay $10 to access the road and then put their vehicle into autonomous mode. Public transit and private delivery fleets would be prioritized, and a vehicle would have to demonstrate it has autonomous capabilities to even access the roadways.

Autonomous Vehicle

Image Credits: Getty Images

The new service would depend on a new type of public-private partnership based on outcomes that could be measured by the number of public fare rates the new lanes generate. Companies like Cavnue would source the vehicles and build the infrastructure. It would provide the capital expenditures for the roadway and retain the rights to sell access to the autonomous-enabled cars when use permits.

If it works in Michigan, some of the state's congressional leadership intends to push for the expansion of the plan across the country.

Michigan is at the forefront of this new frontier in mobility. Our state is home to a dense nexus of automakers, suppliers, engineers, universities and testing facilities that are pioneering advances in transportation that will transform how we get around, said Michigan Senator Gary Peters. This announcement is a major step forward towards ensuring Michigan continues to be the center of self-driving car research and development. Im going to continue working at the federal level to develop a federal framework for the safe deployment of these revolutionary -- and live-saving -- technologies.

Not everyone is convinced that the investment makes sense, though.

"That's an enormous investment in grey infrastructure. That's a major infrastructure project," said one infrastructure expert who declined to be identified because she was not authorized to speak about the project. "That's something that you're locking into. You're locking into that design and locking in to that use case... The dedicated lanes are not something that's being put forward by transportation advocates. I've only heard it from people who work with autonomous vehicles and have a vested interest in seeing their adoption."


The US governments relaxation of rules for H-1B and L-1 visa holders, who are going back to the jobs they held prior to the ban, is definitely a reason to cheer. But the US move will benefit only a section of the visa holders, and for others, it is a wait and watch, say experts.



Stuart Anderson, Executive Director, National Foundation for American Policy, a policy research organisation, said in a Forbes article that the new changes though benefit some, is unlikely to stop lawsuits filed against the proclamation.

These exemptions come close to two months after the proclamation that banned the entry of visa workers in the country and a couple of days after tech giants including Facebook, Google and Microsoft backed the lawsuit filed against the proclamation. The lawsuit was filed on July 15.

What do the new guidelines say and who will benefit?

The new guidelines issued on August 12 by the US Department of State (DoS) allow the entry of H-1B or L-1 workers, who are returning to the same jobs they had prior to the proclamation of the visa ban, into the US, including their dependents, H-4 and L-2 visa holders.

So H-1B or L-1 candidates who have their petitions approved and are working for the same employer can travel now with valid documentation and they cannot be denied entry at the border points. Also, H-4 dependents having a valid visa and whose primary H-1B is in the US will be able to travel as well.

The guidelines also allow entry of technical specialists, senior-level managers, and other workers whose travel is necessary to facilitate the immediate and continued economic recovery of the US. However, these individuals should be in the space of powering critical infrastructures such as communication, emergency services, financial services, food and agriculture and healthcare.

So these employees could have applied for visa amendment, joining a different company or moving to a different visa classification such as L-1A to L-1B within the same organisation. The catch here is that, the decision to allow them or not would be at the discretion of the consular executives.

IT industry body NASSCOM said the move though welcome gives more room for interpretation by the consular officials. According to the agency, its impact can be gauged only over a period of time.

At this point, it is not clear how much of a benefit it will be and how many of Indians could be impacted. Netra Chavan, who runs one of the largest immigration groups for H-1B and H-4 workers, said, Overall it is something better than nothing." But it will not benefit all as this leaves many of them out, she added.

For instance, these relaxations will not help those who are unable to get their visa stamped despite satisfying these criteria since consulates are closed. There are close to 1,000 such candidates in India who are unable to travel to the US.

Take for instance Vikram*. He works for an Indian IT firm in the US for close to a decade. However, his visa expired when he came to India in late February 2020 when his father passed away. Technically, he fits all the criteria.

But I cannot travel since the consulates are closed and cannot get my stamping done, he said. With his wife, a dependent who is due to deliver their second child in a month, these relaxations hardly help people like him. Here, those with valid visas but had lost their jobs rendering them invalid are not even considered.

Expected in an election year

In an election year, where anti-immigration rhetoric takes centre stage these are to be expected, pointed out immigration experts. This is all the more important in 2020 elections, with Trump and his party riding on anti-immigration sentiments that were key to winning the 2016 elections.

For the record, a Reuters report has pointed out that spends on immigration-related ads by Republican candidates have doubled since 2014 and quadrupled since 2010 to $62.4 million this year. Immigration messaging has surged across the spectrum of Republican-held districts  highly competitive swing seats and reliably Republican ones, in places with immigrant populations both large and small, the report added.

Joe Biden, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party, takes the opposite stand. Jacob Sapochnick, an immigration lawyer, said in a post that, All current Democratic candidates have demonstrated their intention to complete reverse Donald Trumps policies on immigration, and all are in favor of passing comprehensive immigration reform.

Democrat Partys Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris is an advocate of H4 EAD (Employment Authorisation Document) that allows dependents of H-1B holders to work in the US. There are more than 75,000 Indian spouses in the US who will be benefitted from H4 EAD. The Trump administration is looking to do away with the H4 EAD, introduced in 2015 by the Obama administration.
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Extreme and dangerous heat is set to strike parts of the western United States on Friday with the furnace-like temperatures expected to last well into the middle of next week.

34 million people across California and the southwest are under excessive heat watches and warnings.

Record highs could be set in the cities of Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson and Salt Lake City.

Even Death Valley, California in the Mojave Desert, which is renowned for its blistering temperatures is set to break a new record for the time of year, with 126F forecast for Sunday and 127F on Monday.

It would be the hottest temperature recorded so late in the year and the place still holds the record for hottest air temperature ever recorded which was 134F set in July 1913.

The soaring temperatures coincide with a massive bush fire that has devoured more than 10,000 acres in southern California, causing mandatory evacuations as multiple agencies have fought to quell the blaze.

Firefighters fought the intense flames of the Lake Fire as aircrafts dropped water and retardant to assist in the combating of the fire.

A firefighter battles the Lake Hughes fire in Angeles National Forest

A helicopter prepares to drop water on the Lake Hughes fire in Angeles National Forest as a fire truck races to the scene

A helicopter lowers itself close to outbreaks of the fire as it prepares to drop water on the flames

A wildfire burns the hillside behind homes in Azusa, California. Evacuation orders were issued Thursday after a brush fire sparked near the area, threatening homes, officials said

Death Valley's temperatures is likely reach 126F on Sunday and 127F on Monday

The temperatures would be record-breaking for the time of year

Flames raced across ridges and steep slopes, including in some areas that had not burned since 1968, fire officials said.

The fire covered 10,000 acres on Thursday and was 0 percent contained.

'Although we're showing 0% containment at this time and 10,500 acres, some tremendous work was done last night overnight in the area around Lake Hughes and Pine Canyon, where the fire crossed Pine Canyon Road last night,' Angeles National Forest Fire Chief Robert Garcia said during the 9am Thursday briefing.

'It was a tremendous firefight to protect lives and property in that area.'

By Thursday night, the blaze still threatened more than 5,400 homes and had charged through 17 square miles of brush and forest land.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department said that 50 fire engines, 10 battalion chiefs and 210 firefighters were responding 'as part of a massive resources request to bolster structure protection.'

Crews have been assisting from Los Angeles, Culver City Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and Ventura County.

The cause of the fire is currently unknown.

A photo by the Park Service in Death Valley in July showed their thermometer to be at 129F

Closer to the coast, Los Angeles will bake under temperatures in the mid-to-upper 90s through the weekend. Huntington Beach, California is pictured earlier this year

The Lake Hughes fire rips through the Angeles National Forest

The Ranch Fire burns over a residential area. About 100 rural homes were evacuated in the Lake Hughes area of the Angeles National Forest, some 60 miles north of downtown Los Angeles

Preliminary damage assessments found that at least three structures burned, but authorities warned the toll would likely be higher

Burned vehicles are seen at a home destroyed by the Lake Hughes fire

Light winds and scattered thundershowers early in the day helped firefighters tame the flames somewhat but Friday's forecast called for hot, dry weather with 'near critical' fire conditions because of possible gusty winds, a fire update said Thursday night.

'This will be a major fire for several days,' said Chief Robert Garcia with the U.S. Forest Service.

About 100 rural homes were evacuated in the Lake Hughes area of the Angeles National Forest, some 60 miles north of downtown Los Angeles.

Preliminary damage assessments found that at least three structures burned, but authorities warned the toll would likely be higher.

Firefighters dressed in full gear work to battle the blaze and contain the spread of flames

The Lake Fire in Northern Los Angeles County started Wednesday afternoon and quickly grew to over 10,000 acres

The Los Angeles County Fire Department said that 50 fire engines, 10 battalion chiefs and 210 firefighters were responding 'as part of a massive resources request to bolster structure protection.

Death Valley still holds the record for hottest air temperature ever recorded which was 134F set in July 1913. Pictured, the landscape of the Death Valley National Park

Excessive heat warnings have been issued for Las Vegas from Friday until next Wednesday

Vegas has gone more than 150 days without a single drop of rainfall - a record breaking stretch

Last month the official weather station in the Death Valley area recorded 128F, although a photo taken at the aptly named Furnace Creek Visitor Center read 129F.

Closer to the coast, Los Angeles will bake under temperatures in the mid-to-upper 90s through the weekend.

The heat could be made all the more oppressive because of higher than normal humidity, according to NBC News.

'Usually, California heat waves mean a dry heat, which is a saving grace. But what's unusual here are the remnants of Hurricane Elida, which are adding significantly more moisture into the atmosphere and will make California much muggier,' said climate scientist at the University of California, Daniel Swain.

'The extra humidity makes a big difference in a bad way, from a public health perspective,' Swain noted.

Los Angeles will bake under temperatures in the mid-to-upper 90s through the weekend.

'If you have to do your workout outside, do it early in the day,' NBC Los Angeles meteorologist Belen De Leon said Thursday.

Las Vegas, Nevada is also likely to see temperatures rise to 113F by Sunday. In neighboring Arizona, Phoenix may see temperatures soar to 115F.

The daily low temperature in Phoenix has not dipped below 90F for 20 days this year, shattering the old record of 15 which was set in 2003 and 2013.

Temperatures in Phoenix have not dipped below 90F for 20 days this year, shattering the old record of 15 days which was set in 2003 and 2013

The Lake Fire was reported near Lake Hughes and Pine Canyon on Wednesday afternoon

A cyclist rides along a trail as the Ranch Fire burns

The Lake Fire is burning near Lake Hughes and Pine Canyon

There were crews assisting from Los Angeles, Culver City Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and Ventura County

The Lake Fire burns a hillside as a helicopter drops water in Lake Hughes

Fires have been devastating the southern California area, with one that occurred just south of Lake Isabella on Tuesday resulting in the death of a fireman.

Plumes of smoke from the Lake Fire could be seen from far away
Care and Feeding is Slates parenting advice column. In addition to our traditional advice, every Thursday we feature an assortment of teachers from across the country answering your education questions. Have a question for our teachers? Email askateacher@slate.com or post it in the Slate Parenting Facebook group.

Click here to read Open Book, a Slate series about the new school year.

I have a rising first grader who is at medium risk for COVID complications. We have already taken the districts option to opt out of in-person school. We are looking for options to ease our schedule (two working-from-home parents) and give our child some social development. One option is to form a learning pod with a few other kids from their class to have smaller exposure than the full class, and hire a teacher to facilitate and expand virtual learning provided by the school. The group would rotate homes, have class outdoors (weather permitting), and the kids would wear masks indoors. Pros: Kids from school all at the same pace, and my impression is that many parents from our school are doing this. Cons: My kid doesnt love wearing masks for extended periods; play would still be limited to whats safe and relatively distanced; and the group of parents is fine, but there might be some drama that I just dont need.

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A second option is my kid spending the day with their beloved music teacher, who home-schools her kids. She has offered to take my child on; we would be in a bubble together, and we are on the same page in terms of the level of precautions we take with this virus. Pros: No masks, no COVID-related limits on play, no foreseeable drama, so I think it would be less stressful. Its a smaller group than option one, so that lowers our chance of virus exposure. Cons: Even if they keep up with school assignments, my kid would go into second grade not having interacted with anyone in their class/grade/school for 1.5 years (were assuming a vaccine wont be available this academic year but would love to be wrong!).

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The financial costs to these arrangements are similar. My mental health would be better with option two, but I can handle option one if I need to. Whats better for my kid? Is the social angle with the small group, and knowing theyll be at the same pace as others in their class, worth the stress?

Option One or Two?

Dear Option One or Two,

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I think you answered your own question. Option two is the better choice for you and your kid.

First, masks vs. no masks: Not having to wear a mask is a huge bonus. Rising first graders are tiny people. Tiny people often wont wear masks or wont wear them correctly. Sometimes theyll swap with a friend or use them to carry snacks or caterpillars, less than sanitary stuff.

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Second, potential drama vs. beloved music teacher: No brainer.

Third, limited play vs. unlimited play: The financial cost is similar, butyou know thisunlimited play is worth a million dollars.

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Fourth, more exposure vs. less: You say your kid is at medium risk. COVID-19 is not something to gamble with. Go with less.

Fifth, socialization with classmates vs. socialization with music teachers kids: Your child can solidify their friendships with classmates when scientists develop a vaccine.

And (maybe most) importantly, parent stress vs. better parent mental health: You are a person whose needs should be taken into account. Even when the ledger is skewed to the other side, parents should consider what will be least stressful for themselves. All the social and educational benefits dont outweigh a parent who can tend to their childs needs because their own are being met.

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Option two, for the win.

Ms. Scott (eighth grade teacher, North Carolina)

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My younger son, going into seventh grade, did not enjoy the transition to online school back in the spring. I believe it was a combination of no interaction with teachers; being asked to watch lots of instructional videos for each assignment; difficult concepts, especially in math; and that it would take him all day to complete the assigned tasks.

My husband and I both work from home right now, and we took turns helping him with questions. He gave it a solid month, but by May my husband and I essentially stood behind him trying to keep him focused. He would become frustrated and angry, even throwing things, breaking things, crying, etc. That also led him to put off starting work until later and later in the day, which snowballed into him being angry that it was 6 p.m. and he was still doing work.

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We all agree that his workload was insane: The district said it should only take 30 minutes per core class, but each of those would take him hours. One of his classes even provided helpful suggestions on how to manage the work, but he used them for a week and gave up. My husband and I started off positive and encouraging, but after a while, we got frustrated too, from having to nag him every day to start his assignments. School starts in a couple of weeks, virtually again, and we are worried about this cycle of frustration starting up again. We will work on our side to be positive and encouraging, but we dont know how to start off on the right foot and keep going in the right direction. Do you have any recommendations?

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Frustrated Parents

Dear Frustrated Parents,

Im sorry. This sucks, all of it. It sounds like your spring was brutal, and if you are anything like me, the idea of a semi-normal return to school and work in September was the life raft you gripped with both hands through March and April. I know I had to take a few beats to wallow in the grief and rage of losing it, and you might tooand so might your son. The difficulties he experienced in the spring are, from what Ive heard, not unusual. Group adherence to the structure, norms, and expectations of the school environment is powerful for kids, and the absence of that cohesion, momentum, and accountability left many of them struggling to function. Hes probably sitting with his own sense of loss and dread at the thought of repeating the patterns of the spring, too. So thats my first bit of advice: Let it be terrible for a bit before moving on to solutions, and let it be terrible for him, too.

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But its solutions you came here for, so heres what Ive got. First, I would try to approach with a sense of tentative optimism. Anecdotally, I think a lot of districts and teachers have truly committed to making meaningful and substantive improvements to virtual learning, and for many students, their experience this fall will be more interactive, specific, and engaging than the do-it-yourself bundle of videos and worksheets that they received while their districts were in crisis mode. Certainly, that will not be true everywhere or for everyone, but I do think you can hope for, and expect, better.

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Its not clear to me from what you wrote whether his assignments were objectively impossible to complete in 30 minutes per class even if he were focused and efficient, or if it was his emotional response that dragged the work on so interminably. If its the former, be communicative with his teachers. Give the feedback; ask for help.

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Next, try to capture a little bit of that freshly-sharpened-pencils-and-blank-paper September energy. You might have to tread a bit carefully, because your average seventh grader is going to balk at efforts that land as too effortful, but a bit of reinvigoration and fresh-start tone-setting might help, just as it does at the beginning of any typical year. Could he get a few new outfits? Would he like to choose a few decorations for the space he usually works from, or pick a new seating arrangement? Id think about what youve done to mark the occasion of a new school year in the past, and try, as much as you can, to give him some continuity by replicating those small acts of celebration.

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Finally, you should talk as a family. I think a bottom line that you can all agree upon is that something needs to change, because the way spring unfolded didnt work. Not for your work needs, not for your household peace and relationships with each other, and not for his own well-being. A seventh grader is old enough to self-reflect with at least moderate success. Ask him to do some pondering in advancewhat made distance learning so grueling for him, and what might help?and then schedule a family meeting. Bring snacks. Bring some paper to take notes. And then try to problem-solve together.

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Try to keep the conversations focus to what you each can control. Listen to his ideas, and come prepared with a few suggestions of your own: A layered schedule with frequent breaks for enjoyable activities? Incentives for positive choices like starting schoolwork without a fight? Removing yourselves (and maybe some of the emotional charge) from the situation and letting his chips fall where they may? I would come up with a plan A and a plan B together, and removing yourselves from the situation should stay on the table as plan C, with talking to a therapist as a possible subpoint of that plan. You know that its untenable for everyone to spiral downward together every day, and Im sure its really hard to watch him experience these big feelings and battles with himself, so at a certain point, if nothing improves even with all your efforts, it might be time to dial in some outside support. I think youll be able to sense when that point is. Good luck.

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Ms. Bauer (middle and high school teacher, New York)

I have always been pretty loosey-goosey about child development and academics outside of school, assuming that my 6- and 4-year-olds would get most things they need from play, reading, and one-on-one time with their parents.

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My 6-year-old started her kindergarten year last year in a language immersion school, where the teacher speaks a target language I do not know. My approach remained pretty loosey-goosey during the school yearwed occasionally go over the vocabulary PowerPoints the teacher sent home, but again, I mostly followed my kiddos lead after school (lots of reading, cooking together, and playing).

Then, of course, quarantine started. We slogged our way through looonnnnng Zoom meetings (I thought it was important for her to keep hearing her teacher speak the target language), and I let her pick and choose assignments she found interesting. It certainly wasnt the typical last quarter of school, but I still felt fine about it.

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School is approaching, and Im suddenly starting to get really anxious about her retaining the language skills she learned early in the year (especially because its looking like she may not get in-person learning this fall!). But she shows basically zero interest in anything in her target languagenot books, not cutesy YouTube songs, not an app she loved during the school year.

Do I continue my generally loosey-goosey approach to academics, or is there something special about language immersion that means I should push her a little more? (Her teacher has sent home all sorts of activities and has expressed that its very important that we continue to read and work in the target language, but  its summer! We want to swim and make homemade popsicles!)

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Summer Is Fleeting

Dear Summer Is Fleeting,

Im with you. Swimming and homemade popsicles sound like an excellent way to spend a summer day.

While I would continue to invite your daughter to engage in her target language through videos, music, and gentle reminders about her favorite app, I would not pressure your daughter to engage. It will likely do more harm than good in terms of her enthusiasm for the language, and will only serve to spoil these last precious days of summer.

In the age of COVID-19, I think these relaxing, carefree summer days are more important than ever. The school year is going to be a challenging one for everyone concerned, regardless of what models of learning are used. Let her final lazy days of summer be spent with fun-filled family time that makes your daughter happy.

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Making popsicles and swimming are just as important as her target language, and maybe more so.

Mr. Dicks (fifth grade teacher, Connecticut)

I have a son who is almost 2 years old. I know that it will be years before he goes to kindergarten, but I am wondering what skills teachers expect incoming kindergartners to have, and what my husband and I can do to make sure my son has those skills by the time he gets to kindergarten?

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Never Too Soon

Dear Never Too Soon,

You say your son is almost 2. I read that as not even 2. Not even 2? I get that kindergarten can be stressfulI started my teaching career in New York City, which has kindergarten entrance examsbut seriously. In double his lifetime (almost 4), he will still be a year away from kindergarten if not more. So maybe slow your roll a little bit.

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What you should be doing is letting your toddler be a toddler. Hes probably just coming into language (saying sentences of two or more words and following simple directions), beginning to grasp his own autonomy (saying noand, by the way, get used to that! The so-called terrible twos are, in my experience, way worse at age 3), and showing early gross motor development (imitating adults or other children, running, kicking a ball). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a very nicely organized website with developmental milestones. The most important things to focus on right now are fostering his independence, helping him to develop those gross motor skills, and building a positive relationship with him. You can start planting the seeds for a love of learning at this age, as well as music, scientific curiosity, etc., but all that is secondary to letting him begin to express his own curiosity and interests.

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As for kindergartenwhat will his teachers expect? Honestly, nothing special. We dont have a federal universal preschool requirement, and the smaller universal pre-K programs (like New York Citys) are relatively new, so kindergarten teachers walk into the classroom on day one with the expectation that their kids have never even been away from home before. They start with the most basic rules of school, like learning how to sit and wait, listen, follow instructions, and spend time with their peers.

If you live in an area where most parents do send their kids to preschool and you arent planning on it, there are standards for preschools as well. Sort of like the Common Core but aged down. You can Google them for your statehere are New Yorks. Most of these skills, youll notice, are similar to the milestones for a 5-year-old, at least in terms of social-emotional development, gross and fine motor, and language. Which brings me back to my original point: Your son is a year old. Let him be a toddler first.

Ms. Sarnell (preschool special education, New York)

More Advice From Slate

My husband and I want to have our first kid soon. Before we start trying, we need to figure out how to handle my mother. We arent close at all, but shes become obsessed with moving closer and being very involved in our life. What should I do?
SRINAGAR: Two terrorist hideouts were busted in Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama district in a joint operation conducted by the Indian Army and the J&K Police on Thursday (August 13, 2020).

According to reports, a joint search operation was carried out after receiving inputs from the J&K Police in an orchard near Barsu in the Avantipura village in Pulwama.

An Overground Worker apprehended by the security forces led the joint search team to the hideouts.

Based on the credible inputs about the presence of terrorists of proscribed terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba in the forest area of Barsu, the Awantipora Police along with 50RR and 130 BN CRPF launched a search in the said forest area.

Police sources said that several incriminating materials, including 1918 AK 47 rounds, two hand grenades, one UBGL, four UBGL grenades, half a bag of ammonium nitrate like substance, five gelatin sticks and a crude pipe bomb.

Security forces have also recovered Rs 5400, food items, utensils, gas stoves, a gas cylinder and other materials from the hideout.

Police have registered a case in this regard and further investigation is on.

Security forces are keeping a strict vigil in Kashmir ahead of the Independence Day and every tipoff related to terrorists is being verified.

Earlier on August 7, the security forces had busted a terrorist hideout in the Shashitar forested area in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.
The forthcoming schedule for Alfa Romeo's staff will be "brutal", according to team manager Beat Zehnder.

While the sport's UK-based teams have been given a quarantine exemption, Swiss-based Alfa Romeo's staff will have to go into strict isolation after attending the Spanish GP in Barcelona.

"We have to go back to Switzerland before the next race in Belgium, and that means isolation," Zehnder told Blick newspaper.

"It's brutal for us, because Formula 1 has agreed with the English government that there will be an exception for the seven (UK-based) teams."

The situation means Alfa Romeo is having to negotiate a potential exemption with the separate jurisdictions of Switzerland.

"We have employees from eight cantons," Zehnder revealed. "Some are courteous, others are not.

"We have found a regulation for the employees from Zurich - these employees are allowed to come to the factory to work, but they have to go home immediately afterwards.

"In the end, I may have to organise a grocery service, as many of our people are single," he laughed.

"Hopefully we won't fall into the corona trap again after the races in Italy."

Zehnder said he hopes the situation will be improved for 2021.

"We can only hope that Formula 1 is a little more normal next year," he said. "And that we don't just race in Europe."

(GMM)
Two teenage girls were allegedly molested by an 18-year-old man after attending organised sex parties.

Police allege the Thornlie man accused of the assaults is also responsible for helping organise the wild parties, which are held at short-term accommodation venues throughout Perth.

Child abuse squad detectives charged the 18-year-old on Thursday as part of an ongoing inquiry into pre-planned parties attended by more than 150 young people recently.

They allege he sexually assaulted the two 15-year-old girls between November 2019 and January 2020.

He was charged with two counts of sexually penetrating a child and one count of aggravated sexual penetration without consent.

Police allege the Thornlie man accused of the assaults is also responsible for helping organise the wild parties, which are held at short-term accommodation venues throughout Perth (stock)

The parties where the alleged abuse occurred are reportedly advertised on Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram.

Police are working to establish whether the events are created to specifically target young girls, and have urged other potential victims to come forward.

Acting Sergeant Chantal Killen held a press conference on Thursday where we confirmed the two victims were allegedly sexually assaulted at separate parties within the Cannington district.

Police will allege the teenager who was charged was part of 'linked associates' who organised the parties using fraudulent credit cards.

'The victims have come forward to feel empowered and to show that they don't condone this behaviour,' Acting Sgt Killen said.

'The parties are advertised online and target ... specific ethnic groups and attract a large number of young people,' police said in a statement issued on Thursday.

Police will allege the teenager who was charged was part of 'linked associates' who organised the parties using fraudulent credit cards (stock)

Acting Sgt Killen appealed for young people of any ethnicity who felt they were a victim to come forward.

'Although our investigations have uncovered that it is specific ethnic groups that are being targeted by these event organisers, this kind of behaviour isn't limited to one specific ethnic group or culture,' she said.

'So we would encourage any victims of sexual assault of any group to come forward and speak to police.'

The 18-year-old man is due to appear before the Armadale Magistrate's Court on August 18.

Anyone with any information is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make a report online.
(TNS)  All Lexington, Ky., police officers will soon have body cameras as black faith leaders and the NAACP sought, Mayor Linda Gorton announced this week.Lexington has an authorized strength of 633 police officers. Roughly 430 have been issued body cameras. A June Lexington Herald-Leader story found about one-third of police officers do not have a body camera.Officers who currently have body-worn cameras are those that have frequent interactions with the public, including officers and sergeants assigned to the patrol bureau, uniformed detectives and officers in the narcotics units. Those who dont have body cameras are typically in supervisory or administrative roles with no or limited interaction with the public.On Tuesday, the Lexington council gave preliminary approval for an application for a $135,250 federal grant that would help pay for body cameras for those remaining officers and some civilian police employees.Our department recorded more than 300,000 body-worn camera videos last year, said Police Chief Lawrence Weathers. As this technology has become more normalized, body-worn cameras are something that the public and officers have come to expect. We are working to meet those expectations by equipping all sworn officers, including myself.Lexington police started using body-worn cameras four years ago.In 2016, the Urban County Council approved a $2.6 million, five-year contract with Taser International to equip the initial officers with cameras.Lexingtons Black Faith leaders h ave called on the city to increase the number of police with body cameras . The local NAACP, which pushed for the purchase of the cameras in 2016, has also demanded the city equip all officers with cameras.Gorton said adding more body-worn cameras is expensive but worth the cost.Body-worn cameras are essential. They are a tool every police officer needs, Gorton said. Its expensive, but its money well spent.Body-cam videos an issue in KY police violence casesLack of body-worn camera videos has been a concern in two high-profile police shootings in Kentucky in recent months.When Louisville police officers shot and killed Breonna Taylor while serving a no-knock warrant in mid-March, there was no body-worn camera footage. Similarly, Louisville Metro Police officers failed to activate body cameras in the shooting that killed restaurant owner David McAtee during protests over Taylors death and other police-involved slayings across the country.Louisville Metro Police Chief Steve Conrad was fired after it was revealed there was no body camera footage of the McAtee shooting.Lack of body camera footage has also been an issue in Lexington.In February 2019, former Lexington Police Chaplain Donovan Stewart was working off-duty at the Fayette Mall when he responded to a report of a group of Black teenagers allegedly being disorderly. A February federal lawsuit filed against Stewart and the city of Lexington alleges a video shot by a bystander shows Stewart punching an autistic Black teenager in the face and head. The lawsuit accuses Stewart of continuing to hit the boy after he was restrained on the mall floor with both hands under control and not posing a threat.Stewart has alleged the teen hit him first. The teen in the incident was charged, and the case was in juvenile court. Juvenile court proceedings are not open to the public.Because Stewart was a police chaplain he was not issued a body camera. Department policy says all police officers who are issued a body camera must use them on off-duty assignments.A second off-duty officer present had a body camera but failed to turn it on during the altercation.Stewart was reassigned and later retired in July. He has sued protesters  who have used the incident to call for more police accountability  for defamation , alleging they made up malicious lies about Stewart and his family.Enforce proper use of cameras, Black faith leader saysRev. Nathl Moore, a pastor at First African Baptist Church and member of the Black leaders who called for more body cameras, said the announcement was a good first step to improving accountability.Moore said the department must also make sure officers turn the body cameras on.They must also make sure that they enforce the proper use of cameras, Moore said.Failure to activate body-worn cameras is a problem, but the number of failures has declined over time, Lexington police records show.In 2018, the first year it was tracked, the department reported 367 activation failures. In 2019, that number dropped to 329, a 10 percent decline.From Jan. 1 to May 31, there were 86 activation failures. Thats down nearly 48 percent from the same time period in 2019 when there were 166 failures Some of those activation failures are not human error but mechanical problems with the equipment, police officials have said.Council is expected to give the grant request final approval Thursday.
In comments last week, Presta attorney Thomas Breen did not address why the campaign filing was more than two years late but said the cash was used for incidentals during the campaign and certainly was not used to influence the mayors position on any issue that affected the village.
T he Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has warned the English exams regulator that it must consider the "equality impacts" of any decisions it takes concerning A-levels.

The EHRC chief executive, Rebecca Hilsenrath, said the body would consider "all our powers" to ensure groups such as ethnic minority and disabled students were treated fairly by Ofqual.

She urged the body to mitigate against potential negative effect on marginalised groups, saying: "The pandemic has hit the younger generation hard.

"Education has been particularly disrupted, with potentially life-changing consequences for young people, particularly ethnic minority and disabled children."

"Many of these children come from disadvantaged backgrounds. If we are going to build back better and not make things worse, it needs to start with our children's future.

Students did not sit exams this year as a result of the pandemic / PA

"We have been clear with Ofqual that they must consider the equality impacts of all their actions and mitigate against any potential negative effect on these groups.

"We will continue to discuss this with Ofqual and consider all our powers so that ethnic minority and disabled children, for example, are treated fairly in this process."

The commission leaders comments came as it emerged that the largest reduction in the proportion of students awarded A-level grades of C and above after moderation was recorded within those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Ofqual leaders insisted on Thursday that there is "no evidence of systemic bias" in its moderation system, which relies on an algorithm. It has said it is "difficult to draw firm conclusions" over the relationship between deprivation and grade adjustment.

Dr Michelle Meadows, executive director for strategy, risk and research at Ofqual, said that research literature covering A-level predictions for university entrants shows that "there is a tendency to be more generous to students from lower socio-economic status".

She added: "Outcomes for different groups, whether that be by socio-economic status, ethnicity, gender, the outcomes for these groups are very similar to those in previous years.

Students have said they are hoping to experience university in the most normal way possible / Getty Images

"There is a small effect of a greater difference between the end calculated grades and the centre assessment grades."

The president of the National Union of Students (NUS) has launched a petition against the downgrading of school-leavers' A-level results, and accused the triple lock grading system of being "racist and classist".

The union is calling on the government to instead award students the grades predicted by their teachers, as Scottish leaders agreed to do following a backlash this week.

The petition, launched by NUS UK on Thursday morning, claims the Department for Education's system amounts to educational inequality" and is based on a "ridiculous algorithm" which unfairly prejudices students from less advantaged backgrounds.

The NUS president, Larissa Kennedy, said: "England must follow Scotland's lead and scrap moderated grades, moving to give all students their teacher-assessed grades.

"We must look at what this will mean for individual students without such action, many of whom will miss out on opportunities to attend the university of their choice because of this process

The Department for Education announced its system as a "safety net" for A-level grading after this year's summer exams were cancelled due to Covid-19.

The system has seen about two in five pupils around the country receive A-level results downgraded from their teachers' predictions after the system's standardisation process, which is moderated by an algorithm. The algorithm takes into account factors including the past performance of a school.

The Government has said the aim of the system is to make sure results are broadly in line with results from previous years and to make sure the results have the same value as those from previous years. Education minister Nick Gibb has said that without the algorithm results were likely to have seen a grade inflation of 12 per cent.

Some students have dropped two or three grades below what their teacher predicted.

Education minister Gavin Williamson is under pressure to alter the "triple lock" system decision / REUTERS

Exam boards downgraded 39.1 per cent of pupils' grades in England, according to data from Ofqual  which amounts to about 280,000 entries being adjusted down after moderation.

In England, a total of 35.6 per cent of grades were adjusted down by one grade, 3.3 per cent were brought down by two grades and 0.2 per cent came down by three grades, figures from Ofqual show.

In Scotland a similar system was scrapped after accusations of unfairness, and students were given the grades teachers originally predicted.

Schools will be able to lodge appeals on behalf of students in England. Appeals will be lodged either on the basis of results from mock exams, taken earlier this year before the pandemic, or exams taken in the autumn.

Schools can also lodge appeals on behalf of students if they can show that grades are lower than expected because the school has changed in some way and therefore previous cohorts are no longer representative of this years students.

The schools minister, Nick Gibb, has said that without moderation there would have been grade inflation of 12 per cent / Rex

The Association of School and College Leaders has said it was very concerned about the "volatility" in results.

General secretary Geoff Barton said he had heard "heartbreaking" accounts from schools about grades being pulled down in an "utterly unfair and unfathomable" way.

One school head said she was "quite incensed" that some students would not now be able to go to the university of their choice after results were moderated down by as much as two grades, while one London school told the Standard they would be appealing all results.

Ministers had urged universities to adopt a "flexible" approach to assessing applications, with institutions told to hold places for students pending the outcome of any appeal.

But exam boards will have less than four weeks to process appeals, with a Ucas deadline of September 7 for applicants to meet their academic offer conditions.
Indias public access to the internet commenced 25 years ago, when Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited announced its services. It has literally transformed the country, allowing everyone to communicate, gain knowledge, transact commerce, summon a taxi, order food, and stream Bollywood songs. Imagine how much more painful the Covid-19 pandemic would have been without the internet.

The same technologies that have done a lot of good, however, also imperil Indias freedoms. They have widened the global equity gap, created echo chambers of disinformation and empowered a small group of foreign companies. It is isnt one East India Company that is looking to colonize India, but several. And they come from both the East and the West.

The reality now is that technology is taking over every part of our lives; every part of society; every waking moment of every day. Once, technology could be put in a box, a discrete business dominated by business systems and some cool gadgets. Thanks to the internet, it has slowly but surely crept into more corners of our lives. In everything from biology to energy to media to politics to food to transportation, unprecedented change is redefining our future.

What are we heading for? From the East, you see an aggressive Chinese government, shedding its sheeps clothing, styling itself as a Wolf Warrior. It has become so deeply entrenched in industries such as technology, communications, social media, medicine, and high-value manufacturing that it could literally control the world. It has been perfecting the capabilities of spying on every person on the planet by spying on its own people, and seeks to influence global public opinion through social media and monopolize almost every supply chain by controlling digital infrastructure.

Now look to the West, where US policy makers from both sides of politics have been grilling the CEOs of some of the largest technology companies, trying to have them take responsibility for the global carnage their products have caused. Yet both the ruling and opposition parties are helpless in controlling these companies influence and power. The hearings served to document the abuses they had committed, but not to correct them.

Then there are widening income inequality and a growing technological divide. As the present pandemic decimates global economies, hundreds of millions of people lose their jobs, and hundred of thousands succumb to coronavirus disease, the market valuations of these companies are reaching all-time highs, their owners becoming wealthier by the day. In the US and Europe, more and more people, paying the price but largely excluded from the benefits of technological progress, are protesting however they can. And technologies such as social media are being used to fan the flames and to exploit ignorance and bias.

As I had discussed in The Driver in the Driverless Car, a book that warned about the dark sides of technologies, the situation will get only worse  unless we find ways to share the prosperity we are creating and chart higher standards for its use. For India, the future could also hold a modern form of colonialism, with foreign companies dominating its industries and taking all the spoils.

The problem is that the same technologies that bring us together also monitor everything we do.

Through our smartphones and their applications, Apple, Google, Xiaomi, Tencent, and Facebook track our movements and habits. They know who we speak to. They know what we say. They read our texts and e-mails. And our web searches and the videos we watch tell them our thoughts and preferences. When we post our photos on social media, they store them, recognise our faces and our friends, and use them to learn who we know and where we were and are.

These companies use all these data to sell ads to us. That is how they make their billions. The problem, as we saw with the US Congressional hearings on Big Tech, is that they lack scruples and the guidance of the most basic ethics. They will allow a person or a government to serve misinformation and propaganda to anyone who fits specified criteria. And this gives them more power than governments have.

Chinese companies carry the greater risks of the Communist Partys ambition of making the rest of the world subservient to China as it has succeeded in doing to neighbouring states and even imposing force as it has done in Hong Kong. That ambition rests on technological reach. Phone applications such as TikTok and the software on Xiaomi, Lenovo, Oppo, and other Chinese phones are probably not doing much damage just yet; but they have that potential. Almost any technology that connects to the internet can get a software update that turns it into spyware and worse. Chinas National Intelligence Law of 2017 requires every company and citizen to support, assist and cooperate with the state intelligence work. So the Chinese government can induct these companies whenever it wishes to.

Mastery over our lives is not the role that we envisaged for these technologies. And its not the future that India wants to build for itself.

That is why Indias prime focus for Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) should be the technologies it chooses to base its digital infrastructure on. India neednt build the semiconductors or mine the rare minerals for electronic components; rather, it can focus on the layers of technology built on top of these, both the assembled hardware and apps.

India also needs laws that are more stringent than Europes Data Protection Regulation. Yes, it needs to prevent the export of data; more fundamentally, it must ensure that all Indian residents data remain their own, for use only with their explicit permission. This will entail dramatically strengthening Indias privacy laws, to limit any companys ability to spy on its users.

India doesnt have to lose this battle to the modern-day East India companies from the East or West. It has the talent to build its own infrastructure and to leap ahead. Its millions of engineers, trained to develop IT systems for the West, give it a huge advantage. It could be creating world-changing technology companies that challenge Silicon Valley as well as China. Let it do so.

Vivek Wadhwa is distinguished fellow, Labour and Worklife Program, Harvard Law School, US, and co-author of the forthcoming book, From Incremental to Exponential: How Large Companies Can See the Future and Rethink Innovation.
The $200 million deal to sell Wyoming Medical Centers assets to Banner Health was approved Thursday by the Natrona County Commission, clearing the way for the facility to become a part of Banners growing system.

The commissions five members all voted unanimously, after the countys separate hospital board also gave its approval. The deal will see $120 million go to the countys coffers, plus roughly $40 million dispatched to the hospitals reinforced foundation. Banner will also absorb $50 million in debt left over from WMC construction and the purchase of Mountain View Regional two years ago.

The rest of the hospitals assets, totaling roughly $200 million, will also be shifted into the foundation, which will see its footprint grow astronomically in the wake of this deal. In 2017, the foundation had about $1.9 million in net revenue and $7.8 million in total assets. This deal will see it gain well over $200 million (though county attorney Eric Nelson told the board that this number may fluctuate). With that level of investment, officials have said, the foundation will become one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the state. It will continue to support WMC while also expanding to issue grants elsewhere in the area. The county will continue to work with the foundation on the disbursement of funding.

For decades, after WMC as its known today was created in the 1980s, the county has essentially been the hospitals landlord, with control over its physical assets. But the county has leased the land back to the hospital for virtually nothing, in exchange for the hospital treating inmates, low-income patients and those on involuntary holds. The hospital will continue providing that care under Banner, Nelson told the commission Thursday, and the hospital will continue offering already existing services  like an emergency room, trauma services and baby-delivery care  into the future.

But the overall oversight of the hospital is handled by its own nonprofit board. The acquisition deal also requires the blessing of that board; a hospital spokeswoman said last week that the board would be meeting before the county commission took its vote. The lawyer presenting the deal Thursday told the commission that WMCs board had voted to approve the deal on Wednesday.

Banner has also committed to investing $100 million in WMC over the next decade.

The two systems, one dominant in Wyoming and the other dominant in the region, first publicly announced their courtship in January, when the two organizations said they had signed a letter of intent. At that point, it wasnt clear what any prospective deal would look like; WMC initially said it wanted a partner to affiliate with. But the deal was unveiled last month as a full acquisition.

The price tag  $157 million, plus $50 million in debt absorption  was established by a national health care valuation firm, attorney Jerry Bell told the commission. He said he was one thousand percent confident in the valuation, after commissioner Brook Kaufman told him shed heard concerns about WMC being undervalued.

The deal gained the public support of key physicians  including in a public letter printed in the Star-Tribune signed by chief of staff Dr. Andy Dunn and county health officer Dr. Mark Dowell. It did draw criticism from Sen. Charlie Scott, a Natrona County Republican who chairs the state senates health committee. He criticized the deal at a public meeting last month as a high-risk gamble.

Scott alluded to SageWests hospitals in Fremont County. Those facilities are owned by a for-profit, out-of-state system, and Riverton residents have criticized the running of the hospital there, suggesting its been hollowed out to support its sister facility in Lander.

Bell said the deal included commitments from Banner to keep WMC full of the services it currently provides; WMC CEO Michele Chulick told the Star-Tribune last month that there were no plans to eliminate any services.

Its a fair, good deal, really for everybody, said Bell, a Texas-based attorney who worked for the county on the deal. He said it was riskier not to take the deal and assume that WMC  an independent hospital in a rural area, an endangered species nationwide though not necessarily in Wyoming  would be OK into the future.

The board took pains  via questions aimed at Bell and Nelson  to indicate that it had looked at a wide range of options, like with other systems, and wasnt rushing the process.

Before voting, the commissioners expressed support for the deal (the countys separate hospital board also voted Thursday to support the deal). County commissioner Paul Bertoglio listed other community hospitals he was familiar with that now sit empty. He said that could happen to WMC if it were kept independent. Fellow commissioner John Milne agreed, pitching the decision as a forward-looking way to ensure the hospitals continued existence in Casper.

Kaufman said the decision to sell WMC felt more serious than getting married. She said she hoped to keep more care in Wyoming and was encouraged by Banners commitment to invest $100 million in the coming 10 years.

This is not going to do anything but ... help the health care of the citizens of Natrona County, thats why were here, county commission chairman Rob Hendry said, summing up the support.

In a press release sent to media shortly after the decision, Wyoming Medical Center said patients would continue with the same physicians and services they know today.

This is an important milestone for our community, and we are excited to bring together two market-leading and highly respected health care organizations to provide even stronger regional, high-quality health care to the people of Natrona County and the State of Wyoming, said Jessica Oden, who chairs the hospitals board of directors. Banner is simply a natural fit, is committed to ensuring WMCs future success and is the right partner for our hospital and Natrona County.

A growing trend

Hospital finance experts who reviewed the deal for the Star-Tribune said the agreement makes sense for both Banner and WMC.

If you look around, you see the number of unaffiliated hospitals that arent in some kind of relationship, you really see that going down, said Katherine Hempstead, a senior policy adviser for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. You know the scale, like the supply chain economics, make it very, very hard to persist in that way. It doesnt surprise me that WMC is kind of looking ahead and thinking about wanting to be a part of something bigger. I think basically if you dont have a path where you think youre going to grow, the business is really tough otherwise; you have to have something to grow just to survive.

She said WMCs market power  the trauma referral center in Wyoming and the largest hospital in the state  likely made it appealing to Banner. Banner already has three much smaller hospitals in Wyoming, which Hempstead said is another reason Banner would want to nab WMC: to make it the hub from which smaller spokes jut out into the state.

Allan Baumgarten, a Minnesota-based analyst, agreed. He said that Banner and one of its regional competitors, UC Health, had been snapping up facilities in the West. UC Health has a toehold in Wyoming already, with affiliation deals in place with Ivinson Memorial and Cheyenne Regional.

Presumably, Banner thinks that this acquisition in Wyoming strengthens its position in a multi-state region there, he said. It potentially blocks UC moving into that territory.

Referring to past Star-Tribune reporting, he noted that WMC was financially strong. Indeed, its the most profitable hospital in Wyoming. He said that the challenge for smaller facilities, even if theyre large by comparison to other players, is accessing the capital needed to keep growing.

In the examples Ive seen of smaller hospitals putting themselves up for bid, its not so much for purchase price; its commitment for future investments, he said, which had echoes of the hospital and commissioners touting Banners $100 million commitment.

For WMC, it was probably a realization that at the end of the day, something like this is going to happen or theyre going to run into trouble, Hempstead said. The business is going to get tougher and tougher for all hospitals everywhere.

The difficulties facing small, rural hospitals are myriad. A prime one  which will certainly be addressed by this deal  is the bargaining power wielded by a small facility compared with a giant system. That comes into play on multiple fronts. It can be in buying physical equipment or technology, when bulk purchases by a Goliath system can drive the price down. It can also be wielded when negotiating with insurers.

Cost to consumers

Thats a good thing for the hospital, as it gets better rates from private insurers who have to include Wyoming Medical Center  and now all of Banner  into their offerings. But its almost never a good thing for the price of care, experts and research show. Even as newly merged hospitals save money  both from purchasing power improvements but also by eliminating redundancies  they increase prices.

At this moment, the public should know that the price will likely increase, said Ge Bai, a health finance expert at Johns Hopkins University. She said that the larger the system, the more power it has when negotiating with insurers. That is only compounded when you factor in a case like WMC, which has a virtual monopoly on care in central Wyoming.

Bai said that in other cases, as these types of mergers have spread, so too have acquisitions of independent clinics. Should that happen, the system  in this case, Banner  will only have more power.

We talk about price  the bigger, the higher price, Bai said. On the other hand, its an efficiency issue. Youre bigger, you can consolidate many services and make it cheaper overall. Youre making things more streamlined. The bigger systems can do that, the smaller cannot.

Earlier this month, the Kaiser Family Foundation  a leading national health care think tank  published a roundup of available research on acquisitions. The organization found that a wide body of research has shown that provider consolidation leads to higher health care prices for private insurance. It quotes a study by a Medicare commission that found that the preponderance of evidence suggests that hospital consolidation leads to higher prices.

Even when a hospital merges with a hospital in a different geographic area, some studies suggest that the merger can impact competition and prices, Kaisers researchers wrote. One analysis found that prices at hospitals acquired by outofmarket hospital systems increase by about 17% more than unacquired, standalone hospitals. ... One reason that prices rise when there are hospital mergers across markets is that they increase hospital bargaining positions with insurers, which seek to have strong provider networks across multiple areas in order to attract employers with employees in multiple locations.

This puts the squeeze on employers, who then have to absorb the higher costs of the insurance plan because they must have WMC and Banner in their network. That type of squeeze on employers typically trickles back down to employees.

They have to have the Banner hospitals in their network for their employee benefits plans, Baumgarten said, and now the Banner hospitals are able to say, We negotiate as a system and we want to make sure that if our prices in Wyoming have been lowered, we want to bring them up to what they are in Colorado. If prices in Colorado are lower than Wyoming, thats a reason to try to bring them up. Its not as if their competition with the University of Colorado is resulting in lower prices with anybody; if anything its resulting in higher prices.

Baumgarten echoed Bais point about mergers leading to clinical acquisitions. He called larger systems buying up clinics a recurring pattern and very much the trend. He said its part of an overall effort to bring in a full range of services under one umbrella.

None of the experts predicted WMC would be hollowed out by the deal, as Sen. Scott said was at risk. Baumgarten said there was an element of risk associated with giving away ownership. He added that while having access to Banners sizable capital investments was likely a motivator, WMC wont necessarily always be first in line to get that money each year.

But asked if he thought WMC would be turned into a first-aid station, as some have derisively called SageWests Riverton facility, he said he couldnt see that happening, given WMCs status in the state.

WMC officials have noted, as legislators like Scott have before them, that as much as a quarter of the care that should be in Wyoming leaves the state. Thats because care is so much more expensive here than anywhere else in the region. Hempstead, of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, said Banner may see the deal as a way to corner more of that care and keep it in Wyoming.

With an affiliation with Banner, you can say, You can see a Banner specialist virtually or have all of these advantages  you can have a consult or you can have access to these, more of the resources of this bigger, broader facility, this network of hospitals, Hampstead said. I think there would be ways to deliver more services in-state by using some of the Banner assets. But also maybe, I wouldnt be surprised if they say, When care does go into Colorado, lets try to kind of keep things in a Banner facility and that way were capturing that revenue.

Bai said the deal wouldnt have any effect on elective procedures that leave the state unless prices went down.

Having this deal wont change much unless they reduce the price, big time, she said. That probably wont happen.

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The race may be over, but the work has just began, according to Bridgeport City Councilman Marcus Brown.

Brown, 29, conceded defeat in his primary against three term incumbent Marilyn Moore, 73, for the Democratic nomination in the State Senates 22nd District.

Brown had won the partys nomination in May, but Moore garnered enough delegates to force a primary, where her popularity among city voters carried her to the win.

Now that almost all of the ballots have been received and counted, our campaign has now come to an end, Brown said in a written statement Thursday, nearly two days after polls closed and as election officials were still counting late arriving mail-in ballots.

This was an incredibly close race, with our campaign winning over 3,500 votes despite facing a number of challenges in this unusual election year against a well-established incumbent who had just come off of a mayoral race last fall. While this campaign is now over, our work continues on, Brown stated.

Moore was not immediately available for comment.

The district includes all of Trumbull, most of western Bridgeport and a small part of Monroe. Unofficial results on Election Night showed Moore with a lead of about 200 votes. That number grew to nearly 500 after officials tallied the mail-in ballots that in some districts accounted for nearly 2/3 of the vote.

Both candidates took a wait-and-see approach to declaring a winner, citing Gov. Ned Lamonts executive order that mail-in ballots postmarked by Aug. 11 must be accepted and counted if they are delivered by Aug. 13.

But by Thursday afternoon, with Trumbull having received only 46 more Democratic ballots on Wednesday and none on Thursday, the outcome was clear even if ballots were still being counted in the city.

Still, Brown said he has no intention to fade from the scene.

Now more than ever we need our leaders to fight for investment in our schools, job opportunities, affordable housing and a comprehensive plan to help our working families and small businesses recover from this pandemic, he said. Im proud of what my team accomplished on this campaign, and, as a lifelong resident of this community, Im ready to continue our work to make it a fairer, more just place for all.

Moores win over Brown was the third time she has defeated a party-backed primary opponent. She unseated incumbent Anthony Musto of Trumbull in a 2014 primary, then beat back a challenge from Tom McCarthy of Bridgeport in 2016.

Seemingly reveling in her underdog role, a rare situation for a three-term incumbent, she chalked up her unpopularity with the citys Democratic leadership to her independent streak.

Im not under the control of anyone but God, Moore said.
A satanist double murderer said to be fascinated with knives, black magic and death is set to be released from prison more than 30 years after stabbing to women to death in the 1980s.

Paul Bostock was just 17 when he murdered 33-year-old dog walker Caroline Osborne in Aylestone Meadows, Leicester in July 1983.

Less than two years later, while visiting his victim's grave, Bostock killed again, stabbing 21-year-old bride-to-be Amanda Weedon 39 times.

Despite being jailed for life, Leicester nurse Amanda's family have been informed Bostock, now 53, is just days from being released from prison.

Amanda's brother Martin Weedon told The Sun: 'You can never fix the brain of a guy like this. If he comes out he could do it again.'

Paul Bostock was a teenager when he killed Caroline Osborne and Amanda Weedon in Leicester in the 1980s

Amanda Weedon was walking back from a shift at a Leicester hospital when she was stabbed to death by Bostock

Police were tipped off about Bostock, a meat factory worker from Beaumont Leys, by his own grandmother.

He was sentenced to life in prison at the age of 19 for the two ferocious murders, which were said to have an element of sexual sadism.

Mr Weedon, 61, received a call from Victim Support on Wednesday telling him Bostock was due for release.

In recent years Bostock has been out on day release and has been working without a tag, a source told The Sun.

Bostock was just 17 when he murdered 33-year-old dog walker Caroline Osborne in Aylestone Meadows, Leicester in July 1983

Martin Weedon is considering launching an appeal against Bostock's release after warning: 'If he comes out he could do it again'

Reports claim he has previously said he should never be released from prison, saying: 'I am an animal who deserves to be locked away.'

But he made a recent plea for freedom during a a remote hearing at Leicester Crown Court from Sudbury Prison in Ashbourne, Derbyshire.

Martin Weedon had a written a victim impact statement which he hoped to read out in court - but the hearing was held virtually.

He is considering appealing to the Parole Board over its decision to release Bostock.

He said: 'We don't think he ever should be released. It will be horrendous and we feel utterly revulsed.'

The families are expecting to receive a report by Friday explaining the reasons his parole has been granted.
La Trobe University has opened up a second round of voluntary redundancies and Victoria University has revealed a plan to cut up to 190 jobs as the gutting of Victorias university workforce continues.

The measures follow the recent departure of 239 La Trobe employees in an earlier redundancy round.

La Trobe University has opened up a second round of redundancies. Credit:The Age

La Trobe has also told staff it plans to cut its total costs by 20 per cent in the next few years, and reduce the range of academic disciplines it teaches in response to huge revenue losses caused by COVID-19.

Remaining staff will be expected to lift their productivity by 20 per cent as the number of full-time students per full-time staff member is lifted from 8.7 to 10.5.
Dubai Customs has found a touching way to show support for Lebanese people arriving at its airports.

The first travelers to arrive from Beirut following the massive explosion there, 163 people who arrived at Terminal 3 on an Emirates flight, were greeted with flowers and a special message from Sheikh Zayed, the United Arab Emirates' founding father: Rebuilding Lebanon is like rebuilding the UAE.

Humaid Al Haj, senior inspections officer for Dubai Customs, said, The program has been going on for three days. We have handed out roses and messages to more than 600 people coming off flights from Beirut on Emirates Airlines.

The peoples reaction was amazing; many were crying. I stopped and spoke to many people; even children were crying," he added. Of course, we are so happy as we feel they had someone standing with them and they came to our country. We support them with their situation in Beirut. We want the Lebanese people to feel they are coming to a safe country and we are their brothers and sisters, Al Haj told Al-Monitor.

Many of the passengers said to me, 'We have never had anything like this kind gesture happen anywhere in the world.' The passengers also told me they felt so welcomed, Al Haj added.

Dubai Airports is the entity that owns and manages the operation of Dubai International and Dubai World Central, which is expected to become the largest airport in the world.

Anita Mehra, Dubai Airports' senior vice president of communication and reputation, said, This was a heartfelt initiative by Dubai Customs to show compassion to the arriving passengers from Beirut who just returned from a horrible situation. It really is a testament to the leadership here in the United Arab Emirates. They were the first ones to send humanitarian aid to Lebanon.

Mehra told Al-Monitor, Making our airports safe and secure from the get-go was our mandate. We implemented all of the World Health Organizations initiatives of physical distancing using all of the sanitization recommendations to make sure all surfaces are constantly cleaned, putting in plexiglass partitions and various other social distancing initiatives for anyone who is interacting with the staff and passengers. This is to protect them both, and having an environment that is comfortable yet safe at every touch point was imperative to Dubai Airports.

At the beginning of August, Dubai International began using specially trained dogs to screen passengers for possible infection using scent samples collected via an armpit swab. No direct contact occurs between the passengers and the dogs or their handlers. Dubai International was the first airport in the world to use dogs to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

According to Dubais Ministry of Interior, "Figures indicate that dogs can quickly detect infected cases, help protect key sites, effectively deal with huge crowds and secure large events."

As of Aug. 1, Dubai Airports began requiring all passengers traveling through Dubai International and Dubai World Central to be tested before departure and carry a certificate attesting to their negative results from a COVID-19 PCR test taken up to 96 hours prior to travel. Travelers who come from high-risk areas or display any symptoms may need to be tested again upon arrival.

We have to meet these new challenges and be able to be flexible, Mehra told Al-Monitor. "In the beginning we were repatriating people, but since July 7, when Dubai opened up to tourism, we have had visitors arriving. Again, working with all the stakeholders  as we call it, Team Dubai, which is the various sectors from immigration to customs as well as the airlines like Emirates Airlines and Dubai Airports  we were all working very close together to provide the best possible care to all our passengers and staff.
US woman donates plasma for Covid-19 treatment in Vietnam

An American woman has decided to donate blood plasma to treat Covid-19 patients in Vietnam after she was saved from the disease in HCM City.















Kelly Michelle Koch registers to donate plasma at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi on August 12.



Kelly Michelle Koch has been living in Vietnam for seven years. She is now living in Binh Thanh District in Ho Chi Minh City where she works for a non-governmental organisation. The 50-year-old woman was infected with coronavirus after returning from a business trip to Europe on March 16, becoming the 83rd Covid-19 patient in Vietnam. She recovered quickly after being treated at the Cu Chi Field Hospital for Covid-19 patients.

Arriving at the Hanoi-based National Hospital for Tropical Diseases early on Wednesday morning, Kelly said that she just heard about the hospital's calling for plasma donation from recovered Covid-19 patients so she flew to Hanoi on Tuesday evening.













Speaking with Dantri/DTiNews while waiting for the blood testing at the hospital, Kelly said that she hoped that she would have the opportunity to help people, and say thanks for everything that the Vietnamese government had done for her.













"I was very thankful for the quarantine and then later they (doctors) took very good care of me," she said. "But I was very fortunate I was not ill, I just had very minor symptoms. Now I see that many people have a very difficult situation and If I could help, I'm really happy to."













Doctor Vu Thi Thu Huong from the hospital said that a week after the call for plasma donations from recovered Covid-19 patients for treatment of the virus, they have received registration from 17 donors and two of them have completed screening and got their plasma taken.
Pakistani model-actor Sarwat Gilani, who is playing the lead roles in ZEE5s critically-acclaimed series Churails, revealed in an interview with PTI that she once received an offer for a movie with late Irrfan Khan. However, the project was not taken forward due to the political tension between India and Pakistan. She also said that Irrfan Khan, who died in April 2020, was much loved in Pakistan. Keep reading to know more:

ALSO READ: 'Churails' Review: Audience Says The Series Is 'not For The Faint-hearted'

Sarwat Gilani on her missed opportunity

In an interview with PTI, Sarwat Gilani said, Irrfan Khans team was looking to cast someone from Pakistan. They had seen my work in Mata-e-Jaan Hai Tu, and they had liked it. I think it was for a film. They got in touch with Mehreen Jabbar, who is the director of our show, and got my contact through her.

The actor further added, She told me that somebody from India had called and they were looking to cast somebody opposite Irrfan Khan. The exchange was happening, and unfortunately, the political drama happened, and things didnt materialise. She stated that she was heartbroken when the barriers were put between the two countries.

ALSO READ: The Bachelor's Vanessa Grimaldi Finds Love Outside The Show, Gets Engaged To Josh Wolfe

Sarwat Gilani also said, I could only imagine how amazing it would have been to just see Irrfan Khan and how he acts, he is so amazing. Sadly, he isnt with us. My mother cried so much on his death. He is much loved in Pakistan, and people look up to his work here."

During the interview, she also stated that The Lunchbox, Piku were some of her favourite films of the late actor. We are always starving for Indian films to come and take on our cinema, our entire community is into Bollywood. When it comes to music, I feel Pakistani artistes have contributed to the Indian market; we have amazing artists like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Shafaqat Amanat Ali, Atif Aslam, Ali Zafar, etc., the actor further added.

About Sarwat Gilanis Churails

Currently, streaming on ZEE5, Churails is presently the first Pakistani original series to be premiered on the OTT platform. Directed by highly-acclaimed director Asim Abbasi, the series premiered on the OTT platform on August 11, 2020. The hit show aims at challenging the hypocrisy of patriarchal societies which limits women and their rights.

ALSO READ: Song Joong Ki, Jeon Yeo Bin Confirmed With 2PM's Taecyeon As Villain In Vincenzo

ALSO READ: What Time Does 'Churails' Release On Zee5? Here Are All The Important Details

With inputs from PTI

Get the latest entertainment news from India & around the world. Now follow your favourite television celebs and telly updates. Republic World is your one-stop destination for trending Bollywood news. Tune in today to stay updated with all the latest news and headlines from the world of entertainment.
At another major enterprise, the Minsk Automobile Plant, workers also came out to convey their discontent.

A number of major enterprises in Belarus saw its workers go on strike today, August 13, later joined by medics and even museum staff across Belarus.

Their main demand is to have a fair presidential election, Belsat reports.

Protest rallies have been boiling across the country since Sunday night  after the Central Election Commission released exit poll results that claimed re-election of incumbent long-time president Alexander Lukashenko.

Many Belarusians took to the streets in protest against what they believe is a rigged voting outcome.

The strike began with BelAZ, a world-acclaimed manufacturer of haulage and earthmoving equipment. Its employees demanded that true election results be announced.

Read alsoLukashenko labels protesters "people with a criminal record", "unemployed"

"People in the streets of the city say the fact that BelAZ 'woke up' is a win. Most men in the city work for the company. Now everyone supports each other. Drivers are beeping car horns. There is information that employees of local utility services came out to support Belaz workers. People all over the city were seen clapping and shouting 'Long live Belarus!', a Zhodino resident told Belsat.

At another major enterprise, the Minsk Automobile Plant, workers also came out to convey their discontent.

Keramin, a major ceramic manufacturer, has joined the action in support.

Telegram-channel "Maya Kraina Belarus" reports that employees of the Minsk-based Integral plant also joined the strike.

So did workers at Grodno's largest enterprise, Grodno-Azot, according to TUT.by.

Local developer GrodnoZhilStroy even had its chief join workers in their protest move.

Another Grodno enterprise, Belcard, has suspended operations.

Medics also share indignation, the report reads.

Doctors of the Republican Center for Cardiology are set to suspend all scheduled surgeries in protest against violence and arrests of their colleagues.

The city of Soligorsk also saw medics rally.

Read alsoPompeo says people in Belarus should have "freedoms they're demanding"

At the Minsk Ambulance Hospital, the medical staff have also decided to speak out against goevrnment violence.

Belarus protests: developments
Singapore, 12 August 2020 - A Singapore team led by clinician-scientists and researchers from the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) discovered a genetic link to better predict treatment response for relapsed/refractory patients with natural- killer T-cell lymphoma (NKTCL), a highly aggressive form of blood cancer. The team performed whole-genome sequencing, to identify mutation in PD-L1 gene as a reliable biomarker to identify lymphoma patients with a high likelihood of positive response to anti PD-1 therapy, a type of immunotherapy, which has shown promising therapeutic results. The landmark findings were recently published in high-impact factor journal, Leukemia.

Natural-killer T-cell lymphoma (NKTCL) is a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma which is prevalent in Asia. It is a rare and aggressive cancer that currently has no targeted therapy options. Standard treatment for NKTCL is a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. However, patients with NKTCL have poor prognosis and often face relapses. The three-year overall survival rate is under 30 per cent for high-risk patients.

The NCCS team embarked on this study in 2016, when a group of clinicians from Singapore and Hong Kong observed that some relapsed/refractory NKTCL patients responded very well to Pembrolizumab when standard treatment was no longer effective. Pembrolizumab, an anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody, is a form of immunotherapy commonly used to treat lung cancer. Encouraging responses were observed with some patients eventually achieving complete remission with no trace of detectable cancer. ?

This positive observation led the team to delve into a deeper study of the use of anti- PD-1 therapy in NKTCL patients. The team sequenced the whole genome of the patients' pre-pembrolizumab treated tumours and studied their molecular profile. Upon discovering a structural alteration in the patient's PD-L1 gene, the team worked with collaborators in Singapore and countries including China, Hong Kong and South Korea to study more patients treated with pembrolizumab. A total of 19 relapsed/refractory patients were studied. An overall response of 47% (9/19) was observed of which 7 achieved complete response with no trace of cancer detected in their blood and/or bone marrow. The gene alteration was found amongst 4 out of the 7 patients who responded favourably to pembrolizumab.

In 2017, SingHealth, the public healthcare cluster which NCCS is a part of, filed a patent for the technology, which was a result of the team's research on this genome response. A licensing agreement with Lucence Diagnostics has enabled the biotech company to develop this technology into a diagnostic test, to determine which patients will benefit from the targeted treatment. Development of this clinical assay has been completed and is ready for deployment.

Professor Lim Soon Thye, Deputy Group Chairman Medical Board, SingHealth; Deputy Medical Director, NCCS (Clinical); Senior Associate Dean, MD Programmes, Duke-NUS Medical School and Principal Investigator of the study said, "Guiding the choice of therapy is critical for cancer patients, where treatment must be timely and drugs can be costly. It is not easy to bridge the gap from bench to bedside, so it is particularly gratifying to be able to translate our findings into clinical applications that will directly benefit patients and healthcare systems."

Dr Ong Choon Kiat, Principal Investigator, Division of Cellular and Molecular Research (CMR) - Lymphoma Genomic Translational Laboratory, NCCS, added, "The study of how NKTCL patients respond to immunotherapy has been limited to date. We are pleased that our study has identified robust biomarkers that reliably improve treatment selection for patients who will have a high likelihood of responding positively. This discovery of PD-L1 gene as a reliable response indicator was made possible with the participation of our patients and collaboration with multi-site partners."

Professor William Hwang, Medical Director, National Cancer Centre Singapore said, "This significant bench-to-bedside translation, will provide patients with this aggressive form of blood cancer, with significant benefits in terms of health outcomes and cost savings. We are gratified to work with partners like Lucence Diagnostics who are developing test kits that will improve clinical outcomes and reduce healthcare costs for patients globally."

Dr Tan Min-Han, Founding CEO and Medical Director of Lucence Diagnostics said, "Our vision is a world without cancer, and this partnership with National Cancer Centre Singapore will enable Lucence to deliver this innovative technology worldwide to achieve better treatment selection for NKTCL patients. We have already completed the assay development, and the test will be progressively made available in Asia and the United States."

###

The NCCS team now plans to embark on further studies to explore the extended use of the assay for other cancer types, including prostate, ovarian and lung cancer. In addition to investigators from public and private healthcare institutions, the study involved participation from Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Genome Institute of Singapore, and investigators from China, Hong Kong and South Korea.

NCCS team's research was funded by the National Medical Research Council (NMRC), Tanoto Foundation Professorship in Medical Oncology, New Century International Pte Ltd, Ling Foundation, Singapore National Cancer Centre Research Fund, ONCO ACP Cancer Collaborative Scheme and other supporting grants.
Wednesday, the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project released an economic report showing how public lands and water sustain the economy of the Blackfoot and Clearwater Valleys and nearby communities. The report also highlights how the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act (BCSA) will protect the public lands and water on which that economy depends.

Before Covid-19, Montanas public lands and waters fueled a $7 billion outdoor recreation economy that supported over 70,000 jobs in Montana and contributed $287 million in consumer spending. We are hopeful that economy will recover, but we cannot leave the health of our public lands and waters  and by extension, our economy  to fate. To sustain our outdoor recreation economy and the jobs that depend on it, we need the insurance, and assurance, the BCSA provides.

Reintroduced by Sen. Tester last year, the BCSA is the culmination of a decade-long collaborative effort of Montanans who represent a wide spectrum of interests  conservation, timber, ranching, outfitting, local business, and conservation. The bill would add almost 80,000 acres to the Bob Marshall, Scapegoat, and Mission Mountain Wilderness Areas, permanently protecting four tributaries that are crucial to the health of the Blackfoot River and its trout and wildlife populations. The BCSA also includes increased snowmobiling access in the Otatsy area, mountain bike access to Spread Mountain, and a recreational trails study to potentially add more ATV trails.

The new economic report shows that the Blackfoot River fishery generated well over 9,000 guided outfitter days in 2018. It also shows that anglers spent almost $1 billion in Montana in 2017, while hunters spent almost $400 million, sustaining fly shops, outfitters, guides, outdoor gear and sporting good stores, outdoor manufacturers, and other business like ours throughout the Blackfoot and Clearwater Valleys, in Missoula, and beyond.

Businesses like ours depend on the Blackfoot River remaining cold, connected, and clean  conditions trout need to thrive, and that in turn bring anglers from around the world to fish this legendary river. By permanently protecting the Blackfoots key tributaries, the BCSA will help ensure that not only trout, grizzly bears, elk, and other wildlife in the Blackfoot and Clearwater valleys thrive, but that our businesses do so as well.

Its no wonder then the bipartisan 2020 University of Montana Public Lands Survey revealed that 75% of Montanans support the BCSA, as do over 160 groups, organizations, and businesses. But the bill has not yet received a hearing or markup in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (SENR).

On August 11, Tester sent a letter to SENR Chairman Lisa Murkowski and Ranking Member Joe Manchin requesting a hearing for the BCSA. Sen. Daines sits on this committee, making him well-positioned to advance the BCSA.

As we saw with the recent passage of the Great American Outdoors Act, great things happen for Montana when our delegation works together on behalf of our public lands. We are asking Daines to join Tester in support of the BCSA. With his help, this bill could get a hearing and markup in committee and move on for a Senate floor vote. With three out of four Montanans in support of the BCSA, the time is now for Daines to join Tester as a champion for the BCSA, the importance of which has only been augmented by Covid-19.

The pandemic has been a wake-up call that Montanans and other Americans absolutely depend on public lands  for our physical and mental wellbeing and our economy. People from in and out of state have flocked to Montanas public lands this summer, especially to the Blackfoot and Clearwater Valleys, underscoring just how vital it is we protect our public lands and waters by passing the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act.

Marne Hayes is executive director of Business for Montanas Outdoors. Amy Beck is president of Oboz Footwear. Todd Frank is owner of The Trail Head in Missoula. Tony Reinhardt is a fishing guide and owner of Montana Trout Outfitters in Missoula. Connie Long is co-owner of Bob Marshall Wilderness Outfitters.

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Boney Kapoor is missing his late wife, actor Sridevi on her 57th birth anniversary. The film producer shared a message, saying how he wished she was with the family and could watch their daughter Janhvi Kapoors performance in her latest film, Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl.

Taking to Twitter, Boney shared two old pictures of the two of them. One even showed the couple holding baby Janhvi in their arms. Jaan missing you lots every second of the 900 days you left us , but more so today to see the joy on your face for the good reaction to Janus work in Gunjan, I wish you were here with us, our joy is incomplete without you. Happy birthday my love my life. #HappyBirthdaySridevi, he wrote.

Jaan missing you lots every second of the 900 days you left us , but more so today to see the joy on your face for the good reaction to Janus work in Gunjan, I wish you were here with us, our joy is incomplete without you. Happy birthday my love my life. #HappyBirthdaySridevi pic.twitter.com/jkVSzfzD90  Boney Kapoor (@BoneyKapoor) August 13, 2020

Earlier on Thursday, Janhvi, too, had dedicated a post to her mother. Janhvi on Instagram shared a black and white picture in which she is seen hugging her mother as the duo posed for the camera. I love you Mumma, the Dhadak actor captioned the post. The 23-year-old actors post was flooded with comments as fans of the late icon paid tribute to her.

Sridevi breathed her last on February 24, 2018, in Dubai, where she had gone to attend a family wedding. Born as Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan in 1963, she was known for her iconic roles in Hindi movies like Chandni, Lamhe, Mr India, Chaalbaaz, Nagina, Sadma and English Vinglish among many more. Her last film was Mom, for which she also received Best Actress National Award, posthumously.

Also read: KGF Chapter 2 producer says Sanjay Dutt will finish shoot after 3 months once his treatment is over

Sridevis fans also remembered the actor. Sharing a collage picture of Sridevi, in the character look of her many hit roles, a Twitter user remembered the glorious lady of Indian cinema on her birth anniversary.Another user wrote: Remembering the legendary actress and one of the best actress #Sridevi on her birth anniversary. We miss u mam and your outstanding performance to Indian cinema is phenomenal.

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Alisha Rahaman Sarkar By

Online Desk

Even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the world, a group of people in Kolkata are standing true to their promise -- to feed the hungry and poor.

The members of Robin Hood Army, a volunteer-based, zero-fund organisation spread across over 10 countries, have been working relentlessly to make sure no one sleeps hungry in these trying times.

With Independence Day around the corner, the Robins, as they call themselves, have pledged to feed 30 million vulnerable people worldwide between July 1 to August 15.

The network of over 50000 volunteers collects surplus food from restaurants and eateries and provides it to those in need. But with eateries being shut due to the lockdown, they have resorted to distributing dry ration with the help of big corporates.

"We have people from all walks of life who volunteer with us and they do it in their free time. We all communicate on WhatsApp," said Sanchit Jain, the co-founder of Robin Hood Army.

In India where the gnawing problem of starvation claims several lives (the country ranks 102nd in the Global Hunger Index), the Robins have fed over 4 million people in the country, including 97000 in Kolkata. They also take pride in being a Harvard Case Study.

In Kolkata, the Robins, spread over seven chapters, have extended their support to the Cyclone Amphan-hit families. In the eastern state of West Bengal, the residents of Sundarbans are fighting a dual battle in the aftermath of Amphan, which killed at least 72 in the state and affected scores of people.

So far, the RHA has distributed dry ration to over 300 families in Jhargram and 500 odd families in Kolkata, Syed Manjur Rahaman, a Kolkata-based Robin said.

A member of the organisation since 2015, Rahaman, a practicing medical technologist, said that he has been a part of daily night drives since the onset of the pandemic.

We are trying to reach out to the extreme hamlets of Sundarbans. We will be going to Sandeshkhali soon to deliver dry rations for 200 families. We will help people till they can get their land in a cultivable state, he added.

In a bid to protect the senior citizens from the contagious virus, the RHA had launched the "Senior Patrol' initiative, where elders in need were supplied with necessities.

"Through the 'Senior Patrol' initiative, we tried to reach out to the elders who were trapped at home due to lockdown. They had to just call us and we would try to bring them what they required," said Moumita Deb, a Robin for four years.

"The RHA touches our lives. It is our social responsibility. We are one team and one family, she stressed.

Speaking about the milestone that the RHA has achieved so far, Jain said, "Although it has been a great journey, there is still a chance to improve. Citizens need to take up responsibility and mitigate the sorrows in the lives of the vulnerable."
By Yi Woo-won





Recently, I became aware of a unique social campaign titled #6037 Campaign that was currently under way in Chilgok County where I live. I soon realized that it was the number of Ethiopian soldiers who had participated in the Korean War 70 years ago. They arrived in Korea in May 1951 after sailing for two months. The Ethiopian troops suffered 122 killed, 536 wounded and bravely none captured in the war. 138 veterans are still alive today.







The idea of the campaign was born when Paek Seon-ki, mayor of Chilgok County and Melese Tessema, 90, chairman of the Korean War Veterans of Ethiopia, started exchanging mails from March this year. This was when Paek came to realize that the majority of the veterans there could not afford to buy a regular face mask.







In addition to the masks, young students in and beyond the county sent 700 handwritten letters to the elderly-veterans, written in English, Korean and even Amharic (the official language of Ethiopia), probably via an electronic translation device.







The Korean War broke out in the predawn hours of June 25, 1950, when the communist North Korean troops launched a sudden, unprovoked attack against the Republic of Korea. They stormed across the 38th parallel with a large number of Russian made T-34 tanks. The unprepared South Korean troops were outnumbered and outgunned and proved no match. We had no tanks or warplanes.







Seoul fell to the Communists three days after the invasion and they kept marching swiftly down to the south. They were unchecked until they reached the Nakdong River near the city of Daegu. By September 1950, the communists held most of the peninsula except the Busan Perimeter in the south. The government of South Korea was forced to move to the city of Busan on the south coast.







Because of the urgent situation, the Republic of Korea (ROK) had to appeal to the United Nations. Then the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) passed a resolution, ordering the North Korean troops to withdraw to the 38th parallel and also encouraged member nations to give military support to the ROK. In response, 22 member nations joined in the war, of which 16 countries participated with combat troops of varying numbers and 6 countries provided medical services.







On Sept. 15, 1950, Gen. MacArthur commanded the surprise amphibious landing at Incheon behind enemy lines. The operation, which involved 75,000 troops and 261 naval vessels, was a turning point in the war and led to the recapture of Seoul two weeks later. Our allied forces kept charging to the north and reached the 38th parallel by September's end. Then in October 1950, some United Nations forces were approaching the Yalu River and it seemed the war would soon end with a victory for the South  or the UN.







However, on Oct 25, 1950, Communist Chinese forces intervened in the war in so-called human waves. The U.N. allied forces were compelled to strategically retreat to the south and Seoul once again fell into the hands of the communists on Jan 4, 1951. Nevertheless, the allied forces regrouped and launched another major counterattack and retook Seoul on March 12, 1951, pushing back the Chinese and North Koreans across the 38th parallel.







Then, by the summer of 1951, both sides had settled down roughly along the lines where they had been at the beginning of the war. At this point, Russia called for a truce negotiation. The truce talks dragged on for over a year before an agreement was finally reached on July 27, 1953.







The United Nations Memorial Cemetery is located in Busan, South Korea. It was established in January 1951 and was dedicated to the victims of the Korean War. The cemetery contains 2,300 graves of service members from 11 countries; 36 are from the United States. They were brave soldiers of the United Nations peace troops who gave their lives while fighting to defend South Korea, a country which was unheard of or unfamiliar to them when they left home. The cemetery is the only one of its kind in the world, because the Korean War was the first war in which the United Nations committed military power.







The people of South Korea will and should be eternally grateful to those heroic warriors of the United Nations during the war. Without their sacrifices, South Korea wouldn't be what it is today, a free, democratic and prosperous nation that has grown from a poor beneficiary in 1950 to a budding benefactor now. It is our time to return the favor.









) taught Korean Language and Korean Life and Culture at the University of Maryland in 1970-1980 and at U.S. Army installations in Daegu and Waegwan.



The writer ( yiwoowon1988@gmail.com
Premier Doug Fords bargain-basement scheme to send children back to overcrowded classrooms in poorly ventilated schools is unacceptable in a pandemic, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said during a visit to Peterborough on Wednesday.

Mr. Ford has indicated hes hoping this is going to work But crossing your fingers and hoping is not good enough, Horwath said.

But Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith said Wednesday that Ontario has the lowest classroom sizes in Canada and the highest spending among all provinces on COVID-19 school safety provisions such as cleaning products.

And Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board chair Diane Lloyd said local school buildings are in good repair.

But Horwath stood outside Queen Mary Public School on Monaghan Road on Wednesday with a group of local teachers and parents and said shes concerned.

Some parents have told her some local schools have inadequate ventilation, she said.

Queen Mary is projected to exceed its capacity by 20 students this year, a press release from Horwath stated.

Yet data from the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board says Queen Mary is not full and isnt projected to reach capacity any time in the next decade.

Older schools such as Queen Mary  which is 108 years old  have operable windows, Lloyd noted, while newer buildings are airtight.

Although Horwath argued the provincial government should have arranged for kids to be taught in spacious venues such as unused arenas, Lloyd said furnishing an arena with desks wouldnt be easy.

Meanwhile Horwath spoke alongside three local people on Wednesday who said the back-to-school plan is concerning.

Lisa Noble, a Grade 7 teacher at the newly established Crestwood Intermediate School, said shes concerned about having 30-plus teens packed into concrete rectangles with poor ventilation.

Angela Caban, a mother of five and the head custodian at North Cavan Public School, said shes concerned about having the staff and resources to adequately clean schools in a pandemic.

Heather Ray, a single mother, said her daughter has autism and sensory issues that may not allow her to wear a mask properly all day.

Smith said in an interview later that its no wonder parents are fearful: from March until June, people were advised to stay home.

As of Thursday there were no active cases of COVID-19 in Peterborough city and county, Smith pointed out.

Kids at school will wear masks and the buildings will have stepped-up cleaning protocols, he said.

Were doing everything we can to mitigate the risk.

joelle.kovach@peterboroughdaily.com

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Over the past seven years, Newk's Cares has raised more than $1,400,000 for Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance (OCRA), the largest non-government funder of ovarian cancer research while supporting those affected. The Newk's family carries this passion as their own in Lori's honor and have made changes to their annual events to ensure the fight continues during these unique circumstances. The following events will be held virtually by Newk's Cares in support of Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month:

Virtual Lunch & Learn: In partnership with St. Dominic Hospital, Newk's will virtually host the annual Lunch & Learn on Thursday, August 20 , from noon to 1 p.m. Medical experts will make up the panelists to provide an overview on statistics and symptoms, along with critical research developments relative to ovarian cancer. This year, the event will be open to the public for the first time since its inception, with room for up to 3,000 online guests. Register to hear from professionals in the field, here.

In partnership with St. Dominic Hospital, Newk's will virtually host the annual Lunch & Learn on , from Medical experts will make up the panelists to provide an overview on statistics and symptoms, along with critical research developments relative to ovarian cancer. This year, the event will be open to the public for the first time since its inception, with room for up to 3,000 online guests. Register to hear from professionals in the field, here. OCRA HEROES: On Thursday, September 17 , supporters from around the nation can participate virtually from home in one of five 45-minute timed work out segments from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. , via OCRA's Facebook page. During the registration process participants can select the work out of their choice from several virtual classes for a $25 registration fee. There is no fee for ovarian cancer survivors to participate. Attendees can register online at NewksCares.com, and participants and non-participants can also go online to make a donation to OCRA in honor of Lori Newcomb .

Additionally, the following initiatives will take place across Newk's Eatery's more than 100 U.S. locations to raise awareness of the cause:

In-Store Donations: Beginning Sept. 1 through Sept. 30 , guests can support ovarian cancer research and education by making a donation both in-store and through online ordering. All funds collected will benefit OCRA. Guests who donate in-store will be given a teal ribbon certificate featuring their name for display within the restaurant.

Beginning , guests can support ovarian cancer research and education by making a donation both in-store and through online ordering. All funds collected will benefit OCRA. Guests who donate in-store will be given a teal ribbon certificate featuring their name for display within the restaurant. Featured Dishes: The Shrimp & Avocado Salad returns as a featured item, inspired by Lori Newcomb , made with fresh ingredients including broiled shrimp, avocado, arugula, tangy feta crumbles, sweet grape tomatoes, green onions, and house-made lemon basil vinaigrette. Newk's will also feature a seasonal Thai Chicken Soup, made with cancer-fighting ingredients.

The Shrimp & Avocado Salad returns as a featured item, inspired by , made with fresh ingredients including broiled shrimp, avocado, arugula, tangy feta crumbles, sweet grape tomatoes, green onions, and house-made lemon basil vinaigrette. Newk's will also feature a seasonal Thai Chicken Soup, made with cancer-fighting ingredients. Lori's Loves: This year, Newk's Eatery is proud to highlight Lori's Loves, featuring her favorite menu items and Grab N Go selections. These Newcomb Family classics at participating locations include the Mediterranean Pizza on Cauliflower Crust, Turkey Avocado Sandwich, Greek Salad with Shrimp, Pasta Salad and Pimiento Cheese.

"Despite these uncertain times, our Newk's family is proactively seeking ways to virtually recognize Lori's passion to help all women impacted by this disease and provide hope to those currently fighting," said Chris Newcomb, Newk's Eatery Co- Founder and CEO. "While this year looks a little different than others, we're blessed with the opportunity to raise awareness among a larger, virtual audience to raise critical awareness of this disease, especially the early signs and indicators. We are devoted to carrying on Lori's legacy and look forward to making a big impact in 2020."

For more information, visit NewksCares.com and follow Newk's Cares on Facebook, where the public is invited to share their inspiring stories and experiences with #TealforLori.

ABOUT NEWK'S CARES

Newk's Cares is the ovarian cancer awareness movement founded by Newk's Eatery. Newk's Cares was established in 2014 by Newk's Eatery's CEO Chris Newcomb and his wife Lori Newcomb, after Lori was diagnosed with stage IIIC ovarian cancer in 2013. After six years of fighting and spearheading awareness for the disease, Lori lost her battle to ovarian cancer in February 2019, leaving behind significant strides for the ovarian cancer community. Since 2014, Newk's Cares has raised over $1.4 million for ovarian cancer research through the organization's partnership with Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance (OCRA). Newk's Eatery restaurants support in-store educational materials and events year-round to help generate awareness of the signs and symptoms of the disease, including turning their beverage straws teal, the color of ovarian cancer awareness, and donating 10 cents to OCRA from all Newk's Cares-themed bottled water sold to contribute to critical research.

ABOUT ST. DOMINICS

St. Dominic Health Services is sponsored by the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady and is a part of the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System. St. Dominic's is more than just a hospital, it is a family of services focused on fulfilling a mission of Christian healing to those in need. St. Dominic Health Services, Inc. is the parent company for a large group of subsidiary organizations and programs dedicated to the same mission. These include St. Dominic Hospital, the Community Health Services Clinic, St. Dominic Medical Associates (physician network), New Directions for Over 55, MEA Clinics, The Club at St. Dominic's, the School Nurse Program, St. Dominic's Foundation, St. Catherine's Village and Care-A-Van.

St. Dominic Hospital is a 571-bed tertiary care hospital located in Jackson, Mississippi serving all of central Mississippi and employs approximately 3,000 employees inclusive of nurses, physicians, and skilled caregivers. The medical staff, of nearly 500 leading physicians and specialists, makes St. Dominic's one of the most comprehensive hospitals in Mississippi. Through over seven decades, St. Dominic's has remained true to its vision. We are St. Dominic's  a Christian healing community called to provide quality, compassionate care and an Exceptional Experience Every time.

ABOUT OVARIAN CANCER RESEARCH ALLIANCE (OCRA)

Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance (OCRA) is the largest non-government funder of ovarian cancer research and has invested over $100 million in research since 1998. OCRA fights ovarian cancer from all fronts, including in the lab and on Capitol Hill, and through innovative programs to support survivors and their families.

OCRA's ongoing commitment to the most promising scientific research is funding discoveries, creating new treatments, and hastening desperately needed breakthroughs. OCRA is the voice for the ovarian cancer community, working with legislators to ensure federal ovarian cancer research and education, patient safety, and access to high-quality care are protected on Capitol Hill. OCRA's programs help women navigate their diagnosis and support patients and their families when and where they need it most. Visit ocrahope.org to learn more.

Media Contact

Hannah Tichacek

[email protected]

972-388-5519

SOURCE Newk's Cares

Related Links

http://newks.com


Shopping at Costco became an even bigger deal in 2020, thanks to a global pandemic. While that toilet paper shortage is behind us... you might want to be stay prepared. If you never want to be without mass quantities of toilet paper (or anything, really) again, a Costco membership is essential. And with this Groupon deal on a Costco membership, you'll get $80 in freebiesjust for signing up.

Every year, Groupon offers a Costco Gold Star Membership package. For $60, you get a new membership (not a renewal) to Costco. That's how much it costs if you sign up directly at Costco. But the Groupon offer also comes with a $40 Costco gift card, plus $40 off any online order of $250 or more at Costco.com. Your gift card works on anything at Costcoeven on gas.
The death of a woman after an abortion at a clinic in Tuscaloosa has been under investigation by state officials following complaints by anti-abortion groups.

The group CEC for Life released details about the death this week, saying a woman seemed to be struggling to get to a car after she left the West Alabama Womens Center on May 7.

Tuscaloosa County Sheriffs Office Capt. Jack Kennedy, head of the Tuscaloosa County Violent Crimes Unit, said his office investigated the case along with an investigator for the Board of Medical Examiners and found no basis for criminal charges.

We did do an initial investigation, Kennedy said. We havent been able to come up with anything we could prosecute anyone for. Its a death under medical supervision.

The Alabama Board of Medical Examiners is reviewing the case after a patient who left the clinic later died at UAB Hospital that same day. The board reviews complaints against doctors and can impose sanctions. The incident has been reported to the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners who currently have this matter under investigation, Kennedy said in a statement released this afternoon.

Anti-abortion activist groups said the physician on duty was Dr. Louis Payne, 81, who co-founded the clinic in 1993. Efforts to reach Payne for comment were unsuccessful.

Payne retired this summer and was replaced as medical director by Dr. Leah Torres, who referred requests for comment to a spokesperson for the clinic.

Due to privacy laws, West Alabama Womens Center cannot make any comment at this time, said Robin Marty, communications director for the West Alabama Womens Center. We continue to uphold the highest standards of care for all of our patients.

Marty said the clinic is no longer in contact with Payne.

The Rev. Terry Gensemer, founder and director of Charismatic Episcopal Church for Life, said sidewalk counselors from the group Pro-Life Tuscaloosa were outside the clinic and expressed concern when they saw the woman struggling and being assisted as she walked to a car on the way out of the clinic. He said the woman appeared to be in her thirties. The activists say that a clinic employee told them that the woman later died.

Gensemers organization released a statement about the incident after making complaints to the Board of Medical Examiners and the Alabama Department of Public Health, which oversees clinics. They also requested that an autopsy be made available to show a cause of death. Tuscaloosa County does not have a medical examiners office, Kennedy said, and medical investigations of death are handled by the Alabama Department of Forensics. AL.com left a request for comment with the Department of Forensics but has not heard back yet.

Sarah Neely, an assistant to Gensemer at CEC for Life, said Pro-Life Tuscaloosa plans to rally with a Prayer in the Park event at Snow Hinton Park on Saturday, Aug. 15, at 10 a.m., with guests including State Sen. Gerald Allen.

Neely said the group is not trying to violate the privacy of the dead womans family.

Were not interested in making her name known, Neely said. The reason we requested the autopsy was to see what her cause of death was.

Witnesses who were there questioned whether the woman was getting adequate medical assistance, she said.

Was everything done that could be done to prevent her death? Neely said. If there was wrongdoing, that should be made public.

The West Alabama Womens Center performed 3,371 abortions in 2018, out of 6,484 that year statewide, according to the Alabama Center for Health Statistics.

The clinic made national news earlier this year when it was purchased by the Yellowhammer Fund, a non-profit organization that provides financial assistance for abortions in Alabama.

The Yellowhammer Fund received a large influx of donations after Alabama passed the nations most restrictive law on abortion in 2019. The law would have banned nearly all abortions, but U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson blocked the ban with a preliminary injunction in October 2019, saying it was unconstitutional.

The West Alabama Womens Center has been one of only three clinics regularly performing abortions in Alabama the past two years, along with Alabama Womens Center for Reproductive Alternatives in Huntsville, where 1,823 abortions were done in 2018, and Reproductive Health Services in Montgomery, which did 1,286 abortions in 2018. USA Children and Womens Center in Mobile and Brookwood Medical Center in Birmingham each reported performing two induced pregnancy terminations in 2018.

Planned Parenthood Southeast opened its new clinic in downtown Birmingham in July and plans to offer abortion services there beginning this fall.
WILMINGTON, Del.  Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Senator Kamala Harris made their debut as running mates in a high school gymnasium on Wednesday, pledging to lead the country out of the coronavirus crisis amid an onslaught of attacks from President Trump as the two national tickets went head-to-head for the first time, less than three months before Election Day.

The first full day for the newly announced Democratic presidential ticket offered a glimpse of how two once-bitter rivals from opposite coasts and different generations will try to unite Americans around their platform. Projecting warmth toward each other, they sketched out a vision of recovery from the nations crises surrounding public health, the economy and racial injustice  challenges that, they argued, Mr. Trump has made worse at every turn with an extraordinarily divisive presidency.

We need more than a victory on Nov. 3, Ms. Harris said. We need a mandate that proves that the past few years do not represent who we are or who we aspire to be.

Ms. Harris, a Californian who once served as attorney general of the state, made clear that part of her campaign role would be demonstrating her skills as a prosecutor to build a case against Mr. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, methodically detailing what she cast as the administrations failures in combating the coronavirus, reopening the economy and creating conditions under which schools could reopen safely this fall.
Places that Were Hit Hardest

A Call for Help

(TNS)  The pandemics downward pull on consumer spending in Colorado is undeniable, but so far declines in retail sales are lower than forecast in many places, with the brunt of losses concentrated in communities dependent on outside spending.Colorado municipalities captured $1 billion fewer retail sales between January and May of this year compared to last year, which works out to a 2 percent drop, according to net taxable retail sales numbers reported to the Colorado Department of Revenue and compiled by the Colorado News Collaborative.But what that number doesnt show is that for every city or town in the state that had a decline in retail sales, another two showed gains, according to the state numbers. That same ratio applies to county-level retail sales, which were up in 44 counties and down in 20.The pandemic appears to have shifted spending patterns in a big way. There were 81 towns and cities that suffered a $2.36 billion loss in retail sales. Of those losses, half came from Denver, with another 20 percent coming from Boulder, Lone Tree, Grand Junction and Breckenridge. Another 171 towns and cities, however, saw a $1.3 billion gain in net taxable retail sales, something most probably didnt envision as shutdown orders went into place.Initially, we had estimated some huge decreases because we didnt understand what was going to happen with the pandemic, said John Lewis, finance director for the city of Fountain, which is south of Colorado Springs.Instead, the city is in a place it didnt expect to be, up 19 percent in June year-over-year in retail sales tax collections and looking at the possibility of having to refund some of the extra money it has collected under TABOR limits.There were 17 communities, mostly smaller and east of the Front Range, where retail sales more than doubled over last year from January to May. Arvada had the biggest dollar gain in net retail sales, $75.4 million, a 13 percent increase per the states count of retail sales.Arvada is a grocery and gasoline community, said Bryan Archer, Arvadas director of finance. Our biggest retailers were all deemed essential. They included Home Depot, Lowes, Costco, Sams Club, King Soopers and Safeway.Retail sales, which were robust in the first three months of the year, did pull back sharply in April. But in May and June they were moving higher again. If it werent for auto sales, which fall under a separate use tax, the city would be on track for a gain in tax collections this year.Colorado consumers registered 16.7 percent fewer new vehicles in the first half of 2020 than they did in the first half of 2019, which works out to 22,286 fewer cars and trucks for local governments to collect revenues on, according to the Colorado Auto Outlook from the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association.Longmont was planning on a 40 percent hit to its sales and use tax collections this year during the second quarter of the year, and expected the second half of the year to be down 8 percent, said Jim Golden, the citys chief financial officer.In the first five months of the year, Longmont sales and use taxes were only down 0.6 percent of what they brought into the city in the same months in 2019.That can happen in a tight year even without COVID, said Golden. Weve been lucky so far.In March, tax collections were up 6 percent from the prior year. In April, collections went down 12.7 percent. But in May, the taxes actually were up 1.6 percent year over year, which Golden attributes to a couple of large audit collections. Longmonts revised forecast now calls for only a 6 percent decline in sales and use taxes in the second half of the year, though collections in June may drop the projected decline even further.As expected, grocery sales are up, but so are sales at big-box stores, liquor stores and marijuana retailers. The declines came in restaurants as well as auto sales, building permit revenues and equipment purchases, the latter three down 15 percent through May.Other places are treading water, which itself is an accomplishment given the severity of the economic contraction. State counts show Auroras retail sales up 3 percent in the first five months, part of which reflects momentum at the start of the year.January sales tax collections, which include Christmas sales and other December purchases, were up 11 percent and February collections were up 13 percent, said Aurora Budget Manager Greg Hays. In March, sales taxes were up 1.7 percent and then up 1.4 percent in April, likely because of more robust grocery store purchases as everyone stocked up on toilet paper and hand sanitizer. May saw the citys second-largest dip ever: 12.6 percent. The record drop was set in January 2002, Hays said.June numbers are back up, though only by 0.1 percent. Many of the places that suffered a major drop in sales in May started to go back up after much of the state began reopening. Clothing stores, for example, were down 94 percent in May compared to last year but only down 50 percent in June.Like Longmont, however, the city is seeing major drops in auto sales. And of course, every city is experiencing shortfalls in lodging tax revenue. Because Aurora doesnt tax groceries, officials dont expect to make up any taxes there.Communities that relied on retail spending by their own residents did better than those that catered to tourists and outside visitors. Bedroom communities captured sales that had gone to downtown areas and office parks. And those with more drive-through and fast-casual chains fared better than those that skewed toward sit-down restaurants.Lewis said for years Fountain has struggled with what he called leakage. People would head up to Colorado Springs or Denver to make large purchases. But as closures took hold, they spent more dollars closer to home, and they bought more online.After years of watching revenues from online sales evade them, more local governments in Colorado are now capturing them because of the Wayfair decision. Those newer collections boosted year-over-year comparisons.Archer offers the hypothetical example of an Arvada resident who needed to buy a computer or tech gear to work remotely. In the past, he or she might have gone to a physical Best Buy location in a nearby city. But because more residents were buying online, it generated tax revenues for Arvada.But the unexpected gains in retail sales in a majority of places in Colorado were not enough to compensate for the massive declines elsewhere.In Denver, taxable retail sales went from $7 billion in the first five months of 2019 to $5.8 billion this year, a 17 percent drop, according to the Colorado Department of Revenue. Leading the declines were restaurants and bars, down 35.7 percent; clothing retailers, down 35.4 percent; department stores, down 24.6 percent, and sports, hobby, music and book stores, down 23.6 percent, according to numbers from the city.The pandemic hit Denvers economy on multiple fronts, turning areas of strength into weaknesses. Tourism dried up and the citys convention business disappeared. Cultural facilities and sporting venues shut down, removing the sales those visits provided. Thousands of office workers who populated the Central Business District and Cherry Creek remain hunkered down at home, not buying lunches, doing their shopping, or partaking in happy hours after work.We anticipate about a $227 million loss of revenue in our general fund in 2020 and believe it will take at least through 2021 to recover to our pre-pandemic economic levels, said Brendan Hanlon, Denvers chief financial officer.Retail sales taxes account for about half of the citys revenues. Hanlon said he worked for the city during both the 2001 recession and the Great Recession and the budget challenge is unlike any Denver has ever seen, including the Great Depression.The city is deploying all the financial management tools available to balance the budget while striving to maintain our city services. Without federal support of local government revenue losses, these financial conditions will result in substantial cuts to municipal budgets which will directly affect our state and national economies, he said.Like Denver, Boulder experienced an exodus of white-collar workers who shifted to working at home, including Amazon engineers who now design self-driving carts and robots in their garages.One of the challenges Boulder has is that we do have a large proportion of in-commuters, said Tax and Special Projects Manager Joel Wagner. When all of those commuters stopped coming into work, we saw a lot less spending in Boulder.Couple that with the students leaving because of the cancellation of in-person classes at the University of Colorado, and suddenly, Boulders tax base is a lot smaller.Boulder, which moved quickly to address the pandemic, saw pretty immediate and rapid declines in sales taxes from most of its storefront and retail businesses as well as restaurants during statewide closures, he said.City data show that as of May, its apparel stores, restaurants and furniture stores have seen more than 30 percent declines in sales tax, year to date. In May, tax collections were down 18.8 percent year over year. But Wagner notes a few bright spots too, with sales increasing in food and liquor. Boulder is also seeing success in a unique area: digital software sales that are taxed.Beyond the pandemic, Grand Junction has had to deal with a slump in oil and gas activity because of depressed commodity prices earlier this year, said city manager Greg Caton. But its economy is much more diversified than the past, and that has helped. So too have all the federal dollars circulating, whether via the $1,200 per person payments the IRS sent to households, the enhanced federal unemployment insurance payments of $600 a week or the billions in loans made to small businesses through the SBA.We are actually faring quite well and better than some of the resort-based communities, Caton said. Retail sales tax collections were down 25.3 percent in April, down 8.3 percent in May, and June, which is still being tabulated, looks flat.Given that we are in the pandemic, I feel good about this, he said.Not surprisingly, areas more dependent on tourism have taken some of the bigger percentage hits to retail sales, especially the states ski resorts and gaming towns.We are down $67 million in retail activity, with a 22 percent drop in sales through May, said Brian Waldes, director of finance and information technology for the town of Breckenridge in Summit County.The year was off to a promising start, with retail sales up 2 percent in January and 6 percent in February, and then bang, the ski resort closed. In April, sales plummeted 65 percent and were down 44 percent in May. Lodging taxes were hit even harder.Even if you decide one thing, the pandemic could decide another. Our No. 1 plan going into 2021 is to be agile, Waldes said.Black Hawk, which relies heavily on gaming for revenues, had limited options once its casinos closed.When things get shut down, they come to a screeching halt, said Lance Hillis, finance director for Black Hawk.State numbers show a 28 percent annual decline in retail sales in Black Hawk through May, or a loss of $8.2 million in retail sales. But the town is tracking a much steeper 37 percent drop in tax collections. In April, during casino shutdowns, sales tax collections went down 85 percent. In May, it was still a 63.3 percent reduction, Hillis said.Taxes on retail sales, along with the use tax on auto sales, are key revenue sources in most communities, but not the only sources. Just because retail sales held up better than expected in many places doesnt necessarily mean that overall tax collections arent down.Aurora, for example, anticipates a continued hit from the recession. Based on projections completed in April, revenues were expected to fall about $25 million short in 2020 and about $30 million in 2021.The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland estimates that municipal governments in Colorado could face a $377 million loss in sales tax revenues this fiscal year, with counties, which are more dependent on property taxes, down $64 million and special districts down $78 million.And the state wont be in a position to backstop those losses. The same study estimates a $207 million loss in state income tax collections and a $367 million loss in state sales tax collections.The Colorado Municipal League surveyed its members during the first week of July and 80 percent of the 99 who responded said they faced a general fund shortfall which averaged 17 percent.A decline in travel has meant fewer hotel stays, hollowing out lodging tax collections. Facility closures and have meant fewer recreation center visits and facility rentals, hurting service fees. Licenses and permitting fees were down in 40 percent of communities surveyed, and so were utility charges.The shortfall is severe enough that the Colorado Municipal League has joined counterparts in lobbying Congress for state and local fiscal relief in the next round of federal stimulus, said Kevin Bommer, executive director.The issue of support for local governments has divided Congress, with Democrats proposing more than $1 trillion in aid, while Republicans are hesitant, viewing the amount as excessive and concerned aid could cover for years of bad fiscal management, including backfilling underfunded pensions.Local governments contacted for this story said they are cutting costs where they can, with furloughs and delays in capital projects and equipment purchases. In a bid to prevent temporary losses from becoming permanent, some have diverted coronavirus relief funds to support small businesses until sales revive.They are trying to put a tourniquet on the wound in the hope that relief comes soon, Bommer said. But there is a serious concern that help isnt coming.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-14 05:18:14|Editor: huaxia

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KIEV, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kiev has already handed a list of detainees in East Ukraine that could potentially be exchanged to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) representatives, the Ukrainian president's press service reported on Thursday.

Zelensky said that the held persons' exchange will be discussed during the next meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) for the peaceful settlement of the situation in East Ukraine to be held on Aug. 18 in Minsk.

"We have already handed a new list to the OSCE. The OSCE confirmed our exchange list; there are about 100 people there. We expect the other side also to provide their agreed list. Then the OSCE should determine when the exchange can be technically carried out," Zelensky noted.

Zelensky stressed that the TCG meeting would also look at the issues of mine clearance and security issues.

The potential upcoming swap came as a part of an agreement made last year during the Normandy Four Summit of the Ukrainian, Russian, German and French leaders held in Paris in December and would be the fourth prisoner exchange since Zelensky took office as president.

The prisoner exchange is one of the steps aiming at ending the six-year conflict in East Ukraine, which has already taken more than 13,000 lives and left 30,000 injured. Enditem
Keiths case is a reminder to all of us (that) systemic racism and the oppression of Black and brown bodies in this city and this country has gone on for far too long, said Sean Starr, one of Walkers attorneys, shortly after his release.
Yale University's undergraduate admissions process "illegally discriminates" against White and Asian students, the Department of Justice said Thursday.

A two-year investigation into the Ivy League school found that "race is the determinative factor in hundreds of admissions decisions each year," in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the DOJ said in a press release.

The department said Yale must agree not to use race or national origin as criteria in its next admissions cycle, and that if it plans to consider race in the future, "it must first submit to the Department of Justice a plan demonstrating its proposal is narrowly tailored as required by law, including by identifying a date for the end of race discrimination."

Yale denied the allegation. Karen Peart, a spokeswoman for the university, said in a statement to CNBC that the Justice Department made its conclusions before Yale had provided enough information to show that its practices "absolutely comply with decades of Supreme Court precedent."

"At Yale, we look at the whole person when selecting whom to admit among the many thousands of highly qualified applicants," Peart said.

"We are proud of Yale's admissions practices, and we will not change them on the basis of such a meritless, hasty accusation."

Earlier this year, the DOJ reportedly asked a federal appeals court to overturn a prior ruling that Harvard College does not discriminate against Asian Americans in its admissions process.
BANGOR, Maine  A blood sample taken from a driver following a crash that killed three passengers in Acadia National Park last summer will not be used at his trial on a manslaughter charge, a federal judge ruled.

Praneeth Manubolu, 29, of Edgewater, New Jersey, acknowledged drinking before the crash early on Aug. 31, 2019, on the Park Loop Road. But he argued that a state-mandated blood test shouldnt have been taken without his consent because the crash took place on federal land.

Judge John Woodcock ruled that local police had plenty of time to secure a warrant if theyd chosen to do so. The notion that a blood test generally requires a warrant is nothing new: It has been part of Supreme Court jurisprudence since 1966, the judge wrote Monday.

The blood draw 90 minutes after the crash at Mount Desert Hospital indicated Manubolos blood-alcohol content was 0.095%, higher than the 0.08% limit for driving, according to court documents.

The blood draw here was flat out unconstitutional, defense lawyer Walt McKee said Tuesday in an email.

There was a second blood draw for medical reasons at the hospital. McKee said hell also be challenging that evidence either in a motion or during the course of the trial.

Manubolu pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court to manslaughter and operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

The crash was the deadliest incident ever recorded in Acadia National Park. Killed in the crash were all three passengers: Lenny Fuchs, 36, Laura Leong, 30, and Zeeshan Mohammed, 27, all of New York City.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 22:20:14|Editor: huaxia

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STOCKHOLM, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Sweden's GDP is expected to decline by 4.8 percent in 2020, according to an economic update by the Swedish National Institute of Economic Research (NIER) on Thursday.

Sweden's GDP plummeted by 8.6 percent during the second quarter of this year, but is expected to increase by just under two percent per quarter during the second half of 2020, according to NIER.

The pandemic has hit the Swedish business community hard, but demand and production seem to be turning upwards again, NIER noted.

According to NIER, Swedish exports have benefited from the easing of lockdowns across Europe. The government's support measures for the business community also had a positive effect.

The NIER update, however, underscored that the recession in Sweden remains "extremely deep."

"Companies are therefore continuing to reduce the number of employees, and unemployment will reach up to 10 percent this winter," noted the update. Enditem
Eastenders bosses have revealed the soap will be back on air on September 7.

The long-running drama is currently on a 12 week break after it ran out of episodes while filming was halted amid the coronavirus pandemic earlier this year.

After almost three months off air, BBC bosses joked that they 'can't wait for series two', after the soap previously ran uninterrupted for 35 years.

It's back! Eastenders bosses have revealed the soap will be back on air on September 7

The announcement was made across Eastenders' social media platforms, including Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

The new shorter episodes will only be 20 minutes long and the programme will be shown four times a week on BBC One.

The announcement read: 'The moment we've all been waiting for...#EastEnders will be back on your screens on Monday 7th September.

'It's time to set your alarm and wait for the drama to begin! For more information, head to @bbceastenders on Facebook and Instagram.

Cheers! The long-running drama is currently on a 12 week break after it ran out of episodes while filming was halted amid the coronavirus pandemic earlier this year

Back with a bang! After almost three months off air, BBC bosses joked that they 'can't wait for series two', after the soap previously ran uninterrupted for 35 years

While a post on Instagram said: 'Like the rest of the UK the residents of Walford have been adjusting to a new way of life since the Covid-19 pandemic swept the nation but after nearly 3 months away, the drama from Albert Square will be returning to BBC One.'

Speaking about the return of beloved BBC One soap, Jon Sen, Executive Producer EastEnders said: 'From the moment we turned the lights out in The Queen Vic our ambition was to come back with a bang and this autumn certainly does that.

'As soon as Albert Square reawakens the drama returns at a pace and, although working within social distancing guidelines has certainly given us some new challenges, I am incredibly proud of what everyone has achieved.

Bombshell: Back in June fans were left in tears as the programme aired its final episode after running out of episodes due to the COVID-19 crisis - and ended the show with Sharon Mitchell, played by Letitia Dean, being revealed as the new Queen Vic pub landlady

Plotting: Viewers had been led to believe that Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) would be taking over the reins but Mick (Danny Dyer) managed to trick the Walford hardman

'The show is looking fantastic and we can't wait for 'series two' to begin'

Production on EastEnders came to a halt in March, when the UK went into lockdown and most people were instructed to stay home, and work from home if possible.

And for the first time in the soap's 35-year history, the show ran out of new material on and was forced to go on a hiatus in June in a BBC first.

The dramatic final episode before the break ended with Sharon, played by Letitia Dean, being revealed as the new Queen Vic pub landlady.

Viewers had been led to believe that Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) would be taking over the reins but Mick (Danny Dyer) managed to trick the Walford hardman.

Spin-off: Until the new episodes air, the gap was plugged with classic EastEnders episodes and a spin-off show that will feature presenter Stacey Dooley

Just as Mick was about to sign over the Queen Vic, he dropped the explosive bombshell that there was in fact a new different landlord.

Phil was left sceptical over the announcement as he protested: 'We had a deal. You're bluffing, there's no way you could have got a different buyer that quick.'

To which Mick then led Phil and his equally baffled wife Linda (Kellie Bright) to the bar where Phil's estranged wife Sharon was pulling pints.

In a typically dramatic Albert Square scene, Phil's scorned wife chillingly said: 'Hello Phil, what can I get you?'
Tesla Inc. says hedge fund Cable Car Capital LLC, which is shorting the companys stock, is funding a former employees allegations that the company smeared him by accusing him of sabotage and stealing sensitive information.

The carmaker said in a filing Monday that Martin Tripps 2018 counterclaim against Tesla was being funded by Cable Car, even though Tripp has said under oath that he had no financing or connection to Tesla short sellers.

Tesla on Tuesday persuaded a judge to issue an emergency order forbidding Tripp from further publicizing confidential information. Tripp has disclosed volumes of Teslas confidential documents, deposition transcripts and filings in his posts on Twitter, YouTube and Google Drive, Tesla said in federal court in Reno, Nevada.

Tripp has no excuse, Tesla said. He is fully aware of his confidentiality obligations and is openly flouting them. And he has a ready source to pay any monetary sanctions, as his bogus defamation counterclaim against Tesla is being funded by a hedge fund, Cable Car Capital LLC, which is also a short seller of Tesla stock.

Cable Car portfolio manager Jacob Ma-Weaver, in a statement Wednesday, said it was deeply disappointing that Tripp has chosen, against advice of counsel, to publicize confidential information including his funding arrangements.

Ma-Weaver said Funicular Fund LP, an investment partnership managed by Cable Car, provided non-recourse financial support for Tripps defense and counterclaims, but only after learning of Teslas lawsuit in the media. He said the litigation is unrelated and immaterial to the funds investments in Tesla securities, which include short exposure and a long position in convertible debentures.

William Fischbach, one of Tripps lawyers, didnt immediately respond to an email Wednesday seeking comment on Cable Cars statement.

Tesla has sued Tripp, a onetime technician at a Nevada factory, for allegedly stealing company trade secrets after he was denied a promotion. Tripp, in turn, filed his own suit accusing Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk of smearing him. Much of the fight has been waged through Twitter and strategic media leaks.

According to Tesla, Tripp on Aug. 7 posted a link on Twitter to a public Google Drive folder that housed voluminous material related to the lawsuit, and he shared videos on YouTube discussing the case and Tesla secrets. The disclosures included confidential records produced by Tesla, transcripts and mediation documents.

Tripp initially said he wouldnt remove the information posted. On Aug. 8, he removed the link to the Google Drive folder, but by then the material had been shared and saved by others, Tesla said.

Were obviously horrified and disappointed about what has happened, Fischbach said Tuesday at a hearing by phone on Teslas emergency request.

Tripp is parting ways with his lawyers and intends to represent himself, Fischbach said.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Carla Baldwin ordered Tripp to stop disseminating and discussing confidential information from the lawsuit, including re-tweeting other peoples postings that contain the confidential documents. She also ordered Tripp to not contact Teslas lawyers directly as long as hes still represented by his own attorneys.

In addition, the judge scheduled a hearing on whether Tripp should be held in contempt of court for violating the order to keep information confidential and what sanctions he might face if so. Those sanctions could include dismissing his claim against Tesla and rendering a default judgment against him, Baldwin said.

Shorting a stock is selling borrowed shares, buying them back once theyve fallen and pocketing the difference.

The case is Tesla Inc. v. Tripp, 18-cv-00296, U.S. District Court, District of Nevada (Reno).

Photo: Elon Musk Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics Lawsuits Auto Tesla Nevada
The more Ginsburgs persona was revered, the more she appeared to be literally irreplaceable. Any call for Ginsburg to step down risked being cast as sexist, the brutish dismissal of a powerful older woman who refuses to shut up. I love my job, Ginsburg told The New York Times in 2013, while Obama was in his second term and Democrats safely controlled the Senate. Besides, she said, There will be a president after this one, and Im hopeful that that president will be a fine president.

[Follow our live coverage of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburgs death and the Supreme Court vacancy.]

The Notorious R.B.G., Ginsburgs online alter ego, was codified in a fan Tumblr in 2013 by Shana Knizhnik, a law student at the time, in the wake of Ginsburgs electrifying dissent in Shelby County v. Holder. As Chief Justice John Roberts led the court in dismantling a key protection of the Voting Rights Act, Ginsburg argued that it was like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet. Then she made the rare, pointed move of reading the dissent aloud from the bench. In the Trump years, the Notorious R.B.G. branding has fused with the aesthetics of the patriotic liberal #resistance, where knitted pink pussy hats are Photoshopped onto bald eagles and otherwise staid government officials are cast as characters in conspiratorial fantasies.

But Ginsburg, as Slates Mark Joseph Stern has noted, is not the most liberal Supreme Court justice; that would be the Obama appointee Sonia Sotomayor. In recent years Ginsburg has voted with the majority in favor of the fossil-fuel industry and against criminal defendants and asylum seekers. As a lawyer arguing before the court, Ginsburg built the case for gender equality incrementally, patiently moving conservative male minds in the style of a kindergarten teacher, as she put it in RBG; she counted the archconservative Antonin Scalia as a friend and carries a keychain that reads With best wishes, Strom Thurmond.

Ginsburgs tendency toward consensus building has only served to support her brand. She is the ideal heroine for a liberal faction obsessed with norms and eager for alliances with never-Trump Republicans. In place of taking to the streets, the #resistance lionizes conservative bureaucrats like James Comey and Robert Mueller, plugging them into fan-fiction narratives about stopping Trump. And it lauds Democrats for performing cinematic acts of civil disobedience: a condescending clap at the State of the Union or a pointed dissent jabot worn behind the bench.
Srinagar:

Jammu and Kashmir Government has cleared ex-gratia to next of kin of 17 persons, including Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wanis brother, killed in militancy-related incidents in the Valley, while giving one weeks time for filing of any objection before formal orders are issued.

Burhan Wanis killing by security forces in an encounter in south Kashmirs Kokernag area on July 8 this year triggered unrest in the Valley which has left as many as 86 people dead.

Hizbul Mujahideen commander's video message warns J&K Police, asks cops to stay away from militants families

According to a notification issued yesterday by Deputy Commissioner Pulwama, ex-gratia relief under rules has been cleared by the District Level Screening-cum-Consultative Committee (DLSCC) in favour of next of kin of those persons who died in militancy-related incidents.

Among the 17 names in the list of persons killed in militancy-related incidents is Wanis brother, Khalid Muzaffar Wani, who died in firing by security forces in Buchoo forest area of Tral on April 13 last year.

The DLSCC meeting took place under the chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner, Pulwama, Muneer-ul-Islam, on November 24. The deputy commissioner has sought objections, if any, to the notice within seven days before the formal orders are issued. Under the rules, an ex-gratia of Rs four lakh is sanctioned in such cases.

Army had said that Khalid was an over-ground worker of Hizbul Mujahideen and was killed in an encounter. However, locals claimed that he had no links with militancy.

Khalid (25) was pursuing Masters Degree in Political Science from the Indira Gandhi National Open University.

Also on the list is Shabir Ahmad Mangoo, a contractual lecturer who died when he was allegedly beaten up by the army personnel at Khrew in Pulwama on August 17 this year.

Locals had claimed that army conducted house to house searches for the youths, who were leading violent protests in the area, which was resisted by the residents of Khrew.

In the ensuing clash, 30-year-old Mangoo died. Army had ordered an inquiry into the incident, saying such incidents would not be tolerated.

These raids were not sanctioned in the first place. It is unjustified. Nobody can support it and it will not be tolerated, the then Northern Army Commander Lt Gen DS Hooda had said.

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by Pierre Balanian

A quarter of the victims at Beirut port were Syrian. Many of them decided to stay in the country to work on rebuilding homes. Damascus' contribution to the care of the wounded. After years of occupation and war, there are small signs of friendship. The stories of Nadir and Rafiq.

Beirut (AsiaNews) - Ten days after the fatal wound inflicted on the capital, the pain of the Lebanese is still acute. The two explosions tore open and rendered one of the oldest ports in human history unusable. In a surreal atmosphere, people are attempting to return to some normalcy.

Today we are dealing with the psychological effects of post trauma: insomnia, psychosis, fear of tomorrow, the guilt of survivors, worries about recreating a safe habitat ....

Visual effects prevent us forgetting: new lifeless bodies are pulled out of the rubble every day. At the beginning, among the victims that most shocked public opinion and the press were the death of the wife of the Dutch diplomat and that of an Australian child, the smallest victim of the tragedy. The press spilled rivers of ink for these opulent, respected people, who live far above the misery of the people. The Lebanese feel guilty for their death: they were guests and they should have been guaranteed the protection due to the guests. In some way, certainly for reasons beyond their control, the Lebanese feel they have betrayed customs and duties of hospitality.

However, there is a curtain of silence drawn over other forgotten, yet present, guests: the Syrians.

Among the victims of the explosions, the Syrian embassy in Beirut counted 47 Syrian victims; many of them are missing, not claimed by anyone. Almost a quarter of the victims of the Beirut explosions are Syrians. Immediately after the tragedy, Syria opened its borders - which were closed due to Covid-19, and sent 200 ambulances that transported the thousands of wounded to be treated to Damascus and other Syrian hospitals. In Damascus, in hospitals already full of patients with Covid-19, field hospitals have been set up in courtyards only for the Lebanese wounded. Yet the local press remained silent, both on the victims and on Syrian aid.

Most Syrians in Lebanon prefer to live in Christian areas, where they enjoy greater freedom of thought and action. Yet Lebanese Christians are those who have suffered most from the oppression of the Syrian army during the years of occupation by Damascus (1976-1990). Just hearing Syrian dialects awakens many bad nightmares and bad memories. Yet since the uprising in Syria broke out, Christians are among those who most understand the people's will to change the regime. The economic crisis, the work of the Syrians - underpaid and therefore preferred to the Lebanese - the crimes committed by many of them, out of hunger or by nature, have revived old grudges.

In recent months, many Syrians had opted to return to Syria and flee Lebanon, due to the economic situation: the wages in Lebanese pounds were insufficient to live on; Covid 19 was more rampant in Beirut than in Damascus; the fear that another war with Israel will break out.

However, after the explosions, shards of glass, broken doors and windows, collapsed roofs and balconies, cracks in the walls, everything promises new job opportunities. It will take a lot of manpower to rebuild, fix the electricity and water pipes, repaint walls, etc. For this reason, many Syrians have decided to stay.

Nadir, a Syrian Sunni from Damascus who lives in the Christian quarter of Ashrafieh, was injured after the explosions. Despite this, he took to the street and seeing so many wounded like him, he decided to transport the wounded one at a time to the hospital. With his scooter, bypassing the rubble that blocked the road, he managed to accompany 17 people. Leaving the hospital, having lost a lot of blood, he fainted and they took him to the emergency room. He was medicated: the expenses were paid for by the people he had taken to the hospital.

Speaking to AsiaNews he explains the reasons for his action: I could not leave others like this. I am young, I am 31 years old, I could resist. But they needed help more than me.

Rafiq, from Lebanon, gave a lift to a Syrian he didn't know two years ago. Then talking to him in the car, he found him a cleaning job in a hotel. Two years have passed since then. After the explosions, the same Syrian boy called him to find out if he was okay. Rafic told him: My house is damaged; I took my mother to the mountains; I have to at least fix the windows . In gratitude for the favor rendered two years ago, the Syrian came to change his windows and fix the windows, a job he knows how to do. In life - says Rafiq - we reap what we sow.

In support of the people of Beirut and Lebanon, in support of Caritas Lebanon, AsiaNews has decided to launch the "In aid of devastated Beirut" campaign. Those who want to contribute can send donations to:

- PIME Foundation - IBAN: IT78C0306909606100000169898 - Institution identification code (BIC): BCITITMM -

Clause: "AN04 - IN AID OF A DEVASTATED BEIRUT"

- through the AsiaNews website under "DONATE NOW"
The larynx is larger, more variable in size, and has undergone faster rates of evolution in primates than in carnivores, according to a study published August 11, 2020 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Daniel Bowling of Stanford University, W. Tecumseh Fitch of the University of Vienna, and colleagues.

The larynx is the main organ of vocal production, and a key target for evolutionary selection, particularly in those species that have a highly developed vocal communication systems. To shed light on the evolution of the larynx, Bowling and Fitch combined 3D computer models built from X-ray computed tomography scans with detailed digital measurements. They used these techniques to compare the larynx structure of 55 different mammalian species, representing a wide range of body sizes among primates and carnivores (from pygmy marmoset to gorilla and from dwarf mongoose to tiger). Carnivores were chosen as a comparable order of mammals with a similarly wide size range.

Using comparative methods known as phylogenetics, they showed that the larynx has evolved more rapidly in primates than in carnivores, resulting in a pattern of larger larynx size relative to body size, and greater variability in size. Acoustic vocalization data suggest that these differences are relevant to vocal communication. Moreover, larynx size is less tightly coupled to body size in primates than it is in carnivores, suggesting that the primate larynx has been freer to respond to fluctuations in evolutionary pressure. Taken together, the results imply fundamental differences between primates and carnivores in the balance of evolutionary forces that constrain larynx size, and highlight an evolutionary flexibility in primates that may help explain why we have developed complex and diverse uses of the vocal organ for communication.

###

Research Article

Peer reviewed; Experimental study; Animals

In your coverage please use these URLs to provide access to the freely available articles in PLOS Biology: https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3000764

Citation: Bowling DL, Dunn JC, Smaers JB, Garcia M, Sato A, Hantke G, et al. (2020) Rapid evolution of the primate larynx? PLoS Biol 18(8): e3000764. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000764

Funding: This work was funded in part by Austrian Science Fund (FWF) DK Grant "Cognition & Communication" (#W1262-B29). DLB was supported by a Lise Meitner grant from the FWF (#M1773-B24). JCD was supported by a grant from the Royal Society (RSG\R1\180340) and the Rhinology and Laryngology Research Fund. National Museums Scotland thanks the Negaunee Foundation for their generous support of a preparator who dissected the larynges use in the study. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
The Western Air Command (WAC) looks after both the crucial borders with China and Pakistan.

New Delhi: Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria on Thursday flew fighter aircraft MiG-21 Bison at a frontline air base under Western Air Command to send a message that the air force is all prepared to take any challenge from adversaries.

The Western Air Command (WAC) looks after both the crucial borders with China and Pakistan. The Western Air Command has over 200 bases placed under its command and has been involved in all major operations in India. Due to its geographical location, the Command has always been the hub-centre of all operational activities during any operation, including Kashmir Operations 1947-48, Sino-Indian Conflict 1962, Indo-Pak War 1965, Indo-Pak War 1971, Operation Pawan 1986 (Sri Lanka) and Operation Safed Sagar 1999 (Kargil).

Indian Air Force said on Thursday that the Air Chief Marshal was briefed by the Air Officer Commanding (AOC) of the base on the readiness and operational status of the lodger units located at the base.

Bhaduria reviewed the operational preparedness of the base and interacted with air force personnel serving on the frontlines. He urged the air force personnel to maintain the highest standards of readiness. He also appreciated their efforts in preserving IAFs combat potential during the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic.

The Indian Air Force has kept almost all its air bases under the Western Command at a very high level of readiness in view of the over three-month border row with China in eastern Ladakh.

Last week, IAF Vice Chief Harjit Singh Arora had visited Daulat Beg Oldie Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) in Ladakh, where Chinese have intruded in the Depsang plains in an attempt to dominate this strategically important sector which is near Aksai Chin. During the visit Air Marshal Arora also flew Chinook and Light Combat Helicopter in Ladakh.

Indian Air Force has already deployed Sukhoi-30MKI, Mirage 2000 and Jaguar fighter aircrafts to advanced positions to counter threat from China.

IAF Apache attack helicopters and Chinooks helicopters are also active in Leh and are carrying out day and night operations. Chinook has been used to rapidly transport heavy weaponry and men to the high altitude areas along the LAC under tough weather conditions.
Actress Kim So-eun has come back with another romantic comedy, which started airing on Tuesday.

"Love Is Annoying, But I Hate Being Lonely" is about a story of youngsters who are interested in dating but do not want marital commitment or obligations.

Kim plays an aspiring writer who moves into a shared house.

"Being in a relationship might make you tired or feel burdened sometimes, but despite all the pain and suffering, you might need someone who comforts you," Kim said at a press junket for the new TV series in Seoul the same day.

Kim, who made her debut with a TV drama in 2005, has mostly appeared in romantic comedies, raising expectations about how she will continue to captivate viewers with this role in the series.


WASHINGTON (August 13, 2020)-- An online COVID-19 symptom tracking tool developed by researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center ensures a person's confidentiality while being able to actively monitor their symptoms. The tool is not proprietary and can be used by entities that are not able to develop their own tracking systems.

Identifying and monitoring people infected with COVID-19, or exposed to people with infection, is critical to preventing widespread transmission of the disease. Details of the COVID19 Symptom Tracker and a pilot study were published August 13, 2020, in the Journal of Medical Information Research (JMIR).

"One of the major impediments to tracking people with, or at risk of, COVID-19 has been an assurance of privacy and confidentiality," says infectious disease expert Seble G. Kassaye, MD, MS, lead author and associate professor of medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center. "Our online system provides a method for efficient, active monitoring of large numbers of individuals under quarantine or home isolation, while maintaining privacy."

The Georgetown internet tool assigns a unique identifier as people enter their symptoms and other relevant demographic data. One function in the system allows institutions to generate reports about items on which people can act, such as symptoms that might require medical attention. Additionally, people using the system are provided with information and links to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 recommendations and instructions for how people with symptoms should seek care.

Development of the system was rapid -- it took five days to design. The joint project included Georgetown University's J.C. Smart, PhD, chief scientist of AvesTerra, a knowledge management environment that supports data integration and synthesis to identify actionable events and maintain privacy, and Georgetown's vice president for research and chief technology officer, Spiros Dimolitsas, PhD.

"We knew that time was of the essence and the challenges of traditional contact tracing became very clear to us based on one of our first patients who had over 500 exposures," says Kassaye. "This was what motivated us to work on this, essentially day and night."

The tool launched on March 20, followed by initial testing of the system with the voluntary participation of 48 Georgetown University School of Medicine students or their social contacts. Participants were asked to enter data twice daily for three days between March 31 and April 5, 2020.

"The lack of identifying data being collected in the system should reassure individual users and alleviate personal inhibitions that appear to be the Achille's heel of other digital contact tracing apps that require identifying information," says Kassaye. She also noted that this system could be used by health-related organizations during the re-opening of business to provide reassurance to their users that the enterprise is actively, rather than passively, monitoring its staff.

Feedback from healthcare groups using the platform led to the release of a Spanish language version. As the data currently needs to be entered through the website, development of an app for cellphone use could greatly enhance the usability of the tool, said the investigators. For places where internet access is problematic, the researchers are also pursuing development of a voice activated version.

The tracker can be view at http://www.covidgu.org.

###

In addition to Kassaye, Amanda B. Spence of Georgetown University Medical Center contributed to this work. Other authors include Edwin Lau and John Cederholm, LEDR Technologies Inc.; and David M. Bridgeland, Hanging Steel Productions LLC.

This work was partially supported by a National Institutes of Health grant UL1TR001409. The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Reference: Kassaye SG et al. Privacy-assured, Freely Available COVID-19 Symptom Tracker for Public Safety During Reopening: Feasibility and Functionality with Rapid Deployment. Journal of Medical Information Research, Volume 6, No. 20, (2020): Jul-Sep

About Georgetown University Medical Center

Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) is an internationally recognized academic health and science center with a four-part mission of research, teaching, service and patient care (through MedStar Health). GUMC's mission is carried out with a strong emphasis on public service and a dedication to the Catholic, Jesuit principle of cura personalis -- or "care of the whole person." The Medical Center includes the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing & Health Studies, both nationally ranked; Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute; and the Biomedical Graduate Research Organization, which accounts for the majority of externally funded research at GUMC including a Clinical and Translational Science Award from the National Institutes of Health. Connect with GUMC on Facebook (Facebook.com/GUMCUpdate), Twitter (@gumedcenter).
At the start of the year, I was commissioned by this masthead to write a piece looking ahead to the key issues likely to be on the "gender agenda" in 2020. I dutifully asked some of the smartest, most dogged gender equality advocates I know, including Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins and the national feminist icon Anne Summers, for their predictions.

Both told me roughly the same thing. After the previous year had ended with the news that Australia had continued its almost uninterrupted backwards slide in the World Economic Forums Global Gender Gap rankings, slipping from 15th out of 153 countries in 2006 to 44th in 2019, they were worried. We needed to focus on preserving the gains women had made.

The chasm between women and men persists. Illustration: Matt Davidson Credit:

Jenkins said that "more than in the past, [we] need to keep holding ground as a top priority  we cant take anything for granted". Summers agreed: "I just hope that everyone realises that they will have to fight harder than ever in order to gain anything new, as well as to protect what little we have already won."

Now, just past the 2020 mid-year mark, I am struck by how prescient those remarks turned out to be. Who could have anticipated that a pandemic would highlight just how fragile womens progress is  and how easily it can be set back a generation.
Nothing says welcome back to the art world like a gallery group show. Consider it a choral, rather than solo, performance that speaks of the diversity and durability of art, an affirmation that is especially needed after months of inactivity, isolation and uncertainty. Not that any of that is over.

Nonetheless, these types of exhibitions allow us to catch up, to cover extra ground and to appreciate the persistence, against all odds, of art galleries that are less than global in their reach. They can be focused or broad; can touch on particular themes or histories. And group shows are also self-portraits, snapshots of the gallerys sensibility and purpose. Right now four exhibitions on or near the Lower East Side, while also available online, especially reward in-person visits.

(Nothing but) Flowers

Through Sept. 13 at Karma, 172 & 188 East Second Street; karmakarma.org.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Nearly 40 years of satellite data from Greenland shows that glaciers on the island have shrunk so much that even if global warming were to stop today, the ice sheet would continue shrinking.

The finding, published today, Aug. 13, in the journal Nature Communications Earth and Environment, means that Greenland's glaciers have passed a tipping point of sorts, where the snowfall that replenishes the ice sheet each year cannot keep up with the ice that is flowing into the ocean from glaciers.

"We've been looking at these remote sensing observations to study how ice discharge and accumulation have varied," said Michalea King, lead author of the study and a researcher at The Ohio State University's Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center. "And what we've found is that the ice that's discharging into the ocean is far surpassing the snow that's accumulating on the surface of the ice sheet."

King and other researchers analyzed monthly satellite data from more than 200 large glaciers draining into the ocean around Greenland. Their observations show how much ice breaks off into icebergs or melts from the glaciers into the ocean. They also show the amount of snowfall each year--the way these glaciers get replenished.

The researchers found that, throughout the 1980s and 90s, snow gained through accumulation and ice melted or calved from glaciers were mostly in balance, keeping the ice sheet intact. Through those decades, the researchers found, the ice sheets generally lost about 450 gigatons (about 450 billion tons) of ice each year from flowing outlet glaciers, which was replaced with snowfall.

"We are measuring the pulse of the ice sheet--how much ice glaciers drain at the edges of the ice sheet--which increases in the summer. And what we see is that it was relatively steady until a big increase in ice discharging to the ocean during a short five- to six-year period," King said.

The researchers' analysis found that the baseline of that pulse--the amount of ice being lost each year--started increasing steadily around 2000, so that the glaciers were losing about 500 gigatons each year. Snowfall did not increase at the same time, and over the last decade, the rate of ice loss from glaciers has stayed about the same--meaning the ice sheet has been losing ice more rapidly than it's being replenished.

"Glaciers have been sensitive to seasonal melt for as long as we've been able to observe it, with spikes in ice discharge in the summer," she said. "But starting in 2000, you start superimposing that seasonal melt on a higher baseline--so you're going to get even more losses."

Before 2000, the ice sheet would have about the same chance to gain or lose mass each year. In the current climate, the ice sheet will gain mass in only one out of every 100 years.

King said that large glaciers across Greenland have retreated about 3 kilometers on average since 1985--"that's a lot of distance," she said. The glaciers have shrunk back enough that many of them are sitting in deeper water, meaning more ice is in contact with water. Warm ocean water melts glacier ice, and also makes it difficult for the glaciers to grow back to their previous positions.

That means that even if humans were somehow miraculously able to stop climate change in its tracks, ice lost from glaciers draining ice to the ocean would likely still exceed ice gained from snow accumulation, and the ice sheet would continue to shrink for some time.

"Glacier retreat has knocked the dynamics of the whole ice sheet into a constant state of loss," said Ian Howat, a co-author on the paper, professor of earth sciences and distinguished university scholar at Ohio State. "Even if the climate were to stay the same or even get a little colder, the ice sheet would still be losing mass."

Shrinking glaciers in Greenland are a problem for the entire planet. The ice that melts or breaks off from Greenland's ice sheets ends up in the Atlantic Ocean--and, eventually, all of the world's oceans. Ice from Greenland is a leading contributor to sea level rise--last year, enough ice melted or broke off from the Greenland ice sheet to cause the oceans to rise by 2.2 millimeters in just two months.

The new findings are bleak, but King said there are silver linings.

"It's always a positive thing to learn more about glacier environments, because we can only improve our predictions for how rapidly things will change in the future," she said. "And that can only help us with adaptation and mitigation strategies. The more we know, the better we can prepare."

###

This work was supported by grants from NASA. Other Ohio State researchers who worked on this study are Salvatore Candela, Myoung Noh and Adelaide Negrete.

CONTACT:

Michalea King, michaleaking@gmail.com

Ian Howat, howat.4@osu.edu

Written by: Laura Arenschield, arenschield.2@osu.edu
In the light of the upcoming Ganesh Chaturthi festival, the ongoing pandemic and related movement restrictions, the Marathi news channel ABP Majha launched a special donation drive initiative today Be a Vighnaharta (Be a Remover of Obstacles).

The initiative, in collaboration with UNICEF, will raise funds through a 16-day TV campaign to support the people affected by the pandemic. The funds raised will be used to support vulnerable families, through UNICEFs Jeevan Rath initiative (A Relief and Response on Wheels) in the state of Maharashtra. The initiative will bring over 60 public and private NGOs together, to provide supplies of dry ration kits, hygiene kits, conditional cash transfers, and livelihood protection to people who are unable to afford or access these supplies in sufficient quantities.

To contain the pandemic in Maharashtra, all pandals/temples have been advised to maintain social distancing norms, hold limited congregations, and reduce the size of the idols, during the 11-day Ganesh Chaturthi festival. While these measures are critical from a public health perspective, this has ripple effects on the earnings of the craftsmen and other associated small businesses who depend on the annual festival for their livelihood.

ABP Majha will run the campaign from 6th August 2020 to 21st August 2020. The news channel will broadcast 1,350+ minutes of content including stories of people affected by the pandemic, urging viewers to donate and help reach supplies to families affected by the pandemic.

ABP Majha has been bringing the essence of Ganesh Utsav on TV, since 2010, with on-air and on-ground coverage on its show Bappa Majha. The channel garnered top spot in both market share & viewership during the Ganesh Chaturthi period last year in the Marathi news genre. (SOURCE: Period: 2nd Sept 2019-12thSept 2019, TB: 02:00-26:00, Market: Mah/Goa, TG: 15+ ABC).

In 2020, the channel has lined-up special programming for the festive month which includes shows like  Bappa Tumchya Ghari, Majha Vighnaharta, Bappa Majha (Ganapti news bulletin, Pooja, Majha Bappa, Ashtavinayak Yatra), along with telecasting Donation Drive snippets throughout the day. Live broadcasts of morning & evening Aartis (prayers) will also be aired on the news channel, so that viewers can celebrate the festival from home.

On the special donation drive, Mr. Avinash Pandey, CEO, ABP Network, said, As a responsible network, we are taking up this initiative as a part of our continuous work in community upliftment. We are committed to making available immediate aid to children and families affected by the pandemic ahead of the biggest festival of India's financial capital. Festivals are all about vibrancy and high spirits, and during this time, we want to uplift the lives & spirits of low income groups whose earnings depend on Ganapati celebrations. We hope this effort will help them lead better lives.

On partnering with ABP Majha, Ms Rajeshwari Chandrasekar, UNICEF Chief of Maharashtra office, said We are glad to associate with ABP Majha news channel for our initiative Jeevan Rath in Maharashtra, running for the last 110 days. The socio-economic cost of the pandemic on the lives of children and their families is extremely high. Through this campaign, we intend to provide relief to the most vulnerable, excluded, and displaced populations in the fight against Covid-19.
'While farmers are reeling under a huge debt burden, crop loss due to locust attacks and erratic rainfall, the state is also facing A COVID-19 challenge.'

'In this situation, you have Congress and BJP MLAs trying to outwit each other in a game of thrones.'

IMAGE: A farmer in Rajasthan's Shri Dungargarh town in Bikaner district banging thalis to drive away locusts.

Standing crops in Bikaner, Barmer, Jaisalmer and Jodhpur districts were damaged in locust attacks Photographs and Video: Kind courtesy Girdharilal Mahiya

Girdharilal Mahiya is a Communist Party of India-Marxist member of the Rajasthan assembly.

The MLA from Bikaner's locust-hit Shri Dungargarh constituency has consistently raised the issue of locust attacks on standing crops in Rajasthan's Barmer, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and other border districts.

But neither the state government led by Congress Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot nor Narendra Damodardas Modi's central government have taken cognisance of the menace caused by these attacks, says Mahiya.

"The locust attacks are very much like the coronavirus pandemic, but the two governments are busy buying and selling MLAs to establish their power supremacy in Rajasthan," Mahiya tells Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore.

IMAGE: A locust attack.

What is the crop damage because of locust attacks in Bikaner, Barmer, Jaisalmer?

Cotton, bajra, groundnut and guar crops have been completely damaged because of locust attacks.

But neither the central nor state government took any preventive measures to stop the menace.

Now after the damage has been done they are not showing any urgency in assessing the loss suffered by the farmers in the border regions where locust attacks have been concentrated.

No government has ever focused on dealing with the locust problems at its roots.

The state had a department to deal with the problem of locusts, but that has been merged with other departments for want of funds.

The state government's agriculture ministry currently looks after the management of locust attacks.

There had been long periods when there were no locust attacks in the region. To save costs, the money that funded prevention of locust attacks and compensation of loss after the attacks were diverted to solve other agricultural problems. The locust department was merged with other related departments.

When locust attacks happened in the 1970s and 1980s camps would be set up every few kilometres to monitor their movement along the border areas and deal with their menace. All that is seen nowhere now.

We have sent several petitions to both the central and governments to set up unified command centres to monitor locusts movements and do whatever to stop crop damage.

The danger is still lurking. While these locust attacks were quite few in the last few years, due to climate change and various other factors, the frequency of such attacks have increased recently.

But there is no coordination between the governments or among various departments of the Rajasthan government in how to avoid farm damage every year because of these attacks.

What is the extent of crop damage that the farmers in Shri Dungargarh suffered because of the locust attacks this year?

You can safely assume that my constituency has about 20,000 tube wells. One tubewell caters to 25 hectares of agricultural land.

Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bikaner, Churu, Nagore, Ganganagar, have all faced crop damage because of these attacks.

80 per cent of standing agricultural crops, including those fed by tubewells and the monsoon, could have been destroyed during the attacks this year.

Cattle feed in these areas have also been devoured by these locusts.

The locust attacks are very much like the coronavirus pandemic, but the two governments are busy buying and selling MLAs to establish their power supremacy in Rajasthan.

Tubewell connections of farmers are being disconnected because they are unable to pay their electricity bills.

If you were to evaluate the cost of agricultural production in various parts of India, I can bet on it that Bikaner would rank as the costliest place for producing farm crops.

I have been repeatedly raising this issue on the floor of the house, but those interested in power politics have blindfolds on their eyes and plugs in their ears.

Nobody takes the farmers seriously. Nobody hears their voices.

Most farmers in our region have their farmlands mortgaged with lending institutions and banks.

Farmers here owe huge moneys to the banks. If not today, then tomorrow; if not tomorrow then the day after; I can assure you that farmers in this region will soon become landless.

If they won't service their loans or make payments towards it, why would banks not take away their lands to recover their dues?

This is the fate of farmers in the north and west of Rajasthan.

SEE: How farmers in Bikaner use traditional methods to drive away the locusts and save their crops:

How are the farmers in your region coping?

They have been turned into beggars. They are left with have no choice, but to beg and borrow to repay their monthly installments.

Half of their fields have been ploughed and half are still barren.

Whatever standing crop they had has been damaged by locust attacks.

To further worsen the situation the rainfall this year is also very erratic causing further damage to their crops.

These farmers have now become labourers enlisting their names for MNREGA jobs.

Farmers are jobless today.

As for MNREGA, the government has now increased compulsory work days from 100 to 150 to 200 now, but our request is that MNREGA jobs should be available throughout the year, at least till the time the pandemic gets over.

It is because of the money earned from MNREGA jobs that you can see some buying and selling happening in the rural mandis of Rajasthan or else the economic windmill would have completely come to a standstill.

Without MNREGA, the rural economy in India would have collapsed.

The MNREGA funds that people are making every day has come in handy to oil the rural mandis.

This money not only helps run marginal and small households, but also provide the necessary liquidity to small shopkeepers and mandis in rural India.

While the farmers are reeling under a huge debt burden, crop loss due to locust attacks and erratic rainfall, the state is also facing a COVID-19 challenge.

In this situation, you have Congress and BJP MLAs trying to outwit each other in a game of thrones.

Nobody seems to be concerned about the farmers.

Even when the national media focused on the problem of locust attacks, neither the state nor central governments took it seriously.

They are not worried about the damage done to farmers's crops. They are not interested if farmers live or die, but they will go to any extent to save their governments.

While the Congress is desperate to save its government in the state and spending crores to safekeep its MLAs in expensive resorts, the BJP is offering crores to destabilise the Gehlot government and bring in its own government.

When they are so occupied with saving their own chairs, how can we expect them to save farmers' lives?

You expect the farmers to maintain social distancing when they come out to protest against electricity connection cuts, non-availability of means of livelihoods and fertilisers, but they conveniently forget about corona when they have to protest against the governor inside Raj Bhavan.

Which party will the two CPI-M MLAs support if the Gehlot government is forced to prove its majority in the assembly?

I have already clarified that I will go by what my party decides. We are with the people of Rajasthan.

As it is, the government is non-functional right now.

It has not taken any decisions that will solve the issues of farmers. The government is being run from hotels and resorts.

Let's hope now that Sachin Pilot is on his way back. It will provide stability to the Congress government and they will help the farmers who are distressed due to several reasons in the state.

Whatever expectations people had from the Gehlot or Modi governments have not been met. Instead, both the parties are adopting anti-farmer policies.

They get huge funds from corporates to run their election campaigns so they cater to their whims.

They are least concerned about the fate of farmers in Rajasthan.

My election campaign was funded by the people of Shri Dungargarh. People voted for me because they trust the CPI-M and Girdharilal Mahiya to raise issues of their welfare and fight for them.

More farmers should enter the political arena to get their problems solved.

We cannot leave such issues to corporate-funded politicians.
Tallying and comparing covid-19 cases and deaths is tricky. The number of cases depends on how many tests are carried out, especially among the asymptomatic. The number of deaths depends on how they are measured  by counting excess mortality over time, for example, or looking at death certificates to see if covid-19 is mentioned, or recording positive tests and then seeing if the tested patient dies.
If there was ever a time when credit unions and their brands have felt besieged, 2020 is it. It seems as if we are surrounded on all sides by challenges, setbacks, confusion and disarray. In many ways, that is an accurate depiction of the situation. However, there is another way to look at it.

A quote attributed to legendary United States Marine Chesty Puller comes to mind. In a message sent during the Korean War Battle of Chosin Reservoir in December 1950, Puller reportedly said:

They are in front of us, they are behind us and we are flanked on both sides by an enemy that outnumbers us. They cant get away from us now!

Thats certainly a bold and brave statement from someone facing such seemingly insurmountable odds. Enemy troops in front, enemy troops behind, enemy troops on all sides. Outnumbered and the odds stacked against you. Bad news served with a heaping helping of more bad news.

Sound familiar?

While credit unions arent surrounded by literal enemy military forces, they are certainly besieged by powerful challenges. A global pandemic. Financial and economic turmoil and uncertainty. A tumultuous election year and all the regulatory challenges that might loom. Profits down, delinquencies up, all while trying to maintain their hard-fought and rightfully-earned reputation as the financial champion of the common citizen.

While you may not be able to control these forces surrounding your credit union, you can, like Chesty Puller, decide how you react to them. Instead of curling up into a ball and wishing this would all just go away, take the more realistic and proactive approach of they cant get away from us now!

What are the potential positives in this roiling sea of negatives? Consider the following:

Credit unions are being forced to look at the world in new ways. With this perspective, the collective kick in the pants our industry is taking provides an opportunity for growth and development that might never have presented itself before. You probably cant do things the way theyve always been done (a classic knee-jerk response to change) because many of the old ways are on pause at best and obliterated at worst. The current crisis is a reminder that nothing is permanent and nothing can be taken for granted. British author L.P. Hatley observed The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there. Great unthought ideas are not merely the stuff of idle talk, they now propel innovation and evolution. Use these times as an opportunity to view the world and your credit unions place in it in ways of which you never dreamt before. A marketing assessment is a powerful tool that can help your credit union take stock of what works, what doesnt, and what can help you grow in the future.

Credit union members faced with new crises have new needs. Guess what? You have the unique and powerful opportunity (and obligation) to step up, address those new needs and solidify your brand as the hero in your members financial narrative. New needs means new member journeys. Journey mapping your members experience is a great way to clearly define what being a member of your credit union looks, sounds, and feels like, from an ever-evolving consumer perspective.

Credit unions can now leverage technology in amazing new ways. The pandemic rapidly shifted many members away from in-person interaction to using more digital and remote tools. The rapid rise in use of mobile banking, text and video chat and ITMs are prime examples. From a cost and efficiency perspective, credit unions tried for years to attract members to these tools. Now, members flock to them. As long as your credit union understands that behind every great technology there must be great people and a great brand experience, technology during these times can guide you towards an even more dynamic and interactive relationship with members.

Theres no doubt times are tough and no guarantee they will magically get better in the immediate future. History shows that, time and again, amazing new businesses and business models are born from the most difficult eras. If your credit union has a positive attitude, open to change and innovation, even while surrounded on all sides by challenges, you can still win the battle. Go get em!
A driver was found dead Wednesday evening in a car that caught fire on Interstate 295 north in Mercer County, New Jersey State Police spokesman Sgt. Lawrence Peele said.

Troopers were called to the exit 60 ramp on the highway at 7:55 p.m. in Hamilton and found the car on fire and a driver inside who was pronounced dead at the scene from injuries he sustained in the blaze, Peele said.

No other vehicles were involved, he said.

The cause of the fire and the mans identity were not released Wednesday night.

The exit ramp was closed as of 10 p.m. as the fire remained under investigation, Peele 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.
WILMINGTON, Del. - Joe Biden raised $26 million in the 24 hours after he named Kamala Harris as his running mate, doubling his previous one-day record and signalling enthusiasm among Democrats following the selection of the first Black woman on a major partys presidential ticket.

Its really palpable, the excitement, Biden said Wednesday.

The campaign hopes the haul is the beginning of a prolific fundraising push in the final stretch before Election Day. Democrats are close to matching, if not surpassing, the massive $300 million cash stockpile President Donald Trump and Republicans reported in July.

Harris is expected to play a key role in that effort. She joined Biden in Delaware on Wednesday for their first fundraiser together as running mates and talked to grassroots donors about how her parents activism inspired her interest in politics.

This is a campaign that really fuels my hope because it is about knowing that this is fighting for something and not against something and its fighting for the best we are as a nation, Harris said. Its fighting for the best of who we can be.

With large in-person events out of the question because of the pandemic, the campaign has an aggressive schedule of online fundraisers planned for Harris. That could play to one of her political strengths and offset an area where Biden has sometimes struggled.

Harris already has a robust network of donors in her native California, a state that has long been referred to as the ATM of the Democratic Party. She can rake in cash from Wall Street. And Harris, who is also of Asian descent, has the potential to bring new money into the Democratic fold because of the historic nature of her candidacy.

To have someone on the ticket whose mother is from the south of India is a dream come true, said Swadesh Chatterjee, a businessman from North Carolina who also raises money for political candidates. You will see more fundraising from the Indian American community.

Lisa Hernandez Gioia, who was a deputy finance director for Hillary Clintons 2016 campaign, called Harris a fundraisers dream.

Donors already have an eagerness, she said. She adds the star power that will be like an afternoon shot of espresso to the campaigns fundraising.

Before it was clear he would win the Democratic nomination, Biden was never a particularly successful fundraiser. As a longtime senator from Delaware, a small, solidly blue state, he never had to cultivate a national network of donors. And party fundraisers have long grumbled that he lacked the same touch with donors that he has shown when working a rope line.

Bidens campaign was virtually broke the time he won the South Carolina primary, which revived his prospects and powered his way to the Democratic nomination. And while his clinching of the nomination has led to a flood of campaign contributions, some believe Harris can juice totals even higher.

Yet Harris, who dropped out of the Democratic primary last year, has had her own struggles with fundraising.

She launched her presidential bid in early 2019 and raised $15.5 million by mid-March, an impressive showing at an early stage in the race. But her campaign hemorrhaged money. And while she wowed well-heeled donors, she struggled to develop a competitive base of grassroots contributors who chip in small amounts online, a phenomenon that fueled the fundraising success of rivals Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

But there are also big differences between a primary and the general election, where agreements struck between the nominee and the party enable massive checks to be raised from individual donors.

Already there are signs that suggest Harris is seeing some success.

Act Blue, the lefts online fundraising arm, reported taking in almost $11 million in the hours after the Harris announcement. And Biden aides later said the flood of money generated by the Harris announcement broke the online fundraising platforms all-time one-day record for a campaign.

The primary campaign folding early was not indicative of a lack of fundraising ability, said Bakari Sellers, a CNN commentator and prominent Harris supporter from South Carolina. Kamala is going to raise money and its going to be money that wouldnt otherwise be raised.

The connections Harris makes fundraising now will serve her well in the future. At 55, she has years left in her political career. That could give her a leg up on the competition in 2024 or later.

Steve Westly, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist who has known Harris for over 20 years, said her dynamic presence serves her well in the staid world of political fundraising.

Shes animated, shes smart and shes lively. And this is in a world of bland, cautious, older Caucasian men, said Westly. She is going to do very well.

___

Slodysko reported from Washington.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 17:33:06|Editor: huaxia

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WINDHOEK, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's Minister of Health and Social Services Kalumbi Shangula said on Wednesday that his country is encouraged by China's efforts in finding a vaccine against COVID-19.

"There are several efforts being made especially in China to find vaccine so has Russia also pushed forward," Shangula said when responding to questions at the State House.

"We are very much encouraged by China's progress in this regard and we hope the vaccine will be found sooner (rather) than later for everyone's protection," he noted.

The minister said Namibia is looking to secure long lasting solutions, including vaccines in dealing with COVID-19, and that the country is working toward narrowing down the long-term effects of the pandemic.

Namibia has been experiencing a spike in COVID-19 cases primarily in the capital Windhoek, with medical experts saying the city will soon be the country's viral epicenter. Enditem
The sister of the millionaire tech entrepreneur who was found butchered and dismembered in his New York City apartment last month, has penned an emotional tribute to her brother, while revealing how his body was able to be 'put back together' for his funeral.

Fahim Saleh, 33, was found dead in his $2.2million Manhattan home on July 13 after he had been decapitated and mutilated with an electric saw.

His personal assistant, Tyrese Devon Haspil, 21, was charged with his murder last month after it was revealed he had allegedly embezzled $100,000 from him.

On the one-month anniversary of his gruesome death, Ruby Angela Saleh, 41, published a poignant Medium essay honoring her younger brother, who she remembered as a 'curious' and generous person with a 'love of technology.'

'[E]xactly one month ago, my brother returned from a three-mile run and was murdered in his apartment. Sometimes it still doesn't feel real that Fahim is gone,' she wrote.

Ruby Angela Saleh, 41, (left) penned an emotional essay in which she described mourning her younger brother Fahim (right), on the one-month anniversary of his death

The tech entrepreneur (pictured left as a child) was allegedly butchered and dismembered by his personal assistant in his New York City apartment last month

'And sometimes it feels too precisely like the cruel, heinous, and unbearable reality that it is, letting me see nothing but darkness and feel nothing but piercing pain in every quadrant of my heart.'

The emotional essay, illustrated with heartwarming childhood and family photos of Fahim, also described the chilling moment Ruby learned his mutilated body parts had been discovered around his apartment.

After receiving a call from her aunt telling her Fahim was dead, Ruby said she hung up the phone in disbelief and immediately called her sister, who was already with detectives.

Her sister explained that their cousin had gone to Fahim's apartment to check in on him after they hadn't heard from him for a while.

'"She found his torso in his living room," my sister said. "I have to go. I'm with the detective",' Ruby wrote.

'I dropped the phone and crawled onto the wooden floor, touching its cold, hard surface with the palms of my hands. I shook my head. 'No, no,' I said, my hair falling over my face. 'What are they saying?'

Saleh's dismembered body was discovered inside his $2.2 million Lower East Side apartment by his cousin on Tuesday afternoon. Police believe he was killed a day earlier but the killer returned a day later to dismember the body and clean up

Tyrese Devon Haspil, the 21-year-old personal assistant of Fahim Saleh, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder last month

'I looked up at my husband. He was already crying, as if he had accepted these words about my brother as truth. His crying didn't make sense to me because this news couldn't possibly be real,' she added.

Ruby revealed she had been tasked with formally identifying her brother's body, which she had to view through photos due to Covid-19 restrictions.

'I immediately felt nauseated,' she wrote. 'My sister, cousin, and I held hands and said a prayer before opening the attachment. And there it was: a photo of my beautiful brother, lifeless.'

Fahim's funeral was scheduled to take place on July 19, but days before the service Ruby revealed she had received a phone call informing her 'that it would not be possible' to sew her brother's limbs and head back onto his torso before the burial.

Heartbroken by the news, she said she then pleaded with the man at the funeral home to make sure all of 'my sweet brother's body parts were in their proper places in the casket.'

The day before the ceremony, the man called her again and said: 'It wasn't easy, but we were able to put him back together.'

In her essay, Ruby remembered her younger brother, eight years her junior, as a generous, hardworking person with a 'love for technology'

The Saleh family had emigrated from Bangladesh in the 1990s

Fahim was born to a middle-class Bengali family in Saudi Arabia in 1986 before he, his two sisters Rif Saleh and Ruby Bashir, and parents eventually settled in Rochester, New York.

As a child, he was 'precocious, curious, active, and happy', and his love of technology began early, Ruby said.

By the time he had reached high school, he had saved enough money to put himself through college at Bentley University in Massachusetts, accomplishing his goal 'of easing our father's burden', she wrote.

She recalled watching over her little sibling when he was just three years old, saying at times she felt more like a mother to him than his older sister.

'Thirty years later, I was learning that Fahim's head and limbs had been discarded in a trash bag,' she said.

'Someone had cut my brothers body into pieces and tossed the pieces into a garbage bag, as if his life, his body, his existence had had no meaning or value.'

One month on, Ruby remembers Fahim as the 'most special gift given to us, and then taken away.'

'Now, our father spends his days sitting next to Fahim's dog, Laila, speaking to her in the same affectionate tone he reserved for my brother, watching videos of or reading about the accomplishments of his deceased son.

'My mother spends her days crying. At night, she cannot sleep,' she added.

By the time he was in high school, Fahim had saved enough to put himself through college at Bentley University, his sister said

As a child, Fahim was 'precocious, curious, active, and happy', and his love of technology began early, Ruby said

Last month, autopsy results revealed Fahim had been tasered and then stabbed multiple times before being dismembered.

Surveillance footage from inside the 265 East Houston apartment building where he lived showed he was followed into the elevator by a man - believed to be Haspil - who was wearing a black suit and mask.

Investigators said Fahim, who was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, appeared suspicious when the masked-man fumbled with the elevator, which requires the use of a key fob to operate.

The footage shows the victim collapsing to the ground as the elevator doors opened directly into his full-floor apartment. The elevator doors then closed and obscured the camera's view of what happened next.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison said Haspil, who handled Saleh's finances and personal affairs as his personal assistant, owed the victim a 'significant amount' of money before his murder.

Police sources told the NY Daily News that Saleh discovered his assistant had allegedly stolen $100,000 from him and that he set up a payment plan for Haspil to repay the money instead of reporting him to authorities.

Detectives started investigating Haspil after finding text messages in which Saleh accused Haspil of stealing the money, according to police sources.

Police have not confirmed when the alleged theft occurred and how much money Haspil owed the victim.
Israel and the United Arab Emirates on Thursday agreed to normalize ties in a major diplomatic breakthrough brokered by President Donald Trump.

As part of the agreement, Israel will suspend declaring sovereignty over areas outlined in the Trump administration's Mideast peace plan, the countries said in a joint statement. It added that Israel would focus on expanding ties with other countries in the Arab and Muslim world.

"HUGE breakthrough today! Historic Peace Agreement between our two GREAT friends, Israel and the United Arab Emirates," Trump wrote on Twitter.

The deal was finalized during a call between Trump, Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed. Trump said discussions between the two leaders had sometimes been tense.

Israel currently has peace deals with only two Arab countries  Egypt and Jordan  where it has fortified embassies.

Image: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan (Mandel Ngan / Pool via AFP - Getty Images)

If Israel and the UAE go ahead and sign bilateral agreements, it would be the first time Israel has normalized relations with a Gulf state.

Relations between Israel and Gulf States have quietly warmed in recent years as they have been pushed together by their common enemy, Iran, and by an ally in the Trump administration. The agreement could lead other states, such as Saudi Arabia, to potentially follow suit.

Its a historic day, a new dawn in Middle East relations, Netanyahu said at a press conference in Jerusalem on Thursday.

He also insisted that he would fulfill his pledge to annex parts of the West Bank.

Im not changing this and Im obliged to this annexation, he said, adding that it could not happen U.S. support and that Trump had asked Israel to wait.

The deal solidifies Netanyahus claim to have significantly advanced acceptance of Israel within the Arab world, giving him a new political talking point as he portrays himself as Israels ultimate statesman on the world stage.

But it could trigger significant blowback domestically from supporters of Israeli settlements who have already been impatient with Netanyahus failure to make good on his promise to extend Israeli sovereignty over West Bank lands.

Story continues

U.S. officials described the agreement, to be known as the Abraham Accord, as the first of its kind since Israel and Jordan signed their treaty in 1994. It also gives Trump a foreign policy success as he seeks re-election on Nov. 3.

Delegations from Israel and the United Arab Emirates will meet in the coming weeks to sign bilateral agreements regarding investment, direct flights, security and the establishment of reciprocal embassies, among other things, the joint statement added.

Despite Israel suspending a declaration of sovereignty over parts of the West Bank, the announcement was a blow to Palestinians, who will see it as a sign of waning support for their cause among fellow Arabs.

Hanan Ashrawi, a veteran Palestinian politician, slammed the agreement.

"Israel got rewarded for not declaring openly what it's been doing to Palestine illegally and persistently since the beginning of the occupation," she said. "The UAE has come out in the open on its secret dealings/normalization with Israel."

Open secret

For decades, the Arab world has been united, in public at least, in its antipathy toward Israel over the plight of the Palestinians.

But while officially Israel and the UAE have no diplomatic relations, it has become an open secret that the diplomatic wall between the two countries was crumbling, as the Sunni Arab political world began to see Israel as a potential strategic partner against Iran and an economic model for the region.

Israel considers Shiite-led Iran an existential threat, and the UAE and its allies  including Saudi Arabia  now share the view that Iran is the predominant threat in the region.

The signs of warming ties have grown over the years.

Israeli businessmen have quietly operated in the UAE for years. Last year, the UAE Embassy in Washington included a U.S. rabbi in its interfaith Iftar dinner held during the Ramadan holiday. And in 2018, Netanyahu and the Emirati ambassador to Washington shook hands and warmly greeted each other when they ran into each other by chance at Washingtons upscale Cafe Milano.

The gradual warming of ties has extended to other Sunni Arab countries broadly aligned with Emirati foreign policy. The Saudis in recent years started allowing Indian flights to Israel to use Saudi airspace for the first time, reducing the trip length by hours. Qatar has allowed an envoy to stay in Israel while overseeing Qatari-funded development projects in the Gaza Strip. Bahrain has even sent an interfaith delegation to Israel and has defended Israels right to self-defense after Iranian rocket attacks.

For the Trump administration, the issues of Israel-Arab tensions and Iran nuclear concerns have long been intertwined.

Trump and his aides have hoped that by focusing on the mutual goal of weakening Iran, the U.S. could nudge Israel and the Sunni Arab states past their mutual distrust, particularly as the Palestinian cause has diminished as a top Arab political concern in recent years.

Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, adviser and architect of the Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, told reporters in a conference call on Thursday that he believed the deal would encourage other countries to normalize relations with Israel.

What this does is shows people in the region we dont have to be captive to old conflicts and old thinking, he said.

We hope it inspires a lot of people in the region to see the potential for what can be if youre willing to be creative and take a little risk, he added.
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Swedish Embracer Group AB Holding ("Embracer"), through its wholly-owned subsidiary Saber Interactive, has entered into an agreement to acquire 100 percent of Kyiv/Malta-based 4A Games Limited ("4A Games") famous for Metro 2033, Metro: Last Light  Metro Exodus games.

The deal amounts to $45 million, of which $25 million is paid in cash and $20 million in shares (50% of which will be unblocked in a year, and another 50% in two years), the Embracer reported on its website.

In addition, 4A Games will receive up to $35 million ($15 million in cash and $20 million in shares) if the publisher's goals are met within five years. The total amount of the deal could be as big as $80 million.

At the same time, it is expected that gross sales of 4A Games' games for 2020 will bring about EUR 20 million, and the studio's operating profit will be EUR 12 million.

"Through the acquisition, Saber Interactive onboards a reputable team of over 150 people across two studios in Malta and Ukraine as well as best-in-class internally developed and owned First-Person-Shooter (FPS) technology to the Group," the Embracer says.

"Embracer Group and Saber Interactive are the perfect partners for 4A Games and for our next phase of growth. Together we will continue to build on the Metro franchise and will focus on bringing a multiplayer experience to our fanbase. We look forward to building a new and even more ambitious AAA IP in the near future," the company quoted Dean Sharpe, CEO 4A Games, as saying.

Embracer Group was formerly known as THQ Nordic AB. One of the subsidiaries; THQ Nordic GmbH shared the same name and trademark as the parent company, THQ Nordic AB (publ). The THQ Nordic GmbH brand and company will continue to operate as a global video game publisher and developer. The Group has an extensive catalogue of over 160 owned franchises, such as Saints Row, Goat Simulator, Dead Island, Darksiders, Metro, MX vs ATV, Kingdoms of Amalur, TimeSplitters, Satisfactory, Wreckfest and World War Z amongst many others.

With its head office based in Karlstad, Sweden, Embracer Group has a global presence through its five operative groups: THQ Nordic GmbH, Koch Media GmbH/Deep Silver, Coffee Stain AB, Amplifier Game Invest and Saber Interactive. The Group has 31 internal game development studios and is engaging more than 3,500 employees and contracted employers in more than 40 countries.

Embracer Group in the first quarter of fiscal year 2020 (April-June) reported an 81% increase in revenue up to SEK 2.069 billion ($238.3 million at current exchange rates), and its EBITDA grew 2.5 times - up to SEK 965.2 million.
The Alabama Department of Senior Services is looking to put pets in the hands of senior citizens who may be feeling isolated during the coronavirus pandemic.

But, unlike a typical pet that requires ongoing care, these four-legged friends are for nothing but comfort  no walking or feeding required.

ADSS has launched a pilot program with Ageless Innovations Joy for All robotic companion pets. The program places robotic cats and dogs with senior citizens, including some who are in long-term care facilities where visitation is limited.

The pets are being purchased for $100 each using federal grant funds.

If we can improve our seniors lives by spending under $100 apiece for these companion pets, then I certainly want to give it a try, ADSS commissioner Jean Brown said. With our loneliness screening tool, we will be able to assess whether the pets are as successful in Alabama as they have been shown to be in other states. I am certainly hopeful about this pilot project during this time when many seniors have been choosing safer at home during this vile COVID-19 pandemic.

The companion pets react to the owners voice and touch. Users can feel the animals heartbeat and it responds to the owners voice. Maker Ageless Innovations said the animals are made with lifelike coats and make authentic sounds.

The pilot program evaluates the success of the pets at delivery, and then every three months. New York, Florida and Pennsylvania are offering a similar program and up to 70% of the pilot participants have reported a decrease in isolation, among owners the maker said.
School districts developing their plans for reopening for the new academic year should find ways to offer as many outdoor activities as possible, from classes to recess and lunchtime, the nations top infectious disease expert recommended in an online discussion Thursday.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, who heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also suggested in his Facebook Live chat with Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo that, on school buses, windows should remain open and students wear their masks as much as possible.

Get as much outdoors as you can. If you look at the superspreader events that have occurred, theyre almost always inside, he said, citing major outbreaks at nursing homes, meatpacking warehouses, prisons and weddings and other social events.

And when asked by Raimondo what his recommendation would be for reopening schools, Fauci said states shouldnt take an all-or-nothing approach.

Communities with low virus levels should be allowed to open for in-person classes, while those with higher case counts should focus on remote learning until the rate declines, he said.

If you want to open schools, do what you need to do, Fauci said. Close the bars. Wear your masks. Because when you do that, you will bring the infections down.

Fauci, who has, at times, found himself at odds with Republican President Donald Trumps response to the coronavirus pandemic, also praised Rhode Islands efforts to keep its virus caseload relatively low.

You are starting from a very good place, he said, noting Rhode Island is considered among the lowest-risk states, with a testing positive rate of less than five per cent for the virus.

Raimondo, a Democrat, on Wednesday delayed the start of school in Rhode Island from Aug. 31 to Sept. 14 as virus cases continue to rise in the state and elsewhere.

More than 1,000 people have died in Rhode Island from COVID-19, and the state has had more than 20,000 positive cases of the virus since the pandemic started.

In an online discussion hosted by Brown University last week, Fauci urged states to take quick action to stamp out even slight upticks in COVID-19 cases.

He also said hes cautiously optimistic a COVID-19 vaccine could be developed soon, but acknowledged the chances it would be highly effective are not great.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-14 00:27:01|Editor: huaxia

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DUBAI, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- An official of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said on Thursday that establishing normal relations with Israel will enable the country to play a constructive role in enhancing the region's security and stability.

UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash made the remarks following a telephone conversation among Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi, U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who agreed on the full normalization of relations between Israel and the UAE.

"The United Arab Emirates has secured Israel's commitment to halting the annexation of Palestinian territories in order to sustain efforts to achieve a two-state solution," he said.

"This decisive freeze on the annexation of Palestinian territories is a significant diplomatic achievement and comes in furtherance of the UAE's belief that establishing normal relations with Israel will enable it to play a direct and constructive role in enhancing the region's security and stability," Gargash said.

The UAE seeks to build upon previous regional and international efforts aimed at reaching a solution to this conflict in reflection of the UAE's multilateral approach to sensitive regional issues, he added.

Moreover, the agreement fosters opportunities for cooperation in several sectors, including economic, cultural, scientific and technological fields, to bolster the region's prosperity, he added.

"In view of these developments, the UAE calls for a return to direct negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians as the sole parties capable of reaching a permanent and sustainable solution to this conflict," he said. Enditem
The Iranian Navy has boarded and briefly seized a Liberian-flagged oil tanker near the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. military's Central Command (CENTCOM) says, amid heightened tensions between Tehran and the United States.

CENTCOM published a black-and-white video on August 13 showing what appeared to be special forces fast-roping down from a helicopter onto the MV Wila, whose last position appeared to be off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates near the city of Khorfakkan.

The vessel was held by the Iranian Navy for about five hours before being released on August 12, a U.S. military official told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The Wila made no distress calls before, during and after the seizure, the official said.

The U.S. military officials did not offer any reason for Iran seizing the vessel. Iranian state media and officials did not immediately acknowledge the seizure or offer a reason for it.

Tensions between the United States and Iran have escalated since the Washington in 2018 withdrew from an international nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers and reimposed crushing sanctions.

With reporting by AP
Everybody wearing face coverings in public could reduce a country's Covid-19 death rate by five per cent, according to a study.

And if medical masks are given to the elderly and people currently sick with Covid-19, the effect doubles.

Applying this to the UK's death toll of 41,329 suggests the strategy could have saved 10 per cent of the victims' lives - a total of more than 4,000 individuals.

However, medical masks have not been widely available because of immense global demand and members of the public were advised against buying them up to make sure medical workers didn't run out.

And wearing face coverings of any kind was not encouraged until June in the UK, months after the peak of the pandemic.

Mask-wearing of any kind among the public has been a contentious issue throughout the pandemic because officials said they would not advise it until there was clear evidence they worked - and proof that they do is still uncertain.

Face coverings worn by the public can reduce the Covid-19 death rate by five per cent, according to a study. Pictured: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Belfast, August 13

Face coverings worn by the public can reduce the Covid-19 death rate by five per cent, according to a study. But if medical masks are given to the elderly and people currently sick with Covid-19, the effect doubles. This can be seen in the dark orange column (10 per cent reduced deaths)

The graphs show different scenarios of medical face mask-wearing in the population. All graphs show that the biggest reductions in deaths are seen when 50 per cent of the elderly and 50 per cent of infected people wear masks (the light blue line). Graph G shows the biggest reduction because this is when the masks are offering 75 per cent protection and 75 per cent containment. In comparison, C shows the smallest reduction

The research, published today in the journal Nature Communications, was led by Dr Colin Worby of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.

He and Hsiao-Han Chang, of the National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan, used mathematical modelling to examine the impact of face mask use among the general population during a coronavirus outbreak.

They primarily looked at medical-grade masks - referred to as 'face masks' - as opposed to 'face coverings', which can be made of cloth.

THE TRUTH ABOUT FACE MASKS: WHAT STUDIES HAVE SHOWN Research on how well various types of masks and face coverings varies but, recently, and in light of the pandemic of COVID-19, experts are increasingly leaning toward the notion that something is better than nothing. A University of Oxford study published on March 30 concluded that surgical masks are just as effective at preventing respiratory infections as N95 masks for doctors, nurses and other health care workers. It's too early for their to be reliable data on how well they prevent infection with COVID-19, but the study found the thinner, cheaper masks do work in flu outbreaks. The difference between surgical or face masks and N95 masks lies in the size of particles that can - and more importantly, can't - get though the materials. N95 respirators are made of thick, tightly woven and molded material that fits tightly over the face and can stop 95 percent of all airborne particles, while surgical masks are thinner, fit more loosely, and more porous. This makes surgical masks much more comfortable to breathe and work in, but less effective at stopping small particles from entering your mouth and nose. Droplets of saliva and mucous from coughs and sneezes are very small, and viral particles themselves are particularly tiny - in fact, they're about 20-times smaller than bacteria. For this reason, a JAMA study published this month still contended that people without symptoms should not wear surgical masks, because there is not proof the gear will protect them from infection - although they may keep people who are coughing and sneezing from infecting others. But the Oxford analysis of past studies- which has not yet been peer reviewed - found that surgical masks were worth wearing and didn't provide statistically less protection than N95 for health care workers around flu patients. However, any face mask is only as good as other health and hygiene practices. Experts universally agree that there's simply no replacement for thorough, frequent hand-washing for preventing disease transmission. Some think the masks may also help to 'train' people not to touch their faces, while others argue that the unfamiliar garment will just make people do it more, actually raising infection risks. So what about cloth coverings? Although good quality evidence is lacking, some data suggest that cloth masks may be only marginally (15 per cent) less effective than surgical masks in blocking emission of particles, said Babak Javid, principal investigator at Cambridge University Hospitals wrote in the BMJ on April 9. He pointed to a study led by Public Health England in 2013 which found wearing some kind of material over the face was fivefold more effective than not wearing masks for preventing a flu pandemic. The study suggested that a homemade mask 'should only be considered as a last resort to prevent droplet transmission from infected individuals, but it would be better than no protection'. Advertisement

The authors simulated outbreaks in which availability and effectiveness of medical face masks varied and analysed how it impacted the the total numbers of infections and deaths.

Mask effectiveness refers to how well the mask 'protects' a person from other infectious people, and how well it 'contains' the wearers viral particles. The effectiveness ranged from 25 to 75 per cent.

And availability, modelled with a complex calculation, refers to how many masks are being produced and the demand for them as cases increase.

Across the models used, deaths and infections were lower when masks were increasingly available and effective.

Even there were only face masks to supply 10 per cent of the population, with just 25 per cent effectiveness, it could result in five per cent fewer deaths, the model showed.

The authors considered four strategies for doling out face masks to the public when there is a limited supply.

These were random distribution, prioritised distribution to the elderly, distribution to diagnosed cases, and distribution to both the elderly and diagnosed.

In all the models, it was assumed that healthcare workers had enough face masks and there were left over supplies.

The authors found the best combination was prioritising the elderly and infectious cases. This reduced deaths more than random mask-wearing in the public.

Giving masks only to people who were diagnosed with Covid-19 was relatively pointless, the study said, because so many people - estimated 30 per cent in this model - are not diagnosed because they do not show symptoms.

But there was still a dramatic decline in deaths if only the elderly wore medical masks, the study found.

Data and studies have repeatedly shown that the risk of dying of Covid-19 increases drastically with age, and the vast majority of victims in the UK have been middle-aged or elderly.

Then the team modelled what would happen if the general public adopted face coverings - such as a cloth or scarf - on top of the different face-mask scenarios.

The medical face masks were assumed to be three times more protective than face coverings across all scenarios.

In all scenarios the combination of face coverings and providing the elderly and infected with medical masks reduced deaths by the maximum amount.

The researchers found that 'face coverings provided a considerable reduction in total deaths'.

Just face coverings alone reduced deaths by three to five per cent.

This was the same as when the elderly and symptomatic wear medical face masks when there were limited supplies for 10 per cent of the population. Therefore, deaths could be reduced by a total of ten per cent when the measures are put together.

'For a population with a universal recommendation for face covering in public (e.g. the United States post-April 2020), a reduction of three to five per cent in deaths may be expected', the team wrote.

'An additional targeted distribution of surgical masks to the elderly and symptomatic can at least double this effect.'

The authors concluded that face mask use is an important component of public health measures to limit the ongoing spread of SARS-CoV-2.

They wrote in their paper: 'With no available vaccine and limited therapeutic options, face mask use is an important component of public health measures to limit the ongoing spread of Covid-19.'

However, further studies are required to obtain improved estimates for mask effectiveness among the public during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The use of surgical masks as an infection control measure is common in East and South East Asia, and countries there were quick to tell citizens to use them to curb the spread of Covid-19.

But Western countries have been slower to encourage any adoption of masks, mostly because policy makers say there isn't enough evidence to support them.

The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention did not recommended cloth face coverings until April, while the UK government waited until June.
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An artificial neural network approach to image encryption offers many advantages over conventional encryption methods suggests a review published in the International Journal of Services Operations and Informatics. Shaimaa Abbas Fahdel Al-Abaidy of the University of Baghdad in Iraq explains that exploiting what is colloquially known as the "butterfly effect" in chaos theory can be even more effective.

Mobile computing and communications devices are almost ubiquitous now. We rely heavily on mobile phones, tablets, laptops, smartwatches, fitness trackers, smart TVs, and other such devices. They almost all rely on being constantly connected with the internet either through a cellphone network or via Wi-Fi for their many different functions. However, the transfer of data to and from such devices can often be vulnerable to third-party intrusion.

There are some instances where this is not particularly problematic, but there are other cases, such as sharing personal images where the sender and recipient, a student and educator, patient and doctor, employee and executive, may not wish other people to have access to those images. This is where encryption becomes a critical part of the communication.

There are many different approaches to encryption some are very secure but have high overheads, particularly when the files being encrypted are themselves relatively large, such as is the case with high-resolution photographs, for instance. Encryption needs to be smoother, faster, and preclude overpowering the encrypting and decrypting device as well as not adding to the data transfer costs in terms of the connecting network capacity.

The new approach discussed by Al-Abaidy offers protection against the integrity of the encrypted and decrypted image file and protection against common attacks such as a cipher attack, plaintext attack, and brute force attack.

Explore further Plaintext ciphertext

More information: Artificial neural network based image encryption technique, Int. J. Services Operations and Informatics, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp.181189.
We created the CustomerServ Scholarship because the cost of higher education is out of control and kids are buried in debt from the moment they graduate. We want to do our part to help students unlock their potential and achieve their dreams.

CustomerServ is pleased to announce the second annual CustomerServ Scholarship of $7,500 has been awarded to Mya Hynson. Mya is an aspiring, first generation college student who demonstrated a passion for education, leadership, and community. Upon hearing the good news, Mya said, Words cannot begin to express my gratitude and excitement for this scholarship! I am beyond grateful!

CustomerServ understands that many students who want to pursue their passion may not have the opportunity due to financial pressures, especially in todays challenging times. According to Founder and President Nick Jiwa, We created the CustomerServ Scholarship because the cost of higher education is out of control and kids are buried in debt from the moment they graduate. We want to do our part to help students unlock their potential and achieve their dreams.

The CustomerServ scholarship is a way for the company to invest in the next generation of business leaders. Congratulations Mya, and best wishes to all the applicants in their future endeavors.

For more information on the CustomerServ Scholarship, visit our scholarship page.

About CustomerServ: CustomerServ is a business process outsourcing (BPO) and call center advisory firm based in Houston, Texas. Founded in 2006, the company helped pioneer the call center industry and revolutionized how success is defined in third party vendor relationships. Through its outsourcing ecosystem and matchmaking process, CustomerServ has created over $2 billion in successful outsourcing partnerships for Fortune 50 companies to well-funded start-ups. CustomerServ brings three decades of data, expertise and a rigorous vetting process to every client engagement.
The Bay Area is expecting to run a coronavirus-and-heat-wave gantlet this weekend with sun-starved residents heading to parks and beaches in the midst of a surge in coronavirus cases that topped 600,000 cases statewide on Thursday evening.

Temperatures are likely to hit triple digits in the Bay Area this weekend, a major worry for health officers who foresee crowds of sunbathing, beer-drinking, Frisbee-throwing beachgoers spreading more sickness around the region.

The number of coronavirus cases has steadily risen in the Bay Area this month, with an average of 1,036 new cases recorded each day  a nearly 27% increase over the daily average of 818 cases in July. Thats much worse than in June, which averaged 393 new cases a day.

In the Bay Area, 66,628 people have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 941 have died.

The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory Thursday for temperatures forecast to hit the upper 90s to low hundreds throughout the Bay Area on Friday and Saturday, reaching as high as 105 and potentially 108 in interior East Bay cities like Livermore, Antioch and Brentwood.

Even cooler coastal regions like San Francisco and Oakland will experience temperatures in the high 80s and low 90s, a lure that may be too hard to resist for folks starving for human companionship and fun after so much isolation.

The balmy temperatures might make people forget about the blankets of coastal fog in the Bay Area over the past few weeks, but they are heightening concerns about infection.

UCSF epidemiologist Dr. George Rutherford offered a cautionary tale: In Israel, a May heat wave inspired school officials to let kids remove their mask  contributing to the massive resurgence in cases.

People will want to take off their masks when its hot, Rutherford said. Dont do it.

Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle

The nice weather is likely to exacerbate tensions in places where people congregate, like Lake Merritt, where a lawyer for nearby residents is urging Oakland to enforce its May ban on vendors. As Alameda Countys coronavirus cases have soared, the vendors have contributed to a party atmosphere at the lake for much of the summer.

But neighbors say its worse than that. They say the vendors are drawing crowds of people who litter, urinate on the sidewalks, play loud music, do drugs, and engage in prostitution and violence late into the night. Now Oaklands Business Assistance Center is pushing the vendors to apply for permits and pay city fees.

Councilwoman Nikki Fortunato Bas, who represents the area, hopes to move the merchants to a safer location, such as the small strip of El Embarcadero between Grand and Lakeshore avenues, or near the Lakeview Library. She is wary of coronavirus transmission but recognizes that vendors are there out of economic necessity.

A jewelry vendor who identified himself only as Yassini was at Lake Merritt on Thursday selling chains, gold Nefertiti pendants, rings, fedoras and straw hats with feathers from folding tables next to his van, which was parked on Lakeshore Avenue.

Yassini, who didnt want to disclose his last name for fear of political retaliation in his home country, Tanzania, said he agrees with many of the concerns and has no objection to the permit. But he disagreed with concerns that the vendors pose any risk of spreading the coronavirus.

Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle

Its very safe to be here, said Yassini, wearing a black Gucci mask as a bass-heavy soundtrack blared from a car idling nearby. He says the neighbors are targeting vendors because they are mostly African American.

Creation Makomen, who was selling pipes, lighters, sunglasses and apparel, said he had to close his store in the Fruitvale district because of the pandemic and is selling his wares at Lake Merritt to make ends meet.

This is a form of survival, said Makomen, indicating that he cant afford to worry about getting sick.

Brenda Jackson, who sat on a blanket nearby having a picnic with her husband, said she isnt afraid of contracting the disease.

Everybodys been really smart, social distancing and wearing masks, said Jackson, who came to Lake Merritt from her home in the Montclair district to enjoy the warm weather.

On Thursday the path circling the lake and surrounding grassy hillsides were filled with joggers, parents picnicking with babies in strollers, cyclists and people sharing exercise equipment near the pavilion.

The number of coronavirus cases in California exploded in June and July after businesses began to open up, shelter-in-place orders were relaxed and Black Lives Matter protests erupted across the state.

The surge forced Gov. Gavin Newsom to order bars, indoor dining, gyms, malls and other indoor businesses shuttered for a second time last month in dozens of counties where the virus was spreading fastest. He also ordered schools in those counties to begin the academic year with distance learning rather than in-person instruction.

Since the pandemic began, 597,121 people in California have tested positive for the coronavirus, and 10,856 have died. However, the average number of daily recorded cases appears to have dropped slightly this month, to 7,697. By contrast, July saw an average of 8,579 new cases a day  more than double that of June, which averaged 4,007 cases a day.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

In California, it took 124 days to go from the first reported case in late January to 100,000 cases. By the time California passed 400,000 cases on July 21, it would take only 10 more days to pass 500,000 cases, on July 31. Now, 13 days later, California cases have topped 600,000.

And deaths appear to be rising across the state.

In August, an average of 131 infected people a day died in California, up from the 101 daily average in July and about double Junes average of 64 COVID-19 deaths a day.

The high numbers were recorded despite a computer error that recently caused the state to undercount coronavirus cases. Deaths typically lag two weeks or more behind new cases.

Nina Riggio / Special to The Chronicle

The bad news came after California received applause this spring for its early statewide shutdown, which apparently slowed the spread of the coronavirus after its introduction into the United States.

Newsom said this week that California is turning the corner on this pandemic  the 5,422 patients in hospitals represent a 19% decrease over the past two weeks. But he vowed to move cautiously and avoid making the same mistake as before, when restrictions were loosened too fast.

Most public outdoor areas and parking lots are expected to be open this weekend, with local crowd control efforts expected on a case-by-case basis.

Golden Gate National Recreation Area parks and beaches are expected to remain open this weekend, including Fort Funston, Fort Mason parking lots, Crissy Field, and Ocean and Baker beaches in San Francisco, and Stinson and Muir beaches in Marin County.

GGNRA officials have closed many visitor centers, day use areas and other places where people congregate, including the Presidio Visitor Center and Fort Point National Historic Site in San Francisco, and the Marin Headlands visitor center, Point Bonita Lighthouse and Battery Townsley in Marin. The fire pits at Ocean Beach and Muir Beach are also closed.

Hot weather is expected to increase fire danger, in addition to the other concerns over the next couple of months, which are typically the driest time of the year in California. The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat watch for much of interior California and parts of the East and South Bay starting at noon on Friday through Sunday evening.

Temperatures are expected to cool Monday and Tuesday, but heat will persist in interior regions through midweek, and it could get even hotter by the end of next week, according to the National Weather Service.

Peter Fimrite, Rachel Swan and Brett Simpson are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: pfimrite@sfchronicle.com, rswan@sfchronicle.com, brett.simpson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @pfimrite, @rachelswan, @brettvsimpson
On a recent episode of The Gist, Mike Pesca spoke with science writer Ed Yong of the Atlantic. Yongs recent piece, How the Pandemic Defeated America, documents the missteps and foundational problems that allowed the coronavirus to wreak havoc on the U.S. Pesca and Yong discuss what went wrong and how to prepare for the next pandemic. This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Mike Pesca: You make an analogy of a rock with many different cracks in it, and a pandemic is like waterit will find its way to each of the cracks, and the rock of America certainly has a lot of cracks and deficiencies in terms of its health care. But how big is the biggest crack: the failure of leadership of a president?

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Ed Yong: We have now done the experiment where, assuming everything else about America is the same, what happens when you have incompetent leadership at the top? And weve seen the results, and the results are catastrophic. Donald Trump does not bear sole responsibility for what is happening right nowfar from it. But he plays a central role in it. So he cannot be absolved of responsibility, nor should his many failures be used as an excuse to ignore all the rest of the cracks in that rock. By repeatedly misleading the American public by spreading misinformation and falsehoods about the virus and how America is faring, Trump has certainly eroded the sense of purpose and added to the confusion around the pandemic. By filling his administration with sycophants and people who are not experts, and then not listening to actual experts when the time came, Trump really hampered Americas ability to understand what was going on and to prepare for it adequately. By sidelining the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention], arguably the greatest public health agency in the world, Trump has effectively neutralized one of Americas most potent defenses against a pandemic.

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All of this is true, but it doesnt remove the need to talk about the brittle health care system, the long-standing inequalities that flow from the countrys history of racism and colonialism, of overstuffed prisons and the understaffed nursing homes, of all of these things that people in different sectors have been talking about as problems for a very long time and that are now manifesting in the pandemic. We need to deal with all of it, Trump included.

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So often in the past the reason that a president would act swiftly, decisively, and maybe not perfectly, but at least with purpose, against such a pandemic was altruism. It seems to me that that is a fundamental aspect of the Trump administration that has been lacking.

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The fact that the virus has disproportionately hit Black and brown and poor people across the U.S. is inextricable from the political response to it. We cannot dissociate the fact that Trump and Trumpism is about neglecting these marginalized communities from the fact that those same communities have been hardest hit by the virus and are now still suffering the greatest fallout from federal inaction.

The U.S. spends 2.5 percent of its gigantic health care budget on public healthvery low. If that number were 4 percent or 5 percent, how might things be different?

Ideally youd want it to be a little higher, but every little bit counts. I think public health has long struggled with this problemthat it is devalued. Public health is about preventing communities from getting sick in the first place, rather than just treating the symptoms of individual patients. It is the world of sanitation and vaccination. And it has done its job admirably, it has led to all the wondrous health benefits that many of us enjoy: the longer life span, the freedom from many infectious diseases. But because of that, we take all of that for granted. We relish in the miracle of a normal, healthy day without thinking about the work that went into that. And if we had a stronger public health system, we might have been able to spot the spread of the virus earlier. We might be able to marshal more resources to testing people who were sick, to tracing their contacts, to helping the people who were infected to isolate in a more humane way.

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All of that might have been possible, but instead the U.S. threw its resources to it in the only way it knew how: at hospitals, at this profit-driven health care system that focuses on treating sick patients rather than stopping people from becoming sick in the first place. This is not the only option available to us. I spoke to a woman named Sheila Davis who heads Partners in Health, a nonprofit that works on public health around the world. She talked regularly to colleagues who work in places like Rwanda and Peru who are frankly shocked at the way the U.S. runs its health care. This idea that its all focused on hospitals rather than having health being a thing that is threaded throughout communities is just such an anathema to much of the world. And if you could fuse that ethic with the magnitude of wealth that the U.S. has and that it spends on health care, often wastefully, we might see a very different outcome when the next pandemic hits.

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What about the fact that we have a just-in-time supply chain, which is to say we dont stockpile masks and PPE, but we know how to get it in time, except when we dont? Is that something that we should rethink?

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Yes, to an extent. Obviously you cant just have massive warehouses of stuff sitting idle all the time, right? That stuff will expire. It will run out. You need resources in the moment to deal with the problems youre currently facing. So to an extent that problem of having a long supply chain for things like masks and drugs is an inevitable consequence of this globalized world. That being said, it is clear that the system is nowhere near as resilient as people would like it to be.

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I also wrote a piece about the immune system and how it reacts to COVID. The immune system is weirdly a good analogy here and a metaphor for a better system, because it has a ton of redundancies. If one bit of the immune system messes up and goes down, there are other branches that can take up the slack. And thats what we dont have with supply chains around the world. There is a certain amount of resilience, but as weve seen in this pandemic, if China goes down early and China is the hub for making things like masks and protective equipment, thats really going to cascade around the world. And it turns out theres sort of a plan B, but it doesnt really work. There needs to be a more resilient system with more redundancies, more backups.

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One of the points I make in the piece is that a lot of the countries that did well with the pandemicplaces like New Zealand and Japan and Germanyits not that they got everything right. But they did enough things right. And so by corollary the U.S. has failed because we did a lot of things wrong. We just made mistakes across the board.

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Im thinking of three future events. One is a vaccine, some stages of which seem to be going well, but the time lag between injecting it into someones arm and where we are now is still rather large. Second, what about the supply chain and having enough syringes? And then the third thing is, what about the messaging? The public health communication has been so bad. Why would we expect that to be better for a vaccine?

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Yeah, very much agree. My colleague, Sarah Zhang, has written an incredible piece on exactly this. Throughout this pandemicand I think just in generalAmericans have this tendency to focus on the biomedical solution. We want the drug or the technological fix that is going to solve all our problems. But I think one thing the pandemic should make clear to everyone, I hope, is that thats only part of the picture. There are so many sociological dimensions to the problems that we face, and there must therefore be sociological solutions. So lets say a vaccine is approved. That is just step one. How do you then distribute it across the country? And especially how do you distribute it to adults and the elderly, who are not the typical groups of people who get vaccinated? Thats mostly children. Can a country that has so inefficiently failed to provide protective equipment to its essential workers successfully distribute a vaccine? Im not sure.

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Then theres the misinformation problem. Will people distrust a vaccine, especially when the project they created has a title as ostentatious as Operation Warp Speed? Will people reasonably wonder if a vaccine has been rushed before safety and efficiency have been adequately proven? And then the third thing is the inequality piece. If all the communities weve talked aboutBlack, Latino, Indigenous, elderly, disabled, poorhave been so neglected thus far in the pandemic, are they going to be first in line for the vaccine? I am skeptical. Or will they just be lost again? Will they continue to be underserved? We need to think about all these things now. And I think we can also look to interventions that can reduce health inequalities without needing to wait for a vaccine.

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We can think about things like broadening health care, offering adequate sick or hazard pay. We can think about all these measures that have a strong evidence base behind them that will help people take care of themselves, help prevent infections, help essential workers to do their jobs without risking their lives for their livelihoods. We can do all of that without waiting for the magic bullet from the world of biomedicine. And if we actually do that, were going to improve peoples health in general, for other infectious diseases, for other chronic diseases, and against the infections of the future. A vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 is only going to protect against this coronavirus, whereas other ways of improving public health and reducing inequalities are going to protect against the coronavirus and everything else, which sounds better to me.

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You made reference to SARS-CoV-2. What about SARS-CoV-3?

Will there be another coronavirus that hits us? I dont know. Will there be another pandemic? Absolutely. For those of us who are lucky to get through this one, we will probably live through the next flu pandemic, maybe the next pandemic of a new coronavirus, or something else that takes us by surprise. This is an era of emergent infections. That is a consequence of this world we have built, which has been riddled by climate change, which is facing increasing agricultural use, where humans have intruded into the spaces that were once the domain of animals and the viruses that they carry. So we should absolutely expect more pandemics, and we should realize that they could be worse.

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I know this is a galling thing for people to hear, given how much our lives have been uprooted by this current one, but SARS-CoV-2 is not the worst virus we could expect. It is not as transmissible as other known ones like measles, for example. It is not as lethal as other coronaviruses of the past. So unfortunately it could be worse, and we need to prepare ourselves for that.

Normal led to this, so we cant just return to it. And being prepared for the next pandemic is not just a case of making sure vaccine technology is ready or that diagnostic tests can be quickly rolled out, although that is important. It is also a matter of fixing the broken foundations across the country, the health inequalities, the carceral state, the way we look after elderly and disabled people, all of those things. If we shore up the foundational problems, then I think we do have a chance of really kicking the next virus that threatens us. But if not, and I worry that we wont learn the lesson from this, then were just going to repeat history again.

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With the Democratic Party criticising the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the situation in Kashmir and the communal violence in New Delhi earlier this year, Indias foreign policy mandarins will be keeping a close eye on presumptive vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris views on these issues.

Harris, who has roots in India on her mothers side and in Jamaica on her fathers side, is the first woman of Indian and African descent to run for the post of vice president. Like most other key leaders of both the Democratic and Republican parties, she has batted for stronger India-US relations.

As her maternal uncle Gopalan Balachandran pointed out on Wednesday, Harris hasnt let her Indian roots come in the way of criticising India on human rights issues. She was, he said, more worried about the broader implications and the philosophy behind such issues.

During her unsuccessful campaign to become the Democratic Partys presidential candidate last year, Harris had said that the US was watching the situation in Kashmir after the scrapping of the erstwhile states special status and that she would strive to lead while upholding the values the US is known for, including speaking out against human rights abuses.

Asked about the possible role the US could play following last years lockdown in Kashmir and the human rights situation there, she replied: It is about reminding people that they are not alone, that we are all watching.

After external affairs minister S Jaishankar declined to attend a meeting last year with the House Foreign Affairs Committee because of the presence of Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, who had moved a resolution in the House of Representatives on the situation in Kashmir, Harris extended strong support to the lawmaker who, like her, has roots in Tamil Nadu.

Harris tweeted: Its wrong for any foreign government to tell Congress what members are allowed in meetings on Capitol Hill. I stand with @RepJayapal, and Im glad her colleagues in the House did too.

Harris has also been critical of US President Donald Trumps handling of China, with which India is currently locked in border standoff. Before she called off her campaign for the presidential candidacy last year, Harris had said Chinas abysmal human rights record must feature prominently in our policy toward the country. We cant ignore Chinas mass detention of more than a million Uighur Muslims in re-education camps in the Xinjiang region, or its widespread abuse of surveillance for political and religious repression, she had said. We cant ignore Beijings failure to respect the rights and autonomy of Hong Kongs people and the Hong Kong governments excessive use of force against peaceful protestors.

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Illegal mining case: ED recovers Rs 6cr in cash from CMs relatives during raids in Punjab

SAD starts first of its kind social media initiative to reach out virtually to people in each and every constituency
Craig Castelli, CEO, Caber Hill Advisors Its an honor to be recognized as one of the 5,000 fastest growing companies in the U.S. We have a small but dedicated team and its a testament to them  and our loyal clients who believe in them  that we achieved this feat. Craig Castelli, CEO, Caber Hill Advisors

Caber Hill Advisors, a Chicago-based provider of M&A Advisory and Valuation services, has been named one of the fastest growing private companies in the U.S. by Inc. magazine. Caber Hills 631 percent revenue growth over the last three years earned it the No. 753 ranking on the annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nations fastest-growing private companies. The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economys most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses. Intuit, Zappos, Under Armour, Microsoft, Patagonia, and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000.

Its an honor to be recognized as one of the 5,000 fastest growing companies in the U.S. We have a small but dedicated team and its a testament to them  and our loyal clients who believe in them  that we achieved this feat.  says Craig Castelli, CEO of Caber Hill Advisors.

Not only have the companies on the 2020 Inc. 5000 been very competitive within their markets, but the list as a whole shows staggering growth compared with prior lists as well. The 2020 Inc. 5000 achieved an incredible three-year average growth of over 500 percent, and a median rate of 165 percent. The Inc. 5000s aggregate revenue was $209 billion in 2019, accounting for over 1 million jobs over the past three years.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000. The top 500 companies are also being featured in the September issue of Inc., available on newsstands August 12.

The companies on this years Inc. 5000 come from nearly every realm of business, says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. From health and software to media and hospitality, the 2020 list proves that no matter the sector, incredible growth is based on the foundations of tenacity and opportunism.

About Caber Hill Advisors

Caber Hill Advisors is committed to working with business owners and CEOs so they can successfully fulfill their personal and professional legacies. We serve small and middle market companies, in very specific verticals, who want to either sell their business or make an acquisition. Our firm's innovative approach tailors the best elements of large, expensive investment banks to the needs of small and lower middle market companies. More information can be found at https://caberhill.com/.

About Inc. Media

The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com.
Rebecca Gibneys Jane Halifax saw the light of day as an Australian drama through the collapse of an earlier drama, Snowy.

Snowy, which was set around the building of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme, ran for one season on Nine in 1993. But it was not renewed for Simpson Le Mesurier Films.

When Snowy was axed, Nine management asked producer Roger Simpson, if they had any other project that would suit star, Rebecca Gibney?

We said, We will have next week! We came up with Halifax f.p. and pitched it to them. And they said Fantastic. We love it! and they ordered six telemovies.

David Leckie was Nine CEO. John Stephens ran Programming and Kris Noble was Head of Drama.

They were an amazing team. They said, Go and make it and they hardly interfered at all. But theyd cut our legs off at the knees if we failed! Classic Leckie!

Those six telemovies would run to a massive 21, sold to 60 countries around the world with Gibney as a young forensic psychiatrist in stand-alone stories.

Fast-forward to 2019 and Nine again came calling to reprise the character with its leading lady, through Simpsons production company Lone Hand. This time they wanted a series arc.

I have to be honest. My first instinct was you want a new show? Ive got three or four! But they said, No, we want Halifax, Simpson recalls.

They didnt want telemovies, they wanted a series

They didnt want telemovies, they wanted a series. So we had to rethink it and started thinking its 20 years later, around about the time all the nasty people she helped put away are beginning to be released. That was the beginning of the idea.

We brought in (writers) Jan Sardi and Mac Gudgeon and we kicked it around quite a bit. So thats how it all began. The more it developed the more excited I became.

In the 7 part Halifax: Retribution Jane is an internationally renowned professor in forensics, but when a sniper begins to terrorise the CBD, Inspector Tom Saracen (Anthony LaPaglia) persuades her to join his Task Force.

Simpson agrees that Gibney has now matured into the role she created as a much younger actress.

Now shes mature, worldly-wise and the cops automatically have a different attitude

(Jane) was young, idealistic, fearless, aware of her youth, especially. She would be treated differently by the cops because she was so young. Now shes mature, worldly-wise and the cops automatically have a different attitude because they know that shes got the reputation and the experience.

Now she comes back into the story into this world of forensic psychiatry, not needing it, but still drawn to it.

She has always been drawn to the cutting edge of crime profiling and thats what shes very good at. When the opportunity presents itself she cant resist.

Gibney and LaPaglia are matched by a formidable cast including Claudia Karvan, Mandy McElhinney, Craig Hall, Mavournee Hazel, Rick Donald, Ming-Zhu Hii, Ben OToole, Mark Coles Smith, Hannah Monson and Michala Banas. Guest stars include Jacqueline McKenzie, Louisa Mignone, Stephen Curry, John Waters and Luke Ford.

Rebecca is without peer

Rebecca is without peer. Shes wonderful to work with. Shes also an executive producer on the show, with extremely good script sense. But apart from that shes just a wonderful actor, he continues.

I had to fly to LA to get (Anthony LaPaglia) across the line, but I managed to do so. Hes great. The international audience is very attracted to that name, because they know him from Without a Trace and other fine credits as well. Theyre attracted to Rebecca too, but the two of them together is very significant. And then we have wonderful guests like Claudia Karvan, and Jackie McKenzie, and new people like Mavournee.

The sniper storyline on the rooftops of Melbourne was a major test for production, but Simpson hopes it will work as both a commercial Free to Air series and for international streaming audiences.

On the one hand, were making a three-act drama in the traditional way, but on another were making a six-act drama with commercial breaks. But you can do both, he explains.

Its a big production and shooting in the heart of the city is challenging

The city is under siege. So you can only tell that story if youre right in the heart. Thats a challenge because youve got to lock off streets. You have to shift a very large crew from every location change.

This also isnt the first time Jane Halifax was poised to move from telemovie to series format. Simpson, co-writer Roger Le Mesurier and Prime Suspect writer Lynda La Plante previously plotted 22 episodes set in a mental hospital for Nine, but it never eventuated.

Now the stars have aligned for Gibney, Nine and Beyond Lone Hand.

Halifax: Retribution beings 8:45pm Tuesday August 25 on Nine.
South Africas Rand Merchant Bank, the investment banking arm of FirstRand Ltd., has been appointed as an adviser to help the government assess offers for stakes in its insolvent national airline, according to two people familiar with the situation.

The state is looking to raise more than 10 billion rand ($575 million) that South African Airways administrators say is needed to revive its operations eight months after going into bankruptcy protection. Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has said the National Treasury will not use its own money, beyond 16.4 billion rand in existing debt guarantees, and will instead seek strategic partners or private-equity backers as well as tapping pension funds and global financial institutions.

The Department of Public Enterprises has identified a transaction adviser, the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday, without identifying the firm. The advisers are expected to assess unsolicited expressions of interest from private-sector funders, private-equity investors and partners for a future restructured SAA.

The people who identified RMB as the adviser asked not to be identified as they arent authorized to disclose the information publicly. A representative of RMB declined to comment. The Department of Public Enterprises will release more information on the transaction adviser in due course, spokesman Sam Mkokeli said by phone.

SAA hasnt made a profit for almost a decade and has been surviving on state bailouts. It was placed in business rescue, a local form of bankruptcy protection, in December. With South Africa facing its biggest economic contraction in almost 90 years Mboweni has said he is loath to spend more money on loss-making state companies.

RMB will work with Morgan Stanley on the contract as part of its cooperation agreement with the U.S. company, one of the people said.

Now read: What the new SAA will look like
SPRINGFIELD  A fire in an apartment building displaced seven residents Wednesday.

The fire was reported at about 6:20 p.m. at 36 Ames St. Firefighters extinguished the flames before 7 p.m., said Fire Capt. Drew Piemonte.

The seven residents who were displaced are being assisted by the Western Massachusetts Chapter of the American Red Cross, he said.

The cause of the fire is being investigated by the Springfield Arson and Bomb Squad, he said.
Casual dining chains were already facing challenges before COVID-19, hurt by the rise of fast-casual competition and increased food costs.

Now, several of the largest restaurant companies in the U.S. are struggling with capacity restrictions on indoor dining and attempting to lure customers with takeout in a bid to avoid financial disaster.

The owners of chains like Outback Steakhouse, Applebees and The Cheesecake Factory are on a newly updated list of national restaurants that are facing the highest likelihood of not paying back their debts. When companies default on loans, they are often forced to file for bankruptcy protection, close locations or occasionally liquidate.

One chain, California Pizza Kitchen, has already filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, with plans to close some locations.

Can shopping malls survive?: Coronavirus pandemic ushers in new slate of permanent store closings

Plans for distribution centers: Simon reportedly in talks with Amazon to convert former Sears, JCPenney stores

While the nations largest publicly traded restaurants face a less than 1 in 5 chance of defaulting in the next year, according to the new report by S&P Global Market Intelligence, they remain in perilous terrain.

Analysts are particularly concerned about the coming winter, which will eliminate outdoor seating options for many restaurants, and the demise of the extra $600 in unemployment benefits that had been available for jobless Americans. Congress is debating whether to extend those benefits.

The odds that the largest publicly traded U.S. restaurants will default fell in recent months as states allowed businesses closed by the coronavirus pandemic to reopen, S&P says in the new report. But the ongoing financial hits from the virus and uncertainty over whether laid-off consumers will receive expanded unemployment benefits continue to pressure the industry as more companies enter bankruptcy.

Sales at restaurants and bars fell 26% in June, compared with a year earlier, according to S&P.

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But some are faring better than others.

In contrast to sit-down chains, publicly traded fast-food companies are holding up well, in large part because of robust drive-thru offerings. For example, McDonalds has a less than 1 in 200 chance of defaulting, according to S&P.

Here are the six largest publicly traded restaurant chains that are most likely to default:

Dave & Buster's

This chain, which relies heavily on its reputation as an entertainment venue in addition to its food offerings, has a 16.1% chance of defaulting in the next year, according to S&P. It has the worst credit rating among the nations largest restaurant companies.

Dave & Buster's recorded a net loss of $43.5 million for the quarter ended in early May. But the company has taken steps to raise money, including securing new investment financing, that have significantly improved its chances of surviving without defaulting, according to S&P.

Outback Steakhouse parent Bloomin' Brands

This chain, whose famous Bloomin' Onion item shares a first name with the restaurants parent company, faces a 13.2% chance of defaulting.

The company said in a July 24 statement that comparable restaurant sales at locations that are allowing indoor dining fell 10.7% for the week that ended July 19, versus a year earlier.

But the company said it was moving in the right direction, with more than $500 million dollars in liquidity on hand to weather the storm.

Across our U.S. portfolio, we experienced consistent weekly sales momentum throughout the second quarter as we adapted to this evolving environment. This improved sales recovery, coupled with disciplined cost management, enabled us to generate positive cash flow for the month of June, the chain said in the statement.

"In addition, Bloomin Brands is generating positive cash flow as dining rooms have reopened, and are well positioned in the unlikely event of a return to take-out and delivery only company-wide," Cathie Koch, the company's group vice president of corporate affairs, said in an email. "While dining rooms were closed, Bloomin Brands did not layoff or furlough any employee and provided relief pay. When dining rooms reopened, they had staff ready to return."

Dennys

Known for its all-day breakfast, Dennys faces an 11.9% chance of defaulting.

Denny's sales had been improving in June, but its year-over-year sales decline worsened in July, according to the company's most recent earnings report. Sales for the week that ended July 22 were down 41%, compared with a year earlier.

But CEO John Miller said in a July 28 statement that "we believe we are well-positioned to effectively navigate further impacts of the pandemic while preparing for eventual and future growth."

The company added in a statement for this story: "Dennys is proud of the work we have done throughout this pandemic to navigate the ever-changing economic landscape brought on by COVID-19. We are confident in our strategy, the overall improvement in both industry and brand results, and the strength of our balance sheet. Moving forward we firmly trust in our brands ability to weather this storm."

The Cheesecake Factory is one of the top 10 large U.S. restaurant chains, according to TripAdvisor.

The Cheesecake Factory

Having already failed to make rent payments on time in the spring, The Cheesecake Factory has been facing financial troubles since the start of the crisis. On the other hand, experts say the companys decision not to pay rent on time might have been a negotiating tactic with landlords.

Still, the company faces an 11.7% chance of defaulting on its debts, according to S&P.

Applebees and IHOP

Dine Brands Global, which owns both chains, has an 11.3% chance of defaulting. The companys IHOP chain is faring worse than Applebees.

In the month leading up to July 26, sales at Applebee's locations fell 18.4%, compared with a year earlier, while sales at IHOP declined 37.6%.

"Weve demonstrated the ability to manage our business during a challenging second quarter, and our restaurants proved their tremendous resiliency in meeting the convenience and safety needs of our guests," Dine Brands CEO Steve Joyce said in a statement. "We remain optimistic about the overall marked improvement in industry sales and traffic data since April, and are confident in our long-term strategy and ability to quickly adapt to the ever-changing industry landscape.

BJs Restaurants

BJs Restaurants, known for its pizza and beer, has a 9.3% chance of defaulting.

Like Denny's, the situation at BJ's deteriorated from June to July. The company was hurt by California's decision to shut down indoor dining again. The company said its late July sales were down about 40% from a year earlier, compared with a decline of about 30% in June.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 6 restaurants at risk include Applebee's, Outback, Cheesecake Factory
Srinagar, Aug 13 : Police said on Thursday it has deputed a team headed by a Deputy Superintendent of Police to complete all legal and technical formalities into the disappearance of three persons belonging to Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district.

Vijay Kumar, IGP (Kashmir) told reporters that a team headed by a DSP rank officer has been deputed to Rajouri to complete all legal and technical formalities with regard to the disappearance of three persons belonging to Rajouri district.

Families of the three persons have lodged a missing report, which says the three missing persons have been killed in a fake encounter in the Amshipora village of Shopian district.

The family members have said three of their kin had come to Shopian to work as manual labourers and after their mobile phones were found switched off for several days, the anxious family members came to Shopian to find the whereabouts of the three missing persons.

"The Rajouri families filed a missing report and since then we are trying to evaluate the case through all technical evidences.

"We have taken the DNA samples of three terrorists' killed in Shopian encounter which will be sent to the central lab to ascertain facts.

"Besides matching the DNA samples it is being investigated whether these three persons who had come from Rajouri were in contact with local militants are not. We will examine all the technical evidence that we have", the IGP said.

The missing report filed by the families has identified the three missing persons as Abrar Ahmad Khan, 18, Imtiyaz Hussain, 26 and another Abrar Ahmad, 21 belonging to Rajouri district.
Its an absolute honor to be in such esteemed company and follow in the footsteps of some of todays most successful and inspiring businesses. Glow Global Events achieved tremendous growth as we turned our focus to producing not only U.S.-based events, but events all over the world. Past News Releases RSS

Inc. magazine today revealed that Glow Global Events is No. 145 on its annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nations fastest-growing private companies. The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economys most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses. Intuit, Zappos, Under Armour, Microsoft, Patagonia, and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000.

Its an absolute honor to be in such esteemed company and follow in the footsteps of some of todays most successful and inspiring businesses. Glow Global Events achieved tremendous growth as we turned our focus to producing not only U.S. based events, but events all over the world. In the face of uncertainty caused by COVID-19, we pivoted to virtual events and, in the process, found new ways to expand our business and better serve our clients. Inclusion in the Inc. 5000, especially in the Top 500 and as an Editors Top Pick for Minority Leader, is a testament to our hard work and creativity and the longevity of our brand, says Cheryl Gentry, Glow Global Events, Founder & CEO.

Not only have the companies on the 2020 Inc. 5000 been very competitive within their markets, but the list as a whole shows staggering growth compared with prior lists as well. The 2020 Inc. 5000 achieved an incredible three-year average growth of over 500 percent, and a median rate of 165 percent. The Inc. 5000s aggregate revenue was $209 billion in 2019, accounting for over 1 million jobs over the past three years.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000. The top 500 companies are also being featured in the September issue of Inc., available on newsstands August 12.

The companies on this years Inc. 5000 come from nearly every realm of business, says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. From health and software to media and hospitality, the 2020 list proves that no matter the sector, incredible growth is based on the foundations of tenacity and opportunism.

The annual Inc. 5000 event honoring the companies on the list will be held virtually from October 23 to 27, 2020. As always, speakers will include some of the greatest innovators and business leaders of our generation.

Glow Global Events is a New York-based, full-service agency specializing in dynamic, purpose-driven events. Over the course of more than 20 years, the agency has successfully coordinated meetings, conferences, galas, outdoor events, and other special productions in the U.S., Asia, Africa, and Europe. Glow Global serves a mix of brands, nonprofits, A-list celebrities, and organizations including Allianz, Shiseido, Soros Fund Management, Omidyar Network, Housing Works and United Way of New York City.

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000

Methodology

The 2020 Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2016 and 2019. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2016. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2016 is $100,000; the minimum for 2019 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Companies on the Inc. 500 are featured in Inc.s September issue. They represent the top tier of the Inc. 5000, which can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000.

About Inc. Media

The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com.
Kamala Harris's boundary-breaking run at the US vice presidency has inspired hope and dreams in her father's native Jamaica, where locals claimed her as their own.

She might have been born in California to an Indian mother, but it was her Jamaican roots and historic candidacy that got people in Kingston excited on Wednesday.

"My heart is soaring for all the kids out there who see themselves in her and will dream bigger because of this," said Felicia Mills, a 36-year-old executive secretary.

"This means a lot for every little girl who has ever dreamed an impossible dream," she said, describing Harris as an "honorary Jamaican".

Harris was the first black attorney general of California and the first woman to hold that post, while she was also the first woman of South Asian heritage elected to the US Senate.

The 55-year-old made history on Tuesday when Democratic presidential challenger Joe Biden tapped her to be his running mate, making her the first woman of color on a major party's presidential ticket.

Her father, Donald Harris, served as an economics professor at prestigious Stanford University in California, where he taught and carried out research.

According to his biography on Stanford's website, he is a naturalized US citizen but "had a continuing engagement with work on the economy of Jamaica, his native country."

He served as a consultant to Jamaica's government and its prime ministers, the website said.

Her father and mother, breast cancer researcher Shyamala Gopalan, separated when Harris was about five years old and she and her sister Maya were raised by her mother, who died in 2009.

- 'Historic selection' -

Popular Jamaican political commentator Kevin O'Brien Chang said Harris's candidacy shined a positive light on the island.

"She has spoken positive about Jamaica in the past, she is aware of her heritage and proud of it," he said.

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"It shows greatness, and it translates well, that the daughter of two immigrants born in the United States could aspire to the second most powerful job in America," Chang added.

Even Jamaica's top levels of government weighed in on the nomination, with the nation's foreign affairs minister Kamina Johnson Smith tweeting "Congratulations to Senator @kamalaharris on her historic selection!!"

With under three months to go until election day in the United States, people in Jamaica were already casting Harris's nod as a masterful step.

"Based on the reactions I'm seeing so far, it's a genius move," said University of the West Indies politics student Francine James.

"Any attempts by the Republicans at being nasty towards her... will likely backfire," James said.

Biden and Harris came out swinging on Wednesday, launching their ticket with a call-to-arms against President Donald Trump.

"America is crying out for leadership, yet we have a president who cares more about himself than the people who elected him," said Harris.

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Kamala Harris has denounced Donald Trump for following miracle cures from Fox News while other nations followed science, in her first comments as the Democratss vice presidential nominee.

Appearing together a their first campaign event since Joe Biden picked the California to be his running mate, Ms Harris paid tribute to the former vive presidents late son, Beau Biden, with whom she enjoyed a close relationship.

He was the best of us, she said, having travelled to Wilmington, Delaware, where Mr Bidens son had served as the states attorney general.

It was while she was serving in the same role in California, and dealing with banks during the foreclosure crisis, that she got to know Mr Bidens eldest son, who died from a brain tumour in 2015. Reports said the relationship was one of the factors that helped the former vice president select her for the role.

But while Mr Harris, 55, made sure to pay tribute to Beau Biden and Mr Bidens wife, Dr Jill Biden, she reserved much of her time speaking to criticse Donald Trump.

Were reeling from the worst public health crisis in a century, she said, referring to the 160,000 people who have lost their lives in the US from the coronavirus pandemic.

The presidents mismanagement of the pandemic has plunged us into the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

She added: And were experiencing a moral reckoning with racism and systemic injustice that has brought a new coalition of conscience to the streets of our country, demanding change.

Ms Harris, one of more than half-a-dozen women candidates being seriously considered by the 77-year-old Mr Biden to join his ticket, said the country was crying out for leadership.

 Joe Biden selects California Senator Kamala Harris as running mate

Yet we have a president who cares more about himself, than the people who elected him, she added. A president was making every challenge we face even more difficult to solve.

She said: But heres the good news. We dont have to accept the failed governments of Donald Trump and Mike Pence. In just 83 days, we have a chance to choose a better future for our country.

Ms Harris focussed particularly on the presidents response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has now infected more than 5m Americans.

The president has been widely condemned for promoting unproven treatment and even the claims of conspiracy theorists. At the same time he has been accused of sidelining medical experts such as Dr Anthony Fauci.

Ms Harris said: When other countries are following the signs, Trump pushed miracle cures he saw on Fox News.

She said this was the result when the nation elected somebody who just isnt up to the job.

She said: Our country ends up in tatters. And so does our reputation around the world.
Industry Update

Appointment

13 August 2020

John Lancaster

Appointed Regional VP, Emerging Markets, Franchise Development and Owner Relationships

At Choice Hotels International Inc. Silver Spring, Maryland

John Lancaster moves into the newly created position of regional vice president, emerging markets, franchise development and owner relationships. In this role, he will lead Choice's efforts to extend the opportunity of hotel ownership to underrepresented populations through the company's one-of-a-kind emerging markets franchise development program. The company awarded  and financially supported  34 franchise agreements with minority and veteran entrepreneurs through this program last year. Lancaster will also lead the company's reinstitution of an owners' council specifically intended to represent and provide continued support and advocacy for these unrepresented hoteliers. Lancaster has held various roles at Choice since 2011, including most recently as regional vice president of franchise development, as well as director of global sales sourcing and solutions and director of franchise development for the mid-Atlantic, New England and emerging markets.

Choice Hotels International, Inc. Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) is one of the largest lodging franchisors in the world. With more than 7,100 hotels, representing nearly 600,000 rooms, in over 40 countries and territories as of June 30, 2020, the Choice family of hotel brands provide business and leisure travelers with a range of high-quality lodging options from limited service to full-service hotels in the upscale, midscale, extended-stay and economy segments. more information

Recent Appointments at Choice Nick Bosworth - Director of Marketing, Brand and Loyalty 14 January 2022  Nick Bosworth has joined Choice Hotels EMEA from Accor where he held a global brand leadership role for the premium Accor hotel brand Movenpick. Before the acquisition of the brand by Accor, Nick led the Brand, market ing, CRM, loyalty and PR activities for Movenpick Hotels & Resorts, and has held strategic marketing roles with IHG and Worldhotels. read more

Donna Vieira - Board of Directors 22 July 2021  Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH), one of the world's largest lodging franchisors, has appointed Donna Vieira to its board of directors. Vieira is executive vice president and chief commercial officer at Sallie Mae where she oversees the company's top line revenue growth, credit, pricing and loss mitigation, as well as products, sales, marketing, customer and digital experience, and business development. read more
YOU HAD ME AT HOLA, by Alexis Daria. (Avon, paper, $15.99.) This romantic tale of two actors who meet cute on the set of a Latinx series  after her messy breakup and his career setback  is a solid 7.5 on the angst scale, and an absolutely pitch-perfect summer escape. The buildup here is exquisite, our romance columnist, Olivia Waite, writes in her review. Jasmine and Ashton slowly grow closer until the reader is aching for them to just go for it already.

THE VAPORS: A Southern Family, the New York Mob, and the Rise and Fall of Hot Springs, Americas Forgotten Capital of Vice, by David Hill. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $28.) Hill grew up in Hot Springs, Ark., decades after its 20th-century heyday as the boozy, freewheeling hangout of choice for gamblers, mobsters and crooked politicians; his book recreates the giddy era with a delightfully light touch and a focus on the nightclub of the title. It also tells the story of his paternal grandmother  whose life, in the words of our reviewer, Jonathan Miles, provides the emotional ballast, the counterweight to all the good-timey glitz, the darkness behind the neon signs. It gives the book its heft, and its warmth.

KINGS COUNTY, by David Goodwillie. (Avid Reader, $28.) Goodwillies novel about a group of youngish friends in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, depicts its thoughtful, appealing characters with genuine sympathy and good-fellowship. Spanning a decade, the story goes deep on friendship and the basic decency of humanity. Goodwillie is a stylish writer, smart and witty without being a show-off, Adelle Waldman writes in her review. Hes great at minor moments, and imbues his hipster characters with a willingness to go all-in that transcends where they live or how they dress.

THE BEAUTY OF LIVING: E.E. Cummings in the Great War, by J. Alison Rosenblitt. (Norton, $35.) This biography zeros in on the poets formative years, first at Harvard, where he fell under the spell of the European avant-garde, and then, during World War I, in France, where he spent time in prison and fell in love with a prostitute. On the intensity of his feelings, David Bromwich writes in his review, and his later self-reproach for cruel treatment of her (the details of which remain obscure), Rosenblitt writes some of her most original and interesting pages.

RAISING A RARE GIRL: A Memoir, by Heather Lanier. (Penguin Press, $27.) What happens when your baby isnt who you expected? Lanier writes movingly and honestly of discovering her newborn has a genetic disorder  and what it has been like to adore and advocate for a child who isnt (as she tells her sister) what she signed up for. Laniers memoir is now on the short list of books Ill give, when the time comes, to my own pregnant daughters, our reviewer, Kate Braestrup, writes. Its not just because a wise woman ought, in this as in all else, to be prepared for disaster even as she hopes for delight. Its not even because Laniers writing is clean and beautiful. In this story of her rare girl, Lanier shines a clear light on what we sign up for when we allow a human soul to come through us and into the world, in whatever interesting and beautiful package that soul might find.
Sure, it might be warm Wednesday, but what about the rest of the week?
MANZINI  Social media saved my son.

These were words uttered by the Khanyisile Primary school pupils father Bhekalive Dlamini yesterday, after his son, Dan Israel, was located following a massive search that was conducted by police officers on Tuesday.

Dan was said to have gone missing at Madonsa on Monday evening.

During a telephone interview with this reporter yesterday, Bhekalive expressed that if it werent for social media users posting photographs of his son, he probably would not have been found.

According to Bhekalive, while expressing his personal suspicions about his sons disappearance, Dan is said to have emerged from his bedroom after a day-long search and he appeared dishevelled and exhausted, as though he had been drugged.

While I was at the police station on Tuesday evening, I received a phone call from a cousin, who informed me that Dan had emerged from his bedroom. When I arrived at my house, I called him to the bedroom, along with his uncle and my mother. The minute I saw him, I noticed that he did not look well-rested, although he claimed that he had slept for 24 hours. He also appeared to have dark circles around his eyes, and he generally appeared exhausted, for someone who had slept that long, Bhekalive narrated.

He recalled that he suspected that his son had been drugged, or even hypnotised, however, when Dan was being questioned, he was cheerful and energetic, such that he appeared animated when he pointed out where he had spent the night, and day.

The father explained that what he found bizarre was that his son was not only afraid of the dark, but he also never slept alone.

Dan always begs his grandmother or his siblings to sleep in the same room with him, so it was bizarre that he spent such a long time in the dark alone. My son is a growing boy, so his appetite has always been healthy, such that I would make jokes about him growing a bit of a belly.

However, it was uncharacteristic of him to not come out from under the bed, even to get a glass of water from the kitchen. There was definitely some foul play here. We just cannot put the pieces of the puzzle together, he said.

Suspicions

In relaying his suspicions, Bhekalive expressed that he suspected that his son may have been kidnapped by unknown people, who used the chance when the family had left the house to search for him, to bring him back home.

He said the alleged kidnappers, as per his suspicions, may have noted that many people, including social media users, were sharing pictures of his son.

He alleged that because his son had his own house keys with him when he disappeared, his alleged kidnappers could have used these to gain entry into the house and placed him in his bedroom.

According to Bhekalive, while they were searching for Dan, he received a phone call from a concerned citizen, who informed him that his son had been spotted at a waiting room at Sigombeni.

While giving us more information, the female caller, who had been calling me incessantly, informed me that she was about to board a bus, when she spotted a boy sitting alone. She claimed that while questioning him, a white car sped towards them, and the driver collected the young boy and put him in the vehicle. She described that the vehicle had one occupant, who was a female driver. However, we did not pursue that tip after Dan emerged, he said.

Bhekalive alleged he suspected that after Dans photograph was circulated on social media platforms, the alleged kidnappers realised they would not be able to escape the jaws of the law, so they took the chance when the family had left the house, to bring their son back.

After an eventful day on Tuesday, the Dlamini family confirmed they had taken Dan for further examination and testing at the Manzini Clinic. The results are pending.

However, Bhekalive expressed that the matter was still under police investigation, and he could no longer elaborate on it.

Social media was still abuzz yesterday over Dans disappearance, with some users suspecting foul play in the incident.

The topic was still widely debated yesterday evening, with some social media users urging the family to update them religiously on the case. Some questioned how the Montigny K9 Unit, made up of sniffer dogs, failed to indicate that the boy was in his bedroom.

These are trained dogs. Besides, dogs have a strong sense of smell and can easily tell if there is a human being. I doubt the young boy was in his bedroom the whole time. Police need to thoroughly investigate the matter, one user wrote.

One user stated that there had been several other children who had gone missing since the beginning of the year, and further urged social media users to use the same momentum to find these missing children.

Baffled

Another user stated: I am baffled by many of you making jokes about beating Dan into telling the truth about his disappearance. Do you really think there is a child who can stay hidden for 24 hours with no food, or water? Would you have considered that the only reason why he was brought back was because everyone was on the lookout for him?

His family emphasised they were relieved that he was safe and unharmed, as many such cases had unfortunate results.

The family further thanked the police for their due diligence in locating their son, and members of the public for widely distributing Dans images through various social media platforms.

Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati said the matter was still under investigation and she wouldnt want to comment further.
A Georgia school district has quarantined more than 900 students and staff members because of possible exposure to the coronavirus and will temporarily shut down one of its hardest-hit high schools, officials said Tuesday.

The quarantine figures from the Cherokee County School District include at least 826 students, according to data the district posted online. Located about 30 miles (58 kilometers) north of Atlanta, the district serves more than 42,000 students and started the new school year on Aug. 3.

News of the quarantines came a day after Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said that the reopening of some of the states schools amid the coronavirus outbreak has gone well  except for the widely shared photos of students crowded together without masks.

The viral photos showed students standing shoulder to shoulder in crowded hallways at North Paulding High School northwest of Atlanta and squeezed together for first-day-of-school senior photos at two high schools in Cherokee County, including Etowah, which has had more than 300 students and staff members told to quarantine. None of the students in the photos wore masks.

Democrats strongly pushed back against Kemps assessment that school reopenings were proceeding safely, blaming him and President Donald Trump for failures.

Cherokee County School District Superintendent Brian Hightower said the district was temporarily shutting down Etowah High School starting Wednesday and hoped to reopen the school on Aug. 31.

Fifty-nine students, teachers and staff members in the Cherokee County School District have tested positive for the virus so far, he said, though its not clear whether any of them were infected at school.

We anticipated positive tests among students and staff could occur, which is why we put a system into place to quickly contact trace, mandate quarantines, notify parents and report cases and quarantines to the entire community, a spokeswoman for the district, Barbara Jacoby, said in an email. We are not hesitating to quarantine students and staff who have had possible exposure to a student or staff member who has tested positive.

The quarantines have affected at least 19 schools in the district.

The district gave parents the option of sending their children to school or having them learn from home to start the year. Jacoby said about 9,600 students are learning from home.

Other Atlanta-area school districts decided to scrap in-person learning for virtual instruction after cases of COVID-19 in Georgia began spiking again. On Tuesday, the state reported an additional 3,639 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, bringing Georgias total caseload to more than 222,000. Over 4,300 people in the state have died from COVID-19.

Cherokee opened without a mask mandate for students, though staff must wear masks when they are unable to maintain social distance. Hightower urged the school community to use masks.

We know all parents do not believe the scientific research that indicates masks are beneficial, he said in a message posted online Tuesday. But I believe it and see masks as an important measure to help us keep schools open.

More than 80 Georgia school districts have opened or plan to open for some kind of in-person instruction by Aug. 17, according to figures kept by school reform group GeorgiaCAN.

Meanwhile, Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold Melton on Tuesday extended a statewide judicial emergency through Sept. 10. That means jury trials and most grand jury proceedings remain prohibited, but his order says a task force is looking at how those proceedings could be safely held, including the possibility of holding them remotely.

This broad prohibition cannot last too much longer, even if the pandemic continues, because the judicial system, and the criminal justice system in particular, must have some capacity to resolve cases by indictment and trial, Meltons order says.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Georgia Education
Unions said the conditions in meat processing plants heighten conditions for the spread of the virus (Jane Barlow/PA)

Workers in the meat processing industry are petrified of contracting Covid-19 at work, a committee has heard.

The Siptu trade union divisional organiser Greg Ennis told the Special Oireachtas Committee on Covid-19 that nine out of 10 workers do not have access to sick pay and he said this was a significant contributory factor to the spread of Covid-19.

Mr Ennis said: They remain petrified of contracting the disease but feel that they must walk that tightrope and in many cases walk that tightrope even if they are unwell.

He said the conditions in meat processing plants heighten conditions for the spread of the virus.

It is notable that circa 90% of workers within the industry do not have sick pay, forcing vulnerable workers who may have Covid-19 symptoms to go into work Greg Ennis, Siptu

Mr Ennis said: It is now beyond doubt that the meat processing industry contains unrivalled vectors for the transmission of Covid-19 which has previously caused 1,115 meat plant workers to become infected in 20 clusters as of early July.

These vectors include close contact with other workers, bottlenecks in canteens and toilets, noise pollution as workers shout and this creates droplets. These droplets are then circulated through industrial air systems.

There are relatively low wages which cause workers to share accommodation and car pool and in many cases share rooms with other workers who work in the industry.

It is notable that circa 90% of workers within the industry do not have sick pay, forcing vulnerable workers who may have Covid-19 symptoms to go into work.

Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) general secretary Patricia King told the committee: Meat processing plants are very vulnerable to the spread of Covid-19 and should be regarded as high risk in terms of virus spread.

Meat processing is labour intensive and involves physically intensive work around production lines and workers working in close proximity, which makes social distancing difficult to achieve while also language differences can often impede good communication.

Expand Close Screen grab of ICTU general secretary Patricia King appearing before the committee (Oireachtas TV/PA) / Facebook

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Despite the fact that this is a highly profitable, heavily subsidised industry, low pay combined with deficient terms and conditions including the absence of sick pay schemes are common across the sector. Workers may often live in crowded or congregated accommodation settings, while transport to and from work may not be conducive to social distancing.

Nora Labo, of the Independent Workers Union, told the committee there is no reason why working in a meat plant should make someone more vulnerable to getting Covid-19 than any other environment.

She said: There is no intrinsic reason why working in a meat plant should be more conducive to contracting Covid-19 than any other environment.

We are convinced the reason why Ireland has seen so many worrying outbreaks in meat plants in the past few months is down to the workers substandard working and living conditions which are the industrys long-term disregard for the wellbeing of its staff.

These problems are aggravated by the unscrupulous practices of the work placement agencies to which many of the workers in this sector are employed. Our union estimates up to 40-50% of workers are employed though these agencies.

Ms Labo said Covid-19 outbreaks in meat processing plants are due to a variety of factors, with low pay and unsuitable accommodation the key drivers.

As most meat plants are in rural areas, there is a shortage of suitable accommodation and most meat workers are paid minimum wage with no overtime premium and budgets force them into shared accommodation, she said.

Being foreign and having limited English is a disadvantage so many workers are being housed by their employment agencies. They are seeking to maximise profit from the accommodation they are providing to employees.

They are there to protect and maintain the health and safety of workers and when someone contracts Covid, they are not even notified Patricia King, ICTU

Ms Labo said the dismal housing situation fuels the spread of coronavirus among workers.

She claimed workers are often moved around without notice and do not receive rental contracts.

Ms Labo said employers at meat plants make no effort to transport workers and there is little public transport in rural areas, which forces workers to carpool  further increasing the potential spread of coronavirus.

Ms King said there is a major flaw in the current regulations that means employers do not have to notify the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) if a worker becomes infected with Covid.

She said this must be rectified, adding: It is untenable that we have a Health and Safety Authority that is assigned in law for overseeing the implementation of all aspects of the protocol and who have the power to inspect workplaces and order closure where appropriate.

They are there to protect and maintain the health and safety of workers and when someone contracts Covid, they are not even notified. They dont in my judgment, and all the indicators to me are that they dont want to be notified. They dont want this task, and from day one I have had this argument with the Government about this.
Samples taken from the packaging of imported frozen Ecuadorian shrimp in a restaurant in Wuhu, East China's Anhui Province have tested positive for coronavirus, the Wuhu Epidemic Prevention and Control authority confirmed to the Global Times on Wednesday. The shipment was purchased by a restaurant in Wuhu, and it was tested on Monday. The city's Center for Disease Control and Prevention re-examined the samples, which tested positive on Tuesday. The shrimp had been stored in the restaurant's refrigerator after purchase, and they were sealed up on Tuesday.

The Wuhu Epidemic Prevention and Control authority confirmed the case to the Global Times, but it declined to identify the port through which the shipment came. People who were in close contact with the products have been placed under medical observation and management. Nucleic acid tests have been carried out on the staff, food, restaurant environment and people who came in contact with the products, and all test results were negative, according to the Wuhu Epidemic Prevention and Control authority. Cui He, president of the China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance, said that China is still importing seafood from Ecuador, including shrimp. "Although three Ecuadorian suppliers were suspended after COVID-19 infection cases, it will not affect the country's exports to China. There are about 10 suppliers in Ecuador exporting shrimp to China," Cui told the Global Times on Wednesday. Ecuadorian white shrimp have come under fire several times in China. In July, three out of 2,750 samples of packaging for Ecuadorian frozen white shrimp tested positive for COVID-19 in Southwest China's Yunnan Province, according to Yunnan's health commission. Nationwide screening began on July 10 and China suspended the export licenses of three companies in Ecuador, after the National Health Commission and the State Administration for Market Regulation issued a joint statement saying that container environments and outer packaging from three Ecuadorian shrimp producers had tested positive. Cui noted that the market price of Ecuadorian white shrimp has fallen because China's domestic white shrimp have come into season. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China and Ecuador have agreed to build a working mechanism to allow for the resumption of Ecuadorian exports. Shrimp exports to China, Ecuador's biggest market, sank in July, according to the National Chamber of Aquaculture of Ecuador. China imported 50,179 tons of shrimp from Ecuador in June, with a value of 1.89 billion yuan ($271.4 million), up from 29,175 tons and 1.08 billion yuan in May, showed statistics from the General Administration of Customs.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 13:27:49|Editor: huaxia

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SEOUL, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in's approval rating fell for two straight weeks due to damages from heavy rains and the government's efforts to stabilize housing price, a weekly poll showed Thursday.

According to the Realmeter survey, support for Moon dipped 0.6 percentage points over the week to 43.3 percent this week, continuing to slide for two weeks in a row.

The negative assessment on Moon's conduct of state affairs inched up 0.1 percentage point to 52.5 percent.

Support for Moon's ruling Democratic Party declined 1.7 percentage points over the week to 33.4 percent this week.

The main conservative opposition United Future Party gained 36.5 percent of support this week, up 1.9 percentage points from the previous week.

It marked the first time since Moon took office in May 2017 that the main opposition party's approval score topped the governing party's score.

The government announced a revised tax code to raise taxes for homeowners, including those with a very expensive home. It raised worry about higher tax burden among most of single-home owners.

Adding to the worry, heavy rains continued this month across the country. The downpour left dozens dead, caused property damages and displaced thousands of residents.

The minor center-left Open Democratic Party won 5.2 percent of support score, followed by the minor progressive Justice Party with 5.1 percent and the center-right People's Party with 3.4 percent each.

The results were based on a survey of 1,507 voters conducted from Monday to Wednesday. It had plus and minus 2.5 percentage points in margin of error with a 95 percent confidence level. Enditem
Tata Power rose 1.42% to Rs 53.70 after consolidated net profit jumped 10.3% to Rs 268.10 crore on 16.9% fall in net sales to Rs 6,452.99 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019.

Revenues dropped mainly due to lower power demand, delay in solar EPC businesses on account of COVID-19 and lower coal FOB prices. However, the company maintained stable performance despite lower profits from solar EPC businesses mainly on account of lower financing cost and stable performance across clusters. The company reported a strong cash generation due to strong collection and tighter control over working capital.

Consolidated profit before tax (PBT) declined 21.9% to Rs 457.45 crore in Q1 June 2020 as against Rs 586.02 crore in Q1 June 2019. Current tax expense for the quarter slumped 64.7% to Rs 90.85 crore as against Rs 257.61 crore in Q1 June 2019. The Q1 result was declared post trading hours yesterday, 12 August 2020.

The Q1 FY21 consolidated EBITDA stood at Rs 2,037 crore including renewable EBITDA of Rs 588 crore as compared to Rs 663 crore in Q1 FY20 mainly due to delay in the solar EPC projects due to COVID-19. During the quarter, Tata Power won new renewables bids totaling 220 MW (megawatt). The company's solar EPC order book stands at Rs 8,700 crore.

Commenting on Tata Power Co.'s Q1 performance, Praveer Sinha, the chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD) of Tata Power, has said that: "All our business clusters have reported a robust performance despite the challenges presented by the ongoing pandemic. We aim to continue our progress in our low carbon journey by achieving 50% generation from clean and green sources by 2025 and set new benchmarks in operational efficiencies. The proposed Renewable InvIT, will be the growth engine and we intend to grow this to be India's largest renewable InvIT. At present, it has about 2.6 GW of operating plants and 1.5 GW of capacity in pipeline taking the total capacity to 4.1 GW. This InvIT provides the option to recycle capital once the assets are operational. Further, the InvIT strategy enables Tata Power to raise capital at lower cost post stabilization of assets and grow the portfolio whilst we deconsolidate our debt. Apart from adding capacity in the renewable generation in the next five years, we will also be scaling the Solar Cells & Modules Manufacturing business along with the solar EPC business."

"Moving forward, the company also plans to scale-up the growth of the consumer-facing energy solution businesses like EV Charging, Smart Metering, Retail Rooftop Solar, Solar Pumps, Home Automation and Solar Micro grids in rural areas. On 1 June 2020, Tata Power acquired CESU distribution in Odisha, doubling the consumer base to 5 million in the distribution segment. The aim is to become a leader in distribution business space by evaluating similar opportunities and achieving 10 million consumer base over the next five years. The board also approved a scheme to merge CGPL, TPSSL and Af-taab with the parent company. CGPL has already suffered large losses and is facing difficulty in financing its operations. Given the inordinate delay in resolution of the tariff matter, the merger will provide relief through direct support from the parent company. The company continue to be in discussion with various state governments and state discoms. We do hope that the State Governments will take a practical view and resolve the PPA amendment issue in the interest of all stakeholders," he added.

Tata Power Co. is India's largest integrated power company and, together with its subsidiaries & jointly controlled entities, has an installed/ managed capacity of 12,742 MW.

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President Donald Trump said Thursday he's blocking the coronavirus relief measure because of Democrats' funding request for the Post Office, arguing it's 'election money' for universal mail-in voting.

'Now, they need that money in order to make the Post Office work, so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots,' Trump said in an interview with Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo.

Democrats have put $25 billion for emergency funding for the Post Office in their $3 trillion version of the coronavirus relief legislation - money that President Trump opposes.

'That's election money basically,' he told Bartiromo.

'If they don't get those two items, that means you can't have universal mail-in voting,' he explained of both the Post Office funding and the overall Democratic top line number of $3 trillion.

'Now, if we don't make a deal, that means they don't get the money. That means they can't have universal mail-in voting. They just can't have it,' he said.

President Donald Trump said he was holding up the coronavirus relief talks because he doesn't want a Democratic provision giving additional funding for the Post Office, arguing it will bring about universal mail-in voting

Many states are using mail-in voting to combat the coronavirus pandemic; in Washington state where election workers sort ballots in the above voting, mail-in voting has been the normal for years

Voters in Florida drop off their ballots in the August primary

NO CHECKS WITHOUT A DEAL, IRS INSIDER WARNS An insider with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) believes that Americans may not get their second stimulus check until September if Congress is unable to reach a deal by Friday. Chad Hooper, the national president of the Professional Managers Association, told Grow that the IRS 'is better positioned to issue a second check' than they were in April, but Congress just has to come to an agreement. Otherwise, that would mean Americans, particularly the more than 30 million out of work, may have to wait until September for the second round of relief. However, if lawmakers can strike the deal by this Friday, most stimulus checks could be sent out this month. The first round of relief saw checks of up to $1,200 issued to millions. Advertisement

President Trump is a frequent, fervent critic of mail-in voting, which he claims leads to election fraud - a claim fiercely disputed by critics and even his own party, which fears losing losing votes if its supporters do not mail their ballots.

He and the Republican Party have launched lawsuits in states that have opted to go with universal mail-in voting in November as a way to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

But his comments on Thursday were some of his most specific to date about how he planned to stop mail-in ballots this fall.

'They want $25 billion for the Post Office because the Post Office is going to have to go to town to get these great ridiculous ballots in,' Trump complained.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said mail-in voting is a 'health issue' this year given the coronavirus, which has infected more than 5 million Americans.

'Its a health issue in 2019,' she said Thursday morning on MSNBC's 'Morning Joe.'

'Its even more so in the time of the pandemic, so when the president goes after the Postal Service hes going after an all-American, highly approved by the public institution; like as we would say  before you were born  motherhood, apple pie, the Postal Service, an all-American institution,' she added.

And presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden said the president didn't want an election.

'Pure Trump. He doesnt want an election,' he told reporters at an event in Wilmington.

Governors have expressed concern about long lines at the ballot box and pointed out that many election workers are retirees, making them in the high-risk category to get the disease.

And the post office has warned states to keep in mind the time it takes to mail and return ballots in order to ensure timely delivery for the November election. Postal workers have charged that changes put in place by new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy - a Republican donor appointed to the job by Trump - have caused mail delays.

It's sparked fears among Democrats the postal service is being politicized ahead of November and that the millions of voters expected to use the system to send in their ballot may be disenfranchised.

DeJoy has denied the allegation.

'Despite any assertions to the contrary, we are not slowing down Election Mail or any other mail,' he said last week.

Nevada, California and Vermont have opted for universal mail-in voting because of the virus. Five states already conduct elections by mail-in ballots. And many other states have allowed fear of the coronavirus to be used as a reason for requesting an absentee ballot. Other states, like Michigan, are preemptively sending mail-in ballots to all registered voters.

Republicans are suing in several of these states to stop these efforts. They claim mail-in voting leads to 'ballot harvesting' - a process where the voter fills out their ballot but party volunteers mail them in for that voter and other voters. Democrats counter it's merely collecting ballots of those who vote to ensure they are delivered.

President Trump often rails against desires widespread mail-in voting, claiming it will increase chances of fraud and disproportionately benefit Democrats; studies have shown there is very little voter fraud in the United States

President Trump suggested in his press briefing Wednesday that he would not sign off on a relief bill that allocates billions going towards mail-in voting.

'They turned down this bill because they want radical left agenda items that nobody in their right mind would approve,' Trump said of Democrats refusing to agree to the GOP bill proposed at the end of last month.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has denied that politics are at play in the post office ahead of the November election

'The bill's not going to happen because they don't even want to talk about it because we can't give them the kind of ridiculous things that they want that have nothing to do with the China virus,' he said, again referencing mail-in voting and money for the Post Office.

'So therefore, they don't have the money to do the universal mail-in voting, so therefore they can't do it, I guess, right?' he proposed. 'Are they going to do it even though they don't have the money?'

He also argued what Democrats are doing is a bigger threat than to the November election than reports from U.S. foreign agencies that Russia, China and Iran are trying to interfere in the presidential contest.

'It's going to be the greatest fraud in the history of elections,' he argued of the Democrats.

Trump's revelation about his role in blocking the coronavirus relief measure comes as negotiations between the administration and Capitol Hill have stalled.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has tried to blame Democrats for not being willing to negotiate.

Speaker Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer have countered they offered to come down from their $3 trillion proposal if Republicans will come up from their $1 trillion one to meet in the middle at $2 trillion.
Recognizing Aurora as America Unmasked: No Exemption, Even For Our Children

As the pandemic of COVID-19 continues to ravage our community and the country, the pandemic of the pathology of racist oppression continues to claim its victims among us also. And this is not only because of the inequalities in our life conditions, health access, working needs and circumstances, and other structural disadvantages, but also because Black people and other people of color remain targets of racist violence. One of the latest cases is from Aurora, Colorado, August 2, where the police targeted, stopped, terrorized and humiliated four Black girls and a mother, out to get their nails done at a salon. Not satisfied with drawing guns on the children, 6, 12, 14 and 17, causing them to fear for their lives and call for their mother and sister, the White officers, men and women, ordered them out of the car, handcuffed them, except the 6-year old, and forced them all to lay face down on the parking lot pavement. The repulsively transparent lie told for this unjustifiable act of targeting and terrorism was that the police mistook the familys SUV for a stolen motorcycle with the same license plate number but from another state.

What makes this even more sickeningly evil than usual is that it was done against innocent children who cannot begin to understand why Whites would want to hate them, target, terrorize, traumatize and humiliate them and to kill them when they have done nothing to these Whites or anyone like them. And this reminds us that there is a no exemption and no quarter policy for even Black children, as evidenced by the murders of Devin Brown, 13; Aiyana Stanley-Jones, 7; Kimani Gray, 16; Tamir Rice, 12; Cameron Tillman 14; and all the others.

Aurora was the site of an earlier targeting and brutal killing of a gentle and caring young Black man named Elijah McClain, who explained to the police his peaceful and sensitive attitude toward all sentient beings. He had pleaded with them asking them not to hurt him, but they killed him anyhow and made a video afterwards reenacting with laughter their brutish choking and killing of him on his way home and near his house.

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The towns name Aurora means dawn, but it resembles a nightmare and an arctic night that lasts 24 hours for us. Thus, there is no new day dawning in Aurora or America for us. For each day we rise, we must fight for our lives, as vigilantes and police target, terrorize and harass and humiliate us under the color and camouflage of law. They have made a wolfish winter of a world for us, and we must recognize how Aurora is America unmasked, as are all the other interrelated sites of cold and conscience-less killing of Black people with no exemption, even for our children. And yet, as our forefathers and foremothers before us, we today refuse to accept it in silence or inactivity and are called each day and hour by our honored ancestor, Henry Highland Garnet, to Let our motto be resistance, resistance, resistance!

The perverse and pathological persistence of hidden and videoed police violence against our people demonstrates how deeply rooted it and the racism which informs and sustains it are in American culture. Indeed, racism and its violence are not simply an act of a single or group of police, it is a systemic practice of oppressive imposition, ideological justification and institutional arrangement. But at the heart of all of it is violence, direct and indirect, open and hidden, pervasive and persistent against our bodies, minds and spirits.

It is because of this raw and deadly reality that Min. Malcolm would conclude that we are living in a war zone and our oppressor, who is making war on us, is as vicious and criminal and inhuman as any war making country has ever been. Also, it is why Rev. Martin Luther King was compelled to concede that America is the greatest purveyor of violence in the world. And this is at home and abroad, from the savagery of segregation and the imperialist wars during the era of King to the inhuman and criminal dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 75 years ago on August 6, although it was known Japan was ready to surrender.

When Rev. C.T. Vivian was defiantly demanding that Black people who had come to register to vote have access, the sheriff, an immoral mimic of a man, punched him in his face and knocked him down. And Rev. Vivian stood back up and audaciously continued to demand access to registration. Then he asked this monster representative of American racism under the color and camouflage of law and also all racists  open and undercover  this question: what kind of people are you? Indeed, what kind of people are these whom we deal with every day, who have such a deep rooted desire to dominate us, deprive us of our human rights and of the means to live a life of dignity and decency and of life itself, and who rejoice in racist degradation, humiliation and terrorizing of us?

And what kind of people are those who enable and support them, claim to be religious, moral and even chosen, elect and special in the eyes of their god? And what kind of people are they who turn a deaf ear to truth and a blind eye to the injustice of human suffering and the radical evil of racist violence, enshrined in law and public policy, and socially sanctioned? In such a context of radical evil, no one moral can be neutral or uninvolved in the struggle to end such savagery and to bring a new and expansive good in the world.

And what kind of people must we be and become and demonstrate in sustained and consistent practice? Indeed, it is the sacred teaching of our ancestors that we must bear witness to truth and set the scales of justice in their proper place, especially among those who have no voice, less voice, and who are vulnerable and devalued. We must, our ancestors teachings tell us, also, be the vanguard and rearguard of the people; stand up in the midst of silence, unawareness and misinformation; and speak truth to the people; speak freedom to the people; and speak good and growth, strength, struggle and victory over evil, injustice and oppression.

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We must speak to our people and the people of society and the world about the possibilities of a new world and a new history of humankind as Frantz Fanon imagined and urged us to create. Speak to the people telling them, as our ancestors taught, to speak truth, do justice, be kind and do not do evil. For righteousness is our strength and it is through righteous and relentless struggle that we can turn this river of racism around and make the waters of life run clean again. As our poet laureate, Gwen Brooks says, My people, Black and Black, revile the River. / Say that the River turns, and turn the River.

Indeed, let us continue to strive for the victory and the announcement of a new day dawning, the deserved and overdue end of the two pandemics, COVID-19 and the pathology of racist oppression and the opening of a new horizon of human history. But this too, tell the people that our sister poet, Gwen Brooks, also tells us This is the urgency! Live / and have your blooming in the whirlwind. And remember as Howard Thurman taught, It is good to know what there is in us that is strong and solidly rooted. It is good to have assurances that can only come from having ridden the storm and remained intact. And so, it is again on us to continue and intensify the struggle, to ride the storm; bloom in the whirlwind and redirect the river in the interest of a free and unwarped world and a constantly unfolding African and human good and a sustained and enhanced well-being of the world.

Dr. Maulana Karenga, Professor and Chair of Africana Studies, California State University-Long Beach; Executive Director, African American Cultural Center (Us); Creator of Kwanzaa; and author of Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture and Essays on Struggle: Position and Analysis, www.AfricanAmericanCulturalCenter-LA.org; www.OfficialKwanzaaWebsite.org; www.MaulanaKarenga.org.

08-10-20
What a moment. A moment that seemed historically impossible until there it was, right in front of you. I couldnt wipe the smile off my face, one Black Democratic congresswoman told CNN.

Neither could I or many other women.

And neither, apparently, could Kamala Harris, in her first public appearance as Joe Bidens vice-presidential running mate, deftly  even joyfully  stepping into history as the first Black woman, and the first woman of South Asian descent to be in the VP slot on the ticket.

So many reasons to cheer. And very few to grumble, although many pundits were, calling Harris the safe choice. Already a poll after Bidens announcement shows Harris enjoys the support of 9 out of 10 Democrats.

Please get rid of the notion that California Senator Kamala Harris, 55, a former State attorney general, who sits on powerful committees and has publicly filleted the fishy likes of Supreme Court nominee-now-justice Brett Kavanaugh and Trump Attorney General William Barr  Think very carefully before you answer, sir  is a safe choice.

Shes the prosecutor we need right now, said one of my Democrat friends in Minneapolis, who never had Kamala at the top of her list but is happy with Bidens choice.

In a country ravaged by recent racial strife, engulfed by a badly mismanaged pandemic that has needlessly killed 166,000 people, many of them people of colour, with a sitting President who is not only a misogynist but an anti-Black racist, do you really think a Black woman who, if the Democrats win will be one 77-year-olds heartbeat away from the Presidency is a safe choice for Americans who havent even wholeheartedly affirmed they are ready for a woman to lead the country?

As all women in politics have to contend with these days, the scared-as-rabbits rabid right Republicans and their online pyjama brigade trolls will throw everything they have at Harris.

Although so far its been pathetic: a whorendous choice, a nasty woman, whatever. It all sounds old and tired, especially when Black women are the essence and backbone of the Democratic party and all women are squinting coldly at Donald Trump the way women look at their husbands just before they call a divorce lawyer.

As for the slurs and attacks, which will only escalate, this time, a magic circle of prominent women and men have already stepped forward, warning that they will call out and protect their VP candidate from any and all misogynist or racial slurs. They will have her back. In real time.

At the first live public appearance of Joe Biden and his running mate, a subdued but nonetheless fascinating affair in an empty gymnasium that had all the pandemic trimmings, masks, distanced seating and no roaring crowds, you could easily see that Biden made the right choice.

Its all on the line, Harris said in her speech, and the nicest thing about that, after three or more years of the country being held hostage to Trumps narcissistic ramblings was she wasnt talking about herself and her historic moments, but the good of her country:

This is a moment of real consequence for America, she said. Everything we care about  our economy, our health, our kids, the kind of country we live in  its all on the line.

What struck me was the slight emotional tremor in her voice, followed by the steely evisceration of Donald Trumps and Mike Pences record.

She also got the powerful symmetry of Bidens choice right. Today, he takes his place in the ongoing story of Americas march toward equality and justice as the only person who served alongside the first Black president, and has chosen the first Black woman as his running mate, said Harris.

But Biden no doubt had to be pressured  or lets say eased  in a multi-step process. As a boring septuagenarian white man, he had already boldly and strategically committed to choosing a female running mate back in the spring. She had to be significantly younger. But as the demands for racial justice and police reform escalated and exploded into the streets, Biden was urged to choose an African American woman leader to govern alongside of him and step into the presidency in that heartbeat.

Just like that, it was a leap that may work.

In the meantime, my favourite quote about Bidens VP selection process took place before he announced that Kamala Harris would be his running mate and governing partner.

There were almost ten contenders  all women, mainly women of colour and, as the New York Times put it, they were all riveting political characters, very possibly capable of commanding the spotlight in ways that Mr. Biden has struggled to do in his own right.

In his own right. You have to have spent a long time in the feminist trenches to know what a delicious line that is. How many times has a wife or any woman been characterized as being notable in her own right?

Joe Biden wasnt lucky that he had so many fantastic women  almost all of them women of colour  from which to choose as his next VP.

Hes lucky he decided to meet the moment and see them. They are his ticket to the White House.

Correction  Aug. 13, 2020: This article was edited from a previous version that misstated the number of COVID-19 deaths in the United States.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect industries across the world, the US packaging industry has witnessed a noticeable decline in demand. While optimizing to face the challenges of the pandemic, the US packaging industry has also started to focus on preparing for the post-COVID era. How can this industry successfully prepare for the post-COVID world? Leveraging expertise in market opportunity analysis is the answer. Understanding and anticipating potential risks, analyzing best-fit opportunities, and identifying ideal market segments, are some of the steps towards successfully overcoming the global pandemic. Infiniti's industry experts recently assisted a US packaging industry client in achieving these goals. To learn how our market opportunity analysis helps US packaging industry clients identify their best-fit opportunities, request a free proposal

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200813005129/en/

Market Opportunity Analysis for a US Packaging Industry Client (Graphic: Business Wire)

"The COVID-19 pandemic is pushing the world economy towards a recession. Like other industries, the US packaging industry is at a standstill with government-mandated lockdowns. As such, companies in the US packaging industry must take actions to flatten the expected recession and prepare for the post-COVID-19 era," says a packaging industry expert at Infiniti Research.

Business Challenge:

The client, a consumer packaging firm in the United States, was impacted by the steady decline in packaging demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The US packaging industry witnessed a significant shift in demand for food packaging due to the shutting down of food outlets. Additionally, consumers started to reduce expenditure due to the uncertainty caused by the pandemic. The US packaging industry client also saw this as an opportunity to prepare for the post-COVID era. The client approached Infiniti's research experts and leveraged our expertise in market opportunity analysis, to gain a comprehensive understanding of the market. In the span of this six-week engagement, the US packaging industry client also sought to evaluate new growth opportunities, shift production to fulfill new demand patterns, and evaluate packaging-production flexibility.

Our Approach:

Our market opportunity analysis experts developed a five-phase approach to assist the US packaging industry client. The approach included the following:

Mapping the client's potential opportunities from R&D, market, and competitive perspectives

In-depth analysis to deduce optimal opportunities that best fit the client's strategic imperative

Selecting best-fit opportunities and formalizing the technology acquisition strategy

Competitive landscape analysis and addressable market analysis of each best-fit opportunity

Target market prioritization and developing a go-to-market and target company acquisition plan

Understand the approach employed by our market opportunity assessment experts by reading the complete article here

Business Outcome:

Infiniti's market opportunity assessment enabled the client to understand and act on anticipated disruptions and shortages. The client was also able to make necessary changes in their portfolio of packaging offerings, and shift production to fulfill new demand patterns. Additionally, the client was able to identify growth potential and manage new trends such as health and e-commerce. The client also adapted packaging designs according to the needs of e-commerce while adhering to consumer preferences.

To gain in-depth insights into the importance of market opportunity assessment in the US packaging industry, speak to our industry research experts.

About Infiniti Research

Established in 2003, Infiniti Research is a leading market intelligence company providing smart solutions to address your business challenges. Infiniti Research studies markets in more than 100 countries to help analyze competitive activity, see beyond market disruptions, and develop intelligent business strategies. To know more, visit: https://www.infinitiresearch.com/about-us

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200813005129/en/

Contacts:

Infiniti Research

Anirban Choudhury

Marketing Manager

US: +1 844 778 0600

UK: +44 203 893 3400

https://www.infinitiresearch.com/contact-us
AUSTIN, TX  The Austin City Council unanimously approved on Thursday a $4.2 billion municipal budget that calls for $150 million in cuts to the Austin Police Department.



The budget approval came after city council members listened to about four hours' worth of testimony from more than 200 residents, most of whom called for cuts to the $442 million police budget amid ongoing civil unrest calling for law enforcement reform.

The $150 million police budget cut is a far cry from an original proposal by City Manager Spencer Cronk to cut a mere $11.3 million from the police budget. All told, the approved police budget totals about $290 million  down from $434 million before the cuts.

The budget cut comes amid ongoing civil unrest sparked in late May as protesters decry police brutality. The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis after an officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes sparked nationwide protests, including in Austin. But locally, activists already had galvanized after the death of Michael Ramos, 42, who was fatally shot by police after a brief confrontation in South Austin despite having shown them he was unarmed at the time.

Calls for police reform were bolstered after police used beanbag projectiles and pepper spray to disperse peaceful protests outside police headquarters on May 30. Two young men were seriously hurt by the non-lethal projectiles after being hit in the head with the munitions and subsquently hospitalized. Police Chief Brian Manley acknowledged that officers fired the same projectiles as they carried one of the injured men for ambulance transport after having been directed to move the injured protester by police themselves. Calls for Manley's resignation continue among some following that demonstration of police force.

The General Fund budget is $1.1 billion while the Capital Budget includes $1.2 billion in planned spending. In approving the budget, council moved to introduce changes to public safety in Austin by reallocating police funding to health, housing and critical social services.

Story continues

Among the approved cuts to police funding:

A $20 million cut primarily taken from cadet classes and overtime in a move to reinvest in permanent supportive housing and services, EMS for COVID-19 response, family violence shelter and protection, violence prevention, workforce development and a range of other programs.

Transfer of police functions (and related funding of nearly $80 million) out of the department over the course of the fiscal year. These include Forensics Sciences, Communications/911 call center, strategic support, and internal affairs.

Create a Reimagine Safety Fund to divert almost $50 million from APD toward alternative forms of public safety and community support, to be delivered from outside APD, as determined through the year-long reimagining process.

Coronavirus loomed large in budgeting process

The specter of coronavirus also loomed large in the budget-making process. The approved budget ensures the city continues investing in key council priorities and implementing council-approved COVID-19 spending framework to support Austin families and businesses, "...while remaining consistent with responsible budgeting practices that have enabled the city to mitigate the impacts of anticipated revenue losses caused by the pandemic," Cronk explained.

In just a few short weeks the city and council have worked together to come up with solutions to the challenges we face as a community, the city manager said in a prepared statement. This budget takes us forward as a city, but Ive also been clear we'll have to come back and make adjustments, not only because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but because of our desire to truly reimagine public safety.

The approved budget assumes a property tax rate of 53.35 cents per $100 of taxable value. That comprises a rate of 44.60 cents for city operations  an increase of 0.29 cents from the FY 2019-20 tax rate and a 3.5 percent increase above the no-new-revenue Operations and Maintenance rate  plus an additional 8.75 cents for the Project Connect transportation initiative, a citywide traffic-easing rapid transit system.

Election called for "Project Connect"

Council called for a Nov. 3 election to seek voter approval for the additional taxes to fund Project Connect. If voters accept the proposed tax rate of 53.35 cents in November, the city tax bill for the typical homeowner  defined as the owner of a median-valued ($326,368) non-senior home  would be $1,741.17 per year or $145.10 per month. This would be an increase of $332.39 per year or $27.70 per month.

Under the adopted budget, typical rate payers will see their Austin Energy bills go down and their Austin Water bills frozen, the city manager noted. Austin Resource Recovery charges will increase, by just over $31 per year, to pay for the citywide implementation of curbside organic materials collection. Taken together, the combined impact of tax, rate and fee changes would represent an increase, for the typical ratepayer, of 7.9 percent  an additional $325.20 per year or $27.10 per month. Thursdays approval of city tax and spending plans for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2020 comes after several months of stakeholder engagement  including an online survey that attracted unprecedented levels of participation, with 37,000 responses compared with the usual 2,000-3,000.

Officials explained this is the third year in which the proposed budget was organized by outcome area, and not strictly by city department, to reflect the priorities of the Austin community, using councils adopted Strategic Direction 2023 as a guide. The outcomes are Culture & Lifelong Learning, Economic Opportunity & Affordability, Government That Works for All, Health & Environment, Mobility, and Safety. Council began their deliberations on Wednesday working from the city managers proposed budget, (snapshot summary here) which included the following commitments, now part of the adopted budget:

$60.9 million to strengthen the citys commitment to end homelessness in Austin through housing displacement prevention, crisis mitigation, and re-empowerment efforts.

Additional $3.5 million in low interest loans to small businesses through the Family Business Loan Program.

$735,000 to enhance the citys open-data portal, increasing transparency for Austin residents.

$1.5 million for improvements to the Asian American Resource Center, Carver Museum, and Mexican American Cultural Center.

$423,000 and 6 new positions to fully implement the citywide curbside organic materials collection program.

$14.7 million for sidewalk improvements and $2.3 million for pedestrian safety including hybrid beacons, audible crosswalk indicators, and more visible signs and markings.

$5.1 million for crisis response and victim services.

Reactions to police budget cuts flow in

In a prepared statement following budget approval, city council member Greg Casar lauded efforts to reinvest in public safety alternatives. "Todays budget vote is unprecedented in Texas," he said. "Weve begun a transformational change away from mass incarceration and toward real community safety. We know that we cannot simply police away our communitys challenges.

"Thousands of Austinites demanded we invest deeply in the public health and safety of our community. Today, we chose to create a safer city. Were opening a new family violence shelter; were hiring mental health crisis teams; we voted to get hundreds more people out of homelessness; we funded gun violence prevention programs. Today, our city did the right thing.

After the vote was taken, Austin Mayor Steve Adler called the measure "the most forward looking budget" in memory.

Chas Moore, founder of the Austin Justice Coalition  a group that has spearheaded calls for local police reform and has organized several protests  said the cuts represented a victory for his members.



This is the first of many victories for this next year," Moore said in a prepared statement. "And we are just getting started. Structural change is hard. Ending racism is even harder. We are fighting long established interests, and our voices and engagement are required in this transformation of our collective values.



But he said fellow activists cannot let up or rest on their laurels: The decoupling and the effort to reimagine public safety will take place over the coming year by a thousand small decisions, Moore said. I hope that the thousands of people who have protested in the streets, sent emails and made phone calls over the past two, three months will stay involved and help us get the structural change we want and so desperately need.

Kathy Mitchell of Just Liberty was more tempered in response, saying the initial divestments were smaller than had been hoped: The $20-plus million in immediate divestment is of course less than we hoped Council could cut, she said in a prepared statement. But it was enough to fund a big expansion of EMS services, fully fund alternative first responders for mental health related calls, provide a much needed shelter for victims of family violence, increase homeless services, offer programs to support people trying to reintegrate after incarceration, add new violence prevention services and give harm reduction a chance to help people struggling with addiction, and I expect many Austininites will want to have a party the day that downtown police headquarters finally comes down.

Chris Harris, the director of Criminal Justice Programs at Texas Appleseed, also had hoped for deeper cuts in police funding: While many hoped to cut 25 percent to 50 percent of the police budget, this divestment is similar to what other cities are doing, he said in a prepared statement. He ticked off a list of cities implementing similar cuts: New York cut 8.5 percent; San Jose, Californais, with a 3 percent budget reduction; Seattle with a 2.5 percent cut.

"On the other hand," Harris noted, "Houston increased their police budget 2 percent, Phoenix by 3 percent and San Diego by 5 percent. Austin is cutting about 4.5 percent, but also has created the opportunity for additional cuts over the coming months, so it's in a position to be a leader nationally in responding to these protests if City Council retains its commitment to racial justice and reimagining public safety.

Emily Gerrick of the Texas Fair Defense Project was similarly forward-thinking in her assessment: "Everything the city invested in today  from public health and emergency medical services to survivor support and violence prevention  would not have been funded without immediate cuts to the police department's bloated budget," she said in a prepared statement. "Each of these investments has the potential to improve public safety for all Austinites, unlike the current APD strategy of severely over-policing people of color and causing intergenerational harm to entire communities."

Moore noted how the revised budget creates separate funds for many police divisions that will be moved out of the department over the first two quarters, and budget amendments will be brought forward at the latest mid-year.

It is a victory that the crime lab, 911 dispatch, internal affairs and many support services will be rapidly moved out of the police department, he said. There is no doubt that we send police to calls where we dont need them because the police department runs the call center. There is no doubt that internal affairs has failed to hold officers accountable for misconduct. Police mismanagement ruined the crime lab. Were on a path to fixing structurally some of the biggest problems weve encountered with policing.

Governor, state attorney general not happy

But not everyone was happy with the council action. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a statement late Thursday afternoon calling the budget cut on police funding as an "attack," while suggesting the move was driven by political expediency.

The unwarranted attack by the Austin mayor and city council on their police departments budget is no more than a political haymaker driven by the pressures of cancel culture," he said in a prepared statement. "Unfortunately, the targets of this cancelling are the brave men and women who selflessly put their lives on the line to keep our families safe. The city councils action to slash funding disregards the safety of our capital city, its citizens, and the many guests who frequent it."

Claiming the city is beset by "widespread crime"  an assertion largely debunked in studies comparing the local crime rate with others large cities  Paxton urged council to reconsider its stance: "The City of Austin already struggles to combat widespread crime, violence and homelessness. In light of rising violent crime rates in many cities across the country as well the majority of Austinites opposing defunding police, the mayor and the city council should immediately reconsider this ill-advised effort at virtue signaling; which will endanger lives and property in Austin.

Paxton's fellow conservative, Gov. Greg Abbott, echoed the sentiment of his attorney general: "Some cities are more focused on political agendas than public safety," he began in his prepared statement. "Austins decision puts the brave men and women of the Austin Police Department and their families at greater risk, and paves the way for lawlessness. Public safety is job one, and Austin has abandoned that duty."

In a thinly veiled threat, Abbott hinted at superseding state legislation that could trump local decision-making  a tactic the governor has used before with local policies to which he's ideologically opposed even as his political party often boasts of its aversion in intruding on local affairs. "The Legislature will take this issue up next session, but in the meantime, the Texas Department of Public Safety will stand in the gap to protect our capital city," the governor said.

This article originally appeared on the Austin Patch
Nigeria is making progress to reverse the United States suspension of the issuance of immigrant visas to Nigerian passport holders, President Muhammadu Buhari said Thursday in Abuja.

Receiving the report of the committee on Citizen Data Management and Harmonization chaired by the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, the president expressed delight that two out of the six areas of concern raised by the United States had been fully addressed.

The committee was set up in February this year to address issues that led to the U.S temporary visa restrictions on Nigerian passport holders.

The suspension, which came into effect on February 21, 2020, does not apply to other U.S visas such as those for official, business, tourism and student travel.

Commending the committee for its patriotic diligence in carrying out the assignment, President Buhari assured Nigerians and the international community of the timely implementation of the committees recommendations after due consideration.

I also note the progress made by Nigeria towards the removal of the visa restrictions as two out of the six areas of concern raised by the United States had been fully addressed, two are substantially satisfied while some progress is being made on the remaining two.

I am delighted that this progress, especially the uploading of Lost and Stolen Passport and Travel Documents has been acknowledged by the United States Government, the President said.

The committee had among other things recommended the establishment of a National Criminal Information Management, fashioned after the INTERPOL model, and a National Criminal DNA Laboratory, to aid criminal investigation, administration of criminal justice as well as sharing of relevant information.

President Buhari noted that the implementation of these and other far-reaching recommendations as articulated in the Report will fully address all outstanding issues that led to the visa restrictions.

An effective Citizen Data Management System is critical for socio-economic planning, improved service delivery and good governance, as well as national and global security. It also has the over-arching benefit of enhancing integrity of the nations citizens identity instruments for the purpose of information sharing.

Accordingly, the Committees recommendations on the strategies for harmonizing existing databases, improving the infrastructure for the National Identity Database as well as a review of the supervisory mechanism of the National Identity Management Commission would be given serious consideration.

The implementation of the recommendations as estimated by the Committee would require enormous resources. In this regard, an Implementation Committee would be constituted to further study the recommendations and develop a workable implementation plan, President Buhari said.

The president also pledged Nigerian governments commitment to sustaining the follow-up for the removal of the visa restrictions by the United States and developing a credible harmonized National Identity Data Management System.

President Buhari recalled that the Federal Governments response to the temporary visa restrictions placed on Nigerian citizens by the United States in January this year, led to the setting up of the committee to review the restrictions and develop systems and processes that would address the security concerns raised.

In consideration of the fact that the concerns raised cast doubts on the credibility of the nations citizen identity data management system, the scope of the Committees assignment was expanded to include strategies to harmonize the various citizen identity data held by different Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

I have gone through the highlights of the Report and must commend the Chairman and members of the Committee for painstakingly carrying out the assignment in spite of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The recommendations as highlighted are capable of addressing the concerns raised by the US Government as well as lead to the development of a reliable national citizen identity data management system. he said.

In his remarks, Minister of Interior and Chairman of the Committee on Citizen Data Management and Harmonization, Rauf Aregbesola recalled that the body was set up on February 3, 2020, to among others, review the visa restrictions imposed by the U.S and develop systems and processes that would address the security concerns raised.

Another mandate, the minister said, was to review the status of Nigerias numerous citizen identification data, including biometrics, held by different ministries, departments and agencies, and propose strategies for the harmonization of same.

He happily reported that Nigeria had fully satisfied two of the six areas of concern raised by the U.S, two others substantially satisfied, and progress being made on the remaining two.

It is our hope that the findings, strategies and implementation plans proffered, if fully implemented, will expedite the lifting of the visa restrictions while bequeathing to the nation an enduring identity management system, the minister said.

Femi Adesina

Special Adviser to the President

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(Media & Publicity)

August 13, 2020
Jessica Mulroney appears to be taking steps towards making amends for a bitter race row that saw multiple brands and employers cut ties with her, while also reportedly putting her once-close friendship with Meghan Markle at risk.

The 40-year-old, who took a two-month break from Instagram to 'reflect, learn, and listen' after she was accused of 'threatening' a black influencer over an argument about Black Lives Matter, revealed on her account on Wednesday evening that she has used some of that time to work on a project to help 'marginalized communities across Canada'.

Sharing a sweet selfie with her daughter Isabel, Jessica wrote that the mother-daughter duo was enjoying 'cuddle time' after the stylist had finished work on the project - however she shared few other details about what it actually entails.

Making amends? Jessica Mulroney has revealed that she's spent the last month working on a 'project that will focus on helping marginalized communities across Canada'

Hush hush: The 40-year-old - who became embroiled in a controversial race row in May - did not share many details, however she followed up by asking people about old computers

Fallout: Jessica's latest posts come one day after she fired back at rumors that pal Meghan Markle 'dumped' her in the wake of her fall from grace - insisting that they are 'fake news'

'Just finished a project I've been working on for a month that will focus on helping marginalized communities across Canada,' she wrote, before adding: 'Now for some cuddle time.'

Although the mother-of-three did not elaborate or offer any other details about the project, she did offer a potential hint in a follow-up Instagram Story post, in which she said: 'If anyone has old computers they no longer use, please DM me.'

Upset: The stylist took a break from social media after influencer Sasha Exeter claimed that Jessica at 'threatened her livelihood' after they became embroiled in an argument over race

The post came just one day after Jessica returned to Instagram following a lengthy break, having taken a step back from social media in the wake of the furious controversy surrounding her fallout with influencer Sasha Exeter.

On Tuesday - exactly two months to the day since her last Instagram post - Jessica shared a sweet video of her twin sons celebrating their 10th birthday, while also praising the siblings for 'giving her the will to live and work when everything fell apart'.

The stylist also used the opportunity to shut down rumors that the race row backlash had caused a rift in her friendship with the Duchess of Sussex, branding a commenter's suggestion that she had been 'dumped' by Meghan 'fake news'.

'Happy 10th to my twin babies,' Jessica wrote alongside the video, in which her husband Ben, 44, is seen carrying a cake out to their yard, while singing Happy Birthday.

'My incredible family have had to witness mom in the worst state. These two boys have not left my side and gave me the will to live and work hard when everything fell apart. They deserve the best birthday.'

She concluded on a positive note, writing: 'Only up from here.'

Celebration: Jessica returned to Instagram on Tuesday after her two-month break in the wake of a bitter race row to wish her twin sons a happy 10th birthday

Speaking out: In the caption of the video, which showed her sons Brian and John blowing out the candles on their cake, Jessica admitted she had been 'in the worst state'

Support: She also praised her twin boys for 'giving her the will to live and work when everything fell apart'

But Jessica's social media return did not stop there - quite the opposite in fact.

Minutes after posting the clip, the stylist began responding to users' less than positive comments about her bitter fallout with infleuncer Sasha - and her rumored rift with the Duchess of Sussex, who was reported to have cut ties with Jessica in the wake of the racism controversy.

Responding to one commenter who asked whether she was feeling 'down' after being 'dumped' by Meghan, Jessica branded the rumors 'fake news' and begged the trolls to 'just stop'.

The video post comes two months after Jessica revealed she would be taking a break from social media in order to 'reflect, learn and listen', while also issuing a public apology to Sasha, who said that the stylist left her 'shaking with fear' after the pair had a private argument over racism.

In June, Sasha posted an emotional video on her Instagram in which she claimed that Jessica had 'taken offence to a very generic call to action' posted online, and that the two women had subsequently argued about the importance of 'speaking up'.

Sasha said she felt Jessica 'threatened' her during the argument, claiming the mother-of-three had written to her: 'I have also spoken to companies and people about the way you have treated me unfairly.

'You think your voice matters. Well it only matters if you express it with kindness and without shaming people who are simply trying to learn. Good luck.'

Jessica commented on the video to apologize for her behavior, writing that she was 'unequivocally sorry'.

Family first: Jessica's husband Ben, 44, seemed to be in good spirits in the video while singing Happy Birthday, despite stepping down from his TV host job in the wake of his wife's race row

Emotional: Jessica, whose daughter Isabel also appeared in the video (right), praised her sons for 'giving her the will to live and work hard when everything fell apart'

'As I told you privately, I have lived a very public and personal experience with my closest friend where race was front and centre. It was deeply educational,' she wrote.

However the comment, and the official apology that Jessica subsequently posted on her own account, did little to stem the furious backlash against the stylist, who faced a barrage of angry comments - as well as multiple job losses as a result of the controversy.

MULRONEY'S REMARKS TO SASHA EXETER IN ORDER Privately, after their row over Mulroney not using her platform enough to promote Black Lives Matter: 'I have also spoken to companies and people about the way you have treated me unfairly. 'You think your voice matters. Well it only matters if you express it with kindness and without shaming people who are simply trying to learn. Good luck.' Public: 'You are right when you say "this s**t needs to stop." As leaders, we need to join hands and call out wrongs. I know we have different experience. And that is something that, even in the course of a heated argument, I need to acknowledge and understand. I am unequivocally sorry for not doing that with you, and for any hurt I caused. As I told you privately, I have lived a very public and personal experience with my closest friend where race was front and centre. It was deeply educational. I learned a lot from that. I promise to continue to learn and listen on how I can use my privilege to elevate and support black voices. Private: 'Liable [sic] suit. Good luck.' Advertisement

Perhaps most damaging and upsetting for Jessica however was the reported loss of her friendship with the Duchess of Sussex, who, DailyMail.com exclusively reported, was left 'mortified' by the scandal and told her close friends that she felt she could 'no longer be associated' with the stylist.

'Meghan is absolutely mortified that she's been dragged into this complete mess. She said Jessica is in no way a racist, but the way she handled the situation [with Sasha] was tone-deaf and heartbreaking,' a close friend of Meghan's said.

'Meghan said friends reflect friends and because of what's at stake she can no longer be associated with Jessica, at least not in public. She has to do what she has to do in order to preserve her dignity and her own reputation,' the source added, admitting that they 'wouldn't be surprised' if the controversy was the 'beginning of the end of their friendship'.

It appears as though things may be on the mend for the two women however - at least if Jessica's 'fake news' comment is anything to go by.

But her friendship with Meghan was not the only aspect of her life that suffered as a result of the controversy.

Having quickly shot to fame thanks to her close friendship with the Duchess of Sussex, Jessica's fall from grace was even swifter.

DailyMail.com exclusively revealed that ABC had quickly severed ties with her, confirming that Jessica would not be returning to her occasional role as a fashion contributor on Good Morning America.

Canadian TV network CTV also distanced themselves from the stylist, revealing that it was pulling all episodes of her wedding-focused reality show I Do Redo from its platforms ahead of its expected US premiere on Netflix.

She then stepped down from the board of directors of The Shoebox Project, a charity that she founded with her sisters-in-law, Caroline, Vanessa, and Katy Mulroney.

In a statement shared on Instagram, the charity said: 'Jessica Mulroney is a founding member of The Shoebox Project and she has dedicated herself to its growth and success over the years, for which we are very grateful.

'In light of recent events, the charity supports Jessicas decision to step away from the Board of Directors.'

Jessica's husband Ben - the son of former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney - then stepped down from his role as the host of CTV's celebrity news show 'etalk', a position that he had held for 18 years.
The US forces sent 40 truckloads of military gears into Syria from neighboring Iraq on Thursday, state news agency SANA reported.

The trucks, escorted by US military vehicles when they entered from an illegal crossing between Iraq and Syria, reached the "illegal" US bases in the countryside of the northeastern province of Hasakah.

Thousands of truckloads of US military gears have entered Syria through the illegal crossings on the Syria-Iraq border over the past months, said SANA.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the entry of the US military gears into Syria on Thursday.

It said the shipment is the second to enter the war-torn country in August alone.

On Aug. 5, the US brought in 30 truckloads of logistic and military equipment from its bases in Iraq to the countryside of Hasakah.

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By Zaidee Stavely

EdSource

Some California students may find themselves in child care this fall in the very same classrooms they are barred from entering for in-person instruction.

In an effort to meet the needs of working families, school districts in coronavirus hot spots across California are reopening classrooms as child care sites. But contradictory rules for child care and in-person instruction have some parents questioning how one use is safer than the other.

Schools in counties with high numbers of new coronavirus cases or hospitalizations cannot open for in-person classes until the counties have been off the state monitoring list for two weeks. Child care programs, on the other hand, can open across the state, even in coronavirus hot spots, as long as they meet health and safety guidelines.

"Child care licensing standards distinguish those programs from schools," wrote the California Department of Public Health's public affairs staff in an email to EdSource. "Additionally, child care is in smaller groups and cohorts, and typically brings together fewer families and children per site on average compared to schools."

Asked whether on-site child care is safer than in-school instruction, state health officials said they are "learning more every day" about Covid-19.

"These guidelines and considerations are based on the most current available public health data, which does not indicate that either setting is safer than the other at this time," the email said.

Many of the child care programs districts are offering are through parks and recreation agencies or through organizations that previously offered after-school programs. Groups are being kept at 10 to 15 children, depending on the district. Most in-person classes would likely be a similar size, in order to keep children 6 feet apart, though there are no specific maximum numbers for in-classroom instruction. Overall, though, there might be fewer people on a school campus for child care, because fewer classrooms would be utilized than if a full campus were to open for school.

In some cases, for example, in Glendale Unified in Los Angeles County, child care is free and targeted for low-income students. The city of San Francisco is partnering with nonprofit organizations to offer child care to low-income students. Los Angeles Unified is offering child care only to the children of teachers and other staff, with the hope of expanding that to more children once it begins a hybrid model of in-person learning, in which students split their time between distance learning and in-person instruction.

Several other school districts are charging a fee. South Pasadena Unified is offering a day care program at one TK-8 school at a cost of $210 per week. San Carlos School District in San Mateo County, south of San Francisco, is charging $1,750 per month.

"Why is a gathering of kids and an adult in a room acceptable if we call it 'child care,' and not acceptable if that adult is a teacher, and we call it 'class?'" asked Todd Madison, a parent and school board candidate in Oceanside Unified in San Diego County. The district has said it will give priority for child care to the children of first responders and health care workers and will enroll other students if there is enough space.

Advocates for child care providers say there has been a longtime disparity between child care workers and teachers: providers are paid substantially less and, until last month, did not have a union to advocate for them. Teachers' unions have advocated for schools not to open until the number of new cases goes down. A recent survey from the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment at UC Berkeley found that child care providers are also very concerned about the risks to their health, but they are opening because they cannot afford to stay closed.

"Our nation has prioritized the economy and employment over keeping us all healthy and safe. Child care is open because providers need money and, according to those in power, aren't worthy of a bailout," said Keisha Nzewi, director of public policy for the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network, a nonprofit organization that represents agencies statewide that help parents find child care and help child care providers get training and support. "The weekly Covid report we get from child care licensing shows that small group size doesn't mean Covid doesn't spread."

There were 1,726 cases of the coronavirus reported among child care facility staff, children and family members statewide, as of Aug. 6.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health wrote that child care is essential for working parents, adding, "There are risks in both settings; obviously, risks are magnified when there are larger numbers of students, teachers and staff in a shared building." Several other county public health departments deferred to state health guidelines.

Most school districts contacted by EdSource did not respond to interview requests.

"SFUSD is happy low-income families and students have more options to get support while engaging in distance learning taught by SFUSD teachers," wrote San Francisco Unified spokeswoman Laura Dudnick.

A spokesman for the California Department of Education referred EdSource to the California Department of Public Health.

Some advocates say child care is not only critical for parents who need to work, but also can be important for students whose parents cannot help them as much with schoolwork because they do not speak English, have less schooling, have to work outside the home, are living in extreme poverty or are homeless.

"For the kids who are most at risk for extreme disconnection and learning loss and mental health challenges, we absolutely should be finding ways to provide in-person support for those kids," said Jennifer Peck, president and CEO of Partnership for Children and Youth, an organization that advocates for more investment in after-school and summer learning programs. The organization just released a report calling for school districts to work with after-school and summer learning program staff to support students during the pandemic.

Two health experts said the benefits of providing child care have to be weighed against the potential health risks, particularly to adults working in schools or child care programs and children's families.

"My fear is the role of schools in being an engine or catalyst for a broader outbreak," said Andrew Noymer, epidemiologist and associate professor of public health at UC Irvine. "At the same time, I understand that parents very often need to get to work themselves, so we're putting parents in a major bind by canceling school. So we're kind of between a rock and a hard place here. I could argue again from the other hand that if a kid's parent dies, that's worse for their welfare than being kept at home."

Noymer and Naomi Bardach, a doctor and associate professor of pediatrics and health policy at UC San Francisco, both said child care on a school site could potentially be safer than opening a whole school for in-person classes if there are fewer people on campus overall. For example, one or two small groups of children on a school campus, with one or two adults for each group, is safer than every classroom open for small groups.

"Most schools have hundreds to sometimes thousands of people coming together on one campus," Bardach said. "Even in our best approaches and our best attempts at small stable cohorts, in that setting, you're still bringing together a large amount of people. The difference with learning hubs is that they're smaller groups that don't have as many people coming in."

However, she added, "Do I think the science supports that learning pods are going to be that much safer? I honestly don't think we have the science at all to tell us that."

In order to open in the safest way possible, Bardach emphasized that child care programs have to follow health and safety guidelines, such as screening for symptoms, wearing masks, staying at least 6 feet apart, washing hands frequently, making sure there is good ventilation indoors and keeping groups as small as possible. Each county public health department has set a maximum number of children in child care, typically around 10 to 12.

She said the same is true for the "learning pods" parents across the country are setting up to share child care and allow students to study together and socialize.

"The same public health principles that are key to reopening schools are still going to be key to having safe pods and safe day care settings," Bardach said. "No matter who you are, and no matter what solution you're reaching for, please stick with these public health principles, because these are the ones that we know are key to keeping the virus under control."

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Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration Commissioner Butch Eley on Thursday announced that Tennessee tax revenues exceeded budgeted estimates in July. Overall July revenues were $1.86 billion, which is $689.4 million more than the state received in July 2019 and $667.1 million more than the budgeted estimate. The growth rate for July was 59.06 percent.

Tax revenue receipts for July recorded significant growth compared to the same month last year and greatly exceeded budgeted estimates because tax extensions made in March resulted in large tax payments being made in July, Commissioner Eley said. Sales and use taxes, which reflect June consumer sales activity, revealed positive progress after three straight months of negative growth with federal stimulus assistance likely supporting a significant portion of Tennessee consumer spending.

The state will finish the 2019-2020 fiscal year 2.42 percent above last year and $369.2 million above the established budgeted estimate. Adjusting for changes adopted during the 2020 legislative session, total state revenues are $488.2 million more than the revised revenue estimate and $484.9 million more than the revised general fund estimate.

Even as the state finishes the year with a positive revenue balance, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on future revenues remains a concern. Thus, we will continue to monitor national and global economic indicators to manage our spending and revenue collections appropriately.

General fund revenues for July were greater than the budgeted estimate in the amount of $632.7 million, and the four other funds that share in state tax revenues were $34.4 million more than the estimates.

Sales tax revenues were $39.8 million more than the estimate for July and they were 6.33 percent more than July 2019. For the year, sales tax revenues are $96.2 million higher than estimated. The yearly growth rate is 2.90 percent.

Franchise and excise tax revenues combined were $520.8 million more than the budgeted estimate in July and the growth rate compared to July 2019 was 675.95 percent. For the year, revenues are $228.9 million more than the estimate and the year-to-date growth rate is 3.81 percent.



Gasoline and motor fuel revenues for July increased by 5.52 percent compared to July 2019, but they were $0.8 million less than the budgeted estimate of $106.1 million. For the year, revenues were short of estimates by $16.6 million.

Motor vehicle registration revenues were $5.2 million more than the July estimate, and for the year, revenues are $5.6 million less than the estimate.

Tobacco tax revenues were $1 million more than the July budgeted estimate of $20.8 million. August through July, revenues are $0.7 million more than the budgeted estimate.

Hall income tax revenues for July were $94.7 million more than the budgeted estimate. For the year, revenues are $47.5 million more than the budgeted estimate.

Privilege tax revenues were $6 million more than the July estimate, and for the year, August through July, revenues are $21.2 million more than the estimate.

Business tax revenues were $10.1 million more than the July estimate. For the year, revenues are $17.5 million more than the budgeted estimate.

Gross receipts revenues were $5.2 million less than the July estimate, and for the year, revenues are $4.2 million less than the estimate.

Mixed drink, or Liquor-by-the-drink, taxes were $5.5 million less than the July estimate, and for the year, revenues are $22.3 million less than the estimate.

All other tax revenues exceeded estimates by a net of $1 million.

For the year, revenues were $369.2 million more than the budgeted estimate. The general fund recorded $330.8 million more than budgeted estimates and the four other funds $38.4 million.

The budgeted revenue estimates for 2019-2020 are based on the State Funding Boards consensus recommendation of Nov. 26, 2018, and adopted by the second session of the 111th General Assembly in April 2019. Also incorporated in the estimates are any changes in revenue enacted during the 2019 session of the General Assembly. These estimates are available on the states website at https://www.tn.gov/content/tn/finance/fa/fa-budget-information/fa-budget-rev.html.

On Nov. 19, 2019, the State Funding Board met to hear updated revenue projections from various state economists. Following this meeting, on Nov. 26, 2019, the board decided to adopt revised revenue growth ranges for the current fiscal year. The recurring growth ranges adopted include a low of 3.10 percent to a high of 3.60 percent for total taxes and a recurring range low of 3.20 percent to a high of 3.75 percent for general fund taxes.

On March 19, 2020 in the second session of the 111th General Assembly, the Legislature passed the 2019-2020 budget, which included the Funding Boards current year revised ranges and the administrations amendment to the proposed budget. To recognize the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the administrations amendment included a reduction of $153.8 million of previously projected revenue to acknowledge potential shortfalls. The governor signed the appropriations bill on April 2, 2020 and it became Public Chapter 651, which still recognized an additional $396.1 million in total revenue and a corresponding increase in general fund revenue in the amount of $345.9 million for FY20.

In June, the General Assembly reconvened again and, due to the unforeseen economic impact of COVID-19, elected to lower revenues estimates further for the current fiscal year thereby reducing general fund estimates by $500 million. Consequently, a revised FY 2021 budget (Public Chapter 760) was signed into law on June 30.
Dr V Mohan has been awarded the prestigious Prof KP Bhargava Memorial Medal

Dr V Mohan, Chairman, and Chief Diabetologist of Dr Mohans Diabetes Specialities Centre and President and Director of Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, Chennai has been awarded the prestigious Professor KP Bhargava Memorial Medal by the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) for the year 2020 for his pioneering work in the field of International Diabetes Research and Medical Sciences. The award was announced during the general body meeting of INSA held on 7th August 2020. Professor KP Bhargava Memorial Medal is awarded once in every 3 years to a Fellow of INSA who has made outstanding research contributions in Medical Sciences.

Dr Mohan has published a record number of 1296 of scientific papers which includes 846 original articles, 289 review articles and guest editorials along with 161 chapters to text-books on Diabetes. His research has attracted over 124,000 citations and an impressive h index of 129. Dr Mohan and his esteemed colleagues pioneered innovated and developed a Made in India product called Dr Mohans high fiber white rice which has a lower glycemic index than any other white rice in the market. His studies on fibrocalculus pancreatic diabetes (FCPD) and Genomics of Diabetes are well quoted nationally and internationally.

A Padma Shri recipient by the Government of India, Dr Mohan has recently been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) and is one of the few medical doctors in India to have been awarded the FRSE for his extensive contributions in the field of diabetes research.
CHICO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / August 13, 2020 / AmeraMex International, Inc. (OTCQB:AMMX), a provider of heavy equipment for logistics companies, infrastructure construction and forestry conservation, announced that it has received an equipment order totaling $370,000.

The order is for a refurbished Taylor Machine X360L forklift with a capacity of 36,000 pounds. The equipment, which is in inventory, will ship next week to a container handling facility in Southern California. The Company also shipped spare parts totaling $6,000 to customers on the West Coast.

About AmeraMex International

AmeraMex International sells, leases, and rents heavy equipment to companies within multiple industries including construction, logistics, mining, and lumber. AmeraMex, with a US and international customer base, has over 30 years of experience in heavy equipment sales and service. Follow AmeraMex on Twitter @ammx_intl and visit the AmeraMex website, www.AMMX.net or www.hamreequipment.com for additional corporate information, online heavy equipment inventory/ pricing and videos.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release are forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "potential," "continue" or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties, and there are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Investors are encouraged to review the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors should not place any undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Company's control which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Any forward-looking statement reflects the Company's current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

Investor and Media Relations

McCloud Communications, LLC

Marty Tullio, Managing Member

Office: 949.632.1900 or Marty@McCloudCommunications.com

SOURCE: AmeraMex International, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/601537/AmeraMex-International-Receives-Forklift-Order-Totaling-376000
Indians across the nation will be commemorating Indias independence from British rule by celebrating its 74th Independence Day on August 15, 2020, but with a slight twist. Owing to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, there will be no social gatherings, instead, all states and government offices have been asked to webcast their events and celebrations.

Even the gathering at the Red Fort, where the flag is hoisted every Independence Day, will be limited. In lieu of the precautions taken, there will not be any grand performances with the military bands either. Ideally, the citizens across the country sing and dance on patriotic songs, hoist the tricolour flag and enthusiastically recite poems remembering the sacrifices of Indias freedom fighters.

ALSO SEE: 74th Independence Day: I-day celebrations around India amid coronavirus pandemic

History

For 200 years, Indians suffered domination of the British colonisers beginning in 1757. Their control over the country was gained by the victory of English East India Company at the Battle of Plassey.

Indian history is rid with famous events of retaliation and uprisings which eventually drove the Britishers out and forced former viceroy, Lord Mountbatten, to free India on August 15, 1947 after giving the mandate to transfer the power to Indians. The day also marked the partition of British-ruled India into two countries, India and Pakistan.

The British were successful with their divide and rule policy which led to violence between Muslims and Hindus. Owing to this unrest, a separate country was formed on the eve of August 14, 1947 after violent riots, mass casualties and the displacement of nearly 15 million people.

Significance

Independence Day is a reminder of the sacrifices of our valiant freedom fighters who stood up against the colonisers and even suffered harsh consequences unflinchingly, so that the later generations could breathe in free air. Slaving for 200 years and claiming back our country makes us marvel at the great leaders.

On August 15, 1947, the first Prime Minister of Independent India Jawaharlal Nehru unveiled Indias tricolour flag at the Red Fort in Delhi. This practice continues till date as along with the flag hoisting, the Prime Minister delivers a speech from the historic monument.

A national parade by different battalions of the Indian Army bands follows. However, the Defence Ministry recently stated that due to widespread Covid-19 pandemic, the military bands are preparing their shows in advance. These are likely to be telecast on Independence Day instead of a live performance.

Kite flying is also celebrated as an event associated with Independence Day. People symbolise their patriotism for the country by using the flag in different sizes and also decorate their homes and belongings with the colours of the national flag. Indians living in other parts of the world also celebrate Independence Day, and several cities in the United States have declared Indias Independence Day, August 15 as India Day.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 13)  Some companies will be required to have isolation centers and protocol officers to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace, the Department of Trade and Industry announced Thursday.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said these are the latest additions to the health protocols for offices and will be formalized in a memorandum circular on Friday.

Medium- to large-sized companies or those with an asset size of 15 million will then be asked to set up isolation facilities with restrooms, Lopez said in a public meeting with local government officials in Cavite province.

These will be used for workers who suddenly exhibit symptoms while at work and could also be the temporary holding area for those who test positive for coronavirus, Lopez said. There should be an isolation center dedicated for every 200 employees, he added.

Micro-enterprises that cannot provide such facilities should coordinate with local authorities in case a worker needs isolation.

Companies should also designate a protocol officer who will monitor and make sure health standards are carried out in the workplace.

Bawat kumpanya, we will now be requiring yung health protocol officer pati ho yung health and safety committee para ho katulong natin, kasama natin sila sa pag-ensure ng compliance ng lahat ng ating protocol, Lopez said.

[Translation: Every company, we will now be requiring the health protocol officer and health and safety committee to help us ensure compliance with all protocols.

We will make them responsible, the Trade chief said, adding that the DTI will hire more people to help the Labor department audit companies for compliance.

Lopez said businesses that fail to observe the protocols will be warned at first, but repeat offenses will lead to temporary closure until the requirements are met.

He also reminded employers that they should coordinate with local governments for the testing of their workers, following concerns raised by mayors that some employees are sent home even after testing positive for the viral illness. This is a huge mistake due to lack of coordination, which the government seeks to address, Lopez said.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III advised local chief executives to send a memorandum to the companies under their jurisdiction to order them to report the results of workers COVID-19 testing. Duque said this is lawful under the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Concern Act.

The government is tightening rules after reports of COVID-19 transmission in the workplace.

READ: Family gatherings, workplaces new sources of COVID-19 transmission in PH

Other office guidelines include the mandatory wearing of face masks and face shields.

Big companies are required to provide shuttle services for their employees, but face masks and face shields should be worn during the entire ride, and talking and eating are prohibited, Lopez said.

Meanwhile, officials are considering lifting the ban on dine-in in office canteens if there are proper barriers and social distancing, Lopez said. Common smoking areas should remain closed.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Aug. 13, 2020 | PADUCAH

By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 13, 2020 | 11:14 AM | PADUCAH

A Paducah man was arrested after police say he was caught impersonating a federal agent several times.



The McCracken County Sheriff's Office said detectives were notified on June 23 that 45-year-old Corey Thorson had called and texted someone claiming to be a federal agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.



The victim told detectives Thorson made several threats of arrest if his demands weren't met. Detectives contacted the ATF field office in Paducah and verified that Thorson was not an ATF agent.



Detectives were notified on Tuesday by another victim who also claimed Thorson presented himself as an ATF agent. Thorson again made threats that if his demands weren't met, in this case child custody agreements, agents would arrest the victim.



On Wednesday a third person contacted deputies, saying Thorson had again presented himself as an ATF agent. The victim stated that Thorson again made demands, and threatened the victim if those demands were not met.



Thorson, who is currently on parole due to a conviction of federal charges, was arrested Thursday morning at the US Probation and Parole Office in Paducah. He's charged with three counts of impersonating a peace officer and three counts of harassing communications.
On Tuesday, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden announced his selection of Sen. Kamala Harris as his vice-presidential running mate. Politically, Harris was an obvious choice. As a presidential candidate in the Democratic primary, Harris was a serious contender. Weeks before ending her campaign, Harris was second among Democratic Party hopefuls in political endorsements and sixth in total fundraising efforts . As recently as last July, both Quinnipiac and Change Research had her polling at 20 percent nationally among the primary candidates . Couple her strong performance with Bidens pledge to select a woman for the number-two position, and the Harris selection seemed inevitable.

The critical question surrounding Harris as the vice presential pick, though, was her memorable clash with Biden during the primary debates. If you remember anything from the Kamala Harris campaign, you remember that moment, now more than a year ago, when she went after then-frontrunner Biden for not supporting desegregation busing . Harris turned to the camerasand to Americaand revealed that, There was a little girl in California, who was a part of the second class to integrate her public schools, and she was bused to school every day. And that little girl was me. After sharing her personal story, she challenged Biden directly: Do you agree today that you were wrong to oppose busing then?

That moment put Harris in the spotlight. Within days, she went from polling in the low single digits to that high of 20 percent . But the significance of that school desegregation moment wasnt just about her delivery on the debate stage or the subsequent rise (and then fall) of her poll numbers, it is in the fact that school desegregation policies are actually very popular nationally.

During the campaign trail, questions about school desegregation will resurface because of the public divide it created between her and Biden last year."

Not long after Sen. Harris had her shining debate performance last year, Gallup fielded a survey that included questions on attitudes toward school desegregation policies. It turns out that a majority of Americans (57 percent) feel that racial segregation in U.S. public schools is a very or at least moderately serious issue. A majority (53 percent) also agree that the federal government should take additional steps to reduce racial segregation in U.S. schools. Gallup also finds significant support for more specific policies that promote school desegregation, such as the creation of specialized regional magnet schools (79 percent), initiatives that promote more low-income housing (66 percent), and the redrawing of district boundaries (60 percent).

Ironically, busing was the only desegregation policy in the survey that did not receive majority support around the time that Sen. Harris was sharing her own busing experience on the national stage. It did, however, receive higher popularity among the Obama coalition"the young and nonwhite Democratic voters that Harris sought to mobilize in her campaign. Fifty-nine percent of Democrats expressed support for busing, as well as 62 percent of Americans of color and 52 percent of Americans age 34 and under, Gallup found.

A few days after her sharp debate stage exchange with Biden over busing, Harris appeared in Iowa with a renewed energy. And when asked about her stance on busing, she gave an answer that reconciled well with what the public expressed in the Gallup poll saying that: Busing is a tool among many that should be considered when we address the current issuewhich is also a past issueof desegregation in American schools.

The problem is that, after this short window, Harris never championed school desegregation as a primary issue. In the weeks that followed, she released her plans for health care expansion, the extended school day, Black homeownership in redlined communities, and criminal justice reform. What might have happened had she kept school desegregation at the center of her campaign?

Her selection as candidate for vice president casts a renewed opportunity. During the campaign trail, questions about school desegregation will resurface because of the public divide it created between hers and Biden last year. Harris will likely feel compelled to minimize the issue in order to focus on the areas where she and Biden are seen as more ideologically aligned.

But there is another option that could have major implications for education policy.

Harris could decide to champion school desegregation as a vice presidential candidate. Should the Biden-Harris combo earn a victory in November, she could take the lead on a massive reform effort to make quality education accessible for all kids no matter where they live or the obstacles they face. She could show that what happened that June night last year was not the creation of a divide. Instead, she could turn it into the start of a larger process of educating our potential next president about the impact of desegregation on the prospects for little Black boys and girls across the country.

At Brown University, I teach a class called Policy Implementation in Education. In that course, I challenge students interested in becoming policymakers to focus on the lived experience of those directly affected by the policy. Truly transformative ideas can only be cultivated into high-impact reforms when we see names and faces.

As vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris could have the opportunity to do something specialto take the names and faces of the people from her childhood who never got the chance to attend a school equipped to meet their needs. She could use that as a North Star to build an educational system that is more equitable and more accountable to the kids who need it most.
Backpackers: Travellers at Hostelworlds One Miru hostel in Prague, Czech Republic, before Covid restrictions cut travel figures

Online booking platform Hostelworld has said its revenue is down 69pc to 12m for the first half of this year.

The Dublin-listed company has been badly hit by Covid-19 travel restrictions, with net bookings on the site down 67pc year on year, according to interim results.

This has resulted in the firm reporting an adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) loss of 8.3m, a swing on the profit of 8.9m made in the same period last year.

The ebitda was in line with its previously guided range of an 8m to 9m loss.

Hostelworld says it has seen a "modest" increase in bookings in recent weeks as travel restrictions begin to ease.

The company is tracking slightly ahead of its base case scenario, which it calculated earlier this year after the global pandemic first began to impact the business.

However, its source markets in the Americas, Asia and Oceania "continue to remain very depressed".

In June, the company raised 15.2m through the placing of and direct subscription for new ordinary shares.

It has taken a number of measures to reduce costs, the end result of which has seen operating expenditure - excluding marketing overheads - decline by a fifth in the three months to June 30.

Its cash position of 32.9m at June 30 includes cash on hand of 29.4m and a 3.5m short-term financing facility.

Hostelworld's cash dividends for this year remain suspended, with the board instead proposing to issue new ordinary shares, by way of bonus issue to shareholders based on a value of 0.01 per share and subject to shareholder approval.

"The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in significant trading disruption for our business and the global travel industry," said Hostelworld's CEO Gary Morrison. "Over the last few months we have taken the opportunity to accelerate our 'Roadmap for Growth' program to strengthen our core platform, completing items planned for H2 2020 and 2021 ahead of schedule."

Looking forward, Hostelworld said there is "significant potential" to improve growth, mainly through increasing its range of experiential travel products beyond hostel accommodation. The firm handled 6.6 million net brand bookings in 2019.

Ross Harvey, analyst at Davy, said the group's outlook statement was "encouraging".

The company, founded by Ray Nolan, listed on the stock market in 2015.

Shares in Hostelworld were trading down just over 1pc in London yesterday.
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Aug. 12, 2020

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/PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- U.S. Oral Surgery Management (USOSM)  a specialty management services company headquartered in, that exclusively serves premier oral and maxillofacial surgeons  is pleased to announce a new partnership with Oral Surgery Associates & Dental Implant Centers, an OMS practice with 10 locations in the, area."Last year, we announced our first partnership in the southeast and our intention to continue cultivating relationships in this important part of the country. Since then, we have formed several partnerships in thearea, and we plan to continue that momentum inand throughout the southeast," said, USOSM president and CEO. "Like our other partners, Oral Surgery Associates & Dental Implant Centers is exceptional. They are one of the largest and most respected OMS practices in the southeast. The doctors and their staff have built a reputation for excellence and quality patient care, and we're honored to partner with them."Oral Surgery Associates & Dental Implant Centers is a nine surgeon practice with 10 locations, servingand the surrounding areas. Offices include, Northlake/andThe surgical team is dedicated to helping patients fully understand treatment and be completely comfortable during all parts of a procedure. The doctors provide patients with a unique, personal approach and exemplary attention to detail."We've always focused on providing high quality patient care and making sure everyone leaves our office with a smile. These things are a big part of who we are and have helped shape us into a great practice, but we were ready to take things to the next level, and that's why we chose to partner with USOSM," said Dr., DMD, a partner of and oral surgeon with Oral Surgery Associates & Dental Implant Centers. "We were impressed with the high quality of oral surgeons who were already in the group and when we talked to them about the experience, their responses were uniform  they all said USOSM does what it says it's going to do, and that it's a solid group that listens, responds and pays attention to detail. We're compatible, committed and all-in."Headquartered in, USOSM has partner practices spanning six states:and. A shared services organization, USOSM collaborates with premier oral and maxillofacial surgeons to offer a partnership solution for continued and accelerated practice success. USOSM provides operational, marketing and administrative support services, reinvests resources, and applies best practices to improve clinical and financial performance and produce steadier, more profitable growth for all.SOURCE U.S. Oral Surgery Management
[Update: Officer who ordered police dog to bite a Black man is charged with assault.] The authorities in Salt Lake City suspended the use of police dogs in arrests after one bit a Black man who was on one knee with his hands in the air during an incident in April, the mayor said on Wednesday.

Mayor Erin Mendenhall of Salt Lake City said that the use of police dogs to engage with suspects would be suspended until officials could review city policies and practices.

Ms. Mendenhall said that a police officer involved was also suspended from duty pending an investigation into the incident. The police did not name the officer.

The announcements came a day after The Salt Lake Tribune published an account of what happened, including police body camera footage that showed an officer handling a police dog as it bit a Black man, identified by the police as Jeffery Ryans, 36, on the evening of April 24.
A Senior Political Science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Asah Asante has waded into discussions over Professor Kwamena Ahwoi's book titled ''Working with Rawlings''.



Prof. Ahwoi's book has, since its release, become a topical issue due to its contents regarding his working relationship with former President Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings.



Due to the revealing contents of the book, there are fears it may affect the political fortunes of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), particularly in this electioneering year where former President, John Mahama is seeking for re-election on the ticket of the party.



Seasoned journalist, Kweku Baako has described the timing of the book as a "strategic miscalculation", stressing it will create problems for the NDC.



"If you're an NDC member, you will feel very uncomfortable with the contents of this book, particularly the timing of its release. It's an election campaign season and out there is a political opposition to the NDC in varied forms including the ruling NPP. And you can't blame any political analyst or animal or activist or politician who decides to capitalize on inadequacies or controversial portions and things of the book and play with it. This a free space; a democratic space'', he said on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo' on Wednesday, August 12, 2020.



But to the Political Science lecturer, the book is only an account of the Rawlings' administration and comes to reaffirm some things that have been said about the former President.



Speaking to host Kwami Sefa Kayi on 'Kokrokoo' on Thursday, August 13, Dr. Asah Asante expounded that the book being a historical account of the Rawlings' regime helps in informing and educating the masses.



He narrated that Prof. Ahwoi touched on human right abuse issues, the Nana Konadu factor, friends and enemies in the NDC, the Military rule and governance style among others that characterized former President Rawlings' regime.



Dr. Asah Asante held strongly that the book won't affect the NDC's electoral fortunes.



"The contents of the book is not anything new to us . . . If somebody should ask what all these will do in the elections, my answer is it will cause nothing," he stated.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Officer Horlock, 29, was charged with battery, battery resulting in moderate injury, battery resulting in bodily injury, perjury, obstruction of justice and official misconduct, Mr. Mears said. The obstruction of justice charge relates to a statement that Officer Horlock made in a probable cause affidavit, in which he falsely claimed that Ms. Westfield had hit a police sergeant in the chest with her hands, according to the grand jury indictment.

Officer Schauwecker, 34, was charged with battery, battery resulting in moderate injury, two counts of battery resulting in bodily injury and two counts of official misconduct.

It goes back to the issue of reasonableness, Mr. Mears said at a news conference on Wednesday. What would a reasonable officer, under the circumstances  what should they have done?

Terrance Kinnard, a lawyer for Ms. Harding and Ms. Westfield, said his clients were very pleased with the effort, resolve and diligence shown by Mr. Mears.

He and his staff responded to this matter with the utmost respect and regard, not only for Ms. Westfield and Ms. Harding, but also our community, Mr. Kinnard said in a statement. We also thank the grand jury for their time, attention and diligence, especially in light of the current environment of a worldwide pandemic.

John F. Kautzman, a lawyer for Officers Horlock and Schauwecker, said he had no immediate comment.

The Indianapolis police officers union said in a statement on Wednesday that it looked forward to a full, fair and public airing of all of the facts and circumstances surrounding the events in question.

While officers prefer to avoid any use of force, we fully recognize the requirement to safely and swiftly effectuate the lawful arrest of individuals when called upon to do so, especially during tense and rapidly evolving events, the Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police said in the statement.
Athens, Aug 13 : Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that "no provocation will remain unanswered" on the escalation of tension in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Greece's response on Wednesday came after Turkey decided to send the research vessel Oruc Reis to conduct seismic research south of the Greek island of Kastellorizo in the Eastern Mediterranean, reports Xinhua news agency.

In a televised address to the nation, Mitsotakis said that Greece does not seek to escalate the tension, but "no provocation will remain unanswered".

"We hope logic will finally prevail in our neighbouring country so that honest dialogue can begin," he said in a statement.

"As a member of the European family and stability pillar in the Eastern Mediterranean, Greece stays committed to the principles of International Law and the principles of good neighbourly relations. Our country does not threaten and is not threatened by anyone.

"That is exactly why it does not succumb to threats and does not tolerate extortionist practices," the Prime Minister added.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has called an extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council meeting on Friday to address the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Turkey dispatched on Monday its seismic survey vessel Oruc Reis, escorted by Turkish warships, to the Eastern Mediterranean after Greece and Egypt last week signed a maritime border agreement for the region.

Turkey said that the Oruc Reis, which has lowered 1,750 km of seismic cables into the Mediterranean Sea for a two-dimensional seismic survey, would be operating in the Mediterranean Sea until August 23.

Greece, which also deployed warships to monitor the vessel, has called on Turkey to withdraw vessels from the area.

"The risk of an accident lurks when so many naval forces gather in a limited area," Mitsotakis said over developments in the region.

The discovery of rich gas reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean in the last decade has triggered a race to tap the region's underwater resources and sparked tensions between Ankara and Athens.

Ankara and Athens have been at odds for some time over the boundaries of their respective continental shelves.

Turjey recently stepped up for its hydrocarbon research and drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean.
So Joe Biden has picked the runt of the litter, an also-ran loser in the Democratic primaries who never won a primary, barely escaped sitting at the kiddies table, whom the voters didnt think was qualified to be president, yet whom Biden wanted to be a heartbeat away. Or maybe his puppet masters, the voices in his earpiece, and the voices in his head picked her from a list loaded with more baggage than an airport carousel.

Biden picked a running mate who labeled him a racist opponent of school busing who cavorted and collaborated with segregationist Democrat colleagues in the Senate where Biden supported legislation leading to the incarceration of young black males. Of course, Harris did her part in incarcerating young black males with a vengeance as states attorney in San Francisco and attorney general of California.

Kamala Harris also believes Biden is a sexual predator, saying we should believe his accusers, even staffer Tara Reade, who has credibly accused him of sexual assault. Reade certainly brings more evidence to the table than Brett Kavanaughs accuser, whom Harris viciously attacked in one of the most unhinged attempts at character assassination we have ever seen.

The Hill reported:

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) said Tuesday that she believes women who say they felt uncomfortable after receiving unwanted touching from former Vice President Joe Biden. I believe them and I respect them being able to tell their story and having the courage to do it, Harris said during a presidential campaign event in Nevada in April 2019 before Biden had officially entered the race.

As PJ Media reports:

And then theres Tara Reade, in 2019, she said that Biden used to touch her inappropriately while she was a staffer in his Senate office in 1993. He used to put his hand on my shoulder and run his finger up my neck, Reade said. I would just kind of freeze and wait for him to stop doing that. She later expanded on those allegations, claiming in March 2020 that Biden sexually assaulted her by pushing her up against the wall, kissing her and sliding his hand up her shirt and up her skirt. Reade says attempted to file a claim, but Biden was ultimately protected by loyalists on his staff. The credibility of her claims was boosted by the release of a clip of the Larry King Live show during which her mother called in anonymously asking the panel for advice on how to handle a situation with her daughter and a prominent U.S. senator. Kamala Harris may have believed Tara Reade before Joe Biden jumped in the race, but when Biden was the frontrunner and then presumptive nominee, she ignored Reades sexual assault allegations when they resurfaced in 2020.

All Trump has to do is take clips from their debate exchanges and attacks on Biden from Kamalas interviews and append the tag line, Im Donald J. Trump and I approve her message.

Harris well-rehearsed attack on Joe Biden that nearly derailed his candidacy during the clown-car Democratic presidential debates should have come as no surprise to those who have watched her rise to political prominence. Never mind its relevance or accuracy. For Harris, the ends always justify the means.

For a time it looked as if Harris wasnt even on the short list, consistently failing to make the top tier in the Democratic presidential primary debates, after being ignored in either another Biden brain cramp or deliberate snub in which he called former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun the only African-American woman to serve in the Senate, and after a heated attack from Harris during a debate regarding Bidens record on school busing:

The debate-stage skirmish was one of the seminal moments of the Democratic primary. Harris, who is Black, said Biden made very hurtful comments about his past work with segregationist senators before she slammed his opposition to busing as schools began to integrate. There was a little girl in California who was a part of the second class to integrate her public schools, and she was bused to school every day, she said. And that little girl was me. At the time, Biden called her comments a mischaracterization of my position.

Bidens pick of Harris fulfills Bidens identity-politics decision to pick a woman of color although Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the fake Cherokee Indian, could have qualified. Harris is glib, if not articulate, a stark contrast to a Biden who cant complete a sentence or remember where he is. It comes as Biden steadily slips among minority voters.

More great news for the Trump campaign. Blacks and Minority voters are at record highs for President Trump. Rasmussen Reports released their latest polling of likely black voters of President Trumps job approval is now over 40%:

If Trump gets just 20% of the African-American, vote it is curtains for the Democrats and a landslide for Trump. Bidens patronizing of African-Americans is typified by his arguably racist and demeaning remark that if blacks do not vote for him, they are not in fact black.

For eight years Obama-Biden did nothing while Kamala Harris, as a former California state attorney general and San Francisco district attorney, did measurable harm to the community she claims to be a leader of.

She is counting on strong support from African Americans. But many black voters are wary of her 27 years as a prosecutor enforcing laws that sent African Americans to prison Still, her home states high rate of incarcerating people of color goes a long way in explaining the trouble she has had selling her candidacy to black voters nationwide. In California and many other states, racial disparities in imprisonment have intensified resentments of what many see as deeply ingrained discrimination in Americas criminal justice system But the prisons remain emblematic of chronic racial inequities in the justice system. African Americans make up less than 6% of Californias population but 29% of its inmates, according to the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Latinos are 39% of the population but 43% of the inmates.

Tucker Carlson of Fox News calls Harris a corrupt and dangerous fraud who sees laws and powers only as means to punish her enemies, pursue her agenda, and get elected. As Carlson noted:

Carlson, who called Biden's vice presidential pick the "most consequential" choice in U.S. history, disputed Sen. Kamala Harris's authenticity on her progressive positions, saying the "front-runner" only stands by issues she knows will get her ahead in the polls. He cited the California Democrat's low polling numbers at the time that she ended her own bid for the presidency and dropped out of the Democratic primary race. "The wrap on Harris in exit polls is that shes a fraud," Carlson said. "She doesnt really believe in anything, she'll say whatever it takes. Of course, that is also Harriss primary strength."

Kamala Harris, like Biden, support Planned Parenthoods crimes against the unborn and takes money and endorsements from the abortion industry. One remembers her resorting to lies, falsehoods and innuendo in the Supreme Court confirmation hearing for Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Biden is dangerous because he will let others control him and run the show. Harris is worse. She will know what shes doing and will do it with astounding relish and ruthlessness,

As Sen. Cory Bookers Spartacus moment fizzled, Harris knew an Elmer Gantry moment when she saw one. As Jonathan S. Tobin noted in National Review:

She first earned notoriety in the Senate last year by demonstrating open incivility bordering on bullying when she interrogated Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the national-intelligence chiefs. Bullying witnesses and cutting them off before they have a chance to answer is her modus operandi during hearings The same qualities were on display during her questioning of Kavanaugh. But while, like the other Democrats, she never succeeding in outsmarting the judge, she was the only one to momentarily flummox him by bringing up the Mueller investigation. She started with an impossibly general and specious query about whether he had ever discussed the Mueller probe with anyone.by asserting, even by implication, that Kavanaugh might somehow be part of the Russia-collusion discussion, Harris gave liberal Democrats exactly the kind of red meat they crave. Along with her snide and disrespectful prosecutorial tone, that made her the winner of the first day of the Kavanaugh primary.

But Harris did more than badger, mislead, and imply in her attempt to slander Kavanaugh. Harris circulated a deceptively edited video designed to further her narrative that far from being an originalist that would apply the law fairly on any case, including those involving abortion, Kavanaugh was an active participant in the campaign to repeal Roe V. Wade. As Ashe Schow noted in the Daily Wire:

Harris Twitter account put out a clip that appeared to show Kavanaugh referring to birth control blanketly as abortion-inducing drugs. This is clearly deceptive, as its obvious this was not the beginning of one of Kavanaughs answers. Kavanaughs full sentence, which would have only required one or two extra seconds had Harris team started at the beginning, made it clear he was summarizing what a party in a Supreme Court case said. Kavanaugh said, "In that case, they said filling out the form would make them complicit in the provision of the abortion-inducing drugs that they were, as a religious matter, objected to." (Emphasis added.)

Harris was willing to falsify evidence to slander Kavanaugh and push the false narrative that Kavanaugh was just another pro-lifer waging a war on women. As she tweeted:

Kavanaugh chooses his words very carefully, and this is a dog whistle for going after birth control. He was nominated for the purpose of taking away a womans constitutionally protected right to make her own health care decisions. Make no mistake - this is about punishing women.

Make no mistake -- her abuse of Kavanaugh and Biden was about advancing the career of Kamala Harris. Ironically, she owes her advancement to her association with former Democratic Speaker of the California Assembly Willie Brown. As the Washington Examiner noted:

Kamala Harris first significant political role was an appointment by her powerful then-boyfriend Willie Brown, three decades her senior, to a California medical board that has been criticized as a landing spot for patronage jobs and kickbacks. Then 30, Harris was dating 60-year-old Willie Brown, at the time the Democratic speaker of the California State Assembly, when he placed her on the California Medical Assistance Commission in 1994. The position paid over $70,000 per year, $120,700 in current money, and Harris served on the board until 1998. The medical commission met twice a month, and Harris, a United States senator for California since 2017 and now a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, missed about 20% of the meetings each year

Hey, politics makes strange bedfellows, as they say. Can we count her as a hardcore feminist then? Conservative Twitter icon James Wood has dubbed her #HeelsUpHarris, Kamala Harris is a dangerous and malevolent political opportunist who doesnt belong in the same zip code as the White House -- and the Lincoln Bedroom.

Photo credit: YouTube screen grab (cropped).

Daniel John Sobieski is a former editorial writer for Investors Business Daily and freelance writer whose pieces have appeared in Human Events, Reason Magazine, and the Chicago Sun-Times among other publications.
Research captures how human sperm swim in 3D

This news release is a revision of one originally published on July 31, 2020.

Using state-of-the-art 3D microscopy and mathematics, Dr Hermes Gadelha from the University of Bristol, Dr Gabriel Corkidi and Dr Alberto Darszon from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, have reconstructed the movement of the sperm tail in 3D with high-precision.

Using a high-speed camera capable of recording over 8,000 frames in one second, and a microscope stage with a piezoelectric device to move the sample up and down at an incredibly high rate, they were able to scan the sperm swimming freely in 3D.

"Human sperm roll as they swim, much like playful otters corkscrewing through water to swim forwards," said Dr Gadelha, head of the Polymaths Laboratory at Bristol's Department of Engineering Mathematics and an expert in the mathematics of fertility.

"The otter-like spinning of human sperm is however complex: the sperms' rapid and highly synchronised spinning causes the to tail rotate around the swimming direction, drilling into the fluid with helical waves."

"The centreline of the 3D tail shows travelling waves of changes in chirality, known in mathematics as perversion. This is similar to changes in spiralling direction we see in plant tendrils. We now know that these perversion waves are correlated to the spinning movement of the sperm's head."

Computer-assisted semen analysis systems in use today, both in clinics and for research, still use 2D views to look at sperm movement. We can now see that 2D projections of sperm swimming can introduce inaccuracies in how we see the tail's movement. Novel use of 3D microscope technology combined with mathematics, may provide fresh avenues for unlocking the secrets of human sperm swimming.

"With over half of infertility caused by male factors, understanding how the human sperm tail moves is fundamental to developing future diagnostic tools to identify unhealthy sperm," adds Dr Gadelha, whose work has previously revealed the biomechanics of sperm bendiness and the precise rhythmic tendencies that characterise how a sperm moves forward.

###

Clarification:

*This story replaces the version published on 31 July. The researchers have conducted further checks following concerns about some of the mathematical conclusions in the corresponding peer-reviewed paper. Although every aspect of the experiment and analysis of the work are correct, the interpretation that the flagellar beat is asymmetric cannot be concluded with confidence. Thus, whether the sperm tail beats asymmetrically remains an open question. This was communicated as soon as it became apparent to the journal, Science Advances, which is conducting its own review. The University of Bristol and its researchers are committed to the integrity of scientific research and welcome input and debate from the scientific community which contribute to the advancement of science.

This story has been published on: 2020-08-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Police officers, firefighters and utility personnel were responding to multiple water main breaks in west Berkeley and Emeryville Wednesday night, police said.

Berkeley police said the water main breaks were significantly impacting the area west of Sacramento Street and south of University Avenue, but authorities were at several different intersections working on the situation late Wednesday night, police said.

The causes of the main breaks were immediately unclear, but Christopher Tritto, a spokesman for the East Bay Municipal Utility District told The Chronicle that it appears brittle pipes in one section of the system in Berkeley may have been over-pressurized, causing about 16 water main breaks.

They are older pipes that are brittle, and it appears that we adjust the pressure to the system day and night, all day long, to respond to customer demand, Tritto said. And this section of the system may have been over-pressurized a bit, and with brittle pipes, it didnt hold. That may have caused these breaks.

Tritto said he wasnt sure about the age of the pipes in Berkeley, but said the area is said to have some older and more brittle pipes. Pipes throughout the East Bay vary in age, he said, with some of them nearly a century old.

Tritto told The Chronicle that EBMUD has an active pipeline rebuild program to update our infrastructure and replace old pipe, but because of the nature and size of the system, there are brittle pipes that will sometimes break, so we are responding to that now. We have about 4,200 miles of pipeline in the East Bay to maintain and upgrade.

Tritto estimated that about 300 customers were without water service Wednesday night.

Tritto said the response was an all hands on deck undertaking, with regular crews responding along with backup crews. It was immediately unclear how many utility personnel were working to shut off the pipes and repair any damage.

Tritto said utility crews hope to restore water to impacted customers by daybreak Thursday, but said it was hard to provide a more specific timeline because multiple water main breaks could bring different challenges.

But our customers are our top priority, and our crews wont be leaving until the job is done, Tritto said.

He did not immediately have any information about the water main break in Emeryville.

The breaks in Berkeley prompted street closures on southbound Sacramento Street between Allston Way and Addison Street. Police said they expect the road to be closed for several hours.

Berkeley police cautioned motorists in the area to be alert while driving, and to keep an eye out for personnel working the scene.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

In nearby Emeryville, local police also reported a water main break in the 6400 block of Hollis Street in Emeryville. The break also caused road closures on Hollis Street at Ocean Avenue through Hollis Street at 65th St., with both northbound and southbound lanes of Hollis Street shut down, police said.

Emeryville police said EBMUD officials were working to get the water water shut off/by passed.

Alameda County Fire Department responded to alarms that went off as a result of the breaks in Emeryville, police said on Twitter.

ALCO fire is responding to fire alarms to hopefully reset them, Emeryville police said in a tweet with the hashtags,  #underwater #Atlantis #wearefixingit

Check back for updates.

Lauren Hernandez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ByLHernandez
Nearly nine out of 10 Democrats approve of US Senator Kamala Harris as their partys vice presidential nominee, and she is more popular than presidential candidate Joe Biden among women, young voters and some Republicans, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday.

The August 11-12 public opinion survey also found that 60% of Americans, including 87% of Democrats and 37% of Republicans, considered the selection of Harris - the first Black woman and Asian American nominated for vice presidency - to be a major milestone for the US.

The California senator is viewed about as favourably or better than Biden in most major demographic groups, the poll showed, highlighting her potential to help the former vice president expand his support in Novembers election.

The poll showed Bidens lead over Republican President Donald Trump was effectively unchanged after he announced his running mate choice, increasing by 1 percentage point among all Americans to an 8-point advantage - well within the polls credibility interval - when compared with a similar poll that ran on Monday and Tuesday.

Forty-six percent of U.S. adults said they would vote for a Biden/Harris ticket, while 38% would vote for Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. A similar poll that ran on Monday and Tuesday showed that 44% would vote for Biden while 37% would back Trump.

The latest poll also found that 56% of Americans have a favourable impression of Harris, which is about the same as the number who favour Biden. Forty-two percent of US adults say they have a favourable view of Trump and 47% said the same of Pence.

Among women, 60% said they have a favourable view of Harris, compared with 53% who felt the same way about Biden.

In addition, about 25% of Republicans said they had a favourable view of Harris and approve of her choice as Bidens running mate. Only about 20% of Republicans said they have a similarly favourable view of Biden.

Harris also is a little more popular among American adults who are younger than 35 years old: 62% said they view Harris favourably, while 60% said the same of Biden.
A man has been accused of repeatedly spitting at several police officers in Sydney's CBD.

Police were called to a George Street hotel on Wednesday evening after reports of an altercation and stopped a 32-year-old man at the nearby Railway Square.

The man was arrested after refusing to provide them with details and trying to walk away, police claim.

A masked police officer is pictured at Sydney International Airport on Saturday. A man has been accused of repeatedly spitting at multiple police officers after being arrested at Railway Square in the city's CBD

He allegedly then refused to move on after his identity was established and was arrested again.

Officers say he then repeatedly spat at multiple officers while in custody at Day Street Police Station.

He was charged with using offensive language in public, failing to comply with a direction and not complying with a noticed direction regarding spitting - COVID-19.

He was refused bail to appear in Central Local Court later on Thursday.
Australia's military would be given more powers while dealing with national emergencies such as bushfires and pandemics under new laws to be drawn up by the federal government.

The Morrison government plans to amend the Defence Act to hand the Prime Minister of the day the power to declare a national emergency or disaster and deploy the Australian Defence Force within Australia.

Members of Victoria Police, aided by ADF soldiers, patrol the Queen Victoria Market. Credit:Chris Hopkins

The legal and constitutional limits on deploying the armed forces domestically has this year come into sharp focus after there was confusion about the deployment of troops in NSW during the summer's bushfires and Victoria's Andrews government repeatedly declined to accept the offer of ADF support for its hotel quarantine program.

While states and territories would still need to make a request for ADF support, government sources with knowledge of the potential legislation say the changes will make it easier to deploy the military and clearly set out its roles and responsibilities. This would likely include giving defence personnel greater legal protections in the event they have to help police search a property or detain someone.
Pakistan is fulfilling all its international obligations relating to Indian death-row convict Kulbhushan Jadhav, the Army claimed on Thursday. Jadhav, a retired Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and terrorism in April 2017.

Weeks later, India approached the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Pakistan for denial of consular access to Jadhav and challenging the death sentence.

The ICJ, then, restrained Pakistan from executing him. In July last year, the Hague-based court ruled that Pakistan must undertake an "effective review and reconsideration" of the conviction and sentence of Jadhav and also to grant consular access to India without further delay.

Responding to a question on Jadhav, Pakistan Army spokesman Major General Babar Iftikhar said, "The decision of the ICJ on Kulbhushan is being implemented."

"We are following international law  consular access was given to fulfil obligations under the ICJ verdict," he said in Rawalpindi.

Pakistan provided consular access to Jadhav in July, days after it claimed that he had refused to file an appeal in a court here against his conviction. However, India expressed its disappointment over Pakistan not providing an "unimpeded, unhindered and unconditional" consular access to Jadhav.

The Islamabad High Court on August 8 constituted a larger three-member bench to hear the petition filed by the government to appoint a legal representative for Jadhav. Pakistan claims that its security forces arrested Jadhav from the restive Balochistan province on March 3, 2016 after he reportedly entered from Iran.

India maintains that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Navy. Iftikhar also accused India of committing human rights violations in Kashmir.

To a question about Pakistan's new political map, he said that "it is the expression of our intent" and added that "we have told the world that this is where we have to go".

In a provocative move, Pakistan on August 4 unveiled its new political map showing the entire Jammu & Kashmir and parts of Gujarat as its territories, drawing the ire of India, which dismissed it as ridiculous assertions that have neither legal validity nor international credibility.
The Government's 'Covid Cabinet', chaired by Michael Gove, met to discuss a mandatory 14-day quarantine for travellers arriving in the UK from France - Chris J Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

France is expected to be struck from the Governments quarantine free travel list, amid rising concern over new cases in the country.

On Wednesday, the French health ministry reported 2,524 new coronavirus infections for the previous 24 hours, the country's highest level since its lockdown began. Since Monday, new cases have come close to doubling in France every day.

Meanwhile, pressure mounted on the Government to strike Malta from its "green list" of quarantine-free countries as Norway and Belgium imposed new restrictions on the island nation.

Malta has seen a steep increase in coronavirus infection figures in the past two weeks and registered 49 positive cases on Wednesday, bringing its number of active cases to 486.

A travel industry source said Malta's fate was "all but sealed" after a failure to get case numbers under control. It has a case rate of 46.7 per 100,000 of the population, more than double the base rate used by the UK Government to assess risk.

Other nations that look likely to come under 14-day quarantine rules include Poland, Iceland, Cyprus and the Netherlands. Data analysis shows Gibraltar, Monaco, San Marino, the Faroe Islands, Turks and Caicos and Aruba are also at high risk of being removed from the safe list.

The potentially large number of countries facing new restrictions has led the travel industry to issue a renewed plea for a regional approach to quarantine.

"We need the Government to make progress now on the things that will allow people to travel with confidence for their next summer," an aviation industry source said. "The blanket approach has been fairly devastating.

"Take the approach to drop the Canaries [from the list of quarantine-free destinations]. I don't think it was acknowledged that they were across an ocean from the [Spanish] mainland. Those islands are massively important economically for the tourist industry, and removing them was a real hammer blow."

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Other countries, such as Germany, have implemented a regional approach. It asks citizens to quarantine only after travel to particularly affected hotspots.

Noel Josephides, a director at the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO), said Germany's "sensible and logical thinking" contrasted with the UK's "swift panic response".

He said: "The Government, despite many approaches from the industry, chooses to ignore us and not to seek our input. This is patently foolish and explains to a large degree Government's apparent stabs in the dark."

Aviation sources said on Wednesday evening that the power to decide which countries to quarantine  and how  rested too heavily with Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, and the chief medical officer, Chris Whitty.

One source said: "Any view voiced by the chief medical officer and others in the 'health space' seems to always outweigh anything else. Whether its the consumer benefit from holidays or just the economic benefits of keeping people in jobs in the travel industry, we just seem to be continually losing out in that fight."

Lucy Moreton, a professional officer for ISU, a trade union representing workers in the UK Immigration Service, warned that a last-minute decision on France could cause a "flood" of Britons attempting to return to evade quarantine.

She said: "What we saw when Spain came off the list was that the communications from carriers to their passengers wasn't clear. A lot of people also hadn't completed the health declaration in advance of travel so we saw a lot of angry people who got held up at the border  queues at Heathrow shot up two hours.

"There has been a massive spike in the abuse for staff by passengers who were angry at the Government's decision."

Meanwhile, British Airways on Wednesday confirmed that holidaymakers could be offered pre-flight coronavirus tests in a bid to boost demand.

"We are currently discussing the possibility of helping our customers access pre-flight testing through third parties if their destination requires this, but no plans have been finalised. We will share more in due course," a BA spokesperson said.

Many destinations that have reopened to tourism require visitors to present a negative coronavirus test on arrival, often at the traveller's cost.
The royal family is celebrating Princess Anne's life on Instagram ahead of her 70th birthday on Saturday.

The Firm's official Instagram account has dedicated today's story to the Princess Royal's 40s and 50s, in the 1990s and 2000s.

Over the years the Princess has turned her attention to a wide variety of causes.

Today's stories highlighting her work as the president of BAFTA and her various military appointments and ranks in the UK and across the common wealth.

Here the Princess Royal is seen in her role as a patron for BAFTA, awarding a BAFTA to actor Sean Connery

Today the royal family's Instagram flashed back to the 1990s and 2000s beginning with the Princess's marriage to Vice Admiral Sir Timothy James Hamilton Laurence in Scotland

Here the Princess Royal is installed as a Knight, rather than a Lady, into the exclusive Order of the Garter - Prince Charles is also a member

Beginning in 1990 the flashback snaps feature Princess Anne awarding a BAFTA award to actor Sean Connery.

The royal served as a patron for BAFTA and its former form, the Society of Television and Film Arts, for 30 years and awarded the first BAFTA after it was renamed.

Photos on the Instagram story then jump to 1992 and the Princess Royal's marriage to Vice Admiral Sir Timothy James Hamilton Laurence at Crathie Kirk in Scotland.

Crathie Kirk is a small church in the parish of Crathie, Aberdeenshire, where the royal family are known to worship whilst staying at Balmoral Castle.



Among many other military roles the Princess Royal became Colonel of the Blues, a cavalry regiment of the British Army, in 1998

In 1994 the Princess Royal was installed as a Knight, after she requested this over becoming a Lady.

She was appointed to the order of the garter, which is the most senior Order of Chivalry - Prince Charles is also a member.

Her Royal Highness went on to become the Colonel of the Blues and Royals, a cavalry regiment of the British Army, in 1998 and is pictured visiting soldiers in 1999.

The corps, Nursing Yeomanry, was founded in 1907 to provide assistance to military and civil authorities in times of emergency, it was later renamed after the Princess Royal

Here the Queen joins Princess Anne at Buckingham Palace to mark the centenary of the Nursing Yeomanry in 2007

Another role the Princess royal has taken on is Commandant-in-chief of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry - an all female volunteer unit.

The corps was founded in 1907 to provide assistance to military and civil authorities in times of emergency.

It was renamed as the Princess Royal's Volunteer Corps in 1999 after she agreed to lend them her title.

A picture of Her Royal Highness and the Queen marking the centenary of the Princess Royal's Volunteer Corps at Buckingham Palace in 2007 was shared by the royal instagram.

Princess Anne appears to be sporting 2000's style in this flashback photo posted to the account to showcase her 60s

The royal became the first to visit military deployed in Afghanistan in 2006

The Princess Royal awarding a royal honour to Paralympic dressage champion Lee Pearson

Her Royal Highness is one of four royals that hosts the investiture ceremonies recognising outstanding achievements

She was also the first member of the royal family to meet the troops serving in Afghanistan in 2006 - she met those from the British Army, Navy, Airforce and Marines.

The story shared the fact that Princess Anne works as one of four royals who hosts investitures, awarding honours or ranks - she is pictured at one of the ceremonies in 2009 at Buckingham Palace.

The Queen, The Duke of Cambridge and The Prince of Wales are the other three royals who present medals for outstanding achievements.

More flashback pictures are expected to drop tomorrow as the account promises to review the 2010s, Princess Anne's 60's.
The novel coronavirus has now killed more than 753,000 people worldwide.

Over 20.7 million people across the globe have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The actual numbers are believed to be much higher due to testing shortages, many unreported cases and suspicions that some national governments are hiding or downplaying the scope of their outbreaks.

Since the first cases were detected in China in December, the United States has become the worst-affected country, with more than 5.2 million diagnosed cases and at least 167,097 deaths.

Latest headlines:

Biden calls for nationwide mask mandate Fauci says temperature checks not reliable for screening Florida tops 9,000 deaths

Here's how the news developed Thursday. All times Eastern. Please refresh this page for updates.

10:56 p.m.: Sept. 11 Tribute in Lights canceled

The annual Tribute in Lights on Sept. 11 has been canceled this year due to COVID, according to the Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum.

"This incredibly difficult decision was reached in consultation with our partners after concluding the health risks during the pandemic were far too great for the large crew required to produce the annual Tribute in Light," the organizers said in a statement.

PHOTO: In this Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013, file photo, the twin beams of the annual Tribute in Light commemorating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks shine amid the city's skyline, in New York. (Kathy Willens/AP, File)

The lights, meant to simulate the Twin Towers, make an annual appearance in the skyline over lower Manhattan on Sept. 11. They are created with 88 7,000-watt xenon lightbulbs.

"We hope to resume this iconic tribute for the 20th anniversary," the memorial and museum said. "In a spirit of unity and remembrance, the city will come together for a Tribute in Lights initiative to inspire the world and honor the promise to never forget."

The lights were first used six months after Sept. 11 and then on the one-year anniversary of the attack that killed over 2,600 people in Manhattan. The lights have shone every year since from dusk to dawn.

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Organizers had already canceled the annual reading of names by family members of those who were killed over concerns about the virus. A recording of the names will be played instead.

4:40 p.m.: Southern Conference postpones fall sports

The Southern Conference is postponing its fall conference competition, including football, conference officials said Thursday.

PHOTO: Virginia Tech Hokies runs off the field before the start of a game against the Virginia Cavaliers at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Va. (Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images)

Non-conference games are allowed if desired, the officials said.

The conference intends to move fall sports to the spring.

"Safety must come first," Commissioner Jim Schaus said in a statement. "We are still hopeful that we can have these sports successfully compete in the spring."

3:55 p.m.: Biden calls for nationwide mask mandate

Former Vice President and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden on Thursday called for a nationwide mask mandate to go into effect immediately.

"Every single American should be wearing a mask when they're outside for the next three months, at a minimum," Biden said. "Every governor should mandate mandatory mask-wearing. The estimates by the experts are will save over 40,000 lives. The next three months. 40,000 lives."

MORE: Biden calls for nationwide mask mandate for 3 months, targeting Trump's pandemic response

"When I get occasionally confronted with a person in public about wearing a mask, I say, 'Look, this is America. Be a patriot. Protect your fellow citizens,'" he said.

"So lets institute a mask mandate nationwide, starting immediately. And we will save lives," Biden said.

3:20 p.m.: Georgia governor withdrawing lawsuit against Atlanta over mask rules, other coronavirus restrictions

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said Thursday that he's withdrawing his lawsuit against Atlanta's City Council and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms over the city's mask requirement and other coronavirus restrictions.

PHOTO: People wait in line at a walk-up COVID-19 testing site operated by Fulton County at the Center for Health and Rehabilitation in Atlanta, July 9, 2020. (Erik S Lesser/EPA via Shutterstock)

Kemp, a Republican, had argued that Bottoms, a Democrat, couldn't enforce rules that were more restrictive than his executive orders.

Bottoms has now "agreed to abandon the citys Phase One roll-back plan, which included business closures and a shelter in place order," Kemp said in a statement Thursday.

In light of that, "and following her refusal in mediation to further negotiate a compromise, the Attorney Generals Office has filed to withdraw our pending lawsuit," Kemp said.

PHOTO: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaks during a coronavirus briefing at the Capitol, in Atlanta, July 17, 2020. (John Bazemore/AP)

Kemp added that Bottoms "has made it clear that she will not agree to a settlement that safeguards the rights of private property owners in Georgia. Given this stalemate in negotiations, we will address this very issue in the next Executive Order."

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that this "decision effectively allows Atlanta and other cities to keep their mask mandates on the books, though officials said Kemps order will seek to limit the scope of the ordinances to government property."

Bottoms, responding to Kemp's decision, tweeted a quote from writer and activist Audre Lorde, which said: "Sometimes we are blessed with being able to choose the time, and the arena, and the manner of our revolution, but more usually we must do battle where we are standing."

The current executive order expires on Aug. 15, the governor said.

2:35 p.m.: Fauci says temperature checks not reliable for screening

As classrooms reopen for the fall, many school administrators say they're using temperature checks on students and teachers.

MORE: Teachers concerned over COVID-19 safety as schools reopen, new cases are reported

But Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Thursday that the White House and the National Institutes of Health have abandoned temperature checks as a screening tool.

PHOTO: A student has his temperature checked by a teacher before entering a summer STEM camp at Wylie High School, July 14, 2020, in Wylie, Texas. (Lm Otero/AP)

Especially on hot summer days, temperature checks aren't a reliable way to screen for infection, Fauci said.

MORE: How the country's largest school systems, NYC and LA, are planning for the fall amid the pandemic

"We have found at the NIH, that it is much much better to just question people when they come in and save the time, because the temperatures are notoriously inaccurate, many times," Fauci said at an event with the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Fauci added that in recent days his temperature read as high as 103 degrees before getting into the air conditioning.

12:50 p.m.: Florida tops 9,000 deaths

With 148 new deaths reported in hard-hit Florida on Wednesday, the state's death toll has now surpassed 9,000, the Florida Department of Health said Thursday.

PHOTO: Empty outdoor seating for a restaurant and closed hotels are shown, Aug. 11, 2020, in Miami Beach, Florida's famed Ocean Drive on South Beach. (Wilfredo Lee/AP)

Over 557,000 people in the state have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, according to the Florida Department of Health.

Florida has the second-highest number of cases in the U.S., behind California.

PHOTO: A pair of beach goers wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Aug. 11, 2020, in Miami Beach, Fla. (Wilfredo Lee/AP)

PHOTO: A sign urging people to wear masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus is posted on a street along Miami Beach's famed Ocean Drive in South Beach, Fla., Aug. 11, 2020. (Wilfredo Lee/AP)

12:15 p.m.: About 70% of Catholic schools will be reopened by end of next week

Many Catholic schools across the country are already up and running, and by the end of next week, about 70% of them will be reopened, Kathy Mears, the National Catholic Educational Association CEO and interim president, told ABC News on Thursday.

PHOTO: Social distancing dividers for students have been placed in a classroom at St. Benedict School, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Montebello, near Los Angeles, July 14, 2020. (Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

Most schools are offering some type of in-person instruction, she said.

"We are being very careful. We are following all local guidelines and the recommendations of many health care professionals," Mears said. "We are making sure that the students are six feet apart in our schools, that they're all facing one direction. Plexiglas has been put up."

PHOTO: School principal Frank Loya Jr. sets up social distancing dividers for students in a classroom at St. Benedict School, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease, in Montebello, Calif., near Los Angeles, on July 14, 2020. (Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

She said reopening decisions are being made at the local level.

"We pride ourselves on meeting individual needs and that requires different teachers at different times. So for high schools, many of them are using hybrid models," Mears said.

MORE: How widespread is COVID-19 in children? A look at the latest data as schools reopen

She continued, "For the elementary, we can keep them better in one classroom because one teacher teaches all subjects and that teacher can differentiate. So at the elementary level, about 85% are going back in person full-time. About 15% of our students and their families are choosing to go online."

11:25 a.m.: NCAA chief medical officer: 'It's a very narrow path to get fall sports right'

As some college athletic conferences postpone fall sports and others forge ahead, Dr. Brian Hainline, senior vice president and chief medical officer at the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association), warned Thursday, "It's a very narrow path to get fall sports right."

PHOTO: Elon Phoenix player rushes for a first down in the fourth quarter of a football game against the South Florida Bulls in Tampa, Fla (Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

In April, we were envisioning that there would be a continued downward trajectory of COVID-19 new infections and deaths, that there would be a national surveillance system national testing, and national contact tracing that would allow us to really navigate this pandemic into re-socializing both in sport and then the rest of society, he said during a media briefing hosted by the Infectious Diseases Society of America on the impact of COVID-19 on college athletics.

That hasn't happened, and it's made it very challenging to make decisions as we approach fall sport," Hainline said.

PHOTO: A Memphis midfielder and Wisconsin defender work for control of the ball, during the NCAA soccer game between the Memphis Tigers and the University of Wisconsin Badgers in Memphis, Tenn. (Kevin Langley/AP, File )

Dr. Carlos del Rio, a professor of medicine and global health at Emory University and a member of the NCAAs COVID-19 advisory panel, recommended "that we hold off and we control this virus."

My advice to organizations that I've talked to is: if you cannot do it safely, you shouldn't do it, del Rio said at Thursday's briefing.

The U.S. has "a quarter of the world's total number of cases," Del Rio stressed.

MORE: The way forward: How experts would clean up our COVID nightmare if they were in charge

"I feel like the Titanic, and we have hit the iceberg, and we're trying to make decisions of what time we should have the band play, del Rio went on. I think a lot of the discussions of whether we should have sports, [or] we shouldn't have sports, should really be focused on getting control of the pandemic."

The Pac-12, Big Ten and Big East conferences announced this week that they're postponing all fall sports.

MORE: Why stopping COVID at schools may not be as easy as taking temperatures

The Big 12 announced Wednesday that it will move forward with fall sports this year and will give athletes in high-contact sports including football three COVID-19 tests per week.

The SEC is also moving forward. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said Tuesday, "We will continue to further refine our policies and protocols for a safe return to sports as we monitor developments around COVID-19."

9:15 a.m.: At least 561 inmates test positive at Florida prison

At Florida's Baker Correctional Institution, 561 inmates and 25 staff tested positive for the coronavirus as of Wednesday, reported Jacksonville's WJXT, citing the Florida Department of Corrections.

Another 294 inmate tests were pending.

One week ago, 20 inmates and 17 staff members had tested positive, WJXT reported.

MORE: 5 former CDC directors on where US went wrong in its COVID-19 response

All staff and inmates at Baker Correctional Institution were given face masks and everyone is required to wear one, a Department of Corrections spokesperson told WJXT.

Meals are now provided in cells and inmates' temperatures are checked daily, the Department of Corrections told WJXT.

7:45 a.m.: New Zealand reports 13 more locally-transmitted cases

New Zealand confirmed 13 new locally-transmitted cases of COVID-19 on Thursday.

Authorities said the new cases are all in Auckland, the country's most populous city, and are linked to the four people from the same family in Auckland who tested positive for the virus on Tuesday, breaking a 102-day streak without any locally-transmitted cases across New Zealand.

PHOTO: Jo Fahey uses hand sanitizer before getting her morning coffee at The Store in Kohimarama, a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, as the city wakes to a return to level three lockdown on Aug. 13, 2020. (Fiona Goodall/Getty Images)

PHOTO: Medical staff prepare to take a COVID-19 test at a community based assessment center in Christchurch, New Zealand, Aug. 13, 2020. (Mark Baker/AP)

The fresh cluster of cases spreading within the community, which now totals 17, prompted New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to place Auckland under a three-day lockdown starting Wednesday and to reinstate some restrictions for the rest of the country.

PHOTO: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks with journalists on August 13, 2020, in Wellington, New Zealand. (Mark Tantrum/Getty Images)

"We are now treating these cases as a cluster -- and what we know about clusters is that they grow," New Zealand's ministry of health said in a press release Thursday. "What is important is that we investigate these cases to their full extent, and that is exactly where people who are coming forward to be tested are helping us."

PHOTO: Cars queue at a COVID-19 test center in Auckland, Aug. 13, 2020. Health authorities in New Zealand are scrambling to trace the source of a new outbreak of the coronavirus as the nation's largest city goes back into lockdown. (Dean Purcel/AP)

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, New Zealand has reported 1,239 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 22 deaths. Thirty-six of those cases remain active, including the 17 linked to the recent outbreak, according to the health ministry.

6:39 a.m.: India reports highest single-day spike in infections

India registered 66,999 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, its highest single-day spike in infections yet.

The country also recorded an additional 942 coronavirus-related fatalities, according to the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

PHOTO: Health workers wearing personal protective equipment suits take shelter amid heavy rain while conducting a COVID-19 screening in Mumbai, India, on Aug. 12, 2020. (Indranil Mukherjee/AFP via Getty Images)

The nationwide total now stands at just under 2.4 million confirmed cases with at least 47,033 deaths. More than 653,000 of those cases remain active, after 1.6 million patients have recovered.

India has the third-highest number of diagnosed cases in the world, after the United States and Brazil.

What to know about coronavirus:

How it started and how to protect yourself: Coronavirus explained

What to do if you have symptoms: Coronavirus symptoms

Tracking the spread in the U.S. and worldwide: Coronavirus map

5:12 a.m.: Newborn baby among Minnesota children recently hospitalized

A newborn baby is among the children recently hospitalized with COVID-19 in Minnesota, according to a report by Saint Paul ABC affiliate KSTP.

Jenni Gibbens said her son, Harrison, was just 25 days old when he tested positive for COVID-19 and was hospitalized in July, making him one of Minnesota's youngest coronavirus patients.

"I was in absolute shock," Gibbens told KSTP. "Any time when it's your child, it's just heartbreaking."

Gibbens' entire family ended up contracting the virus, with her husband being the first to show symptoms in early July. Her 4-year-old son Deacon, who also tested positive, was asymptomatic, she said.

Baby Harrison spent three days at Children's Minnesota hospital, where staff monitored his fever, oxygen levels and heart function.

"At 27 days old, he is officially taking the title of a COVID survivor, which seems unreal," Gibbens told KSTP.

To date, more than 9,000 Minnesota residents under the age of 20 have tested positive for COVID019, including more than 1,400 children younger than 6, according to KSTP.

Patsy Stinchfield, a pediatric nurse practitioner and the senior director of infection prevention and control at Children's Minnesota, said 72 children have been admitted to the hospital with COVID-19, with around 10 needing to be put on ventilators.

"Most of the kids that are coming in are in for support, IV fluids, observation, just making sure they're not going to get worse," she told KSTP. "We are seeing a very wide variety of symptoms."

4:48 a.m.: Italy orders COVID-19 tests for travelers from 4 nations

Italy has ruled that people traveling to the country from Croatia, Greece, Malta and Spain must be tested for COVID-19 on arrival.

Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza announced Wednesday evening that he had signed the new order, adding that anyone traveling from or through Colombia would be barred from entering Italy.

PHOTO: In this file photo taken on March 31, 2020, a worker sprays disinfectant to sanitize Piazza del Duomo, the main city square of Milan, Italy. (Luca Bruno/AP)

"We must continue along the line of prudence to defend the results achieved in recent months with everyone's sacrifice," Speranza wrote in a Facebook post.

Italy, once the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in Europe, has so far reported more than 251,000 diagnosed cases of COVID-19 with over 35,000 deaths. The country has largely contained the spread of the virus in recent months, but now there are fears of a possible resurgence of infections. Italy registered another rise in the number of new infections Wednesday, with 481 cases identified in the past 24 hours -- up from 412 on Tuesday, according to data released by the Civil Protection Agency.

3:50 a.m.: US records nearly 56,000 new cases, over 1,500 additional deaths

There were 55,910 new cases of COVID-19 identified in the United States on Wednesday, according to a count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

An additional 1,504 coronavirus-related deaths were also reported -- a jump of more than 400 from the previous day.

It's the first time in four days that the nation has recorded over 50,000 new cases. But Wednesday's caseload is still well below the record set on July 16, when more than 77,000 new cases were identified in a 24-hour reporting period.

PHOTO: A health worker tests a woman for COVID-19 at a pop-up testing location on the boardwalk at Revere Beach in Revere, Massachusetts, on Aug. 11, 2020. (Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images)

A total of 5,197,377 people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and at least 166,027 of them have died, according to Johns Hopkins. The cases include people from all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C. and other U.S. territories as well as repatriated citizens.

By May 20, all U.S. states had begun lifting stay-at-home orders and other restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The day-to-day increase in the country's cases then hovered around 20,000 for a couple of weeks before shooting back up and crossing 70,000 for the first time in mid-July.

Many states have seen a rise in infections in recent weeks, with some -- including Arizona, California and Florida -- reporting daily records. However, the nationwide number of new cases and deaths in the last week have both decreased in week-over-week comparisons, according to an internal memo from the Federal Emergency Management Agency obtained by ABC News Wednesday night.

ABC News' Stephanie Ebbs, Josh Margolin, Arielle Mitropoulos, Molly Nagle, Phoebe Natanson, Lataya Rothmiller and Scott Withers contributed to this report.

Fauci says temperature checks not reliable originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
The Iraqi Prime Minister has called on Christians to return home to Iraq after the defeat of the so-called Islamic State.

By Nathan Morley

The Assyrian International News Agency (AINA) reported that the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, said with the defeat of the so-called Islamic State in Iraq, Iraqi Christian immigrants should return home.



He was quoted by the AINA as saying he was serious about providing assistance to Christian families and solving their problems. Iraq, he said was country for everyone, and that Christians are the original children of the country.

We are glad that Christians will return to Iraq and contribute to its reconstruction. Iraqis of all sects are yearning for a new Iraq that believes in peace and rejects violence.

On Sunday, Al-Kazemi met with Cardinal Louis Raphael I Sako, the Chaldean Catholic Patriarch, who hoped the Iraqi government would continue to meet the aspirations of the people and enable it to address many of the challenges facing the country.

He said there are a large number of Christians that want to return to Iraq.

The Church supports Al-Kazemi's steps towards achieving security and stability throughout Iraq, he said. Christians are proud of their Iraqi identity, and they feel more reassured, in light of the serious handling of the Al-Kazemi government with the Christian file.

According to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) several Iraqi Christians who fled in 2014 have returned return but face difficulties, including a lack of security and intimidation.
BEIJING, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- On July 2, Expo 2020 Dubai announced its 12th official premier partner: Terminus Group. Simultaneously, Terminus Group made a decision to establish its first overseas headquarter and R&D centre in District 2020, a venue that the Expo area will be transformed into soon after the event is finished.

By choosing Dubai, Terminus Group shows its deep appreciation of the city's favourable scientific and innovative atmosphere.

As a leading pioneer among AIoT tech companies, Terminus Group finds it's natural to select Dubai as its first overseas headquarters' location. The UAE, the second-largest economy in the Arabic region, has made remarkable progress in the field of artificial intelligence in recent years.

In 2013, the UAE government launched the "Smart Dubai" project, the purpose of which was to boost the economy of the country with cutting-edge tech innovations in all sectors, ranging from the upgrades in the field of technology development to the government administration processes.

In 2017, the country's first "Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence" was appointed.

In 2019, the "UEA Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2031" was announced, with the ultimate goal of making the UAE a global leader in artificial intelligence industry by 2031.

Terminus Group's choice to set up its first overseas headquarter in Dubai reflects the company's recognition of the innovative atmosphere of the city and its artificial intelligence landscape, which would have never been possible to achieve without the UAE's tremendous efforts towards the goal. Victor Ai, the Founder and CEO of Terminus Group said that the crucial reason behind choosing Dubai for Terminus Group's corporate headquarter and R&D centre is that the competencies of local government, the enterprises, and the individuals have left a deep impression on him.

As described by Victor Ai, 'Unlike people elsewhere, who always focus on the present or the past, I found out that in Dubai, peoples' ideas are ahead of time. The most important goal of this trip is to seek cooperation, not just to provide services. We will work together with Dubai to create new things. From this perspective, D2020 is a wonderful place to be in for tech companies like us."

By choosing Dubai, Terminus Group will further enhance the adaptability of its solutions

As the Expo's premier partner for robot services, Terminus Group's Titan robots will certainly be given huge attention by the visitors from around the world. Titan robots exemplify Terminus Group's AIoT products and constantly prove their unmatched ability of technological integration. The robots use their built-in features enabled by leading technologies including 5G, and edge computing to process information and send it back to the Expo's official operator through the Robot Management System (RMS). The aforementioned solutions will contribute to improving the overall management efficiency of the entire venue, including monitoring the traffic, providing the place with necessary services including security, as well as guiding the visitors.

Presented solutions are only a tiny fraction of the wide range of the company's offerings. Supported by its technologically advanced devices and software products, the core scientific and technological strength of Terminus Group lies in its ability to transform the physical world into its digital counterpart with the help of IoT sensors and edge computing technologies, which as a result enables the company to create a parallel digital reality facilitated by automation processes and artificial intelligence. All information gathered by the devices is sorted and uploaded to the cloud, where it is subsequently undergoing the analysis and filtering done by AI algorithms. Once the processing of gathered information is accomplished by Terminus Group's algorithms, various AI applications are created, as a consequence of which new solutions to different business scenarios in smart cities can be introduced.

The establishment of the Middle-East headquarters and R&D centre in Dubai will undoubtedly allow the company to implement its previously successful solutions in entirely new business scenarios, enabling the company to diversify, adjust and improve its existing range of technologies and products. With those in mind, it is part of Terminus Group's strategy to expand the application value of its products into new niches, and therefore enhance the adaptability of its smart solutions, which will positively impact ever-increasing attention paid to the company's products.

By choosing Dubai, Terminus Group will present its first-ever overseas AI CITY network

It is reported that 80% of the 438-hectare infrastructure of the exhibition venue will be retained after the Expo concludes, with the plans made to re-design the space to fit entirely new purposes such as residential buildings, hotels, museums, schools, and office facilities. According to the "Master Plan for the District 2020 after the Expo 2020 Dubai", the area will accommodate 145,000 residents in the future, and focus on promoting the growth of the key industries and technologies including tourism, logistics and transportation, followed by education and construction. The entire new district will be constructed with the deployment of the newest technologies in mind - the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, and Augmented Reality, to name just a few.

Terminus Group will establish its R&D centre in D2020 district to refine its core products and AI and IoT systems, at the same time providing local communities and businesses with knowledge exchange programmes, financing and investment initiatives. For the sake of mutual purpose, the company also plans to closely cooperate with local leading tech experts and scientists alike. Last but not least, Terminus Group will also set up an accelerator in the R&D centre to incubate local AI and IoT start-ups.

By that time, D2020 itself will have become a crucial component of Terminus Group's global AI CITY network deployment strategy. Having earned recognition for its substantial expertise and capabilities in the field of building Smart Cities, Terminus Group will develop a smart system for the operation and management of D2020 in terms of fire protection, energy and facility management, and smart parking. The next-generation digitally interconnected technologies will unquestionably help create a smart and innovative ecosystem for future-oriented space, which D2020 proudly aspires to be.

By the time mentioned, Terminus Group has successfully deployed many fully-operational smart city projects. Once the D2020 project is completed, all the projects will become essential and inseparable components of Terminus Group's global AI CITY network. So far Terminus Group has been operating its 5 existing projects in China, and the company will be able to see its global AI CITY network come into being once the final stage of the D2020 project is finalized.

SOURCE Terminus Group
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

Recently implemented policies by newly appointed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy are slowing the delivery of mail in New Mexico, according to a local postal workers union official.

However, a U.S. Postal Service spokesman based in Denver said measures being implemented in Albuquerque are part of a regularly scheduled upgrade of equipment and there is no attempt to slow delivery of the mail.

Ken Fajardo, president of Local 380 of the American Postal Workers Union, said Tuesday that union members are concerned that a slowdown is part of a plan to discredit the Postal Services ability to process an anticipated large volume of mail-in ballots in the upcoming general election.

At the instruction of DeJoy, Fajardo said, pieces of machinery involved in sorting mail are being removed and a directive has been issued to eliminate overtime, which he said is often necessary to move mail from processing facilities to stations in a timely fashion.

Its customer service suicide, Fajardo said, adding that President Trump has expressed concerns that mail-in ballots are subject to voter fraud and the USPS will be unable to handle the volume in the event of mass mailings of ballots.

However David Rupert, the USPS spokesman, said machines are being removed and replaced with newer ones nationwide as part of a regularly scheduled upgrade of equipment. He added that New Mexico will be ready to process whatever volume of mail-in ballots it receives.

Fajardo said one machine that reads bar codes and sorts letters for carriers has already been removed and two others are in the process of being removed. A fourth machine that puts bar codes on letters, cancels stamps and prepares the mail for letter sorting machines, has also been removed.

The machines are located at the main Downtown post office, also called the processing and distribution center. About 15 letter sorting machines are still there, as are two machines that imprint bar codes on letters, Fajardo said.

Removal of the four pieces of equipment is already impacting the flow of mail by causing many letters to be held back and delivery delayed. He said it could impact delivery of stimulus checks, political mailings, and absentee voter applications and ballots.

Fajardo said the union believes that the postmaster general is exploiting the COVID crisis to push through his agenda, while disguising the intent as a cost-cutting measure. He said, It appears there is a concerted effort between the postmaster general and the president of the United States to sabotage the elections and bring the presidents concerns to fruition.

Not true, said Rupert: To be clear, and despite any assertions to the contrary, we are not slowing down election mail or any other mail.

Specific to New Mexico, Rupert said, We process millions of pieces of mail every single day in New Mexico, and tens of millions of pieces every week, and we have plenty of capacity for any ballot and election mail, and we expect no slowdowns.

He added that the measures being taken recently reflect the economic reality that cost-cutting measures are required if the USPS is to survive.

The Postal Service is in a financially unsustainable position, stemming from substantial declines in mail volume and a broken business model. We are currently unable to balance our costs with available funding sources to fulfill both our universal service mission and other legal obligations, he said.

Rupert said the volume of flat mail, such as letters and magazines, has decreased steadily, but the volume of parcels has increased, making it necessary to add more parcel sorting machines as part of the equipment upgrade. That, Rupert said, will increase the overall speed and efficiency of the postal service in New Mexico and around the country.

He did not know if Albuquerque was expected to get additional parcel sorting machines.

While it is true that the overall volume of letters processed through the USPS has declined over the years, Fajardo said, the volume of letter mail is now increasing as the state and the economy slowly reopen. That, combined with the upcoming election and the holiday season means we expect mail volume to increase exponentially, he said.

Rupert shot down the notion that DeJoy and Trump are working in concert. Postmaster general has not been a Cabinet-level position since 1971 and the selection of DeJoy was made by an independent board of governors. The board of governors is, however, appointed by the president.

DeJoy, a former supply-chain CEO, has been a large donor to Republican candidates, including Trump. In a statement released after his May appointment, he acknowledged that he has a good relationship with the president, but recognized that he serves at the pleasure of the governors of the Postal Service, a group that is bipartisan by statute.

DeJoy also said he was committed to keeping the Postal Service an integral part of the United States government, rather than privatizing the system or managing its decline; and he was committed to maintaining the six-days-a-week delivery schedule.

Despite DeJoys assurances, Democrats in Congress have expressed some of the same concerns being voiced by postal workers in Albuquerque, and several have called for DeJoy to resign.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-14 01:22:14|Editor: huaxia

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DAMASCUS, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- As many as 75 new COVID-19 cases were recorded in Syria on Thursday, bringing the overall number of infections in government-controlled areas to 1,402, according to the state news agency SANA.

Citing a statement by the health ministry, SANA said 1,402 cases have been recorded in Syria since March, including 395 recoveries and 53 deaths.

Meanwhile, a total of 171 cases have so far been reported in areas controlled by the Kurdish forces in northern and northeastern Syria, according to local administration.

Medical sources have said that the number of infections in government-controlled areas is much higher than the data of the health ministry, as the ministry doesn't have the capacity to conduct wide-scale COVID-19 tests.

China has offered help to Syria to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

On April 15, China delivered the first batch of medical aid, including 2,016 COVID-19 test kits, to Syria. On June 4 and June 24, Syria received another two batches of medical supplies donated by China, including test kits, protective suits, masks, goggles, and infrared thermometers.

On April 23, a video-conference was held between Chinese and Syrian medical experts for sharing experience in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Enditem
VAN BUREN COUNTY, MI -- Despite making up a relatively small part of the population, the Hispanic and Latino community is making up a majority of those in Van Buren County testing positive for coronavirus.

The local health department reported that there are four times the number of Hispanic or Latino cases than there are residents.

The Hispanic or Latino population made up 52% of Van Burens cumulative 416 cases, said Danielle Persky, director of Health Promotions for Van Buren/Cass District Health Department.

Van Burens population of 75,677 is 11.7% Hispanic or Latino, according to 2019 U.S Census data.

In Kalamazoo County, 14% of the countys total 1,559 cases are among the Hispanic or Latino population. For comparison, Hispanic or Latino residents make up 5.2% of Kalamazoo Countys population.

Statewide, the percentage of overall cases identified as Hispanic/Latino ethnicity is 8%. Michigans population is 5% Hispanic or Latino, according to Census data.

Although the disproportionate rate of cases is alarmingly high, the Van Buren/Cass District Health Department is not classifying it as a spike, Persky said. The number of cases within Hispanic or Latino population has been growing since the start of the pandemic in March.

The health department put out a media release highlighting the stark gap on July 14 when the rate of Hispanic or Latino cases reached 56%. It was at that point that the department had enough data to see a noticeable trend, Persky said.

In July, the cases were among primarily Hispanic and Latino residents within the county. Since then, more migrant workers have tested positive and have been included in the demographic data.

Health officials believe that both conditions of migrant labor and cultural behaviors have been factors in the health disparity, Persky said.

For example, travel is a high risk factor for migrant workers. The southernmost counties that border Indiana have continued to trend high for new cases. Cass and Branch county were among the nine hot spots in Michigan that are experiencing accelerated spread of coronavirus as of Wednesday.

Another key factor is the role poverty plays in health disparities, Persky said. Quarantining can be a big ask for those surviving off the income of front line jobs like manufacturers or farmers.

When you live in poverty every moment that you dont have a paycheck really makes a difference, she said. Asking someone to take 10 to 14 days off work when every day matters to their paycheck is a big deal.

The initial surge in cases among the Hispanic or Latino community were a result of essential workers, Persky said. These occupations can be vulnerable to outbreaks, for example the spike in cases that happened at the JBS meat packing plant in Allegan County.

Multi-generational homes have put Hispanic or Latino elders more at risk as the health department is seeing the virus spread throughout families, Persky said.

Of the Hispanic or Latino patients who have died of coronavirus, all of them were older than 60, Persky said. The health department does not make that data public because there are so few that it could compromise patient privacy.

The health department has a bilingual staff that is working to educate those who test positive about isolating themselves from family members and wearing a mask inside the home when they are together.

To mitigate the spread of the virus, the health department has reached out to faith leaders and physicians to share education about quarantining, wearing a mask and social distancing.

Additionally, the Van Buren/Cass District health department partnered with local testing facilities to increase access to group testing opportunities for groups of 15 or more, Persky said.

Kalamazoo County health department had a similar partnership with Family Health Center. A testing site with a bilingual staff was created for families to get tested together at El Concilio on May 29. That day 220 people were tested.

The mortality rate among Hispanic or Latinos in Kalamazoo County has not been as drastic, epidemiologist Mary Franks said. There have been less than five Hispanic or Latino coronavirus patients who died because of the virus, she said. The county does not make that data public because there are so few that it could compromise patient privacy.

The health disparity among the Hispanic or Latino community shows that social factors like employment, living conditions and access to healthcare can make minority groups more vulnerable in a pandemic, Perksy said.

Disparities dont mean that anyone is any less or more contagious or susceptible to testing positive for COVID-19, Perksy said. It doesnt mean that anyone is at fault or that theres any need for guilt or shame. Its not about the person themselves, its about all of these other factors that are true for many minorities.

On Wednesday, Aug. 12, the state reported 517 new cases to the cumulative 89,271 cases since the pandemic began. Nine new deaths and 6,273 have been tied to the virus, according to state data.

Read more on MLive:

Michigan shoppers improve mask compliance, based on MLive survey of 41 stores

Story of a coronavirus long-hauler: Five months after getting infected, still struggling to recover

How the first week of school went inside a Michigan elementary

Jim Harbaughs last-ditch effort to save college football: This virus can be controlled

What do Michigan teachers fear most about in-person learning? The students sitting in their classrooms
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 10:37:11|Editor: huaxia

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WUHAN, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- No new confirmed, asymptomatic or suspected cases of COVID-19 were reported in central China's Hubei Province Wednesday, the provincial health commission said Thursday.

By Wednesday, Hubei still had four confirmed cases who arrived from overseas, as well as one asymptomatic case in the city of Yichang.

There were 311 close contacts still under medical observation in Hubei by Wednesday.

Hubei has reported a total of 68,139 confirmed COVID-19 cases, and 63,623 cases have been cured and discharged from hospital. The disease has claimed 4,512 lives in the province. Enditem
Tabuk Cement sees sales down 18% YoY

13 August 2020

Saudi Arabias Tabuk Cement has seen a 94 per cent YoY decline in net profit to SAR0.54m (US$144,000) in the June quarter of 2020, against SAR8.98m in the year-ago period.



Sales also declined 18.3 per cent YoY to SAR49.99m from SAR61.15m in the 2Q19.

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Damage from the powerful explosion on August 4 in the port district of Beirut has been estimated as over $15 bln, Lebanese President Michel Aoun said in a phone conversation with Felipe VI of Spain.



"President Aoun noted that according to the preliminary estimates the damage suffered by Lebanon exceeds $15 bln," the statement of the Lebanese presidents press service published on its website on Wednesday said. It is noted that the King of Spain expressed condolences and solidarity with the people of Lebanon as well as readiness to provide the necessary aid.



As a result of a blast on August 4 at a warehouse in the Beirut port district, 171 people were killed, over 6,000 were injured, dozens are listed as missing. According to Lebanons Interior Ministry, a fire was started by welding work and caused the detonation of more than 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, which had been stored in the port for six years after being seized by the customs service, TASS reported.



Insurance companies preliminary estimates place the damage caused by the explosion at $3 bln. Governor of Beirut Marwan Abboud earlier stated that from $12 bln to $15 bln will be needed to restore the city. As the Internal Security Forces Directorate of Lebanon reported on Wednesday, about 4,000 buildings were partially or completely destroyed by the blast.
The number of coronavirus cases in three regional Victorian cities is surging, Premier Daniel Andrews revealed on Thursday.

Many of new cases in Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo remain unknown and authorities are urging those in the area to get themselves tested even with the 'mildest of symptoms.'

But despite the rise cases across regional Victoria, the number of new infections throughout Melbourne and the rest of the state fell to 278 new cases; the lowest number of new infections since July 20.

The number of coronavirus cases in three regional Victorian cities is surging, Premier Daniel Andrews (pictured) revealed on Thursday

Victoria has recorded 278 new coronavirus infections and eight deaths, a significant drop in the 410 recorded yesterday

'In Geelong, as of yesterday, there had been 176 cases reported over the last 14 days,' Premier Andrews said.

'In Ballarat, there's a smaller number of cases - 23 over the last two weeks.

'In Bendigo, there were slightly more cases. 51 cases in the last two weeks but a high proportion of these are attributed to known outbreaks which are under control.'

Over the coming days and weeks, there will be a massive testing push in these three communities which extra health workers to be brought in to assist.

'That allows us to then trace and lock down those positive cases, do what has to be done to support those people, but keep them away from others, and try and pull up any further spread,' Premier Andrews said.

Thursday's fatalities brought the state's death toll to 275 and the national figure to 360.

There have been 176 coronavirus cases reported in Geelong (pictured), over the last 14 days

There have been 23 coronavirus cases reported in Ballarat (pictured), over the last 14 days

There have been 51 coronavirus cases reported in Bendigo (pictured), over the last 14 days

Premier Andrews was confident Victoria's second-wave COVID-19 curve was flattening but said that was dependent upon 'literally hundreds of millions of individual choices and decisions'.

The Stage 4 restrictions are in there second week, and should soon start to be reflected in even sharper falls in infection numbers.

While noting Victoria's seven-day case average was falling, Mr Andrews acknowledged Stage 4's effects would not be known until next week.

'We all know that a week is not the life-cycle of this virus,' he told reporters on Wednesday.

Thursday's fatalities bring the state's toll to 275 and the national figure to 360. A record 725 new daily infections were recorded on August 5

'This is not precise. It's not exact because it's all dependent upon literally hundreds of millions of individual choices and decisions that each of us make every single day.'

Professor Catherine Bennett, Chair of Epidemiology at Deakin University, was prepared to say that the state was 'past its peak now'.

'So hopefully this pipeline, if you like, of people being exposed then becoming ill and possibly also triggering workplace outbreaks is now shifting so that we are starting to close down those existing outbreaks,' Professor Bennett told the Today Show.

Professor Bennett also acknowledged that active cases of COVID-19 in Victoria dropped on Wednesday for the first time.

Premier Andrews is confident Victoria's second-wave COVID-19 curve was flattening. Pictured: Pedestrians wearing face masks walk through Melbourne's CBD

The virus-hit state is starting to bear the fruits of the week-long stage four restrictions shutting all non-essential businesses in Melbourne

'We should see the numbers really drop quite rapidly once these outbreaks are contained and we stop, you know, having more people coming into [contact], whether it's working in hospital or aged care in particular.'

The Stage 4 restrictions were initially put in place for six weeks, so they will be lifted in mid-September if the succeeded in getting daily case numbers back toward double figures, with a hope of a further easing to Stage 2 - under which most businesses and personal movement will return to normal - in the summer.

'If we see the numbers come down hard over the next couple of weeks, all being well, the restrictions will be much more mild by Christmas,' she said.
We are thankful to be partnering with many of the worlds most innovative transportation agencies and operators to support the crucial work they are doing to keep public transit safe and reliable says Jonny Simkin, CEO and co-founder of Swiftly Inc.

Inc. magazine today revealed that Swiftly is No. 453 on its annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nations fastest-growing private companies. The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economys most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses. Intuit, Zappos, Under Armour, Microsoft, Patagonia, and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000.

Were thrilled to be recognized as one of the fastest growing private companies in the US, says Jonny Simkin, CEO and co-founder of Swiftly Inc. Keeping public transit safe and reliable is more important than ever in light of the current pandemic. We are thankful to be partnering with many of the worlds most innovative transportation agencies and operators to support the crucial work they are doing to keep our cities moving.

Not only have the companies on the 2020 Inc. 5000 been very competitive within their markets, but the list as a whole shows staggering growth compared with prior lists as well. The 2020 Inc. 5000 achieved an incredible three-year average growth of over 500 percent, and a median rate of 165 percent. The Inc. 5000s aggregate revenue was $209 billion in 2019, accounting for over 1 million jobs over the past three years.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000. The top 500 companies are also being featured in the September issue of Inc., available on newsstands August 12.

The companies on this years Inc. 5000 come from nearly every realm of business, says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. From health and software to media and hospitality, the 2020 list proves that no matter the sector, incredible growth is based on the foundations of tenacity and opportunism.

The annual Inc. 5000 event honoring the companies on the list will be held virtually from October 23 to 27, 2020. As always, speakers will include some of the greatest innovators and business leaders of our generation.

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000

Methodology

The 2020 Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2016 and 2019. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2016. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2016 is $100,000; the minimum for 2019 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Companies on the Inc. 500 are featured in Inc.s September issue. They represent the top tier of the Inc. 5000, which can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000.

About Inc. Media

The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com.

For more information on the Inc. 5000 Conference, visit http://conference.inc.com/.

About Swiftly Inc

Swiftly has created the first big data platform specifically designed for transportation data and operations. Swiftly works with over 80 city transit networks around the world, including MBTA in Boston, Capital Metro in Austin, VIA in San Antonio, VTA in San Jose, and MDOT MTA in Baltimore, supporting over 5,500 transit agency professionals and impacting over 1.5 billion passengers per year. Swiftly has helped customers improve arrival predictions by up to 30% and complete planning projects up to 90% faster, resulting in increased ridership, fewer passenger complaints, and more efficient transit operations.
Photo: (Photo : Instagram/lashow_)

School best friends, Odin Frost and Jordan Granberry, were told that they had two percent chances of survival at birth. Now, they are 18 years old and have graduated from high school.

Doctors thought they would not live long

The two teens suffered brain damage upon birth due to lack of oxygen. They met on the first day of school and have been inseparable since. Some doctors thought that the two children who have special needs would not live very long. The duo proved them wrong by walking on stage to receive their diplomas together.

How they met

Odin and Jordan met at Wayne D. Boshears Center for Exceptional Programs when they were just three. On Wednesday, Odin's dad, Tim Frost, told CBS News that the two were put in the same classroom. Even though both could not speak, they pretty much had the immediate bond. He explained that wherever one was, the other was also there.

Tim said that his wife had preeclampsia when she was pregnant with their son. The doctors had to induce labor and when the baby came out, he was barely breathing. Tim shared that the staff airlifted his son to a NICU in Dallas, and stayed there for two weeks.

See also: Viral Video: Heartwarming reunion of 3-year-old best friends [they were separated by lockdown]

Both were in the same NICU

Tim said later they found out that Jordan was also in the same NICU as his son's, only two weeks earlier. Since he did not get enough oxygen to his brain, Odin suffered brain damage. Tim said that they went to different doctors and specialists for the next three years. It was also a time when they heard that their son only had a two percent chance of survival.

Odin's doctors said that he would be in a vegetative state if he did survive his condition. Jordan also suffered brain damage. Doctors told Jordan's mom, Donna, that her son would not live until age seven. Odin and Jordan's parents met at school and have become close ever since.

See also: Brave Boy Who Lost a Leg, Back on Gymnast Activities After 10 Weeks

Two had a special bond

Odin started walking after receiving therapy. Since Jordan has not reached that milestone yet, Odin supports his best friend at all times. He would stand up and push Jordan's wheelchair and stand beside him to defend him. At first, the parents were hesitant to let the two attend graduation due to the pandemic. But since the school was taking precautions and the ceremony would be small, they decided to let the best friend of 15 years walk the stage.

See also: Toddler Best Friends from Viral Video Featured in Fashion Campaign to Raise Funds

On July 16, the boys crossed the stage to get their diplomas. The photo Odin and Jordan took at the graduation ceremony looked like a recreation of the photo they took on the first day they met. After posting the photos on Reddit, Tim was afraid to see negative comments at first. But when he saw the thousands of good comments, he started crying. The families had a small celebration after the epic graduation day.
On Monday, the leadership committee of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) unanimously nominated Olaf Scholz as their candidate for chancellor for the federal elections in autumn 2021. They have thus made a decision that fits the character of the SPD perfectly. Scholz, the current vice-chancellor and finance minister in the grand coalition with the Christian Democrats headed by Merkel, embodies the right-wing policies of a party that has absolutely nothing in common with its former roots in the workers movement.

Scholzs nomination is a signal to the financial oligarchy and the right-wing elements in the state apparatus that they can rely on the SPD without reservation in the face of growing social conflicts. There has been no attack on social and democratic rights in the last two decades in which Scholz has not been personally involved.

Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) presents the federal government's emergency measures (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, pool)

The coronavirus pandemic has lent an extraordinary sharpness to the social antagonisms and international tensions that have been developing for a long time. Resistance is growing in factories, schools and hospitals; trade wars and the threat of war are spreading; democratic structures are collapsing; and opposition to capitalism is mounting. Under these circumstances, the SPD has decided to abandon the usual political fig-leaves and openly proclaim its right-wing policies by appointing Scholz as candidate for chancellor more than a year before Election Day.

Just last year, the party had organised a travelling circus lasting for weeks, in which seven pairs of candidates competed for the party chairmanship at 23 regional conferences, pretending to be grassroots democrats. Scholz had experienced a humiliating defeat at that time. He and his partner Klara Geywitz were defeated in the second round of voting by the duo Norbert Walter-Borjans and Saskia Esken, who have led the party ever since. The two had passed themselves off as left-wing critics of the grand coalition, supported by Juso (Young Socialist) Chairman Kevin Kuhnert, the spokesman for the GroKo opponents in the 2018 SPD member survey.

At the time, the WSWS rejected this deception. After the election of the new SPD leadership, we commented, The claim that Walter-Borjans and Esken pursued a different policy, embodied a left-wing of the party and rejected the Grand Coalition is a myth that does not stand up to serious scrutiny.

Now, Walter-Borjans and Esken have proposed the defeated Scholz as the partys candidate for chancellor, which means that he sets the course of the party. Juso leader Kuhnert also supports Scholz. He justified this with the words, We are doing this in the knowledge and recognition that weand this is the difference to past yearsare running in a common direction. Kuhnert appealed to the partys supposed left wing to engage constructively in the debate. We are also capable of learning, he said.

By common direction, Kuhnert meant the billions and trillions of euros that Finance Minister Scholz forked over to the banks and large companies during the coronavirus crisis. This is not a break with his previous austerity course, the black zero (balanced budget) policy, but rather its continuation by other means. It continues the enrichment of the wealthy at the expense of the poor, which the grand coalition has been pursuing for years.

For example, of the 756 billion in the emergency package adopted by the federal government in March, 600 billion went to large companies, 50 billion to small firms and the self-employed (who make up 58 percent of all employees subject to social security contributions), several billion went to armaments spending and nothing to education and social welfare. In addition, Scholz is already planning to recoup the gifts made to corporations and the rich through further social cuts.

This policy in the interest of the financial oligarchy runs like a red thread through Scholzs political career.

Born in 1958 as the son of a civil servant, he studied law in Hamburg and began his political career with the Jusos, where he, like Helmut Schmidt, Andrea Nahles and many other prominent SPD leaders, employed left-wing and pseudo-Marxist phraseology. From 1982 to 1988, the representative of the so-called Stamokap (state monopoly capitalism) wing was deputy federal chairman of the SPD youth organisation.

In 1998, Scholz was elected to the Bundestag (federal parliament). In 2001, he took over the office of the Interior Senator (state minister) in the Hamburg state executive. Even then, he attracted attention as a law-and-order politician because he introduced the compulsory administration of emetics to drug dealers to preserve evidence, which the European Court of Human Rights later condemned as contrary to human rights.

In 2002, Chancellor Gerhard Schroder brought him to Berlin as SPD secretary-general to enforce his governments attacks on welfare and labour rights against massive resistance. In 2007, he was rewarded for this with the office of minister of labour in Merkels first cabinet. In this function, he raised the retirement age from 65 to 67 years.

From 2011 to 2018, Scholz was mayor of Hamburg, where he again stood out for his close relationship with big business and his law-and-order policies. Among other things, Scholz is responsible for the brutal police action against the G20 demonstrations in the summer of 2017, one of the largest police deployments in German history, which served to criminalise hundreds of young people who were exercising their right to demonstrate.

In 2018, Scholz then became one of the driving forces in the SPD advocating the continuation of the grand coalition with the Christian Democrats to implement a programme of social cuts, the strengthening of state powers and militarism. By joining the grand coalition, the SPD also specifically helped the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) become the leader of the parliamentary opposition, which greatly increased its influence, despite it winning only 13.5 percent of the vote.

In Merkels fourth cabinet, Scholz took over the office of finance minister from Wolfgang Schauble (CDU) and continued his austerity course in Europe and Germany. To prove his loyalty to the banks, he brought the German head of the major US bank Goldman Sachs, Jorg Kukies, into his ministry as state secretary.

Until the end of last year, Kukies maintained close contacts with the Dax-listed Wirecard Group, which has since gone bankrupt and whose managers are in custody for fraudulent accounting, market manipulation, embezzlement and money laundering. The fact that Wirecard has been subject to the supervisory authorities of the Finance Ministry for years could still create problems for Scholz.

Scholzs nomination is a clear commitment to continue the grand coalition, the most right-wing government since the Federal Republic of Germany was founded following World War Two. Scholzs relationship with Chancellor Merkel is now so close that the Suddeutsche Zeitung felt compelled to comment, Vice-Chancellor Scholz could certainly be successful in reaching out to voters who would like to see Angela Merkels government continue.

However, Scholzs nomination also means he is prepared to govern together with the Greens or the Left Party, which pursue the same reactionary policies.

Asked by Neues Deutschland about possible collaboration with Scholz, Left Party leader Riexinger immediately signalled his approval. The decisive factor is whether there is agreement on content, he said. We heard interesting announcements from the SPD leadership over the weekend: they want to overcome the Hartz IV system [of welfare attacks] and abolish sanctions, something the Left Party has long been calling for. They want a significantly higher minimum wage, and the rich to be taxed more heavily.

Riexinger, of course, does not believe that Scholzwho is himself described by the bourgeois press as the SPDs right-wing frontmanand the SPD have suddenly changed. What is clear is his willingness to cooperate with a Scholz-led SPD.
Members of Lebanese security forces block a road to stop protesters from reaching the UNESCO Palace where Lebanon's parliament is holding a session, in the aftermath of a massive explosion in Beirut's port area, in Beirut, Lebanon, on Aug. 13, 2020. (Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters)

Parliament Speaker Urges New Lebanese Government After Huge Blast, US Envoy Due in Beirut

BEIRUTLebanons parliament speaker called on Thursday for quickly forming a new government in the first legislative session since the catastrophic explosion that killed 172 people last week and pushed the cabinet to resign.

Security forces were heavily deployed in the capital Beirut, stopping protesters from reaching a conference center where MPs convened. Many Lebanese are furious at a long entrenched political class they blame for the blast, accusing them of endemic corruption, mismanagement, and negligence.

Senior U.S. diplomat David Hale is expected in Beirut later on Thursday to stress the urgent need for financial reforms, and stamping out graft, among other messages, the U.S. Embassy said.

The Aug. 4 blast at a warehouse containing highly-explosive material in Beirut port injured some 6,000 people, left around 300,000 without habitable housing and wrecked swathes of the city, which was already in a deep financial crisis.

The authorities say the blast was caused by more than 2,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored for years without safety measures.

Roads to the UNESCO Palace on the southern outskirts of the capital, where parliament has met during the COVID-19 pandemic, were blocked with metal gates ahead of the protest.

A security officer stands guard outside UNESCO Palace where Lebanons parliament is expected to meet, after a massive explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, on Aug. 13, 2020. (Aziz Taher/Reuters)

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)

They are all criminals, they are the ones who caused this catastrophe, this explosion, said Lina Boubess, 60, a demonstrator who was trying to reach the palace.

Isnt it enough that they stole our money, our lives, our dreams and the dreams of our children? What more do we have to lose. They are criminals, all of them means all of them.

As two cars with tinted windows passed through one of the barricades towards the UNESCO Palace, a small group of protesters hit the vehicles with Lebanese flags.

Some 30-40 people are still missing more than a week after the blast.

Outrage has fueled protests in which hundreds of people have been injured in confrontations with security forces who fired tear gas.

Demonstrators take part in a protest following the blast in Beirut, Lebanon, on Aug.10, 2020. (Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters)

Parliament approved a state of emergency declared by the now-caretaker government. The resignations of eight MPs who quit after the blast was also confirmed.

State media said Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a longtime pillar of the sectarian elite, called at the session for speeding up the formation of a (new) government.

But Berri also wants to give a political messagethat parliament existsdespite all this talk about early elections and the resignations of MPs, said a senior political source.

Humanitarian aid has poured in but foreign countries have made clear they will not provide funds to help Lebanon avert economic collapse without action on long-demanded reforms to tackle state corruption and waste.

Authorities have estimated losses at $15 billion, a bill Lebanon cannot pay: it already defaulted on its enormous sovereign debt in March. Foreign reserves are critically low, and talks with the International Monetary Fund have stalled.

Politicians are in early consultations on forming a new cabinet, a complicated process in a country riven by divisions and governed by a sectarian power-sharing system.

The government came to office in January with backing from parties including the heavily armed, Iran-backed Shiite Muslim Hezbollah. Together with its political allies, they have a majority of seats in parliament.

The United States classifies Hezbollah as a terrorist group.

Hale, the U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs, will underscore Americas willingness to support any government that reflects the will of the people and is genuinely committed to and acting upon such a reform agenda, the U.S. Embassy said.

By Issam Abdallah and Maher Chmaytelli
NEW YORK, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Native American Agriculture Fund (NAAF), the largest philanthropic organization devoted solely to serving the Native American farming and ranching community, has selected Neuberger Berman to serve as Investment Manager.

The NAAF Investment Program conducted a rigorous, multi-step, nation-wide Request for Proposal process. NAAF's selection criteria focused on responsiveness, socially responsible investment opportunities and a commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, including a commitment to Native American employee and client relationships.

Neuberger Berman met these criteria and effectively demonstrated an investment approach directly in alignment with the values of the NAAF's Investment Program. Neuberger Berman has a long-standing belief that material environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors are an important driver of long-term investment returns from both an opportunity and a risk-mitigation perspective. Together, the Native American Agriculture Fund and Neuberger Berman will execute the largest and most ambitious philanthropic investment program supporting Native American agriculture in the history of the United States.

Joseph Amato, President and Chief Investment Officer, Equities, Neuberger Berman, said: "We are pleased to be partnering with the Native American Agriculture Fund in support of its mission for the Native American farming and ranching community. We look forward to building an investment program together and supporting NAAF and its constituents' investment objectives including considering material ESG factors."

"We have the opportunity to effectuate great, positive change in Indian Country, and Neuberger Berman is the right partner at the right time to help us meet this moment," said Vincent Logan (Osage Nation), Chief Financial Officer and Chief Investment Officer for the Native American Agriculture Fund. "If we hope to fulfill this promise, it is imperative that we build a deep and robust asset management relationship with a firm that is dedicated to the unique demands of our ambitious mission."

"Native American Agriculture Fund's Investment Committee developed a rigorous selection process and Neuberger Berman was the clear choice because of their expertise in these categories," said Jim Laducer (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa), Chair-Elect of the Native American Agriculture Fund Board of Trustees. "Neuberger Berman has extensive knowledge in ESG investing, which was important for the NAAF Board of Trustees. Neuberger Berman's values are in line with our own."

Looking forward, NAAF and Neuberger Berman will work closely as they see to the management of the Fund assets. The portfolio will be managed to suit the NAAF institutional design, with appropriate risk management while allowing for the flexibility and liquidity necessary to support the Fund's mission.

The Investment Manager mandate was awarded to Neuberger Berman Trust Company by a unanimous vote of the NAAF Board of Trustees in February 2020.

For Neuberger Berman:

Alex Samuelson

[email protected]

(212) 476-5392

For NAAF:

Maria Givens

Communications Director

[email protected]

(479) 502-0933

About Native American Agriculture Fund

The mission of the Native American Agriculture Fund is to make grants to fund the provision of business assistance, agricultural education, technical support, and advocacy services to Native farmers and ranchers to support and promote their continued engagement in agriculture. The North Dakota charitable trust was created by the settlement of the landmark Keepseagle v. Vilsack class-action lawsuit. NAAF is the largest philanthropic organization devoted solely to serving the Native American farming and ranching community. See the website for more information. https://www.nativeamericanagriculturefund.org/

About Neuberger Berman

Neuberger Berman, founded in 1939, is a private, independent, employee-owned investment manager. The firm manages a range of strategiesincluding equity, fixed income, quantitative and multi-asset class, private equity, real estate and hedge fundson behalf of institutions, advisors and individual investors globally. With offices in 24 countries, Neuberger Berman's diverse team has 2,300 professionals. For six consecutive years, the company has been named first or second in Pensions & Investments Best Places to Work in Money Management survey (among those with 1,000 employees or more). The firm was awarded an A+ in every category in the latest 2020 Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) report for our approach to ESG integration across asset classes. The firm manages $357 billion in client assets as of June 30, 2020. For more information, please visit our website at www.nb.com.

All Neuberger Berman information is as of June 30, 2020 unless otherwise indicated and is subject to change without notice. Firm data, including employee and assets under management figures, reflects collective data for the various affiliated investment advisers that are subsidiaries of Neuberger Berman Group LLC. Firm history/timeline includes the history of all firm subsidiaries, including predecessor entities and acquisitions. "Neuberger Berman Trust Company" is a trade name used by Neuberger Berman Trust Company N.A. and Neuberger Berman Trust Company of Delaware N.A.

PRI grades are based on information reported directly by PRI signatories, of which investment managers totaled 1,924 for 2020, 1,119 for 2019, 1,120 for 2018 and 935 for 2017. All signatories are eligible to participate and must complete a questionnaire to be included. The underlying information submitted by signatories is not audited by the PRI or any other party acting on its behalf. Signatories report on their responsible investment activities by responding to asset-specific modules in the Reporting Framework. Each module houses a variety of indicators that address specific topics of responsible investment. Signatories' answers are then assessed and results are compiled into an Assessment Report. The Assessment Report includes indicator scores, summarizing the individual scores achieved and comparing them to the median; section scores, grouping similar indicator scores together into categories (e.g. policy, assurance, governance) and comparing them to the median; module scores, aggregating all the indicator scores within a module to assign one of six performance bands (from E to A+). Awards and ratings referenced do not reflect the experiences of any Neuberger Berman client and readers should not view such information as representative of any particular client's experience or assume that they will have a similar investment experience as any previous or existing client. Awards and ratings are not indicative of the past or future performance of any Neuberger Berman product or service. Moreover, the underlying information has not been audited by the PRI or any other party acting on its behalf. While every effort has been made to produce a fair representation of performance, no representations or warranties are made as to the accuracy of the information presented, and no responsibility or liability can be accepted for damage caused by use of or reliance on the information contained within this report. Information about PRI grades is sourced entirely from PRI and Neuberger Berman makes no representations, warranties or opinions based on that information.

This material is being issued on a limited basis through various global subsidiaries and affiliates of Neuberger Berman Group LLC. Please visit www.nb.com/disclosure-global-communications for the specific entities and jurisdictional limitations and restrictions. The "Neuberger Berman" name and logo are registered service marks of Neuberger Berman Group LLC.  2020 Neuberger Berman Group LLC. All rights reserved.

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Turkey and Libya signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to boost trade and economic ties, the Turkish trade minister said on Aug. 13, Hurriyet daily reports.

The deal will lay the groundwork for resolving ongoing issues between Turkish firms and Libyan employers, setting new investments and undertaking new projects, Ruhsar Pekcan said at a meeting held in Turkey's capital Ankara.

Pekcan recalled that some contracting projects undertaken by Turkish companies in Libya have been interrupted recently.

"There were uncertainties regarding the completion of these projects and Turkish companies had remaining receivables in these projects," she said.

Pointing to the brotherly ties between the two countries, Pekcan said this is also reflected in their bilateral economic and trade ties.

Turkish companies set to begin new projects to meet Libyas needs will support the countrys stability and development process besides helping raise the general welfare, she stressed.

"This process will be a new opportunity to show the whole world Turkish-Libyan cooperation," Pekcan underlined.



For his part, Al-Hadi Al-Taher Al-Juhaimi, Libyas planning minister, also stressed the importance of the deal for clearing up pending issues between Turkey and Libya.

Praising Turkish contractors works in Libya, Al-Juhaimi said Turkish firms are behind 20% of the investment projects in the country.

"We may call this the lions share," he stressed.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday that the COVID-19 pandemic not only threatens gains in fighting global poverty and building peace but risks exacerbating existing conflicts and generating new ones.

The U.N. chief told a Security Council meeting on the challenge of sustaining peace during the pandemic that his March 23 call for an immediate cease-fire in conflicts around the world to tackle the coronavirus led a number of warring parties to take steps to de-escalate and stop fighting.

Yet, regrettably, in many instances, the pandemic did not move the parties to suspend hostilities or agree to a permanent ceasefire, Guterres said.

His predecessor as secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, told the council: It is truly astonishing that in response to this pandemic, the world has placed billions of people under lock-down, closed international borders, suspended trade and migration, and temporarily shut down a whole variety of industries but has not managed to suspend armed conflicts.

Ban criticized the U.N. Security Council for wasting valuable months in arguments over the details of the text and not adopting a resolution until July 1 demanding an immediate cessation of hostilities in key conflicts including Syria, Yemen, Libya, South Sudan and Congo to tackle COVID-19.

This has weakened the message that this council needs to send to all warring parties: now is the time to confront our common enemy, Ban said.

And he said delayed council action further aggravated the current volatile global security situations.

The impact of COVID-19 on conflict-affected settings has been much worse than initially thought, said Ban, who is a co-chair of the group of prominent world leaders founded by Nelson Mandela known as The Elders.

He pointed to health and humanitarian ramifications, social cohesion, governance, the rule of law and threats to multilateralism which are jeopardizing ongoing efforts to sustain peace, or may even cause a reversal in hard-won peace and security gains to date.

While governments try to confront the pandemic, some groups have seen an opportunity to ramp up violence, Ban said, citing as examples Boko Haram and other militants in Nigeria, growing mob violence in Congo and murders by drug cartels in Mexico.

He also warned that the economic impacts of the pandemic will be both long-lasting and severe, with ripple effects for many fragile and conflict-affected states.

As examples, Ban said Lebanons political and economic crisis, exacerbated by last weeks deadly explosion at Beiruts port, is being compounded by COVID-19s impact on two key money-earners, tourism and trade, while Iraqs budget is being stretched thin because of the collapse in oil prices.

Secretary-General Guterres said the pandemic has raised growing questions about the effectiveness of health systems, social services, trust in institutions and systems of governance.

All of this means that our commitment to sustaining peace is more urgent than ever, he said.

Guterres pointed to three key dangers: erosion of public trust, destabilization of the global economic order, and weakening of the social fabric.

The perception that authorities are mishandling the crisis, or not being transparent or favoring political allies can lead to public disillusion in government and its institutions, he said.

The U.N. chief also warned that without concerted action, inequalities, global poverty and the potential for instability and violence could grow for years.

While there have been many peaceful protests, Guterres said, in a number of countries, COVID-19 has been an excuse for harsh crackdowns and a spike in state repression.
COLUMBUS, Ohio  Ohios top elections official wants to assure Ohioans that the upcoming Nov. 3 election will take place as planned, and that in-person voting will be an option, but voting by mail is a secure and reliable option for those who choose it.

His comments, which he called a Wednesday news conference to share, normally would be unremarkable.

But due to heightened concerns about voting amid the coronavirus, inflamed by rhetoric from Republican President Donald Trump and voter confusion following Gov. Mike DeWines decision to postpone the March primary, rumors have persisted over the basic questions surrounding the upcoming election.

Its unfortunate, but theres an incredible human capacity for inventiveness as it relates to election conspiracies, LaRose said. People come up with all kinds of [crazy] things and people share them on the Internet.

He added: The reason Im re-stating these things is so Ohioans know directly from the person who took the oath of office as their chief elections officer, and that in-person voting is going to be available on Nov. 3, and four weeks of early voting is going to be available to every registered voter.

For years, Ohio has offered 30 days of early voting, either in-person or by mail, as an option for voters. And for every presidential or governor election since 2012, Ohio has mailed absentee ballot request forms  another word for mail-in voting  to every registered voter in Ohio. (Some voters may not have noticed the applications, or its possible they didnt arrive for those with recent address changes.)

But voting by mail has become politicized this year as Trump repeatedly has declared without evidence that its rife with fraud and benefits Democrats. Just Wednesday, the Ohio Republican Party issued a fundraising email that read in part: ballots mailed to deceased voters, family pets receiving ballots... its enough to make you sick. Enough is enough. The time is now to make our voices heard to ensure that we have fair and secure elections this November.

The email could be referring to news reports of a family in Atlanta receiving a ballot application with the name of a dead pet. Pets could get applications from political companies that mine consumer information. This doesnt mean the pet actually got a ballot, and studies repeatedly have shown, including multiple recent reviews by Republican Ohio Secretaries of State, that voter fraud is statistically rare.

Democrats, meanwhile, reacting to Trumps rhetoric, have sounded the alarm bell about the Trump administrations handling of the U.S. Postal Service, which is facing financial turmoil. Many states this year have moved to expand mail-in voting as a response to the coronavirus pandemic, prompting concerns from Republicans about the security of the process. Some Democrats have proposed allowing authorized third-party groups to collect completed ballots  a method referred to as ballot harvesting, which has been tied to some notable election fraud cases, including a Republican race in North Carolina in 2018.

The waters have been muddied further by Ohios primary earlier this year. The state conducted its first almost all-mail election in April after DeWine, citing the coronavirus, effectively canceled the original March 17 date hours before polls were to have opened.

DeWine and LaRose announced a June election date and began promoting it before the state legislature moved it to April 28.

Trump even recently floated on Twitter the idea of postponing the election, despite having no legal authority to do so, leading to widespread condemnation.

LaRose said Wednesday that Ohio wont see a repeat of what happened earlier this year.

The election date is set in federal law, LaRose said Wednesday. It had been that way for a long time. Primary dates can move, as you saw here, those primary dates have moved many times, even just in recent history. General election dates dont move, and as you can see, its been set in federal law since 1835. Like the rest of the nation, Ohio will have an Election Day on Nov. 3.

He also said Ohios vote-by-mail process is secure. Local boards of elections each are administered by an equal number of Republicans and Democrats. Ohio voters must provide personally identifying information to request and then cast an absentee ballot, similar to voting at a polling place.

LaRose attributed voter confusion to conspiracy theories and social-media rumors. But he said actions from Trump and elected officials have played a role.

We need to be a source of accurate information and truth. I think that fanning the flames and engaging in hyperbole is irresponsible. Its irresponsible when its done by Republicans, its irresponsible by Democrats, he said.

He added: Listen, if you are making Ohioans fearful about elections, youre kind of doing our foreign adversaries work for them.

There are other possible problems.

Worries about COVID-19 have led to challenges recruiting poll workers and in limited cases, securing voting sites. LaRose and other Ohio elections officials expect a spike in early voting, which could overwhelm elections workers who process applications or the mail system that delivers them.

More mail votes also could cause confusion in the reporting of the winner on Election Day. Ballots must be post-marked before Election Day, but elections officials in Ohio must wait 21 days before certifying official results. If the election is close, its conceivable that one candidate would have an early lead, but another would win after straggler mail-in votes are counted.

The unofficial election result is just that, and this year the unofficial result could change between that time and 3 weeks later when we verify the totals. That doesnt mean something nefarious happened, LaRose said.

Shifting coronavirus conditions could cause voters to feel uncomfortable voting in person. LaRose said poll workers will be required to wear face masks, while voters will be strongly encouraged to do so. Those who dont want to will have the option of voting outside, although ultimately, no one should be turned away for not wearing a mask, LaRose said.

A primary takeaway? LaRose said those with concerns should request an absentee ballot as soon as possible. Voters can track the status of their ballot on VoteOhio.gov. But voters will have a chance to cast a ballot in person on Nov. 3.

He said he plans to personally cast a mail-in vote when he can. He said he expects the board of elections in Franklin County, where he now lives, will send him a ballot shortly after the first wave of ballot mailing occurs on Oct. 6.

Were going to get it sent in as soon as we can, he said.
Former president Pranab Mukherjees condition continues to be critical and he remains on ventilator support, the Indian Army's Research and Referral Hospital in New Delhi said late on August 12.

Mukherjee was admitted to the hospital in Delhi Cantonment on August 10 and underwent a surgery for removal of a clot in his brain. Prior to the surgery, the 84-year-old also tested positive for COVID-19.

"Shri Pranab Mukherjee's health condition continues to remain critical. Presently, he is haemodynamically stable and on a ventilator," news agency PTI cited the hospital as saying.

A multidisciplinary team of doctors is constantly monitoring the health of the former president.

The doctors attending on him earlier said that Mukherjees health condition had worsened on August 11 and he had not shown signs of improvement.

Before serving as the President of India between 2012 and 2017, Mukherjee was a senior union minister in the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

(With inputs from PTI)
Berlin, Aug 13 : North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) became the first federal state in Germany to introduce compulsory use of face masks in classrooms.

All pupils from year 5 onwards have to wear face masks on the entire school premises and also during lessons until at least the end of August, reports Xinhua news agency.

"We have to be particularly careful these days," said Minister President of NRW state Armin Laschet with regard to the COVID-19 infection numbers in Germany's most populous federal state which had recently increased significantly.

Last week, a grammar and a primary school in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania had already started had to be closed again because of COVID-19 infections.

At the end of the holiday season in NRW, there had been a "dynamic infection situation", the state's Minister of Labor, Health and Social Affairs Karl-Josef Laumann said, appealing to citizens to follow health regulations.

The state of NRW now also classified the violation of mask obligation in public transport as an administrative offence.

Such violations of current face mask regulations would be punished with 150 euros on first instance, according to the state government.

Germany has reported a total of 220,859 coronavirus cases, with 9,268 deaths.
Workers at a garment-textile firm in Cambodia (Source: Khmer Times)



The move follows the EU decision made in February 2020 even though the Cambodian government and private sector have been trying to lobby the bloc not to implement or at least delay the withdrawal, according to the local media Khmer Times.

The Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC) and the Cambodia Footwear Association (CFA) together with the European chamber of commerce have called again for the EU to postpone its partial withdrawal because of the devastating effect of COVID-19 on the industries, it reported.

The EU is Cambodias largest trading partner. The EU's decision affects one-fifth (or 1.08 billion USD) of Cambodias annual exports to the union./.
All signs seem to indicate that Warren Buffett has abandoned the airline industry. He recently sold his investments in Americas four largest airlines at a steep loss. Buffetts abrupt change of heart served as a red flag for Canadas airline industry as well. Air Canada (TSX:AC), for example, has lost 27.5% of its value since June.

I have nothing but respect for the Oracle of Omaha. After all, you dont become one of the wealthiest investors on the planet without being right more often than youre wrong. However, on this decision, I disagree with him. Here are three reasons I believe Buffett made a mistake and why airlines like Air Canada could rebound in the years ahead.

Evidence

Air Canada has cut several routes this year. This decision was driven by a collapse in domestic air travel demand and border restrictions that have stymied international travel. In other words, barely anyone is flying right now.

However, the number of domestic air passengers has slowly bounced back from its March-April lows. As the number of coronavirus cases subside across the country, people are traveling to domestic destinations for summer vacations.

International travel is also gradually opening up, with several countries in the European Union and Asia accepting Canadian tourists this year. Japan, Iceland, and Greece are even subsidizing foriegn visitors.

Meanwhile, domestic air travel in the U.S. has more than doubled from 87,000 in April to over 200,000 in May, 2020. That could indicate that the worst is over for the airlines.

Valuation

While borders were being shut, and the economy was being locked down, Air Canada was restructuring its operations to lower costs and boost cash. The company has raised $1.6 billion by offering new shares and raising debt funding in June. Meanwhile, the airline has sold 79 planes, laid off 20,000 employees, and announced a cost-savings initiative of $1 billion.

The stock now trades at a price-to-book value ratio of 2.5 and a price-to-sales ratio of 0.36. In other words, the company has bolstered its business, but the stock price still reflects the worst-case scenario. Air Canada seems to have enough cash to survive for years, as air travel gradually recovers and the world mitigates the viruss impact.

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Warren Buffetts thesis

To be fair, Buffetts investment strategy has always focused on predictability. In his letter to shareholders, he says there were too many unknown variables to make a bet on airlines with conviction. There could be a second wave of infections, a vaccine could take longer than expected, or airlines could face losses due to extended periods of physical distancing.

However, all these risks seem to have been priced into Air Canadas stock price. This means the downside for investors is limited, even if the worst-case scenario plays out. However, the stock could rebound sharply if theres any positive catalyst on the horizon. This risk/reward ratio makes Air Canada an ideal bet for any investor with an appetite for risk.

Bottom line

Warren Buffetts fire sale of airline stocks serves as a red flag for the industry. But Air Canada stock seems to have priced in the worst-case scenario. Investors should take another look.

The post Warren Buffett Is Wrong! Airlines Will Bounce Back appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.

More reading

Fool contributor Vishesh Raisinghani has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

The Motley Fools purpose is to help the world invest, better. Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, The Motley Fool Canadas free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Motley Fool Canada 2020
This article by Paul Szoldra originally appeared on Task & Purpose, a digital news and culture publication dedicated to military and veterans issues.

The Marine Corps has identified a Marine sergeant who died Tuesday in Bahrain.

Sgt. Trevor Goldyn, a communications Marine assigned to the 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, was found dead in a "non-combat related incident," according to a service press release.

The incident remains under investigation.

Goldyn joined the Marine Corps in June 2016, according to the release. His awards include the Good Conduct Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

More articles from Task & Purpose:

 A Navy flattop just rolled up in Hawaii laden with World War II-era warbirds

 Flash floods basically sunk Scott Air Force Base for a few hours

 Star-spangled Navy helo looks like it was plucked straight out of 'Team America'
File - Sandra Bynum of Bensalem helps place a ballot into a voting machine. The Bucks County Board of Elections is preparing now for November's general election. [WILLIAM THOMAS CAIN / PHOTOJOURNALIST]

The Bucks County Board of Elections will face its first presidential election tallying mail-in and absentee ballots as well as in-person voting this fall, while in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Since many voters may opt to mail their ballots, the prospect of hundreds of thousands of these ballots that will need to be counted on election night, has county officials working now to prepare for the colossal undertaking.

The election board is in the process of acquiring new equipment to help count the votes as it also plans to hire additional staff and put out a request for workers to serve, with pay, on election day at the polls.

The Bucks commissioners voted Wednesday to provide the board with six high-speed ballot scanners to bring the countys total to 10 and four rapid extraction desks to make opening the ballot envelopes easier, for a total cost of $430,478, to be paid out of the CARES Act federal funding the county received to deal with the pandemic.

During the June 2 primary election, employees from other county departments helped the election board process the votes.

It was yeomans work, Gail Humphrey, county chief clerk, reported at the commissioners' meeting Wednesday, adding that the extra equipment being purchased should help make counting the ballots quicker and with fewer people having to handle them.

The board also approved the purchase of two on-demand ballot printers for $37,200, also from the CARES Act funds. These will be sent to the county government offices in Levittown and Quakertown, to join the one on-demand ballot printer now at the county administration building in Doylestown. Voters who don't want to use the postal service to mail their ballot will be able to have one printed out that they can fill out in a secure manner at one of the three governmental sites.

We feel this would be an added service for voters, Humphrey said.

Margie McKevitt, the chief operating officer for the county, said that anyone who wants to apply to work at the polls on election day should call the Board of Elections at 215-348-6154 to apply.

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Thomas Freitag, director of the election board, plans to hold training sessions for poll workers in Falls, Bensalem, Doylestown and Quakertown in out-door programs to avoid spread of the coronavirus.

The commissioners have not yet set the pay rate for the various positions to be filled at the polls but in the primary election, the judge of elections received $135 for the day while other poll workers received $105 for a full day and $52.50 for a half days service as machine inspectors or clerks, said county spokesman Larry King.

Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo said he hopes the state legislature will approve a plan to allow election boards in the more heavily populated counties to securely begin opening and getting the mail-in ballots ready for counting a day or two before election day, so that there won't be a long delay in knowing the results of the presidential election in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bucks County seeks poll workers
Democratic presidential candidate former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg waves to his supporters at his Super Tuesday night event on March 03, 2020 in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Billionaire former presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg is set to speak at the Democratic National Convention next week as party leaders wonder when he will start spending big to back Joe Biden's campaign for president.

A spokeswoman for Bloomberg confirmed to CNBC that he will be a featured speaker at the virtual convention that's slated to start on Monday. Bloomberg, a former mayor of New York, has been a vocal supporter of Biden's since his own withdrawal from the Democratic primary in March.

A convention official told CNBC that Bloomberg plans to target President Donald Trump in his speech and specifically go after his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. He will make the case that Trump has poorly handled the economy  and that he made the economic crisis worse in the way he's dealt with the spread of Covid-19. His remarks will include how he believes Biden is the leader the country needs to get through the ongoing pandemic.

Bloomberg also plans to highlight his work with Biden and President Barack Obama during his time as mayor of New York, while highlighting the former vice president's handling of the 2008-09 financial crisis.

The speech will take place next Thursday, which is the final day of the convention.

That development comes as Bloomberg's allies have been speaking with him about when and where he'll make his next big investment to support Biden.

"My sense is that he is supportive but not yet fully engaged," a friend of Bloomberg's told CNBC. "Lots of verbal shrugging," said another.

After spending $1 billion on his own campaign, which only won 60 delegates, CNBC reported in May that Bloomberg was huddling with his advisors and associates to plot where his big spending spree for Biden will go toward.
It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. 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 before you buy or sell Airtel Africa Plc (LON:AAF), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.

What Is Insider Buying?

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, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required.

Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. 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'.

Check out our latest analysis for Airtel Africa

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Airtel Africa

The Non-Executive Director Shravin Mittal made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for UK9.9m worth of shares at a price of UK0.80 each. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of UK0.60. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock if insiders have bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price.

Airtel Africa insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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Airtel Africa is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Does Airtel Africa Boast High Insider Ownership?

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that Airtel Africa insiders own 0.6% of the company, worth about UK14m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Airtel Africa Insiders?

The fact that there have been no Airtel Africa insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Insiders do have a stake in Airtel Africa and their transactions don't cause us concern. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for Airtel Africa you should know about.

But note: Airtel Africa may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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.
The Sheriff in Marion County Florida prohibits deputies from wearing masks while at work. Visitors in the county are also not allowed to wear facemasks. This is despite the increasing number of cases in the state.

Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods ordered his deputies not to wear facemasks while at work. His order also applied to the visitors in the state. However, there are some exceptions where deputies have to wear facemasks like those in hospitals that deal with people suspected of having the virus.

This is even if the number of COVID-19 infections in the state has already reached over 550,000 and a death toll of nearly 9,000, according to the official tally of Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Meanwhile, Marion County has recorded 6,798 cases and 104 deaths according to the data obtained from worldometers.

In an email County Sheriff Billy Woods sent to The Washington Post, he disputed and said, "We can debate and argue all day of why and why not. The fact is the number of professionals that give the reason why we should. I can find the exact same amount of professionals that say why we shouldn't."

This is even though most epidemiologists and health experts said that wearing face masks and strict observance of social-distancing can help slow the spread of the infectious and deadly COVID-19. Experts firmly believed that these are just two ways to slow down the spread of the virus.

Police authorities have been criticized for their inconsistent use of facemask, which includes large cities like New York and Philadelphia, where the use of mask coverings is mandatory. According to a published report in Vox News, many police departments across the country allow their officers to wear facemasks at their discretion.

Moreover, Billy Woods is one of the law enforcement officials to ban wearing of masks to his deputies. He issued the order in the county while its largest city, Ocala, is entangled in a politically charged debate over a mandatory wearing of a facemask.

Additionally, Billy Woods told his deputies on Tuesday to stop wearing masks in most cases. However, they can choose to wear asks in areas like courthouses, hospitals, and county jail, but they have to remove it afterward.

Check these out!
Mumbai, Aug 13 : Widening its probe in the money laundering angle into the death of Sushant Singh Rajput, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned the personal staff of the late Bollywood actor.

According to ED sources, the financial probe agency has summoned the cook, driver and bodyguard of Sushant for questioning.

The sources said that they have been asked to appear before the agency on Thursday. The ED wants to know about the people who visited Sushant in the last one year -- who all were there at his home; if any meetings took place; and what were the things that were discussed.

The agency will also ask them who saw the body of the late actor first after his death.

The ED wants to know if financial things were discussed and how was the behaviour of Rhea and her family members with the late actor.

The ED registered a case of money laundering on July 31 on the basis of the Bihar Police FIR against his girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty and her family members. The Bihar Police registered a case on the basis of Sushant's father K.K. Singh's complaint on July 25.

Singh in his complaint alleged transactions worth Rs 15 crore from the Kotak Mahindra bank account of his son to some unknown bank accounts.

The ED has till date recorded the statement of Sushant's sister Mitu Singh, who resides in Mumbai; Rhea, her father Indrajit, brother Showik, Sushant's ex-manager and Rhea's manager Shruti Modi, Sushant's house manager Samuel Miranda, actor's flatmate Siddharth Pithani, Chartered Accountant Sandeep Sridhar and Rhea's CA Ritesh Shah in connection with the case.

The source said that the agency will also scrutinise the documents that has been collected from Rhea, Showik, Indrajit, Shruti Modi and others during their questioning.

The agency after scrutinising the documents will decide whether to summon the named accused in the agency's ECIR.

The CBI has also registered a case in Sushant's death case on August 7 on the recommendation from the central government after the Bihar government demanded for the central agency's probe.

The 34-year-old actor who was from Purnea in Bihar, was found dead in his Bandra flat in Mumbai on June 14. The Supreme Court is hearing a plea filed by Rhea regarding transfer of the case.

Latest updates on Sushant Singh Rajput Death Mystery

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
13.08.2020 LISTEN

A former Minister of Information under the Kufuor Administration, Mr. Stephen Asamoah-Boateng and currently the Director General of the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) has described the appointment of Prof Jane Naana Opoku-Agyeman as running mate of ex-President John Mahama as an own goal by the NDC flagbearer.

According to him, Prof. Naana Opoku-Agyemans appointment does not cause panic in the camp of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) because everyone saw how she performed woefully as Minister of Education.

In exclusive interview with electionandbeyond.com, Mr. Stephen Asamoah Boateng explained that Prof. Opoku-Agyeman, as Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast may have done well but that is not what she will be measured with in the political world.

According to Mr. Asamoah Boateng, in her time as Minister of State, Prof. Naana Opoku Agyeman failed to deliver.

So what is she coming to add? Together with ex-President John Mahama, she vehemently opposed Free SHS education. Will she not support it or cancel it? Shes also known to have cut teacher trainee allowance and couldnt complete their much-touted Secondary School buildings.

The key thing is her performance. For me, it is a welcoming news that they have finally gotten a running mate but it doesnt change anything about the candidature of the ex-President John Mahama that we know he said.

Reiterating the words of Vice President, Dr. Bawumia, Mr Asamoah-Boateng said it did not matter who the NDC chose as a running mate because it would not change the incompetence of their flagbearer.

Indeed, the choice of his running mate goes to confirm this tag of incompetence. This is because a key battleground in this years elections would be fought on education where President Akufo-Addos flagship programme of Free SHS and restoration of teachers allowance have been implemented in the face of their opposition. So what is she going to say that is not being done by the NPP government, Mr. Asamoah Boateng quizzed.

He said he could not phantom why former President Mahama decided to run again after spending several years in politics and rising through the ranks.

I am surprised my good friend John Mahama wants to come back and have a second bite. What is it that he could not do in eight years? Its a sign of failure and regret and hes in his usual mindset that Ghanaians forget quickly. Well, tell him that we have not forgotten so soon of his economic mess, dumsor, corruption, etc. He told us he was the luckiest Vice President because Professor Mills allowed him to run the country. So he had the chance plus, he had been a minister and an MP. So what is it that he is going to do that he couldnt do in his time at helm and centre of government? he wondered.

According to Mr Asamoah-Boateng, the final decision rests in the hands of Ghanaians who will compare the works of former President Mahama and President Akufo-Addo when they go to the polls in December.

Ghanaians will decide on the level of performance of Mahama and President Akufo-Addo. For me, its a very unique opportunity that we can call him to his own record, not another Presidents record. The decision at the elections is whether we return to ex-President Mahamas incompetence or look forward with confidence and real hope of the best delivery of economic management by President Akufo-Addo. So Jane Naana doesnt add anything because it is ex-President John Mahamas picture and scary memory that will be on the ballot paper; so he cannot hide and say I have a vice so the vice should come ahead as hes trying to do now he said.

----Electionandbeyond.com
Agence France-Presse

He may never have pulled on a spacesuit or flown in a shuttle but that has not stopped Frenchman Michael Moisseeff from reaching for the stars.

After years of exploring and reconstructing the scents of planet Earth, the 66-year-old "aroma sculptor" set himself a new goal  capturing the smell of the moon.

Moisseeff, with his floral shirt and a head of white hair tied up at the back, straddles the line between artist and scientist as he moves purposefully around the thousands of vials that make up his laboratory.

It is here that the trained geneticist fulfils his life's work of dissecting the mysteries of smell and producing all kinds of scents, fragrances and emanations from molecules.

"To recreate the scent of undergrowth, for example, you have to go there first," he says.

"Is there any moss? Lichen? Moisture? I take an inventory and bring my elements together like a painter with his palette of colours. Then I work on the measures of each to try as best I can to finesse the scent."

Unfortunately, the moon is not quite as accessible as the undergrowth and the Cite de l'Espace (Space City) in Toulouse "did not want to pay for the trip", jokes Moisseeff.

The only way he could build a picture of the scent in his nose  the key tool for his work  was to read up on descriptions made by various astronauts who walked on the moon, in particular Neil Armstrong, the first man ever to do so in 1969.

"Due to the lack of oxygen on the moon, he (Armstrong) obviously couldn't smell anything but once back in the module, the smell of dust clinging to his spacesuit reminded him of the burnt black powder of an old six-shooter," he says.

Notes of carbon and sulphur

In order to reproduce that smell, Moisseeff chose to detonate black powder in his own saucepans. After several failed attempts  and a couple of scares he finally succeeded in "capturing" a burnt deposit.

Then, once he had worked out what kind of smell he was looking for, this modern-day alchemist set to work finding the right notes to complete the scent.

A blend of metallic, carbon and sulphur notes combined to titillate the nostrils and the imagination.

"This enigmatic smell reproduced from the descriptions of various astronauts evokes scents that we know like gunpowder and chimney ash, but that doesn't mean that we wouldn't find it on the moon", says Xavier Penot, scientific mediator at the Cite de l'Espace in Toulouse and the man behind the idea.

Individual sensation

Humans have around 260 odour sensors situated in the olfactory mucosa, the organ of smell located in the upper region of the nasal cavity.

"An odour occurs when a molecule encounters a sensor in your olfactory mucosa, generating a signal that will cause a sensation in you," says Moisseeff.

"And this feeling is absolutely individual, depending on the genetics and the experience of each person."

Moisseeff has often been described as an "aroma sculptor" and he certainly does not shy from linking his work to other creative arts, with his nose his most important instrument.

"Smells are like in music, you have to do your scales all the time," he says.

This "scientific artist" even displays his work in a variety of ways that would not be unfamiliar to contemporary artists  he has long been staging installations and fragrant experiences in telephone booths, entire villages or performance halls at the request of museums, associations or companies.

He even runs "odour tasting" training and workshops for anyone wanting to put their noses to better use.

Moisseeff's next challenge takes him back to the Renaissance as he attempts to reconstruct the scent of the Mona Lisa, or at least her surroundings.

It will be "a meticulous work of investigation and historical research", he says with some excitement.

If he succeeds perhaps Moisseeff will finally uncover the secret behind that most famous of enigmatic smiles.
By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A 32-year-old COVID-19 patient created an health scare by fleeing the Medical College Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram where he was admitted for psychiatric issues in the wee hours of Thursday.

The man, who hailed from Maryanadu, fled the special ward, at around 1:30 am. His COVID-19 test had come positive and he was housed in the special ward earmarked for patients arriving from containment zones. The man allegedly escaped by overpowering the security staff. Based on the complaint of the hospital authorities the Medical College police lodged a case and started a probe. He was later traced to his home.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 20:25:14|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- China has decided to suspend the agreement on the surrender of fugitive offenders (SFO) between its Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and Germany and shelve a similar one with France, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a daily press briefing Thursday.

According to media reports, the HKSAR government on Wednesday has issued notices of the above-mentioned decisions to the consulate generals of Germany and France in Hong Kong.

When responding to a query about whether the moves are countermeasures against earlier announcements by the two countries to suspend relevant extradition agreements with Hong Kong, Zhao said Germany's unilateral announcement of suspending the agreement and France's halt of the ratification of the agreement have politicized judicial cooperation with Hong Kong, interfered in China's internal affairs and violated international laws and basic norms governing international relations. "China is firmly opposed to such practices," said Zhao.

Zhao added that with the assistance and authorization of the central government, the HKSAR has actively rendered assistance to Germany in accordance with the Basic Law and within the framework of the extradition agreement, and has also ratified a similar agreement with France.

The wrongdoing of the two countries has damaged the foundation of Hong Kong's judicial cooperation with Germany and France and deviated from the purpose of safeguarding the justice and the rule of law in judicial cooperation.

Therefore, the Chinese side has decided to suspend the HKSAR's SFO agreement with Germany and shelve the one with France, Zhao said. Enditem
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday inaugurated a mosque, classroom and borehole in Kishi, Oyo State.

The Ambassador to Nigeria, Fahad Al-Taffaq, said the UAE recognises the challenges of accessing potable water, especially in rural communities in the country.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the ambassador was represented by Khalifa Al-Mehrizi, the Charge DAffairs of the UAEs embassy in Abuja.

The projects were sponsored by a UAE Non-governmental organisation called Sharjah Charity.

The multifaceted project consisting of a mosque, borehole and one block of classroom in Kishi. As you all are aware the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected the world and has forced many to develop innovative methods of conducting business virtually.

This project is no different, as virtual communication has been a significant part of its successful completion. This initiative is sponsored by Sharjah Charity International, a UAE-based Charity that has sponsored numerous other borehole projects across Nigeria.

The UAE recognizes the many challenges faced with accessing clean water especially in rural communities, which is why we believed that providing easy access to clean and potable water for all is important, he said.

He added that the borehole, mosque and classrooms would provide a space for over 2,000 community members to worship, gain knowledge and contribute to societal development.

He also said that as the role of mosques as community centres remain pivotal, the classroom has also been equipped with learning facilities.

The UAE Embassy in Abuja is proud to support sectors such as education, water, community development and health.

We remain committed to providing for those in need and hope that this project will continue to benefit the community members for many years to come, he said.

Speaking earlier, Tijjani Surajudeen, Senior Lecturer at the State University Sokoto, said that the UAEs initiative in Kishi community was commendable and showed great concern to humanity.

He also said that to give back to humanity which the UAE has done not only attracts blessings from Allah but give a person peace of mind.

He urged well-meaning Nigerians to emulate the UAEs charity to humanity in order to attract blessings from Allah.

Speaking, the Iba of Kishi Land, Moshood Arowoduye ll, said that water is life and whoever gives water should be appreciated.

Water gives life to every living thing. Also, the classrooms will give our children the opportunity to acquire knowledge in order to compete among their contemporaries globally, he said.

The Imam of Kishi, Solihudeen Busari, applauded the UAE for coming to the communitys aid at a time they were in dire need of public amenities.

We will like to appreciate the UAEs timely intervention at a time the community was in dire need of these basic infrastructures like classrooms and water.

(NAN)
The Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council is urging political parties particularly the two major parties NPP and NDC to ensure decency in their campaign messages ahead of the December 7 elections.

According to the Council, it is prudent for political parties to communicate meaningful messages which are factual and can be substantiated by the citizenry.

Addressing a ceremony to introduce the running mate of the NDC to the leadership of the Council, Chairman of GPCC, Rev Prof. Paul Frimpong Manso advised parties to avoid distortions in their campaign messages.

The parties must go with facts that can be proven and substantiated. Because when you go there with facts, you appeal to the emotions and get the people to show empathy to draw the person to you. After you get the emotions, then you appeal to the will. So every message that goes out, you appeal to the intellect that can be substantiated through facts and that can be justified, he advised.

While the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is seeking to return to political power in the December 2020 polls after being voted out in 2016, President Akufo-Addo of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) is seeking a second-term extension of his mandate with the same running mate, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.

In 2016, John Mahama, then the incumbent, lost the election to the NPP's Nana Akufo-Addo.

John Mahama, who lost power with Kwesi Amissah Arthur as his Vice President at the time, earlier in July named Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, a former University Vice-Chancellor and Education Minister in the NDC government as his running mate into the 2020 polls.

Catholic Bishops' concerns

The National Catholic Secretariat called on all Ghanaians to take up the responsibility of ensuring free, fair and peaceful elections come December 7, 2020.

In a pastoral letter signed by the President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference, Most Rev. Philip Naameh said practices like the monetization of electoral politics, vigilantism and politics of ethnicity were a few issues highlighted.

These are practices the Secretariat believes have contributed to the disruptions witnessed in the nation's electoral process over the years.

The Secretariat is, therefore, calling on every Ghanaian to work with the relevant state institutions to maintain the peace and security of the nation.

Christian Council of Ghana

Meanwhile, the Christian Council of Ghana has asked the Electoral Commission to come up with a clear roadmap for the 2020 general elections.

The Council made this appeal in a statement signed by Chairman of the CCG Eminent Persons Group, Professor Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante.

The Council believes the EC should also keep engaging with political parties and other stakeholders on the way forward for the elections.

It urged political parties to avoid violence and hate speech in their campaigns and desist from using inducement to gain votes for their parties, ahead of the general elections.

We appeal to all politicians and their followers to exercise restraint and help calm tensions before, during and after the general elections. Maintaining diverse political views is healthy but this should not be a gateway for violence, a portion of the statement said.

---citinewsroom
Omaze, the startup that became famous for its celebrity-centric fundraisers, is announcing it has raised $30 million in Series B funding.

Some of the company's best-known campaigns include opportunities to meet Michelle Obama, meet "Star Wars" cast members and visit the set of "Star Trek Beyond." (I'll admit that I threw my hat in the ring for that last one.) But co-founder and CEO Matt Pohlson said that in recent years, the Omaze model has shifted away from "talent campaigns" to include fundraisers offering prizes like an Airstream Caravel or a trip to the Four Seasons resort in Bora Bora.

Pohlson said he became interested in this model after a campaign combining a chance to meet Daniel Craig and win an Aston Martin, which made him wonder whether the Aston Martin would be a big enough draw on its own. Shortly after that, in 2018, he had a near-death experience during surgery, which he said only strengthened his conviction to move the company in a new direction.

Pohlson recalled the surgeon telling him that he'd flat-lined for four-and-a-half minutes, with extremely low chances for survival, and that he only pulled through because of the "love and optimism" coming from the family members in the room with him.

"Because of the one-in-two-million chance I'm getting, I want to put as much of that out in the world as I can," he said. "The way we do that is through the money we raise and the optimism we spread. Doing that with talent limits the scalability."

Plus, by organizing its own campaigns, the Omaze team gets to "pick the causes we're passionate about," rather than being limited to the causes that celebrities want to support.

At the same time, Pohlson hastened to add that Omaze would never have been able to move in this direction without the help of stars who attracted a big user base, and he said the company continues to pursue talent campaigns as well  they're just one part of a larger strategy.

Story continues

With COVID-19, the company had to delay some of its prizes. After all, celebrity meetings and elaborate vacation getaways don't make a lot of sense right now. But, Pohlson said, "People get it." And overall, the pandemic has actually increased interest, giving people "a deeper desire to give back" while also making them "want to dream more than ever."

The performance of the average Omaze campaign has quadrupled over the past 18 months, Pohlson said, while revenue has increased by 500%.

Omaze previously raised $12 million in Series A funding. The new round was led by FirstMark Capital, with participation from Causeway Media Partners, BDMI, Tusk Ventures, Inherent Group, Gaingels, Penni Thows Copper, Guy Oseary and Pegasus Tech Ventures. Thow and Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck are joining the company's board of directors.

"Omaze is unmatched in their ability to empower world-changing charities as a leader in experiential giving and social impact," Thow said in a statement. "I am honored to join the Omaze board and help them realize their vision of becoming the first for-profit company to give $1B to charity in a single year."

Pohlson said that after Omaze's expansion started with cars, it recently launched luxury home campaigns. It will use the new funding to expand those campaigns while also introducing additional campaign categories. He also noted that the company recently launched in the United Kingdom, with plans to expand into Western Europe and Asia.

And although Omaze has already raised more $130 million for charity, Pohlson said that one of his big goals (as Thow mentioned) is to make it the first for-profit company to donate $1 billion in a year.

"We want to pave the way for other social entrepreneurs," he said. "There seems to have been this false choice between being able to do good in the world and also having a lot of economic opportunity. Our culture has trouble with people being rewarded for doing good. [At Omaze,] we think that holds back people from doing good."
South Africa: Mantashe welcomes arrival of oil, gas drill rig

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has welcomed the arrival of the oil and gas drill rig - DeepSea Stavanger in Cape Town.

The rig has been commissioned by petroleum giant Total and its partners to drill the Luiperd prospect in Block 11B/12B off the Mossel Bay coast, Western Cape.

The arrival of the drill rig, following the recent successful Brulpadda discovery, reaffirms confidence in South Africa as an investment destination of choice for the exploration of oil and gas. This is despite the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on economies around the world, Mantashe said on Wednesday.

The rig is part of the US$400 million oil and gas exploration drilling campaign by Total, of which R1.5 billion will be spent in South Africa through the hospitality industry; off-shore services and equipment; training and contracting of local companies to support the drilling programme.

Mantashe said the investment will further enable South Africa to diversify its energy mix, as envisioned in the Integrated Resources Plan, by using all the primary energy resources that the country is endowed with, including gas.

Government will be supporting this project by finalising the Upstream Petroleum Bill which aims to strike a balance between the need to attract investment into this key sector of the economy, and ensuring that oil and gas activities do not happen at the expense of the environment and water resources, Mantashe said.

The duration of the drilling campaign is expected to be between 180 and 300 days (6 and 12 months).  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-08-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Its been nearly three weeks since a little boy was found wandering alone in Miramar, and there is still no trace of his mother, Leila Cavett.

On Thursday, the FBI shared new photos of the 21-year-old and released a detailed timeline of where she was in the days leading up to her disappearance.

Leila Cavett, a 21-year-old mother, was last seen on July 26, 2020, hours before her 2-year-old son Kamdyn was found wandering alone in a Miramar apartment complex.

Cavett was seen at a Vero Beach Cracker Barrel on July 24, with Kamdyn by her side. She is then seen at a RaceTrac gas station in Hollywood around 3 p.m. July 25, entering and exiting a Lexus sedan.

Another picture shows Cavett wearing a floral dress and a mask, carrying her son into RaceTrac at about 10:30 p.m. July 25.

The next day, her son Kamdyn was found in the 1800 block of Southwest 68th Avenue, in the area of the Willowbrook Apartments.

The FBI is asking for the publics assistance in the mysterious disappearance of Leila Cavett, Director George Piro, special agent in charge of the FBI Miami field office, said at a news conference. Leilas separation from her son is completely out of character. Her family and others in her community are very concerned about her safety and well-being.

Map1 by Miami Herald on Scribd

On Sunday, July 26, Ebony Williams, who was on her way back from getting vanilla coffee creamer, spotted the little boy in the 1800 block of Southwest 68th Avenue, in the area of the Willowbrook Apartments.

The boy found in Miramar wandering near the Willowbrook Apartments was identified as Leila Cavetts son Kamdyn.

Williams walked around the complex looking for his family, but couldnt find anyone who knew him. So she called Miramar police.

The next day, Miramar police held a news conference and released a picture of the curly-haired boy to try to identify him.

By that night, Miramar police confirmed that detectives were looking into a tip that the boy was the son of Cavett, who according to her Facebook page lives in Atlanta.

Cavetts family from Jasper, Alabama, drove down to South Florida after seeing Kamdyns picture shared widely on the internet.

Map2 by Miami Herald on Scribd

The boy is in the care of Broward Sheriffs Office Child Protective Investigations Section. Just last week, Cavetts family was granted Zoom visitation with the boy, who is with a foster family.

Story continues

Hollywood police took over the case when detectives learned that Cavett was possibly seen near the area of Hollywood Boulevard and U.S. 441. Her truck was found in a Walmart parking lot.

A week later, the FBI became involved.

Piro said Cavett, who is about 5 feet, 4 inches tall, weighs about 120 pounds and has Kamdyns name tattooed on her right inner arm and a Jesus fish tattooed on her right wrist, spent time in and around Hollywood, Miramar and Fort Lauderdale Beach before her disappearance.

Leilas vehicle was found unattended on July 28 in Hollywood, Piro said. We are investigating every possibility as to why Leila went missing. Oftentimes, members of the community have information of value, but do not come forward with the information because of a belief it might not be important.

Regardless of how insignificant your information might be, or whether you think we are already aware of it, I urge you to come forward even anonymously and allow the FBI to make that determination.

Anyone with information is asked to call FBI Miami 1-800-CALLFBI or to go fbi.gov/tips.
While green shoots are beginning to emerge, with June sales rebounding to pre-Covid levels thanks to a rural revival, most FMCG chief executives have voiced concerns about localised lockdowns that began in July and have extended into August in some states.

A tiny virus has changed the world irrevocably, altering the way consumers and companies conduct themselves.

Amongst firms affected significantly by the Covid-19 pandemic are fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies.

The last few months have tested their resilience like never before.

Most domestic players are recovering only now from disruptions that lockdown restrictions imposed on daily life since the end of March.

The January-March period reflected partially the impact of the nationwide lockdown on business, but the April-June period laid bare the full extent of the damage.

Market researcher Nielsen says there has been a nearly 18 per cent decline in the Rs 4.3-trillion domestic FMCG market between April and June from a 5.3 per cent growth seen in the March quarter (the figures exclude e-commerce sales).

The dramatic swing has forced the agency to revise its full-year forecast to flat or neutral growth for 2020, the third time it is doing so.

In January and April, Nielsen had forecast FMCG market growth at 10 per cent and five per cent, respectively.

The graph of estimates, say experts, indicates the level of disruption that the pandemic has wreaked on the market.

While green shoots are beginning to emerge, with June sales rebounding to pre-Covid levels thanks to a rural revival, most FMCG chief executives have voiced concerns about localised lockdowns that began in July and have extended into August in some states.

Over a dozen states have seen localised lockdowns in the past month including crucial markets such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in the north.

Yet, Nielsen estimates that the impact of localised lockdowns will be limited and the overall FMCG market will grow between four and six per cent in July-December.

The estimated growth rate for the second half of 2020 may not be enough to pull up the full-year growth forecast of the market. However, we remain bullish about rural growth in particular.

"The localised lockdowns in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, for instance, have been largely in urban centres such as Lucknow and Patna.

"The rural areas in these states remain relatively open, with lockdown restrictions limited, says Prasun Basu, president, South Asia, Nielsen.

The rural growth engine notwithstanding, the question is who are some of the winners and losers in these challenging times?

Analysts say that biscuit major Britannia has emerged stronger during the crisis, reporting a nearly 27 per cent year-on-year growth in revenue, led by a 22 per cent growth in sales volumes in the June quarter.

While Varun Berry, managing director (MD), Britannia, said that in-home consumption, migrants making their way back to their villages and the easy availability of biscuits aided growth, analysts say that Britannia was quick to seize the opportunity that the pandemic and lockdown gave packaged food companies.

The absence of street food and out-of-home consumption has also helped firms such as Britannia, sector experts say.

The company ensured that at least some of its plants in the initial phase of the lockdown kept churning out a few products including brands such as Good-Day, Marie, NutriChoice and Milk Bikkis.

Production, Berry explains, was slowly ramped up as lockdown restrictions eased in May and June and distribution was restored fast.

Britannia has now set aside Rs 700 crore in additional capital expenditure over the next two-and-a-half years for putting up new plants, expanding existing factories and adding new lines.

The company has also narrowed the gap with competitors such as Parle Products in terms of distribution, say experts, reaching nearly 5.5 million outlets to the latters 6.5 million outlets.

Nestle India, on the other hand, reported sluggish revenue growth in the June quarter (around two per cent only), as disruptions remained across the value chain, chairman and MD Suresh Narayanan said.

While the company built back momentum towards the end of the June quarter, Narayanan said that the volatility and stress in the period was unimaginable.

Analysts say that Nestle saw demand grow for Maggi noodles, dairy whiteners, packaged milk and coffee in the quarter, thanks to in-home consumption, leading to stock-outs at retail outlets.

The company also launched a new range of Maggi noodles in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Pune, it said, to take advantage of the demand in the marketplace.

HUL and ITC, meanwhile, reported a mixed set of numbers for the June quarter, with essential categories such as food and hygiene compensating for the under-performance of segments such as discretionary and out-of-home.

Sanjiv Mehta, chairman and MD, Hindustan Unilever (HUL), said that 80 per cent of its portfolio was focused on health, hygiene and nutrition, which grew six per cent in the April-June period.

Some 15 per cent of its business consisted of discretionary categories such as skincare, deodorants and colour cosmetics, which declined 45 per cent.

And five per cent of its business was out-of-home, which included ice-creams and PureIt water purifiers.

This segment declined 70 per cent during the quarter.

ITC said staples, convenience foods and hygiene made up 75 per cent of its FMCG business, which grew 34 per cent in the June quarter.

Discretionary (such as deodorants and fragrance) and out-of-home categories (lifestyle retailing) declined 25 per cent in the quarter.

At a time when concerns around hygiene and health remain strong, ITC, said analysts, would continue to feel the pressure in its cigarettes business, which contributes around 40-45 per cent to the companys total revenue. In the June quarter, the cigarettes business reported a 29 per cent year-on-year fall in revenue.

Of the 55-60 per cent contributed by ITCs non-tobacco businesses to total revenue, nearly 25-30 per cent now comes from the FMCG business, which will be further strengthened in the months ahead.

Photograph: Mukesh Gupta/Reuters
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-14 02:03:22|Editor: huaxia

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A screenshot of U.S. President Donald Trump's Twitter account shows he tweeted on Aug. 13, 2020 "Historic Peace agreement between our two GREAT friends, Israel and the United Arab Emirates!" together with the joint statement of the United States, Israel and the UAE. (Xinhua)

The announcement makes the UAE the first Gulf Arab state and only the third Arab nation, after Egypt and Jordan, to establish diplomatic ties with Israel.



WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) agreed to the full normalization of relations, according to a joint statement of the United States, Israel, and the UAE on Thursday.

U.S. President Donald Trump presented the joint statement on Twitter, which said "this historic diplomatic breakthrough will advance peace in the Middle East region and is a testament to the bold diplomacy and vision of the three leaders."

U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attend a joint press conference in the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Jan. 28, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

The statement said, "Israel will suspend declaring sovereignty over areas outlined in the President's Vision for Peace and focus its efforts now on expanding ties with other countries in the Arab and Muslim world."

Delegations from Israel and the UAE would meet in the coming weeks to sign bilateral agreements regarding various areas, said the statement.

Trump later told reporters at the White House that Israel and the UAE would have an "official" signing ceremony at the White House in the next few weeks.

U.S. President Donald Trump (L) welcomes Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on May 15, 2017. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

The announcement makes the UAE the first Gulf Arab state and only the third Arab nation, after Egypt and Jordan, to establish diplomatic ties with Israel.

Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE ambassador to the United States, said that the announcement "immediately stops annexation and the potential of violent escalation. It maintains the viability of a two-state solution as endorsed by the Arab League and international community."

A controversial Middle East peace plan unveiled by the Trump administration in January allowed Israel's annexation of areas of the West Bank, which led to strong opposition worldwide. 
PHILADELPHIA (AP)  A Philadelphia arts panel has cleared the way for the city to remove a 144-year-old statue of Christopher Columbus from a south Philadelphia park after the explorer became a focus of protesters amid nationwide demonstrations against racial injustice in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota.

The Philadelphia Art Commission voted 8-0 Wednesday, with one member abstaining, to place the now-boarded-up statue at Marconi Plaza in temporary storage and require a report every six months on efforts to find it a permanent home. The citys historical commission had voted 10-2 late last week for removal of the statue.

The panel's chair, Alan Greenberger, said the statue was "a serious piece of art" and a gift from the Italian government in the 1800s, and "as a matter of practicality it has to be put safely in storage," The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

"It needs to be stored and protected so that something can be figured out," he said. "The worst thing in my view that can happen, as many of you said, is that it stays in storage and is forgotten."

City crews earlier built a wooden box around the statue following clashes between protesters and residents and the city later announced plans to seek its removal. Some south Philadelphia residents have sued to block that.

A statue of Christopher Columbus, erected in 1876, as seen at Marconi Plaza in South Philadelphia. Greg Adomaitis | For NJ.com/fileSJN

In Philadelphia, a city with a deep Italian heritage, supporters said they considered Columbus an emblem of that heritage. Mayor Jim Kenney said Columbus was venerated for centuries as an explorer but had a "much more infamous" history, enslaving indigenous people and imposing punishments such as severing limbs or even death.

Statues of Columbus were earlier removed in nearby Camden, New Jersey, and Wilmington, Delaware. In Richmond, Virginia, a statue of Christopher Columbus was torn down, set on fire and thrown into a lake. In Columbia, South Carolina, the first U.S. city named for Columbus, a statue of the explorer was removed after it was vandalized several times, and a vandalized statue in Boston also was removed from its pedestal.

Floyd died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee into his neck for several minutes even as he pleaded for air and stopped moving.

More:

Police investigating after a Christopher Columbus statue is found pushed over in Lancaster: Report

Columbus statue toppled by Baltimore protesters

Jefferson Davis statue torn down in Richmond, Virginia
- What began as a humble source of vegetables for Gregory Kipchirchir's family grew into a large enterprise that now feeds the community around his home

- The 21-year-old said his venture had transformed the lives of other young people in his village as he has been able to mentor them to embrace farming

- The young man also spends his free time helping his community to adopt afforestation through a community tree project where he volunteers

A 21-year-old Kenyan youth has been honoured by the British royal family for his innovative agribusiness enterprise at his rural home in Trans Nzoia county.

Gregory Kipchirchir, a third-year student at Egerton University pursuing a degree in agribusiness management decided to venture into farming after the coronavirus pandemic halted learning as all education institutions were closed.

READ ALSO: Revenue formula stalemate: Senators Kilonzo, Ledama and Sakaja vow to push for equitable sharing of resources

Gregory Kipchirchir poses for a photo at his farm in Trans Nzoia county. Photo: The Royal Family.

Source: Twitter

READ ALSO: Chinese engineer who denied CAS Wavinya Ndeti access to Likoni footbridge project forced out

What began as a humble source of vegetables for his family grew into a large enterprise that now feeds the community around his home.

"I chose agriculture during this time of the pandemic so that I can produce food for my family and also the community. Initially my family and the neighborhood relied on the market for fresh farm vegetables which retailed at exorbitant prices. But nowadays we got fresh sustainable vegetables supply enough for my family and surplus is sold to the neighbors," he said.

Kipchirchir said his venture had transformed the lives of other young people in his village as he has been able to mentor them to embrace farming.

"At the moment majority of the youths have embraced farming unlike before and dissuaded from engaging in immoral activities," he said.

READ ALSO: Mwingi: Hofu ya COVID-19 baada ya mzee aliyetatizika kupumua kuaga dunia ghafla

His photo in his farm alongside four other pioneer young farmers was shared on the royal family's social media pages as he earned the Duke of Edinburghs international award.

"Check in on The Royal Familys Instagram stories throughout the day to meet: Gregory from Kenya, Tereza from the Czech Republic, Metta and Jordan from Indonesia and Rochelle from Canada," the family said in a tweet.

READ ALSO: Mason Greenwood: Robin van Persie hails Man United youngster's hot form

The young man also spends his free time helping his community to adopt afforestation through a community tree project where he volunteers.

In 2019, a Kenyan woman was recognised by Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle for environment conservation efforts.

Elizabeth Wathuthi managed to plant over 20,000 trees in schools and other institutions in a bid to ward off harsh climatic effects.

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

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan alleged on Thursday that its oil and gas exploration vessel, the Oruc Reis, has come under attack, according to Turkish state media, in what is an alarming escalation of the tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The Greek-Turkish standoff over hydrocarbon exploration rights near the Greek border in the Eastern Mediterranean has been brewing for some time. Undeterred by Greeces claim over the area, Turkey sent the Oruc Reis out this week to conduct seismic surveillance in its quest for energy resources, complete with a naval escort.

Greece, who alleges that Turkey is exploring for resources in an area that is over its continental shelf, responded by deploying naval ships of its own.

It is unclear exactly what constituted todays attack, and the reports have been unconfirmed. However, Greek media have also commented on some skirmish between Greek and Turkish warships in the area, while some Turkish reports suggest a Greek frigate was damaged after it bumped Turkeys exploration vessel.

Erdogan has long asserted that it should not be left out of the hydrocarbon exploration game in the area, and has vocalized Turkeys right to defend its oil and gas interests there, much to the dismay of the European Union.

The Eastern Mediterranean has seen a hotbed of activity lately, with Cyprus, Israel, and Egypt finding hydrocarbon resources there.

Last year, Turkey struck a deal with Libya on Libyas maritime boundary that allows Turkey to claim rights to an area that Greece says belongs to it. In exchange for this, Turkey offered military support to Libyas internationally recognized Government of National Accordonce again embroiling oil and gas resources into the scuffle.

Turkeys state-run oil company, TPAO, filed for licenses to explore parts of the Mediterranean earlier this summer. It plans to explore near the island of Crete as well as drilling off the coast of Cyprus.

Fanning the flames of a Greece vs. Turkey war over hydrocarbons, French President Emmanuel Macron ordered French naval forces to the eastern Mediterranean to support Greece, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

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After spending his last 30 years in Vietnam, Canadian businessman James Chor Hang Chow was incarcerated following a wrongful conviction. To this date, he has not received any payout or apology for the travesty of justice he suffered.

On June 28, James Chow was receiving care at Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City.

A case of blood infection rendered him bed-ridden in an isolated room, yet he still exhibited cognitive function with a slight nod in greeting as his lawyer entered the room.

However, his condition quickly worsened, and on June 30, he drew his last breath at the hospital without any family present and his fortune evaporated.

Imprisoned for alleged debt evasion

As a person with no family connection in Vietnam, Chow found himself being taken care of entirely by Dang Thanh Long, his former translator-turned-caretaker, who had him hospitalized after he became unable to walk on his own.

He was six months behind on rent, had no money for food, and could not afford medical care despite suffering from severe necrosis in his buttocks. Upon seeing that, I had to bring him to the hospital and pay his bills using my own money as well as money lent on my behalf," Long said.

"He gave me a notebook detailing what he needed me to do as well as the people he needed me to call. Yet so far, none of his relatives have visited.

Chow was the former representative of VanPac Timer Trading Co. Ltd., a Hong Kong firm specializing in wood trade that started working with Vietnamese companies in 1980.

On August 14, 1992, he was charged with abuse of trust to appropriate Socialist property and detained by Ho Chi Minh City police.

This daunting incident stemmed from a contract he signed with Vietnamese companies, one of them being Khanh Hoa Transport Service Co., but he failed to honor a payment obligation.

Taking cognizance of the case, an economic court ruled that Chow had to pay the amount he owed, the decision of which was appealed by the Canadian man.

Another issue that involved Chow is the US$8,000 that he received from Khmer Tourmexco Co. as a deposit for a freight contract.

The contract stated that delivery would be made within 30 days after the buyer opened a Letter of Credit (L/C). In fact, this L/C was not opened by Khmer Tourmexco, which meant there was no delivery.

Aside from civil and property liabilities indicated by the court ruling, Chow also faced the seizing of over $7,600 and a cargo ship from his possession.

These properties were disseminated between related Vietnamese firms for damage relief, where Khanh Hoa Transport Service Co. received the ship.

Chow filed an appeal to the People's Supreme Court in Ho Chi Minh City, which resulted in the overturn of the first-instance decision.

The Supreme Court also passed a verdict of not guilty for Chow and suspended his case.

Only a civil case

According to the judgment of the appellate court, Chow acknowledged the existence of the contracts with six Vietnamese carriers that brokered the transportation of cargo from Vietnam to foreign countries.

The agreement between Chow, VanPacs representative, and the Vietnamese carriers was stated in a written contract. Considering this evidence, Chow did fail to honor the payment with these six firms, but he did not solicit any amount of money from them.

Hence, the trial panel concluded that it was unfounded to charge the defendant with property appropriation solely based on the freight debt stacked against him.

Chow also declared that he did not appropriate anything from these entities.

The court then pronounced the case to be a civil dispute and should be resolved using civil law.

Seeing that there was not enough reason to charge the defendant with abuse of trust to appropriate Socialist property, the jury eventually overturned Chows conviction, suspended his criminal case, and declared him not guilty.

Dang Thanh Long scatters the ashes of James Chow. Photo: H.D. / Tuoi Tre

After the appellate court ruling, Chow sent a memo to the Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Court on September 6, 2007, demanding a VND27.4 billion ($1.19 million) payout for his wrongful incarceration.

After sending the memo, Chow waited for the Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Court to respond and inform him of the compensation proceedings but has not yet seen any, Long said.

He then suffered a stroke and had to be hospitalized. His health deteriorated, and he could not cover his expenses and had to live off others donations, he added.

For the sake of humanity

Long, the 60-year-old who took care of Chow in his dark days, was once his personal interpreter.

Longs family has immigrated to the United States, leaving him as the only one left in Ho Chi Minh City.

Long and Chow became friends in 2000 when they first met as business partners. Subsequently, Chow hired Long as his interpreter several times.

After losing touch with Chow, Long learned that he was wrongly convicted and was struggling to solicit his payout.

Chow fell ill in 2010 with a disease that inflicted blood clots under his skin. In 2019, he was diagnosed with cataracts, leaving one of his eyes virtually blind.

At this point, Longs family had moved to the States, allowing him to dedicate his time to taking care of his bed-ridden friend.

Im not well off or anything. I am a wage-earner myself, doing interpretation for a living. I saw him being all alone so I came by to help feed and clean him. He only had his motorbike to his name but had to sell it as well to cover the eye surgery cost. It was only enough for one of his eyes, Long said.

Despite tending to Chow daily, Long barely talks about his personal issues.

In June 2020, Long received a call from Chow after leaving his house for work. The Canadian felt extremely unwell and needed to be brought to the hospital.

I didn't have enough money with me, neither did he. He was VND30 million [$1,300] behind on rent already, Long said.

After arriving at the hospital, I tried to call some of his relatives but no one picked up. The emergency couldn't wait, so I had to pull a day loan of VND50 million [$2,160] to cover his hospital fees, Long recalled.

Grand as Longs effort was, Chow did not make it through the incident. He was later cremated by the Consulate General of Canada in Ho Chi Minh City.

Before his death, Chow made his last wish that Long would be the person to scatter his ashes, which Long respected and fulfilled.

Long also prepared the Vietnamese traditional rite of passage for Chow by serving plant-based food for his spirit every day over seven weeks.

Chow's relatives are not able to arrive in Vietnam for now due to the COVID-19 [novel coronavirus disease] pandemic. I tried to do it for the sake of humanity. I sympathize with him a lot because Im also living by myself, Long professed.

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Hong Kong: Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai says he was overwhelmed by the support he received after his arrest and urged patience in a "long-term fight" for democracy.

Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon and Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai. Credit:Getty Images

The 71-year-old, a staunch supporter of the city's democracy movement, was arrested on Monday on suspicion of collusion with foreign forces as police raided the offices of his Apple Daily newspaper.

He was released on bail early on Wednesday, and greeted by a throng of supporters chanting "fight till the end".

In a #LiveChatWithJimmy video appearance on Twitter, Lai thanked his supporters and said their action showed the police raid was a "violation of Hong Kong people's belief" in wide-ranging freedoms, which he likened to oxygen.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday inaugurated the HAL-IISc Skill Development Centre (SDC) established at Indian Institute of Sciences Challakere campus in Chitradurga district, 225 km from here, through a video conference on Thursday.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said knowledge is power and a skilled workforce is basic necessity for innovation and creativity, according to a statement issued by Bengaluru-headquartered Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

The SDC is a sound example of synergistic collaboration between the countrys flagship aerospace giant and the best in class premier academia, Singh was quoted as saying.

Top officials present on the occasion included Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Defence Secretary Dr.

Ajay Kumar, Secretary (Defence Production) Raj Kumar, HAL CMD R Madhavan,, Director (HR), HAL, Alok Verma and IISc Director Prof. G Rangarajan.

The centre will impart skills to various beneficiaries ranging from local community members to high-end engineering professionals to usher true Make-in-India, said Madhavan.

We are grateful to HAL for supporting us and partnering with us on this critical national initiative, said Prof. Rangarajan.

We eagerly look forward to working closely with HAL, to realise our shared vision of training hundreds of aspiring young workers and professionals from across the country. The goal of the SDC is to create a large pool of trained personnel to address vital skill development gaps in India, crucial for economic growth and self-sufficiency, the statement said.

It is a natural outgrowth of a successful training programme for rural science and mathematics teachers that IISc initiated in 2011 at the Challakere campus, it said.

The IISc approached HAL in 2016 with its proposal and HAL agreed to fund and support the initiative under its Corporate Social Responsibility programme.

The MoU for establishing the centre, with an outlay of 73.7 crore was signed on March 28, 2016 and construction began on October 27 the same year. The SDC is located on 1,500 acres of land provided by the Government of Karnataka during IIScs centenary year celebrations in 2008, it was stated.

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Much of travel in pre-Covid times was about far-flung destinations and savouring different cultures and cuisines. For two weeks every summer we soaked up the Provencal sunshine or swam in the warm waters of the Algarve. This year the pandemic has put paid to many of our travel plans and we're sticking closer to home.

When Bronagh O'Rourke set up her business running tours of her farm, which is situated inside the Burren National Park last year, she couldn't keep up with the demand from US tour groups.

But in one fell swoop her bookings got cancelled and Bronagh had to diversify, hoping to capture some of those holidaying at home. She's found that the pandemic has unlocked a hidden desire in Irish people to explore what's on their doorstep.

Now offering wellness events and yoga as well as visits to the 500-acre family farm in the townland of Boston with its unique limestone pavement, lush grasslands and alluvial forest, Bronagh says the season is going better than she ever expected.

Mum to Annabelle (9), Isla (6) and Alice (3), Bronagh worked for a pharmaceutical company, travelling to London for meetings once a month, but was finding it tough to juggle work and the kids. She knew the rich heritage and diversity of land around the farm could provide the basis for a business showing her distinctive part of the world to others.

The Burren Farm Experience was born after Bronagh qualified as a tour guide over a year ago. Aided by her husband Cathal, who is the fifth generation in his family to farm the land, Bronagh is bringing visitors on wellness days to the alluvial woodland for forest bathing. There's also a 10k hike around Bunny Lake on the property, and this year Bronagh has brought in a yoga teacher to do yoga by the lake as well as paddle boarding.

"Cathal has all the history from five generations of his family. I bring in all the flora and fauna and the geology of The Burren - we're a good team. It's sustainable and I hope it's something the girls will be involved in as we progress," says Bronagh.

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She believes that the pandemic has unlocked a curiosity in people to discover the richness that's right here on our doorsteps. "People are blown away by it - they didn't take the time to look before," she says.

The forest bathing idea was born after she read about the ancient Japanese practice of going to the woods for your health and spending time there. "If we all learned something from Covid it's that we can find beauty in what we have if we just take the time. What we've found on the tours is that kids are really enjoying getting back to nature and coming to a farm like ours. You won't find a swing or a slide but the kids will have a great time," she says.

"It's like a sociological and agricultural history of Ireland when you come; our own mini national park within the national park. We had archaeologists in last year and we found a settlement where people lived in pre-Famine times," she adds.

Auriel Robinson, originally from Co Meath, had been travelling to the north-west of the country ever since she was a child. When she qualified as an archaeologist and started working in Dublin, she still travelled regularly to Sligo where she was drawn for surfing.

During her trips to ride the waves, she fell in love with Sligo, its big mountains and wild sea and had the realisation that perhaps this was somewhere she could live. She started researching maritime history as well as the archaeology and myths in the area, setting up her business Seatrails to guide others on walking and horseback tours of the area some years ago.

"I'm fascinated with pre-history from the first farmers coming to Ireland and their tombs and their buildings. The tombs always evoke a curiosity in people. I would always bring in the mythology, the archaeology and the science as I interpret our ancient stories," she says.

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Auriel tries to connect the person to the landscape on her trails, describing the landscape in layers from the geology, the mythology, the archaeology as well as the natural environment and the biodiversity. The impact we have as humans on our environment is something she's passionate about and she sees it as her role to educate people with awareness as they're walking the trail with her.

When the pandemic began sweeping the world earlier this year she felt the whole season would be written off and the first few months of the pandemic were awful for her business.

But as restrictions eased, she found that people were keen to get out and explore the world closer to home. All through lockdown she had produced videos of her going from place to place keeping people up to date on her adventures. She knew there was a keen appetite for what she was doing in the number of views her videos were attracting.

Auriel says her customers now are Irish people or people from other countries living in Ireland who want to delve deep into their own environment and get to know it up close and personal with the help of an expert guide.

While she may have brought 30 people on a tour in normal times, these days it may be a family on staycation or even a small group of two or three.

Her trails vary in duration taking in the mountains and the coastline - all you need is a pair of hiking boots and a waterproof jacket. On her Spanish Armada trail she invites visitors to step back in time with a walk at Streedagh beach, one of the most pristine and beautiful beaches in Ireland which was made famous recently for the beach scenes in Normal People.

On this trail, walkers will trace the footsteps of a captain named Francisco De Cuellar who was shipwrecked after a horrendous storm hundreds of years ago. He was an important figure in the story of the infamous Spanish Armada fleet when they were trying to flee back to Spain after a failed invasion on England.

"I love getting away from everything; to escape to the wilds and that's what keeps me here. Every time I'm out of Sligo I'm drawn back," says Auriel.

At her home in Ravensdale, Co Louth, Venora O'Brien, decided that retirement would not mean sitting around taking it easy. Her love of history and hill walking brought her on a tour guiding course and now she's guiding people through the ancient places of her own homeplace.

"I've travelled the world and gone on tours with locals and always delighted in the pride people took in their history. There are so many stories in this area from those about Fionn Mac Cumhaill to the sacred sites and holy wells. I do the most wonderful loop walk over two hours to Urney Graveyard in Co Louth where Peadar O Doirnin, who wrote the lyrics for 'Mna na hEireann' is buried," says Venora, a former social worker.

Some of her walks take in parts of the Tain Trail, which explores the places around one of Ireland's most epic sagas involving the theft of the brown bull of Cooley and the ensuing battle between Queen Maebh and Cu Chulainn of the Red Branch Knights from the Kingdom of Ulster.

Over the years Venora did many charity walks travelling all over the world, including a very memorable one to the jungles of Sumatra where she visited an orangutan orphanage. Her eureka moment for setting up her own business, Warrior Walks, happened on a trip to Myanmar when she hired a local guide.

"That was the trigger for me. I felt that we have beautiful and sacred places where I live and why not take people out? Mindfulness is a big part of some of my walks. I offer foraging and forest bathing at Feede, a small mountain near where I live. The culturally curious are who I focus on. The people who come out forest bathing want to get away from it all. I like to stop and point out plants along the way or identify a bird calling. It's a day out. It's slow and engaging and all about chatting and people enjoying themselves."

For more information see seatrails.ie andburrenfarmexperience.ie For more information on Warrior Walks contact venora.obrien@gmail.com
(L-R, rear) Senior Advisor Jared Kushner, Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien and others clap for President Donald Trump (L) after he announced an agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel to normalize diplomatic ties, the White House on Aug. 13, 2020. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel, UAE Agree to Establish Full Normalization of Relations

Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) agreed on Thursday to the full normalization of relations in a deal brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Today, we usher in a new era of peace between Israel and the Arab world, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a press conference in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu, Trump, and two UAE leaders spoke and made the agreement, according to a joint statement from the United States and the two Middle Eastern nations.

This historic diplomatic breakthrough will advance peace in the Middle East region and is a testament to the bold diplomacy and vision of the three leaders and the courage of the United Arab Emirates and Israel to chart a new path that will unlock the great potential in the region, the statement said.

The two countries will immediately cooperate on the development of a vaccine for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes the COVID-19 disease.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a press conference in Jerusalem on Aug. 13, 2020. (Abir Sultan/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

They will also open mutual embassies.

Trump, a Republican, told reporters at the White House: This is a truly historic moment. Not since the Israel-Jordan peace treaty was signed, more then 25 years ago, has so much progress been made towards peace in the Middle East.

The agreement with the UAE comes after treaties with Jordan and Egypt decades ago, Israelis prime minister said.

I believe theres a good chance we will soon see more Arab countries joining this expanding circle of peace, he told reporters.

The joint statement said the opening of direct ties between Israel and the UAW will transform the region by spurring economic growth, enhancing technological innovation, and forging closer people-to-people relations.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, right, takes part in a meeting with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Sept. 19, 2019. (Mandel Ngan/Pool via Reuters)

Per a request from Trump, Israel is suspending declaring sovereignty over certain areas, including the West Bank, and is focused on expanding ties to other countries in the Arab and Muslim world.

Under Trumps Vision for Peace, Muslim worshipers are allowed to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, and other holy sites in the city should remain open for peaceful worshipers of all faiths.

Netanyahu and UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan expressed their deep appreciation to Trump for his dedication to peace in the region and to the pragmatic and unique approach he has taken to achieve it, the joint statement said.

U.S. national security adviser Robert OBrien said in Washington that Trump is going be known in history as one of the changemakers, and one of the remarkable leaders in the Middle East. He said Trump should be nominated for the Nobel Prize.

Trump unveiled his vision in January. It was aimed at resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but the 80-page plan also dealt with other matters.

This is an unprecedented and highly significant development, he said at a White House event with Netanyahu unveiling the plan.

In the past, even the most well-intentioned plans were light on factual details and heavy on conceptual frameworks. My vision presents a win-win opportunity for both sides, a realistic two-state solution that resolves the risk of Palestinian statehood to Israels security, said Trump.

Emel Akan contributed to this report.
A dangerous confrontation is brewing, between the tribes of northeastern Syria and the Syrian Democratic Forces writes Asharq Al-Awsat.

The conflict that kicked off in mid-2019 between international and regional powers to win over the tribes of northeastern Syria intensified in recent days after the assassination of a senior figure in the Al-Uqaydat tribe, one of the largest in the Deir Ezzour province.

A look at the past

Backed by the US-led international coalition, the Kurdish-Arab Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) liberated the town of Baghouz, in Deir Ezzour, from ISIS in March 2019. Weeks later, protests erupted in the region east of the Euphrates, demanding an improvement in services and a halt to the export of oil to regions held by the Damascus regime. The SDF controls about 185,000 square kilometers, or nearly a third of Syria, 90 percent of the countrys oilfields, half of its gas fields, its three largest dams and most agricultural territories.

The majority of influential players in Syria have tried to win these tribes over to their side. These efforts have led to the tribes striking alliances with various forces: One alliance was struck with the SDF, another with Ankara and the third with Damascus. Tehran, meanwhile, attempted to offer attractive packages to Syrian youths to recruit them to its militias.

The Arab Council in Al Jazeera and Al Furat, which was formed in 2017, supported the Deir Ezzour protests that erupted against SDF. Ankara, meanwhile, supported the establishment of the Supreme Council of Syrian Tribes and Clans in December 2018. These clans and tribes voiced their support for the Turkish operations against the SDF.

On the other end, figures close to Damascus, including Hussam Qaterji, sponsored a conference for the Deir Ezzour tribes. The event was held in the Aleppo countryside and vowed to provide 5,000 fighters at a time when Iran was present militarily in Deir Ezzour. The al-Baqir brigade announced the formation of resistance tribal units aimed at expelling foreign forces from Syria.

New factors

A number of major and minor developments had taken place in recent months, which shifted attention to northeastern Syria. The first was US President Donald Trumps announcement that he will keep a number of American forces in the region east of the Euphrates River after he had initially announced that he was pulling out the troops from the country. The second was the continuation of Israeli raids against Iranian positions in the Deir Ezzour and Albukamal regions. The third was Russia testing just how committed Washington was to maintaining its forces by its repeated attempts to reach the Iraqi border.

On the internal scene, and after months of secret American and French-sponsored negotiations, the two most prominent Kurdish parties in northeastern Syria succeeded in reaching preliminary agreements that guarantee the commitment to the Hewler (Erbil) pact. Deep differences between the Kurdish National Council and Democratic Union alliance had thwarted the implementation of the pact.

Another development was the declaration by Syrias Tomorrow Movement, headed by Ahmed al-Jarba, of the formation of the new Peace and Freedom Front. The front includes the Arab Council in Al Jazeera and Al Furat, Assyrian Democratic Organization and Kurdish National Council. Leaders of the front said it includes Kurdish, Arab and Assyrian forces on the ground in order to underscore the ties and cooperation between them. They acknowledged the role of the SDF, but said that it alone cannot rule the region.

A delegation from the Peace and Freedom Front recently met with American officials in the region east of the Euphrates. One of its leaders told Asharq Al-Awsat that the delegation received positive responses from the US, which was keen on establishing a partnership that the Syrian people deserve.

Commander of the SDF, Mazloum Abdi, had on his end held a number of meetings with tribal leaders from Deir Ezzour to listen to their demands.

Another significant development was US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Senator Lindsey Grahams announcement of a partnership deal between the US Delta Crescent Energy company and SDF to invest in oil in the region east of the Euphrates with the possibility of exporting it. Observers interpreted the move as American recognition of the Kurdish autonomous administration, significantly since the agreement, which deals with national Syrian resources, does not involve Damascus.

Amid all of these developments, Sheikh Muttshar al-Hifl, a senior Al-Uqaydat tribe member, was assassinated in Deir Ezzour in early August.

Raging conflict

The autonomous administration and SDF did not comment on the oil deal, but Ankara, Damascus, Tehran and Moscow were quick to denounce it as a violation of Syrias sovereignty and theft of its resources. The deal and Hifls assassination have added fuel to the raging conflict between local, regional and international forces over the Deir Ezzour tribes.

The SDF denied its involvement in the murder and instead implied that the regime was involved. It has arrested a number of suspects and investigations are ongoing with them, said a Kurdish official. The tribes are politically disorganized and the region was liberated from ISIS only a year ago, he added. We are tasked with providing security to hold elections and help the tribes organize themselves.

Meanwhile, the Al-Uqaydat Zubaid tribe announced on Monday the formation of a military council aimed at liberating the region. It hailed the heroics of the Syrian Arab Army and saluted the friends of Syria and their support of the war against terrorism led by president Bashar Assad. Another group, called the Al-Uqaydat tribe issued a statement thanking the Turkish command, government and army for what it has offered to the Syrian people. It thanked them for meeting a series of demands, including having the US cease its support to the SDF, handing over the region to its people and rejecting demographic change.

The Arab Council in Al Jazeera and Al Furat was quick to condemn Hifls assassination. But the most significant reaction to the murder came from Ibrahim al-Hifl, Sheikh of the Al-Uqaydat Zubaid tribe, who was wounded in the attack. In a statement on Tuesday, he held the international coalition fully responsible for the developments in the region, demanding that it turn it over to the people and that the Arabs play their role in full in the area. He gave the coalition a month to meet the demands and hand over the perpetrators.

The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
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Market Research Future (MRFR), in its newly published research report, asserts that the global automotive collision avoidance system market is booming and expected to grow exponentially over the review period, recording a substantial market valuation and a healthy 8% CAGR in the forecast period.

Drivers and Restraints

The rising awareness among consumers and original equipment manufacturers will directly impact the market and expand the market value of the global market for the automotive collision avoidance system. Favorable government policies, such as the advanced car assessment program in the U.S., will play a crucial role in the advancement of the global automotive collision avoidance system market. An increase in the sales of the luxury vehicle will enhance the demand for the innovative safety features such as collision avoidance system in automobiles. This will lead to the growth of the automotive collision avoidance system market during the forecast period. An increase in the purchasing power and disposable income of the consumers increases the sales of the luxury automobile, which further increases the demand for safety systems such as the collision avoidance system over the forecast period.

Segmental Analysis

The global market for automotive collision avoidance system is segmented on the basis of process type, vehicle type, sales channel, and region. On the basis of type, the market for automotive collision avoidance system has been divided into blind-spot detection, adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, and lane departure warning. Based on the technology, the market has been segmented into radar, LIDAR, and camera. On the basis of the sales channel, the market has been bifurcated into OEM and aftermarket. On the basis of vehicle type, the automotive collision avoidance system market has been segregated into a commercial vehicle, passenger car, and electric vehicle.

Regional Analysis

The geographical analysis of the global market has been conducted in four major regions, including the Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, and the rest of the world (Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa).

The global market for automotive collision avoidance system in Europe is slated to lead the market in terms of value and volume. In Europe, Germany is poised to hold the highest growth rate in 2017. Moreover, there is a rapid rise in sales of a luxury vehicle in Europe, and an increase in the need for the deployment of a safety system will raise the demand for automotive collision avoidance systems in cars. Additionally, stringent government regulations concerning vehicle safety will drive the demand for enhanced safety systems such as collision avoidance systems including consumers and OE market players.

North America is poised to grow at a substantial CAGR during the assessment period. In North America, increasing participation of the automobile associations and government of the U.S. and Canada in the development of the automotive collision avoidance system will significantly add to the market growth in terms of value and volume. An increase in government regulation and programs such as the advanced car assessment program in the U.S. will fuel the demand for the automotive collision avoidance system during the review period.

Asia-Pacific is expected to play a significant role in increasing the presence of the automotive collision avoidance system owing to the presence of China, Japan, and India. An increase in the presence of manufacturers in the Asia-Pacific will reduce the high cost of the product and influence the sales of the automotive collision avoidance system over the review period. The rest of the world segment that consists of the Middle East & Africa and South America, is poised to generate the highest revenue and exhibit the highest CAGR in 2017 and over the forecast period.

Competitive Analysis

The major market players operating in the global market as identified by MRFR are Robert Bosch GmbH (Germany), Aptiv Plc (Republic of Ireland), General Electric Company (US), and Honeywell International, Inc. (US)., Hexagon AB (Sweden), Siemens AG (Germany), Denso Corporation (Japan), Alstom SA (France), Rockwell Collins, Inc. (US), and are among others.
Indigenous researcher and youth activist Archana Soreng first heard the term climate change only a few years ago. But she quickly understood that Indias tribal communities have been living a climate-friendly lifestyle for generations.

During my field visits and interactions with the tribes, I realised that concepts ... (such as) green living, rain water harvesting, reducing carbon emission and organic farming are actually being practiced since the time of our ancestors, she said.

The modern world is basically hijacking these age-old indigenous practices and principles, in its fight against climate change. So why not give the tribal communities their due credit - and a bigger leadership role in dealing with climate threats, she asked.

Soreng, 24, a member of the Kharia tribe from the remote village of Bihabandh in Indias Odisha state, in late July was selected as one of seven youth advisors on climate action to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

He said he he hoped the new panel of 18 to 28-year-olds would provide perspectives, ideas and solutions that will help us scale up climate action.

Selwin Hart, a U.N. special advisor on climate action, said Soreng was selected due to her strong work in advocacy and research, (and) in preserving and promoting the traditional knowledge and cultural practices of indigenous communities.

A HEAVY PRICE

Soreng, in an interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, said indigenous communities were already among those hardest hit by worsening climate-related threats and problems, from extreme weather to deforestation.

Since she was young, she said, strong cyclones have repeatedly hit her state, with families losing their homes and assets. By the time they recover, she said, another storm comes along.

Why do the least-polluting tribal communities have to pay such a heavy price? she asked.

In Sorengs family, activism and tribal ties run deep. Her mother Usha Kerketta is a teacher and womens right activist in her village. Nabor Soreng, her uncle and the first literate member of the family, is a tribal leader and indigenous studies expert.

Since childhood, they said, Soreng has been interested in tribal issues and environmental challenges.

In recent years she has documented the practices and traditional wisdom of Indian tribal and forest groups such as the Paudi Bhuiyan, Juang, Dongria Kondh, Oraon, Santhalis, Ho and her own Kharia tribe.

The effort has aimed not just to help preserve the knowledge but try to see it spread - and to instill greater pride in local the traditional communities, said Soreng, who studied regulatory governance at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and now is a researcher with Vasundhara, an Odisha non-profit focused on the rights, livelihoods and culture of indigenous communities.

As the world battles plastic pollution, for instance, it could learn from indigenous communities that have long used alternatives to plastic, from biodegradable plates made from leaves to toothbrushes of Neem tree twigs or date palm, she said.

Tribal communities need to become entrepreneurs in fighting climate change, she said, creating businesses that bring them an income and cut out the middle men and private companies that usually usurp their ideas and potential profits.

I want to act as a bridge between the indigenous communities and policy makers in this regard, she said.

TAKEN SERIOUSLY

Her foray into climate activism began about five years ago when she joined a university movement for tribal people. Last year she represented India at a Geneva meeting of the U.N. Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR).

She is also a member of the climate secretariats youth constituency, and has been part of a youth caucus on desertification and land use.

She said it was exhilarating to have been chosen for the U.N. secretary-generals youth group, but she also saw it as a huge responsibility.

As a member of this international climate forum I will emphasise and propagate the indigenous traditional practices, wisdom and ways of life as sustainable solutions to the growing climate crises, she said, as well as trying to engage more indigenous youth in climate action.

Planet-heating emissions are still rising, however, despite the growth of a global youth activist movement that brought millions to the streets last year.

That has raised questions about whether global leaders are ready to listen to young people and act more swifly on the climate risks that will fall hardest on them.

Soreng believes they are. The decision to create the youth panel shes joined shows that young voices are being taken seriously to accelerate global action and tackle the worsening climate crisis, she said.

Social media has helped young people amplify their voices, and many are today more informed, aware and mature on the issues, she added.

But youth input into decision-making needs to be continuous and sustained for long-term impact, she said, and youth groups need to join forces with like-minded others to have real impact.

Sorengs uncle, the tribal leader, believes his niece will have a key role in making that happen.

I am sure she will connect the local with the global, thus helping the world at large to tackle the climate crisis, he said.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)

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France has been removed from the list of safe countries people can travel to without going into quarantine following fears it could be experiencing a second wave of Covid-19.

The move, announced by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps on Thursday night, means people travelling from the European country will have to isolate for two weeks if they return to the UK after 4am on Saturday.

The Netherlands, Monaco, Malta, Turks & Caicos and the island of Aruba have also been added to the quarantine list.

Here is what it will mean for holidaymakers:

Arrivals from France will be required to self-isolate for 14 days (Nick Ansell/PA)

 When will I have to self-isolate?

The new measure comes into force from 4am on Saturday August 15, meaning that travellers returning to the UK from any of those six destinations have just over 24 hours to avoid going into quarantine.

Anyone returning after that date will be required to self-isolate for 14 days.

It applies to people returning to England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

 Why is this happening?



The Transport Secretary said the move aims to keep infection rates down in the UK (Simon Dawson/PA)

The decision to add France to the quarantine list was made in response to the spread of the virus, with the latest 14-day cumulative figures showing 32.1 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people in France, compared with 18.5 in the UK.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson previously said ministers would be absolutely ruthless in deciding on whether to impose the self-isolation requirement.

Mr Shapps said the countries were placed in the quarantine list to keep Covid-19 infection rates down in the UK.

 Im in one of the countries on the quarantine list, what should I do?



Transport Secretary Grant Shapps (Pippa Fowles/10 Downing Street/Crown Copyright/PA)

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is not advising holidaymakers who are already in the listed countries to leave immediately.

People are instead being asked to follow local rules, return home as normal and check the travel advice pages on gov.uk for further information.

 Ive got a holiday booked to a country on the list, what should I do?

The FCO has advised British nationals against all but essential travel to the the countries on the quarantine list.

Story continues

Those who still decide to travel after August 15 will have to self-isolate for two weeks.

 What will happen with my travel insurance?



The FCO now advise against all but essential travel to #France based on the current assessment of COVID-19 risks. If you're returning to the UK from France, you may need to self-isolate on your return. More info: https://t.co/JqWcOTBj4J pic.twitter.com/wdsduFpqMu  FCO travel advice (@FCOtravel) August 13, 2020

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) said travel insurance will remain valid for people who are already in the quarantined countries until they return home.

However, those who travel to the listed countries after the FCO advice has changed would likely find their insurance invalid, the ABI said.

 What about employers whose employees have to go into quarantine?

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab (Peter Summers/PA)

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab previously said no worker following quarantine guidance should be penalised by employers, including by being put onto sick pay.

He said that if someone is following the law in relation to quarantine and self-isolating, they cant have penalties taken against them.
The Trump administration has relaxed some rules for H-1B visas holders allowing them to enter the United States if they are returning to the same jobs they had prior to the proclamation of the visa ban.

The US Department of State advisory said dependents (spouses and children) will also be allowed to travel along with primary visa holders.

Travel by applicants seeking to resume ongoing employment in the United States in the same position with the same employer and visa classification, the state department advisory said.

Also read| Green Card waitlist for Indians runs into 200 years: US senator on country cap

The administration also allowed travel by technical specialists, senior-level managers, and other workers who hold H-1B visas and their travel is necessary to facilitate the immediate and continued economic recovery of the United States.

On June 22, the US President Donald Trump had signed a proclamation that till the end of the year in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The administration also allowed travel of visa holders who are working as public health or healthcare professional, or researcher to alleviate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, or to conduct ongoing medical research in an area with a substantial public health benefit.

Also read: Trump signs order against hiring H-1B visa holders for US federal contracts

Travel supported by a request from a US government agency or entity to meet critical US foreign policy objectives or to satisfy treaty or contractual obligations. This would include individuals, identified by the Department of Defense or another US government agency, performing research, providing IT support/services, or engaging other similar projects essential to a US government agency, the advisory stated.
The Hong Kong stock market finished session lower on Thursday, 13 August 2020, snapping a two-session winning streak, as investors withdrawing profit off the table on caution ahead of a meeting between top U. S. and Chinese trade officials on Saturday to review the first six months of the Phase 1 trade deal.

At closing bell, the benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 0.05%, or 13.35 points, to 25,230.67. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 0.28%, or 28.69 points, to 10,244.60.

The world's two largest economies will hold high-level talks on August 15 to review Beijing's compliance with the phase-one trade deal signed by the two nations.

Top officials from both sides will hold a videoconference on Saturday to review their Phase 1 trade deal signed in January.

Next Digital, the parent company of Apple Daily, plunged 42% to 38 Hong Kong cents after the city's securities regular warned against the risk of trading the stock. The stocks skyrocketed 12 fold on the first two days of the week following the arrest of its owner Jimmy Lai Chee-ying.

Tencent slipped 2% to HK$510, even after posting a 37% increase in second-quarter earnings. The Chinese social-media giant, which is in the spotlight amid the frayed China-US ties, downplayed the impact of the order by President Donald Trump to ban business transactions with its WeChat app, saying on a Wednesday conference call that only 2% of its revenues were generated from the US.

China Unicom surged 26% to HK$5.74 after saying first-half profit rose 10% to 7.57 billion yuan (US$1.09 billion).

Techtronic Industries rallied 11% to HK$94.45, as CGS-CIMB raised the price target of the stock by 28% following its earnings release.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Trump Introduces New COVID-19 Adviser Who Backs Reopening Schools

President Donald Trump on Wednesday introduced a new White House adviser on the CCP virus and announced eight new recommendations for reopening schools.

Dr. Scott Atlas, a healthcare policy expert who is a Senior Fellow for the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, has recently begun working with the administration. Trump told reporters that Atlas is a truly brilliant man, a wonderful man and cares about the subject of reopening schools very much.

Atlas earlier in the day attended a schools event where a group of parents, teachers, medical experts, and a number of others called for the reopening of schools as an option for parents and students wishing to return.

At the event, Atlas said, We know that the harms of locking out the children from school are enormous. And we also know, as we all would agree, that educating Americas children is right at the top of the list for our nations priorities.

I thank the President and everyone here for acknowledging these truths, and to get kids back to school safely, he added.

Scott Atlas listens to President Donald Trump during a briefing at the White House, in Washington, on Aug. 10, 2020. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

Option to Stay Home

Trump announced eight General Recommendations for All Schools at the afternoon press briefing, and said that the administration will provide up to 125 million reusable masks to school districts across the United States to combat the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, also known as the novel coronavirus.

The Trump administration is also providing $13 billion in federal funding that states can use under the CARES Act, to be directed toward elementary and secondary schools to enable a safe reopening.

The eight general recommendations (pdf) include making sure that everyone understands the symptoms of COVID-19, ensuring appropriate social distancing, hygiene and ventilation, as well as encouraging the use of masks when social distancing is not possible. It also recommends students, teachers, and staff to socially distance around high-risk individuals.

Trump also announced another six recommendations for high-risk students and high-risk teachers, giving them the option to stay at home and engage in distance learning and teaching, respectively.

The six recommendations are:

Students, their families, teachers, and staff should consult with their medical providers to determine if they are at high-risk from COVID-19. Provide high-risk teachers the choice to stay home and engage in distance teaching. Provide high-risk students, or students who have high-risk family members, the choice to stay home and engage in distance learning. Provide high-risk staff options to modify their work routines. Strongly encourage high-risk students, teachers, and staff to maintain social distance, avoid crowded gatherings, and wear masks when social distancing is not possible. Train school medical personnel regarding the symptoms of COVID-19; maintain isolation areas for those who become symptomatic to use while they await transportation away from school.

All families should be empowered to make the decision that is right for their own circumstances, Trump announced. This is especially important if a childs underlying health conditions or lives with her parents or a grandparent who is in a high risk.

President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at the White House in Washington, on Aug. 12, 2020. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)

He added, One of the things we would like to do iswhen we make payment to schools because we spend a lot of money in schoolswe would like to make a payment directly to the student, to the child  that would be to the parents, essentially. We want to follow the child so that if the school is closed, the family can go to another school rather than paying the school thats closed. We would rather pay directly, were following the child, where the child goes.

Were trying to get that approved but the Democrats dont like doing anything unless it means doing for the union.  And I have nothing wrong with the union. I have great respect.  I think the teachers like us a lot, Trump said. We want to take care of our teachers. But we cannot indefinitely stop 50 million American children from going to school and harming their mental and physical and emotional and academic development.

He also noted that the administration stands ready to deploy CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] teams to support schools that are opening and schools that need help in order to safely reopen.

At the conference, Trump drew a sharp contrast between the effects of the CCP virus on elderly populations compared to young populations. He noted that nearly half the deaths from the CCP virus have occurred in nursing homes and long-term care facilities with the median age to succumb to the virus being 78 years old.

These findings underscore that all Americans must continue to apply extreme vigilance in protecting our elderly population and those who with chronic conditions, he said.

Outcomes are very different for younger Americans without serious health issues, tremendously different, Trump said, noting that children often have only mild symptoms from the virus, and medical complications due to the virus are very, very rare. Those that do face complications often have underlying medical conditions, he said.

We believe many school districts can now reopen safely provided they implement mitigation measures and health protocols to protect protect families, protect teachers, and protect students, Trump added.

Toys are scattered in the playground of an elementary school in Los Angeles, California, on July 17, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

CDC Guidelines Support Reopening

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on July 23 issued a new version of its CCP virus guidelines for schools to support the critically important return to in-person learning in the fall. The agency said that, based on the best available evidence, the CCP virus poses relatively low risks to school-aged children.

Children appear to be at lower risk for contracting COVID-19 compared to adults, the guidelines state.

The agency said, citing its own figures, that as of July 17, children and adolescents under 18 years old in the United States account for less than 0.1 percent of COVID-19-related deaths and under 7 percent of CCP virus cases.

It added that there are few reports of children being the primary drivers of the spread of COVID-19 in schools or in the community.

No studies are conclusive, but the available evidence provides reason to believe that in-person schooling is in the best interest of students, particularly in the context of appropriate mitigation measures similar to those implemented at essential workplaces, the CDC said.

The agency acknowledged that relatively little is known about how the CCP virus spreads to children, saying, While uncommon, deaths and rare illness  may occur.

Isabel van Brugen contributed to this report.

Read More CDC Releases Guidelines Strongly in Favor of School Reopenings
MINSK -- Belarusians have defied a harsh crackdown in a fourth day of protests that spilled into the night as pressure mounts on President Alyaksandr Lukashenka over a weekend vote the opposition says was rigged to extend the strongmans 26-year rule.

Thousands of protesters hit the streets in Minsk and elsewhere across the country, braving the threat of beating and detention as Belarusian authorities admitted on August 12 to using live ammunition against protesters and news emerged that a second person had died in the unrest.

The spontaneous protests took many forms and came as riot police since the August 9 disputed election have used tear gas, rubber bullets, and stun grenades to disperse protesters in the capital and other cities.

In an interview with RFE/RL during a visit to Prague, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that "weve watched the violence and the aftermath, peaceful protesters being treated in ways that are inconsistent with how they should be treated."

Pompeo said that the United States had not yet settled on the appropriate response, but would work with Washington's European partners to determine what action to take.

EU foreign ministers are expected to meet on August 14 to discuss imposing sanctions on Belarus, which were previously lifted in 2016.

In several parts of Minsk on August 12, groups of hundreds of people formed human chains to protest as people in cars honked horns and slowed to a crawl to block police vehicles. Similar protests were held in at least five other cities, according to the Belarusian rights NGO Vyasna (Spring).

More than 130 doctors took part in an action against violence in Minsk, gathering in white coats on Dzerzhinsky Avenue near the medical university with flowers and posters. According to the doctors, they came out to show that "we are all together."

On Dzerzhinsky Avenue, people stood on balconies, clapping in an expression of support for protesters. A group of riot police arrived and fired rubber bullets.

In Minsk and other towns, women dressed in white joined hands to form a human chain to protest the postelection crackdown.

The latest protests came as authorities said more than 6,000 people had been detained and hundreds injured in protests since the August 9 vote, which the election commission said Lukashenka won with 80 percent of the vote while the official tally for his main rival, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, was less than 10 percent.

Tsikhanouskaya has left the country and is now in Lithuania.

Hundreds of relatives of detained people gathered in front of the central detention center in Minsk on August 12, trying to get information about their loved ones.

Human rights activists say detention centers, police stations, and jails across the country are overcrowded.

Earlier on August 12, the Belarusian Interior Ministry said that a man was wounded in the western city of Brest overnight after law enforcement opened fire at a group of people who, police said, attacked them with iron bars.

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.



It was the first such admittance by the authorities that live ammunition had been used against protesters.

The Investigative Committee also admitted a 25-year-old man detained at a street protest in Homel died after being transferred to a prison and then a hospital, making him the second person killed in the unrest.

The victim's mother told RFE/RL that her son had not participated in protests and was going to see his girlfriend when he was rounded up by police. She said her son had heart problems and believed he had been beaten.

Meanwhile, an RFE/RL journalist was beaten and detained after being stopped with his wife by police in Minsk as they were driving. Vitaly Tsyhankov was pulled from the car by police, beaten, and thrown to the ground, before being detained, his wife said. She was also detained.

The assault on the RFE/RL journalist came as the Belarusian Association of Journalists on August 12 called on authorities to stop targeted violence against media representatives.

The journalist association said security forces had deliberately used violence against the media, intentionally damaged their equipment, and detained at least 12 journalists covering the unrest.

Belarusian Nobel Prize-winning writer Svetlana Alexievich condemned the police violence against protesters, telling RFE/RL that "the authorities have declared war on their people" and Lukashenka should step down to prevent a bloody civil war.

"Leave before it's too late, before you have plunged the people into a terrible abyss, into the abyss of civil war," the 72-year-old author said in her first remarks since the election. "Nobody wants blood. Only you want power. And it's your desire for power that requires blood."

With reporting by Current Time and RFE/RL's Belarus Service
Several schools in Upstate New York have been named among the most beautiful college campuses in the nation.

Conde Nast Traveler magazine has released a new list of The 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America, praising a mix of modern designs like Bard College and classic architecture at Harvard University. Schools were listed in alphabetical order (instead of being ranked) and nine in New York state made the cut  including Syracuse University, Siena College, SUNY Geneseo and Colgate University.

Syracuse University was praised for its variety of seasons, from sledding in the winter to warm springs on the SU quad, and its variety of buildings.

Youll find (students) on the slope in front of Crouse College, a Romanesque revival-style castle that proudly overlooks campus, and laying out on the quad beside the ivy-covered Bowne Hall, Carnegie Library, and Hendricks Chapel (the latter was modeled after the Pantheon), the magazine wrote. Look out for the modern glass facade of Newhouse 3, one of three buildings within Syracuses communications schoolthe First Amendment is inscribed on the outer west wall.

Colgate University, previously named the most beautiful college campus in the Empire State, received credit for its 10 miles of walkways  ideal for walking on a nice spring day  and gorgeous trees around the Hamilton, N.Y., campus for ideal leaf-peeping in the fall.

Siena College, located near Albany in picturesque Loudonville, got a shoutout for its annual tradition of students racing across the central quad to houses on the edge of town for countdown parties, in which each numbered home throws a party coinciding with the number of days left until graduation.

And the State University of New York at Geneseo earned a salute to its beautiful, green campus that turns into a winter wonderland when the architecture of Sturges and Fraser Hall, a more modest blend of Georgian and Collegiate Gothic stylings... [are] contrasted in a brilliant white snowfall that really leaves an impression.

Other New York schools that made the list include Columbia University, the United States Military Academy at West Point, the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, and New York University. Notable colleges in other states include Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Georgetown, Duke, UCLA, USC, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, and the University of North Carolina.

See photos and read the whole list at cntraveler.com.

Note: Traveler is a Conde Nast publication, owned by syracuse.coms parent company Advance Publications.
PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Inc. 5000 magazine has recognized PCS Retirement as one of the fastest-growing private companies in America. PCS has received this prestigious honor  which represents the most successful companies within the American economy's most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses for 13 years in a row. This year, PCS Retirement experienced its highest ever increase in rankings, moving up 1,714 spots from 2019 and 1,954 spots from 2018.

The 2020 Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2016 and 2019. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2016. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019.

Mark Klein, Chief Executive Officer, states, "It's a tremendous honor and we are humbled to be recognized for the 13th year in a row and included amongst an elite list of organizations. Our growth rate of 153% is a testament to our talented and expanding team and the clients who we serve. We strive to be on the cutting edge of technology and to always provide innovative, conflict-free retirement solutions to help enhance America's retirement saving."

About Inc. Media

The world's most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit www.inc.com.

About PCS Retirement

PCS Retirement, LLC is one of the nation's largest independent and conflict-free retirement solution providers. PCS' comprehensive retirement solutions platform includes business development tools for financial advisors and a data-driven recordkeeping technology that supports all types of retirement plans [401(k), 403(b), 457, IRA including Payroll Deduction, Cash Balance, Defined Benefit, Non-Qualified], individual retirement accounts, and health savings accounts.

To learn more, visit https://www.pcsretirement.com/

Contact:

Daniella Moiseyev

Chief Marketing Officer

PCS Retirement

(267) 534-2521

[email protected]

SOURCE PCS Retirement, LLC

Related Links

https://www.pcsretirement.com/


Vaxess Technologies, a preclinical biotechnology company developing a pipeline of vaccines and therapeutics on the MIMIX smart release patch, has recently appointed Dr. Lynda Tussey to the position of Chief Development Officer. Dr. Tussey is a veteran vaccine developer with over twenty years of experience in the field. She brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in clinical translation that will help advance Vaxess into Phase I clinical trials in 2021.

Vaccine development is complex, particularly with Vaxesss ambitious goals of enabling next generation vaccines that are shelf-stable, self-applied, and more protective, said Vaxess CEO Michael Schrader. Lyndas demonstrated success in advancing novel vaccines and therapeutics is perfectly suited for leading Vaxess into Phase I clinical trials next year.

Dr. Tussey previously worked with Vaxess as a consultant through Crozet Biopharma, where she served as the Head of Immunology and Translational Medicine and was responsible for formulating and implementing nonclinical, translational, and early clinical development strategy. Prior to Crozet, Dr. Tussey held various positions during her 13-year tenure at the VaxInnate Corporation, including Chief Scientific Officer, where she oversaw the discovery and clinical stage activities of the company. Prior to VaxInnate, Dr. Tussey held leadership roles at Purdue Pharma, Merck Research Labs, and GSK.

I look forward to working with the Vaxess team to advance their MIMIX smart release patch into clinical trials, said Lynda Tussey, PhD. Its sustained release properties have the potential to improve vaccine efficacy while the self-applied feature will provide greater access to life-saving vaccines.

Vaxess is currently developing a seasonal protection patch to deliver vaccines for both COVID and seasonal flu. The patch will use the companys sustained release MIMIX platform, and offers the only shelf-stable, self-applied approach to addressing an endemic COVID. Dr. Tussey will serve as an invaluable resource as Vaxess advances the MIMIX patch toward clinical trials.

About the MIMIX Smart Release Patch Platform

Medicine delivery, redefined. The MIMIX patch delivers medicines and vaccines through a number of tiny, painless projections that dissolve at a precisely engineered rate, releasing their treatment at its most effective dose for the most beneficial length of time. Vaxess has validated performance and compatibility with a range of molecules including proteins, killed viruses, mRNA, hormones, and live viruses.

More effective medications start with MIMIX. The MIMIX platform dramatically improves efficacy of products across a broad range of therapeutic areas by mimicking the prolonged exposure period that occurs during a natural infection. This prolonged exposure triggers a stronger and more enduring immune response.

Seamlessly painless. The MIMIX patch is virtually painless and after wearing it for few minutes, its removed from the skin while the medication continues to be delivered.

About Vaxess Technologies

Vaxess Technologies is a biotechnology company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company is developing its proprietary sustained release smart delivery technologies to meet the need for more efficacious and easy to administer medical products.
Medical workers are seen at a COVID-19 pop-up testing centre in Sydney

By Renju Jose and Colin Packham

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia posted its lowest one-day rise in new COVID-19 cases in more than three weeks on Thursday, stoking hopes that a second wave of new infections gripping Victoria state is finally being brought under control.

Australia, once heralded as a global leader in combating COVID-19, has struggled to contain an outbreak in the country's second most populous state, which has seen triple digit daily new cases for weeks.

But Australian states and territories on Thursday reported just 292 new infections in the past 24 hours, down from 428 detected in the previous day and the lowest since July 20.

"We now believe, cautiously, that we have early signs of the flattening of the curve," Australia's Minister for Health Greg Hunt said in a televised media conference.

The bulk of the new infections again came in Victoria, which detected 278 new infections in the past 24 hours, down from 410 a day earlier.

Australia's most populous state, New South Wales (NSW) reported 12 new cases, while Western Australia said two people have been diagnosed with the virus. Both, however, were already in hotel quarantine.

Australia has identified about 22,500 COVID-19 cases while the death toll rose on Thursday to 361 after nine fatalities from the virus were recorded in Victoria and NSW.

The slowdown in new cases comes a week after authorities imposed a total lockdown across Melbourne, Australia's second largest city, including a night curfew, restrictions on people's daily movements and large parts of state economy ordered to close. Nearly 5 million people in Melbourne have been confined to their homes except for essential reasons for more than a month.

Neighbouring New South Wales state is also on alert, having reported daily new infections in the teens for the past several weeks.

Officials warned a failure by people there to observe social distancing guidelines could fuel community transmission, as they scrambled to trace several clusters stemming from schools and restaurants.

(Refiles to fix number of cases reported on Wednesday in third paragraph)

(Reporting by Renju Jose and Colin Packham; Editing by Jane Wardell and Lincoln Feast.)
He is a talented British actor who resides in California with his wife and daughters.

And Aaron Taylor-Johnson looked every inch the star as he displayed his hunky frame on the beach in Malibu on Thursday.

The Nowhere Boy actor, 30, displayed his muscular arms and washboard abs in a pair of multicoloured swimming trunks as he took a refreshing dip.

Hunk: Aaron Taylor-Johnson looked every inch the star as he displayed his hunky frame on the beach in Malibu on Thursday.

The star looked relaxed and happy as he strode out of the surf before chatting with a friend.

His long locks were swept back from his face while he sported a shaggy beard.

The actor then donned a navy tee and a cap as he soaked up the sun on the beach.

Aaron lives in Los Angeles with wife Sam, 53 and their two children Wylda Rae and Romy Hero.

Wow: The Nowhere Boy actor, 30, displayed his muscular arms and washboard abs in a pair of multicoloured swimming trunks as he took a refreshing dip

Chilled: The star looked relaxed and happy as he strode out of the surf before chatting with a friend

Aaron and his wife Sam met on the set of the 2009 John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy, which Sam directed, when she was 42 and he was 18.

The English pair announced their engagement later that year and married in 2012 with a ceremony in Somerset, England.

At the time of their first collaboration, Aaron went by the surname Johnson, while Sam went by Taylor-Wood, but both adopted the married name Taylor-Johnson.

The lovebirds returned to collaborating in 2018 with their adaptation of James Frey's pseudo-memoir A Million Little Pieces.

The couple wrote the film together, making it Aaron's first credited screenwriting gig.

He starred in the movie as Frey, who's sent to a rehab center after suffering a serious fall while under the influence of drugs.

Aaron is due to appear on screens in the hotly-anticipated Christopher Nolan thriller Tenet, touted to be the first big blockbuster to be released post-lockdown.

Vey little is actually known about the plot, but Tenet has been described as a film set within the world of international espionage.
WeChat Ban Allows Chinese Americans to Break Free of Beijings Propaganda, Users Say

President Donald Trumps impending ban on the Chinese social media app WeChat is being welcomed by some users in the United States, who say the risks posed by the app vastly outweigh the convenience it offers.

Trump last week banned WeChat-related transactions on national security grounds, in an order to take effect in September. The messaging app, owned by Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings, is the main conduit for personal and business communications with people in China, as popular Western-developed apps, such as Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, and Telegram, are blocked by the communist regime.

The platform, used by Chinese students, expatriates, and Chinese Americans, has roughly 19 million daily active users in the United States, according to analytics firm Apptopia.

While the ban has been criticized by some users who complain that they will no longer be able to contact family and friends in China, others have applauded the move, saying the app exports the Chinese regimes surveillance and censorship systems into the United States.

Among the supporters of the ban is Zhou Jianming, a Chinese student studying computer science in New Jersey. He said WeChat is an enormous hidden danger to users in the country, and described Trumps order as entirely an act of defense for Americans.

He says user data isnt secure on the app because Tencent is a Chinese company and ultimately beholden to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

WeChat users are subject to monitoring by the CCP at all times, Zhou said.

Zhou is among a growing cohort of overseas users who have been censored on the app for posting content deemed politically sensitive by the CCP. He said his WeChat account was suspended or blocked several times last year after he posted messages supporting the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

His TikTok account was closed in June, after he posted a video mocking the Chinese national anthem. The wildly popular short video app also was targeted in a similar executive order that prevented transactions with TikToks Chinese parent company ByteDance.

The pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong has drawn Beijings ire, as protesters have continually voiced opposition to the Chinese regimes interference in local affairs.

WeChat actively censors its users in mainland China. But international users have also found themselves subject to tightening controls. WeChat blocks content from Chinese-language media outlets that report critically on the CCP, including the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times, NTD, Voice of America, and Radio Free Asia, for users registered in the United States, according to tests conducted by The Epoch Times in 2019.

A 2016 study by digital watchdog Citizen Lab found that accounts linked to mainland Chinese phone numbers continue to face censorship, even when the user is located in other parts of the world. Earlier this year, Citizen Lab also found that WeChat monitors its overseas users to help refine the apps censorship algorithms for mainland Chinese users.

Daniel Lou, a naturalized U.S. citizen and businessman in New York, found his WeChat account blocked earlier this year after he shared in a private chat an article about two Chinese scientists who were escorted from a Canadian national virology laboratory in July 2019 amid a police investigation.

The article has been linked to a conspiracy theory about the origins of the CCP virus outbreak.

Lou said it took him years to cultivate his network on the app by gaining entry into many WeChat groups, only to have it stripped from him in an instant. Even so, he said he felt very happy after being blocked.

I was no longer under their control. I was set free, he said.

Lou has barely used the app since then. He said many users on the app self-censor for fear of similarly being locked-out for posting content deemed sensitive by the CCP.

Through WeChat, the CCP is violating U.S. citizens right of privacy, and controlling Americans, he said.

John C. Demers, U.S. assistant attorney general for national security, said WeChat is used by the regime to control Chinese people studying or working in the country.

Its a method by the Chinese Communist Party to communicate with Chinese individuals here in the U.S., Demers said at a discussion hosted by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies on Aug. 12.

He added that the app is being used to spread disinformation and propaganda about the United States to overseas Chinese students, so that they arent polluted by ideas like liberal democracy or religious freedom.

Overseas Chinese have been heavily influenced by the regime through the app, says Chen Chuangchuang, a U.S.-based Chinese rights activist.

They might live in a free society, but they rely on sources controlled by the CCP on WeChat to get their information, he said.

Chen pointed to instances in which the app has been used to influence elections in democracies, such as Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. A 2019 study by Australian researchers found that propaganda maligning incumbent Prime Minister Scott Morrisons Liberal Party was being circulated by CCP-linked accounts on the app.

The activist said he has many friends in the overseas democracy movement whove been barred from WeChat for spreading information critical of the regime.

Chen applauded the move, saying it may prompt more people in China to instead circumvent the countrys internet firewall for the purpose of communicating with relatives and friends overseas.

This would be a good thing, he said.

Tencent didnt immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

Linda Lin and Yi Ru contributed to this report.
The authors said that their study provides further evidence for the limited role of children in the pandemic.

The study, led by Public Health England (PHE), comes after Boris Johnson said getting all children back to school full-time in England next month is the right thing for everybody amid calls to boost coronavirus testing and tracing to ensure a safe return.





Between January 1 and May 3 2020, 129,704 out of 540,305 people tested positive for the novel coronavirus  also known as Sars-CoV-2  in England, the authors wrote in the Archives of Disease in Childhood journal.

The first confirmed case involving a child was on February 29.

Cases among children started to increase during the second week of March and peaked on April 11 2020 before declining gradually  a similar trend seen in adults.

Overall 35,200 tests were performed on children under the age of 16 and there were 1,408 cases among children aged 15  meaning around 4% of all children tested had a positive result.

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This compared to 19.1%-34.9% positive results among tested adults.

When considered in light of positive cases among all age groups, children accounted for 1.1% of all cases of Covid-19.

Just over half (53%) were boys.

The highest number of positive cases in children were among children under the age of three months  but researchers said that this was just a reflection of the higher number of tests done among children in this age bracket.

They said that young infants are more likely to have more tests done when they are unwell and parents are more likely to take them to a doctor if they are younger.

During the study period there were eight deaths of children confirmed to have Covid-19.

In four cases another cause (of death) was identified and Sars-CoV-2 was reported to be incidental or an indirect contributor to death, the authors wrote.

And among four children aged 10 to 15 who died, three had multiple other health conditions, they wrote.

The authors added: There has been no increase in excess deaths in children aged 015 years until May 3 2020.

They conclude: The experience in England adds to the growing body of evidence on the limited role of children in the Covid-19 pandemic, with just over 1% of confirmed cases occurring in children.

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Children accounted for a very small proportion of confirmed cases despite the large numbers of children tested.

Sars-CoV-2 positivity was low even in children with acute respiratory infection.

Our findings provide further evidence against the role of children in infection and transmission of Sars-CoV-2.

Previous research has implied that lower infection rates among children may be due lower expression of the cell surface enzyme ACE2 in the nasal epithelium of children compared with adults.

ACE2 is a protein on the surface of cells to which Sars-CoV-2 binds, and can be found on the cells on the inner lining of the nose. Previous research has implied that the lower risk in children may be down to the fact they have lower expression of this enzyme in the inner lining of their nose.

The authors of the current paper say that a key unanswered question remains whether children without symptoms might be contributing to community transmission of the virus.

But they point to other research which shows low infection rates among children and a separate study which found that among household infections children were never the first to be infected or to be the source of infection in the household.

The authors, which include experts from PHE, the University of Oxford, the Evelina childrens hospital, Kings College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, concluded: England is currently nearing the end of the first peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Consistent with other countries, children account for a very small proportion of confirmed cases and have very low case-fatality rates. Despite the large number of children tested, only 4% were positive for Sars-CoV-2.

Lead author Dr Shamez Ladhani, from PHE, added: It is still not clear why young children have such a low risk of infection compared to older children or adults. One theory is that, compared to adults, children have fewer ACE2 receptors which the virus can bind to in cells that line the respiratory tract.

The way the immune system reacts to the virus is also likely to be different in children compared to adults.

Whilst these numbers are reassuring for children, they include a long period of complete lockdown where children were less likely to have been exposed to the virus.

And he cautions: We need to remain vigilant as the lockdown eases and children have increased contact with other children and adults in the coming weeks. In particular, we need more information about asymptomatic infections and silent transmission.

PHE said that an analysis of Covid-19 cases in educational settings in England, and the preliminary results of its nationwide study of antibody prevalence in schools, will be published in the coming weeks.

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Commenting on the study, professor Russell Viner, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: These data are high quality and very useful and confirm international evidence that children and young people as a group are little affected by this virus, even showing a slight reduction in total excess deaths.

Any death of a child is one too many, however even the extremely low Covid-related death rate is an overestimate as Covid-19 infection appeared incidental in half those who died.

Testing of symptomatic cases can be misleading about the chances of transmission, as children are much less likely to be symptomatic than adults, however these data provide another part of the jigsaw that together tells us that children play only a minor role in this pandemic.

Dr Mike Tildesley from the University of Warwick, added: These results provide further supporting evidence that the reopening of schools in September should represent an extremely low risk to any individual child, though it is important to recognise that, despite these low numbers, we would expect that children may play a role in the transmission process.

With this in mind, the vast majority of parents should feel reassured regarding the safety of their children when schools reopen, though given the likely role of infected children in transmission, parents and teachers with underlying health conditions may need to take precautions in order to minimise their own risk over the coming months.
Doctor Returns to CHP Barrington OB/GYN

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.  Community Health Programs welcomes Dr. Jill Samale in her return to the staff of CHP Barrington OB/GYN.

Dr. Samale provides comprehensive obstetrical and gynecology care to women of all ages. She is affiliated with Berkshire Medical Center and Fairview Hospital's Family Birthplace. She practiced previously with the CHP team and then joined Berkshire OB-GYN, a Berkshire Medical Center practice.

From 2006-2014, Samale practiced at South County Hospital Center for Women's Health in Wakefield, R.I. Earlier, she practiced at Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital in Lebanon, N.H. From 2000-2005, she worked in private practice at Baystate OB/GYN Group.

A magna cum laude graduate of Amherst College, she earned her medical degree at the University of Vermont College of Medicine. She completed her residency at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.

At UVM Dr. Samale earned the 2000 Award for the Excellence in OB/GYN Clinical Clerkship, and served on the UVM Womens Mentoring Program Executive Committee. She is a diplomate of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

She is a graduate of Monument Mountain Regional High School.

For more information or to schedule an appointment with a CHP Barrington OB/GYN clinician, call 413-528-1470.
Rating Action: Moody's assigns Baa2 to Long Beach, NY's GOLT Bonds; outlook negative

Global Credit Research - 12 Aug 2020

New York, August 12, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service has assigned a Baa2 rating to the City of Long Beach, NY's $39 million Public Improvement Serial Bonds - 2020 Series A and $2.4 million Public Improvement Serial Bonds - 2020 Series B (Federally Taxable). Moody's currently maintains the Baa2 issuer and outstanding general obligation limited tax (GOLT) ratings. The issuer rating is equivalent to the city's hypothetical general obligation unlimited tax rating (GOULT); there is no debt associated with the GOULT security. The outlook is negative.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The issuer rating of Baa2 reflects the very weak financial position and a history issuing debt for operational expenses. Management is a key credit driver of the rating. Since 2018 there has been consistent turnover at the highest levels of city management. Stabilization of management will be a key rating driver moving forward. The rating also reflects the moderately sized tax base with wealth levels that approximate regional averages, a weak financial position and an above average but manageable debt and pension burden. Environmental factors are also a key rating driver given the city's location along the south shore of Long Island. Management continues to seek FEMA and State reimbursements from Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

We consider the outstanding debt to be GOLT because of limitations under New York State law on property tax levy increases. The lack of distinction between the Baa2 GOLT rating and the Baa2 Issuer rating reflects the city council's ability to override the property tax cap and the town's faith and credit pledge in support of debt service.

We regard the coronavirus outbreak as a social risk under our ESG framework, given the substantial implications for public health and safety. The coronavirus crisis is not a key driver for this rating action. We do not see any material immediate credit risks for the City of Long Beach. While some beach revenues were impacted by coronavirus, the city projects that it ended fiscal 2020 with surplus operations. However, the situation surrounding Coronavirus is rapidly evolving and the longer term impact will depend on both the severity and duration of the crisis. If our view of the credit quality of the city changes, we will update the rating and/or outlook at that time.

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RATING OUTLOOK

The negative outlook reflects the challenges the city faces in returning to a structurally balanced budget, one that does not rely on non-recurring revenues or expenses.

FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OF THE RATINGS

- Stabilization and growth in reserves

FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO A DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS

- Audited 2020 results are worse than anticipated

- Fiscal 2021 results don't begin rebuilding reserves

LEGAL SECURITY

The 2020 bonds and the currently rated debt are secured by the town's general obligation pledge as limited by New York State's Property Tax Cap-Legislation (Chapter 97 (Part A) of the Laws of the State of New York, 2011).

USE OF PROCEEDS

The Series A bonds, along with $2.6 million in cash, will redeem $41.6 million in bond anticipation notes maturing on September 4, 2020.

The Series B bonds, along with $125,000 in cash, will redeem $2.4 million in bond anticipation notes maturing on September 4, 2020.

PROFILE

The city, located approximately 25 miles east of New York City, encompasses 2.1 square miles along the Atlantic Ocean coastline in Nassau County. Population as of 2016 was 33,670. Management notes that during the summer months, population doubles due to its favorable location along the ocean.

METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was US Local Government General Obligation Debt published in July 2020 and available at https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBM_1230443. Alternatively, please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.

REGULATORY DISCLOSURES

For further specification of Moody's key rating assumptions and sensitivity analysis, see the sections Methodology Assumptions and Sensitivity to Assumptions in the disclosure form. Moody's Rating Symbols and Definitions can be found at: https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_79004.

For ratings issued on a program, series, category/class of debt or security this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series, category/class of debt, security or pursuant to a program for which the ratings are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider, this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the credit rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular credit rating action for securities that derive their credit ratings from the support provider's credit rating. For provisional ratings, this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the provisional rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive rating that may be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt, in each case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed prior to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would have affected the rating. For further information please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the respective issuer on www.moodys.com.

Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating review.

Moody's general principles for assessing environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks in our credit analysis can be found at https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1133569.

At least one ESG consideration was material to the credit rating action(s) announced and described above.

Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued the rating.

Please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for additional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating.

Robert Weber Lead Analyst Regional PFG Northeast Moody's Investors Service, Inc. 7 World Trade Center 250 Greenwich Street New York 10007 US JOURNALISTS: 1 212 553 0376 Client Service: 1 212 553 1653 Christopher Coviello Additional Contact Regional PFG Northeast JOURNALISTS: 1 212 553 0376 Client Service: 1 212 553 1653 Releasing Office: Moody's Investors Service, Inc. 250 Greenwich Street New York, NY 10007 U.S.A JOURNALISTS: 1 212 553 0376 Client Service: 1 212 553 1653

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In the midst of this COVID-19 pandemic, our leaders are making choices that show their priorities.

This week in the state of Tennessee, Governor Lee is forcing a return to schools. This is being done despite a surge in the COVID-19 pandemic across every county of the State of Tennessee. He is requiring this to be done against the advice of the public health professionals and against the pleas of the educators who will be on the front lines of this battle.

President Trump and the Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos are behind the push for this return.

Ironically, many of those making this push have children who are in private schools and those schools are continuing with remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The rationale for this push is an economic one. The claim is that we need to get our economy up and running.

That rationale makes money the top priority. Even more so than the health and welfare of our children and the teachers who are devoting their lives to educate them.

We are facing a new disease for which we do not yet have a vaccine nor a cure. We are still in a learning curve on how to effectively treat the disease for those who get sick. We still dont know the long-term after-effects of the illness for those who survive. There are many assumptions that have been made that have not been proven true or false.

The things we do know about an effective way to slow the outbreak of the disease and reduce the suffering associated with it are simple. We isolate ourselves as much as possible. When we go out, we avoid large public gatherings in tightly confined spaces. We wear masks. We sanitize. We maintain a respectful social distance from one other of at least six feet. The public health experts make it clear that a faithful adherence to these protocols will bring about a quicker end to this scourge.

The truth is that there is simply no way we can follow the prescription for defeating COVID-19 by cramming our kids into classrooms together.

It is not as if there are no alternatives.

With all the new technologies that are available, teaching and learning can be done in a safe and effective way remotely. This is a time for our leaders to embrace the opportunity to enhance and improve the use of technology to make certain our students continue to learn and to prepare for life in the 21st Century. Rather than fret over students not being able to gather in a physical building, we should focus on developing new ways of teaching and real learning for our children.

Yes. This is different from the way that it has always been done. But these times are different than they have ever been. We now have the opportunity to create a technology-based learning system that will make public education even better than it was before. We can use our resources to improve overall access to that technology so that all children can participate regardless of where they live.

Government can partner with businesses like EPB, Blue Cross, Volkswagen, Unum, TVA and others to improve access and to improve education to meet the new challenges in the workplace. Our students will come out of school with the skills they need to compete in todays world.

There is a vast amount of research that has already given us effective ways to change our curricula and learning outcomes.

The choice is clear  force children and teachers to return to the old normal with the consequent risk of another surge of the disease and the illness and death of our children and teachers that will follow.

Or take our medicine by continuing with remote learning until sufficient time has been given for a safe and effective vaccine or the diminishment of COVID-19 by the natural course of virus progression. And use this time to make the education system the best it can be to prepare children to compete in a new work environment.

The short-term economy may continue to suffer but the long-term investment in the health and well-being of the next generation will pay off with bigger dividends in a brighter and better future.

Rodney Strong

Chair, Hamilton County Democratic Party

* * *

Mr. Strong,

Where were the Democrats clamoring to shut down the economy and schools when the previous administration was faced with the H1N1 virus and directed all testing to be stopped (therefore all positive results to be unknown)?

It is blatantly obvious even to the casual observer that this media fear-mongering and cries for shutting down the economy is simply the latest tactic from the left to attempt to undermine the return of the strongest economy in the world prior to the election.

Does anyone doubt that if the Democrats were to somehow take power in November any of this would exist? The organized riots, left wing DA's and mayors (of which we have here as well) who refuse to protect the police and the ordinary taxpaying citizens is simply the next phase of the get Trump at all costs. Save your hollow rhetoric for CNN or MSNBC.

Mark Maynor
Teachers will send emails to pupils today revealing the predicted grades they thought they deserved for their A-level results.

It is set to trigger fury after nearly 40 per cent of teacher-predicted grades in England were downgraded after moderation.

Initially, A Level results would have been decided by the grades, before the government changed its policy and introduced a computer algorithm to ensure the marks are broadly similar to previous years.

The move brought anger, with claims that the process could lead to the most disadvantaged pupils suffering.

Now, some schools will send out the teacher-assessed grades that they submitted.

Other schools said that the results were available to email as soon as pupils requested them.

Students burn their A-Level results at the London Dungeon today as pupils find out whether they have got a university place

Benita Stipp (centre) and Mimi Ferguson (left) react as students at Norwich School receive their A-Level results today

It comes amid fury at the government's last-minute decision to allow pupils to use their mock grades.

Less than 48 hours before results were released, pupils in England were told that they would be able to claim their mock grade as their final result if it is higher than the one they get from the exam board.

This would be through an appeals process with exam regulator Ofqual in charge of approving which mocks are eligible to be entered.

However, several head teachers have warned that mock exams are not a measure of ability or hard work.

Some schools even said that they are marked harshly to terrify pupils into working harder.

Liz Laybourn, head teacher at Burgess Hill Girls, in Sussex, told the Times: 'This year's cohort of A level students has already faced a very tough six months and the impact on their wellbeing and mental health has been huge.

'Now the uncertainty and stress has been compounded further with the government's overnight bombshell that seems to rely more on mock exams.'

A sixth form student is embraced after receiving her A-Level results at The Crossley Heath Grammar School in Halfax today

David Goodhew, head teacher of Latymer Upper, west London, said: 'To have it sprung on schools and universities overnight with 24 hours to go is appalling. How are we meant to advise anxious pupils and parents . . . when we're as much in the dark as they are?'

Today's results saw thousands of pupils' grades downgraded after this year's summer exams were cancelled because of Covid-19 despite record-high results.

The proportion of A-level entries awarded an A grade or higher has risen to an all-time high, with 27.9 per cent securing the top grades this year, figures for England, Wales and Northern Ireland show.

But exam boards downgraded nearly two in five (39.1 per cent) pupils' grades in England, according to data from Ofqual - which amounts to around 280,000 entries being adjusted down after moderation.

Nearly 40% of A-levels are downgraded: Despair for tens of thousands of students as 280,000 exams are marked down - but number of A and A*s rises to all-time high

Key statistics in this year's A-level results The proportion of candidates receiving top grades is the highest on record. A total of 27.9% of entrants scored either an A or A*, up from 25.5% in 2019.

Some 9.0% of entrants received an A*. This is another record high, and is up from 7.8% last year.

The overall pass rate (grades A* to E) was 98.3% - again, another record high. It is up from 97.6% in 2019.

Some 78.4% received a C or above, up from 75.8% in 2019 and the highest since at least 2000.

Girls have extended their lead over boys in the top grades. The proportion of girls who got A or higher was 28.4%, 1.1 percentage points higher than boys (27.3%). Last year, girls led boys by just 0.1 percentage points (25.5% girls, 25.4% boys). Boys briefly took the lead in 2017 and 2018, following a long period in which girls had been ahead.

The gap between the best-performing boys and girls has fallen slightly. The proportion of boys who got A* was 9.3%, 0.5 percentage points higher than girls (8.8%). Last year, the gap was 0.7 points.

The most popular subject this year was maths. It was taken by 94,168 entrants, up 2.5% on 2019.

Psychology was the second most popular subject, overtaking biology. It was taken by 65,255 entrants, up 1.0% on 2019. Biology slipped to become the third most popular subject, taken by 65,057 entrants, a fall of 6.0%.

ICT (information and communications technology) saw the biggest drop in candidates for a single subject with more than 1,000 entrants, falling by 15.3% from 1,572 to 1,332.

Computing saw the biggest jump in candidates of any subject with more than 1,000 entrants, rising by 11.7% from 11,124 to 12,426.

There were 780,557 A-levels awarded, down 2.6% on last year's total (801,002) and the lowest number since 2004. Advertisement

Thousands of pupils' results have been downgraded after this year's summer exams were cancelled because of Covid-19 despite record-high results.

The proportion of A-level entries awarded an A grade or higher has risen to an all-time high, with 27.9 per cent securing the top grades this year, figures for England, Wales and Northern Ireland show.

But exam boards downgraded nearly two in five (39.1 per cent) pupils' grades in England, according to data from Ofqual - which amounts to around 280,000 entries being adjusted down after moderation.

Teachers were told to submit the grades they thought each student would have received if they had sat the papers, alongside a rank order of students, after exams were cancelled amid the pandemic.

Exam boards moderated these grades to ensure this year's results were not significantly higher than previously and the value of students' grades were not undermined. It comes as:

The proportion of entries awarded the top A* grade this year has surged to 9 per cent;

27.9 per cent of entries were awarded an A or A* grade, up by 2.4 percentage points on last year;

The total number of students accepted on to UK degree courses has risen nearly 3 per cent;

78.4 per cent received a C or above, up from 75.8 per cent in 2019 and the highest since at least 2000.

In England, a total of 35.6 per cent of grades were adjusted down by one grade, 3.3 per cent were brought down by two grades and 0.2 per cent came down by three grades, figures from Ofqual show.

But overall, the proportion of entries in England, Wales and Northern Ireland awarded the top A* grade this year has surged to 9 per cent - the highest proportion since the top grade was first introduced in 2010.

In total, 27.9 per cent of entries were awarded an A or A* grade this summer, which is up by 2.4 percentage points on last year when 25.5 per cent achieved them.

The figures, published by the Joint Council for Qualifications, cover A-level entries from students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland where around 300,000 students are receiving their results.

The Government announced late on Tuesday that students in England will have the 'safety net' of being able to use mock exam results as the basis for an appeal if they are higher than the calculated grade.

It came hours after Scotland's Education Secretary announced that moderated calculated grades would be scrapped following an outcry after more than 124,000 results were downgraded.

Speaking about the A-level results, Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: 'While there has been an overall increase in top grades, we are very concerned that this disguises a great deal of volatility among the results at school and student level.

'We have received heartbreaking feedback from school leaders about grades being pulled down in a way that they feel to be utterly unfair and unfathomable. They are extremely concerned about the detrimental impact on their students.'

He added that school leaders are 'dismayed' that the statistical model used to standardise grades has had a 'devastating impact.

Mr Barton said: 'We are now calling on the government and the exam regulator Ofqual to review the situation as a matter of urgency, and we would warn them against simply digging in their heels, and insisting all is well.'

Dr Philip Wright, director general of JCQ, said: 'Students across the UK receiving their A-level results today should be proud of their grades, which reflect their hard work and commitment over the previous two years.

'Thank you to all the teachers, senior leaders and exams officers whose efforts to produce the Centre Assessment Grades will mean students are able to move on to the next phase of their education or into employment.

A-level pass rate broken down by nation & region Here is the A-level pass rate (students receiving A*-E grades) broken down by nation and region. The figure in brackets is the change in percentage points on 2019. England 98.2% (up 0.7)

Wales 98.6% (up 1.0)

Northern Ireland 99.1% (up 0.8)

North-east England 98.7% (up 0.4)

North-west England 98.4% (up 0.4)

Yorkshire & the Humber 98.4% (up 0.6)

West Midlands 97.8% (up 0.7)

East Midlands 98.2% (up 0.7)

Eastern England 98.3% (up 0.7)

South-west England 98.4% (up 0.7)

South-east England 98.4% (up 0.6)

London 98.0% (up 1.1)

All 98.3% (up 0.7) Advertisement Rates for students receiving the top grades Here are the rates for students receiving the top grades (A* and A). The figure in brackets is the change in percentage points on 2019. England 27.6% (up 2.4)

Wales 29.9% (up 2.9)

Northern Ireland 33.2% (up 2.3)

North-east England 24.9% (up 1.9)

North-west England 25.3% (up 1.7)

Yorkshire & the Humber 25.4% (up 2.2)

West Midlands 24.2% (up 2.2)

East Midlands 24.4% (up 3.4)

Eastern England 28.0% (up 2.3)

South-west England 28.6% (up 2.8)

South-east England 30.7% (up 2.4)

London 29.8% (up 2.9)

All 27.9% (up 2.4) Advertisement

'This is a moment for students to celebrate their learning and we wish them all the best as they take their next steps in life.'

It was also revealed today that the total number of students accepted on to UK degree courses has risen nearly 3 per cent.

University admissions service Ucas said 358,860 people from across the UK have been accepted so far this year  a 2.9 per cent increase compared to results day 2019.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said 97 per cent of youngsters who are receiving their results today will be getting either the grade the school actually gave, or within one grade of what that school gave.

Emily Kate Pettite from London tweeted that her sister had mock results of AAA but ended up getting BBC in her exams

One of the first students to open her results this morning was Megan from Wyke College in Hull, East Yorkshire, who was left frustrated after receiving an A and two Bs - but needed three As to get into Leeds University.

She told ITV's Good Morning Britain: 'I'm a bit disappointed, and I think I could have got my three As if I did my exams. I think I deserved three As so it's just annoying. I'm just hoping Leeds will let me in with these grades.'

Megan's headmaster Paul Britton said: 'We get amazing results at Wyke, loads of our students have got fantastic achievements this year, but it's just completely unfair on students like Megan.

'Some sort of standardisation process has meant that she hasn't got the grades that she should've got. Yes, hopefully you'll still get into university, but it's still not right that these young people haven't got the correct draw.'

But some pupils took to Twitter to complain about not being able to access the 'track' section of the Ucas website after it crashed, leaving thousands unable to find out whether they got the grades needed to head to university.

A Ucas spokesman said: 'At 8am we saw a surge in demand for our website, seven times higher than at the same point last year. We immediately responded and increased our capacity and the service returned to normal within 30 minutes.

'We apologise for the frustration this has caused, and we are here to help students throughout the day.'

Meanwhile Abbie Cooper, a student at Coleg Gwent near Newport in South Wales, tweeted this morning: 'After getting Cs and Bs in mocks all year and in work, these are the grades I get... WHAT THE F***?'

She then posted an email screenshot showing that she had got a U in biology and Ds in psychology and politics, with the college saying that staff 'hope that you're delighted with your results today'.

Emily Kate Pettite from London tweeted that her sister had mock results of AAA but ended up getting BBC in her exams. She wrote: 'Her mock results were AAA, her centre assessed results were A*,A,A* which she 100 per cent deserves, yet because of clever Boriss algorithm shes ended up with BBC ... HOW do you come to that result when NONE of her work has ever been graded that?'
Smoke and flames rise after war planes belonging to the Israeli army carried out airstrikes over the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah. (AFP)

Gaza City: Israel's military said Thursday it had carried out fresh overnight strikes on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, in response to incendiary balloons launched across the border from the Palestinian enclave.

The latest round of hostilities has seen firebombs attached to bunches of balloons floating into Israel, setting scrubland ablaze. Sometimes kites are used in the makeshift attacks.

In response, Israel has closed a goods crossing with Gaza and slashed the territory's permitted coastal fishing zone, as well as launching air strikes on sites owned by the enclave's Islamist rulers Hamas.

"Over the last week, explosive balloons are being launched from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory," the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) said in a statement early Thursday.

"In response, a short while ago, IDF fighter jets and tanks struck a number of Hamas military targets in the Gaza Strip."

The army said the strikes were aimed at a military compound and observation posts used by Hamas militants, who also fired a volley of rockets into the sea this week after repeated exchanges of fire.

A Gaza security source said Israeli warplanes had carried out several strikes on Hamas sites.

They said the strikes caused severe damage to the sites and some damage to citizens' homes, but did not report any injuries.

Israeli fire services in the south of the country reported 60 fires caused by balloons on Tuesday, and 24 on Wednesday, without recording any casualties.

Hamas and Israel have fought three wars since 2008.

Despite a truce last year backed by the UN, Egypt and Qatar, the two sides clash sporadically with rockets, mortar fire or incendiary balloons.

The Gaza Strip has a population of two million, more than half of whom live in poverty, according to the World Bank.

Palestinian analysts say fire from Gaza often aims to pressure Israel to give the green light for the transfer of Qatari financial aid into the strip.
Suspect, Awowin Akonvu

13.08.2020 LISTEN

A 29-year-old motor rider has been arrested by the Accra Regional Police Command for attempted robbery.

Reports from the Accra Regional Police Command indicated that the suspect, Awowin Akonvu, hired the services of another motor rider from Accra Central, COCOABOD area, to a location close to Alisa Hotel at Ridge, and in the process, attempted to snatch the motorbike of his colleague from him at knife-point.

The Accra Regional Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Efia Tenge, who briefed DAILY GUIDE yesterday, said Akonvu hired the services of his colleague motor rider from Accra to ridge to meet his brother.

She said upon reaching a section of the road leading to the Ridge Hospital in Accra, Akonvu suddenly pulled out a knife on the victim and commanded him to stop the motorbike.

Out of nowhere, suspects, Awuku Collins and one other person yet to be identified (both at large), appeared from their hideout to help snatch the motorbike from the victim.

However, while they attempted to escape with the motor bike, the victim who had a remote control device stopped the engine of the motorbike while shouting for help.

DSP Tenge said a police man who was on duty at a nearby house quickly rushed to the scene to save the situation and in the process arrested Akonvu; but his two other accomplices managed to escape.

---Daily Guide
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Taiwan is in discussions with the United States on acquiring underwater sea mines to deter amphibious landings as well as cruise missiles for coastal defense, Taiwan's de facto ambassador to United States said on Wednesday. Speaking to the Washington's Hudson Institute think tank, Hsiao Bi-khim said Taiwan was facing 'an existential survival issue,' given China's territorial and sovereignty claims over the island and needed to expand its asymmetric capabilities.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Taiwan is in discussions with the United States on acquiring underwater sea mines to deter amphibious landings as well as cruise missiles for coastal defense, Taiwan's de facto ambassador to United States said on Wednesday.

Speaking to the Washington's Hudson Institute think tank, Hsiao Bi-khim said Taiwan was facing "an existential survival issue," given China's territorial and sovereignty claims over the island and needed to expand its asymmetric capabilities.

"What we mean by asymmetric capabilities is cost effective, but lethal enough to become deterrence - to make any consideration of an invasion very painful," she said.

Hsiao said Taipei was currently working with the United States on acquiring a number of hardware capabilities, including cruise missiles that would work in conjunction with Taiwan's indigenous Hsiung Feng missile system to provide better coastal defense.

Other systems under discussion included "underwater sea mines and other capabilities to deter amphibious landing, or immediate attack," she said.

Earlier, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen told the online event she had made expanding accelerating development of Taiwan's asymmetric defense capabilities its number-one priority.

Hsiao said Taiwan also wanted to strengthen defenses on islands its controls in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety.

"For Taiwan, our priority in our survival involves building up the defense of Taiwan itself, but also of the islands that Taiwan currently controls in the South China Sea," she said.

Taiwan has been bolstering its defenses in the face of what it sees as increasingly threatening moves by Beijing.

It said in May it plans to buy land-based Boeing-made Harpoon anti-ship missiles and U.S. sources said last week Washington was negotiating the sale of at least four sophisticated aerial drones to Taiwan for the first time.

Washington broke off official ties with Taipei in 1979 in favor of Beijing but is still Taiwan's biggest arms supplier and is bound by law to provide it with the means to defend itself.

The Trump administration has emphasized its support for Taiwan as U.S. relations with Beijing sour over issues including human rights and trade.

This week, U.S. Health Secretary Alex Azar became the highest-level U.S. official to visit Taiwan in four decades, a trip condemned by China, which routinely denounces U.S. arms sales to Taipei.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Alistair Bell)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
At least four people have been killed in clashes in Ivory Coast following President Alassane Ouattara's decision to bid for a third term in elections this October, sources said Thursday.

"At least three" people were killed on Wednesday in the central town of Daoukro in clashes between Ouattara supporters and backers of rival candidate Henri Konan Bedie, a security source and witnesses there said.

On Thursday, an 18-year-old youth died in the southeastern town of Bonoua, 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the economic hub Abidjan, in violence between demonstrators and security forces, said local mayor Jean-Paul Amethier.

"The police station in Bonoua has been ransacked by angry demonstrators, and the police chief and officers have taken refuge in the courtyard," local resident Herve Niamkey said.

In Abidjan, scattered groups of demonstrators erected barricades and burned tyres in various parts of the city in response to a call from the opposition and civil society groups, AFP journalists saw.

"His candidacy is against the constitution -- we don't want a third term," said protester Herve Seka in Anono district.

In the district of Yopougon, police fired teargas and chased protestors down narrow streets.

A protest gathering several dozen people took place in Port Bouet, a seaside area of Abidjan, while a heavy deployment of riot police maintained order in the upscale district of Cocody, where many top politicians live, including Ouattara.

The authorities announced a ban on protests late Wednesday, in a communique issued by the minister of territorial administration, Sidiki Diakite, and read on state television.

Ouattara, 78, announced a week ago that he would contest the October 31 presidential elections, a move that came after his anointed successor, Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, died of a heart attack.

The announcement sparked fury among Ouattara's critics, as he has already served two terms and can only contest a third by arguing that a constitutional change entitles him to reset the clock.

The vote is taking place in a country still scarred by a low-level civil war that erupted in 2011 when former strongman Laurent Gbagbo refused to cede power to Ouattara after losing elections.

The ensuing unrest claimed some 3,000 lives and split the country along north-south lines.

Police arrested a man in the district of Yopougon during protests there. By SIA KAMBOU (AFP)

Daoukro is a stronghold of supporters of Bedie, an 86-year-old former president who last month was endorsed by the Democratic Party of the Ivory Coast (PDCI) as its candidate for the election.

Another candidate is former foreign minister Marcel Amon-Tanoh, 68, who does not yet have the backing of a party.

Gbagbo's party, the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), has yet to name a candidate. He was cleared of crimes against humanity last year by the International Criminal Court, although prosecutors are appealing the ruling.

Former rebel chief and ex-premier Guillaume Soro, 47, has said he will contest the vote, but he lives in self-imposed exile in France.

Soro has been sentenced in absentia to a 20-year jail term in Ivory Coast on charges of attempted insurrection.
Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, on Wednesday called for efforts to build and sustain peace amid COVID-19 through a people-centered approach.

"Experience of many countries shows that as long as we put people and life first, we can develop a set of effective methods to fight the pandemic. In peacebuilding, we should also put people's interests front and center, respect the ownership of people of the host countries, and promote an inclusive peace process," said Zhang, who also called for sustaining peace through development.

China's Permanent Representative to the UN Zhang Jun. /Xinhua

Gains in peacebuilding processes in conflict-affected countries can be easily lost due to the countries' weak socio-economic foundation. Development is the master key to solving all problems, Zhang told an open debate of the Security Council on pandemics and the challenges of sustaining peace.

The international community should attach great importance to the impact of COVID-19 on the socio-economic situation of conflict-affected countries, help them improve the capacity for sustainable development, strengthen public health systems, and preserve and advance peacebuilding gains to build a solid foundation for lasting peace, he said.

Zhang stressed the need to strengthen political leadership and social inclusion in peacebuilding and sustaining peace.

In many countries, strong political leadership and social cohesion have made possible early detection, isolation, diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 cases. Political consensus, mutual trust, and social cohesion also provide an important buttress for national reconstruction. There is a need to support the strengthening of the authority of legitimate governments of conflict-affected countries so that they can lead the entire society in safeguarding hard-won gains of peacebuilding and achieving long-term security and stability, said Zhang.

Also at the meeting, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the pandemic not only threatens gains in fighting global poverty and building peace but risks exacerbating existing conflicts and generating new ones.

"Regrettably, in many instances, the pandemic did not move the parties to suspend hostilities or agree to a permanent ceasefire," he elaborated.

(With input from Xinhua)
Bird poop is said to be good luck, but a new study suggests it is worth much more.

A new report calculates that feces from seabirds, like Seagulls and pelicans, is worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

Formally known as guano, the waste is used in commercial fertilizer and nutrients found in the white gold contributes to the health of coastal and marine life.

Scientists suggest the new findings could save gulls, pelicans, penguins and other species of conservation concern.

Ecologist Professor Marcus Cianciaruso, of the Federal University of Goias, Brazil, described the result as staggering.

Guano production is a service made by seabirds at no cost to us, he said.

I can go to an island, collect the guano, and sell it at market price as fertilizer.

Cianciaruso and his team set out to raise awareness of how crucial seabirds and their habitats are by investigating the cost of their declining populations by calculating the value of these birds waste.

Researchers estimate seabird poop generates more than $473 million each year and the amount could be more.

Because there is this scientific and biological importance, its possible to quantify seabird ecosystem services in a language that the general public and policymakers can begin to understand, said Cianciaruso.

There is only a handful of seabird species that produce guano for commercial use, with a majority of them residing in Peru, Chile.

The team wrote in the study published in Trends in Ecology & Evolution that seabirds poop acts as natures of returning nutrients back and forth between marine and terrestrial habitats, wrote Cianciaruso and his coauthor, Daniel Plazas-Jimenez, a doctoral student at the Federal University of Goias.

They release high concentrations of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) through their faeces, causing important environmental changes in these ecosystems, reads the study.

Plazas-Jimenez said: We made a very conservative estimate that 10% of coral reef fish stocks depend on seabird nutrients.

According to the United Nations and the Australian government, the annual economic returns of commercial fisheries on coral reefs is over $6 billion.

So, 10 percent of this value is around $600 million per year.

Combining these values with the estimated guano amount of nearly $474 million, the value of seabird poop increases to an $1 billion.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 13)  Moro National Liberation Front founding chairman Nur Misuari handed over Abu Sayyaf leader Anduljihad "Edang" Susukan to the Philippine National Police (PNP) at his residence in Davao City on Thursday evening.

PNP Chief PGen. Archie Gamboa confirmed Susukan's arrest, noting that the Davao City police officers initiated the negotiation for his capture after receiving reports that the notorious Abu Sayyaf leader, who is one of the country's most wanted men, was brought to the city to seek medical attention.

We thank Chairman Nur Misuari for facilitating the negotiation between the PNP headed by PCol Kirby John Kraft, Davao City Director, and Edang Susukan, said Gamboa in a statement.

The PNP chief added that he immediately advised Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte on the arrest. The mayor, in return assured the PNP of the city's full cooperation and assistance in the peaceful handover and orderly transfer of Susukan's custody to police authorities.

Susukan, an Abu Sayyaf subleader notorious for kidnapping and beheadings, is charged with 23 counts of murder, five counts of kidnapping and serious illegal detention, and six counts of frustrated murder.

Susukan will undergo a medical check-up at Camp Quintin Merecido Hospital in Davao City before being turned over to the Armed Forced of the Philippines general headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

Idang lost his left arm in a deadly encounter in Patikul, Sulu, a known lair of the Abu Sayyaf group in February 2019.

Malaysian media first reported the recent sighting of Idang, who is also wanted in the neighboring country for cross-border abductions.

Misuari, a former governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, also has standing arrest warrants for rebellion and graft. President Rodrigo Duterte is talking peace with him and he was recently appointed as the countrys special economic envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

READ: Duterte on Nur Misuari: There are enemies you cant kill because you need them
The Genesis token program is designed to ensure block producers are operationally prepared for mainnet. We couldnt be more pleased to have such an outpouring of interest from people hailing from over 180 different countries, and we are using this momentum to continue strengthening the protocol.

Coda Protocol, a lightweight framework for the Web 3.0, announces the acceptance of its second cohort of participants in its Genesis token program. Genesis is a token program that prepares participants to become the networks first block producers and ensures high decentralization upon mainnet launch.

Coda token grants are being distributed to Genesis founding members (GFM), pulling from the group of participants engaging in testnet challenges that are designed to contribute to greater network resilience. Since the launch of Genesis, the Coda team has received over 3500 applicants wanting to join the program. Cohort 2 will join the 40 founding members admitted to Cohort 1. These node operators, developers, community builders, translators, and Coda supporters hail from all over the globe.

Global participation and geographic diversity are elements that factor heavily into Coda's view of true decentralization. Coda's community has rallied to translate documents into over 15 languages. 20 technical ambassadors will also soon be announced across key geographic regions.

Evan Shapiro, CEO and Co-Founder of O(1) Labs, the team behind Coda Protocol, articulated, The Genesis token program is designed to ensure block producers are operationally prepared for mainnet. We couldnt be more pleased to have such an outpouring of interest from people hailing from over 180 different countries, and we are using this momentum to continue strengthening the protocol and ensure a robust, highly decentralized network at mainnet.

Hailing from Korea, jjang96, a GFM and Founder of 0base.vc articulated that, Of all the blockchains I intend to run, Im prioritizing Coda because of its use of zero knowledge proofs, the many possible use cases enabled by a small blockchain, and the excellent tooling and community support.

Coda is the first network Ive run a node on, and I have no devops or coding background. I always have the feeling that no one is being left behind, which can be a quite unique thing within a crypto community, said German English teacher and GFM, Paddyson.

Unlike other third-generation protocols offering 1% or less in token distributions to their communities, Coda is setting aside up to 6.6% of tokens for Genesis founding members. Additionally, participants need not wait until some indefinite point in the future to receive their tokens, as Codas mainnet will be released this year. By harnessing recursive zk-SNARKs, Coda block producers can rapidly share proof of the correct blockchain state across the network and easily update the proof as new transactions occur. This breakthrough application of zero-knowledge proofs is what allows Coda to offer scalability to thousands of transactions per second, millions of users, and years of transaction history without sacrificing security.

Coda is at the forefront of real-world systems built on ZK proofs. Testnet is simple and straightforward, with great documentation and tooling, said Bitcoin cash developer and GFM, tcrypt.

Finally, Natalia, a GFM from Russia shared that, Coda takes some of the problems that Bitcoin has been struggling with for over five years, mainly scaling and decentralization, and turns them on their ear in a unique way by using cutting edge tech. This, combined with how easy it is, even for a non-technical user like me, plus how friendly and helpful the community is, facilitates a great experience!

Apply to join Genesis: https://codaprotocol.com/genesis

For media inquiries, please contact Kili Wall at (310) 260-7901 or Kili(at)MelrosePR(dot)com

About Coda Protocol

Coda Protocol is being incubated by O(1) Labs, the leader in zk-SNARKs and verifiable computation. Coda Protocol, the worlds lightest blockchain, provides a foundation for the decentralized digital economy (Web 3.0), by affording all participants fully P2P, permissionless access to the chain, from any device. By utilizing recursive zk-SNARKs, the Coda blockchain always stays the same sizeabout 20 kilobytes (the size of a few tweets). Recursive zk-SNARKs allow nodes to rapidly share and update proof of the correct blockchain state across the network. This breakthrough application of zk-SNARKs solves the issues of scalability and high barrier to entry for nodes that have plagued legacy blockchains to-date. By making it easier for nodes to participate, Coda improves decentralization and therefore security of the network. The Coda blockchain can be easily accessed from any device, including phones and browsers, and can be seamlessly integrated into new decentralized applications (dapps).
OAKVILLE, ON, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. ("APUC") (TSX: AQN) (NYSE: AQN) announced today that the Board of Directors has declared a dividend of U.S. $0.1551 per share on its common shares, payable on October 15, 2020, to the shareholders of record on September 30, 2020, for the period from July 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020. Shareholders receiving dividends in cash can elect to receive the dividend in Canadian dollars in the amount of C$0.2056.

The common share dividend will be paid in cash or, if a shareholder has enrolled in the shareholder dividend reinvestment plan (the "Plan"), dividends will be reinvested in additional common shares ("Plan Shares") of APUC as per the Plan. Plan Shares will be acquired by way of a Treasury Purchase at the average market price as defined in the Plan less a 5% discount.

Pursuant to the Income Tax Act (Canada) and corresponding provincial legislation, APUC hereby notifies its common shareholders that such dividends declared qualify as eligible dividends.

The quarterly dividends payable on common shares are declared in U.S. dollars. Beneficial shareholders (those who hold common shares through a financial intermediary) who are resident in Canada or the United States may request to receive their dividends in either U.S. dollars or the Canadian dollar equivalent by contacting the financial intermediary with whom the common shares are held. Unless the Canadian dollar equivalent is requested, shareholders will receive dividends in U.S. dollars, which, as is often the case, the financial intermediary may convert to Canadian dollars. Registered shareholders receive dividend payments in the currency of residency. Registered shareholders may opt to change the payment currency by contacting AST Trust Company (Canada) at 1-800-387-0825 prior to the record date of the dividend.

The Canadian dollar equivalent of the quarterly dividend is based on the Bank of Canada daily average exchange rate on the day before the declaration date.

About Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp.

APUC is a diversified international generation, transmission, and distribution utility with approximately $11 billion of total assets. Through its two business groups, APUC is committed to providing secure, safe, reliable, cost-effective, and sustainable energy and water solutions through our portfolio of electric generation, transmission, and distribution utility investments to approximately 807,000 connections in the United States and Canada. APUC is a global leader in renewable energy through its portfolio of long-term contracted wind, solar, and hydroelectric generating facilities representing over 2 GW of installed capacity and approximately 1.6 GW of incremental renewable energy capacity under construction.

APUC is committed to delivering growth and the pursuit of operational excellence in a sustainable manner through an expanding global pipeline of renewable energy, electric transmission, and water infrastructure development projects, organic growth within its rate-regulated generation, distribution, and transmission businesses, and the pursuit of accretive acquisitions.

APUC's common shares, Series A preferred shares, and Series D preferred shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols AQN, AQN.PR.A, and AQN.PR.D, respectively. APUC's common shares, Series 2018-A subordinated notes and Series 2019-A subordinated notes are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols AQN, AQNA and AQNB, respectively.

Visit APUC at www.algonquinpowerandutilities.com and follow us on Twitter @AQN_Utilities.

SOURCE Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp.

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Linkedin News Desk (Reuters) Cairo, Egypt  Thu, August 13, 2020 09:23 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066da4311 2 World WHO,Lebanon,Beirut,Beirut-blast,Beirut-explosion Free

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday it had appealed for $76 million in aid for Lebanon after last week's massive explosion in Beirut destroyed or damaged hospitals, clinics and medical supplies.

Lebanon was already struggling with a financial crisis and a rise in the number of new coronavirus cases before the Aug. 4 explosion in the capital's port area that left at least 171 dead and injured some 6,000.

The blast put three hospitals out of operation and has left three others working at partial capacity, reducing the number of beds in public and private hospitals by 500-600, WHO officials told an online press conference.

"A week after the blast, the World Health Organization is still concerned about the health and wellbeing of people who were injured, lost loved ones, or became homeless, and it's expected (that) recovery from the psychological pain from the blast will last much longer," said Rana Hajjeh, WHO's regional programme director.

"In particular, we are concerned about the return of COVID-19 in Lebanon. We have launched an appeal for $76 million, and ask the international community to support the Lebanese people and show solidarity with them in every way possible."

The loss of hospital beds had "clear implications for the management of COVID as well as other medical conditions", said Richard Brennan, WHO's regional emergency director.

Initial results from an assessment of 55 primary healthcare clinics and centers across Beirut showed just over half are not functioning, with the remainder functioning at varying levels, Brennan said.

The WHO has so far brought in 25 tons of personal protective equipment (PPE), distributed trauma and surgical supplies to 2,000 patients at 10 hospitals, and is working with at least 11 emergency medical teams that have arrived from overseas, officials said.
Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas Visits Martin Luther King Jr., Testing Center to Provide Safety Kits for the Community

MLK Community Hospital continues to ensure the community has what it needs to fight COVID-19.

The Martin Luther King Jr., community hospital is now operating at high-quality services to help an underserved community. United Health Care donated 10,000 COVID safety kits to the MLK outpatient center. Those safety kits contain hand sanitizers, masks, hand tools, toilet paper, and educational materials on how to stay safe during the Coronavirus.

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Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said Black people and Latinos had been disproportionately impacted. When studies first came out, it was addressed as being a White persons disease.

Obviously thats not the case. We have to step up, step forward, and make sure we correct that issue. Over 60,000 were tested in phase 1, and were moving onto phase 2. We expect to do more and do it better. The disproportionality became apparent, and it affects everyone.

Supervisor Thomas said they would deal with this in a culturally competent way. They will test and treat as the demand requires. We want to encourage families to take advantage of this because of how important it is, notes Thomas. Testing is critically important to the health and well-being of families, and they will not leave until the job is done, Thomas implies.

He says, Seven days a week, we will be here. Walk up, take your test, and we will take it from there. The goal is to help alleviate some of the stress caused by the Coronavirus, states Thomas.

Senior Vice President of the United Health Group, Margaret Kelly, said with the items they are providing and safety kits, some families cannot continue to buy masks or have to reuse masks. They hope to have provided solutions with their efforts to help keep the community safe. Kelly mentioned their partnership with the county of L.A., is long-lasting, and they are pleased to be a part of this change.

Latinos and African-American have been ignored by most of the corporations and foundations, according to Arturo Ybarra, who is the founder and executive director of Watts/Century Latino Organization. He notes Latinos and African Americans are sometimes reluctant to take the services to prevent severe illnesses like breast cancer, prostate cancer, and many other diseases.

We need further education and information to convince this sector of our population to come and start their treatment. We have to convince our people to get healed, states Ybarra.

Every community-based organization has to do its job to educate its people and be in conjunction with elected officials, states Ybarra. He notes that corporations have to open their pockets to provide resources for a healthy community. Ybarra says they will have to eventually go door-to-door to inform people of the seriousness of the other pandemic, such as breast cancer and prostate cancer, to start the communitys general healing.

In the spirit of multicultural unity, the race is irrelevant for us. After all, we are a single-family worldwide, states Ybarra.

The message is that the testing is available, confidential and free, said Yolanda Vera, the MLK Outpatient chief executive officer. She notes that the county is doing all they can to tackle the communitys problem, given the high rates of positive COVID-19 results.

Supervisor Ridley chose the campus to highlight the Dept. of Health Services and other partners work. We want to make it as simple as possible for folks to walk up and get tested. Its a big push for what were trying to do with our partners, educational partners across the street, and community hospitals to combat this virus.
Vietnams three largest mobile network operators  VinaPhone, MobiFone, and Viettel  have simultaneously launched free data promotions aimed at smartphone users who download the domestically developed contact tracing app Bluezone.

As a gesture of support for the governments fight against COVID-19, VinaPhone will offer five gigabytes (GB) of free data for first-time Bluezone users and allow data-free access to the application for all 34 million of its mobile users, a company representative announced on Tuesday.

That same day, competitor MobiFone announced a Bluezone promotion of its own, allowing its users 1GB of free data a day for five days beginning when they download the app, as well as data-free access to Bluezone, with no strings attached.

MobiFone users must text BLZ5 to 999 to claim the promotion.

Viettel, another of Vietnams leading mobile carriers, recently announced that customers who download Bluezone on their personal devices before August 15 will be entitled to 5GB of free data for a five-day period.

Viettel subscribers will need to text BZ to 191 before 0:00 August 17 to access the promotion.

The promotions are to help the government reach its target of convincing 50 percent of the population to download Bluezone, a number it says will help ensure the apps efficacy as a COVID-19 prevention solution.

VNPT, the owner of Vinaphonel, previously offered 30GB of data to frontline workers in COVID-19 hotspots, including police officers, civil defense forces, and civil servants working at all levels of various Peoples Committees; COVID-19 patients, caregivers, and medical staff at three hospitals in Da Nang; and all residents and tourists quartered in isolation wards throughout the central city.

In a similar spirit, MobiFone offered charge exemptions for the first billing of their C120 plan to medical practitioners and COVID-19 first responders.

The plan includes 2GB of 4G data per day, a charge exemption for in-network calls of less than 20 minutes, as well as 50 minutes of inter-network calls.

The company also gave away 30 days of their D5 data plan to all users living in social distancing zones beginning on August 10.

Bluezone is a smartphone application desgined by Vietnamese developers in a project overseen by the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Information and Communications that aims to assist the nationwide effort to combat and prevent COVID-19 spread.

The application utilizes smartphones Bluetooth radio signal to alert users if they have been in close contact with suspected COVID-19 bearers. It also aims to help contact tracing when neccessary.

Vietnams Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Information and Communications recommend that all residents and tourists currently in the country download the app.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
New treatment regimens for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) have shown early effectiveness in 85 percent of patients in a cohort that included many people with serious comorbidities that would have excluded them from clinical trials, according to the results of a new international study.

The results, based on observational data from a diverse cohort of patients in 17 countries, underscore the need for expanded access to the recently developed TB medicines bedaquiline and delamanid. By contrast, the historical standard of care, still in use in much of the world, has approximately 60 percent treatment efficacy globally.

The study was published July 24, 2020, in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

This is important evidence that these new regimens will work well for the true population suffering from this disease." Molly Franke, Study Lead Author and Associate Professor, Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School

The research was conducted as part of endTB, an international partnership with leaders from HMS, Partners In Health, Medecins Sans Frontieres, Interactive Research & Development, the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp and Epicentre.

"Our findings underscore the need for urgent expanded access to these drugs," said Carole Mitnick, associate professor of global health and social medicine in the Blavatnik Institute at HMS and a co-author of the study.

While recent announcements of a price reduction for bedaquiline and an expected reduction for delamanid are welcome, the researchers said, more must be done to improve treatment guidelines worldwide and to scale up treatment with these new regimens.

The need for better treatments for MDR-TB is dire. The WHO estimates that there are nearly 500,000 new cases of MDR-TB per year and that nearly 200,000 people die of the disease each year . In 2018, only one out of three patients were given an effective treatment, and only half of these were cured.

In the early 2010s, regulatory agencies approved the first new TB drugs in 50 years, bedaquiline and delamanid, offering hope for more effective and less toxic MDR-TB treatment.

With the historical standard of care and some newer regimens, certain subgroups of patients, including those with HIV or hepatitis C or diabetes experience worse treatment outcomes than patients without these conditions. In addition, these conditions preclude patients from participating in clinical trials for these drugs.

It's important to examine whether these subgroups experience any benefit from the new regimens that might be observed in healthier study participants, the researchers said. They noted that only a large cohort study has the statistical power to explore these differences.

The endTB study showed that for the new regimens, early treatment response was similar for patients without serious comorbidities or other complicating factors and for those with diabetes, hepatitis C and severe drug resistance.

Patients with severe TB disease when they started treatment had worse outcomes than patients with less severe disease. Sixty-eight percent of people with severe disease had early favorable responses to the new regimen, compared to 89 percent without severe disease.

Among patients with HIV coinfection, early outcomes on the new regimens were favorable in 73 percent, compared to 84 percent in those without HIV.

The results are based on an analysis of early treatment results from more than 1,000 MDR-TB patients who were enrolled in the study between April 2015 and March 2018. The study examines outcomes after 6 months in a treatment that lasts 15 months or longer. Long-term effectiveness will be measured at the end of treatment and during follow-up.

For this study, the researchers counted how many of those patients, within the first six months of treatment with regimens containing bedaquiline, delamanid, or both, experienced culture conversion, a state in which the bacteria that cause TB can no longer be found on a sample.

Previous studies have shown this to be a strong predictor of successful treatment outcomes.

Confirmation with end-of-treatment outcomes will be important and more work needs to be done to ensure successful treatment in these populations, the researchers said.

"The early results from these studies offer convincing evidence that these new regimens offer a very promising alternative to the historical regimens that achieve approximately 60 percent success at end of treatment, and to other new treatments that are becoming available," said Mitnick, who is a senior researcher at Partners In Health and co-principal investigator of the clinical trials being conducted by endTB.

"We're eager to follow these patients as they progress through treatment in order to verify the effectiveness of these new regimens," she added.

Observational research makes so many important contributions to improving treatment outcomes for complex illnesses in complicated populations that it is critical to continue research efforts past the stage of clinical trials in illnesses like tuberculosis, the researchers said.

While tuberculosis has nearly disappeared in wealthier populations, it remains a critical threat in communities with fewer resources. A big part of the challenge of treating MDR-TB is finding regimens that will work in low-resource settings with complex populations that often include great diversity and many people who might be undernourished or sick with other illnesses.

The partnership is also studying the safety of the new regimens. Preliminary results suggest that side effects from the new regimen may be much less severe than those seen with the historical treatment, which has been known to cause deafness and psychosis.

"TB is well-controlled where control is easy," Mitnick said. "We need to find better ways to treat it where it's difficult."

The global reach of endTB has now provided clinicians with invaluable hands-on experience with bedaquiline and delamanid and helped change country guidelines, getting the new drugs registered for use in more than half of the17 endTB countries, the researchers said.

The endTB observational study has contrinuted to changing global guidelines, including new recommendations for concomitant use of bedaquiline and delamanid and extended use of each drug.

The endTB partnership is using the same model for promoting innovation to prepare for what researchers hope will be the next change on the horizon in care for MDR-TB: all-oral, shortened regimens, which are being studied in the current phase of endTB's clinical trial.

While the implementation program continues to roll out and reaches new patients, the endTB trial has enrolled 465 patients with MDR-TB in new all-oral regimens that could transform care for MDR-TB.

The all-oral regimens used in the endTB observational study and the all-oral, shortened regimens studied in the trials would be particularly helpful during international health crises like the coronavirus pandemic, the researchers noted.

These all-oral regimens are much easier to deliver in routine times and especially so in times of extreme crisis that burden health systems.

"If the ongoing trials demonstrate reduced toxicity of the all-oral, shortened regimens, this is another huge benefit for their delivery in good times and bad," Mitnick said.

The project also transformed the landscape for TB trials by running in six countries (Georgia, Kazakhstan, Lesotho, Pakistan, Peru, South Africa) on four continents. This is the first time a clinical trial has taken place in some of these sites, the researchers said.

"In global health we see many vicious cycles, where poverty and lack of access to care combine to make diseases worse," Franke said. "On the other hand, bringing care delivery, training and research together the way we are in the endTB project can be a kind of virtuous cycle, where each turn of the wheel brings better care, improved health and greater well-being."
By Laman Ismayilova

Khatai Library System in Baku has released a video slide on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of prominent representative of the anti-fascist Resistance movement during the Second World War Ahmadiyya Jabrayilov.

The video slide was prepared in accordance with the relevant decree signed by the President on the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the partisan.

Ahmadiyya Jabrayilov received the Legion dHonneur, one of the highest official recognitions. He was also declared National Hero of France.

As one of the 240,000 Soviet soldiers taken prisoner whilst launching an offensive against the Nazis near the Izyum Bridge over the Don, Ahmadiyya was transferred to many camps, eventually ending up in a camp in Frankfurt-an-der-Oder.

Refusing to join the Nazis, he decided to escape and rejoin the Red Army.

Nicknamed Kharko, Ahmadiyya joined the Maquis of Cabertat in 1944. Following the liberation of Toulouse in September 1944, Ahmadiyya Jabrayilov met General Charles de Gaulle, and after the liberation of the MidiPyrenees, he joined the Third Hussars Regiment, with whom he participated in the Battle of the Vosges and the liberation of Mulhouse and Belfort. Thereafter, he was forcibly repatriated to the Soviet Union, following the FrancoSoviet Pact.

His bravery was belatedly recognised in 1966, when President General de Gaulle made his second visit to the Soviet Union. By this time, he had returned to Sheki, but General de Gaulles request to see him resulted in overnight fame.

He became a National Hero of France, and received the Croix de Guerre, the Cross of Military Valour and the Medal of the French Resistance, amongst other acknowledgements.

Ahmadiyya also toured the regions of France that he helped to liberate, and met many of his Resistance friends. His life was ended at the age of 74 by a car accident in Sheki.

The story of Ahmadiyya Jabrayilov was highlighted in man books and documentaries. One of the streets in Sheki is named after him.

There is also a house-museum of Ahmadiya Jabrayilov in Shaki, opened by his son, Javanshir Jabrayilov.

In November 2007, the French embassy in Azerbaijan, Baku French Cultural Centre and Sheki Museum organized the exhibition "He was called Armed Michele in France" dedicated to the hero. Photos, documents and film about the life of Ahmadiya Jabrayilovwere presented at the exhibition

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Emergency vehicles at Carmont crossing, where they are accessing the train line (Jane Barlow/PA)

Officials have pledged to find out what caused a train to derail in Aberdeenshire, killing three people and injuring six others.

The 6.38am Aberdeen to Glasgow Queen Street service crashed near Stonehaven on Wednesday morning amid heavy rain and flooding.

Among the dead were the trains driver, named locally as Brett McCullough, as well as the conductor and a passenger.

The Queen, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon have led tributes to those killed in the tragic incident.

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Dozens of emergency service vehicles  including an air ambulance and British Transport Police (BTP) officers  were called to the scene at about 9.40am.

Addressing gathered media later on Wednesday, BTP chief inspector Brian McAleese said an investigation would be directed by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS).

He added they will also be working closely with them along with the Rail Accident Investigation Branch and Office of Road and Rail to establish the full circumstances of how this train came to derail.

UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and the Scottish Governments Michael Matheson will both visit the area on Thursday and meet members of the emergency services.

Expand Close A police officer at a cordon at Carmont crossing, south of the scene in Stonehaven (Jane Barlow/PA) PA / Facebook

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Ahead of the visit, Mr Shapps said: I express my deepest condolences to the friends and families of those affected in the tragic incident near Stonehaven.

My department is in close contact with all relevant parties, including our counterparts in the Scottish Government, to provide any support that is required.

I want to pay tribute to the emergency services and rail workers, who have responded so quickly in these distressing circumstances.

The safety of passengers and staff is and has always been our upmost priority and we will ensure that lessons are learned from this tragic incident once the Rail Accident Investigation Branch has carried out its investigation.

The Queen has sent a message of condolence to the Lord-Lieutenant of Kincardineshire, following the train crash near Stonehaven. pic.twitter.com/IIfOpjOBFH  The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) August 12, 2020

In another message of condolence, sent to the Lord Lieutenant of Kincardineshire, the Queen said: It was with great sadness that I heard of the train derailment earlier today in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire.

The Duke of Edinburgh, and the entire royal family, join me in sending our thoughts and prayers to the families of those who have died and those who have been injured.

Our thanks go out to the emergency services for their response and dedication.

Speaking to Sky News, Prime Minister Boris Johnson also said: One of the reasons that this accident is so shocking is of course that this type of accident on our railways is thankfully so rare.

But our thoughts are very much with those whove lost their lives, their families and of course those whove been injured in the derailment.

Ive talked to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon about what has happened and clearly the most important thing now is that the British Transport Police, who are in charge of the investigation, find out exactly what happened, and that we all work together with Network Rail, with everybody else whos responsible to make sure that nothing like this happens again.

My deepest condolences are with the loved ones of those who lost their lives in this tragic incident.

I have just been updated by Network Rail and the emergency services on the ongoing operation. My thanks go to them, and my thoughts remain with everyone affected. https://t.co/L73rZTeRFu  Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) August 12, 2020

Writing on Twitter, Ms Sturgeon said: My deepest condolences are with the loved ones of those who lost their lives in this tragic incident.

I have just been updated by Network Rail and the emergency services on the ongoing operation.

My thanks go to them, and my thoughts remain with everyone affected.

She also tweeted the NHS Grampian helpline number, adding: Anyone worried about friends or family involved in the Stonehaven rail incident can call 01224 319519 for advice and support.
The White House did not respond to questions about the handling of the Oracle case.

According to Ms. Katz, Ms. Herolds complaint states that Mr. Scalia became involved in the case shortly after his confirmation last September, and that he requested a memo from Ms. Herold about the case in November. Ms. Herold objected to his involvement on more than one occasion, Ms. Katz said.

She said in a statement that the documentary evidence included in Ms. Herolds complaint, along with the anticipated testimony of career service attorneys at D.O.L., will show that Mr. Scalias actions in intervening in the Oracle litigation were improper.

According to Alexis Ronickher, another lawyer for Ms. Herold, Mr. Scalia sought to reassign Ms. Herold to a job in Chicago with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that does not involve litigation, her expertise, a few weeks after she raised renewed concerns about his intervention. Ms. Ronickher said her client was told of Mr. Scalias intention to transfer her in a meeting with her supervisors last month, and told that she would be dismissed if she turned down the assignment.

Asked about those contentions, the Labor Department said it declines to comment on personnel matters.

Ms. Herolds complaint was filed with the federal Office of Special Counsel, which investigates retaliation against whistle-blowers. The complaint has three components, according to Ms. Katz. In the first, a formal report under a whistle-blower statute, Ms. Herold accuses Mr. Scalia of abuse of authority and gross mismanagement. The second is a charge of retaliation against Ms. Herold for objecting to Mr. Scalias intervention in the Oracle case. The third is a charge that Mr. Scalia discriminated against her because he saw her as ideologically aligned with the Obama administration.

If the Office of Special Counsel finds merit to Ms. Herolds complaint, it could ask the department to stand down on her reassignment.

The Labor Department spokeswoman rejected the idea that Ms. Herold had observed any behavior that would prompt whistle-blowing. Ms. Herold is not a whistle-blower and at no time has the department engaged in retaliation against her, the Labor Department spokeswoman said.
At least four people have been killed in clashes in Ivory Coast following President Alassane Ouattaras decision to bid for a third term in elections this October, sources said Thursday.

At least three people were killed on Wednesday in the central town of Daoukro in clashes between Ouattara supporters and backers of rival candidate Henri Konan Bedie, a security source and witnesses there said.

On Thursday, an 18-year-old youth died in the southeastern town of Bonoua, 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the economic hub Abidjan, in violence between demonstrators and security forces, said local mayor Jean-Paul Amethier.

The police station in Bonoua has been ransacked by angry demonstrators, and the police chief and officers have taken refuge in the courtyard, local resident Herve Niamkey said.

In Abidjan, scattered groups of demonstrators erected barricades and burned tyres in various parts of the city in response to a call from the opposition and civil society groups, AFP journalists saw.

His candidacy is against the constitution  we dont want a third term, said protester Herve Seka in Anono district.

In the district of Yopougon, police fired teargas and chased protestors down narrow streets.

A protest gathering several dozen people took place in Port Bouet, a seaside area of Abidjan, while a heavy deployment of riot police maintained order in the upscale district of Cocody, where many top politicians live, including Ouattara.

The authorities announced a ban on protests late Wednesday, in a communique issued by the minister of territorial administration, Sidiki Diakite, and read on state television.

Ouattara, 78, announced a week ago that he would contest the October 31 presidential elections, a move that came after his anointed successor, Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, died of a heart attack.

The announcement sparked fury among Ouattaras critics, as he has already served two terms and can only contest a third by arguing that a constitutional change entitles him to reset the clock.

The vote is taking place in a country still scarred by a low-level civil war that erupted in 2011 when former strongman Laurent Gbagbo refused to cede power to Ouattara after losing elections.

The ensuing unrest claimed some 3,000 lives and split the country along north-south lines.

Daoukro is a stronghold of supporters of Bedie, an 86-year-old former president who last month was endorsed by the Democratic Party of the Ivory Coast (PDCI) as its candidate for the election.

Another candidate is former foreign minister Marcel Amon-Tanoh, 68, who does not yet have the backing of a party.

Gbagbos party, the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), has yet to name a candidate. He was cleared of crimes against humanity last year by the International Criminal Court, although prosecutors are appealing the ruling.

Former rebel chief and ex-premier Guillaume Soro, 47, has said he will contest the vote, but he lives in self-imposed exile in France.

Soro has been sentenced in absentia to a 20-year jail term in Ivory Coast on charges of attempted insurrection.
Namibia fishing industry rejects quota auctioning

by Ester Mbathera

August 13,2020 | Source: The Namibian

The fishing industry in Namibia does not approve of the decision to auction off the country's fishing quotas on an open market.



The auction is aimed at raising funds for the fight against Covid-19.



Chairman of the Confederation of Namibian Fishing Associations Matti Amukwa in a statement said the government should have prioritised the current needs of local operators - particularly land-based factories that sustain thousands of jobs.



The auctioning modalities and conditions should be adequately thought through and some consensus reached with all relevant stakeholders to maximise government income, he said.



Amukwa has warned against attracting unfair competitors and illegal fishing vessels in Namibian waters.



The government intends to auction off 72 000 tonnes of horse mackerel, and 11 000 tonnes of hake of which 40% is reserved for companies operating in Namibia.



The rest will be sold to the highest bidder.



The determined total allowable catch of 392 tonnes of monk will not be reserved for local companies and will all be sold to the highest bidder.



Amukwa said the auctioning off of hake quotas will not sustain land-based jobs.

 2015 The Namibian

Theme(s): Fisheries Development and Aquaculture.
A police officer who gave evidence about recording a phone call at the behest of Gary Jubelin is a "spectacularly obvious liar" who was found out in a lie during his evidence, an appeal hearing has been told.

Jubelin, the former lead investigator in the William Tyrrell case, was convicted and fined $10,000 in April after a magistrate found he illegally recorded four conversations during the investigation into the toddler's disappearance. He is appealing against the sentence and findings of guilt in the District Court.

Gary Jubelin arrives at court for his appeal on Thursday. Credit:Janie Barrett

William, 3, vanished from his foster-grandmother's home at Kendall on the NSW Mid North Coast in September 2014.

Jubelin recorded three in-person conversations with Paul Savage, who was once a person of interest in the case, in May and December 2018. The fourth conversation was recorded over the phone from police headquarters in Parramatta in November 2017.
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San Francisco police arrested a man Wednesday for allegedly killing an apparent stranger the previous day in the lobby of a UCSF medical facility at the universitys Parnassus Heights campus.

UCSF police booked the man, identified later as 23-year-old Tamariya White, on suspicion of homicide and robbery in connection with a deadly fight that took place at about 6:15 a.m. Tuesday in the lobby of UCSFs Ambulatory Care Center on the universitys main campus, said Elizabeth Fernandez, a UCSF spokeswoman.
A drug addict committed 26 crimes in 48 hours after going on an ice-fuelled bender.

Craig Anthony Mulry was taken into custody after a terrifying crime spree around the Gold Coast suburb of Southport on December 3.

But he will be out of jail by Christmas despite groping a woman, bashing a nurse and sending a bank into lockdown over the course of two days.

A drug addict committed 26 crimes in only two days after going on an ice-fuelled bender last December (stock image of used syringes)

Mulry was sentenced to three years in prison over the offences at the Southport Magistrates Court on Thursday, reported the Gold Coast Bulletin.

But he was granted a parole release on December 3, 12 months after he was thrown in jail.

The spree began when Mulry grabbed a woman's breast at the Southport tram stop in the early hours of December 3 last year, the court heard.

He had approached her and asked to borrow her phone before touching her inappropriately.

Mulry then incited panic at the Commonwealth Bank in Southport, after demanding an explanation from tellers as to why he didn't have $46million in his bank account.

CCTV footage showed the addict chasing a male nurse down a corridor and repeatedly punching and kicking him (stock image of a male nurse)

The bank went into lockdown after the encounter, with the addict assaulting two passers-by outside.

The Crown Prosecutor showed evidence of a serious assault on a nurse after Mulry was admitted to a hospital emergency department.

CCTV footage showed the addict chasing a male nurse down a corridor and repeatedly punching and kicking him.

He was charged with 26 offences over the 48-hour period, including sexual assault, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and assaulting police.

Mulry was sentenced to three years in prison over the offences after appearing at the Southport Magistrates Court (pictured) on Thursday

Judge Catherine Muir acknowledged the crimes were serious, but agreed drugs had played a role in his offending.

'It is obvious that you are a troubled man,' she said.

'It seems that it is this addiction to ice that gives some explanation, but is certainly no excuse for your offending behaviour.'
Appraisal, Valuation, Sales Tools; Training; 50 bp Refi hit and Other Agency Updates

Follow the money! The talking heads are analyzing the fact that President Donald Trump donated $6,000 to Kamala Harris' 2014 campaign for reelection as California attorney general, and that she in turn donated the money to a non-profit that advocates for civil and human rights for Central Americans. And we have nearly three months to go! Stuff like that is a lot more fun to talk about than the 50-basis point price change that Fannie and Freddie instituted due to higher risk and costs on refis. Not on purchases, mind you. This from Freddie, who earned $1.8 billion last quarter, and Fannie, who earned $2.5 billion. Is this how the GSEs help struggling homeowners? The MBA weighed in. Some attribute the changes to Director Calabrias desire to recapitalize the GSEs, desire to capture some of the great margins being enjoyed by originators, to balance out some of the cash window pricing gains seen in recent weeks, or the continued shift in discouraging certain types of products, theres nothing like a price change to increase or decrease the flow of business. In other money news, digital lending platform Blend announced it raised $75 million in funding in a Series F round led by Canapi Ventures, bringing the companys valuation to nearly $1.7 billion. Anyone want to buy a simple, humble daily commentary with a joke at the end put out by an old capital markets guy?



Broker and Lender Products

AFR Wholesale is continuously working to improve your experience as a broker partner. In addition to automatic notifications when a home you closed with AFR is listed for sale, or when a payoff request is received, AFR is launching a value-added Account Review service. Also coming soon, AFR partners will receive automated notices when a borrower appears likely to refinance or purchase a home. Beyond all these complimentary services, AFR regularly reviews their pricing, so be sure to check AFR rates sheets daily! Fully invested in the success of their business partners, AFR Wholesale provides an extensive portfolio of products and value-added services, industry-leading technology, professional expertise, and continuous educational opportunities. For more information about becoming a partner, go to afrwholesale.com, email sales@afrwholesale.com or call 1-800-375-6071.

Luxury Mortgage Corp. (Luxury) has announced significant enhancements to its Simple Access Non-QM Investor Cash Flow (DSCR) product offering. Notable highlights include a 100-bps price improvement for loans with a three-year prepayment penalty, DSCRs as low as 1.00, and the ability to qualify using I/O payment on a purchase or R/T refinance. Luxury's Investor Cash Flow product also allows for cash out loan amounts up to $3,000,000, and a minimum FICO score of 660. Additionally, for any submissions before Labor Day, Luxury is offering a guarantee to beat ANY competitor's Non-QM Investor Cash Flow price in the market!!! This amazing guarantee is limited to new DSCR submissions and subject to loans meeting program guidelines. Click Here to inquire about becoming an approved wholesale broker or correspondent seller.

Sales Boomerang notifies mortgage lenders when someone in their database is ready for a loan. Look at the opportunity cost you have by not having Sales Boomerang. Last year we closed over $72M in loans that we would have lost from not having Sale Boomerang. (Stephen Barton, Eustis Mortgage) In the first 4 months we took in $180M in applications and we have about 100 LOs. That is a significant impact to our business. My top performing LO attributes 25 percent of her business to Sales Boomerang alerts. (Katherine Campbell, Assurance Financial) Sales Boomerang gives us a conversion that is 2  times better than our normal conversions. (Tim Lewis, Castle and Cooke) The numbers speak for themselves: 20x Avg. ROI, $240 Avg Cost Per Acquired Loan, 10-20 percent Avg Lift to Loan Volume. Want to see exactly how much you lost this year? Request your report today. We will show you which competitor took your deal, what was the loan amount, what type of loan it was, the term and much more.

Valuations are now more efficient than ever, with the launch of Market Valuation Services latest software, Fully Loaded Asset Report Evaluator (FLARE). FLARE helps financial institutions expedite valuation services with improved accuracy, increasing their bottom line. Using a library of data and sophisticated algorithms, the software produces results in less time than a traditional bank valuation. FLARE also addresses other common issues, including cost-effectiveness, reliability and biased results caused by human-based judgment. The software meets Interagency Appraisal Guidelines (IAG) standards and is available across all 50 states. FLAREs arrival is an exciting step, said M. Ryan Moore, CSO of Market Valuation Services. Even one bias discrepancy can affect residential real estate transactions in big ways, Moore said. Were proud to offer a solution that streamlines the process and helps all parties feel confident in the resulting valuation. For more information, or to view a sample report, visit mvsvc.com/flare.

Finallya truly improved valuation experience. Connexions intuitive appraisal management platform includes data science, product integrations (including Encompass) and best-in-class security to ensure the process is efficient, compliant, and leveraging the latest technologies. Its customizable, matching workflows to reflect your preferred process for managing appraisals. Connexions platform consolidates and protects data, automates record-keeping and improves monitoring of transactions which increases accuracy. And follow-up filters are available at every step to keep things moving forward. You can create an unlimited number of custom or standard reports that analyze trends, property types, markets, etc. Its configurable at the location level and even lets you auto-disable vendors on exclusionary lists. And Connexions onboarding and ongoing customer support is outstanding. A free mobile app is available too! With 20+ years experience, Connexions delivers best-in-class technology solutions and works with 150+ national AMCs and 13,000+ independent appraisers. To learn more about Connexions AMC software, book a demo today!



Events and Training

Find digital agility in a changing world. During Forward, Blends virtual summit taking place September 22-23, executives and project teams will explore the regulatory changes and rising consumer expectations shaping the future of lending. Learn about Blends latest innovations and leave with a strategy to keep you ahead of the competition. Register now.

In light of last night's 50 BPS agency LLPA's affecting most refinances, MCT encourages clients to attend this morning's MCT University client-exclusive webinar. During the webinar to be held at 11AM PT, Current Market Update & Best Practices for Volatility in the Future presented by Phil Rasori, further guidance on best execution model updates and loan sale strategies will be shared. Reach out to your MCT representative for access or direction specific to your business and pipeline. Join the MCT newsletter for the latest industry market volatility guidance.



Agency Changes

In light of market and economic uncertainty resulting in higher risks and costs incurred by Fannie Mae, we are implementing a new loan-level price adjustment (LLPA). The fee applies to limited cash-out refinances and cash-out refinances, as described in Lender Letter LL-2020-12. The key date isnt until September 1, but lenders are already pricing rate sheets accordingly.

Fannie Maes recent Selling Guide update, SEL 2020-04, clarifies solar panel policies based on different financing structures, revises the representations and warranties framework for loans in forbearance to align the Guide with LL-2020-06 (Selling Loans in Forbearance Due to COVID-19) and removes references to Master Agreements.

Fannie Mae updated LL-2020-06 to reflect the extension of eligible note dates and delivery dates regarding selling loans in forbearance.

Fannie Mae issued policy changes to Servicer Principal and Interest Advance Requirements, reflected in LL-2020-08. The customer transition guide provides servicers with information on the key milestones regarding these upcoming changes. Information on activities that will occur in the month of transition and the month following transition are included. Additionally, Fannie Mae created a guide detailing the process requirements.

As a reminder, Fannie Mae is accepting SOFR Adjustable-Rate Mortgages (ARMs) and issuing SOFR-based MBS. All Fannie Mae Single-Family applications have been updated to include the new SOFR ARM products, review LL 2020-01 for more information.

Freddie Mac also sent out SOFR transition news.

Wells Fargo Funding is aligning its effective date to the temporary COVID-19-related requirements and flexibilities and date extension announced by the Agencies. This includes the announced expansion to their temporary requirements for self-employed borrowers, allowing Sellers to confirm that the borrowers business is open and operating within 20 business days of the Note date. Wells Fargo Funding did not publish the overlays in its Selling Guide; Sellers must follow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac requirements.

Lakeview Correspondent Announcement C2020-06 covers TSAHC MCC income reminder plus Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac updates.



Capital Markets

Loan originators are good at looking at things over time. Labor data has been the recent focus of markets over the last week but the upbeat numbers are expected to diminish later this summer as the lingering effects of social distancing and spring shutdowns continue to impact businesses. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 1.8 million in July on the heels of June's 4.8 million increase but remain 12.9 million below February's peak and the unemployment rate remains high at 10.2 percent. Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell by nearly 250,000 for the week ending August 1 after increasing the previous two weeks. Data from the Institute of Supply Management (ISM) showed both the service and manufacturing sectors of the economy in expansion territory with many respondents cautiously optimistic about their outlook. Construction spending slipped in June, but was little changed over the previous twelve months. Spending on single family residential construction fell 3.6 percent, but is expected to rebound given recent sales data from home builders. Mortgage rates remain low although applications fell for the week ending July 31 as the 30-year fixed rate dipped to 3.14 percent, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Looking at news yesterday, U.S. consumer prices rose in July by more than expected largely due to a jump in auto and apparel costs, which follows hotter-than-expected producer prices. Though that buoyed Treasury yields and MBS, stimulus is still in limbo. Democrats say there will be no restart talks until the White House moves from demands for a smaller package. Meanwhile, about 16 million Americans are unemployed, with 28 million receiving benefits. There is a big disconnect: the S&P 500 yesterday briefly surpassed the all-time closing high reached in February before the pandemic? That also capped a more than 50 percent rally since market lows in March, though most of the gain came from technology shares. Finally, the day's $38 billion 10-year note auction was met with solid demand despite its record size.

Those CPI figures reported yesterday are important because the consumer shapes the economic outlook more than any other factor. In a typical recession, services spending remains relatively steady, while big ticket purchases on durable goods typically are put off until things improve. It has actually been the opposite in this cycle since stay-at-home orders have emptied out restaurants and other services. Durable goods outlays are nearly ten percent above pre-pandemic levels. Despite the resurgence of the coronavirus, spending is on track to post a record increase in the third quarter.

Todays economic calendar kicked off with July import & export prices (+.7 percent and +.8 percent, respectively) and initial jobless claims for the week ending August 8 (963k, better than expected, -228k). There are two Fed speakers scheduled starting with Atlantas Bostic ahead of Governor Brainard. The final leg of this weeks record refunding consisting of $26 billion 30-year bonds in the early afternoon. The NY Fed will conduct the last two operations on the current schedule when it purchases up to $4.2 billion MBS starting with $2.8 billion UMBS30 2 percent through 3 percent followed by $1.5 billion GNII 2.5 percent and 3 percent. The Desk will then report on MBS purchases for the week ending August 12, one hour before releasing a new two-week FedTrade schedule in addition the mid-August to mid-September MBS reinvestment estimate, which is expected to total over $111 billion based on paydowns in the Fed portfolio plus the additional $40 billion monthly increase in MBS SOMA holdings. We begin today with Agency MBS prices better/up .125 and the 10-year yielding .68 (after closing yesterday at 0.67 percent) after the positive initial jobless claims numbers.

Jobs and Promotions

Caliber Home Loans is recruiting top candidates in the mortgage industry for our Caliber Operations teams across all channels. We are offering enhanced sign-on bonuses and incentive plans for Underwriters, Processors and Closer/Funders. In the past four months, we have hired over 400 new team members in Operations and over 1,000 across Caliber. We are experiencing unbelievable growth and are ready to fill nearly 500 additional Operations positions! If you have a passion for helping customers achieve their dream of home ownership, we want to talk to you! Interested in one of our posted job opportunities? Please contact Jonathan Stanley for consideration. Interested in a sales opportunity at Caliber? Please contact Brian Miller for immediate consideration. Visit the Caliber Careers website for opportunities across the organization!

Home Point Financial continues its impressive growth with the hiring of Perry Hilzendeger, a 30-year veteran of Wells Fargo, as its President of Servicing. Another big move by Home Point, which is already the second-largest wholesale lender and 13th largest correspondent lender in America in just five years of doing business and only looks to be speeding up. Home Point is hiring over 800 positions this year, so if youre ready to work for a lender that truly values its Associates, look no further. Check out our careers page or send your resume directly to John Eite now.

LendingHome, one of the nation's largest financial lenders to real estate investors, announced that Stephanie Casper is the company's new VP of Sales and will lead a team devoted to new business development. She is also a key member of the cross-functional leadership team responsible for developing new products to meet the evolving needs of real estate investors.
SHELTON  The polls closed Tuesday, but final tallies for Republican and Democrat presidential primary races remain unknown as the registrars of voters office continue counting absentee ballots through Thursday.

The outcome at the top of the ballots was no surprise: President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden were declared by the Associated Press winners of the Republican and Democratic presidential primaries soon after the polls closed.

But the absentee ballot counts continue, and city leaders have called the process unwieldy at best.

City Clerk Marge Domorod said her office issued 3,250 absentee ballots, but the total returned ballots as of Aug. 10 was only 1,282.

The absentee ballot procedure, as set by (the Secretary of the States office) this year has been the worst our office has ever experienced, said Domorod.

Domorod said the process was extremely labor intensive for us and confusing to the general public. She said in talk with other town and city clerks throughout the state, all agreed that this years primary was been a nightmare.

We are still entering ballots brought in by our postmaster this morning, said Domorod on Wednesday. We have had to enter each and every application sent out by Secretary of (the) State into a state CVRS system, then reenter each ballot that was mailed to us by voters.

Domorod said her office was notified that the designated mailing house had not completed and mailed 591 ballots for Shelton. Those had to be processed and mailed by this office at the eleventh hour, she added.

Before entering the ballots, Domorod said, each envelope had to be opened to determine the voters district.

The process has been extremely labor intensive and time consuming as computer systems were slow due to the activity of all town clerks in the state making entries at the same time, Domorod said. Hopefully, (the) November election will not be conducted in the same manner by the Office of the Secretary of (the) State.

Shelton Republican Registrar of Voters Pete Pavone said placing control of the process back into the hands of the town clerks would be the best course of action to avoid duplicating this years primary problems come November.

There was never a problem in the past when handled that way, said Pavone.

The citys preliminary tallies, through Tuesday night, mirrored the state numbers. Trump won among city Republicans with 1,537 votes. Roque Rocky De La Fuente earned 73 votes, with 134 undecided.

On the Democrat side, Biden garnered 1,157 votes, followed by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders at 199, Tulsi Gabbard at 18 and 70 undecided.

Pavone reported low turnout, with 12 percent on the Republican side, 7 percent for Democrats. He said there are some 1,600 absentee ballots  all of which need to be counted by Thursday, with some still coming in Wednesday but postmarked before primary day.

Pavone attributed the low turnout to the coronavirus pandemic and the high temperatures, which broke 90 degrees yet again during the day Tuesday. Pavone said all voting took place in the locations gymnasiums.

Despite a relatively glitch-free day, the question of whether the controversial expanded absentee ballot process could be scaled up for the November election hung over the day, into the night in town halls across Connecticut, he said.

Pavone said the amount of absentee ballots rivals the 2016 presidential election  the one he refers to as The Big One  during which the city had 82 percent total turnout.

The lines for voting were short and sweet statewide Tuesday amid strict coronavirus protections, but local registrars of voters still faced the daunting task of counting the nearly 300,000 absentee ballots issued by the state for the nations last presidential primary of 2020.

By early evening Tuesday, things seemed to be progressing smoothly. Registrars were able to begin counting absentee ballots when polls opened Tuesday morning, and many towns were able to post preliminary results shortly after polls closed Tuesday night.

Pavone said the office followed all COVID-19 guidelines mandated by the Secretary of the States office, and the polling places were designed to maintain social distancing. There were 10 individuals  including one greeter to help lead people, as well as a person responsible for sterilizing areas after people left  working the polls at each of the four locations, he said.

We have spread things out and have Plexiglass shields at each station, said Pavone, adding that the city had plenty of workers to man all polling places.

Only registered Democrats and Republicans could vote Tuesday, but on Nov. 3, the states largest voting bloc  unaffiliated voters  will be thrown into the mix. That, paired with a high stakes presidential election rather than an already determined primary race, made Tuesdays trial run particularly important for state election officials, pundits said.

Total absentee ballot voting was expected to be in the range of 40 percent to 60 percent, 10 times the typical total. Gov. Ned Lamont on Tuesday ordered municipalities to count any late absentee votes received by mail Wednesday or Thursday as long as they were post-marked Tuesday basing his decision on the disruption last weeks tropical storm had on mail delivery.

brian.gioiele@hearstmediact.com
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 13)  President Rodrigo Duterte will keep his word that he is ready to be injected with the Russia-made coronavirus vaccine, his spokesperson said on Thursday, as safety concerns continue to hound the drug. However, he will not join the clinical trials to be held in the country.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Duterte may be inoculated with the Sputnik-V vaccine on May 1, 2021 at the earliest. He said this is only possible once it has been approved by the Philippines' Food and Drug Administration.

"It's not a metaphorical statement. He's willing to undergo it," he said in a media briefing.

A panel of vaccine experts in the country will review the results of the Phases 1 and 2 of Russia's clinical trial by September.

Roque confirmed the Philippines will join the Phase 3 of the medical research, which will be fully funded by Russia. This critical stage is where thousands of patients have to be vaccinated to test its safety and efficacy. This is also the final stage before approval for mass rollout. Phase 3 will be simultaneously conducted with Russia from October 2020 to March 2021.

The findings will be submitted to the country's FDA for review and approval before it can be rolled out for the public. The government targets the product registration of the vaccine by April 2021, and only then can the 75-year-old Duterte be given the drug that builds immunity against COVID-19.

Roque believes that FDA and the vaccine experts panel will be cautious and thorough before approving the use of the vaccine in the Philippines despite Duterte's vote of confidence.

"This is conducted by scientists, not politicians. They will be following strict scientific protocols," he said.

Duterte on Monday said he has a "huge trust" in the Russia-made vaccine, even volunteering to be a guinea pig by getting immunized in public. The next day, his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin announced they have approved and registered the "world's first" vaccine. It was quickly met with apprehensions as the clinical trial has not undergone the crucial stage to check its safety and efficacy on a large group of people.

Should the deal with the manufacturer of the Russia vaccine fall through, Roque is confident Duterte can still keep his promise of a Christmas season free of COVID-19, with vaccines from other countries finishing their Phase 3.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 03:36:03|Editor: huaxia

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MUSCAT, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Omani Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday that the total number of COVID-19 cases in Oman rose by 249 to 82,299.

The ministry said in a statement that the number of patients who have recovered from the COVID-19 in the country stood at 77,072, while the death toll hit 539.

"Obtaining COVID-19 vaccines depends on international accreditation over their efficiency, safety and readiness for use," Omani Minister of Health Ahmed Al Saidi on Wednesday told Oman News Agency. Enditem
The government's move to allow sale and registration of without pre-fitted batteries evoked mixed reaction from the EV industry on Thursday, with majority of two-wheeler makers welcoming it while Mahindra Electric said no country in the world allows such a system and the step has not been thought through.

Society of Manufacturers of (SMEV), which has electric two- and three-wheeler makers as majority of its members, said the move to delink batteries from the EVs is a good idea but other steps like reducing GST on batteries from 18 per cent to 5 per cent need to be taken to make these vehicles more attractive for customers.

Ather Energy, Hero Electric, Okinawa and Ampere Electric were unanimous that the government's move will lower the upfront cost that a consumer has to pay and thereby help in popularing EVs.

On the other hand, Mahindra Electric, which is mostly into electric three-wheelers and four-wheelers, said this move has not been thought through, with no consultation with the industry and it has created confusion.

SMEV Director General Sohinder Gill said the move to delink batteries from EVs is a good idea, but a lot needs to be done before it becomes practically implementable and beneficial to the customers.

"We feel that the announcement should have been made coupled with some other policy measures to make EVs more attractive for the customers as well as for the manufacturers.

"For example, announcing reduction of GST on batteries from 18 per cent to 5 per cent, if sold separately and formalizing a mechanism of passing on the FAME subsidy to such EVs as currently subsidy is calculated on the battery power sold along with the vehicle," he added.

Gill further said for a B2C customer, the EV will "still have to be purchased along with the battery as there are hardly any battery swapping/rental/leasing business models sufficiently available across India."



He, however, added that "it makes good sense in B2B where we can have captive swapping stations and business models for batteries as a service are emerging. We have sought clarifications on various aspects of the policy and hope the government would address them soon."



Reacting to the development, Mahindra Electric MD and CEO Mahesh Babu said, "No country in the world allows registration of EV's without battery. We will explain the government that this notification has created confusion."



He further said up to the sale of the vehicle, the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) is responsible for the safety of the vehicle. For a vehicle that is tested, manufactured and sold as an integrated unit, the OEM is responsible for the warranty.

"Either charging or swapping is post sale charge replenishing methods. Both can exist in the current framework. This move has not been thought through and the industry has not been consulted," Babu added.

On the other hand, Ather Energy CEO and co-founder Tarun Mehta termed the new policy as a "great move for both customers and OEMs".

"It lowers the upfront cost that the consumer has to pay and allows OEMs to build superior products at an affordable price point," he said adding, the policy opens up new opportunities in financing options.

"Based on our learning, it will likely take some time for consumers to understand and adopt this model of ownership, but in the long run it will be a big boost to the Indian EV industry.

"It will also make it easier for new players to join the industry. With BS-6 increasing petrol scooter prices, we expect consumers to shift to electric scooters, which offer great performance, in the months to come," he added,



Hero Electric Managing Director Naveen Munjal said, "For this to take off and be able to efficiently pass on the benefit to the consumer, we ought to work towards a strong infrastructure that allows EV owners to charge and swapping batteries wherever they require. I look forward to more such positive interventions."



Okinawa Managing Director and founder Jeetender Sharma said, "The policy now allows selling without batteries. This widens the scope for manufacturers and buyers both...This is also expected to reduce the overall cost of acquisition of the product by saving amount in the vehicle registration procedure, thus offering affordability."



Likewise, a spokesperson of Ampere Electric said this will reduce the cost of acquisition of EVs, especially for two- and three-wheelers, and allow more people to shift from traditional to a more sustainable and affordable green mobility solution for last-mile connectivity.

While allowing registration of electric vehicles without pre-fitted batteries, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) in a letter to Transport Secretaries of all the states and UTs had clarified that vehicles without batteries can be sold and registered based on the type approval certificate issued by a 'Test Agency'.

The ministry had also stated that there is no need to specify the make/type or any other details of the battery for the purpose of registration.

However, it said that the prototype of the electric vehicle and the battery (regular or swappable) are required to be type-approved by the test agencies specified under Rule 126 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989.

(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.)
On August 11, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin during a cabinet meeting announced that the world's first vaccine against COVID-19, named "Sputnik V" were registered in Russia. The vaccine is expected to go into civilian circulation on 1 January 2021, according to the registration certificate.

Whereupon the World Health Organisation announced that the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 was officially a pandemic, the Gamaleya National Research Centre of Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Russian Healthcare Ministry began to work on a vaccine against novel coronavirus. In the 1990s, it was the Gamaleya Center that conducted the first successful experiments to develop gene therapy drugs. Due to the further development of this project, they created a universal platform for the development of vaccines against various infectious diseases which was used for creating vaccines against Ebola fever, and another type of coronavirus, MERS. As a result, a group of developers led by Dr A. Gintsburg has created a coronavirus vaccine in the shortest possible time and received a Russian Federation patent for the invention.

The preclinical trials of the vaccine were carried out at the Gamaleya Centre and the Central Scientific Research Institute of the Defence Ministry. The clinical trials took place in the Sechenov University of the Healthcare Ministry and the Burdenko Military Hospital. According to the results, the vaccine has shown high effectiveness and safety. Vaccine production will now begin at two sites: the Gamaleya Centre of the Russian Healthcare Ministry and the company Binnopharm. The vaccine will be gradually introduced among civilians, and, first of all, it will be offered to those whose work involves dealing with infected patients, especially medical workers, teachers, policemen and elderly people.

The World Health Organisation and Russian health authorities have already been discussing the process for possible WHO prequalification for Covid-19 vaccine. According WHO spokesman T. Jasarevic, the prequalification of any vaccine includes the rigorous review and assessment of all required safety and efficacy data which will take quite a lot of time. At the same time the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) is investing in the production and promotion of the vaccine abroad. The RDIF CEO K. Dmitriev says that Russia has already received preliminary requests for 1 billion doses of its vaccine against COVID-19 from over 20 countries.

Basically, the Phase 3 of clinical trials is starting right after the registration, on August 12, 2020. Russia is capable of producing 500 million doses of the vaccine in the next 12 months, with production expected to be conducted abroad as well and clinical trials set to start soon in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and the Philippines. The head of the RDIF stressed at a press conference that Russia is ready to cooperate on the coronavirus vaccine research with the USA and European countries because it should not be political and competitive. Russia is open to sharing the technology with diverse partners and urges to put aside all political difficulties.

Latin America and Russia also have a promising opportunity to establish partnership on the vaccine, and in the next couple of days the negotiations with some Latin American countries, such as Brazil and Argentine, will be finalised. Russia hopes that the mass production in Latin America would start by November.



The Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Botswana
The husband of Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey has asked a judge to dismiss the criminal case against him on charges of waving a gun at Black Lives Matter protesters on his porch, arguing that the state's attorney general exceeded his legal authority by filing misdemeanor charges.

In a motion submitted to the court this week, the attorney for David Lacey stated that once Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra decided that felony charges were not warranted for the March incident at the Laceys Granada Hills residence, the states top prosecutor should have transferred the case to L.A. City Atty. Mike Feuer, whose office handles misdemeanor crimes in city boundaries.

David and I both believe that the attorney general does not have jurisdiction under the law to prosecute this crime, defense attorney Samuel Tyre said outside a San Fernando courthouse on Thursday. It is our belief that the California Constitution, Supreme Court law, government code law and the Los Angeles city charter all support that the rightful prosecutor to this case is the Los Angeles city attorneys office.

David Lacey was scheduled to appear in court Thursday for his arraignment on three misdemeanor counts of assault with a firearm stemming from his March 2 confrontation with BLM protesters. Neither Lacey nor his wife was present in court, and his attorney delayed arraignment until Sept. 10. That day, Judge Patricia Hunter is expected to hear arguments on whether the attorney generals office can proceed with the charges.

Seth McCutcheon, the deputy attorney general assigned to the case, told the judge that he only received David Laceys motion Thursday morning and offered limited comments. McCutcheon noted that the attorney general is the chief law enforcement officer in the state, and that the crime David Lacey is accused of committing is a so-called wobbler  eligible to be prosecuted as either a felony or a misdemeanor.

A video still image shows L.A. County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey's husband, David, pointing a gun at Black Lives Matter protesters outside their home in Granada Hills on March 2. (Dahlia Ferlito via Associated Press )

Obviously, the results of this could have wide-reaching implications, added McCutcheon, seeking further time to submit a full reply. Any response by my office would have to be vetted and thoroughly reviewed.

Story continues

The attorney generals office took over the case because Jackie Lacey declared a conflict of interest while the incident was under investigation by Los Angeles police.

A spokesman for Feuer did not have an immediate response to the motion.

The legal maneuver comes as Jackie Lacey is in a tight battle for reelection against challenger George Gascon, the former San Francisco district attorney. Lacey, the first Black district attorney in Los Angeles County, has faced mounting criticism from Black Lives Matter and other criminal justice reform groups over her offices pursuit of the death penalty and record of declining to prosecute police officers who have fatally shot civilians during on-duty confrontations.

That criticism of Lacey led Black Lives Matter to escalate tactics and stage protests outside her home in the San Fernando Valley, including the predawn demonstration that led to David Laceys prosecution.

Melina Abdullah, a Black Lives Matter organizer and Cal State Los Angeles professor, previously told The Times that on that morning, the group arranged chairs and prayed on the sidewalk outside the Laceys' home. At some point, Abdullah and two others went to the front door. Then, they said, they heard a gun cock.

I thought I was being paranoid, and I said, That didnt sound good, Abdullah said. And then her husband opened the door and pointed a gun.

Footage that was shared widely online and broadcast across local and national news shows David Lacey open the door and point a handgun in the direction of the protesters.

I will shoot you. Get off of my porch, he said in the video.

No one was injured, and police did not arrest Lacey or anyone else that morning.

Hours after the incident, the embattled district attorney held a news conference downtown. Lacey said she and her husband were awakened by noises outside and called the police, but she did not know her husband had confronted the protesters at gunpoint until after the incident occurred. She apologized on her husbands behalf, but also criticized the tactics of protesters.

His response was in fear, and now that he realizes what happened he wanted me to say to the protesters, the person that he showed the gun to, that he was sorry, that hes profoundly sorry, that he meant no one any harm, Lacey said.

I dont think you ever get used to anybody coming to your house, she continued. It was frightening. I know that the protests have escalated. Even at the last debate, a guy ran toward the stage. I wasnt sure what was going to happen.

Times staff writer James Queally contributed to this report.
KANSAS CITY, Mo., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Metropolitan Community College of Kansas City (Kansas City, MO) ("MCCKC") takes seriously the privacy and security of its students and employees, and therefore wanted to timely release information regarding a data privacy incident involving name, Social Security number, drivers' license number, medical information and bank account information. Although we are not aware of any misuse of individual information, it is important to us that we provide information regarding this matter.

MCCKC recently discovered that it fell victim to a ransomware attack that resulted in certain data being encrypted. Following the incident, MCCKC immediately engaged a third party to conduct a forensic investigation with the objective of identifying the potential scope of access the threat actor may have had to the environment during the period of unauthorized access, which included arriving at a determination as to whether sensitive personal data was accessed by an unauthorized third party. The forensic investigation was recently completed and determined that an unauthorized individual may have had access to the MCCKC environment from March 10, 2020 through June 4, 2020.

The forensic investigation did not conclude or preclude that data was extracted from MCCKC's systems however, it is possible that certain personal data, including names, Social Security numbers, drivers' license information and medical information of former, prospective, and current students could have been accessed by an unauthorized party. The investigation further acknowledged that the names, Social Security numbers and bank account information of employees could have been accessible as well, however, there is no evidence that any personal information was extracted from MCC's systems or subject to actual or attempted misuse. Although the investigation did not find any specific access to any individual's information and MCCKC has no indication that data has been extracted from MCCKC's systems or misused, we have chosen to notify all potentially impacted parties of this incident out of an abundance of caution and in full transparency.

Following confirmation that an unauthorized individual did gain access to the MCCKC network, MCCKC immediately sought to identify the population of potentially impacted individuals. This was completed on June 19, 2020. Privacy of data is a top priority for MCCKC and due to our security posture, MCCKC did not lose access to its systems, backup systems, or other operational data. However, in an abundance of caution, MCCKC has implemented additional safeguards to further secure system information.

Beginning on August 11, 2020, individuals seeking additional information regarding this event may reach MCCKC's dedicated toll-free assistance line 855-907-2122 Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Individuals may also visit MCCKC's website at https://mcckc.edu/ or contact MCCKC by mail at: 3200 Broadway Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64111.

-Steps You Can Take to Protect Private Information-

MCCKC encourages individuals to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud, to review account statements, and to monitor credit reports for suspicious activity. If you see any unauthorized or suspicious activity, promptly contact your bank, credit union, credit card company, or insurance company.

Place a Security Freeze . You have the right to place a 'security freeze' on your credit report, which will prohibit a consumer reporting agency from releasing information in your credit report without your express authorization. The security freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in your name without your consent. However, you should be aware that using a security freeze to take control over who gets access to the personal and financial information in your credit report may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application you make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, or any other account involving the extension of credit. Pursuant to federal law, you cannot be charged to place or lift a security freeze on your credit report. Should you wish to place a security freeze, please contact the major Consumer Reporting Agencies listed below:

In order to request a security freeze, you will need to provide the following information:

Your full name (including middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.); Social Security number; Date of birth; If you have moved in the previous five (5) years, provide the addresses where you have lived over the prior five years; Proof of current address, such as a current utility bill or telephone bill; A legible copy of a government issued identification card (state driver's license or ID card, military identification, etc.); If you are a victim of identity theft, include a copy of either the police report, investigative report, or complaint to a law enforcement agency concerning identity theft.

Place a Fraud Alert . As an alternative to a security freeze, you have the right to place an initial or extended 'fraud alert' on your file at no cost. An initial Fraud alert is a 1-year alert that is placed on a consumer's file. Upon seeing a fraud alert display on a consumer's file, a business is required to take steps to verify the consumer's identity before extending new credit. If you are a victim of identity theft, you are entitled to an extended fraud alert, which is a fraud alert lasting seven years. Should you wish to place a fraud alert, please contact any one of the Consumer Reporting Agencies listed below:

Experian

PO Box 9554

Allen, TX 75013

1-888-397-3742

https://www.experian.com/fraud/center.html

PO Box 9554 75013 1-888-397-3742 https://www.experian.com/fraud/center.html TransUnion

PA Box 2000

Chester, PA 19016

1-800-680-7289

www.transunion.com/fraud-alerts

PA Box 2000 19016 1-800-680-7289 www.transunion.com/fraud-alerts Equifax

PO Box 105069

Atlanta, GA 30348

1-888-766-0008

https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-fraud-alerts/

Additional Information . You can further educate yourself regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, security freezes, and the steps you can take to protect yourself by contacting the consumer reporting agencies, the Federal Trade Commission, or your state Attorney General.

The Federal Trade Commission can be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20580, www.identitytheft.gov, 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338) and TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. You can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. You have the right to file a police report if you ever experience identity theft of fraud. Please note that in order to file a report with law enforcement for identity theft, you will likely need to provide some proof that you have been a victim. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement and your state Attorney General. This notice has not been delayed by law enforcement.

SOURCE Metropolitan Community College of Kansas City

Related Links

https://mcckc.edu/


Housing starts continue to rebound nicely. Strong underlying demand and low rates mean builders likely won't be packing away those hammers any time soon, said Priscilla Thiagamoorthy,economist at BMO Capital Markets.

Even the coronavirus pandemic did not seem to have a significant impact, as the six-month moving average of starts went up from 199,778 in June to 204,376 in July.

Aside from the complete pause in Quebec in April due to restrictions on non-essential economic activity, homebuilding has shown only a muted response to COVID-19, swiftly returning to pre-pandemic levels, said Omar Abdelrahman, economist at TD Economics.

COVID-19s lingering presence will likely contribute to more sedate homebuilding in the next few months, however.

Despite the housing markets durability thus far, we continue to see a soft spot ahead given the ongoing lack of immigration and upcoming resumption of many deferred mortgages, said Royce Mendes, executive director and senior economist at CIBC Economics. Furthermore, interest from investors for short-term rental condo units in downtown cores has come under severe pressure just as demand dynamics are shifting toward a desire for suburban homes with more space and backyards.
Speaking to members of his ruling AK Party, Erdogan said the escalation of tensions in the region was caused by Greece, and urged Athens to respect Turkey's rights

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that the only solution to Turkey's dispute with Greece over energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean was through dialogue and negotiation, and Ankara was not chasing any "adventures" in the region.

Turkey and Greece, NATO allies, are vehemently at odds over overlapping claims for hydrocarbon resources in the region, and tensions have risen since Ankara launched exploration operations in a disputed area of the Mediterranean on Monday, in a move Greece called illegal.

Speaking to members of his ruling AK Party, Erdogan said the escalation of tensions in the region was caused by Greece, and urged Athens to respect Turkey's rights.

"The path to a solution in the eastern Mediterranean is via dialogue and negotiation. We are not chasing any unnecessary adventures or seeking tensions," he said.

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DANVERS, Mass., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Greeley Company, a division of The Chartis Group and a leader in healthcare consulting, education, external peer review and interim staffing solutions, today announced the expansion of its national education offerings to include condensed, virtual editions of its four core seminar tracks. The virtual program offers education in peer review, physician leadership training, physician burnout and credentialing.

"COVID-19 has changed so much about our world. What hasn't changed is that every hospital and healthcare system needs to train physician leaders and other leaders within their organization," said Dr. Rick Sheff, Chief Medical Officer of Greeley. "Our new virtual program delivers the high-quality, engaging leadership training we are known for cost effectively, while minimizing disruption to physician schedules and lost revenue. This is an important way we can support healthcare providers during this difficult time."

Greeley's virtual courses allow attendees to obtain new skills and interact with their peers, all without travel or significant time away from patients or leadership responsibilities. Led by Greeley's outstanding faculty, online courses encourage collaboration with peers and allow attendees to ask questions of faculty in real-time. The condensed courses deliver critical training in under three hours a day. All classes are two days in duration and scheduled as one course per week to allow participants to attend multiple courses.

Greeley's courses are led by topic experts, practicing physician leaders and executives who bring an enhanced ability to connect with attendees. The peer-to-peer training advantage that Greeley provides helps physicians and hospital leaders develop the skills needed to tackle some of healthcare's most difficult challenges.

Greeley Virtual Education Fall 2020 Courses and Dates







Medical Executive Committee The Credentialing Solution Peer Review Boot Camp Diagnosis and Treatment for the Physician Burnout Epidemic September 25-26 October 2-3 October 9-10 October 16-17

Learn more and sign up at events.greeley.com/virtualexperience

About The Greeley Company

The Greeley Company is a leading provider of consulting, education, interim staffing, credentialing management, and external peer review to healthcare organizations nationwide. Headquartered in the greater Boston area, The Greeley Company has helped more than 1,000 healthcare organizations within the past three years address challenges related to regulatory compliance, credentialing and privileging, peer reviews, clinician burnout, bylaws and physician-hospital alignment. The Greeley Company is a part of The Chartis Group, which provides comprehensive advisory and analytics services to the healthcare industry. For more information, please visit www.greeley.com and www.chartis.com.

SOURCE The Greeley Company

Related Links

http://www.greeley.com


Tributes have been paid to the train driver, conductor and passenger killed in the Aberdeenshire train crash.

The family of driver Brett McCullough said he was the most decent and loving human being we have ever known.

A union official said conductor Donald Dinnie was an amazing person while the family of Christopher Stuchbury from Aberdeen also paid tribute to the 62-year-old who volunteered at a palliative care unit.

STONEHAVEN INCIDENT - UPDATE



The three people who died at the derailment incident have been formally identified and can be named as Brett McCullough (45) - Driver; Donald Dinnie (58) - Conductor; Christopher Stuchbury (62) - Passenger. More at: https://t.co/vrZwnjGW9M pic.twitter.com/wWoPzWd2Hc  Police Scotland (@PoliceScotland) August 13, 2020

The three men were killed after the 6.38am Aberdeen to Glasgow Queen Street ScotRail service left the tracks south of Stonehaven on Wednesday.

Mr McCullough leaves behind wife Stephanie and three children.

His family said in a statement: Words cannot describe the utterly devastating effect of Bretts death on his family and friends.

We have lost a wonderful husband, father and son in the most awful of circumstances.

Brett was the most decent and loving human being we have ever known and his passing leaves a huge void in all our lives.

We would like to thank the emergency services for their heroic efforts in helping everyone affected by this tragedy and for all the messages of support and condolence we have received.

Mr McCullough, who worked in ScotRails Aberdeen depot and lived near the crash site, was a former gas engineer who had been a train driver for seven years.

Originally from Bromley, Kent, he moved to Aberdeenshire to marry his wife.

Kevin Lindsay, Aslefs organiser in Scotland said Mr McCullough was servicing the gas boiler of an Aberdeen train driver when they started chatting about the job and he decided to join the railways.

He said: He was a dedicated train driver, who loved his job, and was very popular at the depot with his colleagues.

He was also a devoted family man who loved his wife and children  two girls and a boy. Brett thought the world of his family, and we all thought the world of him.

The family of Mr Dinnie also said: As a family we are devastated by the sudden and tragic loss of Donald, a loving and proud dad, son, partner, brother, uncle and friend.

No words could ever describe how much he will be missed by us all and there will always be a missing piece in our hearts.

It is so heart warming to see how many people have fond memories of Donald and I am sure they have plenty of happy and funny stories to tell.

He was a kind, caring and genuine person who was never found without a smile on his face. We know he will be deeply missed by all.

Together we thank each and every one of you for your kind words and condolences but we kindly ask at this time that we have the chance to grieve privately as a family.

Mr Lindsay said the thoughts of his colleagues are with the families of Mr McCullough and Mr Dinnie, as did RMT senior assistant general secretary Mick Lynch.

Mr Lynch said: On behalf of the union I want to send condolences, support and solidarity to Donald Dinnies family, friends and colleagues.

It is absolutely clear that he was much loved and highly respected by all who knew him and his death is a tragedy that has shocked our entire industry.

Donalds branch, Aberdeen 1, have told me that he was an amazing person. He lit up every room he walked into with his cheery banter and stories.

Many knew Donald for most of his railway career as a driver and a guard. He was very much a family man and a valued, active and proud member of the RMT.

The family of Mr Stuchbury said he enjoyed volunteering in his spare time at Roxburghe House, a specialist palliative care unit run by NHS Grampian.

Their statement said: Chris was a much adored husband, son, dad, stepdad, granddad, brother and uncle and was a treasured and loved friend to many, including the Targe Towing Team where he was an integral and valued member of staff.

He also volunteered at Roxburghe House in Aberdeen during his spare time which he thoroughly enjoyed doing.

We are devastated by his death and we request privacy at this difficult time as we come to terms with our loss.
16:11





"With an eye on safety, NCC (National Cadet Corps) cadets have been invited to witness the event (instead of young school children) and they will be seated at Gyanpath," it noted. All invitees have been requested to wear masks, it said, adding that an adequate number of masks are being kept handy for distribution at various points of venue.





"Similarly, availability of hand sanitizers at pre-defined locations has been done. Display boards are placed discreetly to attract the attention of invitees," the ministry said. In order to facilitate people's seamless movement and to avoid crowding, seating enclosures and walkways have been laid with wooden flooring and carpeting, it said. Additional door frame metal detectors with adequately spaced markings have been provided to avoid queuing and to ensure smooth passage for all the invitees, it mentioned.





"Most of the parking areas have been brick lined and paved in order to ensure smooth entry and exit of vehicles to the maximum feasible extent," it said. Thermal screening at all entry points for the invitees has been planned, it mentioned. It said a thorough sanitization of the premises inside and outside the Red Fort is being carried out on a regular basis. The ministry said the participation is only through invitation and those who do not have formal invites should "refrain from coming to the venue". "About 4000 plus invites have been issued to officials, diplomats, members of public, media etc," it added.





Ceremonial drills, it said, have also factored in due social distancing norms as well as other precautionary measures. The ministry said, "Adequate medical booths at four locations, one near the Rampart, one in Madhavdas Park and two in 15 August Park have been set up to cater to any attendee who is detected having any symptoms related to COVID-19 during entry." Ambulances would also be stationed at these four locations, it added. -- PTI

Over 4,000 people including diplomats, officials and media personnel have been invited for the Independence Day ceremony at the Red Fort and it is being organised maintaining a balance between dignity of the event and factoring in COVID-19 protocols, the defence ministry said Friday. It said the seating arrangement has been made under the guiding principle of "Do Gaz ki Doori' (maintaining distance of two yards) between any two guests. It said members of the guard of honour have been under quarantine.
Since the August 2014 murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, and certainly, since the recent killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, discussions around the destructive nature of American law enforcement have gone mainstream. Even city councils have echoed calls to defund the police  an idea widely deemed impractical only a few months ago.

Despite these developments, conversations within much of the non-Black Muslim community in the United States continue to reflect an overreliance on and a deferential attitude towards the police. Leaders of multiple American Muslim institutions appear more concerned with protecting their delicate relationships with law enforcement than allying with subjugated communities protesting state violence.

This was most recently exemplified by the popular scholar and imam, Yasir Qadhi of the East Plano Islamic Center, who held a virtual talk on June 16 with Plano Police Chief Ed Drain in a spectacular display of tone-deafness. The event proceeded despite strong local and national criticism from Muslims, outraged by the video capturing the gruesome and slow police murder of George Floyd in broad daylight.

As a liberation movement ripped across the country, catalysed by widespread calls to abolish the police and increasingly brutal displays of violence against protesters, Qadhi bent over backwards to amplify the voice of a police chief.

This callous decision was further exacerbated by the actual content of the interview, which was essentially an hour-long police propaganda session on a mosque platform. Not only did Qadhi fail to offer a meaningful critique of police violence and murder, his meek performance featured only a few remarks  most notably to praise Drain for his dedication, thorough answers, and stellar resume. The police chief himself used the event to justify the use of tear gas against anti-racist protesters and recruit Muslims to sign up as members of the police force.

Qadhis interview showcases an undue trust of law enforcement shared by many Muslims in the US. More disturbingly, it reveals how Muslim Americans  primarily those of privileged-class backgrounds  have internalised the logic of the national security state, which classifies us at once as enemies of the state but also as potential recruits to police the threatening segments within our community.

There are several other examples across the country that highlight the problematic relationships between Muslims and the police. In Brooklyn, New York, Muslims established the Muslim Community Patrol (MCP) in the aftermath of the Christchurch Massacre in 2019. The MCP presents itself as an extra set of eyes and ears for the police, working to protect the community  a questionable positioning considering the police departments criminalisation of the Muslim community.

Since at least 2002, the New York Police Department (NYPD) has singled out Muslim religious and community leaders, mosques, student associations, organizations, businesses, and individuals for pervasive surveillance. These measures include infiltrating Muslim spaces with police informants to track community leaders.

Although it is understandable that Muslims want to protect their congregants, championing security through the NYPD has consequences of its own. A report on the impact of the NYPD surveillance programme revealed that Muslims felt the police infiltration of their community suppressed their ability to practice freely, pushing many, in particular youth, away from these religious spaces.

These community mapping programmes are common throughout the country. The LAPD, for example, lied about the extent of its Muslim community mapping programme, which aimed to identify [Muslim] communities  susceptible to violent, ideologically based extremism.

Since 9/11, there have been hundreds of wrongful prosecutions of Muslims targeted in the domestic war on terror. Many of those falsely accused and imprisoned were regular attendees of mosques and active members of their communities.

One example is the case of Hamid Hayat, a Lodi cherry picker, whose case, built on a false confession and the use of a paid informant, was hailed as the first terrorism and sleeper cell case in California after 9/11. Despite the corrupt tactics used by the FBI, and what was widely recognised to be a controversial and wrongful-conviction case, Muslim leaders in Sacramento opted to deepen their ties with law enforcement officials in an effort to join forces to battle would-be terrorists.

Eventually, Hayat was released from federal prison after serving 14 years when a US district judge in Sacramento overturned his charges in July 2019. Family members of Muslim political prisoners, including Hayats, have often described their trauma and isolation from their communities, after their loved one was targeted by the government.

Worse still is being forced to watch as Muslim leaders not only fail to protect their constituents against politically-motivated prosecution but actually increase their cooperation with the same agencies that sent their loved ones to prison.

There is an inverse effect within Muslim communities and institutions where many feel that in order to ensure their safety at the hands of the state they must prove their dedication to it. The fear of political isolation and of being treated as enemies has left marginalised Muslim communities seeking protection and help from the same violent actors that target and criminalise them.

Muslim leaders and representatives of our communities who establish these relationships with law enforcement, seem unwilling to consider how such actions result in fewer Muslims wanting to participate in mosque activities or even enter such spaces.

In too many cases, mosque leaders have gone further than just inviting police officers to mosques; in fact, they have actively coordinated with law enforcement on a far more in-depth and insidious level. For example, Masjid Muhammad, the oldest established Muslim community in Washington, DC, accepted a grant from the Countering Violent Extremism programme of more than $531,000 to address the spread of extremism within the DC region and beyond.

A portion of the grant paid for a counterterrorism expert to monitor Muslims online activities and produce alternatives to radicalisation narratives. Further, the terms of the grant required Masjid Muhammad to collaborate, engage, and partner with imams and community organisations to ensure the project would be holistic in its targeting of various ethnicities. The mosques and community centres with which Masjid Muhammed worked include the popular Virginia mosque, the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS).

This comes as no surprise, given that in 2016, the FBI awarded the ADAMS Center the Directors Community Leadership Award for its influential role in building partnerships between law enforcement and the Muslim community.

CVE is a counterterrorism strategy that uses dystopian pre-crime targeting methods to identify individuals that may be at-risk of becoming terrorists or extremists. CVE programmes almost exclusively target Muslims and employ spurious criteria, such as religiosity and political activism and vague feelings of alienation, as proxies for violent tendencies.

The CIA itself stated that despite decades of research  we still do not know what leads people to engage in political violence. It is crucial to address CVE in our broader discussions around Muslims relationships with law enforcement because the program makes our leaders and institutions the enforcers of disproven and Islamophobic policies on behalf of the state.

Some might dismiss these examples, and cite other mosques that have rejected CVE funding from the Trump administration. Yet, what most do not realise is that Muslims continue to face unrestrained surveillance and infiltration, as CVE continues to be rebranded and resold to our community in various forms, and counterterrorism budgets within the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Taskforce (JTTF) remain at dangerously high levels.

Unfortunately, it is not only our mosques that have decided to actively coordinate with law enforcement against the interests of the Muslim American community. Taleef Collective, an organisation that brands itself as a safe haven to the most vulnerable in the Muslim community  even supporting the formerly imprisoned  and functions as an alternative to traditional spiritual spaces, partnered with Alameda County Sheriffs Office to apply for a $500,000 grant from CVE.

Approximately $270,000 was supposed to go to the organisation for provision of services to support [former Muslim inmates] successful reentry to the community and decrease the risks of recidivism and radicalization and increase understanding of and build stronger relationships with the Muslim community in Alameda County.

Although Taleef ultimately withdrew from the programme after community members expressed concern, Micah Anderson then-Taleef Director of Wellness, participated in a revised version of the same programme as director of The Mind Body Awarenewss Project. According to the East Bay Express, Taleef denied it had a formal relationship with the MBA Project and defended Andersons work at the organisation.

The Muslim American Law Enforcement Association (MALEA) is another organisation that prioritises support for law enforcement over support for the victims of its brutality and injustices seeking transformation. It aims to provide training, mentorship, and promote diversity in the field of Law Enforcement.

Diversity in the police force has been a constant reform policy that many have advocated for and still do. However, a 2019 study revealed it does not necessarily translate to fewer shootings of Black men and women. The study concluded that the race of a police officer did not predict the race of the citizen shot, in other words, Black officers were just as likely to shoot Black citizens as white officers were.

The Muslim communitys cooperation with police even extends to its educational institutions. The first accredited Muslim university in the US, Zaytuna College, has a record of subservience to law enforcement. Zaytuna shockingly hosted an active shooter drill for Urban Shield, a global weapons expo and SWAT training force that encourages the militarisation of communities. Engagement with Muslims helps forces like Urban Shield bolster their PR image and dispel the idea that they do not work with minority communities.

Zaytunas cooperation with law enforcement is more nefarious considering that, following Michael Browns murder by Ferguson police in August 2014, its administration sent out an email, announcing that in the interest of your safety and security we must deny permission for students to even go near these protests should they continue. The email further stated that this directive was supported by none other than President of Zaytuna College and influential Muslim figure, Hamza Yusuf.

A Zaytuna student who witnessed this decision unfold spoke to me on the condition of anonymity and said: There was a convenient convergence of the ideology of respectability politics and being good, law-abiding American Muslims, and the interests of the financial, political and cultural wellbeing of the academic institution. The message that the letter and the mandate sent was reinforcing that ideology and that the institution itself was more important than Black lives.

Of course, bigoted and bullying tactics against Muslim communities should not be the only reason one must actively oppose cooperation with law enforcement and call for abolition. The Black American community has faced a violent police presence since the inception of US law enforcement.

As many commentators, including renowned prison abolitionist Ruth Wilson Gilmore and reparationist, Mariame Kaba, have famously noted, there are important continuities between slave patrols of the 1700s and 1800s and contemporary police forces. The police oppression Black communities, Muslim or not, have faced should be enough for us to consider severing our deep and entrenched ties with them.

The desire to be seen as a law-abiding American Muslim and to prove ourselves to violent state actors have only benefitted us in superficial ways. Meanwhile, the murder of unarmed Black men and women has only gotten worse.

Muslim Americans have a choice to make: Do we seize this historic moment by taking a principled stance and joining the fight against structural racism and entrenched Islamophobia or do we continue to feed our complacency against our interests and the interests of other marginalised communities?

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
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A detailed analysis report of the Global Physical Vapor Deposition Market has been covered in the report coupled with a thorough description of each company profile with information on the H.Q, future capabilities, key mergers & acquisitions, financial outline, partnerships and new product launches and developments.

The comprehensive value chain analysis of the market will assist in attaining better product differentiation, along with detailed understanding of the core competency of each activity involved. The market attractiveness analysis provided in the report aptly measures the potential value of the market providing business strategists with the latest growth opportunities.

The report classifies the market into different segments based on application. These segments are studied in detail incorporating the market estimates and forecasts at regional and country level. The segment analysis is useful in understanding the growth areas and probable opportunities of the market.

Leading Segment in this market:

By Application  Microelectronics

By Geography  Asia Pacific (APAC)

Final Report will cover the impact of COVID-19 on this industry.

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The report also covers the complete competitive landscape of the global Physical Vapor Deposition market with company profiles of key players such as:

AJA International Inc

Applied Materials

KDF Electronics & Vacuum

Leybold Optics GmbH

Novellus Systems Inc

Oerlikon Balzers

Penta Technology (Suzhou) Co. Ltd

Platit

Semicore Equipment Inc.

Singulus Technologies

The IHI Group

ULVAC Technologies, Inc.

Veeco Instruments Inc.

A detailed description of each has been included, with information in terms of H.Q, future capacities, key mergers & acquisitions, financial overview, partnerships, collaborations, new product launches, new product developments and other latest industrial developments.

SEGMENTATIONS IN THE REPORT:

By Applications:

Microelectronics

Storage

Solar Applications

Medical Equipment

Cutting Tools

Others (Optics, Flexible Packaging, Etc.)

By Geography:

North America (NA)

Europe (EU)

Asia Pacific (APAC)

Rest of the World (RoW)

Download Free Sample Report of Global Physical Vapor Deposition Market @ https://www.decisiondatabases.com/contact/download-sample-9827

The Global Physical Vapor Deposition Market has been exhibited in detail in the following chapters 

Chapter 1 Physical Vapor Deposition Market Preface

Chapter 2 Executive Summary

Chapter 3 Physical Vapor Deposition Industry Analysis

Chapter 4 Physical Vapor Deposition Market Value Chain Analysis

Chapter 5 Physical Vapor Deposition Market Analysis By Applications

Chapter 6 Physical Vapor Deposition Market Analysis By Geography

Chapter 7 Competitive Landscape Of Physical Vapor Deposition Companies

Chapter 8 Company Profiles Of Physical Vapor Deposition Industry

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The automotive brake fluid market 2020 is presumed to augment at a rapid pace. These fluids are used in the hydraulic clutch to increase the efficiency of vehicles. As per the report presented by Market Research Future (MRFR), the global automotive brake fluid market is supposed to augment at 5% CAGR across the prognosis period 2018 to 2023.

These fluids are used to ensure smooth functioning of the brake system in automobiles. It has gained high importance as it ensures the safety of the vehicle, driver, passenger and pedestrians. Thus, the automotive brake fluid market is likely to gain traction over the next few years. In fact, research & development activities to increase the efficiency of the fluid is also carried on by automakers. It is also supposed to augment the automotive brake fluid market in the upcoming years.

Governments are implementing laws regarding the safety standards to be met by auto dealers. These regulations are supposed to drive the growth of the automotive brake fluid market in the upcoming years. In addition, rising disposable income is assessed to boost demand for vehicles. This, again, is expected to catapult the automotive brake fluid market on upward trajectory. Customers are investing in the maintenance of vehicles to extend their lifespan. It is poised to favor the expansion of the automotive brake fluid market in the forthcoming years. However, these fluids absorb moisture due to their hydroscopic properties. This might check the growth of the global automotive brake fluid market in the near future.

Market Segmentation

On the basis of fluid type, the automotive brake fluid market has been segmented into petroleum and non-petroleum.

On the basis of product type, the automotive brake fluid market has been segmented into glycol-based, castor oil-based, and silicone-based.

On the basis of vehicle type, automotive brake fluid market has been segmented into commercial vehicle, passenger car, and off-road vehicle.

On the basis of sales channel, automotive brake fluid market has been divided into aftermarket and OEM.

Regional Analysis

The geographical evaluation of the global automotive brake fluid market is covered in this report for presenting a detailed insight. The regional segmentation of the market covers  North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Rest of the World (RoW). These regional segments are assessed on the basis of countries for a 360-degree view of the automotive brake fluid market. APAC is supposed to observe the highest rate of growth over the evaluation period. Increasing expansion rate of the automotive industry in the region can be accredited the growth of the automotive brake fluid market. Also, production of automobiles is observed to increase along with the development of the aftermarket. These factors can have a major positive impact on the growth of the regional market. Europe is also supposed to augment at a prominent pace due to rapid developments in the automotive industry.

Competitive Dashboard

Robert Bosch GmbH (Germany), Castrol (UK), The China National Petroleum Corporation (China), Exxon Mobil Corporation (U.S.), Royal Dutch Shell plc (the Netherlands), Fuchs Petrolub SE (Germany), China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (China), Chevron Corporation (U.S.), Total S.A. (France), and Qingdao Copton Technology Company Limited (China) are few important participants of the automotive brake fluid market. Product innovation is the key component driving competition among the players. Some of the growth strategies observed in the market are  collaborations, mergers & acquisitions, agreements, strategic alliances, and partnerships, among others. Increasing influx of players in the market is also supposed to influence market growth positively by intensifying competition. Global footprint expansion is being invested into by these players to sustain the curve, which is expected to catalyze growth rate of the automotive brake fluid market.
Beirut

The FBI will join Lebanese and other international investigators in the probe of the massive explosion at Beirut's port that killed more than 170 people, injured thousands and caused widespread destruction, a U.S. diplomat said Thursday.

Lebanese authorities had invited the FBI to take part, and it is one way that Washington can help the country deal with the effects of the disaster, said U.S. Undersecretary for Political Affairs David Hale as he toured the Gemayezeh neighborhood, which was damaged by the Aug. 4 blast.

"The FBI will soon join Lebanese and international investigators at the invitation of the Lebanese in order to help answer questions that I know everyone has about the circumstances that led up to this explosion," he said.

It is still not known what caused the fire responsible for igniting nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate that were stored for years in Beirut's port. But documents have emerged that show the country's top leadership and security officials were aware of the stockpile. French investigators are also taking part.

Lebanese officials agreed Thursday on naming a judicial investigator to lead the probe under the auspices of the Supreme Judicial Council, which handles crimes that infringe on the country's national security, as well as political and state security crimes.

The U.S. Embassy said Hale is expected to "reiterate the American government's commitment to assist the Lebanese people in recovering from the tragedy and rebuilding their lives." He will also stress the "urgent need" for embracing fundamental reforms by Lebanon's leaders.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

So far, Washington has offered $18 million in humanitarian assistance provided by U.S. Agency for International Development and the departments of State and Defense.

The United States is one of the largest donors to the Lebanese armed forces. But Washington views Hezbollah, a powerful political player in the government and parliament, as a terrorist group. U.S. officials have expressed concerns about aid not going to the Hezbollah-backed government.

The government resigned on Monday but remains in a caretaker capacity. The resignation came nearly a week after the deadly blast that wrecked the capital's port and damaged neighborhoods across the capital.

The World Bank, in a preliminary assessment, said about 50,000 residential units were damaged and 80 percent of residential buildings and infrastructure were impacted.
The island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean is attracting tourists thanks to its pristine beaches, spectacular lagoons and coral reefs, and unique marine life.

These days, however, Mauritius is attracting a different kind of attention after a ship carrying fuel oil and diesel ran aground off the coast in late July, spilling part of the oil into the ocean.

The government of Mauritius  a country with a population of 1.3 million people  has declared a state of environmental emergency. Residents are angry with the inadequate government response and are volunteering to help soak up the oil spill despite government warnings to steer clear of the spill and not risk their health.

So dedicated are the efforts to soak up the oil, people in Mauritius and abroad are even cutting off their hair and donating it for makeshift adsorbent sacks to soak up the oil, as prior scientific research has shown that human hair is a good adsorbent of oil.

The latest oil spill also served as a renewed call from environmental organizations that the world should accelerate the move away from oil.

The disaster off Mauritius began on July 25 when bulk carrier Wakashio, owned by Japans Nagashiki Shipping and headed for Brazil, ran aground off the coast of the Indian Ocean island.

By August 11, around 1,180 metric tons of oil  out of the total 4,000 metric tons on board  had leaked out from the vessel fuel tank, with an estimated 1,000 metric tons leaked outside of the vessel, and 460 metric tons are estimated to have been manually recovered from sea and coast, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, the charterer of the vessel, said on Tuesday.

We confirmed that the crack inside the hull of the ship had expanded. Since this ship is unable to navigate by itself, it is moored to a tugboat so that it will not drift even if it is broken, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines said. Related: Has The Oil Market Finally Turned A Corner?

Because of the expanded cracks, the situations about to get 10 times worse. Itll be a major catastrophe, Dr Vassen Kauppaymuthoo, the islands premier oceanographer, told NBC News over the weekend.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has joined international efforts to clean the spill.

Locals are donating hair to help soak up the oil spill, hoping to prevent further damage to the marine life and coral reefs.

In the late 1990s, NASA tested the hair-raising recovery technique to clean up oil spills, after an Alabama hairdresser found that human hair stuffed in pantyhose was soaking up oil spilled in water. The hairdresser, Phillip McCrory, had estimated that 25,000 pounds of hair in nylon collection bags may be sufficient to adsorb 170,000 gallons of spilled oil, and a gallon of oil can be adsorbed in less than two minutes with this technique.

In 2015, researchers from the Department of Geography, Environment & Disaster Management at the Coventry University in the UK found that human hair adsorbed 39 times its weights in various oil types.

This year, a project of the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) found that dog fur and human hair, recycled from salon wastes and dog groomers, could be as good as synthetic fabrics at cleaning up crude oil spills on hard land surfaces.

This is a very exciting finding for land managers who respond to spilled oil from trucks, storage tanks, or leaking oil pipelines. All of these land scenarios can be treated effectively with sustainable-origin sorbents, UTS Environmental Scientist Dr Megan Murray said last month, commenting on the research published in the magazine Environments.

The research concluded that, for now, sandy environments like coastal beaches can still benefit from the use of polypropylene sorbents, but further exploration of sustainable-origin sorbents is planned, the UTS said.

For oil spills in water, scientists have found that there are oil-eating bacteria that could help clean oil spills at sea.

While researchers look to find the ultimate oil spill clean-up method, environmentalists say there is one way to stop oil spills once and for allstop using oil.

There is no guaranteed safe way to extract, transport and store fossil fuel products. This oil leak is not a twist of fate, but the choice of our twisted addiction to fossil fuels. We must react by accelerating our withdrawal from fossil fuels, Happy Khambule, Greenpeace Africa Senior Climate and Energy Campaign Manager, said in a statement commenting on the Mauritius oil spill.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Kareena Kapoor made headlines on Wednesday as she broke the news of her second pregnancy. The actor has now shared a new selfie on Instagram as she continues to shoot at home.

The actor shared a selfie in one of her printed kaftans and wrote, Another day, another shoot and well... another one of my favourite selfies. Kareena could be seen in minimal makeup as she clicked a selfie.

Designer Manish Malhotra reacted to the picture, Beautiful always. She thanked him and a few others for their compliments and best wishes, saying, Big hug to all of you.

Kareena and Saif were flooded with best wishes as they shared the good news on Wednesday.

Calling her brother Saif The Quadfather, actor Soha Ali Khan on Wednesday congratulated Saif and Kareena with a fun post. Soha took to Instagram to share a picture of Saif on Instagram which had The Quadfather written over it, indicating towards the fact that Saif is expected to welcome his fourth child.

The Rang De Basanti actor went on to congratulate her sister-in-law Kareena and wished for her good health. Coming soon!! Couldnt resist! Congratulations @kareenakapoorkhan be safe and healthy - and radiant as ever, she wrote in the caption.

Her husband and actor Kunal Kemmu was quoted by Times of India as saying, It is a lot of happiness and a lot of excitement. Cant wait to welcome this new member in the family. Taimur and Inaaya get along so well and they now have a new member in their gang.

Also read: Randhir Kapoor on Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khans second pregnancy: Had been saying for so long Taimur needs a brother or sister

Saif and Kareena, who fell in love on the sets of their film Tashan, tied the knot in October 2012 and are parents to a three-year-old son Taimur Ali Khan. We are very pleased to announce that we are expecting an addition to our family, an official statement from the couple read. Expressing their gratitude to their fans and well-wishers, they said, Thank you to all our well-wishers for all their love and support.

Saif was previously married to actor Amrita Singh, with whom he shares actor-daughter Sara Ali Khan and son Ibrahim Ali Khan.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
By PTI

KOLKATA: An association of travel agents has urged the West Bengal government to reconsider its decision to suspend passenger flights to the eastern metropolis from six cities with high prevalence of COVID-19 cases till August 31.

The embargo on the arrival of flights to Kolkata airport from Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Nagpur and Ahmedabad was first imposed for a period of 14 days from July 6.

It was initially extended till July 31, and then subsequently to August 15.

The restriction was further extended till August 31.

In a letter to state Home Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay, the eastern chapter of the Travel Agents' Federation of India said that residents of West Bengal, stranded in six cities, and the business travellers will be benefited if the direct flight services resume.

"We seek your approval to restart the operations as per our state's SOP (standard operating procedure)," Travel Agents' Federation of India, East, Chairman Anil Punjabi said in the letter.

The association also proposed the introduction of Rapid Antigen Test for all passengers at the airport.

"This is not the time for travelling abroad. Flights carrying stranded persons, students and businessmen from other parts of the country can function now," Punjabi told PTI.

Soliciting the state government's support for restructuring the travel and tourism industry, the association said, "We need to keep on updating our policies as we have done with containment zones and resumption of international charter flight operations."

Domestic flights to various tourist places can gradually be introduced when the present situation improves, he said.
Mr John Ampontuah Kumah, the Chief Executive Officer, National Entrepreneurial Innovation Programme (NEIP) has advised nurses and midwives to venture into free enterprises as a pastime for additional income.



He said that was the surest way to predict the future and become economically independent.



Mr Kumah gave the advice at a seminar organised by the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) to commemorate the International Youth Day celebrations in Accra.



It was on the theme; Youth Engagement and Empowerment; Shaping the Future of Nursing and Midwifery in Ghana.



Mr Kumah said President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had set up a $100,000,000 seed capital to assist institutions and individuals who wanted to learn skills on how to create their businesses and was willing to partner the Association to help interested members.



We can collaborate with new entrepreneurs on how to manage their profession and businesses. The future can be created when we set our minds to it he said.



Mr Kingsly Ofei-Nkansah, a Labour Consultant, commended the Association for encouraging members to upgrade themselves professionally.



Nurses and midwives must upgrade themselves, recognise the importance of the profession and engage in trade unionism by organising to promote decent work, he said.



The Labour Consultant said when promoting decent work, the four main pillars of income and employment, social protection, social dialogue and right to freedom of association must be considered.



Mr Ofei-Nkansah noted that for each of the pillars non-discrimination among men and women must apply.



The GRNMA awarded three young nurses, described as role models, with citations for setting the pace in the profession by coming out with innovative ideas to transform healthcare delivery in the country.



The International Youth Day is aimed at shedding light on the need to enable engagement of the youth by making local, national and global institutions more inclusive to strengthen their capacity to achieve global action.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The impacts of the coronavirus pandemic are being felt on Egypts main hard-currency earners

The Covid-19 pandemic is affecting the global economy as no crisis has ever done before, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently releasing a report assessing the current and future impact of it on the external sector of economies or how transactions with the rest of the world are being affected by the crisis, including tourism, remittances, and international trade.

The outlook for external positions remains highly uncertain with significant risks. A further worsening in risk sentiment could, for economies with pre-existing vulnerabilities, such as large current account deficits, a high share of foreign-currency debt, and limited international reserves, further increase the risks of an external crisis, the report noted.

Egypt has the above-mentioned vulnerabilities, and its foreign-currency resources have been adversely affected. In June, the IMF approved a $5.2 billion standby loan to help the country plug a balance-of-payments shortfall. This was preceded by a $2.8 billion rapid financing arrangement for targeted and temporary spending.

On Monday, the IMF released a paper highlighting the reasons it had extended the loan to Egypt. In addition to the fallout on the tourism industry and remittance flows from expatriate workers and lower Suez Canal receipts, it said that the pandemic had resulted in financial market turbulence, a significant reversal of capital flows, and large reserves losses.

The stand-by loan will help to maintain macroeconomic stability amid the heightened uncertainty and address selected critical structural reforms, it said. The IMF said that pandemic-induced tourism losses would be mostly shouldered by large net tourism importers, including Egypt, Costa Rica, Greece, Morocco, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Turkey.

According to the report, the tourism sectors losses this year could mount to two per cent of GDP due to global travel restrictions. These projections are provided that global restrictions on travel are lifted next month, a scenario that might seem doubtful as the number of Covid-19 cases seems to be on the rise.

The findings of the report are similar to those of a June study by the National Planning Institute (NPI) in Egypt, which noted that under a best-case scenario Egypts tourism industry was expected to lose 73 per cent of its revenue in 2020 on the back of the coronavirus.

There should be a recovery beginning in the third quarter, with flights resuming in early July. However, the persistence of the pandemic would limit leisure travel and reduce overall revenues through the year to $3.45 billion, the NPI report said.

Tourism revenues during the third quarter of 2019-20, which extends from January to the end of March, are the most recent available from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and came in at 11.2 per cent lower than the level of the same quarter last year, as flights were suspended at the end of March.

Tourism revenues hit a record high of $13.03 billion in 2019. They were expected to achieve a record of $15 billion in revenues this year, had it not been for the coronavirus.

Citing a survey by the World Tourism Organisation (WTO), the IMF expects the effects on tourism to persist to some extent in 2021 and beyond when demand for tourism recovers.

Remittances will also be hard hit, with the IMF external sector report warning of a 20 per cent or $110 billion drop in global flows of worker remittances this year, jeopardising economies relying on this source of hard currency like Egypt, Pakistan, Guatemala, and the Philippines.

Egypt is the fifth-highest recipient of remittances in the world, reaching $26.8 billion in 2019 and making up nearly 10 per cent of GDP, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Remittances increased by $1.7 billion to $ 7.9 billion during the first three months of 2020, but the OECD expects a decrease of $2.3 billion from April through to June 2020 due to the pandemic.

Remittances are vulnerable to the Covid-19 crisis as migrant workers are both more exposed to unemployment and wage losses, as they will be the first to go when things get worse in companies they are working for.

A large chunk of up to 80 per cent of Egypts five million expatriates work in the Arab countries, especially the Arab Gulf, which has been hard hit by both the decline in oil prices and the repercussions of the coronavirus.

A recent proposal to the Kuwaiti parliament to cut the number of migrant workers from 70 per cent to 30 per cent of the countrys population left thousands of Egyptians there in limbo. The Kuwaiti media has reported that up to 1.5 million expatriates could leave by the end of the year.

There are almost half a million Egyptians currently living in Kuwait.

Neighbouring Saudi Arabia had previously released a decree giving the green light to reduce salaries in the private sector by up to 40 per cent together with the possibility of terminating work contracts as a means to save costs during the pandemic.

This was immediately followed by large companies laying off thousands of expatriate workers.

According to the Egyptian Labour Abroad Division of the Cairo Chamber of Commerce, employment contracts for Egyptians abroad are characterised by a lack of long-term sustainability (most of them are annual), and they give the employer the upper hand. There is usually no mechanism protecting the rights of workers in the event of arbitrary, material, or moral damage.

Remittances are forecast to only partially rebound by five per cent in 2021, the IMF added.

Its report predicts that global trade will shrink by 12 per cent in 2020 in a scenario that can be likened to that witnessed during the global financial crisis in 2008. As the fastest shipping route between Asia and Europe, such a decline would badly affect Suez Canal receipts.

Revenues fell to $5.72 billion in the 2019/20 financial year from $5.75 billion the year before. Revenues fell by 9.6 per cent year-on-year in May alone due to the impact of the coronavirus on global trade movements, Osama Rabie, chairman of the Canal Authority, said in June.

The decline in tourism revenues and remittances, main sources of hard currency, have weighed on Egypts foreign reserves, which have seen a decline over three consecutive months to reach $36 billion in May compared to $45.5 billion in February.

They edged up in June and July, thanks to the IMF loan and the return of foreign investments in treasury bills, to reach $41.2 billion.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 13 August, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under headline: Foreign currency takes a hit

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As part of the state-level protests, the Congress workers on Thursday staged a protest near Mini Secretariat in Ambala against the BJP-JJP government over the series of scams unearthed during the Manohar Lal Khattar regime.

The protests were led by Mullana MLA Varun Chaudhary along with Naraingarh MLA Shally Chaudhary, state treasurer Rohit Jain, former MLA Ramkishan Gujjar, and other party leaders.

Raising anti-government slogans, the party workers said that the state government was looting people which had been revealed through registry and liquor scams. Party workers later submitted a memorandum to the deputy commissioner.

Addressing media persons, MLA Varun said that the government took this pandemic as an opportunity to loot the state through different scams.

There have been discrepancies in nearly 30,000 registries and the special enquiry team (SET) in the liquor scam has said in its report that bureaucrats were not cooperating in the inquiry. If they would have cooperated with the team, what could have come to the fore cant be imagined? So, Congress has demanded an investigation into all the scams during this pandemic and before by a sitting high court judge, the MLA said.

Rohit Jain alleged that instead of forming a special investigation team in the liquor scam, as promised by home minister Anil Vij, the government constituted an SET that was totally powerless.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL / ACCESSWIRE / August 12, 2020 / Kaya Holdings, Inc., ("KAYS" or the "Company") (OTCQB:KAYS), the first U.S. publicly traded company to vertically integrate cannabis retail, cultivation and processing, announced today that its Greek Partnership, Kaya Kannabis, has hired a veteran pet industry executive to lead its recently announced Cannamo brand of CBD pet products.

"We are pleased to announce the appointment of Calliope Zogopoulou as the CEO of Cannamo", said Panagiotis Kinnis, one of the founding partners of Greek Kannabis and a Kaya Kannabis executive. "We believe she has the experience, relationships, and leadership to bring our very first product line to market in Greece and the EU".

Ms. Zogopoulou is the co-founder, active partner, operational administrator and executive of "Ambrosia Pet Food" (https://www.ambrosiapetfood.com/), a producer of premium-quality dry pet food. Over the years she has developed strong relationships with some of the largest pet-food distributors in Greece, as well contacts in Romania, Russia, Israel, and major E.U. countries.

"I am enthusiastic and excited by the opportunities I believe we can create with the Cannamo brand," shared Calliope Zogopoulou. "CBD in pet food can provide our beloved pets with pain relief, better digestion and overall health. I am so pleased to help bring this newly recognized wellness product to Greek pet owners, and beyond."

"Once again our Greek partners have demonstrated their ability to deliver at an extremely high level, providing our joint venture, Kaya Kannabis, with opportunity and access", added KAYS CEO, Craig Frank, "We were also pleased to be able to activate our partnership with Day Three Labs to source product and provide logistical support. This deal serves to validate our plan to integrate talent and opportunities for a strong KAYS international presence".

Story continues

About Kaya Holdings, Inc. (www.kayaholdings.com)

Kaya Holdings, Inc. ("KAYS") is a touch-the-plant vertically integrated legal cannabis company operating a number of majority-owned subsidiaries that retail, cultivate, produce and distribute premium medical and recreational cannabis products, including flower, concentrates, oils and extracts, cannabis-infused foods and beverages, topicals and cannaceuticals. KAYS is a fully reporting, US-based publicly traded company, listed for trading on the OTCQB Tier of the over-the-counter market under the symbol OTCQB:KAYS.

KAYS Cannabis operations are conducted under three main majority-owned subsidiaries as further detailed below:

Marijuana Holdings Americas, Inc. owns the Kaya Shack brand of licensed medical and recreational marijuana stores (www.kayashack.com) and the Kaya Farms brand of cannabis production and processing operations that operate in the United States.

Kaya Brands USA, Inc. owns a wide range of proprietary brands of cannabis extracts, oils, pre-rolls, topicals, food and beverages, cannaceuticals and related accessories.

Kaya Brands International, Inc., was founded to serve as the vehicle for the Company's non-U.S. operations including retail franchising in Canada and cultivation activities in Greece and Israel.

Marijuana Holdings Americas, Inc.- U.S. Cannabis Operations

Kaya Shack Retail Cannabis Stores

In 2014, KAYS became the first United States publicly-traded company to own and operate a Medical Marijuana Dispensary. KAYS presently operates two Kaya Shack OLCC licensed marijuana retail stores to service the legal medical and recreational marijuana market in Oregon, and is in the process of relocating a third retail cannabis license to serve as a delivery hub for the Eugene and Southern Oregon Cannabis Market.

Kaya Farms

Eugene, Oregon Indoor Grow, Processing & Cannaceutical Facility: KAYS has developed its own proprietary Kaya Farms strains of cannabis, which it grows and produces (together with edibles and other cannabis derivatives) at its 12,000 square foot indoor grow and cannabis manufacturing facility in Eugene, Oregon, capable of producing approximately 1,500 pounds of premium cannabis annually, with the capacity for expansion. The Company also plans to use the space for production of oils, concentrates, extracts, edibles, and cannaceuticals. KAYS is currently conducting limited operations at the facility pending approval transfer of the production and processing licenses to KAYS by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (the "OLCC"), the Oregon state regulating agency which regulates legal cannabis production, processing and sale.

Lebanon, Oregon Farm & Greenhouse Facility: KAYS owns a 26-acre parcel in Lebanon, Linn County, Oregon which it intends to construct an 85,000-square-foot Kaya Farms greenhouse cultivation and production facility. To date KAYS has received Linn County Zoning approvals and upon issuance of OLCC Licensing it will begin construction. The farm is intended for immediate development and provides the Company with a potential additional capacity of more than 100,000 pounds annually, to be expanded once export from Oregon to other U.S. States and foreign countries where cannabis use is legal is permitted. Kaya Farms operates in accordance with a Grow Operations manual, as well as manuals for compliance, employment matters and safety.

Kaya Brands USA, Inc.- Brand and Product Development

The Company maintains a genetics library of over 30 strains of cannabis and owns a number of proprietary brands in traditional and innovative cannabis categories including Kaya Buddies pre-rolls, Really Happy Glass cannabis accessories, and Kaya Gear, company-related and cannabis-centric fashion. These brands are currently available at Kaya Shack stores.

The Company has made advances in the development of its Kumba Extracts, Syzygy Extracts, Pakalolo Juice Company Soothe Topicals, Tony Giggles Pleasure Foods (frozen infused Italian entrees), Uptown Shaman (cannaceuticals), and Kaya Yums (chocolates, gummies, power bars) brands. Pending approval of our production and processing license, KAYS intends to begin a multi-state rollout planned in 2020 to the extent permitted by U.S. legal infrastructure. These brands are intended for all Kaya Shack stores, both corporate-owned and franchised.

Kaya Brands International, Inc.- Foreign Cannabis Operations

After over six years of conducting "touch the plant" U.S. cannabis operations inside the strict regulatory confines of a public company, KAYS has formed a subsidiary, Kaya Brands International, Inc. ("KBI") to leverage its experience and expand into worldwide cannabis markets. KBI's current operations and initiatives include:

Canadian Franchising: KAYS has targeted Canada (the only G7 country that has legalized both medical and recreational cannabis production, sale and use on a national level) for its first international sale and operation of Kaya Shack cannabis store franchises, with a goal of 75-100 Kaya Shack Cannabis Retail locations throughout Canada through a multi-year structured rollout, subject to licensing and market conditions. KAYS has retained Toronto, Canada based law firm of Garfinkle Biderman, LLP to prepare the Franchise Disclosure Documents and related items for the sale of Kaya Shack cannabis store franchises in Canada. We expect the franchise sale and placement effort throughout Canada to progress over the next 3-24 months and have tar. KAYS plans to ultimately expand its franchise operations to the U.S., as regulations and laws permit.

Kaya Kannabis- Kaya Farms Greece

General: KAYS has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") setting forth an agreement in principle for KBI to acquire a 50% ownership interest in Greekkannabis, PC ("GKC"). GKC is a recently formed Athens, Greece based cannabis company which has applied for and is awaiting issuance of a medical cannabis cultivation, processing and export license from the Greek government.

The MOU sets forth an agreement in principle, pursuant to which in consideration for KBI providing the necessary expertise related to cannabis cultivation, processing, brand development and other matters, KBI will have the right to acquire a 50% ownership interest in GKC by reimbursing GKC for 50% of its license application costs (with allowances for KBI's expenses as well). Consummation of the transaction contemplated by the MOU is subject to, among other customary conditions, satisfactory completion by KBI of its due diligence review of GKC, the drafting, execution and delivery of definitive transaction documentation and final license approval and issuance by the Greek government.

GKC plans to establish its cannabis cultivation and processing facility on land already identified outside of Athens. Project Management envisages a total of 425,000 square feet of light deprivation greenhouses situated on fifteen acres of land and supported by an additional 50,000 sq. feet building for workspace, storage and administrative offices. The Company estimates total farm production, once completely constructed and operating at full capacity, to be at a minimum of approximately 225,000 pounds of premium grade cannabis annually.

Licensing Status: On April 22, 2020 KAYS/KBI received confirmation from their Greek Counsel that the Greek Government had awarded the crucial Installation License for the project.

KAYS and KBI are represented in Greece by the Athens based law firm of Dalakos Fassolis Theofanopoulos (https://dftlaw.gr/). The firm has developed a long-established and well-respected commercial legal practice and has developed a wide international network of correspondent relationships with overseas law offices throughout the world.

Kaya Farms Israel

KAYS, through KBI is seeking to establish a state of-the-art cannabis cultivation facility on approximately 50 acres of prime agricultural land.

Important Disclosure

KAYS is planning execution of its stated business objectives in accordance with current understanding of state and local laws and federal enforcement policies and priorities as it relates to marijuana. Potential investors and shareholders are cautioned that KAYS and MJAI will obtain advice of counsel prior to actualizing any portion of their business plan (including but not limited to license applications for the cultivation, distribution or sale of marijuana products, engaging in said activities or acquiring existing cannabis production/sales operations). Advice of counsel with regard to specific activities of KAYS, federal, state or local legal action or changes in federal government policy and/or state and local laws may adversely affect business operations and shareholder value.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release includes statements that may constitute "forward-looking" statements, usually containing the words "believe," "estimate," "project," "expect" or similar statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that would cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, acceptance of the Company's current and future products and services in the marketplace, the ability of the Company to develop effective new products and receive regulatory approvals of such products, competitive factors, dependence upon third-party vendors, and other risks detailed in the Company's periodic report filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. By making these forward-looking statements, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release.

For more information contact Investor Relations: 561-210-7664

SOURCE: Kaya Holdings, Inc. via EQS Newswire





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/601258/International-Cannabis-Company-Kaya-Holdings-Greek-CBD-Pet-Products-Partnership-Hires-Prominent-Industry-Veteran-as-CEO




Kiran Narayanan By

Express News Service

IDUKKI: Scattered debris, no prior experience and gushing rainwater... Still, Friends of Kattappana, a charity organisation of youngsters in Idukki spent five full hours to rebuild the Santhipalam bridge on Sunday.

The youngsters dived into the stormy waters and collected the scattered stones to repair the bridge over Periyar river in the Mlamala-Chappath road that connects over 100 plantation families of Mlamala village with the Vandiperiyar town.

That they were not familiar with hard labour did not deter them from manually removing the huge timbers which hindered the water flow. "It was a very risky affair. But our brave members went into the water by tying a rope around their body and cleared the obstacles. Then, we laid the collected rocks on the sides and filled the pathway with soil and rocks using an earthmover. We started by 11am and completed the work before 4pm," said Joshy Manimala, president, Friends of Kattappana.

Pushing the Mlamala, 12km away from Mullaperiyar dam, into dire straits, Santhipalam collapsed during the 2018 floods and since then, the villagers were forced to rely on temporary arrangements. But for the past two weeks, they were completely cut off from the mainland. Except for a few men who could swim through the floodwaters to reach the other side, no one from the village had access to the essential services.

"The plight of women and children of the village prompted us to take up the repair. Most of them are plantation workers and they didn't have any other means to reach the town in case of an emergency. Though there are a few pocket roads to Vandiperiyar through tea estates, it is unsafe to use them on emergency," he said.

Though they started the work with a few hands, more people joined in by noon. "There were only 25 members in the beginning. After we went live on Facebook, many people from organisations like Orthodox Christian Youth Movement (OCYM) and Kattappana off-road club joined in. By noon, our strength swelled to 150. All of them came voluntarily. In the end, we drove a few vehicles over the bridge much to the happiness of the villagers," Joshy said.

Interestingly, students of Fathima High School in Mlamala had reached out to Kerala High Court twice since the last year to find a solution to their hardships. Three weeks ago, the court directed the state government to repair the bridge after it received over 1,400 letters from the students.
The Delhi governments transport department on Thursday tied up with Bloomberg Philanthropies to develop road safety initiatives, senior government officials said.

The transport department has signed a memorandum of understanding with the philanthropy group, said the office of transport minister Kailash Gahlot.

Under the tie-up, the Delhi government will receive support from global experts on road safety, receive funding to engage experts in road safety initiatives, technical assistance, training, help in conducting periodic road user behaviour surveys, help in generating mass media campaign content on road safety and developing road injury surveillance systems, said a senior government official in the transport department, requesting anonymity.

A document concerning the tie-up, which HT has seen, read that Delhi is one of the cities chosen by the philanthropy group to join the 2020-25 initiative for global road safety. The city government was chosen for outstanding work in advancing public health and road safety, read the document.
HONTIVEROS WANTS CLARK RESORT INVESTIGATED FOR CHINESE PROSTITUTION RING

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Thursday demanded Clark Development Corporation (CDC) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) conduct a full investigation on Fontana Leisure Parks and Casino's liability in the alleged Chinese prostitution ring discovered in its premises.

Hontiveros made the call after the police arrested seven Chinese men, six Chinese women, and two Vietnamese women who are alleged to be involved in prostitution and human trafficking inside resort facilities in Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga.

"Habang nahihirapan tayong mga Pilipino sa COVID-19 pandemic, may mga Chinese prostitution rings naman na patuloy pa rin ang operasyon," said Hontiveros, who chairs the Committee on Women in the Senate. "Hindi natin dapat hinahayaan na nagiging pugad tayo ng prostitusyon at iba pang krimen," she added.

Hontiveros wants the owner and administration of the said leisure park investigated for possible liability. "Hindi ito ang unang beses na may nadiskubreng illegal activity sa loob ng resort," the senator declared. Hontiveros said that in May 2020, an illegal underground hospital for tenants and workers of a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) company was discovered on Fontana's premises.

"Bakit parang nagiging pugad ng underground illegal activities itong Fontana?" the senator asked, also citing that in December 2016, fifteen casino rooms in Fontana were ordered to temporarily close following the Bureau of Immigration's (BI) arrest of around 1,300 illegal Chinese workers inside the leisure park.

"Fontana's license to operate can be suspended and eventually revoked if there's negligence on their part in making sure that crimes do not thrive within their premises. Responsibilidad nilang siguraduhin na sumusunod sa batas ang mga tenants nila," Hontiveros said.

Earlier this year, Hontiveros exposed the 'pastillas' scheme within BI, a system in which Chinese nationals, mostly POGO workers, are allowed seamless entry into the country for a 'service fee.' The investigation also revealed how the POGO industry may contribute to the rise of prostitution and trafficking in the country.
By Bob Dreyfuss

August 12, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - Was Donald Trumps January 3rd drone assassination of Major General Qasem Soleimani the first step in turning the simmering Cold War between the United States and Iran into a hot war in the weeks before an American presidential election? Of course, theres no way to know, but behind by double digits in most national polls and flanked by ultra-hawkish Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Trump is a notoriously impetuous and erratic figure. In recent weeks, for instance, he didnt hesitate to dispatch federal paramilitary forces to American cities run by Democratic mayors and his administration also seems to have launched a series of covert actions against Tehran that look increasingly overt and have Iran watchers concerned about whether an October surprise could be in the cards.

Much of that concern arises from the fact that, across Iran, things have been blowing up or catching fire in ways that have seemed both mysterious and threatening. Early last month, for instance, a suspicious explosion at an Iranian nuclear research facility at Natanz, which is also the site of its centrifuge production, briefly grabbed the headlines. Whether the site was severely damaged by a bomb smuggled into the building or some kind of airstrike remains unknown. A Middle Eastern intelligence official said Israel planted a bomb in a building where advanced centrifuges were being developed, reported the New York Times. Similar fiery events have been plaguing the country for weeks. On June 26th, for instance, there was a huge explosion in the area of a major Iranian military and weapons development base east of Tehran. On July 15th, seven ships caught fire at an Iranian shipyard. Other mysterious fires and explosions have hit industrial facilities, a power plant, a missile production factory, a medical complex, a petrochemical plant, and other sites as well.

Some officials say that a joint American-Israeli strategy is evolving -- some might argue regressing -- to a series of short-of-war clandestine strikes, concluded another report in the Times.

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Some of this sabotage has been conducted against the backdrop of a two-year-old very aggressive CIA action plan to engage in offensive cyber attacks against that country. As a Yahoo! News investigative report put it: The Central Intelligence Agency has conducted a series of covert cyber operations against Iran and other targets since winning a secret victory in 2018 when President Trump signed what amounts to a sweeping authorization for such activities, according to former U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the matter... The finding has made it easier for the CIA to damage adversaries critical infrastructure, such as petrochemical plants.

Meanwhile, on July 23rd, two U.S. fighter jets buzzed an Iranian civilian airliner in Syrian airspace, causing its pilot to swerve and drop altitude suddenly, injuring a number of the planes passengers.

For many in Iran, the drone assassination of Soleimani -- and the campaign of sabotage that followed -- has amounted to a virtual declaration of war. The equivalent to the Iranian major generals presidentially ordered murder, according to some analysts, would have been Iran assassinating Secretary of State Pompeo or Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, although such analogies actually understate Soleimanis stature in the Iranian firmament.

In its aftermath, Iran largely held its fire, its only response being a limited, telegraphed strike at a pair of American military bases in Iraq. If Soleimanis murder was intended to draw Iran into a tit-for-tat military escalation in an election year, it failed. So perhaps the U.S. and Israel designed the drumbeat of attacks against critical Iranian targets this summer as escalating provocations meant to goad Iran into retaliating in ways that might provide an excuse for a far larger U.S. response.

Such a conflict-to-come would be unlikely to involve U.S. ground forces against a nation several times larger and more powerful than Iraq. Instead, it would perhaps involve a sustained campaign of airstrikes against dozens of Iranian air defense installations and other military targets, along with the widespread network of facilities that the United States has identified as being part of that countrys nuclear research program.

The Art of the Deal in 2020

In addition to military pressure and fierce sanctions against the Iranian economy, Washington has been cynically trying to take advantage of the fact that Iran, already in a weakened state, has been especially hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. Those American sanctions have, for instance, made it far harder for that country to get the economic support and medical and humanitarian supplies it so desperately needs, given its soaring death count.

According to a report by the European Leadership Network,

Rather than easing the pressure during the crisis, the U.S. has applied four more rounds of sanctions since February and contributed to the derailing of Irans application for an IMF [International Monetary Fund] loan. The three special financial instruments designed to facilitate the transfer of humanitarian aid to Iran in the face of secondary sanctions on international banking transactions... have proven so far to have been one-shot channels, stymied by U.S. regulatory red tape.

To no avail did Human Rights Watch call on the United States in April to ease its sanctions in order to facilitate Irans ability to grapple with the deadly pandemic, which has officially killed nearly 17,000 people since February (or possibly, if a leaked account of the governments actual death figures is accurate, nearly 42,000).

Iran has every reason to feel aggrieved. At great political risk, President Hassan Rouhani and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei agreed in 2015 to a deal with the United States and five other world powers over Irans nuclear research program. That accord, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), accomplished exactly what it was supposed to do: it led Iran to make significant concessions, cutting back both on its nuclear research and its uranium enrichment program in exchange for an easing of economic sanctions by the United States and other trade partners.

Though the JCPOA worked well, in 2018 President Trump unilaterally withdrew from it, reimposed far tougher sanctions on Iran, began what the administration called a campaign of maximum pressure against Tehran, and since assassinating Soleimani has apparently launched military actions just short of actual war. Inside Iran, Trumps confrontational stance has helped tilt politics to the right, undermining Rouhani, a relative moderate, and eviscerating the reformist movement there. In elections for parliament in February, ultraconservatives and hardliners swept to a major victory.

But the Iranian leadership can read a calendar, too. Like voters in the United States, they know that the Trump administration is probably going to be voted out of office in three months. And they know that, in the event of war, its more likely than not that many Americans -- including, sadly, some hawkish Democrats in Congress, and influential analysts at middle-of-the-road Washington think tanks -- will rally to the White House. So unless the campaign of covert warfare against targets in Iran were to intensify dramatically, the Iranian leadership isnt likely to give Trump, Pompeo, and crew the excuse theyre looking for.

As evidence that Irans leadership is paying close attention to the presidents electoral difficulties, Khamenei only recently rejected in the most explicit terms possible what most observers believe is yet another cynical ploy by the American president, when he suddenly asked Iran to reengage in direct leader-to-leader talks. In a July 31st speech, the Iranian leader replied that Iran is well aware Trump is seeking only sham talks to help him in November. (In June, Trump tweeted Iran: Dont wait until after the U.S. Election to make the Big deal! Im going to win!) Indeed, proving that Washington has no intention of negotiating with Iran in good faith, after wrecking the JCPOA and ratcheting up sanctions, the Trump administration announced an onerous list of 12 conditions that would have to precede the start of such talks. In sum, they amounted to a demand for a wholesale, humiliating Iranian surrender. So much for the art of the deal in 2020.

October Surprises, Then and Now

Meanwhile, the United States isnt getting much support from the rest of the world for its thinly disguised effort to create chaos, a possible uprising, and the conditions to force regime change on Iran before November 3rd. At the United Nations, when Secretary of State Pompeo called on the Security Council to extend an onerous arms embargo on Iran, not only did Russia and China promise to veto any such resolution but Americas European allies opposed it, too. They were particularly offended by Pompeos threat to impose snapback economic sanctions on Iran as laid out in the JCPOA if the arms embargo wasn't endorsed by the council. Not lost on the participants was the fact that, in justifying his demand for such new U.N. sanctions, the American secretary of state was invoking the very agreement that Washington had unilaterally abandoned. Having quit the JCPOA, the U.S. is no longer a participant and has no right to trigger a snapback at the U.N., was the way Chinas U.N. ambassador put it.

That other emerging great power has, in fact, become a major spoiler and Iranian ally against the Trump administrations regime-change strategy, even as its own relations with Washington grow grimmer by the week. Last month, the New York Times reported that Iran and China had inked a sweeping economic and security partnership that would clear the way for billions of dollars of Chinese investments in energy and other sectors, undercutting the Trump administrations efforts to isolate the Iranian government. The 18-page document reportedly calls for closer military cooperation and a $400 billion Chinese investment and trade accord that, among other things, takes direct aim at the Trump-Pompeo effort to cripple Irans economy and its oil exports.

According to Shireen Hunter, a veteran Middle Eastern analyst at Georgetown University, that accord should be considered a world-changing one, as it potentially gives China a permanent foothold in Iran and undermines U.S. strategic supremacy in the [Persian] Gulf. It is, she noted with some alarm, a direct result of Trumps anti-Iranian obsession and Europes reluctance to confront Washingtons harsh sanctions policy.

On June 20th, in a scathing editorial, the Washington Post agreed, ridiculing the administrations maximum pressure strategy against Iran. Not only had the president failed to bring down Irans government or compelled it to change its behavior in conflicts in places like Syria and Yemen, but now, in a powerful blow to U.S. interests, an Iranian partnership with China... could rescue Irans economy while giving Beijing a powerful new place in the region.

If, however, the traditional Washington foreign policy establishment believes that Trumps policy toward Iran is backfiring and so working against U.S. hegemony in the Persian Gulf, his administration seems not to care. As evidence mounts that its approach to Iran isnt having the intended effect, the White House continues apace: squeezing that country economically, undermining its effort to fight Covid-19, threatening it militarily, appointing an extra-hardliner as its "special envoy" for Iran, and apparently (along with Israel) carrying out a covert campaign of terrorism inside the country.

Over the past four decades, October surprise has evolved into a catch-all phrase meaning any unexpected action by a presidential campaign just before an election designed to give one of the candidates a surprise advantage. Ironically, its origins lay in Iran. In 1980, during the contest between President Jimmy Carter and former California Governor Ronald Reagan, rumors surfaced that Carter might stage a raid to rescue scores of American diplomats then held captive in Tehran. (He didnt.) According to other reports, the Reagan campaign had made clandestine contact with Tehran aimed at persuading that country not to release its American hostages until after the election. (Two books, October Surprise by Gary Sick, a senior national security adviser to Carter, and Trick or Treason by investigative journalist Bob Parry delved into the possibility that candidate Reagan, former CIA Director Bill Casey, and others had engaged in a conspiracy with Iran to win that election.)

Consider it beyond irony if, this October, the latest election surprise were to take us back to the very origins of the term in the form of some kind of armed conflict that could only end terribly for everyone involved. Its a formula for disaster and like so many other things, when it comes to Donald J. Trump, it cant be ruled out.

Bob Dreyfuss, an investigative journalist and TomDispatch regular, is a contributing editor at the Nation and has written for Rolling Stone, Mother Jones, the American Prospect, the New Republic, and many other magazines. He is the author of Devils Game: How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam.

Follow TomDispatch on Twitter and join us on Facebook. Check out the newest Dispatch Books, John Feffers new dystopian novel (the second in the Splinterlands series) Frostlands, Beverly Gologorsky's novel Every Body Has a Story, and Tom Engelhardt's A Nation Unmade by War, as well as Alfred McCoy's In the Shadows of the American Century: The Rise and Decline of U.S. Global Power and John Dower's The Violent American Century: War and Terror Since World War II.

Copyright 2020 Bob Dreyfuss
Kansas City Killing Continues Near Former MLK Blvd

Kansas City Police investigate after man found shot and killed in field SOURCE: KMBC Kansas City, Missouri police are investigating a fatal shooting that happened early Thursday morning. Officers said a man died in a field near Independence Avenue and the Paseo at 1:15 a.m.Police said there were witnesses who they are speaking with to learn more about what led to that man's death. This is the 123rd homicide in Kansas City in 2020.

Tragic Kansas City Count

Police investigate Kansas City's 123rd homicide near Independence, The Paseo KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -- A man is dead after being shot early Thursday morning in Kansas City. Officers were called just after 1:15 a.m. to Independence Avenue and The Paseo on a shooting. When officers arrived, witnesses at the scene directed them to a nearby field where they found a man who had been shot.

Crime Scene Aftermath

Kansas City Police investigating overnight homicide KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City Police are investigating a fatal shooting. Police were called to Independence Avenue and the Paseo around 1:30 this morning. Police say a man was found in a field just off Independence Avenue. No suspect information has been released. This is the 123rd homicide of the year in Kansas City.

Gunfire Aftermath

Man found fatally shot in field in KC, marking city's 123rd homicide this year by: FOX 4 Newsroom Posted: / Updated: KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City police have launched a homicide investigation after a man was found dead with gunshot wounds early Thursday morning, August 13. Officer Doaa El-Ashkar, a police spokeswoman, said officers were called after 1:15 a.m.

A 24 hour pause in killing is complete and now the cycle of violence starts all over again as Kansas City 2020 homicide spike continues with a 37% increase over last year.Here are the first reports . . .Developing . . .
Zoe-Clare McDonald ambushed her for interrupting her date with Locklan 'Locky' Gilbert during the premiere episode of The Bachelor on Wednesday night.

And Areeba Emmanuel appeared wholly unfazed by the dramatic confrontation as she chowed down on a sandwich while the fiery redhead continued screaming at her.

The 25-year-old's 'savage' blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment was praised by tickled viewers, who commended her for keeping her composure during the showdown.

Scroll down for video

So it begins! Zoe-Clare McDonald (left) ambushed Areeba Emmanuel (right) for interrupting her date with Locky Gilbert during the premiere episode of The Bachelor on Wednesday night

During Wednesday night's premiere, Zoe-Clare went into a rage after the Pakistani beauty interrupted her discussion with Locky.

Rattled by Areeba's actions, Zoe-Clare couldn't resist giving her a piece of her mind during the cocktail party, saying: 'I just want to say what you did was really inappropriate, and it was not okay!'

Despite Zoe-Clare labelling her a 'moll', a giggling Areeba thanked her for her 'feedback' and continued enjoying her sandwich.

The moment had viewers rolling over in laughter, with one tweeting: 'Areeba having a sandwich while Zoe Clare talks is a massive vibe.'

Just wants to eat: Areeba appeared wholly unfazed by the dramatic confrontation as she chowed down on a sandwich while the fiery redhead continued screaming at her

'Let me girl eat!' The 25-year-old's 'savage' blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment was praised by viewers, who commended her for keeping her composure during the shocking showdown

'Boss babe': The support poured in for Areeba following her hilarious response to Zoe-Clare

Another added: 'Queen Areeba just sitting there laughing and eating her sandwich #TheBachelorAU.'

Someone else echoed: 'Zoe-Clare you did NOT just make Areeba put away her sandwich, let my girl EAT #TheBachelorAU.'

Viewers continued to watch in disbelief as Zoe came to the conclusion that the other women didn't like her because of her hair colour.

Not happy: During Wednesday night's premiere, Zoe-Clare went into a rage after the Pakistani beauty interrupted her discussion with Locky

'What you did was inappropriate': Rattled by Areeba's actions, Zoe-Clare couldn't resist giving her a piece of her mind during the cocktail party

Other priorities: Despite Zoe-Clare labelling her a 'moll', a giggling Areeba thanked her for her 'feedback' and continued enjoying her sandwich

She vented: 'I'm the only redhead in the whole entire house... The only colours are blonde or brunette, and then there's me. I think that's exactly why Areeba is targeting me. It's the red hair. It's just... it's not appropriate.

'What's wrong with a ranga? Yeah. Do you want me to dye my hair every 10 seconds because you don't like my colour? I'm so sorry, but this is natural, guys. It's not going anywhere.'

Her tearful monologue confused many viewers because nobody had mentioned the colour of her hair.

Later in the episode, Zoe-Clare became 'ill' and was forced to skip the inaugural rose ceremony. Daily Mail Australia understands she was simply very drunk.
The premise was that those doctors should be able to return to service, even though they would be providing comfort and care to the enemy. At its core, the idea prioritized medical care.

At the time, McGuire and Jackson hoped they would be setting a precedent and asked the Union leadership to follow their lead with the unconditional release of captured medical personnel.

Not only did McGuires plan work for the duration of the Civil War, but it fueled a trend with governments that medical personnel should be treated as noncombatants and swiftly released to continue their life-saving work.

That idea, promoted by McGuire on a Civil War battlefield, gained momentum and he later advocated for its adoption at the first of the Geneva Conventions.

It helped shape the International Humanitarian Law of Armed Conflicts and since has become a foundational principle of humane treatment of military prisoners, upheld by organizations like the International Red Cross.

It was this contribution of lasting positive impact in military conflicts worldwide  and not his service as a Confederate officer  that made McGuires name particularly befitting for a veterans hospital.
Trump: Democrats Are Holding Up COVID-19 Stimulus Package With Mail-In Voting Push

President Donald Trump on Thursday said that negotiations are being delayed on a new stimulus bill because Democrats are pushing for the funding of universal mail-in ballots, among other contentious points.

Trump told Fox News that its their fault, referring to Democratic lawmakers, on why the talks have stalled on a broader relief package that includes potentially extra unemployment funding, stimulus checks, liability protections, loans for small businesses, and more.

They want $3.5 billion for something thats fraudulent  for the mail-in votes, universal mail-in ballots. They want $25 billion for the post office. They need that money so it can work and they can take these millions and millions of ballots, Trump remarked.

The president added, But if they dont get those two items, then they cant have mail-in ballots. In the interview, he said that mail-in ballots have allegedly been sent to dogs and dead people, claiming that it would lead to election interference in November. In Virginia, he said that 500,000 phony ballot applications were sent to voters, adding that there were weeks-long delays in New York.

Democratic governors have pushed for mail-in ballots in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump has long decried the proposal.

But Trump told the broadcaster that there is nothing wrong with getting out and voting during the pandemic. They voted in World War I and in World War II, Trump said. They should have voter ID because Democrats scammed the system.

The conservative Heritage Foundation found 14 cases of attempted mail fraud out of roughly 15.5 million ballots cast in Oregon since that state started conducting elections by mail in 1998, according to Reuters.

Other negotiation sticking points include whether to provide approximately $1 trillion in funding to state and local governments. Democrats, in their $3.4 trillion HEROES Act, want to do just that, while Republicans proposed no new funding for those jurisdictions.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Trump previously described the funding as a bailout of poorly run states, noting that it has little to do with the pandemic caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) talks to reporters during her weekly news conference in the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center in Washington, on July 16, 2020. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

People Will Die

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday attempted to ratchet up the pressure on Republican negotiators in a press conference, saying that people will die if a stimulus bill isnt passed soon.

Pelosi attempted to focus on the divisions among Republicans in the Senate, claiming they are disorganized and dont believe in governance or science.

Lets meet in the middle, weve said all of that, Pelosi said. But until theyre ready to do that, its no use sitting in a room and let them tell us that states should go bankrupt.
The latest issue of Vietnam Briefing Magazine, titled Assessing Vietnams Economic Prospects for Foreign Investors After COVID-19, is out now and currently available to subscribers as a complimentary download in the Asia Briefing Publication Store.

In this issue:

Vietnams Management of its COVID-19 Outbreak

Incentives to Attract Foreign Investment and Aid Business Recovery

Growth of New Investment Opportunities

The start of 2020 began with COVID-19, restricting travel, disrupting global supply chains, and causing large scale unemployment due to significant losses incurred by global businesses. Vietnam was no different with initial data showing that the countrys GDP grew by just 1.81 percent in the first half of the year compared with a pre-COVID projection of 6.8 percent in 2020.

In terms of its response to the coronavirus outbreak, Vietnam was among the first few countries to shut its borders and stop international flights. It also invested in aggressive contact tracing, testing for the virus, quarantining of suspected and confirmed cases, and effectively mobilized state agencies. The result was that Vietnam could lift its lockdown as early as April 22, reporting just over 400 cases with no deaths. Vietnam has also been one of the few countries that achieved net positive growth during the pandemic.

This is why, despite the impact of COVID-19, the Asian Development Bank still forecasts Vietnam to be one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia while the World Bank observes that Vietnams economy is resilient. Retail sales, imports, and industrial production were all up year-on-year in June, better than most countries with Vietnams outlook the brightest in the region as per the financial service firm UBS.

In this issue of Vietnam Briefing, we look at Vietnams management of the pandemic and key incentives from the government to attract and sustain foreign investment and aid business recovery. We conclude by assessing the growth of new investment opportunities that have been shaped by the pandemic crisis.

This magazine is based on Dezan Shira & Associates years of experience in supporting foreign enterprises in Vietnam. For more information and advice on how to plan for or restructure your investment into Vietnam, please contact us at vietnam@dezshira.com.
A Dhaka court on Thursday indicted Bangladesh's first Hindu Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha and 10 others on charges of embezzling 40 million taka from a bank, a court official said.

IMAGE: Bangladesh's first Hindu Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha. Photograph: @DDNewslive/Twitter

The indictment comes seven months after another Dhaka court issued an arrest warrant against the 69-year-old ex-chief justice who lives in the United States and was described as a "fugitive" by the Anti-Corruption Commission in its chargesheet.

"The court today framed charges against S K Sinha and 10 others, beginning their trial in the Farmers Bank scandal," said a prosecution lawyer in Dhaka.

He said six of the accused in the case were former officials of the bank while among the rest includes a reported aide of Sinha.

The prosecutor said only three of the accused faced the trial in person as the rest were "on the run to evade justice".

The court officials said Special Judge Shaikh Nazmul Alam read out the charges and set August 18 as the date for the next hearing.

The ACC filed charges against Sinha and 10 others while the court referred the case to the independent graft body for investigation.

The ACC said it found evidence of fraud involving transactions of 40 million taka (USD 472,995) borrowed with fake documents by two businessmen from the bank in 2016. The money was deposited in Sinha's account.

Sinha now lives in the US where he is said to have sought asylum.

The graft case was lodged days after his newly launched autobiography brought him in political spotlight a year after he was forced to quit amid a row with the government.

In his autobiography "A Broken Dream: Rule of Law, Human Rights and Democracy", Sinha says he was forced to resign in 2017 following intimidation and threats.

His comments had drawn a sharp reaction from from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who accused some anti-government newspapers of backing him.

In a media interview after the book launch in Washington, Sinha urged India to support the rule of law and democracy in Bangladesh.

He said the Indian government should not ignore the peoples' will by backing the "autocratic" Awami League-led government and alleged that he was forced to resign because he opposed the "undemocratic" and "authoritarian" regime.

Sinha, Bangladesh''s first chief justice from the minority Hindu community, served as the 21st Chief Justice of Bangladesh from January, 2015 to November, 2017.
[August 12, 2020] Concentrix Releases Advanced Biometrics Solution for Secure Work-at-Home Environment FREMONT, Calif., Aug. 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Concentrix, a leading global Customer Experience Solutions Company, today announced SecureCX, the CX BPO industry's newest Work-at-Home (WAH) platform that provides next generation security features for WAH environments. The global shift to remote working has accelerated the necessity for highly secure, off-premise systems access to ensure the same level of security as that of an on-premise office environment. SecureCX, Concentrix' proprietary platform, provides advanced digital tools and technology for remote employee monitoring. Key features of SecureCX include biometric authentication/identification (facial recognition), monitoring for mobile phone, shoulder surfing, background noise and the presence of any nearby recording devices or ports. The fully hosted solution can integrate with WFM tools and includes flexible business rules which can be customized based on client requirements. SecureCX is supported by centralized, 24x7 monitoring for immediate alerts and resolution with automated actions for screen lockouts as well as real-time alerts and historical dashboarding. "SecureCX represents the future of security in both on-premise and work-at-home environments," said Chris Caldwell, Concentrix President. "We will continue to invest in evolving technology that ensures the highest possible level of security for our clients and their confidential business information." Concentrix SecureCX takes the remote work environment beyond data and workstation security, providing workspace monitoring to protect your customers and your business. Find more information on SecureCX at www.concentrix.com/securecx. About Concentrix Concentrix, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SYNNEX Corporation (NYSE: SNX), is a technology-enabled global business services company specializing in customer engagement and improving business performance for some of the world's best brands. Every day, from more than 40 countries and across 6 continents, our staff delivers next generation customer experience and helps companies better connect with their customers. We create better business outcomes and help differentiate our clients through technology, design, data, process, and people. Concentrix provides services to clients in our key industry verticals: technology & consumer electronics; retail, travel & ecommerce; banking, financial services & insurance; healthcare; communications & media; automotive; and energy & public sector. We are Different by Design. Visit concentrix.com to learn more. About SYNNEX SYNNEX Corporation (NYSE: SNX) is a Fortune 200 corporation and a leading business process services company, providing a comprehensive range of distribution, logistics and integration services for the technology industry and providing outsourced services focused on customer engagement strategy to a broad range of enterprises. SYNNEX distributes a broad range of information technology systems and products, and also provides systems design and integration solutions. Concentrix, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SYNNEX Corporation, offers a portfolio of strategic solutions and end-to-end business services around customer engagement strategy, process optimization, technology innovation, front and back-office automation and business transformation to clients in ten identified industry verticals. Founded in 1980, SYNNEX Corporation operates in numerous countries throughout North and South America, Asia-Pacific and Europe. Additional information about SYNNEX may be found online at www.synnex.com. Safe Harbor Statement Statements in this news release that are forward-looking, such as features and capabilities of products and services, product offering expansion, and technology trends, involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause the Company's actual results in future periods to be materially different from any future performance that may be suggested in this release.? The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release. Copyright 2020 Concentrix Corporation. All rights reserved. SYNNEX and CONCENTRIX are registered trademarks of SYNNEX Corporation, Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off., used under permission. All other names and marks are the property of their respective holders. SNX-G View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/concentrix-releases-advanced-biometrics-solution-for-secure-work-at-home-environment-301111365.html SOURCE Concentrix

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Persian Gulf Tensions In this Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020 photo released by the U.S. Navy, the MT Wila is boarded by Iranian navy commandos in the Gulf of Oman off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates. The Iranian navy boarded and briefly seized a Liberian-flagged oil tanker near the strategic Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions between Tehran and the U.S., a U.S. military official said Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020. (U.S. Navy via AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  The Iranian navy boarded and briefly seized a Liberian-flagged oil tanker near the strategic Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions between Tehran and the U.S., the American military said Thursday.

The U.S. military's Central Command published a black-and-white video showing what appeared to be special forces fast-roping down from a helicopter onto the MT Wila, whose last position appeared to be off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates near the city of Khorfakkan.

The Iranian navy held the vessel for some five hours before releasing it Wednesday, said a U.S. military official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public. The Wila made no distress calls before, during and after the seizure, the official said.

The Iranian helicopter involved appeared to be a Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King, which only Iran's navy operates. The Iranian navy also handles all operations in the Gulf of Oman on the eastern side of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of all oil traded passes. Two other Iranian naval vessels took part in the seizure, Central Command said.

The International Maritime Security Construct, which is a U.S.-created maritime group to protect Persian Gulf waterways, called the Iranian boarding a blatant violation of international law that undermines freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce. It said one of its vessels monitored the incident but did not intervene.

We call on Iran to articulate to the international community the legal basis for its actions, the group said in a statement. This type of reckless, aggressive behavior by Iran destabilizes the region and threatens the rules based international order.

Iranian state television later on Thursday acknowledged the brief seizure, referring to the operation as a routine inspection without elaborating.

Officials in the UAE, a U.S.-allied federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula, did not respond to a request for comment.

Story continues

The Wila's registered owner is a Liberian firm called Bandit Shipping Co., managed by Greek firm IMS SA, according to United Nations records. Bandit Shipping could not be reached, while IMS did not respond to requests for comment.

The Wila had been off Khor Al Zubair, Iraq, in early July before traveling to near Dubai and later Khorfakkan, where it's been for around a month, according to data firm Refinitiv. It wasn't immediately clear what cargo it carried.

Private maritime intelligence firm Dryad Global said it suspected two other ships had been harassed by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in the Persian Gulf over the last week as well, based on the ships' behavior.

As tensions between Iran and the U.S. heated up last year over America's unilateral withdraw from its 2015 nuclear deal, tankers plying the waters of the Mideast became targets, particularly near the strait, the Persian Gulfs narrow mouth. Suspected limpet mine attacks the U.S. blamed on Iran targeted several tankers. Iran denied being involved, though it did seize several tankers.

In July, a U.S.-sought oil tanker was hijacked off the coast of the United Arab Emirates after allegedly smuggling Iranian crude oil. The vessel later ended up back in Iranian waters, suggesting Iran itself seized the vessel.

___

Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.
'India is in a slowdown which most of us have not seen in our living memory.'

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

"Even if you are climbing out of the hole, you are not really climbing out fast enough," Priyanka Kishore, the economist behind the Oxford Economics report on the Indian economy -- A reopening gone wrong, which paints a grim picture of India's economic future post-Covid -- tells Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com in the concluding segment of a two-part interview.

Will you say a stringent lockdown is inversely proportionate to faster economic recovery?

In some sense, yes. Especially if the government did not compensate by giving more cash transfers to vulnerable people, or give ample support to businesses so that they do not lay-off employees and are in a better position to benefit from reopening.

You are out of the lockdown, but layoffs are beginning to happen now in the organised sector.

That's because businesses are faced with lower demand, and the government did not have any employment protection plan in place.

The higher unemployment, in turn, would lead to reduced consumer spending and further weigh on demand, and so on and so forth.

So, I would say the stringency of lockdown is inversely proportionate to economic recovery in India's case.

Do you feel the stimulus package offered by the government did not excite the market mainly because the private sector did not have the confidence to invest?

The stimulus package was mainly offering cheap credit to businesses, whether they are large or small or medium. They did not provide any benefits or wage subsidies to retain employees to ensure continuity when the economy opened up.

So, when companies start laying off employees, people are losing income which will lower demand further.

In a way, you are automatically adjusting down your growth and demand expectations for your sector which, in turn, will affect output. This was what happened with the stimulus package.

Your study said India's GDP growth would lose momentum from late Q3 on. Do you feel the impact on the economy became more severe because the economy was slowing down even before the pandemic came?

Yes, that is very much the case. The country was dealing with balance sheet concerns both on the financial and the non-financial side.

Now, even though the bankruptcy law has been suspended, the reality is that these balance sheet stresses have likely worsened during the lockdown and once things resume, more companies would file for bankruptcies.

And on the financial front, NPAs would rise because of that, leading to renewed tightening of credit conditions and prolonged weakness in private investment. So, it is going to take longer to resolve the legacy issues.

You say that 80% of covid cases are in the urban hot spots which contribute to 70% of India's GDP, and hence India's economic recovery will be bleak. How bleak is it going to be?

I feel that there is going to be a 6% plus contraction on the fiscal which is quite bleak for India.

There will also be a double digit contraction in Q2.

So, even if you are climbing out of the hole, you are not really climbing out fast enough.

On an annual basis, you are not going to see any positive growth this fiscal year at all. Q4 of FY21 also will still be negative in my forecast.

The IMF says the Indian economy is going to contract by 4.5% this year while some Indian economists feel it will be a 15% to 20% contraction.

For the first time since 1979, the Indian economy is contracting like this. Are we in an economic depression?

I think it is fair to say India is in recession. Recession is defined as two quarters of negative GDP growth.

On a q/q basis, I don't forecast that. But the more generalised definition of a significant decline in economic activity, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP and monthly indicators from NBER (National Bureau of Economic Research), does apply in the current circumstances.

India is in a slowdown which most of us have not seen in our living memory.

How long do you think this negative growth will go on? Some say it may continue for two years.

Two years is a long time. I think there will be a recovery sooner.

India is an emerging market with a lot of catch-up potential. It went into a sudden stop, and is coming out slowly.

There will be a recovery, but the question is, will it be a smooth recovery, or will there be another setback?

I am of the opinion that there will be an initial bounce back, and then things will not be that smooth going forward.

The recovery will be choppy, with ups and downs.

What I am forecasting is, India is not going to get as strong a medium-term recovery as others in the region. Though statistically you will get a bounce back in 2021 with may be 8% growth.

In 2022, growth will likely fall back again way below 6% as base effects fade.

At one point of time, India's growth was always 7% to 8%. It is only in the last 5-6 quarters, before the pandemic that India started getting used to the new normal of 5% to 5.5% growth.

The government is talking about green shoots starting in the rural sector. Do you think the rural sector will be able to guide the economy in its recovery process?

It is definitely leading the recovery process.

It is true that the rural economy employs a large section of the population and partly because of higher employment generation under MNERGA, we see more rural demand emanating.

Having said that, eventually from the output perspective, agriculture and fisheries contribute a very small percentage of the overall GDP.

India's GDP is services driven as 50% to 55% India's GDP is contributed by services.

Manufacturing has 15% to 16% share and the rest is agriculture.

Services and manufacturing are concentrated in urban areas.

When the rural sector drove India's economic growth, a lot of it was because of infrastructure investment and construction happening in rural areas.

Right now, that is not the case. It was in urban areas that construction was happening, but now, it has come to a near halt with the exodus of migrant workers, rising virus cases, renewed shutdowns etc.

So, I don't think the rural economy can offset the negative pressures from the urban demand. It will provide a bit of a cushion, but it doesn't have the strength to drive the entire economy.

You said 50% to 60% of the Indian economy is services driven. It means how the global economy fares is very important.

Now that the US is really suffering and its economy contracting around 33%, how much is this going to affect India?

Yes, it is the same story globally also. In the US, you see a situation similar to that of India with states moving away from the central plan of opening.

Our indicators show the US economy's recovery stalling and even coming off. So, globally we are seeing a bit of a drag on demand.

The only global silver lining is China which returned to growth in Q2 and could potentially lead to some pickup in global demand.

Nonetheless, with the major western economies struggling, whatever pickup in world growth you are likely to see in Q3, may lose some force by the end of the year.

This means that the recovery in Indian exports, which is one of the silver linings currently, may lose steam as well

Your study says India's recovery has to depend on exports as domestic demand is not going to rise soon.

When you look at the aggregate number for the entire year, it is going to be like that. A part of it is because net exports are exports less imports, and you now see a total collapse in imports.

If you look at the monthly trade figures, exports did well from -60% to -12% which was a faster recovery than we were expecting.

But imports are very disappointing, and remain near the bottom showing how weak the country's internal demands are for goods and services. That is a reflection of weak domestic demand.

As you emerge out of it, probably by the end of the fiscal year, you may start seeing more growth coming from domestic demand, and imports picking up in tandem, and net exports not multiplying so much.

But in the first half of the year, because this trend is so strong, you see domestic demand is subtracting from growth, and net exports are adding on to growth.

How do you compare Indian economic situation compared to the other Asian economies?

I think between India and the Philippines, India is in a race to the bottom for the worst performing economy in 2020.

Indonesia is also grappling with rising virus cases, but seems slightly better off than these two. Indonesia's case is quite interesting as they didn't lock down and implemented quite weak social distancing measures. They are also under reporting their cases because they are worried it will affect business confidence.

What we have found is that the short-term economic impact of the pandemic could be less severe in Indonesia compared to India or the Philippines. But it will likely take a long time to reach pre-covid growth level like India and the Philippines.

So, these three countries are basically at the bottom. In the middle are Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand who are already showing some improvement.

Of course, at the top is North Asia -- Vietnam, South Korea and Taiwan.
 Adopt challenge trials. In the final stage of testing, researchers typically give a vaccine to one group of volunteers and a placebo to another, then wait to see whether significantly fewer in the first group develop the targeted infection. That takes time. A quicker but riskier alternative is to inject volunteers with the vaccine, then deliberately expose them to the pathogen. Such challenge trials are the basis for animal studies of vaccines, and theyve been used in human tests of cholera, malaria and typhoid shots as well. Some prominent scientists have argued that the urgency of a Covid-19 vaccine justifies their use now, and the website 1daysooner.org has collected the names of tens of thousands of people who say theyd participate. Skeptics say its unethical to use this trial design until there are proven therapies to treat those who would become sick.
Like several nations, Rwanda is finding it impossible to test every citizen for COVID-19 with lack of supplies. However researchers there have formed an approach which is drawing attention outside Africa too, as per a report in AP.

They are using an algorithm to refine pooled testing, which tests batches of samples from groups and then tests each person only if a batch comes tests positive for COVID-19. This conserves scarce testing materials.



Rwandas mathematical approach, the researchers say, makes that process more efficient. That's an advantage for developing countries with limited resources, where some people must wait several days for results. Longer waits mean a greater chance of unknowingly spreading the virus.



Reuters

Those behind the algorithm have expressed some pride that a potential solution to a dogged problem in the global crisis is coming from Africa. Experts have noticed. Sema Sgaier, a Harvard assistant professor of global health, called the Rwanda approach an example of the incredible solutions in very resource-poor settings that have come out of the continent.



Innovative process

Some experts, and even the researchers, have noted concerns that the complexity of the approach could deter its widespread use. If you told this to a technician, they would say, What a mess. I want a simple scheme, Sigrun Smola, a molecular virologist at Saarland University Medical Center in Germany, told the journal Nature in a recent article on Rwandas and other approaches to pooled testing.



Getty

The method developed by Wilfred Ndifon, a mathematical epidemiologist and director of research at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences Global Network in Rwandas capital, Kigali, is now being turned into software that will guide lab technicians, minimizing human error.



The technician will continue to do the normal lab work, Ndifon told AP. The software will make it easier to make the calculations. It will tell the lab tech how many samples to put together for testing and, in the end, how many samples are infected.

Working wonders

The approach is the most efficient in places where virus prevalence is relatively low, the researchers say.

AFP

The algorithm itself is novel, Ndifon said. It reduces the number of required retests when a group sample comes up positive. Rather than retest every sample in the batch individually, the mathematical formula dictates how to create and overlap smaller groups from the batch in a way that allows the positive samples to be identified.



He described it as arranging samples in a multi-dimensional structure such as a cube or hypercube and testing along the slices.


Toronto says its moved more than 1,500 homeless people into permanent housing since mid-March as its battled COVID-19  a nearly 50 per cent increase over the same period last year.

But some outreach workers say that figure doesnt fairly represent Torontos pandemic-specific response, since more than 40 per cent were already on waitlists before the virus hit, and the number reflects the total instead of this years COVID-specific increase.

While the city says it has moved 1,570 people into permanent housing since mid-March, using rent-to-geared-income (RGI) assistance and housing allowances, last year during the same time period it moved 1,050 people using the same programs, according to data provided to the Star.

Coun. Joe Cressy, chair of Torontos board of health, said the city is spending $200 million on efforts to combat homelessness during COVID-19.

While hes now confident that Ottawa and Queens Park will step in to assist with those costs, he said the city didnt wait for confirmation of that aid before putting its plans in motion.

What the number demonstrates, very clearly, is that the impediment to addressing chronic homelessness is not capacity, its resources and political will, he said. I think whats happened since March here is the willingness to house people now, and keep the receipts for later.

But the citys count of people housed during COVID-19 has sparked frustration among some outreach workers, who believe its an unfair portrayal of how Toronto has handled homelessness during the pandemic  since the city was including individuals who were already on waitlists, and touting its overall numbers instead of the increase over last years figure.

I think its incredibly disingenuous, said Diana McNally, a coordinator with the Toronto Drop-In Network. This is a communication piece that the city is using with some frequency.

According to data provided to the Star by the city, 42.7 per cent of shelter residents permanently housed from mid-March to August had already applied for rent-geared-to-income (RGI) assistance or housing allowances before the coronavirus pandemic struck.

That percentage included all 326 shelter residents housed through RGI, who had spent an average of three-plus years on the waitlist.

In the same period last year, the city housed 98 shelter residents through RGI assistance.

When it comes to housing allowances, 952 shelter residents were moved into permanent housing between March and August 2019, compared with 1,244 in 2020  a 31 per cent increase.

To kind of pretend that their usual operations, kind of lump that in with anything they might be doing because of COVID, is a false impression of whats actually happening on the ground, said Greg Cook, an outreach worker with Sanctuary Toronto.

Cook acknowledged that any shelter resident given permanent housing was a positive development. But he urged the city to examine why it was able to ramp up its efforts to house the homeless, and whether that pace could be sustained after the pandemic subsides.

Theyre not building that many new RGI units, (Toronto Community Housing) units. So why have, all of a sudden, all these units come online? he said.

Bruce Malloch, director of communications for the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC), said the citys state of emergency allowed for some flexibility with the waitlist for subsidized housing.

Sheila Penny, COO of TCHC, said the crisis allowed them to focus solely on moving shelter residents into their RGI units in recent months. Normally, shelter residents only accounted for one in every seven new community housing tenants, she said.

Vacancy in RGI units is typically between one and two per cent, according to Malloch.

In non-pandemic times, some of those units can linger vacant after turnover  for painting, repairs, or demolition. People on the waitlist also dont have to take the first unit theyre offered, and some were harder than others to fill, Malloch said. Those are the units theyve looked to occupy since the pandemic hit.

We didnt have to find vacant units. They were there, he said.

Both Malloch and Penny noted that tenants who moved in during COVID-19 also had smoother transitions, as TCHC had an agreement with the city during the pandemic that arranged for wraparound supports  to provide things like furniture, clothing and other social support when that person moved in.

This is something that we dont want to end, Penny said.

That agreement is set to stop when Torontos state of emergency ends. After that, Penny said, its a question of whether the city and the province would continue to fund the support agencies work.

Cressy, who told the Star he was sympathetic to the idea that the city should do more to combat homelessness, said the challenge now was to not let attention on the issue lapse. The reason waiting lists had moved quicker lately was because they spent new money, he added.

If we return to the broken status quo, we will have let our city and our residents down, Cressy said. Im increasingly hopeful that  COVID could prove the jumping point to lasting housing solutions.

Malloch expressed a similar hope. The feeling at Toronto Community Housing is that were not going to go back to the old way of doing things, he said. We want to keep the momentum going after things go back to whatever the new normal is, and the emergency is lifted.

Clarification - Aug. 13, 2020: This article was edited from a previous version to make clear that the future of support agencies work with new TCHC tenants will depend on funding from both the city and the province.
WINSTED  The Gilbert Schools plan for reopening includes staggered hall passing times, block scheduling and new foot traffic flow through the building, officials said.

Superintendent of Schools Anthony Serio outlined the plans during a special meeting of the Gilbert School Corp. this week, which included a review of back-to-school policies, as the school prepares to reopen for visits at the end of August and classes in September.

Gilbert School Corp. members developed three iterations of school reopening: full in-person, full distance learning, and a hybrid model combining both in-person and remote learning, according to the reopening plan. The school has developed cleaning, disinfecting and sanitizing plans for the building; measured classrooms, hallways and stairwells for social distancing issues; and have planned foot traffic flow throughout the building. Food service staff also have planned for multiple lunch waves and delivery systems, Serio said.

Gilbert Principal Sue Sojka reviewed the procedures for classroom time, including the requirement for teachers to wear a mask at all times. She also said plastic shields will be provided, if teachers wanted to use them. Some board members were concerned about a teacher standing before students for the entire period, saying it would be difficult and uncomfortable for them.

Id rather make sure we have all the resources available to teachers if they want to use them, said board member Theresa Padin. Id rather overspend a little and make sure theyre comfortable.

Gilbert students will return to school Sept. 8. There will be school visits permitted during the week of Aug. 31 to Sept. 3 for students who are new to the school and incoming seventh graders. This is subject to change, according to Serio.

The school also is adopting a block schedule, in which it will hold four 90-minute classes a day, with five minutes between each class and staggered hall times for students to go to their next classroom.

For those students who choose to stay at home and use distance learning, Gilbert is using Google Classrooms, and providing all classroom materials to those students, officials said.

During the discussion on the policy for masks for students, members were worried about students getting on a school bus without them.

Some transportation is being shared with the Winchester Public Schools, so we dont know if everyone will be wearing (a mask), said school corporation member Ellen Marino. Youre required to wear a mask. If you dont wear a mask, you dont get on the bus.

The policy makes wearing a mask mandatory, including the driver, Serio said.

Serio also explained the plan to reopen in a statement to parents and students on the Gilbert School website.

The school reopening to all students is being done as recommended by the Governor of Connecticut, Ned Lamont, and the Commissioner of Education, Miguel Cardona, Serio wrote.

Clearly, the infection rates in Connecticut are low and citizens are assisting by following the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the Connecticut Department of Public Health, Serio wrote. The safety and health of our students, their families and our staff will guide our preparedness to open our doors at the end of August.

The Gilbert Schools entire reopening plan is posted on the schools website, gilbertschool.org.

Editors note: The school opening date has been corrected. The earlier date is for school visits for certain students.
My hope is that he knows that hes not going to get somebody who is just going to say Yes, Mr. President.

 Teresa Younger, president and chief executive of the nonprofit Ms. Foundation for Women

In Her Words is available as a newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

In 1984, days after Geraldine Ferraro accepted the nomination for vice president at the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, Walter Mondale and his campaign team called a planning meeting. There were flip charts and calendars and detailed itineraries.

As Mr. Mondale tells it in his book, The Good Fight: A Life in Liberal Politics, Ms. Ferraro was concerned. Her first reaction was: Why is all this written in ink? Dont I get any say in this?

Before her nomination  one that made her the first woman representing a major U.S. political party  Ms. Ferraro had already carved out a successful career, starting out as an assistant district attorney in New York and then being elected to the House, one of just two dozen women in Congress at the time. As vice president, she wanted to be consulted, not play the submissive, powerless second fiddle, Mr. Mondale wrote. Her thinking was that if the presentation was in ink, not pencil, there was no room for her input.
In the past, local businesses could largely rely on foot traffic and word of mouth to grow their brand. Nowadays, however, most customers begin their search for businesses online  even when theyre looking for something in their local area.

Local business searches can be highly influential. According to data from HubSpot, 72 percent of consumers visit a store within five miles of their location after conducting a local search.

While there are many factors that can influence a customers decision to buy from you after doing a Google search, few are more influential than reviews. User reviews build trust and credibility, serving as the modern-day word of mouth. The more reviews a local business can get, the more influential it will appear in search results. Here are a half-dozen tips to get you started.

Related: How Retail Companies Are Adapting to Improve Profitability

1. Claim your Google My Business profile

If you havent already done so, you need to claim your Google My Business profile. This profile is completely free and gives you total control over the listing for your store that shows up on Google searches.

Claiming your profile allows you to update basic information such as your address, business hours and link to your website. You can also upload photos of your store. Filling out this basic profile information tells users that this is an official profile, which makes customers more likely to leave a review.

2. Send email reminders

Most customers arent going to leave a review right after they order a product from your website or after they finish a transaction in-store. They need to fully experience the product or service before they feel comfortable leaving a review. This is part of the reason why Metacritic recently changed its review policy for video games, making it so players can only leave reviews after a game has been released for 36 hours and they have truly experienced it.

For a local business, its best to send an email reminder a few days or a week after the completion of the transaction. You dont need to have online checkout to collect email addresses, either. Smart in-store checkout devices offer the option to send digital receipts to a customers email, which you can use later to request a review.

Related: How Brick-And-Mortar Stores Can Move Online In a Hurry

3. Share positive reviews on other outlets

People like to know that their opinions have been heard. I recently spoke with Ryan Chaffin, founder of KAHA, a digital marketing agency that focuses on helping small- and medium-sized businesses grow through SEO and customer reviews. Maximizing the reach of your positive reviews is a win-win," Chaffin explained. "Great reviews can provide marketing materials for Facebook or Twitter, or serve as verifiable testimonials for your website. At the same time, many reviewers like seeing their comments shared more broadly, which can encourage even more people to leave reviews for you.

Curating positive reviews to be featured on your website or social media profiles will provide powerful social proof for customers who dont discover you through a Google search. This ensures that all potential customers are exposed to positive word of mouth.

4. Use physical reminders for digital reviews

Youre not always going to be able to collect email addresses to remind customers to leave their feedback. However, using some old-school methods can still help you collect more reviews.

For example, contractors and service companies often leave business cards after completing work for a client. Alongside your business card and any other paperwork you leave (such as warranty information), consider adding a Google review card. This card could provide a link and brief instructions for leaving an online review. Remind customers that sharing their experience helps others.

5. Respond to current reviews

Regardless of whether you get a good or bad review, it is important to respond to the Google reviews that you do receive. A Harvard Business Review analysis of hotel reviews on Google found that locations that responded to customer comments received 12 percent more reviews, while also increasing their rating by 0.12 stars.

Be careful when responding to negative reviews, however. Look at this as an opportunity to learn and grow your business. Offer to help the customer and make things right, rather than try to argue with them. A Moz analysis determined that many customers view their reviews as living documents and are willing to change their negative reviews if the business attempts to rectify the situation.

6. Go above and beyond

The internet tends to amplify extreme experiences. As a result, most of the people who are going to leave reviews for your business are those who were completely blown away by your service or those who were extremely disappointed in it.

Consistently going above and beyond what customers expect and truly wowing them with your service will motivate them to leave glowing reviews on Google. It will get them to come back to you in the future, building the kind of loyalty every local business needs to thrive.

Related: 5 Tips for Recognizing a Meaningful Business Opportunity When You See One

The days when people would go through the phone book to find a local business are long gone. For many, the internet is the first place they go, in large part because of the transparency provided by online reviews. As you increase the number of reviews your business receives on Google, you will strengthen your digital reputation and get even more customers.

Related:

6 Tips for Acquiring More Google Reviews (and Why They Matter)

Reputation Management In An Increasingly Transparent World

How to Manage (and Repair) Your Business' Online Reputation



Copyright 2020 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
LEHI, Utah, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Young Living, the world's leading provider of essential oils, recently hosted its first-ever virtual International Grand Convention designed to keep attendees safe from the COVID-19 pandemic while still providing an immersive, enriching experience. More than 210,000 people from 81 countries virtually attended the four day online event.

The Young Living One2020 convention took virtual events to another level with Hollywood-like production technology spanning 30 sessions in over 20 time zones. Attendees from around the world were able to interact together live via the event chat function, mimicking the interaction members look forward to each year at the annual convention. These chats featured lively discussions about the event and the new products announced during the different sessions.

"We were thrilled to see our members' reaction to this year's big event," said Jared Turner, president and COO of Young Living. "It took quite an effort from our events team to pivot our entire convention to an online format and seeing all their hard work come to fruition was incredibly rewarding."

At the event, Young Living debuted multiple new products including brand new oil blends, two new hand-blown artisan glass diffusers, innovative essential oil aroma rings, and a full skin care line. Attendees also learned new strategies for building at-home businesses, how to create happier, healthier homes, and the potential health benefits of products like CBD.

"This year's virtual convention was a historic event that came out of our desire to connect with our members knowing how we would miss being together and sharing in each other's success at our annual convention," said Mary Young, co-founder and CEO of Young Living. "Our virtual experience was beautiful to watch and the music was spectacular. It was educational, entertaining, and so rewarding as we were able to share our powerful message around the world with over 200,000 members and non-members alike. It was a thrill to be part of so many new discoveries about virtual communication and future possibilities."

About Young Living Essential Oils

Young Living Essential Oils, LC, based in Lehi, Utah, is the world leader in essential oils, offering the highest quality oil-infused products available. Young Living takes its industry leadership seriously, setting the standard with its proprietary Seed to Seal quality commitment, which involves three critical pillars: Sourcing, Science, and Standards. These guiding principles help Young Living protect the planet and provide pure, authentic products that its members can feel confident about using and sharing with friends and family. Young Living's productswhich all come from corporate-owned farms, partner farms, and Seed to Seal-certified suppliersnot only support a healthy lifestyle but also provide opportunities for over 6 million global members to find a sense of purpose and whole-life wellness by aligning their work with their values and passions. For more information, visit YoungLiving.com, follow @youngliving on Instagram, or like us on Facebook.

SOURCE Young Living Essential Oils
Film fans missing the big screen can now rent out an entire theater to themselves  or bring friends and family.

For $150, Alamo Drafthouse allows customers to reserve a theater and invite up to 30 people.

Each attendee purchases their own ticket and chooses a seat. The reservation requires the group to spend an additional $150 on food.

READ ALSO: 2 new flyover ramps on Loop 1604 and U.S. 281 set to open this weekend

Guests can choose between 44 different movies, ranging from classics like Casablanca to family-friendly fare such as Shrek.

For now, the only Texas theater offering the "Your Own Private Alamo" experience is the Slaughter Lane location in Austin.

On its website, Alamo Drafthouse says that while masks are required in public areas, "because these screenings are popular with families and small groups of close friends, unless a local or state mandate is in effect, mask-wearing inside the theater is up to you."

Texas regulations require people at movie theaters to wear masks whenever it is not feasible to maintain 6 feet of social distancing from another person not in the same household. Theaters are allowed to operate at 50 percent capacity for each screening.

Here are the available movies for Alamo Drafthouse's private theater option:

ABOMINABLE

DESPICABLE ME

DESPICABLE ME 3

DOLITTLE

DR. SEUSS THE GRINCH (2018)



ET

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON

KUNG FU PANDA

MINIONS

SECRET LIFE OF PETS



SHREK

SING

SPIRIT: STALLION OF CIMARRON

THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS

THE IRON GIANT



THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE

THE MUPPET MOVIE

TROLLS

1941

ALWAYS



CASABLANCA

DUEL

PRINCE OF DARKNESS

SIXTEEN CANDLES

THE GOONIES



THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK

THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS

UNCLE BUCK

VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (1995)

WEIRD SCIENCE



A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET

AQUAMAN

BATMAN (1989)

BREAKFAST CLUB

GREMLINS



JAWS

JURASSIC PARK

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

SUPERMAN (1978)

THE LOST BOYS



THE MATRIX

THE THING (1982)

THEY LIVE

WONDER WOMAN
Rights groups fear a new crackdown on those opposed to the ruling class looms after deadly blast creates more anger.

Beirut, Lebanon  Lebanons parliament has approved a state of emergency that grants sweeping powers to the army, citing the exceptional circumstances in the country following a massive explosion in Beirut last week.

The cabinet had declared a two-week state of emergency on August 5, the day after the Beirut blast that left at least 200 dead and some 6,000 injured. Parliament on Thursday voted for the emergency declaration eight days in, as is legally required, though it could have also voted it down.

The state of emergency allows the army to curb free speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of the press, as well as to enter homes and arrest anyone deemed a security threat.

Judicial proceedings are to take place in the countrys military courts, which Human Rights Watch and other rights groups have shown do not conform to standards on due process.

Rights groups have raised serious concerns about the state of emergency, saying it would enable security forces to crack down on a public raging with anger against the ruling class following the blast.





The huge explosion  one of the biggest non-nuclear blasts in history  was fueled by some 2,750 tonnes of dangerous chemicals left in storage at Beiruts port for nearly seven years, with the knowledge of top security and political officials.

Room for protest

Citing the militarization of the state, parliamentarian Osama Saad was the only one out of the 119-member chamber, a reduced number after the resignation of nine MPs since the explosion, to oppose the state of emergency.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri responded the army had not taken steps that people fear, nor suppress television [channels] and despite the chaos in the media it did not intervene and left room for protest, according to local media. Sessions are not televised and, therefore, statements by lawmakers are carried by local media.

But the Lebanese army, Internal Security Forces, and armed plain-clothes officers were observed using excessive force against anti-establishment protesters on Saturday.

Some 728 people were injured, many left with serious wounds that required emergency surgery. About 12 journalists were also assaulted, including at least four who were assaulted by soldiers, one of whom was an Al Jazeera reporter.

Lebanese security forces stand guard outside the UNESCO Palace in Beirut on Thursday [Anwar Amro/AFP]

Control the streets

The state of emergency is set to run until August 21 but it can be renewed.

Karim Nammour, a member of legal NGO Legal Agenda, told Al Jazeera the state of emergency was entirely unnecessary to address the aftermath of the Beirut blast, given that the country had already been in a state of general mobilization because of the coronavirus pandemic.





This general mobilization already allows cabinet the powers to mobilize the armed forces and to control stores and matters of a strategic nature, including controlling the prices of things like glass and wood, as well as to raise the rubble and provide relief to people, said Nammour.

The only real reason we can see for a state emergency is to grant security forces powers to control the streets as much as possible  to give legal coverage to things that would otherwise be impossible, he said.

The ruling regime knows that it is weak and unpopular on the streets, and they are afraid because the fingers are pointed at them, and there are calls for revenge.
ALLEMAGNE :: The Cameroon Patriotic Diaspora strongly condemns the heinous killing of Ms. Bih Blanche in Muyuka :: GERMANY

The wave of indignation after the barbaric assassination of Mrs Bih Blanche in Muyuka in the South-West region by suspected separatists is not weakening. The Cameroon Patriotic Diaspora (CPD), which has repeatedly engaged in an inclusive dialogue on the subject of the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon, condemns this assassination and calls for the arrest and prosecution of all persons involved in the murder of Ms. BIH Blanche. Read the CPD' press release below...

The Cameroon Patriotic Diaspora strongly condemns the heinous killing of Ms. Bih Blanche in Muyuka

The Cameroon Patriotic Diaspora (CPD) shares with the populations of Muyuka in the Southwest region of Cameroon the feelings of revulsion, horror and shock over the brutal killing of a 35 year old lady and a mother of two.

We at the Cameroon Patriotic Diaspora, are terribly horrified and totally disgusted by the open and barbaric execution of a civilian on Tuesday 11 August 2020 in Muyuka. This is an unacceptable crime! Any attack on unarmed civilians is unlawful and contrary to international norms to which Cameroon is signatory.

We express our deepest sympathies and sorrow to the bereaved family and most especially to the young children that she is leaving behind.

The CPD strongly condemn slitting of throats and all acts of violence that are against all humanist and societal morals. We condemn and oppose all aggression on human life, freedom and dignity in the two Anglophone regions that have known no peace for the past four years.

The killing of BIH Blanche happens after Florence AYAFOR a civil servant at the Bamenda central prison was kidnapped, tortured and beheaded in Santa by unknown individuals in September 2019. The generalization and banalization of violence and barbaric acts in the NW and SW regions is a matter of concern that should be addressed by the international community.

The CPD firmly condemns all forms of violence and in this we make no distinction. Violence is completely wrong, no matter who engages in it. As a human community we must be vigilant and careful to oppose these pernicious and shameless evils, which are not justified by any sane logic.

We call for the arrest and prosecution of all persons involved in the murder of Ms. BIH Blanche:

Following the barbaric assassination of BIH Blanche, the Cameroon Patriotic Diaspora (CPD) reiterates:

- Its demand for a global and thorough investigation into all cases of human rights violations that have occurred since October 2017 in the northwest and southwest regions, and the prosecution of the perpetrators and the sponsors;

- that no military solution to the crisis in NO-SO is sustainable and that the regime's stubbornness in this bloody path nurtures the crimes and atrocities of the army and armed groups against the innocent civilians;

- Its request for a genuine and inclusive national dialogue, including the separatist movements to find a negotiated solution to the crisis in the Northwest and Southwest;

Done in Munich, on 13 August 2020

For the Executive Board of the CPD,

Dr. Etah Ewane

Coordinator

Contact: camerdiasporaforum2017@gmail.com

http://camerdiaspora.net/fr/
Three journalists, including a female reporter from Caravan magazine, were beaten, subjected to slurs, threatened with death, and sexually harassed in North East Delhi on August 11. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Indian Journalists Union (IJU) condemn the attack and call on authorities to identify those responsible for these crimes and hold them accountable.

Caravan contributor Prabhjit Singh, Assistant photo editor Shahid Tantray and a female reporter who was covering communal tension that broke out on August 5, were beaten, punched, kicked, threatened with murder, and subjected to abuse.

A mob surrounded the journalists and assaulted them for more than an hour and a half. The crowd became more aggressive after learning that Tantray was Muslim. They forced him to delete photographs and videos from his camera. The injured journalists have wounds all over their bodies. The assailants are alleged to be affiliated with Bharatiya Janata party (BJP).

According to the complaint the female journalist filed to the police, assailants beat on her head, arms, hips and chest, threw verbal abuse and sexually harassed her.

Police quickly managed to rescue the journalists. At first, they were taken to Bhajanpura police station and then to the hospital.

Although the journalists filed formal complaints in Bhajanpura police station, the police is yet to register the First Information Report (FIR).

IJU president Geetartha Pathak said: The assault is an attack on press freedom. The IJU condemns the polices hesitation to file the FIR on such a heinous crime. The Union demands the Delhi Government, the Union Home Ministry and Union Information & Broadcasting Ministry take concrete actions to launch an investigation on the case and ensure that the culprits are booked.

IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger, said: The IFJ is saddened and angered to know such an attack against journalists can take place in broad daylight. We send a message of support to the victimised journalists and urge the Delhi authorities to launch a thorough investigation of the incident and hold those responsible accountable.
BERLIN - Three Spanish tourists were killed and one is presumed dead after a flash flood in a part of the Swiss Alps where they were canyoning, authorities in Switzerland said Thursday.

Police in the eastern canton (state) of St. Gallen said they were alerted to the mens disappearance late Wednesday by two women who were part of the same group from Spains northern region of Navarre but had decided not to enter the Parlitobel Gorge.

About 100 mountain rescuers, soldiers, police and workers from a nearby power plant were mobilized for the search, police spokesman Hanspeter Kruesi.

The bodies of three men were found shortly before midnight at the entrance to a nearby lake, he said.

The location where they were found suggests that the victims were swept away by rocks and a deluge of water, and died as a result, Kruesi said.

He added that the Spaniards were travelling without a guide but had previous experience with canyoning, a sport that involves jumping, sliding and rappelling into mountain rivers and swimming downstream in protective gear.

According to current information the four men  ages 30, 33, 38 and 48  parted ways with the two women at 4 p.m. (1400 GMT) at the entrance to the gorge, Kruesi said.

A heavy storm erupted directly over the gorge shortly after 6 p.m., he said. Armin Grob, a member of the Alpine rescue squad, said the deluge flooded the gorge, a popular canyoning destination located about 85 kilometres (53 miles) southeast of Zurich.

When the men didnt show up at a parking area, the women  one of whom was married to one of the men  informed police, he said.

Rescuers had to break off the search overnight due to adverse weather but resumed looking for the fourth man Thursday morning.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez expressed his condolences to the victims friends and families. In a tweet, he also thanked rescue teams involved in the search.

There have been numerous fatal canyoning accidents in the Alps over the years.

In 1999, a group of foreign tourists on a canyoning expedition near the Swiss resort of Interlaken were swept away by a flash flood. Eighteen young people from Australia, New Zealand, Britain and South Africa, and three of their guides drowned.

Six former employees of an adventure company the tourists had booked with were convicted of negligent manslaughter over the Saxet Brook disaster and received suspended sentences.

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Israel based Coralogix, provider of leading ML-powered log analytics and monitoring solution, announced a strategic expansion into India to provide its customers with its first local Amazon Web Services (AWS) regional server support and data storage capabilities. By localizing data, Coralogix will help customers meet compliance requirements for Indias new data privacy laws and dramatically improve service performance. Coralogix is also rolling out an onsite team to provide comprehensive sales and customer success support to India-based companies.

With todays strategic move, we are proactively addressing new Indian data privacy laws scheduled to take effect in 2021 by providing Coralogix customers with a solution well ahead of most of our competitors, said Ariel Assaraf, CEO and co-Founder, Coralogix. When the new laws are enacted, we anticipate a profound sense of urgency for companies who fall under domestic compliance rules to store their data locally and avoid being penalized for non-compliance.

Cloud and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) technology companies that collect user data will be most notably affected by these new laws and stand to benefit from todays expansion announcement. Several regional brands operating within these industries have already signed on as Coralogix customers including Postman, Jupiter Money, BookMyShow and more.

Coralogix gives us a highly customizable SIEM solution that addresses the very specific needs of our FinTech environment, said Jayesh Sidhwani, Vice President-Engineering, Jupiter Money.

Our lives got easier  within minutes we started seeing results on the dashboard, said Pranav Kapoor, DevOps Lead, BookMyShow. Weve integrated the Coralogix webhooks with our Kubernetes deployments to automatically tag new versions as theyre deployed. I love that I can archive logs to an S3 bucket for later retrieval.

We grew to 10 million users and Coralogix has grown along with us, said Shamsis

Bhattacharya, Chief Software Architect, Postman. Weve worked closely together to get the workflows we need as an organization to ensure that the product we deliver meets the quality and value requirements.

Coralogixs team worked closely with their counterparts at Amazon when launching the expansion.
"At Aureus we recognize opportunities that will bring value to companies, and based on those opportunities, we develop core competencies and stick to them. Success requires focus. We have five major core competencies that we preserve, but continuously develop and evolve them to stimulate growth. Audacious long-term goals are set, but it's our short-term financial goals, discipline, and laser-like focus that moves us to achieve them and grow," stated Sujata Bhattarai, CEO, Aureus Tech Systems.

Through thought leadership, Aureus implements the latest and best technology in a way that's 1) tailored and optimized for specific companies and 2) fit for today and the future. Aureus's capabilities include Office365 Development, Artificial Intelligence & Data Mining, Rapid Application Development, Internet of Things (IoT), and Conversational AI/Chatbot Development all in one, unified Microsoft Azure cloud platform.

"The companies on this year's Inc. 5000 come from nearly every realm of business," says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. "From health and software to media and hospitality, the 2020 list proves that no matter the sector, incredible growth is based on the foundations of tenacity and opportunism."

Aureus attributes this incredible growth to their up-front and continuous R&D investments. Many other digital transformation companies require companies to invest in R&D up-front, but Aureus has already deeply invested in advanced technologies and absorbed these costs, so their customers don't have to. Not only has Aureus invested in R&D, but they've invested in domain expertise, championing digital transformation in the pharmaceutical, legal, media, and insurance industries.

And one of the ways Aureus has sought aforementioned opportunities, separating itself from other competitors, is that it is both a product and service company. Whether a company wants a more custom-made solution or a pre-built product, they have both options. Some of the latest intelligent and cloud-driven capabilities are showcased in Aureus's eDiscovery product, Anvesa.

Technology advancement is the central focus of Aureus. Aureus builds solutions with the concept that technology should be used as a primary enabler for company profitability; not a mere back-office controller. Since Aureus's platforms are natively built from the ground up on Microsoft Azure, it offers customers the opportunity for technology to drive their company. The utilization of Azure as a development platform gives customers virtually infinite compute, unbounded scalability and extensibility, and one seamless, unified system.

"Even though technology is the driving force of our company, the most important thing we value in our company is human capital and discipline. Disciplined people, disciplined thoughts, and disciplined action, which translates into value for our customers. We never deviate from our "hedgehog" concept of focusing on our core serverless, intelligent, and edge cloud solutions. The abidance of this concept equips us to evolve companies with agility, speed, precision, and superior results," remarked Abhishek Pakhira, COO, Aureus Tech Systems.

SOURCE Aureus Tech Systems LLC

Related Links

http://www.aureustechsystems.com


China reported several cases of frozen food packaging contaminated with the novel coronavirus this week, while New Zealand said it is investigating the possibility that its latest COVID-19 cases could be traced to imported freight.

Here's what has happened and what experts say about it:

What's happened:

New Zealand reported its first COVID-19 cases in more than three months on Wednesday, prompting a swift reimposition of movement restrictions. Health officials raised the possibility that the virus had arrived in New Zealand via freight, given one of the infected people works at a cool store that takes imported frozen goods from overseas.

China said on Thursday a sample of frozen chicken wings imported into Shenzhen from Brazil had tested positive for the virus. The discovery by local disease control centres was part of routine screenings of meat and seafood imports that have been carried out since June, when a new outbreak in Beijing was linked to the city's Xinfadi wholesale food centre.

Earlier this week, traces of the virus were found in China on the packaging of frozen shrimp from Ecuador and on the outer packaging of imported frozen seafood that arrived at Yantai port from Dalian in northeast China.

Chinese customs officers first found the virus in packaging from Ecuador on July 10. It marked the first positive results from 227,934 samples that had been taken from imported foods, their packaging, and the environment.

What experts say about the risk of infection from packaging:

Studies suggest the virus can linger on packaging material between hours and days, depending on the material, temperature and humidity, according to the World Health Organization. The virus can stay 4-5 days on plastic or paper.

There is currently no evidence that people can catch COVID-19 from food or food packaging, according to the WHO, a view backed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other government agencies. Coronaviruses cannot multiply in food  they need a live animal or human host to multiply and survive.

Since the new coronavirus cannot replicate on the surface of food or packaging, it can only become gradually weaker outside a living cell, said Jin Dong-Yan, virology professor at the University of Hong Kong.

He did not rule out that a person could spread droplets containing the virus on the surface of food, or a package, and someone else could then contract the virus by touching the surface and then their mouth or nose. But such a case would be rare, he said.

Infection from contact with a frozen virus through imported food "is still not to be considered a major route of infection and still not an event that should substantially affect policy at the public health levels," said Eyal Leshem, director of the Center for Travel Medicine and Tropical Diseases at Sheba Medical Center in Israel.

"The number of virus particles coming out a person's mouth or nose is far greater than a few virus particles remaining on frozen foods, somebody touching it and then spreading it," said T. Jacob John, retired professor of clinical virology at Christian Medical College, Vellore, India.

"Among all the risks, I think these are very low risks."

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HCM City - Trung Luong Expressway runs through Tan An, Long An province. Photo: VNA

Over many years, Hanois Pham Van Dong street has always been jam-packed with vehicles, with traffic jams seen almost every day.

However, the situation will be resolved over the next few months when the 5.37km Mai Dich-South Thang Long flyover will become operational after nearly two years of construction. The project costs more than VND5.34 trillion ($232 million). Currently, workers are working day and night on the surface of the bridge.

The bridge connects the inner city with Thang Long bridge and Vo Van Kiet road to Noi Bai International Airport, and also connects the citys big industrial parks and Hanoi with northern provinces, making it easier to transport goods.

Not far from this flyover, another is about to be completed, with total investment capital of VND560 billion ($24.3 million), crossing Hoang Quoc Viet and Nguyen Van Huyen streets. The 278m bridge is being lengthened by a new road that meets with Samsungs $220 million research and development project.

It is expected that this flyover will also come into use over the next few months.

According to Hanoi Peoples Committee, these two ventures are among five key state-funded infrastructure projects to be implemented in Hanoi this year, aiming to solve frequent traffic jams which have been a nightmare for residents for years.

Over the next two years, Hanoi will also use its budget to invest into infrastructure projects. In June, the committee adopted a resolution on using VND34.64 trillion ($150.6 million) to fund the construction of six new large-scale flyovers in the inner city by 2022. The committee also decided to pour money into another four transport and technical infrastructure projects, with the total capital of VND713.3 billion ($31 million).

In 2020, the city was given VND40.67 trillion ($1.77 billion) for public investment by the government. In the first seven months of 2020, the rate of public investment disbursement hit 48.6 per cent, which is expected to be 100 per cent until the years end.

Hanoi is among many localities nationwide hurrying up public investment disbursement with a high rate. The government last week reported that the average rate increased 52 per cent on-year in the first seven months of 2020. In the first five months, the rate was only 26.2 per cent.

There has been good progress in public investment disbursement, but the speed must be accelerated, said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, demanding that amid the complicated COVID-19 affecting all economic sectors, boosting public investment disbursement must be considered a prime political task now.

If we fully disburse all VND633 trillion ($27.5 billion) worth of public investment nationwide for 2020, GDP will rise by an additional 0.4 per cent, and more private investment will be attracted, more employment will be created, and more materials will be consumed, PM Phuc said.

In the first half of the year, the economy grew only 1.81 per cent on-year, and the government is expected to reach the rate of about 2.8-3 per cent this year, which will be spurred on significantly by public investment disbursement.

According to the Ministry of Finance, as of July 31, 12 ministries and central agencies, and 38 localities reached a disbursement rate of over 35 per cent, including six hitting over 55 per cent. These include Vietnam Cooperative Alliance (100 per cent), Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (99.4 per cent), the Ministry of Home Affairs (62.8 per cent), Vietnam Development Bank (61 per cent), and the provinces of Tien Giang (74 per cent), Nghe An (69.2 per cent), Lang Son (63.4 per cent), Hung Yen (58.2 per cent), Ninh Binh (56.8 per cent), Phu Tho (56.3 per cent, Ha Nam (55.5 per cent), and Thai Binh (55.2 per cent).

The government has ordered ministries and localities to quickly review all state-funded projects so that they can be both constructed and put into operation soon, in service of socioeconomic development and attracting more private investment.

PM Phuc also last week reiterated that all projects with slow disbursement have to see their investment capital transferred this month. Leaders of ministries and localities with such projects will face possible punishments.
Visitors at the Merlion park during Singapore's National Day on 9 August. (PHOTO: Maverick Asio/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

SINGAPORE  The Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed 102 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore as of Thursday (13 August) noon, taking the countrys total case count to 55,497.

Of the new cases, five are in the community, six are imported, and the remaining 91 are foreign workers residing in dormitories.

Of the community cases, four were picked up as a result of surveillance and screening, and one had already been placed on quarantine earlier. All of them are asymptomatic, and were detected through testing.

There is one case in the community (case 55562) who had been identified as a contact of a previously confirmed case. She had been placed on quarantine earlier, and was tested during quarantine to determine her status.

Four of the community cases are currently unlinked. Of these, three cases (Nos. 55559, 55570 and 55576) were identified as a result of periodic screening of workers in essential services who are living outside the dormitories. The remaining case (No. 55577) was tested as part of efforts to screen individuals working in frontline COVID-19 operations. Serological tests were conducted for them, and the results for all four cases have come back positive, which indicate likely past infections.

Golden Village VivoCity has been added by the MOH to the list of public places visited by COVID-19 cases in the community recently.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has remained stable at an average of two cases per day in the past two weeks. The number of unlinked cases in the community has also remained stable at an average of one case per day in the past two weeks.

Amongst the six imported cases, two are Singaporeans who returned to Singapore from the Philippines on 11 August (case 55482) and from the UAE on 1 August (case 55561). They had both been placed on 14-day Stay-Home Notice (SHN) upon arrival in Singapore, and were serving their SHN at dedicated facilities. They had been tested while serving their SHN.

Story continues

The remaining cases (cases 55555, 55556, 55557 and 55558) are seamen who are Special Pass holders. They arrived in Singapore from India on 8 August on a vessel, where they had not disembarked from. They subsequently reported symptoms and were swabbed while on the vessel, where they had remained until their test results came back positive for COVID-19. They were then conveyed to a hospital.

The Inter-agency Taskforce has completed the testing of all workers in the dormitories. There are currently about 21,700 workers who are still serving out their quarantine period. These workers will be tested when their quarantine ends.

Over 50,700 discharged; none in ICU

With 216 more patients discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities on Thursday, 50,736 cases  some 91 per cent of the tally  have fully recovered from the infection.

Most of the 91 hospitalised cases are stable or improving, while none is in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

A total of 4,643 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.

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Other Singapore stories:

BCA eases conditions to speed up construction restart after dorms cleared of COVID-19

800 foreign workers newly quarantined after 1 COVID-19 case found in cleared dorm  MOH

COVID-19: Foreign workers from some cleared dorms can run personal errands on rest days

COVID-19: Employers to send dorm-staying workers for swab tests every 14 days
The International Youth Day celebration with the theme Vietnam we want in 2030: Youth act for clean environment was held on Wednesday in Hanoi by the United Nations (UN) in Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union.

Vietnamese young people participate in a tree planting project. Photo by Baochinhphu.

The event was livestreamed on fan pages of VTV3, the UN in Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union.

Environmental issues represent a clear challenge for Vietnam. At the 24th UN Conference on Climate Change (COP24), Germanwatch released the most up-to-date Climate Risk Index ranking, which analyses the extent to which each country has been affected by weather-related loss events. Vietnam ranks the sixth most affected country globally.

Those issues are a particular concern of young people around the world, including Vietnamese young people who realize that to enable a better Vietnam for future generations that it is crucial they take action.

Opening the event, Nguyen Ngoc Luong, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union/ Vice chair of the National Committee on Youth of Vietnam emphasised: All members of the Youth Union at all levels as well as young people need to raise awareness among their communities on climate change, environmental protection, and negative impact of plastic bags and waste through modern communication channels and on social media. It is necessary to strengthen the capacity, knowledge and skills of the Youth Union, and other youth organizations on environment protection and how to cope with climate change, to pilot and popularize models of environmental protection and adaptability to climate change, and to promote innovative green startups and green business ideas. 

Addressing the event, UNESCO Representative in Vietnam/Co-chair of the UN Youth Working Group, Michael Croft said: Todays young people have a unique stake in the global dialogue on climate change and you are making your voices heard in the most inspiring ways. Increasing ambition and implementing national climate strategies would simply not be possible without meaningful youth participation. Young people have to be involved in every single step to ensure that the process incorporates youth considerations and innovations to protect future generations.

Climate change threatens our lives, our families and our future. We, the youth delegates in Vietnam will not sit back and watch. We already face the effects of climate change. We are prepared to give all we have as long as there is the possibility of saving our planet. As our efforts alone will not be enough, we need our leaders and fellow citizens to cooperate with us. I hope that our ideas will soon be incorporated into the Governments policies and programmes to address the current challenges and build a future free from climate change and environment issues, said Nguyen Quynh Duyen, a youth representative who attended the event.

On International Youth Day 2020, Vietnamese youth call for everyone to participate in keeping our environment clean and safe from pollution and to practice sustainable, eco-friendly lifestyles. In this regard, a list of key suggestions relating to climate change and sustainable development was handed to the leaders of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and UN representatives for consideration. Dtinews

Youth union with kind-heartedness Vu Manh Linh, a 32-year-old youth union leader from Nam Dinh City, donates blood every four months as he wanted to share his blood for a more healthy community.
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Linkedin Ben Simon (Agence France-Presse) Jerusalem  Thu, August 13, 2020 13:45 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066dbbc4f 2 World Joe-Biden,Israel,Benjamin-Netanyahu,US-presidential-election,US-presidential-race,politics,bilateral-relation,US Free

During Joe Biden's first trip to Israel in 1973, he met prime minister Golda Meir, who chain-smoked as she detailed regional security threats days before the Yom Kippur War.

Biden, a newly elected senator at the time, later described that meeting as "one of the most consequential" of his life. In the more than four decades since, his career has been punctuated by a staunch defense of Israel, especially in its handling of the Palestinian conflict.

Biden, set to become the Democratic Party's presidential nominee next week, will face in Donald Trump a president that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described as Israel's best friend to ever sit in the White House.

Netanyahu's acrimonious relationship with Biden's old boss, former president Barack Obama, is well documented.

But some experts say a Biden win would be welcomed across Israel's political and military establishment -- not just by Netanyahu's rivals on the left.

Biden has long been a vocal supporter of the Jewish state, saying in a 2015 speech that the US must uphold its "sacred promise to protect the homeland of the Jewish people".

Such a history of defending Israel is key to winning the trust of Israeli leaders, perpetually sensitive to international criticism.

"We like people who love us," said Nadav Tamir, a past diplomat and foreign policy advisor to former Israeli president Shimon Peres.

"There is no doubt Biden is a friend who has very strong emotions for Israel," he told AFP.

But experts suggested Biden could also restore the traditional American role of interlocutor between Israel and the Palestinians.

The Palestinian Authority has cut ties with Trump, accusing him of egregious bias towards Israel.

Biden "will do much better than Trump on the real issues because he understands that the Israel-Palestinian issue is not a zero-sum game," Tamir said.

Not just Obama's VP

Biden served in an Obama administration that often clashed with Israel.

Netanyahu was outraged by the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and, in an unprecedented diplomatic slight, took advantage of a Republican party invitation to condemn it in front of Congress without a presidential invitation.

Just weeks before Obama's term ended, Washington abstained on a UN Security Council resolution condemning Jewish settlement construction in east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, a decision that left Netanyahu fuming.

"We cannot hide it. There is a problem between Israeli officials and the Democrats," said Eldad Shavit of Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies.

But Shavit, a former military intelligence officer who worked in Netanyahu's office from 2011 to 2015, stressed that Biden was comfortingly familiar to Israel's political class.

"Biden knows us and we know him," Shavit said.

Jerusalem embassy

Biden's record on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict extends beyond the flashpoints of the Obama years.

He supported recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital two decades before Trump triggered global outcry by doing so.

Biden supported a 1995 Senate bill to establish a US embassy in Jerusalem by 1999, saying the move would "send the right signal".

His 2020 campaign says that if elected, Biden would not reverse Trump's embassy move, but would reopen a consulate in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem "to engage the Palestinians".

Biden has also dismissed Trump's controversial Middle East peace proposal as a "political stunt" and pledged to pursue fresh negotiations on a two-state solution with the Palestinians at the table.

The Palestinian Authority was not consulted on Trump's plan, while Netanyahu's government gave substantial input.

Political comfort zone

Tamir voiced concern that Biden is steeped in an American political tradition that urges disagreements with Israel to remain discreet.

During the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, Biden pointedly refused to criticize a 2001 Israeli missile strike in Nablus that killed two children, saying disputes with Israel should be "aired privately", even after George W. Bush's administration had publicly condemned the incident.

While Biden has openly criticized Israel since then, Tamir argued that he remains naturally inclined to address pro-Israeli audiences and reference his affection for the Jewish state, absent any tough love.

"He needs to get out of his political comfort zone... (and) leverage his superpower force" on Israel, by pushing it to consider difficult but essential decisions, like seeking a viable resolution with the Palestinians, Tamir said.

As Shavit noted, Biden may be compelled to alter his approach towards Israel because the Democratic Party now includes "more progressive" Israel skeptics, notably supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders, who has called Netanyahu a "reactionary racist".

Whether he is capable of adopting a tougher public posture towards Israel is an important but "open question", Tamir said.

He added: "You need to push us, because the Israeli political system is so deadlocked, you cannot reach a historic decision without being pushed."
Head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) on the settlement of the situation in Donbas, first President of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk, has said he does not exclude the change of the platform of negotiations (in Minsk) due to the events in Belarus.

"If suddenly there is no such opportunity to hold meetings there, then we will look for another platform. At first there were no Minsk agreements. At first there was Geneva. It is possible to take a completely neutral state, for instance Sweden. We can ask them. This is possible," he said in an interview with Ukrainian Radio, which was released on Thursday.

Speaking about the language and Donbas, Kravchuk said that steps to widen the use of the Russian language can be taken in this region, but there is no issue of the second national language.

"I do not think that the language will return Donbas. Today in Donbas, no one has banned the Ukrainian language and does not prohibit it. If this issue arises in Donbas, then according to the European laws, referring to them, we can raise the issue of not the national status of the Russian language, but the issue of the use of this language, since the Constitution guarantees the development and use of the languages of national minorities. There is nowhere written about the second state language. In these regions, steps on a wider use of the Russian language can be taken, and this will not be a violation of the Ukrainian law.
BRIDGEPORT  A New Haven man and a North Carolina woman were in custody Thursday in connection with a shooting at a Stratford hotel that nearly injured four young children.

Jerrod Goodman, 40, of Shelton Avenue, was charged with criminal possession of a pistol, illegal discharge of a firearm, reckless endangerment, carrying a pistol without a permit and four counts of risk of injury to a child.

Alize Tyler, 29, of North Carolina, was charged with hindering prosecution, possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle and interfering with police.

These are very serious allegations, Superior Court Judge Tracy Lee Dayton said during the arraignment hearing Thursday afternoon. Four children were put in danger.

She ordered Goodman, the owner of a trucking company, held in lieu of $250,000 bond and Tyler $25,000 bond and continued the cases to Oct. 15.

Shortly before midnight Wednesday, police said they got a call of a shooting at the Quality Suites on South Avenue. When officers arrived, they found guests evacuating the hotel.

Police said the hotel clerk directed officers to a second-floor room where they found a hole in one wall and a bullet lodged in the opposite wall just above a bed.

A man told officers he and his family had been asleep in the room when they heard a loud bang and a bullet struck the wall just inches over the bed where his four young children were sleeping, police said.

Police said the adjacent room where the shot had been fired was empty.

Officers noticed a woman later identified as Tyler sitting in the drivers seat of a car running in the parking lot, police said. She said she was waiting for a friend. Police said officers found a rifle that appeared to have been recently fired wrapped in a towel in the car.

After being taken into custody, police said, Tyler told them she had traveled from North Carolina with Goodman and two others. After getting a room at the hotel, she said Goodman had taken the rifle from the trunk of the car, wrapped it in a towel and brought it to the room, according to police.

While in the room, police said Goodman began handling the rifle and it went off, firing into the wall. Goodman then allegedly directed Tyler to put the rifle back into the car, police said.

During a search of the car, police said they also found a backpack in some nearby bushes that Tyler said had been in the car.

Police said the backpack contained a .45-caliber handgun that had previously been reported stolen in Wyoming, $11,000 in cash, ecstasy pills and marijuana.
An innovative paper-cut made by Li Baofeng [For chinadaily.com.cn]

Li Baofeng, a 54-year-old folk artist, recently attended a reality show where her innovative approach to paper-cuttings, which look as colorful as oil paintings, impressed the audience.

"Traditional paper-cuts are often made with red paper, which seemed to be a little boring. So I wanted to make works in multiple colors which may have some 3-D effects, making them vivid like paintings," says Li.

As a result, she developed a technique to cut each respective color of paper as a layer, and then paste the layers together to form the image. Each of her works is made of dozens of layers, and each layer is made in only one cut without stopping.

"Scissors are still scissors.Techniques are improved based on traditional techniques, and I pay special attention to the cultural connotations behind my works, showing a lot about Chinese literature, folk life and folk stories," says Li.

An innovative paper-cut made by Li Baofeng [For chinadaily.com.cn]

In 2010, former president Hu Jintao received then-DPRK leader Kim Jong-il in Changchun, and sent a work by Li to Kim as a gift. Over the years, she has been invited to exhibit her works in many countries, including Russia, Japan, France and Germany, and at exhibitions she always demonstrates her cutting skills, which are of great interest to foreigners.

An innovative paper-cut made by Li Baofeng [For chinadaily.com.cn]

An innovative paper-cut made by Li Baofeng [For chinadaily.com.cn]

An innovative paper-cut made by Li Baofeng [For chinadaily.com.cn]

(Source: chinadaily.com.cn)
The ongoing COVID-19 has raised some existential questions for the student housing segment in the near to mid-term future. The segment is undergoing a temporary blip and several service providers have had to incur additional facility management costs of 10-15 percent.

As for the numbers, going forward the maximum requirement for student housing would be in Greater Noida. Approximately 83,000 students in Greater Noida alone require accommodation and form the potential segment of student housing, according to an analysis by Savills India.

The report also noted that going forward, student housing operators will have to evolve and adapt to the new norms in the wake of the pandemic. Health and hygiene would be the critical focus for student housing providers.

To attract students, operators will have to innovate their services which will help differentiate them from normal PGs and guesthouses. For new entrants and those who are looking to enter, a short delay can be expected. Once the pandemic subsides, the segment will bounce back faster.

Speaking about their COVID-Combat Ready measures, Anindya Dutta, MD and Co-founder, Stanza Living, said Over the last couple of months, we have had the opportunity to institute industry-leading measures for delivering our services safely, hygienically and seamlessly to our residents across 14 cities in India. There is a significant shift towards the flight to quality. We have introduced several interventions such as the no-touch dining facilities among others during COVID-19. The focus is on sanitised, safe and secure facilities.

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

In recent research on student housing, Savills India has observed that Uttar Pradesh is experiencing healthy growth of educational developments having the highest number of educational institutes comprising of 6,629 colleges and 76 universities.

Greater Noida is expected to receive a steady demand from students in the future owing to a large number of educational institutes present in Uttar Pradesh. Greater Noida represents a significant market for student housing with more than 100,000 students and 28,000 students enrolling each year for various courses, it said.

Approximately 83,000 students require accommodation and form the potential segment of student housing. For these students, there is an availability of primarily three types of housing segments. Almost half comprises of housing provided by national and local operators who offer accommodation to the majority of the students. Some of them operate on a structured basis offering amenities.

As much as 27 percent consists of hostels provided by the educational institutes on campus and 18 percent comprises of small-scale paying guest accommodation and apartments rented out in residential colonies.

A major educational hub of Uttar Pradesh, Greater Noida has more than 50 educational colleges. About 65 percent of the 83,000 students are from outside NCR and 18 percent from distant areas of NCR. As many as 27 percent of students live in campus hostels and are less inclined to shift to any other accommodation.

And 73 percent represents the primary market that can be serviceable through improved and quality housing facilities. With on-campus hostel supply ranging between 20,000 to 22,000 beds, there stands an addressable market of more than 60,000 to 65,000 students which can be catered by the organised student housing operators, the Savills India report said.

Currently, there are a total of 150 student housing developments with 45,000 operational beds. Additionally, another 5,000 beds are expected to be added in the next 2-3 years. Knowledge Park and Sector Pi have emerged as preferred areas by students due to their proximity to all the major educational institutes in Greater Noida.

Going forward, it is expected that the off-campus student housing market will comprise of approximately 50,000 beds. Further, the share of organised student housing operators is expected to increase, backed by better facilities and services offered by them. There is a demand-supply gap of 10,000 to 13,000 beds.

This clubbed with supply from unorganised/individual units together forms the potential target market of approximately 30,000 to 33,000 beds for an organised student housing operator providing better amenities and quality development, the report said.

In another report, EY said if the coronavirus pandemic continues for long, the rent for student housing facilities may decline by 20 to 25 percent in the next few months. The sector may also consolidate with some smaller operators exiting, resulting in stronger players with a sustainable financial and operational model.

The current situation of COVID-19 has resulted in major changes affecting all four stakeholders of this segment the colleges/educational institutions, students, asset owners and the student housing providers/managers.

The B2C model, where most students pay monthly, has seen a larger impact. Students who have left are less likely to pay their monthly rentals for the remaining two months. But most operators have two months of the refundable security deposit which may help them avoid revenue shortfall, though students may use force majeure as a reason to claim refunds, said Gaurav Karnik, Partner and National Leader  Real Estate, EY India.

From a cost perspective, more cleaning and fumigation will be required. Facility management costs account for 10-15 percent of overall costs and this will go up marginally, the report noted.
Council, other groups will look at downtown parking concerns

There have been several downtown businesses requesting reserved parking spots prompting the council to make some changes to the parking ordinances.
Graphic: GT

A few years after the "Clean Your Plate Campaign" launched in 2013, its 2.0 version is arriving. Different from the previous campaign, which was aimed at putting an end to officials' extravagant feasts and receptions, the 2.0 version calls for the public to stop wasting food. The initiative initially sparked speculation by some media over whether China is in a food crisis. Experts say the world indeed faces a food shorage, but for China, the real threat to food security comes more from food wastage than epidemic or floods.

President Xi Jinping stressed the need to maintain a sense of crisis on food security despite the consecutive bumper harvests, and urged the establishment of a long-term mechanism to stop wasting food amid the fallout from the epidemic.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that food wastage is shocking and distressing, and that it is necessary to further enhance public awareness of the issue, cultivate thrifty habits, and foster a social environment where waste is shameful and thriftiness is good.

Despite media hype that China is in a looming food crisis, which is worsened by the epidemic, floods in southern China, and food imports, Chinese agriculturalists said the above factors will not lead to a food crisis in China, but that wasting food is an issue that deserves more attention.

China's food security was not seriously affected by COVID-19, and China's grain reserves are ample, Zheng Fengtian, a professor at Renmin University of China's School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

In June 2020,the United Nations warned that the world is on the verge of the worst food crisis in 50 years. The world's top three grains exporters, US, Brazil and India, are also the three most affected countries by COVID-19.

Zheng said that the self-sufficiency rate of China's two main grains, rice and wheat, is about 100 percent, and the current stock exceeds one year's annual output. In the past five years, China's total annual grain output has exceeded 1.3 trillion kilograms, with the per capita grain supply approaching 500 kilograms.

Xinhua reported that the summer grain output in 2020 reached a record high of 143 billion kilograms, with an increase of 1.2 billion kilograms from the previous year. China's wheat output rose 0.6 percent to 132 billion kilograms, up by 750 million kilograms. However, floods in the south might have a great impact on grain production, and may cause "devastating production cuts and crop failure" in some areas.

Outside China, the pandemic had an impact on global grain production and trade. Vietnam and India have suspended rice exports. However, Zheng said that China should be unfazed in the midst of trade war with the US. China has adjusted its grain import strategy to make the sources of grain imports (especially corn and soybeans) more equal. China's consumer grain prices rose only one percent in the first half of 2020.

Xi also gave specific requirements for reducing waste in schools and promoting students' awareness and practices of being thrifty, Xinhua reported

Thrift has always been a traditional virtue in China, but as people's living standards improve, wastage increases. In an investigation by the Institute of Geographic and National Resource Research and the World Wide Fund, tourist groups, primary and secondary school students, and official banquets were the top three causes of food wastage. Per capita food waste in China is 93 grams per person per meal, with a waste rate of 11.7 percent.

On Wednesday, China's Central Television (CCTV) criticized food wastage on live streams, in which hosts eat a lot to attract viewers and throw up later.

A third of the world's food is wasted every year, with about 1.3 billion tons still edible. At least 820 million of the world's 7.6 billion people are suffering from starvation, said CCTV in a Weibo post, citing UN data.

Wen Tiejun, a professor at the School of Agriculture and Rural Development at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times that consumers are also responsible for food security, and should be aware of it.

Wen said food wastage in the past few years has been shocking, as it was once reported that food wasted in China was enough to feed 200 million people a year. He stressed the importance of food security education and guidance in forming rational consumption habits, which is crucial to reducing food wastage and ensuring food security.

Besides consumers, experts like Zheng said that food is also wasted in production, storage, and distributionup to 20 percent due to technical problems.

Policies during the epidemic, which encouraged separate meals and reduced dining out, actually reduced food wastage, Zheng said.

"We remind our guests when they order too much food," a waitress from a Beijing-based restaurant told the Global Times.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson greet each other with an elbow bump at Hillsborough Castle, in Belfast Brian Lawless/Pool via Reuters

Taoiseach Micheal Martins has said a landing zone is emerging for a free trade deal between the EU and UK after Brexit.

Speaking after his first meeting Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the Taoiseach said he believes there is a will on both side to reach an agreement as the Brexit deadline fast approaches.

I think where there's a will there's a way. It seems to me that there is a landing zone, if that will is there on both sides and I think it is Mr Martin said,

My own gut instinct is that there's a shared understanding that we don't need another shock to the economic system that a no deal Brexit would give or a sub optimal trade deal would give to our respective economies, he added.

The Taoiseach said he and Mr Johnson agreed it is absolutely essential that a free trade agreement be reached between the EU and UK.

Mr Martin said it is vital that Ireland and the UK develop a strong relation after Brexit and invest in shared projects on the island of Ireland.

Expand Close Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Taoiseach Micheal Martin are seen at Hillsborough Castle Brian Lawless/Pool via Reuters / Facebook

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The last thing we all need now is a second significant systemic shock to our systems to our economic systems and that's what a no-deal Brexit would present on top of or alongside Covid, Mr Martin said.

So I did take from that a genuine view that comprehensive free trade agreement was in the best interest of all concerned, and that the British government was sincerely seeking such an outcome, he added.

The two leaders met in Hillsborough Castle in Co Down for the first time after a meeting planned for last week was cancelled due to the passing of former SDLP leader John Hume

Mr Martin and Mr Johnson had a detailed discussion on Brexit, Covid-19 pandemic and UK Government plans to celebrate 100 years since the creation of Northern Ireland last year. Sinn Fein leader in the North Michelle ONeill said there was nothing about partition to be celebrated after she met Mr Johnson in Hillsborough Castle.

The Taoiseach said he has never been an advocate for partition but said people can learned from the centenary commemorations of Northern Ireland.

No one party owns history, no one political party does, no one tradition does, he said.

The challenge for us really is can we organise centenary commemorations in a way that is as inclusive as possible, as respectful as possible of different traditions, but done in a way that brings new insights into what actually transpired hundred years ago, he said

That's the spirit within which I and I think the British Prime Minister wholeheartedly agreed that that's the spirit within which we should proceed and create a new learned under shared understanding of how we've got to where we've got to today 100 years on, he added.

In a statement after the meeting Downing Street said, the Prime Minister reiterated the UKs determination to reach a deal.

But said Mr Johnson stressed that the UK would continue to take pride in high environmental, animal welfare and labour standards outside the European Union.

He underlined however that the UK was not willing to make level playing field commitments that went beyond those normally found in a Free Trade Agreement, such as the EUs agreement with Canada, he added.

The statement said the leaders discussed the importance of working together as neighbours to defeat coronavirus, including through close collaboration between Ireland, the UK Government and the Northern Irish Executive.

They agreed on the need for the international community to work together on developing rapid tests, therapeutics and vaccines. The Prime Minister and Taoiseach also agreed on the importance of a sustainable, green recovery from the economic impact of coronavirus. The Prime Minister stressed the opportunity that lies ahead for international governments, including the UK and Ireland, to promote free trade and invest in environmentally friendly technology, it said.

The Prime Minister also underscored the UKs commitment to meet our obligations under the Northern Ireland Protocol, as set out in the paper published in May. Our priority remains protecting Northern Irelands place in our United Kingdom and preserving the huge gains from the peace process.

The leaders looked forward to working together over the coming years to improve the connectivity between our countries, strengthen our relationship outside of the EU and promote the UK and Irelands shared values alongside likeminded democracies, it added.

This comes after Mr Johnson said he is looking forward to developing a relationship with the Taoiseach.

Speaking ahead of their meeting, Mr Johnson said he wanted to develop relationships "all sorts of ways - East/West, North/South - you name it".

"I had the honour of meeting the Taoiseach several years ago," he said. "I am very pleased to develop our friendship and relationship now," he added.

The Taoiseach paid tribute to the late SDLP leader John Hume whose legacy, he said, facilitated meetings like that of the two leaders.

"We remember John at moments like this because he did so much to facilitate these kinds of meetings and make them much more regular in the normal course of events," Mr Martin said.

The Taoiseach said he was looking forward to a warm engagement with Mr Johnson as the two countries face challenges posed by Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic.

"It is important for us both in terms of the BritIsh-Irish relationship which has been the cornerstone of much progress on the island of Ireland and between our two countries for well over two to three decades, and we want to maintain that," he added.

Meanwhile, Sinn Fein and the DUP clashed over Mr Johnson's plans to celebrate 100 years since the creation of Northern Ireland.

Speaking after her meeting with Mr Johnson, Deputy First Minister and Sinn Fein leader in the North, Michelle O'Neill said there is "nothing to celebrate about partition". Ms O'Neill said Northern Ireland was built on "sectarianism, gerrymandering and an inbuilt unionist majority".

She said Sinn Fein will be highlighting the impacts of partition no nationalist communities during the centenary celebrations.

Meanwhile, DUP leader Arlene Foster, the First Minister, said she fully supported celebrating the creation of Northern Ireland and insisted history cannot be ignored.

Ms Foster said she hoped the events will be inclusive and added that she regrets that Sinn Fein members will not use the terms Northern Ireland.
The on Thursday asked the Centre as to how it can say that the Food Security Act (NFSA) has no link with poverty alleviation as the object behind the statute was to ensure food security for the poor.

"Food security is needed for the poor, so how can you say it (NFSA) is de-linked from poverty," a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan asked the Ministry of Consumer Affairs while hearing a PIL for providing benefits of the various food security schemes to persons with disabilities (PWDs).

Replying to the PIL, the ministry contended that has no link with poverty alleviation and its goal is to ensure food security for 67 per cent of the country's population.

The ministry, represented by central government standing counsel Monika Arora, also said that Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act was not applicable to the as under the food security law foodgrain was being provided to 67 per cent of the population which included PWD and therefore, there was no need for a 5 per cent reservation for them.

"We need food security because we are poor," the bench said, adding that the government cannot say it will not provide reservation to PWD merely on the basis that they have not been excluded under

"The purpose of reservation was to give preferential treatment. Where is the preferential treatment here? You (Centre) are presuming that it is as easy for a PWD to get a ration card as it is for anyone else. You are not considering the reality (with regard to the plight of PWD) in the country that we live in," the court said.

The bench further said that disability certificates are issued by government authorities and asked the Centre and state governments to consider giving foodgrain to the PWD initially based on their disability certificates and at the same time collecting their information for issue of a ration card.

Thereafter, they can be given the ration card along with the foodgrain, the bench said.

With the suggestion, the court listed the matter for hearing on August 24.

The suggestion was given by the court earlier as well, on July 22, to the central government which was asked to look into its feasibility.

However, the central government on the subsequent date of hearing on July 29 did not say anything on the suggestion.

During the hearing on Thursday, senior advocate Santosh Kumar Rungta, appearing for the NGO which has filed the PIL, said that the Consumer Affairs Minister had recently tweeted and also issued a press release saying that PWD would be provided foodgrain without insisting on ration cards and directions to this effect have been issued to all state governments.

The NGO, Federation of Blind, in its petition has sought directions to the Centre to ensure that states and Union Territories provide benefits of welfare schemes, like Pradhan Mantri Garib Anna Kalyan Yojana, to PWD also during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It has contended that PWDs are neglected when reliefs under various food security measures are implemented as most of them do not have ration cards.

The NGO has also contended that under the PWD Act of 1995, a 3 per cent reservation was provided for all disabled persons in poverty alleviation schemes and this was increased to 5 per cent under the RPWD Act of 2016.

Therefore, the government should ensure that at least 5 per cent of the beneficiaries for foodgrain under the schemes like, Antyodaya Anna Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Garib Anna Kalyan Yojana, are PWD, it has said.

The bench had earlier remarked that PWD have been excluded from welfare schemes "from time immemorial".

"Fact that persons with disabilities get marginalised from every scheme does not require a debate," it had said.

(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.)
Experts introduce the wording of the written declaration required from parents.

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Older pupils will have to wear masks in the classroom during the first two weeks of school. Only children in kindergartens and first to fourth graders will be exempted.

Our paywall policy: The Slovak Spectator has decided to make all the articles on the special measures, statistics and basic information about the coronavirus available to everyone. If you appreciate our work and would like to support good journalism, please buy our subscription. We believe this is an issue where accurate and fact-based information is important for people to cope.

However, masks will be obligatory for all pupils outside their classrooms, for example in school locker rooms.

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The idea was presented by PM Igor Matovic (OLaNO) and stems from a meeting of experts held on August 13.

The beginning of the school year will be the hardest test in our fight against COVID-19, Matovic wrote on Facebook.

He implied that not all parents will be responsible and some may even try to conceal that they were abroad with their children.

Thus I proposed at the meeting of the group of experts to order the wearing of masks in classrooms during the first two weeks of school to protect the children, the prime minister added.

Conditions for pupils still unclear

The cabinet, meanwhile, at its August 12 session rejected an earlier proposal of the pandemic commission and Health Minister Marek Krajci (OLaNO), who wanted children to provide a written declaration that they are not infected with the novel coronavirus and that they have not been abroad 14 days before school starts. Those who have been abroad would have to stay in self-isolation for two weeks.

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Related article Schools will open in September. Infected pupils will not mean automatic closure Read more

It is extremely important that healthy children enter schools, the health minister stressed on August 11, after the meeting of the pandemic commission. He also recommended no travel abroad.

However, his proposal outraged parents who had already scheduled August holidays abroad with their children, the Sme daily reported.

At the same time, the government has not yet approved the conditions under which children will start school. Matovic only said that they will not cause chaos and stress parents with new duties.

Experts introduced the new wording of the written declaration required from parents and guardians on August 13. It will include two questions which they must answer: was the child outside of Slovakia after August 17 and did the child attend a mass event after August 17?

If at least one answer is yes, parents will have to monitor the health of the child, as well as the condition of other people who have been in contact with them. If any symptoms appear, they will have to contact a doctor and the child will be separated from their classmates.

Parents will also have to sign a declaration stating that their children have no symptoms of infectious disease.

The 14-day self-isolation of children who were abroad will not be mandatory.

Number of infected children on the rise

The number of children infected with the coronavirus has grown significantly in recent weeks, exceeding the statistics from March and April when the first coronavirus wave peaked in Slovakia.

Related article

Related article Foreign students are coming. Tests and isolation planned for those from risky countries Read more

More than 80 children aged 5-19 who were positive with the disease were detected in July, and it is possible their number will increase after they return to school, Sme wrote.

They will return after nearly six months, said Henrieta Hudeckova, main epidemiologist of the Health Ministry, as quoted by Sme.

A distinctive risk is the return of foreign students to secondary schools and universities. Thus Krajci recommends these schools secure quarantine facilities for foreign students.

Read more about the coronavirus outbreak in Slovakia:
Council elections are likely to be postponed for more than 4.5 million voters, with the state government preparing to delay polling amid tough COVID-19 restrictions.

While a final decision is yet to be announced, the preparations come after Local Government Victoria on Wednesday updated its guidelines for candidates to safely campaign, on the advice of Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton.

Voting during COVID-19: An election official sanitising a polling booth during the Brisbane council elections in March. Credit:Getty Images

Under those revised guidelines, candidates in metropolitan Melbourne would effectively be banned from campaigning outside their homes, including doorknocking, leafleting, attending campaign events and advertising on billboards and posters, for as long as stage four restrictions remain.

Even if stage four restrictions are lifted as planned in mid-September, stage three rulesprevent candidates convening or attending meetings in open spaces or private residences, doorknocking and attending community events.
A 50-year-old man is in custody being questioned by police and is expected to be charged with multiple offences, including arson, in relation to several overnight fires in inner Brisbane.

Fire investigators and police believe four fires in West End and Highgate Hill are linked and they have seized CCTV footage showing adults at one of the sites.

The rear of a brick unit complex on Hampstead Road, Highgate Hill, about a 20 minute walk from Franklin Street where the first fires were. Credit:Tony Moore.

Investigators believe the first fire started in a wheelie bin in Boundary Street near Corbett Street at West End about 8.30pm.

Police said the arsonists then went to Franklin Street at Highgate Hill, where fires were lit at two timber homes, before moving to Hampstead Road.
Feed Nova Scotia and Rogers Step Up to the Plate to help more than 17,000 Nova Scotians

Rogers employees volunteered at Feed Nova Scotia as part of the Step Up to the Plate initiative with Food Banks Canada. Through food hampers provided to food banks across the province, the initiative will see more than 360,000 meals for 17,000 Nova Scotians in need. The Rogers team was joined by Dartmouth-Cole Harbour MP Darren Fisher, Minister of Immigration Lena Metlege Diab, Halifax Mayor Mike Savage, Dartmouth North MLA Susan LeBlanc, and Halifax City Councillor Tony Mancini.

Rogers employees volunteered at Feed Nova Scotia as part of the Step Up to the Plate initiative with Food Banks Canada. Through food hampers provided to food banks across the province, the initiative will see more than 360,000 meals for 17,000 Nova Scotians in need. The Rogers team was joined by Dartmouth-Cole Harbour MP Darren Fisher, Minister of Immigration Lena Metlege Diab, Halifax Mayor Mike Savage, Dartmouth North MLA Susan LeBlanc, and Halifax City Councillor Tony Mancini.

Nova Scotia food hampers will provide more than 360,000 local meals to support increased demand at food banks



Rogers employees in Nova Scotia volunteer to help organize, fill and distribute hampers

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, Aug. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stepping up to help address food insecurity facing many Canadian families, Rogers Communications Step Up to the Plate initiative with Food Banks Canada has arrived in Nova Scotia, delivering food hampers that will provide more than 360,000 meals for local food banks. These hampers will help fill the plates of more than 17,000 Nova Scotians across the province.

The Step Up to the Plate initiative started in June at Rogers Centre in Toronto, with Rogers employee volunteers and their families filling food hampers with non-perishable food items that provide an individual with a weeks worth of meals. Now, trucks loaded with hampers and pallets of food are on the move, destined for communities across Canada, where an unprecedented 8 million meals will be provided to Canadians when the initiative is completed this summer. On arrival in Nova Scotia, local Rogers employee volunteers are working with Feed Nova Scotia to organize and continue stuffing thousands of food hampers for distribution to local food banks to help those who need it most.

We are proud Nova Scotians. This is where we live, where we work, and where we raise our families. Nova Scotians are part of our extended family at Rogers, and when our family needs help, its our responsibility to step up and pitch in, through food donations, volunteering, and more, said Matt MacLellan, President of Atlantic, Rogers Communications. Rogers has a long legacy of supporting our communities and giving back. This is our 60th year as a company  certainly a year like no other  and we are here to roll up our sleeves and get to work so we can come through this together.

Story continues

As the country begins to reopen, the economic impact of the pandemic continues to be significant, affecting food insecurity and demand at food banks. According to Food Banks Canada, which supports over 3,000 food banks and community agencies from coast-to-coast-to-coast - including Feed Nova Scotia  many local food banks have been severely impacted by COVID-19, from decreased volunteers and donations to having to adapt their operations, making it more challenging to meet their clients needs.

"In a pandemic, barriers to food security are even bigger, and the support of food banks is especially critical," said Nick Jennery, Executive Director, Feed Nova Scotia. "Since a state of emergency was first declared in Nova Scotia, we've not only remained fully operational; weve also been able to distribute more food than ever, thanks to the incredible support of donors like Rogers."

We know that vulnerable populations, especially individuals facing food insecurity are disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our government, along with Canada's food banks, and community organizations are providing much needed support," said Darren Fisher, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and Member of Parliament for DartmouthCole Harbour. Canadians are compassionate and generousespecially in times of crisis. Huge thanks to the wonderful volunteers and organizations across the country who have come together to 'Step Up to the Plate'!

Step Up to the Plate is part of The 60 Project , a year-long initiative to mark Rogers 60th anniversary by giving back and building a stronger Canada  from donations of time, money and fundraising support, to investing in Canada and the networks that keep our customers connected. We are bringing this commitment to life by partnering with community organizations like Food Banks Canada, Womens Shelters Canada, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Pflag; providing Ted Rogers Community Grants to support organizations that help youth succeed inside and outside the classroom; investing in a 100% Canadian-based Customer Service team and in our networks to help Canadas economy thrive and grow; and connecting the next generation to education and the support they need to build a bright future. The 60 Project is about making hope possible, right here, in the Canadian communities we call home.

And with Step Up to the Plate and other initiatives this year, our Rogers family  all 25,000 strong, including here in Nova Scotia  will come together to give back an unprecedented 60,000 volunteer hours. With action, we will stand together with those who need us most, to ensure that all Canadians have an opportunity to move forward to discover a new normal that is better than the one that came before.

About Rogers

Rogers is a proud Canadian company dedicated to making more possible for Canadians each and every day. Our founder, Ted Rogers, purchased his first radio station, CHFI, in 1960. We have grown to become a leading technology and media company that strives to provide the very best in wireless, residential, sports, and media to Canadians and Canadian businesses. Our shares are publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RCI.A and RCI.B) and on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: RCI). If you want to find out more about us, visit about.rogers.com .

About Food Banks Canada

Food Banks Canada provides national leadership to relieve hunger today and prevent hunger tomorrow in collaboration with the food bank network from coast-to-coast-to-coast. For 40 years, food banks have been dedicated to helping Canadians living with food insecurity. Over 3,000 food banks and community agencies come together to serve our most vulnerable neighbours who  last year  made 1.1 million visits to these organizations in one month alone, according to our HungerCount report. Over the past 10 years, as a system weve sourced and shared over 1.4 billion pounds of food and Food Banks Canada shared nearly $70 million in funding to help maximize collective impact and strengthen local capacity  while advocating for reducing the need for food banks. Our vision is clear: create a Canada where no one goes hungry. Visit www.foodbankscanada.ca to learn more.

For more information:

Rogers  media@rci.rogers.com , 647-747-5118

Feed Nova Scotia  Nick Jennery, Executive Director, njennery@feednovascotia.ca , 902-298-1998

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Sanjay Dutts cousin Zaheeda, who used to babysit him once, is praying hard for recovery of the Kalank actor. Sanjay has been diagnosed with stage-4 lung cancer and has taken a break from work to fly abroad for treatment.

Sharing her concern for him, Zaheeda told Times of India in an interview, I am so upset and want Sai to make him well. He just turned 61 on July 29 and now this news. But we have seen him go through so much, so I am sure he will defeat this ailment and come back stronger. Besides, he has a huge responsibility on his shoulder with his young children and an elder daughter around; he has to fulfil his duties towards them.

I am waiting to give him a tight hug, she added. While Zaheeda had met Sanjay a year ago, her son Nilesh is quite close to the Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. actor.

Sanjay was admitted to Lilavati Hospital over the weekend after complaining of breathlessness. He was discharged from the medical facility on August 10, and put a statement on Tuesday announcing he would be taking a short break from professional commitments to focus on medical treatment.

In a statement to PTI on Wednesday, Sanjays wife Maanayata Dutt thanked people for their well wishes for her husbands speedy recovery. We need all the strength and prayers to overcome this phase. There is a lot that the family has gone through in the past years but I am confident, this too shall pass, she said. She appealed to the people to refrain from speculations.

However, it is my heartfelt request to Sanjus fans to not fall prey to speculations and unwarranted rumours, but to just help us with their ongoing love, warmth and support. Sanju has always been a fighter, and so has our family. God has yet again chosen to test us to overcome the challenges ahead, she said.

Also read: Get well soon, Sanju baba: Family back in Mumbai with Dutt, friend says ailment still not confirmed

All we seek is your prayers and blessings, and we know we will emerge as winners on the other side, as we always have. Let us use this opportunity to spread light and positivity, Maanayata added.

Sanjay Dutt is the eldest child of late Bollywood stars Nargis and Sunil Dutt. He has two sisters -- Priya Dutt and Namrata Dutt. He has two children, a son and a daughter, with Maanayata. He also has a daughter Trishala Dutt from his first marriage to Richa Sharma.

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['Craft of Code' is] designed to explore the people behind the apps and the technology that brings them to life. Through these stories, we learn more about the craft that goes into the code that powers our world.

Alternative cloud provider Linode has released four new customer stories in its expanding Craft of Code series, showcasing how companies and their employees interact with Linode to achieve productivity, meet rapid growth, and serve customers in a variety of industries around the world. The new stories feature Stadia Maps, Retargetly, Alpine Linux, and Cloudnet.

Stories in the Craft of Code series highlight Linodes technical features as well as the usefulness of its no-tiered, 100 percent human customer service.

We created Craft of Code to humanize cloud infrastructure by giving people an editorial-style window into the amazing things developers build and deploy in the Linode cloud, said Mike Maney, director of corporate communications, at Linode. Its designed to explore the people behind the apps and the technology that brings them to life. Through these stories, we learn more about the craft that goes into the code that powers our world.

Stadia Maps

Stadia Maps, a map solution similar to Google Maps, is highlighted in this series of user stories not only to illustrate the benefit of Linodes cloud services, but also its shared drive to provide a high-value, low-cost alternative to costly services offered by large-scale providers. Stadia Maps relies on Linodes global footprint as well as object storage for its Elevation Data that it offers to customers at no additional cost. Read the full story here.

Retargetly

Latin Americas leading independent full-stack data company, Retargetly, is the subject of another one of Linodes Craft of Code Stories. Retargetly has grown rapidly, and as a result of the data insights the company provides, its customers have seen improvements of up to 20 times in click-through and conversion rates. To keep up with the growth of the company, Retargetly made the switch to Linode, whose Professional Services team has provided constant, in-depth assistance to the companys infrastructure team both now and during the migration process. Read the full story here.

Alpine Linux

Alpine Linux, a security-oriented, lightweight Linux distribution based on musl libc and busybox, is also featured in the new batch of user stories. Members of the Alpine Linux Working Group discuss how having Linodes support and hosting capabilities are opening new doors for the company, and at the same time are allowing them to stay committed to their core infrastructure principles. Carlo Landmeter, a member of the working group, cites backup service as Linodes most valuable feature. Read the full story here.

Cloudnet

Cloudnet provides managed hosting services for customers from a variety of industries. The company has continually acknowledged that it can provide these high-level services to customers because of the help and customer service that Linode provides. Linodes support behind the scenes enables Cloudnet to give their website and application developers personalized, customized, and proactive service. Read the full story here.

Check back as more Craft of Code stories are published here.

About Linode

Linode accelerates innovation by making cloud computing simple, accessible, and affordable to all. Founded in 2003, Linode helped pioneer the cloud computing industry and is today the largest independent open cloud provider in the world. Headquartered in Philadelphias Old City, the company empowers more than a million developers, startups, and businesses across its global network of 11 data centers. https://linode.com/
The income-tax (I-T) department will be accountable for its actions and taxpayers not satisfied with the departments working can approach the specific cell in the (I-T) zone in their area, according to the taxpayers charter unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday. An income tax officer will not get an opportunity to harass a taxpayer. Scrutiny will be allotted on a random basis.

The assessment of a taxpayer in Mumbai could well be carried out by an officer in Chennai. It will put an end to needless litigation. This platform has big reforms like ...
Japans Fujifilm Holdings Corp said on Thursday it expects data from a clinical trial of its Avigan drug on COVID-19 patients to be ready in about a month.

The last patient will enter the study on Aug. 16 and results will follow about a month after that, Fujifilm director Junji Okada said during a first-quarter earnings call.

The company will then work with Japanese regulators on submitting the drug for approval to treat COVID-19, he said.
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / August 13, 2020 / Compare-autoinsurance.org (https://compare-autoinsurance.org/) has launched a new blog post that presents some pieces of information about pay-per-mile car insurance and its advantages.

For more info and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.org/pay-per-mile-car-insurance-will-help-you-save-a-lot-of-money/

Pay-per-mile car insurance is a type of insurance policy that is composed of a base rate that is calculated using factors such as driver's age, credit score, driving history, the kind of car the policyholder drives, gender and other factors, and the number of miles the policyholder drives. To calculate how many miles a policyholder drives, insurers use an in-car device that tracks the number of miles it logs each month. Drivers who are not driving at all will only pay the base rate. However, drivers who venture on the open roads will pay a monthly premium that reflects their mileage that includes a daily mileage ceiling above which the policyholder won't be charged.

Policyholders thinking to switch to a pay-per-mile plan should consider the following:

Who should get this policy? The pay-per-mile basis on which premiums are calculated makes this policy an unattractive option for policyholders who drive a lot. For this reason, people who log a lot of miles behind the wheel are less likely to purchase pay-per-mile insurance. On the other hand, this is a great option for people living in urban areas, or for people who don't have to use their cars that often.

How much money drivers can save? It all depends on how many miles they drive. To check how much they can save, policyholders can get quotes from traditional auto insurance providers and pay-per-mile insurers and use their estimated annual mileage as a predictive marker in calculating how much each option might cost them.

The differences between pay-per-mile and pay-as-you-drive policies. Pay-as-you-drive policies use a telematics device to track the driver's driving patterns. The devices track speed, hard braking, and a few other factors to determine how much a driver is eligible to save for safe driving. On the other hand, pay-per-mile insurance is only calculated using a base rate and a per-mile rate. How recklessly a driver drives do not affect the cost of pay-per-mile insurance.

Can it be canceled? Although policyholders can cancel their pay-per-mile policy whenever they want, many providers charge a fee when doing so. However, this fee can be waived if the policyholder switches to a traditional, unlimited miles policy.

What it covers? A pay-per-mile policy offers the same coverage as a traditional policy. However, while a traditional policy charges a monthly premium based on factors like age, gender, car make, model, driving history, and so on, a pay-per-mile policy charges policyholders a substantially reduced base fee along with a per-mile fee that is usually capped at a certain per-day mileage limit.

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.

"Pay-per-mile car insurance policies are not for everyone. However, they are an attractive option for drivers who drive a few miles per day.", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company.

CONTACT:

Company Name: Internet Marketing Company

Person for contact Name: Gurgu C

Phone Number: (818) 359-3898

Email: cgurgu@internetmarketingcompany.biz

Website: https://compare-autoinsurance.org/

SOURCE: Internet Marketing Company





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/601549/How-To-Save-Car-Insurance-Money-With-The-Help-Of-Pay-Per-Mile-Programs




Ahead of the 74th Independence Day, a slew of offers have been lined up by consumer electronics firms to lure customers across India.

Sales of electronics have seen an almost 35 percent decline since March 25 after the coronavirus-led lockdown was announced. This led to electronics stores shutting down and sales moving online.

Even though some stores in metros and smaller cities, towns have opened up, industry sources said that customers prefer to buy online and are avoiding visiting physical shops due to the COVID-19 scare.

To motivate customers to buy, cash discounts, free goods and extended warranties are being offered. Considering the financial uncertainty and pay cuts reported in India, white goods firms are also offering no-cost EMIs with financial institutions.

Television brand TCL is offering QLED TVs for the same price of 4K Smart TV. This offer will be available between August 6 to August 19, 2020. This brand is present in India for four years.

Here, the 55 inch TCL C715 will be priced at Rs 52,990, after a discount of Rs 3000.

Also, the 65 inch TCL P8 series will be available at a discounted price of Rs 53,990, after a Rs 2,000 discount. This is an is an Android-powered smart TV with the 4K Ultra HD feature that uses dynamic tone mapping to reflect each frame resulting in enhanced picture quality.

Another model TCL 43-inch S6500 will be available for Rs 20,990 with a Rs 2,000 discount. This model comes with Netflix, Google Assistant, and is fitted with Dolby Audio systems and powered by Android.

TCL India Country Manager Mike Chen said viewers can upgrade their devices for more affordable prices and that the brand will be announcing more such offers soon.

The countrys largest consumer electronics brand Samsung has announced exclusive Independence Day offers for its televisions, refrigerators, smart ovens, washing machines and air conditioners.

These offers, coupled with bundled deals, attractive finance schemes with up to 15 percent cash back, and easy EMIs of as low as Rs 990, will be valid till August 31.

The offers provide assured benefits to consumers purchasing Samsung consumer durable products such as Samsung QLED TVs, 4K UHD TVs, Smart TVs, SpaceMax Family Hub Refrigerator, Side-by-Side and Frost Free Refrigerators, FlexWash Washing Machines, AddWash Washing Machines, Fully Automatic Front Load and Top Load Washing Machines, Smart Ovens and WindFree Air Conditioners, among others.

Raju Pullan, Senior Vice President, Consumer Electronics Business, Samsung India said that these offers would help customers upgrade to newer and smarter technologies.

During the offer period, consumers purchasing Samsung QLED 8K TVs will get a Galaxy S20+ worth Rs 77,999. Additionally, consumers will get a 10-year no screen burn-in warranty and three-year warranty on panel on select QLED TVs.

Also, consumers buying Samsung Smart TVs will get a cashback of up to Rs 9,000. In the refrigerator category, consumers buying Samsung SpaceMax Family Hub Refrigerator will get a Galaxy Note10 Lite worth Rs 37,999. Additionally, on purchase of Samsung refrigerators and washing machines, consumers can avail up to 15 percent cashback.

There are offers available on Flipkart and Amazon as well. On Flipkart, there is an offer of 10-50 percent for television brands like LG, TCL, Sony, Kodak and Thomson.

For LG 50-inch ultra HD television, Flipkart is offering a price of Rs 44,999 which is a 32 percent discount. There is also a no-cost EMI and upto Rs 7,000 off on exchange of an old product.

For Xiaomi (Mi)s 43-inch ultra HD television, there is a 13 percent discount and offer price is Rs 24,999. This product also comes with a no-cost EMI and upto Rs 7,000 off for exchange.

Higher the product price, more is the discount. Motorolas 75-inch ultra HD television is being offered at a 65 percent discount at an offer price of Rs 99,999.

On Amazon, there is a 10-30 percent across a range of electronic goods including televisions, washing machines and refrigerators.

Here, Whirlpools single-door 190 litre refrigerator has a price of Rs 11,490 after a 25 percent discount. Haiers 220 litre single door refrigerator has a price of Rs 18,490 after a 30 percent discount.

While most of the brand offers will expire by the end of August, from October onwards the quantum of discounts and cashbacks will be higher due to the onset of the festive season.
A civilian, who was injured in a ceasefire violation by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control in Tangdhar sector of Jammu and Kashmir last week, died at a hospital here on Thursday, police said.

Mohammad Yaqoob Mir, who was undergoing treatment at the SKIMS hospital here for the past six days, breathed his last early this morning, a police official said.

He said Mir was one of the six people injured in the Pakistani firing in Tangdhar sector on August 7.

.
In our rightful rush to stop the COVID-19 pandemic, we should nonetheless be extraordinarily careful to adopt individual contact tracing technology only in ways that protect our civil liberties, privacy and civic discourse.

Tracing technology generally works by means of an app downloaded to phones to track who has been in contact with someone who has tested positive. By its nature, that means it is a surveillance system that can track where everyone is located and trace everyone else close to them. Contact tracing apps have the Orwellian potential to invade privacy and stifle the exercise of First Amendment rights, as related incidents of phone tracing and surveillance planes flying over recent protests clearly demonstrate.

We need legislation, and quickly, because the United States does not have an overarching law that would protect privacy and ensure proper uses for a health tracing app. The bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate, the Exposure Notification Privacy Act, is the best available option. It would not only require consent for data collection but would also prevent the data from being used for purposes other than protecting public health and require deletion after a certain time. It would also prohibit discrimination on the basis of a positive diagnosis or refusal to participate in the notification service.

A phone is an extension of a person, we carry it everywhere, virtually all the time. Further, a phone tracing app can reach out and tag all nearby phones too, with the app enabled. While Apple and Google released a more protective version of a tracing system, limited to protect individual privacy, other companies are all too quick to take their place, using even more invasive face recognition technology. And a person cannot opt-out of their own face the way that they could on a phone app.

Who collects the tracing information, if it is combined with other information, who can access it, how it is protected from cyber criminals, and how long the information is kept in individually identifiable form, are vitally important decisions that we should make as a society.

While one might think that the Health Information Privacy and Accountability Act (HIPAA) would protect health information from disclosure under these circumstances, it simply does not does have the teeth do to so. HIPAA only protects patient information held by certain categories of healthcare facilities, providers and related entities; it does not apply to a tech company that works by itself to trace every person in a city or indeed track them country-wide.

Nor do our courts protect us as citizens, at least so far. In the recent Supreme Court decision of Carpenter v. U.S., Chief Justice John Roberts described cell phone location information as a near perfect tool for government surveillance, as the court recognized rights related to cell phone privacy. Despite this decision, the outdated third party doctrine, as presently understood, means that privacy rights are forfeited when the same information is shared voluntarily, including those companies collecting information during this pandemic.

While tracing people exposed to COVID-19 is a high priority, it is not the only one. When the pandemic is over, we do not want an empowered authoritarian surveillance state to take its place. These risks are also high. The possibility takes on an especially ominous tone when we consider that governments that expand their surveillance abilities during a crisis seldom give up their increased powers once the crisis is over.

The Patriot Act continues to be renewed every year, despite being enacted after 9/11 to permit warrantless surveillance of American citizens and specifically set to expire on Dec.31, 2005. Given that many fear the present protests against police brutality may lead to an increased infection rate, it would be of no surprise if a government entity sought to contact trace all those participating in these protests. This would seriously compromise the civil liberties of those who believe they are consenting to share contacts for the purpose of tracing COVID-19, only to discover the real reason was to police free speech and suppress movements for equality.

In our research, we support methods to protect both health and privacy and ways to intentionally avoid discrimination in the use of health data. We should protect against the possibility that police departments or elected officials could, in any time or place, use health-related personal information and location tracking to stifle dissent.

The Exposure Notification Privacy Act is not perfect, but the risks of moving forward with unregulated contact tracing are too great without taking steps to both protect civil liberties and promote trust in a health tracing system.

Hiller is a professor in finance and professor of business law in the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech; and Houser is an assistant clinical professor at the University of North Texas.
Unsaid Stories

Rating:

Reported Missing

Rating:

That was strange timing. Just as a black Labour MP takes to social media to react in fury at being stopped and questioned by police, the latest of the Unsaid Stories (ITV) series of playlets echoes her experience in an electric drama.

Dawn Butler, the former Shadow Equalities Minister, accused police of institutional racism after she and a friend were stopped in Hackney last Sunday.

The Met police later said the action was a mistake, adding that the officers could not see the people inside the car, because the windows were tinted  and thus accusations of racism were unfounded and unfair.

The controversy surrounding MP Dawn Butler being pulled over by Metropolitan Police officers echoed the story line of the ITV drama Unsaid Stories as Kay and Michael are stopped

We were just going out to have a nice lunch, the MP said. My plans were basically ruined. My friend has experienced it a number of times.

hats why his attitude was just like: Here, have my driving licence. Here we go again.

Thats a neat summary, too, of the script for the third mini-drama in this weeks series.

We saw successful businesswoman Kay (Harlots star Pippa Bennett-Warner) and her friend Michael (Paapa Essiedu from Gangs Of London) fuming after their dinner date was ruined. Police had pulled their car over  claiming, wrongly, they could smell cannabis.

PROFIT MARGIN OF THE NIGHT If youve no idea what fast fashion is, Inside Missguided (C4) explained. Its about girls with names like Treasure and Shay, copying designs to sell them cheaply. Getting it wrong is expensive  in 2018 they lost 26 million. Thats a bad look. Advertisement

Kay vented her anger at Michael, for handing over his ID instead of arguing.

He tried to make her understand he was controlling the situation by staying calm, the way his mother had taught him to do.

Michael and Kay were fully drawn characters, not ciphers whose sole job was to spout jargon and polemic.

Previous episodes in the series have been flat and contrived: a stroppy teenager and her saintly dad argued about whether she should join an anti-racism march (they ended up attending together), and a working class white boy pleaded with his posh black ex-girlfriend to take him back (she couldnt because he wasnt woke enough).

Drama that exists only to preach, however well-intentioned, is doomed to be dull. Michael and Kay, though, would still have seemed real without the laboured contemporary issues.

She was a flirty romantic, he hid his insecurities under cocky bravado  and they both fancied the pants off each other. Id love to see them again in six months, to discover how it worked out . . . next time without all the heavy-handed criticisms of the police.

Those criticisms rarely take into account the courage police need when more people than ever carry weapons regularly.

During the Black Lives Matter protests, British police came in for intense scrutiny and criticism. So it was good that, over on the BBC, a primetime show emphasised the painstaking, scrupulous work that is the day-to-day reality for most officers.

Reported Missing saw officers up against it as they tried to trace army veteran Mark Smith

Reported Missing (BBC1) saw members of the force  armed only with Tasers  approach a house where two people were believed to be holed up with crossbows and knives.

They were trying to find a 56-year-old Army veteran, Mark Smith, who had walked out on his wife and his job in Warrington, Cheshire, with threats to end it all.

A former Northern Ireland veteran, he suffered from combat stress and was prone to what one friend called flash rages. The police response was methodical, efficient and open-minded.

Marks problems were complex and involved debt, marital rows, online trolling and allegations of mismanagement at the charity he set up to help other veterans.

The film-makers tried to tidy up all the loose ends, but it left viewers with lots to think about  especially the unsung bravery of the police.
Togbe Afede XIV, President of the National House of Chiefs has bemoaned the effect of the border closure on indigenes of the Volta Region who are trapped between the borderlines.

Ghanas borders were closed to human traffic because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Ahead of the voter registration exercise, military and immigration officers were also deployed to man the borders to support the fight against COVID-19.

But some observers have noted that the government did not take into account the Ghanaians who crossed between some of Ghanas borders on a daily basis for school and economic activities, among others.

In a statement, Togbe Afede recounted his tour of some parts of the region which informed some of his fears.

I am still haunted by the plight of those citizens of Leklebi-Kame who are trapped on the about 300-meter stretch of land between the Ghana Immigration Service barrier and the actual Ghana-Togo border.

He said they had not been able to register to vote during the Electoral Commissions mass registration exercise.

Aside from this, he also said their means of living and social activities had also been disrupted.

Despite creating awareness of such plights, Togbe Afede lamented that nothing has been done so far to solve their problem.

He thus made one more plea to the Ghana Immigration Service.

I would like to ask the Ghana Immigration Service to move these borders closer to the actual borers in order not to deny some citizens access to their own country in the future.

In the meantime, he also urged the authorities not to forget these people during future border closures.

---citinewsroom
Russell Kirsch, a computer scientist credited with inventing the pixel and scanning the worlds first digital photograph, died Aug. 11 at his home in Portland at age 91.

Born in Manhattan in 1929, Kirsch was the son of Jewish immigrants from Russia and Hungary. Educated at the Bronx High School of Science, New York University, Harvard and MIT, Kirsch worked for five decades as a research scientist at the U.S. National Bureau of Standards (now the National Institutes of Science and Technology).

My dad, he was a super curious guy, always asking questions, said his son, Walden Kirsch, who works at Intel in Oregon. He was an iconoclast. When people said you cant go there or you cant do that, he did.

In 1957, Kirsch created a small, 2-by-2-inch black-and-white digital image of Walden as an infant  among the first images ever scanned into a computer, using a device created by his research team. Life magazine featured the image in a 2003 book, 100 Photographs That Changed the World, and its now in the Portland Art Museums collection.

Anyone involved with computers will tell you how powerful it is for creativity, Kirsch told The Oregonian in 2007.

Russell Kirsch with the image of his son, Walden, scanned into the world's first digital scanner in 1957.Oregonian file photo/2007

Kirsch moved from Maryland to Oregon in 2001. He suffered from dementia but remained a regular at Kens Artisan Bakery in Northwest Portland for many years. In the 1960s, Kirschs research team did pioneering work in artificial intelligence and Walden Kirsch said he regrets his father was unable to appreciate how prevalent that technology has become.

At that time that was just a bizarre thing, Walden Kirsch said. He was out in the forefront, many, many years before it was a thing.

Russell Kirsch is survived by his wife of 65 years, Joan, by children Walden, Peter, Lindsey and Kara, and by four grandchildren.

-- Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | twitter: @rogoway | 503-294-7699

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
The former rivals for the Democrats presidential nomination sought to solidify their advantage over US President Donald Trump and secure their place in American history.

Mr Biden, a 77-year-old white man, embraced the significance of naming the first black woman to a major partys presidential ticket, but he focused on other attributes Ms Harris brings to the ticket.

He hailed the California senator, the 55-year-old former prosecutor who a year ago excoriated Mr Biden on a primary debate stage, as the right woman to help him defeat Mr Trump and then lead a nation facing a pandemic, a wounded economy and a long-simmering reckoning with systemic racism.

At a high school gymnasium in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, Mr Biden said Ms Harris is smart, shes tough, shes experienced, shes a proven fighter for the backbone of this country.

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Kamala knows how to govern. She knows how to make the hard calls. Shes ready to do this job on day one, he continued.

Mr Biden spoke of her experience questioning Trump administration officials in the US Senate, and highlighted the historic nature of her pick, noting she is the daughter of immigrants from India and Jamaica.

This morning, all across the nation, little girls woke up  especially little black and brown girls, who so often feel overlooked and undervalued in their communities. But today, today, just maybe, theyre seeing themselves for the first time in a new way, Mr Biden said.

Ms Harris sat feet away from Mr Biden, listening with her mask off.

Taking to the stage after him, Ms Harris said she was mindful of all the ambitious women before me, whose sacrifice, determination and resilience makes my presence here today even possible.

She then launched into an attack on Mr Trump, lambasting him for a lack of leadership on the coronavirus pandemic.

This is a moment of real consequence for America. Everything we care about  our economy, our health, our children, the kind of country we live in  its all on the line, she said.

The event began an hour late. A momentous candidacy aside, the surreal nature of the scene was not only a woman of colour stepping into the role of would-be national executive but doing so in a mostly empty high school gym.

Masked reporters nearly outnumbered campaign aides and the candidates family members in a grim reminder of a coronavirus pandemic that has killed 165,000 Americans, while yielding Depression-level unemployment and Second World War-level national deficits.

In any other presidential election, vice-presidential picks are greeted with adoring throngs, and Ms Harris, given her profile, almost certainly could have expected an even more enthusiastic welcome to the ticket. On Wednesday, about 100 supporters stood outside the gymnasium waving signs prior to her arrival, with no hopes of being allowed inside.

The event was the first in a roll-out that Mr Bidens aides say blends the historic nature of Ms Harriss selection with the realities of the 2020 campaign and the gravity of the nations circumstances.

Later on Wednesday, the pair will lead an online grassroots fundraiser; they will continue campaigning together through the Democrats virtual convention that runs from next Monday to Thursday.
Ankara says cross-border offensive will not stop even after drone attack kills senior Iraqi military officers.

Turkey will continue its cross-border operations against Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq if Baghdad continues to overlook the rebels presence in the region, the foreign ministry said on Thursday, urging Iraqi authorities to cooperate with Ankara.

Turkey has regularly attacked Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters, both in its mainly Kurdish southeast and in northern Iraq, where the group is based.

In June, Ankara launched a new ground offensive, dubbed Operation Claw-Tiger, that saw Turkish troops advance deeper into Iraq.

On Tuesday, a Turkish air raid in northern Iraq killed two members of Iraqs border guard and their driver, Iraqs military said, calling the attack a flagrant aggression.

Iraqs foreign ministry then said Baghdad cancelled a visit by Turkeys defence minister to the country and summoned the Turkish ambassador to inform him of Iraqs confirmed rejection of his countrys attacks and violations.





Determined

In a statement early on Thursday, Turkeys foreign ministry said the PKK presence also threatened Iraq and that it was Baghdads responsibility to take action against the rebels, and Ankara would defend its borders if the PKKs presence is allowed.

Our country is ready to cooperate with Iraq on this issue. However, in the event PKK presence in Iraq is overlooked, our country is determined to take the measures it deems necessary for its border security no matter where it may be, the ministry said. We call on Iraq to take the necessary steps for this.

The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict, focused in southeast Turkey.

The Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq, dominated by the Democratic Party of Kurdistan (KDP), see the PKK as a worrying presence but have never been able to uproot it from northern Iraqi bases.

Baghdad sees Turkeys military presence in the Kurdish region as a violation of its sovereignty, but does not want to alienate Turkey, a major trading partner and regional heavyweight.
Sen. Kamala Harris, announced Tuesday as Joe Bidens running mate in the 2020 presidential race, set her sights on President Donald Trump in an introduction speech Wednesday evening, painting his administration as a failure on the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy, climate change and racial justice at a time when the nation is crying out for leadership.

In a speech in Bidens home state of Delaware, Harris, 55, highlighted the 165,000 lives lost to coronavirus, pinning Trump for his failure to take it seriously from the start, his refusal to get testing up and running, his flip-flopping on social distancing and wearing masks, his delusional belief that he knows better than the experts.

Were reeling from the worst public health crisis in a century, Harris added. The presidents mismanagement of the pandemic has plunged us into the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. And were experiencing a moral reckoning with racism and systemic injustice.

Harris argued that the president cares more about himself than the people who elected him, a president whos making every challenge we face even more difficult to solve.

Heres the good news: We dont have to accept the failed government of Donald Trump and Mike Pence, she said. In just 83 days, we have a chance to choose a better future for our country.

The California senator, a former state attorney general and prosecutor who ended her own presidential bid earlier this year, credited Biden for serving alongside the first Black president, Barack Obama, and picking the first Black running mate.

Harris thanked Biden for making the choice and said she was mindful of all the heroic and ambitious women before me whose sacrifice, determination and resilience makes my presence here today even possible. This is a moment of real consequence for America. Everything we care about, our economy, our health, our children, the kind of country we live in  its all on the line.

She touted her track record of combatting transnational criminal organizations who traffic in guns, drugs and human beings, as well as her efforts to hold Trump officials accountable to the American people during her tenure in the Senate.

Trump, who along with his campaign responded to Bidens pick with a video ad calling Harris a phony, tweeted Wednesday morning that the California senator was the kind of opponent everyone dreams of because she started strong in the (Democratic) primaries, and finished weak, ultimately fleeing the race with almost zero support.

Biden introduced Harris as someone he came to know and respect partly through his late son, Beau, a fellow attorney general in Delaware who worked alongside Harris on a range of issues, including helping to secure money from big banks whod foreclosed on homeowners.

He said he trusted Harris to challenge my assumptions if she disagrees and to ask the hard questions.

Thats the way we make the best decisions for the American people, he said.

Biden made the case that Trump had enflamed racial tensions, ignored climate change as a hoax and provided no real leadership or plan on COVID-19, the economy and state and local governments forced to layoff public employees including first responders and educators.

We need a president and vice president willing to lead and take responsibility, Biden said. Not, as this president says, Its not my fault. The governors should thank me more.

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Ajay Devgn is going to be a very busy man! The actor was back at his Juhu office on Tuesday, getting ready for his next set of assignments.

With the premiere of his Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior on a satellite platform scheduled soon, he was working on its promotions, and also on the schedule for his film Bhuj: The Pride of India.

Abhishek Dudhaiya debuts as director with Bhuj. A few days of shooting are pending and the filmmakers are working out how to handle things, taking all safety precautions and ensuring that no one is in danger, said a source after we spotted the bespectacled Ajay in a tee and shorts at his film company.

Ajay wanted to know how many long shots and close-ups of his were required, the source added.

Anil Nagrath, secretary of the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association, says While a cast and crew over 65 can work now, in Maharashtra, if there was a team of 100 working earlier, only 33 percent will be allowed. So, the shooting will need to move out. Bhuj will most likely wrap up the last portion in Hyderabad.

Bhuj also stars Sanjay Dutt, Sonakshi Sinha and Nora Fatehi.
Following the detection of its first omicron case Saturday in Haidian district of Beijing, the Chinese capital locked down certain communities and office buildings just weeks before the Winter Olympics and the Lunar New Year holiday. The city opened 30 emergency testing points in Haidian on Monday as it rushes to contain the spread

Jan 19, 2022 05:37 PM
Greece has reported its first novel coronavirus infection in one of its overcrowded asylum seeker camps.

A 35-year-old man from Yemen living at the camp of Vial on the island of Chios tested positive late on Wednesday, a migration ministry official said on Thursday.

'The man has been quarantined at the local hospital. Another 30 people are undergoing tests,' the official said.

Greece has reported its first novel coronavirus infection in one of its overcrowded asylum seeker camps. Above, a view of the Vial refugee camp on the Greek island of Chios (File image)

There are over 3,800 people living inside the Vial camp, over three times its nominal capacity.

Several non-fatal coronavirus cases have surfaced in Greek camps on the mainland - including 150 infections at a migrant hotel in the Peloponnese in April.

But this is the first case involving an island camp, where the worst overcrowding occurs.

Camps on the islands are nominally under lockdown until August 31, with access severely restricted.

Rights groups including the UN refugee agency had repeatedly urged Greece to reduce congestion at the camps, where there is poor hygiene and social distancing is impossible to enforce.

Earlier this week, nearly 20 asylum seekers tested positive shortly after landing at the island of Lesbos, and were quarantined for two weeks.

Camps on the islands are nominally under lockdown until August 31, with access severely restricted. Above, a boy pictured inside his tent at the Vial refugee camp last year (File image)

On Lesbos, medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) last month said it had been forced to shut down a coronavirus isolation centre serving the local camp over a planning dispute.

The group in June had criticised the camp lockdown, which has been repeatedly renewed since March, as 'discriminatory' and 'counter-productive'.

'The extension of movement restrictions imposed on asylum seekers who are living in the Greek reception centres will further reduce their already limited access to basic services and medical care,' the group's field coordinator on Lesbos, Marco Sandrone, said in a statement.

The Greek migration ministry has ferried hundreds of asylum-seekers to the mainland in past months, while others have been granted refugee status and allowed to travel off the islands.

But there are still over 25,000 people in island camps built to handle fewer than 6,100.

The news from Vial came a day after Greece registered its highest-ever daily number of new infections at 262.

A total of 216 people have died.

There are over 3,800 people living inside the Vial camp, over three times its nominal capacity (File image of Vial refugee camp)

Authorities have blamed the spike in infections to the flouting of social distancing rules in restaurants, bars and public gatherings.

The civil protection agency has made masks compulsory in all indoor public areas.

The government this week announced a night curfew for restaurants and bars in some of its top tourist destinations, and new restrictions for incoming travellers required to furnish negative tests up to 72 hours before entry.

The government has ruled out a general lockdown after gradually reopening the economy in May and starting to accept foreign arrivals in June to salvage part of the tourism season which is vital to the economy.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 Fan Edition will arrive in an Exynos variant as well. This information has been confirmed via a Geekbench listing, pretty much.

The Samsung SM-G780F surfaced on Geekbench, and based on the past info, this is the Galaxy S20 Fan Edition. The Galaxy S20 Fan Edition is supposed to be a lite version of the Galaxy S20.

This phone will still have a lot to offer, though, and it will probably be considerably more affordable than the Galaxy S20. As you can see, it will still ship with a flagship-grade processor, amongst other things.

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The Exynos Galaxy S20 Fan Edition will be a Snapdragon 865 alternative

This listing confirms that the device will be fueled by the Exynos 990. That chip will be included in India and Europe. The US and China will get the Snapdragon 865.

This listing also says that the device will include 8GB of RAM. Android 10 will come pre-installed on the device, as expected, and on top of it, youll get Samsungs One UI skin.

The Exynos variant of the Galaxy S20 Fan Edition managed to hit 924 points in a single-core test on Geekbench. It scored 2,716 points in the multi-core test.

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The phone surfaced on Geekbench today, actually, so this listing is brand new. That is all the information shared by the site. The device is expected to arrive later this year, probably in the Fall.

This is not the first time the device surfaced, though. Weve seen several leaks and rumors of the Galaxy S20 Fan Edition, so we know what to expect, pretty much.

Previous rumors suggested that the device will feature a flat AMOLED display. That display will feature a display camera hole, and that hole will be centered, as on the Galaxy S20 series.

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This handset is said to include a 120Hz display

Interestingly enough, the rumors are claiming this phone will also include a 120Hz display. That means it could ship with the same panel as the Galaxy S20, or a fullHD+ variant of it.

A 4,500mAh battery was also mentioned, and fast charging will be included. Were just not sure if fast wireless charging will also be a part of the package, but it probably will.

The device will feature a 12-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide unit, and an 8-megapixel telephoto camera. It will be IP68 certified for water and dust resistance as well.

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The Galaxy S20 Fan Edition is rumored to arrive in four color variants. The device will become official in Green, Orange, Red, and white color options.
The National Youth Organiser of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Henry Nana Boakye has urged the youth to rally behind the party during the December 7 elections.

According to Nana Boakye, the NPP led government has put in place several projects and policies which has significantly improved the living standards of the youth.

Speaking at the partys celebration of the International Youth Day on Wednesday, Nana Boakye said he is confident the youth wing of the party will work to ensure the NPP is retained in the December polls.

He further assured the party of the youth wings unflinching support in retaining President Akufo-Addo and Vice-President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.

Today we have this pandemic which is global in nature and we never anticipated it, but yet, President Akufo-Addo has cushioned youth in the country. This years election is going to be an election Ghana has never witnessed before because young persons would like to have massive mobilisations and a year we would have seen a lot of youth rallies but unfortunately, because of the pandemic, we cannot but we the youth, we are assuring the New Patriotic Party that whatever it takes and any new strategy we can come up with to make sure Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is elected for the second term and Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia also as the Vice-President, we shall do it.

---citinewsroom
Scientists have identified a chemical compound released by locusts that causes them to swarm.

The pheromone  a chemical produced by an animal that affects the behaviour of others of its own species  is released by the migratory locust, or Locusta migratoria.

Called 4-vinylanisole (4VA), it is primarily released from the hind legs and is detected by the antennae of other locusts and sensed by odour receptors.

Now the unique perfume has been identified, a synthetic version of the chemical could be developed to lure locusts into traps to be killed, scientists claim.

Locusta migratoria is the world's most widespread locust species, which devastates crops made for human consumption in a relentless drive to eat and reproduce.

The UN has called recent locust swarms faced in East Africa unprecedented in modern times and 'a scourge of biblical proportions'.

Record numbers of locusts have descended in devastating swarms across parts of Africa and Asia this year

The insects can devour the same amount of food in a day as approximately 35,000 people in the region.

In East Africa and Yemen alone, damages and losses could amount to as much as $8.5 billion this year, according to World Bank.

'In human history, locust plagues, drought and flood were considered as three major natural disasters which caused serious agricultural and economic losses all over the world,' said research leader Le Kang at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Zoology.

'As the most widely distributed and one of the most dangerous locust species, the migratory locust represents a serious threat to agriculture worldwide.'

The species is found in grasslands throughout Africa, most of Eurasia south of the Taiga, the East Indies, tropical Australia, and New Zealand.

It differs from the desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria), which inhabits dry grasslands and deserts and has been causing devastation in East Africa this year.

Individually, locusts are not particularly harmful, but they are hugely destructive when they form swarms

Migratory locusts attack pastures and critical crops such as wheat, rice, corn, millet, barley, oats, sugarcane and sorghum.

Swarms can include billions of locusts and span hundreds of square miles as the insects voraciously consume crops.

The chemical insecticides currently used to suppress locust outbreaks raise concerns about human health and safety, but the identification of 4VA could inspire new methods.

The 4VA molecule is released by gregarious migratory locusts and acts as a powerful attractant to migratory locusts.

Locusta migratoria (pictured) is found in grasslands throughout Africa, most of Eurasia south of the taiga, the East Indies, tropical Australia, and New Zealand

Both solitary and gregarious locusts  those that live in groups  are strongly attracted to 4VA, regardless of their age and sex.

If four or five solitary locusts are housed together, they too begin to produce and emit the pheromone.

This then causes swarming behaviour by attracting other locusts in the field, eventually building up a fearsome locust cloud.

And the more that locusts flock together, the more 4VA is emitted.

The pheromone is detected by specific sensory cells, called basiconic sensilla, which are found in the locusts antennae.

Here, the molecule binds to a specific olfactory receptor, called OR35, and locusts engineered to lack this receptor are less attracted to 4VA.

A man chases away locusts that were roosting in trees in Kenya in May. East Africa has endured a string of disasters of near-Biblical proportions in 2020

In outdoor tests on artificial turf, sticky traps baited with 4VA snared dozens of locusts released from the lab.

The flat panels, to which an adhesive substance was applied, also caught locusts when deployed in a wetland reserve near Tianjin, eastern China.

The identification of 4VA is a promising development in finding new ways to kill the pests.

Other than synthetic chemicals that lure locusts to their death, other potential techniques could include a chemical that would block 4VA's effects to prevent swarming.

Locusts that have been genetically modified not to respond to 4VA could also be developed and released to establish wild non-swarming populations, although this would be 'subject to biosecurity evaluation', Kang said.

Further research is needed on whether 4VA exists in other locust species such as the desert locust that currently is ravaging parts of Africa and the Middle East.

The study has been published in the journal Nature.
The National Organiser of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Sammi Awuku has called on Ghanaians to reject former President John Mahama and extend the mandate President Akufo-Addo in December 2020.

According to him, despite making numerous promises ahead of the polls, John Mahama lacks the blueprint to implement such policies.

John Mahama says he will implement Free SHS when elected. Should Ghanaians replace the man who dreamed it, believed it and delivered it for one who never believed it, ridiculed it and fought against it? Once again, candidate Mahama wants to associate himself with success, but he does know how to solve the problems to achieve the success story. He has no blueprint for achieving this success he dreams of.

The concept of Free SHS for 1.2 million teenagers is too complex for the NDC candidate and the party. Between the two main candidates, it is obvious which one truly cares for the youth of Ghana and therefore the country Ghana. Definitely, it is Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, he said at a press conference organised on Thursday, August 13, 2020.

Sammi Awuku at the event urged on Ghanaians to ensure that they come out in their numbers to vote for President Akufo-Addo so he could continue with his good works.

NPP is ready for December 7, 2020. For Ghanaian voters who came out in their numbers to register during the voters registration exercise, the real show of your civic duty is to come out in your numbers on Monday, December 7, 2020, to vote. Come out, observe all the protocols and vote for your welfare, on the ballot paper, vote for your wellbeing, on the ballot paper, vote for the future of your children, on the ballot paper, vote for your community, on the ballot paper, vote for your country Ghana. Vote for the NPP and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to protect and build on our gains as a party and our nation.

On December 7, make a strong decision and choose hope over hopelessness, make a bold decision to choose competence over incompetence, on the ballot paper choose prosperity over poverty and again choose strong leadership. Vote for Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

 citinewsroom
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 13, 2020) - Bam Bam Resources Corp. (CSE: BBR) (OTC Pink: NPEZF) (FSE: 4NPA) ("Bam Bam" or the "Company") is pleased to report that it has completed the Reverse Circulation (RC) portion of the 2020 Phase 1 drilling program at its flagship Majuba Hill Property (the "Property"), a copper, silver, gold porphyry project located in Pershing County, Nevada.





Figure 1

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6332/61633_33820211e488c848_002full.jpg

The Company completed 3,000 feet (914m) in four vertical holes on the Majuba Extension Zone. Copper oxides were observed in MHB-5 between 750 and 810 feet.

All samples have been submitted to the ALS Geochemistry prep facility in Elko, Nevada for sample analysis. The submittal includes sample duplicates collected during the drilling and copper, gold, and silver standard reference material, which meets CIM Mineral Exploration Best Practice Guidelines.

Three core holes are planned for the Phase 2 drilling to drill 4,500 feet (1,371 m) in the sulfide target zone below the oxide mineralization. The holes will step out from sulfide copper mineralization intersected in MMX-24, test the high chargeability IP zone that is coincident with the high-grade copper in historic drill holes, and test the zone beneath the historic underground mine workings.

Mr. David Greenway reports: "I am pleased that we intersected the oxide copper predicted from our geologic modeling and I am looking forward to getting the analytical results from ALS Geochemistry. The deep core holes planned for Phase 2 will help us outline the large scale mine potential that we think Majuba has."

About Majuba Hill Property

The Majuba Hill Property encompasses 4,822 acres of surface and mineral rights that includes 3 patented lode mining claims and 632 acres of privately-owned surface and minerals. The property is easily accessed via 23 miles of well-maintained dirt roads leading from U.S. Interstate 80.

Story continues

Quality Assurance/Quality Control ("QA/QC") Measures, Chain of Custody

The Company has a QA/QC program using best industry practices at the Majuba Hill Project. Drill samples are delivered by the company consulting geologist to the secure warehouse facility in Elko, Nevada. Drill core samples are sawn in half lengthwise and one half is placed in labeled cloth sample bags. RC and core samples are then transported directly to the ALS Sample Prep Facility in Elko, Nevada. ALS will then transport the prepared pulps to their analytical lab in Reno, Nevada or Vancouver, B.C. All samples are analyzed for copper, gold, silver, and 31 other elements. Gold is determined by ALS method Au-AA23 which is a fire assay with an AAS finish on a 30-gram split. Copper, silver and the remaining 31 elements are determined by ALS method ME-ICP61 which is a four-acid digestion and ICP-AES assay. Approximately 5% of the submitted samples are copper-gold-porphyry commercial standard reference material pulps, which are inserted in the analytical sample sequence. The sample rejects and remaining pulps will be retrieved from ALS.

Qualified Persons

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed by E.L. "Buster" Hunsaker III, CPG 8137, a non-independent consulting geologist who is a "Qualified Person" as such term is defined under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43- 101").

About Bam Bam Resources Corp.

Bam Bam Resources Corp. (CSE: BBR) (OTC Pink: NPEZF) (FSE: 4NPA) is engaged in the identification, review and acquisition of latter stage copper and copper/gold assets. With its flagship project being Majuba Hill copper gold project located 156 miles outside Reno, Nevada, USA. Management has been mandated to focus on safe, mining friendly jurisdictions and government regulations supportive of mining operations.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

On Behalf of the Board of Bam Bam Resources Corp.

"David Greenway"

David C. Greenway

President & CEO

For further information, please contact:

E: dg@bambamresources.com

P: (604) 318-0114

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking" statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although Bam Bam Resources Corp. believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of Bam Bam Resources Corp. management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by law, Bam Bam Resources Corp. undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

###

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/61633
Presumptive Democratic candidate Joe Biden took time during his first joint event with running mate Kamala Harris to acknowledge the third anniversary of Charlottesville.

Today is not only the day Im proud to introduce Senator Harris ... its also the third anniversary of that terrible day in Charlottesville, he said.

Hundreds of people descended on Charlottesville, Virginia, three years ago today to protest the removal of a Robert E Lee statue. The rally was led by white supremacist and white nationalist organisations, some of whom were wearing Nazi symbolism and spewing anti-semitic and racist rhetoric.

Mr Biden said it was a wake-up call for all of us as a country before attacking how President Donald Trump handled the rally.

For me, it was a call to action ... at that moment I knew I couldnt stand by and let Donald Trump, a man who went on to say ... there are very fine people on both sides ... No president of the United States have ever said something like that, he added.

 Nancy Pelosi on Biden-Harris ticket

Mr Trump faced backlash for supporting the rally attendees who were protesting the removal of the Confederate generals statue because of the anti-semitic and racist remarks made by members in the crowd. But the president stood by his statements by repeating there were fine people on both sides.

By the end of the August weekend in Charlottesville three years ago, several counter-protesters standing up against the white supremacist groups were injured. One woman, Heather Heyer, was murdered after one rally attendee drove his car into a large crowd of counter-protesters.

Mr Biden used the anniversary of the incident in an effort to show voters how he and Mr Trump differed, with claims the president promoted racist rhetoric and worked to divide the nation instead of unite it.

Another attack from the former vice president towards his opponent came when he was speaking about Ms Harris.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Mr Trump called Ms Harris nasty for her questioning of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during a Senate hearing. The president often uses the word nasty when describing women he disagrees with politically.

Its no surprise, because whining is what Donald Trump does best, better than any president in ... history, Mr Biden said about the name-calling, adding the president had a problem with strong women.

Mr Biden also went on the attack for the Trump administrations response to the coronavirus pandemic. As of Wednesday, nearly 165,000 Americans have died from the novel virus, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

"This president says, 'It's not my fault. The governors should thank me more.' As the old saying goes: give me a break," Mr Biden said. "Donald Trump is on track ... to leave office with the worst jobs record of any president in modern history."

The Biden/Harris rally on Wednesday was the first moment America saw the running mates together and heard the message they were prepared to deliver in the coming months to encourage voters to support them in the November election.
The discovery that COVID-19 has crept back into New Zealand is a harsh reminder of how contagious the disease can be.

On Sunday, New Zealand had gone 100 days without any community transmission until the cluster in Auckland this week, which has now grown to at least 13 cases. Some will argue that this invalidates New Zealands strategy of eliminating the disease, since the coronavirus will inevitably return.

But the stage four lockdown in March and April in New Zealand was effective and most Kiwis seem to believe the short-term economic pain was worth it.

The question is how harshly to respond, now that the disease has returned. Those who already felt New Zealand went too far with its lockdowns in the first wave will argue that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been trigger-happy this time, too.

New Zealand director-general of health Ashley Bloomfield has, however, defended his prompt reaction and criticised Victoria for waiting too long after its second wave to shut down.
Stocks and bonds may be weak, but were still in a raging bull market for one commodity, and that is disinformation. Thats thanks in large part to the fact that President Donald Trump creates and distributes so much of it himself, both through his Twitter account but also in his official statements and briefings from the White House. Trumps promotion of fringe conspiracy theorieslike the one he repeatedly tweeted about involving former Congressional candidate Joe Scarborough and the death of a former campaign worker, or a video about a supposed cure for COVID-19 from a doctor who believes that some diseases are caused by demonsand similar behavior by Trump supporters and advisors, including his son Donald Jr., have helped to fuel the continued growth of a digital disinformation ecosystem. It ties together dark web sites like 4chan and right-wing outlets like Breitbart, but also relies on giant digital platforms like Facebook and YouTube, and mainstream news outlets like Fox News, as engines of dissemination.

One sign of how large and potentially influential this ecosystem has become in just the last four years is the growth of the QAnon conspiracy theory cult, something that seemed like a bad joke not that long agoan often bizarre hodge-podge of beliefs involving a plan by the deep state to take down some or all of the government, Satanic child sex-abuse rings run by the rich and powerful in Washington, and even the existence of aliens who walk among us. The idea that an anonymous government operative known only as Q leaves coded messages posted on 4chan discussion boards or in Reddit threads, containing details about the governments plans to foil a supposed coup, might have been laughable just a few years ago, but now there are candidates for Congress who openly share some of these beliefs, such as Marjorie Taylor Greene, who won a Republican primary runoff in Georgias 14th district this week, and was congratulated by the president. Theres a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take this global cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles out, and I think we have the president to do it, Greene said in a YouTube video.

This week, NBC News reported that an internal Facebook investigation found thousands of groups and pages devoted to QAnon conspiracy theories, with millions of members and followers, according to internal company documents that were obtained by the network. The ten largest of these groups identified by Facebook reportedly contain more than one million members, and the total from all of the QAnon groups is about three million. Its not clear how much overlap there is among membership of the groups, according to NBC, because most of them are private. Two unnamed Facebook staffers told the network that the company is considering a platform-wide crackdown on QAnon content that would be similar to the way it handles anti-vaccination content, which is to reject advertising from such groups, and exclude them from search results and recommendations (Twitter recently did something similar). A report by The Guardian says the paper found one hundred and seventy QAnon groups and accounts on Facebook and Instagram with more than four and a half million followers.

ICYMI: When the news becomes religion

Facebook has had a significant disinformation problem for some time, one that some believe helped tip the scales during the last election, but the companys ability (or desire) to fight this problem has become even more of an unknown over the past year, as the social network has focused increasingly on private groups and encrypted messaging through WhatsApp, part of a vision for the future promoted by Mark Zuckerberg, Facebooks chief executive. And as NBC pointed out, it has aggressively promoted QAnon groups and content, both via its all-powerful recommendation algorithm and through its advertising network. According to the network, an internal Facebook team found that the company had accepted one hundred and eighty-five ads praising, supporting, or representing QAnon, ads that generated about four million impressions over the last month alone (Facebook has also banned QAnon groups in the past for breaching its rules on harassment and hate speech).

Facebook hasnt been the only one helping QAnon to grow. As Washington Post reporter Tony Romm noted on Twitter, journalists can also help fuel the movement when they write credulous stories about it (and yes, Im aware that I am writing about it right now). With these QAnon candidates now apparently mainstream, the real test now involves journalists, which so often tend to treat the absurd as objects of fascination, said Romm. The risk is inadvertently normalizing conspiracy theory behavior through profiles and other stories, something that has also been raised as an issue with the white supremacist movement. As Parker Molloy and Alex Kaplan pointed out in a recent piece at Media Matters, stories about candidates like Greene and other Q supporters that dont explicitly address their fringe beliefsincluding some in high-profile outlets like the New York Timesrisk mainstreaming those beliefs. Ill be talking about this and other aspects of the disinformation ecosystem with researcher Whitney Phillips on CJRs Galley discussion platform this week.

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Heres more on QAnon:

Like a religion : Former CJR staffer Sam Thielman took a look at the QAnon movement in a recent piece for the magazine, and said it is very similar in many ways to a news-obsessed strain of Christian theology called premillennial dispensationalism, which takes metaphorical passages in the Bible and tries to decode them into both individual prophecies that refer directly to current events, as well as a larger meta-prophecy ending in the Rapture of believers to heaven, the coming of the Antichrist, and the battle of Armageddon.

Clogging hotlines : A report in the New York Times says that QAnon believers, who claim they are trying to dismantle a global cabal of Satanic child molesters and sex traffickers, are making it more difficult for actual child-welfare activists to do their work. The Polaris Project, a nonprofit organization that runs the National Human Trafficking Hotline, issued a news release saying its hotline had been overwhelmed with false reports. It later published a blog post warning that unsubstantiated claims and accusations about child sex trafficking can spin out of control and mislead well-meaning people into doing more harm than good.

Alternate reality : The QAnon conspiracy cult may have aspects that are similar to a religion, but it also shares many features with what are called alternate-reality games or ARGs, according to a Times interview with ARG expert Adrian Hon , the chief executive of a gaming company called Six to Start. Unlike video games, alternate reality games arent played on a consolethey use the world as their storytelling platform. Theres no one particular medium. The story takes place in real time and seems to exist in the world. So game designers hide clues and puzzles in websites, apps and even newspaper advertisements. Its a bit like a networked treasure hunt that turns the world around you into a game.

Other notable stories:

ICYMI: The mystery of Tucker Carlson

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Mathew Ingram is CJRs chief digital writer. Previously, he was a senior writer with Fortune magazine. He has written about the intersection between media and technology since the earliest days of the commercial internet. His writing has been published in the Washington Post and the Financial Times as well as by Reuters and Bloomberg.
A Virginia mayor is facing calls for his resignation over a Facebook post in which he said that Joe Biden "just announced Aunt Jemima" as his running mate.

Luray Mayor Barry Presgraves posted the comment last weekend on his Facebook page. The comment was condemned by members of the Luray Town Council and other residents before he took it down that same weekend.

Luray is a town of less than 5,000 people, the majority of them white, according to the most recent census data. Four percent of the population is Black. The town is about 90 miles west of Washington, D.C.

Biden named California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate on Tuesday.

A number of Black women were on Bidens running mate short list, including Florida Rep. Val Demings; California Rep. Karen Bass, who leads the Congressional Black Caucus; Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms; and Susan Rice, the former national security adviser to President Barack Obama.

Presgraves apologized at a town council meeting on Monday night.

Barry Presgraves, mayor of Luray, Va., (Town of Luray)

"I want to make this very clear to everyone with absolutely no qualifications," Presgraves said. "I understand what I posted on social media was wrong, offensive and unbecoming."

Presgraves, 77, added that it does not reflect what is in his heart.

"I also want to make a direct apology to all people of color and women. Passing off demeaning and worn out racial stereotypes as humor isn't funny," he said, reading from a prepared statement. "I now fully understand how hurtful it is and I can and will do better and we can all do better. We must."

He concluded his statement by saying, "From the bottom of my heart, I am sorry and humbly ask for your forgiveness and your grace."

Barbara Veney, 69, a Luray resident, addressed Pregraves directly at the meeting.

"I've been here all my life. Almost 70 years. And today, I'm hurt," she said.

Veney told Presgraves she was not there to tear him down or speak ill of him but that she had to stand for what is right. Veney said her father was Black and white, her mother was Indian and Black, and that she was not taught to be racist. She said she was taught "what comes out the mouth can hurt and you have to be careful what you speak because words do hurt."

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"We need somebody with positive thinking that will shape this community. No more dividing," she said. "In order for us to move on ... I'm asking you today, Mr. Mayor, that you step down in love  because I love you  and do the right thing."

At least one person at the meeting said he did not deem the Facebook comment racist. Audre King, a resident of Luray, said that he did not believe that the mayor intended for his comments to be racist "although in the context, they very much were."

Quaker Foods North America dropped its Aunt Jemima image and name in mid-June, saying they recognize the origins of the character are based on "a racial stereotype" of a Black "mammy" who raised her master's white children.

Council member Leah Pence sent an email to Presgraves last Monday morning urging him to resign.

Pence told Presgraves that the comment he posted "has a type of humor that has not been appropriate or funny" in either of their lifetimes, according to a copy of the email she posted on her Facebook page.

"While a resignation alone will not resolve the systemic subliminal racism that plagues our community, your resignation is imperative as we work towards ending racism in our community," Pence wrote, adding that Presgraves is accountable for his words and decisions.

She also told Presgraves that his recent actions have caused many residents in the small town "to lose faith and confidence" in his capacity to "effectively and justly" serve as mayor.

Town manager Steve Burke said the town council cannot remove the mayor, but the courts could weigh in.

"The residents do have the ability to petition the court for removal of elected officials," Burke told NBC News on Thursday.

The town council voted 5-1 to censure Presgraves for what they described in a statement as "his choice of harmful words posted on social media." Councilwoman Pence voted no, Burke said.

"While the town council affirms the freedom of speech guaranteed by the U.S Constitution, as elected officials, we are held to a higher standard within our communities," they said. "Statements by public officials have a powerful impact on the community."

They added: "Your apology is a step towards reconciliation with our citizens, however damage both internal and external to our community remains."

The town council told the mayor that they expect his "highest level of commitment and dedication to serving all citizens of Luray" going forward, without regard to race, sex or other characteristics.

In a statement posted to its Facebook page last Monday, the town of Luray said they "reject racism" and are committed to working together with the community through understanding, compassion, and opportunity. The statement did not name Presgraves, but said the town council would discuss the events leading to the statement at its meeting Monday night.

Presgraves did not immediately return a request for an interview Thursday. He told the Page Valley News last Monday that he will not step down.

"Hell no, I'm not resigning," he told the newspaper. "The people elected me and I have a few months more to serve."

Presgraves, who is not running for reelection, told the newspaper that he did not anticipate his remark would be met with backlash.

"I thought it was humorous," he said. "I had no idea people would react the way they did. I think people have gone overboard on this  It's an election year."
Iran and its arch enemy the United States have traded barbs over a spate of incidents in the Gulf, including the July 2019 seizure of British-flagged tanker Stena Impero

Iranian forces boarded a tanker in international waters in the Gulf of Oman, using a helicopter and two ships to take over the vessel for several hours, US officials said.

They also posted grainy black-and-white footage of the helicopter hovering low over the vessel and special forces personnel fast-roping onto the deck.

"Today in international waters, Iranian forces, including two ships and an Iranian "Sea King" helicopter, overtook and boarded a ship called the 'Wila'," the US Central Command said in a tweet on Wednesday.

A US defence official said the Iranians released the vessel, a Liberian-flagged oil and chemicals tanker, after holding it for four to five hours.

The incident occurred in international waters of the Gulf of Oman, just 32 kilometres (20 miles) off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.

"Iranian special forces fast roped from the Sea King on to the ship," the official told AFP on Thursday.

"A coalition ship monitored the event but did not receive a distress call from M/T Wila."

Bloomberg said the vessel had been floating off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates for the past month but that it appeared to have picked up a shipment in July near the Iraqi oil terminal of Al-Basra.

The waters where the ship was boarded, near the Strait of Hormuz, are a chokepoint for a third of the world's seaborne oil.

Iran and its arch enemy the United States have traded barbs in the past year over a spate of incidents in the sensitive waters of the Gulf.

The escalation of Iran-US tensions last year saw ships mysteriously attacked, drones downed and oil tankers seized in the strait.

In July 2019, Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized the British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero in the waterway for allegedly ramming a fishing boat and released it two months later.

The Guards seized at least six other ships last year over alleged fuel smuggling.

Tensions have escalated since 2018 when US President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from a multinational accord that froze Iran's nuclear programme, and reimposed crippling sanctions on its economy.

sls/gw/kir
Sacy began collecting food and other items to give to those in need. Around 25 families have reached out to her to donate, some she knows, but half are strangers. For the past week, she has been circulating around Beirut in her car to pick up donated furniture, first aid kits, bed sheets and kitchen utensils that she gives to a local non-governmental organization to distribute. When not doing that, she has been cleaning in the streets, including cleaning a fire station.
It has been nearly 10 days since Spains emeritus king, Juan Carlos I, made the surprise decision to leave the country as pressure rose due to revelations about his finances. Since August 4, the whereabouts of the father of the current monarch, Felipe VI, have been unknown, something that is becoming an uncomfortable issue for the central government. Questioned by reporters on Wednesday, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that the responsibility for providing information as to the former kings whereabouts lie with the royal household and Juan Carlos himself. We are different institutions, he insisted.

The government is trusting that, given the ongoing coronavirus crisis and economic strife, the countrys institutions will provide stability in the face of the shock move by the emeritus king. In La Moncloa prime ministerial palace, they are aware that the situation continues to create tensions, but they believe that citizens have bigger issues to worry about, such as the pandemic, jobs and the state of the economy.

Former king Juan Carlos I in 2018. JAIME REINA (AFP)

But the location of Juan Carlos, who is being investigated by Swiss and Spanish prosecutors over bank accounts allegedly held in tax havens, is adding another uncomfortable element to the ongoing crisis for the government. For the moment, the administration has opted to respect the decision  which may have been taken by Juan Carlos or his son, King Felipe VI  to keep his whereabouts secret, despite the political damage it is doing.

On Wednesday, Sanchez tried to distance his administration from the Royal Household, and deflect questions from reporters, including those from international media outlets such as The New York Times. The prime minister made a brief appearance before journalists after speaking with King Felipe on Wednesday during their traditional summer meeting at the Marivent palace in Palma de Mallorca.

His conversations with the head of state, he said, are subject to the appropriate confidentiality, and as such he would not be revealing the information he has at his disposal. The issues that need to be conveyed linked to the subject that you have referred to should be from the Royal Household or the person involved themselves and not the executive power, Sanchez said yesterday in response to a journalists question, avoiding expressly mentioning Juan Carlos I by name.

The media has claimed that Juan Carlos is in Portugal, the Dominican Republic, the United Arab Emirates and even New Zealand

The Royal Household, for its part, has opted not to reveal the location of the emeritus king, on the basis that he is a private citizen and that he will announce where he is located when and if he considers it convenient to do so.

But Juan Carlos I still holds the honorary title of king of Spain, he travels with a diplomatic passport, he continues to form part of the royal family, he enjoys protection from Spains lower courts and has not renounced his dynastic rights. The government is fully aware of his location, given that he is traveling with four bodyguards from the Royal Households security service, which is headed up by a Civil Guard colonel. In the race to locate him, the media has claimed that he is in Portugal, the Dominican Republic, the United Arab Emirates and even New Zealand.

The meeting on Wednesday between Sanchez and Felipe VI was the first official encounter since the news about the emeritus kings exit from Spain was announced. The pair spoke for around an hour, the PM explained afterwards, and they focused on the coronavirus crisis, the economic emergency and the international situation. Speaking after the meeting, Sanchez emphasized the severity of the current situation across the world due to the pandemic, and linked it to the need for stable institutions, a message that was clearly aimed at strengthening the monarchy. The worse the situation, which is extraordinarily complex due to the pandemic, the more important the normal functioning of public institutions is, he said.

English version by Simon Hunter.
The governor of the Central Bank of Iran, Abdolnaser Hemmati, advocated for pre-selling oil to domestic buyers as the best way to address the government's budget deficit in a "healthy manner, blaming U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil exports for the deficit.

In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Hemmati wrote that the government's choices for remedying the deficit include "reducing [expenses], increasing its income from taxes, selling government shares and assets or preselling sanctioned goods such as crude oil.

Hemmati claimed that implementing the first three solutions would come with obstacles, and that issuing bonds for pre-selling crude oil is the preferred route because bonds issued by an exchange-traded fund (ETF) are less costly and more manageable for the government, as well as more profitable for their holders in comparison to regular bonds.

An ETF is an investment fund traded on stock exchanges that holds assets such as stocks or commodities, or in this case, crude oil for export.

During a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, President Hassan Rouhani briefly referred to the plan to establish an exchange-traded fund and said the government "wants to create a balance between resources and expenditures in the budget and create a safe investment [opportunity] for the people" through selling shares in the fund in September.

Rouhani has previously described the selling of rial-based bonds for crude oil, to be delivered two years later, as the "cornerstone" of "an economic breakthrough".

"We are selling these shares so that people can find out that the stock and oil markets -- not the gold and dollar [market] -- are the right places for investment," Rouhani said at the Wednesday cabinet meeting, though he stopped short of elaborating on the details of the plan.

On Monday, Eqtesad News reported that the governments new plan would involve pre-selling about 220 million barrels of oil on Iran's energy exchange, IRENEX.

A similar plan was proposed during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency in 2012, immediately after international sanctions were imposed on the Islamic Republic. The plan was a non-starter and was never successfully implemented.

Given the lack of any guarantees that oil sales can increase in the next three years, critics have questioned whether the government will have the hard currency resources to pay for people's ETF investments over the two-year timeframe.
J oe Biden and his newly-chosen presidential running mate Kamala Harris have hit out at whining Donald trump as they campaigned together for the first time.

The former rivals for the Democratic nomination accused the current US president of leaving the country in tatters as they launched their bid to make history.

If they win Novembers election, Ms Harris, 55, will be the first black woman and South Asian American to serve as vice president.

Speaking from a high school gym in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, Mr Biden hailed the California senator as smart, tough, experienced and a proven fighter for the backbone of this country.

The pair took to the stage together sporting matching masks / AP

Kamala knows how to govern. She knows how to make the hard calls. Shes ready to do this job on day one, he said.

Mr Biden, 77, spoke of her experience questioning Trump administration officials in the US Senate, and highlighted the historic nature of her pick  noting she is the daughter of immigrants from India and Jamaica.

This morning, all across the nation, little girls woke up  especially little black and brown girls, who so often feel overlooked and undervalued in their communities, Mr Biden said.

But today, today, just maybe, theyre seeing themselves for the first time in a new way.

Joe Biden hailed his number two as an inspiration to girls across the country / Getty Images

Mr Biden went on: "The choice we make this November is going to decide the future of America for a very, very long time.

"Donald Trump has already started his attacks, calling Kamala, quote, nasty, whining about how she is, quote, mean to his appointees.

"It's not a surprise because whining is what Donald Trump does best, better than any president in American history.

"Is anybody surprised that Donald Trump has a problem with a strong woman, or strong women across the board?"

Taking to the stage after him, the former prosecutor said she was mindful of all the ambitious women before me, whose sacrifice, determination and resilience makes my presence here today even possible.

I am ready to get to work, she said.

Kamala Harris said she was 'ready to get to work' / AP

She then launched into an attack on Mr Trump, lambasting him for a lack of leadership on the pandemic.

This is a moment of real consequence for America. Everything we care about  our economy, our health, our children, the kind of country we live in  its all on the line, she said.

The event began an hour late and was not open to the public, owing to coronavirus risks.

Both candidates walked on stage wearing masks to address a socially distanced group of journalists.

The event was the first in a roll-out that Mr Bidens aides say blends the historic nature of Ms Harriss selection with the difficulties of the 2020 campaign in light of the Covid-19 crisis.

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The US remains the country with the highest number of confirmed infections and deaths  with more than 5.3 million cases recorded to date.
BELLEVILLE  Gov. J.B. Pritzker had put the Metro East on notice.

The Illinois governor singled out the region in a news conference July 22 as tests for COVID-19 in the region were coming back positive more than twice as often as the statewide average. The rate put the Metro East dangerously close to the threshold for some pandemic restrictions to return, and Pritzker directed local officials to act.

I have spoken with local leaders and asked them to clamp down on the outbreaks where they are occurring, Pritzker said. So the state wont have to step in.

If the region goes three days with an average positive test rate of at least 8%, new rules could include limits on restaurant dining, closure of personal-care services and stricter gatherings caps. Metro East mayors and county leaders have since stepped up public information campaigns, but have in most cases stopped short of creating new rules or closing businesses in response to the governors call to action.

As a mayor you dont want to be the heavy hurting businesses that are already struggling after months of closures, Belleville Mayor Mark Eckert said. But you also dont want this to become the center of the outbreak in Illinois. We dont want that kind of attention and then the businesses may have to close anyway. They wont have a choice.

The outlook for the region, which under the states reopening plan includes St. Clair, Madison, Monroe, Clinton, Washington, Bond and Randolph counties, has improved slightly since the governors warning. Its positivity rate dropped from 7.8% on July 25 to 7.5% by the latest count Aug. 9.

But the rate remains the highest in the state and, according to mayors and county officials, is still uncomfortably close to the 8% mark.

We know it wont take much going wrong to hit that 8%, St. Clair County Chairman Mark Kern said. So we are concerned.

The seven-county region has had more than 8,600 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 275 related deaths since the start of the pandemic. The statewide number of cases hit 198,593 on Wednesday and total deaths stood at 7,672.

In the Metro East counties closest to St. Louis  St. Clair, Madison and Monroe  the seven-day average for new daily infections has risen at a particularly high rate this summer, going from 52 on July 1 to 151 by Monday.

Both Pritzker and local leaders have hinted that Illinois connection to neighboring states with looser restrictions and higher case rates, including Missouri and Iowa, could be connected to the surging cases in the region.

Illinois has had a statewide mask mandate in place since May, while Missouri and Iowa have let local governments pass their own regulations. The result is a piecemeal approach where places like St. Louis and St. Louis County require masks, while nearby communities in St. Charles and Jefferson counties do not.

Many in the Metro East are aware of the governors warnings, said resident Colleen Thomas, 36, who was walking with her 3-year-old daughter down East Main Street in Belleville on Tuesday with a mask on.

A lot of people are talking about it, saying we could shut down again, she said. Its got my anxiety up, because you remember what it was like stuck in the house and you dont want to go back there.

St. Clair County

As cases rose, St. Clair County Chairman Kern stepped up his public messaging.

Kern brought back daily COVID-19 livestream updates on the countys emergency management Facebook page after pausing the practice when numbers fell dramatically this spring.

One problem is I think there is a certain group that is in a denial that this is a problem, Kern said. So I dont know how to break through to them, but we are doing everything we can.

Kern said the county has had to send out warning letters to some businesses and forcibly closed one for not following social distancing orders. He declined to name the shuttered establishment.

Kern said he wasnt considering more county-level regulations, but would leave it to the states plan or city leaders to decide.

So far, one city in the county has taken the step of issuing a local restriction. East St. Louis Mayor Robert Eastern III limited business hours to no later than 10 p.m. for everything except takeout and drive-thru services, to cut down on activity at bars and nightclubs.

Eastern himself, along with at least eight other East St. Louis employees, tested positive for the virus. The mayor recovered in July but said in a livestream video posted to the citys social media pages last week that he felt lucky to come out unscathed.

After contracting the virus, it made me feel like we needed to do something else, he said about his decision to cut bar hours.

In nearby Cahokia, Mayor Curtis McCall Jr. said he would also consider local orders if case numbers continue to rise. The city has created a mobile health care testing site that drives into neighborhoods to perform COVID-19 tests.

We know that in communities of color, we are impacted by the virus at rates many times higher, McCall said. But theres still a stigma now in getting tested, so we are working to try to stop that. People can see their neighbors go get a test so maybe they will, too.

McCall said hes still concerned about gatherings in Cahokia, and has kept the villages largest park closed to prevent parties.

I took a ride through the village on the Fourth of July and it was staggering to see the amount of people who were congregating and having parties, the mayor said. It was disturbing to see.

In Belleville, Mayor Eckert said the city was helping to make it easier for businesses to comply with health orders before considering restrictions.

Bellevilles City Council voted Aug. 3 to extend into November street closures downtown that have created space for restaurants to provide more outdoor dining.

We want them to still be in business, we just want to avoid a festival-type atmosphere, Eckert said, adding that the city would crack down on businesses throwing large parties or concerts.

Eckert, like many other Metro East mayors, said the city has already seen losses in tax revenue this year and has had to deal with virus cases within its own staff.

Swansea village administrator Ben Schloesser said the city is also trying to strike a balance between business interests and encouraging compliance with orders.

We dont want to be draconian if we dont need to be, he said, adding that so far there seems to be no appetite in Swansea for local restrictions on top of the state orders.

In OFallon, Illinois, Mayor Herb Roach said he sent letters to more than 700 businesses about Pritzkers warning, but agreed with most mayors that it wasnt time for local restrictions.

I believe that now the word is out, and people have gotten the message that weve gotten close to that magic 8% number, Roach said. I think hopefully were going to see a turnaround.

Madison County

In Madison County, positivity rates have been above the states 8% threshold, reaching a seven-day average of 8.5% in the county Tuesday.

County leaders were among other regional ones who questioned Pritzkers pandemic response in the spring. The county board of health voted May 12 to reopen earlier than the state ordered, though the legality of the plan quickly came under question.

The board passed a resolution that attempted to lift all business and gathering restrictions by the end of June.

Madison County States Attorney Tom Gibbons advised in May that businesses were still required to follow the state order, and the local guidelines were not legally enforceable. The mayors of Edwardsville and Alton also released statements saying their cities would be following the state, rather than the county plan.

But despite the early push for reopening, county health officials say social distancing messaging has been a priority.

Madison County Health Department spokeswoman Amy Yeager said the department launched more drive-thru test sites this summer and issued reminders about the importance of masks to businesses.

Yeager said a staff of nine nurses is handling all the contact tracing for the county, including each day calling hundreds of people with positive tests or exposures.

There are 36 health department staff total to serve 265,000 residents, Yeager said. So its been a lot and were watching the case numbers closely.

In Metro East hospitals, the rise in cases have also caused new admissions of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases to go up from about two per day in late June to about four a day in early August, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Dr. Angela Holbrook, emergency department director at Memorial Hospital Alton, said that shes noticed a few more COVID-19 patients recently, but the hospital so far has plenty of capacity for the current need.

Theres always the challenge at our hospital and across the country in having adequate number of nursing staff, Holbrook said. So if cases rise here, that will challenge us even further. We dont want that to happen.

Photos: SIU Carbondale students begin moving into campus housing

Erin Heffernan 314-340-8145 @erinheff on Twitter eheffernan@post-dispatch.com
CNBC's "College Voices 2020" is a series written by CNBC summer interns from universities across the country about coming of age, launching new careers and job hunting during a global pandemic. They're finding their voices during a time of great social change and hope for a better future. What money issues are they facing? How are they navigating their student loans? How are they getting work experience, networking and applying for jobs when so many opportunities have been canceled or postponed? How important is diversity and a company's values to Gen Z job seekers? 2020 is undoubtedly a difficult time to graduate college. The seniors who may have assumed that they'd have things figured out by the time they got their diplomas are, for the most part, coming to terms with the effects of the pandemic on the job market, all while juggling the stress of student loans, family layoffs, and the devastating health impacts of the coronavirus. In an April 2020 survey conducted by Student Loan Hero, 72% of graduating seniors reported that the Covid-19 crisis had already impacted their post-graduation plans. And, while the unemployment rate has improved since then, 18.6% of people between the ages of 16 and 24 are still unemployed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And, with all the uncertainty in the economy due to the coronavirus pandemic, there are more layoffs and hiring freezes, which means it's even harder to find a job if you're right out of college. In a survey of 132 organizations, employment research platform Talent Board found that 74% of companies were reducing hiring in some capacity, 32% of which were freezing hiring completely.

A financial and emotional struggle

So many students lost their jobs this summer and are having a hard time finding work that it has increased their financial stress. More than a third of students have taken on debt, with 17% taking on credit-card debt and 16% borrowing additional student loans, according to a survey by Student Loan Hero. Graham Curry, a recent graduate of Miami University of Ohio, shares the common concerns about paying off loans and making ends meet.

Graham Curry, recent graduate of the Miami University Ohio, has taken on freelance design and a local tech internship to remain proactive during the pandemic Photo: Mark Curry

"I'm still figuring out how that's all going to work out," said Curry, who had received a small refund from the university for on-campus fees and had relied on a four-year scholarship for tuition. Curry is also one of the many students who returned home at the onset of the pandemic, but still had to pay his apartment rent through the final months of the lease. "It really sucked paying for a place that I wasn't living in. That fee has definitely drained my resources," Curry said. Curry hopes to use his degree in interactive media studies to work in game design. However, canceled in-person conferences and industry networking events this spring meant he was unable to meet other developers and secure a full-time role. His mother was laid off in March and several family members have contracted and died from coronavirus, so this has been an emotional struggle for him as well as a financial one. "It's hard to deal with your family struggling in such a huge manner, but we're getting through it as best we can like everyone else is."

Emergency grants provide short-term relief

Universities have tried to provide financial support to students during these times through decreases in tuition, grants, and aid programs. The University of Maryland, among other colleges and universities, received a $21 million grant from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, part of the $2 trillion dollar implementation of the CARES Act. This $21 million grant was distributed to students seeking financial assistance, specifically those who were impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. More than 5,000 students have been awarded funds from the grant so far. Hannah Roseme, a rising junior at the University of Maryland, said the grant was a big help.

Hannah Roseme, rising junior at the University of Maryland hanging out on the quad prior to the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: Mia Fillipine

"The grant program at Maryland has provided extensive assistance to students like myself, friends and many others I know. We were facing so many concerns financially due to the semester ending so quickly  rent costs, meal plan expenses and obviously job-related losses due to the pandemic. I was unable to continue with my babysitting job which helps finance my time at school  the grant program really provided me with some much needed relief during this time so that I wasn't incredibly stressed regarding my finances, in addition to worrying about online school, my well being and the safety of my family," said Roseme, who is originally from Westport, Connecticut.

Alternative work solutions: internships, unpaid opportunities and freelancing

For graduates like Curry, taking an internship rather than a full-time job provides a short-term solution to maintaining income, work experience, and connections. Curry will spend the next three months interning at a local tech company in Dayton, where he hopes to learn coding languages and software-development skills. "I feel like there's a bit of a bubble right now, which in some cases is pretty helpful," Curry said. "I plan to build up my skills so I can hopefully find further success later on." Freelance design work is another route for graduates to secure additional income and stay proactive. "My motivation to find supplemental income through freelance or making some other business has skyrocketed," said Curry. "Financial independence is so crucial right now, so exploring those avenues of income is something else I do in my free time." Rachel Kivo, who graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in journalism, has applied to multiple jobs every day since graduation. She recently secured an internship with the Q Project, a platform that finds creative ways to provide technology for low-income people. "I did expect to get a job after graduation, but offers aren't coming so easily so taking an internship is something I can fall back on," she said. Although it is unpaid, Kivo is grateful to be able to work from her family home and save money over the next few months while taking on this unique opportunity. "This is the best option for me because I really like what the Q Project stands for, so I'm excited to be a part of that."

Staying hopeful during these tumultuous times

Without a clear light at the end of the tunnel, it has been challenging for students to try to stay optimistic. "Honestly it's been rough and it takes a toll on your mental health," said Baylor University graduate Saloni Khushal, who also feels disheartened by the lack of job opportunities. "The job market is so saturated and you have to remind yourself that everyone is on a different path," she said. "But we have to just keep on keeping on. No one planned for this and it's out of our control so we can't get mad at ourselves," added Khushal. In the meantime, she is helping with marketing and operations at her family's hotel business as well as working in a part-time unpaid social media position for online-dating platform Blind Love Letters.

Saloni Khushal, graduate of Baylor University, is using this time to help with her family business and take on a part-time social media role Photo: Margaret Carissa
A day after the district announced its plan for the upcoming school year to adapt asynchronous learning, UISD Superintendent Roberto Santos answered questions from concerned parents in Laredo.

As part of a KGNS.TV Facebook Live interview, Santos explained the mandate by the Texas Education Agency that states that if a child does not have a device or the means to connect to the internet, the parent is allowed to send their child to on-campus instruction. Despite the district believing that virtual instruction is safer, they will have to accommodate those students and the parents choice.

Approximately 4,000 students are estimated to return to campus, but Santos said that principals are contacting parents to inform them about the choices available for students. Ultimately, he believes that after contacting parents and identifying students with or without access to virtual-only instruction, a better estimate of incoming students will be slightly above 3,000.

We wish we didnt have to do that, but we have no choice, Santos said. So what happens when you have students coming in face-to-face on campus, then obviously we are going to have to have staff to be able to teach students.

The situation was addressed during the Monday special call meeting, where UISD staff presented the rotation plans for teachers. They explained that teams of two or three can expect rotations from virtual to on-campus every three weeks. The method was said to be the fairest option as most teachers did not want to return to campus. Santos added that the rotations will be dependent on how many students attend on each campus.

He continued by explaining that principals have also surveyed their teachers, asking who would like to participate in on-campus instruction. Some teachers have said that they prefer on-campus instruction, which allows those who prefer virtual-instruction to work from home.

Is it a perfect plan? I think its a good plan, but just like I shared with the board yesterday, when the students show up and we actually start doing the instruction then we might have to tweak it and make some changes, Santos said.

On Aug. 24, students who are returning to their campus can expect a form of a hybrid model where a limited number of students in their class follow a teachers instruction through a device. Each student will be wearing headphones and will listen to their own lecture, as the others do the same.

For special education students that will be returning to on-campus instruction after the four weeks or due to the lack of device and/or internet connectivity, teachers will be given extra PPE and other safety precautions that is necessary to reduce the risk to special needs students.

Another concern by Santos was the state exams.

As the state has not announced waiving the exams, the district will have to prepare all students for the state tests. He hopes the state will waive it, but it is not likely; regardless, students will need to meet state requirements for graduation and promotions.

Santos said that for graduates to come from an accredited campus, TEA guidelines must be followed. Santos did note that after the eight weeks of virtual-only instruction waiver, funding is not an issue. The more important factor is attendance and student participation, as it will be a deciding factor for funding by the state. The current system will track students and their attendance; any student who is not attending classes will be identified, and their parent will be contacted by their principal to remind them to log in.

After the first four weeks, school districts will be required to allow 25% requests of students for on-campus instruction, regardless if they have a device or not.

When asked about Chromebook distribution, Santos said that a delay in device shipments for the district is a result of the pandemic and demand by school districts nationwide, but the district is offering the devices to parents and students who are in need for the 2020-21 school year. Parents have the option to deny the devices and must decide to send their child to school as the district cannot force them to participate in virtual instruction.

This is a TEA mandate, he continued. The only one that can shut our schools down is the governor.

Throughout the discussion, Santos stated that throughout the summer, the district changed their back-to-school plan as the state changed its guidelines and policies on a weekly basis. He said that UISD had changed their plans six or seven times. The most recent was the requirement to accommodate students without access to devices or internet after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a guidance that prompted the TEA to alter the guidelines.

The district has mandated that all employees return to UISD buildings with a mask and anyone without one will not be allowed inside, Santos said. The district has already received a shipment of PPE for the school year and disposable masks will be available to those coming in, but Santos encourages everyone to bring their own.

UISD Employees

For employees, the federal government allowed 80 hours to be allotted as paid time off with full pay, Santos said. In the event where they require more hours, employees will have to dip into their personal days. If those run out, qualified members of the sick leave bank can use up to 30 days. With the sick leave bank, members donate days to a pool and can also take days during emergency situations.

Members of the bank can also apply for catastrophic, where an employee can get an additional 30 days in case of severe illness.

Basically, someone who is a member of the bank and the illness is serious, they could get an additional 30 days, so youre looking at 12 weeks of paid leave, Santos said.

They will also be able to fill out a Family Medical Leave Act which, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, entitles eligible employees to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medial reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave.

During the pandemic, employees can fill out the form through the Human Resource department with a doctors reasoning, a committee will overlook the case. And if requirements are met, the employee will be allowed to work remote. This is for employees with underlying health conditions.

When asked if teachers will be forced to return to on-campus instruction, Santos replied saying that as teachers are under contract, they will have to meet the requirements of their contract.

If you are asked to come and teach Day 1, and they worked on a schedule that is going to be on a rotating basis, then yes we will expect you to be there. If not, we will get a sub, Santos said.

Additional concerns were regarding UISD staff COVID-19 positive cases and cleaning routines.

Santos said that there were UISD staff members who tested positive which prompted the district to notify the health department. To return to work, staff members will be required to quarantine for 14 days and test negative. On campus, custodians have been trained and will have machines to sanitize rooms.

On Thursday, superintendents and administrators from Texas will meet with the TEA commissioner during a statewide virtual conference to hear about any updates or changes the agency provides before the start of the school year.

cocampo@lmtonline.com
Dhinesh Kallungal By

Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Air India Express will have to pay a compensation of around Rs 1.19 crore each to the next of kin of victims of the plane crash at Calicut International Airport as per the Montreal Convention treaty, which imposes penalties on air carriers for the death of passengers due to negligence.

Since the passengers and aircraft were insured, the insurance company will have to pay the amount to the heirs of the deceased and the injured.

However, if one goes by the experience of the Mangaluru air crash victims, the kin of victims will have to really sweat it out to get their compensation.

The relatives of some of the victims of the 2010 air crash are yet to receive full compensation even now.

A case filed by the Mangalore Air Crash Victims Families Association for getting a second tier of compensation for the kin of Mohammed Salam, a Kasaragod native who was killed in the accident, is still under consideration of the Supreme Court.

Advocate Kodoth Sreedharan Nair, who appeared for the family of a victim in the Mangalore crash in the Kerala High Court, said, The next of kin of the victims are eligible to get 1,13,100 SDRs as an automatic entitlement as per the Montreal Convention and this cannot be challenged by the airline company. Further, they can also claim additional compensation based on their eligibility, but airlines can defend the claim beyond the set SDR limit, he said.

Narayanan Killingom, vice-president of Mangalore Air Crash Victims Families Association, said in the 2010 crash, the kin of some of the victims had received Rs 30-40 lakh, while some others received up to Rs 3 crore.

The pilot reportedly received Rs 8 crore.According to sources, the insurance premium for the airlines will shoot up after every accident. Hence, their priority will always be to lower the claim limit for which they resort to various means.

How it is calculated

Claim limit up to 1,13,100 SDRs*.

1 SDR is equivalent to $1.41.

One US dollar is equal to L74.76 as on Wednesday.

1,13,100 x 1.41 = $159,471.

$159,471 x C74.76 = L1,19,22,051.96.

19 remain critical, three on ventilator support

MALAPPURAM: As many as 83 persons who were injured in the crash are still under treatment at various hospitals in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts, 19 of whom are in critical condition, while three are surviving with ventilator support.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is currently investigating the possible causes of the accident.
Two pilots unions - Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) and the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG)  wrote to civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday requesting him to convene an urgent meeting over flight safety and working conditions of pilots of Air India, Air India Express and Alliance Air.

The letter flagged the pilots pay cuts and said that flight safety and the working conditions of the pilots of Air India group companies cannot be seen in isolation in the background of the crash of an Air India Express flight in Kozhikode on August 7.

Pending the findings of the official investigations, may we highlight the fact that flight safety and the working conditions of the pilots of Air India group companies cannot be seen in isolation. The recently imposed policies implemented by the Air India Board imposing steep, disproportionate and retrospective pay cuts specifically targeting pilots across Air India as well as Air India Express and Alliance Air are one such example, the letter said.

It is the third time since July 27 that the pilots have sought a meeting with Puri.

The two unions cautioned that burdening frontline workers with massive pay cuts to safeguard the senior management was undesirable.

Our pilots are constantly facing the challenges of Covid- 19, monsoon weather, ill designed Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL), several extensions and dispensations given by the DGCA. Trying to burden the frontline workers with massive pay cuts to safeguard the salaries and perks of senior management add an extra undesirable dimension to the equation.

The unions had earlier written to Puri on July 27 and August 1 seeking a meeting to discuss pay cuts which they say are unfair and discriminatory.

Aviation policy makers are creating a caustic work environment without any reproach or consequence. It is paramount that the safety of the travelling public is not compromised. In this you are our singular hope, the letter said.
India insisted on 'complete disengagement' in all its talks with China on eastern Ladakh row: Govt

India-China standoff: The importance of Misri meeting Liu

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Aug 13: Amidst the rising tensions with China, Ambassador Vikram Misri met with Liu Jianchaou, the deputy director office of the CPC Central Committee Foreign Affairs Commission.

During the meeting, Misri meet Jianchaou of India's stance on the situation on the borders on easter Ladakh and the overall bilateral relations.

The meeting is important considering the influence Liu holds with the CPC's foreign affairs division. He would be able to convey the need to resolve the border row at a political level.

Indo-China stand-off: Two HAL light combat choppers deployed in Ladakh

Sources tell OneIndia that New Delhi is looking for another round of official talks through an established diplomatic channel. The talks are likely to take place next week, the official cited above also said.

Meanwhile, Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat informed a committee of lawmakers that the de-escalation in Ladakh where the Chinese troops transgressed in June may take more time. He also said that this transgression led to the Indian troops being deployed in large numbers.

The General also emphasised that India its prepared to face any onslaught. However efforts are being made to bridge the trust deficit with China, he also said.

Meanwhile, India has told China to stop further construction and pull back troops from the Depsang-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.

During the talks, India stressed upon the importance of reducing tensions in the Depsang plains, an official familiar with the developments told OneIndia. This has been a major flash point for several years now, owing to the perceptions of the Line of Actual Control.

PM Modi launches platform for 'Transparent taxation-Honouring the Honest' | Oneindia News

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.

China hopes India will not complicate border issue

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.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Thursday, August 13, 2020, 9:22 [IST]
Sprint Missile bunker. Pifers Auction & Realty  Moorhead, MN

A decommissioned Cold War missile silo in North Dakota was up for auction on Tuesday.

The site has 14 launch sites for Sprint missiles, which were designed as the last line of defense against Soviet weapons.

Despite 70 bidders, the price only reached $52,500, which the seller rejected.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A piece of Cold War history went up for auction in North Dakota on Tuesday.

Decommissioned in the 1970s, the Remote Sprint Launcher 4 is a time capsule in need of repair. Other Cold War era missile silos have appeared for sale around the country in the last year, including in Arizona, Kansas, and New Jersey.

The 50 acre property has not officially sold yet, as the seller and bidders negotiate on an acceptable price. In the meantime, see what it looks like now.

Video: Brazil spent $300 million on a World Cup stadium thats now nearly abandoned

Overhead view.

Pifers Auction & Realty  Moorhead, MN

Volonchenko Missile Base Layout_0

Sprint Missile bunker.

Pifers Auction & Realty  Moorhead, MN

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North Dakota Sprint missile

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Pifers Auction & Realty  Moorhead, MN

North Dakota Sprint missile

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Pifers Auction & Realty  Moorhead, MN

North Dakota Sprint missile

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Pifers Auction & Realty  Moorhead, MN

North Dakota Sprint missile

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Pifers Auction & Realty  Moorhead, MN

North Dakota Sprint missile

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Pifers Auction & Realty  Moorhead, MN

North Dakota Sprint missile

Sprint Missile bunker.

Pifers Auction & Realty  Moorhead, MN

North Dakota Sprint missile

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Pifers Auction & Realty  Moorhead, MN

North Dakota Sprint missile

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Pifers Auction & Realty  Moorhead, MN

North Dakota Sprint missile

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Pifers Auction & Realty  Moorhead, MN

North Dakota Sprint missile

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Pifers Auction & Realty  Moorhead, MN

North Dakota Sprint missile

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Pifers Auction & Realty  Moorhead, MN

North Dakota Sprint missile

Sprint Missile bunker.

Pifers Auction & Realty  Moorhead, MN

North Dakota Sprint missile

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Pifers Auction & Realty  Moorhead, MN

North Dakota Sprint missile

Sprint Missile bunker.

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North Dakota Sprint missile

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Pifers Auction & Realty  Moorhead, MN

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Read the original article on Business Insider
C hildren under the age of 16 made up just one per cent of coronavirus cases during Englands coronavirus peak, a new study has found.

The authors said their research provides further evidence for the limited role of children in the pandemic.

The study, led by Public Health England (PHE), comes after Boris Johnson said getting all children back to school full-time next month is the right thing for everybody.

It also comes amid calls to boost Covid-19 testing and tracing to ensure a safe return.

The first case of the virus involving a child was confirmed on February 29.

Infections among children started to increase during the second week of March and peaked on April 11 before declining gradually  a similar trend seen in adults.

Overall 35,200 tests were performed on children under the age of 16 between January 1 and May 2.

There were 1,408 cases among children aged 15  meaning around four per cent of all children tested had a positive result.

This compares to between 19.1 and 34.9 per cent among adults.

When considered among all age groups, children accounted for 1.1 per cent of total Covid-19 cases.

Just over half (53 per cent) were boys.

The highest number of positive cases in children were among children under the age of three months  but researchers said that this was just a reflection of the higher number of tests done among children in this age bracket.

They said that young infants are more likely to have more tests done when they are unwell and parents are more likely to take them to a doctor if they are younger.

During the study period there were eight deaths of children confirmed to have Covid-19.

In four cases another cause (of death) was identified and Sars-CoV-2 was reported to be incidental or an indirect contributor to death, the studys authors wrote in the Archives of Disease in Childhood journal.

Among four children aged 10 to 15 who died, three had multiple other health conditions, they confirmed.

There has been no increase in excess deaths in children aged 015 years until May 3 2020, the researchers added.

They concluded: The experience in England adds to the growing body of evidence on the limited role of children in the Covid-19 pandemic, with just over one per cent of confirmed cases occurring in children.

Children accounted for a very small proportion of confirmed cases despite the large numbers of children tested.

Sars-CoV-2 (the virus which causes Covid-19) positivity was low even in children with acute respiratory infection.

Our findings provide further evidence against the role of children in infection and transmission of Sars-CoV-2.

The authors of the current paper say that a key unanswered question remains whether children without symptoms might be contributing to community transmission of the virus.

But they point to other research which shows low infection rates among children and a separate study which found that among household infections children were never the first to be infected or to be the source of infection in the household.

The authors, which include experts from PHE, the University of Oxford, the Evelina childrens hospital, Kings College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, concluded: England is currently nearing the end of the first peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Consistent with other countries, children account for a very small proportion of confirmed cases and have very low case-fatality rates.

Despite the large number of children tested, only four per cent were positive for Sars-CoV-2.

Lead author Dr Shamez Ladhani, from PHE, added: It is still not clear why young children have such a low risk of infection compared to older children or adults.

"One theory is that, compared to adults, children have fewer ACE2 receptors which the virus can bind to in cells that line the respiratory tract.

The way the immune system reacts to the virus is also likely to be different in children compared to adults.

Whilst these numbers are reassuring for children, they include a long period of complete lockdown where children were less likely to have been exposed to the virus.

And he cautioned: We need to remain vigilant as the lockdown eases and children have increased contact with other children and adults in the coming weeks.

In particular, we need more information about asymptomatic infections and silent transmission.

PHE said that an analysis of virus cases in schools in England, and the preliminary results of its nationwide study of antibody prevalence in schools, will be published in the coming weeks.
The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay high court (HC) has granted bail to a juvenile, who was tried by a sessions court for raping a minor and had been remanded to the Borstal School in Nashik, on the grounds that his future might be ruined in company of hardened criminals if he were to be sent to a regular prison after he turned 21.

It would be appropriate to suspend the sentence passed by the trial court in light of the tender age of the appellant and looking at the aspect that he will turn 21 soon, said Justice Shrikant Kulkarni while granting bail to the resident of Maharashtras Nandurbar district.

If he is allowed to be remanded to prison (after he turns 21), there is every possibility that he may mix with hardened criminals and his future may be ruined, the judge added.

Though a juvenile at the time of the incident, the Nandurbar resident was tried by a sessions court, instead of the juvenile justice board (JJB) as is the norm.

On February 14, 2019, an additional sessions judge at Nandurbar had convicted him under section 354A (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code and section 4 (penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO), Act, 2012.

The juvenile was sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment for the offence under the POCSO Act, 2012, and to three years jail term for the IPC offence, and was remanded to the Borstal School in Nashik.

He had filed an application seeking bail during pendency of his appeal against the conviction, apprehending that he would be shifted to a regular prison after he turns 21.

His lawyer pointed out that the juvenile would turn 21 soon, and it was necessary to suspend his sentence and release him on bail because of his tender age.

The lawyer expressed apprehension that the juvenile would come in contact with hardened criminals, if he were to be shifted to a regular jail after he ceased to be a juvenile.

Justice Kulkarni accepted the argument and ordered the juvenile to be released on bail on furnishing a personal bond of Rs. 15,000 and a surety of the same amount.

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The 1918 Spanish flu was more deadly of fatalities in New York City than coronavirus has been in 2020 - but COVID-19 drove up the death toll for the first several months of the year far beyond. what would be seen in a typical year, a new study finds.

At the peak of New York City's coronavirus crisis, 33,465 people out of a population of 8.2 million died, of COVID-19 or any other cause.

About 2,000 fewer people died during the city's Spanish flu crisis, but they accounted for a large proportion of the population.

However, the Harvard University scientists behind the study, published Thursday, found that, because day-to-day death toll outside pandemic circumstances is so much lower today than it was a century ago, coronavirus drove up New York City's fatalities by twice as much as the Spanish flu did.

They suspect that despite better medical technology and hygiene practices, shutdowns were lifted too early, leading to additional spikes in coronavirus deaths and cases.

There were about four times more deaths in the early months of 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic as were seen in 2017, 2018 or 2019, Harvard researchers found

Coronavirus has killed more than 166,000 Americans to-date. At least 18,970 of them were residents of New York City - and likely thousands more.

New York City's first case of COVID-19 on March 1. The city's first death was reported on March 14.

But non-essential businesses were not shut down until March 20.

Worse yet, scientists now believe that the virus had already arrived in New York City as early as January.

At the height of the pandemic's grip on the city, coronavirus killed nearly 600 people in a single day.

The numbers were devastating. But modern hygiene and medical care have helped to keep the death toll from coronavirus, as well as any other cause, lower than it might be in other circumstances - like those that existed 100 years ago.

Between 500,000 ands 850,000 Americans are estimated to have died of the Spanish flu from 1918 to 1920.

Not dissimilar to coronavirus, Native American tribes were among the hardest-hit groups in the nation.

A major distinguishing factor between 1918 and now: hand-washing.

Reliable and ubiquitous access to clean water and, as a result, the ability to regularly wash one's hands wasn't a guarantee in the US until about the mid-20th century.

Only about half of homes in the US had a bathroom by 1940.

With better water systems came better septic systems and overall hygiene practices.

The 1918 Spanish flu nearly doubled the number of deaths that occurred in 1918 compared to in any year between 1914 and 1917

That's largely credited with the extension of life American expectancy from somewhere in the 60s in 1940 to the 80s now.

Hygiene has dramatically reduced the transmission of infectious diseases, including flu and, now, coronavirus.

In its absence, there were about 287 deaths by any cause per every 100,000 person-months at the height of the Spanish flu in New York City.

That meant that there were about 2.8 deaths in 1918 per every one that occurred in year from 1914 to 1917.

Comparatively, there were more than four deaths during the height of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in New York City per every one that occurred in a single year between 2017 and 2019.

'These findings suggest that the mortality associated with COVID-19 during the early phase of the New York City outbreak was comparable to the peak mortality observed during the 1918 H1N1 influenza pandemic,' the Harvard researchers wrote in JAMA Open Network.

'However, because baseline mortality rates from 2017 to 2019 were less than half that observed from 1914 to 1917 (owing to improvements in hygiene and modern achievements in medicine, public health, and safety), the relative increase during early COVID-19 period was substantially greater than during the peak of the 1918 H1N1 influenza pandemic.'

They noted that many people in the US believe that restrictions to slow the spread of coronavirus were lifted too early, meaning that cases and deaths were never driven to a minimum.

'Specifically, shutdowns did not adequately lower caseloads in many areas, meaning that subsequent spikes in new cases during the summer stretched US hospital resources in many areas,' the researchers wrote.

'We believe that our findings may help officials and the public contextualize the unusual magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to more prudent policies that may help to decrease transmission by decreasing the effective reproduction number of SARS-CoV-2 and prevent the exhaustion of essential supplies of life-saving resources in the coming weeks and beyond.'
LONDON - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted Thursday that businesses in Northern Ireland will continue to enjoy seamless access to the rest of the U.K. after a Brexit transition period with the European Union expires at the end of the year.

There will be no border down the Irish Sea  over my dead body, he said on a visit to Northern Ireland, where he met the new Irish prime minister, Micheal Martin.

Following the U.K.s departure from the EU at the end of January, the country is in a transition period with the bloc during which it remains part of its economic arrangements, including the tariff-free single market and customs union.

Though discussions about the future economic relationship are still taking place, Northern Ireland has a special status in the talks  deal or no deal.

Under the Northern Ireland protocol, negotiated as part of last years Brexit deal, the region will follow some of the EUs rules to allow freedom of movement of goods and services across the border with Ireland, which remains part of the EU.

Business leaders in Northern Ireland have expressed concerns that the rules and regulations associated with that requirement will make trading with the rest of the U.K. more expensive, even prohibitive.

The next round of talks about the future relationship are set to commence in Brussels on Aug. 18.

Johnsons main negotiator, David Frost, said in a tweet that the U.K. side will go into those talks in good faith to talk constructively about all the issues, and that an agreement can be reached in September.

Johnsons Irish counterpart, Martin, said both the EU and the U.K. want to avoid another economic shock following the coronavirus pandemic.

I think where theres a will, theres a way, he said. It seems to me that there is a landing zone if that will is there on both sides and I think it is, on the European Union side and on the British side to find that landing zone.
Fans of The Bachelor are convinced that fiery contestant Zoe-Clare McDonald was 'too drunk' to attend the inaugural rose ceremony during Wednesday night's premiere.

Viewers flocked to Twitter to share their thoughts, after it was claimed that the redhead had become too 'ill' to join Locky Gilbert and her co-stars at the eviction.

'Zoe-Clare got too p***ed to stand straight in the rose ceremony,' one fan tweeted.

Suspicions: Fans of The Bachelor are convinced that fiery contestant Zoe-Clare McDonald was 'too drunk' to attend the inaugural rose ceremony during Wednesday night's premiere

Another added: 'Zoe has her head in the toilet so she can't attend the rose ceremony.'

A third suggested that Zoe-Clare had 'passed out' before the rose ceremony, hence why she couldn't make it.

A fourth viewer joked that she'd skipped the eviction to 'get a bottle of dye from Priceline', after having a meltdown over her hair colour earlier in the episode.

'She got too p***ed to stand straight': Viewers flocked to Twitter to share their thoughts, after it was claimed she had become too 'ill' to join Locky Gilbert and her co-stars at the eviction

Cheeky! During Wednesday night's premiere, Zoe-Clare went into a rage after Areeba Emmanuel (pictured) interrupted her discussion with Locky Gilbert

During Wednesday's premiere, Zoe-Clare went into a rage after Areeba Emmanuel, 25, interrupted her discussion with Locky Gilbert.

'To me, it's disrespectful. If she wants to act the child, that's fine,' she told producers.

For no apparent reason, she came to the conclusion that the other women didn't like her because of her hair colour.

Meltdown: 'To me, it's disrespectful. If she wants to act the child, that's fine,' she tearfully said

Fiery! For no apparent reason, she came to the conclusion that the other women didn't like her because of her hair colour

She continued: 'I'm the only redhead in the whole entire house... The only colours are blonde or brunette, and then there's me. I think that's exactly why Areeba is targeting me. It's the red hair. It's just... it's not appropriate.

'What's wrong with a ranga? Yeah. Do you want me to dye my hair every 10 seconds because you don't like my colour? I'm so sorry, but this is natural, guys. It's not going anywhere.'

Her tearful monologue confused many viewers because nobody had mentioned the colour of her hair.

Missing from the line-up: Later in the episode, Zoe-Clare became 'ill' and was forced to skip the inaugural rose ceremony (pictured)

Later in the episode, Zoe-Clare apparently became 'ill' and was forced to skip the inaugural rose ceremony.

Despite being too unwell to attend, Zoe still received a rose.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Channel 10 and Zoe-Clare for comment.

The Bachelor continues Thursday at 7.30pm on Channel 10
Tomorrow, Friday, 14 August, Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias will travel to Vienna, where he will meet with the Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alexander Schallenberg.



Talks will focus on developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and Turkey's escalating illegal activity, in view of the extraordinary Meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the EU, which the two Ministers will be attending jointly via video conference.



They will also discuss issues of bilateral and European interest.
Mr Day 'died in seconds' after first punch to his neck which ruptured an artery

The attack took place outside Kebapizza in Ipswich, Suffolk, on February 22

Richard Day, 45, was punched and kicked to the ground by three teenagers

A rock music fan was beaten to death in a 'rapid and vicious' attack by three teenagers as he walked home from a gig, a court heard today.

Richard Day, 45, was punched and kicked to the ground by two teenagers aged 16 and one aged 17, shortly after midnight outside a Kebapizza takeaway restaurant in Ipswich, Suffolk, on February 22.

Mr Day was killed after receiving the first punch to his neck which ruptured an artery and caused fatal bleeding around his brain, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

He was initially taken to Ipswich Hospital before being transferred to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge where he was pronounced dead.

Richard Day, 45, was punched and kicked to the ground as he walked back home from a gig on February 22

During the case a court heard that the teenagers, who cannot be named for legal reasons, walked away from the scene before returning to Mr Day outside the takeaway restaurant.

The 16-year-old who threw the fatal punch shortly after midnight then started going through Mr Day's pockets, prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones QC said.

When takeaway owner Hoshang Qazikhani asked him what he was doing, he replied, 'Money, money, money', she added.

The three teenagers left the scene after Mr Qazikhani called police and were arrested later.

Another worker in the takeaway flagged down a passing police car and two officers tried desperately to revive Mr Day with CPR.

Moments later, a passing ambulance was also stopped and Mr Day was taken to Ipswich Hospital where his heart started beating again.

He was then transferred to Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, but died 30 hours after suffering his injuries.

The 16-year-old who punched Mr Day in the neck and allegedly went through his pockets has admitted his manslaughter.

The other two teenagers have pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and violent disorder.

Miss Karmy-Jones described Mr Day, who worked as a control engineer for UK Power Networks, as being 'quiet and unassuming'.

She said he had spent the hours before the attack going to an Ipswich Town match, drinking in a pub and watching two of his brothers Shane and Jake play in their rock band at a pool club.

Mr Day had spent the hours before the attack going to an Ipswich Town match and watching two of his brothers Shane and Jake play in their rock band

Mr Day had been walking outside a Kebapizza takeaway in Ipswich, Suffolk, when he was attacked

CCTV images from the night showed that Mr Day was 'plainly wobbly' on his feet as he walked home.

Miss Karmy-Jones said: 'It is clear that after a day of drinking he was drunk.'

The prosecutor went on to explain that Mr Day turned towards the teenagers as he walked past them, indicating that 'maybe he heard something or something was said.'

The three teenagers overtook him and 'there was some kind of verbal exchange' before they stopped outside the Kebapizza and Mr Day 'appeared to remonstrate with them' as he walked past, said Miss Karmy-Jones.

Mr Day carried on down the road and then turned around to walk back to the teenagers 40 seconds after he had passed them, said the prosecutor.

She said that the teenagers stayed outside Kebapizza and lined up in a fighting stance as he approached.

CCTV from the takeaway showed Mr Day barging into the shoulder of one of the 16-year-olds with his chest.

The youth then began punching and kicking him, delivering the fatal blow to his neck, while the others joined him in a 'pincer movement', said Miss Karmy-Jones.

She added that two pathologists had found that Mr Day had 'effectively died in seconds' after the punch to his neck.

He hit the ground within eight seconds and the teenagers walked away before turning back to where he was 'lying motionless' with his glasses broken beside him.

The CCTV in the takeaway later showed the owner going outside as the teenager went through Mr Day's pockets.

The teenager urged him not to hand over his CCTV images to police before holding his finger to his lips in a gesture to stay quiet, said Miss Karmy-Jones.

She added: 'The prosecution suggest they realised that Mr Day was in a terrible state and they had caused him really serious harm. They didn't stay even though they knew emergency services had been called.'

Miss Karmy-Jones said: 'It was a rapid, vicious and joint attack on Mr Day which only ended when he collapsed to the floor which he did within eight seconds.

'The defence may say they were acting in self defence spontaneously and did not use excessive force. But the prosecution suggests this was not self defence. They intended to carry on until he was down. The prosecution say they meant to hurt him, to cause him harm.

'The prosecution say that in the moments before the first blow, all three had formed a tacit agreement that they were not going to negotiate with Mr Day. The three took up a stance on the pavement and set upon him in a pincer type movement.'

The trial continues
Two weeks ago, Colorado State Patrol troopers began clearing out nearly 200 residents from homeless encampments that surround the Colorado Capitol. The enforcement of city ordinances like camping bans, park curfews and obstructions of public passageways is lawful.

But the increase in "tough love" and "quality of life" policing in cities around the U.S. undermine the sleeping patterns, physical safety, and mental health of people experiencing homelessness, according to a recent study from the University of Colorado Denver.

The study, done in collaboration with advocacy organization Denver Homeless Out Loud, was published in May in the Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness.

These laws are enforced under the guise of 'tough love,' because municipalities want to push people into services. But we'd heard that this 'quality of life' policing is making sleeping on the street even more unhealthy, which is why we wanted to objectively document what those experiences looked like." Marisa Westbrook, Doctoral Student, Department of Health and Behavioral Sciences, University of Colorado Denver

Westbrook also worked alongside Tony Robinson, PhD, associate professor of political science.

In surveys with 484 people experiencing homelessness across Denver, researchers found that 74% had been asked to "move along" by police. Forty-four percent had been ticketed or arrested after police contact for a 'quality of life' violation.

These "move along" orders lead individuals to seek more hidden and isolated city locations to sleep--nearly a quarter sought out hidden river or creek beds, while another quarter chose to keep moving all night.

Without the well-lit areas of public parks or the security and resources of a group, reasons why people experiencing homelessness stay together, those who moved to avoid police contact were more than twice as likely to be physically assaulted and 39% more likely to be robbed than homeless persons who didn't move.

When police enforced camping or shelter bans, researchers found a 45% increase in the risk of weather-related health issues like frostbite, heatstroke, and dehydration.

Seventy percent report being woken often by police and 52% are constantly worried about police contact while sleeping.

Those frequently woken by police sleep an average of two hours at a time and achieve less than four hours of sleep per night.

"You can imagine the impact on mental health," says Westbrook. "They're dealing with anxiety, stress, and depression, but staying in shelters is simply not an option for some people."

"During the pandemic, homeless shelters have had higher rates of coronavirus than outdoor encampments. Cities are clearing outside encampments, but there are not enough housing units or shelter resources for people to stay far enough apart at this time."

The situation will only get worse. Nearly 420,000 Coloradans risk evictions in the coming months, with the greatest increases beginning in August, according to the Bell Policy Center and COVID-19 Eviction Defense Project.

In fact, with the eviction moratorium lifted and curbed unemployment benefits, almost 20 percent of the 110 million renters nationwide are looking at homelessness.

Across Colorado, there are only 26 affordable housing units available to every 100 very low-income households, according to National Low Income Housing Coalition.

For Coloradans who make less than half of the median income, they've seen affordable housing choices decrease by 75% between 2010 and 2016--one of the steepest drops in the nation.

"A lot of folks are just hanging on month after month," says Westbrook. "They're hoping they won't be evicted or they're living out of their car. In 2019, Denver voters chose to maintain the camping ban, which is one of the cruelest things we could have done for the health and wellbeing of our community."
Sacramento, CA  The Governor of California says the state is turning a corner in the right direction as it continues to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

Governor Gavin Newsom says hospitalizations have fallen by 21-percent over the past two weeks, which he says is encouraging. ICU admissions are down 15-percent over that same time period. Yesterday there were just over 5,400 new cases reported in the state. Last month, during the peak, there were over 12,000 new cases in a single day.

Newsom is encouraging Californians to continue to practice social distancing, good hygiene and wearing masks when in public settings.

To read the latest information about Tuolumne County cases, click here.
The Federal Government has inaugurated a 128-member committee to drive the National Localisation Framework and ensure effective and efficient humanitarian response in the country.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the members of the committee were picked from different Non-Governmental Organisations, Civil Society Organisations and other government donors and partners from the six geo-political zones of the country.

Mrs Olusola Idowu, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, who inaugurated the Localisation Working Group (LWG), on Wednesday in Abuja, charged them to ensure their activities were locally driven to foster development.

Idowu, represented by Mrs Elizabeth Egharevba, Director, International Cooperation, said the government was already collaborating with donors, development partners as well as local and international non-governmental organisations to ensure operational change for humanitarian response in the country.

With the current humanitarian crisis facing the country and influx of international organisations supporting us, localisation agenda has become imperative and provides the unique opportunity for the nexus of humanitarian, peace building and development efforts.

You will recall that during the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016, the Grand Bargain on improving humanitarian efficiency and effectiveness was launched and was subsequently endorsed by more than 50 donors and aid organisations.

Ten work streams commitments were agreed to lead the work and in a bid to operationalise these commitments, the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), supported the implementation of Accelerating Localisation Through Partnership (ALTP), programme in four countries.

The programme was activated in Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria and South Sudan by a consortium of Christian Aid (as the lead), CARE, Tearfund, ActionAid, CAFOD and Oxfam.

The programme aims to accelerate localisation through the strengthening of local and national leadership of humanitarian response; it focuses on operational change for humanitarian response over the identified time frame and beyond, Idowu said.

The permanent secretary added that on the long run, the programme was expected to help identify capacity, funding and coordination needs of local and national NGOs as well as proffer solutions to the identified gaps.

Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, represented by Mr Charles Anaelo, a Deputy Director in the ministry, said government was doing everything possible to ensure sustainability.

It is important to note that the ministry focuses at ensuring grassroots mobilisation so that the response will get to all nooks and crannies.

This programme is not focused on a specific area or geopolitical zone of crisis, but every aspect of Nigeria where there are humanitarian issues.

We believe that this platform being set up is one of the veritable ways of creating strategic roadmap for exit plan for international partners and donors so that, with or without them, we will have a framework of operation.

Under the ministry, we have NEMA, we have Refugees Commission, NAPTIP and SDGs, but beyond that in terms of information, we are collaborating with the National Orientation Agency in all the LGAs in the country to ensure proper mobilisation.

So, we are coordinating other partners and key stakeholders to ensure we deliver as one and the sustainability depends on government apparatus and administrative process and that is why partnership and collaboration is key to sustainability, Farouq said.

Mrs Mimidoo Achakpa, Coordinator, Women in Humanitarian Response in Nigeria Initiative, who spoke on behalf of the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), said they had been working on the programme for two years now.

For us as CSOs, we have embraced the localisation agenda in Nigeria and on behalf of my colleagues in other geopolitical zones represented in the LWG we are going to domesticate this localisation agenda.

For every activity that we plant, we must ensure that localisation agenda will definitely be part of the activities and we will spread the word in different networks we have because localisation cuts across every sphere of life, not only humanitarian, she said.

NAN also reports that a document containing the operational framework for local and international NGOs in the country was also unveiled at the programme.(NAN)
There is no shortage of work for the teams at the Luxembourg Institute of Health, based in the south of the country.

A team led by Christiane Hilger is searching for antibodies among Covid-19 patients.

The project was launched in April, with activities expected to end in October. The research is financed by the International Monetary Fund and due to the nature of the work, occupies between two to three researchers on a permanent basis.

Clinical trials are planned to take place thanks to the antibody testing.

The process requires several vital steps to achieve a final result. In normal times, the team focuses on analysing allergies present in Luxembourg, but their skills have been redirected as a result of the pandemic.

Antibody tests are performed outside the LIH, in commercial laboratories.
GAC Motor is unveiling its two comprehensively upgraded models, the GS5 and GN6, in Bahrain. The price, configuration parameters and service policies of the two models will be announced at a later time.

As the two latest flagship products of GAC Motor, the GS5 and GN6 bring together the latest achievements in brand research, development and global innovation, a GAC release said.

Localised to Bahrain's unique tropical desert climate and harsh desert terrain, GAC Motor combines the daily travel needs of the people of Bahrain by introducing a new generation of pioneer SUV model GS5.

The latest GS5, now available in Bahrain, comes equipped with multi-terrain driving mode and master-level tuning chassis, which greatly improves the ride comfort and vehicle handling, and provides considerate and efficient driving protection for Bahraini consumers.

The GN6, another versatile MPV model, has also been carefully crafted by the GAC's R&D team over the years, which is specifically designed for pragmatic and enterprising people who are also looking to enjoy life.

GN6 will be a perfect interpretation of home and commercial use with its multi-functional and large space. This listing will announce the official launch of GS5 and GN6 in the Bahrain market.

It is believed that with their excellent product quality and brand reputation, they will surely become a strong brand of best-selling models in the Bahrain market.

GAC Motor officially entered the Bahrain market in 2015. Its sales have been rising steadily. It has ranked No 1 among Chinese brands in imports and terminal sales for four consecutive years.

Its market share is more than 2%, which is very popular among local consumers. The introduction of the vehicle series will once again complete the Bahrain market, which not only reflects the important position of Bahrain and the Middle East market in the GAC Motor international strategic map but also provides a solid guarantee for GAC Motor to further develop and deepen the Middle East market. -- Tradearabia News Service
Ms. Tikhanovskaya grew up in Mikashevichi, a town south of Minsk, the capital, where she excelled in school. Her hometown was near the Chernobyl fallout zone and many locals were relocated to the south, although it is unclear if Ms. Tikhanovskayas family was among them.

Life in Mikashevichi was difficult, and the Deanes described an impoverished upbringing for Ms. Tikhanovskaya, despite her having a supportive and loving family.

Her time in Ireland allowed her to further her English skills and earn money for school. She later went on to study teaching at Mozyr State Pedagogical University in Belarus, but she eventually left work to devote herself to her two children, a son, now 10, and a daughter, now 5.

The elder child was born nearly deaf, and much of Ms. Tikhanovskayas attention went to her sons care, Ms. Deane said. She moved her family from Minsk to the southeastern city of Gomel so he could receive special care and was eventually able to afford a cochlear implant that vastly improved his hearing.

Ms. Krasulina, the press secretary, said that Ms. Tikhanovskayas fight for her childs health and her stubbornness in ensuring he received the best care possible had remained part of her identity during the campaign.

She remained herself in the sense that her system of values was completely preserved, she said.

The Deanes last spoke with Ms. Tikhanovskaya at the end of April, as her campaign for the election geared up. They feared that the government would portray any overseas calls to her as potential interference, but they continued to communicate with her by text message and email.

All you can do is just send encouragement and support to her, because we dont want to put her in any danger, Mr. Deane said.
She is usually dolled up to the nines on some of the most high-profile red carpets in Hollywood.

But Rose Byrne, 41, made the most of her time off as she stripped down to her bikini for a rare beach day in sun-kissed Byron Bay on Thursday.

The Australian actress looked sensational in the printed black bikini, which showcased her toned frame to perfection.

Beach babe! Rose Byrne, 41, made the most of her time off as she stripped down to her bikini for a rare beach day in sun-kissed Byron Bay on Thursday

Elsewhere in Byron, Rose's husband, Bobby Cannavale has commenced filming for Nicole Kidman's new series, Nine Perfect Strangers.

In contrast, the Mrs America star was strictly in the mood for fun as she splashed around in the ocean.

Rose's bikini top highlighted her cleavage, while her high-waisted matching bottoms teased at her toned midriff.

The Sydney-born star showed off her natural beauty by going makeup free and sported wet locks while emerging from the water.

Beauty: The Australian actress looked sensational in the printed black bikini, which showcased her toned frame to perfection

Good times: The Mrs America star was strictly in the mood for fun as she splashed around in the ocean

Rose's bikini top highlighted her cleavage, while her high-waisted matching bottoms teased at her toned midriff

Arriving at the beach earlier with her friends, Rose looked casually chic in a flowing spotted maxi dress and straw hat.

The pals were joined by two young children. The boy appeared to be one of Rose's two sons - Rocco, 4, and two-year-old Rafa.

Rose, her husband Bobby and their family quarantined in a Sydney hotel for 14-days upon arrival into NSW late last month.

Stunner: The Sydney-born star went makeup free

Mane attraction: The Insidious actress sported wet locks while emerging from the water with a male pal

Stylish star: Arriving to the beach earlier with her friends, Rose looked casually chic in a flowing spotted maxi dress and straw hat

Beach day: The pals were joined by two young children. The boy appeared to be one of Rose's two sons - Rocco, 4, and two-year-old Rafa

Back to work: Elsewhere in Byron, Rose's husband, Bobby Cannavale has commenced filming for Nicole Kidman's new series, Nine Perfect Strangers

This week, Bobby will commence filming on the series Nine Perfect Strangers - which is based on the 2018 novel by Big Little Lies author, Liane Moriarty.

Last month, producer and star of the show, Nicole Kidman, told The Daily Telegraph that she's 'thrilled' to be able to bring hundreds of jobs to the local film industry after it was sent crashing down by the coronavirus pandemic.

'It is a great opportunity for me to give back to the community that nurtured me through so much of my career,' she said.

Safety measures: Rose, her husband Bobby and their family quarantined in a Sydney hotel for 14-days upon arrival into NSW late last month

This week: Bobby is set to commence filming on the series Nine Perfect Strangers - which is based on the 2018 novel by Big Little Lies author, Liane Moriarty
TROY  Rensselaer County has seen three fatal drug overdoses from fentanyl-laced cocaine and heroin since Tuesday - bringing the number of fatal overdoses to 48 this year, officials said Thursday.

The three fatalities were among eight overdoses in a 48-hour period. The deaths occurred in East Greenbush, Sand Lake and Troy, causing the county to issue a public health warning.

The deaths come about two weeks after two fatal overdoses in the town of Bethlehems Delmar neighborhood. Town police at the time said it was believed that fentanyl-laced cocaine was a factor in the deaths.

The number of overdoses in such a short time this week is an obvious concern, and the reason we are issuing this warning. We want residents to be aware there is reason to be concerned," said Rensselaer County Health Director Mary Fran Wachunas.

"We want residents to know there is help and hope for those who are facing addiction, and that seeking help can save a life," said Wachunas.

Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said there have been no fatal drug overdoses reported this week in the county.

There have been concentrated overdose outbreaks in the Capital Region since the coronavirus pandemic led to shutdowns and curtailment of in-person services beginning in mid-March. Officials have expressed concerns about people receiving continuing support to deal with drug abuse.

Rensselaer County, for instance, has seen a 41 percent jump in fatal overdoses this year compared to all of 2019. The 48 deaths from drugs is 14 more than all of 2019, when there were 34 fatalities.

During the week of May 20 there were 30 overdoses, including two deaths, throughout the region in a short time span. Officials believed those overdoses arose from drugs sold from a single batch of drugs containing fentanyl. At that time, Apple said, there appeared to be a "hot load" of drugs in the Capital Region.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Part of that fentanyl-laced cocaine also appeared to strike in Washington County on May 21 and 22. There were apparently four overdose deaths from a lethal combination of fentanyl-laced cocaine.

Wachunas said there are resources available for those who are fighting drug addiction.

To receive naloxone, a person should text "narcan" to 21000. Calls for naloxone and fentanyl test strips can be made to the Rensselaer County Health Department at 518-270-2655.

The county has also established a Recovery Helpline, which can be reached at 833-HOPE-123, or 833-467-3123.
The family of Andres Guardado is still waiting for answers on the teen was fatally shot by a deputy two months ago, even after a new briefing by the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Office on Wednesday.

Guardado, 18, was fatally shot by deputies on June 18 after the officers allegedly saw Guardado with a gun and pursued him as he ran away. Both an official county autopsy and an independent autopsy by the family found Guardado was shot in the back five times.

The teenager was speaking to unidentified individuals in a white Lexus sedan, saw deputies approach in a marked vehicle and ran away, according to L.A. Sheriff's Department Commander Chris Marks.

Andres Guardado (Family photo)

Marks told reporters Wednesday that the department was working on a parallel investigation regarding the location where Guardado was shot that limited its ability to release information.

Thats for the district attorney to provide, Marks said. Were trying to gather as many facts as we can, present that to the district attorney, and the district attorneys office will make that determination.

While a 40-caliber semiautomatic pistol was found at the scene, Marks was unable to answer Wednesday whether Guardado ever aimed the gun at deputies and said there was no evidence he fired the gun at them.

No identifiable fingerprints were found on the guns frame, but Guardados DNA was found on the guns trigger, trigger guard and magazine, Marks said.

The pistol was photographed and determined to be consistent in design and construction with a 3D printed polymer frame, Marks said.

The commander also said the frame lacked any serial number markings and a test fire showed it to be functional.

Deputy Miguel Vega alleged in his interview with investigators that Guardado reached for his gun while face down on the ground, his attorney Adam Marangell told the Los Angeles Times last month.

During this interview he made clear that he did everything possible that night to avoid firing his weapon, including repeated commands to not reach for the gun, Marangell said in a statement. Deputy Vega went to work that day to protect the citizens of the community and, unfortunately, was forced to take action which resulted in a loss of life.

Story continues

Attorneys for the Guardado family have previously said that the teenager owning a gun is contrary to everything that the family and friends and co-workers know, and that the department has provided no proof it belonged to Guardado.

Marks went on to discuss previous criminal activity at the auto body shop where Guardado was observed by deputies and an ongoing investigation into a non-fatal shooting in the area on June 7. The commander said that previous activity is not linked to Guardado, but provides a backdrop to the operations at the location.

Investigators have said there is no video of the shooting, since deputies did not have body cameras due to a program providing the cameras being stalled for years. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva announced Wednesday that the department had reached a deal and some deputies would be outfitted with the cameras as early as October.

The department was also unable to find video footage of the shooting from businesses, in part due to the June 7 shooting, which occurred while people were allegedly lined up outside the business to illicitly purchase nitrous oxide gas, Marks said.

Investigators had obtained a search warrant for the memory card in the auto body shops security cameras and the cards had not been replaced by the time of Guardados death 11 days later.

The department was also unable to find video footage of the shooting from surrounding businesses or from the auto body shops alarm company, Marks said. There was some footage captured in front of the auto body shop by a business, but only shows Guardado approaching a white sedan and then later running away as deputies approach.

Adam Shea, one of the attorneys representing the Guardados family, told NBC News in a statement Wednesday that the sheriffs office once again failed the family.

The Department's attempt to convolute and cherry pick the facts to create a narrative that links Andres' death to previous incidents of crime near the shop is nothing more than an attempt to justify the killing of this young man, Sheas statement said.

The family has been repeatedly told over the last two months nothing will be released so as to protect the investigation and had been hoping to learn the truth Wednesday, Shea said.

We will continue to seek the truth in Andres' death and we'll not rest until those responsible are brought to justice, the statement said.

The FBI said in July that it would review the countys investigation and look at all available evidence to determine what federal response is warranted," according to NBC Los Angeles.
Iranian special forces boarded a tanker in international waters for about five hours on Wednesday before releasing it, according to an U.S. official familiar with the matter.

Two Iranian ships were in the vicinity when the personnel roped down from a helicopter onto the Wila, a Liberian-flagged chemicals and oil-products tanker, around 5.30 p.m. Dubai time, said the official, who asked not to be named because they're not authorized to speak publicly.

The Wila was in the Gulf of Oman and around 20 miles from the United Arab Emirates, said the official. It passed through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical choke-point that borders Iran and accounts for about one-third of the world's seaborne oil flows, on July 16, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.

While Iran regularly intercepts ships it alleges have entered its waters or are illegally smuggling fuel, the incident comes as President Donald Trump looks to tighten United Nations sanctions on the Islamic Republic and renew an arms embargo.

"Maritime harassments are really the only stick with which Iran can beat its opponents," said Munro Anderson, a partner at maritime security firm Dryad Global. "It has few levers of influence and treads a fine line when it antagonizes states in the region and the U.S."

The U.S. military was only involved in monitoring and did not receive a distress call, the official said. U.S. Central Command tweeted footage of the event on Wednesday.

The White House and National Security Council didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Neither did officials in Iran during the country's weekend on Thursday.

Wila has been floating off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates for about a month and is now near Khor Fakkan port, according to the ship-tracking data. The vessel's previous stop was around July 8 near the Iraqi oil terminal of Basra. There, its draft increased, indicating it picked up a shipment.

With a capacity of about 50,000 barrels, the Wila is small compared with the tankers that ship Middle Eastern crude. Those can usually hold as much as 2 million barrels.

A larger oil ship anchored off Khor Fakkan sailed to Iran in July under mysterious circumstances. The crew of the 1-million-barrel Gulf Sky said it was hijacked. It left UAE waters on July 5 while under arrest pending a court decision on its ownership.

In May, the U.S. intercepted $23.4 million in payments from an entity it said was acting on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' elite Quds Force to buy the Gulf Sky. It was the largest U.S. seizure of funds from the organization. The loss of the vessel dealt a blow to the U.S.'s efforts to contain Iran's activities beyond its borders.

Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign aims to cut off Iran's oil exports, a crucial source of revenue. Overseas sales dropped from 2.5 million barrels a day in April 2018 to just under 200,000 barrels last month, according to Bloomberg's latest tracking data.

Venezuela Ties

Iran has been accused of disrupting oil shipping near the Strait of Hormuz on several occasions since then. Four oil vessels were attacked with explosives in May 2019 while at anchorage off Fujairah, less than 15 miles from Khor Fakkan. Two more were sabotaged in the Gulf of Oman in June. Iran was blamed for the incidents but denied involvement.

The country's navy seized a British oil tanker in the strait last year for about two months, triggering volatility in oil prices.

The U.S. has recently stepped up efforts to limit trade between Iran and Venezuela, which is also under American sanctions. Five Iranian tankers carrying a total of 1.5 million barrels of gasoline arrived in Venezuela in May and June. U.S. prosecutors last month said they're seeking to seize gasoline on board four more Venezuela-bound Iranian vessels.
Workers at some of Belarus largest manufacturing plants declared strikes on Thursday in protest of violence from the security services, a sign that the demonstrations that have gripped the country since last Sundays contested election are continuing to swell.

Hundreds of workers at the large Belarus Auto Factory (BelAZ) in the town of Zhodino were filmed walking out of the plant, chanting "Long live Belarus." There were also reports of strikes at several other plants, including the state-run Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ) and Minsk Tractor Works (MTZ).

Local media quoted the workers at BelAZ as demanding a repeat of Sundays election that ended in a landslide win for Belarus long-time authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko amid allegations of widespread vote rigging. The workers also reportedly called for riot police to be expelled from the town.

Thousands of protesters also demonstrated across Belarus in many cities and towns. Videos and photos showed many protesters forming what they call "chains of solidarity," standing in long lines along roads waving objects painted with the red and white flag that is a symbol of the anti-Lukashenko opposition.

Belarus protests for 3rd night, as opposition leader leaves country

The protests appeared to be growing despite four days of brutal crackdown from the authorities since the election. The security services have deployed heavily armed riot police and interior troops against the peaceful protesters each night, using stun grenades and rubber bullets indiscriminately. Hundreds of people have been injured and at least one killed since Sunday. Belaruss authorities have acknowledged security forces opened fire with live ammunition on demonstrators in the town of Brest on Tuesday night, wounding one person.

Authorities have said theyve detained close to 7,000 people since the protests began. Minsks jails are reported to be overflowing, according to local journalists and accounts from those released. Hundreds of people have been gathering outside jails looking to find relatives who disappeared overnight during the protests.

Story continues

PHOTO: People shout and hold signs protesting against police violence during rallies in opposition to President Alexander Lukashenko's re-election in Minsk, Belarus, Aug. 13, 2020. (Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images)

The announcement of the factory strikes was a potentially significant development, signalling that the discontent in also shared among groups considered part of Lukashenkos traditional base.

Belarus opposition rejects election results amid calls for more protests

Lukashenko, often referred to as "Europes Last Dictator," has been in power for 26 years but in recent months has seen a groundswell of opposition. In Sundays election he was challenged by Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a former teacher and stay-at-home mother who only joined the race after her husband -- a popular blogger -- was jailed and barred from running.

Tikhanovskaya attracted huge support from people fed up with Lukashenko and angered with his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which he has dismissed.

Belarus elections commission on Thursday published what it said were the final results of the election, that bumped up Tikhanovskayas share of the vote to 14.92%, and reduced Lukashenkos to 64.49%.

But many people in Belarus believe the real result is still very different and the protesters are demanding the election be held again.

In a video that went viral in the country, workers at the autoplant in Zhodino are seen confronting a local mayor who has come to speak with them. A man shouts asking how many of the crowd voted for Tikhanovskaya -- virtually every workers hands shoot up.

Tikhanovskaya left Belarus for Lithuania on Tuesday, suggesting she had faced threats to her family. But the protests, which are largely leaderless, have continued.

Many people demonstrating told media on the ground they had been moved to come out because of the violence from the security services.

The main difference now is that well again people protest across the country, everywhere, because everybody feels fed up, Hanna Liubakova, a journalist based in Minsk said by phone on Wednesday.

"People are so angry. They have so many reasons for discontent. And this will not disappear," she said.

Belarusians take to the streets after presidential elections

Two presenters from state television said they were resigning on Wednesday night in light of the situation in the country. A number of prominent Belarusian celebrities have also posted statements condemning the violence from police.

There have been growing calls in Europe for the European Union to impose sanctions on Lukashenko over the crackdown. Germany, Lithuania, Latvia and Sweden have spoken publicly in favor of sanctions, ahead of emergency talks between EU foreign ministers on Friday.

Reuters on Thursday reported the EU was likely to impose sanctions on Belarus as soon as the end of this month.

The U.S., which restored diplomatic relations with Belarus only last year after a decade pause prompted by a previous crackdown, has so far not joined those calls. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday criticized the violence and said the election had not been free and fair.

He said the U.S. was studying its options, mentioning the possibility of stopping recently agreed oil deliveries to Belarus, but noted "were still pretty fresh off this election."

"What is it that we believe that we can do, not just the United States unilaterally, but in a multilateral way to deliver good outcomes for the Belarusian people," he said in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. "And we need to see how things settle out here in the near future."

Workers at major Belarus plants strike amid growing protests over election originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
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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.
Broadcast advertising could generate an additional $400 million for Nigeria within the next three years if the new Audience Measurement Report is implemented, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has said.

The minister spoke, on Thursday, when he received the report of the Audience Measurement Task Team virtually.

According to a statement by his Special Assistant, Segun Adeyemi, the minister pledged to implement the report in order to reverse the declining fortunes of the sector.

As I have said on many occasions, the value of Nigerias Broadcast Advertising Market is not proportional to the countrys population, when compared to the top three markets in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Despite having a population more than three times that of South Africa, Nigerias Television Advertising Revenue in 2016 was US$309 million, compared to that of South Africa, which was US$1.3 billion, Mr Mohammed said.

He said the absence of a world-class Audience Measurement System has resulted in under-investment in the broadcast advertising sector and stunted its growth, unlike the Nigerian film, music, and fashion industries which have grown significantly over the past decade.

He said the report will help the country achieve its objective, which is to totally solve the Audience Measurement issue in Nigeria.

Upon the submission of the report, Mr. Mohammed said the immediate task before the government is to bring the underperforming Nigerian Broadcast Advertising Market to what it should be, which is two to three times its current size.

The key to achieving that objective is the faithful implementation of the report you are submitting today.

READ ALSO:

Let me assure you that we will study the report and implement the recommendations, especially the 5-Step Agenda, with the same vigour and commitment that you have employed in putting it together, he said.

In his remarks during the submission of the report, the former Registrar of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, Garba Bello-Kankarofi, said the current Audience Measurement System (AMS) is two decades old, which still uses the old diary method (pen & paper) of collecting data on TV views and radio listeners across key locations in Nigeria.

Mr Bello-Kankarofi said the current practice is challenged by the growing number of television and radio stations, which the Digital Switch Over mandate will further exacerbate hence the need to replace it with a scientific-based Audience Measurement System.

Other members of the Task Team, which was inaugurated by the minister on June 2, are Obi Asika; Saa Ibrahim; Mahmoud Alli-Balogun; Pauline Ehusani; Tolu Ogunkoya and Joe Mutah .

The event was attended by the permanent secretary of the ministry, Grace Isu-Gekpe, and the Acting Registrar of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, Ijedi Iyoha.
SINGAPORE Chinese tech giant ByteDance censored content it perceived as critical of the Chinese government on its news aggregator app in Indonesia from 2018 to mid-2020, six people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The sources said that local moderators were instructed by a team from ByteDances Beijing headquarters to delete articles seen as negative" about Chinese authorities on the Baca Berita (BaBe) app.

In a statement to Reuters, BaBe said it disagreed with the claims and that it moderates content according to its community guidelines and in line with Indonesias local laws.

Those guidelines, which are published on its website, do not mention China or the Chinese government.

A cursory search on the BaBe app shows numerous articles and videos that highlight the type of content these claims say we would remove," the statement said.

ByteDance in Beijing said it had no additional comment beyond the BaBe statement. Chinas foreign ministry and its internet regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

U.S President Donald Trump has threatened to shut down ByteDances short-video app TikTok - widely popular in the U.S., Indonesia and other countries - on national security grounds unless it is sold to a U.S. company.

Some U.S lawmakers, including Republican Senator Josh Hawley, have raised concerns over TikToks data security practices and allegations that it engages in censorship at the behest of the Chinese government.

Indonesia, a country of 270 million where over half the population is under 30, is one of ByteDances fastest-growing markets. TikTok had more than 147 million downloads in the country, according to data from app analytics firm SensorTower.

ByteDance bought Indonesian news aggregator BaBe in 2018 after TikTok was briefly banned in the country for showing pornography, inappropriate content and blasphemy", according to officials.

In seeking to reverse the ban, ByteDance agreed with Indonesian authorities to hire a team of local TikTok moderators and reinforce its presence in the worlds fourth largest country, according to the then Indonesian communications minister and three company sources.

It then purchased the full operations of BaBe, in which it had already been a majority investor.

Soon after, moderation guidelines for BaBe, which uses artificial intelligence to aggregate stories from hundreds of Indonesian media outlets, were crafted by a team from ByteDances Beijing headquarters, two of the six sources said.

BaBe moderators were also told not publish any articles on the TikTok ban while negotiations with the Indonesian government were underway, the people said.

Under the new BaBe guidelines, articles from partner media outlets that were perceived as critical of the Chinese government would either not be republished on the BaBe app or would be taken down from the app, according to the six sources.

Articles with the keyword Tiananmen," a reference to Chinas 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, or to Mao Zedong, the founder of modern China, were among those taken down, one person with direct involvement said.

Another direct source described articles about tensions between Indonesia and China over the South China Sea as being banned on the app, even when they came from the countrys official news agency, Antara.

Three of the sources said BaBe was using content guidelines patterned on those used for ByteDances Chinese news app, Toutiao, with some tweaks made for Indonesia regarding the topic of elections as well regarding race, ethnicity, and religion in Indonesia. Sensationalist articles on those topics, which are highly sensitive in Indonesia, would be dropped, they said.

They wanted a non-political happy tone for the app," one of the people said.

The guidelines changed in the second quarter of 2020, when it became possible to read articles on previously censored topics on the BaBe app, a separate source said, calling it a learning process for ByteDance."

A 2019 internal ByteDance presentation reviewed by Reuters describes BaBe as Indonesias top news app with more than 8 million monthly active users and 30 million downloads by the end of 2019.

(Additional reporting by Brenda Goh in Shanghai and Yingzhi Yang, editing by Jonathan Weber and Nick Tattersall)

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
The Agricultural Development Bank Limited (ADB) is encouraging customers to update their customer information details to ensure that all their details are accurately captured by the Bank.



To ensure this , the Bank encouraging customers to visit the Banks website www.agricbank.com or any of the 83 branches nationwide to effect the update of their personal and entity records.



Per Bank of Ghana regulations customers of Banks are supposed to furnish the Bank with certain details and an identification document for ease of banking transaction.



This is to ensure that information provided by customers during their account opening are still relevant for identification and validation purposes.



The information being updated includes the customers name, date of birth, gender, residential or occupational address (physical address), telephone numbers, valid ID number and details of a valid national identification document of the customer.



To complete the process, a Ghanaian customer will have to provide a valid National ID (e.g. Voter ID, Passport, Drivers License) whilst a foreign national will be required to update details with their National passport.



Commenting on the need for the update, the ADB Managing Director, Dr. John Kofi Mensah said This important exercise will enable our customers enjoy many of the new E-business products and services we are currently rolling out.



According to Dr. Kofi Mensah, currently with the roll out of the *767# self-registration most customers are unable to enjoy the service because of the changed of mobile numbers used in opening the account by customers.



We want our customers to enjoy our unique services and updating their information with their current mobile numbers and other relevant documents will help them to enjoy more from the Bank, he said.



Dr. Kofi Mensah assured customers of their privacy and protection of all their information with the Bank.

Source: citinewsroom.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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A trio of Michigan women sued the state Treasury Department Tuesday to cease taxation on tampons and other feminine hygiene products on gender discrimination grounds.

Emily Beggs, Claire Pfeiffer and Wei Ho filed the lawsuit in the Court of Claims on Aug. 11, accusing that collecting taxes from these products violates state and federal equal protection clauses. The three also demand a tax refund with interest to about 2.4 million people from the sales tax on menstrual products from the last four years.

The tax is discriminatory based on the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, said Joanne Faycurry, who is presenting the women pro-bono. The Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment protects against intentional inequalities, but unintentional ones that have not been deemed unconstitutional based on previous case law.

For the government to impose a burden on a product that women must use, its a tax on women for being women, Faycurry said.

Judge Colleen OBrien is reviewing the case. Whitmers office supports the elimination of the tax, said spokeswoman Tiffany Brown. Whitmer during her gubernatorial campaign said on Twitter that the state should stop taxing women for being women.

The state collected about $27.6 million in sales taxes on menstrual products in the last four years, according to the lawsuit. Whitmer and the GOP-led legislature agreed on a budget deal to fill a $2.2 billion shortfall caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, though the upcoming fiscal year starting Oct. 1 is projected to have a shortfall as well.

Related: More health, school spending in 2020 budget revised by Michigan legislature Wednesday

Attorney General Dana Nessel, who defends the state against lawsuits, pointed to pending legislation in the states House of Representatives, quipping that she hopes some can pull some strings in a tweet Wednesday.

House Bill 2019-4166, sponsored by Rep. Brian Elder, D-Bay City, and Rep. Tenisha Yancey, D-Harper Woods, seeks the cessation of sales taxes on feminine hygiene products such as tampons, sanitary napkins and more by June 30, 2020. The bill was introduced in February of last year and has been sitting in the Committee on Tax Policy since then.

The House Fiscal Agency estimated that legislation would take about $6.5 million a year in tax revenue away from the state.

The Michigan lawsuit is based on similar ones filed in Ohio, Florida and New York, which led to repeals in tampon taxes, said Faycurry.

Beggs, Pfeiffer and Ho previously requested tax refunds from the state on their feminine hygiene purchases in February, but were denied, according to the lawsuit.

Read more from MLive:

Northern Michigan orchard sues Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to prevent shutdown of business

Whitmer extends orders on nursing home, grocery store coronavirus requirements

Whitmer extends coronavirus state of emergency through Friday, Sept. 4

Coronavirus prompts projected $3.2B drop in Michigan tax revenue, more losses expected

More health, school spending in 2020 budget revised by Michigan legislature Wednesday
Philippine soldiers guard a section of the southern city of Marawi six months after the end of a ferocious battle with Islamic State-linked militants, April 10, 2018.

Updated at 12:09 p.m. ET on 2020-08-13

Efforts to combat militancy in the Philippines seem to have made no substantial dent against Islamic State-linked groups since the United States launched a multi-million-dollar program in 2017 to back Manilas counter-extremist activities, the Pentagon said in a new report.

The regional branch of Islamic State and associated militant groups in the southern Mindanao region remain about the same in size and in strength, the report said. And in recent months, the Philippine IS affiliate tried to take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic while the Philippine military was helping the government respond to the outbreak, according to the U.S. Department of Defenses Inspector General.

[T]here has been little change in the capabilities, size, financing, and operations of ISIS-EA, said Sean W. ODonnell, the departments acting inspector general, in the quarterly report to Congress on the U.S. military aid program to Manila, known as Operation Pacific Eagle  Philippines (OPE-P). He was referring to the East Asia chapter of IS and used a different acronym for the terror group.

The group continues to carry out sporadic, mostly small-scale attacks, he said.

In September 2017, the Pentagon launched the program to help the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) defeat pro-IS fighters who were battling government forces after the militants had seized the southern Philippine city of Marawi.

The U.S. deployed military advisers and drones that helped the Philippines retake the city, kill the top leaders of the militant siege and flush out their forces a month later. But IS-linked fighters and groups have lingered in the southern Philippines and carried out attacks, including a suicide bombing that killed 23 people at a church in southern Sulu province in January 2019.

In general, efforts to reduce extremism in the Philippines do not appear to have made a substantial difference since the launch of OPE-P. ISIS-EA and the other violent extremist groups in the Philippines that either coordinate with or share members with ISIS, have remained about the same size and strength for the last few years, ODonnell said in the report released on Aug. 7 covering the second quarter of 2020.

These groups continue to operate in the southern Philippines where separatist groups and extremist groups have existed for decades. [W]e have seen little progress in improving the economic, social, and political conditions in that part of the country.

However, the report gave no information to explain why counter-extremist efforts had not made a substantial difference since the operation was launched nearly three years ago. Meanwhile on Wednesday, Philippine defense and military officials did not immediately respond to requests from BenarNews for comment.

The 56-page document is the 11th quarterly report issued to Congress by the Defense Departments lead inspector general on Operation Pacific Eagle  Philippines.

Under the program, the U.S. government has poured tens of millions of dollars in aid each year into supporting Philippine efforts to destroy IS and other violent extremist organizations that operate across Mindanao. The money, among other things, has paid for aerial reconnaissance and drone operations that assist the Philippine military in its efforts to hunt down IS militants, according to information gleaned from the report.

For the current fiscal year, the Pentagon has budgeted $72.3 million for the operation, according to the report. Costs for running the program in 2019 were estimated to total $108.2 million, according to an earlier quarterly report.

Although the Philippine IS branch remains organizationally fractured and largely isolated from the support of international terrorist networks, it and various IS-aligned groups, including Abu Sayyaf, operate independently from each other, the latest quarterly report said.

An estimated 300 to 500 extremists who belong to the groups and profess their allegiance to IS remain, the report said.

The strength of these Islamic militant forces has not changed from previous quarters, the report said, citing information from the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency. Included among these fighters were fewer than 40 foreigners, mostly citizens of neighboring Indonesia and Malaysia.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, Philippine government forces announced that they had captured five suspected Abu Sayyaf fighters linked with IS during a raid in Sulu province, but a bomb-maker they were hunting for, Mundi Sawadjaan, had escaped. He is related to Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, the overall IS leader in the Philippines.

Militants and COVID-19

During the second quarter, pro-IS militants in the Philippines also sought to capitalize on the Philippine governments deployment of military assets to assist with the response to [COVID-19], the defense departments acting inspector general said.

As an example, the report cited how IS affiliates posted messages on social media calling for attacks on individuals who were obeying the governments COVID-19 movement restrictions.

The militants also threatened to carry out attacks if mosques were not allowed to reopen during the pandemic, the report said.

The Defense Intelligence Agency also assessed that it was possible that ISIS-EA was attempting to take advantage of the AFPs shift of counterterrorism resources to enforce COVID-19 restrictions, the report said.

Because of a new surge in cases, the Philippines leads all East Asian countries in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases. As of Wednesday, the country was closing in on 144,000 cases. Earlier this month, because of the new wave of infections, the Philippine government returned Metro Manila and other provinces on Luzon Island to a coronavirus lockdown.

COVID-19 restrictions during the [second] quarter affected the type and amount of support that U.S. military advisers were able to provide to their Philippine partners, the Pentagon said in its report.

Such restrictions, coupled with force rotations, negatively impacted the amount of U.S. intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance support provided to the AFP this quarter, it said.

CLARIFICATION: This report was updated to note that the report from the Pentagon did not explain why counter-extremist efforts have had relatively little impact in the years since Operation Pacific Eagle - Philippines was launched.
Millions of people have used the social media app TikTok to make and share short, fun, entertaining videos. I, Brian Chen, am not one of them.

Count me as one of those never-TikTokers. As an older millennial, I have exclusively used Facebooks Instagram to post photos of my dog. I have never made a 15-second dance video.

But that all changed last week. That was when Facebook released a TikTok copycat called Reels, which is part of Instagram. Its introduction suddenly made making short videos a lot more interesting.

Facebooks timing was brilliant. Thats because TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese internet company ByteDance, has been under major pressure from President Donald Trump. He has identified TikTok as a national security threat and threatened to ban the app from the United States, prompting numerous panicked TikTokers to look for alternatives.

So here was an opportunity to test Reels and compare it with TikTok. I invited Taylor Lorenz, our internet culture writer and resident TikTok expert, to share her thoughts about how Facebooks clone worked versus the real thing. With her experience and my novice knowledge, we could assess how both the never-TikTokers and the TikTok die-hards might feel about Reels.

The verdict? For her, it was: Not good. For me, it was: Confused.

Lets start with what was copied. Both TikTok, a stand-alone app, and Reels, a feature inside Instagram, are free to use. With Reels, Instagram mimicked TikToks signature ability to create short video montages, which are overlaid with copyrighted music and embellished with effects like emojis and sped-up motion.

The similarities pretty much ended there  and not in a positive way for Instagram.

On Instagram, the videos are published to a feed known as the Explore tab, a mishmash of photos, sponsored posts and long-form videos. On TikTok, videos are surfaced through For You, a feed algorithmically tailored to show clips that suit your interests. Reels also lacks TikToks editing features, like song recommendations and automatic clip trimming, that use artificial intelligence to speed up the process of video creation.

Taylor and I each tested Reels for five days and then talked about what we had found. We didnt hold back.

TAYLOR: I can definitively say Reels is the worst feature Ive ever used.

BRIAN: Please elaborate. As a never-TikToker, I feel that its probably the worst Instagram feature Ive used, too, but your feelings seem stronger than mine.

TAYLOR: Its horrible. Not only does Reels fail in every way as a TikTok clone, but its confusing, frustrating and impossible to navigate. Its like Instagram took all the current functionality on Stories (a tool to publish montages of photos and videos with added filters, text and music clips), and jammed them into a separate, new complicated interface for no reason.

To me, its really unclear whom this feature is for.

BRIAN: Lets walk through how to use Reels.

To open the feature, you tap the Explore button (the magnifying glass) and open someone elses reel before hitting the camera button to start creating your own reel.

So I have to watch someone elses video before creating my own? This is a waste of time, battery life and cell data.

TAYLOR: You can also create a reel by swiping right in Instagram to enter the camera and then selecting Reels, a button next to Story. Which is confusing.

BRIAN: Its totally undiscoverable without reading instructions. But OK, you find the button to create a reel. Then you can start recording videos or add videos youve already recorded. Then you can overlay music and some effects like emojis and color filters. Then you write a caption and publish.

How does this compare with TikTok?

TAYLOR TikTok is better in a million ways. The main one being that TikTok removes all of the friction that normally comes with trying to make a good video.

On TikTok, you can just grab a ton of videos (like, hit select on 17 different videos of all different lengths), and dump them all into the app and hit a button. TikTok will automatically select highlights from your videos and edit them in a way to match the beat of whatever sound you choose. This makes it so easy to create a really engaging, smooth video in under 10 seconds from a ton of footage.

Oh, wait, did Reels save without sound?

BRIAN: Yeah. Instagram said that there were restrictions and that they were working with third-party rights holders to expand its features. So when you save a video to your device after posting it, the music is automatically stripped away.

What you describe about TikTok just makes Reels sound so lacking. In Reels, you have to manually select where a music track starts to ensure its in sync with a clip. Youre saying TikTok automatically figures that out for you?

TAYLOR: In TikTok, you have a feature called sound sync, which everyone uses. You upload a bunch of clips, and it will reorder and trim them to match whatever sound you choose. It also suggests the best songs for each video.

BRIAN: Wow, really? Thats insane.

For music on Reels, I would hit the Audio button and just type in a word that came to mind to search for relevant songs. With this video of my corgi eating bread, I typed the word hungry to choose Hungry Eyes. Then I had to trim the clips and manually synchronize a portion of the song. That took me about 10 minutes.

Then there was a failed reel that I never posted. I was trying to make a montage of dog butts being scratched. After adding the music, I was able to go back and trim the second clip to be in rhythm with the music but couldnt go backward to trim the first clip of scratching the Dobermans butt.

Why am I able to edit the second clip but not the first clip? Instagram said it was still early days and that they were working on the ability to edit earlier clips.

TAYLOR: TikTok makes it very easy to create really entertaining short videos and makes it easy for that content to go viral. Reels makes it hard to create entertaining short videos  and even if you post them, the best you can hope for is to get a little distribution on a very crowded Explore page.

A big part of why TikToks go viral is that they can be easily downloaded and shared across platforms (with credit baked in because theyre watermarked with the handle).

Also, Reels is missing the ability to duet content, as you can on TikTok. Duets allow users to create side-by-side reaction videos. This is a core way users communicate and riff off each other. Its basically the TikTok version of a quote tweet.

Finally, Reels has no friends only option. On TikTok, Im able to post a video only mutual friends can see. I just want an easy way to post to my friends only.

BRIAN: Right. Currently the simplest way to do that on Reels is to set your profile to friends-only so that all your posts are viewable only to friends. Otherwise, if you share a reel privately with a friend through a direct message, it acts like a Story and disappears after 24 hours. Which is confusing.

How long would you say you spent on making a TikTok versus a reel?

TAYLOR: With TikTok, I can post a fun video of my day in under 15 seconds. Reels took me about five minutes.

Some people do spend an enormous amount of time editing their TikToks and making these really complicated and amazing videos. But for me, just a casual user who uses TikTok to capture fun highlights from my day-to-day life, thats the time frame.

BRIAN: As an Instagram user, I see no benefit to using Reels as opposed to Stories for posting videos. Its extremely confusing for even us to use, which means its going to be much more confusing for casual tech users.

Ill add that my followers didnt seem impressed with Reels. The reel of my corgi, Max, eating bread got about 250 likes, down from the 300 to 400 likes that he usually gets from regular Instagram photos.

Maybe Ill post more Reels one day if Instagram catches up with TikTok. But until then, I think youve persuaded me to start a TikTok.

TAYLOR: I cant see myself creating a Reel again. I might use it as a repository to re-upload my TikToks. But overall it just doesnt have any of the video-editing ability that Ive come to expect.

Its also hard to find and discover other Reels. Part of why its so easy to be creative on TikTok is that youre presented daily with a series of trends, memes or challenges. It makes it easy to see what other people are doing and hop on it or riff off it. I just dont see what Reels is good for.

BRIAN: Thats some reel talk.

c.2020 The New York Times Company
A suspect in a double shooting in Strathroy was arrested at the border in Fort Erie on Wednesday after police say a man and a woman attempted to cross into the United States with drugs and a loaded gun.

Niagara Regional Police were called to the Peace Bridge by the Canada Border Services Agency in regards to a man and women who had attempted to drive across the bridge into Buffalo, N.Y.

The vehicle was stopped and referred for inspection and border agents found a loaded firearm and a quantity of cocaine and crystal meth.

After determining the mans identity, police learned the individual was wanted in relation to double shooting that occurred earlier this month in Strathroy.

Two men, ages 24 and 30, were shot in the southwest Ontario city on Aug. 9 following a dispute that was partly over a bicycle, according to the Strathroy-Caradoc Police Service.

Both victims were taken to hospital in London for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.

Alexandre Andre Allie, 25, of London, face a number of criminal charges in Niagara including unauthorized possession of a prohibited firearm, unauthorized importation of a firearm and possession of cocaine.

Amanda Moore, 28, of Strathroy, faces similar charges.

Allie also faces multiple charges in connection with the Strathroy incident including aggravated assault and discharging a firearm.

Both individuals were held in custody pending a bail hearing on the Niagara charges.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call police at 905-688-4111, ext. 2300.
New Delhi:

The Delhi Police PCR was on Saturday alarmed the control room that two suspects have entered the jungles at Parade Ground in front of President House.

Heavy police force began search operation in the 73 -acre ground. After piercing through the jungles for about 2 kilometers, they found two men sleeping in a cave below a tomb.

Both the men were taken to Chanakyapuri Police Station, where they were interrogated by an IB team. The two have been identified as Gazi Nurul Hassan, 60, and Mursalin, 22.

What is most surprising about the duo is the fact that they have been living in the cave for the past 42 years. More jaw-dropping information about the two has been revealed during interrogation.

The two men have voter ID Cards, Passports, Adhaar Cards, Pan Cards with this address - DH, Dargaah Khwaja Parade Ground, Mother Teresa Crescent.

Interestingly, an electricity meter has also been installed in the cave. But surprisingly, local police, PCR, IB, even the local intelligence unit is unware about these two men living in the area for good 42 years.

The men, who entered the area by climbing a wall in front of Gate No 29 of Rashtrapati Bhawan, have been using the same way for last 2 years for both entry and exit.

Nurul told News Nation, he used to teach Arabic in Rashtrapati Bhawan during the tenure of former President of India Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed.

He said that he has also conducted Urs festival in the tomb and he had even sought a written permission from police for the same.
Two personnel in Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakurs security squad have tested positive for Covid-19.

One of them is the driver of the pilot vehicle in the CMs motorcade, while the other is a gunman, officials said.

They were part of the security squad during the chief ministers travel from Kangra to Jwalamukhi on August 7 and then moved to Una. Thakurs Una tour was cancelled so both of them joined back duty in Shimla.

The chief minister was on a tour to Kangra from August 6 to 8. The health authorities have now started contact tracing. BJP workers had flouted social distancing norms during the chief ministers visit.

The party workers had gathered in large number at places the CM visited during his tour and many of them were not even wearing masks.

Veteran BJP leader Shanta Kumar had advised the chief minister to avoid field visits and follow social distancing norms strictly.

Besides the two security personnel, two new Covid-19 patients were reported in Shimla. A youngster admitted at Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla, tested positive, while a migrant labourer from Bihar was found infected with coronavirus in Rohru sub division.

Forty patients who were admitted in the Medical Ward of IGMC have been isolated after the youth was found positive and ward has been sealed.

STEEPEST SPIKE OF 180 IN 24 HOURS

A total of 180 people have tested positive in the state since in last 24 hours taking the states tally to 3,816. Twenty-eight cases were recorded on Wednesday night and 152 today.

On Wednesday state witnessed steepest spike of 153 case.

Sixty-nine cases have been recorded in Kullu, 19 in Hamirpur, 18 in Una, 14 in Mandi, 13 in Chamba, 10 in Kinnaur and Solan, 9 eaqch in Sirmaur and Shimla, seven in Bilaspur, and two in Kangra.

Most of the sixty nine people tested positive in Kullu are farm labourers who were here for apple season. They were in institutional quarantine.

Ten people tested positive in Kinnaur were primary contacts of a Covid positive couple back from Delhi.

The infected people had attended the last rites of a family member of the couple on August 2.

The couple had returned from Delhi in the first week of July and tested negative after completing quarantine. They tested positive when a retest was done two days ago.

The health authorities have now started rigorous contact mapping.

In Palampur a former BJP block president has tested positive. He had also met Rajya Sabha member Indu Goswami recently. However, Goswamis first Covid-19 report is negative.

The total tally of coronavirus cases in the state has climbed to 3,816 with 1,328 active cases and 2,435 recoveries.

Solan is the worst-hit district with 913 cases followed by Kangra at 554, Sirmour 471, Hamirpur 389, Una 312, Mandi 287, Chamba 267, Shimla 216, Kullu 190, Bilaspur 155, Kinnaur 58 and Lahaul-Spiti four.

17th DEATH

Himachal also recorded 17th death due to the virus on Thursday. The deceased, aged 68, was diabetic and also suffering from hypertension. He was shifted from Zonal Hospital to Lala Bahadur Shashtri Government Medical College, Nerchowk a day ago.

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West Bank annexation appears to be off the table for now, after the U.S. brokered a normalization deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Why it matters: Trump spoke about for annexation for the first time since presenting his peace plan on January 28. However, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and UAE Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed gave contradictory remarks about the annexation in their statements on the deal.

Netanyahu characterized it as a temporary suspension, while Bin Zayed said the deal stopped annexation.

For the record: Trump twice deferred questions about the differences between Israel and the UAE to the U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, who said: We prioritized peace in the region over West Bank annexation...you can't have peace and annexation at the same time"

What Trump is saying: Israel agreed not to annex parts of the West Bank. It is more than taking it off the table  they agreed not to do it. This is a very smart concession by Israel. It is off the table now.

What the U.S. ambassador is saying: Annexation is off the table now but might be discussed again in the future.

What's next: Trump also said at the press conference he wants to convene a summit between Israel and the United Arab Emirates at the White House in three weeks to sign the deal.
UPDATE: There are 14 new cases of COVID-19 being reported in New Zealand today.

One of these cases is a woman in her 30s who arrived from the Phillipines on August 8 and has been in managed isolation in Hamilton. She has since been moved to a quarantine facility in Auckland.

The remaining 13 new cases are linked to the previous four cases, all of these are in Auckland.

Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield says the 17 cases in the community are being treated as a cluster.

"We know that with clusters, there is always more cases.

"We are expecting more cases from this cluster."

Ashley says there is one probable case linked to the new outbreak.

All the cases in the community are in isolation.

"All the new confirmed cases will be managed in a quarantine facility. This is different to previous cases that had been treated in self-isolation"

Ashley says the quarantine facilities are set up to deal with the cases.

A detailed list of where the Auckland family visited during their trip to Rotorua on the weekend has also been released.

If you were at one of these places at these dates and times there is a small possibility that you may have been exposed, and so you are considered to be a casual contact. It is advised that you self-isolate and get tested for COVID-19, says Dr Neil de Wet, Medical Officer of Health for Toi Te Ora Public Health.

You can come out of self-isolation when you have a negative test but you should remain vigilant for any symptoms.

"If at any later stage you have symptoms that may be COVID-19 you must immediately self-isolate and get tested."

Places visited in Rotorua Date and approximate time Wai Ora Lakeside Hotel Saturday 8th Aug from 3:30pm until Tuesday 11th Aug at 9am Herbs & Spices Thai Restaurant Saturday 8thAug, 8:00pm-9pm Fat Dog Cafe Sunday 9thAug, 1:30pm-2:30pm PaknSave Rotorua Sunday 9thAug, 2:30pm- 3:00pm Rotorua Heritage Farm 3D Art Gallery Monday 10thAug, 3:00pm  4.30pm Skyline Rotorua Sunday 9thAug, 4:00pm - 5:50pm Burger Fuel Redwood Centre Monday 10thAug, 7pm-7:30pm Don Kebab Monday 10thAug, 7pm-7:30pm

There are currently no other known possible exposure events of concern in Rotorua but this list will be updated if any others are confirmed.

Public health teams are also following up a boat cruise in Taupo  those on the boat cruise who may be contacts are being followed up directly.

From the information we have currently, we are not aware of any other possible exposures of concern in Taupo, says Dr de Wet.

It can take from 1 to 14 days after exposure to COVID-19 to start developing symptoms, so anyone who visited these places at these times should remain vigilant for the symptoms of COVID-19 for two weeks from when they may have been exposed.

The symptoms of COVID-19 may include a cough, a fever, shortness of breath, a sore throat, runny nose and temporary loss of smell.

EARLIER:

Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield will be providing an update on COVID-19 at 1pm today.

As of yesterday, there were four confirmed community transmission cases of COVID-19 in Auckland and one in a managed isolation facility.

There were also four probable cases announced at the 4pm media update on Wednesday.

Ashley says these people have symptoms and are linked to the four cases from Tuesday.

He says these people are self-isolating and are awaiting test results.

Five cases of COVID-19 have recovered so the number of active cases in New Zealand remains at 22.

Ashley says a woman in her 20s who tested positive visited Rotorua from August 8 to 11 while symptomatic.

Based on the information about the visit to Rotorua he says none of the contacts are considered close contacts.

Ashley says the visit to Rotorua had not resulted in a positive test for any of the close contacts of the positive case and her child.

He says the symptomatic family members had visited Waiora Lakeside Hotel, the Skyline Gondola and Heritage Farm and 3D Gallery.

SunLive will be proving an update this afternoon for those who are not able to tune into the livestream above.
The bail hearing for Zimbabwean journalist Hopewell Chin'ono was moved to Thursday after the prosecutor called for the press and public to be prevented from attending the court session.

The court appearance began on a sour note on Wednesday as Chin'ono's lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa called for the prison services to take leg irons off of her client while he is in court.

Harare magistrate Ngoni Nduna upheld the state application to try Chin'ono in private tomorrow, even though his lawyer argued that his case is in the public interest.

Chin'ono will testify about the state of prison conditions, which the judge said would jeopardise prison security.

Chin'ono's lawyer Mtetwa says that he is surviving on biscuits and water because prison authorities will not allow him to receive homemade food, but he was able to get a visit from his sister.

Chin'ono was arrested on 20 July, as well as opposition leader Jacob Ngarivhume; both were charged with incitement to participate in public violence.

Ngarivhume, from the small Transform Zimbabwe party, had called for people to peacefully protest against the government on 31 August.

Ngarivhume's lawyer Donso Nkomo spoke to the press outside the courthouse, explaining that the whole process is difficult, especially because the government is not adhering to the law.

We have had to wait for one hour on all occasions we have sought to visit them. When we do visit them, we are given very limited time to meet, said Nkomo to reporters. The constitution provides for private consultation between a lawyer and his client. That has not been given to us in respect to Jacob and Hopewell, he added.

The Zimbabwe journalist's case has garnered a lot of media attention both in the country and internationally after he was arrested in his home after reporting that the then-health minister Obadiah Moyo had allegedly awarded a multi-million-dollar contract for Covid-19 supplies.

Moyo was later fired, but this report accentuated the ongoing alleged corruption within Zimbabwe.
In 2018, as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Harris strongly suggested that being a member of the Knights of Columbus  a nearly 2 million-member Catholic social and charitable organization  was disqualifying for the federal bench. She posed a series of inappropriate questions to federal district court nominee Brian Buescher, who had joined the Knights at the age of 18: Were you aware that the Knights of Columbus opposed a womans right to choose when you joined the organization? . . . Were you aware that the Knights of Columbus opposed marriage equality when you joined the organization? . . . Have you ever, in any way, assisted with or contributed to advocacy against womens reproductive rights?
Vacation-rental company Airbnb said Wednesday that it plans to sue a guest who booked a home and threw a party there that resulted in three people being shot over the weekend in Sacramento County.

The San Francisco company said this is the first time it will sue a guest for throwing an unauthorized party. Airbnb told the guest, whose name it did not divulge, it planned to bring legal action alleging negligence along with violations of local health orders as well as company policies.

The company said it has removed the person from its marketplace and is seeking damages.

Airbnb is committing that it will donate any money recovered through this proceeding to a local Sacramento nonprofit fighting against gun violence  the nonprofit will be chosen in consultation with leaders of the Airbnb host community in Sacramento, company spokesman Ben Breit wrote in a statement.

A lawsuit would be the latest step the company has taken in cracking down on people booking homes on its websites and throwing unauthorized parties, some of which have resulted in shootings and deaths.

The company banned party houses after a deadly shooting in 2019 at a gathering in Orinda at a home booked on its site.

CEO Brian Chesky announced steps to curb party houses on the site soon thereafter, including removing listings and taking action against users who violate its rules. The company also created a response team to deal with party houses and a hotline that neighbors can call.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

Last month the company also banned guests under 25 from booking entire homes close to where they live.

The legal action comes as the company is reportedly preparing for an initial public offering. Airbnb has seen its revenues plummet and in May cut 1,900 jobs, roughly 25% of its workforce, though Chesky recently said on a podcast that travel is recovering in some countries.

Chase DiFeliciantonio is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: chase.difeliciantonio@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ChaseDiFelice
ZURICH (dpa-AFX) - Swedish Insurer Swiss Life (SZLMY.PK, SLHN.VX) Thursday said its net profit for the half year slid by 13 percent to 537 million Swiss francs. The Group said the results also reflect a positive one-off tax effect in the context of the Swiss corporate tax reform in the previous year. The Group's adjusted profit from operations for the period slid by 6 percent to 780 million francs. Direct investment income for the half year was 2.03 billion francs versus 2.24 billion francs in the prior year, and non-annualised direct investment yield was 1.2 percent versus 1.4 percent in the previous year. For the first half, the Group's premiums declined by 16 percent to 11.6 billion francs, reflecting extraordinarily high single premiums written by Swiss Life in the previous year, as a result of the withdrawal of a competitor from the full insurance business in Switzerland. Excluding the extraordinary effects, premiums in the first half-year at Group level remained unchanged, while it was up 2 percent in Switzerland. 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.
At 3pm this afternoon, Cabinet ministers will meet to once again decide the lockdown future of the country.

Then, at 5.30pm, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will step up to the podium in the all-too-familiar Beehive theatrette and announce the plan to get things back on track after New Zealand's elimination strategy severely derailed this week.

It all comes after a new cluster of community transmission caused the country to go up alert levels, with 13 new cases confirmed yesterday in addition to the four announced on Tuesday.

Ardern's message has always been to go hard and go early.

"Once again we are reminded of how tricky this virus is and how easily it can spread, but we know that limiting people-to-people contact really helps stop the spread," says Ardern.

"We have a plan, we have acted quickly and now we will continue to roll out that plan."

Within six hours of the first case of community transmission returning a positive test on Tuesday afternoon, the public had been told the alert levels were changing.

In less than 24 hours, Auckland was in level 3 lockdown and the rest of the country had moved to level 2.

"I acknowledge the anxiety of some New Zealanders as we are moving at pace to stamp out Covid in our community and protect the health of all New Zealanders, but the pace and the speed should also act as an extra layer of reassurance," says Ardern.

What we knew about clusters was they "grow before they slow", and Ardern is preparing people for case numbers to continue to rise, she says.

She only needs to look across the ditch to Victoria to see just how badly and quickly things can unravel when it comes to the spread of COVID-19.

"In Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Victoria - which are all managing the re-emergence of COVID - they in some cases waited three or four weeks before implementing restrictions similar to ours."

Ardern will not speculate on best and worst case scenarios Cabinet will be discussing today.

All the way through the pandemic, ministers had made decisions based on the latest information to hand - including the most recent advice from the Director General of Health - who will see another round of testing results this morning, she says.

But whatever the decision is, both National and ACT say Ardern should not be the one delivering the news to the public.

Collins, Seymour unhappy

National Party leader Judith Collins says it's a health issue the country is facing and that is who should be informing the public.

"Certainly this close to an election it is, I think, very important if it's made on health reasons the experts in health are actually the people advising that," Collins says.

ACT's leader David Seymour agrees.

"If there's a genuine public health issue, that's actually the chief executive and the minister of health. If there is a law enforcement issue, that is the chief executive or the commissioner of police and the minister of police.

"If there is an issue that is genuinely all of government, then that is perhaps an issue for the prime minister, but at the moment we're seeing a lot of Jacinda Ardern and not much separation between prime minister and Labour leader," Seymour says.

Neither Seymour nor Collins will be sitting around the Cabinet table as ministers determine what happens next later today.

But if Auckland - or any other part of the country - is to move alert levels, Collins wants the public given ample time to prepare.

"I think people do need to have a bit of notice and I do think that people, wherever possible, need to be brought along on that journey," Collins says.

Ardern has signalled that if there was a change to alert levels, the public will be given enough time to prepare.

Factors to be considered

Health Minister Chris Hipkins says a number of factors will be considered when Cabinet met this afternoon.

"I think spread of the virus; the number of active cases; the number of new cases that we're seeing each day; the number of overall test both in Auckland and also around the rest of the country and what those test results are showing us. All of those things will come into play," Hipkins says.

If Auckland does face even longer in lockdown, then Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Treasury have already begun drawing up more support for those hit financially.

-RNZ/Jo Moir.
Actor Kunal Kemmu is excited for his brother-in-law Saif Ali Khan and sister-in-law Kareena Kapoors second baby. Kunal says he cant wait to welcome the baby into the family.

Kunal, who is married to Saifs younger sister, actor Soha Ali Khan, told The Times of India, It is a lot of happiness and a lot of excitement. Cant wait to welcome this new member in the family. Taimur and Inaaya get along so well and they now have a new member in their gang. Taimur is Saif and Kareenas three-year-old son and Inaaya is Kunal and Sohas three-year-old daughter.

Kareena and Saif announced their second pregnancy on Wednesday with a statement. We are very pleased to announce that we are expecting an addition to our family, an official statement from the couple read. Expressing their gratitude to their fans and well-wishers, they said, Thank you to all our well-wishers for all their love and support.

Soha, too, had congratulated her brother in a quirky way. Soha took to Instagram to share a picture of her brother on Instagram which had The Quadfather written over it indicating towards the fact that Saif is expected to welcome his fourth child.Coming soon!! Couldnt resist! Congratulations @kareenakapoorkhan be safe and healthy - and radiant as ever, she wrote in the caption.

Also read: Ibrahim reacts to news of father Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor expecting second child

Saif also has a daughter Sara Ali Khan and son Ibrahim Ali Khan from his previous marriage to actor Amrita Singh. Ibrahim congratulated his father. Ibrahim commented Abba, followed by a fire emoji on his aunt, Sohas post

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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San Francisco, 13 Aug 2020: The Report Asia Pacific Flat Glass Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Tempered, Laminated, Basic Float), By Application (Architectural, Automotive), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2020 - 2027

The Asia Pacific flat glass market size is anticipated to reach USD 85.65 billion by 2027, expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.3% from 2020 to 2027, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Continuous growth in the regional construction industry is estimated to be the key driver of the demand.

Sales in undifferentiated products like basic float glass is proving to be more challenging for the producers owing to extensive competition and resulting price pressures. As a result, companies are now determined to create additional value by manufacturing products such as coated glass to gain competitive advantage in the industry.

Recent trend indicates building owners and architects demand value added products that minimize energy loss and thereby promote energy efficiency of the buildings. Therefore there is increased collaboration of major manufacturers with designers, fabricators, architects, and building owners to stay ahead of the demand.

Tempered segment is predicted to expand at a significant CAGR in the forthcoming years. Rising focus on safety is the key factor that is likely to propel the demand for flat glass. Transition in building architecture trends that include maximizing natural daylight through the usage of glass in facades and roofs is expected to propel the industry growth over the next eight years.

China dominated the market in 2019 owing to increased construction activities in the country. However, the demand is expected to take a hit in 2020, owing to the outbreak of COVID-19 as construction and automobile industries have faced a severe meltdown in the first quarter of 2020.

Key countries including China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Australia, and Japan have announced plans to unleash massive amounts of fiscal stimulus to reduce severe impacts of pandemic. The response by governments across the region is projected to boost the market sentiments in the latter half of 2020. Thus, creating an equivalent ambience for industry regrowth.

Access Research Report of Asia Pacific Flat Glass Market @ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/asia-pacific-flat-glass-market

Asia Pacific Flat Glass Market Report Highlights

China led the market and accounted for the highest volume share of 79% in 2019 as the country has large construction industry and significant automotive production base

Indonesia is predicted to witness the fastest CAGR of 8.7%, in terms of revenue, from 2020 to 2027. The flat glass consumption per capita in the country is among the lowest in the region and as a result, there is a large untapped opportunity present in the country owing to high economic growth and development of its construction sector

Basic float dominated the market with a volume share of approximately 65% in 2019 owing to low cost and durability of the product

Insulating glass is likely to register the fastest CAGR of 5.8% in terms of revenue owing to rising demand for energy-efficient windows

Solar application is likely to drive the future demand for the product owing to rising installations of solar power in Asia Pacific

Browse more reports of this category by Grand View Research at: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry/specialty-glass-ceramic-and-fiber

Grand View Research has segmented Asia Pacific flat glass market on the basis of product, application, and region:

Asia Pacific Flat Glass Product Outlook (Volume, Kilotons; Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027)

Tempered

Laminated

Basic Float

Insulating

Others

Asia Pacific Flat Glass Application Outlook (Volume, Kilotons; Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027)

Architectural

Automotive

Others

Asia Pacific Flat Glass Regional Outlook (Volume, Kilotons; Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027)

Asia Pacific China Japan South Korea Thailand Indonesia Malaysia Vietnam Australia New Zealand



List of Key Players of Asia Pacific Flat Glass Market

AGC, Inc.

Fuyao Group

NSG Group

Guardian Industries

Kibing Group

BG

Xinyi Glass Holdings Co. Ltd.

VGF

China Glass Holdings Limited

Jinjing (Group) Co., Ltd.

Access Press Release of Asia Pacific Flat Glass Market @ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/asia-pacific-flat-glass-market-analysis

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare.

For More Information:www.grandviewresearch.com
Mattia Binotto says Ferrari's target for 2021 is second place.

It comes after the famous and struggling Maranello team's chairman John Elkann recently ruled out a realistic title challenge until 2022.

Team boss Binotto admits that a big problem is that, amid the pandemic, Formula 1 decided to restrict certain areas of car development to cut costs.

For a team in Ferrari's situation, that means a long road ahead.

"We have certain limits that cannot be overcome," Binotto told Italian media.

"We can work on the engine for 2021, so that's a start, but the number of hours on the test stands is limited.

"We can do something, but we can't do as much as we could have done before," said the Italian.

Limited chassis development for 2021, meanwhile, will be governed by a token system.

Binotto said: "The aerodynamic areas are free, but here too the hours for using the wind tunnel have been reduced.

"Yes, there are limitations in developing a car that is behind. We believe we can improve, but I think trying to beat Mercedes would be wrong because the gap is enormous.

"However, we believe it must be possible for Ferrari to take second place in 2021."

Meanwhile, Ferrari has confirmed that Sebastian Vettel will use a new chassis this weekend in Barcelona, after two difficult races at Silverstone.

Chief engineer Simone Resta revealed that a "small fault caused by a heavy impact over a kerb" was found on Vettel's original chassis.

"It would not have had much of an effect on performance, but it was the logical decision to take," Resta said.

(GMM)
In spite of its consistently low census, the admission criteria for the citys alternate care site at the Red Roof Inn will not change, Laredos emergency management coordinator announced Wednesday after meeting with state officials.

There are 106 beds available at this site and 140 health care professionals who have been assigned to work there. But at its peak, there have only been 12 patients there at once.

As of noon Wednesday, eight people were being treated at this alternate care site. The site was created to be a step-down facility for those who were recovering from COVID-19 but were not ready to return home yet.

Interim Fire Chief and Emergency Management Coordinator Ramiro Elizondo has maintained that the admission criteria at this site is prohibitive, which is keeping the patient census so low.

In order to qualify for admission, a patient has to pass several health and lifestyle tests. They cannot have severe shortness of breath, be younger than 18 years old or require continuous telemetry monitoring, along with a dozen other stipulations.

Laredo officials have repeatedly asked the state to lower the criteria, but its not that easy, Elizondo said. And on Wednesday, they learned from state officials that this criteria will not change.

Amidst this long period of heightened COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths in the community, Laredo officials have asked the state to help facilitate more intensive care capacity. This is their most acute need.

Mayor Pete Saenz said the state does not want to stand up another ICU facility, and it would rather work with existing hospitals in the area. They believe there is potential to install ICU beds at Laredo Specialty Hospital, he said.

Beyond that, the city has four to five ambulances at their disposal to transfer patients to San Antonio, where there is more hospital capacity.

Laredo has seen its hospitalizations dip recently down to 163 on Wednesday, its first total under 179 since July 27. The lesser totals are due to the city sending infected to San Antonio recently.

The city had as many as 207 hospitalizations on both July 31 and Aug. 3. Last week, it had informed the state that its COVID and non-COVID ICUs were full and that its hospital space in general was also filling up.
The tragic passing away of Sushant Singh Rajput has left a number of questions unanswered. As a result, the centre handed over the late actors death probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). However, Rhea Chakrabortys case transfer plea verdict is yet to come out and Sushants sister took to social media to remind everyone that the fight for justice and answers is far from over.

Shweta Singh Kirti wrote, Its time we find the truth and get justice. Please help our family and the whole world to know what the truth is and find closure, otherwise we will never be able to live a peaceful life!!#CBIForSSR Raise your voice and demand #JusticeForSushantSinghRajput #WarriorsForSSR @sushantsinghrajput. The posts garnered massive traction with support pouring in from all corners.

Sushants Raabta co-star Kriti Sanon too extended her support to CBI intervention in the matter. She wrote in her Instagram story, I Pray that the truth comes out SOON..His family, his friends, fans and all loved ones deserve this closure.. I hope and pray that the CBI takes over the case so that its investigating without any political agendas, in the TRUE sense, to provide justice to the family!! Its high time his soul rests in peace! #CBIForSSR #SushantSinghRajput (sic).

Sushants former girlfriend and co-star Ankita Lokhande also shared a video on Twitter demanding a CBI probe with the caption, "#JusticeForSushantSinghRajput #CBIforSSR"

Kangana Ranaut was next in line to extend her support. The actress tagged Sushants sister and Ankita in a post demanding justice. The caption said, "Mumbai police wants to rush the probe, Sanjay Raut saying they are almost done with the investigation, we deserve to know the truth #CBIForSSR #justiceforSushanthSinghRajput @shwetasinghkirt @anky1912."

Mumbai police wants to rush the probe, Sanjay Raut saying they are almost done with the investigation, we deserve to know the truth #CBIForSSR @republic #justiceforSushanthSinghRajput @shwetasinghkirt @anky1912 pic.twitter.com/2SV1AwaFx7  Team Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) August 13, 2020

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

ALSO READ: Sushant Singh Rajput's Sister Shweta Says 'It's Time We Find The Truth And Get Justice'

ALSO READ: Sushant's Death Case: ED Finds No Substantial Direct Transfers To Rhea Chakraborty's Bank Account
Sam Frost was all smiles as she filmed scenes for an upcoming episode of Home and Away in Sydney on Tuesday.

The 31-year-old actress was joined by Home and Away actor Shane Withington and new co-stars Bridie Carter and Luke Arnold.

Sam seemed to have had most of her scenes with Luke, 36, and happily walked alongside him on the sand as they filmed beach scenes together.

Hard at work: Sam Frost was all smiles as she filmed scenes for an upcoming episode of Home and Away in Sydney on Tuesday

The former Bachelorette star was dressed casually for the shoot, teaming cropped black pants with a maroon scrubs top.

She also wore a cropped pale pink biker jacket with a grey hood, and black ballet flats, with her character appearing to have just come from her nursing shift.

Her long blonde hair was tied up in a high ponytail, and a black, white and brown leather handbag sat on one of her shoulders.

Team effort: The 31-year-old actress was joined by co-stars Shane Withington and Bridie Carter (both pictured right), as well as Luke Arnold (left)

New star: Sam seemed to have had most of her scenes with Luke, and happily walked alongside him on the sand as they filmed beach scenes together

Clutching a large takeaway drink cup in one hand, Sam laughed as she chatted with her handsome new co-star.

The rugged actor was dressed equally casually in a pair of black skinny leg jeans and a grey scrubs top, with his character appearing to also work as a medical professional.

He also donned a pale blue denim jacket and black sneakers, and wore a cross-body bag slung across his torso.

Warming up: Sam was spotted holding hand warmers in between takes as she attempted to keep warm

All tied up: Her long blonde hair was tied up in a high ponytail, and a black, white and brown leather handbag sat on one of her shoulders

Staying safe: Sam and Luke were spotted chatting with a couple of crew members in between takes, with both men donning face masks

Meanwhile, Bridie, 49, announced she was joining the soap's cast with an excitable post on Instagram on Tuesday.

'Very happy to be join [sic] the team/family on one of Australia's longest running shows - @homeandaway,' she captioned an animated photo of herself in Sydney's Centennial Park.

'Very, very grateful in these strange times to be invited into the family fold.'
New Zealanders are spending relatively more on takeaways and restaurant meals, and less on fruit and vegetables than three years ago, says Stats NZ.

Every three years, Stats NZ calculates how much the average New Zealander spends on various foods, and those shifts in food preferences and prices are reflected in the monthly food inflation measure.

Over a quarter (27 per cent) of the food budget is spent on restaurants and ready-to-eat meals, including things like burgers and takeaway coffee. This share is up slightly from 26 per cent in 2017.

In contrast, the share of spending on fruit and vegetables has fallen slightly to 13 per cent of the food basket compared with 15 per cent in 2017.

In the past three years, changes in prices and consumer spending patterns have led to less spending on fruit and vegetables," says prices senior manager Aaron Beck.

"This is mainly driven by a fall in spending on vegetables."

Those living in the Auckland region spend the highest proportion of their food budget on restaurants meals and takeaways (32 per cent), compared with the New Zealand average of 27 per cent.

Outside the main centres, households spend less than the national average on restaurant meals and takeaways, at 22 per cent of their food budget.

In 2000, the average Kiwi household spent about a fifth (22 per cent) of its food budget on restaurant meals and takeaways, but that has risen steadily to more than a quarter (27 per cent) in 2020."

Conversely, average spending on grocery food and non-alcoholic beverages has fallen from 50 per cent in 2000 to 44 per cent in 2020.

While expenditure on fresh fruit and vegetables decreased since the last review of FPI weights in 2017, it is about the same as it was in 2000.
US Ambassador Norland discussed steps towards a complete withdrawal of foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya.

Correction: A previous version of this article stated Presidents Trump and Erdogan discussed the demilitarisation and withdrawal of foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya in a phone call. Al Jazeera does not know the content of those communications.

US Ambassador to Libya Richard Norland consulted with senior Turkish officials in Ankara on Wednesday about the urgent need to support Libyan voices genuinely seeking an end to the conflict and return to UN-facilitated political dialogue according to a statement by the US embassy in Tripoli.

Norland also discussed ways to achieve a demilitarised solution in central Libya, with a complete withdrawal of foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya, and stressed the need to enable the countrys National Oil Corporation to resume its vital work, the statement said.

The visit followed phone calls between US President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to the US embassy.

Earlier in the week, Norland was in Egypts capital, Cairo, where he discussed with Egyptian officials ways to bring peace to the war-torn North African nation. He also met Tobruk-based Speaker of the House of Representatives Aqila Saleh.

Rival governments

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 rival east- and west-based administrations, each backed by militias and foreign governments.

In April 2019, the eastern-based forces of renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive to seize the capital, Tripoli, from the internationally-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA).

But Haftars 14-month campaign collapsed last month when the GNA forces, with Turkish support, gained the upper hand, driving his forces from the outskirts of Tripoli and other western towns. The GNAs military success depended partly on Turkish-supplied drones that pushed back Haftars self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) from Libyas skies.

While the GNA is supported by Turkey, Haftars LNA is backed by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Russia.

Amid rising tensions, neighbouring Egypt threatened to send troops into Libya if the Turkish-backed GNA forces try to seize the strategic city of Sirte  the gateway to Libyas eastern oilfields.

Last month, the Egyptian parliament gave a greenlight for possible military intervention, but Turkey warned any Egyptian deployment in Libya would hamper efforts to end the fighting.
LSAT India was earlier scheduled to be held on 14 June. It is a pen-paper based test but due to COVID-19 the exam was conducted online.

The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) has declared the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) India 2020 result today. Candidates who have taken the exam can check the result on the official website - discoverlaw.excelindia.com/LSAT. The examination was conducted remotely in online mode this year in three slots between 19 and 26 July.

According to a report by Careers 360, Kolkata girl, Shailja Beria has bagged the first rank in the examination. She secured 480 marks. Shailja said that she is planning to appear for CLAT 2020 that is scheduled to be held on 7 September.

The exam conducting body Pearson VUE shares the scorecards of the candidates with the participating law schools who prepare merit lists for admission. Candidates who have cleared the exam will have to separately apply for admission to their preferred law schools.

A report by Jagran Josh said that law schools in the country including Jindal Global Law School, JLU School of Law, Alliance University accept LSAT India Score for shortlisting candidates for admission purposes.

LSAT India was earlier scheduled to be held on 14 June. It is a pen-paper based test but due to COVID-19 the exam was conducted online.

The LSAT is conducted for admission to LLB and LLM programmes at Indian law colleges.

The exam tests analytical reasoning, logical reasoning and reading comprehension skills of candidates. The paper comprises 24 questions of reading comprehension, 23 of analytical reasoning, 22 of logical reasoning (1), and 23 questions of logical reasoning (2). There is also a variable section which has 23 questions.

Steps to check LSAT India 2020 Result

Step 1: Go to the official website - discoverlaw.excelindia.com.

Step 2: Click on Login Button and enter your credentials to log in.

Step 3: Your LSAT India 2020 result will appear on the screen. Download and take a printout.

Here's a direct link to check result - discoverlaw.excelindia.com/LSAT
The Rogers Park beaches, we were losing them quickly and they were starting to threaten the roadways, said Heather Gleason, the Park Districts director of planning and construction. We cant really predict how strong the storms will be, but were fairly optimistic that those (protections) are going to hold through the winter season. I think where were really focusing our attention now are some of the other areas up and down the lakefront that maybe didnt have quite as much erosion as those Rogers Park beaches, but still had some concerns.
Joe Biden released a statement Thursday applauding the normalization of ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates as a "welcome, brave, and badly-needed act of statesmanship."

Why it matters: It's a rare moment of public praise for a deal brokered by President Trump, underscoring Biden's support for Israel at a time when some progressives have pushed  without success  for the Democratic platform to recognize the Israeli "occupation" of Palestinian territory.

The big picture: Biden said in the statement that he continues to oppose Israeli plans for annexation of the West Bank, which Prime Minister Netanyahu said he would temporarily suspend  but not cancel  to secure the normalization deal.

"It would virtually end any chance of a two-state solution that would secure Israels future as a Jewish and democratic state and uphold the right of Palestinians to a state of their own," Biden said.

Go deeper: Netanyahu says he's "still committed" to annexations despite UAE deal
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is facing the worst financial crisis in its 50-year history due to a massive drop in ridership since the onset of the pandemic in March. The transit system is currently losing $2.5 million in revenue each weekday because of a 90 percent drop in ridership on its bus and rail lines.

To date, WMATA, also known as Metro, has been able to stay afloat because it received $767 million from the Federal CARES Act, passed in late March. With this infusion of money, WMATA has not laid off or furloughed any of its staff of about 10,000 employees. However, according to WMATA General Manager Paul Wiedefeld, the CARES Act funding will run out later this year.

Wiedefeld reported at a July 28 press conference that the funding allowed us to protect the health of our workforce and customers by allowing us to take actions such as altering work schedules and using rear door boarding to minimize exposure to the virus.

For the 2021 Fiscal Year, which began on July 1, Metros Board passed a $2.07 billion operating budget. Metro reports that $438 million of the CARES Act funds will support the 2021 budget, replacing some of the lost revenue from the ridership decline.

For Fiscal Year 2020, 36 percent of WMATAs revenues came from parking and transit fares, totaling $723 million. Assuming a loss of $2.5 million in revenue each weekday, the system has lost about $228 million for the period April 1 through August 7, or almost one-third of the annual amount received from riders.

WMATA also receives about 60 percent of its operating budget from state and local governments in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. However, the amount of future funding from these sources remains in doubt, as all face budget shortfalls due to the pandemic and the resulting economic slowdown.

WMATA does not expect ridership to recover until January 2021 at the earliest. Even that projection is likely optimistic as the pandemic is not contained in the Washington metropolitan region and commuters remain reluctant to use public transportation if they have other options. For the last 30 days, Virginias seven day moving average of daily new cases has been between 782-1137; for Maryland, between 518-940; and the District of Columbia, between 53-76.

With Congress' failure to pass a new financial relief package last week, WMATA faces the prospect of drastic service cuts and the furlough of thousands of employees as early as September. In addition, without further federal aid, WMATA says it may delay completion of the extension of the Silver Line to Dulles Airport, currently projected to open next year, and scrap plans to buy new rail cars.

Wiedefeld warned at the July 28 press conference that without additional federal funds, we are left with some very difficult choices to deal with a looming financial crisis that run counter to the economic recovery we all want.

Even if Republicans and Democrats agree on new legislation, the likely sum devoted to public transportation nationwide will be about $15 billion, with about $800 million going to Metro. This will be insufficient to prevent employee furloughs and service reductions.

Joe McAndrew, managing director for transportation at the Greater Washington Partnership, told the Washington Post, What we keep hearing, if there is any [transit] funding, it may fall closer to $15 billion, which is not adequate.

The transit system is set to restore rail service to near pre-COVID levels on August 16 and bus service to 73 percent of pre-pandemic levels on August 23. The rail system will add 15 hours more service per week, with opening times returning to normal and the system closing at 11 p.m. each night.

On March 17, Metro closed 19 rail stations, about 20 percent of the total. On May 23, it fully shut down the Silver line, due to low ridership and the need to do repair work to facilitate the completion of the line extension. After the DC region largely shut down from late-March through most of May, rail ridership collapsed to about 5 percent of pre-pandemic levels. WMATA says it is now at about 10 percent.

WMATA responded to the drop in ridership by also cutting the frequency of trains and buses. As a result, overcrowding remains a concern and maintaining safe social distancing is impossible on many trips. In its July monthly report to Metros Board, Metros Rider Advisory Council (RAC) noted that they are deeply concerned about ongoing reports of severe crowding on numerous routes  especially those serving lower-income communities in our region.

Daily bus ridership has long been well above the socially distanced capacity of 85,000 trips as specified in WMATAs Pandemic Recovery Plan, the RAC wrote in its report. Even in the managed re-entry phase expected to begin in the coming weeks, Metrobus capacity is only planned to be 110,00 trips, wholly insufficient for current ridership.

In July, about 130,000 bus trips were taken each weekday, or 20,000 above the systems August 23 planned capacity. Metro reports that 70 percent of the bus rides during the pandemic have been work trips, indicating that many workers who are forced to remain on the job during the pandemic rely on the transit system.

In a July information brief, WMATA conceded that it cannot maintain safe social distance guidelines under its current budgetary restrictions. To maintain proper distance would require five times the level of service to carry the same number of customers as under normal service conditions. While Metro will use these guidelines to inform the timing of service increases, optimal distancing will be challenging even when accompanied by regional efforts to stagger worker re-entry.

According to local National Public Radio affiliate WAMU, as of two weeks ago, Metro has had 210 employees with confirmed COVID cases and no deaths. About 90 percent of Metro workers who had the coronavirus have returned to work. In May, however, a bus driver for the DC Circulator system, operated by the District of Columbia Department of Transportation, died from the virus.
WASHINGTON Hillary Clinton on Thursday said she hopes Senator Kamala Harris, the Democratic Partys vice presidential nominee, and women running for political office in the future will receive less sexist" media coverage than she did in 2016.

I still hope, especially with Kamala on the ticket, that the coverage of women running for president or vice president will be less sexist, less sensationalist and less trivializing," Clinton, a former U.S. secretary of state, said during an online forum hosted by news organization The 19th.

Clinton, a Democrat, lost in the electoral college to U.S. President Donald Trump in 2016 despite receiving more votes than him nationwide.

Clinton said she had talked with Harris and Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee who this week named Harris as his running mate, about their campaign.

They are inheriting a mess of historic proportions," Clinton said, adding that she did not think the coronavirus pandemic would be over by January when Biden and Harris would take office if they defeat Trump and Vice President Michael Pence.

I think Joe and Kamala together will be absolutely ready for lots of long, long days and very short nights working to get as much done as quickly as possible," Clinton said.

Clinton added that she expected Trump to cast doubt on the result of the election if he loses.

I have every reason to believe Trump is not going to go quietly into the night if he loses," Clinton said.

Clinton sidestepped a question from a reporter about whether she would serve in a Biden administration if he defeats Trump.

If you are asked to serve you should certainly consider that but lets not go there until we actually win," Clinton 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
The failure in Victoria is so deep that everyone flees from the scene of the crash. It is still not clear which state department had ultimate authority for the hotel quarantine system. Andrews encourages the obfuscation with his denial. No political leader will ever have all the speed required to stay ahead of this virus. No government department will ever be fast enough. That means failure is inevitable. Why can we not accept it and own up to it? This week sent a warning signal that political leaders and their public servants will not learn from failures if they deny they took place or suppress information about how they occurred. Five months after the Ruby Princess spread infection into the community, Morrison fobs off questions about federal responsibility. Four months after the deaths at Dorothy Henderson Lodge and Newmarch House, the reports into those aged care outbreaks are still secret. As infections continue, the manager of an aged care home in Victoria cannot read the report on the NSW outbreaks to learn from past mistakes.

The failures were made clear at the aged care royal commission this week. "There was a level of apathy, a lack of urgency and an attitude of futility which lead to absence of action," said Monash University professor Joseph Ibrahim. Loading "Absence of action"  that was the failure on March 19 when the Ruby Princess docked at Sydney's Circular Quay. Federal officials were at the ship at 6am to decide on disembarkation. This is what Morrison wanted. Four days earlier, with infections spreading on cruise ships around the world, the Prime Minister had promised special measures "directly under the command of the Australian Border Force" to put protections in place for cruise ships. In a basic error, one ABF officer misread a medical report and concluded it cleared 13 passengers of COVID-19 even though they had flu-like symptoms. In the event, hundreds of the passengers emerged with the virus. Some of them should have gone directly to hospital and isolation. The ABF "command" stopped nothing. All passengers disembarked. As the Herald and The Age reported on Thursday, one of the infected passengers was at Sydney Airport the next morning when NSW Health tracked her down and stopped her boarding her flight. She ended up in a coma for 25 days.

So much for Peter Dutton's claims, as Home Affairs Minister, about tough border security. The special commissioner looking into what happened, Bret Walker, SC, was denied a chance to question those federal officials. He asked to question at least one of them but was blocked by Morrison's bureaucrats in a legal tussle that took 17 letters over three months. Because he could not question those on the ground, it was harder for him to examine the chain of command. Loading So much for Morrison co-operating with the inquiry. Morrison did not explain his reasoning this week, but the legal argument is that federal officials should not appear at state inquiries. Walker ended up receiving federal documents and excusing the key ABF officer. Those hiding from questions were the ABF rather than Morrison himself. Even so, this emergency needs greater transparency. It has to come from the top. The ABF officers no doubt did their best, but the ABF leadership has been precious under scrutiny. When the ABC reported some of the failures on July 30, the ABF issued a statement so evasive it bordered on outright dishonesty.

"Human health is not the responsibility of the ABF," it said. That will be news to the ABF's own Surgeon-General, who proudly claimed last year to preside over 920,000 medical checks from 9 million visitors. It makes ABF commissioner Michael Outram look like he is in denial. Loading Something else was missing that morning at Circular Quay: the NSW Health Department. "Health did not physically attend the vessel," says an email from the ABF. The problems with the federation are all there in that short statement. Because Morrison had mobilised the ABF, state officials thought they could leave the work to others. For all the focus on Dutton and Morrison, the spotlight falls just as much on NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian. The Australian federation is under its greatest strain in decades. On every front, sometimes at a moment's notice, the pandemic forces state and federal leaders to negotiate a shared effort in a maze of overlapping jobs. Andrews and Morrison are eerily alike in the way they both hide in that maze.
Total funding contributed to the development of the state-of-the-art facility is now $2.311 billion, up from the $1.6 billion originally announced in 2018. The investment reaffirms Mazda and Toyota's commitment to produce the highest-quality products at the facility. It also accommodates production line enhancements made to improve manufacturing processes supporting the Mazda vehicle and design changes to the yet to be announced Toyota SUV that will both be produced at the plant. The new facility will have the capacity to produce up to 150,000 units of a future Mazda crossover vehicle and up to 150,000 units of the Toyota SUV each year. MTM continues to target up to 4,000 new jobs and has hired approximately 600 employees to date, with plans to resume accepting applications for production positions later in 2020.

"Toyota's presence in Alabama continues to build excitement about future opportunities that lie ahead, both for our economy and for the residents of our great state," Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said. "Mazda and Toyota's increased commitment to the development of this manufacturing plant reiterates their belief in the future of manufacturing in America and the potential for the state of Alabama to be an economic leader in the wake of unprecedented economic change."

"Mazda Toyota Manufacturing is proud to call Alabama home. Through strong support from our state and local partners, we have been able to further incorporate cutting-edge manufacturing technologies, provide world-class training for team members and develop the highest quality production processes," Mark Brazeal, VP of Administration at MTM said. "As we prepare for the start of production next year, we look forward to developing our future workforce and serving as a hometown company for many years to come."

"This newest investment by our partners at Mazda Toyota Manufacturing shows the company's continued confidence in the ability of our community to provide a strong, skilled workforce to meet the demands for quality and reliability. We look forward to the day when the first vehicles roll off the line," said City of Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle.

"We are excited to learn of this additional investment being made by Mazda Toyota Manufacturing," said Limestone County Commission Chairman Collin Daly. "We continue to be grateful to MTM for their belief in our county and look forward to our partnership with them for many years to come."

Full-scale construction of the plant continues, with 75-100 percent completion on roofing, siding, floor slabs, ductwork, fire protection and electrical.

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 38 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold 2.8 million cars and trucks (2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2019.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society's most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit ToyotaNewsroom.com.

About Mazda Toyota Manufacturing

Mazda Toyota Manufacturing is a jointly owned-and-operated automotive production plant. The $2.3 billion facility is expected to create up to 4,000 jobs and will have the capacity to assemble up to 300,000 vehicles a year, beginning in 2021.

About Mazda

Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, California, and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States and Mexico through approximately 620 dealers. Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City. For more information on Mazda vehicles, including photography and B-roll, please visit the online Mazda media center at InsideMazda.MazdaUSA.com/Newsroom.

Media Contacts

Kim Ogle

256-714-3633

[email protected]

Toni Eberhart

256-316-0403

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Nao Nohmi

949-727-6904

[email protected]

SOURCE Toyota Motor North America

Related Links

www.toyota.com


Minister of Economic Development, Trade, and Agriculture of Ukraine Ihor Petrashko has said that the state-owned enterprises, which are strategically important for the country, will not be subject to privatization.

According to Petrashko, Ukraine has about 3,000 state-owned enterprises, the vast majority of which are non-performing assets used only for various schemes and machinations, including corruption. In his opinion, privatization of such enterprises is the only way out of this situation as it will save and increase jobs, ensure payment of taxes and investment inflows.

Petrashko stressed that the state-owned enterprises, which are strategically important for society, energy independence, and defense capabilities of the country, will not be subject to privatization.

"Important companies that perform strategic functions for the state, such as, for example, Energoatom, Ukrzaliznytsia, will not be subject to privatization," the official said, the Ministrys press service informs.

On August 12, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a resolution to transfer about 200 state-owned enterprises to the State Property Fund for further privatization. The list of enterprises transferred for privatization included non-core and non-performing assets, the vast majority of which do not carry out production activities and need restoration and investment.

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Compartment examination for class 10 and 12 are also being planned in September while dates for the exams will be announced soon, the board said.

New Delhi: The optional exams for improvement of performance in class 12 board examination are proposed to be held in September, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) said on Thursday.

The results of the exams, which were cancelled in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, were announced last month on the basis of an alternate assessment scheme.

Compartment examination for class 10 and 12 are also being planned in September while dates for the exams will be announced soon, the board said.

"Optional examination for class 12 students whose result has been declared based on the assessment scheme and wish to improve their performance, are proposed to be conducted in September, along with the compartment examination for both class 10 and 12 students. Dates will be announced soon," CBSE Examination Controller Sanyam Bhardwaj.

"The marks obtained by a candidate in these optional examinations will be treated as final for those who have opted to take these examinations," he added.

While the regular candidates have been asked to approach their respective schools, the private candidates are required to apply directly using the link on the board's website by August 22.

"A candidate will be examined only in the syllabus as prescribed for the year of examination. Students must go through the eligibility and pass criteria as well as curriculum for the year of examination and scheme of studies carefully before filling the form," Bhardwaj said.

Girls outshone boys by nearly 6 percentage points in the CBSE class 12 examination results declared last month.

The overall pass percentage increased by 5.38 points this year. While 83.40 percent students cleared the exam last year, 88.78 per cent students cleared it this year.

According to the four-pointer scheme, marks have been awarded on the basis of marks scored by a student in his or her best performing subjects.

According to the assessment scheme, students were divided into four categories.

The first had students who sat in tests for all their subjects; their results have been declared on the basis of their performance in all the papers.

Students in the second category had appeared for more than three subjects. They have been awarded marks for subjects they did not appear for based on the average of the marks obtained by them in the three best performing subjects.

The board identified a third category of students who appeared in only three subjects. For them, the average of marks obtained in the two best performing subjects has been awarded in the subjects whose examinations were not conducted.

The students in the fourth category were mainly from the February riot-affected northeast Delhi region, where exams had to be postponed. The results of these students have been declared on the basis of their performance in the subjects they took the test for, besides their performance in internal or practical project assessment.

The board also decided against announcing a merit list this year in view of the exceptional circumstances.

The number of students scoring over 95 per cent in class 12 exam this year is more than double the 2019 figure of 17,693, the CBSE said.

This year, when the examinations were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the figure more than doubled, with 38,686 students scoring above 95 percent.

Similarly, the number of students who scored above 90 percent also increased from about 94,000 students in 2019 to almost 1.6 lakh this year, it said.
By IANS

NEW DELHI: Actress Kriti Sanon has demanded a CBI probe into the death of Sushant Singh Rajput, saying his loved ones deserve closure.

"I pray that the truth comes out SOON.. His family, his friends, fans and all loved ones deserve this closure," Kriti wrote on Instagram Story.

"I hope and pray that the CBI takes over the case so it's investigated without any political agendas, in the TRUE sense, to provide justice to the family!! It's high time his soul rests in peace! #CBIForSSR #SushantSinghRajput," added the actress, who worked with Sushant in the 2017 release "Raabta", and is rumoured to have dated him once.

Earlier this day, Sushant's sister Shweta Singh Kirti posted a new video on Instagram and Twitter, to reiterate her demand for a CBI enquiry into the late actor's death.

"We stand together as a nation for CBI Enquiry! Demanding an unbiased investigation is our right and we expect nothing but the truth to come out. #CBIForSSR #Warriors4SSR #justiceforSushanthSinghRajput @PMOIndia @narendramodi @AmitShah," Shweta said in the video, which she posted on her verified Instagram account and her unverified Twitter handle.

In another post, she is seen holding a placard that reads: "I am sister of Sushant Singh Rajput and I request for #CBIforSSR."

She captioned the image as: "It's time we find the truth and get justice. Please help our family and the whole world to know what the truth is and find closure, otherwise we will never be able to live a peaceful life!!#CBIForSSR Raise your voice and demand #JusticeForSushantSinghRajput #WarriorsForSSR @sushantsinghrajput."

Following her post, Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut also shared a video demanding a CBI probe into the death.

ALSO READ | Kangana Ranaut demands CBI inquiry in Sushant Singh Rajput's death case

"We want CBI for Sushant Singh Rajput. We deserve to know the truth," says the actress in a video published by her verified Twitter team, which goes by the name of Team Kangana Ranaut.

On June 14, Sushant was found dead in his apartment in Mumbai. His family has lodged an FIR charging his actress girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty and her family with abetment to suicide among other charges.
After tying Edge's new tab page to its Microsoft and Office 365 cloud-based services, Microsoft has announced it is making a similar move on the browser home page.

Calling the feature Bing enterprise homepage, Microsoft described it as a blend of "the same Bing homepage you love" and "work info you need," ranging from meeting schedules and lists of recently-accessed files to industry news and search suggestions of internal data.

Under the larger umbrella of Microsoft Search  which also powers an optional Edge new tab page with similar information  the enterprise homepage is available to users with commercial or educational Office/Microsoft 365 credentials. After the functionality has been enabled  Microsoft began rolling this out in late July and will continue to do so through August  users with eligible log-ins will be offered the option of seeing the homepage after landing at bing.com.

Unlike the new tab page, the enterprise homepage is not limited to Edge or to Google's Chrome when equipped with a Microsoft-made add-on, but can be seen and used within other browsers. Computerworld, for example, successfully adopted the homepage in Chrome and Mozilla's Firefox as well as Edge.

By default, the layout and content of the enterprise homepage combines the consumer-ish look of Bing's landing page with information dredged from the user's Microsoft or Office 365 account. IT administrators can modify the news section to point to content specific to an industry, and in the future, to a company's own internal news. (The industry news feature will be available only in the U.S.) Admins can also create bookmarks to intranet sites or third-party services using Microsoft Search's management tools. Those bookmarks will show on the enterprise homepage as well.

Just as the new tab page inclusion of Microsoft and Office 365 content was a play to push Edge usage, the enterprise homepage is a carrot dangled before IT to get admins to put Bing as the default search engine inside their perimeters. Both are, theoretically at least, powerful enticements because of Microsoft and Office 365's pervasiveness inside enterprises, and a desire to make 365-created content more visible and more accessible.

The enterprise homepage is currently available only to customers in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S.
A n official investigation has begun into the rail crash in Aberdeenshire which left three people dead.

The train driver, a conductor and a passenger were all killed when the ScotRail service from Aberdeen to Glasgow Queen Street was derailed near Stonehaven on Wednesday morning.

The passengers identity remains unknown, but the driver and conductor have been named as Brett McCullough and Donald Dinnie respectively.

ScotRails managing director Alex Hynes, paid tribute to the pair. Speaking on the BBCs Good Morning Scotland radio programme, he said: Yesterday was a devastating day for everybody who works in the rail industry in Scotland.

Our love and support is sent to the victims of this accident and their families, those that were injured in the accident and anybody who was touched by yesterdays terrible tragedy.

Donald Dinnie

The Queen, Boris Johnson and Minister Nicola Sturgeon have led tributes to those killed in the tragic incident.

Dozens of emergency service vehicles  including an air ambulance and British Transport Police (BTP) officers  were called to the scene at about 9.40am.

Addressing reporters hours later, BTP chief inspector Brian McAleese said an investigation would be directed by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS).

Boris Johnson: Fatal train derailment must never happen again

He added they will also be working closely with them along with the Rail Accident Investigation Branch and Office of Road and Rail to establish the full circumstances of how this train came to derail.

UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and the Scottish Governments Michael Matheson will both visit the area on Thursday and meet members of the emergency services.

Ahead of the visit, Mr Shapps said: I express my deepest condolences to the friends and families of those affected in the tragic incident near Stonehaven.

Train derails near Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire 1 /25 Train derails near Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire Derailed carriages are seen at the scene of the deadly train crash AFP via Getty Images AFP via Getty Images PA Sky News PA PA PA PA A major incident has been declared in Stonehaven after a train derailed BBC PA REUTERS AFP via Getty Images REUTERS AFP via Getty Images PA BBC BBC AFP via Getty Images

My department is in close contact with all relevant parties, including our counterparts in the Scottish Government, to provide any support that is required.

I want to pay tribute to the emergency services and rail workers, who have responded so quickly in these distressing circumstances

The safety of passengers and staff is and has always been our upmost priority and we will ensure that lessons are learned from this tragic incident once the Rail Accident Investigation Branch has carried out its investigation.

Derailed carriages are seen at the scene of the deadly train crash / AFP via Getty Images

In another message of condolence, sent to the Lord Lieutenant of Kincardineshire, the Queen said: It was with great sadness that I heard of the train derailment earlier today in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire.

The Duke of Edinburgh, and the entire royal family, join me in sending our thoughts and prayers to the families of those who have died and those who have been injured.

Our thanks go out to the emergency services for their response and dedication.

Speaking to Sky News, the Prime Minister also said: One of the reasons that this accident is so shocking is of course that this type of accident on our railways is thankfully so rare.

But our thoughts are very much with those whove lost their lives, their families and of course those whove been injured in the derailment.

Ive talked to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon about what has happened and clearly the most important thing now is that the British Transport Police, who are in charge of the investigation, find out exactly what happened, and that we all work together with Network Rail, with everybody else whos responsible to make sure that nothing like this happens again.

Writing on Twitter, Ms Sturgeon said: My deepest condolences are with the loved ones of those who lost their lives in this tragic incident.

I have just been updated by Network Rail and the emergency services on the ongoing operation.

My thanks go to them, and my thoughts remain with everyone affected.

Loading....

She also tweeted the NHS Grampian helpline number, adding: Anyone worried about friends or family involved in the Stonehaven rail incident can call 01224 319519 for advice and support.
(Natural News) As the clown circus of American politics continues to dominate the headlines, hundreds of thousands of Midwesterners are without power, and at least 10 million acres of food crops in Iowa alone have been destroyed, thanks to the devastation caused by the Great Derecho.

This massive storm, which swept across Iowa and Illinois before tearing into Indiana and Ohio, was described as an inland hurricane due its heavy winds, which brought massive destruction to Americas heartland.

Crop fields, irrigation equipment, and grain silos were completely flattened in many areas, leaving behind a wasteland of food that could have been, but will now not be, according to Christian from the Ice Age Farmer podcast.

Theres a global food shortage and we have no strategic grain reserves, Christian warns. The USDA often refers to on-farm storage as that, but thats what weve just seen millions of those bushels getting trashed today as they were knocked over, so this is a big blow.

In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, wind gusts were clocked at upwards of 112 mph, which when all was said and done left 330,000 Iowans without power. Across the Midwest, some 600,000 households are now without power, with potentially more on the way as the storm continues on its course.

According to Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, at least one-third of Iowas crops were destroyed by the storm, which amounts to about 10 million acres. Tens of millions of bushels of grain stored at co-ops and in farm silos were also damaged or destroyed as the winds blew them to pieces.

Communist China is also losing crops due to drought, floods, and pestilence

More than an 800-mile stretch of U.S. land was battered, bruised and, in some cases, completely destroyed by this storm, the full damage from which is still being assessed. Meanwhile, communist China is dealing with much the same thing, as record flooding, droughts and pestilence are destroying many of its crops.

Rains in Chinas rice-growing regions have been so intense as of late that the infamous Three Gorges Dam was recently observed to be buckling. While the Chinese Communist Party claims that the structure is safe and secure, many observing experts are not so sure, as it appears to be on the verge of collapsing.

In other areas of China, the opposite is occurring as extreme drought conditions kill off wheat, corn and other crops. This is in addition to the locust swarms that are still ravaging many areas of China in what appears to be a Biblical-level plague situation.

According to Christian, this is all happening at once as part of a global takeover agenda that involves breaking down food systems, and thus food supplies. This would seem to imply that some of these weather events in particular are being artificially generated, though Christian does not delve into that in this particular episode of his show.

And Ill be covering a report soon on just whos doing the free testing for farm workers, the Core Group by Sean Penn and their deep connections to Google, Alphabet, Project Baselines, Johns Hopkins, and the rest of the medical-pharmaceutical cartel, Christian explains about what future episodes will discuss.

Its all linked together and its these same media companies and activists and Big Tech companies that are all linking to shut down food production and take over our rights.

What appears to have happened is a perfect storm in which actual crops and grain stores were destroyed at a time when very few farms are even operating at full capacity due to the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) plandemic.

More related news about the collapse of the food system is available at Collapse.news.

Sources for this article include:

USAToday.com

Brighteon.com

NaturalNews.com
Well, the latest shipment report from Canalys reveals that Samsung recorded fewer Galaxy S20 shipments in Q2 2020 as compared to Galaxy S10 in Q2 2019 in the US.

The shipment rate is almost 59% lower for the Galaxy S20 series than the Galaxy S10 series. The current COVID-19 situation came down very hard on all the sectors, especially the smartphone industry.

The smartphone sales got lowered as the lockdown was imposed worldwide. Moreover, in the US, the smartphone market saw a decline in year-on-year shipment by 5% in Q2 2020.

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Besides, the lower sales are because Samsung was unable to deliver the Samsung Galaxy S20 models to the users in the US due to country-wide restrictions due to COVID-19.

Q1 2020 sales were dependent on 2019 budget smartphones

As per the source, Samsungs sale in Q1 2020 totally depended on 2019 budget smartphones. This is the reason some 2019 budget phones like Galaxy A10e and A20 were the best-selling products from Samsung in the US in Q1 2020.

Besides, one thing that happened with Samsung flagships is that they got pricier. Notably, the average smartphone prices went down in the US in Q2 2020.

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The average price was $503, which is 10% lower as compared to 2019. Samsung went with the decision of hiking the price of its flagships in 2020, which did not seem to have gone down well for the company. Afterall, the shipments number suggests so.

However, Samsung could maintain the second spot in smartphone shipments in the US. It was able to bag a market share of 23.2% and shipped 7.4 million smartphones in total in Q2 2020.

70% of smartphones shipped in the US in Q2 2020, were made in China

The global dominance of Chinese smartphone brands can be seen in the US as well. Notably, as per Canalys, almost 70% of the smartphone shipment in the US in Q2 2020, were made in China.

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This number is around 60% higher as compared to the quarter before, i.e. Q1 2020. Meanwhile, seven out of ten products sold were from Apple and Samsung.

Apparently, the lockdown imposed because of coronavirus seemed to have impacted the US quite heavily. This is also one reason why the 5G adoption in the US was brought to a standstill.

Due to the unavailability of 5G network coverage, users in the US had to settle with 4G enabled devices. But this will not be the picture for the future, as the carriers in the US are gearing up for transitioning from LTE to 5G.

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Samsung can also hope its recent release, the Galaxy Note 20 series, will perform well in the US market, as the country is slowly easing lockdown imposed in the country,
Mayank Singh By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Indian Navy has set up a Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) to bridge its technological gap through innovation and the involvement of both the academia and the industry.

Launched by the Defence Minister on Thursday, the Navy stated in its press release that the NIIO "puts in place dedicated structures for end-users to interact with academia and industry towards fostering innovation and indigenisation for self-reliance in defence in keeping with the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

The move is seen in consonance with the Draft Defence Acquisition Policy 2020 (DAP 20) which envisages the Service Headquarters establishing an Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation within existing resources.

ALSO READ | India cannot keep depending on imported defence supplies: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

Indian Navy already has a functional Directorate of Indigenisation (DoI) and the new structures created will build upon the ongoing indigenisation initiatives, as well as focus on innovation, said Navy.



The NIIO is a three-tiered organisation.

Naval Technology Acceleration Council (N-TAC) will bring together the twin aspects of innovation and indigenisation and provide apex level directives,

A working group under the N-TAC will implement the projects,

A Technology Development Acceleration Cell (TDAC) has also been created for induction of emerging disruptive technology in an accelerated time frame.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched the Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) through an online webinar in the presence of Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath.



Going a step further, the Navy signed Memorandums Of Understanding (MoUs) with Uttar Pradesh Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), Raksha Shakti University (RSU), Gujarat, Maker Village, Kochi and Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM).



Aiming to achieve self-reliance in aerospace and Defence sector the government of India announced setting up of two Defence industrial corridors with one situated in Uttar Pradesh and the other in Tamil Nadu.

Maker Village is a unique incubator which provides everything necessary for a hardware startup to innovate, design, and build a product.

The SIDM is the apex body of the Indian defence industry with a role as an advocate, catalyst, and facilitator for the growth and capability building of the defence industry in India.



An online discussion forum for engaging domestic industry and academic institutes was created in partnership with RSU and launched during the webinar.



A compendium of Indian Navys Indigenisation perspective plans titled SWAVLAMBAN was also released on the occasion.
New Delhi: India has announced USD 250 million support to the Maldives through a soft loan arrangement. It was announced by the External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar.

The assistance will shore up liquidity, ease exchange rate fluctuations and provide the much-needed budgetary support to the Govt of Maldives to mitigate the impact of the economic crisis caused by COVID-19

Last month, New Delhi said that it will soon announce "substantial financial assistance package" for Maldivian economy which will help the country in post-COVID economic recovery.

This was stated during a message from the Indian High Commission in the Maldives on the occasion Maldivian Independence Day that was celebrated on 26th July. The message from the Indian mission said, "Ours is an all-weather friendship steeped in history and with a glorious future" and "India first policy of Maldives and Neighbourhood first policy of India has set the foundation of the growing relationship"

India has already extended the assistance of USD 400 million through extended Currency swap arrangement that will help the Indian ocean Island country tide over liquidity crisis.

New Delhi has also provided 6.2 tonnes of essential medicines under Operation Sanjeevani and 600 tons of essential food items to the country amidst COVID pandemic.
India and Nigeria on Thursday signed an agreement on cooperation, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said.

Calling Nigeria India's close friend and largest trading partner in Africa, Muraleedharan said the MoU is another milestone in the relations of the two countries.

"Glad to join minister @Dr_OgbonnayaOnu in the signing ceremony of MoU on cooperation. Nigeria is our close friend and largest trading partner in Africa. This MoU is another milestone in relations," he said in a tweet.

(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.)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  Here is the Latest following President Donald Trump's announcement that the United Arab Emirates and Israel will open diplomatic ties in a deal halting Israel's planned annexation of Palestinian land:

11:55 p.m.

UNITED NATIONS  The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations says she is celebrating the announcement of diplomatic relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, calling it a huge win for President Donald Trump and for the world.

Kelly Craft said in an interview with The Associated Press that the diplomatic ties show just how hungry for peace we all are in this world, and how Mideast countries are all understanding the need to stand firm against a regime that is the number one state sponsor of terrorism  Iran.

Craft says she believes that more of the Middle East will be joining together, and pointing to a letter Sunday from the UAE and five other nations in the Gulf Cooperation Council endorsing an extension of the U.S. arms embargo on Iran which is set to expire on Oct. 18. The GCC countries are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Todays announcement is just a statement that the Middle East, that the countries are coming together, because they recognize, they understand the importance of restraining this murderous regime, Craft said. Im celebrating the presidents vision, his strategy. Hes been talking about this, hes been working behind the scenes on this particular issue, and today it was announced and were all celebrating.

11:05 p.m.

The Gulf Arab island-nation of Bahrain says it welcomes the deal reached between Israel and the United Arab Emirates to establish full diplomatic relations.

Bahrain congratulated the UAE and its leadership for reaching a deal that it said suspends Israeli annexation of Palestinian lands while taking steps to enhance the chances for Middle East peace.

That's according to a statement in the state-run Bahrain News Agency on Thursday.

Story continues

Bahrain, like the UAE, has long been eyeing ties with Israel and hosted a conference for the Trump administration aimed at rallying economic support for his Middle East plan unveiled last year.

Bahrain is the first Gulf Arab country to comment publicly on the UAE-Israel announcement.

___

10:35 p.m.

The Egyptian president has welcomed the deal between the United Arab Emirates and Israel to establish full diplomatic ties.

Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said in a tweet that he praises the parties efforts to achieve prosperity and stabilization in our region."

He said he also spoke by phone with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan after the announcement of the UAE-Israeli relations on Thursday.

El-Sissi's office said the Egyptian leader, whose county, along with Jordan, has active diplomatic ties with Israel, called the UAE-Israel deal a historic peace step that would push Mideast peace efforts forward, and help stabilize the region.

El-Sissi also hailed the halt of the Israeli annexation plans for occupied land sought by the Palestinians for their future state.

___

10:25 p.m.

TEL AVIV, Israel  The city hall in Tel Aviv has been lit up with the flags of Israel and the United Arab Emirates after the two countries declared they would be establishing full diplomatic ties.

The gesture comes as the UAE on Thursday became only the third Arab country to agree to have full ties with Israel, after Egypt and Jordan.

President Donald Trump first announced the major development on Thursday, saying the United Arab Emirates and Israel have agreed to establish full diplomatic ties as part of a deal to halt the annexation of occupied land sought by the Palestinians for their future state.

The mayor of liberal Israeli city of Tel Aviv, Ron Huldai, congratulated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the double achievement of peace with the UAE and shelving of plans to annex parts of the West Bank.

___

10:10 p.m.

WILMINGTON, Delaware  Joe Biden is calling the agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates a historic step to bridge the deep divides of the Middle East.

The former vice president and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee issued a statement on Thursday, calling the agreement that the UAE publicly recognize Israel a welcome, brave, and badly-needed act of statesmanship and a critical recognition that Israel is a vibrant, integral part of the Middle East that is here to stay.

Biden also said that West Bank annexation by Israel would be a body blow to the cause of peace, which is why I oppose it now and would oppose it as president if hes elected when the U.S. votes in November. He said that as president, hed seek to foster a two-state solution in the Middle East.

Biden also said the accord shows the role American democracy can play and builds on efforts of multiple administrations, including President Barack Obamas. But he did not mention the Trump White House by name.

Biden said hed spent time with UAE leaders as vice president and I am gratified by todays announcement.

___

9:45 p.m.

WASHINGTON  The pro-Israel U.S. lobby group, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, has issued a statement saying it greatly appreciates the efforts of President Donald Trump and his administration in facilitating the diplomatic move.

The influential lobbying group said in a statement that the United Arab Emirates joins Egypt and Jordan in paving the path to peace through recognition and engagement rather than by seeking to isolate and boycott the Jewish state.

AIPAC urged other Arab states and the Palestinians to follow the UAEs lead and end its boycott of Israel and America and return to the negotiating table.

The statement came shortly after Trump said on Thursday that the UAE and Israel have agreed to establish full diplomatic ties as part of a deal to halt the annexation of occupied land sought by the Palestinians for their future state. This makes the UAE the first Gulf Arab state to do so and only the third Arab nation to have active diplomatic ties to Israel.

___

9:05 p.m.

JERUSALEM  Israels president is inviting the leader of the United Arab Emirates to visit Jerusalem.

President Reuven Rivlin made the invitation on Twitter on Thursday, within hours of the major announcement that Israel and the UAE were establishing full diplomatic ties.

I invite the crown prince to visit Jerusalem, he wrote, adding a greeting in Arabic.

Rivlin, whose post is ceremonial, said the agreement was an important and strategic milestone that could jumpstart agreements with other countries in the region.

___

8:50 p.m.

JERUSALEM  Supporters of Israels now shelved plans to annex parts of the West Bank are slamming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus missed opportunity.

Some moderate settlers have welcomed Thursdays announcement that Israel is establishing diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates in exchange for dropping its annexation plans. But harder-line settlers say it wasnt worth giving up on annexation for a peace deal.

Settler leader David Alhayani said Netanyahu duped the settler electorate into voting for him with promises of annexation. The faith in you has expired, he said.

Pro-settler opposition legislator Bezalel Smotrich said the deal showed Netanyahu was not a true nationalist.

Naftali Bennett, another pro-settler lawmaker, welcomed the agreement but said Netanyahu missed a once in a century opportunity. He said it was tragic that Netanyahu did not seize the moment.

___

8:15 p.m.

JERUSALEM  A top official in the West Bank settler movement says freezing the annexation plan is a fair price for establishing relations with the United Arab Emirates.

Oded Revivi, a top leader in the Yesha settler council, had been a strong advocate of annexation.

But in a tweet on Thursday, he said: The Israeli agreement to postpone the application of Israeli law in the Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria is a fair price.

The reaction could be a sign that even Israeli hard-liners who pushed for annexation will not criticize Netanyahu for abandoning their dream.

___

8:10 p.m.

TEL AVIV, Israel  Israeli lawmakers are welcoming the establishment of full diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who is also Israels alternate prime minister under a power sharing deal, said Thursdays agreement expressed an alliance between countries in the region who aim for stability and prosperity. He said the agreement will have many positive implications on the region and called on other Arab states to pursue peace deals with Israel.

He thanked President Trump, calling him a true friend of Israel.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, part of Gantz Blue and White party, said he welcomed Israels backing down from unilateral annexation of the West Bank, saying Trumps Mideast plan would be discussed in consultation with countries in the region.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid said negotiations and agreements, not unilateral steps like annexation were key to Israels diplomatic relations.

___

8:05 p.m.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip  The Hamas militant group has accused the United Arab Emirates of stabbing the Palestinians in the back by agreeing to establish full diplomatic ties with Israel.

The reaction came shortly after President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the UAE and Israel have agreed to full diplomatic relations as part of a deal to halt the annexation of occupied land sought by the Palestinians for their future state.

This announcement is a reward for the Israeli occupations crimes, said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum. The normalization is a stabbing in the back of our people.

The Islamic militant Hamas movement seeks Israels destruction and has fought three wars and has fought three wars against Israel since seizing control of the Gaza Strip in 2007.

___

8 p.m.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates  A top Emirati official says the deal announced by President Donald Trump for the United Arab Emirates to establish ties with Israel dealt a death blow to moves by Israel to annex Palestinian lands.

Anwar Gargash, the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, told reporters on Thursday that the Emiratis wanted to try and put one on one together and develop an organic relationship that was already existing in many fields.

Let us try and get something tangible, he said.

He described it as a bold step. Weve come up with a realization, he said. Our relationship has not always been central... but we come out and argued that in every difficult political file in the region, when you do have bridges and contacts you become more important and influential in trying to affect results and trying to help.

The UAE is using its gravitas and promise of a relationship to unscrew a time bomb that is threatening a two-state solution, Gargash said. When asked about a time frame for embassies opening, Gargash said it will not be long and this is for real. We are not talking about step by step.

Is it perfect? Nothing is perfect in a very difficult region, he said. But I think we used our political chips right.Here is the Latest on
New Delhi: After actresses Kangana Ranaut and Ankita Lokhande, Kriti Sanon has also demanded a CBI probe in actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death case. Kriti, who co-starred with Sushant in the 2017 film 'Raabta', shared an emotional note on Instagram and said that she will "pray that the truth comes out soon as Sushant's loved one deserve a closure".

"I pray that the truth comes out soon. His family, his friends, fans and all loved ones deserve this closure.. I hope and pray that the CBI takes over the case, so it's investigated without any political agendas, in TRUE sense, to provide justice to the family!! It's high time his soul rests in peace. #CBIForSSR #SushantSinghRajput," read Kriti's post.

Kriti was rumoured to be dating Sushant while they were filming 'Raabta'. However, the duo maintained that they are good friends.

She was one of the few Bollywood stars to have attended Sushant's funeral in Mumbai.

Recently, Kriti penned a cryptic poem that the internet believed to be was about Sushant's case. She shared the poem after Sushant's actress girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning for the first time.

Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead at his Mumbai apartment on June 14.
Palestinian leaders attacked Thursday's U.S.-brokered normalization deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

What they're saying: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement after an emergency meeting on Thursday with officials that the UAE betrayed the Palestinian people.

Why it matters: The Palestinians are angry because for decades they managed to get the Arab world to condition normalization with Israel upon ending the occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state. The Palestinians are now concerned that more countries will follow the UAE and they will lose their diplomatic leverage over Israel.

The state of play: As part of the deal, Israel agreed to take its West Bank annexation plans off the table.

Even though Palestinians wanted to stop annexation, they didn't think the Arab world should pay Israel for something it shouldn't do in the first place.

Relations between the UAE and Palestinian officials have been in a state of crisis for several years.

The UAE is hosting Abbas's main political rival  former Palestinian minister Mohammed Dahlan, who is now a senior aide to UAE Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed  in Abu Dhabi.

What's happening: The Palestinian foreign minister announced he is recalling the Palestinian ambassador from Abu Dhabi in protest of the normalization deal with Israel.

Many Palestinian officials have attacked the deal. PLO officials Saeb Erekat and Jibril Rajoub issued a statement calling the arrangement "a knife stab in the chest."

What to watch: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh called Abbas on Thursday to coordinate a response to the deal.
Meghan Markle planned to 'go out with a bang' with showstopping outfits for her farewell tour of final royal events, according to Finding Freedom.

The Duchess of Sussex, 39, wowed in breathing outfits and dazzling colours on her final round of engagements in March - wearing 26,400 ($34,569) worth of new clothing for the brief five day visit.

At the time Vanity Fair described it as a 'masterclass in revenge dressing' and compared the looks to the little black dress worn by Princess Diana to the Serpentine Gallery on the same night Prince Charles gave his infamous interview about Camilla.

And now the authors of Prince Harry, 35, and Meghan's new explosive biography have explained how the bold collection of looks were meticulously planned.

According to Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, Meghan's trusted make-up artist Daniel Martin had joked she should 'go out with a bang!' when planning her looks for the week.

Meghan Markle, 39, planned to 'go out with a bang' with showstopping outfits for her farewell tour of final royal events in March, according to Finding Freedom

Of the Endeavour Fund Awards, which saw Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive at Mansion House in dramatic fashion on a rainy night, the authors write: '[they served as a showstopping reminder of their ability to command the world's attention.'

'Earlier in the day Daniel Martin (who, when planning all her looks for the week, had joked, "Go out with a bang!") had done her makeup and George Northwood her hair.'

The authors continue: 'The pictures of the couple beaming under their umbrella as they arrived at the event went viral around the world.

'The sparkling rain in the frame was pure coincidence, but the confident walk into Mansion House venue and Meghan's blue midi dress by Victoria Beckham, were carefully planned.'

The Duchess of Sussex wore a series of showstopping outfits during her final royal engagements, with Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand revealing the looks were meticulously planned (pictured, The Duchess stepped out in a floor-length red gown by Safiyaa Kalika dress worth 1,295 and a Manolo Blahnik Capri Red Satin Clutch costing 1,260 for the Mountbatten Festival of Music)

During her time in the royal family Meghan was renowned for her love of glamorous designer clothes and expensive jewellery, with the royal rarely seen in the same outfit twice.

Her farewell tour was little different, with the Duchess ticking off some of her go-to designer labels, including Givenchy and Victoria Beckham.

During the five day visit, Meghan delivered a masterclass on diplomatic dressing - championing eight British labels during her and Harry's last engagements as working royals.

In conjunction with International Women's Day, the duchess has also ensured her wardrobe was dominated by female designers, wearing innovative pieces by Victoria Beckham and Stella McCartney, to name but a few.

Meghan's makeup artist Daniel Martin joked that she should 'go out with a bang' during her final week of royal events, according to Omid and Carolyn

At the time Vanity Fair described it as a 'masterclass in revenge dressing' and compared the looks to the little black dress worn by Princess Diana to the Serpentine Gallery on the same night Prince Charles gave his infamous interview about Camilla, pictured

For her first public appearance since announcing her plans to step back from royal duty, the royal wore a stunning Victoria Beckham gown with a new Stella McCartney handbag for the Endeavour Awards.

Meanwhile she wowed in a floor-length red gown by Safiyaa Kalika dress worth 1,295 and a Manolo Blahnik Capri Red Satin Clutch costing 1,260 for the Mountbatten Festival of Music.

Through her carefully selected outfit choices, Meghan also paid a touching tribute to her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana.

The mother-of-one opted for a caped emerald green dress by Emilia Wickstead and matching hat with a netted fascinator by William Chambers as she attended her last official engagement in London before stepping down from royal duties alongside Prince Harry and returning to Canada.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's explosive new biography Finding Freedom became a bestseller within 24 hours of release

And, perhaps in a nod to her late mother-in-law, the look closely resembled that worn by Diana when she was pregnant with Prince William in 1982, aged 22, wearing a green coat dress and similarly netted fascinator.

The book offers new insights into Harry's falling out with William and how the couple felt 'thrown under the bus', after the disagreements started started when the Prince's older brother referred to Meghan as 'this girl' and voiced concerns that he might be rushing the romance.

The authors say Harry 'felt people working with his brother had put things out there to make William look good, even if it meant throwing Harry under the bus'.

Sources close to the couple also claim in the book that royal aides feared Meghan and Harry's popularity was eclipsing that of the Royal Family itself - and says the couple were jealous of William and Kate getting the best roles and 'didn't feel supported' by the royals.

The author's note appears to acknowledge that the writers worked with the couple on the biography, reading: 'We have spoken with close friends of Harry and Meghan, royal aides and palace staff (past and present), the charities and organisations they have built long-lasting relationships with and, when appropriate, the couple themselves.'

Among the fresh revelations in the book are:
Glanbia chief executive Siobhan Talbot has insisted the group will benefit from an increased focus by consumers on well-being, even as the company's profits were hammered during the second quarter as lockdowns played havoc with key markets.

Releasing first-half results yesterday, Glanbia said that its earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (Ebita) slumped 25.4pc on a constant currency basis to 85m in the period.

While total revenue edged 2.3pc higher to 1.83bn, that masked a steep fall at its key Glanbia Performance Nutrition (GPN) arm.

GPN saw its revenue decline 15.6pc to 532.4m, while its Ebita tumbled 58.2pc to 19.6m. The division owns a range of health brands such as SlimFast and Amazing Grass.

In recent weeks, the GPN revenue profile has improved significantly, however, as lockdowns eased. Margins in the business were also hit and Glanbia has expanded its transformation programme for the division.

Glanbia's Nutritional Solutions arm fared better, with revenue up 12pc at 1.3bn. Its Ebita slipped 0.9pc on a constant currency basis to 65.4m.

The group also announced yesterday that it has agreed to buy Canadian flavours business Foodarom for C$60m (38.4m), plus contingent consideration.

Ms Talbot told the Irish Independent that Glanbia has seen increased interest from clients for products that include immune system boosting capabilities.

She said the company has a number of dairy and non-dairy based immune-enhancing products.

"We work with customers where they may want to enhance the immunity properties of powders, of beverages," she said. "We work for example with customers who want to something in a gummy format, which is very popular for children and adults."

Glanbia also benefited in the second half to the tune of 3.5m from a legal settlement. Ms Talbot declined to reveal details of the case, but said it was connected to a "pension related matter". It's described in the results as a "legacy case".

"The settlement is bound by a confidentiality clause and we cannot comment further," added a spokesperson.
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Linkedin Arya Dipa (The Jakarta Post) Bandung, West Java  Thu, August 13, 2020 08:03 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066d9bd26 1 Business regional-budget,regional-administrations,West-Java,Jokowi,government-spending,economic-contraction,ridwan-kamil Free

President Joko Jokowi Widodo has called on local administrations to accelerate their regional budget spending to help boost the economy after Indonesias gross domestic product (GDP) contracted in the second quarter.

About Rp 170 trillion (US$11.5 billion) in funds from local administrations were left sitting in banks, waiting to be disbursed, he said.

I am optimistic [the economy in] the third quarter will be better than in the second quarter, Jokowi said during a coordination meeting in Bandung on Tuesday. We want to grow positively but we need to work hard.

The President expressed hope for spending to occur between July and September to prevent a recession in the third quarter.

The Indonesian economy shrank 5.32 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, the worst since the first quarter of 1999, as pandemic restrictions hit economic activity hard. Government spending, which was expected to anchor the economy and boost people's purchasing power amid cooling private sector activity, plunged 6.9 percent during the period.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati expected the economy to grow at no more than 0.5 percent or even contract further in the third quarter, which means the country could fall into recession.

A recession is typically defined as an annual economic contraction in two consecutive quarters.

Jokowi further noted that Indonesias economic contraction of 5.32 percent was still better than that of other countries, such as Germany, France and the United States at 11.7 percent, 19 percent and 9.5 percent, respectively.

Local administrations must prioritize their spending in the third quarter as the sooner the spending happens, the better our chance of returning to a positive economic trajectory, he said.

The government has earmarked Rp 695.2 trillion toward its pandemic response, including economic, social and health needs.

However, it has only spent Rp 145.4 trillion, dominated by social aid and a micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) stimulus, while the disbursement of stimulus funds for health care and corporate financing lagged behind.

West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil said at the same meeting that 10.7 million families had received social aid as of Tuesday because only 25 percent of West Javas population of 50 million were eligible for the assistance. He claimed that, in actuality, 72 percent of the population needed social aid.

The West Java economy contracted 5.9 percent in the second quarter, shrinking further than the national contraction over the same period.

The province reported 2.73 percent economic growth in the first quarter but the pandemic had brought its manufacturing industry down, resulting in a deep contraction the following quarter, Ridwan added.

Around 40 percent of West Javas regional GDP is sourced from the manufacturing industry.

Ridwan said his administration would employ people affected by the pandemic in its projects and asked the government to buy consumable goods from local manufacturers in West Java, adding that some companies, such as state-owned weapons manufacturer PT Pindad and state-owned aircraft maker PT Dirgantara Indonesia, had pivoted their business toward health needs by producing ventilators as a way to survive the COVID-19 pandemic.

The central government can buy uniforms and other consumable goods from our manufacturers, so this can be a win-win solution, he said. (eyc)
KSAT 12 viewers will notice big changes to the San Antonio TV station's morning newscasts.

On Thursday, KSAT announced Stephanie Serna as the new "Good Morning San Antonio" anchor. Serna will join fellow anchor Mark Austin, meteorologist Mike Osterhage and traffic reporters and officers Marcus Trujillo and Nick Soliz, She will also anchor GMSA @9." Serna had been the anchor for "GMSA Weekends."

Stephanie has been part of the KSAT family for more than ten years and seeing her growth over that time as a reporter and anchor has been impressive, said KSAT 12 Vice President and General Manager Phil Lane in a news release. As a San Antonio native, she brings an understanding of this community and its residents to the anchor desk, with a genuine warmth that is perfect for a morning audience whos looking to our team to start their day off right. We look forward to her contributions to the morning conversation.

MORE SAN ANTONIO TV NEWS: San Antonio anchor Leslie Mouton parts ways with KSAT 12 after more than two decades

Sarah Acosta is being promoted from reporter to the anchor, replacing Serna on "GMSA Weekends."

"Since joining KSAT in 2018, we have known Sarah was a rising star, so were excited to see her take this next step in her career. said News Director Bernice Kearney.



The moves follow the departure of veteran anchor Leslie Mouton, who resigned in June. Mouton had been at KSAT for over 21 years.



We know our viewers expect more from us and we know how essential morning news is to the greater San Antonio area," Lane said. Now, perhaps more than ever, our audiences are looking to us to keep them informed, help them wade through the challenges of living, parenting, and learning through the pandemic. Our morning teams are vital to our continued success.

Candice.Garcia@express-news.net | Twitter @_candicegarcia
A 43-year-old man accused of strangling a woman in a Massachusetts hotel room in March was apprehended in Maine and now faces a manslaughter charge, authorities said.

Officials from the Maine State Police, Boston police and U.S. Marshals Service in Maine confirmed that Aaron Parsons was arrested in South Paris, Maine on Wednesday.

Parsons was wanted on charges of manslaughter and engaging in sexual conduct for a fee in connection with the March 13 killing of 29-year-old Sarah Dorany.

Boston police responded to a call on March 13 at around 12:10 p.m. for a report of a cardiac arrest at 1271 Boylston St.  the Verb Hotel  and found an unresponsive woman later identified as Dorany.

While police said she was from Maynard, authorities in Fitchburg along with family and friends who posted a Facebook page after she disappeared, said she was living in Fitchburg.

MISSING PERSON ALERT: 29-year-old Sarah Dorany of Fitchburg, MA has been missing since Wednesday. Her family says she went to meet friends in Boston and has not been seen or heard from since. Call @FitchburgPolice if you have any info. #Boston25 pic.twitter.com/J8CrcT2tGR  David Rothstein (@TheDRnews) March 14, 2020

A post on the Facebook page said Dorany didnt return home and said she was last seen in Fitchburg on March 11 and planned to meet a friend at a restaurant in Boston. She never returned home, and her cell phone was shut off.

The Facebook page said she had family in Germany.

Boston police investigators said on July 28, the manner of her death was ruled a homicide by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

On Tuesday, Boston Police Homicide Unit detectives sought an arrest warrant for Parsons, who last lived in Revere.

Massachusetts State Police received a tip about Parsons whereabouts and were able to apprehend him in Maine. He was charged in Maine as a fugitive from justice and will be arraigned Friday.

It is unclear when he will be brought back to Massachusetts to face the charges filed in Roxbury District Court.

According to the Boston Police Fugitive Unit, on March 13, 2020, Parsons strangled his victim in a hotel room, the U.S. Marshals Office said. Parsons fled to Maine after the incident and an arrest warrant was issued on August 11, 2020.

The Maine Violent Offenders Task Force and Boston investigators helped find and arrest Parsons on Wednesday.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

An online COVID-19 symptom tracking tool developed by researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center ensures a person's confidentiality while being able to actively monitor their symptoms. The tool is not proprietary and can be used by entities that are not able to develop their own tracking systems.

Identifying and monitoring people infected with COVID-19, or exposed to people with infection, is critical to preventing widespread transmission of the disease. Details of the COVID19 Symptom Tracker and a pilot study were published August 13, 2020, in the Journal of Medical Information Research (JMIR).

"One of the major impediments to tracking people with, or at risk of, COVID-19 has been an assurance of privacy and confidentiality," says infectious disease expert Seble G. Kassaye, MD, MS, lead author and associate professor of medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center. "Our online system provides a method for efficient, active monitoring of large numbers of individuals under quarantine or home isolation, while maintaining privacy."

The Georgetown internet tool assigns a unique identifier as people enter their symptoms and other relevant demographic data. One function in the system allows institutions to generate reports about items on which people can act, such as symptoms that might require medical attention. Additionally, people using the system are provided with information and links to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 recommendations and instructions for how people with symptoms should seek care.

Development of the system was rapidit took five days to design. The joint project included Georgetown University's J.C. Smart, Ph.D., chief scientist of AvesTerra, a knowledge management environment that supports data integration and synthesis to identify actionable events and maintain privacy, and Georgetown's vice president for research and chief technology officer, Spiros Dimolitsas, Ph.D.

"We knew that time was of the essence and the challenges of traditional contact tracing became very clear to us based on one of our first patients who had over 500 exposures," says Kassaye. "This was what motivated us to work on this, essentially day and night."

The tool launched on March 20, followed by initial testing of the system with the voluntary participation of 48 Georgetown University School of Medicine students or their social contacts. Participants were asked to enter data twice daily for three days between March 31 and April 5, 2020.

"The lack of identifying data being collected in the system should reassure individual users and alleviate personal inhibitions that appear to be the Achille's heel of other digital contact tracing apps that require identifying information," says Kassaye. She also noted that this system could be used by health-related organizations during the re-opening of business to provide reassurance to their users that the enterprise is actively, rather than passively, monitoring its staff.

Feedback from healthcare groups using the platform led to the release of a Spanish language version. As the data currently needs to be entered through the website, development of an app for cellphone use could greatly enhance the usability of the tool, said the investigators. For places where internet access is problematic, the researchers are also pursuing development of a voice activated version.

Explore further Researchers release COVID-19 symptom tracker app

More information: Seble G Kassaye et al, Rapid Deployment of a Free, Privacy-Assured COVID-19 Symptom Tracker for Public Safety During Reopening: System Development and Feasibility Study, JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (2020). Seble G Kassaye et al, Rapid Deployment of a Free, Privacy-Assured COVID-19 Symptom Tracker for Public Safety During Reopening: System Development and Feasibility Study,(2020). DOI: 10.2196/19399 The tracker can be view at www.COVIDgu.org.
Several reports have recently been published regarding how the novel coronavirus impacts the lungs, and then can spread to other organs such as the heart, kidneys and liver.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers have struggled to understand why the virus doesn't impact these tissues, but not other sets of organs. But a new study from Spain suggests that proteins found in the lungs act as the primary activators.

The team, from the University of Zaragoza and the Fundacion Agencia Aragonesa para la Investigacion y el Desarrollo, found that proteins in the lungs are triggered by the virus, which causes proteins in certain organs to activate, making them more susceptible to infection.

The virus uses a protein found on the outside of cells called angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) to enter and infect them.



Once inside a human cell, the viral proteins interact with those in the body, which can lead to either mild or severe effects. However, not every organ with abundant amounts of ACE2 is affected by the virus, which the researchers say must mean there is a different pathway for transmission.

For the study, published in the journal Chaos, the team considered how proteins prevalent in the lungs interact with proteins in other organs.



For proteins to interact with each other, they need to move inside the cell in a 'subdiffusive' way, similar to the way a drunkard walks down a crowded street with the crowd presenting obstacles to the drunkard.



Similarly, proteins in a cell must swerve around obstacles to interact, but some exist in the same cell or organ and others do not.



Taking this into account, the scientists developed a mathematical model which showed there are 59 proteins within the lungs acting as the primary activators for other organs.

When the virus affects the lungs, this kicks off a chain of events that trigger changes in proteins in other organs. However, these changes just occurs in certain organ such as the heart and kidneys and not in others, such as the stomach, Daily Mail reported.
With the selection of Kamala Harris to be the running mate of Joe Biden, the framework of the 2020 elections has been set. As was to be expected, the Democrats have chosen the most right-wing candidates to run the most right-wing campaign possible.

There is a certain inevitability to the choice of Harris. In July of last year, the World Socialist Web Sitebased on a survey of who would be the worst, most reactionary and at the same time most suitable choice for second spot on the Democratic Party ticketpredicted that Harris would most likely be named the vice presidential candidate if she failed to win the nomination. She had all the ruthlessness, narcissism and careerism requisite for the job, plus the ethnic background to suit the Democrats obsession with racial and gender identity.

Kamala Harris is a dyed-in-the wool political reactionary.

This year has seen mass demonstrations throughout the country in response to the police murder of George Floyd. As a direct result of the policies of the ruling class, nearly 170,000 people have died to date in the coronavirus pandemic, with the daily death toll now at more than 1,000. There is growing anger in workplaces over the homicidal back-to-work campaign and broad opposition among teachers to the efforts to reopen the schools. Tens of millions of people are unemployed, and they have been cut off from federal benefits and face being evicted from their homes.

In the midst of this monumental political, economic and social crisis, and against the backdrop of so much suffering, the American people are to be offered the choice between the fascistic Trump, the conman from New York, and a Democratic Party ticket headed by a corporate shill from Delaware and an ex-prosecutor from California. This says everything about the degraded state of American politics.

Following the announcement by Biden on Tuesday, the media leapt into action with its nauseating effusion of state propaganda. The selection of Harris has been universally proclaimed to be historic, a watershed moment.

In terms of her politics, there is clearly nothing historic about Harris. As district attorney in San Francisco (2004-2011), attorney general in California (2011-2017), and, finally, US senator (2017 to the present), Harris has compiled a track record of backing the police, locking up workers and immigrants, covering up for the banks and supporting militarism and war.

Wall Street is certainly happy with the choice. A VP pick that big business can back, ran a headline on the inside pages of the New York Times. As for the military, its main concern is what will happen if the aging Biden doesnt make it through a full term. Since the beginning of the Trump administration, opposition from the Democratic Party has been focused on issues of foreign policy. Harris, who has no other agenda than her own self-promotion, will be silly putty in the hands of the military-intelligence apparatus.

The historic character of the Harris nomination is premised entirely on her race and gender. She would be the first African-American vice president, the first Asian-American vice president and the first female vice president. She already is the first Black woman on the national ticket of the Democrats or Republicans. Everything is about the symbolism involved in the choice of Harris, with not a word about the program of a Democratic Party administration.

As if any of this makes a bit of difference for workers, whatever their race, gender or ethnicity. As if, moreover, the world has not already had the example of Obama, not to mention Clarence Thomas, Condoleezza Rice, Susan Rice, Hillary Clinton and many others.

The selection of Harris exposes the utterly reactionary character of politics that bases itself on race, gender and other forms of identityanything but class. In response to the eruption of protests against police violence, the Democrats did everything they could to obscure the class issues, promote racial divisions and propagate the lie that the violence of the police is an expression of the oppression of black America by white America. The outcome of this racialist campaign is the selection as their vice-presidential candidate of a right-wing ex-prosecutor who once covered up evidence to keep an innocent man on death row and worked to tear immigrant children from their parents.

Those invested in the racialist campaign have jumped on the bandwagon to declare the selection of Harris historic. Ibram Kendi, author of How to Be An Antiracist and one of the chief inspirers of the New York Times 1619 Project, wrote on Twitter that the Democrats now have a presidential ticket that reflects the American people better than the GOP ticket and every presidential ticket in US history.

According to Kendi, politicians reflect the American people not because of the socioeconomic forces they represent, but solely by their racial and ethnic background and their gender. Interests are determined by race. This is not progressive politics, but right-wing and racialist politics, which shares much in common with the fascistic politics of Donald Trump.

Black Lives Matter activist Shaun King wrote that he was incredibly proud to see a brilliant Black woman, and HBCU [historically black colleges and universities] grad, chosen as a vice presidential nominee. This was, he added, the stuff dreams are made of.

Commenters on Twitter quickly pointed to the contrast between this statement and his declaration in November 2018 that he would never support Biden or Harris because they both helped build & advance mass incarceration.

Political principles have never been a strong suit of Democratic Party hacks. They look forward to positions within the Biden administration and other opportunities that will reap financial rewards.

Then there is Bernie Sanders. In the Democratic Party primaries, Sanders won widespread support for his attacks on social inequality and his calls for a political revolution against the establishment. On this basis, he emerged as the main contender against Biden for the Democratic Party nomination. In the end, however, the Sanders wing of the Democratic Party got nothing.

This has not, however, stopped Sanders from praising the outcome. Sanders tweeted that Harris will make history as our next vice president.

Since packing in his campaign in mid-March, Sanders has assumed his assigned role as principal cheerleader for the Biden campaign, along with Elizabeth Warren, et. al. The more that social anger grows, and the more the Democrats are exposed, the more determined is his support for the Democratic Party.

What an exposure of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Jacobin magazine and other political agents of the Democratic Party who claimed that Sanders was the path to the transformation of American politics and even the realization of socialism! They make fools of themselves every election. They will tag along with the Democratic Party in one form or another, no doubt accompanied by talk about how they are building a progressive movement inside that party of American imperialism, along with other varieties of political fraud. Every four years, the same play is performed.

There is something incredibly degrading and shameful about the whole process, testifying to the intellectual and cultural collapse of American politics.

Certain conclusions must be drawn from this experience, not only about Sanders, but about an entire type of pragmatic politics that hopes for easy answers to the crisis confronting the working class without a direct challenge to capitalism and its state apparatus.

The politics of the working class must begin with a serious theoretical understanding, rooted in a Marxist and class analysis. The Democratic Party is a party of Wall Street and the military-intelligence apparatus. The politics of race and gender identity, which it relentlessly promotes, gives expression to the interests of layers of the upper-middle class, which employ this right-wing ideology in their fight for positions of power and privilege in the state, academia and corporate boardrooms. The pseudo-left, including the DSA and associated organizations, represent this social layer.

All of this is directed against the working class and the development of a genuine movement for socialism. Objective conditions, however, have created the conditions for a powerful eruption of class struggle, in the United States and internationally. The coronavirus pandemic, as the Socialist Equality Party has explained, is a trigger event in world history that is accelerating the already far-advanced economic, social, and political crisis of the world capitalist system.

Nothing progressive will emerge except through the interventionthe interferenceof the working class. The Socialist Equality Party and our election campaign are oriented to the development of a socialist leadership in the working class. Our campaign is the only campaign that raises critical questions of perspective, exposing the reactionary promoters of racial conflict and the cheerleaders of Sanders political revolution.

The SEP is spearheading the organization of workers against the homicidal policy of the ruling elite, in opposition to all factions of the ruling class, on the basis of a revolutionary program to put an end to inequality, war, dictatorship and the capitalist system. This is the way forward.

To support our election campaign and join the SEP, visit socialism2020.org.
In A Room of One's Own, Virginia Woolf suggested that "we think back through our mothers if we are women. It is useless to go to the great men writers for help, however much one may go to them for pleasure."

Where were all the mothers' voices in literature? Why were women's lived experiences so absent from historical records? This was 1929, and although Woolf did beat a path as a literary foremother for others to follow, Anne Enright was still quipping in her 2004 memoir, Making Babies, "Can mothers not hold a pen?" Enright was interested in the drama of being a new mother that appears so little in literature and, in so doing, addressing the cultural silence surrounding Irish motherhood in particular.

When I started writing my new novel, The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually, I was burning to write about Ireland and bear witness to the societal changes we've experienced in recent years through the lens of one family. Inevitably I found myself writing about motherhood. It seems strange to me that anyone could write about Irish society and not interrogate the cultural meaning of the 'Irish Mammy' to some degree, and yet, Irish mothers as protagonists, as subjects with agency and autonomy rather than a symbolic role, have historically been largely absent from our literature.

Nobody has done more to redress this than Anne Enright, who has deployed her own representations of Irish motherhood to resurrect these silenced women's voices. Her novels capture the imaginative lives of women whose voices are absent from collective memory, and makes explicit the secret interior world of 'Irish Mammies' in particular. I wanted to participate in the conversation as best I could. Enright is a guiding light, which I could follow in an attempt to reveal what it was I needed to say about the damage caused by the iconisation of our mothers.

Historically and culturally in Ireland the ideology of the perfect mother was long curated by the State and a dominant Catholic Church who stood shoulder-to-shoulder in their subjugation of women. As Edna O'Brien wrote in Mother Ireland in 1976, "Countries are either mothers or fathers... Ireland has always been a woman, a womb, a cave, a cow, a Rosaleen, a sow, a bride, a harlot." The heavily loaded, legendary notion of 'Mother Ireland' has endured in Irish iconography despite its sinister association with ideas of possession and martyrdon.

In the century preceding the establishment of the Irish Free State, there was a period when Irish women could embrace the image of warrior women. The Celtic mythology of Queen Medhbh and Grainuaile was invoked to describe real-life feminist revolutionary leaders and suffragettes such as Constance Markievicz and Maud Gonne. It is no coincidence that the mother in my own book is named Maeve.

After independence, however, the nation changed its tune. In 1922, the catholic priest James F Cassidy wrote in The Women of the Gael, "Whenever a child is born outside wedlock, so shocked is the public sense by the very unusual occurrence, that it brands with an irreparable stigma, and, to a large extent, excommunicates the woman guilty of the crime." It was this culture of condemnation, female culpability, shaming and hypocrisy that enabled the prolificacy of institutions such as the Magdalene Laundries where unmarried mothers and 'fallen' women could be incarcerated and 'othered' by society. And so, the 1930s became a decade when the country's leaders doubled down on the image of the 'perfect mother' - a self-sacrificing ideal that was committed to the domestic sphere and devoted herself to raising virtuous daughters in her likeness, and nationalistic sons.

There can be no doubt concerning the determined activism in the 1930s on the part of Catholic Church leaders and Eamon De Valera to curtail women's independence, subjectivity and freedoms in society - it was written into the 1937 Constitution. Article 41.2, still in effect today, decrees that a "Woman gives to the State a support without which the common good cannot be achieved and the State shall, therefore, endeavour to ensure that mothers shall not be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labour to the neglect of their duties in the home."

As a consequence, Irish women were subjected to a pervasive State-sanctioned, ecclesiastically supported erasure of their political and social relevance outside of their permitted roles of wife, mother, or nun. Let's not forget the greatest iconic mother of all, Mary, against whom all Irish women were measured and found lacking, was able to achieve an immaculate conception. Men could have sex, but women could only have babies.

In 2018, of course, the campaign to Repeal the Eighth Amendment finally succeeded in placing a value on women beyond their potential maternal function. It was a long time coming, however, and the hypocritical double standard that distanced pious mothers from sexual pleasure or bodily autonomy still casts its shadow today, as exemplified by the reaction to Normal People on Liveline.

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Modern Irish women may have distanced themselves from the idolisation of the Virgin Mother as a role model, but the toxic image of the iconic mother still pervades. It may not represent itself explicitly as sexual piety now, but rather in the form of the 'Good Mother' who can embody the inherited characteristics of a domestic goddess still, but also have a career and be the perfect wife, colleague, mother, daughter, sibling, leader - without anyone or anything feeling neglected.

The American author, Liz Gilbert, asked at a conference in May 2018 for any women in attendance to stand up if they were afraid they would turn into their mothers? Almost all the women did, and Gilbert despaired at the injustice - how harshly we judge women for their humanity - and begged the women present to have mercy on their mothers.

The mother in my novel, Maeve, moved to Ireland from Brooklyn when she was 18, and so embodied the role of the 'Irish Mammy' to her children. Her outsider existence allowed me to observe the Mammy as an Irish cultural phenomenon - to consider how much of the plight of the mother was universal, and what was specific to our own tiny island.

Writing this book forced me to confront a painful truth - sometimes I am a very bad feminist when it comes to my own mother. As Enright writes in The Gathering, "When I look I can only see the edges... we did not look at her but everywhere else: she was an agitation behind us, a kind of collective guilt." It is so much easier to have empathy for other people's mothers - to wish for them agency and autonomy beyond their symbolic role - but so much harder to reconcile that with what we have been indoctrinated to expect from our own. In Ireland, we force our mothers on to pedestals, and then resent them if they are perceived to fail.

Intertwined with an Irish commitment to maintaining the sacred mother icon is the perpetuation of the 'Irish Mammy' as a figure of fun - catchphrases and stereotypes galore fill the space where these women's individual power, intellect and agency should be the subject. "Don't mind Mammy," the self-sacrificing servant to the family; "Sure, if we're happy, she's happy". A beloved figure of fun, no harm is intended, of course, but impact is more important than intention and punching down on these women is inexcusable. That joke just isn't funny any more.

My mother had six children, of which I am the youngest. The last time she went to confession the priest immediately absolved her and said, "A woman with six children could be forgiven anything." The first time I heard that story I laughed, but since then I've thought about it some more, and now I feel differently. In his eyes, nothing she may ever have said or done could possibly undo the great work of her mothering.

There is some truth in this, of course, but it's also so reductive of her as a person - and it summed up for me once again the status of the iconic 'Irish Mammy'. It's 2020 now, and we need to embrace a rebranding. The Irish mothers I know are powerhouses - imperfect, complicated women of agency who have earned the right to choose any way of mothering that works for them and their families. The 'Irish Mammy' of today should not be an icon or a stereotype, but a symbol of choice. Put our mothers on pedestals if we must, but while we're at it, please put them on boards, ballot papers, and platforms too. And build some infrastructure to support them while they are up there.

'The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually' by Helen Cullen is published by Michael Joseph and is available nationwide from August 20


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A 35-year-old man was arrested by the police in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday for allegedly raping three women and molesting two minor girls in Narsinghpur district, 241 kilometres south east of state capital Bhopal.

The man claims to possess magical powers and used to lure women by assuring them thay he would solve all their problems, the police said.

The accused Dharmendra Das alias Dharmendra Dubey is already in jail. He was arrested recently by the police in a different case. Now, the rape and molestation charges have also been added against him.

The accused is married and even has a child. He has also created a small temple in his house where people from different places used to meet him to seek his help to get their problems solved, according to the police.

On getting a tip-off that the accused sexually exploited women on the ground of his so-called magical powers a police team raided the mans residence last week. During the raid, two kilogrammes of marijuana was seized from the mans possession and he was sent to jail after being booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, said sub-divisional officer of police (SDoP) Mohanti Maravi.

Three women including two bachelors approached Suatala police station on Wednesday that they were raped by the man who trapped them in the name of magical powers and offered solution to their problems. Two sisters, both minors, have also lodged an FIR that they were molested by the man. As many as four FIRs, including three relating to rape and one relating to molestation of the two sisters, were lodged, said Maravi.

The SDoP added that the police have launched an investigation. During initial investigation it has come to light that the man has been committing crimes for the past at least five years.

Superintendent of Police, Narsinghpur district, Ajay Singh said, There may be more complainants who may approach police in the coming days regarding the crimes committed by the accused. Police are trying to know if there are more victims of this man. Some objectionable videos and photos have also been seized from his residence.
Singapore: Chinese tech giant ByteDance censored content it perceived as critical of the Chinese government on its news aggregator app in Indonesia from 2018 to mid-2020, six people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The sources said that local moderators were instructed by a team from ByteDance's Beijing headquarters to delete articles seen as "negative" about Chinese authorities on the Baca Berita (BaBe) app.

ByteDance has grown into a potent online force in recent years, propelled in part by a TikTok short video platform that's taken teenagers by storm. Credit:PA

In a statement to Reuters, BaBe said it disagreed with the claims and that it moderates content according to its community guidelines and in line with Indonesia's local laws.

Those guidelines, which are published on its website, do not mention China or the Chinese government.
Hyderabad: In an alarming development, the Hyderabad Police on Thursday arrested four people, including a Chinese national Yah Hao and three Indian nationals for online gaming racket. Hao is the head of operations for South-East Asia. The police has registered two cases under sections 420 and 120 (b) IPC under the Telangana gaming act.

This is alarming more so because some Chinese nationals are obtaining business visas and indulging in this kind of fraud which is spread all across India. Recently, cases of suicides due to online betting were reported from Telangana along with other states in the country.

As per investigation carried out by the Hyderabad police, it was found that online gaming was being organised by initiating prospective gamers through Telegram groups. The entry is by reference only and members who introduce a certain member are paid a commission on the lines of MLM (multi-level-marketing). On these groups, the admins will indicate the websites (which change daily) on which the registered members play games and place bets.

"We got two complaints wherein Rs 97,000 and Rs 1,64,000 was siphoned. The amount looked small but when we investigated we found this racket is big and the modus operandi is different,'' said Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar.

The domain name servers of the gaming websites are based out of China and the data hosting services is cloud-based in the United States and are operated from China. The entire technical operation is run by China-based directors/partners of these companies. The payments are routed through India-based payment service providers like Paytm and Cashfree. These fraudulent companies are controlled through a firm called Beijing T Power company based out of China.

"The websites and the programmed gaming is such that at first, you will feel you are winning but slowly you lose money for sure. Not only gaming, but these Chinese are also enticing gullible Indians to dangerous dating apps, phishing and fleecing money,'' informed Shikha Goel, Additional Commissioner (Crimes), Hyderabad City Police.

Till now there are 28 such complaints from all over the country and the group was planning to register a company in the Cayman Islands. The total value of the inward transaction on the two accounts traced so far is nearly Rs 1,100 crores majority of which is in 2020. Most of the remittances have been transferred to different accounts some of which are in overseas. Total overseas remittances known as of now is Rs 110 crores.
Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha plans to order an investigation to identify the people behind the student-led protests sweeping the country, even as he promised to resolve the tension peacefully.

Speaking at a media briefing after the cabinet meeting, Prayuth pleaded with protesters not to use demonstrations as a platform to stir unrest and said the government "is being very careful" not to inflame the situation.

"The majority of people don't agree with this," he said. "We have to look into the demonstrations and who's behind it because there's a lot of money involved. We have to investigate."

Citing the country's economic crisis, the coronavirus pandemic as well as inequality and income distribution, Prayuth said: "We're facing so many problems now, not just the one that has been raised by the protesters. Aren't these more important?"

Thousands of students expected to gather again over the weekend are calling for greater democracy and curbs to the power of King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

The government has already threatened to take legal action over posts made to social media platforms critical of the monarchy. Digital Economy Minister Buddhipongse Punnakanta on Tuesday ordered authorities to identify "inappropriate" posts and has already singled out 114 posts mostly made to Facebook, but also Twitter and YouTube, that may be in breach of the Computer Crimes Act.

"All evidence will be gathered and submitted to court tomorrow," he wrote on Facebook. "Once the court has issued an order, it will be forwarded to the three platforms. If within 15 days, the accounts are not closed or posts deleted, we'll immediately take legal action."

Twitter and Google didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Facebook did not comment specifically on the minister's post, however a company spokesperson said in a statement the social media giant had a process for reviewing government requests.

According to the law, fines for violations are a maximum of 200,000 baht ($6,440) and daily fine of no more than 5,000 baht per post, he wrote. Thailand has strict lese-majeste laws criminalizing insults against top members of the royal family, which have resulted in lengthy jail sentences.

The announcement comes after thousands of demonstrators gathered on Monday as part of near-daily gatherings which have gained momentum after the arrests of top leaders, who have since been released on bail. They reiterated a rare public call last week by one of those arrested, Arnon Nampa, for rolling back measures that increased the power of Vajiralongkorn since he took the throne in 2016.

Some groups have also demanded the government rewrite the constitution by the end of September to disband the military-appointed Senate and change election laws to make them more democratic, after which the government would resign and hold a new vote.
From 7 August 2020, Malaysian banks have begun accepting applications from eligible borrowers for the extended moratorium and targeted bank assistance that will succeed the current automatic moratorium when it ends in September. To facilitate the process, they have released detailed FAQs to share key information, including the types of aid that are on offer, requirements that must be met, and supporting documents needed  you can read more from our coverage on Public Bank, Hong Leong Bank, Maybank, OCBC Bank, and HSBC.

While the banks have done their best to keep things simple and clear, there are some terms in the FAQs that may be unfamiliar for the everyday Malaysian. Here, weve identified a few, and will flesh them out to help you better understand.

Rescheduling and restructuring (R&R)

Even prior to Bank Negara Malaysias (BNM) announcement of the current automatic moratorium, R&R packages are a commonly-provided service  but mainly to consumers facing extreme financial difficulties. For this reason, R&R has developed a negative connotation as a service for those who have zero control over their finances. While banks offer R&R on their own, many consumers also get them via agencies such as Agensi Kaunseling & Pengurusan Kredit, better known as AKPK.

However, in these trying times, R&R is being seen as an important tool for Malaysians to help them get back on their feet. So what exactly does it do?

As its name implies, R&R consists of two parts  consumers generally only need one of the two options. Rescheduling refers to the extending or lengthening of your loan tenure, resulting in a revision of your monthly instalment amount so that you pay a lesser sum each month. This gives more breathing space financially as it lowers your monthly commitment, but usually results in you paying more in interest as youll have to service your loan for a longer period.

Meanwhile, Restructuring involves changing the type or structure of your existing loan to help you improve your current cashflow. An example would be converting your overdrafts to term loans. Restructuring typically includes a more significant change to the terms and conditions of your existing loan compared to rescheduling, and you may also sometimes incur additional administrative and legal costs on top of the usual interest charges.

In general, banks favour R&R as a form of aid for their customers because it improves the banks resilience by reducing non-performing facility portfolios as well as maximising credit recovery  in other words, it avoids borrowers from defaulting on a loan which is a lose-lose situation for both parties. Borrowers, on the other hand, benefit from improved cashflow and are also able to avoid liquidation. Note also that while R&R exercises usually do leave a mark on your credit health, BNM has explicitly stated that taking up the post-moratorium R&R aid will not be recorded on your CCRIS report.

When your application for an R&R exercise is approved, your bank will provide you with a supplementary letter of offer (SLO), which we will explain below.

Supplementary letter of offer (SLO)

A supplementary letter of offer (SLO) is an additional document sent by the bank to its customers when it seeks to add or revise selected terms and conditions in a prevailing agreement.

For instance, borrowers who agree to undergo the R&R exercise will be given an SLO containing the amended terms, which they must then sign. The amended terms should include details such as the period of extension allowed, the new monthly instalment amount that must be paid, extra charges incurred (e.g. stamp duty fee), and so on.

All other existing terms and conditions in the original document, meanwhile, will remain intact and valid.

Amortisation/Re-amortisation

Amortisation is the process of spreading out your loan into a series of fixed payments across a set schedule (your loan tenure). This results in scheduled payments  such as monthly instalment payments  which will then be used to pay off the interest accrued for the specific time frame and to reduce the outstanding principal balance of your loan.

Sounds familiar? Thats because it is, and most of us regularly take up amortised loans! Mortgages as well as car and personal loans are common examples of amortised loans. Meanwhile, facilities that arent amortised include interest-only loans and credit card debts because your repayments for these facilities are typically not fixed or do not contribute to reducing the outstanding principal balance of the loan.

Following that, re-amortisation basically means the recalculation and rescheduling of your loan so that you can successfully finance it.

Step-up payments

Some banks, such as OCBC and Hong Leong, have offered assistance in the form of step-up payments. This flexible payment structure allows you to make reduced payments (usually at the start of your loan) for a specified period of time, after which the amount will be progressively increased over the remaining tenure of your loan.

Conventionally, this payment structure is offered to borrowers so that they can get some breathing space and time to earn the money required for their future payments. For instance, banks could offer step-up equipment leasing to customers who are taking loans to purchase business equipment. This allows them to use the equipment to generate the money required for the higher repayments in the future. In some cases, banks may also offer the step-up payment structure for home loans, taking into consideration the borrowers potential for professional growth and earning power.

In the context of the extended moratorium, step-up payments are offered to those who have had their salaries reduced. Since this is a temporary measure by the employer, it also means the borrower may need a little breathing space during the period of reduced salary  and that they can resume full repayment once their full salaries are reinstated, which makes step-up payment options perfect in this scenario.

Debt-service ratio (DSR)

When banks talk about your debt-service ratio, theyre generally referring to your repayment capabilities by comparing your available cashflow to your existing debts. It is also one of the factors that banks consider when deciding if they should approve your loan applications.

The DSR is actually pretty easy to calculate: it is your total monthly commitments (including non-bank ones such as PTPTN) divided by your net monthly income (after the usual deductions such as EPF and SOCSO). As a simple example, if your net monthly income is RM5,000 and your total monthly commitment is RM2,000, your DSR is 40%. Generally, a DSR of below 40% is considered healthy.

DSR plays an important role in the approval process for a credit application by the banks. A high DSR may be seen as unfavourable (as it means you already have a lot of commitments, making you a credit risk), but the DSR alone is not the only way of measuring creditworthiness. Each bank has its own internal calculations to measure a prospective borrowers credit health, such as repayment history, relationship with the bank, and others.

***

With this, we hope that you will have an easier time reviewing the various financial assistance offered by the banks, as well as applying for them. If there are other terms not covered here that you may need help with, let us know in the comments section!

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Mommy Goals

"I want my children to enjoy themselves. They go to their friend's houses; have them over to play, but they know their limits. I generally don't have to tell them "don't do this" or "don't do that". Yes, they are very much aware that they are celebrity children. They are proud of my achievements, and proud of the fact that their father is a film producer," Sridevi had said when she was asked about parenting.

Cool Moms Can Be Protective As Well!

In her five-decade-long journey from a child actor to India's First Female Superstar, the late actress knew that the film industry can be quite brutal at times and like every concerned parent, wasn't keen on her daughter following her footsteps.

"She never wanted me to be an actress. She was more relaxed about Khushi (Janhvi's younger sister) getting into films. She thought I was naive, that I wasn't thick-skinned enough. She wanted us to live a more relaxed life. She loved what she did but you know it was intense," her daughter Janhvi said in an interview.

This Is Totally Relatable

Sridevi's younger daughter Khushi Kapoor once revealed how the actress got all worried when she found out about her tattoo by accident. In fact, she even asked her other daughter Janhvi for confirmation that Khushi's tattoo was actually not a boy's name or his birthdate. Later, the Chaalbaaz actress got all emotional when she was told that the tattoo was of all their birth dates.

Well, someone has rightly said, 'A worried mom does better research than the FBI.'

A Mother's Heart Is Always Right

"Mum always told me, it's not about the kind of role or movie you do; you need to make an impression- that's an actor's job. She never encouraged jealousy or frustration. We're capable of being happy for others," Janhvi had said in an interview.

Now, that's indeed some wise words!

A Rush Of Memories Which Will Warm The Cockles Of Your Hearts

Sharing some of her fond memories of her mother, Janhvi was quoted as saying in an interview, "My childhood smells like my mom. We used to spend a lot of time in our home in Chennai, and she used to put mogras all over our house and in her hair, so it smells like her. Mom would make our hair oil at home with dried flowers and amla, and she'd make sure she gave me and Khushi an oil massage every three days. Whatever leftover [fruit] we had from breakfast, we'd put on our face."
Stand and be counted: Women take part in a protest against police violence in Minsk yesterday. Photo: REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko

Thousands of protesters rallied in Belarus's capital and other cities for a fourth straight night last night, decrying an election they say was rigged to extend the 26-year rule of the country's authoritarian leader and the crackdown on the subsequent demonstrations.

In several parts of Minsk, groups of hundreds of people formed human chains. Motorists blared horns in support and, in some areas, slowed to a crawl to block police vehicles. On one avenue, people stood on balconies, clapping in an expression of support. A group of riot police arrived and fired rubber bullets at them.

Similar protests were held in at least five other cities, according to the Viasna rights group, to contest the official election results which show President Alexander Lukashenko won a sixth term with 80pc of Sunday's vote and the main opposition challenger garnered 10pc. Crowds have taken to the streets every night since to demand a recount.

Earlier in the day, groups of hundreds of women formed human chains in several districts of Minsk, chanting "Shame!" and calling for an end to the crackdown on the demonstrations. Hesitant to use force against all-women rallies, police dispersed them without violence.

But in recent nights, authorities have responded with a level of brutality remarkable even during Mr Lukashenko's rule. Police have dispersed protesters with tear gas, stun grenades, water cannons and rubber bullets and severely beat them with truncheons. Officers chased protesters into residential buildings and deliberately targeted journalists, beating many and breaking their cameras.

"We stand for a peaceful protest," said Ksenia Ilyashevich (23), an IT specialist who joined other women at a Minsk protest earlier yesterday. "We worked up the courage and came out to rally. We stand here for all."

In three previous nights of protests, at least 6,000 people have been detained and hundreds injured, according to the official count, but even that high toll appeared to downplay the scope. Anguished relatives were besieging prisons across Belarus trying to find their missing relatives.

"Even those who were loyal saw the real face of this government during the past three days," said Galina Vitushko (63), who stood outside a jail in Minsk, trying to find her son, a 43-year old doctor. She said that she desperately needs to give him insulin since he has diabetes.

"How can you treat your own people like that?" she asked, breaking into tears. "The real winners don't behave like that."

Mr Lukashenko (65) has led the former Soviet state of 9.5 million people since 1994, relentlessly stifling dissent and winning the nickname "Europe's last dictator" in the West.

This year, the economic damage caused by the coronavirus and the president's swaggering response to the pandemic, which he airily dismissed as "psychosis," has fuelled broad anger, helping swell the opposition ranks - but Mr Lukashenko has dismissed them.

"The core of these so-called protesters are people with a criminal past and (those who are) currently unemployed," Mr Lukashenko said during a meeting yesterday with security officials.

His top challenger, a 37-year-old former teacher and political novice Svetlana Tikhanouskaya, managed to unite fractured opposition groups and draw tens of thousands to her campaign rallies after two top potential challengers were barred from the race. She entered the race to replace her husband, an opposition blogger who aspired to run but has been in jail since his arrest in May.

But she abruptly left for neighbouring Lithuania on Tuesday, hours after submitting a formal request for a recount. In a video recorded before departure that her associates said was filmed under pressure from law enforcement officials, she urged her supporters to end protests.

Protesters have not heeded her call, and Maria Kolesnikova, a top figure in Ms Tikhanouskaya's campaign, urged the government yesterday to "stop waging a war against its own people and begin a dialogue",
Photo: (Photo : Photo from pexels.com)

When the coronavirus pandemic struck the world, Jenni Gibbens was pregnant with her second child, Harrison. She gave birth during the riots. Also, her entire family tested positive for the coronavirus.

Even Gibben's newborn baby tested positive and was rushed to the hospital last July. Jenni's newborn baby was only 25 days old during that time - making him one of the youngest coronavirus-positive in Minnesota.

READ ALSO: Gender Reveal Party Gone Wrong: Dad Leaves After Knowing He's Having Another Daughter





The family's battle against the coronavirus

After giving birth to her second child during the riots, Jenni and her family only wanted peace. She said in an interview with KSTP, "We just wanted things to be calm."

However, her entire family tested positive for the coronavirus.

The first among the members of the family to show symptoms was Jenni's husband. It was early in July when the dad lost his taste and sense of smell. Soon after, he experienced high fevers.

Jenni was very vigilant with their children. She wanted to make sure that they will not catch the virus.

She was hoping that the kids will test negative for the coronavirus.

Then, one day, after nursing her baby, she felt that Harrison was hot. When she checked the newborn baby's temperature, it was at 100.4 degrees. The mom knew that it was already a fever, so she decided to call the nurse's line. The nurse immediately advised that the newborn baby be brought to the hospital.

The 25-day-old baby tested positive and was hospitalized for three days.

The older child of Jenni, who is four years old, also tested positive but was asymptomatic.

READ ALSO: 4 Tips to Parents for Kids' Return to Schools During the Pandemic





Newborn baby's battle against the coronavirus

Harrison was rushed to the Children's Hospital in Minnesota. During his stay, his oxygen levels and heart function were strictly monitored.

Considering that the newborn baby was only 25 days old, it was a harrowing experience for Jenni. She said, "Any time when it's your child, it's just heartbreaking."

Luckily, Harrison's symptoms did not reach any critical point. Jenni pointed out that they are very thankful that they received such care from the hospital.

After three days at the hospital, Harrison was released and sent home. Gibbens said, "At 27 days old, he is officially taking the title of a COVID survivor, which seems unreal."

Jenni shares that their family has been extra careful at home to avoid the virus. That is why this pandemic continues to scare her.

READ ALSO: Grade 3 Teacher Raises Money for Students' Handwashing Station to Prevent the Spread of Coronavirus





Coronavirus among children in Minnesota

According to the senior director of infection control at Children's Minnesota, Patsy Stinchfield, around 72 kids have been admitted to the hospital.

Out of the 72 children, ten kids were put on ventilators.

So far, the youngest patient at Children's Minnesota is a newborn baby that is only two weeks old.

READ ALSO: Newborn Baby Blood Test Can Diagnose Brain Damage [Results Are Seen Hours After Birth]
Jesse Eisenbergs new series can only be consumed off-screen. When You Finish Saving the World, which he wrote and stars in, is an Audible originalfor ears only. It follows three interrelated characters and shifts between their perspectives. Eisenberg voices the first one that listeners meet, a new father named Nathan Katz. Its 2017, and Katz is recording files into his cellphone to send to his therapist. His issue is that hes not bonding with his baby. The seriess other main characters are that baby in the future, after he grows into a teenagervoiced by Stranger Things Finn Wolfhardand the childs mother in the past, during her politically active college student days. Shes voiced by Booksmart star Kaitlyn Dever.

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Eisenberg recently joined me on The Gist to discuss the show and how it both does and does not relate to his real-life family and experiences with fatherhood. A portion of our two-part interview is transcribed below; it has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

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Mike Pesca: I know you have a young son, and I think I know that you love the kid and youre bonded with him. Ive seen you interacting and snuggling with the boy. So theres no element of not attaching to your son, but your character went through that. Was that just one of those exercises in imagination?

Jesse Eisenberg: Yeah. I actually only heard of the phenomenon once. I was so sad for the guy who was experiencing the lack of feeling for his child.

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I was friends with this guy who told me that he had a daughter, and he said, I felt nothing for her. I was shocked that he told me, but even more shocked that he felt nothing, because it just seemed to me like this unbelievable phenomenon, that youd immediately feel this wave of a million different things.

So I always thought thatd be such an interesting character to explore in a play, because I was just always writing plays. But every time I started writing something that would become a theatrical experience with a baby in it, it just was immediately impossible. When you do something with a baby onstage, its usually a speaker wrapped in a blanket, then theres some sound designers making the speaker cry, and then you have to hold the baby, and its impossible to act really well. So I was thinkingI was always looking for a format to tell a story of a character who didnt connect to their child.

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Then when I met with these executives at AudibleI have to say, its actually an amazing company in this way. They said, Were all figuring this thing out together, so if you have any stories that you think could work for this medium, tell us. So I pitched them this story about a guy who doesnt connect with his child. They, Im sure, assumed that it was about me, and that I should get help. I showed them pictures of me hugging my son, and then they let me do it as a piece of fiction.

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When were doing things that are really important, when were an activist for the right causes, and were on the right side of justice, what do we owe our personal life?  Jesse Eisenberg

Its amazing what you can do with Photoshop.

Right, exactly.

But then again, your wife, just like the wife in the show, her mom ran this womens shelter in Indiana, so she has that connection. There was at the end of your characters episode a paean to how lovely and great and giving it is to do this work. Im wondering if either your wife or your mother-in-law has heard that and interpret it as you just giving them a great compliment to the millions of people who might hear this.

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Yeah. My view of myself is that Im a hedonist and incredibly fortunate, having put forth very little effort and received so much from the world. My assessment of my wife is that she wakes up every morning and tries to figure out who she can help, and how she can not get credit for it. So everything I write has been really colored by this dynamic that Im obsessed with, because of my hedonistic narcissism, which is the thing that begets the theory in the first place.

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So everything I write is usually some kind of artist doing something that has no social value, that theyre incredibly confident about. And then somebody whos doing something that has immense social value, and gets no credit for it, and doesnt lament the fact that they get no credit. Of course, theyre happier, and the artist is miserable. This is kind of like my current worldview, which I hope matures into something a little more healthy. Thats the dynamic in the series.

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But what you just saidhow you idealize your wife, and she probably deserves itthat is whats going on with all your characters in different ways. They each have an attachment to another character, and theyve really fallen in love with the dream version of that character to one extent or another.

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Yes, thats right. And by extension, I will say that kind of happens to me. I idealize people like my wife and people like  My best friend is a teacher for kids who are formerly incarcerated. I idealize these people to the point where I lionize them, and then I would, just by contrast, denigrate my own work.

Then when Im writing and thinking about things a little more calmly, Im able to assess that they have flaws that are maybe driven by selfish things, and that I have some value, and Im maybe driven by some socially benevolent things as well, and that the manifestations of our work and our interests are much more complicated than I always feel.

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I think it took me listening to all the episodes and then four minutes before this interview, for me to get why the title is When You Finish Saving the World. When did the title come to you?

The title came some time after I finished it. The working title was always The Ziegfeld Files, because Ziggys name was  Ziggy, whos the boy in the show. (I dont even know what to call [the series]. We need a new name for the format that sounds cool, like Blu-ray. Can we take Blu-ray, since thats no longer a thing?)

The title came to me, yeah, after I finished writing it. I was at a talk that my friend was giving. Hes an activist against mass incarceration. He said something about the mother of his child saying, When you finish saving the world, remember you have a son, because he was out always giving speeches about mass incarceration, and hes done so much good work, but sometimes it maybe came at the expense of visiting his kid back in Brooklyn.

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I thought it was such a, I dont know, such a potent phrase. It was both condemnatory but, at the same time, implies that the persons doing amazing work. So you almost feel guilty for being so snide to a person who is doing such great work.

I think it speaks to what we owe our family. When were doing things that are really important, when were an activist for the right causes, and were on the right side of justice, what do we owe our personal life? What do we owe the people who are left at home while were doing something great?

I think about that all the time. Thats what this is about, because its about these characters trying to figure out how to do important work in the world. But on the other hand, they struggle to feel comfortable in the family.

Listen to this full half of the conversation belowthe first half can be heard hereand subscribe to The Gist on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Join Slate Plus, and enjoy ad-free episodes of the show.
Hromadske online media outlet calls on Belarusian authorities to immediately release detained Ukrainian citizens Kostiantyn Reutsky and Yevhen Vasylyev who were preparing articles in Minsk as freelance authors.

"Hromadske was trying to get official accreditation from the country's authorities for a month but, unfortunately, it was not issued. As a result, we had to cover events [in Belarus] without accreditation. Our colleagues stayed in the country for less than a day and managed to prepare one article which was published on our website on the same day," reads the statement released by Hromadske.

Hromadske asserts that Kostiantyn Reutsky and Yevhen Vasylyev did not prepare and were never involved in any riots either in Belarus or in any other country.

In this regard, the editorial staff of Hromadske calls on the Belarusian authorities to release their colleagues, return them to Ukraine, and not to hinder the freedom of speech.

"We call on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the Embassy of Ukraine in Belarus, and the President to take all necessary measures to prevent the emergence of new political prisoners, this time in Belarus," the statement says.

It is reported with reference to Belarusian human rights activist Tatyana Ravyaka that a criminal case was opened against Reutsky and Vasylyev in Belarus under the "mass riots" article which provides for 3 to 8 years in prison.

As reported, Ukrainian citizens Kostiantyn Reutsky and Yevhen Vasylyev were detained in Minsk at about 17:00 on August 12. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine stressed that the Embassy of Ukraine in Belarus was taking measures to establish their place and conditions of detention.

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Chandigarh/Shimla, Aug 13 : Five police officials, one each from Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and three from Haryana, are among those who have been chosen for the Home Minister's Medal for Excellence in Investigation.

Punjab Police Deputy Superintendent of Police Bikramjit Singh Brar has to his credit cracking several sensational cases, including targeted killings from 2015 to 2017, while Haryana's Superintendent of Police Shashank Sawan's played a crucial role for speedy investigation in the sexual assault of a six-year-old girl.

Sandeep Dhawal, who is the Superintendent of Police with Himachal Police, got the award for probing a case relating to embezzlement involving over Rs 5,000 crore -- one of the biggest scams in the state -- by Indian Technomac Co. Ltd. whose Managing Director is believed to be hiding in Dubai.

Punjab Director General of Police Dinkar Gupta told the media that his officer Brar has played a key role in the arrest of gangster Sukhpreet Singh, alias Budha, besides solving sensational murder of Amritsar ex-sarpanch Gurdeep Singh.

Brar, posted as DSP (Detective) in S.A.S. Nagar with the additional charge in the Organized Crime Control Unit (OCCU), has also busted a racket of illegal diversion of 160 firearms from gun houses to terrorists and gangsters.

Gupta said Brar was also the pivot of a major police operation that led to the arrest of 23 people, who had supplied illegal weapons used in the targeted killings between 2015 and 2017.

Brar was also the lead investigator in arresting gangster Billa Mandiala and six of his associates who had links with Pakistan-based smugglers and terrorists.

The Home Minister's Medal for Excellence in Investigation was instituted in 2018 for promoting high professional standards of investigation of crime. A total of 121 Police personnel has been awarded for 2020.

Himachal's police officer Dhawal took the high-profile embezzlement case in 2018. The company -- Indian Technomac Co Ltd -- closed the manufacturing operations in Paonta Sahib in Sirmaur district in March 2014 and its officials disappeared.

It was manufacturing steel and raw materials, ferro alloys and steel ingots, and it had become liable to pay tax from January 2008.

While the Excise and Taxation Department had suffered tax evasion of Rs 2,175 crore, banks were defaulted to the tune of Rs 2,167 crore and the Income Tax Department is owed Rs 750 crore.

Investigations say 21 companies were constituted by the company from 2009 to 2013 and the modus operandi was siphoning off bank loans.

The fraud came to light in 2014 when the Excise and Taxation Department found a mismatch in the return filed by the company and its VAT declarations.

"The company's Managing Director Rakesh Kumar Sharma is said to be in Dubai. Interpol help has been sought to arrest Sharma, who was jailed in 2014 for two years in Dubai after a cheque issued by him bounced," Dhawal told IANS.

"Now his arrest has been delayed due to the pandemic. We have completed all formalities and his extradition is likely soon," he added.

Haryana's officer Sawan, who is currently posted as Superintendent of Police in Kaithal, did a speedy investigation into the rape of a six-year-old daughter of a migrant worker in 2018.

He completed his investigation and filed charge sheet within six days of the crime. This led to life imprisonment of the convict in Bahadurgarh in Jhajjar district.

Apart from him, two sub-inspectors of the Haryana Police -- Anil Kumar and Rita Rani -- will also be honoured with this medal.
Valerie Trierweiler, the ex-partner of Francois Hollande has lost her job as a journalist at the publication where she has worked for the past 30 years.

Trierweiler, 55, who dated Hollande during his presidency between 2012 ans 2017 before he left her for actress Julie Gayet, 48, is said to be 'in shock' after receiving the news.

It was reported by French journalists that Paris Match, where the journalist had held a rock solid position for the past three decades, wanted to replace its old contributors with younger once to renew it's editorial line.

Valerie Trierweiler joined Paris Match in 1989 and wrote about politics, before taking over its literature section in 2005.

Taking to Twitter, she said she was 'in a state of shock' following the 'brutal' announcement.

Valerie Trierweiler, the ex-partner of Francois Hollande, has lost her job as a journalist at the publication she'd been working for the past 30 years. Trierweiler, 55, who dated Hollande during his presidency between 2012 ans 2017 before he left her for actress Julie Gayet, 48, is said to be 'in shock' after receiving the news

'I've heard right in the middle of summer and during my annual leave, and in a extremely brutal manner that I had been dismissed by Paris Match, where I had been working for 30 years,' she wrote.

'This dismissal, with no valid motive, leaves me in a state of shock and astonishment,' she added.

The news was communicated to the public yesterday by fellow French journalist based in New York Sandra Muller, who wrote on Twitter that Herve Gattegno, who became general director of Paris Match's redaction in October 2019, had let Trierweiler go.

'According to our information, Valerie Trierweiler, long-time 'quill' of Paris Match, first at its political section than in later years, in charge of its literature section, as been 'thanked' by Herve Gattegno.'

Trierweiler dated Francois Hollande from 2010 to 2014, and was the first ever unmarried woman to be First Lady and reside at the Elysee Palace when he became president in 2012 (pictured on Hollande's investiture as President on May 15 2012)

Muller went on to add the decision was born out of Gattegno's plan to breathe some fresh air into the Paris Match redaction.

'The general director wants to renew the figures in the weekly's newsroom, which is too affected by seniority. More departures are to be expected,' she wrote in a second tweet.

However, Paris Match have not publicly addressed the issue and have not disclosed any of the reason that could have motivated the long-standing journalist's dismissal.

Trierweiler started her journalism career with Paris Match right off the gate, having graduated from the Paris-Sorbonne 1 university in 1988, when she was 24 years old.

The journalist said she was 'in a state of shock and astonishment' after receiving the 'extremely brutal' news (pictured in 2016)

She first met Francois Hollande aged 23 at a the parliamentary election of 1988. At the time, the future president was already in a relationship with Segolene Royal, whom he had met in the 1970s.

Trierweiler and Hollande reportedly started dating in 2007, while she was still married to Paris Match sub-editor Denis Trierweiler, whom she had married in 1995.

In 2010, after the officialisation of her divorce and his separation from Royal, Hollande and her made their relationship public.

Two years later, Hollande was elected president in 2012 and Trierweiler became the first ever non married First Lady to live at the Elysee Palace.

However, on January 10 2014, the news broke that Francois Hollande was cheating on Trierweiler with French actress Julie Gayet, then 41.

Hollande publicly cheated on Trierweiler with French actress Julie Gayet, and the affair was uncovered in January 2014. PicturedL Gayet in Paris in 2020

It was understood the French president visited his girlfriend in an apartment she kept not too far from the head of state's residence, while an unsuspecting Trierweiler went about her day.

Rumours soon followed, including incorrect reports that Gayet, then 41, was expecting Hollande's child for June 2014.

After a very public infedility and an equally break-up with the president, Trierwieler published a tell-all book, Thank You For This Moment, in late 2014.

Hollande and Gayet are reportedly still dating, though their joint appearances are rare.
(Photo : REUTERS/Diego Vara) Nurse Isabelli Guasso administers China's Sinovac vaccine, a potential vaccine for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), to volunteer and nurse Fabiana Souza, at the Sao Lucas Hospital of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), in Porto Alegre, Brazil August 8, 2020 (Photo : The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF)/Handout via REUTERS) A handout photo provided by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) shows samples of a vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, in Moscow, Russia August 6, 2020. Picture taken August 6, 2020.

How dangerous is COVID-19? An Australian study was recently released explaining how the virus is not as tricky as it seemed, unlike the common flu. Common flu requires a yearly vaccination to prevent people from having it. Researchers found in the recent study that SARS-CoV-2 is different from this. We only need one vaccine to stop the pandemic from happening again.

Coronavirus vs. Flu: How are they different?

Before the pandemic officially started in the United States, it was first thought to be similar to common flu. After all, both diseases are viral and are also caused by viruses.

Both of them also have similar symptoms such as fever, cough, runny nose, headache, etc., according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Though they're similar, Australia's leading scientific research agency explains their differences. Coronavirus is not as 'cunning' or as tricky as the flu.

As reported via Australian News.Com, researchers at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) concludes that unlike flu that requires people to take a yearly vaccine, Coronavirus is not as complicated as it seemed.

"We all know the flu changes every year, so we have to make a new vaccine every year for that. What it appears is the coronavirus isn't as cunning," said Dr. Rob Grenfell, CSIRO director of the health and biosecurity business unit. "I mean it's an unbelievable foe, but it's not changing or pivoting in the way the flu does every year so that's reassuring."

Apparently, that is great news. This means that the virus only needs one or two vaccines to finally disappear in a human's body.

Russia's vaccine races against COVID-19

Tech Times first reported that Russia has finally passed the world's first COVID-19 vaccine called 'Sputnik V.' Around 20 countries already pre-ordered on this vaccine that said to passed essential test stages, require for a vaccine.

However, some experts think it is good to be true. The Association of Clinical Trials Organizations criticizes the said Russian vaccine and warned that the widespread usage of the COVID-19 vaccine could pose a 'dangerous' impact on people trying it inside their bodies.

"Why are all corporations following the rules, but Russian ones aren't?" said ACTO Executive Director Svetlana Zavidova via Bloomberg. "The rules for conducting clinical trials are written in blood. They can't be violated."

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Jamie Pancho

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
By Cesar Chelala

August 12, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - One of the most neglected consequences of the rapidly evolving COVID-19 is the increasing violence against women of all ages. UN Women has called it the shadow pandemic, and Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General has said, Peace is not just the absence of war. Many women under lockdown for #COVID19 face violence where they should be safest: in their own homes.

Domestic violence is not, of course, a new phenomenon. Before the pandemic, it is estimated that 243 million women and girls (aged 15-49) across the world had been victims of sexual or physical violence during the previous 12 months, in most cases perpetrated by an intimate partner. That number has significantly increased alongside the evolution of the pandemic, due in great measure to the necessary stay at home measures imposed by the authorities.

Governments and public health authorities in Argentina, Canada, Spain, Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom have called attention to domestic violence, and the increased demand for abused womens emergency shelters. In countries such as Singapore and Cyprus, domestic violence hotlines have registered an increase in calls of more than 30 percent since the start of the pandemic, as have frontline workers in New South Wales, Australia. In China, police departments in the city of Jingzhou received three times as many domestic violence calls for help this past February as in the same time in 2019.

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The conditions of isolation foster not only physical but also psychological violence, which can be even more devastating for the victims. In addition to direct violence, other forms of abuse include constant surveillance, strict rules of behavior, and limited access to basic items such as food, clothing and sanitary facilities. All this is complicated by the isolation measures from families and friends. As a result, shelters for abused women and health systems worldwide are now stretched to a breaking point.

It is known that interpersonal violence, particularly cases of domestic violence, increase in times of crisis with growing unemployment, rising numbers of sick people and scarcity of community resources. It is also known that many cases are underreported, making it very difficult to gather statistics that show the real impact of the problem. It is estimated that less than 40 percent of women who suffer violence report the crime or seek any help. The reasons are complex, from fear of reprisal from their abusers, to feelings of shame about the situation, to concerns that both the police and the legal system will be unresponsive to their plight. Of those women who report abuse, only 10 percent go to the police.

The situation becomes even more complex by the release of inmates from prisons which have become a hotbed for the spread of the pandemic. When some of these inmates return home, they recreate the conditions of violence that landed them in prison. That is why victims should be notified about inmate releases and local government should implement preventative and support measures when necessary.

As governments, NGOs and the private sector need to incorporate the gender perspective into all their COVID-19 responses, the U.S. should ratify the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW,) one of the most important legal instruments on womens rights. The US is the only country in the Americas which has not yet ratified this convention. As a contrast, Canada has signed that convention on July 17, 1980 and ratified it on December 10, 1981.

CEDAW obligates state parties to condemn discrimination in all forms, and to ensure a legal framework to protect womens basic rights. It also addresses issues such as education, employment, health care, and human trafficking. The US refusal to ratify this convention leads other governments to more easily disregard CEDAWs mandate and the obligations under it. Particularly now, at a time when violence against women and girls is rising due to the pandemic, the US should respond with concrete actions to secure the rights of women. As stated by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women, We must not only survive the coronavirus, but emerge renewed, with women as a powerful force for recovery.
After Beirut and Mauritius outcry grows for action on Yemen oil tanker

August 13,2020 | Source: Marex

Citing the unfolding environmental disaster in Mauritius and the devastation in Beirut, the world outcry is growing louder for UN officials to gain access to a rusting oil tanker moored off Yemen. Leaders from the Arab world along with the environmental group Greenpeace were among the latest to appeal for action.



The single-hull FSO Safer, a 46-year-old converted tanker sits just off the port of Hodeidah in Houthi rebel-held territory. Houthi (Ansar Allah) forces have not permitted UN inspection teams to board the vessel despite repeated appeals.



The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs issued an update on the situation on August 10 saying the aging vessel is carrying more than 1 million barrels of oil and has had almost no maintenance since 2015. According to the UN, two months ago, seawater began leaking into the engine room, which could have destabilized and sunk the entire vessel, potentially releasing all the oil into the sea. A temporary fix was applied, but it is unclear how long this might last.



A major spill would be catastrophic for the environment and would destroy the livelihoods of coastal communities in Yemen. Most of the oil would likely wash up on Yemens west coast in areas controlled by the Houthi authorities. A spill would also likely force Hudaydah port to close for weeks or months, which would cripple Yemens largest port. Because Yemen imports nearly all its food and everything else, the UN said this would have devastating consequences for millions of people  including communities located far from the coast.



On July 14, the UN submitted an official request to the Houthi authorities to undertake an assessment and initial repair mission to the Safer. The UN is in contact with the authorities on this and urges them to expedite the necessary procedures so this work can begin.



Previous appeals for UN access to the FSO have not been granted, and overall trust between Houthi forces and the UN is at a low point. In February, the United Nations reduced aid to Houthi-controlled regions because Houthi militias were allegedly blocking or restricting humanitarian missions.



In a letter to the UN Secretary-General Greenpeace called on the UN to make the situation its top priority and use its full diplomatic and technical capacity to carry out an urgent on-board technical assessment to determine what repairs are needed to make the vessel at least temporarily safe. Greenpeace says that the oil should be removed to a seaworthy vessel as soon as possible.



The Arab world is also speaking out. Saudi Arabia urged the UN to push the rebels into letting experts assess damage to a rusting oil tanker. During a meeting with the UN envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, Saudi ambassador to Yemen Mohammed Al Jaber stressed the urgent need for experts to access the tanker, the Saudi Press Agency reported.



Similarly, the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Dr. Nayef Al-Hajraf called upon a team of experts to inspect the FSO Safer oil tanker in Yemen to avoid a serious environmental disaster.



So far the rebels have not shown any sign of changing their position to let the inspections aboard the vessel.

 2020 The Maritime Executive, LLC. All rights reserved.

Theme(s): Others.
Publishers note: Originally, this was intended to be a debate-style article similar to the House District 60 candidates article for the Republican candidates running for Sweetwater County commissioner. Unfortunately, only one candidate, Mary Thoman, responded to our emailed questions as of press time. As such, we decided to run this despite the other candidates responses not being available. We will update the online version of this article if additional information is sent to us.

1. In three sentences, describe yourself and why youre seeking election.

I feel strongly that this po...
Israel and the United Arab Emirates reached an agreement to work toward fully normalized relations, a potentially historic breakthrough that US president Donald Trump said will facilitate peace in the Mideast.

The move means the UAE would join Egypt and Jordan as the only Arab countries with normal ties with Israel, signaling the nations will send ambassadors and open more direct commercial relations. According to a joint statement on Thursday, the UAE and Israel will begin a range of talks in the coming weeks, while Israel also agreed to suspend efforts to declare sovereignty over parts of the West Bank.

As part of the deal, Israel also agreed to suspend controversial moves to annex portions of the West Bank, an effort that was widely seen as having put any final peace agreement further from reach.

The deal is a significant step toward peace in the Mideast, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, while the joint statement said a signing ceremony will take place at the White House.

Ties between Israel and Gulf Arab states have warmed in recent years, in large part due to a shared distrust of Iran. But they havent ripened into open relations, let alone normalization.

The announcement is big and the White House will be able to claim that it has achieved a breakthrough in the traditional wall of divide in Arab-Israeli relations, said Ayham Kamel, a Mideast expert at the Eurasia Group. Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment and former Mideast official at the State Department, called the accord a win for all 3 nations.

Comments from the leader of the UAE, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed, were more nuanced than the remarks from Trump and in the joint statement issued by the White House.

During a call with President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, an agreement was reached to stop further Israeli annexation of Palestinian territories, bin Zayed wrote on Twitter. The UAE and Israel also agreed to cooperation and setting a roadmap towards establishing a bilateral relationship.

Nevertheless, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, called it a historic day in Hebrew on Twitter and said he would speak publicly later in the day. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi wrote on Twitter that he followed the agreement and its efforts to foster peace with attention and appreciation.

Pushback came swiftly from Palestinian officials. Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organizations executive committee, writing on Twitter that Israel got rewarded for not declaring openly what its been doing to Palestine illegally & persistently since the beginning of the occupation. The UAE has come out in the open on its secret dealings/normalization with Israel. Please dont do us a favor. We are nobodys fig leaf!

More Aggression

Officials with Hamas, the US-designated terrorist organization that runs the Gaza Strip, were more blunt. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum told Al Jazeera that the move was a stab against the Palestinian cause and will encourage the Israeli occupation to commit more aggression against our people.

The joint statement published by the White House suggested the move will reverberate across the Mideast, and Trump said there is a lot more to come.

This historic diplomatic breakthrough will advance peace in the Middle East region and is a testament to the bold diplomacy and vision of the three leaders and the courage of the United Arab Emirates and Israel to chart a new path that will unlock the great potential in the region, according to the statement from the US, Israel and the UAE.

The announcement could be a diplomatic coup for Netanyahu at a time when he is under intense fire at home from mass protests against his governments mishandling of the coronavirus and his continued leadership while under indictment in three criminal cases.

A White House signing ceremony would also help Trump -- lagging in the polls ahead of Novembers election -- evoke the spirit of the original peace deal between Israel, Egypt and Jordan, facilitated by then President Jimmy Carter as part of the Camp David accords in 1978.

Trump later joked to reporters in the Oval Office that he wanted the new agreement to be called the Donald J. Trump accord.

The president has long sought a Mideast breakthrough that would allow him to withdraw U.S. troops from the region and get out of what he called endless wars. Hes also sought to strengthen an anti-Iran alliance in the region, led by Saudi Arabia.

At the beginning of his term in 2017, Trump called upon his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to help broker a big Mideast deal, though his efforts had largely stalled. Trumps move early in his term to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and his decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty of the Golan Heights, quickly alienated Palestinian officials and much of the Arab world, leaving Kushners peace plan -- which effectively sanctioned Israeli annexation of much of the West Bank -- with few champions in the region.

The backdown on the West Bank may have helped seal the agreement, analysts said.

The timing of the move also allows Netanyahu and Trump to climb elegantly down the annexation tree, when neither leader has the stomach to follow through on what would likely have been be a destabilizing move in the region, said Shalom Lipner, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council who has served seven Israeli prime ministers.

The decision by the UAE may also be seen as a prelude for its far bigger neighbor, Saudi Arabia, which has close ties with the UAE and has been viewed as informal contacts with Israel. Trump has made the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia the centerpiece of his Mideast strategy.

Kamel of the Eurasia Group said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will inevitably follow the UAEs lead but that will take longer as his society is more conservative and succession politics adds a layer of complications. However, Riyadh will eventually move in a similar direction, albeit at a slower pace and with hesitation given the risks.
The Food Network contains plenty of programs featuring top chefs from around the globe, showcasing their cooking skills. The Worst Cooks in America cooking show strays from the traditional format and brings together people that are lacking in their kitchen abilities.

Now in the 20th season, contestants (known as recruits) on the popular reality television series compete for a $25,000 cash prize. The culinary boot camp challenges the sub-par chefs to up their game and transition their lousy meals into tasty treats.

Viewers of the show love the concept and rally around their favorite wannabe chefs to make it to the final round. This season, fans fell in love with the new host, Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli, and they are hoping to see more of her in future episodes.

The concept behind Worst Cooks in America

Chef Alex Guarnaschelli | Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for NYCWFF

Each week recruits learn basic cooking techniques to improve their culinary skills and attempt to become more comfortable in the kitchen. Guarnaschelli from Supermarket Stakeout mentors a team, while long-time host and top chef Anne Burrell takes charge of the other team.

Those who prepare the worst meals are eliminated and sent home as the competition continues. Recruits left standing are presented with weekly challenges until the final round when the last two recruits must prepare a three-course, restaurant-quality meal.

Ari Robinson, who was trained by Alex, took home the grand prize for Season 20. Once a self-declared atrocious cook, she prepared a lobster and sunchoke mash with seared duck breast to impress the judges. Filled with pride, the recruit who warmed the hearts of viewers per Greenville Online, says, Im no longer the worst cook in America.

Who is Chef Alex Guarnaschelli?

RELATED: A Worst Cooks in America Winner Once Appeared on Law & Order: SVU

The recently engaged executive chef works at the acclaimed restaurant Butter in New York City. Often a judge on Chopped, the 48-year-old trained in France, spending seven years learning from the best.

According to Food Network, the witty cook found her place in New York, creating a menu based on my own choices and point of view. She became an instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education and opened her own unique supper club, The Darby. All of this while honing her skills at Butter.

Guarnaschelli first appeared on the Food Network as an Iron Chef America judge. She became a regular on Chopped and hosted a show entitled Alexs Day Off. Over the years, she has been both a contestant, challenger, and judge on the popular television food channel. The Iron Chef says that she loves food with simple (but bold) flavors.

What fans think of the new Worst Cooks judge

Viewers of the cooking competition loved the addition of Guarnaschelli to the show saying this season was better than most. A Reddit forum user suggested, The dynamic between Anne and Alex was also very funny! Alex needs to stick around!

Fans overwhelmingly agreed, saying, This season was great. I was laughing out loud multiple times per episode. The addition of the light-hearted judge combined with less outlandish recruits had fans hooked. Viewers loved the chefs approach, saying, Alex seemed to genuinely want to teach these guys and her dynamic with Anne was hilarious. I really hope she sticks around as well!

Another viewer commented, I really appreciated Alexs presence on the show this season. Her skill paired with her teaching ability (and very untapped comedic potential!!) was so great to see. It was also nice because she seemed to genuinely get along with Anne, so the banter was very fun.

Fans of the show agree that this was one of the best seasons of Worst Cooks, and they are hoping Guarnaschelli continues to be a part of the program.
A 21-year-old woman in Hanoi has been taken into custody by police for brokering sex between a male prostitute and a female john.

Police in Long Bien District confirmed on Wednesday that they had arrested and initiated legal proceedings against N.P.T., 21, for procuring.

A preliminary investigation showed that T. comes from a well-off family and has no criminal record.

Her family sent her to China for study in 2019, but she had to return to Vietnam due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic.

T. later became acquainted with a pimp who asked for her help in finding clients.

She was able to contact a 22-year-old woman in Long Bien District who wanted to buy sex.

T. then sent her some nude photos of T.H.D., a 30-year-old man who works as personal trainer at several famous gyms in Hanoi, and offered her a deal.

The client agreed to pay VND18 million (US$780) to have sex with D..

T. arranged for the two to meet a hotel in Long Bien District on August 4.

D. and his client were caught red-handed by police officers at around 3:30 pm that day.

At the police station, D. said he had met several wealthy women due to his job as a personal trainer and had been introduced to several pimps.

T., meanwhile, said she decided to join the prostitution brokerage ring just for a new experience.

She turned herself in to police after D. and his client were caught by police officers.

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Auburn Universitys Overtoun Jenda, assistant provost for Special Projects and Initiatives and professor of mathematics in the College of Sciences and Mathematics, or COSAM, has been named one of 15 recipients of a prestigious mentoring award given by President Donald Trump.

Jenda, an Auburn professor since 1988, was part of a group of a dozen university professors to receive the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring, or PAESMEM, with three organizations also earning the distinction. He accepted the honor via a virtual Zoom awards ceremony on Aug. 3, with Auburn President Jay Gogue among the participants on-hand to offer congratulations.

Throughout my adult life, I have devoted a lot of time to mentoring students, faculty and administrators while carrying out the core functions of my academic duties: teaching, research and administration, Jenda said on the PAESMEM website. For me, mentoring provides immediate rewards because at the end of each day, I can go home and say, 'I made a difference in someones life today.' I never imagined that I would be recognized for mentoring at this level, and I feel humbled and truly honored to receive this prestigious award.

The award, which is administered by the National Science Foundation, or NSF, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, or OSTP, recognizes excellence in mentoring among college and university professors. Jenda will receive the award, along with a $10,000 check to use for his educational programs, and said he and the other award winners have been invited to visit the White House as soon as conditions allow.

The PAESMEM recognizes the critical role mentors play outside the traditional classroom setting in the academic and professional development of the future Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM, workforce.

Mentors support learners from kindergarten through the collegiate levels, as well as those who recently started their careers in STEM. Mentors share their expertise and guidance with learners, sometimes through formal mentoring programs, and have demonstrated an impact on individuals historically underrepresented in STEM.

Since 1995, PAESMEM has honored the hard work and dedication which mentors exhibit in broadening participation in the STEM pipeline. Colleagues, administrators and students nominate individuals and organizations for exemplary mentoring sustained over a minimum of five years.

One of the most satisfying opportunities of my professional career was participating in the nomination of Dr. Jenda for the NSF Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring, said Stewart Schneller, dean of COSAM from 1994-2010 and current professor of chemistry and biochemistry. Many words come to mind to describe Dr. Jendas commitment to facilitating the educational future of minority students with limited academic background in science, mathematics and engineering. He is tireless, selfless, creative, personable and inspirational.

He also has been successful with entrepreneurial funding for his programs. Dr. Jenda has been one of my mentors.

Jenda has served as assistant provost for Special Projects and Initiatives for four years at Auburn and previously served as associate provost for Diversity and Multicultural Affairs and associate dean of COSAM. Jenda has been the principal investigator and project director for numerous NSF grants focusing on STEM education and student success.

Jenda began implementing NSF-funded scholarships for students in 1994 and worked with professors in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering to create a STEM Summer Bridge program in 1997. He has helped grow the scholarship program from $10,000 in student support in its first year to $1 million annually as part of a 10-institution collaboration, been instrumental in the STEM Summer Bridge programs vast expansion to eight institutions in the Alabama Black Belt since its inception and led the charge to consistently raise the programs student grade point average requirements through the years.

Under his leadership, overall external funding for recruitment and retention programs has increased from $17,000 per year in 1994 to $1.5 million per year currently.

Jenda has used a variety of hands-on programs to mentor and educate students, including the U.S.-Africa Collaborative Research Network in Mathematical Sciences and Masamu Program, Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Program, or LSAMP, and LSAMP Bridge to the Doctorate Program, Making to Advance Knowledge, Excellence and Recognition in STEM (MAKERS) Program, Alabama Alliance for Students with Disabilities in STEM and INCLUDES South East Alliance for Persons with Disabilities in STEM.

His longevity at the university and experience as a mentor has enabled Jenda to reach more and more students with each passing year.

I think this award is for consistency in mentoring through the years and developing programs in the 1990s that are still running now, Jenda said. We try to do institutional transformation so that our programs not only affect current students, but also future students, and I think thats what resonated with the selection committee. I had great nomination letters, too.

Most recently, the Auburn University Research Experience for Undergraduates, or REU, in Algebra and Discrete Mathematics was selected by the NSF for a $259,200 grant as a renewal of funding for an additional three years. This programrun by Jenda and colleague Peter Johnsonis a continuation of successful NSF-funded REU programs.

His mentoring efforts have impacted hundreds of students through the years, most being underrepresented students or those with disabilities.

To me, mentoring should be part of what you do on a daily basis, Jenda said. This award justifies all the work Ive been doing, but more importantly, I hope the award will be motivation for young people. It says, If you do this kind of work and mentoring long-term, people will recognize it and thank you for it. It says a lot about Auburn University and what weve done, and its not just me doing this work.

Prior to Auburn, Jenda was a faculty member at the University of Kentucky, University of Botswana and University of Malawi. He has published three books and more than 60 research articles on Homological Algebra and has given many presentations and co-authored numerous articles on STEM mentoring and retention programs.

Jenda received a Bachelor of Science with distinction in mathematics from the University of Malawi and a Master of Arts and doctorate in mathematics from the University of Kentucky. His honors include the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, COSAM Outstanding Achievement Award, renaming of the Auburn Summer Bridge Scholarship as the Overtoun Jenda STEM Scholarship and the Minority Access National Role Model Faculty Mentor Award.

The recognitions and awards are great honors for the modest Jenda, who has cherished his experiences at Auburn for more than 30 years.

I love what I do, Jenda said. I get to work with students, parents and a lot of great people.
TULSA, Okla., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- PPT Solutions, a premier provider of client-centric, performance-based Customer Experience and Business Optimization Solutions, announced today it has been named one of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. by Inc. magazine. The annual Inc. 5000 list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economy's most dynamic segment  its independent, small businesses. Companies such as Microsoft, Timberland, Vizio, Intuit, Chobani, Oracle, Zappos.com, and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000. In the prestigious listing, PPT Solutions ranked number 1,592 with three-year revenue growth of 271 percent.

PPT Solutions Recognized for a Third Consecutive Year as One of America's Fastest-Growing Companies by Inc. Magazine

"To be recognized among the nation's leading companies for a third consecutive year is a tribute to our continued ability to attract and grow the industry's best and brightest talent," said Dennis Weikle, PPT Solutions Founder and Managing Director. "Our continued strategic focus on delivering additional value and support to our growing client portfolio has resulted in not only exponential growth, but most importantly, our enhanced ability to help our clients improve their business operations, customer experiences and overall profitability."

"Since 2013, our organizational success has been driven by our incredible people and the passion and commitment they deliver to one another and our clients on an everyday basis," added Kris Kramer, Managing Director. "Over the past several months, we've made a significant investment into growing our team and have well-positioned ourselves to build on the tremendous growth we've experienced these past three years. We're equipped more than ever to provide the exemplary expertise, tools and solutions our clients need and expect as they navigate the new business normal."

Not only have the companies on the 2020 Inc. 5000 been very competitive within their markets, but the list as a whole shows staggering growth compared with prior lists as well. The 2020 Inc. 5000 achieved an incredible three-year average growth of over 500 percent and a median rate of 165 percent. The Inc. 5000's aggregate revenue was $209 billion in 2019, accounting for over 1 million jobs over the past three years. Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at www.inc.com/inc5000.

"The companies on this year's Inc. 5000 come from nearly every realm of business," says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. "From health and software to media and hospitality, the 2020 list proves that no matter the sector, incredible growth is based on the foundations of tenacity and opportunism."

Visit PPTSolutions.com to learn more about the company's Customer Experience and Business Optimization Solutions. To explore the company's career opportunities, visit PPTSolutions.com/Careers.

Media Contact:

Brian Fallers

PPT Solutions

Tel: +1 302.559.6431

[email protected]

About PPT Solutions Since 2013, PPT Solutions has served as a premier provider of client-centric, performance-based Customer Experience and Business Optimization Solutions. Whether a Fortune 50 company or an emerging business, we passionately deliver a broad range of people, process and technology solutions customized to increase customer advocacy, enhance revenue and optimize operational efficiency. With an extensive portfolio of Management Consulting, Professional Services and Partnership Solutions capabilities, our clients rely on us for advanced insights, adaptive business processes and innovative growth strategies. Visit pptsolutions.com to learn more.

More About Inc. and the Inc. 5000

Methodology The 2020 Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2016 and 2019. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2016. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independent  not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies  as of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2016 is $100,000; the minimum for 2019 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Companies on the Inc. 500 are featured in Inc.'s September issue. They represent the top tier of the Inc. 5000, which can be found at www.inc.com/inc5000.

About Inc. Media The world's most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multi-platform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit www.inc.com.

Related Images

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2020 Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies in America

PPT Solutions Recognized for a Third Consecutive Year as One of America's Fastest-Growing Companies by Inc. Magazine

Related Links

PPT Solutions Website

PPT Solutions Careers Page

SOURCE PPT Solutions
PEORIA, Ill. and URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, Ill., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- OSF HealthCare has expanded its partnership with the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign by providing faculty, staff and students access to personalized support for COVID-19 symptom checking, monitoring and care where they live and when they need it. This effort is part of the UIUC's Return the Campus plan.

What the expanded partnership provides

U of I faculty, staff and students have access to OSF OnCall Connect support directly through a 24/7 Nurse Hotline or through the Safer Illinois smart phone app.

Within the app, the campus community will be given options for a variety of digital tools and personalized, convenient support available through OSF HealthCare. They include:

Clare is OSF HealthCare's easy-to-use digital assistant that will check symptoms and guide individuals on what to do next.

is OSF HealthCare's easy-to-use digital assistant that will check symptoms and guide individuals on what to do next. OSF Nurse Hotline is available by calling (833) OSF-KNOW/ (833-673-5669) where a nurse is available 24/7. The nurse can answer concerns and screen symptoms plus assist with the next steps in connecting callers with OSF OnCall Connect .

is available by calling (833) OSF-KNOW/ (833-673-5669) where a nurse is available 24/7. The nurse can answer concerns and screen symptoms plus assist with the next steps in connecting callers with . OSF OnCall Connect will be offered within 24 hours if symptoms or an individual's situation indicates the need more assistance. The program will provide a range of at-home support, (whether in quarantine off-campus, in the community or at a specially designated residence hall). It includes regular phone or video check-ins up to twice a day for 16 days, advanced monitoring and hospitalization if necessary. Enrollment will be offered at no cost to anyone who meets the criteria and who wants the security of ongoing monitoring and care. Enrollees must be 18 years or older.

will be offered within 24 hours if symptoms or an individual's situation indicates the need more assistance. The program will provide a range of at-home support, (whether in quarantine off-campus, in the community or at a specially designated residence hall). It includes regular phone or video check-ins up to twice a day for 16 days, advanced monitoring and hospitalization if necessary. Enrollment will be offered at no cost to anyone who meets the criteria and who wants the security of ongoing monitoring and care. Enrollees must be 18 years or older. Enrollees in OSF OnCall Connect will get a COVID-19 care kit with a thermometer, hand sanitizer, educational materials and communication apps for download to stay connected with the OSF OnCall Connect support team and to access behavioral health support online through OSF Silver Cloud. A tablet pre-loaded with the applications and a data package are also available if needed.

OSF is constantly updating its response to COVID-19 support and care based on the latest data and guidelines from the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Personalized health care and safety is what we do best at OSF HealthCare so we are happy to partner with the U of I Urbana-Champaign campus and to provide the support needed to bring students back to campus safely. We look forward to making sure everyone feels supported as we enter into new territory and this unique experience together," said Abby Lotz, Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer, Digital Care-St. Gabriel Digital HealthCare.

She adds, "Almost since the start of the pandemic, we have been providing care for people remotely while they quarantine at home. We have learned some lessons; become more efficient and really learned how to connect with people in the way they want to be cared for, so I'm confident we'll be able to support the campus during the fall semester and beyond."

"The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is privileged to be home to some of the world's leading minds on COVID-19 safety, testing and procedures," said Mike DeLorenzo, Senior Associate Chancellor for Administration and Operations. "We have put in place several measures  twice weekly testing, training, rigorous cleaning and sanitation processes, rearranged classrooms to implement social distancing guidelines and moreto maximize the safety of our faculty, staff, students and entire community. Our partnership with OSF is another important piece of our COVID-19 planning."

About OSF HealthCare: OSF HealthCare is an integrated health system owned and operated by The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, headquartered in Peoria, Illinois. OSF HealthCare employs more than 23,600 Mission Partners in 147 locations, including 14 hospitals  ten acute care, four critical access  with 2,097 licensed beds, and 2 colleges of nursing throughout Illinois and Michigan. The OSF HealthCare physician network employs more than 1,500 primary care, specialist and advanced practice providers. OSF HealthCare, through OSF Home Care Services, operates an extensive network of home health and hospice services. It also owns Pointcore, Inc., comprised of health care-related businesses; OSF HealthCare Foundation, the philanthropic arm for the organization; and OSF Ventures, which provides investment capital for promising health care innovation startups. More at osfhealthcare.org.

About the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC): As one of the nation's premier land-grant university, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is dedicated to its tradition of excellence and innovation in education, research and public engagement. It is both an economic engine for the state and the place where more than 2,500 tenure track faculty members lead more than 50,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students in the process of discovery and scholarship. More at Illinois.edu.

Additional Assets available on the OSF Newsroom include:

Photo of OSF OnCall Connect Care Kit

COVID Nurse Hotline image

OSF OnCall Connect Image

Additional video and audio clips from OSF HealthCare Digital Health Leader Abby Lotz

B-roll of care kit and community delivery

Contact: Colleen Reynolds| Media Relations Coordinator | (309) 825-7255

U of I Contact: Robin Kaler| Associate Chancellor for Public Affairs | (217) 333-5010

SOURCE OSF Healthcare System

Related Links

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The signing of an Exclusive Economic Zone Agreement between Greece and Egypt is a major turning point for both countries and the rest of the region, writes Ioannis E Kotoulas

On 6 August, Greece and Egypt signed an historic deal delimiting their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs), an important development for stability in the Eastern Mediterranean. The deal was a result of many diplomatic contacts between the diplomatic and technical personnel of both countries and 13 rounds of bilateral negotiations. The EEZ deal promotes the national interests of both countries in various aspects and is based on international law.

First, and most importantly, the agreement de facto and de jure obliterates the EEZ memorandum between the Tripoli government led by Prime Minister Faisal Al-Sarraj in Libya and the regime led by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed in 2019. The Al-Sarraj-Erdogan Memorandum is illegal from the point of view of international law and was based on tactics of extortion used by Turkey against the then crumbling Tripoli regime, as Libyan officials have recently revealed. The Greek-Egyptian EEZ now permanently abolishes the ambitions of Turkish expansionist plans.

Second, the Greek-Egyptian EEZ deal allows the two countries to move on with the exploitation of their natural resources without external interference and on a legal basis guaranteed by international law. Again, we should remind ourselves that Turkey is one of the few states worldwide not to have signed the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Third, the EEZ deal creates a new diplomatic nexus in the Mediterranean and a network of similarly minded states including Egypt, Greece and Cyprus, with France and the US acting as external actors providing diplomatic support. Egypt now shares sea borders with Greece and Cyprus, two EU member states, and it has dealt a blow to a revisionist Turkey that envisages itself as an historic rival of Egypt.

The agreement is the result of the joint will of two independent states that have reached a result based on mutual respect and shared interests. It is fully in compliance with international law, and especially the law of the sea. For Greece, it confirms the fundamental principle that all islands, like other land territories of the Greek state, possess full economic zones. For Egypt, this agreement allows both countries to move forward in maximising the utilisation of the resources available in the Exclusive Economic Zone, especially promising oil and gas reserves, as Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has said.

The agreement was greeted in friendly terms by Arab countries such as the UAE and Bahrain, as well as by Libyan National Army (LNA) representatives who have stressed that Greece should proceed with a corresponding agreement with the Libyan parliament in Tobruk. Libya is now at a crossroads, as a new legal and geopolitical reality has been created between Egypt and Greece, and it has the choice to join this new Greek-Egyptian nexus and conclude a deal with Greece, thus ensuring EU diplomatic and financial support.

Greece and Cyprus are Egypts best diplomatic allies in the EU framework, and they will continue to be so to an even greater extent now that the legal realities of the EEZ have been implemented. Libya can benefit from this diplomatic nexus and under the guidance of Egypt sign an EEZ deal with Greece.

The EEZ Agreement is only a partial demarcation agreement, however, and it needs to be completed by another Egyptian-Greek agreement. According to Article 121 of UNCLOS (1982), the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf of an island are determined in accordance with the provisions of this convention applicable to other land territory. This in effect means that the Greek island system of Kastellorizo, like all other territories of the Greek state, possesses an economic zone in full. And the fact that Turkey has not signed the UNCLOS does not allow it to disregard the validity and obligatory aspect of the new treaty, which is now customary international law. Any delimitation should be made according to the situation arising out of the physical and political geography of the delimitation area, as international law indicates.

The EEZ between Greece, Egypt and Cyprus forms a united bloc that will keep revisionist actors outside. Further steps can be taken that will deepen the strategic cooperation between Greece and Egypt, including naval and aerial military cooperation. Egypts military, due to initiatives taken by the government under President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, is one of the strongest in the world. Greece possesses the 16th strongest airforce in the world and a considerable naval fleet.

The Mediterranean is our joint geopolitical space. The signing of an EEZ Agreement between our two countries is a major turning point for the geopolitical equilibrium of the region and the result of a pro-active, strategic mentality in both the Egyptian and the Greek governments.

*The writer is a lecturer in geopolitics at the University of Athens in Greece.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 13 August, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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The victim in this case was a student of Kangs from age 9 to 18, and is now 20. She came forward to police last year, after the other charges were filed against Kang in 2018, prosecutors said.
According to the Attorney-General's Chambers, lawyer Lee Suet Fern (left), may have conducted herself unprofessionally amid her alleged involvement in the late Lee Kuan Yew's will. (PHOTOS: Morgan Lewis/Facebook, Yahoo News Singapore)

SINGAPORE  A Disciplinary Tribunal that censured Lee Suet Fern for grossly improper professional conduct in her handling of the late Lee Kuan Yews final will has cherry-picked evidence in arriving at its conclusions, said her lawyers at an appeal hearing on Thursday(13 August).

They added that Suet Fern, who is the wife of Lee Hsien Yang, merely played an administrative role in facilitating her father-in-laws wishes. The 61-year-old is also sister-in-law to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Her appeal against the DTs findings was heard by the Court of Three Judges, the highest disciplinary body that deals with lawyers' misconduct. They comprise Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Judge of Appeal Judith Prakash and Justice Woo Bih Li. The DT unveiled its findings in February this year.

It is the latest twist in the long-running Lee saga, which erupted in June 2017 when Hsien Yang and his sister Wei Ling went public with their dispute over the fate of the old family home at 38 Oxley Road, accusing their older brother PM Lee of abusing the organs of state for his own benefit.

Background to the case

Last January, the Attorney-Generals Chambers (AGC) referred Suet Fern to the Law Society for her alleged role in preparing the will of Singapores first PM. The AGC said that this had placed her in a position of conflict and was a breach of the rules governing the conduct of lawyers because her husband was a beneficiary of the will, which was signed by the late Lee on 17 December 2013.

Two charges were laid against her by the tribunal. First, as her father-in-law's retainer, she had failed to advance his interest, unaffected by her own interest and/or that of her husband. This was because she prepared and arranged for the execution of the will, which gave Hsien Yang a third of the estate.

Secondly, as the retainer, Suet Fern breached rules by acting on the one-third share and failing to counsel the senior Lee to be independently advised on the "significant gift".

Story continues

The couple have consistently denied that Suet Fern acted as the late Lees lawyer, but was merely helping as a family member and daughter-in-law.

But the two-man tribunal appointed by CJ Menon, comprising Senior Counsel Sarjit Singh Gill and lawyer Leon Yee Kee Shian, found all charges against Suet Fern proven beyond reasonable doubt in its 206-page report.

It called Suet Fern a deceitful witness who tailored her evidence to portray herself as an innocent victim who had been maligned. The tribunal added that the conduct of Hsien Yang, who testified as a witness, was equally deceitful.

"Mr Lee (Kuan Yew), who was very frail and in poor health, was misled by the very people whom he trusted: his son Lee Hsien Yang and daughter-in-law, said the tribunals report on the case.

Final will executed with extreme haste

The family of Singapore's founding leader Lee Kuan Yew have been engaged in a bitter public feud since his death

The Law Society was represented by senior counsel Tan Chee Meng, as well as Koh Swee Yen and Queenie Lim.

On Thursday, Koh argued that as the late Lee had always had a lawyer for his six wills  his niece Kwa Kim Li  it was a reasonable inference that he would have wanted a lawyer for his final will. And in a 4 June 2015 email to the three Lee siblings, Kwa explained why their father had done six wills over 15 months.

I prepared at least 15 drafts for his review over that period, to take into account the many changes, said Kwa, noting that the discussions revolved around where Wei Ling would stay, the division of the estate, and how to give the children least headaches (over Oxley) when he is gone.

Ultimately, Kwa was excluded by Suet Fern and Hsien Yang for the final will, which was executed with extreme haste, charged Koh.

When Judge Prakash asked if Suet Fern had forced herself into the position of being the lawyer, Koh concurred. But the Judge expressed scepticism on this point, while CJ Menon also noted that the legitimacy of the will was not in dispute.

Judge Prakash said, Here is a person who is still in command of his faculties and has been in correspondence with his lawyer, now he is presented with this will. Am I supposed to believe that he has forgotten about this correspondence?

Nevertheless, Koh maintained that Suet Fern deserved severe sanctions because of the various circumstances in which events took place.

Tribunal cherry-picked evidence

Suet Fern was represented by senior counsels Kenneth Tan and Walter Woon, as well as Soh Wei Chi.

In their submissions to the court, the lawyers argued that the DTs verdict was patently unsafe and wrong. It maintained that the Law Society failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, or that she deserved sanction for any misconduct.

Firstly, they claimed that the DT cherry-picked the evidence. For example, it described the late Lee as a 90-year-old man in poor health in its slanted characterisation of the context in which the will was signed. However, the DT did not account for the fact that the late Lee was still very lucid, even if he was old, and remained a Member of Parliament until his passing on March 2015.

Secondly, it totally ignored important evidence favourable to Suet Fern. For example, the DT did not take into account that any dealings between the late Lee and Suet Fern were as between legally trained family members  far removed from any commercial setting.

Between family members, there is trust, some expectations, but before you are a lawyer, you are a family member. It cannot be that because a lawyer is also a family member, the lawyer should refrain from assisting the family member in any legal matters, argued Tan.

Woon claimed that it would not have been tenable for Suet Fern to advise her father-in-law, a man used to getting his way, to seek independent legal advice. This would have implied he did not know what he wanted. He would have exploded, the sound of the explosion would have been heard all the way to the Istana.

Conflict of interest rule is absolute

Lee Hsien Yang at Progress Singapore Party's walkabout at Boon Lay Place Market and Food Village on Sunday (28 June)

However, CJ Menon took issue with some of Woons arguments. The controversy is your proposition that a solicitor is entitled to act in respect of the will, which confers a benefit on the solicitors spouse, and your argument that this does not present a conflict of interestif the respondent is acting as the solicitor in respect of a will where her husband is one of the beneficiaries, it is a conflict.

In response, Woon maintained that the late Lee was content to accept this conflict.

Alluding to the professional conduct rules for lawyers, which prohibits them from acting on behalf of family members when there is potential for personal profit, Justice Woo stressed, The rule as it is cannot be waived.

And when asked again if Suet Fern had committed a technical breach of the rules, Woon would only say that he respected the judges position.

Hardly a doddering old dotard

Thirdly, the DT grounded its conclusion on a plethora of unjustifiable inferences, said Suet Ferns lawyers. For example, it wrongly inferred that Suet Fern had hurried her father-in-law to sign the last will without due regard to his wishes. The lawyers noted that the former PM was a dominating character of sharp intellect who knew exactly what he wanted and was accustomed to having his instructions carried out without delay.

They added, The DT sought to convey the impression that Mr Lee Kuan Yew was a doddering old dotard being taken advantage of by his son and daughter-in-law, ignoring evidence of Bernard Lui and Elizabeth Kong that he was lucid and read the last will before initialling on every page.

This was a complete perversion of the facts, claimed Woon, noting that the late Lee was still very lucid. He added, This dishonours the memory of Lee Kuan Yew.

Fourthly, in reaching its conclusions, the DT failed to call critical witnesses such as the late Lees niece Kwa Kim Li, who had acted as his lawyer.

The lawyers also noted that the DT made very serious allegations against Suet Fern and her husband, accusing them of lying, suppressing evidence and deceit. They asked the Court of Appeal to state that it is unacceptable for the DT to cast serious aspersions on the conduct of parties and witnesses without very clear evidence.

Judgement has been reserved in the case. If Suet Fern were to lose the appeal, she may face a fine, suspension or even be disbarred.

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Patna: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday (August 12, 2020) accused the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government of "lying" and "manipulating" the COVID-19 numbers in the state.

In a press conference at the party office in Patna, Yadav said, "There used to be 3,000-3,500 COVID-19 cases when the number of tests conducted were around 10,000. Now when the state is testing 75,000 samples the numbers are still restricted to 4,000. This means that the government is lying and manipulating the COVID-19 data. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is focusing on the increasing number of rapid Antigen testing to save his face."

Demanding that RT-PCR testing in the state be increased, Yadav said, "As per the Bihar government data, on an average 6,100 RT-PCR tests are being conducted which means that only 10 per cent of the total COVID-19 tests are being conducted through the RT-PCR method. We demand an increase in RT-PCR testing."

As the state gears up for the upcoming Assembly polls, the opposition parties have been sharpened their attack on the ruling party. Today, Tejashwi Yadav questioned the Chief Minister and Health Minister about COVID-19 figures.

Yadav also accused the Central government of meting out step-motherly treatment to Bihar.

"Centre has given Rs 890 crore to various states and Union Territories under COVID-19 package. However, it has not given any money to Bihar. Even after knowing the seriousness of COVID-19 in the state, Centre had meted out such step-motherly treatment to Bihar," he said.

According to the Bihar Health Department, there are a total of 90,553 COVID-19 cases in the state including 60,068 discharged, 30,010 active and 475 deaths.
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Northern Irelands centenary next year should be an event for the whole country, First Minister Arlene Foster has said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced plans to establish a Centenary Forum and a Centenary Historical Advisory Panel to mark 100 years since its foundation.

The DUP leader met Mr Johnson during his first visit since January after the powersharing administration at Stormont was re-established.

She said: I think it is an event for the whole of Northern Ireland, looking forward to the future, looking forward to our young people having a place in the world and that is what I want to see happening for our centenary plans.

First Minister @DUPleader and deputy First Minister @moneillsf met with Prime Minister @BorisJohnson to discuss a range of issues including Brexit, NDNA and the ongoing recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic pic.twitter.com/ENAYBumiti  NI Executive (@niexecutive) August 13, 2020

Mr Johnson met Mrs Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill at Hillsborough Castle in Co Down.

Northern Ireland was created in May 1921 following the partition of Ireland.

Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said: The centenary is an opportunity to celebrate the people, places and products of Northern Ireland, which has such rich sporting, cultural, entrepreneurial and academic talent.

It is an occasion to promote Northern Ireland as an attractive place to visit, invest and do business  a place where our young people choose to stay and use their talent to build.

Boris Johnson with Secretary of State Brandon Lewis at Hillsborough Castle (Brian Lawless/PA)

Ms ONeill said discussions with Mr Johnson focused on working together to tackle the Covid-19 threat.

Afterwards she said the danger would be unpredictable this winter and reiterated her calls for a meeting of the British-Irish Council to discuss matters collectively.

She said that was positively received by Mr Johnson.
From home improvements to DIY projects, stuck-inside homeowners are investing in redesigning their spaces to meet their desiresand possibly also to stave off lockdown boredom. Considering the growing need for remote product visualizations and try-ons, coupled with plunging tech hardware sales during Covid-19, electronics retailer SONY created an augmented reality mobile app experience that helps shoppers virtually mount and purchase televisions.

The app is called Envision TV AR, and works through users' smartphone camera to place a TV model on their chosen wall. The app scans their space and builds a grid on the phone screen to let shoppers select where they'd like to place a model of their choice. By using two fingers on the phone screen, shoppers can adjust and move the TV to different locations.

This type of virtual trial and testing can help build shopper confidence in their selection, guiding customers down the path to purchase and enabling an entirely digital end-to-end consumer journey. SONY is one retailer as identified by PSFK researchers utilizing virtual customization tools to assist home consumersfor more on digital home services, check out the Exploring The Digital Home Buying & Selling Opportunity research paper here.

SONY
Roman Kemp was seen for the first time since getting a tattoo tribute to his late friend, Capital Breakfast producer Joe Lyons.

Appearing downcast, the presenter, 27, stepped out in London on Thursday just two days after he took to Instagram to show off his bird new tattoo which he has had inked on his leg in tribute to Joe.

The host discovered Joe had died last Tuesday and has been left devastated by the news as they were incredibly close. Joe's cause of death has not been revealed.

Tough times: Roman Kemp was seen for the first time since getting a tattoo tribute to his late friend, Capital Breakfast producer Joe Lyons

'We were just starting our adventure together': Roman Kemp revealed he has got the same bird tattoo as Joe (right) following his death

On Thursday, Roman headed down the road in a tie-dye top while listening to music, while his shorts meant his new inking was on full display.

Showing off his bird inking, Roman explained why he had chosen that design. He wrote: 'Joe had this tattoo and I always used to say it was awful and looked like a pigeon. So I got it in the same spot...'

He then shared a side-by-side comparison of the two tattoos, showing just how similar they are.

Roman shared a selection of pictures of herself with Joe and wrote: 'You will always be my brother, my best mate and my partner. Everyday Im missing seeing you and just wish I could show you how many people know youre the best.

Newly-inked: He displayed the heartbreaking tribute to his pal

Lovely: Roman shared the meaning behind his new bird tattoo on Instagram Stories on Tuesday

'You taught me everything I know, I wouldnt be where I am if it wasnt for you sat by my side for the last 6 years. Pushing me and supporting me through everything.

'I can only hope I gave you the same love, loyalty and outrageous amounts of fun that you gave me.

'We have so many memories that span from sharing beds in the middle of nowhere to dancing on tables to breaking world records.

'Im sorry I havent stopped texting you and sending you memes. We were only just starting our adventure together but Im going to take you along with me for the rest of it, flying that flag for the both of us.

Heartache: Roman and many of his colleagues were left devastated

Side by side: He then showed a picture of Joe's tattoo on the left and his own on the right

Tribute: Roman also shared a selection of pictures with Joe as he remembered their adventures together

Memories: Roman and Joe had clearly been very close and made a great impact on one another's lives

Bond: Roman said that they had worked alongside one another for the last six years

Special words: Roman wrote this emotive post in tribute to his friend and colleague

'I love you more than I can ever explain. See you soon mate.'

Roman broke down in tears live on his Capital Breakfast radio show on Monday as he returned to work following the death of Joe.

The presenter and his co-stars Sian Welby, 33, and Sonny Jay, 27, took time off from the show last Tuesday after hearing the sad news.

Roman took the decision to talk to viewers about how he was feeling on Monday as he paid tribute to his 'best friend' Joe.

'He was our best mate': Roman broke down in tears live on air on Monday as he returned to work following the sad news

Breaking down, he said: 'We wanted to share some really sad news. I never thought Id have to do this ever.

'Last Tuesday, very suddenly, we lost one of our best friends. Our producer Joe, he was a member of the Capital Breakfast family.

'We are trying to process this all together. We wanted to share this news with you.'

Roman continued: 'Joe had worked for Global, the parent company, for nine years.

Sad news: Joe, known on the show as Producer Joe has sadly passed away - his cause of death has not been revealed - this was his last Instagram post, shared on June 20

Painful: Roman struggled to contain his emotions during the show

'He was the very first person I met when I walked through the door. I remember thinking he was a bit of a Del Boy.

'He was with me right from my very first show. He taught be everything. I dont know sitting in a radio studio without him.'

Discussing their close bond, Roman added: 'Hes the person Id sit here and rinse constantly.

'He loved dogs. Obsessed with his daily step count. Never ironed his clothes. He loved his family so much. His dad Ivan, his mum Celia, his sister Lou.

'He did love his friends his fans, he did have fans. The thing he loved most of all was doing this show, you listening.

Roman said of his friend: 'He loved dogs. Obsessed with his daily step count. Never ironed his clothes. He loved his family so much. His dad Ivan, his mum Celia, his sister Lou'

'He was like a genius coming up with these ideas. He was driven by the reaction from you every day.'

Roman's mother, Shirlie Kemp wrote on Joe's final Instagram post, shared on June 20, 'God Bless you Joe .... you were and always will be so loved.'

Fellow Capital Breakfast presenter Vick Hope, took to Instagram on Monday morning to pay tribute to Joe.

Sharing a series of pictures of them, she wrote: 'Our Joe. My JoeJoe. My special, magical, beautiful friend. We signed off every message with "I love you, buddy", and yet Im worried I still didnt tell you enough.

Devastated: The radio host, 27, and his co-stars Sian Welby and Sonny Jay (all pictured) came off air mid-way through their radio show on Tuesday after learning the heartbreaking news

Hearbroken: Sian broke down in tears as Roman paid tribute to Joe on Monday

'I really do love you, bud, so so much. We all do. I hope you know that. We are so lucky to have known you. The world is a better place for having had you in it. And now the stars have gained an extraordinary gift in you. Look at everything you made, Joe. Everything you achieved, what you built, who you inspired.

'Your talent and creativity are so immense, but more than that you are the kindest, most hilarious, caring, fun, fiercely loyal and spectacular person any of us had the pleasure of meeting. You really are the best one we ever knew. Our friend. My friend.

'For the last four years you have been my solace, my rock, my confidante. Ive told you all my secrets, and you said youd take them to the grave. And now it seems you did just that, and it breaks my heart.

'Words cannot describe this pain, it doesnt make sense and itll take time to process. I keep repeating: Not you, please not you. But now youre at peace, youre in a better place. Im going to miss you Joe Lyons, so much.'

She continued: 'Thank you for every crab dance, every "youre embarrassing us babe", every cereal box game, every 5am-er at a houseparty were not invited to, every "bah bah", every undersized chino, every photobomb courtesy of your a**e, every cocktail we shook in your flat or evening spent in my yard doing things we shouldnt on a school night, every club we sat in the corner of scheming, every time we were back and ready to do it all over again, every single damn laugh, every hug that meant the world because you made me feel safe and understood.

'And thank you for being my favourite valentine. We met our match in each other. Ive never encountered anyone else as weird and as wild, and together we were chaos.

'Wherever you are I hope youre causing chaos there too. We never wanted the party to end, and I dont believe this one is over either; Ill just see you at the afterparty. Until then, I love you, buddy. My thoughts are with your parents and Lou; Ro, Sonny and the team; Olly and everyone who loves you.'

Poignant: Fellow Capital Breakfast presenter Vick Hope, took to Instagram on Monday morning to pay tribute to Joe
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 18:28:10|Editor: huaxia

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COLOMBO, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka will expedite the repatriation of its nationals stranded overseas amid the COVID-19 pandemic as nearly 50,000 citizens are awaiting to return home, Additional Secretary to the President for Foreign Relations Admiral Jayanath Colombage was quoted by local media as saying on Thursday.

Colombage said the program to repatriate stranded Sri Lankans overseas is progressing well and over 20,000 Sri Lankans from 94 countries had already returned to date.

"The focus now is to bring down the Sri Lankans stranded in the Middle Eastern countries and the Maldives," Colombage said.

Priority will also be given to people stranded in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel and the Maldives, while continuing to repatriate Sri Lankans stranded in South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Britain, Australia, the United States and China.

"We have identified around 6,000 people who are the most vulnerable, and the focus now is to bring them back during August," he said.

Colombage said they expect to bring down around 600 to 700 Sri Lankans on a regular basis with two or more flights operating to both Bandaranaike International Airport and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport situated in the south.

Sri Lanka shut its international airports in March after the outbreak of COVID-19 but said flights would operate for repatriations.

To date, the country has detected over 2,800 COVID-19 cases, out of which 2,646 patients have recovered and been discharged. A total of 11 deaths have been reported from the virus. Enditem
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.
Two out of five young people have stopped or cut back on pension saving during the Covid 19 crisis, new research reveals.

Pay cuts, redundancy and worries over job security have forced workers of all ages to consider whether they can still afford to put money in their pension, even though this could damage their chances of a decent retirement.

But people aged 18-35 have reduced pension saving more than older generations during the coronavirus lockdown and economic downturn, according to research by Royal London carried out earlier this summer.

Job worries: Workers of all ages have been forced to consider whether they can still afford to put money in their pension

This could threaten the success of pension auto enrolment among the age group that stand to gain the most, as small sums saved when young will benefit from compound investment growth over an entire working life.

Under pension auto enrolment, workers contribute 4 per cent of their qualifying earnings - currently between 6,240 and 50,000 a year - employers put in 3 per cent, and the Government contributes 1 per cent in tax relief.

Opt-outs were low when these minimum amounts were increased in recent years, but Royal London's research suggests that many younger workers have reduced pension saving by choice or necessity during the pandemic.

Some 12 per cent of people aged 18-34 have stopped making contributions and 28 per cent have reduced them as a result of Covid-19 - a massive 40 per cent overall.

By comparison, 16 per cent of 35 to 54-year olds have either halted or cut pension contributions, and just 9 per cent of over-55s have done so, the pension firm found.

Those who stopped saving into a pension because of redundancy might be more likely to pick it up again later, because they will be auto enrolled when they find a new job, whereas people who simply cut back might not have the impetus to resume saving.

However, separate research has found that redundancy does have a drag effect on saving for old age, and some people who lost the habit of putting money into a pension after the financial crisis in 2008 failed to start again.

If you are made redundant, you might be able to continue paying into your existing pension scheme, assuming this is allowed and you can afford it - read more here, and see below for tips on how to keep your pension on track.

Meanwhile, if you are furloughed, payments into pensions based on 80 per cent of salary are protected.

Who pays what? How pension contributions stack up under auto-enrolment schemes (Source: The Pensions Advisory Service)

Royal London found 79 per cent of people who stopped saving into a pension during the Covid-19 crisis plan to resume or increase their contributions again later.

Some 11 per cent said they had already done so and 37 per cent planned to within the next three months. The pension firm surveyed 2,000 people across the country in June, before the lockdown started to be lifted

Lorna Blyth, head of investment solutions at Royal London, says: 'The Covid pandemic has put a real strain on many people's finances and the research shows many are looking to reduce their outgoings by cutting or even stopping contributions.

'However, it is positive to see the vast majority of people have plans to resume or increase their pension contributions at some point, with some already having done so.

'It is vital that people follow through with their intentions to resume contributions as soon as they are able if they are to avoid long term damage to their retirement prospects.'

Are you worried about how to afford pension contributions?

Find a financial adviser you can trust with This is Money's help Whether you are investing to build your wealth, want your pension to fund the retirement you hope for, or are considering passing on an inheritance, it helps to have someone on your side with an in-depth knowledge of tax, investing and how to make financial plans. The value in good independent financial advice is that it will continue to pay off for many years to come. Many of our readers recognise this, but one of the things they regularly ask us for is help in finding an adviser that they can trust. This is Money has partnered with Flying Colours Life to help people find an adviser. It specialises in financial lifestyle planning and helping people to find high quality trustworthy advice. Flying Colours Life's approved advisers offer a free no-obligation consultation, so you can work out if they can help you. If you dont feel that they are right for you, there is no pressure to see them again.

Royal London offers the following tips to young pension savers.

1) If possible keep calm and keep contributing. Retirement may seem like a long way off but getting an early start on contributing to a pension will really make a difference to the amount of income you receive at retirement  your future self will thank you.

Even contributing small amounts will really build up over time.

2) You may have seen pension values fall over the past few months but its important not to panic. Pensions are long term investments and its important not to view them through the lens of short term market falls.

You have time to make up any losses if you continue to contribute. Taking long breaks or stopping contributing to a pension means your pension value is less likely to recover which could affect your future plans.

3) You are also missing out on employer contributions and tax relief. In addition to your own contribution your employer will also make a contribution to your pension.

You will also receive a further boost from government in the form of tax relief.

For every 80 a basic rate taxpayer puts in their pension the government will top it up to 100. This makes a massive difference to the amount of money invested into your pension over time

4) If you do need to reduce or stop pension contributions then make sure you resume or increase your contribution as soon as you can.

Some people forget and what was initially meant to be a short term break turns into a longer term one which could impact the amount you end up with at retirement.
By Stephen Nellis

Aug 13 (Reuters) - Intel Corp on Thursday disclosed a new method for making transistors on semiconductors that its chief architect said could boost the performance Intel's next round of processors by as much as 20%.

The Santa Clara, California-based company is one of the few remaining in the world that both designs and manufactures its own chips. But its manufacturing operations have become a concern among investors after Intel last month said that its next-generation chip-making process, called its 7-nanonmeter process node, would be delayed.

Analysts believe the delays could cement the lead that rivals such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co have gained in making smaller, more power efficient chips. Intel's shares have fallen nearly 20% since the delays were disclosed.

On Thursday, Intel sought to buck the notion that the single-number names given to each generation of chip process node tell the entire story by disclosing improvements on its existing 10-nanonmeter process node. It announced a new way of making what it now calls "SuperFin" transistors, which, along with a new material being used to improve the capacitors on chips, is expected to boost the performance of Intel's forthcoming processors, despite their still being made on 10-nanonmeter manufacturing lines.

"It is 20%, the largest intra-node jump ever in our history," Raja Koduri, Intel's chief architect, said of the performance gain in an interview with Reuters. "It's actually same as what you would get with one full Moore's Law node of performance."

It will not be possible to test those claims in the real world until Intel's new chips come out, but its "Tiger Lake" laptop chips slated for release this fall will use the chips.

Even with the new transistor technology, Koduri said Intel has re-worked its chip design process to be able to more easily use either its own chip factories or outside chip factories, whichever is needed to create the best chips.

"Whatever gets us to deliver those products on time, with leadership performance, we have the flexibility and are going to utilize that," he said. (Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Leslie Adler)
Press Release

13 August 2020

Alexandria - GBTA member companies worldwide, report an emerging willingness to permit employees to engage in domestic business travel, according to the latest poll conducted between August 5-9, 2020, by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA).

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Respondents to the poll; the 10th bi-weekly survey conducted among GBTA's members since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in February, continue to report virtually no willingness for employees to travel internationally, with 93% indicating the pandemic has curtailed all or most international business trips. By comparison, 74% of respondents report that the pandemic has curtailed all or most of their organization's domestic business trips.

That number has fallen by 19 percentage points since GBTA's mid-April poll of members and the lowest level since the pre-pandemic polling in late winter 2020.

"The business travel landscape continues to be difficult in Europe and the U.S., but we do see some small glimmers of recovery here and there," said Dave Hilfman, the interim Executive Director of GBTA. "More companies look to be trending positively on domestic trips, with Europe still showing the most positive uplift."

Thinking about your company, how has the coronavirus impacted business travel to ?

Photo: GBTA

In Europe the outlook remains more positive, 70% of GBTA members in Europe expect domestic business travel to return in the next 2-3 months compared to just 26% in North America. Likewise, members based in Europe are more likely to expect international business travel to resume in the next 2-3 months (20%) than members based in North America (9%).

Three in four respondents (74%) report that their company has started to formulate a travel recovery plan. Tighter booking channels are a trend, with 66% of respondents stating they are less likely to allow travelers to book directly with suppliers and 65% are less likely to allow travelers to book with an OTA (Online Travel Agency), than before the pandemic.

When asked about new safety measures, PPE is the new business travel accessory. One-third (31%) of GBTA member companies plan to provide PPE for their travelers while 20% require their travelers to provide their own as an essential item for their safe return to travel. Only 6% report that their company is not making PPE mandatory for travelers.

While recovery plans are underway, the return to travel remains slow and is taking longer than previously expected. Suppliers (84%) are more likely than travel managers (73%) to say that business travel has resumed more slowly than they had originally expected.

"It is encouraging to see so many members companies working on travel recovery plans in preparation for their return to travel, with virtually all our members keeping employees' health and safety as their primary concern. New considerations such as PPE are being added to travel policy and GBTA is supporting members and the industry to ensure consistent health and safety measures across all sectors on a global basis," added Dave Hilfman, the interim Executive Director of GBTA.

View the entire poll results here

Methodology

GBTA conducted a poll of its members across the globe from August 5-8, 2020. A total of 827 responses were received.
A group of naval sailors fought a ferocious battle in July with an unexpected enemy when fire raced through their ship while it was docked in San Diego. The fire aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard was a spectacular catastrophe, but to the ship's crew, it was personal.

"I got emotional. I did cry," remembered Lieutenant Junior Grade Bernardo Tinoco, a supply officer aboard the vessel.

"This isn't just a ship. This is a home," he said.

Smoke rises from the USS Bonhomme Richard at Naval Base San Diego on Sunday, July 12, 2020, in San Diego. / Credit: Denis Poroy / AP

The first efforts to control the fire were directed by Petty Officer Second Class Jeffrey Garvin  until he was ordered off the ship. Garvin said he had to be hospitalized for smoke inhalation but that he returned straight from the hospital a couple of hours later.

"I came back to see if the rest of my shipmates needed help," he recalled.

By that night, the fire was out of control. Petty Officer Hayley Craig's team tried to fight their way on board. "There was so much scaffolding and debris and everything falling down on the way up that we couldn't make it up in there that first night," said Craig.

When asked to describe what it was like when he finally got on board, Craig responded, "Unbelievable. It's completely unrecognizable."

As far as when the sailors believe they had the fire under control, they all say the same thing.

"The second that we, Bonhomme Richard sailors, decided this is our ship and we're not giving it up. That's when I knew," said Tinoco.

The Navy now has to decide whether the ship is worth repairing. For the crew, there's only one right answer.

"Our ship's motto is 'I have not yet begun to fight,'" said Garvin. "We want to be the ones that never give up the ship."

LA County sheriff's deputies detain Black teens at gunpoint after they were allegedly attacked

Search for survivors after deadly Baltimore gas explosion levels homes

Sailors describe out-of-control fire aboard USS Bonhomme Richard
Recently President Donald Trump announced an executive order to extend some benefits of pandemic relief. The need is clear, but the president has no constitutional authority to take this action, so, effectively, he was picking a fight with congressional Democrats. During a crisis, partisan political quarreling is unhelpful.

This is part of a pattern. Twitter is brilliant technology, but it can be dangerous when misused. In recent tweets, President Trump suggested the possibility of delaying Novembers presidential election. The Constitution empowers Congress to set Election Day, congressional leaders expressed no interest in this foolish idea, and it was ignored. Perhaps Trump raised the issue merely to distract people from the days bad news.

Or was it a serious idea evidencing characteristic disregard for tradition and democratic norms? The highest virtue of successful leaders is good judgment. That is especially true when each president must choose whether to unite or divide. All occupants of the Oval Office either seek to bring Americans together or magnify their differences.

Few presidents in U.S. history have been more consciously divisive than President Trump. This was clear from the opening moments of his presidency. In his inaugural address in January, 2017, Trump played to his political bases fear of urban violence, declaring: This American carnage stops right here and stops right now. Over three years later, little has improved, and the reason is obvious: Tough talk cannot solve persistent social and economic problems. When Trump sent federal officers in riot gear to Portland, Oregon, he acted to impress his political followers. There is a big difference between using federal force as public safety necessity and when it is a deliberate provocation

Using federal troops to restore order in times of unrest is far from unprecedented, but earlier presidents acted at the request of local authorities or to enforce federal court decisions or orders. George Washington supported controversial policies advanced by Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury, including the controversial whiskey tax, that led to the first two-party system, but Washington never was intentionally partisan. Instead, in his famous farewell address in September, 1796, Washington declined consideration for a third term, which the Constitution then permitted, urging Americans to look past the often-bitter party conflict of recent years. It is a classic expression of presidential statesmanship.

Throughout the Civil War, the greatest crisis in U.S. history, Abraham Lincoln was the most polarizing president of all time. However, that resulted from circumstances largely beyond his control. Beginning his presidency with his first inaugural address in March, 1861, Lincoln sought to inspire unity: The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature. Nevertheless, the war came, costing nearly 750,000 American lives in four years, but Lincoln was a reluctant war leader, and his second inaugural address, given just a few weeks before his assassination, was an eloquent plea for peace and reconciliation.

In 1936 President Franklin Roosevelt was renominated by the Democrats. In his acceptance speech, given to a highly partisan audience, Roosevelt used one of the most pointed phrases he ever spoke in public, denouncing his political opponents as economic royalists who complain that we seek to overthrow the institutions of America. What they really complain of is that we seek to take away their power. Calling his critics economic royalists, or aristocrats, as the Great Depression continued to cause widespread economic pain, was highly unfriendly. Roosevelt was tellingly reelected in a landslide.

While campaigning for president in 1980, Ronald Reagan occasionally used divisive, coded language to attack Democrats social policies, but he brought people together simply by offering a clear alternative to President Jimmy Carters perceived incompetence, and Reagan was elected easily. After four years of frequent controversies, he ran for re-election, effectively used the reassuring slogan Morning in America, and produced another landslide. Reagan had many critics, so he was polarizing, but his affability and sense of humor comforted many Americans, leading to significant national unity.

From his confrontational inaugural address to the law enforcement surge he recently ordered to suppress mostly lawful protests to feuding with Congress about much-needed pandemic relief, President Trump has crudely attempted to gain political advantage.

The president might consider avoiding intentional, cynical incitement of political divisions because polarization cannot be turned on and off like a hose. Some people have very long memories.

Steven S. Berizzi is a professor of history and political science at Norwalk Community College.
Tropical Storm Isaias reached Connecticut on Tuesday, Aug. 4, and since then Cheshire residents have been working around the clock to try and clean up the mess that was made.

I estimate hundreds of trees down, many of which are entangled in power lines. Dozens of streets are impassable including Waterbury Road (Route 70) and Bethany Mountain Road (Route 42) said Police Chief Neil Dryfe, after the storm.

The high winds caused many Cheshire residents to lose power, along with significant tree damage.

The trees in our backyard almost came crashing down on us, said Alysia Sklenarik, who lives on Summit Road. After the storm, we were basically left with piles of huge branches and stuff littering our yard and covering the roof.

For Sklenarik and many other Cheshire residents, power did not return until several days after the lights first went out. According to the most recent update, less than five Cheshire residents remain without power.

While town crews continue to work diligently to clean up the aftermath of the storm, some residents were frustrated with how long it took to restore power.

I havent seen one Eversource truck come down my road. Its like they forgot about Cheshire, said Bonnie McClane, who lives on Waterbury Rd., a few days after the storm.

And it wasnt just local residents expressing frustration with the restoration efforts. Town Manager Sean Kimball, whose office provided daily updates on the progress of the cleanup and Eversources efforts to restore power, made clear via press releases and personal tweets that he was unhappy with the utility companys response.

On Aug. 7, Kimball explained that he was beyond frustrated as Eversource had promised to restore power to nearly 4,000 customers the previous day but had not done so. Kimball was also critical of Eversources prediction that full restoration would be accomplished by Tuesday, Aug. 11, at 11:59 p.m., suggesting that the utility company should commit to beating that deadline.

However, Kimball did make it a point to thank Eversource crews who worked on wires and utility poles, pointing out that the workers had nothing to do with the overall restoration response.
A Sydney mother who suffered horrific burns when a homemade bomb exploded in her face says she's lucky she wasn't killed by the blast.

Denise Lavell, 55, from Canterbury in the city's inner west, was severely burnt on her face, hands and ankles after finding the bomb in a flaming bag outside her home on June 8.

The device, which was made of shrapnel, aerosol cans and fuel, exploded when she tried to put the fire out.

'It's only just through good luck that I was not either dead or seriously injured,' Mrs Lavell told Nine News.

Sydney woman Denise Lavell, from Canterbury, (pictured) suffered severe burns to her face, hands and ankles after a homemade bomb allegedly meant for someone else was left outside her home

Nine males (three pictured) aged from 17 to 20 were arrested on Thursday and eight were charged over the horrific incident

'As I kicked it off it exploded, later on I found out that there were thumbtacks in there and it was just so shocking to think this sort of thing happens in Australia,' she told Seven News.

'The fact that somebody would go to this level without even really fully knowing they were targeting the right person is just absolutely appalling.'

Lavell was rushed to Concord Hospital while a 19-year-old man who was also at the home at the time escaped uninjured.

Mrs Lavell said she was lucky she kicked the bag away as it burned.

'Had I not kicked it off the veranda, I honestly don't think I would be here,' she said.

Nine males aged from 17 to 20 were arrested on Thursday and eight were charged over the incident.

The bomb was left inside a flaming bag (pictured) outside Mrs Lavell's home. Police allege she was the innocent victim of a drug dispute between criminals

Detective Superintendent Paul Devaney alleged the incident was an act of retribution after drugs were purportedly stolen from a criminal gang, with Mrs Lavell caught in the crossfire.

'We'll allege this act at Canterbury was one of mistaken identity, with the 55-year-old female having no involvement in any offence whatsoever,' he said.

'These men are facing extremely serious charges ... they've made a number of bad decisions that have resulted in life-changing experiences for the victim.'

Police say the homemade bomb was 'crudely manufactured' and incorporated aerosol cans with flammable substances, fire lighters, sparklers and thumbtacks.

The eight men charged were all refused bail and are due to appear at Central Local Court on Friday.
A former dean of admissions at Texas Southern University charged with theft now has a warrant out for his arrest in Harris County after failing to appear in court, according to documents obtained by the Houston Chronicle.

Edward Rene, 52, who was charged with a second-degree felony, failed to turn himself in Wednesday after the Harris County District Attorneys Office filed criminal charges earlier this week.

District Clerk of Harris County Marilyn Burgess filed the court summons for Renes arrest Thursday.

He failed to show up in court as he agreed, said Dane Schiller, a spokesman for the district attorneys office. His lawyer accepted a summons on his behalf, and there was an agreement for him to show up in court and he has not.

Attorney Marcus Esther said Wednesday that he had been helping Rene with some preliminary matters for his case earlier that day, but by that afternoon, he no longer represented Rene.

He has not retained me as his attorney as of today, Esther wrote in a Facebook message.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Former TSU official tied to admissions scandal charged with theft

Rene didnt respond to calls and text messages sent to his cell phone.

Rene is accused of stealing nearly $74,000 in scholarship money from TSU law school students by inflating financial awards for two students and pocketing the excess funds, according to a criminal charge. If convicted, Rene faces a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison.

TSUs board of regents brought their concerns about Rene to the District Attorneys Office of Public Corruption last year. Harris County investigators worked with the FBI to investigate Rene, a longtime employee at TSU.

FBI Special Agent Coy Davis said in an affidavit that two TSU students, who werent identified in court papers, said Rene had offered them scholarships to help cover tuition costs  but they also received tens of thousands of dollars in extra financial aid.

Rene told one student that the excess funds would need to be returned to a charitable foundation to help minority students, the affidavit alleges. Rene gave no name of a foundation, and he told the student to write cashiers checks to him from the fall of 2017 to the fall of 2019 that totaled nearly $47,000.

A second student, who was told that Rene had a family foundation, was initially paid a total of $14,000  double the amount that they were expecting, according to the affidavit. When the student questioned Rene about the discrepancy, Rene told them it was an accounting error and was asked to reimburse Rene directly with a check, cashiers check, or money order, according to the affidavit.

The double payments continued, court records allege, and the student paid Rene a total of nearly $27,000. The FBI found no evidence of a charitable foundation tied to Rene, and court records allege that all the checks were either deposited in his personal bank account or cashed at his bank.

The students were credible witnesses, Davis said, and they face no criminal charges.

Joan Bullock, the dean of TSUs Thurgood Marshall School of Law, told the FBI that Rene had sole discretion to award scholarships from the law school, but the money was intended for students.

Derrick Wilson, TSUs director of administration, said several university administrators reviewed and approved Renes budgetary requests for scholarship money  but no one ever questioned Rene.

john.tedesco@chron.com

brittany.britto@chron.com
Irans navy temporarily seized control of a Liberian-flagged oil tanker in what the United States said were international waters near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday.

The US-led maritime security coalition in the Gulf released photos of Iran forces fast-roping to the deck of the ship, known as the MT Wila, from what appears to be an Iranian Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King helicopter.

Another photo depicts what appears to be an Iranian Hendjian-class support vessel approaching the Wila from the port side. US Central Command released grainy footage of the seizure, apparently taken from the same coalition ship, which remained nearby on overwatch, the coalition said in a statement

A spokesperson for the US Navys 5th Fleet did not offer an explanation as to why Iranian forces would seize control of the vessel. The Wila issued no distress calls to other ships in the area, the coalition said. The ship was later released.

The Wila was previously moored off Iraq before moving to a port in the United Arab Emirates, The Associated Press reported.

A representative for Greece-based IMS SA, the parent company that owns the ship, did not return a request for comment.

Why it matters: The United States and Iran have had a number of heated run-ins near the Strait of Hormuz as Iran has increasingly targeted shipping over the past year. The strategic waters funnel about 20% of all global oil traded, or roughly $1.2 billion worth of oil, daily. The Trump administration has sought to isolate Iran economically and prevent it from exporting oil abroad in a bid to coerce officials in Tehran back to the table to renegotiate the 2015 nuclear deal, which the United States pulled out of unilaterally in 2018.

Last month, the captain of a crude oil tanker  which had disappeared from port in the United Arab Emirates and later turned up near Irans coast  said the ship had been hijacked, AP first reported. The vessel, the Gulf Sky, had been abandoned by its crew months earlier after US sanctions targeted its Iranian owners. The United States had accused the ships owners of purchasing the tanker on behalf of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Iranian forces may have attempted to divert two other vessels passing through the strait over the past week, according to Dryad Global. On Saturday, the route of one ship headed toward Khafji, Saudi Arabia made an irregular turn north and sailed into Iranian waters before abruptly turning southwest and resuming course. Three days later, a second vessel was seen making an irregular turn north and drifted into Iranian waters for about six hours before resuming its course toward Jubail, Saudi Arabia.

The United States accused Iran of sabotaging two tankers last year in the Gulf with explosive limpet mines.

Whats next: The US-led maritime coalition is calling on Iran to explain its legal reasoning for boarding the MT Wila. So far, Iranian state media has not reported on the incident.

Know more: Al-Monitor has reported on prior mysterious petroleum tanker incidents near the Strait of Hormuz, including the disappearance of the Gulf Sky.
CARBONDALE  Southern Illinois University Carbondale students and their families on Wednesday descended onto campus from around the state and country for the first of five student move-in days. While the campus move-in rite of passage looks a bit different this year, students are optimistic as they start their college journeys.

Nursing runs in Trinity Moores family  her mother is a nurse, her aunt is a nurse and her older sister is a nurse. Moore, of Chicago, said applying for SIU Carbondales new nursing program was a no-brainer, and she was excited to find out she was admitted into the programs first cohort.

Im excited about starting hands-on with the nursing program, learning new things and materials, Moore said. I picked SIU because I wanted to stay in-state and SIU had a really great nursing program. This was my number one school to go to  I was really excited when I got in.

Benita Jones, Moores mother, teared up while she said she was excited for her daughter and being able to keep up the tradition of nursing in their family. This is a new experience for her, especially with the pandemic, Jones said. I just know shes in good hands, so Im glad she decided to stay here. She got offers from other places, but she decided to go here because its a home away from home, youre not really far  I'm just really excited for her.

Jones said the conversation with her daughter about what she should do for college was very tough, especially because she works as an emergency room nurse in Chicago and sees the impact of COVID-19 on a regular basis. But, she said she was relieved the university is taking precautions, and sooner than later they are going to become a normal part of life, and eventually second nature.

Lisa Ray, a two-time SIU graduate from Streamwood, shared similar sentiments with Jones as she prepares to help her daughter, Gabrielle Byers, move into the dorms on Thursday. Ray said there has been a range of emotions within her family throughout the past several months, especially when her daughters high school experience was moved online due to the pandemic. But, she found the possibility of continuing the Saluki tradition in her family exciting.

Throughout the pandemic, Ray said she and her daughter have been living life while following safety precautions, whether thats mask-wearing or spraying down and sanitizing the room, and as long as others take care of their personal responsibilities, she said students should be able to still have some of those (college) experiences.

Byers said because her last semester of high school was moved online, she knew she wanted to take the risk and have a change in scenery, and is moving to campus with the understanding that at least Ive done this; I get to start this and if they do shut it down, Im trying to mentally prepare myself for it.

Despite any uneasiness, Ray said she feels excited for her daughter and knows the university will do everything it can to ensure students are safe. I think I feel less nervous about (my daughter) going somewhere that I feel like is home, she said. You know the campus. You know how you felt there and it all makes me feel a little relieved.

Amid rising COVID-19 numbers in Jackson County and Southern Illinois, university housing has put in protocols to attempt to mitigate the spread of the virus on campus.

In an attempt to spread families out during the move-in process, students have been assigned move-in dates and times based on where their rooms are located and how far they live from campus. New students move in on Wednesday and Thursday, while returning students living on campus move in Friday through Sunday.

Additionally, students were given the option to live in a single room this year. The university is using all residence halls on campus this year, including Thompson Point, University Hall and Mae Smith, Neely and Schneider Halls  commonly known as the towers.

During move-in, a student and up to two family members drop off the students belongings in designated areas located near each residence hall. People will maintain a social distance of 6 feet and wear a mask at all times until they are in the students room with the door closed.

Only students will be allowed in dining halls during move-in this year for public health reasons, according to University Housing. The university is also sponsoring a variety of events for students during the annual Saluki Startup and Weeks of Welcome. Many events are modified to fit gathering restrictions, including virtual event options.

This will be a very different, but very exciting fall semester, SIU Carbondale Chancellor Austin Lane said during an Aug. 7 virtual campus update. As COVID-19 cases rise in Jackson County, the university is taking additional caution and enforcing guidelines such as mask-wearing, social distancing and enhanced cleaning protocols, according to university officials.

Well try to have some semester here in the fall that we think is going to be as successful as we make it," Lane said during the update. "Well do it in a way thats safe. Well do it in a way thats respectful of everyone's emotions, and, again, well try and beat this together.

Dan Mahony, SIU System president, said it is exciting to have students back on campus, and while this years move-in looks a little different, hes happy to see so many new students take an exciting first step into the college experience. Its different. Usually Im lugging stuff up seven flights of stairs and helping the parents with moving, but I cant do that this time, he said. But, if this is as close to normal we can get, well take it.

Mahony said parents should be reassured the university will be getting messages out to students thatll be in their best interest, including how to follow COVID-19 safety measures. When assessing the pandemic situation, the system president said he thinks about it as a parent because he also has a son who is a junior in college. Ive been watching this from the community perspective and kind of always judging it on what ... I would feel safe with my own kid.

Lane is in a similar position. He has a daughter who is a college senior and a son who is a freshman. He said he and Mahony have been through this before and have experience knowing what people are feeling and dealing with. In addition to the campus leaders going around residence halls and talking to parents, the universitys student affairs team is out and about making it a little easier for some of the families and trying to ease their concerns.

Its just an exciting time and I know its an emotional time  parents have to say goodbye to their kiddos. They're anxious about them doing well and so I just want them to know were here for them, Lane said. The chancellors advice to new students is to connect, ask questions and if you need help  go and get it. He added students should feel free to reach out by email at chancellor@siu.edu or stop by and chat at Anthony Hall if they need anything, because he and his team are dedicated to student success and an easy transition to college.

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"Our partnership with ON Semiconductor is helping grow Arizona's diverse, STEM-fluent workforce and opening up a world of opportunities for young learners who may not otherwise be exposed to STEM programming." Lori Gatmaitan, director, SAE Foundation

SAE Foundation announced today that ON Semiconductor Foundation has awarded a $7,500 grant to advance science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education in seven Phoenix-area classrooms. The grant will support SAEs A World In Motion (AWIM) STEM programming for grades K-8.

"ON Semiconductor's grant will build on the work we're doing in Arizona to ensure that all students have access to hands-on STEM learning experiences," said Lori Gatmaitan, director, SAE Foundation. "Our partnership with ON Semiconductor is helping grow Arizona's diverse, STEM-fluent workforce and opening up a world of opportunities for young learners who may not otherwise be exposed to STEM programming."

This funding expands on a partnership that began with the ON Semiconductor Foundation in 2018 when they provided funding to support AWIM in several Phoenix middle school classrooms.

The ON Semiconductor Foundation is committed to serving the needs of communities across the globe through the investment of resources. The ON Semiconductor Foundation, which was launched in 2019, is overseen by an employee-based board of directors who manage its daily operations and approve recommendations from grant advisors globally. Since 2016, the company has funded more than $5 million in grants, employee matching and in-kind donations, as well as sponsorships and dollars-for-doers for employee volunteerism.

Investing in the communities in which we operate and where our employees live is critical to our organization as we look to continue our legacy of giving and volunteering, said Theresa Haywood-McCarley, senior director of corporate social responsibility at ON Semiconductor and board secretary for ON Semiconductor Foundation. On behalf of the ON Semiconductor Foundation, were proud to support the work of the SAE Foundation as we work toward making the world better together.

SAEs AWIM program provides students with the skills needed to succeed in real-world work environments and helps connect their classroom learning with real-life applications. During the program, students engage in the Engineering Design Experience, which includes setting goals, building knowledge, designing, building, testing and presenting their findings to an audience of peers and/or teachers.

For more information on SAEs AWIM program, please visit: https://www.sae.org/learn/education.

For more information on how to get involved with the SAE Foundation, visit: http://www.saefoundation.org.

For more information on the ON Semiconductor Foundation, please visit: https://www.onsemi.com/about/foundation.

About ON Semiconductor Foundation

The ON Semiconductor Foundation is committed to serving the needs of communities through the investment of resources. After a conversion of ON Semiconductors global corporate giving and employee volunteer programs, the ON Semiconductor Foundation was established in February 2019 and became a nonprofit organization formed under the laws of the State of Arizona in January 2020, in an effort to continue the legacy of giving and volunteering in the communities where it does business and where its employees live. Its primary focus of giving is in the areas of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) Education, Health, Disaster Relief, Environment and Human Services. For further information about the ON Semiconductor Foundation, read more at http://www.onsemi.com/about/foundation.

About the SAE Foundation

The mission of the SAE Foundation is to increase student achievement and participation in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to build a STEM-fluent workforce. Funds raised by the SAE Foundation support SAE Internationals award-winning A World In Motion (AWIM) program, Collegiate Design SeriesTM (CDS), awards and scholarships. SAEs STEM education programs enable students to develop the 21st century skills needed to succeed in real-world work environments and connect classroom learning with real-life application. SAEs STEM programs have reached more than 6 million students worldwide and engaged more than 30,000 STEM industry professionals as volunteers. SAE International is a global association engaging nearly 200,000 engineers, technical experts and volunteers to advance mobility knowledge and solutions for the benefit of humanity. Get involved today http://www.saefoundation.org.

About SAE International

SAE International is a global association committed to advancing mobility knowledge and solutions for the benefit of humanity. By engaging nearly 200,000 engineers, technical experts and volunteers, we connect and educate mobility professionals to enable safe, clean, and accessible mobility solutions. We act on two priorities: encouraging a lifetime of learning for mobility engineering professionals and setting the standards for industry engineering. We strive for a better world through the work of our philanthropic SAE Foundation, including award-winning programs like A World in Motion and the Collegiate Design Series. More at http://www.sae.org.

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Namibia has turned down Germany's 9 million offer of reparations for colonial massacres, stating that it needs to be 'revised'.

Namibia's President Hage Geingob on Tuesday said reparations offered by Germany for mass killings in its then colony at the start of the twentieth century were 'not acceptable'.

German occupiers in Namibia killed tens of thousands of indigenous Herero and Nama people in 1904-1908 massacres, which historians have called the first genocide of the 20th century.

Namibia's President Hage Geingob (pictured) on Tuesday said reparations offered by Germany for mass killings in its then colony at the start of the twentieth century were 'not acceptable'

In 2015, the two countries started negotiating an agreement that would combine an official apology by Germany as well as development aid.

Geingob on Tuesday was briefed by his government's special envoy Zed Ngavirue on the status of negotiations.

The briefing took place ahead of a final round of talks for which a date has yet to be set.

'The current offer for reparations made by the German government remains an outstanding issue and is not acceptable to the Namibian government,' Geingob said in a statement after the briefing, adding that Ngavirue had been asked to 'continue with negotiations for a revised offer'.

Germany has acknowledged that atrocities occurred at the hands of its colonial authorities and some officials have even recognised it as a genocide. Above, German soldiers pictured with captured indigenous people in chains in 1905

The sum of money offered in reparations was 9 million (10 million), according to a report in DW.

The president also noted that Germany had declined to accept the term 'reparations', as that word was also avoided during the country's negotiations with Israel after the Holocaust.

Ngavirue rejected Germany's reference to reparations as 'healing the wounds' and said the terminology would be subject to further debate, according to the statement.

The president also noted that Germany had declined to accept the term 'reparations'. Above, Hage Geingob pictured at a World Economic Forum session (File image)

Namibia was called German South West Africa during Germany's 1884-1915 rule. Above, a picture of Namibia during Germany's colonial rule in 1913

Berlin was not immediately available for comment on the claims.

Germany has acknowledged that atrocities occurred at the hands of its colonial authorities and some officials have even recognised it as a genocide.

But the country has repeatedly refused to pay direct reparations, citing millions of euros in development aid to the Namibian government.

Namibia was called German South West Africa during Germany's 1884-1915 rule, and then passed under South African rule for 75 years, finally gaining independence in 1990.

Herero captives pictured in chains during the 1904-1908 uprising. Their insurrection was crushed by German imperial troops

Tensions boiled over in 1904 when the Herero rose up, followed by the Nama, in an insurrection crushed by German imperial troops.

In the Battle of Waterberg in August 1904, around 80,000 Herero fled including women and children.

German troops went after them across what is now known as the Kalahari Desert. Only 15,000 Herero survived.
Mekedatu padayatra: After Karnataka HC chides Cong, Siddaramaiah says permission not taken for protest

Cong leader demands ban on tricolour mask pattern

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Panaji, Aug 13: Congress leader Digambar Kamat on Wednesday demanded a ban on masks with tricolour and Ashok Chakra printed on it.

The former chief minister took to Twitter to protest the masks with the colours and pattern of the national flag which are being sold ahead of August 15.

Khadi Commissions files against woman for selling fake masks

PM Modi launches platform for 'Transparent taxation-Honouring the Honest' | Oneindia News

"Disturbed by seeing this photo on Social Media. I urge @PMOIndia to issue directions to all States and Ban use of Masks in Tricolour with Ashok Chakra. Let us all respect our National Flag," he tweeted.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Thursday, August 13, 2020, 9:44 [IST]
A businessman was one of just two passengers on board an 'eerie' flight in New Zealand, as locals avoid Auckland amid a recent outbreak.

Cameron Bagrie, the managing director and chief economist at Bagrie Economics, took an Air New Zealand flight from Wellington to Auckland on Thursday morning.

'They gave me a personalised boarding call which was quite humorous. I thought I was running late but then I realised there was only two of us on the plane,' he told the New Zealand Herald.

'I ran to the counter, then they said it's you and someone else. When I stepped on, it was me, myself, and I and someone in row 28 down the back!'

Cameron Bagrie took an Air New Zealand flight from Wellington to Auckland on Thursday morning, but was one of just two passengers on board amid the country's recent COVID-19 outbreak

Mr Bagrie was meant to travel to Invercargill for work, but had to return home to Auckland because of coronavirus restrictions following the nation's first cases in 101 days.

Auckland is currently in level 3 lockdown after being rocked by the deadly virus' return into the community after 102 days without local transmission.

Locals been told to stay in the region unless their trip is for an essential service.

Kiwis from other cities are avoiding Auckland, leaving hundreds of seats empty on planes.

Mr Bagrie said that while he was prepared for an uncrowded flight, he was taken aback by the 'eerie' feeling of being one of the only people on board.

'It was quite eerie, It was like 'wow'. This is the ultimate social distancing. I'm in 2C and the other gentleman is down the other end of the plane,' he said.

The economist heaped praise on the Air New Zealand staff for being the 'ultimate professionals' during the bizarre flight.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned New Zealanders to expect Auckland's COVID-19 outbreak to worsen beyond the announcement of 14 new positive cases.

The new positive tests, as well as one probable case, take the Auckland cluster to a likely 22 people.

'The modelling suggests that a cluster like this will grow,' Ms Ardern said.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned New Zealanders to expect Auckland's COVID-19 outbreak to worsen beyond the announcement of 14 new positive cases

'But it's not a sign that it's escalating beyond our capacity, it's just the behaviour of clusters.'

On Tuesday, the discovery of four cases prompted Ms Ardern to announce a 60-hour lockdown the country's biggest city, which began at midday on Wednesday.

Health officials have moved swiftly to locate, isolate and test close contacts since then.

For the first time since the pandemic's arrival, community cases will be asked to relocate to mandatory isolation facilities previously used for arrivals at the border.

One of the new positive cases confirmed on Thursday is a student at Mount Albert Grammar, the country's second-largest school with 3,000 pupils.
Kelly Michelle Koch, 50, flew to Hanoi from Ho Chi Minh City this week to donate her plasma in hopes that she might be able to help save other COVID-19 patients in Vietnam.

Koch is an American citizen who has spent the past several years living in the city.

In March 2020, after returning to Vietnam from a trip to Thailand, she tested positive for the novel coronavirus and was named the countrys 83rd COVID-19 patient.

Koch received treatment at a makeshift hospital for coronavirus patients in the southern metropolis.

Her symptoms were quite mild and, after testing negative for the virus, doctors announced her virus-free on April 4. She chose to stay in Vietnam following her recovery.

Now, in the midst of Vietnams new wave of community-based cases, the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases is urging recovered COVID-19 patients to donate their plasma in order to help treat current active cases.

Koch is not only one of the 17 fully recovered COVID-19 patients in Vietnam who have registered for the program, but she is the first foreigner to do so.

She flew from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi on Wednesday to donate her plasma in the hope that it might help those who are currently suffering from the disease.

Plasma donation is similar to blood donation, so I hope other people wont be afraid to get involved, Koch said.

Five recovered Vietnamese COVID-19 patients also donated their plasma at the infirmary on Wednesday morning.

The National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi says the donations will first be used to treat patients there before the program is extended to patients in other hospitals.

At a ministry level, the program seeks to determine the efficacy of blood plasma as a prophylaxis against the novel coronavirus.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), patients who have fully recovered from the coronavirus for a minimum of two weeks and have a prior diagnosis documented via a lab test are eligible to donate plasma.

The donated plasma can then be preserved for up to 12 months.

Using plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients to treat active cases has already been documented in China, South Korea, and some European countries.

Vietnam has so far recorded 883 Covid-19 cases, with 421 recoveries and 18 deaths.

A new wave of local infections began on July 25 with the detection of a patient in Da Nang, ending 99 days of no transmission in the community in the Southeast Asian country.

Since then, 421 local infections have been documented, mostly traced to the outbreak epicenter in Da Nang.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Parliament has approved a 28.5 million contract agreement between the government and Jason Bridging International BV of the Netherlands for the construction of 14 pedestrian bridges at hazardous locations in three regions.



The project, targeted at locating bridges close to critical facilities such as schools, hospitals and other public places, is to enhance the safety of all road users, especially the vulnerable, in the Greater Accra, Ashanti and Central regions.



Expected to be completed within 36 months from its commencement date, the project forms part of the government strategic road programme to continue the construction of pedestrian bridges in the country to remove all conflicts between vehicular traffic and pedestrians on arterial road networks.



The agreement was presented to Parliament by the Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, and it was referred to the Committee on Roads and Transport for consideration and report.



Scope of the project



A report presented by the committee, signed by its Chairman, Mr Samuel Ayeh-Paye, last Monday said the scope of works shall include engineering design, manufacturing, supply and installation of bridge super structure, ramps and civil works as well as solar lightening facilities.



Others would involve concrete pavement and landscaping, relocation of utility lines, training, capacity building and supply of bridge accessories.



Project locations



The report mentioned the locations identified and proposed for the installation of the pedestrian bridges as the N1, near pedestrian traffic lights at Abeka Lapaz, Tetegu Junction traffic light and Weija Junction as well as Kanda highway, near the mosque.



The Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Ridge, N4 at Okponglo/Shiashie extension and N4, near the Presbyterian Senior High School (PRESEC) traffic light, Legon, all in the Greater Accra Region.



In the Central Region, the bridges will be put up at N1, University of Cape Coast (Eastern gate, southern/central gate), and N8 Lorry station/Catholic Hospital in Assin Fosu.



In the Ashanti Region, the bridges will be located near the Opoku Ware SHS, N6 Sofohline Bus Terminal and the SDA Hospital along the Sunyani road as well as the SDA School on the western bypass, all in Kumasi.



Background



The government through the Ministry of Roads and Highways (MRH) has constructed several arterial roads in some of the capital cities in the recent past which had consequently improved mobility and shortened travel time on these roads, the report said.



It said the arterial roads constructed had however compromised the safety of vulnerable groups, pedestrian and non-motorised transport users within the selected cities.



A considerable number of lives were lost needlessly through road accidents on our highways, especially when they traversed urban areas or densely populated communities.



To address the challenge, it said the sector ministry had identified several crossing points within the cities, which needed appropriate pedestrian facilities to ensure safety.

Source: Graphic.com.gh









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Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-14 00:04:06|Editor: huaxia

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BERLIN, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Turnover of Germany's largest companies listed in the DAX, excluding banks, decreased by 13 percent year-on-year to 283 billion euros (335 billion U.S. dollars) in the second quarter (Q2) 2020, according to a study published by consulting firm Ernst & Young (EY) on Thursday.

The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic "severely slowed down the business development of the largest German companies," EY noted.

Germany's automotive industry recorded particularly sharp declines. The four DAX companies from the automotive sector, BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen as well as automotive supplier Continental, even recorded a 32 percent drop in sales, said the study.

After around five weeks of shutdown due to the COVID-19 crisis in Germany, car manufacturers gradually restarted production in late April.

"The pandemic has particularly affected industrial companies massively," said Mathieu Meyer, member of the EY management board. Plant closures and shutdown of public life in many countries had led to "enormous losses."

However, not all of Germany's largest listed companies recorded a decline in sales. Twelve DAX-listed companies increased their sales compared to the same time last year, albeit partly due to takeovers, according to the study.

Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of DAX companies fell even more sharply than sales. EBIT of Germany's largest listed companies combined dropped by 97 percent to only 750 million euros.

This decline in EBIT was not only due to the COVID-19 crisis. Provisions for legal cases also "played a major role," EY noted. German pharmaceutical and chemical company Bayer, for example, recorded a net loss of around 9.5 billion euros in Q2 due to provisions for the glyphosate settlement in the United States.

Meyer is expecting the third quarter to be much better. "The mood in the economy has improved noticeably recently, incoming orders are encouraging and the feared slump in the labor market has not yet materialized." (1 euro = 1.18 U.S. dollars) Enditem
Motorola is almost ready to unveil its next foldable smartphone, which the rumor mill has so far tentatively called either Razr 5G or Razr 2020. The successor to the company's first foldable, the reborn Razr 2019, will improve upon it in every conceivable way, if we go by past rumors.

It will get official on September 9, according to invites sent to the media by Motorola. The next Razr has already leaked in a few hands-on images, of which one is shown below for your viewing pleasure.

Expect to see the Snapdragon 765 chipset powering the new device and bringing it 5G support as well. You'll get 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and a 2,845 mAh battery. The rear camera gets an upgrade too, to Samsung's 48 MP ISOCELL Bright GM1, while the selfie snapper will be 20 MP. The phone will run Android 10, and the outer screen will be larger this time.

Via
WYOMING, MI -- Supervisors with the Wyoming Water Treatment Plant are reminding residents in 13 communities not to water lawns during a sprinkling ban that began Tuesday.

Authorities issued the appeal Wednesday, Aug. 12 after demand for water increased a day after the ban took effect.

The communities served by the plant include Zeeland Township, Park Township, Olive Township, Blendon Township, Holland Township, Georgetown Township, Jamestown Township and Hudsonville City, and the Kent County communities of Byron Township, Gaines Township, City of Grandville, a portion of the City of Kentwood and the City of Wyoming.

The ban is in effect while crews repair one of two water transmission lines. The project could take as long as two weeks, officials said, and work began Monday, Aug. 10.

One transmission line can adequately serve the indoor water needs for all customers, but not outdoor watering as well.

Too much demand could create low-pressure conditions and lead to a water quality issue, treatment plant officials said.

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The new centre in Vietnam will provide dental professionals with immersive, best-in-class training experiences across Aligns portfolio of products

The new training centre in Ho Chi Minh City will provide training, clinical education programmes and process demonstrations for dental professionals and highlight the benefits of integrating Aligns innovative solutions and treatment options into their practices.

The Ho Chi Minh City Training Center is located in Phu My Hung area, District 7. Align Technologys regional headquarters is based in Singapore, where the company is developing more training programmes for doctors as well as new marketing initiatives to generate greater awareness among prospective patients in the region.

The new state-of-the-art training facilities in Vietnam aim to be centres of excellence to educate doctors across Aligns entire portfolio of products, including the Invisalign clear aligner system, the Invisalign Go system, Invisalign First treatment, and Vivera retainers. The training centres will also provide doctors with hands-on experience using iTero imaging systems for restorative and orthodontic procedures.

The investments in the training centres showcase Aligns commitment to Southeast Asia, said Sasithorn Theinthong, Align Technologys managing director for Southeast Asia. Our goal is to ensure that dental professionals are prepared to meet the growing demand for Invisalign clear aligners and to recognise the enormous potential to provide the best for their patients in the region. Align is helping doctors master the art of modern orthodontics, participate in continuous learning, and network with industry-leading peers in a training environment designed to maximise both convenience and quality of education.

Aligns commitment to training is a part of what makes it unique in its approach to orthodontic treatment. All doctors using Align products receive access to training, clinical education programmes, and the tool and process demonstrations needed for them to adopt innovative technology and treatment options in their practices with the Invisalign system. Each training centre holds a training room, a ClinCheck workshop, and a demonstration lab.

Every time we release new technology, we provide our doctors with all of the knowledge and insights they need to use it in their practice, said Sasithorn. As a result, many practices are now embracing digital treatment in new ways and more purposefully than ever before. The new training centre will serve doctors in Vietnam for many years to come.
Republican state legislators want more discussion about how COVID-19 affected nursing homes and residential care facilities in New York.

Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay and Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt announced a series of forums, the first of which will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, Aug. 17. Regional listening sessions will be held later in the year.

The forums follow two legislative hearings on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on downstate and upstate New York nursing homes. The hearings were led by the Assembly and Senate Democratic majorities.

"If we've learned anything from the first two nursing home hearings, it's that the discussion is far from over," Barclay said. "We have heard from a number of individuals and organizations who wanted to come forward and share their experiences, but simply were not given the opportunity to do so. Holding legislative hearings was important, but there is no reason to limit the conversations to only two events on an issue that impacted so many thousands of lives."

Republicans criticized the hearings because, they say, some legislators weren't given an opportunity to ask questions and individuals were removed from the witness list. One of the potential witnesses who was removed from the list is Janice Dean, a Fox News meteorologist whose in-laws died of COVID-19. Her mother-in-law was in an assisted living center when she contracted the virus. Her father-in-law was in a nursing home.

Dean will testify at Monday's hearing, according to Barclay and Ortt. She tweeted Thursday that she's "[g]rateful to Republican Legislative Leaders for adding another forum ... and allowing us to tell our stories."

New York has reported more than 6,000 confirmed and presumed COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes. Most of the deaths occurred in downstate nursing homes, but there have been outbreaks in upstate facilities.

The death toll doesn't include nursing home residents who contracted COVID-19 and were transferred to hospitals. New York Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker was questioned about the actual death toll at the first legislative hearing, but he didn't provide any new data to lawmakers.

It's believed that the COVID-19 death toll in nursing homes will rise once the residents who were transported to hospitals are included.

"This is too critical of an issue to simply walk away and close the door," Ortt said. "Even without full transparency and cooperation from the Cuomo administration, grieving families deserve to be heard."

Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.

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The breakthrough in talks between the U.S., Israel and UAE on a normalization deal came two months ago, White House officials tell me.

Behind the scenes: Talks had been ongoing for more than a year, but they gained new urgency ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's July 1 deadline to move ahead on West Bank annexations.

We have been talking to both sides for 18 months but the annexation issue created the atmosphere which was conducive for getting a deal."

 Senior U.S. official

How it happened: The UAE issued strong public statements opposing Israeli annexation, and privately stressed that it would be disastrous for Israel's hopes of normalization with the Gulf states.

The most important development was an op-ed in the Israeli press in which UAE Ambassador Yousef Al-Otaiba stressed that Israel had to choose between normalization and annexation.

At the end of June, Al-Otaiba approached Jared Kushner and White House envoy Avi Berkowitz with a proposal: the UAE would agree to normalization with Israel in return for an Israeli announcement that West Bank annexation was off the table.

Kushner liked the proposal, and Berkowitz began attempting to lay the groundwork.

The White House also had its own reservations about annexation, which Berkowitz discussed with Netanyahu in meetings over three days in late June.

The White House demanded that if Israel move ahead with annexation, it also take steps supported by the Palestinians, like transferring control of 5-10% of the West Bank.

Netanyahu didn't like what he heard. Sources briefed on the meetings say he was upset by the proposals.

But it was also becoming clear to the White House that Israeli leadership was divided on annexation. Minister of Defense Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi both made it clear that they opposed immediate action.

Berkowitz proposed an alternative to annexation: the UAE normalization idea. Netanyahu said that if it was a serious proposal, he was willing to consider it.

In the seven weeks that followed, momentum grew.

Kushner spoke on the phone several times with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed (MBZ), the UAE's de facto ruler.

He and Berkowitz had at least two dozen meetings with Israel's ambassador to Washington, Ron Dermer, and his Emirati counterpart Al-Otaiba.

Several days ago, an agreement was reached in principle but was kept secret even from Gantz and Ashkenazi.

The deal was finalized on Wednesday in a conference call between President Trump, Netanyahu and MBZ.

President Trump described the phone call Thursday, in characteristic style, as "like love."

But in the hours after the leaders' joint statement surprised the world, Netanyahu and MBZ offered different interpretations of its implications.

MBZ called it a "roadmap" to normalization, rather than a final agreement, while Netanyahu stressed that the suspension of his annexation plan was only temporary.

Where things stand: According to a senior White House official, annexation is off the table until further notice.

Kushner said in a briefing with reporters that he thought this deal would strategically be more preferable to annexation for Israel, the U.S. and the UAE.

Whats next: Trump hopes to hold a signing ceremony at the White House soon, with Netanyahu and a senior Emirati official attending.

Meanwhile, Israel and the UAE will hold direct talks on a series of agreements foreseen in the statement  like opening embassies, allowing direct flights, and deepening commercial ties.

Kushner said in a briefing to reporters that he expects more Arab countries to follow the UAE in normalizing relations with Israel  perhaps even in the coming days.

Go deeper: Netanyahu "still committed" to annexations despite UAE deal
GRAND RAPIDS, MI / ACCESSWIRE / August 13, 2020 / Inc. magazine today revealed that ITPartners+ is No. 214 on its annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies. The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economy's most dynamic segment-its independent small businesses. Intuit, Zappos, Under Armour, Microsoft, Patagonia, and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000.

"I'm beyond excited to be able to share this honor with the team here," said Kevin Damghani, Chief Partner Experience Engineer at ITPartners+. "The vetting process from Inc. magazine was quite rigorous. I had hopes that we would make the list, but never dreamed we would rank so high."

ITPartners+ has experienced a three-year revenue growth of 2,028% in the competitive IT market. In that time their customer base has grown from the Grand Rapids area to cover nine states. In 2020 they have also been recognized as an SMB Hot 101, an annual list from Channel Futures for Managed Service Providers serving the SMB market.

ITPartners+ joins four other West Michigan companies in the exclusive top 500 rankings, though remains the only IT management company in that category.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at www.inc.com/inc5000. The top 500 companies are also being featured in the September issue of Inc., available on newsstands August 12.

"The companies on this year's Inc. 5000 come from nearly every realm of business," says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. "From health and software to media and hospitality, the 2020 list proves that no matter the sector, incredible growth is based on the foundations of tenacity and opportunism."

About ITPartners+

ITPartners+ is an IT Managed Services Provider with headquarters in Grand Rapids, MI. ITPartners+ has rapidly grown thanks to our core values of Do Great Work, Make It Fun, and Think Big. These values inform how we treat our partners and have helped us foster a work environment that is supportive, goal-oriented and just plain fun.

CONTACT:

Noelle Pedersen

Marketing Lead, ITPartners+

Noelle@itpartners.com

SOURCE: ITPartners

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/601577/ITPartners-Ranks-No-214-on-the-2020-Inc-5000-Inc-Magazines-Annual-List-of-Americas-Fastest-Growing-Private-Companies
FAIRFIELD  More than a week after Tropical Storm Isaias tore through Connecticut and knocked out power for more than half the town, First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick said many residents still do not have internet access.

Many of our residents are still without Wi-Fi, which is very challenging while many of you are working from home, Kupchick said in an update to residents. Wi-Fi is no longer a luxury, it's a necessity.

Kupchick said she expects utility companies to provide reliable services to their residents and to be available when services are down. She said their response to the storm has been subpar.

I've made it very clear to you my level of frustration and disappointment in the utility companies including UI, Altice and Frontier, she said. The bottom line is their customer service and communication was severely lacking.

After rain and high winds took down trees and utility lines last week, 67 percent of Fairfield residents were without power. According to officials, power was restored to all residents by Tuesday afternoon.

Kupchick said she has forwarded complaints about internet service to the representatives from Altice, the parent company of Optimum.

Altice reported 2.91 percent of Connecticut residents are without their service as of this morning, and they tell me they are working as quickly as possible to get our residents who are offline back up and running, Kupchick said. We have asked them for outages specific to Fairfield, but haven't yet received that information.

The first selectwoman said she will work with Fairfields state delegation to better understand the cable company's responsibilities, and to determine if they are abiding by the rules that the Public Utility Regulating Authority has in place.

PURA is statutorily charged with regulating the rates and services of Connecticut's investor-owned electricity, natural gas, water and telecommunication companies and is the franchising authority for the states cable television companies.

In a statement, UI representative Sarah Warren said the company recognizes that the outages presented an additional burden in challenging times. She said UI prepared in advance for the storm based on the protocols established in conjunction with regulators, adding that it looks forward to working with regulators as they review the companys preparedness and response plans.

Given that this is just the start of storm season, we welcome the opportunity to work together with regulators and government to explore whether there are other things we should collectively be evaluating in the future to help address the impact on customers, Warren said.

Lisa Anselmo, a representative from Altice, said fewer than 1 percent of Optimum customers in the tri-state remain offline Thursday related to the storm. She said crews are in the field continuing to make progress and are working as quickly as possible as power is restored by the power companies.

We thank our customers for their patience as we work to get everyone back online, and we will be providing credits proactively to customers whose Optimum services were not available when power was restored, Anselmo said. Customers do not need to request the credit  we will be applying it to their accounts in the coming weeks.

Kupchick also said she had received a number of emails and social media comments asking her to consider burying power lines. She said there appear to be prohibitive costs associated with a project of that size, referencing a state report from 2011.

According to the report, the cost of building overhead lines ranges between $136,000 and $197,000 per mile, while the cost of putting lines underground can cost anywhere from $409,000 to $559,000 per mile.

In addition to the cost, Kupchick said a project like that could take decades to complete and may make repairs more difficult during outages. On the other hand, she said, the report also states that it would reduce power outages, tree trimming costs and reduce the risk of live wires harming residents.

I imagine this is a debate that will be reinvigorated after this storm, she said. The projected costs appear to be prohibitive but I am always willing to listen to all sides of a debate, and to other new ideas.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson rarely lets his ebullient image falter and he was certainly in an upbeat mood in the article he wrote for this newspaper today.

Perhaps he felt there was little to be gained by concentrating on the bad news which including revelations that the UK has plunged into the worst recession in the developed world apart from Spain and the fears that recovery could take many years even though there has been a modest bounce-back in the past month.

Instead, he lavished praise on the people of Northern Ireland for pulling together in fighting to contain Covid-19, even managing to compare it to the late John Hume's lifelong promotion of cross-community co-operation.

He was also keen to promote his own small 'u' unionism by revealing that the Treasury will help fund a programme of events to mark next year's centenary of the establishment of Northern Ireland.

However it must be acknowledged that his government has been generous in its funding of economic support measures in the face of the pandemic which included furloughing around 250,000 workers, supplying nearly five million items of PPE and money to keep Belfast and Londonderry airports open as air travel collapsed.

He did not miss the opportunity to say this showed how the UK, acting as one Union, could meet challenges which a single member could not meet alone.

That could well be interpreted as a rebuke to the Scottish nationalists and and republicans in Northern Ireland who see their respective independence campaigns as achievable in the medium term, possibly within a decade

Mr Johnson will today talk about what he calls the "unique freedoms" Northern Ireland will enjoy when the UK finally severs its links with the European Union at the end of this year. He is obviously determined to press ahead with this timetable which makes finding a soft exit deal very difficult to achieve.

His forecast of Brexit opportunities for the province will bring a wry smile to the lips of his many critics here. They will recall his pledge to the DUP of no border in the Irish Sea only to return to London and almost immediately agree to just such a frontier.

Whatever message he likes to deliver the Prime Minister cannot ignore the reality of the economic black hole which faces the UK. This is the worst recession in its history and his own Chancellor yesterday admitted many more people will lose their jobs before the situation begins to improve.

Local economist Dr Esmond Birnie points out that it took NI seven years to recover from the 2008-9 crash and has forecast that recovery this time around could take at least five years - a figure some might regard as optimistic.

Nevertheless we cannot simply wallow in a slough of despair and the important work for the Executive now is to find new ways of regenerating the economy. Our efforts at containing Covid-19 were the best in the UK and that should be used to persuade investors to set up business here. Maximising staycations, smarter and more efficient working practices and putting greater emphasis on vocational training for young people are minimum requirements.

The PM admits the Executive faces serious challenges and will require cohesive government to surmount those problems. Businesses, too, must become more innovative and not depend on government continuing to bail out significant numbers of them. That would only deepen the recession.
The Rajasthan unit of the Congress party is meeting at chief minister Ashok Gehlots residence in Jaipur on Thursday ahead of the 200-member state assembly session slated to begin tomorrow. According to party leaders, former deputy CM Sachin Pilot and other dissidents MLAs are attending the crucial Congress Legislature Party meeting.

A senior leader on condition of anonymity said that the there was no plan to call a CLP meet before the assembly session commenced, but looking at the changed political scenario with the return of dissident MLAs to the fold, the meeting was called on Thursday evening, hours before the assembly session is scheduled to begin on Friday.

Legislative assembly is beginning on August 14, I hope that during the session, we will be able to openly discuss the situation of coronavirus crisis in the state and the financial conditions created after the lockdown. I am sure, there will be support from the ruling as well as opposition sides in providing good governance and this will give new confidence to the people in the state the Rajasthan chief minister had tweeted earlier.

ALSO READ | CM Ashok Gehlot repeats forgive and forget mantra, twice in 2 days

After nearly a month-long political turmoil, which seems to be heading towards a truce now, Gehlot on Wednesday said that it is natural for the MLAs to be upset, and the friends who had left have now come back.

He also stressed that whatever was the misunderstanding in the Congress party, should be forgiven and forgotten if the leaders were to move forward. He repeated the mantra for the second time on Thursday in an attempt to bury the political crisis, which had threatened to topple his government in the state. Gehlot, had been locked in a bitter power struggle with his erstwhile deputy Sachin Pilot for several weeks now.

Whatever misunderstanding occurred in the party in the last one month, we need to forgive and forget in the interest of the country, the state, the people and in the interest of democracy, Gehlot said in a tweet.

ALSO READ | Rajasthan truce sealed, Ashok Gehlot talks peace, brotherhood in party

The Congress crisis in Rajasthan ended with the intervention of the party top brass, chief Sonia Gandhi, senior leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who met rebel leader Sachin Pilot earlier this week.

Pilot had openly rebelled against Gehlot last month along with 18 other Congress MLAs. He was then sacked as deputy chief minister and the partys Rajasthan unit chief.

Earlier, the Rajasthan chief minister had also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of trying to poach Congress legislators, in a bid to destabilize his government.
The State of Nebraska will block TikTok on all state electronic devices due to security concerns, Gov. Pete Ricketts announced on Wednesday.

"To maintain the security of data owned by the State of Nebraska, and to safeguard against the intrusive cyber activities of China's communist government, we've made the decision to ban TikTok on state devices," Ricketts said in a press release.

Last week, President Donald Trump ordered a sweeping but vague ban on dealings with the Chinese owners of popular apps TikTok and WeChat, saying they are a threat to U.S. national security, foreign policy and the economy.

TikTok, known for its short, catchy videos, is widely popular among young people in the U.S. and elsewhere. It is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, which operates a separate version for the Chinese market. TikTok insists it does not store U.S. user information in China, instead caching it in the U.S. and Singapore, and says it would not share it with the Chinese government.
A mother wearing a protective mask breastfeeds her child while waiting to be tested for coronavirus (COVID-19) at the riverside community of Belavista do Jaraqui, in Negro river, about one hour by boat from Manaus, on May 29, 2020 in Brazil. According to the Amazonas Health Surveillance Foundation (FVS-AM) 20,377 positive cases of coronavirus were detected in the Amazonas state cities. (Photo by Andre Coelho/Getty Images) (Photo : Getty Images)

A new study has shown that pasteurization neutralizes the Coronavirus present in breastmilk. A medical research team found that if human milk is pasteurized, it inactivates the Coronavirus responsible for the current pandemic. This confirms that the milk bank process kept human milk safe during this entire pandemic and will continue to do so in the future.



Australia's Milk Banks

In Australia, a total of five milk banks for human milk exists. Even with the COVID-19 viral pandemic, these banks continuously provided breast milk for premature infants who have no access to breast milk.

The milk donors are routinely screened for the presence of diseases, and their milk is lab tested and sterilized to ensure safety for their fragile recipients.

READ: WHO: No Live Coronavirus Found in Breastmilk, Breastfeeding still Recommended



The Study

The research was recently published in the Journal of Pediatrics & Child Health. It was conducted through a partnership by the UNSW with an interdisciplinary research team from the Australian Red Cross Lifeblood Milk Bank.

Lead study author Greg Walker from UNSW Medicine says that there is the theoretical risk that the SARS-CoV-2 is transmissible in breast milk. In past pandemics, PDHM or pasteurized donor human breastmilk has had interrupted supply due to considerations of safety, so the study authors tested it on SARS-CoV-2.



Infection with SARS-CoV-2 and Pasteurization

The research team experimentally infected freshly expressed and frozen human milk with SARS-CoV-2 and then heated it at 63 Celsius for half an hour to simulate pasteurization.

READ ALSO: New Study Says Unpasteurized Milk Contains Drug-Resistant Genes



Results of the Study

The process was found to eliminate traces of the virus, according to Walker. The team concluded that SARS-CoV-2 could be inactivated by pasteurization.

The researchers also explained that they are confident with their conclusion because they used a more significant amount of the virus than the actual viral content of breastmilk from COVID-19-positive women.

Meanwhile, Walker says that the study also showed that cold storage does not inactivate SARS-CoV-2. Storing infected milk at temperatures of 4 Celsius or -30 Celsius did not reduce viral load significantly. Freezing infected milk reduced the amount of the virus, but a viable virus was still recovered after 48 hours of storage.



Importance of the Study

Senior author Laura Klein said that the research proved that pasteurization could inactivate SARS-CoV-2. She says that the process is already known to neutralize the MERS and SARS viruses. She also added that their findings are consistent with the study, which found that heat treatment inactivates SARS-CoV-2.

Study co-author and Kirby Institute associate professor Stuart Turville said that their work is pioneering, and it provided significant learning for all researchers involved.

The finding that the virus was stable even if frozen or refrigerated may help in drafting guidelines regarding milk storage from COVID-19-positive donors.

Klein says their study proves that breastfeeding is safe for virus-positive mothers. Furthermore, no evidence exists that the virus is transmitted through breastfeeding.



What does WHO say about breastmilk?

The World Health Organization recommends giving donated breastmilk when a mother cannot provide their milk. Human breastmilk reduces risks from some health problems in premature infants.

Lifeblood Milk provided donated breastmilk to more than 1,500 premature recipients in Queensland, South Australia, and New South Wales since 2018.

READ NEXT: Food Waste and Food Insecurity in Times of Coronavirus
According to a recent Nikkei Asian Review report, Huawei surpassed Apple to become the second-largest smartphone vendor for the first time in 2019. The beleaguered Chinese giant captured 17.6 percent of the global smartphone market last year, toppling the Cupertino based iPhone maker from the second spot. It also narrowed the gap on Samsung at the top.

The report also highlights the rapid rise of Huawei as a top player in the smartphone industry. Five years ago, the company only had a five percent share in the global smartphone market. Samsung and Apple, on the other hand, captured a combined total of 39 percent of the market.

Five years on, while the latter two have hardly seen any increase in their market share, Huawei has emerged as a worthy competitor to them. Chinese manufacturers, in general, have been the fastest-growing smartphone vendors in the past few years. In 2019, Huawei, Xiaomi, and Oppo had a combined 35 percent share in the global smartphone market.

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Despite the tightening US sanctions, Huawei continues to post impressive numbers. In the second quarter of this year, the company had a smartphone market share of around 20 percent, several market research firms have reported recently. Some reports claim it was the largest smartphone maker during the quarter.

Huaweis recent surge is largely driven by a sense of patriotism in China following the US-imposed ban last year. The company has now overthrown Samsung from the top spot as the South Korean giant continues to feel the effects of the global economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses in China, meanwhile, have resumed operations.

Huawei surpassed Apple, Chinese companies, in general, are expanding

The Nikkei Asian Review report suggests that Chinese tech companies are expanding their global presence rapidly. A survey conducted by the publication showed that Chinese companies posted the largest market share in 12 sectors globally.

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The survey covered 74 high-tech products and services globally last year. The United States tops the chart with the largest market share in 25 sectors. China has overtaken Japan to come second in the list. BOE Technology Group of China overtook Japan Display in LCD panels, while Shanghai Energy New Materials Technology bested Asahi Kasei in insulator components, according to the report.

Lenovo also saw an increase in its market share in the personal computers (PC) industry. With a 24.2 percent share, the Chinese company now shares the top spot with HP of the US.

Huawei, in addition to its undeterred growth in the smartphone industry, also extended its dominance in the market for base stations for mobile phones. The company now holds one-third of the market. It is trying to expand its presence in the 5G equipment market as well. However, the company has been struggling to do so after the crackdown by the Trump Administration.

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Those trade restrictions have also reflected in Huaweis performance in some areas. In the routers market, for example, Cisco Systems has managed to widen its lead over Huawei by about five percent. The American company currently holds a whopping 64.7 percent share of the market.

With the American government tightening its trade restrictions, the outlook for China remains dim, the report sums up.
Alabama is providing at least $29 million in incentives to support a steel mill expansion in south Alabama and likely far more: The Alabama Department of Commerce, which trumpeted the projects job and investment numbers on Wednesday, says it wont be able provide an accounting for its part of the incentive package for several weeks.

The project first emerged into public view in February, during a visit by President Donald Trump to India. Lakshmi Mittal, chairman of steelmaker ArcelorMittal, told Trump his company was going to announce a multi-billion-dollar investment in Alabama state. According to the White House transcript of the conversation, Trump said hed be there for the groundbreaking.

ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel-Sumitomo Metal are partners in a giant steel mill known as AM/NS Calvert, at the north edge of Mobile County. The mills primary work consists of taking millions of tons of slab steel per year and processing it into coil steel suitable for use by various industries such as automakers. Most of that slab steel -- about 3.8 million tons in 2019 -- is imported via the Pinto Island Steel Terminal in Mobile.

Following Mittals comments, his company was tight-lipped about exactly what type of expansion it might be considering. So were the state and local officials likely to be involved in any negotiations.

However, the top official at the Alabama State Port Authority said a year ago that Pinto Island was running at or near capacity, suggesting the mill couldnt expand without running into a bottleneck on incoming slabs. The project announced Wednesday is one that overcomes that potential choke point: Its an electric arc furnace capable of producing 1.5 million tons of slab steel to feed the mill, and one that can deliver a broad spectrum of steel grades required for Calverts end user markets.

Brad Davey, CEO of ArcelorMittal North America, described it as a transformational opportunity and a logical next step in optimizing AM/NS Calverts supply chain. He said that under USMCA, the post-NAFTA trade agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico, future steel supply chains for the automotive markets will be required to use steel that was created within North America.

According to information from the Alabama Department of Commerce and ArcelorMittal, the project represents a $500 million investment. Construction is expected to take two years beginning in early 2021 and create about 500 construction jobs, with the facility to create 200 direct jobs and 100 indirect jobs.

David Rodgers, vice president for economic development for the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, said Thursday that Mobile County was giving the project an abatement of non-educational ad valorem taxes estimated at $28.8 million, plus a development grant of $250,000.

In return, Rodgers said, officials estimate the project will offset that with $23.4 million in new ad valorem taxes, plus $12.9 million in new payroll related to the 200 direct jobs. Other positives include the 100 indirect jobs and many jobs [that] will be created with transportation providers and material handlers for the transportation of products through our rail, barge, road and port entities.

Overall, this project is a huge success for the Mobile area, Rodgers said via email. We are excited to continue our partnership with ArcelorMittal as they support thousands of high paying jobs in our community. The Mobile area continues to be a hub for advanced manufacturing in the Southeast.

On the state side, Angela Till, a deputy secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce, said that we are still negotiating the terms of the state project agreement and cannot release incentive information until the project agreement is executed. The details should be available in a few weeks, she said.

The expansion is another clear sign the mill is showing the potential its builders envisioned more than a decade ago. It was built by ThyssenKrupp at a cost estimated to be as high as $5 billion and received state and local economic incentives, including cash and tax breaks, valued at more than $800 million. At the time, officials said the major motivation for the incentives was the need to entice ThyssenKrupp to choose the Alabama site, rather than one it was considering in Louisiana.

The mill opened in 2010 only to languish amid a global economic slump. Battered by the uphill fight to recoup its investment, ThyssenKrupp sold the stainless unit off to Finnish company Outokumpu. Then it sold the rest of the mill to Arcelor Mittal and Nippon Steel-Sumitomo Metal. Since then AM/NS has made additional investments: According to recent ArcelorMittal information, those strategic projects add up to more than $200 million in additional investment.

Earlier this year, AM/NS said the mill had a workforce of over 1,600 team members.
Luo Sang, who created the fake Indian identity of Charlie Peng through forged Aadhaar cards and travel documents, was earlier arrested by Delhi Police on charges of espionage in 2018, top intelligence sources revealed to IANS.

New Delhi, Aug 12 (IANS) Nabbed in a crackdown on a multi-billion hawala racket operating in Delhi-NCR, Luo Sang, alias Charlie Peng, is suspected to be an agent of the Chinese intelligence service, the Ministry of State Security (MSS).

A permanent resident of Cheng Guan Ju in Tibet's Lhasa, Luo Sang had, around 7-8 years ago when in Lhasa, allegedly come in contact with the MSS, which functions as China's external intelligence agency. He was initially sent to Nepal where he was taken care of by officials of the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu. Trained in money exchange, hawala operations and accounts, he then came to India where he was ostensibly collecting information on whereabouts of key Tibetan refugees and people close to Dalai Lama in India, sources added.

On September 13, 2018, the Delhi Police's Special Cell arrested Luo Sang on charges of running a spy ring in India, and seized from him a forged Indian passport procured from Manipur. During his interrogation, it was discovered that he crossed into India in 2013 and first settled in Manipur. He married an Indian woman and lived in a rented house. The period spent in the northeastern state enabled Luo Sang to acquire an Indian identity, required for his further assignment.

A few years back, he shifted his base from Manipur to Delhi.

Sources said Luo Sang was familiar with Delhi and had been living in Dwarka before shifting to DLF Phase 5, Gurugram. It is suspected that he was being handled by the MSS from across the border.

In Delhi, he started gathering information on Tibetan people living in NCR. To camouflage his espionage operations, he got involved in money exchange and hawala operations. He was also collecting information on e-commerce companies and financial institutions.

The Special Cell team had recovered a Fortuner SUV, foreign currency and some important documents from Luo Sang when he was nabbed in 2018 on suspicion for visiting some sensitive places in Himachal Pradesh and border areas. Sources said that after he was produced in the court by Delhi Police, the Chinese agent used some "contacts" to procure bail, after spending months in jail.

On Tuesday, the Income Tax department had raided a few Chinese individuals and Indian professionals allegedly involved in money laundering and hawala transactions, and Luo Sang, who was one of the masterminds, was nabbed.

The department revealed that Luo Sang had created more than 40 bank accounts which were linked to several shell companies. It said that hawala operations were linked to transactions worth over Rs 1,000 crore and were done over a period of time. A thorough interrogation of Luo Sang is continuing by different central agencies.

--IANS

ds/vd
While everyone has been obsessing over Kamala Harris political record, theres one very important aspect of the Democratic tickets vice presidential candidate that Im simply astonished no one has been talking about: her taste in wine.

Actually, its notable that the senator drinks alcohol at all. Her running mate, Joe Biden, is famously a teetotaler  remember when he brought non-alcoholic beer to that beer summit with Skip Gates?  as are President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. For the record, I applaud abstinence, especially when, as in the case of Biden, its practiced by someone who has a family history of alcoholism, even if it leaves this wine critic with very little fodder for newsletters.

So it wasnt going to take a lot for Harris to impress me. Still, the question burned: What kind of wine does Harris like to drink?? That question has now been answered, at least in part. Harris is a wine club member at Rock Wall Wine Co. in Alameda, the winery confirms.

I had a true fan girl moment, says Rock Wall owner-winemaker Shauna Rosenblum.

That moment came earlier this spring, while Rosenblum was working the drive-through pick-up line at her tasting room, which remains closed under Alameda Countys coronavirus shutdown plan. A woman drove up in her car to pick up her wine shipment. Rosenblum asked whether shed like her wine placed in the backseat or the trunk, and she opted for the backseat. Enjoy the vino! she called out to the customer.

Paul Kuroda / Special to The Chronicle 2019

Thank you Shauna! the customer replied.

I closed the door and the car drove off and I said, That woman sure looked a lot like Kamala Harris, Rosenblum recalls. Her colleague confirmed that it was Harris; she uses a pseudonym for her wine club membership. According to the colleague, Harris is a regular at Rock Walls tasting room and loves Rosenblums wines.

There are a few things I like about this anecdote. First, Harris supports local, independent wineries. Second, she goes to pick up her own wine in her own car, which is something I always assume important people have assistants do for them. Third, she knows good wine when she sees it. I endorse her choice of Rock Wall.

The urban winery, located inside an airplane hangar inside the former Naval Air Station Alameda, puts out an eclectic mix of bottles. A few of my favorites are the floral, honeyed Fiano (a Campanian white grape variety that I adore; $20), the delightfully herbal Rigg Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, from a backyard vineyard in Castro Valley ($50) and the juicy, spicy Alegria Vineyard Zinfandel ($55).

Of course, it shouldnt come as a shock that Harris has good taste in food and wine  shes from Oakland and Berkeley, after all. Maya Rudolphs Saturday Night Live impersonations of Harris have already featured martini glasses and frozen cocktails. And lets not forget the time she bet against Senator Ted Cruz on the outcome of the 2017 World Series with two bottles of wine. If the Biden-Harris ticket prevails, the White Houses drinking game will be taken several notches up.

We in The Chronicles Food & Wine Department will be very eager over the next few months to learn more about Harris gastronomic preferences. What other California wine clubs has she joined? Whats her favorite Mission burrito? Where in Oakland does she go for a beer? Has she tried quesabirria? All tips are welcome: food@sfchronicle.com.

Bebeto Matthews/Associated Press

What Im reading

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

 A controversy over Italian winemaker Valentina Passalacqua  the maker of Calcarius and other brands  and the extent to which she may have been involved in her fathers alleged exploitation of immigrant workers has shaken the natural wine world. I mentioned the scandal in a recent newsletter, but if youre interested, I recommend Eric Asimovs account in the New York Times.

 Elsewhere in the New York Times, Margot Boyer-Dry considers the plight of people like Amseshem Foluke who sell nutcrackers  homemade, bootleg, bottled cocktails  when theres suddenly lots of competition from bars and restaurants selling mixed drinks to go.

 This is cute: The COVID-19 pandemic has renewed Tuscanys interest in the little wine windows that were installed throughout the region during the bubonic plague in the 1600s, the New York Post reports. (Though it looks like theyd already been gaining in popularity pre-pandemic, per Wine Spectator.) These portals provide crucial access to wine without risk of virus infection. I would like one installed on my block, please.

 Ill be making this delicious pina colada riff this weekend: the Pina Verde, a creation of Erick Castro  who San Francisco bar nerds will remember from his tenure at Bourbon & Branch  that adds chartreuse to the standard pineapple and coconut cream ingredients. Robert Simonsons story in Punch made me thirsty.

Drinking with Esther is a weekly newsletter from The Chronicles wine critic. Follow along on Twitter: @Esther_Mobley and Instagram: @esthermob
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan today admitted coronavirus-fearing companies' empty city offices were killing the economy, declaring 'If we all stay at home working it's a big problem'.

The comments were a massive change in tack from Mr Khan, who had previously told workers only to use public transport if they could not work at home.

But as small companies face bankruptcy from a lack of footfall he urged big firms to reconsider staying clear of London.

Mr Khan said: ''The key thing I think we need to understand is that if we all stay at home working it's a big problem for central London.

'Many small businesses rely on your workers going to work, the cafe bars, the dry cleaners, the shoe repair shops and others.

Sadiq Khan boards a TFL tube train at Leicester Square Tube station while wearing a mask

'When I meet those not just in the culture industry and hospitality, small businesses they are struggling.

'Of course there's a choice for you to make a big employer. I love London because of its eco-system. I don't want a hollowed-out London. In City Hall we have made sure we have got everything ready, we've used July and August to make City Hall safe.

Mayor Khan made the comments talking to James O'Brien on radio station LBC.

It came after Transport for London slashed Tube and bus services to 15 per cent and 12 per cent respectively compared with normal levels and closed stations during lockdown.

He added: 'What I would say to other big employers is that we are doing what we can to make sure London is a safe as it can be.

You have seen at TfL the enhanced cleaning regime we are doing, you have seen the testing we are doing, the hard work we're doing to provide a record number of buses and tubes and other things in the context of a pandemic .'

A quiet Reuters Square in Canary Wharf as big business stay home and leave offices empty

Some streets in London are still deserted with smaller businesses suffering in lockdown

How many employees are top City firms bringing back to work? Goldman Sachs: 900 out of 5,000 - 18% RBS/ Natwest: 350 out of 3,500 - 10% Amazon: 500 out of 5,000 Baker McKenzie 13 out of 1,000 1.3% JP Morgan  15% Deloitte  20% Standard Chartered  10% KPMG - 5% Deutsche Bank - 10% London Stock Exchange - Handful of staff Advertisement

Mr Khan had been at war with Prime Minister Boris Johnson during the coronavirus lockdown.

He issued statements seemingly at odds with Downing Street's push to get the country moving again.

In one previous statement he said: 'I want to be clear as possible with Londoners - social distancing measures are still in place.

'Lockdown hasn't been lifted and we all still need to play our part in stopping the spread of Covid-19.

'You must still stay at home as much as possible and keep a safe two-metre distance from other people at all times when you are out.'

Commuters have previously reacted with outrage at the lack of safety measures in place, with exasperated tube users messaging Tfl on social media asking what are they going to do about the crowded carriages.

Chris Biggs, founder and managing director of Theta Financial Reporting, said in July he feared the working from home genie had now been let out of the bottle - and could not be put back.

He told the MailOnline: 'I think it's a bit of a watershed moment. From an employee's point of view they might not feel safe going back into the office.

'I have spoken to people from big firms who don't want to go back. I know there are businesses that have said they are not going back until 2021 and I know some that will now have working from home permanently.

'I don't think management thought systems would work as well from home as they have. Now they know it's possible. I know myself when I was commuting in previously it is packed and cramped - who will want to do that without a vaccine?'
A teenager has died hours after he was set on fire inside a Bronx apartment block during an argument with another man.

Winston Ortiz, 18, was stabbed three times before being doused with gasoline and then having a lighted match thrown at him around 3pm on Wednesday afternoon, leaving him in critical condition.

Police have revealed that the suspect entered the building just before Ortiz did and then carried out the brazen attack.

Winston Ortiz, 18, died after he was stabbed and set on fire in a horrific attack in a hallway in a Bronx apartment building

Neighbors rushed out of their apartment and were able to put out the flames using buckets of water before EMTs arrived.

Late on Wednesday night, Ortiz's aunt posted a heartbreaking message on her Facebook page announcing the death of her nephew.

'Today we found out our oldest nephew was brutally murdered in NY. He fought hard for his life until he could no longer fight and passed away this evening. I am begging all of my friends to share our GoFundMe as no parent should outlive their child let alone worry about how to pay for funeral arrangements. My heart is so broken into pieces and beyond consoling.'

One woman who saw Ortiz's ablaze and poured water over him told the New York Post that it had shaken her up.

The teenage was stabbed three times in the chest before having gasoline poured on him and then set alight with a flicked match in the hallway of a Bronx apartment block, pictured

'I stepped outside. I saw flames,' said the 34-year-old woman, who did not want give her name.

'I thought her apartment was on fire. And when I go over there, I saw a guy in flames all over his body.

'I got very scared because I have my girls here,' she said. 'It's really concerning.'

The woman said that a recent spate of violence in the neighborhood had left her feeling unsafe.

Ortiz was arguing with his attacker before the assault occurred at the Bronx apartment block

'Unfortunately in the neighborhood we feel like we're not safe,' the mother said. 'There was a shooting yesterday around the corner. We may need to have some police around the area.'

In Tuesday's shooting, two men were shot by the corner of the building.

A 21-year-old man was struck seven times while a 37-year-old man was shot.

No arrests have so far been made over the death of Ortiz.


A$16.1M Capital Raising to Accelerate Exploration & Studies

Perth, Aug 13, 2020 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Horizon Minerals Limited ( ASX:HRZ ) is pleased to advise that it has received binding commitments for the placement of 115 million fully paid ordinary shares (Placement Shares) in the Company at $0.14 per share to raise $16.1 million before costs of the offer (Placement). The Placement was heavily oversubscribed with the Board electing to increase the size of the Placement to provide balance sheet flexibility to undertake a large scale drilling program, to pursue further regional consolidation and to provide general working capital.HIGHLIGHTS- Binding commitments received for a placement of 115 million fully paid ordinary shares at $0.14 per share to raise $16.1 million (before costs)- Overwhelming support from new and existing Australian and international institutional and sophisticated investors- Proceeds from the Placement will be used for:o Completion of a large scale 70,000m drilling program focussed on reserve conversion, resource growth and testing a number of high priority new discovery targets across the portfolioo Completion of the consolidated Feasibility Study, targeted for the June Quarter 2021o Actively pursuing further regional consolidation opportunities within a 75km radius of a proposed standalone processing facility at the Boorara gold mineo Additional exploration activities across the Company's extensive 850km2 landholding- Hartleys Limited and Bell Potter Securities Limited acted as Joint Lead Managers to the Placement with Jett Capital Advisors LLC as US & Europe Placement AgentCommenting on the successful capital raising, Horizon Managing Director Mr Jon Price said: "What a great time to be building a West Australian gold company. We are committed to growing a sustainable mid-tier gold production business in the heart of the WA Goldfields and the strong support shown for the Company by numerous new, high quality Australian and international institutions, in addition to our strong existing shareholder base is clear validation of this strategy."Upon completion of this capital raising Horizon will be fully funded to complete its largest ever exploration program, focussed on reserve conversion, resource growth and testing new discovery targets with over 70,000m of drilling in this prolific gold producing region. In addition, the Company will advance the consolidated Feasibility Study evaluating the longer-term production profile inclusive of the establishment of a stand-alone processing plant at the Boorara mine site."The Board would like to welcome our new shareholders to the Horizon register and thank our existing holders for their ongoing support. We are looking forward to the next phase of this exciting journey."Settlement of the Placement will occur in two tranches:- Tranche 1 comprises the issue of 57.5 million Placement Shares ($8.05 million) pursuant to Listing Rules 7.1 and 7.1A. No shareholder approval is required for the issue of shares in Tranche 1 which will settle on Thursday, 20 August 2020- Tranche 2, which is subject to shareholder approval at a General Meeting to be convened in September 2020, comprises the issue of a further 57.5 million Placement Shares ($8.05 million)The Issue Price of $0.14 a share represents a:- 9.7% discount to the 15 day VWAP of $0.155- 7.88% discount to the 20 day VWAP of $0.152New shares issued under the Placement will rank equally with existing ordinary shares on issue.Hartleys Limited and Bell Potter Securities Limited acted as Joint Lead Managers to the issue with New York - based Jett Capital Advisors LLC acting as advisor and US & Europe Placement Agent.Proceeds from the Placement and existing cash reserves will be used for the accelerated reserve conversion and resource growth exploration drilling program which will commence in the current September Quarter 2020. Drilling will comprise reverse circulation and diamond drilling at the core Boorara, Binduli, Rose Hill and Teal gold project areas to be incorporated into the consolidated Feasibility Study due for completion in the June Quarter 2021.New discovery drilling will also be conducted across the portfolio including the newly granted Yarmany and Lakewood prospect areas and the exciting Kanowna South target where limited modern exploration has been conducted in the last 20 years.In addition, the Company will continue to aggressively pursue further regional consolidation opportunities within trucking distance of the proposed Boorara Mill, 10km east of the City of Kalgoorlie - Boulder.About Horizon Minerals Limited

Horizon Minerals Limited (ASX:HRZ) is a gold exploration and mining company focussed on the Kalgoorlie and Menzies areas of Western Australia which are host to some of Australia's richest gold deposits. The Company is developing a mining pipeline of projects to generate cash and self-fund aggressive exploration, mine developments and further acquisitions. The Teal gold mine has been recently completed.

Horizon is aiming to significantly grow its JORC-Compliant Mineral Resources, complete definitive feasibility studies on core high grade open cut and underground projects and build a sustainable development pipeline.

Horizon has a number of joint ventures in place across multiple commodities and regions of Australia providing exposure to Vanadium, Copper, PGE's, Gold and Nickel/Cobalt. Our quality joint venture partners are earning in to our project areas by spending over $20 million over 5 years enabling focus on the gold business while maintaining upside leverage.
Worldwide coronavirus cases have surpassed 20.7 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University. More than 12.8 million have recovered, and more than 751,000 have died.

German Health Minister Jens Spahn says he expects that there will be a COVID-19 vaccine in the coming months.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warns that the coronavirus pandemic not only threatens gains in fighting poverty and building peace, but also risks exacerbating old conflicts and generating new ones.

President Vladimir Putin says Russia has developed the first vaccine offering sustainable immunity against the coronavirus, but the World Health Organization says it does not have enough information to evaluate it.

Here are the latest updates:

Thursday, August 13

23:43 GMT  Brazils death toll tops 105,000

Brazil reported 60,091 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 1,261 deaths from the disease caused by the virus in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said.

Brazil has registered 3,224,876 cases of the virus since the pandemic began, while the official death toll from COVID-19 has risen to 105,463, according to ministry data.





23:22 GMT  Biden calls for nationwide mask mandate in US

Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate in the United States, called for a nationwide protective mask mandate, citing health experts predictions that it could save 40,000 lives from coronavirus over the next three months.

Wearing the mask is less about you contracting the virus, Biden said. Its about preventing other people from getting sick.

He added: Every single American should be wearing a mask when theyre outside for the next three months at a minimum; every governor should mandate mandatory mask-wearing.

20:31 GMT  US health official says vaccines unlikely to be approved before November

The potential COVID-19 vaccines backed by Operation Warp Speed  a programme of the administration of United States President Donald Trump  are unlikely to receive a green light from regulators any earlier than November or December of this year, given the time needed for a large-scale clinical trial, National Institutes of Health director Francis Collins said in a call with reporters.

Collins said he thinks that testing a vaccine in at least 10,000 people could potentially give enough evidence of safety and efficacy to clear it for wider use.

19:53 GMT  Tenniss Andreescu will not defend US Open title

Tennis player Bianca Andreescu said she will not defend her title at this months US Open in New York.

The US Open victory last year has been the high point of my career this far and I will miss not being there, said world number six Andreescu, who beat Serena Williams in last years US Open final.

However, I realise that the unforeseen challenges, including the COVID pandemic, have compromised my ability to prepare and compete to the degree necessary to play at my highest level.

19:32 GMT  EU wraps up talks to buy potential vaccine

The European Commission said it had concluded preliminary talks with United States pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson for an advance purchase deal of a potential COVID-19 vaccine the company is developing.





The European Unions executive arm said this could pave the way for the signing of a contract that would allow EU countries to buy the vaccines or donate to developing countries.

18:45 GMT  Kuwait to gradually return to normality

The Kuwaiti cabinet said it will start implementing the fourth stage of the gradual go-to-normality plan starting from August 18. Some activities that were set to open during the fifth stage  including gyms, sport clubs, beauty salons and tailors  will now be open as a part of the fourth stage.

The cabinet also decided to keep the nationwide partial curfew and to resume football activity in the Gulf country without the presence of fans.

17:53 GMT  Number of cases in France at four-month high





France reported more than 2,500 new COVID-19 infections for the second day in a row  levels last seen in mid-April when the country was in the middle of one of Europes strictest lockdowns.

Despite the rise in cases, which could prompt the United Kingdom to remove France from its list of safe travel destinations, the number of people hospitalised due to the disease continued to fall, having dipped below 5,000 for the first time since mid-March on Wednesday.

Experts say this is because those infected include more young people, who are less likely to need hospital care.

17:05 GMT  Mexicos energy minister tests positive

Mexicos Energy Minister Rocio Nahle said that she placed herself in isolation due to a COVID-19 infection, although she was not suffering symptoms of the virus.

As soon as the viral load goes away, I will return to my normal activities, she wrote on her Twitter account.

Como lo comente estoy en aislamiento por contagio de Covid-19. Atendiendo desde mi domicilio.

Afortunadamente estoy bien, sin sintomas y con el tratamiento recomendado.

En cuanto desaparezca la carga viral, regreso a mis actividades normales.

Agradezco las expresiones de apoyo.  Rocio Nahle (@rocionahle) August 13, 2020

16:32 GMT  People should not fear spread of COVID-19 in food, packaging: WHO

The World Health Organization said it saw no evidence of coronavirus being spread by food or packaging.

People should not fear food, or food packaging or processing or delivery of food, WHO emergencies programme head Mike Ryan told a briefing in Geneva. There is no evidence that food or the food chain is participating in transmission of this virus. And people should feel comfortable and safe.

The comments were made after two cities in China said they had found traces of the coronavirus in imported food from Brazil and Ecuador, raising fears that contaminated food shipments might cause a new outbreak.





15:40 GMT  Premier League to begin September 12, no FA cup replays, no winter break

The new English Premier League season will begin on Saturday, September 12, the Football Association (FA) has confirmed.

But there will be no winter league break in a season that will be five weeks shorter than usual.

To ease congestion in what is already a jammed schedule after the later than usual start due to the coronavirus, the FA announced that there will be no replays in this seasons FA Cup competition.

The League Cup semi-finals will also be played over just one leg, while the first four rounds will be played in consecutive weeks from early September. The final matches of the season will be played on Sunday, May 23.

15:00 GMT  Global death toll from coronavirus surges past 750,000

The coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 750,000 people worldwide since it first emerged in China in December, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally.

The global caseload has reached 20,666,156 while more than 12.8 million people have recovered.





14:50 GMT  Two Spanish regions impose smoking ban to curb virus

Spains Canary Islands said it will ban smoking outdoors when social distancing cannot be guaranteed to curb the coronavirus, a day after Galicia took a similar measure.

The smoking ban will come into effect on Friday along with the mandatory wearing of face masks in all public spaces, Canaries regional leader Angel Victor Torres said.

The Canary Islands, a tourism hotspot off northwest Africa, had been the only Spanish region where it was not obligatory to use face masks. Officials in regions including Madrid and Andalusia said they were considering similar smoking restrictions.

Smoking will not be allowed in open spaces, in places where there are crowds, if there is not sufficient social distance, Torres told a news conference, adding that terraces were included in the restrictions.

The smoking ban will come into effect on Friday along with mandatory wearing of face masks in all public spaces [File: Desiree Martin/AFP]

14:45 GMT  Portugal keeps Lisbon under stricter COVID curbs until end of August

The Portuguese capital and its surrounds will remain under tougher anti-coronavirus restrictions than the rest of the country until at least the end of August, the government said.

Greater Lisbon will stay under the so-called state of contingency, meaning most commercial spaces, excluding restaurants, must shut by 8pm.

There is also a 10-person limit for gatherings, compared to 20 across the rest of the nation.

Portugal has reported 53,223 infections and 1,764 deaths from the coronavirus, much lower than many other European countries including neighbouring Spain, where more than 28,500 have died.

14:35 GMT  US jobless claims fall below 1 million for first time since March

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits dropped below one million last week for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, likely as the expiration of a $600 weekly jobless supplement discouraged some from filing claims.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits totalled a seasonally adjusted 963,000 for the week ended August 8, compared to 1.191 million in the previous week, the US Labor Department said on Thursday.

That was the lowest level since mid-March when authorities started shutting down non-essential businesses to slow the spread of coronavirus. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 1.12 million applications in the latest week.

Read more here.

14:25 GMT  AstraZeneca says could begin COVID-19 vaccine production early in 2021

Production of a COVID-19 vaccine under an agreement between the Mexican and Argentine governments and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca could begin in the first quarter of 2021, an AstraZeneca executive announced.

Sylvia Varela, head of AstraZeneca Mexico, said at the Mexican presidents daily news conference that Phase III trials were expected to conclude by November or December.

14:00 GMT  Kazakhstan to gradually ease coronavirus restrictions

Kazakhstan will gradually ease its coronavirus-related restrictions from August 17, the TASS news agency cited the government as saying.

12:45 GMT  UK job ads hit post-lockdown high in early August: Recruiters

Employers in the United Kingdom have posted the most job advertisements since the country went into its coronavirus lockdown in March, according to a survey.

Total job postings rose by 126,000 between August 3 and August 9 to 1.10 million, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) said.

However, the total number of job postings remained well below the 1.35 million that were active in early March, before the lockdown, REC said.

12:15 GMT  Seven African countries to start testing for COVID-19 antibodies

Seven African countries will start administering coronavirus antibody tests from next week, a regional body said on Thursday, as part of efforts to understand the extent of the outbreak on the continent.

Liberia, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Nigeria, Morocco are the first set of countries that committed to it, said John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, based in Addis Ababa.

Western governments are using antibody tests to find out how many of their citizens have been infected, in the hope that will help them reopen their economies.

11:45 GMT  Vietnam reports 25 more COVID-19 infections

Vietnams health ministry reported 25 more coronavirus infections and three additional deaths on Thursday, bringing the total number of cases in the Southeast Asian country to 905, with 20 fatalities.

More than 430 of the total cases are linked to the central city of Danang, where the new outbreak began late last month.

The ministry said 133,340 people are being quarantined in the country, including 5,361 at hospitals, 25,043 at centralised quarantine centres and the rest at home.

11:10 GMT  Finland recommends use of face masks on public transport

Finlands government backs public health authorities new recommendation to use face masks on public transport and in other situations where social distancing is not possible, Prime Minister Sanna Marin said.

Health authorities reported 41 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, a daily record since the end of May, bringing the total to 7,683 since the beginning of the pandemic.

Prior to Thursday, Finland had not officially recommended the use of masks.

Finnish health authorities reported 41 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday [File: Reuters]

10:40 GMT  French unemployment rate hits 37-year low as lockdown skews data

French unemployment fell to a 37-year low in the second quarter, as a multiyear downtrend was exaggerated by a coronavirus lockdown that meant people could not look for work, data from statistics agency INSEE showed.

The jobless rate fell to 7.1 percent from 7.8 percent in the first quarter, dropping to its lowest since the second quarter of 1983, when it stood at 7 percent.

INSEE warned that unemployment data for the first two quarters of 2020 was skewed because of the mid-March to mid-May lockdown, which reduced the number of those classified as unemployed by making it impossible for them to look for jobs.

10:15 GMT  Philippines reports 4,002 more coronavirus infections

The Philippines health ministry reported 4,002 more novel coronavirus infections and 23 additional deaths in the country.

In a bulletin, the ministry said the total number of confirmed cases in the Philippines had risen to 147,526, the highest in Southeast Asia, while confirmed deaths had reached 2,426.

The Philippines plans to launch clinical trials for a Russian coronavirus vaccine in October after Russia became the first country to grant regulatory approval for a COVID-19 vaccine, drawing safety concerns over the frantic pace of its development

09:50 GMT  Indonesia reports 2,098 new coronavirus infections

Indonesia reported 2,098 new coronavirus infections, taking the total number of cases in the Southeast Asian country to 132,816, data from the countrys health ministry showed.

The data also showed 65 additional deaths, taking the total to 5,968.

Passengers wearing protective masks and face shields queue for a public bus in Jakarta [File: Reuters]

09:30 GMT  Malaysia jails Indian linked to fresh virus outbreak

A Malaysian court jailed an Indian man for five months for violating a home quarantine order, leading to dozens of new coronavirus infections, the Bernama state news agency reported.

The 57-year-old, who resides in Malaysia and owns a restaurant in the northern state of Kedah, pleaded guilty to four charges of violating a mandated 14-day home quarantine order upon his return from India in July.

He was also fined 12,000 ringgit ($2,864) by the Alor Setar Magistrates Court, which held a special hearing at a Kedah hospital where the accused was undergoing treatment, Bernama reported.

09:00 GMT  Hong Kong reports 69 new coronavirus cases

Hong Kong reported 69 new coronavirus cases, of which 65 were locally transmitted, as authorities cautioned the global financial hub still faced a critical period to control the virus, which has seen a resurgence since early July.

Since late January, more than 4,200 people have been infected in Hong Kong, 65 of whom have died. Thursdays figure was up slightly from Wednesdays 62 cases.

People wear surgical masks at a wet market at Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong [File: Reuters]

08:30 GMT  Nearly 6 percent of people in England may have had COVID-19

Nearly 6 percent of people in England were likely infected with COVID-19 during the peak of the pandemic, researchers studying the prevalence of infections said, millions more people than that have tested positive for the disease.

A total of 313,798 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the UK, 270,971 of which have been in England.

However, a study that tested more than 100,000 people across England for antibodies to the coronavirus showed that nearly 6 percent of people had them, suggesting that 3.4 million people had previously contracted COVID-19 by the end of June.

Prevalence of infections appeared to be the highest in London, where 13 percent of people had antibodies, while minority ethnic groups were two to three times as likely to have had COVID-19 compared with white people.





08:00 GMT  Russias coronavirus cases surpass 907,000

Russia reported 5,057 new cases of the novel coronavirus bringing its nationwide tally to 907,758, the fourth largest caseload in the world.

Russias coronavirus task force said 124 people had died over the last 24 hours, pushing its official death toll to 15,384.

The United States, Brazil, India and Russia are currently the worst-hit countries in the world.





07:50 GMT  Thai scientists catch bats to trace virus origins

Researchers in Thailand have been trekking through the countryside to catch bats in their caves in an effort to help trace the origins of the coronavirus.

The closest match to the coronavirus has been found in horseshoe bats in Yunnan in southern China. Thailand has 19 species of horseshoe bats but researchers said they have not yet been tested for the new coronavirus.

The team from the Thai Red Cross Emerging Infectious Diseases-Health Science Center took saliva, blood, and stool samples from the bats before releasing them. Read more.

07:25 GMT  Limited testing? Researchers in Rwanda have an idea

Like many countries, Rwanda is finding it impossible to test each of its citizens for the coronavirus amid a shortage of supplies. But researchers there have created an approach that is drawing attention beyond the African continent.

They are using an algorithm to refine the process of pooled testing, which tests batches of samples from groups of people and then tests each person individually only if a certain batch comes back positive for COVID-19. Pooled testing conserves scarce testing materials.





Rwandas mathematical approach, researchers say, makes that process more efficient. That is an advantage for developing countries with limited resources, where some people must wait several days for results. Longer waits mean a greater chance of unknowingly spreading the virus.

07:15 GMT  Brazil state signs deal to make Russian vaccine

The Brazilian state of Parana signed a deal to test and produce Russias new coronavirus vaccine, though officials stressed they would have to be sure of its safety and effectiveness first.

The vaccine would have to receive Brazilian regulatory approval and complete phase three clinical trials, or large-scale testing in humans, before being produced in Brazil, said officials from the southern state.

Production, if it goes ahead, would likely only start in the second half of 2021, said Jorge Callado, head of the state-run Parana Technology Institute, which signed the deal with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).

06:55 GMT  Germany optimistic about vaccine in coming months

German Health Minister Jens Spahn told ZDF television he expects there would be a COVID-19 vaccine in the coming months and definitely next year.

Im optimistic that in the next months, and certainly in the next year, there can be a vaccine, Spahn said.

He declined to give a specific month and said it was not yet possible to say how often people would need to be vaccinated or how long-lasting the immunity it conferred would be.

06:25 GMT  Indias cases jump by 67,000 in daily record

India reported another record daily rise in novel coronavirus infections, while the death toll from COVID-19 surpassed 47,000.

Infections grew by 66,999 on Thursday from a day earlier to reach a total of nearly 2.4 million to date, Indias health ministry said.

The country, with the worlds biggest caseload behind the United States and Brazil, has now reported a jump of 50,000 cases or more each day for 15 straight days.

Infections in India grew by 66,999 on Thursday from a day earlier [EPA]

06:00 GMT  Ukraine sees record daily high 1,592 new cases

Ukraine recorded a record daily jump of 1,592 coronavirus cases on Wednesday, the national council of security and defence said.

The number of infections has increased sharply in Ukraine in the past two months as authorities have eased some restrictions, allowing cafes, churches and public transport to reopen.

Hello, this is Umut Uras in Doha taking over from my colleague Zaheena Rasheed.

04:45 GMT  Passengers from China to be allowed temporary transit through Hong Kong

Hong Kong International Airport said passengers from mainland China would be able to transit through Hong Kong to other destinations from August 15 until October 15, in a boost for its dominant carrier Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd.

Transit in the other direction, inbound to mainland China, will remain banned at a time when Chinas aviation regulator has severely limited the number of international flights due to concerns over the spread of coronavirus.

04:05 GMT  TUI agrees new 1.2 billion euros aid package

Tourism giant TUI and the German government have agreed to a second massive aid package to bolster the firm through its winter 2020-21 season.

The Hanover-based company agreed to a 1.2 billion euros ($1.4bn) package with German public lender KfW on Wednesday. The new funds add to the 1.8 billion-euro government loan that the company agreed to in April.

CEO Fritz Joussen said while the group had already introduced massive cost reductions, no one knows when a vaccine or medication will be available and what effects the pandemic will have in individual markets in the coming months.





03:21 GMT  Close adviser to Venezuelas president has coronavirus

Jorge Rodriguez, Venezuelas communications minister and close adviser to President Nicolas Maduro, said he has been diagnosed with the coronavirus.

Even though I am in good general condition, I must comply with the isolation measures and the necessary care in order to overcome the virus, Rodriguez said on Twitter.

Venezuelas Communications and Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez, left, said he was in good general condition [File: Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters]

02:49 GMT  Argentina, Mexico to produce AstraZeneca vaccine

Argentina and Mexico will produce the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for most of Latin America, Argentine President Alberto Fernandez said after a meeting with company executives involved in the project.

An agreement signed between British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and the biotechnology company mAbxience of the INSUD Group includes the transfer of technology to initially produce 150 million doses of the vaccine to supply all of Latin America with the exception of Brazil, according to the Argentine government.

Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said later on Twitter the deal had been pushed by Fernandez and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. He said output of the vaccine could extend to 250 million doses.





02:17 GMT  NFL Union, league agree to daily testing through September 5

National Football League (NFL) players in the US can expect daily COVID-19 testing through September 5, the players union said in advance of the season kick-off next month.

The league has conducted 109,075 COVID-19 tests among players, staff and coaches since the start of training camps through Tuesday, NFL Chief Medical Officer Allen Sills told reporters, with an overall positive rate 0.46 percent and a positive rate among players of 0.81 percent.

A total of 53 new positives were confirmed among players upon their intake into training camp last month.

Our goal is all the same: to have the safest possible environment for everyone, said Sills. We want to try to ensure that theres no one  player, coach, staff member, official, anyone  who steps onto a field with an active COVID infection.

02:04 GMT  New Zealand logs 14 new cases

New Zealand reported 14 new COVID-19 cases, of which 13 were locally transmitted infections, as officials scrambled to trace the source of the countrys first outbreak in more than 100 days.

There are now a total of 36 active cases in the country.

We can see the seriousness of the situation we are in, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a televised media conference, noting that experience showed things will get worse before they get better.

More cases were likely to be reported in coming days, she said.

Officials said all of the 13 locally transmitted infections were linked to the four Auckland family members in whom the latest outbreak was first detected. Three of the new cases were at a refrigerator storage facility, where one of the family members worked.

A health worker conducts a test at a COVID-19 coronavirus testing centre in the suburb of Northcote in Auckland on August 12, 2020 [David Rowland/ AFP]

01:48 GMT  Disney World actors ready to work after testing dispute resolved

Walt Disney World actors, who argued that the US theme parks proposed coronavirus safeguards were inadequate to protect them, have resolved a dispute about COVID-19 testing, according to a union statement.

The Actors Equity Association had called on Walt Disney Co to provide regular coronavirus testing for its members, who cannot wear protective masks while performing as other park employees do.

Disney said on Wednesday that it would provide space just outside Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, for a testing site run by the Florida Division of Emergency Management. The site will be open to Disney employees, known as cast members, and the public.

Walt Disney World Update  @Disney has announced that it is providing space for testing in the parks, including for Equity performers within Walt Disney World. With that, Equitys executive committee has signed off on the MOU with Disney permitting our performers to return. pic.twitter.com/5FZwZt0org  Actors' Equity (@ActorsEquity) August 12, 2020

01:35 GMT  Australia on course for lowest one-day rise in three weeks

Australia was poised to post its lowest one-day rise in new COVID-19 cases in more than three weeks on Thursday, stoking hopes that a second wave of new infections gripping Victoria state is finally being brought under control.

Victoria reported 278 new infections in the past 24 hours, down from 410 a day earlier.

Australias most populous state, New South Wales reported 12 new cases, while Queensland state said it had found no new COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours.

Barring a large rise in cases from states that have effectively eliminated the virus, that means Australias total of 290 cases would be the lowest one-day rise in new coronavirus cases since July 20.

Australian authorities cautiously welcomed the decline.

I think we have to wait and see what happens over the coming week just to make sure that downward slope continues over the days ahead, Australias Deputy Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd told Australias Channel 9.

Nearly five million people in Melbourne have been confined to their homes except for essential reasons for nearly a month [James Ross/ AAP via Reuters]

01:19 GMT  Mexicos confirmed cases almost at 500,000

Mexicos health ministry reported 5,858 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infection and 737 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 498,380 cases and 54,666 deaths.

The government has said the real number of infected people is likely significantly higher than the confirmed cases.

00:58 GMT  UN chief says pandemic threatens peace and risks new conflicts

Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, warned that the COVID-19 pandemic not only threatens gains in fighting global poverty and building peace but risks exacerbating existing conflicts and fomenting new ones.

The UN chief told a Security Council meeting a number of warring parties took steps to de-escalate and stop fighting following his March 23 call for an immediate ceasefire in conflicts around the world to tackle the coronavirus.

Yet, regrettably, in many instances, the pandemic did not move the parties to suspend hostilities or agree to a permanent ceasefire, Guterres said.

The pandemic has also raised growing questions about the effectiveness of health systems, social services, trust in institutions and systems of governance, he said.

All of this means that our commitment to sustaining peace is more urgent than ever.

The UN chief also warned that without concerted action, inequalities, global poverty and the potential for instability and violence could grow for years.





00:37 GMT  Peru to return to total curfew on Sundays

Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra announced the return of a total curfew on Sundays in response to a new surge in coronavirus cases in the country.

We want and think that it is better to go back one step so that we are all responsible again for recovering the conditions that we would all like to have, he said.

The national curfew will prohibit gatherings of family and friends.

Perus government has reported more than 489,000 infections, with an average of more than 7,000 new cases per day, and the highest death rate per million in the Americas, above Chile, the United States, Brazil and Mexico.

00:24 GMT  Englands revamped contact-tracing app to begin public trials

A revamped coronavirus contact-tracing app for England will begin its public trials on Thursday, according to the BBC.

The software will be modelled after Apple and Googles privacy-centric method of one smartphone detecting another, BBC said, adding that engineers were still trying to reduce how often the Bluetooth-based tech wrongly flags people as being within two metres (6.6ft) of each other.

The app will also let people scan barcode-like QR codes to log venue visits.

Shoppers walk past social distancing signs following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease, in London [File: Toby Melville/ Reuters]

00:14 GMT  White House, Democrats trade blame over aid deadlock

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, one of President Donald Trumps top negotiators with Democrats on US coronavirus aid, tried to shift blame for a five-day lapse in talks back on House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Mnuchin disputed a statement from Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer that said Republicans had invited more talks but refused to budge from their initial offer of a $1 trillion response.

He said Pelosi made clear that she was unwilling to meet to continue negotiations unless we agreed in advance to her proposal, costing at least $2 trillion.





Sticking points between the two sides include the size of an extended unemployment benefit, aid to state and local governments, money for schools to reopen and other issues.

Congress has already approved about $3 trillion in assistance for families, hospitals, healthcare workers, state and local governments, vaccine research and testing.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday found that Americans divide blame pretty evenly between Democrats and Republicans.

Hello and welcome to Al Jazeeras continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. Im Zaheena Rasheed in Male, Maldives.

For all the key developments from yesterday, August 12, go here.
Authorities have identified the 18-year-old man killed in Newark early Wednesday in a shooting that left four others injured.

Tyrese McNeil, 18, of Newark was pronounced dead at University Hospital in the city less than 30 minutes after being shot shortly before 1 a.m on the 100 block of North 12th Street, the Essex County Prosecutors Office said.

A 31-year-old Irvington man and three others from Newark  ages 26, 20 and 19  are in hospitalized in stable condition.

No arrests have been made and the investigation is continuing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Essex County Prosecutors Office Homicides tips line at 1-877-847-7432. All calls will be kept confidential.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Home Search ICH What If Trump Wont Leave?



Trump is prepared to do whatever it takes to keep power. Can he be stopped?



By Frances Fox Piven, Deepak Bhargava August 11, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - Events in Charlottesville, Lafayette Square, and Portland have shown the country that President Donald Trump is prepared to do whatever it takes to keep power, including embracing militant white supremacists and using federal troops to tear gas and arrest peaceful protesters. His noxious proposal to postpone the elections is not the real threat to democracy. He has openly declared that he may not abide by the election results in a nationally televised interview on Fox News. Trump has a lot of tools at his disposal to steal the election if he loses, many of which hes already putting into motion. Can he be stopped? We believe that he can be, but only if most Americans are willing to put their trust in people power  rather than courts, norms, and elites  to save democracy. The evidence of the risk we face is impossible to ignore. Trump is questioning the legitimacy of an election that will rely on mail-in ballots, even though he himself has often voted absentee. He has threatened to withhold funding from states that are trying to make it easier for people to vote, and he is undermining the U.S. Postal Service, both of which are essential, especially in a pandemic. His Republican allies around the country have been passing voter ID laws, purging voter rolls, and cutting the number of polling places in urban areas, forcing people to stand in line for hours to exercise their right to vote. This is a war on voters who lean Democratic, specifically Black people, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, naturalized immigrants, poor people, and young people. Weve already seen in Georgia and Wisconsin how these tactics play out on Election Day. Trumps administration has downplayed foreign interference in the elections that benefit him. He has given succor to white nationalist groups, and the Republican Party has deputized 50,000 poll watchers to intimidate minority voters on Election Day. This will be the first election since 1980 during which the Republican National Committee will not be bound by a federal consent decree that prohibited ballot security efforts whose real purpose was to intimidate and disenfranchise minority voters. Lets be clear: Trump and the Republicans are already trying to steal the election. No Advertising - No Government Grants - This Is Independent Media Get Our Free Newsletter If all that chicanery fails and Trump still loses, most people assume that his only option is to concede defeat and leave  especially if he loses by a big margin. But lets picture what things could look like after Election Day. The new voting procedures implemented in response to Covid-19 will make this election feel different to many voters, and will also delay the counting of ballots well past November 3. New York was still counting ballots over a month after its June 23 primary election. Most people expect a blue shift  meaning that Trump may be ahead in the count of votes cast on Election Day ballots but that mailed ballots will skew Democratic. Trump is already crying fraud with absolutely no proof and could use the days after the election to stoke hysteria, rage, and violence among his supporters. To steal the election, we suspect he will adapt the standard playbook of authoritarians everywhere: cast doubt on the election results by filing numerous lawsuits and launching coordinated federal and state investigations, including into foreign interference; call on militia groups to intimidate election officials and instigate violence; rely on fringe social media to generate untraceable rumors, and on Fox News to amplify these messages as fact; and create a climate of confusion and chaos. He might ask the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security  which he has now weaponized against democracy  to deploy to big cities in swing states to stop the vote count or seize ballots. If he does all this right, hell be able to put soldiers on the streets, inflame his base, and convince millions of people that the election is being stolen from him. This would create the predicate for overturning the will of the voters. Whats his end game? Under the Constitution, state legislatures decide how to appoint electors. They have all chosen to rely on the popular vote. But could they create a false justification to claw back this power? The legislatures in all of the closely contested states this fall  Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Florida, and North Carolina  are controlled by Republicans. Trump could argue that mail-in ballots should not be counted and ask state legislatures to appoint electors different than the ones chosen by voters. This would be undemocratic and illegal; its hard to conceive how you justify changing the rules for appointing electors after the election. But they have contemplated it before: Floridas Republican legislature seriously considered doing just that in 2000 before the Supreme Court ultimately stepped in. All this orchestrated chaos could prevent the electors from casting their ballots as required on December 14 or allow Trump to get a competing slate of electors sent to Congress from the states. Either way, he will have pushed our election into January when the new Congress meets to decide the outcome. At this point, the rules about how to resolve disputes are unclear, and could be governed by a badly worded law passed in 1887. If neither candidate receives a majority of the Electoral College votes, the Constitutions 12th Amendment allows the House of Representatives to choose the president. You might think thats good news  but the rules in this case give each state delegation one vote, so the lone Republican congresswoman from Wyoming has the same power as the 52 members of the overwhelmingly Democratic California delegation. Right now, Republicans control a majority of the state delegations even though the Democrats control the chamber. This is far from an exhaustive list of what could go wrong in the 78 fraught days between Election Day and inauguration. Experts have considered the mechanisms in our rickety constitutional order that a would-be autocrat could use to defy the will of the people and the provisions that might restrain the usurpation. It turns out that our democracy rests on a set of shaky norms more than on ironclad rules. The possibilities for malign mischief are legion. What must we be prepared to do if Trump questions the legitimacy of the electoral results and wont concede defeat? We can learn what not to do from the disastrous 2000 election in which George W. Bush lost Florida and therefore the election to Al Gore but ended up taking the White House anyway. Republicans famously mobilized a Brooks Brothers riot of young white male campaign staffers, many flown in from D.C., to protest the recount and create an atmosphere of intimidation and chaos. Democrats dithered, mobilized no one, and played by Marquess of Queensberry rules. They naively relied on the courts and local election officials to validate Gores victory. The ultimate result of this pathetic Democratic strategy was not only a Bush victory but the Iraq War, the racist and inept response to Hurricane Katrina, and trillions of dollars of tax cuts for the rich. Exactly the same dilemma will face us this time if Trump wont accept defeat. Joe Bidens campaign is recruiting lawyers, not organizers, and Biden himself has expressed misplaced confidence that the military will escort [Trump] from the White House with great dispatch on Inauguration Day. Democratic Party operatives, good-government types, an army of constitutional lawyers, and other self-appointed experts will urge us not to politicize the process, to wait patiently and talk about the rule of law, to not prejudge the results  to trust the process and the courts, to stay home and let the smart boys in D.C. work things out on our behalf. We need to ignore such advice and take to the streets. We have been through four horrendous years in which our vaunted institutions have failed to hold Trump to account  most notably with the failure to convict him in the Senate after the House impeached him. The Republican Party and Fox News have divorced themselves from both the formal rules and the unwritten norms that constrained unaccountable executive behavior. During the public health crisis, the president and many Republican leaders have shown contempt for truth and a willingness to fan the flames of outlandish conspiracy theories. Theres no reason to believe that there are any norms that will constrain this president, who likely faces criminal prosecution when he leaves office. His fellow Republicans have had four years to reign him in and have chosen not to. And if you think John Robertss Supreme Court will save us, think again: For all the attention given to a few unexpected victories for liberals, the Court ruled four separate times this term against voting rights. While institutions, norms, and elites have failed us, there is abundant evidence that mass protest produces change. We are living in a golden age of social movements. Most recently, the Movement for Black Lives changed how white people think about policing in America, put bold new demands on the agenda, and is producing substantial, albeit thus far insufficient, changes in policies. The immigrant rights movement responded to the Muslim ban and the caging of children at the border with mass protest that forced a national reckoning with these cruel policies. Workers, often outside of union structures, have taken to the streets in extraordinary numbers  from the Fight for 15 to strikes by teachers and mobilizations by Amazon employees and essential workers. They have won big increases in wages and improved working conditions. The Occupy movement reintroduced the problem of economic oligarchy into the political debate. Bernie Sanderss and Elizabeth Warrens presidential candidacies were powered by this movement vision and pushed the Democratic Party to the left. And the resistance groups that mobilized early in the Trump years  the Womens March, Indivisible, and others  have built muscle memory among millions of people of what its like to engage in sustained activism. Most encouraging, these movements have recruited millions of new supporters. These groups together provide a powerful social base from which to contest the presidents planned usurpation of power. And the movements have substantial leverage in two decisive arenas: politics and the economy. In politics, the Democratic Party relies on voters allied with these movements. If the party decides to play hardball, it can stop Trump from stealing the election. Right now, Democrats can insist on funding for a free and fair election as well as the Postal Service, and ensure that local election systems have the resources and systems in place to accommodate the surge of mail-in ballots. And when Trump tries to steal the election after November 3, Democrats will control governors mansions in Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. If the Republican legislatures in these states try to overrule the will of the people, governors can push back and send a legitimate electoral vote tally to Congress. Likewise, after the election, Democratic House and Senate members will have leverage of their own. Getting Democrats to use the full extent of their power will not be easy. It will take a mass movement on a scale we have not yet seen, and the mobilization will need to be sustained for weeks and possibly months. Intense pressure from millions of people  that rivals the intensity of the Trump base  will be needed to stiffen the spines of national and state Democratic leaders. The professional communicators, technocrats, and lawyers in much of the mainstream Democratic Party and some in the media will be horrified by this call for a mass nonviolent uprising in response to the theft of an election. Culturally, the professional, middle-class people in these roles believe that expertise and good judgment, not mass protest, deliver the goods. They have learned in their own lives that rational debate, rule-following, and conflict avoidance help them climb the ladder. Unfortunately, these traits and behaviors dont work against autocrats. Politically, the Democratic Party has, for 30 years, triangulated, dodged, and capitulated to its ruthless opponents, and since its leaders are from that earlier generation schooled to cower, they will not adapt quickly now. The liberal establishment inside the Beltway will argue for sober analysis, moderate messages, following procedures, and, above all  for waiting. We must prepare to defy those milquetoast nostrums just as much as we prepare for Trumps planned theft of the election. Overcoming complacency, rampant incredulity that it could happen here, and misplaced faith in norms, courts and elites may be our biggest challenges. Another key movement objective should be to force corporate and Republican elites to break with Trump. Doing so will require pushing them to answer a simple question: Is the price of keeping Trump in power greater than the price of allowing Biden to take over as president? Truth be told, Biden should not scare the elite. He has been sympathetic to their agenda on everything from bankruptcy to trade, and has resisted policies like Medicare for All. But Trump has delivered deregulation, tax cuts, and huge numbers of judges for the rights core constituencies. He has, until perhaps recently, been good for their bottom line. So the protests will need to be not only boisterous and performative but also to put profits at risk. We should plan for and encourage forms of mass action such as work stoppages, consumer boycotts, and rent strikes that target the corporate class. The message from us to them needs to be clear: If you stand by and allow Trump to steal the election, we will threaten your profit. The only thing that would compel corporate titans and their political lackeys in the Republican Party to abandon Trump would be a crisis  not a crisis of conscience but of profitability. If Trump steals the election, a broad united front will have to make the country ungovernable and the reigning regime illegitimate, despite the risks involved. We can take lessons and heart from other countries around the world where autocrats have sought to steal elections. We can pull off a peaceful Orange Revolution of our own. To do so, we will need to encourage mass civil disobedience  and dare the authorities to arrest hundreds of thousands of people day after day. If an illegitimate election gives rise to civil disorder that cannot be easily suppressed, corporate and political elites will move to dump Trump to protect their interests. To prevent Trump from stealing the election, we must act now. Movement leaders should discuss these scenarios with their members and plan for action immediately on election night and beyond. We can also reach beyond progressive bubbles and talk to other people of good will, local elected officials, civil servants, members of security forces, and faith and civic leaders who will likely be willing to take risks they have never previously considered if they are engaged about the stakes and respectfully invited in. Thousands more people should be trained in the methods of nonviolent civil disobedience; this would be the right way to honor and carry forward the tradition of the late John Lewis, who famously enjoined us to make good trouble, necessary trouble in response to injustice. Organizations should create bail funds and recruit lawyers. Everyone working to defeat Trump should redouble their efforts, with a focus on mobilizing voters of color  a landslide weakens Trumps hand  and also be prepared to keep staff and volunteers going until noon on January 20. Grassroots groups in key states should be supported with extra human and financial resources, since all of us are depending on them to be able to keep up the fight past Election Day. Everyday people can make plans as workers, tenants, and consumers to organize and prepare to use their economic leverage in the days and weeks after Election Day to cut off the source of profits for Trumps corporate enablers. We can also organize mutual aid, building on the explosion of such effort during the pandemic, to support people who take such risks, many of whom already face great hardship. We hope that the worst does not unfold this fall. If the establishment concludes Trump is a menace to them as well as to the rest of us, they may yet rally to find a path to ease Trump out of the way and get him to abide by the results. But we should not make the fatal mistake of underestimating Trump or, more importantly, his supporters and the vast infrastructure aligned behind him. Trump did not beam into America from another planet; there are millions of people who are driving this authoritarian turn, and they are independent actors unlikely to stand down. If they dont believe in Covid-19 or in wearing masks, and do believe in unproven drugs, what makes anyone think theyll believe Trump lost the election? Fox News and the right-wing social media apparatus are formidable vehicles for mobilization and coordination. Perhaps most ominously, some of local law enforcement has proved to be in cahoots with the right-wing machine. So we should prepare now to respond  psychologically and strategically  to something akin to a coup. These are dark but plausible scenarios, and wed be better off facing than avoiding them. The worst of all possible outcomes would be for a broad united front of anti-Trump forces to be caught flatfooted in the 72 hours after Election Day, stunned by his brazenness and gathering its wits. We must lay the groundwork now for the kind of mass action that defends democracy and evicts this despicable, racist, wannabe authoritarian from the White House. In so doing, we will remind ourselves that American democracy is not a set of institutions or rules or an event that happens once every four years; it is what everyday people do to participate in and shape the life of our country. - " Source " - The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House. 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WASHINGTON  The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a request from Republicans to block a trial judges ruling making it easier for voters in Rhode Island to cast absentee ballots during the coronavirus pandemic. The judges ruling suspended a requirement that voters using mailed ballots fill them out in the presence of two witnesses or a notary.

The Supreme Courts unsigned order included an explanation, which is unusual when its acts on emergency applications. The case differed from similar ones in which state officials had opposed changes to state laws ordered by federal judges, the order said. Here the state election officials support the challenged decree, the order said, and no state official has expressed opposition.

The order added that Rhode Islands last election was conducted without the witness requirement, meaning that instituting a change now could confuse voters.

Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Neil M. Gorsuch dissented.

Last month, dividing 5 to 4, the court issued an order in a case from Alabama that rejected a trial judges ruling suspending the witness requirement. In that case, though, it was Alabama officials who objected to the ruling. In the new case, the objections came solely from Republican groups.
Hyderabad, Aug 13 : Private hospitals in Telangana on Thursday agreed to handover 50 per cent of their beds to the state government for treatment of Covid patients as per the tariff fixed by it.

Hours after the Telangana High Court directed the government to follow the Delhi model where the government took over the beds in private hospitals, the managements of corporate hospitals came forward to hand over the beds.

The decision was announced after Health Minister Eatala Rajender met a delegation of the Super Specialty Hospital Association in the evening.

The health department will allot these beds to patients through a special app and treatment will be provided as per the rates fixed by the department.

The minister thanked the hospitals which came forward to handover 50 per cent beds to the government. He asked the managements of these hospitals to meet Director of Public Health Srinivas Rao on Friday to work out the modalities for treatment of the patients.

Earlier, the High Court while hearing various petitions relating to COVID wanted to know from the government as to what action it had taken against the private hospitals not following its orders with regard to treatment charges.

The court was informed by Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar that complaints were received against 50 private hospitals. Out of 46 hospitals who were served show cause notices, 16 submitted their replies.

Rajender said the government had been urging the private hospitals to join hands with the government in providing COVID treatment Though the government had capped the price for treatment of COVID-19 patients, some private hospitals were charging excessive bills. The government had received complaints against these hospitals.

The minister said he had repeatedly appealed to private hospitals to refrain from overcharging during the crisis.

With over 1,000 complaints against private hospitals regarding COVID-19 treatment charges, the minister had directed officials on Monday to prepare plans to take over 50 per cent of beds and to offer treatment as per government terms.

Besides revoking the permission of two private hospitals to treat COVID patients last week, the health department issued show-cause notices to several other hospitals for allegedly fleecing patients.

According to officials, 1,039 complaints were received from people against private hospitals charging exorbitant amounts for COVID-19 treatment.

The state government on June 15 had issued an order announcing the maximum rates chargeable by private hospitals for various services provided by them for COVID-19 treatment. The charges range between Rs 4,000 to Rs 9,000 per day depending on the ward and if ventilator support is provided. However some charges were excluded like those for costly medicines.

The private hospitals, however, were charging much more than the tariff fixed by the government. People also complained that the hospitals collected money without issuing bills or patients were admitted only after Rs 3 lakh to Rs 4 lakh was paid in advance. There were also complaints that the hospitals were not accepting insurance policies and credit cards.

The health minister had directed officials to form a committee to look into the response to the show-cause notices, and to take action against erring hospitals.

As per the bulletin issued by the department on Thursday, 118 private hospitals treating COVID patients had a total of 7,879 beds and out of them 3,426 beds were vacant.

Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, who appeared before the High Court through video conferencing, said the state ramped up the number of daily tests and was taking various measures to tackle the situation.

The court expressed its satisfaction over the measures taken by the government.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
May Cowen, the mother of former Taoiseach Briand and sitting TD Barry, has passed away.

Mrs Cowen died peacefully at her home in Clara, Co Offaly earlier today.

She was a stalwart presence behind the success of the Cowen family in politics, helping her late husband Ber and two sons repeatedly win Dail seats.

Barry Cowen previously told how his mother had a deep understanding of Irish politics and would provide advice on how to survive.

Expand Close Brian Cowen and mother May Cowen and family. Photo: Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland. / Facebook

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Her husband, Ber, was a Fianna Fail TD when he died suddenly in 1984. Brian retained his seat in the subsequent by-election and went on to become Taoiseach from 2008 and 2011. Barry has held the seat in the Offaly constituency since then.

Speaking to the Sunday Independent in 2017, Barry Cowen said his mother stood at the head of the family and was battled hardened.

"She would always say 'you are elected by the people, you are elected by your constituents, you work for your constituents and hard work will be rewarded. And if you take your eye off the ball, if you neglect your work, if you leave yourself vulnerable and open, you lose your job', he said.

"She understands you're only as good as your last election. It could be around the corner at any time, on any day, and that comes from a woman who was married to a person who, in the eighties, did three elections in 18 months, and the difficulties that brings."

A death notice published today says Mrs Cowen passed away surrounded by her loving family.

It says she will be sadly missed by her loving sons Christy, Brian and Barry, sisters Patsy Nolan (USA) and Nuala Farley (USA), grandchildren Jane, Stephen, Sinead, Meadbh, Gemma, Lorcan, Eoin and Aoibhe, daughters in law Mary (Tullamore), Mary (Clara) and Ann (Clara), brother in law, sister in law, cousins, nephews, nieces, relatives, neighbours and friends.

The notice adds: To her very special friends Jennifer, Natasha, Carol and Eileen who lovingly cared for and nursed our mother over the last few years, thank you.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions her wake will be private and a family funeral will take place on Saturday in St Brigids Church, Clara.

Those who would have liked to attend can view the Mass live on St. Brigid's Church Youtube channel, or are welcome to stand outside the Church, along the route or at the Cemetery.

The family have thanked people for their understanding and ask that donations be given to the Dialysis Unit at the Regional Hospital in Tullamore.

Brian Cowen is currently in recovering from a bad stroke suffered just over a year ago. The family have said they hope he will be able to leave a rehabilitation facility and return home to Offaly soon.
Internet users from across the world have shared the hilariously inappropriate situations their older relations have used the 'crying with laughter' emoji in.

A gallery shared to Bored Panda shows how the common confusion over the meaning behind the laughing emoji has led to some very awkward messages.

In one unfortunate instance, a mother who mistook the laughing face for a crying emoji announced her son's death with the emoji.

Elsewhere, a grandmother who thought the tears were of sadness instead of joy, used the face to respond to her grandchild's news that she was having an operation.

And elsewhere, a dog owner used it to announce the death of their beloved pet, leading to much confusion.

FEMAIL takes a look at the most cringe-worthy use of the cry-laughing emoji.

Bored Panda put together a gallery of people mistakenly using the cry-laughing emoji while writing about or reaction to sad events. A Reddit user believed to be from the US shared this Facebook post, inviting people to pray for victims of violence, using the cry-laughing emoji

Elsewhere, a concerned grandmother who heard her granddaughter would have surgery for her torn ACL replied with a cry-laughing emoji - not realising her mistake

But do you really? A well-meaning mother tried to tell her son she missed him, but instead, ended up sounding sarcastic due to the emoji

A man from Texas shared this message he spotted on Facebook of a woman using a cry-laughing emoji banner to announced the death of her son Shane

One person was shocked to see their mother use the cry-laughing emoji to announce the death of their dog - admitting that she didn't know what the expression meant

One man from the US explained his coworker confused the emoji with a crying emoji on Twitter, awkwardly announcing the death of their father with the face

One person who was stressed before a surgical operation picked the wrong emoji to ask for support online - covering their announcement with laughing faces

This screenshot was shared on a meme-sharing platform and shows a conversation between two people, neither of whom know how to use the cry-laughing emoji

And a person paying respect to their dead uncle Tony mistakenly used the cry-laughing emoji in a text message, alongside an RIP message and a heart

Oklahoma City-based Christina Carter was not expecting her mother to reply with cry-laughing emojis when she told her she was sick, admitting she thinks it's 'crying'

Olivia, from the US, explained her grandmother was trying to show how sad she was at the thought that she would not see her as planned - but didn't quite get it right

Inappropriate! A woman revealed her mother did not know how to use the emoji and used it to ask her whether Robin Williams had died

Emoji fail! Peter, from Sheffield, shared this interaction with his mother, explaining she clearly did not know how to use the emoji
Pakistani women journalists and social media activists have said that government officials were instigating online attacks against them over their reports critical of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leadership.

The online attacks are instigated by government officials and then amplified by a large number of Twitter accounts, which declare their affiliation to the ruling party, said a joint statement signed by over 40 women journalists and commentators.

The joint statement said that personal details of women journalists and analysts have been made public in a well-defined and coordinated campaign.

In some instances, our pictures and videos have been morphed, the statement said. We demand that the government immediately restrain its members from repeatedly targeting women in the media.

Last July, Shireen Mazari, the minister for human rights, promised to take notice of threats against journalists and to address the climate of abuse, bullying, fear, and censorship. Ms. Mazari, we are waiting, the statement said.

Responding to the concerns raised by the women journalists, Human Rights Minister Dr Shireen Mazari said that it is disturbing to learn of women journalists being targeted and abused for their views.

Abusing women because they are critical is never acceptable. Journalists do their job and to target them, especially gender-based abusive attacks on women journos, is absolutely unacceptable and disgusting, the minister wrote on Twitter.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also noted with concern the threats faced by women journalists.

In a tweet, the PPP leader said: Have taken notice of threats to women journalists as chair of human rights committee. Would like to invite you all to come brief our committee on the issue.

Benzair Shah, an award-winning journalist and an analyst, told a local news channel that she has been trolled and faced online abuse in the past as well, but the attacks have become more relentless after her reporting of coronavirus in the country.

This has been happening so often that I can now recognize the accounts which target me and other women in the media, Shah said. The names have become familiar. Most, if not all, declare their support for the ruling party.
A father of three from Phoenix, Arizona, has taken a tough-love approach to reprimanding his teen son, who stole the familys Range Rover for a joyride. The concerned dad then laid out his sons belongings on the sidewalk and gave them away for free.

Ramon Martinez insisted that his 14-year-old son Angel sit on his bed throughout the Aug. 3 yard sale holding a handwritten sign that read Sorry I stole my parents car and was speeding.

Angel Martinez, 14, sits with his handwritten sign as his belongings are given away. (Courtesy of Ramon Martinez)

To make a public example of his sons misdemeanor, Ramon logged on to Facebook live to film the street-side giveaway. At the time of writing, 184,000 social media users have watched and played witness to this out-of-the-box punishment.

Today, his room is 100 percent empty, and were giving all his stuff away, Ramon told Fox 10. Mostly to apologize. Were neighbors as well.

He couldve run someone over. Something really bad couldve happened, the father said.

The familys neighbors were disrupted by Angels joyride, the report stated. The teen took the car while his parents were in Las Vegas, celebrating their anniversary, and drove it at high speeds around the neighborhood.

Ramon and his wife, Nancy, found out about their sons indiscretion via a phone call from the Phoenix Police Department.

Ramon Martinez, Angels father (Courtesy of Ramon Martinez)

Angel lost everything within a matter of hours: his flat-screen television, his bed, his chest of drawers, and even the contents of his wardrobe.

I just wanted to drive but I dont have a license so I just took it, the teen told the news outlet. I can wash the car, and I was like, I dont have anything to dry it, so Im gonna take it for one spin until it dries.

Ramon said that his son will be sleeping on the couch for some time in the near future to ensure his lesson has been learned.

Its kind of weird, but I think its a fair punishment, the teen said.

Angel Martinez (L) with his family (Courtesy of Ramon Martinez)

For some, Ramons unorthodox punishment for his son may seem amusing compared to what could have transpired. However, according to Criminal Defense Lawyer Ave Mince-Didier, joyriding is usually classed as a misdemeanor but can, under certain circumstances, be charged as a felony.

Mince-Didier said that for as long as there have been cars, there has been joyriding. In the early days, people who did not own or could not afford their own vehicles would, on occasion, borrow one to experience the thrill of driving; the law responded by devising criteria to differentiate joyriders from bonafide thieves.

Recognizing that a person who goes joyriding is usually less culpable and often less sophisticated than a thief, the lawyer said, most state lawmakers classify joyriding as a less serious offense than theft, and one that is punished less severely.

We would love to hear your stories! You can share them with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.nyc
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 19:42:27|Editor: huaxia

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President of the Legislative Council (LegCo) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Andrew Leung meets the press at an end-of-session press conference in Hong Kong, south China, July 17, 2020. (Xinhua/Li Gang)

People from various sectors believed that the decision for the sixth Legislative Council (LegCo) of the HKSAR to continue performing duties can help maintain the government's effective operation and social stability.

HONG KONG, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- People from all walks of life and various organizations in Hong Kong have expressed their support for a decision adopted by China's top legislature for the sixth Legislative Council (LegCo) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to continue performing duties.

It is widely believed that the decision can maintain the effective operation of the HKSAR government and social stability, avoid disputes, help control the epidemic, improve people's livelihood and accelerate economic recovery. It is hoped that LegCo members will put the well-being of Hong Kong people first, fighting the epidemic together and getting Hong Kong out of adversity as soon as possible.

Lo Sui-on, deputy secretary-general of Friends of Hong Kong Association, said the decision is entirely for the good of Hong Kong, which gives Hong Kong more space and time to fight the epidemic.

People wearing face masks walk in the Central area of Hong Kong, south China, July 27, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Shen)

He hoped that opposition LegCo members will perform their duties and work together with the HKSAR government to serve Hong Kong, live up to the trust of the central government and jointly help Hong Kong develop smoothly.

Chan Hiu-fung, head of Hong Kong and Mainland Legal Profession Association, said the central government shows genuine concern for Hong Kong and always considers the well-being of its residents, adding that all sectors of society should work together and concentrate on epidemic prevention and control.

The HKSAR Basic Law does not stipulate for the vacancy of the LegCo due to the election postponement, and the decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress demonstrates the rule of law, said Chan Cheuk-hay, the principal of Hong Kong College of Technology.

Lau Juen-yee, the former vice-chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said a number of countries and regions have delayed elections to put people's lives first, so should the HKSAR government to protect the health and safety of Hong Kong residents by strictly controlling the epidemic.

Members of the Legislative Council (LegCo) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) attend a press conference in Hong Kong, south China, May 22, 2020. (Xinhua/Li Gang)

Sze Wine-him, vice chairman of All-China Youth Federation and founding chairman of the Y.Elites Association, urged opposition lawmakers to give top priority to the well-being of Hong Kong residents, setting aside differences and stopping violent and disruptive acts during legislative meetings.

The Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong said the decision of China's top legislature will be conducive to maintaining social stability and reviving the economy, calling on LegCo members to genuinely fulfill their responsibilities to winning the anti-epidemic fight and helping Hong Kong start again.

Hong Kong Professionals and Senior Executives Association appealed to the LegCo to actively cooperate with the HKSAR government on controlling the coronavirus spread, improving economic and relief policies, and helping residents overcome the current hardships.

Hong Kong Higher Education Convergence called on all LegCo members to assume their constitutional responsibilities and complete various unfinished bills in the current term.
We want to think outside the box, the attorneys wrote. Chiefs should be given the flexibility to work with their staff members, balancing workloads, adjusting hours, and/or making use of remote technology, in what would truly be practically fair to their staff  not what just appears fair in principle.
Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) are not gaining steam in the country, despite launching two incentive schemes in five years.

In FY20, 152,000 electric two-wheelers were sold in India, which was less than 1 percent of the 17.5 million sold during the same year, globally.

That scenario could now change with the government, on August 12, bringing about a landmark change to the buying structure of an electric two- and three-wheeler.

Moneycontrol brings you the likely impact of the new government policy on EVs.

What is the change brought about by the government?

The government has allowed the registration of electric two- and three-wheelers without batteries. It has written to the transport commissioners and the transport departments of states and Union Territories to allow the registrations.

Why has this been done?

Batteries account for up to 40 percent of the EV cost. So, the price of an EV with battery deters it from becoming a mass product. The government believes if the cost of batteries is removed from the price equation, it would bring down the acquisition price of EVs and trigger demand.

Who will provide the batteries then?

The governments move can give birth to a new tier in the supply chain of electric vehicles. Third party vendors focussing only on supplying batteries could gain prominence. Batteries can be given on hire or sold as per choice. Battery, as an asset, will be on the books of the vendor. It will also become easier for the government to source end-of-life batteries from a common place for disposal.

How can buyers benefit?

Battery contains the fuel for an electric vehicle. Consumers will now have a choice -- whether to buy a battery-fitted vehicle or not. If the cost of batteries is separated from the EV, its price could decline by 30-40 percent.

Interestingly, in 2018, in the swappable battery technology developed by Ashok Leyland and Sun Mobility for electric buses, batteries were not part of the acquisition cost. This made the price much lower than other electric buses. However, their proposal never got the go-ahead from the government.

How will it affect manufacturers?

China is the worlds biggest manufacturer of EV batteries. Given the geo-political friction between India and China, India cannot afford a disruption in supply of batteries, if the country has to achieve mass electric mobility. With the new policy, manufacturers will be freed from the hassle of procuring batteries, most of which are imported. Vehicle makers can focus on developing new technologies and products for the future.

Will this boost EV sales in India?

If the price of electric two and three-wheelers head south by 30-40 percent, it will bring their prices on par with petrol, diesel or CNG-powered vehicles, thereby boosting demand. For instance, Indias largest selling scooter, Honda Activa, is priced around Rs 80,000 (on-road) while the fully electric Ather 450 is priced around Rs 115,000, a premium of 44 percent.

Will this affect government subsidy?

Officially, the government has not provided any guidance or indication. Under the FAME 2 (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles) scheme, the government provides a subsidy ranging from Rs 18,000 to Rs 68,000 for two and three-wheelers.

Are batteries for EVs sourced within India?

Most battery packs are sourced from outside India, mainly from China. Some vehicle makers such as Mahindra Electric have their own battery assembly units in India. However, lithium-ion cells, the heart of the battery pack, still comes from China. A few companies such as Suzuki and Toyota have committed to set up a full-fledged lithium battery producing plant in India, including cell manufacturing.
Observations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope are showing that the unexpected dimming of the supergiant star Betelgeuse was most likely caused by an immense amount of hot material ejected into space, forming a dust cloud that blocked starlight coming from Betelgeuse's surface.

Hubble researchers suggest that the dust cloud formed when superhot plasma unleashed from an upwelling of a large convection cell on the star's surface passed through the hot atmosphere to the colder outer layers, where it cooled and formed dust grains. The resulting dust cloud blocked light from about a quarter of the star's surface, beginning in late 2019. By April 2020, the star returned to normal brightness.

Betelgeuse is an aging, red supergiant star that has swelled in size due to complex, evolving changes in its nuclear fusion furnace at the core. The star is so huge now that if it replaced the Sun at the center of our solar system, its outer surface would extend past the orbit of Jupiter.

The unprecedented phenomenon for Betelgeuse's great dimming, eventually noticeable to even the naked eye, started in October 2019. By mid-February 2020, the monster star had lost more than two-thirds of its brilliance.

This sudden dimming has mystified astronomers, who scrambled to develop several theories for the abrupt change. One idea was that a huge, cool, dark "star spot" covered a wide patch of the visible surface. But the Hubble observations, led by Andrea Dupree, associate director of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA), Cambridge, Massachusetts, suggest a dust cloud covering a portion of the star.

Several months of Hubble's ultraviolet-light spectroscopic observations of Betelgeuse, beginning in January 2019, yield a timeline leading up to the darkening. These observations provide important new clues to the mechanism behind the dimming.

Hubble captured signs of dense, heated material moving through the star's atmosphere in September, October, and November 2019. Then, in December, several ground-based telescopes observed the star decreasing in brightness in its southern hemisphere.

"With Hubble, we see the material as it left the star's visible surface and moved out through the atmosphere, before the dust formed that caused the star to appear to dim," Dupree said. "We could see the effect of a dense, hot region in the southeast part of the star moving outward.

"This material was two to four times more luminous than the star's normal brightness," she continued. "And then, about a month later, the south part of Betelgeuse dimmed conspicuously as the star grew fainter. We think it is possible that a dark cloud resulted from the outflow that Hubble detected. Only Hubble gives us this evidence that led up to the dimming."

The team's paper will appear online Aug. 13 in The Astrophysical Journal.

Massive supergiant stars like Betelgeuse are important because they expel heavy elements such as carbon into space that become the building blocks of new generations of stars. Carbon is also a basic ingredient for life as we know it.

Tracing a Traumatic Outburst

Dupree's team began using Hubble early last year to analyze the behemoth star. Their observations are part of a three-year Hubble study to monitor variations in the star's outer atmosphere. Betelgeuse is a variable star that expands and contracts, brightening and dimming, on a 420-day cycle.

Hubble's ultraviolet-light sensitivity allowed researchers to probe the layers above the star's surface, which are so hot -- more than 20,000 degrees Fahrenheit -- they cannot be detected at visible wavelengths. These layers are heated partly by the star's turbulent convection cells bubbling up to the surface.

Hubble spectra, taken in early and late 2019, and in 2020, probed the star's outer atmosphere by measuring magnesium II (singly ionized magnesium) lines. In September through November 2019, the researchers measured material moving about 200,000 miles per hour passing from the star's surface into its outer atmosphere.

This hot, dense material continued to travel beyond Betelgeuse's visible surface, reaching millions of miles from the seething star. At that distance, the material cooled down enough to form dust, the researchers said.

This interpretation is consistent with Hubble ultraviolet-light observations in February 2020, which showed that the behavior of the star's outer atmosphere returned to normal, even though visible-light images showed that it was still dimming.

Although Dupree does not know the outburst's cause, she thinks it was aided by the star's pulsation cycle, which continued normally though the event, as recorded by visible-light observations. The paper's co-author, Klaus Strassmeier, of the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam, used the institute's automated telescope called STELLar Activity (STELLA), to measure changes in the velocity of the gas on the star's surface as it rose and fell during the pulsation cycle. The star was expanding in its cycle at the same time as the upwelling of the convective cell. The pulsation rippling outward from Betelgeuse may have helped propel the outflowing plasma through the atmosphere.

Dupree estimates that about two times the normal amount of material from the southern hemisphere was lost over the three months of the outburst. Betelgeuse, like all stars, is losing mass all the time, in this case at a rate 30 million times higher than the Sun.

Betelgeuse is so close to Earth, and so large, that Hubble has been able to resolve surface features - making it the only such star, except for our Sun, where surface detail can be seen.

Hubble images taken by Dupree in 1995 first revealed a mottled surface containing massive convection cells that shrink and swell, which cause them to darken and brighten.

A Supernova Precursor?

The red supergiant is destined to end its life in a supernova blast. Some astronomers think the sudden dimming may be a pre-supernova event. The star is relatively nearby, about 725 light-years away, which means the dimming would have happened around the year 1300. But its light is just reaching Earth now.

"No one knows what a star does right before it goes supernova, because it's never been observed," Dupree explained. "Astronomers have sampled stars maybe a year ahead of them going supernova, but not within days or weeks before it happened. But the chance of the star going supernova anytime soon is pretty small."

Dupree will get another chance to observe the star with Hubble in late August or early September. Right now, Betelgeuse is in the daytime sky, too close to the Sun for Hubble observations. But NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) has taken images of the monster star from its location in space. Those observations show that Betelgeuse dimmed again from mid-May to mid-July, although not as dramatically as earlier in the year.

Dupree hopes to use STEREO for more follow-up observations to monitor Betelgeuse's brightness. Her plan is to observe Betelgeuse again next year with STEREO when the star has expanded outward again in its cycle to see if it unleashes another petulant outburst.

###
Los Angeles: Two potential vaccines to protect against the novel coronavirus - one from Oxford University and AstraZeneca Plc and the other from Chinas CanSino Biologics - induced immune responses in healthy volunteers without causing dangerous side effects, according to studies published on Monday in The Lancet.

A third different type of vaccine from Pfizer Inc and German biotech BioNTech also showed promise in a small, early study released on Monday, adding to hopes that at least one will prove safe and effective.

The following are five takeaways from Mondays developments, drawn in part from an editorial in The Lancet medical journal:

1. The Oxford/AstraZeneca and CanSino teams released results from early trials of COVID-19 vaccines that use harmless versions of another virus, or viral vector, to deliver genetic material from the novel coronavirus into cells to generate an immune response. Both trials were primarily designed to test the vaccines safety and provide potential hints of efficacy. Subjects in both studies experienced mild side effects such as fever and injection site pain, but no severe adverse events were reported. Vaccines are traditionally made by using a weakened or inactivated form of the virus to elicit an immune response and prevent infection, but those vaccines are not easy to develop quickly. Viral vector vaccines do not need to be frozen, although they do need to be refrigerated. Johnson & Johnsons vaccine against the Ebola virus on July 1 became Europes first approved viral vector vaccine.

2. The COVID-19 pandemic has fast-tracked other new types of vaccine technology. The Pfizer and BioNTech candidate, which had initial data from a German study in 60 healthy volunteers, was shown to prompt an immune response and was well-tolerated. The data were in line with those from another early-stage U.S. trial released earlier this month.. That vaccine uses a different novel platform - ribonucleic acid (RNA) - the chemical messenger containing instructions for cells to produce proteins. RNA vaccines are designed to work by instructing cells to make proteins that mimic the surface of the coronavirus, which the body then sees as a foreign invader and learns to target with an immune response. Although the technology has been around for years, there has never been an approved messenger RNA vaccine.

3. The number of people in whom experimental COVID-19 vaccines have been tested so far is small, but researchers say measurements of immune system responses are encouraging. Still, much remains unknown about COVID-19 vaccines in development, particularly the staying power of any immune responses and effectiveness in older adults or other specific groups, including people with chronic health problems and ethnic or racial groups more severely affected by the disease. Other outstanding questions include: Will a single dose be sufficient; Do they spur enough neutralizing antibodies and T-cells, a type of white blood cell that helps the immune system destroy infection; Do T-cell responses correlate with longer-term protection; Is there a possibility that a vaccine could put someone at risk of more serious infection?

4. More than 150 possible vaccines are in development for preventing COVID-19. J&J is also developing a viral vector vaccine for coronavirus and expects to begin human trials this month. Moderna Inc last week said its experimental RNA vaccine for COVID-19 showed it was safe and provoked immune responses in all 45 healthy volunteers in an ongoing early-stage study. Moderna expects to begin large-scale testing before the end of July. Once vaccines clear early safety hurdles, they will need to be tested on thousands of subjects to assure they can be safely administered to millions or billions of healthy people.

5. Mondays published studies bode well for those much larger, randomized controlled to assess their efficacy and safety. AstraZeneca has late-stage trials underway in the UK, Brazil and South Africa and aims to start studies in the United States, where the coronavirus prevalence is higher. Results can be accrued much more quickly in regions with high rates of active infection. AstraZeneca Chief Executive Pascal Soriot said the company hopes the vaccine will be available this year depending on how quickly late-stage trials can be completed, given the dwindling prevalence of the virus in Britain. While CanSino has yet to start large-scale clinical trials to assess how well its vaccine prevents infection, it has been approved for use in Chinas military. Pfizer and BioNTech have said they expect to begin a trial later this month with up to 30,000 subjects with the aim of demonstrating vaccine efficacy.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
A $10,000 gift to Virginia Western Community Colleges student emergency fund from an anonymous donor will double the funds balance.

The long-standing fund from the Virginia Western Educational Foundation provides applicants with up to $500 per academic year to address financial hardship that threatens a students ability to complete coursework, according to a news release.

The donor is a retired businessman and alumnus of Virginia Western.

I realize it is Virginia Western that needs my help now, and they were the first to help me, he said in a news release. They prepared me for what was to come.

He met his wife 45 years ago in a Virginia Western geology class.

We were so poor, we couldnt afford to buy a Texas Instrument hand-held calculator for each of us, so I used my slide rule and gave her the calculator, he said.

The Virginia Western Rapid Response Student Emergency Fund quickly provides applicants with funds within 48 hours. Funds have paid for expenses such as medical or car repair bills, groceries and gas, according to the news release. Most recently, it has assisted students affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Right now, we are seeing students who lack a computer at home, so they cannot complete online classes, said Amanda Mansfield, the foundations philanthropy director. Weve been able to buy them a laptop so they can finish the semester and hopefully graduate on time.

Virginia Western students who need assistance can apply at virginiawestern.edu/foundation/assistance.php.

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Chinese tech company ByteDance is in talks with Reliance Industries Limited to back TikTok's business in India, sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. The development comes weeks after the Indian government banned TikTok with 58 other Chinese apps. The report by TechCrunch stated that Reliance and ByteDance are still in the early stages of discussions and yet to finalize a deal.

The two companies reportedly began talks last month. TikTok's business in India is reportedly valued at $3 billion.

However, there is no official word from Reliance or ByteDance yet. ByteDance has around 2000 employees in India and has currently stopped hiring, a report by ET stated. The company has ensured its employees that there will be no layoffs and that it is in contact with the Indian government.

Earlier, this week, there was a speculation that TikTok may return to India if Microsoft decides to buy it as a result of global expansion. Microsoft is in talks with ByteDance to purchase the TikTok business in the US, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. However, things with the deal seemed unclear after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order effectively banning TikTok from the US after a 45-day deadline.

The Indian government banned TikTok along with 58 other Chinese apps citing security concerns. It further banned 47 apps as a follow-up. India has also prepared a list of over 250 Chinese apps, including those linked to Alibaba and Tencent that it will examine for any user privacy or national security violations.

Tech giants like Facebook and Google have partnered with Reliance on recent projects. At the first ever virtual Reliance AGM meeting, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani announced that Google is investing Rs 33,737 crore in Jio Platforms.

Google CEO Pichai said the investment was made to launch a customized version of its Android mobile operating system to power low-cost Android smartphones. The investment will get Google a 7.7 per cent stake in Jio. Facebook invested $5.7 billion in Jio to acquire close to 10 per cent stake. Mukesh Ambani launched JioMart in collaboration with WhatsApp.
The Ontario government is upping funding for school boards COVID costs  as teacher unions up the pressure on the province to address their back-to-class concerns.

On Thursday, Education Minister Stephen Lecce announced $50 million for school ventilation systems, $18 million in supports for online learning and said he will allow boards to dip further into their reserves to hire extra staff or find extra space for smaller classes.

Boards will be able to access about two per cent of these funds, freeing up about $500 million, with the government filling in the $11 million gap faced by a handful of boards that no longer have any reserves.

Lecce, however, has not changed class sizes in elementary schools, which remain a huge concern for parents and educators.

But while teacher unions were warning of imminent danger, the provinces chief medical officer disagreed, said he would not approve of reopening schools if he felt they were unsafe.

Meanwhile, in an email to Toronto District School Board trustees, Interim Director Carlene Jackson said much of its $131 million in reserves is already committed to benefits funding and carry-overs in IT projects and educational programming.

Staffs position is that because this money is already set aside for future obligations, using these funds would lead to future financial risks for the board, she wrote. It would not be prudent or good financial management if we were to use a large amount of reserve funds to cover the entire cost of smaller class sizes.

Jackson, a chartered professional accountant who in October will become the provinces first comptroller general, said the board is considering whether to use a small amount from reserves, plus previous provincial funding it must apply for, to hire extra staff.

Moving to smaller elementary classes of 15 or 20 students, depending on the grade, is estimated to cost $20 million for the Toronto board, Canadas largest.

Lecce, speaking at Queens Park, said contingency funds are rainy day funds in effect for extraordinary expenses and needs. We face a very difficult time, adversity in our economy and our society, and in the health of our children. Now is the time to put those tax dollars, respectfully, to work.

He said he believes boards can hire and find space before school restarts, and said many have already been working on it.

It allows school boards, in conjunction with their front-line workers, and parents most especially, to make those investments where they cant and where theyre needed. and I think thats important to have an element of flexibility and latitude.

Lecce also announced that the province is mandating that for students who take part in online learning this fall, 75 per cent of it must be live video conferencing or synchronous.

The government has previously announced $309 million for staffing and personal protective equipment, among other needs, to help boards cope with COVID-19.

A growing number of groups, experts and teacher unions are calling for the province to delay the start of the school year.

The provinces four teacher unions are now calling for a meeting with the education ministry and Minister of Labour Monte McNaughton arguing the school reopening plan fails to meet the requirements set out in the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act and puts students and school communities in significant and imminent danger.

The provinces plan does not take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances to protect teachers and education workers as is required, says a letter sent Thursday, in part because it does not limit class sizes which would allow for physical distancing.

However, Dr. David Williams, the provinces chief medical officer of health, said he believes it is safe to reopen under the provinces plans, which include mandatory masks for students starting in Grade 4.

NDP Health Critic France Gelinas said Lecces announcement offers absolutely no comfort at all to parents, school staff and students who are anxious and afraid about sending their children back to crowded classrooms in September.

She also called the $50 million for ventilation system pitiful.

Harvey Bischof, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation, said this plan provides no assurance that boards will spend their reserves on decreasing elementary class size and fails to address secondary class size ... it will do little to provide parents, students, and educators the confidence they deserve.
Ceramic Matrix Composites Market Research Report by Type (Carbon-Carbon, Carbon-Silicon Carbide, Oxide-Oxide, and Silicon Carbide-Silicon Carbide), by Fiber Type (Continuous Fiber and Short Fiber), by End User - Global Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19

New York, Aug. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Ceramic Matrix Composites Market Research Report by Type, by Fiber Type, by End User - Global Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05913799/?utm_source=GNW



The Global Ceramic Matrix Composites Market is expected to grow from USD 9,363.93 Million in 2019 to USD 16,182.06 Million by the end of 2025 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 9.54%.



Market Segmentation & Coverage:

This research report categorizes the Ceramic Matrix Composites to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets:



Based on Type, the Ceramic Matrix Composites Market studied across Carbon-Carbon, Carbon-Silicon Carbide, Oxide-Oxide, and Silicon Carbide-Silicon Carbide.



Based on Fiber Type, the Ceramic Matrix Composites Market studied across Continuous Fiber and Short Fiber.



Based on End User, the Ceramic Matrix Composites Market studied across Aerospace & Defense, Automotive, Electricals & Electronics, and Energy & Power.



Based on Geography, the Ceramic Matrix Composites Market studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas region surveyed across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The Asia-Pacific region surveyed across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa region surveyed across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom.



Company Usability Profiles:

The report deeply explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global Ceramic Matrix Composites Market including applied thin films inc., CeramTec, COI Ceramics, Inc, Composites Horizons, CoorsTek Inc, Lancer Systems, Rolls-Royce plc, SGL GROUP, Ultramet, and UNITED TECHNOLOGIES.



FPNV Positioning Matrix:

The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Ceramic Matrix Composites Market on the basis of Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape.



Competitive Strategic Window:

The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies. The Competitive Strategic Window helps the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. During a forecast period, it defines the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth.



Cumulative Impact of COVID-19:

COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, so for and, the long-term effects projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlaying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report is delivering insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecast, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market.



The report provides insights on the following pointers:

1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on the market offered by the key players

2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyzes the markets

3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments

4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players

5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and new product developments



The report answers questions such as:

1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Ceramic Matrix Composites Market?

2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Ceramic Matrix Composites Market during the forecast period?

3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Ceramic Matrix Composites Market?

4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Ceramic Matrix Composites Market?

5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Ceramic Matrix Composites Market?

6. What are the modes and strategic moves considered suitable for entering the Global Ceramic Matrix Composites Market?

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05913799/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



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NCP president Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said he gives "absolutely no importance to his grand-nephew Parth Pawars recent demand for a CBI probe into the case of actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death, and also termed the young leader as immature.

Sharad Pawar also said he has faith in the Mumbai Police, but added that he will not oppose if someone still wants the central agency's investigation into the case.

Rajput, 34, was found hanging at his apartment in suburban Bandra on June 14.

"We attach absolutely no importance to what my grand- nephew says. He is immature...I have clearly said that I have 100 percent trust in the Maharashtra Police and Mumbai Police. But if someone still wants a CBI probe into it, then there is no reason to oppose that too," the NCP chief told reporters here after a meeting with Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut.

He was asked about the demand for a CBI probe in the case being made some people, including by his grand-nephew Parth Pawar.

Sharad Pawar said he does not want to respond to the allegations being levelled against the Maharashtra government in connection with the case.

"We feel sad if any person commits suicide. But I feel a bit surprised at the way it is being discussed (in the media)," he added.

The NCP patriarch further said he had recently been to Satara where a farmer expressed surprise to him on the discussion in the media over Rajputs death.

The farmer said he felt surprised at the way it (Rajputs death) is being discussed in the media.

"He (the farmer) said 20 farmers committed suicide in Satara, but it was not even noted by media. So, I know what are the sentiments of the common people," Pawar added.

Parth Pawar, who lost the last year's Lok Sabha election from Maval seat in Maharashtra, is the son of the NCP president's nephew and state Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.

On July 27, Parth Pawar met state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh demanding that the case of Rajput's death be handed over to the CBI or a Special Investigation Team (SIT) be formed with forensic experts to probe the case.

Shiv Sena's Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut on Sunday claimed "pressure tactics" were being used in the case of 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'.

A tug of war has been going on between the governments of Bihar and Maharashtra over the Rajput death case. Maharashtra has been contending that Bihar had no jurisdiction in the matter since the death took place in Mumbai.

Meanwhile, after the nearly hour-long interaction with Pawar at the Y B Chavan Centre here, Raut told PTI it was a routine meeting where many issues were discussed.

He also posted a tweet, saying, "Yes, I met Sharad Pawar and discussed developments in the state and the country. There is no need for anybody to worry or have stomachache."

Raut in his column 'Rokhthok' on Sunday also mentioned about his telephonic conversation with Pawar on some TV news anchors referring to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in first person.

"'The chief minister is not an individual but an institute. What is the government doing'?" Raut wrote in the column, quoting Pawar.

The NCP and the Congress are part of the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the state.
A collective of over 100 black professionals have penned an open letter urging people to boycott the BBC in the wake of the recent use of the n-word in multiple broadcasts.

The BBC received over 18,000 complaints after social affairs correspondent Fiona Lamdin used the offensive term on Points West.

Now a group of over 100 British women from African and Caribbean descent are arguing the broadcaster should dismiss the BBC's Director of Editorial Policy & Standards, David Jordan and the Director of News Fran Unsworth, because they 'sanctioned' use of the racial slur.

The InfluencHers have called for allies around the world to participate in a 24-hour boycott of all BBC services on Wednesday 19 August, explaining the use of the N-word 'could constitute a race hate crime'.

Over 100 black professionals in the UK have signed an open letter calling for allies to boycott the BBC for 24 hours because of the recent use of the n-word (Pictured: Fiona Lamdin used the offensive term during a report on an unprovoked racist attack on a healthcare worker)

Speaking directly to the organisation, InfluencHers wrote: 'On reflection, the eventual apology made by the outgoing BBC Director-General Tony Hall on 9th August 2020, is just the beginning and not the end of this N-word controversy.

'Sadly, it does not go far enough. It only addresses the use of the word, not the subsequent defence of its use.

'This is unacceptable when you consider the damage that it has caused.'

The group argued use of the n-word exacerbates trauma experienced by thousands of BBC viewers and violates the dignity of the BBC's black employees.

InfluencHers argued that an apology from the organisation that came days after the n-word was used on multiple occasions isn't enough. Pictured: Historian Lucy Worsley using the n-word on BBC Two's American History's Biggest Fibs

The initiative add that 'editorial justification does not outweigh the offence', because broadcasters could've said 'the n-word' to convey their point without explicitly stating the racial slur.

InfluenceHers went on to note multiple opportunities for the BBC to be reformed, including when a complaint was made against BBC Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty, and, most recently, following the killing of George Floyd in the US.

InfluencHers said: 'It is widely known that during this time BBC staff spoke of their concerns about racism within the corporation.

'Once more, promises were made, but it appears that the small circle of white group think decision-makers remains. There is an urgent need for reform.'

InfluencHers have called for the BBC's Director of Editorial Policy & Standards David Jordan (pictured left) and the Director of News Fran Unsworth (pictured right), to be dismissed because they 'sanctioned' use of the racial slur

'It took over 18,000 complaints from the public, complaints from staff and the resignation of BBC 1Xtra's broadcaster Sideman aka David Whitely before an apology was made 11 days later on Sunday 9th August by the Director General Tony Hall.'

The group suggested the BBC should have an independent organisation with a proven track record on race issues that they consult for all issues regarding race at the BBC.

A stream of social media users have shown support for the open letter and added that the boycott would be most effective if people stopped paying their TV license.

Posting on Instagram, one person wrote: 'Boycott BBC for the whole of August.'

BBC 1Xtra's broadcaster Sideman (pictured) announced that he was quitting his role at the organisation because of the use of the racist term

'Everyone should just stop paying their TV license and watch this cooperation start cooperating. 24 hours isn't gonna do s*** to a company you've already paid a subscription for,' another said.

A third added: 'Cancel all your TV license direct debits now'

During a report earlier this month on a suspected racially-motivated attack in Bristol, social affairs correspondent Fiona Lamdin repeated a racial slur which was allegedly used during the incident.

Days later, viewers reacted with outrage after a TV historian became the second white BBC presenter to say the n-word in three days.

A flood of Instagram users have shown support for the boycott but said it may be necessary to stop paying TV licenses to achieve change

American History's Biggest Fibs presented by Lucy Worsley was aired on Saturday night on BBC Two and is about the history of slavery.

It was uttered with historian Lucy Worsley covers a speech by US President Abraham Lincoln who in 1865 said that black people should be given the right to vote.

BBC 1Xtra presenter Sideman quit after the broadcaster defended its decision to air footage of Fiona saying the word.

A BBC spokesperson said : 'As the Director General said at the weekend, the BBC accepts that it should have taken a different approach at the time of broadcast and that we are very sorry for that. We also said we will now strengthen our guidance on offensive language across our output. That's absolutely what we are doing.'
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

German airline Lufthansa said Thursday it had broken off negotiations with the Verdi union on cutting ground staff wages, warning that forced redundancies may be unavoidable as the pandemic wreaks havoc on the travel industry.

Verdi union's deputy chairwoman Christine Behle called Lufthansa's walkout, after 20 rounds of talks, "a slap in the face" for 24,000 ground crew members.

Europe's largest airline by passengers said it was negotiating with all employee groups "to stabilise the company" amid the collapse in air traffic because of the coronavirus crisis.

But without union backing for its proposals, forced redundancies "can no longer be avoided", it warned.

The flag carrier, which received a 9 billion euro ($10.7 billion) government bailout to stave off bankruptcy, announced in June that 22,000 jobs would have to go.

Although it initially said it would use schemes for shorter work hours and other crisis arrangements to avoid redundancies, the company said at its earnings announcement earlier this month this was now "no longer realistically within reach for Germany."

Savings of 20 percent in personnel costs are needed, Lufthansa said, which could cut staff annual gross salaries as much as 18 percent.

In exchange, Lufthansa said it would offer "the exclusion of compulsory redundancies for the duration of the crisis measures."

But Behle said the proposed cuts were "not bearable".

"The income losses demanded by Lufthansa went so far that employees who had worked for the company for years would be pushed to the edge of the subsistence level," she said.

The union said it had offered 600 million euros in contributions to cost cutting so far.

Behle said that the government should step in and "use its influence on the company to protect employment and maintain Germany's air transport infrastructure."

Explore further Lufthansa warns of forced layoffs on virus turbulences

 2020 AFP
Belarus (AP)  Thousands of protesters rallied in Belarus capital and other cities for a fourth straight night Wednesday, decrying an election they say was rigged to extend the 26-year rule of the country's authoritarian leader and a subsequent brutal police crackdown on demonstrations.

In several parts of Minsk, groups of hundreds of people formed human chains to protest President Alexander Lukashenko's reelection and the ruthless response to peaceful protests. Motorists blared horns in support and, in some sections of the city, slowed to a crawl to block police vehicles.

Similar protests were held in at least five other cities, according to the Viasna rights group.

On Minsk's Dzerzhinsky avenue, people stood on balconies, clapping in an expression of support. A group of riot police arrived and fired rubber bullets at them.

Earlier in the day, groups of hundreds of women formed human chains in several districts of the capital, chanting Shame! and calling for an end to the crackdown. Hesitant to use force against all-women rallies, police dispersed them without violence.

Protesters are contesting the official count showing Lukashenko winning a sixth term with 80 percent of Sunday's vote and the main opposition challenger with 10 percent. Crowds have taken to the streets every night since to demand a recount.

Image: TOPSHOT-RUSSIA-BELARUS-VOTE-DEMO (DIMITAR DILKOFF / AFP - Getty Images)

Authorities have responded with a level of brutality remarkable even for Lukashenkos authoritarian rule. Police have dispersed protesters with tear gas, stun grenades, water cannons and rubber bullets and severely beat them with truncheons. Black-uniformed officers chased protesters into residential buildings and deliberately targeted journalists, beating many and breaking their cameras.

We stand for a peaceful protest, said Ksenia Ilyashevich, a 23-year-old IT specialist who joined other women at a Minsk protest earlier Wednesday. We worked up the courage and came out to rally. We stand here for all.

Story continues

In three previous nights of protests, at least 6,000 people have been detained and hundreds injured, according to the official count, but even that high toll appeared to downplay the crackdowns scope. Anguished relatives were besieging prisons across Belarus trying to find their missing relatives.

Even those who were loyal saw the real face of this government during the past three days, said 63-year-old Galina Vitushko, who stood outside a jail in Minsk, trying to find her son, a 43-year old doctor. She said that she desperately needs to give him insulin since he has diabetes.

How can you treat your own people like that? she asked, breaking into tears. The real winners dont behave like that.

The 65-year-old Lukashenko has led the former Soviet state of 9.5 million people with an iron fist since 1994, relentlessly stifling dissent and winning the nickname Europes last dictator in the West.

This year, the economic damage caused by the coronavirus and the presidents swaggering response to the pandemic, which he airily dismissed as psychosis, has fueled broad anger, helping swell the opposition ranks  but that has only elicited a more forceful crackdown from the Belarusian leader.

The core of these so-called protesters are people with a criminal past and (those who are) currently unemployed, Lukashenko said during a Wednesday meeting with security officials.

His top challenger, a 37-year-old former teacher and political novice Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, managed to unite fractured opposition groups and draw tens of thousands to her campaign rallies after two top potential challengers were barred from the race. She entered the race to replace her husband, an opposition blogger who aspired to run but has been in jail since his arrest in May.

But she left for neighboring Lithuania on Tuesday in an abrupt about-face, hours after submitting a formal request for a recount. In a video recorded before departure that her associates said was filmed under pressure from law enforcement officials, she urged her supporters to end protests.

Protesters have not heeded her call, and Maria Kolesnikova, a top figure in Tsikhanouskaya's campaign, urged the government Wednesday to stop waging a war against its own people and begin a dialogue.

Image: TOPSHOT-UKRAINE-BELARUS-VOTE-PROTEST (SERGEI SUPINSKY / AFP - Getty Images)

On Tuesday in Brest, near the border with Poland, police shot at protesters who attacked them with metal rods, wounding one person, the Interior Ministry said. One demonstrator died Monday in Minsk, when an explosive device he attempted to throw at police exploded in his hands, according to the ministry.

Journalists, in particular, have been targeted. Boris Goretsky, vice president of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, said more than 20 reporters are currently in custody, waiting to see a judge, and several more have already been sentenced to jail terms ranging from 10 to 15 days.

A deliberate hunt for journalists with independent Belarusian and foreign media has begun, said Goretsky.

Reporters from several Belarusian and international outlets were beaten up Tuesday in Minsk. Officers seized memory cards from a group of photographers, including one for the AP, as they took shots of the police crackdown.

On Wednesday, Vital Tsyhankou, a journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was severely beaten by police and detained along with two reporters from an independent Belarusian TV station after covering a protest by medical workers in the capital who rallied against police violence.

The Viasna rights group said many injured protesters were afraid to seek medical help, fearing prosecution for participating in the rallies.

Eduard Kukhterin, a 56-year-old publisher, was injured with two rubber bullets overnight as he was entering his apartment building but decided not to go to a hospital. Medical workers report such injuries to the law enforcement, Kukhterin told the AP.

The crackdown has drawn harsh criticism from the European Union and the United States.

Speaking during a trip to the Czech Republic on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Belarusian vote was neither free nor fair. We want the people of Belarus to have the freedoms that theyre demanding," he said.

The European Union foreign ministers scheduled a meeting on Friday to discuss the crackdown.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called the meeting a day after saying that the 27-nation bloc could impose sanctions against "those responsible for the observed violence, unjustified arrests, and falsification of election results.

In 2016, the European Union lifted most of the sanctions it slapped on Belarus in 2004 after Lukashenko freed political prisoners and allowed protests.
Ecochlor receives IMO BWMS Code Type Approval

Ecochlor is pleased to receive Type Approval from the Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA) for the IMO BWMS Code (MEPC.300(72) / revised 2016 G8) standards.

The new certification applies to the entire range of Ecochlor ballast water management systems (BWMS), with flow rates of between 500 m3/hr. and 16,200 m3/hr., meaning that vessel owners may continue to install Ecochlors BWMS after the IMO BWMS Code October 28, 2020 deadline. The Company completed the additional testing required for active substance technologies for full approval in marine, brackish and fresh waters earlier in the year. The tests confirmed that no changes in equipment or in the operation of the Ecochlor BWMS were required. Ecochlor is a market leader in the BWM industry and uses a two-step treatment process to treat ballast water; filtration and chlorine dioxide. Treatment is during uptake only, with no discharge neutralization step required. The Company has the capability to supply, service and support its systems worldwide and has a reputation for delivering an easy-to-use system for ship crews. The system requires minimal crew involvement during operation and does not have any TRO components, which can cause interruption to both ballasting and de-ballasting operations. Treatment dosage and efficacy are not affected by salinity, temperature or dirty water - all factors that result in uncertainty as to the efficacy of other technologies. The system energy requirement is very low, possibly the lowest of any BWMS on the market. Ecochlors Vice President of Operations, Pete Thompson, has coordinated the testing and documentation efforts for Type Approval. He commented, For two decades we have continued to test the effectiveness of our system to the highest standards available worldwide. This commitment reinforces our determination to bring a quality, reliable BWMS to the maritime industry. After 28 October 2020, all vessels installing a BWMS must comply with the international BWMS Code. Approval pursuant to the previous G8 guidelines (MEPC.174(58)) will no longer be acceptable. Ecochlor stands alongside a limited number of BWMS manufacturers in providing G8 compliance to shipowners. This latest regulatory approval is another example of Ecochlors unwavering commitment to obtain and maintain regulatory approvals from Class Societies and Flag Administrations across the globe, even as the requirements continue to evolve, said Steve Candito, Ecochlors CEO.




Mauritius avoided a second catastrophic oil spill Wednesday after salvage crews pumped the remaining fuel from the tanks of a cargo ship that ran aground off its coast, imperilling world-famous wildlife sanctuaries.

The stricken vessel threatens to break apart after more than two weeks stranded on a reef, where it leaked more than 1,000 tonnes of fuel into pristine seas.

Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said "all the fuel" had been pumped from reservoirs beneath the MV Wakashio bulk carrier, dodging what experts warned would been a crippling blow to an island nation popular with honeymooners and ecotourists.

"It was a race against the clock, and I salute the excellent work to prevent another oil spill," said Jugnauth, who added that another 100 tonnes still remained elsewhere aboard the Japanese-owned ship.

"The weather was calm and it helped the pumping exercise, it also prevented the breakup of the boat, which is inevitable."

Mauritius declared an unprecedented environmental emergency last week as the Wakashio, which ran aground on July 25, began seeping oil into a protected marine park boasting unspoiled coral reefs, mangrove forests and endangered species.

Jugnauth said the "ecological crisis" was beyond the scope of the tiny Indian Ocean nation, and appealed for urgent international help.

France and Japan were among those to answer the call, along with thousands of ordinary Mauritians who volunteered day and night to clean sludge from the picturesque tropical coastline to which their economy is deeply tied.

Jugnauth acknowledged there was "still a lot of work to do" assessing and cleaning up the damage, but refused to take responsibility for the disaster.

"How did I do wrong?" he said, adding bad weather hindered efforts to pump oil from the ship earlier.

"We did everything right from the start. We were told that the risks of an oil spill were very low. The experts convinced us otherwise."

Police have launched an investigation into the accident and have seized the black box, log book and other items of interest from the vessel as part of their inquiries.

Wildlife jewel

Fresh cracks appeared in the hull this week near the fuel reservoirs, spurring fears that the Wakashio could soon split up and inflict irreversible damage on the archipelago's fragile marine ecosystem.

Map of Mauritius, locating Pointe d'Esny, where a cargo vessel struck a reef on July 25, and Mahebourg, one of the areas worst-hit by the ensuing fuel spill. By Anne-Sophie THILL (AFP)

The ship struck a reef at Pointe d'Esny, an ecological treasure fringed by idyllic beaches, colourful reefs, sanctuaries for rare and endemic wildlife, and protected wetlands.

Aerial images showed huge stretches of crystal-clear seas around the marooned cargo ship stained an inky black.

Pressure has mounted on the government to explain why it did not act earlier, with calls for the fisheries and environment ministers to resign, and volunteers angrily defying official orders to stay away from the clean-up site.

Mauritius and its 1.3 million inhabitants depend crucially on the sea for food and 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.

The country has no active cases of coronavirus and had declared a wary victory after a long stretch without any new infections, but its borders remain closed.
How would you like your neighbors to be Wise Sons, True Sake, Credo Beauty, and Madison Reednot to mention the many more restaurants, bars, and boutiques that make Hayes Valley one of San Francisco's most desirable 'hoods?

If you've got the down paymentand the family to make use of four bedrooms and four baths over 3,300 fully renovated square feetthis modern home on Grove Street, between Laguna and Octavia, is ideally situated for living local in the city.

Built in 1900, the three-story single-family home has been fitted with a fully contemporary open design and all the creature comforts, with high ceilings, modern fixtures, artistic tiles, and stylish bathrooms throughout.

The hub of the home is at street level, where the living and dining areas are fully open to one another, each with direct access to a balcony overlooking the backyard. The chef's kitchen provides some pop with custom blue cabinetry, floating shelving, and a linear marble-and-wood island. Designed for gatherings, the space also has a wet bar with refrigerated storage. An additional family room has a trio of windows overlooking the tree-lined street.

A showpiece in itself, the steel-cable staircase takes us up to the top floor, where there are three bedrooms, including the master suite with its own walk-in closet and private deck. The master bathroom has interesting tile flooring, a floating marble and wood vanity, and a combination soaking tub and shower accented with copper fixtures.

Take the floating stairs to the lowest level and you'll find a full guest suite with its own kitchen, wet bar, another polished bathroom with herringbone tile and dark fixtures, and a bright living area that opens to the fenced-in yard with a gas fire pit. Get ready for cozy evenings beneath the stars.

Location: 537 Grove St. (Hayes Valley)

Size: 3,300 sq. ft.



Bedrooms: 4

Bathrooms: 4



Asking price: $4,495,000

// For more information, visit compass.com.
Weddings guests were kicked out of a venue after allegedly refusing to follow coronavirus rules - with footage showing guests packed together on the dance floor.

Revellers at The Renaissance wedding venue in Lidcombe in western Sydney were asked to leave on Sunday night after allegedly failing to abide by the venue's COVID-safe rules.

Handheld vision from the event showed guests flouting social distancing measures as they danced to music, filling the dancefloor along with the bride Nazife.

Weddings in New South Wales are allowed to have up to 150 people attending, but guests must keep four metres apart at the service and should stay at least three metres away from performers at the reception.

Other COVIDSafe guidelines include only allowing the bride and groom on the dance floor and only allowing people to drink alcohol when seated.

The bride Nazife (pictured) is seen ahead of the raucous wedding party at The Renaissance in Lidcombe, western Sydney on Sunday night. The venue kicked guests out after they 'refused to follow its social distancing rules'

Footage showed revellers packing the floor, and standing close to a singer on stage as they jumped up and down to the music.

The guests were then removed from the venue by management.

A spokeswoman for the venue told Daily Mail Australia the bride and groom were 'very upset' about guests being told to leave, but declined to comment further.

The bride has also been contacted for comment.

Earlier in day, Nazife and her groom Patrick arrived in lavish Rolls-Royce Phantoms and posed for pictures in Sydney's Circular Quay before travelling to the reception venue.

The MC at Sunday's wedding John Alten appeared on Triple M's podcast The Briefing earlier this week on an episode of 'The Fun Police: are COVID Marshals ruining weddings?'

'I've got to act like the fun police in some cases,' he said. 'From my perspective it is important these restrictions are re-iterated constantly - people's health is paramount.'

Video from the western Sydney event showed guests (pictured, with the bride) flouting social distancing measures as they danced to the music

Australian Deputy Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd said the scenes at the wedding were 'beyond disappointing' and could put 'lives at risk'.

'Its really unacceptable that people are not taking this incredibly seriously,' he told Sunrise.

'We can have people who have no symptoms or very mild symptoms who are still very infectious to other people.

'Lives are at risk when people breach rules and regulations that are put into place to protect us all.'

The wild scenes, which come as the number of fines issued by the NSW government's Department of Customer Service rises to a total of $152,500, prompted Premier Gladys Berejiklian to deliver a warning to the state's venues.

'Compliance is critical,' she said. 'If we don't see a greater uptake in the next little while - we will consider further measures.'

The Garry Owen Hotel in Rozelle in Sydney's inner-west was this week singled out as the 'worst pub seen so far' for COVID safety breaches.

The bride and groom (pictured earlier on their wedding day) were 'very upset' about guests being told to leave, a venue spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia

Pictured: The Renaissance function centre in Lidcombe. Weddings in New South Wales are allowed to have up to 150 people attending but with strict social distancing in place

The pub was issued with two fines worth a total of $10,000 for what the NSW government called a 'complete disregard of mandated COVID safety measures'.

'The list of breaches grew from there. In fact the venue was essentially being operated as though there were no restrictions in place,' Liquor & Gaming NSW Director of Compliance Mr Argeres said.

Offences included the business not being registered as COVIDSafe, not having an up-to-date COVID-19 Safety Plan, not enforcing sign-in procedures and a lack of hygiene processes.

Inspectors also observed physical distancing not being enforced and customers standing and mingling while drinking.
Port authorities give up slumber to ensure safety

THE Chattogram Port has been a safe harbour of hazardous cargo for years that may lead to a mass disaster like Beirut blast that killed at least 135 people, damaged the port and instigated nationwide anti-government protest for bureaucratic indifference, widespread corruption, misrule and greed. Like the Lebanon port, country's premier port in Chattogram has also been witnessing chemical and other inflammable goods laden cargo lying around at the designated shed and yards imported between one to 28 years ago.

Usually, two categories of extremely hazardous goods are delivered from the port immediately after import. Other categories of hazardous goods are kept at the P-shed, from where those are then delivered. Containers carrying hazardous goods are also kept at the container yards. According to CPA data, various types of chemical and hazardous goods --- which were imported between 1992 and 2019 --- are currently kept in around 55 pallets, 13 drums, and around 900 packages. Port users have urged safe management of such dangerous cargo to avert a potentially devastating accident like the recent explosion at Beirut Port.

Though there have been no significant steps taken over the years regarding the removal of these hazardous goods from the port, in the last few days, the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) has actively begun looking into the handling of these cargoes to avert such an incident. In the latest move, CPA formed a six-member committee to assess the current condition of hazardous cargoes in the P-shed of the Port. Out of the 14 sheds in the Port, P-shed is designated for storing dangerous and hazardous goods detected as per the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code.

Importers need to get delivery of their imported goods within 30 days after the consignments are unloaded from ships at the Port jetty. If they fail to get delivery within the 30 days, the port authorities send the import documents of those consignments to the Customs Authorities which give notice to the importer. The government should see whether existing law and regulations of different authorities including Customs, Port, Explosive Department, environment and other related offices regarding handling, storing and delivery of hazardous goods are adequate.

Dangerous chemicals are also there in our seaports and we do not want any Beirut type hazard to happen. Our port officials are not to be blamed as such but the fact remains never before the government officials had an easy unaccountable life. We urge them to be serious about their own duties.
The Indian Air Force wrote to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), Karan Johar's Dharma Productions and Netflix about certain scenes in the trailer of Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl that portrayed the IAF in a negative light. The letter also states that as per initial understanding, Karan Johar had promised to "represent Indian Air Force with authenticity and make all efforts to ensure that the film helps inspire the next generation of IAF officers."

However, when the trailer was released, the IAF deemed it as inappropriate representation and as detrimental to its interests. In this letter addressed to the CBFC, Dharma Productions and Netflix, the IAF also talked about how the IAF as a service has always ensured that male and female personnel get equal opportunities and that the organisation is gender-neutral. The service also attached an annexure comprising all the scenes and dialogues that were considered problematic.

The Air Force in its letter went on to state that the production house was informed about the objectionable content in advance and was asked to either delete or modify the same. The letter read, "The production house has not deleted the scenes but had proposed a media plan in the run up to the release and inserting a disclaimer in the movie. The HQ considers that a mere media plan and disclaimer would not be adequate to prevent the presentation of incorrect facts about the IAF."

The Censor Board has little power on the release of web series and films that don't fall under its purview. The Defence Ministry wrote to the CBFC last month urging them to direct producers of OTT films and series to seek permission and a 'no-objection certificate' while generating content around the Indian Armed Forces.

Janhvi Kapoor-starrer Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl released on Netflix on Wednesday. Directed by Sharan Sharma, Janhvi portrays the titular role of Gunjan Saxena, the first female IAF officer to enter a warzone. Gunjan Saxena played a significant role in the Kargil War of 1999.

Also read: More thumbs down for Sanjay Dutt, Alia Bhatt's 'Sadak 2' than thumbs up
It's been a couple of months since TikTok was officially banned in India along with a bunch of other Chinese apps. There's been a lot of speculation surrounding the app, but its fate still remains unknown. That being said, we do have a new development in TikTok's India story.

It looks like TikTok's parent company Bytedance is currently in talks with Reliance Industries Limited for financially backing TikTok's India business.

That's right, it looks like TikTok's fate is in Reliance's hands as the company may help the Chinese app resume its services in India by taking over the operations.

 Reuters

We don't have any confirmation on the same but this information is said to be coming from people who are familiar with the matter. The two companies apparently began conversations last month but have yet to reach a deal.



If everything goes to plan, then we may see TikTok services resuming in India again. That's what Bytedance would want because India is indeed one of the biggest markets for TikTok.

And if anyone can invest and take over some of the operations of TikTok in India, then we think its Reliance.

Reliance recently joined hands with as many as 13 high-profile investors last month including Facebook, Google, and more to help strengthen Jio's services in the country.

 Reuters

In case you don't know, Bytedance is also in talks with Microsoft to sell its business in the US, although we're waiting to hear more about that.



As far as Reliance's investment goes, we don't have many details, but if that happens then we may see TikTok's return in India as Reliance would do its part to comply with the government's rules. Let's see how this works out.

Source: Techcrunch
Another former Ellen DeGeneres Show staffer has come forward and made shocking claims about what it was supposedly like working on the daytime talk show.

According to a former camera assistant on the program, who asked to remain anonymous, the workplace was 'like The Devil Wears Prada'.

They told Brisbane radio show Stav, Abby & Matt that some employees were told to not be in the same room as DeGeneres - although it's unclear if these directives came from DeGeneres herself.

Claims: Another former Ellen DeGeneres Show staffer has come forward and made shocking claims about what it was supposedly like working on the daytime talk show

The Devil Wears Prada is a 2006 film, based on the 2003 novel of the same name, about a college graduate (Anne Hathaway) who works for a domineering fashion magazine editor (Meryl Streep) in New York City.

To describe a workplace as 'like The Devil Wears Prada' suggests a tense environment with nervous staff walking on eggshells around a demanding boss.

'I worked there for a little over a year. It's kind of like The Devil Wears Prada. Everyone is trying to make it to the [end of a] year,' the former camera assistant said.

'It's just a badge of honour to have that and have it on your resume.'

Allegations: According to a former camera assistant on the program, who asked to remain anonymous, the workplace was 'like The Devil Wears Prada'

Talking about their interactions with Ellen, they added: 'I wasn't even allowed in the same room as her. Most people are told, "When Ellen enters the room, you and your entire crew need to leave."

'Sometimes her bodyguards come forward first and you kind of see them and you know to leave and that's it.'

It comes after DeGeneres' wife, Portia de Rossi, told Page Six that the 62-year-old would continue doing her show despite the ongoing scandal.

Ouch: To describe a workplace as 'like The Devil Wears Prada' suggests a tense environment with nervous staff walking on eggshells around a demanding boss

She had previously spoken in her wife's defence on social media last month, posting 'I stand by Ellen' in response to a litany of stories detailing alleged bad behaviour behind the scenes of her show.

It comes after multiple staffers stepped forward to accuse DeGeneres and her senior executives of perpetuating a 'toxic work environment'.

The program's parent company, WarnerMedia, has launched an investigation after a handful of employees went public with their grievances.

Last month, one current and ten former employees accused the three executive producers of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Ed Glavin, Mary Connelly and Andy Lassner, of 'bullying'.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted DeGeneres' representatives for comment.
WARSAW, Ind. (AP)  Three men who are members of a Milwaukee group that's marching to the nation's capital for a national commemoration of the 1963 civil rights March on Washington were arrested in northern Indiana after police said they were blocking traffic on a highway.

Frank David Sensabaugh, 30, Eric Ajala, 20, and Tory Lowe, 44, were arrested Wednesday on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and obstruction of traffic, Indiana State Police said. Lowe was also arrested on a misdemeanor charge of resisting law enforcement, police said.

All three Milwaukee residents were taken to the Kosciusko County Jail and later released, The Times-Union of Warsaw reported. State police spokesman Sgt. Ted Bohner said all three are Black men.

Sensabaugh told the newspaper after their release that they planned to sue Kosciusko County.

You treat Black people differently than you do white people, he said. So lets play the game to see who loses more money.

State police said in a news release that the county's prosecutor will review this case for all appropriate charges."

Sensabaugh, who goes by the name Frank Nitty Sensabaugh, and Lowe are leaders of a group thats marching nearly 800 miles (1,287 kilometers) from Milwaukee, to Washington, D.C., to join an Aug. 28 commemoration of the 57th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.s I Have A Dream speech, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

Indiana State Police said Sensabaugh, Ajala and Lowe were arrested about 6 p.m. near the city of Warsaw on U.S. 30  a divided four-lane highway with a speed limit of 60 miles per hour (97 kilometers per hour)  after dispatchers began receiving calls of traffic backed up for several miles in the eastbound lanes of US 30."

State police said the protesters were creating a dangerous situation for the group as well as traveling motorists" by walking at times in the right lane, with eight support vehicles traveling at walking speed.

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Troopers spoke to Sensabaugh and explained that he and the others were creating a dangerous situation, but police said the group continued walking eastbound with the highway traffic, which state police said was backed up for about 7 miles (11 kilometers).

Troopers again approached the marchers and explained that they could not continue traveling in the highway lane. The three were arrested following multiple attempts to gain compliance," police said.

Video that Lowe livestreamed on Facebook shows police speaking to him and eventually arresting him as someone can be heard saying, Let him go," and, This is an unlawful arrest."
Anunt de selectare a participantilor si participantelor la cel de-al doilea curs de instruire din cadrul Programului educational pentru dezvoltarea competentelor lucratorilor de tineret
A prominent economist has laid out the case for reparations for the black descendants of slaves in the U.S., estimating payments of up to $12 trillion would be needed to atone for the historical injustice.

Duke University professor William Darity Jr and his wife Kirsten Mullen co-authored the report for the Roosevelt Institute arguing that the U.S. government should pay 'systemic reparations' for slavery.

It comes amid fresh calls for reparations, with 142 members of Congress backing a bill to study and put forward reparations proposals, and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden voicing support for the idea.

In his report, Darity argues that reparations should be designed to eliminate the gap in mean net worth between black and white households, arriving at a figure of about $800,000 per black household as sufficient.

Duke University professor William Darity Jr and his wife Kirsten Mullen co-authored the report arguing that the U.S. government should pay 'systemic reparations' for slavery

The bold proposal is not without its skeptics, however, as fiscal conservatives question whether the federal government could shoulder the cost, which amounts to roughly half of annual U.S. gross domestic product.

In fiscal 2019, the government spent $4.4 trillion, amounting to 21 percent of the nation's $21 trillion GDP, with about $1 trillion of that federal spending adding to the national debt.

'Our national debt is already now up to around $26-27 trillion given the money we're spending on Covid,' Michael Tanner, senior fellow at the Cato Institute, told CNBC.

'And we're losing more money because we're not picking up the revenue because economic growth is so slow right now. This hardly seems the time to burden the economy with more debt, more taxes. Essentially what you want to do is stimulate economic growth for all our benefits,' he added of reparations proposals.

Darity, however, argues that reparations for slavery are not only feasible, but necessary.

The Samuel DuBois Cook distinguished professor of public policy at Duke's Sanford School of Public Policy, Darity has devoted much of his career to studying the rationale and design of reparations.

In his new report, adapted from his book From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-First Century, he argues that only financial payments made by the government to the descendants of slaves can provide acknowledgement, redress and closure for the crime of slavery.

Darity argues that the average gap between black and white household wealth should be the basis for reparations, rather that the lower and more commonly discussed median figure

Protesters in Tulsa, Oklahoma are seen calling for reparations at a protest last month

Though he does not provide a specific timeline for the payments, Darity argues any reparations program should be accomplished within a decade of commencing.

Darity writes that eligibility for payments should be restricted to living descendants of people who were enslaved in the U.S. prior to the Civil War, who identified as black or African American on government documents for at least 12 years prior to the reparations program.

'This community's claim for restitution anchors on the US government's failure to deliver the promised 40-acre land grants to their newly emancipated ancestors in the aftermath of the Civil War,' he writes.

'That failure laid the foundation for the enormous contemporary gap in wealth between black and white people in the US,' he continues.

Darity argues that it is key to prioritize the average wealth gap between black and white households, rather that the gap between median figures that is more typically discussed.

The median figures more typically represent the average household, while the average number is heavily skewed by the ultra-wealthy.

For instance, the median white household net worth is $171,000, while the average white household net worth, skewed by billionaires, is $929,800.

The average black household net worth is $138,000, and Darity estimates that payments of $800,000 would eliminate the 'the black-white (pre-tax) wealth differential.'

DonQuenick demands reparations and a protester raises a sign reading 'Give us our harvest' in front of a crowd of concerned citizens who gathered at the steps of Denver City Hall in June

'We estimate that this will require an allocation between $10 and $12 trillion to eligible black Americans. That allocation should serve as the baseline for black reparations in the twenty-first century,' he writes.

The idea of reparations for slavery remains politically unpopular - though Darity argues that prior programs of reparations have been accomplished despite being opposed by the majority of voters.

In June, an ABC News/Ipsos poll found 73 percent of people think the federal government should not 'pay money to black Americans whose ancestors were slaves as compensations for that slavery'.

Only about one in eight white Americans support reparations compared to three-quarters of African Americans.

Democrats are split on reparations, with 54 percent in favor and 45 percent opposed. The vast majority of Republicans oppose the move at 94 percent, and 82 percent of Independents were also opposed.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ParcelPal Technology Inc. (ParcelPal or the Company), (PKG:CSE) (FSE:PT0) (OTC:PTNYF) is pleased to announce as part of the Companys broader plan to expand operations, further diversify its customer base and execute on additional profitable business engagements, it has signed numerous new customer agreements over the past month. These new agreements include customers in the flower delivery space (with two different companies), a small beverage company, a grocer, a pet supply store, and a nationwide meal delivery kit company (our second of this type since February). These new customer agreements provide for higher margins, which will continue to help the company drive not only its revenue, but also its improvement in operating performance.



ParcelPal will be providing same day and next day delivery services for these companies to customers in multiple cities in which it operates, including Vancouver, British Columbia, Calgary, Alberta and Toronto, Ontario. CEO Rich Wheeless stated, I am extremely proud that we have been able to quickly sign numerous corporate customers, both large and small, as we have made the shift to focusing on a more scalable and profitable delivery as a service business model, while continuing to further diversify our client base. My goal from day one has been and will continue to be to focus on what we do best, and we are starting to see it pay dividends. I am very encouraged by the progress, and believe we are ahead of schedule from the strategic plan I originally laid out when I took the helm of the Company. As I have stated in prior media releases, this is still a 12 to 18 month process to complete, but we are well on our way.

The Company looks forward to providing a further update as we progress, sign additional new customers and as we release our Q2 earnings in the coming weeks.

About ParcelPal Technology Inc.

ParcelPal is a leader in the growing technology and logistics industry. ParcelPal seamlessly connects consumers to businesses, where they have access to the goods they love, anytime, anywhere. Customers can shop at partner businesses and through the ParcelPal technology receive their purchased goods within an hour or the same day. The Company offers on-demand delivery of merchandise from leading retailers, restaurants, medical marijuana dispensaries and liquor stores in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and soon in major cities Canada-wide.

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ParcelPal Website: www.parcelpal.com

The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) or any other securities regulatory authority has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release that has been prepared by management.

CSE  Symbol: PKG

FSE  Symbol: PT0

OTC  Symbol: PTNYF

Contact: re: Investor Inquiries - info@parcelpal.com

Forward Looking Information

This news release contains forward looking statements relating to the Proposed Transaction, and the future potential of ParcelPal. Forward looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", intends, "anticipates", "expects", plans and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release are forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the risk that the Proposed Transaction will not be completed due to, among other things, failure to execute definitive documentation, failure to complete satisfactory due diligence, failure to receive the approval of the CSE and the risk that ParcelPal will not be successful due to, among other things, general risks relating to the mobile application industry, failure of ParcelPal to gain market acceptance and potential challenges to the intellectual property utilized in ParcelPal. There can be no assurance that any forward looking statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.

The Company cannot guarantee that any forward looking statement will materialize and the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company will only update or revise publicly any of the included forward looking statements as expressly required by Canadian securities laws.








BEAVER, Pa. and ASHBURN, Va., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Dutch Ridge Consulting Group (DRCG), LLC, a Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) headquartered in Beaver, PA, today announced that it has reached a distribution agreement for the Sienna COVID-19 IgG/IgM Rapid Test Cassette. "We are proud to offer one of the world's first rapid point-of-care lateral flow immunoassays for the diagnosis of coronavirus antibodies," said Douglas Ingros, President and CEO of DRCG.

DRCG found an effective, low-cost method for the rapid diagnosis of both early marker and late marker, IgM/IgG antibodies in a human finger-prick. It is fast with results in under 15 minutes, easy to administer, and does not require a prescription. In addition, Sienna COVID-19 IgG/IgM Rapid Test Cassettes are produced in Europe and certified to ISO 13485:2016 (unlike many of the similar competitive products from China), which complies with the Federal Government's Executive Order to reduce US reliance on China regarding essential medicines, medical supplies, and equipment.

A high percentage of individuals show no clinical symptoms of the virus. This test gives organizations an effective way to screen and protect their people. The test is effectively being administered in medical facilities, businesses, schools, etc., by qualified medical personnel, making it an essential tool in the fight against the global pandemic.

The Sienna COVID-19 IgG/IgM Rapid Test Cassette is a rapid chromatographic immunoassay for the qualitative detection of IgG and IgM antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in human fingerstick whole blood, venous whole blood, serum, or plasma as an aid in identifying patients with an adaptive immune response to SARS-CoV-2 indicating recent or prior infection. Testing is currently limited to laboratories certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) 42 U.S.C. 263a to perform high complexity tests. It has been authorized by the FDA under an Emergency Use Authorization for use by authorized laboratories.

For more information contact us at [email protected].

Media Contact:

Joseph P. Loughran

724-923-6057

[email protected]

SOURCE Dutch Ridge Consulting Group, LLC
China's Tianjin municipality recently unveiled its half-year economic performance, which revealed generally improving quality and optimized structure of its economy.

Coordinating epidemic prevention and control with economic and social development, Tianjin has secured a sound performance with constantly optimized industrial structure and robust momentum of new growth drivers, which vitalized the confidence for realizing high-quality development.

In the recent years, while steadfastly restructuring and upgrading industries, Tianjin has placed its focus on both development quality and benefit. It has promoted high-quality development and worked earnestly on intelligentization, big data and cloud computing to empower traditional industries with new technology. With complete manufacturing categories, the municipality has witnessed emerging smart manufacturing. An ecological chain of innovative development is gradually taking shape and improving.

Tianjin has placed high importance on attracting investors in "smart industries," renewing policies, offering capitals and improving environment to intensify sci-tech input, foster innovative entities, introduce high-level talents and establish high-level innovation platforms. Apart from introducing enterprises from outside, it also focused on providing market space and application scenarios for enterprises. It accelerated the synergetic work resumption of industrial and supply chains, and helped connect upper- and lower-stream enterprises. A batch of high-tech smart industrial clusters in internet security, biological medicine and power battery have been established, offering a strong power for industrial restructuring and upgrading.

In the past, employees followed industries, but today, it is the other way around  industries follow high-level talents. To be specific, talents, technology, capital and projects gather in places with great business environment and sound ecology. Now, Tianjin is more and more recognized in its efforts to improve its environment and favored by more and more job-seekers.

A policy system that is highly feasible and targeted has been built in Tianjin in the recent years for innovative development and attracting sci-tech investment. In the next five years, the government of the municipality will introduce and nurture at least 100 high-tech startups, and invest in them to reduce their risks. The government will withdraw its capital after these entities secure stable development. This mode will help establish a virtuous circle of investment and facilitate the growth of quality enterprises.
Self-reliance in the defence sector is far more crucial than any other field, said defence minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday.

Singh made the remark while attending the Atmanirbhrata Saptah celebrations via video conference here at South Block.

We should not only be able to ensure the fulfilment of our national interests but also be able to help other people in times of need. Self-reliance in the defence sector is far more crucial than any other field. For the last six days, you have been doing the important work of modernisation of facilities, upgradation of facilities and construction of new infrastructure, continuously moving towards self-reliance, Singh said while addressing the participants via video conferencing.

Security is its first priority for the development of any nation. It is known to all of us that the nations, which are able to protect themselves, they have been able to build their strong image at the global level. We cannot depend on foreign governments, foreign suppliers and foreign defence products to meet our defence needs. It is not compatible with the objectives and feelings of a strong and self-reliant India, Singh added.

Defence minister lauded the efforts of defence public sector undertakings (PSUs) and Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) to make India self-reliant.

The impressive list of new indigenous products, which have been launched today, I believe that defence undertakings and OFB will be the prime drivers of the Self-Reliance Campaign and will contribute significantly to national security. I am happy to see the recently launched products, of which four products each by OFB and BEML, two by BEL and one each by HAL, BDL, MDL, GRSE and GSL were developed, he said.

The products and facilities will help not only in defence but also for the betterment of civil society. The Electric Dump Truck launched by BEML and the Super Giant Mining Excavator are both designed and manufactured indigenously. It will also cater to the needs of Electric Dump Truck Mining Industries, he added.

As part of Atmanirbhrata Saptah celebrations, various defence PSUs and OFB are also organising a series of webinars covering all relevant topics, including various stakeholders like industry experts, vendors and academia.
Jaipur, Aug 13 : In a major twist to the ongoing political crisis in Rajasthan, which looked like coming to an end with rebel Congress leader Sachin Pilot returning to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's camp, BJPs Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria said on Thursday that his party will move a no-confidence motion against the state government in the special Assembly session starting Friday.

The BJP convened a legislative party meeting on Thursday, which was attended by Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, national General Secretary Muralidhar Rao, state BJP President Satish Poonia, national Vice Presidents Avinash Rai Khanna and Vasundhara Raje, national Joint General Secretary (organisation) V. Satish, Gulab Chand Kataria and Deputy Leader of Opposition Rajendra Singh Rathore, among others.

Before the start of the meeting, Satish Poonia said that the state government is struggling on many fronts and hence the party is expected to move a no-confidence motion.

Kataria later said that for over a month, the Gehlot government has been camping in hotels, ignoring the ambitious Central government schemes for the state.

"This government is acting against what it is preaching," he added.

Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje also made a scathing attack on the Congress, saying the party has been ignoring the people and their problems ever since coming to power in the state over one-and-a-half years ago.

"It changed the names of our schemes; now we want to take the benefits of the Central schemes to the people," she said.

It needs to be mentioned here that Vasundhara Raje has come to Jaipur for the first time during the ongoing political crisis in the state.

She has all through maintained a stoic silence on the issue, except making a few tweets, besides recently meeting BJP national President J.P. Nadda and Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Courtesy /Bexar County Sheriff's Office

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus has fired two police officers for excessive use of force during an incident that started with a traffic stop and ended with the officers punching the driver in the face, according to city suspension records released Wednesday.

McManus also found that the two officers, Thomas H. Villarreal and Carlos M. Castro, entered a house without consent, a search warrant or a compelling reason to do so.
Ghislaine Maxwell has claimed her conversations with lawyers in prison have been recorded and her chances of a fair trial have been undermined.

The British socialite, 58, is currently being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, as she awaits trial over her alleged involvement in the crimes of pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Maxwell was recently taken off suicide watch but is being subjected to multiple searches each day and is under constant watch of the guards, her lawyers said.

And in recent court filings her lawyers have claimed Maxwell's phone conversations with her defense counsel have been recorded by prison guards.

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Ghislaine Maxwell has claimed her conversations with lawyers in prison have been recorded, undermining her chances of a fair trial. Pictured: Maxwell appears via video link in Manhattan Federal Court on July 14

The British socialite, 58, is currently being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn (pictured), New York, as she awaits trial over her alleged involvement in the crimes of pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein

The filing, reported by The Sun, said: '[Maxwell] continues to be surveilled 24 hours a day by security cameras and by multiple prison guards, many of whom do not appear to be regular MDC personnel.

'These prison guards constantly observe Ms Maxwell and take notes on her every activity, including her phone conversations with defense counsel.

'Her cell is [still] searched multiple times a day and she has been forced to undergo numerous body scans.'

Her lawyers argued the Federal Bureau of Prisons' treatment of Maxwell 'is a reaction to the circumstances surrounding the pretrial detention and death of Mr. Epstein'.

Maxwell (right), who is accused of acting as Jeffrey Epstein's (left) 'madam' by finding him young women to abuse and then 'training' them to comply with his desires, was arrested on July 2 at a mansion she owned in New Hampshire

Lawyer Chris Everdell said Maxwell is being treated worse than other similarly situated pretrial detainees, which significantly impacts her ability to prepare a defense.

His letter asks that Maxwell 'be released to the general population and be granted the privileges given to other pretrial detainees'.

Everdell also requested for her to be given more computer time in order to review the reams of documents relating to her case.

His team are asking that she be given the names of three anonymous women who are accusing her of grooming and abusing them.

'Maxwell cannot prepare for or receive a fair trial without this information,' her lawyers argued.

It comes after a judge shot down Ghislaine Maxwell's latest attempt to delay the unsealing of potentially explosive documents on Wednesday.

Her legal team claimed they had discovered 'critical new information' that would impact both her criminal sex trafficking case and her civil defamation case.

New York judge Loretta Preska denied Maxwell's request, writing in a two-page order that Maxwell 'knows, her ipse dixit does not provide compelling grounds for relief', using the Latin term that means making an assertion without proof.

On Monday night, the former British socialite had attempted to delay the unsealing of documents pertaining to a defamation suit brought against her by Jeffrey Epstein's 'sex slave' Virginia Roberts Giuffre in 2015.

New York judge Loretta Preska denied Maxwell's request, writing in a two-page order that Maxwell 'knows, her ipse dixit does not provide compelling grounds for relief', using the Latin term that means making an assertion without proof

Her legal team did not go into detail about what they may have discovered - only disclosing they learned of the information last Friday and that it was subject to a court protective order.

Judge Preska had already ordered a trove of court papers unsealed last month and there will be more documents unsealed in the coming weeks as nonparties and parties in the papers are given due process to object to the unsealing.

The 58-year-old had fought tooth and nail to keep the recent documents under seal, especially her deposition and that of a Jane Doe's.

In a flurry of last-minute filings, she managed to keep the bombshell depositions secret for a bit longer.

New York judge Loretta Preska denied Maxwell's request, writing in a two-page order Maxwell 'knows, her ipse dixit does not provide compelling grounds for relief', using the Latin term that means making an assertion without proof. Last month, Preska ordered a trove of documents unsealed pertaining to a defamation suit brought against Maxwell by Jeffrey Epstein's 'sex slave' Virginia Roberts Giuffre (right)

Jeffrey Epstein was initially charged with sex trafficking in Florida in 2006, before being hit with a 53-page FBI indictment the following year.

In 2008, he was offered a controversial plea deal that saw him sentenced to 18 months in prison for soliciting underage prostitutes.

He was then rearrested in July 2019 and charged with sex trafficking, when he was moved to a maximum security jail in Manhattan.

On August 10 he was found unconscious in his cell with injuries to his neck and later died in what was officially ruled a suicide.

Epstein had been on suicide watch but was taken off just days before his death, on the condition that he be placed with a cellmate and constantly monitored.

But the day before his body was found his cellmate was moved out and not replaced, and guards failed to carry out checks on him.

Maxwell, who is accused of acting as Epstein's 'madam' by finding him young women to abuse and then 'training' them to comply with his desires, was arrested on July 2 at a mansion she owned in New Hampshire.

The socialite - who once mixed with celebrities, presidents and royalty at high-class parties - was moved on July 6 to Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, once described by a judge as 'like a third-world country'

Guards at the jail, which is different to the one where Jeffrey Epstein died last year, have been jailed for raping female prisoners, while the jail also lost power for an entire week during winter last year - leaving inmates locked in freezing, dark cells.

In total Maxwell is facing six counts - four relating to child sex trafficking, and two of perjury for lying under oath about the trafficking during a previous lawsuit.

If convicted on all charges, she is facing up to 35 years behind bars.
Turkey will continue its cross-border operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq if Baghdad "continues to tolerate the group's presence in its territory," the Turkish foreign ministry said on Thursday.

"Our country is ready to cooperate with Iraq on this issue. However, if the PKK presence in Iraq is tolerated, our country is determined to take the measures it deems necessary for its border security no matter where it may be," the ministry said in a written statement.

"The PKK also challenges sovereignty, territorial integrity, security and stability of Iraq," said the statement, noting Turkey is ready to cooperate with Iraq on the issue.

The Turkish Armed Forces carry out cross-border operations in northern Iraq, a region where PKK members have hideouts.

The Iraqi army said two border guard battalion commanders and the driver of their vehicle were killed in a "blatant Turkish drone attack" in the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq.

Iraq canceled a ministerial visit and summoned Turkey's ambassador on Wednesday.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for over 30 years, which has claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people.

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Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews insists his relationship with Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the federal government remains as strong as it was at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March.

Mr Andrews' assertion comes despite the state and federal governments trading barbs over Victoria's hotel quarantine program this week.

The Premier hit out at reports on Wednesday that continued the stoush over whether Australian Defence Force personnel were available to assist in quarantine hotels in March, saying he believed Victorians were focused on driving down daily numbers, not recriminations over the hotels program.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said on Thursday that his relationship with the Prime Minister remained strong. Credit:Darrian Traynor

The Victorian and federal governments have disagreed this week over how much ADF support was on offer when Victoria established its quarantine hotels.
August 13 : Janhvi Kapoor starrer Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl released on Netflix on Wednesday. Celebrities like Hrithik Roshan and Anurag Kashyap have reviewed the film.

Simultaneously, netizens started trending actor Pankaj Tripathi on Twitter for his commendable performance and criticized Janhvi Kapoor for her acting.

Praising the film, actor Hrithik Roshan tweeted, Just watched #GunjanSaxena . What a film . Cried my eyes out and laughed out loud . Entire team take a bow ! OUTSTANDING. 

Just watched #GunjanSaxena . What a film . Cried my eyes out and laughed out loud . Entire team take a bow ! OUTSTANDING.   Hrithik Roshan (@iHrithik) August 12, 2020

On the other hand, filmmaker and producer Anurag Kashyap praised debutant director Sharan Sharma, Kashyap wrote on his twitter account, Its so amazing and refreshing to see a coming of age of the Indian armed forces disguised as a war movie . No fake patriotism, no unnecessary jingoism ... well done team #GunjanSaxenaTheKargilGirl . Super performances, writing but what a brilliant new director #SharanSharma.

Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has written to the Central Board of Film Certification complaining against its "undue negative portrayal" in the movie Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl.

Its so amazing and refreshing to see a coming of age of the Indian armed forces disguised as a war movie . No fake patriotism, no unnecessary jingoism ... well done team #GunjanSaxenaTheKargilGirl . Super performances, writing but what a brilliant new director #SharanSharma  Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) August 12, 2020

The Air Force in its letter to the censor board, and sent to Netflix and Dharma Productions, has stated that as per initial understanding, "Dharma Productions had agreed to represent Indian Air Force (IAF) with authenticity and make all efforts to ensure that the film helps to inspire the next generation of IAF officers. "

However, when the trailer of the movie was released recently, it was observed that "certain scenes and dialogues in the movie and its trailer, which was forwarded to this office for viewing, have been found to portray the IAF in an undue negative light."

The story of the Dharma Productions movie is based on the first Indian Air Force woman pilot who was part of the 1999 Kargil war.

Ms Saxena, who is one of the first female pilots to fly in combat, played an important role in rescuing injured soldiers during the Kargil War and was awarded the gallantry Shaurya Vir Award for displaying courage during the war.

Directed by Sharan Saxena, 'Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl' features Janhvi Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Angad Bedi, Viineet Kumar, Manav Vij and Ayesha Raza Mishra in pivotal roles.
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Linkedin Toh Ting Wei (The Straits Times/Asia News Network)  Thu, August 13, 2020 16:24 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066dc9fa4 2 News Singapore-Airlines,Airlines,travel,cabin-crew Free

National carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) is offering its cabin crew early release or retirement as it continues efforts to cut costs amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

It told The Straits Times on Aug. 12 that the voluntary retirement scheme was introduced in view of the impact of COVID-19 "as well as a slower projected recovery trajectory in international air travel".

Cabin crew members who successfully apply for the scheme will get payouts and benefits. They will have until the end of the month to apply. Trainee crew will not be eligible. The outcome of the applications will be made known by the middle of next month.

"Each application will be considered on its merits and SIA will also take into account operational requirements in the review of applications," said a spokesman.

"We continue to work closely with our unions on the way forward where staff measures are concerned. We will announce any additional measures, if necessary, at the appropriate time."

SIA has almost 9,000 crew members. The scheme also applies to its regional arm SilkAir, which has more than 680 crew members.

According to an e-mail announcing the move seen by ST, SIA said the early retirement and release scheme aims to mitigate the "debilitating business impact of COVID-19". It said the terms and benefits have been determined in collaboration with the Singapore Airlines Staff Union.

Crew members will receive different benefits based on their employment status. Three groups of crew are eligible - those still serving their bond as of Aug. 1, those in the last year of their current contract, and male crew on tenure.

For example, a new Singaporean crew member would be bonded for 18 months after joining SIA and would have to pay a penalty if he or she leaves before the bond ends.

But under this early release and retirement scheme, a crew member who has yet to complete his or her bond could apply to leave early and have the outstanding bond repayment waived if successful.

SIA will also waive any outstanding settling-in loan and give a notice pay-in-lieu, based on the basic salary at the point of departure. Crew members who are still on probation get one month's pay, while confirmed crew members will get three months' pay.

Like all other airlines, SIA has been hard hit by the pandemic.

The carrier is currently operating at just 7 percent of its scheduled capacity as compared with before the pandemic. Some cabin crew have yet to take to the air in months.

Pay cuts of at least 10 per cent and no-pay-leave schemes have been introduced.

Early retirement has also been offered for ground staff and pilots.

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This article appeared on The Straits Times newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
The Douglas C-47 Hairless Joe cargo plane will visit the Air Zoos Flight Discovery Center on Saturday, August 15, 2020. The plane and crew will be arriving around 9am and plan to offer Air Adventure rides to those interested in booking a seat for flights scheduled that morning.

We are elated to have an opportunity to offer the community an exciting distraction. Whether folks want to book a ride or just enjoy the sounds and sights of a take-off or landing of an iconic WWII plane, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to host this mighty aircraft states Air Zoo President and CEO, Troy Thrash.

The C-47 Hairless Joe, owned and operated by the Yankee Air Museum, was formerly known as Yankee Doodle Dandy. Based at historic Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, Michigan this plane pays homage to the heroic crews operating in the China-Burma-India (CBI) theater of World War Two and especially the 1st Air Commando Group.

Among the most prolific operations the 1st Air Commando Group performed was that of flying missions over the Himalayas, commonly called the Hump. The Burma Road was the major supply route into China. When the Japanese cut off the road as a supply line, the only way to get the vital supplies into China was over the Hump. The Air Commandos began their operations with 13 C-47s and 100 CG-4A Waco Gliders for transport operations, both of which are available for preview on the Air Zoos exhibit floor. The venerable C-47 Skytrain stood out as the workhorse of the CBI.

An Air Adventure ride is a 30-minute experience and costs $195. To order a C-47 Air Adventure visit www.yankeeairmuseum.org and click on Fly With Us. C-47 flights will give riders an exciting sightseeing experience over some of Kalamazoos most interesting and familiar areas. Flights are currently available at 10am and 11am, and seating is limited. Additional flight times may be added as customer demand warrants.

The Air Zoo, and Yankee Air Museum have been working hard to make sure your visit is safe. Please check both organizations websites for COVID safety measures, policies and procedures.

About Yankee Air Museum: Established in 1981 the Yankee Air Museum is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization. The Yankee Air Museum dedicates itself to educating individuals through the history of American aeronautics, aerospace industry and its associated technologies while inspiring generations through personal experiences to instill pride in our national accomplishments. Yankee Air Museum, located at 47884 D Street, Belleville, Michigan on the grounds of historic Willow Run Airport. Visit www.yankeeairmuseum.org to discover more or call 734-483-4030.

About the Air Zoo: Located at 6151 Portage Rd., Portage, MI 49002, the Air Zoo is a Smithsonian-affiliated aerospace & science experience with over 100 rare air & space craft, inspiring interactive exhibits, indoor amusement park rides, full-motion flight simulators, hands-on science-based education programs, and more. The Air Zoo is a not-for-profit organization and is open 360+ days per year. For hours, tickets and info, visit airzoo.org.
To sustain a growth trajectory that earns us a place among the fastest growing 5000 companies in the largest economy in the world for 5 successive years is a tribute to the dedication of our employees and the loyalty of our clients. said Anupam Satyasheel, Founder & CEO of Occams Advisory.

Occams Advisory, (DBA for Occams Paradigm, Inc), the leading SMB centric firm which has carved a niche through its One-Stop-Shop model providing Business, Financial and Professional Services in an integrated model, has made its 5th consecutive appearance on Inc. 5000 List of the Fastest Growing Private Companies in America. Occams was ranked #153 in 2016, #211 in 2017, #438 in 2018 and #3575 in 2019 to go with its #4257 in 2020.

Earlier in 2020, Occams Advisory had featured on FTs inaugural list of The Americas Fastest Growing Companies 2020, a list that covered 20 countries in Americas and also included companies listed on an exchange. Industry leading names such as Tesla, Netflix, Uber and PayPal also featured on that list.

To sustain a growth trajectory that earns us a place among the fastest growing 5000 companies in the largest economy in the world for 5 successive years is a tribute to the dedication of our employees and the loyalty of our clients. said Anupam Satyasheel, Founder & CEO of Occams Advisory.

David King, the CEO of Occams Personal Finance division commented, Being a part of an organization that strikes the elusive balance between maximizing client satisfaction and enhancing employee welfare, is a matter of honor and privilege.

Having been Occams client across 2 different service areas, and now as the Groups COO, I have been privileged to experience many dimensions of the Occams Way. Chimed in Augusto Ruiz-Eldredge, who also leads EquiPay, Occams Fintech vertical.

Inc. 5000 list is the most prestigious ranking of the nations fastest-growing private companies. The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economys most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses. Intuit, Zappos, Under Armour, Microsoft, Patagonia, and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000.

The companies on this years Inc. 5000 come from nearly every realm of business, says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. From health and software to media and hospitality, the 2020 list proves that no matter the sector, incredible growth is based on the foundations of tenacity and opportunism.

Not only have the companies on the 2020 Inc. 5000 been very competitive within their markets, but the list as a whole shows staggering growth compared with prior lists as well. The 2020 Inc. 5000 achieved an incredible three-year average growth of over 500 percent, and a median rate of 165 percent. The Inc. 5000s aggregate revenue was $209 billion in 2019, accounting for over 1 million jobs over the past three years.

About Occams Advisory

Established in 2012 and headquartered in San Diego, CA, Occams Advisory is a global Business, Financial and Professional Services firm. Key company service-verticals include: Business Services & Growth Incubation (BSGI), Capital Markets & Investment Banking (CMIB), Financial Technology & Payment Solutions (FTPS), and Personal Finance, Insurance & Taxation (PFIT). Occams has offices in North America, Africa, Europe and Asia.

More About Inc. and the Inc. 5000

Methodology

The 2020 Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2016 and 2019. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2016. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2016 is $100,000; the minimum for 2019 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Companies on the Inc. 500 are featured in Inc.s September issue. They represent the top tier of the Inc. 5000, which can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000.

About Inc. Media

The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com.

Contact

Anupam Satyasheel

anupam.satyasheel@occamsadvisory.com

917-331-1364
The Catholic Bishops of the Philippines are calling for a massive, nationwide prayer campaign for the healing of the country and the end to the Covid-19 pandemic.

By Robin Gomes

In a joint pastoral message, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) called on teachers, educators, seminary professors and seminarians, and the Catholic faithful to pray ten "Hail Marys" every day at 12.00, from August 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption, to September 15 the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.

The pastoral letter by the CBCP Commissions on Seminaries and on Catechesis and Catholic Education was endorsed by Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan, who is standing in for CBCP president Archbishop Romulo Valles of Davao, who is recovering from a mild stroke.

Nothing is impossible with Him

The Philippine Church recalled that people have suffered under nearly five months of lockdowns amid fear of illness and death. Their basic freedoms have mostly vanished, over two million people have lost jobs, and more than 93,000 businesses have been adversely affected. They lamented that people have been asked to accept an epidemic of depressions and increasing reports of suicides, as the new normal.

In the face of this, the bishops invited all to a collective prayer action to lift the lockdowns and help heal the nation, assuring that God always listens and nothing is impossible with Him.

The statement was released on Wednesday ahead of the upcoming opening of the new school year, which was tentatively set for August 24 but is now being debated by senators. Several groups, students, and parents have called for the postponement of classes due to growing health concerns and the issue of the preparedness of schools.

As of Thursday, the Department of Health confirmed new cases of Covid-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 147,526, the highest in Southeast Asia, while total deaths reached 2,426.

Reason, science and Catholic social teachings

The countrys bishops called on Catholic colleges and universities to make sure that scientific studies about Covid-19 are widely shared with the general public using reason, science and Catholic social teachings.

Admitting that medical science is not the expertise of seminaries, the bishops urged them to drink from the well of Catholic social teachings how to face this worldwide pandemic. These teachings, they said, will give them access to truth and free them from baseless fears and unnecessary anxieties.

The real world of children

Turning to parents and teachers, the bishops urged them to attend to the special needs of children under these extraordinary times, and ensure their balanced growth and formation of the mind, body and soul. They said:

There is a bigger and brighter world beyond the virtual world that our children have been accustomed to during the lockdowns.

People-centred ethics

The pastoral letter deplored the marginalization of religious values in the programmes to fight the pandemic. The Covid-19 program, it stressed must be rooted in  an ethics which is people-centred.

The bishops denounced the regime of death and darkness pervading the nation. With ills such as the summary execution of the defenceless poor, violence against women and children, the reckless ecological imbalance, increase in the use of illegal drugs, the plunder of public funds, the promotion of contraception and abortion, and the growing number of jobless and hungry families, the bishops said, the long shadow of death is cast upon our land.

They encouraged the faith communities to Christian social responsibility by being critical and discerning against the many false narratives dominating the media and the many unscientific unreasonable public policies. By understanding the issues better, they can find creative ways to be active bringing a solution to situations in the light of the Gospel.

The Philippine bishops had earlier held a 21-day prayer for the healing of the country, from July 16 to August 5.
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YEREVAN, AUGUST 13, ARMENPRESS. Head of the Command and Staff Faculty of the Vazgen Sargsyan Military University and former MoD spokesperson Artsrun Hovhannisyan spoke about the military escalation on Armenia-Azerbaijan border in July in an interview with Defense Romania.

Hovhannisyan noted Armenia successfully repelled the Azerbaijani attack and presented some details over the military operations.

''In addition to the use of UAVs during the military operations, Azerbaijan also used Israeli-made military equipment and Azerbaijanis also used the special unit called ''Yashma', Hovhannisyan said, adding that the fact that a number of Azerbaijani servicemen were taken hostage by the Armenian side shows that Armenia was not only able to repel the Azerbaijani attack, but also demonstrated its military dominance over Azerbaijan.

''At first the Azerbaijani armed forces used 7 mortars of 82 mm and then 3 mortars of 120 mm against Chinary village of Armenia, resulting in damages to houses. The Defense Ministry of Armenia targeted and neutralized all the attempts against the territory of the Republic of Armenia. By the way, the Armenian Armed Forces, remaining faithful to their principles, never fired in the direction of Azerbaijani settlements, Hovhannisyan said, adding that the Armenian Armed Forces also successfully repelled the attack of Azerbaijani special unit called Yashma against Fearless position, inflicting serious losses on the enemy.

Summing up, Artsrun Hovhannisyan said that long-distance, non-contact night combat, at least increase their importance and high tech solutions become decisive. And here the Armenian army proved its professional and tactical dominance over the Azerbaijani army, he said.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan
By PTI

MUMBAI: British premier carrier Virgin Atlantic on Thursday announced the resumption of its flight services to Delhi and Mumbai from London Heathrow, under the air bubble pact, starting September 2.

Virgin Atlantic plans to operate three flights a week from Delhi to London Heathrow from September 2, while Mumbai services are planned to re-commence from September 17 with four flights per week, the airline said in a release.

Both the destinations will provide connections to New York JFK and will operate on 787-9 Dreamliner, it said.

The flights to the two destinations in India from London are being resumed under the air bubble pact between the UK and Indian governments, it said.

An air bubble is a bilateral arrangement with a set of regulations and restrictions, in which the carriers of the two countries can operate international flights.

"This year marks 20 years of flying between the UK and India and we are delighted to resume our passenger services to this beautiful country," Alex McEwan, commercial manager (India), Virgin Atlantic, said.

Indian budget carrier SpiceJet, which has secured temporary slots under the air bubble pact, has already announced its plans to fly to the UK from September.

Virgin Atlantic said it has put in place additional measures at the airport and on board to ensure health and safety of its people and customers.

All customers eligible under the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs as per the air bubble scheme will be able to travel onboard Virgin Atlantic's direct services to London Heathrow and the US, it added.

All international commercial air passenger services in India are suspended since March 22, in the wake of travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, various evacuation and charter flights and services under the air bubble pact with a few countries are being carried out.
A long exposure image shows the movement of a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County

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.

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 Alvarez & 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.

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.

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)
There is tension at Tiptoe Lane near the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange in Accra following a decision to close down retail shops owned by foreigners.



The Presidential Committee on Retail Trade under the Ministry of Trade and Industry decided to take on foreign-owned shops in Accra from today, August 13, 2020.



The taskforce undertaking the exercise says its action is in line with recommendations from the committee probing the impasse between Ghanaian traders and the foreign counterpart.



According to the retailers, the closure has become necessary following the refusal of the retailers to regularise their documents as directed by the government.



But in a confrontation with the taskforce, some of the retailers stated that they had taken steps to regularise their documents.



They havent given any reason why they are locking these shops. They said the Minister of Trade and Industry asked them to come there without a reason. Meanwhile, weve complied with all theyve told us to do. Why would they lock the shops? Why cant they verify if weve complied or not? Why are they only interested in locking the shops? They should check our documents, he exclaimed.



They gave us an assessment from the Immigration. We went there with them. Some people have submitted their documents to the Immigration. Customs didnt ask us to do anything. All the institutions that have asked us to do something, we have complied. I dont know why they are locking the shops. They were supposed to come today to check the compliance. When they came, they didnt ask us any questions. They just started locking the shops, he lamented.



Security officers aiding the taskforce have been compelled to use force as the foreign retailers continue to resist the closure of their shops.



In an interview with Citi News, Public Relations Officer for the Ministry, Prince Boakye-Boateng said the shops will be closed due to the failure of some foreigners to adhere to the directives on retail trade in Ghana.



For Circle, we will be locking of shops because they have been given enough notice already. The shops were initially locked, we asked that they open for a proper assessment by the Ministry and for that matter, the Committee. So enough notice has been given already so as we get to Circle, it is about the locking up of shops and not about assessment as done at Abossey Okai.



Trade war



Over the years, there have been trade wars between Ghanaian traders and their foreign counterparts, especially Nigerian traders over the involvement of the latter in retail business in Ghanaian markets.



This has led to the closure of some Nigerian shops in Accra and Kumasi.

Source: citinewsroom.com









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It's no secret that Kamala Harris got a leg up in California politics because she dated Willie Brown. It was a smart move on her part. Brown was the California assembly speaker and a very powerful one. It wasn't just patronage, though, that Brown provided. Love him or hate him, Brown is now and always has been one of the smartest people in American politics.

That's why it's interesting that, right before Kamala accepted Biden's offer to have her run as his vice president, Brown emphatically told her not to seek that position. In giving that advice, Brown made the obvious point that the vice president's role is often, although not always, a dead end:

Being picked for the vice presidency is obviously a huge honor, and if Biden wins, Harris would make history by being the first woman to hold the job. But the glory would be short-lived, and historically, the vice presidency has often ended up being a dead end. For every George H.W. Bush, who ascended from the job to the presidency, there's an Al Gore, who never got there.

In other words, as Vice President John Nance Garner III, was famously reputed to have said, the job's "not worth a bucket of spit." (What he actually said, claim historians, is that it wasn't "worth a bucket of warm piss.")

Instead, Brown told Kamala to hold out for the position of attorney general because it offered a better springboard for her future presidential ambitions:

On the other hand, the attorney general has legitimate power. From atop the Justice Department, the boss can make a real mark on everything from police reform to racial justice to prosecuting corporate misdeeds. And the attorney general gets to name every U.S. attorney in the country. That's power. Plus, given the department's current disarray under William Barr, just showing up and being halfway sane will make the new AG a hero. Best of all, being attorney general would give Harris enough distance from the White House to still be a viable candidate for the top slot in 2024 or 2028, no matter what the state of the nation.

That's all puff and no stuff. As best as I can tell, no United States attorney general has ever gone on to become president of the United States. That distinguishes the A.G.'s job from the vice presidency because former vice presidents have a shot at the presidency. Fourteen veeps (or 30%) managed to snag the Oval Office. In Kamala's case, given Biden's mental and physical fragility, her odds are a lot higher than 30%

If the bit about the attorney general being a pathway to the presidency is nonsense, why is Willie Brown, one of the smartest people in politics, warning Kamala away from the vice presidency?

If I were to bet, I'd say Willie Brown is doing so because he knows that Franklin Roosevelt was the only vice presidential candidate on a ticket that failed to have later gone on to win the White House. Roosevelt was the Democrat candidate for vice president in 1920 when Warren G. Harding ran on a "return to normalcy." Roosevelt eventually won the presidency in 1932. Other than FDR, being a losing vice presidential candidate is political death.

Assuming I'm correct about this bit of historic trivia, what Willie Brown is actually telling his protegee is that her political career is over if she joins the Biden ticket because Biden won't win. But since Brown can't say Biden is going to lose, he instead tactfully told Kamala to hold out for a different job that kicks in only if Biden wins. Then, at least, she has a chance at a powerful position. But if Biden loses, the career that Brown helped nurture for so long is over.

Whether or not one likes Willie Brown's politics, there's no doubt that he's got excellent political instincts. He's also connected. It's hard to imagine that Willie Brown doesn't have sources everywhere in the Democrat party. And I think Willie Brown is fairly certain that Biden will lose and that Trump will be re-elected.

Image: Willie Brown by Gage Skidmore, Creative Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
OTTAWA  The beleaguered WE Charity says it has reimbursed about $22 million of the $30 million it received from Ottawa to mount the now-cancelled Canada Student Services Grant program.

And in a statement to the Star on Wednesday, the charity said it intends to pay back the rest of the money as soon as the federal government department that was responsible for the program can accept it.

Speaking on background, a government official said it is a complicated matter to disentangle all the agreements and other legal obligations that were associated with the doomed project while ensuring Canadians are protected, but that it is expected the money will be repaid in full.

WE Charity was contracted by the Liberal government to deliver one of its central supports for students  a program that budgeted up to $900 million to connect cash-strapped students with non-profit groups and pay them below minimum wage to do volunteer work.

Under a $544-million funding agreement with Ottawa, WE Charity says it received a transfer of funds into a protected account to pay eligible expenses. WE Charity never accessed those funds.

The organization added that it spent $5 million of its own money to set up technology and a call centre, and to make other connections to groups to help the deliver the program. It said it intends to absorb those costs and is in the process of returning all of the funds.

The statement from WE Charity was not attributed to any individual associated with the organization. It said has already returned $22 million of the $30 million it received, and has repeatedly communicated to (Employment and Social Development Canada) the desire to return the remaining funds as soon as the government is able to accept the transfer.

WE Charity says it transferred the technology systems, call centre, and coalition partners to the public service hoping that the program would continue, and incurred expenses of approximately $5 million dollars to build and launch the systems to deliver it.

WE Charity has elected to waive its right to repayment for eligible expenditures as per the contribution agreement, the statement said.

WE Charity co-founders Craig and Marc Kielburger testified last month that the non-profit organization  which had laid off hundreds of workers during the pandemic  was never going to benefit from the money or use it to pay themselves salaries. The Kielburgers said the funding agreement had specified money would only ever be spent on expenses for the program.

Marc Kielburger told MPs that the decision to absorb the $5 million that WE Charity had already spent on the program was a very painful, difficult decision, but we felt under the circumstances that it was the right thing to do.

Under the agreement, WE Charity would have been paid up to $43.5 million to cover administrative expenses of the student grant program.

The program was designed to pay students up to $5,000, depending on how many hours of volunteer service they did.

The Kielburgers said they expected the program would end up costing between $200 million and $300 million, based on the average number of hours they expected students to be engaged.

WE Charity withdrew from the program, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau apologized for failing to recuse themselves from the May 22 cabinet decision to approve WEs involvement. While they insisted it was the recommendation of the public service to use WE Charity, both politicians had more extensive family ties to the organization than had been known publicly or even to fellow cabinet ministers when the government signed the deal.

Since 2015, WE Charity had paid about $500,000 on speaking fees and expenses for Trudeaus mother Margaret and brother Alexandre, and covered expenses for his wife Sophie for appearances at WE Charity events. Morneau, whose daughter works for WE Charity, paid the charity $41,000 last month for two trips he had taken in 2017 at the organizations expense.

In testimony at the House of Commons committee hearings this week, Employment Services Minister Carla Qualtrough acknowledged that the government had dropped the ball when it came to Trudeaus and Morneaus involvement. On Wednesday she told the finance committee she still did not have any details on how much WE Charity had repaid, but she lamented the loss of the program, saying it was part of a suite of measures to help students.

She insisted she still believes that WE Charity could have connected students with volunteer opportunities in both official languages across the country, in a way that the public service  which was stretched thin  never could have.

Asked by a Liberal MP what should now happen to the unspent funds, Qualtrough said many in the government are considering that question.

Appearing by video later Wednesday, Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade Minister Mary Ng described how WE Charity had first pitched the Liberal government on a separate program this spring that involved support for young entrepreneurs. Ng said this first came up during a call with Craig Kielburger on April 7  a conversation that had been scheduled back in February  but was ultimately rejected by her office on April 22.

By that point, according to the testimony of several others at the committee in recent weeks, the public service was already considering outsourcing a different program the doomed Canada Student Service Grant to WE Charity.
BRASILIA/BEIJING The Chinese city of Shenzhens government on Thursday identified a Brazilian meat plant owned by Aurora, the countrys third largest processor of chicken and pork, as the source of chicken wings that tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

The Shenzhen government identified the plant by its registration number in a posting on its website, that when checked against Brazilian records linked it to an Aurora facility in Brazils Southern state of Santa Catarina.

Aurora, an unlisted company, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Brazils Agriculture Ministry said in a statement that it was seeking clarification on the matter but had not received official notification from Chinese authorities.

There is no scientific evidence of transmission of the COVID-19 virus from frozen food or food packaging," the ministry said, citing the United Nations and the World Health Organization.

The Shenzhen government said a sample taken from the surface of the imported frozen chicken wings had tested positive.

But the Brazilian ministry emphasized that the Shenzhen government statement said that other samples of the same cargo tested negative, as did everyone who came into contact with the meat.

Registered meat plants in Brazil follow strict sanitary procedures and their products are safe, it said.

As of Wednesday, six Brazilian meat plants remained blocked from exporting to China, according to the Chinese customs agencys website, after they were barred over concerns about coronavirus amid reports of thousands of cases spreading throughout the industry.

Shares in Brazils largest chicken exporter, BRF SA , fell by more than 5% by midday trading, with others in the sector showing smaller losses.

Authorities in the Chinese city of Xian on Thursday separately reported that the outer packaging of shrimp imported from Ecuador also tested positive for the coronavirus.

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
Minsk: Protesters formed human chains and marched through the streets of Belarus carrying flowers on Wednesday in anger at a crackdown by strongman President Alexander Lukashenko that has prompted the European Union to consider new sanctions against Minsk.

Security forces have clashed with protesters for three consecutive nights after Lukashenko claimed a landslide re-election victory in a vote on Sunday that his opponents say was rigged. Police have detained around 6000 people.

About 200 women march in solidarity with protesters injured in the latest rallies against the results of the country's presidential election in Minsk, Belarus. Credit:AP

Lukashenko has sought better relations with the West amid strained relations with traditional ally Russia. Brussels lifted sanctions, imposed over Lukashenko's human rights record, in 2016, but will weigh new measures this week.

Lithuania, Poland and Latvia jointly offered to mediate between Lukashenko and the protesters, and threatened sanctions at a European or national level if the offer was declined.
ELSAH  The Village of Elsah Museum has begun its 2020 season with the opening of the annual photography exhibit.

The opening of the museum and exhibit was delayed by COVID-19 restrictions on group gatherings. The exhibit will be open through next year.

The exhibit celebrates and fosters an appreciation of the beauty and unique qualities of the village. This years theme is My Favorite Window.

This years judge is Erica Popp, an artist and college instructor, who commented on the high quality of the submitted images. In addition to the groups purchase prizes, there were eight special recognition photographs. Historic Elsah Foundation will also feature six historic window photographs from the exhibit on their webpage.

The 2020 Village of Elsah Purchase Prize for a photograph taken in the valley area went to Barbaras View taken by the photographer, Barbara L. Clark of Elsah. The photograph will be part of the Village of Elsah Museums collection. Clark also received the Green Tree Inn award of an overnight stay for two.

The photograph is an image of a boat on the Mississippi River framed by an interior window of Clarks home. Popp said the image was chosen for its beauty, window to the Mississippi, and the sense of calm. In addition, she felt the image was appropriate for this time-period when people are inside homes looking out.

The Greatriverroad.com prize recognizes a photograph that shows the beauty and significance of Elsahs surrounding area including Chautauqua, the River Road, the nearby bluffs and Principia College campus. This years winner is Foggy Illuminations by Kim Howland of Godfrey.

The image stood out for being the only photograph taken at night. The quality of the reproduction and beauty of the image showed an important Bernard Maybeck designed building and the unique use of windows.

How poetic that the fog, something thought to obscure, gives focus to the light, Popp said. This photograph is a perfect expression of this years theme.

Like the Village of Elsah Purchase Prize, this photography will also become part of the Museum collection.

This is the second year for a Youth Award for a photograph submitted by a person 12 to 18 years old. This years winning photograph title was Window Waves of Elsah by Jonah Hosmer of Godfrey. Popp said the image made full use of the opportunity to use the reflection in the old glass to create a whimsical double exposure effect and yet seeing through to the inside of the building.

There are eight special recognition photographs this year:

 River Road Daisies by Jerry Benner of Ferguson

 The Melting Window by Karen King of Mt Olive

 Weather Perspective by Kim Howland of Godfrey

 Windows of the Past by Rosa Renner of Alton

 Window to the Mississippi by Chuck Parr of Alton

 Windows of Elsah by Patricia Ott of Godfrey

 The Yellow House by Hope Mader of Alton

 Windows of 8 LaSalle by Joan Baker of Moro.

Historic Window Awards showing the unique qualities of historic or old windows included:

 Basking in Spring Sun by Karen King of Mt Olive

 Keeping Watch by Ray Watsek of Elsah

 Looking In & Out by Yvonne Mossman of Alton

 Past & Present by Carolyn Schlueter of St. Charles

 Touch of Green by Jim Noeninger of OFallon, Illinois

 Window Shopping by Robert Erxleben of Salem.

Photographers represented in the exhibit are Joan Baker, Jerry Benner, Barbara L. Clark, Linda Davis-Swink, Julie Elmendorf, Gayle Erxleben, Robert Erxleben, Jonah Hosmer, Kim Howland, Karen King, Hope Mader, Marty McKay, Yvonne Mossman, Bonnie Noeninger, Jim Noeninger, Patria Ott. Chuck Parr, Rosa Renner, Carolyn Schlueter, John Tomlinson, Ray Watsek, and Susan Young.

The museum exhibit will be open every Saturday and Sunday 1-4 p.m. during the 2020 season and again next spring and early summer 2021. Visitors are required to wear masks; no more than five visitors are to be inside the building at at any time. Hand sanitizer is available at the door.

A celebration of the winners and participants will be held when Illinois rules determine a safe way to have an indoor reception.

All the photographs are for sale and proceeds are retained by the photographer. Additional copies or sizes of the purchase prize winning photographs and other photographs in this and previous exhibits can generally be purchased from the photographer.
Military personnel from the Brazilian Armed Forces sanitizes a bus at the Santa Candida bus terminal to combat the spread of the the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, in Curitiba, Parana State, Brazil, on August 10, 2020. The pandemic has killed at least 731,518 people worldwide, 101,049 of them in Brazil, since it surfaced in China late last year, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 1100 GMT on Monday. (Photo: Daniel CASTELLANO / AFP)

The vaccine would have to receive Brazilian regulatory approval and complete Phase 3 clinical trials, or large-scale testing in humans, before being produced in Brazil, said officials from the southern state.

Production, if it goes ahead, would likely only start in the second half of 2021, said Jorge Callado, head of the state-run Parana Technology Institute, which signed the deal with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).

"This is a very objective memorandum of understanding on technological exchange. It does not impose obligations, it simply enables us to work together," he told a virtual news conference.

He said that under the deal Russia would share the results of Phase 1 and 2 testing with the state.

President Vladimir Putin announced Tuesday that Russia had approved the vaccine, dubbed "Sputnik V," in a world first, heralding it as a game-changer in the pandemic.

But international health officials have cautioned more testing and scrutiny are needed to ensure it is safe and effective.

Brazil has become a popular testing ground for COVID-19 vaccines, since the new coronavirus is still spreading quickly there.

The country has the second-highest number of infections and deaths in the pandemic, after the United States: more than 3.1 million and 104,000, respectively.

Two experimental vaccines are currently in Phase 3 testing in Brazil, one developed by Oxford University with pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca and the other by Chinese laboratory Sinovac Biotech.
As the coronavirus forced Aspen Dental Management to shutter its offices in March, the company quickly moved to connect patients with doctors virtually.

But a problem cropped up: Many patients didnt care for Aspens self-service telemedicine portal. For the most part, they abandoned it, so we said this is not going to work, says Yogish Suvarna, CIO of Aspen Dental Management, which provides business services for more than 830 offices.

The solution? Aspen quickly added call center representatives to broker virtual care sessions between patients and doctors. Problem solved.

Pivots such as Aspens are playing out all over the world as the coronavirus roils industries forcing organizations to adapt more quickly to satisfy customer preferences, as well as technical and business hurdles.

Rapid-fire digital solutions built in sprints provides a schema for how IT organizations operate going forward, says David Clarke, digital strategy and innovation leader at PwC, adding that IT leaders should view the pandemic as a digital accelerator rather than a deterrent. Seventy-eight percent of CFOs PwC polled in July said they cut investments, though only 17 percent say those cuts extend to digital transformation, Clarke says.

The virtual-care pivot

Aspen, for instance, stood up a virtual care system in just 8 days. But patients, frustrated by the experience of inputting their personal and credit card information before connecting to their doctors via a video conference, quickly exited the portal. Aspens call service reps were added to accept patient information before they met virtually with their dentists, who would determine whether treatment was required in the office.

The new process, akin to digital technology that consumers have become accustomed to using in banking and retail, helped patients gain confidence in the user experience, Suvarna says. It was a simple solution, but one that underscores the importance of identifying how a customer wants to conduct business with a company and adjusting to accommodate them.

Suvarnas rapid-fire digital work continued into June, as Aspen digitized the check-in process to serve more than 4,500 patients daily. Previously, patients spent several minutes filling out paperwork in the waiting room, after which care representatives would manually input the data. Today, an Aspen representative scans their drivers license and insurance card at check-in, auto-populating the data into the patient management system. The patient reviews their personal information and the needed consent forms on an iPad before providing an electronic signature.

The contactless solution cut average check-in time in half to as little as 15 minutes. Aspen estimates the tool could eliminate more than 1,000 hours of non-patient support time per office per year. Theres no need to sit and fill out paperwork, which eliminated huge time in the front of the office, Suvarna says.

The restaurant industry faced massive disruption due to social distancing. Few chains felt this pain more than Friendlys Restaurants, which shuttered 160 locations around the country in March. CIO Pete Gibson is actively evaluating contactless technologies that will help consumers safely engage the business. We are working hard to go contactless, Gibson says.

A key piece of this strategy entails creating a digital menu that customers can easily access from any connected device. Yet after landing on a solution that would enable customers to scan a QR code to view a menu online from their phones, Friendlys abandoned this approach because it was patented. So Gibson is endeavoring to make the menu available via a short URL. Gibson, who envisions Friendlys one day displaying menus on digital placemats, is also exploring mobile ordering and tap-to-pay solutions.

While Gibson is scrambling to go contactless, earlier digital work is helping the company stay afloat. Under Gibsons direction, Friendlys in 2019 inked partnerships with UberEats, DoorDash, Grubhub and other delivery services, creating new revenue streams that helped offset the huge hit the chain took when its store couldnt host patrons.

Gibson attributed his teams success to the organizational culture, which he says has risen to the occasion since the outbreaks inception. Hes also bullish because technological advancements are providing CIOs with more opportunities to deliver business value. Its about how we apply our practice to add value and benefit the company, Gibson says.

Overhauling the sales forecast

The COVID-19 outbreak threatened to disrupt Jaguar Land Rovers (JLR) supply chain, a global network comprising hundreds of suppliers.

The automotive company typically relies on sales forecasts cultivated years in advance to orchestrate its production lines, a delicate dance that required it to manage thousands of combinations of parts made by myriad manufacturers, says Harry Powell, director of data and analytics. Accuracy is paramount, as minimum buy volumes of parts are committed with penalties for not meeting the agreed upon volume.

Recognizing that JLRs careful choreography wouldnt hold during the pandemic, Powell told business leaders that they could not longer rely on sales forecasts to which they were accustomed. I went around telling everybody that we were looking at this [challenge] through the wrong end of the telescope, Powell says. You have to be more flexible in how you make things and have the ability to react to new information.

The analytics team needed to provide more timely analysis of the impact changes to the forecast orders would have on JLRs supply chain. Powells team revved up its use of graph database software, which analyzes the relationships of entities  in this case parts and suppliers  to provide its business with more accurate analytics.

The software, from TigerGraph, detected when suppliers would fail to meet quota demands.

We used the graph to re-sequence how our vehicle orders were to be built in our factory in response to a supplier failure, Powell says. Queries across the supply chain model now take 30 to 45 minutes compared to weeks using SQL relational database software.

The bottom line: Key to all of these quick pivots is a high-quality culture that is comfortable with sustained change, PwCs Clarke says. CIOs have to be inclusive of the entire organization, bringing all employees along for the journey.
(Natural News) Dr. Marc Siegel, a regular contributor at Fox News, is back in the news again for making outlandish suggestions concerning mandatory vaccinations.

Siegel reportedly told Tucker Carlson the other day that children who do not get vaccinated for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) should wear a yellow pin indicating that they are not to be hugged for alleged safety reasons.

Similar to the infamous yellow star patch that Jews had to wear in Nazi Germany, the yellow pins that Siegel believes are necessary accessories for unvaccinated children contain the words No Hugs Please with a red line slashed through them.

The pin is basically a warning to others that the child wearing it has not been jabbed with Big Pharma chemicals, and is thus an unsafe individual who should be avoided, shunned and deprived of normal human affection.

Heres one other thing we have to do, sadly: No Hugs Please,' Siegel explained to Carlson, who glared back at him with that iconic disapproving look.

Now, if you look at this pin, Tucker, it looks like something you might remember: No Smoking Please. Lets give our kids all of these pins, No Hugs Please, sadly, but Im going to say this, with this pin, or shirts, No Hugs Please, were going to get 26 candidates for a vaccine coming out in the clinical trials right now.

According to Siegel, once these vaccines emerge, society will finally be able to beat this thing, and then [the pin] is going to go in the garbage. Until that time, all children should be avoided, according to Siegel. And those who do not get these future Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) will have to be avoided forever while they walk around branded as untouchables.

Once everyone gets vaccinated, Siegel contends, society can go back to normal and were all going to hug each other. But this is contingent upon everyone getting vaccinated, and parents showing their children courage by leading the way.

Theyre looking to parents for leadership, Siegel trailed off during his rant. Leadership says, open the schools wherever we can, Tucker.

After Siegel was finished, Tucker responded quite simply with: I dont know if I can go there; Im a hugger. Sorry.

Fox News should be ashamed of itself for constantly spreading pro-vax, pro-drug propaganda

The whole thing almost seemed like some kind of parody, were it not for Siegels extensive history of trying to force people to get vaccinated through bizarre and authoritarian means.

Just last year, Siegel appeared on Fox News to declare that people who refuse vaccines should be prosecuted and put in jail, including doctors who issue vaccination exemptions to young children.

This is par for the course at Fox News, by the way, which for many years has aggressively pushed pharmaceutical drugs and vaccines as the only solution to disease.

Fox has repeatedly published hit pieces and aired hit segments against those who question vaccine safety and effectiveness. The so-called conservative network routinely uses terminology like anti-vaccination propaganda and anti-vaxxer hysteria to denigrate parents who dare to dig a little deeper down the rabbit hole.

Nature would already have beaten this virus if power-mad and money-mad globalists had allowed it, wrote one National File commenter. The creepy little yellow badges from the creepy so-called medical expert are a morbid sign of the times.

The doctor is a Jew, wrote another about Siegel. I wonder how his relatives felt walking around Nazi territory with THEIR badges on. Massively stupid move.

For more related news about the dangers and ineffectiveness of vaccines, be sure to check out Vaccines.news.

Sources for this article include:

NationalFile.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com
After the release of a body-cam footage showing a police dog biting a Black man who was already putting his hands up and kneeling on the ground, the Salt Lake City Police Department has decided to suspend its K9 program, Wednesday.

According to a statement released by the Salt Lake PD, it is currently enlisting the help of experts in conducting a thorough review of the K9 program's procedure and policies. The said review is being done while investigations on the incident that happened on April 24 is still going on.

In a report by NBC News, it stated that the man was seen in the video, Jeffrey Ryan, 36, sustained severe injuries which may require amputation according to his lawyers.

Meanwhile, Nickolas Pearce, the K9 officer who was involved in the encounter has been on administrative leave since the review and investigation on the incident has been started by internal affairs investigators and the city's civilian review.

In a tweet, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, she was very disturbed but what she saw on the video. She also expressed her frustration on how the officer handled the situation, giving her full commitment to make sure the same incident will not happen again.

The officer involved in the incident documented by body cam footage published by the Tribune Tuesday has been suspended from duty, pending an investigation into their use of force. In addition, the use of K9s to engage with suspects has been completely suspended until  SLC Mayor Erin Mendenhall (@slcmayor) August 12, 2020

In an interview with the lawyers of Ryans on Wednesday, they stated that the victim was getting ready for work when the officers arrived in the home of his wife. One of the officers who arrived then asked him how they can get inside the yard. That was when Pearce walked to the other side and told Ryans to get on the ground or get bitten by the dog.

Based on the video, Ryans immediately followed the instructions of the officer, kneeled, and put his hands up. After which, Pearce can be heard saying the words "hit" and "good boy" as the dog bites Ryans who continued to shout in pain.

Read also: New York Teen Stabbed, Set on Fire Inside Apartment, Suspect Still At-Large

According to Detective Greg Wilking, spokesperson for the department, during the day of the incident, the police received a report of domestic violence in the home. But he refused to give details of the incident due to the pending lawsuit. However, based on the body-camera footage, the officers who responded to the house can be heard telling the victim that he has violated a protective order, that is why he couldn't be in the house.

On the other hand, Ryans lawyers said that they have no idea who called in the alleged domestic violence report, adding that there were no allegations that any violence happened. They stated that the couple just had a common marital disagreement, then the wife of Ryans went to bed.

Wilking also added that Ryans was arrested that night for charges that were still pending, and was suspected to have violated a protective order.

The lawyers of Ryans also said that he was laid off from his job after the incident due to the injuries that he sustained. Ryans needed multiple surgeries which left him buried in tens of thousands of dollars od debt.

They also said that the officials involved have been given 60 days to respond to the claim of notice, adding that if they were willing to take responsibility and accountability to the damages suffered by Ryans, the lawsuit will cease to exist.

According to The Salt Lake Tribune, Salt Lake PD declined requests to interview Pearce.



Related article: Dog Finds Missing Baby and Mother on His First Day on the Police Force

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Federal agents fired tear gas and shoved protestors to the ground in Bend, Oregon, where a demonstration erupted on Wednesday night after local activists attempted to block a bus from taking people into ICE custody.

Two Mexican immigrants identified as longtime members of the Bend community were detained by immigration officials and put on an unmarked bus before the protest began, according to reports.

A woman who attempted to block the vehicle from taking the men was joined by hundreds of residents throughout the day, essentially forming a human chain around the bus within a hotel parking lot.

Police officers arrived on the scene but were not taking part in the ICE operations, with Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz saying in a statement: We are on scene to allow free speech and a peaceful area to assemble and to provide life safety support. We are not there in an assisting role with ICE.

After nightfall, a group of 50 additional federal agents descended on the protest. The agents violently clashed with activists, forcing people out of their way and firing tear gas without warning, according to the Washington Post.

Family members of the detained immigrants who had gathered outside of the bus along with activists were shoved to the ground, including a young girl, the newspaper reported.

After dispersing the crowd, agents stormed the bus and took the men out of the vehicle. They were moved into another unmarked van nearby, which drove off shortly after.

Families of the detained immigrants released a statement through a local advocate after the protest, which said in part: We are simply trying to provide for our families, but because of the colour of our skin and our country of origin, that is not what has happened here today.

ICE alleged the two men had a history of criminal violent behaviour in a statement on Wednesday, despite reports indicating neither immigrant was presented with a warrant before they were detained. Both men had been living in the area for nearly 15 years, according to the Post.

While ICE respects the right of people to voice their opinion peacefully, that does not include illegally interfering with federal law enforcement duties, Ken Cuccinelli, acting deputy secretary of Homeland Security, said in a statement.

Federal agents have been dispersed to several cities across the country facing major protests under President Donald Trump, with violent clashes occurring between officers and activists in Portland in recent weeks. The Bend police department said in a statement on Wednesday that it was not made aware of detailed plans from ICE or other federal agencies conducting operations in the city this week.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A homeless man who was already arrested twice this summer in unsettling encounters with strangers has been charged with randomly shoving an 8-year-old girl to the pavement in New Dorp, police said.

Vondell Cox, 20, was charged around 12 p.m. Thursday in connection with the Monday afternoon attack on the girl, according to a statement from the NYPD.

He is facing endangering the welfare of a child, assault and harassment charges, police said.

Cox was spotted in Tottenville Thursday morning and was taken into custody, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.

The arrest comes less than 12 hours after cops released a surveillance image of a man sought for questioning in connection with the incident. The photo came from a deli in the vicinity of the attack.

The New York Police Department released the image of a man wanted in connection with the assault of a 8-year-old girl in New Dorp Monday. (NYPD)

Police responded near Edison Street and Bryant Avenue at around 1:40 p.m. Monday after a man allegedly pushed the 8-year-old to the ground, causing minor lacerations to her knees, according to an NYPD statement.

The child, who police previously said was with her 41-year-old mother at the time of the incident, refused medical attention at the scene, police said.

The individual fled the scene in an unknown direction, according to the police statement.

A witness said the girl was bleeding and in tears, at which point the mother yelled something at their alleged attacker, the Advance/SILive.com previously reported.

(The girl) was crying, and said, this man was chasing us, and he pushed me for no reason, I dont know why he did it, the witness said.

It was not yet clear if Cox had retained a lawyer as of Thursday afternoon.

2 PRIOR ARRESTS THIS SUMMER

Cox was arrested on July 3 after he allegedly followed a 36-year-old man in the rear of the Eltingville Transit Center at 90 Wainwright Ave. and rubbed his body against him, the Advance/SILive.com previously reported.

Cox put his hands down the front and back of the victims pants, touching the mans genitals, according to the criminal complaint and police.

Cox was apprehended within minutes, several blocks away in the 500 block of Drumgoole Road West and charged with misdemeanor forcible touching and sexual abuse, according to police.

He was issued a temporary order of protection and released on his own recognizance, according to public records.

Cox was also arrested in connection with a separate incident on June 15 at about 10:55 a.m. where he allegedly used a rear, sliding door in the kitchen to enter a home in the vicinity of Lucille Avenue and Bloomingdale Road in Rossville. A 48-year-old woman told police that she was clearing out her garage and when she re-entered her home, she saw the suspect standing at the staircase.

Cox allegedly said, move, move, and then left the home, according to police and the complaint.

No items were reported stolen in the Rossville incident, according to police.

Thats me, I was looking for food, the criminal complaint quoted Cox as saying to police after he was shown surveillance images of the alleged home intrusion.

Cox was charged with misdemeanor criminal trespass and trespass in the incident in Rossville, according to the criminal complaint.

He was released on his own recognizance in that case as well.
Russian Interior Ministry proposes punishment for repeated online drug propaganda

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

16:13 13/08/2020

MOSCOW, August 13 (RAPSI)  The Interior Ministry of Russia has drafted a bill imposing criminal punishment for repeated propagation of drugs and psychoactive substances on the Internet, according to the Federal website of draft laws and regulations.

The document also fixes definition of the term of propaganda of drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors, drug-containing crops and their parts.

The bills authors state that the initiative has been drafted to prevent mass distribution of information explaining how to illegally buy drugs and forming positive attitude to the drug use.




Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 23:51:05|Editor: huaxia

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ACCRA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua)-- The southern Chinese city of Guangzhou has donated a batch of medical supplies to Ghana's capital Accra to support its battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, said a release by the Chinese embassy in Ghana on Thursday.

The medical supplies, which include 16,000 disposable masks and 100 infrared thermometers, were handed over to Mayor of Accra Mohammed Adjei Sowah on Wednesday, the release said.

Zhu Jing, charge d'affaires of the Chinese embassy in Ghana, said the Guangzhou municipal government has always valued the safety and health of all African people in China, including Ghanaians, and the donation was a demonstration of its hope that Ghana could win the battle against the pandemic as soon as possible.

"China and Ghana have supported each other since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, during which the mutual friendship has been reinforced," said Zhu, adding that China will continue to enhance mutual cooperation to support Ghana's COVID-19 fight and economic recovery.

Expressing his gratitude to the Guangzhou municipal government, the mayor said that the donation was the embodiment of the friendship between the two cities, and the local government would make good use of the supplies to intensify the fight against the virus.

"We are looking forward to carrying out more cooperation with China," he added. Enditem
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Linkedin Eisya A. Eloksari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 13, 2020 13:21 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066dbaeb3 1 Business fishery-products,Aruna,startup,funding,COVID-19,marine Free

Aquaculture startup Aruna has announced it had closed a US$5.5 million deal in the latest funding round with its current investors, on the back of the company's astronomical surge in revenue in the first half of the year

Aruna raised the funds from top Indonesian venture capital firms AC Ventures, East Ventures and SMDV, the venture capital arm of the Sinar Mas Group.

The fishery startup plans to use the fresh capital injection to expand its community of fishers to help improve productivity, product quality and standards. The aquaculture platform currently works with thousands of fishers in 31 coastal areas across Indonesia.

Aruna also intends to use the capital to scale up its domestic business-to-business (B2B) market as well as its export market to East Asia, Southeast Asia, Middle East and North America.

E-commerce helps create fairness and transparency in the fishing industry, as well as a more efficient supply chain. [In] reaching more coastal areas across Indonesia, Aruna is supporting economic equality in Indonesia, Aruna CEO and cofounder Farid Naufal Aslam said in a statement on Wednesday.

Farid stated that the companys revenue in the first half of 2020 grew 86 times compared to the same period in 2019, on the back of strong global demand for fresh seafood products despite the pandemic.

This is a company that has been positively impacted by the [health] crisis and we are excited to double down on them, said East Ventures cofounder and managing partner Willson Cuaca.

Aruna also launched a home delivery service for seafood products called Seafood by Aruna to capitalize on the rising demand for food deliveries during the health crisis.. The service is currently available in Greater Jakarta, Bandung in West Java and Balikpapan in East Kalimantan.

Meanwhile, Aruna is seeking new partnerships with resellers after launching its official stores on online marketplaces Tokopedia, Shopee, Bukalapak and GrabMart, as well as online grocery stores Sayurbox, Nalayan and Delisari.

Another Indonesian aquaculture startup, eFishery, recently announced it had closed its series B funding round led by Go-Ventures, the venture capital arm of Gojek, and the Northstar Group. The company reported that it had quadrupled growth and profitability in the last two years.
Photo: The Canadian Press

McDonald's Canada says it will return to sourcing only Canadian beef in September after having to import beef temporarily due to COVID-19.

The fast-food chain said in late April it would import beef from pre-approved suppliers and facilities outside the country due to limited processing capacity at Canadian suppliers.

The news came after an outbreak forced the temporary shutdown of a Cargill processing plant near High River, Alta.

McDonald's says more than 80 per cent of its beef supply continued to come from Canadian sources on average during this time.

McDonald's Canada started using only Canadian beef in 2003.

It primarily comes from ranches and farms in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
British PM Boris Johnson has insisted there will be a bridge between Northern Ireland and Britain. Photo: Matthew Horwood/PA Wire

Taoiseach Micheal Martin will meet British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Northern Ireland today for the first time.

The two leaders will meet in Hillsborough Castle in Co Down to discuss the Covid-19 pandemic, Brexit and other issues.

Mr Martin and Mr Johnson have spoken by phone since the Fianna Fail leader was elected Taoiseach but this will be first time they meet face to face.

The meeting was originally planned for last Tuesday but was rescheduled due to the death of former SDLP leader John Hume.

The meeting comes as the EU and UK remain at loggerheads over striking a new trade deal ahead of the Brexit deadline on December 31. There are ongoing issues between negotiators over fishing rights and standards applied to goods traded between the regions.

Ireland and Northern Ireland are also seeking to align their responses to the coronavirus, which will be discussed between the Taoiseach and the prime minister.

Last week, Mr Martin suggested Britan may become less committed to Northern Ireland and said his Shared Ireland Unit in the Department of the Taoiseach was planning for this possibility.

However, the UK government's Northern Ireland Office insisted Britain remains fully committed to Northern Ireland. DUP leader Arlene Foster described Mr Martin's comment as "disappointing".

In a statement ahead of his visit, Mr Johnson said he will establish a centenary forum and centenary historical advisory panel to work alongside the Northern Assembly to mark 100 years since the creation of Northern Ireland.

"As the country begins to get back on its feet in the wake of coronavirus, we cannot simply strive to rebuild, but we must commit to building back stronger than ever," Mr Johnson

"I cannot overstate how important the close co-operation that we have seen between central and devolved government will continue to be to this. Together, we will make sure Northern Ireland is ready to take full advantage of the many opportunities that lie ahead and that no part of Northern Ireland is left behind.

"As we mark 100 years since the creation of Northern Ireland, it is important that we celebrate its people, culture and traditions, along with its vital contribution to the United Kingdom," he added. In a statement last night, the Government said that today's meeting will be an opportunity for discussion of a number of issues of mutual concern.

Covid-19 will top the agenda and the two leaders are expected to discuss their respective experiences of managing the virus and dealing with its economic and societal impact.

They will also discuss Brexit, including the continuing negotiations between the UK and the EU, with less than six months to the end of the transition period.

Northern Ireland and bilateral relations between Dublin and London will also be discussed.
Egyptian officials have sought to reassure Turkey after Cairo signed a partial maritime delimitation deal with Greece, saying they had respected Ankara's national security concerns while preparing the agreement, a senior Turkish official said, Middle East Eye reports in its article Wary Egypt attempts to reassure Turkey over maritime deal with Greece. The official, who spoke to journalists on Tuesday on condition of anonymity, said the government had been pleased by Egypt's message. Further talks on the subject depend on the political developments in each country, the official said.

Diplomatic relations between Ankara and Cairo broke down following the overthrow of Egypts first democratically-elected president, Mohamed Morsi, in 2013. Earlier this week, Turkey sent a research vessel and several warships to an area which was part of the recent Athens-Cairo deal. The move came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last week that Ankara would restart its energy drilling operations in the Mediterranean, as Greece had violated a German-mediated diplomatic dialogue by suddenly signing a deal to thwart a similar maritime agreement signed by Turkey and Libya last year.

There are signs that Turkey is not immediately concerned by the content of the agreement signed on Thursday between Greece and Egypt, as it reflects Egyptian goodwill towards Turkey's continental shelf. Over the weekend, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that the deal had actually validated Turkey's maritime thesis since it did not grant complete maritime jurisdiction to the Greek Islands, something that Athens has pushed for decades. The agreement signed between Greece and Egypt is based on a partial delimitation, as Meis Island (Kastellorizo in Greek) and part of the coast of Rhodes have not been included," Serkan Demirtas, a columnist with the Hurriyet Daily News, wrote. "It is believed that Egypt has refused [to buckle] under Greek pressure on Kastelorizo, in a bid to avoid a confrontation with Turkey.

'Null and void'

The latest apparent flirtation between Ankara and Cairo is not new. Cavusoglu said last month that Turkey held talks on the maritime dispute in the Eastern Mediterranean with the Egyptian charge daffaires in Ankara. Turkey and the UN-recognised Libyan government signed a memorandum of understanding in November to delimit maritime zones in the Eastern Mediterranean in an attempt to block further Greek and Cypriot energy drilling activities in the area.

Egypt called the deal at the time "illegal and not binding or affecting the interests and the rights of any third parties". Cavusoglu said Turkeys maritime delimitation deal with Libya would earn Egypt 50,000 square km in the Mediterranean. Egypt's charge daffaires in Ankara is an expert on this issue since he was also involved in negotiations with Greece for [a rival deal], he said at the time. We have informed them and exchanged views on the issue. I can say that we all agree that our deal extends Egypts exclusive economic zone.

Cagatay Erciyes, a director general responsible for maritime affairs at Turkey's foreign ministry, told Middle East Eye on Wednesday that the Egyptian-Greek deal remains null and void for Turkey. Greece, through this deal, violates our and Libya's continental shelf. Egypt also violates Libyas continental shelf, he said.

Talks sought

Turkish officials accuse the Greek government of not honouring its promise to discuss the issue on a bilateral level, even though, in a goodwill gesture, Ankara suspended its drilling work west of Cyprus for a month in order to allow time for diplomatic negotiations. After the consultations, Greek and Turkish foreign ministers were in agreement to issue a joint declaration," Erdogans chief foreign policy adviser, Ibrahim Kalin, said on Sunday night. "However, a day before the release of the joint text, Greece announced that it had signed a deal with Egypt.

Erdogan is expected to hold a telephone call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the subject to determine his next steps. "We would like to resolve the problem with Greece through negotiations," the Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said on Wednesday.
CHICAGO  Two words summed up Tamani Jayasinghes exuberance for the first Indian American and Black woman to run for vice president: Kamala Aunty.

That title of respect that goes beyond family in Asian circles immediately came to mind when Joe Biden announced Kamala Harris as his running mate. So the 27-year-old with Sri Lankan roots tweeted it as a wink to others who understood the significance of the term.

The fact that she is both Black and brown is what makes this so exciting. The Asian American experience is one that is complicated and nuanced and robust, said Jayasinghe, who works in financial communications in New York. I feel connected to that.

Harris, the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, often focuses on her identity as a Black woman. At times during her political career, as she ran for California attorney general and senator, some didnt realize she was of Indian descent. In her first remarks as Bidens running mate on Wednesday, she spoke of her mothers roots but described herself as the first Black woman to be nominated for the vice presidency on a major party ticket.

Still, the possibility she would be the U.S. vice president, which has already triggered sexist and racist commentary, created instantaneous glee among South Asians worldwide and put the spotlight on her as the first person of Asian descent on a major party presidential ticket.

Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group of eligible voters. More than 11 million Asian Americans will be able to vote in November, according to a May report by the Pew Research Center.

The choice  Biden and Harris made their debut Wednesday  inspired social media musings of celebrating the Hindu festival Diwali at the White House and drawing room talks about the U.S. senators mothers journey from Chennai to California. Indian government officials of all parties noted the choice as historic, while actress Mindy Kaling  she once made masala dosa with Harris  deemed it thrilling. A top headline in The Times of India, one of the worlds most widely read English-language newspapers, read, A daughter of Chennai, Kamala blooms in US.

She is one of us, said Aleyamma Keny, a retired nurse in suburban Chicago.

The 74-year-old woman, who immigrated from southern India to the U.S. in the 1970s, said Harris joining the ticket felt like a family member had accomplished something. Like many others, Keny saw her own immigration story in the candidates mother.

Harris has called her late mother, Shyamala Gopalan, her biggest influence and frequently invoked stories about the cancer researcher and civil rights activist who died in 2009. Gopalan first came to America in 1958. She attended the University of California at Berkeley, where she met and married Jamaican immigrant Donald Harris and had Kamala and her sister before the couple divorced.

Gopalan took the sisters to India to visit relatives and gave both, Kamala Devi Harris and Maya Lakshmi Harris, names rooted in Indian culture. (Kamala means lotus, Devi means goddess. Lakshmi is the Hindu goddess of wealth.)

Harris mother came to the U.S. at a time when Indians were scarce and raised her biracial daughters with the understanding that the larger American society would see them as Black. She took them to civil rights protests, and wanted them to become confident, proud Black women, Harris wrote in her 2019 book, The Truths We Hold: An American Journey.

A graduate of Howard University, Harris has made clear that she is both confident and proud of her Black identity. In a March 2019 radio interview, she answered a question about her identity by saying: Im Black, and Im proud of being Black. I was born Black. I will die Black, and Im not going to make excuses for anybody because they dont understand.

She did take steps during her presidential campaign, before she dropped out in December, to talk about her Indian heritage. Without much fanfare, she released a video via social media featuring photos of her Indian grandfather and talked of her visits as a child to see him.

In her speech Wednesday, Harris noted her parents heritages but ended with saying Biden is the only person whos served alongside the first Black president and has chosen the first Black woman as his running mate.

President Donald Trump struggled Wednesday to define her candidacy, repeatedly calling her nasty. Shes already been the subject of the false notion that shes ineligible to run because her parents were not born in America.

Harris was elected to the Senate in 2016, the same year three other Indian Americans won their first House terms including Pramila Jayapal of Washington. The first Indian American congresswoman, she said Asians also celebrated Harris as a Black woman.

It isnt just that we want her to be an Asian American sister for us. She really is representative, this biracial piece is representative of the experiences that so many immigrant communities have had, learning from the leadership of Black communities, she said. So we want her to claim all of us and we will all claim her.

Madhuri Patel, who immigrated from Gujrat, India, at the age of 6 and grew up in predominantly white Iowa, said Harris multi-layered identity would make her a more effective leader. She hoped Harris could unify the country.

For me, its always been really important that you have someone who understands the experience of being marginalized within our communities, said the 45-year-old Chicago attorney.

Zafar Bokhari, a Chicago State University professor who immigrated from Pakistan in the 1980s, said Harris was a role model for his children.

Despite skepticism about her foreign policy if elected, he said seeing a woman from the Indian subcontinent as a possible vice president was inspiring.

This is quite an achievement and I really admire the way she has presented herself, he said. She has earned this position and I respect that.

____

Associated Press writers Deepti Hajela in New York and Padmananda Rama in Washington contributed to this report.
With the announcement of 16 new positive tests Wednesday, Manitoba continued a four-day run of new highs for its number of active COVID-19 cases.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/8/2020 (524 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With the announcement of 16 new positive tests Wednesday, Manitoba continued a four-day run of new highs for its number of active COVID-19 cases.

After spiking at 163 on April 4, the province logged a steady decline and plateau through mid-July. The climb began again July 19-20, and has now reached 202 active cases, health officials said.

After watching the number of new cases rise in the Southern and Prairie Mountain health regions this month, while Winnipeg recorded few, the tables turned Wednesday.

Of the 16 new cases, only four are part of the Brandon cluster of cases in the Prairie Mountain health region, one is in the Interlake-Eastern region, and one is in Southern Health. Ten were reported in the Winnipeg region.

The majority of the Winnipeg cases are related to travel and close contacts, according to preliminary investigations by public health.

In an advisory, officials warned of potential exposure to COVID-19 on flights on Aug. 3-4:

 Air India Flight AI 121 to Frankfurt, Germany, from New Delhi on Aug. 3. Affected rows include Nos. 30 to 36;

 Air Canada Flight 873 to Toronto from Frankfurt on Aug. 4. Affected rows include Nos. 32 to 38;

 Air Canada Flight 271 to Winnipeg from Toronto on Aug. 4. Affected rows include Nos. 19 to 25.

All passengers on international flights  and anyone returning to Manitoba from points east of Terrace Bay, Ont.  should be self-isolating for 14 days and getting tested if symptoms develop, officials said.

Jen Zoratti | Next A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

The majority of Prairie Mountain coronavirus cases reported Wednesday are linked to previously announced cases in Brandon, health officials said. They would not specify how many of the four cases are in Brandon or if they're workers at the city's Maple Leaf Foods plant, which public health officials have identified only as "a Brandon business."

In a news release, they repeated a familiar line: "Case investigations are ongoing; when they are completed, additional information will be provided as needed to inform of any public health risks."

Ontario-based Maple Leaf, which has been providing updates on the number of infected workers, did not respond Wednesday when asked if any of the new cases are employees at the Brandon plant.

The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate dropped to 1.06 per cent from 1.27 per cent Tuesday. The total number of lab-confirmed positive and probable positive cases in Manitoba is 578, with 368 who've recovered and eight who have died.

An additional 1,554 laboratory tests were completed Tuesday, bringing the total number of tests completed since early February to 105,661.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
The most significant aspect of AMPs results in the longer term may not be its numbers, which were as poor as was expected, but the effective admission of the groups cultural deficiencies.

After its recent controversies  the promotion of an executive, penalised $500,000 after settling a sexual harassment claim, to head its most valuable business and then the unexplained abrupt departure of the head of its Australian wealth management business amid allegations of inappropriate photos - it would appear AMP has a problem with women, or at least the appearance of a problem.

The challenge facing Francesco De Ferrari and his board, however, goes beyond what may or may not be isolated instances of unacceptable behaviour. The general sense from the rumblings within the group is that there is a deeper gender-related problem within the business with a relatively poor representation of women within its leadership, and it relates to the broader and deep-seated culture of the institution.

New CEO Francesco De Ferrari needs to shake up AMP's culture to protect its stability, and arrest its value decline. Credit:Peter Braig

The issues highlighted by the financial services royal commission  fees for no service, inappropriate advice, charging dead people life insurance premiums, less than forthright communications with its regulator among them  signal broader and more embedded challenges than just the gender issues highlighted more recently.
An eagle-eyed fan has noticed a blunder in the beloved 1993 movie Jurassic Park, 27 years after the films release.

The error comes in the famous scene when velociraptors hunt down Lex (Ariana Richards) and Tim (Joseph Mazzello) in one of the parks kitchens.

Posting on the MovieDetails Reddit sub-forum, the viewer wrote: In Jurassic Park, there is a scene where the raptor opens the door to the kitchen and you can spot an operator grab the raptors tail.

An operators hand can be seen holding the dinosaurs tail in this Jurassic Park scene (Universal Pictures)

In the film, the dinosaurs were created through a mixture of CGI and puppetry. Just as the Reddit user described, it is indeed possible to glimpse an operators hand just as the shot is panning away from the raptor.

While other Reddit users expressed surprise at the discovery, errors like this are common in films. IMDb has identified 341 goofs in Jurassic Park, many of which are to do with continuity.

Certain errors in major films have become infamous over the years, such as the appearance of a white van during a battle scene in Braveheart, or the presence of bullet holes in a scene in Pulp Fiction before guns have been fired.

In another Jurassic Park scene, the untrustworthy Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight) is seen talking to someone by video link, but viewers are able to clearly discern that he is simply watching a pre-recorded video.

The lead stars of Jurassic Park  Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern  are set to reprise their roles in the upcoming Jurassic World: Dominion, which recently resumed filming, having been suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Long before the coronavirus hit the United States, cash-strapped public higher education systems looked to private donors to offset the steady decline in public funding, sometimes with significant secrecy and strings attached.

Critics fear the economic downturn could give donors more leverage to quietly influence curriculum, hiring and scholarships. Open government laws in many states already allow donors to demand that the public  including students and faculty  be kept in the dark.

The pandemic has presented universities a triple whammy: Reduced tax revenues slashing government support, online-only courses gutting dormitory and cafeteria revenues, and  with more students and families out of work  less ability to offset that loss with tuition increases.

They are going to be desperate for funding, said Douglas Beets, who teaches accounting at Wake Forest University, and has studied nearly two decades of university donations and donor demands.

Linda Durant, vice president of development for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), said she has seen some encouraging signs that those donating to public universities now are simply being generous during trying times.

In May, the University of Virginia reported a $2 million unrestricted gift to help ease fallout from the pandemic. It was part of a larger gift by alumnus and businessman John L. Nau III, who gave $27.5 million specifically to support the universitys Democracy Initiative.

We are not seeing the same type of restrictions or requests that make the funds much tougher to use, Durant said. They understand the magnitude of the needs of students and the variety of needs.

But, with funding shortages likely to intensify in the coming months, Beets said vigilance is crucial. Donors, he said, may feel emboldened.

There will be cables attached to it. You have to play our game, put together a center and institute and hire the people we want you to hire,  he said. You are ending up with a curriculum and faculty that has a debt to a corporation. What kind of education will you end up with?

Story continues

In one touchstone case, BB&T Corporation, a major banking company, began donating a series of gifts in 2002 through its foundation to at least 60 universities, many of them public. Details were scant, but Beets found the gifts averaged $1.1 million to teach a course based on objectivism and the morality of capitalism. Ayn Rands Atlas Shrugged was among the required texts.

Ayn Rands Atlas Shrugged was among the required texts for a course funded by a major banking company, which donated to at least 60 universities, many of them public. The course was to be based on objectivism and the morality of capitalism.

At Florida State, a promise of a gift of at least $1.5 million from the Charles Koch Foundation to the economics department included establishment of a Koch-appointed board to scrutinize research funding, the hiring of five professors and review professors work to ensure it followed the boards objectives and purposes  or risk losing the money.

Since the controversy, which erupted after the 2008 agreement was revealed in 2011, the Florida Legislature has made it easier, not harder, to conceal donor agreements by exempting university foundations  often the conduit for gifts  from open government laws. The Legislature renewed that law last year.

Universities that lunge at money now could find themselves struggling later.

Donors such as the Charles Koch Foundation often make gifts over a period of years, many with the understanding that they can withdraw the remainder of the donation with as little as two weeks notice if the university has not complied with terms.

If faculty hired with such donations are tenured, a withdrawal would leave the university on the hook to pay their salaries.

Especially after hiring tenure-track or tenured professors and creating the infrastructure and publicity related to a new center or institute, an unanticipated contract severance would be very expensive and embarrassing to a university, Beets wrote in an examination of Charles Koch Foundation contracts with several universities.

A growing pattern of secrecy

Efforts to shield donors from public scrutiny have increased in recent years as public funding for universities became less reliable. About a dozen states have taken steps to change that but so far they are the exception.

Secrecy about donors to public higher education is legal in a majority of states through loopholes in state open government laws that allow open government laws to be circumvented by private foundations, booster clubs and other nonprofits affiliated with public universities.

These organizations, usually set up as private nonprofits, are designed to collect and distribute money for the public universities. While funds often are designated for specific programs, the foundations also raise money for general scholarships and other needs for low- and moderate-income students.

The secrecy issue doesnt arise as often at private universities because they are exempt from state open government laws and dont have to reveal information about their donors.

Recently, MacKenzie Scott, an author and the former wife of Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, signed the Giving Pledge to donate the bulk of her fortune. Six historically Black universities received major gifts. The universities  all private  voluntarily announced the donations, confirming they have flexibility in how they will use the funds.

Fundraisers tend to make an equity argument, saying that if information becomes public, that can push donors to private institutions where they and their intentions can remain anonymous.

In an amicus brief in a recent lawsuit involving George Mason Universitys foundation, a group of university foundations said anything that threatens donor confidentiality will ultimately disadvantage Virginias public colleges and universities in the competition for dollars.

There is no detailed national accounting of university donations, and many donors have made their gifts contingent on keeping their names, and their demands, secret.

As details of some have leaked out, through lawsuits, records requests and other means, campus controversy has followed. Critics ask whether public universities are straying from their fundamental mission: providing high level, low-cost education to a broad swath of the public, while remaining free from political interference and maintaining academic independence.

A recent anonymous gift to the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill sparked concerns among some faculty. Professor Jay Smith sought documents about who was providing seed money for an academic program to promote civic virtue, since named the Program for Public Discourse.

Smiths requests were rejected after the university said it did not have the documents and referred him to its foundation. The foundation said it was not required under state open records laws to provide them.

The university did provide emails between faculty members and outside faculty involved in the project. In one, acting program director Chris Clemens revealed that the anonymous donor was the Dowd Foundation, which according to its tax filings is headed by a UNC alumnus and based in Charlotte. The foundation, begun by the family that founded Charlotte Pipe and Foundry, has supported arts programs in North Carolina, among other causes.

Smith and another professor, Karen M. Booth, co-authored an opinion piece in The Charlotte Observer, objecting to the program and secrecy  writing that the records they received prove that the purpose of the program was to counter liberal voices on the campus with a conservative center.

UNC faculty do not need external faculty or BOG (Board of Governors) and BOT (Board of Trustees) members telling us what to teach or how to shape our campus culture, Smith and Booth wrote last September.

Gift giving also has opened up the potential for conflicts of interest. In 2004, news reports said that 14 companies that had contracts with the University of Georgia System donated $114,000 to the University System of Georgia Foundation to supplement the chancellors salary for three years.

In that same time period, the companies did $29.3 million in business with the regents, who govern the system. Separately, board members of the university foundation received over $30 million in university contracts.

Foundation records, released only after the state attorney general ruled that they were not exempt from disclosure, showed that the regents and foundation trustees  and companies with which they were affiliated  also donated to the foundation, according to the news reports. At the time of the revelations, university and foundation officials said there had been no wrongdoing.

Similarly, in 2015, an investigation by the Chicago Tribune unearthed several irregularities, including that foundation board members of the College of DuPage had received $200 million in contracts from the public college.

Secretive donations with strings from private donors to public universities and university entities have drawn criticism at other universities, including Clemson in South Carolina, University of Louisville, Utah State and West Virginia University.

In Indiana, publicly funded Purdue University acquired for-profit Kaplan University, formerly owned by Graham Holdings  formerly The Washington Post Co.  successfully sought an exemption from public records laws and public meetings law for what is now known as Purdue University Global.

University President and former Gov. Mitch Daniels proclaimed the new entity a public university when the deal was done. However, the head of an advocacy group for transparency in Indiana said that the exemptions from public scrutiny, quietly tucked into a state budget bill, made that characterization meaningless.

Controversies arise about donations

Which is the foundation and which is the university? Its often difficult to see any difference on the surface. They share a name and often staff, too, and may even be housed on campus. They typically coordinate and collaborate closely.

The difference between the two, in the eyes of the law, is key to understanding who must disclose what.

In most states, foundations are exempt from disclosing details about gifts and the foundations inner workings, salaries and policies, even though they manage fundraising and other projects for the university. They are considered a private entity that itself does not receive public dollars.

By contrast, publicly funded universities are required to disclose a substantial amount of information under most state public records and public meetings laws.

George Mason University has the George Mason University Foundation. The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh has the UWO-Fond du Lac Foundation, the website of which makes it seem that it is part of the university itself. Ditto for Florida State University and its foundation.

Not only are many of these entities housed on campus but their staff often includes employees who hold publicly funded positions on the universitys payroll.

Although there is no official census, at least three-quarters of the 1,626 publicly funded colleges and universities in the United States have some type of tax-exempt entity connected to them, according to several estimates from the higher ed community.

Many public institutions also have established nonprofits to collect and administer funds for university-affiliated think tanks, athletic departments, campus housing and food services.

Nearly 15 years ago, the Journal of Law and Education  a joint publication of law schools at the University of Louisville and the University of South Carolina, published an analysis warning that foundations should be closely watched by taxpayers and administrators.

Incident after incident on campus after campus demonstrate that university foundations can fail miserably in monitoring themselves, wrote Scott Reinardy and Charles Davis.

Reinardy and Davis both now are college administrators at journalism schools  Reinardy at the University of Kansas, and Davis at the University of Georgia. They declined to comment on the current state of affairs with donations and secrecy, saying they had not kept track of the issue.

Law professor Martha McCluskey has seen the issue close up at the University of Buffalo, where the university foundations spending practices have been questioned by the New York state auditor.

The auditor questioned nearly $40,000 in entertainment expenses, the lack of policies to ensure competitive bidding on contracts, and a decision to pay salaries to two retired university staff members while they were receiving state pensions, a move that allowed the employees to circumvent state limits on double dipping.

For education and research and science to have any value it has to be governed by academic merit, McCluskey said, independent of who is buying and selling in the market.

Some donor deals are known, despite secrecy

While many donors have succeeded in keeping their requests secret, in some instances pressure from the university community has unearthed documents that expose the depth of donor demands, and the willingness of public universities to go along with them.

That was the case at George Mason University in Northern Virginia where student activists and worried faculty managed in 2018 to pry loose documents that showed George Mason had accepted a variety of donations that made specific demands on curriculum and hiring.

The situation was opaque: Money from the Charles Koch Foundation had been donated via the George Mason Foundation and then funneled to The Mercatus Center, a Koch-backed free economy think tank on the Northern Virginia campus. It influenced who taught economics and which students got scholarships.

Controversy also arose over a $20 million donation from an anonymous donor, and $10 million from the Charles Koch Foundation that included renaming the law school for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, a conservative appointed by President Ronald Reagan.

Among the strings: donors would be notified of a change in deanship and could play a role in picking a new dean. The Scalia heirs also could give notice if they did not like the direction of the law school, and withdraw the use of Justice Scalias name.

The resulting outcry led then-president Angel Cabrera  now president of Georgia Tech  to say the university needed to rethink how it would handle future donor agreements.

The Charles Koch Foundation said in 2018 that in the future it would make public all major, multiyear donor agreements with universities but did not offer to do the same for those already in existence. The foundation now posts grant agreements on its website, including some multiyear gifts from 2016.

The controversy reached the Virginia Supreme Court, which in December 2019 ruled that George Masons foundation could keep its donation details private.

That outcome troubled Virginia state Rep. David Bulova, a Democrat. He won passage of a bill this year that requires Virginias public universities to make details of some large gifts public, including the donors name, if someone asks.

I was painfully aware of what happened with GMU and the revelation that they had in the past taken some donations with strings attached that were not necessarily appropriate, Bulova said.

New policies emerge in Virginia

In Virginia, under Bulovas bill, which became law in July, public colleges and universities are required to establish policies for accepting major gifts with demands. Those documents also now will be held by the university itself, making them subject to the states public records laws.

The donors identity cannot be kept secret if the donations impose terms or conditions that direct academic decision making.

Exactly what would qualify remains to be defined in more detail, said Terri Cofer Beirne, president of GMUs Foundation. But, she said, the law signals to donors that they need to be aware that, if strings are attached, they and their gifts could be subject to more public scrutiny.

Another bill that also became law this year, sponsored by state Rep. Jason Miyares, R-Virginia Beach, requires foundations of public institutions to publish annual reports about their finances and donations, and how those donations are used.

Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, called the two measures a positive step towards greater transparency.

We are not talking about run-of-the-mill donations, she noted, only those that are trying to steer the direction of the university.

Virginia remains an anomaly. In the majority of states some details can be gleaned through the IRSs Form 990, a publicly available annual statement that most nonprofits must file with the federal tax agency.

That information lags behind the donations by at least a year, usually well after the donations have been put to use.

At George Mason University, IRS 990 forms allowed emeritus professor Jim Finkelstein to dig deeply into the 2016 donation of $13.4 million from the Charles Koch Foundation to the George Mason University Foundation, four years before the transparency legislation that became law in Virginia this year.

In turn, the data on the 990 forms show that the university foundation gave $24 million to The Mercatus Center there, a nonprofit think tank that promotes the libertarian economic philosophy espoused by the Koch family.

Finkelsteins analysis found that the bulk of the centers $29 million reported income in 2016 came from the university foundation. The foundation, by contrast, provided about $6 million to the university itself for student scholarships, and another $23 million for operations and salaries, the data show.

Many of the details of those transactions remain hidden and are not affected by the new Virginia laws, which took effect on July 1. The Mercatus Center is not a formal part of the university  although on its website it notes its 40 years at Mason.

The center is a separately incorporated organization, not subject to scrutiny under Virginias public records laws. Its executive director is appointed by the university, however, and its website outlines a close relationship between the two.

As part of Virginias largest university, the Mercatus Center supports students in George Mason Universitys world-renowned department of economics, the website says.

Going forward, donations made to the center would not have to be made public but donations it makes to the university, depending on their impact on academic programs, could be.

Devi Shastri of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this report. This project was supported by the Fund for Investigative Journalism.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID has colleges desperate for donations as fall semester 2020 looms
Nivin Pauly, the crowd-puller is on a high with the rave reviews he received for the performance in Moothon. The actor successfully reinvented himself and broke the 'boy next door image' with the movie, which earned him several awards and accolades. Now, Nivin Pauly is planning to experiment with different types of roles.

In the recent interview given to a leading daily, the charming actor revealed that he would like to experiment with different types of roles. Nivin Pauly believes that the longevity of his acting career mainly depends on the versatility of the roles he plays. It is the major reason why the actor is signing projects that belong to different genres lately.

Interestingly, Nivin Pauly also revealed that he still becomes nervous while taking up a different character. He also added that it takes him a little time to get into the characters, and even when it comes to bonding with the new teams. According to Nivin, he feels that he could have done better while looking back to the characters he played in a decade-long acting career.

Nivin Pauly is all set to resume the shooting of Padavettu, the action thriller directed by Liju Krishna once the lockdown ends. The much-awaited project will mark the production debut of the popular actor Sunny Wayne. He has some promising projects in the pipeline including the romantic comedy Bismi Special and action thriller Gangs Of Mundanmala.

The crowd-puller will be next seen on the silver screen in Thuramukham, the upcoming Rajeev Ravi directorial. The movie, which is said to be a period thriller, revolves around the famous protests against the Chappa system that existed in the coastal areas of Cochin during the 1950s. Nivin Pauly's unique look from the movie had taken social media by storm recently.

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Children made up a very small proportion--just 1%--of all confirmed COVID-19 cases in England during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, despite the large numbers of them tested, reveals a study based on national monitoring data, and published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

The findings confirm that, unlike adults, children aren't an important source of COVID-19 infection, say the researchers.

Children account for only a small proportion of confirmed cases of COVID-19. But it's not clear if this is due to low levels of testing or higher than expected death rates.

To compare disease trends in adults and children during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in England between January and May 2020, the researchers reviewed COVID-19 test result data for this period.

The data included NHS and Public Health England (PHE) test results plus those carried out by family doctors at 300 general practices contributing to the Royal College of General Practitioners monitoring system for flu-like illness.

Between 16 January and 3 May, a total of 540,305 people, including 35,200 children under the age of 16, were tested for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 infection.

Around one in four (24%) of all those tested (129,704 out of 540,305) had the virus. Children accounted for 1408 of those 129,704 positive results, equal to 1% of the total and 4% of the 35,200 tests carried out on them. This compares with around 19%-35% of adults.

The first confirmed cases of the infection in children were reported on 29 February and these continued to increase before peaking on 11 April, echoing the trends seen in adults.

On average, children were nearly 6 years old when they tested positive for the virus, and just over half (53%; 742) the cases were among boys. The highest number of tests and positive results were among infants, particularly those under 3 months, and among 1 year olds.

In general practice, SARS-CoV-2 positivity was low even in children with acute respiratory infections, the data show.

In all, 2,961 people with respiratory illnesses were tested for SARS-CoV-2 and only 10 children (2.8%) were positive, compared to 9% of 15-44 year olds; 18.5% of 45-64 year olds; 20.5% of 65-79 year olds; and 45.5% of those aged 80 and above.

The total number of deaths among children between January and May in England wasn't higher than expected compared to the same time period in the previous four years. This contrasts sharply with the estimated 56,456 excess deaths occurring among adults in England between March and May.

In all, 8 of the 1,408 children who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 died, but only four died of COVID-19; they were aged between 10 and 15, and three had several co-existing conditions. The others died of other causes, with SARS-CoV-2 confirmed as an incidental or contributory factor.

The case fatality rate for children with COVID-19 in England was estimated to be less than 1 in 200 (0.5%).

The figures are in line with those reported for children in other countries, say the researchers, who write: "The experience in England adds to the growing body of evidence on the limited role of children in the COVID-19 pandemic, with just over 1% of confirmed cases occurring in children.

"With nearly half a million SARS-CoV-2 tests performed during the first 4 months of 2020, the positivity rate among 35, 200 children tested was only 4.0% compared with 19.1%-34.9% in adults and older adults."

In additional comments not found in the text of the paper, lead author Dr Shamez Ladhani says: "It is still not clear why young children have such a low risk of infection compared to older children or adults. One theory is that, compared to adults, children have fewer ACE2 receptors which the virus can bind to in cells that line the respiratory tract.

"The way the immune system reacts to the virus is also likely to be different in children compared to adults."

He adds: "Whilst these numbers are reassuring for children, they include a long period of complete lock down where children were less likely to have been exposed to the virus."

And he cautions: "We need to remain vigilant as the lock down eases and children have increased contact with other children and adults in the coming weeks. In particular, we need more information about asymptomatic infections and silent transmission."

###

Peer reviewed? Yes

Evidence type: Observational; surveillance data

Subjects: Children
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 16:07:22|Editor: huaxia

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A cargo train with 45 compartments of anti-epidemic supplies left Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, and headed for Italy's Milan Wednesday. The shipment includes 368,300 masks and 94.9 tonnes of melt-blown non-woven fabric, an essential material for manufacturing medical masks. The China-Europe freight train service has played a crucial role in helping stabilize the international logistics supply chain, especially in transporting epidemic prevention supplies since the outbreak of COVID-19. By the end of July, anti-epidemic supplies amounting to 4.97 million items and weighing 39,000 tonnes were transported through the freight trains.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 13)  Two Immigration officials may face criminal charges for tampering with travel records of an executive of embattled German firm Wirecard.

The National Bureau of Investigation bared Thursday its recommendation to charge Immigration Officers Perry Michael Pancho and Marcus Nicodemus for falsifying the travel documents of Jan Marsalek, former chief operating officer of Wirecard.

READ: Immigration officers reassigned over false entries that Wirecards ex-COO entered PH in June

Marsalek, who is being pursued by German authorities for reported fraud which sent the e-payments firm into insolvency, had travel records showing he entered Manila on June 23 and left the next day via Cebu.

NBI personnel mounted an investigation and saw that Marsalek's travel records showed an arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport encoded by another immigration officer named Darren Ilagan, but was cancelled by a staff member. The database also showed that Pancho encoded that Marsalek left the Mactan Cebu International Airport the following day.

"The entries on the BI records for June 23 and 24, 2020, both spurious, appear to be mere diversionary in order to divert the attention of the authorities in Europe to focus its attention in the Philippines and not in their jurisdiction," the NBI said in a statement.

The investigators concluded it was not possible for Marsalek to enter the country at the height of inbound travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Marsalek's passport details were also not included in the record, breaking away from protocol. To add, Ilagan was not on duty at that time and should have not been manning immigration booths when the foreigner supposedly entered the country.

Authorities also flagged the records purportedly showing Marsalek left via Cebu on June 24, as there were no outbound flights at the time and Pancho was also not supposed to be on duty when the input was made into the system. To add, there was an unknown passport page scanned carrying the stamp of the Bureau of Quarantine.

Meanwhile, Nicodemus is involved in the issue as supervisor for the day, who was supposed to be aware if passengers with derogatory records are entering or leaving the country.

READ: Several persons of interest linked to Wirecard probed for money laundering  AMLC

Investigators want Nicodemus and Pancho to be charged by the Department of Justice for falsification of public documents and violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

The NBI said only Ilagan showed up when invited for questioning and that he revealed Nicodemus ordered the derogatory record check on Marsalek. This is done when a person is about to enter or leave the country. He then realized that he might have been made to do a personal favor, the report said.

Official records showed that Marsalek last set foot in Manila on March 3 and left two days later  months before the controversy erupted.

RELATED: DOJ confirms death of exec tagged in Wirecard mess

Filipino lawyers, as well as lenders BDO Unibank and the Bank of the Philippine Islands, have been tagged in the $2.1-billion controversy. Wirecard earlier claimed that the money was held in trust by the two local lenders, but even the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said such funds never entered the country.

The company later said the funds may not have existed in the first place.
Workers were informed of the decision on Thursday afternoon, as reported in The Irish Times.

The department stores, which are both owned by the Selfridges Group, employ of 1,000 people, not including concessions.

Brown Thomas has six stores, located in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick, while Arnotts has one store on Henry Street in Dublin city centre.

The company hopes that a number of the redundancies will be made on a voluntary basis, with the consultation process beginning immediately.

Managing director of Brown Thomas Arnotts, Donald McDonald said the decision was needed to ensure the survival of the business.

The retail industry is being severely impacted by unprecedented circumstances related to Covid-19 and Brown Thomas Arnotts is no exception. Like many others, we are feeling the effects with sales expected to be significantly down, making 2020 the toughest year we have experienced in recent times.

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And as we face continued uncertainty, with retail unlikely to return to normal for the foreseeable future, it is clear that we need to take a series of steps to ensure our cost base is sustainable, consistent with the level of business we realistically expect, and to ensure our resources are aligned with the current and anticipated requirements of the business.
The Paramount Chief of the Sefwi- Anhwiaso Traditional Area, Ogyeahoho Yaw Gyebi II, has urged contractors working on the Ghana National Petroleum Commission (GNPC) Foundation projects, to desist from doing shoddy works.

He said the projects were special and important and must, therefore, stand the test of time for generations unborn to see.

The Paramount Chief also charged stakeholders and consultants to effectively monitor the projects and ensure that they were completed on schedule.

Ogyeahoho Gyebi II, who is also the President of the Western Regional House of Chiefs and a board member of GNPC made the call when together with the Executive Director of GNPC Foundation, Dr Dominic Eduah and the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai, Mr Alfred Amoah inspected the progress of work on some projects being funded by the Foundation in the Municipality.

Some of the projects inspected include the ongoing mechanized borehole at Pataboso, 12- seater pour-flush toilet at Sefwi Tanoso, construction of a two-story building for Bibiani Nursing Training School

College at Bibiani Kwamekrom, 20-seater toilet facility at Bibiani Market, and an ultra-modern Science Laboratory and Six unit classroom block at Bibiani Senior Technical School (BSTS).

The rest are a six-unit classroom block at Queen's Senior High School at Sefwi Anhwaiso and a 20-seater toilet facility at Sefwi Anhwiaso.

Dr Eduah expressed satisfaction of work done so far and indicated that the core mandate of the Foundation was to impact on the lives of the ordinary Ghanaians through community and social intervention programmes.

He explained that the objective behind the visit was to inspect the various projects in the Municipality to ascertain their current stages and find out challenges facing the contractors.

"The tour forms part of GNPC Foundation periodic move to have a first-hand information and also to access the performance of the contractors on our projects sites" he added.

The MCE said many of the projects were at the completion stages, some at roofing level, others were almost ready for commissioning and handing over to the various communities for use.,

Mr Amoah particularly mentioned the 20-seater pour-flush toilet at Bibiani Market, an ultra-modern Science Laboratory at Bibiani Senior Technical School (BSTS) and Six unit classroom block at Queen' Senior High School which would soon be commissioned.

He commended President Nana Akufo-Addo, Ogyeahoho Yaw Gyebi II, and the Executive Director, Dr Eduah for the numerous development projects in the Municipality.

Mr Amoah was grateful to have benefited from the numerous projects from the Foundation and assured the team of regular monitoring to ensure Quality work.

GNA
Taiwan Accuses Former Political Aides of Leaking Sensitive Information to China

TAIPEI, TaiwanLocal authorities announced two criminal cases involving Taiwanese citizens who allegedly tried to provide the Chinese regime with Taiwan governments sensitive information.

The Taipei prosecutors office charged three former aides to local lawmakers for violating the islands national security law on Aug. 13, according to Taiwans government-run Central News Agency (CNA).

They were indicted for developing a spy network in Taiwan between 2012 and 2016, during which they allegedly accepted money from China and passed on government information.

The three former aidesChen Wei-jen, Lee Yi-hsien, and Lin Yun-tawere taken into custody in June on suspicion of being Chinese spies. On Thursday, Lin was released after posting NT$100,000 (about $3,400) bail, while Chen and Lee were not granted bail. They are being held incommunicado.

According to prosecutors, Chen and Lin traveled to Macau in 2012 and were recruited by a Chinese official who went by the name Huang Guanlong, a Chinese intelligence officer at Chinas chief intelligence agency, Ministry of State Security.

Upon their return to Taiwan, Chen and Lin successfully recruited Lee and together, they began developing the spy network in Taiwan.

Prosecutors found that in 2015, Huang instructed Chen to recruit employees of the local Kuomintang (KMT) political party in order to obtain secret information. A KMT aide surnamed Chan was recruited and he ended up supplying documents on the partys internal meetings on cross-strait relations.

In 2016, Huang ordered Chen and his group to target individuals who could supply information about Taiwans National Police Agency. Lin then attempted to recruit a magazine reporter, hoping the reporter could provide police internal documents on local activities organized by groups considered anti-Chinese Communist Party (CCP). These activities included those held by local adherents of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice also known as Falun Dafa, according to prosecutors.

Since 1999, the Chinese regime has heavily suppressed Falun Gong adherents, who are often rounded up, detained, and tortured. In Taiwan, local practitioners regularly hold events to raise awareness about the persecution in mainland China.

According to CNA, the magazine reporter was never successfully recruited and he did not travel to China to meet with Huang.

In 2017, Huang instructed Chen to recruit individuals in order to supply China information on Taiwans border entry and exit data, as well as the islands national health insurance program.

In response, Chen and Lee attempted to recruit a tech expert surnamed Huang (not related to the Chinese intelligence officer), asking the expert to hack into the insurance program database in exchange for money. Chen and Lee specifically wanted Huang to obtain the medical records of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, who is of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). According to the CNA report, Huang turned down the offer.

In 2018, Chen and Lee attempted to recruit a police officer surnamed Peng, who was also a bodyguard for Ker Chien-ming, a DPP lawmaker. Chen and Lee wanted Peng to go into Kers office and steal DDP internal documents regarding presidential elections. According to the CNA report, Peng did not agree to their offer.

According to local newspaper Liberty Times, prosecutors also found that the three defendants went to great lengths to become acquainted with executives and reporters working for pro-Beijing media in Taiwan, as well as public servants who lean pro-Beijing. The three took them out for food in exchange for sensitive information, while hinting that they could be offered free trips to China or job stipends.

The second criminal case involved a Taiwanese army intelligence officer, surnamed You with the military rank of lieutenant colonel, who illegally used a cellphone to videotape a Taiwan military exercise in July, according to a CNA report.

You then sent the cellphone to a friend in Kinmen, one of Taiwans outlying islands near China, in an attempt to sell what he had videotaped to China. The cellphone was intercepted by Taiwanese officials before it could be sold and You was subsequently arrested on July 20.

You is currently being held at a prison in Kinmen while waiting to be prosecuted.

Taiwans Ministry of National Defense, in a press release about Yous case, said that it will continue to tighten its control on sensitive information and personnel assessment to safeguard Taiwans national security, in the face of infiltration threats posed by the CCP.
'It's a matter of great pride that no student of Army Goodwill Schools has ever joined terrorism.'

Photograph: Umar Ganie for Rediff.com IMAGE: An Indian Army soldier keeps a vigil during a search operation at Ranbirgarh Lawapora in Srinagar, July 25, 2020.

Lieutenant General B S Raju, AVSM, YSM was commissioned into 11 JAT on December 15, 1984.

An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, the general attended the NDC course at the Royal College of Defence Studies, UK, and the Master's programme in counter terrorism, at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, USA.

General Raju commanded a rifle company on Soltoro Ridge with 11 JAT. He commanded 15 JAT during Operation Parakaram in the semi desert sector and later at Tut Mari Gali, in Jammu and Kashmir. He commanded the Uri Brigade on the Line of Control and was later the General Officer Commanding of CI Force Victor in south Kashmir.

The general presently commands the Chinar Corps in Kashmir.

"No terror organisation in Kashmir survives without approval and material support of the establishment in Pakistan," General Raju tells Senior Rediff.com Contributor Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd) in the concluding segment of a two part interview.

It is said that militants as on date are facing a severe logistics crunch in terms of logistics, training and weapons from across. How has this been achieved?

How do you tackle the sleeper cells and the disturbance of peace within the population which comes out in large numbers when a militant is killed or arrested by our forces?

The fact remains no terror organisation in Kashmir survives without approval and material support of the establishment in Pakistan.

This support is in terms of training, finance and equipment.

We are working to choke the flow of funds and weapons by effective border surveillance and monitoring of hawala networks.

Drug money is known to fund the terror activities right from Afghanistan to Pakistan to J&K.

Serious efforts by the intelligence agencies and police have led to major recoveries and disruption of this channel of funding.

There have been major weapon and drugs recoveries close to the Line of Control including those after killing of infiltrating terrorists.

Another aspect of terror is the Over Ground Workers (OGW) network, the network that sustains and controls the terrorists.

We are committed towards the identification and neutralising of this network.

The principal strategy of Pakistan handlers and the proxies has been to instigate violence and engineer protests that can lead to deaths of civilians.

These deaths are considered as steps to fuel more violence.

Pakistan has been using a variety of means to instigate violent protests including stone pelting.

This kind of activity is conducted by using money and a network of radicalised Over Ground Workers.

Good policing action to identify the instigators and booking them by the police has helped curb this trend.

We must compliment the police and CRPF who have shown extremely good crowd control drills and restraint in last one year.

Alongside the Awaam, it is to their credit that the stone pelting is close to zero and this restraint has avoided any civilian casualty in such incidents in the last one year.

The support of the Awaam, who have understood the double face of Pakistan and its proxies, has helped maintain peace.

Civil society is actively contributing to control these violent activities that have hampered growth of J&K for the last three decades.

Photograph: Umar Ganie for Rediff.com IMAGE: Indian Army soldiers conduct a search operation during an encounter at Ranbirgarh Lawapora in Srinagar, July 25, 2020.

Have the operations become more ruthless and lethal to send a strong message to the militant community at large?

There has been no distinct change in our method of conduct of operations.

There is no need to be ruthless.

Yes, we are lethal in conduct of intelligence-based precision operations.

Despite the lethal capability and intent our focus remains on good tactical drills and efforts to give a chance to the terrorists to surrender and conduct operations in a manner to minimise collateral damage.

Our role as security forces is to ensure a secure environment where the administration and the civil society can function without fear of the gun.

We are working on that singular aim.

Recent cases of targeting of political workers are an indicator for us that more needs to be done to remove the threat of use of gun culture by the terrorists.

It has to be understood that even smaller number of terrorists with a basic weapon like a pistol can undermine the political and developmental activity.

We as security forces have our intent to target terrorism in J&K; this includes both the terrorists and those who create a conducive environment for the terrorists -- the OGWs.

The good synergy between various security agencies, intelligence agencies and civil administration is a good enabler of effective counter terrorism operations.

It is a whole of government approach that is working towards this end.

The local recruits have to be sent across for training. How do you control this exfiltration?

The security forces comprising the army, J&K police, CRPF, BSF and other agencies have been working in tandem to maintain a robust Counter Terrorist and Counter Infiltration Grid.

Exfiltration through the LoC for training in Pakistan has virtually stopped.

The people moving across are doing so on the pretext of education and other alibis to get visas, which are facilitated by the Pakistan government.

We are working on all angles to deny space for Pakistan to train and infiltrate radicalised Kashmiri youth.

Poor training has definitely affected the capability of the local terrorists to target the security forces.

Maybe that's why they have shifted to softer targets including targeting unarmed civilians.

Good ground intelligence due to support of the Awaam has enabled frequent successful contacts with terrorists leading to encounters.

In addition, we keep updating our drills and use of technology to beat any fresh tactics used by the adversary.

The challenge always remains to conduct operations with maximum restraint and concurrently avoiding casualties to our own troops.

We all know house intervention is one of the most risky tactical drills.

We are increasingly using technology both in personal gear and weaponry to improve effectiveness, while concurrently minimising own casualties.

Your views on the grant of domicile status to 'outsiders'. Has it or will it lead to a demographic shift and how will it help in stabilising/worsening the situation in the valley?

In my opinion to even think of a demographic shift taking place would be playing into Pakistan's narrative.

The details on the dynamics and impact of this policy is best answered by the political leadership and civil administration.

The political interference has been least in the past one year or so. In your opinion, has it helped your cause in keeping peace in the valley?

What you call political interference I may choose to call political oversight.

It is still there by the office of the LG.

I understand this is lesser than the earlier dispensation, but this puts additional responsibility on us to hold ourselves to higher standards of ethical conduct and professional effectiveness.

The complete synergy amongst the security forces and civil administration with support from the Awaam has been the backbone of anti-terror ops and handling the general security situation.

It's a systemic effort and we have not faced any problems in this regard.

This syncretic efforts of all stakeholders has been vital in eliminating the top terrorists, who have lost their cause and ideology and in frustration, are involved in brutal killing of innocent Kashmiris.

IMAGE: An Indian Army soldier standing guard in the Kashmir Valley. Photograph: Kind courtesy Chinar Corps

Winning Hearts and Minds (WHAM) has had limited success over the years. What new measures have been adopted under your command to make it a more successful programme?

Let me differentiate between WHAM and the Sadbhavana programme.

WHAM is a method of conduct during operations which is ethical and humane.

The Indian Army has the most restrained protocols of conduct of counter insurgency operations to minimise risks and harassment to the civilian population.

In comparison, Pakistan and many other countries are known to be using heavier calibre guns and even air in counter insurgency operations. Sadbhavana forms a sub part of WHAM.

Sadbhavana initiatives were started to address areas of immediate concern of the civil population, especially in far-flung areas where the reach of the administration was low due to the fear of the gun, inaccessibility and inhospitable terrain.

It has done well to meet that mandate.

Our outreach programmes through Sadbhavana initiatives have over the years contributed immensely in supporting and aiding the Awaam in all their endeavours.

This assumes greater importance in the light of the fact that the army has presence in remote far flung areas and border regions which are inaccessible and many are cut off for months.

Sadbhavana initiatives provide critical succour and support in these areas.

Continuous engagement with the populace to mitigate their hardships including daily interactions with cross sections of society, medical camps, sporting events, skill development programmes, running of Army Goodwill Schools and encouraging other schools as well, are functioning effectively.

The Indian Army provides quality education to approx 10,500 plus students through 28 Army Goodwill Schools in the Kashmir valley.

The initiatives of Super-50 (Engineering) and Super-30 (Medical) and capacity building tours to other states, have been very effective and have achieved good results.

The effort has to continue to continuously innovate and upgrade.

One of our key focus areas are the youth, women empowerment and people from underprivileged sections of Kashmiri society.

It's a matter of great pride that as per our records no student of Army Goodwill Schools has ever joined terrorism.

It proves that good parenting and quality education make better citizens.

That said, I agree there is always more to do and improve efficiencies.

We continue to innovate and upgrade our efforts.

This year, providing aid and assistance to safeguard and help the populace against COVID 19 challenge is part of the initiatives.

It all is a work in progress.

IMAGE: Lieutenant General B S Raju, General Officer Commanding, Chinar Corps, left, along with officers at the Line of Control. Photograph: Kind courtesy Chinar Corps

Some stories of harassment and torture have been written about in the media in recent times. This brings unnecessary negative publicity to our men in uniform. How have you handled this issue?

Unfounded human rights violations are a reality we security forces live with in any counter terrorism operation.

Last August to October we saw a few media articles alleging human rights violations.

It has been nearly a year since then; the allegations have died down because there was no substance or evidence of a human rights violation.

We have had a few cases of civilian deaths in terrorist fire when they attacked the security forces in crowded townships. In all cases, there was an effort to paint the sad losses as a security force excess.

Investigation in all cases has confirmed good conduct of security forces despite being under fire.

We are committed to ethical and humane conduct of operations.

We accept the need for a civil oversight on our actions, but it has to be distinguished from separatist or Pakistani propaganda.

For Pakistani propaganda every terrorist killed in J&K is a civilian killed by Indian security forces.

We expect the media to nail such lies.

The army has a very strict moral and ethical code, and every soldier is duty bound to it.

The soldier is trained for ethical conduct.

I would like to clarify that all such complaints lodged are thoroughly investigated and all those found guilty have been awarded punishments as applicable.

The challenge for the security forces is to reduce inconvenience to the population while ensuring that terror does not get any space to affect lives of the common man.

IMAGE: A swab sample being taken from a child for COVID-19 testing in J&K. Photograph: ANI Photo

How has the ongoing pandemic impacted the security work that is being done by our troops? Has there been any involvement of our troops to help the government machinery in fighting it in the valley?

COVID is a global challenge and we understand its severity.

As part of the country's response for COVID-19, the army has implemented a host of measures and initiatives to combat the spread of COVID-19 in Kashmir.

We have to work on force preservation and also help the Awaam in combating this threat.

This is especially true in far flung areas where public health facilities are limited.

We are ensuring that our borders are safe while the country is fighting COVID-19.

All precautions as per the guidelines issued are being followed in letter and spirit by our headquarters and units.

Necessary adjustments have been made in our method of conduct of operations in order to maintain combat readiness and effectiveness.

Along the Line of Control, all the locations are isolated and to maintain social distancing and isolations norms.

Suitable mechanisms have been instituted for rotation of manpower and induction of those returning from leave.

Our system of quarantine and testing is also well in place to obviate any chance of the disease spreading to our troops.

The army has been constantly updating the public with all relevant information during this pandemic through various platforms.

In order to provide immediate relief to those seeking advice or assistance, COVID-19 and telemedicine helplines have been made operational across the Kashmir Valley.

Other awareness generation measures include disseminating advisories and other important safety guidelines through Khairiyat patrols, checkposts, posters, leaflets and loudspeakers.

Moulvis and Imams throughout the valley have also come forth to issue announcements through masjids and urge people to follow precautionary measures.

Through our own troops conducting Khairiyat potrols throughout Kashmir, the army has been able to reach out to the population in every part of the valley.

The Awaam has been provided doorstep assistance in terms of rations, surgical masks, sanitisers and other relief material as needed.

All humanitarian assistance activities are being conducted with strict social distancing and other precautionary measures being adhered to.

The joint efforts of all stakeholders in the national fight against coronavirus disease will ensure that the Awaam of Kashmir remains safe and healthy.

From being a 'Humsaya' to becoming a 'Muhafiz', the army is constantly working alongside the civil administration to bring succour to the lives of the population of Kashmir.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
Lawmakers at the state Capitol are considering a last-minute imposition of a new tax on the wealthy to try to plug a huge budget shortfall. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

Trying to plug the enormous budget gap caused by the pandemic, some unions and their Democratic allies in the state Legislature recently proposed a hefty new tax on people with incomes over $1 million. The idea hasn't exactly caught fire in Sacramento, however, so several of the bill's backers offered a new option Thursday: taxing large accumulations of wealth.

The state already taxes at least two types of assets, property and vehicles (including boats). The new bill aims at everything else, and by everything, I mean that literally. The bill would apply a 0.4% tax to "all worldwide property," excluding real estate owned directly, exempting the first $30 million (or $15 million for married taxpayers filing separately). And in addition to listing specific asset types that would be taxed, adds the category "other assets."

I recognize that some of my colleagues here salivate at the idea of shaking down rich folks. I mean, none of us writers are that loaded, so why not? And a broad tax on assets, which a few other countries impose, could conceivably be a useful tool in a progressive tax system that seeks to narrow income inequality.

But my fellow editorial board members balked at the other last-minute effort to raise taxes on the rich, noting that "theres simply not enough time to properly vet such a major tax change before the pandemic-shortened legislative session ends on Aug. 31." (See? We have met a tax increase we didn't like.) And that criticism goes double for the wealth-tax proposal.

For starters, the bill would not only tax whole classes of things that had previously gone untaxed, it would dun nonresidents who are outside the reach of the state's income and business taxes. That's because the tax would also be imposed on former residents who left within the past decade, presumably to catch those who fled the state's income tax rates, which already are the highest in the country.

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It also would apply the highest wealth-tax rate to anyone who'd spent a decade or more in California, a bizarre choice that would only increase the incentive for longtime residents to move out.

Then there are questions about how to value assets that aren't on the market, such as a business you own that isn't listed on the stock market. The bill calls on the Franchise Tax Board to come up with a way to value non-publicly-traded assets, yet the tax would go into effect immediately.

Nor is it at all clear how the state would enforce against the many, many ways that wealthy people would find to avoid the tax. The shifting of assets to global tax havens is an enormous problem for governments around the world, but it requires a concerted international effort to solve it. Meanwhile, the simplest way to avoid the new California tax would be to leave the state and then challenge California's authority to tax nonresidents for assets moved elsewhere.

Perhaps more important, lawmakers are being asked to enact a major new tax without considering how it will interact with the other taxes on the books. Here's just one question they'd need to study: By forcing people to sell assets potentially at a loss in order to pay their tax bills, will the measure cut into the capital gains revenue upon which California is inordinately dependent?

The point is, developing good tax policy requires more than just deciding which trees to shake. It's looking at the whole forest of intertwined limbs, and figuring out how a measure aimed at one stand of trees will affect the others. It's about balancing different types of taxes  those on income, consumption and wealth  to create the best incentives and place the lightest drag on the economy.

No question, the pandemic is causing real problems for California, despite the state's painstaking efforts over the last decade to build up reserves and limit new commitments. But with the clock ticking down in this year's session, it makes no sense for lawmakers to try to solve those problems by enacting a wholly new type of permanent tax with no study and no clue as to its potential unintended consequences.
State health officials are urging Nebraskans to stay on top of immunizations.

Officials are encouraging families to get children caught up on immunizations, and all Nebraskans to get the flu vaccine when it becomes available this fall.

Our medical community will continue to be challenged in the coming year. Making sure childhood immunizations are up to date and getting the flu vaccine are two additional ways Nebraskans can help ensure they stay well, protect their families and reduce the potential burden on health care providers in the midst of the pandemic. Its essential preventative care, Dr. Gary Anthone, chief medical officer and director of public health for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement.

Some immunizations may have been postponed at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, but they play an essential role in protecting infants and children from serious diseases, officials with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement.

Parents should still schedule well-child visits with the doctor and make sure children and youths are up to date on immunizations.
China is expected to play the role of a "locomotive" for powering global recovery in the post-pandemic era, a Swiss economist has said.

"The Chinese market has become an important growth driver because of its size and its continuing expansion," Rudolf Minsch, chief economist at Swiss national business federation Economiesuisse, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Moreover, it is "absolutely crucial that China is opposing any tendency to reverse globalization," Minsch said, adding China has been keeping up the effort to "establish a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment."

"The most important part of Chinese economic policy today, in my view, is the commitment of the government to widening the door to the world, despite the difficulty arising from the coronavirus crisis," Minsch said.

"Open markets are key to the long-term growth of China and are so to the rest of the world," he added.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Switzerland and China. Since 2010, China has been Switzerland's biggest trading partner in Asia and its third largest globally after the European Union and the United States. A free trade agreement between the two countries was signed in 2013 and entered into force on July 1, 2014.

"There are so many Swiss companies in China, collaborating with Chinese firms as customers, as suppliers or as research and development partners," Minsch noted.

While those companies face "tough competition" in the Chinese market, they also have huge opportunities "to benefit from the very efficient and speedy way of Chinese enterprises to develop new products and services," he said.

"In most cases, the products and services of the two countries are complementary. In parallel with the higher income of the Chinese population, the demand for Swiss products and services will rise," he added.
REGRETS ONLY Among this summers many cancellations: wedding drama of the kind that leads you to gossip with cousins over mini quiche and lukewarm champagne. The British author Lucy Foley appears to have scratched our itch for matrimonial distraction; her runaway best seller, The Guest List, is now in its 10th week on the hardcover fiction list, currently at No. 5. This murder mystery revolves around a wedding, which may be the key to its popularity with the socially distanced set. Foley says: Maybe people are reading it and thinking, Things could be worse. I could be stuck in the middle of nowhere with this lot.

As our reviewer put it, Is it really a good idea to have a wedding on a possibly haunted island full of ancient bodies buried in the peat, especially with a major storm brewing?

Foley originally intended to have the festivities and misfortunes take place on a Greek island. I always like to set books in places Id like to travel to, she says. I did do a research trip to a Greek island and that was quite nice, but it just wasnt gelling. Foley found herself in Ireland, exploring Inishbofin, a rocky island off the coast of Connemara, where half of her family is from. It was love (and inspiration) at first sight: I stood there, looking out at the Atlantic, feeling this constant wind buffeting me, and thought, This is my island. Its very beautiful on one hand  you can imagine it being a place where people would want to have a wedding  but on the other, it can be a hostile environment and work against the characters, which it does. Foley took pictures and videos to help herself remember the white sand, the turquoise water and the choppy surf that almost made her drop her phone over the side of a boat.

Despite her enthusiasm for big weddings  I love going to them: knees up on the dance floor, everyone staggering home at the end of the night  Foley and her husband tied the knot in front of only 16 guests in London. My mum, bless her, I felt like I let her down. So in a sense, this book was like, Look Mum, this is what could happen at a big wedding, Foley says. The ones Ive been to have been wonderful  very loving and special occasions  but it did get me thinking, you have all these interesting groups of people rubbing up against each other: family, old friends, new friends, work friends. In The Guest List, she shows readers what can go wrong when worlds collide in a distant and hard-to-escape place.
If enterprises want to join the global supply chain, dont think local, said Nguyen Anh Tuan from Samsung Vietnam.

Tuan, at a recent conference on supporting Vietnams enterprises developing sustainable value chains, spoke about Samsungs component vendors.





A lot of Vietnams companies said to us: As long as you commit to buy our products, we will borrow money to make investments with advanced technologies to make the products that meet the standards set by Samsung, Tuan said.



However, we are living in a flat world with fair competition. There is no discriminatory treatment between South Korean or Japanese and Vietnamese enterprises, he said.



The competitiveness of enterprises and products, according to Tuan, are reflected in the production costs of small devices.

Samsungs mobile phones and phone parts are getting more sophisticated and smaller, which change every six months. It is a challenge for Vietnamese enterprises to renovate production lines and technologies, which requires huge capital.

If Vietnamese vendors can provide products with quality, meeting requirements, and at stable reasonable prices, there wont be a reason for Samsung to refuse to buy products from them, he said.

According to Tuan, there are many challenges that Vietnamese enterprises encounter in trying to become Samsungs vendors.



Samsungs mobile phones and phone parts are getting more sophisticated and smaller, which change every six months. It is a challenge for Vietnamese enterprises to renovate production lines and technologies, which requires huge capital.



If Vietnamese enterprises have huge capital, they would rather invest in the service sector than in manufacturing.



Besides the major requirements on production and quality control, Samsung also encourages its partners to pay attention to R&D. In Vietnam, enterprises spending on R&D is very low, just 0.2-0.3 percent of their revenue.



You can sell a screw at 1 dong today, but youll need to sell it at 0.8 dong the next year, or sell a product with higher quality at the same price, he said, adding that enterprises cant do this without R&D.



Another criterion Samsung considers is the vendors compliance with laws. If enterprises are slow in paying their workers, this could be a risk: workers may go on strike which would disrupt the supply sources of Samsung, which will force Samsung to find other solutions.



Environmental protection is also one of Samsungs concerns. Any violations of environmental protection laws will affect its reputation.



The last thing many Vietnams enterprises find difficult to do is credit risk management.



Enterprises borrow too much, Tuan said. Many of them are sometimes overconfident and make overly heavy investments in production lines, and therefore, they suffer heavily as there are few orders because of Covid-19 and other reasons." Nhip Song Kinh Te

Translated by Kim Chi

Nikkei Asian Review: Samsung Electronics looks to shift production to VN Samsung Electronics will end personal computer production in China as it looks to shift production to Viet Nam to cut costs and remain competitive in the PC business, according to the Nikkei Asian Review.
The highly anticipated second season of the hit drama "Forest of Secrets" share snippets of Bae Doona and Cho Seung Woo's reunion!

The first season of "Forest of Secrets" was about a cold prosecutor named Hwang Si Mok who teams up with a kind and compassionate police officer named Han Yeo Jin. Together, they solved an ongoing mystery and uncovered the crimes and corruption done by people in power. Hwang Si Mok was portrayed by actor Cho Seung Woo, while Han Yeo Jin was portrayed by actress Bae Doona.

The long-awaited second season of the drama shows the reunion of Hwang Si Mok and Han Yeo Jin. However, both of them meet with opposing circumstances involving the police and the Prosecutor's office, filling the drama with a lot more tension compared with the first season.

On the 12th of August, tvN shared stills from the second season featuring Hwang Si Mok and Han Yeo Jin's reunion after their last meeting in season one at a pojangmacha, which is an outdoor restaurant famous in Korea.

Police officer Han Yeo Jin is now working to support the main police headquarters through administrative work. She has now been given the job to help fight their right to investigate independently from the prosecution.

Hwang Si Mok, meanwhile, has completed his two-year contract at the branch office at Tongyeong and is now ready to transfer at his new job. Suddenly, he gets a call from the Prosecutor's office before he starts working at his new office. The call was from be Han Yeo Jin after she finds out that Hwang Si Mok was in Seoul.

After the call, Hwang Si Mok and Han Yeo Jin decided to meet up at a restaurant. Hwang Si Mok unsurprisingly holds an emotionless reaction after seeing Han Yeo Jin again, while Han Yeo Jin smiles brightly as she sees Hwang Si Mok as if she is used to his detached expressions.

Hwang Si Mok and Han Yeo Jin's reunion focused on the problem of the rights of the prosecution and the police offices. An air of curiosity emerges as fans are curious about Hwang Si Mok and Han Yeo Jin's reactions. When will be they find out that one of them is an associate of the joint council of the prosecution and police?

As Hwang Si Mok meets with Han Yeo Jin in a restaurant, fans are hoping that Hwang Si Mok can finally eat his meals in peace as he is always known to answer calls every time he eats in a restaurant.

The drama production of the second season mentioned taht even when Hwang Si Mok and Han Yeo Jin haven't seen each other in two years, the pair's chemistry goes unchanged from the first season. Actor Cho Seung Woo specifically chose the stills that were shared as it is the most memorable scene in the first two episodes.

Catch the second season of "Forest of Secrets" and find out why they had to meet at a restaurant and not in their usual pojangmacha. The "Forest of Secrets 2" will air on August 15 at 9:00 PM KST.
WINSTED  Lydia Bird and Evan Blass were honored Tuesday night as the 2020 Laurel Queen and King  a conclusion to an event that traditionally would have included a parade, gala dinner party and public ceremony.

COVID-19 concerns caused the cancellation of the festivities usually held annually the first weekend in June. But this years 86th Laurel Festival highlighted the 11 contestants instead. The young men and women vying for the crowns, and the scholarships that accompany them, were celebrated during a party at the Little Red Barn Brewers on Lake Street.

The Laurel Commission, led by chairwoman Melissa Bird, decided to go forward with the crowning and ceremony to recognize the young people who participated. Bird recently said that the commission had nearly $7,000 in scholarship funding to distribute to the students.

We thought, they worked so hard for this, Melissa Bird said. We were so fortunate to have the brewers as a location, and then (Tropical Storm Isaias) hit and there was no power. Luckily it came back in time.

Deirdre Houlihan-DiCara, executive director of FISH in Torrington, a former Laurel Queen and a member of the commission, gave a short talk on the festivals history and reminded guests of the importance of staying involved in their community. Mayor Candy Perez also spoke, and told the young guests they were responsible for the future.

Participating in this has its own rewards, she said. We had no banquet or parade this year, and thats kind of sad, but you will be remembered as the most resilient, more than most, for getting through this year. Some of you will be leaders, or the scientist that comes up with a (cure), or the future president of Eversource. Youll also be part of this tradition, going forward. Enjoy tonight. ... And 20, 30 or 40 years from now, youll remember this moment.

Birds daughter Lydia and most of the other contestants  Blass, Adreona Mrowka, Madison Perry, Annalise Currier, Dylan Keith, Rebecca Dowling, Sydney Kolosky, Emilienne Bouchard, Annalee Marvin and Eleanor Oakes-Rogers  graduated from the Gilbert School in June or are beginning their senior year. Katrina Strachan graduated from Oliver Wolcott Tech in Torrington. The seniors all said they were heading to college in the fall.

The 2019 Queen and King, Angelina Delacruz and Conor Bailey, appeared Tuesday night wearing their crowns and long red capes with white fur trim. Both said they were able to attend only one public appearance  another tradition of the crown-holders  before COVID-19 hit. We did a strawberry festival, but that was it, Bailey said.

We wore our masks, of course, Delacruz added. We didnt get to do anything else.

Each student was required to find a sponsor, which would have helped pay for their participation in the parade. All the contestants were chosen for their community involvement, high academic achievements and their standing in the community. Each one wrote an essay and created a video of themselves, explaining what living in Winsted has meant to them, and the essays held a common theme  Winsted is a great town in which to live and grow up, with opportunities to grow and flourish.

I am thankful for all the opportunities that Winsted has granted me. Winsted has taught me so much about myself and that is something I will carry with me for the rest of my life, Rebecca Dowling wrote.

Runners-up in the contest were Keith, Kolosky and Strachan. All the contestants will receive a prize for participating.

To read a history of the Laurel Festival, click here.
A new study suggests maternity care professionals should be extra careful about coronavirus precautions such as protective gear because 1 in 6 get infected but don't realize it. Read more

A British study suggests that 15% of maternity health professionals  one in six  may be infected with the coronavirus without realizing it, and most of them continue to work while contagious. putting coworkers and patients at risk.

Blood samples were taken in May and June from 200 obstetricians, midwives, and anesthesiologists at two London hospital maternity units to see how many had signs of immunity to the coronavirus, though none had a previous diagnosis of COVID-19, according to the study published this week in the journal Anaesthesia.

Of the 29 who had developed antibodies signaling a past infection, a process called seroconversion, more than a third never had symptoms. The rest had mild symptoms, including temporary loss of smell  a red flag for COVID-19.

Seventeen professionals  almost 60% of those with past infections  had not stopped working because they didnt meet government criteria for self-quarantining, namely a persistent cough or fever. The United Kingdom has since added loss of smell to the criteria, but it did not recommend masks for all workers in health-care facilities until June 15.

Recommendations aside, health-care workers report being denied adequate sick leave by shorthanded hospitals and clinics, or pressured to return to work too soon. A recent Kaiser Health News story quoted a Hackensack, N.J., nurse who was cleared to return even though she was coughing, was vomiting, and had diarrhea.

Youre telling me, because I dont have a fever, that you think its safe for me to go take care of patients? the nurse told Kaiser Health News. And they told me yes.

 READ MORE: Coronavirus is changing childbirth in the Philadelphia region, including boosting scheduled inductions

The 15% seroconversion rate in the maternity professionals may sound alarmingly high  and it is when compared with the single-digit rates found in most studies of communities. But even higher prevalence has been found in other front-line health-care workers. For example, molecular and antibody testing of more than 500 workers at hospitals in Birmingham, England, revealed that 2% were infected, and a quarter had had infections that were not diagnosed.

The contrast in prevalence rates came as a surprise to the researchers who did the latest study  the largest so far of obstetric care providers  because they reasoned that maternity work might be especially hazardous. Pregnancy care cant be postponed, especially in the final months, and it requires face-to-face meetings with patients.

Obstetric care has, by necessity, continued throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the researchers wrote.

 READ MORE: Coronavirus pandemic could worsen rising rates of postpartum depression

What might explain the maternity professionals lower rate of seroconversion? It turns out that many pregnant women have asymptomatic infections, based on hospital tests done when they are admitted to deliver. Fortunately, those women rarely pass the virus to their newborns. And they may have less virus in their noses, mouths, and throats than people who get sick, based on patterns seen with seasonal flu.

It may be reasonable to extrapolate that asymptomatic individuals infected with [the coronavirus] pose a lower transmission risk to others, the researchers speculated.

Like all coronavirus studies, the new one cannot say whether antibodies convey full immunity, or for how long. But the researchers noted that because antibody tests often miss low levels of telltale proteins, the study may underestimate the prevalence of infection among maternity professionals.

The bottom line, the researchers conclude, is that personal protective gear, hand washing, and a high level of suspicion is vital in maternity settings. They also recommend regular antibody testing of staff, and immediate isolation of any staff who lose their sense of taste and smell, even in the absence of cough or fever.
The Airbus tariff jitterbug continues.

The office of U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer shifted around some of the duties charged on British and European imports in the longstanding trade spat, but kept the percentages charged at the border the same.

For instance, British-made wool and cashmere sweaters and pullovers and mens and boys suits made of wool or fine animal hair remain subject to the additional 25 percent tariff imposed in October, after the World Trade Organization approved retaliatory action given European subsidies to Airbus.

The USTR removed tariffs on some goods from Greece and the United Kingdom, but added tariffs to an equivalent amount of imports from France and Germany. Overall, the orders still cover $7.5 billion worth of imports, with 15 percent duties on aircraft and 25 percent on other goods.

The EU and member states have not taken the actions necessary to come into compliance with WTO decisions, Lighthizer said. The United States, however, is committed to obtaining a long-term resolution to this dispute. Accordingly, the United States will begin a new process with the EU in an effort to reach an agreement that will remedy the conduct that harmed the U.S. aviation industry and workers and will ensure a level playing field for U.S. companies.

The result could have been worse for British brands as the tariffs could have gone up to 100 percent.

Even though Airbus recently promised to stop accepting the subsidies in question, the tariff crossfire could continue. The EU has alleged U.S. aids Airbus competitor Boeing, and could impose its own duties on U.S.-made goods.

Fashion lobbyists in Washington have argued these tariffs are the last thing the industry needs, particularly during the stresses of the coronavirus crisis.

Beth Hughes, vice president of trade and customs policy at the American Apparel & Footwear Association, in official comments on the matter to the U.S. government, said: The apparel and footwear industry has become collateral damage in trade disputes negatively affecting the entire supply chain.This dispute has already caused a negative impact on the industry.

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Of the new cases reported, 24 were in Dublin, 24 in Kildare, eight in Limerick, six in Carlow, six in Kilkenny, five in Meath and five in Clare. The remaining 14 cases are in Cork, Donegal, Kerry, Laois, Louth, Monaghan, Offaly, Waterford and Wicklow.

Forty-three of today's cases are men and 48 are women, of whom 72% were under the age of 45. The number of cases associated with outbreaks or close contacts with a confirmed case was 43, while 12 cases have been identified as community transmission.

Today's additions bring the overall number of confirmed cases in the Republic to 26,929, while 1,774 people have died from the virus.

Today, the Oireachtas Special Committee on Covid-19 Response heard from unions, meat plant owners and state agencies about the recent increase in coronavirus cases in meat plants.

The Health and Safety Authority confirmed that in the case of 30 out of 39 inspections carried out at meat plants, the owners of the plants received prior notice, either the night before or the morning of the inspection.

Harmonious approach

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Also today, Taoiseach Micheal Martin met with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to discuss Covid-19 and Brexit.

Mr Martin said that the approach of Ireland and the UK to the virus has not been in sync but there was a mutual understanding and concern from the two countries regarding the effects of the pandemic.

PM @BorisJohnson has held his first meeting with Taoiseach @MichealMartinTD.



They discussed the close ties between our countries.

 pic.twitter.com/1gK6cEzDy3  UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) August 13, 2020

Mr Martin said it was particularly fitting the engagement was taking place so soon after the death of former SDLP leader John Hume.

We remember John at moments like this because he did so much to facilitate these kind of meetings and make them much more regular in the normal course of events, he said.
Documentation obtained by RFE/RL shows that Uzbek authorities have paid more than a half-million dollars to a U.S. public-relations firm to run a campaign aimed at lifting an international boycott against Uzbek cotton over the country's use of forced labor to harvest the crop.

The documentation includes a copy of an agreement between the Washington-based firm Xenophon Strategies and the export agency at Uzbekistan's Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade.

The agreement was signed on April 14 by the agency's director, Ulugbek Murodov, and Xenophon Strategies CEO David Fuscus.

Tashkent agreed to pay the firm $585,000 for its services, most of which has been already paid.

A global human rights coalition, the Cotton Campaign, launched a boycott campaign in 2006 to force Uzbekistan to end its long-running state-controlled practice of forced labor -- a policy that forces millions of citizens, including children, to pick cotton and meet harvest quotas.

Foreign Lobby Report, a website that exposes attempts by authoritarian states to influence public opinion, reported in early August that Uzbekistan had started a PR campaign aimed at lifting the cotton boycott.

Foreign Lobby Report says Uzbekistan is the first non-U.S. client of Xenophon Strategies.

The agreement obtained by RFE/RL calls for Xenophon Strategies to prepare and implement strategic efforts to persuade the international community that Uzbekistan has abandoned the practice of using forced labor to harvest cotton.

Lynn Schweisfurth, a specialist on corporate social responsibility at the Berlin-based Uzbek Forum for Human Rights, told RFE/RL that Xenophon Strategies was working together with a German company, Cometis, to carry out the public-opinion campaign for Tashkent.

According to Schweisfurth, the U.S. company paid $6,000 to Cometis in May for its cooperation.

When asked by RFE/RL to comment on the contract, officials at the Uzbek export agency directed all questions to the agency's representative, Murod Rahimov.

But when questioned by RFE/RL by telephone on August 12 about the $585,000 contract, Rahimov said, "it is not possible to answer these questions now," and hung up.

A day after the agreement with the U.S. firm was signed, Tashkent publicly urged the Cotton Campaign to call off its international boycott on Uzbek cotton and textiles.

In its request for an end to the boycott, the Uzbek government cited what it claims has been progress in eliminating forced labor -- as well as economic hardships stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

In response to RFE/RL's reporting about Uzbekistan's lobby effort, the Cotton Campaign said it has been working with the Uzbek government, international apparel brands, and other stakeholders to end forced labor.

"The Cotton Campaign has been working to develop an innovative approach to re-open the Uzbek cotton sector to facilitate responsible sourcing while protecting labor rights and providing brands the assurances they need," Cotton Campaign coordinator Allison Gill told RFE/RL.

"Public relations is beside the point to this work--the government has clearly demonstrated a political commitment to ending forced labor. What remains is the hard work of finishing the reform process and investing in robust, credible means to monitor supply chains, and provide workers access to grievance and remedy," she said.

Since coming to power in 2016, President Shavkat Mirziyoev has gradually introduced laws aimed at eliminating forced labor and child labor.

Mirziyoev has also banned provincial authorities from forcing students and state workers to pick cotton.

In March, Mirziyoev signed a decree abolishing the state's quota system for cotton production.

But nongovernmental organizations, including the Uzbek Forum for Human Rights, say forced labor is still rampant in the cotton sector and that some agricultural reforms closely mimic the previous system.
Donald Trump said Thursday that he fears Republicans could lose their majority in the Senate in November due to GOP senators being 'cute' in not supporting his presidency.

'We're fighting very hard in the Senate. I'll be honest, the Senate is tough,' Trump told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo, one of his biggest media supporters, during a call-in interview. 'We have a couple of people that aren't as supportive of Trump as they should be and those people are going to lose their elections.'

'If they don't support Trump, they lose their elections. It's a very simple element,' he assured.

Trump signaled Thursday morning, however, that he has more confidence in the House taking back their majority from 'stone cold crazy Nancy Pelosi.'

'The ones that don't support  and you have a few people that want to be cute, and I think they're going to lose their elections and that's a problem for the Senate,' the president told the 'Mornings with Maria' anchor, not naming any lawmakers in particular.

It's likely Trump is referencing Maine Senator Susan Collins, among others who have either issued criticism toward him or refused to voice their support or praise of the president.

President Donald Trump predicted Thursday morning that Republicans could lose the Senate in November due to lawmakers not supporting him. 'If they don't support Trump, they lose their elections,' he told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo adding: 'You have a few people that want to be cute'

Although Trump did not mention any senators by name, it's likely he could be referencing Maine's Susan Collins, who has been critical of Trump and is in a tight reelection race

The president also predicted that Republicans will take back the House in November from 'stone cold [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi.' 'We're going to take the House,' Trump said. 'You know, I don't make a statement like that very easily'

Collins has largely maintained her distance from Trump and at times had condemned his behavior and rhetoric. The four-term Republican said in 2016 that she would not vote for him also claimed earlier this presidential election cycle that she would not campaign against presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

Republican Senators Cory Gardner of Colorado, Joni Ernst of Iowa, Martha McSallly of Arizona and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, as well as Collins, are all facing tough reelection bids and are considered among the most vulnerable GOP members.

Ernst's first batch of political ads noticeably did not mention Trump  and the same goes for Republican Georgia Senator David Perdue, who is also up for reelection in a less competitive race.

The president praised pro-Trump candidate Bill Hagerty who won the Republican primary in Tennessee this month

Trump also pointed to Bill Hagerty, Trump's former U.S. ambassador to Japan who resigned to run for Senate in Tennessee.

The pro-Trump candidate won the Republican primary there this month and will face Democrat nominee Marquita Bradshaw in the November general election.

'Look at Hagerty in Tennessee. He was a Trump guy, and he just became or he will become very shortly the Senator,' Trump said with confidence. 'He won the primaries the other day.'

Tennessee has not voted in a Democrat senator since 1995 and 60.7 per cent of voters went for Trump in 2016, signaling Hagerty will likely easily win his senatorial bid.

Despite Trump's pessimism for the future of the Republican Senate, Trump predicted that the GOP will retake its majority in the House in November.

'We're going to take the House,' Trump assured Bartiromo. 'I believe we're going to take back the House because Nancy Pelosi is stone cold crazy, and I think we're going to take the House.'

'You know, I don't make a statement like that very easily, but we're going to take  otherwise, I'll look very bad  but we're going to take back the House,' he continued. 'We're going to hold the presidency, and we're fighting very hard in the Senate.'
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 17:31:23|Editor: huaxia

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NEW DELHI, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced a slew of income tax reforms in a bid to ensure transparency and accountability in tax collection system.

He launched the platform for "Transparent Taxation -- Honoring the Honest," focusing on reduction in tax rates and simplification of direct tax laws.

Claiming it to be a landmark tax reform, Modi said that it would ensure more tax collection across the country even as taxpayers will find it their duty to pay taxes on time as dedicated citizens.

Calling upon taxpayers to sincerely pay their tax dues to ensure the government's smooth functioning, Modi said there were only 15 million taxpayers in a country of 1.3 billion.

Introducing a Charter of Taxpayers, the prime minister also said that it would ensure both the rights and duties of the taxpayers.

In his live televised address, Modi said that his government's motive was to ensure ease of doing business and allay fears from the taxpayers' mind. According to him, during the past six years as the prime minister, as many as 1,500 laws have been repealed, thus ensuring minimum laws governing the country's overall system.

The virtual event was attended by various chambers of commerce, trade associations, chartered accountants' associations and taxpayers.

Modi stated that henceforth the tax system would become "faceless" when there would be no interaction between tax department officials and taxpayers belonging to the same locality.

"Scrutiny of tax returns would now be done by tax officials belonging to some other state or city. This has been introduced to avoid any kind of influence or pressure between the tax department officials and taxpayers, and also to ensure transparency in tax system," added Modi.

"Faceless assessment and Taxpayers Charter come in force from today (Thursday), whereas Faceless Appeal Service will be available from Sept. 25," he said.

He further stated that litigation on tax issues and scrutiny of tax returns had been reduced to one-fourth over the past few years, which, according to him, meant that tax-payers were believing more in the prevailing tax systems in the country.

Earlier in the day, the country's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the reform will mark an important step forward in providing a simple and transparent taxation regime in the country. Enditem
Juan Carlos I left the country on Aug. 4 and his whereabouts is unknown to us Spaniards. This strategy of keeping him out of the spotlight, after a secret negotiation between the Royal Household and the government, shows that we have learned nothing.

The former king, who abdicated in favor of his son, Felipe, in 2014, should be in the country he ruled for almost four decades while he is under investigation in Switzerland and Spain, including for receiving 100 million euros from Saudi Arabia in 2008. The royal bounty under suspicion, accumulated over decades, includes Ferrari cars, a yacht, luxury trips, land in Morocco and a London flat valued at more than 62 million euros, a gift from the sultan of Oman. It would be naive to think that such generosity didnt come at a price.

The Spanish Supreme Court is investigating whether the donation of 100 million dollars from the Saudis was a commission paid to Juan Carlos I for getting Spanish companies to build the high-speed train between Medina and Mecca at a value of 6.7 billion euros. We now know that for years the head of state led a double life as a lobbyist and that in return, his beneficiaries obtained decisive influence in Spain. How much influence? The authorities have only minimal interest in looking under that rock.

Parliament has blocked the creation of a commission that could have revealed the geopolitical implications of the former kings behavior. The citizens thus miss the opportunity to ask the past four prime ministers of Spain what they knew about the kings business dealings and their influence on Spanish foreign policy while his immunity from prosecution, which ended when he abdicated, protected him. Back in 1995, a well-known businessman, Javier de la Rosa, told the executive director of El Mundo at the time, Pedro J. Ramirez, that Kuwait paid $100 million as a reward for persuading the Spanish government to join to the coalition against Saddam Hussein during the first gulf war.

For decades, Spain has been a main supporter of Arab dictatorships that, thanks to our monarchy, have found a way to achieve international legitimacy. In November 2018, amid outrage over the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi Arabia showcased that Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who some accused of ordering the killing, still had friends: A photograph of a friendly greeting between Juan Carlos I and the crown prince appeared in Saudi news media.
Maharashtra reports more than 11,800 new Covid-19 cases

Pranab Mukherjee is slowly responding to medical treatment, says his son

US reports 56,307 new cases of Covid-19

A health worker in PPE coveralls prepares to conduct coronavirus test.

According to the ministry of health and family welfare's dashboard, India on Thursday registered its highest ever single day spike of nearly 67,000 cases which has taken the overall tally to nearly 2.4 million. 942 deaths in the last 24 hours have taken the country's death toll to over 47,000. The country's recovery rate from the infection has crossed 70%. The daily recoveries have been seeing an upward trend with the first week of July recording 15,000 recovered cases on an average which further increased to at least 50,000 in the first week of August.

Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Bihar continue to remain severely hit from the pandemic. Bihar, which is also battling floods, has logged more than 90,000 Covid-19 cases so far. At 9,180 tests per million, the state has the lowest testing rate in the country.

Click here for complete coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has also massively affected economies across the globe. Britain's economy shrank by a record 20.4% in the second quarter when lockdown restrictions were at the most stringent level and the world's sixth biggest economy has entered into recession. This is the most severe contraction reported by any major economy so far.

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Tanzanian students use the Kitkit School app via tablet PCs. / Courtesy of KOICA



By Kang Seung-woo



Amid the COVID-19 pandemic that has hit the education sector hard, Korea's overseas aid agency has stepped up efforts to minimize the fallout on developing countries, by building infrastructure and offering various programs for distance learning.



According to the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the organization, teaming up with ed-tech company Enuma, has made its game-based learning app Kitkit School free for download until the end of 2021 as the coronavirus crisis has made it even more challenging for children in need to access quality education.



Through its Creative Technology Solution program, KOICA helped Enuma develop and launch the app to support organizations and schools that are working to improve educational equality and access for learners in low-resource, hard-to-reach and developing contexts. In addition, the app won the Global Learning XPRIZE in 2019, awarded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who donated to the prize.



Mobile apps are not all the agency offers. In Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous region of Tanzania, KOICA has aired learning programs since April as the country has shut down schools and universities due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.



Due to its low internet penetration rate, the Tanzanian education authorities decided in April to air educational programs through radio and television and the Zanzibar government announced that it will use the Kwarara Media Education Center (KMEC) as an "outpost" of distance learning. The center was built in 2017 through a collaboration between Seoul Broadcasting Service (SBS), Good Neighbors International and KOICA.



KOICA started broadcasting English learning programs on ZBC and ZCTV in February after producing them with SBS, Daekyo and Good Neighbors at the KMEC and it is now producing content for school curriculums beyond English in the wake of the virus pandemic. The programs are mainly created by locals.



In 2018, Korea and Nigeria constructed Nigeria-Korea Model School in the capital city of Abuja as part of efforts to improve Nigerian children's access to quality basic education. It is equipped with a facility that can produce learning programs  one of the African nation's best educational facilities.



In response to school closures, the education office in Abuja is using the model school's studio and multimedia facility to produce learning programs that are provided to students for free.



Meanwhile, across the globe in Guatemala, KOICA's office there and the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala are jointly running free online education courses to help students continue their studies amid the pandemic. According to KOICA, the two are offering various classes to the public as well.


NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday (August 13, 2020) filed its reply in the Supreme Court and urged it to let the agency continue its investigation into Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajputs death case.

The Central probe agency also pleaded before the top court to allow the Enforcement Directorate to continue its probe into the financial angle in the actors death case.

The CBI also strongly opposed the petition filed by the Bihar police seeking the courts direction to investigate the case, according to news agency ANI. ''The main plea taken in the petition and argued is that most of the transactions took place in Mumbai and accordingly Bihar Police has no jurisdiction to investigate the matter,'' the CBI said in its reply filed before the Supreme Court.

It added that the petition moved by the Bihar Police is misconceived and fit to be dismissed for many reasons, the central agency stated in its reply.

It is to be noted the Bihar Police earlier on Thursday filed a written submission in the Supreme Court on actress Rhea Chakraborty's plea seeking to transfer an FIR lodged against her in Patna to Mumbai in connection with Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death.

In its written reply, the Bihar Police told the top court that Vinay Tiwari, Superintendent of Police (SP), who reached Mumbai on August 2 with advance intimation to Mumbai Police, was virtually "detained" in the name of "quarantine".

Tiwari had reached Mumbai to investigate the FIR registered in Patna by Rajput`s father KK Singh against Rhea Chakraborty under sections including abetment to suicide.

In its reply to the Apex Court, the police also alleged that the 4-member SIT of Bihar Police officers, which reached Mumbai on July 27, was not allowed to discharge its duty for the conduct of the investigation.

"The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Bihar had requested Mumbai authorities for removal of Vinay Tiwari, IPS, from quarantine, however, the same had been unfortunately disregarded by them," read the reply by Bihar Police.

In its reply, the Bihar Government claimed that Bihar Police has the jurisdiction to probe the Sushant Singh Rajput case. The Bihar Police stated that it is mandatory for the police officer to register the FIR and proceed with the investigation.

"It is only after completion of the investigation, the police officer shall forward the report to the concerned Court of competent jurisdiction," read the reply.

"The Station House Officer (SHO) is obliged to register the FIR and carry out the investigation expeditiously. At the stage of the investigation, it cannot be said that the SHO does not have territorial jurisdiction to investigate the case," the Bihar Government stated in the affidavit, a copy of which was accessed by ANI.

"Any contention that the Investigating Officer (IO) did not have jurisdiction to do so on the face of it deserves to be rejected. Section 156(2) contains an embargo that no proceeding of a police officer shall be challenged on the ground that he has no territorial power to investigate," the Bihar police claimed.

Earlier, the Maharashtra Police told the top court in its affidavit that the Bihar Police did not have jurisdiction to investigate into the FIR or examine witnesses related to Rajput`s case.

Actor Rhea Chakraborty also filed her written submissions before the apex court in the case.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against Rhea Chakraborty, Indrajit Chakraborty, Sandhya Chakraborty, Showik Chakraborty, Samuel Miranda, Shruti Modi, and others in connection with the actor`s death.

Rajput, 34, was found hanging at his apartment in suburban Bandra on June 14. The Mumbai Police had registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) and an investigation is underway.
Dont be such easy chumps. Government officials are suddenly in the grab-bag mode around Russias vaccine Sputnik V, named after the countrys first satellite during the cold war space race.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the Health Ministry had approved on Aug. 11, 2020, the coronavirus vaccine that the Gamaleya Institute of Moscow, with the assistance of Russias Defense Ministry, had developed.

What Russia had explained so far is that the vaccine uses a different virus, the common cold-causing adenovirus, which is made to carry the genes of the protein spikes of the coronavirus, to prime the human body before any actual Covid-19 exposure.

Other than that, no other information has been shared. The World Health Organization (WHO) has been urging vaccine candidates to share their data to the rest of the world for peer review. At this point, the WHO says it looks forward to reviewing Russias research information.

Without published literature on Sputnik V, the vaccine will always inspire the feeling of a Russian roulette, that fatal game of chance with a spinning revolver.

It appears that the vaccine, which Putin claimed had already been administered on his daughter, also has its share of homegrown skeptics. Russias Association of Clinical Trials Organizations said thus: Fast-tracked approval will not make Russia the leader in the race, it will just expose consumers of the vaccine to unnecessary danger.

Scientists in Russia and other nations said a Phase 3 trial takes months and should involve tens of thousands of people. Its the only way to get a fuller picture of a vaccines success rate. Terminal stages of a single vaccine study in the US usually require a pool of 30,000 people.

Putin makes no mention of the scale of tests Sputnik went through. Kirill Dmitriev, the chief executive of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, which bankrolled the vaccine, said: We expect tens of thousands of volunteers to be vaccinated within the next months. Russia has registered 897,599 Covid-19 cases with 15,131 deaths.

Story continues

Earlier, the US, Britain and Canada accused Russia of hacking vaccine research from their laboratories, an accusation that Russia vehemently denied. The suspicion is only fed by Russia having not released information on its research process.

Sputnik V, therefore, leaves us with many questions. That is why we wonder about this sudden eagerness to be inoculated with a vaccine whose efficacy and safety is only vaguely explained. It doesnt help that Putin announces his daughters temperature or that President Rodrigo Duterte is the Philippines first Sputnik V volunteer.

We also wonder at the glaring double-standard that hit wide-scale the countrys dengue vaccination program.
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump has called magazines, pharmaceutical advertisements and questions "nasty." He has called rumors, numbers and one unnamed TV columnist who gave "The Apprentice" a bad review "nasty." He has called men "nasty," and he has called women "nasty."

And so, just hours after former vice president Joe Biden announced Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., as his running mate, Trump reached for one his favorite adjectives and dismissed the first woman of color on a major-party ticket as "nasty."

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, the president twice described Harris's questioning of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing as "extraordinarily nasty" - "nasty to a level that was just a horrible thing." He also said she was "the meanest" and "the most horrible" in pressing Kavanaugh. And Trump said her debate stage attacks against Biden during the Democratic primaries were "very, very nasty."

The insult is one Trump has levied roughly equally against men and women alike since becoming president, according to Factba.se, a data analytics company that tracks all of Trump's public utterances. He did use it far more frequently during the 2016 campaign against women than men, said Factba.se founder Bill Frischling, though that was in part because he repeatedly brandished it against just one woman - Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, whom Trump famously called "such a nasty woman" during a debate.

But the resonance of the adjective - the way the attack lands, the nuances in connotation - is often different when the recipient is a woman, and different still when that woman is a person of color. Calling a woman nasty, say many experts and women in politics, is another way to deliberately dismiss and demean female politicians.

"It really has become coded language for a woman, and it tries to put her in a place that is unacceptable to society," said Stephanie Schriock, president of Emily's List, which works to elect pro-choice Democratic women across the country. "Our society allows for poor behavior by men but has little acceptance for anything but perfection by women, and so a term like 'nasty' really is just coded language, at least for a certain piece of the population."

Trump, Schriock added, "knows exactly what he's doing."

Aparna Thomas, a professor of politics and gender, sexuality, and women's studies at Cornell College in Iowa, said the descriptor is "dismissive" and signifies that "women are not to be taken seriously." She said it was significant that "nasty" was the inaugural attack Trump hurled at Harris once she became Biden's running mate.

"That's the first thing that comes to the president's mind, is that she's to be dismissed and that she's a nasty woman," Thomas said. "We're now back to 2016, where we have a vice-presidential candidate who is female and is still being judged by a different set of standards set by men."

Of course, "nasty" is one of the president's preferred descriptors, and he wields it with impunity, lobbing it at targets animate and inanimate, people male and female.

The word is used a little over 13 times out of every million words in the English language, according to the Corpus of Contemporary American English - a collection of more than 500 million words created by a linguistics professor at Brigham Young University. Trump, by comparison, has used the word more than 37 times for every million words, according to Factba.se.

" 'Nasty' is one of his quote-unquote words," Frischling said. "It's one of his go-to descriptions."

The Trump campaign dismissed the idea that the president's attacks on Harris are in any way sexist, saying "nasty" was simply the most apt way to describe some of her past behavior.

"Though the mainstream media would have you believe otherwise, the President said Kamala Harris' treatment of Justice Kavanaugh was nasty, which it was," Trump campaign spokeswoman Courtney Parella said in an emailed statement. "The Democrats already tried using Hillary Clinton's gender to shield her from criticism in 2016 - it didn't work then, and it won't work now. Kamala Harris cannot claim sexism every time her liberal record or public statements are questioned, and protecting her from scrutiny does a disservice to American voters who deserve to know the truth about her radical record."

But many critics say sexism is inextricably bound to Trump's attacks on women.

"The words 'nasty' and 'mean' are much more pejorative when directed at a woman," said Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to President Barack Obama and board member of Time's Up, a legal-defense fund for women who are victimized in the workplace. "There's this whole sense that women need to be likable, and when you say they're nasty or mean, that is intended to cut them deeply, whereas men are not subjected to the same likability test."

The women Trump has singled out for the "nasty" treatment, Jarrett added, are "usually in a high-profile situation," something that seems to irk the president.

Thomas said men who are described as nasty are also often described with other phrases such as "aggressive" and "ambitious" that, unlike for women, are not inherently negative for men.

"It's OK because men are seen as powerful, and you can afford to be all of that and that does not define your identity," Thomas said. "With women, it gets at this idea that their identities are rooted in their gender, in their races and in their sexual orientation, and that their identity is reduced to that."

Harris's background as the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants adds another layer of nuance to how the insult lands, said Kelly Dittmar, the director of research at the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.

"Nastiness is saying that they are apart from or threatening to the status quo, and in this case, this is a status quo that has benefited white men in politics," Dittmar said.

As with many insults, some women are trying to claim the word as a badge of honor, with "Nasty Women" and "Nasty Women Vote" hashtags appearing across social media.

Photos of "Nasty Woman" shirts are also popping up, as some are digging out their merchandise and slogans from 2016 - back when the word was directed at another Democratic woman: Clinton.
While not every couple will be on the same wavelength about social distancing, wearing masks or quarantining, communication is the key for navigating this dating landscape, she says.



"Everyone is going to have a different comfort zone. You don't need to apologize, you just need to be a good communicator, Adler says. If that person isn't understanding, you have to decline.

Despite the challenges, there are a few silver linings to dating during COVID-19. That includes spending enhanced time talking before meeting in person and a more creative approach to romance, when dinner and a movie isn't readily available. Couples have to come up with new ideas, like socially distant lunches or  taking a page from Perrelli's book  finding new and unusual places to meet.

When it comes to coronavirus-friendly dates, couples can try outings like a walk through the park, watching movies together on the phone, having cocktails on Facetime or even parking and eating a socially distant brunch.

"Love is not canceled, Adler says. This might be the new normal."

Pandemic dating evolves

That new normal is significantly different from pre-pandemic dating routines. Data collected by dating services shows the approach to romance has continuously changed as COVID-19 went from a short-term emergency to a longer-term way of life.Attitudes about meeting in person, online dating and the types of outings couples will agree to are being revised.

In March, Luxy Partners, a dating app for wealthy singles, found that 87 percent of senior singles wanted to wait to meet in person until the pandemic was over. But by June, many had changed their minds and only 43 percent wanted to wait.

Toward the beginning of the pandemic in March, 59 percent of the same group said they were wearing masks on dates, but that number increased by June, when 71 percent of seniors said they were wearing masks on dates.

The pandemic is also changing how older adults approach their search for romance. A survey by dating app TheSeniorList.com found that 62 percent of seniors said COVID-19 has altered the way they date. The survey also found more romance-seekers relying on online dating and altering the types of dates they go on.

A need for safe connection

Healthy human emotions like romance and the desire for love aren't going away. In fact, Adler thinks the pandemic highlights the need for connection and closeness more than ever, and says loneliness is also a major health risk.

Given that people are still dating, protection during those more intimate and close moments is crucial. A recent report found trace amounts of COVID-19 present in semen, and the New York City health department recently stressed the pandemic-related dangers of sexual activity. Condoms, dental dams and face masks are all tools partners can use to reduce the likelihood of coronavirus infection (as well as sexually transmitted diseases) during intercourse, and the Mayo Clinic also recommends washing up afterward.

As COVID cases continue to rise around the United States, dating is changing, but singles over the age of 50 are adapting.

Howard Eisenberg, a 93-year-old author whose girlfriend is a three-hour train ride away from his New York City home, says he can't wait until the pandemic is over so he can travel to see her again. However, that doesn't stop the couple from talking on the phone and Facetiming multiple times per week.

"Think of dating as an adventure, Eisenberg says. Persist, persist, persist."
MARY RYAN APPOINTED TTB ADMINISTRATOR Mary Ryan has been appointed as the Administrator of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). Her appointment is effective August 16, 2020. In this capacity, Ms. Ryan will oversee the collection of approximately $20 billion in annual federal excise taxes from the alcohol, tobacco, and firearms industries, as well as the permitting and regulation of these industries under the Internal Revenue Code and the Federal Alcohol Administration Act. Upon her selection, the Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, David Kautter, said, TTB is an outstanding organization with a proud past and a strong culture. It is my sincere belief that it will continue to prosper and not only maintain but improve its standard of excellence with Mary as its leader. Ms. Ryan began her distinguished career in the federal government in 1991, serving in a variety of professional and leadership capacities within TTB and its predecessor, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF). Prior to her appointment as Administrator, Ms. Ryan served as TTB Deputy Administrator from 2010-2019, when she was named Acting Administrator upon the passing of TTB Administrator John Manfreda. Ms. Ryan also served as the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Field Operations from 2005-2010, where she expanded TTB enforcement capabilities by launching the Intelligence Division, securing a new agent workforce, and initiating an analytics-driven enforcement approach to address tax fraud and diversion. In this role, Ms. Ryan also oversaw TTBs permit and tax processing functions, improving business processes through increased automation to enhance customer experience and service levels. Ms. Ryan previously served as TTB Deputy Chief Counsel from 2003-2005, prior to which she was ATFs Deputy Associate Chief Counsel for alcohol and tobacco. She also served as a law clerk for the Honorable John Lewis Smith of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Ms. Ryan graduated from Georgetown University and Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. She is a member of the Maryland bar and the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. TTB Newsletter Archives >>>

REPORT SUSPECTED

ILLEGAL ACTIVITY Submit a Tip Online Learn more about the TTB Tip Line. ABOUT THE NEWSLETTER The TTB Newsletter compiles the top TTB news of the week and other helpful information for the alcohol and tobacco industries we regulate. Please send any questions or comments about the TTB Newsletter to the Office of Industry and State Outreach. Brought to you by TTB.gov.
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Nissan Motor Co.,Ltd. said its sales in China rose 11.6% in July from a year ago to 120,945 vehicles, the highest-ever July sales and the fifth-month-in-a-row growth the Japanese automaker has achieved.

Its PV business armincluding Dongfeng Nissan and Dongfeng Venuciadelivered a total of 99,540 vehicles in July, a year-on-year increase of 9.3%.

Dongfeng Nissan also achieved its best-ever July sales (including the sales of Nissan-branded imported models) with 94,238 vehicles handed over to consumers, a 13.5% growth compared to the year-ago period.



(Sylphy, photo source: Dongfeng Nissan)



The joint venture posted sustained growth in both car and SUV July sales. To be specific, the deliveries of the seven-generation Altima and the Sylphy series reached 10,161 units (+20.5%) and 46,851 units (+65%), while 31,809 consumers took delivery of SUVs, including 14,530 and 13,047 bought the X-trails and the Qashqais respectively.

Dongfeng Venucia had a sales volume of 5,302 vehicles in July. The Venucia Star (Chinese pinyin, Xing), the Venucia D60 and the Venucia T60 served as major sales contributors, with 2,139 units, 1,740 units and 784 units delivered respectively.

Nissan's light commercial vehicle (LCV) business in China logged a robust 31.3% increase by selling 18,662 vehicles in July. The wholesales of Dongfeng Automobile Co., Ltd. (DFAC) and Zhengzhou Nissan mounted up 33.4% and 24.3% to 14,623 units and 4,039 units.

Selling 717,287 vehicles in total, Nissan recorded a 13.2% year-on-year drop in China sales for the first seven months, 3.8% percentage points lower than the decrease in first-half volume.

Although Nissan's China sales have continue to grow, there will be many uncertainties in the automobile market for the second half of the year as the COVID-19 pandemic still exists within and without China, said Shohei Yamazaki, Senior vice president of Nissan and President of Dongfeng Motor Company Limited.
University of South Carolina, McKissick Museum In this environment, we couldnt even physically shake hands, said Chad Williams, president of PIER Group. Our lead engineer couldnt prep equipment on campus, so we rented a hotel room across the street. But we solved all of our issues collaboratively, and together, we got the job done.

With fall campus learning relying heavily on online classes, in just six weeks the University of South Carolina (UofSC) achieved a major upgrade of the wireless network on its main campus, which serves approximately 35,000 students and even more internet-connected devices. With an abbreviated timeline, the university worked with PIER Group LLC (PIER Group), a higher education IT consultancy company based out of Jasper, Indiana, and Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, to design and execute a full installation of upgraded hardware and software. The installation teams worked within COVID-19 guidelines, and were in and out of the residence halls with plenty of time for university staff to clean before students arrived.

Were committed to opening a safe environment for our students this fall, so they can focus on learning and earning their degree, said Dan Schumacher, associate vice president, infrastructure, UofSC division of information technology. Our new wireless infrastructure gives students who live in residence halls the bandwidth for data-heavy activities, including video streaming and virtual collaboration, enhancing their learning experience.

The teams from PIER Group and Aruba got creative when it came to prepping and installing the equipment, and even sealing the deal to work together. In this environment, we couldnt even physically shake hands, said Chad Williams, president of PIER Group. Our lead engineer couldnt prep equipment on campus, so we rented a hotel room across the street. But we solved all of our issues collaboratively, and together, we got the job done.

Advantages for students and security

The expanded wireless network provides students who live on campus with greater reliability, fewer disconnections and faster speeds than ever before. Residence halls alone will have more than 4,700 network access points -- compared to the 4,052 total access points that served the entire campus previously.

The upgrade was done quickly and efficiently, said April Barnes, executive director of university housing. We are excited about the expanded capabilities of Wi-Fi in our residence halls and the opportunities it will provide our students. I am confident this upgrade will be extremely helpful and beneficial to our students, especially as we navigate through uncertain times during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the IT team, the cutting-edge wireless network offers more centralized management, better security for university systems, more visibility into who is using the network, and the ability to quickly troubleshoot.

While the wireless infrastructure upgrade was necessary for this fall, UofSC is in a strong position to continue to build on this success with more infrastructure upgrades as well as robust instructional learning technology. More information can be found at http://www.piergroup.com.

# # #

About University of South Carolina

The University of South Carolina is the flagship university in the state. Founded in 1801, the system is comprised of eight individual campuses across the state. The Columbia campus serves more than 35,000 students.

About PIER Group

PIER Group (http://www.piergroup.com), which stands for Partners In Education & Research, is a Jasper, Indiana-based information technology consulting and implementation company that specializes in computing and networking for the education and research communities. For more than 20 years, the PIER Group team has worked with higher education institutions and research organizations to build next-generation research computing, innovative networking infrastructure solutions and high-performing data centers to help their clients gain a competitive edge and support critical research initiatives. The PIER Group team works closely with some of the industrys most highly respected manufacturers, such as HPE and Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company.

Media Contacts

Beth Strautz

PIER Group

info@vaguspr.com

773-895-5387

Chad Williams

President

PIER Group

cwilliams@piergroup.com

812-650-7437

Click here for photos
The St. George Hospital where Soha Khalaf works as a nurse lies less than a mile from Beirut port. She had no time to recover from the enormous explosion that blasted over the city.

The ceiling crashed onto her head and tears streamed down her face, but she stuck to her task.

"People ran here yelling, 'Please, we need the ER.' But the ER was gone. And wherever I turned, I saw staff rushing down from other floors screaming," recalled Khalaf, assistant head nurse at the emergency room of Lebanon's oldest hospital.

Needles flew across the hall. Blood covered the floor. The lights went out.

Hundreds of people poured in from across the Lebanese capital after the Aug. 4 warehouse blast, which killed more than 170 people and demolished neighbourhoods.

"We just kept working, even as some of us bled, and we cried and cried."

With her colleagues, Khalaf stitched, intubated and bandaged victims on the pavement outside the ER. They stopped random cars to send patients to other hospitals, and relied on light from mobile phones as it got dark.

Across Beirut, doctors and nurses recounted a night of horror that shook up veteran medical workers in a city no stranger to explosions.

The aftermath of the blast has also raised fears for a healthcare system in tatters, already fighting a coronavirus outbreak which has seen 87 deaths and more than 7,100 cases since February.

Hospitals "non-functional"

More than half of Beirut healthcare facilities evaluated by the World Health Organisation are "non-functional" following last week's deadly port explosion, the agency said Wednesday.

Following an assessment of 55 clinics and health centres in the Lebanese capital, "we know now that just over 50 percent are non-functional", said WHO's regional emergency director Richard Brennan at a virtual press conference in Cairo.

Three major hospitals were non-functional and another three operating at well below normal capacity, he said.

Story continues

Impact of financial crisis

Beirut's hospitals - which long attracted patients from around the region - have also been wrestling with the country's financial meltdown since late last year.

There are shortages in everything from dialysis equipment to syringes, with the state owing hospitals millions of dollars in arrears.

Now with hospitals turned into trauma centers and coronavirus cases still rising, some healthcare workers are asking: how can the system cope?

"The knockout"

On the night of the blast, hospitals used two months' worth of supplies, said Rona Halabi, spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The explosion, which injured more than 6,000 people, knocked out three hospitals in Beirut and damaged 12 other facilities. Days later, pressure piled on thanks to hundreds of injuries at protests against Lebanon's leaders.

"These times are unparalleled to say the least," Halabi said, warning that the need for mental health care was also rising after scores of people suffered trauma.

"I have seen many explosions and a war. But I've never seen what I saw on August 4," said Khalaf, who has worked at St. George for 28 years.

The blast killed four nurses there. A few floors above, a doctor had delivered a baby as the building shook.

The next day, Khalaf and her friends returned to help clear rubble from the blast, which officials blamed on explosive material stored in unsafe conditions at the port.

When the shockwaves hit Naji Abi Rached's hospital all 17 elevators crashed. Staff had to carry some patients down eight flights of stairs. They could not evacuate patients in the COVID-19 ward.

Abi Rached, medical director at the nonprofit Lebanese Hospital Geitaoui, said the virus could now spread faster. With nearly a quarter of a million people homeless, the risk has grown. Lebanon recorded on Tuesday 300 new infections and seven deaths.

"This blast dealt the final blow, the knockout," he said.

Still, a week later, with the help of volunteers, the ER was running again. The dialysis center also opened, although with shattered windows.

For Beatrice Karam, a nephrologist who returned to Beirut after living abroad, the past week killed any hope for stability. Many of her friends felt the same, she said, warning of a looming exodus of doctors.

"It's like there was a blast inside of me too. And I had no feelings anymore, and I just want to leave."

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)
A former Chairman of the Plateau State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Yakubu Chocho, and three others were on Thursday docked before Kasuwa Nama Upper Area Court I, Jos, over alleged criminal conspiracy, mischief and theft.

The three other accused persons are: a cleaner, Helen Yakubu, a Guard, Samka Gyol and a Carpenter, Adamu Garba, all of whom pleaded not guilty to the one count charge labelled against them by the police.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Helen and Samka work in the State PDP office located on No 20/22, Yakubu Gowon Way, Jos, where items, including Laptop, Golden pen and tea condiments belonging to the Partys Director of Administration, Ishaku Chuntai, were stolen.

The Police prosecutor, Daniel Longwal, told the Upper Area Court presided over by Lawal Suleiman, that on August 11 the four accused persons conspired and broke into the office of the Director of Admin and stole his Laptop, Gold pen and tea condiments all amounting to N135,000.

Mr Longwal also alleged that Mr Chocho gave the order for the changing of the lock of the office of the Director of Admin of the party which resulted in the theft.

My Lord, the accused persons criminally conspired to cause mischief and theft of a Laptop of N125,000, Gold pen of N6,000, and Tea condiments of N2,500, an offence contrary to and punishable under sections 53, 273 and 231 of the Penal Code of Plateau State.

They conspired and broke into the office of the Director of Admin, Mr Ishaku Chuntai within the PDP office on Aug. 11, he alleged.

The prosecutor quickly applied for an adjournment since the accused persons had not pleaded guilty to the charge.

But the defence counsel, Panshak Dakyen, said even though he was against the application for an adjournment, he had an application for bail for the four accused persons.

The judge, however, granted bail to the accused persons in the sum of N50,000 each and a surety each in like sum.

The case has been adjourned to September 30 for definite hearing.

(NAN)
A group of scholars and activists sent a letter to 25 large tech companies Wednesday, demanding action to address caste discrimination in the workplace following a lawsuit filed against Cisco.

Caste is a regimented hierarchy rooted in Indias Hindu society but is present throughout South Asia, and is often found in the regions overseas diasporas. A persons caste can determine where they go to school, where they work, what kind of jobs they have and their marriage partner. In India, caste identity can also lead to lynchings and other violence against people who are deemed lower caste.

Ajantha Subramanian, a professor at Harvard University, wrote in the letter: The prevalence of caste discrimination in both elite technical education and private industry in India makes its entry into the American workplace not the least bit surprising. The group is part of the Indian American Alliance Against Caste.

The letter was sent to companies including Apple, Google, Facebook and Cisco after a state agency sued Cisco in federal court in June on behalf of an unnamed Indian employee, alleging discrimination based on his Dalit (lower and oppressed) caste status.

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housings lawsuit could be groundbreaking by specifying caste as a form of discrimination. U.S. law does not define caste as a discriminatory practice but, the states lawsuit alleges Cisco violated the mans rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on a persons race, religion, national origin and sex. It also cited the Californias Fair Employment and Housing Act, alleging his managers, who are from dominant castes, harassed, discriminated and retaliated against him because of his status.

Cisco, headquartered in San Jose, has denied the allegation and said it has created an inclusive and fair workplace. Since the Cisco lawsuit was filed, more than 250 Dalits in Silicon Valley have come forward with caste discrimination complaints, according to Vice.

Other local firms that received the letter included Nvidia, Cognizant, Netflix, Hewlett Packard, Qualcomm and Oracle. The companies did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Caste based discrimination has long been an unacknowledged problem in Silicon Valley and the US. The Cisco case names it and asks all of us to take it seriously, the letter states. Neglecting caste is tantamount to allowing your company to be a hostile workplace, it read.

The letter demands that CEOs intervene immediately to address the issue and enact policies to combat caste-based discrimination alongside similar policies on race, gender and sexuality in their firms, and to include training on caste discrimination, and review recruitment policies to eliminate that bias.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

During a news conference Wednesday, Kevin Brown, a law professor at Indiana University, said the lawsuit had the potential to affect significant social and political change around the issue of caste in American life.

American society has not generally enacted laws that outlaw caste discrimination Brown said, noting that advocates for the abolition of slavery in the U.S. had historically referred to that system as relying on caste.

There is in this country no superior or dominant class of citizens, Brown said, noting that if there was a fundamental principle of American law it is that a person cannot be discriminated against because of characteristics they cannot control.

Shwanika Narayan and Chase DiFeliciantonio are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: shwanika.narayan@sfchronicle.com, chase.difeliciantonio@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @shwanika @ChaseDiFelice
TUI is battling for survival after the cancellation of summer holidays triggered a record loss of 1.3billion in just three months.

Underlining the impact of the pandemic on the tourism industry, the travel group revealed sales had been virtually wiped out with just one in six summer holidays for this year.

Revenues collapsed by 98.5 per cent to 67million in the three months to the end of June as thousands of flights were grounded and its holiday resorts sat empty.

Holiday hell: Travel group Tui revealed sales had been virtually wiped out with just one in six summer holidays for this year

The tour operator, which received a fresh 1billion bailout from the German government this week to see it through the winter, racked up a 1.3billion quarterly loss  equivalent to more than 14million a day.

This has pushed it 2.1billion into the red in the first nine months of its financial year.

Bosses yesterday said they were considering a rights issue  when shares are offered at a special price to existing shareholders  or selling part of its business, such as the Marella cruise line, to ensure its long-term survival.

Chief executive Fritz Joussen insisted there would be no fire sale of assets and that plans for raising new equity were in early days.

The dramatic downfall of Tui, which crashed out of the FTSE 100 earlier this year as the crisis escalated, prompted one expert to warn the entire travel industry is on life support.

Hopes that this years summer holidays would be saved by so-called air bridges with popular destinations have been dashed, in an agonising blow for airlines and travel companies.

Tui said the Governments decision last month to force travellers returning from Spain, one of its biggest markets, to quarantine for 14 days had hit bookings.

There are growing fears that other holiday destinations with rising infection rates  including France  will be added to the 14-day quarantine list.

This has deterred many households from booking last-minute summer holidays.

Yesterday Tui revealed that just 55 of its hotels have reopened, around 15 per cent of its total portfolio, and 2,300 flights took off last month.

The collapse in demand for overseas trips has also forced it to cut the number of holidays it is offering for the coming winter by 40 per cent and the number of summer 2021 holidays by 20 per cent.

At the moment its hotels are a quarter full, due to depressed demand and social distancing

And its cruises remain suspended in line with German and UK government advice.

But Tui was more upbeat about the prospects for next years summer holiday season, describing sales as very promising.

It said families had booked more than twice as many holidays for summer 2021 as it had for 2020 at the same point last year. It acknowledged, however, that many of these are families rebooking this years cancelled trips.

The business, which is cutting 8,000 staff and 270million per year in costs, is now working on the assumption tourist numbers will not recover until 2022.

It has already been forced to take drastic action stay afloat amid fears earlier this year it could run out of cash by October.

A third of its High Street stores are being shut with the loss of 270 jobs as part of plans to go digital, and the firm has slashed costs by 70 per cent.

And it had already taken one loan, of 1.6billion, from Germanys government in March.

Tuis fight for survival reflects the precarious situation faced by firms across the industry, including the airlines, while bosses at Heathrow have warned that as many as 25,000 working at around 400 firms which operate out of the airport could face redundancy.
Premier Doug Ford warns optometrists protesting his government are making a spectacle of themselves by sending some patients to hospital emergency rooms in the middle of a pandemic.

As first revealed by the Star, the Ontario Association of Optometrists is encouraging its more than 1,700 members to redirect at least one patient a day to hospitals or other health-care providers.

The job action, which is designed to put pressure on the government during negotiations over fee payments for those patients covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan, is costing the public health system $250,000 a day.

Ford said the optics are terrible at a time when health-care providers are coping with a COVID-19 pandemic that has killed more than 2,800 Ontarians since March.

You just cant overload the system. Its not fair to everyone, it just isnt, the premier told reporters Thursday during a campaign-style tour of Windsor.

What youre doing is youre hurting the community and from what Ive heard  its backfiring on you, he said.

Its not a great practice. I love those docs, they do a great job, but, guys, you just cant overload the ... hospital system. Were already backlogged on so many areas, on surgeries.

Ford said he is willing to meet with the optometrists to resolve the dispute.

Its better to sit down and talk rather than clog up all our hospitals across the province, he said.

The optometrists, who began the protest in June, maintain they lose money when treating patients covered by OHIP  those under 20 and over 65 or who have specific medical conditions.

They are paid $44 on average per visit, which they say actually costs them $80 or $90.

Dr. Sheldon Salaba, the optometrists association president, said it was a difficult decision to launch the job action.

Were in a desperate situation. We cant afford to see these patients in this environment because of this funding inequality, said Salaba.

I understand that its inconvenient for people ... but we didnt create this problem, he said.

Patients who have been turned away from their optometrists and sent to hospitals are frustrated their care was caught up in a funding dispute.

Kate Boose, from the Waterloo Region, woke up on July 6 with blurriness in her left eye. She chalked it up to allergies. But when it hadnt gone away after a day, she called her optometrists office  only to be redirected to a hospital in Kitchener.

Boose wasnt the only one sent to the emergency department for eye exams.

I was the fifth eye patient they had seen that day. They said it was a really high number for a regular day, she said. I understand that the optometrists feel like theyre underfundedbut in the midst of a pandemic, I dont feel like this is a wise decision.

Ellen Eppert sympathizes with patients who feel like theyre chess pieces in a spat between the province and its optometrists, but says the temporary inconvenience is worth it if it means optometrists are fairly compensated.

Last fall, Epperts optometrist in Harrow, about 40 km south of Windsor, noticed a concerning growth behind her eye while doing an examination. He encouraged her to see a doctor and get tested.

She credits him with discovering an arachnoid cyst that was pushing on her brain. In June, she had surgery to drain the cyst.

This guy saved my life because of his training and his skills, Eppert said. For the health of people in Ontario, its important optometry is funded properly so they can get the best possible service.

Read more about:
(CNN)  Firefighters across three states are battling wildfires that have destroyed more than 60,000 acres in the US West.

In the rugged hills near California's Lake Hughes in Los Angeles County, the Lake Fire has grown to 10,000 acres and is 0% contained as of Wednesday evening. The fire was first reported at 3:40 p.m. and is spreading at a very rapid rate, according to fire officials.

Several structures are threatened and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has set up an evacuation center at a local high school. More than 400 firefighters have been assigned to control the blaze.

"This robust number of resources will be placed strategically to protect homes that may come under fire threat," the Los Angeles County Fire Department said.

Temperatures in the area are in the 90s with humidity in the teens, according to the National Weather Service forecast office in Oxnard.

In neighboring Oregon, the Mosier Creek Fire has prompted evacuations in Wasco County. Several large air tankers are on the way to help control the blaze, which has consumed at least 50 acres Wednesday, according to the Oregon Department of Forestry's Central Oregon District.

And in Colorado, the Grizzly Creek Fire has destroyed more than 3,200 acres and is 0% contained, according to the US Forest Service.

The fire crossed the Colorado River and Interstate 70 on Wednesday, prompting the interstate to shut down east of Glenwood Springs.

"This fire is in a really tough spot, and it's really tough to fight," White River National Forest supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams said during a community briefing Wednesday. There is no estimate yet of when the interstate could be fully reopened.

The fire ignited Monday and has spread quickly due to drought conditions. Some rural communities outside of Glenwood Springs are now under a "pre-evacuation" advisory.

The Grizzly Creek Fire is less than 100 miles from the Pine Gulch Fire to the southwest, which has destroyed more than 50,000 acres in less than a week. The Bureau of Land Management says it is 7% contained.

Nearly 900 people are working to contain the two fires. "We're going to be here for a while," said Fitzwilliams. "This fire is going to be here for a while."

This story was first published on CNN.com "Wildfires have destroyed more than 60,000 acres across three states and are spreading rapidly."
Face masks will now be mandatory in the Canaries

Two Spanish regions attracting tourists introduced outdoor smoking bans Thursday to curb the coronavirus as a top domestic medical body called for a more coordinated response and tougher punishment for rule breakers.

Under a law which came into force at midnight in the northwestern region of Galicia, smokers are forbidden to remove face masks -- which are mandatory -- to smoke in public if it is not possible to maintain a distance of two metres (6.7 feet) between people, in what is believed to be the first such restriction in Europe.

The government of the region, best-known for the Camino de Santiago Catholic pilgrimage, said infected smokers could blow droplets carrying the virus while exhaling.

The regional government of Spain's Canary Islands quicky followed suit. The archipelago is a tourism hotspot off northwest Africa.

The smoking ban in the Canaries will come into effect on Friday along with mandatory wearing of face masks in all public spaces, regional leader Angel Victor Torres said.

The Canary Islands had been the only Spanish region where it was not obligatory to use face masks.

The government had to act "forcefully" in response to a rise in infections, Torres said.

Officials in regions including Madrid and Andalusia said they were considering similar smoking restrictions.

Spain's regions are responsible for healthcare policy, which has led to a patchwork of measures to curb the virus.

- 'Disputes and rivalries' -

The new measures come as Spain grapples with a rise in COVID-19 cases since June 21, when it ended its lockdown measures, one of the world's strictest.

Spain, with a population of 47 million, leads Western Europe with more than 337,000 cases, compared with nearly 252,000 cases of Italy's 60 million inhabitants, which was the first European country to be rocked by the virus.

The Spanish Medical Colleges Organisation said it was "disappointed and outraged" at the lack of a common direction and called for better coordination between the central and regional governments.

Story continues

Without a "change in course", the "rise in cases which we have seen will lead us once again to lose control" of the pandemic, it added.

"The disputes and rivalries between political forces and institutions, when they should all be rowing in the same direction, drive us to despair."

The medical body blamed the rise in infection on eased social distancing, family gatherings and visits to nightclubs and bars, and the poor living conditions of seasonal migrant farm workers.

It called on tougher punishments for those who violate social distancing orders and rules to prevent travel within regions to stop the spread of the virus.

Spain's different layers of government provide "contradictory" figures about the virus which "give everyone the impression of a lack of coordination in the fight against the pandemic," it added.

While the smoking bans were applauded by many medical experts, some questioned its effectiveness.

Fernando Garcia, an epidemiologist at the Carlos III institute for health, told AFP the measure was "a bit disproportionate" given the lack of evidence that "tobacco smoke can transmit the disease".

The World Health Organization has said tobacco users could increase the possibility of transmission of the disease since it involves contact of fingers with the lips.

Outside Europe, South Africa has banned the sale of tobacco because it may lead people to drop social distancing while Jordan banned smoking in closed public spaces.

bur-ds/pmr/ach/dl
Another Ukrainian citizen was detained in Belarus and he is currently in a pretrial detention center in Brest, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reported on Thursday.

"On August 12, the relatives of a citizen of Ukraine, who did not return home from work on August 11, appealed to the consulate of Ukraine in Brest. The consulate immediately began a search and established that on August 11 the citizen was detained in Brest (as a protester) and is now in a local pretrial detention center," says the message.

The Foreign Ministry says that in the near future the Ukrainian consuls will meet with the leadership of local law enforcement agencies in order to clarify all the circumstances of the incident and provide necessary consular and legal assistance.

"The situation is under control of Ukrainian Consulate in Brest and Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. Detailed information will be provided additionally," the Foreign Ministry said.

Ukrainian diplomats in Belarus continue to check the presence of Ukrainians among the detained or injured, the ministry reports.

As reported, on August 12, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry confirmed information about detention of Ukrainian citizens Kostiantyn Reutsky and Yevhen Vasyliev in Minsk. Later, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Ukraine would toughly protect the rights and interests of Ukrainian citizens in Belarus, and sent requests to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of this country about all citizens of Ukraine detained between August 9 and 12 and their whereabouts.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that he has information about three Ukrainians detained in Belarus and about negotiations with the Belarusian side regarding their return to their homeland. He also advised Ukrainians to abstain from traveling to Belarus until the situation there stabilizes.
'We are vigilantly looking forward to sense prevailing, at last, in our neighbouring country, so that dialogue may be re-initiated in good faith,' Mitsotakis said in a statement

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday urged Turkey to show "sense" in a naval showdown in the Eastern Mediterranean over energy exploration which he warned could lead to a military accident.

Tensions were stoked Monday when Ankara dispatched the research ship Oruc Reis accompanied by Turkish naval vessels off the Greek island of Kastellorizo in the eastern Mediterranean.

Greece also deployed warships to monitor the vessel, which is currently sailing west of Cyprus.

"We are vigilantly looking forward to sense prevailing, at last, in our neighbouring country, so that dialogue may be re-initiated in good faith," Mitsotakis said in a statement.

"The risk of an accident lurks when so many military assets are gathered in such a contained area."

The Greek PM said Athens would not seek to escalate the situation, but added: "No provocation will though go unanswered."

Athens has demanded the immediate withdrawal of the Oruc Reis from what it regards as its continental shelf, and has asked for an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers on the issue.

Greece 'will not suffer blackmail'

"Our country never threatens but will not suffer blackmail either," Mitsotakis said. "We are not alone in this effort."

Earlier Wednesday, EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrell said foreign ministers will hold an extraordinary meeting Friday to discuss the eastern Mediterranean, Lebanon and Belarus.

The office of French President Emmanuel Macron said he would strengthen France's military presence in the region with the cooperation of European partners including Greece.

During a phone with Mitsotakis, Macron "expressed his concern about the tensions caused by Turkey's unilateral decisions on oil exploration, which must stop to allow a peaceful dialogue between neighbouring countries and NATO allies," the French presidency said in a statement.

The incident is the latest spat over energy exploration in the gas-rich eastern Mediterranean, a frequent source of disputes between Turkey and neighbours including Greece, Cyprus and Israel.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias will fly to Israel on Thursday for talks, his office said.

Dendias is also to address the issue with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Vienna on Friday.

'No compromise' from Turkey

A similar crisis last month was averted after Turkey pulled the Oruc Reis back to hold talks with Greece and rotating EU chair Germany.

But the mood soured last week after Greece and Egypt signed an agreement to set up an exclusive economic zone in the region.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said his country would step up energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean and would not "compromise" on its rights.

Turkey has announced the Oruc Reis would carry out activities between August 10 and 23, in an area it considers its own continental shelf.

Mitsotakis on Monday conferred with his military chiefs and spoke with EU Council President Charles Michel and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sounded a slightly more conciliatory note after a meeting with his own ministers later Monday.

"Let us all come together as Mediterranean countries and find a formula that protects all of our rights," Erdogan said in a national address.

But Erdogan added: "We cannot allow (nations) to ignore a big country like Turkey and try to imprison us to our shores."

The Turkish foreign ministry has said the Greece-Egypt agreement was "null and void".

Egypt, Cyprus and Greece have likewise denounced a contentious deal, including a security agreement, signed last year between Ankara and the UN-recognised government in Libya.

Greece, Cyprus and Israel in January signed an agreement for a huge pipeline project to transport gas from the eastern Mediterranean to Europe despite Turkey's hostility to the deal.

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BANGALORE, India, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- IoT Chipsets are designed to be compatible with any microprocessors group and are mostly designed to perform a particular function. The major factor responsible for the growth of IoT Chip Market size is the rising demand for connected devices and increasing investments in the IoT sector.

The global IoT Chip market size is projected to reach USD 17.9 Billion by 2026, from USD 8.7 Billion in 2019, at a CAGR of 10.8% during 2021-2026.

The IoT Chip Market report includes a country-wise and region-wise market size for the period 2015-2026. It also includes market size and forecast by Type and application segment in terms of production capacity, price, and revenue for the period 2015-2026.

Get Detailed Analysis of COVID-19 Impact on IoT Market:

https://reports.valuates.com/request/sample/QYRE-Othe-2C332/IoT_Chip_Market

TRENDS INFLUENCING THE GROWTH OF IOT CHIP MARKET SIZE

The primary trend seen on the IoT chip market is to reduce device size and decrease the cost of connected devices, both of which promote their adoption. The drive for miniaturization of devices stems from the need for smaller assemblies in different applications and the need to minimize costs. The manufacturing of smaller parts drives down the cost.

Additionally, numerous emerging economies, such as China, India, and Japan, are investing heavily in R & D to promote IoT, which is expected to increase the growth of IoT chip market size over the forecast period.

The increase in the number of networking protocols, growing requirements for SoC-type architecture, and application-specific MCUs are expected to fuel the growth of IoT Chip Market size.

The increase in the demand for a wearable device is expected to, in turn, increase the growth of IoT Chip Market size.

IoT chips help to improve networking capabilities across a range of applications and devices. It is expected that IoT chipsets comprising connectivity ICs in applications such as Near-field Communication (NFC), Bluetooth, and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) will be embedded in smartphones and other consumer electronics to strengthen communication protocols. This is expected to push the development of the IoT chip market even further.

Data privacy and data protection are the main issues associated with the use of IoT chips, which to some degree, can impede the growth of IoT chip market size. Furthermore, high power consumption from connected devices and the lack of standard communication protocols across application platforms are the market's challenges.

View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Othe-2C332/iot-chip

IOT CHIP MARKET SHARE ANALYSIS

North America is expected to hold the largest IoT Chip Market share during the forecast period. Raise in R & D and the growing demand for better lifestyles are the two main factors driving growth in the IoT chip market in North America. Increasing R&D at both academic and industry levels is expanding IoT application areas in various industries, including consumer electronics, retail, automotive and transportation, and healthcare, especially in the US.

Asia-Pacific is expected to witness the highest growth due to factors such as demand for better wireless connectivity solutions to cater to the newer segments of automation and transportation.

Inquire for Regional Report: https://reports.valuates.com/request/regional/QYRE-Othe-2C332/IoT_Chip_Market

The following manufacturers are covered in this report:

Intel

Qualcomm Incorporated

Nxp Semiconductors

Texas Instruments Incorporated

Cypress Semiconductor

Mediatek

Microchip Technology

Renesas Electronics

Stmicroelectronics

Huawei Technologies

Nvidia

Advanced Micro Devices

Samsung Electronics

IoT Chip Breakdown Data by Type

Processor

Sensor

Connectivity IC

Memory Device

Logic Device

IoT Chip Breakdown Data by Application

Wearable Devices

Building Automation

Industrial

Automotive & Transportation

Others

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SIMILAR REPORTS :

Narrowband IoT Chipset Market Report

View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-3F1252/global-narrowband-iot-nb-iot-chipse

IoT Processors Market Report

As more and more sensors are being connected on a day-to-day basis, network providers find it difficult to capture, process, and transmit information from one system to another due to the constraint of general-purpose sensor interoperability. That creates a need for IoT processors, thereby increasing market growth.

Moreover, technical developments in the field of cognitive and affective computing also drive the growth of IoT Processor market size.

View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Othe-0J288/iot-processors

IoT Sensors Market Report

The IoT Sensors market size was valued at 14.9 Billion USD in 2019 and is projected to reach 58.9 Billion USD by 2026, at a CAGR of 21.7% during the forecast period.

Growing demand for IoT integration in industries involving sensor-based measurements for research purposes and decision support is expected to increase the IoT Sensors Market size.

View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-0F397/global-iot-sensors

Wireless Connectivity Market Report

In 2019, the global Wireless Connectivity market size was USD 24610 Million, and it is expected to reach USD 50200 Million by the end of 2026, with a CAGR of 10.6% during 2021-2026.

The wireless networking industry is highly concentrated; suppliers are primarily in the regions of Asia, North America, and Europe. Between them, the output value of Asia Regions accounted for more than 38 percent of global Wireless Connectivity 's overall production value in 2016. Broadcom is the world's leading supplier in the global wireless networking industry, with sales market share of 19.06 percent.

View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-25X2192/global-wireless-connectivity

IoT Node and Gateway Market Report

The global IoT Node and Gateway market size is projected to reach USD 10010 Million by 2026, from USD 7964.8 Million in 2020.

The growth of IoT nodes and gateways market size can be attributed to improved internet connectivity, a rise in the use of wireless sensors and their networks, as well as an increase in application-specific microcontroller units (MCUs).

View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-28Z2106/global-iot-node-and-gateway

Industrial Internet Chip Market Report

View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-26B152/global-united-states-european-union-and-china-industrial-internet-chip

COVID-19 Impact on Global GNSS Chip Market Report

View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-2V2698/covid-19-impact-on-global-gnss-chip s

Machine Learning Chip Market Report

The global machine learning chip market size was valued at USD 2,425.6 Million in 2017 and is projected to reach USD 37,849.8 Million by 2025, registering a CAGR of 40.8% from 2018 to 2025.

The machine learning chip market size has seen significant growth over the years due to an increase in the adoption of big data in different fields.

The key players profiled in the report include AMD (Advanced Micro Devices), Google, Inc., Intel Corporation, NVIDIA, Baidu, Bitmain Technologies, Qualcomm, Amazon, Xilinx, Samsung.

View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/ALLI-Auto-3E328/machine-learning-chip

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Our team of market analysts can help you select the best report covering your industry. We understand your niche region-specific requirements and that's why we offer customization of reports. With our customization in place, you can request for any particular information from a report that meets your market analysis needs.

To achieve a consistent view of the market, data is gathered from various primary and secondary sources, at each step, data triangulation methodologies are applied to reduce deviance and find a consistent view of the market. Each sample we share contains detail research methodology employed to generate the report, Please also reach to our sales team to get the complete list of our data sources

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SOURCE Valuates Reports
A Laois TD and Minister of State says continued repeat testing must begin on meat factory staff.

Deputy Sean Fleming said that the nationwide testing of nursing home staff now happening must be done too in every meat factory continuously.

Were going to have to do what we are actually doing in the nursing homes. Everybody gets tested fully, not just the temperature test going in and out of work every morning. A Covid test and every couple of weeks they have to be retested and retested again. Because you can be clear now but you can have it next month. Thats happening now for all staff in nursing homes. The same has to apply for all staff in all meat factories even when we get beyond this particular spike. Continued rolling Covid testing, Deputy Fleming said in an RTE interview this week.

He said the responsibility lies with managers of the factories to ensure Covid is kept away, rather than on government agency inspections.

The onus is on the managers of those meat factories that run their businesses, that bring in the workers every day to make sure they have a safe environment. Ireland has worked very well on that basis over the last while, we had quite a low rate in recent times and the community transmission from person to person has been exceptionally low in these counties.

He said that Covid-19 test results are coming back within 24 hours in the Midlands area.

The HSE confirmed to me at 3pm on Saturday afternoon last that there was less than a three hour delay from somebody saying they have a concern, to ringing the out of hours doctor service and actually having the test carried out locally. I know from experiences of other people locally they are getting the results back within 24 hours. Thats very important along with wearing their masks, keeping their social distance.

If we can get tests back within the day which we now are in the midland region, we are going to be very much on top of this and that has to continue, the TD said.

The Minister of State also said that the restrictions will last at least until Sunday week August 23.

There is only one meat facility in Laois and as of Wednesday August 13 it had no reported cases of Covid-19. The Meadow Meats (Rathdowney) Ltd is a cattle slaughtering abbatoir owned by Dawn Meats.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (middle) poses for a photo with delegates of a conference on EVFTA (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi - The Prime Minister has approved a plan to implement the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

The plan aims to assign tasks and responsibilities to agencies and organisations to decide on measures to implement the agreement.

To achieve this, in addition to regular tasks, ministries, governmental agencies and People's Committees of centrally-run provinces and cities need to concretise and organise the implementation of basic tasks such as communicating information about EVFTA and markets of EU countries; building laws, institutions; and improving competitiveness and developing human resources.

They must also promote trade and investment promotion programmes in EU countries to inform business communities of other countries about the opportunities and advantages of Vietnamese business and investment environment and attract foreign investment in key areas.

Along with that comes building programmes to support and improve competitiveness for industries and businesses, while preparing solutions for industries and commodities greatly affected by the agreement and helping Vietnamese enterprises participate in regional and global production networks, value chains and supply chains.

In addition, they must focus on industrial restructuring, creating a foundation for industrialisation and modernisation; accelerating restructuring agriculture and rural economy; strengthening measures and mechanisms to encourage and orient foreign-invested enterprises to connect with domestic enterprises, contributing to the formation and development of supply chains.
More than 130 restaurant workers have won a $2.6 million settlement from former employer Kome Japanese Seafood Buffet in Daly City, according to the California Department of Industrial Relations.

The settlement announced this week comes after a yearslong struggle between workers and the restaurant. In June 2018, the state Labor Commissioners Office investigated worker complaints at Kome, which resulted in a citation for wage theft and a total fine of $5.16 million. The owners appealed the citation, and a hearing was held in March 2019.

Servers are liars  they always want more, they want more money, David Leung, an owner of Kome, told The Chronicle before appealing.

The violations include failure to pay minimum wage, overtime and split-shift premiums. The restaurant also included a service charge on the bill, and officials said it had illegally applied the money collected to the workers minimum wage instead of distributing it in tips.

These workers have waited a long time for the wages they earned, said California Labor Commissioner Lilia Garcia-Brower in a press release. This settlement puts that money back in their pockets and is a testament to these workers standing up for their rights.

In December, the Labor Commissioners Office fined the restaurant an additional $60,000 in unpaid wages and penalties for retaliating against former employee Chris Liu, who said he had assisted the commissioners inspection efforts.

In January 2019, the seafood buffet closed without notice.

The 133 workers, including cooks, dishwashers, servers and hosts, will receive money meant to account for the violations, as well as money owed for closing the restaurant without proper notice. The settlement payments range from $20 to $47,253 with an average of $14,217 per worker, according to the Department of Industrial Relations.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

I was treated unfairly many times, and that anger helped me conquer my fears. As a result, I joined the organizing efforts and learned that with unity comes protection for all of us, Chiu Ping Tam, a former Kome server, said in a press release.

Our communities deserve and desperately need workplaces that follow the law, respect, and pay a fair wage to immigrant workers  now more than ever, said Joyce Lam, political director at the Chinese Progressive Association, the nonprofit that represented many of the workers involved in the investigation. This is a difficult moment for the restaurant industry  we know that workers are the backbone of the industrys success and will be key to the industrys recovery.

Danielle Echeverria is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: danielle.echeverria@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @DanielleEchev
LONDON - Britains railway operator says inspectors will be examining track-side slopes after a passenger train derailed following heavy rain and flooding in Scotland, killing three people.

Network Rail said Thursday that engineers, contractors and surveyors in helicopters are being dispatched to assess sites similar to the stretch of track where the train derailed near Stonehaven, about 100 miles (160 kilometres) northeast of Edinburgh and south of Aberdeen.

A landslide is suspected of playing a role in Wednesdays derailment. Images taken near the wreck showed several cars of the four-carriage train had left the tracks and one had tumbled down an embankment.

The trains driver, Brett McCullough, conductor Donald Dinnie and a passenger were killed.

Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines said he understood that questions were being asked.

Its too early to draw conclusions, but it is critical that we investigate thoroughly and with care, and work closely with rail safety authorities to make sure this cant happen again, he said.
There will be times when you are a lone female voice in a room of male counterparts, but it is important to trust your skills, express your point of view, stand firm and walk tall, says Sanisha Packirisamy, economist at Momentum Investments.

Sanisha Packirisamy, economist at Momentum Investments

Self-perception can perpetuate gender inequality if one truly believes the glass ceiling is unbreakable.

Describe a typical work day

What do you love most about your job?

If you could do any other job what would it be?

What are the trends in your industry?

What are the challenges?

What would you say to your younger self?

What do you do to relax?

"Be yourself and dont be afraid to play to your strengths as a female, including using effective communication and adding to the diversity of views. I also think it is important for women to help other women in the workplace. Sharing your journey with other women can help to overcome many gender-based challenges in the workplace," is her advice to young women looking to enter the financial services industry.Packirisamy says the best advice she ever received was that no glass ceiling is shatterproof.Born in the friendly city of Port Elizabeth, Packirisamy says her parents dream was for both her elder sister and herself was o be exposed to opportunities that they never had and having a university education was part of that. She studied at the University of Cape Town on a scholarship for actuarial science, after which she landed a job in Johannesburg.A typical work day for an economist working in financial markets does not necessarily stick to the traditional nine to five workday hours. In a globalised economy, there is always a market open at any time of the day and fresh data is being released. Keeping abreast of global and local economic, political and financial market developments is a key part of an economists career and helps one to predict the movement and pace of financial markets and economies in general. Financial market economists spend a large portion of their day analysing data and researching current trends in economic activity and aggregate human behaviour to predict economic scenarios for the future. Moreover, there are always opportunities to meet with government officials, academics and industry experts which broadens and challenges ones thinking.This job is very rewarding for naturally curious thinkers who are open to lively debate from many different perspectives and enjoy formulating structured thinking around those views. The beauty of economics lies in its ability to apply a structural framework to most real life situations that we can all identify with, ranging from issues dealing with consumer behaviour to those involving trade-offs.I have been fortunate enough to find a job that perfectly complements my interests in such a way that a big part of my job does not feel like work.Ongoing digital transformation, big data and disruptive innovation are constantly changing the competitive landscape in the financial services industry.While technological advances bring a number of opportunities with it, they also pose a significant business challenge as new competitors are entering the market and challenging legacy financial institutions of a larger size by addressing changing consumer expectations. Regulatory conditions pose an additional challenge to the industry, requiring firms to build systems and processes to comply with changing industry standards.Cultural norms and economic realities may hinder your ability to be ambitious, but it is possible for you to write your own success story. Live your dreams and be the woman you look up to.We live in a noisy and distracting world and it is important to take time out for yourself every once in a while. You cannot pour from an empty cup! In my spare time, I like to unwind with a book or spend time outdoors walking my dogs. Yoga is another way I enjoy spending my free time as it really helps to soothe my mind and keeps me present and focused.
President Donald Trump is planning to visit four election battleground states next week as the Republican competes for attention with Democrats who will formally nominate Joe Biden as their presidential candidate.

A source familiar with the planning said Trump plans stops in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Arizona and Pennsylvania, all of them states that may prove crucial to determining the winner of the Nov. 3 election.

Democrats are holding their mostly virtual convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, next week. The Milwaukee Sentinel Journal said the Trump campaign was considering holding an event in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Trump, struggling to deal with the coronavirus pandemic and economic recession, has been looking for ways to blunt the momentum of Biden after the Democrat chose California Senator Kamala Harris as his vice presidential running mate.

The incumbent president, seeking a second four-year term, trails Biden in many opinion polls both nationally and in many swing states, although Trump insists he is making up ground.

Trump's travel next week is likely to be a mix of official White House and campaign-related events. He is planning a stop in Biden's home town of Scranton, Pennsylvania, the source said.

The Trump campaign declined to comment on next week's travel.

Typically a candidate from one party will sit out most of the week in which the opposing party holds its nominating convention since most of voters' attention will be focused on the convention.

But Trump has shown himself to be no adherent to political tradition and with his campaign appearances reduced by the pandemic, he is under pressure to get out more and make the case for why he should be re-elected.
For the first time in her career, Army Maj. Melissa Elledge can stand up and feel her legs after sitting for an hour while wearing body armor.

At 5 feet, 3 inches tall and 120 pounds, Elledge's body armor has never fit correctly. The plates rested on her legs while sitting, cutting off her circulation. Now, the assistant product manager with Program Executive Office Soldier is at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, where 38 men and women are testing plates, vests, ballistic shirts, helmets and other systems cut specifically for smaller-stature troops.

"The awe that they are expressing in their maneuverability is unreal," Elledge said Wednesday at a virtual event on better-fitting body armor hosted by the Iowa Technology Institute.

Read Next: 1 Crew Member Hurt After Bullet Strikes Air Force Helicopter Over Virginia

The Army has been working to update its soldier protection system for women and men who are smaller in size. As the military closes on the five-year point since women have been able to serve in combat positions, Sen. Joni Ernst, an Iowa Republican and retired National Guard officer, said the effort is long overdue.

The senator recently introduced the Female Body Armor Modernization Act to ensure women are getting proper protective equipment. At the Wednesday event, Ernst recalled seeing female soldiers opening their ill-fitting vests while deployed so they could complete their missions.

"That's something we were always concerned about, always correcting," she said. "... You cannot have anyone not properly protected."

The soldiers testing the Army's new equipment at JBLM include 21 men and 17 women. Two of the women are infantry soldiers fresh out of training at Fort Benning, Georgia.

"These young ladies have spent 22 weeks ... with legacy ill-fitting, sometimes not-fitting, equipment," Elledge said.

Now, the Army's flame-resistant ballistic combat shirt, which provides soft-armor protection in the shoulder and upper arms, is no longer unisex. Women can get the shirt in five sizes that account for different hip shapes and female hairstyles, said Lt. Col. Stephen Miller, a product manager for soldier protective equipment with Army PEO Soldier.

Similarly, the modular scalable vest and vital torso protection plates now come in three new sizes: small short, small long, and extra-small short, he said. The Army also adjusted its new helmet, the integrated head protection system, based on feedback from women, Miller said.

"Common concerns were the fit of the chin straps, hindrance of their peripheral vision by the way the straps are formed, as well as the inability to fit the helmet comfortably and in its proper position with common female hairstyles," he said. "So we've made changes to those retention and suspension systems to better fit our female soldiers."

The dozens of soldiers testing the newly adjusted gear are being put in combat scenarios to test their maneuverability. They're tasked with quickly moving from standing positions, to lying down and firing their weapons, to getting back up on their feet.

"[They're able] to literally jump up without feeling like a little turtle on your back because you have so much cumbersome equipment that is not fit for maneuvering," Elledge said.

Miller and Elledge stressed that the new sizes and tests don't just benefit women. A male Stryker driver told Elledge that he could, for the first time, turn around to see what was behind him -- something he said he wasn't able to do in the legacy equipment.

"What we're doing here is really a benefit to 100% of our soldiers," Elledge said.

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.

Related: Lawmakers Are Fighting for Better-Fitting Female Body Armor for US Troops
"Express is proud to have supplied essential businesses with workers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to help companies get back on their feet during reopening." - Express CEO Bill Stoller

As unemployment numbers continue to drop after historic highs earlier in the year, the latest data from Express Employment Professionals shows open positions in North America have returned to pre-pandemic levels.

The latest data reveals more than 24,000 jobs are ready to be filled through the international staffing companys 833 franchise offices. Offices with the most opportunities include Champaign, Illinois (370), Grand Rapids, Michigan (291), Cookeville, Tennessee (229), Kankakee, Illinois (213) and Tacoma, Washington (207).

Express is proud to have supplied essential businesses with workers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to help companies get back on their feet during reopening, Express CEO Bill Stoller said. As HR experts, our experienced recruiters help save time and money during the hiring process so owners can focus on their business success.

Interest in owning an Express franchise has also piqued this year with many prospective franchisees taking steps to realize their life-long dreams of business ownership.

The staffing industry is the number one most researched franchise to own right now because of the recession-resilient nature of the business model, said Vinny Provenzano, Express vice president of franchising. Right now, it's a rewarding investment in rebuilding communities to bring hope through employment.

For more information on owning an Express franchise, visit ExpressFranchising.com.

***

If you would like to arrange for an interview with Bill Stoller to discuss this topic, please contact Sheena Karami, Director of Corporate Communications and PR, at (405) 717-5966.

About Bill Stoller

William H. "Bill" Stoller is chairman and chief executive officer of Express Employment Professionals. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, the international staffing company has 833 franchises in the U.S., Canada and South Africa, and beginning in 2020 will expand to Australia and New Zealand. Since its inception, Express has put more than 8 million people to work worldwide.

About Express Employment Professionals

At Express Employment Professionals, were in the business of people. From job seekers to client companies, Express helps people thrive and businesses grow. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK, our international network of franchises offer localized staffing solutions to the communities they serve, employing 552,000 people across North America in 2019. For more information, visit http://www.ExpressPros.com.


By Akbar Mammadov

A military delegation from Turkey headed by Defence Minister Hulusi Akar has arrived in Azerbaijan to observe the joint large-scale military drills between the two countries' troops, the Defense Ministry reported on August 13.

The military delegation will observe the final episode of the first stage of Live-Fire Joint Large-Scale Tactical and Flight-Tactical Exercises of the Land Forces and the Air Force of Azerbaijan and Turkey.

The Turkish delegation represented by Chief of the General Staff, Army General Yashar Guler, commanders of the branches of the Armed Forces, and other high-ranking officers arrived in the country of August 12 evening.

Following the arrival, the Turkish delegation along with Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov, and the First Deputy Defense Minister, Chief of the General Staff, Najmeddin Sadikov, visited the Alley of Honor, the Alley of Martyrs and the monument erected in honour of the Turkish soldiers killed in 1918 in Baku.

The observation of the final episode will take place within the framework of the Distinguished Visitors Day of the exercises.

The Turkish military officials visit follows Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramovs and Defence Minister Zakir Hasanovs visit to Turkey on August 11 where they were both received by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

It should be noted that The Land and Air forces of the two countries are participating in the military exercises held in line with the agreement on military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkey, in accordance with the annual plan.

According to the plan, exercises involving the Land Forces were held from August 1 to 5 in Baku and Nakhchivan, while exercises involving the Air Forces were conducted from July 29 to August 10  in Baku, Nakhchivan, Ganja, Kurdamir and Yevlakh.

The personnel, armoured vehicles, artillery and mortars, combat and transport helicopters of the Air Forces, as well as air defence and anti-aircraft missile divisions of the two armies, will be involved in the military exercises.

---

Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Justine Shaw, Conservation Biologist, The University of Queensland

Shutterstock

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on research in Australia. We surveyed 333 early and mid-career researchers in science, technical, engineering and medical (STEM) fields and found the impact on their productivity and mental health has been dire, with many considering leaving research altogether.

Survey says: its bad

In May, the Early and Mid Career Researcher (EMCR) Forum of the Australian Academy of Science conducted a national survey to understand the effects of COVID-19 restrictions such as lockdown and the transition to remote learning. We found the effects of COVID-19 have made existing problems worse, and are likely to have a long-lasting impact on careers and well-being.

Researchers across the country reported increased anxiety not only due to the pandemic, but also to the uncertainty in their employment situation resulting from loss of university revenue and calls for cuts to jobs and pay.



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They also revealed their research has often had to take a back seat to heavier loads of teaching and administrative work, and other priorities such as caring for children.

Even short-term disruptions can have long-term impact

In scientific research, career success often depends on steadily accumulating performance indicators such as publications, citations, keynote addresses and awards.

COVID-19 restrictions make it harder for less established researchers to hit these targets. Missing them means lower chances of future funding, and ultimately less job stability.

Researchers with a longer track record of success will be less affected, because these impacts will be less visible.





Read more:

Science prizes are still a boys' club. Here's how we can change that





Not all junior researchers are affected equally, either. The blows fall most heavily on casual and part-time workers who are paid via fixed-term research or teaching contracts; those who are primary carers (typically women); those who are in Australia on temporary work visas; and those who depend on their institution or employer to secure an income to support their families (as opposed to those who are paid via externally funded fellowships).

Broadly speaking, these impacts are consistent with how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting women in scientific fields. Impacts of COVID-19 on university budgets and federal research funding could lead to some of these most vulnerable researchers losing their employment.

There have been considerable efforts from the Australian Academy of Science, Science and Technology Australia, the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council to increase the representation of minorities, and these are now at risk.

Early stability builds future security

Early and mid-career researchers are the engine of the research helping us navigate this unprecedented health crisis. In addition, each researcher is the product of 10-15 years of intensive post-secondary education and training, representing an investment (primarily by government) of at least A$500,000.





Read more:

Raising the cost of a PhD





Just as importantly, each researcher is an individual with unique and irreplaceable experience and training.

In our survey many researchers commented that they no longer see a future in pursuing a research career in the short or long term. This is not only happening in Australia  countries around the world face the loss of a generation of scientists.

Supporting these researchers is essential to securing the present and future of Australias knowledge economy. A significant loss of research capacity and knowledge could take generations to recover from.

A generation at risk

Solutions to this crisis will require cooperation between employers, funding bodies, government and researchers themselves.

A sensible first step would be for funding bodies and employers to let researchers renegotiate what they can deliver, to account for COVID-19 disruptions. This will give researchers more certainty about how they will be assessed in this time.



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In addition, there needs to be clear instruction on how to capture the career disruptions due to COVID-19 in applications and assessments.

Another change that could prevent the loss of thousands of jobs would be for JobKeeper payments to be extended to cover public universities.



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The effect of losing an entire generation of Australian scientists, particularly one that has benefited from efforts to support women in STEM, will be astronomical.

Not only does Australias economy depend on a strong scientific workforce, but the pandemic has also shown these people are an essential asset in tackling global health disasters.

Although the federal government is encouraging tertiary enrolments in STEM degrees through its higher education package, the initiative is doomed to fail without early and mid-career researchers to drive teaching and research training. When the next pandemic strikes, we may not have the world-class scientists we need ready to swing into action.

Justine Shaw receives funding from the National Environmental Science Program and the Australian Antarctic Science Program . She is affiliated with the Australian Academy of Science EMCR Forum Executive Committee. She is a board director of Homeward Bound Projects Ltd.

Yee Lian Chew receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Rebecca L Cooper Medical Research Foundation. She is affiliated with the Australian Academy of Science EMCR Forum Executive Committee.

Originally published in The Conversation.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-14 06:32:36|Editor: huaxia

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ABUJA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Police authorities in Nigeria on Thursday confirmed at least 14 people were killed when gunmen invaded a village in the country's north-central state of Niger.

Five others sustained gunshot wounds during the incident on Wednesday at the Ukuru Village in Mariga local government area of the state, said Wasiu Abiodun, a spokesman for the police.

Abiodun said the gunmen were suspected to be bandits, as they also rustled some cattle.

They rode into the village on more than 50 motorcycles one night before the attack, according to Ashafa Maikera, leader of the village's local vigilante group.

Maikera said so far 13 male bodies and one female body had been recovered following the attack. Four among the local vigilante group members were also among the dead victims, he added.

The police said they have launched an investigation into the attack. Enditem
Year-Over-Year Trends

Restaurant sales continued recovering in July, but the pace that sales have improved has slowed down considerably. This is likely an indicator of what lies ahead for the restaurant industry. Same-store sales growth was -15.1% year over year in July (see complete results for July in the recent report: Its a Mixed Bag of Results for Restaurants in July). July was the best month for restaurants for sales growth since February, before the devastating effect of the pandemic was felt on a national scale.

But the fact that same-store sales growth year over year only improved by 4.0 percentage points since June, while the percentage drop in sales remains well into double-digits, signals a turbulent and slow recovery from here. Similarly, same-store traffic year-over-year growth was -19.9% during July, also the best month for the industry since February, but only a 4.0 percentage point improvement from Junes results.

Much as restaurant sales and traffic, guest sentiment has also improved in recent months. Particularly important has been the recovery in restaurant intent to return. Although still not as strong as it was a year ago, Julys intent to return based on guest online comments and reviews tracked by Black Box Guest Intelligence, was the most positive it has been during any month after March. The regions with the highest percentage of positive intent to return mentions were Texas, the Western regions, Florida and the Mid-Atlantic.

As more restaurants are open for dine-in across the country, guest sentiment for restaurant food has also increased in positivity. The percentage of guest comments and reviews classified as positive that mentioned food for restaurants during July was almost on par with the food sentiment measured for the months immediately before the pandemic.

In the case of restaurant service, although sentiment has become much more positive over the last couple of months, the percentage of positive service mentions declined in July compared with June, which had the highest sentiment since COVID-19 hit the country at a widespread scale.

Top DMAs

In this environment, guests are understandably extremely vigilant about restaurant stated practices and their execution to keep them safe, but the data suggests they continue to rally behind restaurants and praise those that are doing a good job despite the many challenges. From a local perspective, some of the metropolitan areas that experienced some of the earliest major COVID-19 outbreaks led the country in highest overall restaurant net sentiment in July.

Back in February, the top 3 major markets based on highest restaurant net sentiment were Orlando, Phoenix and Tampa. But by July there were some interesting additions to the list. The top 3 markets with the highest restaurant net sentiment, listed in order starting with highest sentiment were: New York, Orlando and Philadelphia. Back in February, New York did not even crack the top 10. Philadelphia and New York are also in the top 3 based on restaurant intent to return sentiment, which bodes well for an area that has been deeply affected by the sales downturn.

Connecting the Dots

Though guest sentiment for each of the components of the restaurant experience* became more positive in July compared to where they were back in April and May, there is one notable exception when studying the change in guest sentiment year over year. Guests were not as positive during the last month as they were in July 2019 when it came to reviewing restaurant food, beverage, service and value. But guests did become more positive year over year when discussing restaurant ambiance.

On the surface, an improvement in ambiance scores may be surprising considering we are in the middle of a pandemic. But closer inspection of the sub-components of the ambiance attribute reveal the biggest gains are coming from sentiment based on cleanliness. Guests remain extremely watchful on restaurant practices related to ensuring the cleanliness and safety of restaurants, in some cases visiting the restaurants website prior to their visit to make sure their standards meet their expectations.

The improving ambiance and cleanliness scores suggest overall restaurants are doing a good job at meeting those expectations. Guests have remained extremely vocal in praising the efforts around health and safety from restaurant companies and their staff, in many cases listing specifically things they are doing right in the guests eyes. Words like wiping, cleaning, praise for online menus and social distancing practices are present in many of those reviews.

In many cases, restaurant guests have expressed their concerns and the fact that COVID-19 remains an important consideration when dining away from home directly in their online mentions and restaurant reviews. But what is most telling is that when explicitly mentioning terms related to the pandemic (words like COVID, coronavirus or even a more generic mentions as virus), they seem to be more concerned with what the staff is doing and how they are handling the situation, than talking about specific measures such as wearing masks or gloves.

Analyzing the data compiled by Black Box Intelligence revealed that for every 10 guest posts or reviews explicitly mentioning COVID-19 or a related term, there were, on average, 8 reviews that mentioned the restaurant staff. Words like staff, server, manager or employees were the ones most used. At the same time, for every 10 COVID-related mentions, on average, only 2 included keywords related to masks or gloves.

Naturally, this does not mean that wearing masks or gloves is not important in a restaurant setting. But it seems to be a good indicator that guests believe that it is up to the restaurant employees and managers to keep them safe. They are looking at their behaviors and responses when called out for perceived infractions. It is through the staffs execution of the cleanliness practices and procedures that guests trust their cleanliness and safety expectations will be met.

Cleanliness is the New Ambiance

Heightened attention to cleanliness will likely continue to dominate ambiance guest sentiment, as customers remain vigilant about sanitization and safety procedures while dining out. Guests are paying attention to employees and how they are acting inside restaurants with regards to keeping surfaces clean or wearing masks and gloves. Additionally, restaurant employees may amplify internal processes and procedures through various social channels.

To meet guest expectations, it is important for restaurants to make sure employees are equipped with all the tools and training needed to maintain cleanliness within restaurants, while making sure they also feel safe to come to work.

*Tracked attributes by Black Box Guest Intelligence: food, service, beverage, ambiance, service, value and intent to return

The Restaurant Guest Satisfaction Snapshot is produced by Black Box Guest Intelligence. Guest Intelligence is tracking over 192 brands to benchmark customer satisfaction and is the only online tool that integrates with operational performance data to validate the impact on financial performance. The algorithm determining ranking brands is based on sentiment and determined by Black Box Guest Intelligence. Brands included in this monthly snapshot must have a total of at least 250 mentions for the month. Restaurants must have a minimum number of units to be eligible as well. DMA rankings consider only the largest 25 areas. https://blackboxintelligence.com/guest-intelligence/

Black Box Intelligence (formerly TDn2K) is the leading data and insights provider of workforce, guest, consumer and financial performance benchmarks for the hospitality industry. The Black Box Intelligence product suite is the industry standard for operators seeking to achieve best-in-class performance results. With the largest and most reliable set of real restaurant data in the marketplace, Black Box Intelligence currently tracks and analyzes more than 290 brands, 2.5 million employees, 50,000 restaurant units and $76 billion in annual sales revenue. Black Box Intelligence is also the producer of the Global Best Practices Conference held annually in Dallas, Texas.
HealthyChildren.org Back-to-School Sweepstakes 2020

HealthyChildren.org, the official parenting website of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), celebrates back-to-school seasonwhether it's in-person, online only, or something in between for your familywith a 10-day Back-to-School Sweepstakes event. Ten lucky winners will receive a $200 gift card. The contest begins August 22 and ends August 31, 2020. Registered users may enter once each day during the event. Winners will be drawn daily. Full rules and more information can be found here.

About HealthyChildren.org

The only parenting website backed by 67,000 AAP member pediatricians, HealthyChildren.org offers trustworthy, up-to-the-minute health advice and guidance for parents and caregivers, along with interactive tools and personalized content. Registered users enjoy a customized home page that features articles geared to the ages of their children. The site also offers a Find a Pediatrician service, an Ask the Pediatrician tool, the KidsDoc Symptom Checker, and more than 5,000 articles on childrens health and safety in English and Spanish. In response to the current pandemic, the site now includes many COVID-19 resources to help parents cope.
Zareen Khan says people still assume Salman Khan helps her find work: "I cannot be a monkey on his back"
Making huge savings on clothing in a sale and donating to charity are both great feelings, but its not often you can mix the two.

But with the launch of BestKeptSecret, a brand new digital flash sale, you can grab a bargain from more than 35 premier fashion brands and support the charities Baby2Baby and Know Your Rights Camp with each purchase.

During the five-day event, which ends on August 15, BestKeptSecret will attach a $5 donation to every unit sold with 100 per cent of the proceeds divided between the charities.

With top brands like Rag & Bone, Good American, FRAME, Jason Wu, RE/DONE, alice + olivia and many more, there's plenty to choose from and many items are under $100.

Ahead are some of our favorite bargains to refresh your wardrobe and support charity. Be quick before they sell out!

Ba&sh Jammy Dress, $93.50 (was $295)

You can't beat a white shirt dress for classic elegance. The white colour lifts all complexions and the belt nips you in at the waist to give you the sought after hourglass shape. But the simple cut and conservative knee length make it look as if you're not trying too hard.

With rounded shoulders, batwing sleeves and a beautiful drape, this dress suits all occasions. Wear it to the office in summer, on a trip to the mall, or for lunch with the ladies and the eye-catching gold buttons will ensure that heads turn for all the right reasons.

CLICK TO BUY

FRAME Denim Pleated Coverall Short Maxson, $95

FRAME is famous for its figure-flattering denim, which seems to magically shape your body parts and make you feel slimmer and more pert. Normally the quality comes at a high price, but BestKeptSecret has slashed the prices on the pleated coverall shorts by 68 per cent.

With a flattering self-tie belt, this jumpsuit has retro glamor in a modern design. It's a lighter, more breathable alternative to last season's boiler suit trend. Wear it buttoned up to feel prim and proper or undo the buttons and wear a strappy tank underneath for a more casual look.

CLICK TO BUY

Good American Liquid Mix Leggings, $48 (was $115)

Good American sportswear is durable, long-lasting and always sets you apart from the crowd. The liquid mix leggings are made from compression fabric to make your legs feel supported and look fabulous, while a core support panel will have you sculpted and secure.

Layered panels make these leggings as much of a fashion statement as a workout choice and they'd take you from brunch to barre in style.

Mesh panels on the back allow for movement and ventilation so you'll feel as cool as you look.

CLICK TO BUY

Simon Miller Bend Bag In Tan, $205 (65% off)

Los Angeles-based fashion brand Simon Miller specializes in playful luxury, and this shoulder bag perfectly sums up the brand's ethos.

Made in France from luxurious leather that's strokably soft, you can tell it's a quality designer bag despite the chunky acrylic chain strap.

The half-moon shape makes it look more interesting than a traditional rectangular bag, but it's the perfect size for your wallet, keys, phone and a book or journal.

Sling it over your shoulder to make all your outfits look more expensive.

CLICK TO BUY

alice + olivia Maeve Mid Length Slip Skirt, $71.25 (was $265)

In a sultry shade of dusky pink, alice + olivia's satin slip skirt is seriously sexy. Wear it with a delicate top for a night out or with a loose oversized jumper or cardigan to inject some glamor into daily life.

With a body skimming silhouette, it will make you feel super feminine without flashing too much skin. An elusive blend of cool and sexy, you can wear it to the grocery store without feeling too over-dressed.

The pink colour contrasts nicely with orange but you could also pair it with golds or navy and color block in style.

CLICK TO BUY

Fleur De Mal Handkerchief Dress, $200 (63% off)

Fleur De Mal explores the art of femininity and artful provocation with some seriously beautiful dresses and lingerie sets, and there are some great bargains to be had in the BestKeptSecret sale.

The asymmetrical handkerchief dress is crafted with lightweight silk and features a V-neck, adjustable spaghetti straps and asymmetrical hem that falls just above the ankle.

But it's the attention-grabbing open back with two red buckle straps that will make you feel powerful and super sexy. This dress makes for a killer party-girl look.

CLICK TO BUY

Splits59 Elsie Woven Windbreaker Jacket, $40 (Was $148)

With a saving of more than $100, can you afford not to look twice at this cute pink and nectarine hoodie?

It will keep the chill off while you're running and you can wear it when warming up or cooling off at the gym or at yoga and Pilates classes.

The Splits 59 brand is inspired by the split second on a stop watch that can make all the difference to an athlete and is famous for it's high performing fabrics. This one is sweat absorbent and moisture-wicking to keep you fresh and dry in all conditions.

CLICK TO BUY

DailyMail.com may earn commission on sales from links on this page. Any commissions taken will not effect fundraising. BestKeptSecret baked in a $5 donation to the price of every item in order to maintain the integrity of fundraising.
South Africa: COVID-19 storm slows down in Gauteng

Gauteng Premier David Makhura has called on citizens to remain vigilant because while the COVID-19 storm in the province has slowed down, it is yet to pass.

The storm has not passed, it has just slowed down we must say as Gauteng we are still a very vulnerable province. A lot of people live side by side and the transport system also has an impact. We do not want the second wave that is more brutal, said the Premier on Thursday.

Gauteng remains the COVID-19 epicentre in the country with 194 685 cumulative cases, 2761 deaths and 152 061 recoveries recorded.

Makhura warned citizens not to be complacent, while speaking during the Provincial Command Councils weekly update on COVID-19 in the province.

The Premier was joined by various experts who provided the modelling on the possible trajectory of the Coronavirus in the province.

With the pandemic in Gauteng entering a new period, Makhura said the province has made positive developments but the road ahead is still long.

The province witnessed significant gains through non-pharmaceutical interventions such as the wearing of masks, sanitising of hands and adherence to social distancing.

Makhura said it was critical these non-pharmaceutical interventions are maintained, a sentiment reiterated by Witwatersrand University Professor Bruce Mellado.

Prof Mellado said while he commended Gauteng for its ability to handle the first surge of infections under lockdown level 3, the possibility of a new surge still remains.

Makhura expressed encouragement with the provinces daily cases showing a decline.

Although the surge has slowed down, we still regard ourselves as the epicentre by the number of confirmed cases. The only difference is that over the past few days, KwaZulu-Natal has the largest daily cases, he said

Gauteng City Region Observatory Senior Researcher Gillian Maree asserted that the province may be seeing the early signs of a plateau but cautioned against complacency and urged citizens to be vigilant.

Field hospitals repurposed

Wits Department of Paediatrics and Child Health Prof Mphelekedzeni Mulaudzi said based on projections, Gauteng may have to revisit its plans to open field hospitals and rather look to boosting available infrastructure.

Makhura said this would be revisited under the principle of developing the health system with the post-COVID-19 health system in mind.

The number of field hospitals that we were planning will be revised. That is what the executive council said yesterday and more work will be directed at improving facilities.

Our resources need to be directed to saving lives and COVID-19 but also post-COVID-19 to have a better improved health system, he said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-08-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Election 2020 Myanmar Authorities Say Election Boycott Campaign May Face Legal Action

A No Vote page on social media. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

YANGONMyanmars Union Election Commission (UEC) has said that any attempt to call for a boycott of the countrys November election violates election law, according to commission member U Myint Naing.

Some Myanmar voters have recently called on their fellow citizens not to vote in the general election, which is scheduled for Nov. 8, complaining that the National League for Democracy (NLD) government has been unable to fulfill the expectations of voters who supported the party in the 2015 general election.

In recent weeks, the calls have gradually grown into a No Vote campaign, prompting a debate on social media over the legality of urging people not to cast votes in the election.

According to Article 2 (n) of the Election Law, the right to vote is defined as the right of a person to vote or to refrain from voting in the election. But according to the UEC, encouraging others not to vote in the election violates Articles 57, 58 (b) and (d), 60 and 61 (b) and (c) of the Election Law.

To vote or not to vote is the right of an individual, but encouraging others not to vote violates those articles, said U Myint Naing.

Article 57 criminalizes the use of violence, threats, undue influence, cheating and taking or giving of bribes to prevent a person from exercising the right to vote or run in an election. Article 58 (b) criminalizes threatening a candidate or a voter to prevent them from freely exercising their voting rights.

Article 60 criminalizes disturbing any eligible voter so as to prevent them from casting a vote on election day. Article 61 (b) bars soliciting a voter to vote or exhorting and inducing them not to vote for a Parliament candidate. Article 61 (c) bars exhorting and inducing someone to vote or not vote in the election.

All the articles carry a possible sentence of one year in prison and a fine of 100,000 kyats (US$72.90).

U Myint Naing said that complaints regarding these electoral offences can be filed with the police.

Article 65 (b) of the Election Law says voters, candidates, election agents and members of election sub-commissions and polling stations can file complaints with credible evidence about electoral offenses before or during the election and within 15 days after election day.

When asked if election authorities will take action against the No Vote campaign, U Myint Naing said, We will act in line with the law. There are legal provisions. Thats all I want to say.

According to the UEC, some 37 million people are eligible to cast votes in the November election.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

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Myanmars Ruling Party to Contest All Seats in Conflict-Torn Rakhine State in November Election

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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse)  Thu, August 13, 2020 22:02 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066dddbc9 2 Entertainment Zac-Efron,Disney-Plus,Movie,Three-Men-and-a-Baby Free

Zac Efron returns to Disney, which gave him his breakout role as Troy Bolton in the High School Musical trilogy (2006-2008), for a remake of the 1987 comedy Three Men and a Baby.

The original movie, which was based on the 1985 French film Trois hommes et un couffin (Three Men and a Cradle), starred Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg and Ted Danson as three New York bachelors who find themselves caring for the infant daughter of Dansons character Jack, while trying to extricate themselves from a mix-up with drug dealers and the police.

The hit comedy was directed by Leonard Nimoy. A sequel, Three Men and a Little Lady was released in 1990.

Read also: Kelly Clarkson, Zac Efron to get stars on Hollywood Walk of Fame

The Disney+ remake has been scripted by Will Reichel, while Gordon Gray (The Rookie, Secretariat, The Way Back) will produce. No director has been named for the project yet, nor have details about Efrons role emerged.

After 2019s Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, where he stars as serial killer Ted Bundy, Efrons most recent project, Netflix series, Down to Earth with Zac Efron, sees him travel the world with self-proclaimed wellness guru Darin Olien, exploring healthy, sustainable lifestyle choices.

He will shortly be seen playing a Wired Magazine investigator who tracks down computer programmer John McAfee at his jungle compound in Belize in King of the Jungle.
Over the past few months, the New York City Department of Homeless Services has been moving homeless individuals from their typical shelter placements to temporary emergency shelter placements, many of them in hotels, to facilitate social distancing. It is a logical response to the pandemic: reduce density in shelters to reduce the spread of COVID-19, while making use of hotels emptied out by the dramatic drop-off in tourism, providing them with some much-needed revenue and preserving jobs. But these emergency shelters have faced stiff opposition from some in the neighborhood.

Four of the 63 hotels used thus far have been located on the Upper West Side: the Lucerne, the Belleclaire, the Belnord, and Park West Hotel. The Lucerne, the Belleclaire, and the Belnord  which have faced the brunt of the opposition  are sheltering men without families, and the Park West Hotel is doing the same for women without families.

The use of these hotels as temporary emergency shelters has roiled the neighborhood. A petition calling for the removal of the three temporary mens shelters, driven by a group calling themselves Upper West Siders for Safe Streets, has more than 5,700 signatures. The movement has gotten a boost from very sympathetic coverage in the New York Post. Some residents ground their opposition on the presence of people with substance abuse disorders, or that 14 of the nearly 700 clients at the Lucerne, the Belleclaire, and the Belnord are registered as sex offenders. There have been a handful of recent reports of assaults in the neighborhood and of other disturbing incidents, such as a drug overdose in a Duane Reade, though it is unclear which of these, if any, may be directly tied to the presence of the new shelters.

A Twitter account named No NIMBY NYC has documented some of the vile language used against the new neighbors in these hotels, including calling the homeless men creatures and encouraging armed warfare in the event of their continued presence. Residents eager for the removal of these shelters have called for aggressive tactics ranging from removing park benches in the Broadway green streets islands to having Curtis Sliwa and the vigilante Guardian Angels, who have previously fabricated crimes for publicity, patrol the neighborhood. Now, our new neighbors feel most unwelcome as a result.

The Upper West Side has been an important part of my life since I was 12 years-old. I went to middle school and high school in the neighborhood, quite close to the Lucerne and the Belleclaire, and I have lived in the area now for the past few years. Acceding to these loud demands  which, I firmly believe, do not represent the views of the majority of residents  would lead to harmful public policy and would be a sharp departure from the proudly progressive tradition of the Upper West Side. (Indeed, some of the opponents of shelters in the neighborhood even told news outlets they recently attended Black Lives Matter protests.) If opponents to these shelters are willing to turn down the temperature on their rhetoric, there is an opportunity to build community and refocus our efforts on the common challenge facing us all: the deep shortage of affordable housing in New York City.

These shelters are part of DHSs efforts to facilitate social distancing. While flouting social distancing may seem acceptable to some New Yorkers gathering outside bars in Manhattan or the Hamptons, it is a life-or-death matter for the homeless: unhoused New Yorkers had a 61% higher mortality rate for COVID-19 than the overall average for the city. With 89% of homeless households being headed by Black or Latino New Yorkers, combating homelessness is also a racial justice issue.

Meanwhile, as COVID-19 spread and travel decreased, hotel occupancy has declined between 64% and 93% in the months since March 2020. This level of vacancy risked leading to eventual closures and the loss of unionized blue-collar jobs at a time of double-digit unemployment. Placing temporary emergency shelters in largely-vacant hotels, then, is a sound idea with many benefits.

Beyond the presence of hotels on the Upper West Side, there are good reasons for there to be more homeless shelters in the neighborhood. Hotels like the Lucerne and the Belleclaire were once full of single-room occupancies, or SROs, dorm-like residences which housed poor, single men like those now staying in these emergency shelters. While it would be a mistake to romanticize SROs, particularly those in tenement-like conditions or that lacked supportive services for residents in need of them, repeated SRO conversions to luxury uses across the city have exacerbated New York Citys housing crisis and dramatically reduced the economic diversity of the Upper West Side.

The presence of a small number of sex offenders very understandably complicates this conversation. However, even here, the evidence should shape the reality. For one, residents are receiving a suite of supportive services from providers such as Project Renewal (the Lucerne), HELP USA (the Belleclaire), and Center for Urban Community Services (the Belnord). In addition, research tells us that individuals convicted of sex offenses are the least likely to recidivate among those who commit the most serious kinds of offenses; that only 3% are likely to recidivate specifically toward another sexual offense; that stable housing is essential to avoiding recidivism and substance abuse disorders; and that residency is not the prevailing factor in sex offense cases. To be sure, one sex offense at any time in any community is one too many, and the state appropriately limits where those who have committed the most severe sex offenses may live. However, even as no combination of statistics can put families at ease, the objective likelihood is that the downward trend of sex crimes on the Upper West Side will remain unaffected.

Instead of letting fear drive opposition, those who oppose these shelters and those of us who support them should focus on a common enemy: our short housing supply. The pre-COVID unavailability of housing has broad ripple effects, from the high rents or purchasing prices for most homes on the Upper West Side to the homelessness too many experience in our city. The affordable housing shortage drives our homelessness crisis. Research shows that the primary cause of homelessness is the lack of affordable housing, which may be precipitated by evictions, overcrowding within apartments, domestic violence, job loss, and unsafe housing conditions. Tackling these issues will require strengthening the city governments eviction prevention and domestic violence support programs as well as building much more new deeply affordable housing and providing more rent vouchers to low-income New Yorkers. Those of us who live in transit-rich, high-opportunity neighborhoods like the Upper West Side could help by supporting affordable housing development in our neighborhoods, given the paucity built here during Mayor Bill de Blasios term. More permanent affordable or supportive housing means more stability for low-income residents and less blindsiding of communities  a solution where everyone wins.

It is perhaps easy to fall prey to divisive sentiment in a time of much social isolation, mass unemployment and business closures, increased shootings, and tales of New Yorkers fleeing the city for good. But our neighborhood must recognize that poverty, more than being an aesthetic inconvenience only when visible, requires a collective effort to address. The Upper West Side has built affordable Mitchell-Lama apartments, fought to realize the citys promise to build thousands of affordable units in the West Side Urban Renewal Area, helped buy SRO apartments to aid tenants in staying in needed supportive housing, and more. Few of these victories have been complete or unopposed. But they set an example for those of us who live here today  one followed by people like Sara Lind, Amanda Fialk, and other Upper West Side moms, who organized a petition and a positive, well-attended welcoming event for our new neighbors. The rest of the neighborhood should join their cause.
MobileODT, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based developer of the EVA System for cervical cancer screening, closed a $4m Series C funding round.

The round, which has raised $26m in total funding to date, was led by OrbiMed Israel Partners, with participation from Tristel, Tara Health and Laerdal.

The company intends to use the funds to further develop AI (Augmented Intelligence) clinical decision support technology for the evaluation of cervical cancer at the point of care.

Led by newly appointed CEO Leon A. Boston, MobileODT helps clinicians utilize AI on its portable medical devices to enhance womens health. Its EVA System combines advanced imaging, data and software applications, to expand access to quality care in 30 countries and across more than 60 US health systems. The EVA Systems smart mobile colposcope is used by clinicians worldwide for colposcopy, general gynecology, telegynecology, and forensic imaging. The company is integrating its AI in approved markets to provide clinical decision support to healthcare providers at the point-of-care.

FinSMEs

13/08/2020
A wildfire in Oregon engulfed hundreds of acres of land on Wednesday and currently threatens hundreds of homes in Columbia River Gorge.

According to the Office of the Wasco County Sheriff, they received reports of a blaze in the town od Mosier at around 5:00 PM that day. Mosier is about 70 miles east of Portland.

Late Wednesday night, Governor Kate Brown of Oregon, made an emergency declaration to get more available resources for battle the blaze.

In a tweet, the governor also called to the citizens of Oregon to be more vigilant and cautious, and to also honor the imposed burn bans. She also reminded them that it is critical that wildfires are prevented from this year.

The sheriff's office has stated that at least 500 acres of land have now been scorched by the fire. The situation has already prompted responses from both regional and local fire departments.

Moreover, it was stated by the sheriff's office that the crew will continue to patrol on the area overnight and work on containing the blaze. People have also been advised to refrain from entering the said area in order to not affect the work of those trying to suppress the fire.

Meanwhile, Oregon Department of Forestry spokesperson, Christine Shaw stated during an interview with Oregon Live that fire started just as crews were already mopping up a separate fire that happened near the area along Interstate 84. She said that the said blaze was contained after it only burnt two acres.

However, the second fire was not easily contained s it was fanned by a strong wind. The sheriff's office released an order for the evacuation of people who live in the area at around 6 PM. While other residents were asked to be prepared for possible evacuation.

Read also: 20,000 Acres of Land Burned as Wild Fire Engulfs Southern California

According to Fox News, the fire quickly spread from just 50 acres to 200 acres and has reached 500 acres in juts a span of two hours.

Brown also said that the blaze threatens around 300 homes. Thus, residents hailing from Osburne Cutoff, Dry Creek, Vensel, Catron, Morgenson, Carroll, and from Chenoweth Airport to Vensel/Ketchum road were all given several evacuation orders.

In an interview with one resident that lived in the evacuation zone, Karyn Hart, she stated that she was already heading home when she saw smoke. She then rushed to her house and packed up her valuables into her car.

She also said that her friend is one of the water bomber pilots who are trying to extinguish the fire, adding that he assured her that he made sure to dump a lot of water into the near end of the ranch. She also stated that her friend said that the wind is starting to settle, thus it would be easier to get the fire under control.

Meanwhile, Oregon State Fire Marshal said that it will be assuming the command over the blaze by Thursday morning and will be working on bringing more resources from surrounding counties.

The office of the governor also stated that fire danger levels will be rising in the state with its trend warming into the weekend.



Related article: Thousands Evacuated After Fire Engulfs Southern France Forest

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The state of Montana is using new signage at popular waterbodies to announce cautions or closures due to harmful algal blooms, or HABs.

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality; Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services; and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks began the new signage program this year to alert water users about the potential for toxic algae. The signs include information on HABs as well as a color advisory. A yellow caution sign means that toxic algae may be present while a red closure sign indicates a waterbody has been tested and toxic algae is present.

So far, 14 permanent signs have popped up around the state including at Canyon Ferry, Nilan, Cooney, Hauser and Bear Paw Lake. The state is also working to make temporary signs available as needed.

DEQ spokeswoman Moira Davin cautioned that the absence of a sign does not necessarily mean HABs are not present and that it is up to local jurisdictions to decide whether to place signage.

Blue-green algae are native to Montana and often look like pea soup, grass clippings or green latex paint. Algae are usually suspended in the water or in floating mats.

Not all varieties of blue-green algae are harmful, but some can produce dangerous toxins particularly for pets or livestock or children. Contact, ingestion or inhalation of the toxins may irritate the skin, eyes, nose, throat and respiratory system, or cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache or liver and kidney damage.

Reports of livestock and pet illness and death have also been reported since the 1970s, including as recently as this year.

During a pandemic its especially important to take precautions to protect the health of yourself and your loved ones, said Ed Evanson, supervisor of the DPHHS Food and Consumer Safety Section. When in doubt, stay out. Keep a close eye on pets and livestock to ensure they dont drink the water where HABs are present.

Since 2017, DEQ and DPHHS have operated the informational website habs.mt.gov where the public can report suspected HABs. Reports may also be made by calling 1-888-849-2938 or emailing HAB@mt.gov.

The goal of the Montana HAB Program is to educate people about the potential dangers of HABs, how to identify them and how to respond, said Hannah Riedl, water quality specialist at DEQ. Because we cant be there to track rapidly changing conditions in every water body, we want people to be informed enough to make their own decisions. We also ask the public to be our eyes on the ground and report HABs. That way, we can respond quickly and hopefully prevent people, pets, and livestock from getting sick.

Managing HABs in an up-to-date way can be tricky, Riedl said in a previous interview. Blue-green algae may produce toxins for an hour, a day or all summer, she said.

Scientists believe the blooms are occurring at more locations, with increased frequency and longer duration, according to state agencies. Causes include climate-driven warmer water temperatures, longer summer growing seasons and increased nitrogen and phosphorus runoff from a variety of human activities including municipal wastewater discharge and agriculture.

Reporter Tom Kuglin can be reached at 447-4076 @IR_TomKuglin

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Safety precautions have been highlighted after a farmer from the Midlands was killed following a bull handling incident.

The tragic incident occurred on Saturday 8 August on a farm in Herefordshire, West Mercia Police confirmed.

It is thought the farmer was returning the bull from the field to the pen.

"We were called to a medical incident at a farm in Herefordshire at around 2.30pm on Saturday (August 8)," the force said.

"Sadly a man was pronounced dead at the scene.

"There were no suspicious circumstances and we referred the incident to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) which is leading on the matter."

A HSE spokesperson reminded farmers of the utmost need to take proper precautions when working with livestock.

"Carrying out tasks on unrestrained cattle or with makeshift equipment dramatically increases the risk of injury from crushing, kicking, butting or goring," a spokesperson said.

Figures show that over the past year, a total of 21 people in Britain were killed in agriculture, consisting of 20 workers and 1 member of the public - a four year old child.

Agriculture has the highest rate of fatal injury - 18 times higher than the all-industry rate, accounting for around 20% of worker fatalities.
One immediate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic this past spring was the temporary shutdown of schools all over the world, leaving over 1 billion students without classrooms. Schools were forced to quickly launch and scale up virtual learning curricula. The speed, scale, and breadth of the virtual learning services that followed simply would not have been possible without world-class cloud infrastructure and learning platforms.

The rapid shift to cloud-based virtual learning across the globe is already having a transformative effect on education, and is likely to provide more flexibility in the way schools deliver education services in the future. The power and agility of public cloud infrastructure enabled many educational technology companies across Europe to scale existing services and quickly launch new solutions to help teachers and students adjust to a new way of learning, ensuring continuity of education.

Scalability proved to be an urgent challenge for existing software and service providers as school districts shifted en masse to remote learning models.

For example, Oblivion Cloud Control, a Netherlands-based specialist in cloud computing, helped Squla, an online learning platform for young students, deal with a sudden 20x increase in traffic when students were sent home and schools transitioned to remote learning. After its IT systems (particularly the database students use to look up answers) nearly collapsed under the stress, Squla worked with Oblivion and others to improve database performance so Squla could continue to deliver education services, and even added virtual gym classes. In the early weeks of the pandemic, 80% of primary schools were using Squla, serving 400,000 users.

In Italy, WeSchool, a classroom collaboration platform that lets students and teachers share materials, saw a 10x increase in web traffic for its online education services when schools were shut down. But with Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its foundation, WeSchool withstood the stress test and delivered its services to thousands more Italian K-12 students. Nearly 30% of Italys secondary school teachers used WeSchool to continue their classes online and connect with students virtually. WeSchool helps students to connect, collaborate and learn via video, chat, and lessons curated by teachers and other experts.

In the UK, Wonde was already well established in the education sector. The school data sync company is used by over 17,000 schools across multiple territories to collect and synchronize student, parent, and teacher data. When COVID hit, the number of third-party software providers requesting access to this data skyrocketed. With its infrastructure built on AWS, Wonde was easily able to support the surge in new school connections  as many as 300 per day during the peak  despite its entire workforce having to work from home.

New apps to fill gaps

Solution providers also leveraged the cloud to quickly build and deploy new apps to provide additional services for home-bound students and teachers. bSmart Labs, which provides digital textbooks and other educational services to schools in Italy, saw a need to add a videoconferencing option to its bSmart Classroom remote learning app. Using the Amazon Chime SDK , bSmart developers built a prototype in less than two days and launched the solution as part of its platform in just eight days. The app has already been made available to approximately 2 million K-12 students across the country, with 300,000 teachers representing over 60% of Italian secondary school educators.

Wonde also developed a new solution to distribute supermarket vouchers to families of students who were no longer able to receive free school meals. Using AWS infrastructure, Wonde developed the app in record time, signing up 4,000 schools in the first week and distributing vouchers to more than 300,000 families in the first month after launch.

Schools have always trended several years behind the commercial sector when it comes to technology, said Wonde CCO Jon Coleman. This three-month window has moved schools adoption plans by about five years so that schools are well prepared going into an uncertain future.

Providers of learning services for the workplace also stepped up during the crisis. Learnerbly is a workplace learning platform hosted on AWS. In June, in response to the UK governments Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the UK-based company adapted its platform to give furloughed workers an opportunity to continue to develop even though they were not at work.

Learnerblys service, for companies with 20 or more employees on furlough, gives employees access to free and pay-as-you-go content through the platform in topic areas like coding, AI, finance, leadership, UX design, and product management. Learnerbly also offers employees access to content and tools from providers such as Calm and Headspace to support their well-being, which employers are seeing as critical throughout uncertain times. Learnerbly secured additional free and exclusive content for furloughed users so that they could develop without further financial stress.

These examples demonstrate how Amazon Partner Network (APN) partners have enabled cloud-based delivery of education services to keep educational institutions and businesses productive and secure for learners of all levels and types. Learn more.
With many Americans still feeling anxious about visiting a hair salon during the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for at-home services has never been higher. In fact, Shortcut  an app that allows clients to request an in-home haircut from a licensed barber or stylist in their area  reports a 600% increase in bookings over the past three months.

Will Newton, co-founder of Shortcut, built the barber-delivery platform back in 2015 (with no premonitions of a global pandemic). We set out to design an Uber for haircuts: You download the app, input your address and the service youre looking for, and we match you with a local stylist or barber who will come to you, Newton says. Today, demand for our at-home services has exploded because many people dont feel comfortable venturing into a salon or barbershop, but still want a good haircut.

With health concerns altering the salon industry as a whole, Newton had to

adjust the Shortcut model to cater to increasing demands while keeping safety a top priority. We anticipated the surge in requests for at-home haircuts, and the widespread lockdowns across the personal-care industry afforded us the time to close business, increase our portfolio of hair professionals across 25 cities in the U.S., and institute best practices that enable our team to safely deliver haircuts in peoples homes, Newton says.

For the health of the stylist and client, Shortcut has implemented safety measures to comply with each states guidelines as well as CDC recommendations. We require our hair pros to complete a health and safety course before booking out to clients, Newton explains. They also have to wear a mask at every appointment and use disposable single-use capes and drop cloths to collect fallen hair. We also fully encourage our stylists to take appointments outdoors whenever possible  so haircuts are happening in backyards and rooftops all across the country.

Similar to a meal-delivery service, Shortcut offers the convenience of a quarantine haircut without ever leaving your home. But considering the fact that you cant practice six-foot social distancing during a hair appointment, even in your own home, we have to ask: Is booking an at-home haircut really safe during a pandemic?

Story continues

According to public-health expert Karl Minges, PhD, its safer than going into a salon, but not completely without risk. Compared to a salon haircut, an in-home service comes with a lower risk of infection because you have control of your space and only one person will be entering  so theres no chance of interaction with other people, which might happen at a salon, he explains. For the stylist, the risk is likely the same as performing services in the salon, depending on the client and the specific infection-prevention steps taken in their home.

Of course, if tight precautions are followed, the at-home service can be relatively safe for clients and stylists, both of whom should be masked for the entire appointment. Even in your own home, you should wear a mask while having a haircut, says Dr. Minges. Other precautions would be to go outside for the appointment or, if thats not possible, keep the windows open and A/C running with fans to increase air circulation  and thoroughly clean all surfaces, including door handles, that were touched during the appointment.

Not only is Shortcuts providing a safer alternative for clients who need a haircut, but its also helping many stylists and barbers stay afloat financially. Right now, hair salons and barbershops are struggling with capacity regulations, and many stylists and barbers have been laid off, Newton explains. As a result, weve seen an overwhelming increase in licensed professional hair pros applying to join Shortcut, especially in our New York and L.A. markets. Because theres no salon overhead, stylists on Shortcut earn 80% commission, and if a stylist brings one of their clients onto the platform, they keep 100% of that commission.

Shortcut currently employs over 400 hair pros across the country, including L.A.-based hairstylist Pierre Johnson who says hes grateful for the opportunity to leverage his services during these uncertain times. I need to cut hair in order to make money, he explains. Using Shortcut allows me to connect with clients I wouldnt have met outside of my shop while maximizing my earning potential. Im grateful for the opportunity to continue doing what I love with the help of a company that prioritizes the health and safety of its customers and employees.

Despite his modern business model, Newton says hes not looking to put traditional hair salons out of business, but rather partner with them to move forward together. Were not naive to the fact that people love going to the hair salon  in some neighborhoods, the barbershop is the cornerstone of the community  and thats going to bounce back, says Newton. With that said, this is a tough time and many salon models have to pivot. To help, weve built an additional piece of technology that allows salons and barbershops to white label our app, so their stylists can use it to facilitate in-home services with their clients.

Of course, many states dont allow personal-care services to be performed outside of a licensed salon, but because Shortcut operates under the jurisdictions of each states individual guidelines  with safety protocols in place  salon-delivery is possible in some areas. With these partnerships, a client can go to their salons website, and theyll be redirected to the Shortcuts app to book one of the salons employees for an at-home service. What an Uber Eats or Grubhub is for local restaurants, we can be that for hair salons.

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Linkedin Yuliasri Perdani and Budi Sutrisno (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 13, 2020 06:30 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066d97e96 1 Environment Pari-island,Thousand-Islands-regency,oil-spill,Pertamina-Hulu-Energi Free

Crude oil waste that allegedly leaked from an offshore operation by state-owned energy giant Pertamina has again contaminated the waters of the Thousand Islands regency in Jakarta.

On Tuesday morning, residents of Pari Island worked together to clean up the clotted oil waste along the coast. They said they had seen the oil in the waters of Pari and Lancang islands since Friday.

The residents suspected the crude oil waste had leaked from Pertamina's drilling operation in Indramayu and Karawang in West Java.

Seeing the currents, the crude oil waste likely originated from the east, to be precise, Karawang waters where oil drilling points are located, Pari Island Care Forum (FP3) chairman Mustahgfirin said in a statement.

He estimated that the oil waste had polluted 2 kilometers of the southern coast of Pari Island. If collected, he said, the waste could reach 50 tons.

Pari residents said such pollution had regularly occurred in recent years, especially in the month of August along with easterly currents and winds.

When oil spilled from an exploration well called YYA-1 north of Karawang last year, the Thousand Islands administration said the spill had reached seven of its southern islands. Pari was one of them, Mustahgfirin said.

Pari residents have raised concerns over the impacts of oil pollution on marine organisms, which the residents depend on for their livelihoods.

An FP3 member, Edi Mulyono, said the majority of Pari residents were fishermen, some of whom cultivated seaweed and grouper fish.

The grouper fish that eat the crude oil will die of poisoning, and if the waste sticks to the seaweed blades, they will burn and turn to white, Edi told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Read also: Pertamina cleans beaches in Balikpapan of possible oil pollution

Edi said the residents had reached out to the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, but they were told to contact the Environment and Forestry Ministry instead.

Pari residents demanded that both ministries and related agencies investigate the oil waste and take action to prevent more pollution in the years to come, Mustahgfirin said.

The head campaigner for energy and urban issues of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), Dwi Sawung, said Walhi would report to relevant ministers, especially the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, which would conduct a fingerprint test of the oil waste.

I cannot confirm if the oil waste is from YYA-1 because there is no test yet, but it came from the direction of Pertaminas Offshore North West Java (ONWJ) Block, Dwi said.

Dwi said that in past cases, the government had tested the oil waste but had never disclosed the test results to the public.

He also said that after last years oil spill, Pertamina provided operational funds for cleaning activities in the Thousand Islands but did not provide compensation for affected residents.

Residents need compensation, but the most important thing is to make sure such incidents will not happen again. Is there no penalty for the party responsible or cessation of operations? Dwi said.

Pertamina Hulu Energi (PHE) spokesman Ifki Sukarya said the company had deployed a team to do a three-day cleanup with the Thousand Islands Environment Agency and take a sample for a fingerprint test.

He said the YYA-1 well had been closed since September last year, and the Transportation Ministrys Sea Transportation Directorate General had also ended the YYA-1 oil spill emergency status in July this year.

We do not know where this spill came from. We will make sure to mobilize all subsidiaries to check in the field, Ifki said on Wednesday.

PHE media and relations manager Yudy Nugraha said the company has been assisting the Thousand Islands administration to clean up the coagulated oil waste seen in the waters and beaches of some of the islands in the regency recently.

The PHE OSES has been assisting the local administration and coordinating with local authorities and the community to clean up the oil spill, he told The Post on Thursday.

Editors note

The article has been updated to include the latest statement from Pertamina Hulu Energi (PHE) that the company is actively involved in the oil cleanup with local authorities.
President has said that Indian-origin Senator is a "very unusual" and "risky" pick as a running mate by Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

Biden on Tuesday named Harris as his vice-presidential running mate, making history by selecting the first black woman to compete on a major party's presidential ticket.

Harris, 55, whose father is an African from Jamaica and mother an Indian, is currently the US Senator from California.

"Look, he (Biden) made a choice. He picked her. I watched her. I watched her poll numbers go boom, boom, boom, down to almost nothing. And she left angry. She left mad. There was nobody more insulting to Biden than she was. She said horrible things about him including accusations made about him by a woman where she I guess believed the woman, Trump told reporters on Wednesday after Harris and Biden made a joint appearance in Wilmington in Delaware.

Trump, 74, is seeking his re-election and is facing a formidable challenge from Biden-Harris team.

Last year, when Harris was running for presidency, she had attacked Biden in a debate and was very critical of the former vice president.

"Now all of a sudden she's running to be vice president saying how wonderful he is. I thought it was a very unusual pick because she said such bad things. And you know better than anybody what--you know--you won't write it because you don't want to do that. But - you know - better than anybody she said horrible things about him. Horrible things," Trump said.

"She mocked him. Openly mocked him. That's why I thought that was a very risky pick. Because I'm sure that'll be played back not necessarily by me but others. It'll be played back, said the president in response to a question.

"The other thing if you look, she wants a USD 3 trillion tax hike. No fracking. How do you think no fracking in Pennsylvania's going to play? That's a big fracking state. If you didn't have energy produced that way you would have taxes that would triple, and you'd have unemployment that you wouldn't believe, he alleged.

Earlier in the day, White House Counsellor Kellyanne Conway alleged that the Democratic Party has already rejected Harris as her campaign did not take off during the primaries.

"The Democratic primary and caucus voters rejected Kamala Harris, and the rest of us are supposed to get excited and vote for her. They rejected her, she told reporters at the White House.

In a statement, Tim Murtaugh, Trump 2020 communications director, said that Harris was rated the most liberal US Senator in 2019 and completes the radical, leftist takeover of Biden and the entire Democrat Party.

"She pushes Biden even farther to the left than he had already moved. She is a strong supporter of Bernie Sanders' socialist takeover of health care, which would eliminate private health insurance for 180 million Americans, while she would also give health care and other taxpayer-funded benefits to illegal aliens, he said.

"She supports the job-killing Green New Deal and wants to ban all fracking, which means economic catastrophe in natural gas states like Pennsylvania. As a prosecutor, she granted huge numbers of plea deals while homicides and aggravated assaults increased, and she opposed the death penalty for cop-killers and MS-13 gang members, Murtaugh said.

"She supported sanctuary city policies that favoured criminal illegal aliens over law-abiding citizens and today supports efforts in Los Angeles to redirect police funding to other areas. and together make up the most extreme, leftist ticket in American major party history, he said.

"With by his side, the leftist takeover of is complete. Harris has embraced the Green New Deal, socialized medicine, and open borders, and all Americans should worry that she might be one heartbeat away from the presidency, the Trump campaign said in another statement.

Only President Trump and his administration can be trusted to rebuild our economy, defend our national security, and put America First, it said.

"What's very important about this vice presidential selection is not just how radical and far left this ticket is, it's also the fact that this is the new Democratic Party. This is not the Democratic Party of a decade ago or a generation ago. This is the party of Kamala Harris, of leftist politicians that are out of touch with hardworking Americans across this country who will determine who wins this election," Congressman Elise Stefanik told reporters.

Stacy Washington, Black Voices for Trump Advisory Board Member, alleged that Harris' career has never been about the people, it has always been about her and Biden is no different.

"A Biden-Harris presidency will always put themselves first, and the American people last. Phony Kamala is Joe Biden's political living will, and her radical left beliefs should cause every American to worry about her being just one heartbeat away from becoming president," Washington said.

(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 the first time, Airbnb has launched legal action against a guest for breaking its rules on unauthorised parties after three revellers were shot at a home in California last weekend.

The home-sharing website is suing an unnamed guest who hosted the party in Sacramento County at which three people were wounded.

Around 50 people attended the unauthorised party, CBS Sacramento reported, with revellers fleeing and leaving cars deserted in the middle of the street after shots were fired.

The guest has also been removed from Airbnbs platform after the incident, the company said.

Airbnb is attempting to clean up its image after a string of stories about unauthorised parties at properties booked through its website.

Late last year, Airbnb banned open invite parties at properties rented through its platform after five people were shot and killed at an unauthorised Halloween party in Orinda, California.

Recommended Airbnb host finds 30 people camping at cottage with axe and sword

The four-bedroom home in Orinda had been rented on Airbnb by a woman who told the owner her dozen family members had asthma and needed to escape smoke from a wildfire, a person with knowledge of the transaction said.

The owner was suspicious of a one-night rental on Halloween and, before agreeing, reminded the renter that no parties were allowed.

Airbnb was preparing to offer its shares to the public this year but Covid-19 has derailed those plans. The initial public offering could still happen later this year.

In a bid to please potential investors, Airbnb promised to verify all of its listings and crack down harder on parties that get out of control.

The company has also set up a rapid response team to deal with complaints from neighbours and has started screening high risk bookings, including those for a large home for one night.

Last month, Airbnb banned guests aged under 25 from booking entire homes close to where they live.

In the most recent case, Airbnb said it will seek monetary damages and donate them to local gun violence charities. The shootings remain under police investigation.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- The Grand Rapids Planning Commission has given the go-ahead to a 48-unit senior housing development despite outcry from nearby residents concerned over traffic, neighborhood character and the environmental impact of building on wetlands.

Planning commissioners unanimously approved the development on the citys Southeast Side at their meeting Thursday, Aug. 13.

"I am trying to balance the concerns of the neighborhood and the loud voice that we did hear with the ways that this project does fit with our master plan and the need in our city for more housing and more housing types," said Kyle Van Strien, chair of the planning commission.

We know that theres a need for this type of offering in our city and for folks who want to remain in the city or move back to the city, he added, saying a nearby senior living development has a wait list.

Those potentially affected by the development, which sits on seven acres of land at 2200 Griggs St. SE, can appeal the decision.

At the planning commissioners virtual meeting, numerous nearby residents spoke out about the development during a public comment period that lasted more than 90 minutes. Few people spoke in support.

It will destroy what this entire neighborhood has. Everyone is going to benefit except the neighborhood, said Mike Ward, who lives on Griggs near where the only entrance to the development would be.

The city benefits with more tax base, which I appreciate. The developer makes money, which I respect, and the owner makes money as well. Please dont sacrifice this neighborhood for just more tax revenue. Please dont.

The development known as Breton Hamlet is being proposed by Sid Jansma Jr., who has owned the property for 44 years and is chairman of Grand Rapids-based Wolverine Gas and Oil Corporation and co-manager of Covenant Properties.

Related: Neighbors push back against proposed senior housing development in Grand Rapids

The homes and condos in Breton Hamlet will be reserved for residents 55 and older. The property is seven acres of wooded area with wetlands located just west of Breton Village and surrounded by homes on three sides.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy has approved filling in wetlands for the project but requires some wetland preservation elsewhere to offset the move.

Residents who spoke out at the planning commission meeting voiced a number of concerns. Many were concerned about the increased volume of traffic, which some said would endanger children.

Some were disappointed about the destruction of wetlands and woodlands to make way for the development, saying it would harm wildlife and potentially result in flooding in the nearby neighborhoods.

Others still were open to development of the property but disagreed at the density of the project. According to city staff, the development, with about 6.6 dwelling units per acre, is about 2 more dwelling units per acre than the surrounding area.

While I am not opposed to a development on this site, I feel that the size and scope of this does not fit with the neighborhood, another resident told planning commissioners. The traffic on our street right now currently is probably 30 to 40 cars a day. So while 190 cars a day fits their regulation, it doesnt really fit with the pattern of the neighborhood. My other concern is that youre subjecting hundreds of people to constant construction and noise for three to five years.

The resident was referencing a traffic study contracted by the developer which found the project would generate about 190 car trips per day. City traffic engineers estimate the new traffic will not exceed target volumes for the area.

The development does not have direct access to a major roadway, such as nearby Breton Road.

There is a housing crisis, household sizes are shrinking, and our population continues to age, Jansma, the developer, wrote to planning commissioners. Breton Hamlet provides housing of its time that is most appropriate and needed.

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Vaccine sales stir big pharma (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)

Top global pharmaceutical corporations Sanofi, Roche, GSK, Novartis, and AstraZeneca have announced their first-half business results, with many suffering from the negative impacts of the pandemic, while noting encouragement from COVID-19 vaccine developments. These multinational corporations all have a strong presence and plans to expand in Vietnam.

Sanofi in the second quarter of 2020 generated net sales of 8.207 billion ($9.73 billion), a decrease of 4.9 per cent on-year. Sanofis first-half sales were 17.18 billion ($20.3 billion), up 0.9 per cent on-year. Its first-half business earnings per share (EPS) grew 9.2 per cent on-year.

Similarly, Roche Group appears to have weathered the storm, reporting sales growth of 1 per cent at constant exchange rates (CER) during the period, despite the pandemic negatively affecting sales across the whole business. Accordingly, for the first half of 2020, the group reported CHF29.28 billion ($31.53 billion) in total sales, down 4 per cent (up 1 per cent at CER) on-year.

Roche CEO Severin Schwan said the company was hit hardest in May because of the COVID-19 pandemic and global shutdowns. He noted that hospitals were focused almost entirely on treating patients with the virus, which delayed routine diagnostics.

Notably during this span, Roches SARS-CoV-2 antibody test has been a strong contributor to the on-year 3.4 per cent sales growth experienced by the companys diagnostics division. Sales of the molecular diagnostics division, including the SARS-CoV-2 PCR test, grew 61 per cent, highlighting the importance of tests on the groups sales.

Elsewhere, the United Kingdoms largest pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) reported a group turnover of 16.714 billion ($21.93 billion) in the six months, up 8 per cent in annual equivalent rate, 8 per cent CER, and flat on a pro-forma basis. On the same basis, the groups turnover was flat, but up 1 per cent excluding the impact of divestments in vaccines and brands divested or under review in consumer healthcare. Sales performance reflects disruption from COVID-19 primarily in vaccines in the second quarter.

Meanwhile, global science-led biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca witnessed total revenues rise 14 per cent on-year in the first six months, with strong revenue performance in new medicines (up 45 per cent), oncology (31 per cent), respiratory and immunology (7 per cent), and emerging markets (15 per cent).

AstraZeneca also reported core operating profit rising 23 per cent on-year despite a fall in other operating income (down 13 per cent) and core EPS of $2.01 (up 26 per cent).

Novartis also delivered strong first-half performance. Specifically, due to COVID-19, first-half results are more representative of underlying performance than the second quarter, with sales growth of 6 per cent and core operating income growth of 19 per cent. Sales of the groups innovative medicines grew 7 per cent and core operating income 16 per cent. Sandoz sales grew 1 per cent and core operating income 26 per cent.

Novartis performed strongly in the first half, despite COVID-19, demonstrating the resilience and agility of our associates and operations, said Vas Narasimhan, CEO of Novartis. Our growth drivers and launches continue their strong momentum, with Cosentyx and Entresto increasing market share in the US. We are on track to deliver on our commitment to drive consistent margin expansion and are excited by the progress of our deep mid- to late-stage pipeline to drive long-term growth.

According to a VIR source, Pfizer Inc. is seeking to work with the governments of many countries on possible COVID-19 vaccine deals, with Vietnam included. Together with Pfizer, other multinationals are betting on SARS-CoV-2 products to turn fortunes around. Roche CEO Schwan said there would be three new tests for the virus launched this year  one antibody test and two multiplex PCR tests. Currently, Roche boasts seven SARS-CoV-2 products.

On a similar note, Emma Walmsley, CEO of GSK said, We believe that multiple options will be needed to prevent and treat COVID-19 and are working at pace with our partners to develop potential adjuvant vaccines and therapeutics to fight the virus. At the same time, we have made strategic investments in next-generation vaccine and antibody technologies, most recently through our new collaboration with CureVac.

Globally, a number of COVID-19 vaccine development deals have been signed. The US government last week announced signing a new $1 billion deal for a vaccine that is currently being developed by Johnson & Johnson, guaranteeing 100 million doses. Also last week, Canada signed an agreement for undisclosed financial terms with Pfizer Canada and BioNTech SE for 100 million doses of their experimental vaccine this year and more than one billion in 2021.

Sanofi and its partner GSK also reached a deal of $2.1 billion to supply the US federal government with 100 million doses of its experimental coronavirus vaccine. Two of the worlds leading vaccine manufacturers have also signed a similar deal with the UK, which has agreed to buy 60 million doses for an unspecified sum.
If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





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Home Off beat 5 Friends, 5 Borders, 5,000 Kilometers & Unlimited Experiences: Great Independence Day Ride Series oi-Punith Bharadwaj

Travelling is often known as the best form of expression to one's freedom. People experience a different culture, food and hospitality when they travel to other places. While most choose a convenient way of travelling, for some the mode of transport matters as well.

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The Haryana cabinet on Thursday decided to give honorarium to certain retirees of the government aided schools through Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Honorarium Scheme. The honorarium will be given to those who retired between July 28, 1988 and May 10, 1998. At present, there are approximately 352 such employees. Though a notification to implement the scheme was issued in June, the cabinet granted ex post facto approval to it on Thursday.

A similar measure was approved by the cabinet in January 2018 for 146 employees of government-aided colleges, who retired between 1988 and 1998. The 2018 decision to provide honorarium to college employees, including former state BJP president Ganeshi Lal, was made by ignoring a Punjab and Haryana high court ruling. The government though has justified the move saying this was a welfare measure.

An official spokesperson said a retired school principal will get Rs 20,000 per month, headmaster will get Rs 18,000, lecturers Rs 16,000, masters and language teachers Rs 14,000 and JBTs, drawing teachers, PTIs, cutting and tailoring teachers Rs 12,000 per month. The class III non-teaching staff will get monthly honorarium of Rs 11,000, while class IV will get Rs 6,000.

The spokesperson said the honorarium will be granted only to those retirees who are not getting any other such type of pension benefits. The scheme will come into effect from January 1, 2019.

The monsoon session of Haryana Vidhan Sabha will commence from August 26. A decision to this effect was also taken in the cabinet meeting.

Metro connectivity

With an objective to provide metro connectivity to the residents of old Gurugram, the cabinet on Thursday approved the final detailed project report (DPR) of metro rail connectivity from HUDA City Centre to various key locations in Gurugram.

The spokesperson said that the total length of the corridor will be about 28.8km, consisting of 27 elevated stations with six interchange stations. This link would start at HUDA City Centre and move towards Sector 45, Cyber Park and other stations before finally merging in the existing metro network of Rapid Metrorail Gurugram at Moulsari Avenue station.

This mass rapid transit system (MRTS) project will facilitate maximum part of Gurugram city. The linkages will enhance the efficiency of the transportation system in the NCR, the spokesperson added.

The daily ridership on the study corridor for 2025, 2031 and 2041 is expected to be 5.34 lakh passenger trips, 7.26 lakh passenger trips and 8.81 passenger trips, respectively.

The introduction of MRTS will result in reduction in the number of buses, intermediate public transport and usage of private vehicles.

Transfer of land

The cabinet approved the transfer of land of Ambala municipal corporation measuring about 7.72 acres in Sadhopur village to the women and child development department.

The land will be used for construction of an integrated multiple complex that would include an observation home, a special home, a place of safety and a childrens home at the current collector rate.

HARSAC administrative control

The Haryana government has decided to transfer the administrative control of Haryana Space Application Centre (HARSAC) to Citizen Resources Information Department (CRID).

The cabinet also approved the transfer of the subject of Minor Irrigation and Ground Water from agriculture and farmers welfare department to the irrigation and water resources department on the pattern of central government.
To be included in the Inc. 5000 for the sixth time is a tremendous honor and a direct reflection of the Isos Technology team's hard work and perseverance.

Isos Technology, a leading provider of IT consulting services and an Atlassian Platinum & Enterprise Solution Partner, announced today that it was named to the Inc. 5000, Inc. magazine's prestigious ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies. The magazine ranked Isos Technology No. 2,605 on its Inc. 5000 list for 2020. This list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economys most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses. Intuit, Zappos, Under Armour, Microsoft, Patagonia, and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000.

"To be recognized by Inc. magazine as one of the nation's fastest-growing private companies is a huge accomplishment," said Thad West, CEO of Isos Technology. "But to be included in the Inc. 5000 for the sixth timethat is a tremendous honor and a direct reflection of the Isos Technology team's hard work and perseverance. I couldn't be more proud of our team and our commitment to providing smart, agile solutions for business automation and software development. This recognition is an incredible validation of our efforts."

The companies on this years Inc. 5000 come from nearly every realm of business, says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. From health and software to media and hospitality, the 2020 list proves that no matter the sector, incredible growth is based on the foundations of tenacity and opportunism.

Not only have the companies on the 2020 Inc. 5000 been very competitive within their markets, but the list as a whole shows staggering growth compared with prior lists, as well. The 2020 Inc. 5000 achieved an incredible three-year average growth of over 500 percent, and a median rate of 165 percent. The Inc. 5000s aggregate revenue was $209 billion in 2019, accounting for over 1 million jobs over the past three years.

About Isos Technology

Isos Technology is a premier Atlassian Platinum and Enterprise Solution Partner and was recognized as the 2019 Atlassian Partner of the Year: Enterprise. We help our clients, both private and public sector, adopt the Atlassian tools for DevOps, ITSM, Agile development, and business processes. Our process experts, coupled with a world-class technical team, craft custom solutions, integrations and training for our clients. Isos also has a strong software development team that delivers custom solutions across a wide array of industries to help solve some of the toughest business problems. Isos is based in Tempe, Arizona, with offices across the U.S., from San Diego to Washington, D.C. For more information, visit http://www.isostech.com.

For More Information Contact:

Isos Technology

Alexi Hocker

alexi.hocker@isostech.com

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000

Methodology

The 2020 Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2016 and 2019. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2016. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2016 is $100,000; the minimum for 2019 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Companies on the Inc. 500 are featured in Inc.s September issue. They represent the top tier of the Inc. 5000, which can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000.

About Inc. Media

The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com.

For more information on the Inc. 5000 Conference, visit http://conference.inc.com/.
Gov. Henry McMaster visited Wateree Elementary School in Lugoff on Thursday to celebrate the delivery of personal protective equipment paid for through state funding. The Kershaw County School District is one of 18 that will offer a five-day learning option from the outset of the academic year, which begins Sept. 8. Adam Benson/Staff
Three arrested for drug trafficking in Carlisle County
As clashes continue in Belarus following a disputed presidential election, the Archbishop of Minsk, Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz urges prayers and dialogue.

By Vatican News

Unrest is continuing in Belarus despite the departure of the top opposition candidate, Svetlana Tikhanouskaya, for neighbouring Lithuania.

Anti-government demonstrators protested for a third straight night on Tuesday, denouncing the presidential election result and calling for a free and transparent election.

Belarusian police detained more than 1,000 protesters and the Belarusian Interior Ministry said that 51 protesters and 14 police officers were hurt during the protests overnight.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, claimed victory with around 80% of the vote, triggering two nights of violent clashes between security forces and opposition supporters in which one protester was killed.

Belarus health officials reported that over 200 people have been hospitalized with injuries following the protests, and some underwent surgery.

The unrest has been fuelled by a deep sense of frustration at years of political repression and a declining economy.

Opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanouskaya said on Tuesday she had fled to neighbouring Lithuania for the sake of her children and urged an end to the demonstrations.

Tsikhanouskaya, a former English teacher who entered the race after her husband's jailing in Belarus, apologized to her supporters in a video statement and said it was her own choice to leave the country. It was a very hard decision to make, she said.

Reaction in Europe

On Tuesday, the European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell condemned what he called "disproportionate" violence by Belarusian authorities against protesters following Sunday's election and said the EU could take unspecified measures.

Meanwhile, Swedens Foreign Minister, Ann Linde said on Wednesday that EU foreign ministers will meet on Friday to discuss targeted sanctions against Belarus.

Prayer and dialogue

In recent days the Archbishop of Minsk, Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz has called on Belarusians to find a peaceful way out of this confrontation between the presidency and the opposition. Speaking to Vatican News Giancarlo La Vella, the Archbishop also urged dialogue and prayers for peace.
A Malaysian coroner has inspected a resort ahead of an inquest into the death of Irish teenager Nora Quoirin (15).

Nora Quoirin was reported missing on August 4 2019 after her family arrived at the Dusun resort in Seremban, about 70km south of Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur.

The teenager was found dead after 10 days missing in the Malaysian jungle while on a family holiday and her parents have demanded answers.

Local media reports state that the coroner has inspected the Dusun Resort and a nearby rainforest today ahead of the inquest, due to begin later this month.

AFP reports that on Thursday, the coroner, prosecutors and the family's lawyer, under police escort, inspected the resort and the area where her body was found in the town of Seremban, Negeri Sembilan state for three hours.

"The coroner took the opportunity to visit the place where the victim stayed and where the body of Nora was found," Negeri Sembilan deputy police chief Che Zakaria Othman told reporters.

Zakaria said the visit was to give the coroner "preliminary insight" on the location of the tragedy.

The Quoirin family's new lawyer, S Sakthyvell, described the site visit as "quite thorough".

"She (the coroner) visited the Dusun resort, the waterfall, she walked in a stream and went to the location where the body was found," Sakthyvell told AFP.

He added that the teen's parents would not be present during the inquest proceedings due to coronavirus-related restrictions, but would be interviewed by the coroner over a conferencing platform.

The proceedings will also be streamed live online, he said.

Sixty-four witnesses are expected to be called, the family's previous lawyer Sankara Nair said earlier.
Chinas domestic tourism is regaining vitality during the summer. According to a report released by Ctrip, Chinas leading online tourism service platform, over 4,000 travel agencies have launched domestic tour products on the platform since the country resumed trans-provincial group tourism in mid-July, doubling that before the reboot.

On August 7, a traveler surnamed Xu and his friends from Suzhou, East Chinas Jiangsu Province, traveled to Ninghai county, Ningbo, East Chinas Zhejiang Province to enjoy their holiday on the beach.

They rented a boat and went for offshore fishing with local fishermen, and had a seafood feast with what they captured on the sea. The experience both satisfied their taste buds and offered them fresh excitement.

Boat meals were reserved half a month ago. If tourists want to book tables now, its a game of luck, said said Ge Xin, an executive of the visitor center of Ninghai Bay in Ninghai county.

According to Ge, 60 recreational fishing boats have been full up and working in shift in recent days. Nearly 1,000 tourists were received in Hengshan Island alone, and the business is even better than that during the same period of last year, Ge introduced.

Other coastal areas in Ningbo, such as Xiangshan, Ninghai, Fenghua and Yinzhou, have also rolled out tour products to attract tourists.

July and August are usually the best time of the year to visit the grasslands. Me and my friends are planning a road trip to Inner Mongolia. Some are planning the route and some researching on hotels. We are all excited about the tour, said Li Muge, an employee of an Internet company in Beijing.

To embrace nature has become a choice of more and more people when they plan a trip since the outbreak of COVID-19.

During a recent weekend, the Wudang Mountains scenic spot in Shiyan, Central Chinas Hubei Province, received nearly 10,000 tourists, and it was hard to get a room in the homestay hotels near the scenic spot.

Many other tourism attractions in Hubei have also witnessed a quick recovery since trans-provincial group tours were resumed. Forest parks and wetland parks are particularly popular.

Safety and comfort are tourists biggest concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chinas Ministry of Culture and Tourism has reminded people to ensure personal protection during travels in the summer and choose safe, healthy, and green tours.

To guarantee the safety and health of tourists, local authorities and tourist sites have both stepped up efforts in epidemic control and prevention in management and services.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19,tourist attractions in Wulong district, Southwest Chinas Chongqing municipality, have paid special attention to the prevention and control of the spread of the pandemic and made great efforts to guarantee the safety of tourists and a pleasant tourism experience for them, said Li Jianguo, deputy general manager of a tourism agency in Wulong district.

Besides routine measures like health QR code and regular disinfection, scenic spots have launched real-name reservation, Li said.

In addition, tourists also need to have their QR codes scanned when taking shuttles at scenic spots, so that possible infections can be traced in a timely manner. So far, there has been no confirmed COVID-19 case spotted in Wulong districts tourist attractions, Li disclosed.

Wulong district is known for the spectacular scenery in its world natural heritage sites and top-level national tourist attractions, such as Tiansheng Sanqiao scenic area, Wulong Furong Cave, and the Fairy Mountain national forest park.

Since late July, these scenic areas have seen a notable growth in the number of visitors, with the figure in certain scenic spots reaching up to 70 percent of the level before the COVID-19, Li noted.
A Hunterdon County man was sentenced to seven years in state prison Wednesday for storing and distributing child pornography, authorities said.

John M. Rudy, 57, of Flemington was found guilty at a January trial of multiple crimes of distributing child pornography, including distribution of 25 or more items of child pornography and storing or maintaining 25 or more items of child pornography using a file-sharing network, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said in a statement.

Rudy will be required to serve five years of his term before being eligible for parole, must register as a sex offender and be subject to parole supervision for the rest of his life when his prison term concludes.

By sharing child sexual abuse materials online, this defendant participated in a criminal network that promotes and perpetuates the brutal sexual exploitation of children, Grewal said in the statement. Our multi-agency efforts to patrol the internet and put these offenders in prison reflect our commitment to protect children and ensure justice for those who have been victimized.

Rudys attorney was not immediately available for comment.

He was arrested during a 2016 investigation into a peer-to-peer file-sharing network that sex offenders used to distribute child pornography. As part of a sting, a New Jersey State Police detective downloaded more than 50 items of child pornography that was traced back to Rudy through an IP address, the statement said.

Authorities called it, Operation Statewide, and it netted arrests in each of New Jerseys 21 counties.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

Rodrigo Torrejon may be reached at rtorrejon@njadvancemedia.com.
On August 12, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final consent judgment against a New York investment banker charged with conducting a serial insider trading scheme.

The SEC alleged that Sean R. Stewart illegally tipped his father about future mergers and acquisitions involving clients of two investment banks for which Stewart worked. The complaint further alleged that Stewart's father, Robert K. Stewart cashed in on the tips by placing trades himself and by recruiting a partner to place trades ahead of the public announcement of these corporate transactions, generating approximately $1.1 million in illicit proceeds. In a related complaint, the SEC also charged Robert Stewart's trading partner, Richard Cunniffe, who cooperated in the investigation.

Stewart, Robert Stewart, and Cunniffe were also charged criminally for their alleged conduct. Stewart was found guilty by a federal jury of securities fraud and was sentenced to two years' imprisonment. Both Robert Stewart and Cunniffe pled guilty to criminal charges and agreed to settle the SEC's civil charges against them.

The final consent judgment against Stewart permanently enjoins him from violating the antifraud provisions of Sections 10(b) and 14(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5 and 14e-3 thereunder.

The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday informed that work has started on the first-of-its-kind Katra (Jammu and Kashmir)-Delhi Express Road Corridor which will be ready by 2023.

When it becomes functional, the Minister said, the travel time from Katra to Delhi will get reduced to around six and half hours, and from Jammu to Delhi to just about six hours.

Sharing the details, Singh stated that once this express road corridor becomes functional, people will prefer to travel to Delhi by road instead of undertaking journey by train or by Air.

"The hallmark of this road corridor is that it will connect the holy cities of Katra and Amritsar, and at the same time offer connectivity for some other major important religious shrines between the two destinations," he said.

Singh further informed that after completion of the survey by Feedback Consultants Ltd, the process of acquisition of land is nearly complete and the work on the ground has started.

Estimated to cost over Rs 35,000 crores, the Minister said, the important cities through which this expressway corridor will pass include Jammu and Kathua in J&K, and Jalandhar, Amritsar, Kapurthala and Ludhiana in Punjab.

Meanwhile, Singh said, simultaneous widening of the National Highway between Pathankot and Jammu is also being undertaken, to upgrade it from four lane to six lane, which will also prove to be a great boon for the commuters between Jammu, Kathua and Pathankot.

Scheduled to be completed within a timeline of three years, Singh said, the road corridor will prove to be a path-breaking revolution in promoting industry and investments in the entire region.

It will also pave the way for the growth of economic hubs in cities like Kathua and Jammu, he added.

Singh, had been pursuing this project since 2015 and had for the first time about three and half years ago announced during a programme at Katra that he had submitted a proposal to this effect which had been accepted by the Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari but it would take time because of procedural issues.

The minister thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the liberal Central funding to build a series of landmark new roads and bridges in the region during the last six years.
This was born out of the same reason I do what I do on Twitter. You want to try and help. You want to try and use the platform that youve been given the right way, Evans said. And this felt like it could cast the widest net because it actually removed my personal politics and just tried to offer information to people who may want to participate.
Winston Watusi

Music Plus

Recently it's all been live shows. Let's move on to the recording scene  there's a lot happening.

I was reminded of this when I called into Record Roundabout at the Historic Village. Actually, just visiting there gives me a warm 'n' fuzzy feeling, being someone who spent an inordinate part of his youth hanging around record stores.

They, at least the kind I remember with such fondness, seemed to disappear. With all music now immediately within reach on Spotify, the days of sipping coffee while checking out a bunch of albums on one of a shop's bank of headphones are just a nostalgic memory of a slower, more bohemian time.

But I digress. I was buzzing out down at Record Roundabout, taking in the trove of groovy memorabilia and noting with approbation the rack of CDs from Bay Of Plenty bands, made even better since owner Tony Pill sells them at no mark-up. They move pretty well he says.

Pride of place was a new album from Shona Laing, nestled amongst a stack of offerings from Frenzy Music, the label currently most dedicated to keeping available classic New Zealand sounds. There are releases from Larry's Rebels, Golden Harvest, Ray Columbus, The Avengers, Human Instinct & The Four Fours, Bill Sevesi and Mavis Rivers, and a host of compilations, mainly focusing on the sixties and seventies.

Hindsight

But back to Shona and her new album, Hindsight, which describes itself as 'A Collection of Hits, New Recordings, Alternate Versions & Rarities'. The 'new recordings' are Shona's first since 2007's Pass The Whisper album.

It's a most enjoyable collection, if a little odd. Amongst the 'hits' are Glad I'm Not A Kennedy, Show Your Love, Masquerade, Mercy Of Love and White Water, while the 'alternative versions' include the 45 edits of Soviet Snow and 1905. There are four previously unreleased songs from the early seventies in the UK and some charming 'rarities' including a duet with Tom Sharplin on We'll Sing In the Sunshine and the early electronica of Manfred Mann's Earthband's I Who Have Nothing, a reminder of how integral Shona was to their sound.

Best of all though are the two new songs. The Mahatma's Army follows Kennedy and Soviet Snow and that it is easily their equal says a lot. Shona can meld the personal and political like no one and the chorus - I am a soldier of peace, I am a soldier of peace said Mahatma Ghandi / I want to fight, I want to fight in the Mahatma's army - seems very timely. The arrangement, fashioned by Liam Ryan at his Waihi studio and featuring Gary Verberne's guitar and backing vocals from Sarah Spicer as well as Liam's complex orchestra of keyboards, does the song full justice. If there were radio stations paying attention this would immediately be on high rotate throughout the land.

Vagrant Heart, the other new song, is a Celtic-inflected ballad, aching and wistful and again classic Shona. She finds that perfect vocal spot between smooth and cracked, though perhaps the arrangement overreaches, trying to create an epic out of a gorgeous miniature.

Coming up...

And there's a lot more on the horizon.

Hybrid Blues, now a four-piece with a new line-up, have wrapped the recording of their debut album at the Colourfield studio in Welcome Bay. CDs should be being pressed as you read this.

Meanwhile guitarist/bass player Pat Hura has been at the Boatshed Studio recording narration and other vocal parts, intended for a new take on his 2017 instrumental album Infinity.

And Sean Bodley has released his latest single; I think this is number four from a planned series of eight. Last Breath is an evocative semi-ambient guitar piece and can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak6lXjWeSPc.

Across on Spotify, have a listen to local songwriter Tuesday's Pilgrim. More on him soon but till then go to: https://open.spotify.com/artist/15bKUyXWVRZsSLzKaz6y7T.

And those darlings of Tauranga hardcore and worshippers of all things pizza, Diehards of Deep Dish, have apparently finished their long-awaited first album at The Mount's 11B studio. They are now finalising artwork. Fingers crossed that the band follow through with plans to present CDs in bespoke pizza boxes...
Advertisement

By West Kentucky Star Staff

Aug. 13, 2020 | PADUCAH

By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 13, 2020 | 10:36 AM | PADUCAH

A Paducah electric utility will receive a $61 million loan from the federal government for infrastructure improvements.



The US Dept. of Agriculture announced Thursday it is investing $371 million to build and improve critical electric infrastructure that will benefit more than 222,000 rural residents and commercial customers in 11 states. As part of that funding, JPEC is receiving a $61 million loan to connect 1,718 consumers, build and improve 135 miles of line, and add smart grid technologies to its services.



The Agriculture Department is investing in 10 projects through its Electric Loan Program. This funding will help build and improve 3,741 miles of line to improve electric reliability and resilience in rural areas in Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Dakota and Wisconsin. The loans include $80 million for investments in smart grid technology, which uses digital communications to detect and react to local changes in electricity usage.



These investments will improve electric service by connecting more consumers, building and improving lines, and modernizing power grids in rural communities, USDA Rural Development Deputy Under Secretary Bette Brand said. Under the leadership of President Trump and Agriculture Secretary Perdue, USDA continues to be a strong partner to rural communities, because we know that when rural America thrives, all of America thrives.
Edison, NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/13/2020 -- A new business intelligence report released by HTF MI with title "COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Digital Notes and Digital Pen Industry Market Report-Development Trends, Threats, Opportunities and Competitive Landscape in 2020" is designed covering micro level of analysis by manufacturers and key business segments. The COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Digital Notes and Digital Pen Market survey analysis offers energetic visions to conclude and study market size, market hopes, and competitive surroundings. The research is derived through primary and secondary statistics sources and it comprises both qualitative and quantitative detailing. Some of the key players profiled in the study are Moleskine, Luidia, Livescribe Inc., ACE CAD Enterprise, HP Enterprise Development, Canon Inc., I.R.I.S., Apple Inc., Livescribe, Wacom, Sony, E-pens, Kent displays, Hanvon Technology Co. Ltd, NoteSlate & Neo smartpen.



What's keeping Moleskine, Luidia, Livescribe Inc., ACE CAD Enterprise, HP Enterprise Development, Canon Inc., I.R.I.S., Apple Inc., Livescribe, Wacom, Sony, E-pens, Kent displays, Hanvon Technology Co. Ltd, NoteSlate & Neo smartpen Ahead in the Market? Benchmark yourself with the strategic moves and findings recently released by HTF MI

Get Free Sample Report + All Related Graphs & Charts @ : https://www.htfmarketreport.com/sample-report/2771084-covid-19-outbreak-global-digital-notes-and-digital-pen-industry-market



Market Overview of COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Digital Notes and Digital Pen

If you are involved in the COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Digital Notes and Digital Pen industry or aim to be, then this study will provide you inclusive point of view. It's vital you keep your market knowledge up to date segmented by Applications [Professional Design, Business & Education], Product Types [, Digital Notes & Digital Pen.] and major players. If you have a different set of players/manufacturers according to geography or needs regional or country segmented reports we can provide customization according to your requirement.



This study mainly helps understand which market segments or Region or Country they should focus in coming years to channelize their efforts and investments to maximize growth and profitability. The report presents the market competitive landscape and a consistent in depth analysis of the major vendor/key players in the market along with impact of economic slowdown due to COVID.



Furthermore, the years considered for the study are as follows:

Historical year  2014-2019

Base year  2019

Forecast period**  2020 to 2026 [** unless otherwise stated]



**Moreover, it will also include the opportunities available in micro markets for stakeholders to invest, detailed analysis of competitive landscape and product services of key players.



The titled segments and sub-section of the market are illuminated below:

The Study Explore the Product Types of COVID-19 Outbreak- Digital Notes and Digital Pen Market: , Digital Notes & Digital Pen.



Key Applications/end-users of COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Digital Notes and Digital PenMarket: Professional Design, Business & Education



Top Players in the Market are: Moleskine, Luidia, Livescribe Inc., ACE CAD Enterprise, HP Enterprise Development, Canon Inc., I.R.I.S., Apple Inc., Livescribe, Wacom, Sony, E-pens, Kent displays, Hanvon Technology Co. Ltd, NoteSlate & Neo smartpen



Region Included are: North America (Covered in Chapter 7 and 14), United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe (Covered in Chapter 8 and 14), Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Others, Asia-Pacific (Covered in Chapter 9 and 14), China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, Southeast Asia, Others, Middle East and Africa (Covered in Chapter 10 and 14), Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Others, South America (Covered in Chapter 11 and 14), Brazil, Argentina, Columbia, Chile & Others



Enquire for customization in Report @: https://www.htfmarketreport.com/enquiry-before-buy/2771084-covid-19-outbreak-global-digital-notes-and-digital-pen-industry-market



Important Features that are under offering & key highlights of the report:

 Detailed overview of COVID-19 Outbreak- Digital Notes and Digital Pen market

 Changing market dynamics of the industry

 In-depth market segmentation by Type, Application etc

 Historical, current and projected market size in terms of volume and value

 Recent industry trends and developments

 Competitive landscape of COVID-19 Outbreak- Digital Notes and Digital Pen market

 Strategies of key players and product offerings

 Potential and niche segments/regions exhibiting promising growth

 A neutral perspective towards COVID-19 Outbreak- Digital Notes and Digital Pen market performance

 Market players information to sustain and enhance their footprint



Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/2771084-covid-19-outbreak-global-digital-notes-and-digital-pen-industry-market



Major Highlights of TOC:

Chapter One: COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Digital Notes and Digital Pen Market Industry Overview

1.1 COVID-19 Outbreak- Digital Notes and Digital Pen Industry

1.1.1 Overview

1.1.2 Products of Major Companies

1.2 COVID-19 Outbreak- Digital Notes and Digital Pen Market Segment

1.2.1 Industry Chain

1.2.2 Consumer Distribution

1.3 Price & Cost Overview



Chapter Two: COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Digital Notes and Digital Pen Market Demand

2.1 Segment Overview

2.1.1 APPLICATION 1

2.1.2 APPLICATION 2

2.1.3 Other

2.2 COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Digital Notes and Digital Pen Market Size by Demand

2.3 COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Digital Notes and Digital Pen Market Forecast by Demand



Chapter Three: COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Digital Notes and Digital Pen Market by Type

3.1 By Type

3.1.1 TYPE 1

3.1.2 TYPE 2

3.2 COVID-19 Outbreak- Digital Notes and Digital Pen Market Size by Type

3.3 COVID-19 Outbreak- Digital Notes and Digital Pen Market Forecast by Type



Chapter Four: Major Region of COVID-19 Outbreak- Digital Notes and Digital Pen Market

4.1 COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Digital Notes and Digital Pen Sales

4.2 COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Digital Notes and Digital Pen Revenue & market share



Chapter Five: Major Companies List



Chapter Six: Conclusion



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The Minority in Parliament is demanding greater accountability and transparency in the supervision, management and regulation of the financial institutions that were collapsed in the banking sector clean-up exercise.



It has also asked the government to unveil who the true owners of the Consolidated Bank of Ghana (CBG) were since the government dedicated GH450 million of the 2018 sovereign bond to financial sector bailout.



We are demanding who are the owners of the CBG because public money was invested with this bank and we are also demanding whether this money is equity or a loan, it said.



Collapsed banks



Addressing the press outside Parliament on Monday, the Minority Leader, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, said We are demanding this greater accountability and transparency from the government, and in particular from the President and more specifically the Bank of Ghana, the regulator, he said.



A total of eight universal banks, 23 savings and loans companies, as well as over 400 microfinance institutions were collapsed when the central bank revoked their licenses for being insolvent.



The Bank of Ghana merged five banks into the CBG. They are BEIGE, Sovereign, Construction, UniBank and Royal Bank.



Publish inventory



The minority leader said per the Banks and Specialised Deposits-Taking Institutions Act 2016, Act 930 Section 130 (1), a receiver shall establish a new financial position for the bank or specialised taking position based a on determination of liquidations values of the assets of the bank or specialised taking-deposit institution.



He said section 134 of the act emphasised that the receiver shall within one month of taking possession of a bank or specialised deposit-taking institution transmit a copy of the inventory report to the Bank of Ghana.



He, therefore, quizzed the whereabouts of the inventory reports on the collapsed banks and on the microfinance and savings institutions.



Was it remitted to the Bank of Ghana? If yes, where is it and we demand respect to the latter and spirit of the Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions 2016, Act 930, he asked.

Mr Iddrisu said per Section 130(5) of the act, the central bank was required to publish the inventory report in two national daily newspapers and on the website of the Bank of Ghana.



This has not happened and this is a breach of the law and we are demanding greater accountability and transparency from the governor and the Bank of Ghana as a regulator of the financial sector.



Reaping



The Tamale South legislator added that the receiver, under the contract, was entitled to five per cent recovered from the auction of the assets of the collapsed institutions.



It would interest Ghanaians to know probably the receiver may have earned more than he should and the numbers would excite them to know how much money the state has spent on the receiver in the name of the banks that they could not salvage or rescue when they needed state support and intervention the most, he said.#GhanaVotes2020#

Source: graphiconline.com









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Featured Video
MONTMORENCY COUNTY, MI  A Michigan man was arrested after police found a meth lab where abnormally large amounts of methamphetamine may have been produced.

Ebert Dempsey Weaver, 48, of Atlanta, Michigan has been charged with a slew of felonies after the Huron Undercover Narcotics Team (HUNT) executed a search warrant at a home on Pine Street just north of Atlanta on Aug. 5.

Methamphetamine is a highly addictive schedule one narcotic and is often manufactured clandestinely. The biproducts and items used in its production are hazardous waste which needs to be removed by specially trained responders and turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration for disposal.

Charges against Weaver include possession of methamphetamine, maintaining a laboratory involving methamphetamine, operating a methamphetamine laboratory near specified places, maintaining a laboratory involving hazardous waste, manufacturing methamphetamine and purchasing/possessing pseudoephedrine to make methamphetamine.

Each charge has a second or subsequent offense notice which increases the severity of the sanctions. These charges are felonies and sanctions range from 5 years in prison and/or a $5,000 fine to 40 years in prison and/or a $200,000 fine.

Weaver was arraigned on Aug. 11. HUNT was assisted by deputies from the Montmorency County Sheriffs Department, members of the Michigan State Police 7th District Meth Response Team and the Tri Town Fire Department.
A Mexican court has ordered the leader of the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel held over for trial on organized crime charges.

Jose Antonio 'El Marro' Yepez will be held without bail for at least two months at Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1, a maximum security prison in Almoloya de Juarez, State of Mexico, until further hearings are held.

The penitentiary, known as El Altiplano, is located just west of Mexico City and is the same facility Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman fled from through an underground tunnel that was built below his jail cell's bathroom area.

The Attorney General's Office said Wednesday that Yepez participated in a criminal organization that stole an average of 1.5 million gallons of fuel each month from government pipelines or refineries.

El Marro and eight other people were arrested at one of his hideouts in Juventino Rosas, Guanajuato, on August 2. Authorities also rescued a person that had been kidnapped.

El Marro's cartel spread violence through the central state of Guanajuato and fought a years-long bloody turf battle with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, leaving more than 9,000 people dead since 2017.

SEE VIDEO BELOW

Jose Antonio 'El Marro' Yepez, leader of the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel, will remain in prison, a Mexico court judge announced Wednesday. El Marro was arrested August 2

El Marro will be held at El Altiplano, the same prison where Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman escaped from in 2015

Yepez was unusual among gang leaders because he posted videos with emotional calls to his followers, including one in June showing him appearing to cry after several of his supporters and his mother and sister were arrested, and threatening the government with violence.

In another video around the same time, he threatened to join forces with the Sinaloa cartel to defeat Nemesio 'El Mencho' Oseguera and his Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the country's fastest-rising criminal organization, with whom he's been involved in a long-running war for almost three years.

El Marro's network is based out of the Guanajuato municipality of Villagran and had a presence in the nearby cities of Celaya, Cortazar, Salamanca, Irapuato, Valle de Santiago, and his birthplace Juventino Rosas.

El Marro's Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel has earned its illicit riches by stealing fuel from refineries operated by state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos [Mexican Petroleum].

After authorities stepped up security around pipelines over the last two years, the gang turned to extortion and kidnapping throughout Guanajuato, demanding payments from businesses like tortilla shops, restaurants and car dealerships.

Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman used a motorcycle (pictured) to flee through a tunnel built under El Altiplano prison in Mexico in 2015

The battles between El Marro and El Mencho led to a significant spike in murders as the Jalisco New Generation Cartel imposed its presence in the Guanajuato cities of Leon and Salamanca.

The friction with El Mencho forced El Marro to seek an alliance with Los Viagras, which operate out of the western state of Michoacan and the Sinaloa Cartel, which under its former leader Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman maintained a relationship with El Mencho before he split off on his own.

Violence between the cartels has left at least 2,685 people murdered in Guanajuato through July 2020.

Government data shows Guanajuato homicides increased to 2,834 in 2019 from 2,609 in 2018. Authorities registered just 1,084 murders in 2017 and 1,096 were reported in 2016.
The Delhi High Court on Thursday granted time to Atul Singh Sengar, who was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for his role in the custodial killing of the father of the Unnao rape victim, to select a hospital in the capital for treatment while being in custodial parole.

A single-judge bench of Justice Vibhu Bakhru while granting time to Atul Sengar, the brother of main convict and expelled BJP lawmaker Kuldeep Singh Sengar, slated the matter for further hearing on August 18.

While the matter was being heard through video conferencing, counsel for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) apprised the court that the convict is an influential person and should only be granted custodial parole.

".... he and his goons had beaten up the father of the prosecutrix (the rape victim) and a false case was registered against him (the father)... They are politically influential people and can influence others. He has been convicted for offences under 304 IPC," said the CBI counsel.

He further argued why an appeal against the conviction has not been filed before applying for parole. Responding to the same, Atul Sengar's counsel said he wanted to file an appeal but was unable to do so due to restricted functioning of the court.

Following the arguments, Justice Bakhru said: "You (Sengar) select the hospital for surgery in Delhi, we will give you custodial parole."

The arguments and directions came in while the court was hearing an application filed by Atul Sengar, seeking eight weeks parole on the ground that he has multiple health issues and has to undergo surgery in Kanpur.

In March this year, Delhi's Tis Hazari Court sentenced Kuldeep Sengar and six others to 10 years imprisonment for the death of Unnao rape survivor's father. Sengar is already serving life imprisonment for raping the minor.

Kuldeep Sengar and his brother were also directed to give Rs 10 lakh compensation to the family of the victim for loss of their father. "There are four minor children involved, three girls and one boy. They have also been uprooted from native place," the judge said.

Seven people, including the two Sengars and two police personnel, were held guilty for culpable homicide and criminal conspiracy earlier this month.

The case pertains to the death of the rape survivor's father in custody on April 9, 2018. It was alleged that he was assaulted following a quarrel with some of the accused in the case.
Nearly six months after 32 NSW nursing home residents died after contracting COVID-19, the sector is still ill-equipped for an outbreak of the virus, with the aged care royal commission hearing an urgent response was still needed to protect elderly, frail residents.

Amid a week of harrowing evidence, the government told the Herald on Thursday night they would discuss an aged care preparedness plan at national cabinet late next week.

Peter Rozen, QC, said the aged care industry was still not prepared for COVID-19.

The plan would include an audit of state and territory aged care emergency response capabilities, face-to-face training on infection control in all aged care facilities, the compulsory use of face masks, and the use of private hospitals where there was an outbreak.

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Scott Morrison also said the government was open to considering recommendations made by the royal commission this week before it reports formally in December.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has inaugurated an office complex to serve as a business resource centre for the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) at Akrade in the Asuogyaman District of the Eastern Region, with a call on the management of the centre to exhibit high maintenance culture.

Technical assistance



The President, who cut a tape to inaugurate the centre as part of his visit to the Eastern Region, urged the people in and around the district to consult the officials of the business centre for technical assistance before commencing their businesses.



He noted that the economies of advanced countries came about as a result of deliberate policies geared towards supporting small, medium and large-scale industries.



If the nation, Ghana, will grow economically, socially among others, it will depend on the individual/ private sector industries. The western countries are mostly developed due to much attention given to the private sector of the economy. Let us, therefore, as a country pay much attention to the private sector which is equally an engine of growth of the economy, the President added.



President Akufo-Addo stressed that the centre would go a long way to strengthen private industries.



He expressed gratitude to the people of the Akwamu Traditional Area who willingly offered the land for the project and called on chiefs of other traditional areas to emulate their example.



The Minister of Trade and Industries, Mr Alan Kyerematen, who assisted the President to inaugurate the centre, also advised faith-based organisations, individuals and other business ventures not to hesitate in accessing business advisory services from the centre to ensure the sustainability and development of their businesses.



The Trade minister also revealed that the office complex was one out of 67 offices to be built nationwide.





Mr Kyerematen said the centre would, in the meantime, serve four municipal and district assemblies, which were the Asuogyaman District Assembly, the Upper Manya Krobo District Assembly, Lower Manya Krobo Municipal Assembly and Yilo Krobo Municipal Assembly.



Recruitment



The Nifahene of the Akwamu Tradional Area, Nana Ofei Addo Agyeman, who represented the Omanhene of the Akwamu Traditional Area, Odeneho Kwafo Akoto II, expressed the joy of the traditional area and the Asuogyaman district for the project and requested the officers of the centre to consider the residents of the area, when recruiting personnel for the centre.



The President and his entourage also paid a courtesy call on Odeneho Kwafo Akoto II and had close door meetings with him.



President Akufo-Addo was accompanied by some ministers of state, including the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Eric Kwakye Darfour; the Asuogyaman District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Samuel Kwame Agyekum, and the Lower Manya Krobo Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Simon Kweku Tetteh.





Source: graphiconline.com









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Featured Video
Election 2020 Myanmar Election Commissioner: No Groups Will Be Disenfranchised

Union Election Commission member U Myint Naing. / The Irrawaddy

The Union Election Commission (UEC) made its preliminary voter lists public on July 25 and said the lists will be on display until Aug. 7. The preliminary lists are intended to allow voters to check their registration information and correct any errors to ensure they are able to vote in Novembers election.

But after an unexpectedly high number of errors were found, the UEC said the preliminary lists will remain on display until Aug. 14 so that voters have more time to have the mistakes fixed.

Meanwhile, some Myanmar voters have called on their fellow citizens not to vote in the general election, complaining that the National League for Democracy (NLD) government has been unable to fulfill the expectations of voters who supported the party in the 2015 general election.

UEC member U Myint Naing recently talked to The Irrawaddys reporter Htun Htun about the errors in the voter lists, the commissions plans to ensure the suffrage of Myanmar migrant workers, and its activities on social media to encourage citizens to vote in the election.

The Irrawaddy: What are the causes of the erroneous voter lists?

U Myint Naing: There was duplication of names because of errors in digitalizing the voter information. And there were also weaknesses in [the process of] rechecking them. But now, we have formed groups to handle those errors.

How many voters have so far forwarded requests to correct information in the voter lists?

At the national level, nearly 200,000 eligible voters were not included in the lists, and over 60,000 ineligible voters are on the lists. And information of some 104,000 voters was entered incorrectly.

What steps has the UEC taken to allow people who have attained the age of 18, but who do not yet have citizenship IDs, to vote?

For the time being, the Immigration and Population Department is implementing a plan targeting such people. The most important thing is that they are included in the voter lists. That gives them the right to cast a vote. If they can present other official photo IDs like student IDs, driving licenses, Red Cross IDs or auxiliary firefighter IDs, they will be included in the voter list.

The citizenship ID is mainly used to check whether or not the holder is on a voter list. Even if you dont have such an ID, if the ward administrator or election sub-commission members of the ward where you live confirm that you are on the voter list, you still have the right to vote. We estimate there will be around 5 million first-time voters in the November election.

What measures will the UEC take to ensure that internally displaced persons (IDPs) sheltering in camps will be able to cast votes?

We have adopted plans and are working on them to make sure they are not disenfranchised. As we have some three months until the election, things may change. For our part, we are working for the IDPs to be able to cast votes. We are assessing whether they can cast votes in the camps, and how they can do so.

What about internal migrants, especially those who have returned from foreign countries [due to COVID-19]?

If their employers or concerned ward and village administrators confirm that they have been staying at their current locations for more than 90 daysfor example, in a situation where the voter is not able to go back to their hometown, where they are primarily registeredthey can use a Form 3 to apply to cast ballots in their current constituencies.

Upon receiving the applications, election sub-commissions will carefully check whether [the applicants] have really been staying in those places for more than 90 days. If they have, the relevant election sub-commission will put them on the voter list, and their names will be omitted from the voter list in their hometown. They can cast votes that way. They dont lose the right to vote.

As for the returning migrants, we are also scrutinizing carefully to make sure they are included on the voter lists. More are still coming back to the country, so we are paying special attention to make sure they are included in the voter lists of the constituencies where they have arrived.

What preparations has the UEC made in the event that there is not enough time for everyone to vote due to COVID-19 social distancing measures at polling stations?

We are coordinating health guidelines with the Health Ministry. Soon, we will inform voters about those guidelines. We have sought advice from the Health Ministry and are designing standard operating procedures.

There have also been calls for a boycott of the November election. What is the UECs response to this?

In an election, people have the right to vote or stand for election. A person who is eligible to cast a vote can choose either to vote or not to vote. This is the right of individuals. But they dont have the right to ask others not to cast votes.

Encouraging others not to vote in the election violates articles 57, 58(b) and (d), 60, and 61(b) and (c) of the Election Law.

To vote or not to vote is the right of an individual, but encouraging others not to vote violates those articles.

Police are authorized to take action in such cases. Action can be taken against the violators before and during the election, and within 15 days of election day. Complaints can be filed with police about such electoral offenses.

Do you think the No Vote campaign will negatively affect the result of the election?

Yes. Such calls to not cast votes have a definite impact on the election and voters.

And the Myanmar military has said that in certain areas, its service personnel and their families will cast votes at polling stations inside cantonments. So, what are the latest developments on this? Has the UEC obtained voter lists from the military?

In some places, cantonments are far [from civilian residential areas]. In that case, polling stations will be opened inside cantonments. So far, we have over 600 military polling stations on the list, and are scrutinizing and determining the number of voters to be allowed at each polling station. We have the list of military voters. We are registering them, but we cant provide figures.

And there has been criticism over the UECs delay in its approval of election observer groups. Whats your response to that?

We are scrutinizing [the groups] according to the guidelines. There have been delays because we have had to ask for more information.

How will the UEC handle campaigning on social media?

Those who have submitted candidacy applications are not yet approved by the UEC as candidates. So, they still cant describe themselves as candidates and solicit votes. We will issue guidelines about campaigning.

Regarding what they do on Facebook, thats up to Facebooks guidelines. We cant control Facebook. Regarding misinformation and misreports, that concerns Facebooks guidelines. The existing laws [in Myanmar] bar the abuse of religion for political purposes and disrupting elections and so on. Candidates have to follow the existing laws. There will be more campaigning on Facebook.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko

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Myanmar Workers and Farmers Reject Parties, Push New Voices for 2020 Election

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The novel Corona Virus Diseases (COVID-19) debilitating effects on health are fairly well-known. However, emerging evidence suggests that the pandemic can take its toll on patients vital organs such as heart and lungs even after they recover.

This could mean visits to the doctor or hospitals even after discharge, besides having to consume medicines for a longer period of time. These expenses can severely strain your finances, already reeling under humungous hospitalisation bills as also out-of-pocket expenses due to ongoing disputes between hospitals and general insurance companies.

However, you need not shoulder the entire burden on your own  you can tap your health insurance cover, which is not confined to hospitalisation expenses  for costs incurred after you return home.

Will my health insurance policy pay for medical expenses after I am discharged from the hospital?

Yes, these will be covered as part of post-hospitalisation expenses, up to your sum insured limit. In the case of standard Corona Kavach and Arogya Sanjeevani policies, these expenses will be covered for up to 30 days after discharge.

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

Insurance policies will pay for such expenses incurred up to 60 days after discharge. Some premium variants reimburse such amounts for up to 90 days. This would include medicines prescribed in the discharge summary, follow-up visits to your doctor or the hospital and even diagnostic tests during the period. If you need to take nursing care at home, that will be reimbursed too. Similarly, if you have undergone a spine surgery that necessitates post-operative physiotherapy sessions, you can claim the expenses under the post-hospitalisation cover.

If I get treated at home for COVID-19 after consulting a doctor at the hospital, will the expenses be reimbursed?

Such expenses will not be treated as part of post-hospitalisation costs. Only post-discharge expenses that are directly linked to the hospitalisation episode will fall in this category. However, if your policy covers domiciliary hospitalisation, or treatment taken at home under certain exceptional circumstances, your claim will be settled, as COVID-19-induced shortage of beds is a reality in many cities. These expenses will also be paid for if your insurer has explicitly taken the call to cover home treatment, given the extraordinary situation humanity is facing at present.

How should I go about making the claim?

Ensure that you preserve all your bills and receipts related to medicines, follow-up visits, diagnostic tests and so on carefully. Submit physical copies to the insurer soon after 60-90 days are over or as soon as the prescribed follow-ups come to an end. Usually, your insurer will give you a window of 7-15 days to submit these documents. However, some will consider the claim even in case of a delay as long as you can provide a justifiable reason. Unlike hospitalisation claims, this cannot be settled on a cashless basis. You will have to make the payment, which will then be reimbursed by your insurer.
ABC NewsBY: ELIZABETH THOMAS



(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump wasted no time Wednesday continuing to attack Sen. Kamala Harris, saying former Vice President Joe Biden's vice presidential pick is the kind of opponent everyone dreams of!



@KamalaHarris started strong in the Democrat Primaries, and finished weak, ultimately fleeing the race with almost zero support, Trump tweeted Wednesday morning. Thats the kind of opponent everyone dreams of!





.@KamalaHarris started strong in the Democrat Primaries, and finished weak, ultimately fleeing the race with almost zero support. Thats the kind of opponent everyone dreams of!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 12, 2020

But that criticism was relatively muted and at his White House news conference Tuesday, Trump reverted to his familiar line of attack on powerful women, calling her "nasty," just as he notably did with his 2016 presidential opponent, former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, and what he's said as well about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and late former first lady Barbra Bush.She was nasty to a level that was just a horrible thing, Trump said. She was the meanest, most horrible, most disrespectful of anybody in the U.S. Senate, referring to her treatment of his Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.On the policy front, while Trump has repeatedly hammered Biden as weak on crime, and has falsely claimed that he wants to "defund the police," that line of attack is now more complicated because Harris is a former attorney general who has a tough-on-crime reputation as a prosecutor.Usually, Trump can come up with original, yet insensitive or offensive, nicknames for his political foes, calling Biden Sleepy Joe and Sen. Elizabeth Warren Pocahontas, for example.But he seems to have struggled coming up with one he thinks he can stick on Harris, beyond calling her "phony."In that same press conference and in a Fox News interview that same evening, Trump attempted to labeled Harris as the most liberal person in the Senate.That would be news to her progressive Senate colleagues Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders -- who is a self-proclaimed Democratic socialist.Even as Trump attacked Harris as a liberal, campaign aide Brad Parscale said Harris would be rejected by liberals.Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel echoed Trumps sentiments saying in a statement, Kamala Harris extreme positions  show that the left-wing mob is controlling Bidens candidacy, just like they would control him as president.However, later that evening the RNC argued a very different point, saying Liberals revolt against Biden, Harris ticket in a news release.Vice President Mike Pence Tuesday came out swinging at Harris during an event in Arizona characterizing her to supporters as representing the radical left with promises of socialized medicine and abortion on demand.As you all know, Joe Biden and the Democratic Party have been overtaken by the radical left," Pence said. "So given their promises of higher taxes, open borders, socialized medicine and abortion on demand, its no surprise that he chose Sen. Harris."He added, "So my message to the Democratic nominee for vice president: Congratulations. Ill see you in Salt Lake City, site of their October debate.As Trumps attacks on Harris are just ramping up, as a private citizen the president donated thousands of dollars to her campaign twice when she was a candidate for California attorney general.Trump gave Harris a total of $6,000 in 2011 and in 2013 in addition to $2,000 from his daughter Ivanka Trump in 2014. While it is well known that Trump has given large sums to Democrats in the past, ABC News can only find two Democrats other than Harris that Trump gave money to on the federal level after 2010.After 2010, almost all of Donald Trump's political donations were going to Republicans -- but he was still giving money to Harris.Trump campaign senior adviser Katrina Pierson Tuesday said that Trump donating to Harris proves he is not a racist."I'll note that Kamala Harris is a black woman and he donated to her campaign so I hope we can squash this racism argument," Pierson said on a campaign call with reporters.A spokesperson for Harris told ABC News that this money was donated to charity in 2015.While the president is not financially supporting Harris bid against him this fall, Trump did have positive things to say about her candidacy for president earlier this year.When asked by the New York Times in February whether there was anyone in the immense 2020 Democratic field who he thought might be his toughest opponent he cited Harris."I would say, the best opening so far would be Kamala Harris," Trump responded. "I would say, in terms of the opening act, I would say, would be her."ABC News' Terrance Smith, Benjamin Siegel, Will Steakin and Zohreen Shah contributed to this reportCopyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
BALTIMORE  The family of James Meadows doesnt know what set off the frightening breakdown of his final hours. The 45-year-old construction worker was suicidal and mumbling to God in the sky. Before police came, he bashed in his fathers locked cabinet and snatched two handguns.

They are going to shoot you! Joseph Meadows shouted to his armed son, according to a police report.

Three officers opened fire, killing Meadows that evening in May 2019  a rare police shooting in the small Cecil County town of Rising Sun, Maryland. As the familys lawyer investigates their actions, he says hes made a troubling discovery about one of the cops.

Before veteran police officer Daniel Stickney Jr. took a job in Rising Sun, he faced three federal lawsuits in the Philadelphia suburbs. He was accused of trumping up charges against one man, wrongfully arresting another and twice searching an elderly womens home without a warrant. All three cases were thrown out or settled.
Argentine President Alberto Fernandez on August 12 reportedly said that Argentina and Mexico will produce the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine for most Latin America. According to the agreement signed between AstraZeneca and the biotechnology company mAbxience of the INSUD Group, the firms initially will be producing 150 million doses of the vaccine to supply all Latin America with the exception of Brazil.

After a meeting with the company executives involved in the project, Fernandez reportedly said that Latin America production will be handled in Argentina and Mexico, which will allow timely and efficient access for all countries in the region. While taking to Twitter, the Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said that the deal had been pushed by the Argentine and Mexican Presidents. Ebrard further informed that the output of the vaccine could extent to 250 million doses.

READ: Complaints As Medical Waste Piles Up Outside Mexico Hospital

READ: Exclusive: 'Russian Scientists Working On Technology Behind COVID-19 Vaccine For 20 Yrs'

Vaccine to undergo Phase III

AstraZeneca is Britains second-largest drugmaker and it has long operations in Argentina. According to international media reports, the company signed the deal with the foundation of Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim for production of coronavirus vaccine, which is expected to be delivered in the first half of 2021. The vaccine currently has to undergo Phase III studies and regulatory approvals.

While speaking to a media outlet, a Slims spokesperson informed that a significant sum was being invested in the scheme. He reportedly added that there is a major economic commitment regardless of whether the vaccine works. Meanwhile, the Argentine President said the deal gives his nation the peace of mind of being able to have the vaccine when required and at a reasonable price.

(Image: Rep/Unsplash)

READ: Russia's COVID-19 Vaccine To Reach General Public By January 2021; Medics To Get It First

READ: Philippines To Meet Russian State Research Facility Experts To Discuss Vaccine's Trials
Amid virus spread, a problem that has vexed healthcare for some 10 years -- the need for new IT systems to support digital processes -- is being exacerbated.

WHO

GRM Information Management, a leader in enterprise-content management, and Forrester Research will host a roundtable discussion on fast-emerging stresses on the healthcare industry, as well as the potential technological solutions to consider over the next 24 months.

Expert Panelists:



Jim Leonard, GRM Healthcare Practice Lead (former hospital CIO)

Doug Turner, former CIO of HCA Physician Services

Cheryl McKinnon, Forrester Research, Principal Analyst, Enterprise Architecture

Jeff Becker, Forrester Research, Senior Analyst, eBusiness & Healthcare Channel Strategy

Dr. Anthony E. Napolitano, Johns Hopkins All Childrens Hospital, Chair of Department of Pediatric Medicine

WHAT

COVID-19 is healthcares ultimate challenge  testing the industrys capacity like never before to maintain accurate records, effectively communicate with patients and provide quality care. The panelists will explore the operational and technological weaknesses exposed by the virus and potential solutions for building technological roadmaps for the coming 24 months.

Amid virus spread and industry consolidation, enterprise content management is front and center when it comes to the efficiency and performance of the U.S. healthcare system. The pressures on the industry emanate from a collision of three forces: growing demand for quality care both virtually and in-person; a surge in patient and care-provider data; and unprecedented need for effective data management at a time when no single information standard is in place (to support COVID-19 tracing, accurate diagnoses, and proper treatment regimens).

As a result, a problem that has vexed the healthcare industry for some 10 years  the need for new IT systems to support fully digital processes  is being exacerbated. A fragmented healthcare system is creating reams of unstructured data in the form of e-mails, phone calls, handwritten notes, audio recordings, Word documents, faxes, analog data, et al. The healthcare systems inability to handle timely reporting of test results to support virus tracing is a microcosm of the broader issue facing the industry: fragmented data in non-conforming formats that, in turn, create information bottlenecks and force costly workarounds.

Though unstructured data complies with health privacy standards, it doesnt conform to digital data formats. Its also more susceptible to error. Traditional software and data analytics programs have difficulty reading unstructured data and organizing in ways easily understood by hospitals and other care providers.

WHEN

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

2-3 p.m. ET, roundtable discussion

WHERE

Register for webinar via following link:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8523917023724234252?source=GRMAMs

Note: If unable to attend, please register in advance to receive a link to a recording of the webinar.

CONTACT

Mike Aaron

VP, Marketing

GRM Information Management

646-522-1342

maaron@grmdocument.com
Refugees and migrants arrive in port aboard a Border Force vessel after being intercepted while crossing the English Channel from France in small boats on August 11, 2020 in Dover, England.  Leon Neal/Getty Images/AFP

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are troubled by the proposal to intercept boats and return those attempting to cross the English Channel irregularly. The foreseen deployment of large naval vessels to deter such crossings and block small, flimsy dinghies may result in harmful and fatal incidents.

Although increasing numbers of people have been crossing the Channel by boat this summer, the numbers remain low and manageable. People forced by wars and persecution to flee their homes and people on the move frequently embark on risky journeys in many parts of the world. Saving lives should be the first priority  both on land and at sea. UNHCR and IOM reiterate their call to governments in Europe and elsewhere to increase search and rescue efforts and combat human smuggling and trafficking rings.

Irregular movements in the Channel represent a challenge for all states concerned as do similar situations in other regions of Europe. These multi-faceted challenges require practical solutions and cooperation, said Pascale Moreau, UNHCR Director for Europe. Our collective response should be comprehensive and complementary - from saving lives to combating smuggling rings, expanding legal options, and ensuring that all those who are in need of protection can effectively access it.

Solutions can be achieved for those in need of protection through the asylum system and complementary mechanisms for those in need of other forms of protection such as victims of trafficking and unaccompanied children. At the same time, impediments to return to countries of origin for those who wish to return and/or found not to be in need of international protection have to be consistently addressed, including through cooperation with these countries supported by the EU.

Effectively ensuring that asylum seekers and migrants are aware of their legal options and adequately supported in pursuing them needs to be a priority. Efforts should also be increased to identify and protect the most vulnerable, especially unaccompanied children.

This should go hand in hand with cooperation to ensure that people who have grounds for regular entry, including to reunify with their families, can do so quickly and effectively without having to resort to such a dangerous journey. UNHCR research shows that delays and administrative barriers to family reunion increase the likelihood of people turning to smugglers as an alternative. Less restrictive and burdensome family reunion rules are therefore needed.

The immediate concern is the dangers the crossings present particularly to the most vulnerable, including many children, said Ola Henrikson, Director of IOMs Regional Office in Brussels. Border cooperation is very important but should be balanced, proportionate and part of a larger, comprehensive response.

In the wake of the UKs departure from the European Union, viable mechanisms need to continue to ensure that people, and first and foremost unaccompanied children in various EU countries, who have family or other important links to the UK can continue to travel or transfer safely.

For more information, please contact:

UNHCR

IOM
Ten persons including a female who trooped onto the streets of Teshie in Accra to celebrate Kpanshimo, a form of carnival, as part of the Homowo celebration have appeared before an Accra Circuit Court.

The ten accused have been variously charged with failing to comply with restrictions imposed to contain covid 18, rioting with offensive weapons, possession of offensive weapons and assault on a police officer.

The accused pleaded not guilty and the court presided over by Mrs Evelyn Asamoah admitted them to bail in the sum of GH15,000.00 each with two sureties each, one of whom is to be a public servant.

They are expected to reappear on August 31 and the prosecution has been ordered by the court to file their disclosures.

The accused who are all unemployed are: Akweley Armah, Desmond Maamah Martey, Thomas Adjei, Issac Mensah, Christopher Mensah, John Odoi Laryea, Emmanuel Adjetey, Julius Maamah, Matthew Amartey and Frank Nmabiue.

Mr Cecil Mettle Nunoo, represented six of the accused persons.

Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Emmanuel Haligah, told the court that on July 22, 2020, the Teshie Traditional Council engaged stakeholders including the Kpanshimo group  a youth group that usually engages in organizing street carnivals during the celebration of the Teshie Homowo Festival.

He said the council in a letter to the group stated that due to the imposition of the restrictions order to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, the traditional council was not going to celebrate the 2020 Teshie Homowo Festival in a grand style.

Prosecution said the council further directed that all ritual practices should be restricted to the various clans in their various homes with strict observation of the COVID-19 protocols.

Prosecution said on August 11, 2020 at about 0200 hours, the accused and other 300 accomplices, now at large, defied the restriction orders in force, trooped onto the major streets in Teshie to celebrate Kpanshimo, a significant activity of the Homowo festival.

Chief Inspector Haligah said most of the accused were armed with offensive weapons such as stones, bottles, cutlasses, and knives attacking people and obstructing road users.

He said on seeing the Police, the accused and their accomplices resorted to pelting the Police with stones and bottles.

The Prosecution said the rampaging youth burnt tyres in the middle of the road thereby preventing road users and police from dispersing the riotous crowd.

Prosecution said the Kpeshie Divisional Police Command called for re-enforcement and in the process the accused were arrested.

The Police retrieved butcher's knife from John Odai Laryea and Matthew Amartey.

---GNA
HIPAA Privacy and Security Summit 2020 HIPAA Privacy and Security training remains as important as ever with the shift to telehealth and additional changes in the medical setting.

Delaware Law School and First Healthcare Compliance will host the 3rd Annual HIPAA Privacy and Security Summit on November 12, 2020. The goal of the half-day online learning event is to help healthcare, legal and business professionals enhance privacy and security programs, address common HIPAA challenges, and increase skills to build a comprehensive HIPAA compliance program.

Due to the COVID- 19 public health crisis this educational opportunity will be provided online as a half-day summit to accommodate training needs of attorneys, business executives, healthcare professionals, compliance officers and students throughout the United States. HIPAA Privacy and Security training remains as important as ever with the shift to telehealth and additional changes in the medical setting. HIPAA Privacy and Security is a top priority among professionals working with healthcare organizations.

Five expert speakers will cover The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), the intersection of HIPAA and Ethics, recent enforcement and issues related to technology. The keynote speaker will address the topic of disposal of electronic waste.

Register now: Earn CEUs and CLE with Delaware Law School and First Healthcare Compliance on Thursday, November 12, 2020, from 12:00 pm ET until 5:00 pm ET and join the discussion on LinkedIn. Discounted pricing and opportunities for sponsorship available until September 12, 2020.

About Delaware Law School: Widener University is a metropolitan university that connects curricula to social issues through civic engagement. Dynamic teaching, active scholarship, personal attention, applied leadership, and experiential learning are key components of the Widener experience. Delaware Law School is the First States only law school, providing a Juris doctor, legal graduate and paralegal degree programs with an emphasis on developing legal professionals who reflect the Delaware Way and its traditions of civility, integrity and mutual respect. The school offers signature programs in corporate and business law, environmental law, family health law and policy, trial advocacy, and dignity rights.

About First Healthcare Compliance: Founded in 2012 by a nurse attorney, the First Healthcare Compliance software solution creates confidence among compliance professionals through education, resources, and support in the areas of HIPAA, OSHA, human resources compliance, and fraud waste and abuse laws. Serving clients across the United States, the companys evolving platform provides real-time insight for board reporting and across multiple locations. For more information please visit https://1sthcc.com/
The JD(S) leader also said that the BJP and Congress shouldn't indulge in a political blamegame regarding the violence

Bengaluru: Former prime minister HD Deve Gowda on Thursday said only those really guilty should be punished for the violence in parts of the city on 11 August, as he asked the Congress and BJP not to indulge in a political blamegame on the issue.

Expressing sadness over the attack on Pulakeshi Nagar MLA Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy's residence, the JD(S) patriarch also said the government should take action to get justice for him and give him compensation for the losses.

"The attack on Pulakeshi Nagar MLA Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy's residence is unfortunate and such incidents should not occur in any part of the country.

"Police have arrested about 140 people in connection with rioting, but how many among them are real culprits?" Gowda was quoted as saying by his office in a release.

He said, "All of them (arrested) cannot be culprits. Only those who are really guilty should be held responsible for the incident and merciless action should be taken against them. Innocents should not be punished, this is my request to the police."

Three people were killed after police opened fire to quell a mob that went on a rampage in a city locality on Tuesday night over a purportedly inflammatory social media post allegedly put out by the Congress legislator Murthy's relative.

Urging the government to take merciless action against those really guilty, Gowda said, burning down houses, cars and looting the properties related to an MLA was unheard of in the state.

"Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy has not betrayed anyone, yes he was in our party earlier, that's a different matter. Government should take all necessary steps to get him justice. The loss that he has suffered, jewellery among other things.... he should be given compensation," he said.

Murthys residence and a police station at DJ Halli were among those targeted by the mob. The house of the MLA, who was not at home at the time, was allegedly set on fire.

Asking the BJP and Congress not to indulge in a political blamegame regarding the violence, Gowda said no one should speak according to their whims and fancies on such matters.

Further stating that the JD(S) will begin its statewide agitation from tomorrow against the state government's "anti-farmer" laws and amendments to the land reforms act, among others, he said, the protests will be flagged off from Hassan, by following COVID-19 guidelines.

Only 200 people are likely to participate in the protest tomorrow, he said.

Along with him, party state president HK Kumaraswmay, son and MLA HD Revanna will submit a memorandum to the governor through the district deputy commissioner.

Stating that the protest will be scaled up step by step in all the 30 districts next week, Gowda said as he cannot travel everywhere, the state president, party leaders and legislators will take the lead.

He pointed out that large-scale destruction have been caused to properties and crops due to recent rains and floods in different parts of the state.

The prime minister's recent meeting with minister from the state regarding the flood situation was not satisfactory, according to him.

Gowda urged the state government to send officials to districts and taluks to assess the damage and send a report to the Centre, adding that the centre should immediately send a team to the state.

"Last year injustice happened to us with regard to flood relief.It should not happen this time. I will speak about this in Parliament," Gowda, who is also a Rajya Sabha member, added.
The two decades beginning in 1997, when Britain handed this territory to China, and ending when it became like every other mainland city, were Hong Kongs best years, and my favorite. It was a proud, optimistic place. The change of sovereignty had led to no mass exodus, no large contingent of Peoples Liberation Army troops and equipment surging across the border. The old colonial symbols on the flag and the currency were replaced. But mostly Hong Kong and Hong Kongers carried on, confident of their future and buoyed by the promise of 50 years of guaranteed autonomy. Whenever Beijing attempted to impose unwanted laws or renege on its promises of more democracy  as happened in 2003, 2014 and again last year  people flooded the streets and spoke their minds. The mass protests of 2019, in which young people defied the power looming across the border, were the heady apotheosis of free expression here.
Washington: Israel and the United Arab Emirates have reached a historic deal that will lead to a full normalisation of diplomatic relations between the two Middle Eastern nations in an agreement that US President Donald Trump helped to broker.

Under the agreement, Israel has agreed to suspend annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank, senior White House officials said.

President Trump speaks in the Oval Office on Thursday, announcing that the United Arab Emirates and Israel have agreed to establish full diplomatic ties. Credit:AP

The deal was the product of lengthy discussions between Israel, the UAE and the United States that accelerated recently, White House officials said.

The agreement was sealed in a phone call on Thursday, US time, between Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 12) - The Quezon City Police District (QCPD) said it will return the remains of Randall "Randy" Echanis to his family after finally acknowledging on Wednesday that the body belongs to the Anakpawis Partylist leader and National Democratic Front of the Philippines peace consultant.

The police was able to confirm Echanis' identity after conducting a fingerprint test.

They also confirmed that Echanis and Manuel Santiago are one and the same, based on the identification card found with the body.

QCPD chief Brigadier General Ronnie Montejo told a press conference that the fingerprint found on the ID with Echanis name was identical with the fingerprint in the postmortem chart of the body identified as Santiago.

Echanis, 72, and a neighbor were killed inside a rented house in Novaliches, Quezon City last August 10.

Montejo said investigators are looking into different angles on the cause of deaths, including robbery and the possibility that someone might have a personal grudge against the victim.

Echanis' body bore "torture marks, multiple stab wounds and gunshot wounds," according to his wife, Erlinda.

Before the QCPD made the acknowledgement on the bodys identity, Erlinda said in an ambush interview that she was also able to confirm that it was indeed her spouse in the photo shown to her.

Meanwhile, QCPD Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit head Major Elmer Monsalve said that Echanis' wife was able to present their marriage contract to prove their relationship, but the police unit is still for waiting Erlinda's statement before they can turn over the body to her.

The body of Echanis will be transferred to the Philippine General Hospital for autopsy.
A former sky rail manager has been jailed for orchestrating a wage racket that included having taxpayer-funded labourers renovate a colleague's home.

Kory Oxley, a former manager at construction firm Lendlease and a foreman on the project to remove level crossings on Melbourne's south-eastern train lines, approved shifts for work that was never done and took cash from his workers as a kickback.

Kory Oxley outside the County Court in July last year. Credit:Joe Armao

Oxley was on a $185,000 salary in 2018 when he allowed workers to be paid to take days off as long as they paid him cash in return.

The racket, which Oxley referred to as "cheese days", resulted in $90,000 in wages being approved for work that was never done. Oxley reaped about half of that sum in cash kickbacks, the County Court heard on Thursday, which he used to buy a caravan and boat.
A young teen who is currently undergoing treatment for leukemia has gone missing along with her boyfriend.

Amelia Patterson, who is 13, disappeared from her father's house in Gresham, Oregon on the outskirts of Portland on Saturday night.

It's believed she met up with her runaway boyfriend who is four years her senior, 17-year-old Xavier Dashawn Sutton.

Sutton has also been reported missing.

Amelia Patterson, who is 13, disappeared from her father's house in Gresham, Oregon on the outskirts of Portland on Saturday night

It's believed she met up with her runaway boyfriend who is four years her senior, 17-year-old Xavier Dashawn Sutton

'It's baffling to me why she wouldn't reach out to me,' Amelia's mother, Amy Robinson, told The Oregonian.

Her mother explained how she had been spending hours each day driving the area looking for the pair of them.

She has spent time putting up hundreds of flyers along with various pleas for help on social media.

'I just want my daughter to be happy and healthy,' Robinson said. 'She means the world to me, and we just want her to come home. Day or night I will come and get her. She just has to make that call.'

'She's been battling leukemia since February, and it's necessary for her to beat the cancer. I mean, we're in the midst of fighting for her life,' she told KATU.

The family are desperate for information and are offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to Amelia's return

Amelia Patterson, 13, was last seen on Saturday leaving her home and is believed to be with another runaway, 17-year-old Xavier Dashawn Sutton

The family are desperate for information and are offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to Amelia's return.

Amelia is 55, about 200 pounds, and has blue eyes and pink-and-white hair. She has a PICC line in her arm for chemotherapy treatment.

Her older boyfriend had not been seen since June 3 and had been in foster care.

Xavier weighs 140 pounds and is 510.
Stewart, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 13, 2020) - Decade Resources Ltd. (TSXV: DEC) ("Decade" or the Company) announces that it has discovered a new zone just west of the LG vein. The Del Norte property was optioned from Teuton Resource Corp. in January of 2020, with terms allowing the Company to earn up to a 55% interest in the property by spending $4 million over a five year period. The Company can an earn an additional 20% interest by carrying the property to commercial production. The property lies within BC's "Golden Triangle" located 34 kilometres east of Stewart, BC and is comprised of 5,830.16 ha in 13 separate claims.

Teuton has informed the Company that they have received a verbal confirmation of permitting from the Ministry of Mines allowing drilling for the property and this will commence once formal notification has been received.

The new zone called Eagles Nest consists of quartz veining with associated brecciation over widths that are up to 6 m. A main quartz vein up to 2 m wide in the middle of the new zone carries minor galena, sphalerite, tetrahedrite, chalcopyrite and pyrite with veinlets in the breccia along the walls carrying strong galena and sphalerite. The zone has been traced for a minimum of 400m. It is just to the west of intersections on the LG vein that were as follows:

Drill Holes Width (m)* Gold g/t Silver g/t Gold Equivalent)**

g/t DDH 04-036 8.60 3.02 270.50 6.46 DDH 05-02 15.54 6.47 346.02 10.88

* Drill Indicated width only

** Gold equivalent calculated as follows: Gold-Silver ratio of 78.5 based on today's closing prices of $1,890.5 an ounce for gold and $24.07 an ounce for silver.

There are 3 distinct silver-gold rich veins and breccias in the area presently being explored. These are the Kosciuszko (K-zone), LG and the new Eagles Nest zones. Widths on these veins can be up to 10-12 m. The Company has sampled this new zone and samples are being shipped to the laboratory for analysis.

Two photos of the new zone have been attached to the bottom of this release. Captions in the upper right hand corners discuss the photos.

Exploration work is being conducted from Stewart in order to avoid a camp situation that may lead to health concerns due to the Covid -19 virus. The Company uses a Stewart based helicopter for support. A pad building crew, diamond drill crew and support staff are presently mobilizing to a staging area near the project. The geological crew is one that the Company has relied on for a number of years and which has intimate knowledge of the property.

The Company completed a $1.2 million flow through financing to fund the program.

Analysis will be performed by Activation Laboratories Ltd in Kamloops BC.

Ed Kruchkowski, P. Geo., a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 is responsible for the contents of this release. E. Kruchkowski is not independent of Decade as he is the president of the Company.

Decade Resources Ltd. is a Canadian based mineral exploration company actively seeking opportunities in the resource sector. Decade holds numerous properties at various stages of development and exploration from basic grass roots to advanced ones. Its properties and projects are all located in the "Golden Triangle" area of northern British Columbia. For a complete listing of the Company assets and developments, visit the Company website at www.decaderesources.ca which is presently being updated. For investor information please call 250-636-2264 or Gary Assaly at 604-377-7969.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DECADE RESOURCES LTD.

"Ed Kruchkowski"

Ed Kruchkowski, President

"Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release."

"This news release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements."





Figure 1: Eagle's Nest Sheeted Veins



To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3615/61634_5b93fcbf441deb7b_001full.jpg





Figure 2: Eagle's Nest Quartz Breccia, North Part of the Showing



To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3615/61634_5b93fcbf441deb7b_002full.jpg

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/61634
Coronavirus: Croatia sees rise in cases due to holidaymakers Interior minister voices possibility of 'tourist war'

(ANSAmed) - ZAGREB, AUGUST 13 - A sharp rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in recent days in Croatia should be considered in light of the fact that the country at this time has 20-25% more people staying in its than other months of the year, Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic told state broadcaster HTV on Thursday. He noted that there are currently about 830,000 tourists on Croatia's Adriatic coast. Bozinovic is head of the Civil Protection Crisis Unit. On Wednesday, Croatia recorded some 130 new infections, a number that is second only to July 11 when there were 140. Between June and July there were between 30 and 60 new cases per day. Asked whether some information that has appeared in foreign media of tourists that had been infected while on holiday in Croatia might be part of a campaign by other countries in a battle to attract more tourists, the minister said this could not be ruled out. ''Of course, everyone is fighting for every tourist, as well as to keep one's own citizens in the country to ensure that they do not spend their money abroad,'' Bozinovic said. ''Croatia,'' he added, ''has brought in measures with which even this summer it managed to attract a large number of the visitors usually loyal to our coasts.'' The minister added that the epidemiological authorities had received official notification from other countries of people who had become infected with COVID-19 while on holiday in Croatia but that this number was much lower than what has been reported in foreign media. ''There are examples in which Croatia, following media reports of infections, contacted the authorities of these countries of origin of tourists but have not yet received official confirmation,'' Bozinovic noted. Though no country was mentioned specifically during the interview, most of the news of infections of holidaymakers returning from Croatia have come from Italy, Slovenia, and Austria. (ANSAmed). (ANSA).




International backpackers willing to pick fruit or work as au pairs may soon be granted an exemption to Australia's inbound travel ban.

The National Farmers' Federation and the Backpacker and Youth Tourism Advisory Panel are set to lodge a proposal to the federal government that would allow 150 backpackers to enter the country as early as October.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison closed Australia's borders in March to slow the spread of coronavirus, but with a looming shortfall of migrant workers there are now fears the country's agriculture sector will face immense strain.

International backpackers willing to pick fruit or work as au pairs may soon be granted an exemption to Australia's inbound travel ban

The National Farmers' Federation and the Backpacker and Youth Tourism Advisory Panel are set to lodge a proposal to the federal government

The NNF Chief Executive Officer, Tony Mahar, said the organisation is looking to establish a 'COVIDsafe pathway' for working holiday makers from low infection countries.

'The NFF has developed a COVID-19 Farm Workforce Guide,' Mr Mahar said.

'The resource outlines the considerations for farm business operators when welcoming new workers, addressing accommodation, self-isolation and financial support.

'It also contains essential information about the tightened social and hygiene practices required on farms and in staff living quarters.

'This includes how to respond should a worker either be suspected of having the virus or is in fact tested positive.'

As a result of the coronavirus pandemic Australia is expecting to see an 85 plunge in overseas migration this financial year.

Australia's unemployment rate is predicted to reach a peak of about 10 per cent - a level not seen since 1994

Under the proposal 150 backpackers would be able to come to Australia by October

Over 80 percent of the nation's lucrative horticulture industry is made up of migrant labour and the subsequent decline in overseas workers could see a shortfall of about 50,000 jobs.

At the same time, Australia's unemployment rate is predicted to reach a peak of about 10 per cent - a level not seen since 1994.

To fill the void, three of the country's most powerful unions - Australian Workers Union, Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) - say it's time to scrap working holiday visas and replace the scheme with a new program encouraging young Australians into regional farm jobs.

In a submission to a federal review, the three union heavyweights known as the Retail Supply Chain Alliance, said the 'lawless' agricultural industry policy 'rewards the exploitation' of overseas workers and needs to be overhauled.

In 2015, an ABC Four Corners investigation shed light on the dark side of Australia's local food industry in which thousands of young workers from overseas are kept in 'slave-like conditions', grossly underpaid and are even subjected to verbal and sexual abuse.

'Every year tens of thousands of young people arrive in Australia with dreams of travelling around our great country by making money picking fruit and veg,' SDA National Secretary Gerard Dwyer said.

'But they can end up on remote farms where they are packed into shoddy accommodation, are verbally and physically abused and often end up being chronically underpaid.

'They're often too scared to speak up because their visa depends on them completing the work for the very employer that is abusing them.

But the National Farmers' Federation has rubbished the unions' push, labelling it an 'ill-conceived headline-grabbing stunt'.

Agriculture Minister David Littleproud once said Australian workers have a 'real aversion' to go and pick fruit - an assessment shared by the Farmer's Federation.

Over 80 percent of the nation's lucrative horticulture industry is made up of migrant labour and the subsequent decline in overseas workers could see a shortfall of about 50,000 workers

'Farmers would always prefer to employ Australians, but the facts this gang of unions choose to ignore are that farmers simply cannot source the local workers they need and therefore rely on international workers to help put food on the shelves for all Australians,' FFA President Fiona Simson said.

'COVID-19 travel restrictions mean, right now, farmers across the country are facing dire workforce shortages and in some cases entire crops are in jeopardy, because growers may not be able to get the workers they need to harvest.'

If the proposal is granted, it would not be the first such exemption for agriculture workers.

Earlier this month, the federal government approved a visa program for 170 Vanuatu fruit pickers to enter the Northern Territory and assist during the mango harvest.

In the beginning stages of the federal government-ordered shutdown in March, 3550 seasonal workers from Pacific Island nations also had their 401 visas extended to enable them to stay in Australia and continue to work.

The exemption proposal is yet to be submitted to government, FFA told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday.
Illustration photo. Source: internet

Just over a month ago, the Vietnam Directorate for Market Surveillance under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the A05 Force of the Ministry of Public Security discovered a 10,000-square-metre smuggled goods warehouse, operated through the holder of one Facebook account in the northern province of Lao Cai.

According to the authorities, the owner of the account regularly performed live streaming to directly offer items for sale. The items included watches, sunglasses, and consumer products of imitating brands such as Gucci, Adidas, and Nike, originating from Guangzhou in China.

The warehouse was operated under the close management of several staff members responsible for the live streaming, and 40 other employees involved in settling the orders, packaging, and shipping.

Along with Facebook, other platforms are also allegedly making it easy for others to trade low-quality goods. By simply searching for a certain brand name on Google or online shopping sites, customers will be dazzled by the thousands of products labelled like authentic products but only costing half the price or even less.

For instance, a pair of forged Adidas shoes have been seen for sale on Shopee.vn for between VND90,000 ($4) and VND900,000 ($40), although on the official Adidas website the same items cost VND1-2.5 million ($45-110). Likewise, a bag with a Chanel logo can be picked up for VND366,000 ($15), but the genuine article goes for VND100 million ($4,300).

On Shopee, a Phillips egg whisk is on sale at VND120,000 ($5), but Phillips asserts that its authentic products are offered for at least VND790,000 ($34).

Last year, local book manufacturer First News Co., Ltd. announced that Shopee, and Sendo were abetting the consumption of fake and pirated books. To prove the wrongdoing, the company ordered its own products over 100 times on the e-commerce platforms, and was able to demonstrate that they were indeed fakes.

Meanwhile, a Shopee representative also told VIR that it has been keeping a close eye on the performance of vendors selling such items and will block the accounts of vendors found in violation.

During national social distancing a few months ago, thousands of unauthenticated healthcare items were offered for sale on e-commerce platforms. The Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency under the MoIT reported that about 5,200 vendors with more than 21,000 pieces of fake and unofficial goods were discovered and handled on several e-commerce sites.

Several companies are complaining of not having enough staff to check the increasing amount of packages being sent as people became more accustomed to using delivery services earlier this year. Those especially providing domestic and international parcel courier services seem to be suffering the most, leaving huge gaps and therefore favourable conditions for forbidden, fake, and counterfeit goods to flood the market.

Nguyen Vu Quan, senior associate at Vision Associates Co., Ltd. said that there have been specific requirements and guides to help staff of international parcel courier services companies to filter packages which are banned from dissemination in Vietnam.

However the fines on violated cases, which are between VND10 million ($435) and VND40 million ($1,740), have yet to be strict enough, because in reality the damage that violated packages (for example a package of drugs) cause on society can be much greater. In addition, the consequences will be more serious if there are connections between customers and checking staff to slip in these violated goods to the market, Quan said.

Some companies also reaffirmed that they face difficulties in monitoring their staff in checking goods.

Nguyen Hong Long, deputy head of Postal Services Division at Vietnam Post Corporation told local media, The soar in package volumes, making staff overloaded, is one reason for the oversight in checking packages. In addition, numerous people disguise violated packages and as a result it makes enquiries into some packages quite difficult.

Quan from Vision Associates added, Taking overloaded staff as the reason to miss out on illegal packages is not persuasive enough because parcel courier services companies and delivery services providers can cooperate to establish a checking system for all their facilities, and even all their staff. The cost for establishing and maintaining this system may be quite large, but necessary in order to ensure the safety for goods. Protecting consumers is the way that these companies protect their brands and prestige.

Nguyen Danh Nghia, a representative of Hanoi Customs, also noted the difficulties his division has in checking thousands of packages each day. It is necessary to cooperate with higher-level authorities. For example, we need to be notified by the police about packages that contain drugs, while we will also have to spend more on human resources development to check transactions, Nghia said.
The Iraqi armed forces had announced on Tuesday the death of three personnel, including two commanders, in a Turkish drone strike near the border between the two countries

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry stressed to his Iraqi counterpart Fouad Hussein that Egypt denounces any Turkish practices that detract from Iraq's sovereignty and violate its territories two days after a Turkish drone strike targeted an Iraqi border guard patrol north of Irbil leaving three dead.

Shoukry stressed to Hussein in a phone call late on Wednesday Egypt's full support for Iraq in preserving its security, according to a statement released by the ministry's spokesman Ahmed Hafez.

The two ministers agreed to maintain coordination to counter current challenges, the spokesman noted.

The Iraqi armed forces had announced on Tuesday the death of three personnel, including two commanders, in a Turkish drone strike near the border between the two countries as part of Turkeys operations against Kurdish militias without the permission of the Iraqi government.

In a statement on Wednesday, Egypt's foreign ministry condemned the Turkish strike as "a rejected violation of Iraqs sovereignty and a new threat to regional security and stability".

Egypt's government and people stand in solidarity with the Iraqi government and people against such provocative practices and it asserts the necessity of respecting Iraqi sovereignty and the unity of territories against any foreign intervention, the statement added.

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SANTA FE  New Mexicos Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for Aug. 26 in a case that focuses on the decision by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams administration to ban indoor restaurant dining.

The New Mexico Restaurant Association, along with several restaurants around the state, filed a lawsuit last month seeking to block the Lujan Grishams administration from enforcing its reimposed ban on indoor dining at eateries and breweries.

A state judge in Carlsbad issued a July 20 order that temporarily prevented enforcement of the ban, paving the way for restaurants statewide to reopen indoor dining spaces at 50% capacity.

But the reprieve was short-lived as the Supreme Court allowed the dine-in ban to be reimposed after the Governors Office filed an emergency petition later that same day.

In its Wednesday order, the Supreme Court rejected a motion to restore the lower court ruling until oral arguments are held.

Meanwhile, the lawsuit is one of several court challenges that have bee filed targeting Lujan Grishams emergency powers during the coronavirus pandemic.

The governors authority to impose restrictions has been upheld in all cases ruled on to date, with a federal judge ruling in one high-profile case that a requirement that houses of worship operate at 25% maximum capacity was legal and did not violate religious freedoms

While eateries are still allowed to operate patio dining at limited capacity, and to provide delivery and curbside takeout, the New Mexico Restaurant Association says such services are not practical in some cases.

In their lawsuit, the restaurant association said at least 210 restaurants around the state have gone out of business due to the state-ordered closures.

However, Lujan Grisham administration officials have said indoor restaurant dining is unsafe due to the close physical proximity of people and the fact diners cannot wear a face mask while eating.

Human Services Secretary David Scrase has said data suggests indoor dining in the U.S. has been linked to spreading COVID-19.

Restaurants in New Mexico have also had a higher number of infected employees than almost any other industry, according to state Environment Department data.
She and her Too Hot To Handle co-star Harry Jowsey announced their split back in June.

And Francesca Farago has been taking the time to pamper herself in the wake of the acrimonious breakup, with the reality TV star seen leaving a Los Angeles spa on Wednesday.

Later that day, the 26-year-old took to Instagram to show videos of her treatment: a 'vampire facial' made famous by Kim Kardashian.

Me time: Francesca Farago has been taking the time to pamper herself in the wake of an acrimonious breakup, with the reality TV star seen leaving a Los Angeles spa on Wednesday

Farago showed off her sensational figure as she left the spa wearing a black crop top and matching bike shorts.

She covered her bare shoulders with a loose fitting, striped blouse.

The Canadian actress wore her brunette tresses pulled up atop her head in a loose bun and covered her mouth and nose with a medical mask.

Remnants of the blood from her facial procedure found be seen faintly on the beauty's skin.

Back to black: Farago showed off her sensational figure as she left the spa wearing a black crop top and matching bike shorts

Keeping it simple: The Canadian actress wore her brunette tresses pulled up atop her head in a loose bun and covered her mouth and nose with a medical mask

Bloody hell! Later that day, the 26-year-old took to Instagram to show videos of her treatment: a 'vampire facial' made famous by Kim Kardashian

In her Instagram Stories, Farago documented her bloody facial.

A 'vampire facial' consists of a combination of microdermabrasion followed by a mask of platelet-rich plasma, intended to help boost your skin's cell turnover.

Kim Kardashian put the treatment on the map with a 2013 selfie of her blood-smeared face.

Loving it: Farago captioned one video, 'why is this so fun for me'

Trend-setter: Kim Kardashian put the treatment on the map with a 2013 selfie of her blood-smeared face

Though the KUWTK mainstay has since expressed her distaste for the process, calling it 'the one treatment that I'll never do again,' Francesca seemed to have no such reservations.

She captioned one video, 'why is this so fun for me'.

Meanwhile, her tumultuous break up from Jowsey is continuing as Farago threatened that she 'could ruin' Jowsey's career 'with everything' she knows.

The fashion designer made the revelation while speaking to Violet Benson on the Too Tired To Be Crazy podcast last week.

Scorned: Meanwhile, her tumultuous break up from Harry Jowsey is continuing as Farago threatened that she 'could ruin' Jowsey's career 'with everything' she knows

Meanwhile, her 22-year-old ex made his own accusations recently, claiming on Logan Paul's Impaulsive podcast that he fell out of love with the bikini designer because she didn't support him during 'the worst week' of his life.

'I just finished filming the show... My mum fell off a horse and broke her knee and ribs, so I had to fly back to Australia,' Harry said.

He explained that within a week, he was rocked by two further setbacks, including a death in his family and a close friend's suicide attempt.

'I was asking my girlfriend, "I need you to be here for me,"' he said.

Harry alleged that Francesca was enjoying a 'crazy trip' to Las Vegas with an ex at the time, and didn't want to leave to be with him.
By Express News Service

KOLKATA: Headmaster of a higher secondary school in West Bengals West Midnapore district was slapped with a show-cause notice after he opened the institute and resumed studies of Class 10 on Wednesday.

The headmaster's move is against the instructions of both the Centre and the state government.

As the news reached the education department, the district school inspector visited the school on Thursday, collected statements of the students and their guardians, and teachers of the institute. "The headmaster was served the show cause notice on the basis of the preliminary findings of the school inspector," said an official of the school education department.

Brindaban Ghatak, the headmaster of BC Roy Higher Secondary School at Ghatal, decided to resume classes from Wednesday with the students of Class 10. "The decision was taken because online classes were not effective due to students poor access to compatible mobile handsets and poor network connectivity. A section of guardians, too, requested me to resume studies," said Ghatak.

All the Class 10 students were informed on Tuesday and they were asked to attend the science and English classes. "Out of 150 students, 52 turned up to attend classes and 25 among 37 teachers were present in the school. Classes continued for three hours maintaining social distancing norm," said a teacher of the school.

A section of the guardians was against Ghataks decision. They informed the local police station which informed the district administration. The Ghatal sub-division, where the school is located, is one of the zones in the district from where highest number of Covid-19 positive cases have been reported.

"The headmaster was immediately contacted and he was asked not to resume studies on Thursday as it goes against the instruction of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjees announcement that all schools, colleges and universities shall remain closed till August 31," said an official of the district administration.

Chapeshwar Sardar, the district school inspector, said the headmasters decision was a gross violation of the state governments instruction. "An inquiry has been ordered and the headmaster has been asked to come up with his explanation," he said.

Asked about the show cause notice, Ghatak admitted that his decision of resuming studies was wrong. "It was a wrong decision. I am ready to face all action that the school education department will take," he said.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada is campaigning to expand protections to the Fort Ellice area in southwestern Manitoba.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 13/8/2020 (524 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada is campaigning to expand protections to the Fort Ellice area in southwestern Manitoba.

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Conservation and protection of 261 hectares of prairie grasslands would complete the NCC's project to protect a total of 2,190 hectares. The land in question is located on Beaver Creek, just east of the province's border with Saskatchewan, near the Assiniboine and Qu'Appelle rivers.

NCC is interested in this parcel of land due to the increasing importance of grasslands in buffering waterways, sequestering carbon and providing habitat for many species including large mammals like elk, moose and Canadian lynx.

"Threatened birds, such as Spragues pipit and chestnut-collared longspur depend upon the unique grassland habitat for survival," NCC said in a press release.

The land also holds historical significance in the formation of Canada, as the Carlton Trail  along which the land lies  was used in the 18th and 19th centuries for exploration and the establishment of trading posts. Fort Ellice was originally established by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1831.

To learn more about the project, Nature Conservancy Canada is hosting a webinar on the Fort Ellice campaign on Thursday, Aug. 13 at noon.

For more information, visit www.natureconservancy.ca.
The three journalists reporting for The Caravan magazine on the aftermath of the Delhi riots, in a media interaction held at the Press Club of India on Thursday, said they were assaulted on Wednesday in the presence of police personnel who stood by as mute spectators.

Shahid Tantray, one of the three journalists who was mercilessly beaten a day ago, said that as soon as the mob learnt of his Muslim identity, it brutally attacked him while hurling communal slurs.

They kept beating me up while hurling communal slurs at me, as I kept calling the policemen who had reached the spot by then, to help me. I kept calling the policemen but they did not help me out, Tantray said.

According to the journalists, the Delhi Police has still not registered an FIR in the matter.

Prabhjit Singh, the other journalist, said the mobsters threatened to kill them in the presence of policemen.

One of the people in the mob shouted at us I will kill you if I see you in this area again while we were with the police, Singh said.

The journalists who had gone to follow up on their story on how on the day of event in Ayodhya, mob had gathered outside a Muslim-dominant neighbourhood and shouted communally charged slogans, and how subsequently two women, who had gone to the police station to complain, were slapped by police inside Bhajanpura police station.

Hartosh Singh Bal, who is the political editor at The Caravan, read out a statement by the third, a woman journalist, who described the physical and sexual assault on her as the most traumatising experience of my life.

In her statement, the journalist said the one word that one of the two female complainants had told her insaaf [justice] is still reverberating in my ears.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the magazine described in brief the trauma that its woman staffer who was out to report in Subhash Mohalla, on Wednesday, suffered.

As the woman staffer ran and attempted to reach the Bhajanpur station, the mob attacked her again. The attackers beat her on her head, arms, hips and chest.

Bal recalled a statement made by one of the residents of Subhash Mohalla after the magazines reporters were assaulted, if this can happen to journalists who come here to report, think of the lives we live here, day in and day out.

Fifty-three people, most of them Muslims, were killed in the riots that broke out in the national capital in February.

Many journalists have claimed to have been harrassed, assaulted, and asked to "prove their religion" by such mobs, while reporting from the communally fraught area.
August 13 : The Supreme Court recently made a historic decision about the rights of daughters to property. It ruled that daughters would have equal coparcenaries rights in Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) properties despite whether or not the father coparcener has died before the amendment.

B-town celebs have taken to their social media handles to celebrate the verdict.

"In a landmark decision, Supreme Court ensures the unconditional right of a daughter to her parents property. It gives daughters inheritance right to the parental property by birth. A great day in the march for gender equality," Farhan Akhtar tweeted.

In a landmark decision, Supreme Court ensures the unconditional right of a daughter to her parents property. It gives daughters inheritance right to the parental property by birth. A great day in the march for gender equality.   Farhan Akhtar (@FarOutAkhtar) August 12, 2020

Actress Shraddha Kapoor posted a screenshot of the news on Instagram Stories and wrote: "About time! Equality."

Ayushmann Khurrana took to his Instagram stories to celebrate the decision. He wrote, ''The Supreme Court on Tuesday held that daughters, like sons, have an equal birthright to inherit ancestral property and the amendment to the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 will have retrospective effect. A big step, a necessary step and I welcome this verdict wholeheartedly''.

"The decision by the Apex Court of India is historic. It gives daughters inheritance right to the parental property by birth. So either son or daughter, both are deemed equal," veteran actor Shabana Azmi also tweeted about the judgment.

The apex court on Tuesday ruled that daughters have equal rights in the Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) ancestral property. The court held that a daughter gets coparcenary rights in the property even if her father passed away prior to the amendment made to the Hindu Succession Act in 2005.

A bench, headed by Justice Arun Mishra and comprising Justices S. Abdul Nazeer and M.R. Shah, said: "The provisions contained in the substituted Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 confer status of coparcener on the daughter born before or after amendment in the same manner as son with same rights and liabilities."
More than 600,000 has been awarded to museums and galleries to make changes amid the pandemic  including taking work to a shopping centre and using actor-guides to manage social distancing.

Art Fund has announced 18 projects which will receive grants to meet immediate needs connected to Covid-19 and re-imagine future ways of working.

The National Glass Centre in Sunderland gets 40,000, including to adapt its glassmaking demonstrations safely for visitors.

We're excited to announce we'll be awarding over 600,000 funding for the first 18 recipients of our new Respond and Reimagine grants.



These grants are designed to meet immediate needs connected to Covid-19 and reimagine future ways of working.#TogetherForMuseums pic.twitter.com/1jOIw6wZNa  Art Fund (@artfund) August 13, 2020

The National Videogame Museum in Sheffield, which is creating an online gallery, also gets 40,000.

The Florence Nightingale Museum in London receives almost 46,000, including to work with actor-guides to manage social distancing whilst simultaneously immersing visitors in the nurses world and legacy.

Wycombe Museum  which is planning a pop-up exhibition space and community hub in a High Wycombe shopping centre  receives 35,000.

The Box in Plymouth receives just over 25,000, part of which will be used to supply visitors with a stylus so they can safely interact with the exhibits.

Ceredigion Museum in Aberystwyth gets 40,000 and wants to memorialise local experiences of Covid-19 through a digital quilt, inspired by the museums collection of Welsh quilts.

Other recipients include the Foundling Museum in London, Void art centre in Londonderry, and Dundee Contemporary Arts.

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Art Fund director Jenny Waldman said the organisation was inundated with applications evidence of the vast need amongst museums and galleries whose funding models have been shattered by this crisis.

But it is hugely encouraging to see ambitious and creative proposals from museums all over the country who are passionate about serving their local communities and engaging audiences, despite very challenging circumstances and devastating loss of income, she said.

The 630,729 is the first round of Art Funds 1.5 million funding programme.
The U.S. National Security Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation have exposed a sophisticated Russian hacking tool, they said on Thursday in a rare public report offering new insight on Russias arsenal of digital weapons.

The NSA and FBI said that Russias Main Intelligence Directorate, known as the GRU, was using a hacking tool code named Drovorub" to break into Linux-based computers. Linux is an operating system commonly used across computer server infrastructure.

Linux systems are used pervasively throughout National Security Systems, the Department of Defense, and the Defense Industrial Base - as well as the larger cybersecurity community writ large," Keppel Wood, chief operations officer in the NSAs Cybersecurity Directorate, told Reuters. The malware has the potential to have a widespread impact if network defenders dont take action against it."

The public call-out is unique, said a former Western intelligence official, because of the direct attribution offered by the U.S. agencies. The NSA and FBI connected Drovorub to a specific Russian intelligence team - the 85th Main Special Service Center (GTsSS), military unit 26165.

The GTsSS, the agencies said, is associated with the same hackers who broke into the Democratic National Committee in 2016.

Drovorub is a Swiss Army knife of capabilities that allows the attacker to perform many different functions, such as stealing files and remote-controlling the victims computer," said Steve Grobman, chief technology officer for cybersecurity company McAfee.

Thursdays highly technical, 45-page NSA/FBI report is the latest in a series of public call-outs by the U.S government aimed at Russian hacking operations ahead of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The agencies did not say what types of organizations had been compromised by Drovorub.

NSA is sharing this information to counter the capabilities of the GRU GTsSS, which continues to threaten the United States and its allies," said the NSAs Wood.

The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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
Mays Hotel in South Beach was a mecca for those who wanted to enjoy the Islands once-thriving seashore along the Roosevelt Boardwalk. The hotel offered fine bathing, bungalows for rent and a lively dance hall. The dance hall there was a popular hangout for Staten Island teens. The hotel was demolished in 1956
Billy Calzada /Staff file photo

Fifteen in-store H-E-B employees in San Antonio have tested positive for COVID-19 in August, according to the grocery store chain's website. Of the 15 cases, four of the employees last worked in their respective stores in late July.

Last month, 108 employees tested positive for the virus in the Alamo City, down from the more than 120 who contracted the coronavirus in June.
Bernard Bailyn, an influential and significant historian of the American colonial period, passed away last week at his home in Belmont, Massachusetts. The cause of death was heart failure. He was 97.

Bailyns writing spanned 70 years. His first book, The New England Merchants in the Seventeenth Century, was published in 1955. His last book, Illuminating History: A Retrospective of Seven Decades, appeared last year.

In the course of his long academic career, all of it spent at Harvard University, Bailyn published dozens of books and articles. Bailyn guided the dissertations of many historians, several of whom themselves have made extraordinary contributions to knowledge of the colonial and revolutionary periods, foremost among them Gordon S. Wood of Brown University. Bailyns most famous study, published in 1967, is The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution, which demonstrated the extraordinary breadth of the political debate that ruptured the colonies relationship with Great Britain. It won both the Bancroft and Pulitzer prizes for history.

Bernard Bailyn poses in his Harvard University office in Cambridge, Mass., Feb. 26, 2003. (AP Photo/Julia Malakie, File)

Bailyn brought to his work enormous technical skills, vast erudition and the capacity to imagine the past as a time profoundly different from ones own, in which the actors lived, thought and struggled in the context of a historically-conditioned situation. Bailyn valued historians, as he explained it, who sought to understand the past in its own terms: to relocate events, the meaning of documents, the motivations of historical actors in their original historical sockets.

Bailyn captured the drama of historical actors moving toward ends unknown to them, an approach that imbued his writing with literary quality. History, he wrote, imposed limitations within which everyone involved was obliged to act; the inescapable boundaries of action; the blindness of the actorsin a word, the tragedy of the event. And further, the essence and drama of history lie precisely in the active and continuous relationship between the underlying conditions that set the boundaries of human existence and the everyday problems with which people consciously struggle.

Wood, in a tribute to his mentor, noted that George Eliot or Thomas Hardy or Henry James could not have described better what they were doing in their tragic novels.

This outlook brought Bailyn into conflict with anachronism in history-writing throughout his career. When The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution was published, it challenged both the conservative consensus school of American history, sometimes called Whig history, that dominated the 1950s and which saw the revolutionary period as unfolding to a predetermined, liberal, end. It also put him at odds with an ostensibly left historyfalsely identified with Marxismthat interpreted the eighteenth-century politics of the revolutionaries as nothing more than hypocritical rationalizations for economic interests. This school of thought was associated above all with the progressive historian Charles Beard.

The Ideological Origins, through an analysis of hundreds of revolutionary pamphlets, revealed the broad scope and the intensity of the political crisis of the late colonial perioda crisis Bailyn saw as essentially a challenge to traditional, aristocratic and English authority taking place at the very fringe of the European world. The colonists conspiratorial view that the British Parliament sought to strip them of their free-born liberties as Englishmen, so prevalent in the documentary evidence, could not simply be dismissed as propaganda, as many historians had done. The ideological worldview at the disposal of the colonists, largely derived from English radical sources, lagged behind the actual social conditions of the colonies, but this did not make their thinking unreal.

As Bailyn explains in the important chapter The Contagion of Liberty, the politics soon swept over all forms of authority, challenging existing established order in government, churches and even plantations. Contrary to both the consensus and progressive historians, Bailyn therefore perceived that the American Revolution was a radical event.

Bailyns work can certainly be criticized for its underestimation of the significance of class forces in the revolutionary period. Commenting on Bailyns work in a letter to this writer, Gordon Wood observed: He didnt like any suggestion of a class conflict. Nevertheless, Bailyn told the American Historical Association, in his 1981 presidential address, that We are all Marxists in the sense of assuming that history is profoundly shaped by underlying economic or materialist configurations and by peoples responses to them.

Bailyn was born to a middle class Jewish family in Hartford, Connecticut. His wife, Lotte, was of German-speaking background, connected to emigrants who had fled Nazi Germany. In one of the few biographical comments he made in his academic work, he spoke of how these exiles from Hitler, often talented artists and intellectuals, were the least parochial people he ever knew, and who viewed the United States as a far outer Anglo-American periphery. This clearly contributed to Bailyns own view of the British North American colonies, which he constantly presented as a sort of border rim that ran European cultural and intellectual life to its very edges.

Lotte Bailyn survives her husband. A longtime professor of management at MIT and herself a prolific author, Lotte assisted her husband in one of his early books, Massachusetts Shipping, 16971714: A Statistical Study. Published in 1959, it was one of the first historical studies to use computer technology to compile data.

Bailyns education was interrupted by World War II, in which he was assigned into the Signal Corps and trained to fluency in German, having already studied French. He entered Harvard graduate school in 1946, where Oscar Handlin, one of the first Jewish professors at the leading Ivy League university, was his mentor and later his colleague. Whatever challenges he may have himself faced in this environment notorious for its anti-Semitism, Harvard offered Bailyn one of the most sought-after tenure-track jobs in America in 1953, though he was a relatively young and unknown scholar.

Bailyn appears to have said very little about the political environment at the time. But anti-communism had exacted a terrible price among writers and artists, and on the American intellectual environment as a whole. It was in this shadow of McCarthyism that the conservative consensus school of American history held sway, whose foremost advocate was the Yale historian Edmund S. Morgan. Bailyn thus emerged as a major intellectual figure in the late 1950s in the immediate aftermath of the McCarthy period, but before the emergence of the New Left on the campuses just a decade later.

In the years immediately after the publication of The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution, entire new academic fields emerged: critical revisionist studies of political, diplomatic and labor history, as well as African American history, womens history, Native American history, and many more. The new fields criticized what the late Howard Zinn called establishment history and brought forward the social history of the oppressed, who had often left behind little or no written record. This yielded fresh and significant results, and, for the colonial period, considerably widened the lens.

Yet the New Left historians tended to dismiss the American Revolution as an elite conspiracya position, ironically, that was first made by the Loyalists and the Tories during the imperial crisisand began to label Bailyn as a consensus, or purely intellectual, historian.

By the 1990s, when Bailyn retired from the classroom, college history departments were becoming bogged down in the miasma created by the cross-pollination of identity politics with postmodernism, a philosophical tendency that rejects narrative in history and even the very effort to establish a factual or objective approach to the study of the past. At that point, the weaknesses and political confusion of the New Left-inspired history, there from the start, emerged as a destructive force aimed not at the revision of history, but at its destruction.

These reactionary intellectual tendencies for many years appeared to be confined largely to the campuses and the university presses. And even though new identity politics-dominated academic history was richly fed, itself becoming a new establishment, Bailyn continued to win national prizes and awards, and appreciations regularly appeared in the major publications of American liberalism, including the New York Times.

This is no longer the case. The Times obituary to Bailyn, while it acknowledged the undeniable influence of his early career, insinuated that his recent workhis four-decades long study of immigration to the colonies entitled The Peopling of British North Americawas outmoded. In line with its relentless promotion of racial conflict as the axis of American history, which is coupled with the libelous claim that white historians are incapable of understanding the historical role and contribution of non-whites, the Times made sure to devote a portion of the obituary to the strong criticism from fellow historians for what they saw as inadequate or dismissive treatment of nonwhite people. There is no merit to this criticism. It is a smear aimed to make the Times readership believe that Bailyns work is no longer relevant, and that he was a racist.

The last year of Bailyns life witnessed the publication of the Times promotion of a racialist falsification of history, the 1619 Project. In a blunt, though unintended admission of the intellectually fraudulent character of this operation, Nikole Hannah-Jonesthe public face of the Projectrecently tweeted that the 1619 Project is not a history. It is, rather, about who gets to control the national narrative, and, therefore, the nations shared memory of itself. This is a retrograde conception that obliterates the distinction between history and myth, and legitimizes lies in the interests of a race-centered political agenda.

The 1619 Projects central claimthat the American Revolution was a counterrevolution to defend slaveryrests on a series of falsehoods and distortions, up to and including basic errors of chronological order. This flagrant distortion of the past contradicts Bailyns career. The aged historian was not consulted for the project, and neither, it is clear enough, were his major books. His work, with its precision toward fact and its appreciation of the colonial world as it existed, was of no use to the Times exercise in historical falsification.

The effort to brush aside Bailyn will not succeed. The resurgence of social struggles in the United States will generate a renewed interest in the democratic ideals that inspired the great revolutionaries of the eighteenth century. In this intellectually healthier environment, the work left behind by Bernard Bailyn will be respected for its honesty and objectivity.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Thursday that the State Department has designated the Confucius Institute U.S. Center as a foreign mission.

Confucius institutes, present on college campuses throughout the world, have the stated aim of promoting knowledge of Chinese language and culture. However, the institutes are funded by the Chinese government and have been criticized by U.S. officials for allegedly promoting Chinese soft power abroad.

The designation as a foreign mission means that the State Department considers the U.S. Center as controlled by a foreign entity, and the Center will have to report basic information on personnel and property holdings to the department.

Confucius Institutes are funded by the PRC and part of the Chinese Communist Partys global influence and propaganda apparatus, Pompeo said in a statement. The United States wants to ensure that students on U.S. campuses have access to Chinese language and cultural offerings free from the manipulation of the Chinese Communist Party and its proxies.

Senator Ben Sasse (R., Neb.) applauded the designation.

Behind the student activities and language programs, the institutes have two more nefarious core objectives: spreading communist propaganda and spying on Chinese students studying in the free world, Sasse said. Beijings public diplomacy relies on these communist outposts so they should be forced to register as foreign missions.

There are roughly 100 Confucius institutes currently operational in the U.S., although some of them have closed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The U.S. Center of Confucius institutes is based in Washington, D.C. Directors of the Center have previously decried what they see as complaints reported without any attempt at balance or to learn more about the actual content and perspectives of institute programs.

The national leadership of American college Democrats and Republicans released a joint letter in May calling to close all Confucius institutes on U.S. campuses, as well as for full and public disclosure of all ties, both financial and academic, between centers of higher learning and all Chinese state agencies and proxies.

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South Africa: Public Service Commission DG placed on suspension

Public Service Commission (PSC) Director-General, Dr Dovhani Mamphiswana, has been placed on precautionary suspension, the Presidency announced on Wednesday.

President Cyril Ramaphosa informed the Director-General (DG) on the decision on Thursday, 6 August 2020.

The suspension, with full pay, takes effect immediately.

In a statement, the Presidency said the DGs suspension does not in any way constitute a judgment on the part of the President.

This is a precautionary suspension in terms of the Disciplinary Code and Procedures for Members of the Senior Management Services (SMS) contained in Chapter 7 of the SMS Handbook for the public service, said the Presidency.

In terms of a Presidential Minute dated 27 February 2020, the President delegated to the Minister of Public Service and Administration the power to investigate if there was any improper conduct during the filling of a vacancy within the Department.

A report on the investigation was presented to the President in his capacity as the Executive Authority designated by law to deal with career incidents, including disciplinary matters, pertaining to Directors-General. The report submitted to the President has recommended that the President institute formal disciplinary action against Dr Mamphiswana, said the Presidency.

The President subsequently advised the Director-General of his intention to place him on precautionary suspension.

Following written representations by Dr Mamphiswana, the President decided to proceed with the precautionary suspension.

Meanwhile, the President has, in terms of Section 42A(3)(a) and relevant provisions of the Public Service Act, delegated to the Minister for Public Service and Administration the power to:

Initiate disciplinary processes against the Director-General in terms of the Disciplinary Code applicable to heads of department as envisaged in Chapter 7 of the SMS Handbook;

Deal with all matters pertaining to the disciplinary hearing and its outcome, including, but not limited to  in the event of a guilty finding at the hearing  the implementation of the sanction pronounced by the chairperson at the hearing.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-08-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Ex-employee of Zabaikalye penal colony jailed for 4.5 years in bribery case

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

14:32 13/08/2020

MOSCOW, August 13 (RAPSI)  A court in Russias Zabaikalsky Krai has sentenced a former employee of one of the regional penal colonies to 4.5 years in jail for taking bribes from a convict, the press service of the Prosecutor Generals Office reports.

He has been also found guilty of abuse of power.

According to case papers, in 2019, the defendant received three bribes amounting to more than 39,000 rubles from a convict. For this sum he repeatedly allowed the prisoner to transfer banned items and cellphones to the colonys territory. Following that, the penal employee was fired.

The convict was found guilty of giving bribes and received 7.5 years in penal colony on several counts.




The Unity Bank Plc on Thursday said the $2, 267,400 it received from a former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Bello Adoke, was not proceeds of crime but for the repayment of a N300 million loan he obtained from the bank.

A former acting Managing Director(MD) of the bank, Rislanudeen Mohammed, stated this at the Federal High Court in Abuja during the ongoing trial of Mr Adoke and a businessman, Aliyu Abubakar, on corruption charges.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) had on August 4 re-arraigned Messrs Adoke and Abubakar on an amended 14-count charge bordering on money laundering.

They face a seven-count charge each but both pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In count nine of the charge, the anti-graft agency accused Mr Adoke of making a cash payment of $2,267,400 to Mr Muhammed in September 2013 in Abuja.

An offence contrary to the combined effect of section 16 (1) () and of section 1(a) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 (as amended) and punishable under section 16 (2)(b) of the same Act

Messrs Adoke and Abubakar are also standing trial alongside others at the FCT High Court in Gwagwalada in Abuja, in respect of the Malabu oil transaction.

Testimony

On Thursday, while giving his evidence in chief (as the second prosecution witness) led by the EFCC lawyer, Bala Sanga, the former bank MD said he has been friends with Mr Adoke since 1990.

Mr Muhammed said sometime in 2012, the former AGF requested a loan of N300 million from Unity bank.

Due to incomplete documentation for the account, the witness said a temporary overdraft facility was initiated and the loan was approved.

Mr Muhammed said he later approached Mr Adoke after the branch manager of the Bank informed him that a fee of N6 million had not been paid.

He said the former AGF sent the N6 million through his driver and it was handed over to the branch manager.

Testifying further, the witness said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) came to the bank to carry out a risk management assessment and the bank was queried for having a plethora of nonperforming loans.

He said due to the good relationship he had with the first defendant, he started to mount pressure on him to repay the loan in order to avoid his name being published as part of defaulters having nonperforming loans.

According to the witness, Mr Adoke later invited him to his residence and gave him a cash sum of $2,267,400.

He called me to his house and he gave me the money in a black bag. It was taken from the boot of his car into the boot of my car, he said.

Mr Muhammed said the $2,267,400 was converted to naira and the bank deducted the loaned sum alongside the accrued interest, leaving a residual balance of N3,800,000.

He said Mr Adoke later wrote to the bank requesting for a cash payment of N3,500,000 through his driver.

The witness said when the account was closed, a residual balance of about N223,000 was issued to Adoke by way of managers cheque.

When asked if the former AGF had a dollar account with Unity Bank, the witness said he was not aware.

Even if he had, the amount is above the specified threshold. Because of money laundering issues, there was no way that amount of money would reflect into his account, Mr Mohammed said.

Cross-Examination

Under cross-examination by Mr Adokes lawyer, Kanu Agabi, the witness was asked if the money ($2,267,400) was available to be confiscated.

The witness answered in the negative, saying it was not available because it was not a proceed of crime.

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I have no reason to believe that it was a proceed of crime, he said.

Is the sum available in the account of the first defendant? Mr Agabi asked and Mr Muhammed replied; No, the money is not there.

Meanwhile, the first prosecution witness, a manager in charge of foreign exchange trade at the CBN, Clement Osagie, tendered foreign exchange transaction rates covering August, September and October 2013 and were admitted as exhibits.

Under cross-examination by the second defendants lawyer, Olalekan Ojo, the witness who stated that the documents tendered were generated from the electronic system of the CBN, said he was not among the personnel of the Information Technology (IT) department of the CBN.

Answering a question, Mr Osagie said that the CBNs licenced Bureau de Change (BDC) operators file reports of transactions in CBN forex which are kept by the Trade and Exchange department but he cannot talk on the activities of the BDC.

While admitting that he does not know the defendants in the case, Mr Osagie disclosed that his statement to the anti-graft agency was made after the last courts proceedings.

Mr Osagie added that I thought I would just come and tender the documents before the court and go.

The case has been adjourned to September 7 for the continuation of trial.

At the end of the proceedings, Justice Inyang Ekwo noted that the case before the court has nothing to do with the controversial Malabu oil transaction.

He warned litigants and journalists to desist from giving conflicting reports.
At the Tommyfield Market in Oldham  the Greater Manchester town now on the front line of the UKs battle with coronavirus  on Wednesday morning, there was frustration and fear in equal measure.

Frustration because of an overnight council warning that, after weeks of increasing infection rates, the borough may be just days away from becoming the first place in England returned to lockdown. How did they let it get to this? asked one person.

But fear too. Fear most of all perhaps. Fear that if pubs, restaurants, leisure centres and non-essential businesses in this historic mill town really do have to shut again for a prolonged period, it could cripple the entire area  for years to come.

Look around, said Dale Robinson, owner of Blooming Dales florists in Tommyfield. Oldhams been struggling for decades. Now this. Theres a lot of shops here that just about survived the first lockdown. Theyve scraped through. But a second one

A shake of his head. A glance down Albion Street where empty units are already dismally plentiful.

I dont know if thered be much of a town to come back to afterwards, he concludes.

That Oldham has had a difficult modern history, few would argue.

The destruction of both its mill industry in the Seventies and Eighties and then its engineering base in the Nineties was followed from 2010 by an especially eviscerating austerity: some 42 per cent of the councils budget was cut here in a decade.

The result has been huge levels of hardship. Four wards within the Oldham Council area are in the top one per cent of the countrys most deprived. Three of Englands 20 worst patches for child poverty are here too.

Even the popularity of Tommyfield  an Aladdins cave built just 30 years ago and serving everything from fresh meat and veg to haircuts  is to some extent evidence of a population without disposable income. People come here because they need good value just to get by, says Robinson, who has run his business in the town for 19 years.

Now, the concern is that a second lockdown could decimate the still struggling economy here.

Robinson, himself, had to throw away 2,000 worth of stock during the national closure from March to June, while the council here - much to the astonishment of many  continued to charge traders full rent. If there has to be another lockdown to save lives, so be it, the 54-year-old, who employs four staff at the unit, says. No-ones going to argue with that. But dont think it wont hurt. It would be devastating.

Pertinently, perhaps, if the dilemma is Oldhams right now, it appears increasingly unlikely it will be the only place to find itself wrestling with the same predicament. With new infections across the country topping 1,000 for a second day running on Wednesday  the first time thats happened since June  it is almost certain more towns will face such tough measures.

It was crippling first time round and would be worse second, says Ray Aslam, in between serving sweets and lollies at his Kandy Kingdom shop. I know for a fact a lot of businesses here managed to get by because of the 10,000 grant from the government. But if theres a local lockdown without that support, there would be closures all over town.

The 35-year-old is a spokesperson for the Tommyfield Market Traders Association but hes not just talking about the entrepreneurs there: restaurants, pubs, businesses across the board  they have used everything to survive and get to a position where they could reopen  they dont have anything left to fall back on.

The wider issue, perhaps, is that once those businesses go, jobs, money and opportunities all disappear from the town. Council and support services already under strain become further stretched, while young people leave in search of work elsewhere. It is a vicious circle that could last decades, reckons Aslam.

Oldham has been here before so we know how it goes, he says before turning to a customer brightly. Pear drops, love?

There is another concern beyond the economy here too: that a new lockdown may lead to inter-community tensions.

Already it appears some residents are blaming spiralling infection rate on certain communities. Specifically, they are blaming the towns 20 per cent Muslim population.

This, to be clear, is against the evidence. The spread, says Arooj Shah, the councils cabinet member for Covid-19 recovery, is in all areas, in all age groups, and in all communities.

Nonetheless, there are concerns that, in a town where race riots exploded in 2001, such disinformation could lead to a rise in Islamophobia. It is unfortunate that this is happening, a spokesperson for the Oldham Muslim Centre said. Members of the Muslim community have made  and continue to make  large sacrifices to stick to the guidelines and to play their part in bringing the spread under control.

This, certainly, is supported by Katrina Stephens, Oldhams director of public health, who says infections are occurring right across the board.

It was she who took the decision to warn residents that if restrictions already in place in the borough  mainly, different households not mixing  were not followed more rigorously, stricter measures may be imposed.

She did so after becoming alarmed that the infection rate had almost doubled in the last week. It now stands at 107.5 per 100,000 population. For context, when Leicester was kept in local lockdown in July  as the rest of the country was released from restrictions  the rate there was 135 per 100,000 people.

Its really difficult to know what will happen from here, she told The Independent on Wednesday afternoon. But that [lockdown] is not a measure we would take lightly. We understand the impact it would have and that is why we urged people to really follow the small steps already in place.

It is not solely the number of infections which will be considered over the next couple of days as officials wrestle with the dilemma. It will also be proportions of positive tests and hospital admissions. Counter-intuitively, perhaps, part of the problem in Oldham has been that there has been specific major outbreak. Officials cannot pin a spread down to a certain business, bar or neighbourhood. It appears to be circulating everywhere.

Which makes it difficult to tackle with more targeted measures, Stephens said.

Reasonable enough but would a decision on a total lockdown take into account the sheer economic hardship people feared they would face? It would.

Would there be help from either central government or the council for those facing such hardships? A more ambiguous answer. There are a range of discussions being had, she said.

That probably isnt the definitive answer that may have reassured many here.

But outside Smoke Yard  a burger and cocktail joint close to the recently refurbished town hall  manager Dave Turner felt the moral case for help was incontestable.

His restaurant had turned to deliveries during the national shut down and had managed to generate about 40 per cent of usual business. All the same, it had lost three staff and he wasnt sure another prolonged period of closure could be survived.

As I understand local lockdowns, he said, you shut one area so the virus doesnt spread to other parts of the country. So Oldham would be bearing the brunt to protect others. Surely, if were making that sacrifice, its only fair that we get some help in return.
Two Light Combat Helicopters (LCH) have been deployed for high-altitude operations in the Leh sector to provide short-notice support for the Indian Air Force.

On Wednesday, the two aircraft, designed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) were flown off from a high-altitude location to a forward area for a simulated attack on a high-altitude target. This was followed by a landing at a helipad in the region, known for being treacherous.

The Vice Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Harjit Singh Arora took part in one such operation along with HAL test pilot, Wing Commander Subash P John (retired).

HAL, in a statement, said the sorties had shown that the helicopter had successfully demonstrated its quick deployment prowess to forward locations in extreme temperatures.

R Madhavan, Chairman and Managing Director of HAL added: It is the lightest attack helicopter in the world designed and developed by HAL to meet the specific and unique requirements of Indian Armed Forces reflecting the crucial role of HAL in Atma Nirbhar Bharat.



Among the key features of the Light Combat helicopter is its ability to operate in the complete Area of Responsibility (AOR) and altitudes while carrying adequate weapon load at high altitudes under varied conditions, the company added.

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved the proposal for an initial batch of 15 LCHs. These fifteen limited series production machines are based on a Request for Proposal by the Indian Air Force, with 10 of the helicopters destined for the air force and five for the army.

HAL said that a technical evaluation and the price negotiations have been concluded, and the order is expected shortly. The company added that it has also launched production of the limited series helicopters, in anticipation of orders at its Bengaluru facility.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 13)  Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno warned that the one-year freeze on loan repayments sought in the economic stimulus bill pending in Congress could do more harm than good to the banking industry.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, the central bank chief said the financial sector could be badly hit should this provision under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act is signed into law.

"While we recognize the noble intentions behind the 365-day moratorium on loan payments, the said policy... may result in unintended consequences that will severely affect the banking industry, the financial system, and the economy," Diokno said.

House Bill 6953 approved by the House of Representatives on Monday directs all banks, financing firms, property developers, and insurance companies, as well as public and private credit-granting units to implement a 365-day grace period or staggered payment arrangements for all loans, amortizations, and even credit card payments without the borrower incurring additional charges.

Loan terms may be extended for another year to give time for borrowers to recover their finances following the series of lockdowns meant to contain COVID-19 infections.

Diokno added that this could pose a funding crunch on banks and could put "significant strain" on the liquidity and capital positions of lending institutions, which rely on cash flows to keep lending activities going. He feared this could even trigger a bank run and undermine confidence in the banking system.

With limited cash, banks may also be forced to become more stingy in granting credit to new or repeat borrowers, including struggling MSMEs which are considered risky clients.

The Bayanihan to Heal as One Act provided a 30-day grace period for loan, rent, and utility payments whenever an area is placed under enhanced community quarantine or modified ECQ.

Meanwhile, the BSP chief assured the economy is still well-placed to afford new loans taken to boost funds for COVID-19 response. The government has borrowed $5.6 billion (about 237 billion) from foreign sources as of July  a level that's still "manageable," according to Diokno.

The national debt totaled 9.05 trillion in June as the state borrowed more for pandemic response measures. One-third of the amount came from foreign borrowings, while the rest were sourced locally.

The Bayanihan 2 act will still be subject to a bicameral conference between House and Senate members for a unified version of the law, before it is referred to the President for signing into law.
Calaveras County Office of Education View Photo

Angels Camp, CA  It could not happen at a better time, stress Calaveras County educators after landing a competitive $2.5 million state grant for a student mental health program.

The Mental Health Services Act grant to support student mental health in local elementary schools was awarded to the Calaveras Health and Human Services Agency/Behavioral Health Services Division (CHHSA) and Calaveras County Office of Education (CCOE). Out of the ten applicants vying for funding, Calaveras Countys application got the highest score among the four small counties selected.

This project is the culmination of years of working together to build more mental health programs for our children, said CHHSA Director Kristin Stranger. She notes this is the first time they will be able to deliver early intervention services to the youngest students, adding, Were very excited about what this will mean for our schools and families, especially with the added stress of COVID-19 and distance learning.

A sentiment echoed by CCOE Superintendent Scott Nanik. This opportunity couldnt have come at a better time for our schools, said Nanik. Staff members, as well as families, have been coping with so many changes and challenges that nearly everyone needs some measure of mental health support by now.

The county plans are to contract with community-based nonprofit Sierra Child and Family Services and offer on-campus mental wellness centers at all elementary schools, with services available to all students regardless of insurance or income eligibility. Those centers will provide students with safe and supportive services and promote emotional health, school engagement, and positive connections with peers, teachers, and families, instruct county educators.

A program will provide a small team of mental wellness professionals that will work closely with school counselors and administrators. They will provide services that county officials say will include training for staff, students and families in coping and resiliency skills; targeted interventions for students experiencing trauma or other mental health stresses; and specific treatment for students exhibiting higher-level symptoms.

Superintendent Nanik added, The grant will allow us to create the infrastructure we need to provide these services into the future. Once this component is in place, Calaveras County will have a full continuum of student mental health services  prevention/education, intervention, and crisis response  available to all grade levels in our county.

County educators point to national statistics that show mental health problems affect one in seven children in the nation and those rates only rise during community crises, like the pandemic. Students face mental health issues that include anxiety, depression, disruptive behavior problems, and sleep disorders. For further facts and information regarding student mental health programs, click here.
A farmer gleans wheat in a field on May 29, 2011, in Huaibei, Anhui Province, of China. (VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

Beijing Cracks Down on Extreme-Eating Videos as Country Faces Food Shortage

Chinese official data confirmed that wheat production declined this year, while the Communist Partys rubber-stamp legislature said it would issue new laws to prohibit food waste, further indicating that the country was facing a food shortage.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping issued a directive on food waste via state-run media Xinhua on Aug. 11, in which he said, the food waste phenomenon is shocking and distressing [in China]. This is the second time in recent weeks that Xi commented on the countrys food issues.

On July 26, Xinhua published another message from Xi, in which he told officials to treat food supplies as the first priority of local governance.

After Xi issued his new instructions, popular online personalities known for their mukbang, or video broadcasts of themselves eating large amounts of food, were criticized by Chinese social media platforms.

In a Wednesday report, state-run newspaper Hongxing News quoted an executive from Douyinthe Chinese version of popular video-sharing app TikTokthat the platform would delete such videos and remove users accounts if they promote eating a lot.

Several famous Chinese mukbang personalities social media accounts and videos were removed on Thursday.

Meanwhile, local governments also issued new rules to restrict the amount of food people can order at restaurants.

For example, in Wuhanground zero of the CCP virus pandemicruled on Aug. 11 that people should order N-1 meals at restaurants, meaning if ten people are seated, they should only order nine meals. If the party is two to three people, restaurants should encourage customers to order half-sized meals, according to the rule.

Wheat grains. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Food Shortage

In China, farmers only sell grains to the government. Food companies then buy up crops from the government to make into food products.

Official data can thus be a gauge for how much crops farmers have harvested.

Chinas National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration announced on Wednesday that it had purchased 42.857 million metric tons of wheat from farmers this summer, which is 9.383 million metric tons, or about 18 percent, less than the same period last year.

The data included a partial breakdown for several provinces. Among them, the central government purchased 36.061 million metric tons from five provinces that are the countrys major wheat production areasabout 10 million metric tons less than last year.

The data did not include other provinces that produce wheat, such as Shaanxi, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Xinjiang, Qinghai, and the three provinces of northeastern China. But these regions recently suffered droughts.

An SRI hybrid rice field in Yunnan province, China, in 2004 (Courtesy Zhu Defeng)

U.S.-based China affairs commentator Tang Jingyuan also noted that authorities data are not trustworthy, meaning the real decline in wheat production could be even greater.

This year, with historical floods impacting 27 Chinese provinces, in addition to pest invasions and pandemic-related delays, the country is producing less grains.

But it could be difficult to import them from other countries.

In April, India, Thailand, Vietnam, and Bangladesh announced bans on exporting rice, owing to logistical disruptions due to COVID-19-related lockdowns or local supply shortages. India and Thailand are the two biggest rice exporters in the world.

And on Thursday, the Commission of Legislative Affairs within Chinas rubber-stamp legislature said it was preparing new laws to prevent food waste, including by regulating the whole process of food productionplanting of crops, storage, transport, and so on.

A farmer bundles dried stalks of wheat in a field in Cangzhou, in Chinas Hebei Province, in February 2009. (Frederic J. Brown/Getty Images)

Isolationism?

Commentator Tang analyzed that the new laws suggested a food supply problemand that the Party wants to establish a domestic-only food production chain so as not to rely on foreign imports.

He said that Beijings decision to enact lawsas opposed to short-term directivesindicated that the Chinese regime wanted to create a self-reliant food system and isolate itself from the world.

The reality is China cant feed itself now. It needs the imported grains, Tang said.

Asked why central authorities issued the recent food policies, Yang Bin, economist and vice president of Chinas elite Tsinghua University, told Epoch Times-affiliated media NTD that [Chinese leader Xi Jinping] intention is to separate China from the world. He plans to cut off the connections to the world to avoid all the possible potential sanctions [on China], Yang said in a phone interview.

The United States has recently sanctioned Chinese officials for their role in eroding freedoms in Hong Kong and human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims residing in the Xinjiang region.
India on Thursday announced a USD 500 million assistance for the Maldives to help it implement a mega connectivity project linking its capital Male with three neighbouring islands.

India also announced the launch of a regular cargo ferry service as well as the start of an air travel bubble between the two countries. The first flight under the air bubble is expected to commence on August 18.

The announcements were made by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during a virtual meeting he held with his Maldivian counterpart Abdulla Shahid.

In the meeting, Jaishankar also conveyed to Shahid India's decision to extend in-principle urgent assistance to the government of Maldives by way of a soft loan arrangement in view of the financial challenges being faced by the island nation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

The 6.7 km Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP) will be the largest civilian infrastructure project in Maldives, linking Male with Villingili, Gulhifahu and Thilafushi islands, officials said. In a series of tweets, Jaishankar said India will fund the implementation of GMCP through a USD 400 million line of credut and USD 100 million grant.

"This 6.7 km bridge project connecting Male with Gulhifalhu Port & Thilafushi industrial zone will help revitalise and transform Maldivian economy," he said.

People familiar with the GMCP said it was a key election promise of the ruling MDP for which Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih sought Indias assistance during his meeting with Jaishankar in September last year.

"Once completed, this landmark project will streamline connectivity between the four islands, thereby boosting economic activity, generating employment and promoting holistic urban development in the Male region," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

As of now, the 1.39 km Maldives-China Friendship bridge connecting Male with Hulhule and Hulhumale is the most visible infrastructure project in the island nation. However, sources said, once implemented, GMCP will render the 1.39 km bridge insignificant.

They said it will help in demonstrating Indias overarching presence in Maldives through a high-visibility project in the Greater Male region and showcase Indias expertise in conceptualising and implementing a complex infrastructural project.

India is also extending financial support for construction of a port in Gulhifahu.

"The cargo ferry service will enhance sea connectivity and provide predictability in supplies for importers in Maldives and exporters in India. It will also reduce logistics costs and times for traders," the MEA said.

Referring to creation of an air bubble, it said Maldives is the first neighboring country with which an air bubble is being operationalized.

"The air bubble symbolises Indias support to shore up tourism arrivals and revenues in the Maldives. Health protocols in both countries will be strictly followed. The first flight under the Air Bubble is expected to commence on August 18," the MEA said.

In the meeting, Jaishankar also conveyed to Shahid India's decision to renew quotas for supply of essential commodities to Maldives for the year 2020-21. "The commodities include food items like potatoes, onions, rice, wheat, flour, sugar, dal and eggs as well as river sand and stone aggregates. The quotas assure food security, and the supply of essential construction items, and thereby provide certainty and price stability for such essential items in the Maldives," the MEA said.

On the financial assistance, the MEA said,"Exact modalities of the loan arrangement are being finalised by the two sides." The MEA said Jaishankar expressed happiness that India and Maldives worked very closely in dealing with COVID-19, and that the island nation is the largest beneficiary among the neighbouring countries receiving New Delhi's assistance to tackle the pandemic.

It said Jaishankar reaffirmed Indias continued commitment for all possible support to the Maldives for minimising the health and economic impact of the pandemic.

The external affairs minister and Maldives' foreign minister Shahid emphasised that greater connectivity results in prosperity, the MEA said.
A Chinese mainland spokesperson Wednesday urged the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority in Taiwan to immediately stop political manipulation of affairs related to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), saying DPP's attempts to create chaos in Hong Kong and seek "Taiwan independence" would only end in futile.

Ma Xiaoguang, the spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, refuted irresponsible accusations by leader of the DPP authority over the law on safeguarding national security in Hong Kong and the measures by the HKSAR government in implementing the legislation.

The enactment and implementation of the law on safeguarding national security and the measures against law-breakers by the HKSAR government are legitimate and reasonable, said Ma, adding that the DPP authority has long been meddling in Hong Kong affairs under various pretexts, supporting and colluding with elements and troublemakers advocating "Hong Kong independence," inciting and even participating in activities that damage prosperity and stability in Hong Kong or seek secession.

Ma said the attacks by the DPP authority once again exposed their evil intention to create chaos in Hong Kong and seek "Taiwan independence" under the pretext of democracy and freedom.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 13) - Senators are in favor of putting on hold the release of funds specifically set for addressing COVID-19 to hospitals, as they continue to investigate the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) for alleged corruption.

Senate President Tito Sotto and Senators Risa Hontiveros and Kiko Pangilinan on Wednesday said the interim reimbursement mechanism or IRM, which is distributed by PhilHealth, should be suspended.

"PhilHealth should suspend the IRM up until we can resolve the issues of favoritism, inequitable distribution and liquidation," said Hontiveros in a statement.

The IRM was a fund set for hospitals to receive in case of a "fortuitous" event such as COVID-19. However, controversy arose when data showed several hospitals who had low cases of the disease were given the fund first before hospitals with more infected patients

In a House panel hearing, PhilHealth officials revealed that it has provided P14.9 billion worth of IRMs but only liquidated P2.4 billion.

However, Renato Limsiaco, senior vice president for PhilHealth's fund management sector, also confirmed that the last time they released the IRM was on July 21.

Lawmakers have earlier pointed out that the distribution of the fund seemed to have prioritized some private hospitals while others continue to wait for their share, several months into the pandemic. Some senators also questioned the release of the funds to facilities who have yet to record a case, which they said defeated the purpose of the IRM.

"The entire system is a complete disaster and is a huge stumbling block for our hospitals to be able to effectively address the killer pandemic," said Pangilinan.

PhilHealth has repeatedly denied any favoritism towards institutions. Embattled PhilHealth president and CEO Ricardo Morales argued the hospitals who received the IRMs were located in high-COVID incidence areas.
Press Release

August 13, 2020 Protect and prepare students during crises and disasters; Bong Go calls for equal opportunity for all students in transition to flexible learning Senator Christopher "Bong" Go expressed his support for measures which seek to ensure the safety and well-being of the Filipino students amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and in times of other crises or disasters. In a public hearing conducted by the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture joint with the Committees on Higher, Technical, and Vocational Education; Health and Demography; National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification and Reconciliation; Ways and Means and Finance, Go urged government to prioritize safeguarding the Filipino youth in this time of pandemic. "Nelson Mandela once said, 'Children are our greatest treasure. They are our future.' I could not agree more," Go remarked during his opening statement. "Our children's safety and well-being are of utmost importance and it is our responsibility to ensure these, not only in this time of COVID-19, but also as we usher in the 'new normal' that comes with it," he added. The Senator, then, expressed his full support to the bills discussed during the hearing, saying "Ang mga inisyatibong ito ay mga hakbang para matulungan natin ang ating mga kabataan na maging handa, lalo na sa mga hamong dala ng 'new normal'." The committee hearing tackled various bills that deal with improving policies in education and learning in the 'new normal' including pandemics education and disaster awareness and preparedness in schools' curricula. "Given the present situation, kinakailangan na makapag-adapt, madagdagan, o baguhin ang ating school curricula para matugunan ang mga pangangailangan ng ating mga kabataan ngayong 'new normal' at para makabuo din tayo ng isang 'better normal'," Go said. The Senator also urged fellow lawmakers and educational institutions to ensure that the education system will become more proactive in dealing with and preparing Filipinos for crises and calamities. "Bukod nito, dapat sakop din ng ating mga polisiyang pang-edukasyon ang kahit anumang krisis o sakuna na maaaring dumating. Let's be more proactive in our legislation so that we can prepare better," said Go. During his opening statement, Go reiterated and echoed President Rodrigo Duterte's stand that no face-to-face classes must be conducted without a vaccine for COVID-19. This should urge education authorities to explore alternative modes of learning, he added. "Tulad ng sinabi ni Pangulong Duterte, hangga't walang bakuna para labanan ang COVID-19, walang face-to-face classes na magaganap. Dahil dito, importante na makapagbigay tayo ng alternative modes of learning," Go said. "Ang hiling ko lang po sa ating mga opisyales ay ang pag-aralan ang posibilidad na gamitin ang online at offline learning. Syempre, ayaw natin na maantala ang klase, ngunit mas prayoridad pa rin natin ang kaligtasan at kalusugan ng lahat ng mga kabataan. Habang hindi pa po normal, sana wala na lang bumagsak para hindi ma-pressure ang mga estudyante," he added. During the transition to online learning, Go said that he hopes all Filipino children will be given equal opportunity to learn wherever they are in the country. "Kung tayo nga dito sa Senado ay nahihirapan sa transition to online, paano pa kaya sila? Bukod sa mga estudyante, dapat alalayan din natin ang ating mga guro. Dapat may angkop na trainings din para sa kanila," he said. Go also emphasized the need for disaster preparedness in schools, stating that he has filed a measure which seeks to create the Department of Disaster Resilience "to work with our educational institutions in raising disaster awareness and preparedness." "Maganda na magsimula na tayo ngayon," he said, explaining that the best way to mitigate the impact of disasters is by raising awareness on the importance of disaster preparedness starting with the youth. The Senator filed in July Senate Bill No. 205 or the "Department of Disaster Resilience Act of 2019" which proposes the creation of DDR, "an empowered, highly specialized department with clear unity of command and primarily responsible in ensuring safe, adaptive and disaster-resilient communities." The bill seeks to establish a clear system of responsibility for disaster preparedness and response in all levels of the government, given the increasing number and devastation brought about by various disasters. Ending his statement, Go emphasized the need to "educate and make our people aware of how they should behave during health emergencies and other disasters, at a very young age." The Senator also encouraged the public to help each other in preparation for the upcoming school year. "Having said that, magtulong-tulong po tayo para mas mapaghandaan at mapabuti ang pag-aaral ng at pagtuturo sa ating mga estudyante," he ended.
The post-mortem of violence has begun 30 hours after a 4,000-strong mob allegedly backed by the radical Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) went on a looting and arson spree at a police station and the local Congress MLAs house in Bengaluru.

The initial findings shed light on several issues plaguing the politics of Indias tech city. Deeply divided politics on communal lines, fight for control over Muslim votes, highly politicised and demoralised police force, and internal squabbling in both Congress and BJP are some of the major issues contributing to flare-ups like this.

According to leading Kannada newspaper Prajavani, Congress MLA Akhanda Srinivasamurthys nephew Naveen, whose incendiary Facebook post led to a mob attack which claimed three lives and injured over 65 policemen, has been a BJP supporter.

The newspaper report claims that Naveen had declared that he had voted for the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. In the past, he had also posted highly derogatory comments against former CM Siddaramaiah and 18th century Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan. He had celebrated the shilanyas at Ayodhyas Ram Mandir by bursting fire-crackers outside his house, the reports add.

MLA Srinivasamurthy, who became collateral damage, claims that he has nothing to do with his elder sisters son and has not even been in touch with him for the past 10 years. However, Naveen had also posted a Ramzan greeting with a picture of him and his uncle recently.

Based on these revelations, Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar took on the BJP, calling Naveen a BJP voter. It was vehemently denied by senior BJP leaders, including senior state minister CT Ravi.

The SDPI, which has been eyeing the Congress Muslim vote share, is in direct contest with the grand old party. The Congress is facing a dilemma over how to fight the SDPI. Some argue that they should take the SDPI head on, exposing its alleged communal agenda. Some argue caution, fearing any direct action may strengthen the SDPI, luring younger Muslims into its fold.

Thats why Muslim MLAs from the Congress -- Rizwan Arshad, Zameer Ahmad Khan and NA Harris -- have been cautious in their response. According to some analysts, earlier the Congress had leaders like the late CK Jaffer Sharief and former minister R Roshan Baig, who had influence among Muslim voters in Bengaluru. The current generation lacks the experience and command, they argue.

The ruling BJP, which has no big presence in these seats, is sensing an opportunity. It feels the Congress versus SDPI battle will eventually help the party.

The BS Yediyurappa government has six ministers from Bengaluru city. But no one has a pan-Bengaluru appeal. They always keep fighting among themselves for an upper hand in the citys politics. The delayed response from the government to Tuesday nights incident proves this.

The Bengaluru city police have been politicised over the years to suit the interests of the party in power and frequent transfers of IPS officers in the state capital has demoralised the higher echelons of the force.

Lastly, some suspect the hand of a Congress candidate who narrowly lost the previous assembly election from a neighbouring seat behind Tuesdays attack. They claim that since Srinivasamurthy is a defector to the Congress from the JDS, many local party leaders are not comfortable with him and they want to push him out to reclaim the seat for themselves.

There are too many questions and no definite answers to any of them.
The UK is officially in the worst recession on record. Having recorded two consecutive quarters of declining GDP, Britains economy is the same size as it was in 2003, smaller than the lowest point reached during the 2008-9 financial crisis. The response of the Johnson government and the employers will be a brutal assault on the living standards of the working class.

After a fall of 2.2 percent in the first three months of the year, the UK economy plunged by more than a fifth (20.4 percent) in the next three months to the end of June. This is the biggest quarterly decline since records of similar statistics began to be kept in 1955. It is the worst experienced by any of the G7 nationsroughly double the decline suffered by Germany and the United States.

Britain has been especially hard-hit, in part due to the structure of its economy, heavily weighted towards the services sector, which accounts for 80 percent of output. Largely consumer-facing, this sector has been especially affected by social distancing and lockdown measures, and by the caution shown by the population in response to the COVID-19 virus.

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson (Image Credit: AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Consumer spending was down 27.7 percent in May and was still 14.5 percent lower than a year earlier in June. Visits to retail destinations were down 39.4 percent last month nationally and down 69 percent in central London, which is more heavily dependent on tourists and office workers.

Services fell 19.9 percent last quarteraccounting for three quarters of the fall in total GDPand recorded a relatively low uptick of 7.7 percent month-on-month in June. Manufacturing fell by 16.9 percent, followed by an 11 percent climb. Construction collapsed by 35 percent but has since jumped 23.5 percent.

Overall, including growth registered across the economy in May (2.4 percent) and June (8.7 percent) as public health measures were recklessly lifted, GDP is now 17.2 percent below its February level. The Bank of England (BoE) forecasts an annual fall for 2020 of 9.5 percent, the deepest drop since 1921 in the aftermath of the First World War, amid the collapse of British imperialisms commanding world position.

The BoE predicts the recovery of GDP to slow significantly after the initial rebound, with output only reaching pre-pandemic levels at the end of 2021.

Things could be worse still. In May, the BoE forecast a 14 percent collapse in GDP, the worst recession in 300 years. The improved outlook was prompted by the earlier than expected easing of the lockdown and a more rapid pickup in some areas of consumer spending. However, the BoE is warning of downside risks, including a resurgence of COVID-19 that is guaranteed by the reckless ending of the lockdown.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has highlighted the risks posed by a lasting lag in business investment, down 31.4 percent since the first quarter, as nonessential spending is cut or postponed, especially in consumer-facing industries. Tom Stevenson, investment director at Fidelity International, told the Guardian, No one knows exactly what the recovery from coronavirus will look likeparticularly with the potential for a second wave of infections and further local lockdownsbut it is likely that it will be a slow crawl towards pre-COVID levels.

The BoE is also worried about unemployment and the impact of job insecurity on spending. UK payrolls dropped 730,000 jobs between March and July, according to the ONS, and vacancies are 45 percent lower than a year earlier. The number of people claiming out-of-work benefits reached 2.7 million in July, double the level before the pandemic.

This situation will worsen dramatically after the government furlough scheme is ended in October. Around five million people were still on the scheme in June, according to the ONS. The Financial Times quotes Gerwyn Davies of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) saying, A real concern is that this is just the first wave of bad news for the jobs market, and Capital Economics consultancys Ruth Gregory warning, This is just the lull before the storm.

Research by the CIPD and recruiter Adecco, reported Monday, found a third of employers intended to make redundancies between July and September. The BBC obtained figures showing the number of firms notifying the government in June of their intention to cut 20 or more jobs was five times higher than in the same month last year.

Brexit and the prospect of higher tariffs in Europe paid by British companies are listed as another risk factor.

Even taken together, these warnings and announcements are only a snapshot of a developing crisis of British capitalism, itself only a specific manifestation of a world breakdown centred on the failure of the capitalist system to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus is out of control across the Americas and in resurgence across the world. Chancellor Rishi Sunak is reportedly considering delaying his autumn Budget until spring in the case of a new series of local lockdowns and a spike in coronavirus cases.

The content of the governments economic plans, however, is already clear. Sunak told the BBC after the official figures on the recession were announced: Ive said before that hard times were ahead, and todays figures confirm that hard times are here. Hundreds of thousands of people have already lost their jobs and, sadly, in the coming months many more will. But while there are difficult choices to be made ahead, we will get through this and I can assure people that nobody will be left without hope or opportunity.

Workers have heard all this before. It will be followed by calls to tighten belts and sacrifice in the national interest. Mass unemployment, on a scale not seen in decades, will be used to enforce vicious cuts to wages and conditions. As in the crash of 2008-9, government debt will be used to justify the evisceration of essential social services.

The working class must reject all such demands. Only they are called on to make sacrifices. Trillions have already been handed to the super-rich globally, on the pretext of confronting a public health and economic catastrophe of capitalisms own making after years of worsening social inequality, financial parasitism, and assaults on the social conditions of the working class. Now the pandemic rages on, and a further historic collapse in living standards is in preparation.

The money and assets looted by the super-rich must be reclaimed by the working class, and the corporations taken into public ownership, turned towards socially useful production, and placed under democratic control.

In the Labour Party and the trade unions, workers confront a hostile force that has worked hand-in-glove with the Conservative government throughout the pandemic and will continue to do so as the economic crisis deepens. A fightback against them all demands the formation of rank-and-file committees of workers, and the building of the revolutionary party, the Socialist Equality Party, to lead a struggle for socialism.
Forced abortions and infanticide  the purposeful causing of a baby's death  are among the human rights atrocities experienced by women who have attempted to flee North Korea, according to a United Nations Human Rights report.

A hundred women women have shared 'heartbreaking' first-hand accounts of the suffering they and their babies have suffered while in North Korean detention centres.

Researchers found abortions were routinely conducted without the consent of the women detainees and often through violence.

Additionally, they were told about "the killing of newborn babies and the death of women due to lack of medical assistance".

'No medical attention'

In one tragic incident of infanticide, a woman's baby was killed by officials who had forced a premature delivery. The mother reportedly died one week later because she had not received any medical assistance.

The eyewitness account states: "She was taken out of the holding centre and given an injection to make her miscarry. I saw her giving birth with my own eyes I heard crying, but then the baby was placed face down, wrapped in plastic and taken out of the cell by a prison guard No medical attention was given [to the mother]. She died after a week or so."

Left to die in the cold

In another incident, one woman told researchers she may have witnessed a baby left to die in temperatures well below freezing after officials had tortured her heavily pregnant mother to induce premature labour.

She said: "The guards put bricks on her back, and forced her to walk around. She had to walk with the bricks every day for a week or so. She eventually gave birth. The baby was alive when born. I was told to wrap the baby and put it outside. The woman had to work the following day."

The witness did not see what happened to the baby, but believes the baby may have been left to die in sub-zero conditions during North Korea's winter.

Forced abortion

One woman disclosed how another woman was forced to have an abortion as her baby had a Chinese father.

"I suffered no violence but the other woman had become pregnant in China so the guards knew that her baby had Chinese blood. This was an issue as the local laws prevented any North Korean woman from giving birth to a mixed race baby. The doctor in the MPS centre told her to get an abortion despite the fact that she wanted to keep the baby. She was eventually forced to have an abortion and sent to a kyohwaso [re-education camp]," the report said.

'Systematic' violations

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said: "These accounts show once again the systemic nature of human rights violations in the DPRK, and the need to keep seeking pathways to proper accountability for such crimes.

"The UN Human Rights Office will continue to gather evidence of this kind to support a process of criminal accountability, whenever and wherever possible."

The report concludes with recommendations calling for the Government to bring the detention system into line with international norms and standards.

One recommendation states the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) should "take immediate measures to end forced abortion as well as violence intended to provoke miscarriage, including through specific legislation prohibiting such practices, and conduct prompt and impartial investigations into allegations of such acts; and ensure the prosecution of those responsible."

'We heard mothers screaming'

Speaking at a UN event in 2017, Ji Hyeon described how she was forced to have an abortion without medication at a local police station when she was three months pregnant.

"My first child passed away without ever seeing the world, without any time for me to apologize," she tearfully said.

"Pregnant women were forced into harsh labour all day. At night, we heard pregnant mothers screaming and babies died without ever being able to see their mothers."

At one detention centre, she described how inmates starved to death, with their dead bodies given to the guard dogs for food.

'Barbaric'

A spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson said: "The barbarity being reported in North Korea is shocking. Forced abortion is not restricted to North Korea, however, and is a barbaric practice which we must work to end wherever it happens."

Courtesy of Right to Life UK
Even the most charismatic candidates dont win elections alone. Without organized staff and volunteers, even those with popular platforms have little chance of being heard by voters.

Running a campaign means dedicating long hours seven days a week in the hopes that voters will ultimately choose your candidate. It gets even harder when a campaign has little to no institutional support. Nevertheless, many such political newcomers won primary races this summer against more experienced incumbents. But they werent all able to break through.

City & State caught up with some of the campaign managers behind successful upset campaigns about what they did behind the scenes that propelled their candidates to victory.

Luke Hayes

Jamaal Bowman campaign

Luke Hayes

Luke Hayes has consulted campaigns around the country. Inspired by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezs monumental primary victory in 2018, he returned to New York City and the borough he grew up in to work on local campaigns like Tiffany Cabans nearly successful Queens district attorney run. This year, he brought his expertise to Jamaal Bowmans campaign as he attempted to unseat longtime Rep. Eliot Engel.

When Hayes arrived in 2019 as campaign manager, Bowman had already gotten the crucial backing of Justice Democrats, a political action committee that helps first-time progressive candidates that rose to prominence for its role in Ocasio-Cortezs victory. The first thing Hayes did was start building up a fundraising base through Bowmans own networks from his activism work and his teaching roots.

One advantage that Hayes said the campaign had was that despite Engels three decades in Congress, he had a reputation for not being very visible or well-known in the district. I think our campaign was good about being very present, Hayes said. Getting Jamaal out to events, we had a field operation that was calling, texting, interacting with people. Hayes added that the campaign was very active on social media, which helped spread the word.

Support from groups like Justice Democrats and the Working Families Party was integral in attracting the volunteers necessary for a grassroots victory. Endorsements from the likes of U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Ocasio-Cortez further boosted Bowmans profile. But Bowman wasnt the only left-wing challenger in the race  Andom Ghebreghiorgis shared a similar platform before dropping out to endorse Bowman. I think Jamaals stature among the activists helped in that he was a known entity.  He had a little bit of a reputation that helped, Hayes said. He added that Bowman gave up his job as a school principal in January to campaign full time.

One of the gambles Hayes thinks differentiated Bowman was that the campaign began buying ads earlier than most, in early May, as the pandemic halted traditional in-person campaigning. We knew ballots were going to be mailed out in late May and early June. We wanted to be in front of voters, talking about Jamaal, Hayes said. I think that really helped build our name recognition.

Charles Blaettler

Mondaire Jones campaign

Charles Blaettler

Charles Blaettler came to New York with congressional campaign and consulting experience in New Jersey and Georgia, although Mondaire Jones campaign was the first successful one that he has managed. Despite the crowded field, Blaeattler  who recently took a job as elections director with the Working Families Party  said that the high-profile nature of the race and Jones unique profile made the campaign easier to run than his last. The fact that Mondaire was running on this very progressive message that attracted a lot of support from the institutional left, or whatever you want to call it, made it a lot easier for us  not that it wasnt enormously challenging, Blaettler said. If you just pick up one day and decide to run for Congress in a random district, no one knows who you are and you havent tapped into anything bigger than yourself, its really you against the world.

Jones was endorsed by groups like the WFP and local Indivisible chapters, who Blaeattler said did a lot of work to help get Jones elected. He also said that early endorsements from the likes of Sen. Elizabeth Warren did a lot to increase Jones viability.

In his early months with the campaign, Blaettler focused on helping Jones attract key endorsements. That meant a heavy focus on fundraising to demonstrate that Jones would have enough money to be competitive. Before Blaettler even came on the campaign, Jones already had about $200,000 from his own network from his days at Stanford and Harvard. Our politics are not designed for people who come from working-class or disadvantaged backgrounds, Blaettler said when asked what set Jones apart from someone like Samelys Lopez, a democratic socialist and fellow first-time candidate who ran in an equally crowded race for an open Bronx congressional seat and lost. Mondaire obviously had very humble upbringings, but he went to Harvard Law School, and thats how he was able to raise a quarter of a million dollars in the first three or four months, and thats what gets you taken seriously.

Jones also declared far earlier than any other candidate in the race, well before Rep. Nita Lowey had announced her retirement in October. Jones was the only person running at the time, which Blaettler said gave him a good hook to start raising the campaigns profile. Upon joining the campaign, Blaettler said that he focused on professionalizing what Jones had already been doing, laying out a strategy and beginning to manage new political relationships, particularly when it came to endorsements. It was me being very annoying, incessantly texting and calling people, Blaettler said.

Overall though, Blaettler said he felt that Jones campaign was a strong example of the professionalization of the left that is allowing progressive candidates to compete in the traditional political sphere in ways they couldnt in the past. We were running an extremely strong paid television program, extremely strong digital outreach and aggressive mail program, Blaettler said. And I think you're gonna see more and more of that from candidates that are considered left or progressive.

Fainan Lakha

Jabari Brisport campaign

Jabari Brisport for State Senate

Jabari Brisport was one of a number of candidates endorsed by the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, a slate in which all but one candidate won, including every insurgent taking on an incumbent. Brisport ran for an open state Senate seat, but was still at a disadvantage  the favorite in the race was an Assembly member who had the support of the retiring state senator, Velmanette Montgomery.

Fainan Lakha joined the campaign as a field volunteer before getting hired as campaign manager, her first time running a political campaign. Before her hiring, the campaign was entirely run by volunteers. Lakha said she saw her job primarily as coordinating the many volunteers working on the campaign.

Lakha said that Brisport really benefited from the current political climate that has energized progressives since President Donald Trump was elected, and intensified amid the pandemic and ongoing anti-racist and anti-police brutality protests. I think that we are in a moment right now where it feels possible to do something different, Lakha said. And that's the message that a lot of people are receiving, that the Democratic Party establishment has failed us and we need something different.

Of course, while many progressive candidates succeeded in the June primary, there were still some who did not. It's my firm belief that progressive campaigns do best when they're rooted in the movement and  empowering the leadership of volunteers, Lakha said. I think that's not always easy to do, and I know we did a really great job empowering leaders from our movement.

The role that the DSA played in supporting Brisports campaign cannot be understated either. Lakha said DSA members had been involved in the campaign even before the official endorsement. The group began to set up regular canvasses late last year after the endorsement and helped to establish a solid field operation and fundraising network. DSA membership is not the strongest fundraising base, but it was a really good place to start from, Lakha said. And I think over the course of the campaign, we all learned a lot about how to expand our fundraising. The DSA also has its own committee that raises money to support candidates.

Somewhat unique to Brisports race was that he was running on something of a ticket with Phara Souffrant Forrest, a fellow DSA-backed candidate running for an Assembly district that heavily overlapped with his. Lakha said that running two candidates in the same area really helped to amplify both their campaigns. One of the basic ideas of our field strategy is to ... boost turnout among people who don't vote as often, Lakha said. It's sort of doubled in its effect when youre running two people in the same area. Souffrant Forrest also won her race against Assembly Member Walter Mosley.

Andrew Epstein

Emily Gallagher campaign

Josh Hirschfeld-Kroen

Andrew Epstein had a challenging race on his hands when he came on to manage Gallaghers insurgent campaign against Joseph Lentol, one of the longest serving members in the Assembly. Unlike nearly every other left-wing or progressive campaign running on democratic socialist ideals, Gallagher had neither the support of the Working Families Party, which backed Lentol, nor of the New York City DSA, which sat out the race. And this was the first race he had worked on in about a decade  the only other one being a Binghamton mayoral race straight out of college.

The WFP and DSA offer crucial monetary and volunteer support for progressives and relative political novices, something that Epstein did not have at his disposal. Emily was an incredibly dynamic candidate who had been doing grassroots organizing in the neighborhood for many years, so that asset was always going to be there, Epstein said, adding that she had a strong network of friends and activists. But raising enough money to be taken seriously and to keep a skeleton campaign team was a constant source of stress. He said they raised $10,000 shortly after Gallaghers official launch, a paltry sum for most, but it boosted confidence for the campaign and helped move it forward week by week.

But Epstein said he was not especially concerned that Lentols campaign far outspent Gallaghers. If this was a congressional race, if this was a (U.S.) Senate race, absolutely, Epstein said. But this is a local election. Epstein said its easier to compete with less money by utilizing strategic mailers, good design and a solid field operation on a smaller scale like an Assembly district. The pandemic and the resulting shift to online campaigning helped as well. The web offered a low-cost way to engage with large pools of voters with whom Gallaghers message resonated. There were a lot more people online, engaged, scared, angry and wanting to engage with local politics because they recognized how important democracy was going to be to actually see our way out of this crisis, Epstein said.

Epstein said it was also fortunate that Gallagher was Lentols only challenger, as a head-to-head battle is easier for newcomers than competing with other insurgents. Getting the attention and resources that you need can sometimes be much harder if you're having to make the case to donors or volunteers that there's another candidate in the race, but you have a path to victory, Epstein said.

Labiba Chowdhury

Marcela Mitaynes campaign

Labiba Chowdhury

Labiba Chowdhury only recently became the campaign manager for Marcela Mitaynes, but had worked since about March as her deputy campaign manager  part of a small team that shared a lot of responsibility. Like many other DSA-backed progressive campaigns, Mitaynes consisted of the kind of large volunteer base necessary to run an effective grassroots campaign. In addition to the DSA, Mitaynes also had the support of groups like the WFP and the Sunrise Movement, which advocates for climate-change solutions. If we didn't have any one of those organizations supporting us this election cycle, I don't know if we could have won, because the margins were so small, Chowdhury said. It took organizations that could mobilize for us, and then building a grassroots campaign because of that.

A first-time candidate coming from a working-class background challenging Assembly Member Felix Ortiz  who is part of the Assembly leadership  Mitaynes faced a tough campaign without the political and fiscal connections that others from more privileged backgrounds or with more experience have. Going into this, we knew that the odds were against us, Chowdhury said. But then a pandemic happened and then there was mass unrest. Chowdhury said that it was not a coincidence that Mitaynes won during a time of crisis. Chowdhury said that people really began to desire the change that Mitaynes was campaigning on. Once attracted by the message, Chowdhury said Mitaynes history in tenant organizing and working to help pass last years rent reform laws solidified support. We weren't just a platform, Chowdhury said. There were other progressives in our race that also had a nice platform. But our campaign is more than a platform, it was connected to the movement  that can get it done.

A focus on educating voters on absentee ballots paid off as well: Mitaynes trailed on election night but overtook Ortiz after all the paper ballots were counted. Chowdhury said much of the campaigns phone banking operation focused on guiding voters through the process of voting absentee.

Chowdhury also said the campaign really benefited from the DSAs support, not just in terms of manpower, but in the fact that Mitaynes wasnt going into her election alone. Chowdhury said it was especially helpful for her to have structural support to help her learn during her own first campaign. There's so many people who worked on Julia Salazar's campaign or other electoral campaigns where they got experience and now they're available for mentoring us, and helping us figure things out, Chowdhury said.
MEXICO CITY - Mexico plans to extend the closure of its shared border with the United States for another month to non-essential travel, Mexico Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said Thursday.

The current agreement runs through Aug. 21, but Ebrard said it does not make sense to reopen the border at this time.

We already told the United States that were of the idea that its extended because of what we have along the strip on their side, Ebrard said, referring to a surge in cases in the southwestern United States.

The travel restriction at the shared land border was first announced March 18 and has been renewed monthly. It has included the U.S.-Canada border as well.

The border couldnt be opened right now, Ebrard said. It wouldnt be logical that we change it right now, so it will be another month.

Mexico has reported about 500,000 confirmed COVID-19 infections and about 55,000 deaths, both considered to be significant undercounts due to very limited testing.

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New Delhi: Maharashtra government has once again reiterated that CBI probe is not necessary in Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput death case, saying that Mumbai police is still investigating it.

Maharashtra PWD minister Ashok Chavan said: "Will go by SC ruling in Sushant case and whatever the apex court decides, the government will follow."

Meanwhile, the Bihar government and Rhea Chakraborty, against whom an FIR has been filed in Patna for allegedly abetting Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide, have filed their written submissions in the top court on the actress' plea seeking transfer of the FIR to Mumbai.

Rhea said that transfer of investigation to the CBI at the behest of Bihar Police was without the state's jurisdiction in the case.

The Bihar government, in its submission filed through its lawyer Keshav Mohan, said:

"It is apparent that it is on account of political pressure in the State of Maharashtra that neither the FIR has been registered by the Mumbai Police nor did they extend any cooperation to Bihar Police in discharging their obligation to conduct investigation expeditiously."

The submission, settled by senior advocate Mainder Singh, said that nothing further is called for in the present Transfer Petition of Rhea and it deserved to be rejected or disposed of.

On August 11, 2020, the Bihar government had the Supreme Court that 'political clout' has not allowed Mumbai Police to even register an FIR in the Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide cas, even as the Maharashtra government maintained Bihar completely lacks jurisdiction in the matter.

The FIR in Patna has been registered against Rhea Chakraborty and others for alleged offences under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 306 (abetment of suicide), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 380 (theft in dwelling house), 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust) and 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property).

Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead at his residence on June 14, 2020. His fans, family and well-wishers have been pressing for a CBI probe, suspecting a foul play.

(With PTI inputs)
A woman in China has been left horrified after she discovered a hidden camera that was set up by her best friends husband in her bathroom.

The Chinese woman, known by her pseudonym Xiao Ni, suddenly spotted the small black stick falling onto the floor while she was showering at her companys dormitory, police said.

The authorities have detained the suspect who confessed that he had sneaked into the womans room to install the device while she was out with his wife.

The factory worker, known by her pseudonym Xiao Ni, suddenly spotted the small black stick falling onto the floor while she was showering at her companys dormitory, police said

The authorities in eastern Chinese city Hangzhou have detained the suspect who confessed that he had sneaked into the womans room to install the device while she was out with his wife

The incident was brought to light after Xiao Ni contacted the police officers in the city of Hangzhou of eastern Chinese province Zhejiang.

Xiao Ni, who is in her early 20s, had been sharing the dormitory with her colleague, identified as Xiao Jia, according to the police report.

The two women developed a strong friendship and were like sisters after living together for several years.

In June, Xiao Jia got married and moved out of the dormitory to live with her husband, known by his last name Sheng.

Since living alone, Xiao Ni had kept her room unlocked during the day because she knew everyone in the compound and felt safe, the woman told the police.

On the evening of July 23, Xiao Ni was showering in her bathroom when she noticed a small black stick falling on the floor.

Puzzled by the foreign object, the woman went to her best friends home to seek advice from the newly-wed couple.

Mr Sheng was said to have pretended to be in shock, telling Xiao Ni that it was a spy camera.

He then took the memory card out of the undercover device while saying to the woman: Someone is trying to take sneak shots of you! This is outrageous.

The man even tried to comfort Xiao Ni, advising her to be vigilant and keep the door and windows shut when going out.

The woman eventually rang the police when she returned home after becoming increasingly unsettled by the spy camera.

After inspecting Xiao Nis dormitory, the officers believed that the device was installed by someone she knew as nothing had been stolen from the room.

While looking through CCTV footage from the surveillance cameras in the corridors, the police spotted a suspect and identified him as Mr Sheng.

The man eventually confessed to the authorities after being detained on August 3.

The man eventually confessed to the authorities after being detained on August 3. Mr Sheng is pictured being questioned by Hangzhou police after he is suspected of installing the device

Mr Sheng said that he had sneaked into Xiao Nis room on July 22 when the woman went out for dinner with his wife Xiao Jia.

He then set up the spy camera by glueing it at the bottom of the bathroom sink before dashing off in a hurry.

Although Xiao Ni quickly discovered the device on the next day, the camera had already filmed seven clips, the police said.

Mr Sheng claimed that he was feeling impulsive and looking for some excitement.

Both women were said to be in disbelief upon the discovery. Xiao Jia said that she could not believe that her husband, whom she recently married to, could do something so disgusting.

The Chinese man has been taken into custody amid an ongoing police investigation.
MORRISTOWN, NJAs the start of the school year looms, Governor Phil Murphy said on Wednesday that districts can opt for all-remote instruction this fall, a reversal of his previous position that some in-person classes had to be offered. Murphy also said that in-person school can resume immediatelywith a catch.

"In-person instruction may fully resume immediately should institutions so desire and so long as social distancing among other protections are strictly adhered to," he said.

Districts that cannot meet New Jersey's core health and safety standards for in-person school will begin the year with all-remote instruction, the governor said. The state requirements include social distancing, masks, proper ventilation, and other precautions.

Murphy made today's announcement as some school districts, including Elizabeth, defied his previous order and announced remote-only instruction this fall. Yesterday, the state's teacher's union called for the governor to mandate remote-only schooling.

"The question of whether and when to reopen for in-person instruction is first and foremost a public health decision that cannot be left in the hands of nearly 600 individual school districts," said a statement released yesterday by the New Jersey Education Association. "The stakes are too high, and the consequences of a wrong decision are too grave."

The Morris School District presented its reopening plan, which involves staggering and alternating elementary students and a 50/50 hybrid model for middle and high school students, August 1. The district was already offering all digital instruction via its Enhanced Virtual Learning system for grades 6-12 and from K-6 via its Connections system.

Morris School District Superintendent Mackey Pendergrast did not return a request for comment on Wednesday.





This article originally appeared on the Morristown Patch
TDT | Manama

Bahrain, under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, supports all efforts aimed at achieving peace, development and joint international action, Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani affirmed yesterday.

The Foreign Minister was speaking as he held a virtual meeting with Manama-based International Peace Institute for the Middle East and North Africa (IPI-MENA) director Nejib Friji. The two sides reviewed the activities of the IPI at the international and regional levels in the field of research, study, and multilateral cooperation to confront the challenges facing the achievement of peace, security and sustainable development.

The Foreign Minister praised the initiatives and projects of the IPI in dealing with the challenges of the coronavirus (COVID-19), and hailed the efforts of the Kingdom, led by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, in combatting the pandemic.

For his part, the IPI-MENA director lauded the model set by Bahrain in dealing with COVID-19 and valued the Kingdoms pivotal role regionally and internationally in support of peace efforts. The IPI-MENA office aims to promote policy research on global peace and security within the region.

This office focuses on MENA issues that contribute to the international communitys efforts to strengthen the collective capability regarding conflict prevention, multilateral diplomacy, mediation, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding.

It also addresses critical challenges within the region, such as armed conflict, state fragility, transnational organized crime, terrorism, and energy security; and seeks regional partnerships, in support of peace, security, and development. Meanwhile, the Foreign Minister also met virtually yesterday with his Kosovo counterpart Meliza Haradinaj.

Dr Al Zayani highlighted the friendly relations of cooperation between Bahrain and Kosovo, affirming the keenness of the Kingdom to further develop these relations at all levels, for the benefit of both countries and peoples.

The Kosovo minister hailed the development of relations between the two countries in all fields, and wished Bahrain continued progress. The two ministers further discussed a number of regional and international issues of mutual concern.
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Home security footage has captured the horrifying moment a gas explosion ripped through three Baltimore homes this week killing a 61-year-old woman and a 20-year-old rising sophomore and injuring seven others.

The shock blast completely flattened the three homes in the neighborhood at Labyrinth and Reisterstown Road Monday morning, sparking a desperate search for survivors among the rubble.

Authorities identified the two people killed as 61-year-old Lonnie Herriott who was found dead soon after the explosion and 20-year-old Joseph Graham, whose body was recovered early Tuesday morning.

Seven others were injured including a 34-year-old man who remains in critical condition.

A 20-year-old man and a 65-year-old man are in hospital in stable condition while four others - a 27-year-old woman, 37-year-old woman, 64-year-old man and 93-year-old man - have all now been released from hospital.

The cause of the deadly blast continues to be under investigation after gas provider Baltimore Gas and Electric said Thursday an inspection of its equipment had revealed no flaws or leaks.

Home security footage has captured the horrifying moment a gas explosion ripped through three Baltimore homes this week killing a 61-year-old woman and a 20-year-old rising sophomore and injuring seven others

The shock blast completely flattened the homes in the neighborhood at Labyrinth and Reisterstown Road Monday morning

The video (provided by Tammy Bass via Storyful), captured on the doorbell camera of a home down the street, shows an incredible explosion sending bricks and debris flying into the air

Footage has emerged of the exact moment the blast occurred and devastated the local neighborhood as residents were going about their day.

The video, captured on the doorbell camera of a home down the street, shows an incredible explosion sending bricks and debris flying into the air.

The home closest to the camera completely collapses within seconds and a dust cloud more than twice the height of the homes is sent up into the sky.

Rubble rains down on the nearby homes and a cat is seen fleeing the area.

The force of the blast, which blew out windows in more than a dozen nearby properties and was heard several blocks away, is visible as the camera shakes.

The explosion ripped through the community just before 10 a.m. Monday morning, leveling three homes and leaving a fourth with its side ripped off.

Pictured: Joseph Graham, 20, was killed in the blast

Shocked neighbors said they heard children screaming for help from the rubble before the emergency services arrived on the scene and one survivor - a US army veteran - described the incident 'like Korea.'

Initial reports said five people, including children, were trapped under the flattened homes.

Soon after the blast, Baltimore Fire confirmed the body of a woman was found and that three other people had been taken to hospital in a critical condition.

More than 200 emergency responders combed the scene for survivors throughout the day, finding four other survivors during the intense mission and the body of a man early Tuesday.

Fire officials identified the two victims Wednesday as Herriott and Graham.

Graham, a rising engineering sophomore at Morgan State University, was visiting a friend at one of the homes when the blast tore through the property.

His devastated friends and family have paid tribute to him as a mediator with a big heart and an entrepreneur with plans to see the world, reported the Washington Post.

Graham's longtime girlfriend Melajah Thomas, 18, told the outlet she was 'heartbroken' and said he would 'forever be carried through me.'

Authorities identified the two people killed as 61-year-old Lonnie Herriott who was found dead soon after the explosion and 20-year-old Joseph Graham, whose body was recovered early Tuesday morning whose body was recovered early Tuesday morning. Pictured first reponders on the scene Monday

Seven others were injured including a 34-year-old man who remains in critical condition

A 20-year-old man and a 65-year-old man are in hospital in stable condition while four others - a 27-year-old woman, 37-year-old woman, 64-year-old man and 93-year-old man - have all now been released from hospital

Emergency responders pictured combing through the rubble of the three homes to look for survivors Monday

Fears had grown for the student Monday when his desperate family were unable to contact him following the blast.

The young man's uncle Isaac Graham told the Baltimore Sun Monday night Graham was missing after going to the home for a party the night before.

Hopes of finding the rising sophomore alive were dashed when rescue teams discovered his body around 1 a.m. Tuesday morning and fire officials confirmed teams were now carrying out a recovery - not a rescue - mission.

This came after officials announced the body of a woman - now confirmed as Herriott - had been found around noon Monday.

The identities of the seven people injured have not been released.

Around 30 residents were moved into temporary shelter, amid fears the neighboring properties could also be in danger of collapse, with around 200 people in the surrounding area affected by the explosion.

The exact cause of the deadly explosion is still under investigation.

Fire officials confirmed in the immediate aftermath of the blast it was a gas explosion and BGE officials arrived on the scene, turning off the gas in the nearby area.

The cause of the deadly blast continues to be under investigation after gas provider Baltimore Gas and Electric said Thursday an inspection of its equipment had revealed no flaws or leaks

Debris and rubble covers the ground in the aftermath of the deadly blast that ripped through and completely flattened three row homes in Baltimore Monday morning

Neighbors gathered outside the explosion site Monday morning as rescue teams searched for survivors

Firefighters transport an injured person on a stretcher at the scene of the explosion in the residential area Monday. It is now a recovery - not a rescue - mission, officials said Tuesday

Health workers transport a body at the scene of the blast Monday

But BGE said in a statement Thursday morning its crews had finished inspections and found 'all of its equipment  gas mains, gas service pipes and gas meters, as well as electric equipment  has been operating safely and was not the cause [of] the natural gas explosion.'

It said investigators are still examining 'customer-owned gas piping and appliances' in the area.

The gas system infrastructure in the area dates back to the early 1960s, and BGE asked the Maryland Public Service Commission in 2018 to approve a new infrastructure and a cost recovery mechanism to pay for upgrades needed to close the system's many leaks.

'Founded in 1816, BGE is the oldest gas distribution company in the nation. Like many older gas systems, a larger portion of its gas main and services infrastructure consists of cast iron and bare steel - materials that are obsolete and susceptible to failure with age,' BGE said at the time.

The blast comes after a series of other gas leaks in Maryland in recent years amid ongoing complaints that the infrastructure is in need of repair.

Last year, a gas explosion ripped the front off an office complex in Columbia, housing more than 20 businesses.

The explosion occurred on a Sunday morning, meaning no one was in the building at the time and there were no victims.

This followed a gas main break in 2016 which forced the evacuation of the Baltimore County Circuit Courthouse and a similar evacuation at the offices of Under Armour after a gas main break in 2012.

Children were heard screaming for help after the deadly explosion leveled three homes
Opinion polls can be a great tool to gauge the publics thoughts on hot-button subjects.

In May 1912, the subject of women voting was the one of the most contentious in the United States. Six western states had granted women suffrage and six more states had the issue on the ballot in November.

In New York, a proposition to allow the question of women voting had been narrowly defeated in the State Legislature.

The votes for women question has advanced beyond the joke stage, the Syracuse Herald said on May 7, 1912. It is a real, live, burning issue.

But the newspaper was curious to find what Syracuse women thought about the question.

- In May 1912, the Syracuse Herald tried to learn the level of support for women's suffrage in Syracuse. They rented a voting machine and held a women's-only test vote for four days. Heritage MicrofilmHeritage Microfilm

The Herald proposed a test vote, a chance to give local sentiment a fair test.

A voting machine, just like what used in November elections, was installed in the Heralds business office on May 8 and, over the next four days, local women were encouraged to vote on whether or not they wanted equal franchise rights with the men.

The process would be simple. One lever would be marked For Votes for Women, another would be labeled Against Votes for Women.

No restriction will be imposed on women desiring to vote, except, of course, that none will be permitted to vote more than once and that none who is under 21 years of age will be qualified to vote.

But here, male chivalry took over.

On the latter point, however, no questions will be asked. We shall make the age stipulation a matter of honor, taking it for granted that all who enter the booth are 21  or more.

The Herald hoped that the Syracuse Test Vote would be a large and representative one and we respectively request every one of our womens readers to help to make it so by registering her vote in the Heralds poll.

When the voting was concluded on the night of May 11, 1912 the newspaper was surprised at the results.

Not about how the women voted, they were shocked at how many voted.

There were just over 33,000 women in Syracuse of voting age when the test vote got underway and, when the final numbers were tallied it found that just 422 women had turned out to vote. That was about 1.2 percent of the citys women.

Those that had, though, were overwhelmingly in favor of womens suffrage. Of the 422 women who had voted, 83 percent were in favor of being given an opportunity to vote in the real election come November.

The final tally read:

For votes for women.350

Against votes for women.72

Not voting32,500

The results allowed representatives on each side of the suffrage issue to declare victory.

For suffragettes, the fact that five-out-of-every-six women who voted showed there was a very real appetite among women to vote.

The idea that most women did not bother to vote in a newspaper stunt was not indicative of their passion it was argued.

The women had been given just a few days notice before the test vote and many could not rearrange their busy schedules to come downtown to cast their opinion.

Local suffragette Adele Blauvelt believed that many stayed away because the experiment had no value.

How would it seem to the men voters of Syracuse if an approaching political campaign were announced by only one newspaper, and that but three days before the polls open? What value would the results have as a true indication of the opinions of the whole voting population?

But for the anti-suffrage movement, the test vote was vindication.

I think the result shows that those who wanted to vote did vote and there is no further comment necessary, said Mrs. J. William Smith the morning after the results were made public on how the anti-suffragists felt.

The Herald was shocked by the results and questioned the sincerity of the womens movement:

The result is a great surprise, in view of the ability and enthusiasm with which the local suffrage leaders have campaigned for their cause. It appears on their own evidence that an overwhelming majority of Syracuse women do not want the vote, or at least do not want it badly enough to go to the trouble of expressing their wish in the simplest and most natural manner.

State Senator J. Henry Walters, who had voted against the suffrage bill in the Legislature, said that the result of the Heralds test justified his decision.

You may quote me as saying that I am more than ever convinced that if there is not actually great opposition to woman suffrage, there is at least great indifference to it and that my constituents are not clamoring for it.

The results of this test vote may not have had any effect on the womens suffrage movement at all in the state. It is an interesting snapshot from Syracuse history.

But it is around this time that suffrage leaders began changing their tactics. They started holding more parades, pickets and marches throughout the country and began reaching out more and more to women in the lower and middle classes.

In 1917, New York women were finally given the right to vote.

More on Crusade for the Vote

Suffrage banner brings state GOP convention to a halt in 1918

A Suffrage Army states demands at the front door of a state senator in 1911

Meet the Upstate suffragette who stood up to Charles Darwin

Explore the Post-Standards special Womens Suffrage edition from 1915

Syracuse suffragette Harriet May Mills reflects on her time in suffrage movement

New labor of love National Womens Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls opens later this month

Video and podcasts to get smart on the womens suffrage movement

How Central NY launched the womens suffrage movement

Social justice movement channels spirit of CNY suffragist (Commentary)

Visit key places in the suffrage movement across Central NY (map)

Syracuse women rejoice after the Tennessee ratifies the 19th Amendment

This feature is a part of CNY Nostalgia, a section on syracuse.com. Send your ideas and curiosities to Johnathan Croyle at jcroyle@syracuse.com or call 315-427-3958.
Indian stocks ended in the red for the second day in a row on August 13. The S&P BSE Sensex slipped 59 points to close at 38,310 while the Nifty50 managed to hold on the crucial 11,300 levels as it slipped eight points.

Mixed global cues and profit-booking at higher levels capped the upside.

The markets gave up initial gains in another volatile day of trade to end the day flat with a negative bias. Global cues were also mixed as Asian markets ended positively, while European markets were trading in the negative, Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services told Moneycontrol.

Uncertainty in global markets emerged due to doubts over the US stimulus package and the outcome of the US-China trade meeting over the weekend.

Domestic stock valuation concerns and high rate of viral infections impacted the Indian markets, Nair said. Markets seem to be in a wait-and- watch mode and investors are advised to tread cautiously and accumulate stocks.

Sectorally, selling pressure was seen in telecom, healthcare, banks, and energy stocks, while some action was seen in capital goods, industrials, consumer durables and metals stocks.

The broader markets outperformed benchmark indices.

Top Nifty gainers included Titan Company, L&T, Hindalco and Tata Motors.

Top Nifty losers included Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel and Eicher Motors.

Stocks & Sectors

Sectorally, action was seen in the S&P BSE Capital Goods index that was up nearly 4 percent. The S&P BSE Industrials rose 3 percent and the consumer durables index closed with the gains of 2 percent.

Profit-taking was seen in the S&P Telecom index that was down 1.4 percent followed by the S&P BSE Healthcare index that fell 0.6 percent. The S&P BSE Bankex was down 0.2 percent.

Volume spike of over 100 percent was seen in stocks like L&T, Tata Power, and Ashok Leyland.

Long buildup was seen in stocks like Ashok Leyland, Shriram Transport, and Chola Finance.

Short buildup was seen in stocks like Bharti Airtel, GAIL India and Tata Steel.

More than 100 stocks on the BSE hit a 52-week high. These included Orissa Minerals, Galaxy Surfcants and VST Tillers.

Stocks in news

Hindalco ended 3 percent higher a day ahead of Q1 earnings while Novelis reported a 27 percent drop in Ebitda.

Bharti Airtel ended off lows after reports said that MSCI weightage cut of the company could be reversed.

Tata Power Company share jumped more than 5 percent after the firm reported a consolidated profit of Rs 268.1 crore for the June quarter , a 10.3 percent year-on-year increase .

eClerx Services share surged 20 percent after the company reported consolidated net profit at Rs 51.77 crore, up 30.05 percent YoY.

Aurobindo Pharma stock shed over 5 percent after the company declared its June quarter numbers. The drugmaker on August 12 reported a 22.8 percent year-on-year (YoY) rise in consolidated profit at Rs 780.7 crore in the June quarter.

Ashok Leyland stock surged over 14 percent despite the company reporting a consolidated net loss of Rs 388.82 crore for the first quarter ended June 30.

Power Finance Corporation stock gained almost 4 percent after the company's Q1 net profit rose 22.9 percent YoY at Rs 1,699.6 crore against Rs 1,382.8 crore. Revenue was up 15.6 percent at Rs 8,757.7 crore against Rs 7,577.3 crore, CNBC-TV18 reported .

Kaveri Seed Company stock shed over 5 percent after consolidated net profit went up 28.7 percent at Rs 296 crore against Rs 230 crore YoY.

Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail stock price jumped over 10 percent after the company declared its Q1 numbers.

Technical View

The Nifty formed a Doji candle on the daily charts, which suggests a struggle between the bulls and the bears

The index opened positive but failed to hold above 11,350 zone and remained consolidative for the most part of the session.

Follow-up buying was missing near 11,350 zones but at the same time, declines were being bought.

The Nifty has to continue to hold above 11,200 zones to witness an up move towards 11,400 then 11,500 and higher zones, while on the downside support exists at 11,200 then 11,150 zones, Chandan Taparia, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited, said.

: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
A Pennsylvania drug dealer convicted of committing or ordering at least a dozen murders, including the firebombing killings of an entire family, failed Thursday to convince a federal appeals court panel to overturn the 13 death sentences he faces.

That decision against Kaboni Savage came in a 201-page opinion by Chief Judge D. Brooks Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit.

The circuit court ruling leaves Savage, who once ran a wide-ranging and violent drug trafficking ring in the Philadelphia area, with the dubious honor of being the only Pennsylvanian on federal death row.

Investigators said Savage, now 45, inspired terror for more than two decades.

In March 1998, he shot and killed a man for accidentally bumping his car, they said. Later, Savage had the sole witness to that killing, a fellow drug dealer, gunned down the evening before Savage was to go on trial for the murder.

Savage routinely ordered the murders of business rivals or any member of his organization he suspected of being disloyal, investigators said.

They said that in October 2004 Savage ordered a hit on the family of a former colleague who was cooperating with authorities. Hours later, Savages associates firebombed the familys home, killing the other mans mother, infant son, 15- and 12-year-old nephews and his cousin and her 10-year-old daughter.

Recordings of prison conversations revealed Savages great satisfaction that the killings had taken place, and the intercepted conversations revealed plans to kill yet other witnesses and their families, Smith wrote.

He cited one recording where Savage said, By the time of trial everybody be dead. In other recordings listed in the circuit court opinion Savage raged about killing all the rats who were talking to police and their love ones as well.

You know what its going to cost you, your life and your moms life, Savage was taped telling one witness. Im going to kill your mother. In another recording he spoke of punishing a government witness by killing everything that you love. Savage added, Yeah, he got a daughter down my way. Im going to blow her little head off. She like five.

Several of those who testified against Savage opted to enter the federal Witness Protection Program, Smith noted.

Savage received his death sentences in June 2013, a month after a federal jury convicted him on 12 counts of murder and one of witness retaliation.

In denying Savages appeal, Smith rejected his claims that he didnt receive a fair trial  he claimed prejudice in part because the jury for his case was overwhelmingly white  that the trial judge issued rulings that violated his civil rights, and that prosecutors cherry-picked the evidence to use against him, omitting factors that might have weighed in his favor.

Exercising the heightened responsibility required of us (in death penalty cases), we discern no grounds entitling Savage to relief on any of the issues he raises, Smith wrote.

The circuit court ruling was sharply criticized by Savages attorney Lawrence S. Lustberg in the following statement.

In its first decision on a federal death sentence in the modern era, the Third Circuit has failed to offer coherent guidance to trial courts conducting death penalty cases and has endorsed significant infringements on the rights of defendants facing capital punishment. For example, in a truly unprecedented ruling, the court holds that it was acceptable to substitute a new lead attorney for Mr. Savage in the middle of jury selection, a situation in which no lawyer, no matter how experienced, could have rendered an adequate defense. Under the circumstances, it is inconceivable to us that the court of appeals could have been satisfied that a death verdict was appropriate.

This is especially so because the Third Circuit also resolved many issues in the prosecutions favor even though dozens of important portions of the lower-court proceedings were held off the record, and even though Mr. Savages appellate lawyers, who were not involved in the trial, diligently attempted to create an appropriate appellate record. As a result, we were left in the dark about what actually happened. But the court nevertheless concluded that no error occurred. We will continue to pursue relief based on these and other similarly flawed rulings in the panels decision.

-
A non-profit physicians group is asking a federal court to immediately order meat and poultry processing plants to test their products for COVID-19, and make the results of their tests public.

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a group that advocates for reducing reliance on animals for scientific research and for preventive medicine, as well as monitors federal food policy, asked for the mandate in a lawsuit filed Wednesday against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The filing comes as Chinese authorities report that routine sample inspections of imported chicken wings from Brazil showed contamination with COVID-19, as did packaging on shrimp from Ecuador.

In its complaint, PCRM said the USDA wrongly rejected a petition that it filed in May asking to implement new meat and poultry testing requirements for COVID-19, as well as labeling to warn consumers that meat could carry the virus. The organization also claims the agency failed to respond to its requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Seven butchers stand behind the counter at a family-run butcher's shop, Frampton's Butchers, Bridport, Dorset.

The agency didn't test a thing and it doesn't doesn't seem to care, Mark Kennedy, attorney for PCRM, told Yahoo Finance. This is the agency that's in charge of protecting this part of the food chain and they just said no.

According to PCRM, USDA rejected its petition on the basis that it failed to reference studies or show supporting information backing up its claim that coronavirus can be transmitted by meat and poultry products, or other food.

However, the physicians group alleges that meat and poultry processing plants have already proven central points of viral spread in humans, including in South Dakota where more than half of the states coronavirus cases have allegedly occurred in workers at Chinese-owned Smithfields processing plant in Sioux Falls. As well as at a Perdue Farms processing plant in Maryland, where it said 5% of 663 workers tested positive for COVID-19.

In just over half a year, at least 40,517 meatpacking workers have tested positive for COVID-19, and at least 189 have died of COVID-19, the complaint states.

We have no numbers for whats landing on the meat because we're not testing at all, Kennedy said. It wouldnt be too hard to just check.

Story continues

Processing plants are vulnerable to disease spread, the physicians say, because processing volume is high and droplets from talking, sneezing and coughing can remain airborne where plant workers and inspectors come into close proximity each day with thousands of animal carcasses.

Meat processing plants typically slaughter more than 300 cattle per hour and more than 1,000 pigs every hour, the lawsuit states. Poultry processing plants collectively slaughter more than 20 million birds every day, typically on high-speed automated production lines that process as many as 175 birds per minute.

A threat to the public is introduced, according to PCRM, when the cut-up carcasses are packaged and the contamination is carried to consumers. The organization said the risk is compounded by consumers who rightfully follow guidelines to keep meat stored below 40 degrees fahrenheit, and by doing so unintentionally preserve the virus. Freezing contaminated meat, the group added, can preserve the virus indefinitely.

Kennedy recognized that other food processing industries also pose potential risks, however the spread of the disease is significantly higher in the meat industry.

The numbers in meat and poultry processing plants are five, six times higher, and it is probably a factor of all these things things  close proximity, physical exertion, cold conditions, he said. There are other viruses known to travel from workers to the food and thats a real thing.

PCRM said it requested in its rejected petition that the USDA require all processing plants and companies shipping meat and poultry into the U.S. to test their products for COVID-19 and immediately make their findings public. It also asked that absent testing, a packaging label be required stating the following:

Warning: Workers in U.S. meat and poultry processing facilities have been sickened or killed by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and this product has not been certified virus-free.

In its request for an injunction, among other relief, the plaintiffs are asking the court to immediately require USDA to begin testing and publication of test results, and to amend the Code of Federal Regulations so that all meat and poultry products under USDA regulation carry a safe handling label.

Without testing a single product, USDA baselessly concluded that product testing would serve no public health purpose, PCRM alleged.

On its website, PCRM says it is dedicated to saving and improving human and animal lives through plant-based diets and ethical and effective scientific research.

USDA did not responded to Yahoo Finances request for comment.

This story has been edited to include a statement from Chinese officials reporting that COVID-19 had been found on samples of imported meat and packaging of imported seafood.

Alexis Keenan is a legal reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow on Twitter @alexiskweed.

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Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday said the ongoing police investigation into the Tuesday night rioting in the city had revealed the role of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), and four of its members were under arrest.

The inquiry is underway and new aspects are coming out. I cant reveal much now. Things will be made known in the days to come. But with video footage and other evidence, the role of the SDPI has come to the fore. Were going deeper with the investigation. Several SDPI office bearers have been held, Bommai told reporters.

According to Bommai, the four SDPI members under arrest include Muzammil Pasha, the partys district secretary. We have also seen from some video footage that SDPI workers came into KG Halli and DJ Halli from neighbouring areas. This also were investigating, Bommai said, adding that authorities were also culling out details on cases against the SDPI in Mysuru and Mangaluru.

Follow live updates on the Bengaluru riots here

The SDPI has denied any role in the violence. In fact, SDPI Karnataka president Elyas Muhammad Thumbe said Pasha was helping the police calm the mob. As always, the SDPI is being dragged just to cover-up police inaction against blasphemy and failure of intelligence, he said.

The minister vowed that the government will not rest till the case is cracked. We will go deep into this conspiracy regardless of who is behind it, he said. At the local level, were looking at all angles such as rivalry between and within political parties...everything that led to this incident, we will investigate. Whoever is at fault, we will take action even if it is an elected representative, he added.

Three people died and five injured in police firing late on Tuesday night when an angry mob ran amok because of an inflammatory social media post concerning Prophet Mohammed. The post was made by Pulakeshinagar MLA Akhanda Srinivas Murthys nephew P Naveen. Murthys house was torched and the KG Halli police station attacked during the rioting. Over 140 people have been arrested so far.

In a public appeal, Bommai asked citizens to maintain law and order. The police are risking their lives to control the situation coupled with the Covid-19 pandemic, he said.
Donald Trump lashed out at MSNBC's morning show co-hosts 'psycho' Joe Scarborough and 'airheaded' Mika Brzezinski Thursday morning in reupping his ongoing feud with the married couple.

'Very poor morning TV ratings for MSDNC's Morning Joe, headed by a complete Psycho named Joe Scarborough and his ditzy airhead wife, Mika, and also @CNN, headed by complete unknowns,' the president posted to Twitter, repeating his common combination of the network name MSNBC and the acronym for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

He added in the post: 'Congratulations to @foxandfriends on dominating the mornings (thank you President Trump!).'

Once a Republican representative, Scarborough, who is now registered as an independent, along with his wife have used their platform on MSNBC to bash President Trump at every turn.

Tensions really began to flared between the president and the 'Morning Joe' pair back in June 2017, when Trump first dubbed Scarborough as 'Psycho Joe' and called Brzezinski 'Low I.Q. Crazy Mika.'

Donald Trump railed against MSNBC's Morning Joe Thursday morning, claiming the co-hosts and married couple Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski are 'psycho' and 'airheaded' respectively

The recent tweet reups an ongoing feud between the 'Morning Joe' co-hosts and couple and the president

Scarborough (left) is a former Republican congressman from Florida, who is now registered independent, and previously had a good relationship with Trump (right), claiming in 2015 that his candidacy could 'shake up' the Republican primary race

In that same 2017 tweet he then revealed that Brzezinski had shown up to a New Years Eve party at his Mar-a-Lago resort still bleeding from a facelift.

MSNBC responded the same day by condemning the president for bullying and Scarborough and Brzezinski shot back the next morning in a scathing Washington Post op-ed where they claimed 'Donald Trump is not well.'

The feud continued on Twitter June 30, 2017 after Trump said he watched the show and heard Scarborough issue 'fake news' and the television host responded by questioning 'What is wrong with you?' and accused the president of constantly lying.

While Trump remained largely silent for the new few years, only occasionally bringing up his disgust with the left-leaning network and its morning show, the feud fully reignited this Spring.

Trump essentially started the years-long bad-blood feud back in June 2017 when he Twitter blasted Brzezinski by publicly claiming she showed up to a New Years Party at his Mar-a-Lago club 'badly bleeding' from a fresh face lift

In early May, the president tweeted about an old case into the death of a Scarborough aide who died in his Florida office when he was still a representative for the state in the U.S. House.

'Concast' should open up a long overdue Florida Cold Case against Psycho Joe Scarborough,' Trump posted, apparently out of the blue, on May 4, 2020. 'I know him and Crazy Mika well, used them beautifully in the last Election, dumped them nicely, and will state on the record that he is 'nuts'. Besides, bad ratings! #OPENJOECOLDCASE'

This launched him into a month-long Twitter rant where he continued to push for the case to be reopened into the late Scarborough staffer Lori Klausutis' death.

Trump also demanded earlier this summer that Florida reopen a case into the death of Scarborough's former staffer Lori Klausutis, who died in his Florida congressional office

'I've always felt he got away with murder,' Trump told Fox News Channel's Brian Kilmeade on the anchor's radio show in early June. 'That was my feeling, my very strong feeling, and I do feel it.'

Klausutis, 28 at the time of her death, fell while working in Scarborough's Florida office and hit her head. The autopsy found no foul play and it was determined that her death was a result of an undiagnosed heart problem that caused her to pass out and fatally hit her head.

Earlier on in the 2016 campaign season, Trump was still friendly with Scarborough and Brzezinski  and he even appeared on their morning show in August 2015, just a few months after announcing he was running for president.

A few months earlier, Scarborough said ahead of Trump's announcement that if he were to run he could 'shake up' the 2016 election.

The tides quickly turned once the campaign got underway and it was obvious Trump appealed to a deep red base rather than bringing a more moderate perspective to the race like some initially anticipated.

MSNBC appears to be Trump's least favorite television network, as its commentary shows tend to lean left, and he often slams it as 'MSDNC,' saying they pander to the Democratic Party and dubs their parent company Comast as 'Concast.'
On Tuesday, the US Supreme Court overturned a lower court decision in Oregon that had reduced the required number and extended the deadline for collecting signatures to place a referendum on the state ballot, in consideration of the restrictions on public intercourse during the coronavirus pandemic

The order states: The application for stay presented to Justice Kagan and by her referred to the Court is granted. It says the lower court ruling will be stayed pending disposition of the appeal

The order was approved by seven of the nine justices, including Chief Justice John Roberts, while Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor would deny the states application for a stay.

President Donald J. Trump participates in a meet and greet with Supreme Court Justices Thursday, November 8, 2018. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)

The temporary orderwhich was unsigned and included no legal justification for the decisionblocked an injunction issued by US District Judge Michael McShane in Eugene on July 10 that modified ballot access requirements in Oregon during the pandemic. The result of the blatantly political Supreme Court order is that a referendum to change the manner in which electoral districts are drawn in Oregon will be kept off the November ballot.

In the case, Oregon Democratic Party officials objected to the intervention of Judge McShane easing petitioning requirements for an organization called People Not Politicians. The group wanted to put a measure on the ballot that would eliminate partisan gerrymandering and take redistricting decisions out of the hands of legislators. It would create an independent commission to consider redistricting instead of leaving the matter in the hands of legislators.

According to a report in the Washington Post, a representative of People Not Politicians said the organization was well on the way to getting the needed signatures when Oregons pandemic-related restrictions made petition drives virtually impossible. Judge McShane agreed, the Post reported, it was because of the restrictions that the group fell short and ordered the state to reduce the number of signatures needed to place the measure on the ballot.

In a brief to the US Supreme Court on behalf the Oregon Democratic Party, Attorney General Ellen F. Rosenblum wrote, Despite the changes to our daily lives related to the pandemic, the signature and deadline requirements have not changed.

Openly attacking the democratic rights of the public, Rosenblum added, It might mean that getting an initiative on the ballot in a particular year is extraordinarily challenging, owing to a pandemic or other natural disaster. But that does not violate the First Amendment, because there is no right to legislate by initiative in the first place.

In its arguments to the Supreme Court, the People Not Politicians group explained that overturning Judge McShanes ruling would deny Oregon voters a once-in-a-decade opportunity to decide whether to reform their states redistricting process. Redistricting usually occurs every 10 years after the decennial census is taken.

Oregons constitution stipulates that placing initiatives on the ballot requires that signatures of registered voters equal to 8 percent of ballots cast in the most recent governors race. The signatures are to be collected and submitted by four months before the upcoming election. This meant that People Not Politicians needed to collect approximately 150,000 signatures by July 2.

Representatives of the campaign, which had the support of Common Cause, the League of Women Voters and the NAACP, say they had collected approximately 64,000 unverified signatures by the deadline. The groups then sued Oregon Secretary of State Beverly Clarno demanding accommodations due to the pandemic.

In his ruling imposing an injunction, Judge McShane gave state officials two choices: either put the redistricting measure on the ballot or reduce the number of signatures required to 59,000 and extend the deadline.

Asserting the precise opposite of Oregons attorney general, Judge McShane wrote in his ruling: Because the right to petition the government is at the core of First Amendment protections, which includes the right of initiative, the current signature requirements in Oregon law are unconstitutional as applied to these specific plaintiffs seeking to engage in direct democracy under these most unusual of times.

Initially, the secretary of state had consented to Judge McShanes ruling, but she ultimately deferred to the attorney general following the intervention of the states Democratic Party leadership.

A three-judge panel from the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco refused to overturn Judge McShanes ruling in a two-to-one vote. Rosenblum stepped in at this point and requested the intervention of the US Supreme Court, dismissing any concerns about the pandemic and writing in her initial brief: The district court plucked a new number of signatures and date out of little more than thin air and substituted them for the Oregon Constitutions signature and deadline requirements.

Tuesdays Supreme Court order continues and deepens the position of the highest court in the US, which has stayed challenges to state election officials calling for special provisions during the pandemic. The Supreme Court has rendered similar decisions in cases in Alabama, Idaho, Texas and Wisconsin this year, blocking the expansion of voting by mail ballots and absentee ballots and preventing the use of online signatures on petitions.

In all of these cases, concerns about the threat to the health and lives of the voting public have been trumped by the politically motivated and thoroughly false legal argument that First Amendment rights are being protected by not making any electoral accommodations for the pandemic.

The Supreme Court decision in the Oregon case Clarno, Or Sec. Of State v. People Not Politicians, Et Al. corresponds to the lower court rulings against the Socialist Equality Partys candidates lawsuits, which challenged the signature-gathering requirements as impossible to satisfy safely during the ongoing pandemic.

The SEP campaign of Joseph Kishore for US president and Norissa Santa Cruz for US vice president sued the states and demanded court injunctions blocking the onerous and impossible physical signature gathering requirements.

In California, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals effectively rejected the SEP candidates appeal on July 27 by refusing to expedite the case, meaning that a decision would not be reached until after the ballots are already printed without the SEP candidates names on them. On August 5, without giving any reasons, the panel denied the SEP candidates motion to reconsider that ruling.

In Michigan, the SEP is awaiting a ruling by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on Kishore and Santa Cruzs appeal of the decision of US Judge Sean Cox in Detroit denying the partys lawsuit against the Democratic administration of Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

In both of these lawsuits, the defendants and courts have consistently argued that SEP members and supporters should have been collecting physical signatures on petitions throughout and during the height of the pandemic, in defiance of state of emergency stay-at-home orders and in violation of their own political principles.

Behind the bipartisan gang-up of political officials and judges against the democratic rights of the public and the SEP in the 2020 elections is fear of the expanding struggles of the working class against the catastrophic economic and social crisis caused by the pandemic. Above all, the capitalist political establishment fears the growing popular support for socialism and, as the legal cases have shown, it is prepared to dispense with democracy entirely in order to keep the SEP from getting on the ballot.
A Camden County man who coaxed sexually explicit images and videos from a child online allegedly paid a hitman $20,000 on the dark web to kill the child, authorities said.

John Michael Musbach, 31, of Haddonfield, was arrested Thursday and charged with murder-for-hire for hiring a hitman to kill the child victim of his abuse, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito alleged in a statement.

Musbach, who pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child by sexual contact in 2017, allegedly paid $20,000 in Bitcoin to get rid of the 14-year-old victim, the statement said. He was scheduled to appear in federal court via teleconference Thursday afternoon, according to the statement.

Special agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security nabbed Musbach by combing through communication he allegedly had with the administrator of a website on the dark web, where he began to ask about how to murder a 14-year-old, according to the criminal complaint. The messages allegedly show Musbach, using the handle agentisai, negotiating a hit order on his victim, unsure if the target was too young, the complaint said.

Alternatively to a gun order, I could place a hit order, Musbach allegedly wrote to the site administrator. However, the target would be 14. Is that an acceptable age or too young? I can budget up to $20k for the order.

A call to Musbachs attorney, a federal public defender, was not immediately returned.

Last year, an informant working with DHS in Minnesota handed over chat logs between Musbach and a website on the dark web that allegedly showed Musbach trying to hire a hitman to kill his victim in May 2016. The alleged hit order came more than a year before Musbach would ultimately plead guilty.

The website Musbach allegedly communicated with was offering hit orders and other violent crimes in exchange for cryptocurrency, the complaint said. The dark web is encrypted online content, but is often used to host illegal marketplaces.

The chat logs show Musbach allegedly pushing to kill the child victim, negotiating a hit price of $20,000 in BitCoin, according to the complaint. After the administrator stopped responding, Musbach allegedly followed up several times before being told that the initial hitman had been arrested for cocaine possession and the hit would cost an additional $5,000, according to the complaint.

After the site administrator changed the terms of the hit and Musbach attempted to cancel and get back his money, the administrator revealed that the website was a scam and would be passing along Musbachs information to law enforcement, according to the complaint.

Unfortunately, our site is a scam, and we pass customer and target information to law enforcement, the administrator allegedly wrote to Musbach.

After the informants tip, investigators were able to tie Musbach to the alleged hit order by linking him to the screenname agentisai and by tracing the money used to buy the Bitcoin to his bank account, according to the statement.

The alleged hit order stems from Musbachs conviction for child pornography, specifically for exchanging sexually explicit photos and videos in 2015 with the victim, who was then 13 years old, the statement said. In the summer of 2015, Musbach began talking to the victim through an Internet Relay Chat website, ultimately asking for and receiving sexually explicit photos and videos of the child, the statement said.

Musbach would also send sexually explicit images and videos to the child, according to the statement.

Months later, the victims parents caught wind of Musbachs messages and told authorities in New York, where the child lived, the statement said. Officers began their investigation and told Musbach to stay away from the victim, according to the statement. The case was passed along to the Atlantic County Prosecutors Office when officers learned that Musbach then lived in Galloway.

In late March 2016, officers from the prosecutors office arrested Musbach and searched his apartment, where they seized his cell phone and a laptop given to him by his then-employer, the statement said. Ultimately, Musbach admitted to sending sexually explicit images and videos to the child victim and asking for and receiving the same from the child, knowing the victim was underage, the statement said.

In October 2017, Musbach pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child (the victim) by sexual contact and was given a two-year suspended sentence with parole supervision for life. If convicted of murder-for-hire, Musbach faces up to 10 years in prison.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

Rodrigo Torrejon may be reached at rtorrejon@njadvancemedia.com.
The competition encourages yoga practitioners worldwide to share their yoga experiences

Egyptian student Shams Abdullah Butler won the second prize in the category Female Youth in the Global Video Blogging Contest My Life My Yoga, organised by the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH), India.

The contest was held in celebration of the International Day of Yoga.

The competition encourages yoga practitioners worldwide to share their yoga experiences.

The contest enthused an overwhelming response and 39,866 entries were received from 130 countries.

Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture, Embassy of India, Egypt, organised the country level competition of My Life My Yoga Video Blogging Contest in June 2020 in which 26 Egyptians participated of which 11 were selected as country-level winners in different categories.

AYUSH aims to develop education, research and propagation of indigenous alternative medicine systems in India. The ministry is headed by Shripad Yesso Naik.

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Is there anything more regally appealing than having tea with Queen Elizabeth herself? Most royal fans will never get to enjoy that honor, but they can follow Her Majestys strict guidelines for her favorite meal of the day in their own homes.

British citizens typically enjoy their tea and take it very seriously. The queen is no exception to this and has extremely high standards when it comes to enjoying a hot cuppa, as its commonly called across the pond. One former royal chef revealed some best practices for achieving the perfect serving of tea thats fit for a queen  literally.

Queen Elizabeth prefers Twinings brand tea

Queen Elizabeth | Anwar Hussein/Getty Images

Though Her Majesty has never shared exactly how she takes her tea, royal experts assume she likes it prepared the same way each time like so many others in the United Kingdom. And we do know that she prefers the classic British brand Twinings, which has been around since 1706.

Its clearly the queens favorite brand because it holds the coveted royal warrant. This means theyve been recognized as supplying goods to senior members of the royal family and have products worthy of that honor.

Twinings has proudly maintained a relationship with the monarchy since Queen Victorias reign in 1837.

Twinings brand reps shared tip for making a perfect cup of tea

Queen Elizabeth | Tim Graham Picture Library/Getty Images

RELATED: Queen Elizabeth II Eats This Unhealthy Food Every Single Day

The brand representatives couldnt reveal Queen Elizabeths personal preferences. The first rule of doing business with the royal households is of course confidentiality, Stephen Twining told Town & Country.

However, they were able to generically speak about what makes a good cup of tea that the queen would deem acceptable. Twinings recommends heating the kettle with hot water first, then bringing a new batch of cold water just to boiling. That should be poured over the tea bag and should steep for four minutes.

In tea, color is not flavor, Twining explained. They said adding milk and sugar is a personal preference and should be treated as such. You must enjoy it the way you like it, the rep said.

How does Queen Elizabeth take her tea?

Ladies. and Gentlemen, this week we celebrate #AfternoonTeaWeek . Here are my top tips for the perfect cup of tea. #Enjoy! pic.twitter.com/pV5gydx7mB  The Royal Butler (@TheRoyalButler) August 10, 2020

The brand rep may be sworn to secrecy, but former royal chefs have let slip that Her Majesty prefers the Twinings Earl Grey blend with a little milk and no sugar. Regardless of what shes sipping, its well known that the queen prefers her teatime meal to any other and will always indulge in a small snack alongside her hot beverage. Though these days shes likely to choose a small sandwich rather than cake or sugary confections.

Former royal butler Grant Harrold also shared a few tips for making tea on Twitter. He said to always add milk to the cup after adding tea, not before. He also recommended stirring tea back and forth with a spoon rather than in a circular motion and never touching the sides of the cup.

Finally, Harrold recommended never slurping tea. Especially if youre lucky enough to be in the presence of Queen Elizabeth. And keep those pinkies up!
AUSTIN, Texas - In a unanimous vote, the Austin City Council moved Thursday to cut about one-third of next years $434 million police budget amid national calls for defunding law enforcement agencies in favour of spending more money on social services.

That will come to just over $150 million that will be redirected to social services in the 2021 fiscal budget, which starts Oct 1.

Beginning in October, about $21 million will fund social services, community resources including response to the coronavirus, mental health aid programs, violence prevention, victim services and food, housing and abortion access. Another $80 million will be redistributed to similar city services throughout the year, and $49 million will be spent on citys Reimagine Safety Fund, which aims to provide alternative forms of public safety and community support besides policing.

Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said during a press conference after the vote that the budget cuts and plans to re-imagine the citys policing would lead to changes unlike anything he had seen in his 30 years of working at the police department.

The cuts will eliminate about 150 open jobs, which would put staffing levels the same as in 2015, Manley said. The priority would be to keep the patrol unit, which responds to 911 calls, fully staffed. He said the department plans to allocate officers accordingly.

Three cadet classes also will be delayed, Manley said, and the department is coming up with alternative plans until cadets can begin their training. Those will include temporary jobs in police department that will give them a salary until they can start as cadets.

This is not good for us as an agency, it is not good for those cadets and their families, and it is not good for the reputation of the Austin Police Department in the recruiting circles, Manley said.

Austin Councilman Gregorio Casar, one of the main proponents of cutting the police budget, called the move unprecedented in Texas and praised the decision following the vote.

Extreme, anti-civil rights voices will try to send us backward and are already working (to) mislead people about this vote, Casar said on Twitter. But today, we should celebrate what the movement has achieved for safety, racial justice, and democracy.

The Austin Police Association, which advocates for Austin officers, criticized the proposal ahead of the vote.

The councils budget proposals continue to become more ridiculous and unsafe for Austinites, the group tweeted. They are going to ignore the majority who do not want the police defunded.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton criticized the budget cut as another outgrowth of cancel culture and asked Austin leaders to reconsider the decision.

The city councils action to slash funding disregards the safety of our capital city, its citizens, and the many guests who frequent it, Paxton said in a statement. The City of Austin already struggles to combat widespread crime, violence and homelessness.

The move comes after weeks of protests against racial injustice and police brutality in Austin that began afther the May death of George Floyd. Austin protesters have also called attention to the death of Mike Ramos, a Black and Hispanic man who was shot by an Austin police officer in April and Garrett Foster, a protester who was shot during a Black Lives Matter protest by a civilian.

Since June, Austin City Council members have heard hours of testimony from Austin residents on police use of force on protesters in Austin, including pepper spray and less lethal munitions. Two protesters in Austin were hospitalized in June after being shot by police with less lethal munitions during racial injustice protests.

Manley vowed in June to no longer allow police to use less lethal munitions against crowds protesting under first amendment protected speech. Austin council members voted to ban the use of choke-holds and and limit the Austin police budget.

Calls to defund police departments across the nation have grown over the last two months, following outcry over the deaths of Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery and police uses of force during protests over racial injustice and police brutality.

In Minneapolis, where George Floyd died, a majority of Minneapolis City Council members said in June that they supported disbanding the police department. But on August 5, a Minneapolis commission said they would need more time to review the city council proposed amendment to dismantle the police department citing legal concerns and missing information. The commissions decision ended the possibility for the amendment to be on the November ballot.

___

Coronado is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a non-profit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Jammu:

An ex-army man from Pakistan has been arrested by BSF while he was trying to sneak into the country from the International Border (IB) along Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir.

The intruder, who was nabbed last evening, has been identified as Mohammed, 65, of village-Gandyal in Pasroor tehsil of Sialkot, which is in Pakistans Punjab province, a senior BSF officer said, adding that the man disclosed that he had retired from Pakistan army.

Late last evening, alert BSF troops noticed suspicious movement on Pakistani side near the fence in Ramgarh Sector and they fired a few rounds, a senior BSF officer said.

The officer said visibility was hindered due to fog and wild growth.

Later, at some distance at about 0100 hours, a BSF jawan on duty again observed suspicious movement of a person in front of a fence on Indian side of IB, he said.

The intruder was forced to surrender and was arrested, the oficer said.

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Calendar 2020 has been a difficult year for investors on D-Street but that did not stop retail investors to participate in the rally. Work from home culture, seamless technology platforms across brokers, and willingness to add an extra source of income amid COVID-19 pandemic fuelled retail participation on D-Street -- popularly known as Robinhood investors.

Both Sensex and Nifty50 have rallied by about 50 percent from the March lows which suggests that the momentum is intact. Much of the participation on the Street has come from retail investors, and experts are of the view that the trend is here to stay.

Almost 5 million new DEMAT accounts were added at the end of FY20. This came when both Sensex and Nifty50 lost more than 20 percent in March. Total Demat accounts by the end of FY2020 stood at 40.8 million, up from 35.9 million as of March 2019, as retail investors took to equities.

The number of new Demat accounts (dematerialised accounts) opened during the financial year 2020 was the most in at least a decade at 4.9 million. A 22.5 percent increase has been observed i.e. 4 million Demat accounts opened in the previous year, showed data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India, Jashan Arora, Director Master Capital Services told Moneycontrol.

While people working from home, have time to explore trading in equities. Low prices of stocks have given the investor an opportunity to enter markets. Low bank deposit rates likewise brought new investors searching for higher returns compared to other asset classes, he said.

Data suggests that there is tremendous growth in the interest of young investors in stock markets as they consider trading a profitable investment option. Investors who are willing to take part in the journey are mostly millennials, and the composition of female investors stood at 20 percent.

When we look at the customers acquired since May, they are some clear indicators which to an extent is similar to the trend we have noticed over the past year as well. Looking at our new customer acquisitions of May, June 2020 in terms of demography: Over 60 percent of our new acquisitions are millennials (aged 24 to 40 years), Shankar Vailaya, Director, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas told Moneycontrol.

The percentage of females is a little below 20 percent. In terms of occupation, the percentage of salaried is just below 50 percent. And, 30 percent new clients come from tier I cities  Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, he said.

Vailaya further added that even if the WFH is lifted, the trend of increased capital market participation should continue unless the market gets unpredictable. COVID has given a lot of time to investors to read, surf on the web, chat and discover the advantages of capital markets.
Its a race to complete tasks, unlock power ups via an all-new Relics system , and level up as fast as possible to earn rewards and become top of the League.
Get the guide

Coco Raes Hiking Trails in Valles Caldera National Preserve can be found in Santa Fe at Collected Works (temporarily closed because of COVID-19, available for order) and Travel Bug; in Los Alamos at the Pajarito Environmental Education Center and the Los Alamos History Museum (both temporarily closed, but the book can be purchased online); in La Cueva at Amandas Jemez Mountain Country Store; and will be sold at the Valles Caldera National Preserve entrance station (temporarily closed) and Bandelier National Monument bookstore.

Website: https://vcnp-trails.com/
Northrook, IL -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/13/2020 -- The report "Aramid Honeycomb Core Materials Market in the Transportation Industry by Type (Nomex, Others), Aramid Type (Meta, Para), Application (Interior, Exterior), Transportation Type (Airways, Railways, Waterways, Roadways) and Region - Global Forecast to 2025", The global aramid honeycomb core materials market size in the transportation industry is projected to grow from USD 210 million in 2020 to USD 338 million by 2025, at a CAGR of 10.0% during the forecast period. The market is growing due to the increase in the demand for high-performance materials, with properties such as low weight, high strength-to-weight ratio, good tensile strength, and electrical conductivity.



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Nomex comprises a major share of the aramid honeycomb core materials market in the transportation industry



The transportation industry has embraced Nomex honeycomb core for more than 30 years owing to its excellent strength-to-weight ratio, cost-effective benefits such as energy savings and payload increase. The stiff and thin Nomex sheet structures are used to make strong yet lightweight honeycomb sandwich composite panels. These panels are used in aircraft parts such as flooring panels, interior walls, storage bins, exterior control surfaces, engine nacelles, helicopter blades, and tail booms. Nomex honeycomb composites are also used in the construction of boats to help provide buoyancy that enhances speed. The COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in the disruption in the supply chain, resulting in reduced demand for Nomex from the transportation industry.



Meta-aramid honeycomb core materials accounted for the largest share in the global aramid honeycomb core materials market in the transportation industry in terms of value and volume.



Meta-aramid honeycomb core materials are highly resistant to temperature, chemical degradation, and abrasion. It is usually manufactured by wet spinning, resulting in a semi-crystalline fiber. These materials can withstand tensile stress during exposure to flames and temperatures up to 7520F. Thus, the meta-aramid honeycomb core materials are used in aircraft galleys, flooring, partitions, aircraft leading and trailing edges, missile wings, radomes, antennas, military shelters, fuel tanks, helicopter rotor blades, rail panels, racing car bodies, and navy bulkhead joiner panels. With the outbreak of COVID-19, there is a reduced demand for aramid honeycomb core materials in the transportation industry. This has forced the meta-aramid honeycomb core materials manufacturers to operate at partial or zero capacities.



Exterior application accounted for the largest share in the global aramid honeycomb core materials market in the transportation industry in terms of value and volume.



Exterior structures of aircraft built with aramid honeycomb core materials include landing gears, leading and trailing edges, engine nacelles, undercarriage, fuselage, and wings. The aramid honeycomb core materials are also used in exterior applications of the marine industry, such as boat hulls, stateroom for boats, deck, cargo lining, shells, hatches, and navy bulkhead joiner panels. They are also used in car bodies, chassis, truck, and train panels. The reduced demand for composites from the transportation industry due to COVID-19 has resulted in a decline in the need for aramid honeycomb core materials for exterior application, particularly in the aerospace industry.



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Browse in-depth TOC on "Aramid Honeycomb Core Materials Market"

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Airways to account for the largest share, in terms of value, in the global aramid honeycomb core materials market in the transportation industry during the forecast period.



Aramid honeycomb cores are extensively used as sandwich structures in interior and exterior applications of aircraft. The low weight, combined with high tensile strength of aramid honeycomb core, increases the fuel efficiency, reduces maintenance costs, and allows OEMs to comply with the stringent environment regulations stipulated in Europe and North America. The aramid honeycomb core is primarily used in commercial and military aircraft. The major exterior applications include engine nacelles, landing gears, rotor blades, leading and trailing edges, and wings. The interior applications include flooring, lavatories, and cabin panels.



The outbreak of COVID-19 has resulted in the suspension of manufacturing plants of major aircraft manufacturers, resulting in decreased deliveries of aircraft. Also, technical issues related to Boeing737 MAX and end of the A380 program by 2021, is expected to reduce the demand for aramid honeycomb core materials in the transportation industry in Europe and North America.



North America is expected to account for the largest share in the aramid honeycomb core materials market in the transportation industry during the forecast period.



North America accounted for the largest share owing to the high demand for aramid honeycomb core materials in commercial aircraft, such as 787, 777X, and 737 MAX. These aircraft use a significant amount of composites and aramid honeycomb core materials for their airframe structures, engine nacelles, and landing gears. Besides this, there is a high demand for aramid honeycomb core materials in waterways from cruise ships and power boats.



Airways and waterways in North America are both affected by the COVID-19, resulting in a decrease in the number of aircraft deliveries and ship orders in the region.



The key players in the market include Hexcel Corporation (US), Euro-Composites S.A. (Luxembourg), The Gill Corporation (US), Plascore, Inc. (US), Argosy International, Inc. (US), Showa Aircraft Company Ltd. (Japan), Tasuns Composites Co. Ltd. (China), and Schutz Composite GmbH (Germany). These companies are involved in adopting various inorganic and organic strategies to increase their foothold in the aramid honeycomb core materials market in the transportation industry.



Get This Report @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Purchase/purchase_reportNew.asp?id=129593005



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The increase is due to threats from China, which does not rule out retaking the "rebel" island by force. China holds naval exercises in the Taiwan Strait. Taipei wants to buy cruise missiles and underwater sea mines from Washington. Taiwan is among the top 30 countries in the world in terms of military capabilities.

Taipei (AsiaNews/Agencies)  Taiwan today announced plans to boost its military spending by more than 10 per cent next year, up to NT$ 453.4 billion (US$ 15.4 billion).

For the Taiwanese government, the increase is justified by Chinas growing aggressiveness. Beijing considers the island a "rebel" province, and has not ruled out the use of force to retake it.

Recently, China carried out military exercises near the Taiwan Strait and the waters north and south of the island at the same time as US Health Secretary Alex Azar was on a visit to Taipei.

Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwans representative in Washington, said that her country is negotiating the purchase from the United States of cruise missiles for coastal defence as well as underwater sea mines to be employed in case of an amphibious attack against her country.

According to Global Firepower, which ranks the worlds Armed Forces, Taiwan is 26th out of 138 countries in terms of military capabilities. China is 3rd after the United States and Russia.
Representative image

Those with medical degrees from colleges in Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh (PoJKL) have been barred from practicing in India.

The Medical Council of India (MCI) has said in a statement that institutions in those territories are not recognised under the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956. Hence, students who gain qualifications from such colleges are not entitles to practice modern medicine in India.

"This is to inform all concerned that entire territories of UT of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral part of India. Pakistan is in illegal and forcible occupation of a part of the territory. Accordingly, any medical institution in Pakistan-occupied Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh requires permission/recognition under IMC Act, 1956. Such permission has not been granted to any medical college in PoJKL," the statement says.

The medical body has noted that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral parts of India, and that Pakistan is in illegal occupation of certain parts of such territories. Medical institutions in PoJKL would thus required the permission and recognition from the Centre.
<! Walter Carrington: dies at 90 >

Former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Walter Carrington has died at the age of 90.

His death was confirmed by his wife, Arese Carrington In a statement.

It is with a heavy and broken heart but with gratitude to God for his life of selfless humanity that I announce the passing of my beloved husband Walter Carrington, former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria and Senegal.

Further announcements will be made shortly, she said.

According to her, Walter was a loving husband, father, grandfather, cousin, uncle, friend and in-law.

Ralph Waldo Emerson saidIt is not the length of life but the depth of life. Walter was fortunate, his life had both length and depth, she said.

Carrington was born in 1930. He served as the US Ambassador to Senegal from 1980 to 1981. He was appointed by US President Bill Clinton in 1993 as the US Ambassador to Nigeria, where he remained until 1997.

His ties to Nigeria were deep; he had married into a Nigerian family and had lived in three Nigerian cities since the late 1960s.

Carrington graduated from the Harvard Law School (AB 1952; JD 1955). Upon graduation from Harvard, he enlisted in the US Army, where one of his assignments was as an enlisted man with the Judge Advocate General Corps (Germany, 195557).

Upon separation from the military, he entered a private law practice in Boston, Massachusetts; during that time, he also served as Commissioner of the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, the youngest person to serve until that date.

He held various positions in the Peace Corps from 1961 to 1971, serving as Country Director in Sierra Leone, Senegal, and Tunisia and then as Regional Director for Africa (196971). From 1971 to 1980, he was Executive Vice President of the African-American Institute.

Carrington served as the US Ambassador to the Republic of Senegal from 1980 to 1981. In 1981, he was named Director of the Department of International Affairs of Howard University. He published several articles on Africa. He served as US Ambassador to Nigeria from 1993 to 1997. On 1 September 2004, Carrington was named the Warburg Professor of International Relations at Simmons College in Boston.

Carrington was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. In 1997, he received an honorary doctorate (Doctor of Humane Letters) from Livingstone College, North Carolina.

In 1991, Carrington published Africa in the Minds and Deeds of Black American Leaders (with Edwin Dorn). In 2010, he published A Duty to Speak: Refusing to Remain Silent in a Time of Tyranny, a compilation of his speeches supporting democracy and human rights in Nigeria during the Abacha military dictatorship.

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MCKINNEY, Texas, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- MyTelemedicine, a leading telehealth and virtual care company, announced today it has ranked No. 1112 on the annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies. The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economy's most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses.

Inc. 5000

"MyTelemedicine's recognition as an honoree on the annual 2020 Inc. 5000 list is an incredible honor," said Rey Colon, a U.S. Army Veteran, and the Founder and CEO of MyTelemedicine. "Especially after being ranked #47 on the 2020 Inc. 5000 Texas Series in March. This only underscores our team's commitment to delivering best-in-class virtual care technology while providing above-and-beyond service. It has played a significant role in driving our growth," said Colon.

Not only have the companies on the 2020 Inc. 5000 been very competitive within their markets, but the list as a whole shows staggering growth compared with prior lists as well. The 2020 Inc. 5000 achieved an incredible three-year average growth of over 500 percent, and a median rate of 165 percent. The Inc. 5000's aggregate revenue was $209 billion in 2019, accounting for over 1 million jobs over the past three years.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at www.inc.com/inc5000. The top 500 companies are also being featured in the September issue of Inc., available on newsstands August 12.

"The companies on this year's Inc. 5000 come from nearly every realm of business," says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. "From health and software to media and hospitality, the 2020 list proves that no matter the sector, incredible growth is based on the foundations of tenacity and opportunism."

The annual Inc. 5000 event honoring the companies on the list will be held virtually from October 23 to 27, 2020. As always, speakers will include some of the greatest innovators and business leaders of our generation.



Based just north of Dallas, MyTelemedicine is a Virtual Health ecosystem powering access to modern-remote healthcare. Its flagship brand Access a Doctor currently services over 2 million members nationwide with access to physicians via video for primary and specialized care. Most recently MyTelemedicine launched Zeally Health a Telehealth Virtual Care SaaS solution that allows, providers, practices and hospitals to deliver virtual care to their patient base. "I'm excited to see technology finally becoming the main driver in healthcare" says Jesse Roach, co-Founder and CTO of MyTelemedicine. "We're witnessing a pivotal moment where technology becomes the main driver in healthcare, and we're honored to be at the forefront of that."

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000 Regional Series

Methodology

The 2020 Inc. 5000 Regional Series is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2016 and 2018. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2016. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2018. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2016 is $100,000; the minimum for 2018 is $1 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons.

About Inc. Media

The world's most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit www.inc.com.

About MyTelemedicine

MyTelemedicine is a virtual health ecosystem, powering access to modern healthcare technologies through brands like Access a Doctor and Zeally Health. Through its clinically driven solutions, cutting edge technology and extensive API suite, healthcare providers and organizations can quickly deploy a customized telehealth experience that supports their specific business requirements. For more information please visit www.mytelemedicine.com.

Media Contact:

Yenny Nunez

469-640-6101

[email protected]

SOURCE MyTelemedicine

Related Links

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Published on 2020/08/11 | Source

The line-up for the Kakao M Original Drama "How To Be Thirty" is out.

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Kakako M announced the cast as Jung In-sun, Kang Min-hyuk, Hani and Song Jae-rim on the 11th.

"How To Be Thirty" is a romantic drama centered around the work and love lives of women who have just turned thirty. It is based on a webtoon original about a thirty-year-old webtoon artist named Seo Ji-won meeting her middle school first love Lee Seung-yoo as a supervisor in a webtoon company. It realistically depicts the romance and lives people of the same age. It deals with the 'real thirty' of people who thought they'd be grown up once they were past twenty but are still struggling with work and love.

Webtoon artist Seo Ji-won is played by Jung In-sun. Seo Ji-won fails in several webtoon contests but finally gets her chance when she is twenty-five years old. She only becomes a steady writer when she is thirty. She's bold but clumsy and cute.

Kang Min-hyuk who returns with "How To Be Thirty" since his discharge from the military, takes on the role of Lee Seung-yoo, Seo Ji-won's first love from middle school. He is a supervisor at a webtoon company and he is a person who has taken it for granted to be loved for his good looks.

Hani is Seo Ji-won's best friend Lee Ran-joo. She used to be a promising announcer but as she becomes thirty she just considers herself 'a regular worker'. Just when she's about to fill the empty space through love at work, she gets entangled with a younger man and goes through a change.

Song Jae-rim is Cha Do-hoon, a movie director who wants to turn Seo Ji-won's work into a movie. He's very professional when it comes to work but develops into an honest friend with Seo Ji-won.

The production team said, ""How To Be Thirty" is about people who thought they'd be grown up if they passed twenty but the drama portrays the work, love, and friendship of thirty-year-olds whose lives are still awkward and difficult".

Meanwhile, "How To Be Thirty" will be created into 15 episodes, 20 minutes long each. Filming begins in August and on a new video platform based on Kakako Talk.
Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, says unless Nigeria achieves a very strong third quarter 2020 economic performance, the country may sli...

Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, says unless Nigeria achieves a very strong third quarter 2020 economic performance, the country may slide into recession.

Ahmed disclosed this at the opening of a five-day interactive session on the 2021-2023 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP), held on Thursday in Abuja.

The interactive session was organised by the house of representatives committee on finance, chaired by James Faleke, lawmaker representing Ikeja federal constituency.

Ahmed, who was represented by Clement Agba, the minister of state for finance, said the COVID-19 pandemic had put further pressure on Nigerias foreign exchange.

Nigeria is exposed to spikes in risk aversion in the global capital market, which will put further pressure on the foreign exchange market as foreign portfolio investors exit the Nigerian market, the minister said.

Nigerias Q2 GDP growth is in all likelihood negative and unless we achieve a very strong Q3 2020 economic performance, the Nigerian economy is likely to lapse into a second recession in four years with significant adverse consequences.

In response to the developments affecting the supply of foreign exchange to the economy, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) adjusted the official exchange rate to N360, and more recently to N379.

The minister added that the disruptions in global trade and logistics would also negatively affect customs duty collections in 2020.

According to her, COVID-19 containment measures, although necessary, have inhibited domestic economic activities, with consequential negative impact on taxation and other government revenues.

Consequently, the projections for customs duty, stamp duty, value-added tax, and company income tax revenues were recently reviewed downwards in the revised 2020 budget, she said.

Customs revenue has generally performed close to target over the last few years, exceeding target in 2019.

There has been some improvement in company income tax and VAT remittances; we expect significant improvements in VAT collections with the new VAT rate of 7.5 per cent.

The minister said actual revenue performance averaged 61.4 percent over the past five years, noting that some reforms were yielding positive results, with significant improvements between 2018 and 2019.

I believe we can do more to improve revenues, especially remittances from government-owned enterprises, possibly up to N1 trillion annually, she added.

Support of the national assembly, by ensuring coordinated oversight, will contribute to achieving targets.
The New Patriotic Partys (NPP) National Organiser, Sammi Awuku says John Mahamas promise to invest US$10 billion into infrastructure must be treated as a threat and not a promise.

According to him, Mr. Mahama will use such an avenue to enrich himself because the cost of the projects or infrastructure will definitely be inflated.

The NPP National Organiser said this when he addressed the press on Thursday, August 13, 2020.

He insisted that Mahamas US$10 billion promise will not reflect in job creation for the youth as promised.

Candidate Mahama claims that he will inject US$10 billion into infrastructure and use that to create jobs. He said this in a kneejerk reaction to the Akufo-Addo programme to help Ghanas economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. It appears Mr. Mahama is very fond of figure 10 billion. Ghanaians must dismiss this as a total pipe down. In 2013, working with his good friend, Roland Aganbri amidst the great fanfare, Mr. Mahama went to cut the sod for the US$10 billion Hope City project promising thousands of jobs in the process not knowing he had not even acquired the land for the project.

When he also says he is going to build projects, Ghanaians should be extremely careful and be worried because of the inflated cost of these projects. He is not interested in the outcome of the project and the impact it will have on Ghanaians neither is he interested in value for money. So when he says he is going to invest billions in infrastructure, Ghanaians must treat it not as a promise but as a threat, not as an infrastructural solution but a financial scandal. It must not draw you closer towards him but borrow his legs and run away with it. Mahamas US$10 billion promise

John Mahama announced a US$10 billion accelerated infrastructural plan, dubbed the Big Push, which he says will drive jobs and entrepreneurial agenda when elected in December 2020.

We are looking at what I call the Big Push, injecting some US$10 billion to dualise our roads, complete the remainder of the 200 Community Day Senior High Schools, finish all the hospital projects that have been left abandoned, and construct bridges to open up the country, said Mr. Mahama.

According to the former President, it [the Big Push] will involve the construction industry, engineering, and other professionals, and will bring a lot of artisans and everybody back into work.

If we do not do this urgently, we have a time bomb ticking away. Everything and every policy will be focused on creating jobs for young people.

 citinewsroom
Washington:

Months after India dragged the US to WTO over imposing increased fees on H-1B and L-1 visas, a Congressional report has warned American lawmakers that if the dispute moves to formal settlement phase it could possibly result in a WTO-authorised trade retaliation against the US.



If the dispute moves to the formal dispute settlement panel phase, one potential outcome could be a WTO determination that the disputed statutes are inconsistent with GATS obligations and a recommendation that the US should modify its laws to comply with the GATS, said the Congressional Research Service (CRS) report.



CRS, an independent research wing of the US Congress, warned lawmakers that in such a scenario compliance procedures could subject the US to WTO-authorised trade retaliation if Congress does not amend the pertinent laws.

Also read | Donald Trump reiterates he wont allow Americans to be replaced by foreign workers with H-1B visa



The brief two-page report and analysis on India challenging H-1B and L1 visa fee increase before the WTP was provided to American lawmakers on November 16.



In March this year, India dragged the US to WTOs dispute settlement body against the latters measures imposing increased fees on certain applicants for L-1 and H-1B visa categories. India has stated that the move would impact Indian IT professionals.



The CRS said the dispute concerns US immigration laws which increased fees for certain temporary foreign workers and allotted a specific number of temporary worker visas to Chilean and Singaporean nationals.



India has alleged that the US is violating its obligations under General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), a binding agreement for all WTO member countries, as well as the GATS Annex on Movement of Natural Persons Supplying Services, to not discriminate against or between non-US service providers.



Based on CRS records, this appears to be the first time a WTO member has formally filed a dispute challenging the immigration laws of another member as a violation of the GATS, the CRS said.



With the help of eminent subject experts, CRS periodically prepares reports and analyzes on issues of interest to the lawmakers so that they can take informed decisions. CRS reports are not the official view or report of the US Congress.



In its analysis, CRS said, for several years certain US observers cautioned that fee increases for temporary foreign worker petitions and other immigration changes might be disputed as GATS violations.



Others suggested that this challenge is an attempt to offset Indias loss to the US in another recent WTO dispute over Indias laws regulating solar energy, it said.



CRS said India contends, among other things, that the 2010 and 2015 fee increases do not comply with most-favoured-nation (MFN) treatment under the GATS, which generally prohibits a WTO member from treating the services and service suppliers of one WTO member less favorably than it treats comparable services and suppliers of another.



While the fee hike does not specifically mention Indian companies, such a provision has been tailored in such a manner that it impacts only Indian IT companies, many experts alleged, the report said.



This alleged effect might be relevant to Indias claim because the WTO has recognised that a GATS MFN violation may result when a facially neutral measure has a comparatively disproportionate negative impact on service suppliers of one WTO Member, the CRS said.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
The 2020 Shenzhen International Pet Fair, which has been held in Shenzhen for six consecutive years, opened at Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center in Futian District on Friday and runs till today.
CM Adityanath has directed the District Magistrate to provide all possible support for extending the best possible medical attention to the 'Mahant'

Lucknow: The head of the Ram temple trust, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das (80), has tested positive for COVID-19, officials said on Thursday.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken detailed information on the health condition of Das, a senior government official said.

The chief minister has spoken to Mathura District Magistrate (DM) Sarvagya Ram Mishra as also to Dr Naresh Trehan, chairman and managing director of the Medanta hospital, and requested immediate medical attention to Das, the official said.

He has also directed the District Magistrate to provide all possible support for extending the best possible medical attention.

On 5 August, Das shared the dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat at the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya.
A Coeymans police officer and state Department of Corrections employee died Monday, eight days after his house caught on fire in Rotterdam.

Joseph L. Dunn Jr.'s home on Outer Drive in Rotterdam caught on fire the morning of Aug. 2 while he was asleep. An accounting in the Daily Gazette that day said the resident was on the front lawn of the home when firefighters arrived, and the patient was taken to Albany Medical Center Hospital for burns.

Dunn's paid obituary said he was transferred to SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse for treatment, where he "valiantly fought for his life, alongside an extraordinary medical team." He died at the hospital on Monday.

"He will always be remembered as a very humble man, favoring the simplest things in life: sipping Stewart's coffee, closely following the news, weather, and politics, giving the most hilarious birthday greeting cards, and his love of policing," his obituary said.

Dunn, 60, a lifelong resident of Rotterdam, was a safety officer with the state Department of Corrections since 1984, working at the state Correctional Services Training Academy. He also served as a part-time Coeymans police officer since 1995.

"We remember Joe as one of the most thoughtful, kind and caring people you would ever meet," the Coeymans police posted on its Facebook page. "No matter what the circumstances were, Joe was always there to lend a helping hand and would always offer support to those who needed it."

Coeymans Police Chief Dan Contento said Thursday that Dunn continued to work as a part-time officer every week, despite being able to retire. He helped out the community in any way he could," Contento said.

Rotterdam police Lt. William Male said the preliminary investigation into the 10 a.m. fire suggests it was accidental in nature. Dunn awoke to the house ablaze, and was severely injured by the time he escaped. There were no other people in the house. The Coeymans police chief said Dunn was a dog lover, and his obituary notes that his dog, Kelly, also died as a result of the fire.

Dunn is survived by a sister, as well as nephews, nieces, aunts, an uncle and cousins.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Calling hours are 4 to 7 p.m. Friday at Rossi & Ditoro Funeral Home, 501 Union St. Schenectady. Services with full police honors will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Rossi & Ditoro Funeral Home, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at noon in St. Luke's Church, 1241 State St., Schenectady. Interment will follow at a later date in the Most Holy Redeemer, Niskayuna.

Memorial contributions in the names of Dunn and his dog, Kelly, can be made to Mr. Mo's Project at mrmoproject.com, an organization providing ongoing support for senior dogs and their foster families.
The Tomball ISD school board approved the purchase of more than 4,300 HP Chromebooks and hotspots during the Aug. 11 meeting in the John P. Neubauer Administration Building.

At a cost of just over $1 million, Tomball ISD is purchasing the devices through the Texas Education Agencys Operation Connectivity program using technology funds from the districts Bond 2017.

BACK TO SCHOOL: Tomball ISD approves revisions to 2020-21 instructional calendar

We have partnered with the state as well as many other districts in the state to bulk purchase Chromebooks as well as hotspots, Director of Technology Services James Watson said during the Aug. 10 workshop meeting. As we applied for this, TEA rewarded us with 4,379 Chromebooks as well as 4,378 AT&T/Verizon hotspots.

Watson said the TEA will fund 50 percent of the cost of both the Chromebooks and hotspots and Tomball ISD will pay for the other 50 percent. He expects devices to arrive sometime around October and said they will be deployed to schools at that time.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Humble ISD servers targeted in apparent cyberattack on 1st day of school

Tomball ISD is preparing to begin the fall semester Sept. 8 with students participating in either a virtual or on-campus instructional method based on the choice made by their families.

I think its important to make sure that people understand that because we are distributing for students that are choosing virtual, we still have plenty of devices for our face-to-face students, said Superintendent Martha Salazar-Zamora. There should not be any concern about that; just making sure our community is aware of that.

Watson said as of Aug. 10 that for staff and student devices, the district has about 14,000 Chromebooks, 5,500 Windows laptops, 1,230 iPads and has installed Windows computer labs at some of the campuses for student access.

During the spring semester the district checked out about 900 Chromebooks to students that needed devices to use at home for online instruction, he said.

In technology infrastructure, Watson said the district has 1,600 wireless access points; 10 gigabytes of internet bandwidth made up of two 5GB connections at the Technology Staff Development Center and Tomball Memorial High School; and 6GB of wide area network bandwidth.

MORNING REPORT: Get the top stories on HoustonChronicle.com sent directly to your inbox

We have worked on multiple construction projects this summer where we purchased network equipment, video cameras, phone systems and devices for staff and students, Watson said.

In construction projects, he said the district added 147 internal and external security cameras to campuses and added external Wi-Fi access points at six campuses  Oak Creek Intermediate, Tomball Junior High, Creekview Elementary, Rosehill Elementary, Decker Prairie Elementary, Lakewood Elementary  to support Tomball ISDs Park-n-Learn service for students with limited at-home internet access.

Watson said there are a lot of things that the district wants to continue to work on in the future.

We want to purchase additional Chromebooks; we received some Chromebooks from TEA but we know that we want to get to a one-to-one device ratio, so we have more Chromebooks to purchase, Watson said. Also, we would like to replace teacher and staff desktops with laptops. Windows laptops are what well be using there for teachers to be able to be mobile and have access to technology both at home as well as at school.

Protective equipment

Chief Operating Officer Steven Gutierrez said every district in the state received an allotment of PPE based on enrollment as part of the CARES Act distribution of funds.

He added that Tomball ISD got theirs in late July including disposable and reusable masks for adults and youth, face shields, hand sanitizer, gloves and thermometers.

alvaro.montano@chron.com
Federal law enforcement officials said Thursday that they had conducted the largest-ever seizure of cryptocurrency connected to terrorism.

Prosecutors unsealed three civil forfeiture complaints and a criminal complaint in federal court in Washington. The forfeiture complaints involve the Al-Qassam Brigades, better known as the military wing of Hamas, in addition to al-Qaeda and ISIS.

The U.S. also indicted two Turkish nationals, Mehmet Akti and Husamettin Karatas, on charges of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. Authorities have now seized millions of dollars across 300 cryptocurrency accounts, four websites and four Facebook pages connected to these groups.

Michael R. Sherwin, acting United States attorney for the District of Columbia, called this case historical and unprecedented" at a news conference in Washington.

More than 18 months ago, the al-Qassam Brigades invited supporters through a website to donate to their cause via Bitcoin, calling such donations untraceable.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are pseudonymous but not fully anonymous. As law enforcement agencies, particularly the IRS, have shown for years, such accounts can be tracked and linked to particular suspects.

A banner for the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, encouraged supporters to donate via Bitcoin. (Department of Justices)

With approval from a judge, federal law enforcement seized control of the al-Qassam Brigades' site for a time, diverting donations from a site intended to fund terrorism and sending them instead to Bitcoin accounts controlled by the U.S. government.

A second campaign involved a Syria-based group that explicitly sought to accept Bitcoin donations to fund terrorists in the region.

Federal law enforcement agencies, and in particular the IRS, partnered with the digital forensics company Chainalysis to conduct blockchain analysis as a way to specifically identify how and where various bitcoins moved around.

According to Chainalysis, an Idlib, Syria-based entity known as the BitcoinTransfer Office, serves as the central hub for receiving such Bitcoin-based donations to fund militant activity, particularly those affiliated with Al-Qaeda.

Story continues

However, BitcoinTransfer remains active as a service, the company wrote in a Thursday blog post. Given its facilitation of extensive terrorism financing activity, its crucial that cryptocurrency businesses examine past transactions for exposure to BitcoinTransfer and monitor transactions to address any possible future exposure.

The third case links Murat Cakar, another Turkish national who the government described as an ISIS facilitator who is responsible for managing select ISIS hacking operations, to a COVID-19 fraud.

According to the criminal complaint, Cakar operated a website called FaceMaskCenter, which purported to sell N95 face masks that had been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, when in fact they had not.

IRS Criminal Investigations ability to trace funds used by terrorist groups to their source and dismantle these radical groups communication and financial networks directly prevents them from wreaking havoc throughout the world, said Don Fort, the head of the IRS Criminal Investigation, said in a news release.
Parents, forced to figure out how to care for and educate their children in a pandemic, are being judged and criticized on message boards and in backyard meetups and virtual PTA meetings. If parents send their children to schools that reopen, are they endangering them and their teachers? If they keep them home, are they pulling support from schools and depriving their children? If they keep working while schools are closed, are they neglecting their children in a time of need? If they hire someone to help with remote school, are they widening achievement gaps and contributing to inequality?
Migrants have arrived in Dover for an unprecedented 10th day in a row.

People in lifejackets and masks were brought into the harbour aboard a Border Force patrol boat before being taken ashore by officials.

Favourable weather in the English Channel has made the crossing possible for hundreds of migrants over the last 10 days, despite Home Secretary Priti Patels vow to make the route unviable.

The Government has asked for military assistance, which so far has taken the form of two RAF planes, but proposals to send armed forces to the English Channel to deal with small boat crossings have come under fire from France.

Calais mayor Natacha Bouchart said sending the Royal Navy into the English Channel to deal with migrant crossings is a declaration of maritime war.

Priti Patel has told Tory MPs that the asylum system is broken as she promised to introduce laws that would send the left into meltdown, The Times reports.

The Home Secretary said that the system was being exploited by leftie Labour-supporting lawyers who were doing everything they could to stop the Government removing people.

Meanwhile Kent County Council said it could be just days away from being unable to look after more asylum seeking children arriving on its shores.

In Dover on Thursday morning more suspected migrants arrived on Border Forces patrol boat Speedwell.

They were taken ashore by immigration officials where they will be assessed for symptoms of coronavirus, as is protocol.

Border Force cutter Seeker and French border patrol boat Scarpe have also been active in the Channel on Thursday.

It comes after 71 migrants arrived in the UK on Wednesday, travelling aboard six boats.

Hundreds of migrants have crossed the dangerous waters of the Channel on small boats in the last 10 days.

The numbers peaked on August 6 when 235 made it to the UK  a single-day record.

Ms Patels newly appointed Clandestine Channel Threat Commander, Dan OMahoney, said: These crossings are dangerous and unnecessary and I am determined to stop them.

The minister and I met with French officials in Paris on Tuesday for discussions on how to advance joint working on making the small boats route for illegal migration unviable.

We will continue to go after the heinous criminals and organised crime networks putting peoples lives at risk.

The Governments handling of migrant crossings came under fire from Labour, which accused it of lacking competence and compassion.

Shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said on Wednesday that it had resulted in thousands risking their lives in dangerous waters.

In a letter to Ms Patel, Mr Thomas-Symonds said ministers must provide solutions rather than empty headlines to tackle the issue.
France has deployed two Rafale fighter jets and navy ships to join Greek naval patrols in the Eastern Mediterranean, where a disagreement over exploration rights of new energy reserves has Greece and Turkey locked in a maritime dispute.

President Emmanuel Macron ordered the deployment of two Rafale fighter jets and two navy vessels to the Eastern Mediterranean on Thursday to provide support for Greek naval patrols, amid rising tensions with Turkey.

The ships and jets arrived in Crete and carried out joint manoeuvres with Greek forces, acording to Greek defence sources.

Thursday's exercise came after the French president vowed to temporarily boost France's military presence in the Eastern Mediterranean, saying he was "concerned" by Turkey's "unilateral" exploration of the disputed waters.

Describing the situation "worrying", Macron called on Turkey to halt oil and gas exploration in a disputed area of the Mediterranean south of Crete.

Greece and Turkey have competing claims to natural gas reserves in the area.

"The unilateral decisions of Turkey (...) must cease in order to allow a peaceful dialogue" between the Nato allies, Macron tweeted.

Since Monday, a Turkish seismic vessel, the Oruc Reis, has been sailing between Crete and Cyprus to conduct research for potential hydrocarbon exploration.

Who's sea is it?

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said collecting seismic data is necessary before selling to potential bidders.

The search for potentially rich oil and gas deposits is taking place south of the Greek island of Kastellorizo (Meis in Turkish).

Athens views the Oruc Reis's mission as a deliberate and unprecedented attempt to undermine the countrys sovereignty.

However, Greece's recent decision to sign a maritime deal with Egypt designating an exclusive economic zone between the two nations for oil and gas drilling rights has angered Ankara, which claims Athens is the one violating its sovereign rights.

Story continues

Libya conflict

The Greek-Egyptian deal is in response to a similar agreement between Turkey and Libyas Tripoli-based government last year that Egypt, Cyprus and Greece say is an infringement on their economic rights in the oil-rich sea.

Turkey's involvement in Libya has put a strain on its relations with Paris.

Last month, France pulled out of a Nato naval mission in the Mediterranean, accusing Ankara of blocking an inspection of one of its ships suspected of smuggling arms to Tripoli, in violation of a UN arms embargo.
We would not be able to achieve this level of success without the hard work of our team and the support of our customers," said Anindya Datta, Mobilewalla Founder and CEO. "Our customers are really our partners, and it is our privilege to have the chance to innovate with them as we expand our busin

Inc. magazine today revealed that Mobilewalla is No. 2408 on its annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nations fastest-growing private companies. This is the second year in a row that Mobilewalla has qualified for this designation with a growth rate of 172.56%. The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economys most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses. We are proud to share a pedigree with Intuit, Zappos, Under Armour, Microsoft, Jamba Juice, Timberland, Clif Bar, Pandora, Patagonia, Oracle, and other notable Inc. 5000 alumni.

"We would not be able to achieve this level of success without the hard work of our team and the support of our customers," said Anindya Datta, Mobilewalla Founder and CEO. "Our customers are really our partners, and it is our privilege to have the chance to innovate with them as we expand our business, they have played a key role in our success and our ability to continue on this high growth path."

Not only have the companies on the 2020 Inc. 5000 been very competitive within their markets, but the list as a whole shows staggering growth compared with prior lists as well. The 2020 Inc. 5000 achieved an incredible three-year average growth of over 500 percent, and a median rate of 165 percent. The Inc. 5000s aggregate revenue was $209 billion in 2019, accounting for over 1 million jobs over the past three years.

"The companies on this years Inc. 5000 come from nearly every realm of business, says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. From health and software to media and hospitality, the 2020 list proves that no matter the sector, incredible growth is based on the foundations of tenacity and opportunism.

About Mobilewalla

Mobilewalla is a leader in consumer intelligence solutions, combining the industrys most robust data set with deep artificial intelligence expertise to help organizations better understand, model and predict customer behavior. With rich insights into consumer behavior, our proprietary solutions help organizations get more out of their AI investments by making more informed business decisions and effectively acquiring, understanding and retaining their most valuable customers. Founded in 2013, Mobilewalla has offices in Atlanta, New York, Kolkata, Singapore, Sydney and Jakarta. To learn more go to http://www.mobilewalla.com

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000

Methodology

The 2020 Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2016 and 2019. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2016. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2016 is $100,000; the minimum for 2019 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Companies on the Inc. 500 are featured in Inc.s September issue. They represent the top tier of the Inc. 5000, which can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000.

About Inc. Media

The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com.

For more information on the Inc. 5000 Conference, visit http://conference.inc.com/.
Celebrated Swahili news anchor Mwanaisha Chidzuga has been forced to delete her husband, Danson Mungatana, from her socials after the former Garsen MP was arrested.

Just this past Sunday, August 9, Mungatana turned 50 years old and Mwanaisha was on hand to sing his praises.

#Mumewangumzuri you are 50yrs old today. Thank you for being my pillar of strength, the love of my life and for your unconditional support. We love you and cheers to the next chapter of your lifeOne day will tell our story Inshallah. Much Blessings #50looksgoodonyou, wrote Mwanaisha on IG.

Fast forward to Tuesday night and the so-called Mumewangumzuri was arrested at Sagret Hotel in Nairobi for allegedly obtaining money by false pretenses in a dubious Ksh70 million military tender.

Following the highly publicised arrest that had detectives trail Mr Mungatana for the whole day, social media users turned the heat on Mwanaisha Chidzuga.

The former K24 news anchors post on Sunday turned out to be good fodder for trolls and cyberbullies, forcing Mwanaisha to pull it down.

Also Check Out: Congratulations for your Job Loss! Mwanaisha Chidzuga tells Sacked K24 Employees

Mwanaisha, who recently launched her YouTube channel, The Dada2Dada Uncensored, also pulled down several other posts featuring Mungatana.

Then on Wednesday, the mother of four appeared to address the negative publicity she has been getting, posting:  My motto today I still rise and keep moving forward.

She also disabled comments on the post.

You Might Also Like: Mwanaisha Chidzuga  Why I Gave Mungatana a Second Chance

Mungatana was arrested alongside Collins Paul Waweru after their victim, Everlyne Njoki, had gone to the Military Police Unit at the Department of Defence (DoD) offices to present tender documents purported to have originated from the security agency but were found to be fake after scrutiny.

Before presenting the fake tender documents, Ms Njoki had parted with Ksh 1,000,000 on July 14, 2020, to be assisted to win the Ksh 70 million tender.

The woman told police that she was called for a meeting at the hotel on Tuesday to be introduced to a senior person helping push the business deal.

She said she got suspicious when the two demanded another Ksh 1million for the deal to go through.

Mungatana is also facing another case in which he is accused of obtaining Ksh51 million from the Kilifi County coffers through fraudulent tenders.
Stuck between the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and its sprawling economic impacts, the extreme poverty of the Jalapa mountains of Guatemala and local politics, a Niagara-based charity says it may be able to continue to feed starving people thanks to local donations made this week.

Scott Maxwell, chair of Wells of Hope, said if the donations keep coming a critical meal program serving thousands of Indigenous people in the mountains  a program on the verge of shutting down this weekend due to a lack of resources  could survive until the fall.

The idea is that if this works, we can keep it going until the fall when the crops start coming in and the people are able to help themselves, said Maxwell. The response so far has been amazing.

Earlier this week, Wells of Hope founder Ted van der Zalm, who has been unable to leave Guatemala due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, said the meal program was on the verge of collapse. The hot meal the program provides daily is often the only food the people in need have.

Without an injection of resources, Van der Zalm said, Wells of Hope would be unable to buy enough food to keep the program running.

After the Standard published a story about the situation, two local families  both of which want to remain anonymous  provided large donations to the charity. One donation was for $50,000 and the other for $40,000.

Maxwell said if someone donates another $40,000 to Wells of Hope, the second family will match it.

He said that would be enough money to keep the meal program running until the farmers in the Jalapa mountains can harvest their crops, which largely consist of corn and beans.

Like most countries, Guatemalas national government imposed economic and social lockdowns to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus which causes the COVID-19 disease.

In the already impoverished Jalapa mountains, the lockdown had an immediate and devastating effect.

Maxwell said many people are dependant on being able to take public transit from the mountains into the valley towns or cities, including Guatemala City, to buy food and sell what they can. When the pandemic struck, those public buses were shut down, effectively trapping the mountain population. The only way to get to the city and back is to walk.

You had a situation where people were literally starving, Maxwell said. So we decided to see what we could to do help.

Wells of Hope first reached out to the local Catholic diocese which, although keen to help, did not have deep pockets.

Just like Wells of Hope and other charities, the church didnt have money because they arent getting donations either, he said.

Similarly, the cash strapped municipal government was willing to help but, without the kind of social safety net that exists in countries like Canada, its ability to act is limited.

Still, Maxwell said the partnership between the charity, church and government, combined with some donations from Canada, allowed Wells of Hope to build an outdoor kitchen, bring in food and pay for the gas to have Jalapa residents bussed to the meal program site from the small villages that dot the hardscrabble mountains.

According to Maxwell and Van der Zalm, once word got out that Wells of Hope  which has been in Guatemala for nearly two decades digging wells for mountain communities with no access to clean water  had a meal program, demand skyrocketed.

Initially, hundreds were lining up for food every day. Now it is more than 2,000 and rising. Local donations of money and food began to dry up this month and Van der Zalm said Monday the program might not survive the week.

Maxwell said the aim now is to get Jalapa residents through the current rainy season to the fall, when crops are harvested. Once residents can grow their food, that should take some of the pressure off the Wells of Hope program.

To do that, he said, the charity still needs an injection of cash which is why he hopes someone will answer the $40,000 challenge from the recent donor.

One Canadian dollar buys around six Guatemalan Quetzals  the nations currency  and can be stretched to supply the meal program for a few months.

For more information or to donate to Wells of Hope, go online to www.wellsofhope.com.
A restricted gun licence holder holds a AR-15 at his home in Langley, B.C., on May 1, 2020. The federal government is turning to the private sector to design and run a massive buyback of newly prohibited firearms. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press)

Feds Seeking Private Consultant to Design, Run Firearm Buyback Program

OTTAWAThe federal government is turning to the private sector to design and run a massive buyback of newly prohibited firearms.

Public Safety Canada has invited 15 consulting firms to come up with a range of options and approaches for the planned program to compensate gun owners.

The Liberals outlawed a wide range of firearms in early May, saying the guns were designed for the battlefield, not hunting or sport shooting.

The ban covers some 1,500 models and variants of what the government considers assault-style weapons, meaning they can no longer be legally used, sold or imported.

In announcing the ban, the government proposed a program that would allow current owners to receive compensation for turning in the designated firearms or keep them through an exemption process yet to be worked out.

Sport shooters, firearm rights advocates and some Conservative MPs have questioned the value of the measures in fighting crime.

The group PolySeSouvient, a leading proponent of stricter gun control, has argued that allowing owners of recently banned firearms to keep them would make it easier for a different government to simply reverse the ban in future.

Mary-Liz Power, a spokeswoman for Public Safety Minister Bill Blair, said in mid-May the coming buyback program would be fair and effective but she did not provide details.

Blairs office had no immediate comment Wednesday on why it was looking outside the government for someone to run the program.

The first phase of the newly posted federal tender would require the successful bidder to consult with other federal agencies, possibly other levels of government and industry experts to devise options that include:

 a compensation plan for each affected firearm;

 analysis of benefits and risks associated with each compensation model; and

 identification of other considerations that might affect the feasibility of each approach.

The first phase of the work is expected to be complete by the end of March. The second phase would involve implementing the chosen option.

The invited bidders include well-known firms such as Deloitte, IBM Canada, KPMG and Pricewaterhouse Coopers, though the department has not ruled out other possible parties.

By Jim Bronskill
Bhutan's 113 reported COVID-19 infections were all quarantined travellers, except for one with conflicting test results

The government issued a stay-at-home order for its approximately 750,000 people, and all schools, offices and commercial establishments were closed. (Representational Image: AFP)

Thimpu: The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan has imposed its first nationwide lockdown due to a virus infection in a returning traveller who had been released from quarantine.

The government issued a stay-at-home order for its approximately 750,000 people, and all schools, offices and commercial establishments were closed.

The government's statement said the lockdown would be enforced from five to 21 days to identify and isolate all positive cases, immediately breaking the chain of transmission.

The 27-year-old Bhutanese woman returning from Kuwait tested negative in mandatory quarantine for arriving travellers. But between her discharge from quarantine and her positive test result Monday, she is believed to have travelled extensively in Bhutan.

The tourism-dependent country closed its borders to foreign travellers in March after an American tourist was hospitalised with COVID-19. Bhutan's 113 reported infections were all quarantined travellers, except for one with conflicting test results.
A former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Walter Carrington, is dead.

The Punch reports that Carrington's death was announced by his Nigerian wife, Arese Carrington, in an email to the paper on Wednesday.

In the email titled, Press Release  Ambassador Walter C. Carrington, former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria and Senegal, Arese writes,

It is with a heavy and broken heart but with gratitude to God for his life of selfless humanity that I announce the passing of my beloved husband Walter Carrington, former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria and Senegal.

He passed away peacefully, surrounded by loved ones at the age of 90 years old on Tuesday, August 11th, 2020.

Further announcements will be made shortly.

Walter was a loving husband, father, grandfather, cousin, uncle, friend and in-law.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said'It is not the length of life but the depth of life.'

Walter was fortunate, his life had both length and depth.

God Bless. Arese Carrington.

Carrington was loved by Nigerians during his time in Nigeria, and healthy in maintaining healthy relationship between Nigeria and the US government.

Carrington, who celebrated his 90th birthday a fortnight ago, served as the U.S. Ambassador to Senegal from 1980 to 1981 and was later appointed by former U.S. President, Bill Clinton, in 1993 as the ambassador to Nigeria, where he remained until 1997.
The Indian tricolour will be hoisted for the first time ever at the iconic Canadian landmark of Niagara Falls to mark Independence Day this year.

The ceremony at the globally-famous scenic spot will be part of celebrations that will take place across the country. Given the current restrictions in place due to the pandemic, many of the regular events will now migrate online, including the traditional hoisting of the flag at the Indian High Commission in Ottawa and the Consulates in Toronto and Vancouver.

The flag will also be featured at other significant Canadian locations, including over the 553 metre high CN Tower, the most striking building in the skyline of Canadas largest city, Toronto. Another quintessential landmark in the city, the three-dimensional Toronto sign near City Hall in Toronto will be illuminated in the colours of the Indian flag.

These displays will continue through the weekend, as the flag raising at Niagara will take place on the evening of August 15, while the flag will flutter over CN Tower on Sunday, while the Toronto sign will stay illuminated over both evenings.

Indias Consul General to Toronto Apoorva Srivastava said, It is a matter of great pride that this Independence Day, iconic locations like Niagara Falls, CN Tower and the Toronto sign will be illuminated in Indian tricolour.

Each year, Toronto witnesses the signature event for the community in the country, the India Day Parade. Last year, it attracted a crowd of a record 85,000 at its downtown venue. However, given measures prohibiting the gathering of large numbers of people due to the coronavirus crisis, this event will occur virtually this year, which will be streamed live. While the event featured floats from various states and community groups in the past, this year, it will showcase 10-minute videos comprising the culture and cuisine of the various parts of India, as part of a virtual Parade.

Another virtual event to mark the occasion of Independence Day, Taste of India, also took place in the digital sphere this year, and featured cuisine from different parts of India as well a recipes from celebrity chefs.

Srivastava said these events have been planned keeping in mind the safety regulations and social distancing. She also said there will be a symbolic planting of 74 saplings in Brampton, a city in the Greater Toronto Area, followed by a rally which will feature cars displaying the India flag.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 14)  Almost 8 out of 10 adult Filipinos said their quality of life got worse in the past 12 months, according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey released on Thursday.

The figure is the second highest recorded by SWS on the same survey topic, next only to the record-high 83 percent last May 2020.

RELATED: 'The worst trend in survey history:' 83 percent of Filipinos say their life got worse - SWS

The non-commissioned survey, done last July 3-6, 2020 using mobile phone and computer-assisted telephone interviewing, noted 12 percent of adult Filipinos found their quality of life remained unchanged and only eight percent said their lives got better during the past year.

Three out of four people in the Visayas felt that their lives got worse at 75 percent. Balance Luzon (Luzon outside of Metro Manila) showed 74 percent, Metro Manila with 71 percent, and Mindanao with 65 percent.

Most of the 1,555 survey respondents who felt their lives got worse over the last year received subsidies from the government during the COVID-19 pandemic.

RELATED: Less educated Filipinos got less cash aid from govt  SWS

Lockdowns brought by the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the countrys economy into recession, plunging to a 16.5 percent economic contraction during the second quarter of this year according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Lawmakers are currently deliberating on the passage of the 140-billion Bayanihan to Recover as One Act that will boost the countrys economy and provide help to affected societal sectors. A bigger 1.3-trillion economic stimulus package, named Accelerated Recovery and Investments Stimulus for the Economy of the Philippines or ARISE Bill, still hangs in the Senate.

The national government is also giving out the second tranche of the social amelioration program for families in the vulnerable sector directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. As of August 12, the Department of Social Welfare and Development distributed 78 percent of allotted funds for the second tranche, or 43.4 billion worth of emergency subsidy to qualified families.
New Delhi: Just as the entire nation is soaked in the patriotic spirit of celebrating 74th Independence Day, the special day needs to be celebrated in a unique way with your loved ones, right. Therefore, on this August 15 make sure that you do something different in order to make it a special one. Our country breathed independence on August 15, 1947, and since then we all have been struggling to march ahead on the path of development.

Amid social distancing due to the deadly novel coronavirus global pandemic, we must not forget to feel the pride of being an Indian. However, it is not just about a particular day but rather the realisation of acknowledging the sacrifices made by our ancestors and the great leaders of this country to make India shackle-free. Being patriotic and at the same time celebrating the essence of freedom can be felt the most on this day.

We tell you five unique ways to celebrate I-Day this time. Make sure you do try out these simple ways to make it a memorable freedom day for you and your loved ones:

I-Day T-shirts

What's better than wearing your heart out, quite literally! This time why not get a graphic imprint done on a T-Shirt, celebrating independence. Think about it! Since most re avoiding going out due to COVID-19 scare, you can order online, if you feel it's safe or make do with whatever you have at home. After all, it is all about the feeling, right?

Masks and Gloves

None would have ever thought that masks and gloves would be the new additions in our daily lives one day. But now that they are, better make some I-Day inspired masks at home following the DIYs else you can get them online. Stay safe and celebrate Independence the real way!

Tri-colour look

As soon as the day breaks, make sure you are in full spirit to celebrate your independence with gusto. Try wearing a full tri-colour get-up that day. Yes! You can pep-up your look either by going traditional in a churidar salwar-kurti with tri-colour bangles or you can even try out a fusion look by adding a stole or dupatta in your attire. Try different combinations but remember to use only orange, white, blue, green in your look.

Gift an I-Day CD

It's not just on birthdays or anniversaries that you make the effort to make your loved one smile more. This time on Independence Day try out this unique way to salute your motherland. Record all the patriotic songs (at least a five of them) from Bollywood films and get in done in a CD format. Wrap it in a tricolour ribbon pack and gift it to your loved one. We are sure, the happiness after unwrapping it would certainly be much more than any of your previous presents on birthdays. Show love for your country this time!

I-Day Cards

Spread the message of freedom, this time not with any mobile SMS but a handwritten message on a card. We are sure, the tradition of exchanging cards has been lost long back, but why not restart it all over again. Yes, buy an I-Day card from a shop or you can even make one yourself (be creative). Exchange it with your close group or family circle. Be different this I-Day!

Kite flying

Yes, this is perhaps one of the oldest tradition which followed on this daykite flying. Get hold of those tri-coloured kites at once and make sure your extra cautious with the manjha (thread) as it can give you many cuts on hand. Let the spirit of freedom fly high with these colourful tri-coloured kites in the sky. Hail the independence, countrymen!

Also, please maintain social distancing and do not forget to wear your masks and gloves for staying safe.

Happy Independence Day!
"Enrollment season is already a challenging time for employees, as there are many benefit options to consider and a lot of decisions to make," said David Healy, senior vice president of Group Benefits at Sun Life U.S. "We recently expanded our technology solutions to provide more customized options for digital benefits enrollment, and we are constantly innovating to continue to improve this support in the future."

Sun Life also provides a customized landing page for the employer, giving employees a familiar, company-branded portal to navigate. The landing page offers live or recorded informational sessions with a benefits counselor, informational videos, the employer's enrollment materials and a link to their enrollment page. Interest in the customized landing pages has increased dramatically during the pandemic, as employers seek engaging digital options to replace traditional on-site meetings. Approximately 98 percent of employees who register for their employer's landing page utilize it for enrollment.

"We expect even more interest in virtual enrollment as we get closer to enrollment season in the fall," added Healy. "The way people engage with their benefits is changing, and now more than ever it's important for us to serve employers and employees where they are."

For employers already using a dedicated benefits administration platform, Sun Life still provides benefits communication and enrollment support, and employees can reach a benefits counselor 24/7 via phone. Telephonic enrollment for Sun Life clients has increased 16 percent since the pandemic began. Enrollment support is also available through Sun Life's own digital benefits administration platform, Sun Life + Maxwell Health.

For all of Sun Life's virtual enrollment resources, visit Sun Life's enrollment services page on www.sunlife.com/us.

About Sun Life

Sun Life is a leading international financial services organization providing insurance, wealth and asset management solutions to individual and corporate Clients. Sun Life has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of June 30, 2020, Sun Life had total assets under management of C$1,122 billion. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com.

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.

In the United States, Sun Life is one of the largest group benefits providers, serving more than 60,000 employers in small, medium and large workplaces across the country. Sun Life's broad portfolio of insurance products and services in the U.S. includes disability, absence management, life, dental, vision, voluntary and medical stop-loss. Sun Life and its affiliates in asset management businesses in the U.S. employ approximately 5,500 people. Group insurance policies are issued by Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (Wellesley Hills, Mass.), except in New York, where policies are issued by Sun Life and Health Insurance Company (U.S.) (Lansing, Mich.). For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com/us.

Media contact:

Devon Fernald

Sun Life U.S.

781-800-3609

[email protected]

Connect with Sun Life U.S.

https://www.facebook.com/SLFUnitedStates/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/sun-life-financial/

https://twitter.com/SunLifeUS

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SOURCE Sun Life U.S.

Related Links

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Meat plants will tell TDs today that they are not breeding grounds for the coronavirus, but have instead had it thrust upon them from the community.

Meat Industry Ireland (MII), representing primary processing companies, insists that the reason there have been outbreaks in meat plants is because they were deemed essential services and told to remain open during lockdown.

People who became infected on the outside then came to work as usual, causing Covid-19 outbreaks to be associated in the public mind with processing plants, the MII will tell the Dail's committee on the coronavirus.

An opening statement says: "The meat sector was designated by government as an essential service because it performed services that were deemed necessary for society. As such, the sector continued to operate while most other non-essential manufacturing sectors were closed.

"As we know, Covid-19 travels through communities into industrial settings, rather than vice versa. As manufacturing settings are locations where large numbers of people congregate, they provide the potential for the virus to spread, reflecting the dynamic between community and workplace."

Separately, the country's largest union will question why health and safety inspectors did not begin inspections at meat plants until late May.

Siptu will also tell the Dail committee it is aware that over 40 migrant meat-plant workers are sharing rooms or accommodation in a town in Offaly.

The union will call for this type of "hot-bedding" of workers to stop.

Siptu will tell politicians that there are very few if any unannounced inspections by health and safety inspectors.
The so-called Tandem-Villarejo case has morphed into something new. To judge by the interest of a good deal of news outlets, it has now become the Dina case. In other words, the case of the stolen phone that belonged to Dina Bousselham, a former aide of Pablo Iglesias back when he was an MEP, and the information from her sim card that was leaked to several newspapers in 2016. Justice Manuel Garcia-Castellon believes that Dina Bousselham and Pablo Iglesias lied to him by pretending to be the target of a dirty war waged against Podemos when, in fact, this was merely a fabulation that would have helped Podemos in their election campaign in June 2019. In order to prove all that, the judge has ordered a number of judicial procedures without consulting the Prosecution first. The first one was to send a letter of request to Wales in order to find out in what condition the sim car is presently.

The Welsh authorities replied that, while the sim card is physically intact, its contents cannot be retrieved. Then the Spanish judge asked the police to review the complaint filed in Alcorcon by the former aide and her husband, Ricardo Sa Ferreira, on 1 November 2015. Next he issued an injunction for the police to seize the logbook of visits of Spanish media company Grupo Zeta, whose president, Antonio Asensio, had personally given the sim card to Pablo Iglesias for the December 2015-January 2016 period. Presumably someone has persuaded the judge that the companys logbook might reveal who is behind the sim card leaks.

The court has taken further action on its own accord. The latest move was to summon lawyer Jose Manuel Calvente, who is expected in court on 5 September. Calvente used to work for Podemos but was dismissed and, speaking for conservative Madrid daily El Mundo, he has stated that the phone that was reported stolen and the unsanctioned police operation allegedly, to smear Podemos are just a fabrication.

What is the judge aiming for? Justice Manuel Garcia-Castellon is conducting what is known as a fishing expedition: he is trying to find any evidence that proves that Pablo Iglesias either staged the theft or lodged a false complaint that he could capitalise on during his election campaign. The judge himself offered Iglesias the chance to be a plaintiff in the case in March 2019.

What is the problem? Well, neither faking a theft nor filing a false complaint are crimes that fall within the purview of Madrids Audiencia Nacional court. Justice Manuel Garcia-Castellon knows what must be done in such cases very well because in 2018 he declined to examine a case of false testimony involving businessman Juan Miguel Villar Mir and instead pushed the case down to Madrids Provincial Court, as the Audiencia Nacional was not the competent court.

Judicial sources have stated that there are three legal reasons why the court is not competent: Pablo Iglesias has parliamentary immunity, the crimes are not linked to the substance of the Tandem-Villarejo case and, finally, because Spains Audiencia Nacional does not deal with theft-faking or filing false complaints.

Media shock waves

According to judicial sources, the extensive work done on the Dina case by Justice Manuel Garcia-Castellon is in stark contrast with his activities in the relevant investigations into the Tandem-Villarejo case and its smaller sub-cases: BBVA, Iberdrola, Kitchen (Spanish police spying on former PP treasurer Luis Barcenas) or Perez-Maura, to name a few. Yet every step taken by the judge in the Dina case has sent media shock waves across Spain, no matter how small. The same news outlets that, for many years, benefitted from information leaked by former police superintendent Villarejo are the ones which are now getting the scoop on Garcia-Castellons investigative efforts.
OTTAWA

Aug. 12, 2020

Canada

$305 million

Canada

March 18

$380 million

$685 million

Canada's

Over $2 billion has been committed in specific support to Indigenous and northern communities and organizations, including the funding announced today.

has been committed in specific support to Indigenous and northern communities and organizations, including the funding announced today. $285.1 million to support the ongoing public health response to COVID-19 in Indigenous communities.

to support the ongoing public health response to COVID-19 in Indigenous communities.

$685 million for the distinctions-based Indigenous Community Support Fund.

for the distinctions-based Indigenous Community Support Fund.

$10 million for emergency family violence prevention shelters on reserve and in Yukon to support women and children fleeing violence.

for emergency family violence prevention shelters on reserve and in to support women and children fleeing violence.

$72.6 million for health and social services support to the governments of Yukon , Northwest Territories , and Nunavut .

for health and social services support to the governments of , , and .

$34.3 million for territorial businesses, through CanNor's Regional Relief and Recovery Fund.

for territorial businesses, through CanNor's Regional Relief and Recovery Fund.

$25 million for enhancement to the Nutrition North Canada Subsidy.

for enhancement to the Nutrition North Canada Subsidy.

$17.3 million in support for Northern Air Carriers.

in support for Northern Air Carriers.

$15 million for CanNor's Northern Business Relief Fund.

for CanNor's Northern Business Relief Fund.

Up to $306.8 million in interest-free loans to help small and medium-sized Indigenous businesses.

in interest-free loans to help small and medium-sized Indigenous businesses.

$75.2 million in 2020-21 in distinctions-based support for First Nations, Inuit, and Metis Nation students pursuing post-secondary education.

in 2020-21 in distinctions-based support for First Nations, Inuit, and Metis Nation students pursuing post-secondary education.

$270 million to supplement the On-Reserve Income Assistance Program to address increased demand on the program, which will help individuals and families meet their essential living expenses.

to supplement the On-Reserve Income Assistance Program to address increased demand on the program, which will help individuals and families meet their essential living expenses.

$44.8 million over five years to build 12 new shelters, which will help protect and support Indigenous women and girls experiencing and fleeing violence. The Government of Canada will also provide $40.8 million to support operational costs for these new shelters over the first five years, and $10.2 million annually ongoing. Starting this year, $1 million a year ongoing will also be provided to support engagement with Metis leaders and service providers on shelter provision and community-led violence prevention projects for Metis women, girls, LGBTQ and two-spirited people.

over five years to build 12 new shelters, which will help protect and support Indigenous women and girls experiencing and fleeing violence. The Government of will also provide to support operational costs for these new shelters over the first five years, and annually ongoing. Starting this year, a year ongoing will also be provided to support engagement with Metis leaders and service providers on shelter provision and community-led violence prevention projects for Metis women, girls, LGBTQ and two-spirited people.

$117 million in new funding to support community-owned Indigenous businesses and $16 million in new funding to support Indigenous tourism through the pandemic and into recovery.

in new funding to support community-owned Indigenous businesses and in new funding to support Indigenous tourism through the pandemic and into recovery. In addition to providing support to hundreds of Indigenous communities across the country, the Indigenous Community Support Fund has supported approximately 260 Indigenous organizations serving Indigenous peoples in urban centres.

Canada's

Canada

, TRADITIONAL ALGONQUIN TERRITORY, ON,/CNW/ - The Government ofrecognizes that First Nation, Inuit and Metis are among the most at risk and face unique challenges in addressing COVID-19. It also recognizes that Indigenous leadership, governments and organizations are best placed to determine the needs of Indigenous Peoples and to develop community-based solutions that respond to these challenges.Today, the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Indigenous Services, announced an additionalto support Indigenous Peoples during the COVID-19 pandemic, through the Indigenous Community Support Fund.This fund can be used for a wide variety of measures such as supporting Elders and vulnerable community members, addressing food insecurity, educational and other supports for children, mental health assistance and emergency response services, preparedness measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and more. It will be distributed through a combination of allocations directly to First Nations, Inuit and Metis leadership, and needs-based funding, which will be application driven. This approach aligns with our commitment to support Indigenous leaders' approaches to community wellness while providing the flexibility to respond to emerging needs, for example in response to an outbreak of COVID-19.This funding will be available to First Nations, Inuit, and Metis communities, as well as Indigenous communities and organizations serving Indigenous peoples, including First Nations living off-reserve as well as Inuit and Metis living in urban centres, on an application basis. Further details will be forthcoming.As the pandemic continues to evolve, the Government ofis committed to ensuring that Indigenous leaders have the tools and support they need to implement the various aspects of their pandemic plans.The health and well-being of First Nations, Inuit and Metis remains the priority of the Department. The Indigenous Community Support Fund was first announced on, and to date has allocatedin funding to Indigenous communities and organizations. The funding in today's announcement is in addition to what has already been committed through the fund and brings the total investments to date in the Indigenous Community Support Fund to. First Nations, Inuit and Metis also have access to all other measures provided through the Government ofCOVID-19 Economic Response Plan, and are encouraged to review financial supports that may be available to them."Health and safety remains our priority and we will continue to work in partnership with Indigenous communities and organizations to support a strong and comprehensive pandemic response. This funding offers further concrete support for on-the-ground community solutions that respond to the unique needs and circumstances of First Nations, Inuit, and Metis wherever they reside."The Honourable Marc MillerMinister of Indigenous ServicesIndigenous Community Support FundCOVID-19 Economic Response PlanCoronavirus (COVID-19) and Indigenous communitiesStay connectedJoin the conversation about Indigenous peoples inTwitter: @GCIndigenous Facebook: @GCIndigenous Instagram: @gcindigenousFacebook: @GCIndigenousHealthTwitter: @Min_IndServYou can subscribe to receive our news releases and speeches via RSS feeds. For more information or to subscribe, visit www.isc.gc.ca/RSS.SOURCE Indigenous Services Canada
Austin's Alex Jones is at it again, y'all.

In a widely circulated act that Twitter user rskanse called "some next level Karen-ing," the far-right conspiracy theorist verbally harassed lifeguards at Barton Springs in Austin, bullhorn in hand, all because they were doing their job.

Referring to employees and hikers as "cult member kooks," he said his wife showed up at the park location Monday morning and was unable to enter after employees asked for her reservation.

Bull Creek Greenbelt and Barton Creek Greenbelt reopened Monday, Aug. 8, but to limit large gatherings amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Austin now requires a reservation ahead of visits  a move Jones said is unconstitutional.

Now you guys use your COVID hoax to like set a checkpoint up to take over the parks and start charging? a mask-less Jones yelled at park employees in a video posted to Twitter by Austin filmmaker Scott Cobb. "This is a illegal power grab of the people's Greenbelt, and it is time to free Austin." (Really dude?)

DEFUND ALEX JONES: Alex Jones filmed loudly berating patrons at Austin restaurant

Jones continued on his very unnecessary rant, getting only inches away from one employee before asking, "Who are you, masked man?"

"I'm a lifeguard for Barton Springs," the man replies. "You're a lifeguard, for Barton Springs, now part of the criminal power grab," Jones yelled back. "This is outrageous criminal activity. This is the seizure of the infrastructure of Austin."

He said, to everyone out there watching, the time for civil disobedience is here. (Whatever that means.)

At the end of the video, Jones can be heard claiming that the Austin Police Department said the new park rule is not enforceable. A spokesperson with Austin Parks and Recreation could not be reached for comment.

So, what have we learned? Alex Jones thinks COVID-19 is a hoax put in place to make him follow rules, and the rest of us think he should stop making Austin look worse than it already does.
The "Nathaniel 'Nat' Washington Power Plant" to highlight contributions of Central Washington dam advocates

Grand Coulee Dam's Third Powerhouse was renamed by the secretary of Interior, announced Aug. 12 in an online meeting.

Grand Coulee Dams Third Powerhouse will be renamed, the secretary of Interior announced, according to the following press release from the office of Rep. Dan Newhouse, who represents the states 4th District in Congress.

Press release:

WASHINGTON, D.C.  On August 12, U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary David Bernhardt announced the Third Power Plant at Grand Coulee Dam would be r...
The motto of the West Point Military Academy in the United States is "Duty, Honor, Country."

By committing to lying, cheating and stealing, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has betrayed the character his alma mater advocates and grown into a modern-day pirate in Washington.

Traditional pirates grab their fame and fortune by robbing ships and seeking domination at sea. Pompeo is pursuing his self-interests and ambitions by abusing the office of America's top diplomat.

Lying has now become one of the most commonly used tactics for Pompeo to manipulate the power of his office.

In order to cater to the domestic alt-right conservatives and portray himself as an anti-communism fighter, he has been bounding ahead in the current U.S. administration's campaign to smear China based on an obsolete Cold War mentality and ideological bias.

In his recent speech at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library he tried to misinterpret the productive China-U.S. relationship over the past four decades, discredit the Communist Party of China, and foster an ideological struggle against Beijing. It was a speech riddled with lies.

Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, a think-tank, criticized Pompeo's "misrepresentation of history and his failure to suggest a coherent or viable path forward for managing a relationship that more than any other will define this era."

On the world stage, Pompeo has acted as the hatchet man of the increasingly hawkish White House, bullying countries around the world.

He has travelled around the world coercing governments to ban Chinese telecom company Huawei and threatened them with consequences if they fail to cooperate; he has advocated for unilateral sanctions against European companies for joining Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline project; he, together with other hawks in the White House, risked bringing the United States and Iran close to the brink of war; and his provocative all-or-nothing approach in handling denuclearization talks with Pyongyang has so far yielded zero progress.

Pompeo has also been politicizing the State Department, and is seeking to turn it into a stepping-stone to realizing his political ambitions.

He has barely concealed his overweening political goals. He once openly replied yes to a question asking him whether he had considered running for president.

Last month, Pompeo, using State Department resources, attended the Family Leadership Summit in the U.S. state of Iowa, which is a traditional event for putative Republican presidential candidates.

"In only two short years, Mike Pompeo -- with an eye on the possibility of the presidential sweepstakes in 2024 and the base of support he presumably hopes to inherit from President Donald Trump -- has become not only the worst secretary of state in U.S. history but also the most partisan," a CNN editorial commented recently.

Thanks to Pompeo's barbaric and self-enriching diplomatic undertakings over the past two years, his credibility as America's diplomatic face in the world has been tarnished, and so has the credibility of the United States.

The only upside is that the international community now has a clearer and deeper understanding of Washington's hegemonic nature and its untethered aspiration to dominate the world.

By any measure, Pompeo, together with his toxic legacy at the State Department, has upended the view of the American public and those around the world about the role of a top U.S. diplomat.

If this modern-day pirate in Washington can still have his way in America's political arena, that would be disastrous not only for the United States, but also for the rest of the international community. The world had better hope it doesn't happen.
Cook County, Ill., Public Defender Looks to Hire Chief Data Officer

Digital Inclusion Week Set for October

A new report from the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation at Georgetown University has found that the economic recovery framework states are using in the wake of COVID-19 is outdated and could do with an update aimed at including data.The report, dubbed Leveraging Data for Economic Recovery: A Roadmap for States , is available to read online now. The main finding as it pertains to civic tech is that, States that have begun long-term recovery planning are doing so under a framework that was created after Hurricane Katrina nearly 15 years ago and predates the existence of state Chief Data Officers (CDO) along with other modern data and digital service approaches.By modernizing the recovery efforts in a way that improves the way states use data, the report goes on to note, states can potentially even turn the crisis into an occasion for going beyond pre-pandemic conditions, especially as it pertains to ensuring that communities of color and other underserved residents are supported. In essence, it suggests that data is a vital tool not only in recovering, but in creating new systems, policies and decisions that will lead our communities to become more equitable.By using data to inform policy and improve public understanding of pathways out of poverty, the report notes, states can efficiently and effectively lead the way to improve economic mobility for their residents.The chief authors of the report  which was published this month  are Katya Abazajian and Tyler Kleykamp Speaking of chief data officers, the most populous county in Illinois  Cook County, which is home to Chicago  is currently looking to hire one for its public defenders office.The job was posted earlier this month on the countys website , and the application window is slated to remain open until Aug. 20. The role is to be housed in Cook Countys Chief of the Trial Technology Division, with the successful candidate ultimately overseeing the Cook County Public Defenders Data Evaluation Division.According to the posting, the hope is that having a chief data officer will provide organizational government and policy directives for the office as it relates to data entry, data use and efforts to make information there generally more accessible. Helping to facilitate data-driven decision-making as well as innovation in both the county and the office is also part of the gig.Cook County is the second most populous county in the country, and the wider office itself has now had a chief data officer for about two years. The position is a new one for the public defenders office, and it is being funded by a grant.Digital Inclusion Week, which is an international occasion aimed at addressing issues related to the digital divide, is set this year to run from Oct. 5 through Oct. 9.The week is relatively new, created by digital equity advocates within the past few years, and this year the COVID-19 crisis will change the nature of the events related to the week. In a typical year, Digital Inclusion Week has as of late been made up of events and workshops at libraries, as well as things like digital skills training classes, used device refurbishment and distribution, and more. This year, however, it will be an international online event.The National Digital Inclusion Alliance, which is sponsoring the week, announced the dates this week, noting that its efforts represent more than 450 affiliated groups spread throughout 44 states. There is a dedicated webpage for the event, and it lists resources that can be used to both create or find a related event. There is also contact information on the page for the many groups that make up the alliance, which users can search by location to find groups in their areas.In addition to forcing activities online, the COVID-19 pandemic has also inadvertently emphasized the importance of National Digital Inclusion Week. For years, advocates in the space have been emphasizing the importance of making sure all people have access to the Internet, devices to benefit from the Internet and digital skills training that makes time spent on the Internet meaningful.In the wake of the crisis, decision-makers in both the public and private sectors have become newly aware of the importance of making sure all people have Internet at home, with access to online education, telework and telehealth driving this increased awareness.
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
- Michelle Gumabao addressed on Instagram the bashers who constantly body-shame her

- She revealed that after transitioning from volleyball to beauty pageants, some people criticized her for supposedly being too muscular

- According to Michelle, she is not insecure about being muscular because she needed those muscles to excel in volleyball

- Additionally, she urged other people to love themselves and to not have their self-esteem depend on the opinion of others

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Photo from Michelle Gumabao's Instagram account

Source: Instagram

Michelle Gumabao took to social media to address the bashers who constantly body-shame her.

KAMI learned that Michelle revealed that after transitioning from volleyball to beauty pageants, some people criticized her for supposedly being too muscular.

The athlete-beauty queen responded by telling them that she is not insecure about being muscular because she needed those muscles to excel in volleyball.

She urged other people to love themselves and to not have their self-esteem depend on the opinion of others.

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Transitioning from being a professional volleyball player to beauty pageants, I was and still am being criticized for being too big or too muscular. My legs are too big they say, honestly they really are

instead of being insecure about it, which is a constant battle of choice, I just remind myself that these legs got me through years of intense volleyball, allowed me to jump, play and win.

If you constantly find yourself comparing who you are and how you look with others, may this remind you that self love and confidence wont be handed to you, it is a choice! I say let them hate, Theyll never understand that these muscles are only made for champions, Michelle posted.

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Michelle Gumabao is a volleyball player and a beauty queen in the Philippines. After playing volleyball for the De La Salle University, she became even more well-known for joining the reality program Pinoy Big Brother.

Many celebrities have become targeted online by body shamers. KC Concepcion recently fired back against netizens who criticized her curvy figure.

Actress Melissa Ricks was also slammed by a netizen who said that she looked like an elephant. The star responded by telling the basher that she gained weight due to motherhood and that she does not mind being compared to an elephant because she is still pretty.

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!

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Ukrainian citizens Kostiantyn Reutsky and Yevhen Vasylyev were detained in Minsk, the capital of Belarus.

"Two Ukrainian citizens, Kostiantyn Reutsky and Yevhen Vasylyev, were detained in Minsk at about 17:00 on August 12," Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine posted on Twitter.

The Embassy of Ukraine in Belarus takes measures to establish the place and conditions of detention of Reutsky and Vasylyev.

As reported, presidential election was held in Belarus on August 9. According to preliminary results announced by the Central Election Commission, incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko garnered 80.23% of the vote, while opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya got 9.90%.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus, about six thousand people were detained during the three days of protests in the country. At least one person was killed. According to official data, more than 200 injured persons were taken to hospital.

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya was forced to leave Belarus. Currently, she stays in Lithuania.

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America can be proud of many things: our innovation, generosity and entrepreneurial spirit are unsurpassed. Yet when it comes to our nation understanding one of the greatest gifts ever given to humanitythe Biblewe're moving from dumb to dumber, and it's no laughing matter.
Vista, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/13/2020 -- Estolano Law is owned by a Spanish speaking lawyer, Ray Estolano, who has over twenty years of experience in representing clients and helping them fight for their rights in Chula Vista, CA, USA. Ray Estolano is a trial attorney and prosecutor for legal immigration processes, child support, paternity actions, divorce, child custody, criminal law, and family law. At Estolano Law, they offer electronic representation services to clients in other countries. They also help in soliciting for clients in cases of a serious felony, juvenile, and misdemeanor. They represent their clients in cases also involving federal and state court too. Estolano Law meets with clients in Mexico and Tijuana, thus, providing affordable resolutions to clients for immigration cases.



Answering a query, Estolano Law's spokesperson commented, "Estolano Law has a solid record in representing clients in immigration cases which ranges from family petitions to deportation defenses. Ray Estolano is also a proud member of the America Immigration Lawyers Association. At Estolano Law, we support endeavors to lobby for improved immigration law. We also assist immigrants to expand their rights through our successful advocacy".



At Estolano Law, they offer legal immigration services, which include fiancee visas, permanent residence, family immigration, derivative citizenship, removal defense, naturalization, among others. They have their immigration office in Chula Vista, California, to serve clients having immigration issues as well as immigration waivers issues. Immigration waivers are necessary to waive bars for spouses intending to immigrate their spouse who is living in the USA illegally. Thus, this can help to gap the international borders existing between couples.



The spokesperson further added, "One of the most cumbersome things to encounter is the hope of losing your ability to live in the United States of America because ICE has surfaced in your life. Being an immigration defense firm, we will provide you with a clear-headed vision of your available options. Even as no case is guaranteed, we have fought several immigration cases and won. You can consider Estolano law if you need aggressive representation services".



Estolano Law also provides Spanish speaking attorneys to offer immigration services in Chula Vista, California, at competitive prices. They help clients in removal defense cases when they have just been unjustly deported from a country to help them defend their rights. Estolano Law's immigration legal services can be of great help in uniting spouses and families by bringing them legally to the USA.



About Estolano Law

Estolano Law provides legal services like family law, immigration law, child support, paternity actions, child custody, divorce, criminal law, and more. They also assist couples having issues in their marriage to provide the best divorce lawyer in Chula Vista to evaluate the grounds necessary for a spouse to file for divorce. Hence, Estolano Law's divorce lawyer may represent its clients in court without their physical appearance in court since the client has already reached an agreement on the divorce processes.
Stephanie Meyer has said that she plans to write at least two more books in her hit Twilight vampire series.

The revelation arrives as the latest entry, Midnight Sun, has topped the bestsellers charts in both sides of the Atlantic.

During an online event for US books chain Books-A-Million, the author said (per USA Today): There are two more books I think in the world that I want to write. I have got them outlined and a chapter written I think of the first one, so I know its there.

Stephanie Meyers latest bestseller is another instalment in the hit Twilight franchise (Little, Brown and Company/Getty)

However, it could be a while before fans will be able to get their hands on the next Twilight instalments. Meyer added: I am not ready to do that right now  I want to do something brand new.

The Twilight saga was also adapted into a hit film franchise, which starred Robert Pattinson as the sullen vampire Edward and Kristen Stewart as the love-struck mortal Bella.

Midnight Sun has sold more than a million copies in the US in a week.

In the UK, 62,460 hardback copies were sold in the three-day window between the novels launch and the cut-off date for sales monitor Nielsen BookScans charts, which was enough to launch Meyer into the number one spot.

In a two-star review for The Independent, Annie Lord wrote that Midnight Sun is a frustrating reminder of how much of popular culture focuses on a helpless woman being saved by a troubled, yet ultimately forgivable man.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked the Centre as to how it can say that the National Food Security Act (NFSA) has no link with poverty alleviation as the object behind the statute was to ensure food security for the poor.

"Food security is needed for the poor, so how can you say it (NFSA) is de-linked from poverty," a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan asked the Ministry of Consumer Affairs while hearing a PIL for providing benefits of the various food security schemes to persons with disabilities (PWDs).

Replying to the PIL, the ministry contended that NFSA has no link with poverty alleviation and its goal is to ensure food security for 67 per cent of the country's population.

The ministry, represented by central government standing counsel Monika Arora, also said that Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act was not applicable to the NFSA as under the food security law foodgrain was being provided to 67 per cent of the population which included PWD and therefore, there was no need for a 5 per cent reservation for them.

"We need food security because we are poor," the bench said, adding that the government cannot say it will not provide reservation to PWD merely on the basis that they have not been excluded under NFSA.

"The purpose of reservation was to give preferential treatment. Where is the preferential treatment here? You (Centre) are presuming that it is as easy for a PWD to get a ration card as it is for anyone else. You are not considering the reality (with regard to the plight of PWD) in the country that we live in," the court said.

The bench further said that disability certificates are issued by government authorities and asked the Centre and state governments to consider giving foodgrain to the PWD initially based on their disability certificates and at the same time collecting their information for issue of a ration card.

Thereafter, they can be given the ration card along with the foodgrain, the bench said.

With the suggestion, the court listed the matter for hearing on August 24.

The suggestion was given by the court earlier as well, on July 22, to the central government which was asked to look into its feasibility.

However, the central government on the subsequent date of hearing on July 29 did not say anything on the suggestion.

During the hearing on Thursday, senior advocate Santosh Kumar Rungta, appearing for the NGO which has filed the PIL, said that the Consumer Affairs Minister had recently tweeted and also issued a press release saying that PWD would be provided foodgrain without insisting on ration cards and directions to this effect have been issued to all state governments.

The NGO, National Federation of Blind, in its petition has sought directions to the Centre to ensure that states and Union Territories provide benefits of welfare schemes, like Pradhan Mantri Garib Anna Kalyan Yojana, to PWD also during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It has contended that PWDs are neglected when reliefs under various food security measures are implemented as most of them do not have ration cards.

The NGO has also contended that under the PWD Act of 1995, a 3 per cent reservation was provided for all disabled persons in poverty alleviation schemes and this was increased to 5 per cent under the RPWD Act of 2016.

Therefore, the government should ensure that at least 5 per cent of the beneficiaries for foodgrain under the schemes like, Antyodaya Anna Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Garib Anna Kalyan Yojana, are PWD, it has said.

The bench had earlier remarked that PWD have been excluded from welfare schemes "from time immemorial".

"Fact that persons with disabilities get marginalised from every scheme does not require a debate," it had said.
by Nirmala Carvalho

It is yet another anti-Christian attack in the country. Rajesh Gupta's wife is in hospital with a fractured hand and leg. In June, an educational center run by a Christian organization was attacked. Two weeks ago, extremists killed a pastor in Punjab. Sajan K George: The faithful live in terror.

Faridabad (AsiaNews) - Hindu radicals brutally attacked Pentacostal pastor Rajesh Gupta and his family in Faridabad (Haryana). The attack, carried out with sharp weapons, took place yesterday morning while Rajesh was reciting a prayer in the home of a faithful. The pastor and his family were then rescued and taken to hospital for treatment. His wife is hospitalized with a fractured hand and leg.

It is the second anti-Christian incident to occur this year in Faridabad. On June 20, Hindu fundamentalists raided and occupied an educational center in the city district. The facility, managed by the Karuna Welfare Society, belongs to the Grace Assembly of God Church in Faridabad. The extremists placed a statue of a Hindu deity inside.

Groups of Hindu radicals have targeted Christian faithful in other parts of the country. On July 27, Balwinder Bagicha Bhatti, another Protestant pastor, was found dead by the side of a road near Ferozpur (Punjab). Victim of an ambush, he was beaten and fatally wounded in the back of the head with a sharp weapon.

The Christian community has called for justice for the murder of Bhatti and for all other anti-Christian violence. For Sajan K. George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians, it is a pity that a few days before the Independence Day, Indian Christians are denied the freedom to pray and preach. Not everyone - George tells AsiaNews - enjoys freedom of worship, even in the privacy of their homes. Not everyone enjoys the same privileges.

The tiny Christian community is located between "a rock and a hard place", according to the president of the GCIC. "In addition to the coronavirus pandemic, and its socio-economic repercussions, the Christian faithful live in fear of being attacked for spread the word of Christ".

George notes that increasing discrimination and religious polarization is the reality in which Pentecostal pastors carry out their ministry: Freedom from fear of attacks by right wing attacks and freedom from poverty is only for the majority, not all are equal in India".
WHEN: Today, Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Following is the unofficial transcript of a CNBC interview with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg from CNBC's Small Business Playbook: The Path Forward virtual event on Wednesday, August 12th.

Mandatory credit: CNBC's Small Business Playbook: The Path Forward event.

Realtime Transcription by www.RealtimeTranscription.com

JIM CRAMER: Mr. Wonderful as wonderful as ever. If you've been watching this whole program, you're getting some great advice. But now we've got someone who I think offers more to small business than anyone in this country right now. I'm talking about Sheryl Sandberg. She's the Facebook COO. I want to thank you so much for joining us for CNBC's Small Business Playbook event. Sheryl, how you been?

SHERYL SANDBERG: Thank you, Jim. I am really glad to be here. And I think we all need to be focused on small business in these times of economic challenge for everyone. I'm grateful to you for your continued focus on this.

JIM CRAMER: Look, you guys are the ones who are doing it. Now, I want to start by getting people to know the real Facebook. You have done a remarkable job with small business, and what I want to know is, how many small businesses are you helping, not just in the United States, but around the world, and what you do for them?

SHERYL SANDBERG: So, there are 180 million small businesses around the world who use our free tools, and we have 9 million advertisers. And so, look, before Coronavirus, a third of small businesses even in the U.S. didn't even have a web presence at all, and that's because it's expensive and hard to set up a web presence or a mobile website or a mobile app. So what do we do? We put them online for free. With no money and just minutes, you can set up a presence on Facebook or Instagram, and you can migrate online. And that was pretty important because the digital transformation was happening before Coronavirus. But now, in a world where people aren't even leaving their homes as much, it's become much more important, and that's why we see so many more small businesses using all the free tools we put out there.

JIM CRAMER: Sheryl, yours is truly a grassroots effort, which is something I love because you know I love small business. And I think a lot of people have affinity groups. Can you help them figure out how they can actually make a little bit of money off the affinity groups so they can keep growing and growing? Because I know you like small business, but you like medium business that started as small business from Facebook.

SHERYL SANDBERG: That's right. Our goal is for any small business to grow into a medium business and even a large business. And you're right, so much of this starts with someone's personal interest. I know you love great stories, and I'll share one. There is an organization called -- business called The Tiny Tassel out of Charleston, South Carolina. It's a woman named Mimi. She was making jewelry as, you know, a creative outlet, total hobby. Her mother was making handmade clothing. They started selling it. Now, at first they opened a little store and they were selling in person. Then, Coronavirus hit. So they came to Facebook. They joined Facebook Shops, and now they're continuing to sell and grow their business online. And that's what we see, is people taking their passion and their ingenuity and their entrepreneurship and creating businesses for themselves, which are so critically important in this time of mass unemployment.

JIM CRAMER: I want to dig down into that Charleston, South Carolina story. There are many single women in this country, some have had setbacks, some are trying to strive, make it in a very tough time. I bet a high percentage of the businesses that get started on Facebook are from the single women, who are very much unrepresented in this country and often are given a very bad deal because of divorce or because this society has, as you would know better than anyone, a glass ceiling, whether we like it or not.

SHERYL SANDBERG: No, that's right. You see amazing entrepreneurship from women and women of color. It's worth noting that today is Black Women's Equal Pay Day, which means that a white man and Black woman both start working on January 1, 2019, and to earn what that man earned by the end of the year in 2019, a Black woman has to work until today. My foundation is putting out a report tomorrow on the state of Black women in corporate America, and it shows what this data shows, is that Black women are systematically overlooked and not given the mentorship and sponsorship and opportunities, and we need to fix that. I think one of the reasons you love small business and I love small business is there's no corporate hierarchy in a business you start. You are in charge, you can make those decisions. And at Facebook, our goal is to give you the tools you need to make it as affordable and easy as possible.

JIM CRAMER: Well, you know I challenge you and your CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, to do more for minorities  I didn't really have to challenge, because it was in your DNA. But if you can talk, you mentioned your foundation. But the company specifically earmarked a lot of money for minorities, and it's not talked about. Talk about it.

SHERYL SANDBERG: No, that's right. We did our first grant program after Coronavirus, we did 100 million for small businesses globally, 40 million went to the U.S. And then there was so much interest and so many applications from Black-owned businesses and minority-owned businesses that we did another 100 million in the U.S. for Black-owned businesses alone. And that's going to small businesses, to nonprofits that serve the Black community, and to Black creators. And we really believe that there's so much more to do to give people a shot to make sure that they continue to grow and serve these important communities.

JIM CRAMER: Can you talk about how your company helps small business and doesn't compete with them? No need to mention who does, but I think it's a different ethos and, again, not talked about.

SHERYL SANDBERG: Yeah. I mean, look, our business is small business. We put free tools out there, and we sell advertising. That is our business. And the great, great, great majority of the people who use those tools are small businesses, 180 million, as I said, around the world. And we should think a little bit about the role of personalized ads in this. So I'm going to share an example that I love. There is a bar called the Bru Florida Growler Bar in Odessa, Florida, and they sell growlers. And, you know, before Coronavirus, they were doing most of their sales in their bar. Well, they came to us very inexpensively. They were able to buy personalized ads. They wanted to show their ad only to adults age 25 to 64 who live within 5 miles of their bar. We're the only place that does that at scale, and we did it. We do it in a very privacy protected way, we don't give any information to the bar. We take the ad and show it. And now their business is thriving. They are selling three times more growlers now than they were before Coronavirus forced them to close. Big businesses can buy large advertising. They don't need personalized ads. They can target the entire country, but small businesses can't. So the services we offer and the cost effectiveness of those personalized ads is a life line for small businesses and one that I think we all want to keep our eye on as this economic recovery, hopefully, starts to come into play and we help small businesses grow.

JIM CRAMER: Well, I'm really glad you brought this up, because my friend Gary Vaynerchuk, who is also part of our program, Gary Vee, whom I knew because the one library that was down a block from me said without any prompting from me, did not even know where I was coming from in terms of my championing Facebook for individuals and for small business  he said: Look, the ROI  he had calculated the return on investment for an ad on Facebook, and he said it was outrageously cheap versus everyone else. Why is that?

SHERYL SANDBERG: Well, that's because we can personalize. Because again, in a very privacy protected way, we take your ad, and in this case, you know, we show it only to the people who are adults, who are living within five miles of that bar. Or only to people who are dog lovers if you are a dog service that you are trying to advertise in a local area. So it is our ability to personalize that makes this so high ROI because for a lot of businesses, if they try to advertise, they are wasting money. You have to take out an ad in a local area and you are showing your ad to many people who don't want to see it because they are not interested. Our ability to use data in a privacy protected way to personalize those ads is why small businesses can use us to grow. And I think it is really important for them, but also really important for job recovery. More than half of the growth in jobs in this country over the last many years has come not from big businesses, but from small. And that is why those personalized ads have been so important.

JIM CRAMER: All right. Well, let me put my stock hat on for a moment, because again, I do Mad Money every night. I think there are a lot of people who said, geez, there are some huge consumer package good companies that are boycotting Facebook. Facebook, therefore, must be ineffective, or Facebook must be in trouble. Why is it that people do not understand that the real joy, I think, of Facebook is finding the small businesses that are starting out that use Facebook, and if the consumer package goods guys want to go over for now, they want to leave for now, because they can't stay out for long because you have too many people, that it really doesn't impact your earnings per share.

SHERYL SANDBERG: Well, we just reported earnings, and that's what you're referring to and we did have a strong quarter. We care about all of our clients and all of our partners, and the large ones and the small ones are super important to us. We're going to continue to work to make sure we provide great products. Those products should work across the spectrum of businesses, as we continue to grow our business, but more importantly, continue to grow the business of our clients out there; most of which are, as you say, small businesses.

JIM CRAMER: I get confused by the political narrative. For instance, the candidate running for the Democratic party, Joe Biden, and now his running mate, Kamala Harris, who I bet are both sensational people. But Joe Biden: breaking up Facebook deserves a really hard look. And we know that Miss Harris has often thought about that. Do you think they understand that small businesses create the jobs; we are in a  close to a depression in terms of the number of jobs lost and the last thing you want to do is take a company that has created a lot of small businesses and make it the target when there are so many others that are more deserving of that role.

SHERYL SANDBERG: Well, we know that there's real concern about the size and the power of the American tech companies, both here in our own country and also around the world. And it's our job to work with anyone who is in office, whether they're in the Senate or anywhere around the world, to address those concerns. We do think the size of what we offer is part of why we can help so many small businesses grow. And we are a platform company, and we are a platform on which small businesses are powered, and we're going to continue to focus on that and make massive investments. And it is helpful that we have the resources to make those investments to continue to grow small businesses around the world.

JIM CRAMER: Sheryl, you referenced Shops. I thought Shops is one of the most inspired ideas your company has ever had. The stock has gone up 70 points since it started. Can you describe what it means for the person who is watching this and says, you know what? I've got something to do. I know I don't have a job right now, but I have this craft, I have this skill, I think I could have a shop. What do I do?

SHERYL SANDBERG: You go to Facebook.com/business. Everything you need is there, and there's all of our tools which are available to help you get online, set up for free a mobile presence and start selling if you want to. What Shops do is they give you additional functionality. We provide it for free. We're first rolling it out. But it lets you take your product catalog, the products you offer, upload it to Facebook or Instagram, personalize it and customize it so it has the look and feel that's yours, and then hopefully do more with your customers. Jim, we get ideas from people like you who are champions of small businesses, we get ideas from the small businesses themselves. We're going to keep investing and rolling out functionality. We are working on payment solutions, we are working on how to reach the right audience, we are working on making those advertisements cheaper and even easier for businesses to use. We're also working on training. Jim, one of the things you said to me when I was on this show a couple of times ago, you said that we need to make training available because small businesses  it needed to be online, it needed to be accessible whenever they had a minute because they're super busy and they can't necessarily show up at any specific time. So with your encouragement, we launched our Summer of Support online training sessions. There are 30 classes. You can go online and take them whenever you want. 15 million people have watched them, giving them exact ideas on here's how you market, here's how you find the customers, here's how you build a credible online presence. So we're going to continue to roll out those free tools, and we're grateful for your encouragement.

JIM CRAMER: My wife belongs to a site. She will get mad at me that I'm going to mention it, but it's called What Would Virginia Woolf Do? And it started, I know, how fabulous is that, right? It's for women of a certain age who don't know what an affinity group is, and everyone loves it. And it would not exist without your company. It just couldn't exist. And I think people don't get that there are companies of some size that have brought great income to people who otherwise wouldn't have it that would not exist without Facebook. And, yet, the narrative that I often read about Facebook is that you sold some data at some point, or that you don't have 30,000 people trying to weed out things that shouldn't be in there. And I'm always surprised that the individuals who are your ambassadors have not been able to speak up for Facebook, other than to me in a very private way. And you know I think that that's  I'm trying to change that narrative, you know that.

SHERYL SANDBERG: Well, look, we appreciate it. And we have real issues to address. We've worked hard to address them. I think one of the most important issues the country faces that we're really importantly focused on is voting. Later this week, we're going to launch our voting information center, because we want to make sure people get accurate information on how to register and where to vote. That was important in any election, but with the Coronavirus concerns about polls closing and how do I do this now in a more online world, that's even more important. So we're going to be launching that later this week. We also have a pretty ambitious effort, I think the most ambitious out there, which is a goal of registering 4 million people to vote in this election. We helped register 2 million the last two cycles. But we take our responsibilities and our civic responsibilities very seriously. And we hope when it launches, people will check out the voter information center.

JIM CRAMER: For a moment I just  look, you know I care about our country and small business. But there are remarkable things that you've done overseas. Anyone who looks at the financials, it's pretty clear that your organization is doing this around the world. Again, I want to go back to something that you and I think are very important: minority businesses around the world and single women who have been unrepresented in the class  and so many single women make so much less  how do we close the gap?

SHERYL SANDBERG: So one way of closing the gap is entrepreneurship. Businesses can be started by women. Those businesses do incredibly well. We see that often businesses by women are more active on Facebook, and that makes sense. When you take down the traditional barriers that have long benefited men more than women, it makes sense that more women and people of color and women of color, so important always, but on Black Women's Equal Pay Day, a good moment to note that, are able to use those tools because they're broadly available to anyone. Online tools are something anyone can use. And I think you're right that these tools are even more important for people who have a harder time in the traditional power structure of business.

JIM CRAMER: Now let's go back to that great example that you mentioned. How did that person and that bar know to do this and, yet, so many others just haven't figured it out?

SHERYL SANDBERG: Well, that's why we launched the training that you encouraged us to launch. So, we do have 15 million people who have done it. But, look, I think necessity is the mother of invention  not my quote, someone else's  and a lot of businesses that had to migrate online. I'll give you another example. Out of Nashville, Tennessee there is a company run by a couple called 80/20 Fitness. They call themselves that because they say it's 80 percent nutrition and 20 percent exercise. Well, they are a small gym. They had to close, like so many others. But they used Facebook Live, and they migrated a lot of the services they were able to provide to clients by providing them online. Would they have done that before Coronavirus? I don't know, probably not. But everyone always says, don't waste a crisis. This is an opportunity for small businesses to build technology and to build user abilities that they needed anyway, because the digital transformation is happening. And I think we see a lot of small businesses taking advantage of this opportunity to learn how to sell online because they have to. But I think that those are skills that are really going to serve them well going forward, even once  hopefully soon  the world comes back to normal.

JIM CRAMER: One of my favorite other companies that does similar things to you, Constellation Brands, which is Modelo and Corona, has decided that the minority population is so underserved in this country, that if someone in the minority population has a great idea for a drink, they will help fund that company. Have you ever thought, perhaps, about funding or helping to fund some minority companies that otherwise might not be able to get started that could grow?

SHERYL SANDBERG: So we definitely talked about financial support for small business. The form it's taken for us to date has been grants, with our original 100 million for Coronavirus and then our 100 million for Black businesses and nonprofits in the U.S. But we are really looking for ways to continue to invest in small businesses. I think the best thing we do is to invest  build tools, give them free tools that they can use to grow; invest in things like Facebook Shops, and I think that's where we're going to stay focused.

JIM CRAMER: All right. Now, we know that we are in a terrible pandemic, and it is small- and medium-sized businesses not doing well, versus, say, the big stocks that we follow. What advice do you have in general for our country about what to do about small- and medium-sized business? You know we've got a jam up in Washington. Which side you're on, I don't care; you're on the nation's side. What can they do in Washington to help the very clients that we're talking about?

SHERYL SANDBERG: Well, obviously, we need to provide the financial support that people and businesses need, and that's something our government has to do. And you also asked what can we all do. Well, I think we can all support small businesses. Because, even though our shopping patterns may have changed, we're still buying our food, we're still buying the basic things we need. And I think making sure we support the local businesses around us, as consumers, is great. You can also spread the word. When you have a great experience with a product or a service, particularly if it's one your friends don't know about, that's a great time to post. You can do that on Facebook and Instagram, or old-fashioned call them up. But help small businesses. We also did something else. We launched during this Donations for Small Businesses. We've had donations for a long time for nonprofits. People do birthday fundraisers for nonprofits they love. I never really thought we would launch Donations for Small Businesses, but we did, because people want to donate to the small businesses in their community. And gift certificates. We launched that, too. Gift certificates are a way you can pay now for a service you can get later when businesses open up. For those that have the ability, it's a really nice way to support a business and say: I want to make sure you're still there when these businesses can open up. There is a lot every single person can do.

JIM CRAMER: Well, Sheryl, as someone I know who is a small business supporter and also a small business person who is blessed to have another job, I think I'm going to go to Donations today, with my wife Lisa, and figure out who else we can help who are less fortunate. Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO, thank you so much for joining us. CNBC's Small Business Playbook event. Great to see you.

SHERYL SANDBERG: Thank you for having me.



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Companies are trying out new strategies, including launching their own e-commerce sites, taking orders via WhatsApp calls and organising swift home-deliveries as they seek to cope with a world that has been transformed by the coronavirus pandemic.

With footfalls in malls and stores almost disappearing, many apparel and home appliances brands are devising strategies to reach out to the consumer directly.

Benetton, for instance, plans to launch its India-specific website before the end of the year. While sales through online retailers such as Amazon, Flipkart and Myntra contributed roughly a fifth of its sales before the pandemic, it expects the number to rise to almost a quarter by the end of the year. Currently, only 77% of the retailers stores are open. Online is seeing a big surge right now because of the current environment, said Sundeep Chugh, chief executive officer, Benetton India. Similarly, LG Electronics India has rolled out its online shop for customers in nine cities after beta-testing its website last month. However, offline trade channels continue to be the backbone of the company in India. Covid has changed the paradigm of how customers are looking at buying certain products. Online has become an important function, and we see that a lot of new customers are coming from tier 2-3 towns, said Deepak Taneja, business head, online and e-commerce at LG Electronics. The company has seen online demand pick up in categories such as dishwashers, microwaves and washing machines amid the lockdown.

Bengaluru-based e-commerce solutions firm Tenovia Solutions, meanwhile, has seen its business surge by about 80% in the past four months because of demand for building e-commerce websites and helping companies maximise digital revenues. As Indian shoppers move online, theres a surge in interest from companies that are keen to set up their e-commerce channels, said Murali Balan, chief executive and co-founder of Tenovia.

While brands expand their online presence, it will be hard for them to match the reach, depth of offerings and discounts offered by Amazon, Flipkart and Myntra.

Shuchi Bansal contributed to the story.
(Photo/ Hubei Daily)

After 166 days of treatment in Wuhan, the former COVID-19 epicenter in China, Cui Zhiqiang beat a life-threatening case of pulmonary fibrosis brought on by COVID-19.

The 65-year-old is the first to be discharged from the hospital among 10 COVID-19 patients in the world who received lung transplant surgeries. Six patients underwent such surgeries in China, and one each in Italy, the U.S., Austria and South Korea.

For medics who have participated in Cuis treatment, his survival is a meant-to-be result rather than casual luckiness.

65, too young to die

(Photo/People's Daily Online)

In the eyes of Cui Ying, Cui Zhiqiangs daughter, her father is a strong man. On January 24, 2020, Chinas lunar New Year s Eve, Cui Zhiqiang told his daughter that he felt cold. He thought he just had a fever, but his physical condition didnt get better for the following two weeks.

On Feb. 7, Cui tested positive for COVID-19 and after several days was treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a machine that oxygenates and pumps a patients blood.

During that period of time, more and more aid kept pouring into Wuhan. By early March, around 43,000 medical workers from over 340 medical teams were dispatched from all across China to aid Hubei province, some of whom participated in the treatment of Cui Zhiqiang.

However, enormous challenges still remained in efforts to treat him, whose life was threatened after using ECMO for over a month. Despite daunting tasks ahead, Zhou Chenliang, Cuis attending doctor and also director of the intensive care unit (ICU) of Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, felt confident.

I have attended a seminar on COVID-19 death cases held by national health authorities, during which an expert mentioned that 75 years old is too young to die. Then I thought 65-year-old Cui is much younger, so we must try our best to cure him, Zhou said.

Along with the experts experience, it is also the support of the country that has given Zhou such great confidence.

In the fight against the lethal virus, China has adopted a principle that all suspected and confirmed patients should be admitted to the hospital, and all confirmed patients should be treated, which enables medical workers to focus on treating patients in any possible way.

A 100 percent chance of living

Cui receives a double-lung transplant operation at Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University. (Photo/Hubei Daily)

In April, the National Health Commission organized an expert lung transplant team consisting of the countrys top specialists to treat Cui. Online discussions on Cuis treatment plan were held several times.

Thanks to the intensive care of the medical team, when Cui met the requirements for a lung transplant, experts worked to perform the surgery as soon as possible.

As the autonomous right of life is the foundation of the organ transplant, Cui has the right to decide himself whether to go ahead with the surgery. After waking up from a coma, the medics asked him, If you agree to receive a lung transplant, blink your eyes. If you dont, look left or right.

Cui blinked, expressing his strong desire to live.

The news that her father can have a lung transplant concerned Cui Ying at first, for fear that the operation fee might be too high for her family to afford, but she was soon relieved to hear that all expenses would be borne by the nation.

At that moment, I began to believe that my dads survival chance was not one percent, but 100 percent,Cui Ying said.

Every life is priceless

On July 21, 166 days after hospitalization, Cui was discharged from the hospital. (Photo/People's Daily App)

On April 20, more than 40 doctors and nurses entered the operating room to begin the large-scale operation.

Medics wore full-body protective equipment with three layers of gloves on, posing huge challenges for them to operate. Lasting 8 hours, the surgery used 10,000 milliliters of blood, the amount of blood in two persons bodies. Forty-four hours after the lung transplant, the ECMO, which had kept Cui alive for 62 days, was unhooked and Cui regained consciousness.

For us [doctors], every patients life is priceless. In the process of treating patients, including Cui Zhiqiang, we have gained a lot of unprecedented experiences which are very valuable for us in saving more lives in the future, said Li Guang, deputy director of the intensive care unit (ICU) of Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University.

After the surgery, a team consisting of around 30 medical professionals was established to offer 24/7 service to Cui. They have drawn up a series of rehabilitation plans to accelerate Cuis recovery, teaching him basic functions he had lost, including breathing and swallowing.

On July 21, 166 days after hospitalization, Cui was discharged from the hospital. At a ceremony the hospital held for him that day, still unable to speak, Cui expressed his gratitude to his doctors by writing a thank you message to the medical team for the care he received.

Helping patients like Cui beat the life-threatening disease and receiving positive feedback from them makes me feel that life is worth living, said Lin Huiqing, a thoracic surgery professor who has participated in Cuis treatment.
Pupils hit by the coronavirus A level chaos vowed to appeal yesterday after seeing predicted top grades downgraded, leaving them fearing they will miss out on university dreams.

A government algorithm recalculated marks suggested by teachers, with 40 per cent of results downgraded.

On a day of contrasting emotions for teenagers:

The overall pass rate (grades A* to E), hit a record level, up to 98.3 per cent from 97.6 per cent last year, while 27.9 per cent scored either an A or A*  the highest ever, up from 25.5 per cent last year;

More students secured university places than ever before, including a record level from the most disadvantaged backgrounds;

But heads complained of 'the most bizarre and random allocation of grades imaginable'.

Teenagers who lost out told the Mail regrading was 'unfair' and was affecting their mental health.

But there was still celebration for some, with one pair of identical twins both off to Oxford - albeit different colleges.

Here youngsters from across Britain describe the joys and despairs of a results day like no other...



Left to right: Victoria Sniadowska, Tamzin Iyayi and Aqsa Ali. Wiktoria Sniadowska said she would 'definitely' appeal after a computer algorithm cut her straight As to BBC

Sixth form where three top pupils got the chop

Several pupils at one sixth form college were downgraded after getting top predicted grades.

Wiktoria Sniadowska said she would 'definitely' appeal after a computer algorithm cut her straight As to BBC.

She is continuing her studies at Leyton Sixth Form College in London, where she will take an art foundation diploma.

But she said: 'I know that if I'd done my exams, I'd have got better grades. It's unfair.'

Tamzin Iyayi lost out on a place at Cambridge after being marked down from A*AA in history, law and politics. She said: 'I just feel let down by the Government.'

Aqsa Ali had been offered places to study politics and international relations.

But she missed out after being downgraded to a B in politics and Cs in history and religious studies.

She said: 'It's had a big impact on my mental health and confidence.'

Young carer robbed of university place

A young carer has had his A levels lowered by as much as three grades, putting his university plans in doubt.

Maks Ovnik cares for his grandmother, 102, alongside his mother on the Isle of Wight.

He got ABB in his mocks and his school gave him AAB in maths, computing and physics.

But these were downgraded by Ofqual to ADE, meaning he loses his place to study physics at Southampton.

Maks, 18, who plans to appeal, thinks his results were downgraded due to his school's performance last year. He said: 'It's not a nice feeling at all.'

Identical A*s for twins off to Oxford

Identical twin sisters are setting off to Oxford together  but will finally be separated as they go to different colleges.

Arianne and Enyala Banks have always taken similar paths and it was no surprise when both achieved four A*s.

But they are finally set to be parted as Arianne (pictured in blue and white top) will study law with French law at Mansfield College, while Enyala (in maroon top) will read materials science at Queen's College.

Arianne studied French, history, politics and biology for A level at the private Cardiff Sixth Form College while Enyala took maths, physics, chemistry and history.

Enyala said of their A level experience: 'For the first time Arianne and I have made separate friends, perhaps because we chose such different subjects.

'As twins this is quite unusual as we are very alike in many ways but also have very different sides to our personalities.'

Arianne and Enyala Banks have always taken similar paths and it was no surprise when both achieved four A*s

From Iraqi patient to Cambridge medic

A refugee who left Iraq as a toddler to receive urgent medical treatment in the UK has earned a place at Cambridge to study medicine after getting four A*s.

Buraq Ahmed, 18, suffered an agonising hip condition. When he was three his parents sold their home to fund surgery in Britain.

Buraq, pictured as a child, came with grandma Saadiyah, 69  and they couldn't go home due to the Iraq War.

The teenager, who studied biology, chemistry, economics and maths at Cardiff Sixth Form College, said: 'Having spent so much time in hospitals with some of my happiest times being looked after by amazing NHS nurses, I decided I wanted to help other people.'

Buraq Ahmed (pictured with his grandmother Saadiyah Khattab) suffered an agonising hip condition. When he was three his parents sold their home to fund surgery in Britain

Buraq, pictured as a child, came with grandma Saadiyah, 69  and they couldn't go home due to the Iraq War

Poorer pupils are worst hit by A-level downgrades with 10% seeing marks lowered - but record numbers of students are STILL heading to university as percentage receiving A*s or As rises to all-time high

Teachers submitted 'implausibly high' predicted grades for A-level pupils, regulator claims Teachers have submitted 'implausibly high' predicted grades amid widespread upset over A-level results, the exams regulator has claimed. Nearly 40 per cent of results had been downgraded from teachers' predictions, official data reveals, sparking complaints from pupils who say the system has let them down. But the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) now claims that a minority of teachers put forward significantly inflated grades, the Telegraph reports. A spokesman for the regulator said: 'Because the circumstances meant there was no opportunity to develop a common approach to grading, the standard applied by different schools and colleges varies greatly. 'A rare few centres put in implausibly high judgments, including one which submitted all A* and A grades for students in two subjects, where previously there had been normal distribution.' After the 2020 exams were cancelled due to coronavirus, this year's grades were been calculated by a statistical model that considers the pupils' past performance along with the historic grades of their school, along with a rank order drawn up by teachers. Advertisement

Key statistics in this year's A-level results The proportion of candidates receiving top grades is the highest on record. A total of 27.9% of entrants scored either an A or A*, up from 25.5% in 2019.

Some 9.0% of entrants received an A*. This is another record high, and is up from 7.8% last year.

The overall pass rate (grades A* to E) was 98.3% - again, another record high. It is up from 97.6% in 2019.

Some 78.4% received a C or above, up from 75.8% in 2019 and the highest since at least 2000.

Girls have extended their lead over boys in the top grades. The proportion of girls who got A or higher was 28.4%, 1.1 percentage points higher than boys (27.3%). Last year, girls led boys by just 0.1 percentage points (25.5% girls, 25.4% boys). Boys briefly took the lead in 2017 and 2018, following a long period in which girls had been ahead.

The gap between the best-performing boys and girls has fallen slightly. The proportion of boys who got A* was 9.3%, 0.5 percentage points higher than girls (8.8%). Last year, the gap was 0.7 points.

The most popular subject this year was maths. It was taken by 94,168 entrants, up 2.5% on 2019.

Psychology was the second most popular subject, overtaking biology. It was taken by 65,255 entrants, up 1.0% on 2019. Biology slipped to become the third most popular subject, taken by 65,057 entrants, a fall of 6.0%.

ICT (information and communications technology) saw the biggest drop in candidates for a single subject with more than 1,000 entrants, falling by 15.3% from 1,572 to 1,332.

Computing saw the biggest jump in candidates of any subject with more than 1,000 entrants, rising by 11.7% from 11,124 to 12,426.

There were 780,557 A-levels awarded, down 2.6% on last year's total (801,002) and the lowest number since 2004. Advertisement

Pupils from the poorest backgrounds were hardest hit by today's A-level results fiasco, with 10 per cent seeing their results downgraded.

A government computer algorithm altered grades that had been recommended by teachers, with 40 per cent of all exams being lowered.

Data shows that 74.6 per cent of sixth-formers from poorer families had been expecting to get C or above today - but that number increased to 85 per cent cent - a rise of 10.4% - due to grades being downgraded by the government's algorithm.

In contrast, students from middle income families saw a drop of 9.49 per cent, while students from the wealthiest backgrounds were downgraded 8.3 per cent.

Despite this, a record number of students from the poorest backgrounds are heading to university this year, with universities softening their offers amid the chaos triggered by the cancelling of exams and the fall in foreign students.

Figures from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service revealed that more than 20,000 18-year-olds from the poorest backgrounds in England have been accepted into university this year.

This is almost 19 per cent of their cohort, up from 16.1 per cent last year, despite today's uncertainty.

Wales saw a record 17.4 per cent of the poorest pupils reach university, while Northern Ireland saw a record 18.3 per cent.

In total, more than 210,000 teenagers have been accepted onto university courses, a record number for A-level results day.

Another record saw 30.2 per cent of all 18-year-olds accepted into university, despite there being 1.5 per cent fewer of them in Britain this year.

Including those of all ages, 358,860 people from across Britain have taken university places this year  a rise of 2.9 per cent compared with results day in 2019.

Around 4,000 university spaces will have been freed up after a significant decline in EU students, dropping from 26,440 to 22,430.

However, the total number of overseas students has increased by 2 per cent to 34,310.

It comes as private schools outshone others when achieving the top grades.

The percentage of A or A* grades rose by 4.7 per cent at independent schools this year, from 43.9 per cent to 48.6 per cent.

The rise is more than double that of any seen in the state sector.

In comprehensives, the proportion of pupils achieving the top grade rose by 2 per cent, in academies by 1.7 percent, and in grammars by 1.2 per cent.

Sixth form, FE and tertiary colleges meanwhile, saw a rise of just 0.3 per cent.

Carl Cullinane, a researcher at social mobility charity The Sutton Trust, said the data was 'eyebrow-raising'.

He said the disproportionate increase in top grades at private schools could either relate to their 'generally higher rate of As in the first place' or because their smaller class sizes helped them escape the statistical moderation process.

It comes as:

The proportion of entries awarded the top A* grade this year has surged to 9 per cent;

27.9 per cent of entries were awarded an A or A* grade, up by 2.4 percentage points on last year;

The total number of students accepted on to UK degree courses has risen nearly 3 per cent;

78.4 per cent received a C or above, up from 75.8 per cent in 2019 and the highest since at least 2000;

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson insisted inflating A-level results would harm the 'future prospects' of a generation;

Former Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw said pupils have been badly let down by the system, headteachers and Government;

Students took to social media to reveal their disappointment as they results far lower than their mock exams.

The figures on poorer pupils seeing their grades downgraded more than others form part of a technical analysis issued by Ofqual on Thursday to accompany the release of A-level results for England.

Ofqual said there was no evidence 'bias' had been introduced into the moderation system set up following the cancellation of exams due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It said differences between the change in predicted and final results was 'relatively similar' across all socio-economic groups.

A-level trends: Farewell to general studies as girls outnumber boys in science From subjects that have bowed out to those on the way up, here are six trends in this year's A-level results: - Farewell general studies There were zero entries for A-level general studies this year. Ten years ago there were 46,770. The subject had been in decline before it became formally unavailable as an A-level in 2017, though last year there were still 41 entries. Two other subjects have also bowed out: communication studies and critical thinking. Both had around 2,000 entries 10 years ago. - Spanish on the up Last year, Spanish overtook French to become the most popular language at A-level. This year the gap has widened, with Spanish entries up 0.9% while French dropped by 1.1%. German suffered an even bigger decline, falling 6.2% and dipping below 3,000 entries for the first time. - Drama and music on the way down Entries for music have fallen 43% since 2010, while drama is down 42%. Both have spent most of the past decade in decline. Drama dropped by 6% between 2019 and 2020, while music fell 3%. - Girls outnumber boys in science For the second year in a row, there were more female entries than male entries in the sciences. When combining the figures for biology, chemistry and physics, girls accounted for 80,854 entries (50.9%) and boys 78,122 (49.1%). Though physics remains dominated by boys (77% of entries), girls make up the majority of entries for both biology (64%) and chemistry (54%). - Computing has biggest gender imbalance While most of the entries for physics were from boys, it was not the subject that recorded the biggest gender imbalance towards males. That was computing, where boys made up 86% of entries and girls 14%. The biggest imbalance towards females was in performing/expressive arts, where girls made up 90% of entries and boys just 10%. - Psychology outranks biology The most popular subject taken this year was maths (94,168 entries), as has been the case for the last few years. But there was a change in second place, with psychology (65,255 entries) overtaking biology (65,057 entries). Psychology has gone up by around 10,000 entries since 2014, and this - plus a year-on-year fall in biology entries this year of around 4,000 - allowed it to move into second spot. Advertisement

The regulator said it was 'difficult to draw firm conclusions' over the relationship between deprivation and grade adjustment.

It highlighted that its analysis did not take into account the variation in generosity from schools when they submitted predicted grades.

It also noted that research suggested that teachers had a tendency to 'overestimate to a greater extent the grades of socio-economically disadvantaged students'.

Ofqual said that in recent years students of less deprivation had higher grade outcomes, meaning there was less scope for overgenerous predictions when compared with more deprived candidates who tend to have lower outcomes overall.

Dr Michelle Meadows, executive director for strategy, risk and research at Ofqual, told reporters on Thursday that its analyses showed there was 'no evidence of systematic bias' in the exam assessment model used this year.

She added: 'Outcomes for different groups, whether that be by socio-economic status, ethnicity, gender, the outcomes for these groups are very similar to those in previous years.'

Dr Meadows said that research literature covering A-level predictions for university entrants shows that 'there is a tendency to be more generous to students from lower socio-economic status'.

Commenting on whether there was a relationship between social disadvantage and the moderation of exam results, she said: 'There was a tendency for some more generosity to be there in the predictions for students with lower socio-economic status, backgrounds.'

She added: 'There is a small effect of a greater difference between the end calculated grades and the centre assessment grades.'

A-level students across Britain were left in limbo today as their teachers scrambled to appeal against tens of thousands of 'unfair' downgraded results released just three weeks before the university deadline.

A chaotic race for university places has ensued after 280,000 results were downgraded following this year's summer exams being cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic despite record-high results.

Ministers rushed in a revised system late on Tuesday for England to allow more appeals, but is not yet ready - with exams regulator Ofqual saying it will not be able to lay out the appeals process until next week.

It is feared the change will result in almost every school trying to mount an appeal. And with the deadline for students to meet their university's offer just over three weeks away, many appeals may not be done in time.

University leaders have held urgent talks with an education minister to seek clarity on the new rules.

But Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said 97 per cent of youngsters who are receiving their results today will be getting either the grade the school actually gave, or within one grade of what that school gave.

The proportion of A-level entries awarded an A grade or higher has risen to an all-time high, with 27.9 per cent securing the top grades this year, figures for England, Wales and Northern Ireland revealed this morning.

Benita Stipp (centre) and Mimi Ferguson (left) react as students at Norwich School receive their A-Level results today

Students discuss their options after receiving their A-level results at City Academy Hackney in East London this morning

Emily Wallace (centre) smiles as students at Norwich School in Norfolk receive their A-level results this morning

One of the first students to open her results this morning was Megan from Wyke College in Hull, East Yorkshire. She received an A and two Bs but needed three As to get into Leeds University

A sixth form student is embraced after receiving her A-Level results at The Crossley Heath Grammar School in Halfax today

Twins Rosy (left) and Teddy Valentine (right) react as students at Norwich School receive their A-level results this morning

Students at Newham Collegiate Sixth Form react as they receive their A-Level grades in East London this morning

But exam boards downgraded nearly two in five (39.1 per cent) pupils' grades in England, according to data from Ofqual - which amounts to around 280,000 entries being adjusted down after moderation.

Private schools see far higher rise in top grades to others Private schools outshone others when achieving the top grades in this year's A-levels. The percentage of A or A* grades rose by 4.7 per cent at independent schools this year, from 43.9 per cent to 48.6 per cent. The rise is more than double that of any seen in the state sector. In comprehensives, the proportion of pupils achieving the top grade rose by 2 per cent, in academies by 1.7 percent, and in grammars by 1.2 per cent. Sixth form, FE and tertiary colleges meanwhile, saw a rise of just 0.3 per cent. Carl Cullinane, a researcher at social mobility charity The Sutton Trust, said the data was 'eyebrow-raising'. He said the disproportionate increase in top grades at private schools could either relate to their 'generally higher rate of As in the first place' or because their smaller class sizes helped them escape the statistical moderation process. Advertisement

Teachers were told to submit the grades they thought each student would have received if they had sat the papers, alongside a rank order of students, after exams were cancelled amid the pandemic.

Exam boards moderated these grades to ensure this year's results were not significantly higher than previously and the value of students' grades were not undermined.

In England, a total of 35.6 per cent of grades were adjusted down by one grade, 3.3 per cent were brought down by two grades and 0.2 per cent came down by three grades, figures from Ofqual show.

But overall, the proportion of entries in England, Wales and Northern Ireland awarded the top A* grade this year has surged to 9 per cent - the highest proportion since the top grade was first introduced in 2010.

In total, 27.9 per cent of entries were awarded an A or A* grade this summer, which is up by 2.4 percentage points on last year when 25.5 per cent achieved them.

The figures, published by the Joint Council for Qualifications, cover A-level entries from students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland where around 300,000 students are receiving their results.

The Government announced late on Tuesday that students in England will have the 'safety net' of being able to use mock exam results as the basis for an appeal if they are higher than the calculated grade.

It came hours after Scotland's Education Secretary announced that moderated calculated grades would be scrapped following an outcry after more than 124,000 results were downgraded.

Ministers in England are facing fresh calls to follow Scotland's lead and scrap moderated exam grades in the wake of today's A-level results.

On Tuesday, Scotland's Education Secretary announced that lowered marks would be reverted back to teachers' estimates following an outcry.

But overall, the proportion of entries in England, Wales and Northern Ireland awarded the top A* grade this year has surged to 9 per cent - the highest proportion since the top grade was first introduced in 2010.

Nicola Sturgeon hints that Tories are showing signs of hypocrisy as they delete tweet slamming her New Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross insisted he was not afraid to criticise his own party after suggestions the UK Government's controversial handling of A-level results put him in an awkward position. Mr Ross, who became party leader only last week, had been heavily critical of the Scottish Government as they were forced to perform a U-turn over moderated grades which left more than 124,000 results downgraded. After the UK Government's method of moderating English A-level grades prompted a similar outcry on Thursday, Mr Ross tweeted: 'Some say the exam results in England cause me difficulties. 'My job as leader of @ScotTories is to get the best for young people & everyone in Scotland. It's not my job to support the UK government on everything. I'll challenge them when I believe they're wrong,' he added. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon hinted that the Tories were showing signs of hypocrisy when she pointed to a tweet from the Scottish Conservatives which was deleted amid today's uproar in England. The original post, from yesterday, had read: 'Nicola Sturgeon presided over one of the biggest scandals in the history of devolution, which shattered the life chances of thousands of Scottish pupils. Her belated apology is not good enough for the teachers, parents and pupils who were effected by this fiasco.' Ms Sturgeon claimed that the removal was 'telling'. However, the Scottish Tories insisted the tweet was deleted because of a spelling error, responding: 'We deleted a tweet because of one mistaken letter. You took a week to correct the grades of 75,000 pupils.' Advertisement

Unions are now calling for ministers in England to use teachers' predicted grades after Ofqual revealed 39.1% of A-level grades were downgraded after moderation.

Jo Grady, general secretary of the University and College Union (UCU), said: 'The Government needs to accept it has got this badly wrong, stop trying to pull a rabbit out of the hat and keep things simple by using teacher predictions - as happened in Scotland.'

Larissa Kennedy, president of the National Union of Students (NUS), said: 'England must follow Scotland's lead and scrap moderated grades, moving to give all students their teacher assessed grades.

'We must look at what this will mean for individual students without such action, many of whom will miss out on opportunities to attend the university of their choice because of this process.

'For 3 per cent of students to have had their results downgraded by two grades means that there will be thousands of students receiving results that are no reflection of their true ability.'

Speaking about the A-level results, Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: 'While there has been an overall increase in top grades, we are very concerned that this disguises a great deal of volatility among the results at school and student level.

'We have received heartbreaking feedback from school leaders about grades being pulled down in a way that they feel to be utterly unfair and unfathomable.

'They are extremely concerned about the detrimental impact on their students.'

Mr Barton said: 'We are now calling on the government and the exam regulator Ofqual to review the situation as a matter of urgency, and we would warn them against simply digging in their heels, and insisting all is well.'

Ellie French, an A-level student from Basildon, accused exam boards of 'playing around with people's futures' after her downgraded results meant she was rejected from her chosen university course.

Ellie, 18, had been hoping to study history at Nottingham, but her C in history, despite A-grades in English and politics, means she was turned down and will now go through clearing.

She told PA she was 'expecting an A at least' in history and added: 'In all of my mocks I've ever done, I've never got lower than a B. I've never ever got a C, I'm always As and Bs.

'My school sent me my results and they also put the teacher assessed and final mock grade on it as well as our final grade, and for me history read: Final mock grade: A; teacher assessment: A; final grade: C.'

Ellie, who studied at the Appleton School in Benfleet and intends to appeal over the grade, said she had no idea why she had been given a C.

Helen Lee (left) and Sophia-Ellis Shipp bump elbows at Peter Symonds College in Winchester this morning

Nadiya Khair (left) is congratulated by her aunt Shaheda Rahmen at Peter Symonds College in Winchester this morning

Students nervously wait to discover their university options after receiving their results at City Academy Hackney today

A-level pass rate broken down by nation & region Here is the A-level pass rate (students receiving A*-E grades) broken down by nation and region. The figure in brackets is the change in percentage points on 2019. England 98.2% (up 0.7)

Wales 98.6% (up 1.0)

Northern Ireland 99.1% (up 0.8)

North-east England 98.7% (up 0.4)

North-west England 98.4% (up 0.4)

Yorkshire & the Humber 98.4% (up 0.6)

West Midlands 97.8% (up 0.7)

East Midlands 98.2% (up 0.7)

Eastern England 98.3% (up 0.7)

South-west England 98.4% (up 0.7)

South-east England 98.4% (up 0.6)

London 98.0% (up 1.1)

All 98.3% (up 0.7) Advertisement Rates for students receiving the top grades Here are the rates for students receiving the top grades (A* and A). The figure in brackets is the change in percentage points on 2019. England 27.6% (up 2.4)

Wales 29.9% (up 2.9)

Northern Ireland 33.2% (up 2.3)

North-east England 24.9% (up 1.9)

North-west England 25.3% (up 1.7)

Yorkshire & the Humber 25.4% (up 2.2)

West Midlands 24.2% (up 2.2)

East Midlands 24.4% (up 3.4)

Eastern England 28.0% (up 2.3)

South-west England 28.6% (up 2.8)

South-east England 30.7% (up 2.4)

London 29.8% (up 2.9)

All 27.9% (up 2.4) Advertisement

No apology from Boris Johnson as he insists results are 'robust' Boris Johnson has insisted that the exam results published today are 'robust' and 'dependable'. The Prime Minister said: 'Well let me first of all say that I want to congratulate all the students who have worked so hard to get the grades that they have and have done so well. 'And let's be in no doubt about it, the exam results that we've got today are robust, they're good, they're dependable for employers, but already I think that there's a record number of candidates, of students, who are able to get their first choice course at the university of their choice. 'Plus, there's a record number of students, of pupils, from disadvantaged backgrounds who now as a result of these grades, will be able to go to university.' Mr Johnson also said that he has confidence in Education Secretary Gavin Williamson. He said: 'I think obviously it was going to be very difficult in the absence of formal proper exams this year of the kind that we normally have because of the virus, we've had to put in the system we have. 'I do think it's robust and as I say, a couple of things I think are very important - first of all, more students than ever before are able to go to their university of choice, to do the course of their choice. 'And on your point about kids, pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, more than ever before are now able to go to university, are going to university this year as a result of the grades they've got today.' Asked if he has confidence in Mr Williamson, he said: 'Of course I do, but I think this is a robust system and it's one that is dependable for employers. 'It's very important that for years to come people should be able to look at these grades and think these are robust, these are dependable.' Advertisement

'I honestly don't know,' she said. 'It seems like they just randomly pick and choose who can go up and who can go down in the grade, it doesn't really make sense.

'I'm just really annoyed and confused. If I did the exam I would have got the grades I was meant to get. It just feels so stupid. I feel like they don't really know what they're doing.

'They've really messed it up. I blame the exam boards and I think they're just playing around with people's futures.'

One student who received five A* grades at A-level and plans to study medicine at Cambridge University has said she feels she cannot 'fully own' her results as she did not sit exams this year.

Ranya Kumar, 18, collected four A* grades at Norwich School today in addition to an A* in maths from last year.

She said she was 'very happy' to get the grades needed to go to Cambridge, but it was a 'hard feeling' to know they were awarded by an algorithm.

'I feel that I can't fully own my results because I didn't write the exams, which is a hard feeling,' said Ranya, of Norwich. But I think that as long as you get to the next stage that's what matters.'

She said there 'always will be' a stigma around A-level results awarded this year, 'but when you get to university you will earn it again'.

Awaiting results day was 'a difficult time', she said, adding: 'The uncertainty was quite unsettling.

'You don't have the security of knowing you've done your best because I lost that period of preparation. I didn't get to do that.'

Abby, from Hull, said she broke down in tears after seeing that she had achieved DDE, meaning she missed both her firm and insurance university places.

She told the BBC: 'My future has been set back completely. I might have to wait one or two years now to go to university.

'There's been loads of people crying, not getting the results they wanted, and it's down to something that wasn't our choice.'

Abbie Cooper, an AS-level student from Cwmbran, said she was 'distraught' after receiving two Ds and a U.

The 17-year-old said: 'Last year I couldn't attend college a lot due to anxiety and mental health issues but any time I did a mock or a piece of work I'd still get a D, a C or a B. The Ds that I did get had been improved to a B and a C at the end of the year, and my predicted at the end of the year was a B-B-B.

'I thought I'd pretty much secured at least a C, but I checked my results this morning and it said U-D-D.'

Abbie, who attends Colleg Gwent, received D grades in politics and psychology and a U in biology and is now worried about what the results will mean for her university prospects.

'It kind of feels like they just got a number generator or a letter generator and given you a grade based on that,' she said.

'It sucks because I need these to apply for university next year because these are my predicteds for university. How can I go anywhere with these?'

(From left) Issy Kilbride, George Pack, Ed Harris, Holly Laidles and Emily Chestney at Balcarras School in Cheltenham today

Two students share their A-level results at City Academy Hackney in East London today

Jodi Anyster (left) got A*A and is off to Liverpool, while Saoirse Easton-Lawrence (right) got AAB and is off to Sheffield, from Balcarras School in Cheltenham

A student and a teacher react as she checks her A-Level results at Ark Academy in London this morning

Charity Bradley (right) reacts as she receives her A-level results at City Academy Hackney in East London today

Abbie, who is a member of the Welsh Youth Parliament, said she knows many people whose grades were lower than they were expecting.

Pupil left 'devastated and so upset' after her B is downgraded to an E One student was 'devastated and so upset' after receiving an E in physics despite being predicted a B  meaning she missed out on a place to study geography at Birmingham University. Holly Barber, 18, who lives Bradford, West Yorkshire, was given lower-than-expected grades in every subject she took. Her father Tim, 55, told Metro.co.uk: 'She feels like she's wasted two years of her life. It's hard to see how an algorithm can know her better than her teachers who have spent so much time with her. 'We were bracing ourselves for her grades to go down a bit but she's lost five grades overall. It doesn't feel like there's any sense to it.' The teenager now plans to appeal her results and has instead been offered a place at Liverpool University. Advertisement

She said: 'I'm quite distraught. But I'm good in the sense it's out there now and people know and if people are in the same boat they know they're not alone. I know people who were predicted A*s and they've been getting Bs. It's awful.'

She hopes to appeal her grades.

The Association of Colleges (AoC) has written to Mr Williamson to call for an urgent review into the standardisation process used for A-level results.

David Hughes, chief executive of the AoC, said he has heard from a number of colleges that more than 50% of their grades have been adjusted downwards.

He said: 'We are deeply concerned that the adjustment process may have disadvantaged larger centres such as colleges and those with historically strong value-added data.

'Colleges with large cohorts and very stable and predictable results over time are seeing their lowest grade profile ever, particularly at the higher grades, A to C.'

The letter to the Government and Ofqual says: 'A technical review now could examine that and would avert hundreds of colleges from having to make individual appeals. It would show that you are being transparent and taking the concerns seriously.'

It adds: 'We cannot stand by when the evidence suggests that many thousands of students may have missed out on their grades because of a systemic bias.'

After meeting A-level students at a sixth form college in Darlington, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: 'The algorithm has not worked because it's assessed 40% of students for a downgrade, and for schools and colleges they haven't even got standardisation over the last two or three years, so this approach has failed.

'The Government needs to reset, rethink and it should not rule anything else out, including the sort of U-turn that was forced on the Scottish Government last week where they had to go back to the assessment.

Students at Newham Collegiate Sixth Form in East London react after receiving their A-level results this morning

Students take a moment as they prepare to open the envelope containing their A-level results at City Academy Hackney today

Students at Newham Collegiate Sixth Form queue to receive their A-Level results in East London this morning

Students at Newham Collegiate Sixth Form react after receiving their A-Level results in East London this morning

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer talking to students at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College in Darlington this morning

Students at Newham Collegiate Sixth Form pose for a picture after receiving their A-Level results in East London today

'Something has to be done to put right this injustice.'

Identical twin sisters set off to Oxford but will go to different colleges Arianne and Enyala Banks Identical twin sisters are setting off to Oxford University together - but will finally be torn apart as they go to different colleges. Hardworking Arianne and Enyala Banks have always followed in each other's footsteps and even achieved identical exam results. The determined duo, aged 18, both gained 14 A*s at GCSE before winning scholarships to a top sixth form college. They then went on to ace their A Levels to win places at Oxford. But their paths are finally set to go in separate ways as they chose different subjects to study for their undergraduate degrees. Arianne will study Law with French Law at Mansfield College - while Enyala will read Materials Science at Queen's College. Arianne, of Cardiff, said: 'I am so interested in how the legal world is changing and in particular looking at which laws we maintain and which we change coming out of the EU. Coupling law with French means that I can look at the international side of law and I am very much looking forward to learning more about both the British and French legal systems.' Arianne studied French, History, Politics and Biology for A-Levels at independant Cardiff Sixth Form College. Sister Enyala took Maths, Physics, Chemistry and History for A-Levels at the same college but was less sure what she wanted to do at uni. She then went to an Oxbridge conference in Swansea, South Wales, to get inspiration. Enyala said: 'This was the first time I was introduced to material science. 'I really liked the structure of Oxford's course and the mixture of physics, chemistry and maths in the subject - it is very broad and follows on well from my EQP in nuclear energy.' Both girls, who are members of the Welsh National Opera, joined the six form college on a 100 per cent scholarship from their local state school. Enyala added: 'Changing schools has been a really good preparation for university life and it has certainly made me more independent and aware of the world.' And Enyala says her time at the college has also given her and her sister time to grow individually. She said: 'For the first time Arianne and I have made separate friends, perhaps because we chose such different subjects. As twins this is quite unusual as we are very alike in many ways but also have very different sides to our personalities.' Arianne added: 'We are used to answering to each other's names so it was refreshing to actually have our own space and to realise that as well as being similar we also had room to develop very different talents.' Advertisement

Sir Keir said the Government had failed to plan for the A-level results. 'This is not something that has come up in the last day or two,' he said.

'This problem of how you assess children and young people without exams has been sitting there for weeks and months and here we are, with hours to go, the Government changes the rules. I think most people will say this is a fundamental lack of planning.'

Earlier, Sir Keir tweeted: 'Something has obviously gone horribly wrong with this year's exam results.

'Nearly 40 per cent of young people have had their grades marked down and that's thousands of young people whose opportunities could have been dashed.

'Parents, teachers and young people are rightly upset, frustrated and angry about this injustice. The system has fundamentally failed them.

'The Government needs to urgently rethink. We need to guarantee the right to individual appeals, the fee for appeals waived and nothing to be ruled out, including the U-turn that was forced on the Scottish Government last week.'

Sir Keir said Labour would allow individuals rather than schools to mount appeals for their grades, it would waive the appeals fee for them and get schools and universities together to adopt a more flexible application process.

Sir Keir said: 'Of course there are always those who are pleased and those who are not, but that reflects an individual's application in an exam on the day.

'Of course that can be upsetting if you haven't got the grades you wanted after having sat an exam.

'Here, what we have got is young people being told the system has told you that you are not worthy of that grade. That's the injustice that is felt very deeply.'

The Sixth Form Colleges Association (SFCA) said principals have found huge variations between the A-level exam grades predicted by teachers and the actual grades awarded.

Bill Watkin, chief executive of the SFCA, said the Government's model for calculating this year's grades was 'flawed and unreliable'.

He said: 'A fundamental objective of the process was to ensure year-on-year comparability in exam results - the very clear evidence from our members is that the standardisation model has utterly failed to achieve this.'

A snap poll of 100 SFCA members suggests more than a third of principals saw their overall exam results drop below their historic performance.

Mr Watkin added: 'The only way the Government can rescue this situation, and ensure that thousands of students are not disadvantaged, is to base results entirely on centre-assessed grades - the predictions made by teachers.

'This is the only alternative to what has proved to be a failed experiment by the Government to develop a fair process of standardisation.'

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said he was 'concerned 'about results which have been lowered by two grades or more.

Figures from Ofqual show that 3.3 per cent of entries in England were brought down by two grades and 0.2 per cent came down by three grades after moderation.

He said: 'Schools used a wide range of evidence to submit grades for their students and we would question how a change this significant could be fair to those students.

'It is vital that these students get the results that they deserve and not the results which fit a school or college's past-performance profile.'

Lorna Gauvain, 18, collected three A* grades at Norwich School and plans to study forensic psychology at the University of Kent starting in 2021 after a year out.

She said the results are what she was hoping for but added: 'For the first few months it didn't really feel like they were going to be our results.'

Lorna, who lives near Wroxham in Norfolk, said: 'I was happy and very relieved. I'd already planned for a gap year but yes, I did think about (how university life might be during the pandemic) and I decided that it would be better to wait for a year.'

Sophie Lofthouse (left) and Hannah Walton-Hughes react as students at The Mount School in York get their results today

A student reacts as she checks her A-Level results at Ark Academy in London this morning

Students embrace each other after collecting their A-Level results at Ark Academy in London this morning

Students burn their A-Level results at the London Dungeon today as pupils find out whether they have got a university place

Dr Philip Wright, director general of JCQ, said: 'Students across the UK receiving their A-level results today should be proud of their grades, which reflect their hard work and commitment over the previous two years.

'Thank you to all the teachers, senior leaders and exams officers whose efforts to produce the Centre Assessment Grades will mean students are able to move on to the next phase of their education or into employment.

'This is a moment for students to celebrate their learning and we wish them all the best as they take their next steps in life.'

Meanwhile a spokesman for Brampton Manor Academy in East Ham, East London, tweeted: For a third year running over 100 students achieve straight A*-A grades.

'The class of 2020 have broken our impressive record of 38 Oxbridge places in 2019. This incredible success is despite a fundamentally flawed system. These talented students deserve even better results than this.'

It was also revealed today that the total number of students accepted on to UK degree courses has risen nearly 3 per cent.

University admissions service Ucas said 358,860 people from across the UK have been accepted so far this year  a 2.9 per cent increase compared to results day 2019.

One of the first students to open her results this morning was Megan from Wyke College in Hull, East Yorkshire, who was left frustrated after receiving an A and two Bs - but needed three As to get into Leeds University.

She told ITV's Good Morning Britain: 'I'm a bit disappointed, and I think I could have got my three As if I did my exams. I think I deserved three As so it's just annoying. I'm just hoping Leeds will let me in with these grades.'

Matilda Auty reacts as students at The Mount School in York receive their A-level results this morning

Sixth form students fist-bump after receiving their A-Level results at The Hemel Hempstead School in Herfordshire today

A sixth form student poses with a piece of paper after receiving his A-Level results at The Hemel Hempstead School today

Megan's headmaster Paul Britton said: 'We get amazing results at Wyke, loads of our students have got fantastic achievements this year, but it's just completely unfair on students like Megan.

'Some sort of standardisation process has meant that she hasn't got the grades that she should've got.

'Yes, hopefully you'll still get into university, but it's still not right that these young people haven't got the correct draw.'

But some pupils took to Twitter to complain about not being able to access the 'track' section of the Ucas website after it crashed, leaving thousands unable to find out whether they got the grades needed to head to university.

A Ucas spokesman said: 'At 8am we saw a surge in demand for our website, seven times higher than at the same point last year. We immediately responded and increased our capacity and the service returned to normal within 30 minutes.

'We apologise for the frustration this has caused, and we are here to help students throughout the day.'

Meanwhile Abbie Cooper, a student at Coleg Gwent near Newport in South Wales, tweeted this morning: 'After getting Cs and Bs in mocks all year and in work, these are the grades I get... WHAT THE F***?'

She then posted an email screenshot showing that she had got a U in biology and Ds in psychology and politics, with the college saying that staff 'hope that you're delighted with your results today'.

Emily Kate Pettite from London tweeted that her sister had mock results of AAA but ended up getting BBC in her exams. She wrote: 'Her mock results were AAA, her centre assessed results were A*,A,A* which she 100 per cent deserves, yet because of clever Boris's algorithm she's ended up with BBC ... HOW do you come to that result when NONE of her work has ever been graded that?'

A student in Northampton opened her results alongside two of her fellow pupils live on Sky News. She was overjoyed upon opening her envelope and said: 'I might cry. Really good. I got an A star in my EPQ and was expecting an A. It's what I wanted. I'm so happy.

Her fellow student added: 'I'm really, really happy. I got BCB, I'm happy with that.'

The third was equally thrilled and said: 'I'm really happy. I've got enough to get into university so I'm really happy.'

'It's definitely been weighing on my mind a lot more because of what happened in Scotland. I was a lot more nervous than I would have been.'

Some 316,730 of the 358,860 accepted have got into their first choice - up 2.7 per cent on the same point in 2019. The number of students accepted onto nursing courses has increased by 13.2 per cent, to 24,750.

So far, a total of 415,600 students have a confirmed place on an undergraduate course in the UK. This is a 1.6 per cent increase on results day last year, and follows three years of decreases.

Four per cent, or 14,370, of placed UK students are currently planning to defer starting their course, which is the same proportion as at this point last year.

Meanwhile 34,310 international students from outside the EU have been accepted (up 2 per cent), while acceptances from students within the EU have fallen by 15.2 per cent, to 22,430.

Ucas added that a record 20,280 pupils aged 18 from the most disadvantaged backgrounds in England have been accepted into university  up 7.3 per cent on last year's results day.

This means 18.8 per cent of all young people from the most disadvantaged backgrounds are due to start an undergraduate degree  a new high for results day.

In Wales, 17.4 per cent from the most disadvantaged backgrounds (1,310 students) have been accepted, and in Northern Ireland the proportion is 18.3 per cent (790 students)  these are also both new records.

Across the UK, 30.2 per cent of all 18-year-olds, or 210,260 students, have been accepted through Ucas  another high for results day despite there being 1.5 per cent fewer 18-year-olds in the UK population than last year.

The equivalent figure for 2019 was 28.2 per cent. Clearing opened on July 6, and 7,600 people have already used it to secure their place, including 3,860 who applied directly into Clearing.

In total in 2019, a record 73,320 people were placed through Clearing, with 19,640 applying for a course for the first time directly into Clearing.

Clare Marchant, Ucas chief executive, said: 'In a year unlike any other, students should be proud of their achievements.

'It's especially encouraging to see record numbers of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds with a confirmed place at university, and an increase in applicants accepted onto their first choice.

'We all rightly hold nurses and key workers in such high esteem, and they've clearly inspired a new generation to join them, with the number of students accepted onto nursing courses rising by 13.2 per cent, to 24,750.

'Universities and colleges have plans to welcome students onto their courses as safely as possible, which have been received well, as we're seeing a similar proportion of placed applicants currently planning to defer as last year.

'We're ready to support students, and Clearing Plus will match those looking for a place to available courses they might be interested in.

'The Ucas website has information and advice on all the options open to young people, and we're ready to help them over the phone and on social media.'

Dr Michelle Meadows, executive director for strategy, risk and research at Ofqual told reporters that its analyses showed there was 'no evidence of systematic bias' in the exam assessment model used this year.

She said: 'Outcomes for different groups, whether that be by socio-economic status, ethnicity, gender, the outcomes for these groups are very similar to those in previous years.'

Dr Meadows said that research literature covering A-level predictions for university entrants shows that 'there is a tendency to be more generous to students from lower socio-economic status'.

Commenting on whether there was a relationship between social disadvantage and the moderation of exam results, she said: 'There was a tendency for some more generosity to be there in the predictions for students with lower socio-economic status, backgrounds.'

She added: 'There is a small effect of a greater difference between the end calculated grades and the centre assessment grades.'

Olivia Welsh and her mother Alex reacts after receiving her A Level results today at Lewes Old Grammar School today

Oskar Filskow holds up his A-level results today after receiving them at Lewes Old Grammar School

Charlie Cooke gets a kiss from his mother Sheri as he gets his A Level results today at Lewes Old Grammar School

Zoe Billyard (in the mask) reacts after receiving her A-level results today at Lewes Old Grammar School

Gabrielle Josephs at Peter Symonds College in Winchester receives her A-level results this morning

Maia Hardman (right) reacts after receiving her A Level results today at Lewes Old Grammar School

Jasmine Owen-Moulding and her father, Arthur, react after receiving her results today at Lewes Old Grammar School

Grammar school headmaster slams A-level fiasco after revealing his school achieved its worst ever result A grammar school head teacher has slammed this year's controversial A-level grading system. Kay Mountfield, head teacher at Sir William Borlase's Grammar School, said its pupils' grades this year are 'way out of line' with their historic records. She said: 'Our students have faced the uncertainty of this process positively, trusting, as we have as a school, that the system developed by Ofqual would be true to its stated aim: it would ensure 'that students would not be disadvantaged as a result of not having had the opportunity to sit the exams'. 'We were assured that the statistical model would take into account the school's historical data and the prior attainment of the students. 'The statistical model has not worked in its application to our school with our overall grades being downgraded to significantly lower than any previous grades Borlase has achieved, despite our having a stronger cohort. 'As this anomaly is so transparent in the way the outcomes deviate from the expectations of Ofqual and the school, we hope this will be quickly addressed. 'We will challenge this decision to ensure students from our school and students from schools across the area and country receive the results they deserve.' Advertisement

Calculated A-level grades awarded in Northern Ireland have seen pupil performance increase across all grades. The overall pass rate of pupils achieving an A*-E grade rose by 0.8 per cent to 99.1 per cent.

The percentage of pupils achieving the top A* grade increased by 1 per cent to 9.8 per cent, while those achieving A* or A grades rose by 2.3 per cent to 33.2 per cent.

Female students again outperformed their male counterparts at the highest grades, with the gap broadly in line with recent years.

The calculated system also saw performance at AS level improve on 2019. The percentage attaining a top A grade rose by 2.1 per cent to 29.4 per cent. Those attaining an A-E grade rose by 0.9 per cent to 96.4 per cent.

The majority of the results (86 per cent) were issued by the Northern Ireland awarding body, the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA).

The remaining 14 per cent of results were from exams set by other UK awarding bodies. There were 27,791 A-level results issued in the region this morning.

Following the cancellation of exams in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the exam bodies had been instructed by Stormont Minister for Education Peter Weir to ensure the calculated results in 2020 were broadly in line with performance in recent years.

While an increase has been recorded, the CCEA is content the rise is not significant enough to impact the integrity of the results set.

Data indicates that the increases in attainment would have been significantly higher if the predicted grades assessed by teachers were used without standardisation.

Teachers were asked to predict the grades of all their pupils.

In 96.7 per cent of cases, their estimates either matched or were within one grade of the final result awarded following standardisation. Of those, 58 per cent of the results matched exactly.

In 37 per cent, teachers were over-optimistic in their prediction, while in around 5 per cent of tests they underestimated the result.

While that will see many of the grades issued on Thursday being lower than those predicted by teachers, the match rate is higher than last year.

Olivia Gaskin (centre, holding results) reacts as students at Norwich School receive their results this morning

Ben Millett reacts with his father (back to the camera) as students at Norwich School receive their A-level results today

A sixth form student reacts after receiving his A-Level results at The Crossley Heath Grammar School in Halifax this morning

Emily Wallace (left) uses hand sanitiser as students at Norwich School in Norfolk receive their A-Level results today

Ana Cacho with her parents as students at Norwich School in Norfolk receive their A-Level results this morning

Teachers are asked to predict grades every year in Northern Ireland as part of normal assessment procedures.

In 2019, around 46 per cent of grades match the results attained by pupils and 40 per cent proved overly optimistic.

The CCEA standardisation model asked teachers to give a predicted grade for their pupils and then rank them in order within their class.

The exams body then used other data to standardise the results.

For A-levels, the CCEA model used pupils' AS level results, making adjustments for those who had applied to take resits.

For AS results, the pupils' GCSE results were used, as was the performance by their school over the previous three years.

Commenting on the results, CCEA chief executive Justin Edwards said: 'Since the cancellation of the exams, it has been a very unsettling and challenging period for the education community, particularly our students.

'Northern Ireland's students, and those across the UK, Ireland and further afield, due to Covid-19 were unable to sit their exams, as has been commonplace for so many before, and will be for so many in the future.

'All of us at CCEA, working closely with the education community, have strived to ensure that students are able to progress this year.

'As a result of this collaborative work, we have delivered grades to students which we predict they would have achieved had they sat the examinations and which carry the same value as in previous years.

Ishmael Laurent-Dixon discovers his three A* results, meaning he will be going on to study Engineering at Cambridge, as students receive their A level results at City Academy Hackney in East London today

Olivia Gaskin (centre, holding results) reacts as students at Norwich School receive their A-Level results this morning

Poppy Gerrard, 18, reacts as she opens her A-Level results at West Kirby Grammar School on the Wirral today. Poppy, who is a Miss England contestant, got A*s in biology, chemistry and maths - and now hopes to take maths at Manchester University

A sixth form student looks at her A-level results at The Crossley Heath Grammar School in Halifax, West Yorkshire, today

A student reacts as he opens the envelope containing his A-level results at City Academy Hackney in East London today

Alicia Lake reacts as students at The Mount School in York receive their A-level results this morning

Education Secretary rules out teacher's grading being used for exam results Pupils in England will not be allowed to have their exam results upgraded when they are published today. Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has ruled out England following Scotland in accepting scores estimated by teachers. The Government announced late on Tuesday that A-level and GCSE students will be able to use results in valid mock exams to appeal if they are unhappy with their results. Writing in The Daily Telegraph newspaper, Mr Williamson said that allowing teachers' grades to be used would see students lose out. He said: 'We would have seen them shoot up, which would devalue the results for the class of 2020, and would clearly not be fair on the classes of 2019 and 2021. 'But worse than that, it would mean that students this year would lose out twice over, both in their education and their future prospects.' Mr Williamson had earlier pledged the exams system will deliver 'credible, strong results' for the overwhelming majority of young people, despite concerns that many could end up with results lower than they had expected to receive. The Scottish Government on Tuesday confirmed that it would allow for all results that were downgraded to be withdrawn and replaced by the original estimates. It followed protests from pupils across the country angry that they had been unfairly penalised by attending schools which have not historically had high levels of performance. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said that it was a 'blatant injustice' that young people could have their futures decided by their postcode as a result of the exams system. He said: 'Pupils and parents are rightly worried that years of hard work are about to be undone because a computer has decided to mark their child down. 'For too long, the Tories have considered the needs of young people as an afterthought when their needs should have been central. 'It's a blatant injustice that thousands of hardworking young people risk having their futures decided on the basis of their postcode.' Advertisement

'Northern Ireland students have seen slight increases across grades, which are comparable with previous year-on-year performance for this particular year group.'

He added: 'The grades received by students this morning will enable them to progress to the next stage of their journey, be it in education or employment. We wish them all every success.'

Shadow education secretary Kate Green has called on ministers to act to end the 'injustice' suffered by A-level students in England who had had their results downgraded.

'It is a huge injustice that pupils will see their results downgraded just because of their postcode,' she said.

'Ministers must act urgently to correct the injustice faced by so many young people today. Students must be able to lodge their own appeals if they haven't got the grade they deserved and admissions teams must be forced to be more flexible.

'No student should see their dreams slip away because of this Government's inaction.'

It comes as students are waking up to their A-level results amid last-minute changes to appeals, with around one in four entries expected to be awarded the top grades.

Around 300,000 school leavers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are receiving calculated grades to help them progress onto university, work or training after this summer's exams were cancelled due to the pandemic.

The Government announced late on Tuesday that students in England will have the 'safety net' of being able to use mock exam results as the basis for an appeal if they are higher than the calculated grade.

It came hours after Scotland's Education Secretary announced that moderated calculated grades would be scrapped following an outcry after more than 124,000 results were downgraded.

School and university leaders have demanded clarity from ministers on how the appeals process in England will work and whether it will be completed in time for universities opening in the autumn.

Mr Williamson ruled out further changes to the grading system in the face of any exams backlash.

He told Times Radio: 'What is clear to me is there will be some youngsters, no matter how much we try to do in terms of this system to maximise the fairness of it, who don't get the grade they should have potentially have got. That's why we need to have a really robust system, that's why we've got the triple lock.'

Mr Williamson said this would provide 'robust grounds of appeal' and allow pupils to take exams later in the year if required.

Asked if he was prepared to change the system again amid threats of legal action from parents, Mr Williamson replied: 'We're not going to be changing this system again.

'We believe that we've put in place - in terms of the triple lock, in terms of the actions we've taken - a system that is able to put its arm round those youngsters where there has been a grade that has been unfair on them and is able to put that right.'

Pupils from the most disadvantaged backgrounds would have been at 'high risk' of losing out compared to their more middle-class counterparts if exams had been delayed rather than cancelled, he added.

Lowri Howells with her A Level results at Ffynone House School in Swansea, South Wales, this morning

A sixth form student reacts after receiving his A-level results at The Crossley Heath Grammar School in Halifax today

A sixth form student is embraced after receiving her A-level results at The Crossley Heath Grammar School in Halifax today

Mimi Ferguson (left) and Benita Stipp react as students at Norwich School receive their A-level results this morning

Mr Williamson was asked if he regretted not pushing for exams to be delayed until June.

Government was warned about A-level grading issues, says headteacher The Government should have seen the A-level grades crisis coming as they were given plenty of warning, a headteacher has said. Elisabeth Gilpin, headteacher of St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School in Bristol, welcomed the decision to scrap this year's A-level exams because of the Covid-19 pandemic but said using a statistical model to predict grades was problematic. 'There was an obvious gap in their thinking in applying a statistical model to bring down grades to those of a typical year,' she said. 'In any typical year there are always some students who do worse than expected because of trauma, bereavement, exam panic or illness. 'Teachers could not guess who these students would be so rightly gave a grade that reflected for every student the performance level they would be expected to get on the basis of the evidence available in March. 'However, by applying a statistical model of a typical year it inevitably makes all students take the 'hit' of the students that would have underachieved.' Mrs Gilpin said Education Secretary Gavin Williamson should have acknowledged that this year's results could not be 'typical'. 'This reality has been slow to dawn on the Government and then resulted in a sudden change of heart to allow mock exam results data to be used as the basis for appeals only two days before the students get the results,' she said. 'The Government should have seen this problem coming earlier as teachers have been raising it for a while. 'Ideally, Gavin Williamson's initial instruction should have allowed for it in acknowledging that this year's results could not be 'typical' and needed to be higher to take account of the removal of normal cases of unexpected underachievement. 'This would have avoided putting students under unnecessary pressure in worrying about where they would be unfairly hit by the statistical model of adjustment.' Mrs Gilpin said she hoped the cost of appealing the exam results would be waved in order not to disadvantage poorer students. 'I am hoping that the Government will have the generosity of spirit to ensure that exam boards waive appeal fees,' she said. 'This will prevent students in cash-strapped schools being disadvantaged. 'Given that exam boards have not had to pay examiners to mark any exams this year, I would hope that the exam boards would have the spare money in their coffers and the grace and kindness to waive these fees to help this generation of young people get a fair result. 'I am so impressed with all the extra work my teachers have put in to generate the centre assessed grades and their willingness now to put in the time in the holidays to compiling the case for the appeals to do their best to look after our precious young people.' Advertisement

He replied on Times Radio: 'If we'd been in a situation where we tried to delay the exams - and this is what happened in Ireland - what became apparent is that children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds, who maybe hadn't had the same level of support and help, would have been at a maybe high risk of not either turning up to those exams or not having had the same level of support in the run-up to those exams as children from more middle-class backgrounds.'

Mr Williamson said there have been 'very few examples' where delaying exams was a 'feasible' route to go down.

The Education Secretary was asked why England's exams regulator Ofqual was not in a position to tell students on results day whether they would have the opportunity to appeal their grades, after it announced it has cancelled its press conference today.

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Williamson said: 'The reason Ofqual hadn't got it ready for today is because it's obviously a decision that was made sort of later on in the process, and that they are working to make sure that information is shared with schools and colleges over the next few days.'

Mr Williamson said a 'late clearing process' is expected to be available for pupils who opt to sit A-level exams in the autumn. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'Universities are looking at being as flexible as possible.'

The Education Secretary said there will be more pupils this year with higher grades than 2019, adding: 'There's going to be more youngsters in a position where their grades are going to meet the usual exam expectations of those universities.'

On the autumn exams, he explained: 'We have been working with the university sector and we've had early discussions about making sure there's a system of clearing that can be run for youngsters to be able to start their university a little bit later than they would have ideally been wanting to do in September/October, but be in a situation of where they'd be able to join the university in January and running a sort of late clearing process.'

Mr Williamson also gave his assurance that he will not make the same exams grade U-turn as was seen in Scotland.

The Education Secretary told Sky News: 'Absolutely, when we've consulted widely, when Ofqual consulted widely (on) the whole system of awarding, this is the message that we got from everyone - this is the right approach to go forward.

'You've got to have a system that has checks and balances, that looks at the whole performance and making sure you maintain standards within the exam system, to ensure those results carry credibility.'

Mr Williamson replied 'yes' when asked if he had agreed a process with Ofqual before announcing the changes on the grading process for exams.

Asked why Ofqual has not got a process in place for assessing mock exam results, the Education Secretary told BBC Breakfast: 'Ofqual has got processes in place for appeals, there's a whole range of routes that schools can take the appeal process through but the mock exam was an important step forward to ensure there's enhanced fairness for all pupils right across England.'

He added: 'Ofqual is going to be issuing clarity as to how this is to be done, making sure that valid mock exams can form the basis of that appeal so that that child can be awarded that grade from that mock exam.'

Mr Williamson's former politics lecturer, Peter Ashton, told LBC that algorithm systems are 'not a very good idea' as they tend to disadvantage high-achieving pupils in low-performing schools.

Asked on Nick Ferrari's radio show whether his former lecturer is right, the Education Secretary said: 'Mr Ashton is always correct.

'There is sometimes a danger where you have an exceptionally high-performing child in a low-performing school to be in a situation where they don't get the grades that they want to.

'What we've asked the exam boards is, where they think there may be outliers, is actually to be contacting the schools to talk with them to make sure that appeals are put forward.

Holly Cuttiford hugs her mum after receiving her A-level results at Ffynone House School in South Wales this morning

A sixth form student reacts after receiving her A-Level results at The Crossley Heath Grammar School in Halifax today

'The reason we've got the appeals process that we have is to ensure if there is a situation where a child is in that place that they get the grades that they deserve.

A-level students are advised to look at Clearing after last-minute grading changes University leaders are advising A-level students to look at courses in clearing in the wake of last-minute changes to the way grades will be assessed. Professor Julia Buckingham, president of Universities UK, told students receiving their results on Thursday not to panic if they miss out on the grades for their offer at university. She said that universities will be as flexible as they can in the 'unusual circumstances' and that students should look at the courses available in clearing. An analysis by the PA news agency shows that there were nearly 25,000 undergraduate courses across the UK and Northern Ireland listed with clearing vacancies. These include nearly 4,500 courses at the elite Russell Group universities, according to the admissions service Ucas's clearing website on Wednesday. Prof Buckingham said: 'On the eve of A-level results, our advice to students is to carry on as planned, which means if you miss out on the grades for your offer don't panic. 'Speak to your teachers for their advice and get in touch with your first-choice university as soon as possible - universities will be as flexible as they can in these unusual circumstances - and look at the courses available through clearing.' Her comments come after ministers denied that the exam system in England had been thrown into 'confusion' following 11th-hour changes to the way A-level and GCSE results will be assessed. Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced late on Tuesday that students will be able to use their results in mock tests to appeal if they are unhappy with the grades they are given. The move came less than 48 hours before students receive their calculated A-level results following the cancellation of actual exams amid the Covid-19 crisis. Clearing has become an increasingly popular route to securing a university place in recent years, in part due to reforms that lifted the cap on the number of students universities could recruit. It is also used by students who may have changed their mind about their course or university and want to find somewhere new, or those who have done better than expected and want to trade places. An analysis, conducted by PA, shows that as of Wednesday morning, for applicants living in England there were 24,970 courses with availability across 146 UK universities and colleges. Of the 24 Russell Group universities, nearly three in four (17 universities) have at least one course advertised on the clearing site, with 4,485 courses potentially available. Ucas chief executive Clare Marchant told PA on Monday that as many as 80,000 applicants could find a place via clearing, up from 73,325 last year, despite fears about the impact of Covid-19 on the student experience. 'I think we will end up with significant numbers through clearing,' Ms Marchant said. 'I think it's going to be probably the busiest yet.' Anja Hazebroek, director of student recruitment and marketing at the University of Hull, said that the impact of cancelling exams on clearing was not known. But she said that due to Covid-19 and the virus's impact on the job market, there might be more prospective students wanting to study closer to home or go to university when they had previously decided not to. She added: 'We may have more or less students looking for clearing places, but we are well prepared to help give support and advice to all prospective students. 'With Covid impacting the job market, as well as changing people's personal priorities - such as wanting to study on a single-site campus university to avoid the need for public transport - we may see more movement than usual as people choose to go to universities closer to home or decide to go to university after previously planning not to.' Advertisement

'There is no system that is as good as the exams system, and any of the system that is put in its place will have weaknesses compared to the exams system.'

Mr Williamson was asked whether Michael Gove, his predecessor as education secretary, made a mistake in scrapping AS-level exams in England, because Welsh students can rely of those grades for their results.

Speaking to Nick Ferrari on LBC, Mr Williamson said: 'No, not at all. I would probably rather have liked the AS (level) system, sort of what they've got in Wales today, but there's no point in chatting about what you would maybe like.

'In truth, none of us would have wanted to be in this situation in where we've had to have exams cancelled in the first place.

'But what we saw in Republic of Ireland, where they tried to proceed with an exam process they ended up having to drop that.'

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said teachers are likely to face questions from 'disgruntled' students over appeals on Thursday which they will struggle to answer due to the last-minute announcement and lack of detail about how the process will work.

The Ucas deadline for applicants to meet their academic offer conditions is September 7, which leaves exam boards less than four weeks to issue outcomes of appeals from schools and colleges.

Some universities are concerned that students may not be given enough time to secure a final grade ahead of the start of term in autumn.

The University of the West England (UWE) in Bristol said that any delays would cause 'uncertainty around final student numbers', which could in turn affect timetabling and placements.

Ministers have urged universities to be 'flexible' and take into account a range of evidence when choosing which youngsters to admit to their degree courses on Thursday in the wake of coronavirus.

But the head of Ucas has suggested it will be a 'good year' for youngsters in Britain who want to attend university in the autumn as institutions will be competing to fill courses at a time of uncertainty.

A potential fall in overseas students amid Covid-19 - alongside a drop in 18-year-olds in the population - could help school leavers in the UK secure a place, Clare Marchant, Ucas' chief executive, has suggested.

Professor Julia Buckingham, president of Universities UK (UUK), told students that universities will be as flexible as they can and urged students to look at the courses available in clearing.

Clearing is increasingly becoming a popular route for students to find a degree course, with leading universities among those to offer last-minute places through the system.

A Press Association analysis shows that, as of yesterday afternoon, there were 24,970 courses with availability across 146 UK universities and colleges for applicants living in England.

Of the 24 Russell Group universities, nearly three in four (17 universities) have at least one course advertised on the clearing site, with 4,485 courses potentially available.

Rachel Hewitt, director of policy and advocacy at the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), believes university admissions officers and Ucas will receive more calls from students 'than ever before' following the last-minute decision to allow English students to use mock grades if they appeal.

She said: 'It may well be that this change pushes more students to seek to appeal their grades, leaving universities to consider how to manage their places between those who achieve the grades, clearing and those seeking to appeal.

'The reintroduction of the numbers cap for this year has further complicated this by restricting the places that universities have to give.'

On the changes to appeals, Mr Barton said: 'Young people are going to come in to get their grades - many of whom we hope will be delighted, some of whom will be disappointed.

'Some will be perhaps deeply disgruntled and will say 'so that appeal process using my mock exam, how does that work Miss?' and Miss isn't going to be able to reply unless we hear pretty urgently about it.

'I think there will be a sense from school leaders of us being put in a position of being on the back foot.

'I think there will be very deep frustration around that on a day which is always emotionally highly charged, but it's likely to be more so because of this announcement.'

Emily Wallace (left) uses hand sanitiser as students at Norwich School in Norfolk receive their A-level results today

Sixth form students react after receiving their A-Level results at The Crossley Heath Grammar School in Halifax today

Holly Cuttiford with her A Level results at Ffynone House School in Swansea, South Wales, this morning

Henry Muxworthy with his A-level results at Ffynone House School in Swansea, South Wales, this morning

Last year, 25.5 per cent of UK entries were awarded an A or A* grades, the lowest proportion since 2007, according to statistics published by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ).

Welsh education minister makes A-level promise Students in Wales waiting anxiously for their A-level results will not receive a grade lower than their AS-levels, the education minister has announced. Kirsty Williams said she was 'confident' the system of moderation overseen by regulator Qualifications Wales and exam board WJEC was 'fair for students and robust'. In Wales, a different model was used to Scotland and nearly half of pupils' final mark was based on AS-levels completed last year. This year's exams were cancelled across the UK because of the coronavirus lockdown and there are fears the replacement grading system will create a postcode lottery. Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has apologised for the failures in moderation, which saw the marks of students from deprived backgrounds disproportionately downgraded. Meanwhile UK Education Secretary Gavin Williamson also apologised to pupils for the disruption to their schooling after announcing changes that will see students able to use results in valid mock exams to appeal if they are unhappy with their results. Ms Williams said: 'Governments in other parts of the UK have introduced changes to their systems and we must make sure that these alterations do not disadvantage Welsh students. 'Students in Wales, and prospective employers and universities across the UK, can be assured that their A-level grades reflect their work and externally assessed exams. 'Almost half the final grade comes from AS-level exams - this is not the situation elsewhere. 'Therefore, in building on that completed work, I am giving a guarantee that a learner's final A-level grade cannot be lower than their AS grade. 'If a student receives a final grade that is below that of their previous AS grade, then a revised grade will be issued automatically by WJEC. 'This will mean - and I have received assurances from Ucas and universities - that students can speak with confidence to their prospective universities regarding their A-level grades.' Ms Williams said she would be asking Qualifications Wales to 'move forward quickly' on any adjustments to the appeals process, to ensure Welsh students are not disadvantaged. 'I am confirming today that all appeals will be free for Welsh students, to ensure there is no financial barrier to ensure learners feel their exam grades are fair,' she added. Suzy Davies, the Welsh Conservative shadow minister for education, said she was 'pleased' by Ms Williams' announcement. She said: 'What has been absolutely crucial is to ensure there is a fair system for grading our young people on their A-level results. 'It was vital to see a safety net being implemented in Wales to make sure pupils achieved the grade they had worked towards.' Plaid Cymru shadow education minister Sian Gwenllian added: 'This eleventh hour U-turn by the minister is an admission that the system was flawed from the off. 'The Welsh Government will be marked down severely for leaving teachers and pupils in limbo - and their hard work, initially, unrewarded. 'It is welcome that the minister has listened to Plaid Cymru calls for a free and independent appeals process. 'This will give some comfort to those pupils who have been let down in what was already a time of unprecedented anxiety.' David Evans, Wales secretary of the National Education Union Cymru, said: 'Whilst it is disappointing that amendments to some grades have come late in the day, we hope that the Welsh Government proposals outlined by the Minister will ensure fairness for young people about to receive their grades. 'To many young people, exam grades are a ticket to their futures, and should not reflect where you live, but what you are capable of. It has been an unprecedented year for these young people, and grades must reflect their true ability for there to be confidence in the system. 'We wish every young person 'good luck' for tomorrow.' Advertisement

England's exams regulator Ofqual previously said that the national results are likely to be higher this summer than previous years following disruption.

Teachers were told to submit the grades they thought each student would have received if they had sat the papers after exams were cancelled. Exam boards have moderated these grades to ensure this year's results are not significantly higher than previous years.

Mr Williamson said: 'Grades awarded today will open up the doors of opportunity for young people to progress to the next stage of their lives, whether studying at one of our world-class universities, taking up an apprenticeship or embarking on the start of their careers.

'Any students who feel they have grounds for appeal now have the safety net of being able to use their mock results as evidence, as well as the chance of sitting autumn exams, thanks to our triple lock process to ensure confidence and fairness in the system.'

He added: 'The resilience they have shown during these challenging times will serve them well and I wish them all the very best for the future.'

Meanwhile the chief executive the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) has said she 'regrets' some pupils' feelings over downgraded results but insisted the moderation system used this year was fair.

Fiona Robertson appeared before the Scottish Parliament's Education Committee yesterday.

It follows a Scottish Government U-turn due to anger over nearly 125,000 results being downgraded from teacher estimates by the SQA's controversial moderation system.

The downgraded results will now be withdrawn, reverting to the original estimates.

Ms Robertson said everyone at the SQA was 'keenly aware of the concerns from young people' expressed over the past week.

In her opening remarks to the committee, she said: 'On the basis of the commission that we received from the Scottish Government, there was a clear and unequivocal case for some moderation.'

The appeals process would have dealt with any 'anomalies' in the moderated results, she said, while the SQA's equalities impact assessments showed the results were 'fair'.

Scottish Conservative MSP Jamie Greene said to her: 'I listened with intent to your opening statement but there's one word I didn't hear, and that's the word 'sorry''.

She responded: 'It was difficult to see the reaction to last week's results.

'But we were asked to fulfil a role and part of that role was to maintain standards across Scotland.

'I fully appreciate that, as I highlighted in my opening statement, young people felt that their achievements had been taken outwith their control.

'I absolutely get that and of course I regret how young people have felt about this process.'

Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer asked if one of the SQA's statisticians had resigned as the moderating system was being developed and if this was because they had concerns about the system.

She confirmed one person had resigned but said: 'I'm not privy to the full details of that particular individual.

'It probably wouldn't be fair for me to go into that in fairness to them.'

Scottish Labour's Iain Gray asked if the SQA signed off on a moderation system 'in the sure and certain knowledge that pupils in those schools with a poorer past performance would be more heavily impacted'.

Ms Robertson said the moderation process was based on data but 'the extraordinary circumstances of the year meant that we were awarding on a basis that I think we would all agree were not ideal because of the cancellation of exams'.

The SNP's Alex Neil raised what he called the 'human cost' of the system, saying he had heard from the family of a young woman who had been left 'distraught' by a downgraded result and refused to eat or leave her room for three days.

Referring to previous committee meetings which raised concerns about the methodology, he said: 'The SQA absolutely refused to listen to the committee's point about the need to consult on the methodology before it was approved.

'I think everybody and their granny knew that if you used the record of local schools you'd end up with the situation we ended up with - where the moderation process led to two and a half times the downgrades in the poorest areas than happened in the more affluent areas.'

Ms Robertson said 'where there are lessons to be learned we will learn them'.
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A 22-year-old lab technician of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in central Delhi allegedly raped a minor girl on the hospital premises on Sunday after luring her to the campus on the pretext of offering her a job, the Delhi Police said on Thursday.

The hospital employee was arrested on Tuesday, soon after the rape survivor approached the police with a complaint, said Eish Singhal, deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi).

The officer said the lab technician has been booked for rape and under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The RML hospital authorities refused to comment on the incident

The suspect lives in Ghaziabad and was introduced to the girl by a common woman friend a couple of weeks ago. The suspect offered to help her bag a job in the same laboratory where he worked, said another investigating officer who wished not to be named.

On Sunday, the man brought the minor girl to the hospital on his scooter and led her to an isolated spot on the third floor of the building, on the pretext of showing her his workplace, the officer quoted above said.

It was there that the man allegedly sexually assaulted the girl, the officer said.

The girl returned home and later told her family about the sexual assault. On Tuesday, the girl went to the North Avenue police station and told the police of the crime after which we registered a first information report (FIR) and arrested the suspect, the officer said.
MINSK, Belarus  Crowds of protesters in Belarus swarmed the streets and thousands of workers rallied outside industrial plants Thursday to denounce a police crackdown on demonstrations over a disputed election that extended the 26-year rule of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Beginning in the morning, hundreds of women formed long lines of solidarity in several areas of the capital, Minsk. Many were dressed in white and carried flowers and portraits of loved ones who have been detained during protests that began shortly after Sundays vote, which they said was rigged.

The human chains grew throughout the day, filling the main central squares and avenues as motorists honked in support. In Minsk and many other cities, thousands of factory workers also rallied against the police violence, raising the prospect of strikes in a new challenge to the government.

Amid growing public dismay, dozens of military and police veterans posted videos in which they dumped their uniforms and insignia in the trash. Several popular anchors at Belarus state TV stations have quit.

Nearly 7,000 people have been detained and hundreds injured in the clampdown on demonstrators protesting the official results that said Lukashenko won 80% of the vote and his top opposition challenger got only 10%. Police have broken up protests with stun grenades, tear gas, rubber bullets and severe beatings.

Belarusians have seen the villainous face of this government. I argued with my husband and voted for Lukashenko. And this is what I got in the end  I cant find my relatives in prisons, said Valentina Chailytko, 49, whose husband and son were detained in protests Sunday. She has been unable to get any information on their whereabouts.

One protester died Monday in Minsk after, the Interior Ministry says, an explosive device he tried to throw at police blew up in his hand. Some media reports have challenged that official version. Neither the ministry nor the media outlets have provided evidence.

Thousands of people converged Thursday on the place where he died, many carrying flowers. European ambassadors also laid flowers at the site earlier in the day.

The authorities also confirmed that a detainee died in the southeastern city of Gomel, but the circumstances of his death werent immediately clear.

Hundreds of medical workers joined the demonstrations Thursday in Minsk and many other cities.

There is a feeling that a war is going on, but its a war against us, said Mikhail Portnov, a 33-year old general practitioner. We, doctors, see the price of this war as no one else. We were ready for violence, but the brutality of it has crossed all limits.

The unprecedented public opposition and unrest has been driven by the painful economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and Lukashenkos swaggering dismissal of the outbreak as a psychosis. The vote and the brutality of the subsequent crackdown  remarkable even for Lukashenkos iron-fisted rule  have made the anger boil over. The 65-year-old former state farm director has been in power since 1994 and was nicknamed Europes last dictator by the West for his suppression of dissent.

You can see the election result in the streets, said 32-year old engineer Andrei Gubarevich, who joined a demonstration in Minsk. Lukashenko has already lost.

Belarus Investigative Committee launched a criminal probe into the organization of mass rioting  an indication authorities may start leveling those charges against some detainees. The charges could carry prison terms of up to 15 years for those found guilty.

The ministry said 103 police officers have been injured since Sunday, and 28 of them were hospitalized. In Minsk and the western city of Baranovichi, people ran over traffic police with their vehicles on Wednesday before being detained.

The brutal suppression of protests drew harsh criticism in the West.

The European Union foreign ministers are set to meet Friday to discuss a response, and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the 27-nation bloc would increase the pressure on Belarus. The brutal actions and the arrest of peaceful protesters and even journalists in Belarus isnt acceptable in Europe in the 21st century, he told reporters in Berlin.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the election wasnt free or fair and urged the government to refrain from violence against peaceful protesters.

Im confident that EU and the United States fully share the same concerns about what has taken place and what is taking place in Belarus and Im very hopeful that we can collectively work in a way that gets a better outcome for the people of Belarus, Pompeo said Thursday on a visit to Slovenia.

Police appeared to scale back their response on Wednesday. In many parts of Minsk, the all-female lines of solidarity stood unchallenged for some time before police dispersed some of them without violence. Similar peaceful demonstrations were seen across the capital and other cities Thursday, but police refrained from dispersing them immediately.

Also Thursday, hundreds of workers at plants across the country, including the huge truck factories in Minsk and Zhodino, held rallies to protest the clampdown and demand a recount of the vote. Many shouted Go away! to demand Lukashenkos resignation.

During a meeting with workers of a plant in Grodno, near the border with Poland, the local police chief apologized for the violent crackdown, according to tut.by news portal.

The demonstrations have spread even though the protest lacks leaders. The top opposition challenger in the vote, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, suddenly emerged Tuesday in neighboring Lithuania and called on her supporters to stop protests in a video that her associates said was recorded under pressure from law enforcement officials before she left. The 37-year-old former teacher joined the race to replace her husband, an opposition blogger, who has been jailed since May.

Lukashenko has derided the political opposition as sheep manipulated by foreign masters and vowed to continue taking a tough position on protests.

But that has not deterred many.

Protests will only grow, said 25-year-old demonstrator Anna Shestakova in Minsk. They can cheat some, but they cant cheat the entire people.

___

Associated Press writers Daria Litvinova and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow, Matthew Lee in Bled, Slovenia and Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed.
Adaptive Shield, a Tel Aviv-based security startup, is coming out of stealth today and announcing its $4 million seed round led by Vertex Ventures Israel. The company's platform helps businesses protect their SaaS applications by regularly scanning their various setting for security issues.

The company's co-founders met in the Israeli Defense Forces, where they were trained on cybersecurity, and then worked at a number of other security companies before starting their own venture. Adaptive Shield CEO Maor Bin, who previously led cloud research at Proofpoint, told me the team decided to look at SaaS security because they believe this is an urgent problem few other companies are addressing.

Pictured is a representative sample of nine apps being monitored by the Adaptive Shield platform, including the total score of each application, affected categories and affected security frameworks and standards. (Image Credits: Adaptive Shield)

"When you look at the problems that are out there -- you want to solve something that is critical, that is urgent," he said. "And what's more critical than business applications? All the information is out there and every day, we see people moving their on-prem infrastructure into the cloud."

Bin argues that as companies adopt a large variety of SaaS applications, all with their own security settings and user privileges, security teams are often either overwhelmed or simply not focused on these SaaS tools because they aren't the system owners and may not even have access to them.

"Every enterprise today is heavily using SaaS services without addressing the associated and ever-changing security risks," says Emanuel Timor, general partner at Vertex Ventures Israel . "We are impressed by the vision Adaptive Shield has to elegantly solve this complex problem and by the level of interest and fast adoption of its solution by customers."

Onboarding is pretty easy, as Bin showed me, and typically involves setting up a user in the SaaS app and then logging into a given service through Adaptive Shield. Currently, the company supports most of the standard SaaS enterprise applications you would expect, including GitHub, Office 365, Salesforce, Slack, SuccessFactors and Zoom.

"I think that one of the most important differentiators for us is the amount of applications that we support," Bin noted.

The company already has paying customers, including some Fortune 500 companies across a number of verticals, and it has already invested some of the new funding round, which closed before the global COVID-19 pandemic hit, into building out more integrations for these customers. Bin tells me that Adaptive Shield immediately started hiring once the round closed and is now also in the process of hiring its first employee in the U.S. to help with sales.
YouTube says it will take down videos that promote election interference, such as encouraging people to create long voting lines that make it harder for others to vote. It also says it will remove videos including information gleaned from hacks that might meddle with the democratic process. For instance, if a video includes hacked information about a candidate, YouTube will take it down.

Videos such as those would violate YouTubes Community Guidelines, Leslie Miller, YouTubes VP of government affairs and public policy, wrote in a blog post. YouTubes parent company, Google, said last month itd ban ads that include information from hacks too.

Miller also noted YouTube will display information panels for 2020 presidential or federal candidates when you search for them. The panels will appear above search results and include the candidates party affiliation, office theyre running for and their YouTube channel. YouTube announced the measures ahead of the Democratic and Republican national conventions, both of which will be livestreamed on the platform.

After the events of 2016, stamping out election interference is a critical concern for Google and other tech giants as we rumble towards November 3rd. Intelligence officials last week raised concerns about the ongoing and potential activity by China, Russia, and Iran.

Joint industry statement on ongoing election security collaboration between tech companies and USG agencies tasked with protecting the integrity of the election pic.twitter.com/c1fHERHWtw  Facebook Newsroom (@fbnewsroom) August 12, 2020

Google and several other tech organizations  including Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Microsoft and the Wikimedia Foundation  have met with government agencies for talks about securing the presidential election. On Wednesday, they discussed preparations for the upcoming conventions and scenario planning related to election results.
Photo: Twitter

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the announcement that full diplomatic ties will be established with the United Arab Emirates has ushered in a new era in Israels relations with the Arab world.

In a nationally broadcast statement delivered on Thursday, Netanyahu said the full and official peace with the UAE would lead to co-operation in many spheres between the countries and a wonderful future for citizens of both countries.

Among Arab nations, only Egypt and Jordan have active diplomatic ties with Israel. Egypt made a peace deal with Israel in 1979, followed by Jordan in 1994.

Netanyahu also said in the broadcast that the Trump administration asked that Israel put its West Bank annexation plans on hold to move forward with the agreement on ties with the UAE.

Netanyahu said there was no change to his plans to annex parts of the West Bank. But he said the plans were on temporary hold and that implementing annexation would be done with U.S. co-ordination.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. APs earlier story follows below.

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United Arab Emirates and Israel have agreed to establish full diplomatic ties as part of a deal to halt the annexation of occupied land sought by the Palestinians for their future state.

The announcement makes the UAE the first Gulf Arab state to do so and only the third Arab nation to have active diplomatic ties to Israel.

Trump tweeted a statement from the countries, acknowledging the deal. He then told reporters in the Oval Office that it was a truly historic moment.

Now that the ice has been broken I expect more Arab and Muslim countries will follow the United Arab Emirates, he said.

The recognition grants a rare diplomatic win to Trump ahead of the November election as his efforts to see an end to the war in Afghanistan have yet to come to fruition while efforts to bring peace between Israel and the Palestinians have made no headway. Israel and the UAE also have been among Trump's closest foreign allies.

For Israel, the announcement comes after years of boasting by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that his government enjoys closer ties to Arab nations than publicly acknowledged. Netanyahu has sought to build settlements on lands sought by the Palestinians and embraced a Trump proposal that would allow him to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank while granting Palestinians limited autonomy in other areas.

For the UAE, home to skyscraper-studded Dubai and the rolling, oil-rich sand dunes of Abu Dhabi, it further burnishes its international campaign to be seen as a beacon of tolerance in the Middle East despite being governed by autocratic rulers. It also puts the UAE out first in a regional recognition race among neighbouring Gulf Arab states.

And for the Palestinians, who long have relied on Arab backing in their struggle for independence, the announcement marked both a win and setback. While Thursday's deal halts Israeli annexation plans, the Palestinians have repeatedly urged Arab governments not to normalize relations with Israel until a peace agreement establishing an independent Palestinian state is reached.

Israel got rewarded for not declaring openly what its been doing to Palestine illegally & persistently since the beginning of the occupation, senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi wrote on Twitter. She also said the UAE has come forward with its secret dealings/normalization with Israel.

Please dont do us a favour. We are nobodys fig leaf! she wrote. The official Palestinian broadcaster Palestine TV reported that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called an urgent meeting of his top leadership to discuss the agreement and determine a position on it.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-12 19:51:09|Editor: huaxia

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A worker wearinga a face mask and face shield works at a cracker factory in Depok, West Java, Indonesia, Aug. 13, 2020. Indonesia will distribute working capital assistance for 9 million small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to help them revive businesses which have been dashed by the novel coronavirus pandemic, a minister said here on Wednesday. ( Xinhua/Agung Kuncahya B.)

JAKARTA, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia will distribute working capital assistance for 9 million small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to help them revive businesses which have been dashed by the novel coronavirus pandemic, a minister said here on Wednesday.

Each owner of the business will receive a 2.4 million rupiahs (some 162.24 U.S. dollars) fund in the hope it would boost productivity, Indonesian Minister for Cooperatives, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Teten Masduki noted.

"We have prepared the financial assistance and it will be distributed in the middle of this month," he said at the presidential office.

Meanwhile, Director General of Budgeting of the Finance Ministry Askolani said that the working capital assistance was expected to be distributed on Monday.

"The plan is that the financial assistance will be launched on Aug. 17. This program is expected to ramp up productivity," he said.

The partial lockdown and physical distancing policies imposed to rein the transmission of the novel coronavirus have been ravaging business activities as exports depressed.

Besides, the policies have also restricted people's mobility, halted spending on consumption and disrupted chains of supplies.

The Southeast Asian biggest economy decelerated 5.32 percent in the second quarter, still the signs of recovery have emerged in June along with the relaxation of the restrictions and reopening of business activities under tight health protocols.
Former Birmingham Civil Rights Institute president Andrea Taylor will begin working this month as a diversity officer at Boston University, BU announced in a press release Monday.

Taylor resigned from her position as president of the BCRI in April.

Taylor, a BU grad, will begin her senior leadership role on Aug. 17, BU officials said in a press release. She will work with the university president and other university leaders to advance an agenda of diversity, equity, and inclusion. She will also step down from her position as a trustee at the university.

BU said her first task will be to form and chair an Antiracism Working Group, comprising leaders from across BU. Taylor will work with this group to help reform policies and practices at all levels of the institution, with an aim toward removing systemic racism and bias from the university.

We believe that their work, and the Universitys commitment to it, can be amplified by having one person, Andrea Taylor, connect and support all of these pieces at the most senior level of the University, BU President Robert A. Brown said in a statement.

In a statement released by BU, Taylor said she expects her work in this role will both demand change and cause some difficult conversations.

Its not easy to bring about such a shift as is being proposed in Boston University and the greater society, she says. But I think the time has come and there seems to be a willingness and a recognition that theres no time like the present, that we really need to get on this.

Talyor took the helm at BCRI in 2015, and says the plan was to remain for three to five years. September would have marked the fifth anniversary of her tenure.
Bengaluru: Congress MLA Akanda Srinivas Murthy visits his residence that was set on fire by an irate mob during violence that erupted overnight on Tuesday in Devara Jeevanahalli and Kadugondanahalli area following a "derogatory" Facebook post by his Image Source: IANS News

Bengaluru: Charred remains inside the residence of Congress MLA Akanda Srinivas Murthy after an irate mob set his property on fire during violence that erupted overnight on Tuesday in Devara Jeevanahalli and Kadugondanahalli area following a "derogat Image Source: IANS News

Bengaluru: Congress MLA Akanda Srinivas Murthy visits his residence that was set on fire by an irate mob during violence that erupted overnight on Tuesday in Devara Jeevanahalli and Kadugondanahalli area following a "derogatory" Facebook post by his Image Source: IANS News

Bengaluru: Congress MLA Akanda Srinivas Murthy visits his residence that was set on fire by an irate mob during violence that erupted overnight on Tuesday in Devara Jeevanahalli and Kadugondanahalli area following a "derogatory" Facebook post by his Image Source: IANS News

Bengaluru, Aug 13 : After his house was attacked and burnt by the mob on Tuesday evening, Congress MLA Akanda Srinivas Murthy on Thursday questioned why did the rioters target him.

"Why have they (mobs) attacked me? What have I done? If I have done any mistakes, they should go to the police," Murthy told reporters here.

Incidentally, his family members were able to escape the mobs as they had stepped out of their home just a few minutes before the riots to attend Krishnashtami at a temple.

Murthy said he is a public servant who got elected after 1 lakh people voted for him.

He said all the people in his constituency of Pulikeshinagar were like his brothers.

The Congress leader said outsiders came and attacked his house and urged the police and government to investigate the matter.

According to Murthy, everything in his home is burned.

Horrifying images emerged from the politician house, rooms strewn with ashes and completely burnt household articles seen scattered on the floor.

Rooms in his house were all darkened by soot generated by the flames burning furniture, appliances, clothes and other household items.

Murthy took around some leaders and showed them the destruction his house has suffered.

He said the police should punish the person who posted the derogatory message, be it his nephew or anybody else as he again questioned why his house was attacked? In addition to his house, Murthy said the vandals had also attacked the houses of some other people and their vehicles as well.

The MLA exhorted people to stay calm.

On Tuesday night, hundreds of people ran amok after Murthy's nephew Naveen posted a derogatory message on social media.

The mobs pelted stones, injured 60 policemen, and committed acts of vandalism and arson in DJ Halli, KG Halli, Pulikeshinagar and Kaval Byrasandra areas, leaving the affected places resembling a warzone.
Wouldn't like to pre-empt any findings of Court of inquiry as it is a very fair process: IAF chief on chopper

CDS chopper crash: What is CFIT that is pronounced as see-fit

IAF Chief visits frontline air base in Western Command

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Aug 13: Indian Air Force Chief ACM R K S Bhadauria visited a frontline air base in the Western Command.

During the visit, he reviewed the operational preparedness of the base. He will also meet with the aircrew and combat crew from the Squadrons and Units stationed there. The Air Chief earlier today flew the Mig-21 Bison with the resident fighter squadron.

On Wednesday Hindustan Aeronautics Limited produced light combat choppers were deployed in the Ladakh sector to support the Indian Air Force at short notice amidst the border tensions with China.

Govt approves military procurement worth Rs 8,722 cr including 106 basic trainer aircraft for IAF

HAL Chairman, R Madhavan said that the it is the lightest attack helicopter in the world designed and developed by the HAL to meet the specific and unique requirements of the Indian armed forces reflecting the crucial role of the HAL in Atma Nirbhar Bharat.

PM Modi launches platform for 'Transparent taxation-Honouring the Honest' | Oneindia News

The HAL is expecting an order of 15 LCHs by the end of this year. 10 would be for the IAF and five for the Army.

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Story first published: Thursday, August 13, 2020, 13:45 [IST]
All the color is added with the melting, she says.

She then heats up different parts of the bird to essentially puff it into its shape.

Its a little like if you take a bunch of Crayola crayons and you grate them up with a cheese grater and put it on a plate, Nesci explains. And then you took, maybe, a warm bottle and rolled that bottle over the crayon flakes, theyd melt onto the bottle. And when you picked it up, it would be covered in those melted crayons.

Its easy for Nesci to draw inspiration when she can peek out her window and spot lizards, birds and coyotes.

Every once in a while, someone has a special project and they ask me, Can you make this? And then I have to go on a whole new journey to figure out how to do it, Nesci says, adding that the journey is really interesting and full of trial and error.

Theres the 10,000-hour rule, she says. What I took from that is you have to practice. Weve had some years when Ive been extremely busy and not had much time to do my glass. There were times that I could get in my studio one hour a week and I would make horrible things  but I was practicing.
First, state senators voted on a resolution that affirmed a June U.S. Supreme Court ruling that an employer who fires a person for being gay or transgender violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Thirteen senators then attended a rally on the Capitol steps where about 50 people gathered to celebrate the progress in making Nebraska a more welcoming state for the LGBTQ+ community.

Lincoln Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks, who sponsored a bill (LB627) last year to end discrimination against gay and transgender workers, saw a majority of senators  28  approve her resolution (LR466) Wednesday morning. If she had tried to pass the bill, it probably would have been filibustered and would have needed 33 yes votes to break that filibuster and get it to a vote.

But the landmark Supreme Court decision fully covered her bill, and more, she said. It would be good to harmonize Nebraska law with that decision, but she brought the resolution, instead, because of time constraints in the 2020 session.

"Current and prospective employers are paying attention to what we are doing," she told her fellow senators. "Future workers are paying attention and looking for places to bring their talents."

Sen. Robert Clements of Elmwood rose to say he was not in full agreement with the resolution.

Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing for the majority in the decision, said, "An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex. Sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the decision, exactly what Title VII forbids."

Clements said that distorted the original meaning of the 1964 law, which was really just dealing with males and females.

He also highlighted Gorsuch's statement that "it is impossible to discriminate against a person for being homosexual or transgender without discriminating against that individual based on sex."

Clements said that is not true, in his opinion, and the Legislature should not affirm the Supreme Court's 6-3 decision.

His concern is that it may conflict with the Nebraska Constitution section on religious freedom: "All persons have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences."

It's the duty of the Legislature to pass suitable laws to protect every religious denomination, and it would be appropriate to include that language in the resolution, Clements said.

Sen. Dave Murman of Glenvil also had "deep reservations" about supporting the resolution. The Supreme Court's Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, decision had major implications against religious institutions and faith-based organizations, he said.

Employees could use the decision to seek coverage under group health plans for certain procedures that traditionally have been excluded from coverage, such as gender reassignment surgery, Murman said. And that could violate protections under Title VII.

But Pansing Brooks said there are protections already under the 2012 Hosanna-Tabor v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission decision, "so that religious people can continue to discriminate against LGBT if they choose."

"But this case speaks strongly about the fact that these are Americans and citizens and Nebraskans, and we will support them and be kind to them and welcome them, and it is what we must do as a kind and civil society," she said.

Senators voted 28-8 to approve the resolution.

How they voted A majority of senators approved a resolution Wednesday that affirmed a U.S. Supreme Court decision that an employer who fires a person for being gay or transgender violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Voting yes (28): Blood, Bolz, Brandt, Cavanaugh, Chambers, Crawford, DeBoer, Dorn, Gragert, M. Hansen, Howard, Hunt, Kolowski, Kolterman, Lathrop, Lindstrom, McCollister, McDonnell, Morfeld, Pansing Brooks, Quick, Scheer, Stinner, Vargas, Walz, Wayne, Williams, Wishart. Voting no (8): Albrecht, Bostelman, Clements, Erdman, Halloran, Lowe, Moser, Murman. Present not voting (7): Arch, Brewer, Friesen, Geist, B. Hansen, Hilgers, Hilkemann. Excused not voting (6): Briese, Groene, Hughes, La Grone, Linehan, Slama.

In addition to senators, representatives of several chambers of commerce attended the rally after the Legislature adjourned for the day, including Bryan Slone, president of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce.

"As the state comes out of the pandemic, and it will," Slone said, "there is a tremendous opportunity to attract people and businesses to this state and talent that's going to make a game-changing difference in our state."

But they will only come if Nebraska continues to be the most welcoming state in the country.

"Equality before the law is not only a slogan, but continues to be who we are," he said.

Kaylie Hogan-Schnittker, from the Lincoln Chamber's Young Professionals Group, said now is the time for the Legislature to send a strong message to employers and workers that Nebraska is committed to being a welcoming and inclusive state for all.

"Let us show our fellow states that we are committed to celebrating diversity and embracing people as their most authentic selves," she said.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7228 or jyoung@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSLegislature

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By PTI

JHARGRAM: Wearing PPE, a TMC leader in West Bengal's Jhargram district carried a man having COVID-like symptoms on a bike to the hospital after his family failed to arrange an ambulance.

Satyakam Patnaik, the president of the TMC's youth wing in Gopiballavpur, said on Wednesday that he got to know from his party's workers that Amal Barik (43), a migrant worker who recently returned to his village, was having a high fever over the last five-six days.

However, the family could not arrange for an ambulance or a vehicle to take him to the hospital.

Also, no one was coming forward to help the family, suspecting him to be infected by the coronavirus.

"After getting to know about it, I was only thinking that how can we let a person suffer like this. I asked two- three party workers to arrange a bike and rushed to a pharmacy and bought the PPE. Then I went to his house in Sijua village on Monday," Patnaik said.

"Barik's wife and his two children were tensed about his condition. His wife repeatedly pleaded to go to the hospital with him. However, I convinced her and took him to the Gopiballavpur Superspeciality Hospital on the bike," he added.

The doctors there examined Barik, prescribed some medicines and asked him to stay at home.

Patnaik then reached Barik to his home, about 3 km away from the hospital.

A video of Patnaik, riding the bike wearing a PPE, and carrying Barik to the hospital has gone viral on social media.

"I want to stand with the people amid this pandemic. I have ordered four more personal protective equipment (PPE), in case I need it again," Patnaik said.

Former Lok Sabha member from Jhargram and TMC spokesperson Uma Soren said the party's youth workers are always ready to help the people.

"In case of any need, people should reach out to us and we will be there with them," she said.
Press Release

August 13, 2020 COVID test reimbursement is PhilHealth's "new speed test" How fast it can reimburse hospitals for COVID-19 screening is the "new speed test" that PhilHealth should pass to debunk mounting complaints that it had been slow in paying frontline facilities. This challenge was hurled by Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto at PhilHealth after he made "a side-by-side comparison" of payments it made for COVID-19 tests with total tests conducted nationwide. Added to this are complaints of mayors and hospitals in the country's most populous five -province Southern Tagalog region that reimbursements have been delayed, further straining their resources to cope with the epidemic. "As of August 10, total payouts of PhilHealth for COVID tests was P380 million. It is a mere drop in the billions of pesos that we've been hearing that PhilHealth had spent or keeps in reserve," he said. "If PhilHealth can give cash advance to dialysis clinics, how come this scheme does not seem to work on a procedure that is vital in fighting this virus?" Recto said, referring to PhilHealth's assailed Interim Reimbursement Mechanism. "'Yan ang sinasabi ko. IRM as a policy is good. Nasa implementation 'yan. Hindi pwedeng prepaid ang iba, pero ang postpaid na marami ay naghihintay ng matagal ng bayad," he said. Latest official reports pegged at 1,830,234 the RT-PCR samples tested from 1,712,143 individuals. "Based on this, wala pa sigurong 10 percent ang nareimburse ng PhilHealth," Recto said. He said PhilHealth and DOH should jointly do a "diagnostics" on the delay in order to remedy the causes. "May problema ba sa electronic filing? Dahil sa lockdown, hirap bang mag-submit ng requirements? Is the validation hampered by the need to classify the claims, whether the test kits are donated or not? Is the DOH sharing test data?" Recto said. PhilHealth will also be remiss in its duties if it will rubber-stamp its approval on all claims. "It must vet and conduct due diligence in the wake of fraud reports. But it must do this expeditiously." Recto is hoping that the numbers would go up once big recipients of IRM start submitting their liquidation reports. Among those awaiting reimbursements are government laboratories in Southern Tagalog, with claims amounting to tens of millions. In Cavite province, Imus City Mayor Emmanuel Maliksi said the state insurer owed the molecular laboratory of Ospital ng Imus between P25 million and P30 million for the RT-PCR tests on PhilHealth members, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported. The laboratory at the University of the Philippines Los Banos in Laguna also has yet to claim reimbursements, the Inquirer said in the same report, quoting the Department of Health regional director. The cost of RT-PCR at government facilities ranges between P1,800 and P3,500. PhilHealth has a three-tier reimbursement rate: maximum of P3,409 for "all-in" testing; P2,077 if test kits are donated; P901 if test kits are donated, and cost of running the RT-PCR machine is included in the budget of the government facility.
WASHINGTON, Aug 12 (Reuters) - The United States military on Wednesday said that Iranian forces had boarded a civilian vessel in international waters in the Gulf.

The U.S. military's Central Command released a grainy black-and-white video on Twitter showing a helicopter near a large ship.

"Today in international waters, Iranian forces, including two ships and an Iranian 'Sea King' helicopter, overtook and boarded a ship called the 'Wila,'" the U.S. Central Command said in a tweet.

According to Refinitiv tracking data, Wila is a Liberian-flagged oil tanker and was currently anchored near the United Arab Emirates' port of Khor Fakkan.

A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the incident took place near the Strait of Hormuz and the ship was eventually released by Iranian forces. The official said the United States military was not involved in anything other than monitoring the situation.

Tensions between Iran and the United States increased last year following a series of incidents involving shipping in and near the Gulf.

In July 2019, Iran briefly seized a British-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf after Britain seized the Iranian tanker Grace 1, accused of violating sanctions on Syria. (Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Leslie Adler)
The City Council had its first opportunity Wednesday to weigh in on San Antonios proposal to increase police spending by $8 million  a move that has drawn criticism from some reform activists.

But rather than diving into the financial plan, council members largely sidestepped budget questions, instead focusing on larger issues, such as community engagement, police misconduct, the citys collective bargaining process and the future of policing in San Antonio.

Are there things police are doing that maybe they shouldnt be doing? Is there a different lens that we should be utilizing? City Manager Erik Walsh asked.

There are probably a lot of calls that dont require a police officer to respond, he answered. But if its going to be someone else, were going to have to  beef up money for another agency to respond to those incidents.

Some council members did ask questions about the proposed $2.9 billion budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year, which includes $487 million for the police department, a 2 percent increase from last year.

On ExpressNews.com: Activists slam proposed boost in San Antonio police budget

District 2 Councilwoman Jada Andrews-Sullivan asked about line-item spending on police equipment, membership fees for professional organizations and office leases.

When we spend $58,000 on office space for psychiatric services, and $20,000 on office space for Internal Affairs, couldnt we move those departments into city buildings, so were not spending money on leasing out office spaces? Andrews-Sullivan asked.

She also asked about evidence information  an item she said costs the department $87,000  and money for back pay for fired police officers who have been reinstated by an independent arbitrator.

City officials couldnt immediately provide answers.

These are questions the community has been asking, Andrews-Sullivan said.

District 9 Councilman John Courage noted how much the department spends on police overtime  about $16 million, a reduction of $3.4 million  and questioned whether that figure could be reduced further if officers were forced to take their personal leave, rather than receiving leave payouts at the end of the year.

He said such a policy might improve mental health among officers, too.

That helps them unwind and attend to other issues in their lives, Courage said. How do we encourage or ensure that our officers are really taking off the time they need to?

Reimagining police

The increase in police spending has drawn criticism from some activists and residents who have pushed city leaders to pull money from the police budget and put it toward health care, education and job training following the killing of George Floyd in May.

Floyd, an unarmed Black man, died after a white Minneapolis officer kneeled on his neck for almost nine minutes. His death reignited a national conversation on police misconduct and racial inequality and sparked protests to defund the police.

In San Antonio, the councils Public Safety Committee held three listening sessions for residents to provide feedback on local law enforcement policies. The meetings drew hundreds of suggestions  most of them focused on police reform.

Walsh has said he doesnt want to rush into making sweeping cuts to the police. Instead, he has proposed a months-long process to receive more input from residents and re-evaluate issues such as police accountability and discipline.

Walsh said he plans to deliver a police reform package to the City Council in April.

District 4 Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia cautioned against waiting too long. She said many of the suggestions shes heard from community leaders  including a focus on police training and the disciplinary process  were recommendations laid out by former Mayor Ivy Taylors Council on Police Community Relations in 2016.

I caution against taking too much time, Rocha Garcia said. The community wants action now  I dont want us to get too far behind.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio eyes $120 million in cuts because of novel coronavirus, but activists must wait to defund the police

Some cities already have begun made making changes. The Minneapolis City Council recently pledged to dismantle its Police Department. City leaders in Los Angeles and New York City have vowed to cut their police budgets by millions  if not billions  if dollars.

And the city of Berkeley, a progressive Bay Area community in Northern California, city leaders are moving forward with a proposal to replace police with unarmed civilians during traffic stops in an effort to curb racial profiling.

But city officials in San Antonio have defended the proposed budget, saying the increase in the police spending stems from salary adjustments mandated by the contract with the officers union.

They have also highlighted a number of investments made in public health, homelessness, mental health and violence prevention.

For example, the budget allocates $8.9 million  including $1.3 million in new funding  to consolidate several violence prevention programs under the same roof at the Metropolitan Health District.

The proposed division would include 63 positions, including 20 social workers who formerly worked in the Police Department.

The budget, which will go through several public hearings before the council takes a final vote in early September, also includes $1.6 million for the Police Department to hire 25 officers to focus on domestic violence prevention and intervention through a grant cash match program funded by the Justice Department.

City Council members seemed open to a number of the changes outlined in the budget. What remains to be seen is whether they will push for additional reform  and whether that would be included in the 2020-21 budget.

When I think about how our Police Department is, and the request to defund police and reallocate that money to other services, I wonder if we need to have one chief, District 5 Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales said.

Could we have officers spread out throughout the city who work in various departments that address public safety? she asked. We are talking about a complete revisioning of our department.

Emilie Eaton is a criminal justice reporter in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Emilie, become a subscriber. eeaton@express-news.net | Twitter: @emilieeaton
LGBTQ-owned bakery Good Cakes and Bakes assistant baker Breann Bailey, 28, of Detroit, sifts flour as she bakes in their Detroit shop on Aug. 11, 2020.

DETROIT  As a Black, openly gay woman, April Anderson said she is no stranger to discrimination.

But Anderson, a pastry chef with a national reputation, was taken aback by a recent cake order that came into her Good Cakes and Bakes bakery on Livernois in Detroit's Avenue of Fashion commercial corridor.

And, at least at first, she was unsure how to handle it, worried she could wind up facing a lawsuit.

The customer  who turned out to be an employee of a Ferndale-based, conservative Catholic organization  wanted the cake decorated with a decidedly anti-gay message. It was a disturbing slap in the face to Anderson and her wife and business partner, Michelle.

Church Militant: How a right-wing fringe group is building a multimedia empire

We are so used to being Black lesbian women, Anderson said. You are used to people discriminating against you and saying mean things to you.

On July 19, an online order came in for one of the bakery's red velvet dessert cakes  an Anderson specialty.

The $40 order was paid for by credit card and included a $10 tip  which is common.

What struck Anderson first was the word "PRIDE" was in all caps thinking it was for the rainbow-themed Pride Month cake the bakery offered in June.

"That was the cake for June, a six-layer cake for Pride month, Anderson said. That was done and over with. I thought, 'I have to make another one of those cakes?'"

Then Anderson read the message the customer wanted written on the cake and was stunned.

I am ordering this cake to celebrate and have PRIDE in true Christian marriage," the customer said in the order. "Id like you to write on the cake, in icing, 'Homosexual acts are gravely evil. (Catholic Catechism 2357)'"

Related: 90-year-old man comes out gay to the world during pandemic

Story continues

"This can't be real was my first thought," Anderson recalled.

Then she showed the order to Michelle.

"Why would somebody order this from us?" Anderson said. "They know our bakery. It's not like it's a secret. It says it on our about page and social media pages and very clear that this bakery is owned by two lesbian women."

Anderson phoned her friend Eli Majid, who owns Eli's Tea Bar in Birmingham.

"Do you believe someone just ordered that from the bakery?" she asked Majid.

Within an hour, Majid, using social channels and reverse phone lookup, identified the customer, his church and what college he went to. He was identified as David Gordon, in a followup Pridesource.com article.

The church affiliation led them to Church Militant, a Ferndale-based Catholic fringe group. On his Twitter account, Gordon is listed as "a copyeditor @Church Militant, Lawyer, theology MA, author, sportsman, family man." He has more than 4,000 followers.

LGBTQ-owned bakery Good Cakes and Bakes assistant baker Breann Bailey, 28, of Detroit, sifts flour as she bakes in their Detroit shop on Aug. 11, 2020. The shop was targeted by an alt-right religious group.

Responding late Tuesday to a Twitter message from a Free Press reporter, Gordon said the bakery "admits that it never had any intention of serving me and making me the custom red velvet cake that I duly requested and paid for." He also said he was acting on his own behalf, without the knowledge of his employer, Church Militant.

"I was denied the services I requested at a place of public accommodation on the basis of the content of my beliefs  this is gleefully acknowledged by the owners of the bakery in the relevant Pridesource article," Gordon said in his message.

"Imagine the umbrage if a homosexual couple arrived at their 'wedding' reception to find a Christian baker had made them a 'straight' cake. This is about fairness, not ideology."

Michael Voris, the founder and president of St. Michael's Media / Church Militant, said in a statement emailed to the Free Press: "The incident was an action taken independently of the apostolate by an individual employee; Church Militant had no prior knowledge of it.

"The employee has been spoken to and has apologized for unnecessarily involving his fellow workers in a private endeavor.

Church Militant is not an actual church, but a group that broadcasts pro-life, anti-gay, anti-feminist, Islam-fearing, human-caused-climate-change-denying orthodox Catholic news on its website churchmiltant.com and through social media. The Archdiocese of Detroit has disavowed the organization in the past as lacking "the authorization required under Church law to identify or promote itself as Catholic.

Good Cakes and Bakes Co-owner April Anderson outside her shop on Livernois in Detroit on Aug. 11, 2020.

Majid believes it was strategic message that was targeted at metro Detroit's most well-known lesbian baker.

"That hatefulness is not a coincidence," Majid said. "They were trying to get her not to make the cake and she caught them on her bluff."

Anderson admits she wasn't sure she was going to make the cake.

But she did not want Gordon to come back at her, saying it was reverse discrimination.

So Anderson baked the cake, but without the requested message. In doing so, she was following the bakery's long-standing policy. Written messages are not permitted on specialty dessert cakes ordered online, as stated on the bakery's website.

Anderson and her wife also wrote a letter to Gordon and attached it to the cake, saying they stand against hate.

"We feel the only 'grave evil' is the judgement that good christians, like yourself, impose on folks that don't meet their vision of what God wants them to be," the letter said.

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Contributed to DocumentCloud by Elissa Robinson of Detroit Free Press  View document or read text

When Gordon called the bakery on a Friday asking about the cake, he was told it would be ready at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

"I think he was shocked," Anderson said. "He was probably anticipating us saying no."

Meanwhile, Majid created a Facebook post about the cake request that asked people to show up and support the bakery on Saturday. About 40-45 people did, Anderson said.

"I don't know if he came by and saw that and kept going," Anderson said, referring to Gordon.

The cake was never picked up and was put in the refrigerator. Anderson called Gordon about the cake. Days went by and the cake was eventually tossed on a Thursday.

To her surprise, Gordon called that day asking about the cake. He was told it was discarded. Gordon called again on Friday, Anderson said, asking about the cake. She told him it was discarded and that if he wanted another, he would have to place an order online. If he wanted a written message on the cake, she told him, he would have to call or come in and order it.

Jay Kaplan, staff attorney for the LGBTQ Project, ACLU of Michigan, said Anderson was within the law.

LGBTQ-owned bakery Good Cakes and Bakes Co-owner April Anderson with a Strawberry Crunch Cake at her shop on Livernois in Detroit on Aug. 11, 2020.

"When you are asked to do a particular message, you might be crossing the line of what could be compelled speech, especially if it's offensive," Kaplan said.

Under the compelled speech doctrine, the government cannot force an individual or group to support a certain expression or idea.

Kaplan said what Anderson did was follow the business's established procedure and was content neutral.

"She wasn't turning the customer away," Kaplan said. "We provide cakes, but we are not going to put that kind of message on the cake. Especially if it's offensive."

Baking the cake was not the same issue in the well-known Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission case. In that case, the baker refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple citing compelled speech and violation of religious beliefs and was found in violation of state law.

The baker appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which didn't side with the commission, and found that hostile remarks were made against the bakers religious beliefs. The justices did not rule on the broader issues of anti-discrimination laws versus religious freedoms.

This is the first time the bakery had a customer request such a hateful message, Anderson said, but they have turned down requests for vulgar or rude decorations or messages.

"We would have refused to write that message," Anderson said. "It's not about ... being homophobic. We don't write mean, hateful messages on cakes. That's not what we are about."

Anderson is well-known in culinary circles. She's baked for Oprah Winfrey and appeared on NBC's "Today" show. The bakery, which specializes in fresh, made-from-scratch cakes, cupcakes and cookies, opened in 2013.

Follow Susan Selasky on Twitter: @SusanMariecooks.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit bakery lesbian owner gets homophobic order from Catholic group
AFP via Getty Images

Donald Trump has announced the full normalisation of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, suspending Israels efforts to declare sovereignty over a third of occupied West Bank territories to instead focus on expanding ties with other countries in the Arab and Muslim world.

Everybody said this would be impossible, the president said from the Oval Office on Thursday.

According to the agreement, delegations from the countries will meet in the coming weeks to sign bilateral agreements on tourism, air travel, security, telecommunications, energy, healthcare, and the establishment of embassies in each others nations.

Confirming the agreements established in the White House Abraham Accord announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the announcement a historic day, while Emirati leader Mohammad bin Zayed said the agreement establishes a a roadmap towards establishing a bilateral relationship.

The UAE is only the third Arab nation to maintain active diplomatic ties with Israel, joining Egypt and Jordan.

The move follows a 28 January agreement, orchestrated by the presidents son-in-law Jared Kushner, which gave Israel immediate permission to extend sovereignty while carving out what critics have argued is a harsh path to limited statehood for Palestinians. The US supported the annexation of settlements in the West Bank and Jordan Valley.

Thursdays agreement appears to suspend those plans, but the prime minister announced that there will be no change in his annexation plans.

Palestinian officials were excluded from negotiations and have rejected plans from the White House, while UAE officials have warned that Israels annexation efforts would upend relationships throughout the Arab world.

Annexation will definitely, and immediately, reverse all of the Israeli aspirations for improved security, economic and cultural ties with the Arab world and the United Arab Emirates, wrote Emirati ambassador to the US Yousef al-Otaiba in an Israeli newspaper in June.

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Palestinians have demanded that Arab nations not normalise diplomatic efforts with Israel until it ends the occupation of dozens of territories that have been declared illegal under international law.

Thursdays agreement does not appear to suspend the US-Israel deal, but instructs parties to continue their efforts in this regard to achieve a just, comprehensive and enduring resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

As set forth in the Vision for Peace, all Muslims who come in peace may visit and pray at the Al Aqsa Mosque, and Jerusalems other holy sites should remain open for peaceful worshippers of all faiths, according to the announcement.

Senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi criticised the agreement, arguing that Israel got rewarded for not declaring openly what its been doing to Palestine illegally [and] persistently since the beginning of the occupation.

While the presidents announcement from the White House did not mention Palestine or Palestinians, officials did discuss Iran, and suggested that regional diplomatic efforts among Arab nations coupled with Israels geopolitical ties with the US are aimed at containing Iran.

The presidents announcement follows recent remarks at a campaign fundraiser in New Jersey, where he claimed that the US would secure a nuclear deal with Iran within four weeks of his re-election, following his controversial withdrawal from a 2015 agreement to limit Irans nuclear capacity in exchange for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions.

The Independents request for comment to his campaign was referred to the White House, and the State Department declined to comment on his remarks.

The plan comprises part of what the administration sees as a Strategic Agenda for the Middle East  one that appears to dismiss Palestine as a priority and focus instead on building more diplomatic ties with other states.

Along with the United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates share a similar outlook regarding the threats and opportunities in the region, as well as a shared commitment to promoting stability through diplomatic engagement, increased economic integration, and closer security coordination, according to the announcement.

Mr Trump characterised Thursdays agreement as a testament to the bold diplomacy and vision of the three leaders and the courage of the United Arab Emirates and Israel to chart a new path that will unlock the great potential in the region.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who compared the announcement to peace agreements between Israel and Egypt and Jordan, each signed more than three decades ago, said that the agreement holds similar potential and the promise for a better day for the entire region.

The agreement also follows Netanyahus June announcement to partner with the UAE against the coronavirus pandemic, a deal that Emirati officials contradicted hours later, saying it was merely an agreement between two UAE companies and two Israeli companies.

But under the new agreement, the countries will immediately expand and accelerate cooperation for Covid-19 vaccine development.

Its unclear whether officials will adhere to the agreement and whether other Gulf nations will follow. It also relieves Prime Minister Netanyahu from attempts to annexe territories, which has been met with US indifference and international opposition.

The announcement also falls short of White House pledges to bring peace in the Middle East, now an election eve promise less than three months before a crucial November election.

While the presidents political opponent Joe Biden has criticised the administrations decision to move Israels US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, undermining a Palestinian capital, he has said he would be reluctant to move it back if elected.

Read more

The UAE-Israel deal makes Middle East diplomacy ever more complicated

UAE formally recognises Israel in historic move, Trump announces

Anti-Netanyahu sentiment and coronavirus spread in Israel

How did we get here on Israeli annexation? Its all in one document
Attorney General Bill Barr had a secret reason for wanting to drop the case against onetime -- and short-time -- National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. So said a Justice Department lawyer on Tuesday in arguments before a federal appeals court.

From initial appearances, it didn't seem that the judges were buying what the lawyer was selling.

Flynn, who had served briefly as President Donald Trumps first national security adviser, pleaded guilty to having lied to the FBI about his contacts with Russias ambassador to the United States before Trumps inauguration. Hed been set to be sentenced before Barr interceded.

From the first, thereve been so many more questions than answers regarding Flynns behavior, and the actions and reactions of the president and other officials. First, and fundamentally, if Flynn did nothing wrong by speaking with then-Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, then why did he feel the need to lie not only to the FBI, but also to Vice President Mike Pence? Seems a bit suspicious, no?

Also, if his behavior had been just hunky-dory, why did Flynn plead guilty?

The wheels of justice, it's long been said, turn slowly. With Barr at the helm, those on the friends and family plan find that they also turn in their favor. Unless a judge seeks to do the right thing.

After Barr's intercession, the judge in the case didn't simply rubber stamp the attorney general's out-of-the-blue request. Thankfully. Instead, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, rightly acting as though the law matters more than one's connections, fought Barr's move. Though a three-judge panel of the appeals court sided with Barr, Sullivan didn't back down. Which led to Tuesday's hearing before the whole court. And the news that Barr's got a secret.

One imagines that not a few who heard that from Jeffrey Wall, the acting solicitor general, shook their heads and said to themselves, "Yeah, right. Sort of like Nixon's secret plan to end the war in Vietnam."

From the moment that he took over as our nations top law-enforcement official, Barr has routinely been acting as though its his job to serve Trump, not to uphold the law. Had he simply gotten his way with the dismissal of the case against Flynn, it would have been yet another sorry sign that theres something very rotten inside our Department of Justice.
Human hunters were not responsible for killing off the woolly rhino, according to a new study of the extinct creature's genome that found climate change is to blame.

Experts from Stockholm University sequenced ancient DNA taken from 14 woolly rhinoceros fossils to find out the state of their population near the end of their existence.

The extinction of prehistoric big beasts such as woolly mammoths, rhinos and cave lions at the end of the last ice age has previously been attributed to the spread of early humans around the globe and their hunting patterns.

While overhunting led to the demise of some species, research suggests that the extinction of the woolly rhino may have actually been down to a warming climate.

Study authors found that the woolly rhino population remained 'stable and diverse' until only a few thousand years before it disappeared from Siberia.

They said this was when temperatures likely rose too high for the cold-adapted species to cope with the warming environment and led to them dying off.

This image shows the preserved, reconstructed remains of a baby woolly rhinoceros named Sasha that was discovered in Siberia

This is a preserved woolly rhinoceros. Climate change rather than overhunting may have caused the woolly rhinoceros to become extinct around 14,000 years ago

To learn about the size and stability of their population in Siberia, the researchers studied the DNA extracted from tissue, bone, and hair samples of fossilised remains.

Study senior author Professor Love Dalen said it was initially thought humans appeared in northeastern Siberia 14,000 or 15,000 years ago.

This was around the time we know that the woolly rhinoceros went extinct.

'But recently, there have been several discoveries of much older human occupation sites, the most famous of which is around 30,000 years old,' said Dalen.

This is a preserved woolly rhinoceros foot. The giant herbivorous creatures are thought to have roamed northern Asia and Europe during the ice ages around 350,000 years ago

'So, the decline towards extinction of the woolly rhinoceros doesn't coincide so much with the first appearance of humans in the region. If anything, we actually see something looking a bit like an increase in population size during this period.'

Study co-first author Edana Lord said they were able to sequence the complete nuclear genome of woolly mammoths to 'look back in time'.

'We also sequenced 14 mitochondrial genomes to estimate the female effective population sizes,' according to Lord.

By looking at the genetic diversity - or 'heterozygosity' - of the genomes, the researchers were able to estimate the woolly rhino populations for tens of thousands of years before their extinction.

Co-first author Dr Nicolas Dussex said they also examined changes in population size and estimated levels of inbreeding within the active populations.

'We found that after an increase in population size at the start of a cold period some 29,000 years ago, the woolly rhino population size remained constant and that at this time, inbreeding was low,' said Dussex.

The researchers explained that the stability lasted until well after humans began living in Siberia, contrasting the declines that would be expected if the woolly rhinos went extinct due to hunting.

Doctoral student Ms Lord said: 'That's the interesting thing: we actually don't see a decrease in population size after 29,000 years ago.

This image shows a woolly rhinoceros skeleton. Human hunters were not responsible for killing off the woolly rhino, according to a new study of the extinct creatures genome that found climate change is to blame

'The data we looked at only goes up to 18,500 years ago, which is 4,500 years before their extinction, so it implies that they declined sometime in that gap.'

The DNA data also revealed genetic mutations that helped the woolly rhinoceros adapt to colder weather - which may have contributed to their decline.

One of these mutations, a type of receptor in the skin for sensing warm and cold temperatures, has also been found in woolly mammoths.

Adaptations like this suggest the woolly rhinoceros, which was particularly suited to the frigid northeast Siberian climate, may have declined due to the heat of a brief warming period, known as the Blling-Allerd interstadial.

This period that coincided with their extinction towards the end of the last ice age.

This image shows a preserved woolly rhinoceros with a large horn and thick coat still intact

This image shows Edana Lord sampling woolly rhinoceros DNA in a lab. While overhunting led to the demise of some species, research suggests that the extinction of the woolly rhino may have actually been down to a changing climate

'We're coming away from the idea of humans taking over everything as soon as they come into an environment, and instead elucidating the role of climate,' said Lord.

'Although we can't rule out human involvement, we suggest that the woolly rhinoceros' extinction was more likely related to climate.'

The team hope to study the DNA of additional woolly rhinos that lived in that crucial 4,500-year gap between the last genome they sequenced and their extinction.

'What we want to do now is to try to get more genome sequences from rhinos that are between 18,000 and 14,000 years old,' said Dalen, as at some point their population 'surely must decline'.

The researchers are also looking at other cold-adapted megafauna to see what further effects the warming, unstable climate had.

'We know the climate changed a lot, but the question is: how much were different animals affected, and what do they have in common?'

The findings have been published in the journal Current Biology.
On Tuesday August 11, 2020, the State Executive Committee of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Enugu State chapter reconvened at our Secretariat after the COVID-19 lockdown and exhaustively reviewed the performance of the Enugu State Government under the leadership of H.E. Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi within the period of the national lockdown and unanimously applauded the Governors effective leadership style even in the face of such global health challenge.

The meeting noted with satisfaction the proactive interventions of the Governor, especially at the heat of the pandemic, which engendered trust and confidence in our people and demonstrated the capacity of the Government to function effectively under such perilous conditions.

At the behest of the pandemic, the Governor convened an emergency State Executive Council meeting and approved the release of N330million as emergency intervention fund, which was immediately deployed by the Enugu State Multi-Sectoral Rapid Response Team for the purchase of essential drugs and consumables to contain the pandemic.

In readiness for the outbreak of the pandemic, Governor Ugwuanyi ensured the functionality of three isolation and treatment centres for COVID-19 patients in the state. These isolation and treatment centres are the Enugu Medical Diagnostic Centre, the newly constructed ultra-modern State Hospital at Nsukka, and the Parklane Hospital, Enugu; as well as the rehabilitation and reconstruction of other general hospitals including the Colliery Hospital, Enugu

We are informed by the Enugu Fire Service that the government has undertaken the decontamination of public places such as court premises, public offices, the State House of Assembly, fuel stations, market places and recreation centres.

The Government has embarked on constant public enlightenment campaigns to sensitize the citizens of the State on the necessity of wearing face masks, observing social and physical distancing, and the use of hand sanitizers. The Ugwuanyi administration also bought and distributed, free of charge, hundreds of thousands of face masks to the citizens of the state; and has equally approved an additional N100 million as backup intervention fund to combat health emergencies. The state government also procured some fully-equipped ambulances and incidence vehicles which has been handed over to the State's Emergency Response Service.

Ohanaeze was further informed that at the peak of the pandemic, the Governor was moving around our boundaries with other States to personally monitor the implementation of the lockdown at odd hours with all the associated risks.

To demonstrate his love and commitment for the good of our people, the Governor has ensured that the wheels of governance have revolved smoothly and seamlessly; with all categories of workers receiving their monthly salaries without delay.

In addition, the Enugu State Government under Governor Ugwuanyi has not relented on the rural road infrastructure revolution in the state. Within the pandemic epoch, one of the most vital roads in the Enugu suburb, the Nike-Emene road was commissioned, among many others. Many other infrastructural developments in various parts of the State have continued to receive adequate attention.

On the education sector, several primary schools especially in rural communities have received facelifts. The Enugu School on Radio programme on Radio Nigeria and other media houses is heart-warming. The radio programme is to ensure that Enugu state secondary school students receive lectures on a daily basis with assignments. This has helped to keep the students busy with their studies. Within the period, the governor extended bursary awards to 246 Enugu state indigenes in the Nigerian Law schools.

Ohanaeze noted with immense delight that the Government has remained steadfast on the issues of peace and security of lives and property in the State. The most effective Enugu security synergy comprising the Nigeria Police, Department of State Service, Civil Defence, Forest Guards, Neighbourhood Watch and the local vigilante is the best in the country with profound benefits to our people.

Flowing from the foregoing, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Enugu State reiterates our vote of confidence on Governor Lawrence Ifeanyichukwu Ugwuanyi and officially convey our commendation on his several efforts to steer the ship of state in the right direction. We therefore call on all well-meaning citizens of the State to rally round the governor for greater performance. We also call on other Governors in the country, to emulate the Ugwuanyi model of strategic governance that has elevated Enugu to a tourist attraction.

Signed

Hon. Chiedozie Alex Ogbonnia

(Ozowalu-Onaa)

State President


SPRINGFIELD  The state of Illinois will soon begin distributing $250 million in federal funds to help cities, counties and other units of local government pay for pandemic-related expenses.

The General Assemblys Joint Committee on Administrative Rules cleared the way Tuesday for the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to launch the Local Coronavirus Urgent Remediation Emergency, or Local CURE, program, which state lawmakers authorized in the budget they adopted in May.

Of that money, $200 million will go directly to cities and counties. The rest will be divided between local public health departments and other local units of government such as townships and other special taxing districts.

The money can be used for expenses such as COVID-19 testing and emergency medical expenses; public health expenses, including costs of enforcing orders related to COVID-19; payroll expenses for public safety and other employees whose jobs are mainly focused on mitigating or responding to COVID-19; and other expenses that are reasonably necessary for responding to the public health emergency.

DCEO used a formula to determine how much money each city and county will receive. Department spokeswoman Lauren Huffman said the agency will start distributing the money later this month.

The federal government says that communities can use these dollars for local economic support, but DCEO says we cant, Brad Cole, executive director of the Illinois Municipal League, said during an interview after the JCAR meeting. And while the department says that local governments cannot use the funds for that purpose, the state reserves the right to use it.

DCEO set up a separate program to help businesses impacted by the pandemic called the Business Interruption Grant, or BIG, program that will distribute about $636 million to businesses around the state.

Both the aid to local governments and the BIG program are funded with money the state received through the federal CARES Act. The city of Chicago as well as Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake and Will counties are not eligible for the grants because they have populations over 500,000 and therefore received their own direct allocation of CARES Act funding.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced during a COVID-19 briefing in Chicago Wednesday that DCEO just awarded the first round of those grants totaling $46 million. He said the funding will go to more than 2,600 businesses located in 78 of the states 102 counties.

An additional round of grants will be awarded soon focusing on child care providers, and further grants will be awarded later in the fiscal year, according to DCEO.

Phil Keshen, DCEOs chief financial officer, said during Tuesdays JCAR hearing that there had been many discussions between the agency and IML, and DCEO intends to make up to $30 million available to local communities working in conjunction with local businesses.

The main concern, Keshen said, is the potential liability to the state and the local governments if the funds are not used in strict accordance with federal rules or with the states Grant Accountability and Transparency Act, commonly known as GATA.

The liability does remain on the state for the federal funds, he said. And so that's part of the process of entering into grant agreement  to make sure that the audit requirements set forth by GATA are in place as well, and  making sure that both the local government knows what their role is in the grant-making process as well as what DCEOs role is.

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Lipoic acid supplerments could help some women lose weight. Oregon State University and Oregon Health & Science University researchers did a study to prove this. They let healthy people with obesity take lipoic acid supplements. Within 24 weeks, 31 subjects who took 600 mg of the fatty acid had weight loss.

Director emeritus of OSU's Linus Pauling Institute, Balz Frei, shared the data they gathered. He said that it was clear in their data that there is weight loss. He noted that it was seen in women and those who weigh the heaviest among their subjects.

Lipoic acid is involved in energy and amino acid metabolism. It is produced by both plants and animals. Usually, it is attached to proteins and sets up in the mitochondria of cells. The specialized, medium-chain fatty acid has two sulfur atoms at one end of the chain. These atoms allow electrons from other sources to move.

See also: Obesity and Overweight Causes Premature Heart Disease Death, Study Proves

Varied effects on the body

Our bodies produce lipoic acid to help the enzymes perform their function. The supplement functions not the same as the one produced by the body. Apart from helping with glucose metabolism, it acts as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. This means that it could be helpful for people with certain conditions. Patients with diabetes, heart disease, or any age-related cognitive decline could benefit from the fatty acid.

An OSU College of Science professor of biochemistry and biophysics, Tory Hagen, explained that their study differs from others. He said that the OSU/OHSU project focused on two issues mostly ignored in previous studies. He said that most lipoic acid studies focus on people with health conditions like diabetes. Their study targets the form of fatty acid used and had healthy subjects.

See also: Obesity hormone leptin makes coronavirus more dangerous, study proves

S and R forms of the fatty acid

Hagen noted that it was hard to know the reason for the use of the fatty acid in previous studies. They could use it as a treatment or for its other good effects. He also noted that the formulation of the supplement is also a cause of concern. Most studies use the S form of fatty acid. It is not found in nature and is produced by synthetic means. He said that their study used R form, which is the same form found in the body.

Decrease in fat

The research team did find a decrease in body fat known as triglycerides. They noted that not all of their subjects had the same decrease amounts. Another LPI scientist who worked with the study, Gerd Bobe, shared his thoughts. He said that the effect of the lipoic acid supplement has its limits. But he noted that people who lost weight on the fatty acid also had a decreased triglyceride level.

See also: Decrease Your Salt Intake to Improve Your Gut

The study's corresponding author, Hagen, said that some markers of inflammation decreased. While the supplement is not a perfect cure for all, it provided a decrease in oxidative stress. He also said that it is essential to know how much a patient needs to get its maximum effects. Since the lipoic acid supplement is costly, future studies could focus on maximizing the effects of small amounts of fatty acid.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 23:30:50|Editor: huaxia

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STOCKHOLM, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Swedish government will appoint a care committee aimed to shorten waiting time for people in need of care services, local media reported on Thursday.

The committee will have several tasks on its table and will be led by physician Gunilla Gunnarsson, Swedish Television (SVT) quoted Minister for Health and Social Affairs Lena Hallengren as saying.

"It will cooperate with the regions and support their work in developing regional plans for shorter waiting time. It will also support more efficient resource appropriations in healthcare so that more people can receive care on time," said the minister.

She said such committee would also submit proposals for new nationally-coordinated healthcare guidance and investigate the pros and cons of a new care guarantee.

SVT reported earlier that as many as 70,000 operations in Sweden had been canceled during the pandemic, and in many regions the queues for operations continued to grow.

According to the Swedish Medical Association, if the pandemic continues, there is a risk that 200,000 operations can be canceled this year. Enditem
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A man has been charged in the shooting death of a 4-year-old Kansas City, Missouri, boy whose killing sparked a federal anti-crime task force that has sent hundreds of federal agents to several cities to fight violent crime.

Ryson Ellis, 22, of Kansas City, was charged Thursday with second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action in the death of LeGend Taliferro, who was struck by a bullet June 29 while he slept on the floor of his fathers apartment.

Federal authorities named the anti-crime task force Operation LeGend in the boys memory. Under the program, which is being overseen by the U.S. Department of Justice, federal agents have been sent to cities with high crime rates to work with local law enforcement to investigate violent crimes.

President Trump met with LeGends family  including his mother, Charron Powell  when the program was announced. The operation has since expanded to several cities, including Chicago, St. Louis and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Attorney General William Barr said in a statement Thursday the arrest in LeGends case resulted from co-operation between Kansas City police and several federal agencies.

This development is a model for joint efforts to solve crimes and reduce violence in other cities, Barr said. I thank the state and local law enforcement officers who helped make possible this important step in bringing justice to LeGend, to his family, and to his community.

A probable cause statement in the case said a sister of LeGends father, who was in the apartment when the boy was shot, had a child with Ellis. She alleged he had assaulted her a few days before the shooting and some of her brothers, including LeGends father, had an altercation with Ellis, KSHB-TV reported.

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters-Baker said Ellis was cowardly when he fired several shots into the apartment where LeGend was thought to be safe. She said investigators ran into several dead-ins until a community member came forward with important information.

Ellis was arrested Thursday in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and was being held on no bond, Peters-Baker said.

Powell, LeGends mother, said at the news conference she was grateful that we are in the steps to justice, but also expressed sadness for her sons alleged killer and the violence in Kansas City.

This is a lose situation, for my family, and including his, Powell said of Ellis. We have to take it a step farther and calm the violence down.

U.S. Attorney Tim Garrison said the case was precisely the type of case that this operation was designed to solve and we are very pleased that his case is one step closer to bringing justice to little LeGend and his family.

He said Operation LeGend has resulted in more than 200 arrests since it began in Kansas City, including 16 people suspected of participating in homicides.

___

This story has been corrected to show that the correct title is Attorney General William Barr.
Announcement of Periodic Review: Moody's announces completion of a periodic review of ratings of MashreqBank psc

Global Credit Research - 13 Aug 2020

Limassol, August 13, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") has completed a periodic review of the ratings of MashreqBank psc and other ratings that are associated with the same analytical unit. The review was conducted through a portfolio review in which Moody's reassessed the appropriateness of the ratings in the context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. The review did not involve a rating committee. Since 1 January 2019, Moody's practice has been to issue a press release following each periodic review to announce its completion.

This publication does not announce a credit rating action and is not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is likely in the near future. Credit ratings and outlook/review status cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted by this announcement. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history.

Key rating considerations are summarized below.

Mashreq Bank's Baa1 long-term deposit ratings are derived from the bank's baa3 standalone baseline credit assessment (BCA) and a two notch systemic support uplift based on Moody's view of a high likelihood of government support from United Arab Emirates (rated Aa2), in case of need.

Mashreq's baa3 BCA reflects the bank's solid profitability, strong capital and healthy liquidity reserves. These strengths are moderated by Moody's expectation of downside pressure on the bank's solvency in the next 12-18 months on the back of lower oil prices, reduced investor confidence and the coronavirus-induced disruption.

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This document summarizes Moody's view as of the publication date and will not be updated until the next periodic review announcement, which will incorporate material changes in credit circumstances (if any) during the intervening period.

The principal methodology used for this review was Banks Methodology published in November 2019. Please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.

This announcement applies only to EU rated and EU endorsed ratings. Non EU rated and non EU endorsed ratings may be referenced above to the extent necessary, if they are part of the same analytical unit.

This publication does not announce a credit rating action. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history.

Constantinos Kypreos Senior Vice President Financial Institutions Group Moody's Investors Service Cyprus Ltd. Porto Bello Building 1, Siafi Street, 3042 Limassol PO Box 53205 Limassol CY 3301 Cyprus JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454 Sean Marion MD - Financial Institutions Financial Institutions Group JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454 Releasing Office: Moody's Investors Service Cyprus Ltd. Porto Bello Building 1, Siafi Street, 3042 Limassol PO Box 53205 Limassol CY 3301 Cyprus JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454

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Sarah Cooper: Everythings Fine will be released this fall and feature a variety of satirical political sketches and other vignettes as well as famous guests. (Photo | Netflix via AP)

Los Angeles: Sarah Cooper, the US comedian whose uncanny lip-synch impersonations of President Donald Trump have gained millions of fans worldwide, will star in her own Netflix special, the streaming giant said Wednesday.

Sarah Cooper: Everythings Fine will be released this fall and feature a variety of satirical political sketches and other vignettes as well as famous guests.

It will be executive produced by Maya Rudolph, whose own Emmy-nominated impressions of Kamala Harris on Saturday Night Live have been widely shared since Harris was confirmed Tuesday as the Democrats vice-presidential candidate.

Cooper, a former Google employee, shot to fame during the pandemic by lampooning some of Trumps most infamous outburstsincluding his suggestion that injecting disinfectant could help fight the coronavirus.

That 49-second clipentitled How to medicalsaw Cooper lip-synch along to Trumps proposal that bringing light inside the body might help combat the disease, while emulating the presidents power-posturing body language.

It has been viewed over 22 million times on Twitter alone.

The 40-something Jamaican-born comedian calls Trump her head writer, and has gained over two million Twitter followers as well as celebrity fans such as former president Barack Obama, comedians Steve Martin and Jerry Seinfeld, and Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Cooper is also the author of best-selling books 100 Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings and How to be Successful Without Hurting Mens Feelings.

The variety special will be directed by Russian Doll star Natasha Lyonne.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 17:15:09|Editor: huaxia

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The decision of China's top legislature on the vacancy of the Legislative Council (LegCo) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) is reasonable and legal, reflecting a highly responsible attitude towards the lives and health of Hong Kong residents, said LegCo members.
Known as the Paramount Consent Degrees, the regulations followed from a 1948 U.S. Supreme Court ruling ordering Hollywood studios to sell off their national cinema chains; a US District Court judge has ruled that the current distribution landscape, including streaming, means those rules are no longer necessary. With chains reeling from the coronavirus lockdown (and AMC in particular facing bankruptcy), maybe Amazon and Netflix should just buy themselves chains? (Disney, no doubt, will.)  Wired
Election 2020 Ex-Generals Still in as Myanmar's Former Ruling Party Reveals Candidates for Upcoming Poll

Senior USDP leaders campaign ahead of the 2015 general election in Yangon. / The Irrawaddy

YANGONMyanmars former ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) will field more than 1,100 candidates nationwide in the upcoming general election, including some retired military generals and ex-government ministers along with a large number of new faces.

The party rolled out its list of 1,129 candidates on Wednesday. Spokesperson Dr. Nanda Hla Myint said only a few retired military generals and ex-government ministers would be candidates this year, as the party has sought to select mostly new faces to run on its ticket.

In the 2015 general election, in which it was comprehensively defeated by the National League for Democracy (NLD), the USDPformed by ex-generalsfavored the former officers comrades as candidates. The then-ruling party only managed to win a humiliating 10 percent of seats nationwide, while the NLD won 77 percent of the parliamentary seats.

The USDP recently said it was confident of winning enough seats this year to secure the presidency and form a government.

In the candidates list rolled out on Wednesday, retired generals, ex-ministers and candidates who have run previously accounted for less than 30 percent, while the remainder were selected from the partys new generation of members, Dr. Nanda Hla Myint added.

Among those candidates who have run before and are seeking to be elected again are ex-general and party chairman U Than Htay, who will run for a seat in the Lower House in Naypyitaws Zayarthiri Township. He served as minister of energy and minister for rail transport under the USDP-led government.

Retired general and former deputy chairman of the party U Htay Oo will seek a Lower House seat in the Irrawaddy Deltas Hinthada Township, the same seat that he lost to an NLD candidate in 2015. Retired major general and former Presidents Office minister U Hla Tun will run for a Lower House seat representing Mandalay Regions Kyaukpadaung Township.

Retired brigadier general and former deputy speaker Nanda Kyaw Swa will contest a Lower House seat in Yangon Regions Dagon Township. Ex-general Aung Thaw is contesting in Yangon Regions Coco Islands constituency.

Four ex-chief ministers in the previous USDP government former brigadier general U Thein Aung of Ayeyarwady Region, former major general U Nyan Win of Bago Region, U La John Ngan Hsai of Kachin State and U Sao Aung Myat of Shan Statewill also run in the election.

Nationalist Daw Khin Waing Kyi, who was a former lawmaker representing the National Democratic Force (NDF), also appears on the USDP candidate list, contesting a Lower House seat in Yangon Regions Dawbon Township.

Some USDP members said the party is fielding more youth and women candidates than before. They added that the party plans to avoid contesting in some strongholds of ethnic parties and smaller parties as a way of boosting those parties chances of success.

Myanmars general election will be held on Nov. 8. In the nationwide poll, 93 political parties will vie for a total of 1,171 seats in both houses of the Union Parliament and in the state and regional legislatures. The NLD plans to field 1,131 candidates.

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Call it retail therapy. "Full House" star Lori Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, who will be sentenced later this month for their part in the college admissions scandal, just sprang for a luxurious new home.

The couple picked up a $9.5 million modern farmhouse in the celebrity-filled enclave of Hidden Hills, CA, Variety reports.

This transaction follows quickly after the couple sold their Bel-Air mansion for a reported $18.75 million to the co-founder of Tinder, Justin Mateen.



The final sale price of the Bel-Air residence was a huge discount off their most recent asking price of $28.65 million. They had initially been looking for even morethe home first came on the market at $35 million in 2017.

There are some serious upsides to leaving Bel-Air in their rearview mirror, so let's take an in-depth look at the two luxurious locations.

Goodbye, Bel-Air

The couple may have been extremely motivated to sell, given that the scandal appears to have lost them friends and social clout in the refined 'hood.

The upscale enclave is a Hollywood haven and has been home to stars such as Jay-Z and Beyonce, Jennifer Aniston, and Elon Musk, founder of Tesla, at one time or another. The posh neighborhood also regularly pops up when we survey the most expensive home listings in the country.

Right now, 151 homes are on the market in Bel-Air, with the priciest sitting at the vertigo-inducing price of $125 million. The median list price for the neighborhood is currently a robust $4.7 million.

Bel-Air is known for being exclusive, gated, and riddled with luxe mansions. Loughlin and Giannulli's posh property directly overlooked the Bel-Air Country Club and had been stylishly renovated.

Hello, Hidden Hills

Located on the western edge of San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, near Calabasas, this tony town is known for being scaled-down, secure, and a magnet for celebrities.

Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West, the rapper Drake, Miley Cyrus, the Weeknd, and actors Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith own homes here.

"What makes Hidden Hills attractive for so many celebrities is the fact that it is a small, gated community with only 2,000 residents, says George Penner, CEO of Deasy Penner Podley.

The town is small, but punches way above its weight when it comes to home values. With just 35 homes for sale, which range in price from $1.8 million to $27.5 million, the median list price for a home in Hidden Hills is a jaw-dropping $6.4 million.

As Penner points out, It was developed by A.E. Hanson, the same developer as Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills, which are both known for their ritzy real estate.

Plus, there's another big perk in the new locale for Loughlin, who's become a tabloid fave.

Penner says the area "provides much greater privacy from paparazzi and onlookers.

The couple's new digs

So now that theyve landed in Hidden Hills, what did they get for their multimillions?

A brand-new build. No renovations required! A huge plus in our book.

The six-bedroom, nine-bathroom abode spans 11,748 square feet. The modern farmhouse-style residence is sparkling and features high ceilings, maple floors, and offers luxury country living.

Lori Loughlin's home in Hidden Hills, CA realtor.com

Living space that extends outside realtor.com

Open kitchen and dining area realtor.com

Kitchen with marble island with bar seating realtor.com

Office realtor.com

Bedroom with fireplace realtor.com

Outdoor dining area realtor.com

The open floor plan includes glass sliding doors opening to the outside living area. The custom chefs kitchen, described as a dream" in the listing, has white oak cabinets, marble counters, and high-end appliances. The master suite boasts a fireplace, two baths, and views.

Luxe amenities include a temperature-controlled, walk-in wine cellar, gym, office, and movie theater.

Set on 1.57 acres, the sprawling grounds feature pool and spa, fire pit, barbecue, and views of the hills.

This Hidden Hills home is on a much larger lot and is much more private, says Cara Ameer, a bicoastal agent with Coldwell Banker licensed in California and Florida.

This is why many celebrities choose to buy in Hidden Hillsyou have an estate within a private enclave, yet still maintain a neighborhood/community feel.

Being close to Loughlin's "Full House" alum John Stamos may have added to the appeal. As for their daughter, social media star Olivia Jade, the homes proximity to the sprawling compound of YouTube makeup mogul Jeffree Star is perhaps an added perk.

The couple scored a deal on the home. Initially listed for $11.75 million last January, the place has its price drop to $10.55 million earlier this month, and Loughlin and Giannulli managed to negotiate an additional million-dollar discount.

One big downside

Yet despite scoring a deal on their new Hidden Hills house, there are costs the couple didn't have to pay in Bel-Air.

Namely, dreaded HOA fees.

Their prior home didn't have any homeowners association fees, Ameer says. In Hidden Hills, the HOA fees for this property were $36,250 a year. They run according to assessed value, and could really add up. Especially if the assessed value of the properties increase each year.

That is par for the course in this pricey and private town.

However, having a fully turnkey home to return to after they receive their sentences in the admissions case may well be worth it.

Tomer Fridman with Compass repped the seller. Arvin Haddad with The Agency represented the buyer.

The post All the Upsides (and One Downside) to Lori Loughlin's New Home in Hidden Hills appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com.
There are many reasons to celebrate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Bidens choice of running mate, Kamala Harris. To begin, it is a historic first. The California senator is the first woman of colour to be put on a major party ticket. Her nomination was greeted with excitement and a measure of relief that black women, seen as the backbone of the Democratic party, finally have a national platform.

Adding her to the Democratic ticket also carries a particular charge at a time when the Black Lives Matter movement is forcing a country to confront the enduring legacy of its own racial past. Now, Americans can redraw their image of a national leader which, for so much of the countrys history, was male, white and often elderly.

The fight for the top position will still be fought in traditional fashion, between two ageing white males, but it is a symbol of the potential for real change that Kamala Harris, a woman who already made history as the first black attorney general of California, enters the running for vice-president.

Not that the office will do much to effect change. As John Adams, the first person in the job, once said, the vice-presidency is the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived. Another former VP, Walter Mondale famously said the office was handmade for ridicule and made its holders look like a person on a string.

This time round, though, Joe Bidens choice is important and not just because of its symbolism. He will be 78 if he wins and takes up office, which means he is unlikely to contest a second term. That opens the way for Kamala Harris to become the first female president of the United States.

Sen. Kamala Harris. Picture: AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

That is some way off, though, as Biden and Harris have yet to negotiate a campaign that intensified yesterday with a characteristic tirade of crude insults from the incumbent. President Trump got in early and below-the-belt with an attack ad and slurs a-plenty.

He branded Senator Harris nasty, mean and phoney and, in the coming days, it is likely he will make much political capital of the heated clash between Kamala Harris and Joe Biden during the first round of Democratic debates last June. Senator Harris accused the presidential hopeful of working with segregationists and opposing 1970s bus programmes designed to promote racial integration in schools. It is likely that we will hear more about that as the campaign goes on.

Meantime, Trump is attempting to label Harris as radical left, but he will find it difficult to say that she is soft on crime. Some of her own party members claimed her stance as former prosecutor was too harsh before she dropped out of the Democratic presidential campaign last December.

We can expect Donald Trump to do all he can to distract voters from his handling of a pandemic that has led to an economic crisis and more than 160,000 deaths. But none of the rhetoric to come  and it will, in spades  can take from the fact that Kamala Harris (55), the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, is the first woman of colour to run for vice president.
The COVID-19 pandemic has reached into the sprawling and overcrowded Al Hol prison camp in northeastern Syria, further complicating the continuing U.S. campaign to eliminate the Islamic State, the head of U.S. Central Command said Wednesday.

"Al Hol, arguably, is one of the worst places in the world," said Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, the CENTCOM commander.

Read Next: 1 Crew Member Hurt After Bullet Strikes Air Force Helicopter Over Virginia

It just became worse this week, he added, with reports of the first infections among the estimated 65,000 ISIS fighters and sympathizers, mostly women and children, who are held there with little prospect of repatriation to their home countries.

The U.S. has pressed for repatriation of the Al Hol inmates to their home countries to face justice, but Iraq, the European countries and other nations have thus far refused.

In a virtual forum at the nonprofit U.S. Institute of Peace, McKenzie said that if the U.S. does not act on repatriation to reduce the number of prisoners at Al Hol, "we're going to have huge problems."

"It's not a good place to live, [but] bad things are going to happen if you keep a lot of people there," he continued.. "Bad things are going to happen in terms of radicalization, [and] bad things are going to happen in terms of COVID."

The general, who became the 14th commander of CENTCOM in 2019, said a coronavirus outbreak in those ISIS camps had long been a fear of his, and he expressed surprise that the disease had taken this long to surface.

"I don't have an answer besides repatriation," McKenzie said. "We think it's absolutely critical -- other nations have got to take them."

In a statement Monday, the Save the Children aid group said that several health care workers at Al Hol had previously tested positive for COVID-10 and the first cases among detainees were reported Monday.

"One of our worst fears has come to pass," said Sonia Khush, Syria Response Director for Save the Children. "An outbreak of COVID-19 in Al Hol camp is going to be challenging to control, considering how overcrowded the camp is and how little access families have to water, personal hygiene items, tests and protective equipment, with more than 65,000 people living in the camp at the moment."

McKenzie said U.S. troops "were involved purely in a supporting role" at Al Hol for the mostly-Kurdish and U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in charge of security at the camp.

However, the conditions at Al Hol are likely to complicate the continuing campaign against the remnants of the Islamic state, he said.

ISIS remains a diminished but persistent hit-and-run threat in Iraq and Syria that can be fully eliminated only by a long-term resolution of the region's sectarian divides and a major influx of development aid, McKenzie said.

"There are going to be eruptions, there are going to be problems" in containing ISIS, he said, despite repeated statements from President Donald Trump that the so-called caliphate has been "100%" destroyed.

"This problem is going to be with us for a while" until local authorities in Iraq and Syria are capable of dealing with it on their own, McKenzie said.

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.

Related: ISIS Claims Bombing Attack on TV Station Bus That Killed 2
A boom in online shopping, local deliveries and click-and-collect services during the COVID-19 pandemic could permanently change the way Victorians shop.

Retailers have been forced to create or redesign websites, train customer-facing staff in packing online orders, trial new delivery models and even pack customers' boots.

Annette Duff and Fiona Bens of Irelands Florist in Sunbury say "click and collect" business is booming. Credit:Darrian Traynor

The Australian Retailers Association says the pandemic has accelerated retail trends by a decade.

"Necessity has certainly been the mother of invention in retail this year," said chief executive Paul Zahra.
An Garda Siochana are warning the public of the continuing existence of Invoice Redirect Fraud and to treat any request to change bank account details with extreme caution.

On August 11, Bank of Ireland reported to the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) that a business customer of theirs had been the victim of an invoice re-direct fraud and had lost just over 2.1m. The Dublin based business was making a payment to a UK based business when they received an email purporting to be from this UK business asking them to send the payment to a new bank account number.

The Irish business did their due diligence and contacted the number supplied in the email and the person who answered the phone confirmed that all was correct. The money was then sent to the new bank account which transpired to be in Hong Kong. It is now known that the phone number contained in the email was also incorrect and the business was actually talking to the fraudster.

On receipt of the complaint from Bank of Ireland, GNECB immediately initiated enquiries with the injured party in Dublin and with the bank in Hong Kong before seeking the assistance of the authorities in Hong Kong. Following investigations conducted by the Police in Hong Kong on behalf of GNECB, the stolen money was secured in an account there and the return of the money is being arranged.

GNECB advise the public to be wary of such crimes and gives the following advice:

Ensure that great care and attention is given each time they are asked to change bank account details.

A phone call should be made to a representative of the company confirming that the bank account is changed and care needs to be taken to ensure that they are talking to a representation of the company and not the fraudster. Under no circumstances should contact details contained in the email or attachments be relied upon to verify the request whether these consist of a physical address, an email address or a phone number.

Businesses must ensure that they have robust policies and procedures in place to deal with requests of this nature including escalating the decision making function to supervisory positions and making direct contact with a trusted known person in the suppliers organisation.

All existing business relationships should be reviewed without delay and defensive policies and procedures put in place.

When working from home be mindful when carrying out roles you would not usually do. Confer with co-workers when you are uncertain about performing a task you are unfamiliar with or is non-standard to your regular duties.

It is also imperative that where staff are using private computers / laptop for work purposes from their homes that the antivirus softwear is kept up to date.

"In many instances the business does not know it is a victim of this crime until sometime later when the legitimate supplier sends a reminder invoice for payment," said Detective Superintendent Michael Cryan on this matter.

"It is important to note that victims of Invoice Redirect Fraud range from very small businesses to large corporations and the consequences of falling for a scam of this nature can be catastrophic and can result in the closure of businesses and redundancies so all employees should receive training in relation to avoiding this type of scam.

"In this case Gardai with the assistance of Bank of Ireland and the Police in Hong Kong were able to secure this money and ensure it did not fall into the hands of an international criminal organisations. This money was secured because Bank of Ireland acted quickly and reported the matter to Gardai as soon as they became aware of it.

"Early reporting is essential if there is to be any hope of retrieving the stolen money. This is an excellent example of the co-operation that exists between GNECB and the financial institutions in Ireland.

Further advice on what to do if you encounter an invoice redirect scam can be found HERE.
Ombudsman of the Verkhovna Rada for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova informs about four Ukrainian citizens detained in Belarus, calls for their proper legal protection and their release.

"I urgently appeal to the Chairman of the permanent commission on human rights, inter-ethnic relations and the mass media of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, Andrei Naumovich, with a request to provide adequate legal protection to two Ukrainian volunteers, who were detained during the mass protests in Belarus, Yevhen Vasyliev and Kostiantyn Reutsky, and also two other citizens of Ukraine - Oksana Alioshyna and a man whose name has not yet been disclosed," she wrote on her Facebook page on Thursday.

Denisova also called on the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross Peter Maurer, OSCE Chairman Eddie Ramu and other international human rights organizations to assist in providing legal protection to detained citizens of Ukraine.

"In addition, immediately after the arrest, I turned to the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Belarus, Igor Kizima, with a request to establish their whereabouts and check whether the citizens of Ukraine were subjected to physical force or psychological pressure from the Belarusian law enforcement agencies," the Ombudsman said.

She said also that according to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, the Belarusian authorities must immediately after arrest inform the diplomatic representatives of Ukraine about the whereabouts of Ukrainian citizens and provide access for direct communication with them.

"I demand that the Belarusian side return the Ukrainians home as soon as possible! At the same time, I join the calls of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and ask the citizens of Ukraine to refrain from traveling to Belarus for now," Denisova said.
GUILDERLAND  Crossgates Mall is hosting a virtual job fair online through Aug. 31, with 20 stores looking to hire. The job fair, accessible at shopcrossgates.com/employment, is updated daily.

Recent listings include several positions at Burlington Stores, as well as jobs at the not-yet-open Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen.
FCR Expands Call Center Jobs to Idaho With New Home-Based Positions

FCR is a call center outsourcing company based in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. The company provides a range of outsourced contact center, business process and social networking solutions to industries that include the high tech, internet, e-retail services, telecom, healthcare, finance, travel, transportation, insurance and various sectors of the new economy, according to its website.

Part of the new economy means adapting to the global COVID-19 pandemic, so FCR is creating new home-based call center jobs, despite traditionally being a brick-and-mortar operation. The company recently announced that it will be expanding its operations to Idaho Falls in a move that is expected to bring 300 jobs to the city. Its FCRs first operation in Idaho.

In a unique move, all 300 jobs will be work-from-home, according to the Idaho State Journal. This is good news for job seekers looking for ways to get back to work without putting themselves at risk for the coronavirus.

The new jobs are being created to accommodate a growing customer base in a way that keeps workers safe.

"FCR is growing at an incredible rate. We feel that Idaho Falls presents us with a great opportunity to help with that expansion," said FCR President Matthew Achak in a statement. "Idaho Falls is the ideal city that matches our business model of offering customer service and technical support jobs in a Work from Home environment. It is a community filled with hard-working and talented people who have the skillset we are looking for. Idaho Falls is a city that needs good jobs and a company that is willing to work with the community, and we think we can offer that and much more."

Achak noted that once the danger of COVID-19 has passed, the company hopes to build a brick-and-mortar contact center presence in Idaho Falls.

Edited by Maurice Nagle
13.08.2020 LISTEN

Economic loss refers to financial loss or damage suffered by a person without any evidential physical damage to the person or property damage of the victim. Principally, economic loss was recoverable in tort if it resulted from damage of property or physical damage to the victim known as consequential economic loss. However, if the loss was independent of physical damage, thus, pure economic loss, it could not be litigated under the tort of negligence.

In the celebrated case of Spartan Steel Alloys Ltd. v. Martin & Co. Ltd [1] , the Court of Appeal held that even when a plaintiff is owed a duty in respect of physical damage to property, any pure economic loss suffered in addition to physical damage is unrecoverable as either too remote or outside the scope of the duty of care. However, economic losses consequential on the damage of property were recoverable. Consequentially, the decision in Spartan Steel (Supra) indicates that Pure Economic loss, thus, loss without physical damage could not be recovered as damages in law.

The law on pure economic loss is one that is tainted with several principles and exceptions as well as public policy. The learned judge, Burroughs J. in Richardson v. Mellish [2] stated that once you get astride it, you never know where it will carry you. This Article tends to give clarifications on the law on economic loss and circumstances under which a plaintiff is most likely to succeed in an action of negligence for pure economic loss.

Pure economic loss most often than not, arises from negligent misstatement, negligent provision of service and loss resulting from defective buildings. The following categories of pure economic loss shall be discussed in light of Common law court decisions.

Negligent Misstatement and negligent provision of service

A negligent misstatement is a statement of opinion, which may be honest, but made carelessly. Negligent misstatement occurs if the maker of the statement breached the duty of care to give authenticated information which was relied on by the receiver of the information leading to some kind of economic loss to the disadvantage of the receiver of the information. Notably, negligent misstatement falls within pure economic loss since the loss is not a consequential effect of any physical or property damage. Until 1963, when the celebrated case of Hedley Byrne & Co. Ltd v. Heller & Partners Ltd. [3] was decided, pure economic loss in such circumstances was not recoverable under the law of tort. This was held to be under the ambit of Contract law, and if a contractual relation existed, the victim could sue in Contract.

In Candler v. Crane, Christmas & Co. [4] an accountant negligently prepared a report for a company upon which a third party relied on to invest his money. The court was to decide whether the Accountant would be liable for the negligent preparation of the report to the third party for their loss. The court dismissed the action of the plaintiff holding that liabilities could not be imposed on the Accountant for his negligent preparation of the report since no contractual relationship existed between the parties.

However, the case of Hedley Byrne (Supra) establishes an exception to the general rule of pure economic loss. It is however a narrow principle allowing liabilities in few situations. Therefore, Hedley Byrne (Supra) allows liability in Tort for a pure economic loss but establishes conditions necessary for a successful claim. In Hedley Byrne (Supra), the defendant bank was negligent in preparing a report upon which the plaintiffs requested and subsequently relied on. The Court held that liabilities could be imposed in circumstances of this sought even without a contractual relation. In this particular case, there was no liability as there had been a disclaimer attached to the statement, so there had not been a voluntary assumption of responsibility. The distinction between Hedley Byrne (Supra) and Crane Christmas (Supra) is that the reliability in Crane Christmas was unforeseeable and unreasonable but in Hedley Byrne, the defendant bank had a special relationship with the Plaintiffs and knew or ought to have known that the information would be relied on by the claimants.

The case of Hedley Byrne, therefore, establishes liabilities for negligent misstatement on if the following conditions are met: i) A Special Relationship must exist between the parties; ii) the party giving the advice must voluntarily assume the risk; iii) there has been a reliance on the advice by the other party; iv) and finally the reliance should be reasonable in the circumstance.

A special relationship must exist between parties:

The courts have rejected only foreseeability of damage alone to establish liability, therefore, Hedley Byrne(supra), provides that there has to be a special relationship between the giver and recipient of the party to establish a duty of care. Lord Morris stated that My Lords, I consider that it follows and that it should now be regarded as settled that if someone possessed of a special skill undertakes, quite irrespective of contract, to apply that skill for the assistance of another person who relies on such skill, a duty of care will arise.

The Privy Council in Mutual Life and Citizens Assurance Co Ltd v Evatt [5] sought to limit the special relationship to only business and where the defendant made it clear that he was claiming some special skill or competence. However, the position of the Privy Council had a majority rejection. In Esso Petroleum v Mardon [6] , the defendants were liable even though they were not in the business of giving financial advice but they did have experience and special skill and knowledge compared to the plaintiffs. The position of the law therefore is that a special relationship exists if there is a fiduciary relationship of trust and confidence. A special relationship and a duty of care deem to exist in cases involving professional or business relationships even if there is no contract. But in situations like Esso Pardon (Supra), expert opinion of a defendant, if untrue and misleading, will be regarded as a negligent misstatement.

The House of Lords in Caparo Industries plc v. Dickman [7] has thrown some clarification on the principle in Hedley Byrne Test. Lord Bridge stated the requirements a plaintiff must establish to satisfy the courts that there exists a special relationship sufficient enough for a duty of care to be owed by the representor of the information. Firstly, the defendant giving the advice is fully aware of the nature of the transaction which the plaintiff had in contemplation; secondly, the defendant knew the advice or information will be communicated directly or indirectly to the plaintiff; thirdly, the defendant knew the plaintiff will rely on the advice or information in deciding whether to invest or transact.

The party giving the advice must voluntarily assume the risk

Duty does not arise where a party advises in a social capacity. However, where a party assumes the risk of advising in connection with a business, a duty arises (Chaudry v. Prabakhar) [8] .The current test for the assumption of risk is that which was established in Henderson v. Merrett Syndicates Ltd (No.1) [9] but does not overrule the principle in Hedley Byrne (Supra).

There has been a reliance on advice from the other party.

There will be no liability if the claimants relied on their investigations other than the defendants' advice. Also, the defendant will not be liable if they indicated that they will not take official responsibility of giving the advice (Hedley Byrne)

The reliance should be reasonable in the circumstance:

In Hedley, the court stated that When a party seeking information or advice from another  possessing a special skill- and trusting in him to exercise due care, and that party knew or ought to have known that the first party was relying on his skill and judgment, a duty of care will be implied. Summarily, there must be the reliance of the other party on the advice of the representor and the reliance must be reasonable in the circumstance.

However, it is not infrequent to find the courts possibly use two or more precedents to achieve deciding a matter. In a recent case of Customs and Excise v. Barclays Bank plc [10] the House of Lords applied a multi-test approach including a tripartite test set out by Lord Griffiths in Smith v. Bush [11] , the assumption of responsibility test, and Lord Bridge's approach in Caparo.

Economic loss resulting from defective products:

As a general rule, the courts will not make provision for damages for economic loss of receiving/purchasing a defective product. The courts have cautiously decided cases outside the dictates of the general rule since. An attempt to expand tort law to cover economic loss relating to defective products will normally conflict with Contract law.

The locus classicus in this area is Anns v. Merton London Borough Council [12] . The claimant was allowed to recover damages when due to the negligence of the defendants, a faulty building was purchased which lead to an economic loss. The position of the law was followed in Junior Books Ltd. v Veitchi Co. Ltd. [13] in this particular case, the scope of Contract law could not possibly be applied due to privity problems. The claimant (the buyer of a factory) was not in direct contract with the builders. The building contract was between the builders and the original owners before sales to the claimant. Also, the faulty building had not collapsed nor caused any physical damage to the plaintiff buyer to satisfy a consequential damage suit. The majority of the bench court held that the plaintiff will be successful in his suit for damages in negligence because he was unfortunate and could not bring an action in contract law. This was a kind of compensation given to the claimant rather than waiting until the building causes damage to life or property.

The position remained as Anns test until 1978 when the House of Lords declined from following Anns and holding that, the loss in Anns was not material nor physical but purely economic loss and therefore could not be sued under the heading of negligence (Murphy v. Brentwood District Council [14] ). However, the Anns test has widely influenced tort but has been modified. The position of the law therefore is that the recovery of damages under the circumstance of Anns would be successful only if there existed a physical injury before the suit.

Conclusively, the law on economic loss is associated with seemly but different principles. Even upon the similarities and differences that exist between the case laws, the courts have set out many exceptions. This has resulted in what is most likely to be called uncertainty, Burroughs J. stated in Richardson v. Mellish (Supra), stated that once you get astride it, you never know where it will carry you. It is worth knowing that even among the commonwealth jurisdictions; the law on pure economic loss varies. It is therefore important for legal systems to establish statutes to ensure certainty in the law. The law on economic loss may seem a little clear but for the growth of society, it will be idler for legislators to a well-established law regulation conducts falling within the ambit of economic loss.

REFERENCE

Catherine Elliott & Frances Quinn, Tort Law seventh edition (2009).

Richard Owen, Essential Tort Law third edition (2000).

Professor John Cooke, law of tort, ninth edition (2009).

Emily Finch And Stefan Fafinski, Law of Tort, sixth edition (2017).

Vivienne Harpwood, Principles of Tort Law, Fourth Edition (2000).

Written By: Dapuri M. Cephas

Kings University College, Ghana.

Contact details: [email protected]

Telephone: +233503789468.

[1] [1973] 1 QB 27

[2] (1824) 2 Bing. 229 at 252

[3] [1964] 2 ALL ER 575

[4] [1951] 1 ALL ER 426

[5] [1971] ALL ER 150

[6] EWCA Civ 4, 6th February 1976

[7] [1990] ALL ER 568

[8] [1989] 1 WLR 29

[9] [1995] 2 AC 154

[10] [2006] UKHL 28

[11] [1990] 1 AC 831

[12] [1978] AC 728

[13] [1983] 1 AC 520

[14] [1991] 1 AC 398
All the circumstances of the incident are being clarified.

One Ukrainian soldier was killed and another one was injured in a booby-trap blast in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, on Thursday, August 13.

"Today, August 13, as a result of a change in the route, two members of the Joint Forces were blown up on an unknown explosive device. Unfortunately, one died, while the other sustained injuries," according to the Defense Ministry's daily report on the situation in the Joint Forces Operation zone.

Read alsoEnding war in Donbas must not cost Ukraine sovereignty  NSDC

"The injured was rushed to a hospital, where he is being provided with the necessary medical assistance," it said.

The military prosecutor's office and military law enforcers are working on the scene. All the circumstances of the incident are being clarified, it said.

Meanwhile, no enemy provocations have been recorded in the Joint Forces Operation zone since the beginning of the day.
MINSK, Belarus - Tens of thousands of people flooded the heart of the Belarus capital of Minsk on Friday in a show of anger over a brutal police crackdown this week on peaceful protesters that followed a disputed election, and authorities sought to ease rising public fury by freeing at least 2,000 who were jailed after earlier demonstrations.

Factory workers marched across the city shouting Go away! in a call for authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko to resign after 26 years of iron-fisted rule that was extended in an election Sunday that protesters denounced as rigged.

Fridays crowds grew to more than 20,000, filling central Independence Square.

About a dozen soldiers guarding the nearby government headquarters lowered their riot shields in what the demonstrators saw as a sign of solidarity, and women rushed to embrace and kiss the guards.

As the protesters rallied on the square, Lukashenko dismissed them as puppets manipulated from abroad. During a meeting with top law enforcement officials, he defended the crackdown as a justified response to violence against police by some of the protesters. The Interior Ministry said 121 police officers were injured.

He told officials, however, to avoid excessive force.

If a person falls down and lies still, dont beat him! Lukashenko said.

The Belarusian leader cautioned people against turning out for protests, saying the country is facing foreign aggression.

Dont get out into the streets. You should understand that you and your children are being used as cannon fodder, Lukashenko said, alleging that people from Poland, the Netherlands, Ukraine and some members of Russias opposition were fomenting the unrest.

Do you want me to sit and wait until they turn Minsk upside down? he said. We wont be able to stabilize the situation afterwards. We must take a break, collect ourselves and calm down. And let us restore order and deal with those who have come here.

The claim of foreign agitation was greeted with disdain by protesters.

Nobody believes these horror stories about external forces. We are tired of constant enemies and conspiracies,said Galina Erema, 42. He usurped power and has not left for 26 years. This is the reason for the protests.

A messaging app that has been a key communications means for protesters announced plans for marches on Sunday in Minsk and other cities and hamlets of Belarus, an indication that determination remains strong.

Earlier, police didnt interfere as the protesters marched across the city, reflecting Lukashenkos apparent attempt to assuage the opposition by stepping back from the violent police crackdowns seen across the country earlier this week.

The release by the Interior Ministry of about 2,000 of the nearly 7,000 people detained was seen as another move to defuse popular outrage. It said more would be freed.

Many who were released spoke of brutal beatings and other abuse by police, and some showed bruises on their bodies. Some of them wept as they embraced waiting relatives.

The authorities are obviously trying to de-escalate the situation and ease the tensions, fearing that the furious industrial workers will take to the streets all across Belarus, said Valiantsin Stefanovich of the Viasna rights centre.

Demonstrators have swarmed the streets ever since Sundays election in which officials reported that Lukashenko won 80% of the vote to win a sixth term in office.

His main challenger, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who fled on Tuesday to neighbouring Lithuania, posted a new video in which she disputed the results of the vote and demanded that the government start a dialogue with demonstrators.

The ferocious crackdown has left hundreds injured since Sunday as police have dispersed the largely peaceful demonstrations with stun grenades, tear gas, rubber bullets and severe beatings. At least one person has been killed.

The brutal suppression of protests drew harsh criticism in the West. European Union foreign ministers said they rejected the election results and tasked officials with drawing up a list of people in Belarus who could face sanctions over their role in the crackdown.

Work begins on sanctioning those responsible for violence and falsification, tweeted EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

Earlier, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the EU wants to significantly increase the pressure on Belarus.

Thousands of factory workers who previously formed the core of Lukashenkos base have joined the protests, denouncing the police crackdown and demanding a new election, raising the prospect of a nationwide strike.

Our entire shop voted against Lukashenko and then we suddenly learned that he won by a landslide, 42-year-old assembly worker Dmitry Glukhovsky said outside the Minsk Automobile Plant, or MAZ. They not only have cheated us but also beaten us up, and no one is going to accept that.

He said that his assembly shop went on strike Friday to demand a new election. More than 1,000 workers could be seen in the factorys yard, shouting Down! in a call for Lukashenko to resign.

At the Minsk Tractor Plant, or MTZ, about 1,000 workers also rallied to demand Lukashenkos resignation and then marched toward the government headquarters. As they reached the centre of the capital, the crowds grew and people stood applauding and motorists honked in support.

We want a new election, a new government and a new life, said 44-year-old engineer Mikhail Marchuk as he marched along with other plant workers toward central Minsk. We will protest until we win.

Workers also rallied at many other major factories in an unprecedented challenge to Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994 and earned the nickname of Europes last dictator for his relentless suppression of dissent.

Earlier in the day, Lukashenko warned that the strikes would deepen the damage inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic and could lead to Belarus losing its niche in global markets.

After the crackdown, police stood back Thursday and Friday as protests grew in Minsk and other cities. Women, many dressed in white and carrying flowers and portraits of detained loved ones, formed human chains on Thursday as motorists honked in support. Dozens of military and police veterans posted videos in which they dumped their uniforms in the trash.

The demonstrations have spread even though they lack leaders. Tsikhanouskaya urged her supporters to stop protests in an earlier video that her associates said was recorded under pressure from law enforcement officials while she was still in Minsk. The 37-year-old former teacher had joined the race to replace her husband, an opposition blogger, who has been jailed since May.

In the video released Friday, Tsikhanouskaya again challenged the election results, saying that copies of protocols from precincts where the vote was counted fairly show her winning 60% to 70%. She urged the government to end violence and engage in dialogue with protesters.

The Belarusians will never want to live under the current government, she said. The authorities have turned peaceful demonstrations into a bloodbath.

She also announced she was setting up a co-ordination council to help ensure a peaceful transition of power.

As Lukashenko faces new Western sanctions, he moved quickly to mend ties with his main sponsor and ally, Russia, after Belarus arrested 32 private Russian military contractors on charges of planning to stage riots before the election.

Moscow has rejected the accusations, saying the men were en route to another country, and alleged that their arrest was a provocation by Ukraines spy agency that had fed misleading information about their mission to authorities in Minsk.

Russias Prosecutor General Office said Friday the contractors have returned home. Another Russian arrested in Belarus, political consultant Vitaly Shklyarov, who also holds Belarusian citizenship, has remained in custody on charges of organizing riots, according to his lawyer.

-

Associated Press writers Vladimir Isachenkov and Jim Heintz in Moscow, Lorne Cook in Brussels and Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed.
Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Thursday hailed a new agreement between the UAE and Israel that would "bring peace to the Middle East".

I followed with great interest and appreciation the tripartite joint statement between the United States, the fraternal United Arab Emirates, and Israel, regarding the agreement to suspend the annexation of Palestinian territories and to take steps that would bring peace to the Middle East," El-Sisi wrote on his official social media accounts.

I also appreciate the efforts to achieve prosperity and stability for our region by those in charge of this agreement," the president added.

US President Donald Trump announced the deal on Thursday, having helped to broker it.

Under the accord, Israel has agreed to suspend the planned annexation of areas of the occupied West Bank.

Egypt supports a two-state solution with a Palestinian state whose capital is East Jerusalem and which is based on the 1967 borders, according to the UN Security Council resolutions.

Cairo has repeatedly expressed its rejection of Israels plan to annex the West Bank and called for the revival of the peace process.

The UAE is the first Gulf state and the third Arab country, after Egypt and Jordan, to officially normalise relations with Israel.

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The Porsche driver accused of filming and taunting a dying police officer after a horrific crash that killed four officers claims he was talking to himself.

Millionaire businessman Richard Pusey, 41, appeared via videolink on Thursday in a Melbourne court where he faces 15 charges.

'Amazing. Absolutely amazing. All I wanted to do was go home and eat my sushi and now you have f**ked my f**king car,' Pusey was allegedly heard to say as Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor lay dying.

Richard Pusey was arrested on April 23, one day after the fatal crash which killed four police officers

Pictured: Emergency services trying to remove a Porsche from the scene the day after a fatal crash on Eastern Highway in Kew

Top Melbourne barrister Dermot Dann, QC, who appears for Pusey, now claims his client's comments were not directed at the dying mother of two.

Instead, Mr Dann claimed his client had been talking to himself and not taunting the officer.

In a day of drama, the Melbourne Magistrates' Court heard police had charged Pusey with an offence that has never been used in Australian history.

The charge of 'outraging public decency' was added to Pusey's existing 12 charges in late June.

Mr Dann told the court today that his client would likely plead guilty to some charges if police would withdraw that offence.

Mr Dann said he could not find the charge 'framed' this way in hundreds of years of Australian legal history.

'It can't be made out legally. It can't be made out factually,' he said. 'Even more fundamentally, any court dealing with that charge would have to be satisfied that if that charge ever existed in this country, it still exists in this country.'

Mr Dann said his legal team had not been able to find any reported cases of the charge in 'hundreds of years of legal history' in Australia.

Pusey remains behind bars after he was refused bail when charged with 12 offences relating to a crash on April 22 on Melbourne's Eastern Freeway.

A truck hit four officers who had stopped to drug test Pusey and impound his car after he was pulled over for allegedly speeding

Mr Dann, who also appeared in court via videolink, told Magistrate Donna Bakos that his client wished to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.

'We understand the prosecution rely on a series of English decisions and one of those decisions traces the history of this offence back 400 years,' Mr Dann said.

The court heard previously the legal process could drag on for years if police pushed ahead with all of the charges currently hanging over Pusey's head.

'If this charge can be resolved then there is a very real prospect that the matter can be resolved,' Mr Dann said.

At a hearing last month, Ms Bakos expressed her own concerns about the charge.

The mortgage broker (pictured in a court sketch) avoided being struck because he'd been urinating off to the side of the road

Pusey previous 12 charges include driving at a dangerous speed, reckless conduct endangering life, destruction of evidence, perverting the course of justice, failing to remain at the scene after a drug test and failing to render assistance

Senior Constable Kevin King (pictured, far left), Constable Glen Humphris (second from left), Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor (second from right) and and Constable Josh Prestney (far right) all died in the crash

'One of these charges I've never even seen before,' the experienced magistrate said.

The court further heard that the only reason Pusey later gave an interview to police was because they had asked him to be a witness against the truck driver who ran down the officers.

The driver of the truck, Mohinder Singh, was charged with four counts of culpable driving and also remains behind bars.

Ms Bakos gave Pusey's legal team until August 26 to present their submissions on why the charge ought be scrapped.

Top Melbourne barrister Dermot Dann, QC, claims police have charged Richard Pusey with an offence that may not even exist in Australia

Pusey has been behind bars since April when a truck crashed into four officers after they pulled him over for allegedly driving at 149km/h in his Porsche 911 with cannabis and ice in his system.

The mortgage broker avoided being struck because he'd been urinating off to the side of the road.

The three male officers were already dead when Pusey allegedly began filming.

Public funerals were held for all four officers after the tragedy, which marked the single greatest loss of police life in Victoria's history.

Pusey's previous 12 charges include driving at a dangerous speed, reckless conduct endangering life, destruction of evidence, perverting the course of justice, failing to remain at the scene after a drug test and failing to render assistance.

At a previous hearing last month, Magistrate Jo Metcalf labelled Pusey's alleged filming of the graphic crash scene as 'highly intrusive and morally repugnant' but noted it was not illegal.

He remans in protective custody at Melbourne Assessment Prison and did not apply for bail.
The presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan, Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev, discussed regional issues in a telephone conversation on Wednesday, initiated by the Azerbaijani side, TASS reporterd citing the Kremlin press service.

The presidents "exchanged views on the regional topic within the context of the deterioration of the situation on the Azerbaijani-Armenian state border in July of this year. The Russian side emphasized the importance of avoiding any actions that could enflame tensions," it added.

Azerbaijans President has also congratulated Russian leader on the registration of a coronavirus vaccine.

The two leaders also discussed pressing bilateral issues and "reaffirmed their determination to boost Russia-Azerbaijan partnership in all areas."
The global UAV payload and subsystems market is expected to grow by USD 34.96 billion as per Technavio. This marks a significant market growth compared to the 2019 growth estimates due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first half of 2020. Moreover, healthy growth is expected to continue throughout the forecast period, and the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 30%. Request Free Sample Report on COVID-19 Impacts

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Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global UAV Payload and Subsystems Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire)

Read the 120-page report with TOC on "UAV Payload and Subsystems Market Analysis Report by Type (cameras and sensors, radars and communication, weaponry, and others) and Geography (North America, Europe, APAC, MEA, and South America), and the Segment Forecasts, 2020-2024".

https://www.technavio.com/report/uav-payload-and-subsystems-market-industry-analysis

The market is driven by the advances in electronic warfare (EW). In addition, the emergence of AI-enabled drones is anticipated to boost the growth of the UAV payload and subsystems market.

Since the early 2000s, warfare strategies of global armed forces have significantly transformed on account of the integration of advanced technologies and platforms. Drones are being used extensively in current warfare scenarios due to their visual superiority and capability of performing pre-emptive strikes and surveillance on specific locations. Global powerhouses such as the US, the Russian Federation, and China have been keenly investing in the development of advanced and powerful weapon systems that can accelerate the impact of attacks using cost-efficient and reliable sources. Countries such as the US, the UK, and France have already deployed UCAVs for counter-insurgency and domestic warfare. Thus, the increasing adoption of electronic warfare is expected to drive the need for superior payload systems integrated onboard UAVs. This, in turn, will fuel the growth of the global UAV payload and subsystems market during the forecast period.

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Major Five UAV Payload and Subsystems Companies:

AeroVironment Inc.

AeroVironment Inc. designs, develops, and operates a technologically advanced portfolio of products and services such as unmanned aircraft systems for government agencies and businesses. The company's key offerings include, which is an EO/IR payload that features a 15-megapixel color camera. It supports 50x lossless zoom to provide nighttime and low-light capabilities, ranging from near-infrared (NIR) to long-wave infrared (LWIR) imagery.

BAE Systems Plc

BAE Systems Plc has business operations under various segments, such as electronic systems, cyber and intelligence, platform and services, air, and maritime. The company offers Tactical SIGINT Payload, which is a next-generation SIGINT system that integrates a software-defined open architecture for LOS and BLOS network operations to provide the command center with a 360-degree aerial view of the operational area in real time.

Elbit Systems Ltd.

Elbit Systems Ltd. provides a broad portfolio of airborne, land, and naval systems as well as products for defense, homeland security, and commercial applications. The company offers UAS Data Link Systems, which combines multiple streams of data gathered by a variety of UAS sensor payloads into a unified stream of Internet Protocol (IP) data packets.

Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd.

Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. offers a wide range of products including space systems, remotely piloted aerial systems, naval systems, commercial aircraft, maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) and conversion, theater defense, military aircraft and helicopter upgrade, ISR systems, land systems, homeland security, and cyber solutions. The company's key offerings include MOSP and MiniPOP.

Lockheed Martin Corp.

Lockheed Martin Corp. has business operations under various segments, such as aeronautics, missiles and fire control, rotary and mission systems, and space. The company offers OnPoint OnBoard Vision Processing Unit Vision Suite v3.0. This is a compact, highly capable vision processing unit (VPU) that captures video and still imagery from digital image sensors, such as the onboard 10 Megapixel ePTZ digital imager.

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UAV Payload And Subsystems Type Outlook (Revenue, USD bn, 2020-2024)

Cameras and sensors size and forecast 2019-2024

Radars and communication size and forecast 2019-2024

Weaponry size and forecast 2019-2024

Others size and forecast 2019-2024

UAV Payload And Subsystems Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD bn, 2020-2024)

North America size and forecast 2019-2024

Europe size and forecast 2019-2024

APAC size and forecast 2019-2024

MEA size and forecast 2019-2024

South America size and forecast 2019-2024

Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Request a free sample report

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

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Linkedin Gisela Swaragita (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 13, 2020 14:59 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066dc187a 1 News Airport,travel,rapid-test,PCR-test,passenger,Airlines,coronavirus,COVID-19 Free

Ever since the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, air travel has been considered a risky business and is among the travel activities that have significantly changed in terms of procedures and regulations to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Over the past few months, rapid or Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test stations have been a common sight at airports around the globe to help travelers get tested just before their flight as part of the new health protocol. All passengers, including in Indonesia, are now required to obtain a test result before they get on the plane showing that they are either coronavirus-negative or, in the case of the rapid test, nonreactive.

Read also: COVID-19: Here are the requirements for those seeking to travel to, within Indonesia

Nolly Artha, 28, an employee at a private company, took a rapid test at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in East Jakarta prior to her flight to Malang, East Java, in July.

It's more convenient [to take the test at the airport] than going to a hospital, because I was afraid of being exposed to sick people, she recently told The Jakarta Post. It's also cheaper and not as crowded as taking the test at the hospital.

As the test result is valid for 14 days, she did not take another test prior to her flight back from Malang to Jakarta two days later.

In Malang I didn't see many people; I only spent my days at home and did some errands at the bank twice, she said.

A private-sector employee living in BSD, South Tangerang, Aditya Nugroho, 30, said he felt safer taking one rapid test prior to each flight, even though he flew several times within 14 days.

For work, I went to Pangkal Pinang [in Bangka Belitung Islands] through CGK [Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten], and then to Palembang, South Sumatra, also through CGK, he said. Before going to Bangka, I took a rapid test at the Skytrain Station of Terminal 2 provided by Kimia Farma Lab. Then, before going to Palembang, I took another rapid test at Terminal 3 Ultimate, also from Kimia Farma Lab.

Soekarno-Hatta airport also hosts drive-thru rapid test stations at the Soewarna Business Park, including those provided by low-cost airline AirAsia and ticketing app Traveloka.

Aditya said he had doubts about the effectiveness of the rapid test result, which was valid for 14 days.

It's still very risky, because the accuracy of a rapid test is very low. I think the government should perhaps make the rapid test result only valid for one trip, he added.

Experts indeed have voiced concerns over the widespread use of rapid antibody tests for COVID-19 as requirements for various activities during the pandemic, including for traveling in Indonesia. According to the Association of Indonesia's Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine specialists (PDS PatKLIn), many of the rapid antibody test brands used in the country had sensitivity and specificity lower than 50 percent.

Just before her flight to Istanbul, Turkey, in July, Mia Kusumawati, 42, an entrepreneur living in Depok, West Java, took a drive-thru rapid test at Soewarna Business Park at Soekarno-Hatta Airport.

I paid for the test, got my receipt, and then got in the car line to the booth, she recently told the Post by text message.

Mia said the service was very helpful and she only needed to wait 30 minutes before her test result was issued. Provided by a private lab, the service costs her Rp 150,000 (US$10.25).

Mia showed her test result to the check in staff at the Turkish Airlines booth, the airline with which she flew to Istanbul.

After spending around two weeks in Turkey, she flew back to Jakarta through Istanbuls airport, where she took the PCR test, also known as a swab test.

The airport in Istanbul provides a PCR test facility. As a foreigner, I paid 220 Turkish lira (US$30). Turkish people only pay 110 lira, she said. The test result is emailed to the passenger within two hours. Travelers can also ask for a hard copy of the result.

[Sadly] we havent got any PCR test [stations] at [our] airports, she said.

According to tempo.co, there are some airports in the country that only require passengers to show negative rapid test results prior to boarding, such as Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and Yogyakarta International Airport. However, there are also airports that require travelers to take a PCR test, such as Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali and Lombok International Airport in West Nusa Tenggara.

"The requirements depend on the policy issued by each regional administration," said the Transportation Ministry's air transportation director general, Novie Riyanto. (kes)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 13, 2020 13:30 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066dbb8fd 1 World sailor,long-xing-629,death Free

An Indonesian crewmember of Chinese fishing ship Long Xing 629 has reportedly been killed in a workplace accident.

The Indonesian Fishery Workers Union (SPPI) chairman in South Korea, Ari Purboyo, said he received news of the death on Tuesday morning from a former Lon Xing worker.

The Indonesian worker, identified as SA, reportedly died while the ship was sailing off the coast of Peru. The ship's captain claimed it had been an accident.

Im still trying to confirm the information as well as monitor the ships movement, Ari said as quoted by kompas.id.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah confirmed the news.

A a crew member from Indonesia was killed on the fishing ship Long Xin 629 on Aug. 11 in a workplace accident, he said, adding that the Foreign Ministry would check the information with the Indonesian Embassy in Lima.

A video appeared on Facebook in May showing a group of sailors on the Lu Qing Yuan Yu 623 throwing the body of an Indonesian sailor into the sea. Prior to that, there was public outrage over the death of four Indonesian sailors registered to another Chinese fishing ship.

According to Destructive Fishing Watch data, 30 Indonesian crewmen were victims of alleged exploitation aboard Chinese fishing vessels between November 2019 and June, seven of whom have died while three others have gone missing. (dpk)
Honor has confirmed last month's leak concerning its first gaming laptop. To be marketed under its Hunter brand, the laptop is supposedly inspired by the design of modern supercars. Presumably, Honor will deck out the laptop with AMD Renoir APUs, too.

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It has been a few weeks since @RODENT950 published details about the Honor Hunter, the Huawei subsidiary's first gaming laptop. The leak offered some sketches of the device, which show that Huawei and Honor have been inspired by the design of modern supercars. Now, Honor has teased the release of the Honor Hunter on Weibo.

Currently, the company has only posted a photo of the Hunter logo, which has been finished in gold. According to Gizmochina, the teaser contains the phrase "Hunter is coming", so we can probably infer that Honor plans to launch the laptop soon. The company is yet to reveal any CPU or GPU details, but we would bet on Honor including the AMD Ryzen 4000H series and up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 GPU.
New Zealand's deputy prime minister claims the nation's shock coronavirus outbreak spread throughout the community following a 'breach' inside the quarantine system.

Winston Peters told local media a 'reliable' journalist gave him the information after the nation recorded a further 14 new cases on Thursday.

'It wasn't an official, I found out from somewhere else, but I think there's been a breach inside our quarantine system,' he told ABC 24 News.

'I think, when that comes out very shortly, in a matter of maybe less than day, we'll find out that was the case. But you don't always find out from your officials.'

Mr Peters said he doubted the virus had survived undetected within the community for so long. New Zealand celebrated 102 days of zero community transmission prior to the outbreak.

'I don't know where this quarantine breach may have happened, but I think you can eliminate it being some new strain of COVID-19 that hitherto my country hadn't seen,' he said.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's office refuted the claims.

A police officer wearing a mask gets his morning coffee from The Store in Kohimarama as Auckland wakes to a return to Stage Three lockdown (pictured on Thursday)

A man wearing a face mask is seen in downtown Auckland, New Zealand on Wednesday (pictured)

Winston Peters told local media a 'reliable' journalist made the shock allegations after the nation recorded a further 14 new cases on Thursday

He said 'no connection between managed isolation and these cases have been established at this point'.

Authorities are investigating the possibility the virus was imported in on refrigerated freight after word spread the first case was an employee at a warehouse which handled frozen goods.

Mr Peters, the leader of the New Zealand First party, did not suggest the virus escaped through any fault of the quarantine program or authorities managing it.

He referenced the bungled hotel isolation program in Victoria, which has been linked to potentially every new case in the state's second wave.

'In Melbourne's case, of course, it was  how shall I say it without being too critical?  pretty slack oversight and supervision, where it was put in the hands of private industry, which was a disaster,' he said.

'In our case, we got the army in early enough to know that wouldn't have been the problem. But there's been a breach, and we'll find out in a matter of hours, or within a day.'

But Mr Peters was quick to reiterate that all information was currently speculative and still under investigation.

Two businesses in Auckland have so far been linked to the fresh coronavirus outbreak in New Zealand

Two women wearing face masks and carrying toilet paper walk on a street in downtown Auckland, New Zealand (pictured on Wednesday night)

People line up in front of a supermarket in downtown Auckland, New Zealand as lockdown began (pictured on Thursday)

A young woman talks on her phone wearing a mask in front of a shop along Cuba Street in Wellington on Thursday

Of the new cases diagnosed on Thursday, 13 have been linked to the Auckland cluster which plunged the nation back into lockdown.

Just one is a returned traveller in hotel quarantine.

There are now 36 active cases in the country - a massive spike for the nation as it had just celebrated 102 days without a single case through community transmission on Sunday.

Three of the cases are employees at Americold, a cold storage facility believed to be at the heart of the outbreak. Another seven are family members of these employees.

Ms Ardern made the drastic move to force New Zealand back into lockdown on Wednesday after the first new COVID-19 cases emerged.

Health experts are still trying to figure out how the cluster began after the country had gone 102 days without a single case of community transmission and it seemed the country had eliminated the virus.

Queues stretch for kilometres in and out of Auckland as police stop vehicles at a checkpoint on SH1 north of Wellsford on August 12

A nurse prepares to test people at a Covid-19 testing facility in Eden Terrace, Auckland, on Thursday

Police question drivers as they head in and out of Auckland on SH1 north of Wellsford on Wednesday (pictured) amid new Stage Three lockdown

People wear masks as they enjoy the sun amid Auckland's lockdown

They are using genome sequencing - looking at the genetic material, or DNA, of an organism - to track the source of the infection.

Americold is set to undergo testing for COVID-19 amid fears the virus survived on refrigerated freight sent from overseas and then spread to staff.

One of China's top epidemiologists Wu Xunyou warned the virus could survive up to three months on frozen food packaging, adding credence to the theory about New Zealand's new cases.

The lockdown has forced families to stay-at-home for 72 hours.

The rest of the country was placed under Stage Two restrictions - mandating social distancing and limits on the size of gatherings.

An emergency public safety alert text message was sent out informing New Zealanders of the latest restrictions during an outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made the drastic move to force the country back into lockdown (pictured, a barista in Auckland wearing a face mask on Thursday)

All aged care facilities will close their doors to everyone but staff from Wednesday to keep those residents safe.

'This is tough for people, but it's necessary. We need to protect the most vulnerable,' Ms Ardern said.

Ms Ardern also urged residents in Auckland to wear a mask or face covering when out in public.

'If you are in Auckland, please cover your face if you leave home - masks or a bandanna is fine,' she said.

The new outbreak has baffled authorities who were certain the country had eliminated the virus.

Nurses prepare to test people at a Covid-19 testing facility in Eden Terrace, Auckland on Thursday

Medical staff test residents of South Auckland at a pop up Covid-19 testing centre in the Otara Mall, in Auckland, as New Zealand prepares to move into Covid-19 Alert Level 3 on Wednesday
Our mouths may be home to a multi-tasking taste bud cell that can identify four different flavours.

Most known taste bud cells can only register a specific taste, either bitter, sweet and unami; or sour and salty.

But the newly-discovered versatile cells are able to spot sweet, sour, umami and bitter tastes, an unheard of level of variety.

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Most known taste bud cells can only register a specific taste, either bitter, sweet and unami; or sour and salty. But the newly-discovered versatile cells are able to spot almost all of them (Stock)

Taste buds are made up of three types of cells which collectively create what we experience when we eat.

Type I cells acts as support cells; Type II cells detect bitter, sweet and umami tastes; and Type III cells detect sour and salty flavors.

But studies on mice reveal a previously unknown subset of Type III cells which are 'broadly responsive' to all flavours.

These cells have two different signalling pathways which allow them to respond to sourness one way and sweet, bitter and umami stimuli using another.

Taste buds are made up of three types of cells which collectively create what we experience when we eat. Type I cells acts as support cells; Type II cells detect bitter, sweet and umami tastes; and Type III cells detect sour and salty flavors (pictured, a diagram showing the traditional understanding)

This offers the first physical evidence of a broad-scope taste bud to back up several theories.

Although their contribution to the sense of sense can not yet be quantified, it is expected to be significant.

Their discovery provides new insight into how taste information is sent to the brain for processing, and suggests that taste buds are far more complex than we currently appreciate.

'Taste cells can be either selective or generally responsive to stimuli which is similar to the cells in the brain that process taste information,' commented author Dr Kathryn Medler, of the University of Buffalo.

'Future experiments will be focused on understanding how broadly responsive taste cells contribute to taste coding.'

The research was published in the journal PLOS Genetics.
US President Donald Trump has said the United Arab Emirates and Israel will establish diplomatic ties in a deal halting planned annexation of occupied land sought by the Palestinians for their future state.

The announcement makes the UAE the first Gulf Arab state to do so and only the third Arab nation to have active diplomatic ties to Israel.

Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: Today we usher in a new era of peace between Israel and the Arab world. There is a good chance we will soon see more Arab countries joining this expanding circle of peace.

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The Palestinians expressed initial anger over the announcement and the official Palestinian broadcaster Palestine TV reported that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called an urgent meeting of his top leadership to discuss the agreement and determine a position on it.

Mr Netanyahu also said in the broadcast that the Trump administration asked that Israel put its West Bank annexation plans on hold to move forward with the agreement on ties with the UAE.

He said there was no change to his plans to annex parts of the West Bank but added the plans were on temporary hold and that implementing annexation would be done with US co-ordination.

His remarks appeared aimed at placating influential settlers who were angered by Israels shelving of plans to annex parts of the West Bank. But they contradicted statements from Emirati officials who viewed annexation as off the table.

Mr Trump tweeted a statement from the countries acknowledging the deal.

He then told reporters in the Oval Office it was a truly historic moment.

Now that the ice has been broken I expect more Arab and Muslim countries will follow the United Arab Emirates, he said.

The recognition grants a diplomatic win to Mr Trump ahead of the November election.

His efforts to see an end to the war in Afghanistan have yet to come to fruition, while efforts to bring peace between Israel and the Palestinians have made no headway.

For Israel, the announcement comes after years of boasting by Mr Netanyahu that his government enjoys closer ties to Arab nations than publicly acknowledged.

Mr Netanyahu has sought to build settlements on lands sought by the Palestinians and embraced a US proposal that would allow him to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank while granting Palestinians limited autonomy in other areas.

For the UAE, it further enhances its international campaign to be seen as a beacon of tolerance in the Middle East despite being governed by autocratic rulers.

It also puts the UAE out first in a regional recognition race among neighbouring Gulf Arab states.

For the Palestinians, who long have relied on Arab backing in their struggle for independence, the announcement marked both a win and setback.

While Thursdays deal halts Israeli annexation plans, the Palestinians have repeatedly urged Arab governments not to normalise relations with Israel until a peace agreement establishing an independent Palestinian state is reached.

Senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi said on Twitter that the deal perpetuates Israels occupation of the West Bank.

She wrote: Israel got rewarded for not declaring openly what its been doing to Palestine illegally & persistently since the beginning of the occupation.

Ms Ashrawi also said the UAE has come forward with its secret dealings/normalization with Israel.

The militant group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, called the deal by the Emiratis a stabbing in the back of our people.

Israel got rewarded for not declaring openly what it's been doing to Palestine illegally & persistently since the beginning of the occupation. The UAE has come out in the open on its secret dealings/normalization with Israel. Please don't do us a favor. We are nobody's fig leaf! https://t.co/6e8x7EhF2v  Hanan Ashrawi (@DrHananAshrawi) August 13, 2020

A joint statement from the US, the UAE and Israel was issued immediately after Mr Trumps tweet.

It said delegations will meet in the coming weeks to sign deals on direct flights, security, telecommunications, energy, tourism and healthcare.

The two countries also will partner on fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

Opening direct ties between two of the Middle Easts most dynamic societies and advanced economics will transform the region by spurring economic growth, enhancing technological innovation and forging closer people-to-people relations, the statement by Mr Trump, Mr Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the day-to-day ruler of the UAE, said.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised the deal.

This is a remarkable achievement for two of the worlds most forward leaning, technologically advanced states, and reflects their shared regional vision of an economically integrated region, he said in a statement.

It also illustrates their commitment to confronting common threats, as small  but strong  nations.

He added: Blessed are the peacemakers. Mabruk and Mazal Tov.

Among Arab nations, only Egypt and Jordan have active diplomatic ties with Israel.

Egypt made a peace deal with Israel in 1979, followed by Jordan in 1994.

Mauritania recognised Israel in 1999 but later ended relations in 2009 over the Israels war in Gaza at the time.
The Head Pastor of the Ejisu branch of the Jehova Nisi Evangelical Ministry in the early of hours Wednesday, August 12, 2020 met his untimely death when he was shot dead by two unidentified gun men at his residence at Anyinam Kegyase near Santasi.



Pastor Maxwell Attakorah, 44 was shot in the chest by people suspected to be armed robbers who broke into his house on Wednesday dawn.



The suspected armed robbers shot the deceased when he shouted for help when he saw them.



To prevent him from drawing attention to them, they shot him at close range killing him instantly before fleeing the scene.



Police



Confirming the incident to Graphic Online the Ashanti Regional Police Public Relations Officer, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Mr Godwin Ahianyo, said the police had information around 2am on Wednesday that two armed robbers wielding a gun and a knife broke into a compound house at Kegyase near Santasi where they broke into the room of one female tenant and took away her mobile phone and GHc50.



He said during the act, the robbers gave a warning shot and this drew the attention of the deceased who came out to see what was happening.



He said when he saw the robbers, the deceased shouted for help and this infuriated the robbers who shot him at close range before running away into a nearby bush.











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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Beginning Thursday, U.S. Facebook users who post about voting may start seeing an addendum to their messages  labels directing readers to authoritative information about the upcoming presidential election.

Its the social networks latest step to to combat election-related misinformation on its platform as the Nov. 3 election nears  one in which many voters may be submitting ballots by mail for the first time. Facebook began adding similar links to posts about in-person and mail-in balloting by federal politicians, including President Donald Trump, in July.

These labels will link to a new voter information hub similar to one about COVID-19 that Facebook says has been seen by billions of users around the world. The labels will read, Visit the Voting Information Center for election resources and official updates.

Despite such efforts, Facebook continues to face widespread criticism around how it handles misinformation around elections and other matters. The company has generally refused to fact-check ads by politicians, for instance, and a two-year audit of its civil rights practices faulted the company for leaving U.S. elections exposed to interference by the President and others who seek to use misinformation to sow confusion and suppress voting.

Facebook's Voting Information Center. (Facebook)

The effectiveness of such labels will depend on how well Facebooks artificial intelligence system identifies the posts that really need them, said Ethan Zuckerman, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technologys Center for Civic Media. If every post containing the word vote or voting gets an informational link, he said, people will start ignoring those links.

Facebook expects the voter hub to reach at least 160 million people in the U.S., said Emily Dalton Smith, who serves as head of social impact at the company. The primary focus is registering people to vote, she said, but the information people see will evolve throughout the election season.

This is a unique election and a unique election season, she said. Certainly we have never gone through an election during a global pandemic.

Story continues

Other tech companies, Twitter and Google, which owns YouTube, have undertaken similar efforts around the November election. Twitter said it is working on expanding its policies to address new and unique challenges related to this years elections, including misinformation around mail-in voting.

Looking ahead to November, Facebook said it is actively speaking with election officials about the potential of misinformation around election results as an emerging threat.

The company did not give details on the potential threats, but said that a prolonged ballot process where results are not immediately clear has the potential to be exploited in order to sow distrust in the election outcome.

One way we plan to fight this is by using the Voting Information Center and the US Elections digest in Facebook News to make sure people have easy access to the latest, authoritative information and news on and after Election Night, Naomi Gleit, vice president of product management and social impact, wrote in a blog post.
Pranab Mukherjee

New Delhi: The condition of former President Pranab Mukherjee remains unchanged and he is deeply comatose, the Army's Research and Referral hospital said on Thursday.

Doctors attending on him said Mukherjee has stable vital parameters and he continues to be on ventilator support.

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Pranab Mukherjee The former president was admitted to the hospital on August 10 and was operated upon for removal of a clot in the brain. He also tested positive for Covid-19.

"The condition of Shri Pranab Mukherjee remains unchanged this morning, He is deeply comatose with stable vital parameters and he continues to be on ventilatory support," a statement from the hospital said.

Abhijit Mukherjee tweet

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With rumours doing the rounds, his son and former MP Abhijit Mukherjee said, "My father Shri Pranab Mukherjee is still alive and haemodynamically stable."

"Speculations and fake news being circulated by reputed Journalists on social media clearly reflects that media in India has become a factory of fake news," he said on Twitter.

Sharmistha Mukherjee tweet

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The former president's daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee tweeted, "Rumours about my father are false. Request, especially to the media, not to call me as I need to keep my phone free for any updates from the hospital."
People walk past the London Stock Exchange Group offices in the City of London, Britain

By Sagarika Jaisinghani and Susan Mathew

(Reuters) - The FTSE 100 fell for the first time in five sessions on Thursday as a clutch of blue-chip firms traded ex-dividend, while National Express Group slumped after reporting a pre-tax loss for the first half of the year.

A 1.5% decline for the blue-chip index <.FTSE> saw it lead losses among European peers and pull back from three-week highs as firms including AstraZeneca <AZN.L>, BP <BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> and Legal & General Group <LGEN.L> traded without entitlement to a dividend payout. [.EU]

"A combination of some big stocks trading without the rights to their dividend and a bit of profit taking after a strong run for equities so far in August saw the FTSE 100 on the back foot," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

The FTSE 100 is up about 5% so far this month, which if gains hold, will be its best month since April. But the index lags its U.S. and European peers as data points to a much bigger hit to the UK economy from the health crisis.

Although key sectors such as housing have begun to show signs of a rebound, analysts have warned that the mini-boom could go bust once the government's jobs subsidy programme closes in less than three months' time and a tax cut expires at the end of March.

Global sentiment also remained unexciting as a deadlock over a U.S. stimulus weighed.

In earnings, bus company National Express <NEX.L> tumbled 16.2% and posted its worst day since March as it warned of more pressure on its finances over the next year.

London's mid-cap FTSE 250 <.FTMC> was off 0.9%, retreating from a two-month high.

Tourism company TUI <TUIT.L> <TUIGn.DE> fell after it said it was considering divestments or raising new equity to reduce debt taken on to survive the coronavirus pandemic.

Insurer Just Group <JUSTJ.L> and Watches of Switzerland <WOSG.L> both jumped on upbeat forecasts, while engineering company Renishaw <RSW.L> slid on scrapping its dividend.

(Reporting by Sagarika Jaisinghani in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Elaine Hardcastle)
Photo: Contributed

Back in May, the Trudeau Liberal government announced its preference for four summer sittings of the House of Commons' special COVID committee.

These sittings were set to occur on:

July 8

July 22

Aug.12

Aug. 26.

Many MPs and party leaders planned their schedules to participate on these days.

As an example, this week I am in Ottawa where I was able to ask several questions to the minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion.

Unfortunately, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau planned to be away during this week's sitting and could not be held accountable.

There are so many important questions right now.

One question asked by an NDP MP was:

"How can Canadians currently receiving CERB plan for the transition to EI at the end of the month when it is just weeks away and they have no idea what the details will be?"

Unfortunately, the minister replied that the government is not in a position to provide any details until next week."



Next week is less than two weeks from the time the CERB benefit ends.

If someone collecting CERB receives less money on EI, this is something they will need to budget for.

I asked a number of questions including the challenge facing many expectant mothers who, because of COVID, were just short of accumulating the required hours to be eligible for the Canada maternity benefit.

Unfortunately, the minister couldnt answer this question either.

Also occurring this week, the leader of the Bloc Quebecois, Yves-Francois Blanchet, has demanded that:

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his finance minister and his (The Prime Ministers) chief of staff resign.

Mr. Blanchet has taken issue with:

Details of the WE Charity contract

Revelations the administration of the commercial rent relief program went to a company where the husband of the PMs chief of staff is employed as a senior executive.

In order to carry out his threat, Mr. Blanchet indicated the Bloc will table a confidence motion against the Trudeau Liberal government this fall.

The only way such a motion could pass is if all three opposition parties, the Bloc Quebecois, the NDP and Conservatives, voted in favour.

Generally speaking, this is how many minority governments ultimately fall.



My question this week relates to this potential non-confidence motion.

In the event the Bloc Quebecois tables a non-confidence vote in the Trudeau Liberal government that could potentially trigger a fall election, would you vote in favour or against?

I can be reached at [email protected] or call toll free 1-800-665-8711.
Three journalists working for The Caravan magazine attacked in northeast Delhi, site of religious violence in February.

Three Indian journalists were attacked by a Hindu mob while reporting on a story in the capital, New Delhi, on Tuesday, the journalists have told Al Jazeera.

Journalist Shahid Tantray and two colleagues were filming for The Caravan magazine in northeast Delhi, which was hit by religious violence in February. At least 53 people were killed in that violence, most of them Muslims.

Tantray, who is from Indian-administered Kashmir, said they were shooting video when a small group of Hindus, including a man who identified himself as a member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), asked him why he was taking visuals there.

I stood like a wall between Shahid (Tantray) and the Hindu crowd. It was actually a do or die situation for me to save him. Prabhjit Singh, journalist

They grew suspicious after seeing my name on my press card, Tantray, 28, told Al Jazeera.

The BJP man shouted that he (Tantray) is a Muslim and started calling more people to the scene, he said.

The mob beat me, punched on my neck and back, and tried to strangle me with the camera strap. I have pain in my neck as well as lower back since then.

Their enemy was Tantray  a Muslim

He added that the mob kept them as hostages for nearly 90 minutes. His colleague, Prabhjit Singh, tried to shield him from the furious mob until two policemen stationed nearby arrived.

An additional team of police was called to save the journalists from the mob. They were later taken to the nearest police station.

Singh, a contributory writer at The Caravan, dubbed as Indias New Yorker, said Tantray and a female reporter were capturing a scene of a local street decked out with religious flags associated with Hindu far-right groups, when three to four men came out and started shouting at them for taking pictures.

[Photo courtesy of Prabhjit Singh]

As a man kept asking for Tantrays name, Singh began calling Tantray by a Hindu name, Sagar. Chalo Sagar yahan se (Lets go from here, Sagar), Singh, who is a Sikh, told Tantray as he wanted to save him from the mob.

I could clearly see the hatred in their eyes, the communally frenzied eyes. I wore a turban as a Sikh and they were conscious of my religious identity, too. But their enemy was Shahid (Tantray), a Muslim, Singh told Al Jazeera.

I stood like a wall between Shahid (Tantray) and the Hindu crowd. It was actually a do or die situation for me to save him.

More people later gathered and the mob grew to about 100 people, he said.

While the female colleague managed to get out of the street, the mob locked up the gate of the colony and confined Shahid (Tantray) and me there on the street, Singh, 50, told Al Jazeera.

The New Delhi-based magazine also claimed that the female reporter was sexually harassed.

The mob ... tried to strangle me with the camera strap. I felt closely the dangers that are prevalent for Indian Muslims. But I will not halt my work. Shahid Tantray, journalist

Police statement

A police statement on Wednesday said the complaints were being investigated and appropriate legal action would be taken.

Taking pictures without consent may provoke those present and create Law and Order problems including communal problems, the statement said.

The videos that Tantray had captured were finally deleted in the presence of police, who have yet to lodge a FIR (First Information Report or formal police complaint) regarding the incident.

If this is happening to a journalist, we can only imagine what would be happening to people without such avenues that are available to journalists, Tantray told Al Jazeera.

I am definitely scared, and I felt closely the dangers that are prevalent for Indian Muslims. But I will not halt my work. As a journalist I feel it is my responsibility to bring out the truth.





Islamophobic attack

The attack has been condemned by rights groups and journalists.

Vinod Jose, the executive editor of The Caravan, described it as an attack on journalism and free and fair reporting.

Hartosh Singh Bal, the magazines political editor, said the attack was the culmination of basically increase in Islamophobia and distrust of the media.

It's truly outrageous that the police take such a relaxed attitude to this sort of incident. Steven Butler, CPJ's Asia Program Coordinator

There was Islamophobia involved in the attack. It was clear from language that was used, from what was done and how they reacted to the very presence of a Muslim as a reporter, Bal told Al Jazeera.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) demanded a thorough police investigation into the attack.

Steven Butler, CPJs Asia Program coordinator, said attacks on journalists in India have become all too common. But its truly outrageous that the police take such a relaxed attitude to this sort of incident, he told Al Jazeera.

Police should vigorously enforce the rights of journalists to work without harassment. Unless that happens, these sort of incidents could easily continue.

Amnesty International India raised concerns against attacks on journalists.

Yet another dangerous day for journalists in the country. Journalists from The Caravan magazine, India Today, The News Minute and Suvarna News were attacked yesterday in Delhi and Bengaluru, Amnesty International India wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.

Journalism is not a crime and the Delhi and Bengaluru police must show its commitment towards protecting journalists by filing an FIR and ensuring those responsible are held accountable, the statement said.
Ashley James has spoken out about her initial disappointment when she learned she was having a son.

The former Made In Chelsea star, who is expecting her first child with boyfriend Tom Andrews, described how she felt after being convinced she was having a girl on Instagram on Thursday.

Ashley, 33, said when she first discovered her baby's gender during an ultrasound scan she felt guilty because she wanted a girl to pass on her wisdom too but, upon reflection, is now 'really excited' about the prospect of raising a boy.

Honest: Ashley James has spoken out about her initial disappointment of learning she was having a son (pictured last month)

Ashley, who is a body confidence advocate, explained how having negative experiences with men impacted her outlook at first as she felt more comfortable being around women.

During a Q and A, one fan asked: 'Can you tell us more about your gender disappointment? I think there's a stigma around it.'

To which Ashley replied: 'I think a lot of people feel guilty because: A) Having a baby is such a blessing they feel guilty to admit any disappointment

Gender: The former Made In Chelsea star described how she felt after being convinced she was having a girl on Instagram on Thursday

'B) They worry people will judge them or think they won't love their child

'For me, I'm passionate about empowering women. I've spent the last decade on a huge journey trying to build self esteem, boundaries and confidence

'I'd love to pass this down to a daughter.

Exciting: 'I'm now really excited to know I can raise an incredibly respectful boy', Ashley said

'I also have had a lot of negative experiences with men, and learning I was having a boy made me deal with a lot of that and also work on separating my negative experiences from an entire sex.'

Ashley went on to say she is very feminine and is already outnumbered by boys in her house including her boyfriend and dogs Snoop and Biggie.

She continued: 'I don't know how rational that is as I know gender is a social construct anyway.

'I'm now really excited to know I can raise an incredibly respectful boy.

'Also there's never been any doubt in my mind that I will love the hell out of this baby and I feel very connected to him, so please don't mistake gender disappointment with lack of love.'

The blonde beauty previously told OK! Magazine: 'I was so convinced I was having a little girl, perhaps I was somewhat hoping to raise a little feminist with a strong mind?

'But I know that this little boy will grow up so loved and supported, with great values and the upmost respect for women... and hopefully he'll make a great big brother one day!'
Contact Tracing Efforts Hit an Obstacle: Mistrust and Information Withholding

Contact tracing has become one of the key tools to track and fight the spread of the coronavirus. While there are thousands of contact tracers working to follow the path of the virus, there are not nearly enoughand many are finding that people are uncooperative.

Contact tracing is a common and widely researched way of fighting the spread of infectious diseases. It has been used to fight the outbreak of Ebola, and now it is a tool to tackle the coronavirus.

Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, governments, organizations big and small, employers, schools and communities have been trying to learn about and incorporate contact tracing into their systems. Countries across the globe have been working to utilize this tool.

How does it work? Check out this YouTube video:

However, one NPR article explains that contact tracing in the U.S. is not going so well. To start, over 5 million Americans have been infected with the virus, and the U.S. has at least 41,122 contact tracersbut that is not even half of what public health experts say is needed to contain the virus.

The role of the contact tracer is to call each person who has tested positive and track down their contacts to inform them of their risk so they can quarantine. They often can also give people services so they can safely isolate.

Contact tracing groups are already short-staffed, but they are also finding that people are not cooperating or providing information.

Some companies are causing issues, the article explains. One Los Angeles company reportedly told its workers that if they cooperate with public health officials that they will be terminated.

Elya Franciscus, an epidemiologist with Harris County Public Health in Houston, and Michael Osur, assistant director and chief health strategist of the Riverside County Department of Public Health, shared their experiences.
The conservation and banking of tissues subsequent to donor harvest is an extended medicinal area that has until lately witnessed progress. Nevertheless, in a similar way we bank stem cells, embryos and other tissues at present are likely to govern the biological time for complete tissues through approaches identical to vitrification and controlled hypothermia. A constant growth of tissues and organs scarcity has led to early deaths with consequences in enormous outlays to society. The capacity to bank tissues has an instantaneous effect on transplant medicine, surgical treatment of cancer, combat trauma, and industrial accidents.

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Market Analysis  The Global Tissue Banking Market is estimated to witness a CAGR of 11.2% during the forecast period 20182024. The market is analyzed based on four segments  type, application, tissue type, and regions.

Regional Analysis  The regions covered in the report are North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World (ROW). North America accounts for the largest share of the tissue banking market, followed by Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World. More than 44.0% of the market is occupied by North America, with the US being the major contributor to the market growth.

Type Analysis  Based on types, the market is segmented into equipment and consumables. Equipment holds a dominant share in the market and is also the fastest growing segment.

Application Analysis  Based on application areas, the market is segmented into clinical application and research & development. The market is dominated by research & development.

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Tissue Type Analysis  Based on tissue banking areas, the market is segmented into cardiovascular tissue, lung tissue, kidney tissue, corneal tissue, and other tissues. The corneal tissue segment is dominant among others in the market.

Key Players  The major players in the market are Thermo Fisher Scientific, Danaher Corporation, Custom Biogenic Solution, Tecan Group, and Brooks Automation, Inc.

Competitive Analysis  The tissue banking market is facing intense competition due to the presence of many players in the market. However, the majority of the market share is occupied by Thermo Fisher Scientific, Danaher Corporation, Custom Biogenic Solution, Tecan Group, and Brooks Automation, Inc. To maintain their leadership, the major players are collaborating with small players who have advanced technology. For instance, in March 2014, Brooks Automation collaborated with BioCision for the development of automated temperature-controlled technology for biobanking and sample handling. This association helped in filling the gap amongst sample handling and automation process.

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Benefits  The report provides complete details about the usage and adoption rate of tissue banking in various regions. With that, key stakeholders can know about the major trends, drivers, investments, and vertical players initiatives. Moreover, the report provides details about the major challenges that are going to impact on the market growth. Additionally, the report gives the complete details about the key business opportunities to key stakeholders to expand their business and capture the revenue in specific verticals to analyze before investing or expanding the business in this market.
By Express News Service

KOCHI: Swapna Suresh, the key accused in the smuggling of gold via the diplomatic channel, was on Thursday denied bail on Thursday by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (Economic Offences) Court who said she is an extremely 'influential woman' in the 'corridors of power'.

The court also denied bail to another accused Said Alavi even though he claimed it on medical grounds.

Deepu C, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM), observed that Swapna cannot be released on the grounds that she is a woman.

"Indian women are generally considered as a weaker section of society. Therefore, discretion can be exercised in favour of a woman. Swapna is an extremely influential lady. Even after her resignation from the consulate, she continued to help the top officials there. That apart, she managed to obtain employment in the project proposed by the state government. Her extreme influence in the corridors of power is evident from the available records. Such a woman is not entitled to the benefit of the proviso to section 437 of CrPC (provision for granting bail in non-bailable offence)," the court observed.

Regarding the bail petition filed by Said Alavi on medical grounds, the court maintained that it checked the medical reports regarding treatment for a prostate-related ailment he underwent six months ago. No recent medical reports were received. The discharge summary issued six months ago states that his condition is stable.

If the accused needs instant medical treatment for critical ailments at a specialty hospital with the help of his relatives, the request can be positively considered, said the court. "If accused persons are allowed to step out of the jail on the grounds of all kinds of sickness, it would open the flood gates for the accused," the court added.

The court said the instant release of both the accused will hamper the successful progress of the investigation. The court also ordered the Jail Superintendent to provide all necessary medical aid to Said Alavi and he should be lodged in a hygienic ambience to avert the possibility of infection.

"I find great force in the submission of the learned Special Prosecutor that petitioners are likely to tamper with evidence, influence witnesses and help the absconding accused in the event of granting bail," the court stated.

Earlier, the Customs had opposed the bail plea of Swapna, saying she managed to escape from Thiruvananthapuram when the triple lockdown was announced. Similarly, crossing several checkpoints, she reached Kochi and later went to Bengaluru.

The court in its order stated, "Considering the series of events, prima facie, I find reasons to uphold the contention of the Special Prosecutor that she could not normally abscond freely to the neighbouring state after crossing several checkpoints unless she got some favour from such checkpoints."

However, the court decided not to make any observation about the role of the consul general and charge d'affairs of the UAE consulate for want of sufficient material to link them. Earlier, the NIA court also ruled out bail to Swapna Suresh.

The ACJM court also extended the judicial custody of eight accused persons in the case till August 25 after examining them via video conferencing.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba says that Ukraine will strictly protect the rights and interests of Ukrainian citizens in Belarus, and sent inquiries to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of this country about all citizens of Ukraine detained within August 9 and August 12 and their location.

"Ukraine is interested in Belarus being a sovereign, independent and democratic country with a strong economy and stable social relations. Ukraine is committed to a constructive dialogue with the Belarusian officials, but I would like to emphasize that we will be very tough to protect the rights and interests of Ukrainian citizens in Belarus. No one should have any illusions about this," Kuleba said at an online briefing on Thursday.

According to Kuleba, the Foreign Ministry has already sent two notes to the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, in which it asks the Belarusian officials to provide information about all citizens of Ukraine detained within August 9 and August 12, as well as their location. Kuleba said that the authorities do not provide such information, and the consul takes turns visiting all places of temporary detention of citizens in order to establish Ukrainians' place of stay.

"We demand an immediate meeting of the consul with these detainees," the minister said.

He also said that the Foreign Ministry demands the release of these persons in order to return them to Ukraine.
The on Thursday said it was aware of the threats to the multi-billion-dollar Economic Corridor and security measures were periodically enhanced to deal with the emerging dangers.

Speaking to the media in Rawalpindi, Army Spokesperson Major General Babar Iftikhar said, "The security of the CPEC has been increased. It is a continuous process and its security requirements are increasing as the project is going ahead."



"We are aware of threats and there is no compromise on its security because this project is linked with the future of our country," the spokesperson said.

He said that the war against terrorism was 'hard-earned success'.

The spokesperson said more than 18,000 terrorists were killed and 400 ton explosive material was seized from militants during the war on terrorism in the country.

He said Pakistan supported the Afghan peace process because peace in Pakistan is lined with Afghanistan.

"Peace in Afghanistan means peace in Pakistan and peace along our western borders. So if there is anyone who wants peace in Afghanistan after Afghans, it is Pakistan, he said.

(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.)
New Jerseys weather forecast calls for a second straight day of drenching thunderstorms Thursday, with 2 to 4 inches of rain possible and about half the state under a flash flood watch.

Another slow-moving system could result in heavy downpours mainly across the southern part of the state, the National Weather Service says. A flash flood watch will be in effect from 8 a.m. until midnight for Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Ocean and Salem counties.

Forecasters remain concerned about the chance of flooding in areas with poor drainage as well as small streams and creeks spilling over their banks.

In general, itll be a cloudy day with temps in the low to mid 80s.

The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch for the southern half of New Jersey with heavy rain expected on Thursday.

Showers and thunderstorms are still possible in the rest of the state, though there are no flooding concerns as of Thursday morning.

Theres a chance of rain again on Friday with highs in the low 80s. Saturday looks dry and sunny in north and Central Jersey, though rain is in the forecast in South Jersey. More storms are possible statewide on Sunday.

Minor coastal flooding is possible with the high tides on Saturday afternoon and evening along the ocean and more likely with high tides on Sunday, the weather service says.

On Wednesday, strong storms dropped 4.33 inches of rain in Deptford and 4 inches in Chatsworth, according to the weather service.

@NWS_MountHolly @nynjpaweather spotter ID GLNJ-099 Deptford NJ, small stream flooding measured storm rainfall 4.33 inches with a max rainfall rate of 7.13 in/hr. No hail or severe winds pic.twitter.com/0wZVgnYCa3  Matt  #vote blue! (@AnubisKhan) August 12, 2020

Forecasters are also tracking tropical depression 11, which is expected to strengthen into Tropical Storm Josephine later Thursday after failing to to do so on Wednesday. The system was 1,075 miles east-southeast of the Northern Leeward Islands as of 5 a.m, moving west-northwest at 15 mph.

The maximum winds were 35 mph. Josephine is expected to pass well off the coasts of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic on Sunday, though its too soon to know if those areas will be impacted.

...DEPRESSION IS DISORGANIZED AT THIS TIME BUT STILL EXPECTED TO STRENGTHEN INTO A TROPICAL STORM... There are no... Posted by NOAA NWS National Hurricane Center on Thursday, August 13, 2020

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NEW YORK, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- SWORD Health, a leading provider of digital musculoskeletal (MSK) care, today announced SWORD Health's digital therapy platform and several of its applications have earned Certified status for information security by HITRUST.

The company also completed its Service Organization Control (SOC) 2 Type 2 examination with zero exceptions. The independent audit confirmed SWORD Health's digital therapy platform meets the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Trust Service Principles and Criteria for System and Organization Control.

These achievements, coupled with SWORD Health's FDA-listed class II medical device, distinguish SWORD Health as the most certified and secure digital provider of MSK care in the United States.

"SWORD Health is committed to the highest medical standards in all aspects of care, and that includes the privacy and security of our patients' information," said Virgilio Bento, SWORD Health's CEO. "Earning HITRUST CSF Certified status and SOC 2 compliance demonstrates to our customers and patients that they can have confidence in industry-recognized, gold standards of safety, security, privacy, and care."

HITRUST CSF Certified status demonstrates that SWORD Health's digital therapy platform has met key regulations and industry-defined requirements and is appropriately managing risk. By including federal and state regulations, standards and frameworks and incorporating a risk-based approach, the HITRUST CSF helps organizations address these challenges through a comprehensive and flexible framework of prescriptive and scalable security controls.

"HITRUST helps organizations meet the highest standards of information protection requirements whenever sensitive data is accessed or stored," stated Jeremy Huval, Chief Compliance Officer, HITRUST. "We recognize SWORD Health as a company that customers and patients can count on to keep their information safe."

About SWORD Health

SWORD Health is a digital musculoskeletal (MSK) care provider on a mission to free two billion people from chronic and post-surgical pain. The company's clinical-grade digital therapy platform pairs expert physical therapists with FDA-listed wearable technology to deliver a personalized treatment plan that is more effective, easier and less expensive than the traditional gold standard of care, physical therapy. SWORD Health believes in the power of people to recover at home, without resorting to imaging, surgeries or opioids. Since launching in 2015, SWORD Health has worked with insurers, health systems and employers in the U.S, Europe and Australia to make quality physical therapy more accessible to everyone. Learn more at swordhealth.com.

SOURCE SWORD Health

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The federal executive council (FEC) has approved N8.49 billion for the procurement of COVID-19 test kits. Speaking after the meeting p...





The federal executive council (FEC) has approved N8.49 billion for the procurement of COVID-19 test kits.

Speaking after the meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday, Osagie Ehanire, minister of health, said he presented a memo to the council on behalf of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

He said the diagnostic materials to be procured will help the country respond properly to community transmission.

The Minister of Health presented a memo on behalf of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control to procure materials for preparation for the COVID-19 pandemic, which is ravaging every part of the world including our country, he said.

This is part of the preparedness for community transmission which is going on now and has affected over 586 Local Government Areas and we need the materials so as to be able to expand our testing and diagnostic capabilities.

This memo is as a result of the Presidential task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 and the Special Intervention Funds managed by the PTF, which allocated these resources for the NCDC preparedness.

We are procuring these materials to be able to respond properly to community transmission phase.

This is to ensure that persons in rural areas are not excluded and to ensure that not only the big cities or towns are attended to.

Nigeria has a total number of 46,290 confirmed COVID-19 cases so far.
Drill Hole Plan Map

Monster Lake Project

Monster Lake Project

Monster Lake Structural Corridor

Longitudinal Section

Longitudinal Section

MONTREAL, Aug. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TOMAGOLD CORPORATION (TSXV: LOT) (TomaGold or the Corporation) announces that it has decided to end its proposed spin-out. Trading of the Company's shares was halted on January 25, 2019 in accordance with the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) pending completion of the proposed spin-out. Given the termination of the proposed spin-out, the Corporation will file an application with the TSXV to request that trading of its common shares be resumed on the TSXV. The Corporation will confirm in a press release the date on which trading of its common shares will resume on the TSXV.



The Board of Directors has decided that the time has come for TomaGold to resume trading in its securities by terminating the spin-out, said David Grondin, President and Chief Executive Officer of TomaGold. During this period of inactivity, TomaGold's gold assets have increased in value, particularly with the rise in the price of gold and the renewed activity in the Chibougamau mining camp. We are now in a much better position with an interest in the high-grade Monster Lake deposit and other quality mining projects located in key areas, as well as interests in promising mining companies. Our objective will be to continue to enhance the value of our assets.

Summary of recent property transactions:

Lac Doda property

The Corporation has proceeded with the closing of the option agreement for the sale of up to an 80% interest in the Lac Doda property to Goliath Resources Limited (TSXV: GOT) ("Goliath") (see press release dated July 9, 2020 ). As provided in the agreement, Goliath issued to TomaGold 625,000 common shares and 625,000 warrants, with each warrant entitling the holder to acquire one common share of Goliath at a price of $0.24 for a period of 36 months.

Monster Lake property

On August 12, 2020, the Corporation acquired the 2.5% interest held by Quinto Resources Inc. (TSXV: QIT) in the Monster Lake property for a cash payment of $250,000 and the return of 750,000 shares of Quinto held by TomaGold. The closing of the transaction will take place no later than September 9, 2020. Following this transaction, TomaGold will hold a 25% interest in the Monster Lake property, with IAMGOLD Corporation (IAMGOLD) holding 75%.

Story continues

IAMGOLD intersects mineralization along strike at Monster Lake:

IAMGOLD today announced assay results from the 2020 drilling program completed at its Monster Lake joint venture project (IAMGOLD: 75%, TomaGold: 25%). IAMGOLD is reporting the final assay results from 6 drill holes, totaling 2,991 metres, completed as part of the 2020 exploration program.

The assay results are provided in Table 1 below and include the following highlights:

(A drill hole plan map and longitudinal section are attached to this news release)

Annie Shear Zone system:

Drill hole ML-20-253: 3.8 metres grading 16.9 g/t gold Includes: 1.03 metres grading 7.36 g/t gold Includes: 0.80 metres grading 66.50 g/t gold





Drill hole ML-20-255: 4.0 metres grading 1.89 g/t gold

Big Mama Shear Zone:

Drill hole ML-20-251: 2.82 metres grading 5.63 g/t gold

Main Shear Zone area:



Drill hole ML-20-252: 12.3 metres grading 2.09 g/t gold

The Monster Lake joint venture project (on a 100% basis) hosts a Mineral Resource comprising 1,109,700 tonnes of inferred resources averaging 12.14 grams of gold per tonne for 433,300 ounces of contained gold, assuming an underground mining scenario (see news releases dated March 28, 2018 and February 18, 2020 ), as prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101) Standard of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

The objective of the 2020 drilling program was to test priority areas along the strike of the main Monster Lake structural corridor, which hosts the 325-Megane zone, for additional zones of mineralization with potential to increase total mineral resources on the property. The focus was on testing the Annie Shear Zone extending to the northeast along strike of the 325-Megane zone in an effort to extend the mineralization intersected during 2019. The program was executed in two phases due to the suspension of activities in March 2020, as directed by the Government of Quebec in response to the COVID-19 crisis. The program was subsequently restarted, and completed in June 2020.

IAMGOLD next steps

These drilling results will be incorporated into the structural and deposit models and used to guide the next drilling programs. Ongoing field activities for the summer season includes geological and geochemical surveys. Regional structural studies continue to support exploration targeting.

About the Monster Lake Project

The Monster Lake project is located 50 kilometres southwest of Chibougamau, Quebec, and is underlain by Archean volcanic rocks of the Obatogamau Formation, which are traversed by an important deformation corridor with associated gold-bearing mineralized structures. Exploration to date has traced this prospective structural shear zone system for at least 4 kilometres along strike, along which several gold prospects have been discovered and a Mineral Resource delineated at the 325-Megane Zone.

The Monster Lake Project is held under a joint venture agreement with IAMGOLD, which holds an undivided 75% interest in the property after having fulfilled the terms of its second earn-in at the end of 2019. Should a development decision be made by the joint venture, or should the joint venture declare commercial production, TomaGold would be entitled to a further C$1.0 million payment.

Technical Information and Quality Control Notes

The drilling results contained in this news release have been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

Work at IAMGOLD is carried out under the supervision of Marie-France Bugnon, P. Geo., General Manager Exploration. Marie-France is considered a Qualified Person for the purposes of NI 43-101 with respect to the technical information being reported on. The technical information has been included herein with the consent and prior review of the above noted Qualified Person. The Qualified person has verified the data disclosed, and data underlying the information or opinions contained herein.

The design of the drilling program and interpretation of results is under the control of IAMGOLDs geological staff, including qualified persons employing strict protocols consistent with NI 43-101 and industry best practices. The sampling of, and assay data from, the drill core is monitored through the implementation of a quality assurance - quality control (QA-QC) program. Drill core (NQ size) is logged and samples are selected by the IAMGOLD geologists and sawn in half with a diamond saw at the project site. Half of the core is retained at the site for reference purposes. Sample intervals may vary from half a metre to one and a half metres in length depending on the geological observations.

Half-core samples are packaged and transported in sealed bags to ALS Minerals Laboratory (ALS) located in Val-dOr, Quebec. Samples are coarse crushed to a -10 mesh and then a 1,000 gram split is pulverized to 95% passing -150 mesh. ALS processes analytical pulps directly at their facilities located in Val-dOr which is ISO / IEC 17025 certified by the Standards Council of Canada. Samples are analyzed using a standard fire assay with a 50 gram charge with an Atomic Absorption (AA) finish. For samples that return assay values over 5.0 grams per tonne, another pulp is taken and fire assayed with a gravimetric finish. Core samples showing visible gold or samples which have returned values greater than 10.0 grams per tonne are re-analyzed by pulp metallic analysis. IAMGOLD inserts blanks and certified reference standards in the sample sequence for quality control.

The technical content of this press release has been reviewed and approved by Claude P. Larouche, Eng., a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101.

The resumption of trading of the Corporation's securities and the transaction with Quinto Resources Inc. are subject to regulatory approval.

About TomaGold Corporation

TomaGold Corporation is a Canadian mineral exploration Corporation engaged in the acquisition, assessment, exploration and development of gold mineral properties. It currently has joint venture agreements with IAMGOLD Corporation for the Monster Lake project and with Newmont Corporation and New Gold Inc. for the Baird property. TomaGold has interests in seven gold properties near the Chibougamau mining camp in northern Quebec: Monster Lake, Winchester, Lac a l'eau jaune, Monster Lake East, Monster Lake West, Obalski and Lac Doda. It also holds a 24.5% interest in the Baird property near the Red Lake mining camp in Ontario, and has a 70% interest in the Hazeur property, at the southern edge of the Monster Lake group of properties.

Contact:

David Grondin

President and Chief Executive Officer

(514) 583-3490

www.tomagoldcorp.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. The statements in this news release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements". Readers are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and that actual developments or results may vary materially from those described in such "forward-looking" statements.

Table 1 Monster Lake Project Drilling Results - 2020 Drilling Program Hole No. UTM NAD83 Zone18 AZ DIP EOH From To Interval True Width (2) Au (1) (3) NOTE Easting Northing Elevation () () (m) (m) (m) (m) (m) (g/t) ML-20-251 520260 5488855 373 325 -50 549.0 238.88 241.70 2.82 1.81 5.63 Big Mama Shear Zone 326.00 327.00 1.00 0.57 3.50 Monster Lake Shear Zone ML-20-252 520405 5489142 373 315 -60 498.0 235.25 236.00 0.75 0.57 4.84 Annie - Secondary Shear Zone (02) 275.45 276.90 1.45 1.11 2.69 Annie - Secondary Shear Zone (03) 341.70 354.00 12.30 9.42 2.09 Main Shear Zone Including (3) 350.50 353.35 2.85 2.18 4.52 ML-20-253 520638 5489191 375 315 -50 474.0 341.30 345.10 3.80 2.91 16.89 Annie - Secondary Shear Zone (02) Including (3) 342.40 343.43 1.03 0.79 7.36 Including (3) 344.30 345.10 0.80 0.61 66.50 408.70 411.00 2.30 1.76 1.03 Annie Shear Zone 425.00 426.00 1.00 0.77 2.49 ML-20-254 520719 5489428 378 320 -58 402.0 No significant results ML-20-255 520625 5489264 376 320 -58 504.0 301.10 303.40 2.30 1.95 2.36 Annie - Secondary Shear Zone (02) 408.20 412.20 4.00 3.39 1.89 Annie Shear Zone ML-20-256 521025 5489790 373 330 -55 474.0 351.00 357.00 6.00 4.60 0.73 Annie Shear Zone ML-20-256A 521025 5489790 373 330 -55 90.0 Abandoned due to excessive drill hole deviation

Notes:

Drill hole intercepts are calculated using a 0.50 g/t Au assay cut-off. True widths of intersections are approximately 60 to 84% of the core interval. Assays are reported uncut but high grade sub-intervals are highlighted.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ba883c61-060a-46ac-ac2e-c1577bbcbddc

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/33af2707-8942-452c-bda2-d4f3867a550b




Harvard Business School Baker Library  Ethan Baron photo

With the mayor of Boston expressing concern that students coming to the city will arrive from with high rates of coronavirus, Harvard Business School is now telling MBA students that when they return to campus they need to pretty much behave by following all of the guidelines to prevent a surge of COVID cases.

As much progress as weve made and as robust as our processes might be, we must yet emphasize the fragility of our endeavor, wrote Dean Nitin Nohria and Executive Dean for Administration Angela Crispi in an Aug. 11 message to the community. We are reminded of a phrase used early in the Schools history, a delicate experiment, and its aptness for the moment we face now. Our success will depend on a number of different factors, many of which feel outside our control, to work and work together smoothly.

Why do we raise this? Because our actions, individually and collectively, in the coming weeks are within our control and will be a significant determinant of how the fall semester unfolds. HBS and the College, alone among the schools of Harvard, have students formally returning to campus. Mayor Walsh has been vocal in expressing his concerns about the influx of students to the region and the potential resulting impact on Boston and its residents and businesses. In short, all eyes are on us.

BOSTON MAYOR PRESSING COLLEGES FOR RE-OPENING PLANS

With the exception of Wharton, all of the top M7 U.S. business schools are still planning a hybrid re-opening of in-person and online classes. Harvard Business School, however, is one of only two of Harvards 12 degree-granting schools that is offering some face-to-face instruction in classrooms. All the others, including Harvard Law School and Harvard Kennedy School, will be fully online. HBS will also allow students to live in its residence halls, where they will stay in single-occupancy suites with their own bathrooms (see Harvard Business School Decides Against Starting Fully Online).

Story continues

The gentle warning from HBS comes in the aftermath of reports that Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is pressing area colleges to finish up and submit their reopening plans to the city. To ensure they open safely, students traveling from outside the state are supposed to quarantine for 14 days and get tested within 72 hours to help avoid surges of the virus.

The second-year curriculum kicks off on Sept. 2. The state of Massachusetts reported 229 new confirmed coronavirus cases yesterday (Aug. 12) along with 18 deaths. The percentage of coronavirus tests coming back positive, on average, is down to a new low of 1.5%, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

FACE COVERINGS, SOCIAL DISTANCING, REGULAR COVID TESTING PART OF PROTOCOL

HBS students need to provide COVID test results before arriving on campus, though they also will be tested again within a few days of arrival and again one week later through Harvard University Health Services. During this period, students must remain in self-quarantine. Tests taken before arriving on campus are not valid for purposes of clearing quarantine.

HBS will require students to adhere to a Campus Access Protocol and sign a community contract enforcing practices like social distancing and face coverings in public spaces. Students will also be required to submit to testing at least once a week and to monitor and report their symptoms using the universitys Crimson Clear app.

Many of the MBA classes will only be available online. For those in a hybrid format, HBS intends to limit the size of a class to 25 students and to impose requirements for physical distancing and face coverings in indoor spaces, including all dining facilities and retail locations, where contact or interaction with others is expected. Face coverings also are required outdoors when physical distancing is not possible. All campus buildings also will be locked and will require Harvard ID card access. The school is also encouraging members of the community to leverage outdoor spaces as much as possible, employing tents and heat lamps to extend the academic season.

WE KNOW WE SOUND LIKE PARENTS

Among other things, HBS plans to reduce the size of its core classes or required curriculum (RC) for first-year students to 72 from 90. So instead of having eight sections of 90 students each in RC classes, the school plans to have ten sections of 72 students each to allow for social distancing. Second-year MBA students, meantime, will be able to choose from classes taught entirely online and those offered in a hybrid format. Depending on demand, students in hybrid courses may physically be in class on a rotating basis with some portion of their class taking place remotely.

We always hope that HBS will exemplify a well-run organization, and that is our highest wish today, added Nohria and Crispi. In the most difficult of circumstances, can wetogetherdemonstrate a commitment to our mission that is a model for the University? We need everyones partnership to succeed, and were counting on everyone to play their part by wearing masks, by avoiding risky gatherings, by maintaining physical distancing.

We know we sound like parents at times (we are!). But we are driven by our love for this institution and everyone who comprises it, and we are eager for each of youstudents, staff, and facultyto have an experience at the School that lives up to your expectations of it.

EARLY ON, THE NOVELTY AND ADRENALINE AND URGENCY PUSHED US ALL ON

HBS is also acknowledging that the re-opening will be different from the more immediate shift online last spring. In a message meant for the schools staff, Harvard is giving staff an extra day off before the end of the calendar year to award them for their hard work.

The last few monthsfrom the beginning of the pandemic to the move to remote work and learning, to planning for the fall semesterhave required you to take on new responsibilities, to stretch in unimagined ways, to learn different ways of doing things, and to try to anticipate what in most respects remains an uncertain future, wrote Nohria and Crispi. Early on, perhaps, novelty and adrenaline and urgency pushed us all on. But now, five months in, and with that many months and more before there seems any reasonable chance of a vaccine, the reality of what lies ahead is upon us. And its go time.

MBA and Doctoral students will be returning, each day, in larger numbers, and well help them get settled in with housing, academic support, and more. Executive Education is building an ever more robust portfolio of online program offerings, and Online is developing a number of new courses. Our incoming faculty have arrived, and the start of the academic year brings with it for them case writing and research projects as well as course development and support. And, all our normal annual processes, such as financial planning, are beginning.

WE NEED YOU

We looked to see if we could offer you another day off, as we did last month, to allow for a bit of a respite. But truthfully too many of you couldnt benefit from itwe cant stop the calendarand we couldnt find a day that works well across all groups. But we do want to offer you a freebie: a day you can and should take any time before the end of the calendar year, not counted against your personal or vacation time. For some that may in fact be over the weeks before Labor Day. Others may be able to earmark a Monday or Friday, after the semester is underway, and put a hold on it now (before meetings get scheduled) to have a long weekend. Whatever your approach, we urge you to talk to your manager and plan it.

Why? We need you, and in fact, will be relying on youmuch as we always havein the weeks and months ahead. Our retired colleague Pat Light, who many of you remember, always used a phrase that feels particularly appropriate now: be sure to take care of the caregiver. These days, you all are caregivers. Youve been planning, working, and doing on behalf of each other, our students, the faculty, and the School. Put on your own oxygen mask, and find ways to recharge, rest, relax, and re-center.

DONT MISS: Harvard Business School Decides Against Starting Fully Online or This Survey Fully Captures MBA Discontent In The Age Of COVID

The post Harvard Business School Adopts A Parental Tone, Asking MBAs To Behave When Campus Reopens appeared first on Poets&Quants.
Mr Alexander Ato Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, Member of Parliament (MP) for Effutu Constituency has appealed to traditional and opinion leaders in Effutu Gyahadze a community in Effutu Municipality to bury their differences and forge ahead in unity to pursue a common goal and interest.

Without peace, no meaningful development can take place in any community and it is important to cool down tempers, settle whatever have inspired between you or else the youth who are the future of the country will follow same and retard the development of the area, he stated.

Mr Afenyo-Markin made the appeal in an address he delivered at the inauguration of a Health Centre he constructed at Effutu Gyahadze and named after the late Nana Heitey I, first chief of the community.

He commended the chiefs who gave the land for the project, the Municipal Health Directorate and all who supported in diverse ways to make his dream come through.

According to him, the construction of health facilities in the rural Cpmmunities in Winneba was to help ease the stress the people go through in accessing health care.

The Facility, he said was at the door step of his constituents to stop the practice of travelling long distances from their communities to the capital town to seek health care services.

We need unity to envelop our communities and as I have been saying I cannot offer you silver and gold, but basic amenities; the little, little things we need in our communities to make life meaningful, will be my attention for us to build Effutuman, the Gate Way to Central Region together, he stated.

The Member of Parliament announced that plans were far advanced for the construction of an ultra-modern Children's Hospital to be sited between Gyahadze and Gyanganadze communities in Effutu municipality, which the chiefs and opinion leaders have accepted.

After completion, it will cater for children in Effutuman and other children in Central Region that needed critical health care.

He also thanked the Chief and elders of the community for providing land towards the construction of estate buildings for workers and others in the Area.

Construction of new buildings for the High Court, Fire Service, Internal Revenue and Health Insurance offices are on-going at the opposite side of the Estates, which was about 70 percent completed.

The MP said government was delivering all its promises and urged the people not to listen to people with empty promises, but stand firm to support the government and President Nana Akuffo Addo to better their lots.

The promises he said, included; the free Senior High School (SHS) programme that made education accessible to many students and many other interventions and urged the youth to take advantage of such opportunities in place to become empowered and well informed in the society.

Dr George Kwame Prah, Director at the Specialist and Trauma Hospital in Winneba, applauded the MP for his continuous support towards quality health care delivery in the area and assured that the Ghana Health Service (GHS) would use the Facility for the purpose for which, it was built.

He appealed to the people to play their roles well as citizens, especially to support the personnel posted to man the facility and also patronize their services to make it functional.

Nana Obinefo Ninson, Tufuhen of Gyahadze on behalf of the Chief of the area was full of praise for the MP for fulfilling the promise made to them and pledged to ensure that the Facility was well patronised.

Later Madam Mariatu Seidu, Acting Director of the Effutu Health Service, Mr Eyie Acquah, Presiding Member of Effutu Assembly who chaired the programme and other dignitaries joined the MP to cut the tape to symbolise the inauguration of the clinic.

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LAKEFIELD  One of Canadas top private high schools is reducing enrolment to get through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lakefield College School shifted to online learning in March when the pandemic broke out but is preparing for a return to classes next month, but with a smaller student body, with 240 boarding students and 115 day students.

Anne-Marie Kee, head of the school, explained the return to school plan during Selwyn Township councils virtual meeting Tuesday night.

Class sizes have also decreased, averaging about 12 students per class, she said.

No class will exceed 18 students, Kee said, and any that exceed 15 will take place in a space that allows staff and students to properly physically distance.

Additional outdoor classrooms and outdoor furniture have been added so classes can be held outside as much as possible during the fall, she said. Air filtration units are also going to be installed indoors.

Instead of having eight classes, students will only have three classes to limit exposure, Kee said. Should there be a case on campus, one of the schools buildings has been converted into a COVID care unit, she said.

The schools 125 international students are being transported to local hotels after arriving at the airport and must self-isolate for 14 days. No quarantining will take place on campus, Kee said.

Once students have finished self-isolating, theyll be brought to the campus. The process has already started with students in their Uplands House, said Kee.

Were using this kind of staggered approach to get them back onto campus, she said. Were happy to report that we already have had our first student back and hes actually finished his quarantine at the Village Inn and has actually already arrived on campus.

The student, William Chan, said he was the last student to leave the campus and is now the first to arrive back.

When discussing the mandatory self-isolation, specifically for those staying at the Village Inn, Deputy Mayor Sherry Senis asked how students get their food, as theres no restaurant at the hotel and no SkipTheDishes service serving the village.

John Runza, assistant head of the school, told Senis the school is providing their own version of SkipTheDishes food deliver. Staff are on call 24-7 for their students in quarantine, he said, delivering food to their doors whenever needed.

Although students will be able to explore outside of the schools grounds, their access to do so will be limited, Runza said. If students dont follow the health and safety protocols in place, their privilege to leave campus will be lost, he said.

Lakefield College School has posted its return to school plan at lcs.on.ca/safety-first-people-place-and-program.

NOTE: This story has been updated to correct that there are going to be 240 boarding students and that 125 are international students.
Theyll be flying away.

American Airlines will stop operating flights to 30 small cities across the country on Sept. 30, CNBC reported. Thats the same date the government will stop giving airlines money as part of the CARES Act.

The massive coronavirus relief bill required airlines to keep all pre-pandemic destinations on their schedules in order to receive funding. But when that funding expires at the end of September, so does that rule.

United Airlines plans to maintain service to the small cities, according to CNBC, but plans have been known to change quickly during the coronavirus pandemic.
Soldiers of the People's Liberation Army march in front of the entrance of the Forbidden City in Beijing on May 20, 2020. (Andrea Verdelli/Getty Images)

UK Must Assess Threat of China and Russia Utilizing Pandemic: Lawmakers

Britain must fully assess the threat of hostile foreign states such as China and Russia utilizing the CCP virus pandemic to their advantage, a UK Parliamentary committee has warned.

The UK needs to make a robust assessment of the capabilities and short and long-term ambitions of hostile foreign states, the Defence Committee of the House of Commons said in its recommendations for the governments security review, which had been shelved at the start of the pandemic.

Alex Ellis, the UKs deputy national security adviser, told the committee in July that the government was restarting the review after analyzing intensified geopolitical competition following the pandemic.

Chinese police wear protective masks as they march during a shift change in Beijing on April 14, 2020. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Within this context, it is important to consider how hostile foreign states may utilize the pandemic to their advantage, the committee said in the report released on Thursday.

The committee said it had heard states such as Russia and China are employing disruption as major tool.

As a result, vulnerabilities to cyber, pandemics and other transnational threats are assuming more importance in protecting and defending the nation, Dr Harlan Ullman, an American strategic thinker and chairman of the Killowen Group, told the committee in written evidence.

Understanding of China and Russia  have often been distorted by undue analytical emphasis on potential military threats, Ullman wrote.

Therefore, he stressed the importance of considering the full range of their economic and diplomatic activities alongside their military posture, as well as their internal political dynamics.

Tobias Ellwood MP speaking during the Veterans Mental Health Conference at Kings College London on Mar. 14, 2019. (Gareth Fuller  WPA Pool/Getty Images)

In the report, the Defence Committee, headed by Conservative ex-minister Tobias Ellwood, offered advice to Prime Minister Boris Johnsons government on its Integrated Review of Britains foreign policy, defence, security, and international development.

The government has described the Integrated Review as the most comprehensive policy review since the end of the Cold War.

The committee welcomed the Reviews focus on intensifying geopolitical competition in light of COVID-19.

But the lawmakers stressed that it must consider the full range of Russia and Chinas economic, diplomatic and military activities and include a thorough assessment of their internal political dynamics.

Decisions must be made based on a clear view of the world and a detailed vision for the UKs role within it, rather than short term economic considerations, Ellwood said in a statement.
LUSAKA, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Zambian and Kenyan currencies are seen facing pressure next week as those of Nigeria, Uganda and Tanzania hold steady.

ZAMBIA

The kwacha is expected to remain under pressure against the US dollar next week due to declining supply of hard currency.

On Thursday, commercial banks quoted the currency in Zambia, Africa's second largest copper producer, at 18.3830 per dollar from a close of 18.2630 a week ago.

"The local unit is expected to face some headwind in its quest to remain range bound as other key indicators point to a weaker kwacha," Zambia National Commercial Bank said in a note.

KENYA

Kenya's shilling is expected to trade weaker next week before tax obligations to the central bank resume.

"A possible reprieve is expected when the new cash ratio reserve cycle begins and tax obligations to the central bank resume," a trader from a commercial bank in Nairobi said.

For the coming week analysts expect the shilling to trade at 108.00/109.00.

NIGERIA

Nigeria's naira is seen flat in the week ahead in a market that is seeing low activity owing to chronic dollar shortages that have slowed down businesses and shifted forex demand to the black market, traders said.

The naira was quoted at a low of 475 per dollar on the unofficial market on Thursday, a level it has been this week, while the currency was flat on the over-the-counter spot market at 385.58 naira.

Volumes on the spot market, widely quoted by investors and importers, have been declining daily, traders say, citing the absence of central bank's intervention or foreign inflows, despite rising oil prices.

Dollar shortages have plagued the country for months after sharp falls in the price of oil, Nigeria's main export.

UGANDA

The Uganda shilling is seen trading in a stable range as mid-month tax payments by large firms curb appetite for hard currency.

At 0914GMT commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,670/3,680, compared to last Thursday's close of 3,677/3,687.

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"Demand will be significantly limited because of the tax payments...I expect that to possibly keep the local unit on an even keel," said an independent foreign exchange trader in Kampala.

He said the shilling will likely oscillate between 3,660-3,680.

TANZANIA

The Tanzanian Shilling is expected to hold steady next week as inflows from agricultural exports and tourism are expected to reduce pressure to the currency.

Commercial banks quoted the Shilling at 2,320/30, the same levels as last week.

"We foresee stability around these levels in coming days," said Terry Karanja, a treasury associate at AZA, a Nairobi-based FX trading firm (Reporting by Chris Mfula, Giulia Paravicini, Chijioke Ohuocha, Elias Biryabarema and Nuzulack Dausen; Compiled by Chris Mfula Editing by Frances Kerry)
Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi  Fourteen new COVID-19 infection cases were confirmed on August 12 evening, including one in Hanoi and 13 others related to Da Nang city, reported the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

Patient No.867, a 63-year-old man, from northern Hai Duong province, had health checks-up at the Hanoi-based Central Military Hospital 108 on August 8 and then he came to his daughters home in Hanois Thanh Tri district.

A day later, he was examined and admitted to Thanh Nhan hospital with severe pneumonia.

On August 11, test results conducted by the Thanh Nhan Hospital and the Hanoi Centre for Disease Control showed that he was positive to novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19.

Meanwhile, all 13 other patients are linked to the disease hotspot in central Da Nang city.

Vietnam has so far recorded 880 infection cases, including 321 imported ones and 419 community transmissions since July 25.

The same day, a patient was given the all-clear from the virus at Da Nang Lung Hospital, raising the total number of recovery cases to 400, or 45.5 percent. There have been 17 fatalities so far.

As many as 134,248 people who had close contact with COVID-19 patients or entered from pandemic-hit areas are being quarantined across the country, including 5,365 in hospitals, 24,180 in other concentrated quarantine establishments and 104,703 at their homes.
Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle

The man fatally shot Wednesday afternoon on a busy street corner in San Franciscos South of Market neighborhood was identified by the medical examiners office Thursday as 21-year-old San Francisco resident Frank Beltran.

The shooting touched off a manhunt that closed several blocks of Mission Street traffic, as well as the Fifth & Mission parking garage, while police searched the area for the suspect.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - United Airlines said it is adding up to 28 daily nonstop flights this winter to Florida, in its efforts to manage the impact of COVID-19. The airline is increasing services to 'destinations where customers most want to fly'. The new round trip services will connect customers in Boston, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, New York/LaGuardia, Pittsburgh and Columbus, Ohio to four popular Florida destinations. From November 6 through January 10, 2021, United will operate nonstop service from Boston, Cleveland and New York/LaGuardia to Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Orlando and Tampa on peak days. Beginning December 17, the airline plans to increase service to up to 28 daily nonstop flights with the addition of service from Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and Columbus, Ohio, to Fort Myers and Tampa. Ankit Gupta, United's vice president of Domestic Network Planning, said, 'The addition of these new flights represents United's largest expansion of point-to-point, non-hub flying and reflects our data driven approach to add capacity where customers are telling us they want to go. We look forward to offering customers in the Midwest and Northeast more options to fly nonstop to Florida this winter.' In late July, while announcing a loss and sharply lower revenues in its second quarter, the company had said it was expecting to finish the quarter with the lowest average daily cash burn among large network carriers. During the worsening Covid-19 spread, the company is requiring all travelers, including crew members, to wear face coverings. The airline last week said it is improving sanitation procedure on flights and is using handheld, AUVCo blades from the American Ultraviolet company to kill any viruses that may reside on sensitive switches and touch screen displays within the flight deck. 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.
Australias Woodside Petroleum is looking for acquisition opportunities despite plunging into a loss during the first half of the year.

Were clearly scanning the landscape very closely looking for opportunities, the companys chief executive Peter Coleman told the audience at Woodsides first-half conference call.

Bargain-hunting is normal for the trough phase of the oil-industry cycle. However, this is not a typical trough, and willing buyers are few and far between, as there are way too much uncertainty and way too much debt in the industry for a regular bargain hunt.

Indeed, Woodside is being cautious with its acquisition targets. According to its CEO, the company will focus on assets that do not require heavy capital investment since it already has such assets that are waiting for better oil price levels to be developed.

Yet the company believes that the worst is behind the industry, which could open up acquisition opportunities. Among them are the purchase of Chevrons stake in the North West Shelf LNG project and the acquisition of Cairn Energys 40 percent in an offshore area in Senegal.

I would rate the external conditions created this year by the COVID-19 pandemic and oversupply in global oil and gas markets as the most difficult Ive seen in nearly four decades in the industry, Coleman said on the conference call, echoing the dominant sentiment in the industry.

Earlier this year, EY said in a report that it expected the current crisis to reshape the M&A strategy of oil and gas companies. It noted the low asset prices that could lure buyers but also pointed out that a low price may not be enough to spur a wave of consolidation in the sector as bargain hunters wanted to make sure the assets they bought would be resilient enough for the purchase to make sense.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The problems wrought by coronavirus would have challenged some of the finest statesmen in history. So its not surprising that Gavin Williamson is having difficulty.

If the Education Secretarys handling of A-levels, getting children back to school and establishing authority over Left-wing teaching unions were assessed by an examiner, he would get three Fs for fail.

You might think that when he was given this critical Cabinet job last year, it was because he had a passion for education.

Nothing of the sort.

If the 44-year-old is dedicated to improving school standards, he has hidden it well since becoming an MP ten years ago.

His maiden Commons speech focused on the need to recreate the glories of Britains Victorian manufacturing heyday. It was an understandable sentiment from the ex-boss of a small fireplace manufacturer, even if Mr Williamson is more Mr Pooter than Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

No, it was his passion for the political dark arts that got him a plum seat at the Cabinet table.

Poor marks: Gavin Williamson, the UK's Minister of Education. If the Education Secretarys handling of A-levels, getting children back to school and establishing authority over Left-wing teaching unions were assessed by an examiner, he would get three Fs for fail

As chief whip under Theresa May, he kept a pet tarantula, Cronus, in his office in an attempt to spin himself a reputation for menace and calculation.

The wily Yorkshireman later persuaded Mrs May to make him Defence Secretary, only to make a laughing stock of himself by saying Russia should go away and shut up after Moscow denied responsibility for the attempted murder of ex-KGB spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury in 2018.

A year later, Mr Williamson was sacked after being accused of leaking secrets from the National Security Council over Chinese telecoms giant Huaweis role in building Britains 5G network. It was among the gravest charges levelled against any Cabinet Minister for decades. Some civil servants wanted Williamson jailed.

Yet three months later, Boris Johnson brought him back into the fold, appointing him Education Secretary.

This was a naked reward for the way Mr Williamson had used his Machiavellian political skills (including reportedly threatening to reveal MPs secrets) to cajole the parliamentary party into voting Boris into No 10.

Mr Williamson has admitted backing whichever leader will help him climb the greasy pole, switching loyalties from David Cameron to Mrs May and then Johnson.

Yet he had another appealing characteristic. Having rescued the younger man from political oblivion, Boris knew he would be compliant. It is the same story all round the Cabinet table.

Boris was elected Prime Minister by Tory MPs and went to the electorate promising to get Brexit done. A Cabinet full of Remainers would have prevented the will of the people being carried out.

As such, it was hardly surprising that he promoted Brexiteers like Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and Home Secretary Priti Patel. But to make room for them and cronies like Williamson, strong performers including Jeremy Hunt, Liam Fox, Andrea Leadsom, Esther McVey and Geoffrey Cox (several of them Brexiteers) have all been shown the door.

No one, however, foresaw the coronavirus crisis that would kill tens of thousands, destabilise the economy for a generation and turn Brexit into a sideshow.

A Brexiteer former minister says Boriss approach worked when he was London mayor and brought in competent back-room boys to handle the detail while he took the credit front of house.

But problems in London come over the horizon slowly and are fairly straightforward. When you are PM they come at the speed of light... you need the diverse talent of a strong Cabinet. Boris has got rid of that and were seeing the consequences.

I agree.

Despite being holders of great offices of state, neither Home Secretary Priti Patel nor Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has the clout to challenge Mr Johnson  or his chief of staff Dominic Cummings.

Earlier this week, some Tory MPs said Mr Johnson had to show the same resolve to overcome Left-wing teaching unions that Mrs Thatcher displayed when she triumphed in the 1980s miners strike.

Mr Johnson said yesterday he still had confidence in Mr Williamson. For now, maybe. Cabinet sources say his name is top of the list of those lined up for dismissal in the next reshuffle.

And unlike the Education Secretarys hastily concocted plans to sort out the A-level fiasco, there will be no chance to appeal.
Paris Jackson was ready to get back to work on Thursday morning as she dropped by a recording studio in Los Angeles.

The 22-year-old daughter of Michael Jackson kept her look casual and comfortable with a magenta cropped tank top that revealed a hint of her trim tummy.

The musician bared a weary smile after recently ending her relationship with her boyfriend Gabriel Glenn.

Recording: Paris Jackson, 22, looked casual yet determined as she headed into a music studio in Los Angeles on Thursday while showing off her flat tummy in a magenta cropped tank top

Paris mixed her playful bear-themed crop top with gray sweatpants with blue and purple tie-dye patterns that were rolled up to her knees.

She wore a trusty pair of weathered Golden Goose sneakers and had her guitar case slung over one shoulder.

The 5ft9in Scream actress sipped on an energy while holding her keys and wallet and other belongs in her other hand.

Her blonde-tinged brunette locks were styled straight and fluttered about in the breeze.

Low key: Paris mixed her playful bear-themed crop top with gray, blue and purple tie-dye sweatpants that were rolled up to her knees, along with weathered Golden Goose sneakers

As usual, Paris was joined by a friend as she arrived at the studio.

She's been spotted regularly recording since last month, and since the end of June she's starred on the six-part Facebook Watch docuseries Unfiltered: Paris Jackson & Gabriel Glenn, which has detailed her musical career in the wake of her father's death in 2009, as well as her relationship with Gabriel.

But earlier this month, it was reported that Paris had split from Gabriel, though the breakup was described as 'amicable,' according to TMZ.

During the documentary series, Paris also delved into her sexuality and admitted that she had 'dated more women than men.'

However, she resisted the term bisexual, which she didn't fully encompassed her attractions.

'I've dated more than just men and women; I've dated a man that had a vagina,' she explained.

Staying busy: Paris has been in the studio nearly daily since July, and she's appeared on the six-episode Facebook Watch docuseries Unfiltered: Paris Jackson & Gabriel Glenn since June

The end: Earlier this month, it was reported that Paris had split from Gabriel, though the breakup was described as 'amicable,' according to TMZ

It's unclear if Paris' breakup has affected her music recording, as she performs in a duo with Gabriel called The Soundflowers.

A week prior to the premiere of Unfiltered, Paris and Jackson released their first five-song EP under the moniker.

Though Paris was focused on recording new music, she still found time to wish her model friend Cara Delevingne a happy birthday on Wednesday.

The Habit actress posted a funny video of Cara strumming on a scarlet and white electric guitar while trying to sing through an Instagram filter that gave her a chipmunk voice.

A follow-up photo of the two noted it was from 4:20, which has special significance to marijuana users.

Pals: Though Paris was focused on recording new music, she still found time to wish her model friend Cara Delevingne a happy birthday on Wednesday
A worker assembles a box for delivery at the Amazon fulfillment center in Baltimore, Maryland, US, April 30, 2019. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File Photo

An appeals court in California ruled Thursday that Amazon is legally liable for defective products sold on its site by third parties.

The court said Amazon "was pivotal in bringing the product," a defective replacement laptop battery, to a customer, who alleged she was burned when it exploded.

The ruling reverses an earlier court's decision in favor of Amazon, and could open up Amazon to huge legal costs or force it to police sellers on its site more strictly.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Amazon was hit with a legal defeat this week after a California appeals court ruled that the company can be held legally liable for defective products sold on its site by third-party sellers.

Video: 9 things you probably didnt know about Amazon

In a unanimous decision issued Thursday, Judge Patricia Guerrero of the Fourth District Court of Appeals wrote that "under established principles of strict liability, Amazon should be held liable if a product sold through its website turns out to be defective."

The decision overturned an earlier ruling from a trial court in favor of Amazon's motion for a summary judgment, though the company can still appeal to the state's Supreme Court. Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The case concerned a replacement laptop battery that Amazon customer Angela Bolger purchased from a Hong Kong-based company called Lenoge Technology, which went by "E-Life" on Amazon's online marketplace. Bolger alleged in her lawsuit that "the battery exploded several months later, and she suffered severe burns as a result," for which she argued Amazon should be held responsible.

Amazon had argued that it wasn't liable because "it did not distribute, manufacture, or sell the product," and that Lenoge was the seller.

But the court disagreed, finding that Amazon played such an outsized role in the transaction that it bore the responsibility for the defective battery.

Guerrero wrote that Amazon "placed itself between Lenoge and Bolger in the chain of distribution... accepted possession of the product... stored it in an Amazon warehouse... attracted Bolger to the site... provided her with a product listing... received her payment... shipped the product in Amazon packaging... controlled the conditions of Lenoge's offer for sale... limited Lenoge's access to Amazon's customer information... forced Lenoge to communicate with customers through Amazon... "and demanded indemnification as well as substantial fees on each purchase."

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"Whatever term we use to describe Amazon's role, be it 'retailer,' 'distributor,' or merely 'facilitator,' it was pivotal in bringing the product here to the consumer," she concluded.

The court also didn't buy Amazon's statement that it should be protected under section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which shields internet companies from legal repercussions for content published by third parties on their sites.

It determined that section 230 didn't apply because Bolger's claims "depend on Amazon's own activities, not its status as a speaker or publisher of content provided by Lenoge for its product listing."

Pending the results of a possible appeal, Thursday's ruling potentially opens up the online retail giant to significant legal exposure from other customers who could bring similar lawsuits for faulty or damaged products. It could also force Amazon to adjust its policies to more tightly regulate third-party sellers.

The number of third-party sellers on Amazon has grown substantially in the past several years, and they now account for more than half of the products listed on the site. That has also led to a spike in defective, counterfeit, unsafe, expired, and even illegal or prohibited listings.

Amazon listing review site Fakespot found that, over a recent 10-day period, 2,766,693 products on Amazon and 417,616 sellers were "unreliable," concluding from that sample that "15% of Amazon sellers are unreliable and should be avoided."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Pakistan Rangers personnel in more than 20 vehicles and ISI personnel in civilian clothes in five vehicles surrounded and raided the house of Sindhi leader Lala Aslam Pathan in Shikarpur city of Sindh on Wednesday.

Lala Aslam is a senior vice chairman of Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz (JSMM), a nationalist party in Sindh.

"Rangers and ISI personnel threatened his family and combed the entire neighbourhood to arrest him or his sons. This attempted operation was unsuccessful because of their absence in the house and the neighbourhood," said Shafi Burfat, the chairman of JSMM, who himself is living in exile in Germany.

In a statement, JSMM strongly condemned the cowardly raid on the house of Lala Aslam Pathan.

Burfat said, "Pakistani fascist LEAs (Law Enforcement Agencies) are conducting a brutal operation against the Sindhi National Movement for the last several years. Following the announcement by the JSMM to mark "Slavery Day" and "Black Day" on August 14, the state has started a series of arrests of national workers across Sindh".

It added, "The siege and the raid on the house of the JSMM's central leader Lala Aslam Pathan is the part of the state's anti-Sindh conspiracy, which is condemnable."

A large number of political activists and other intellectuals in Sindh and Balochistan are forcibly abducted and put in secret detention centres by the security agencies. Many of them were killed and their mutilated bodies were found in isolated places.

Family members of these missing persons are continuously holding protests across Pakistan but the government has failed to get them released.

-ANI

Also Read: Pakistan's dream of uniting with OIC countries against India over Kashmir fall flat
Rating Action: Moody's upgrades At Home's CFR to B3, assigns Caa1 rating to new notes

Global Credit Research - 13 Aug 2020

New York, August 13, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service (Moody's) upgraded At Home Holding III Inc.'s (At Home) corporate family rating (CFR) to B3 from Caa1 and probability of default rating (PDR) to B3-PD from Caa1-PD. Concurrently, Moody's assigned a Caa1 rating to the company's proposed senior secured notes. The speculative-grade liquidity rating was upgraded to SGL-2 from SGL-3 and the ratings outlook was changed to stable from negative.

"At Home's strong performance coming out of coronavirus-related shut downs and its curtailed capital spending on store expansion have improved liquidity," said Moody's senior analyst and Vice President Raya Sokolyanska. "While consumer spending on home goods will retreat to more normalized levels, we expect At Home to continue gaining share as a value price point retailer, which will support results going forward," added Sokolyanska.

Proceeds from the proposed $250 million notes due 2025 and revolver borrowings will be used to refinance the company's existing senior secured term loan due 2022 ($332 million outstanding amount) and pay for transaction expenses.

The CFR and PDR upgrades reflect the company's significant revenue and earnings growth in Q2 fiscal 2021 and Moody's expectations for stable to modestly lower operating performance over the near term. The SGL upgrade to SGL-2 from SGL-3 incorporates the lack of near-term maturities following the proposed refinancing transaction, as well as Moody's expectations for good revolver availability and lower capital spending, which will result in positive free cash flow over the next 12-18 months.

Moody's took the following rating actions for At Home Holding III Inc.:

- Corporate family rating, upgraded to B3 from Caa1

- Probability of default rating, upgraded to B3-PD from Caa1-PD

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- Proposed senior secured notes due 2025, assigned Caa1 (LGD4)

- Speculative grade liquidity rating, upgraded to SGL-2 from SGL-3

- Outlook, changed to stable from negative

The ratings on the existing term loan will be withdrawn upon close of the transaction.

RATINGS RATIONALE

At Home's B3 CFR is constrained by its high lease-adjusted leverage, modest scale, and operations in the discretionary and highly competitive home decor segment. The rating incorporates Moody's expectations that as consumer spending returns to more normalized patterns, At Home's earnings may decline from LTM levels. This will result in leverage increasing to 5.5 times from an estimated 5 times (pro-forma LTM Q2 FY 2021) and EBIT/interest expense declining to 1.5 times from 1.8 times. In addition, as a retailer, At Home needs to make ongoing investments in its brand and infrastructure, as well as in social and environmental drivers including responsible sourcing, product and supply sustainability, privacy and data protection.

At the same time, the rating is supported by Moody's expectations for good liquidity over the next 12-18 months as a result of continued solid performance, reduced capital expenditures and the extension of its debt maturities. The credit profile also benefits from the company's moderate funded leverage and differentiated home decor "fast fashion" value proposition. Moody's positively views the company's accelerated implementation of buy-online/pick-up in store and curbside pick-up capabilities during the pandemic-driven store shutdowns, which both demonstrates solid execution and improves omni-channel growth prospects. The rating also reflects governance considerations, specifically the company's increased focus on cash generation and deleveraging.

The stable outlook reflects Moody's expectations for solid operating performance and adequate liquidity over the next 12-18 months.

FACTORS THAT WOULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS

The ratings could be downgraded if operating performance declines or liquidity deteriorates for any reason, including constrained revolver availability. Quantitatively, the ratings could be downgraded if Moody's-adjusted EBIT/interest expense is expected to fall below 1 time.

An upgrade would require consistent comparable sales growth and solid margins, as well as continued good liquidity, including positive free cash flow generation. Quantitatively, the ratings could be upgraded if Moody's-adjusted debt/EBITDA is sustained below 6.0 times and EBIT/interest expense is sustained above 1.5 times.

At Home Holding III Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of At Home Group Inc., operated 219 home decor and home improvement retail stores and generated about $1.4 billion of revenue for the last twelve months ended July 25, 2020. The company is publicly traded since 2016, and funds affiliated with the company's former private equity sponsor AEA Investors LP owns approximately 16.55% of outstanding common stock.

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Retail Industry published in May 2018 and available at https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1120379. Alternatively, please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.

REGULATORY DISCLOSURES

For further specification of Moody's key rating assumptions and sensitivity analysis, see the sections Methodology Assumptions and Sensitivity to Assumptions in the disclosure form. Moody's Rating Symbols and Definitions can be found at: https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_79004.

For ratings issued on a program, series, category/class of debt or security this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series, category/class of debt, security or pursuant to a program for which the ratings are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider, this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the credit rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular credit rating action for securities that derive their credit ratings from the support provider's credit rating. For provisional ratings, this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the provisional rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive rating that may be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt, in each case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed prior to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would have affected the rating. For further information please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the respective issuer on www.moodys.com.

For any affected securities or rated entities receiving direct credit support from the primary entity(ies) of this credit rating action, and whose ratings may change as a result of this credit rating action, the associated regulatory disclosures will be those of the guarantor entity. Exceptions to this approach exist for the following disclosures, if applicable to jurisdiction: Ancillary Services, Disclosure to rated entity, Disclosure from rated entity.

The ratings have been disclosed to the rated entity or its designated agent(s) and issued with no amendment resulting from that disclosure.

These ratings are solicited. Please refer to Moody's Policy for Designating and Assigning Unsolicited Credit Ratings available on its website www.moodys.com.

Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating review.

Moody's general principles for assessing environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks in our credit analysis can be found at https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1133569.

The Global Scale Credit Rating on this Credit Rating Announcement was issued by one of Moody's affiliates outside the EU and is endorsed by Moody's Deutschland GmbH, An der Welle 5, Frankfurt am Main 60322, Germany, in accordance with Art.4 paragraph 3 of the Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 on Credit Rating Agencies. Further information on the EU endorsement status and on the Moody's office that issued the credit rating is available on www.moodys.com.

Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued the rating.

Please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for additional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating.

Raya Sokolyanska Vice President - Senior Analyst Corporate Finance Group Moody's Investors Service, Inc. 250 Greenwich Street New York, NY 10007 U.S.A. JOURNALISTS: 1 212 553 0376 Client Service: 1 212 553 1653 Margaret Taylor Associate Managing Director Corporate Finance Group JOURNALISTS: 1 212 553 0376 Client Service: 1 212 553 1653 Releasing Office: Moody's Investors Service, Inc. 250 Greenwich Street New York, NY 10007 U.S.A. JOURNALISTS: 1 212 553 0376 Client Service: 1 212 553 1653

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Lucknow: The head of the Ram temple trust, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das (80), has tested positive for Covid-19, officials said on Thursday.

Mahant Nritya Gopal DasUttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken detailed information on the health condition of Das, a senior government official said here.

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The chief minister has spoken to the Mathura district magistrate (DM) as also to Dr Trehan of the Medanta hospital and requested for immediate medical attention to Das at the facility, the official said. Yogi Adityanath

He has also directed the DM to provide all possible support for extending the best possible medical attention.

Das had recently shared the dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Ecuador's ex-president Abdala Bucaram, pictured in 2017, spent 20 years in exile after he was removed from office in 1997

A judge in Ecuador on Thursday placed former president Abdala Bucaram under house arrest over his alleged involvement in a corruption scandal blamed in the murder of an Israeli prison inmate, the public prosecutor said.

Abdala, who claims to be the victim of government persecution, will be under "police surveillance 24 hours a day," the public prosecutor said.

The 68-year-old, who was removed from office in 1997 after just six months, was arrested Wednesday, accused of links to organized crime as part of an investigation into overpriced hospital supplies during the coronavirus pandemic.

The case took a grim turn on Saturday when an Israeli inmate was attacked and killed in a prison in the southwestern port city of Guayaquil.

A second Israeli was wounded in the attack. The pair, arrested as part of the corruption investigation, claimed to have sold thousands of coronavirus tests to the ex-president's son.

When arrested, the two Israelis were carrying $100,000 and forged credentials from the US Drug Enforcement Administration.

Investigators suspect the doctored documents were given to the Israelis by members of the metropolitan transit agency (ATM) in the capital Quito.

One ATM employee was arrested alongside Bucaram and three others are being investigated.

Bucaram and the others implicated in the corruption scandal faces charges of "unjustified private enrichment, fraud, fraudulent use of a public document, tax evasion ... crimes against life," said the public prosecutor.

Interior Minister Maria Paula Romo said on Wednesday that Bucaram would be asked to clarify whether he had any relationship with the Israelis.

He is also accused of trafficking arms and heritage assets that were found at his home, alongside medical supplies, during a search in June, when he was also briefly detained.

Despite the accusations against him, Bucaram has declared his candidacy for February's presidential election.

The former president was removed from office in February 1997 after just six months when parliament declared him mentally unfit amid widespread protests against his government, despite having no medical justification for its ruling.

Following that, the populist Bucaram spent two decades in exile in Panama.

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Against the backdrop of Belaruss Soviet-style command economy, in which state companies dominate sectors like oil and gas, fertilizer, tractor manufacturing, and agriculture, one industry has long been an outlier: a thriving IT sector in Minsk.

Thousands of programmers and coders have helped birth hundreds of innovations, from games to apps to networking utility tools -- not to mention the massively popular online game World Of Tanks. Offices in the high-tech business park on the citys outskirts bear more resemblance to the edgy urban decor and hip vibes of Silicon Valley or Cambridge, Massachusetts, or Berlins Silicon Allee.

That sector is now threatened by the brutal, ongoing police crackdown that President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has unleashed against Belarusians protesting his claim of victory in the bitterly disputed August 9 election.

On August 12, scores of chief executives from Belaruss leading tech companies and leading investors called on Lukashenka to hold a new election, and to halt the police violence that has roiled the country and resulted in thousands of arrests.

If that doesnt happen, the executives said in their open letter, they will take their businesses out of Belarus.

Conditions are being formed in the country in which a tech business cannot function, the letter said. Start-ups are not born in an atmosphere of fear and violence. Start-ups are born in an atmosphere of freedom and openness."

There is a risk that in a short time all the achievements in the field of high technology will be wiped out, they wrote.

Compounding the unease for Minsk's IT sector: widespread Internet outages that began late on August 9 and lasted for nearly three days. International monitors said data suggested that the outages were deliberate on the part of the Belarusian government, likely aimed at limiting the spread of protests.

One Minsk programmer in his early 30s, who asked to be identified only by his first name, Anton, said that in response to the outages lots of IT companies were moving some of their teams to Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland, to support critical infrastructure and support functions.

If [Lukashenka] stays in power, all people who can leave the country will leave the country, not just the tech workers, he told RFE/RL.

Valer Tsapkala, a former ambassador to the United States who was instrumental in setting up the Minsk park where most of the countrys IT industry is located, accused Lukashenka of destroying the trust that the industry tried to cultivate.

The high-tech sector, its all about trust, not about expensive hardware or equipment. How can you build anything if trust has been violated? said Tsapkala, who was disqualified as a candidate to challenge Lukashenka and fled Belarus in July amid rumors he was about to be arrested.

Theres no trust in the government, in Lukashenkas words anymore, he told RFE/RL.

Minsk Tech

Minsks version of Silicon Valley has been around roughly since 2005, when Tsapkala, entrepreneurs, and others managed to persuade Lukashenkas government to allow the creation of the Hi-Tech Park in the capital.

Among other things, the tech incubator allowed for perks such as breaks on corporate income and value-added taxes. In the years since, its become home to scores of start-ups and app developers, drawing on the skills and technical training of Belarusians, as well as Russians, Ukrainians, and others.

The ecosystem, as similar tech communities are known around the world, has nurtured the development of apps such as the secure messaging app Viber and World Of Tanks.

More than 35,000 people were employed by tech developers and related companies as of 2018, according to the most recent government figures. Tsapkala estimated the tech sector currently employs closer to 50,000 people.

In 2018, the countrys tech sector made up around 5.5 percent of the countrys entire GDP, valued at around $1.5 billion, and Economy Minister Dzmitry Krutoi predicted it could rise to 10 percent by 2022-23.

Tsapkala headed the park for more than 12 years before his dismissal. After he and other would-be challengers were barred from the presidential ballot for reasons they say were fabricated, his campaign threw its support behind opposition candidate Svyatlana Tskikhanouskaya.

Tsapkala said he agreed with the sentiment in the open letter, predicting that the countrys tech sector stood to be destroyed if the government didnt stop the police crackdown and call a new election.

Lukashenka thought [the tech executives] might keep silent because of the tax benefits, but they are citizens of Belarus. They see whats happening on the streets, Tsapkala said.

The Internet outages also posed an existential threat to the countrys tech industry.

Disruptions began early on election day and persisted as Belarusians poured into the streets to protest the states claim that Lukashenka had won a sixth term with more than 80 percent of the vote.

Access to Belarusian news sites, messaging apps, search engines like Google and Yandex, and social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and VK were severely disrupted.

The outages lasted more than 61 hours, according by the activist organization NetBlocks, which tracks Internet traffic globally.

According to calculations from NetBlocks and another U.S.-based nongovernmental organization called the Internet Society, the economic loss of the overall shutoff amounted to $56 million a day.

The actual cause of the outages, which appeared to ease on August 12, were not entirely clear, though suspicion fell on the countrys two main Internet Service Providers  state-owned companies that account for almost all of the countrys web traffic.

Czech researchers said in a blog post that a networking protocol called IPv6, which is responsible for routing Internet traffic around the world, appeared to be shut down on the eve of the election, and that could only have happened from within Belarus.

The whole idea of the high-tech park was that you can run software that can be located in America or Europe; that was the original idea, outsourcing, development, Tsapkala said. They cannot function without the Internet.

The First To Leave

Anton, the programmer who moved to Minsk from Russia eight years ago, said the Minsk tech sector was a close-knit community, with developers and their families living in similar neighborhoods, attracted by salaries that were among the highest in Belarus.

He said that for years, many tech workers were inclined to stay out of politics; there were few supporters of Lukashenka, but few outright vocal opponents either.

Yeah, we all thought: Well, we arent living in the best country in the world. Freedom of speech is not a very strong thing. But the situation was OK for us, stable. The salaries were good, he said.

Lukashenkas response to the coronavirus was the tipping point for many, he said. Among other things, the Belarusian leader downplayed the threat of the virus, suggesting working in farm fields, riding tractors, going to the sauna, or even drinking vodka were acceptable remedies.

There is some kind of threshold that you cannot cross, Anton said. And after that, people stopped believing him -- tech workers, everybody. That was the turning point for Lukashenka. People didnt believe him.

Many in the tech sector have already been working remotely for months, he said, holed up in apartments and homes to prevent being infected with the coronavirus. The Internet outages disrupted teleworking, and the political turmoil has consumed workers attentions, and worries.

For the IT guys, it will be easiest for them to find jobs abroad. IT companies will be moving assets, offices, he said. The IT guys will be the first ones to leave. In the long run, this will destroy the industry.

When the tech park was originally being set up, Tsapkala said promoters had to overcome perceptions from foreign companies, and investors, that the Lukashenka government was a violent regime.

We tried to convince them it wasnt that bad, he said. But in the end, it appears that it is much worse. Much, much, much worse.
A decision that caused shockwaves throughout the country's 51 fee-charging secondary schools has received no coverage in the media.

In late July, the Department of Education unveiled its Covid package of supports to help schools to reopen safely. This was worked out in consultation with the 'education partners' (teacher unions, schools managers, etc). But when the package was published, there was an unexpected clause - the grants would not go to schools charging fees.

The money involved is significant. A 600-pupil school might expect to get 200,000, including a grant of 70,000 for 'minor works' to get as many students back into classrooms while observing the one-metre rule, 63,000 for extra supervision, 35,000 for more teaching hours, 20,000 for cleaning and so on.

The fee-paying schools didn't have separate representation at the talks. Their interests were represented by the Joint Managerial Body (JMB) representing the management of non-State secondary schools. It seems likely the JMB didn't raise the issue of the fee-paying schools and that the Department of Education didn't reveal its intentions either. But while usually the JMB and other partners would have sight of the department's plans ahead of publication, it didn't happen this time.

As for the media black-out - perhaps because they sense a lack of sympathy among the media and the wider public, the 51 schools have chosen to make their representations in private.

The Department of Education has now made a partial concession to their pleas. Fee-charging schools can now apply for the grants, but will be judged on a case-by-case basis and only after submitting a large amount of paperwork to prove they can't find the resources otherwise. Even if they submit a financial case in the limited time available, there is no transparency about the decision criteria.

Some might see it as reasonable to withhold scarce resources from the relatively rich, and to give them to the relatively poor. But it's not that simple. In the end, it is not schools at the receiving end of this discrimination but families made up of parents (mostly taxpayers) and their children, and the principals and teachers who will have the stress of making Covid safety arrangements without any extra support from the State.

The department's actions could be open to question on constitutional and legal grounds. In Ireland, as in many European countries, the State is not generally the direct provider of education, but rather the funder of those who wish to run schools as long as their schools meet a proper standard. Hence Catholic schools, Protestant schools, Educate Together schools, Gaelscoileanna.

The Constitution provides at Article 42.2 that parents shall be free to educate "in their homes or in private schools or in schools recognised or established by the State". Article 42.4 commits the State to giving "reasonable aid to private and corporate educational initiative".

While there are already differences in the levels of State funding given to different kinds of schools, with fee-paying schools getting the least, there's nothing in either the Constitution or the Education Act to suggest a basis for differential treatment. And the discrimination in this case seems pretty blatant. It involves families of children in fee-paying schools subsidising supports for everyone else's children while their own school of choice may get nothing at all.

If children in fee-paying schools are to be cherished equally, the State has a basic obligation to help keep them safe.

If a fee-paying school doesn't have the resources to make the adaptations necessary at this time, it must levy the parents. Not all of these people are well-off. Some make big sacrifices to give their children the best possible chance as they see it, and the school fees they pay are not tax-deductible. In some cases, it may be a grandparent or other relation paying fees.

Many minority Christian churches provide for their children's education by charging fees and using the money for bursaries to members of their community who couldn't afford school fees otherwise. A few such schools are wealthy but most are running a tight operation, and don't have access to an unbudgeted 200,000 in the weeks before a new term. Likewise most Catholic fee-paying schools.

I didn't attend a fee-paying school and no one belonging to me attends one. I chair a primary school board of management that gets extra resources under the disadvantaged school (DEIS) scheme. I favour taxing higher earners to help maximise the life chances of children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

But the country is not well served by any ideology that says families are wrong to supplement their children's education through fees. I don't know whether the Cabinet signed off on this exclusion, or whether the Education Minister was told in advance. But it looks like this decision was the civil service equivalent of a political stroke, a decision based on the calculation that nobody would object publicly.

If I'm right, the minister should reflect on such activist tendencies within her department. Her party colleagues will soon let her know whether the parents and families affected are making their views known to any significant degree.

Ronan Mullen is an independent Senator for the National University of Ireland constituency
Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill has said that the centenary of Northern Ireland is nothing to celebrate for nationalists or republicans.

The Sinn Fein vice-President was speaking after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced plans to establish a Centenary Forum and a Centenary Historical Advisory Panel to mark 100 years since its foundation.

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First Minister Arlene Foster and Ms O'Neill met with Mr Johnson during his visit to Northern Ireland on Thursday.

The Mid Ulster MLA said she was very clear when speaking to the PM that "there isn't anything to celebrate for republicans or nationalists when it comes to partition".

Northern Ireland was created in May 1921 following the partition of Ireland.

"The north was built on sectarianism, gerrymandering and an inbuilt unionist majority and that is not something that I would ever celebrate," Ms O'Neill said.

"What we need to see next year is a reflective and honest conversation about partition and what has happened here and we will engage in all of that.

"We are still dealing with the legacy of partition today in our politics, in our life, in our societies.

"We cannot have a one-sided bias from the British Government around what this means for where we are today."

She said it was important that republicans engaged in the debate around partition and looked to the future.

"There is no doubt in most people's minds that partition has failed everyone, our people, our economy, our two islands," she said.

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DUP leader Mrs Foster said next year's centenary should be an event for the whole country.

"I think it is an event for the whole of Northern Ireland, looking forward to the future, looking forward to our young people having a place in the world and that is what I want to see happening for our centenary plans," the First Minister said.

"It is important that we recognise the reality that Northern Ireland is part of the UK and has been for 100 years.

"We also recognise that there have been a number of anniversaries already passed by."

Those include the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising against British rule and First World War dates like the Battle of the Somme in which many Ulster soldiers died.

Mrs Foster added: "It is important that we mark these next year centenary events in a way that does not cause offence and in a way that is inclusive."

Expand Close Prime Minister Boris Johnson (right) and Taoiseach Micheal Martin greet each other with an elbow bump at Hillsborough Castle during the Prime Minister's visit to Belfast. Photo credit: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Prime Minister Boris Johnson (right) and Taoiseach Micheal Martin greet each other with an elbow bump at Hillsborough Castle during the Prime Minister's visit to Belfast. Photo credit: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Taoiseach Micheal Martin said centenaries are not about celebrating, but about trying to understand the past.

Mr Martin also met with the PM at Hillsborough Castle in Co Down on Thursday.

The Taoiseach said that when he worked as a teacher he encouraged students to understand the past by questioning it and learning from it.

"The power of positive commemoration in a centenary is to trigger that type of response in the younger generation, to try and get them to question why we are where we are now, and how can I as a young person move things in a more positive light into the future," he said.

Mr Martin said he believed the commemorations of the 1916 Easter Rising in the Republic of Ireland could act as a "pointer" for how best to mark the centenary of Northern Ireland.

"I think we should accept the past belongs to no one party and no one tradition on this island so then we should use the centenary as a means for developing a better understanding," the Taoiseach said.

Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said the centenary year would promote the region on a world stage.

"I am delighted that the Prime Minister is in Northern Ireland today, and has announced the first stage of our plans to mark this centenary," he said.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for people right across the UK to celebrate Northern Ireland and its integral place within our Union.

"We will use the centenary next year to promote it on the world stage, celebrating its people, culture, traditions and enterprise and its vital contribution to the United Kingdom."
Specialty chemicals company LANXESS is selling its organic leather chemicals business to TFL Ledertechnik GmbH. TFL is a global supplier of leather chemicals and a portfolio company of US investment company Black Diamond Capital Management, L.L.C. Both companies signed an agreement to this effect on August 12, 2020. The purchase price comprises a fixed component of EUR 80 million and a performance-related component of up to EUR 115 million. In addition, TFL will assume certain liabilities associated with the business. The transaction is still subject to the approval of the relevant authorities. LANXESS expects the transaction to close around mid-2021.

We are convinced that the transfer to TFL will open up new growth and development prospects for the business and will thus significantly strengthen it, said Matthias Zachert, Chairman of the Board of Management of LANXESS. At the same time, we are making LANXESS somewhat more independent from the automotive industry, a key target industry for leather products.

Tanneries use organic leather chemicals in all stages of leather production. LANXESS manufactures the products in Leverkusen (Germany), Filago (Italy), and Changzhou (China). This is complemented by application-oriented laboratories and sales offices around the world. TFL will take over all operations of the organic leather chemicals business line from LANXESS with a total of around 460 employees. In 2019, LANXESS generated sales in the lower three-digit million euro range with the business.

With the sale, LANXESS is withdrawing completely from leather chemicals. The specialty chemicals company had already divested its chrome chemicals business, as well as its stake in the South African chrome ore mine (transaction expected to be completed by the end of 2020). LANXESS has been reporting the Leather business unit as a discontinued operation since the end of last year.
Lucknow:

Amid reports of Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday said if such a tie-up takes place in the upcoming state assembly polls it would win over 300 seats.

Though samajwadis are going to form majority government in the state, but if alliance takes place, it will win over 300 (of the 403) seats. The final decision in this regard will be taken by party National president (Mulayam Singh Yadav), he said when asked about possibility of his partys alliance with Congress.

Expecting a note-ban backlash against BJP, Congress has kept a back channel open for striking a pre-poll alliance or an understanding with Samajwadi Party for next years Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, sources in the party said.

Desperate to be counted in the power stakes in Uttar Pradesh where it ruled 27 years back, Congress leaders might settle for anything between 60-70 seats, including the 20 sitting MLAs it has in the state Assembly, the sources said.

Swept away to a distant fourth position, Congress leaders feel that its chances in the crucial state had dipped after the Narendra Modi government went public with the September 29 surgical strikes inside Pak-occupied Kashmir. They, however, feel that post demonetisation the popularity of the BJP has declined.

Downplaying controversy over ticket distribution in the Samajwadi Party, Akhilesh said, Tickets are changed till last moment. We will only field those who can win elections. I will give my suggestions and advice on assembly tickets to the party president.

To a specific query on tickets to gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansaris brother and another mafia don Ateeq Ahmad, the chief minister parried a directly reply, saying hardships because of note ban was a bigger issue at present.

On reports that he had allegedly pushed Ahmad at a public programme, Akhilesh said, Such act is not in my behaviour... Its the media, which says so. I might have asked him to speak later.

READ FULL COVERAGE: UP ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS 2017
President Donald Trump criticized Bill Mahers appearance in a tweet Wednesday after saying he watched an episode of HBOs Real Time with Bill Maher, calling him gaunt and weak.

The insults come after Maher, who grew up in River Vale, delivered a fake eulogy for Trump on his show. The segment was part of his commentary on Trump being absent from the funerals of major figures in American politics, including Georgia Rep. John Lewis and Arizona Sen. John McCain.

Watched @billmaher last week for the first time in a long time, tweeted Trump, 74. Hes totally SHOT, looks terrible, exhausted, gaunt, and weak. If there was ever a good reason for no shutdown, check out this jerk. He never had much going for him, but whatever he did have is missing in action!

Watched @billmaher last week for the first time in a long time. Hes totally SHOT, looks terrible, exhausted, gaunt, and weak. If there was ever a good reason for no shutdown, check out this jerk. He never had much going for him, but whatever he did have is missing in action!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 12, 2020

Trump made the comment as part of a thread in which she claimed that suburban housewives would be voting for him, thrilled that I ended the long running program where low income housing would invade their neighborhood.

Biden would reinstall it, in a bigger form, with Corey Booker in charge! he said, tagging the Fox News show Fox & Friends and host Maria Bartiromo. (Your racism is showing, Booker replied, highlighting Trumps misspelling of his name by calling him Donaled).

Maher, 64, responded to Trumps comments Wednesday.

Really? he tweeted. This is what the president of the United States does with his time?

Really? This is what the president of the United States does with his time? https://t.co/owPEVeeUzj  Bill Maher (@billmaher) August 12, 2020

The eulogy segment was part of the August 7 episode of Real Time that Trump said he watched.

You know, the only bipartisan agreement we seem to have these days is that neither party wants Donald Trump at their funerals, Maher said, listing other figures like former first lady Barbara Bush and Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings.

Hes the president and people still dont want him there, Maher continued. Thats like a childrens hospital turning down Batman.

Maybe if Trump could hear what a eulogy for him would sound like, maybe that would give him some insight into himself, he said. He proceeded to state that he wished Trump no harm (in case the Secret Service was listening).

Dear family and frenemies of Donald Trump, Maher began. Some men look at the world and ask Why? Donald Trump looked at the world and asked, Whats in it for me?

As part of the address, Maher said Melania Trump RSVPd maybe to the faux funeral.

Caution: Video contains profanity.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Send a coronavirus tip here.
PARIS - Frances interior minister on Thursday condemned on Thursday an arson attempt at a mosque in the French city of Lyon.

Gerald Darmanin denounced in a tweet anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic, anti-Christian acts as stupid and heinous, less than a week after another fire damaged a mosque in a Lyon suburb.

Pierre Oliver, mayor of Lyons 2nd district, said on French news broadcaster BFM TV the fire appears to be of criminal origin but there were no casualties. Firefighters quickly extinguished the flames, which damaged the mosques front door.

The French Muslim Council, or CFCM, expressed its full support and solidarity toward worshipers.

We are hoping that the video surveillance system in front of the mosque will help clarify the circumstances of the fire and identify the authors, the CFCM said.

Last week, Lyon prosecutor said that early findings suggested a criminal act was at the origin of the fire that damaged an annex of a mosque in the citys suburb of Bron.

The new fire comes one day after the Paris prosecutors office said it opened an investigation into violent theft motivated by reasons of religion regarding an apparent anti-Semitic attack on a 29-year-man in an apartment building in the French capital.

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By PTI

WASHINGTON: The United States has urged its citizens not to travel to Pakistan due to the COVID-19 pandemic and terror threat.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 3 Travel Health Notice for Pakistan due to COVID-19, the State Department said in its latest travel advisory on Wednesday.

"Travellers to Pakistan may experience border closures, airport closures, travel prohibitions, stay at home orders, business closures, and other emergency conditions within Pakistan due to COVID-19," it said.

It also urged US citizens not to travel to Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, including the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas, due to terrorism and kidnapping and also in the immediate vicinity of the Line of Control due to terrorism and the potential for armed conflict.

Noting that terrorist groups continue plotting attacks in Pakistan, the advisory said that a local history of terrorism and ongoing ideological aspirations of violence by extremist elements have led to indiscriminate attacks on civilian as well as local military and police targets.

Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting transportation hubs, markets, shopping malls, military installations, airports, universities, tourist locations, schools, hospitals, places of worship, and government facilities, it said, noting that terrorists have targeted US diplomats and diplomatic facilities in the past.

At the same time, the State Department said that Pakistan's security environment has improved since 2014 when Pakistani security forces undertook concerted counter terrorist and counter militant operations.

There are greater security resources and infrastructure in the major cities, particularly Islamabad, and security forces in these areas may be more readily able to respond to an emergency compared to other areas of the country.

While threats still exist, terrorist attacks are rare in Islamabad, it said.


A CH-92A armed reconnaissance drone is delivered to Serbia. Photo: Website of Serbia's Ministry of Defense

In early July, Serbia officially inducted six Chinese CH-92A attack/reconnaissance drones into the country's armed forces. The country will also be purchasing Chinese-made FK-3 air defense missile system, export version of the HQ-22 system, in the near future.

This makes Serbia the first European country to deploy Chinese unmanned aerial vehicles. The move opens up new channels for China to break into the European arms market.

These deals have Western countries, especially NATO members led by the US, worrying about closer ties between Beijing and Belgrade. But their worries are totally excessive and redundant.

First of all, it is necessary for Serbia to maintain its national security, and it needed to purchase advanced defense weapons. Memories of the Kosovo War in the late 1990s when NATO unilaterally attacked the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and caused great economic losses still run strong. The Kosovo War, which ended in the defeat of the Serbs, is a modern, regional war with a profound background that has had wide-ranging influences.

Serbia has always believed that if Yugoslavia had advanced armed reconnaissance drones in 1999, its air force could have taken the initiative instead of waiting to be bombed. Similarly, if Yugoslavia had advanced air defense missiles such as the HQ-22 Surface-to-Air, NATO would not have the opportunity to carry out a large-scale air attacks lasting 78 days.

But Serbia's military budget was limited. In 2019, Serbia's military expenditures were only $1.14 billion and they had no hope to afford Russia's S-400 air defense missile. The system China has provided is a good deal that is better suited to Serbia's needs for striking aerodynamic targets instead of simply having an anti-missile set-up.

The purchase is pragmatic since Serbia has actively wanted to join the European Union since 2010 to further ease tensions with its neighboring countries.

Second, China's export of weapons overseas is in full compliance with the provisions of international laws. On July 6, 2020, China completed all legal procedures for its accession to the Arms Trade Treaty. This move shows that China tries to maintain global and regional peace and stability, and actively participates in the governance of the global arms trade. It also reflects China's efforts to safeguard the international arms control system.

As a country engaged in normal trade of military products, China has always exercised strict controls and management over all military exports. It has a complete set of domestic policies and regulations on military exports. China's own military trade policies and management measures not only meet the requirements of international treaties, but they also far exceed those requirements. For example, China only exports military products to sovereign states and will never export military products to non-state actors. All the above mentioned details show that China's exports of conventional military equipment to Serbia fully meet the requirements of the Arms Trade Treaty.

Third, the global arms market needs fair competition. China has the right to export advanced weaponry. The US has always been the world's largest arms exporter, accounting for more than one third of the world's total arms exports in the past five years. Russia ranks second with its arms exports accounting for a fifth of global arms shipments. France is in third place, which accounts for about 8 percent of the world's arms exports. Germany and China are also among the top five arms exporters in the world.

Although China ranks fifth, there is a huge gap between China's market share and that of the US. What's more, China's market of arms exports is mainly concentrated on some developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The US opposes China's entry and rise in more developed Western arms markets out of a political "double standard" mentality. Yet China trades with ethics and calls on all parties to never export conventional weapons to non-state actors and not to interfere in the internal affairs of sovereign states by taking advantage of conventional arms exports. Beijing believes that with the passage of time and an improved reputation for high-quality weapons, China's conventional arms can gain more market shares sooner or later.

The author is a Chinese military expert and commentator.
They said the company failed to put in place any plan, including an infectious disease preparedness plan, or any basic infection prevention measures in line with federal and state guidelines. Among other measures, they said the company also chose not to clean and disinfect the plant; to provide protective gear, such as masks, to employees; to take steps such as adding physical barriers or providing extra space for lunch to accommodate social distancing; nor to provide sanitizer, hand washing breaks or hot water for hand washing.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 02:00:28|Editor: huaxia

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Video: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Aug. 12, 2020 calls for a comprehensive approach to peacebuilding and sustaining peace amid challenges posed by the pandemic. (Xinhua)



"COVID-19 is a human tragedy. But we can mitigate the impacts by the choices we make," says Antonio Guterres.



UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called for a comprehensive approach to peacebuilding and sustaining peace amid challenges posed by the pandemic.

"More than ever, multidimensional, coordinated and conflict-sensitive responses and whole-of-society approaches are crucial. They are key to ensuring that peacebuilding and sustaining peace initiatives go hand-in-hand with inclusive and sustainable development, anchored in the protection and promotion of human rights, gender equality, and the commitment to leave no one behind," he told the Security Council.

"COVID-19 is a human tragedy. But we can mitigate the impacts by the choices we make."

First, responses to the pandemic must be conflict-sensitive, starting with a multidimensional analysis that looks at how the pandemic affects underlying risks that drive conflict, he told an open debate of the Security Council on pandemics and the challenges of sustaining peace.

Motorcyclists wait in line at a quarantine checkpoint in Manila, the Philippines, on Aug. 12, 2020. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)

Second, inclusion is critical in the design of humanitarian and development responses to pandemics. Dialogues, especially with communities and marginalized groups, help rebuild trust and enhance social cohesion.

"In particular, we must find avenues for far stronger engagement with women's groups who play such a pivotal role in securing peace at the community level. They are also critical rebuilders of trust which is often absent in fragile and fractured communities, and without which public health messaging and behavioral change to slow the pandemic simply does not take root."

Young people are also essential to peacebuilding solutions, he said.

Third, sustaining peace requires an integrated and coherent approach through strong collaboration across humanitarian, development and peace actors, he said.

There is also a need to build ever-stronger partnerships with governments, regional and sub-regional organizations, the private sector and civil society actors. International financial institutions must integrate sustaining peace as a priority and as a core element of COVID-19 recovery strategies and building back better, he said.

People wearing masks visit the Montmartre in Paris, France, Aug. 10, 2020. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

Fourth, there is a need for flexibility and a tailored approach to peacebuilding needs in the context of the pandemic, he said.

The Peacebuilding Fund has swiftly adjusted its work on the ground and identified new areas of support in response to COVID-19. Unfortunately, the demand for the fund continues to outpace supply, said Guterres.

He warned of three key dangers brought about by the pandemic: the erosion of public trust, the destabilization of the global economic order, the weakening of the social fabric.

The pandemic threatens not only hard-won development and peacebuilding gains, but also risks exacerbating conflicts or fomenting new ones, he said.

The challenges of this pandemic underscore like never before the imperative of coherent, multi-dimensional and cross-pillar responses along with the integrated logic of the Sustainable Development Goals, he said. "We know that conflict-sensitive and coherent, preventative approaches that help address the health and humanitarian crisis will help deliver sustainable peace." 
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 03:31:48|Editor: huaxia

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SANTIAGO, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Chile reported on Wednesday that the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country has risen to 378,168, with 10,205 deaths.

According to the Health Ministry, in the previous 24 hours, tests detected 1,540 new cases and 27 more patients died of the virus.

Chilean health authorities said 351,419 people have recovered from the disease and 16,544 cases are considered active.

Chile is under a state of catastrophe declared months ago to better enforce lockdown and social distancing measures with the help of the army and police force, including a nighttime curfew.

Given a drop in new cases, the Chilean government has begun to gradually lift restrictions in the country in an attempt to reactivate the economy, though areas with a high level of new cases remain under quarantine. Enditem
President Donald Trump visits the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in Jerusalems Old City on May 22, 2017. (Ronen Zvulun/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump Again Proves He Cares More for Israel Than Most American Jews

Commentary

In time-honored mainstream media fashion, the Associated Press does its best to downplay President Trumps brokering a mutual recognition pact between Israel and the United Arab Emirates by calling it a rare diplomatic win.

(Hello, AP, have you missed that Trump is the first president in decades to negotiate successfully with Communist China, by far our most significant adversary?)

Nevertheless, this win, such as it is, could be of considerable importance not only to Israel but to the international community, the part of it, anyway, that is in favor of world peace.

The UAE will only be the third Arab state to recognize the Jewish state, but its decision is likely to inspire others that have long been on the fence, including major regional player Saudi Arabia.

In return for the agreement, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu had to put the annexation of certain disputed territories on hold. He used that term to placate his settler constituency though it is unclear how long the hold would obtain.

As upset with the deal as the settlers is the perpetually-choleric Palestinian Authority. What they are objecting to, however, is also unclear because preventing the annexation was supposedly exactly what they wanted.

Oh, well. Abba Eban told us long ago the Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.

(For their parts, Hamas and Islamic Jihad unsurprisingly appear more concerned with their latest payments from Iran and, alas, Qatar than anything remotely to do with peace.)

Regarding territorial settlement, the Palestinians have always adamantly refused to have any Jewish enclaves exist within their state if and when it comes about.

Meanwhile, nearly two million Muslim Arabs live inside Israel, many in Arab towns and villages, availing themselves of the best educational system in the Middle East, not to mention serving in the Knesset and on the Supreme Court and working in one of the most advanced technology industries on Earth.

Somethings way out of balance here. Nevertheless, Jewish liberal pundit Peter Beinart, with maximum naivete, recently lobbied for a one-state solution with Jews and Arabs inhabiting the country in harmony. Maybe hes living in one of those parallel universes from science fiction. Or maybe hes just a moral narcissist.

Id call President Trump The Anti-Beinart, but the pundits influence, thankfully, is small.

So huzzah for Trump, who has again shown himself to be, with Harry Truman, one of the two greatest presidential friends Israel has ever hadand, unlike Truman, one who demonstrates no ambivalence.

But this is an election year and we are constrained to evaluate everything in those termshow does this pact affect the electorate? Will it move the needle?

I regret to say not much. The mainstream media, as indicated by the AP denigration above, will do their best to ignore or under value what has happened.

Equally important, the American Jewish community is already divided left-right (roughly 70-30) and most are locked into their positions. (One wonders what Kamala Harris Jewish husband is thinking.)

Despite the high level of education among Jews, ironically, they seem to have little interest in factsunless they ratify their previous position. Then they are adhered to like a childhood security blanket.

In this way, they are similar to most groups. Getting people to change their views is extremely difficult. Few do.

As for Israel, it is far away for many American Jews, in some case almost an embarrassment. They wonder at the pro-Israel feelings of evangelicalsis it a trick? And theyre not overly concerned about the kindergarten kids near the Gaza border when the missiles are flying. Didnt they ask for it by living there?

Of course, were not all like that. Some of us really do care. And we love President Trump for what he has done. We will fight as hard as we can to wake (not woke) our co-religionists up.

Speaking personally, Im not optimistic, but thats not going to stop me. Not for a second. And there is one thing that occasionally changes mindsan actual visit to Israel.

Roger L. Simon is an award-winning novelist, Oscar-nominated screenwriter, co-founder of PJ Media and now columnist for The Epoch Times. You can find him on Twitter and Parler @rogerlsimon.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Geneva, Aug 13 : Although most young people are not at high risk of severe disease during the COVID-19 pandemic, they play an important role in the collective responsibility to help stop the virus transmission, World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

In celebrating International Youth Day, with a theme of "Youth Engagement for Global Action" this year, the WHO Director-General, together with UNESCO's Director-General Audrey Azoulay, recognized young people, youth organizations, and youth networks around the world for their collective action during COVID-19, reports Xinhua news agency.

"This pandemic is having a major impact on the future of young adults -- not just from the virus itself, but because of its impacts on the economy, employment, education, and the overall health system," Tedros said, asking young people to "be informed and make choices about their health to prepare for long and healthy lives".

"It is critical that we engage with young people now to start the journey to understanding their own health." He further left three requests for them.

First, he called on organizations, intuitions and governments "to listen, engage and empower young adults as partners in action. Our future is their future".

"Second, we have to give young people a much larger role in political decision-making. Their voices often go unheard, even though more than half of the world's population is under 35 years old.

"Finally, and most importantly, to young adults around the world, I say: Think big and be bold. We count on you for your creativity and your fresh ideas...

"Working together, all of us, old and young, from everywhere in the world, can overcome this pandemic," he added.
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San Francisco, 13 Aug 2020: The Report Sodium Hypochlorite Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Application (Cleaning & Disinfection, Bleaching, Chemical Manufacturing), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2020 - 2027

The global sodium hypochlorite market size is projected to reach USD 302.7 million by 2027, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc., expanding at a CAGR of 4.9% from 2020 to 2027. Rising demand for the product from rapidly transforming sanitizers and disinfectants industry as well as water treatment sector is projected to remain the key factor driving the industry.

Sodium hypochlorite is one of the most commonly used disinfectants and sanitizers due to its ability to prevent spread of diseases through bacteria, viruses, and other micro-organisms. In light of the recent COVID-19 outbreak, countries across the globe reflected high demand for hand sanitizers and other personal hygiene products, coupled with household disinfectant products. This led to hefty demand for the product in the sanitizer and disinfectant sector across all major European, Asian, and North American countries.

The product is also globally recognized and clinically utilized for preventing skin against bacterial or viral infection. Typically for this purpose, 0.25% solution of the substance is used on wounds or cuts of the body to protect the skin against fungal or bacterial infection by creating a moisture-barrier layer on the skin. However, doctors prescription is recommended as it contains certain inactive ingredients, which may lead to skin irritation.

In U.S., the product consumption has been crucial since the country has faced several water-borne diseases in the past. With a long history of water-borne illness among the local citizens of the country, water treatment operations are of utmost importance, which is the key factor driving consumption of sodium hypochlorite. Similarly, in Canada, the product is extensively used as a germ-kill product in household, wherein it is used after cleaning apparels with detergent for disinfecting clothes. These factors are likely to cumulatively drive the market in North America.

Additionally, the Asian marketspace has observed increasing penetration of product formulators since the past decade on account of easy land availability, lower regulations, and availability of skilled workforce. Increasing competition in the region has led to innovations introduced by the key industry participants to ensure wider product reach and sustain in the marketplace. The trend of growing competition is projected to remain the same across Asian countries, thereby reflecting high product demand over the foreseeable future.

Access Research Report of Sodium Hypochlorite Market @ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/sodium-hypochlorite-market

Sodium Hypochlorite Market Report Highlights

The cleaning and disinfection application segment held the largest volume share in 2019 due to increasing demand for water treatment solution from U.S. and other North American countries

The bleaching application segment is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 3.2%, in terms of volume, from 2020 to 2027 due to the products increasing consumption as a bleaching agent from various textile manufacturers globally

Asia Pacific is expected to register the fastest CAGR from 2020 to 2027 owing to increasing penetration of personal care and hygiene product formulators in China, Japan, and India

Companies such as Unilever, OxyChem, and Hawkins Inc. are the market leaders with their worldwide product presence, catering to robust range of industries, such as textiles, sanitizers, and water treatment solutions

The market is concentrated with multiple international brands with global presence, thereby restricting new entrants into the ecosystem.

Browse more reports of this category by Grand View Research at: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry/disinfectants-and-preservatives

Grand View Research has segmented the global sodium hypochlorite market on the basis of application and region:

Sodium Hypochlorite Application Outlook (Volume, Kilotons; Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027)

Cleaning & Disinfection Household Water Treatment Swimming Pool Sanitization

Bleaching Textiles Pulp & Paper Other

Chemical Manufacturing

Sodium Hypochlorite Regional Outlook (Volume, Kilotons; Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027)

North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Central & South America

Middle East & Africa

List of Key Players of Sodium Hypochlorite Market

Unilever

Chlorotec

Tessenderlo Group

Vynova

ICL

OxyChem

Olin Chlor Alkali

Hawkins Inc.

Access Press Release of Sodium Hypochlorite Market @ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-sodium-hypochlorite-market

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare.

For More Information:www.grandviewresearch.com
Our interaction with Kamala Harris was never anything other than sort of transactional for her, Dhillon said. If she was running for office, she would reach out to people and tap them for holding fundraisers. . . . They would get her to come and speak for 15 minutes at an event or less. That was really it. There are a number of issues of concern to the South Asian in the Bay Area  domestic violence, immigration, wage theft from tech workers. She never got involved in any of those issues.
Across the United States, thousands of teachers, education workers, parents and students are mobilizing to oppose the unsafe reopening of schools amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Car caravans, demonstrations and other forms of protest are building wherever schools are slated to resume in-person instruction.

The reopening of schools is taking place in an unplanned, haphazard manner, in which each of the countrys nearly 14,000 local school districts are being left to their own devices. Cash strapped schools are quickly improvising as students return, including in Oklahoma, where teachers this week were given two rolls of paper towels, three boxes of tissues, one 24-ounce bottle of spray disinfectant, and a mask and gloves to carry out daily cleaning over nine weeks.

(Image Credit: Fayetteville Education Association)

Predictably there have already been outbreaks at schools in Georgia, Oklahoma, Indiana, Mississippi, Louisiana and Hawaii.

The scientific case against the reckless reopening of schools has been bolstered by a new study from the University of Florida based on capturing and analyzing air samples containing the live virus from hospital rooms. The study confirms that tiny droplets, known as aerosols, produced simply through speaking, can travel 16 feet or more, well beyond the recommended six feet for social distancing. The aerosols can also remain airborne for hours.

A classroom simulation shows that the spread of the virus can be significantly reduced by placing ventilation near a teacher. However, the Government Accountability Office recently found that 41 percent of school districts need to update or replace the ventilation systems in at least half of their schools, and a 2016 report by the Center for Green Schools found that 15,000 schools have indoor air quality deemed unfit for students and staff to breathe.

From the US to Brazil, South Africa, Britain, France, Australia, Germany and other countries, capitalist politicians are demanding that schools reopen in order to force parents back into unsafe workplaces to resume the flow of corporate profit. In the USthe epicenter of the global pandemic with over 5.3 million cases and nearly 170,000 deathsthe drive to reopen schools finds its most homicidal expression.

On Wednesday, the White House issued a press release that stated in part, The education of children is more than an essential businessits a top national priority to ensure America can continue to aggressively compete with the rest of the world.

Shortly after the press release, a forum was held with Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, and a panel of teachers, academics, and Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran, who is pushing the resumption of full in-person instruction in one of the nations epicenters. The aim of the event, titled, Kids First: Getting Americas Children Safely Back to School, was to promote pseudoscience and downplay the risks of reopening schools.

While cynically feigning concern for students, Trump threatened to utilize the pandemic to defund public education, saying, Id like to see the money follow the student, i.e., to parochial and other private schools. He added, If a school is closed, why are we paying the school?

Trump and his Republican allies on the state level express most nakedly the demands of the ruling class, but the return to in-person schooling is a bipartisan policy. Last week New Yorks Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that all schools can reopen across the state, including in New York City, the largest district in the country with 1.1 million students and 135,000 teachers and support staff. In other Democratic-controlled districts like Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, schools are opening online initially or rotating online and in-person learning, but this is largely aimed at dissipating opposition and biding time to reopen fully.

Opposition to the reckless reopening of schools is mounting in the working class, whose interests are dictated by science and public health, not the rise of the stock market. Facing a concerted, bipartisan campaign to vilify educators, create divisions with parents, and use students as pawns in the return-to-work campaign, educators, parents, and students have courageously organized dozens of protests to voice their opposition.

In Elizabeth, New Jersey, a groundswell of resistance forced local officials to reverse their plans to provide in-person instruction, as demanded by Democratic Governor Phil Murphy. Over 400 teachers opted out of in-person instruction, prompting the school board to change to entirely online instruction at the start of the year. This decision prompted Governor Murphy to announce that he will reverse a previous policy and develop plans for remote learning in the state.

There are growing protests across Nebraska, where Republican Governor Pete Ricketts has promoted the resumption of in-person instruction. On Monday, over 200 educators rallied at Memorial Park in Omaha, and another 100 protested in Lincoln. One teacher dressed as the Grim Reaper held a sign saying, I cant wait to meet my kids!

Roughly 60 educators held a silent protest outside the Papillion La-Vista school board meeting in Papillion, Nebraska on Monday, demanding a halt to the resumption of fully in-person instruction. At the board meeting, parents and educators spoke out in favor of online learning, with Dr. James Wilson, a biology professor, stating, I have a four-year-old little girl and a 78-year-old pair of parents that I cannot go see starting tomorrow because I dont know whats going to happen. Despite the outpouring of opposition, the board voted unanimously to resume in-person instruction, which began Tuesday and Wednesday.

In Arkansas, teachers protested against Republican Governor Asa Hutchinsons plans to fully reopen even as the number of new COVID-19 cases and deaths have risen statewide over the past month. Dozens of protesters participated, holding signs that read, The blood will be on Asas hands, Whose child has to die? I can teach from home. I cant teach from a ventilator, School = super spreader event and others.

The Fayetteville Education Association, a local affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA), was compelled to organize the protest due to the immense opposition developing among educators in the state. In less than six weeks, the Facebook group Arkansans For Safe Public Schools has rapidly gained nearly 14,000 members.

In Utah, dozens of teachers protested the resumption of in-person learning in Alpine School District, the largest district, which has roughly 80,000 students. The district is located in Utah County, which currently has the highest rate of infections in the state. The guidelines adopted only mandate that a school closes when 15 or more positive cases are found.

With schools slated to resume in-person learning in Washoe County School District, in Nevada, over 100 educators, parents and students protested outside the districts school board meeting Tuesday. High school teacher Debra Harris told the Reno Gazette Journal, This is insane. This cannot be a safe condition during COVID. She noted that professional development, which is usually focused on lesson planning, was now entirely about hygiene, commenting, Nothing has been about education because thats not whats going to happen this year on campus.

Facing immense pressure from educators, parents and students, Jefferson Parish Schools, the largest school district in Louisiana with some 50,000 students, was forced to delay the start of the school year by two weeks to August 26. Last week, hundreds protested at a school board meeting. With COVID-19 spreading rapidly throughout the state, nearly half of all students in the districts chose distance learning over in-person instruction.

Brian Williams J.D., a Jefferson Parish schoolteacher, spoke to the WSWS about the opposition to reopening. Describing the school board meeting, he said, They are clueless about actual conditions on the ground. If they think school is safe, then they should put their jobs on the line, the way our lives are on the line. Promise us its safe by offering to resign if youre wrong.

Highlighting the connection between the back-to-school campaign and the back-to-work campaign, Williams said, [These are] low-income, minority communities, essential workers. Jefferson Parish is the hottest spot for COVID-19 in all of Louisiana. Talking about reopening, the only thing you can figure is, theyre so desperate for the childrens parents labor that theyre willing to risk our lives.

While last weeks protest was partially organized by the Jefferson Federation of Teachers, the local teacher union, Williams expressed disappointment with their actions. He said they were unmotivated, moving very slowly, very hesitantly and not calling for a strike.

The above protests are a small fraction of the dozens and possibly hundreds that have taken place across the country in recent weeks, in nearly every state.

The central task facing educators is to develop fighting organizations to connect their disparate struggles and prepare for a nationwide general strike to halt the drive to reopen schools. This can only be done independently of the procorporate American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA), which have rejected the widely supported call for a nationwide strike.

The initiative and active struggle of educators, parents and students must be expanded and deepened as widely as possible. To organize and coordinate these struggles, the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) calls upon all those opposed to the deadly reopening of schools to form a network of interconnected rank-and-file safety committees in every school and neighborhood.

These committees must establish connections with the broadest sections of the working classmanufacturing, logistics, health care, transit and other workersto prepare a common fight against both corporate-controlled parties, which intend to use all forms of intimidation and state repression to force teachers back into the classrooms, regardless of the human toll.

The fight to stop the reopening of the schools will require the political mobilization of the entire working class against both corporate-controlled parties and the capitalist system they defend. Instead of squandering trillions on Wall Street and the Pentagon war machine, the working class must ensure that the resources are made available to provide state-of-the-art online learning for all students, the payment of full wages to parents who must care for their children, free and universal health care and a massive program of regular testing and contact tracing, which is the only way to contain the deadly virus.

We urge all those who wish to take up this struggle to contact us today and follow developments through the WSWS Educators Newsletter.
They both have glamour, brains and determination -- they even travel in the same tight-knit San Francisco social circle -- but don't look for district attorney hopeful Kamala Harris to get a job reference from former office mate Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom anytime soon.

Because behind the smiles, Guilfoyle Newsom -- the network TV analyst and wife of mayoral front-runner Gavin Newsom -- is still smarting from what she says was the frosty and underhanded treatment she got from Harris when she was making a bid to return to the D.A.'s office a couple of years back.

"The bottom line is she didn't want me there," Guilfoyle Newsom tells us.

The back story -- as they say in Hollywood -- begins in 1996 when freshly elected District Attorney Terence Hallinan swept house at the Hall of Justice, and in the process sent the young and green Guilfoyle packing. She landed in the Los Angeles D.A.'s office.

A short while later, Hallinan chief assistant Richard Iglehart, who had worked with Harris in Alameda County, recruited the young up-and-comer (who also had been dating Mayor Willie Brown) to supervise the D.A.'s career criminal unit.

In time, Iglehart landed a judgeship and exited -- and Darrell Salomon, a local attorney with his own political connections, became the new No. 2.

Before long, Guilfoyle -- who by this time was dating the politically ambitious Supervisor Newsom -- started making overtures to Salomon and others about returning to San Francisco.

Just what happened next is open to interpretation.

Some office insiders say Harris caught wind of Guilfoyle's plan and got her resume from the secretarial staff.

Next, Guilfoyle Newsom says, Harris was on the phone to her in L.A.:

"She called me and said basically that she was on the hiring committee and in charge of the budget for the D.A.'s office, and that I should have gone through her if I wanted to return to the D.A.'s office -- and that there was no money to hire me."

Guilfoyle Newsom - who already had met with Salomon about coming back -- says she called the office to find out what was going on and was told that that there was no such hiring committee and that Harris had no say in the matter.

"You have to understand, I came with an excellent resume," Guilfoyle Newsom said, "and talented women should support other talented women."

Harris recalled the conversation differently.

"I never discouraged her from joining the office," she said. "I never suggested to her there wasn't a job for her in the San Francisco D.A.'s office -- of that, I'm very clear."

So why did Harris call her?

"To see if she needed any help -- to let her know I was there to help her," Harris said.

She says she's at a loss to explain Guilfoyle Newsom's version of events. "I've seen Kimberly a number of times over the last few months," Harris said. "We have great rapport and have great respect for each other.

"I think she is a great lawyer," Harris added, "and I look forward to working with her."

As things turned out, Guilfoyle Newsom did land a job with the D.A. a couple of months after their chilly conversation -- and she soon made quite a name for herself as one of the two attorneys prosecuting the owners of the dogs that killed Diane Whipple.

Guilfoyle Newsom is still able to summon a few kind words for Harris -- calling her "very smart" and "a good speaker" and someone who "will work very hard" if elected.

But don't count on Guilfoyle Newsom going to work for Harris -- or Hallinan, for that matter. She's been on leave from the D.A.'s office these past few months while helping her husband's campaign and pursuing her own budding career as a legal commentator for ABC News, CNN and Fox.

Say cheese: Saturday's long-awaited opening of the new Carquinez Bridge brought Penngrove resident Allan Henderson and his family to the area earlier in the week for a sneak peek -- and boy, did they get an eyeful.

As they were having lunch at the Dead Fish restaurant in Crockett, watching the construction crews put the finishing touches on the $500 million span, a giant motorcade started heading north across the bridge.

"There must have been 16 to 18 CHP motorcycles," Henderson said, plus a half-dozen squad cars and a couple of unmarked sedans.

The motorcade stopped midspan, and all the bridge workers descended on the parade, bringing construction to a standstill.

A surprise visit by Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger, perhaps -- or maybe outgoing Gov. Gray Davis getting a preview tour before he cut the ribbon Saturday?

Hardly.

"It was a photo op," says Department of Transportation spokesman Bart Ney.

In this case, the CHP snapping some public relations shots of themselves.

"Because once the bridge opens, they'll never have that opportunity again, " Mey said. "It should be a good picture."

Going south: After the raucous Rock the Vote debate this past week, Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean took all kinds of flak -- and ended up having to apologize -- for saying he wanted to attract white voters who drove pickup trucks and had Confederate flag decals.

But as Chronicle political reporter Carla Marinucci noted, Dean's comments weren't new.

Far from it.

Back in March, Dean told the California Democratic Convention in Sacramento that "I want to go to the South, and I'm going to say to white guys that drive pickup trucks with Confederate flag decals on the back of their car, 'We want your vote, too, because your kids don't have health insurance either. ' "

Back then, Dean's speech -- which got a standing ovation from the 1,800 delegates -- was hailed as a triumph, and Dean was labeled a rising star by both Democrats and the media.

This week, pundits are saying he's stumbled badly -- citing the same remarks.

Talk about politics being fickle.
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There are 13,000 empty apartments for rent in Manhattan - the highest number in 14 years - as thousands of people abandon their homes, triggering a surge in inventory and slump in rental prices, amid the ongoing economic nightmare that has been the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to data released on Thursday by Douglas Elliman, the number of new leases being signed has fallen by 23 percent whereas the number of apartments that are available has doubled since last year.

It is slowly being reflected in rental prices. In July 2020, the average price of an apartment in Manhattan was $$4,031 compared to $4,292 last July.

There are 13,117 listings on the market compared with 5,912 last July which gives a vacancy rate of 4.33 percent - more than double the 2 percent from last year.

Landlords are offering more incentives, with an average of 1.7 months free on new leases.

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Charts display how rental prices in Manhattan and other boroughs are going down but supply is shooting up, creating a worrying scenario for landlords that experts say will make the next few years for them 'difficult' as thousands flee the city

'The outbound migration is higher than the inbound migration right now.

'This could be a difficult couple of years for landlords,' Jonathan Miller, CEO of Miller Samuel - the marketing company which produced the research - told CNBC.

The average discount on new listings is 2.5 percent, compared with 0.9 percent last year.

Rent prices fell 7.8 percent but vacancies rose by 2.3 percent year on year. The number of new leases declined by 23 percent.

In Brooklyn, average rent prices were the same but total market inventory went by 84.2 percent.

In Northwest Queens (Long Island City, Astoria, Sunnyside and Woodside), prices went down by 14.2 percent, inventory has gone up by 69.2 percent and the number of new leases being signed has dropped by 59.5 percent.

It contributes to a wider picture of economic ruin that is becoming an increasingly realistic prospect for New York City.

The new real estate numbers do not reflect the number of people who have left the city but are keeping their leases until they expire, nor does it factor in any homeowners.

New York City shutdown in March for an unprecedented 11 weeks

The city's wealthiest left at the height of the pandemic for their second homes in the Hamptons or upstate, and many are not returning.

Governor Andrew Cuomo is begging them to come back to spend their precious disposable income and to secure their crucial tax contributions.

By contrast, Mayor Bill de Blasio waved them off, calling them 'fair weather friends' who will be replaced.

Crime is on the up, with shootings, murders and robberies all on the rise. In June, de Blasio championed a $1billion cut to the NYPD's budget that the city council approved after being put under pressure from Black Lives Matter protesters.

There is now homelessness all over the city.

More than 13,000 homeless people have been moved into hotels as part of a city scheme to try to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks in shelters.

It has caused an uptick in crime in some of the neighborhoods where the hotels are, like the Upper West Side.

On Thursday, new figures from Rich States, Poor States gave New York state the worst economic outlook of any state in America.

A commercial building with vacant real estate in the Flatiron neighborhood of New York is seen above in this July 29 photo

May: An abandoned 42nd Street in Midtown in May, when much of the city remained completely shut down

June: Looting and riots rocked the city in June, sparking a harsh, week-long 8pm curfew that came just as retailers were preparing to reopen
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Linkedin News Desk (Reuters) Buenos Aires, Argentina  Thu, August 13, 2020 11:00 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066db01a3 2 World Argentina,Mexico,coronavirus,COVID-19,COVID-19-vaccines,producing-countries,pandemic,AstraZeneca Free

Argentina and Mexico will produce the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for most of Latin America, Argentine President Alberto Fernandez said on Wednesday after a meeting with company executives involved in the project.

An agreement signed between British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and the biotechnology company mAbxience of the INSUD Group includes transfer of technology to initially produce 150 million doses of the vaccine to supply all of Latin America with the exception of Brazil, the Argentine government said.

"Latin American production will be handled in Argentina and Mexico and that will allow timely and efficient access for all countries in the region," Fernandez said.

Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said later on Twitter that the deal had been pushed by Fernandez and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. He said output of the vaccine could extend to 250 million doses.

AstraZeneca, Britain's second-largest drugmaker, has long operations in Argentina. The company signed a deal with the foundation of Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim for production of the vaccine, which is expected to be delivered in the first half of 2021, pending Phase III studies and regulatory approvals.

Mexico would provide more details on the agreement on Thursday, said Ebrard, who thanked the Slim foundation for financing production.

Fernandez said the deal "gives Argentina the peace of mind of being able to have the vaccine when required and at a reasonable price."

Argentina, which has passed 5,000 coronavirus fatalities, posted a record daily number of COVID-19 infections on Wednesday with 7,663 new cases. There were more than 200 fatalities over the previous 24-hour period.

"This will provide great relief in the future, but it is not a solution for the present," added Fernandez, pointing to the growing numbers of infections and fatalities.
Two Western Massachusetts communities were put into an extremely high-risk category on a map the state released this week tracking coronavirus cases and transmission rates across the commonwealth.

The color-coded map, which was updated Wednesday, highlights community-by-community threat levels and found that the town of Granby in Hampshire County and the city of Holyoke in Hampden County were two of 11 municipalities in the state with the highest risks of contracting the virus.

According to the state Department of Public Healths map, both Pioneer Valley communities reported on average an infection rate of more than eight COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in the past two weeks.

The nine other communities that were deemed extremely high risk, putting them in red on the states map, were in Eastern Massachusetts. They included Chelsea, Everett, Fall River, Hull, Lawrence, Lynn, Revere, Salem and Saugus.

A previous version of the color-coded map unveiled Tuesday labeled just four municipalities high-risk, Chelsea, Everett, Lynn and Revere.

Granby and Holyoke, the only high-risk communities in Western Massachusetts, reported 8.1 and 9 coronavirus cases per 100,000, respectively. The Hampshire County town has seen a total of 40 patients with the disease since the public health crisis began, while the Hampden County city has identified 1,029.

Lynn had the highest infection rate as of Wednesday at 24.3. The Essex County city has reported 4,195 cases of the disease since the outbreak started and 343 just in the past two weeks.

Thirty-five more cities or towns were labeled yellow on the map, meaning they saw an average of four to eight coronavirus cases.

Wednesdays map showed 33 communities with more than four cases per 100,000, a threshold used by public health officials to establish risk of transmission.

Gov. Charlie Baker noted during a press conference the same day the map was released that such municipalities need specific strategies to attack COVID-19 there.

Western Massachusetts has seen some other some changes in community coronavirus risks since Tuesday. As of Wednesday, Belchertown was longer in yellow, though Easthampton and South Hadley now are after being put into the moderate risk category.

In Easthampton, where a total of 108 cases of the viral respiratory infection have been confirmed since the pandemic began, a Cumberland Farms location temporarily closed last week after an employee tested positive for COVID-19.

Easthampton and South Hadley, which has identified 188 total coronavirus patients, have reported 4 and 6.3 cases per 100,000, respectively.

As of Wednesday, at least 113,198 total COVID-19 diagnoses have been confirmed in Massachusetts, and nearly 8,550 people have died from the disease statewide.

Related Content:
Seasoned Industry Veteran Brings More Than 20 Years of Packaging Experience to the Position

ELSHAM, United Kingdom, Aug. 13, 2020. ("Nelipak"), a global leader in rigid and flexible packaging, today announced that Jonathan Smith has joined its Elsham team as UK sales director of food packaging. In his new role, Jonathan will oversee the development and performance of sales activities within the region with the goal of maximizing profitability and establishing plans and strategies to expand the customer base and drive growth.



Nelipak has long been a leader in the medical device and pharmaceutical packaging market. With its acquisition of Bemis in Europe last year, it has acquired a leading flexible packaging business that provides solutions for a variety of food and consumer products out of its Elsham facility.

"We are thrilled to add Jonathan's leadership to the Nelipak sales team to guide our growing food packaging offering," said Roger Prevot, CEO, Nelipak. "We look forward to leveraging his deep packaging experience to expand our presence in the UK market."

Jonathan has worked in the packaging industry for more than twenty years and has a proven track record for increasing brand and product awareness and devising marketing and sales strategies that grow revenue. He comes to Nelipak from CCL Label Ltd, where he served as UK sales director for two years. Prior to that, he was the sales manager for UK/Northern Europe with Bemis.

"I am excited to join the Nelipak team at a pivotal point for the company's food packaging business," said Mr. Smith. "As sales director, I am eager to foster meaningful and mutually-beneficial relationships with new and existing customers in the territory."

About Nelipak

With 10 facilities in the Americas and Europe, Nelipak Healthcare Packaging designs, develops and manufactures custom packaging products that provide superior protection for the food, medical devices and pharmaceuticals markets. Nelipak Healthcare Packaging customers consist of some of the largest and most reputable companies in the world. With over 1,400 employees worldwide, Nelipak is focused on delivering superior quality and customer experience through world class manufacturing at each of its locations.
Investigators have determined a massive blaze that destroyed a hotel project under construction in downtown St. Paul, Minn., last week was arson.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced that determination on Aug. 11, along with the St. Paul Fire Department, St. Paul Police Department and Minnesota state fire marshals division.

Investigators concluded the Aug. 4 fire was intentionally set after investigating the scene, reviewing video footage and talking to witnesses. A four-day search found no human remains, and no one was unaccounted for.

In a statement, CEO Anne Behrendt of Doran Companies, the general contractor on the $69 million Seven Corners Gateway project, said company officials are extremely disappointed to learn that the fire was set intentionally.

This destructive act is a considerable setback to a project that was moving the economy forward and supporting construction workers during this time of economic uncertainty, Behrendt said.

The ATF sent members of its National Response Team to assist in the investigation. Investigators continue working on the case.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Arson
Chakraborty said the transfer of the probe to the CBI at the behest of the Bihar police was without jurisdiction

Bollywood actress Rhea Chakraborty leaves Enforcement Directorate (ED) office after being questioned in connection to the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, in Mumbai.  PTI photo

New Delhi: Bollywood actress Rhea Chakraborty and the Bihar government filed their written submissions in the Supreme Court on Thursday on Chakraborty's plea seeking to transfer an FIR lodged against her in Patna in connection with actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death to Mumbai.

Seeking the dismissal of Chakraborty's petition, the Bihar government, in its written submissions filed through advocate Keshav Mohan, said, "No impediment would deserve to be allowed to come in the way of CBI to undertake and complete the investigation expeditiously."

In her written submission, Chakraborty said the transfer of the probe to the Centreal Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at the behest of the Bihar police was without jurisdiction.

The apex court had, on August 11, reserved its order on Chakraborty's plea and asked the parties concerned to file their written submissions by Thursday.

The body of Rajput (34) was found hanging from the ceiling of his apartment in Mumbai's Bandra on June 14 and since then, the Mumbai police is probing the case.

Rajput's father Krishna Kishore Singh had lodged an FIR in Patna against Chakraborty and others, accusing them of abetting the actor's suicide.
Merico, a startup that gives companies deeper insights into their developers' productivity and code quality, today announced that it has raised a $4.1 million seed round led by GGV Capital, with participation from Legend Star and previous investor Polychain Capital. The company was originally funded by the open source-centric firm OSS Capital.

"The mission of Merico is to empower every developer to build better and realize more value. We are excited that GGV Capital and our other investors see the importance of bringing more useful data to the software development process," said Merico founder and CEO Jinglei Ren. "In today's world, enabling remote contribution is more important than ever, and we at Merico are excited to continue our pursuit of bringing the most insightful and practical metrics to support both enterprise and open-source software teams.

Merico head of business development Maxim Wheatley tells me that the company plans to use the new funding to enhance and expand its existing technology and marketing efforts. As a remote-first startup, Merico already has team members in the U.S., Brazil, France, Canada, India and China.

"In keeping with our roots and mission in open source, we will be focusing some of these new resources to engage more collaboratively with open-source foundations, contributors and maintainers," he added.

The idea behind Merico was born out of two key observations, Wheatley said. First of all, the team wanted to create a better way to analyze developer productivity and the quality of the code they generate. Some companies still simply use the number of lines of code generated by a developer to allocate bonuses for their teams, for example, which isn't a great metric by any means. In addition, the team also wanted to find ways to better allocate income and recognition to the community members of open-source projects based on the quality of their contributions.

Story continues

The company's tool is systems agnostic because it bases its analysis on the codebase and workflow tools instead of looking at lines of codes or commit counts, for example.

"Merico evaluates the actual code, in addition to related processes, and places productivity in the context of quality and impact," said Merico CTO Hezheng Yin . "In this process, we evaluate impact leveraging dependency relationships and examine fundamental indicators of quality including bug density, redundancy, modularity, test-coverage, documentation-coverage, code-smell and more. By compiling these signals into a single point of truth, Merico can determine the quality and the productivity of a developer or a team in a manner that more accurately reflects the nature of the work."

As of now, Merico supports code written in Java, JavaScript (Vue.js and React.js), TypeScript, Go, C, C++, Ruby and Python, with support for other languages coming later.

"Merico's technology delivers the most advanced code analytics that weve seen on the market," said GGVs Jenny Lee . "With the Merico team, we saw an opportunity to empower the organizations of tomorrow with insight. In this era of remote transformation, theres never been a more critical time to bring this visibility to the enterprise and to open source; we cant wait to see how this technology drives innovation in both technology and management."
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Australian musician Nick Cave says cancel culture "has an asphyxiating effect on the creative soul of a society" and political correctness "has grown to become the unhappiest religion in the world".

In the latest edition of his online newsletter, The Red Hand Files, Cave wrote that cancel culture is "bad religion run amuck".

Nick Cave has lashed out at cancel culture. Credit:Gosha Rubchinsky

"As far as I can see, cancel culture is mercys antithesis," Cave wrote in response to a reader's question on the subject.

"Political correctness has grown to become the unhappiest religion in the world. Its once-honourable attempt to reimagine our society in a more equitable way now embodies all the worst aspects that religion has to offer (and none of the beauty)  moral certainty and self-righteousness shorn even of the capacity for redemption. It has become, quite literally, bad religion run amuck."
The Department of Justice has seized the ISIS-affiliated FaceMaskCenter.com website that was selling fake protective gear to the United States and other countries. (DOJ/screenshot)

US Makes Largest Seizure of Digital Accounts Used to Fund Terror Groups

WASHINGTONFederal law enforcement agencies announced the dismantling of three terrorist organizations fundraising campaigns on Aug. 13.

The terror organizations involved are al-Qassam Brigades (the paramilitary wing of Hamas), al-Qaida, and the ISIS terror group. All three used social media and cryptocurrency to raise money for their operations, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The DOJ has taken down four websites and four Facebook pages, and seized $2 million and more than 300 cryptocurrency wallets. Officials said its the largest-ever seizure of digital currency funds related to terrorism.

The efforts by these groups covered a wide range of bad behavior from duping people to donate to a charity, to openly asking for money to support their terrorist activities, to preying on our fears of the COVID epidemic by purporting to sell PPE, Don Fort, chief of the IRSs Criminal Investigation division, said in a conference call on Aug. 13.

I can tell you this: Its very satisfying to seize money from an organization whose sole mission is hate and terror.

The DOJ said the investigation involved undercover operations with covert sources that were in communication with the organizations.

Al-Qassam Brigades Campaign

In the beginning of 2019, the al-Qassam Brigades solicited bitcoin donations on its social media page, before moving fundraising efforts to its website pages, according to the DOJ.

The al-Qassam Brigades boasted that bitcoin donations were untraceable and would be used for violent causes, the DOJ said in a statement. Their websites offered video instruction on how to anonymously make donations, in part by using unique bitcoin addresses generated for each individual donor.

U.S. law enforcement seized the infrastructure of the al-Qassam Brigades websites and subsequently covertly operated AlQassam.net, the DOJ stated. During the operation, donations were diverted to bitcoin wallets controlled by the United States.

At least one U.S. citizen is being investigated for donating to the terrorist campaign, according to officials.

Two Turkish individuals, Mehmet Akti and Husamettin Karatas, have been charged with related money-laundering crimes.

ISIS Campaign

ISIS operative Murat Cakar is charged with setting up a website and four Facebook pages to sell fake personal protective equipment, including to a customer in the United States who sought to purchase N95 masks and other protective equipment for hospitals, nursing homes, and fire departments.

The website, FaceMaskCenter.com, was created from an IP address in Turkey and has since been seized by the U.S. government.

Al-Qaeda Campaign

A Syrian-based scheme by al-Qaeda and affiliated terrorist groups operated a bitcoin money-laundering network using Telegram channels and other social media platforms to solicit cryptocurrency donations, according to the DOJ.

In some instances, they purported to act as charities when, in fact, they were openly and explicitly soliciting funds for violent terrorist attacks, the DOJ stated.

Undercover Homeland Security Investigations agents communicated with the administrator of a related charity called Reminder for Syria that was soliciting bitcoin donations to finance terrorism.

The administrator stated that he hoped for the destruction of the United States, discussed the price for funding surface-to-air missiles, and warned about possible criminal consequences from carrying out a jihad in the United States, the DOJ statement reads.

The investigation into all three cases is continuing, and the United States has blacklisted many other related bitcoin wallets, adding up to several million dollars, according to DOJ officials.

The forfeited funds may eventually be directed to U.S. victims of state-sponsored terrorism.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 13

By Nargiz Ismayilova - Trend:

A meeting on the discussions of a project for building a power plants on the border of Azerbaijan with Iran have been held, Trend reports citing the Ministry of Energy.

According to the ministry, the meeting was held between Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov and Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian.

Issues included in the agenda of bilateral and trilateral cooperation in the electric power industry were discussed at the meeting.

In his speech, Shahbazov informed his counterpart about Azerbaijan's position on the projects currently being implemented in cooperation with Iran in the field of electricity and the implementation processes, assessing the extension of the term of the electricity purchase and sale agreement between Azerenerji OJSC and the Iranian Tavanir company till 2020 as a step supporting cooperation in this area.

The state of implementation of the Khudafarin and Giz Galasi hydroelectric power stations, as well as the Ordubad hydroelectric power station projects was discussed at the meeting.

The parties emphasized importance of accelerating work on these projects, a decision was made to hold meetings of the relevant technical commissions in the near future, the message said.

They also noted the importance of the creation of a Russian-Azerbaijani-Iranian energy corridor for both countries.

The counterparts also highlighted the fact that the three countries had reached relevant agreements on the preparation by the Consulting and Engineering Company of a feasibility study for the connection of the electrical networks of Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia to each other.

The prospects for cooperation between Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey in the field of electricity were also discussed at the meeting.

The parties considered useful the continuation of discussions on all the above-mentioned issues on a regular basis, the message said.

(1 USD = 1.7 AZN on Aug. 12)
You worked for Marc Benioff at Salesforce and Jack Dorsey at Square. What did you learn from each of them?

Marc is a talent magnet. He will just hire people, and people will be like, Well, what are they going to do? Hes like, I dont know, theyll figure it out. Half the people never quite figure it out, and there would be organ rejection. And I like to think of myself as one who kind of figured it out. Marc was just like, Come learn with me.

And Marc is very good at creating purpose. The product itself is not inherently purpose driven. You dont wake up in the morning, like, Yay! Im going to make Salesforce automation tools today. But he managed to make it a movement. Its almost like Star Wars" or whatever, where you have the evil empire, and youre fighting for the good.

When I met Jack, we just clicked as people. We met for breakfast on Mothers Day, and I was a little peeved that this was the one day it could be set up. But I was like, OK, Im going to go. It turns out Jack hadnt remembered it was Mothers Day. Four hours later, we were still talking about our childhoods. Some people think of him as being a little introverted and standoffish, but hes very much about that emotional connection. Youll build stronger companies and have stronger people around you when you search for that emotional connection.

The other thing Jack told me over and over again is, dont be afraid to fail in public. Its very wise advice, particularly for women and particularly given my background. There was always this sense of having to be perfect, be the best, be the A student and the good girl in school. Failing, its one of the things I find hardest. But when you get things wrong and can be frank about it in front of other people, it gives you strength.

How has your experience growing up in Northern Ireland informed your work at Nextdoor?

In our little village we were not segregated along religious lines, which is what was driving our country apart. We had a mixed primary school, and you kind of grew to realize that there was no difference. Sometimes the neighbors would knock on the door and be like, Theres a bomb at the police barracks. So we would all crowd over into the Catholic church hall to shelter, because it was the structure with no windows. And wed all just be in there as people with humanity, looking after each other.

But people can forget how alike we all are. In Northern Ireland, we were willing to kill each other because of a random difference. And youre willing to go bomb people because of that. It was ridiculous.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 17:15:19|Editor: huaxia

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A student walks on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge of Massachusetts, the United States, on July 14, 2020. (Photo by Fan Lin/Xinhua)

The number of COVID-19 cases among children surged 90 percent surge over four weeks.

Experts said that factors including high COVID-19 infections among adults, increasing gatherings among teenagers and returning to school during the pandemic may contribute to the high infections among children.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. state of Louisiana is tracking seven COVID-19 outbreaks tied to schools and colleges, sending an alert to other countries of risks of hasty school resumption.

Figures from the Louisiana Department of Health showed that four outbreaks were linked to colleges and three tied to primary and secondary schools. Data shows that 151 cases are connected to those college outbreaks, and 17 cases are being attributed to outbreaks at primary and secondary schools.

State officials said an outbreak is defined as two or more cases among unrelated individuals that have visited a site within a 14-day period, local TV station WBRZ2 reported, adding that the state started tracking groupings of coronavirus cases at schools this week.

School has resumed in many parishes across Louisiana within the past week, said the report. Some school systems are already holding in-person classes while others chose to stay completely virtual for the first several weeks of the semester.

As production gradually resumes across the world amid the COVID-19 pandemic, people are trying to push other sectors in their daily lives to return to normal. However, school reopening still poses a serious risk of the spread of COVID-19.

Children wearing masks ride bicycles on the National Mall in Washington D.C., the United States, May 18, 2020. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

The number of COVID-19 cases among children in the United States has increased sharply recently as a new report by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children's Hospital Association (CHA) showed a 90-percent surge in child cases over four weeks.

Experts have said that factors including high COVID-19 infections among adults, increasing gatherings among teenagers and returning to school during the pandemic may contribute to the high infections among children.

"The sharp increase in the number of cases among children is mainly concentrated in COVID-19 'hotspots' such as California, Florida and Arizona. The surge in adult cases in these states also led to an increase in children infections," Zhang Zuofeng, a professor of epidemiology and associate dean for research with the school of public health at University of California, Los Angeles, told Xinhua.

According to the new report of the AAP and CHA, 179,990 new COVID-19 cases in children were reported from July 9 to Aug. 6, a 90-percent increase in child cases over four weeks.

Other analysts have warned reopening schools too early could spread COVID-19 even faster, especially in the developing world.

According to a study conducted by David Lagakos, associate professor of Economics of Boston University and Emilie Yam, head of Communications of International Growth Genter, delaying school openings can be "a potent force for saving lives," by reducing the risk of children getting infected at school, and in turn, spreading the virus within their households.

Photo taken on April 11, 2020 shows a view of a closed children's playground at a park amid the COVID-19 pandemic in San Francisco, the United States. (Photo by Li Jianguo/Xinhua)

"Of course, any decisions about delaying school openings must weigh the potential lives saved against the negative impacts of keeping children out of school for a long period," said the study.

A document of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization entitled Prepare for school reopening has suggested that school authorities need to ensure communities' trust in the health and safety measures taken by schools to guarantee the well-being of returning students and to ensure that the risk of contagion is minimized.

"Establish conditions that must be met before schools are reopened," said the document. "This will lessen the probability of a new outbreak and boost the confidence of parents, students, and teachers in terms of school safety." 
Sachin Tendulkar among 50 most influential people on Twitter, according to brand research

Rajasthan truce sealed, Sachin Pilot attends CLP meeting at CM Ashok Gehlot's residence

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Jaipur, Aug 13: Sachin Pilot on Thursday met CM's Ashok Gehlot at his residence and also attended Congress Legislature Party, ahead of the special session of the Rajasthan assembly tomorrow. This is his first meet with CM Ashok Gehlot since Rajasthan Political crisis.

It is reportedly said the meeting is likely to take place at the Fairmont Hotel in Jaipur where the MLAs belonging to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's camp have been staying for over a month now amid the political stalemate in the state.

Earlier in the day, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said that whatever was the "misunderstanding" in the Congress party, it should be "forgiven and forgotten" for moving forward.

Rajasthan political crisis: Ahead of Assembly session, Congress likely to hold CLP meeting

The Congress crisis in Rajasthan appears to have ended with the intervention of top leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who met rebel leader Sachin Pilot earlier this week.

Pilot had openly rebelled against Gehlot last month along with 18 other Congress MLAs. He was then sacked as deputy chief minister and the party''s Rajasthan chief.

"Whatever misunderstanding occurred in the party in the last one month, we need to forgive and forget in the interest of the country, the state, the people and in the interest of democracy," Gehlot said in a tweet.

PM Modi launches platform for 'Transparent taxation-Honouring the Honest' | Oneindia News

"We have to put all our energies in this fight to save democracy with the spirit of forgive and forget and move forward," he wrote on Twitter.

The Rajasthan Chief Minister claimed a "very dangerous" game to undermine the democracy is going on in the country.

The struggle of the Congress is to save democracy under the leadership of the party president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, he said.

Rajasthan: After 3-day silence, Ashok Gehlot to meet Sachin Pilot today

"Save democracy should be our priority with the spirit of forgive and forget. The conspiracy that is going on to topple elected governments one by one in the country, the way governments were toppled in the states of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and other states.

"How ED, CBI, Income Tax, the judiciary have been misused, it is a very dangerous game that is going on to undermine democracy," Gehlot said in a series of tweets.

Ahead of the Assembly session beginning Friday, the dissidents MLAs have reached Jaipur following the intervention of the Congress high command on Monday.

The MLAs in the Gehlot camp were on Wednesday flown back to Jaipur from Jaisalmer, where they were together at another hotel.

They were taken straight from the airport to the Fairmont hotel on the outskirts of the city, where they had stayed before being moved to Jaisalmer. The MLAs a" mostly from the Congress and some allies a" are expected to remain there till the assembly meets on August 14.
Photo: (Photo : YouTube/SWNS)

Riky Ash popped the question to his girlfriend while engulfed in flames. The stunt has left nurse Katrina Dobson speechless, but eventually, she regained consciousness to give sweet yes.

Dobson knew that her boyfriend would be set alight but had no idea of his plans in mind. She thought that it was just a part of a shoot. She thought it was a piece for a nurse in the National Health Service who was looking for love.

The "perfect proposal"

Ash told Dobson that it was a story to make people smile. The nurse who works in the accident and emergency department saw that her beau had his hand in his pocket while he was set on fire. She was alarmed and asked Ash to get his hands out of his pocket. That is when the stuntman took out his proposal ring.

See also: Mom Kept Cracked Duck Egg in Bra for 35 Days and Safely Hatches It [Heartwarming Story]

The 48-year-old nurse thought that it was a lovely way to do it. For her, it is the perfect proposal because Ash lives and breathes his job. Ash said that Dobson could not get the word "yes" out because of her shock.

The 52-year-old stuntman did stunts in the Tim Burton blockbuster "Sleepy Hollow." He also played in a series of popular soft drink commercials in the UK as the "Tango Man." He explained that he was so excited to do it because it was like doing a big Hollywood blockbuster and proposing to his beau at the same time.

No one ever did it before

Since he knows people from the stunt industry, he believes that no one has ever done what he did before. The stuntman from Nottingham extended the ring toward his girlfriend, who was watching him engulfed in fire.

See also: Doctor Delivers Both Mom and Daughter's Babies 25 Years Apart

Photographer David Sinclair said that the accelerant causes a big whoosh of flame then dies immediately. Their target was for the flame to give the trickster enough time to ask "will you marry me?"

Whirlwind romance

In March, the couple met just before the lockdown happened. Dobson said that what they had was a whirlwind romance. She explained that they went on a date and knew that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. When the lockdown happened, the couple talked on the phone every day for three weeks.

Dobson said that she loves her job at A&E because she loves helping people. But this is the only time she found the right person for her. She could not believe it happened, to the point that she had to pinch herself to make sure she was not dreaming.

See also: Heroic Nurse Woke up with 3 Babies in Her Arms After Beirut Blast Knocked Her Unconscious

The stunt double has been working on many commercials, TV programs, and films for 27 years. He has worked with Richard Burton and Johnny Depo.

Ash explained that he did the dramatic proposal to reward his girlfriend for her hard work. He said that he was lucky to have met Dobson, who is a very modest and hardworking person.

Because of his short stature, 5'3" tall, he became Guinness World Records' "Most Versatile Stuntman" in 2000. He has doubled actors with varied heights, ages, and genders.
The new president of the Spanish GP venue says she will do "everything in our power" to keep Formula 1 in Barcelona.

This week, the F1 circus is preparing to race at the Circuit de Catalunya. But beyond Sunday, the future is much more clouded.

"We don't want to imagine Barcelona without F1," new circuit boss Maria Teixidor is quoted by El Mundo Deportivo.

"This year, in these circumstances, it is good evidence that our alliance with Formula 1 works.

"The will of both parties is to maintain that alliance because in the end this whole world revolves around circuits like this, and there are not so many of them."

Teixidor revealed that she will meet with Liberty Media representatives this week.

"It is an important moment to ensure continuity, so I want to establish the personal relationship that is always necessary. And then, starting in September, we will start to talk about the future," she said.

(GMM)
Just days after the Congress and Sachin Pilot decided to bury the hatchet, the central BJP leadership has decided to send a key leader from New Delhi to 'take stock' of the current political situation in Rajasthan.

BJP's National Secretary P. Muralidhar Rao has been chosen for the job, and he is expected to reach Jaipur soon and start interacting with the BJP lawmakers.

The decision comes less than a week after BJP leader and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje met BJP President J.P. Nadda in New Delhi.

Many believe that a large chunk of Rajasthan BJP lawmakers are extremely loyal to Vasundhara Raje, which made any attempt by the BJP to repeat a Madhya Pradesh in Rajasthan almost next to impossible.

Now, Rao will "gauge the mood" of the BJP lawmakers and also get a first hand sense of the on ground political situation in the desert state.

Political pundits in the state say that the month-long political crisis witnessed a 'happy ending' due to the role played by Vasundhara Raje, who made "all efforts" to keep the Ashok Gehlot government safe and ensured rebel Sachin Pilot's patch up with the Congress.

Earlier, BJP ally Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) had accused BJP leader and former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje of helping her Congress successor Ashok Gehlot by asking his party's MLAs to support him.

Many blame it on keeping Raje, who sways enormous power in Rajasthan BJP, in the dark.

With new political realities, Muralidhar Rao's visit assumes significance where a more "open discussion" is expected to take place, said sources.
Steve Broadbent authors reports on COVID-19 impact on 401(k) Compliance Testing

Steve Broadbent, Fulcrum Partners Managing Director and Partner

Steve Broadbent, Fulcrum Partners Managing Director and Partner

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla., Aug. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fulcrum Partners, a leading executive benefits advisory, announces the publication of Will New 401(k) Compliance Testing Issues Arise Because of COVID-19 Workforce Changes? The white paper, written by Fulcrum Partners Managing Director and Partner, Steve Broadbent, examines how the COVID-19 pandemic is creating challenges for plan sponsors required to perform specific nondiscrimination tests on the 401(k) plans they offer employees.



Steve Broadbent said, Plan sponsors are required to perform specific tests to help ensure that a 401(k) plan does not favor business owners or other highly compensated employees. However, COVID-19 has dramatically increased the number of furloughs, terminations and reductions in pay at many organizations, thereby altering the required mathematical ratios that must be maintained with regard to highly compensated employees and non-highly compensated employees.

The report, available on Deferred Compensation News, explains how the failure of a qualified plan's Actual Deferral Percentage or Average Deferral Percentage tests could result in unwanted taxable 401(k) refunds to the firms highly compensated employees. The report additionally explains how the use of a nonqualified deferred compensation plan can provide a solution for this undesirable tax event.

The establishment of an NQDC plan for your highly qualified employees provides an almost unlimited pre-tax deferral opportunity for your highly compensated employees, said Broadbent. Even companies that do not sponsor a nonqualified deferred compensation plan, still have plenty of time to design and implement a plan for the 2021 calendar year.

Click to download Will New 401(k) Compliance Testing Issues Arise Because of COVID-19 Workforce Changes? You can also subscribe to Deferred Compensation News and receive all Fulcrum Partners executive benefits reports and updates along with curated content from select subject matter authorities.

Story continues

With more than $7 billion in assets under care, Fulcrum Partners is one of the nations leading executive benefits consultancies.

About Fulcrum Partners LLC:

Fulcrum Partners ( fulcrumpartnersllc.com ) is a wholly independent, member-owned firm dedicated to helping organizations enhance their Total Rewards Strategy. Founded in 2007, today the company has offices in Atlanta, Georgia; Chicago, Illinois; Charleston, South Carolina; Columbus and Cleveland Ohio; Delray Beach, Orlando; Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida; Honolulu, Hawaii; Los Angeles and Newport Beach, California; Portland, Oregon; Salt Lake City, Utah and Washington D.C. Fulcrum Partners is an independent member of the BDO Alliance USA. Learn more about the Fulcrum Partners Team at fulcrumpartnersllc.com/fulcrum-partners-team/ .

This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, accounting, legal or tax advice. Any tax advice contained herein is of a general nature. You should seek specific advice from your tax professional before pursuing any idea contemplated herein.

Securities offered through Lion Street Financial, LLC (LSF) and Valmark Securities, Inc. (VSI), each a member of FINRA and SIPC . Investment advisory services offered through CapAcuity, LLC; Lion Street Advisors, LLC (LSF) and Valmark Advisers, Inc. (VAI), each an SEC registered investment advisor. Please refer to your investment advisory agreement and the Form ADV disclosures provided to you for more information. VAI/VSI, LSF and BDO Alliance USA are non-affiliated entities and separate entities from Fulcrum Partners and CapAcuity, LLC.

CONTACT:

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904.296.2563

press@fulcrumpartnersllc.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/fe0a29a7-64b4-4634-9e44-ebb7fbff5110




On Wednesday, United States President Donald Trump vowed to permanently remove payroll tax starting in 2021 if he wins the November elections and keeps his position as president of the country.

No more taxes?

According to the New York Post, during his nightly coronavirus briefing at the White House, Trump said that on the assumption he wins the elections, his administration will be working on abolishing payroll tax at the beginning of next year.

However, Congress would have to approve the removal of the tax, which supplies about $100 billion every month and funds Social Security and Medicare.

Over the weekend, Trump signed multiple executive orders in an attempt to support Americans after talks of a coronavirus relief package produced no results. The orders include a four-month payroll tax holiday that would provide more spending money to each earning individual.

The support would be provided to employees who have an annual wage of less than $104,000 this year and could save an individual hundreds of dollars each month depending on their salary.

On Sunday, after making his promise, Trump reassured the nation that his proposal would not hamper Social Security. The US president noted that the order would only postpone payroll tax payments from September to December and not remove them altogether, which suggests they could be taxed in January.

Also Read: President Trump Stated He Was "Reluctant" to Trust U.S Intelligence Because of Comey, Clapper and Brennan

During an interview with Chris Wallace of Fox News over the weekend, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that Trump would move forward with signing legislation that would completely remove taxes, creating a payroll tax cut.

Trump's campaign for this year used the slogan "Promises Kept," amid his prospects of reelection becoming more distant with the coronavirus pandemic creating a deep recession within the nation, as reported by LATimes.

Big promises

The announcement is not one of those promises most presidents make as they look to maintain their position as president for a second term. The proposal has no calculations to support that it is viable, no political teams working on legislative coalitions, and no national security experts making public the potential risks and consequences.

While Trump has successfully kept some of his campaign promises from the 2016 elections including taking actions against both legal and illegal immigration, there is little evidence to support he would be able to succeed where he previously came short.

Within the first year of his presidency, Trump moved to remove Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act but had since failed despite Republicans controlling both houses of Congress.

Afterwards, the US president has continued to deliver on his promise of providing a replacement plan to the act. Up until now, however, he has yet to reveal an alternative, and there is little support for the removal of the healthcare act. It also comes amid the global health crisis that has already taken the lives of more than 164,000 Americans.

In 2018, Trump refused to keep the nuclear accord with Iran, and there have been no known negotiations between the two governments about a replacement. Several permanent members of the United Nations Security Council had expressed their support for Iran during the standoff.

Related Article: Donald Trump Denies Claims Russia is Helping Him Win Elections, Says China is Vouching for Joe Biden

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Fox News

Vice President Mike Pence cannot contain his excitement (or dread?) about facing off against Kamala Harris on the debate stage.

In an interview with Sean Hannity on Wednesday night, half grimacing and half apparently swallowing back a little sob, the former Indiana governor told the Fox News host he cant wait to take on Harris during the vice presidential debate in Utah on Oct. 7.

I just have to tell you, I like the matchup. Its on, Sean, he said with a pained expression.

After claiming the Democratic ticket had been overtaken by the radical left, Pence spent most of the interview regurgitating Trump campaign talking points and gushing over the president, who he said is a sure bet to win the Nov. 3 election.

I cant wait to get back out there. Ill be in Iowa tomorrow telling the story of what this president has done, how we made this country stronger, more prosperous in our first three years, how President Trump has seen us through the worst pandemic in 100 years ...

I think the American people are going to vote for four more years of President Donald Trump in the White House, he said, citing recent unrest in Chicago and Portland as a reason for voters to avoid radical Harris and Biden.

Asked about Harris infamous takedown of Biden during the Democratic debates, Pence told Hannity the former California attorney generals ruthless prosecutorial skills are no match for Trumps dazzling track record: I think she is a skilled debater, but I cant wait to get to Salt Lake City and be on the stage with herto compare Joe Bidens nearly 50 years in public life, the agenda of the radical left, the agenda that shes embraced throughout her political careerwith the results of this president and this administration.

I truly do believe that President Trumps vision in our first three years was proven out, he said.

Pences completely convincing enthusiasm for the debate came just hours after Harris and Biden offered a scathing rebuke of Trump and Pence during their debut together as a historic Democratic ticket.

Story continues

The case against Donald Trump and Mike Pence is open and shut, just look where theyve gotten us, Harris said earlier Wednesday, pointing to the more than 16 million out of work and millions of kids who cannot go back to school amid a pandemic that Trump has repeatedly insisted would just disappear.

And tragically, more than 165,000 lives that have been cut short, many with loved ones who never got the chance to say goodbye, she said, noting the COVID-19 death toll that Pence did not mention in his glowing assessment of Trumps vision for America.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Former President John Dramani Mahama, the Flagbearer and Leader of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has said the next NDC administration will maintain and improve on the free Senior High School (SHS) education policy.



We will improve the free SHS and make sure that the quality of teaching and learning is made better.., Mr Mahama stated on Wednesday.



He said this when he formally introduced his running mate Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang to the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, in Accra.



Mr Mahama described Prof. Opoku-Agyemang as God-fearing and a woman of unquestionable integrity who had carved a niche for herself as a distinguished scholar worldwide.



He said among her many achievements instilling discipline in the Education sector with the reduction in teacher absenteeism from 27 percent to seven percent by 2016 was remarkable.



Mr Mahama said it was, therefore, not surprising that for four consecutive years, Ghana took the first place in the West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination, a position, he said the country had lost since they left office.



He said Prof. Opoku-Agyemang pioneered the building of the community day schools and that by the time they left office, over 45 of the schools had been commissioned and had children studying in them, adding that at the time they left office 73 were ready for teaching and learning.



Mr Mahama said one of the things the next NDC administration would do when back in the office was to complete the 200 community day schools that they began to bring a quick end to the double track system.



We want our children to go to school at the same time and all vacate at the same time, he said, stressing he did not say he would abolish free SHS when elected back to power.



We are running for office so that we can restore our economy, prosperity, and jobs for our young people and that is why Ive come out with two key promises, Mr Mahama said.



He said the $10 billion accelerated infrastructural plan, dubbed the Big Push was going to finance infrastructure for development and economic prosperity.



The former President said his next administration would also concentrate on infrastructure development; declaring that, we are going to concentrate on creating jobs for our young people and that is why Im coming with the one million jobs plan, to create jobs in every sector of the economy.



Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said the next NDC government would keep to its manifesto promises.



The National Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr Osman Nuhu Sharubutu prayed for the peace and prosperity of the nation.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
A hard-hitting video shows sweat pouring out from the PPE suit of a medic in China. The video which recently surfaced on a Chinese Media website, Weibo show waves of sweat flowing out as the medic removes her suit. Shot in Urumqi, China, the clip glimpse into the difficulties faced by medics battling coronavirus.

Read: Arrest Of China's Top Banker Reveals Corruption In Communist Party

Read: China Opposes US-Taiwan Ties, Says 'those Who Play With Fire Will Get Burnt'

Under lockdown since March

In March, Chinese authorities locked down Urumqi, a city home to 3.5, after it registered its first case. Now, as testing continues, medics are struggling not only with the infection but also hygiene and their own health. According to John Hopkins University, China has reported 89,045 positive cases and 4697 deaths from the pandemic till now.

In the footage, sweat splashes could be seen pouring from inside the medics protective gear, creating puddles of water on the floor. The video shows her removing blue plastic coverings from her shoes and her fitted plastic trouser, following which sweat could be seen flowing to the ground. According to International media reports, the clip was shot when the anonymous health worker was taking a break after serving in a city hospital on August 9.

Read: China's Deadly Summer Floods Have Caused USD 25B In Damage

Indonesia to begin trials of Chinese vaccine

This comes as Indonesia's state-owned pharmaceutical company Bio Farma and China's Sinovac are set to begin phase III, the final clinical trials for the Chinese experimental COVID-19 vaccine CoronaVac next month. PT Bio Farma (Persero) COVID-19 vaccine trials will involve 1,620 participants. Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac Biotech Ltd announced the manufacture of at least 2,400 dosages of vaccines if the trials are successful, according to reports.

Read: China, Nepal Should Support Each Others Core Interests: Chinese Official

Bio Farma Research & Development Project Integration Manager Dr. Neni Nurainy was quoted as saying that the vaccines will be internally tested at Bio Farma's lab, but the clinical trial will be carried out by Padjadjaran University. Further, State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir, also a national economic and COVID-19 recovery committee member reportedly said that pharmaceutical holding company Bio Frama is expected to produce 250 million doses of the Sinovac coronavirus vaccine per year by the end of 2020.

Image credits: Weibo
With the deadline looming to register kids to return to school  or opt for remote learning  parents across the GTA say they are being forced to make critical decisions about their childrens educational future without sufficient information around class sizes, safety protocols, and what online learning will actually look like.

For the public school boards in Toronto, Peel and Halton, the deadline to register a decision is next Monday, while York Region District School Boards deadline is this Friday. Parents with children in the Durham District School Board submitted their decisions earlier this week.

But the process, particularly for parents in the Toronto District School Board, has been fraught with chaos, confusion and mounting anger at how the registration is being rolled out.

With the Ford governments plan to reopen schools in September, but doing little to limit class sizes, school boards across the province have been faced with the difficult task of giving parents direction and options without all the details at hand.

Schools across Ontario shut down after March break and switched to online learning after the province declared a state of emergency over the COVID-19 pandemic.

We are worried sick about what we are going to do, said Karen Leiva, whose son is supposed to go into senior kindergarten in September, but her husband is a transplant recipient and at high-risk for COVID-19. He cant go back to a regular class, its too much risk. And at the moment, they are asking us to make decisions based on little to no information.

Its so chaotic, its confusing, and frankly, its so incredibly disappointing. Parents are so stressed out.

Unlike most other school boards which have sent out a survey for families to fill out, the TDSB first opted for a robocall, saying it was the quickest way to reach families and process their choices. The robocall consisted of asking families to choose between two options for their return.

But the choices were not what people expected.

They added in an option that has confused everybody, said Toronto mom Jennifer Bain. Its not just a matter of picking in-school or remote, but what they did out of nowhere is ... they added in a theoretical question of, would you return if there is a school day with smaller classes? So people who are not following this closely now think there are smaller classes, and are terrified they made the wrong choice if they chose A over B.

They should have explained why that weird question even showed up, said Bain.

Ryan Bird, a spokesman for the TDSB, said the survey contained a series of options because trustees passed a motion at the last board meeting urging the province to provide additional funding for smaller class sizes.

We do understand its not as clear cut as a yes or no, but being able to know that piece of information is very important ... so that we were ready should we receive funding from the ministry, he said.

On Wednesday, the TDSB and trustees publicly acknowledged the confusion around the pre-registration process and asked for patience in a Q&A sent out to families.

We want to sincerely thank you for your patience and understanding, the email states. This is a complex process  one that has never been undertaken in the TDSBs history  but one that staff are committed to working with families to complete.

But parents say instead of providing clarity, the Q&A document has made it worse.

Others say the questions on the call were so poorly worded, that there was confusion among parents as to what they had even opted for.

The first question didnt explain there was another question coming, said Leiva. Once we got off the phone, both my husband and I were like What just happened? Leiva said she felt compelled to send an email right after to the school principal, and trustee to make sure her selection was clarified.

She said even with the clarification on the Q&A document, its still unclear.

According to the TDSB clarification, if you say no to coming back to school, but yes to a smaller class option, you will be put into remote learning. But if you said yes to both options, you will attend school with regular class sizes.

It is such bad communication, its awful, said Bain. She said she wont make any decisions about her daughter entering Grade 7 until all her questions are answered in person.

I have at least 10 questions that have not been addressed anywhere, and I need answered before I can make my decision, said Bain. They include things like how middle school class rotations will work, and what remote learning will actually look like.

One of the concerns parents raised was around the pre-registration itself: Theres a whole confusion over whether this is a survey that has no consequences or if this is a registration that is irrevocable, she said.

According to the TDSB Q&A, the robocall is the actual registration. However, if people dont respond they will be emailed an online form, and as a last resort, they will receive a call from their home school about their intentions.

Bird acknowledges that things have not been perfect.

We recognize we dont have all the answers and that is frustrating for everyone involved, he said. But we are trying to get the information out as soon as we can. Unfortunately, we are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

He said there is some flexibility if parents change their minds prior to the start of the school year. After the week of Aug. 24, requests for change will have to be made directly with schools.

Some boards are already seeing the result of all the confusion play out. In Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, which has approximately 81,000 students, 25 to 30 per cent of parents in elementary and secondary schools have indicated a preference for online learning, according to board spokesperson Bruce Campbell.

OISE professor and former Deputy Minister of Education Charles Pascal said what is unfortunate is that the chaos could have all been prevented with a little foresight on the part of the government.

There is so little time to deal properly with confusing local options for parental decisions, said Pascal.

The letter sent to parents of TDSB was not helpful, but thats what happens when a well-intentioned board is put into a pressure-cooker by the minister, he said, adding that delaying the start of school for a month would help sort out some of the confusion.

But for Kathryn Dunmore, who recently became a guardian for her 7-year old nephew, she said she has few options but to send him back to school.

Its quite scary, said Dunmore, who lives in Oakville, and has no other child care options available. As a parent, you can take all the precautions and prepare your kids ... but what else can you do?

She said her biggest concern is the same as for all parents: Am I making the right choice for my family?

Whether you are putting them out there, or keeping them home, either way, its an added stress on us, she said. And both decisions are not easy.

Noor Javed is a Toronto-based reporter covering current affairs in the York region for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @njaved
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Linkedin Joseph Sipalan (Reuters) Kuantan, Malaysia  Thu, August 13, 2020 16:30 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066dcaa22 2 Science & Tech stem-cells,rhino,Malaysia,extinct-animals Free

Some skin, eggs and tissue samples are all that remain of Malaysia's last rhino, Iman, who died last November after years of failed breeding attempts.

Now scientists are pinning their hopes on experimental stem cell technology to bring back the Malaysian variant of the Sumatran rhinoceros, making use of cells from Iman and two other dead rhinos.

"I'm very confident," molecular biologist Muhammad Lokman Md Isa told Reuters in his laboratory at the International Islamic University of Malaysia.

"If everything is functioning, works well and everybody supports us, it's not impossible."

The smallest among the world's rhinos, the Sumatran species was declared extinct in the wild in Malaysia in 2015. Once it had roamed across Asia, but hunting and forest clearance reduced its numbers to just 80 in neighboring Indonesia.

Iman, 25, died in a nature reserve on Borneo island, following massive blood loss caused by uterine tumors, within six months of the death of Malaysia's last male rhino, Tam.

Efforts to get the two to breed had not worked.

"He was the equivalent of a 70-year-old man, so of course you don't expect the sperm to be all that good," said John Payne of the Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA), who has campaigned for about four decades to save Malaysia's rhinos.

"It was obvious that, to increase the chances of success, one should get sperm and eggs from the rhinos in Indonesia. But right till today, Indonesia is still not keen on this."

Across the border

Indonesia's environment ministry disputed accusations of cross-border rivalry as a reason why Malaysia's rhinos died out, saying talks continue on ways to work with conservationists in the neighboring southeast Asian nation.

"Because this is part of diplomatic relations, the implementation must be in accordance with the regulation of each country," said Indra Exploitasia, the ministry's director for biodiversity conservation.

The Malaysian scientists plan to use cells from the dead rhinos to produce sperm and eggs that will yield test-tube babies to be implanted into a living animal or a closely related species, such as the horse.

The plan is similar to one for the African northern white rhinoceros, which number just two. Researchers in that effort reported some success in 2018 in producing embryonic stem cells for the southern white rhino.

But the process is still far from producing a whole new animal, say Thomas Hildebrandt and Cesare Galli, the scientists leading the research.

And even if it worked, the animals' lack of genetic diversity could pose a threat to long-term survival, Galli told Reuters.

Indonesian scientist Arief Boediono is among those helping in Malaysia, hoping success will provide lessons to help his country's rhinos.

"It may take five, 10, 20 years, I don't know," Arief added. "But there has already been some success involving lab rats in Japan, so that means there is a chance."

Japanese researchers have grown teeth and organs such as pancreas and kidneys using embryonic stem cells from rats and mice in efforts to grow replacement human organs.

For now, however, Iman's hide will be stuffed and put on display alongside Tam in a Borneo museum.
More snow on the way in Pennsylvania; here's how much to expect
THE GOVERNESS by Wendy Holden (Welbeck 12.99, 400 pp)

THE GOVERNESS

by Wendy Holden (Welbeck 12.99, 400 pp)

At 22, Marion Crawford was a progressive, Left-leaning teacher whose heartfelt vocation was to educate children in the slums of Edinburgh but, instead, she spent 17 years as governess to Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret.

This richly researched and detailed novel puts the little-known figure of Crawfie centre stage, shining a spotlight on this vibrant, principled woman who attempted to bring normality and freedom to the childhood years of the Queen and her sister.

All while paying a high price in her personal life  In trying to free them from their prison, she had incarcerated herself.

Sadly, her career ended in ignominy.

This is a hugely entertaining, emotionally satisfying story of love and loyalty.

A ROOM MADE OF LEAVES

A ROOM MADE OF LEAVES by Kate Grenville (Canongate 16.99, 336 pp)

by Kate Grenville (Canongate 16.99, 336 pp)

John Macarthur was a notorious early settler of the New South Wales penal colony, who (very dubiously) acquired vast tracts of land and a reputation as a wool trade pioneer. History is largely silent on the role of his wife, but bestselling author Kate Grenville gives voice to this reticent woman, allowing her smart, sparky, shrewd heroine a chance at last to speak.

And what an eloquent story Elizabeth Macarthur tells, as she defiantly claims her own role in the cultivation of those successful merino sheep, even as she offers an entirely different perspective on her famous husband, who, in her eyes was slant, guarded, sly, evasive.

In short, evocative chapters Grenville unspools the story of a woman constrained by the social mores of the day and hemmed in by an unhappy marriage, but who, nevertheless, managed to forge an expansive inner life.

THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE DAY by Eleanor Wasserberg (Fourth Estate 14.99, 416 pp)

THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE DAY

by Eleanor Wasserberg (Fourth Estate 14.99, 416 pp)

Petulant, pretty Alicia Oderfeldt is having her portrait painted in the opulent family home by a young, poor painter, Jozef Pienta, who falls wistfully in love with quiet, studious Karolina, Alicias older sister.

Away from the sequestered luxury of the girls lives there are attacks on the Jews in Krakow, but the Oderfeldt parents naively believe their wealth will save them. The Germans invade Poland, the Jewish community is immediately targeted and their world collapses into brutal chaos.

The family flee, leaving behind Alicias precious picture  a poignant reminder of all that will be lost as the Oderfeldts and Jozef are wrenched apart.

Wasserberg diligently tells the harrowing stories of the main characters as they are incarcerated in labour camps, displaced, lost, murdered.

But the constant shifts in timelines and perspectives makes for a disjointed read, creating an unfortunate emotional distance from her characters.
A pristine park in the Palo Alto foothills has been a recreational refuge reserved for residents and their escorted guests for the past 55 years. Many have also spent that time resisting efforts to open its hilly hiking trails, picturesque lake and panoramic views to everyone.

But the Palo Alto City Council, under growing pressure from social justice advocates who call the policy discriminatory, has agreed to try cracking open the gate, allowing as many as 50 outsiders a day to enter Foothills Park and possibly place a measure on the 2022 ballot asking voters if they want to let an unlimited number of nonresidents use the park.

Advocates for opening the park to all say thats neither a sincere nor strong enough statement at a time when the nation is working to right the wrongs of the past and combat systematic racism and social injustice. And now theyre raising the specter of a lawsuit to make that happen.

Its time to make this park inclusive, and were going to make it happen, LaDoris Cordell, a former city councilwoman and retired judge, told The Chronicle. We will see them in court.

For all its tranquility and pastoral beauty, Foothills Park has become a divisive issue in Palo Alto, a community whose residents tend to think of themselves as progressive. Occasional efforts to open access to the park failed to gain support over the years, gradually fading away. But over the past year, social justice advocates revived the campaign. Its gained support with the increased focus on racial inequities and systemic injustice in the wake of George Floyds killing.

Jessica Christian / The Chronicle

The City Council moved toward opening access to the park on Aug. 3 after more than three hours of discussion and debate during a virtual meeting. On a 5-2 vote, the council voted for a one-year pilot program admitting a limited number of nonresidents who pay a fee.

But they made that contingent on a ballot measure putting the park access issue before voters in 2022. Another condition: changing the parks name to the Foothills Nature Preserve to highlight the areas ecological delicacy and a requirement that the pilot program cover its own costs.

Mayor Adrian Fine and Councilwoman Alison Cormack, who favor opening the park to nonresidents, voted against the proposal because of those conditions. Describing access to Foothills Park as a matter of civil rights, Fine said the name change and the cost issue would only reinforce the parks exclusivity.

You dont take a civil rights issue and put it on the ballot, he said.

Renaming the park is an eco-fascist argument that intends to undermine civil rights concerns, Fine said. Some of those who want to keep the park a residents-only enclave argue that opening up the park would cause damage to a sensitive environment. Fine also objected to requiring the pilot program to cover its costs, which would likely include hiring staff.

None of our parks are cost-neutral, he said, describing the conditions as an effort to disable and make the pilot fail.

Before the pilot program and other provisions become law, the City Council must vote on the proposal again, at an Aug. 17 session. The new access program would start late this year or early next year.

Cordell, a leader in the effort to open the park  evidently the states sole residents-only park  called the councils Aug. 3 actions a ruse. It was, she said, an effort to stave off the campaign to allow everyone to use the park. With others who favor opening park access, shes formed a group called Parks for All that is contemplating legal action.

After last weeks council vote to maintain the status quo at Foothills Park, we must demand that Palo Alto put itself on the right side of history, the group tweeted Monday.

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.

Jessica Christian/The Chronicle

At last weeks council meeting, advocates for preserving the parks residents-only status said they were concerned about increased numbers of parkgoers trampling its grasses, littering and increasing fire danger. They bristled at allegations that restricting access is racist or inequitable and said limiting access to residents is only fair because Palo Alto taxpayers alone bought the park and pay for its rangers and entry monitors.

To frame this issue as racism, segregation or social injustice is an insult to every resident of Palo Alto, said resident Mark Nadin. This city is one of the most progressive in the nation.

The parks no-outsiders law dates back to the 1950s and 1960s  when housing discrimination still prevented Black families from buying homes in Palo Alto. When the owners of the 1,400-acre hillside property offered to sell it to Palo Alto in 1959, the city asked neighboring cities to participate in the purchase, but they declined. So, Palo Alto decided to restrict access to the park to residents after it opened in 1965.

Attempts to overturn the ordinance were made in the 1970s, again in the 1990s, and most recently in 2005. This time, however, Cordell believes theyll be successful.

The time is now, she said.

Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan
When Twilight first came out in 2008, fans obsessed over the chemistry between Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. While the couple attempted to keep their relationship out of the spotlight, everyone caught wind that they were together. And everything came crashing down when Stewart had an affair with director Rupert Sanders.

So, what really happened to make Pattinson and Stewart split when they seemed rock-solid? Heres what occurred.

Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart originally got together in 2008-2009

Actors Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson attend the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 Germany premiere | Anita Bugge/WireImage

RELATED: Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewarts Twilight Sex Scene Was Originally Too Steamy for PG-13 Rating

While Pattinson and Stewart have made it known theyre not the proudest of the work they did for Twilight, it did bring them together. Mirror Online notes they were whisperings that the two were dating in 2008, but they started to get a bit more public in 2009. In August 2009, the couple was spotted at a concert together  and it looked like they were getting quite cozy.

While sources went to tabloids to confirm the couple was dating, they continued to deny it. It doesnt make any difference what you say [to the tabloids]. Ive literally been across the country [from Kristen], and its like Oh, they were on secret dates! Its like Where? I cant get out of my hotel room!? Pattinson told Vanity Fair. And Stewart also denied the romance at the start.

Finally, by 2011, the duo admits theyre seeing each other. Marriage rumors swirled in 2012, but they were untrue. But the two seemed happier than ever as they attended award events and praised each others performances in films.

Stewart cheated on Pattinson with director Rupert Sanders in 2012

Kristen Stewart and Rupert Sanders for Snow White and The Huntsman | Steve Granitz/WireImage

The easy days of romance for Stewart and Pattinson were numbered by 2012. Vanity Fair reports Us Weekly published photos that showed Stewart and the director of Snow White and the Huntsmen, Sanders, getting intimate. Sanders was married at the time, and Stewart was still with Pattinson.

When photos were leaked, neither Stewart or Sanders attempted to hide it. Instead, they went straight into damage control. Sanders called the affair a momentary lapse in judgment, and he didnt think he should be punished forever. If you took people off the table for a momentary lapse, there would be no one making art, he said.

Sanders also issued a public apology to his wife and children. I am utterly distraught about the pain I have caused my family, he wrote. My beautiful wife and heavenly children are all I have in this world. I love them with all my heart. I am praying that we can get through this together.

In the end, Liberty Ross, Sanders now ex-wife, decided to end her marriage. I just didnt have any more to give, you know? she stated regarding the matter.

Pattinson was reportedly heartbroken over the scandal and left Stewart

Actors Kristen Stewart (L) and Robert Pattinson arrive at The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn  Part 2 | Jeff Vespa/WireImage

As for what occurred with Stewart and Pattinson in the wake of it all, Stewart issued her own apology as well. Im deeply sorry for the hurt and embarrassment Ive caused to those close to me and everyone this has affected, Stewart told People, according to Vanity Fair. This momentary indiscretion has jeopardized the most important thing in my life, the person I love and respect the most, Rob. I love him, I love him, Im so sorry.

The apology wasnt enough for Pattinson, though. Mirror Online notes Pattinson moved out of the home he shared with Stewart at the time, and sources claimed Pattison was deeply distraught over the scandal.

Robert hoped to marry Kristen and was making preparations to spring a proposal before she admitted cheating, another source noted in July 2012. He had bought the house in Los Angeles to be their home and saw them staying there for a long time. Now Rob is angry  hes left the mansion and not spoken to her since. They have exchanged heated text messages only.

In the end, we know this was the nail in the coffin for the couple. But many years have passed, so it seems to be water under the bridge now. Will they ever rekindle their romance? We doubt it  but stranger things have happened in Hollywood.

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Overall, the administrations use of the law has been sporadic and relatively narrow, focused mostly on the defense industrial base with inconsistent use to expedite personal protective equipment contracts, the Congressional Research Service said in a July 28 report that apparently relied in part on a July 22 New York Times story. Trump has acknowledged mixed feelings about using the law, comparing it to nationalizing businesses the way a socialist country like Venezuela might do. (In fact, the law doesnt mean the government taking ownership of any companies, which is what nationalization implies.) The U.S. Chamber of Commerce supported Trumps resistance to fully deploy his powers under the DPA. Trump has said companies are stepping up voluntarily. For instance, 3M is using surge capacity to ramp up production of N95 masks, and distilleries and breweries are making hand sanitizer.
The Gulf Downstream Association (GDA) has announced the successful conclusion of its first Board of Directors Meeting of 2020 virtually followed by the Annual General Assembly Meeting the same day.

Presided over by Suleman A. Al-Bargan, Chairman of the Association, (Vice President Domestic Refining & NGL Fractionation  Saudi Aramco), the Assembly was attended by senior representatives of GDA Member companies, who gathered to review activities of the past year and the Associations strategy for the year ahead.

Engineer Audah Al Ahmadi, Secretary General of GDA, discussed the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on GDAs operations and actions taken to cope with it. He presented the 2019 Achievements and Way Forward Plan. Additionally, the Audited Financial Statement of 2019 and the appointment of the External Auditor for 2020 were approved by the members. Finally, the current Board of Directors were re-appointed by the Annual General Assembly for the next two years.

Commenting, Al Ahmadi said: Despite the current challenges, GDA continues to work towards meeting our mission of driving further development of the regions downstream industries through greater collaboration between our members and other key players in the industry both in the Middle East and around the world. In 2019, we successfully increased our membership by 87% and had a 100% membership retention rate. Currently, we are in the process of developing various new services for our members on virtual platforms. We look forward to leveraging the many resources we have developed, both real and virtual, to support our members and to keep building on the momentum we have achieved since our establishment in 2016. -- Tradearabia News Service
By Robert Moore and William D. Hartung

As the House and Senate consider the Pentagon budget this year and in the years to come, they should act to reduce the departments bloated budget and shift funding to what Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. described as programs of social uplift. New Jerseys congressional delegation will have an important say in this ongoing debate.

Proposed spending on the Department of Defense comes in at the massive sum of $740 billion this year. Thats more than the levels spent by the next 10 nations in the world combined and higher than expenditures at the peak of the Korean and Vietnam wars. These huge expenditures represent more than half of the federal governments discretionary budget, squeezing out federal spending on virtually everything it does other than funding for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Discretionary outlays cover investments in housing, education, transportation, job training, the environment, energy development, scientific research, and more.

The COVID-19 pandemic and longstanding demands to address racial and economic inequality cry out for a new approach to protecting Americans who rely less on guns, bombs and aircraft carriers and more on public health and community development initiatives.

Late last month, as a result of initiatives spearheaded by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Representatives Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Mark Pocan (D-WI), Congress had a chance to weigh in on the question of whether to shift funds from the Pentagon to meet other urgent needs. They promoted measures in both houses of Congress to reduce the Pentagons top line by 10%, without reducing funding for military personnel or defense health programs.

Adopting this approach would have provided a good down payment on the new approach to security that is sorely needed in this new era, while freeing up urgently needed funds for public health, jobs, education and other essential services in the communities that need them most. Unfortunately, both amendments were defeated, but they received unprecedented support that will set the stage for similar measures next year. Within the New Jersey delegation, Sen. Cory Booker and Representatives Frank Pallone, Donald Payne and Bonnie Watson Coleman voted in favor of the 10% cut.

There is no lack of programs to cut to reach the goal of a 10% reduction in the Pentagon budget. First and foremost, Congress should roll back the Pentagons plans to build a new generation of nuclear-armed bombers, missiles, submarines, and warheads at a potential cost of over $2 trillion over the next three decades. Current costs for the nuclear enterprise are running at almost $50 billion per year. These expenditures are both dangerous and unnecessary. The United States possesses thousands of nuclear weapons when experts have suggested that a few hundred would be more than enough to dissuade any nation from attacking the United States. The ultimate goal should be to eliminate these world-threatening weapons altogether.

Of particular concern are land-based, Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), which former Secretary of Defense William Perry has described as some of the most dangerous weapons in the world because the president would only have a matter of minutes to decide whether to launch them in a crisis, greatly increasing the chance of an accidental nuclear war. The Pentagon wants to triple spending on these risky systems in this years proposed budget.

The F-35 combat aircraft is another system ripe for reductions. Analyses by the nonpartisan Project on Government Oversight have shown that the F-35 may never be fully ready for combat, due to a raft of performance and cost issues.

Last but not least is the Pentagons massive bureaucracy. A study by the Defense Business Board has indicated that the department could save $25 billion per year just by eliminating excess bureaucracy. The Department of Defense employs over 600,000 private contractors, many of whom do jobs that are redundant, and can be done by government employees for less money.

The debates of this year and next could be critical turning points in how we conceive of our priorities and how we define safety and security. The New Jersey delegation has a critical role to play in these discussions. Its time to redefine security and focus on the real threats to our lives and livelihoods.

Rev. Robert Moore is the Executive Director of the New Jersey-based Coalition for Peace Action.

William D. Hartung is the Director of the Arms and Security Program at the Center for International Policy.

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Hundreds of pages of village credit card statements that are attached to the suit as exhibits show money spent on chauffeur services and marijuana products, an $850 meal at Lawrys steakhouse in Chicago, nearly $2,000 in charges to an Indiana moving company and Eastern Illinois University, and hundreds of dollars in payments for car repairs and what appear to be speeding and red-light camera tickets.
An Garda Siochana have reissued a warning for businesses to be vigialnt for Invoice Redirect Fraud and to treat any request to change bank account details with extreme caution.

On the August 11, 2020, Bank of Ireland reported to the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) that a business customer of theirs had been the victim of an invoice re-direct fraud and had lost just over 2.1m. The Dublin based business was making a payment to a UK based business when they received an email purporting to be from this UK business asking them to send the payment to a new bank account number.

The Irish business did their due diligence and contacted the number supplied in the email and the person who answered the phone confirmed that all was correct. The money was then sent to the new bank account which transpired to be in Hong Kong. It is now known that the phone number contained in the email was also incorrect and the business was actually talking to the fraudster.

On receipt of the complaint from Bank of Ireland, GNECB immediately initiated enquiries with the injured party in Dublin and with the bank in Hong Kong before seeking the assistance of the authorities in Hong Kong. Following investigations conducted by the Police in Hong Kong on behalf of GNECB, the stolen money was secured in an account there and the return of the money is being arranged.

GNECB would like to advise the public to be wary of such crimes and gives the following advice:

Ensure that great care and attention is given each time they are asked to change bank account details.

A phone call should be made to a representative of the company confirming that the bank account is changed and care needs to be taken to ensure that they are talking to a representation of the company and not the fraudster. Under no circumstances should contact details contained in the email or attachments be relied upon to verify the request whether these consist of a physical address, an email address or a phone number.

Businesses must ensure that they have robust policies and procedures in place to deal with requests of this nature including escalating the decision making function to supervisory positions and making direct contact with a trusted known person in the suppliers organisation.

All existing business relationships should be reviewed without delay and defensive policies and procedures put in place.

When working from home be mindful when carrying out roles you would not usually do. Confer with co-workers when you are uncertain about performing a task you are unfamiliar with or is non-standard to your regular duties.

When working from home be mindful when carrying out roles you would not usually do. Confer with co-workers when you are uncertain about performing a task you are unfamiliar with or is non-standard to your regular duties. It is also imperative that where staff are using private computers / laptop for work purposes from their homes that the antivirus software is kept up to date.



Detective Superintendent Michael Cryan added: "In many instances the business does not know it is a victim of this crime until sometime later when the legitimate supplier sends a reminder invoice for payment.

"It is important to note that victims of Invoice Redirect Fraud range from very small businesses to large corporations and the consequences of falling for a scam of this nature can be catastrophic and can result in the closure of businesses and redundancies so all employees should receive training in relation to avoiding this type of scam.

"In this case Gardai with the assistance of Bank of Ireland and the Police in Hong Kong were able to secure this money and ensure it did not fall into the hands of an international criminal organisations. This money was secured because Bank of Ireland acted quickly and reported the matter to Gardai as soon as they became aware of it. Early reporting is essential if there is to be any hope of retrieving the stolen money. This is an excellent example of the co-operation that exists between GNECB and the financial institutions in Ireland.



Further advice on what to do if you encounter an invoice redirect scam can be found on https://www.garda.ie/en/Crime/Fraud/
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The cardinal's call comes on the eve of the fourth session of the Union Peace Conference  21st Century Panglong. In 1947, the first Panglong conference laid the foundations for the birth of the country. Peace between different ethnic groups is needed to defeat the pandemic, "a greater common enemy". Democracy and federalism can unite the population.

Yangon (AsiaNews)  The fourth session of Union Peace Conference 21st Century Panglong is set to start on 19 August. In a message ahead of the event, Card Charles Maung Bo, Archbishop of Yangon, notes that There is no other path than dialogue. [. . .] Were all damaged by war. No one wins. The only way is peace.

Led by Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmars government, the Armed Forces (Tatmadaw), and the leaders of various armed ethnic groups will participate in peace negotiations to end decades of inter-ethnic conflict in the country.

In 1947, the first Panglong conference laid the foundations of modern Myanmar, then called Burma. Suu Kyis father, General Aung San, head of the government of the British Crown colony of Burma, brokered the deal between the four main ethnic groups (Bamar, Chin, Kachin and Shan).

At present, the absence of several large ethnic groups has weakened current negotiations. The Kachin Independence Army and the TNLA Ta'ang have refused to join the process in protest for the exclusion of the Arakan Army.

In his remarks, Card Bo offers a prayer for the success of the conference, pointing out that General Aung San, and all those who dreamt of a new united nation after the ruins of the Japanese invasion and colonialism, fought to to build on the fertile, life giving differences among us, and so shape a proud, united people.

The prelate goes on to bemoan Aung Sans brutal assassination 73 years ago, which marked the beginning of decades of division, conflict and darkness for the people of Myanmar.

For him, the players at the table of negotiations can now overturn this history of death and suffering; even more so now as the country grapples with the coronavirus pandemic.

Archbishop Bo cites Pope Francis who issued a passionate call for a world-wide ceasefire in order to defeat a greater common enemy, COVID-19. Through unity, he notes, we will rebuild our nation after the socio-economic, environmental and medical wreckage of the global pandemic.

For the cardinal, the only way forward is democracy, building a true federal state, with a representative government that takes care of all its citizens.

He warns that military solutions are counterproductive and must be abandoned in favour of cooperation, civilisation and wisdom.

The country needs a military which is inclusive of all ethnic groups, without any discrimination. What is more, Gradually, the military must come under the authority of a democratically accountable elected President.

According to the archbishop of Yangon, by showing respect for its people, providing a safety net even for the poorest, Myanmar will be able to reclaim its place in Asia and the world.

Ultimately, Peace is possible, he says. Peace means development. Peace is our destiny.
PLAYA VISTA, CA - August 13, 2020 (Investorideas.com Newswire) in case you missed it - Water / nanotech stocks news American Premium Water Corporation (OTC: HIPH) (the "Company") reported it has entered into an investment and distribution agreement with BioHealth Water Inc. , a newly formed wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore eDevelopment Limited (SGX:40V). BioHealth Water has acquired 9.99% of the total issued and paid-up stock capital of the Company, as well as both exclusive international distribution rights and non-exclusive domestic distribution rights for the Company's products. BioHealth Water will focus on distributing the Company's aerosolized sanitizing machines throughout hospitals and hotels, as well as focusing on distributing to businesses affected by the pandemic. The Company will also develop and launch two new products using its proprietary Hydro Nano technology.

Ryan Fishoff, CEO of American Premium Water, commented, "I am excited to announce the investment and partnership agreement with BioHealth Water. This is a monumental deal for the company, as it solidifies the beginning of a partnership for American Premium Water that will execute many of the strategic initiatives that I established at the beginning of the year. I have always believed that our proprietary Hydro Nano technology is a unique and undervalued asset that the company possesses, and I believe that this transaction validates the power of this technology."

The Company announced in April that it developed a prototype of an aerosolized sanitizing machine using its proprietary Hydro Nano technology. In addition to this device, American Premium Water will be producing two new proprietary products utilizing its Hydro-Nano technology: Nano Energy Water, which creates natural energy by increasing blood flow upon ingestion, and Nitrous Oxide Energy Shots, a natural alternative to caffeine, which stimulates the blood vessels to expand, resulting in increased blood flow and stimulation after ingestion. Both products are expected to be released this year.

Chan Heng Fai, Chairman and CEO of Singapore eDevelopment, commented, "I am very excited to partner with American Premium Water and its management team. American Premium Water has extraordinary technology that can create products with real impact. I look forward to working with Ryan and his team to create many new products utilizing their technology to be sold across our HWH global distribution network (www.hwhworld.com). Right away I see a lot of opportunity with the sanitizing machine. There are so many small businesses that need a product to help bring back a sense of normalcy, especially to restaurants, stores, and other retail-based businesses. This agreement is the start of what I foresee to be a very prosperous relationship. I see a lot of potential growth for American Premium Water, and I believe with the help of our team we can make this another successful turnaround like other companies in which we have invested."

About American Premium Water Corp.

American Premium Water (OTC: HIPH) is a diversified luxury consumer products company focused on businesses in the health and beauty and biotech sectors. The company is focused on harnessing the powers of Nano technologies paired without cannabidiol (CBD) to treat health disorders and enhance quality of life. The company's portfolio includes the LALPINA Hydro and LALPINA CBD brands (www.lalpinahydrocbd.com), Gents (www.gentsco.com), Vanexxe (www.vanexxe.com) plant + body essentials (www.plantbodyessentials.com).

About Singapore eDevelopment Limited

Incorporated on 9 September 2009 and listed on the Singapore Exchange in July 2010, Singapore eDevelopment Limited is involved in (i) property development and investments primarily in the United States and Western Australia; (ii) information technology-related businesses; (iii) development, research, testing, manufacturing, licensing and distribution of biomedical products; and (iv) investment activities. For more information on SeD visit www.sed.com.sg.

Safe Harbor Notice

Certain statements contained herein are "forward-looking statements" (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). American Premium Water Corporation cautions that statements made in this news release constitute forward-looking statements and makes no guarantee of future performance. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and opinions of management at the time statements are made. These statements may address issues that involve significant risks, uncertainties, estimates and assumptions made by management. Actual results could differ materially from current projections or implied results. American Premium Water Corporation undertakes no obligation to revise these statements following the date of this news release. Additional details of the Company's business can be found in its public disclosures as a reporting issuer under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission's ("SEC") EDGAR database.

This press release is issued on behalf of the Board of Directors of American Premium Water Corporation.

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A Moorhead man was accused of killing and dismembering a woman who was seen with him before her disappearance.

The body of the missing is not yet found, but the 27-year-old suspected murderer got charges levied against him. Police suspect that the corpse was violated. According to authorities, he may have dismembered the body of the 19-year-old woman, who has been gone for two weeks without a trace.

According to authorities, Ethan M. Broad of Moorhead was charged by the Clay County District Court in the second instance of unintentional murder. He killed the victim identified as Dystynee Avery, who used to reside in Colorado and moved to Moorhead where she met her untimely demise, reported Star Trubune.

There were enough signs that the investigation was done because foul play was committed by the accused. Avery's killing was not a mistake, but deliberate, said Police Capt. Deric Swenson.

Avery was last seen alive on April 3 in South Moorhead where the investigators have been following leads. Most of the focus is the location that is close to the accused apartment found in 1300 block of S. 28th Avenue, based on the initial evidence said the Police Captain, noted Popular Crime.

Broad got apprehended on a Friday when the police had their warrant. Immediately, he was arraigned in court on Monday and is still behind bars. No response was received from his lawyer who did not comment anything to the press.

Also read: Boxer Woman Kills Two Men: Rapes One With Shovel Handle , Kicks Another to Death

The suspected murderer speaks how he killed the victim

Broad was interviewed by the investigators after a missing person report was filed. He admitted to chopping Avery into body parts in his garage. When he had the corpse all cut to parts, all the bits and pieces were placed in bags and thrown like trash into different bins at the apartment. It was noted that self-defense was claimed by the accused in the criminal complaint. No motive was clearly stated why the victim was mutilated and dismembered in such a gruesome manner, confirmed KVRR.

Based on the statements of the confessed killer, a sweep of the garage and all the contents revealed the grisly proof. Traces and bits of the human flesh from the butchering of the corpse was undeniable. A blue tote bag was found with the victim's blood inside. Video captures saw Broad pulling a blue bin from the apartment building towards the garages, according to court documents. The apartment was cleaned of all blood traces to leave no evidence of the murder.

According to Doreen Avery, mother of the victim, he must have killed her in an argument, describing Broad as a good friend and he must have had feelings for the victim. She also mentioned that she had kept in touch, even on the day she disappeared. Doreen said that she never suspected he could kill her like that. Lastly, the victim moved to Moorhead to stay with her boyfriend there.

One station with KVLY-TV in Fargo conducted an interview with Mrs. Avery who commented that the suspected killer will not say the exact location of the body parts. But she knows her daughter is dead.

Related article: Man Stabs Brother to Death Due to Heated Argument Overly Freshly Laundered Pillowcase

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By Express News Service

IAS officer-turned-politician Shah Faesal, who decided to quit active politics a few days ago, tells TNIEs Fayaz Wani that the Centres August 5, 2019 decision has changed facts on the ground and that there is no grey space for electoral politics that existed earlier in Jammu and Kashmir.

Excerpts:



What prompted you to quit politics 17 months after launching your own party and giving hope to people, especially youth?

August 5 decisions have changed facts on the ground. Its taking time for people to come to terms with it. We might deny it but the fact is that the present Constitution of India has no space for the grey zone electoral politics that used to happen in J&K. Im quitting so that I can articulate honestly. In politics, we are compelled to be politically correct. I dont want to raise false expectations



When did you first think of quitting politics?

It was while in detention that I realised that if people want me to do politics of special status, I must be forthright in telling them that I dont have the power to get these Articles (370 and 35A) back given the current national consensus.



Do you think your quitting politics would be a betrayal of the youth?

Not at all. I am being very honest with them. Some people had developed wrong expectations thinking that I am going to start an agitation. Many of them are disappointed and I feel sad for them.



You have said that a perception was created that you are anti-national. Was this because of your stand on Article 370 revocation?

More so due to my resignation. As I said, an innocuous act of dissent was seen as a seditious act.



Does it mean that anybody who talks in favour of Article 370 revocation is anti-national?

There is a general consensus in India at this time that its abrogation led to national integration. In a democracy, the consensus has to be respected.



You have said you dont want to sell false dreams. Does it mean that mainstream politicians are selling false dreams?

No, I dont mean that. Politicians in Kashmir are gradually coming to terms with the new realities. They are doing a great job by promoting the democratic process. All Im saying is that I cant do politics over the special status when I know I have no power to get it back.



What are your future plans? There is speculation that you will be joining back administration. Word is that you may become a member of Advisory Council of Lt Governor

I have no idea how these rumours are spread. I am taking life with an open mind and am ready to spread some positivity if and when I get a chance.



Is there any possibility of again returning to politics in future?

I dont think so. I have learnt a lot during the past one year. I dont want to be known as a resignation man who hops from place to place. I want to settle down and focus on my work.



How tough is it to do politics in Kashmir after Article 370 revocation?

Mainstream electoral politics isnt going to end. We are a parliamentary democracy and sooner or later the democratic process will get revived.

Its a matter of time. These difficulties remain in a conflict zone but Im sure things will ease with time.
The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Mizuho Bank have signed a syndicated bank facility worth $330 million to fund the construction of Qatars first mega solar power plant, Japan Times reports.

This loan is expected to contribute to further strengthening of the multilayered economic ties between Japan and Qatar, JBIC said in a recent statement.

The syndicated loan backed by the Japanese government will used to endorse Qatars to increase the proportion of renewable energy in its total electricity generation to 20 percent by 2030 as it seeks to reduce dependence on fossil fuel related energy products and thermal power generation.

The project, a joint agreement between the gas-rich tiny country and Japan, will be located in in the western Qatar desert village of Al Kharsaah. Upon completion and start expected in April 2022, the future plant will produce 800 megawatts.

Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp. and French oil giant Total S.A. along with a Qatari energy firm will jointly own and run plant through a special purposed company. The joint venture will sell electricity for 25 years to Qatar General Electricity and Water Corp
Egypt and Greece signed an agreement last week setting up an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between the two countries for oil and gas drilling rights

Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said a maritime demarcation deal signed recently between both countries will contribute to achieving security and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean region.

Egypt and Greece signed an agreement last week establishing an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between the two countries for oil and gas drilling rights.

The deal came amid rising tensions in the East Mediterranean region after a similar agreement between Turkey and Libyas Tripoli-based government maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean Sea was signed last year. The accord was decried by Egypt, Greece and Cyprus as illegal, a violation of international law and an infringement on their economic rights

During the telephone conversation, El-Sisi and Mitsotakis said the deal would "consolidate the correct foundations and rules for the demarcation process and contribute to achieving security and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean region," Egyptian presidency spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement late on Wednesday.

The two leaders added that the deal "enables Egypt and Greece to utilise their natural resources in the interests of the peoples" of the two countries," the spokesman added.

They hailed the deal as a "historic landmark for bilateral relations."

The pair also discussed regional issues of common interests including developments in the oil-rich region and agreed to intensify coordination in this regard.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said last week the deal is the absolute opposite of the "illegitimate and legally unfounded" maritime agreement signed between Turkey and the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli in late 2019.

Earlier this month, Egypt, a close ally Greece and Cyprus, said a seismic survey carried out by Turkey from 21 July to 2 August in the eastern Mediterranean represented a violation and an attack on sovereign rights" and overlaps with Egypts exclusive economic zone.

Earlier this week, Turkey said it will issue gas exploration and drilling licenses in the eastern Mediterranean this month, further heightening tensions with Greece, which said it would seek an emergency EU meeting to address the issue.

On Monday, Turkey sent an exploration vessel into a disputed area of the eastern Mediterranean south of the Greek island of Kastellorizo.

France announced on Wednesday it will increase its military presence in the east Mediterranean, calling on Turkey to halt oil and gas exploration in disputed waters that has heightened tensions with Greece.

Last Month, French President Emmanuel Macron called for EU sanctions against Turkey for violations of Greek and Cypriot waters.



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Mazda Toyota Manufacturing Increase US Investment $830 Million

$830 million to increase state-of-the-art technologies and training programs.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala., (Aug. 13, 2020)  Today, Mazda Toyota Manufacturing, (MTM), the new joint-venture between Mazda Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation, announced an additional $830 million investment to incorporate more cutting-edge manufacturing technologies to its production lines and provide enhanced training to its workforce of up to 4,000 employees.

Total funding contributed to the development of the state-of-the-art facility is now $2.311 billion, up from the $1.6 billion originally announced in 2018. The investment reaffirms Mazda and Toyotas commitment to produce the highest-quality products at the facility. It also accommodates production line enhancements made to improve manufacturing processes supporting the Mazda vehicle and design changes to the yet to be announced Toyota SUV that will both be produced at the plant. The new facility will have the capacity to produce up to 150,000 units of a future Mazda crossover vehicle and up to 150,000 units of the Toyota SUV each year. MTM continues to target up to 4,000 new jobs and has hired approximately 600 employees to date, with plans to resume accepting applications for production positions later in 2020.

Toyotas presence in Alabama continues to build excitement about future opportunities that lie ahead, both for our economy and for the residents of our great state, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said. Mazda and Toyotas increased commitment to the development of this manufacturing plant reiterates their belief in the future of manufacturing in America and the potential for the state of Alabama to be an economic leader in the wake of unprecedented economic change.

Mazda Toyota Manufacturing is proud to call Alabama home. Through strong support from our state and local partners, we have been able to further incorporate cutting-edge manufacturing technologies, provide world-class training for team members and develop the highest quality production processes, Mark Brazeal, VP of Administration at MTM said. As we prepare for the start of production next year, we look forward to developing our future workforce and serving as a hometown company for many years to come.

This newest investment by our partners at Mazda Toyota Manufacturing shows the companys continued confidence in the ability of our community to provide a strong, skilled workforce to meet the demands for quality and reliability. We look forward to the day when the first vehicles roll off the line, said City of Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle.

We are excited to learn of this additional investment being made by Mazda Toyota Manufacturing, said Limestone County Commission Chairman Collin Daly. We continue to be grateful to MTM for their belief in our county and look forward to our partnership with them for many years to come.

Full-scale construction of the plant continues, with 75%-100% completion on roofing, siding, floor slabs, ductwork, fire protection and electrical.

About Toyota

Toyota has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 38 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold 2.8 million cars and trucks (2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2019.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our societys most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit ToyotaNewsroom.com.

About Mazda Toyota Manufacturing

Mazda Toyota Manufacturing is a jointly owned-and-operated automotive production plant. The $2.3 billion facility is expected to create up to 4,000 jobs and will have the capacity to assemble up to 300,000 vehicles a year, beginning in 2021.

About Mazda

Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, California, and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States and Mexico through approximately 620 dealers. Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Monday expressed her optimism that Americans will start to receive the extra unemployment insurance included in US President Donald Trumps recent executive orders close to immediately. Meanwhile, Larry Kudlow, an economic adviser in the Trump administration, said on Tuesday that the benefits boost should arrive in two weeks.

However, experts consulted by the US media appear less confident about how long it will take to materialize - if indeed it materializes at all.

Trump executive order seeks $400 benefits boost

Among a series of executive orders issued on Saturday, Trump vowed to give out-of-work Americans an extra $400 a week in unemployment benefits, replacing the $600 supplement they had received until the end of July as part of the CARES Act.

Under the presidents plan, the federal government would contribute $300 a week, while states were asked to pay $100. The boost would only be available to claimants who qualify for over $100 a week in regular unemployment pay.

Trumps executive orders, which also included an evictions moratorium, the suspension of student loan payments and interest, and a deferral of payroll tax, came after White House chiefs and Democrat leaders failed to agree a new package of coronavirus relief measures by their self-imposed deadline of Friday last week.

New payment systems needed for benefits boost

One problem with Trumps proposed enhanced benefits is that states are likely to need some time to get their payment systems ready for the scheme. Speaking to Yahoo! Money, Michele Evermore of the National Employment Law Project said: It will take at least a month, and that's being very optimistic about a lot of things.

Part of the issue, Evermore explained in a separate interview with CNBC, is that states have to route the federal money from a new source - the Department of Homeland Security's Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) - that is unrelated to those they typically draw benefits from. This is actually not something states have ever had to do before, she said.

$45bn available in DRF could be spent within five weeks

Trumps scheme would last through to 6 December or until the DRF dropped to $25bn - whichever happened earlier (the fund currently has a balance of about $70bn). According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, however, the $45bn available in the DRF would be unlikely to last until December - and could be spent within just five weeks.

States will also have to negotiate an application process before being given access to the $300 in federal funds, and may ultimately decide its not worth the cost and effort to administer for only a few weeks worth of money, writes Greg Iacurci in CNBC, citing the opinion of University of Illinois economist Eliza Forsythe.

States say they can't afford $100 contribution

Governors have questioned the feasibility of Trumps executive order, not only because of the practical difficulties they appear to face in implementing it, but also from the point of view of how they are expected to afford it, given that states are currently nursing a combined budget shortfall reportedly amounting to $555bn.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told reporters on Monday: It would cost New York State $4 billion between now and December to pay 25% of the unemployment insurance. His executive order says the unemployment insurance could be $400 but the state has to pay 100 of the 400 - that's $4.2 billion.

"We started with a $30-billion hole and your solution is to cost me another $4 billion? Thank you. That's handing the drowning man an anchor."

$300, rather than $400, benefits supplement?

In the wake of such concerns, Kudlow told Fox on Tuesday that the requirements governing states input into the additional benefits had been revised. Rather than having to stump up further money, states will now also be given the option of counting the regular benefits they pay out as their contribution, he said.

Weve modified slightly the mechanics of the deal [], Kudlow explained. The way were leaving it now is, any state who put in $100 before for unemployment benefits, and every state did, they will then qualify for the extra $300. The baseline of unemployment from states is roughly $400 per person per week, thats the median. On top of that, the federal government is going to put in $300.

While this solution places less of a strain on states' finances, it also means that, if and when the extra benefits do arrive, unemployed Americans may find theyre only getting an additional $300 on top of their basic unemployment insurance, rather than the $400 initially promised.

Potential for legal challenges

The enhanced benefits scheme could also be delayed - or scuppered completely - by challenges against the legality of Trumps executive order. This is because the US constitution states that Congress, not the president, has ultimate power of the purse when it comes to spending federal funds.

Described as "unconstitutional slop" by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Trumps benefits boost "might not survive a legal challenge", says the Washington Posts Catherine Rampell, who quotes Georgetown University law professor David Super as saying that the revised conditions on states contribution to the program make it "not remotely legal".

According to Super, the 25% that states were originally told theyd need to put towards a $400 benefits supplement is required under the law (the Stafford Act) that Trump cited as giving him the authority to establish the scheme.

Live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic

You can stay up-to-date with the latest US developments in the coronavirus crisis by following our dedicated live blog.
Britannia Industries said that a board meeting is scheduled to be held on Monday, 17 August 2020, to consider the proposal of borrowing of funds through issuance of Commercial Paper.

The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 12 August 2020. Shares of Britannia Industries fell 1.78% to settle at Rs 3,810 yesterday.

In a separate announcement, the company said it has allotted Commercial Papers for an aggregate amount of Rs 300 crore on 12 August 2020, with tenure of 12 months.

The FMCG major's consolidated net profit surged 117.38% to Rs 545.70 crore on 26.98% rise in total income to Rs 3,514.45 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019.

Britannia Industries is one of India's leading food companies. The company's product portfolio includes biscuits, bread, cakes, rusk, and dairy products including cheese, beverages, milk and yoghurt.

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Michael Cohen previewed the cover of his upcoming book 'Disloyal' on Thursday

Michael Cohen previewed the cover image and title of his upcoming book 'Disloyal' on Thursday after the courts ruled against Attorney General Bill Barr's attempt to stop him from publishing the tell-all.

'Coming Soon,' Cohen teased on Twitter along with an image of the cover of his memoir revealing the title, 'Disloyal: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump'.

The U.S. government made an agreement with federal prosecutors at the end of July to abandon its efforts to impose a gag order on Cohen as he prepares to release his book critical of his former boss.

Cohen, 53, was released from prison in May 2020 amid concerns over coronavirus after he served one year of his three-year sentence for pleading guilty to campaign finance violations and lying to Congress.

He returned to prison in early July after tweeting about planning to publish a book alleging Trump used racial slurs against former President Barack Obama and former South Africa President Nelson Mandela.

'Favorable ruling yesterday by the Court as I am close to completion of my book' Cohen wrote of Trump's niece Mary Trump being able to publish her critical book about her uncle.

'...anticipated release date will be late September.' Cohen wrote in another tweet.

A week after the president's former fix-it man and personal attorney was released from prison for the second time, where he spent two weeks after refusing to cease speaking to the media, the ruling came in that he could speak with the media and publish his memoir.

The tweet of him touting his new book Thursday is the first time he has posted since being released from prison.

'Coming Soon,' the president's former fixer and personal attorney wrote in a tweet along with an image of the cover

Cohen was released from prison in late July after being ordered to return after tweeting and talking about how his upcoming book will reveal Trump's racist comments toward former President Barack Obama and Nelson Mandela

The court ruled against Attorney General Bill Barr, who Cohen sued, for trying to issue a gag order against him and sending him back to prison after his May released. The judge argued the move was in violation of Cohen's First Amendment Rights

Cohen was thrown back into prison one week after tweeting that he would release his tell-all book ahead of the November presidential election and claiming it was a 'favorable ruling' that Trump's niece Mary Trump was permitted to publish her own tell all

Cohen sued U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr and federal prison officials during his second stint, claiming he was ordered back because of the book.

U.S. Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein ordered he be released at the end of last month, saying the government's action was retaliatory and a violation of his First Amendment rights.

Cohen intentionally revealed that the book would be coming out ahead of the November elections.

His will join a list of other pre-Election Day books aimed at outsing Trump, including Bob Woodward's 'Fear: The Trump White House,' Mary Trump's 'Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man,' and former National Security Advisor John Bolton's 'The Room Where It Happened.'

Both Mary and Bolton also faced lawsuits from Trump's administration trying to stop their publication, but ultimately the court ruled it was lawful for them to go ahead with releasing their respective memoirs.
New York City police lost its first detective to Covid-19, marking the third NYPD death to the disease that has afflicted the department.(Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

2 New York Residents Charged With Torching NYPD Van

Federal investigators on Thursday arrested and charged two New York residents for allegedly setting on fire a police van used to help the citys homeless in Manhattan.

Corey Smith, 24, and Elaine Carberry, 36, were allegedly caught on surveillance cameras torching an NYPD homeless outreach van last month. They were accused of pouring liquid from a tequila bottle to commit the arson and destroy the police van in the early hours of July 15, according to prosecutors.

With the help of an undercover police officer who had interacted with the two suspects, a tip from a member of the public, and the video surveillance, investigators were able to identify the two accused, the complaint said (pdf).

The complaint alleged that Smith was caught on surveillance camera holding a glass bottle, which appeared to be a Patron tequila bottle, with Carberry while walking toward the van. Shortly after, the van burst into flames and surveillance footage showed Smith and Carberry walking away from the van. As they walked away, Smith handed Carberry what appeared to be a bottle, which she put in her purse.

Minutes later, Carberry was seen handing Smith a bottle from her purse, and Smith was seen walking towards the police van again. After the couple returned, a larger fire appeared to ignite at or around the NYPD van. The pair was seen walking away from the van again during which Smith again handed Carberry an object that looked like a bottle, the investigator said.

Investigators said that a Patron tequila bottle was recovered from the van and an analysis found that an accelerant had been used to ignite the van. The fire department also confirmed that the fire was deliberately set.

As alleged, Corey Smith and Elaine Carberry deliberately set fire to an NYPD van, then minutes later returned to the vehicle andonce again using an accelerantensured its complete destruction. Thanks to the NYPD, the Fire Department, and the ATF [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives], there was not further damage to life or property. The defendants are now in custody, Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said in a statement.

Smith and Carberry have each been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit arson and one count of arson, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Setting a police car on fire endangers police officers, firefighters, and nearby residents and properties. These organized efforts are not a form of protest, they are crimes, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said in a statement. They cost the taxpayer and damage the cause of those engaged in legitimate protest.
A 27-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection to the fatal Tuesday night shooting of 41-year-old man in New Bedford, authorities said.

Police and paramedics responded around 9:51 p.m. to reports of shots fired near 139 Dartmouth St. and found a New Bedford man with life-threatening injuries, according to a statement from Bristol District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III.

The victim, later identified as Ausarmaat Rahotep, was rushed to St. Lukes Hospital, where he died around 10:16 p.m., despite the efforts of emergency room doctors, the statement said.

Jonovan Gonzalez was taken into custody Wednesday evening and charged with murder, carrying an illegal gun and carrying a loaded illegal firearm, the district attorney said.

The New Bedford man was expected to be arraigned Thursday morning in New Bedford District Court, according to Quinns office.

Massachusetts State Police and New Bedford police detectives continue to investigate the shooting, prosecutors said.

The state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has taken custody of Rahoteps body and is expected to conduct an autopsy, according to authorities.
(Natural News) In an exclusive with Breitbart, Jaeson Jones recently drew attention to the alarming rise in methamphetamine being flooded into the U.S. by Mexico. A former captain of the Texas Department of Public Safetys Intelligence and Counterterrorism Division, Jones was in charge of the Texas Rangers Border Security Operations Center. He said he believes that the situation needs to be addressed urgently.

According to Jones, the Mexican drug cartels recently transitioned into methamphetamine in response to policy changes that made it harder for people to get into the country at the southwest border. At U.S. ports of entry, border protection agents had already seized more than 118,000 pounds of meth by July, and the year is not over yet. To put that number in perspective, the total for all of 2019, which was a record-setting year, was 68,000.

The DEA and DOJ put Operation Crystal Shield and Project Python into place to target major drug trafficking networks. Six months into Operation Crystal Shield, more than 7,000 people had been arrested and more than 20,000 kilograms of drugs had been seized, including more than 15,000 kilograms of meth, plus more than $20 million in cash.

This February, 1,500 pounds of liquid meth were seized at a Texas border crossing in a huge seizure that more than tripled the total seized at all El Paso area ports in 2019. Its street value may have exceeded $102 million.

Unfortunately, the Mexican drug cartels are working with corrupt high-level Mexican government officials who allow their profitable trade to continue. This is according to retired DEA Agent Terry Cole, who said that U.S. law enforcement tried to share intelligence on labs with the Mexican government, but they refused to take action.

This is a problem that is killing Americans en masse. In 2017, more than 70,000 Americans died of overdoses, 10,000 of which were from meth. In 2018, a similar number died from drug overdoses. This can be fixed by going after these cartels and their labs, and Jones says it is essential that the government pursues them urgently and comprehensively.

Cartels like the Jalisco Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel have started to produce incredible amounts of meth inside Mexico, with some of them manufacturing as much as seven tons of the drug every three days.

Deadly street drugs are also being supplied by China

Although meth is not killing as many Americans as fentanyl, experts like former DEA Special Operations Division head Derek Maltz believe it is causing even bigger problems. Mexican cartels are also buying drugs like fentanyl directly from China. And while the DEA has plenty of Spanish-speaking informants and undercover agents, they do not have as many agents who are able to speak ethnic Chinese languages, allowing these traffickers to escape detection.

Maltz told One News Now: America is a big adversary to China, so its not far-fetched to think the Chinese are purposely killing Americans and making millions of dollars while doing it. The fact that these drugs are destroying American communities and families is just icing on the cake to these people.

With CDC data showing that deaths involving meth in the year from May 2018 to May 2019 were 25 percent higher than the year before, it is clear that something needs to be done to stem this growing problem. In a 2017 survey, 55 percent of law enforcement officers identified meth as the biggest drug threat to their area, with a majority saying it contributed to violent crime and property crime.

Unfortunately, the growing anti-police sentiment and related budget cuts may only make this problem worse. Captain Art Nakamura of the Drugs & Vice division of the Portland Police Bureau told U.S. News last year that a nationwide decline in recruiting and retaining law enforcement officers was making it hard to stop the proliferation of meth, so it is very disturbing to imagine what this situation will look like when all those police budget cuts liberal cities are demanding start taking effect.

Sources for this article include:

Breitbart.com

OneNewsNow.com

Breitbart.com

USNews.com
Following the success of their VE Day Festival in May, The National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN), National Army Museum (NAM) and Royal Air Force Museum (RAFM) together with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), are coming together in a unique collaboration to mark the 75th anniversary of VJ Day with a series of free virtual events for the public to engage with from the safety and comfort of their home.

Taking place from Friday 14 August to Sunday 16 August 2020, the ambitious commemorations will feature a variety of online talks and events which will explore the contribution of the British and Commonwealth forces during the Far East Campaign in the closing months of the Second World War.

Although victory had been declared in Europe, the grueling fight against Japan continued. From 1941 to 1945, the British Commonwealth Forces alongside the allies fought a bitter campaign in Asia. The fighting took place over challenging terrain, from the jungles of Burma to the remote islands of the Pacific, and always against a tenacious enemy. Despite the extraordinary nature of the far eastern element of the conflict, it remains less well known or recognized than the European elements of the war.

The program of online events will begin on Friday 14 August and will see the tri-service museums introduce the Far East Campaign and explore its vast geographical spread. They will also share the rediscovered stories of individual service personnel who fought during this period. These online videos will be available to view via the museums individual digital channels.

The program continues Saturday 15 August, the date of Japans surrender and the end of the Second World War, with Never Forgotten: The War in the Far East and Modern Memory. This exciting debate hosted by journalist and author Dr Shrabani Basu sees historians from the three museums and the CWGC discuss how the Far East Campaign was fought on land, sea and air and how it continues to be commemorated today. After the debate members of the public are invited to get involved in a live Q&A. This is a free event that will be broadcast on Crowdcast on Saturday 15 August at 2pm.

The final day of the commemorations on Sunday 16 August will see the three museums and the CWCG come together for the last time to discuss the popular cultural legacy of the war in the Far East. It will address topics such as why so many of our war films are only focussed on the war in Europe, and how the war is remembered today. Like the previous debate, this is also a free event that will be broadcast on Sunday 16 August at 2pm.

The full events program can be found on the websites of The National Museum of the Royal Navy, the National Army Museum, the Royal Air Force Museum and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission by Monday 10 August 2020.

The museums are encouraging those joining to share pictures on social media with the hashtags #VJDay75 #NeverForgotten

About the National Museum of the Royal Navy  The National Museum of the Royal Navy, established in 2009, tells the story of the four fighting forces of the British Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the Fleet Air Arm, the Submarine Service and the Surface Fleet. Ours is the epic story of the Royal Navy, its impact on Britain and the world from its origins in 625 A.D. to the present day. The Museum Group includes the Royal Naval Museum, the Fleet Air Arm Museum, the Royal Navy Submarine Museum with HMS Alliance, Explosion! The Museum of Naval Firepower, the Royal Marines Museum, HMS Victory, HMS Caroline, HMS M33, HMS Warrior and NMRN Hartlepool (including HMS Trincomalee). Further information is available on www.nmrn.org.uk

About the National Army Museum  Established in 1960 by Royal Charter, the National Army Museum is the United Kingdoms leading authority on the history and traditions of the British Army. It explores the impact that soldiers from Britain, Ireland and the Commonwealth have had throughout the world, from the 17th century to the present day. Through its world-class collections, the Museum safeguards and shares the stories and values of ordinary people who have been called upon to bear extraordinary responsibilities on behalf of others. www.nam.ac.uk

About the RAF Museum  The RAF Museum is a place of storytelling and sharing. Our RAF stories include those of serving personnel, veterans, cadets and reserves. They explore our rich collections of technological innovations, personal items and the heritage of our site. The stories come from times of war and keeping the peace, from at home and abroad. They may be about courage, fear, love, loss or laughter. Visitors are encouraged to discover these stories throughout our exhibitions, across our site and online  and perhaps contribute their own. The RAF Museum is free to enter. Keep up to date with the latest news and event information by following us at www.rafmuseum.org

About the Commonwealth War Graves Commission  We honour and care for the 1.7 million men and women of the Commonwealth forces who died in the First and Second World Wars, ensuring they will never be forgotten. Funded by six Member Governments, our work began with building, and now maintaining, cemeteries and memorials at 23,000 locations all over the world. Today, over a century after we first began, our work continues through our staff, supporters and volunteers who preserve our unique cultural, horticultural and architectural heritage and ensure that the stories of those who died are told. www.cwgc.org
Hooked up to ventilators, eleven prematurely born infants struggled for survival in an intensive care ward in a Bolivian maternity hospital on Thursday.

Doctors at the Women's Hospital in La Paz said the supply of oxygen for the babies is in peril, the result of nationwide blockades by supporters of the party of former President Evo Morales, who object to the recent postponement of elections.

Bolivia's political and social crisis coincides with the continued spread of the new coronavirus across one of Latin America's poorest countries.

Street unrest erupted after the Supreme Electoral Tribunal moved the planned vote from Sept. 6 to Oct. 18 after warnings from medical experts that it would be unsafe to hold the vote while the pandemic was not yet under control.

It was the third time the vote had been delayed, angering protesters who accuse the government of trying to hang onto power.
Tania Hernandez was one of many freshman who, despite the ongoing pandemic, was excited to move into her dorm at the University of Montana on Wednesday and begin in-person classes next week.

"I'm ready, I'm excited, I'm happy to be away from home and just be independent," Hernandez said.

Hernandez, a freshman from Libby studying business, said she decided to come to campus this fall because she favors in-class instruction over online courses.

"Thats not really for me," she said. "Id rather be in class 'cause that's easier for me to learn that way."

Signs saying things like "Wear a mask" and "Protect your den" greeted students they checked in for designated two-hour move-in time slots, which UM imposed to avoid congestion in the lobbies. Students were allowed the help of two people during that time window, but otherwise had to wait until the building was clear to move their belongings in, according to UM's website.

That required some rearranging of some families' move-in plans, like those of Linda Clements and her daughter, Krissy who will be a freshman this year.

"Her move-in time was this morning from 8 to 10 but we had to go do our Target run so I just helped her carry stuff to the building," Linda said. "So that's really different because she has three older siblings who we did the Target run for and I'd come in and help get organized."

Despite the differences, Krissy Clements echoed the sentiment of other students who said they are happy to be on campus.

"I'm just so excited even if it's weird," she said. "I'm excited to make friends and I think it's honestly nice being a freshman because I don't have as many expectations as everyone else so whatever's here is going to be a good time for me."

Krissy Clements said she wouldn't like switching to online classes but said it would be OK if she could stay in Missoula regardless. She said she hasn't yet received much communication from her instructors or UM with details about how classes or campus life will be different other than that she is required to wear a mask on campus and in the residence halls, but expects they will go over those things in upcoming meetings and orientations.

Her mom said they were told that students are not allowed to have visitors in their dorm rooms, and that the dorms closed off the community rooms but hope to open them to residents within a couple of weeks.

Carrie Wood said the safety protocols and the willingness of people in Missoula to wear face masks helped her feel confident in moving her daughter, Addie, to campus from Spokane and Idaho, where her dad lives.

"Everybody here in town seems really respectful of it," Wood said. "In Idaho, people are protesting masks and refusing to wear them, and some in Spokane."

In addition, Wood has been monitoring Missoula's COVID-19 rates.

"I haven't been too nervous about it and she's good about wearing her masks and washing her hands and stuff," Wood said.

Addie Wood, a freshman studying pre-nursing, said she hopes UM can keep the school year as normal as possible, and that she can return to practices for the UM dance team that are currently on hold.

Alyssa Lembcke, a sophomore pre-law student from Livingston, donned a Griz face mask sewn by her grandmother on Wednesday as she moved back to campus after going home for the summer. Lembcke said she isn't too worried about the semester because she already has an idea of what to expect if students have to return to online-only instruction.

"I'm going to treat it as normal and try to keep my grades as high as I can with this going on," Lembcke said.

When she's not studying or in classes, Lembcke said she and her roommates are planning on going on more hikes and getting outside, considering the likelihood that many student events could be canceled or modified.

Some parents expressed some lingering concerns, like Trish Foss who said that while she's excited students will be home for the holidays due to the condensed semester  fall semester classes end Nov. 18  she worries about youth who aren't taking COVID-19 seriously.

"I think they do need to take it seriously," Foss said. "And not so much about them not being able to recover from it, but them bringing it home to us because we have elderly parents that we have to be concerned about. So that's been my big thing to my kids is wash your hands, wear your mask, be diligent about that stuff."

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Two years after a four-year-old girl was murdered by a labourer who held a grudge against the toddlers father, the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) has awarded 10 lakh as compensation to the victims family.

The convict, Kamlesh, who lived in the Labour Colony in Industrial Area, Phase 1, was neighbours with the victims family. Envious of her fathers samosa stall, he had slashed the babys throat with a sickle in full public view on February 25, 2018.

In August 2019, a district court had awarded Kamlesh life imprisonment till natural death who was found guilty of cold-blooded murder. The court had also recommended providing compensation to the family.

On Thursday, the family was called and the compensation amount was awarded by chief judicial magistrate-cum-secretary, DSLA, Chandigarh, Ashok Kumar Mann as part of the Victim Assistance Scheme, 2012.

It was recommended by the court that the file regarding compensation be forwarded to the legal services authority. It was received by DLSA on August 11 and today, the compensation was awarded, Mann said.

The Punjab and Haryana high Court judge and executive chairman of SLSA, Chandigarh, justice Jaswant Singh, had given directions that in cases where the court had recommended compensation to the victim/kin, there should be no delay in doing so.

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ZURICH, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Switzerland is close to signing a deal to secure access for a coronavirus vaccine being developed by Moderna of the U.S., a government official has said.

Switzerland will soon sign a reservation and supply deal, Pascal Strupler, the director of the Federal Office of Public Health, told the Swiss TV programme Club late on Tuesday.

"We are only a few hours away from completing a purchase contract. With this contract we will get it very quickly," Strupler said.

He declined to give financial details of any deal.

If the vaccine passes trials and is authorised for use, it could be produced in Switzerland under a deal between drugmaker Lonza and Moderna. (Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
CNBC's Jim Cramer is worried President Donald Trump's administration will keep applying pressure to China into the election, creating a headwind for the market.

"I think that the president is keeping the heat on. I expect more negatives about China," Cramer said on "Squawk on the Street."

Cramer's remarks Thursday come as the relationship between the U.S. and China continues to grow increasingly frigid, following a brief cooling in January after the two sides agreed to a phase-one trade agreement. However, China is reportedly far from meeting its commitments on goods purchases under the deal, which was reached after a back-and-forth tariff war between the world's two largest economies that began in 2018.

At a White House briefing Monday, Trump said the trade deal now means "very little in the overall import of things," then again criticized China's handling of the coronavirus and blamed the country for the pandemic.

"We view China differently than we did eight months ago. Very much differently," said Trump, who had initially praised China's coronavirus response but now argues its government was not transparent in sharing information on the initial outbreak.

While the virus emerged from Wuhan, China, public health experts say the U.S. government's failure to act quickly to contain the virus, as well as a lack of coordination between federal and state entities, are partly responsible for America having more reported cases of Covid-19 than any other country.

White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement to CNBC that Trump "is constantly reviewing our relations with China." But the president has "nothing to announce at this time," Deere added.

The Trump administration has also ratcheted up scrutiny of Chinese tech companies  specifically ByteDance, which owns the social media video app TikTok, and Tencent, which owns the messaging app WeChat.

Last week, Trump signed a pair of executive orders that banned U.S. firms from transacting with ByteDance and Tencent's WeChat. The orders go into effect in September, although there is still some confusion over how they would be implemented.

Business leaders from major American companies including Ford Motor Co. and Disney voiced their concerns over a WeChat ban to the White House earlier this week, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

Tensions between the U.S. and China also have intensified over Beijing's sweeping national security law it imposed on Hong Kong this summer. The Trump administration recently sanctioned 11 people, including Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam.

The U.S. Treasury Department said it was targeting Lam for "implementing Beijing's policies of suppression of freedom and democratic processes" in the former British colony.

China responded with its own batch of sanctions on U.S. officials, including Republican U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida.

- CNBC's Berkeley Lovelace Jr. contributed to this report.
Consider a school building: its dusty chalkboards in crowded classrooms, gymnasiums packed with sweaty bodies, and lockers with forgotten lunches left behind.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/8/2020 (524 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Consider a school building: its dusty chalkboards in crowded classrooms, gymnasiums packed with sweaty bodies, and lockers with forgotten lunches left behind.

There is a reason "public school classroom" is not a signature air freshener scent.

One Winnipeg educator, drawing on her experience teaching teenagers in a portable classroom, told the Free Press her workplace can get "smelly" after a few classes; "so you know the airs not moving."

Thousands of students are expected to return to classrooms across the province in a months time to start the 2020-21 school year during the pandemic. Schools are expected to follow a laundry list of new protocols, from physical distancing to rigorous cleaning  but despite mounting evidence the novel coronavirus can be spread through aerosols, as well as droplets, there has been little discussion about ventilation.

The provinces back-to-school plan recommends teachers spend as much time as possible outside in the fall, while public health experts have suggested classroom windows be left open, weather permitting, to better circulate fresh air.

For father Abe Araya, who worked in Winnipeg School Division schools for 20 years in various maintenance roles, these suggestions will not be enough.

Araya has visited all of the schools in the provinces largest division, some of which he said house classrooms that do not have operable windows. He said most hallways, gymnasiums and locker-rooms do not have windows.

"In some schools (in the division), the air movement is horrible," said Araya, who took over the post of president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Manitoba late last year. The union represents 6,000 K-12 education support staff who work in two dozen divisions across Manitoba.

"Theyre not up to par, as far as I'm concerned and it should be a concern in regards to COVID."

According to the WSDs latest building systems assessment from 2018, the division has 310 air-handling units, which take outside air, filter and either heat or cool it, and supply fresh air throughout a building via a ductwork ventilation system. The mechanical equipment is in "poor to fair condition," based on service age, with many of the units in buildings being the original ones installed when schools were built, the report states. However, it notes a maintenance program has maintained units in "good operating condition."

The report adds that, "WSD can expect to see increasing unplanned failures of the units in the future."

Doug Wylie, an occupational hygienist, said Wednesday air quality relies on the per cent of fresh air brought into a space, the number of air exchanges that happen per hour, filtration and occupancy. These variables can be altered in schools, at a cost.

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"People in general give out and breathe a cocktail of volatile organic compounds," said Wylie, principal investigator at Winnipeg Air Testing. Thats why he said its important to "purge and dilute"  especially when there may be potentially infectious aerosols.

Schools may be able to increase the percentage of fresh air they bring into the building, Wylie said, adding buildings often bring in new air and re-circulate air on a 50-50 scale because heating or cooling fresh air can be costly. Buying HEPA filters, which can filter particles, is another option for classrooms, he added.

"You cant just put a bunch of fans in the hallway and move the air around. Thats maybe a bad thing to do, if you have a contaminated building," said Andrew Halayko, a professor of physiology and pathophysiology at the University of Manitoba, and a Canada Research Chair in Lung Disease and Treatment.

Halayko said air exchange is critical and while its unlikely schools will overhaul ventilation systems, they can reset and re-calibrate them. It may be costly, he said, but such change is important.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie
The Chinese government on August 13 reportedly informed that a sample of frozen chicken wings imported form Brazil tested positive for coronavirus. According to international media reports, the consumers in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen have been urged to exercise caution when buying frozen food. Shenzhens health authorities also reportedly traced and tested everyone who might have come into contact with potentially contaminated food products.

The sample taken from chicken wings was a part of routine screenings carried out on meat and seafood imports since June when a new outbreak in Beijing was linked to the citys Xinfadi seafood market. The Chinese authorities reportedly informed that the chicken came from an Aurora Alimentos plant in the southern state of Santa Catarina.

READ: Wars End Meant Years Of Pain For Japanese Girl In China

While the health authorities tested people and products that possibly came into contact with the product, they reportedly informed that all came back negative. As per reports, the Shenzhen Epidemic Prevention and Control Headquarters said that the public needed to remain cautious and must take precautions in order to reduce infection risks.

In recent months, as China has been screening all meat and seafood containers coming into major ports, the country has also suspended some meat imports from various origins, including Brazil. Back in July, Chinas customs authority also detected coronavirus on the packaging of frozen white shrimps imported from Ecuador. On August 12, the officials again found traces of COVID-19 on the packaging of shrimps imported from the same region.

READ: China's Deadly Summer Floods Have Caused USD 25B In Damage

Elimination of hidden dangers

The Chinese custom authority reportedly said that the suspension of imports is in a bid to protect consumer health and eliminate hidden dangers. Meanwhile, the testing campaign by China came after coronavirus was found on a chopping board used to cut salmon at a food market in Beijing, which led to an outbreak of COVID-19 among workers in the area.

While there is no evidence that the virus can be spread through food, China still halted the imports of Salmon from European suppliers. It is believed that the deadly virus cannot reproduce and cannot survive at room temperature, however, the Chinese health experts also noted that the contaminated food put in cold storage could be a potential source of transmission.

(Image: Rep/Unsplash)

READ: China, Nepal Should Support Each Others Core Interests: Chinese Official

READ: China Opposes US-Taiwan Ties, Says 'those Who Play With Fire Will Get Burnt'
Three people have died after a passenger train derailed in Aberdeenshire, located in northeast Scotland. The derailment of the train was caused by heavy rain and a landslip in the area.

Heavy rain in Scotland

British Transport Police stated that despite the best efforts of paramedics they confirmed that three people have been pronounced dead at the scene.

The statement confirmed that the driver of the train was among the casualties, though the British Transport Police did not identify the person.

The second person who died is said to have been the train conductor. The formal identification has not begun yet but the family has been informed and is being supported by specially trained officers.

Six more people have been taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for injuries. All of the people who were on the train are now being accounted for.

Also Read: Russia's COVID-19 Vaccine Could Cause Harm, May Open a Pandora's Box

Footage from the scene showed multiple ambulances, a number of police cars, and an air ambulance at the site as smoke was seen from the background.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon expressed her grief and gave her deepest condolences to the families of the victims on her Twitter account. She tweeted after the authorities confirmed that three people died in the tragic incident. She also thanked all the first responders and the emergency services.

The report warned of landslips

A report was posted on July 14 and it revealed that Network Rail, the public body which manages the UK rail network, was warned about the dangers of landslips a month before the train derailment.

The yearly report was published by the Office of Rail and Road or ORR, and the report highlighted the risks posed by landslips and the need for more robust plans to tackle extreme weather conditions.

A formal investigation has been launched to know the cause of the incident. Rail industry sources told the PA news agency that the suspected cause was a landslip, caused by heavy rain on that day.

According to the industry sources of PA, the train's locomotive and the three carriages were derailed and it slid down an embankment. When asked if a landslip was to blame for the incident on August 12, British Transport Police told BBC to interview the UK government's Rail Accident Investigation Branch or RAIB for that matter.

The spokesperson of the Department of Transport, who is handling RAIB press inquiries, told BBC that there is an ongoing investigation and there is no further detail yet.

Network Rail tweeted a video on August 12 before the incident was reported, and it showed a landslip on the rail lines in the area. British Transport Police Chief inspector Brian McAleese said during a press conference that all passengers of the train have been accounted for based form CCTV inquiries and witness statements.

McAleese also gave his condolences to the families and friends of the three victims who passed away. He added that as soon as the area has been made safe then a fill and thorough search will be conducted, which will take some time.

Related Article: 13 Injured in Massive Gas Explosion at Gasoline Station in Russia

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 13, 2020 18:45 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066dd7cf6 1 National Dukcapil,civil-registration,Home-Ministry,population-growth,population-survey Free

Indonesias population exceeded 268 million as of June, according to the latest report by the Home Ministrys Population and Civil Registration Directorate General (Dukcapil).

Data from the ministry show that the male population had increased 0.71 percent from over 134.8 million to over 135.8 million as of Jun. 30.

Similarly, the female population had also risen 0.82 percent from over 131.6 million to over 132.7 million in the same period, the report found.

Dukcapil director general Zudan Arif Fakhrullah said the male population had been higher than the female population since 2014.

However, in terms of each individual sex, the female population has recorded a higher increase than the male population, with an average of 0.88 percent per year, Zudan said on Wednesday as quoted by kompas.com, adding that the national population had increased 0.77 percent this year.

West Java has the largest overall population out of all 34 provinces across the archipelago, with over 46 million people, according to the report.

North Kalimantan has the smallest population out of all the countrys provinces with 663,696 people.

The report also found four provinces where the female population is higher than the male population, namely the Special Region of Yogyakarta, West Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi and East Java.

In accordance with Law No. 24/2013 on the amendment of Law No. 23/2006 on civil administration, the Dukcapil is to publish official data on the national population every half year.

The first half report was published on Jun. 30, whereas the second half report is due to be released on Dec. 31.

The countrys online census was previously extended until May, while the face-to-face fieldwork was pushed as far back as September due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The government expects 400,000 more births than usual next year as lockdowns keep couples at home and cut access to contraception.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 04:08:40|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called for more investment in youth on the occasion of International Youth Day.

"Realizing the promise of this generation means investing far more in young people's inclusion, participation, organizations and initiatives," said Guterres in a message. "I call on leaders and adults everywhere to do everything possible to enable the world's youth to enjoy lives of safety, dignity and opportunity and contribute to the fullest of their great potential."

He highlighted the plights of young people partly as a result of COVID-19.

This year's International Youth Day occurs as the lives and aspirations of young people continue to be upended by the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

Some have lost their lives, and many have seen family members and other loved ones perish. The vulnerabilities of young refugees, displaced persons, young women and girls and others caught up in conflict or disaster have grown more acute. Some have taken on care burdens or are suffering from increased risks of hunger, violence in the home, or the prospect of never being able to resume their education, he noted.

"A generation's very formation has been jeopardized, their steps toward adulthood, identity and self-sufficiency thrown off course."

But at the same time, he said, this generation is also resilient, resourceful and engaged. They are the young people who have risen up to demand climate action. They are mobilizing for racial justice and gender equality and are the champions of a more sustainable world. They are peacebuilders promoting social cohesion at a time of social distancing, advancing an end to violence globally and advocating harmony at a time of rising hatred.

Many are young women who have been on the front lines in mobilizing for justice and climate action, while also serving on the front lines of the COVID-19 response, he said.

International Youth Day falls on Aug. 12 every year. Enditem
Since the death of George Floyd beneath the knee of a cop in Minneapolis on Memorial Day, the nation has been instructed by its cultural elites that this is the daily reality that a racist America has too long ignored

Our nation, it was shouted in our faces, is a place where white cops harass, brutalize, assault and kill Black Americans regularly and with impunity.

"Defund the police!" the Black Lives Matter demand went out, to be echoed and re-echoed by BLM's amen corner of progressive elites.

The pendulum may be swinging back, for last weekend reintroduced us to the old familiar world.

In Washington, D.C., about midnight Saturday, at a block party in the Southeast sector of the city, three shooters fired 100 rounds, wounded 20, killed a teenager and left a female police officer in critical condition.

It appears to have been an attempted massacre, a slaughter.

"More than 115 people have been slain in the District this year, a 17 percent increase over this time in 2019, which ended the year with a decade high," reports The Washington Post.

D.C.'s numbers, however, pale by comparison to Chicago, where last weekend recorded 32 more people shot, with three dead.

According to the Sun-Times, there were 106 homicides in the city in July, a single-month body count almost equal to the toll D.C. has piled up in all of the first seven months of 2020.

A disproportionate number of the dead and wounded are Black Americans, and a disproportionate number of the shooters and killers are Black men.

If black lives matter, where is Black Lives Matter?

Rarely in these stories of shootings and killings does one read that the dead were the victims of rogue cops or white supremacists.

Indeed, the front page of Monday's New York Times gave voice to the city's Black and Hispanic leaders who are objecting to a proposed $1 billion cut in the police budget. The people in high-crime precincts, for whom these leaders speak, want more, not fewer, cops on the beat.

Even Portland, Oregon, which has been indulging nightly protests since the killing of George Floyd, seems to be awakening to the real world.

When the Department of Homeland Security pulled its agents out of Portland and handed the defense of the Mark Hatfield federal courthouse to the state police, the "peaceful protesters" shifted their attention to the city's buildings and Portland Police Bureau's East Precinct.

With police personnel corralled inside, the East Precinct was barricaded with cars and wooden planks, and an attempt was made to set it afire by throwing flaming objects into the building.

Mugged by reality, Mayor Ted Wheeler seems to have belatedly awakened to the character of the protesters he has been coddling:

"When you commit arson with an accelerant in an attempt to burn down a building that is occupied by people whom you have intentionally trapped inside, you are not demonstrating, you are attempting to commit murder."

Equally problematic: "You will be creating the B-roll film that will be used in ads nationally to help Donald Trump during his campaign."

Portland police union president Daryl Turner was enraged at what he had seen. "I am disgusted that our City has come to this," said Turner. "If it is acceptable for rioters to ... try and burn down occupied buildings, and if this conduct is allowed to continue, then Portland is lost."

Wheeler, having gotten the message the rioters have been trying to deliver, finally ordered his city's police to do "what is necessary" to quell the rioting, even if it means using tear gas.

What has happened in Portland, and across much of America, was predictable, and predicted.

First, the progressives tolerate and even celebrate civil disobedience, because the cause is just and noble. Then, to hold onto public attention, the protesters march and block traffic. Next comes the cursing of cops, the throwing of trash, water bottles and rocks. Then there's the smashing of store windows, looting and arson, and Molotov cocktails. Finally, there's instigating violence with cops to get footage of police fighting back so the law enforcement officers can be painted by the progressive press as stormtroopers and the Gestapo.

In Portland, we reached the point where "peaceful protesters" tried to set a building ablaze with cops barricaded inside.

This, as the mayor said, is attempted murder.

Today, people watch their leaders in city after city fail to keep the peace and restore order as protesters riot at will, and they make plans to move out. In the suburbs and country, they quietly observe the inability of cops to quell the violence, and they buy guns.

While the right backs Trump's stand for law and order, the ultimate battle here may be between liberal Democrats elected to, and failing to, run the cities, and the radical left and Marxists who welcome their failure as they intend to kick the liberals down the stairs.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 17:57:22|Editor: huaxia

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MOGADISHU, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Somali National Army (SNA) on Wednesday killed 16 al-Shabab extremists and injured 20 others in a fierce fight in Ba'adweyn town in the central region of Mudug, a military officer confirmed on Thursday.

Isma'il Abdi Malik Malin, an SNA commander told journalists that the fighting erupted when the militants attacked locals at a local village.

"There were intense clashes, which lasted for several hours, but our forces finally overpowered the militants, killing 16 of them and injured 20 others," Malin said.

He added the army forced the militants out of the town and are pursuing their remnants who fled into the forest of Ba'adweyn town.

The residents said al-Shabab fighters wanted to set up new bases in Shabellow village but the locals resisted the move.

The government forces have intensified operations against al-Shabab extremists in central and southern regions, but the militants are still hiding in the rural areas of those regions conducting ambushes and planting landmines. Enditem
Emergency Preparedness

3 Ways for IT to Prepare for Fall Classes

Babson College, like so many schools, is priming for the start of fall classes, which begin in just a few days. Here's how the Boston-based institution has positioned itself to succeed.

Phillip Knutel

While the graduate school at Babson College long ago began catering to online students with hybrid courses for working professionals, the on-campus undergraduate experience was traditional in nature and very popular, according to CIO Phillip Knutel. "We have a beautiful campus and a beautiful gym, a beautiful library and beautiful residence halls. There are lots of things we have done to make this a terrific in-person experience." For undergraduates, online offerings were "really around the edges and not a core focus." That is, until COVID-19 arrived.

Suddenly, a typical semester with a "handful" of classes in online or blended format became 650 classes shifting entirely to a fully online model. "It was a mad scramble," recalled Knutel. "But we were fortunate to have a lot of the infrastructure and platforms and tools in place to do a fully online campus."

Now, the campus is getting ready to reopen. Most courses will be delivered in a hyflex model  where students may choose to be there in person or view the class remotely. Babson calls its version of this "webflex," which will give students the flexibility to move between face-to-face and online learning as needed throughout the semester. Three projects led by the IT organization have helped Babson prepare for whatever comes next.

Babson College

1) Daily Pulse Checks

Early on in the spring, Knutel set up "daily pulse checks" to see how students and faculty were faring. These were one-question surveys that showed up the moment somebody logged into the learning management system or the college's student or faculty portal. The survey used a zero-to-10 scale to find out how individual users were doing at the moment. A comment box collected feedback on the details.

Then IT built a dashboard in Salesforce to pull in the metrics that were most useful, said Knutel.

The pulse check allowed students to express small problems and large. On the small side, Knutel noted, were issues with connectivity, audio, video and other platform ailments. With those, IT could quickly "make changes and get messages back to the students, saying, 'Here's what we heard  this is what we've done.'"

Then there were the larger issues. On the upside, students said that Babson had done a "good job" of working with faculty in helping them understand how to teach online, digitize materials and convert physical activities into viable online versions.

On the downside, students felt they were being assigned even more work by their instructors than if they'd been attending classes in person. "Even though the workload for an entirely digital experience may have been incremental at the individual course level, at the macro level for a student taking four, five or six classes, it turned into a dramatic increase in the workload in the eyes of the students," explained Knutel. "They were dealing with being at home; not having a quiet place like a library to work in; having the distractions of family, friends, siblings, pets; maybe not great internet connectivity or great bandwidth. They had enough going on in terms of what had just uprooted their very popular campus experience at Babson to this very fully online experience."

In response, the college switched to a pass-fail option, to remove a layer of stress from students over how they could keep up their grade point averages.
PRETORIA (dpa-AFX) - South Africa's wholesale sales declined at a softer pace in June, data from Statistics South Africa showed on Thursday. Wholesale sales decreased an unadjusted 2.6 percent year-on-year in June, following a 19.9 percent fall in May. This was the fourth consecutive fall in sales. The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown regulations since March 27 have had an extensive impact on economic activity, the statistical office said. On a monthly basis, wholesale sales rose a seasonally adjusted 9.7 percent in June, after a 29.6 percent growth in May. For the three months ended in June, wholesale sales fell 19.9 percent, following a 17.6 percent decrease in the previous three months ended in June. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
As our current clients are adjusting to the world around them, homeowners and business owners alike are asking how they can eliminate risks and protect each other.

Bates Security, LLC, a commercial and residential security provider based in Kentucky with branches in Florida, is offering a free webinar on August 20 at 10 AM EST to review the benefits of Access Control Security Systems for businesses, schools and more. As the world is in various stages of reopening during the pandemic and based on client requests, Bates Security realized there is a growing need to eliminate excessive physical contact to help prevent the spread of illnesses. As our current clients are adjusting to the world around them, homeowners and business owners alike are asking how they can eliminate risks and protect each other, said Jeremy Bates, President of Bates Security. In response to their clients concerns, Bates Security has scheduled a free informational webinar on access control systems, which eliminates physical contact and has real-time auditing capabilities for improved visibility and control. Register for this valuable free webinar now. Webinar registration link: http://batessecurity-6899355.hs-sites.com/en/access-control-systems-webinar

Access control systems are not new for Bates Security. Still, within the past few months, access control systems have been implemented across the United States to reduce contact exposure in workplaces. Access control allows businesses to direct personnel to the correct entry point to be screened by hand or in combination with thermal detection cameras. Access control can also eliminate the need for touching keys by using contactless apps on a clients phone or initiate an automatic door to open. Another benefit of access control is real-time auditing capabilities. Employers can quickly and easily determine who has accessed the facility by date and time along with a combined video image of them to ensure they are following the proper reentry protocol. Capacity regulations enforced by the state can be hard to keep track of by hand. With an access control system and video software platform, the administrator can log in via mobile or desktop to view how many people are inside of an area at any given time.

We are continuing to educate and assist businesses and homes while adapting to this new normal by providing solutions to help ensure the safety and well-being of our clients, said Bryan Bates, Vice President of Bates Security. Educational resources are invaluable during this time of uncertainty, especially when you are responsible for not only yourself but the safety of others.

As many questions have arisen from clients and vendors about contactless security measures, Bates Security will be offering free webinars to educate about the technology and address concerns that all businesses are facing. The next access control webinar event will be held on August 20 at 10 AM EST. Interested parties should register for the webinar online now. Webinar registration link: http://batessecurity-6899355.hs-sites.com/en/access-control-systems-webinar

Our responsibility as a company in the life safety business during this recovery phase is to serve and educate our customers, said Jeremy Bates, President of Bates Security. Our focus is to help keep our customers, employees, and communities safe, healthy, and protected.

About Bates Security

Pat and Sonny Bates purchased Sonitrol of Lexington in 1984 and shortly thereafter began ADR Security Services, later rebranded to Bates Security. Today, the operations are driven by the Bates sons, Jeremy and Bryan. The team has built Bates Security into the largest, privately-owned company based in Kentucky and has opened/acquired three branch offices since 2016. Bates Security was awarded Small Business of the Year by Commerce Lexington, Dealer of the Year by SDM Magazine, and is currently ranked at #42 on SDMs list of Top 100 Security Companies. Visit http://www.BatesSecurity.com to learn more.
Kamala Harris with her husband and niece's daughter. Mason Trinca/Getty Images

Kamala Harris made history on Wednesday as the first female US Vice President.

Harris was born in California to immigrant parents from Jamaica and India.

Harris' extended family includes five lawyers and several Stanford graduates.

Harris' representatives did not reply to a request for comment.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

On January 20, 2021, Kamala Harris became the first Black and South Asian female Vice President of the US.

Kamala Harris was sworn in as vice president Wednesday. SauL Loeb/Getty Images

Before becoming Vice President, Kamala Harris, 56, was a Democratic senator from California who served on the Senate Judiciary, Intelligence, Security and Governmental Affairs, and Budget committees.

Prior to joining the Senate, she served as the District Attorney of San Francisco and the Attorney General of California between 2004 and 2017.

During her time in the Senate, Harris won praise for her famously fiery line of questioning during hearings. Prominent figures like Attorney General Bill Barr and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg have found themselves at the other end of her prosecutorial questions.

Harris launched her own bid for president in 2019 before ending her campaign in December due to a lack of sufficient funding.

Harris and her younger sister Maya were raised by their late mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris.

Kamala Harris' sister Maya (left) and Kamala Harris (center). Alex Wong/Getty Images

When news broke in August 2020 that Joe Biden had picked Harris as his running mate for the presidential election, Maya shared a moving tweet of Harris talking about their late mother.

"You can't know who @KamalaHarris is without knowing who our mother was. Missing her terribly, but know she and the ancestors are smiling today," she wrote.

Shyamala Gopalan Harris, the daughter of an Indian diplomat, moved to the US from India in the 60s to attend the University of California, Berkeley, to study nutrition and endocrinology.

Gopalan Harris spent her career in cancer research and worked at a number of different institutions, including McGill University and the University of Illinois. Per Forbes, some of her most important work was in breast cancer research.

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She died of colon cancer in 2009 a few months after she turned 70.

"One of the last questions she asked the hospice nurse was, 'Are my daughters going to be O.K.?' She was focused on being our mother until the very end," Harris wrote in a New York Times op-ed.

"There was never a question that they were Indian. I don't think she felt conflicted about it. She told the girls, 'You are Indian; you are [B]lack. You don't have to prove that you're one or the other,'" a family relative told the Los Angeles Times.

Donald Harris, Harris' father, was a professor of economics at Stanford University for over two decades before retiring in 1998.

Kamala Harris' father, Donald Harris, was an academic. Courtesy of Donald J. Harris

Donald Harris was born and raised in Jamaica and moved to the US in the 1960s to study economics at the University of California, Berkeley. There, he met Harris' mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, while protesting on campus.

Gopalan Harris and Donald separated when Harris was 5 and divorced when she was 7. Casey Tolan wrote for Mercury News that Harris' mother had primary custody over her two daughters. The girls saw their father during vacations.

Tolan describes Donald as a "retired leftist Stanford economics professor from Jamaica who studied issues such as income inequality." The report also references a 1976 op-ed in the university paper that describes him as "too charismatic" and "a pied piper" to his students.

Per his Stanford page, Donald has worked extensively on the economy of Jamaica and has acted as a consultant to the country's government. He is a naturalized US citizen.

In a February 2019 appearance on the radio show "The Breakfast Club," show host Charlamagne tha God asked Harris if she opposed marijuana legalization to which she responded, "Half my family's from Jamaica. Are you kidding me?"

In response to her answer, Donald published a comment in Jamaica Global Online saying, "My dear departed grandmothers (whose extraordinary legacy I described in a recent essay on this website), as well as my deceased parents, must be turning in their grave right now to see their family's name, reputation and proud Jamaican identity being connected, in any way, jokingly or not with the fraudulent stereotype of a pot-smoking joy seeker and in the pursuit of identity politics."

Harris has been married to lawyer Douglas Emhoff since 2014.

Douglas Emhoff and Kamala Harris attend the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in February 2015. Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

Emhoff, a partner at DLA Piper, works in business, real estate, and intellectual-property law representing both companies and individuals.

The couple met on a blind date and live in Los Angeles.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the two live in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and own homes in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Zillow and WSJ estimates place the cumulative value of the properties at $8 million.

Through Emhoff, Harris has two stepchildren  Cole and Ella, both in their 20s, who call her "momala."

Cole graduated from Colorado College in 2017, according to O Magazine. Ella is studying apparel and textiles at New York City's Parsons School of Design.

Harris' younger sister, Maya, is a lawyer.

Kamala Harris (left) with her sister and advisor Maya Lakshmi Harris (right). Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Maya, who is younger than Harris by two years, has been a near-constant source of support for her older sister. She's cheered Harris on both online and in numerous campaign rallies since Harris first announced she was running for president.

Christopher Cadelago wrote for Politico in 2019 that "political types" view Maya as Harris' Bobby Kennedy.

And 2020 isn't the first go-around for Maya in a presidential election  she was a senior advisor to Hillary Clinton in 2016. She has also been involved with the Ford Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union in leadership roles, Yahoo News reported.

She edited the 2010 book "The New Jim Crow" and has worked as an analyst for MSNBC.

Maya shared that she has the auto-immune disease Lupus in an essay for The Atlantic, where she shared her personal experience of living with the disease and criticized President Donald Trump for touting hydroxychloroquine as a cure for COVID-19.

Maya is married to Tony West. He's currently the chief legal officer at Uber.

Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice Tony West during the Senate Judiciary hearing on health care fraud in 2009. Scott J. Ferrell/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images

Maya and West met at Stanford University in the late 1980s, but they didn't start a relationship until after graduation.

Between 2009 and 2014, West served as assistant attorney general and associate attorney general at the civil division of the Obama administration's Justice Department.

In 2014, he joined PepsiCo's general counsel.

According to West's Twitter profile, the two live in San Francisco, California.

Maya's daughter, Meena, is a Harvard and Stanford graduate. She started the clothing line "Phenomenal Woman" in 2017.

Meena Harris attends the We Vote Next Summit event in 2018. Paul Archuleta/Getty Images

Business Insider's Dominic-Madori Davis previously reported that the goal of the clothing line, the name of which is inspired by Maya Angelou's iconic poem, is to highlight social justice causes.

The project began shortly after Trump's 2017 inauguration with the release of T-shirts with the words "phenomenal woman" printed across the front.

Meena, 35, published a book earlier this year titled "Kamala and Maya's Big Idea," based on a true story about Kamala and Maya building a play area for other children.

According to her LinkedIn page, she has worked for tech companies including Slack, Uber, and Facebook, as well as for her aunt over in the years in various capacities.

Meena is married to Nikolas Ajagu and they have two young daughters who stole the show at Biden and Harris' inauguration. Ajagu is currently the global head of advertising technology at Facebook, where Meena worked in the mid-2000s.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Brendan Schaub, left, and Bryan Callen will host a new podcast on Patreon. (Showtime, left / WireImage)

After recently announcing that he would take a leave of absence from his podcast, Bryan Callen is getting back behind a microphone.

On Wednesday, Callen said he would turn to Patreon  the crowd-funded membership platform  so he could continue podcasting. The comedian made the announcement in a since-deleted video posted on the Twitter account for "The Fighter & the Kid," the podcast he cohosted with former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub until weeks ago.

On July 31, The Times published the accounts of four women who alleged that "The Goldbergs" actor had been sexually inappropriate with them. Callen categorically denied all the accusations  which included rape, assault and disturbing comments  but said days later that he would "obviously" temporarily distance himself from "The Fighter & the Kid."

Despite that proclamation, Callen vowed not to stay out of the public eye amid the allegations.

"You know, when you're in a situation like I am, you get a lot of advice from a lot of people, and it usually falls into two different categories," the 53-year-old said in an Aug. 2 Instagram video. "Either they tell you to post a statement, disappear, or they say lay low and let the news cycle pass you by. Well, for better or for worse, I'm not doing any of that."

"The Fighter & the Kid" has continued to release new episodes with Schaub hosting the podcast alongside guest hosts. Schaub, who began working in comedy following his UFC career, told listeners that he would "stick by" his longtime friend  even though Callen had requested he "not go hard in the paint for him."

"Apparently, if I say what I want to say, its going to get Callen in more trouble and bring more attention to Callen, so my hands are a little tied, said Schaub. Which is very tough for me. Very, very tough for me. Because I think you guys know how much I love Bryan, and obviously, I stick by Bryan Callen.

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Kast Media, which does not produce "The Fighter & the Kid" but represents it as a partner show, had a different stance.

"Kast takes any allegations against hosts very seriously," the company's chief executive, Colin Thomson, said in an email. "Bryan Callen is no longer associated with Kast's representation of Fighter and the Kid."

Further, Thomson said, Kast has "no association with Bryan Callen's activity on Patreon or elsewhere," and is "not aware" of any plans for Callen to ever return to "The Fighter & the Kid." (Schaub will continue to host the show without Callen.)

Callen and Schaub's new show, the first episode of which will drop Friday, will be called "The Fighter and the Wrinks." (Callen, who recently got eyelid lift surgery, is jokingly known to his fans as "Wrinks" because of his age.) In a teaser for the podcast, the show already had its own theme song, including the lyrics: " The Fighter and the Wrinks / Back up in the ring / Eyelids so heavy one can barely blink."

As of Thursday afternoon, the new project  which costs $5 a month on Patreon  had 846 patrons.

Callen is not the first disgraced comedian to ask his fans to pay for his content in wake of a scandal. In April, nearly two years after confessing to sexual misconduct, Louis C.K. released a comedy special on his website that cost $7.99. He also continued to tour before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Callen, who contracted COVID-19 after performing in San Antonio last month, still has three tour dates slated for October listed on his website.
With a motive to spread awareness regarding the importance of educating the girl child in the valley, Mahfooza Akhtar, a young and well-educated woman from Jammu & Kashmir is going the extra mile.

Based in Baramulla districts Rampora area, Mahfooza is completing her Masters program from Indira Gandhi Open University along with teaching needy children at the social services division of a local school.

My goals are to become a teacher, so that I can teach children in rural areas, especially poor girls in this area because often parents ignore the education of their daughters. I want to teach them free of cost. said Mahfooza.

Citing the example of great Mother Teresa, Mahfooza said Just like Mother Teresa, who came from England and saw the plight of poor children in India and further decided to open a school for them, I also want to do something like in my village and educate as many poor children as possible without charging anything from them

Further asking the government to provide support to her in her endeavours, Mahfooza feels it is due to the constant support of her parents that she has been able to become self-reliant and hopes that more parents in her district realise the value of educating their children especially girls.

The government is also giving special emphasis to encourage education among girls in Jammu and Kashmir. Since the abrogation of Article 370, several government schemes like Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao and others have been launched massively.
At least 15,800 essential workers could've avoided contracting coronavirus if California had stockpiled personal protective equipment before the pandemic, according to a new study from University of California Berkeley.

Findings published Wednesday estimated 15,800 potentially avoidable cases among healthcare and other essential workers and their household members.

They were associated with approximately 300 hospitalizations at an estimated cost of $7.9 million in unemployment claims.

Partially due to lack of PPE, 251,100 healthcare workers were receiving unemployment benefits early in the pandemic as the majority of non-emergency and elective surgeries were canceled.

At least 20,860 essential workers could've avoided contracting coronavirus if California had stockpiled PPE before the pandemic, according to a new study from UC Berkeley

California spent hundreds of millions of dollars on stockpiling PPE in 2006 amid a threat of avian flu under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. But funding to maintain the stockpile, which included 50 million N95 masks, was cut off in 2011 under Gov. Jerry Brown

But for the every week earlier the same number of employees could return to work in the next viral health crisis, the state would save $93million, according to the UC Berkeley's School of Public Health and Labor Center.

The study found that out of 50,950 cases identified in essential workers so far, at least 17,830 infections came from the work place. It's estimated that 3,030 secondary COVID-19 cases came from those infections, bringing the tally to 20,860.

The research references a study from the Netherlands that found it was highly unlikely the cases identified in 95 healthcare workers from across three hospitals were contracted in the workplace.

It also points to a study from China and long-term care facilities in Washington state that shows a lack of supply and inadequate use of the gear contributed to the spread.

UC Berkeley researchers believe 35 percent of these infections could've been avoided.

It was estimated that the cost of PPE would've only been 17% of what it has taken to battle coronavirus infections now due to inflated rates.

The research points to a study from China and long-term care facilities in Washington state that shows a lack of supply and inadequate use of the gear contributed to the spread. Pictured: A University of Washington truck transfers 50,000 N95 masks, as well as helmets, to treat patients in March

Medical masks soared from 5 cents to 55 cents and N95 masks went from $1.95 to $5.90. California agreed to pay $3.30 per mask but the delivery time of June for too late

The state would still be making a saving even if the stockpile of face masks, gowns and gloves wasn't required for the next 35 years.

California spent hundreds of millions of dollars on stockpiling PPE in 2006 amid a threat of avian flu under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

However funding to maintain the stockpile, which included 50 million N95 masks, was cut off in 2011 under Gov. Jerry Brown, leaving the state with only 21 million masks when coronavirus hit.

Medical masks soared from 5 cents to 55 cents and N95 masks went from $1.95 to $5.90.

When New York was the epicenter in April Gov. Andrew Cuomo agreed to pay $7.50 for N95s.

California agreed to pay $3.30 per mask but the delivery time of June for too late.

Some state agencies were paying as much as $12.94 per mask in April, according to the LA Times.

Now California aims to acquire 100 million surgical masks and 200 million N95s by fall when a surge in cases is predicted.

The findings came as a new SB 275 bill requires health care providers to build a stockpile to last 90 days by June 2023.

By June 1, 2021 they must have a 30-day supply however there's a risk beginning the stockpile too son could deprive areas that need it now.

The amount of PPE required depends on the number of employees. However while a typical hospital requires 5,000-6,600 N95 masks per year, this pandemic has seen the demand soar to 17 times that. California would need 12.5million in the stockpile.

For each N95 required by a technician or physician, two surgical masks, one face shield, two isolation gowns, two shoe covers, and nine glove pairs are needed.

California is now the worst affected state amid the pandemic.

The state has 594,810 cases and there have been 10,815 deaths.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A recent paper published in The Economic Journal indicates that, in families with disabled children, the second born child is more adversely affected cognitively than the first-born child.

Brothers and sisters share a unique bond. They typically grow up in the same household, with the same parents and similar genetics, and experience life events together. Siblings have important influences on each other's lives. Siblings might teach each other directly; they might also model behaviors. But they also share limited parental resources such as time, attention, and money directed towards one child might be time, attention, and money diverted from another.

The researchers, analyzing data from Florida and Denmark, studied how adverse health shocks to one child could propagate to their siblings. Specifically, they examined the effect of having a younger sibling with a disability on test scores of older children, measured when they were in elementary and middle school.

Sibling disability is significant, as millions of families have at least one disabled child. In 2012-13, for instance, in the United States alone over 6.4 million children aged 3 to 21 (12.9% of all students) were supported under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The Florida analysis considers disabilities requiring special accommodations in school, while the Danish analysis is based on disabilities recorded in medical registries, so the two sites estimate the effects of fundamentally different types of disabilities.

In Florida, the most common early childhood disabilities considered are speech impairment (48%), developmental delay (21%), and language impairment (17%). In Denmark, for the same age range, the most common disabilities considered are congenital malformations and deformations of the musculoskeletal system (20%), congenital malformations of the circulatory system (10%), and congenital malformations of genital organs (9%).

In order to causally identify sibling spillovers resulting from a younger child's disability, the researchers considered families with three or more children where a health shock (disability) occurred in the case of the third child. Within a family, the first- and second-born children face differential exposure to the affected third sibling. This differential exposure is related to the relative ordering of the two children; earlier-born children had more time in the family without the presence of the disabled third child, and are thus less exposed. The researchers did not find differential effect of exposure on birth and early postnatal outcomes for these children, outcomes that were measured prior to the arrival of third born child, disabled or not.

Despite the differences in settings and disabilities considered across Florida and Denmark, the researchers found evidence in both places consistent with there being a sibling spillover. They found that the second-born child in a family had worse outcomes (test scores in Florida, grade point average in Denmark) than did their older sibling when the third-born sibling was disabled, relative to the case in which the third-born sibling was not disabled. The magnitude of these differences is significant; for example, in Florida it is about half of the observed relationship between an extra year of maternal education and children's test scores. These results are concentrated in cases in which the third child's disability is observed earlyand therefore, presumably, more likely to affect older siblings in early childhood. Furthermore, the results are driven by physical disabilitieswhich are likely to be more visible early and require more parental time and attentionrather than cognitive or behavioral disabilities.

"I think we all believe that individuals are affected by their siblings when they are growing upeither directly through their interactions with each other or indirectly through the allocation of parental resources such as money, time, and attention. However, it is very difficult to isolate empirically, because there are so many things simultaneously happening in the family that might also affect these children's outcomes," said the paper's lead author, Sandra Black. "It is exciting that we are able to make progress on this front and document the importance of siblings."

Explore further Siblings of children with intellectual disabilities score high on empathy and closeness

More information: Sandra E Black et al, Sibling Spillovers*, The Economic Journal (2020). Sandra E Black et al, Sibling Spillovers*,(2020). DOI: 10.1093/ej/ueaa074
GoPeer, a Boston, MA-based educational technology company that pairs vetted college students with K-12 students for virtual tutoring lessons, closed a $2M seed funding round.

The round was led by angel investor Ed Baker, former VP of Product and Growth at Uber, and prior to that, Head of International Growth at Facebook.

Other investors in this round include:

Javier Olivan, Vice President of Growth at Facebook

Deborah Quazzo, Managing Partner at GSV Ventures

Daniel Graf, CEO of Mindstrong, and previously Head of Product at Uber, Vice President of Consumer Product at Twitter and Senior Director at Google Maps

Josh Hannah, CEO and Co-Founder of Flutter and General Partner at Matrix Partners

Aaron Schildkrout, Previously Head of Driver Product at Uber and Investor at Addition

Chris Protasewich, Chief of Staff at Freshly

Tom Medrek, Will Weddleton, George Gong, investors at Launchpad Venture Group

The company intends to use the funds to power product-driven growth and accelerate its innovative platform, prioritizing teaching, accessibility, and analytics.

Founded in 2017 by Ethan Binder, Zura Mestiashvili, and Erik Laucks from their dorm rooms at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, GoPeer is an educational technology company that pairs vetted college students with K-12 students for virtual tutoring lessons. Families get unlimited tutoring at a $20/hour rate. Plus, tutors keep 100% of their earnings. GoPeers virtual classroom is designed to enhance a students online learning experience with a variety of tools that make learning online feel like an in-person lesson.

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13/08/2020
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) New Delhi  Thu, August 13, 2020 11:30 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066db2554 2 Entertainment Sanjay-Dutt,cancer,bollywood Free

Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, whose life has been so colorful and tragic that it became the subject of a biopic, has been diagnosed with lung cancer, Indian media reports said Wednesday.

The Hindi-language actor, nicknamed "Deadly Dutt", served time in prison for possessing guns supplied by gangsters responsible for bombings in Mumbai in 1993 and has also battled drug addiction.

On Tuesday Dutt issued a statement on social media saying he was "taking a short break for some medical treatment".

Press reports later quoted a tweet from respected film trade journalist Komal Nahta saying that the 61-year-old has been diagnosed with lung cancer and would travel to the US for treatment.

Dutt shot to fame in the mid-1980s in a string of action movies in which he performed his own stunts, earning him his nickname.

But the star was also struggling with substance abuse, including heroin and cocaine, that was said to have been sparked by the pain of losing his mother, Indian screen icon Nargis Dutt, to cancer.

After a break he returned with a string of hits in the late 1980s and early 1990s including "Jeete Hain Shaan Se" ("We Live with Style"), "Saajan" ("Beloved") and "Khal Nayak" ("Villain").

Read also: Virus ban on Bollywood stars, crew over 65 overturned

But his life took a dramatic turn when he was arrested following the orchestrated bombings in Mumbai, then called Bombay, in March 1993 that killed 257 people.

Dutt was eventually convicted in 2006 of holding guns supplied by mafia bosses who carried out the blasts.

The attacks were believed to have been staged by Muslim underworld figures in retaliation for religious riots in which mainly Muslims died, following the razing of an ancient mosque in north India.

He was originally given a six-year term and spent 18 months in prison before being released on bail in 2007, pending an appeal.

In 2013, his conviction was upheld but his prison term was cut to five years, and he was sent back to jail before being released early in 2016.

Dutt has also been married three times. His first wife Richa was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1987 and died in 1996.

In 2018 a film about his life, "Sanju", was released covering the period from just before Dutt's Bollywood debut with romantic drama "Rocky" in 1981 to his release from jail in 2016.

His new film "Sadak 2" ("Road 2") is due to release on Disney+ Hotstar later this month.
MEXICO CITY  The government of Mexico City will allow bars to operate as restaurants starting Monday in order to reopen as part of an easing of the coronavirus lockdown.

While bars and nightclubs have been closed for four months, the city is now offering automatic approval if bar owners fill out an online application and agree to offer food and enforce sanitary and social distancing measures. In exchange, they can open at 30% capacity until 10 p.m.

Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said that was to avoid more job losses among bar employees.

Similar measures elsewhere have given rise to symbolic food orders  a handful of chips  for customers who really just want a beer or wine. But Sheinbaum was emphatic, saying: I repeat, the bars are not opening.

Related: "He left so that we never lacked anything. He sacrificed himself," said the sister of a man from Puebla, Mexico, whose life was cut short by the coronavirus.

New guidelines that went into effect Monday also allow movie theaters, swimming pools and museums in Mexico City to open at 30 percent of capacity.

The mayor delivered her daily press briefing from home on Monday after she announced she was isolating after one of her top officials tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Related: The coronavirus has hit healthworkers all over the world, but its been especially bad in Mexico, said one epidemiologist.

The city government has been performing slightly more tests than the strikingly low level of testing done nationwide. Nationwide, less than one in 100 people have been tested; the city has administered about 1.5 tests per 100 residents.

The city government reports about 80,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and about 9,400 COVID-19 deaths so far.

Nationwide, Mexico reported 5,558 newly confirmed coronavirus cases Monday, bring the accumulated total to 485,836. Confirmed deaths rose by 705 to just over 53,000.

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New Delhi, Aug 13 : The Rajasthan political turmoil may have ended, but the grand old party has learnt a lesson. And, now the party is planning to take stock of each state organisation to avoid the repeat of Madhya Pradesh, Goa and Manipur where it faced rebellion. Here on, it will be addressing all local issues and settling the matters at the state level itself.

To understand the Congress organisational structure: the state in-charge is a bridge between the central leadership and the state organisation and hence has to resolve the issues relating to the state and also give a report to the party president if anything goes wrong.

But considering the problem which emerged in Rajasthan and previously in Madhya Pradesh, the state in-charges appeared to have failed to anticipate the enormity of the problems.

While Deepak Babaria, who was General Secretary in-charge of Madhya Pradesh, was replaced by Mukul Wasnik, an old hand; in Rajasthan, sources say that Sachin Pilot has been unhappy with General Secretary in-charge of the state Avinash Pande over his partisan role.

The post of General Secretary once considered a very powerful post in the Congress has lost its sheen because light-weight and inexperienced people in the organization are being made in charges. So powerful Chief Ministers or leaders take them for granted said the party's Working Committee member.

B.K. Hariprasad, who was General Secretary from 2006 to 2018, has been in-charge of many states, including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat and Goa. In all these states the Congress faced problems and desertions recently.

"The role of a General Secretary in-charge is like an umpire and a facilitator of the organisational setup, and to have coordination between the PCC (state organisation) and CLP (leader of the Legislative party in the Assembly) which is either the Chief Minister or Leader of Opposition," Hariprasad said.

He insisted that the state in-charges should be neutral and should give a clear picture to the Congress President about the party affairs in the states.

The Congress has faced the problem this week in Manipur, where six MLAs quit the party and the Congress had to face a major embarrassment in the floor of the Assembly where it brought a no confidence motion.

In Goa, 10 MLAs, including the floor leader in the House crossed and had joined the BJP.

A former General Secretary, who refused to be named, pointed out that earlier in Sonia Gandhi's first stint as the party chief, "We used to meet once a week with Congress President to apprise her of the situation of the states about the CLP (Congress Legislature Party) and the PCC (Pradesh Congress Committee) but now I can't comment about the system these days".

Besides, the Congress is lso facing infighting in most of the states.

The party saw desertion in Gujarat too, where due to defections it lost one Rajya Sabha seat. In Karnataka, the Congress lost its coalition government because the party could not stop the exodus of the MLAs after the BJP engineered defection.

But the former state President of Haryana who has left the party Ashok Tanwar alleged, "In my case all the General Secretaries sided with Bhupinder Singh Hooda and my appeal to the party that Hooda was bulldozing the organization fell on deaf ears. I was not even allowed to appoint the District Presidents, because of ignorance of the in-charges." The party is facing an internal rift in Punjab and war of words have continued between the Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Rajya Sabha MP Partap Singh Bajwa. While state in-charge Asha Kumari has dismissed the rift, she warned the dissenters: "Everyone who has grievances against anybody should speak to party leaders and raise the issue in party forums. Speaking to the press is not acceptable." Many in the party feel that the Congress should restructure and the state leaders should have some direct channels to register their grievances with the party chief.
The Fox News opinion host Jeanine Pirro speculated on Wednesday that "something's going to happen" to the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden.

Pirro added that the supposed event would cause the former vice president to be removed from the ballot during the presidential election in November.

The Fox News commentator Dana Perino appeared to say on the microphone, "Oh man."

Pirro later went on to interrupt a hand-off to Watters to clarify her remarks, but it still wasn't clear what she meant.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The Fox News opinion host Jeanine Pirro baselessly suggested on Wednesday evening that "something's going to happen" to the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, and that it would cause the former vice president to be removed from the ballot during the presidential election in November.

"For some reason, I just have this feeling that Joe Biden isn't going to be on the ticket," Pirro said during a Fox News segment.

"I have a sense that something's going to happen before the election and he's not even going to be on the ticket, so don't even ask me if he's going to make the four years," she added.

As Pirro continued with her analysis on Biden's newly announced running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, the Fox News commentator Jesse Watters could be heard in the background expressing caution. Another commentator, Dana Perino, appeared to say on the microphone, "Oh man."

Pirro would later qualify her roughly three-minute monologue, saying at the end, "We certainly don't hope that anything happens to Vice President Joe Biden anytime soon."

Pirro appeared to allude to concerns over Biden's age. Throughout the 2020 campaign, President Donald Trump's surrogates have launched a media blitz suggesting that Biden, who is 77, is not physically or mentally fit to become the next president.

Story continues

The Fox News host Bret Baier later mentioned Pirro's remarks and attempted to clarify them, suggesting that the commentator meant to say Biden would not be formally receiving his party's nomination at the Democratic National Convention next week.

"First of all let me just say that I respect Judge Jeanine's opinions and her fiery passion about things," Baier said. "Last night was the last ... Democratic primary in Connecticut where 60 delegates went to Joe Biden. So he is going to be the nominee."

"And next week we're going to see the official nomination, you're saying that he doesn't make it all the way," Baier added. "The bumper stickers are already printed. It's Biden-Harris, and he's going to be the nominee as of next week."

Pirro later went on to interrupt a hand-off to Watters to further modify her remarks. Though Pirro denied that her previous comments were in relation to Biden's health, her explanation did little to clarify them.

"And can I say something, Jesse, I just want to say something," Pirro said. "Look, I wish him all good health. That's not what I'm talking about. He's got the numbers. But things are so crazy right now. I don't know what's happening in the Democratic Party. And that's all I'm saying. I mean, I hope he lives forever. That's not my point."

"Right, right, we understand," Watters replied.

Biden is three years older than Trump, which would make him the oldest sitting president on Inauguration Day if elected. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who ran for the Democratic nomination before dropping out, is 78.

Pirro, a former district attorney and a longtime Fox News contributor, has faced criticism for her remarks in the past. In March 2019, she questioned Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar's allegiance to the country based on her religion.

"Omar wears a hijab, which according to the Koran 33:59, tells women to cover so they won't get molested," Pirro said in a segment. "Is her adherence to this Islamic doctrine indicative of her adherence to Shariah law, which in itself is antithetical to the United States Constitution?" Pirro said in a segment.

The remarks sparked fierce backlash, prompting her network to issue a statement: "We strongly condemn Jeanine Pirro's comments about Rep. Ilhan Omar. They do not reflect those of the network and we have addressed the matter with her directly."

In recent months, the Trump campaign and his supporters have boosted numerous selectively cut video clips of Biden stumbling over his speeches.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi received similar treatment in May 2019, after Trump shared a video compilation that made the Democrat appear to profusely stammer during a press conference.

"PELOSI STAMMERS THROUGH NEWS CONFERENCE,'" Trump quipped in a caption to the tweeted video clip.

The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Update: The story has been updated to include remarks Pirro made later during the Fox News segment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
- Diego Loyzaga recently got honest about his former on-screen partner Sofia Andres who announced her motherhood a couple of months ago

- He was asked about the actress in an online media conference to welcome him as the newest member of the Viva Artists Agency

- The actor then expressed that he is happy for Sofia as she enters a new chapter in her life

- He also revealed that he has not greeted Sofia yet for he wanted to do it personally and not via online

PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed

Diego Loyzaga recently expressed happiness for former on-screen partner Sofia Andres who announced about her motherhood a couple of months ago.

Diego Loyzaga (Photo courtesy of Diego Loyzaga/Facebook)

Source: Facebook

In an online media conference to welcome him as the newest member of the Viva Artists Agency, the actor was asked about Sofia who is now a mother to a lovely baby girl, Zoe Natalia Miranda.

I am really happy for Sofia. I see in her posts that shes happy. Someones well-being, their mental health, its important and nakikita ko sa napo-post ng family ni Sofia at siya mismo na shes happy. So I couldnt wish her anything more in the world but that.

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He was also asked if he has greeted the actress for the new chapter in her life but Diego responded that wants to do it personally.

Pero sinabi ko sa sarili ko when the day comes na I bump into her or I see her, I think definitely (mag-uusap kami). Pero for me to message, ayaw ko lang kasi baka a different message is received from the other people, from their part. Siyempre walang masamang tinapay for me, pero ayaw ko lang makabastos in any way. But of course I really do wish her the best and Im happy that shes happy.

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Diego Loyzaga is a well-known showbiz personality in the Philippines. He already starred in several movies such as Bloody Crayons and Mama's Girl. He and Sofia last worked together in ABS-CBN's drama series "Pusong Ligaw" in 2017.

The handsome actor reportedly suffered from depression and it prompted him to be on a showbiz hiatus for quite a while.

After several months, her mom, Teresa Loyzaga, opened up about Diego's mental health.

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Explore alternative activities. In my office, Ive found students become more motivated to develop better organizational skills when they see how much more free time they can have to pursue activities and interests, and how much more sleep they can get by finishing work with fewer distractions. For some students, the lack of fall activities and back-to-school traditions may amplify the disappointments and frustration. The panic pivot from spring was only supposed to be for a few weeks, yet here we are, with seemingly fewer glimmers of hope. Here, too, is an opportunity for reframing. So much of what students traditionally have been required to do for school and activities left them without much free time. Students who are trying to carve out time to pursue activities they enjoy may be motivated to develop their executive functioning skills.
Two gang members get life sentence for prosecutors murder

 Moskva city news agency, Sergey Vedyashkin

11:08 13/08/2020

MOSCOW, August 13 (RAPSI)  The Smolensk Regional Court has sentenced two gang members to life in prison for the murder of a prosecutor of Roslavl town in 2005, the press service of the Prosecutor Generals Office has told RAPSI.

The guilty verdict agaist Igor Galantsev and Sergey Novgorodov has been delivered by jurors.

Three other members of the criminal group have received long prison terms ranging from 12 to 20.5 years behind bars.

The defendants have been found guilty of murder and banditism.

On January 22, 2005, the Roslavl prosecutor left his home and went to his car. At that moment, three criminals came to him, shot the victim dead and left the scene, the statement reads.
The novel, which is set in post-Independence 50s era sensitively explores the challenges and limited choices Indian women had in those days.

The protagonist, Lakshmis narrative of a young bride who runs away from unhappy arranged marriage to find her identity as a henna artist in Jaipur is both uplifting and admirable.

Excerpts from the interview with the California-based author

You have vividly described the Rajasthani culture despite having moved to the US at the age of nine. Were all these observations made during your multiple trips with your mother from 2008-2011?

During the first nine years of my life, my family lived in Jodhpur, Jaipur, Bikaner, Banswara, and Chandigarh because my father, an engineer for the State of Rajasthan, was either promoted or transferred or was studying for his Masters. We spent a few summers in Shimla to escape the Rajasthani heat. My extended family resides primarily in Jaipur; thats the reason my younger brother bought a condo in Jaipur, where I accompanied my mother for five visits from 2009 to 2011. In 2019, I wanted to interview women about their status today as compared to the 1950s of the novels, so I visited 5 Indian cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, and, of course, Jaipur.

Were you inspired by your mother, who had an arranged marriage at 18 and three kids by 22?

My mother Sudha didnt have much power over her destiny; she married the man her parents had selected, didnt have the opportunity to finish college, and devoted her life to her husband and children. But she made sure that I, her only daughter, would be able to choose my own future and determine my career. How much courage and forward thinking that must have taken! I was inspired to reinvent her life as Lakshmi in The Henna Artist and give her the agency she and many women of her generation never had.

Lakshmi is neither Ms Goody Two shoes nor is she the vamp. Did her just evolve naturally?

Lakshmi looks like my mother with her light eyes and golden beauty. She has my mothers strength and resilience and her creative spirit. I prefer to think of Lakshmi as strategic rather than manipulative, which has a negative connotation. Lakshmi knows that as a woman without a husband and children, she is an anomaly in Indian society. She is vulnerable to prying eyes, wagging tongues and wayward husbands, so shes careful to plan her every move in ways that protect her as well as enrich her. I didnt have a complete story arc until a year after I started writing it. Over the course of 10 years as I deepened the characters and refined the scenes between them, the story grew into The Henna Artist.

Radhas decision to have the child as a single mother and not opt for an abortion with the sister giving in seems a bit too radical for the 50s. What is your opinion?

I believe girls as young as Radha-and even younger-know their minds, know what they want. By the time theyre old enough to marry, these same girls have been cautioned not to speak too loudly, not to dress provocatively, not to appear smarter than boys, not to want more than theyre allowed, not to give voice to their real thoughts. In Radha, I wanted to create a girl who hasnt yet had her spirit beaten down. Radha uses her smarts to find Lakshmi  the sister shed never met  and goes on to challenge Lakshmis beliefs about how a proper woman is supposed to look and act.

How different do you think your life would have been had your parents continued to live in India?

I know I would have gone to university, as would my brothers, because my father has a Ph.D., and is keen on education. Perhaps I would have had a traditional Indian marriage and several children. Beyond that, Im not sure. Isnt it interesting that I reimagined my mothers life but have a harder time reimagining my own?

You live with your husband and two pups in California? Can you share a little bit about your daily life?

Were both fiction writers, so we love to read and write. Brad reads more non-fiction than I do; I read fiction almost exclusively, mostly stories that take place in other cultures where I can learn about the food, daily lives, and languages of people different from me. We live by the California coast in an area filled with hummingbirds, seagulls and butterflies  its peaceful, beautiful and conducive to writing. My husband loves to cycle and I love to walk. We both use physical movement to help move our writing forward. Of course, our dogs help with that by asking us to walk them several times a day  theyre very considerate that way!

How did the book get picked up by Reeses Book Club and what kind of reactions have you received post that?

I believe Hollywood talent scouts are always on the lookout for properties their clients might find interesting, which is perhaps how The Henna Artist reached Reese Witherspoon. The reaction from readers, who adore and respect Reeses female-centric choices, was immediate. The Henna Artist shot up the New York Times Bestseller list, as well as the LA Times, Amazon Summer Reads, and various other lists. Since the release of the novel on March 3, 2020, Ive participated in over 100 virtual book club discussions as well as numerous podcasts, radio interviews and bookstore events worldwide. In the time of COVID, magic does happen.

You are working on a sequel to this book with some of the characters. The book had hinted at a possible romance between Lakshmi and the doctor? Will the relationship evolve in version 2?

Youll have to read the sequel to find the answer to that one! The sequel, The Royal Jewel Cinema, will be published in July, 2021. It centres on Malik, who is now 20 years old, and reprises many of the characters in The Henna Artist. After that, there will be a third book in the trilogy, which deals with Radha as a grown, married woman living in France whose son comes looking for his birth mother.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 14:06:35|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- China will continue to levy anti-dumping duties on imports of single-mode optical fibers from India for another five years, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday.

The extension will take effect from Aug. 14, the MOC said in a statement, adding that the decision was made following an expiry review launched at the request of the domestic industry in June last year.

China started to impose anti-dumping duties on imported single-mode optical fibers from India from August 2014, with tariff rates ranging from 7.4 percent to 30.6 percent, according to an MOC ruling on Aug. 13, 2014.

Single-mode optical fibers are used for manufacturing telecommunications equipment. Enditem
TORONTO and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ProMIS Neurosciences, Inc. (TSX: PMN) (OTCQB: ARFXF) ("ProMIS or the Company"), a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of antibody therapeutics targeting toxic oligomers implicated in the development of neurodegenerative diseases, today announced its operational and financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020.



"Over the course of the second quarter of 2020, the value of our unique discovery and development platform was further evidenced as ProMIS made considerable progress in expanding its portfolio of opportunities across multiple neurodegenerative diseases and also in initiated two new diagnostic

programs." stated Eugene Williams, ProMIS' Executive Chairman. "We look forward to continued progress applying our unique technology platform to the development of disease-modifying antibody therapies, diagnostics and potential vaccines for Alzheimer's disease, as well as the development of highly accurate assays for detection of antibodies against the virus causing COVID-19."

Corporate Highlights

In April and May 2020, the Company received gross proceed of $1,239,195 from the exercise of 9,532,276 warrants from the warrant repricing program announced in March 2020. The exercise price of the Warrants was repriced to $0.13 per share, effective April 8, 2020 until May 22, 2020 (Warrant Repricing Period). At the end of the Warrant Repricing Period, the Warrants reverted to the original exercise price. All other terms of the Warrants remain unchanged.



On April 7, 2020, we announced that the Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC ) had accepted several abstracts for our Alzheimer's disease (AD) program. The AAIC also invited ProMIS' Chief Development Officer, Dr. Johanne Kaplan, to chair a session on novel immunotherapeutic approaches for the treatment of AD.



(AAIC ) had accepted several abstracts for our Alzheimer's disease (AD) program. The AAIC also invited ProMIS' Chief Development Officer, Dr. Johanne Kaplan, to chair a session on novel immunotherapeutic approaches for the treatment of AD. On April 9, 2020, we announced that the journal Neurology would publish abstracts of data demonstrating the strength of ProMIS' antibody programs targeting toxic forms of alpha-synuclein in Parkinson's disease (PD) and toxic forms of TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The data appeared in the April 14, 2020 online supplement to Neurology, the most widely read, highly cited peer-reviewed neurology journal.



On April 30, 2020, we announced we had generated intrabodies highly selective for misfolded forms of TDP-43 implicated in ALS, frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and several other neurologic disorders. Early data support the use of these intrabodies within gene therapy vectors based on their selectivity and ability to promote degradation of toxic species of TDP-43 while preserving normal forms of the protein.

On May 6, 2020, we announced the identification of novel antagonists against the receptor for activated protein kinase C1(RACK1) that prevent the formation of dysfunctional protein aggregates and act to restore normal function. Evidence indicates that targeting RACK1 is a promising new strategy to address the complex mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, including ALS.



On May 12, 2020, the Company announced its program to develop a high-throughput, highly accurate test for detection of antibodies to SARS CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19. ProMIS has identified 18 potential antibody targets unique to the spike protein halo of SARS CoV-2.



On May 19, 2020, we announced that, in addition to its ongoing program to develop a high-throughput and accurate test for detection of antibodies to the causative agent of COVID-19, it has expanded its collaboration with BC Neuroimmunology (BCNI) to include development of highly sensitive and specific assays to support accurate screening and diagnosis of AD.



On May 28, 2020, together with a team of commercial and academic collaborators, we shared a Digital Technology Supercluster award from the Government of Canada for 1.8 million Canadian dollars. The project, "Predicting the evolution of COVID-19," brings together six commercial and academic collaborators to predict likely mutations of SARS-CoV-2. The findings will inform the early design of effective tests, therapies and vaccines, allowing public health systems globally to prepare and ideally prevent future pandemics caused by evolving strains of the virus.



On June 17, 2020, the Company and BCNI announced significant progress on development of a highly accurate antibody test for COVID-19. The serology test achieves 99.9% sensitivity and 99.5% specificity for SARS CoV-2. ProMIS' proprietary peptide antigens are currently under evaluation for their potential ability to detect neutralizing antibodies in the next phase of assay development.



On June 24, 2020, the Board of Directors, having considered current COVID-19 public health restrictions, determined it to be in the best interests of the company and its shareholders to adjourn the company's annual meeting of shareholders ("AGM") to 9:00 a.m. (Pacific Time) on July 29, 2020 and to change the location of the AGM to Suite 1500, 1055 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia.

Financial Results

Results of Operations - Three months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019

The Company's net loss for the three months ended June 30, 2020 was $1,650,218, compared to a net loss of $1,858,530 for the three months ended June 30, 2019. Included in the net loss amount for the three months ended June 30, 2020 were non-cash expenses of $76,310, representing share-based compensation and amortization of an intangible asset, compared to $153,461 for the three months ended June 30, 2019. The decrease in the net loss for the three months ended June 30, 2020 reflects decreased costs associated with external contract research organizations for internal programs, decreased consulting and professional fees and share-based compensation offset by increased patent expense and foreign exchange losses.

Research and development expenses for the three months ended June 30, 2020 were $898,887, as compared to $1,042,618 in the three months ended June 30, 2020. The decrease in research and development expense for the three months ended June 30, 2020, is primarily attributed to decreased costs associated with external contract research organizations for internal programs and share-based compensation offset by increased patent expense.

General and administrative expenses for the three months ended June 30, 2020 were $752,896, as compared to $815,937 in the three months ended June 30, 2019. The decrease for the three months ended June 30, 2020, compared to the same period in 2019, is primarily attributable to a reduction in consulting and professional fees offset by increased foreign exchange losses.

Results of Operations - Six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019

The Company's net loss for the six months ended June 30, 2020 was $3,412,137, compared to a net loss of $4,305,107 for the six months ended June 30, 2019. Included in the net loss amount for the six months ended June 30, 2020 were non-cash expenses of $290,048, representing share-based compensation, warrant modification and amortization of an intangible asset, compared to $417,334 for the six months ended June 30, 2019. The decrease in the net loss for the six months ended June 30, 2020 reflects decreased costs associated with external contract research organizations for internal programs, patent costs, decreased consultant salaries and associated costs and share-based compensation offset by foreign exchange losses.

Research and development expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2020 were $1,874,473, as compared to $2,813,271 in the six months ended June 30, 2019. The decrease in the research and development expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2020, is primarily attributed to decreased costs associated with external contract research organizations for internal programs, patent costs, decreased consultant salaries and associated costs and share-based compensation offset by increased consulting expense.

General and administrative expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2020 were $1,541,242, as compared to $1,491,861 in the six months ended June 30, 2019. The increase for the six months ended June 30, 2020, compared to the same period in 2019, is primarily attributable to warrant modification expense and increased foreign exchange losses offset by a reduction in consulting and professional fees.

Outlook

As a prelude to the first PMN310 clinical trial in AD, we plan on using a novel biomarker approach that may show evidence of slowing of neuronal death as early as Phase 1 in the anticipated clinical development program. Furthermore, as the ability to achieve early detection of AD develops, based on the advent of reliable blood-based biomarkers for AD detection, the need for preventive treatment will grow. Therapeutic vaccines can be used for that purpose. Using our discovery platform, our aim is to devise a safe and effective AD vaccine to induce a specific immune response against toxic oligomers of amyloid beta.

The Company will also continue to further characterize the potential benefits of its programs selectively targeting toxic aggregates of TDP-43 in ALS, toxic forms of alpha-synuclein in PD and toxic aggregates of tau in AD and other dementias. Our unique platform produces antibodies that meet a key success factor for the development of therapeutics and vaccines for neurodegenerative diseases: the ability to selectively target the neurotoxic form of a protein implicated as a root cause of disease, while sparing the normal forms of the protein.

In the infectious disease setting, we will focus our unique technology platform to identify peptide antigens that can be used as an essential component to create accurate and sensitive serological assays to detect the presence of potentially neutralizing antibodies that arise in response to a specific infection, such as COVID-19.

About ProMIS Neurosciences, Inc.

ProMIS Neurosciences, Inc. is a development stage biotechnology company whose unique core technology is the ability to rationally predict the site and shape (conformation) of novel targets known as Disease Specific Epitopes (DSEs) on the molecular surface of proteins. In neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's, ALS and Parkinson's disease, the DSE's are misfolded regions on otherwise normal proteins. In the infectious disease setting, these disease-specific epitopes represent peptide antigens that can be used as an essential component to create accurate and sensitive serological assays to detect the presence of antibodies that arise in response to a specific infection, such as COVID-19. These peptide antigens can also be used to create potential therapeutic antibodies to treat active infection, as well as serve as the basis for development of vaccines. ProMIS is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, with offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ProMIS is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol PMN, and on the OTCQB Venture Market under the symbol ARFXF.

Visit us at www.promisneurosciences.com , follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn

For media inquiries, please contact:

Shanti Skiffington

shanti.skiffington@gmail.com

Tel. 617 921-0808

For Investor Relations please contact:

Alpine Equity Advisors

Nicholas Rigopulos, President

nick@alpineequityadv.com

Tel. 617 901-0785

The TSX has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This information release contains certain forward-looking information. Such information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by statements herein, and therefore these statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. All forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to it as well as other factors. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Due to risks and uncertainties, including the risks and uncertainties identified by the Company in its public securities filings, actual events may differ materially from current expectations. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Washington: Democratic presumptive presidential nominee Joe Biden has called for a nationwide mandate that would force Americans to wear masks outdoors in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus.

As the pandemic continues to ravage the US, Biden on Thursday, Friday AEST, said every American "should be wearing a mask when they're outside for the next three months at a minimum", and that such a mandate should be enforced by state governors.

Democratic presidential candidate and former vice-president Joe Biden. Credit:AP

The call is a slight shift to Bidens previous policy  which pushed for a national federal mandate rather than one imposed by the states  but still sits in stark contrast to President Donald Trump, who regularly refuses to wear a mask and has consistently said it should be up to states to decide the rules.

"Every governor should mandate mandatory mask-wearing," Biden said alongside his new running mate, Kamala Harris, after the pair attended a coronavirus briefing with health experts.
BOSTON - The former head of Bostons largest police union has been charged with sexually assaulting a girl and was ordered held Thursday on $100,000 bail.

Patrick Rose, 66, a retired officer and the one-time president of the Boston Police Patrolmens Association, was arraigned on charges including aggravated rape of a child and indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.

Rose is accused of sexually assaulting the girl on multiple occasions from when she was about 7 to about 12 years old, according to a police report filed in court.

Rose did not respond to a phone call Wednesday evening from The Boston Globe. The newspaper reports that his lawyer declined to give his name to reporters after Thursdays hearing.

Rose was named president of the police union in 2014 after joining the police department 20 years earlier.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said Wednesday that he is deeply disturbed by these horrific allegations and called for them to be investigated to the fullest extent of the law.
Maharashtra government has refused to reopen places of worship, which have been shut since end-March in a bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, the Bombay high court (HC) was informed on Thursday.

Government pleader Purnima Kantharia informed the two-member HC division bench, comprising Justices SJ Kathawalla and Madhav Jamdar, that Kishore Nimbalkar, secretary, disaster management department (DMD), Maharashtra, has rejected the representations of two petitioners before the court --- Bhandup resident Ankit Jain and a Jain temple trust --- because of administrative and logistical constraints.

Click here for full Covid-19 coverage

On Tuesday, the bench had acted on the petitions and directed Nimbalkar to consider their representations to allow all Jain temples across the state to open at least for the upcoming nine-day holy festival of Paryushan, which is starting from Saturday (August 15), while enforcing the state governments restrictions and conditions.

However, Nimbalkar said that the request could not be acceded to in light of the prevailing situation in Maharashtra, which is the worst affected state in the country as far as the pandemic is concerned.

He cited facts and figures to bolster his argument.

He stated that Maharashtra had reported 5.35 lakh Covid-19 cases and 18,306 deaths until Tuesday.

He argued that the administrative machinery has been overburdened and it would not be possible to monitor strict compliance of the precautionary measures and any breach could deepen the healthcare crisis precipitated by the viral outbreak.

The lawyers for the petitioners pleaded with the court to consider allowing Jains to visit their temples at least on the last day of Paryushan, which is considered to be the most auspicious day.

However, the bench refused to consider the request.

This is a very sensitive issue. We will have to be very careful, it said.

The judges clarified that they ensured that the petitioners had the opportunity to make a representation and also heard what the state authorities had to stay.

However, the bench expressed its inability to accede to the request of the petitioners even for the limited relief, as it would open floodgates of petitions seeking similar exemption.

Earlier, Vora and the Jain temple trust had approached HC seeking direction to the authorities to permit opening of Jain temples for their annual holy festival of Paryushana, and had also sought permission for allowing members of Shwetamber Murtipujak Jain community to perform religious functions and worship during this period in Jain temples.

Vora had contended that the Central government had permitted the opening of places of worship, subject to maintaining social distancing norms, and as a result, the state government should also allow religious shrines in Maharashtra to open and come out necessary guidelines to that effect.

Additional solicitor-general (ASG) Anil Singh had stated that though the Central government had permitted opening places of worship outside Covid-19 containment zones amid easing of lockdown restrictions, it had issued separate guidelines on July 29 for them.
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Ministers have been accused of stoking tension and division with comments on migrant boat crossings in the English Channel.

Boris Johnson has called the journeys very bad and stupid and dangerous and criminal, while a former royal marine has been put in the new post of clandestine Channel threat commander.

Priti Patel, the home secretary, called crossings totally unacceptable and government statements have repeatedly labelled them illegal.

Anne McLaughlin, co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Refugees, told The Independent it was not illegal for people to cross the Channel using irregular routes.

The language seems very deliberate and ideological about views that people need to be seen as not human, but criminal, she added.

I dont believe for a minute that theyre not aware that using language like Channel threat commander will make the public see people as a threat.

The Scottish National Party MP called the prime ministers comments on dangerous and criminal crossings vile, adding: Its intended to sow division.

As far as I can see, what the government is concerned about is building walls to stop people getting into the Channel and not about tackling the root causes, she added.

David Simmonds, the Conservative co-chair of the APPG on Refugees, urged the government to bolster robust legal routes to seek asylum in order to bring the situation under control.

The existing routes are not robust enough, he said, warning that although crossings will decrease when the weather worsens the demand will not.

Mr Simmonds said a lot of migrants had already died attempting to reach the UK and the true number is unknown.

 Boris Johnson calls for legal change to 'send away' more asylum seekers amid surge in migrant boats

We have no idea at the moment how many people have been lost in the Channel but historically we know that people have drowned and their bodies have never been discovered, he added.

More than 4,000 migrants are believed to have arrived in the UK using small boats so far this year, following a dramatic increase in crossings since 2018.

As more people arrived on Wednesday, the mayor of Calais said that sending royal navy ships into the Channel would be a declaration of maritime war.

The British government should take care of its own responsibilities, she added. We in Calais no longer want to be permanent hostages enduring the lectures of British leaders.

Laura Padoan, a spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said the response to Channel crossings had become immensely charged despite the UK receiving far fewer asylum applications than other European countries, including Germany and France.

According to UNHCR figures, the number of refugees resident in the UK fell from 238,000 to 133,000 between 2009 and 2019.

Its not a crisis, it is manageable, Ms Padoan told The Independent. For people crossing the Channel, saving lives should be the first priority  both on sea and on land.

Rather than using large naval boats to block flimsy dinghies and potentially create more dangerous conditions, efforts should be stepped up to increase search and rescue operations and to combat smuggling rings.

We should respond with humanity rather than hyperbole.

An official UNHCR document on terminology states that the term illegal migrant is legally incorrect and dehumanising, adding: The word illegal depicts migrants as dishonest, undeserving, and criminals who are a threat to the public good.

This normalises the use of punitive measures, enforcement, and procedures to punish and deter irregular migrants."

There has been a rise in Channel crossings as previously more popular routes were effectively closed by government policies (PA)

The Refugee Council said the term illegal migrants should not be used to describe vulnerable people seeking safety and protection.

Its director of advocacy Lisa Doyle said: This unhelpful language can stoke tension and division, at a time when we need the government to show strong, compassionate and responsible leadership on asylum policy.

The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants said the continued use of the word illegal was dehumanising, wrong, and seems calculated to whip up anti-migrant sentiment.

Its legal policy director Chai Patel added: People have a legal right to cross borders without documents in order to seek asylum.

No human being is illegal, and this language wrongly leads to a perception that migrants should be prosecuted and punished, instead of treated with the dignity and respect everyone deserves.

Charity Refugee Action accused the government of overt and aggressive hostility towards asylum seekers crossing the channel by boat.

It is making a bad situation dramatically worse, said chief executive Stephen Hale.

Their language shows no understanding and no compassion for people who have come from violent and oppressive countries and suffered in ways that are beyond many of our imaginations.

This language is also certain to exacerbate the anxiety felt by many people already in the UK who have claimed asylum, and to give cover to those who may wish them harm.

Hundreds evicted from French refugee camp amid Channel crossings rise Show all 12 1 /12 Hundreds evicted from French refugee camp amid Channel crossings rise Hundreds evicted from French refugee camp amid Channel crossings rise French police officers and gendarmes stand by tents during the evacuation of the Grande Synthe migrant camp, northern France, on September 17, 2019. Francois Lo Presti/AFP/Getty Hundreds evicted from French refugee camp amid Channel crossings rise French gendarmes walk by tents during the evacuation of the Grande Synthe migrant camp, northern France, on September 17, 2019. Francois Lo Presti/AFP/Getty Hundreds evicted from French refugee camp amid Channel crossings rise French police officers move migrants on from a camp in Dunkirk, France, 17 September 2019. Care4Calais/PA Hundreds evicted from French refugee camp amid Channel crossings rise French police officers move migrants on from a camp in Dunkirk, France, 17 September 2019. Care4Calais/PA Hundreds evicted from French refugee camp amid Channel crossings rise A bulldozer at work as French police officers move migrants from a camp near Grande-Synthe, Dunkirk, 17 September 2019. Help Refugees/PA Hundreds evicted from French refugee camp amid Channel crossings rise Police officers moving migrants from a camp near Grande-Synthe, Dunkirk, France,17 September 2019. Help Refugees/PA Hundreds evicted from French refugee camp amid Channel crossings rise Migrants at the Espace Jeunes du Moulin gym in Dunkirk as people awaited eviction from the camp 12 September 2019. Steve Parsons/PA Hundreds evicted from French refugee camp amid Channel crossings rise Aran Quader, 6, and his sister Yaran, two, at the Espace Jeunes du Moulin gym in Dunkirk on 12 September 2019, days before refugees were evicted. Steve Parsons/PA Hundreds evicted from French refugee camp amid Channel crossings rise Hamdren Quader 32, with his wife Xalat, 26, and children Kajhan, 8, Aran, 6, and Yaran, two, at the Espace Jeunes du Moulin gym in Dunkirk, France, on 12 September before refugees were evicted from the camp days later. PA Hundreds evicted from French refugee camp amid Channel crossings rise A bulldozer at work as French police officers move migrants from a camp near Grande-Synthe, Dunkirk, 17 September 2019. Help Refugees/PA Hundreds evicted from French refugee camp amid Channel crossings rise Police officers moving migrants from a camp near Grande-Synthe, Dunkirk, France, 17 September 2019. Help Refugees/PA Hundreds evicted from French refugee camp amid Channel crossings rise Police officers moving migrants from a camp near Grande-Synthe, Dunkirk, France, 17 September 2019. Help Refugees/PA

Extremist group Britain First has launched a patrol boat in the Channel and far-right activists have been harassing migrants at a reception centre in Dover.

A Home Office spokesperson said the word threat, in the title clandestine Channel threat commander, was an operational term that can refer to anything that can compromise the integrity of the border.

She denied that the government was calling migrants a threat.

A Foreign Office document said that illegal and irregular migration were considered to be distinct terms by the government, with the former involving people-smuggling and organised criminal gangs.

It called the UK one of the worlds leading refugee resettlement states and said a new global scheme would be open to asylum seekers from any country, rather than just Syria.

An official report by parliaments Foreign Affairs Committee warned in November that government policies were driving migrants to take more dangerous routes, and pushing them into the hands of criminal groups.

MPs warned that spending millions of pounds on security around key French ports had caused an increase in numbers trying to cross the Channel in small boats, and that the government should instead increase legal routes to seek asylum and address the root causes of migration.
Kathmandu, August 13

Elected peoples representatives in the Kanchanpur district in southwestern Nepal have claimed they have detected an error in a strip map showing the Nepal-India border, claiming it wrongly showed a section of the Nepali land on the Indian side.

They have demanded that the government immediately take initiatives to correct the error and safeguard its territory. Field surveys to prepare the strips maps in the district were done in the late 1980s, in the late 1990s, and in the early 2000s, according to Land Management Minister Padma Kumari Aryal.

A meeting of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee in the House of Representatives discussed the issue on Wednesday after a group of politicians representing the district in the federal and provincial parliaments and local government officials filed an application demanding discussion.

Lawmakers Niru Devi Pal, Deepak Prakash Bhatta, and Nara Bahadur Dhami, and former lawmaker Kripa Ram Rana had filed the application. Speaking in the meeting, Pallav Raj Bhatta, a local activist, said if the strip map was considered valid, some canals and schools built by the state would also belong to India.

In response, Aryal said the error should be corrected following diplomatic procedures between the two countries.
Trump has demonstrated little interest in DHS beyond its monthly report of immigration arrests and the pace of construction on his border wall project, Homeland Security officials say. He has attempted to use the agency to advance the long-standing goals of immigration hard-liners, from a Muslim ban to family separations to threats of busing migrants to sanctuary cities governed by Democrats. And when the coronavirus pandemic attacked the country  triggering the biggest national crisis since the 9/11 attacks  DHS remained in a secondary role.
SPRINGFIELD  U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, today disavowed any involvement by either himself or his campaign in the actions by the College Democrats of Massachusetts raising claims of inappropriate conduct by his opponent, Holyoke Mayor Alex B. Morse, with college students.

I learned about the allegations against Mayor Morse the same way everyone else did, in The Daily Collegian last week, Neals statement reads. I also want to be clear I will not tolerate my name being associated with any homophobic attacks or efforts to criticize someone for who they choose to love. Thats inconsistent with my character and my values.

The College Democrats of Massachusetts and its chapters at Amherst College and UMass Amherst sent Morse a letter last week disinviting him from its events and outlining allegations that Morse used his position of power for romantic or sexual gain. Morse, who has taught as an adjunct lecturer at UMass, has acknowledged having sexual relationships with college students but has said all were consensual and did not violate school policies.

Morse says the letter and stories about it that first appeared in The Massachusetts Daily Collegian were politically motivated, and hes publicly blamed the Neal campaign and the Springfield political machine.

The Holyoke mayor is Neals challenger in the Sept. 1 Democratic primary, and the two are set to debate on Aug. 17.

Neals remarks Thursday were his first statement on the matter. Previous statements came from his campaign staff.

Any implications that I or anyone from my campaign are involved are flat wrong and an attempt to distract from the issue at hand, Neal said. I have been and will remain entirely focused on the respective records of myself and Mayor Morse.

The College Democrats of Massachusetts have not responded to calls and emails from The Republican. But the group has told other media outlets that the letter was sent independently, and as a response to the behavior they described.

A member of the UMass chapter, meanwhile, told The Republican and other outlets that the letter came from the chapters executive board, which includes a student who is a supporter of Neals and wanted to work for him.

Neals campaign also issued a statement, saying they have been entirely focused on policy, record and experience.

Richie has always run his campaigns based on ideas, and has always condemned personal attacks on any candidate, the statement said. But we want to be clear  homophobia has no place in campaigns or public life.

It continued: As we have previously said, the College Democrats independently came forward. The students named in ensuing news stories have no involvement with the Neal campaign and have never been employed by Richie or his campaign.

Neals campaign said it has not commented on the substance of this issue and we will await the findings of all independent reviews.

Neal has the endorsement of the Human Rights Campaign. Another group  the LGBTQ Victory Fund, which endorsed Morse  said Thursday that it applauds reports that the Massachusetts Democratic Party will investigate the UMass chapter after the primary.

Neal is also endoresed by Equality PAC, the political action committee formed and led by leaders of the Congressional LGBTQ Equality Caucus.

Gus Bickford, chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, has not returned calls and emails from The Republican.

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This week, Joe Biden selected Senator Kamala Harris of California to be his running mate, the first Black woman as well as the first person of Indian descent to be nominated for a major partys presidential ticket. We need more than a victory on Nov. 3, Ms. Harris said in an appearance with Mr. Biden on Wednesday. We need a mandate that proves that the past few years do not represent who we are or who we aspire to be.

Are Ms. Harris and Mr. Biden the right pair to win that mandate? Heres what people are saying about what her nomination means for the election and the future of the Democratic Party.

For many Democrats, it was the right choice

The reaction within the Democratic Party, from Beltway professionals to grass-roots activists, was largely relief, Astead Herndon and Jonathan Martin reported for The Times. There was obvious excitement, too: Within 24 hours after the announcement, the Biden campaign reported raising $26 million in donations, including from 150,000 first-time contributors. Her selection as Joe Bidens running mate was conventional by some political standards, Mr. Herndon and Mr. Martin wrote. But it was historic most of all, and especially sweet for many Black women.
Allentown, PA (18103)

Today

Partly sunny, brisk, and chilly. Winds should ease up later in the day..

Tonight

Partly to mostly cloudy and cold.
Konrad Steffen, an Arctic scientist whose work showed that climate change is melting Greenlands vast ice sheet with increasing speed, died on Saturday in an accident near a research station he created there 30 years ago. He was 68.

Police investigators said he had fallen into a crevasse in the ice and drowned in the deep water below.

A fellow scientist at the station, Jason Box, said the crevasse, or large crack, was a known hazard. But he added that high winds and recent snowfall had made visibility poor and landmarks harder to spot.

The small group at the site  christened Swiss Camp by Dr. Steffen  was installing new equipment when he walked off to perform another task. Over the next few hours, Dr. Box said, they assumed that Dr. Steffen had gone back to his tent for a nap. But when they finished their work he was nowhere to be found.
CASEVILLE  The Huron County Health Department has reopened the beach at Caseville County Park after it had been temporarily closed due to high E. coli levels.

According to test samples from Aug. 12, the beach tested at 50.6 colonies of E. coli per 100 milliliters of water. Public health officials deem any water unsafe when it exceeds 300 colonies per 100 milliliters.
Sanjay Dutt's IG Post

Now hospital sources have confirmed the news to Filmfare. The doctors revealed that when Sanjay came in, his oxygen saturation levels were low. The source added, "Fluid had accumulated in his lungs because of that he was having breathing trouble." The source also added that fluid samples were sent for testing and said "Doctors said it could be tuberculosis or cancer. The reports on Wednesday confirmed that Sanjay is suffering from stage 4 lung cancer."

Alia Bhatt And Ranbir Kapoor Visited Sanjay Dutt

Meanwhile, Sanjay Dutt's Shamshera co-star Ranbir Kapoor and Sadak 2 co-star Alia Bhatt were spotted at his house. The couple was snapped by paparazzi while exiting the actor's house, and getting into their car. Ranbir Kapoor earlier also played Sanjay Dutt's character in the biopic Sanju, and gained a lot of appreciation from Sanjay Dutt and fans alike.

Sadak 2 Will Release On Disney+ Hotstar

Sanjay Dutt's Sadak 2 is all set to release on Disney+ Hotstar on August 28. He will also be seen in Torbaaz which is set to release on Netflix in coming weeks.
By Maha El Dahan, Jeffrey Heller and Steve Holland

DUBAI/JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced on Thursday that they will normalise diplomatic ties and forge a broad new relationship, a move that reshapes the order of Middle East politics from the Palestinian issue to the fight against Iran.

Under the accord, which U.S. President Donald Trump helped broker, Israel agreed to suspend its planned annexation of areas of the occupied West Bank. It also firms up opposition to regional power Iran, which the UAE, Israel and the United States view as the main threat in the conflict-riven Middle East.

Israel had signed peace agreements with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994. But the UAE, along with most other Arab nations, did not recognise Israel and had no formal diplomatic or economic relations with it until now. It becomes the first Gulf Arab country to reach such a deal with the Jewish state.

Officials from the three countries called the accord "historic" and a breakthrough toward peace. But Palestinian leaders, apparently taken by surprise, denounced it as a "stab in the back" to their cause.

A joint statement said Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed had "agreed to the full normalisation of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates".

The accord will allow the two countries "to chart a new path that will unlock the great potential in the region," it said.

Israel and the UAE are expected soon to exchange ambassadors and embassies. A signing ceremony is due to be held at the White House.

"As a result of this diplomatic breakthrough and at the request of President Trump with the support of the United Arab Emirates, Israel will suspend declaring sovereignty" over areas of the West Bank as envisioned in a U.S. plan announced by Trump in January, it said.

The agreement, to be known as the Abraham Accord, also gives Trump a foreign policy accomplishment as he seeks re-election on Nov. 3. Speaking in the White House Oval Office, Trump said similar deals are being discussed with other countries in the region.

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Trump said the agreement unites "two of America's closest and most capable partners in the region" and represents "a significant step towards building a more peaceful, secure and prosperous Middle East."

The UAE said it would remain a strong supporter of the Palestinian people, who hope to create an independent state in the occupied West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, and that the agreement maintained the viability of a two-state solution to the longstanding Israel-Palestinian conflict.

The accord could also be a personal boost to Netanyahu, who is on trial for alleged corruption and whose domestic popularity has dropped over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

In a televised address, Netanyahu said the deal would lead to "full and formal peace" with the UAE and voiced hope that other countries in the region would follow its example. It also entailed acceding to a request from Trump to "temporarily wait" on implementing his annexation pledge, Netanyahu said.

"It's an incomparably exciting moment, a historic moment for peace in the Middle East," Netanyahu added.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, however, rejected the accord. Spokesman Abu Rudeineh, reading from a statement outside Abbas's headquarters in Ramallah in the West Bank, said it was a "betrayal of Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa (mosque, Islam's third-holiest shrine) and the Palestinian cause".

Asked if the Palestinian leadership had been aware the deal was coming, veteran negotiator Hanan Ashrawi told Reuters: "No. We were blindsided. ... It is a complete sell-out."

In Gaza, Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for the armed Islamist group Hamas, said: "Normalisation is a stab in the back of the Palestinian cause and it serves only the Israeli occupation."

The UAE's Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed said the agreement would stop further Israeli annexation of Palestinian territories, for which Israel had been awaiting a green light from Washington.

Senior UAE official Anwar Gargash said the deal had helped defuse what he called a ticking time-bomb. Gargash urged the Israelis and Palestinians to return to the negotiating table.

'NIGHTMARE' FOR IRAN

Trump's special envoy Brian Hook called the agreement a "nightmare" for Iran. An Iranian official said the agreement would not secure peace in the region.

Railing against "criminal Israel", Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, a special adviser to Iran's parliamentary speaker, said in a tweet: "Abu Dhabi's behaviour has no justification, turning back on the Palestine cause. W/ that strategic mistake, #UAE will be engulfed in Zionism fire."

Iran and Israel are arch foes. Israel is particularly concerned about suspected Iranian efforts to develop nuclear weapons, which Tehran denies. Iran is also involved in proxy wars from Syria to Yemen, where the UAE has been a leading member of the Saudi-led coalition opposing Iran-aligned forces there.

With a population of less than 10 million but the Arab world's second-largest economy thanks to oil, the UAE has exerted growing commercial and military clout in the Gulf and the wider region over the past two decades, much of it aimed at confronting Islamist militants and the influence of Iran.

Delegations from Israel and the United Arab Emirates will meet in the coming weeks to sign agreements regarding investment, tourism, direct flights, security, telecommunications and other issues, the joint statement said.

"Everybody said this would be impossible," Trump said.

"Now that the ice has been broken, I expect more Arab and Muslim countries will follow the United Arab Emirates' lead," Trump added.

This was already being discussed with other states, he said.

(Reporting By Maha El Dahan, Lisa Barrington and Parisa Hafezi, Steve Holland in Washington; Jeff Heller in Jerusalem, Writing by Angus MacSwan; Editing by Will Dunham)
In 1790, the United States of America was a new nation, but Moses Seixas was already living what would come to be called the American Dream. The son of Sephardic Jews who had migrated from Lisbon, Portugal, to Newport, R.I., Seixas took advantage of the opportunities his state and nation offered to civic-minded entrepreneurs of all faiths. He would become a leading town merchant and cofounder of the Bank of Rhode Island. He would also become the warden  or lay leader  of Congregation Jeshuat Israel, which had built a beautiful synagogue with a domed ceiling and Greek-style ionic columns at the center of town. (The synagogue, later called the Touro Synagogue, still stands at the center of Newports downtown.)

Though Seixas and other Jews of Newport had achieved prosperity, they were worried that their freedom to worship and participate in civic life wouldnt last. Given what had happened to Jews throughout the old world, they had reason to worry. Jews had been kicked out of various European countries through the centuries, expelled from England as early as 1290, forced to leave Spain in 1492, and kicked out of Portugal four years later.

But Moses Seixas and many Jews in the new United States, numbering only around 2,000 in a total U.S. population of 2.5 million when the American Revolution began, found hope in the words of George Washington and the Founding Fathers on religious liberty and equality under the law. And when he learned that Washington would be visiting Newport  as part of a visit to Rhode Island in celebration of its becoming the final original state to ratify the U.S. Constitution  Seixas saw it as an opportunity to ask Washington to confirm explicitly that the Founders promises applied to Jews.

Soon after Washington arrived in Newport in August 1790, Seixas presented him with a letter from the members of Congregation Jeshuat Israel. Accounts differ as to how Seixas delivered the letter. An entry on Founders Online, a digital repository of letters maintained by the National Archives and University of Virginia, speculates that Seixas probably presented it to GW on the morning of 18 Aug. 1790 when the town and Christian clergy of Newport also delivered addresses to the president. Yet articles in the authoritative Mount Vernon Digital Encyclopedia say Washington actually visited the synagogue during that trip.

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What is undisputed, however, are the powerful messages of religious freedom and equality under the law from the Jewish congregations letter and Washingtons swift response. The letter dated August 17 states: Deprived as we heretofore have been of the invaluable rights of free Citizens, we now (with a deep sense of gratitude to the Almighty disposer of all events) behold a Government, erected by the Majesty of the People  a Government, which to bigotry gives no sanction, to persecution no assistance  but generously affording to All liberty of conscience, and immunities of Citizenship. The letter implicitly asks Washington to affirm that the views of the promise of the new nation held by Seixas and the congregation were correct.

Washington did indeed affirm this in a letter replying to the congregation dated one day later. And in that letter, Washington promised even more than the religious liberties the Jewish congregation had asked for: that Jews would be full citizens of the new republic. Echoing some of Seixass phrasing, Washington replied, For happily the Government of the United States . . . gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance. Washington was quick to add, though, that the U.S. Constitution goes beyond mere religious toleration and explicitly grants religious freedom and full citizenship to people of every creed. It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights, he wrote in the letter to the synagogue.

Washington then made an allusion to the passage of Micah 4:4 of the Hebrew Scriptures, or the Old Testament, which reads, but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid. Washington stated emphatically to the Jewish congregation that in the new nation, every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid.

Scholars of religious freedom have called Washingtons letter to Seixas and the congregation a milestone in human rights. For the first time, members of religious minorities were granted full partnership in the nation they inhabited as a matter of policy, as stated by the nations leader. The late political philosopher Harry V. Jaffa, longtime professor at Claremont McKenna College and distinguished fellow at the Claremont Institute, wrote that Washingtons letter meant that Jews would be full citizens for the first time, not merely in American history, but since the end of their own polity in the ancient world, more than two thousand years before.

Jaffa continued, From no one else could such a statement about Jews have carried the authority it did carry, when it came from Washington. No one could repudiate these words, once they had come from Washington, without making himself contemptible. (Hat tip on the passage from Jaffa to John G. West of the Discovery Institute . )

Jews, however, were not the only religious minority to whom Washington would provide much-needed aid and comfort. In Great Britain and most of her American colonies, Catholics couldnt hold public office or serve on juries. And in George Washingtons Virginia, Catholics couldnt even pray publicly during the colonial days.

But to Catholics, as to Jews, Washington personified the Constitutions promise of religious freedom through his words and deeds. In his career in the military as well as in his innovative business ventures  the later topic of which I write about in my new book, George Washington, Entrepreneur  Washington became close friends with members of the Catholic faith.

Among those friends was John Fitzgerald, an Irish-Catholic immigrant. Fitzgerald had emigrated to the colonies in 1769, settling first in Philadelphia but moving to the port city of Alexandria, Va., near Mount Vernon. There he became a merchant of various items, and Washington was one of his customers. When the Revolution started, Fitzgerald volunteered his services, and Washington appointed him aide-de-camp.

After the war, Fitzgerald went back to being a merchant in Alexandria, but with significantly more prestige, thanks in large part to his friendship with Washington. In 1786, Fitzgerald was elected mayor of Alexandria even though Catholics were a tiny minority in Virginia and had been subject to official persecution until only a few years earlier. Washington boosted Fitzgeralds status further by making him a director of the Potomac Company, formed by Washington and others to improve navigation on the Potomac River. Fitzgerald became president of the company in the 1790s, and in 1793 Washington appointed him collector of customs for the Port of Alexandria. When Washington returned to Mount Vernon in 1797 after serving as president, Fitzgerald advised him to build a whiskey distillery there, which turned out to be one of Washingtons most profitable enterprises (and which was rebuilt on Mount Vernon grounds in 2007).

Fitzgerald used his newfound prominence to cofound the first Catholic church in Virginia, the St. Marys congregation in Alexandria. It has long been church lore that Washington gave one of the initial contributions to get St. Marys off the ground, and there is now strong  if not conclusive  evidence for Washingtons generous gesture. Kitty Guy, a historian of the congregation, points to diary entries from Washington showing that he attended the St. Patricks Day dinner at Fitzgeralds home in 1788 at which fundraising for construction of the church was discussed and also that he gave a contribution to a church  unnamed in the diary  on the same day. Given this documentation  and that the story has been passed on at the church through the generations  it is a reasonable conclusion that Washington gave a contribution equivalent to $1,200 in todays money to St. Marys, Guy says in an interview.

Today, St. Marys and the Jeshuat Israel congregation of the Touro Synagogue stand as monuments to Washingtons vision of religious freedom. And unlike Washingtons own Christ Church in Alexandria, which has shamefully pulled down a plaque honoring Washington in the name of fostering inclusiveness, these congregations celebrate their ties to our Founding Father.

Documenting its historic roots, St Marys successfully applied to the Vatican for a basilica designation, which was granted in 2018. And every year, the Touro Synagogue hosts prominent speakers  including Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan  to read Washingtons 1790 letter to Seixas and the congregation. These congregations do not claim Washington ever reached perfection, but they know that he did much more than almost anyone to create and maintain  in the words of the Constitution  a more perfect union that is a light unto the world.

More from National Review
A 35-year-old man from Yemen living at the camp of Vial on the island of Chios tested positive late on Wednesday, the source told AFP

Related Greece shuts border to Serbians after virus spike

Greece on Thursday reported its first novel coronavirus infection in one of its overcrowded asylum seeker camps, a migration ministry source said.

A 35-year-old man from Yemen living at the camp of Vial on the island of Chios tested positive late on Wednesday, the source told AFP.

"The man has been quarantined at the local hospital. Another 30 people are undergoing tests," the official said.

There are over 3,800 people living inside the Vial camp, over three times nominal capacity.

Several non-fatal coronavirus cases have surfaced in Greek camps on the mainland -- including 150 infections at a migrant hotel in the Peloponnese in April.

But this is the first case involving an island camp, where the worst overcrowding occurs.

The news came a day after Greece registered its highest-ever daily number of new infections at 262.

Authorities have blamed the spike in infections to the flouting of social distancing rules in restaurants, bars and public gatherings.

The government this week announced a night curfew for restaurants and bars in some of its top tourist destinations, and new restrictions for incoming travellers required to furnish negative tests up to 72 hours before entry.

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Comrade Le Kha Phieu was the General Secretary of the Party Central Committee from December 1997 to April 2001.

Under his leadership, the Vietnamese people, the army, and the Communist Party made great strides in the countrys renewal, industrialisation, modernisation, national construction and defence.

French President Jacques Chirac welcomes Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on the evening of May 22, 2000 during his official visit to France. Photos: VNA

Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu pays a visit to the Gia Lam railway factory (Hanoi), on August 27, 2000.

Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu visits students and teachers of Dien Bien Phu Ethnic Boarding High School on a working visit to Lai Chau from May 10-11, 1998.

Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu with workers at the Cao Bang sugar factory, on December 27, 1998.

Chinese Party General Secretary and President Jiang Zemin welcomes Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, during his official friendship visit to China from March 25 to March 2, 1999.

Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu holds talks with Chinese Party General Secretary and President Jiang Zemin on an official friendship visit to China from March 25 to March 2, 1999.

First Secretary of the Cuban Communist Party Fidel Castro welcomes Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu in Havana, during the latter's friendship visit to Cuba from 7-14 July 1999. Photos: VNA

Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu and First Secretary of the Cuban Communist Party Fidel Castro after the signing ceremony of the Vietnam-Cuba Joint Statement, in the capital city of Havana, during the formers official friendship visit to Cuba from 7-14 July 1999.

Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu surveys the bank of Tra Khuc River in Nghia Dung Commune, Quang Ngai City, which was eroded after the flood in December 1999.

Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu in a trip to Mekong Delta provinces to inspect relief work for people in flooded areas, September 27-29, 2000.

Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu celebrates Mid-Autumn Festival with children in Hanoi at Ho Tay Water Park, on the evening of September 11, 2000.

Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu, State President Tran Duc Luong and Chairman of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and President of Laos Khamtai Siphandon at the Presidential Palace, during the Lao official's visit to Vietnam, on January 4, 1999.

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen greets former Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu on his official visit to Vietnam, on December 27, 2013, in Hanoi.

Former Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu and VNA leaders pose at the exchange program commemorating 55 years of friendship between the Vietnam News Agency and Division 304, April 15, 2015.

Former Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu at the meeting with delegates who are retired high-ranking military cadres at a meeting organised by the Ministry of Defense, on January 30, 2016. Photos: VNA

Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong, Secretary of the Central Military Commission awards the 70-year-old Party badge to former Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu, on the morning of August 25, 2019, in Hanoi.

Condolences pour in over former Party leaders passing The Central Committee of the Workers Party of Korea (WPK) and top leaders of the Republic of Korea (RoK), the Republic of Nicaragua and political parties sent messages of condolences to Vietnamese Party and State leaders,
I was disappointed, but not surprised, to learn recently that U.S. Congressman Scott Perry for the 10th District has adopted President Trumps ridiculous argument that schools are safe to fully reopen in the fall because children will not transmit COVID-19 to teachers.

In making this utterly false claim, Perry ignores the facts and what science has said about this issue. While children are at lower risk of serious illness from COVID-19, more than 250,000 U.S. children under the age of 18 have fallen ill to the virus and some have died as well.

In making this outlandish claim, Perry has once again shown that he is out of touch with both the facts and what the majority of Americans support.

There is no scientific evidence that children are not transmitters of the disease. Both teachers and the childrens own families are at risk of getting the disease if schools reopen without the proper safeguards in place and the local number of cases in serious decline. One just has to look at what is going on around the country now because the economy reopened too soon under Trumps demands to do so and his assurances that the virus will magically disappear.

In contrast, Eugene DePasquale, Perrys Democratic challenger in the November election, stands strongly in support of the view that science, not politics, should dictate the terms for schools reopening. DePasquale states that, parents, not politicians, should decide if their children return to school during a pandemic. It is this commonsense reasoning we need in Washington D.C. and why Perry should be voted out in November.

Carl S. Hisiro, Susquehanna Township
President Trump announced on Thursday that Israel and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to establish full diplomatic ties, the first such agreement between Israel and an Arab Gulf country.

The leaders of all three countries spoke today and agreed to the full normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, according to a joint statement posted by Trump on Twitter. As a result of this diplomatic breakthrough and at the request of President Trump with the support of the United Arab Emirates, Israel will suspend declaring sovereignty over areas outlined in Trumps Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.

HUGE breakthrough today! Trump commented. Historic Peace Agreement between our two GREAT friends, Israel and the United Arab Emirates! Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was a historic day.

U.A.E. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed said that bilateral relations had not been immediately established, writing on Twitter, The UAE and Israelagreed to cooperation and setting a roadmap towards establishing a bilateral relationship.

Among Arab countries in the Middle East, Israel currently has full relations with neighbors Jordan and Egypt. Israel has maintained quiet relations with the U.A.E. for years, however, and the two countries have deepened ties to counter the regional influence of Iran, seen by both nations as a common enemy.

Near-term talks are planned on visas for tourists and business people, air, telecommunications and shipping links as well as ministerial-level visits and establishing embassies, U.A.E. Ambassador to the U.S. Yousef Al Otaiba said in a statement. Al Otaiba emphasized that the agreement immediately stops annexation and the potential for violent escalation. It maintains the viability of a two-state solution as endorsed by the Arab League and international community.

More from National Review
In an interview, the ruling African National Congress of South Africa's International Relations Committee chairperson, Lindiwe Zulu, said there is urgent need to resolve the political crisis in Zimbabwe. We have already said it from an ANC point of view that there is a crisis in Zimbabwe..."
ALTON  Alton High School has created the Pathway to Equity Plan, an idea brought up two years ago in the high school after reviewing enrollment numbers of minority and low-income students in Advanced Placement and dual honors classes.

Those number were not reflective of our overall student population, said district Superintendent Kristie Baumgartner, who has worked for the Alton School District for 21 years and recently accepted the superintendent position.

We wanted to try to figure out what barriers there are and how we should break down those barriers, Baumgartner said.

The idea became a plan of action as the high school entered into a partnership with Equal Opportunity Schools (EOS), a group based in Seattle, Washington. Equal Opportunity Schools has worked for the past 12 years to develop the best tools, analysis, and services to discover and enroll minority and low-income students. Today, the group has served more than 600 schools and 200 districts across 30 states with personalized solutions to address the issue of college-readiness courses lacking these students.

Baumgartner said that AHS received a grant from EOS, as well as created an equity team to help with the enrollment of these students in advanced courses.

In addition, the Pathway to Equity Plan will included training for staff and teachers for when students return after dealing with isolation due to pandemic-related issues and seeing the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter events over the past five months. Training will include removing implicate bias from the classrooms and how to offer therapeutic support for students dealing with trauma, anger and other emotions.

At first, this plan was originally meant for the high school level, but Baumgartner said that this plan needs to be district wide.

It just cant be words on a paper, these have to be actionable and operationalized, not just at the district level but across all schools, Baumgartner said.
Southern Smoke, a Houston-based crisis relief organization for members of the food and beverage industry, also announced a $4 million emergency relief fund for Chicago restaurant, bar and coffee shop workers in Cook County. Applicants must have worked in the food and beverage industry for at least 6 months at 30 hours per week, and demonstrate a need through the application, which is now open. The fund, sponsored by anonymous donors, also is hiring Chicago-based restaurant workers who have been furloughed or laid off to work as caseworkers, application screeners and more to help with the fund. To donate, apply for help or fill out a job application, visit southernsmoke.org/chicago-relief-fund.
Two patients in China who recovered months ago tested positive for Covid-19, raising concern about the the viruss ability to linger and reappear in people who it previously infected. Germany recorded the highest number of new cases in more than three months.

The Philippines will join the final phase of clinical trials for Russias coronavirus vaccine. President Rodrigo Duterte is willing to be inoculated after the vaccines likely approval from the Philippines Food and Drug Administration by April.

The recession gripping Sweden may be much softer than first predicted, with economists pointing to the absence of a full lockdown as a key reason. Indias virus death toll has surpassed that of the U.K., pushing it to the No. 4 spot globally.

Key Developments:

Subscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloombergs Prognosis team here. Click CVID on the terminal for global data on coronavirus cases and deaths.

London City Airport Pauses Expansion (5:37 p.m. HK)

London City Airport Ltd. will pause the building of the next stage of a 480 million pound ($628 million) expansion due to a slower-than-expected recovery of the U.K. aviation industry from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The airport operator will postpone plans to extend its passenger terminal and new east pier from the end of this year, the company said in a statement on Thursday. The construction of eight new aircraft stands and a full-length parallel taxiway by the end of 2020 will still be completed.

Hong Kong Cases Re-Accelerate (4:51 p.m. HK)

Hong Kong reported 65 local virus cases on Thursday, with 33 of unknown origin, according to the financial hubs health department. Infections are rising again after Tuesdays tally of 32 local cases saw the lowest number of new local infections since a resurgence began early July.

Sweden Recession May Be Much Milder Than Forecast (4:04 p.m. HK)

The recession gripping Sweden may be much softer than first predicted, with economists pointing to the absence of a full lockdown as a key reason behind the development.

In a fresh set of forecasts released on Thursday, Swedens National Institute of Economic Research said GDP will probably contract 4.8% this year. Thats down from a previous estimate of 5.4% and considerably better than the 7% slump the government once feared was likely.

IEA Cuts Oil-Demand Forecasts (4:00 p.m. HK)

The International Energy Agency cut forecasts for global oil demand as air travel suffers from the coronavirus crisis even more than previously expected.

The IEA reduced estimates for almost every quarter through to the end of 2021, with the second half of this year taking the steepest downgrades. Air travel remained two-thirds lower than last year in July, normally a peak month because of holiday flying, it said in a monthly report.

Finland Reports Increase in Covid-19 From Low Level (3:58 p.m. HK)

Finnish authorities reported a clear increase in the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases. In the most recent monitoring period of Aug. 3-9, a total of 139 new infections were recorded, an increase from 81 in the week before. Cases are rising especially in the Helsinki-region.

Key Indian Ministers Infected (3:50 p.m. HK)

Several Indian ministers in Prime Minister Narendra Modis cabinet have tested positive for Covid-19 in the past few days, underscoring the spread of the virus in the worlds second most populous nation.

Five ministers including Modis key aide and minister for internal security, Amit Shah, have contracted the virus which has infected nearly 2.4 million Indians. The south Asian nation has the highest death toll after U.S., Brazil and Mexico. Some of the ministers, including Shah, are in hospitals while others are recovering at home.

Spanish Regions May Curb Smoking to Combat Virus (3:07 p.m. HK)

Some of Spains autonomous regions are studying joining Galicia in restricting smoking in the street in order to contain the growing rise in Covid-19 cases, El Pais reported.

Galicia from Thursday banned smoking in public if a two-meter distance cant be guaranteed, claiming experts agree it will help limit infections. The regions of Andalusia, Castilla y Leon and Castilla-La Mancha may follow its lead, the newspaper said, citing local government spokespeople.

Covid-19 can affect smokers more and increases the likelihood they develop pneumonia, El Pais said, citing Alberto Fernandez Villar, an expert on lung conditions, who is advising the Galician government. Smokers tend to touch their mouths more than non-smokers, he said.

Philippines to Join Human Trials for Russian Virus Vaccine (2 p.m. HK)

The Philippines will join the final phase of clinical trials for Russias coronavirus vaccine starting in October, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Thursday.

A panel of Philippine experts will review the results of Russias initial findings on the vaccine developed by Moscows Gamaleya Institute before large-scale human trials are started, Roque said. Russia will fund the phase 3 clinical trial in the Philippines, he said.

The Russian vaccine is likely to win approval from the Philippines Food and Drug Administration by next April, and President Rodrigo Duterte is willing to be inoculated as early as May, Roque said.

German Cases Rise the Most in More Than Three Months (1:54 p.m. HK)

Germany recorded the highest number of new coronavirus cases in more than three months, with daily infections staying above 1,000 for three straight days.

There were 1,319 new cases in the 24 hours through Thursday morning, the most since May 1 and bringing the countrys case total to 220,859, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The number of new infections reached almost 7,000 at the peak of the pandemic at the end of March and in early April.

Indias Virus Death Toll Becomes Worlds Fourth Largest (1:35 p.m. HK)

Indias Covid-19 death toll grew to the fourth largest globally as the diseases spread continues to accelerate through the worlds second most populous country.

India added 942 deaths from the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, topping the U.K. with a total of 47,033 fatalities. Now India is only behind the U.S., Brazil and Mexico in the overall number of deaths. Its total number of confirmed cases, almost 2.4 million, is the third largest in the world.

Thailand Reports Three Imported Cases (1:20 p.m. HK)

Thailand confirmed three new cases on Thursday, all in state quarantine after arriving from Singapore and India, according to the Covid-19 center. They reported that 132 people are currently hospitalized and 3,169 have recovered.

Two Chinese Patients Test Positive Months After Virus Recovery (1:16 p.m. HK)

Two patients in China that recovered from Covid-19 months ago tested positive again, raising concern about the viruss ability to linger and reappear in people who it previously infected. A 68-year-old woman in the central Chinese province of Hubei, where the virus first surfaced in December, tested positive on Sunday, six months after she was diagnosed with Covid-19 and recovered.

Another man found to have contracted the disease in April after returning from abroad tested positive in Shanghai on Monday.The two cases are the latest addition to a growing number of virus reactivation anecdotes found among patients believed to have recovered from the viral infection. While it is rare, the phenomenon raises questions over why some patients suffer from long-term symptoms, and whether any immunity to the disease might be too ephemeral to protect against re-infection.

Chinese City Says Chicken Wings From Brazil Test Positive for Virus (12:05 p.m. HK)

Consumers in the Chinese city of Shenzhen have been urged to exercise caution when buying imported frozen food after a surface sample of chicken wings from Brazil tested positive for coronavirus, according to a statement from the local government.

The positive sample appears to have been taken from the surface of the meat, while previously reported positive cases from other Chinese cities have been from the surface of packaging on imported frozen seafood. The chicken came from an Aurora Alimentos plant in the southern state of Santa Catarina, according to a registration number given in the statement.

New Zealand to Quarantine Virus Cases as Auckland Cluster Grows (11:58 a.m. HK)

New Zealand, amid reporting 13 new cases, said it will transfer anyone infected into quarantine facilities as the government attempts to stamp out the nations first outbreak in more than three months.

The cluster of infections in the largest city of Auckland now stands at 17 people and the government will decide Friday whether to extend a three-day lockdown there. Health Director-General Ashley Bloomfield told reporters in Wellington that he expects the number of infections to grow, and the mandatory quarantine would help stop the spread.

Australia Jobs Surge as Economy Absorbs Victorias Virus Relapse (11:54 a.m. HK)

Australia added almost four times as many jobs as forecast in July as the economys recovery in areas where the coronavirus pandemic is under control withstood Victorias renewed lockdown and concern about the infection spreading.

Employment surged by 114,700 from June, when it advanced an upwardly revised 228,400, compared to an expected gain of 30,000, data from the statistics bureau showed Thursday in Sydney. The jobless rate edged up to 7.5%, the highest level since November 1998.

Venezuela Information Minister Contracts Virus, Fourth Maduro Ally to Be Infected (10:55 a.m. HK)

Venezuelas Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said hes tested positive for Covid-19, becoming the fourth close ally of President Nicolas Maduro to become infected.

Besides Rodriguez, during the last month Oil Minister Tareck El Aissami, the president of the powerful Constituent Assembly Diosdado Cabello, and the governor of Miranda state Hector Rodriguez have become infected. All have said that they have recovered.

New Zealand Reports 13 New Community Cases Amid Outbreak (9:50 a.m. HK)

New Zealand reported 13 new community virus cases on Thursday from the previous day as the nation reels from a new outbreak. Health Director-General Ashley Bloomfield told reporters in Wellington that he expects the covid cluster to increase.

The nation also reported a case from an overseas arrival on Thursday, and now has 36 active cases. All confirmed cases will be quarantined. The latest outbreak has thrown the largest city, Auckland, back into lockdown and threatens to dent the economic recovery.

Singapore Finds Virus in Cleared Worker Dorm, 800 Quarantined (8:58 a.m. HK)

About 800 migrant workers have been quarantined after a case of Covid-19 was discovered in a dormitory that had been cleared, Singapores Ministry of Health said in a statement.

Singapore earlier this week said it was actively monitoring the dormitories to manage the risk of new outbreaks, as there had been instances where new cases were discovered at previously cleared dorms.

U.S. Cases Rise 1.1% (4 p.m. NY)

Coronavirus cases in the U.S. increased 1.1% as compared with the same time Tuesday to 5.17 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News. The increase matched the average daily gain over the past week. Deaths rose by 0.7% to 165,328.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 23:50:03|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

by Xu Xiaolei

BEIJING, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Recalling those strange days back in March, when I, as a Xinhua reporter working in New York for years, was suddenly forced to return home following the U.S. order limiting the number of Chinese journalists, I only felt everything that had happened was too dramatic to be true.

"ABRUPT END"

On March 2, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration ordered four Chinese media outlets to downsize their staff working in the United States. Starting from March 13, the four outlets were allowed to employ a combined 100 Chinese nationals in the United States, down about 40 percent, meaning 60 or so Chinese journalists had to leave the country.

The announcement came as I was about to attend a press conference held by the Chinese mission to the United Nations (UN).

As China was assuming the presidency of the UN Security Council for March, Zhang Jun, the Chinese permanent representative to the UN, briefed the press on the monthly work program.

I managed to stay calm despite the de-facto expulsion order and recorded the meeting carefully, knowing that my term in the Xinhua office at the UN may come to an abrupt end.

At the briefing on March 2, Zhang announced that the council would hold a debate on multilateralism during China's presidency. The proposal was reminiscent of what the United States had done to break with the multilateralist camp over the past couple of years when I was reporting on UN stories.

As a permanent member of the Security Council, the United States, however, defying mainstream values, has clashed with many nations on issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, climate change, and the Iran nuclear deal, among others.

Washington, with its questionable policies and deeds, is losing support globally and has been reprimanded by various UN bodies quite a few times.

On May 4, 2018, the United States moved its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem after Washington broke with decades of U.S. policy by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital in 2017, triggering intense international criticism, including from the UN.

In late 2017, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution declaring that any decisions that would change the status of Jerusalem are "null and void."

The General Assembly has renewed a long-standing call every year in the past nearly three decades for an end to the U.S. economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba, which was first imposed in 1960.

The "America First" slogan has no place at the roundtable of multilateralism, while the Trump administration has been nagging others to "like it or lump it," and meanwhile, threatening withdrawals from multilateral mechanisms.

In recent years, for example, Washington has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement, UNESCO, the UN Human Rights Council, and the Global Compact for Migration.

Given its failure to tackle the COVID-19 health crisis, the Trump administration also tried to shift blame on the World Health Organization and pulled the United States out of the UN body.

A French colleague, also a UN news reporter, came to our office just to voice her support when she heard of the order targeting Chinese journalists.

Isn't the U.S. order an irony of the press freedom enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, she said. She also suggested that Chinese journalists seek help from the UN Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit and the UN Correspondents Association.

However, in face of the U.S. abuse of power, the UN has tried to communicate, but rarely succeeded in persuading Uncle Sam to change its problematic policies.

According to the agreement between the UN and the United States regarding the UN headquarters, which took effect in 1947, the United States is generally required to allow access to the UN for foreign diplomats. Nonetheless, Washington has repeatedly set aside its international responsibilities and obligations, using visas for UN-bound diplomats as bargaining chips, and even weapons, merely for its own political calculations.

The U.S. government has already turned away members of several foreign delegations, including those from Russia and Iran, to attend the 74th session of the UN General Assembly. It has also restricted the activities of all members of Cuba's permanent mission to the UN.

RETURNING HOME

I later learned that Xinhua has contended with the U.S. State Department because from a legal point of view, while the UN headquarters is located in the United States, Chinese nationals working at the UN office do not report American news and the United States is not entitled to deport us.

However, the White House claimed that the personnel cap applied to all the Chinese nationals working in the United States for the affected Chinese media outlets. Even more irritating was that Washington required the affected employees to leave the country regardless of the difficulties and health risks to travel amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pressured by the deadline to leave, I asked my colleagues to help me buy hard-to-get plane tickets as many carriers cut flights amid the raging pandemic. From my friends I also managed to get a few N95 face masks, which were no longer accessible in the market.

After a 13-hour flight and 12 hours after landing, I filled out a health survey, entered customs and was put into a quarantine hotel in Beijing, completely exhausted.

I was arranged in a priority group to do nucleic acid test as someone traveling on the same plane were diagnosed with COVID-19. I also had a thorough check up later at Xiaotangshan Hospital because of my throat discomfort. Fortunately, the COVID-19 test came negative.

Thinking back on the past few years, I can recall that the U.S. government has continuously escalated its suppression of Chinese media, from forced registration as a "foreign agent" to management as a "foreign mission"; from refusing to issue visas for more than 20 Chinese journalists to banishing Chinese reporters from the United States.

After I returned to China, the United States continued to tighten its grip. In May, the United States announced that it would shorten the period of stay for the work visas of all Chinese journalists in the United States to 90 days, causing great uncertainty among them.

In the past half year after returning to China, I often look back at my days in New York. I find the United States a land of contradictions with many different faces. In New York, I saw a diverse and inclusive American society; in the UN, I saw a headstrong nation defying multilateralism, and always throwing sanctions on whoever it sees disagreeable.

I have come into contact with many kind and amiable New Yorkers: the handyman Willis who installed a sofa for me but turned down payment, the concierge Wilmoth who recognized every resident in my apartment building and enthusiastically reminded everyone to collect packages, and Dr. Martin Wolff who reduced my medical expenses and patiently explained my condition.

Many Americans are like them: tolerant, respectful and helpful. They are neither hostile to China nor the Chinese people. Or rather, many benefit from economic globalization and the development of China-U.S. relations and trade. What they care about is living a better life and realizing their self-worth. Contrary to some U.S. politicians have claimed, they are least interested in a so-called "new Cold War."

The current U.S. administration has always vaunted a so-called "America First" policy, claiming to "Make America Great Again." However, when the United States repeatedly abandons multilateralism, withdraws from international responsibilities and obligations, constantly engages in ideological confrontation, and repeatedly blame foreign factors for its domestic failures, the so-called "America First" would only face more opposition and its coveted "greatness" only diminish. Enditem

(Xu Xiaolei formerly worked at the Xinhua office in the UN.)
Jaipur:

Rajasthan Police on Monday recovered at least Rs 64 lakh cash from Jaipur. Out of Rs 64 lakh Rs 58 lakh has been recovered in new currency notes. The police have recovered the cash from three people on information that the trio used to exchange currency on commission.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Ratan Singh said, "Rs 64 lakhs seized from 3 people on information that they exchanged currency on commission. Rs 58 lakhs in new notes".

Rs 64 lakhs seized from 3 ppl on info that they exchanged currency on commission. Rs 58 lakhs in new notes. IT informed: Ratan Singh ACP pic.twitter.com/unoDaVxuLw  ANI (@ANI_news) December 12, 2016

Jaipur (Rajasthan): Police seize Rs 64 lakh from 3 people (Rs 58 lakh in new Rs 2000 notes) pic.twitter.com/eD2qbNCDJ9  ANI (@ANI_news) December 12, 2016

Income Tax sleuths and police have been condunting raids across India since the PM Narendra Modi demonetised Rs 500 an Rs 1000 currency notes on November 8.

On, Saturday, the I-T officials found cash worth Rs 13.65 cr, including at least Rs 2.61 cr in new Rs 2,000 currency notes, from a law firm in Greater Kailash 1.

Rajasthan: Police seize Rs 64 lakh (Rs 58 lakh in new currency notes) from Jaipur, enquiry underway pic.twitter.com/Na0nRyZcGi  ANI (@ANI_news) December 12, 2016

Delhi Police Crime branch raided T&T law firm in R 89, Greater Kailash I, New Delhi on Saturday and recovered a huge amount of nearly 10 crores.

Further, the cops think that at least 2.5 crores of the currency is available in the form of new notes. The Exact amount of the currency recovered will be known only after counting.

Also Read: Watch Video | See Pics: Rs 10 cr seized in Delhi's Greater Kailash, Rs 2.5 cr in new Rs 2,000 bank notes



Income Tax sleuths seize Rs 24 crore cash in Rs 2,000 currency note in Vellore



Black money crackdown: Biggest seizure of Rs 142 cr cash, gold post demonetisation

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Supertrawler fishing in marine protected areas is soaring this year: Greenpeace

by Tom Bawden

August 13,2020 | Source: iNews

The amount of fishing carried out by huge supertrawlers in protected UK waters has soared this year, posing a major environmental risk, according to Greenpeace.



These 100-metre-long high-intensity fishing vessels spent twice as much time in marine protected areas during the first six months of this year as they did during the whole of 2019, according to an investigation by the campaign group.



Supertrawlers hoover up vast quantities of fish and can destroy marine habitat as they scrape along the seabed  an all are foreign owned.



Greenpeace and dozens of MPs and celebrities including Sir Michael Palin, Joanna Lumley and foreign secretary Dominic Raab are calling on environment minister George Eustice to ban the supertrawlers from protected areas.



Our government cannot continue to allow supertrawlers to fish with ever increasing intensity in parts of our waters that are supposed to be protected. It must step in and put a stop to industrial supertrawler operations within our offshore marine protected areas, something which will be possible after Britain leaves the Common Fisheries Policy, said Chris Thorne, an Oceans Campaigner at Greenpeace UK.



In 2019, supertrawlers spent 2963 hours fishing in 39 protected areas, while in the first six months of 2020 they spent 5590 hours fishing in 19 protected areas, according to the Greenpeace investigation.



In 2017, supertrawlers spent just 475 hours fishing in UK protected areas.



Luke Pollard MP, Shadow Environment Secretary, said: The Government needs to step up to properly protect the most sensitive areas of British waters from this industrial scale plunder which is destroying precious biodiversity.



Labour wants to prevent supertrawlers fishing in UK protected areas. And were campaigning for more jobs in our fishing communities, by pushing for more of the fish caught in British waters to be landed in UK ports.



A Defra spokesperson said: The UK is a global leader in the fight to protect our seas with our Blue Belt of protected waters nearly twice the size of England.



The Common Fisheries Policy currently restricts our ability to implement tougher protection, but leaving the EU and taking back control of our waters as an independent coastal state means we can introduce stronger measures.

 2020 JPIMedia Publications Ltd.

Theme(s): Fishing Craft, Gear and Fishing Methods.
The currently raging coronavirus "could not have been leaked from a lab," Chinese virologists told U.S. media Monday, calling for more international cooperation during the turbulent period disrupted by the pandemic.

"I have repeatedly emphasized that it was on Dec. 30 that we got contact with the samples of SARS-like pneumonia or pneumonia of unknown cause sent from the hospital," Yuan Zhiming, director of Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory, told NBC News, the first Western media outlet that was invited to the institute since the COVID-19 outbreak in China.

"We have not encountered the novel coronavirus before that ... there is no way that it is leaked from the lab," Yuan stressed.

His remarks were seconded by Wang Yanyi, director of Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), who said in her interview with NBC News that the fact that none of the institute's scientists contracted the virus has made it extremely unlikely that the virus could have escaped from the lab.

The WIV, founded in the 1950s, is a renowned research organization that became China's first biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the WIV has been the subject of multiple conspiracy theories that the virus was leaked from it.

However, it has been a consensus among the international academic community that the leak theory has no evidence and the virus has a natural origin.

Top U.S. infectious disease expert and health official Anthony Fauci has clarified that current scientific evidence shows it is highly unlikely that the virus was manmade.

"If you look at the evolution of the virus in bats and what's out there now, (the scientific evidence) is very, very strongly leaning toward this could not have been artificially or deliberately manipulated," he noted in an interview published in May by National Geographic.

Peter Daszak, director of EcoHealth Alliance, a global non-profit network that develops solutions to preventing pandemics, also pointed out that there is "absolutely zero evidence that it escaped from a lab."

"The fact that they published the sequence (of the pathogen) so quickly suggests to me that they weren't trying to cover up anything," he added.

In fact, despite the U.S. administration's repeated allegations that COVID-19 stemmed from a research lab or a wet market in Wuhan, it has failed to provide any proof to back up its claims.

According to NBC News, current and former U.S. intelligence officials said in April that spy agencies had ruled out that the coronavirus was manmade.

Facing a raging controversy of the leak theory, WIV director Wang said "it is unfortunate that we have been targeted as a scapegoat for the origin of the virus."

"Any person would inevitably feel very angry or misunderstood being subject to unwarranted or malicious accusations while carrying out research and related work in the fight against the virus," Wang said.

Despite being unfairly targeted, the Chinese experts called for more international cooperation amid the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic.

Wang noted that the institute will "fully support" the World Health Organization in its efforts to investigate in the origin of the pathogen, urging that politics not cloud investigations into how the virus spilled over into humans.

Yuan said the deterioration of U.S.-China relations will hurt scientific cooperation, which is vital to mitigating the outbreak.

"We don't want to see the tension between China and the U.S., because it is not good for the scientific development. It is not good for the progress and stability of the world," he said.

"We have learned a lot from the American scientists in terms of their scientific technology, spirit and relevant experience," he said. "During this pandemic, I think we still need to believe in science, respect science and trust the scientists."
U.S.-China relations have deteriorated sharply this year over issues such as Beijing's management of the coronavirus, its security clampdown in Hong Kong and activities in the disputed South China Sea.

The top U.S. diplomat also cited Chinese apps TikTok and WeChat, warning of "national security" risks and data theft. "We're going to make sure that American data not end up in the hands of an adversary like the Chinese Communist Party," Pompeo said in Prague. Pompeo's remarks come after Chinas ambassador to London accused the United States last month of instigating conflict with Beijing before the November U.S. presidential election.

"Today an even greater threat is the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party's campaigns of coercion and control," Pompeo said in a speech to the senate in the Czech Republic. "The CCP is already enmeshed in our economies, in our politics, in our societies in ways the Soviet Union never was."

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that China's economic power is in some ways a greater global threat than the Soviet Union was during the Cold War.

Pompeo held talks with Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis in Prague earlier Wednesday on the second day of his weeklong visit to central Europe. The two leaders discussed nuclear energy cooperation and the Three Seas Initiative, a political platform to promote connectivity among nations in central and eastern Europe by supporting infrastructure, energy and digital interconnectivity projects. The initiative gets its name from the three seas that border the region: the Baltic, Black and Adriatic.

Wednesday, Pompeo said the U.S. is ready to invest up to US$1 billion in the Three Seas Investment Fund to help protect against "China's opaque lending practices" during his speech to the Czech senate.

The chief U.S. diplomat began the day taking part in a roundtable discussion with a group of leaders from tech companies from the U.S. and the Czech Republic to highlight the benefits of U.S. investment, and according to the State Department, "underscore the attractiveness of the United States as an investment destination for Czech start-ups."

The top U.S. diplomat's trip comes as the Trump administration looks to confront Russian and Chinese economic and geopolitical competition in Europe. In addition to Pilsen, Pompeo is traveling to Prague, Czech Republic; Ljubljana, Slovenia; Vienna, Austria; and Warsaw, Poland, this week. The trip comes as the Pentagon prepares to move forward with a plan to pull almost 12,000 troops from Germany and redeploy part of the U.S. forces to Poland and other NATO nations, raising concerns at home and in Europe even as senior officials defend it as a strategic necessity.

Ambassador Philip Reeker, the State Department's acting assistant secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, said Pompeo will discuss with his counterparts the just-completed U.S.-Poland Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement that "provides a framework" to further strengthen "the broad transatlantic security."

The defense deal enables the United States for "rotational presence" of an additional 1,000 U.S. troops to "enhance deterrence against Russia, strengthen NATO," and to assure allies, officials say. About 4,500 U.S. personnel are already on rotation in Poland.

 Slovenia

In Ljubljana, Pompeo will sign a Joint Declaration on 5G technology with Slovenian Foreign Minister Anze Logar. Over the past year, European countries, including Poland, Estonia and the Czech Republic, have signed agreements with the U.S., pledging that 5G suppliers would not be subject to control by a foreign government without independent judicial review, which effectively excludes Chinese firms.

 Austria

In Vienna, the U.S.-Austria Strategic Partnership and growing trade relationship will be high on the agenda in Pompeo's meetings with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg. Austria hosts the International Atomic Energy Agency, the nuclear watchdog of the United Nations in charge of monitoring Iran's adherence to the 2015 nuclear deal from which the U.S. has withdrawn.

Pompeo will also hold talks with IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, as Washington is calling on other members of the UN Security Council to indefinitely extend an arms embargo on Iran that is set to expire on Oct. 18.

 Poland

In Warsaw, the chief U.S. diplomat will meet with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz on deepening defense ties, recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, securing 5G networks, and improving regional energy and infrastructure through the Three Seas Initiative. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Pompeo will also meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda, who visited the White House in late June. Poland sees Nord Stream 2, which would double Russia's gas export capacity via the Baltic Sea, as a threat to Europe's energy security.

Last month, the State Department said people making investments or engaging in activities related to Nord Stream 2, including pipe-laying vessels and engineering service in the deployment of the pipelines, could face U.S. sanctions. "It's a clear warning to companies: aiding and abetting Russia's malign influence projects will not be tolerated," said Pompeo during a July 15 press conference. "Let me be clear. These aren't commercial projects. They are the Kremlin's key tools to exploit and expand European dependence on Russian energy supplies," Pompeo said.
If you happened to live next door to the co-founder of Nextdoor  a hyper-local, Facebook-like app for your neighborhood, where locals trade babysitter and piano teacher referrals  youd be living beside a pristine mansion with an asking price of $25 million. Thats the lofty and publicity assuring number Nirav Tolia, currently chairman of the $2 billion-plus valued startup, has hung on his undeniably sumptuous yet relaxed home in San Franciscos historic and historically swank Pacific Heights neighborhood.

Tolia, who purchased the house as a wedding present for his wife, Megha, decided to sell because he and his family plan to temporarily move to Florence, Italy, where they spent several months in the city before it became the epicenter of Europes COVID-19 pandemic. Like many urban dwellers with the means (and job flexibility) to do so, they plan to look for new digs outside of San Francisco upon their return to the United States. Of course, given the still rising coronavirus numbers in California, social isolating in the Tolias luxurious and expansive home doesnt seem like such a torture either, if you can afford the sky-high price.

The stately and somewhat austere, vaguely Beaux Arts-style home, located two blocks from Presidio Park on one of San Franciscos famously steep streets, was originally built in 1916. After Tolia purchased it in 2011 for $7 million, the three-level spread underwent a gut renovation that transformed the faded grande dame it into a thoroughly modern mansion designed for modern-day family living with six bedrooms and 6.5 bathrooms in an undisclosed amount of square footage. My first memory of the house is standing outside and being transfixed by the stunning Italian coffered ceiling, Tolia said in an email to The Wall Street Journal, who first reported the listing, The house certainly needed work, but the bones were clearly excellent, and with a little bit of love, I knew it could be a rare and special place to raise our family.

Story continues

A few original details remain intact, including a 110-year-old coffered wood ceiling in the formal living room that benefits from a spectacular view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Elsewhere, the vintage Fortuny damask that covers the dining room walls, the custom draperies and a Venetian glass chandelier are recent additions steeped in a bygone glamour. In total, the renovation took three years with a number of contemporary alterations that included opening up the sleek, gourmet kitchen to the family room and the installation of timer-controlled automatic drapes over the huge picture windows in the spacious master bedroom. While the front of the house abuts the street without much yard or landscaping besides a handful of carefully sculpted plantings, an evergreen expanse of artificial turf at the back of the house stretches out to a terraced and lushly planted hillside.

The listing agents are Malin Giddings and Neal Ward of Compass.

Launch Gallery: Nextdoor Founder Lists San Francisco Home

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OTTAWAThreats against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and federal cabinet ministers are on the rise, according to new RCMP data obtained by the Star.

The RCMPs protective policing division logged 130 threats made against Trudeau or members of his cabinet between January and July, up from 100 recorded during the same period in 2019.

If the pace holds, 2020 could see considerably more threats directed at senior federal politicians than the previous election years total of 215.

Daniel Brien, a spokesperson with the national police force, said the RCMP would not discuss the specific nature of those threats or discuss any investigations into them.

But the last two months have presented several examples and political observers are becoming increasingly concerned about the inflammatory discourse on social media leading to more real world incidents.

On Thursday, Ontarios Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Minister Lisa MacLeods spokesperson said in a statement posted to Twitter that she was under police protection.

Following an interview with CFRA on harassment faced by female politicians, I can confirm that Minister MacLeod is once again receiving police protection due to both threatening emails and an unexplained mischievous incident to her personal vehicle in Ottawa, the statement said.

A woman was charged for threatening MacLeod in 2019, as the minister was pursuing controversial changes to Ontarios autism strategy. MacLeod received police protection then as well.

Meanwhile, the Ottawa Police Service launched an investigation last week at federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKennas constituency office.

A 90-second video of the incident made the rounds on social media, showing an unidentified man hurling insults and expletives at a McKenna staffer about the minister and Trudeau.

In a statement, McKenna called the incident unacceptable  but not isolated.

My family, staff and I deal with abusive behaviour on a regular basis, McKenna wrote, noting that social media platforms have some responsibility for the vitriol directed at public figures.

These people just want attention. The only attention they should get is from law enforcement.

In July, an armed Canadian Forces reservist was arrested near Rideau Hall with multiple firearms after a black Dodge Ram crashed through a pedestrian gate on the viceregal grounds, where Trudeau and his family live.

The RCMP are now investigating potential national security angles in the incident. Corey Hurren, the 46-year old Manitoban charged in the incident, had a long history of being drawn to conspiracy websites. He also had four guns  two shotguns, a semi-automatic rifle, and a revolver  with him at the time.

CBC News reported last week Hurren had 405 rounds of .308-calibre ammunition for the rifle, an undisclosed number of shotgun shells, plus the rounds loaded into the weapons when he was arrested.

Warnings came last year during testimony at a House of Commons committee looking at the SNC-Lavalin affair, when then clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick said that the political climate and discourse in Canada could lead to someone being shot.

The 40-year veteran of the public service, now retired, has spoken publicly since about what he sees as an increasingly dangerous political discourse in this country.

Its directed, not just at the most prominent people, but at their staff members, at regular constituency MPs, he said during an interview with the Star.

So yes, definitely becoming a more toxic and dangerous environment.

Most concerning for Wernick is the online world  social media, the dark web, and chat boards  where conspiracy theorists roam.

Im not sure that law enforcement is able to really monitor all of that until it becomes really, overtly serious, he said.

He commended MacLeod for speaking up about the issue and noted that women are most often the targets for vitriol and abuse.

Its going to drive people out of public life, eventually, he said.

MPs of all political stripes have noted an increase in the online hatred directed at them in recent years  especially female politicians or people of colour in public life. Much of that harassment occurs online and especially on social media, where extremists and conspiracy theorists peddle their world views.

The RCMPs Protective Policing service is responsible for the security of Trudeau, Governor General Julie Payette, cabinet ministers and Supreme Court and Federal Court judges. But in practice, only Trudeau and Payette have a permanent, 24-7 security detail.

And while the national police force is responsible for cabinet ministers safety, a recent report from VICE cited sources complaining that the RCMPs threat assessment process  which determines if ministers need security details  is opaque and insufficient.
The problem is with the broking model and what brokers are allowed to do, notes Debashis Basu.

If you are a retiree and have opened a broking account with any of the large brand-name stockbrokers, the following events could happen to you.

You will get a call from the 'relationship manager' of your broking firm making verbal promises of helping you earn a steady return every month by selling call and put options on the Nifty.

He will explain to you that the trading positions are hedged and hence, there is nil or negligible risk.

You hand over your investment portfolio of Rs 1.25 crore spread across 57 scrips, many of them being blue-chips like Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, Pidilite, and Dabur.

The broker opens a futures and options (F&O) account for you and makes some profit. The only way he could have promised a steady return is by selling calls and puts. This works very well when market volatility is low.

When you sell options and the market remains in a narrow range, the options lose value and go to zero at the end of the month and you pocket your gains.

Then comes a market crash, one of those steep falls that happen once in a while, for which no one is prepared -- least of all your broker and the smooth-talking expertise-free relationship manager.

When the market crashes, the 'puts' which you have sold and which were making steady money for you shoot up and become higher in value, inflicting huge losses.

Suddenly, the friendly broker has a different tone.

You are asked to pay up or your Rs 1.25 crore stash of blue-chip shares, which are with the broker, will get sold.

You protest, but the system, created and tinkered with endlessly by the market regulator, is on the broker's side.

The broker sells your life savings.

This is a real life story of a retiree.

Here is another real-life story of an investor who is part of a business group with operations in multiple countries. He started trading in F&O in October last year and had booked a profit of Rs 65 lakh till February this year.

The broker 'advised' him to invest in the IPO of SBI Cards, which he did.

In the crash of March, he lost Rs 10.43 crore in F&O and claims to have lost another Rs 7.51 crore when the broker sold the SBI Cards shares in his account to recover mark-to-market losses.

The client claims that he did not know the broker had built up a huge position in F&O.

The broker, one of the best brand names in the business, points out that all trades were executed with the knowledge and consent of the client's authorised person.

It had sent contract notes and text messages confirming the trades and net ledger balances.

The number of people who lost money in such F&O trading is endless.

In recent years, thousands of investors have lost money in a dozen stockbroking firms that went bankrupt.

Some brokers are also said to have misappropriated client money running into thousands of crores.

Remember, stockbroking, like every aspect of the securities market, has been extremely closely regulated in the past 28 years after the Securities and Exchange Board of India came into existence.

Brokers have to pass exams, put in place six policies including the code of conduct, and are subjected to regular audit and inspection by the exchanges.

And yet, dealing with stockbrokers can mean malfeasance, horrible advice, bad faith, incompetence, and outright fraud.

What is going wrong?

The problem is with the broking model and what brokers are allowed to do.

Sebi has slowly plugged issues such as misuse of power of attorney, buying and selling on clients' accounts without their knowledge, and misusing client money and securities. It did this with new rules, disclosure, and compliance requirements.

In a similar vein, now that brokers have been found helping themselves to clients' securities for margin trading, Sebi wants to fix the problem with a cumbersome system of pledge and re-pledge of securities.

Introducing new rules quickly shut up those who ask, 'What is Sebi doing?' But this is mere patchwork on a broken model.

Sebi needs to go back to the basics and question the role and function of a stockbroker, and which needs of investors they are fulfilling.

R H Patil, pioneer of modern stock exchanges in India and an original thinker, always felt we did not need stockbrokers at all.

Interestingly, Sebi has maintained that investors don't need brokers to buy mutual funds, which are another risk asset.

I am not suggesting that we do away with stockbrokers, but Sebi must start thinking of fundamentally redesigning the role of stockbrokers so that they can do no harm.

Here is what we need to debate. Until Sebi was set up, stockbrokers were the only market intermediaries and they performed multiple functions.

Then specialised intermediaries were licensed, such as portfolio managers, depositories, custodians, investment advisors, and research analysts; each is covered by specific Sebi regulations.

So, there is no reason to allow brokers to perform any of these functions any more. Advisors and research analysts can offer stock advice; banks, depositories, and custodians can handle transacted assets; and portfolio managers can manage investment.

Stockbrokers can be limited to executing trades -- like a toll operator.

Investors suffer because brokers continue to don the hats of advisor, custodian, and portfolio manager, doing each of these badly.

Interestingly, some new-age brokers have a business model like a toll operator and, not surprisingly, are yet to be accused of malfeasance or acting in bad faith.

This should obviously be the standard model if Sebi wants to make the market safer.

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com
The 30-year-old corpse of a homeless man who was believed to have been stabbed to death was found rotting in the basement of a 35m mansion in Paris that is being restored was discovered and haltered the mansion's restoration.

Snuggled in the well-off neighborhood of Faubourg Saint-Germain, residence to French nobility for hundreds of years and was once resided by play write and poet Francois Coopee, since the 1980s the deserted complex has been left empty.

The mansion was sold in January in a bidding that lasted for 15 minutes.

Investment banker Jean-Bernard Lafonta bought the mansion for 35.1m (29.9m), which was nearly six times the reserve.

On February 26, a cadaver underneath rubbers and planks were discovered by technicians who were dispatched to secure the 17,000-square-foot crumbling building, as reported by Le Monde.

According to Mirror, Sabin Lebreton, local group head committed to conserving the mansion, told Le Parisien that everyone was shattered to know that the corpse has been in the mansion, without any one of them knowing.

Ms. Lebreton then told the newspaper that just before the lockdown in February, the works on the building were being handled well and the renovation of the mansion was moving smoothly, adding that rubble trucks were leaving the site every day, then suddenly, everything has stopped.

After broken bones and knife wound evidence were discovered on the body, a murder investigation was launched.

Read also: New York Teen Stabbed, Set on Fire Inside Apartment, Suspect Still At-Large

Identity papers enabled the authority to reveal the identity of the victim, then it came out that it was Jean-Pierre Renaud, a drunken vagrant, and according to the forensics team Mr. Renaud died around 30 years ago. The detectives of the murder feared it sounds impossible for them to identify who the killer was since the body was left with broken bones and knife wounds.

A police source told Le Monde that Mr. Renaud was homeless with a drinking problem, and added that they could imagine a fight with a person living at the edges of society. But it was still unclear if the victim died in the mansion or his body was brought there after being killed. The police source articulated they might be a possibility for them not to find out who was responsible for the death of Mr. Renaud.

The source uttered that it is possible that the murderer is already dead, Daily Mail reported.

Renaud's closest living relatives have been informed of his death, as confirmed by the police.

Jean-Bernard Lafonta, formerly of the Lazard Bank, BNP Paribas, and Wendel Investissement, refused to comment on the discovery of a 30-year-old dead body on his newly owned property.

Restoration of the mansion, which is a few minute-ride from the official residence of the prime minister, is expected to carry on after the summer.

The mansion was placed on the market by its Dutch owners at the beginning of the year, billing it as the last truly pronounced property in the capital's most sought-after hood.

According to Le Parisien, the 17,000-square-foot property is being developed into offices of an international company.



Related article: Murder of a Florida Mother Witnessed During Daughter's Zoom Class

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An Oxford professor says he has never seen a disease like Covid-19 for seeking out the elderly to kill.

Professor Carl Heneghan told the Dail coronavirus committee that 62pc of deaths in Ireland were linked to care homes for older people, but he thought the authorities here had still not absorbed that fact and its implications.

Ive never seen a disease like it, he told TDs, adding that among the 46,000 deaths in Britain, only 400 had been in the under-50s who did not have a co-morbidity (underlying health condition).

Read More

Irelands average age of 36.5 compared to 40.5 in the UK would point to a lower fatality risk he said, but the pathogen was now in every part of the world, and to eradicate it was not possible as matters stand.

Only two diseases had been totally eradicated across the planet, smallpox and rinderpest, and in both cases there was a vaccine, no animal host for the disease, and the global will to succeed, he said.

Ireland had been compared to New Zealand in terms of becoming a Covid-free island, but population density here is four times greater, while New Zealands nearest neighbour (Australia) is over a thousand kilometres away.

Professor Heneghan said: Any comparison with New Zealand is unhelpful. Not only are they locking down, but they are locking out.

Professor Anthony Staines of the School of Nursing in DCU agreed that the area where the most mistakes had been made were in relation to nursing homes.

He said he was on the board of St Michaels House and within hours of Covid-19 being recognised as a threat in Europe, they had met to plan a response and prevent viral penetration of their homes.

Im ashamed to say that it never occurred to me to think about nursing homes until many deaths had happened there, he said. No-one had anticipated that this virus would prove so lethal to older people as it did.

He said it was very difficult to live with the virus, as was now the Governments strategy until such time as a vaccine became available, which would be next June at the very earliest.

But living with Covid, where there would be levels of 20 to 30 cases a day, also meant there would be periodic flare-ups.

Low-level circulation of this virus is like a fire in a wall of your house. It is likely to spread unpredictably, he said. Bringing it down to zero would an intensification of the measures now being taken.

There was currently a national epidemic, but it was about restricting it to a series of small outbreaks, if possible, and then squeezing those hard.

Patricia Kearney, professor of epidemiology at UCC, said the price of this was to ensure no non-essential travel into affected areas.

Prof Staines said there was mounting evidence of long-term side effects even for people who had recovered from the virus.

He added: If things do not go well, we could be waiting quite a long time for a vaccine. And he said having travel monitoring police at borders and boundaries was not really practical either.

Professor Susan Michie, a member of the UK Governments SAGE advisory group, said Test, Trace and Isolate was key, but public behavioural aspects had to be addressed to make it effective.

The experience we have is that when its explained to people what measures are needed, then they will go with it.

Its not just telling people what to do, but explaining the rationale. And it is very important to tailor strategies to young people and especially young men.

You have to do this in partnership with communities, and not impose it on a top-down basis.
A missing 18-year-old man has been found safe in Lincoln Park.

Last week his aunt got the word out through social media that her nephew, Wyatt, fled while being transported Aug. 7 to an in-patient psychiatric hospital. She said he jumped out of a moving EMS van upon leaving Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital.

His aunt, who asked not to be named, considered Wyatt to be be endangered, since he was believed to be a possible suicide risk.

She said he was found Wednesday in the parking lot at Dunkin (formerly known as Dunkin Donuts), 4005 Dix Highway.

He was wearing a Halloween costume, she said.

She took part in a Zoom court hearing on Wednesday. The judge signed an order, which she presented to Lincoln Park police.

His aunt said officers took him back to Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital, where he underwent an evaluation and was later released.
President Donald Trump will not support a coronavirus relief deal that includes "voting rights" provisions backed by Democrats, White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow said Thursday.

"So much of the Democratic asks are really liberal, left wish lists  voting rights and aid to aliens and so forth," he told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" when asked about the administration's stalled aid talks with Democratic leaders.

"That's not our game, and the president can't accept that kind of deal," the director of the National Economic Council continued. "So, we'll wait and see on the negotiations. Treasury Secretary [Steven] Mnuchin is working on that, but so far it's a stalemate."

It is unclear what provisions related to voting rights, a keystone of American democracy, Kudlow believes are a priority only for Democrats. A White House spokesman did not immediately identify the specific voting plans Kudlow was criticizing.

His comments fueled growing fears that Trump will stifle efforts to make it easier for Americans to vote on his reelection during the coronavirus pandemic. The president has fought attempts to inject $25 billion into a cash-crunched U.S. Postal Service to ensure smooth mail-in voting during a year when casting ballots in person is hazardous due to the virus.

Trump has also opposed Democratic plans to give states $3.6 billion to promote election security and mail-in voting during the once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. A Republican pandemic aid bill unveiled late last month did not include additional money for elections beyond the $400 million in emergency funds approved earlier this year.

The president has repeatedly made unfounded claims that mail-in ballots are not secure and ripe for fraud. He suggested Thursday morning that he opposes USPS funding because the money would promote voting by mail.

"Now they need that money in order to make the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots," Trump told Fox Business Network. "But if they don't get those two items, that means you can't have universal mail-in voting, because they're not equipped to have it."

The president has voted by mail in Florida. He also recently promoted the use of mail-in ballots in that swing state specifically.

Democrats have also warned that changes made at USPS following the appointment of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a Trump ally and donor, will jeopardize the timely and accurate counting of mail-in ballots.

Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wisc., swiftly criticized Kudlow's comments in a tweet Thursday.

"We knew the GOP opposed voting rights, but this is unmistakable," he wrote.

Mark Pocan tweet

On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters that Trump's resistance to voting by mail threatens to undermine "the health of our democracy." She added that election funds Democrats have proposed would also go toward making sure states can set up sufficient physical polling locations, open them long enough and create enough space at the sites to ensure safe voting.

"You shouldn't have to choose between your health and the ability to cast your vote," she said.

Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.
Lebanon's judiciary will question several ministers, a judicial official said Wednesday, over a massive chemical blast at a Beirut port warehouse that ravaged the capital.

Survivors and volunteers were still sweeping pulverised glass off rubble-strewn streets a week after a large depot of industrial chemicals blew up at Beirut's port, a blast President Michel Aoun estimated had caused more than $15 billion-worth of damage.

The official death toll rose to 171, while 6,500 were injured and 300,000 left temporarily homeless in the country's worst peacetime disaster.

Top diplomats streamed into Lebanon to show solidarity and urge reforms to curb the corruption blamed for allowing a vast stock of ammonium nitrate, a compound often used in homemade bombs, to rot for years at the port despite repeated warnings.

An AFP investigation found that up until the day before the deadly blast, officials had exchanged warnings over the cargo, but did nothing despite experts' fears it could cause a massive conflagration.

A judicial official said Wednesday that the prosecution would question several ministers and former ministers over the disaster.

Meanwhile, at Beirut's main fire station, a stone's throw from the charred and ruined port, firefighters held an emotional funeral for one of 10 comrades they lost in the catastrophe.

"May God be with you, our hero," firefighters cried as they saw off the coffin of their lost friend Jo Noun during their fourth such ceremony since the August 4 disaster.

Ten firefighters are confirmed to have died, and six more are still among the missing, including three members of the same family.

Rina Hitti, the mother of one and related to the two others, said: "In one piece or several, we want our sons back."

Direct aid

Emergency crews on Wednesday were still searching the dusty "ground zero" where the explosion pulverised buildings and left a water-logged 43-metre-deep crater where a quay and warehouses once stood.

Story continues

The human error that sparked devastation worthy of a major earthquake has sparked public rage, matched only by the speed at which officials are seen to be passing the buck.

Around 100 of the wounded were recently still listed in critical condition and it was feared the death toll could yet rise as Beirut's hospitals treat the casualties.

More than half of 55 healthcare facilities evaluated by the World Health Organization were "non-functional," the agency said Wednesday, adding that three major hospitals were out of operation and another three running at well below normal capacity, he said.

Among those killed was a diplomat from Germany, whose Foreign Minister Heiko Maas arrived in Lebanon Wednesday for a short visit of support.

In a social media message, he stressed the need for "profound economic reform".

He also announced a one million-euro donation directly to the Lebanese Red Cross, in line with a pledge that emergency aid should bypass a government that has lost its people's trust.

Jockeying

Angry protesters demonstrated for a third night running Tuesday to demand the wholesale ouster of a ruling political elite they see as directly responsible for the port tragedy.

Mock gallows and nooses have become the symbols of the new wave of protests, which have rekindled a revolutionary street movement that had lost steam in recent months amid economic hardship and the coronavirus pandemic.

Under intense domestic and foreign pressure, Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced his government's resignation on Monday.

Many have bitterly dismissed his efforts to cast himself as a champion of the fight against corruption, labelling him instead as a puppet of the long-standing political elite.

Some saw the government's departure as a victory and a sign that continued pressure could finally force change in a country ruled by the same cartel of former warlords and their relatives since the 1975-1990 civil war.

Others feared that the resignation could herald the return of old faces such as former prime minister Saad Hariri.

According to the Al-Akhbar newspaper, Nawaf Salam, a former judge at the International Court of Justice, is favoured by some of Lebanon's top foreign partners, including France.

However, the paper said, Salam is not an acceptable choice for powerful Iranian-backed Shiite movement Hezbollah.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday warned Tehran against interfering in Lebanon, urging his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani "to avoid any outside interference and to support the putting in place of a government which can manage the emergency," the Elysee said.

Meanwhile, a return of Hariri, who resigned under pressure from the street late last year, could spark even more outrage among a protest camp re-invigorated by the disaster.

Parliament was due to convene on Thursday to approve a state of emergency, which would give security forces heightened powers to curb the street demonstrations.

(AFP)
Everything you need to know about skiing the Northeast this winter

Whether you want to stay close to home or head north, here's everything you need to know about skiing or snowboarding in the Northeast and New York this season.
E ducation leaders have called for the Government to launch an urgent review into the "flawed" moderation process for A-level results, after nearly two in five students had results downgraded.

David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges (AoC), told Education Secretary Gavin Williamson that a number of colleges have seen more than 50 per cent of their grades lowered.

He said in a letter: We are deeply concerned that the adjustment process may have disadvantaged larger centres such as colleges and those with historically strong value-added data.

Colleges with large cohorts and very stable and predictable results over time are seeing their lowest grade profile ever, particularly at the higher grades, A to C.

Students have picked up their A-level results this morning / PA

The letter, which is also addressed to exams regulator Ofqual, added: A technical review now could examine that and would avert hundreds of colleges from having to make individual appeals. It would show that you are being transparent and taking the concerns seriously.

It went on: We cannot stand by when the evidence suggests that many thousands of students may have missed out on their grades because of a systemic bias.

The Sixth Form Colleges Association (SFCA) also said principals have found huge variations between the A-level exam grades predicted by teachers and the actual grades awarded.

Bill Watkin, chief executive of the SFCA, said the Governments model for calculating this years grades was flawed and unreliable.

Students getting A-level results on Thursday / PA

He said: A fundamental objective of the process was to ensure year-on-year comparability in exam results  the very clear evidence from our members is that the standardisation model has utterly failed to achieve this.

A snap poll of 100 SFCA members suggests more than a third of principals saw their overall exam results drop below their historic performance.

Mr Watkin added: The only way the Government can rescue this situation, and ensure that thousands of students are not disadvantaged, is to base results entirely on centre-assessed grades  the predictions made by teachers.

This is the only alternative to what has proved to be a failed experiment by the Government to develop a fair process of standardisation.

Social distancing was in force as students received their results this morning / PA

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders union NAHT, said he was concerned about results which have been lowered by two grades or more.

Figures from Ofqual show that 3.3 per cent of entries in England were brought down by two grades and 0.2% came down by three grades after moderation.

He said: Schools used a wide range of evidence to submit grades for their students and we would question how a change this significant could be fair to those students. It is vital that these students get the results that they deserve and not the results which fit a school or colleges past-performance profile.

The comments came as Labour slammed the Government for the "injustice" suffered by A-level students in England.

Shadow Education Secretary Kate Green urged ministers to "act urgently" to correct results. It is a huge injustice that pupils will see their results downgraded just because of their postcode, she said.

Ministers must act urgently to correct the injustice faced by so many young people today. Students must be able to lodge their own appeals if they havent got the grade they deserved and admissions teams must be forced to be more flexible. No student should see their dreams slip away because of this Governments inaction.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer added that something had "horribly wrong" with A-level results.

He said in a tweet: Something has obviously gone horribly wrong with this years exam results. Nearly 40% of young people have had their grades marked down and thats thousands of young people whose opportunities could have been dashed.

Parents, teachers and young people are rightly upset, frustrated and angry about this injustice. The system has fundamentally failed them.

The Government needs to urgently rethink. We need to guarantee the right to individual appeals, the fee for appeals waived and nothing to be ruled out, including the U-turn that was forced on the Scottish Government last week.

Teachers were told to submit the grades they thought each student would have received if they had sat the papers, alongside a ranked order of their students, after exams were cancelled amid the pandemic.

Exam boards moderated these grades to ensure this years results were not significantly higher than previously - taking into account both their school's performance and their own - and the value of students grades were not undermined.

About 280,000 grades predicted by teachers were adjusted down after moderation.

The Government announced late on Tuesday that students in England will have the safety net of being able to use mock exam results as the basis for an appeal if they are higher than the calculated grade.

But the Government's late intervention meant that Ofqual was not in a position today to tell students whether or not they will be able to appeal their grades on Thursday.

Mr Williamson told Sky: The reason Ofqual hadnt got it ready for today is because its obviously a decision that was made sort of later on in the process, and that they are working to make sure that information is shared with schools and colleges over the next few days.

Some students have complained of missing out on university courses after their results were downgraded.

A student receiving her results on Thursday morning / PA

Ellie French, Basildon, said exam boards of playing around with peoples futures after she was rejected from her chosen university course because her downgraded results meant she did not meet her offer.

The 18-year-old had been hoping to study history at Nottingham, but her C in history, despite A-grades in English and politics, means she was turned down and will now go through clearing.

She said she was expecting an A at least in history and added: In all of my mocks Ive ever done, Ive never got lower than a B. Ive never ever got a C, Im always As and Bs.

My school sent me my results and they also put the teacher assessed and final mock grade on it as well as our final grade, and for me history read: Final mock grade: A; teacher assessment: A; final grade: C.

Labour Shadow Education Secretary Kate Green / PA

In England, a total of 35.6 per cent of grades were adjusted down by one grade, 3.3 per cent were brought down by two grades and 0.2 per cent came down by three grades, figures from Ofqual show.

But overall, the proportion of entries in England, Wales and Northern Ireland awarded the top A* grade this year has surged to 9 per cent  the highest proportion since the top grade was first introduced in 2010.

In total, 27.9 per cent of entries were awarded an A or A* grade this summer, which is up by 2.4 percentage points on last year when 25.5 per cent achieved the top grades.

The figures, published by the Joint Council for Qualifications, cover A-level entries from students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland where around 300,000 students are receiving their results.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson / REUTERS

Mr Williamson said England will not follow Scotland's example in reverting downgraded exam results to predicted grades.

He told Sky: Absolutely, when weve consulted widely, when Ofqual consulted widely (on) the whole system of awarding, this is the message that we got from everyone  this is the right approach to go forward.

Youve got to have a system that has checks and balances, that looks at the whole performance and making sure you maintain standards within the exam system, to ensure those results carry credibility.

With additional reporting by PA
Israel has agreed under the accord to suspend the planned annexation of areas of the occupied West Bank

Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi congratulated Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, by phone on Thursday on the historic peace move undertaken by the UAE to normalise relations with Israel.

"Such a historic peace move will advance peace process efforts and open horizons for stability in the Middle East," El-Sisi said, according to an official statement.

The UAE and Israel said on Thursday that they had agreed to normalise diplomatic ties and forge a new relationship.

Under the accord, Israel has agreed to suspend the planned annexation of areas of the occupied West Bank.

US President Donald Trump announced the deal, having helped to broker it.

In his statement, El-Sisi also praised the Israeli decision not to annex occupied Palestinian territories.

The Egyptian statement said that Sheikh Mohammed had expressed the Emirati government and people's sincere gratitude for El-Sisi's gesture, Egypt's continuous support for achieving security and stability in the region, and also Egypts pioneering efforts and historical contributions in bringing peace to the Middle East.

Egypt supports a two-state solution with a Palestinian state whose capital is East Jerusalem and which is based on the 1967 borders, according to the UN Security Council resolutions.

Cairo has repeatedly expressed its rejection of Israels plan to annex the West Bank and called for the revival of the peace process.

Earlier on Thursday, El-Sisi had hailed the agreement between the UAE and Israel on his social media accounts, saying the accord would "bring peace to the Middle East."

I followed with great interest and appreciation the tripartite joint statement between the United States, the fraternal United Arab Emirates, and Israel, regarding the agreement to suspend the annexation of Palestinian territories and to take steps that would bring peace to the Middle East," El-Sisi wrote on his official accounts.

I also appreciate the efforts to achieve prosperity and stability for our region by those in charge of this agreement," the president added.

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Mounting evidence suggests the vast majority of COVID-19 cases may be spread by as little as 10 per cent or fewer of those infected.

Analysis of contact-tracing data in Hong Kong linked 80 per cent of the city's infections back to just 20 per cent of those infected. A similar study using genomic data in Israel found between 1 per cent and 10 per cent of infected individuals were responsible for 80 per cent of the spread of the virus.

Catherine Bennett, chair of epidemiology at Deakin University. Credit:Jason South

If that bears out across all countries, that marks COVID-19 out as unique from other viruses, such as the flu, which tend to spread evenly.

It also means the much-watched "R number"  the reproduction number, which represents how many people each sick person passes the virus on to on average  is a less effective measure of the epidemic, as a small group of people are doing a disproportionate amount of spreading.
Japan and Singapore agreed Thursday to ease travel restrictions implemented in response to the coronavirus pandemic from September, targeting businesspeople and expatriates, on condition they take measures to prevent infections.

"We will just need to confirm small details before the resumption of reciprocal visits," Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters online after reaching the agreement with his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan at their meeting in the Southeast Asian country.

Travelers to Singapore to be electronically tagged for 14 days

FOCUS: Singapore politics changing as voters warm to opposition

They also discussed tensions surrounding Hong Kong. "Japan is deepening its grave concern about the recent situation in Hong Kong," said Motegi, citing the arrests this week of pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow, media boss Jimmy Lai and eight others under a new national security law.

The arrests and Hong Kong's deploying of police officers to search the head office of Lai's The Apple Daily "raise doubts over the freedom of speech and the press in Hong Kong," he said while adding that Japan has conveyed its concerns to China.

Japan, which currently bans the entry of all foreign nationals from 146 designated countries and regions in principle, said in late July it will newly enter into discussions with 12 Asian economies, including Singapore, on ways to resume travel.

In a separate move, Japan has already been in talks with Vietnam, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand.

In June, on a trial basis, the Japanese government flew chartered aircraft to take businesspeople to Vietnam.

The agreement between Japan and Singapore will cover short-term business travelers as well as expatriates and other long-term residents, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

The eligible business travelers will be exempt from a 14-day self-quarantine period after arriving in Japan, or Singapore provided they submit an itinerary of their stay, limit their travel to between where they are staying and the workplace, do not use public transportation and avoid contact with random people or crowds, the ministry said.

Expatriates and other long-term residents, meanwhile, will have to stay at home or a designated location for 14 days after arrival.

Travelers entering Japan under both categories will be required to report their health condition to authorities via the Line messaging app for 14 days after arrival, install a COVID-19 contact tracing app designated by the health ministry and also agree to retain GPS data for two weeks.

The two ministers, in their first in-person meeting since November, also exchanged views on China's maritime assertiveness in the South and East China seas, as well as on North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Motegi said he "expressed concern about attempts at unilateral change of status quo" in the waters.

Balakrishnan stressed the importance of freedom of navigation, according to Motegi.

They also agreed to strengthen coordination in responding to the pandemic, including developing and ensuring fair access to vaccines, the Japanese ministry said.

Motegi separately met with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. They agreed to coordinate closely in addressing regional issues, including on the South China Sea and North Korea, the ministry said.

On Friday, the Japanese minister will travel to Malaysia for talks with Mohamed Azmin Ali, the country's minister of international trade and industry, and Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein. After returning to Japan, Motegi will then visit Papua New Guinea, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar from Aug. 20 to 25.

Motegi visited Britain for four days last week, becoming the first member of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet to travel overseas since the coronavirus was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March.

Related coverage:

Japan's coronavirus entry ban disrupting lives of foreign residents

Int'l school teachers in Japan exempted from COVID-19 entry ban
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"Sur La Table is a beloved brand which stands for quality. It complements our strong Home and Culinary portfolio. Its storied legacy along with its multi-channel platform featuring experiential brick and mortar stores, a thriving e-commerce business, and unparalleled education offerings presented an incredibly compelling opportunity. We believe a revitalized Sur La Table will thrive in a post-Covid-19 retail environment," said Carolyn D'Angelo, President of the Home Division at Marquee Brands.

This marks the 12th brand in Marquee's portfolio increasing its reach to nearly $3 billion in annual retail equivalent sales. Marquee Brands is owned by investor funds managed by Neuberger Berman.

Sur La Table was founded in 1972 and quickly became a preeminent brand and curator of the finest culinary products and tools to professional and home chefs alike. In addition to serving as a critical retailer to global brands in the sector, Sur La Table is also the largest provider of non-degree cooking schools in the United States with over 650,000 students growing at 19% per year serving as a pioneer in experiential retail and unprecedented customer loyalty.

Marquee Brands has tapped CSC Generation for a long-term partnership in developing innovative products and for their operational expertise in the home sector across retail stores and data driven ecommerce solutions. CSC Generation was founded in 2016 as a joint venture between Justin Yoshimura and Altos Ventures & Panasonic and has been a key player in the continuity of several historic brands. "Sur La Table is a rare gem in its class and one we have been watching for some time. It's an honor to be part of its future and we couldn't be more excited about working with Marquee Brands as a true leader in brand building and growth," said Justin Yoshimura, Founder & CEO of CSC Generation.

Marquee Brands was founded in 2014 and has quickly become renown for responsible brand stewardship coupled with an inventive approach to brand building and digital innovation. "We are selective and careful to only add brands to our portfolio that serve a real purpose, bring joy into the lives of our customers, and help them celebrate life's special moments. In partnering with industry leaders like CSC Generation, Sur La Table will offer customers a seamless omnichannel shopping experience guided by knowledgeable staff, technology, and one-of-a-kind offerings. We've strived to lead the charge in developing innovative, intuitive customer centered shopping experiences to further engage and inspire. With this acquisition, and CSC as a partner, we continue our journey in pushing the boundaries of retail," said Michael DeVirgilio, President of Marquee Brands.

Marquee Brands was advised by Jim Langdon and Mike Miller of Moore & Van Allen.

About Marquee Brands

Marquee Brands is a leading global brand owner, marketer and media company. Owned by investor funds managed by Neuberger Berman, one of the world's leading employee-owned investment managers, Marquee Brands targets high quality brands with strong consumer awareness and long-term growth potential. Marquee Brands seeks to identify brands in various consumer product segments with the goal of expanding their reach across retail channel, geography and product category while preserving the brand heritage and enhancing the ultimate consumer experience. Through its global team of professionals and partners, Marquee Brands monitors trends and markets in order to grow and manage brands in partnership with retailers, licensees and manufacturers through engaging, impactful strategic planning, marketing, and ecommerce. www.marqueebrands.com

About Neuberger Berman

Neuberger Berman, founded in 1939, is a private, independent, employee-owned investment manager. The firm manages a range of strategiesincluding equity, fixed income, quantitative and multi-asset class, private equity, real estate and hedge fundson behalf of institutions, advisors and individual investors globally. With offices in 24 countries, Neuberger Berman's diverse team has 2,300 professionals. For six consecutive years, the company has been named first or second in Pensions & Investments Best Places to Work in Money Management survey (among those with 1,000 employees or more). The firm was awarded an A+ in every category in the latest 2019 PRI report for our approach to ESG integration across asset classes. The firm manages $357 billion in client assets as of June 30, 2020. For more information, please visit our website at www.nb.com.

About CSC

CSC Generation Holdings is a technology start-up that enables brands to become "digitally native." Over the next decade, CSC Generation's goal is to reach $10B in revenues by helping retailers survive. CSC Generation is founded by Justin Yoshimura and backed by world class investors including Altos Ventures and Panasonic.

SOURCE Marquee Brands
We are thrilled to have Melissa join us, said Cheri Amaro, COO of The Liberty Company. Melissas strategic-thinking approach and excellent people skills make her an ideal fit for this role. I am confident she will enhance our onboarding process to ensure a seamless transition and, more importantly, reinforce our culture of collaboration, engagement, and truly enjoying what we do.

McMinimy will join the Liberty White team in the companys Houston office. He specializes in construction risks, which the company said would be a valuable addition to the office, which already has a strong presence in trucking and oil and gas.

Davids knowledge and contacts within the Texas construction industry will only strengthen our existing capabilities, and we are truly excited to have David join our team, said Gary Burke, managing partner of Liberty White.
Slate's Who Counts? series is made possible by the support of Slate Plus members and readers like you.

Although this years Democratic National Convention will be a largely virtual affair due to the pandemic, a downsized contingent of participants will still convene in Milwaukee, Wisconsina key swing state that helped clinch Donald Trumps victory in 2016. Milwaukee was originally chosen to host the DNC in part to signal that Democrats understand the importance of the state (Hillary Clinton famously never campaigned in Wisconsin, a fact political strategists and commentators held up to explain why she lost the state by fewer than 23,000 votes). But Democrats do not just need to build enthusiasm for Joe Biden in Wisconsin. They also need to make sure that Biden supporters can actually vote, and that their votes are counted. In 2020, this task is easier said than done.

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Voting may be messy in every swing state this fall, but Wisconsin makes Democrats especially nervous. After all, its April election was a disaster: Officials failed to send out absentee ballots on time, and a severe shortage of poll workers forced residents to wait in line for hours during a pandemic to vote in person. Over the past decade, state Republicans have implemented a series of voter suppression laws that targeted mostly Black and low-income residents, who have also been hit hard by the pandemic. These hurdles are daunting and unfair. But they are not insurmountable. For one thing, state officials have learned a great deal from Aprils pandemonium and are already far better prepared for November.

To understand how Wisconsins November election could work, you have to know how its April election went so horribly wrong. As the coronavirus spread across Wisconsin, hundreds of thousands of voters suddenly realized they would prefer to vote by mail rather than congregate at polls where they could become infected. These individuals flooded their municipal clerks offices with absentee ballot requests shortly before the election. Some clerks were too overwhelmed to send out ballots in time, forcing voters to go to the polls. But thousands of the states poll workerswho are disproportionately older and more vulnerable to COVID-19quit for fear of infection. Cities responded by consolidating the polls; Milwaukee, for instance, reduced its polling places from 182 to five. As a result, voters had to wait for hours outside crowded, understaffed polls. Many Wisconsinites appear to have contracted the virus as a result of in-person voting.

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Ann Jacobs, a Democratic member of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, watched with horror as this catastrophe unfolded. (In June, she was elected chair of the commission, which administers and enforces state election law.) Jacobs and her colleagues immediately sought to avoid a repeat in the fall.

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First, the bipartisan commission has decided to send an absentee ballot application to every voter by Sept. 1, so Wisconsinites can request their ballots long before the eve of the election. They need no excuse to vote absentee. Second, the commission streamlined the system for processing and tracking these ballots: Instead of sending requests to one of 1,850 municipal clerks, voters can now direct them to the commission. Third, the ballots will have bar codes so voters can track their progress through the mail online. As always, voters can also drop off absentee ballots at the local clerks office. And these clerks have the option of setting up a drop box where voters can deposit completed absentee ballots.

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There is a catch. In June, a federal appeals court upheld most of Republicans restrictions on ballot access, including a stringent voter ID requirement. Anyone requesting an absentee ballot for the first time will have to provide a copy of an acceptable ID. (State or federal employee IDs dont qualify, nor do out-of-state driver licenses.) And everyone who votes absentee must procure a witness to watch them fill out the ballot, then sign the envelope. The Republican-controlled Legislature has refused to relax this witness requirement in light of the pandemic. But the commission has confirmed that a witness can watch through a closed window or over video chat to reduce risk of exposure.

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The federal appeals court upheld another contentious constraint on voting: It approved a Republican measure that slashed in-person early voting to just two weeks, down from six in some urban areas. The timing of this cut could not be worse, since longer early voting reduces the odds that any one poll will become an overcrowded COVID-19 hot spot. Milwaukee intends to set up 16 early voting sites around the city to forestall such congestion. Anybody who votes in person will have to bring their ID, and poll workers can ask that they remove their masks for identification purposes. Voters who obtain their ballot through the mail can drop them off at an early voting site. If the state faces another shortage of poll workers, Gov. Tony Evers may order members of the states National Guard to staff polling places.

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There is another menace lurking in the background of Wisconsins coming election: A Republican law firm has urged the court to purge 129,000 people from the voter rolls. It claims, falsely, that state law requires the immediate purge of any voter flagged by an error-prone program designed to identify residents who may have moved. But the court will not hear arguments in the case until 34 days before Election Day. As one notoriously fringe-right justice has noted, this schedule effectively guarantees that the court wont issue a decision before Nov. 3, keeping those 129,000 on the rolls at least through the election.

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But there is still one issue that looms large: the counting of absentee ballots. Like every other swing state except North Carolina, Wisconsin bars election officials from even opening these ballots until Election Day. If the state counts Election Day votes first, then turns to absentee ballots, it will create a blue shift: The returns on election night may give Trump a lead that slowly disappears. A Marquette University Law School poll released on Tuesday showed that Wisconsin Democrats are 3.5 times more likely than Republicans to vote by mail. The poll gave Trump an Election Day lead of 6726, yet showed Biden winning the state by five points. Trumps assault on mail-in voting seems to be polarizing voters, guaranteeing a major blue shift if absentee ballots are counted after Election Day votes. The president could seize upon this shift to reject the legitimacy of the results if he loses.

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But Wisconsins cities have a plan to ensure that absentee votes dont trickle in for hours, days, and weeks after Election Day this time. Some cities, including Milwaukee, will transfer absentee ballots received before Nov. 3 to a central count location where they will be counted continuously throughout Election Day, starting at 7 a.m. (Milwaukee has already procured a warehouse for this purpose.) On Election Day itself, clerks will also send out absentee response teams to drive between polling places and help count absentee ballots that werent sent to a central count location. Madison successfully tested this strategy during Wisconsins primary on Tuesday. Finally, when cities begin to release results, they will be obligated to note how many absentee ballots have not yet been counted. If everything goes right, then, Wisconsin should avoid the kind of massive blue shift that gives Trump room for chicanery.

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Everything, of course, will not go right. There are hitches and hiccups in every election; more than 23,000 absentee ballots were thrown out in April, and roughly 17,000 voters were disenfranchised by Wisconsins voter ID law in 2017. But Wisconsin is now well positioned to handle a surge in absentee ballots. Plus, the state allows voters to register at the polls on Election Day, so anyone who cant navigate the absentee process has a fallback option.

It is still too hard to vote in Wisconsin. No one should have to jump through so many hoops to exercise a constitutional right. And Democrats should hammer on that fact as they convene in Wisconsin. As Jacobs told me, There have been a lot of improvementsand I still worry.

For more of Slates political coverage, subscribe to the Political Gabfest on Apple Podcasts or listen below.

Correction, Aug. 14, 2020: Due to a photo provider error, the caption on this photo misstated where voters were waiting to cast their ballots. It was outside Washington High School, not Riverside University High School.
ICAA COVID-19 Senior Living Task Force Report: Creating a path towards the next normal in senior living Leaders, funders, investors, residents and families are looking to the future: what will life in a senior living community look like next year, or in three years, or in ten?

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, International Council on Active Aging (ICAA) brought together 154 thought leadersproviders of housing and services for older adultsto create strategies and tactics to help all segments of the senior living industry emerge from being locked down.

Developed by members of the ICAA COVID-19 Senior Living Task Force, the strategies and tactics are collected in the white paper, Creating a path towards the next normal in senior living.

The leadership and staff in all types of senior living communitiesactive adult, independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing, and memory careimmediately took action to protect the health of their residents when the pandemic appeared, and sprang into action to deliver meals, meaningful activities and programs to keep everyone connected to family and friends, said task force organizer Colin Milner, CEO of International Council on Active Aging. Yet, we realized that the future for older adults and senior living organizations depends on keeping residents safe today, while envisioning tomorrows safe home, services and lifestyle amenities.

The ICAA COVID-19 Senior Living Task Force members were especially concerned that the general public has not been educated on the distinct differences among types of senior living options (active adult, independent living, assisted living) and may believe all of them are nursing homes. In response, the task force members determined that strategies to update the value proposition of the many communities composing the senior living industry aligned with actions to develop a culture of positive aging, which promotes the health and well-being of older adults.

The strategies and tactics developed by members of the task force are intended to trigger actions that individual organizations can take. Underneath each strategy there are tactics and tasks that reflect what organizations can do today, and what they could do to prepare for the midterm and longterm lifestyles necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Download Creating a path towards the next normal in senior living at https://www.icaa.cc//listing.php?type=white_papers

The six strategies can apply to many types of organizations:

1. Design, re-design and/or renovate exteriors and interiors of buildings.

The value of transitioning indoor and outdoor spaces to enable physical distancing and innovative service delivery is suggested, along with identification of infrastructure and renovations that combine healthy approaches with preparation for potential emergencies.

2. Develop purpose-driven, caring, passionate staff.

Because staff members are valuable contributors to the workplace culture and the lives of older adults, there is a collection of options for organizational structures, professional growth and recognition.

3. Provide technology to increase connections, aid efficiency and optimize health.

The pandemic caused an immediate, wholehearted shift to delivering messages, programs and health care through in-house portals, telehealth, and internet services. Ideas for implementation assume that will likely be a future need.

4. Develop the culture of positive aging, framed by all the dimensions of wellness.

Approaches to counteract stereotypical attitudes toward older adults and reset organizational priorities are offered, based in a philosophy of helping residents be as independent as possible and engaged in the life of their communities.

5. Establish trust by being prepared to respond to emergencies and unexpected events.

One aspect of the value of senior living is the ability of organizations to be prepared to immediately respond to an emergency, and to be transparent in communicating the status of residents and staff.

6. Update perceptions to reinforce the new value proposition of each type of senior living.

Ideas for wording and stories that organizations can use to relay how the lives of residents were protected during the pandemic while services continued to be delivered, with a call to educate the public about the differences among types of properties.

The need to immediately respond to the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically affected the operations of all senior living organizations, whether active adult or life plan or urban apartment complex. Now that the first months of the pandemic are over, leaders, funders, investors, residents and families are looking to the future: what will life in a senior living community look like next year, or in three years, or in ten?

Members of the ICAA COVID-19 Senior Living Task Force believe that by combining the expertise of national societies and associations, senior living organizations and industry suppliers, the senior living model will survive and flourish in the post-COVID-19 world, thus providing the place where older adults can enthusiastically engage in life.

ICAA COVID-19 Senior Living Task Force

Purpose, Commitment, Clarity

https://www.icaa.cc/covid19response/task_force.htm

The ICAA COVID-19 Senior Living Task Force generates ideas, strategies, tactics and messaging that organizations can consider, now and in the future, when planning the next model of senior living that optimizes the health and well-being of older adults and team members, and reinvigorates the value proposition of senior living. The ICAA COVID-19 Senior Living Task Force includes representatives of for-profit, not-for-profit, and affordable housingorganizations providing active-adult and independent living, continuing care/life plan communities, assisted living, long-term care, skilled nursing and rehabilitation along with representatives from the industry associations and the suppliers that support their work.

Organizer: International Council on Active Aging (ICAA)

http://www.icaa.cc

ICAA is a professional association that leads, connects and defines the active-aging industry and supports professionals who aspire to develop wellness cultures for adults over 50. This support includes creating wellness environments, programs and services. The association is focused on active agingan approach to aging that helps older adults live life as fully as possible within all dimensions of wellnessand provides its members with education, information, resources and tools. As an active-aging educator and advocate, ICAA has advised numerous organizations and governmental bodies.
Last weeks catastrophic explosion of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate at Beirut port has drawn fresh attention to the storage of up to four times this amount at Oricas Kooragang plant in New South Wales (NSW). The facility is 800 metres from residential areas in the Newcastle suburb of Stockton and just three kilometres from the regional port citys central business district.

The disaster in Lebanon, which killed over 200 people and injured 5,000 others, shows that the potential exists for a similar catastrophe in Newcastle. Orica stores between 6,000 and 12,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate at its Kooragang facility.

Industrial explosives expert Tony Richards, a former blast operations manager for Orica and BHP, told the Newcastle Herald last week: It doesnt matter how small the risk is, the consequences are catastrophic when you are dealing with something that can turn solid iron mountains into mounds of rubble. Richards estimates 40,000 people live within the blast zone, if an explosion was to occur in Newcastle.

Orica is one of the worlds biggest manufacturers of mining and commercial explosives, and other chemical products used in mining, water treatment and other industries. Ammonium nitrate produced at Kooragang is used primarily for explosives in the coal mining industry in nearby Hunter Valley.

The highly-profitable company is allowed to operate, despite the real dangers, because its products are indispensable to local mining activities. Oricas Kooragang plant and its Botany facility south of Sydney have a dangerous history of chemical leaks and operating-licence breaches.

On August 8, 2011, up to 10 kilograms of the carcinogen hexavalent chromium leaked from the Kooragang facility, showering homes in Stockton with a toxic red and yellow substance. Nearby residents were not informed of the leak by Orica or government authorities for 54 hours.

While under investigation for the first leak, a second spill occurred on November 9, 2011, involving the release of hundreds of kilograms of ammonia. The fumes drifted into nearby suburbs resulting in two workers at a rail yard being hospitalised.

Subsequent inquiries by the NSW and the federal governments into these leaks were a whitewash. They were designed to shield Orica from community anger and politically protect Liberal and Labor state governments who allowed the company to continuously violate basic safety requirements.

The Kooragang facility breached its operating licence hundreds of times in the decade prior to the 2011 leaks, including by dumping effluent containing arsenic into the Hunter River. In September 2011, mercury vapours were released into the atmosphere at Oricas Botany facility.

In 2014, Orica, which made $602.5 million profit that year, was fined just $768,000 by the NSW Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) over the chemical spills and safety breaches in 2011 at its Kooragang and Botany sites. The fine was slightly more than the median price of a house in Sydney at the time.

Stockton residents have been raising concerns for years over Oricas toxic leaks in 2011 and called for the plant to be relocated away from populated areas and closer to the mines.

Chemical engineer and community campaigner Keith Craig, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation last week that it was a totally inappropriate place to have such a dangerous material produced and stored many people would be killed and injured if we had an accident at Orica.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison last week attempted to play down the dangers of a Beirut-like disaster in Newcastle insisting that the regulations here in Australia are very strong. These assurances, given Oricas violation of environmental policies, are worthless.

While ammonium nitrate normally becomes explosive when it comes into contact with fuel or oil, it can erupt due to shock, fire or contact with a contaminant.

Orica claims to adhere to all state and federal regulations and insists its stockpiles are adequately contained by fire proof materials and separated by designated exclusion zones.

The companys comfortable arrangements with state government authorities increase the danger of complacency towards safety regulations. This relationship is underpinned by Oricas production of explosives for coal mining amid the states dependence on royalties from the sector amounting to around $1.6 billion annually.

Orica is also not the only company storing vast quantities of ammonium nitrate in close proximity to Newcastle. In 2012, the Crawfords Freightlines trucking company was found to have been storing in excess of its limit of 2,000 tonnes at its Sandgate facility west of Newcastle, just 500 metres from homes. The inspection also revealed poor chemical and dangerous goods storage. The EPA fined Crawfords only $15,000 for the breaches.

The Beirut disaster is just the most recent deadly example of an ammonium nitrate explosion. Others include a 2015 explosion in the Chinese port of Tianjin, in which 800 tonnes of ammonium nitrate were detonated. Some 165 people died and almost 800 more were injured.

In April 2013, 15 people were killed and 200 wounded when 240 tonnes of fertiliser at a plant in West, a city in the US state of Texas, exploded. Around 80 houses and a school were destroyed.

In 2001, a fire at a fertiliser plant in Toulouse, France resulted in the explosion of up to 300 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, killing 31 people and injuring over 2,400. The blast shattered windows up to 3 kilometres away.

The deadly explosion in Beirut is another clear warning that large stockpiles of ammonium nitrate are catastrophes waiting to happen while this industry, and the giant profit-making corporations that run it, are protected by capitalist governments.
Tensions in the eastern Mediterranean took a dangerous new turn on Aug. 13 as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ramped up his hawkish rhetoric against Greece.

Speaking at a meeting of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Erdogan said Turkey had warned Greece that if it were to attack a Turkish seismic research ship deployed off a small Greek island, it would pay a heavy price. Erdogan said Greece had received its first response. He did not elaborate.

His comments followed reports cited by the Financial Times that a Greek navy warship had been shadowing the Turkish vessel.

The Oruc Reis, escorted by Turkish warships, entered contested waters off the southern coast of the Greek island of Kastellorizo on Aug. 10, marking a further escalation in the maritime dispute between Turkey on the one hand and a bloc comprising Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel and now France on the other hand.

For all of Erdogans grandstanding, Ankara was looking increasingly isolated today amid game-changing news that its regional arch-foe, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was on the path to establishing diplomatic ties with Israel and that its NATO ally France had deployed warships to disputed waters in the eastern Mediterranean in support of Greece.

France's move came after a phone call Wednesday between French President Emmanuel Macron and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The Elysee Palace said in a statement that France was going to temporarily reinforce its military presence in the eastern Mediterranean so as to better monitor the area and ensure that international law is respected."

Macron chimed in with a series of tweets in Greek. He called the situation in the eastern Mediterranean alarming and accused Turkey of provoking tensions through unilateral moves in matters of oil exploration. Mitsotakis warned in a television address that the risk of an accident was growing in the eastern Mediterranean as the number of military assets there grew.

Two of Frances Rafale fighter jets will be based on the Greek island of Crete in line with Macrons plan. French and Greek ships conducted a joint naval maneuver off the coast of the island today.

Erdogan vowed today that no foreign nation, company or ship will be allowed without [prior] permission into our maritime areas. In a thinly veiled swipe at France, he added, We are seeing provocations by a country that has no coastline in the eastern Mediterranean pushing Greece and Cyprus to take wrong steps.

Turkeys increasingly assertive stance in the eastern Mediterranean is borne from its long-running argument that, as the country with the longest Mediterranean coastline, it needs to be consulted or be a party to any agreement related to exploiting the seas natural gas riches.

Turkeys maritime claims predate Erdogan, who has governed Turkey since 2002. But his desire to hold on to power may be whats driving his countrys growing appetite for military risk. Recent polls show that support for Erdogan and the AKP is waning as the country faces a brewing economic storm compounded by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Whipping up nationalist sentiment is seen as an antidote.

Marc Pierini, a former EU ambassador to Turkey and Libya and a visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe, said Macrons actions were designed to resist Erdogan in this situation, and the French president was not alone within the EU in his desire to push back against an increasingly aggressive Turkey.

Pierini told Al-Monitor in a telephone interview that the European way of doing things is fixing problems through negotiations, but that Erdogans way was to dictate the terms, and when Turkeys actions did not fall within existing laws and boundaries, it invented new ones.

It's never going to work, he predicted. Pierini was referring in particular to Libya, where Turkey intervened militarily on behalf of the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) against the eastern warlord Khalifa Hifter, who is backed by Egypt, Russia, the UAE and, to a lesser degree, France.

In fact, so far Turkey has reaped the dividends of its muscle-flexing in part because until recently nobody had stood in the way. Turkeys military support, which saw Hifter calling off his yearlong campaign to capture Tripoli, wasnt for free. The GNA signed a maritime accord with Ankara in December, creating an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) from Turkeys southern Mediterranean shore to Libyas northeast coast. Greece called the deal unlawful, expelled the Libyan ambassador and has since been seeking to drum up regional support for its stance.

Libya is also where Turco-French tensions first spilled into full view. France pulled out of NATOs Operation Sea Guardian to enforce an arms embargo on Libyas warring parties after accusing Turkish warships of targeting its own ship off the Libyan coast on June 10. The Turkish ships were escorting a Tanzanian-flagged cargo vessel that Turkey insists was carrying medical supplies to Libya. The French ship wanted to inspect it to see whether it was carrying arms. Turkey refused. Shots were nearly fired by both sides before the French ship retreated.

Macron has since demanded that the EU slap sanctions on Turkey over its actions in Libya and the eastern Mediterranean, though he has not specified what form these should take and theres no sign yet that the EU will oblige. Turkeys talks for full membership of the bloc are stalled anyway.

For France, news of rapprochement between its close regional ally the UAE and Israel is clearly welcome as it faces off with Turkey in the region. As the eastern Mediterranean flares up and as several countries gang up against Turkey, the Paris-Abu Dhabi duo is emerging as a tight alliance, observed Jalel Harchaoui, a Libya expert at the Clingendael Institute. In emailed comments to Al-Monitor, Harchaoui added, however, that the pair had yet to show any compelling results in the Sahel, Libya or Yemen, where their intervention had ranged between mediocre to disastrous.

France has over 5,000 forces deployed in the Sahel to fight jihadi groups in Niger and Mali. At least six French aid workers were killed in Niger at the weekend in a suspected jihadi attack.

The UAE is backing southern separatists in Yemen against the internationally recognized Yemeni government, who gave up on self-rule in late July.

Erdogan relayed his grievances about France and Greece to European Council president Charles Michel today. According to Ankara, he reiterated Turkey's determination to protect its rights against initiatives ignoring Turkeys rights. Erdogan also told Michel that Turkey was in favor of resolving the standoff through dialogue and negotiation.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has been seeking to defuse the crisis, spoke separately with Erdogan and Mitsotakis today. There were no details of either conversation as Al-Monitor went to press. Merkel had a hand in getting Turkey and Greece to sit down for informal talks on maritime delimitations. But these broke down last week when Greece announced that it had signed its own EEZ with Egypt for the eastern Mediterranean a day after Turkey said it would halt its exploration activities in a gesture of goodwill. The zone staked out by Greece and Egypt overlaps with that agreement between Turkey and Libya, feeding further fuel to the flames. Turkey called the Greco-Egyptian accord null and void.

The diplomatic maneuvering was in full swing today as Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias met with his Israeli counterpart, Gabi Ashkenazi, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seek the Jewish nations support for Greece in its maritime dispute with Ankara.

Israel had already made its position clear when Turkey dispatched the Oruc Reis and its naval escorts. Israel is following closely as tension rises in the eastern Mediterranean. Israel expresses its full support and solidarity with Greece," read a statement from the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

Well-placed Israeli sources speaking to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity said Israels icy relations with Turkey were unlikely to thaw for as long as Erdogan remains in power. Yet as recently as 2017, the two countries were in serious talks to build a pipeline to carry Israeli natural gas via the eastern Mediterranean to Turkey and eventually to Europe. The project collapsed after Erdogan decided, for yet unknown reasons, to pull the plug.
The Armenian government on Thursday approved two more assistance programs aimed at stimulating businesses hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

The latest aid packages are designed for tourism and agriculture, Economy Minister Tigran Khachatrian said.

He said that so far this year revenues in the tourism sector of Armenia have fallen twice as compared to the same period of 2019. The minister stressed that the fresh government assistance will focus not only on hotels and tour operators, but also on the public catering sector.

As a result of financial difficulties caused by the pandemic, companies have faced significant difficulties in maintaining the assets necessary for continuing their business. The purpose of this support is to help companies operating in this field to keep staffs and promote job increases, Khachatrian said.

During todays government session Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and members of his cabinet discussed at length whether companies breaking anti-epidemic measures set by the authorities or evading taxes by not issuing cash register receipts to their customers should be deprived of pandemic-related government aid.

Pashinian called for a more responsible business behavior, stressing that those who evade taxes steal food from soldiers.

After discussions the government decided that support should be denied to businesses that do not provide customers with cash register receipts.

The other aid program approved by the government today is aimed at supporting alcohol producers so that they can procure grapes.

The coronavirus pandemic has affected the activities of brandy and wine companies both on the domestic market and on the main foreign markets. Demand for their products has fallen, which has also affected sales, Economy Minister Khachatrian explained.

At the start of the coronavirus-related lockdown in March the Armenian government pledged at least 150 billion drams (about $300 million) for aid packages to businesses and citizens affected by the pandemic as well as post-crisis stimulation of the economy.
A sample of frozen chicken wings imported into the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen from Brazil has tested positive for coronavirus, the city government said on Thursday.

A surface sample was taken from a batch of chicken wings and tested by local disease control centres on Wednesday, the government said in a notice.

Shenzhens health authorities traced and tested everyone who might have come into contact with potentially contaminated food products, and also tested food products stored near the infected batch. All the results were negative, the notice said.

The Shenzhen Epidemic Prevention and Control Headquarters said the public needed to remain cautious when it comes to imported meat and seafood, and must take precautions in order to reduce infection risks.

China reported on Wednesday that coronavirus had been found on the packaging of shrimps imported from Ecuador, and several other cities have reported cases of contaminated seafood since June.

China has been screening all meat and seafood containers coming into major ports since June, when a new outbreak of COVID-19 in the capital Beijing was linked to the citys Xinfadi seafood market.
At least four PKK terrorists surrendered to security forces in Turkey, local authorities said, Anadolu agency reported.

A PKK/KCK terrorist, identified by the initials B.K., surrendered to security teams in the Cizre district of Sirnak province after being persuaded by police officers of southeastern Van and Sanliurfa provinces.

The Van Security Directorate, in a written statement, said efforts are going on to convince the PKK/KCK terrorists, operating on behalf of YPG/PYD terror group in Syria, to surrender. The statement said B.K. had joined the PKK/KCK in 2014.

B.K. surrendered to our officers in Sirnaks Cizre district. The member of the terror group was arrested by judicial authorities after investigation documents were prepared against him/her, added the statement.

Separately, the Interior Ministry announced that three PKK terrorists, two of whom were a mother and a son, surrendered to the security forces as a result of persuasion efforts.

It was determined that the surrendered mother joined the terrorist organization in 2015.

The ministry announced that a total of 128 terrorists have turned themselves in to Turkish security forces in 2020.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said the hate speech in the 6th Broadcasting Code of the National Broadcasting Commission was targeted at gagging the media.

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party said this on Thursday in a statement by the Atiku Media Office.

Abubakar spoke just as the Federal Government fined Nigeria Info 99.3FM N5 million over an interview it granted a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Dr. Obadiah Mailafia.

The statement by the AMO said: We are compelled to react to the Nigeria Broadcasting Commission code concerning infringement on hate speech and the operational style that media houses should employ to conform with the new regulation.

While there is no disputation over the fact that hate speech portends an existential threat to the enterprise of journalistic reporting and, in fact, inhibits the workings for a free society, it is absolutely repugnant that powers that be would instrumentalize the prevention of hate speech as a means of constricting free speech.

It is globally acknowledged that one of the core functions of the mass media is to inform the society on all ranges of issues, not even to the exclusion of national security issues. The mass media has a role to play in ensuring that all possible shades of opinions are given access to the media platform.

In many advanced democracies the world over, criminals on even wanted lists of law enforcement agencies have reached out to the media to express their opinions about the crimes that they had perpetrated and the media space was not denied to them. As a matter of fact, it seems somewhat contradictory that a country like ours, which is in the throes of national security skirmishes, would choose to shrink media access to critical information . It is not known if any society had won the war against terrorism by placing a restriction to access to information, in the way the NBC had done.

In a particular reference to the penalty handed down to the operators of 99.3 FM Nigeria Info, we disagree wholeheartedly with the argument of the NBC that the interview that the station had with Dr. Obadiah Mailafia constitutes any infringement or if at all it exposes the station to trading in hate speech.

Whether or not what Dr. Mailafia said on the radio station was a false claim, it is outside of the objectives of a responsible regulatory framework to sanction a radio station for a comment an individual made, more so that the personality in question, Dr. Obadiah, had been quizzed and released by law enforcement agents. If for any reason the authorities are not satisfied with his explanations, they are at liberty to prosecute him in court, but not to make a scapegoat of the media platform that provides opportunities for citizens to ventilate their views.

The claim by the management of NBC that this (the penalty) is expected to serve as a deterrent to all other broadcast stations in Nigeria who are quick to provide platform for subversive rhetorics and expositions of spurious and unverifiable claims, to desist from such, is a naked attempt to gag the media in Nigeria.

We, therefore, call on the Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to cause a review of the hate speech prohibition code because the very interpretation of same is offensive to the notion of free speech which is an essential ingredient of participatory democracy that Nigeria operates.

We also demand of the NBC to drop the penalty against the operators of 99.3 Nigeria Info FM on account of the fact that the penalty is at best ill thought out.

Lastly, we want to refresh the memories of generality of Nigerians that the Nigerian media has been in the frontline of the vanguard in the fight against military rule and restoration of a democratic order. In other words, it is very disappointing that under the watch of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the media is, yet again, being targeted for extermination.
The Delhi High Court on Thursday ruled that there was no obligation on the legal heir to inform the tax department about the death of a taxpayer. This Court is of the view that in the absence of a statutory provision it is difficult to cast a duty upon the legal representatives to intimate the factum of death of an assessee to the income-tax department, the court ruled.

It said there might after all be cases where legal representatives would be estranged from the deceased assessee or the deceased assessee might have bequeathed their entire wealth to a ...
Evening Standard

The Covid self-isolation period has been cut to five days, following an announcement by Health Secretary Sajid Javid. The announcement, on January 13, means people can leave isolation at the start of day six, subject to two negative lateral flow tests taken a day apart, with the first of these tests being no sooner than day five. It comes after changes which means Britons who are asymptomatic who return a positive lateral flow test will no longer need to get a confirmatory PCR test.
In choosing Sen. Kamala Harris, Joe Biden has shown that he considers the ability to govern and the capacity for collaboration as must-have qualities in a running mate. He views his potential vice president not as a political pawn  bringing certain skills, states, or constituencies  but as a leadership powerhouse.

Those of us who study female leadership read even more into Bidens choice, noting that a strong black woman  long a cultural stereotype, and not always a positive one  has at last found dignity and respect. We also see in Harris an example of qualities that research tells us are prerequisites for all successful female leaders. We call these GIG: grit, influence, and grace.

Kamala Harris comes in a long line of black heroines who have earned our attention, from historical figures like Harriet Tubman, Shirley Chisholm, and Barbara Jordan to contemporary ones like Johnnetta Cole, Condoleezza Rice and Oprah Winfrey. But Harris also summons many nameless black women who have been pillars of their communities.

Unfortunately, the strong black woman often lodges herself in the cultural imagination as invincible but overbearing, fearless but suffocating, female but exhibiting masculine behaviors. The stereotypical version is often angry, even militant. (Think Angela Davis with her Afro, or Michelle Obama in fatigues on the cover of the New Yorker magazine.)

In Kamala Harris we see a new model. Less racial stereotype than expansive archetype: courageous and charismatic, visionary with a voice  a fighter, yes, but one who does battle for the underdog.

Harris, we hope, may acquaint us all with a vision of female leadership that is taking shape in business schools, board rooms, and classrooms like those at Dartmouths Tuck School of Business, where in the Leadership Out of the Box course, second-year MBA students list top criteria for leaders. Rather than traditional characteristics grounded in authoritarian, militaristic, top-down models, these future leaders prefer characteristics of servant leadership, such as authenticity, integrity, and the ability to collaborate and inspire. Years of studying female managers and executives confirm that these translate to grit, influence, and grace, and they are critical to a womans success.

Toughness is implied in grit, but theres more. Passion and perseverance. Courage and conviction. Standing your ground. As district attorney in San Francisco, Harris earned a reputation as a legal bulldog, a tough-on-crime prosecutor, but also as a critic of the criminal justice system. As attorney general in California, she showed the discipline to run a vast department. On congressional committees, Sen. Harris became known for sharp and relentless questioning. And as a presidential candidate she didnt shy from confronting Vice President Biden on busing in the Miami debate, reminding him, That little girl was me. She has grit.

Influence is more nuanced than power. It entails cross-networking, or bringing heterodox groups together. It means strategizing to resolve conflicts and analyzing multiple data sources to make sense of complex issues. An influential woman is a boundary-spanner, fluidly engaging in different landscapes. And she is a communication guru.

Harris strength as an influencer was apparent at her first presidential campaign rally in Oakland, where she drew 22,000 people representing a startling mix of races, ethnicities, and ages. Harris has been a forceful advocate for Black families during the novel coronavirus pandemic and a voice for criminal justice reform, delivering a powerful speech on the Senate floor against lynching and helping to draft a bill ending qualified immunity for police.

Influence also involves followership. Harris shares her personal story in a way that resonates with the working class, people of color, immigrants, and also high-powered colleagues, like those ones who wrote letters protesting unfair, and sexist, treatment of vice-presidential candidates. We witnessed Harriss ability to draw followers years ago, when a young, talented, Black journalist told a gathering that she was giving up her promising career as a reporter to work for a new San Francisco district attorney who inspired her more than anyone shed ever encountered.

Grace enables a woman to be the quiet in the storm. It merges her head and her heart. It shows all the traits of emotional intelligence that are prerequisites to astute leadership. Grace also encompasses hope. Good leaders make us feel not just powerful, but hopeful.

Stories of Harris taking time on the campaign trail to listen to children suggest graceful empathy. Her life experience has given her an understanding of what it is to be an underdog. Early in Harris bid to be the democratic presidential candidate, she said she believed the United States was ready for a woman of color to be president. Against historic odds, she expressed hope.

Grit gets women in the door. Without it, theyre not players. First-generation feminists showed grit. So did early women CEOs, veteran politicos like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and newcomers like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Influence is what we think of as the essence of leadership  the ability to persuade other people to follow you in accomplishing meaningful things. But a new generation of women like Kamala Harris are showing us the value of grace for men and women alike.

What will be interesting to watch is whether the softer aspect of strong leadership, not just grace but also vulnerability, will be accepted alongside toughness. We need to surround her, Rep. Jackie Speier told the Washington Post, referring to Harris. Its our job to be the flank.

Indeed, we may need to insist that all strong leaders be allowed to express the full range of their humanity.

Ella Bell Smith is a professor of management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and co-author of Our Separate Ways: Black and White Women and the Struggle for Professional Identity. Journalist Constance Hale edited Our Separate Ways as well as many books on leadership for Harvard Business Press.
MEXICO CITY Mexico has sold only about one-third of the lottery tickets in a symbolic raffle for the presidential jet, with just a little over a month to go before the Sept. 15 drawing.

The 6 million $25 tickets dont carry a stake in the plane; instead, each of the 100 winners will collect prizes of about $1 million each. President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador urged Mexicans to buy tickets, noting Wednesday theres not much time left.

The lottery was originally intended to raise money to buy medical equipment. But with sales slowed by the coronavirus pandemic, President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador now says the unsold tickets will simply be donated to the government agency that runs public hospitals, which would keep the money from any winning tickets.

Lpez Obrador has been trying for over a year to sell the Boeing Dreamliner purchased by a previous president for about $200 million. The president, who only flies commercial as one measure in his austerity government, said the Boeing Dreamliner symbolizes the luxury and excesses of previous administrations.

The president originally suggested raffling off the plane itself, but hit on the symbolic lottery after many Mexicans wondered what they would do with the huge plane if they won it.

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
Armenian News - NEWS.am presents a daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 13.08.2020:

As of Thursday morning, 229 new cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in Armenia, and the total number of cases has reached 41,023 in the country.

Three people have died of COVID-19 in the past one day, and the overall respective death toll is 809 now.

The total number of people recovered so far is 33,897, and the number of people currently being treated is 6,079.

Armenia continues to lead the region in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths per one million people, as per Worldometers.

Accordingly, as of Wednesday, the number of cases per one million people was 13,764, and the number of deaths272 in the country.

In line with the data per one million people, the respective picture in the region is as follows: Armenia ranks first with 13,764 people, Russia is second, Iran is third, Azerbaijan is fourth, Turkey is fifth.

Also, Armenia is followed by Iran, Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Georgia in the number of deaths per one million people.

According to the resource, Armenia ranks 53rd in the world in the number of coronavirus cases and deaths (40,794 cases and 806 deaths).

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev have held a phone talk.

According to Azerbaijani media, the head of Azerbaijani state brought to the Russian Presidents attention the fact that the intensity of delivery of military cargo from Russia to Armenia after the end of the clashes on the Armenia-Azerbaijan borderfrom July 17 to the present timeraises concern and serious questions of the Azerbaijani public.

President Ilham Aliyev said the volume of the military cargo transported from Russia to Armenia via the air space of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran immediately after the military clashes on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border to the present time exceeded 400 tons, emphasizing that the main purpose of the phone call was to clarify this issue.

A major road accident took place Thursday in Lori Province of Armenia, shamshyan.com reported.

Two vehicles crashed on the Tashir-Gogavan motorway.

As a result, both drivers and their eight passengers sustained injuries and were taken to the Tashir town hospital.

A report is being prepared on the incident.

System of a Down rock star Serj Tankian joined the urgent assistance to Lebanese-Armenians fundraising campaign, donating $ 5,000.

The money will be directed to the most urgent needs of Lebanese-Armenians, The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund wrote on its Facebook.

The musician has already called on his Facebook page for help in Lebanon.

"Help those dealing with the devastation of the huge explosion in Lebanon," he wrote.
Kno2's inclusion in Inc 5000 is a direct result of the dedication and perseverance of our employees, the amazing partnerships we have developed, and our customers that use Kno2 daily to assist in providing high quality care to their patients.

"Inc. Magazine" released its 2020 Inc. 5000 list of Americas fastest growing private companies, and Kno2, the company that provides interoperability to everyone in healthcare, ranks No. 2107 on the list with three-year sales growth rate of 199.54%.

The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economys most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses. Intuit, Zappos, Under Armour, Microsoft, Patagonia, and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000.

Kno2's inclusion in Inc. 5000 is a direct result of the dedication and perseverance of our employees, the amazing partnerships we have developed, and our customers that use Kno2 daily to assist in providing high quality care to their patients", said Kno2 CEO Jon Elwell. Kno2's growth is not only a numerical achievement; more importantly, it demonstrates the adoption of interoperability in healthcare. We continue our focus on broad interoperability, made available to all through simple, cost effective tools that put the right patient information, in the right place at the right time.

Not only have the companies on the 2020 Inc. 5000 been very competitive within their markets, but the list as a whole shows staggering growth compared with prior lists as well. The 2020 Inc. 5000 achieved an incredible three-year average growth of over 500 percent, and a median rate of 165 percent. The Inc. 5000s aggregate revenue was $209 billion in 2019, accounting for over 1 million jobs over the past three years.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000. The top 500 companies are also being featured in the September issue of Inc., available on newsstands August 12.

The companies on this years Inc. 5000 come from nearly every realm of business, says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. From health and software to media and hospitality, the 2020 list proves that no matter the sector, incredible growth is based on the foundations of tenacity and opportunism.

The annual Inc. 5000 event honoring the companies on the list will be held virtually from October 23 to 27, 2020. As always, speakers will include some of the greatest innovators and business leaders of our generation.

About Kno2

Kno2 is leading healthcares path to interoperability across every patient care setting with the capability to send, receive, find, and use patient information with everyone. Through Kno2s Interoperability as a Service, common exchange methods including cloud fax, Direct secure messaging using the DirectTrust framework, patient information query with providers live on Carequality, including those connected through CommonWell Health Alliance, IHE profiles, HL7 messaging, Fast Interoperability Healthcare Resources (FHIR), patient care networks (Referrals, ACOs, HIEs), and other forms of exchange are standardized into simple send and receive workflows, from virtually any source. The innovative technology has the intelligence to determine the most interoperable form of exchange to ensure that content flows freely between systems and providers. All this functionality is available to providers and technology vendors through a simple set of REST-based APIs or through a Kno2 portal.

For more information about Kno2, visit http://www.kno2.com.

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000

Methodology

The 2020 Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2016 and 2019. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2016. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2016 is $100,000; the minimum for 2019 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Companies on the Inc. 500 are featured in Inc.s September issue. They represent the top tier of the Inc. 5000, which can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000.

About Inc. Media

The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com.

For more information on the Inc. 5000 Conference, visit http://conference.inc.com/.
Fruit jelly, jams, and preserves from Germany and France will be subject to additional customs tariffs when imported into the US, starting September 1.

They will replace cheeses from Greece and biscuits from the UK in the list of goods and services. The total volume of goods subject to punitive duties will remain unchanged at $ 7.5 billion per year, DW reported referring to a statement by the Office of the US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

As noted in the document, the size of the tariffs remains the same: 15 percent for aircraft and 25 percent for other goods.

The trade conflict between the EU countries and the US arose because of the illegal, as it seemed to the parties, subsidies of aircraft manufacturers. As a result, complaints about the legality of subsidies received by Boeing from the US and Airbus from the EU were sent to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on one day - October 6, 2004. In May 2018, the WTO recognized EU subsidies for Airbus as infringing on Boeing's interests, and the US then immediately threatened the EU with penalties. In March 2019, the WTO sided with the EU, claiming that the US was providing illegal financial support to Boeing.

Nevertheless, on October 2, the WTO officially allowed the US authorities to impose penalties on European products. The decision stated that tariffs could reach 100 percent, and the total amount of goods taxed by them would amount to $ 7.5 billion annually. The US decided at that time to limit itself to an additional 10 percent tax on the import of civil aircraft from the EU. Besides, penalty duties were introduced on a number of agricultural and other goods at a rate of 25 percent. In particular, they touched on books, tools, textiles, coffee, wine, cheese, olive oil, and shells from Europe. First of all, France, Germany, Spain, and the UK fell under the sanctions, that is, the countries that Washington accuses of subsidizing the aircraft manufacturer Airbus.
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Major Players in This Report Include,

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The HSE and Diabetes Ireland are urging people with concerns about their diabetes to seek medical advice from their pharmacist, GP or hospital diabetes team and reassures them that diabetes services are resuming.

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, the diabetes community and diabetes healthcare providers have worked and adapted to support and empower people in self-managing their diabetes at home. Maintaining this self-management will continue to improve quality of life and reduce the impact on health and the likelihood of complications. However, if someone has concerns, or is experiencing symptoms or an issue that they are unsure of, they should contact their GP or diabetes team in the hospital. Earlier intervention could prevent more serious complications.

Dr Diarmuid Quinlan, GP and national Irish College of General Practitioners clinical lead for diabetes, has outlined what to expect. The majority of GPs will review any individual with a medical issue, initially by phone or virtual consult and will see face to face if physical examination is required. People with diabetes should not be reluctant to make contact and can be reassured that the medical profession will take all precautions necessary to protect both themselves and their patients from exposure to Covid-19."

Prof Sean Dinneen, consultant endocrinologist and clinical lead at the National Clinical Programme for Diabetes, highlighted the importance of seeking help despite the current challenges. We are in a very fluid environment and diabetes services are experiencing significant capacity issues at present as the health service deals with this pandemic. However, it must be stressed that delays in seeking medical attention often results in additional care being needed. If you have concerns about your diabetes, do not delay in seeking advice from your pharmacist, GP or diabetes team in the hospital, who will advise you on the appropriate steps or actions to take."

People with diabetes need to continue to self-manage their diabetes through healthy eating, taking regular physical activity, checking their blood glucose levels if advised to and taking their medications as prescribed. If a person experiences any of the following symptoms, they should contact their diabetes team or healthcare provider:

Ongoing high blood glucose or ketone levels

Constantly feeling thirsty or needing to go to toilet more often than usual

Any breaks in skin that are not healing

Those with diabetes who are pregnant

Having an unexplained high temperature

Have nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea for longer than 24 hours

Concerns about any aspect of their health

Symptoms of any illness that is not getting better



Diabetes Ireland's Dr Anna Clarke has urged people to stop risking their health unnecessarily. We know people are delaying contacting GPs and hospital diabetes teams in the belief that they are helping those professionals cope with the current Covid-19 burden, but in doing so may be risking their own health as their problem escalates. It is vital to seek medical attention early and be treated and reassured."

Hospital and community diabetes services are gradually resuming and scaling up delivery of care. Where appropriate and feasible for the service and for patients, they are availing of telehealth options such as delivery of virtual and telephone clinics and the remote delivery of diabetes Self-Management education.

Prof Sean Dinneen added: The Covid-19 pandemic presented our health service with a set of unprecedented circumstances resulting in disruption to the delivery of non-Covid care including routine diabetes care. The remarkable work carried out by healthcare teams across the country and the support, co-operation and understanding of patients, service users and families during the recent first phase of the Covid-19 response is very much appreciated by all in the health service. We have now reached a point where a renewed focus upon the needs of people with diabetes is both timely and clinically necessary."
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Two days after penning an op-ed in The Chronicle urging California Sen. Kamala Harris to reject an offer to serve as former Vice President Joe Biden's running mate, former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown now says he's "very pleased" she took the job.

Brown and Harris dated in the 1990s, and Brown argued she should "politely decline" Biden's offer and instead hope to be named U.S. Attorney General, with Brown writing, "historically, the vice presidency has often ended up being a dead end." The former mayor did not note that 13 of the country's 45 presidents previously served as vice president, a number that could climb to 14 of 46 if Biden wins in November.
Thousands of students are picking A-Level results today and while some will leave school ecstatic with what grades they get, others will be crestfallen.

A number of pupils' results have been downgraded after this year's summer exams were cancelled because of Covid-19 despite record-high results.

The proportion of A-level entries awarded an A grade or higher has risen to an all-time high, with 27.9% securing the top grades this year, figures for England, Wales and Northern Ireland show.

But exam boards downgraded nearly two in five (39.1%) pupils' grades in England, according to data from Ofqual - which amounts to around 280,000 entries being adjusted down after moderation.

However many disappointed students are expected to launch appeals and there are concerns the three week deadline for pupils' to meet their university offer in just three weeks will not be met.

Below we have answered all the questions you want to know on results day...

Can you pick up your grades at school?

The short answer is, it depends. Due to the pandemic currently causing chaos around the globe students can't all go into school with their friends or family and take part in the time-honoured tradition of pick up grades.

Some schools are doing it all remotely, while others are sending emails. But some schools are still inviting pupils to come in. Getting into your school may be advantageous - especially if you are concerned about your results and teachers should be available to discuss options if you are unhappy about what you get.

How are the grades calculated?

Teachers had to submit grades they thought each student would receive if they sat the exams after the pandemic meant they all had to be cancelled.

The estimated grades were then given to the exam boards who then compared these submissions to the grades the school normally gets - to ensure the institution wasn't inflating them.

After this summer's exams were cancelled, teachers were told to submit the grades they thought each student would have received if they had sat the papers.

The predictions were sent to the exam boards alongside a rank order of which students they believed would do best within each grade for each subject.

They can then be revised up or down after moderation which means the grade can be different from the one your school submitted.

Exams were cancelled across the UK in March as schools closed. As a result, Ofqual, the exam regulator in England, decided grades would instead be awarded based on teacher assessments of how pupils would have performed, moderated by exam boards (stock image)

How can you appeal?

If you are unhappy with the results you get, however you manage to get them today you are able to appeal.

Key statistics in this year's A-level results The proportion of candidates receiving top grades is the highest on record. A total of 27.9% of entrants scored either an A or A*, up from 25.5% in 2019.

Some 9.0% of entrants received an A*. This is another record high, and is up from 7.8% last year.

The overall pass rate (grades A* to E) was 98.3% - again, another record high. It is up from 97.6% in 2019.

Some 78.4% received a C or above, up from 75.8% in 2019 and the highest since at least 2000.

Girls have extended their lead over boys in the top grades. The proportion of girls who got A or higher was 28.4%, 1.1 percentage points higher than boys (27.3%). Last year, girls led boys by just 0.1 percentage points (25.5% girls, 25.4% boys). Boys briefly took the lead in 2017 and 2018, following a long period in which girls had been ahead.

The gap between the best-performing boys and girls has fallen slightly. The proportion of boys who got A* was 9.3%, 0.5 percentage points higher than girls (8.8%). Last year, the gap was 0.7 points.

The most popular subject this year was maths. It was taken by 94,168 entrants, up 2.5% on 2019.

Psychology was the second most popular subject, overtaking biology. It was taken by 65,255 entrants, up 1.0% on 2019. Biology slipped to become the third most popular subject, taken by 65,057 entrants, a fall of 6.0%.

ICT (information and communications technology) saw the biggest drop in candidates for a single subject with more than 1,000 entrants, falling by 15.3% from 1,572 to 1,332.

Computing saw the biggest jump in candidates of any subject with more than 1,000 entrants, rising by 11.7% from 11,124 to 12,426.

There were 780,557 A-levels awarded, down 2.6% on last year's total (801,002) and the lowest number since 2004. Advertisement

If you result has been downgraded and the mock result is better than the result you get on Thursday you can appeal through your school to get the result changed.

Teachers are obviously keen to make sure you fulfil your potential and should be available to help you get the best grades possible.

How long does the appeal process take?

Ofqual has previously said that people who do not get the grades will have to wait until next week to find out how the appeals process works.

Further guidance has been published today by the government on the appeals process, but no time scale has at the moment been given for how long it will take.

But the deadline for students to meet their offer is only three weeks away, so the government is under pressure to get results back rapidly.

When will I know if Ive been successful in changing grade?

A time-scale for finding out any successful changing of grade is not clear yet. And there are concerns that a lot of students deciding to appeal through their schools will cause huge delays.

How will pupils in England be able to switch grades?

Students can only challenge their results via their schools, and not as individuals. If they wish for their mock results to be taken instead of the results they receive today, the school will need to prove to Ofqual that the mock exams were sufficiently rigorous.

But the exact process this will involve is currently unknown. Yesterday Ofqual said it was 'working urgently' to try and implement the sudden change 'as fairly as possible'. It said it would not know what evidence schools needed to provide for appeals until next week.

Schools minister Nick Gibb said mocks need to have been 'sat under exam conditions' to form the basis of an appeal, but provided no method for schools prove this.

Why are teachers worried about mock results being used?

Mock results could be unreliable, teachers have warned. They are often sat under differing conditions, with some schools more strict than others. Teachers also said last night that providing evidence  such as the mock papers themselves  for appeals would be in some cases be impossible because the papers would have been thrown away.

Will the appeal system be able to cope?

Last night head teachers were warning that 'every school' may decide to appeal grades  risking overwhelming the system.

The current deadline for university applicants to meet their offer conditions is September 7, leaving exam boards under four weeks to issue outcomes of thousands of appeals.

Twins Rosy (left) and Teddy Valentine (right) react as students at Norwich School receive their A-level results this morning

How will my grades impact employment prospects?

Recruiters have already raised concerns that the government's plans for deciding A-Levels this year may leave a whole year group disadvantaged as they are faced with entering a devastated jobs market or going onto disrupted higher education.

Experts have told MailOnline that the use of mock grades may be seen as a 'gimme' in job applications, and CVs could just be thrown out against well-qualified competition.

Jamie Beaumont, founder of Offerd said: 'With unemployment reaching record heights, it's safe to say that the competition for jobs is now incredibly high.

'Sadly those coming out with A-levels will have to compete against university graduates and even more experience jobseekers who have been made redundant because of the virus.

'It's not that the A-levels have become less valuable, it's just that they're now competing with a market full of highly skilled workers.'

'Recruiters might see mock grades as a "gimme" for some students and therefore would be more inclined to choose those who have more experience or education behind them. It's certainly isn't right, but it will happen.'

Sol Schlagman, co-founder of student employer Stint, which collects regular feedback from the 20,000 students, said: 'From primary school children to students, young people have been badly let down throughout this pandemic.

'Today, it's school leavers who are facing yet more disappointment and setbacks, as many miss out on the results they deserve.

'We work with thousands of young people and the feedback we're getting is that they feel totally left behind.

'They've had their part time work and internships cancelled this summer, have had graduate jobs taken away and are asking why the government here hasn't delivered anything like the levels of financial support students have seen in other countries.

'For many school leavers, the choice now will be between a bleak jobs market already under pressure or clearing at a time when learning has already been severely disrupted.'

Last night head teachers were warning that 'every school' may decide to appeal grades  risking overwhelming the system (stock image)

Why is results day different this year?

Exams were cancelled across the UK in March as the pandemic took hold and schools closed. As a result, Ofqual, the exam regulator in England, decided grades would instead be awarded based on teacher assessments of how pupils would have performed, moderated by exam boards.

However, it soon became apparent that teachers' grades had been far too generous. As a result, as many as 40 per cent of grades have been adjusted downwards by Ofqual, using a computer algorithm that takes into account schools' results over the past three years.

The idea was that this would stop this year's students having higher grades than their contemporaries, and mean they would keep their credibility in the eyes of universities and employers.

But the sheer scale of downgrading by the computer algorithm was strongly criticised.

Why and how was the policy changed at the last minute?

On Tuesday evening, the government suddenly introduced a last-minute 'triple lock' policy  meaning that pupils unhappy with the grades they receive today can ask for their mock exam grades to be used instead, or take fresh exam papers in October.

The decision was made after a fiasco in Scotland last week which saw 124,000 grades for equivalent exams awarded by teachers lowered, with the poorest entrants getting their marks downgraded at more than double the rate of the richest.

On Tuesday, the Scottish government was forced into embarrassing U-turn, promising to restore the original teacher predictions to any student who had been downgraded by the system.

The 'triple lock' policy was introduced in England to try and prevent similar chaotic scenes.

Emily Wallace (centre) smiles as students at Norwich School in Norfolk receive their A-level results this morning

What happened in Scotland?

Scotland's Education Secretary John Swinney revealed tens of thousands of students would have their exam results upgraded following a public outcry.

Students complained after the moderation systems resulted in the downgrading of more than 124,000 test results.

Instead, those lowered results would revert to the grades estimated by pupils' teachers.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was also forced to apologise for the moderation fiasco, after it emerged students from deprived backgrounds saw their results disproportionately downgraded.

The Scottish education system is different to that in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with Highers being the equivalent of A-levels.

What could the impact on going to university be?

If students are rejected of because today's grades, but plan to appeal or resit in October, they need to contact admissions department as soon as possible to explain their situation. Universities say they are 'bending over backwards' to help students this year, and have promised to try and keep places open for candidates until their appeals are concluded.

But in practice this may be difficult for students who could end up missing weeks of term-time before their appeals are resolved.

Universities, who have had access to today's since results since last week in order to hasten the admissions process, will now need to contend with students assuring them that their mock results were higher, but will need to wait on Ofqual to confirm them as valid grades.

What if I don't get the grades I need for University?

Universities are even more keen to get students from the UK through their doors this year because they are concerned that many high-paying international students might not be able to attend in September due to the pandemic.

This means that they are understood to be approaching the A-Level grades this year more flexibility than prior years, so it's best to students to check your grades with the university directly.

Last year 70,000 students got places through the university admission service Ucass clearing system, which matches students with vacancies.

What if the university has accepted you on a different course?

If you don't get the grades for your first choice course at an institution you can sometimes still get to go to that University but be moved to a different course. You have five days to accept this offer.

What if you decide you want a gap year?

If you suddenly decide to get out and explore the world or want to earn a bit more money before embarking on your very expensive higher education you will have to contact the University directly.

But you should do this at the earliest opportunity possible as if you leave it too late the University may not agree.

If this happened you would have to apply again next year.
Unifor national president Jerry Dias has kicked off what is expected to be an especially challenging round of contract negotiations with Detroits Big Three by warning that Canadians will punish companies that disinvest in the country.

The union wants new vehicle commitments from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Ford and General Motors for their car plants in Oshawa, Oakville, Brampton, St. Catharines and Windsor.

That would stem the industrys decline in the near term, said Dias. Then Unifor will push for longer-term investments for the development of autonomous and electric vehicles of the future, he said.

The reality is we are in one tough set of negotiations, he told reporters in Toronto on Wednesday.

Ford has not announced a new vehicle for its Oakville plant beyond 2023; Fiat Chrysler needs to add another vehicle to its Brampton plant, and two new models are needed to recall a third shift in Windsor, he said.

Two programs at the GM engine plant in St. Catharines are also set to expire in 2023, which will mean layoffs for half of Unifors 1,150 members there.

Calling the GM Oshawa plant the elephant in the room, Dias said that facility needs to be maintained to ensure it can build cars in the future even as it evolves now to building aftermarket parts.

Although he acknowledged that the pandemic has resulted in production stoppages and lost spring sales, the union leader flatly rejected the idea of concessions for Canadian workers.

Clearly this is an industry that has been printing money for the last decade and Im not going to allow COVID to be an excuse to somehow not give our members the increases that they deserve, he said.

There were 21 million vehicles sold in North America in 2019. When the pandemic hit, carmakers expected a significant drop. But Dias said consumers  nervous about using transit or ride-sharing  have been car shopping, so he is hopeful that sales will recover more quickly than was anticipated.

Unifor represents 17,000 Canadian auto workers. That is 3,600 fewer than in 2016, following the loss of production last year at GMs Oshawa plant, the loss of a third shift in Windsor and layoffs at Fords giant Oakville facility.

We told Ford that unless there is a solution for Oakville there isnt going to be a settlement, said Dias, who said he will announce on Labour Day which of the three manufacturers Unifor will negotiate with first.

The current four-year agreements expire Sept. 21.

Unlike the last recession in 2008-2009, automakers are coming off a period of healthy sales, he said. But Canadas car manufacturing has been declining from about three million cars built in 1999 to about 1.9 million last year  a number that is expected to fall again this year.

At Wednesdays news conference he argued that GM should leverage the proximity of its autonomous vehicle technology centre in Markham to its test track in Oshawa to also build those vehicles in Oshawa.

If you have a tech centre that is developing the most modern technology and you have a test track in which to test those vehicles, why wouldnt you build in Oshawa? he said.

The Canadian auto sector employs nearly 130,000 people and generates nearly $100 billion in revenue, according to Unifor.

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Authorities did not realise a man supposed to be in Toowoomba hotel quarantine had escaped until 19 hours after he disappeared, Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll admits.

It took nearly another 24 hours after officers noticed the man was gone, for Ms Carroll to be informed of the hotel quarantine breach during a briefing on Wednesday morning.

The man surrendered to police on Wednesday afternoon and was returned to hotel quarantine. A second COVID-19 test done on Wednesday, came back negative on Thursday - as did the first.

He was charged with breaching COVID-19 quarantine requirements and pleaded guilty during his appearance at Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Thursday. He was fined about $1500.
Northern Pulp Granted Creditor Protection Until the End of 2020 By Michael Gorman for CBC News Supporters of Northern Pulp protest outside Province House on Dec. 19, 2019. (Kassandra Nadeau-Lamarche/Radio-Canada) Aug. 13, 2020 (CBC News) - A judge in British Columbia has granted Northern Pulp creditor protection until the end of 2020 and approved an interim financing agreement that will see the mill receive $15 million from third-party lenders. Justice Shelley Fitzpatrick delivered her decision Thursday [Aug. 6] in B.C Supreme Court via teleconference following two days of arguments. The hearing was held in B.C. because that's where Northern Pulp's parent company (Paper Excellence Canada) is based. The ruling means the mill, which was facing a cash crunch, now has the liquidity to get it to the end of the year as it works toward completing environmental cleanup work required by the Nova Scotia government at a site in Pictou County and works on a restructuring effort in hopes of eventually reopening the operation. The mill has been shut down since the end of January, after failing to secure approval to build a new effluent treatment facility. Fitzpatrick ordered the monitor, Ernst & Young, to provide an update on the company's progress by October. The third-party financing is being provided by Pacific Harbour North American Resources and Paper Excellence Canada, the mill's parent company. They are splitting the financing 80-20, respectively. The mill was originally seeking a financing arrangement worth $50 million. However, that was reduced to an initial instalment of $15 million in the face of opposition by the provincial government and other parties. Lawyers for the mill will have to return to court to apply to access further capital and be able to prove the company has made meaningful progress toward restructuring and environmental cleanup requirements. The complete article is avaialble on CBC's website: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/northern-pulp-boat-harbour-court-creditor-protection-1.5677445 . SOURCE: CBC News
Bach Mai hospital, where the countrys largest coronavirus outbreak was registered in late March, has silenced rumours surrounding the recurrence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that raised widespread concerns among patients and caregivers.

Doctors and nurses of Bach Mai hospital were happy after the coronavirus lockdown order was lifted on April 12.

The hospital, the countrys leading medical facility in northern Vietnam, issued an urgent statement late August 12, saying that there were baseless rumours the virus has returned to the hospital, and that all services operate normally.

At present all preventive measures against COVID-19 including medical declaration, body temperature checking, face mask covering and hand washing apply to anyone coming in or going out the hospital, the statement said.

All hospital doctors, nurses, staff, patients and their relatives must abide by regulations on epidemic prevention, the statement added.

All patients being treated at the hospital who display symptoms such as a cough and a fever are tested for COVID-19, and multiple PCR tests will be done to make sure the diagnosis is not missed.

The hospital has arranged a separate area to screen suspect cases with epidemiological signs. It has quarantine rooms for suspect cases in all departments pending test results, in order to minimize cross contamination in the facility.

Bach Mai hospital was locked down in late March after a COVID-19 patient was detected. Dozens of cases linked to the hospital had been confirmed since the outbreak occurred there. VOV
The Judicial Committee of the Sunyani Traditional Council (STC) has imposed a GH1,500.00 fine on Evangelist Wofa Atta, an itinerant and street side preacher in the Sunyani Municipality for gross misconduct and disrespectful attitude towards the Council.



In addition, the Committee, jointly presided by Nana Kwaku Sarbeng, the Akuamuhene and Nana Boadi Akrofa II, the Adontenhene respectively of the Sunyani Traditional Area asked the Evangelist to present a ram and two bottles of schnapps as part of the sanction.



The Evangelist was said to have defied the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) protocols  preaching on the street without wearing nose masks and he was subsequently summoned to appear before the Judicial Committee, but failed to do so.



But at its hearing, the Committee further banned the Evangelist from undertaking any religious activity within the STCs jurisdiction.



The Committee also imposed GH200.00 fine on one Madam Ataa Afia, a food stuff dealer in the Municipality.



She was said to have been selling at an unauthorised place in the Municipality.



Meanwhile, Superintendent Haruna Alhassan, the Commander of the Sunyani COVID-19 Prevention Taskforce, lauded the Committee's decisions, which would greatly serve as a deterrent to others.



He told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that the Taskforce had intensified its operations and would arrest and prosecute people and organisations which would defy the COVID-19 protocols.

Source: GNA









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People wear protective masks Sunday while riding on the bicycle path on Venice Beach. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Six weeks after California began re-closing swaths of the economy, there is cautious optimism that coronavirus transmission is heading downward, officials said.

If it stays that way, the state may be on the cusp of curbing its second surge of the pandemic.

The potential crest comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom's speedy economic reopening in May and early June led to a near doubling of the weekly death toll over the spring tally. California's cumulative pandemic death toll is now about 11,000, one of the worst disasters in the state's modern history.

But there are now several signs that Newsom's second shutdown, which began in late June and broadened in early July, is finally having its intended effect. It can take three to five weeks to start seeing the health effects of stay-at-home orders, and six weeks have passed since much of the state was required to close bars and indoor dining rooms at restaurants, an order that was expanded to the rest of the state a month ago.

"While our gains might feel slow and our future remains fragile, our success over the last three weeks is real," Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Wednesday. "We begin to see signs of light."

The mayor also announced that a coalition of scientific experts, bioscience firms, government leaders and foundations is researching at-home coronavirus testing in a bid to "accelerate the science" so that outbreaks can be identified more quickly.

In Los Angeles County, the effective transmission rate of the coronavirus is now about 0.86  meaning that every one infected person passes the virus to an average of 0.86 other people. Last week, the rate was at 0.91.

"This is what progress looks like," said Dr. Roger Lewis, who is leading L.A. County's pandemic predictive modeling team.

Dr. Grant Colfax, San Francisco's health director, said the transmission rate there was between 0.95 and 0.98 for the previous few days.

Story continues

And statewide, an ensemble computer model known as the California COVID Assessment Tool estimates California's overall transmission rate is about 0.96.

To be sure, not all counties are doing well. The state model estimates that Alameda, Sonoma, Placer and Inyo counties are seeing an increasing spread of the disease.

But hospitalizations are also falling in many regions of California. Statewide, the average number of people who were hospitalized seemed to peak in late July, when an average of nearly 7,000 people were in hospitals with confirmed coronavirus infections over a seven-day period; by Wednesday, that number had fallen to 5,710.

Deaths, however, have accelerated in recent weeks; in fact, more than 62% of California's coronavirus deaths have occurred since Memorial Day.

For the seven-day period that ended Monday, 969 deaths were reported across California, the largest weekly death toll since the pandemic began.

It is possible that the number of new COVID-19 deaths may have peaked, but it's probably too early to know for sure. By Wednesday, the seven-day average of daily deaths was 134, an improvement from the previous week, when the seven-day average hit 144, a record high.

"We are turning the corner on this pandemic," Newsom said Wednesday.

The governor expressed optimism at the trend but resolved to avoid a reopening that repeated previous mistakes. Newsom, under pressure, began reopening businesses in late spring before his own benchmarks for a safer reopening were met.

"The worst mistake we can make  is run the 90-yard dash, where we think we've got this and we walk away, and we revert back to the way things used to be," Newsom said Wednesday. "And that's why we have to be very cautious and very deliberative."

Newsom said that when the reopening of the economy does happen, it will be carried out "with much more focus, much more intention and more deliberative mindset" to educate people about how to diminish the spread of the disease.

"We have to maintain our vigilance," Newsom said, "and we'll need a commensurate public awareness campaign and enforcement campaign."

In L.A. County, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Wednesday that the rate of disease was still so high that colleges and universities would need to remain largely closed to in-person instruction until disease levels fall further, with limited exceptions such as lab work or arrangements for students who will become part of the essential workforce.

"The very nature of the way that colleges and universities operate creates a significant risk of outbreaks of COVID-19," Ferrer said.

Social gatherings and workplace outbreaks caused a significant surge in the spread of disease after the economy was reopened in May and June.

A government analysis of all 188 documented coronavirus outbreaks in San Diego County showed that the total included 61 that occurred in restaurants or bars, 45 in various businesses and 18 in healthcare settings. Ten outbreaks occurred in government settings, nine in residences, eight in gyms, seven in faith-based settings, six in food-processing facilities, six in grocery facilities, five in hotels or resorts or spas, and four at preschools.

L.A. County has reported 30,827 new coronavirus cases in the last two weeks, which amounts to 305 new cases per 100,000 residents. The county will need to reduce that number to 200 new cases per 100,000 residents over a two-week period before local officials can contemplate allowing some elementary schools to reopen, and a rate of 100 new cases per 100,000 residents will be necessary to allow a further reopening of the economy.

Ferrer said she didn't know when L.A. County would reach those levels but said it was possible; New York City has had a rate of about 50 cases per 100,000 residents in the last two weeks, she said. In other places in the world, with a "really concerted effort, that rate has come down and come down significantly," she said.

Yet challenges remain.

L.A. County has filed a lawsuit seeking the closure of a church in Sun Valley, alleging that Grace Community Church of the Valley began holding indoor worship services July 26. Newsom ordered a prohibition of indoor worship services in the hardest-hit counties July 13; outdoor services are still allowed.

County officials said videos posted of religious services this month show congregants gathering without wearing masks or staying at least six feet from one another. The church issued a statement that said "compliance would be disobedience to our Lords clear commands."

Some of the larger outbreaks in L.A. County include those identified at 10 UPS work sites in L.A., Bell, Gardena, Vernon, Cerritos, Sylmar, Van Nuys and elsewhere in which 84 workers have tested positive; and at the SoFi Stadium construction site in Inglewood, where 77 workers have tested positive.

At Trojan Battery Co. in Santa Fe Springs, 61 workers at two worksites have tested positive; three have been hospitalized, and one worker died, said L.A. County health officer Dr. Muntu Davis.

Cases remain high across Southern California. San Bernardino County has reported 350 new coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents in the last 14 days; Riverside County, 328; Ventura County, 211; Orange County, 207; and San Diego County, 155.

But to dramatically lower new infections, everyone needs to wear masks in public, businesses must comply with new coronavirus health and safety rules to protect workers, and residents need to stop hosting and attending parties, officials said. Young adults are increasingly getting infected and being hospitalized, a pattern seen across California.

"In June, the case rate among the young really began to take off," said Dr. Sara Cody, the Santa Clara County health officer.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed said she wished she could have a party to celebrate her birthday Tuesday, but it's clear that many people who are getting infected have contracted the virus at family gatherings, parties and other events.

So for her birthday, "I'm going to socially distance myself and talk to people on Zoom," Breed told reporters. "And that's what we need to do. Just imagine if we all did our part."

Times staff writers Iris Lee and Taryn Luna contributed to this report.
UN says the intervention is necessitated by the resurgence in violence that continued to ravage communities and the extraordinary challenges from the COVID-19 in the North East. The UN System in Nigeria, alongside partner NGOs, are collectively appealing for $1.08 billion to provide urgent aid to 7.8 million vulnerable people in the North East region of the country.

The UN says the funding needed was less than $12 a month to save someones life.

UN Resident Coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon, made the appeal on Thursday, during a high-level virtual meeting on Nigerias humanitarian response with the theme North-East Nigeria: Act now, Avert the Worst.

Mr Kallon said the urgent appeal was necessitated following a resurgence in violence that continued to ravage communities and the extraordinary challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic, a global health crisis no country was adequately prepared for.

He added that the steep rise in prices as well as movement restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic caused insufferable shocks.

The UN Envoy further noted that an estimated 4.3 million people were now facing food insecurity at crisis or emergency levels and that increased food insecurity would lead to higher levels of malnutrition.

Mr Kallon said without immediate support one out of five malnourished children could die without treatment.

Despite tremendous efforts by the humanitarian community to feed over 2.5 million people, violent attacks continue, preventing people from reaching their lands and rebuilding their livelihoods.

Every year of the crisis, an additional one million people have become food insecure.

Children and women, in particular, are bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prevention measures, such as lockdowns, physical distancing, and school closures are impeding education, jeopardising the future of 4.2 million children.

Protection concerns are paramount, and the risks of exploitation, domestic violence and abuse are higher than ever, for women, boys and girls.

At the same time as we are fighting the pandemic, I have been shocked, saddened and outraged by the brutal attacks targeting civilians, including aid workers, in recent weeks.

Incidents in which villages have been brutally attacked, houses and property set ablaze, and people burnt alive.

Today, 1.9 million people remain internally displaced in the BAY states. Since the beginning of the year, nearly 60,000 people were forced to flee their homes, some for the second or third time.

More than a third of these are sleeping out in the open, Mr Kallon said.

READ ALSO:

Mr Kallon said funding for the humanitarian operation is at a historic low, explaining that with more than half-way through the year, aid organisations received less than a third of funds needed to provide life-saving assistance to nearly eight million people.

He said now is the time for all stakeholders to take coordinated action, sustained by sufficient resources.

Mr Kallon said the COVID-19 pandemic is devastating and its destabilising effects would be distressing Nigerias most fragile region, stressing that unless action was taken now, the country should be prepared for a significant rise in conflict, hunger and destitution in the north-east.

He added that community transmission of COVID-19 is of grave concern and urgent actions must be taken to prevent the virus from taking hold in IDPs camps.

He noted that four out of five people in these camps lived in overcrowded conditions with makeshift and temporary shelters  built in close proximity to each other, making physical distancing impossible.

He said while it is a priority for IDPs to be able to return home, unfortunately the persistent insecurity may not yet present conducive conditions for safe, voluntary and dignified returns.

Mr Kallon said the hard-won efforts of the UN and partners a few years ago is now in jeopardy, explaining that previous rapid joint mobilisations succeeded in reversing a situation where hundreds of thousands of people were on the verge of famine.

He said not only was famine averted, but many people who had seen their lives shattered by the conflict, were starting to rebuild their lives and communities. There were hopes that we had turned a corner and we could start focusing on recovery and development

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Also speaking, Country Representative of UNICEF in Nigeria, Peter Hawkins, said children, especially those in camps remained one of the most vulnerable in the COVID-19 pandemic as they were out school with no access to immunisation.

Mr Hawkins said UNICEF was putting measures in place to ensure children had access to Immunisation amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

We will not want to walk out of a pandemic with children dying of measles and infected with polio, Mr Hawkins said.

(NAN)
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Popular basics brand Pair of Thieves is teaming up with Amazon for an exclusive capsule collection launching online on Thursday, August 13th. The collection will consist of limited-edition socks, underwear and undershirts. The Amazon-exclusive pieces feature the quality and comfort that Pair of Thieves customers have come to expect from the brand, at accessible prices. Pair of Thieves is currently available on Amazon, but this marks the first exclusive collaboration between the brand and the site.

Pair of Thieves has made a name for itself in the last six years in the clothing space with its fun, unique prints and unparalleled comfort, offering excellent craftsmanship and durability that won't stretch your wallet. Their 8-piece Amazon collection will feature socks, men's underwear and undershirts in various styles and patterns, all at lower price points. 4-pack socks in crew, cushion crew and cushion no-show will be $19.99; 3-pack men's underwear in super fit boxer briefs and super fit trunks will be $34.99; and 3-pack undershirts in super soft tanks, V-neck tees and crew neck tees will be $34.99.

"We couldn't be more excited to partner with Amazon on our new collection," said Pair of Thieves founders Cash Warren, Alan Stuart and David Ehrenberg. "The Pair of Thieves brand is about style, comfort and quality, all at an affordable price, and we can't wait for Amazon's customers to see our new products and love them as much as we do."

The collection will go live at midnight EST on August 13th. Pair of Thieves Amazon Exclusives Link HERE.

ABOUT

LA-based brand Pair of Thieves was founded in 2012 by childhood friends Warren, Stuart and Ehrenberg. Originally created as a sock company, the brand has expanded to women's socks, men's underwear and undershirts, bringing customers high-quality basics at an affordable price. Their products not only feature unique styles and designs, but are made of quick-drying, high-performance fabrics allowing for breathability, moisture wicking and Swassfree comfort. Pair of Thieves apparel can be found on their website. https://pairofthieves.com/

Photos HERE

Product One-Sheet HERE

SOURCE Pair of Thieves
The writer is a senior journalist and commentator based in New Delhi

A powerful anti-West Islamist party, Refah, or Welfare, took shape and spread like prairie fire

Mut ranja kar kisi ko, ke apne to aeteqaad,

Jee dhaaye ke jo kaaba banaya to kya kiya?

Mir Taqi Mir

We will lose Turkey, if Istanbul is lost. This statement by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan returned to plague him when his Justice and Development Party lost Ankara, Istanbul and five major cities in 2019s local elections.

This may be one reason why he swiftly transformed the Hagia Sophia museum into a mosque on July 24.

From the Bosporus, the Istanbul skyline is exactly like picture postcards, a skilful contrast of domes and minarets, slim as thermometers.

The brooding Ayasofya Museum stands apart. The greatest Byzantine cathedral, built at the edge of Europe in 537, was designed to dominate the panorama of the Marmara Sea and the Asian mainland beyond.

The first Arab probe of Sindh by Mohammad bin Qasim was in 711 AD, exactly the date when Tariq Ibne Ziad crossed over from Morocco to set up station at what he called Jabal al Tariq, or the Rock of Tariq, which the British renamed Gibraltar in 1704 after the famous Spanish-British naval engagements, including the Spanish Armada.

Before the Iberian Peninsula turned into a cauldron of intra-European conflict, 800 years of Muslim rule was somewhat unevenly spread across Spain.

To flavour this phase of history, one has to read Maria Rosa Menocals masterly Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews and Christians created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain. The title itself tells the story.

It is astonishing that in the past three decades of gruelling Islamophobia, not one of our liberals has referred to phases in history when robust multiculturalism thrived under Muslim rule.

After Reconquista in 1492 by Christians, the Inquisition was much harsher on the Jews who found refuge in Morocco and later in the Ottoman Empire.

The glory of the greatest Eastern Orthodox Cathedral came under partial eclipse when the Roman Catholic Church occupied it for six decades.

But it was Sultan Mehmets establishment of the Ottoman Empire in 1453 that caused the cathedral to face a predictable total eclipse. It was then transformed into a mosque.

From the debris of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, Mustafa Kemal Pasha Ataturk resurrected what is modern Turkey. He was determined to take his country from backwardness into modernism.

In other words, he turned his back on Muslim traditionalism and dreamt of a secular Turkey, custom made for Europe.

He replaced the Arabian alphabet with the Roman script in the Turkish language. He banned the fez cap, brought the practice of Islam under a department of religious affairs under the Prime Minister, and so on.

Little wonder the texture of life in Istanbul and Ankara was more European than Islamic, rather like North Tehran under the Shah of Iran. But what was the ingredient that made Turkeys secularism comparatively more durable?

It was the Turkish Army, which became the guarantor of the republics secularism. Ataturk divined, and quite rightly too, that Hagia Sophia mosque would be an eyesore for Europe, in perpetuity.

With one executive order in 1934, it was reinvented as a museum of Byzantine history.

It was Western callousness that, in the ultimate analyses, made Turkeys secular edifice vulnerable. Western, mostly American, and Israeli hostility to Arab socialism (Egypt), Baathism (Iraq, Syria) and Libyas cradle-to-grave welfare system (details of the Afghan tumult are only slightly different) promoted Islamic extremism on an unspeakable scale.

The details of Turkeys upheaval must be explained. With the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, Serbian and Croatian nationalisms turned upon Bosnian Muslims with vicious brutality.

Srebrenica is only one chapter in that bleak and shoddy history. Briefings by Gen Sir Michael Rose, the UN military commander, were laden with more gruesome detail by the day, particularly in the four-year siege of Sarajevo.

The Balkans, the turf for continuous conflict throughout history between the Ottoman and the Austro-Hungarian Empires, became an open killing field when Belgrade couldnt hold Yugoslavia together. The helplessness of Bosnian Muslims was unbelievable.

Europes reason for not intervening rang hollow. Its intervention, it was said, would cause individual countries to take sides in a conflict where World War II adversaries Serbia and Croatia were fighting each other over the Bosnian spoils.

A Europe sucked into the Bosnian war carried the risk of undermining the very purpose for which the EU was forged: to avoid conflict between member states. This was sophistry, said Salman Rushdie.

Reverse the religious affiliations of the combatants, and European troops would be in Bosnia within a day.

Mornings, evenings and afternoons, Turks watched the brutalisation of Bosnia and Sarajevo, both an evocative part of Turkish historical memory. A powerful anti-West Islamist party, Refah, or Welfare, took shape and spread like prairie fire.

Necmettin Erbakan, founder of Refah, became Prime Minister. Citing the secular Constitution, the Army swiftly dethroned the Islamist Prime Minister.

Erbakans proteges Abdullah Gul and Recep Tayyip Erdogan dismantled Refah and reappeared in a secular garb as leaders of AK, or Justice and Development Party.

As evidence of their secular credentials, they kept alive their EU membership application, despite European callousness. In fact, French President Giscard dEstaing virtually slapped Turkey across its face, saying: European civilisation is Christian civilisation.

After his mishandling of Syria, misreading of Europe, the United States and Russia, his popularity in serious question, Mr Erdogan has fallen back on the oldest trick in the politicians book: religious extremism.

Look, he will address Islamists, like Mehmet, the conqueror, I have restored for your supplications a great mosque.
It is late Bollywood actress Sridevi's birth anniversary today. For her popularity and talent, Sridevi was also regarded as the 'First female Superstar' and 'Megastar' of Indian cinema. She went on to win several awards and recognitions throughout her life and even posthumously.

She debuted as a child artist in the Tamil film Kandhan Karunai at the age of 4. Her first adult lead role came with the Tamil film Moondru Mudichu. After establishing herself as a popular actress down south, her career with Hindi cinema started with 1979 drama film Solva Sawan. She went on to work in several movies later, including Himmatwala, Tohfa, Mr. India, Chandni, Sadma and ChaalBaaz.

On her birth anniversary today, here is a look at some of her popular evergreen songs:

1. Hawa Hawai: One of the most famous songs of the Indian diva, the track was filmed for the movie Mr India. Sridevi's dance skills and witty expressions were the highlights.

2. Navrai Majhi: After a long break from Bollywood, Sridevi returned to business with the movie English Vinglish. The song Navrai Majhi is a traditional Marathi song and Sridevi had filled her magic in it.

3. Kate Nahi Kat te: From the movie Mr India, the song Kate Nahi Kat Te is one of the most sensual songs ever filmed. Sridevi's chiffon sarees and rain dance sequence adds a special touch to the song.

4. Aye Zindagi Gale Laga Le: Sridevi was part of the movie Sadma along with Kamal Hassan. The song Aye Zindagi Gale Laga Le captures the little happiness and pleasures of life.

5. Main Teri Dushman, Dushman tu Mera: Sridevi nailed it with her eye expressions in this song. The track was sung by Lata Mangeshkar. The song is from the film Nagina.

Sridevi will always remain the Bollywood diva who entertained fans with her acting and dancing talents in several hit songs over the years.
5 Kamala Harris controversies: Extramarital affair, pro-life raid and Knights of Columbus criticism

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Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden announced Tuesday that Sen. Kamala Harris of California would be his vice presidential running mate.

Fulfilling an earlier campaign promise to have a minority female running mate, the former vice president took to his official Twitter handle to make the announcement.

I have the great honor to announce that Ive picked @KamalaHarris  a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the countrys finest public servants  as my running mate, tweeted Biden.

Harris had previously been a fierce critic of Biden, taking him to task during a Democratic primary debate over his past opposition to federally mandated busing to desegregate schools.

A former district attorney of San Francisco and later the attorney general of California, Harris public career has not been without its controversies, especially as she garnered national attention.

Here are five controversies surrounding Harris. They include some of her decisions as attorney general of California, the questioning of a judicial appointee, and a lawsuit filed by a high-profile pro-life activist.

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STATEN ISLAND N.Y. -- During the past couple of days the city began rolling out its random checkpoint operation in an effort to enforce a mandatory two-week quarantine for travelers from 35 high-infection states -- a program the de Blasio administration plans to ramp up in the coming days.

The checkpoints will be located near New York Citys bridges and tunnels.

Sheriff's Department officers pull a car over on Route 440 at a quarantine checkpoint near the Bayonne Bridge on August 7, 2020. (Steve White for the Staten Island Advance)

So far the Sheriffs office set up checkpoints at the Goethals Bridge, Bayonne Bridge, and Outerbridge Crossing on Staten Island.

The notice published by the Mayors offices states that Any individual who has spent more than 24 hours in any state on New Yorks Restricted State List in the last 14 days, must register and quarantine, including New York residents and people just passing through.

The checkpoint stops should only last a couple of minutes.

If stopped by the Sheriffs office, individuals may be asked about their recent travels out of the state, and in some cases, they will ask to individuals to fill out the form at the checkpoint. They are also given checkpoint FAQ document and a Fight COVID NYC! flyer.

The health form can also be completed online one day before your arrival in New York City.

The Mayors office suggest taking a screenshot of the confirmation page once you have completed the form.

Along with the health forms, individuals stopped at checkpoints are given a flyer that reads Fight COVID NYC. (Steve White for the Staten Island Advance)

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.

Mayor Bill De Blasio indicated the checkpoints could last into the foreseeable future, saying they could continue as long we think makes sense, and as extensively as we think makes sense.

While the city has reduced COVID-19 transmission and positive test rates the notice states we cannot afford to let our guard down now.

Sheriffs patrol Route 440 at a quarantine checkpoint near the Bayonne Bridge on August 7, 2020. (Steve White for the Staten Island Advance)

The first stops were about 200 vehicles, just as a test run, that numbers going to grow greatly this weekend, de Blasio told reporters during a press conference Friday.

See the full list of high infection states here.

Sheriffs stop car at quarantine checkpoint near the Bayonne Bridge on August 7, 2020. (Steve White for the Staten Island Advance)
"Do we all live here? No - we don't live" and the man's eyes blazed scorn. "Rotten, did you say? I suppose so, but we've always lived here." And a young man unemployed for three years closed the door in front of a wife and three children. And such-like remarks greeted the Premier and Members of the Parliamentary party during an inspection yesterday of a very small section of Melbourne's slums. THE FIRST SLUMS Almost Within Shadows of Parliament House

Premier Albert Dunstan and members of the Parliamentary party inspect a dilapidated house in Collingwood. Credit:State Library of Victoria The Parliamentarians visited places unfit for human habitation within a few hundred yards of Parliament House, where squalor and pallid poverty prevailed. Some members of the official party seemed surprised that such devastating conditions existed. That was one of the many amazing and deplorable features of what can only be termed a hurried and embarrassing tour of inspection of typical parts of a large area where human beings exist under conditions of misery calculated to reduce many men, women and children to a level which is a travesty of decent life. Every political party was represented at this inspection, but the members or the Labor party outnumbered the others by four to one. The Premier (Mr. Dunstan) seemed impressed and said "something would have to be done." The Minister of Health (Mr. Harris) seemed more impressed and said "something must be done. The vice-president of the Australian Labor party's slum abolition committee (Mr. Holland, M.L.A.) remarked that for three years the necessity for immediate action had been vigorously pleaded. Guided by a member of the Melbourne Ladies' Benevolent Society, several clergymen and members of the Building Industries Congress, the cars conveying the party of inspection threaded their ways through narrow lanes down the centre of which were channels choked with refuse. As the cars moved slowly through these places the people looked on wonderingly. But on no occasion was any open hostility shown. Indeed, the people in the houses visited manifested a courtesy and restraint of expression which was very impressive. A woman slices bread for the eight children crowded around a table at meal-time. Credit:State Library of Victoria

IN A BLIND ALLEY Tin Sheds as Homes Features of the places  one cannot term them "homes"  were as follows: Overcrowding. Unhygienic conditions.

High rentals. In Fitzroy, Collingwood, Carlton and North Melbourne  the areas touched during the inspection  the conditions were similarly conducive to moral, physical and mental degradation. One of the "bungalows" in a blind alley for which a rental of 5 shillings a week is charged. Credit:The Age If any area visited yesterday were to be singled out for especially dishonorable mention. It would be Fitzroy. In this area the party walked up a blind alley where tin sheds had been built-on to a dilapidated house. The occupants looked disapprovingly at the Premier and his party, and it was decided not to solicit an inspection. Ironically styled "the bungalows," these rickety tin sheds are packed with people who pay 5/ a week for the misery of living under conditions to which no decently minded man would submit a lower animal. In only one instance was there a bath in any of the twenty-six houses inspected. In every instance the entire washing facilities for the very large families consisted of one solitary tap in the back yards. The conveniences were nauseating. The walls of the pokey rooms were crumbling away in most instances, but in a few the occupants had displayed considerable ingenuity by decorating the walls with colored papers and sacking. Some of these tiny homes showed the pride and energy of their humble occupants by the polished grates, the snowy but greatly patched bed coverings, and the only little table scrubbed till it was almost worn through. The size of these places ranged from two to four rooms, and no room was more than 10 feet by 12 feet, and in not one single instance was there the remotest chance of privacy for any member or the family.

The Old Woman's Story The washing facilities for the very large families consisted of one solitary tap in the back yards. Credit:State Library of Victoria There was, however, one memorable exception. At the end of a blind alley there was a little yard with almost every patch of drabness covered with pots and tin cans filled with greenery. A well-polished step to a small doorway which led to two tiny rooms, and in one of those sat a neatly attired old woman. She trembled as the Minister of Health, in a very kindly manner, asked how she fared. "I get the old-age pension of 17/6 a week," she quaveringly told him, "and after Ive paid the rent for this place I have 9/ left for food and clothes and other things." Endeavoring to bring a little comfort into the old body's life, the Premier and his Cabinet colleague suggested that she might be happier in a benevolent institution, and at this the old woman took fright. "Oh, I see," smiled the Premier as he patted her stooping shoulders, "you like to remain independent."

"No, it's not that," she replied, "but I like to be on my own. I've had to battle all along and I can't live with my son because his wife doesn't like me." And then the dear old soul started to cry. "Don't take the place away from me, she pleaded as the tears fell fast, please don't turn me out, mister !" With great emphasis did the Premier assure her that nothing of the sort was contemplated. She waved and smiled as the party left.

THE OWNER OF HOVELS 25 Per Cent. on His Capital Certain houses were inspected which were rat and vermin infested, but in one instance only had the local authorities condemned a house. The weekly rental of all these awful hovels was 10/, and the majority of them had been unoccupied until the "rent sustenance" system was introduced whereby the Government pays 8/ of the 10/ rental. I know a man who has 150 such houses," said Mr. A. A. Calwell, who is a prominent member of the central executive of the A.L.P. "and his rent sustenance' scheme gives him a return of 25 per cent. on his capital. Then the party went to the West Melbourne swamp, where many people have built themselves humpies from the refuse dumped on that waste land. They have to cart their water 100 yards. There are no conveniences, and the area is alive with rats and vermin from the dumps. The people there pleaded not to be evicted. We have nowhere else to go," was their poignant comment. They considered people who lived in "real houses," like these the party had inspected, extremely fortunate!

One of the tin shanties built on the Dudley Flats, the waste-grounds in West Melbourne, where many of the city's homeless lived. Everything used in the building has been salvaged from the rubbish tip. Credit:State Library of Victoria What the Premier Thought "AWFUL STATE OF AFFAIRS" Must Be a Non-Party Question When The Age" representative questioned the Premier as to what he intended to do, Mr. Dunstan replied, "Well, after this personal experience, I know that slums definitely exist: and that many people are living in a deplorable condition. Something will have to be done. It is terrible to think of families living this way."

The Premier was pressed for something more practical. "I realise," he said, "the local municipalities should prohibit people living in these slums, but if they are not allowed to live in these houses  where can they go? All those places should have been condemned years ago, but, as you know, local councils are swayed by certain interests. Perhaps, as you suggested, a Greater Melbourne Council working in concert with the Government might be able to speed the much needed reform. You ask me what I propose to do. Well, I shall bring the matter before Cabinet and see if we can have a conference with the municipalities to clean up this awful state of affairs. It must be made a non-party measure." Asked if he considered that the "rent-sustenance" system was bolstering up the slums, the Premier declared. "That's what it seems to be doing. The Government is paying high rents for houses which should be condemned. The whole problem will have to be investigated." Slum areas in South and Port Melbourne were not inspected, as the hour was late, but the Premier obtained a glimpse of slum conditions which obviously impressed him with the necessity for action. An open air wash-house, Collingwood. Credit:State Library of Victoria "GRAND TOUR" QUESTIONED

Views of the Opposition Leader Refuting a report that because only two members of the U.A.P. were in the official party which toured the slum areas yesterday it was indifferent to the problem, the acting leader of the party (Mr. Kent Hughes) said that the party had not been invited to take part, and had appointed two of its members to represent it if they were allowed to go. The Premier, when approached, had readily agreed. The slum tour had great value as a political gesture, but was an entirely lamentable social service move. A grand tour of the slums by fourteen motor cars was a questionable method of getting important information, and if not resented by the people concerned would at least be embarrassing to many of them. He thought that better results would have been achieved by a small, unostentatious delegation, and because of this the U.A.P. had appointed only two representatives. THE CITY COUNCIL Resentment of Criticism
Kosovo parliament rejects law on 'defense of KLA values' US criticised bill for limiting freedom of expression

(ANSAmed) - BELGRADE, AUG 13 - The Kosovo parliament on Thursday rejected a controversial draft law on the 'defence of Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) values'. The KLA fought against Serbs during conflict in the late 1990s. Serbian media reported that only 35 MPs backed the draft law, while the Democratic League of Kosovo (in government) and the Self-Determination Movement (opposition) did not take part in the voting despite being present. Backing it were MPs from the Democratic Party of Kosovo - which proposed the draft law - as well as the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo and Nisma, the leaders of which are all former commanders in the KLA. The measure provides for legal consequences for anyone offending or denigrating the honor and the value of the KLA fight and was firmly criticised by Serbia as well as the US and Germany - close allies of Kosovo. The EU and the OSCE said that the law jeopardises freedom of thought and expression. (ANSAmed) (ANSA).




Apostle Dr. Ernest N. Adulai, Patron of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC) in the Hohoe Municipality has called on Pastors to show greater circumspection during the impending electioneering season.



Pastors of GPCC have a voice and they should not be in town and allow the town to degenerate into something that could not be talked about. You should be proper watchers over the town in this political season.



Apostle Adulai, also Head Pastor of the Revival Assemblies of God Church, said this during a meeting between the GPCC and Mr. John-Peter Amewu, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary Candidate (PC) for the Hohoe Constituency and Minister for Energy.



He urged Pastors to be like children of Issachar to know what God would want them to do during this political season.



The Apostle bemoaned how Israel as a nation always missed Gods move in the various dispensations adding that because of peoples fixation on the norm, they missed the transitions and were always left behind.



Reverend Larrie Davids, GPCC Chairman said the threat of violence and skirmishes that ensued during the voter registration exercise in the Municipality motivated the initiative to engage political leaders and stakeholders to avoid future occurrence.



We as gatekeepers of the Municipality cannot afford to sit down for issues to degenerate to the lowest ebb before remedies are sought.



He said the meeting which was held with security agencies and other stakeholders would be deemed proper if the Parliamentary Candidates of the political parties in the Constituency were reached out to hence the decision to meet the NPP and to be followed by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) subsequently.



Mr. Amewu expressed gratitude to the Council for the initiative to ensure peace in the Constituency before, during, and after the 2020 general elections in December.



He said he had promoted tourism in the Constituency to an international level and his contest for the parliamentary seat was his desire to see the Constituency grow and develop.



From the inception of the Fourth Republican Constitution, no Constituency was created for any particular party to monopolise and claim ownership over.



The PC said a Constituency with no competition, will be one with a sense of contentment, stagnation, and obvious ownership adding that there should be a paradigm shift from that mentality.



He said vigorous promotion of tourism, development of human and social capital of the Constituency, and empowering women to be independent and entrepreneurial-minded were some developmental agenda he would champion if voted for.



Mr. Amewu said human capital development was achievable if opportunity was provided for him to provide jobs for the youths in the Municipality.



When women are properly established, it will give them the leverage to support the home and promote stable families and when we develop and support human and social capitals, it will dovetail into physical development, he added.



The Energy Minister said the novel coronavirus pandemic had affected all segments of society adding that the Church as an institution was hit the most.



He presented 20 bags of 5kg rice and a cash amount of GH10,000.00 to the Council.

Source: GNA









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New Zealand on Thursday scrambled to trace the source of its first coronavirus outbreak in over three months, reporting 13 new community infections.

However, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had sought to eradicate the virus with a hard lockdown.

The resurgence of COVID-19 came just weeks before a scheduled general election, increasing pressure on Ms Ardern to get the outbreak under control amid growing criticism.

Ms Ardern swiftly re-imposed tight movement restrictions in Auckland and social distancing measures across the rest of the country after the discovery this week of four infected family members in the city.

Once again we are reminded of how tricky this virus is and how easily it can spread, going hard and early is still the best course of action, she said during a televised news conference.

Ms Ardern said it was a positive sign that all 13 new community cases were linked back to one infected family, either via work or broader family connections, and that all were being transferred into quarantine facilities.

She said that experience showed things will get worse before they get better, and more cases were likely to be reported in coming days.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said that he suspected the cause of the outbreak came from quarantine, and that confirmation should come soon.

I think theres been a breach inside our quarantine system, and I think, when that comes out very shortly, in a matter of maybe less than a day, well find out that was the case, Mr Peters told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Mr Peters said he had been informed of the details by a New Zealand journalist.

Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said health officials were getting closer every hour to finding the patient zero of the outbreak.

On Wednesday, Bloomfield had raised the possibility that the virus had arrived in New Zealand via freight, given one of the initially infected family members works in a cool store that takes imported frozen goods from overseas.

(Reuters/NAN)
UPDATE (8/14): 829 new Pa. coronavirus cases; 15 concerning counties; new guidelines for reopening schools

Pennsylvania reported 991 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the most in a single day so far this month.

That brings the total Pa. case count to 122,121. Twenty-four more deaths were also reported; the COVID-19 death toll is now at least 7,409.

(Cant see the map? Click here.)

Locally, the two counties in the Lehigh Valley have reached 9,000 total cases, putting the region on par with Pittsburghs Allegheny County.

And Gov. Tom Wolf and his administration on Thursday unveiled a task forces recommendations to help minorities and marginalized populations hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Your Pennsylvania coronavirus updates for Aug. 13, 2020.

(Cant see the chart? Click here.)

Coronavirus in Pa.

The 991 new cases reported Thursday by the Pennsylvania Department of Health are the most since July 28, the last time more than 1,000 new cases were reported in a day.

The states largest cities led Thursdays case count. Philadelphia had 192 new cases and Allegheny County had 114, according to the health departments daily report.

Health department spokesperson Nate Wardle said Thursdays data shows a current picture and is not the result of any significant data backlogs.

Looking at longer-term trends, which contribute to decisions on reopening, the state as of Thursday averaged 800 cases a day over the last seven days, up from 778 a week ago. That rate had stayed below 800 for more than a week.

(Cant see the chart? Click here.)

More tests are being conducted. The 17,888 tests reported Thursday are the most in a day so far this month. Over the last week, an average of 15,820 tests were performed with 5.1% coming back positive each day. The test average is an increase from this time last week, the positivity rate is decreased.

The World Health Organization recommends a positivity rate of 5% or lower.

MORE: Tracking COVID-19  What the data means

The statewide rate of coronavirus hospitalizations has fallen, while the rate of deaths has risen.

An average of 612 Pennsylvanians were in the hospital for COVID-19 each day over the last week. That is down from 756 on July 30. (The state had to change how it reported hospitalizations to the federal government, hurting data accuracy over the last few weeks.)

Nineteen Pennsylvanians died from COVID-19 each day on average over the last week, up from 15 a day this time last week.

The state health department estimates that 78% of Pennsylvania coronavirus patients have recovered so far.

Coronavirus in the Lehigh Valley

The Lehigh Valleys two counties reached a combined 9,000 total coronavirus cases in Thursdays state report, a number comparable to Allegheny County, which has about 9,200.

With 40 new cases and three deaths reported by the state on Thursday, the Lehigh Valley now totals 9,018 cases and at least 634 deaths. That breaks down to:

5,036 total cases and 340 deaths in Lehigh County , with 14 new cases and two deaths reported in the last day. The county averaged 19 new cases a day over the last week, up from 15 a week ago.

3,982 total cases and 294 deaths in Northampton County , with 26 new cases and one death reported in the last day. The county averaged 11 new cases a day over the last week, compared to 12 a week ago.

(Cant see the chart? Click here.)

Individually, Lehigh and Northampton counties are ninth and 10th, respectively, in case counts and eighth and ninth in deaths among Pennsylvanias 67 counties.

Here is how bordering Pennsylvania counties compare:

Berks County has 5,491 total cases and 372 deaths, with 21 new cases and no deaths reported in the last day.

Bucks County has 7,318 total cases and 582 deaths, with 43 new cases and no deaths reported in the last day.

Carbon County has 379 total cases and 28 deaths, with two new cases and no deaths reported in the last day.

Monroe County has 1,655 total cases and 124 deaths, with five new cases and no deaths reported in the last day.

Montgomery County has 10,264 total cases and 859 deaths, with 45 new cases and no deaths reported in the last day.

Schuylkill County has 930 total cases and 51 deaths, with two new cases and no deaths reported in the last day.

(Cant see the table? Click here.)

Task force: How Pa. can help minorities during pandemic

A Pennsylvania task force created in April on Thursday released a report detailing how COVID-19 has impacted minorities and other marginalized populations, and how to help them.

The task force was ordered by Gov. Wolf and headed by Lt. Gov. John Fetterman. It found that housing was among the most urgent issues, and recommends sealing eviction records for those who applied for unemployment.

Among the reports other recommendations: increasing the income threshold for food assistance; assisting minority-owned businesses; and standardizing remote learning and access to technology.

Many of the recommendations are looking at a much broader set of disparities that exist throughout our commonwealth and our country for a long, long time, Wolf said in a news conference, PennLive.com reports.

MORE: Pa. task force outlines steps to reduce disparities among minority groups in coronavirus pandemic

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com.
(Natural News) The push is on worldwide to unleash as many different Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines as possible, including in Russia where the worlds first completed plandemic jab has officially been approved by Russian regulators, pending a rigorous safety data review. But the World Health Organization (WHO) is already saying not so fast, simply because the injection was developed in Russia.

While the globalist arm of the United Nations (UN) has never met a vaccine that it did not by default consider to be safe and effective, this new one out of Russia is raising some serious eyebrows due to the many anti-Russia conspiracy theories that have been circulated by both the mainstream media and the left in recent years.

Suddenly it is of critical importance  though this has never been the case prior  that a vaccine be carefully looked at to ensure that it is everything its manufacturer claims it to be. And again, this is only because the vaccine in question was developed in Russia which, according to Democrats, is responsible for most of the evils in our world.

We are in close contact with the Russian health authorities and discussions are ongoing with respect to possible WHO pre-qualification of the vaccine, indicated Tarik Jasarevic, WHOs official spokesman, during a recent digital press briefing. Pre-qualification of any vaccine includes the rigorous review and assessment of all the required safety and efficacy data.

Known as Sputnik V, the vaccine was developed by the Gamaleya Institute in Moscow with the help of the Russian defense ministry. It was then reportedly evaluated at Moscows official state medical university for safety and efficacy.

The chances of any Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine being safe or effective is next to nil, it turns out. Listen below to The Health Ranger Report as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, talks to Dr. Andrew Wakefield about the many risks associated with Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines:

American Big Pharma is suddenly pretending to care about safety, efficacy now that Russia is developing new vaccines

But none of this is enough for the WHO, nor is it enough for former FDA (Food and Drug Administration) director Scott Gottlieb who, during a recent appearance on Squawk Box, expressed serious doubts about the safety and efficacy of Russias first approved vaccine for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), which is still in phase-one clinical trials.

Pretending to be some kind of expert, Gottlieb, a Big Pharma hack who during his short-lived tenure infamously tried to wage war on kratom (mitragyna speciosa) as an apparent favor to his overlords, indicated that he wouldnt take it, referring to Russias Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine.

It appears it has only been tested in several hundred patients at most, Gottlieb complained, adding that the adenoviral vector used by Russian scientists to develop the vaccine is supposedly suboptimal.

Its not at all clear how efficacious the Russian adenovirus vaccine is going to be, he added, failing to mention that he currently sits on the board of Pfizer, which is also developing a Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) to compete with the Russian variety.

According to Russian officials, this new vaccine is ready for use, despite still being in the early stages of human clinical trials. The nation claims that it is extraordinarily safe, regardless of the international skepticism, adding that it has already passed all the necessary tests.

The most important thing is to ensure full safety of using the vaccine and its efficiency, stated Russian President Vladimir Putin. I know that it works rather effectively, forms a stable immunity, and, I repeat, it passed all the necessary inspections.

More of the latest news about the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) and the global race towards a vaccine is available at Pandemic.news.

Sources for this article include:

ZeroHedge.com

NaturalNews.com
For the UAE, home to skyscraper-studded Dubai and the rolling, oil-rich sand dunes of Abu Dhabi, it further burnishes its international campaign to be seen as a beacon of tolerance in the Middle East despite being governed by autocratic rulers. It also removes the stigma of recognizing Israel and could open the door for neighboring countries to follow suit.
Actor Chiranjeevi is pained to know about Sanjay Dutts health condition. But he is sure that the Munnabhai star will come out with flying colors as hes a fighter and has vanquished several crises in his life.

Sanjay Dutt was recently diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. Hes taking a break from his work and will travel to the US for treatment.

Dearest @duttsanjay bhai. Pained to know you are confronted with this health situation. But you are a fighter & have vanquished many crises over the years. Have no doubts you will come out of this with flying colors too. All our love and prayers for your speedy recovery (sic), Chiranjeevi tweeted.

Dearest @duttsanjay bhai , pained to know you are confronted with this health situation.But you are a fighter & have vanquished many crises over the years. Have no doubts you will come out of this with flying colors too.All our love and prayers for your speedy recovery. pic.twitter.com/uMTf3sN5R3  Chiranjeevi Konidela (@KChiruTweets) August 12, 2020

After Sanjay being diagnosed with stage four cancer, his wife, Maanayata, issued a statement on Wednesday, expressing confidence that this too shall pass.

I thank everyone who has expressed their well wishes for Sanjus speedy recovery. We need all the strength and prayers to overcome this phase. There is a lot that the family has gone through in the past years but I am confident, this too shall pass, she said, urging fans and well-wishers to not believe unwarranted rumours.

Also read: Alia Bhatts Sadak 2 the most disliked trailer on YouTube amid nepotism debate, fans demand justice for Sushant Singh Rajput

On the career front, Sanjay Dutt will be next seen on screen in Kannada film KGF: Chapter 2, in which he plays the antagonist, a character called Adheera. The makers had unveiled the first glimpse of Adheera via a special poster on Sanjays 61st birthday in July.

Sanjay still has about a week of shoot left on KGF: Chapter 2, which is being directed by Prashant Neel.

The films executive producer Karthik Gowda has said in an interview to Times of India that Sanjay will come back after his treatment and finish shooting for the remainder of his portion.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop
Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, have signed off the plan - WPA Pool/Getty Images Europe

Boris Johnson will stamp major schemes in Scotland that are paid for directly by the UK Government with a Union flag from next year, The Telegraph can reveal.

The flag will replace the European Union symbol, which has been used to denote when a bridge or road has been directly funded by Brussels.

The idea has been backed by the new Scottish Conservative leader, Douglas Ross, who said Tories north of the border needed to be "unashamed of our investment in Scotland".

But it was greeted with dismay by senior SNP politicians, with one accusing Mr Johnson's Government of "posturing of the worst order" and "trying to force the union flag down people's throats".

The Union flag will be used to highlight when UK central Government money has been spent in Scotland. It will not apply to Scottish government spending, even though a proportion of that derives from an annual block grant from London.

Mr Ross said he wanted to show the "visual connection" between UK Government money and schemes in Scotland.

In an interview with Friday's edition of Chopper's Politics, which you can listen to on the audio player below, he said: "We should be unashamed of our direct investment in communities across Scotland.

"We will see that, through the shared prosperity fund, that is the money that the EU used to earmark for projects in Scotland and other parts of the UK.

"If they could have an EU flag on it, why not have the United Kingdom flag on it to show that here is an example of our two governments in Scotland, working together, and the UK Government delivering for individual communities and projects the length and breadth of the country?"

Mr Ross said UK support "has seen us through the Covid pandemic by supporting local economies... the VAT reduction to five per cent is as welcome to tourism and hospitality companies in Shetland as in south Cornwall".

On Thursday night, Alister Jack, the Scottish Secretary, said the plan had been signed off by both Mr Johnson and Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, and would start next year after the end of the Brexit transition period.

Story continues

Alister Jack, the Scotland secretary, said the plan would start next year - GETTY IMAGES

Mr Jack told The Telegraph: "Where there is direct investment or joint investment between the two governments, you would expect to see the Union Jack sitting alongside the Saltire."

However, he admitted that SNP supporters were likely to be put out by the appearance of union flags on bridges and roads in Scotland. "They never got upset about seeing a European Union flag sitting alongside the Saltire  it is the only the Union Jack that upsets them," he said.

Tommy Sheppard, a senior SNP MP, described the plan as "foolish, and political tokenism and posturing of the worst order".

He said: "It would probably be counterproductive because there is no point trying to force the union flag down people's throats in the hope that they would like it. If the Union is so great, they should not need constantly to use the flag to promote it."

Listen to Choppers Politics, The Telegraph's weekly political podcast, on the audio player above, or make sure you never miss an episode by subscribing for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your preferred podcast app.
This story was published in partnership with The 19th, a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy.

The first time Dr. NanaEfua Afoh-Manin stationed her coronavirus testing pop-up site on the edge of a Black Lives Matter protest, George Floyds face looked down at her from the wall of a boarded up building in West Oakland. The words cant be in vain dripped red from his forehead.

This season of suffering had incensed 43-year-old Afoh-Manin. Black people, sick and alone, filled the Los Angeles hospital where she worked. She set up testing pop-ups across the region, trying to help people before they ended up in her emergency room. Then the death of George Floyd threw the nation into turmoil over a different kind of Black death. So she took her pop-ups from parking lots to protests, enlisting volunteers to swab nostrils and hand out protest survival kits packed with goggles and face shields.

I hope white women will help us change America in 2020. But so far I'm not counting on it.

Long ago, she had been a protester herself, fighting for affirmative action in California. She had chosen to study medicine after seeing her mother, a respected registered nurse with cervical cancer, treated with apathy by her oncologist. And Afoh-Manin had known fear of the police, the first time as a 15-year-old girl in the back of a patrol car.

Standing among the protesters this summer, she returned to that memory, the one she had repressed. To the stop and the hour-long interrogation. To the handcuffs pushing on her bracelet, cutting into her wrist.

She had cried so hard she fainted. Driving without a license, the officers later said.

Afoh-Manins journey, like that of many Black women in America, has been a story of resistance and persistence. But this year brought a new test when two pandemics converged at once.

Ash Girtley is struggling to make ends meet amid the coronavirus pandemic

The original pandemic, racism, has ensured Black women have been at a disadvantage in every conceivable arena  hiring, education, health care, banking  victims of the incomplete crawl toward change. Now, coronavirus-induced economic turmoil has rotted away what little safety net many of these women could rely on.

Story continues

Black women represent about 11 percent of essential workers even though theyre only 6 percent of the workforce. Theyre also one of the only groups for whom unemployment during the pandemic went up from one month to the next, while for others it went down. About 1.4 million jobs held by Black women have vanished since February.

And yet, many are turning this into a moment of action, to seize their economic destiny, to call for respect toward Black lives and, in some cases, to drive the course of progress forward. So that change isnt gradual or imperceptible, but tangible and real and now.

Afoh-Manin felt that urgency when a Black mother and daughter entered her Los Angeles emergency room in March, coronavirus in their lungs.

What is systemic racism? Here's what it means and how you can help dismantle it

The mother went straight to the intensive care unit. The daughter  a single mother herself with two children  avoided the worst of it, but she was asthmatic. Afoh-Manin knew she had to keep her in the hospital, but the young mother didnt have anyone who could take care of her kids.

The hospital was going to fail this woman, Afoh-Manin realized, because it, too, didnt have a plan.Theyd have to turn to child welfare  a historically punitive system for many Black mothers.

Thats when I was like, No. Not on my watch. I cant live with myself, and I cant be part of this, Afoh-Manin said. You know somethings happening and theres a reason why all my lived experiences got me to this point, and it was to get me to get out and say, No, youre not going to take the kids away from this mom.

In the short-term, Afoh-Manin and her team devised a way for the children to stay in the hospital so they wouldnt go into foster care. The experience inspired her and two fellow Black female doctors to put together $16,000 to create myCovidMD, a nonprofit that provides testing to communities being ravaged by the virus.

But like many Black women-owned businesses, they were denied for the federal governments coronavirus business stimulus, the Paycheck Protection Program loan. In fact, their first 39 grant applications seeking money earmarked for small businesses, for women-led businesses, for emergency response, were denied.

It was only through Afoh-Manins punishing seven-day work weeks, between the hospital and her fundraising schedule, that she was able to put together enough in donations for her program to finally take off, serving more than 3,000 people as of July from Queens to Los Angeles.

To make it happen, she lives by her moms mantra: Mountain, move out of my way.

Afoh-Manin has thought about the mountains still ahead of her often this year. Shes thought about Breonna Taylor  the 26-year-old EMT was one of us,  a health care worker taken not by the virus, but at the hands of police. Shes thought about the faces in the murals.

Im gonna resist the knee on my neck, she said. No matter what.

A broken system

For decades, Black women have been fighting to control their fiscal future.

They have historically had the highest labor force participation of any female group  63 percent at the start of 2020 compared to 58 percent of White women. And theyre avid voters, showing up at consistently higher rates than other groups.

But systems dating back to slavery relegated many of them to work in the agricultural field and as domestic servants in the early 20th century, and racism kept them there long after emancipation. During the New Deal era in the 1930s, southern Democrats in Congress worked to exclude farm workers and domestic service from labor protections like minimum wage, overtime pay and collective bargaining rights.

It wasnt until the 1970s that Black women started to finally experience some occupational diversity. But they were, and still are, concentrated in low-wage service jobs  the kinds of jobs now labeled essential but still lack labor protections such as paid sick leave or even access to health care. Today, Black women are more than twice as likely as White women to work in service occupations.

Despite the challenges, Black women are starting new businesses at the fastest rate of any group. In the past decade, the number of Black women with more than a four-year degree has risen by 37 percent  compared to 23 percent for White women  even though Black women continue to have the highest rate of student loan debt.

That means Black women, who have been part of the labor force at higher rates than other groups and spend more to attain an education, are far less likely to reap the benefits of that work  even when they are in higher-wage positions.

Now, even that marginal progress stands to be eroded as coronavirus threatens women across the socioeconomic spectrum, from business owners to frontline workers.

When you think about the progress that Black women have made, a lot of times that progress is somewhat precarious. It rests on a set of factors that, if they get pulled out, you realize that the progress that you think has been made is somewhat illusory, said Jocelyn Frye, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank. When a disruption the magnitude of the pandemic happens, we sort of have to go back to the drawing board and some of the underlying systemic problems rear their head.

In some instances, the pandemic has pushed Black women out of the labor force altogether, cutting the final tether for women like Anastancia Cuna, a nanny in the Boston area who has lived with little economic protection for years.

When the pandemic hit, she found herself without health insurance  only one in five domestic workers in the nation, who are 92 percent female and 52 percent women of color, are provided health insurance by their employers. Her job was to go into peoples homes when everyone was being advised to socially distance. Cuna feared the physical effects of COVID-19, yes, but more importantly for her, she could not afford to get sick.

She quit in March.

Now, with her husband out of work, too, the family has had to cut back on buying meat, poultry and seafood to save money. They buy tofu instead. They dont have enough to buy their 12-year-old daughter, Nyeleti, a new pair of sneakers.

Its hard to have to see the pandemic, which we were not prepared for, and then on top of that the racial injustice that were going through, said Cuna, 38. Its just too hard.

Across the country, Black women are bearing a larger share of that burden as the heads of their households. Nearly 70 percent of Black women are the primary or only breadwinner in their family, according to a report from the Center for American Progress. Thats about twice the rate for White women.

Black households have less in the bank in the case of, say, an economy-tanking global pandemic. In general, they have about fives times less in liquid assets  checking and savings accounts, cash and directly held stocks, bonds and mutual funds  than White households: About $8,800 compared to $49,500, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

And Black families are also making less overall. The median household income for a Black household is about $41,700, 70 percent lower than a White household, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Thats due, in part, because it takes Black women until August to catch up to the wages White men made the year before.

Like the Cunas, many Black families also have fewer benefits to rely on. Black workers are 60 percent more likely to be uninsured than White workers.

All of those factors build an insecure bedrock for Black families that is extremely vulnerable to any disruption. The impact shows up in the numbers: In May, for example, Black female unemployment went up to 16.5 percent when it was going down for White women and Latinas. (For Asian women, it also went up month-to-month, from 15.6 percent in April to 16.4 percent in May.)

The reason, said Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Womens Law Center, is systemic racism that has put Black women in the most susceptible jobs. For instance, Black women are the only group whose share of the frontline worker labor force is almost double their share of the overall workforce.

I worry that people will not be able to understand whats complicated around that, Goss Graves said. Theres a risk that people misunderstand the connection between racial justice and economic justice, and so we want to take on only one and not the other. But the economy isnt actually rebounding if Black women are losing more jobs.

Black women are at risk of losing their foothold in the labor force if their role in American households  as primary breadwinners and caretakers, in particular  isnt addressed.

This includes women like McDonalds worker Bettie Douglas, the sole income earner in her St. Louis household. Douglas makes $10 an hour and cares for her brother, who is disabled, her oldest son, who is recovering from a brain tumor, and her youngest son, who just graduated high school.

Since the pandemic started, shes had to fight to keep hours and the full-time status she recently earned after 14 years with the company.

Ive worked from the grill, cashiering, lobby, maintenance  everything, said Douglas, 62. I put the burgers together. Im all over the place. I clean the refrigerator. Im pulling stuff out of the toilet, Im a plumber. You name it. Ive done it there.

And yet she still cant scrape together enough to buy a refrigerator. So she rides the bus every day to the grocery store, a task that costs her more in the long run.

For five months this year, shes watched the bills pile up.

I havent even opened the bills because Im afraid. Ive just been collecting them, she said. Life shouldnt be this big of a struggle. Im just trying to live an honest life.

And then theres the relentless racism she said she lives with on a daily basis. Douglas said she hopes this is the moment that moves the needle  with the twin pandemics pushing the conversation forward to help address the issues that have long plagued Black women.

What I can say is that this moment feels different from any other moment I have experienced in my lifetime, said Nina Banks, associate Professor of Economics at Bucknell University and an expert on Black women in the labor force.

Shes worried some changes will be more symbolic than seismic. But she knows substantive change is coming. She sees it and hears it in the students at her university.

This is generational, Banks said. Younger people get it.

What comes after protest

The path toward change starts with intent. Intentionality about collecting data on race and ethnicity could help lead to policies that illuminate the barriers to mobility that have long existed for communities of color, said Frye at the Center for American Progress. It wasnt until The New York Times sued the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more data on the racial impact of coronavirus, for example, that the scope of the virus assault on people of color came into focus.

Its not anti-bias training one time, Frye said, but its a host of long-term policies that target resources into the areas that breed disparities.

Its not easy work, to be sure, but it is very intentional work that is intended to surface disparities that are happening not just to women generally, but to women of color specifically, and to set those as baseline measures, Frye said. If youre not fixing the pay gap for Black women then youre not fixing the pay gap.

Its also addressing the way national crises, like the child care shortage, impact women of color severely. A recent proposal by Senate Democrats, for instance, aims to spend $350 billion over five years to address economic inequalities in communities of color that have been highlighted by coronavirus, including by dedicating funds to stabilizing daycare facilities and giving more families access to child care.

And a recent survey by Lean In found that Black women spend an estimated 12 hours more a week on child care responsibilities than White women. One in five child care providers have lost their jobs since January, weakening a system Black mothers rely on heavily.

White women in the United States have been socially valued as mothers, but Black women have primarily been viewed as workers without regard to their caregiving needs as mothers, Banks said.

The Senate proposal is unlikely to get bipartisan support.

In the Bronx, Brigette Brantley has grown up knowing the system wasnt ever really built to help people like her. When her mom lost her job in the last recession, for example, a worker at the local Human Resources Administration tried to convince her she would be fine with just unemployment insurance, and that she shouldnt access any other public assistance.

It took Brantley speaking up for her mother for her to get the help she needed.

Now Brantley, 30, is also out of a job after her contract teaching eighth grade social studies wasnt renewed when the pandemic hit. Shes relying on unemployment insurance for the first time in her life. She already cut the cable, and shes wondering if she can send her 8-year-old son to school in the fall if she doesnt even know how she can afford to buy him shoes or do his laundry.

This summer, Brantley has watched the anger bubble in her community, in her students who have nothing to do in a season filled with rage. Shes marched alongside those who are turning their anger into action. Something has changed for her, too.

A clip of her speaking to a reporter during a protest in the Bronx went viral in June because it amplified what so many Black women, and Black mothers in particular, were feeling.

Im a Black mother and Im a social studies teacher and Im raising a Black son in America so I have no choice but to fight and walk, Brantley says in the video, answering questions about the protests that at times turned violent. The government gave $1,200 to people to survive on in March, what you thought was gonna happen? You took summer youth away from the youth, what you thought was gonna happen? They need jobs. Feed our babies and we dont have this problem.

At the encouragement of her students, Brantley set up a GoFundMe to launch a tour of five cities, speaking with organizers across the country tackling systemic racism. The fund has collected more than $55,000. But with coronavirus threatening those plans, shes decided to instead take busloads of children from her community to the Aug. 28 March on Washington  the 57-year anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.s I Have A Dream speech.

Brantley, who proudly shares that she has the same birthday as activist Angela Davis, believes this is her Angela Davis moment. Its her chance to see what happens after everything crumbles and a movement is reborn from those ashes.

Does policy change? Does the world?

She needs to see it for herself.

When the press leaves, does the activism die because its not being watched? It shouldnt be that way, it should always be watched. I was tired of watching it from my TV screen. I want to see it physically, Brantley said. I need to physically go see what is the aftermath of what happens.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: When systemic racism meets the COVID-19, Black women suffer economically
Manila: The Philippines plans to launch clinical trials for Russia's coronavirus vaccine in October after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the world's first regulatory approval  a move that raised safety concerns over the frantic pace of development.

President Rodrigo Duterte expected to be inoculated as early as May 2021, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will buy the Russian coronavirus vaccine and be one of the first to be inoculated, his spokesman said. Credit:AP

Phase-three clinical trials in the Philippines are due to run from October to March 2021 after a panel of vaccine experts completes its review of Russia's phase-one and phase-two trials in September, Roque told a briefing.

A Brazilian technology institute said on Wednesday it expected to produce the controversial Sputnik V coronavirus Russian vaccine by the second half of 2021, shortly after the state of Parana signed a memorandum of understanding with Moscow.
(Reuters) - American International Group Inc <AIG.N> on Thursday promoted David McElroy to the post of chief executive officer of general insurance and executive vice president with immediate effect.

McElroy, who was president and chief executive officer of the North American operations of general insurance at AIG, will also join the AIG executive leadership team and report to Peter Zaffino, the insurer's president and global chief operating officer. [nBw9G8kn9a]

McElroy takes over the role of CEO, general insurance from Zaffino in a move that gives Zaffino more time to spend on corporate-wide initiatives and puts him in place to eventually take over as CEO from Brian Duperreault, Wells Fargo analyst Elyse Greenspan said.

Zaffino was named president of AIG, one of the largest U.S. insurers, in December. (https://reut.rs/3fRZhfd)

"Our view has always been that Duperreault would step down and hand the reins over to Zaffino when there was line of sight to consistent improved performance within its General Insurance business," Greenspan said.

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
- A Ugandan woman who describes herself as Hustle Queen01 took the initiative to repair her community's toilets for free

- The young lady shared photos of her thing on social media which attracted public attention

- She said she had collected some materials from her previous work stations that she used for the toilet

In the modern world, free things are increasingly becoming scarce and the little ones that are offered are mostly from politicians who will always ask for something in return.

However, a female engineer from Uganda is among the few people who have gone the extra mile to not only impact her community positively but also to encourage others to do the same.

READ ALSO: Man catches girlfriend with another man after she took money from him to visit her sick brother

The young lady tiling public toilet in her community. Photo: Hustle Queen01

Source: Twitter

READ ALSO: Alichoambiwa Murkomen na Uhuru kufuatia kuangukiwa na shoka na habari zingine zilizotamba

The lady who described herself as Queen Hustler and CEO of Brenno Construction Flag of Uganda shared photos of her tiling public toilets in her community.

"Today I gave back to my community. I tiled public toilets for free. Please don't forget to retweet my next client may be on your timeline," she said.

In the photos, the lady was seen wearing her close-fitting blue overall as she undertook the exercise of tiling the dilapidated toilets for free.

READ ALSO: Decomposing body of Suna West MP's brother found in his rental house

She said she collected the tiles from her previous work stations and bought other materials that she used to change the toilet's image.

The end product was so amazing that netizens could only admire her determination and hard work in making her community better.

Here are some of the comments from her Twitter followers:

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

Source: TUKO.co.ke
A Perth teenager has been accused of sexually assaulting underage girls at short-term rental house parties advertised on social media. The 18-year-old man allegedly abused two 15-year-old girls between November 2019 and January 2020 at two separate events in the Cannington area. Investigations are continuing. Child Abuse Squad Acting Sergeant Chantal Killen said the parties, which attracted more than 150 people, were advertised on Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram and targeted "ethnic groups". She said the events had been organised by a group of "linked associates" who booked the short-term rentals across the metropolitan area using fake credit card details.

"Although our investigations have uncovered that it is specific ethnic groups that are being targeted by these event organisers, this kind of behaviour is not limited to one ethnic group," she said. "We would encourage any victims of sexual assault to come forward." Sergeant Killen said police was trying to determine whether the group had organised the parties with the purpose of luring young girls. The Thornlie man was charged with two counts of sexual penetration of a child and aggravated sexual penetration without consent and was released on bail. He will face the Armadale Magistrates Court on August 18.
In a Zoom call with backbenchers Ms Patel (pictured in Dover this week) suggested that the system was being 'exploited by leftie Labour-supporting lawyers' who were doing everything they could to stop the Government removing people.

Priti Patel has warned France the UK will not cough up millions of pounds for anti-migrant patrols unless it agrees to take back more refugees as she prepares sweeping changes to the 'broken' immigration system.

The Home Secretary told Tory MPs that she was preparing sweeping legal changes that would 'send the left into meltdown', as migrants arrived in Dover for the 10th day in a row.

People in lifejackets and masks were brought into the harbour aboard a Border Force patrol boat before being taken ashore by officials.

In a Zoom call with hardline backbenchers she suggested that the system was being 'exploited by leftie Labour-supporting lawyers' who were doing everything they could to stop the Government removing people.

And she said that France's demand for 30million to fund Channel patrols and surveillance would be dependent on it taking in more of those seeking to get to the UK, the Times reported.

Favourable weather in the English Channel has made the crossing possible for hundreds of migrants over the last 10 days, despite her vow to make the route 'unviable'.

The Government has asked for military assistance, which so far has taken the form of two RAF planes, but proposals to send armed forces to the English Channel to deal with small boat crossings have come under fire from France.

Calais mayor Natacha Bouchart said sending the Royal Navy into the English Channel to deal with migrant crossings is a 'declaration of maritime war'.

And Labour shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds insisted that ministers must provide solutions rather than 'empty headlines' in order to tackle the issue.

Shadow justice secretary David Lammy added: 'Extremely distasteful for Priti Patel to say our asylum system is ''exploited by leftie lawyers''.

'Caricaturing an entire profession, which is subject to a code of conduct and upholds the rule of law, is dangerous and unbecoming of a serious Home Secretary.'

Hundreds of migrants have crossed the dangerous waters of the Channel on small boats in the last 10 days

The Home Secretary told Tory MPs that she was preparing sweeping legal changes that would 'send the left into meltdown'

Meanwhile Kent County Council said it could be just 'days away' from being unable to look after more asylum seeking children arriving on its shores.

In Dover on Thursday morning more suspected migrants arrived on Border Force's patrol boat Speedwell.

They were taken ashore by immigration officials where they will be assessed for symptoms of coronavirus, as is protocol.

Border Force cutter Seeker and French border patrol boat Scarpe have also been active in the Channel on Thursday.

It comes after 71 migrants arrived in the UK on Wednesday, travelling aboard six boats.

Hundreds of migrants have crossed the dangerous waters of the Channel on small boats in the last 10 days.

The numbers peaked on August 6 when 235 made it to the UK - a single-day record.

Ms Patel's newly appointed Clandestine Channel Threat Commander, Dan O'Mahoney, said: 'These crossings are dangerous and unnecessary and I am determined to stop them.

'The minister and I met with French officials in Paris on Tuesday for discussions on how to advance joint working on making the small boats route for illegal migration unviable.

'We will continue to go after the heinous criminals and organised crime networks putting people's lives at risk.'

The Government's handling of migrant crossings came under fire from Labour, which accused it of lacking 'competence and compassion'.

Mr Thomas-Symonds said on Wednesday that it had resulted in thousands risking their lives in dangerous waters.

In a letter to Ms Patel, he said: 'Anyone watching the footage will see the huge danger in these crossings. It's wrong that this is happening and that so many people are risking their lives having already faced extraordinary hardship.

"The approach being pursued by Government is lacking in competence and compassion, resulting in thousands of people, including many children, risking their lives in incredibly dangerous waters.

"Criminal gangs continue to profit, with many people coming from some of the most dangerous and unstable parts of the world."

He continued: "The situation has been exacerbated by Government rhetoric when you should have been concentrating on the need to find a viable, humanitarian, practical solution, working with international partners."
Turkish govt. working on increasing fishery consumption: Minister

August 13,2020 | Source: Ankara

The Turkish government has encouraged fish sales with incentives in a bid to increase consumption during the yearly four-and-a-half-month fishing ban that will be lifted by the end of this month, the agriculture minister has said.



The Agriculture and Forestry Ministry introduced a decision in April to release processed and frozen fishery products to the domestic market at around production costs, Bekir Pakdemirli said in a written response to a parliamentary question addressed by main opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP) deputy Omer Fethi Gurer.



Turkeys fishing season ended on April 15, with a countrywide ban effective until Sept. 1. However, many fishing boats were laid off the stocks a couple of weeks earlier due to the coronavirus pandemic, which hit the country in mid-March, and also because of the less amount of fish in the Black, Aegean, Mediterranean and Marmara seas.



Under the coordination of our ministry, campaigns to sell seabream and seabass on April 3-7, Turkish salmon on April 15-17, and trout on April 21-22 were carried out. Fish presented to the taste of our people with these campaigns were met with high interest, said Pakdemirli.



In 2019, fishery products average consumption per capita in Turkey rose 2 percent to 6.26 kilograms, he noted.



Average consumption per capita is around 20 kilograms on a global scale, according to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).



Producers, consumers and retailers all welcomed the ministrys initiative, the minister said, adding that, the ministry aims at increasing fishery product consumption per capita and creating alternative marketing channels for producers and sellers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.



Gurer had submitted a written question asking what measures the government had introduced to increase fishery consumption, which also supports public health, in the ongoing period of the coronavirus pandemic.



Fishery production in Turkey posted a 33.1 percent increase last year on an annual basis, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) said in June.



The fishery production reached 836,524 tons in 2019, according to TUIK figures.



The total fishery production constitutes the fishes caught by 44.8 percent, other sea products by 6.8 percent, inland water products by 3.8 percent, and aquaculture products by 44.6 percent, it noted.



Marine production increased by 52 percent and inland water production increased by 4.8 percent compared to the previous year.



Among sea fishes, anchovy is at the top with 262,544 tons captured, followed by sprat with 38,078 tons, and pilchard with 19,119 tons.



Experts blame pollution, climate change and irresponsible fishing for the decreasing number of fish in the last decades.



Fishermen are hoping to get a bumper catch of anchovy, horse mackerel and baby bonito fish varieties three weeks ahead of the new season.



The price of a baby bonito caught by a handline ranged between 7.5 and 10 Turkish Liras ($1.02 and $1.36) at the fish markets in the eastern Black Sea province of Trabzon yesterday.



At Istanbuls wholesale fish market hall, one kilogram of seabass was being sold for 28 liras ($3.83), and one kilogram of imported salmon was marketed for 45 liras ($6.16).

 2020 Hurriyet Daily News

Theme(s): Fisheries Development and Aquaculture.
In a major relief for Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, six Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLAs who had merged with the Congress would be able to take part in the trust vote likely to be held in the Assembly on Friday.

The Supreme Court, which was hearing a petition of BJP MLA Madan Dilawar for a temporary freeze on the merger, refused to allow it and left the decision to a single judge in Rajasthan, which is hearing the matter.

The plea had sought an urgent hearing by the apex court to take a call on the matter in view of the beginning of the Assembly session.

However, the SC said it will not interfere in the case as the high court is already hearing the matter, adding that it will take up the case on Monday after the HC decides on it.

The BJP has said it would move a no-confidence motion against the Gehlot government in the state assembly on Friday.

The high court, meanwhile, posted for hearing on Friday the petitions filed by Dilawar and the BSP challenging the merger of the six MLAs with the Congress.

After hearing arguments, Justice Mahendra Kumar Goyal posted the matter for next hearing on Friday as a half day was observed in the court.

The Rajasthan assembly speaker's counsel Kapil Sibal argued that the BSP must approach the speaker first. In case, he does not pass any order, then the BSP may approach the court for a direction to the speaker for deciding their application.

He said the BSP's writ petition bypasses the available remedy. Sibal contended that he has no problem if the BSP and the BJP are directed to approach the speaker for a proper order.

Senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, who represented one of the six MLAs, also started his arguments but hearing remained inconclusive owing to paucity of time. The matter will now be heard on Friday.

The petitioners have challenged the merger of the six MLAs- Sandeep Yadav, Wajib Ali, Deepchand Kheria, Lakhan Meena, Jogendra Awana and Rajendra Gudha-with the Congress and demanded a stay on the execution of the order passed by the speaker in this regard.

They contested and won the 2018 assembly elections on BSP tickets. All of them defected to the Congress in September 2019.

The MLAs submitted an application for merger on September 16, 2019 and the speaker issued an order on September 18, 2019. Dilawar challenged the merger and filed a petition before the speaker in March this year which was rejected on July 24.

Dilawar challenged the decision of the speaker in the high court and demanded a stay on the merger. Similarly, the BSP filed a separate petition against the merger.

The single-judge bench of the high court on July 30 issued notices to the speaker and secretary of the assembly, and the six MLAs but did not give a stay on the merger against which Dilawar approached the division bench with an appeal. The division bench disposed of the appeal and directed the single-judge bench to decide the matter.

The merger of BSP MLAs with the ruling Congress was a boost to the Ashok Gehlot-led government in the state as the tally of the Congress increased to 107 in the house of 200.

(With inputs from PTI)
China could have naval dominance by 2030 and naval superiority by 2049. Such a foreboding prophecy comes from Captain James E. Fanell (Retired), former director of Intelligence and Information Operations for the U.S. Pacific Fleet, in a widely published account this past weekend. But maintaining itdealing with the corruptionand trying to create its own multi-power standard might just be more than Beijing bargained for, The National Interest writes in the article China Could Have Naval Dominance by 2030 and Naval Superiority by 2049?

According to some dire predictions, Chinas Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) could have naval dominance by 2030 and naval superiority by 2049. Such a foreboding prophecy comes from Captain James E. Fanell (Retired), former director of Intelligence and Information Operations for the U.S. Pacific Fleet, in a widely published account this past weekend. In an op-ed, Captain Fanell wrote, After 20 years of transformation, the PLA Navy operates around the world from the Baltic to the South Pacific and from the Arctic to the Antarctic The PRCs naval expansion is already well advanced. Since 2008, the PLA Navy has dispatched 35 naval escort task forces through the Indian Ocean and into the Gulf of Aden, and PLA Navy ships have visited over 60 nations. Fanell added that the PLAN no longer worries about warship shortages, and that great attention is now being paid to its aircraft carrier platform, while Beijing is also focusing on its Type 075 landing helicopter (LHA) amphibious assault vessels. The latter would be comparable to the U.S. Navys America-class LHAand that platform would prove crucial should Beijing ever actually mount an invasion to reclaim Taiwan.

Perhaps most worrisome in Fanells forecast is that he assesses that the PLAN could consist of a surface force of more than 450 ships, along with a submarine force approaching 1109 submarines by just 2030. That is a 10 percent increase from his 2015 estimate, one he warned could even be on the low side. The goal for China is a global naval presence, first to the Indian Ocean and then beyond.

Some of that global reach has already become a reality, as the PLAN is engaged in enlarging its first overseas military base in Djibouti on the Red Sea. That base, which is located near the U.S. Naval Expeditionary Base, was built at a cost of $590 million in 2017. While Djibouti is one of Africas smaller nations it has become an important strategic partner to Beijing.

Fanell is not the only one to express concerns at the rate of the PLANs expansion. Last month a Congressional Research Service Report, China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities Background and Issues for Congress, highlighted Beijings naval modernization efforts, which encompassed a wide array of platforms and weapon acquisition programs. According to the report, these include anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBMs), anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCMs), submarines, surface ships, aircraft, unmanned vehicles (UVs), and supporting C4ISR (command and control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) systems.

The report also highlighted that there are several issues that Congress must take action on, including whether the U.S. Navy is responding appropriately to Chinas naval modernization efforts and even if the planned size of the Navy will be appropriate to counter China.

While such concerns of Chinese naval acquisitions must be addressed by lawmakers in Washington, there are some factors to consider. First, such a building problem by Beijing still faces the very serious issue of corruption. As The National Interest previously reported, Chinas naval modernization is far more complex than simple growth as the corruption among the shipbuilders will have lasting consequences for the PLAN. The more money that China invests in shipbuilding the more opportunities for corruption will emerge, so the question then becomes whether Beijing can offer the necessary transparency to fight that corruption.

Then there are the lessons from history

The British Royal Navy adopted its so-called two-power standard, which required that it increase its naval strength. The standard called for the Royal Navy to maintain a number of battleships at least equal to the combined strength of the next two largest navies in the world, which then were France and Russia. This became a real problem when the Royal Navy built the HMS Dreadnought, which made all other battleships essentially obsolete. Overnight the British lost their advantage and that started a new round of warship building.

For China to gain naval dominance would require that it could launch and maintain more than the 11 aircraft carriers the United States Navy now operates, but would also need to keep pace with the carriers in service with the Royal Navy, France and Australia. As long as NATO exists it isnt just the 11 U.S. carriers and potentially nine LHAs in the U.S. fleet, but all of those other carriers.

Fanell noted that an alliance with other partners is the United States best course of action. He wrote, The best option to avert future conflict is for the U.S. and India to adopt a combined effort to significantly enhance our whole of government approach to strengthen and integrate our military capabilities to confront the PRCs bad behavior, especially at sea. Perhaps, first letting China spend wildly on developing a navy should also be an option as well. Maintaining itdealing with the corruptionand trying to create its own multi-power standard might just be more than Beijing bargained for.
GST on textiles will not be increased from 5 to 12 per cent: FM Sitharaman

It is not BJP money: Nirmala Sitharaman on IT raids on 'Samajwadi perfume' trader

Budget Session 2022 to commence on January 31; Union Budget to be tabled on February 1

FM Nirmala Sitharaman to address press conference at 4:30 pm, likely to clear air on Antrix Devas issue

FM Sitharaman on Devas-Antrix issue: Cong has no moral right to speak about crony capitalism

Will bring in certainty of information: Nirmala Sitharaman on 'transparent taxation' platform

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Aug 13: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said that the launch of Transparent Taxation - Honoring the Honest platform will bring transparent, efficient and accountable tax administration.

''PM's vision is to empower the taxpayer, to provide a transparent system & to honour honest taxpayers. To realise this vision, CBDT has given a framework & put in place this system,'' Sitharaman said. ''It provides traceability and authenticity to the communication of the department with its taxpayers. Pre-filled forms are also being provided to taxpayers so that high-value transactions are recorded'' she further said.

PM Modi launches platform for 'Transparent taxation-Honouring the Honest' | Oneindia News

'Transparent Taxation  Honoring the Honest': PM Modi unveils 'fundamental reforms' for taxpayers

''During the COVID-19, IT dept provided relief by extending the deadlines of filing returns and releasing dues expeditiously, the Finance Minister said.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a platform 'Transparent Taxation Honoring the Honest' via video conference, which, he said will strengthen efforts of "reforming and simplifying our tax system".

He unveiled the next phase of direct tax reforms aimed at easing compliance and rewarding honest taxpayers as the government looks to rebuild the pandemic-hit economy.

The Budget for 2020-21 fiscal unveiled on February 1, had announced a 'taxpayer charter', which is expected to have statutory status and will empower citizens by ensuring time-bound services by the Income Tax department.

The charter will ensure trust between a taxpayer and the administration and reduce harassment, as well as increase efficiency of the department, Sitharman had said in her Budget speech.

The recent tax reforms announced by the government include reduction in corporate tax to 22 per cent from 30 per cent for existing companies and 15 per cent for new manufacturing units, scraping of dividend distribution tax and faceless assessment.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a tweet on Wednesday said, "Truly, this shall mark an important step forward in providing a simple and transparent taxation regime for India".

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Story first published: Thursday, August 13, 2020, 11:56 [IST]
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ultra Film, the HD movie network, designed for the Latino audience that showcases hit international movies starring well-known personalities from around the world, dubbed into Spanish-language by the Olympusat team in Mexico, presents three well deployed British and Americans horror movies in addition to a romantic story this summer: La Habitacion del Sueno (The Sleeping Room), Lago Perverso (Wicked Lake), Asesinato en la Isla (Killer Island), and the Ukrainian TV series Amor Ante Todo (Love Against Odds).

La Habitacion del Sueno (The Sleeping Room)

Director : John Shackleton.

Cast : Julie Graham, Leila Mimmack, Christopher Adamson, and Joseph Beattie.

Synopsis : The British Horror Film narrates the story of a 19 year-old call-girl who is hired for a guy living in a seaside old house which used to be an infamous Victorian brothel with a murderous history. Together they uncover a secret they little know the horrifying impact it will have on their lives.

Lago Perverso (Wicked Lake)

Director : Zach Passero.

Cast : Carlee Baker, Angela Bettis, Eve Mauro, and J.D. Brown.

Synopsis : An American thriller movie about four mysterious and attractive girls traveling outside the city to a remote woodland cabin for a relaxing weekend while an eccentric group of men follow them with rape on their minds, but the potential victims are cannibal witches.

Asesinato en la Isla (Killer Island)

Director : Alyn Darnay.

Cast : Barbie Castro, Brian Gross, Miguel Fasa, and Jordi Vilasuso.

Synopsis : The suspense story recounts how a woman becomes a target while on vacation with her husband after she begins to suspect that one of the island's locals may have committed multiple murders. They decide to live apart until the husband realizes that his wife is missing, and she was right all along.

Amor Ante Todo (Love Against Odds)

Director : Sergey Shcherbin.

Cast : Dmitry Belyakin, Marina Mitrofanova, Lev Somov, and Stas Boklan.

Synopsis : A Ukraine romantic drama TV series describes the love between a man and a woman from different worlds. She comes from a wealthy and intellectual family. He is a thief and a desperate fortune hunter. Her parents hold back nothing to destroy their relationship. However, the lovers will save their feelings through the challenge of their destiny.

Ultra Film is owned and operated by Olympusat Inc., and it's currently available on Charter Spectrum, Hotwire Communications, Liberty, and FiOS by Verizon.

For more information about Ultra Cine's programming, including tune in dates and times, please visit Olympusat networks

Olympusat - Editorial Contact:

Jesus Pinango

Senior Director of News

[email protected]

SOURCE Ultra Film
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gives a speech at the Malacanang Palace in Manila on June 1, 2017.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte may be injected with Russia's coronavirus vaccine as early as May 2021, according to the government's official newswire, which quoted the presidential spokesman on Thursday.

Earlier this week, Duterte volunteered to participate in trials for the Russian vaccine, even as scientists and health experts questioned the safety and effectiveness of the drug.

Russia on Tuesday announced it had registered the world's first vaccine for the fast-spreading coronavirus disease, or Covid-19, after less than two months of clinical trials. Data of those trials have not been published.

The Philippines is among a handful of countries that will take part in a more extensive "phase three" trial for the vaccine. Philippine News Agency, the government's official newswire, reported that the country aims to begin those trials in October.

Phase three trials are considered by medical experts to be critical for any vaccine development and are needed to root out any potential side effects. Such trials, which typically randomize who gets the vaccine and who doesn't, can involve thousands of participants.

The Philippines last week overtook Indonesia to report the highest number of cumulative coronavirus cases in Southeast Asia, data compiled by Johns Hopkins University showed. As of Thursday afternoon, the country has reported 143,749 cases and 2,404 deaths, according to Hopkins data.

Duterte last month pleaded with China to make his country a priority as it develops a vaccine, reported Reuters.
All the preparation for the first day of what will likely be an unexpected school year seems to have worked for Conroe ISD. Other than a higher than ever call volume, the district reported no major upsets on the first day of classes.

This year, due to COVID-19, the district is starting all students with online instruction. Over the next few weeks, small groups of students will be invited back to campus to help staff practice the new health and safety protocols before all students who chose in-class instruction are expected to return on Sept. 8.

Of the students who have already responded to the districts registration survey, 43 percent have signed up for online instruction, 57 percent have signed up for in-class. The district is still waiting to hear back from about 11 percent of district families.

Excitement and challenges

First day of school is always filled with excitement, but there are always challenges that come with the first day of school as well. This year is no different. We have some different challenges than were used to, said Conroe ISD Superintendent Curtis Null of the first day this year. Typically, transportation is one of our greatest obstacles on day one, and this year we dont have that component, but technology is something that were still working through to make sure that everybody has the access that they need.

REMOTE LEARNING: Schools invest in technology for distance learning

Null said he was proud of the districts technology team that prepared the necessary systems to be able to handle the huge volume of use Wednesday.

All of the 66,000 CISD students were set to start the new year online, and superintendent Curtis Null said that there were no major technical issues to report associated with online learning. But that doesnt mean the day went without a hitch.

More Information Back to school by the numbers 66,000: CISD students started the year online Wednesday. 21,138: Incoming and outgoing calls to CISD phone lines between 8:15 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. 5,000: Number of Zoom meetings hosted by CISD Wednesday, with over 100,000 participants. 57 percent: Students signed up for in-class instruction expected to return on Sept. 8. 43 percent: Students signed up for online instruction to continue on Sept. 8. 11 percent: Families who have not yet picked an online or in-class option for Sept. 8. Source: CISD See More Collapse

Phone calls and Zoom meetings

The biggest hurdle of the day, Null said, was phone line capacity. Between 8:15 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., had 21,138 calls on its lines, going in and out. This does not include internal calls within the district

For many parents that might have been calling into our schools, they might have received a busy signal on occasion and thats just because our system was overwhelmed, Null said. So, thats not something that weve ever experienced but I think in this new environment thats something that we need to examine and see if we can add some capacity.

The district hosted over 5,000 Zoom meetings on the first day, with over 100,000 participants (many students were part of more than one meeting during the day).

And our technology handled it, Null said. Its something weve been working to be ready for but until you do it, you dont know that.

In Texas, students who are not counted present on the first day of classes are automatically un-enrolled from the district. While typically this would be an easy fix  just some paperwork the next day  this year, because students arent on campus yet, the process of re-enrolling is not as simple.

Online and engaged

While he didnt have the final numbers, Null said that the anecdotes he was hearing from teachers across the district were that the majority of students were engaging online and were being counted as present.

If a student did not engage, the district made an effort to get in contact with them. This added to the significant call volume on the district system, something Null expects to decrease as the year goes on. The only other significant hurdle district has currently is that it is still waiting to receive more technology to distribute to students that need it.

Now, Null said, its all about finding a rhythm.

Helping families to find that rhythm in their own households, how their students will learn, he said. Some will want to be online in the morning, just like they were at school. For some families, thats not an option and theyre going to be trying to work more at home at night. I know that our campuses are going to be working with every family to make sure that we can meet their needs and support them wherever they are.
After completing more than 22,000 engagements Queen Elizabeths husband, Prince Philip, retired from royal duties in 2017. For his final public duty, he attended a parade that celebrated the achievements of servicemen and women.

But after three years, the 99-year-old Duke of Edinburgh is coming out of retirement for an important reason.

Prince Philip | Samir Hussein/ Samir Hussein/WireImage

RELATED: Prince Philip Has Angry Obscenity-Filled Outburst, Shouts Get Off My Land!

Prince Philip moved out of Buckingham Palace after he retired

Following his retirement at the age of 96, Prince Philip moved out of Buckingham Palace. He decided to leave behind the hustle and bustle of London, as well as the prying eyes of the paparazzi, for Wood Farm Cottage on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk.

This meant that he would be over 100 miles away from his wife as the queen needed to remain at the Buckingham Palace since it is the official working residence of the monarch. Royal sources said that after the duke moved, the queen worked out her schedule so they could still see one another at some point in the week or weekends.

They see each other depending on Her Majestys schedule, but she works around it to see him as much as possible, the insider said at the time.

In March, Queen Elizabeth announced that she and Philip were staying at Windsor Castle amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. They left that residence in August for Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II | Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images

RELATED: Prince Philip Mistaken for Gardener and Unrecognizable in Tattered, Worn Clothing

Philip is returning to work to carry out an important duty

On Aug. 15, Philip will come out of retirement to observe a special occasion.

The Express noted that the prince will take part in the commemorations for the 75th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day. The day marks when Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II, bringing the war to an end.

The duke was on board the HMS Whelp in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese surrender was signed in 1945.

Philip is still in good health

Prince Philip | Matt Dunham  WPA Pool / Getty Images

When Philip retired there was speculation it had to do with his heath, but that was not the case. The prince is said to be in good health for his age despite a few medical issues over the past few years.

In June 2017, the royal family patriarch was taken from Windsor to a London hospital after being diagnosed with an infection. Then, in April 2018, he was admitted to the King Edward VII Hospital for hip replacement surgery. He was discharged the following day and six weeks later, was able to attend Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussexs wedding. In December 2019, he was hospitalized as a precautionary measure for a pre-existing condition.

Prior to that, The Sun noted that the Duke of Edinburgh had a stent in his heart years ago but he loves fishing and sometimes stands for hours in the River Dee. For his age hes as fit as a fiddle.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a joint press conference as part of a meeting with the Prime Minister of Czech Republic Andrej Babis in Prague, Czech Republic, on August 12, 2020.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said President Donald Trump's executive orders against TikTok and WeChat could be "broader" than just those two apps.

Pompeo did not elaborate, but his comments could be hinting at action against other Chinese apps or even TikTok's parent company ByteDance, or WeChat owner Tencent.

"So when President Trump made his announcement about not only TikTok, but about WeChat  and if you read it, it's broader even still than that  is that we're going to make sure that American data not end up in the hands of an adversary like the Chinese Communist Party, for whom we have seen data uses in Western China that rival the greatest human rights violations in the history of mankind," Pompeo said in a speech in Prague, Czech Republic.

The orders name both Tencent and ByteDance. One of the executive orders prohibits "any transaction by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, with ByteDance Ltd. ... Beijing, China, or its subsidiaries, in which any such company has any interest" as identified by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

Another executive order prohibits "any transaction that is related to WeChat by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, with Tencent Holdings Ltd. ... Shenzhen, China, or any subsidiary of that entity."

The executive orders are vague and do not specify what a "transaction" means. But Pompeo's comments, in which he mentioned these two specific orders, may be a suggestion the action could extend beyond the two apps named.

Both ByteDance and Tencent were not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.
In an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus, Jordan has closed the border with Syria for a period of one week writes Al-Watan.

Jordanian Minister of Interior, Salameh Hammad, and based upon the recommendation of the Committee for Organizing and Follow-up for Border and Airport Affairs, decided to close the Jaber border crossing with Syria, starting today for a period of a week due to the increase in coronavirus infections.

A statement published by the Jordanian Ministry of the Interior on its official website stated that the decision was reached during the meeting held by the committee, part of which was chaired by Jordanian Prime Minister Omar Razzaz.

The committee also decided to assign Minister of Health, Saad Jaber, in cooperation and coordination with the relevant authorities, to take the necessary health and preventive measures to quarantine the workers at the crossing and to make the necessary arrangements in this regard, following the increase in the number of infections among workers.

Razzaz stressed the necessity of reviewing all procedures and standards during the time the border is closed  not only the Jaber border crossing, but also at the al-Karamah border crossing with Iraq and al-Omari with Saudi Arabia. Razzaz said that these crossings have become a source of transmission of the pandemic to Jordan.

Razzaz said that during the next few days he will be providing a report and an integrated action plan to develop measures, some of which are being implemented already, especially at the al-Omari border crossing.

According to Razzaz, all issues that have been raised will be addressed within the next 72 hours, including those with regard to al-Karamah and Jaber border crossings.

Razzaz reiterated that the increase in the number of local coronavirus cases since Tuesday evening is 12 cases, in addition to the 13 cases that were announced Tuesday afternoon, bringing the total number of reported cases since Tuesday morning to 25, which is concerning.

Razzaz said that they must verify the source of the infections, most of which were reported at the Jaber border crossing, and take immediate measures to prevent the spread of the disease.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
Donald Trump risks alienating Black voters further if he continues with racial divisiveness and attacks Kamala Harris personally

A "sleepy" Joe Biden has dialled a "phony" Kamala Harris to cause nightmares to Donald Trump. But how could a vice-presidential candidate haunt the president in his dreams of an Oval Office re-election, right? Wrong.

Biden's emergence as the Democrat front-runner was itself a bombshell considering his initial average performance in the primaries  add to it the selection of his former Democratic presidential rival and the first African-American running mate Harris, and the concoction is lethal enough to destabilise Trump's second journey to the White House.

Minutes after Biden announced the name of the California senator as his vice-presidential pick, the vociferous sexist attacker in Trump was blatantly visible at a White House briefing. Harris was labelled "nasty", "horrible", "mean" and "disrespectful"  typical words in Trump's stereotype playbook of misogyny, racism and personal attacks. Biden's selection of a person of colour had definitely caught Trump off-guard for he launched a broadside against Harris while fumbling and gazing at his notes during the briefing.

Trump's very salvo on Harris exposed his art of twisting facts and distorting truth  and above all, his revulsion to women. She had told many, many stories that were not true she was my number one draft pick." Really? Two weeks ago, when asked about her chances of being Bidens pick, Trump had said: "I think she'd be a fine choice."

Already facing a media and political onslaught for his abysmal failure in controlling COVID-19  which has devastated the superpower with five million-plus cases and more than 1,67,000 death  piling unemployment numbers and jobless claims due to the virus, and an increasing racial fault line following George Floyd's murder, the last thing Trump ever wished for was an African-American woman as Democratic Veep candidate.

Harris' selection has definitely added the much-needed steam to Team Biden, which has been bombarding Trump with the virus and the racism salvos.

African-American votes and Black Lives Matter

Trump has been trying to woo suburban African-African voters, who have been riled up by his racial divisiveness after Floyds murder, his lack of sympathy towards them and no attempts to close the increasingly chasm of racism.

Facing Biden with Harris at his side is a daunting challenge for Trump for her uncontroversial statements  unlike other vice-presidential candidates earlier in the reckoning, like former national security advisor Susan Rice and Representative Karen Bass. Known for her unblemished record as a prosecutor and California attorney-general, the senator has been an ardent advocate of civil rights and racial equality.

In fact, Harris had expressed her opposition and anger to racism much before the Black Lives Movement started this year. In a Democratic presidential debate in June 2019, she slammed Biden for his opposition to [desegregation] busing  the practice of transporting students to schools to reduce racial segregation in schools  in the 1970s and found it "hurtful to hear you [Biden] talk about the reputation of two United States senators who built their reputation and career on the segregation of race in this country". Although she never called Biden racist during the debate, her fierceness on racial inequality was widely noticed and stole the limelight.

After Floyd's murder, Harris issued a statement mentioning the killings of other African-Americans, systemic racism and police brutality in American society: "In recent days, we've been forced to confront the tragic and horrific killings of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, Breonna Taylor in Kentucky, and now, George Floyd in Minnesota. These are not isolated incidents, but the result of broader systematic racism that exists in our country Police brutality is a matter of life and death for Black people in this country, and we have to be clear about the injustices within our criminal justice system and demand accountability to the communities law enforcement are sworn to protect and serve."

The selection of Harris will energise African-American voters, especially women, on election day as against their low turnout in 2016. Around 98 percent of African-American women  who form the backbone of the Democratic Party  and 96 percent of Black Protestants voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, a Pew Research Centre analysis shows.

According to a national poll conducted by market research company Morning Consult in association with Politico on 24-26 July, more than 25 percent of voters wanted Biden to select a person of colour as his running mate. It was "up six percentage points since a poll conducted more than a month before the protests. The increase was driven by liberal voters (36 to 46 percent)", according to Morning Consult.

In an open letter to Biden earlier this year, hundreds of African-American woman voters wrote that "they are key to igniting Black voters across all demographics to show up in record numbers". According to NBC News, the voters wrote: "There has not been a Democratic presidential nominee in over 40 years that has won the White House without Black women's leadership and vote  including Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter."

Harris will definitely draw more African-American voters compared to the support she had as a presidential contender especially after the Black Lives Matter movement engulfed America. The political dynamics have changed considerably in favour of Harris and against Trump after the Black Lives Matter movement. Besides, Harris ticks several voter boxes: She has law enforcement experience, legislative background, age and her vociferous demand for racial equality and unwavering commitment to civil rights.

Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO of New America, a think tank told the Politico that Harris is a "woman of colour who is a prosecutor challenging the stereotypical assumptions of some men about women who are soft on crime and some white Americans about where Black Americans stand on issues of law and order".

Keisha N Blain, associate professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh, feels that Harris' "wide-ranging progressive and inclusive platform along with her commitment to advancing racial justice, expanding health care and protecting vulnerable populations are most urgently needed today  perhaps more than ever before". "While there is no doubt that Harris will face media scrutiny  most likely more than her predecessors  she may very well hold the key to Bidens win in November," Blain told Politico.

Challenge for Trump to launch personal attacks

Castigating Harris personally would be a misadventure for Trump due to her diverse family background, race and ethnicity. With American deeply polarised on racial lines, any comments on her race would draw African-American voters further away. She is also the first Asian-African woman vice-presidential running mate whose mother was Indian.

The president has a disgustingly controversial record of using racial slurs and attacks against African-American woman lawmakers, mayors and journalistsand thats where facing Harris could be his biggest challenge combined with the sweeping support of the community to Biden. Republican pollster Sarah Longwell told Reuters that Harris will "play pretty well with suburban women".

Trump had labelled Representative (Democrat) Maxine Waters as an "extraordinarily low IQ person"; blamed Republican Congresswoman Mia Love for losing her re-election in Utah because she didn't support him; dubbed his ex-White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman "disgusting and foul-mouthed"; and told CNN White House reporter that she asks a lot of "stupid questions". His infamous war of words with Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot over the city's violence grabbed headlines this year.

According to CNN, several Trump campaign advisers wanted Biden to pick another candidate, but not Harris. She is certainly formidable. She will inject some much-needed energy into the campaign, a source close to the campaign told CNN. Besides, Harris has a more favourable view than Biden among the GOP. A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted on 10-11 August shows 21 percent of registered Republican voters have a favourable impression of Harris compared with a 13 percent favourable view of Biden.

With the US at a critical juncture  ravaged by COVID-19, budget deficit tripling to $2.8 trillion in the first 10 months of fiscal year 2020 and the scourge of racism cleaving the country  launching personal attacks on Harris could backfire. Neera Tanden, Clinton's top aide in 2016, told Reuters that if Trump "wants to use misogynistic tropes against Kamala Harris, I think that is deeply challenging for him. He has no room for error with suburban women".

Neither it will be a good idea for Trump's deputy Mike Pence to even try to corner and attack Harris during the October debate for she is a tough combatant who counter-attacks more viciously. Her grilling of then-attorney general Jeff Sessions over his Russian contacts in 2017 and then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh at the Senate confirmation hearing in 2018 is a big warning to Team Trump and Pence in particular.

The writer is a freelance journalist. Views expressed are personal
The last thing Kurt Wilson planned on doing Thursday morning was trying to salvage what he could from his Uptown Kenosha business.

But thats the reality for several people in the same boat  and now they must find a way to move forward.

Wilson is among several who have been displaced after a massive fire Wednesday in a building that houses both businesses and upper-level apartments that reportedly originated at the Music Outlet, 6217 22nd Ave.

The official cause and total damage estimate remains under investigation.

Wilson, who owns Kurts Barbershop, 2112 63rd St., said his business on the south side of the building sustained both heavy smoke and water damage in the fire.

Its not workable, he said.

Wilson said he hasnt been told what the future of the building may be, but acknowledged its too early in the process. Wilson said hes been at the current location for about a year after he moved from 24th Street and Roosevelt Road.

During his visit to the location Thursday morning, just a handful of workers were seen doing what they could to clean up in the aftermath.

Im just grabbing whats most important (from inside) right now, he said. Thats about it. Im just planning to rebuild.

There still were plenty of emotions about what had transpired just 24 hours before, he said.

Im still in shock, trying to process the whole thing, he said. Its a day-by-day process, I guess. You just have to move on.

Offering assistance

The American Red Cross began connecting with those displaced and affected by the fire Wednesday, according to information provided by Communications Officer Justin Kern.

Kern said that, as of Thursday morning, a total of 14 people from five of the rental units had received help from disaster volunteers. That assistance includes lodging and basic needs, as well as resources for basic health needs like prescription refills.

There are about 13 residential units above the businesses in that building.

Were still making sure everyone has been contacted, so this number may still go up, Kern said in an email.

Kern encouraged anyone who still needs help to call 1-800-236-8680, and Red Cross caseworkers will make contact.

Rapid response

The fire, which was called in just before 8 a.m., drew fire and rescue departments from southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

All totaled, 12 were on the scene to help fight the blaze, with another four that came to provide coverage within the city at various stations.

Responding to assist were Pleasant Prairie, Zion (Ill.), Newport (Ill.), Salem Lakes, Bristol, South Shore, Somers, Racine, Beach Park (Ill.), Antioch (Ill.), Waukegan (Ill.) and Winthrop Harbor (Ill.).

The Racine Fire Belles also were at the scene.

Helping with coverage within the city were Winthrop Harbor, Paris, Somers and Fox Lake (Ill.).

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She's preparing for major surgery on her two broken feet on Friday.

And Katie Price appeared to be in good spirits ahead of her procedure as she posed for an Instagram snap with her colourful casts on full display on Thursday.

It comes amid claims the former glamour model, 42, is 'terrified' about the operation and has been 'banned from getting out of bed, with doctors telling her to stay laying down'.

Glam: Katie Price appeared to be in good spirits as she passed time before a major operation on her feet by posing for a sizzling snap with her colourful casts on full display on Thursday

Doctors orders: The former glamour model explained in the caption that she had been told to 'keep her legs up' before the surgery

A source told The Sun: 'Katie's doctors told her she had to stay lying down on her back to stop her feet swelling up in the heat.

'She's terrified about the surgery tomorrow - but she's listening to all the doctor's advice.'

The source added that Katie was 'devastated' about the medical advice as it meant she couldn't celebrate her youngest son Jett's birthday properly.

However it is thought that the mother-of-five has told him that she will make it up to him with another party after the operation.

Helping hand: Since breaking both her feet in Turkey Katie has had to use a wheelchair to get around and has often been seen being assisted by her doting beau Carl Woods

MailOnline has contacted a representative for Katie for a comment.

Katie also discussed what doctors had told her to do in the lead up to her surgery in the caption to her latest Instagram offering.

In the glam snap, the star could be seen reclining on the floor with one hand on her hip as she rested her two feet on a door.

She slipped into a skin-tight green dress with a thin strap around the neck and added a slick of pink lipstick for the sizzling post

Family first: Katie is said to have been 'devastated' about medical advice to 'stay in bed' as it was her youngest son Jett's birthday and she wanted to celebrate properly (pictured with her son and youngest daughter Bunny)

Katie wrote: 'Its so hot! I have to keep my legs up until my operation as doctors orders but fancied putting on a little dress from @ohpolly and feel glam as its been ages.'

Katie broke both of her feet and ankles in a freak accident while on holiday in Turkey last month, and is awaiting surgery which will help her on the long road of recovery.

Since the accident, Katie has been seen several times being pushed in a wheelchair by her beau Carl Woods, 31, including on Wednesday when she had a coronavirus test at a hospital to see if she could be operated on later in the week.

It was previously reported that Katie has been warned by doctors she 'must take her recovery seriously or she could risk losing a leg'.

The reality star is said to have been left 'terrified' by her surgeon's stark warning.

Trooper! Katie is now preparing for surgery, thought to be happening on Friday, and is looking at a long recovery time after the painful accident

A source told The Sun: 'Katie's doctors have warned her she must take her recovery seriously and it's left her terrified.

'She's prone to getting infections after operations, and her surgeon says she could lose a leg if her feet get infected.

'She'll have to be so, so careful - she'll have medical professionals on call 24/7 - and change the dressings regularly. She's got a long road ahead of her.'

When contacted by MailOnline, a representative said : 'Katie I can confirm will be undergoing major surgery this week to correct her injuries sustained on her recent holiday to Turkey.'

Shock injury: Katie confirmed the news on Instagram, revealing that it could be six months before she can walk properly again

Katie recently explained she broke her ankles and feet during a 'silly accident' while on holiday with her beau and her children Princess, 13, and Junior, 15.

Taking to her YouTube channel, the star explained: 'Silly me, at my age, should calm things down. Basically, silly little accident. I was running and jumped over a wall, as it was a little shortcut, and didn't really judge the height.

'I just sort of fell funny on my ankles and I fractured the hairline on my heels and stuff. The hospital here wanted to operate and wanted to put pins in and stuff. Because I'm away, I'd rather wait until I get home.'

She continued: 'It's the most painful thing ever. Like when I was trying to put the cast on, I was screaming in pain. They said I won't be able to walk for three to six months.'
Students at Christian schools cant be banned from Vt. dual enrollment program: appeals court

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Students who attend private faith-based schools in Vermont are now allowed to take dual enrollment college classes, a court has ruled after the state banned students at non-secular schools from taking advantage of the program.

In an order released last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit granted the plaintiffs an emergency injunction, allowing students at faith-based private schools to enroll in college courses, just as students at secular public and private schools are allowed to do.

Last year, a group of plaintiffs, including students at faith-based schools and their parents, filed a lawsuit against Vermont which had banned them from accessing the dual enrollment fund.

The brief argued that the plaintiffs, which included the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington, have a strong likelihood of success on the merits of their claims.

Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative law firm that specializes in religious liberty cases and represented the diocese and students, celebrated the order.

No state can discriminate against students based on which kind of school they attend, stated ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate Advocacy John Bursch. It makes no sense for the state to say it will pay for a student from a public or secular private school to take a college course at a public university, for example, but then say that a student from a faith-based private school cannot receive the same funding to attend that exact public university class.

To justify the emergency order, the appeals court cited the U.S. Supreme Court decision Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, which was released in late June.

In a 5-4 decision, the high court concluded in Espinoza that Montana parents should be allowed to use a public scholarship program to send their children to religious private schools.

Montanas no-aid provision bars religious schools from public benefits solely because of the religious character of the schools. The provision also bars parents who wish to send their children to a religious school from those same benefits, again solely because of the religious character of the school, wrote Chief Justice John Roberts for the majority.

A State need not subsidize private education. But once a State decides to do so, it cannot disqualify some private schools solely because they are religious.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor authored one of the dissenting opinions in the case, arguing that a State may refuse to extend certain aid programs to religious entities when doing so avoids historic and substantial antiestablishment concerns.

Montana may properly decline to subsidize religious education. Involvement in such spiritual matters implicates both the Establishment Clause  and the free exercise rights of taxpayers, concluded Sotomayor.
HONG KONG, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- DeskTrading announces the final development stages of the new XMarkets mobile trading platform to support investors and dealers with preference for using Android and iOS mobile devices. The Apps will become available in the Apple App Store and Google Play in September 2020 and the trading instruments will include major Forex currency pairs, cryptocurrency digital assets and CFDs of stock indices and commodities - gold, silver, crude oil and many more.

XMarkets Mobile Apps

The XMarkets trading apps for the mobile dealer will facilitate everything from the very latest financial news, financial markets analysis and upcoming economic market events through to real-time currency rates, trading positions, currency movers and shakers as well as built-in powerful trading charts. The XMarkets platform will allow access and real-time interaction with everything going on in the FX marketplace. The mobile apps' appearance coincides with XMarkets Desktop Platform launch with the brains behind the software, DeskTrading.

The XMarkets user-friendly platform will be a valuable addition to every trader's toolkit and XDesk's clients will use it from their mobiles, desktops and web-based trading platforms. All of which means that XDesk's clients will have assured access at all times to essential trading tools and financial instruments on their mobile devices.

"The beauty of the XMarkets apps is that traders with a mind to get involved with currency trading or investing in currency SMAs can get on board so easily, and not having to be experts in financial markets, handing off responsibility to professional portfolio managers," said Alex Gruber, Head Trader, EU Trading Desk, DeskTrading.

"Clients want to be abstracted from trading, not being constantly tuned in to what's going on in the markets," said Gruber. "In the world of investing, reacting just seconds too late to a big event or missing a possible market spike could make a huge difference between making a profit and suffering a loss. At DeskTrading, we apply the "client first" principle, providing traders and investors with a first-in-class managed trading platform that fits in with any trading style and risk tolerance, while putting maximum effort to achieve the best possible outcome at any market conditions."

The XMarkets mobile apps will be available free to download from Google Play and the App Store for both the iOS and Android operating systems in September 2020.

Media Contact:

Maria LAI

+852 5808 5353

[email protected]

SOURCE DeskTrading
NORRISTOWN  Despite the pandemic, one of the most beloved traditions in Norristown will go on this year.

This year, the 116th celebration of the MSS Feast, sponsored by the MSS Lodge will be held on Sunday, Aug. 16, in the East End of Norristown. Because of the pandemic and the safety restrictions, this years feast will be modified, but at the same time maintain an unbroken chain for one of Norristowns longest running ethnic festivals, a press release noted.

The annual feast was started by immigrants from the town of Sciacca, Sicily who settled in the East End of Norristown in the early Twentieth Century. Along with their desire for a new life in America, they brought their religious traditions and simple faith.

Among their traditions was devotion to the Mother of Jesus Christ under the title Madonna del Soccorso, which means Our Lady of Prompt Help. This Blessed Mother and her intercession ended the famous Black Plague over 500 years ago, in Sciacca. The citizens of Sciacca, and eventually their descendants who came here to Norristown, made a vow to never forget the heavenly assistance they received, which ended the plague.

Now more than ever, this feast has great meaning, said Monsignor John C. Marine, Spiritual Advisor of the MSS Society. While keeping the vow, nonetheless the event will be greatly modified this year for safety purposes. Solemn Mass will be celebrated at Holy Saviour Church, 407 East Main Street at 11:30 a.m. on August 16. A shortened procession just in front of the church (pending sufficient carriers), with the historic statue replicating the one in Sciacca, will follow Mass. The procession will be accompanied by the traditional Italian symphonic marches played by the Verdi Band of Norristown.

Italian food will be available for takeout in the outdoor feast area of the Holy Saviour Club on East Main Street from 10 to 6 p.m.

Participants are urged to safe distance. Those with compromised health are encouraged to stay home.
With the festive season around, it is the perfect time for customers to buy their dream vehicle, availing all the discounts and offers. Honda has announced discount offers on various vehicles, including Amaze, WR-V, City 4th/5th Gen and Civic.

Check out all the offers here:

Honda Amaze: The sub-4 meter compact sedan from the Japanese manufacturer comes with exciting offers up to Rs 27,000, including petrol and diesel variants with BS6 engine. A customer will get a warranty of five years, with Rs 15,000 exchange bonus, Rs 6,000 loyalty bonus and Rs 4,000 as corporate discount.

Honda WR-V: With a BS6 compliant engine, the hatchback is available in both petrol and diesel variants. On buying WR-V, one can avail maximum discount of Rs 10,000, including Rs 6,000 as loyalty bonus and Rs 4,000 as corporate discount.

Honda City (4th Gen): If you are willing to buy 4th gen Honda City, you can get a cash discount worth Rs 25,000 on the sedan, along with an exchange bonus worth Rs 20,000, loyalty bonus of Rs 6,000 and Rs 8,000 as corporate discount. Meanwhile, the V CVT trim comes with Rs 31,000 cash discount, Rs 20,000 exchange bonus, Rs 600 loyalty bonus and Rs 8000 corporate discount.

Also Watch:

Honda City (5th Gen): The advanced version of fourth generation, Citys fifth generation also comes in petrol and diesel engine options. You can get a loyalty bonus Rs 6,000 on purchasing it.

Honda Civic: Another option in the sedan range offered by the automobile company is Honda Civic, coming with a cash discount of Rs 1 lakh for petrol version, while diesel version gets a cash discount of Rs 2.5 lakh. One also gets a loyalty bonus and corporate discount this month.
India launches research project on status of marine creatures

August 13,2020 | Source: PTI

A research project to assess the status of 27 species of marine mammals and five species of sea turtles in Indian waters has been launched by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI).



With a budget of Rs 5.66 crore, the project is funded by the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) for three years, the CMFRI said in a statement here on Thursday.



The study aims to address the information gap on the status of stocks of marine mammals as well as bycatch of sea turtles, the statement said. The research assumes significance in the context of emerging seafood trade-related challenges faced by the country.



The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), USA, had issued import provisions of Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) stating that seafood exporting countries should not allow intentional killing of marine mammals in commercial fisheries. For exporting fish and fish products, the US had given a five-year exemption period starting January 1, 2017, to nations for developing regulatory programs by assessing marine mammal stocks, estimating bycatch, calculating bycatch limits, and reducing total bycatch.



Likewise, the US Public Law provides that shrimp products should not be imported unless the US certifies that the exporting nation harvests shrimp without adversely affecting sea turtles. Following this, the US banned import of shrimp from India from May 2018.



The Deputy Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Dr JK Jena, inaugurated a webinar during the launch of the project on Wednesday. According to him, the research project would bolster the preparedness of the country in meeting the challenge faced by the seafood export industry, and enhance the indigenous capacity to address the emerging conservation concerns of marine mammals and sea turtles.



Speaking on the occasion, chairman of MPEDA K S Srinivas said the country is looking forward to this project, which is being implemented with the technical support of NOAA, with a hope that it would help solve the issues related to seafood export of the country.



Marine acoustic research expert, University of Washington, Dr Kate Stafford, and Director, National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) of USA, Dr Mridula Srinivasan shared their experiences in the use of advanced acoustic and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based technologies in the marine mammal stock assessment in US waters. They lauded the initiative and offered cutting-edge collaborative research support.



CMFRI Director Dr A Gopalakrishnan recalled the achievements of scientists of the institute in the field of research on marine mammals and sea turtles. "Marine mammals and sea turtles play a key role in maintaining marine ecosystems. Considering the need for conservation, the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 listed the species of marine mammals and sea turtles under Schedule I," he said.



However, interaction on fisheries and other human interventions have negative effects on the population of the megafauna, Gopalakrishnan said.



"This is evident from frequent reports on bycatch and stranding of these animals along the coastline of India. While government and non-government organisations have undertaken studies on distribution, biological and ecological characteristics, the information on status of stocks of marine mammals as well as bycatch of sea turtles are not available, he added.

 PTI

Theme(s): Fisheries Resources.
SAO PAULO - The governor of Brazils Sao Paulo state, Joao Doria, said Wednesday that he has tested positive for COVID-19.

Doria, a potential challenger to President Jair Bolsonaros 2022 reelection campaign, is the 11th Brazilian governor to contract the new coronavirus.

I am feeling well, no symptoms, Doria said in a video posted on his social media channels. I will continue working from home, following the medical recommendations of isolation.

Social distancing recommendations and quarantine measures have been the main stress point between Doria and Bolsonaro since the beginning of the pandemic. Though Sao Paulos governor never imposed lockdowns, he challenged the presidents frequent defiance of science-based recommendations aimed at stopping the spread of the virus.

Sao Paulo is Brazils most populous state, with 46 million people, where COVID-19 has claimed more than 25,000 lives  nearly one quarter of Brazils death toll.

Also on Wednesday, the grandmother of Brazils first lady died after more than a month fighting COVID-19 in a public hospital on the outskirts of capital Brasilia.

Aparecida Firmo Ferreira, 80, was the grandmother of Michelle Bolsonaro. The health secretariat of Brazils federal district confirmed her passing.

She had been hospitalized since July 1, having tested positive for the new coronavirus.

____

Associated Press reporter Daniel Carvalho contributed to this report from Brasilia.

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Key Highlights

Osprey Medical has received European CE Marking approval for the 2 nd generation DyeVert Power XT device

Approval of DyeVert Power XT (for automatic injection) means the full coronary angiography market is now available to Osprey's DyeVert franchise

Device is expected to be a core product in the product portfolio being commercialised by GE Healthcare

Publication of clinical literature supporting effectiveness of Osprey DyeVert technology by renowned cardiologist in Europe (Dr Briguori)

Update on GE Healthcare Strategic Alliance

Osprey Medical, Inc. (ASX:OSP) (Osprey or the Company) is pleased to announce that the Company has received CE Marking for the DyeVert Power XT 2nd generation device.

The CE Marking approval for its DyeVert Power XT device means the product can now be marketed and sold across Europe. Europe is a core market for Osprey and a significant player in the global power injector market. Our DyeVert Power XT device is expected to form a core product in the portfolio that is being commercialised by GE Healthcare.

Osprey Medical President CEO, Mike McCormick, commented:

"We are delighted to have received CE Mark approval for our Power XT device. The CE Mark is a very significant achievement as it ultimately enables Osprey to target the full coronary angiography market as our portfolio is now compatible with both automatic and manual injection methods.

The approval was a critical building block in our European roll-out and the timing is perfect, following the strategic alliance formed with GE Healthcare in July. With the CE Mark ensuring a comprehensive product range, plus a recently published paper by renowned cardiologist, Dr Briguori; we are confident of a strong launch in Europe through the GE Healthcare sales force later this year"

The main feature of the device is its compatibility with automated power injectors, thus complementing the Company's existing DyeVert EZ product which is compatible with manual injection. The regulatory clearance marks a critical evolution in Osprey's DyeVert technology, as the Company now has full coverage of the coronary angiography market in Europe.

This marks another key milestone in the Company's European strategy following the exclusive distribution agreement with GE Healthcare announced on 30 July 2020.

Clinical update

In addition to the CE Mark approval, recently and important peer reviewed manuscript was published by Dr Carlo Briguori, a key opinion leading heart physician in Italy. This study further validates the effectiveness of Osprey's DyeVert technology at improving patient outcomes and lowering hospital cost. This important publication will form a key part of Osprey's European sales strategy with GE Healthcare.

Some of the key findings from this paper included:

Study Design Patients studied had heart attacks (STEMI and NSTEMI) 339 control patient's (no-DyeVert) were compared to 112 patients who received DyeVert Hydration (IV fluid administration) protocol was the same in both DyeVert and no-DyeVert Observed, retrospective, propensity matched study in a single center in Naples Italy



Results 38% dye reduction in the DyeVert group compared to the no-DyeVert group 58% Acute Kidney Injury reduction in the DyeVert group compared to the no-DyeVert group 25% reduction in hospital length of stay in the DyeVert group compared to the no-DyeVert group



A link to the abstract is available at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32682348/

GE Healthcare update

On 30 July 2020, Osprey announced that it had signed an exclusive agreement with GE Healthcare to distribute its products across Europe, Russia, Middle East, Africa, Central Asia and Turkey ('the Region'). Osprey can now provide some guidance on the agreement which is significant to Osprey. Relevantly, the agreement is expected to contribute materially to Osprey's revenue over the 4-year contracted period. Previously, the Company's operations were primarily in the US with sales outside US (OUS) contributing an immaterial amount to group revenues. This agreement represents a significant shift for the company and means that OUS sales will now contribute materially to Osprey's group revenues and complement the existing growth of sales generated within the US.

Under the contract with GE Healthcare, there are prescribed minimum order quantities increasing each year with further upside when sales exceed these quantities. Conservatively, under the minimum order quantities agreed, the distribution agreement is expected to add +20% to Osprey's total expected revenues in 2021 with this expected to scale in importance each year, reaching +40% by the fourth year. Additionally, under the contract, transfer prices for all products are fixed over the 4-year period whereby Osprey will experience margin certainty during the contract period.

The agreement with GE Healthcare includes key provisions of an exclusive distribution agreement between the parties. The terms were disclosed in the prospectus dated 3 April 2020 remain, and are set out below for convenience:

(a) GE Healthcare's large and dedicated commercialisation team (in excess of 120) will be tasked with selling products in the Osprey portfolio in the Region;

(b) GE Healthcare will be granted a right of first refusal to distribute and promote any new products introduced by Osprey in the Region;

(c) in order for GE Healthcare to maintain its exclusive distribution rights it must meet the minimum purchase levels (which increase on an annual basis during the term);

(d) transfer prices are fixed over the 4-year term and provide appropriate gross margin returns for Osprey; and

(e) during the term, GE Healthcare will liaise with Osprey in relation to marketing, business plans and provide sales reports.

This release dated 13 August 2020 has been authorised for lodgement to ASX by Mike McCormick, CEO of Osprey Medical.

About Osprey Medical (ASX: OSP)

Osprey Medical's vision is to make heart imaging procedures safer for patients with poor kidney function. The amount of dye (contrast) used during angiographic imaging procedures increases the patient's risk for dye-related kidney damage known as Contrast-Induced Acute Kidney Injury (CI-AKI). The Company's core technologies originated from research conducted by Dr David Kaye at Melbourne's Baker Institute. Its proprietary dye reduction and monitoring technologies are designed to help physicians minimize dye usage and monitor the dose of dye real time throughout the procedure. The Company's DyeVert System reduces contrast while maintaining image quality in a self-adjusting easy-to-use design that monitors dye usage. Osprey Medical's Board and Management are comprised of experienced and successful personnel with established track records covering medical device development, regulatory approvals, sales and marketing, and mergers-acquisitions. Osprey Medical's advisory board comprises world-recognised experts in heart and kidney diseases.

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains or may contain forward-looking statements that are based on management's beliefs, assumptions, and expectations and on information currently available to management. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control (including but not limited to the COVID-19 pandemic), subject to change without notice and may involve significant elements of subjective judgment and assumptions as to future events which may or may not be correct.

All statements that address operating performance, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future are forward-looking statements, including without limitation our expectations with respect to our ability to commercialize our products including our estimates of potential revenues, costs, profitability and financial performance; our ability to develop and commercialize new products including our ability to obtain reimbursement for our products; our expectations with respect to our clinical trials, including enrolment in or completion of our clinical trials and our associated regulatory submissions and approvals; our expectations with respect to the integrity or capabilities of our intellectual property position.

Management believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because they speak only as of the date when made. Given the current uncertainties regarding the impact of the COVID-19 on the trading conditions impacting the Company, the financial markets and the health services world-wide, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the current trading outlook.

Osprey does not assume any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Osprey may not actually achieve the plans, projections or expectations disclosed in forward-looking statements, and actual results, developments or events could differ materially from those disclosed in the forward-looking statements.

Foreign Ownership Restriction

Osprey's CHESS Depositary Interests (CDIs) are issued in reliance on the exemption from registration contained in Regulation S of the US Securities Act of 1933 (Securities Act) for offers or sales which are made outside the US. Accordingly, the CDIs have not been, and will not be, registered under the Securities Act or the laws of any state or other jurisdiction in the US. The holders of Osprey's CDIs are unable to sell the CDIs into the US or to a US person unless the re-sale of the CDIs is registered under the Securities Act or an exemption is available. Hedging transactions with regard to the CDIs may only be conducted in accordance with the Securities Act.

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California State Prison System Criticized for Early Inmate Releases

The California state prison system is burdening local governments by leaving more inmates in county jails, according to Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) hasnt received prisoners from local jails in five months, Barnes said during an Aug. 12 teleconference held with District Attorney Todd Spitzer and state Sen. Ling Ling Chang (R-Diamond Bar) to discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the countys criminal justice system.

Im still sitting on 300 state prison-sentence individuals that the state will not take from me, nor will they take from the other 57 sheriffs throughout the state, said Barnes. Theyve closed the front door coming into the state prison system, and opened the double doors to the back, and started letting people out.

California state prison officials say over 17,000 prisoners have been released since March 11, including over 8,000 released early as part of a direct initiative to slow the spread of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus. To be eligible for early release, an inmate must have 365 days or less remaining to serve, a nonviolent conviction, and no requirement to register as a sex offender.

The CDCR reported Aug. 12 that there are 917 incarcerated persons with active cases of COVID-19 out of nearly 97,000 people incarcerated statewidethe lowest number imprisoned in California in 30 years. The last time that number was below 100,000 was in 1990, when CAs overall population was 10 million less, the CDCR said in a July 30 tweet.

Orange County accounts for roughly 10 percent of the states inmate population, according to Barnes. Out of the more than 17,000 prisoners released, Barnes said its safe to estimate 10 percent of them will recidivate or relapse and find their way back to county jails.

Those who violate the terms of their release but dont commit a new crime are sent back to the county jail, not the state prison, he said.

Its really setting us up for a lot of challenges that arent our responsibility to address. Its really just abrogating the responsibility of state prison responsibilities on the local government to deal with, and thats not okay with me, Barnes said.

Representatives for the CDCR and the governors office did not comment to The Epoch Times prior to publication.

County District Attorney Todd Spitzer called it incredibly upsetting and frustrating to watch the CDCR release thousands of prisoners, adding the release could be fueled by the motivation of some to defund the police and eliminate jails altogether.

They think there is a different way to do it, but they also have an agenda, Spitzer said. COVID just became a convenient excuse to let the prison gates open and let thousands of inmates out early.

Jay Jordan, executive director of Californians for Safety and Justice, in July defended the early release of inmates as necessary for public health and safety. He said the early releases are reducing overcrowding in state prison systems, effectively reducing the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths.

Too many people are locked up for too long by a bloated system that spreads poor health across California communities up and down the state, he said in a July 10 press release.

California must release people who are unnecessarily incarcerated and transform our safety priorities, so the core needs of communities that allow them to be safe are met and the number of people sent to prison in the first place is reduced.

Barnes said the pandemic forced the sheriffs department to release low-level offenders early after not having done so in over a decade, and that the department plans to return to original protocols once the spread of the disease has mitigated.

Were going to go back to no more early releases, and well put people back in jail and hold them responsible for any violations of law that they are held to, he said.

By following strict adherence to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for correctional institutionswhich include having everyone in jail wear a mask and following hygiene protocolsBarnes said county jails were effectively able to reduce a 220-case count to single digits in the early stages of the pandemic.

It was a tremendous success, said Barnes.

As part of an effort to control the spread of COVID-19, every inmate in the jail has a radio frequency identification (RFID) card that they use to scan in and out. Tracking the RFID cards allows officials to know how inmates interact, in case contact tracing becomes necessary.

All new inmates who are booked into the jail are placed in a 14-day quarantine. Any inmates showing symptoms are also placed in isolation for 14 days. Barnes said there are currently 600 newly booked inmates under quarantine, adding the county jail has 33 active cases out of its nearly 3,500 inmate population.

The departments handling of the disease shows that through the right precautionary measures and the right mitigation strategies, you can control [COVID-19] and bring it back down and effectively eliminate it over time, Barnes said.

Update: Dana Simas, the CDCR press secretary, told The Epoch Times in an Aug. 13 email: CDCR has been almost continuously closed to intake since March 24 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We understand the burden this places on local law enforcement resources and we thank them for their partnership as we all work to address this public health emergency. The department is actively looking at ways in which we can safely reopen intake to alleviate pressure on local resources.

H.D. Palmer, a deputy director in the state Department of Finance, in an Aug. 13 email also told The Epoch Times, The Governor and his administration have committed to reimbursing sheriffs for the costs of housing inmates who are not being admitted to CDCR because of the temporary suspension of intake due to COVID-19.

We have already set aside $31.2 million in state General Fund for this purposeand will likely be allocating more. We authorized the State Controllers Office to issue the first payments to counties last week.

This initial payment, totaling $14.4 million, covers the costs incurred by counties for housing inmates from the beginning of the suspension of intake on March 25th through June 30th. Of that total  Orange County received just over $541,000 reflecting 103 inmate holds during this three-month period. We intend to issue subsequent payments in the coming months to cover costs incurred by counties since June 30th.
The now defunct site Besa Mafia, a screen grab of which is pictured here, offered hitmen for hire on the dark web. It was shut down by hackers in 2016. Read more

Facing charges in 2016 for trading sexually explicit photos with a teenager whose family later found out, John Michael Musbach turned to the internet for a solution.

He logged on to a site called Besa Mafia and browsed its sales pitch, offering hit men willing to kill anyone, anywhere, for the right price.

The target would be 14, Musbach allegedly wrote. Is that an acceptable age or too young? I can budget up to $20K for the order.

What followed would ensnare Musbach in a contract killing scam stretching from the deepest corners of the so-called dark web to Eastern Europe and eventually his former home in Atlantic County. It left him swindled out of $20,000 and now threatens to put the 31-year-old computer tech in prison for a decade, the latest defendant charged with soliciting murder after hackers handed authorities information about the websites users.

Federal agents arrested Musbach Thursday at his current home in Haddonfield. Though he was ripped off and the ordered hit never took place, Assistant U.S. Attorney Diana V. Carrig said, Musbachs intentions were deadly serious.

Mr. Musbach is accused of doing what is every parents worst nightmare, she said. He enticed a child to send sexually explicit images  and when that all came to light, he decided he cant have that, and decided the victim should be murdered.

Investigators did not name the website at the center of Musbachs case. But descriptions of its sales pitch in court filings matched those associated with the now-defunct Besa Mafia site.

If you want to kill someone  we are the right guys, the site boasted in claims littered among photos of shirtless men with weapons slung over their shoulders. We have professional hitmen available throughout the entire USA, Canada and Europe  Most of our gang members are drug dealers but they do contract killing when they are short on cash.

In 2016, Chris Monteiro, a London-based cybercrime researcher, cracked into the sites communications with its customers with the help of a white-hat hacker who employs the pseudonym Judge Judy. They discovered a host of anonymous users seemingly willing to pay any price to solve their problems with murder.

But the hack also revealed that the promises of swift killings for cash made by Besa Mafias administrator  a mysterious man known online only by the moniker Yura  were largely empty.

In the four years since, investigators have been unable to identify a single slaying that occurred thanks to the money Besa Mafias customers paid, although one Minnesota woman was killed by her husband after his attempts to hire a hit man on the site fell through.

Musbachs involvement with the site, as detailed in government court filings Thursday, followed a familiar script.

Atlantic County police arrested him on child pornography charges in September 2015, after the parents of a teenage boy in New York reported their son and Musbach had been trading explicit photos online..

Prosecutors said Musbach obsessively searched phrases like where to buy chloroform, poisonous hemlock, and death by caffeine before turning to Besa Mafia as he awaited his trial.

Yura negotiated terms in writing with blithe detachment and often broken English. Yes, 14 years old is acceptable, he wrote to Musbach in an exchange quoted in court filings. We have gang members do the hit.

But when Musbach allegedly paid the $20,000 in bitcoin and days passed without the killing, Yura responded to Musbachs worried inquiries with excuses.

There is a small problem, he wrote. The assigned hit man got arrested for cocaine possession while he was near the place. We have another hit man ready to do the hit, but he saith this is an important person. Yura then asked for $5,000 more.

On his blog, Monteiro, the cybercrime expert involved in the 2016 hack, has noted Yura made similar excuses in many interactions with duped customers.

Once the money was in hand, he always claimed to have dispatched a killer who encountered unforeseen problems on his way to commit the crime, whether a traffic stop or an untimely arrest. A request for more money always followed.

Musbach, prosecutors said, wasnt put off by that price hike. Emails quoted in court papers depict him scrambling to come up with the extra money and insisting that the hit go forward.

Yuras responses became less frequent until finally he emailed again.

I am sorry to disappoint you, he wrote, according to court filings. Unfortunately, our site is a scam, and we pass customer and target information on to law enforcement.

He demanded $20,000 more to keep Musbachs name anonymous.

That blackmail threat, Monteiro has said, was also part of Yuras playbook  but one with which he never apparently followed through.

It was Monteiro who helped hack the site in 2016 and turned its communications over to authorities across the globe. News outlets, including the CBS show 48 Hours, have followed his lead with investigations that have led to charges against at least eight people worldwide, including Beau Brigham, a former YouTube star convicted in California last year for taking a hit out on his stepmother.

Despite investigations, Monteiros efforts, and in-depth reports by several journalists, Yuras identity remains a mystery. Clues suggest he lives in Eastern Europe, and went on to launch several similar dark-web scam sites after Besa Mafia was shut down.

As for Musbach, he pleaded guilty in the child pornography case after the hit attempt fizzled out. In 2018, he received a two-year sentence for child endangerment and a lifetime of parole supervision.

Federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations confirmed his identity this year and were able to trace the money he paid for the hit to his bank accounts, prosecutors said. They did not accuse him of making any attempt to follow through with murder after Yura scammed him.

Since then, Musbach has rebuilt his life, complied with every condition of his probation, and started a new job and relationship, his attorney, Thomas Young, said during a hearing Thursday in federal court in Camden.

The new allegations came as a surprise to his partner, Carl Williams, who testified Thursday that while Musbach had been open about his past problems with child porn, he had not mentioned trying to have someone killed.

Its very serious, Williams said. There are no other times that Ive heard anything like this behavior that Ive heard about today.

Musbach remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing next week.
SINGAPORE Singapores residual fuel oil inventories fell 2% in the week to Aug. 12 as export volumes jumped to a near six-month high, official data showed on Thursday.

Onshore fuel oil stocks fell 417,000 barrels, or about 66,000 tonnes, to a two-week low of 23.817 million barrels, or 3.751 million tonnes, according to Enterprise Singapore data.

Residual fuel stocks, however, were up 21% from a year earlier.

The lower inventories came amid a jump in exports, which climbed to 445,000 tonnes in the week to Aug. 12, their highest since mid-February, the data showed. This compared to the 2020 weekly average of 278,000 tonnes in exports.

The higher exports dragged net imports 83% lower from the previous week to a more than two-month low of 242,000 tonnes, well below the 2020 weekly average of 680,000 tonnes. Weekly figures, however, are volatile.

Most of Singapores fuel oil net exports went to Saudi Arabia at 57,000 tonnes, followed by 44,000 tonnes to Bangladesh and 41,000 tonnes to Hong Kong.

Net exports to Saudi Arabia, an unusual importer of fuel oil from Singapore, were at their second highest on record, below the record high of 97,000 tonnes in the week to July 29.

The Kingdom typically exports residual fuel outside of the summer months to countries including Singapore and imports fuel oil for power generation, primarily from regional suppliers, during the hot summer months.

The largest net imports into Singapore were from Iraq at 107,000 tonnes, followed by Russia with 105,000 tonnes, Bahrain with 84,000 tonnes and Brazil with 66,000 tonnes.

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
'Emmanuel Macron is a true friend of Greece and a fervent defender of European values and international law,' Mitsotakis tweeted

The French military conducted training exercises with Greek forces off the southern island of Crete on Thursday, defence sources said, as tension persisted with Turkey over disputed waters in the eastern Mediterranean.

Thursday's exercise was the first manifestation of French President Emmanuel Macron's commitment to temporarily reinforce his country's presence in the eastern Mediterranean. France has called on Turkey to halt oil and gas exploration in disputed waters.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis discussed the situation in the region with Macron by telephone on Wednesday.

On Thursday, the French armed forces ministry said it was sending two Rafale fighter jets and the naval frigate Lafayette to the eastern Mediterranean.

The frigate and the jets had arrived in Crete earlier on Thursday and carried out joint manoeuvres with Greek forces, the Greek defence sources said.

"Emmanuel Macron is a true friend of Greece and a fervent defender of European values and international law," Mitsotakis tweeted, in French, after the call with Macron.

Tensions have simmered between NATO allies Greece and Turkey in recent days over overlapping claims to hydrocarbon resources in Mediterranean waters.

A Turkish seismic vessel, the Oruc Reis, has been sailing between Crete and Cyprus since Monday, despatched by Ankara days after Greece signed a maritime deal with Egypt designating an exclusive economic zone between the two nations.

Turkey says it plans to open up some of the area for potential hydrocarbon exploration, and a precursor to that is collecting seismic data it can process and sell to potential bidders.

Both countries lay claim to the area.

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The Government is collaborating with the World Bank to support the development of jobs and skills with an amount of $200 million in the next five years.



The Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who announced this, said the project was approved by Parliament last month and it was expected to train the youth in apprenticeship, entrepreneurship and skills development.



He said the beneficiaries would also be supported with grants for their entrepreneurship projects.



Dr Bawumia, who was addressing the youth wing of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Accra yesterday to commemorate the International Youth Day, said the second component of the project would aim at supporting young job seekers to find jobs through public employment centres across the country.



Attendance



The meeting, which was organised by the National Youth Wing of the party, attracted regional and national youth coordinators and their deputies.



EID CELEBRATIONS Japan Motors

It was also attended by the Chief of Staff, Mrs Akosua Frema Osei Opare; the National Chairman of the NPP, Mr Freddy Wosemawu Blay; the National Organiser, Mr Sammy Awuku, and the National Nasara Coordinator, Mr Aziz Haruna Futa. Some youth wings of the party in the diaspora also joined in the celebration via Zoom.



Digitisation



In the context of digitisation, Dr Bawumia said the government was aggressively pursuing an agenda to formalise the Ghanaian economy through digitisation.



We are introducing new and more efficient ways of doing things, he said, adding that the introduction of the national identity card was a game-changer.



Vice-President Bawumia said in spite of the NDCs eight years in power, they could not get the national identity card done but under the NPP, about 13.5 million persons had been enrolled onto the system and it was estimated that before the end of the year, about 16 million people would be registered.





The national ID cards will become the anchor for formalising the economy as well as integrating the existing national database, he added.



Dr Bawumia said the government had also decided to ensure that almost everybody in the country would have a TIN number.



With that particular policy, Vice-President Bawumia said the country would suddenly move from less than three million people with the TIN to about 16 million and that alone would change the entire revenue generation capacity of the country.



He said the work had started and by January, 2021, it would be rolled out.



Again, the Vice-President said the NHIS, as well as the Births and Deaths Registry were being integrated with the national ID card so that the NHIS numbers would also become the national ID numbers while the data of newborns would automatically be captured onto the national data.



NPP youth



Listing a number of youthful deployed in the northern zone of the country, strongholds of the major political parties and competitive or swing constituencies.



He said there was a need to start early advocacy against the use of vigilantes in this years elections because, the threat is that there is a de-escalation when advocacy increases.



Threat to all



A representative of CODEO, Nana Kwabena Aborampa Mensah, said everybody in the electoral process was at risk of suffering from the damage caused by election-related violence and thus called on everyone to play a role in avoiding a violent situation before, during and after the December 7 election.



Mr Mensah, who led a team around the country to monitor the registration exercise, said 20 separate violent incidents were recorded during that exercise, a situation which might send the wrong signals to the international community about the robustness of the countrys democratic credentials.



He said the causes of some of the violent incidents ranged from allegation of people being bussed to centres to register, to people guaranteeing for others who were believed to be sympathetic to their political party but to whom they had no relation, contrary to what the law says.



Legal adjustments



Touching on the law and the loopholes that made the prosecution of election-related offences difficult, a Senior State Prosecutor at the Attorney-Generals (AG) Department, Ms Hilda Kafui Craig, appealed to the Chief Justice to constitute special courts for the prosecution of election-related offences.



Prosecution of offences has been bedevilled with numerous challenges impeding the effectiveness of the process and thereby limiting the success of obtaining conviction in election-related offences.



Chief among the obstacles, Ms Craig identified, was that section 42 of the Representation of the People Law, Act 284 requires the consent of the A-G in writing before the police can prosecute an offence under the Act.



That clause in the law, according to her, must be revised to help speed up the prosecution of election-related offences.

Source: graphiconline.com









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The Japanese emperors role as sovereign ruler is a matter of some dispute, yet it is clear that he exceeded his authority on Aug. 14 by summoning the Supreme War Council and the Cabinet to announce that he would accept the terms of a memo from U.S. Secretary of State James Byrnes that rejected any conditions for surrender but stated that the ultimate form of Japans government would be established by the freely expressed will of the Japanese people.
Israel's Defense Ministry said Thursday it conducted a successful test of the country's advanced missile defence system against long-range ballistic attacks.

Defence Minister Benny Gantz said the successful flight test of the Arrow-2 interceptor was part of Israel's technological effort that 'ensures that we will always be one step ahead of our enemies.'

The test was conducted overnight in central Israel, jointly with the U.S. Missile Defence Agency.

Arrow-2 is part of the multi-layered system Israel has developed to defend against both short- and mid-range rockets fired from Gaza and Lebanon, as well as Iran's long-range missiles.

Israel's Arrow-2 missile interceptor is seen during a test of the system at a site in central Israel, according to Israel Missile Defense Organization in the Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency August 12, 2020

A test of Israel's Arrow-2 missile interceptor system is seen at a site in central Israel, according to Israel Missile Defense Organization in the Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency yesterday

It includes Iron Dome, David's Sling and the Arrow-3 system - capable of defending against threats from outside the atmosphere.

Israel and the United States jointly tested Arrow-3 successfully last year in Alaska. The system was developed by Israel Aerospace Industries and U.S. aviation giant Boeing and became operational in January 2017.

The Arrow-2 has been in use even longer and has been deployed in recent years to counter Syrian missiles.

An image shows the impact of a Israel's Arrow-2 missile interceptor missile with a target missile during a test of the system at a site in central Israel yesterday

Israel's multi-layered aerial defence systems were designed to cope with a future war in which it is assumed Israel will be targeted with massive missile fire toward all parts of the country.

The Arrow rocket system is designed to intercept the longest-range missiles, including outside the atmosphere.

Moshe Patel, who heads the Defence Ministry's missile defence organisation, said Iran was the most natural threat but that Arrow could also cope with attacks from Iraq, Syria and elsewhere.
By ALEXANDRA JAFFE, BILL BARROW and WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP)  Joe Biden and Kamala Harris pushed past their one-time political rivalry to deliver an aggressive attack on the character and performance of President Donald Trump in their historic first appearance as running mates.

The physical debut of the Democratic ticket on Wednesday was without parallel in recent political annals. The coronavirus prevented Biden and Harris from appearing before the large, adoring crowd that typically greets a presidential nominee and his or her running mate. Instead, they spoke in a mostly empty high school gym where reporters nearly outnumbered campaign aides and the candidates' family members.

While the pandemic made a traditional campaign rollout impossible, it gave Biden and Harris a setting to emphasize their criticism of Trump as unable to contend with the most severe public health crisis in a century. Harris was particularly sharp in her condemnation of the administration.

"The case against Donald Trump and Mike Pence is open and shut," Harris said. "This virus has impacted almost every country. But there's a reason it has hit America worse than any other advanced nation. It's because of Trump's failure to take it seriously from the start."

She added: "This is what happens when we elect a guy who just isn't up for the job."

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden retrieves his face mask from the podium as his running mate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., prepares to speak at a campaign event at Alexis Dupont High School in Wilmington, Del., Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)AP

Harris is the first Black woman on a major partys presidential ticket, and she and Biden noted the historical significance.

"This morning, all across the nation, little girls woke up  especially little Black and brown girls, who so often feel overlooked and undervalued in their communities. But today, today, just maybe, they're seeing themselves for the first time in a new way," Biden said.

Harris, who is also of South Asian descent, noted the "heroic and ambitious women before me, whose sacrifice, determination and resilience make my presence here today even possible."

For his part, Trump has struggled to land on a coherent message about the Biden-Harris ticket, casting the Democrats as simultaneously too liberal for America and yet not progressive enough for their party's base. Trump has resorted to sexist and racist criticism, referring to Harris as "nasty" and tweeting that "the 'suburban housewife' will be voting for me" to keep neighborhoods safe.

He also noted the two Democrats' disagreements during the primary campaign last year.

"She said horrible things about him," Trump said Wednesday. "She mocked him, openly mocked him. That's why I thought that was a very risky pick. Because I'm sure that will be played back."

But onstage in Wilmington, Biden and Harris showed clear affection toward one another. He called his running mate an honorary Biden, and Harris offered a poignant tribute to his son Beau, whom she was friends with when both served as state attorneys general. Biden seemed overcome with emotion as Harris spoke of Beau, who died in 2015, as the best of us and a man who modeled himself after his father.

She signaled that she'll offer a vigorous defense of Biden's qualifications on issues of race and civil rights, though she made headlines for assailing him for his past opposition to federally mandated busing during a primary debate.

Noting Biden's own vice presidency under President Barack Obama, she said he "takes his place in the ongoing story of America's march towards equality and justice" as the only person "who's served alongside the first Black president and has chosen the first Black woman as his running mate."

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and her husband Douglas Emhoff, right, applaud to Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden after a campaign event at Alexis Dupont High School in Wilmington, Del., Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)AP

Biden's choice of Harris brought more than just historical weight to the ticket  it also provided a big fundraising boost for the campaign. He announced at a later online fundraiser that the campaign raised $26 million in the 24 hours since she was announced, with 150,000 people giving for the first time.

Still, the day was not without its challenges. The main event started an hour late, and the gymnasium in which the candidates spoke lost its air conditioning after a power outage hit the area. While most of the cable news networks took the event live, the online livestream cut out just a few minutes into Biden's remarks.

The appearance was the first in a rollout that Biden aides say blends the historic nature of Harris' selection with the realities of the 2020 campaign and the gravity of the nation's circumstances, which include the pandemic and its dramatic economic fallout.

Harris was considered a favorite throughout Biden's search, and she's been a regular surrogate campaigner and fundraiser for him since he became the presumptive nominee.

They'll nonetheless have to paper over differences exposed during the primary campaign, from Harris' initial support for a single-payer health insurance system and the Green New Deal to her deeply personal debate-stage broadside against Biden over his opposition to federally mandated busing to integrate public schools in the 1970s.

Harris no longer supports a single-payer health insurance system, aligning instead with Biden's proposal to add a public insurance option to compete alongside private plans. Still, she memorably raised her hand during one Democratic primary debate when candidates were asked whether they could back a system that scrapped private health insurance altogether.

She has broadly endorsed the Green New Deal, progressives' most ambitious set of proposals to combat climate change, but she didn't make that an anchor of her presidential bid. Biden has moved left on his climate proposals during the 2020 campaign but has not fully embraced the Green New Deal.

In Washington, Harris has advocated overhauling the criminal justice system, intensifying her efforts since George Floyd's killing by a white Minneapolis police officer in May. And she's called for sweeping domestic programs to benefit the working and middle class. But she has taken heat for some of her aggressive stances as a local prosecutor in the San Francisco area and for not prosecuting bank executives in the wake of the 2008 financial collapse.

Biden bets that, on balance, Harris has broad appeal that will shore up any weaknesses with Black women, an anchor of the Democratic Party, and other voters of color, while juicing turnout among white liberals and coaxing support from independents and Republican-leaning white voters who have soured on Trump.

___

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NEW YORK, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation ("Cabot" or the "Company") (NYSE: COG) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, and docketed under 20-cv-02827, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons other than Defendants who purchased or otherwise acquired Cabot securities between October 23, 2015, and June 12, 2020, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants' violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials.

If you are a shareholder who purchased Cabot securities during the class period, you have until October 13, 2020, to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.

[Click here for information about joining the class action]

Cabot is an independent oil and gas company that explores, exploits, develops, produces, and markets oil and gas properties in the U.S.

Cabot primarily focuses its oil and gas efforts on the Marcellus Shale located in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. Cabot's gas procuring activities in Pennsylvania have been the subject of controversy for over a decade, with the Company repeatedly denying any responsibility for environmental damage observed in the state.

The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operational, and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Cabot had inadequate environmental controls and procedures and/or failed to properly mitigate known issues related to those controls and procedures; (ii) as a result, Cabot, among other issues, failed to fix faulty gas wells, thereby polluting Pennsylvania's water supplies through stray gas migration; (iii) the foregoing was foreseeably likely to subject Cabot to increased governmental scrutiny and enforcement, as well as increased reputational and financial harm; (iv) Cabot continually downplayed its potential civil and/or criminal liabilities with respect to such environmental matters; and (v) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On July 26, 2019, during intraday trading hours, Cabot filed a quarterly report on Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission, reporting the Company's financial and operating results for the quarter ended June 30, 2019 (the "2Q19 10-Q"). The 2Q19 10-Q disclosed that the Company had received two proposed Consent Order and Agreements ("CO&As") related to two Notices of Violation ("NOVs") it had received from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection ("PaDEP") back in June and November 2017, respectively, for failure to prevent the migration of gas into fresh groundwater sources in the area surrounding Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania.

Following the release of the 2Q19 10-Q, Cabot's stock price fell $2.63 per share, or 12.07%, to close at $19.16 per share on July 26, 2019.

Then, on June 15, 2020, during pre-market hours, following a grand jury investigation, the Pennsylvania attorney general's office charged Cabot with fifteen criminal counts arising from its failure to fix faulty gas wells, thereby polluting Pennsylvania's water supplies through stray gas migration.

On this news, Cabot's stock price fell $0.67 per share, or 3.34%, to close at $19.40 per share on June 15, 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.

CONTACT:

Robert S. Willoughby

Pomerantz LLP

[email protected]

SOURCE Pomerantz LLP

Related Links

www.pomerantzlaw.com


Call on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan Motegi Toshimitsu at The Istana, Singapore, on 13 August 2020. (PHOTO: Ministry of Communications and Information)

SINGAPORE  Singapore and Japan are in talks to set up a Residence Track for limited business travel by as early as next month.

Singapores Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan and his Japanese counterpart Motegi Toshimitsu welcomed the talks in a joint statement on Thursday (13 August).

Under the proposed arrangement, there will be a special quota of cross-border travel by business executives and business professionals (work pass holders) with public health safeguards in place, including the 14-day stay home notice upon arrival in the respective countries.

The ministers also agreed on the major points on the Business Track (Reciprocal Green Lane), in which short-term business travelers will be subject to a controlled itinerary for the first 14 days, with public health safeguards in place.

They have tasked officials to finalise the agreement by early September, with Singapore being among one of the first countries with which Japan will begin this exchange of business travelers.

In a separate statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Toshimitsu, who is in Singapore for an official visit from Wednesday to Friday, called on and was hosted to lunch by Dr Balakrishnan on Thursday. He also paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana.

Apart from the travel arrangements, the ministers also discussed a range of regional and international issues including on promoting greater economic integration in the region.

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Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) - The Congolese Senate at a plenary session here Wednesday adopted a draft bill authorizing ratification of the financing agreement of more than 29
They've enjoying an idyllic Greek getaway after jetting off to the country this week.

And Maura Higgins sent temperatures soaring as she modelled a a plunging beige crochet bikini and a matching mini skirt on her Instagram on Thursday, as she soaked up the sun in Crete.

Meanwhile, Maura's Love Island co- star Molly-Mae Hague, 21, was also keen to showcase her holiday look, with the influencer stunning in a simple chocolate brown bikini.

Stunning: Maura Higgins sent temperatures soaring as she modelled a a plunging beige crochet bikini and a matching mini skirt on her Instagram on Thursday, as she soaked up the sun in Crete

29-year-old Maura looked sensational in the skimpy top and matching shirt, which allowed her to showcase her incredible physique and sun-kissed skin.

The beauty accessorised her beach look with delicate gold jewellery while she kept her essentials in a chic Chanel bag.

Maura swept her raven tresses into a fishtail plait, while she accentuated her features with a glam sweep of make-up.

Beach babe: Meanwhile, Maura's Love Island co- star Molly-Mae Hague, 21, was also keen to showcase her holiday look, with the influencer stunning in a simple chocolate brown bikini

The Irish star flashed a coquettish look at the camera as she captioned the images: '50 shades of crochet.'

She also took to her Instagram stories where she gave a close-up of her sizzling beach look and displayed her taut midriff in the process.

While she also shared a snap of herself modelling a tan Prada bucket hat.

Looking good: 29-year-old Maura looked sensational in the skimpy top and matching shirt, which allowed her to showcase her incredible physique and sun-kissed skin

Meanwhile, Molly-Mae added an oversized light brown shirt to her look and accessorised with a brown sunglasses and a crochet handbag in a similar hue.

She radiated natural beauty in the snap as she went make-up free, while her blonde tresses were swept back off her face.

Molly-Mae and Maura have been treating their fans to an array of sizzling snaps this week as they continued to document their stay at the Abaton Island Resort & Spa.

Ready for her close-up: She also took to her Instagram stories where she gave a close-up of her sizzling beach look and displayed her taut midriff in the process

Holiday style: While she also shared a snap of herself modelling a tan Prada bucket hat

On Wednesday they showed off their night time looks, with Molly-Mae showcasing her sizzling figure in a skintight PVC top with ruched detailing, tucked into a pair of elasticated mini shorts.

The PrettyLittleThing ambassador carried her essentials in a black Balenciaga bag, which boasted the brand's initial in gold on the front of the item.

Elsewhere, Maura also shared a stunning snap from their night out, as she stepped out wearing a champagne mini dress with knotted neck detailing.

Dazzling! Molly-Mae set pulses racing as she stepped out for a night on the tiles with her friend, as she posed outside their hotel in Crete on Wednesday evening

The reality star added a designer touch to her look with a white padded Yves Saint Laurent bag, while also adding gold jewellery to her ensemble.

Molly-Mae and Maura have struck up a close friendship after initially battling for Molly's boyfriend Tommy Fury's affections on last year's series of Love Island.

Bombshell Maura appeared to turn Tommy's head following her arrival, however his heart ultimately lay with Molly-Mae and the three of them are all now good pals.

Golden girl: Elsewhere, Maura also shared a stunning snap from their night out, as she stepped out wearing a champagne mini dress with knotted neck detailing

Molly-Mae almost missed her holiday with Maura, after new coronavirus regulations meant that she failed to fill in a form on time.

On Monday, the influencer took to Instagram to detail her Gatwick Airport experience, in which she had failed to correctly fill in the required Passenger Locator Form (PLF) in the right time frame, yet was thankfully saved by her sister's form.

While the reality personality conceded that the entire incident was her 'own fault', she did however warn fans that the coronavirus restrictions are 'SO STRICT' and urged followers to fill in their forms on time.
Sushant Singh Rajput's sister Shweta Singh Kirti has requested for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the death of the late actor.

Taking to Instagram, Shweta shared a picture of herself holding a placard that read "I am the sister of Sushant Singh Rajput and I request for #CBIforSSR."

Posting the image, Shweta wrote, "Its time we find the truth and get justice. Please help our family and the whole world to know what the truth is and find closure, otherwise, we will never be able to live a peaceful life!!#CBIForSSR Raise your voice and demand #JusticeForSushantSinghRajput #WarriorsForSSR @sushantsinghrajput." (sic)

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Shweta Singh kirti (@shwetasinghkirti) on Aug 12, 2020 at 1:05pm PDT

She also shared a video of her demanding an "unbiased investigation" into her brother's death and urged people to stand together.

"We stand together as a nation for CBI Enquiry! Demanding an unbiased investigation is our right and we expect nothing but the truth to come out," Shweta Singh Kirti wrote on Instagram, along with a video.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Shweta Singh kirti (@shwetasinghkirti) on Aug 12, 2020 at 9:01pm PDT

Sushant's fans came out in huge support of Shweta. One wrote, "CBI should immediately go to Mumbai and start the investigation," while another said, "India is with you, don't worry... Shushant will definitely get justice... Stay strong. God is here. He will do justice."

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that the Bihar Police lacks jurisdiction in the Sushant Singh Rajput case, while the late actor's father claimed that Mumbai Police was not probing the matter "in the right direction."

The Bihar government told the top court that the FIR lodged in Patna in the case is legal and valid and alleged that there is non-cooperation from Maharashtra.

Reserving verdict on actress Rhea Chakraborty's plea, seeking transfer to Mumbai of the FIR lodged in Patna against her for allegedly abetting Sushant's suicide, the top court asked the parties concerned to file their written submissions, not more than two pages each, by August 13 in the case.
Migrants including children arrived in Dover for the tenth day in a row today as a council warned it is 'days away' from being unable to look after any more asylum seeking youngsters.

Kent County Council's leader Roger Gough fears more than 100 children could arrive without parents in August - a monthly figure not seen since the last major migrant crisis in 2015.

Hundreds of refugees have arrived in Dover this month as calmer waters over The Channel present an opportunity for crossings in small boats.

People in lifejackets and masks, including at least one child, were escorted through the harbour off a Border Force patrol boat this morning.

It comes after 420 unaccompanied children crossed the Channel without their parents this year, with 70 arriving in August so far.

A group of people thought to be migrants are brought into Dover following a number of small boat incidents in the Channel today as hundreds of refugees have arrived so far this month

A group of people thought to be migrants disembark a Border Force vessel at Dover Port today as hundreds of migrants from Syria and other countries continue to arrive in the UK

A group of people, including a child, were brought into Dover, Kent, by Border Force officers following a number of small boat incidents in the Channel today

At least 20 migrants arrived on Kent's beaches in Dover and Greatstone today as refugees continue to cross the Channel

Children were among the refugees to arrive in Kent earlier today as migrants crossed the sea

As migrants were escorted by officials, one child could be seen crying in his father's arms as they went through the harbour.

Yesterday 71 people arrived in Dover, bringing August's total for migrant crossings up to 896.

At least 20 more refugees have arrived this morning - bringing the total to over 900.

They were taken ashore by immigration officials where they will be assessed for symptoms of coronavirus, as is protocol.

Ten more exhausted migrants were seen lying on the ground after landing on a Kent beach this morning.

Some of the migrants were covered in mud after landing on the sandy beach at Greatstone, Romney Marsh.

Two of them were wrapped in foil blankets and were wearing face masks as they spoke to police and Border Force officers.

Local photographer Susan Pilcher said: 'I have no idea how they didn't die coming over in one of those dinghies. It's heartbreaking.'

Border Force cutter Seeker and French border patrol boat Scarpe have also been active in the Channel on Thursday.

Favourable weather in the English Channel has made the crossing possible for hundreds of migrants over the last 10 days, despite Home Secretary Priti Patel's vow to make the route 'unviable'.

Cllr Gough said: 'One (centre) which we actually emptied last week and which we reopened on Saturday, we are now almost full already. So this is the pace at which events are moving.

Migrants were seen being escorted off a Border Force patrol boat in Dover this morning, on the tenth day of arrivals across The Channel

A toddler was seen crying in his father's arms after being picked up by Border Force earlier today

The family were on a boat that had crossed The Channel from France carrying refugees

Border Force boats were patrolling off the Kent coast today as more dinghies sailed from France

Hundreds of refugees have arrived in Dover since last Tuesday, with each arrival being screened for coronavirus

Migrants, including at least one child, arrived at Dover on Thursday morning, escorted by Border Force officials

At least nine migrants have arrived at Dover this morning after being intercepted by Border Force workers off the Kent coast

Favourable weather in the English Channel has made the crossing possible for hundreds of migrants over the last 10 days

A week after the single-day record for migrant crossings was set at 235, more refugees arrived today

'The real question is what we can do to sustain that reception for those young people if the arrivals continue at the rate they do and we are unable to place those children with other local authorities.

'I think we are now potentially days away, depending on the rate of arrivals, from turning around and having to say we cannot deliver all our statutory responsibilities and that is going to be a major step for the council.'

The unaccompanied children who arrive in Kent remain in the council's care system 'for quite a number of years,' Mr Gough said.

The numbers peaked on August 6 when 235 made it to the UK - a single-day record.

The Government has asked for military assistance to deal with crossings.

So far that has taken the form of two RAF planes, but there are also plans to deploy the Royal Navy in the Channel.

Priti Patel told Tory MPs the asylum system is 'broken' as she promised to introduce laws that would 'send the left into meltdown', The Times reported on Thursday.

After arriving in Kent migrants were taken for coronavirus screening and then taken to a detention centre

A group of around 10 migrants, including one woman, were seen sitting or lying on the ground after landing at Greatstone Beach, Romney Marsh, earlier today

The highest number of migrants to make the crossing is 235 - a record set last Thursday

More migrants arrived at Dover this morning - bringing the total number for August close to 900

Migrants were given masks after being picked up by Border Force patrol teams earlier today

Border Force cutter Seeker and French border patrol boat Scarpe have also been active in the Channel on Thursday

The Home Secretary said the system was being 'exploited by leftie Labour-supporting lawyers' who were doing everything they could to stop the Government removing people.

Shadow secretary of state for justice David Lammy said the 'leftie lawyers' comments were 'extremely distasteful'.

He added: 'Caricaturing an entire profession, which is subject to a code of conduct and upholds the rule of law, is dangerous and unbecoming of a serious Home Secretary.'

Ms Patel's newly appointed Clandestine Channel Threat Commander, Dan O'Mahoney, said: 'These crossings are dangerous and unnecessary and I am determined to stop them.

'The minister and I met with French officials in Paris on Tuesday for discussions on how to advance joint working on making the small boats route for illegal migration unviable.

'We will continue to go after the heinous criminals and organised crime networks putting people's lives at risk.'

On the 10th consecutive day of arrivals, Border Force workers picked up migrants near Dover

The Mayor of Calais said Britain sending in the Navy to police the Channel would be 'a declaration of maritime war'

The Mayor of Calais said Britain sending in the Navy to police the Channel would be 'a declaration of maritime war' amid a sharp rise in the number of migrants making the perilous crossing.

Mayor Natacha Bouchart responded to Priti Patel's formal request for help from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) as the number of people making the life-threatening journey continues to climb.

The Calais Mayor said in an interview with France 3: 'I think the [French] government would oppose it.

'Here we are hostile to it. Rather than accept migrants who would work in the black market, Boris Johnson would do better than to teach us lessons, would be better to create better laws to to accept people in his own country.

'The British themselves have created this hot air by not reviewing their own reception systems and are content to hand out lessons and by subjecting the people of Calais to this situation for too long.'

Refugees were escorted through the harbour, where they will go through Covid-19 screening

The yard in Dover was completely packed with dozens of small boats used by groups to try and reach the UK

Border Force have intercepted thousands of refugees making the illegal crossing from France so far this year

A military plane was sent out on Monday to survey the Channel and alert the Coastguard and Border Force to emerging crossing attempts - but people continue to make the desperate trip

A military plane was sent out on Monday to survey the Channel and alert the Coastguard and Border Force to emerging crossing attempts.

At least 4,375 migrants have reached the UK by small boat so far this year.

Speaking to reporters in Dover yesterday, Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage said: 'With all the tough talk and with it happening every day it's becoming a bit of a national humiliation.

'Until people know that coming via this route they will not be allowed to stay, they will just keep on coming.'

He defended the use of the word 'invasion' to describe migrants arriving in the UK by sea.

'I said in April I thought there would be a summer invasion, by which I meant a very large number of people illegally landing on our beaches now.

'As it is, some land on beaches but most get picked up before. I think it's a pretty reasonable use of the word, yes.'

More refugees arrived in Dover on Thursday, a day after the Mayor of Calais warned the French government would oppose the Royal Navy intervening in The Channel

Migrants - including a child - are seen disembarking from a Border Force vessel in Dover today

Lawyers representing asylum seekers who arrived in the UK by crossing the Channel on small boats have launched legal action to halt their deportation, which is due to take place on Wednesday.

Immigration Minister Chris Philp held talks with French officials in Paris on Tuesday in a bid to devise a 'new, comprehensive action plan' to tackle the crossings - after repeated crackdown plans failed.

He said after the meeting: 'Today I met with the French Government to discuss the urgent issue of small boats illegally crossing the channel.

'We agreed that in order to stop these boats we have to make the route completely unviable and discussed a new comprehensive joint operational plan to do just that.

A group of 22 migrants crammed onto a dinghy were spotted stranded in the English Channel last night

The group -who were not wearing life jackets - crammed onto the boat and waved at the camera

The jam-packed boat was photographed on the final leg of its journey across the Channel

French officials have blamed the UK's 'hypocrisy' and 'black economy' for increasing the number of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats (one pictured last night)

'Our discussion covered all elements required to make this route unviable.

'We will be working together in the coming days to further develop and agree this new plan.

'Our new Channel Threat Commander, Dan O'Mahoney, will be returning to France for further discussions next week.

'I was also pleased that following the appointment of our Channel Threat Commander, the French will be reciprocating by creating their own new national commander on this critical issue who will be appointed very soon.

'These were positive talks, and both sides reaffirmed their joint commitment to making the route completely unviable.'

It comes as migrants attempting to cross the Channel threatened to drown themselves if they are stopped by the Royal Navy.

Father Kamal Sadeghi, who is getting set to make the perilous journey with his wife and 11-month-old daughter (pictured together), told The Times : 'I am too tired to carry on. If they try to stop us I will drown myself'

Migrants can be seen being brought to Dover harbour by Border Force officials this morning

Families preparing to make the crossing to Britain from Calais claim the stretch of water will become 'a sea of bodies' if the British government intervenes and sends them back to France.

Christian convert Kamal Sadeghi getting set to make the perilous journey with his wife and 11-month-old daughter after fleeing his home in Iran.

He told The Times: 'I am too tired to carry on. If they try to stop us I will drown myself.'

Mr Sadeghi, 39, his wife, Niki Karimi, 33, and their daughter, Sava, who turns one on Sunday, have spent ten days living in a tent in woodland in Calais having fled Iran after his wife's family objected to their marriage.

He told The Times: 'We need just a normal life. We need to get on a boat. If they try to stop us I will kill myself. I would jump in the water'.

The family told the paper they attempted to stay in Slovenia after leaving their home country three years ago, but lost their savings to the 'mafia' after they were put in jail 'with 300 single men'.

French officials have blamed the UK's 'hypocrisy' and 'black economy' for increasing the number of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats.

Immigration Minister Chris Philp held talks with French officials in Paris on Tuesday in a bid to devise a 'new, comprehensive action plan' to tackle the crossings - after repeated crackdown plans failed. Pictured, one of the migrants who travelled to England today

UK Border Force officials help migrants disembark from their patrol vessel HMC Eagle after arriving at the marina in Dover

Six boats carrying a total of 74 migrants were intercepted crossing the English Channel from France on Tuesday.

Today, a further four boats carrying around 20 migrants made the journey to Britain's shoreline.

The Royal Air Force was providing aerial support for the Border Force for the second time this week, with a Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft flying from Kinloss Barracks in Scotland to monitor the situation in the English Channel.

Britain's immediate entitlement to benefits, healthcare, housing and the possibility of working soon after arriving are what makes Britain worth the hazardous journey, French officials claim.

Yusshka Mir, 36, a designer from Iran, told the Times: 'What Boris Johnson does not understand is that for us it is better to die if we cannot reach England. I would drown myself. We will all die.'

Just one in five migrants who have tried to cross the Channel have been intercepted by France - as politicians from the country now claims the newcomers are lured into Britain by its generous welfare state.

Immigration minister Chris Philp travelled to Paris on Tuesday to seek stronger enforcement measures - as Border Force continued to deal with crossings along the south coast of the UK.

Mr Philp said that French authorities had caught 'well over a thousand' migrants making the crossing this year, but figures from January 2020 to August 6 show the total number to have made the trip to Britain in small boats is around 4,100.

More than 600 people have made the journey just in the previous few days, suggesting that the proportion of those intercepted is roughly one fifth.

Defence select committee chairman Tobias Ellwood told the Telegraph the French were 'unable to cope at the best of times' - and accused the country's authorities of 'half-heartedness'.

'In normal circumstances, the French are only preventing around half of the dinghies crossing the Channel  but during the current spike that's dropped to a fifth,' he said.

'It's clear that only with greater maritime collaboration with the British can we attempt to significantly reduce the success rate of the crossing.'

He also voiced support for involving the Armed Forces 'during this heightened period'.

Deputy mayor of Calais Philippe Mignonet told French newspaper Voix Du Nord migrants risked the crossing 'because they can work in the black economy when they want, because there is no control, not on the street or in the workplace'.

'I fear a tragedy one day at sea, but the British blame us for their own hypocrisy,' he said.

National Society for Rescue at Sea in Calais president Bernard Barron added that migrants have now 'mastered the sea and, with GPS support, wait until they are in British waters to send out an SOS call'.

He said Britain's government will criticise migrants for making the journey, 'but they do not criticise themselves, questioning the reasons that make their country so attractive'.

It comes as lawyers representing asylum seekers who arrived in the UK by crossing the Channel on small boats launched legal action to halt their deportation, which is due to take place on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters after the Paris meeting, Mr Philp said the 'sheer numbers' crossing the Channel were 'completely unacceptable' to both the French and UK governments, so it is quite clear that more needs to be done.

'And that is exactly what this new, comprehensive action plan that we are working on will aim to do,' he added.

Mr Philp would not comment on details of the plan but claimed there were a 'number of measures, some of them new, which are under discussion'.

He said it would be 'premature' to talk about financial commitments at this stage because the plans were still being finalised.

But he insisted both countries had 'renewed and reaffirmed their absolute commitment to make sure this border is properly policed and this route is completely ended.'

Newly-appointed clandestine channel threat commander Dan O'Mahoney, who travelled to Paris with Mr Philp, will return to the continent early next week to continue discussions, with France due to appoint its own commander.

The Government has also faced fresh criticism over warnings nine months ago that its own policies meant migrants were resorting to more dangerous routes.

Around 30 migrants made the crossing on Wednesday morning. It comes one day after at least 74 in six vessels made the perilous 21-mile crossing over the Dover Strait - the world's busiest shipping lane.

The men were seen on the edge of the French side of the Channel and were not moving as the outbound motor on their boat had broken down. A group of cross-Channel swimmers returning to Britain saw the vessel bobbing in the water at around 5pm yesterday and raised the alarm

Home Secretary Priti Patel headed to Dover on Monday, and was seen disembarking from a police boat that had been out in the Channel earlier that morning

A report by the Foreign Affairs Committee published in November said: 'A policy that focuses exclusively on closing borders will drive migrants to take more dangerous routes, and push them into the hands of criminal groups.'

Home Secretary Priti Patel was a member of the committee at the time of its inquiry.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson was accused of using inflammatory language after calling migrant boat crossings a 'very bad and stupid and dangerous and criminal thing to do'.

He also hinted at changing laws to tackle the problem, while Downing Street said Brexit would help as it would end the 'inflexible and rigid' requirements on how asylum applications are examined and considered.

The Home Office has formally requested help from the Ministry of Defence (MoD), with a military plane sent out on Monday to survey the Channel and alert the Coastguard and Border Force to emerging crossing attempts.

But Calais MP Pierre-Henri Dumont said bringing in the Navy was a 'political measure' intended to show ministers were taking action and warned that it 'won't change anything'.

The Home Office has formally requested help from the Ministry of Defence (MoD), with a military plane sent out on Monday (pictured) to survey the Channel and alert the Coastguard and Border Force to emerging crossing attempts

The latest outcry follows a similar storm last summer when another spike in crossings led Mr Johnson to warn Britain was prepared to start sending back those migrants who did make it across - comments which were branded 'misleading and inflammatory' by campaigners.

Since then there have been a series of meetings between UK and French ministers and officials, each time with the promise of more agreements or resources in efforts to address the problem.

Bella Sankey, director of Detention Action, said: 'Any ''comprehensive plan'' must create a safe and legal route for those who would otherwise risk a Channel crossing, otherwise it is neither comprehensive nor an effective plan.

'These negotiations with French counterparts are doomed to further failure unless the UK Government can stop chasing unicorns and show some principled and noble leadership'.
Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong

How has public investment in developing an e-government in Vietnam been conducted?

Boosting the application of IT in state agencies has received special interest from agencies of all levels. In which, the construction of an e-government and e-National Assembly has made important results.

This has come from the effective usage of public investment capital for deploying IT projects in agencies. However, one of the difficulties is the limited capital for IT development.

We are about to finish the mid-term public investment cycle for the 2016-2020 period and embark on a new cycle. Preparations have been made, such as the prime ministers directive on formulating the mid-term public investment plan for the 2021-2025 period, and guidelines by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).

In particular, the National Assembly Standing Committee recently enacted Resolution 973/2020/UBTVQH14 on principles, criteria, and quotas of public investment sourced from the state budget for the 2021-2025 period. The MPI is also implementing procedures and seeking comments from relevant ministries and agencies for completing a draft decision of the prime minister on realising this resolution.

These are important legal foundations to make plans for public investment for the IT sector, in which the construction of an e-government is a focal task. On the other hand, regulations on principles, criteria, and quotas for allocating capital in the Law on Public Investment and Resolution 973 have been renewed, empowering ministries, central agencies, and localities to balance financial resources for IT development out of the total capital given by the state within the whole 2021-2025 period.

How urgent is e-government development in Vietnam now?

The formulation and completion of the e-government scheme is a correct policy, an inevitable and objective requirement, and a common trend worldwide. Any nation with an effective e-government will find it favourable in enhancing the efficiency, effectiveness, and quality of monitoring and guiding economic development and social management.

Vietnam is not an exception, especially now when it is embarking upon Industry 4.0 and when demand for IT application has been surging in all sectors due to COVID-19 impacts. Vietnam has numerous advantages in e-government development thanks to its strongly-developed IT sector.

However, much remains to be done for developing an effective e-government, and capital for this sector is huge. Thus the toughest problem now is how to properly balance capital, and select appropriate technologies, ensuring state agencies all transactions can be conducted swiftly, effectively, and safely.

What is the MPIs role in boosting the construction of e-government?

The MPI plays two important roles in developing the e-government now and in the future. Specifically, as a governmental agency, the ministry must boost implementation of the e-government scheme within itself, which will be developed into the most modern, professional, and effective one.

As an agency in charge of providing consultancy for the government with assorted policies including public investment, the MPI will make greatest efforts to study and advance strategic solutions in IT development in general and e-government development in particular.

It will also closely combine with ministries, central agencies, and localities in formulating a suitable capital allocating plan in order to effectively promote the IT application in state agencies of the political system, and of the e-government scheme.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment has enhanced online procedures for various types of bidding, Photo: Le Tien

What activities has the MPI launched so as to beef up development in this area?

Firstly, we have boosted the IT application in the ministries activities, especially in managing documents, approving dossiers, and inking and enacting documents. The ministry has frequently updated and modernised its management system, with desired outcomes in administrative management.

The MPI has early deployed a concentrated regulating system of documents for all units, which are integrated with the National E-document Exchange Platform, and applied digital signatures in e-document exchanges.

Secondly, the MPI has applied IT in processing administrative procedures and public services, as well as a one-door procedure, facilitating the solution of all administrative procedures related to the ministry. Also, we have also successfully connected the MPIs public service portal with the National Public Service Portal (NPSP). So far, a number of our services such as business registration and bidding have also been connected with the NPSP.

Thirdly, the MPI has also applied data digitalisation. Many of its units have implemented activities related to big data, such as the General Statistics Office. This is considered the big data of the country. The office has applied IT in all activities.

Next, the MPI has applied IT in its information system on public investment. Two years ago, public investment was officially managed by IT. The Law on Public Investment and existing regulations have recognised the public investment management via an official system which is equally valid as documents signed and stamped by authorised agencies.

This demonstrates the great values of IT application in public investment management and aims to improve the effectiveness of public investment as well as boost implementation of procedures of state-funded projects.

The information system on public investment has been deployed nationwide, facilitating activities about formulating, collecting, allocating, and adjusting mid-term and annual public investment plans.

In addition, the MPI has developed an information system on investment supervision. This is a big-data system covering both public investment and investment by enterprises. This system is well operated and deployed nationwide, helping serve supervision activities, especially supervision reports for the National Assemblys sessions on investment supervision.

Also, the ministry has also developed and operated an information system and national database on business registration. This system can allow us to know the clear figures about business registration every minute. It has been connected with the database of the General Department of Taxation to follow the health of enterprises registered in the system.

The MPI also has a national bidding system. In the first half of 2020, the number of bidding packages processed online increased strongly thanks to shortened time in processing procedures. Reports on public investment review show that one of the causes behind slow disbursement of public investment is the prolonged time for conducting procedures, including a six-month procedure for bidding. Online bidding has helped many bidding packages save time, greatly helping investors to boost the implementation of projects.

The national bidding system has been implemented to perform online bidding and public procurement and effectively manage information and databases on bidding nationwide. Moreover, the MPI also has other systems including the national statistics database and the national information system on foreign investment.
The United States Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Global Shea Alliance (GSA), Wednesday, launched the Action for Shea Parklands (ASP) initiative, under which 20,000 shea trees will be planted in Ghana this year.



Spearheaded by GSA, the initiative seeks to promote, plant, and protect the shea parklands while advancing a shea industry commitment to plant 10 million trees across West Africa over the next 10 years.



Ghanas 20,000 trees for 2020 will be planted across the five northern regions.



A press release issued by the United States Embassy, in Accra, and copied to the Ghana News Agency, said to commemorate the launch, Ambassador Stephanie S. Sullivan joined members of the Global Shea Alliance and women shea cooperative leaders to plant 50 shea seedlings in seedling bags.



These would be transported to the Northern Region of Ghana for planting during the 2021 shea season.



Ambassador Sullivan, the release said, commended the projects partners, stating, Given the impact of the industry on improving incomes for women and their families, Ive been excited to witness first-hand the enormous growth of the shea export industry in Ghana.

"U.S. companies and consumers continue to play a key role in this growth, ensuring that the industry contributes to Ghanas economic development while meeting the highest social and environmental standards.



The initiative, the release said, also highlighted the importance of bolstering womens economic development activities in Ghana.



Shea is a primary source of livelihood for women living in northern Ghana.



Togo and Benin, the release said, were also pilot countries for the ASP initiative.



This month, 6,000 trees will be planted in northern Togo by 500 rural farmers, including 300 women.



The seedlings were acquired from a network of small community nurseries established in 2019.



In Benin, the Federation Nationale des Productrices damandes et de beurre de Karite du Benin (FNPK), the umbrella of women cooperatives, launched the shea planting campaign as part of ASP in June 2020.



The campaign, the release said, involved 400 women from the northern regions in Benin who planted 2,400 trees in July this year.



In partnership with USAID, GSA is leading the industry's sustainability effort.



To date, the release said, 100,000 seedlings had been raised and 8,000 shea trees planted with private sector funding under the USAID-funded Sustainable Shea Initiative (SSI), a public-private partnership with GSA.



"The SSI is an $18 million, five-year program that promotes the sustainable expansion of the shea industry in Ghana, Benin, Cote dIvoire, Togo, Mali, Nigeria, and Burkina Faso as well as increases the incomes of rural women, who form the backbone of the industry, " the release explained.

Source: GNA









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Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs Shri Nitin Gadkari has called for increased investment by international institutions and bodies in the Indian Highways and MSME sectors. He said, automobile and MSME are the two growth engines of Indian economy. Addressing the Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce and Womennovator on Trade Investment and collaborations in Road infrastructure and MSMEs today, the Minister said, India and Australia are already co-operating in the road safety sector. He said, this cooperation has provided better designs for roads and awareness opportunities for the public. Under Indian Road Safety Assessment Programme 21000 km roads have been assessed and about 3000 km road length is under technological upgradation. He said, better road engineering and increased public awareness has brought about improvement. It is estimated, he added, that these upgradation programmes will bring about 50 per cent reduction in Road accidents. Gadkari informed that our objective is to set out to achieve zero road fatalities by 2030.

Gadkari informed that World Bank and ADB have committed Rs 7000 crore each for this campaign. He said, by social awareness and education, improving emergency services, pressing for medical insurance, providing more hospitals, etc the country is inching closer to achieving its Road safety targets. He referred to the MV Act of 2019, which is a comprehensive legislation on all aspects of Transport sector in India.

The Minister said, the govt is concentrating on village, agricultural and tribal sectors for providing employment opportunities there. He emphasized that it is the MSME sector which will drive the Indian economy in the coming years. He informed that investment in infra and insurance sectors has been opened up, as there are huge opportunities in insurance, pension and share economies. He said, MSME is also going to capital market soon.

Australian Dy PM also elaborated various initiatives of his country in the road sector especially in the area of road safety. He added that India and Australia have strong relations which he said were never been so strong. He expressed confidence that the ties between two countries will grow further comprehensively in different fields including trade and commerce. He stressed on the need for building infrastructure and added saying that this is one way of overcoming Covid-19 pandemic.

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Prof Oluwatoyin Ogundipe

Prof Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, the sacked Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, has engaged a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mike Ozekhome, to file a suit to challenge his removal from office, The PUNCH reports.

His letter of instruction dated August 12, 2020 and addressed to Ozekhome was seen by The PUNCH on Thursday.

Ogundipe stated in the letter that the act of the Governing Council of the university purportedly removing him from office was illegal and unconstitutional, adding that it was carried out without due process and contrary to the University Act and other extant laws governing discipline, suspension and removal of the Vice-Chancellor of the university.

His instruction to Ozekhome which was borne on his official letterhead was titled, Instruction to institute legal action against the Council and Pro-Chancellor and others of the University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos.

It partly read, I hereby formally brief you to institute legal proceedings against the Council, Pro-Chancellor of the University of Lagos and others based on their illegal and unconstitutional act of purportedly removing me from office as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos.

I honestly believe that this action was carried out without due process and contrary to the University Act and other extant laws governing discipline, suspension and removal of the Vice-Chancellor of the University.

I humbly urge you to use your legal experience to redress this grave injustice meted out to me.

The sacking of the vice-chancellor was announced at a meeting of the Governing Council of UNILAG held at the National Universities Commission in Abuja on Wednesday.

While seven members of the council were said to have voted for the removal of Ogundipe, four voted against it while one of them voted that he should rather be placed on suspension.

The meeting was chaired by the UNILAG Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of its Governing Council, Dr Wale Babalakin, SAN.
The shadowy Russian 'Scarface oligarch' who sold Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's new home in Santa Barbara is a Moscow tycoon who claims to be at war with the mafia and top Vladimir Putin officials.

Sergey Grishin, 54, who is believed to be worth $500million, has made extraordinary boasts about 'robbing' the Russian banking system - including a scam with disappearing ink.

Based in Los Angeles, the banker has begged Donald Trump for a US passport, saying he needs it to stay safe from Russians who are after him.

His complex relations with glamorous women - including a Russian described by the Gazprom-owned NTV channel as a 'porn webcam model' - have led to a number of legal clashes, including alleged death threats.

Sergey Grishin (pictured) is the shadowy Russian 'Scarface oligarch' who sold Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's new home in Santa Barbara

One of Grishin's romantic partners was Anna Fedoseeva (pictured together), in her late 30s, who worked at an events agency and organised one of his birthday parties.

Grishin was the former owner of the Montecito mansion (pictured) which was sold to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Grishin has a degree in Physics but his first business venture in Moscow reportedly involved home-baked cookies and hot dogs.

Nicknamed the 'Scarface oligarch' due to his earlier purchase of the 'Scarface' estate - where Tony Montana got blown to bits and Winston Churchill and Albert Einstein also stayed - he made several videos on his private Gulfstream jet which purported to confess to involvement to financial machinations in the Reds-to-Riches 1990s in Russia.

He wanted to explain how 'a single person like me can cause the collapse of the Russian banking system', apparently as a come-on to the US authorities.

His aim seemed to be to coax a US passport from the Trump administration by implying he had inside knowledge of Russian wrongdoing which would be of interest to the FBI.

In one video filmed on his jet, he claimed he made Russian bankers use a Polish-designed pen to write cheques for $2million.

The special ink could then be made to vanish, allowing him to rewrite the cheque for $250million, he claimed.

This scam was earlier blamed on the Chechen mafia, he claimed.

The larger alleged robbery involved financial manipulations via Estonia at the time when the Soviet Union was collapsing into chaos, he said.

He has praised Trump and his slogan about making America great again, but made clear he wanted a US passport because: 'I want to be safe.

'I am kind of under fire right now by the criminal world of Russiaby the top government officials of Russia, too. '

Grishin's marriage to Anna Fedoseeva (left) ended in acrimony and he posted a picture of his bloodied face (right) claiming he had been the subject of domestic abuse

The oligarch later met former model Ekaterina Loginova (pictured together) and began a relationship with her, reports in Russia say

In his video message he did not explain the alleged threats from the mafia or Putin's officials but said: 'I don't like thisI hate this. I do not deserve this.'

In fact, surprisingly little is known about the Grishin.

In 2008, Finans magazine dubbed him 'one of the most mysterious Russian bankers', who made his first money in selling electronics and petrol.

He has been married at least three times, according to the Russian media.

His latest bride was Anna Fedoseeva, in her late 30s, who worked at an events agency and organised one of his birthday parties.

She moved from St Petersburg to California and 'he started showering her with presents', according to one account.

'Her life turned into a fairy tale - Bentley, furs, expensive hotels and resorts.'

They married in March 2017 and split up 11 months later, amid demands for a return of his 'gifts' say reports.

His lawyer Alexey Melnikov, later said: 'My client has spent over $5million on her, the exact amount is hard to establish since the presents were bought at different times for rubles, US dollars, euro and Swiss francs. Over this time they had traveled to a lot of places.'

There followed legal action in which he demanded the return of an alleged loan from Anna and her business partner Jennifer Sulkess.

They started legal action accusing him of death threats and false imprisonment.

He posted a picture of his bloodied face claiming he had been the subject of domestic abuse.

Ekaterina Loginova (pictured) was described by the Gazprom-owned NTV channel as a 'porn webcam model'

Sergey Grishin and US tycoon Warren Buffet playing poker. The Russian businessman has lobbied for a US passport

The oligarch later met former model Ekaterina Loginova and began a relationship with her, it is reported in Russia.

But later he filed a criminal lawsuit against an assistant who has worked for him for 25 years, Svetlana Grachyova, and Loginova.

He accused them of defrauding him while they countered that the banker allegedly threatened them with murder, jail and accused them of a lesbian plot, say reports in Russia.

Loginova was quoted as saying: 'Grishin invited me, my eight-month-old son and my mother to live with him in the USA, and soon he proposed to me, giving me an expensive ring worth several million rubles.

'He said he wanted to get married.'

She said: 'In the summer of 2018, Grishin suddenly left for Moscow, explaining to his bride that he wanted to sue his ex-wife Anna Fedoseeva.

'After his return, he began to behave extremely aggressively and completely inadequately.

'Although before that, I heard strange things from him, for example, that he would become the next president of the United States.

'But after this trip, he went off the rails: every day I heard how he would punish his ex-wife, put her in prison.

'Frightened by the hatred and cruelty emanating from Grishin, I packed my things and returned to Moscow with my child and mother.'

An earlier wife Anna Grishina also became locked in legal dispute at the end of their relationship, it was reported in Moscow.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 13, 2020) -QcX Gold Corp. (TSXV: QCX) (OTC: FMGXF) (FSE: 21MA) ("QcX" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has acquired a 100% interest in the Fernet East property ("Fernet East"), located in northwestern Quebec (the "Acquisition"). Fernet East comprises the second property as part of the overall Fernet project (the "Fernet Project") as shown in Figure 1. Fernet East adds approximately 2,715 hectares to the Fernet Project, bringing the total land position to approximately 7,195 hectares. Fernet East is contiguous with claims held by Midland Exploration Inc. and near Wallbridge Mining Limited's Fenelon gold project as shown in Figure 1.



Figure 1: Location of the Fernet Project (red) with respect to neighbouring companies



To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/1791/61611_0bc78e3124ab1be1_001full.jpg

Fernet East is approximately 45 km southeast of the Fenelon gold project (bulk sample of 33,233 tonnes at 18.49 g/t Au - Wallbridge news May 15, 2019), and 110 km east of Detour Lake mine (~15.4 Moz mineral reserves including proven mineral reserves of 3.4 million ounces (85.2 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.24 grams per tonne) and probable mineral reserves of 12.1 million ounces (413.2 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.91 grams per tonne) as of December 31, 2018 - Detour Gold news March 7, 2019)). Fernet East is underlain by Archean greenstone volcanic rocks and intrusions to the north of the eastward extension of the Sunday Lake Deformation Zone. Of particular interest is the structure and associated gold deposits and occurrences of the Manthet Group which underlay both the Fernet East and the neighbouring Fenelon, Martiniere, and Lac du Doigt gold discoveries as shown in Figure 2. Mineralization hosted on adjacent and/or nearby properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on the Fernet Project.



Figure 2: Geology of the Fernet Project (red) with respect to regional geology and mineral occurrences



To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/1791/61611_0bc78e3124ab1be1_002full.jpg

Albert Contardi, Interim Chief Executive Officer of QcX, stated, "The Fernet East property was a great fit for our project portfolio as we continue to expand our presence in Quebec with the previously announced acquisitions of the Golden Giant in James Bay proximal to Azimut Exploration Inc. and the Fernet West proximal to Wallbridge Mining Limited. We are excited to begin a work program on the Fernet Project in a rapidly emerging mining camp. We look forward to updating the market on the fully funded work program."

Transaction Terms

The Acquisition will be carried out in accordance with the terms of a mining claim acquisition agreement (the "Purchase Agreement") dated August 10, 2020, between the Company and an arm's length vendor who holds a 100% interest in the mineral claims comprising Fernet East (the "Vendor"), pursuant to which the Company will acquire a 100% interest in the Fernet Project, in consideration of: (i) the Company will pay the sum of $68,000 to the Vendor over a period of three (3) years from the date on which QcX receives approval from the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") in respect of the Acquisition; (ii) issue to the Vendor an aggregate of 300,000 common shares in the capital of the Company, to be issued in several tranches; and (ii) grant to the Vendor a 1.5% net smelter returns royalty ("NSR") (subject to the right and option of the Company to purchase 0.75% of the NSR for a price equal to $500,000). The completion of the Acquisition remains subject to the approval of the TSXV.

For further information, please contact:

Albert Contardi

Interim Chief Executive Officer

acontardi@qcxgold.com

416-361-2832

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-looking statements:

This news release contains forward-looking statements. All statements, other than of historical facts, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future including, without limitation, the planned exploration program, the expected positive exploration results, the timing of the exploration results, the ability of the Company to continue with the exploration program, the availability of the required funds to continue with the exploration and the potential mineralization or potential mineral resources are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of the words "will", "should", "continue", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "believe", "intend", "to earn", "to have', "plan" or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict, that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, failure to meet expected, estimated or planned exploration expenditures, failure to establish estimated mineral resources, the possibility that future exploration results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, general business and economic conditions, changes in world gold markets, sufficient labour and equipment being available, changes in laws and permitting requirements, unanticipated weather changes, title disputes and claims, environmental risks as well as those risks identified in the Company's annual Management's Discussion and Analysis. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described and accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements except as otherwise required by applicable law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/61611
A United States Postal Service employee was attacked by two dogs while delivering a package to a residence in Concord last week.

On Aug. 6, as the postal service worker was approaching the front door of the residence, two dogs came from the back entrance and attacked the worker, said Lt. Jimmy Torelli of the Cabarrus County Sheriffs Office.

The attack happened at 291 Sunderland Road SW.

When the dogs attacked, the worker was able to use a vehicle as shelter from the dogs. But the worker still sustained several injuries. The owner of the dogs was able to get between the dogs and the postal worker before a sheriffs deputy arrived.

Once the deputy was on scene, he called for Cabarrus County EMS due to the injuries the postal carrier sustained.

Torelli said the dogs had been in the house but left through a doggy door at the back door. The owners also had an electric fence around the property. But the mail carrier was inside the perimeter of the fence during the attack to deliver the package. There was also a Beware of Dog sign on the property.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 18:50:35|Editor: huaxia

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JAKARTA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia will prepare facilities and rules required to support foreign travelers to work from Bali resort island in a bid to lure more holiday makers and extend their holiday periods.

The move came as the Southeast Asian biggest economy has been striving to restore the tourism sector which has been dashed by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Marine and Investment Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said on Thursday that regulations which support the goal have been formulated.

Bali resort, the center of the Indonesian tourism industry, has welcomed domestic holiday makers since July 31 after being closed for about three months due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Foreign travelers will be allowed to visit the island on September 11, according to the government.

The partial lockdowns applied to rein the virus transmission by countries have steeply cut foreign tourist arrivals into Indonesia by over 85 percent in recent months, according to data from the National Central Agency of Statistics.

Indonesia's revenue from the sector in the first half of this year would likely drift down about six billion U.S. dollars. The pandemic forced about 2,000 hotels and 8,000 restaurants to close, the Indonesian Employers Association said. Enditem
analytica gets a digital extension. With the new format analytica virtual, the worlds leading trade fair for laboratory technology, analysis and biotechnology also enables those exhibitors and visitors to participate who due to travel restrictions cannot come to Munich. In addition, parts of the analytica supporting program will be available in digital form. analytica virtual will supplement the classic analytica in Munich (October 19 to 22), but will be open for one day longer. With this complementary offering, analytica underscores its importance as the most important platform for the industry: Even in the year of the corona crisis, it will present the decisive innovations to a global audience and facilitate exchange between experts.

It is our aspiration to host the most important platform for the laboratory industry worldwide. We are pleased that even in these difficult times we can offer our customers the trade fair experience that is optimal for them  either on-site in Munich or virtually via our new digital platform, says Dr. Reinhard Pfeiffer, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Messe Munchen.

Online exhibition with virtual booths

As part of analytica, analytica virtual will be an online trade fair with virtual exhibition booths. There, visitors can view product presentations, download flyers, and contact the respective exhibitor directly via a text, audio and video chat function. The virtual trade fair will be open 24 hours a day from October 19 to 23, 2020. Product novelties and product innovations from all fields of laboratory and analytical technology for the target industries of chemistry, biotech, pharmaceuticals and foodstuffs are going to be presented. In addition, webinars and parts of the classic analytica supporting program are to be made available via the platform. Important events will be repeated at different times of the day to reach interested parties in distant time zones as well. One of analyticas highlights, the special show Digital Transformation, will be present both in Munich and at analytica virtual. The show illustrates the state of laboratory automation in a presentation that is unique in the world.

Messe Munchen is hosting analytica virtual in collaboration with LUMITOS AG. I am very pleased that Messe Munchen and LUMITOS are combining their many years of experience in specialist trade fairs and B2B online portals in the context of analytica virtual. This creates an unprecedented trade fair experience for visitors and exhibitors from all over the world, with completely new opportunities and outreach, says LUMITOSs Managing Director Stefan Knecht.

Classic analytica with protection and hygiene concept in Munich

Concomitantly with analytica virtual, the classic analytica will take place at the exhibition grounds in Munich from October 19 to 22. In order to ensure the safety of all participants, Messe Munchen is implementing a protection and hygiene concept adopted by the Bavarian state government, which is based on rules that currently also apply in many areas of daily life (supermarkets, catering). In China, Messe Munchen has already demonstrated that even in the times of COVID-19 safe, attractive and economically successful industry platforms are possible: On the first weekend of July it successfully hosted four major trade fairs in Shanghai. LASER World of PHOTONICS CHINA alone registered 57,135 visitors from the field and 819 exhibitors.

Exhibitors at analytica in Munich will also be present at analytica virtual with a basic entry at no additional cost. Messe Munchen recently granted all exhibitors a corona discount of 20 percent on the participation fee. They can use the amount saved to advertise for visitors or to upgrade their presence at analytica virtual.

Exhibitors welcome the innovative concept

This year we could present our innovations to customers only to a limited extent. The extended analytica now opens up the opportunity to make new contacts and maintain existing ones worldwide. This extraordinary time gives us the opportunity to break new ground, explains Julia Conrad, Senior Marketing & Communication Specialist at Waters.

Siegbert Holtermuller, Chairman of analyticas Exhibitor Advisory Board and Head of Sales Life Sciences at Olympus, adds: We support analytica extending its reach with a new concept. The combination of an on-site exhibition in Munich and a digital event on the net is the proper response to the current restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and will expand the circle of visitors.

analytica Exhibition Director Susanne Grodl sums it up: analytica in Munich and its digital expansion analytica virtual complement each other and continue to make it possible to present all the industrys innovations in breadth and depth to a global audience.

Exhibitors and visitors can now register for analytica virtual.
The dual actions were the latest in a series of restrictions and punishments the administration is applying to China and people who work for the ruling Communist Party. Pompeo and other U.S. officials claim previous administrations turned a blind eye to Chinas aggression and expanding influence around the world with the naive hope it would become less repressive.
NEW YORK, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its ongoing efforts to enhance social services and provide the local community better access to fresh foods, Fairstead, a fully-integrated real estate firm committed to affordable housing, announced today that it has partnered with Down to Earth Farmers Markets and the Goddard Riverside nonprofit organization to host a farmers market on Saturday mornings outside its 1,802-unit Savoy Park Apartments complex in Central Harlem.

Savoy Park Apartments Down To Earth Farmers Markets

Located on the east side of Lenox Avenue/Malcolm X Boulevard between West 140th and West 141st Streets, the market will operate every Saturday from 9:00 a.m. until 3 p.m., August 15 through November 28th.

Dacotah Rousseau, Director of Markets and Community at Down to Earth Farmers Markets said, "The Savoy Park Farmers Market is a true community effort, bringing together residents and community services to connect Central Harlem to the people who grow, raise and make food right here in New York State. Now more than ever it is critical that New Yorkers have a safe, stable and accessible local food system."

The Savoy Park Farmers Market will begin its first season as a farm stand market, featuring two small scale farms from the New York area. The farms will provide a variety of seasonal, locally grown fruits and vegetables as well as eggs and raw honey. The Savoy Park Farmers Market will accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) EBT and Farmers Market Nutrition Program WIC and Seniors checks. Learn more at www.downtoearthmarkets.com.

"We are excited to partner with Down to Earth Farmers Markets and Goddard Riverside to bring high-quality food to the local Savoy Park residents as well as the entire Central Harlem community," added Franchel Mendoza, Social Services Coordinator at Fairstead. "Fairstead believes strongly in providing the local community with easy access to fresh fruits and vegetables, especially during these challenging times. The new Savoy Park Farmers Market offers the opportunity for residents to conveniently purchase healthy food for their families while supporting local vendors."

Savoy Park Farmers Market:

Location: East side of Lenox Avenue/Malcolm X Boulevard between West 140th and West 141st Streets.

Open: Saturdays, August 15- November 28th, 9:00 a.m.  3:00 p.m.

Vendors: 4E Farm (Long Island, New York) and Alex's Tomato Farm (New Jersey and Sprakers, New York).

Here are New York State guidelines for shopping at the farmers market:

Please wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth.

Leave 6 feet of space between yourself and the person in front of you if you find yourself in a line (about two arm lengths).

Send just one person to the farmers market to shop.

Take social conversations with friends and neighbors outside the market area (but continue to follow the social distancing rules!)

Ask for the products you want to purchase, and the salesperson will gather it together for you at the register. Do not touch or lean on or over displays.

About Fairstead

Fairstead is a vertically integrated real estate investor, developer, owner and operator specializing in affordable and mixed-income housing. Since 2014, Fairstead has acquired and/or developed more than $4 Billion of multifamily property across the country, and today owns a portfolio of 12,000 apartments in 14 states. The company's comprehensive platform provides hands-on expertise across all multifamily disciplines, including acquisitions, development, design and construction, energy and sustainability, property management and social services. For more information, visit www.fairstead.com.

About Down to Earth Farmers Markets

Down to Earth Farmers Markets is a family-owned business based in New York's Hudson Valley. For 30 years, it has created and managed farmers markets in the New York City area. It works to bring cooks and eaters together with regional farmers and local food makers to create food communities, improving access to fresh, local foods, strengthening the local food system and supporting small scale food businesses. Down to Earth Farmers Markets' mission is to: Create economic opportunities for local farmers, processors, and consumers to trade with one another for mutual benefit, Celebrate our food culture together to enhance community life, and Cultivate knowledge, awareness, and practices among consumers and producers to care for the environment and build the local food economy. Down to Earth Farmers Markets is a "Best for the world" Certified B Corp.

About Goddard Riverside

For more than 100 years, Goddard Riverside has been committed to investing in people and strengthening community by meeting New Yorkers' most essential needs. Through 27 programs across 22 sites, Goddard Riverside provides comprehensive educational, cultural and recreational programs for New Yorker of all ages, including early childhood education, after school, employment support, college access, youth programs, homeless outreach, senior centers and legal assistance.

CONTACT:

For Fairstead:

GREAT INK  212-741-2977 (Tom Nolan/Eric Gerard)

[email protected]

SOURCE Fairstead

Related Links

http://www.fairstead.com


As much as we may not want to deal with the reality of the situation, recent news from the state of California suggests it and many other states may be reaching the fiscal boundaries of the COVID-19 economic contraction. The reality of the economic situation is that when consumers are restricted from normal activities, taxes, sales, and revenues decrease for the state exponentially. States that depend on consumers and business activity with very large budgets are at greater risk of experiencing immediate fiscal issues the longer the COVID-19 virus event continues. A recent Moodys Analytics article suggested Nevada, Hawaii, New York, Washington, Florida, DC, and Connecticut would be hit the hardest by the COVID-19 virus.

STATE FINANCES A MESS

One has to use their imagination to attempt to understand the true scope of the issues ahead for states that experience what we are calling the COVID Fiscal Cliff. See the Yahoo! Finance graph below for a view of states that have the most economic exposure to COVID.

Expenses dont stop that much for these states. Theyve made commitments many years into the future based on budgets and revenue expectations entrenched in the political works of each state. When a contraction of 10%, 20%, 30%, or more is experienced in revenues/income, it can be disastrous. The longer this type of revenue contraction exists, the more painful the Fiscal Death Thrashing for each state is likely to be.

Currently, the revenue levels appear to have decreased by approximately -30% from March 2020 to May 2020 according to a recent NPR article. As we can see from the chart below, the effect on each state varies state-by-state. Regardless, a -25% to -30% in revenues will crush many states future operations  almost immediately.

The article further states Record-high unemployment has wreaked havoc on personal income taxes and sales taxes, two of the biggest sources of revenue for states. Hawaiis and Nevadas tourism industries have crashed, and states like Alaska, Oklahoma and Wyoming have been hit by the collapse of oil markets. From March through May of this year, 34 states experienced at least a 20% drop in revenue compared with the same period last year

Story continues

When one looks at the US stock market reaching new all-time highs and expecting a continued V-shaped recovery, we believe the expectations many traders/investors have may be grossly inaccurate given state revenue data

CREDIT, DEBT & A LACK OF REAL INCOME

Consumers make up nearly 80% of the US total GDP. Certainly, a 20% to 30% decrease in consumer spending and activity will dent state and local city revenue sources. When we consider the huge wave of foreclosures, evictions, and job losses that are still pending to hit the economy, we are likely looking at tens of millions of US citizens being displaced or disqualified from consumer activity. This process will likely take 24+ months to fully materialize, yet we are only 5+ months into the process right now.

What happens to the support systems, housing, and how consumers engage in economic activity when states and cities have reached their limits and start cutting budgets and services? What happens to the stock market when investors suddenly realize the total scope of the true economic environment ahead? Will they be as aggressive in buying assets and stocks as they have been over the past 5+ months? One thing is certain, we have yet to identify and experience the total impact of the COVID-19 economic contraction yet  get ready for a reality shock.

Our research team believe the Fibonacci Price Amplitude Arcs, shown below on this YM Monthly chart, are key to understanding how and where price risk may become excessive. Currently, price levels are trading just above the two GREEN Fibonacci Price Amplitude Arcs.

If the economy continues to recover at a moderate pace, then we may see further upside price activity from these levels. Yet, with only about 80 days to go before the US Presidential elections and with late Summer/Early Fall economic cycles in place, our researchers believe the next phase of the economic contraction will come when consumers/cities/states start to become burdened with the lack of income and economic activity related to the COVID-19 virus event. We believe that process is starting to unfold right now.

States and cities that suddenly find themselves broke, or close to being broke, suddenly start acting differently  as we all do. We start to become more protectionist in our thinking. Whereas, prior to being broke, we could spend and enjoy different things. Now, being broke, means we cant spend and enjoy  heck we may not even be able to pay for essential services or to keep the lights on.

A perfect example of the Economic Death Spiral event that often takes place when cities/states destroy their economic future is what is being reported in New York City. People with the means and ability are fleeing New York City in droves and the Mayor is pleading with these wealthy residents to stay. The only people that may eventually be left are those that dont have the resources to leave.

These near all-time highs may seem like a very good opportunity for buying before the breakout, but we urge everyone to stay cautious because we believe a broader, longer-term cycle is taking place and we are just at the start of this potentially 24+ month cycle. Yes, the Fed can print lots of money and spread it around, but consumers and assets need to be engaged in real organic economic function for the economy to grow. If the Fed continues to attempt to buy up everything, this is not real organic growth  it is life support.

Pay very close attention to the risks in the current market setup. The process of global recovery after the COVID-19 virus is likely to take years. There will be very big and incredible opportunities for skilled technical traders over that time. Learn how we can help you trade and find success in these markets  sign up for my Active ETF Swing Trade Signals today!

If you have a buy-and-hold account (like retirement accounts) and are looking for technical signals for when to own equities, bonds, or cash, be sure to subscribe to my Passive Long-Term ETF Investing Signals, for which we expect to issue a new signal for subscribers soon. Stay healthy and rest easy at night by staying informed through our services  sign up today!

For a look at all of todays economic events, check out our economic calendar.

Stay safe. Stay sharp and stay away from unnecessary risk.

Chris Vermeulen

Chief Market Strategist

Founder of Technical Traders Ltd.

NOTICE: Our free research does not constitute a trade recommendation, investment or trading advice, or solicitation for our readers to take any action regarding this research. It is provided for educational purposes only. Our research team produces these research articles to share information with you in an effort to try to keep you well informed.

This article was originally posted on FX Empire

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The new coronavirus has now infected more than 20 million people around the world: a number that has increased by 100 percent in about six weeks. The number of deaths linked to the virus has also increased to more than 745,000.

Countries are taking strong measures to limit the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. And scientists and drug makers are racing to develop a vaccine against the disease.

On August 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that his country had become the first to approve a vaccine against COVID-19.

The announcement came less than two months after the start of human testing of the vaccine with less than 100 people. The Gamaleya Institute in Moscow developed the vaccine. However, it has not yet completed Phase 3 tests involving a large group of volunteers. Alexander Gintsburg, head of the Gamaleya Institute, said that Russia will start its vaccine program while Phase 3 tests continue.



Some Western scientists are questioning whether the fast approval, without testing a large group of people, will lead to a safe vaccine.

Jonathan Ball is a Professor of Molecular Virology at the University of Nottingham. He said: Vaccine candidates go through a series of trials to ensure that they are safe and also that they work. He noted that any COVID-19 vaccine will need to protect high-risk groups of people, those who are older or with existing health conditions.

When will we know a vaccine works?

The World Health Organization says more than 100 possible vaccines are being developed to protect against COVID-19. But only six possible vaccines are currently in Phase 3 trials. Each trial will last for several months and include up to 30,000 people.

One vaccine candidate under Phase 3 trial is from Britains University of Oxford and drug maker AstraZeneca. Sarah Gilbert, a leading scientist in the study, told BBC Radio that it is possible the team will have a vaccine by the end of the year.



Dr. Anthony Fauci is the top U.S. infectious diseases expert. He told Reuters recently that a trial by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health could produce results by November or December. Other efforts like the joint study from U.S.-based drug maker Pfizer and Germanys BioNTech will come later.

Some experts are not sure whether Phase 3 trials can be completed that soon. The trials must study possible side effects of the vaccines on different groups of people and they must include thousands of people.

Peter Hotez of Baylor College of Medicine in Texas said that collecting enough data to prove a vaccine is safe for the world could take until the middle of 2021.

When will the shots be ready?

Several drug makers are building manufacturing capacity to prepare for vaccine production. The U.S. government has provided billions of dollars to the companies under a program called Operation Warp Speed.

Fauci said he expects tens of millions of doses of vaccine to be available in early 2021. And that more than a billion will be ready by the end of next year.

Several companies, including Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Pfizer say they each expect to make more than 1 billion doses next year. That could mean several billion will be available by the end of 2021.

When can I get it?

The first supplies of vaccine will go to people in developed nations. Countries including Canada, Japan, Britain, and the United States have made agreements with drug makers to produce vaccines for their citizens.

The British government said that if the University of Oxford vaccine proves effective, the first 30 million doses would be for Britons. Separately, AstraZeneca signed deals to make at least 300 million doses available for the U.S. and another 400 million for European Union members.

The first shots will likely go to people who work in industries like healthcare or those who are at greatest health risk from the virus.



When will the rest of the world get it?

The wait time for COVID-19 vaccines will likely be longer for people in developing countries, which do not have early supply deals.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is pushing for vaccine research to be shared between countries. He said, Nobody should be pushed to the back of the vaccine queue because of where they live or what they earn.

One of the efforts to ensure developing countries will get COVID-19 vaccines comes from the vaccine alliance Gavi.

Seth Berkley, the head of Gavi, said, One thing that has been made all too clear  is that this disease does not respect borders, which is why this global problem requires a global solution.

The alliance and its partners signed an agreement with AstraZeneca for 400 million doses. The company says it will make the vaccine available at no profit during the pandemic. And it has also given permission to Indias Serum Institute to produce another 1 billion doses.



What about a Chinese vaccine?

China has at least three different vaccines in Phase 3 human trials, including government-run Wuhan Institute of Biological Products and Beijing Institute of Biological Products and drug maker Sinovac.

The Chinese government has approved some experimental vaccines to be used on some patients outside of the trials. But they are unlikely to be available in Western countries any time soon. Western health officials would need to study the results of the trials before approving any treatment.

At a recent meeting with African leaders, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that African countries would be among the first to be helped with a vaccine developed by China. But he offered no other information.

Im Jonathan Evans.

Hai Do wrote this report for VOA Learning English with additional reporting from Reuters, the Associated Press and VOA. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

trial n. a test of the quality, effectiveness or safety of something like a medicine or treatment

capacity n. the ability to produce a certain amount of something within a certain time

dose n. the amount of medicine or treatment needed to be taken at one time to get the correct result

queue n. a line of things or people that are waiting to move forward

global adj. something that involves the entire world

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" " Collective hysteria can spread when a fear exists of exposure to a disease, combined with a contained, stressful environment. John Foxx/ Getty Images

How much power do our minds have over our physical health? Is health simply a biological concept, or is there more to it? A recent story from Mexico may provide some clues.

In 2006, a mysterious illness began to affect girls at a boarding school in Chalco, Mexico, near Mexico City. The school, which is run by Roman Catholic nuns, is one of 10 in Asia and Latin America operated by a charity called World Villages for Children in Asia. The girls, ages 12 to 17, showed strange symptoms: difficulty walking, fever and nausea. After the girls returned from a 10-day Christmas break, the illness spread. Eventually 600 out of the 3,600 girls at the school showed symptoms. Still, no one could figure out what was making the girls sick, and public health officials were called in.

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After conducting numerous tests, surveying the facilities and interviewing some of the afflicted girls, doctors have decided that a psychological disorder is responsible. Its official name is mass psychogenic disorder, also called collective hysteria, mass psychosomatic reaction or mass hysteria.

Mass psychogenic disorder is a rare -- but not unheard of -- phenomenon. The disorder is usually characterized by the mysterious spread of a variety of symptoms without a discernible cause. It frequently occurs in isolated communities. Teenagers and girls are also frequent victims. Collective hysteria can spread when a fear exists of exposure to a disease, combined with a contained, stressful environment.

Dr. Victor Manuel Torres Meza, director of epidemiology for the Mexico State Health Department, told the New York Times that there were 80 documented cases of mass psychogenic disorder around the world. In the case of the girls at the Mexican boarding school, they live in a highly structured environment, following a disciplined, regimented routine. Correspondence and interaction with parents is sparse -- children see their parents no more than three times a year. Between visits, letters are permitted; however, the girls are not allowed to call home. An environment with that combination of stressors likely contributed to the illness spread. The school eventually allowed parents to take their children home, and those who were sick recovered quickly.

In hopes of finding the trigger and learning more about this particular outbreak of mass psychogenic disorder, 20 doctors and psychologists have begun interviewing the girls who are currently or have been sick.
Evaluation Specialist (Team Leader and/or Team Member of Evaluation team), Tajikistan

Organization: FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Country: Tajikistan

City: Dushanbe, Tajikistan

Office: UNFAO Coordination Office in Tajikistan

Closing date: Friday, 4 September 2020

CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST - VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT : 2001771

Evaluation Specialist (Team Leader and/or Team Member of Evaluation team)

Job Posting: 06/Aug/2020

Closure Date: 04/Sep/2020, 9:59:00 PM

Organizational Unit : OEDD

Job Type: Non-staff opportunities

Type of Requisition : Consultant / PSA (Personal Services Agreement)

Grade Level : N/A

Primary Location: Tajikistan

Duration : Approx. 20-35 days depending on job title and in-country travel

Post Number : N/A

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device

FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender and nationality

People with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply

All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality

The incumbent may be re-assigned to different activities and/or duty stations depending on the evolving needs of the Organization

Organizational Setting

The Office of Evaluation (OED) of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is conducting a final evaluation of a national project in Tajikistan financed by the European Commission. The project title is Strengthening Institutions and Capacity of the Ministry of Agriculture and State Veterinary Inspection Service for Policy Formulation (GCP/TAJ/013/EC) and is being implemented between January 2016 and December 2020.

This project aims to assist the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan in restarting the Agrarian Reform Programme 2012-2020 by addressing restructuring and capacity development (analytical and technical) in the Ministry of Agriculture, the Committee for Food Security and other government institutions, such as the Tajik Veterinary Association, the Tajik Agrarian University, the Agency on Statistics and the Agency on Hydrometeorology of the Republic of Tajikistan. The project goal is strengthened institutions and capacity in strategic decision-making, planning, regulation, quality control and management in the food and agriculture sectors, including livestock.

The project is structured around the following five outcomes :

Plans for the institutional reform of Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) are finalized, endorsed and implemented;

Selected Agrarian Reform and food security policies and regulations are formulated with active contribution of MoA staff through an inclusive participatory process;

Capacity of MoA is strengthened for analysis and technical competence;

Availability of quality agriculture and food security data is improved;

Private and public institutional and implementation capacities for delivering animal health services are strengthened.

The projects activities should, among others, assist in :

Designing agriculture policies that are environmentally sustainable and gender sensitive;

Implementing cost-effective disease control strategies and surveillance systems, data gathering and analysis;

Developing capacity for communicating new policies and regulations within all levels of Government and to other stakeholders;

The formulation and dissemination of new policies and regulations; and

The adoption of results-based monitoring strategies in the field.

Reporting Lines

Consultants respond to the OED evaluation manager under the general responsibility of the Office of Evaluation (OED).

Technical Focus

The project evaluation manager will recruit a team composed of one evaluation team leader, as well as one team member based in Tajikistan. The team as a whole will be qualified in the following areas:

Evaluation, particularly evaluation of agricultural development projects;

Agriculture development, food security;

Veterinary services and animal health;

Policy dialogue and institutional capacity-building;

Results-based Monitoring systems, surveys, data-collection and analysis;

Tasks and responsibilities

The FAO Office of Evaluation (OED) will guide this evaluation. The evaluation team responsibilities are to:

Work in close collaboration with the OED Evaluation manager responsible for this evaluation;

Review relevant background documentation made available by OED;

Contribute to/apply the methodology described in the evaluation Terms of Reference together with the project team (e.g. Theory of Change analysis);

Preparation of the data-collection design, including the agenda, (remote) data-collection tools, questionnaires, check-lists and interview protocols as appropriate;

Conduct the evaluation: Work from home and travel to selected project sites within Tajikistan (COVID-19 restrictions permitting) as part of this assignment;

Lead or participate (depending on job title) in the collection and analysis of primary and secondary data by the evaluation team through, inter alia, key informant interviews and focus group discussions (face to face or virtual) with e.g. FAO concerned officers in HQ and the decentralized offices, the targeted Government institutions, the local FAO Representation, external partners, project teams and beneficiaries as appropriate;

Participate and present in briefing and debriefing meetings, discussions and field visits, with the evaluation team and relevant stakeholders;

Prepare the inception report (incl. evaluation matrix, theory of change and evaluation tools) and evaluation report (both products by the team leader) and contribute to the evaluation with written inputs (team member).

Expected timeframe

The evaluation exercise is expected to take place between September - December 2020; the data-collection is expected to start early October.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

University degree in agro-economics, economics, policy analysis, development studies, animal health or another related field;

A minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in evaluation, preferably of agricultural development / food security / institutional development projects and/or programs;

Working knowledge of English that is the language through which all the evaluation communication, documents and reports are expected. Limited knowledge of one of the other official languages of FAO in the case of COF.REG.

FAO Core Competencies

Results Focus

Teamwork

Communication

Building Effective Relationships

Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

Extent and relevance of experience in project evaluation;

Experience in evaluating projects at field level and facilitating evaluation processes. In particular, good capacity to carry out key informant interviews with both government level and field level stakeholders, conduct focus group discussions, use participatory evaluation techniques and construct a theory of change;

Extent and relevance of experience in agricultural development, food security, veterinary services and animal health;

Extent and relevance of experience in institutional capacity building and related support to policy development and reform processes in agricultural development / veterinary services / animal health;

Work experience in Tajikistan.

Additional Selection Criteria

The evaluation team members must be independent from both the formulation and implementation of the project. Therefore, applications will not be considered from evaluators who have had any direct involvement with the design or implementation of the project. Any previous association with the project, the executing partners, and other partners/stakeholders must be disclosed in the application.

Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

FAO does not charge any fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview, processing)

Please note that FAO will only consider academic credentials or degrees obtained from an educational institution recognized in the IAU/UNESCO list If you are in possession of language certificate/s from UN accredited external providers and/or FAO language official examinations (LPE, ILE, LRT), please attach the certificate/s when submitting the application.

For more information, visit the FAO employment website

HOW TO APPLY

To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Only applications received through the recruitment portal will be considered.

We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline

If you need help please contact: Careers@fao.org

FAO IS A NON-SMOKING ENVIRONMENT
US President Donald Trump announced Thursday Israel and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to a full normalization of relations, including reestablishing diplomatic ties.

This historic diplomatic breakthrough will advance peace in the Middle East region and is a testament to bold diplomacy and vision of the three leaders and the courage of the United Arab Emirates and Israel to chart a new path that will unlock the great potential of the region, said a joint statement by the United States, the UAE and Israel released by theWhite House.

The leaders referred in the statement are President Trump, Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and UAEs Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed.

This is a truly historic moment,, Trump said in Oval office. Not since the Jordan-Israel peace treaty was signed more than than 25 years ago that so much progress has been made towards peace in the Middle East.

He added: Now that the ice has been broken I expect more Arab and Muslim countries will follow the United Arab Emirates.

The UAE and Israel will sign an agreement at the White House some time in the future, and will follow that up with other agreements over the next few weeks setting up embassies reciprocally and on investments, tourism, direct flights, security, telecommunications, technology, healthcare and culture.

As a result of the the joint statement said Israel will suspend declaring sovereignty over areas outlined in the Presidents Vision for Peace unveiled earlier and focus its efforts now on expanding ties with other countries in the Arab and Muslim world.

As the US president said, the joint statement the three countries are confident that additional diplomatic breakthroughs with other nations are possible, and will work together to achieve this goal.
The lids of soy sauce dispensers have holes in either side to allow you to pour from one and control the flow by placing a finger over the other, Australian radio hosts have revealed.

The trick was demonstrated in a video shared on the TikTok account of Melbourne breakfast show, Jase and PJ, with both presenters 'mind-blown' by the discovery.

In the clip, Jason Hawkins gives co-host Polly Harding a bottle of Kikkoman soy sauce - the iconic teardrop-shaped dispenser with a red top - and tells her to pour some into a cup.

'Woah woah woah, that poured out quite quickly, didn't it? How would we slow this down?' Jason asks as she obliges.

'Mind-blown': Melbourne radio host Polly 'PJ' Harding covers the hole at the back of the lid (left), stemming the flow of soy sauce, and releases her finger (right), allowing it to pour freely

He then instructs Polly to place a finger over the hole at the back of the lid and pour again, slowly releasing the pressure from her finger as she goes.

Polly Harding (pictured) was astounded by the revelation, declaring: 'It's like I'm at the petrol pump!'

Covering one hole allows Polly to control the flow of sauce, reducing it to a steady drip when her finger is pressed fully down and opening it to a steady stream as she gently releases it.



Amazed, Polly declares: 'It's like I'm at the petrol pump!'

'Mind. Blown,' adds Jason.

The video has gone viral since it was shared on Wednesday, racking up more than 730,000 views and thousands of comments from followers arguing about whether the trick was really a revelation at all.

One said: 'I was today years old when I learned this!'

A second said: 'Okay I thought the two holes were to pour into two bowls at once.'

'I've been doing this wrong my entire life,' said a third.

But others were shocked by Jason and Polly's surprise and said they'd known about the concept since childhood.

'Wait  people didn't know this?!' one woman said.

'I knew about this when I was six,' said another.

A third added: 'Seriously guys? Welcome to 2020.'

Now an iconic fixture in restaurants and supermarkets around the world, the Kikkoman soy sauce dispenser (pictured) was created in 1961 by Japanese designer Kenji Ekuan

Now an iconic fixture in restaurants and supermarkets around the world, the Kikkoman soy sauce dispenser was created in 1961 by Japanese product designer Kenji Ekuan.

Ekuan was a naval officer who switched careers after witnessing the devastation of Hiroshima following the atomic bombing on August 6, 1945.

'Faced with nothingness, I felt a great nostalgia for human culture. I needed something to touch, to look at. Right then, I decided to be a maker of things,' he told the New York Times in 2012.

Ekuan and his team spent three years devising the teardrop shape of the glass bottle, and more than 100 prototypes were tested before arriving at the 'dripless' spout which is based on a teapot, but inverted.
Gardai say they have recovered 2.1m from a fraudsters bank account in Hong Kong after an Irish business was tricked into sending money to the account. The so-called invoice redirect scam involved sending a false invoice to the Irish business substituted for a legitimate business bill.

However, after the matter was reported quickly, gardai contacted police in Hong Kong, and the money was secured and its return is being arranged.

Gardai today warned the public of the continuing existence of Invoice Redirect Fraud and to treat any request to change bank account details with extreme caution.

In a statement, gardai said that on August 11, Bank of Ireland reported to the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) that a business customer of theirs had been the victim of an invoice re-direct fraud and had lost just over 2.1m.

"The Dublin based business was making a payment to a UK based business when they received an email purporting to be from this UK business asking them to send the payment to a new bank account number.

"The Irish business did their due diligence and contacted the number supplied in the email and the person who answered the phone confirmed that all was correct. The money was then sent to the new bank account which transpired to be in Hong Kong.

"It is now known that the phone number contained in the email was also incorrect and the business was actually talking to the fraudster," gardai said.

On receipt of the complaint from Bank of Ireland, GNECB immediately initiated enquiries with the injured party in Dublin and with the bank in Hong Kong before seeking the assistance of the authorities in Hong Kong.

Following investigations conducted by the Police in Hong Kong on behalf of GNECB, the stolen money was secured in an account there and the return of the money is being arranged.

Detective Superintendent Michael Cryan said: "In many instances the business does not know it is a victim of this crime until sometime later when the legitimate supplier sends a reminder invoice for payment.

"It is important to note that victims of Invoice Redirect Fraud range from very small businesses to large corporations and the consequences of falling for a scam of this nature can be catastrophic and can result in the closure of businesses and redundancies so all employees should receive training in relation to avoiding this type of scam.

In this case Gardai with the assistance of Bank of Ireland and the Police in Hong Kong were able to secure this money and ensure it did not fall into the hands of an international criminal organisations.

"This money was secured because Bank of Ireland acted quickly and reported the matter to Gardai as soon as they became aware of it. Early reporting is essential if there is to be any hope of retrieving the stolen money.

"This is an excellent example of the co-operation that exists between GNECB and the financial institutions in Ireland."

Gardai advised the public to be wary of such crimes and advised that great care and attention should be given each time they are asked to change bank account details.

A phone call should be made to a representative of the company confirming that the bank account is changed.
Elijah Burke, claims the exclusion of home school students from the calculated grades process breaches his rights under the Article 42 of the Constitution and the Education (Welfare) Act 2000.

He claims that as a result of the State's decision he cannot progress to third level education for at least another year.

The Dept of Education says it is not possible to give Elijah a calculated grade for any of the nine subjects he has studied due to an absence of credible evidence from an appropriate source on which to base a grade.

This is because his tutor, his mother Ms Martina Burke, was in a position of direct conflict of interest and that accepting estimated marks from a family member would undermine the integrity and credibility of the process.

The 18-year-old from Cloonsunna, Castlebar, Co Mayo, is one of ten siblings who have all been educated at home by their mother, a registered teacher who has also worked as an examiner for the State Examinations Commission, who have all excelled academically.

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The Minister, represented by Nuala Butler SC and Joseph O'Sullivan Bl, has opposed the application and denies that the measures put in place regarding the 2020 Leaving Cert amount to breach of Elijah's rights.

They say they cannot accept marks from a teacher who is closely related to a student, irrespective if they are being home schooled or in a school.

The Minister also argues while Elijah's Leaving Cert has been delayed it is not being denied to him.

In his judicial review proceedings against the Minister Elijah seeks various orders and declarations, including orders compelling the Minister to determine his application for calculated grades.

He also seeks order quashing parts of the calculated grades scheme imposing a blanket exclusion on parents acting as tutors for home schooled children.

"highly gifted student"

Opening the case before Mr Justice Charles Meenan on Wednesday Paul O Higgins SC, appearing with Brendan Hennessy Bl instructed by solicitor Eileen McCabe, for Elijah said his client is a "highly gifted student" who has excelled not only in his studies but also in extracurricular actives such as music and debating.

Elijah hopes to continues his studies at NUI Galway, and had applied to do a degree in either Biomedical Sciences or History with Music. Elijah believes he would attain the required number of points in his exams to study either course.

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The Minister, Elijah claims, has acted unlawfully in failing to have in place a process for receiving and determining applications for calculated grades for pupils home schooled by a parent, or a relative.

The court heard that there are a small number of students in a similar position to Elijah, approximately 10 others.

Counsel said that provision should have been made for him and the others home schooled by relatives to be treated the same as the other 60,000 students due to sit the exams.

The absolute prohibition on all close relatives acting as a tutor for the calculated grades system in the context of home-schooled students, "is destructive to" and "negates Elijah's fundamental right to an education" counsel added.

While the calculated grades guidelines preclude accepting estimated grades for home schooled students from a teacher or tutor who is a close relative, that could be resolved by an independent teacher or principal assessing the evidence to determine if calculated grade could be provided, it is argued.

Credible evidence

Counsel said that it is their case "credible evidence" available in school, upon which he could be assessed by an independent teacher.

This includes his mock exams, as well as examinations and assessments of Elijah, an accomplished pianist, conducted by the Royal Irish Academy of Music.

Counsel said a system is in place to provide calculated grades for pupils who have been taught by teachers they are related to.

The Minister had not put a system in place for students educated at home, counsel added.

Mr O'Higgins also told the court that his client has a legitimate expectation that he would have received a calculated grade.

In a press release after the decision was taken by the Government not to go ahead with the Leaving Cert the then Minister for Education Joe McHugh announced that "all" students intending to sit the exam would get calculated grades.

It was not certain if persons in the same situation as Eliijah had been discussed at cabinet level and if the decision not to give those home schooled by a parent was an administrative one counsel added.

The hearing continues.
Former senior detective Gary Jubelin's convictions over covert recordings during the William Tyrrell investigation are illegitimate as the man being taped already had his privacy stripped, an appeal judge has been told.

The former detective chief inspector is appealing his convictions after being found guilty in April of illegally recording four conversations with Kendall man Paul Savage in 2017 and 2018.

Mr Savage, an elderly resident of the NSW mid north coast street where then-three-year-old William went missing in September 2014, had been a person of interest at the time.

No one has been charged over William's disappearance. Mr Savage denies any involvement.

Former senior detective Gary Jubelin is appealing his convictions after being found guilty in April of illegally recording four conversations with Kendall man Paul Savage in 2017 and 2018

The former detective chief inspector is appealing his convictions after being found guilty in April of illegally recording four conversations with Paul Savage (left and centre) in 2017 and 2018

Barrister Margaret Cunneen SC on Thursday said the protection of privacy was the intention of the Surveillance Devices Act, the law under which Jubelin was convicted.

But in the case of the first three convictions, the NSW Supreme Court had already abrogated Mr Savage's privacy by issuing warrants allowing police to install listening devices in his home, she said.

'This was already not a private conversation because it could be listened to by any authorised officer,' she told Sydney's Downing Centre District Court.

'The privacy had already been stripped away.'

The fourth tape of Mr Savage was made in December 2018 when the warrants had expired and when Mr Savage invited Jubelin to his home.

Ms Cunneen said a police officer could have a lawful interest to protect his own personal interests, which were at risk given no third party was present.

'Surely that can't be the case,' Judge Antony Townsden said.

'The surveillance devices act has to apply to every person in the community.

'How could it be that any person, certainly a police officer, (make a recording) by simply asserting that something could occur, without advising anyone that they were to record that conversation?'

Ms Cunnen later said a court had previously ruled a person may record a conversation where they perceive a risk of later being called a liar or of fabricating conversations.

'Perhaps it is a greater interest for a police officer to prove he's not fabricating conversations,' she said.

'He wanted to make sure he had a record in case he was accused of something he didn't do.'

William Tyrrell vanished from his foster grandmother's house on September 12, 2014

Jubelin is also appealing his sentence - a $10,000 fine - should the conviction appeal fail

Another plank of the appeal contends magistrate Ross Hudson erred by making adverse findings about the adequacy of the investigation into Mr Savage.

Ms Cunnen said the judicial officer had slipped into the side-track of misapprehending the case as Mr Savage being 'in the dock facing a charge of murder' and Mr Jubelin as 'the overzealous policeman ... whose ears need to be clipped'.

'Mr Jubelin never arrested, never charged and never prosecuted Mr Savage,' she said.

Jubelin is also appealing his sentence - a $10,000 fine - should the conviction appeal fail.

The Crown, which is contesting the appeal, is yet to air its case in court.

The appeal continues.
The University of Alabama on Thursday updated its return to campus guidelines less than a week before classes begin Aug. 19.

The additions include specific language on how it will enforce new rules and regulations related to the COVID-19 pandemic. There are punishments listed for the first three violations with a fourth possibly resulting in a suspension for up to a year, according to the plan released Thursday afternoon.

The rules in play here involve appropriate use of facial covering, practicing social distancing and restrictions on large social gatherings.

The first violation comes with a written warning and additional health and safety training. A second will bring a formal charge that goes on the students written record along with more health and safety training. A third violation brings disciplinary probation for up to two semesters and required completion of the Capstone Character Workshop.

The document notes these penalties can be accelerated or modified on a case by case basis.

RELATED: Alabama revises campus reentry form after concerns it waived legal rights

There are also sanctions listed for organizations and employees who break COVID-19 rules.

With the organizations, the restriction on large events is the focal point. Indoor functions cannot have more than 50 people with a cap of 100 for outdoor events. All such events must be registered with the Office of Student Involvement with a complete guest list provided.

Off-campus events are also prohibited without a special exemption from the university.

The sanctions for organizations can be severe from the first violation.

Depending upon the seriousness of the violation regarding risk to health or safety, additional and more severe sanctions, including probation, more significant loss of privileges or removal from campus may be imposed, the document reads.

A second violation means the group cant hold additional events for at least the rest of the semester. The whole organization will need to take additional training.

A third strike will cause the group to lose all privileges for the academic year. If the organization provides food service, thats the only function that could continue.

A fourth violation gets the group kicked off campus for a year.

Employees punishments start with verbal counseling and written counseling on the first and second violations. A three-day unpaid suspension comes after Strike 3 while a fourth will result in termination.

For the full explanation of enforcement policies, go to the UA website.

Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.
Rizal (CNN Philippines Life)  We really are resilient but that does not mean that we should not complain, says Proudraces Rik Rasos. The way that we are moving forward is not ideal. If only there are concrete plans for all of us by our government, maybe it would be easier for all of us to ride out the pandemic.

Rasos words are a reflection of what many small and local enterprises feel right now: anxiety, worry, but also a determination to keep on moving forward. As the owner and creative director of local brand Proudrace, hes aware of the struggles that independent businesses are not prepared to face. Established in 2012 with industrial designer Patrick Bondoc, Proudrace describes itself as a contemporary brand routed in the citys underground scene. The brand has been featured in Vogue Talents and Highsnobietys Under The Radar designers, and have had a recent collaboration with local retailer Human.

While the brand has enjoyed local and international interest since it began, theyve been forced to reimagine what it means to keep going past the pandemic. Lowering overhead costs by revisiting archived pieces and creating new product lines are just some of the ways Rasos and the company have done to get by. Were also launching a line of cozy hoodies, and sweatshirts true to the brands DNA at really affordable prices because we believe it is the right thing to do at this climate, he says. The brand has also launched non-medical grade face masks, which are available at the Basic Movement e-commerce site.

The Proudrace face masks available on the Basic Movement website. Photo courtesy of RIK RASOS

The Proudrace Pret A Porter 2019/2020 collection. Photo from PROUDRACE/WEBSITE

Keeping the brand running despite the limitations of the pandemic and lockdown has not been without its challenges. A small team composed of a family of sewers so they are just quarantined together is what makes up our production team, Rasos says. We also do less contact when we work on production. It is a bit difficult to give instructions online, but it is the best and safest way for us to continue with production and creating for the label and other brands that we consult for and do product developments for.

Reinventing the Proudrace brand, Rasos says, was the hardest but also the best decision that we made. But it has certainly put things into perspective, both for him and the brand. It really is important to be kind and value everyone who works with you, because we all have different struggles right now that unravel everyday, he says. And being kind is the only constant thing that we can hold on to right now.

In an interview with CNN Life, the Proudrace creative director talks about letting emotions lead ones schedule, and getting more stuff done during the day.

Whats the first thing you do each morning? How does that affect the rest of your day?

Lately Ive been trying to workout in the morning again like I used to. And follow a routine that would allow me to do dedicated Proudrace work in the morning. I go over my scheduled tasks for the day so I know how I can manage my time. The rest of the day is really dictated by how my mood is. Because of this pandemic, I try my best to listen to what my heart is saying more often just because I feel like that helps me with my mental health a lot. I dont pressure myself to do something that would trigger anxiety. A good friend told me that I probably have been channelling my passion into things that would distract me. But this pandemic made my mind clearer, and I am more self aware of what would make my life happier so that I can contribute better to the community I am in.

What time of day do you feel most productive?

During the day I really get a lot of work done. I wake up everyday at 6 or 7a.m. and I am halfway done with Proudrace work by noon. So I get to work on other projects after. I am developing a skate T-shirt line that is queer-centered. [Ive] been trying to cook more often too and I just started a food business called Maison Merienda. Its a collaboration between me and [my] mom, twisting her recipes into something more contemporary. We wanna launch our first product by September. Also started to declutter and sell everything I have bought from travels and impulse buys at my selling IG. Working and being focused during the day works, because my energy is still intact and Ive learned the joys of being a morning person. You just get more stuff done.

What do you enjoy most about your job, and what do you find most challenging about it?

Creativity always drives me. So everytime that I would develop a product that is so fulfilling for me. Even if it is always challenging to stay afloat in a third world economy. You really need to hustle your way to sustain your label. To make a creative business sustainable is a challenge itself especially in this pandemic. Fashion almost became non essential. You really need to create something special to get an audience. Rushed deadlines are the most difficult for me too. [Laughs].

How do you deal with distractions?

I dont. I ride it out so that I can keep it out of my system once I embrace it. Then I can let it go and go back to work.

With regard to day-to-day challenges, do you have a ritual that helps you through it?

Meditating is really helping me get through the day. Journaling about my feelings has also helped me keep my sanity.

When did you start this ritual? Was there a specific moment that inspired it?

I think around February things [were] very challenging for me mentally and physically. I also could not identify what I am feeling around this time. So I started meditating and writing in my journal to identify the feelings that I am having that particular day, and I assess the situation if I can do something about it or I just ride it out until I figure out what to do next. Now, it has become a constant source of clearing my mind for me.

Are you always able to accomplish this ritual? What do you do if you aren't able to do it? Does it have any bearing on your mood and your productivity?

I make it a point that I stick to it. I am that kind of person that when I start something I finish it even if the task is impossible. So this ritual became a part of my everyday life and it comes naturally to me now. For a moody person like me. It also dictates how my mood is gonna be for the whole day.
Almonty Industries Inc. ("Almonty") (TSX: AII OTCQX: ALMTF Frankfurt: 1MR) (the "Company") announces that due to logistics and delays caused by the COVID-19 virus, it is relying on the exemption provided in Ontario Instrument 51-502 of the Ontario Securities Commission (and similar exemptions provided by other Canadian Securities Regulators) to postpone the filing of the following continuous disclosure documents (collectively the "Documents"):

The Company's Unaudited Interim Financial Statements for the six-month period ended June 30, 2020.

The Company's Management's Discussion Analysis for the six-month period ended June 30, 2020.

Recent events pertaining to COVID-19 have impacted the Company, its employees and its directors' ability to rely on timely information and meet to approve its financial statements and management's discussion and analysis.

According to the Ontario instrument on March 23, 2020, as amended May 20, 2020, during the period from June 2, 2020, to August 31, 2020, a person or company required to make certain filings as described in the Ontario instrument has an additional 45 days from the deadline otherwise applicable under Ontario securities laws to make the filing.

Until the Company has filed and announced the required financial statements and management's discussion and analysis, members of the Company's management and other insiders are subject to a trading black-out policy that reflects the principles in section 9 of National Policy 11-207. The Company expects to file the Documents on or before September 28, 2020.

There have been no material business developments since the filing of the Company's annual audited financial reports.

About Almonty

The principal business of Toronto, Canada-based Almonty Industries Inc. is the mining, processing and shipping of tungsten concentrate from its Los Santos mine in western Spain and its Panasqueira mine in Portugal as well as the development of its Sangdong tungsten mine in Gangwon Province, South Korea and the development of the Valtreixal tin/tungsten project in north western Spain. The Los Santos mine was acquired by Almonty in September 2011 and is located approximately 50 kilometres from Salamanca in western Spain and produces tungsten concentrate. The Panasqueira mine, which has been in production since 1896, located approximately 260 kilometres northeast of Lisbon, Portugal, was acquired in January 2016 and produces tungsten concentrate. The Sangdong mine, which was historically one of the largest tungsten mines in the world and one of the few long-life, high-grade tungsten deposits outside of China, was acquired in September 2015 through the acquisition of a 100% interest in Woulfe Mining Corp. Almonty owns 100% of the Valtreixal tin-tungsten project in north-western Spain. Further information about Almonty's activities may be found at www.almonty.com and under Almonty's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

Legal Notice

The release, publication or distribution of this announcement in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law and therefore persons in such jurisdictions into which this announcement is released, published or distributed should inform themselves about and observe such restrictions.

Neither TSX nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

When used in this press release, the words "estimate", "project", "belief", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "plan", "predict", "may" or "should" and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements and information are based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and reflect Almonty's current expectations.

Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Almonty to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: any specific risks relating to fluctuations in the price of ammonium para tungstate from which the sale price of Almonty's tungsten concentrate is derived, actual results of mining and exploration activities, environmental, economic and political risks of the jurisdictions in which Almonty's operations are located and changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, forecasts and assessments relating to Almonty's business, credit and liquidity risks, hedging risk, competition in the mining industry, risks related to the market price of Almonty's shares, the ability of Almonty to retain key management employees or procure the services of skilled and experienced personnel, risks related to claims and legal proceedings against Almonty and any of its operating mines, risks relating to unknown defects and impairments, risks related to the adequacy of internal control over financial reporting, risks related to governmental regulations, including environmental regulations, risks related to international operations of Almonty, risks relating to exploration, development and operations at Almonty's tungsten mines, the ability of Almonty to obtain and maintain necessary permits, the ability of Almonty to comply with applicable laws, regulations and permitting requirements, lack of suitable infrastructure and employees to support Almonty's mining operations, uncertainty in the accuracy of mineral reserves and mineral resources estimates, production estimates from Almonty's mining operations, inability to replace and expand mineral reserves, uncertainties related to title and indigenous rights with respect to mineral properties owned directly or indirectly by Almonty, the ability of Almonty to obtain adequate financing, the ability of Almonty to complete permitting, construction, development and expansion, challenges related to global financial conditions, risks related to future sales or issuance of equity securities, differences in the interpretation or application of tax laws and regulations or accounting policies and rules and acceptance of the TSX of the listing of Almonty shares on the TSX.

Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable, including but not limited to, no material adverse change in the market price of ammonium para tungstate, the continuing ability to fund or obtain funding for outstanding commitments, expectations regarding the resolution of legal and tax matters, no negative change to applicable laws, the ability to secure local contractors, employees and assistance as and when required and on reasonable terms, and such other assumptions and factors as are set out herein. Although Almonty has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results, level of activity, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and even if events or results described in the forward-looking statements are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, Almonty. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and are cautioned that actual outcomes may vary.

Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. Almonty cautions that the foregoing list of material factors is not exhaustive. When relying on Almonty's forward-looking statements and information to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events.

Almonty has also assumed that material factors will not cause any forward-looking statements and information to differ materially from actual results or events. However, the list of these factors is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors.

THE FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS PRESS RELEASE REPRESENTS THE EXPECTATIONS OF ALMONTY AS OF THE DATE OF THIS PRESS RELEASE AND, ACCORDINGLY, IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AFTER SUCH DATE. READERS SHOULD NOT PLACE UNDUE IMPORTANCE ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION AND SHOULD NOT RELY UPON THIS INFORMATION AS OF ANY OTHER DATE. WHILE ALMONTY MAY ELECT TO, IT DOES NOT UNDERTAKE TO UPDATE THIS INFORMATION AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME EXCEPT AS REQUIRED IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200813005780/en/

Contacts:

Almonty

Lewis Black

Chairman, President and CEO

Telephone: +1 647 438-9766

Email: lewis.black@almonty.com
A MAN who stabbed another man a short time after he offered assistance to his girlfriend has been sentenced to three years imprisonment.

Adam Christie, 21, of Garryowen Road, Limerick had pleaded guilty to assaulting the 35-year-old causing him harm.

The victim sustained stab wounds to his back and stomach after he was attacked in the early hours of March 10, 2019.

During a sentencing hearing, Detective Garda Neil OGorman said he was walking to get food following a night out when he encountered a young woman in a distressed state at OConnell Street.

He went to assist her at which point she began shouting and roaring at him. According to several witnesses, she also threw several slaps.

Following the altercation, the victim left the area and continued to walk in the direction of Supermacs a short distance away.

Before he reached the premises, he was approached by the defendants who got in his face.

He later told gardai that after hearing the woman saying yeah, thats him, he felt a pinch in his stomach and saw blood.

Mr Christie was identified on CCTV and it was later established he had travelled to OConnell Street after he was contacted by the woman following her initial encounter with the injured party.

In a victim impact statement, the victim said it took a long time for him to recover mentally and physically and that he was out of work for ten weeks.

Imposing sentence, Judge ODonnell stated what happened was very disturbing, but he accepted Mr Christie has no previous convictions and has shown genuine remorse.

He imposed a four year prison sentence, suspending the final twelve months.

For more Limerick news click here
Posted on August 11, 2020

We are collaborating with FactCheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, in an effort to identify misinformation and to ensure news consumers get the facts. This story first appeared on FactCheck.org.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, announced on Twitter on Aug. 11 that his vice presidential running mate is California Sen. Kamala Harris.

But multiple posts on Facebook falsely claim that  in the event Biden is unable to serve out his term Harris is ineligible to serve as president because shes an anchor baby whose parents are immigrants.

Days before Biden had even announced his choice of running mate, the posts said: Joe Biden chose Kamala Harris as his VP. The posts go on to claim, If crazy Joe cannot serve his full term, Kamala cannot by constitutional law become President. She is an anchor baby, mother is from India, father is Jamaican, and neither were american citizens at time of her birth. That means the Presidency would fall on Speaker of the house. Recently Nancy Pelosi stated that she was next in line to become President. THAT in itself is reason to vote her out in November. Democrats have worked the whole scenario out and I believe that is why they chose Kamala Harris.

In an email to FactCheck.Org, Josh Chafetz, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center who specializes in constitutional law, described the Facebook posts as racist nonsense.

Chafetz explained: To serve as president, one must be at least 35 years old, have been a resident of the United States for at least 14 years, and be a natural born Citizen (Article II, sec. 1 of the Constitution). Additionally, one cannot have already been president for more than a term and a half (22nd Amendment).

As weve reported before, Harris, whose mother is from India and whose father is from Jamaica, was born in Oakland, California, which makes her a natural born U.S. citizen and eligible to serve as president. She was born Oct. 20, 1964, according to the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

Chafetz added that the fact that Harriss parents are immigrants is wholly irrelevant.


Israel hailed a US-brokered peace deal with the United Arab Emirates on Thursday as a "great day for peace" and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to hold a news conference at 1600 GMT to comment further.

Saying he had to deal with a matter of great national interest, Netanyahu abruptly left a cabinet discussion on the coronavirus crisis about an hour before US President Donald Trump announced the agreement to normalise relations between Israel and the Gulf Arab country.

On Twitter, Ron Dermer, Israel's ambassador in Washington, wrote: "A great day for peace! Israel commends the courage of MBZ (de facto UAE leader Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan) for the historic decision of the UAE to join Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994) in making peace with Israel. Israel deeply appreciates all ... Trump has done to make this breakthrough possible."

A great day for peace! Israel commends the courage of MBZ for the historic decision of the UAE to join Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994) in making peace with Israel. Israel deeply appreciates all @POTUS Trump has done to make this breakthrough possible. More to come!  Amb. Ron Dermer (@AmbDermer) August 13, 2020

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A 'zero-Covid island' policy is not possible to achieve due to political differences between the two administrations on the island of Ireland the Oireachtas Special Committee on Covid-19 Response has heard.

Chief economist at the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) Dan OBrien said the chances of coronavirus being eliminated on the island is low.

The committee discussed the implications of a zero-Covid island policy, which has been supported by a group of scientists and academics.

Mr OBrien said: I think the chances of the success of a zero-Covid island policy is very low and that is because there is two jurisdictions on this island.

In the northern jurisdiction, there seems to be very little probability of the devolved government there agreeing to sealing off travel with Britain.

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It does not seem to be achievable politically or otherwise.

The committee has also heard that compressions between Ireland and New Zealand's response to Covid-19 are "unhelpful", with Professor Carl Heneghan from Oxford University saying the two islands are two very different case studies.

He said: Lots of people are using New Zealand as an example [regarding the elimination of Covid-19]. Ireland and New Zealand have very similar populations, about 4.79 million people, but Ireland is a more densely populated island than New Zealand.

You also have to consider that New Zealands nearest neighbour is 1,000km away and that its Australia  one of the least densely populated countries in the world.

So I think that any comparison with New Zealand is unhelpful because not only do they have to lock down, they are locking out.

Having heard from representatives regarding the spread of the virus in meat plants earlier today, the committee is now discussing a 'Zero-Covid island' policy, which some scientists claim is the only way to avoid a long-term "social and economic catastrophe".

Dan O'Brien, chief economist with the Institute of International and European Affairs, says the economic situation is worrying:

"The recession in the Irish economy and which most economies have plunged into is certainly the most dramatic and frightening that I have ever seen, or that you can find in available data. That is the negative, but the slightly positive part is that most economies have bounced back a bit."
VICTORIABritish Columbia is hiring 500 health-care professionals to help with its COVID-19 contact tracing efforts ahead of the flu season and a potential surge in cases.

Premier John Horgan says the jobs will be temporary and likely filled by retired nurses and recent graduates.

Horgan also called on B.C. celebrities, such as Ryan Reynolds and Seth Rogen, to get in touch to help with messaging for younger people.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the new jobs will help the system cope with other public health work that has been neglected due to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

She says B.C. has seen a gradual increase in the numbers of positive COVID-19 tests in recent weeks, but the province is able to keep on top of its contact tracing efforts.

Henry added that the federal governments COVID Alert app, which isnt yet working in B.C., may later help in keeping on top of contact tracing.

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For Subscribers Aberdeen filmmakers release trailer for latest work called 'Homebody'

The group is currently crowdfunding and hopes to begin production of the film in late spring.
The governing board that oversees Pennsylvanias State System of Higher Education voted on Thursday to begin the process of relocating its headquarters from Dixon University Center to a smaller facility.

Saying the nearly 6.5-acre campus that the State System has occupied since 1992 is largely under-utilized and a cost burden, the board unanimously approved the move as a way to save money. It plans to redirect those savings to support its ongoing efforts of redesigning the system and its universities to put them on a more financially sustainable path.

The system intends to hire a broker to sell the property that houses six buildings and an underground parking garage along North Second Street in Harrisburg if the General Assembly approves of its sale, which would be required. The system itself could lease all or part of the campus without legislative approval.

Board chairwoman Cynthia Shapira said the cost savings from making a move to smaller quarters stems from the boards commitment to do a top to bottom look at the system and not hold anything sacred. She said she recognized the Dixon University Center holds symbolic value to the system but that the systems mission is not about buildings.

Our mission is not about physical assets. Our mission is about providing leadership, establishing the outcomes that we want for this system, for our universities, and more importantly, for our students, and to do everything within our means to ensure we have resources available to accomplish that mission, Shapira said.

Along with housing the systems Office of the Chancellor, the Dixon center provides classrooms for universities located elsewhere in Pennsylvania to have a presence in Harrisburg to make it more accommodating to area adult students who wish to enroll in them.

Sharon Minnich, vice chancellor for administration and finance, said the chancellors office is working with those universities to find alternate locations if they choose to keep a physical presence in Harrisburg.

As for the chancellors office itself, Minnich said the system could move its offices to the leased space it has in Susquehanna Township but even that space is larger than is needed. She said the system is looking to reduce the offices footprint and move to a place where they can have flexible office space where individuals can float in and out rather than have offices and cubicles that they occupy all the time.

Rep. Brad Roae, R-Crawford County, a system board member, supported the idea of selling Dixon University Center. He said extra office space doesnt help students learn. He suggested an idea for an alternate temporary location for the chancellors office if the Dixon center is sold.

A few block away, the governors mansion sits there empty, Roae said. The governor doesnt stay there. [The system] could temporarily move into the governors mansion. The state already owns it or some other location, but its definitely a good idea.

Gov. Tom Wolf has chosen not live in the Governors Residence since his administration began in 2015, and is the first governor to not have taken up residence in the Georgian-style mansion since it was built in the late 1960s.

The State System, after purchasing the Dixon University campus in 1991, made substantial upgrades to the historic buildings that decades earlier housed the Harrisburg Academy. During the Depression and World War II, David Morrison, executive director of Historic Harrisburg Association, said in his history of the property, much of it was sold to the U.S. War Department to use as a training center for the militarys air intelligence service.

It later became a university center for colleges and universities to offer courses there. That includes Harrisburg Area Community College that occupied space there for a year or two until its Wildwood Campus was built, he said.

Before the system bought the property, Morrison said there was a proposal to demolish the academys buildings and put up a high-rise office tower at that location. So having the State System preserve those buildings was a welcome alternative in his view.

We would hope if the property changes hands at all it would certainly stay in the character and appearance that is currently has, Morrison said. From a Harrisburg community standpoint, certainly I think everybody hopes that campus can retain its wonderful quality and character as one of the great assets of the City of Harrisburg.

On Wednesday, Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse said, A sale that preserves and invigorates its institutional use would be an exciting development for the city.

This action by the State System board took place during a virtual meeting that was to be livestreamed on the systems YouTube channel. A technical glitch prevented that from happening. Instead, a system spokesman sent out an email to media members saying a video recording of the meeting would be made available as soon as possible.

A short time later and after the meeting started, the phone number that was posted on the public notice for the meeting and on the boards agenda for members of the public to call if they wished to speak during the public comment period was shared with PennLive to allow its representative to listen in to the boards conversation. It was not immediately clear how the public would have been notified that the phone line was available as an alternative to the livestream or that it could be used for a different purpose other than to speak during the public comment period.

The systems chief legal counsel Andy Lehman did make a point during the meeting of confirming that the phone number had been posted online for the public to call in to participate. He added, I know Governor [Sam] Smith would be disappointed if I didnt raise that question.

Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel for the Pennsylvanian NewsMedia Association, said, Theres a reason these meetings are supposed to be public. They deal with issues of public importance on behalf of the public. Its a problem.

She said it would have been better for the board to have delayed its meeting until it could accommodate the public in the way it originally intended via a livestream. As to whether the board actions taken during the meeting were valid, she said they presumably are unless someone chooses to challenge them in court and the court decides otherwise.

Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JanMurphy.

Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work.
Indian Air Force (IAF) chief RKS Bhadauria on Thursday flew Mig-21 Bison during a visit to a fighter squadron at a frontline airbase in Western Air Command.

The IAF chief flew a MiG-21 Bison fighter aircraft during the visit where he interacted with the aircrew and reviewed the operational preparedness, IAF officials said.

Officials said the flying by the IAF chief in a MiG-21 indicates the high operational readiness of the force amid the tension with China in Eastern Ladakh over territorial issues.

Bhadauria also reviewed the operational preparedness of the base.

The IAF chief met the aircrew, combat crew from the squadrons and units stationed at the frontline base.

Bhadauria, a test pilot, has flown the under-development HTT-40 basic trainer aircraft and the LCA Tejas after taking over to show his support for indigenous defence hardware and has backed several important DRDO projects also.

Last month, Bhadauria went to Ambala to receive the batch of first five Rafale combat aircraft arriving from France.
ZUG, Switzerland, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- CYBAVO, the digital currency security and asset management firm, today officially announces support for Bitcoin SV (BSV) across its suite of enterprise products.

CYBAVO offer a range of services for businesses to securely store and manage their digital assets, including private key storage, enterprise management services and digital currency custody solutions. Their product offering is headlined by CYBAVO VAULT, an enterprise storage and wallet management platform, which facilitates enterprise-level banking features for corporate customers across several leading digital currencies.

Bitcoin SV support has been officially added to CYBAVO VAULT, as well as CYBAVO Wallet SDK - a solution for streamlining the development of digital currency wallets for enterprise clients.

The move to add Bitcoin SV support comes as uptake of the BSV digital currency continues to rise, driven by the diverse applications powered by its blockchain. Through unbounded scaling, its blockchain offers low-fee peer-to-peer payment transactions and greater data capacity, enabling advanced functionalities such as tokens, smart contracts and IoT communications, as well as enterprise applications. The Bitcoin SV ecosystem has grown to now count more than 428 known projects and ventures.

Speaking on today's announcement, Paul Fan, CEO of CYBAVO commented:

'Bitcoin SV aims to broaden the adoption of blockchain for enterprise use cases.. At CYBAVO, we share the same vision of scalable and business-ready blockchain solutions that spark adoption by enterprises and the general public, so it is only logical for us to add Bitcoin SV support to our digital asset custody platform CYBAVO VAULT and our mobile wallet SDK.'

Also speaking on today's announcement, Jimmy Nguyen, Founding President of Bitcoin Association (the global industry organization that supports Bitcoin SV), said:

'With the continued growth that we are witnessing across the Bitcoin SV ecosystem, enterprise-grade solutions for digital asset security and management, like those offered by CYBAVO, will be increasingly in demand. As big businesses build their applications on Bitcoin SV because of its massive scaling capacity, they will generate high volumes of BSV microtransactions and need secure wallets to manage high coin traffic in daily operations. We are pleased that CYBAVO is providing Bitcoin SV businesses another strong option for their security and asset management needs.'

To learn more about Bitcoin SV and to hear Bitcoin Association Founding President Jimmy Nguyen speak, join the upcoming CoinGeek Live conference - a hybrid live + virtual event on Sept 30th - Oct 2nd, with broadcast sites in New York and London. Register at www.coingeekconference.com

About CYBAVO Pte. Ltd.

CYBAVO Pte. Ltd. provides insured digital asset custody solutions for enterprises and financial institutions, such as cryptocurrency exchanges, digital asset managers or custodians.

The company was founded in 2018 by a team of experts from cybersecurity, blockchain and digital currency industries. CYBAVO technology is already protecting more than USD 7.5B worth in transactions of dozens of companies globally, including top cryptocurrency exchanges in Asia.

About Bitcoin Association

Bitcoin Association is the Switzerland-based global industry organization that works to advance business on the Bitcoin SV blockchain. It brings together essential components of the Bitcoin SV ecosystem - enterprises, start-up ventures, developers, merchants, exchanges, service providers, blockchain transaction processors (miners), and others - working alongside them, as well as in a representative capacity, to drive further use of the Bitcoin SV blockchain and uptake of the BSV digital currency.

The Association works to build a regulation-friendly ecosystem that fosters lawful conduct while facilitating innovation using all aspects of Bitcoin technology. More than a digital currency and blockchain, Bitcoin is also a network protocol; just like Internet protocol, it is the foundational rule set for an entire data network. The Association supports use of the original Bitcoin protocol to operate the world's single blockchain on Bitcoin SV.
FREMONT, Calif., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Foxit Software , a leading provider of innovative PDF products and services, helping knowledge workers to increase their productivity and do more with documents, today announced its new PhantomPDF Competitive Replacement Program designed to help businesses save money while expanding their PDF editing licenses at a time of rapidly growing need. The program offers a 40 percent price reduction on Foxit PhantomPDF Standard and PhantomPDF Business software licenses when a customer switches from Adobe Acrobat or another PDF vendor.

The 40 percent price reduction is provided on a license-for-license basis, up to the same number of licenses a business currently has with another PDF provider. In addition, the offer includes a two-year reduction in maintenance fees, down from 20 percent to 15 percent. For more information on the program, or to enroll, please visit Foxit at www.foxitsoftware.com/competitive-replacement.

Foxit PhantomPDF software is the leading PDF editing technology alternative to Adobe Acrobat, offering a comprehensive, feature-rich, easy-to-use and far more affordable solution for business users. The company recently announced a major upgrade to its entire PDF software line, including the new Foxit Admin Console and Update Server to automate and improve enterprise management of software licenses and updates.

"The use and need for PDF software are growing in most businesses as companies continue to become more digital. That's particularly true in the current remote work environment," said Andrew Travis, senior vice president of sales for Foxit's End User Productivity Business Unit. "Many businesses want to increase their PDF editing licenses, but in the current situation, budgets are tight. This new replacement program will allow them to both reduce costs and increase seats."

"Foxit PhantomPDF is the premier alternative to Acrobat, with a compelling value proposition of great technology and service at a lower cost," Travis added. "Our new replacement offer makes switching to PhantomPDF even more compelling and logical."

A fast-growing, Silicon Valley-based technology company, Foxit and its award-winning PhantomPDF software is used by more than 100,000 customers around the worldfrom large global enterprises to mid-sized and small companieswho decided to make the switch from legacy solutions like Adobe. Among those who now license Foxit technology are such major corporations as Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Dell and others.

About Foxit Software

Foxit is a leading provider of innovative PDF products and services, helping knowledge workers to increase their productivity and do more with documents. Foxit addresses the needs of three distinct market segments. For End-User Productivity, Foxit delivers easy to use desktop software, mobile apps, and cloud services to make knowledge workers more productive. ConnectedPDF delivers leading edge technology that powers document management, security, and collaboration services for PDF files. Foxit's Developer Solutions enable developers to incorporate powerful PDF technology into their applications. For Enterprise Automation, Foxit provides server software for large scale PDF document management and data capture.

Foxit has over 560 million users and has sold to over 100,000 customers located in more than 200 countries. The company has offices all over the world, including locations in the US, Asia, Europe, and Australia. For more information, please visit https://www.foxitsoftware.com.

SOURCE Foxit Software

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Pennsylvanias primary elections on June 2 werent a disaster, but they didnt go off without a hitch, either. Even before COVID-19, the state had been working to make it easier for residents to vote without leaving their homes. With the pandemic raging and the streets filled with protesters, an unprecedented number of peoplenearly 2 millionchose to vote by mail. Those who didnt found their options limited: due to a shortage of poll workers in Philadelphia, for example, the number of polling locations decreased by 77%.

Election officials were overwhelmed by the influx of mail ballots in a state where less than 5% had previously voted absentee. Under state law, they werent allowed to open those mail ballots until the polls had closed. It took several days for the closest races to have a winner declared, and the fact that more of the late-counted ballots were Democratic made some people suspicious about what was going on behind the scenes. Meanwhile, thousands of ballots arrived too late to be counted, disenfranchising the voters whod cast them.

As the country scrambles to prepare for an unprecedented election in November, avoiding problems like Pennsylvanias is a top priority. The last few months of primaries gave states the opportunity to test-run their election systems performance under the stress of a pandemic, and the results were mixed. Some primaries were relatively seamless; other states, like New York and Wisconsin, suffered high-profile meltdowns. But many, like Pennsylvania, were somewhere in between, according to a comprehensive new report by the bipartisan National Task Force on Election Crises. By fixing the problems that plagued the primaries, all these issues can be avoided in November, but it will take improved planning, increased funding, changes to state law and a massive voter-education effort, the report concludes.

The nation has an opportunity to learn from its experiences during the primaries and improve for the general election, states the report, which was provided exclusively to TIME in advance of its publication on Thursday. In fact, it is imperative that we do so in order to ensure safe and secure participation in the election and maximize confidence in the outcome.

Story continues

In the U.S., election administration varies from state to state, county to county, municipality to municipality. The task force, a fair-elections advocacy group made up of more than 50 election-law, security and administration experts, hopes its recommendations can serve as a set of best practices for local officials scrambling to ensure that November goes as smoothly as possible. For the entire system to pivot so quickly in the midst of the pandemic is a tall order, but failure to do so puts nothing less than the integrity of the nations democratic system at risk.

The recommendations include expanding early voting to avoid crowding at polling locations on Election Day; making it easier to request, submit and count ballots cast by mail; ensuring polling places are staffed, supplied with protective equipment and conveniently located; and managing public expectations so prolonged vote counts dont cause suspicion. Election officials should be prepared to use the National Guard if needed, the report states, but judiciously and never in uniform. They should expand curbside and drive-up voting, and work to invest in ballot-tracking methods that improve transparency.

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The task force was organized by Protect Democracy, a national nonprofit that seeks to preserve democratic norms and the rule of law. While Protect Democracy is generally anti-Trump, the task force spans the political spectrum, including Republicans such as former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and the Hoover Institutions Lanhee Chen, as well as representatives of liberal-leaning institutions such as the Carter Center and Public Citizen. The only electoral outcome this group advocates, the task forces website proclaims, is that the election is free and fair.

Though many of the recommendations seem like common sense, the primaries showed how far some states were from getting things right. New York was so ill-prepared to handle the volume of absentee ballots that some races werent called for over a month. In Wisconsin, where shortages of poll workers resulted in too-few voting sites, partisan disagreements prevented the state from addressing easily foreseeable issues.

The primary season, the report notes, was characterized by a rapidly changing landscape of rules and processes as election officials grappled with the coronavirus pandemic. States will have more time to prepare and plan for Novemberbut with the presidency on the line, both the level of turnout and partisan passions will be far greater.

Though President Donald Trump is not mentioned explicitly in the report, the analysis includes a section on accepting the results of the general election. No candidate should exploit potentially difficult circumstances in November in order to undermine confidence in the ultimate outcome of the general election, the task force states, a not-so-subtle line aimed at the President, who has repeatedly sowed doubt about the integrity of elections and previously refused to commit to accepting the results. In the primaries, the report points out, candidates ultimately accepted the outcomes even when there were technical problems or long counting periods, such as in Kentuckys Democratic Senate primary and Utahs Republican gubernatorial primary.

Trump has expressed particular suspicion of voting by mail, a practice that reached unprecedented levels this year due to COVID-19. Absentee voting increased by 27 times in Rhode Island, for example, and 24 times in Maryland. A mail ballot was used by a majority of primary voters in at least 25 states, whereas in most states they accounted for less than 30% in 2018.

In addition to making sure mail ballots are widely accessible and properly counted, the task force urges election officials and the media to refer to them as absentee ballots to distinguish them from states that have universal vote-by-mail. Left unstated in the report is the potential for this verbiage to avoid partisan stigmatization.

Among the other recommendations the task force makes is to properly fund election administration, calling on state and federal governments to make more money available. While Congress allocated $400 million in March for that purpose through the CARES Act, state election officials have been looking for additional funds. Democrats in Congress have pushed for more election funding, but congressional Republicans broadly oppose it, making it one of the many sticking points that have stalled negotiations for further federal coronavirus relief legislation.

Above all, the report stresses, election administrators need to act fast. The window to fully implement and benefit from many of these recommendations is quickly closing. As the report put it: State and local officials should be preparing now to conduct the general election in a way that ensures safe and secure participation by all eligible voters and maximizes confidence in the outcome.
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By Pedro Fonseca and Anthony Boadle

RIO DE JANEIRO/BRASILIA (Reuters) - A Brazilian technology institute said on Wednesday it expects to produce a controversial coronavirus Russian vaccine by the second half of 2021, shortly after the state of Parana signed a memorandum of understanding with Moscow.

Russia has touted it as the world's first registered coronavirus vaccine, although experts have also raised safety concerns for going to market while other pharmaceutical companies are still carrying out mass testing.

Parana's Technology Institute, known as Tecpar, said it may import the vaccine earlier than the production date, if Brazil's federal health regulator Anvisa allows.

Tecpar signed the cooperation agreement with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which said in a statement from Moscow that its goal was to "organize the production of the Sputnik V vaccine and its distribution in Brazil and other Latin American countries."

Brazilian public health experts and former senior regulatory officials said on Tuesday they had safety concerns about the vaccine, which has not passed the usual mass testing required of vaccinations.

Brazil is conducting trials for several candidate coronavirus vaccines and the health ministry said on Wednesday it might buy more than the 100 million doses already planned for from AstraZeneca <AZN.L>.

The announcement comes after Brazil regulators allowed for testing a booster dose of the vaccine, which if successful would require twice the number of doses to help the same number of people.

At a press conference, Tecpar Director Jorge Callado said they were still waiting for Russia to send in its phase 1 and 2 vaccine test results, and that their understanding is they are still conducting phase 3 trials.

He added that Parana would likely participate in the phase 3 testing, subject to Anvisa authorization.

Russian ambassador Sergey Akopov, speaking from Brasilia at the videoconference signing of the MOU, said the purpose of the partnership with Parana state was "to assist each other in developing, testing and eventually producing the vaccine."

Story continues

The Russian embassy has also had discussions with the state of Bahia about a similar memorandum of understanding.

The grandmother of Brazil's first lady Michelle Bolsonaro died of coronavirus, the government of Brasilia said. President Jair Bolsonaro tested positive for coronavirus last month but has recovered.

Sao Paulo state Governor Joao Doria and his wife also announced Wednesday that they had tested positive for coronavirus.

Brazil has the world's worse coronavirus outbreak after the United States, with over 3,164,785 confirmed cases and 104,201 deaths as of Wednesday.

(Reporting by Anthony Boadle and Pedro Fonseca; Writing by Marcelo Rochabrun; Editing by Brad Haynes and Richard Chang)
A nuclear-weapon state with the worlds fourth largest military depending overwhelmingly on imports to maintain its armed forces: this is the irony that India seeks to overcome on the eve of its 74th Independence Day. The declaration of a list of banned defence imports by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is a good first step in this direction.

On August 10, the MoD announced an import embargo on 101 defence platforms, ranging from bulletproof vests, artillery pieces and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to radar systems, missile destroyers and light transport aircraft (LTA). Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that this will result in the domestic industry gaining new contracts worth almost Rs 4 lakh-crore within the next six to seven years.

To help Indian companies manufacture defence equipment on the embargoed list, the MoD pledged a coordinated mechanism for hand-holding of the industry by the defence services. This is obviously also intended to help policy-makers gauge current and future capabilities of the domestic defence industry for manufacturing various ammunition and equipment within India, as the ministry observed.

This means the countrys defence industry now has two options: one, it could design and develop the systems in the negative list on its own; or, it could manufacture the systems by using the technologies developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to meet the requirements of the armed forces.

The MoDs announcement of this negative list, however, need not push up many eyebrows. Last February, at the 11th Defence Expo in Lucknow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had set a $5 billion target in defence exports for India by 2025. The Prime Minister invited private businesses to invest in the country to realise handsome returns on investment and, in the process, make India self-reliant in defence manufacturing.

In fact, the 2020-21 defence budget itself was a clear indicator of New Delhis seriousness about the new mantra for defence acquisition: build, dont buy. So small was the budgetary hike in capital allocationfrom Rs 115,350 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 118,534 crore in 2020-21that it came as a big disappointment for the armed forces which had earmarked a large number of weapons systems for procurement.

However, the focus was on enabling the defence industry, particularly private companies, to boost infrastructure capabilities and augment investments in their weak R&D base. In other words, the Indian military was quietly served notice that it must mandatorily exhaust every other option for developing weapon systems indigenously before turning to the global marketplace to buy off the shelf as a last resort. It was a matter of time before a negative buy lista crucial first step in slashing the militarys import billwas announced.

It may be early days to speculate on policy reforms like this, especially since several weapons systems included in the negative inventory are already made in India. Some platforms like the LTA are totally indigenous. Singh tweeted that this is only an initial list of 101 types of defence equipment and more such equipment for import embargo would be identified progressively by the Department of Military Affairs in consultation with all stakeholders. So this mismatch may be resolved soon.

With the Indian Army and the Air Force expected to buy equipment worth Rs 1.3 trillion and the Indian Navy for almost Rs 1.4 trillion from foreign vendors by 2024, there are misgivingsnot entirely misplacedthat private companies could lose out on most of the new deals which will go to defence PSUs.

The saving grace for industry, though, could be New Delhis seriousness about raising Indias current annual defence production of Rs 80,000 crore to Rs 1.85 lakh-crore in the next five years. If this ambitious goal is realised, India will become one of the worlds top-five defence producers. As Singh puts it, For this to happen, the Indian defence industry needs to grow at the rate of 15 per cent per annum.

With the government backing private industry to play a major role in achieving this target, defence companies will have to substantially augment their current annual turnover of Rs 16,000 crore to meet the indigenous production targets set out in the Defence Production Policy of 2018.

Hopefully, the new defence reforms will result in greater synergy between the private sector and the government. Besides helping India shed its dubious tag of being one of the worlds top importers of military hardware, this may enable the country to build its own military industrial complex based on strategic needs.
JOURNALIST: - Maam, the Government is considering promoting tourism as a solution to stimulating the economy. However, the re-occurrence of Covid-19 pandemic in some localities has exposed high risks to this approach. What changes do you think we have to make now?

Ms. PHAM CHI LAN: - The tourism industry has to now accept a temporary suspension of operations, and focus on preventing the Covid-19 pandemic from spreading. Outbreaks such as in Da Nang may also occur in other places if efforts continue to stimulate tourism at this time. Da Nang was most successful in promoting tourism, but due to the re-occurrence of the pandemic, and mandatory social distancing, the economic loss has been phenomenally huge.

Though the Government has been encouraging the tourism industry recently, it has also been very cautious in reopening the domestic market and does not yet welcome any international tourists for fear of further spread of the disease. Under the present circumstances, putting a halt to domestic tourism is essential. I am also seeing that even provinces that are dependent on tourism and have long relied on tourism as a major source of earnings, have now become very cautious. Therefore, in my opinion we must not use tourism at the moment as a measure to stimulate economic growth.

- Maam, how do you assess stimulating public investment in current scenario?

- Currently, public investment capital is being disbursed too slowly and has not been effective. This is because there are still obstacles that many industries and localities are facing and hence cannot disburse investment capital. However, the goal should not be to disburse capital at all costs, but should be done very selectively.

I think that among the projects that the Government is urging for quick disbursement of capital, are projects that are not really necessary. So, instead of putting capital into these public investment projects, it is advisable to put capital into investments in essential businesses and developing some industries that strengthen the new global supply chain to prepare strongly for the future. When these industries are developed effectively, they will pay tax to the State, which is important for economic growth.

As is seen, every time public investment increases, businesses turn to bank loans for implementation of projects. Last few years it was seen that banks waited for disbursement of public investment projects because this caused credit to increase from borrowings by enterprises for such projects. When banks lend they feel more secure when a project is guaranteed by the State, which then affords avoiding of risks such as bad debts later. But I think the banks should not be too dependent on this now, but must expand to new credit packages, such as loans to other potential businesses. Banks should lend enterprises for investing in some areas which are forecast to be part of the new global supply chain which is in formation currently.

The Government must also think of an accompanying plan, such as devoting a part of public investment capital to directly supporting relevant enterprises. It is worrisome that the M&A wave is becoming popular, because domestic enterprises do not have the capital or capacity to compete and survive in that market. If domestic enterprises gradually lose to foreign businesses, the risk will become greater for the economy. In fact, our economy has relied on FDI for too long a time, and when assets are handed to foreign enterprises, our own pillars to support the economy become weak.

- Maam, what other solutions do we need, besides supportive measures implemented by the Government, to restore the economy?

- One immediate and urgent task is to increase support for those who are seriously being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. These are SMEs, and households that are relying on small businesses for their daily livelihood. At this time, the number of workers who have lost their jobs or are temporarily unemployed is increasing, so they need the support of the Government. As per Government figures, the number of workers who need such support has gone upto 30.8 million, and continuing to increase. Although the Government had launched some economic support packages earlier too, which have reached the people already, more support packages must continue to be launched as the pandemic is not showing any signs of abating.

The Government needs to reconsider if it is more necessary to focus on new industries with a better future, or old ones that are still dependent on imports from China.

For the long term, the ultimate goal must be to improve and strengthen internal resources. We must also simultaneously take all measures to prepare for a new phase of capital investment flow in a changing world scenario in a post pandemic era. I would like to take the example of Japan. When businesses received government support in moving their production and supply chain out of China to other countries, upto 50% of businesses chose Vietnam to invest in for their future growth.

This is a very good sign, but it also reminds us to be well prepared with our own supply chain, before receiving new investments. We must not only welcome more foreign investors but we must also actively enhance our internal resources. This would mean improving our capacity of domestic enterprises to participate in the new global supply chain.

- Maam, in your opinion, which economic sectors will develop the most after the Covid-19 pandemic is brought under control? Do we also need to be selective in choosing businesses to rescue?

- Currently, the Government is trying to rescue existing industries that seem to have no future. When the demand for both domestic consumption and export is not high enough, demand decreases sharply in the international market, despite increase within Vietnam. Therefore, the Government needs to reconsider if it is more necessary to focus on new industries with a better future, or old ones that are still dependent on imports from China. What needs to be done now is to invest heavily in developing support industries.

For the last few years, there have been worrisome reports on Vietnam's inability to create a new motivation for economic growth. In actual fact, Vietnam's economic growth has long been based on low cost labor, largely driven by FDI enterprises and partly export growth. Now it has become necessary to push up labor productivity through innovative measures, improve quality of human resource, upgrade skills in industries and call for higher productivity.

- Thank you very much.

Luu Thuy (Interviewer)
Bank ABC Islamic has announced that its net profit for the first half of 2020 was $14.5 million compared to $18.9 million reported in the first half of last year.

Total operating income rose to $23.4 million, 5% higher compared to the first six months of last year of $22.3 million.

Operating expenses were $3.6 million compared to $3.8 million for the same period of last year.

Impairment charges for the period were $5.1 million compared with a write back of $0.7 million reported during last year and are largely in line with our expectations for cost of credit.

ABC Islamic Banks total assets stood at $2.309 billion as of June 30, 2020 compared to $2.079 billion at 2019 year-end.

Shareholders equity as at 30 June 2020 stood at $279 million compared to $365 million at 2019 year-end. The decrease is mainly due to the $100 million dividend payment to the shareholders made during the period.

The banks capital base remains very strong with a capital adequacy ratio of 32.3%, predominantly Tier 1, which totalled 31.3%.

Hammad Hassan, Managing Director of Bank ABC Islamic, said: After a very strong performance in 2019, we started 2020 with positive momentum and a solid client transaction pipeline. Covid 19 pandemic became a reality by March this year, impacting our clients across most industries and sectors. The situation deteriorated as the year progressed and was further exacerbated by the oil price crisis. Despite these challenges, the banks total operating income grew by 5% compared to same period last year.

"This was primarily at the back of continued momentum from last year and closure of key capital market transactions that were led by the bank. Despite the growth in operating income, our net profit for H1 declined to $14.5 million as compared to $18.9 million for H1 2019. The reduction in profitability was mainly on account of net increase in Expected Credit Losses (ECL charge). The increase in ECL during this period was a combination of a specific provision related to a client fraud in UAE combined with forward looking IFRS9 ECL. In making estimates for the latter, the group and bank have stress tested the macroeconomic factors conservatively in our ECL model," he said.

"Safety of our staff and continuity of business operations continue to remain the groups and banks key priorities during these difficult times. In compliance with the guidelines from the Ministry of Health and the directives from the Central Bank of Bahrain, the bank has been running its operations to ensure staff safety and has provided adequate assistance to clients that required payment relief on account of difficulties faced during the pandemic in line with CBB guidelines.

"As we live through these uncertain times, we continue to monitor the Covid-19 pandemic and related risks, which may have prolonged or longer lasting effects on economic conditions. However, we have a strong balance sheet and are well capitalised with CAR of 32%. We continue to stress test and monitor our portfolio carefully on a constant basis and are committed to providing continued support to our customers in these difficult times," Hassan added. - TradeArabia News Service
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Britannia Industries share price rose in early trade on August 13 after the company said its board going to consider the proposal of borrowing of funds.

A meeting of the board of directors of the company scheduled to be held on Monday, 17 August 2020, to consider and approve the declaration of interim dividend on the equity share capital of the company and issue of bonus debentures.

The board will also consider the proposal of borrowing of funds through the issuance of commercial paper.

However, the company has allotted commercial papers for an aggregate amount of Rs 300 crore on August 12, 2020, with tenure of 12 months.

At 09:18 hrs, Britannia Industries was quoting at Rs 3,850.45, up Rs 40.45, or 1.06 percent on the BSE.
The Lost Husband is Netflixs latest must-watch movie. This romance starring Josh Duhamel and Leslie Bibb quickly became the most popular movie on the streaming service after it dropped August 10.

Based on a book of the same name by Katherine Center, the movie tells the story of a grieving widow named Libby (Bibb) who moves with her two children to her Aunt Jeans (Nora Dunn) farm in Texas. There, she meets James OConnor (Duhamel), who has a complicated past of his own.

If watching The Lost Husband leaves you craving more romantic drama, Netflix has you covered. Check out these seven other movies that will hit you right in the heart.

Nights in Rodante

The Lost Husband isnt based on a Nicholas Sparks story, but it sure feels like it could be. For the real deal, hit play on Nights in Rodanthe, which stars Diane Lane as a divorced woman who escapes to a B&B on the North Carolina coast, where she falls for a doctor, played by Richard Gere.

A Walk to Remember

Mandy Moore and Shane West in A Walk To Remember | Warner Brothers/Getty Images

RELATED: You Wont Believe How Many Nicholas Sparks Books Have Become Movies

Another Nicholas Sparks adaptation, this 2002 movie is about a shy and sheltered high school student named Jamie (Mandy Moore) who falls for popular guy Landon (Shane West) while theyre working together on a school play. But their new relationship is put to the test by his reluctance to publicly admit his feelings for her and her conservative fathers disapproval, as well as a major secret shes hiding from him.

The Lake House

Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves star in this 2006 movie about doctor (Bullock) who moves into a lake house and starts communicating with its previous resident, an architect (Reeves), by leaving letters in the homes mailbox. Gradually, they fall in love, even though she lives in 2006 and he lives in 2004.

Holding the Man

Based on a memoir by the late Timothy Conigrave, this 2016 Australian film tells the story of Conigraves romance with his partner John Caleo. Their relationship began when they were students in the 1970s and lasted for 15 years, until Johns death from AIDS.

One Day

One Day begins on June 15, 1988  the day of Emma (Anne Hathaway) and Dexters (Jim Sturgess) college graduation in Edinburgh. It follows their friendship (and eventual romance) over the next 20 years, checking in with them every July 15.

Remember Me

Robert Pattinson and Emilie de Ravin star in this 2010 movie (with a divisive ending) about a pair of college students in New York who fall in love, only to have their romance cut short by tragedy.

Sleepless in Seattle

RELATED: 5 Movies With Romantic Airport Scenes to Watch If You Have Wanderlust

Tom Hanks plays a widowed architect named Sam who moves from Chicago to Seattle with his young son after his wifes death. The boy calls a popular radio show, explaining that his Christmas wish is to find a new wife for his dad. Annie (Meg Ryan), a reporter, happens to hear the segment and decides she and Sam are destined to be together.

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Indian Foreign Service officer Vikram Kumar Doraiswami has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh, according to a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday.

Currently, Doraiswami is an Additional Secretary in-charge of international organisations and summits at the headquarters of the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi.

He is expected to take up the assignment in Dhaka soon.

Prior to his current assignment, Doraiswami has earlier served as the Indian ambassador to the Republic of Korea and later was also posted in Uzbekistan. He joined the Indian Foreign Service (IFS)  the top administrative services of the Indian government in 1992. Before joining government service, he used to work as a journalist.

Vikram Kumar Doraiswami has a Masters degree in History from the Delhi University and can converse in Chinese and Urdu and also knows a smattering of French.

Doraiswami succeeds Riva Ganguly Das as the Indian envoy in Dhaka.
Vardan, 23, is one of the soldiers who downed Azerbaijans ORBITER-3 intelligence UAV in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) during the tense situation in Tavush Province of Armenia in July. On July 18, just two days before the end of his military service, Sergeant Vardan was given a major task that required a high sense of responsibility and that he had to accomplish with his detachment.

We were serving on-duty and were given a task to find the adversarys unmanned aerial vehicle. We found it and received an order to strike it, and we succeeded in accomplishing the task along with our chief, Vardan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Vardan participated in the operation as a detachment commander. He and his friends used their knowledge precisely and downed the adversarys UAV in minutes.

We were very happy. We were all screaming with joy. Words cant describe how we felt. After all, I had been given a task after two years and accomplished it brilliantly. Our hard work paid off, Vardan said.

The members of the detachment were awarded by the President of Artsakh for this act. Vardan received the Medal for Combat Service. He ended his mandatory military serviced and returned home a few days ago.

Im trying to adapt to civilian life, but I keep thinking what my fellow servicemen are doing. They became more excited after the incident and are always ready to strike the enemy, he said.

Vardan says he will continue to follow the situation on the border from his house in Kapan, but will remain vigilant so that he can help his friends-in-combat, if necessary.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-14 00:36:44|Editor: huaxia

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-- Xinfadi, Beijing's largest wholesale farm produce market, is to reopen starting Saturday, two months after business suspension over a COVID-19 epidemic resurgence.

-- The market will cease its retail business, closing its doors to individual consumers, and all sellers and buyers should first complete real-name authentication before entering the market for transactions.

-- Authorities will set up a special agency to strengthen supervision of food security at the market, as well as its refrigerated warehouses and cold chains.

BEIJING, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Xinfadi, the largest wholesale market for fruit, vegetable and meat supplies in Beijing, is to reopen starting Saturday, around two months after its business was suspended for causing a COVID-19 epidemic resurgence, a local official said Thursday.



Zhou Xinchun, executive deputy head of Fengtai District, home to the farm produce market, said part of the market will reopen Saturday, recovering 60 percent of its normal transaction volumes for fruit and vegetables, while the rest will resume business before Sept. 10.

The 112-hectare market, which suspended operations on June 13, provided about 70 percent of Beijing's vegetables, 10 percent of its pork, and 3 percent of its beef and mutton.

Merchants sell agricultural products in a temporary trading area at the Xinfadi wholesale market in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 6, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin)

Since June 11, Beijing has reported 335 confirmed COVID-19 cases linked to a cluster of infections in the Xinfadi wholesale market. By Aug. 6, all of the patients had been discharged from hospital after recovery.

The city successfully contained the epidemic's resurgence within the space of a month, and it has not reported any locally transmitted confirmed cases linked to the market since early July.

NEW MEASURES

After its reopening, the market will cease its retail business, closing its doors to individual consumers, Zhou told a press briefing. All sellers and buyers should first complete real-name authentication before entering the market for transactions, Zhou said.

A 1,000-square-meter vegetable market has been set up outside the wholesale market to meet the demands of nearby residents.

Customers shop in a vegetable market set up outside the Xinfadi wholesale market in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 6, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin)

Before becoming eligible for trading, sellers must first register information on their farm produce, while the market will pilot electronic trading to ensure that all the commodities and transactions are traceable, the official said.

Amid a slew of tough anti-epidemic measures, the wholesale market will establish a regular COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control mechanism, Zhou said.

At the entrance to the market, people will have their body temperatures screened, while a facial-recognition system will ensure that all information relating to those entering can be traced. All the stalls will be disinfected once a day, and the market will be thoroughly disinfected once a week.

Third-party testing institutions will set up operations in the market to conduct regular nucleic acid tests on the environment, goods, packing materials and public tools.

A staff member collects swab samples from an agricultural product for COVID-19 test in a temporary trading area at the Xinfadi wholesale market in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 6, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin)

Meanwhile, all the underground and semi-underground spaces in the market will be closed for transactions in order to reduce the potential risk of infection, according to the official.

Local authorities will beef up supervision of the market, setting up public-health monitoring sites to provide guidance on disinfection and training on anti-epidemic knowledge, and to monitor the health condition of all market staff, Zhou said.

Authorities will also set up a special agency to strengthen supervision of food security at the market, as well as its refrigerated warehouses and cold chains, he added.

BUSINESS RETURNS TO NORMAL

Mao Yongxi, a vegetable wholesaler at the market from central China's Henan Province, was excited to hear that the market would soon be reopening.

"My business will return to normal, as people are returning and the market will do well," said Mao, who has been trading at Xinfadi for 20 years.

After the temporary closure of the market on June 13, Mao was allowed to continue his business at temporary vegetable trading areas set up nearby by local authorities.

"With several temporary trading areas having been put into operation, my business is recovering. Finally, the day is coming when the market will reopen," said Mao.

Zhang Yanwei, a fruit merchant from east China's Shandong Province, was also affected by the closure.

A merchant unloads apples in a temporary trading area at the Xinfadi wholesale market in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 6, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin)

"I was quarantined for more than 20 days and was trying to make up for lost time and reduce my losses," said Zhang, as he unloaded boxes of apples in a section of the market already back in business since late July.

More than 200 merchants have resumed business so far, operating in an area of about 9.7 hectares.

"Now the market is disinfected every day, so we feel very safe," said Zhang.

Vehicles now spray disinfectants all around the open area, and inspectors carry out nucleic acid tests for COVID-19 on the farm produce in every shop.

Market personnel can now be identified by the different vests they wear: wholesalers in red, purchasers in yellow, management personnel in blue, and bus drivers in green.

"All of us are asked to wear vests," Zhang said. "We can't trade without wearing vests, and it's convenient for management." Enditem

(Reporting by Li Baojie, Qiang Lijing, Li Dexin, Ji Ning and Xie Hao; Video reporters: Zhao Xu, Chen Zhonghao and Meng Jing; Video editor: Jia Xiaotong)


Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 15:40:31|Editor: huaxia

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ULAN BATOR, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization (GEIDCO) has donated 30,000 face masks to Mongolia to support its battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mongolian State Emergency Commission said Thursday.

Established in China in 2016, GEIDCO is a non-governmental, non-profit organization which promotes global development of sustainable energy.

As of Thursday, Mongolia has confirmed 297 COVID-19 cases.

All the confirmed cases were imported, mostly from Russia, with no local transmissions or deaths reported so far, according to Mongolia's National Center for Communicable Diseases. Enditem
California Sen. Kamala Harris, the newly named running mate for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, doesn't have a lot of background in health policy. But that's unlikely to prevent Republicans from using her on-again, off-again support for "Medicare for All" against her in the fall campaign.

Meanwhile, with talks between Congress and the Trump administration over the next round of COVID-19 relief at a standstill, President Donald Trump is trying to fill the void with executive orders. What's unclear is whether the president has the authority to do some of what he is proposing  or whether it will work to help people in dire economic and health straits.

This week's panelists are Julie Rovner of KHN, Kimberly Leonard of Business Insider, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Mary Agnes Carey of KHN.

Among the takeaways from this week's podcast:

Although Harris isn't closely associated with health care issues, one created problems for her last fall during her failed presidential bid. She was an original co-sponsor of the Medicare for All bill put forward by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt).

Trump's executive order to suspend payroll taxes is causing consternation. It's not clear if the order applies to both Social Security and Medicare or whether employers will follow the order. There is no indication that Congress would accept the president's plan  and, if lawmakers don't, workers and companies would owe the back taxes by the end of the year.

The tax suspension also has handed Democrats a club for the fall campaign. They are charging that the lack of revenue would endanger the Social Security and Medicare trust funds and could affect consumer benefits. Trump has replied that money from the federal government's general fund would be used to fill the gap, but with the pandemic causing an economic upheaval, there's no guarantee the government could afford that.

The president has promised he will shortly issue an executive order to protect coverage for people with medical conditions. The Affordable Care Act, which Trump has repeatedly pledged to abolish, already carries that protection, so this could be an attempt to offer Republicans a shield if the case before the Supreme Court overturns the law or some of its provisions. Previous vows by the president to offer health care plans have largely gone unfulfilled.

The administration is seeking to change the U.S. reliance on foreign nations, largely China and India, for prescription drugs and is moving to mandate that the government buy only U.S.-manufactured medications. Although the effort enjoys bipartisan support, it could end up increasing drug prices.

The recent announcement that the federal government is offering Kodak a $765 million loan to begin making chemicals that could be used in drug manufacturing triggered new scrutiny of the company. Stock trades made before the announcement, major escalation of the company's lobbying efforts in Washington and a leak about the pending deal are all being analyzed.

The KHN-Guardian spotlight on the deaths of health care workers from COVID-19 points to a longer-term issue: shortages of medical professionals in key care fields.

Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too:

Julie Rovner: The Wall Street Journal's "Covid-19 Data Reporting System Gets Off to Rocky Start," by Robbie Whelan

Joanne Kenen: The Texas Tribune and ProPublica's "ICE Is Making Sure Migrant Kids Don't Have COVID-19  Then Expelling Them to 'Prevent the Spread' of COVID-19," by Dara Lind and Lomi Kriel

Kimberly Leonard: The Philadelphia Inquirer's "Coronavirus Is Changing Childbirth in the Philadelphia Region, Including Boosting Scheduled Inductions," by Sarah Gantz

Mary Agnes Carey: The New York Times' "Inside the Fight to Save Houston's Most Vulnerable," by Sheri Fink, Emily Rhyne and Erin Schaff

To hear all our podcasts, click here.

And subscribe to What the Health? on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or Pocket Casts.
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Donald Trump again mourned the deaths of all the birds that are allegedly killed by wind turbines each year, but failed to mention the 160,000 people whove died from Covid-19.

The president focused on wind power when speaking to Sean Hannity on Fox News Tuesday evening following the announcement that presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden selected Kamala Harris as his running mate.

In a rambling interview, Mr Trump claimed Ms Harris was against petroleum and she and her running mate would be unable to win Pennsylvania and many other states. Then he got sidetracked and went on about wind power.

Wind is nice. Its nice. But it causes tremendous environmental problems, Mr Trump said, repeating claims hes made in past interviews

Site and home values going way down, he continued. If you see a windmill and hear a windmill, your home is worth half or less than half. It kills all the birds.

This claim is not new for the president.

Hes targeted wind turbines, or windmills as he calls them, previously in an effort to stall the renewable energy movement  with claims that birds are being killed by the turbines, so voters should vote against the energy source.

Theyre noisy. They kill the birds, Trump said in December while in Florida. You want to see a bird graveyard? You just go. Take a look ... Go under a windmill someday. Youll see more birds than youve ever seen, ever, in your life.

Mr Trump was not the only politician concerned with the fate of birds at the hands of wind turbines. Russias Vladimir Putin has echoed similar concerns.

Everybody knows that wind power is good, but is anyone thinking about the birds? How many birds die? Mr Putin said when attending the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit. I am not saying it should not be developed, of course it should, but lets not forget the related problems.

When Mr Trump appeared on the Fox News show on Tuesday night, he took up more than 30 minutes of Mr Hannitys hour-long show. But it was only in the last few minutes that the Fox News pundit asked the president about the coronavirus pandemic, which has taken the lives of nearly 165,000 Americans thus far.

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Mr Hannity noted that the death rate has risen in the US, but he added it would soon drop precipitously. He then changed the topic to speak about vaccines and therapeutics.

We are doing more testing than any country in the world by far, Mr Trump said, repeating the same claims hes made in recent months. Because of that, we will have more cases. We are testing people. We have more cases. If you dont test, you dont have cases.

The president did not mention the death toll or express remorse to the lives that have been lost after contracting the novel virus.

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Donald and Ivanka Trump donated to Kamala Harris' previous campaigns


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - President Donald Trump announced that the government will provide 125 million reusable face masks to school districts across the country as he is pressing for reopening schools amid COVID-19 pandemic.



Addressing an event titled 'Kids First: Getting America's Children Safely Back to School' at the White House, Trump said his administration also stands ready to deploy CDC teams to support schools that need help to safely reopen.



He called on all schools in the country to make plans to resume in-person classes as soon as possible.



Trump pointed out, 'More than 99.8 percent of the deaths from this horrible disease occur in people over 24 years of age.'



In the opinion of the President, prolonged school closures will severely limit economic reopening, because it limits the ability of parents to work, particularly those from lower- and middle-income families.



The government issued a set of general recommendations for all schools and guidance to protect high-risk teachers and students from coronavirus. They include the following: Require all students, teachers, and staff to self-assess their health every morning before coming to school; Encourage frequent hand washing or hand sanitizing during the school day; Minimize large indoor gatherings; Hold large gatherings outdoors whenever possible; Maintain high standards of hygiene and ventilation within the classrooms; Encourage the use of masks when social distancing is not possible; Post instructions regarding hygiene and social distancing in school premises.



High-risk teachers and students will be given options to engage in distance teaching or learning.



'We cannot indefinitely stop 50 million American children from going to school and harming their mental, physical, emotional, and academic development, and inflicting long-term, lasting damage,' he said in discussion with parents, teachers and doctors.



Trump said school closures harm low-income students the most because they have less access to high-quality remote learning - they don't have computers - and less resources for academic support.



Studies estimate that school closures last spring caused the average student to fall 50 percent behind in math and roughly 35 percent in reading compared to a typical year, according to Trump.



To support the reopening of America's schools, the government had already provided $13 billion for elementary and secondary schools toward the CARES Act and CARES Act funding.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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Days ago she returned from a trip to the Dominican Republic as she and Kanye West are attempting to 'save' their marriage.

And though by all indications the trip was very fruitful, Kim Kardashian knows that all the couple's issues won't be solved overnight.

The 39-year-old reality star is not giving up on her marriage with the 43-year-old rapper and is thinking long-term according to a Thursday report from Us Weekly.

'Focused on healing': Kim Kardashian is not giving up on her marriage with Kanye West and is thinking long-term according to a Thursday report from Us Weekly

A source said: 'Kim is focused on healing her relationship with Kanye and has been busy taking care of their kids and him.

'She has been helping and supporting him a ton while hes been struggling with his mental health and wants him to know and feel that she is there for him through thick and thin.'

There is hope that the two could work things out despite the tough circumstances including a global pandemic.

The insider explained: 'The quarantine has been hard on Kanye and, in turn, has been difficult for her too.

Fix: There is hope that the two could work things out despite the tough circumstances including a global pandemic as they just returned from a trip to the Dominican Republic, the couple are seen in February

'Their marriage definitely faced some hardships and was just hanging on with Kanye not being able to fully be present for their family, but ultimately Kim wants to keep everyone together and work things out for their kids.'

On Sunday, Kim and Kanye touched down in Miami after a week long family trip in the Dominican Republic as they are trying to salvage their marriage and things certainly seem to be going well.

'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.'

Family time: On Friday, Kanye and his seven-year-old daughter North looked happy joined the Put The Feeling On viral dance craze on Twitter

Kim has reportedly been trying to find 'a way to save her marriage' to the 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.

So sweet: In his version of the video, Kanye, 43, was joined by his firstborn daughter as they hopped off their vehicle to shake a leg on the street

Blithe spirit: Kanye began the routine, singing a couple of lines from the number, then jumping out onto the road and beginning to dance

Instead the socialite just wants what's best for their children North, Saint, four, Chicago, two, and Psalm, one.

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.

'Kim and Kanye are getting along. They both seem much happier,' a source told People , after they returned to the United States, as they are seen in New York back in October

This came 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 Mill - which Kanye has since publicly apologized for.

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.'

The location: According to TMZ , they 'spent a week in a fortress-like estate on a Dominican beach, as Kim and Kanye hashed out problems in their marriage'; a stock image of the beaches of Samana, Dominican Republic

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.

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'.

Family first: The socialite just wants what's best for their children North, Saint, four, Chicago, two, and Psalm, one

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.

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.'
Ashwini Kumar Sharma

With the aim of making the tax system seamless, painless and faceless, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the implementation of a few major reforms in the taxation systemhonouring the honest, releasing a tax charter, starting faceless assessment and faceless appeal. While the taxpayer charter and faceless assessment will come into effect from today, i.e., August 13, 2020, faceless appeal will be applicable from September 25, 2020.

Not face-to-face anymore

Implementation of the faceless assessment scheme is set to eliminate the human interface between the taxpayer and representatives of the income tax department. Most industry participants welcome the implementation of the scheme by the government. The PM has laid down an excellent vision of completely faceless assessments and also soon to be launched faceless appeals. The new taxpayers charter is based on easing compliance for all taxpayers and we welcome the initiative, says Archit Gupta, founder and CEO, ClearTax.

In future, under the faceless assessment schemes, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data analytics based systems will be used to identify the tax-payers for sending assessment and scrutiny notices. One of the major advantages of the scheme will be that from now onwards there will be no territorial jurisdictions, which means a tax payers ITR can be assessed by any assessing officer across the country. Taxpayer identity will not get disclosed and in any case taxpayers will not be required to visit the income tax office or meet assessment officers for any work.

Tax experts believe that the schemes will help taxpayers in many ways and also enhance trust in tax authority and its functionality. It will eliminate the short cut methods in taxation completely. In this scheme the control of assessments will be done by a central nodal team. The assessing officer and taxpayer shall not know each other at all. Hence the entire process will be only on merits, said Vivek Jalan, partner, Tax Connect Advisory Services LLP.

Change in functioning style required

However, Gupta believes that, the policy announcements must also reflect in the functioning of tax administration, tax officers need to be trained and focus needs to shift from merely raising tax orders to supporting taxpayers and truly streamlining assessments.

With the implementation of the new faceless assessment scheme, all the assessment orders will now be issued online. CBDT directs that all assessment orders shall be passed by the National e-assessment centre (NeAC) through faceless assessment scheme, 2019; Provides 2 exceptions: (1) assessment orders in cases assigned to Central charges; and (2) assessment orders in cases assigned to International Tax charges; Specifies that assessment orders not in conformity with above shall be treated as non-est; States that this order shall come into effect from 13th August 2020, said Amit Maheshwari, tax partner, AKM Global, a consulting firm.

Assessments and cases related to major tax evasion, tax frauds and so on are kept outside the ambit of faceless assessment schemes.

(The writer is a freelancer)
Sands Capital Management recently disclosed its portfolio updates for the second quarter of 2020, which ended on June 30.

Founded in 1992 by Frank M. Sands Sr., Sands Capital Management is a staff-owned independent investment management firm that invests in high-quality growth business. Frank Sands (Trades, Portfolio) Jr. joined the firm in 2000 and now serves as CEO and chief investment officer. The Arlington, Virginia-based firm has two main concentrated growth strategies: Select Growth, which chooses innovative businesses, and Global Growth, which diversifies holdings in countries outside of the U.S. Sands Capital Management has achieved success by focusing on its six investment criteria: sustainable above-average earnings growth, leadership position in a promising business space, a clear mission with a focus on value, good financial strength, rational valuation and significant competitive advantages.





Based on the firm's investment criteria, its top buys for the quarter were in Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE:EW), DexCom Inc. (NASDAQ:DXCM), Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR), Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) and Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO).

Edwards Lifesciences

Sands Capital Management upped its stake in Edwards Lifesciences Corp by 8,015,958 shares, increasing the position by 181.67% for a total of 12,428,210 shares and impacting the equity portfolio by 1.34%. During the quarter, shares traded for an average price of $70.98.

Based in Irvine, California, Edwards Lifesciences is a medical technology company that specializes in artificial heart valves, hemodynamic monitoring and surgical recovery.

On Aug. 13, shares of Edwards Lifesciences traded around $79.65 for a market cap of $49.49 billion and a price-earnings ratio of 67.57. The Peter Lynch chart indicates the stock is trading above its intrinsic value.

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GuruFocus gives the company a financial strength rating of 8 out of 10 and a profitability rating of 9 out of 10. The cash-debt ratio of 1.7 and Altman Z-Score of 13.64 indicate a strong balance sheet. Both the operating margin and net margin have been increasing over the years, indicating that the company's business model scales well.

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DexCom

The firm also added 1,342,996, or 269.86%, to its investment in DexCom for a total holding of 1,840,666 shares. The trade had a 1.32% impact on one equity portfolio. Shares traded for an average price of $355.93 during the quarter.

DexCom is a medical technology company that develops, manufactures and distributes continuous glucose monitoring systems and supporting software. It is headquartered in San Diego.

On Aug. 13, shares DexCom traded around $434.53 for a market cap of $41.51 billion and a price-earnings ratio of 199.70. The Peter Lynch chart indicates the stock is trading above its intrinsic value, but in line with its median historical valuation.

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GuruFocus gives the company a financial strength rating of 6 out of 10 and a profitability rating of 3 out of 10. The cash-debt ratio of 1.42 is in line with the industry median, while the Altman Z-Score of 12.73 indicates the company is not in danger of bankruptcy. The return on invested capital has recently surpassed the weighted average cost of capital, indicating a turn to profitability.

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Charter Communications

The firm established a new position of 1,001,972 shares in Charter Communications, impacting the equity portfolio by 1.24%. During the quarter, shares traded for an average price of $505.65.

Charter is the telecommunications and mass media company behind the Spectrum brand name. Based in Stamford, Connecticut, the company's products include internet, cable and phone services.

On Aug. 13, shares of Charter Communications traded around $604.57 for a market cap of $123.94 billion and a price-earnings ratio of 57.58. The Peter Lynch chart indicates the stock is trading above its intrinsic value.

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GuruFocus gives the company a financial strength rating of 3 out of 10 and a profitability rating of 7 out of 10. The cash-debt ratio of 0.03 and current ratio of 0.52 show the company will likely need to take on additional debt in order to avoid bankruptcy. The WACC is currently higher than the ROIC, indicating that the company is earning a negative return on its investments.

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Warner Music Group

The firm invested in 13,391,903 shares of Warner Music Group, impacting the equity portfolio by 0.96%. Shares traded for an average price of $31.19 during the quarter.

Warner Music Group is the third-largest recording company in the global music industry. The New York-based company has interests in recorded music, music publishing and artist services.

On Aug. 13, shares of Warner Music Group traded around $29.51 for a market cap of $15.02 billion and a forward price-earnings ratio of 44.65 based on Morningstar earnings estimates. Net income has been in decline for several years and has now dropped into the negatives.

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GuruFocus gives the company a financial strength rating of 3 out of 10 and a profitability rating of 5 out of 10. The current ratio of 0.63 and Altman Z-Score of 1.47 indicate the company could be in danger of bankruptcy without additional funding. As shown in the chart below, the operating margin has most often been positive over the past decade while the net margin has most often been negative, with a 10-year median of 4.28% for the operating margin and a 10-year median of -3.07% for the net margin.

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Grocery Outlet Holding

The firm also established a new holding in Grocery Outlet Holding worth 8,917,556 shares, which had a 0.88% impact on the equity portfolio. During the quarter, shares traded for an average price of $35.77.

Grocery Outlet operates a chain of discount supermarkets that offer overstocked and closeout products from a wide range of suppliers. The California-based company has stores in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada and Pennsylvania.

On Aug. 13, shares of Grocery Outlet traded around $42.72 for a market cap of $3.90 billion and a price-earnings ratio of 63.57. The Peter Lynch chart indicates the stock is trading above its intrinsic value, but near its median historical valuation.

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GuruFocus gives the company a financial strength rating of 4 out of 10 and a profitability rating of 3 out of 10. The cash-debt ratio of 0.06 is lower than 89.01% of competitors, but the Altman Z-Score of 3.05 indicates the company is not likely in danger of bankruptcy. Over the past three years, revenue has grown at an average annual rate of 8.1%, while earnings per share without non-recurring items has grown at an average annual rate of 11.4%.

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Portfolio overview

As of the quarter's end, the firm held shares in 77 stocks valued at $41.32 billion. The top holdings were Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) with 7.44% of the equity portfolio, Sea Ltd. (SE) with 7.01% and Visa Inc. (V) with 6.12%.

In terms of sector weighting, the firm was most invested in communication services, technology and health care.

Disclosure: Author owns no shares in any of the stocks mentioned. The mention of stocks in this article does not at any point constitute an investment recommendation. Portfolio updates reflect only common stock positions as per the regulatory filings for the quarter in question and may not include changes made after the quarter ended.

Read more here:

Top 2nd-Quarter Trades of First Pacific Advisors

First Eagle Investment's Top 2nd-Quarter Trades

Shifting Strategies: Buffett's Berkshire Reports 2nd-Quarter Earnings







Not a Premium Member of GuruFocus? Sign up for a free 7-day trial here.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.






BBC viewers have criticised the 'uncomfortable' moment a police officer questioned whether a missing veteran with PTSD was actually a 'fantasist' who faked his service after finding out that he is being targeted by 'Walter Mitty' hunters.

Reported Missing, which aired last night at 9pm on BBC One, followed the disappearance of Blue Apple Veterans Association charity founder and former soldier Mark Smith, from Warrington.

However, while searching for his whereabouts after he posted on social media that he wanted to end it all, Cheshire police discovered that Mark, who served in Northern Ireland, was being trolled by a Facebook group dedicated to exposing those who fraudulently claim to have fought for their country.

Despite the accusations being false, it resulted in Sgt Helen Hayes, who was running the case, to question whether Mark was just a 'fantasist'. The veteran was thankfully found in Scotland, having travelled there to clear his head and visit a cousin.

Viewers were left shocked at the questioning, with one person writing: 'Sickened by the judgemental, uncompassionate and unprofessional attitude of certain officers. Hung him out to dry based on false Facebook posts and reinforced benefit and mental health stigmas.'

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Reported Missing, which aired last night at 9pm on BBC One, followed the disappearance of Blue Apple Veterans Association charity founder and former soldier Mark Smith (pictured), from Warrington

However, while searching for his whereabouts after he posted on social media that he wanted to end it all, Cheshire police discovered that Mark, who served in Northern Ireland, was being trolled by a Facebook group dedicated to exposing those who fraudulently claim to have fought for their country. Pictured: Sgt Helen Hayes

Viewers (above) were left 'sickened' and 'uncomfortable' because of the police's 'accusatory tone' after finding out the man is being targeted by 'Walter Mitty' hunters

Another wrote: 'Instead of looking they end up side-tracked investigating him because of some Facebook people with pitchforks.

'Automatically suspicious/looking down on them because theyre on benefits. Glad most saw what I did. The woman was vile and should not be working for the police.'

Mark and his wife Denise receive benefits since the veteran is classed as disabled, but after hearing the various allowances they are given, a shocked Sgt Hayes commented: 'They receive all that' - leading some viewers to label the officer judgemental.

'Female old bill more interested in Facebook rumours, what benefits he gets and how much the charity makes,' one person wrote on Twitter.

Another said: 'I really didnt understand the accusatory tone of this episode. So pleased Mark turned up safe and wish him well.'

While a third added: 'I hate the way the female police officer questioned Mark Smith's mental health diagnosis and was so judgemental when she heard they were receiving benefits. Mark and his wife are entitled to them.'

A Cheshire Police spokesperson said: 'During missing from home investigations, the number one priority is the safety and welfare of the individual  and that again was the case here.

'As part of our investigations to trace missing people, all possibilities are explored as to why that person would want to go missing, as this can help officers establish where that person may be and what their intentions are. This can sometimes include criminal allegations that have been made against that individual.

Reaction: Viewers took to Twitter to share their disappointment with some police officers' tone during the investigation

'Further allegations were made which did not feature in the programme and an investigation was launched. However, we were satisfied that there was no evidence of criminal wrongdoing and no further action was taken.

'We were pleased that Mark returned home safely, and hope that he and his family have been able to get the support that they need.'

The search for Mark begins after the police get a call from his friend Mark Moran, who works alongside him at the Blue Apple Veterans Association charity he set up with his wife Denise.

The pal explains that Mark suffers with PTSD and hasn't been seen for almost 24 hours, after leaving both his phone and wallet behind.

Moran explains that Mark took cash and his sim card, the office paperwork has been left perfectly in order, and he found the CCTV unplugged.

The former soldier, who walked out of his home after an argument with his wife, has gone missing before but Denise worries that this time feels very different.

Shes concerned that Mark may be taking deliberate steps to stop anyone from tracking him down and preventing him from carrying out his threat.

During an interview with wife Denise, above, police discover that Mark has recently received social media hate mail from a group claiming he has lied about his military career

A major investigation is sparked as police try to workout where Mark might be, with his wife revealing he's 'been on self-destruct for weeks.

During an interview with Denise, police discover that Mark has recently received social media hate mail from a group claiming he has lied about his military career.

Mark became paranoid after a Facebook group hunting 'Walter Mittys' started trying to disprove he served in the army. He was also accused of using the Blue Apple Veterans charity to fraudulently make money.

Denise explains: 'There's so much pressure. We set up the charity five years ago and we've come under a lot of stress.

'Recently we've had a lot of hate mail, and stuff from the Walter Mitty site and that's caused us a lot of stress and a lot of pressure.

'It's a group on Facebook and they've got about 35,000 members and they're trying to disprove that Mark even served which is nonsense.

'Mark's profile on Instagram does read unbelievable and they attacked him saying he's never served. He's gone even more paranoid.'

'The Walter Mitty hunters, they've tried to discredit him and Mark wouldn't fight back, he didn't need to prove anything. But as much as Mark said he wasn't affected, he obviously was. It is bullying and it shouldn't be allowed.'

Mark (pictured during his military career) became paranoid after a Facebook group hunting 'Walter Mittys' started trying to disprove he served in the army. He was also accused of using the Blue Apple Veterans charity to fraudulently make money

Thankfully, Mark (pictured with his wife) had travelled to Aviemore in Scotland to visit a relative, who contacted police to confirm the veteran was OK. He returned home a week later

Upon discovering about the social media account, Sgt Hayes says: 'This Facebook page, they really don't hold back. I imagine it's set up by people that are proud to have served their country.

'Looking at the Facebook page, and the various people that have commented, it does raise a number of questions to the police and the investigation because if he's dishonest about his military service, what else is he lying about.

'Are we actually looking for someone that's been exposed to horrendous things and is suffering really bad with mental health... or are we actually looking for a fantasist?'

Thankfully, Mark had travelled to Aviemore in Scotland to visit a relative, who contacted police to confirm the veteran was OK. He returned home a week later.

Speaking about his disappearance at the end of the episode, Mark says 'the pressure was too great' and felt his relationships with his wife and children were suffering.

'I started mistrusting everyone. I felt a failure. I couldn't cope with the guilt of failing. Everything around me was collapsing,' says Mark, who confesses that he cried during his entire journey to Scotland.

A postscript informed viewers that Mark was later arrested on suspicion of theft but 'no evidence was found to substantiate any allegation against him'. Pictured: Mark's charity

'It was a battle. Although I didn't want to die. But I felt that was the only answer, that was on the table.

'When I have this illness it's all clouded. I can't see loved ones. All I can see is the past and I feel haunted by it.'

'I saw Denise when I got back. We both cried - she knows I love her - and then I started thinking about what I'd done and that I don't want do die as I actually love living.

'People that start saying things that aren't true... people don't know me. So it was all lies. I don't disagree with the mismanagement as I was running things on my own, but theft, not a chance.'

He added: 'I told [Denise] that I can't do the charity, anymore. It's finished. I always said to Denise if we can save one life it's been worth it and that's what we did, we saved lives. I'm very proud and we know we can hold our heads high.'

A postscript informed viewers that Mark was later arrested on suspicion of theft but 'no evidence was found to substantiate any allegation against him'.

It was also revealed that the Ministry of Defence had increased Mark's pension after acknowledging that his PTSD was caused by his military service.

If you have been affected by this story, you can call the Samaritans on 116 123 or visit www.samaritans.org.
Reports are coming of "unnecessary and excessive force" police have been using.

United Nations' High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Wednesday condemned the violent response of Belarusian government to peaceful rallies held across the country as activists doubt fair vote count.

The Commissioner has called "for people's grievances to be heard," the OHCHR press service reports.

After the Central Election Commission on Sunday, August 9, released official exit polls claiming a sweeping win of the incumbent president Alexandr Lukashenko, largely peaceful protests erupted throughout Belarus.

Government security forces cracked down on protesters with reports coming of "unnecessary and excessive force" police have been using.

Read alsoPompeo says people in Belarus should have "freedoms they're demanding"

At least 250 people have been injured, and one protester died, the report reads.

Reports suggest that more than approximately 6,000 people have been detained in the last three days, including bystanders, as well as minors, "suggesting a trend of massive arrests in clear violation of international human rights standards", the UN human rights chief said.

Even more disturbing, she adds, are the reports of ill-treatment during and after detention.

Bachelet has reminded the Belarusian Government of the "absolute prohibition on torture and other ill-treatment of detainees".

In this context, the High Commissioner called for the immediate release of all those unlawfully detained, and for impartial investigations into all allegations of rights violations.

Belarus protests: background
By PTI

JAIPUR: Sachin Pilot met Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot Thursday, the first time after he openly rebelled against the senior leader a month back.

Party leaders K C Venugopal, Avinash Pande, Randeep Surjewala, Ajay Maken and Govind Singh Dotasra were also there at the meeting, posing together for the cameras at Gehlot's official residence.

Pilot and Gehlot shook hands in a moment marking the return of the sacked deputy chief minister and 18 other dissident MLAs to the party-fold, after the intervention earlier this week by the top Congress leadership in Delhi.

Their meeting was followed by the Congress Legislature Party meeting, ahead of Friday's assembly session.

The Congress has also revoked the suspension of MLAs Bhanwarlal Sharma and Vishvendra Singh, who were suspended from the party's primary membership last month over their alleged involvement in a "conspiracy" to topple the Congress government in the state.

Exactly a month after he boiled away from Jaipur, #SachinPilot met up his chief and arch rival #AshokGehlot at CMR in Jaipur. There were smiles as both met and shook hands warmly to present a united face leaving behind the bitterness of past one month.@NewIndianXpress pic.twitter.com/85GA10S56R  rajesh asnani (@asnaniraajesh) August 13, 2020

The assembly session in the state will begin on Friday.

The BJP in Rajasthan earlier on Thursday said it will move a no-confidence motion against the Gehlot-led Congress government in the state assembly.

The Congress has 107 MLAs in the 200-member assembly, and the BJP 72.
There is no doubt soon itll all be gone.

Many shelves were bare Tuesday at Pier 1 Imports at Southmont Plaza in Bethlehem Township. Eager shoppers were snatching up what was left of deals before the chain closes its doors for good. Large furniture, area rugs, pillows, candles and home decor remain spread throughout with signs posting the various amounts of savings.

Its unclear specifically how long the chain, which also has an area location at the Hamilton Crossings mall in Upper Macungie Township, will remain open. A sales clerk who answered the phone at the Bethlehem Township location said she expected to be open until October and the same timeframe for neighboring stores.

The Texas-based retailer announced in a statement in May it would be seeking court approval to liquidate all of its roughly 540 stores as soon as possible. The 58-year-old company said the permanent store closures are due to the profound impact of COVID-19, which prevented the retailer from securing a buyer after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February.

We scoured the sales floor on Tuesday, ranking what we thought were some of the best finds remaining in merchandise. All sales, however, remain final.

We suggest you move quickly. Whats there today could be gone tomorrow.

The Pier 1 Imports location at the Southmont Plaza shopping center in Bethlehem Township remains open for now -- but the end soon will be approaching.

18. Oven Mitts

What is it? 3-piece oven mitt set with such sayings as Bon Appetit, When Life Give You Lemons Make Lemon Meringue Pie, and Living the Sweet Life. Comes with an apron, oven mitt and pot holder.

Regular price: $39.99

Price on Tuesday, Aug. 11: $39.99 at 25% off = $9.99

The Pier 1 Imports location at the Southmont Plaza shopping center in Bethlehem Township remains open for now -- but the end soon will be approaching.

17. Photo frames

What is it? Assortment of photo frames in a variety of sizes and styles.

Regular price: $29.99 each (large)

Price on Tuesday, Aug. 11: $29.99 at 20% off = $23.99

The Pier 1 Imports location at the Southmont Plaza shopping center in Bethlehem Township remains open for now -- but the end soon will be approaching.

16. Stainless steel water bottles

What is it? A 17-ounce water bottle that keeps liquids cold for 24 hours or 12 hours hot, according to the label.

Regular price: $24.99 to $29.99

Price on Tuesday, Aug. 11: $24.99 to $29.99 at 30% off = about $17.49 to $20.99 each.

The Pier 1 Imports location at the Southmont Plaza shopping center in Bethlehem Township remains open for now -- but the end soon will be approaching.

15. Area rugs

What is it? Assortment of area rugs in a variety of sizes and patterns.

Regular price: $299

Price on Tuesday, Aug. 11: $299 at 50% = $149.50

The Pier 1 Imports location at the Southmont Plaza shopping center in Bethlehem Township remains open for now -- but the end soon will be approaching.

14. Bear and blanket

What is it? A cuddly soft bear with the initial of the childs first name or nickname with matching blanket -- available in a variety of colors.

Regular price: $24.99

Price on Tuesday, Aug. 11: $24.99 at 30% off = $17.49

The Pier 1 Imports location at the Southmont Plaza shopping center in Bethlehem Township remains open for now -- but the end soon will be approaching.

13. Floral vases

What is it? Navy vase with floral-inspired stencil design.

Regular price: $69.99

Price on Tuesday, Aug. 11: $69.99 at 30% off = $48.99

The Pier 1 Imports location at the Southmont Plaza shopping center in Bethlehem Township remains open for now -- but the end soon will be approaching.

12. 7-Piece Glass Kitchen Storage Set

What is it? Seven assorted glass canisters for such things as cereal, flour or pasta.

Regular price: $39.99

Price on Tuesday, Aug. 11: $39.99 at 25% = $29.99

The Pier 1 Imports location at the Southmont Plaza shopping center in Bethlehem Township remains open for now -- but the end soon will be approaching.

11. Candle lanterns

What is it? A black LED lantern by Elements. Perfect for an outdoor patio set-up or to dress up a dining room table centerpiece (candles additional).

Regular price: $34.99

Price on Tuesday, Aug. 11: $34.99 at 40% off = $20.99

The Pier 1 Imports location at the Southmont Plaza shopping center in Bethlehem Township remains open for now -- but the end soon will be approaching.

10. Cooler tote

What is it? A temperature-insulated tote with such sayings as Bon Appetit or Out to Lunch. The bag comes complete with a waterproof liner and zip closure perfect for toting to the beach, workplace or used as a shopping bag.

Regular price: $34.99

Price on Tuesday, Aug. 11: $34.99 at 20% off = $27.99

The Pier 1 Imports location at the Southmont Plaza shopping center in Bethlehem Township remains open for now -- but the end soon will be approaching.

9. Emily Gold and Marble Bar Accessories

What is it? Ice bucket with tongs, wine chiller and shaker handcrafted of stainless steel and marble.

Regular price: $59.99 for the ice bucket; $29.99 for the wine chiller; and $29.99 for the shaker.

Price on Tuesday, Aug. 11: $59.99 for the ice bucket; $29.99 for the wine chiller; and $29.99 for the shaker at 30% off = $41.99; $20.99; and $20.99, respectively.

The Pier 1 Imports location at the Southmont Plaza shopping center in Bethlehem Township remains open for now -- but the end soon will be approaching.

8. Weighted blanket

What is it? A 15-pound reversible blanket in a variety of colors aimed at promoting a restful sleep, reducing anxiety and covering all pressure points, according to the label.

Regular price: $69.99

Price on Tuesday, Aug. 11: $69.99 at 30% off = $48.99

The Pier 1 Imports location at the Southmont Plaza shopping center in Bethlehem Township remains open for now -- but the end soon will be approaching.

7. 4-piece Swirl by Mikasa dish set

What is it? A swirled, square pattern white dish set with a combination of matte and gloss finishes. The bold tablescape includes dishes, bowl and mug.

Regular price: $39.99

Price on Tuesday, Aug. 11: $39.99 at 25% off = $29.99

The Pier 1 Imports location at the Southmont Plaza shopping center in Bethlehem Township remains open for now -- but the end soon will be approaching.

6. Viva La Splash pool floats

What is it? An assortment of pool floats for some R&R in the back yard pool. Choose from several available, including a glitter ring, donut ring, pineapple, gold swan or angel wings.

Regular price: $34.99

Price on Tuesday, Aug. 11: $34.99 at 20% off =$27.99

The Pier 1 Imports location at the Southmont Plaza shopping center in Bethlehem Township remains open for now -- but the end soon will be approaching.

5. Newlyweds cheese and cracker set

What is it? A chip and dip set perfect for a bridal shower or wedding gift. Comes complete with a spreader that says We do.

Regular price: $39.95

Price on Tuesday, Aug. 11: $39.95 at 25% off = $29.96

The Pier 1 Imports location at the Southmont Plaza shopping center in Bethlehem Township remains open for now -- but the end soon will be approaching.

4. 5-piece outdoor serving set

What is it? An outdoor patio serving set complete with 2.5-liter pitcher and four 16-ounce tumblers. Colors include blue, teal and fuchsia.

Regular price: $39.99

Price on Tuesday, Aug. 11: $39.99 at 30% off = $27.99

The Pier 1 Imports location at the Southmont Plaza shopping center in Bethlehem Township remains open for now -- but the end soon will be approaching.

3. Coffee mug

What is it? An assortment of coffee mugs. A fun one for the caffeine-loving employee states, No coffee no workee.

Regular price: $7.99

Price on Tuesday, Aug. 11: $7.99 at 25% off = $5.99

The Pier 1 Imports location at the Southmont Plaza shopping center in Bethlehem Township remains open for now -- but the end soon will be approaching.

2. Calphalon utensils

What is it? Assorted kitchen utensils and gadgets by Calphalon. Choose from spatulas, slotted spoons and regular spoons. The brand is known for its scratch-resistant, non-stick cookware.

Regular price: $9.99

Price on Tuesday, Aug. 11: $9.99 at 25% off = $7.49

The Pier 1 Imports location at the Southmont Plaza shopping center in Bethlehem Township remains open for now -- but the end soon will be approaching.

1. Lamps

What is it? An assortment of lamps in blue, light green and white to add a pop of color to a living room or bedroom.

Regular price: $99.99 each (for lamps pictured)

Price on Tuesday, Aug. 11: $99.99 at 40% off = $59.99

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com.
Investors have punished a weak earnings outlook from Telstra, sending the shares of Australia's largest telco down more than 8 per cent over concerns that it may struggle to hold the line on its dividend payout.

Telstra shares closed 8.3 per cent weaker at $3.11 on Thursday after the telco posted a 14.4 per cent drop in net profit for the full year ended June 30. Total income for the period slipped 6 per cent to $26.2 billion.

The company will pay shareholders a dividend of 8 per share, bringing the total dividend payout for the year to 16 per share. However, investors and analysts were disheartened by the numbers, which sparked concerns about future cuts to dividend payments and risks related to the end of the NBN rollout and the coronavirus pandemic.

Telstra chief executive Andrew Penn said the result showed the telco's resilience. Credit:Ryan Stuart

While the pandemic has forced many companies to shy away from offering a guidance for fiscal 2021, Telstra has put some numbers on the table, with total income expected to land in the range of $23.2 billion to $25.1 billion, and underlying earnings to come in the range of $6.5 billion to $7 billion.
Srinagar/New Delhi, Aug 13 : An Indian Army convoy in Jammu & Kashmir's Baramulla district came under heavy attack after militants fired indiscriminately, injuring a soldier, the force said on Thursday.

The soldier injured in Wednesday's attack was rushed to Base Hospital in Srinagar. He is out of danger and is recuperating.

The convoy of three Army vehicles, comprising 30 personnel, was moving from Baramulla to Gulmarg and when it reached Pattan area, terrorists hiding in a built-up area attacked the convoy and started indiscriminate firing.

"The firing started at 2:15 pm. As the first vehicle crossed, the militants attacked the second convoy vehicle. A soldier inside the vehicle received a bullet injury," said a senior Army officer.

As it was a built-up area and people were on the streets, Naib Subedar Joginder Singh who was leading the convoy decided not to resort to firing and decided to first disengage from the line of fire.

"Our men ensured that no collateral damage happened despite them being attacked in the built-up area," said the officer, adding that the other vehicles managed to move ahead.

The officer said that the training which all ranks undergo while being posted in Jammu & Kashmir ensures that the force's first priority is to save civilian lives.

Later, the area was cordoned off for searches.
Hundreds of activists gather around two buses outside the Crane Shed Commons in Bend, Ore., on Aug. 12, 2020. (Ryan Brennecke/The Bulletin via AP)

Bend, Oregon, Activists Block Immigration Buses, Prompting Federal Response

Federal agents responded late Wednesday to a large protest that blocked immigration buses from leaving a parking lot in Bend, Oregon.

New Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz refused to take action but warned the crowd via loudspeaker that federal agents were on the way.

Agents arrived and clashed with demonstrators while escorting two detainees and officers from the buses.

Krantz told reporters in a virtual press conference that officers were at the protest to protect life and safety of our community, and are not there assisting the role of ICE, or Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a federal office inside the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

In a statement, ICE said the two detainees each had a history of violent criminal behavior.

While ICE respects the rights of people to voice their opinion peacefully, that does not include illegally interfering with their federal law enforcement duties, the agency said, adding that it will take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of its officers and detainees, and will vigorously pursue prosecution against anyone who puts them in harms way.

Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf said in a separate statement that the arrests were lawful and took dangerous criminals off our streets.

Federal immigration officers pull two detainees from buses in Bend, Ore., after a large demonstration prevented the buses from leaving a parking lot, on Aug. 13, 2020. (KTVZ)

Bend Mayor Sally Russell, a Democrat, said she was told both men had warrants out for their arrest. This is not a sweep for undocumented immigrants, she said on Wednesday evening, using a description for illegal immigrants, before adding, Lets please keep our community safe. Please leave peacefully.

To be clear, in no way do I support ICE. Nor can our Bend police force, because Oregon is a sanctuary state and it is illegal. I am very worried for everyone in our community, and especially our Latinx community, she added later.

Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel, a Democrat, described what happened as a stand-off and said he was impressed by the passion and empathy shown by our community.

Lawmakers, including Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, another Democrat, were trying to broker a resolution with DHS to no avail, he said on social media.

Hummel later said, Federal troops stormed the buses in full tactical gear. Unnecessary and outrageous. Never did I think I would see this in my country. #VOTE.

Hummel also emphasized that his office doesnt assist ICE with immigration enforcement.

Wolf said he was disappointed but not surprised that Oregon officials would advocate for criminals over the safety of their communities.

Just after midnight, the Bend Police Department said federal agents had left the area and that protesters appear to have dispersed peacefully.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents seek to arrest immigration fugitives, reentrants, and at-large criminal aliens during an operation in Atlanta, Ga., on Feb. 9, 2017. (Bryan Cox/U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement via Getty Images)

According to reporters on the scene, federal agents used pepper spray. It wasnt clear how many times they used it or for what reason.

The demonstration appeared to begin when Luke Richter, the president of a group called Central Oregon Peacekeepers, live-streamed on Facebook as he stepped in front of one of the buses. Soon, others began arriving.

Richter told KTVZ: If theyre going to take people from a sanctuary city, they need to have proper documentation of that. We have not seen any warrants for their arrest.

In a statement allegedly from relatives of the male detainees, the families said: We are simply trying to provide for our families but because of the color of our skin and our country of origin, that does not justify what is being done here today. False information is being put regarding their criminal records.

Before the officers took the detainees away, the Innovation Law Lab, which says it was founded to harness the power of technology, law, and activism all in a single organization to end the mass incarceration of children and mothers in secret jails and inhumane conditions, filed a lawsuit (pdf) in an attempt to block the movement of the men.

The federal government was violating constitutional rights in the way the detained the men, the group alleged.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Some early morning breaks in the overcast, otherwise cloudy. Morning high of 31F with temps falling to near 20. Winds NNW at 15 to 25 mph..

Tonight

Considerable clouds this evening. Some decrease in clouds late. Low 9F. Winds NNW at 15 to 25 mph.
LEHI, Utah, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- New U Life corporation has seen major growth in the last several months as it welcomes experienced, talented, and diverse executives to its team. This need comes from tremendous amounts of company success as it opens into international markets.

This year, the company announced Bruce Levitin as full-time President of New U Life. Bruce has years of leadership experience prior to joining the company. Previously, he spent 17 years with The Home Depot as a Vice President, Executive VP of Continental Sales and Marketing Inc., and as Senior VP of Operations and Supply Chain at Orchard Supply Hardware, a Lowes company. He's also held executive positions over companies like BTM Consulting and as a VP for 24-Hour Fitness.

Another recent addition is Ryan Linton, who will serve as the company's Chief Administrative Officer.

Before joining New U Life, Ryan was President of MVB Fintech, a publicly-traded financial institution with $2 billion in assets. He was also the VP of Revenue Operations at Zynga, where he helped lead one of the fastest companies to attain $1 billion in revenue. With his deep experience in international finance, operations, and technology, Linton's expertise will be valuable to opening doors in and outside of the direct sales environment and bringing the corporation to the next level of the global marketplace.

Two additional executives joined the New U Life team in March of this year. One is Vanessa Pierce, who serves as the company's Vice President of Legal and General Counsel.

Vanessa has 24 years of experience specializing in corporate and intellectual property law. As a registered patent attorney, she has expertise in negotiating and drafting various technology transfer, licensing, confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, and in procuring and enforcing all forms of intellectual property rights. Vanessa received her Juris Doctor from the University of Notre Dame Law School. She is a member of the California, Utah, and Washington State Bar Associations and registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Also joining the New U Life executive team in March was Matt Baros, Vice President of IT. With more than 25 years in the direct sales industry, Matt has helped build effective teams and ensured that technology is appropriately implemented and used to improve company profitability and efficiency. He's been instrumental in providing executive management, project leadership, directing international expansion, and IT consulting for large established direct sales companies and startups.

New U Life CEO and founder Alexy Goldstein welcomes these executives to the company's evolving team. He said:

"As our family grows and reaches new heights and crosses the oceans, our need for inside leadership increases. I am so proud to announce some critical additions that complete our initial VP positions round and open up our initial C level executive positions as well."

About New U Life

New U Life was founded to set a new standard in product innovation and quality while changing lives for the better. To learn more about New U Life, visit www.newulife.com.

SOURCE New U Life

Related Links

https://newulife.com/


Dr. Seven is running 20 production lines at full capacity to meet the needs of their domestic and international clients

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trades Domestic Market Department, Vietnamese medical equipment producers can ensure a monthly output of up to 1.2 billion face masks for export purposes.

The coronavirus outbreak is an ongoing, serious global pandemic which is increasing the market demand of face masks across the world. On the global face mask market, Vietnam is currently the fourth-largest mask producer, holding a 4.6 per cent market share, according to figures from the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan, just behind China, Germany, and the US, respectively.

However, after recent incidents relating to the quality of face masks produced in China which failed to meet the standards, specifications, and requirements set out by the US and Europe, many countries have suspended or rejected shipments of face masks from China. Vietnamese face masks are garnering confidence and gaining popularity in the international market.

The reasonably-priced Vietnamese masks are persuading the most fastidious clients from Europe and the US by virtue of their high quality, strictly controlled production process, and good epidemic control with a proven track record.

At Dr. Seven, we make it the highest priority to ensure optimal safety, health protection, and sustainability as we make each and every single face mask, said Ha Tran, the managing director of Dr. Seven JSC.

We are fully aware that this merchandise is directly associated with human well-being and is an essential front-line defence from viral infection. Our high-quality materials are either sourced locally or imported directly from South Korea and India, and are completely free of Chinese materials, Ha noted.

Dr. Sevens products  face masks, face coverings, and medical gowns  are all certified by popular national and CE (EU) and FDA (US) quality standards.

Dr. Sevens face masks achieve the highest American standards of viral infection prevention

The face masks are one of the most coveted commodities produced by Dr. Seven, and are designed to fit even better for the purpose of enhanced facial protection from harmful contaminants including virus-carrying airdrops.

This line of ASTM-rated medical face masks manufactured by Dr. Seven guarantees ultimate security for those wearers who are exposed to highly hazardous environments, since it passes the most stringent tests and is therefore labelled as a level-3 (highest performance standard) medical gear, which is typically known for maximum filtration effectiveness against potentially infectious penetrations.

Dr Sevens level-3 melt-blown four-fly face masks are comprised of a nano-silver layer marked with 99 per cent antibacterial efficiency and 98 per cent filtration rate.

Going full throttle to meet urgent market demand

With the current resurgence of COVID-19, the companys management has anticipated burgeoning market preferences for the line of protective gear and masks on a global scale, and thus decided to invest millions of US dollars to acquire more machinery and manufacturing equipment for their factories while enhancing their production lines and speeding up the recruitment process.

Dr. Seven is currently running all 20 of its production lines at full swing to meet the soaring demands and orders that arrive every day.

Dr. Seven is currently running all 20 of its production lines at full swing to meet the soaring demands and orders that arrive every day. The hard-working employees are also working at full capacity across two factories totalling about 70,000 square metres.

Export orders vary from a few thousand to tens of thousands of carton boxes, which are equivalent to millions of medical equipment items, says Dr. Sevens top executive, On a monthly basis, we can reach a maximum production output of 90 million items. We are confident in our ability to fulfil all the orders of our clients.

Dr. Seven provides disposable medical supplies at a consistent and reliable quality to protect the health of all consumers

In conjunction with the increasing demand for face masks worldwide, the company has actively expedited raw material procurement and mass storage in the face of recent pricing fluctuations in the market over the past few months.

At Dr. Seven, we do not consider medical protection equipment a temporary or short-term investment strategy during the pandemic. Instead, we view this industry as a long-term business commitment. We are fully accountable for everything we make, standing by our fully transparent return and compensation policy in case any losses are incurred from a faulty or inferior product.

A senior representative from the company said the era of dirt-cheap or pirated products is already over. Local businesses are now set to allure customers by means of a serious and unwavering commitment to reliability, and in doing so, building up customer trust.
Evidence of global warming is most vividly seen in the melting polar ice caps. Researchers recently discovered how greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide (CO2), have caused tropical forest soil to have warmer temperatures as well. Tropical soils store about 33% of the world's carbon.

Before people began burning fossil fuels and the atmosphere trapped increasing levels of carbon dioxide, the Earth had a balanced carbon cycle with flowed in and out of the soil. Dead leaves and wood naturally emitted gases and were canceled out by microorganisms that consume carbon for energy such as microalgae in oceans.

According to a new study in the journal Nature, human activity that caused and accelerated climate change significantly impacted this natural balance. Soils containing carbon 'is more sensitive to warming than previously recognized,' said Andrew Nottingham from the University of Edinburgh's School of Geosciences.





Soil Sensitivity

The slight increase of tropical forest soils emitting carbon dioxide now largely affects gas concentrations in the atmosphere which contributes to climate change. Tropical forest soils emit carbon up to ten times more than greenhouse gas emissions from human activity.

Even a 1% imbalance of more carbon being released than absorbed by soils equal to 10% of manmade carbon emissions, explained Eric Davidson from the University of Maryland. Even a slight increase in surface temperature is disastrous, noted the team.

As the globe warms up by 33 degrees Fahrenheit (one degree Celsius), the consequence can be severe heatwaves, storms, rising sea levels, and droughts. Increased temperatures on land have been about 35.6 degrees (two degrees Celcius).

Nottingham and his team of researchers measured the forest soils of Barro Colorado Island in Panama with heating rods. Trees and oceans have been absorbing about 50% of excess carbon emissions that are anthropogenic (manmade).

Theoretical calculations predict that global tropical soils will be as warm as 39 degrees Fahrenheit (four degrees Celcius) by 2100. That would amount up to 65 billion tons of atmospheric carbon.

Nottingham explains that in 80 years, carbon emissions would be six times more than they are today from anthropogenic activity. Their experiments have been going on for two years but the theoretical figures 'could be an underestimation,' he said.





Read Also: Study Finds 250 Mature Cherry Trees Can Absorb a Single Car's Carbon Emission





Effects of Global Warming

Several studies have shown how excess atmospheric carbon has caused algal blooms or rapid increase of microalgae growth which has caused an imbalance in the ocean's food chain. Forests are also showing signs of 'carbon dioxide fatigue' from human activity.

According to the Global Forest Watch, a total of about 14,500 square miles of trees were cleared in 2019. Davidson explained that their results add to the evidence that forest soils are 'carbon sinks' as global warming worsens. Carbon dioxide is also released into the atmosphere when trees are cut down, which has been getting worse as more land is cleared for agriculture and urban expansion.

On the upside, the team's result creates 'a potentially substantial positive feedback to climate change,' the authors wrote. Researchers can develop better ways to preserve forests, cut human activity that cause greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce the rate of global warming.





Read Also: Researchers Offer Solutions to Tackle Climate Change, Land Degradation, and Food Security
The global pharmaceutical blister packaging industry is projected to witness growth in the coming years; however, manufacturers will face various challenges. The pharmaceutical blister packaging market is highly competitive, and manufacturers are faced with the issue of developing primary packaging components that are compatible with certain chemical components in the drugs. These challenges have led to manufacturers suffering a significant setback in terms of losses and low return on investment. Infiniti's industry experts provide pharmaceutical blister packaging manufacturers with a subscription to our knowledge store and access to our team of industry analysts. This helps companies gain customized insights on-demand, and forecast opportunities and risks. To leverage our expertise in the pharmaceutical blister packaging market and gain access to critical market insight from our team of industry analysts, request a free proposal.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200813005092/en/

The Key Challenges in the Pharmaceutical Blister Packaging Market (Graphic: Business Wire)

"Although the global pharmaceutical blister packaging market is projected to witness growth over the coming years, pharmaceutical blister packaging manufacturers are experiencing a tragic setback in terms of losses faced and low return on investment. Owing to such challenges, pharmaceutical blister packaging manufacturers will need to find new ways to improve productivity while managing production costs," says a pharmaceutical blister packaging market expert at Infiniti Research.

Business Challenge:

Due to the high sensitivity of certain elements in drugs, a pharmaceutical blister packaging manufacturer based out of Luxembourg was facing challenges producing the compatible primary packaging components. This led to a decline in the sales rate, and an increase in customer churn. The client also sought to innovate to avoid falling behind the competition and combat the onslaught of counterfeiting in the pharmaceutical blister packaging market. Additionally, the client wanted to focus on strategies for expanding their business operations and become more conscious about clients' needs and preferences. Therefore, the client approached Infiniti's research experts to leverage their expertise in offering cloud-based subscription services, providing on-demand access to thousands of research studies, and providing on-demand access to thousands of research studies on new and emerging markets.

Our Approach:

Infiniti's research experts developed a comprehensive approach to assist the pharmaceutical blister packaging manufacturer. The approach included the following:

Recommending subscription to Infiniti's knowledge store and providing unlimited access to their large team of specialists

Conducting a competitive intelligence study and providing profiles of players developing blister packs for pharmaceutical companies.

Developing KPIs and evaluating information to provide recommendations to gain a competitive advantage

Validating information procured through open-ended discussions with industry experts

Gain a comprehensive understanding of access to our industry analysts by reading the complete article here.

Business Outcome:

With access to Infiniti's knowledge store, the pharmaceutical blister packaging client was able to take advantage of emerging opportunities. The client was also able to easily communicate with industry analysts for data updates and customized research information. The client was also able to focus on developing primary packaging components compatible with chemical components in drugs. The pharmaceutical blister packaging client signed new deals with leading pharmaceutical companies in Luxembourg, drive sales, and increase profits by 23%.

To further understand Infiniti's knowledge store and how it helps pharmaceutical blister packaging manufacturers drive sales, speak to our industry research experts.

About Infiniti Research

Established in 2003, Infiniti Research is a leading market intelligence company providing smart solutions to address your business challenges. Infiniti Research studies markets in more than 100 countries to help analyze competitive activity, see beyond market disruptions, and develop intelligent business strategies. To know more, visit: https://www.infinitiresearch.com/about-us

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200813005092/en/

Contacts:

Infiniti Research

Anirban Choudhury

Marketing Manager

US: +1 844 778 0600

UK: +44 203 893 3400

https://www.infinitiresearch.com/contact-us
PANAMA CITY A Haitian migrant who had been staying in a Panamanian government shelter has died of an undisclosed illness that authorities say was not COVID-19.

Panamas National Immigration Service said Wednesday that the woman had died in a hospital in the capital of an infectious disease that led to kidney failure. She had previously been at a migrant camp in La Peita, Darien province where migrants have complained of the conditions.

The announcement came the same day that a judge ordered eight Haitian migrants to remain in jail pending trial on charges they set fire to a tent housing medical supplies at a shelter in remote Darien province near the border with Colombia. Four other migrants facing charges were released and required to check in with authorities twice a week.

They face the possiblility of deportation to Haiti.

Frustrations have been growing for migrants have been stuck in Panama for months by pandemic-casused border closures. The migrants want to be allowed to continue travelling north and have complained about overcrowding and poor conditions in the camps.

There are nearly 2,000 migrants at government-run camps in Darien and additional concentrations of migrants near the border with Costa Rica. The government has defended its treatment of the migrants.

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
Huawei now became the second-largest smartphone brand in the world. The company achieved this feat even though it was caught in the tussle between the US and China. However, Huawei is also making significant developments in the automotive industry by developing lidar products.

According to KrASIA, Huawei is currently working on low-cost lidar-based products for autonomous vehicles. Apart from making the products cost-effective, the company is aiming to improve the performance. In June last year, the company also announced to spend over 12.5 billion over the next five years on self-driving and electric cars.

Huawei aims to launch lidar products under $100

During the 12th Automotive Blue Book Forum opening in Wuhan, Wang Jun, head of the smart auto division at Huawei, said the company is planning to launch lidar products under $100 in the future. Currently, the lidar products available in the market cost around $500 on average.

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Huawei will be using its expertise in the telecommunications sector to offer better auto products for the car manufacturers. Obviously, there is no elaborate explanation of how this works. Many companies are now opting for lidar sensors in their autonomous cars.

The lidar sensor fires beams of laser light to measure the range between the source and object. According to Wang Jun, the advancements in 5G technology will help in bringing the cost of the sensors down. Huawei already had an R&D center in Wuhan with more than 10,000 employees.

It already offers autonomous driving solutions to car manufacturers

The company will soon launch the 100-channel and 200-channel lidar products at a lower price than the competition. However, it is not planning to launch its own autonomous car. Huawei is also developing innovative solutions to develop and produce cars much faster.

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Huawei also developed the Level 4 full-stack intelligent driving solution in September last year. The Level 4 solution is just one step away from Level 5 which brings in full automation. The company will offer these autonomous driving solutions for car manufacturers.

It also announced partnerships with several companies including Audi, BYD, and GAC Group. With the lidar sensors, this will be the first time Huawei coming up with a hardware product in the auto industry. With the US sanctions, the company lacks the access to technology and other facilities from the US-based companies.

The flagship Huawei smartphones with NFC support can also work as a key to lock/unlock the cars. This works the same way as Apples Car Key feature announced earlier this year.
- The Palace revealed the timeline for Russias COVID-19 vaccine and its arrival in the Philippines

- Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that Russia is just starting its Phase 3 clinical trials

- He mentioned that the clinical trials could last until March 2021 and it could be registered in the FDA by April 2021

- However, there is still a possibility for a COVID-free Christmas in the Philippines because there are other candidates for the vaccine

PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed

The Palace has revealed the timeline of Russias COVID-19 vaccine and the earliest date that President Rodrigo Duterte could have it.

KAMI learned that Russia will just be starting Phase 3 of Sputnik V vaccine in the Philippines by October.

Photo from Getty Images

Source: Getty Images

In a Facebook post by Philippine Star, the Vaccine Expert Panel will review the results of Phase 1 and 2 of the clinical trials by September 2020.

Meanwhile, by October 2020 to March 2021, Phase 3 in the Philippines will happen. The clinical trials will be funded by Russia.

Roque said that the vaccine will only be registered to the Food and Drug Administration by April 2021.

Therefore, the earliest time that President Rodrigo Duterte could get a shot of the vaccine will be on May 1, 2021.

PALACE ON COVID-FREE CHRISTMAS

The Palace was asked if it still possible for the Philippines to have a COVID-free Christmas as President Duterte hoped for. Roque said that there is still a possibility because there are other vaccines that are in its third phase already.

Sabihin na lang natin na ito naman pong Gamaleya vaccine is only one. Marami na pong vaccine na nasa third phase na of clinical trials, he said.

So baka mayroon naman pong mauna pa. Dahil ito pong Gamaleya, sisimulan pa lang ang third phase, he added.

On Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia registered the first COVID-19 vaccine in the world. He mentioned that his own daughter received a shot of the vaccine.

However, some medical experts are worried about the said vaccine. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said that it needs further study to ensure its safety.

Earlier, President Rodrigo Duterte said that he is volunteering to receive the first vaccine shot in the Philippines after he accepted the offer of Russia for its clinical trials.

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Source: KAMI.com.gh
French President Emmanuel Macron visits the devastated site of the explosion at the port of Beirut

By Michel Rose and Tom Perry

PARIS/BEIRUT (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron is pushing Lebanon's political leaders to install an interim technocratic government able to enact reforms, win back public confidence and persuade donors to release billions of dollars in aid.

A French diplomatic source said Macron delivered his message to Lebanon's political parties on a visit to Beirut two days after the Aug. 4 port explosion that destroyed whole neighbourhoods, killed 172 people and made 250,000 homeless.

The Lebanese government has since resigned amid angry street protests, though it continues in caretaker mode until a new administration is formed. Three Lebanese political sources said Macron, who was surrounded by crowds as he toured Beirut, was at the centre of international efforts to resolve the crisis.

"There would be a first government whose mission would be to carry out urgent reforms," said the French diplomatic source familiar with Macron's thinking. "A government of technocrats, if you will, that can pass the reforms, manage emergency aid and respond to the aspirations of Beirut's people."

Macron wants to use Lebanon's desperate need for international reconstruction aid as leverage to persuade its factions to choose a new administration led by individuals untainted by corruption and backed by foreign donors.

The outgoing government comprised mostly technocrat ministers but these were nominated by sectarian leaders who exerted influence on them and obstructed reforms. Politicians fear reforms would end their system of patronage.

The cost of rebuilding Beirut is estimated at up to $30 billion, money Lebanon does not have. "More than anywhere else, time is money in Lebanon," a French finance ministry source said, referring to the pressure on factions to access aid.

That potentially gives donors huge influence, though attempts to use that to shape a new leadership faces big challenges.

Story continues

The sectarian factions that dominate Lebanese politics through a power-sharing system are reluctant to give up control. They hold sway over the main sectarian groups, including Christians, Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims and Druze.

In Beirut, Macron stood amid rubble and hugged distraught Lebanese, vowing not to let future aid fall into corrupt hands.

Though emergency relief has poured in, he said longer-term financial aid for the shattered economy, already on its knees before the blast, would require reform. As a last resort to spur action, he also raised the prospect of sanctions.

"Since he came here, Macron is acting as if he is president of Lebanon now," said one senior Lebanese political source, adding that Macron was personally making calls to Lebanon's rival parties as well as other foreign powers.

"Which is not bad because there is nobody today to play this role internally. Nobody trusts anyone."

"STILL FAR AWAY"

Protesters have demanded not only the removal of the political elite but also an overhaul of the power-sharing system, which many see as fuelling decades of cronyism.

A second Lebanese political source said his party was open to supporting a deal that allowed Lebanon to benefit from the renewed international momentum created by the French initiative.

But the source cautioned the process of forming a government would be slow: "We are nowhere near the formation of a government, or discussing it in detail. We're still far away."

A Lebanese government source said Macron wanted two-time former prime minister Saad Hariri to head a government of technocrats. But President Michel Aoun and the country's Christian parties opposed the proposal, the source added.

Macron wants broad international support for his mediation.

He has already spoken to the leaders of Russia and Iran, his office said. Iran has close ties to a powerful Lebanese faction, armed Shi'ite group Hezbollah, which is also allied with Russian forces in Syria where they back President Bashar al-Assad.

Hezbollah had influence over the former Lebanese government which did not include parties opposed to Hezbollah and Iran.

U.S. support will be critical, both at a geopolitical level and within the International Monetary Fund. Lebanon entered talks with the IMF in May after defaulting on foreign currency debt, but the negotiations stalled in the absence of reforms.

"It is important to be sure that everyone is on board, because if the Americans are not on board and they want to screw up the process, they can," the first political source said.

The No. 3 U.S. diplomat, David Hale, who visits Lebanon this week, appeared to push in the same direction as Macron, underscoring America's willingness to support any government that is "genuinely committed" to reforms. [nL1N2FF0Z8]

Even before the port blast, France was leading diplomatic efforts to persuade Lebanon to push through reforms and secure foreign aid needed to offset a financial meltdown.

Two years ago, Macron organised a donors' conference where $11 billion was pledged for infrastructure investment, but the money hinged on reforms which were promised but not delivered.

If Lebanon's factions won't finally bend to donors' demands, French lawmaker Loic Kervran, who chairs the France-Lebanon committee, said sanctions could include asset freezes or travel bans on the elite, some of whom own upmarket property in Paris.

"Lebanese politicians travel a lot, and they travel a lot to Paris," Kervran said. "It's an important pressure tool."

(Additional reporting by Samia Nakhoul, Ellen Francis in Beirut; Editing by Richard Lough and Mark Bendeich)
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Maharashtra government told the Supreme Court on Thursday that registration of the FIR lodged in Patna in actor Sushant Singh Rajput's case was politically motivated and due to extraneous reasons.

The state government told the top court that Bihar Police cannot register FIR in the case and carry out any investigation on the ground of alleged "inaction or illegal" action of the Mumbai Police.

"The newspaper reports produced on record state that the Bihar Police were hesitating for registration of the FIR but the Chief Minister of Bihar and another minister had persuaded them to register it.

Thus, it is submitted that the registration of the FIR at Rajeev Nagar Police Station, Patna, Bihar, was politically motivated and due to extraneous reasons," the state government told the top court.

The Maharashtra government filed its written submissions in the top court on actress Rhea Chakraborty's plea seeking transfer of the FIR to Mumbai.

Rajput, 34, was found hanging from the ceiling of his apartment in suburban Bandra in Mumbai on June 14 and since then Mumbai Police has been probing the case.

The Maharashtra government said the territorial jurisdiction of a court with regard to the criminal offence would be decided principally on the basis of place of occurrence of the incident and not on the basis where the FIR is registered.

"The provisions in the CrPC governing the field emanate from the doctrine that all crimes are local. Investigation into a crime, the witnesses who are to be examined for the purposes of proving the commission thereof and other relevant factors, which are required to be taken for consideration thereof lead to the aforementioned inference," the state government said.

It said that all the alleged offences are committed within the local limits of Mumbai, and at the time of registration of the FIR it was apparent that the crimes were committed outside the jurisdiction of Bihar and therefore it was mandatory to register a Zero FIR and transfer it to Maharashtra.

The Maharashtra government told the apex court that police are investigating to ascertain the cause of death of the deceased and to ascertain whether he had died under circumstances raising a reasonable suspicion that some other person has committed an offence.

Earlier in the day, Bihar government told the Supreme Court that Maharashtra Police neither registered an FIR on actor Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide nor did it extend any support to Patna Police for investigating the case on "account of political pressure".

The FIR in Patna has been registered against Chakraborty and others for alleged offences under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 306 (abetment of suicide), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 380 (theft in dwelling house), 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust) and 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property).
The BGL report examines the various markets within Pharma Services, a fragmented industry that is increasingly moving towards integrated, single-source solutions as drug sponsors look to cut time and cost from bringing drugs to market. The report also features a roundtable spotlight on CGT, a novel field that is seeing rapid growth and affording opportunities for outsourcing providers. Executives share insights on developing trends and future investment in the CGT market.

Sponsor challenges in CGT are translating into opportunities for outsourcing providers, according to Michael Khavinson, chief executive officer of Azzur Group and a participant in the report, "Providers of services and solutions that result in bringing the manufacturing closer to the patient; accelerating the start-up, manufacturing, or delivery process; or facilitate faster turnaround between batches have an opportunity to help." Khavinson anticipates the CGT sector will see M&A activity accelerate over the next few years, adding, "M&As will see an uptick due to the large number of start-ups in the CGT space in the last few years. Several products in development in the CGT space are partnerships between companies, some of which will likely result in M&As."

Vendor consolidation and outsourcing of content from drug sponsors is driving M&A across the Pharma Services supply chain, leading participants to seek acquisitions to build capabilities and serve as end-to-end solutions providers, with biologics (CGT) among the targeted growth areas. PPD, Charles River, Catalent, Recipharm, and Thermo Fisher Scientific have been among some of the industry's most active consolidators. Catalent, a leading publicly-traded contract manufacturing and development organization (CDMO), is accelerating growth in biologics through acquisitions (Paragon Bioservices, MaSTherCell Global), more than doubling its portfolio since 2014. The company has targeted more than 50 percent of revenue by 2024up from 27 percent in 2020.

Private equity groups are attracted to the sector's growth profile and fragmentation, emerging as buyers in several high-profile transactions such as Cambrex (Permira Advisers), Parexel (Pamplona Capital Management), and AMRI (The Carlyle Group and GTCR). Sponsors have been parties to corporate carve-outs, such as Altaris Capital Partners (3M Drug Delivery Systems, n/k/a as Kindeva Drug Delivery) and H.I.G. Capital (BioVectra) in the CDMO space and Arsenal Capital Partners (Healthcare Packaging Business of Clariant AG, n/k/a as Airnov Healthcare Packaging) in Packaging, each announcing the formation of new growth platforms in Pharma Services over the last six months.

About Brown Gibbons Lang & Company



Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL) is a leading independent investment bank and financial advisory firm focused on the global middle market. The firm advises private and public corporations and private equity groups on mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, capital markets, financial restructurings, valuations and opinions, and other strategic matters. BGL has investment banking offices in Chicago, Cleveland, and Philadelphia, and real estate offices in Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, and San Antonio. The firm is also a founding member of Global M&A Partners, enabling BGL to service clients in more than 30 countries around the world. Securities transactions are conducted through Brown, Gibbons, Lang & Company Securities, Inc., an affiliate of Brown Gibbons Lang & Company LLC and a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC. For more information, please visit www.bglco.com.

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LAUSD Owes Black Students and Families More

The tragic deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, George Floyd, and others have illuminated, yet again, the realities of systemic violence Black Americans have faced for centuries and continue to encounter daily. Much of the current attention is focused on law enforcement. But our public education system has its own racialized history of oppression.

Right now, there are 50,000 Black students in LAUSD, a little over 8% of the total student body. The data on educational outcomes for these students tells a sad tale of systemic neglect and disenfranchisement. Last year, only 20% of Black students in L.A. were on grade level. Three in 10 met the state standards in math. Both figures lag far behind the rest of the district.

And Black students are well aware that the system is stacked against them. According to a recent district survey, over half of Black high schoolers in South L.A. said they did not feel that students are treated fairly. Their experiences are supported by research; 2017 state data shows that Black students were suspended at four times the rate of their White peers.

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These numbers should be shocking. But they are in line with years of citywide data to which we have become numb. For instance, in 2014, the first year California started using new standards, 25% of Black students in L.A. Unified read at grade level, while 15% of Black students met California math standards.

How do we as a community confront the ongoing harm imposed upon Black children and teens through our education system? How can we build a future in which every Black student can reach his or her fullest potential, especially in the midst of a pandemic where so many students have lost important learning time because of limited access to high speed internet and the while also grappling with inadequate access to technology?

We should look first at the pockets of success within LAUSD. Those achievements can help guide the District forward.

At Baldwin Hills Elementary School, the student body is nearly 80% African American, and in 2015 the school staff, led by their principal, Letitia Johnson-Davis, made a commitment to creating a curriculum that was tailored to ensuring Black students succeed. This meant revamping their history lessons and using poetry to teach English. As a result, student scores in English went up 62% between 2016 and 2018 while math scores increased by 27%.

A similar, intentional approach in South L.A. has also shown promising results.

This year, Innovate Public Schools published a report on Black student achievement within LAUSD that illuminated the on-going disparities in the quality of instruction provided to Black students. Additionally, Innovate parent leaders brought their demands for higher quality instruction directly to LAUSD, which resulted in District officials starting a 10 week pilot program designed to help Black elementary students improve in math. Many parents whose children participated said they felt like their concerns were being addressed by the instructors.

Prior to their participation in the pilot parents had been told their children would not listen to teachers, had difficulty learning the material or didnt like going to class. But during the pilot, their children were engaged and those issues were no longer raised.

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The results of this small pilot show the promise of what can happen if Black children receive instruction that honors their brilliance and ability. The program flew under the radar, in part because it concluded shortly before stay-at-home orders were issued, but LAUSD could expand the pilot and use its structure as a way to engage students in the near future.

We cannot let the momentum gained in schools like Baldwin Hills Elementary School or in the South L.A. pilot program fade away during the pandemic. As a city, we must continue to craft and fund strategies that center on the success of Black students.

The LAUSD School Board recently voted to cut the districts school police budget by $25 million and to use that funding to support African American student achievement. This reallocation is only the beginning of what we should do for our Black students and families. Our goal as a city should not be to simply support Black students, but to obliterate the achievement gap. This will take funding and political will.

The school board took the right first step. Its up to all of us to ensure its not the last. In the short term, it is paramount that LAUSD articulates how it will specifically support Black student learning during this pandemic. Then in alignment with those supports, it must implement effective distance learning. Our city and the 50,000 Black students in L.A. Unified deserve nothing less.

Ponce is the Executive Director of Great Public Schools Now. Lawson is President and CEO of the Los Angeles Urban League.
Japanese bluefin tuna fishery now certified as sustainable

August 13,2020 | Source: MSC

A Japanese longline bluefin tuna fishery, Usufuku Honten Co. Ltd, has formally become the first in the world to achieve certification to the Marine Stewardship Councils (MSC) global standard for sustainable fishing, and is the seventh MSC certified fishery based in Japan.



Usufuku Honten Co. Ltd has been independently assessed to the MSC Fisheries Standard, a science based sustainability standard for wild-caught fish which is set by the MSC in collaboration with marine scientists and the fishing industry.



The family-owned business wanted to aim for MSC certification as a way to involve other fisheries in the Kesennuma, Miyagi prefecture in rebuilding a more rigorous fishing management system locally after it was badly damaged in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.



Usufuku Honten Co. Ltd sought MSC certification both to get recognition for sustainable fishing and because the assessment includes checks that show it does not have illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, setting their business apart from others in the industry.



The fishery uses tamperproof e-tags with unique serial numbers which are attached to each bluefin tuna, making them fully traceable. Daily catch is verified via electronic records sent from the boat to the Japan Fishery Agency as well as ICCAT, the regional fisheries management agency that manages all Atlantic tunas.



Certification of a small fleet within a fishery can leverage much bigger changes. Usufuku Hontens certification is supported by the Japan Fisheries Agency - a government body which will help to make wider improvements to the management of bluefin tuna stocks.



Mr. Sotaro Usui, president of Usufuku Honten, said:



We are extremely proud to be the first MSC certified longline bluefin tuna fishery in the world. It means our long-time efforts on bluefin tuna stock management is recognized following the rigorous assessment. Eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna whose stock used to be in decline has been recovering thanks to compliance of strict stock management. We aim to contribute to expanding sustainable fisheries by providing our traceable fishes. Weve committed to raising awareness and understanding of fishery resources and leaving a legacy of Japanese traditional fishing and healthy bluefin tuna stocks for future generations to enjoy.



Kozo Ishii, MSC programme director Japan, said:



I extend my congratulations to the Usufuku Honten fishery, as it has made strong efforts to work towards sustainability. Since this is the first bluefin tuna certificate in the world, there was rigorous stakeholder engagement during the independent assessment process. The science-based, strict assessment considered and responded to those comments and underwent further rigour following an independent objections process. I hope the certificate will encourage more people to check the tuna they eat is sustainable.



In addition to pursuing sustainable tuna fishing, CEO of Usufuku Honten, Mr Sotaro Usui, is a representative of an organization that promotes locally caught fish in schools catering. The programme, set up by Japans Reconstruction Agency, aims to raise interest among school children in the local fishing industry. Its activities include cooking classes for parents and children and visits to the tuna fishing ships in Japan and overseas.

Theme(s): Others.
Apart from navigating the bank through the Covid crisis, Jagdishan may also have to deal with the latest development on the auto loan lending practice scam.

He will be expected to deliver consistent profit growth of 20 per cent-plus quarter after quarter, irrespective of the operating environment.

Sashidhar Jagdishan joined HDFC Bank in February 1996 as manager of finance at the young age of 31, surprising his wife.

Jagdishan had an offer to join the investment banking division of Deutsche Bank in Singapore and had no clear idea about HDFC Bank - whether it was a public or a private institution, or how much stake parent HDFC held in the bank.

It wasnt money or the organisation or the pride of working for a domestic firm but the thought of leading a team that was the most exciting part, he told senior journalist Tamal Bandyopadhyay for his book on HDFC Bank, A Bank for the Buck.

Bandyopadhyay credits Jagdishan and Neeraj Swaroop, who later became the chief of Standard Chartereds India operation, as the two who played stellar roles in the making of the bank even as they were not part of the founding team.

Sashi, as he is called in the bank, went on to become the second chief financial officer (CFO) of HDFC Bank, and will take over as its managing director and chief executive officer (MD & CEO) on October 27, succeeding Aditya Puri at the leading private sector lender.

He will have big boots to fill, no doubt, and will be expected to deliver consistent profit growth of 20 per cent-plus quarter after quarter, irrespective of the operating environment.

But then Jagdishan has a certain ruthlessness when it comes to cost.

Soon after taking over the banks financial control unit, he got rid of paper cups for coffee across branches and saved Rs 50 lakh.

While that may not be a big sum for a lender like HDFC Bank, it gives an idea on the minute detailing Jagdishan goes into.

Bandyopadhyays book also mentions an episode where an employee had to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his calculator before Jagdishan allowed him to buy a new one.

Apart from such printed snippets, little is known about Jagdishan.

He maintained a low profile and let Puri and Paresh Sukthankar be the public face of the bank.

It was widely believed that Sukthankar would succeed Puri.

But in 2014, the Reserve Bank of India raised the age limit of private bank CEOs to 70 and Puri got another five years.

Sukthanakar, then deputy MD, left the bank in August 2018.

The successors post was left open and three names were shortlisted and sent to the RBI: Sashidhar Jagdishan, executive director Kaizad Bharucha and Sunil Garg, CEO of Citi Commercial Bank at Citigroup.

It is understood that Puri strongly preferred Jagdishan, appointing him as a change agent in August 2019.

This choice of candidature was perhaps not agreeable to HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh, who preferred an external candidate in the absence of Sukthankar.

Their differences on the issue became public though the bank remained tightlipped about it.

Jagdishan currently heads the banks finance, human resources, legal and secretarial, administration, infrastructure, corporate communications, corporate social responsibility and the strategic change agent departments.

Apart from navigating the bank through the Covid crisis, Jagdishan may also have to deal with the latest development on the auto loan lending practice scam.

In all likelihood, the issue may continue to simmer beyond October.

The bank is also witnessing senior manager exits, and as with every new CEO appointment, there could be more exits going forward.

How Jagdishan manages those and the image of the bank as a consistent performer and a darling of investors, both local and foreign, is to be seen.

For now, it seems investors are jubilant. The banks stock jumped five per cent on the news.

What we hear from many employees is that Sashi is a hard taskmaster and what is essential is to ensure the stellar execution track record that HDFC Bank has built over the years.

"Also, in our marketing with investors across the globe, Sashi was their preferred choice, wrote Macquarie Capital Securities in its flash note.

In an uncertain environment like this, we believe an internal candidate who is in sync with the outgoing CEO Mr Puri is the right choice.

"Sashi comes with a very diverse experience having handled multiple functions in the bank and hence we believe he is the appropriate choice, said Macquarie.
Antibiotic resistance is an increasing health problem, but new research suggests it is not only caused by the overuse of antibiotics. It's also caused by pollution.

Using a process known as genomic analysis, University of Georgia scientists found a strong correlation between antibiotic resistance and heavy metal contamination in an environment.

Jesse C. Thomas IV, an alumnus of the College of Public Health and the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, found commonalities in soils contaminated with heavy metals on the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River Site near Aiken, South Carolina.

According to the study, published in the July issue of the journal Microbial Biotechnology, soils with heavy metals had a higher level of specific bacterial hosts that were accompanied by antibiotic-resistant genes.

Hosts included Acidobacteriaoceae, Bradyrhizobium and Streptomyces. The bacteria had antibiotic-resistant genes, known as ARGs, for vancomycin, bacitracin and polymyxin. All three drugs are used to treat infections in humans.

The bacteria also had an ARG for multidrug resistance, a strong defense gene that can resist heavy metals as well as antibiotics, according to Thomas, who was conducting his doctoral research at the time.

When these ARGs were present in the soil, metal-resistant genes, or MRGs, were present for several metals including arsenic, copper, cadmium and zinc.

Thomas, currently a biologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said microorganisms develop new strategies and countermeasures over time to protect themselves.

The overuse of antibiotics in the environment adds additional selection pressure on microorganisms that accelerates their ability to resist multiple classes of antibiotics. But antibiotics aren't the only source of selection pressure. Many bacteria possess genes that simultaneously work on multiple compounds that would be toxic to the cell, and this includes metals." Jesse C. Thomas IV, an alumnus of the College of Public Health and the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory

Travis Glenn, professor in the public health college, advised Thomas during the study. He said more research needs to be done to determine if metal-resistant genes respond in the same way to bacteria as antibiotic-resistant genes.

Unlike antibiotics, heavy metals don't degrade in the environment so "they can exert long-standing pressure," according to Glenn, who also directs the Institute of Bioinformatics.

The study reports previous research identified antibiotic-resistance in heavy metal-contaminated streams on the site by examining water samples in the lab.

"When you expose the sample to a drug on a petri dish or assay, it only represents a fraction. This doesn't give you a complete picture. With genomic analysis we were able to get much further," Thomas said.

The significance of the research is they can start to characterize bacterial communities and specific ARG and MRG genes in the environment, Glenn said.

It is clear that there are several human pathogens that develop antibiotic resistance -- overuse is not the only cause, according to Thomas. Human activities like agriculture and the combustion of fossil fuels play a role.

"We need a better understanding of how bacteria are evolving over time," he said. "This can impact our drinking water and our food and eventually our health."
Actor Rhea Chakraborty told the Supreme Court on Thursday that she has no objection if it transfers the investigation into the death of her boyfriend and fellow actor Sushant Singh Rajput to the Central Bureau of Investigation in exercise of its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution.

However, such transfer at the behest of Bihar police is wholly without jurisdiction, she maintained in her written submissions filed before the top court. Article 142 is a special power vested in the Supreme Court empowering it to pass orders to do complete justice in a case before it.

The petitioner (Rhea Chakraborty) has no objection if the transfer of investigation to CBI is done in exercise of powers conferred upon this court (Supreme Court) under Article 142 of the Constitution of India. Otherwise, the present transfer from Bihar Police to CBI as is done is totally without jurisdiction and contrary to law, she said in her submissions.

On August 11, the Supreme Court had reserved its verdict in Chakrabortys plea seeking transfer of the case registered against her in connection with Rajputs death, from Patna to Mumbai.

Rajput was found dead in his apartment in Mumbais Bandra on June 14. The Mumbai Police found the cause of death as asphyxia due to hanging, and filed an accidental death report (ADR) but is yet to register an FIR in relation to the incident.

Rajputs father, KK Singh approached the Bihar police on July 25 accusing Rhea for abetting his sons suicide. Chakraborty was in a live-in relationship with Rajput for a year till she shifted to her house on June 8.

Patna police registered an FIR on July 25 based on Singhs complaint for offences relating to abetment of suicide, cheating and criminal intimidation.

Chakraborty moved the top court on July 29 challenging the jurisdiction of the Bihar police in the matter saying that the alleged crime took place in Mumbai and power to look into the matter is with Mumbai police.

Meanwhile, CBI took over the probe on August 5 based on a request by the Bihar police.

FIR was registered by Bihar police based on an incident which has no connection with Patna. I have apprehension of bias and fear that state interference led to Bihar police registering a case. Patna police has absolutely no jurisdiction to register a case. This case is being used for political gains, senior counsel Shyam Divan submitted on behalf of Chakraborty during the hearing on August 11.

The court, while reserving its verdict, had given parties liberty to submit written submissions by Thursday.

Chakraborty, in her written submissions, continued to maintain that Bihar police has no powers to investigate the matter and the transfer of the case to CBI by Bihar police is in violation of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act (DSPE Act).

As per Section 6 of DSPE Act, consent of state government is necessary for CBI to exercise powers and jurisdiction in a case and the proper state government in this case is the Maharashtra government, she submitted.

Thus, the consent by the State of Bihar under Section 6 is bad in law and was given merely to render the present Petition infructuous (pointless), she submitted.

The Bihar government has consistently opposed Chakrabortys plea stating that it was acting well within its powers because the Mumbai police had not registered any FIR or conducted any probe into the matter.

There is a complete lapse of investigation on part of Mumbai police. Bihars FIR is the only FIR in the matter. Allegation is against political class in Maharashtra which has stopped even registering of FIR, the Bihar government maintained.

The CBI and Rajputs father had also supported the Bihar governments stance which the Maharashtra government strongly contested stating that the incident happened in Mumbai and jurisdiction to probe the matter is with the Mumbai police.

Senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the Maharashtra government, had contended on August 11 that allowing Bihar police to probe an incident which happened in Mumbai will be in the teeth of principles of federalism as per which law and order falls within the domain of a state where the cause of action arose.

Murder of the CrPc is being attempted in this case where jurisdiction is a casualty. If this is allowed, it will be a fundamental assault on federalism. I have not seen so much sensationalism attached to a transfer petition. And in that, truth and law have become casualties, Singhvi argued.
PhonePe, Indias leading digital payments platform has announced its new campaign Unstoppable India featuring Aamir Khan. The film which pays an ode to the spirit of India, that hasnt skipped a beat, even in these unprecedented times has been conceptualised and created by Leo Burnett India. PhonePes ambassador Aamir Khan has featured and lent his voice to the campaign.

Taking the brands philosophy of Karte Ja, Badhte Ja further, The Unstoppable India campaign reflects on how India has persevered through the unexpected pandemic and even in these tough times, Indians have found ways to cope successfully. From kids to the older generation, were all successfully navigating this new normal. And PhonePe is proud to have contributed in helping India forge forward with its array of digital payment services.

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The film captures the indomitable human spirit of survival and the unstoppable determination with which the country is collectively rebooting to a new normal. People from all walks of life are embracing the norms of social distancing and sanitizing but not letting it get in the way of their progress. The campaign features one master film and 5 micro films and has been released on digital platforms.

Speaking about the campaign, Rajdeepak Das, Managing Director - India & Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett South Asia said PhonePe has always prided itself as a catalyst fuelling progress in the new India. While the pandemic created an unpredictable crisis, it also saw the steadfast Indian spirit of resilience. India is unstoppable. And as a brand PhonePe has been a cornerstone in helping India be unstoppable, at a time like this. With its myriad services, PhonePe is fuelling Indias road to recovery and progress one digital transaction at a time - Karte Ja, Bhadthe Ja. This campaign reflects the triumph of the human spirit and is a true HumanKind example of how technology can help bridge the gap with progress.

Richa Sharma, Director - Brand Marketing, PhonePe said "We Indians have always possessed and demonstrated incredible resilience in the toughest of situations. Our response to the COVID-19 pandemic is symbolic of it. We've witnessed everyone - from small villages to large metros, striving to keep moving forward in the 'new normal' with caution. We are humbled that they've chosen our platform as a trusted partner to their billion-plus aspirations. This campaign is a tribute to the indomitable spirit of the people of India and reflects everyday stories of progress with PhonePes varied offerings.

Campaign Credits:

Creative Agency: Leo Burnett

MD  India & CCO  South Asia, Leo Burnett: Rajdeepak Das

MD  India & CSO  South Asia, Leo Burnett: Dheeraj Sinha

National Creative Directors: Sachin Kamble, Prajato Guha Thakurta

Associate Executive Creative Director: Archit Gadiyar

Senior Creative Director: Vinit Sanghvi

Creative team: Shivani Gairola, Sayan Sengupta, Suyashi Mathur and Ashwini Kerkar

Executive Vice President: Maninder Bali

Vice President: Pooja Rawat

Brand Director: Mukul Dhavan

Brand Associate: Shreyash Goenka

Vice President Planning: Pooja Rawat

Brand Strategy Associate: Sneha Sadani

Production House: Offroad Films

Director: Akanksha Seda

Executive Producer: Khalil Bachooali

Producer: Madhuri Joshi

Music: Sameer Uddin

Client: PhonePe

Director, Brand Marketing: Richa Sharma

Head, Brand Storytelling: Luckee Ssaeni

Creative Partner, Brand Storytelling: Madhavi Varanasi
Exceptional young people can now submit entries for the 2021 Commonwealth youth awards to win prestigious titles and cash grants.

The awards recognise and reward young people whose work has made a major impact on people and communities in their country.

Young leaders from across the 54 Commonwealth countries can enter five regional categories:

Africa;

Asia;

Caribbean;

Europe and Canada; and

Pacific.

DSC01989 - article.jpg

A Pan-Commonwealth panel will judge the entries based on the impact, sustainability and level of innovation.

Winners

Judges will choose 20 finalists who will each receive a trophy, a certificate and 1,000 in cash.

Of the 20, five regional winners will be chosen and awarded an additional 2,000.

The finalists and regional winners will be announced during Commonwealth week in March 2021.

There will be an overall winner who will receive the title of Commonwealth Young Person of the Year 2021, and a total cash prize of 5,000.

This year's award includes special recognition for young people who have made outstanding efforts to tackle development challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said: The COVID-19 pandemic has severely upended the lives and prospects of our young people. It has created an unprecedented health challenge, unavoidable disruption to work, training and education, and a future full of uncertainty.

Without a strong, global response, young people could be staring down the barrel of decades of poverty, unemployment alongside the social upheaval that comes with economic setbacks.

But despite these challenges, we are seeing a youth population that is ahead of the curve, harnessing their talent, passion and ingenuity to turn adversity into advantage.

To recognise their contributions in these turbulent times, the Commonwealth Youth Awards will give young people a global platform to showcase their ideas, solutions and technologies. It will highlight the powerful and positive impact they are making in their communities, countries and across the globe.

To be eligible, you must:

be a Commonwealth citizen aged 15 to 29 years;

have been engaged in development work for at least 12 months as a professional or volunteer; and

show a strong track record of implementing impactful development work and contribute to one of the 17 sustainable development goals.

Entries must be received by 23:59 on 21 October 2020.

The awards were launched today at a Commonwealth Action Series webinar to mark International Youth Day.

Send in your entry for the 2020 Commonwealth Youth Awards

The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 54 independent and equal sovereign states. Our combined population is 2.4 billion, of which more than 60 per cent is aged 29 or under.

The Commonwealth spans the globe and includes both advanced economies and developing countries. Thirty-two of our members are small states, many of which are island nations.

The Commonwealth Secretariat supports member countries to build democratic and inclusive institutions, strengthen governance and promote justice and human rights. Our work helps to grow economies and boost trade, deliver national resilience, empower young people, and address threats such as climate change, debt and inequality.

Member countries are supported by a network of more than 80 intergovernmental, civil society, cultural and professional organisations.
By Donald Kirk





If "truth is the first casualty," newsrooms around the world are piled high with the wounded, the dying and the dead. The whole concept of a truthful, free and objective press has always been more myth than reality, a goal held up by politicians and journalists alike but never remotely realized. What's true to one bunch is fake news to another. The line between truth and falsehood wavers every day in Washington while President Donald Trump accuses his worst enemies in the media of purveying lies, and they fire off editorial barrages that sometimes make their opinion pages look like propaganda sheets concocted by the very dictatorships they so abhor.







That brings us to Hong Kong, once a fairly free-wheeling quasi-independent entity known for at least an appearance of free speech, including a free press. Not content with having staved off mobs of protesters last year, Chinese authorities have just arrested the media mogul whose carping and criticism was obviously right on target. Jimmy Lai, his two sons and staff members of Apple Daily were last seen in handcuffs led out of the paper's newsroom. All were wearing face masks so it was impossible to detect the sneers and grimaces on their faces, but Lai himself managed to look quite natty in a light summer suit and blue button-down shirt even as his hands were cuffed behind his back and policemen grasped him on either side.







Later, released on bail, Lai as reported by BBC predicted "a long fight" against Chinese repression. Apple Daily, in fact, has not yet been banned and managed to report extensively on the arrest, but the audacity with which China decided enough was enough for Lai and his closest confederates shows the desire of China's President Xi Jinping to do away with all who might question his power. Never mind that China agreed to the concept of "one country, two systems," when Britain gave up its rule over Hong Kong in 1997. First China sought to assert control with an extradition agreement under which Hong Kong would send those accused of crimes to the mainland. Shocked by the reaction to that deal, China completed its repudiation of the agreement with Britain by inflicting on Hong Kong a national security law under which it can pretty well do as it pleases and the hell with the trouble-makers who once filled the streets protesting Beijing's heavy hand.







Now other publishers and editors in Hong Kong have to be wondering, what next and how far to go in reporting on the repression of freedom in the former British crown colony whose colonial masters had not always been so democratic and open-minded either. One paper that would seem vulnerable would be the South China Morning Post, an English-language pillar of Hong Kong life since its founding 117 years ago. The paper has an incredibly checkered past, including ownership for a time by Rupert Murdoch, the Australian media tycoon who steered the paper away from critical reporting and commentary on China while negotiating TV deals with mainland authorities.







The South China Morning Post has faced still more sensitive problems since its acquisition four years ago by the Alibaba Group whose billionaire owner, Jack Ma, is not only China's wealthiest man but also a member of the Chinese Communist Party. That's not to say, though, that Ma fancies the paper as a propaganda organ. Rather, it pursues an artful middle ground. "National security and freedom of the press are not and should not be incompatible," the paper editorialized after Jimmy Lai's arrest. The raid on the Apple offices "ensured that Hong Kong's reputation as a free and open city under the rule of law goes on trial in any subsequent court proceedings."







That's not exactly a stirring defense of Lai and his paper. Rather, it's rather like the commentaries in so many other papers around the region. Koreans may not always appreciate it, but Korean papers are relatively free in comparison with papers in other countries whose editors are unable to veer far if at all from support of the powers-that-be. No matter how much Koreans criticize the South Korean media, the papers still have infinitely more freedom than in the bad old days when censors sat in desks in newsrooms reviewing every article before it went into print.







A free press exists in countries that are healthy, strong and confident enough for leaders and bureaucrats to accept independent papers with the guts to criticize as well as support the system in which they exist. The death of press freedom in Hong Kong is a blow to the essence of a free-thinking, free-spirited regional center.









, writes from Seoul as well as Washington.



Donald Kirk, www.donaldkirkcom
Thursday, August 13, 2020

Testing, Testing.

Youve checked the Environmental Working Groups Tap Water Database to analyze the pollutants in your citys drinking water, but what if you have well water? How can you check the quality and safety of the water that you cook with, drink, bathe in, and use for laundry? The least expensive way is to test your own water with a TDS meter.

But perhaps you are interested in a more thorough testing of the contaminants in your water, especially if you do have well water. The Environmental Protection Agencys website allows you to find a state-certified laboratory, and also includes information on the contaminants themselves that may be lurking in your water.

More Than Just Lead.

Certainly the PFAS in our drinking water has grabbed the national spotlight but it isnt just about the PFOS family of chemicals. There are so many other contaminants in drinking water. For instance, in the Ann Arbor water system there is just as much hexavalent chromium as there are PFOS chemicals.

Hexavalent chromium was brought to the publics attention most notably in the movie Erin Brockovich. Curiously, Ann Arbor water also has 4x as much radium than PFOS, and radium is a radioactive element! How do you find out whats in your water and which water treatment works best to remove those contaminants? Check EWGs tap water database and enter your zip code. Once it loads scroll down to the section on filtering options.

Microplastics.

According to National Geographic, its difficult to completely avoid microplastics. We eat thousands of bits of plastic every year. We also breathe them in, and theyre in our water supply. In fact, if you teach Earth Science for grades 4-12, NatGeo has a resource library with classroom resources to teach about plastics in our environment and what we can do about it.

Basically, a microplastic is a piece of plastic that measures less than 5 millimeters in size. Theyre formed when plastic breaks apart into tiny beads. Many toxic chemicals are absorbed by plastic, including BPA, PCBs, PBDEs, POPs, PAHs and dioxins. Unfortunately, microbeads are small enough to slip through filters at wastewater treatment plants. Microplastics are not only harmful to our health, theyre also dangerous to our aquatic life and to our ocean.

The World Health Organization has a wealth of information on microplastics in the water cycle including both tap water and bottled water, the potential health impacts from microplastic exposure, and the removal of microplastics during wastewater and drinking-water treatment. The report is quite long but beginning on page 5 one can search the Contents for a topic of interest and then read only that section.

Speaking Of Bottled Water.

Its not just arsenic thats detected in bottled water. Plastics chemicals like BPA, phthalates, and PCBs can leach from the plastic into the water during storage and then these chemicals are consumed when we drink it. Some plastics chemicals have been shown to affect brain functioning, including aggression and attention issues. Shockingly, the Natural Resources Defense Council indicates that roughly 25% of bottled water is merely tap water  sometimes treated and sometimes not. Bottled water creates both an environmental burden and a body burden. For more on whos minding our drinking water, click here.

Gotta Get A Filter.

The best place to start in finding a certified water filtration system for your home is on the National Sanitation Foundation website. Once on this link you can decide which contaminants you want to reduce and then compare options for water treatment.

With all the concerns about PFAS in our water systems, the Minnesota Department of Health had 14 filters tested, of which 11 were shown to effectively reduce the amount of PFAS in your water. For information on those filters visit the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. Personally, I have a Berkey Water Filter and couldnt be happier with it. For information on what this water filtration system removes, click here.

Camping And Natural Disasters.

When you are back-country hiking and camping, how can you make sure your drinking water is safe? Or what about living in an area of flooding, or another natural disaster, where you may need emergency water filtering and purification? On this link from the World Health Organization scroll down to page 13 of 80. From this report it appears that the best portable water filtration brands are LifeStraw, Solar Solutions and Puralytics.

Dirty Beaches, Dirty Water.

If you are planning a day at the beach, other than checking the weather forecast, additional things to check are the quality of both the water and the beach itself. One news report wrote theres poop in the water at our favorite beaches and that the water showed bacteria counts exceeding EPA standards for safety, which could potentially sicken swimmers.

The report shows on most days of the year the beaches are safe, but researchers found bacteria counts can spike on certain days with fecal matter from people or animals as the culprit. Pollution (that) gets washed into high-energy beaches will dissipate pretty quickly, however when it comes through streams and areas where there is not a lot of circulation, it just washes back and forth.

Luckily, there are several resources that will help to determine whether hitting a particular beach is a good idea. On Beachapedia one currently has access to beach reports in 34 different states. The EPA website monitors information for over 3,000 beaches. Their information indicates that Michigan has the greatest number of beaches overall but that many of them are not being monitored, whereas other states monitor every one of their beaches.

The mobile app, SwimGuide, provides current water quality information for more than 8,000 beaches, rivers, swimming holes and lakes around the world. Its also accessible online. For information on recreational water illnesses, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

On The Subject Of Trash.

According to the NOAAs Woods Hole Sea Grant project, a Styrofoam cups takes approximately 50 years to biodegrade. An aluminum can takes about 200 years. Both disposable diapers and plastic bottles take approximately 450 years to biodegrade, and fishing line takes almost 600 years! Please take your trash with you, and pick up a few others pieces that arent even yours.

Young Millennial, Boyan Slat, deserves all the acknowledgement he can get. A 25-year old university dropout, Boyan created the Ocean Cleanup Project. Look what hes doing to clean up the Boomers mess. (Thank you, Boyan!) He certainly has his work cut out for him. Have you seen images of the oceans garbage patches? If not, you need to. Its a good reminder to reduce your use of single-use plastic.
A 17-year-old hostess shared horrific images of the injuries she sustained after she was allegedly attacked by more than 11 women at a Louisiana Chili's.

Kelsy Wallace, a former hostess at the Chili's on Constitution Avenue in Baton Rouge, had been working on August 9 when she was brutally attacked by the mob.

'I couldn't believe, like over two for 25s, and three for 10s, I got attacked,' she said to WAFB.

Kelsy Wallace, a former hostess at the Chili's on Constitution Avenue in Baton Rouge, had been working on August 9 when she was brutally attacked by the mob

Chili's has a policy where large groups aren't allowed to sit together in restaurants (the location where the incident took place)

Chili's has a policy where large groups aren't allowed to sit together in their restaurants.

'My general manager and my other managers tell us we cannot sit a table bigger than six because of the corona[virus]. We are supposed to separate them,' said Wallace.

But as the straight A student tried to explain the chain's policy to the group, they immediately became agitated with her.

In addition to needing stitches for an injury over her eye, Wallace also had hair pulled from her scalp

The teen also suffered several broken nails

'And they got upset, so the first thing I did was go get my manager,' said Wallace, a student at Broadmoor Senior High School.

Wallace retrieved her manager and stood behind them as the party began hurling insults at her.

As she shouted word back at them, she says they then made the first move.

The teen said: 'But then one girl come and she just hit me; we just started fighting. And all everybody who they was with just started hitting me, and the lady who pushed me first, she takes the wet floor sign, cocks back, and hits me with it in my eye.'

By the time the Baton Rouge Police Department arrived to the scene, all of the women had already fled the scene in their cars.

Wallace had to get stitches above her eye and also had hair pulled from her scalp. The teen also suffered a few broken nails.

The girl's grandmother is shook by the entire ordeal.

'I couldn't believe they would do or act like that, and then I mean, grown women, to fight a 17-year-old child at her job, who's trying to work to get her graduation things together so she can go off to college,' said Lorrain Byrd, Wallace's grandmother.

Wallace, who started in June, shared that she was just trying to do her job.

A GoFundMe has been made for the teen, who is studying to be an EMT

'I was just trying to follow the rules and make sure that I wasn't going to get in trouble,' she said. 'Like this is just overwhelming. I just cannot believe that this happened to me of all people.'

She has no intention on returning back to the restaurant.

A representative from Chili's released a statement about the ordeal.

Wallace will head back to school soon, but says she will not return to the Chili's.

'We care deeply for every ChiliHead and are disappointed by the incident that took place at our Baton Rouge Chili's on August 9. We do not tolerate violent behavior in our restaurants, and are taking this incident very seriously as the safety and health of our Team Members and Guests is our top priority,' the statement read.

'Following this unprovoked attack, we immediately provided medical attention to our Team Member and called the local police department who is looking into this situation. We have made several attempts to contact the impacted Team Member and her family since the incident to provide support, but unfortunately have not received any response.'

A GoFundMe has been made for the teen, who is studying to be an EMT.
Dr Alex George has returned to work on the NHS frontline three weeks after his brother's tragic death.

The former Love Islander 30, shared a selfie to Instagram on Thursday showing him at a hospital in his scrubs, writing that it was 'good to be home'.

Alex announced last month that he had lost his younger sibling Llyr, 20, who was about to start his own medical training, 'to mental health'.

'Good to be home': Dr Alex George shared a selfie of him back at work on Thursday, just three weeks after his brother's tragic death

Taking to Instagram Alex shared the picture of himself at work prompting several of his fans to call him 'incredible' and say 'your strength is inspiring'.

While another wrote: 'You're a top man, Alex. Keep on doing what you're doing'.

The doctor also shared that he has set up a Just Giving page in memory of his late brother, posting the link to Stories so his followers could donate.

Just an hour after mentioning the fundraiser to raise 10k for mental health charities, Alex again wrote a message saying 'wow, you guys are being so generous. Let's do this!', with the money count standing at 4,300.

Traig: Alex announced last month that he had lost his younger sibling Llyr, 20, who was about to start his own medical training, 'to mental health'

It comes after Alex admitted his life has 'changed immeasurably' since Llyr's death and he now wants to help tackle the mental health crisis.

Alex recently told how he is 'hanging on by a thread' after his younger brother's death aged 20, following a battle with mental health.

Taking to Instagram, Alex shared a snap of himself standing beside his car as he said it's time for him to 'rebuild and grow'.

He wrote: 'There is no doubt that my life changed immeasurably two weeks ago. We are thrown into the deep end at times, however, with family and friends we can overcome even the most seemingly insurmountable challenges.

Fundraiser: Alex also shared that he is trying to raise 10k for mental health charities and later thanked his followers for being 'so generous'

Goal: Dr Alex recently admitted his life has 'changed immeasurably' since the death of his brother and he now wants to help tackle the mental health crisis

'It is now time for me to head back to London, to reflect, rebuild and grow. I already have a fire in me, things I want to tackle and change, especially when it comes to mental health.

'For now I just want to say thank you to all of you who have supported me. The kindness has been truly overwhelming. Please know it has helped me no end and continues to get me through each day. Thank you '.

Alex was left shocked when a follower took issue with him for being on social media so shortly after Llyr passed away last month.

Family: Llyr was just weeks away from starting his own medical training when he died and was 10 years younger than Alex

Alex wrote: 'We are thrown into the deep end at times, however, with family and friends we can overcome even the most seemingly insurmountable challenges'

The star took a screen grab of the exchange, in which the person responded to his seaside picture with the comment: 'your brother is dead get off social media.'

Sharing his anguish at the response, Alex penned: 'Imagining being this person. I'm holding by a thread and you get people like this.'

In his next Instagram story, the medic explained to his fans why he was on social media, as he thanked them for support during this tough time.

He wrote: 'I am honest and open with you all. The good, the bad and the ugly. There is so much that isn't shared online of course. So many of you are so kind and message me each day with well wishes.'

Shocking: Alex was left shocked when a follower took issue with him for being on social media so shortly after Llyr passed away last month

Response: In his Instagram story, the medic explained to his fans why he was on social media, as he thanked them for support during this tough time

He concluded: 'I often post to let you know I am still going strong x.'

Alex recently confirmed that his brother's funeral took place on Monday and the following day, he paid a heartbreaking tribute to his younger brother.

Sharing a photo of him with his arm around his sibling, standing in front of a scenic backdrop, Alex captioned the image: 'Yesterday I said goodbye to my little brother Llyr. It was the hardest day of my life.

'Except it wasnt goodbye. Llyr, your dream was to become a doctor, you will live that dream. Every patient I see, we will do it together, you and I 

'Your favourite passion is cars, every time I am out driving, I know you will be there laughing and smiling with me.

'I love you so much Llyr, you are always with me, my boy '

If you have been affected by this story, you can call the Samaritans on 116 123 or visit www.samaritans.org
AMC Theatres will reopen for the first time in five months on Aug. 20 with special pricing to celebrate its 100th anniversary.

More than 100 theaters will reopen across the nation with movies at the 1920 price of 15 cents, plus tax. In Pennsylvania the only AMC Theatres opening on Aug. 20 are in Philadelphia - Center Valley, Marple, Neshaminy and Plymouth Meeting - and Waterfront in Pittsburgh.

We are excited to share we will open more than 100 U.S. locations on Thursday, 8/20. Another 300 will open during the following 2 weeks and the remainder will open only after authorized to do so by state and local officials. Check for your theatre now: https://t.co/4yQ7dhTF21 pic.twitter.com/DInzxtmvMW  AMC Theatres (@AMCTheatres) August 13, 2020

AMC said it expects to have two-thirds of its 600 theaters open in time for the Sept. 3 release of Warner Bros. Tenet, following Disneys Aug. 28 release of The New Mutants.

The remaining theaters will reopen as permitted by state and local authorities.

Theater capacity, however, will be significantly reduced because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

AMC said it will reduce the number of tickets sold for each showtime, block seats in the auditoriums to allow for appropriate social distancing, perform enhanced cleaning between shows, use a disinfecting electrostatic sprayer each night, upgrade air filtration filters and use high-tech HEPA vacuums.

All patrons and employees are required to wear face masks.

Theaters also will have disinfectant wipes available.

After Aug. 20, AMC will offer bring back shows for $5 including a special Inception 10th anniversary event, Black Panther, Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, Grease and Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back.

Snacks including regular popcorn, regular Coca-Cola Freestyle and KidsPacks will sell for $5 through the end of October.

We are thrilled to once again open our doors to American moviegoers who are looking for an opportunity to get out of their houses and apartments and escape into the magic of the movies. As our guests return on our first day of resumed operations on August 20, we invite them to join us in celebrating a return to the movies, and in celebrating 100 years of AMC making smiles happen with movies at 1920 prices of only 15 cents each, said Adam Aron, CEO and president of AMC Theatres, in a news release.

New releases, available are regular admission prices, are:

Aug. 21 - Unhinged, Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula, Cut Throat City, Words on Bathroom Walls and the Inception 10th anniversary event.

Aug. 28 - The New Mutants and Personal History of David Copperfield.

Sept. 3 - Tenet.

Sept. 11 - Infidel.

Sept. 18 - The Kings Man and War With Grandpa.

READ MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

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PARSIPPANY, NJAs the start of the school year looms, Governor Phil Murphy said on Wednesday that districts can opt for all-remote instruction this Fall, a reversal of his previous position that some in-person classes had to be offered. Murphy also said that in-person school can resume immediatelywith a catch.

"In-person instruction may fully resume immediately should institutions so desire and so long as social distancing among other protections are strictly adhered to," he said.

Districts that cannot meet New Jersey's core health and safety standards for in-person school will begin the year with all-remote instruction, the governor said. The state requirements include social distancing, masks, proper ventilation, and other precautions.

Murphy made today's announcement as some school districts, including Elizabeth, defied his previous order and announced remote-only instruction this Fall. The state's teacher's union yesterday called for Murphy to mandate remote-only schooling this Fall.

"The question of whether and when to reopen for in-person instruction is first and foremost a public health decision that cannot be left in the hands of nearly 600 individual school districts," said a statement released yesterday by the New Jersey Education Association. "The stakes are too high, and the consequences of a wrong decision are too grave."

The Parsippany School District presented its reopening plan, a cohort hybrid with virtual Fridays, last month. At the presentation, the superintendent, Dr. Barbara Sargent, said the only model the district considered which used 100 percent remote learning was only for high school and middle school, with elementary students spread throughout the township's 14 schools.

"The facility needs and the transportation issues associated with this particular model kept us from considering it seriously," Sargent said of the idea, in July.

It was unclear on Wednesday if the district currently has a plan for all students to learn remotely if necessary. Sargent did not return a request for comment.

This article originally appeared on the Parsippany Patch
The conviction of Aaron Brady for the capital murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe paves the way for gardai to put five more men involved in his killing behind bars.

Detectives are actively pursuing further prosecutions in relation to the robbery and murder that shocked the country.

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The Irish Independent can reveal five people have been formally classified as suspects in the murder investigation and these men are now the prime targets for gardai.

Speaking after Brady (29) was convicted of capital murder, Deputy Commissioner John Twomey warned those involved in the credit union robbery that investigators "will be knocking on your door and make sure that you pay for the horrendous act".

Over the last seven years the massive investigation into Det Gda Donohoe's killing has identified 204 persons of interest. That list has been whittled down to more than 20 people gardai believe were either involved or are harbouring the robbery gang.

The investigation is being led by Det Insp Martin Beggy whose team in Dundalk is being supported by members of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI) including Det Insp Mark Phillips and Det Gda Jim McGovern.

Speaking after the trial yesterday, Chief Supt Christy Mangan said the conviction of Brady was just the first phase and that they will continue to track down others involved as part of the international inquiry.

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The list of formal suspects includes a father and his two sons who lived close to the scene at the time of the robbery.

A notorious Border criminal, suspected of orchestrating a number of high-profile ATM raids in the past two years, is also listed as a suspect and is currently in jail facing charges over separate matters.

The fifth man, who was 20 at the time of the murder and comes from a major smuggling family in Armagh, is the youngest of the suspects and being investigated for taking part in the robbery.

Suspect A was best friends with Brady at the time of the fatal shooting and is under investigation for being centrally involved in the robbery. The man, aged in his late 20s, was frequently named throughout the trial by the prosecution as Brady's accomplice but cannot be identified for legal reasons.

At the time of the murder he lived a short distance away from Lordship credit union and was with Brady on a daily basis in the week leading up to the robbery.

His distinctive BMW was linked to several key sightings during the murder including a "scoping exercise" that afternoon and the robbery of the getaway car.

Since the murder he has become a father and has married. He currently lives between Boston and the North although his wife, who is facing serious charges in an unconnected case, remains in Ireland.

A prolific Border criminal, Suspect B, has been centrally linked to the stealing of the getaway car and is also suspected of helping to plan the raid. He was on bail at the time of the murder and signed on at Crossmaglen police station just over two hours before the crime.

Even before the raid he was well-known to gardai for involvement in serious crime and was arrested by Det Gda Donohoe for the previous armed robbery at Lordship credit union in August 2011, as well as a separate armed raid at Dundalk racecourse that same year.

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During his arrest he made a sinister threat to Det Gda Donohoe, stating he knew where the detective's family home was located. Properties linked to him and his sister were raided by police.

It can also be revealed that Suspect B is under investigation for orchestrating a number of high-profile ATM raids on both sides of the Border which have netted his gang hundreds of thousands of euro and pounds. In one incident he narrowly avoided arrest after gardai foiled an ATM raid. However, the criminal's luck ran out weeks later when he was detained for a separate offence in Dundalk and later charged. He is currently being held on remand with senior officers objecting to attempts for him to secure bail.

A man from a major fuel smuggling family, Suspect C, was one of the youngest men at the time of the robbery.

He was named in Brady's notice of alibi as directing him to move fuel waste cubes at a diesel yard that night but during the trial it emerged he is a suspect. He fled the country less then two months after the killing and has also been targeted in firearms searches by the PSNI.

Two other men who are suspected of assisting the gang are the Boston suspect and his father.

Both men are relatives of Suspect A and are being investigated for involvement in the car robbery and scouting on the night of the murder respectively.

Gardai are now continuing their efforts to bring those involved to justice and have said that borders will not offer any protection to the gang and the people who protect them.

Two other men are formally classified as persons of interest although both are suspected of actively taking part in the robbery that night.

Deputy Commissioner John Twomey said "no society can tolerate crimes of this nature, and we as a law enforcement agency will do everything we can to work with the community to bring the perpetrators to justice.

"I want to make an appeal to the people who committed the crime that we will be knocking on your door and we will make sure that you pay for this horrendous act," he added.

While Brady's conviction has brought the man who fired fatal shot to justice, gardai are pursuing those who played an active role in DetGda Donohoe's death.
Jared Kushner confirmed Thursday that he has spoken with rapper Kanye West several times, along with other members of the billionaire long-shot presidential campaign.

'Kanye's been a friend of mine for  I've known him for about 10 years,' the president's senior adviser said during a White House press briefing.

'There's a lot of issues that the president has championed that he admires,' Kushner, who is also Trump's son-in-law, said of the rapper and aspiring president.

West announced in July that he is planning on taking on Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden in November  and recent reports reveal that many GOP operatives have been making efforts to get him on the ballot in certain states.

This has prompted speculation that Republican may be launching an effort to hurt presumptive Biden's chances by siphoning off votes from Biden to West.

'We both happened to be in Colorado, and we got together and we had a great discussion about a lot of things,' Kushner said of one of their meetings. 'He has some great ideas for what he'd like to see happen in the country and that's why he has the candidacy that he's been doing.'

Kushner refused to say if he had discussed the presidential campaign in general, but said they 'had a general discussion more about policy.'

White House Senior Advisor and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner admitted Thursday that he has spoken with Kanye West several times

'Kanye's been a friend of mine for  I've known him for about 10 years,' Kushner told reporters at a White House press briefing, but refused to say if he discussed the campaign with West

If he had discussed the campaign, it would have been in violation of the Hatch Act since, as an executive branch appointee, Kushner is not permitted to conduct campaign business.

His reveal came after West confirmed on Twitter Tuesday that The New York Times report he met with the president's aide in Colorado last weekend was true.

West claimed that they talked about books.

'I'm willing to do a live interview with the New York Time [sic] about my meeting with Jared where we discussed Dr Claude Anderson's book Powernomics,' the rapper wrote.

In his interview with The Times, West did not offer more details on his meeting with Kushner but, instead, expressed anger about abortion rates among black women and said he didn't support Democrats.

Kanye West confirmed earlier this week that he met with Kushner in Colorado last weekend - West and his wife Kim Kardashian West were campaigning in Colorado while Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump were in the state for meetings with Republicans

Jared Kushner serves as a senior adviser in the White House but is also involved with President Trump's re-election campaign  if he had discussed the election with West it would be in violation of the Hatch Act

Kanye West launched a last-minute presidential bid six weeks ago and has made the ballot in several states with the help of Republican officials, sparking speculation he is running to hurt Joe Biden

West launched a last minute presidential bid six weeks ago with the help of some Republican operatives, sparking speculation the rapper, who is an admirer of President Donald Trump, is running to take votes away from Biden.

West has qualified to be on the presidential ballot in several states but has missed the filing deadline in others.

His attempts to get on the ballot in several states have derailed recently as there are questions over the petitions  including in his home state of Illinois where he will officially not appear on the ballot.

When Forbes magazine pointed out to West in an interview last week he is not qualified in enough states to win the necessary 270 electoral votes to be president and thus would only be a spoiler in the race, West replied: 'I'm not going to argue with you. Jesus is King.'

West and Kushner have been in regular contact since the rapper announced his presidential bid, Forbes reported.

Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump were in Colorado last weekend with other members of the Trump family for a series of fundraisers and events at House Republican Leader Kevin McCarty's annual retreat.

West was camping in Colorado with his family, The Times reported, and flew to Telluride to meet with Kushner and Trump but was not accompanied by his wife, Kim Kardashian West.

Kushner serves as a senior adviser in President Trump's White House but the presidential son-in-law also has a hand in the 2020 re-election campaign.

A spokesman for Kushner did not respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment.

West has qualified for the presidential ballot in states like Arkansas, Vermont, Oklahoma and Colorado, but his attempt in Ohio and Wisconsin is being challenged.

Kim Kardashian West asked the public to show compassion and empathy toward her husband in a tweet last month, saying he is bipolar.

Last week, President Trump denied any involvement in the effort by West to get on the ballot in presidential battleground states.

'I'm not involved,' Trump said at the White House when DailyMail.com asked him the issue.

'I like him. He's always been very nice to me,' Trump said, praising the rapper-producer who appeared with him at the White House in 2018 and sported his trademark red Make America Great Again hat.

Kanye West met with President Trump in the Oval Office in October 2018 - a meeting where Jared Kushner was present

'I'm not involved,' President Donald Trump said last week when DailyMail.com asked him about officials with longtime Republican ties helping Kanye West get on the presidential ballot in key states

But Trump denied a role in West's latest actions.

'No, not at all. No, not at all. Other than I get along with him very well. I like him. I like his wife. His wife recommended certain people as you know for, including Alice Johnson who's a fantastic woman,' Trump continued, praising Kim Kardashian and pointing to her successful push for Trump to grant clemency for her life sentence on a drug conviction.

The president briefly veered into a discussion about prison reform.

'But his wife recommended certain people to get out of prison. They were in prison for a long time. A long, long time. And should have never happened. And I took what she said very strong  Kim Kardashian,' Trump continued. 'And she's got a good heart. A very good heart. And I like Kanye very much.'

Then he added: 'No, I have nothing to do with him getting on the ballot.'

The president briefly mulled how having West's name on the ballot might impact his race against Democrat Joe Biden, then stopped short.

Kanye West's presidential campaign dropped off signature papers Tuesday at the state Elections Commission building in Madison.Saying 'no comment' to WISN 12 News, Lane Ruhland entered the building just after 5 p.m. Tuesday in Madison to drop off the signatures

Kanye West had, until recently, been a public supporter of Trump, insisting he and the incumbent president shared a 'dragon energy'

West first announced his intentions to run for president in a tweet on July 4. Since then, the rapper-producer has filed paperwork in seven states to become the next White House occupant, including Oklahoma, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Vermont, West Virginia and now Wisconsin

West's nominating petitions were dropped off with state regulators in Madison by Lane Ruhland before Tuesday's 5pm deadline. Ruhland, a top Republican lawyer and former general counsel for the state GOP, was filmed dropping off the signatures

West's ties to four individuals has raised questions about the intentions of his White House bid and whether it is a GOP-designed effort to siphon votes from Joe Biden

'We'll have to see what happens. We'll see if he gets on the ballot. But i'm not involved,' he concluded.

Trump's 2016 victory came in a year when Green Party candidate Jill Stein, Libertarian Gary Johnson were on the ballot, with a late push by Evan McMullen to try to throw a wrench into the outcome.

The president's comments came as a series of GOP officials have been tied to West's effort.

West turned in ballot petitions Tuesday in Wisconsin, a critical swing state that Trump carried narrowly in 2016 where Biden is leading in public polls.

Gregg Keller, the former executive director of the American Conservative Union, has been listed as a contact for West's campaign in Arkansas

The rapper announced his campaign July 4th on Twitter, then filed papers in Oklahoma, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Vermont, and West Virginia.

Top GOP lawyer Lane Ruhland was filmed and identified dropping off West's Wisconsin petitions at the state capital in Madison. She is a former general counsel for the state Republican Party.

'It appears that Kanye West made a smart decision by hiring an experienced election attorney,' said state GOP spokeswoman Alesha Guenther told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Another official, Gregg Keller, the former executive director of the American Conservative Union, was listed as a contact for West's effort to get on the ballot in Arkansas. Trump reportedly consider Keller to be chair of his 2016 campaign before settling on Corey Lewandowski.

Chuck Wilton is listed as a convention delegate for Trump in Vermont and an elector for West. His wife, Wendy is a Trump Agriculture Department appointee. New York Magazine identified officials assisting West with GOP ties.

The group Let The Voters Decide is also assisting West.
The Coalition MP tasked with overseeing the Great Barrier Reef has warned the federal government it cannot allow the coronavirus pandemic to reduce its climate change and environment action, as the reef can't cope with funding cuts.

"Cutting funding would be a very, very foolish thing to do. I understand we are in all sorts of problems economically, but we need to maintain a priority for climate change and for the environment," Great Barrier Reef Special Envoy Warren Entsch told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

Climate change is the single greatest threat to the Great Barrier Reef's long-term health, Warren Entsch said. Credit:Great Barrier Reef Foundation

"It would be false economy not to make sure we maintain our investment in the reef. It's been quite significant to date, but we haven't dealt with all the issues yet."

The Queensland MP's Special Envoy report to Environment Minister Sussan Ley repeated his warning from December last year that climate change is the "single greatest threat" to the Reef's long-term health.
Zheng Songfang (7th, L) talks with her late father's army peers at home in a village of Jiaxing City, East China's Zhejiang Province. [CNR-1]

Zheng Songfang, newly graduated from senior high school, recently welcomed 35 veterans at her home in a village of Jiaxing City, East China's Zhejiang Province. They were her late father, Zheng Junjie's army peers, who regularly visited and taken care of Zheng's family in the past 10 years.

Zheng and his 35 peers joined the army in 1997, and they had a solid friendship during their military life. However, Zheng passed away in an accident a dozen years ago and his daughter was only 4 years old at that time.

Zheng's peers decided to try their best to help Zheng's family. They not only donate money to his family annually, but also visit his daughter regularly.

This year, they came to congratulate Zheng's daughter after hearing that she passed the national college entrance examination, and gave her suggestions on college selection. They also bought two suitcases for her and told her to take good care of herself after starting college.

"They are really like my father for they visit me every year, which makes me feel paternal love...the friendship among them is really precious and touching," Zheng Songfang said. She hopes she can gain more experiences during her college life and contribute to the society so as to repay to their love and care.

The 35 "fathers" said they will continue to help her during her campus life until she finds a job after graduation.

The story touched the hearts of many netizens.

"It's a moving story. They are not related by blood, but are closer than real relatives," wrote one netizen.

File photos of Zheng Songfang and her 35 "fathers" [CNR-1]

(Source: CNR-1/Translated and edited by Women of China)
CHICAGO - Two words summed up Tamani Jayasinghes exuberance for the first Indian American and Black woman to run for vice-president: Kamala Aunty.

That title of respect that goes beyond family in Asian circles immediately came to mind when Joe Biden announced Kamala Harris as his running mate. So the 27-year-old with Sri Lankan roots tweeted it as a wink to others who understood the significance of the term.

The fact that she is both Black and brown is what makes this so exciting. The Asian American experience is one that is complicated and nuanced and robust, said Jayasinghe, who works in financial communications in New York. I feel connected to that.

Harris, the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, often focuses on her identity as a Black woman. At times during her political career, as she ran for California attorney general and senator, some didnt realize she was of Indian descent. In her first remarks as Bidens running mate on Wednesday, she spoke of her mothers roots but described herself as the first Black woman to be nominated for the vice presidency on a major party ticket.

Still, the possibility she would be the U.S. vice-president, which has already triggered sexist and racist commentary, created instantaneous glee among South Asians worldwide and put the spotlight on her as the first person of Asian descent on a major party presidential ticket.

Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group of eligible voters. More than 11 million Asian Americans will be able to vote in November, according to a May report by the Pew Research Center.

The choice  Biden and Harris made their debut Wednesday  inspired social media musings of celebrating the Hindu festival Diwali at the White House and drawing room talks about the U.S. senators mothers journey from Chennai to California. Indian government officials of all parties noted the choice as historic, while actress Mindy Kaling  she once made masala dosa with Harris  deemed it thrilling. A top headline in The Times of India, one of the worlds most widely read English-language newspapers, read, A daughter of Chennai, Kamala blooms in US.

She is one of us, said Aleyamma Keny, a retired nurse in suburban Chicago.

The 74-year-old woman, who immigrated from southern India to the U.S. in the 1970s, said Harris joining the ticket felt like a family member had accomplished something. Like many others, Keny saw her own immigration story in the candidates mother.

Harris has called her late mother, Shyamala Gopalan, her biggest influence and frequently invoked stories about the cancer researcher and civil rights activist who died in 2009. Gopalan first came to America in 1958. She attended the University of California at Berkeley, where she met and married Jamaican immigrant Donald Harris and had Kamala and her sister before the couple divorced.

Gopalan took the sisters to India to visit relatives and gave both, Kamala Devi Harris and Maya Lakshmi Harris, names rooted in Indian culture. (Kamala means lotus, Devi means goddess. Lakshmi is the Hindu goddess of wealth.)

Harris mother came to the U.S. at a time when Indians were scarce and raised her biracial daughters with the understanding that the larger American society would see them as Black. She took them to civil rights protests, and wanted them to become confident, proud Black women, Harris wrote in her 2019 book, The Truths We Hold: An American Journey.

A graduate of Howard University, Harris has made clear that she is both confident and proud of her Black identity. In a March 2019 radio interview, she answered a question about her identity by saying: Im Black, and Im proud of being Black. I was born Black. I will die Black, and Im not going to make excuses for anybody because they dont understand.

She did take steps during her presidential campaign, before she dropped out in December, to talk about her Indian heritage. Without much fanfare, she released a video via social media featuring photos of her Indian grandfather and talked of her visits as a child to see him.

In her speech Wednesday, Harris noted her parents heritages but ended with saying Biden is the only person whos served alongside the first Black president and has chosen the first Black woman as his running mate.

President Donald Trump struggled Wednesday to define her candidacy, repeatedly calling her nasty. Shes already been the subject of the false notion that shes ineligible to run because her parents were not born in America.

Harris was elected to the Senate in 2016, the same year three other Indian Americans won their first House terms including Pramila Jayapal of Washington. The first Indian American congresswoman, she said Asians also celebrated Harris as a Black woman.

It isnt just that we want her to be an Asian American sister for us. She really is representative, this biracial piece is representative of the experiences that so many immigrant communities have had, learning from the leadership of Black communities, she said. So we want her to claim all of us and we will all claim her.

Madhuri Patel, who immigrated from Gujrat, India, at the age of 6 and grew up in predominantly white Iowa, said Harris multi-layered identity would make her a more effective leader. She hoped Harris could unify the country.

For me, its always been really important that you have someone who understands the experience of being marginalized within our communities, said the 45-year-old Chicago attorney.

Zafar Bokhari, a Chicago State University professor who immigrated from Pakistan in the 1980s, said Harris was a role model for his children.

Despite skepticism about her foreign policy if elected, he said seeing a woman from the Indian subcontinent as a possible vice-president was inspiring.

This is quite an achievement and I really admire the way she has presented herself, he said. She has earned this position and I respect that.

____

Associated Press writers Deepti Hajela in New York and Padmananda Rama in Washington contributed to this report.
Shweta Urges Fans To Stand Together

Shweta Singh Kirti took to Instagram to reiterated the family's demand for a CBI probe. She posted a picture of herself holding up a placard which read, "I am sister of Sushant Singh Rajput and I request for #CBIforSSR." In the caption, Shweta added, "It's time we find the truth and get justice. Please help our family and the whole world to know what the truth is and find closure, otherwise we will never be able to live a peaceful life!!#CBIForSSR Raise your voice and demand #JusticeForSushantSinghRajput #WarriorsForSSR @sushantsinghrajput."

Shweta Also Shared A Video On Instagram

Soon afterwards, she also shared a video requesting a CBI inquiry and said that the family deserves to know the truth. Shweta wrote in the caption, "We stand together as a nation for CBI Enquiry! Demanding an unbiased investigation is our right and we expect nothing but the truth to come out.  #CBIForSSR #Warriors4SSR #justiceforSushanthSinghRajput @PMOIndia @narendramodi @AmitShah "

Sushant Passed Away On June 14, 2020

Sushant's family in the FIR with Patna police accusing his girlfriend, Rhea Chakraborty of abetment to suicide. Along with Rhea, her family has also been accused of misappropriating Rs 15 crore from his bank account in the last one year. However, KK Singh while giving a statement to CBI said the case should be looked into as a murder' and not suicide, based on the recent developments in the investigations and media reports, which claim that the evidence was allegedly 'destroyed'.

Sushant passed away at his Mumbai home on June 14. The Mumbai Police filed an accidental death report and have recorded the statements of 56 people in the case until now.
As mainstream public opinion has shown, the so-called U.S. sanctions against some Chinese officials are arbitrary and unreasonable, and will only become a laughingstock of the world, said a spokesperson of the Liaison Office of the Central Peoples Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) in a statement on August 9.

Strong condemnation against the hegemonic acts of the U.S. has been aroused recently in Chinas HKSAR, while relevant remarks of the Chinese side have won widespread acclaim from the public opinion and netizens, the spokesperson said.

Relevant departments of the central government in charge of Hong Kong affairs and the HKSAR government have made open response to and expressed strong condemnation against the evil conduct of the U.S., the spokesperson said.

Chinese officials on the U.S. sanctions list expressed no fear for the so-called sanctions in their open remarks in response to the malicious move, showing unshakable resolve and loyalty to as well as strong sense of responsibility in safeguarding the interests of their country and the HKSAR, according to the statement.

Their remarks have been widely reported by Hong Kong media and supported by people from all walks of life. Relevant information has been forwarded online continuously and massively, said the spokesperson.

Such strong public opinion and online voices have once again proven that the Chinese people dont cave in to threats and that the so-called sanctions are nothing but a joke and a complete farce, noted the spokesperson.

Officials from relevant departments of the central government in charge of Hong Kong affairs and the HKSAR government exercise governance in Hong Kong according to the Constitution of the Peoples Republic of China and the Basic Law of HKSAR, the spokesperson said, stressing that they are staunch defenders of the overall interests of Hong Kong and the fundamental well-being of Hong Kong citizens.

The U.S. side was ridiculously distorting facts by claiming that the recent actions taken by China fundamentally undermine Hong Kongs autonomy and democratic process, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson also pointed out in the statement that the U.S. side is the real destroyer of the democracy, freedom, and high degree of autonomy in Hong Kong, for they have colluded with Hong Kongs opposition camp in willfully challenging the one country, two systems principle and the red line of national security in Hong Kong, causing long-term disturbances in Hong Kong.

It must be grasped that certain U.S. politicians attempt to make trouble for China and obstruct Chinas development by repeatedly cooking up lies about Hong Kong will be proven futile in the end, said the spokesperson.

Local reactionaries in league with external forces had better wake up before its too late, as none of those who jeopardized their country and homeland in disregard of their countrys position and integrity came to a good end in history, noted the statement.

Always boasting about how it values democracy and freedom and respects human rights and privacy, the U.S. recently imposed unreasonable restrictions on Chinese telecommunications and technology companies with the groundless excuse of data security of U.S. citizens. It wantonly oppressed these companies and even tried to plunder the assets of a Chinese company, the spokesperson pointed out.

Unmasking its hypocrisy, the U.S. government has even disclosed the addresses and personal information of the Chinese officials on the website of the U.S. Department of Treasury, said the spokesperson.

The wicked deed has grossly violated these Chinese officials privacy and shown the world how the U.S. can act in total disregard of political and moral bottom lines, the spokesperson noted, adding that such misdeeds will only expose the arbitrary and despicable double standards of the U.S. side, reveal the hypocritical and ugly nature of certain U.S. politicians, and expedite the bankruptcy of their credibility.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 04:27:33|Editor: huaxia

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RIYADH, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- A declaration of the eighth meeting of the Friends of Sudan stressed on Wednesday the importance and full support to the stability of Sudan.

Hosted by Saudi Arabia, the online meeting aimed to promote the peace and prosperity of Sudan.

The declaration reaffirmed full political support for Sudan's civilian-led transition from a group of governments and multilateral organizations, known as Friends of Sudan, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

It also reiterated support for the transitional government led by Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.

The group commended Hamdok's leadership in continuing to prioritize a comprehensive and inclusive peace, despite the challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Established in 2018, the Friends of Sudan is composed of a number of countries and international organizations that support Sudan. Enditem
The Colombian government is holding out hope that the United States will hand over a warlord connected to 1,500 murders or abductions despite his attempt to seek refuge in Italy.

Salvatore Mancuso, the top commander of a since-disbanded group of right-wing militias, completed a 12-year cocaine trafficking sentence in March.

The 55-year-old remains in U.S. custody and prefers to be moved to Italy, where he holds citizenship because of his father. Courts in Colombia have found him responsible for his alleged crimes during his time as one of the top leaders with the United Defense Forces of Colombia.

Mancuso's lawyers contend he would be killed if he returns to a South American country that has struggled to heal from decades of bloody conflict. They argue he has already fulfilled his obligations under a 2003 peace deal he negotiated, which caps prison terms at eight years for paramilitary bosses who confess their crimes.

Salvatore Mancuso (pictured) the top commander of a since-disbanded group of right-wing militia, United Defense Forces of Colombia, is linked to 1,500 killings or abductions by a Colombian court. The 55-year-old hopes the United States will not extradite him to Colombia, where he fears he could be killed, and allow him to resettle in Italy, his father's native home

The many victims Mancuso left behind say at stake is the justice that has long been denied them. Colombian officials also complain that denying their request that Mancuso be deported back home would be a high-profile snub to a staunch ally that suffered a decades-long civil conflict that left 260,000 dead and millions more displaced.

The carnage was made worse by the United States' demand for Colombian cocaine, which funded illegal armed groups including Mancuso's United Defense Forces of Colombia.

Successive conservative governments have sent several thousand Colombians to face drug trafficking charges in the United States. Mancuso is among the highest profile, having directed the manufacture and shipment of more than 138,000 kilograms of cocaine, according to his United States plea agreement.

'Removing him to Italy would be a repugnant betrayal for victims' said Jose Miguel Vivanco, the Americas director for Human Rights Watch. 'If the Colombian government is honestly committed to justice for atrocity crimes, it should exhaust all legal avenues to take Mancuso back to Colombia, hold him to account and prevent this humiliation to victims.'

Salvatore Mancuso pictured in December 10, 2004 as 1,425 members of the Colombian United Self Defense demobilized as part of the country's peace agreement

Salvatore Mancuso (photographed December 9, 2004) was extradited to the United States in 2008 and served a 12-year drug trafficking sentence

The fight underscores the unfinished business of the paramilitary peace process, known as Justice and Peace, that led to the demobilization of 30,000 right-wing fighters but fell way short of its ambitious goal of truth telling and reconciliation.

Those wounds resurfaced this month when Colombia's Supreme Court ordered the arrest of former President Alvaro Uribe as it investigates whether he helped bribe witnesses to keep a lid on suspicions that have long swirled about his own relationship with paramilitary groups.

In 2008, the far-right Uribe stealthily extradited Mancuso and 13 other warlords to face drug charges in the U.S. His critics say the shock move, an apparent peace accord violation, was an attempt to silence the men just as they began to reveal secrets about their crimes and politician collaborators - including Uribe, who as a governor in the 1990s backed the creation of legal, armed groups to protect ranchers' land from leftist guerrilla fighters.

'With me they extradited the truth,' Mancuso told Colombian media shortly after his arrival in the U.S. in 2008.

On April 16, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security ordered Mancuso's removal to Italy, according to two people close to Mancuso who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private administrative proceeding.

But that deportation didn't happen. In June, U.S prosecutors requested on behalf of their Colombian counterparts that the 55-year-old Mancuso be extradited to Colombia to serve a 27-year sentence for the 1997 kidnappings of two relatives of a top leftist rebel commander, according to U.S. court records. Armed AUC fighters dressed as Colombian police carried out one abduction at a flower shop while, at the same time in a separate operation, commandos posing as prospective home buyers raided the residence of the other victim.

Mancuso, who according to the extradition request was in phone contact with one of the captors right after the raids, later took responsibility for the kidnappings during the peace process. Both captives were later killed.

Colombia withdrew its extradition request last month and the U.S. case was closed. While the government gave no reason for its sudden reversal, it appears that Mancuso's Miami-based attorney, Joaquin Perez, outmaneuvered prosecutors.

File image from May 13, 2008 shows Salvatore Mancuso (center) escorted by U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency agents in Opa-locka, Florida

Salvatore Mancuso (photographed December 9, 2004) was granted probation by a judge in Bogota, Colombia, for his role in the murders or kidnappings of 1,500 he is linked to in the Andean nation because his 12-year drug sentence in the United States was in compliance with the Justice and Peace law that is part of the peace agreement with guerrilla groups

Last year, judge Marina Zamora Buitrago in the capital, Bogota, granted Mancuso probation in Colombia.

Zamora Buitrago said Mancuso's years in U.S. prison satisfied the requirements of the Justice and Peace law, which allows alternative sentences of up to eight years to be served abroad. She cancelled the arrest orders on July 15; Colombia withdrew its extradition request five days later.

But the country's president still says he wants Mancuso returned and prosecutors still seek his arrest for other crimes, though they aren't recognized as offenses under U.S. law because they stem from his position atop AUCs chain of command - not specific orders he gave.

The Colombian chief prosecutor's office said Tuesday that it continues working to seek Mancuso's extradition. In a statement, it said a second extradition request depended on a judge handling a case in which Mancuso is suspected of money laundering that occurred after his demobilization. In 2018, the judge suspended proceedings in the case.

Mancuso's apparently solid legal standing hasn't stopped Colombian officials from demanding his arrest. And in a country with a notoriously weak, corrupt and maze-like judiciary, it doesn't take much for a freelancing judge to issue an arrest order.

Colombian President Ivan Duque has said the time Mancuso served in the U.S. for drug trafficking cannot be credited against his sentences for 'crimes against humanity' back home.

'The second he steps on Italian soil, I will personally make a request to the International Criminal Court that he be tried for these crimes,' Duque said in a recent interview with Bogota's Semana magazine.

Some critics believe Duque's government may just be going through the motions.

Opposition Sen. Ivan Cepeda said Duque - whose political mentor is Uribe and whose supporters include politicians who were jailed for ties to the AUC - has little to gain from the warlord's return.

'You have to be really naive to believe that an involuntary bureaucratic mistake is what is blocking the return of the person who knows the most about the history of the paramilitaries,' said Cepeda, who has traveled to the U.S. to meet Mancuso on behalf of victims.

The leftist Cepeda, who is Uribe's top accuser and whose father was killed by soldiers in coordination with paramilitaries, pledges to hold congressional hearings about how in his view Colombia bungled the extradition request.

Formed as self-defense forces by wealthy ranchers in the 1980s to counter leftist rebel extortion and kidnapping, the militias seized control of much of Colombia's Caribbean coast in the late 1990s, killing thousands and stealing millions of acres of land while wresting control of lucrative drug routes. In 2001, the U.S. designated the AUC a foreign terror organization.

Mancuso has expressed more remorse than other paramilitary leaders and an eagerness to make amends with his former battlefield enemies - the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC - who signed their own peace agreement with the government in 2016.

His sophistication - he studied English at the University of Pittsburgh - has always distinguished him from the other rural warlords.

Robert Spelke, a retired federal narcotics prosecutor who led proceedings against the warlords, described Mancuso as 'very bright, very personable' and a cooperative witness who was committed to telling the truth. Spelke spent over 200 hours interviewing Mancuso and recalled once when the Colombian tearfully broke down as he recounted a paramilitary massacre of civilians.

'I know what these guys did,' said Spelke. 'But when you put yourself in their shoes - It was a nasty war. I'd like to think I'd do things differently, but if the FARC was killing my family, stealing my cattle...'

Mancuso's eagerness to talk has already shaken Colombia's politics.

His boast in 2005 that a third of Colombia's congress was elected with paramilitary support triggered a wave of judicial investigations that ended with dozens of elected officials behind bars, including Uribe's senator cousin.

His cooperation with the Justice and Peace process continued after he reached the U.S., where he did more than 300 video conferences with Colombian investigators and victims.

In a symbolic gesture that shocked many Colombians, Mancuso spoke by phone last month with the FARC's former top commander, Rodrigo Londono. The one-time adversaries united in pledging their support for peace, reconciliation and support for millions of victims.

That candor is what got Mancuso extradited to the U.S. in the first place - and endangers his life should he be returned, said Jaime Paeres, his Colombia-based attorney. Several family members have already received threats and last month Paeres filed a complaint with Colombia's chief prosecutor alleging he was the intended target of an attack by 35 armed men who raided a ranch adjacent to where he was staying.

'Mancuso wants to return to Colombia. But it's us, his lawyers and friends, and even some authorities, who have told him not to come back,' Paeres told The Associated Press. 'I have no doubt they will kill him if he comes.'

With the U.S. order that he be sent to his father's native Italy, Colombian officials have launched a last-ditch lobbying effort.

Colombia's Ambassador in Washington, Francisco Santos, in recent weeks has met with U.S. officials in the White House as well as the State and Justice Departments to try and block his transfer to Italy, according to a senior Colombian official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private talks.

The State Department and White House wouldn't comment. A spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement that the agency took custody of Mancuso, who it referred to only as a 'Colombian national,' from federal marshals on July 21 and that he's now awaiting removal. ICE declined to provide details, citing operational security.

While extradition of Colombian drug lords has helped relieve pressure on the country's investigators, it's far rarer for Colombia to seek arrests beyond its borders.

But Mancuso's value is unique. If the famously voluble warlord returns, he'd surely divulge uncomfortable truths that many Colombians haven't wanted to hear, said Cepeda, the leftist lawmaker.

'A lot of the truth is already known,' Cepeda said. 'But there's a lot more to come.'
WASHINGTON (AP)  A federal judge on Wednesday allowed the Education Department to move forward with new rules governing how schools and universities respond to complaints of sexual assault.

The rules, which take effect Friday, expand the rights of the accused, narrow the definition of sexual harassment and reduce the scope of cases that schools are required to investigate, among other changes.

In a suit challenging the rules, attorneys general from 17 states and the District of Columbia argued that the policy would block schools from investigating certain sexual abuse complaints and would discourage students from reporting assaults.

As a result, fewer sexual harassment complaints will be filed, and schools will be less well equipped to protect their students safety and rid their programs and activities of the pernicious effects of sex discrimination, the suit said.

But U.S. District Judge Carl. J. Nichols rejected those arguments.

Plaintiffs are free to investigate and punish as violations of their codes of conduct or of state law behavior that does not meet the new definition of sexual harassment under the Final Rule, Nichols wrote.

He also turned aside an argument that the rules would bring heavy costs for schools and limit their ability to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Court recognizes the obvious seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic," he wrote. In fact, for these and other reasons, a later effective date might have been a preferable policy decision.

Still, he said, the Education Department took the pandemic into account when it issued the new rules, and schools have long known that a new policy would be coming.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said the ruling is yet another victory for students and reaffirms that students rights under Title IX go hand in hand with basic American principles of fairness and due process.

DeVos issued her policy May 6 after rescinding earlier guidelines from the Obama administration in 2017. Victims advocates say the 2017 rules forced colleges to confront sexual abuse after ignoring it for years. But DeVos has said the guidelines turned campus disciplinary panels into kangaroo courts that were too quick to punish accused students.

Story continues

DeVos' rules, which carry the weight of law, tell schools how to implement Title IX, the 1972 law barring discrimination based on sex in education.

Under her overhaul, the definition of sexual harassment is narrowed to "unwelcome conduct determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it denies a person access to a schools education programs or activity.

The policy will now require colleges to investigate claims only if theyre reported to certain officials, and schools can be held accountable for mishandling complaints only if they acted with deliberate indifference. Opponents also took exception with a provision allowing students to question one another through representatives at live hearings.

DeVos on Wednesday said the rules require schools to to act in meaningful ways to support survivors of sexual misconduct without sacrificing important safeguards to protect free speech and provide all students with a transparent, reliable process.

The case challenging the rules was led by attorneys general in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and California, with backing from a total of 17 states and the District of Columbia.

Were disappointed that the court denied our motion to stay the new Title IX rule while our litigation is pending," Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said. "But our commitment to the right of every Pennsylvania student to safe and equitable education has not wavered, and our challenge to Secretary DeVoss unlawful rule is not over, this is merely the first step in a long process.

The challenge was supported by the American Council on Education, an association of university presidents, along with 24 other higher education organizations. In a June legal brief, the groups said the policy ordered a sea change for colleges but gave them less than three months to implement it.

In the best of times, that deadline would be unreasonable. But in light of the extraordinary burdens that have been placed on American colleges and universities in the wake of the COVID-19 global pandemic, that August 14 implementation deadline is problematic in the extreme, the groups wrote.



AP Education Writer Collin Binkley reported from Boston.
By PTI

KOHIMA: The one-day monsoon session of the Nagaland Legislative Assembky taking place amid raging Covid situation in the state was held on Thursday with only a handful of ruling coalition legislators attending the House, while the opposition NPF boycotted the entire proceedings.

Only 22 MLAs of the ruling grouping comprising Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), BJP and an Independent, attended the house whose effective strength is 58.

Opposition Naga Peoples Front (NPF) having 25 MLAs did not attend the session, sticking to their announcment in this regard the previous day itself.

Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio was present during the entire duration of the house.

Even from the treasury bench, 10 legislators missed the session, which is sixth of the 13th house in the state.

Speaker Sharingain Longkumer, one if its members, was presiding over the house business.

The 10 MLAs were among the 19 legislators, from the ruling coalition as well as the opposition, who had applied for leave expresing their inability to attend the session due to varied reasons.

This session was earlier scheduled for July 30, but due to detection of COVID-19 positive cases among six assembly staff, it was deferred and held on August 13.

NPF, the lone opposition in the house, had on Wednesday itself informed the speaker about its decision to boycott the session for turning down its proposal for a longer session to deliberate on the pertinent matters of Naga political issue, SARFAESI Act, 2002 and the current COVID-19 pandemic scenario in the state.

In his brief statement, Chief Minister and Leader of the House, Neiphiu Rio, expressed unhappiness on the opposition party decision to boycott the session.

NPF Legislature Party spokesperson,Imkong L Imchen, MLA, had informed the speaker about their decision to skip the house in a letter to him.

"In order to protect democratic practices and to maintain the sanctity of the NLA, the opposition party will boycott the one-day session, which has been convened for mere fulfilment of constitutional obligation, Imchen had told the speaker.

The Nagaland Legislative Assembly Commissioner and Secretary P J Antony had said that notwithstanding NPF boycott the session will go ahead because the quorum for the sitting of the assembly is only 10 members.

On comnvening the one day session of the assembly at a time when coronavirus cases are rising in Nagaland, the speaker had said the previous day that the session is being held in order to fulfil the constitutional requirement of holding the sitting within a six months period.

The effective strength of the 60-member Nagaland assembly is 58.

Two members- one each from the ruling coalition and the opposition- died last year.

The session commenced with the house conveying condolences to the passing of five former legislators Kakheho Sukhalu, Noklem Konyak, Dr T Myinthungo Lotha, Rev Lhousuohie Mhasi and Sualemba during the intercession period of the assembly.

In the absence of the opposition members, replies to 12 starred queries put up by them, mostly focused on COVID-19 pandemic, were tabled in the house by the concerned ministers.

The Commissioner and Secretary of the assembly reported the assent of the Governor to five Bills.

They were The Nagaland Appropriation Bill (No.

1) 2020, The Nagaland Appropriation Bill (No.

1) 2020, The Nagaland Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill 2020, North East Christian University (First Amendment) Bill, 2020 and The Nagaland Goods and services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which were passed by the asembly during its sitting in February.

The house also passed by voice vote the Nagaland Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2020 moved by chief minister Neiphiu Rio.

Rio also laid the annual administrative report 2019-20 of the department of Justice and Law, while minister V Kashiho Sangtam laid the report of department of Soil and Water Conservation.

Chief Minister Rio also tabled four rules of the government on State Disaster Management Plan, Incident Response System, State Disaster Management and Minimum Standards of Relief.

The legislators attending the session were wearing face masks as per Covid protocols.
The 2020 fall semester has begun, albeit differently. Whether youre returning to Northern Arizona University or seeing the campus for the very first time, it is the novel coronavirus that is likely dominating all discourse surrounding university, registration, move-in. But its for good reason. Though the number of cases is slowly declining, there have still been 114 deaths in Coconino County, 2,928 positive cases as of last Friday and Flagstaff Medical Center wings still hold overwhelmed nurses and doctors. COVID-19 is a reality here too. It is a reality on the adjacent Navajo Nation, where cases surpassed New York in per-capita rate of infection early on.

NAU president Rita Cheng declared that all classes would begin online, postponing the originally scheduled in-person classes from Aug. 12 to 31. And then what?

In Flagstaff, there is currently a city mask ordinance in place; each person 5 years of age and older must wear a face covering when in public. This week it came out that a handful of NAU residential assistants had tested positive for COVID-19. As of Monday, Aug. 10, county health inspectors were sent to restaurants to make sure people were sticking to mask mandates, following up on customer complaints that people werent following these guidelines.

Despite what some say, NAU students are important. Many of you stay here, make art here, have families and then call yourselves locals 30 years down the lineor 50, or 70. Even if you dont, do not let anyone convince you that you are not somehow part of the fabric of town. And fabric? It is held together by threads, each of which possesses its own graft to hold together and load-bearmake sure the other threads are not in danger of breakage.

Quarantine for two weeks when you arrive and whenever necessary, take advantage of the testing on campus, frequently email your professors if you have concerns. Help your peer who might not have access to internet. Social distance. Wear a mask. Speak out. Engage in self- and community-care. Wait, because giant ragers can wait. And remember that its OK to stay home if you feel sick; dont come to class and risk spreading germs to your professors and fellow students.

Welcome back, or welcome for the first time, to unprecedented times at NAU. On the coming pages are some things you can do in Flagstaff while maintaining social distancing and mask-wearing. Eat outdoors or grab takeout, enjoy the bevy of trails the area has to offerthe world, as altered as it might be, is your oyster.

PATIO GRUB

The Toasted Owl. Two of the vastest patios of eastside and downtown Flagstaff belong to the locally-famous and delightfully kooky brunch mavens at the Toasted Owl. Full of owl-inspired tchotchkes and vintage light fixtures, the Owl serves up some of the best breakfast burritos and vegetarian scrambles in town, not to mention some seriously satisfying bloody marys. The hometown Tortilla Lady green chili and sweet corn breakfast tamales with pork green chili, cheddar cheese, black beans, eggs and mixed greens are also a total home run. 12 S. Mikes Pike & 5200 E. Cortland Blvd.

Fratelli Pizza. Flagstaff is the proud home of a lot of pizza places. And we meant a lot. Take a pizza tour of town, making sure to stop at the artisan pizza shop that is Pizziclettaalso conveniently attached to Mother Road Brewery, another one of our favorite outdoor spots in town. Oh, and add Pizza Patio to that list too. Then head to that New York-style slice offered up Fratelli Pizza. For those interested in dining in, Fratelli is has outdoor dining options at their downtown locale as well as their Fort Valley pizzeria. Start with basil pesto, add mozzarella, grilled chicken, roasted cashews, red onion, sauteed mushroom and top it with a delectable gorgonzola crumble and youve got one of our all-time favorites from Fratelli. Word on the street is that the pesto cashew pizza tastes even better while enjoyed out on one of Fratellis lovely patios. 119 W. Phoenix Ave. & 1850 N. Fort Valley Rd.

SoSoBa. Downtowns late night ramen mecca, Sosoba is also home to one of our favorite outdoor dining spaces, though the restaurant is currently only doing take-out. Most people are well acquainted with their beloved noodle bowls, like the pork loaded Mic Drop (pork broth, pork belly, udon noodles, chicharon, carnitas, ham fries, egg, bacon, scallions and house-made kimchi) as well as the vegan-friendly Mothra (vegan green curry, broccoli, bok choy, marinated fried tofu, topped with mint, Thai basil and fried garlic) but we suggest trying some of their appetizers and small plates while sipping cocktails al fresco. The blistered shishito peppers with ponzu and miso aioli as well as the sweet chili chicken are two classic go-tos. 12 W. Historic Route 66

The Tourist Home & Annex Cocktail Lounge. With a lovely shared patio and building side dining, Tourist Home and Annex Cocktail Lounge offer some of the best outdoor breakfast and cocktail options in town. Tourist homes newly unveiled take-out window offers yet another way to conveniently socially distance as well. If you arrive early enough (they usually sell out) order a French cruller (or two) and enjoy one of their many cold brewed and iced coffee offerings. Their dog friendly patio is yet another reason to patronize this cherished Southside institution. 52 S. San Francisco St.

Late for the Train. Late for the Train is a Flagstaff mainstay since it opened in 1996, with its world-class coffee, kombucha on tap and friendly baristas bringing customers back day in and day out. But its not just worth a visit for the brews and delicious pastriesand breakfast burritos, lest we forget to mention those, Late for the Train also boasts a beautiful back patio at its brand new location on Aspen Avenueright in the heart of downtown. The downtown LFT has bounced around during its many years in Flag, beginning on San Francisco Street where Shift Kitchen & Bar now lives, then leaving for the corner spot behind Vino Loco, but the coffee house has settled down once more. This time LFT has made its home in half of what used to be Pasto, taking full advantage of the back courtyard patio, with its lush vines and brick walls. Sit down with LFTs signature Mars Hill Mocha and enjoy the view. 19A E. Aspen Ave.

RETAIL THERAPY

Rainbows End. Visit this downtown boutique for unique jewelry, clothing, soap and more. Like the many small shops that make Flagstaff the thriving community it is, owner Miranda Sweet relies on business more than big businesses like Target and Walmart. My heart is definitely in this, so I just cant turn my back and close up, she said in March. Ive been very honest [with my customers]. I cant [stay in business] without them. Im like, Hey, if you need something, nows a good time to shop. 12 E. Route 66

Mirror Gallery & Flagstaff Tattoo Company. Lets face it; even better than retail therapy is tattoo therapy. These two sister shops boast a handful of talented artists waiting to carve your design of choice into your skin forever. Want a bold traditional piece? Theyve got you covered. Want an intricate geometric design? Colorful new-school? Simple black outline? You got itas long as you wear a mask during your appointment and dont bring in 12 of your closest friends. Of course, tattoos can be personal, and there are no shortage of tattoo shops in Flagstaff to choose fromthats not a decision we can make for you. Find more artists at Avail Tattoo, Burly Fish Tattoo, Tat-Fu Tattoo Studio or Sacred Ground Tattoo. Call your shop of choice directly for its COVID protocols.

Flagstaff General Store. This is the everything-but-the-kitchen sink store. First opened in 2014 and modeled after small town general stores, what began in an unassuming building just outside of town on Highway 89 soon outgrew its modest home base, moving to its current location on Leroux Street in the historic Raymond building downtown in 2017. The shop may appear small from the outside, but its depths contain a kaleidoscope of vintage furniture, signs, home decor, books, art, kitchen wares, jewelry, candles, kitsch, soaps and canned foods. Most of the craft items come from more than 35 local artists, from woodworkers to painters and candle and soap makers. 9 N. Leroux St.

Crystal Magic. For all your crystal, candle, aromatherapy, gem, tarot needs and more, Crystal Magic is here for you. With friendly workers available to help you pick the perfect gift for yourself or a loved one, this is a fun stop for locals and visitors alike. Crystal Magic has been family owned and operated since 1984, and has a Sedona location as well. Be sure to think of the local shops first when taking on your to-do list. 1 N. San Francisco St.

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

San Francisco Peaks. You cant walk a hundred yards without getting a view of the San Francisco Peaks. But its a little more driving to get up there. Take a cruise to the Inner Basin and camp and hike from Lockett Meadow. For those more fit that some of us here at Flag Live!, hike to the top of Humphreys Peak, the tallest point in Arizona at more than 12,600 feet. www.fs.usda.gov/coconino

Fall Foliage. If you are in Flagstaff during the month of October, its almost a legal requirement that you go spend some time in the aspen groves to soak in the Technicolor bounty thats the turning of the leaves. The entire San Francisco Peaks are splendidly adorned with the gold, and there are tons of places to explore. Some of our favorites include the lower Weatherford Trail off of Schultz Pass Road, where a side trail passes through a doghair thicket bumper crop of aspens, and West Fork in Oak Creek Canyon. And the aforementioned Lockett Meadow welcomes all into an autumn wonderlandjust get there early before the trails are crowded and cars get turned away. www.fs.usda.gov/coconino.

Oak Creek Canyon. Just a short car ride south of town winding a lazy course down State Route 89A is this bit of heaven on earth, which for many locals remains a place of sanctuary. Marked by spectacular scenery, its a quick getaway for those in search of relaxation creekside and great day hikes among stunning and colorful rock formations. Certain hot spots have become increasingly crowded over the years, but if you know where to look and put in the time, you can find solitude amongst nature. Littering has posed an issue, so please pack out what you pack in, and when the temps start to drop and the fall colors fade, head a little further into Sedona. www.fs.usda.gov.

Urban Trails. Not enough gas money? Or no car? No problem. Flagstaff is home to more than 50 miles of urban trails. Running through and out of campus is the Sinclair Wash Trail, an urban woodland favorite. And few open spaces are as glorious as Buffalo Park and its trails.

Red Mountain. A truly otherworldly scene takes center stage at the end of Red Mountain Trail. When this cinder cone volcano erupted around 740,000 years ago, rather than lava bursting from the top, it blew out the side of the volcano, revealing its insides. As hikers make their way toward the center of the volcano along a normally dry creek bed, a sturdy ladder requires a six-foot climb. Those hiking with a leashed dog can potentially bypass this by scrambling up a steep hill of loose cinders to the right of the ladder. Towering rock formations called hoodoos, eroded by wind and water over the years, rise up as high as 1,000 feet in places to form a natural amphitheater at the end of the short out-and-back trail.

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Truong ordered that Epic will have to reimburse the fees of the attorney the Oklahoma Senate hired to defend Sharp in the case. And as Oklahomas anti-SLAPP law allows a court to impose sanctions against the plaintiff to deter similar lawsuits, Truong ordered Epic to pay Sharp $500,000 as a sanction.

Senator Sharp is very pleased with the result in this case and will continue to work to ensure proper oversight and use of state funds on behalf of his constituents and the people of Oklahoma, says a written statement Sharp released Wednesday afternoon.

On the judges Wednesday ruling, Epics Assistant Superintendent of Communications Shelly Hickman said the company will appeal.

There are multiple reasons why the judges rulings are erroneous legally, Hickman said.

Sharp had questioned how Epic could have received millions of dollars in state funding two and three years ago now for 3,000 to 4,000 students in middle and high school when the Epic Blended Learning Centers in which they were enrolled could be attended only by students in early education and elementary school grades.
Vietnam has been in negotiations for a free trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) since 2012.

Karin Buchel, head of FTAs and EFTA at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs in Switzerland, highlights the benefits to both sides once such an agreement is in place.

Karin Buchel (right) and Mexican counterpart Cesar Guerra Guerrero. Photo courtesy: EFTA



Where are we now in the negotiations between the EFTA/Switzerland and Vietnam?

Negotiations for a comprehensive free trade agreement started in 2012 and 16 rounds have been held so far. Switzerland and the other EFTA states are seeking to conclude a modern and far-reaching free trade agreement with Vietnam.

The 16th round was held in Oslo, Norway over two years ago and it seems there has been little progress since. Are we facing some obstacles?

In many areas, good progress has been achieved so far and some chapters could already be finalised. Some work still needs to be done in different areas.

As for all negotiations, it is fundamental to gain preferential access covering the main interests and, at the same time, taking into account the sensitivities. For Switzerland, it is also very important to add value with commitments going beyond World Trade Organization agreements, for instance in the protection of intellectual property rights or in the area of government procurement.

What can be done to reach a consensus on the different areas?

In some areas, it must still be determined if a common ground can be found. In Switzerlands view, the respective free trade agreements that both sides have concluded recently could be helpful and could be used as references in order to find solutions between the EFTA states and Vietnam.

The EU-Vietnam FTA is one example of the agreements recently signed and ratified by Vietnam, but the country is also part of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. On the EFTA side, we have concluded several agreements in recent years in Asia, for example with the Philippines and Indonesia.

Therefore, we dont refer to one agreement specifically but hope that our recent respective agreements on both sides could help us solve the last outstanding issues in the negotiations between the EFTA states and Vietnam.

How might trade and investment volumes between Switzerland and Vietnam look like once the FTA is materialised?

The FTA will improve the bilateral market access for trade in goods due to the lowering of tariffs on goods traded between the parties to the FTA. In general, our experience has shown that the volume of trade increases more strongly in the years after the conclusion of an FTA than with non-FTA trading partners.

However, the precise impact of an FTA on the trade between Switzerland and Vietnam is difficult to predict as the development of trade is influenced by multiple factors, such as changes in the exchange rate or in the business cycle.

In 2019, Switzerland and Vietnam traded goods for a value worth CHF3.6 billion ($3.95 billion). Switzerland imported goods for a value worth CHF2.9 billion ($3.18 billion) from Vietnam, while exporting goods for a value worth CHF800 million ($880 million) to Vietnam (without gold bars and other precious metals, coin, precious stones and gems, works of art and antiques, according to the Swiss Federal Customs Administration).

An FTA between Vietnam and Switzerland would also improve legal certainty for investors. International econometric studies find a positive effect of comprehensive FTAs on foreign direct investment (FDI) flows. Some studies also show that the closer the integration is between countries by means of, inter alia, FTAs, the less likely it is that a company will divest.

The Swiss FDI stock in Vietnam has tripled in the last 10 years to around $700 million by the end of 2018 because of the market potential and an already good investment climate in Vietnam. Additional legal certainty by the means of an FTA would benefit this development.

You mentioned protection of intellectual property rights. Which part of these rights concerns you the most?

Swiss products and services enjoy an excellent reputation both domestically and abroad, which is why indications of source such as Swiss, made in Switzerland, or the Swiss Cross are being used with increasing popularity. Switzerland aims at protecting such indications, as well as those of our partner countries in free-trade agreements, building on relevant international treaties.

This is important for both countries because companies that invest in local quality are better protected and consumers have the guarantee that a product or service they buy is of the quality and the high standards that the label promises.

In next October, Switzerland and Vietnam will be commemorating 50 years of diplomatic relations. Is there a political will from both sides towards a conclusion of the FTA?

We are fully aware that we commemorate 50 years of diplomatic relations in 2021 and we would of course welcome a conclusion of our negotiations as soon as possible. However, it is not possible to predict when the negotiations can be concluded. We hope that we will soon be able to solve the last outstanding issues and agree on an ambitious FTA which is beneficial to both sides. VIR

The EFTA comprises of Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland. With a population of 14 million people and an economy of $1.16 trillion as GDP in 2019, the EFTA is the ninth-largest trader in the world in goods and the fifth largest in services. In terms of trade relations with Asia, the EFTA has FTAs with Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Indonesia and is currently in negotiations with India, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, while Switzerland has separate FTAs with Japan and China.

Thuc Minh

Chance of a lifetime Would the movement of the international capital flow together with the re-arrangement of the global supply chain since the start of the Sino-U.S. trade war and especially under the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic
Iran reportedly seized a Liberian-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and then let it go, the AP has reported, quoting a U.S. military official.

According to the official, who remained unnamed as the information they shared was not yet public, the Iranian special forces boarded the vessel from a helicopter and held it for five hours before releasing it. The U.S. Central Command has released a black-and-white video purporting to show the seizure. According to the AP source, the vessel, MV Wila, made no distress calls either before, during, or after the seizure.

The Iranian Strait of Hormuz last year became a focal point of attention for oil industry observers and stakeholders after Iran first threatened to close it amid the growing tensions between it and the United States, and then tried to seize a British-flagged tanker in response to a seizure of an Iranian vessel by the Gibraltar authorities with help from the Royal Navy.

This was not the first time Tehran had used the closure threat: the Strait of Hormuz is the biggest oil chokepoint in the world, seeing some 17 million barrels of oil pass through it every day. Every time tension flares up between Iran and the West, it plays the chokepoint closure card, but it has yet to follow through with this threat.

The U.S. official who talked to AP suggested no reason for the seizure of the MV Wila by the Iranian Navy, and the Iranian authorities have not acknowledged the event.

The latest flare-up between Tehran and Washington came as Washington tried to extend a UN arms embargo on Iran indefinitely. The U.S. circulated a new resolution that would ban Iran from buying conventional weapons indefinitely. However, China and Russiafellow members of the UNs Security Councilhave previously declared their opposition to such a move.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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The Center is committed to building a modern technology-guided think tank brand that supports the integrated development of cultural tourism. Based on the combination of front-line technologies and smart tourism scenes, the Center will conduct innovative technology research and promotes the commercialization and application of research achievements by using pioneering technologies such as big data, Internet of Things and blockchain to help the development of "Digital Yunnan." Meanwhile, the Center will shape itself into a first-class think tank platform and a magnet of top scientists, and international exchange and cooperation. With the Center as the core, Yunnan endeavors to build a smart tourism training base for talent cultivation, and develop a smart tourism industrial park.

The Center consists of six internal institutions, including the Comprehensive Management and External Liaison Office, the Basic Research and Development Center, the Technology Transfer Center, the Industrial Research Center, the Industrial Service Center and the Brand Publicity Center, which will produce four major types of results in the realms of research, application, education and production. It's said that Tengyun and the School of Information Science and Engineering of Yunnan University will also set up "industry-education-research" bases that operate under the Center.

"Research" stands for the research achievements represented by authoritative research reports and works related to smart tourism; "application" means the transformation and application of technological achievements to the smart tourism scenes; "education" refers to the establishment of practice bases, smart tourism-related disciplines in colleges and universities, and talent training platforms; "production" means industrial expansion of the Center to build a smart tourism industrial park.

The establishment of the Center will catalyze the development of tourism, digital economy and new infrastructure in Yunnan Province and even China.

SOURCE Go-Yunnan
Malaysias High Court rejects Rayhan's plea to shorten remand

News Desk :

Malaysia's High Court on Thursday rejected a 13-day remand waiver plea for Bangladeshi migrant worker Md Rayhan Kabir, who was arrested for appearing in an Al Jazeera documentary, his lawyer says.

This in turn maintains the remand detention of the 27-year-old for 13 days starting August 6 continued.

Rayhan's lawyer, Sumitha Shaanthini Kishna, told the Free Malaysia Today



that the High Court upheld the remand based on the grounds of "national integrity," as stated in the Immigration Department's application.

A Malaysian court has remanded Rayhan on August 6 for another 13 days.

"We applied for revision of that order based on the argument that his (original) 14-day remand upon his arrest (on July 24) is sufficient to conduct the necessary investigation," Sumitha said.

Malaysian national news agency Bernama reported that High Court judge Ab Karim Ab Rahman said the 13-day remand was "appropriate" on the grounds that the remand of Rayhan "involved the integrity of the country."

On August 5, Director General of Malaysia's Immigration Department, Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud said, Malaysian authorities are going to deport Rayhan soon.

However, he could not confirm the date of Rayhan's deportation and said the Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur flight may resume after August 31.

On July 25, the Malaysian Immigration Department confirmed that Rayhan had been arrested by its intelligence unit the day before in the Setapak area, following a two-week manhunt.

Rayhan was featured in Al Jazeera's 101 East program "Locked Up in Malaysia's Lockdown," which alleged mistreatment of illegal immigrants in Malaysia during the process of tackling the Covid-19 pandemic.

On July 29, two lawyers representing Rayhan said he had expressed willingness to go back to Bangladesh.

The lawyers said Rayhan had "apologized" for his statement in the interview with Al Jazeera, which was made since he was emotional after seeing his friends detained in raids against undocumented migrants in May.

Different international and Bangladeshi rights bodies, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have condemned the arrest and demanded Rayhan's immediate release.
Commissioners Hold Annual Budget Hearings With Officials Elected officials and department heads in Hill County took their annual opportunity to make funding requests during budget hearings with county commissioners held Tuesday, August 4, and Wednesday, August 5.



While the annual budget hearing process is often lengthy and involves requests for funding across multiple departments, the process moved along more quickly this year as the county projects lost revenue due to COVID-19.



Departments were asked to try and trim five percent from their proposed budgets due to declines in sales tax, fees and other funding sources impacted by the pandemic.



"I can't tell you how nice it was to have all elected officials pulling in the same direction," County Judge Justin Lewis said. "Everybody was doing what they could."



Last year, sales tax revenue was projected at $2,352,000 in the county budget, but this year, that number has been reduced to $1,638,000.



Fees normally collected by the county across multiple departments are also down significantly as normal business operations have been interrupted.



"We're being very conservative in our numbers," Lewis said of the proposed budget. "I hope these numbers go up, but, quite frankly, I don't believe this is going to change before spring of next year."



The proposed county budget for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2020, was filed by Lewis and County Auditor Susan Swilling Wednesday, July 29.



They based the draft of the budget on the "no-new-revenue" tax rate, which was known as the effective rate before Senate Bill 2 went into effect this year.



The no-new-revenue rate is the rate that would produce the same amount of taxes if applied to the same properties taxed last year after taking into account changes in appraised values and new construction.



The rate of $0.517101 per $100 valuation reflects a drop of approximately two cents in the overall Hill County tax rate.



"I proposed the no-new-revenue rate because I believe in my heart it is the right thing to do right now," Lewis said. "It's going to be a hard year for everybody, and just because I'm having a hard time doesn't mean I'm going to reach into someone else's pocket."



Lewis said that he believes the county is providing services as it needs to, and added that something has to be done to slow the rise of overall taxes for residents.



Commissioners voted to officially propose the no-new-revenue rate at a meeting held Tuesday morning, August 11.



The draft of the county budget includes a beginning balance of $8,632,340, revenues of $22,000,365, expenditures of $24,171,819, and a projected ending balance of $6,460,885.



The proposed budget was balanced with the help of an $818,000 surplus in the indigent healthcare budget.



Counties are required to allocate eight percent of their budget to an indigent health care program, which provides basic health care services to those who meet certain criteria and live in extreme poverty.



If all of that funding is not used, it can be transferred back to the general fund.



The county transfers the surplus some years when it is needed and lets it accumulate some budget cycles.



Lewis pointed out that over half of the county's expenses in the budget are unfunded mandates from the state.



A 2018 Texas Association of Counties study based on eight years of data gathered from 137 counties found that such mandates, which the state imposes on counties without providing funding, tend to increase in cost over time.



The study found that unfunded and underfunded mandates across multiple departments impose a significant financial constraint on county budgets and taxpayers.



As officials and department heads filed in to review their budgets with commissioners, there were no major requests this year, although employee pay raises were a topic of discussion for some departments.



The proposed budget includes a one-percent cost of living increase for employees, along with the recently-passed longevity pay benefit based on years of service.



The county is also absorbing an increase in health insurance premiums this year to avoid placing the burden on employees.



Some departments proposed providing additional raises for their employees within their own budgets under the current payroll policy.



While there was discussion about inequities between departments under this model, such raises are currently allowed based on the policy. The court discussed the need to review and adjust the policy to better meet the county's needs.



The annual budget hearings also provide an opportunity for officials and department heads to discuss other issues they are facing and projects that are underway.



Lewis said that he had been on the phone late the previous night attempting to address an issue with jail overcrowding caused by the state not accepting state prison inmates due to COVID-19.



The judge said that as of early last week, 53 inmates needed to be transferred from the Hill County jail. "The state is leaving them on us and we're having increased costs until the state starts taking them," Lewis said.



The other option would be transferring the inmates to other facilities, such as the McLennan County jail, which would cost the county $85 per day per inmate.



Due to the state's inmates being stuck in county jail, the county was under pressure from the jail commission to move inmates by early last week.



After a night of phone calls with Senator Brian Birdwell, Representative Cody Harris and Texas Department of Criminal Justice Executive Director Bryan Collier, the state eventually agreed to pick up some inmates, and Lewis reported Monday that 28 had been transferred out of the county jail by the end of last week.



When Elections Administrator Aaron Torres came before the court, the conversation turned to future plans for the county's elections.



Torres said that using the Hill County Exhibits Building as an early voting location worked well to help facilitate social distancing in the primary runoff. It may be used with additional modifications for voter safety, such as the installation of Plexiglas, in the upcoming election.



The possibility of holding county-wide voting in the future was also discussed, although it will not be a possibility in the November election.



Counties that have implemented county-wide voting allow voters to cast a ballot at any polling place in the county rather than reporting to a specific precinct.



Torres said that the long-term goal is to move in the direction of county-wide voting, but additional technology to provide connectivity between polling places would need to be implemented first.



Another topic of discussion was planning for two special budgets operated by the countythe tourism and economic development funds.



Lewis said that one proposal involves working with area chambers of commerce to promote economic development in the unincorporated ares of the county.



Plans were expected to be discussed at upcoming meetings of the Commissioners Court.



The court will continue reviewing the working draft of the budget, with final approval expected by September.


BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug.13

By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:

The value of trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Portugal amounted to $6.3 million over first five months of 2020, compared to $170.7 million during the same period of 2019, Trend reports with reference to Kazakhstans Statistics Committee.

The share of Portugal in total value of Kazakhstans trade turnover stood at less than 0.1 percent during the reporting period compared to 0.5 percent during the same period of 2019.

Kazakhstans export to Portugal amounted to $4,700 over the period from January through May 2020, compared to $164.5 million during the same period of 2019.

Portugals share in total volume of Kazakhstans export amounted to less than 0.1 percent during the reporting period of 2020 compared to 0.7 percent during the same period of 2019.

In turn, Kazakhstans imports from Portugal amounted to nearly $6.3 million over the reporting period, compared to $6.1 million during the same period of 2019, indicating an almost two-times decrease.

Portugals share in total volume of Kazakhstans import amounted to 0.1 percent during the reporting period of 2020 compared to less than 0.1 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).

---

Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh
TORONTO - Brookfield Asset Management Inc. has assembled a huge pile of cash and funding commitments from its partners to take advantage of huge opportunities that will arise for it as a result of the COVID crisis, executives said Thursday

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 13/8/2020 (524 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brookfield Asset Management's senior managing partner and CEO Bruce Flatt attends the company's AGM in Toronto on Wednesday, May 6, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

TORONTO - Brookfield Asset Management Inc. has assembled a huge pile of cash and funding commitments from its partners to take advantage of huge opportunities that will arise for it as a result of the COVID crisis, executives said Thursday

Chief executive Bruce Flatt told analysts Thursday that Brookfield currently has US$77 billion available to deploy as opportunities arise over the next 12 months as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The most important is that many countries around the world will have to off-load spending onto the private sector and sell assets," Flatt said.

He said that bodes well for Brookfield's infrastructure and renewable businesses, which make money from buying, selling and managing those types of assets for institutional investors such as sovereign wealth funds and pensions.

In addition, Flatt said Brookfield will be able to provide the private sector with capital that will be needed as governments around the world wind down pandemic programs.

Brookfield has several ways to fill that need, he said, including US$12 billion of commitments to a fund for buying discounted debt issued by financially distressed businesses.

Its flagship funds for property, infrastructure, renewable and private equity investments will also be in position to be buyers or sellers depending on the conditions, he added.

Brookfield said its infrastructure and renewable energy businesses are positioned to take advantage of two merging trends in communications and solar technology.

Bahir Manios, managing partner of the Brookfield infrastructure group, said "we're currently witnessing a once in a 100-year investment upgrade cycle" as telecom operators replace old equipment with wireless and fibre networks to meet demand in an increasingly online world.

"Historically, these investments were funded by telecom operators. Given increasing demands on their capital, these operators are now seeking new funding partners," Manios said.

Brookfield's data infrastructure business already owns a portfolio of cell towers in six countries and data centres in 14 countries as well as fixed and wireless networks serving more than 2.5 million residential and enterprise customers.

In addition, Manios said, Brookfield sees an opportunity to supply some of the additional energy that will be required by computer data centres over the next decade  estimated at 30 gigagwatts (30 million kilowatts)

"We're exploring the potential to bundle data centres and renewable power and provide a turnkey green data centre solution," Manios said.

Earlier, the company reported a US$656 million net loss in its latest quarter, ended June 30, as it revalued its real estate portfolio lower amid the pandemic.

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Brookfield holds large interests in several publicly traded partnerships, including a 53 per cent stake in Brookfield Property Partners, which reported last week that it had been significantly affected by closures in its hospitality and retail assets due to the pandemic.

The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars and has many operations outside Canada, said the loss attributable to shareholders amounted to 43 cents per diluted share.

A year earlier, it had a profit of $399 million or 24 cents per diluted share.

"The good news is that those operating businesses that were impacted are now all recovering, and the balance of the year should be better," Brookfield said Thursday in a letter to shareholders.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 13, 2020.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BAM.A, TSX:BPY.UN, TSX:BIP.UN, TSX:BEP.UN)
Heidi Klum beamed in a set of shots on her Instagram page Wednesday, as she's thrilled to be back on the set of America's Got Talent for the show's 15th season.

The 47-year-old model donned denim shorts on the sunny summer day in Southern California, pairing it with a light-blue long sleeved top and white heels.

The mom-of-four - to daughters Leni, 16, (with ex Flavio Briatore) and Lou, 10, and sons Henry, 14, Johan, 13 (with ex Seal) - shared frames of her day on Instagram Stories, as she also played with video filters and showed off sandals from her line.

Almost showtime: Heidi Klum, 47, beamed in a set of shots on her Instagram page Wednesday, as she's thrilled to be back on the set of America's Got Talent for the show's 15th season

The German supermodel, who is wed to Tokio Hotel guitarist Tom Kaulitz, later shared a shot of herself on the set donning a feathered corset with sheer paneling and with creme slacks.

Klum, who appears with Simon Cowell, Sofia Vergara and Howie Mandel on the NBC series, told People Wednesday about her initial fears upon learning Cowell broke his back in a bike accident at his home in Malibu, California, and how the music magnate is progressing.

'When we woke up on Sunday morning to the news, you think, 'Oh my gosh, will he ever walk again?' Klum told the publication of Cowell, who underwent five hours of surgery for the injury.

She said she was 'told he already got up out of the bed, which is just incredible,' as an insider told the outlet that the AGT creator has already been 'walking around again' amid his expected return to the show (with Kelly Clarkson subbing for him as he recovers).

Relaxed: The AGT judge shared a shot inside her trailer on the set of the NBC series

Fashionista: Klum wore her blonde locks up on the busy weekday

'Who knows maybe next week he will be sitting there with us again, at the speed he's going!' she said. 'I hope he does.'

Klum said that news of Cowell's accident struck her particularly hard amid a rough year that has seen life drastically change amid the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

'I was like, "What else is happening?"' she said. 'Every morning you wake up to another crazy news and I hope this is it for now. Can we just turn the page and can life get better? We're all hoping for that.'

She said that returning to work to watch performances on the show earlier this week was a respite from the madness.

Downtime: Heidi played with video filters while relaxing in her trailer

Stylish: The German supermodel later shared a shot of herself on the set donning a feathered corset with sheer paneling and with creme slacks

Change of pace: She said that returning to work to watch performances on the show earlier this week was a respite from the madness 2020 has brought

'It was beautiful for two hours for me tonight to be in this moment because it is very hard to forget about all these different things that are happening right now, not just the pandemic. There's so much stuff going on.

'I was there with the talent, and it felt really good to laugh out loud, see my friends and see these amazing people who deserve to be there and deserve to be seen,' she said. 'It felt really good to disappear and be in that moment for two hours with the acts.'

America's Got Talent can be seen Tuesdays and Wednesdays on NBC at 8/7c.
Permian Basin oil producers, under increasing pressure to reduce the amount of natural gas that they burn during drilling operations, may have found a solution to convert waste gas into a super-cool product.

The answer could be small-scale liquefied natural gas plants, which chill the gas to minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit and convert it to liquid that is easier to transport to power plants and other markets. These small-scale plants produce no more than 100,000 gallons of LNG per day, compared to millions of gallons produced at massive LNG processing and export facilities along the Gulf and East coasts.

The technology has been used for decades across to service niche natural gas markets -- such as Northeast, where small-scale plants provide natural gas to power plants during high-demand winter months, or along Floridas Atlantic coast, where the plants fuel oceangoing vessels.

In recent years, a new generation of even smaller LNG units, known as micro-scale plants, have been developed. These units, which produce no more than 10,000 gallons of LNG per day, are small enough to be hauled by trucks to well sites to process natural gas.

The small-scale LNG industry has bypassed the Permian, which stretches from West Texas into New Mexico, but that could change as the volumes of natural gas that are burned away remain at or near record levels in the Permian. The practice, known as flaring, has come under increasing scrutiny and criticism, not only for the greenhouse gases and other pollutants spewed into the atmosphere, but also because its wastes a valuable resource.

Natural gas is a byproduct of oil drilling. In the Permian, the largest oil-producing basin the world, the combination of sustained low natural gas prices, inadequate pipeline capacity and relatively high transportation costs has led many oil producers to simply burn the gas.

Between April 2019 and April 2020, oil companies in the Texas portions of the Permian burned away 146 billion cubic feet of natural gas  equivalent to the consumption of two-thirds of Texas households  according to the Railroad Commission, which regulates the states oil and gas industry.

SLOW BURN: Railroad Commission moves toward adopting industry recommendations on flaring

The Railroad Commission has done little to rein in flaring  it did not deny a single flaring request of more than 27,000 made over seven years, according to the advocacy group Environmental Defense Fund  but that appears to be changing. The commission has rejected eight flaring permits since February, a spokesman said.

The commission also is considering tighter faring rules, relying heavily on a report by the Texas Methane and Flaring Coalition, a group comprising oil and gas companies and industry associations. The group recommended that small-scale LNG production be considered as an alternative, a proposal that could be aided by the Trump administrations recent decision to allow the transport of LNG by rail.

Finding customers the key

Small-scale LNG plants operate on the same principles as huge liquefaction and export facilities: natural gas is compressed then piped through a cold-box surrounded by liquid nitrogen, which brings the temperature to minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit and conversts it to a liqueied. That allows the gas to be more easily transported; the case of the small-scale plants, by tanker truck, and large plants, by ocean-going vessel.

Size and cost are the mains differences between the two classes of LNG plants said Jim Reddinger, CEO of Stabilis Energy, which operates a 100,000-gallon-per-day LNG plant in the South Texas town of George West. The Stabilis plant cost $40 million to $45 million to build, Reddinger said.

An LNG export facility along the Gulf Cost can cost some $8 billion and produce as much as 10 million gallons of LNG per day.

The key to establishing a robust small-scale industry in the Permian lies in first finding customers for the final product, said Ken Kelley, owner of Amarillo-based Kelley GTM Manufacturing. Kelleys family-owned group of companies has been in the specialty gas transportation business since 1946 and formerly owned a small-scale LNG facility in Willis.

In 2004, Kelley sold the Willis plant to Clean Energy, a company part-owned by legendary wildcatter T. Boone Pickens.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT: Researchers fine more premature births in areas near flaring

Kelley said the Permian Basin is a great untapped market for LNG, which when revaporized gas can fuel drilling rigs and hydraulic fracturing pumps, displacing more expensive and less environmentally friendly diesel. LNG can also run generators at remote sites far from the electric grid.

Youre going to save money, said Kelley.

From small- to micro-scale

If LNG finds a market in the Permian Basin, it most likely will start with micro-liquefaction units that can be hauled to a well pad by tractor-trailer. One company seeking to establish a beachhead in the Permian is Edge LNG, which operates 42-foot-by-12-foot LNG processing plants  about one-third the size of an average mobile home  known as Cryoboxes.

Each Cryobox unit can process up to 1 million cubic feet of gas per day, which yields about 10,000 gallons of LNG.

Edge LNG already operates in the Marcellus shale in the Northeast and the Bakken in North Dakota. In the Bakken, Edges customers are able transport the LNG to well site and use cleaner burning fuel to replace about half diesel powers rigs, fracking fleets and other equipment, said Edge CEO Mark Casaday.

Although Edge has not signed up any Permian producers, Casaday said that once the company lands a customer and starts producing LNG in the Permian, other contracts should follow.

Famous last words, he said. Were very close to a number of deals, both in the Midland the Delaware basins.

FUEL FIX: Get energy news sent directly to your inbox

The Midland is the eastern section of the Permian, the Delaware the western part.

The economics of operating in the Permian would be somewhat different than in the Bakken. Because the Permian gas is very rich in natural gas liquids, such as propane and butane, the gas will have to be run through a separate gas processing plant to strip out the liquids, before going tp the liquefaction unit to convert the gas to a liquid, Casaday said.

On any given day, Casaday estimated, 50 to 70 to rigs are running in the Permian, enough to provide healthy demand for locally produced LNG.

To make the economics work, he said, you need drilling rigs and you need the frack crews, thats what really burns the gas as fuel.

Game-changer: LNG by rail

A decision by the Trump administration to allow the transport of LNG by rail  announced by President Donald Trump last year in Crosby could be a game-changer for the small-scale LNG. In June, regulators issued the final rule, which would allow each rail car to carry about 30,000 gallons of LNG.

Kelley said the new regulations will make it economical to export Permian LNG to Mexico, where natural gas fetches a price a price of $8 per 1,000 cubic feet, far above U.S. gas prices, which for many months have averaged around $2 per 1,000 cubic foot. The differential between domestic and Mexican prices could provide further incentive for Permian producers to capture natural gas rather than flaring it.

I think you can stick a couple of 100,000-, 200,000-gallon-per-day plants in the Permian, Kelley said, and you can ship the heck out of that into Mexico.
Myanmar's military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing speaks at the opening ceremony of the third session of the 21st-Century Panglong Conference in Naypyidaw, July 11, 2018.

One week before Myanmar hosts a final round of peace talks with ethnic armies before year-end elections, leader Aung San Suu Kyis peace efforts are under fire from its military chief and critics who say a cumbersome process with little political support has made little progress in five years.

Aung San Suu Kyi won office in 2015 on a platform of establishing a civilian government after decades of military rule, and reviving efforts to end wars between the national army and dozens of armed ethnic groups that stretch back to the countrys independence from Britain in 1948.

The centerpiece of Aung San Suu Kyis efforts is the 21st-Century Panglong Conference, named after talks where her father, independence leader Aung San, signed a pact in 1947 on union with major ethnic groups that unraveled within a year, spawning wars over autonomy, territory and resources that rage on today.

In the run-up to the next Panglong gathering, scheduled for Aug. 19-21 in the capital Naypyidaw, Aung San Suu Kyi and her ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) government have taken flak from multiple directions even as squabbling continues over the agenda and the guest list for the talks.

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of Myanmars powerful military, said the government's National Reconciliation and Peace Center (NRPC), which runs the peace negotiations and is chaired by Aung San Suu Kyi, has been ineffective and has failed to include members of the military negotiating team.

The military wants to strengthen trust by ending the fighting and moving on to peace talks with the various armed ethnic organizations, he said in a rare interview with the Russian magazine Politic, which was reprinted in the Myanmar military journal Myawaddy this week.

However, we feel frustrated with the results of the peace process, discussions, and negotiations, Min Aung Hlaing said.

He noted that the Myanmar military implemented a nine-month unilateral truce from Dec 2018 to Sept. 2019, but asserted that ethnic armies had strengthened their power, expanded territory under their control, and imposed burdens on civilians.

Peace is the most important thing for our country, and I really desire it. However, peace cannot be implemented unilaterally. It needs all-inclusiveness, Min Aung Hlaing said, and urged ethnic rebel armies to join talks on peace, including cease-fires, with the NRPC.

RFA could not reach government and military spokesmen for comment on the interview.

Myanmar's State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi (C) attends the closing ceremony of the second session of the 21st-Century Panglong Conference in Naypyidaw, May 29, 2017. Credit: AFP Trust hard to build

Monywa Aung Shin, secretary of the NLDs Central Information Committee, told RFA on July 14 that the NLDs role in the peace process is to facilitate talks between the military and ethnic armies.

The NLD government is just a medium to facilitate the peace process, he said. The armed groups will make the real decision. It is ethnic armed groups and the military troops.

Min Aung Hlaing is at the top of the list of six Myanmar generals recommended by a U.N. fact-finding team for referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for prosecution on genocide-related charges over a scorched-earth military campaign that forced more than 740,000 stateless Rohingya to flee into Bangladesh.

The commander in chief, who is also under U.S. and British sanctions and travel bans, heads an army that does not answer to civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and retains an effective veto in parliament as well as control over the police.

With the civilian government and the powerful military not working in tandem in the peace talks, trust is hard to build, say participants.

The peace talks would be more effective if the government and the military are in agreement with the policies, said Lamai Gum Jar from the Myitkyina-based Peace-talk Creation Group (PCG) which helps a Kachin military group negotiate with the government.

Now, the government and the military delegates frequently contradict each other and have caused delays during the peace talks, he said.

Colonel Naw Bu, spokesman for the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), agreed with Gum Jar's assessment.

With the NLD government, it is like twin governments with the military and government administration as separate entities, he said. It has caused many obstacles in peace negotiations. Sometimes negotiations for a cease-fire are going well with the NRPC, but not with the military.

It is hard for us to know which one has the final say, he added.

Hla Maung Shwe, an adviser to the governments Peace Commission, said he is not satisfied with the state of talks, after three sessions were held in August 2016, May 2017, and July 2018.

We want to achieve more, but under the current circumstances the negotiations are quite challenging, he said.

Representatives from the Myanmar government, the military, and ethnic armed groups attend the final day of the first session of the 21st-Century Panglong Conference in Naypyidaw, Sept. 3, 2016. Credit: Associated Press Complex process

The immensely complex peace process began under former president Thein Sein (2011-2016), who convinced eight ethnic armed organizations to sign a nationwide cease-fire accord (NCA) in October 2015. Two other groups signed the accord in February 2018, though eight others still have not.

The 10 armed groups that have signed the NCA are the All Burma Students Democratic Front, Arakan Liberation Party, Chin National Front, Democratic Karen Benevolent Army, Karen National Union, Karen National Liberation Army Peace Council, the Pa-O National Liberation Organization, the Restoration Council of Shan State, New Mon State Party, and Lahu Democratic Union.

Those which have not signed are the United Wa State Army, Kachin Independence Army, National Democratic Alliance Army (Mongla group), Shan State Progressive Party/Shan State Army-North, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (Kokang group), Taang National Liberation Army, Arakan Army, and Karenni National Progressive Party.

Seven of the NCA non-signatories have not yet decided whether they will attend the NLD governments final peace conference session on Aug. 19-21. The government did not invite the Arakan Army, which is battling Myanmar forces in Rakhine state, and the AAs allies are staying away in solidarity.

Brigadier General Tar Phone Kyaw, secretary general of the Palaung State Liberation Front (PSLF) and the second-in-command of its armed wing, the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA), said the government needs to change some of the conditions it wants NCA non-signatories to agree to.

It has required us to sign bilateral agreements for cease-fires with the Myanmar military, government, and four remaining ethnic armed groups, he said. Then, we may discuss how we can join NCA, together with the FPNCC [Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee.]

The FPNCC was set up in 2017 to represent ethnic armies that have not signed the NCA.

There are some points we cannot accept. Therefore, we decided not to join it, Tar Phone Kyaw said.

If they want us to join now, they need to change these points. The peace talks have been stalled because they are not clear about how we will proceed, he added.

Colonel Khun Okkar, chairman of the Shan state-based Pa-O National Liberation Organization, an NCA signatory, said all government, military and ethnic armed groups are responsible for the lack of progress.

There are disagreements between the military and government, he said. There are unclear designations about which issues will be worked on by the coordination team from the military.

The government has failed in many areas, he said. The participants from the ethnic armed groups are also responsible. We have been wasting time, and there is not as much progress as there should have been.

Going on forever

Thein Tun Oo from the pro-military think tank Thayninga Institute for Strategic Studies said he agreed with top general Min Aung Hlaings assessment, saying the problem is the government does not have strong policies on the processes,

If it continues the peace process with indecisiveness, it will keep going on forever, said added Thein Tun Oo, who added that the government has no political will to guarantee the outcomes.

Min Zaw Oo of the Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security said next weeks session could cover aspects of federalism and point the way to future talks under the new government produced by elections on Nov. 8.

It is possible that the peace process will continue into the next governments tenure, he added. I dont think any significant agreements will come from this one.



Reported by Kan Thar, Thiha Tun, and Nay Myo Htun for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated By Ye Kaung Myint Maung. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Mashi

The Permanent Secretary of Federal Ministry of Health, Abdullahi Mashi, has been rushed to the hospital after he slumped during a Ministerial Tenders Board, MTB, meeting at the ministrys head office, Abuja.

DAILY NIGERIAN gathered that the permanent secretary had earlier complained of a slight headache and dizziness during the meeting but shoved it aside, only for him to collapse a few moments after.

The permanent secretary who was presiding over the meeting before the incident has since been taken to a hospital.

Mr Mashi, an accountant by profession and an indigene of Katsina State, was deployed from the Federal Ministry of Communications in June this year.

Before his appointment as permanent secretary, he was the Director of Finance and Accounts in Nigeria Security and Defence Corps, Abuja.

Efforts to contact the spokesperson of the ministry, Boade Akinola, proved abortive as at the time of filing this report.

Details later
On August 7, 2020, Hoa Binh Construction Group signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning Vietnam Limited Liability Company.

Accordingly, Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning Vietnam Limited Liability Company will supply products, supporting services, operational training, and transfers of training in terms of products and solutions, with the most advanced technology for Hoa Binh Construction Group to employ in projects and constructions.

Based on the experience, potential, and reputable brand of both sides, this cooperation marks and opens up great opportunities in the business activities of Hoa Binh Group and Johnson Controls-Hitachi in Vietnam, Japan, and globally.

Hoa Binh's vision is to build a new, smart city in which the central air-conditioning system for the whole city is the foundation. Therefore, Johnson Controls believes that we will contribute to the development of Hoa Binh, Nguyen Quang Hien, general director of Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning Vietnam, said at the signing ceremony.

As a strategic partner, we wish to be able to accompany the group on the journey to conquer new heights.

Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning Vietnam is a Vietnam-based subsidiary of Johnson Controls-Hitachi Group with more than 130 years of establishment and development together with Johnson Controls, a global leading brand of energy-technology solutions in construction, and Hitachi, a popular brand name of refrigeration products.

Signing this agreement will help Hoa Binh Construction Group expand its supply chain as well as orient its development toward foreign markets in the golden decade of 2020-30.

Hoa Binh is making efforts to strengthen connections, establish optimal ecosystems, and ensure reciprocity in order to promote the development of Vietnams construction industry in foreign markets.
We would like to congratulate the Electoral Commission of Ghana led by Madam Jean Mensah for how they have successfully compiled a new register for the 2020 elections and beyond.



The EC deserves commendation particularly given the amount of rancour that preceded the registration process. Ghanaians were fretted about the entire exercise owing to the deliberate NDC-sponsored fear-mongering. As per the constitution, the EC has unfettered constitutional powers to carry out its mandate in accordance with the constitution.



As clear as this constitutional provision is, the NDC and its privies, allies, and proxies, went on a bile campaign to bastardise the EC with special attention on its chair, Madam Jean Mensah. Ghanaians recall how the NDC in power, through its flagbearer, then President Mahama, defended the constitutional immunity of the EC but have surprisingly, albeit typically, thrown their once revered stance to the dogs for political expediency.



With the abled leadership of the President, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the doom and gloom predicted and yearned for by the NDC, didn't see the light of the day. The Youth Wing  is proud of the demonstrable leadership shown by the President in the face of the heavy turbulence generated by the NDC and the barefaced lies thrown at his personality.



Contrary to the allegation of voter suppression thrown at the President by the NDC and their assigns, the data so far has shown that no such thing occurred. The allegation of using the military to intimidate people has proven to be a sham and a frolic of the NDC's unhinged imagination. Indeed the NPP's long-held view that foreigners have found their way onto our register, is confirmed by the many foreigners who are standing trial for attempting to register. Others have already been handed jail sentences by our courts.



Security agencies have conducted themselves well in the execution of their duty to police our borders and secure them from intrusion. Is it not amazing that anytime the issue of preventing foreigners from registering in Ghana to vote is mentioned, the NDC becomes uncomfortable? Why can't the NDC bring suggestions forward on how to achieve a clean register?



As mentioned by his excellency, and reinforced by many credible surveys, the President is on a sound footing as far as a victory in 2020 is concerned. No voter needs to be suppressed before the inevitable defeat of the NDC can be achieved. All the attempts to fuel ethnic tensions have failed due to the exceptional leadership of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who refused to be provoked.



Transparency of the EC in this process has been phenomenal. All parties were given daily printouts of registration at each and every polling station. Additionally, the EC gave periodic updates on the state of affairs in terms of the statistics and the next line of action. This is an extra layer of transparency which makes it impossible for manipulation as alleged by the NDC.



Ghana has a long history of pockets of violence during registration exercises and this year is no exception. The NPP Germany branch Youth Wing  joins the many decent voices to condemn any acts of violence that ensued during the process at few locations. Though we acknowledge these kinds of cases have become a regular feature of our registration exercises, it is our contention that, this year's cases are far lower than what we witnessed under previous regimes.



We commend the over 16 million Ghanaians, who came out in their numbers to register to assert their franchise come 2020 without fear. Ghana has once again proven to be a bastion of democracy in Africa. This feat is to the glory of all Ghanaians.



Also, the yeomanry of the National Executive Committee of the NPP and the party agents who are mostly the unsung heroes is highly commendable. We single out Mr. John Boadu, Sammy Awuku, and Lawyer Henry Nana Boakye Nana B for special mention for their super commitment throughout the exercise. Kudos to these gallant officers.



It is our prayer and hope, that, under the competent leadership of H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, H.E. Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and the credible EC, Ghana will witness incidence-free elections that will keep NDC in opposition again in 2020, giving room to #4More4Nana To do more for Ghanaians.



God bless our homeland Ghana. God bless NPP Germany Branch.



Signed

Mr. Emmanuel Oppong Boakye-Yiadom ('PROF'/OBEY)

Branch Youth Organizer.









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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Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl released yesterday and the film is already getting great reviews from critics.

With stellar performances from an ensemble cast of actors like Janhvi Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, and Vineet Kumar Singh, the film has proved to be different from the other biopics released recently.

The director of the film, Sharan Sharma took to Instagram to share heartfelt notes for the actors in the film. He first posted a note for Janhvi Kapoor, thanking her for trusting him with the film. He writes:

"My friend JK. I am so lucky to have gotten the chance to work with you on this film. You are not just an actor in this film but have been a creative collaborator through this journey."

He further talks about the great experiences he shared with Janvhi on the set:

"It has been such an amazing, deep, and enriching journey. You are the most sincere, hard-working, honest, dedicated person I know. Always willing to explore, always willing to do whatever it takes to learn and get better. The passion you have for your work is unbelievable."

He also talks about his initial expectations with the film:

"I remember in our first meeting, I told you that I cant promise you that we will make a good film, but I can promise you that we will work hard and give it our best. Like the legend, MSD always says - Respect the process and let the results take care of themselves. Thank you, JK for respecting the process, and thank you for your enthusiasm and spirit that you brought to the film!."

Take a look at the full post here:

In another post, the director thanked Pankaj Tripathi who plays the role of Gunjan's father in the film. Sharan goes on to call him one of the 'best actors' in the world right now:

"It is fair to say that Pankaj sir is not only one of the best actors in India but in the world. I am so lucky to get to work with him on my first film."

Then Sharan goes on to talk about how he learned as to what it means to be a great actor while working with Pankaj Tripathi:

"Pankaj Sir redefined the meaning of the term GREAT ACTOR. Pankaj sir taught me that a great actor is someone, who is always open-minded and willing to explore. A great actor is someone who is always thinking about what is best for the film. A great actor is someone who always brings out the best not only from their co-actors but the entire crew too. Thank you Pankaj sir. The experience of working and interacting with you is just so special."

As far as the film is concerned, it was inspired by the achievements of Flight Lieutenant (Retd.) Gunjan Saxena, who became the first woman to join the Indian Air Force as a pilot at the young age of 24 and also served in the '99 Kargil war.

She was also the maiden female recipient of the Shaurya Vir Award, which was awarded to her for displaying courage and grit during the Kargil conflict.

The film also highlights her family's support in her endeavour to achieve her dreams.

With a brilliant debut film, we hope to see more of director Sharan Sharma's work soon.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-14 05:36:48|Editor: huaxia

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AMMAN, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Jordan on Thursday urged Israel to engage in direct and serious peace talks after a peace deal was announced between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel.

The remarks were made by Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, who said Israel has to choose either the just peace that ends the occupation and resort to the two-state solution or continuing the conflict that is exacerbated by Israel's violations to the legitimate Palestinian rights.

Safadi said in a statement that the deal would be associated with Israel's actions in the post-agreement period.

The minister said that if Israel deals with the agreement as a means to end the occupation and meet the Palestinians' rights to freedom and a viable and independent state along the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, the region will move ahead towards realizing peace. Otherwise, Israel will deepen the conflicts that will jeopardize the entire region's security.

The minister said that Israel's decision to freeze the annexation of Palestinian lands mentioned in the agreement with the UAE has to be followed by stopping its illegitimate procedures.

He said that the freezing decision must be immediately followed by embarking on direct, serious, and effective negotiations to realize peace according to the two-state solution, the international law, and the Arab peace initiative.

The just and comprehensive peace constitutes an Arab strategic option and importance for the regional and international peace and security, he said, which will never be attained as long as the occupation exists and Israel persists on its policies that kill the two-state solution and blow the pillars of the peace process.

He also reiterated that the region is on a crossroad currently, either a peace that ends the occupation and meets all the legitimate rights of Palestinians, or a conflict.

He said that Jordan supports any real efforts that can contribute to realizing just and comprehensive peace.

Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994. Enditem
Taiwan unveiled a $1.4-billion increase for next years planned defence spending on Thursday, as China announced details of its latest combat drills near the democratic island. China has stepped up its military activity near Taiwan, which it regards as a breakaway province. On Monday, Taiwan said Chinese fighters briefly crossed the sensitive median line of the Taiwan Strait, the same day US health chief Alex Azar met President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei. China had denounced Azars trip. Tsais Cabinet is proposing T$453.4 billion in ...
An action of solidarity with participants of the protest actions that began after the elections of the Belarusian president last Sunday, August 9, took place in Kyiv near the building of Belarusian embassy on Thursday evening.

As the correspondent of Interfax-Ukraine reports, about 300 people gathered for the rally near the Embassy of Belarus. The event was organized by the international human rights organization Amnesty International.

The protesters brought with them posters calling to stop violence by law enforcement officers against protesters across Belarus, to release political prisoners, as well as white-red-white symbols.

Several protesters in balaclavas and with homemade shields lined up at the gates of the embassy, imitating the Belarusian OMON.

People chanted: "Long live Belarus!" and "Freedom for political prisoners!"

The protesters also demanded the release of Ukrainian volunteers from the Vostok-SOS organization, Kostiantyn Reutsky and Yevhen Vasyliev, who were detained in Belarus on Thursday.

The embassy building was guarded by the servicemen of the National Guard of Ukraine, the law and order at the rally are provided by the employees of the National Police.

The protesters tried to enter the roadway on Kotsiubynskoho Street at the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus, they were stopped by law enforcement officers. After a verbal skirmish, the police blocked the street and allowed the protesters to occupy the roadway.

Several Belarusian citizens from Gomel and Minsk, who were forced to leave or not return to their home country from Ukraine after the start of the protests, also took part in the action.

At about 18:00 Thursday, the action officially ended, but people did not disband and, according to one of the participants, demand the release of Ukrainian citizens detained in Belarus.
Harward Media Celebrating Inc 5000 Ranking

Harward Media ranks 443rd nationally and 12th in Utah according to the 2020 Inc. 5000. The company grew 1,031 percent to make their national debut among the nation's fastest growing companies in America and is on track to more than double their year-over-year growth in 2020. Harward Media attributes its growth to relentless focus on development for algorithm-based markets.

"We are ecstatic to learn we ranked among the top 500 in this years Inc 5000," states Jason Harward, CEO and Founder of Harward Media. "Creating brands built for rapid scale in a fully digital world is our foundation, and we are making brands in markets we never thought possible for the ecomm world."

The Inc 5,000 companies combined generated $209 billion in 2019 revenue, accounting for over 1 million jobs over the past three years. During a stretch when the economy grew around 15 percent, the 2020 Inc 5000 averaged a growth of over 500 percent.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000. The top 500 companies are also being featured in the September issue of Inc., available on newsstands August 12.

The companies on this years Inc. 5000 come from nearly every realm of business, says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. From health and software to media and hospitality, the 2020 list proves that no matter the sector, incredible growth is based on the foundations of tenacity and opportunism.

Harward Media's data-first approach creates an advantage for brands when it comes to speed. New and established businesses are able to test and reach a point of strategic understanding far quicker than traditional e-commerce methods. With clients worldwide, Harward Media's latest client brands each grew between 200 and 900 percent in 6 months.

The Inc 5000 ranking is Harward Media's first award of national prestigious and is added to their list of eighteen, 2-Comma-Club awards, an industry specific, award recognizing individual products that generated $1 million or more.

More About Inc. and the Inc. 5000

Methodology

The 2020 Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2016 and 2019. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2016. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2016 is $100,000; the minimum for 2019 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Companies on the Inc. 500 are featured in Inc.s September issue. They represent the top tier of the Inc. 5000, which can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000.

About Harward Media

Harward Media owns and operates a portfolio of e-commerce brands providing physical goods throughout North America. In addition to their own portfolio, its other operations include business consulting and marketing services. Harward Media is headquartered in American Fork, Utah with offices and warehousing in Georgia and abroad.

About the CEO

High school Dropout turned race car driver, Jason Harward founded Harward Media in 2012 with his wife and COO Jocelynn Harward. A Utah native with no formal training, Jason, an alumnus to the "school of trial and error," started his first business at seventeen and never looked back. Jason, serves as CEO at Harward Media, overseeing the Harward Media brands and other ventures.

For more information please contact:

Ford Newsome

Director - Harward Media

ford@harwardmedia.com
Updated: Maelor School and Coleg Cambria students receive their A Level results

This article is old - Published: Thursday, Aug 13th, 2020

Hundreds of students across Wrexham are waking up this morning to the results of their AS and A Levels.

The circumstances around this years results have been exceptionally unusual, with exams cancelled earlier this year when the coronavirus pandemic hit.

Instead an alternative way to grading A Level and GCSE students was put in place.

Concerns have been voiced that it will result in a repeat of what happened in Scotland, where many pupils were unhappy that they had been awarded lower grades than they had been predicted.

However Yesterday Education Minister Kirsty Williams announced that A Level grades in Wales cannot be lower than a students AS grade.

The minister also confirmed that all appeals will be free for Welsh students, to ensure there is no financial barrier to ensure learners feel their exam grades are fair.

The results in Wales for A, AS level and the Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate (ASCC) have increased in Wales but are broadly similar to recent years:

* 29.9% achieved an A* or A for A level, up 2.9 percentage points from 2019.

* 22.2% achieved an A for AS, up 1.9 percentage points from last year.

* 22.6% achieved an A* or A in the ASCC, up 1.1 percentage points from last year.

* 98.6% achieved A*-E at A level compared with 97.6% in 2019.

* 91.4% achieved A-E at AS level compared with 90.0% in 2019.

The number of A level qualifications entries in Wales continues to fall, standing at 30,448 this year compared with 31,483 in 2019, a decrease of 3.3%. There has been a steady decline since 2015 when 36,034 A level qualifications were taken.

At the Maelor School, Penley over 80 Year 13 A level students received their results from The Maelor Sixth these in unusual circumstances.

Headteacher Simon Ellis commented There already has been, and will be, plenty of discussion about the way in which grades have been calculated this year.

What I do know is that this year group have proved themselves to be dedicated, hardworking and resilient in very challenging circumstances.

Whether they have been with us for the past seven years or joined from another secondary school at 16, their approach to their studies means that they deserve to achieve the very best grades.

The results are yet again outstanding and reflect the sixth forms performance over the past five years. We will be following their careers closely as they progress either through university, training or employment and I know their approach to the recent situation has made them adaptable as well as academically strong.

Director of 6th Form Mrs Penny Ellwood said I am delighted with what this year group have achieved, and to have done it in these circumstances is remarkable.

We will continue to support them to access their preferred university or apprenticeship over the next few weeks. They deserve to be congratulated and know that despite their examinations being cancelled, they have earned every grade awarded. I look forward to the day that we can celebrate together at our rearranged prom.

Speaking this morning, Ms Williams said: I want to send my very best wishes to everyone who receives their A-level, AS, Welsh Bacc and vocational qualification grades today.

Due to the many changes weve had to make this year in exceptional circumstances, youve had to make many sacrifices.

But you have every reason to be proud of all the work youve done, which will serve you well, and proud of the determination you have shown to overcome this challenging time.

I hope you get the grades youd hoped for, and you can continue with your educational journey in the autumn. Although many of you will be pleased with your results and excited for your next step, if you didnt get what youd hoped, theres plenty of options & advice on Working Wales.

Best of luck, and best wishes for the future.

Coleg Cambria retained its position as Wales leading further education institution with an overall pass rate of 99.7 per cent.

However, with national uncertainty over grade changes in past days the college is focused on supporting students whose marks may have been adversely affected.

Despite the Coronavirus impacting upon programmes and courses at Deeside Sixth Form Centre and Yale in Wrexham, learners were able to complete their studies in lockdown thanks to the actions of caring staff using innovative technology, video conferencing and online platforms.

Many will now go on to university and their future careers, to the delight of Cambrias Chief Executive, Yana Williams.

The way our students met the challenges of COVID-19 was truly inspiring, she said.

They may not have had the opportunity to sit exams and finish the curriculum onsite, but behind closed doors continued to work hard and achieve excellence.

These results reflect their hard work over the last two years, and though there is still some caution due to events nationally, we are here with any support and advice they need in the days and weeks ahead.

Ms Williams added: We continue to prepare for the next academic year and look forward to welcoming new students to the college this autumn.

The most up to date information on when and how we plan to open will be on our website and social media channels over the coming weeks.

Among those celebrating stellar results was Yale student Imaan Khan, who is off to study Economics and Management Studies at Cardiff University after achieving A*s in Business and Welsh Baccalaureate, an A in English and English Literature, and a B in Economics.

The Wrexham sites Student of the Year Delyth Roberts overcame Crohns Disease to secure A*s in History, Geography and English and will now attend the world-renowned Corpus Christi College at the University of Cambridge to take History.

Joining her in the city will be Abby Cooper; the 18 year-old, from New Brighton, near Mold, is to take Natural Sciences after receiving four A*s and an A in Biology, Chemistry, Maths, Further Maths and the Welsh Baccalaureate. She enjoyed her time at Deeside Sixth Form Centre and thanked lecturers for their encouragement.

Others to secure the grades they needed were:

Charlotte Hawkins (Yale) with an A* in Welsh Baccalaureate, As in Maths and Biology, and a B in Chemistry. Charlotte, from Wrexham, will study Medicine at Cardiff University after overcoming Hodgkins Lymphoma and being inspired by the doctors who helped with her recovery.

Matthew Barnes (Deeside) who received an A* in Media, an A in English and a B in Politics to get him a place on the Politics and International Relations degree at the University of Sheffield. Matthew, from Flint, has been keeping Calon FM listeners entertained during lockdown with his popular Sunday radio show.

Katherine Williams (Deeside) is off to Cambridge to study Classics after achieving an A* in Maths with Cambria, taking her overall total to two A*s and two As.

Emily Baines (Yale) can pursue her aspirations to become an orthotist following A*s in Maths, and Chemistry and As in Physics and French. The Marford 18 year-old will take Prosthetics and Orthotics at the University of Strathclyde  ranked second in the UK for Medical Technology.

As well as students entering higher education, many will begin advanced apprenticeships with industry-leading organisations.

Principal Sue Price said the college has made strides forward and will learn from past months.

Since March we have been in unchartered territory, but we quickly and safely ensured our students would continue to receive a first-class education and the best possible care and support, she said.

Whatever obstacles we face they will always be our number one priority  congratulations to you all, we wish you every success in the future

The COVID-19 pandemic has made this a very challenging year for everyone involved in education, said Chief Executive of Qualifications Wales, Philip Blaker.

The cancellation of exams meant that we had to find an alternative way of awarding grades to enable learner progression. The method we have chosen is meaningful, robust and has been carefully thought through to be as fair as possible in the circumstances, protecting the value of results.

Weve been sharing our approach and guidance throughout this process with schools, colleges, learners and their families and weve also been listening.

We consulted widely on this years grading plans that attracted thousands of responses, more than half from young people, which helped inform our thinking before finalising the process for awarding grades and the appeals arrangements.

We have also regularly shared information to help people understand how grades are calculated.

Mr Blaker said that Education Minister, Kirsty Williams, had issued a Direction to Qualifications Wales on 12 August, requiring the regulator to pay due regard to a new policy that A level learners should not receive a grade in a subject in Summer 2020 that is lower than their corresponding AS level grade.

This rule is being introduced after the initial release of results by WJEC to schools and colleges, said Mr Blaker.

Therefore, learners receiving their A level grades should look at the grade awarded to see if it is the same, higher or lower than their AS level grade in that subject.

If the grade is the same or higher, then no action is required. If, however, the grade is lower it will be replaced with the same grade as that received for the AS level  revised grades will be issued by WJEC as soon as possible.

Top image: Billy Clubbe . A*A*A*A and is going to St Andrews to study Physics
Cruel dog thieves gouged out tracker chips from cocker spaniels after snatching the animals from their homes in Ireland.

Pooches Topsy and Daisy had chunks gouged out of their flesh by dog-nappers, when they were taken on 4 July.

A vet explained the dogs had been stolen in similar circumstances from their homes in Dublin and Enniscorthy, Wexford, but were reunited with their owners yesterday.

However, disturbing images reveal the gruesome fate they were subjected to at the hands of their abductors who 'surgically removed' their tracking devices.

A photo of Daisy shows a gaping hole in the cocker spaniel's back, exposing raw, pink flesh beneath.

A photo of Topsy shows her fur matted with dried blood after she was rescued in Ireland yesterday

A photo of Daisy shows a gaping hole in the cocker spaniel's back, exposing raw, pink flesh beneath after she was rescued in Ireland yesterday

The dogs were also roughly shaved to facilitate the removal, leaving small nicks and cuts on their bodies.

A third dog, Turvy, was also stolen along with Topsy, but was found unharmed in Mallow, Co. Cork 147 miles from where she lived in Dublin.

Topsy and Daisy were taken to the vet immediately after they were recovered, who said the microchips were removed by someone who 'knew what they were doing'.

The distressing images were shared online yesterday [Wed] by a Facebook page set up to locate Topsy and Turvy.

The photos were shared with the caption: 'The vet believes Topsy's skin was cut into about four weeks ago.

'So her microchip was cut out about 10 days after she was stolen from her home.

'The vet felt it was done by someone who 'knew what they were doing' - meaning this was not the first time someone carved into a dog's body to remove a microchip.

'As shown in the images below, the same thing happened to the poor dog Daisy.

A close up shows the gaping hole left in Daisy's back after cruel thieves dog-napped her from her home in Ireland

A photo of Topsy shows her fur shaven with a scar after she was rescued in Ireland yesterday

'Daisy's puppies are still missing- keep an eye out for them.'

They added: 'Why was a muzzle super glued to Daisy's face? Who are these people cutting dogs skin open? If they are reading this- please know that Ireland will no longer stand for this.

'We believe that due to the Covid-19 pandemic more people want companion pets. Criminals are capitalising on this, stealing family pets to meet the demand for dogs in Ireland and the UK.'

The post has horrified social media users.

Mary Alexander wrote : 'Why glue a muzzle to a wee dog's face? Unless it was going to be used in dog fighting and they were stopping it from howling in pain or trying to fight back. Evil people living among us.'

Donna-Marie Williams said: 'I'm devastated. I didn't realise this happened, how awful. I hope you find these babies very soon.'

And Dave Wain Murphy added: 'Cruel, evil b******s.

'How can anyone do this to any animal? I hope these people who have been caught with stolen dogs at our ports and road blocks are prosecuted.'
BOCA RATON, Fla., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- TransMedia Group said it can't wait to inform the media about iRecovery, the leading recovery firm's groundbreaking advancements in patient care with Telemedicine in both the addiction and mental health space.

TransMedia will be sharing this upfront assessment approach via Telemedicine with iRecovery and their team of doctors, Dr. Melanie Rosenblatt and Dr. Jeffrey Huttman.

"The iRecovery team knew that groundbreaking is a very strong PR messaging that can be delivered by a reputable firm in healthcare such as TransMedia Group," said Dr. Jeffrey Zipper, CEO of iRecovery. "We've worked with them in the past for various projects and were quite pleased with the results," added Dr. Zipper.

"Our ultimate goal is to create a collaborative care environment for our patients to feel safe and receive the treatment they need without all of the traditional barriers that prevent one from getting help," said Dr. Huttman, iRecovery's Chief Clinical Officer.

TransMedia Group will share insight to reporters on the industry and this system pathway to recovery provided by iRecovery that specializes in providing care for substance abuse and mental health patients. They will invite the media to meet remotely as the doctors walk through the process of their treatment programs.

"When I learned about the transformational treatment approach of the iRecovery team which caters to the needs of patients during this global pandemic, I immediately knew this client would be not only great messaging to share with media but will help so many that have turned to drugs during this pandemic or have been unable to get the proper help during the pandemic," TransMedia Group President Adrienne Mazzone said. "The entire team at TransMedia is dedicated to delivering maximum news coverage for the company," added Mazzone.

"Another area that we felt would make for news that a PR firm such as TransMedia Group could deliver for us is that we are not only available remotely, we made it affordable and accessible by way of schedule for patients to continue with their usual routines rather than following a traditional inpatient rehab approach."

Media Contact: Alana Pulver, TransMedia Group [email protected] 561.212.7610

SOURCE TransMedia Group

Related Links

https://www.transmediagroup.com


Not even a global health crisis can stop people from behaving weirdly on planes. Case in point: Travelers are still going barefoot on flights.

Despite airlines mandating passengers wear masks on board, cutting back food and drink services, and carrying out new extensive cleaning procedures, some travelers have missed the memo that we're trying to be as hygienic as possible in public.

Evidence is uploaded regularly on Passenger Shaming, an Instagram account by former flight attendant Shawn Kathleen, who posts user-submitted photos and videos of noteworthy traveler behavior.

Even with fewer travelers in the skies, Kathleen has continued to receive messages about air travel shenanigans.

"I feel like I have a pretty good gauge on human behavior on airplanes at this point, and I hate to say that I'm not surprised," Kathleen said. "However, the thought did cross my mind when [the pandemic] first started. I thought, 'OK, you know what? Maybe people will dial it back a little bit.' "

And while some people are dialing it back - others are dialing it up.

On a flight from Cancun, Mexico, to Guadalajara, Dante Munoz was seated near a woman giving a foot massage to the passenger in the row behind her. Munoz guesses it was a mother and her adult son.

"As a Mexican or Latino, I know we have this type of connections with our moms but not on a plane and definitely not in the [aisle]," Munoz said in an Instagram message.

He took a video of the scene and sent it to Kathleen, who posted it to Passenger Shaming. The video has since attracted more than 560,000 views, and comments like "Nope nope no" to "Toe-vid 19 and "oh dear god."

Some people may sympathize with barefoot travelers. Flying is uncomfortable and stressful, why not make it feel a little more like home? But others argue there's no place for unsheathed soles in public, like flight attendant Raven Johnson, who recently watched a passenger walk barefoot into the lavatory.

"[It] just makes me cringe every time people do it. I don't understand," Johnson said. "Yes, they're cleaning the planes a lot more than they used to, but still, you're not at home."

Even before the pandemic, Ebonie Vincent, podiatrist and star of the TLC series "My Feet Are Killing Me," was concerned with the health risks of people going barefoot while traveling.

"I would love to give out information packets to these people so they can understand the potential consequences to walking barefoot in the airport on planes," Vincent said in an email in February.

Vincent says that walking barefoot through public places like airport security can expose travelers to bacteria and viruses that can cause infections or warts.

"You could also pick up fungus, not to mention the millions of germs and bacteria that you could transfer to carpets, inside hotel rooms or homes and cars, which serves as a danger to other people," Vincent said.

If you want to wear flip flops or sandals and don't have TSA PreCheck (which allows travelers to keep their shoes on throughout the screening), Vincent recommends bringing a pair of socks to wear instead of going barefoot through security.

For the people going barefoot because their feet swell on planes, Vincent recommends wearing a pair of compression socks and closed-toe shoes throughout your flight.

And as for the people going sock-less on flights anyway? "They should keep their feet on the floor," Vincent said. "They should not put their feet on the seat at all and they need to be certain that they put on shoes if they will walk anywhere, especially to the bathroom."

- - -

The Washington Post's Hannah Sampson contributed reporting to this story.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 13)  Lawmakers are calling on Education officials to take a second look at the curriculum and consider further reducing learning competencies for the coming school year.

Pasig City Representative and House Committee on Basic Education chairperson Roman Romulo said the quality of education might be sacrificed if officials fit in more learning competencies than what students can absorb under distance learning.

Sa lumalabas ngayon kung pinipilit natin lahat ito baka pati yung minimum quality hindi natin maabot (If we will force this, we might not even reach the minimum quality), Romulo said during a committee hearing on Thursday afternoon.

Learning competencies refer to knowledge, understanding, and skills that students need to master per lesson.

The Education department has already reduced learning competencies for the new school year by 60 percent, from 14,171 to 5,689. Officials said only essential competencies were included in the curriculum.

But Bataan Second District Representative Joet Garcia said it could be reduced further especially among younger students in kinder to fourth grade.

Cost of module production

Lawmakers also raised the cost of printing self-learning modules.

Bulacan Representative Florida Robes said parents have been complaining about public school teachers asking for donations to produce take-home learning materials. These supposedly include bond papers and printer ink.

More learning competencies mean more modules that will need printing.

Hindi natin pwede ipilit, suntok sa buwan lahat yun (We cannot force it, that's a punch to the moon). So better simplify everything, Robes told education officials.

Education Undersecretary Annalyn Sevilla said teachers are allowed to ask for donation under the Brigada Eskwela, an annual activity ahead of class opening.

Brigada Eskwela is supposed to promote Bayanihan or a culture of collaboration among education stakeholders. Romulo, however, warned that teachers might be forced to pay out-of-pocket for the production of modules.

How could you impose these many competencies kung wala naman pang-gastos (when there's no budget)? Romulo said.

Education Undersecretary Tonisito Umali assured the lawmakers that these concerns will be taken into consideration.

Some 23.2 million students from kinder to high school have enrolled for academic year 2020-2021.

Despite growing concerns over safety and lack of preparedness, the DepEd is sticking to its decision to officially open classes on August 24.

READ: DepEd stands pat on Aug 24 opening of classes: Students want to learn
However, in recent years, American teachers and administrators have debated whether teachers in the Confucius Institutes or their educational material help disseminate Chinese government propaganda. In 2014, the University of Chicago ended its contract with the Confucius Institutes, and several other universities have done the same since. As a result, the number of institutes has dropped from above 100 at their peak.

Republican lawmakers, notably Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who promotes aggressive policies against China, have urged American schools to break ties with the institutes.

A spokesman for Chinas foreign ministry said on Friday that the institutes had been following the law and that the U.S. crackdown demonized and stigmatized the program.

A 2018 report on Chinese government and Communist Party influence operations in the United States done by the Hoover Institution and the Asia Society had details on the work and structure of the Confucius Institutes. It said the organization in Beijing that oversees the institutes, the Hanban, which is under the Education Ministry, has ties to the Communist Partys Central Committee. The Hanban typically gives a $150,000 start-up grant to an American university, with grants of $100,000 and $200,000 per year afterward, the report said. It gives $50,000 in initial funding to secondary schools and $15,000 per year afterward.

Most troublesome are two provisions in the Hanban contracts with U.S. host institutions: One forbids the C.I.s from conducting any activities that contravene Chinese law, while the other requires that the enabling contract remains confidential, making oversight by the academic community difficult, the report said.

In summarizing its findings on the programs, the report said that because C.I.s have had positive value in exposing students and communities to Chinese language and culture, this report does not generally oppose them. But it does recommend that more rigorous university oversight and standards of academic freedom and transparency be exercised over C.I.s.

Outside the Confucius Institutes, many teachers and students of the Mandarin Chinese language at American universities have for decades used textbooks from mainland Chinese publishers that have lessons with overt government or party propaganda. American teachers and students have rarely objected to the material. For many university students, it has been easy to tell that the material is propaganda.
Meghan Markle and her husband, Prince Harry, broke away from the British royal family and moved to the United States just in time for the 2020 Presidential election. Royal protocol dictates that members of the royal family remain neutral on political matters. Does this mean that Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, would be breaking protocol if she votes in the upcoming election?

Meghan Markle | Ben Birchall  WPA Pool / Getty Images

Royals have the right to vote, but usually dont

According to Hello magazine, members of the royal family do have the right to vote, just like any other UK citizen. However, the senior royals closest to Queen Elizabeth follow her lead and stay out of the voting booth to remain politically neutral in public.

Avoiding an election, though, isnt really an option for Meghan. The Los Angeles native was very vocal about her political beliefs and exercising the right to vote before she married into the royal family.

JUST IN: Meghan Markle will join The @19thNews Represents Summit to talk gender, representation, and the future of news https://t.co/ZdLSpZYrDC  Glamour (@glamourmag) August 6, 2020

In 2016, she wrote on her now-shuttered blog The Tig that the right to vote is something for which blood, sweat, and tears have been shed. The former Suits star also told her fans at the time that she cast an absentee ballot during the 2016 election.

I ticked the boxes on my absentee ballot last week, closing my eyes and thinking of my great grandparents who didnt have this right (and thinking of how it would have changed the lives of my grandparents if they had).

Queen Elizabeth remains neutral for a reason

There is no British law that prevents Queen Elizabeth from voting in an election, but the U.K. parliament website says that it is considered unconstitutional for the Monarch to vote. The reason the queen stays neutral is because no matter which political party is in power, it is Her Majestys government.

Her formal role in the election process comes the day after, when Queen Elizabeth invites the leader of the winning party for a visit before they become prime minister.

RELATED: Meghan Markle Set to Make a Rare Public Appearance Just Days After the Release of Finding Freedom

According to Newsweek, the Queens ceremonial duties as head of state include signing bills into law and meeting with foreign dignitaries.

Because the monarch is in a position that could bring massive political influence with absolutely no accountability to UK citizens, it is important that the queen stays politically neutral. The same rule applies to everyone in the line of succession.

From Meghans perspective, she doesnt have that kind of responsibility or power. However, she does have influence. She recently hinted that she will be heading to the polls in November to exercise her right to vote.

Meghan Markle explains why voting is so important

Meghan is not in the line of succession to the throne like her husband, Prince Harry. She has also stepped down as a senior member of the royal family. As an American citizen, Meghan is going to vote in 2020, even though it technically breaks royal protocol.

I know what its like to have a voice, and also what its like to feel voiceless. I also know that so many men and women have put their lives on the line for us to be heard. And that opportunity, that fundamental right, is in our ability to exercise our right to vote and to make all of our voices heard, the Duchess of Sussex said in a rare statement to Marie Claire.

RELATED: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Just Made a Major Move In Their Quest To Be Financially Independent

She went on to share one of her favorite quotes from a leader of the New Zealand suffragist movement, Kate Sheppard. Meghan quoted Sheppard by saying that the rain that refreshes parched ground is made up of single drops.

That is why I vote, Meghan said.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said on Thursday that whatever was the 'misunderstanding' in the Congress party, it should be 'forgiven and forgotten' for moving forward.

The Congress crisis in Rajasthan appears to have ended with the intervention of top leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who met rebel leader Sachin Pilot earlier this week.

Pilot had openly rebelled against Gehlot last month along with 18 other Congress MLAs. He was then sacked as deputy chief minister and the party's Rajasthan chief.

'Whatever misunderstanding occurred in the party in the last one month, we need to forgive and forget in the interest of the country, the state, the people and in the interest of democracy,' Gehlot said in a tweet.

'We have to put all our energies in this fight to save democracy with the spirit of forgive and forget and move forward,' he wrote on Twitter.

The Rajasthan Chief Minister claimed a 'very dangerous' game to undermine the democracy is going on in the country.

The struggle of the Congress is to save democracy under the leadership of the party president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, he said.

'Save democracy should be our priority with the spirit of forgive and forget. The conspiracy that is going on to topple elected governments one by one in the country, the way governments were toppled in the states of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and other states.

'How ED, CBI, Income Tax, the judiciary have been misused, it is a very dangerous game that is going on to undermine democracy,' Gehlot said in a series of tweets.

Ahead of the Assembly session beginning Friday, the dissidents MLAs have reached Jaipur following the intervention of the Congress high command on Monday.

The MLAs in the Gehlot camp were on Wednesday flown back to Jaipur from Jaisalmer, where they were together at another hotel.

They were taken straight from the airport to the Fairmont hotel on the outskirts of the city, where they had stayed before being moved to Jaisalmer.

The MLAs -- mostly from the Congress and some allies -- are expected to remain there till the assembly meets on August 14.
Regulatory News:

Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN:PSH) (LN:PSHD) (NA:PSH) ("PSH") today announced that it has purchased, through PSH's agent, Jefferies International Limited ("Jefferies"), the following number of PSH's Public Shares of no par value (ISIN Code: GG00BPFJTF46) (the "Shares"):

Trading Venue: London Stock Exchange Ticker: PSH Date of Purchase: 13 August 2020 Number of Public Shares purchased: 26,667 Shares Highest Price Paid Per Share: 1,900 pence 24.84 USD Lowest Price Paid Per Share: 1,882 pence 24.61 USD Average Price Paid Per Share: 1,886 pence 24.66 USD Ticker: PSHD Date of Purchase: 13 August 2020 Number of Public Shares purchased: 10,486 Shares Highest Price Paid Per Share: 24.80 USD Lowest Price Paid Per Share: 24.80 USD Average Price Paid Per Share: 24.80 USD Trading Venue: Euronext Amsterdam Ticker: PSH Date of Purchase: 13 August 2020 Number of Public Shares purchased: 25,011 Shares Highest Price Paid Per Share: 24.90 USD Lowest Price Paid Per Share: 24.65 USD Average Price Paid Per Share: 24.76 USD

PSH will hold these Public Shares in Treasury. The net asset value per Public Share related to this buyback is 37.34 USD 28.62 GBP which was calculated as of 11 August 2020 (the "Relevant NAV"). After giving effect to the above buyback, PSH has 193,718,342 Public Shares outstanding, or 199,721,273 Public Shares calculated on a fully diluted basis (assuming that all Management Shares had been converted into Public Shares at the Relevant NAV). Excluded from the shares outstanding are 17,238,408 Public Shares held in Treasury. The prices per Public Share were calculated by Jefferies.

The number of PSH Management Shares and the one special voting share (held by PS Holdings Independent Voting Company Limited) have not been affected.

About Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd.

Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN:PSH) (LN:PSHD) (NA:PSH) is an investment holding company structured as a closed-ended fund that makes concentrated investments principally in North American companies.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200813005710/en/

Contacts:

Camarco

Ed Gascoigne-Pees Hazel Stevenson +44 020 3757 4989, media-pershingsquareholdings@camarco.co.uk
Elantra N Line delivers a spirited driving experience, powered by a 1.6-liter GDI turbocharged engine with six-speed manual or seven-speed Double Clutch Transmission (DCT) that produces up to 201 horsepower and 195.2 lb-ft torque. Hyundai engineers implemented several mechanical improvements to Elantra's suspension to increase stiffness for a gripping performance, aided by 18-inch alloy wheels, multi-link independent rear suspension and larger front brake rotors.

SEOUL, Aug. 12, 2020 -- Hyundai Motor Company today launches the new Elantra N Line. The new model is designed and engineered to deliver more enhanced driving fun to the bold new Elantra that launched in April. The N Line model, characterized by N specific design and performance-enhancing elements, offers an attractive entry point to the Hyundai's high-performance N Brand lineup and will expand Elantra's appeal to a broader range of customers.

Driver-oriented features, such as paddle shifters and Drive Mode Selector system, enable a racing-inspired experience behind the wheel. Interior design elements, including a leather-wrapped perforated N steering wheel with metallic spokes, N sport seats with leather bolsters, gearshift with metal accents and leather inserts, and alloy pedals, complement Elantra's sporty exterior styling.

N Line design elements complement a dynamic driving experience

Elantra N Line's 'low and wide' exterior styling and 'Parametric Dynamics' design theme imparts a look of sophisticated sportiness. Elantra's cascade grille gets a more aggressive look with an N Line badge and intricate geometric pattern. Arrow-shaped air curtains on the lower fascia support aerodynamic performance and engine cooling while giving the model a high-performance image.

Elantra N Line's sporty side skirts and 18-inch alloy wheels accentuate the fastback sedan's low and wide aesthetic. From the side, the car's dynamic styling is defined by arrow-like creases in its body panels that suggest forward motion. Glossy black molding on the wheel wells, side-view mirrors and side skirts provide a touch of modern sophistication to the overall appearance.

Elantra N Line's fastback profile merges with a sculpted rear, designed to enhance aerodynamic performance and further express the low and wide aesthetic through horizontal lines. The integrated spoiler, chrome twin exhaust and N Line rear diffuser add to the car's performance-inspired styling.

Hyundai also launched N performance parts for those who want to further customize Hyundai N Line models to suit their preference. The N performance parts provide a more dynamic driving experience beyond the base model, allowing customers to get more of the N experience.

An array of driver assist, safety and convenience features add to the N experience, including Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA), Lane Keeping Assist (LKA), Lane Following Assist (LFA), High Beam Assist (HBA), Driver Attention Warning (DAW) and Blind-Spot Collision Avoidance Assist (BCA) with Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (RCCA). In addition, Elantra N Line owners get a Hyundai Digital Key, Wireless CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.

Following the launch of the new Elantra N Line, Hyundai plans to launch Sonata N Line with 2.5-liter turbocharged GDI engine in 2020 to further expand the N Line lineup.

New Elantra Hybrid Electric on the way

Elantra Hybrid is due to go on sale in Korea during the third quarter of 2020; sales in global markets will follow soon after. It is the first new Elantra hybrid in 11 years since the launch of Elantra LPI Hybrid in 2009.

Elantra Hybrid is equipped with a 1.6-liter GDI Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder engine. The permanent-magnet electric motor will deliver 32 kW, powered by a lithium-ion-polymer battery with 1.32 kWh of capacity positioned under the rear seats. The 1.6-liter GDI engine combined with the electric motor in Elantra Hybrid delivers a total system output of 139 horsepower and up to 195 lb-ft of torque. The high-efficiency electric motor has an electric-only driving mode that delivers instantaneous torque at low speeds, with available power-assist at higher vehicle speeds. The 2021 Elantra Hybrid is projected to have a combined EPA-estimated fuel economy rating of more than 50 miles per gallon.

"The new Elantra lineup, with N Line and HEV variants, will satisfy a wider variety of customers. The N Line model will appeal to customers who favor a sporty look and spirited driving performance while the HEV model will appeal to those who prefer high fuel efficiency," said Thomas Schemera, Executive Vice President, Head of Product Division at Hyundai Motor Group. "The expanded selection will help solidify Elantra's position in the compact sedan segment."

About Hyundai Motor Company

Established in 1967, Hyundai Motor Company offers a range of world-class vehicles and mobility services in more than 200 countries. Hyundai Motor sold more than 4.4 million vehicles globally in 2019, and currently employs some 120,000 personnel worldwide. The company is enhancing its product lineup with vehicles designed to help usher in a more sustainable future, while offering innovative solutions to real-world mobility challenges. Through the process Hyundai aims to facilitate 'Progress for Humanity' with smart mobility solutions that vitalize connections between people and provide quality time to its customers.
By Andrei Makhovsky

MINSK (Reuters) - Protesters formed human chains and marched through the streets of Belarus carrying flowers on Wednesday in anger at a crackdown by strongman President Alexander Lukashenko that has prompted the European Union to consider new sanctions against Minsk.

Security forces have clashed with protesters for three consecutive nights after Lukashenko claimed a landslide re-election victory in a vote on Sunday that his opponents say was rigged. Police have detained around 6,000 people.

Lukashenko has sought better relations with the West amid strained relations with traditional ally Russia. Brussels lifted sanctions, imposed over Lukashenko's human rights record, in 2016, but will weigh new measures this week.

Lithuania, Poland and Latvia jointly offered to mediate between Lukashenko and the protesters, and threatened sanctions at a European or national level if the offer was declined.

A former Soviet collective farm manager, the 65-year-old Lukashenko has ruled Belarus for more than a quarter of a century but faces increasing anger over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, a sluggish economy and human rights.

Women dressed in white formed a human chain outside a covered food market in the capital Minsk, holding flowers in the air and chanting slogans, while a crowd also gathered outside a prison where protesters were being kept.

"I cannot leave my children at night but I can come during the daytime and say my piece," said Minsk resident Yelena. "They have stolen not just my vote but 26 years of my life. Yes, I think so, and this regime must go away."

CLASHES

The Belarusian interior ministry said 51 protesters and 14 police officers had been injured in clashes on Tuesday night.

In Brest, a city in southwestern Belarus on the Polish border, police fired live rounds after some protesters it said were armed with metal bars ignored warning shots fired in the air, the ministry said. One person was injured.

Story continues

Lukashenko has accused the protesters of being in cahoots with foreign backers from Russia and elsewhere to topple his government, and compared them to criminal gangs.

"The core of all these so-called protesters today comprises people with a criminal history and the unemployed," he said at a government meeting on Wednesday.

Belarusian authorities earlier tied opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's husband to a plot by suspected Russian mercenaries to destabilise the country ahead of the election. She denied the allegation in an interview with Reuters.

In Tuesday night's clashes, security forces beat some of the protesters, sometimes dragging people out of cars before attacking them.

United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet condemned the detention of 6,000 people, "including bystanders, as well as minors, suggesting a trend of massive arrests in clear violation of international human rights standards".

Some of the detainees were lined up in a row on state television this week, looking subdued and promising not to engage in revolutionary activities.

State media also broadcast footage of a van in Minsk with Russian number plates saying it was packed with ammunition and tents.

Tracked down by Reuters, Valdemar Grubov, the van's owner, said he was a film producer and that the vehicle contained only his own personal effects.

He said he had been unable to retrieve the van due to COVID-19 restrictions and was not involved in any alleged foreign plot.

Tsikhanouskaya, a 37-year-old former English teacher who took on Lukashenko in the vote, has fled to neighbouring Lithuania to join her children there. She urged her compatriots not to oppose the police and to avoid putting their lives in danger.

But the protests continued into the evening on Wednesday as thousands took to the streets of the capital.

"We are scared but what else can we do? We are not being aggressive. We are women standing here who also have a voice," said Minsk resident Zhenya. "We are scared of being arrested but we want to be heard."

(Additional reporting by Anton Zverev and Rinat Sagdiev in Moscow, Gabriela Baczynska in Brussels, Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva and Anna Ringstrom in Stockholm; Writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson announced on Thursday she will be sending Michigan voters postcards encouraging them to apply online to vote from home in the November presidential election.

Voters can also apply for an absentee ballot, which they can fill at home, by visiting their clerks office. The postcards are being mailed using the Michigan Bureau of Elections list of 4.4 million active, registered voters who arent on a permanent absent-voter list and havent already applied to have their November ballot mailed to them.

Last weeks primary election was a success in large part because a record number of voters cast their ballots from home, helping all voters and election workers stay safe during the pandemic, Benson said. To ensure similar success and safety in November, when turnout is expected to double or even triple, voters must know they have the right to vote from home and how to do so.

The postcards will be mailed to voters between Aug. 20 and Sept. 20. State law allows voters to apply for an absentee ballot 75 days before an election. Clerks are charged with mailing absentee ballots to voters 40 days before an election on Sept. 24. Federal funding will be used to mail the ballots and it will cost $1.4 million, or 32 cents per voter.

5 things election workers learned from Michigans record-turnout primary

The SOS also announced the Bureau of Elections is allocating an additional $5.5 million to support the expected increase in the number of people voting from home. Of that money, $2 million will be used to reimburse jurisdictions that pay postage on ballot return envelopes, $1.5 million will be given to jurisdictions that order ballot envelopes redesigned to the standards of the U.S. Postal Service, $1 million will be given to jurisdictions to buy ballot boxes, automatic letter openers and other equipment, and $1 million will be matching funds for jurisdictions to buy ballot-counting machines, including high-speed scanners.

This comprehensive investment  including our mailing of information to voters on how to request to vote by mail, funding return postage for ballots, purchasing more supplies for clerks to process mailed-in ballots and installing more drop boxes throughout the state  will ensure that all voters know how to safely, easily, and freely exercise their right to vote from home, said Benson. The only missing piece is action from state lawmakers, who need to do their part to support our elections, clerks and voters.

There are three pending bills Benson is calling on Michigan lawmakers to pass. One bill, SB 757, would allow clerks to start processing absentee ballots before election day. The second bill, HB 5987, would allow mailed ballots to count if theyre postmarked by election day even if they arrive up to two days later. The third bill, HB 5991, requires clerks to contact voters if the signature on the absentee ballot doesnt match that registered with the state.

The federal funding announced on Thursday is in addition to the $11.2 million in federal funding Benson acquired for personal protective equipment, cleaning supplies, ballot-counting machines, envelope openers, ballot boxes and the previously mailing of absentee applications to all registered voters. Some of the $2 million allocated for personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies remains and will be used for the November election. Both sets of funding were provided by the CARES Act and Help America Vote Act.

Eligible Michiganders can register to vote now at Michigan.gov/Vote.

Read more on MLive:

In must-win Michigan, Trump campaign takes fight door to door as polls show Biden with strong lead

8 takeaways from the 2020 primary election in mid-Michigan

Why Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wasnt chosen to be Bidens running mate in 2020 presidential election
If the Pallister government's handling of COVID-19 among workers at Maple Leaf Foods in Brandon was a test for how it will cope with the coronavirus when schools reopen, then it has failed, the Opposition says.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/8/2020 (524 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If the Pallister government's handling of COVID-19 among workers at Maple Leaf Foods in Brandon was a test for how it will cope with the coronavirus when schools reopen, then it has failed, the Opposition says.

The province cant, or won't, ramp up COVID-19 testing to allay the fears of workers at the Brandon hog plant where at least 26 employees have the virus so far, and that doesn't bode well for the reopening of Manitoba schools, NDP leader Wab Kinew said Wednesday.

He called for the provincial government to "dramatically" increase testing capacity for the coronavirus in Manitoba. The cluster of cases in Brandon, including workers at the Maple Leaf plant there, show there is an urgent need to increase testing capacity in that city and western Manitoba, Kinew said at a hastily-called press conference.

Wab Kinew, Leader of the Official Opposition, is calling on the province to dramatically increase Manitoba's testing capacity for COVID-19. (Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press files)

"We should be looking at this, as Manitobans, as an important test in advance of the back- to-school time of year," he told reporters outside the legislature.

Worried workers and the union representing 2,000 employees at Maple Leaf have called for the plant to close temporarily and for all workers to be tested for COVID-19. The province has not done so, saying public health officials have ruled out the plant as a source of the spread of the virus in Brandon, which has a cluster of at least 64 cases.

"The only rationale that has been provided is that it would strain the testing capacity in the region and across the system if suddenly 2,000 employees were to be tested very quickly and a further 600 employees in the region would be tested on an ongoing, rotating basis," Kinew said. That is a concern with Manitoba schools reopening in less than four weeks, he said.

"If we're not able to test 2,000 Maple Leaf employees right now when there's concern about an outbreak in that part of the province, what's going to happen when we go back to school? Presumably, once children are back in school, there's sniffles and colds and other things that cause parents concern and there will be an increased demand on the coronavirus testing capabilities here in Manitoba," said Kinew.

"If we're not able to test 2,000 Maple Leaf employees right now when there's concern about an outbreak in that part of the province, what's going to happen when we go back to school?"  Manitoba NDP leader Wab Kinew

Premier Brian Pallister, who was in Brandon for a caucus meeting Wednesday, said Kinew's comments are "misguided and reveal a willingness to make observations that aren't science based."

The Progressive Conservative government is following the advice of chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin, and so should Kinew, Pallister told reporters in Brandon.

"Dr. Roussin has been very, very clear that there's very questionable benefit to a non-symptomatic person being tested -- that simply creates a longer line for someone who has symptoms," the premier said. "Really, what good is it to go and get tested when you're not symptomatic then go back three days later when you have sniffles and get tested again?"

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister

The NDP Opposition leader should be listening to experts, not acting like one, Pallister said.

"He is making an assertion that is dangerous and misguided and I would urge him to listen more appropriately to those who are experts in this area, which he is not."

Kinew tweeted later in the day Wednesday that a document called National laboratory testing indication guidance for COVID-19 prescribes asymptomatic testing at workplaces where physical distancing cannot be maintained, such as meat processing plants. That guidance, however, calls for asymptomatic testing for those with "known exposure to a confirmed case," which is being done at Maple Leaf.

The document also says to consider "the opportunity costs associated with the deployment of resources to test individuals who are asymptomatic and unlikely to be infected." It should be considered "only when testing for individuals who are symptomatic is routinely available."

"Dr. Roussin has been very, very clear that there's very questionable benefit to a non-symptomatic person being tested  that simply creates a longer line for someone who has symptoms."  Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister

In Brandon, the province added a second testing site this week to alleviate the long lines of people waiting for COVID-19 tests in recent days.

Increasing testing sites is not enough to deal with surges in demand for COVID-19 tests, said Kinew.

"They're only as good as the capacity to process the test on the back end -- that seems to be where the real issue lies right now." The province needs to invest in expanding the Cadham Provincial Laboratory but is lacking the political will, Kinew said.

The province has performed an average of 1,300 tests a day lately. Earlier in the pandemic, Pallister said he expected the testing capacity to reach 3,000 tests a day by fall. On Friday, 2,062 tests were performed but the goal of 3,000 tests hasn't been met.

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"If the province is going to struggle to meet the request for 2,000 tests in Brandon right now, that highlights that we have a lot of work to do to be ready for the back-to-school season when many Manitoba parents, families and kids are probably going to want to be tested, too, to provide them with peace of mind," Kinew said.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
Pack, the county council president, said using the pandemic to explain the decision was a farce. Although no audience members can be physically present at council meetings during the pandemic, he said 28 callers at a public hearing on the statue last month spoke against it, while four spoke in favor of keeping it. A petition for its removal garnered 300 signatures, he said.
The US budget deficit climbed to USD 2.81 trillion in the first 10 months of the budget year, exceeding any on record, the Treasury Department said Wednesday. The nation's budgetary shortfall is expected to eventually reach levels for the fiscal year that ends September 30 more than double the largest annual deficit on record.

The federal government rang up a USD 63 billion deficit in July, the department reported. That's a relatively modest amount compared to red ink that spilled in the spring months when the government tried to revive an economy that all but ground to a halt due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Last month's deficit was sharply lower than June's USD 864 billion, in part because the government collected a record amount tax revenue in July - USD 563 billion - after extending the filing deadline to July 15. That extension allowed Americans more time to sort through the economic havoc wrought by the pandemic.

Outlays to the Small Business Administration, which doled out USD 511 billion as part of the Paycheck Protection Program in June, fell to about USD 26 billion in July. So far this budget year, government receipts total USD 2.82 trillion, off just 1 per cent from the same period last year, Treasury officials said, crediting the "income replacement" provided by various government aid packages. In other words, unemployment benefits and other aid are still taxable.

Outlays so far this budget year total USD 5.63 trillion, a 50 per cent increase over the USD 3.73 trillion at this point in 2019, with the vast majority of the extra spending related to fortifying the country's economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Congress has already passed rescue packages totaling nearly USD 3 trillion this year, but Democrats and Republicans remain far apart on another relief bill, just as an expanded unemployment benefit of USD 600 per week expired on July 31.

President Donald Trump issued a series of presidential directives last weekend to prolong the extended unemployment benefits at USD 400 a week, with 25 per cent to be paid for by the states. But it's unclear how much of an economic boost the extension would provide, given the economic uncertainty and funding that could run dry after five weeks.

Democrats in the House passed another bill with USD 3 trillion in aid, but the Republican-led Senate is pushing for a package closer to USD 1 trillion and did not bring the House bill up for a vote before going on August recess. The Congressional Budget Office has forecast a USD 3.7 trillion deficit for this fiscal year as the country fell into a deep recession in February, ending a record expansion of nearly 11 years.

The Trump administration is predicting that the economy will bounce back in second half of 2020, but many private forecasters are concerned that consumers will dial back spending as infections surge in states like Florida. Consumer spending drives the US economy, making up about 70 per cent of all economic activity.

Last month, the government reported that the gross domestic product declined at a record 32.9 per cent annual rate in the April-June quarter, as a resurgence of the viral outbreak pushed businesses to close for a second time in a number of regions. For 20 consecutive weeks, more than a million Americans have sought jobless benefits.

The unemployment rate fell last month to 10.2 per cent, still higher than any point during the financial crisis of 2008-2009. That was also when the federal government set the record for an annual deficit, hitting USD 1.4 trillion in 2009 as it tried to dig the country out of recession. The US blew past that mark in May.

Also read: UK falls into recession as GDP slumps 20.4% in April-June
DETROIT  Paying taxes on menstrual hygiene products could possibly come to an end because an organization has sued Michigan over the additional costs.

Advocates and an organization called Period Equity assisted three Michigan women in filing a lawsuit against the state, alleging that charging taxes "on the purchase of menstrual products is sex-based discrimination."

Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, co-founder of Period Equity, called the menstrual product taxes "unfair, inequitable and unconstitutional." Weiss-Wolf said that the pandemic has added strains to people in Michigan, and relieving menstrual product taxes could help.

"We've been working with economists in the state whose research shows that the economic environment and the circumstances of the pandemic have exacerbated the living the lives, financial status and strength of women disproportionately in the state," Weiss-Wolf said. "We think this is a reasonable and important form of tax relief that the state can offer."

In the lawsuit, the three women, Emily Beggs, Clare Pfeiffer and Wei Ho, allege that Michiganders are paying the 6% sales or use tax, which is adding up to almost $7 million a year. The plaintiffs are also asking that refunds get issued to those who paid menstrual product taxes over the last four years, which the lawsuit states adds up to over $25 million.

The organization Period Equity and three Michigan women have sued the state in an effort to have taxes removed from menstrual hygiene products.

Pfeiffer, a volunteer for I Support the Girls  Detroit, says this is a need that should be addressed. She says that menstrual products should not be a luxury item, but she's heard too often that it is.

"We hear all the time about women having to choose whether or not to buy products, feed their families or pay their bills," said Pfeiffer. "To me, the tax on this product that only people who have periods use is unfair because it unfairly picks one sex over another to levy a tax."

Laura Strausfeld, co-founder of Period Equity, said that these taxes affect everyone, especially people who menstruate. She says that bills about the taxes have been introduced many times, but meetings end without it being address. Strausfeld said this is why they're suing.

Story continues

"It just seems even worse than it use to be that Michigan is collecting tax on medical necessities used by half the population," Strausfeld said.

And Michigan isn't the only state that has been sued over the menstrual product taxes. New York and Ohio are among others where Period Equity has brought the lawsuit to the court.

"We'd be very happy if legislatures around the country, Michigan included, finally get these bills out of committee, put them to a vote and pass them," said Strausfeld.

The Period Equity nonprofit campaign is working to ensure accessible menstrual products, safety and affordability. Its "Tampon Tax" initiative is working to end the sales taxes in the 40 states that were still imposing them. Since they started their initiative, 10 states have ended sales taxes on the products.

"What's really interesting about that track record is that it's blue states, it's red states, it's Republican governors, it's Democratic governors signing those bills," said Weiss-Wolf.

"It's not a partisan issue  it's really a common sense issue. We continue to wage this fight across the nation."

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tampon Tax: Women's period products lawsuit cites sex discrimination
The visit took place in response to the directives of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi

Egypts head of General Intelligence Service (GIS) Abbas Kamel visited South Sudan on Wednesday for talks with President Salva Kiir and several senior officials, including Vice President Riek Machar.

The visit by the Egyptian general intelligence chief comes under a dispatch by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, who delivered a message to Kiir to stress the solidity of relations between Egypt and South Sudan.

Kamel also held an expanded meeting with the leaders of the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) to discuss final preparations for the peace process between armed factions and Sudan.

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Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh has called for the lifting of sanctions and creating of favourable conditions for humanitarian aid in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (Photo: VNA)

The official made the statement during the United Nations Security Councils online high-level open debate on pandemics and the challenges to sustaining peace held on August 12.

In his speech, he touched upon deep impact of COVID-19 on all aspects of life that is threatening the peace progress and humanitarian work in conflicted areas across the world.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh highlighted the need for comprehensive solutions, stating that Vietnam welcomes the UNSCs adoption of Resolution 2532 on COVID-19 response and on its support for the UN Secretary-Generals appeal for a global ceasefire.

He praised the role of the UN peacekeeping operations in assisting nations, adding that the involvement and coordination of the entire UN system play the key role in the realisation of the commitment to developing peace and sustainable growth.

He noted Vietnam and other ASEAN member states have mobilised concerted efforts from the communities to protect peoples health, the economy, and the regional peace and security from COVID-19 harm.

He affirmed Vietnams commitments and called for increasing international cooperation and solidarity to successfully combat the pandemic.

At the debate, participants lauded the approval of Resolution 2532, noting that the fight against COVID-19 is an opportunity for boosting international collaboration and unification within the UN./.
Ukraine will officially react to the presidential election in Belarus after the country's Central Election Commission announces its final results.

"The official results of the presidential election in Belarus have not yet been announced. After the Belarusian Central Election Commission officially announces them, we will decide how to react to this fact," Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba said at an online briefing on August 13, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

As reported, Ukrainian citizens Kostiantyn Reutsky and Yevhen Vasylyev were detained in Minsk at about 17:00 on August 12.

The presidential election was held in Belarus on August 9. According to preliminary results announced by the Central Election Commission, incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko garnered 80.23% of the vote, while opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya got 9.90%.

On the night of Monday, August 10, protests against election fraud began in Belarusian cities. Security forces brutally dispersed the protesters with rubber bullets, stun grenades, and water cannons. About 6,000 people have been detained since the protests began. At least 250 people have been hospitalized.

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya was forced to leave Belarus. Currently, she stays in Lithuania.

In a joint statement issued on August 10, the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Lithuania, and Poland condemned the violence during the protests in Belarus and called for the release of all detainees and for a dialogue between the authorities and the people.

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Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

More than $2,500 worth of electronics purchased and signed for with the Albuquerque police chiefs signature stamp  without his knowledge. A dog named Sophie peeing and pooping in the offices of deputy chiefs.

Conflict over salaries and raises.

Internal memos obtained by the Journal reveal infighting and dysfunction among the Albuquerque Police Departments top brass and their assistants and resentment over conflicting directives from the Mayors Office.

After this story was published online Wednesday evening, Police Chief Michael Geier issued this statement: I take responsibility for what happens in my office with my chief of staff and my assistant. Any suggestion that I am not in control of the department (is) ridiculous. This is nothing more than petty water-cooler talk.

Last month, Geier requested that an internal investigation be opened into his chief of staff, John Ross, for the most serious allegations, saying he believes Ross may have violated standard operating procedures by engaging in conduct that reflects poorly on the department, altering, misrepresenting or making false statements in reports, and failing to safeguard department property.

Ross followed Geier from the Rio Rancho Police Department to APD.

In his July 20 memo requesting the investigation, Geier said he had learned that Ross had bypassed the citys protocol in purchasing a $2,400 Apple laptop computer  when he already had a department-issued ThinkPad laptop  and a $200 Apple TV box that didnt appear to have any purpose for work. Furthermore, Geier said, he found out that Ross was trying to purchase a ballistic vest  described as an off-duty jacket type vest  despite a pending request for bid and the fact that the purchase would result in the vendor being disqualified.

Geier said that he met with Ross for an informal discussion about the allegations and that Ross admitted he bought the Apple computer and TV box but said he thought it was OK, noting that the TV box could be used for Zoom meetings. He said Ross acknowledged he did not have approval but directed his assistant to use Geiers signature stamp anyway.

I explained to John that his actions portrayed him as possibly using his position to benefit himself, Geier wrote. I told him the appearance of this would seem wrong to others in the agency and it gave the optics of abuse of his authority. Both of these outcomes could conceivably impair the efficiency of the Department and damage both his reputation and that of APD in general.

Geier said he told Ross that it would be best if he returned the items and he trusted him to do the right thing. The items were not returned. And the ThinkPad that Ross had been initially provided crashed when he used the wrong charger.

Geier ended up locking up his signature stamp.

An APD spokesman said the investigation into Ross is ongoing and he is not on leave.

Ross did not respond to an email requesting comment.

Issues raised

Issues with Rosss conduct and actions seem to have come to a head in mid-July when Geiers administrative support coordinator, Paulette Diaz, wrote a memo to the chief outlining several concerns she had already discussed with him in a meeting. Diaz wrote that she believed Ross was abusing his position for what appeared to be personal gain and that he was evading standard operating procedures.

Diaz also came from the Rio Rancho Police Department with Geier. On Wednesday, under the direction of city Chief Administrative Officer Sarita Nair, she was transferred to the Department of Animal Welfare until the conclusion of pending internal investigations.

In response to questions about the transfer, City Attorney Esteban Aguilar Jr. said APD administrative investigations are a routine process to determine whether employees followed policies.

Temporary reassignment of employees is a common option to protect both sides during an investigation and is not retaliatory, Aguilar wrote in a statement. Unclassified, exempt employees are also subject to reassignment or other status changes at any time. Here, the allegations being investigated have to do with the compromise of confidential information, so reassignment is advisable.

Gilbert Gallegos, the APD spokesman, said Diaz has been the subject of allegations that predate the current situation, as well as the potential compromise of confidential information.

But Diazs attorney, Thomas Grover, said the transfer means his client could be headed toward a lawsuit. He said Diaz has no idea what prior allegations have been made against her and she did not leak confidential information.

In a seven-page memo, Diaz detailed 10 issues she had with Ross, including his purchase of the Apple laptop and Apple TV box on March 15 and April 11, respectively. She points out that Ross did not seek approval from Geier before the purchase and said he was using a P-Card rather than waiting for a purchase order because the latter route can take weeks to complete.

Another issue Diaz raised is that Ross salary had been increased without Geiers approval.

Geiers memo, which was sent to Internal Affairs Professional Standards a week after Diazs memo was written, explains this incident by saying Ross had asked for a small bump in pay, which Geier interpreted to mean a few thousand dollars annually.

He thought he could be elevated to the same pay level as a Deputy Chief but I explained that would not be feasible due to our existing rank structure and our compensation and classification process, Geier wrote. I also told him that Deputy Chief Harold Medina was already upset that two other Deputy Chiefs were already getting paid more than him due to a longevity agreement from the last administration.

Geier goes on to say that he signed a memo provided by Ross but either did not remember seeing the actual amount of the raise being listed on his memo or did not look at it with any scrutiny since I trusted John.

It appears Ross took that memo to CAO Nair and was given a significant pay raise at the rate of a Deputy Chief. Geier said he was surprised when he learned from the citys website that Ross was making almost $140,000 a year, about $5,000 less than Medina.

I sign a lot of documents and am very busy at times and it is possible I missed it, Geier wrote. However, I reminded him of our initial conversations about the possible implications of receiving such a large raise and the appearance of impropriety.

Diaz references interference from Mayor Tim Keller and CAO Nair, saying they have provided Geier with conflicting directives about how to address the issues with Ross.

Those directives do not support you running this department and the Mayors office should not be entertaining private discussions with John, or even (Deputy Chief of Police) Medina for that matter, that run contrary to adherence to the chain of command or are done for their own personal reasons, Diaz wrote.

Dogs behavior

Ross dog, Sophie, presented another big issue for staff on the fifth floor.

According to Diazs memo, Ross began bringing his personal dog to the office last fall because his wife would not let him keep her at home while he was at work. Over time, the dogs behavior became more unmanageable and she was aggressive toward people, including employees and visitors.

In addition Sophie would poop and pee on the carpet in the offices, Diaz wrote. (Deputy Chief Michael) Smathers was not happy that Sophie used his office (as) the place to poop and DC (Arturo) Gonzales was tired of Sophie peeing in his office and asked me to see about getting the carpets shampooed. It got to the point that air fresheners had to be brought in and some staff has even gone to the limit of burning candles to mask the odor of what is obviously a health concern.

Diaz said other APD employees were tasked with taking care of Ross dog while he was at meetings and Ross had a city employee train the dog to behave during work hours.

Again this is an abuse of his authority and lack of respect for all other employees and has also sent a message that John can do whatever he wants without any repercussions and that he is in command not you, she wrote.

Grover acknowledged that the 10 issues Diaz brought up in her memo run the gamut from human resources complaints  like what was happening with the dog  to frustration over her own salary and that a newly hired social media person was making more than her at $32 an hour.

Some is clearly human resource, administrative concerns, Grover said.  At the other side of the spectrum is these allegations of Ross using his position to buy things or bypass typical purchasing procedures with, frankly, a sense of fraud in it, in terms of drafting memos without Geiers knowledge or consent or strong arming his way to get the signature pad from Paulette to sign these memos.
Looking forward to election day, many religious voters are concerned about the presidential election this year. Mike Huckabee, an ordained Christian minister stated Joe Biden is not an option for the religious voters in 2020 as Fox News stated.

Huckabee told "Fox & Friends Weekend,' "these are areas where if the government and society as a whole doesn't want to embrace a biblical standard, Christians just want to be left the heck alone. We don't want someone to impose a very secular leftist standard on the church."

Mike Huckabee warns believers and says it's Biden's direction for the country is a wake up call.

"If Joe Biden gets elected, it's going to be unlike anybody democrats you've ever seen before."

According to Fox News, Biden, a practicing Roman Catholic, who supports abortion, and Islamic religious activities, has become something of the poster child for the Democratic Party which seems to be slowly moving towards to a more secular stance on these matters, leaving religious voters concerned and afraid.

Meanwhile, Huckabee praised Trump for being a "champion for religious liberty," contrasting him to Biden, who he called "a champion for the left."

"This is where leftists are trying to gin up this idea that somehow, Joe Biden is appealing to people of faith. That's utter nonsense. I don't know of anybody, people of faith, who think Joe Biden is a great choice."

Some make comments on Twitter as they believe the democracy is leaning towards Biden's idea, religious activities, or his actions.

"Donald Trump is the only president in our history to have tear-gassed peaceful Americans and thrown a priest out of her church just so he could profane it -- and a Bible -- for his own cynical optics as he sought to tear our nation apart at a moment of crisis and pain."

One twitter user lamented.

Huckabee ended the interview with Fox News by saying

"some of them aren't happy with everything Donald Trump says or tweets" but I tell you, they're not going to go with Biden. That's not an option."
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Salman: Call Me Arrogant Or Whatever You Like

While speaking to VS Srinivasan, Salman had reacted to being called an arrogant actor, and said, "Call me arrogant or whatever you like. I am like this. I try and put forward myself very clearly. I am not scared of speaking the truth. I have been labelled arrogant by a section of the film press, especially those magazines which want me to run around them and accept whatever they write about me."

Salman Said Some Magazines Just Wanted To Use His Name

The Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya actor further added, "If I call you names, if I write rubbish about your family, will you like it? It can spoil your relationships with your colleagues and family and also land you in a soup. Just because somebody wants to sell his magazine, does it mean I should allow them to make use of me?"

'Do I Behave Like Real-Life Villains?'

Salman also asked the interviewer, "If I am so bad then why aren't people scared of me? Why do children run and come to me for autographs? Why don't parents hesitate to introduce me to their children? Do I behave like a real-life villain?"

Salman Revealed Who Were Scared Of Him

Salman further stated that only those people were scared of him who wrote rubbish about him, when he was going through a low phase. Salman admitted being rude to those people, and said that he was rude to them because of their own mistakes.

"Most of them were journalists who indulged in yellow journalism, and I refused to give them interviews," added Salman.

Salman: I'm A Man Of Principles

Salman concluded by saying, "Since I stopped entertaining them, they wrote a load of bullshit about me. Why should I take all that shit? I am a man who has his principles and will adhere to it."

Cut To Present, Salman Is Still Facing A Controversy

The actor has been constantly receiving flak, after some reports surfaced on the internet that his production house had banned Sushant Singh Rajput. While there are no proofs that such reports are true, but netizens are miffed with Salman, and are dissing the superstar for dominating the industry.

With respect to work, Salman will next be seen in Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai, Kick 2 and Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali.
The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form
13 Aug 2020, 10:20 AM

DGGI uncovers GST evasion worth Rs 17.2 cr after multiple searches

The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) conducted multiple searches at premises of a major cement manufacturer in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh over the last seven days and detected GST evasion of Rs 17.2 crore. The DGGI, the enforcement arm of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC), has arrested a director of the company from Satna in Madhya Pradesh in this connection, it said.

H-1B visa ban: Trump administration relaxes norms, allows return for same jobs with same employers

The Trump administration has made some exceptions to the recent H-1B visa ban by allowing visa holders to enter the country if they want to return to the same job they had before the ban was imposed in June. Such H-1B Visa holders will also be allowed to take their dependents, including spouses and children, along with them.

IPL may get new bidder as edu-tech firm Unacademy eyes title sponsorshipEducation technology company Unacademy, which is already one of IPL's sponsors, is eyeing the league's title sponsorship rights now and is set to submit its bid to replace Chinese mobile phone company Vivo this season. A BCCI official confirmed that Unacademy has picked up the bid papers but refrained from making any comments beyond that.

COVID-19 in Kerala: Cops using call records of patients for contact tracing, says CM Pinarayi Vijayan

Phone call detail records (CDRs) of COVID-19 patients are being used by the police in Kerala as part of adopting innovative and scientific methods for effective contact tracing, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on August 12.

The chief minister assured that the details would not be used for any other purpose and there would be no intrusion into the privacy of the patients.

US budget deficit surges to record $2.81 trillion

The US budget deficit climbed to USD 2.81 trillion in the first 10 months of the budget year, exceeding any on record, the Treasury Department said Wednesday. The nation's budgetary shortfall is expected to eventually reach levels for the fiscal year that ends September 30 more than double the largest annual deficit on record.

L&T, GMR, Bombardier, Alstom among 23 companies interested in running private trainsMore private firms joined the fray for running trains with participation in the second pre-application meet going up to 23 from 16 prospective bidders earlier. Among the big corporates showing interest in the Rs 30,000 crore private rail project are Bharat Forge, BEML, BHEL, Bombardier, CAF, Gateway Rail, GMR, Alstom, GMR, L&T, Siemens and Sterlite Power.

The two large business conglomerates Tata and Adani remained absent in the conference.
Allison McVey is one of only 104 students chosen nationwide to participate in the United States Senate Youth Program in March.
Today we are standing inside a facility that ties our legacy from the days of Strategic Air Command into the future of StratCom, said Deputy Secretary of Defense David Norquist, the senior civilian Pentagon official at the ceremony. The LeMay command-and-control facility represents a $1.3 billion investment in the future of your mission. ... It is also a show of commitment to the Offutt community, which remains the home of this mission, now and into the future.
Some of Australia's biggest not-for-profit nursing home providers are claiming financial hardship to argue they need millions of dollars in extra government funding even though they are generating large cash surpluses.

While smaller nursing homes - still the bulk of the industry in Australia - are genuinely struggling according to analysis from the Centre for International Corporate Tax Accountability and Research, the financial reports of the largest church and charity-run nursing home businesses show they are "generating substantial incomes".

Anglicare, whose Newmarch House suffered a COVID-19 outbreak, is one of the non-profit organisations featured in a new report. Credit:Nick Moir

Between them, nine large operators examined in the report generated $180 million in net cash from operations and invested tens of millions in property from their aged care revenues "to expand their business," author Jason Ward wrote.

"Four out of five of the largest non-profit residential aged care operators claimed losses in 2019," he wrote, while "each produced at least $26 million in net cash flow from operations ... largely from residential aged care".
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations says she is celebrating the announcement of diplomatic relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, calling it a huge win for President Donald Trump and for the world. Kelly Craft said in an interview with The Associated Press that the diplomatic ties show just how hungry for peace we all are in this world, and how Mideast countries are all understanding the need to stand firm against a regime that is the number one state sponsor of terrorism  Iran. Craft says she believes more of the Middle East will be joining together in the future.
The Danish building block toy LEGO has sprouted an empire of amusement park like stores, movies, and reality TV competitions premised on building complicated characters, vehicles and settings from inter-locking pieces of plastic. Unfortunately, all that plastic will be with us for a long, long time, according to a new study published in the journal Environmental Pollution.

The researchers from the University of Plymouth in England studied how the pieces from the popular toy broke down in a marine environment. It turns out, LEGO bricks can survive in ocean waters for up to 1,300 years, according to the study.

The research team conducted the study by examining 50 LEGO bricks that had washed up in Cornwall, England. As Newsweek reported, the recovered pieces were cleaned, measured, weighed and then compared to unused bricks. The scientists checked the chemical composition of each block. By identifying chemicals no longer used in the production process, the scientists were able to estimate the age of each brick. The team compared the level of wear and tear by comparing the bricks to pristine LEGO pieces from the 70s and 80s. By conducting that complex comparison, the researchers were able to estimate that LEGO bricks can survive anywhere from 100 to 1,300 years in a marine environment, meaning their durability could be harmful to marine animals, according to a statement from the University of Plymouth. The researchers said their findings mean people need to be very careful about how they discard everyday household items. LEGO is one of the most popular childrens toys in history and part of its appeal has always been its durability, Andrew Turner, associate professor of Environmental Sciences at the University of Plymouth, said in a statement. It is specifically designed to be played with and handled, so it may not be especially surprising that despite potentially being in the sea for decades it isnt significantly worn down. However, the full extent of its durability was even a surprise to us.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 15:31:59|Editor: huaxia

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SEOUL, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Seven more U.S. soldiers and one civilian contract worker tested positive for COVID-19 amid the lingering worry here about imported cases, the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said Thursday.

The USFK said in a statement that seven USFK service members and one Department of Defense civilian contractor were confirmed with the virus after arriving in South Korea between July 29 and Aug. 10.

Three service members arrived at Osan Air Base on a U.S. government-chartered flight from the United Sates on Aug. 10. Osan Air Base is located in Pyeongtaek, 70 km south of Seoul.

Four service members and one civilian worker arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on commercial flights from the United States on July 29, 30, Aug. 8, and Aug. 9 each.

The confirmed patients have been transferred to designated isolation facilities at Camp Humphreys and Osan Air Base, both in Pyeongtaek.

The total number of infections among the USFK-affiliated personnel rose to 152, according to Yonhap news agency.

It came amid the lingering worry here about imported cases. In the latest tally, South Korea reported 56 more cases of COVID-19 for the past 24 hours, raising the combined number of infections to 14,770.

Of the new cases, nine were imported from overseas, lifting the combined figure to 2,600.

"Despite the recent confirmed cases, USFK remains at a high level of readiness with less than 1 percent of its active duty service members currently confirmed positive with COVID-19," the USFK added. Enditem
New Delhi:

Dismissing Rahul Gandhis assertion that he is not allowed to speak in the Lok Sabha on demonetisation as rubbish, HRD minister Prakash Javadekar has said the government wants the Congress Vice President to speak as the more Rahul speaks, the more Congress will get exposed.

Javadekar said the government is absolutely interested in having a debate in Parliament on the issue but suggested that the stance of the Congress-led opposition was not reasonable.

We are absolutely interested.... Now what they are demanding is that Prime Minister should not only intervene but also listen to all.

Rahul Gandhi dares PM Modi to face Parliament, says people are tired of his monologues

Tomorrow they may come up with an absurd demand that Prime Minister must be present in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha simultaneously, the Minister said, claiming that even people were laughing at these opposition parties.

Asked about Rahul Gandhis remarks that he was not being allowed to speak in the Lok Sabha, Javadekar responded, That is rubbish. Actually we want Rahul to speak more, because the more he speaks, the more we benefit (and) the Congress gets exposed, he told PTI.

The Winter Session of Parliament, which has only three working days left, has turned out to be a near washout with the Opposition stalling the proceedings over governments demonetisation decision and other issues.

Javadekar also rejected suggestions that demonetisation was done by the government in view of upcoming UP polls and said BJP was winning the state without demonetisation and would do so even post-demonetisation decision.

He also maintained that despite attempts by political rivals to provoke the people, they are completely with the government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked people to bear for 50 days, but people are willing to give 60 days, he claimed.

Javadekar, who is the BJP election incharge of Manipur, also claimed that like Assam, his party would win elections in Manipur as well.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
<! Walter Carrington: dies at 90 >

By Ismaila Chafe

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed sadness over the demise of former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Walter Carrington, describing him as a long time friend of Nigeria and an astute and courageous diplomat.

The Nigerian leader made his feelings known in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Wednesday.

Buhari, in a tribute, praised the late ambassador whom he said openly supported the people of this country when they fought for the return of democracy following the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential elections won by the late Moshood Abiola.

The story of the Nigerian democracy under the Fourth Republic will not complete without a mention of the heroic roles of the likes of Ambassador Carrington.

On behalf of my family, the government and people of Nigeria, I commiserate with the family of the deceased, his friends and admirers as well as the government and people of the United States.

In July, Buhari had congratulated Carrington on his 90th birthday, recalling the role he played in steering Nigeria back to democracy.

President Buhari expressed his personal appreciation and that of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the extraordinary support of the Ambassador for democratic causes in Nigeria and around the globe.

Thank you, Ambassador Carrington! the president said.

Carrington, born in 1930 was an American diplomat, who served as the United States Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Senegal and Nigeria.

He was appointed by U.S. President Bill Clinton in 1993 as the US Ambassador to Nigeria, where he remained until 1997.

He married a Nigerian medical doctor Arese Ukpoma who announced his death today. Arese is now 62 years old.

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Nine local artists will have their work on display at the Sweetwater County Library. The artwork will remain shown along the library walls until the end of September.

The Art Chat Invitational Exhibit features artists that have been involved in the Art Chat events hosted by the Community Fine Arts Center. Artists featured at the exhibit include Steve Kyles, Theresa Weber, Olivia Benz, Cherrie Dittman, Jasmine Krueger, Patti Meyerbird, Amanda Romero, Angelina Q. Bennett and Deon Quitberg.

There are so many wonderful pieces in this exhibit, Lindsey Travis, assistant director for the l...
An 18-year-old man, Kwaku Mensah, has been sentenced to 18 years imprisonment for defiling a four-year-old girl at Dabiasem in the Suaman district of the Western North region.



The Bibiani Circuit Court, presided over by His Honour Yaw Owoahene Acheampong, pronounced the sentence after the suspect pleaded guilty to the crime.



According to the judge, medical report confirmed that the girl has multiple tears in her vagina, vulva and clitoris, as well as forceful penetration into her private part.



Not only did he end there, he inserted knife into the childs vagina to open her up, making it difficult for her to walk.



He also continued to appeal to the public for financial support to aid the girls medical treatment.





How It Happened

A four-year-old girl is battling for her life after a 16-year-old boy allegedly defiled her and inserted a knife into her private part in the process.



The sad incident reportedly occurred at Dadieso in the Western North region while the girl was on an errand for her mother. I went to church when her mother sent her to give corn to the suspect after he requested for it but he decided to defile the girl after taking the corn, he said.



Narrating the ordeal on Adom FM, the girls father said she was abandoned in a bush for about four hours.



It was around 10:30pm when the incident happened and we searched every possible place for her but to no avail. We went to the boy but he told us our daughter should be home.



We had to dispatch a search party and found her tied up in a pool of blood at almost 5pm and rushed her to the Dadieso Hospital but she was referred to Juaboso, he added.



Mr Boakye explained that it was at the hospital that doctors confirmed her vagina had been completely damaged, adding it was likely another sharp object was used on her.



She urinates and release bowels in pain and will cry throughout the period. We have done our best but running out of money and appeal to Ghanaians to support us, he added.

















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Beirut:

Syrias army seized a major district on Aleppos southeastern edges on Monday, putting it in control of 90 per cent of areas once held by rebels in the city, a monitor said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad seized the Sheikh Saeed district early on Monday after fierce clashes ongoing since the previous afternoon.

The army is now in full control of Sheikh Saeed, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Syrian regime forces are now in control of 90 per cent of the one-time rebel areas in Aleppos east, he said.

Syrias second city, Aleppo had been divided since 2012 between government forces in the west and rebel groups in the east.

In less than a month, a blistering offencive by Syrias army and allied militia has overrun most of rebel territory in the city.

Air strikes pounded the remaining opposition-controlled districts of Aleppo through the night and into the early morning Monday, the Britain-based Observatory said.

At least 413 civilians have been killed in east Aleppo since the offensive began on November 15, the Observatory said, and 139 killed in rebel rocket fire on the citys west.

And more than 300,000 people have been killed since Syrias conflict first erupted in March 2011.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 13) Two senators expressed hope that Health Secretary Francisco Duque III will finally be able to face the chamber in its next hearing on the alleged irregularities hounding the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, as they questioned the top officials silence on the matter.

DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III was the "big elephant" that was not present at the first two hearings of the Committee of the Whole regarding PhilHealth's unbridled corruption. Hopefully we will see him next Tuesday, Senator Panfilo Ping Lacson said in a statement on Thursday.

Lacson said he will quiz the Health chief on the agencys numerous controversies  including the viral Zoom meeting of officials that sparked the new allegations of corruption.

RELATED: Senators want release of IRM funds to hospitals suspended pending changes in PhilHealth

The senator added he will also ask why Duque has been very quiet in spite of all the anomalies being openly discussed and what the latter intends to recommend to President Rodrigo Duterte in order to resolve these issues.

Meanwhile, Senator Risa Hontiveros said she also expects Duque to shed light on the goings-on within the agency, especially with the DOH chiefs experience and connection with PhilHealth which dates back to 2001.

Ang tanong ko talaga, nasaan si Sec Duque? Bakit siya tahimik? Hontiveros told CNN Philippines The Source on Thursday.

Si Sec Duque lang sa loob ng dalawang dekada na ito ang may institutional memory about the goings-on inside PhilHealth He cannot feign ignorance for all of these under his watch. Sa tingin ko talaga hindi siya dapat manatiling tahimik and as I mentioned earlier, he's been called by the Committee, and I expect he will appear in order to explain, she added.

[Translation: My question really is, where is Sec. Duque? Why is he quiet? Hes the only person during the last two decades that has institutional memory about the goings-on inside of PhilHealth He cannot feign ignorance for all of these under his watch. In my opinion, he should not stay silent and as I mentioned earlier, hes being called by the Committee, and I expect he will appear in order to explain.]

The Senate is one of the many bodies conducting a probe into the fresh allegations lodged against PhilHealth, including the supposed widespread corruption of some of the agencys executives.

PhilHealth had earlier denied claims on the irregularities, but nevertheless welcomed the investigations and promised to cooperate with the proceedings.

New task force to investigate PhilHealth

Meanwhile, a new task force was also established by the National Bureau of Investigation, joining the growing number of officials tackling the case.

TASK FORCE-PHILHEALTH will include agents and investigators from the NBIs Anti-Graft Division, Anti-Fraud Division, Special Action Unit, Computer Crimes Division, Special Operations Group, and Digital Forensic Laboratory, the bureau said in a statement on Thursday.

Like the multi-agency task force headed by the Justice Department, NBIs team will also conduct lifestyle checks on PhilHealth officials and employees. The task forces mission will also include an audit of the PhilHealth finances.
David Brock, the onetime anti-Clinton journalist turned Hillary Clinton ally and aggressive promoter of Democratic media narratives in recent decades, faces legal actions and disclosures portraying his organizations as working so closely with the Clinton campaign in 2016 that they broke the law.

Hillary Clinton in 2016: A new lawsuit says groups founded by David Brock (above) worked so closely together to support her that they broke the law.

The conservative Patriots Foundation alleges in a lawsuit being filed today in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that an improperly porous relationship among four Brock-founded organizations amounted to illegal coordination with the Clinton campaign in violation of Federal Election Commission regulations. The best known of the four groups is Media Matters for America, which highlights what it calls media bias from the right. The other three are the American Bridge 21st Century PAC; the American Bridge 21st Century Foundation; and the Correct the Record PAC.

American Bridge 21st Century PAC claimed that it was independent of the Clinton campaign so that it could make independent expenditures," the Patriots Foundation said in a statement provided to RealClearInvestigations. "American Bridge is run by the same people who run Media Matters and Correct the Record, however, which we know coordinated with the Clinton campaign.

They all work from the same offices," the statement continued, "Brock was paid by all of them, American Bridge and Correct the Record shared at least 6 employees, and Correct the Record made in-kind contributions to American Bridge PAC. American Bridges supposedly independent activity was just as coordinated as Media Matters and Correct the Records activity  meaning that American Bridges [expenditures] were really excessive and illegal contributions to Hillary Clintons campaign.

Representatives for the organizations did not respond to requests for comment (Correct the Record is now inactive). Nor did Brock himself or the Clinton campaign.

This past April, the Patriots Foundation filed an FEC complaint against Brocks organizations. Since the agency hasn't acted on it within a requisite 120 days, the Patriots Foundation is now suing the FEC as allowed under campaign finance laws. The Patriots Foundation also filed complaints with the IRS last spring regarding Media Matters and the American Bridge Foundation, but there is no legal remedy to force the IRSs hand in court as with the FEC.

The tactics of Media Matters are generally acknowledged as politically aggressive in a way many see at odds with the organizations 501(c)(3) nonprofit tax status, which stipulates nonpartisanship. In 2008, The New York Times described Media Matters as a nonprofit, highly partisan research organization. The Patriots Foundation alleges that in 2016 Media Matters ceased merely appearing to be partisan -- it acted openly as an arm of the Hillary Clinton campaign. A December 2016 report in the liberal-leaning magazine the New Republic, highlighted by the group, substantiates this assessment:

The organization [Media Matters] had long ceased to be a mere watchdog, having positioned itself at the center of a group of public relations and advocacy outfits whose mission was to help put Clinton in the White House.  In our numerous conversations with past Media Matters staff, there was a consensus that in the lead-up to Clintons announcement of her candidacy in 2015, the organizations priority shifted away from the mission stated on its website  comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation  and towards running defense for Clinton. The former staffers we spoke to largely felt that this damaged Media Matters credibility and hurt the work it did in other areas. The closer we got to the 2016 election the less it became about actually debunking conservative misinformation and more it became about just defending Hillary Clinton from every blogger in their mothers basement, one former staffer told us. This was, moreover, a repeat of what Media Matters did in 2008, when there was a rift between staffers and management over the favoring of Clinton in her race against then-Senator Barack Obama.

Media Matters staffers recounted internal fights over the group's devotion to Clinton. Employees were ordered to critique NPRs Terry Gross for asking Clinton some questions about why it took her so long to support same-sex marriage.

Terry Gross: The NPR interviewer drew Media Matters criticism for hard questions put to Hillary Clinton.

But the staff reportedly felt Gross questions were fair, and according to the New Republic, nearly everyone we spoke to who worked there at the time felt that a similar article would not have been written about a different politician. Media Matters research director, Jeremy Holden ended up writing the story because other staffers were unwilling to put their name on it. Holden did not respond to a request for comment.

Media Matters employees were also reportedly frustrated by the organizations obsession with defending Clinton at the expense of other liberal causes. Former staffers pointed out several stories that fell within Media Matters ambit that should have been better covered.  On the site, there are 1,468 posts tagged with Hillary Clinton as opposed to just 26 tagged Bernie Sanders, according to the New Republic.

In addition to media reports, internal communications at the Clinton campaign further reveal that it was treating Media Matters as a campaign surrogate and coordinating with the group.

Internal communications at the Clinton campaign released by WikiLeaks reveal that the Brock groups Media Matters (MMFA) and Correct the Record (CTR) were treated as campaign surrogates.

A campaign strategy memo released by WikiLeaks notes that the Clinton campaign reported using the Brock group to muddy the waters when it came to issues where Clinton was vulnerable by working with MMFA to highlight examples of when the press wont cover the same issues with Republicans. Another email released by WikiLeaks has Clintons press secretary, Nick Merrill, planning to push back on a Vanity Fair story about Clinton campaign vice chair Huma Abedin, which hadnt been published yet, saying, We have MMFA, CtR, and core surrogates lined up, which we can expand on tomorrow. Media Matters published a piece criticizing the Vanity Fair story the following day.

Nick Merrill, left: In an email released by WikiLeaks, the Clinton press secretary described using Brock groups to attack unfavorable coverage.

CtR in Merrills email refers to the Correct the Record PAC. The PAC has been dormant since the 2016 election cycle, but coordinat[ed] directly with Clintons campaign, Politico reported. The CTR PAC even took money directly from the Clinton campaign  during the 2016 election cycle CTR took in $8.5 million in donations, including a donation of $275,615 in 2015 from Hillary for America. From its inception, the PAC skirted rules that prevent such entities and campaigns from directly coordinating with campaigns by claiming all its activities were covered by an FEC exemption regarding public communications.

Correct the Record believes it can avoid the coordination ban by relying on a 2006 Federal Election Commission regulation that declared that content posted online for free, such as blogs, is off limits from regulation, notes a 2015 Washington Post report. The Internet exemption said that such free postings do not constitute campaign expenditures, allowing independent groups to consult with candidates about the content they post on their sites. The Patriots Foundation FEC complaint strongly disputes that the operations of the CTR PAC were defensible under this interpretation, noting that the PAC spent money on polling and other activities that dont constitute communications.

Organizationally, there also appears to have been not much separation between CTR and Brocks other PAC, American Bridge. During the 2016 election, Brock claimed that AB PAC remained independent of both the Clinton campaign and CTR PAC so that it could make independent expenditures in support of Clinton, notes the Patriots Foundation FEC complaint. However, he continued to collect a salary from both PACs, and disclosure reports show that the committees shared at least seven overlapping staff members at various times during 2016. Moreover, AB PAC reported making in-kind disbursements to CTR PAC in 2016. (In addition to getting paid by both PACs, Brock drew a salary of $278,566 from Media Matters as well, 2017 tax records show.

Overall, the American Bridge Foundation was the largest donor to the AB PAC in the 2016 and 2018 election cycles. As a 501(c)4 nonprofit, the AB Foundation is not required to disclose its own donors. Other notable donors to the AB PAC include George Soros, who gave AB PAC $2 million between 2015 and 2016. Some of America's biggest unions  the SEIU, AFL-CIO, NEA, AFT, and AFSCME  all made six-figure donations in the 2016 election cycle. And Win McCormack, the owner and publisher of the New Republic, gave $100,000 to the AB PAC five months before his publication ran the story on Media Matters' troubles.

Not the First Time

The Patriots Foundation alleges that the legally required separation between the groups did not exist. The two organizations shared staff, office space, and equipment, but the AB Foundation stated in IRS filings the two entities have entered into a cost-sharing agreement to allocate shared overhead costs so that neither entity is financially supporting the activities of the other.

But other audited financial statements from the AB Foundation note they did not have a formal agreement relating to the allocation of expenses between the two entities and allocations were made based on management and budget estimates. Those estimates varied wildly. The AB Foundation gave the PAC some $2.9 million for salary, rent, and expenses in 2015; $720,000 in 2016; $4.5 million in 2017; and $3.3 million in 2018. In many of those years, the AB Foundation also claimed to owe AB PAC more than it paid, also by varying amounts.

This is not the first time one of Brocks organizations has been challenged for running afoul of FEC regulations. Last year, the Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint regarding the Correct the Record PACs claim that it could coordinate with the Clinton campaign under the public Internet communications exemption. FEC attorneys agreed with the Campaign Legal Center but the FEC, which has been understaffed during the Trump administration, only had four of six members on the commission. The complaint was dismissed when the two GOP commissioners sided with the CTR PAC, leaving the commission deadlocked. The Campaign Legal Center is still litigating the matter.

The Patriots Foundation complaint is different in that it addresses the coordination across all of the Brock organizations, as well as the allegations American Bridge PAC inaccurately reported the operational costs it shares with the American Bridge Foundation.

The Patriots Foundation told RealClearInvestigations it is not seeking remedies from the FEC beyond what was outlined in its original complaint. That complaint asks the FEC to "elicit admission of the violations from each of the respondents, conduct a robust investigation to determine the scope of the alleged violations, bar respondents from continuing violative activities, and collect civil penalties in amounts commensurate with the gravity of these serious ongoing violations.

The IRS action filed by the Patriots Foundation seeks to revoke the tax-exempt status of Media Matters and the AB PAC, and calls for both to be compelled to pay applicable taxes while improperly operating as tax exempt, plus applicable financial penalties, while referring both to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution.
A Georgia countys commissioners have approved a settlement for a lawsuit that alleged residents were wrongfully arrested due to erroneous information that was given to state officials regarding their drivers licenses.

The $775,000 settlement approved last week by DeKalb County commissioners comes nearly five years after a federal lawsuit was brought by 17 residents, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The residents allege they were arrested after personnel from the countys Recorders Court inaccurately told the Georgia Department of Driver Services that their drivers licenses had been suspended, or neglected to tell officials the licenses were reinstated.

The lawsuit said the court had a documented history of institutional ineptitude, and gave examples of the plaintiffs getting arrested or being booked in jail due to alleged errors by the court.

Several other lawsuits filed around the same time as the 2015 lawsuit also challenged how traffic offenses were handled at the Recorders Court. The state Assembly disbanded the court in 2015, and traffic cases are now managed in DeKalb State Court.

William Atkins, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said he will not comment on the settlement since it has not been finalized. A DeKalb County spokesperson also declined a request for comment by the newspaper.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Georgia
Dani Dyer showed off her blossoming baby bump on Instagram Stories on Wednesday after announcing she and boyfriend Sammy Kimmence are expecting.

The 24-year-old who is 15 weeks pregnant posed from the side, wearing a white belted dress from Glamify Fashion.

The Kylie dress is currently on sale for 40 and Dani wrote how much she was loving wearing her new purchase.

Looking lovely: Dani Dyer revealed a glimpse of her blossoming baby bump while wearing an white belted dress on Instagram on Wednesday

Dani also gave a glimpse of her unborn baby's nursery which had Baby Kimmence written on the wall in grey wooden blocks and elephants.

While showing off some of the baby vests and muslins she had born for her tot, she said: 'Look at me with all the elephants, I definitely love an animal theme.'

Dani recently said that while she's started to 'embrace' the changes in her body, she has suffered from 'nausea and horrendous migraines'.

Getting on with it: Dani recently said that while she's started to 'embrace' the changes in her body, she has suffered from 'nausea and horrendous migraines'

Announcement: She is 15 weeks pregnant with her first baby with Sammy Kimmence

She wrote: 'I've really started noticing the changes in my body and Im definitely embracing it.

'Apparently at this stage Im supposed to feel on top of the world which I really hope for as the first few months have been really hard.

'Ive had loads of messages from people so thought Id share my experience so far. And honestly your responses and little tips have been amazing I really feel like it is like a little community on here and I love it lol.'

Getting ready: Dani also gave a glimpse of her animal-themed nursery with her grey elephant decorations

A welcome treat: She shared some of the cute gifts she had been sent in the post

Dani also shared she'd like to call her baby Ariana if she has a girl, but admitted her boyfriend Sammy 'is not having it'.

Dani made her surprise pregnancy announcement on Instagram in late July, just three months after she rekindled her relationship with Sammy.

She was previously in a relationship with Jack Fincham who she met on Love Island.
The Alamo Colleges District needs to hold its trustee election in November.

We are glad a belated special meeting has been scheduled Monday at noon for trustees to reconsider their decision to postpone the election until an undetermined date.

The district went off script this week by voting to sit out the November general election and leave current officeholders in place as holdovers until an election at some undetermined time in the future.

The trustees vote to postpone the election lacked transparency and was made without community input. At least one college district trustee candidate we contacted said she was shocked by the board vote and was unaware delaying the election was under consideration.

Gov. Greg Abbotts order in March allowing governmental entities to move their May elections to November due to pandemic-related concerns did not give elected officials free reign over elections. There are strict protocols that must be followed.

The unprecedented move to delay the election raises legal issues, and if not remedied will almost certainly prompt state election officials to void the results of a future election.

The board has until 5 p.m. Monday to get on the November ballot. Failure to do so could leave taxpayers footing the bill for a stand-alone election (with miserable turnout, we assume) and any legal challenges.

Abbotts proclamation suspending provisions of the Texas Election Code was very specific. It allowed political subdivisions to postpone their May 2 elections until Nov. 3 and does not give political entities the authority to push their election beyond that date, according to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

In a letter sent to the Round Rock City Council after officials tried to delay its election to May 2021, Paxton said that holding an improper election can produce severe consequences.

If an election is held on the wrong date, the election is void, he said.

He further stated, If the City decides not to hold its election in November, the City may be subject to civil litigation. In addition, violating the Citys charter, such as by not calling an election in accordance with the law, may be grounds for a forfeiture of office.

The city of Round Rock has since agreed to place its council races on the November ballot.

Not allowing voters an opportunity to vote is no minor matter. The Alamo Colleges District was wrong in not allowing community input before voting to postpone the election.

Tuesdays vote came during a special meeting following a lengthy executive session conducted by telephone and closed to the public.

There was no public discussion about the election once the meeting resumed on Zoom. The vote was 6-2-1. Among those voting to delay the election were Joe Jesse Sanchez and Jose A. Macias Jr., both of whom face challengers on the ballot. Board Chairman Marcelo Casillas, who is not seeking re-election, abstained from the vote.

Casillas said the vote was based on a consensus among trustees to avoid participating in a partisan election and concerns about being at the bottom of a lengthy ballot in a presidential election cycle.

He also cited the impact COVID-19 might have on voters and those working the polls  although those concerns will exist regardless of Districts decision.

We expect Alamo Colleges District to be on the November ballot following Mondays special meeting. Alamo Colleges District has worked incredibly hard to regain the publics trust in recent years, and to postpone an election with no public discussion, inviting legal challenges from all directions, would erode that trust in one fell swoop.

If these down-ballot races dont end up on the November ballot, the matter will likely head to court.

Just what were they thinking? In contemplating a delayed election, were trustees seeking to serve themselves or the public?

We think we know the answer.
Ebonyi State Judiciary workers on Thursday began an indefinite strike to drive home their demand for the implementation of the Consolidated Judiciary Salary Structure (CJSS).

As a result of the strike, no court proceeding was held at the State High Court on Thursday.

When PREMIUM TIMES visited the State Judiciary headquarters, workers were absent but police officers were seen at the gate possibly to protect the facility.

The workers had about three weeks ago issued a 14-day ultimatum for the implementation of the CJSS, and later served the state government a seven-day notice for the strike.

The Vice President of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (South East Zone), Mark Ifezue, said the national leadership of the union directed the workers to withdraw their services pending the implementation of the wage structure.

I am in Ebonyi State to show solidarity with the workers of Ebonyi State Judiciary over their problem with the state government that bordered on the implementation of the state Judiciary salary, he said.

Virtually all the states in Nigeria are implementing the salary package but Ebonyi State has refused to do that and the workers have been on the struggle since 2015 but nothing positive has come out of it.

We have had a series of meetings with the state government. For instance, in 2015, there was even an agreement between the union and the state government but unfortunately, the state government reneged on that agreement.

READ ALSO:

The governor had once invited the EXCO of the branch and mandated them to go to other states in the Southeast and other neighbouring states to get samples of what they earn as salaries, which they have done.

The National Organising Secretary of the Union, Chinedu Eze, expressed worry over the presence of strange faces within the premises of the Judiciary Headquarters, Abakaliki, which according to him had been locked by the workers.

Reacting, the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Cletus Ophoke, said a strike at a time the state and entire country are fighting the deadly Covid-19 pandemic and its attendant economic recession is ill-advised.

The Secretary to the State Government and myself met with them several times and appealed to them that even if there must be a wage increase, it shouldnt be at this time when we are battling to see if the economy will improve.

Dont forget that the state government is paying workers salary as at when due on or before the 15th of every month.

So we appealed to them to be patient. But we are surprised to see them commence the strike action today because we thought we had an agreement with them.

I appeal to them to sheathe their swords and embrace peace at this critical moment. They should reconsider their stand and suspend the strike for the interest of the state, Mr Ophoke said.
Parents--we know that the return to school for fall 2020 is fraught with worries and concerns over your child's safety. Beyond the concerns, there are plenty of questions when the time arrives for in-person learning: What are the risks in the school cafeteria? What about study hall? What about the safety for kids who ride the school bus?

RISK FOR KIDS: COVID-19 cases among children see 90 percent increase over 4 weeks, report says

As school districts across Texas grapple with how to safely reopen in COVID-19 pandemic, we found a simple 'Know-your-risk' chart to help parents, students and teachers that eliminates the confusion about certain key risks. It's a K-12 infograph that's designed by medical and epidemiological experts that clearly outlines the risks of certain school activities, according to COVID-19 Recovery Consulting.

The chart breaks down school routines into categories like classwork, transportation, and recess and then uses color codes to identify risk level. The information is based upon CDC and National Academy of Science recommendations.

COVID-19 Recovery Consulting

From band practice to cafeteria time, each activity is evaluated from highest to lowest risk level. To find out all the risk levels of school activities, access the 'Know-your-risk' chart here.

Here are some of highest risk activities:

Riding school bus

Public transportation

Band/orchestra practice

Choir

Drama performances

Here are some of the medium risk activities:

Cafeteria lunch line

Indoor eating

Carpool

Indoor non-contact sports

These are some of the lowest risk activities:

Commuting to school in car (household members only)

Walking or riding a bicycle

alison.medley@chron.com
One-third of the people who could benefit from a special type of savings account to cushion the blow of their health plan deductible aren't doing so, according to a new study.

And even among people who do open a health savings account (HSA), half haven't put any money into it in the past year. This means they may be missing a chance to avoid taxes on money that they can use to pay for their health insurance deductible and other health costs.

The study also finds that those who buy their health insurance themselves, and select a high-deductible plan on an exchange such as http://www.healthcare.gov, are less likely to open an HSA than those who get their insurance from employers who offer only a high-deductible option.

HSAs are different from the flexible spending accounts that some employers offer. HSAs can only be opened by people in health plans that require them to pay a deductible of $1,400 for an individual or $2,800 for a family before their insurance benefits kick in.

In a new paper in JAMA Network Open, a team led by researchers at the University of Michigan and VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System reports results from a national survey of more than 1,600 participants in high-deductible health plans.

Key findings

They note that half of those who had an HSA and put money into their account in the past year had socked away $2,000 or more. And among those who hadn't put money in, 40% said it was because they already had enough savings to cover their costs.

But those with lower levels of education were much less likely to have opened an HSA, and to have contributed to it even if they did open one. Those with lower levels of understanding of health insurance concepts, called health insurance literacy, were also less likely to put money in their HSA if they had one.

And one-third of those who didn't put money into their HSA said it was because they couldn't afford to save up for health costs.

"These findings are concerning, given that nearly half of Americans with private insurance now have high-deductible plans," says Jeffrey Kullgren, M.D., M.S., MPH, who led the study and has done other research on HDHPs and health care consumerism. "While policymakers have focused on expanding availability and permitted uses of HSAs, and increasing how much money they can hold, work is needed to help eligible enrollees open them and use them to get the care they need at a price they can afford."

Change needed

In the new paper and in a report from the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, Kullgren and his colleagues call for more efforts to increase uptake of HSAs, and contributions to HSAs, by employers, health insurers and the health systems that provide care and bill insurers for that care.

Targeted interventions, especially those aimed at people with lower levels of education or health insurance literacy, should be developed.

The researchers note that as federal and state exchanges prepare to open for 2021 enrollment, expanding the types of exchange plans that are eligible to be linked to an HSA will be important. Currently, just 7% of the plans bought on exchanges are eligible for an HSA, even though many exchange plans come with a high deductible.

The study data come from an online survey of English-speaking adults under age 65; the study population was weighted to include a higher proportion of people with chronic health conditions than the national population.

For the survey, the researchers asked respondents about HSAs using the National Health Interview Survey definition of an HSA as "a special account or fund that can be used to pay for medical expenses" that are "sometimes referred to as Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRAs), Personal Care accounts, Personal Medical funds, or Choice funds, and are different from Flexible Spending Accounts."

###

In addition to Kullgren, who is an assistant professor of internal medicine at the U-M Medical School and member of IHPI and the VA Center for Clinical Management Research, the study team includes U-M School of Public Health doctoral alumna Elizabeth Q. Cliff, PhD; U-M research team members Christopher Krenz, BA; Brady T. West, PhD; Helen Levy, PhD, and Mark Fendrick, MD; and Angela Fagerlin, PhD of the University of Utah and Salt Lake City VA. The study was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Fendrick is a partner in V-BID Health, LLC, which assists employers, health insurers and health systems in designing health care benefits packages.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As teachers across the nation begin a new school year, a national poll reveals that K-12 educators are deeply concerned about their personal safety and family finances during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet despite their worries, the research finds that these public employees value serving their communities during this difficult time and feel that the pandemic has made the public more aware of the importance of their work.

These findings are contained in a new infographic from the Center for State and Local Government Excellence (SLGE) and ICMA-RC. The K-12 public school employee research is a supplement to a wide-ranging analysis of state and local employees' views detailed in the recent report, Public Sector Employee Views on Finances and Employment Outlook Due to COVID-19.

Register at no charge here for a webinar on Wednesday, August 26, 2020, at 1:00 PM ET to review the findings, as well as additional SLGE and ICMA-RC research, Survey Findings: K-12 Public School Employee Views on Job and Benefits.

SLGE will host a Twitter chat on @4GovtExcellence immediately following the webinar to respond to questions.

"As the COVID-19 pandemic extends into another school year, the critical role of K-12 public school employees in communities across the nation is increasingly apparent," said Rivka Liss-Levinson, PhD, SLGE director of research. "Clearly, teachers are worried about their personal safety and long-term financial security. Yet, they still value serving their communities."

She added, "As schools make decisions about virtual or in-person learning, it will be important to assess how the COVID-19 pandemic impacts K-12 educators' morale, and financial and job outlook. Even before the crisis, recruiting and retaining state and local employees, including teachers, was a challenge for many jurisdictions."

Key survey findings of the K-12 Education Employee Views on COVID-19 infographic are summarized below:

72 percent of respondents consider their job at least somewhat risky in terms of potential exposure to people who may have COVID-19.

One quarter (26 percent) agree the risks they are taking working during the pandemic are not on par with their compensation.

76 percent are concerned that the pandemic and the related economic crisis will impact their ability to save enough to be financially secure throughout retirement.

Over the course of the next year, about one quarter (28 percent) expect they will reduce the amount they are saving for retirement currently.

Most (61 percent) report that they and their family have been negatively impacted financially by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the course of the next year, 61 percent expect they will spend less than normal (on either essential or non-essential expenses) in comparison to what it would have been had the pandemic not occurred.

Two-thirds of respondents (68 percent) say the pandemic has made the public more aware of the importance of their work.

64 percent indicate that they value serving their community during this difficult time.

Information for this research is excerpted from the 218 K-12 education respondents of an online survey of 1,008 full-time state and local government employees conducted in May 2020, along with a separate poll of 400 K-12 employees in March 2020.

The Center for State and Local Government Excellence (SLGE) helps local and state governments become knowledgeable and competitive employers so they can attract and retain a talented and committed workforce. SLGE identifies leading practices and conducts research on public retirement plans, health and wellness benefits, workforce demographics and skill set needs, and labor force development. SLGE brings state and local leaders together with respected researchers. Access all SLGE publications and sign up for its newsletter at slge.org and follow @4GovtExcellence on Twitter.

About ICMA-RC

Founded in 1972, ICMA-RC is a non-profit, independent financial services corporation with approximately $60 billion in assets under management and administration (as of June 30, 2020), focused on providing retirement plans and related services for over 1.5 million public participant accounts. ICMA-RC's mission is to help those who serve their communities work towards achieving their retirement savings goals. For more information, visit www.icmarc.org, download ICMA-RC's mobile app from the App Store and Google Play or follow ICMA-RC on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

SOURCE Center for State and Local Government Excellence

Related Links

http://www.slge.org


Robert Pattinson dons the cowl for 'The Batman'. (Credit: Warner Bros)

The Batman is set to focus on a younger version of the Caped Crusader and will examine the soul of the man behind the cowl.

Robert Pattinson will play the DC hero in the latest take on the character, directed by War for the Planet of the Apes helmer Matt Reeves.

Read more: Dave Bautista tried for Bane role in The Batman

Mattson Tomlin  who co-wrote the script with Reeves  told Den of Geek that the movie will focus on the early days of billionaire Bruce Waynes vigilante career.

First of all, its a younger version than the most recent versions that weve seen, he said.

Matt Reeves attends the 'War for the Planet Of The Apes' premiere on July 10, 2017. (Credit: Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)

Tomlin added that Reeves always comes from a point of emotion, even in his most expensive and action-packed blockbuster movies.

He said: Its never the big action thing. Its always, what is this characters soul?

I think that really looking at Batman as somebody who has gone through this trauma, and then everything that hes doing is then a reaction to that, rather than shy away from that, I think this film leans into that in some very fun and surprising ways.

Read more: Reeves teases humanist take on Batman

The Batman was shooting in the UK when the coronavirus pandemic forced productions to shut down, but the lifting of regulations means the movie has been able to get moving again.

As well as Pattinson, the film stars Zoe Kravitz, Paul Dano, Andy Serkis and Colin Farrell.

Robert Pattinson attends the Dior Homme Menswear Fall/Winter 2020-2021 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on January 17, 2020. (Photo by Francois Durand for Dior/Getty Images)

Tomlin is currently promoting his Netflix superhero adventure Project Power, directed by Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost.

The film tells the story of a dangerous pill, which gives people superpowers for five minutes, but also has potentially deadly side effects.

Read more: Pattinson says Batman anticipation has him feeling spicy

The Batman is due to be released in October 2021 and Project Power is on Netflix from 14 August.
Two decorated police officers in Georgia who used force to detain the wrong person during a search for a suspect have been fired and could face criminal charges.

Savannahs mayor and police chief condemned the encounter that led to the termination of Savannah police Cpl. Daniel Kang and Sgt. Octavio Arango in a news conference on Wednesday.

Both officers were fired late last month for the incident that happened in April while they were searching for a suspect at an apartment complex in Savannah, the police department said in a news release. No further details on the arrest have been released.

Savannah police Cpl. Daniel Kang (left) and Sgt. Octavio Arango (right) were fired last month for use of force targeting an innocent person whom they misidentified

'The conduct of two members of the Savannah Police Department during this incident were totally unacceptable, egregious behavior,' Savannah Police Chief Roy Minter said during the news conference.

On April 14, Arango and Kang arrived in the 9400 block of Abercorn Street in response to a domestic violence report and began looking for a suspect, reported Savannah Morning News.

Minter said the person Kang and Arango used force to detain was 'mistakenly identified.'

The unnamed man was placed in custody, but not charged, the chief added.

Kang and Arango notified a supervisor about their use of force in April. A review of the body camera video, and an internal investigation that followed found that the officers had violated several department policies, police said.

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson, who viewed the body camera footage, said he was 'horrified' by what he saw.

Savannah Police Chief Roy Minter said during a news conference on Wednesday that Kang and Aranog's behavior was 'unacceptable' and 'egregious'

The footage, which has not been released publicly, was also 'sufficiently concerning' enough that the case will be presented before a grand jury for criminal consideration next month, said Chatham County District Attorney Meg Heap, who could not comment on the specific contents of the video.

A spokesperson for the District Attorney's Office told DailyMail.com in an email on Thursday that the body camera footage 'was evidence in the case and it would not be released until it is presented in court.'

Arango allegedly violated seven department policies and Kang three, reported Savannah Morning News.

Chatham County District Attorney Meg Heap said the case will be presented before a grand jury next month to determine if the fired officers should face criminal charges

The two officers were placed on administrative leave before their termination on July 30. The officers appealed their firing to a city manager, who chose to uphold the decision.

Johnson referenced an earlier promise he made to residents amid the national protests against racism and police brutality following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.

'I meant what I said on that hot day at the end of May, that it was going to be a new day in Savannah, that Black lives matter, that everyones lives matter,' Johnson said. 'Were going to support our police department, but yet, we are going to be committed that individuals who do bad things, who dont respect, serve and protect, will no longer be members of our police department.'

Arango had served on the force for about 15 years and Kang for eight.

In August 2018, both officers were awarded Medals of Valor for theirs roles in a SWAT operation during which a woman and two children were rescued after being held hostage.
Netflix's new space drama, 'Away', centring around an international crew's voyage to Mars looks set to pull on heartstrings when it debuts on September 4.

From Executive Producer Jason Katims, the Netflix series Away is a thrilling, emotional drama on an epic scale that celebrates the incredible advancements humans can achieve and the personal sacrifices they must make along the way.

Also read: Ballymahon's Still Voices Film Festival goes online this weekend

As American astronaut Emma Green (Hilary Swank) prepares to lead an international crew on the first mission to Mars, she must reconcile her decision to leave behind her husband (Josh Charles) and teenage daughter (Talitha Bateman) when they need her the most.

As the crew's journey into space intensifies, their personal dynamics and the effects of being away from their loved ones back on Earth become increasingly complex. Away shows that sometimes to reach for the stars, we must leave home behind.

Also read: 'Bringing fun and chaos back to Carrigstown': Fair City returns to RTE in September

Created by Andrew Hinderaker, the series is executive produced by showrunner Jessica Goldberg, Jason Katims, Matt Reeves, Andrew Hinderaker, Edward Zwick, Hilary Swank, Adam Kassan and Jeni Mulein.

Cast & Character Information

Emma Green (Hilary Swank)

Emma Green is an American astronaut and former Navy pilot. She is the commander of the first mission to Mars. She is a headstrong, empathetic and highly intelligent astronaut and leader. She is married to Matt Logan, a chief engineer at NASA. Emma and Matt have a 15-year-old daughter, Lex.

Matt Logan (Josh Charles)

Matt Logan is a NASA engineer whose wife Emma Green is commanding the first mission to Mars. He faces the already enormous challenges of dealing with the mission from home, while trying to raise their teenage daughter on his own.

Alexis Lex Logan (Talitha Bateman)

15-years-old Lex is the daughter of astronauts Emma Green and Matt Logan. Like her father, Lex is supportive and proud of her mothers three-year mission. She struggles with coming of age while her mother is on the mission and her father faces his own struggles.

Misha Popov (Mark Ivanir)

Misha Popov is a Russian cosmonaut and engineer on the mission to Mars alongside Emma Green. The most experienced member of the crew, Misha doesnt lack for ego, but secretly struggles with the personal sacrifices he made to get to space.

Dr. Kwesi Weisberg - Abban (Ato Essandoh)

Kwesi Weisberg-Abban is a British citizen from Ghana. Kwesi (pronounced Kway-Si) is good-humoured, modest, and a man of deep faith. Hes a world-renowned botanist and carries with him the hope of growing life on Mars.

Ram Arya (Ray Panthaki)

Ram Arya is an Air Force fighter pilot from India. While the other astronauts are forced to reckon with their attachments to earth and their families, Ram is quite alone in the world.

Lu Wang (Vivian Wu)

Lu Wang is a chemist and astronaut representing China. She is intelligent and pragmatic but below her focused exterior, she has a complex personal life. She is married with a young son.

Melissa Ramirez (Monique Curnen)

Melissa Ramirez is a former astronaut who is Emmas Crew Support Astronaut. Her job is to be Emmas Liaison To Earth. Melissa gave up her own career as an astronaut to support her special needs child, but she is there for Emma and her family. She takes care of Lex in Matt and Emmas absence.
Kenyan legislators have in recent years become synonymous with their insatiable greed for riches.

It is a unique characteristic they never shy away from, one they actually appear to proudly embrace.

READ ALSO: Kenya loses another doctor to COVID-19

Uhuru Kenyatta needs the help of Kenyans to fight graft. Photo: State House.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Best KCPE pupil Goldalyn Kakuya among top IGCSE students at Brookhouse Schools

This attribute reared its ugly head once again last week after the National Assembly approved a bill that will see taxpayers raise over Ksh180 million every month to service payment of retired legislators.

The Parliamentary Pensions (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which now awaits Presidential Assent to become law, will see more than 375 lawmakers who retired between 1984 and 2001 receive a monthly pension of KSh 100,000 for life. The payout will be backdated to July 2010, offering the former MPs millions of shillings in arrears while putting an additional burden on the shoulders of taxpayers.

The timing could not have been worse and confirms the worst fears of Kenyans with regard to the selfish nature of leaders they have fittingly nicknamed Mpigs and Mheshimiwa Fisi (Honourable Hyena).

Kenya, like every other country globally, has had its economy shattered by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Millions of Kenyans are struggling to put food on the table after losing their jobs while many companies have been pushed to their knees. Some Government departments have been restricted to just paying wages and other basic expenditures after their budgets were slashed and diverted to the Covid-19 response.

But the prevalent financial constraints, coupled with a caution from the Treasury and the Budget Office, did not, for once, suffice to stop the MPs from just thinking about their own welfare and future.

Never mind that the MPs fiercely opposed calls to volunteer to take a pay cut when President Uhuru Kenyatta led other top government officials in doing so and channeling the money to the COVID-19 fund.

As expected, the ripple effect of the passing of the controversial bill is already being felt. Retired civil servants across the board are demanding similar pay as the former MPs if President Uhuru assents to the amendments.

READ ALSO: William Ruto gifts family of children captured fighting over pencil a 500-chicken farm

Kenyan legislators need to start thinking of Kenyans for once. Photo: Daily Nation.

Source: UGC

Many retirees, majority of whom served in public offices for well over 30 years, currently receive pension packages ranging from KSh 2,000 to KSh 10,000 and have perennially grappled with delayed pension payments.

The Kenyan government is now spending KSh 119 billion to service retirees pension and gratuity obligations, with the International Monetary Fund recently cautioning that the pension scheme was a ticking time bomb.

It is likely that the calls for universal pay increments will get louder if Uhuru okays the MPs demands.

READ ALSO: Alichoambiwa Murkomen na Uhuru kufuatia kuangukiwa na shoka na habari zingine zilizotamba

Ordinary Kenyans will thus be happy to see him summarily reject the MPs recommendations in totality.

Luckily, Kenya is blessed with a leader who listens, and who is always on the peoples side.

Uhuru is the sole reason MPs are not taking home millions of shillings monthly today. Ever since he assumed office, the president has publicly opposed MPs pay increment demands and vowed to defend Wanjiku.

He took a major political gamble in 2017 when he - while still awaiting the outcome of the Supreme Court petition that saw his win nullified - swore to reject a bill MPs planned to take to Parliament to contest SRCs move to regularise their pay.

Uhuru honoured his word last year when he declined to sign into law the Parliamentary Service Bill, 2018 that would have given MPs powers to award themselves salaries and other emoluments contrary to existing laws.

While he knew all too well that the MPs could blackmail and arm-twist him by frustrating his agenda in the House, the president was emboldened by the moral support he received from millions of Kenyans who rallied behind him and made it clear that they stood with him as he moved to tame the legislators greed.

Kenyans should not keep quiet this time round; they must speak up against the selfish MPs and firmly stand with Uhuru to spare him the ignominy of holding a tiger by the tail.

The president has prioritised cushioning Kenyans from the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and will no doubt listen and act accordingly.

The writer is Robert Mungai, a regular commentator on social, economic and political affairs.

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

The Untold story of President Uhuru's look-alike | Tuko TV

Source: TUKO.co.ke
(Natural News) Read your history and learn. You cant have a significant manufacturing base in any nation without slave wage labor. It was Chinas dirt-cheap labor (and horrific worker safety and environmental practices) that made China the manufacturing hub of the world over the last 40 years, but with the Trump administration now systematically severing ties with communist China (for good reason), millions of manufacturing jobs are going to be coming back to America.

You didnt really think all those jobs were going to be upgraded from Chinas 25-cents-per-hour wages to upscale $25-per-hour salaries in America, did you?

Heres a question to ponder: Whos going to work in the U.S. factories when nearly the entire domestic labor pool consists of hyper-privileged, unskilled, labor-averse people who have already grown used to being paid thousands of dollars a month by the federal government to sit at home and do nothing? They whiny, coddled Millennials all think theyre going to be billionaires trading on Robinhood. They have no desire to work in your factories (and they dont have the skills to even handle a real factory job anyway).

So where is the labor force going to come from to power the return of manufacturing in America?

The answer is simpler than you think: FEMA camp labor.

FEMA camps will become the work camps that provide dirt-cheap labor to politically-connected corporations that pay kickbacks to politicians

In the same way that the U.S. prison system provides slave wage labor to politically connected corporations right now, FEMA camps are gearing up to function as work camps, where inhabitants are offered food and shelter in exchange for their factory labor output.

Oh, you didnt know the U.S. prison system is largely a for-profit corporate-influenced slave labor work camp operation that kicks back profits to court judges? If you didnt know that, youre already way behind the curve. I dont have the time or space to educate you here about reality. Do your homework and upgrade your knowledge, or you wont last much longer as the worlds economies are engineered into a controlled demolition.

Because of the plandemic and the subsequent economic implosion that was engineered more precisely than WTC Building 7, FEMA will soon be receiving tens of millions of new homeless in America as those citizens lose their homes due to their inability to make mortgage payments due to the covid-19 lockdowns. It is not a coincidence that these newly-displaced millions will soon become the slave wage labor workers who enrich politically-connected corporations which are owned by the very same corrupt Democrat governors (like Newsom) who have ordered the aggressive, punitive lockdowns that produced the homelessness in the first place. They are using the lockdowns to generate a low-wage labor force that will power their new domestic corporations which are receiving huge federal grants to produce domestic products that the Trump administration deems critical for the U.S. supply chain, such as pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.

Did you see the recent news on Kodak? Massive insider trading, hundreds of millions of dollars in apparent financial scams, all uncovered in the days after Kodak was celebrated as a new, domestic manufacturer of pharmaceuticals. Big government money on the line. Lots of profit-taking from insiders who are connected. As Trump unleashes trillions of dollars to pump up domestic manufacturing, a long list of powerful corporations stand to collect billions of dollars each. All they need is cheap labor to run the factories.

Are you catching on yet to how the scheme really works? You cant have a manufacturing base in any nation when youre paying $15 / hour (plus benefits) to a relatively well-off class of workers. To produce products that generate large profits for the corporations, you have to create a slave wage labor class of people, and you need millions of them if youre going to migrate any serious amount of manufacturing from China to the United States.

You need work camps, in other words. Conveniently, the globalists built and released a biological weapon that killed just enough people to allow the media to push mass panic way beyond any science-based concern, allowing malicious Democrat governors to destroy their local economies, producing millions of new homeless, unemployed, food-deprived people who will be more than happy to line up at the FEMA camps for food and shelter, where they will also be given mandatory vaccines and stripped of any firearms before being processed into human resources.

And any time the corporations need more workers, Dr. Fauci simply announces another outbreak that left-wing governors use to declare new lockdowns that produce another wave of evictions and bankruptcies. Instant labor pool for the FEMA camps!

Its sick. It reminds me of the same way the vaccine industry creates demand for their vaccines: They simply build and release and new strain of measles or influenza, then reap the windfall of profits after the predictable media hysteria turns every mom in America into a panicked, vaccine-seeking sheeple. Nearly every outbreak in recent memory has actually been engineered or augmented by the vaccine industry itself, and its people like Dr. Fauci who reap the profits from their nefarious schemes.

FEMA is about to become the Auschwitz of America

What you need to understand about history is that the so-called concentration camps of Nazi Germany werent solely focused on murdering people; many were focused on producing forced labor pools for the politically-connected corporations and public works programs of the Nazi regime.

As revealed at TheHolocaustExplained.org, the Nazi regime first exploited the labor potential of prisoners as a human resource, before slaughtering those who were no longer able to contribute their labor:

The Nazis started using forced labour shortly after their rise to power. They established specific Arbeitslager (labour camps) which housed Ostarbeiter (eastern workers), Fremdarbeiter (foreign workers) and other forced labourers who were forcibly rounded up and brought in from the east. These were separate from the SS-run concentration camps, where prisoners were also forced to perform labour.

The use of forced labour first began to grow significantly in 1937, as rearmament caused labour shortages. The invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 further heightened demands on the war economy, and in turn, for labour. At the same time, this invasion brought thousands of potential new workers under Nazi control. These prisoners were called Ostarbeiter (eastern workers) and Fremdarbeiter (foreign workers). The Nazis deported these people to forced labour camps, where they worked to produce supplies for the increasingly strained war economy or in construction efforts.

By 1945, more than fourteen million people had been exploited in the network of hundreds of forced labour camps that stretched across the whole of Nazi-occupied Europe.

You see, they werent just being lined up and gassed to death; they were being exploited for their labor to power the German factories and production hubs. This irrefutable fact is conveniently forgotten by nearly all. The corporations that rule the world have always exploited circumstances to force people into work camps of one kind or another. And todays Bayer corporation used to be part of IG Farben, a German chemical conglomerate that used Jewish prisoners for medical experiments.

Times have changed. Now the vaccine industry uses the entire nation as guinea pigs while Melinda Gates calls for the first round of vaccines to be given to black people first. Thats progress, were told. Because Black Lives Matter.

This photo from the Weiner Holocaust Library Collections, if upgraded to the modern era, could just as easily depict the workers wearing Apple uniforms as they produce iPhones:

All the corporations claiming Black Lives Matter dont care one bit about Black lives, White lives or any lives they are evil, malicious entities that exploit human lives for profit

Weve all observed human history and weve known that every industrial hub in the history of the world relied on slave labor in one form or another, from the pre-Civil War slave plantations of America to ancient Rome and its slave labor class. The former Soviet Union relied on prison slave labor for its manufacturing might, and in China today, slave-wage workers are imported from poorer countries to provide dirt-cheap labor to corporations like Apple, under atrocious work conditions that resemble prison camps. (Why do you think Apple has managed to generate so many billions of dollars in profits? It was all generated from the sweat of slave labor camps.)

We also know that corporations in America have zero ethics and zero concern for human dignity. As weve seen with Big Pharma vaccines and covid-19, they will readily conspire to rig clinical trials and kill people with deliberate drug overdoses in order to discredit hydroxychloroquine. What Big Pharma reveals to us is that powerful corporations are mass murderers. And that doesnt even consider the 269 U.S. corporations that are funneling money into weapons smuggling programs to arm Black Lives Matter terrorists.

The simple, horrifying truth is that U.S. corporations need millions of dirt cheap workers, and the coronavirus lockdowns just delivered the economic collapse thats going to see those millions of people pouring into FEMA camps over the next two years, providing all the labor the corporations need to power their exploitation factories on U.S. soil. It will be called a public-private partnership, using government-organized FEMA camp labor, combined with corporate profit taking and generous kickbacks to U.S. Senators and House representatives, almost all of whom are treasonous traitors to our republic.

Dont you get it yet? The United States of America is a giant for-profit corporation, and we are all just human resources to be exploited by those in power, for their own selfish gain. How do you think Senators like Feinstein got so wealthy over the years?

And by the way, I should probably mention that the covid-19 lockdown training is nothing more than FEMA prison camp normalization so that you get used to having your life completely controlled by authoritarian tyrants who demand total control over your movements, your speech and your body. Why do you think theyre now ordering people to wear masks while on ZOOM conferences? Its all about indoctrination training for work camps, just to get your brain used to being ordered around, even if it makes no real sense at all.

This is why you should strive to live within your means and get out of all debt, because if you end up living in a FEMA camp, there are only two outcomes they have in mind for you: #1) Slave wage labor for the corporations. #2) Extermination / depopulation.

Listen to my full podcast to learn more details, then download my free nine-hour audiobook called the Global Reset Survival Guide at GlobalReset.news, if you want to learn how to stay out of the FEMA camps and survive the planned global economic reset thats coming.

This is not a drill. Wake up or die.

Brighteon.com/6280996a-03e4-4ca5-a25d-0eca11a0a5ea

See more BANNED videos on FEMA camps at Brighteon.com.

And check out this interview with Celeste Solum, a former FEMA administrator, who describes FEMAs real goal as depopulation.
Ms. Ardern first heard about a potential positive case at 4 p.m. on Tuesday while traveling in a van a few hours outside the capital, Wellington, after visiting a factory that makes face masks. At 9:15 p.m., she and Dr. Ashley Bloomfield, the director-general of health, appeared at a news conference where they announced the new cases  all four were from the same family; none had recently returned from overseas  and a lockdown that would start the following day.

We have come too far to go backwards, Ms. Ardern said. Be strong and be kind.

The lockdown was initially set for three days. Contact tracing had already begun.

Michael Baker, an epidemiologist who was a leading proponent of New Zealands forceful efforts to eliminate the virus during its initial outbreak months ago, said he heard about the new cases a few hours before the announcement. Like many others, he immediately started trying to work out what had gone wrong.

The only way a virus can appear in the community in New Zealand is via the borders, he said. Its been eliminated in New Zealand. There is really no chance it was persisting for the last three months without it being detected.

But which border, how and when? No one yet knows.

Dr. Bloomfield said on Thursday that those infected in the new cluster first showed symptoms around the end of July, suggesting that the virus had been in the community for at least a week before that. Genetic sequencing found similarities with versions of the virus in Britain and Australia.
QCM-D used for understanding the physical and biochemical characteristics of food ingredients at the molecular scale, mimicking real-time interactions for insights into food formulation.

Nanoscience Instruments hosts researchers Dr. Alireza Abbaspourrad, the Yongkeun Joh Assistant Professor of Food Chemistry and Ingredient Technology, and his research associate, Dr. Younas Dadmohammadi as they present some of their novel findings during a free webinar on August 27th, 2020.

Understanding the physical and biochemical characteristics of food ingredients is a vital part of research in the fields of food chemistry and ingredient technology, especially as researchers make advancements toward natural and clean-label food ingredients. In Cornell Universitys Department of Food Science, part of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the Abbaspourrad Lab is working on just that.

Food ingredients and their in-matrix interactions significantly determining the quality (i.e., color and texture) and perception profile (i.e., taste, flavor, and aroma) of food. Food shelf life is another critical factor influencing both quality and perception. Therefore, to move away from the old-fashioned method, cook and look, and embrace a more sustainable approach, the ingredient formulation is a key step. In this vein, understanding the physical and biochemical characteristics of food ingredients at the molecular scale and mimicking real-time molecule-molecule and molecule-saliva interactions yield insights into efficient food formulation and enhanced perception profile in the oral cavity. To achieve this goal and advance our understanding of food ingredients and turn that knowledge into practical applications, cutting-edge technology such as Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation is employed. Using this information, we can develop new formulations for food products with a better understanding of how the ingredients will play a role in food quality and desired perception.

In this webinar, we will discuss a couple of food applications using QCM-D information targeting (i) the encapsulation of bioactive component, N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine, to mask its off-flavor and (ii) improving the shelf life stability of Cphycocyanin (a natural blue colorant) in the beverage.

Register for the free webinar:

https://bit.ly/2PVZjIF

For more information on the QCM-D technique visit nanoscience.com

About the presenters:

Alireza Abbaspourrad Bio:

Dr. Abbaspourrad is an Assistant Professor of Food Chemistry and Ingredient Technology at Cornell University, Department of Food Science. He is co-author of 154 peer-reviewed publications and 13 provisional/granted patents. Due to his interest in microfluidic systems, he started to focus on microfluidic systems towards sperm sample preparation since September 2017, and so far, his group could file a patent on microfluidic-based sperm separation technology and submitted two papers in prestigious peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Abbaspourrad received his M.Sc. in Organic Chemistry from Ferdowsi University in Iran. He did his graduate work on synthesis and surface modification of zeolites at the Isfahan University of Technology, receiving his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry in 2006 in Iran. He visited National Institute for Nanotechnology at the University of Alberta in Canada as a visiting scholar in 2003. Afterward, he established two chemical startups. In 2009, he joined Prof. David Weitzs group at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University, where he studied fabrication of functional materials at interfaces, structural emulsions, encapsulation of ingredients, and controlled release systems using drop-based microfluidics as well as conventional microencapsulation techniques.

Younas Dadmohammadi Bio:

Dr. Younas Dadmohammadi is a Research Associate at Cornell University. He is leading multi-disciplinary projects and mentoring a group of graduate and undergraduate students. His field of interest forges much-needed connections between engineering, food, and life science. Younas trained as a chemical engineer through a B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. from Iran. Younas has been experienced as an industry advisor for the chemical industry and served as faculty in universities for more than seven years. In 2009, Younas was invited to Texas A&M University as a Research Scholar working on cross-disciplinary projects. Then, he moved to Oklahoma State University, where he received his 2nd Ph.D. working on a DOE-funded project focusing on machine learning, modeling, and optimization integrating both microscopic and macroscopic scales. His findings were peer-reviewed and published in several papers. In 2014, Younas joined the industrial research consortium in Oklahoma, working directly with industry to raise funding and develop innovative solutions for industry challenges to minimize the research and development cost.

About Nanoscience Instruments

Nanoscience Instruments sells innovative and highest quality research and analytical instrumentation solutions. Servicing academia, industry and government partners by delivering specialty surface science instrumentations for nanoscale applications. Our portfolio consists of desktop scanning electron microscopes, nanofiber electrospinning instruments, nanoparticle generation instruments, sample preparation solutions, transmission electron microscopy solutions, micro-balance and contact angle tensiometery instrumentation. Visit nanoscience.com to learn more about the products as well as the consumables and accessories we provide.
Heres another native New Yorker who chose to live in Rio Rancho: Rich Slattery.

This resident became an experienced photographer with his work in big-name publications.

As a youngster growing up in Syosset, N.Y., he wanted to be the next Ringo Starr.

Slattery had the opportunity to swirl the sticks with several bands, giving him a lot of travel experience, from gigs in Ohio; Houston; Bangor, Maine; and elsewhere on the East Coast. Hes even played with a few of the myriad Elvis-impersonator backing bands, drumming his way to paychecks from 1980-96.

I came off the road to get married, he said, but that stint didnt last as long as drumming.

So today, hes not a drummer, but he has a lengthy resume as a photographer. His photos have appeared in such publications as Newsday, New York Daily News, New York Post, Navajo Times, New York Times and ESPN Magazine, with several of his photos prominently appearing on the front and rear cover pages of some publications. And he even got some of his best work into the Navajo Times.

Hello, New Mexico

How could a New Yorker like Slattery get a photo in the Navajo Times? It was the trip that gave him a hint of what the Southwest was like, and a good reason he moved here 14 months ago  that and surviving the horrors of Hurricane Sandy, when he realized Syosset aint the place to live anymore.

A lifelong learner, doing some research while he was working for the American Airpower Museum, he discovered the Navajo Code Talkers and sensed a story, which would require photos. Slattery came to New Mexico during the Gathering of Nations, which led to finding Code Talkers at a book signing in Old Town.

Long story short, the presumptive story for the Daily News was killed, but he sold the photos to the Navajo Times.

I found out what this area was like: less traffic, good food, friendlier people  it made a major difference, he said.

Following the 2018 passing of his mother, whom he had been caring for in New York as she struggled with cancer, he remembered thinking, Im gonna be out of here so fast your heads gonna spin.

Hed read a book about Rio Rancho, once referred to as little New York, and he quickly moved to the City of Vision, finding a home in Mariposa.

Now, hed like to find a job in the metro area.

His resume

Included in Slatterys portfolio are photos of politicians and celebrities for various media outlets, public relations firms and educational institutions: presidents Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush; Sens. Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer; and celebrities such as Paul McCartney, Natalie Portman, Sean Astin, Tony Curtis, Whoopie Goldberg, the Baldwin Brothers and his admitted favorite, Olympic swimming legend Michael Phelps.

Hes been a contributing photographer for Long Island University Posts book describing the history of the LIU Post campus and the Post family role in the creating of the university; is experienced in air-to-air and air-to-ground aerial photography for the American Airpower Museum to document anniversary flights of World War II; and a volunteer photographer for the Coastal Research and Education Society of Long Island.

And, he nearly forgot, I have done surgery photography as well in two hospitals. Following his close-up work on brain surgery one day, he got nauseous.

And hes got countless tales of being behind the lens.

One of them involved heading to Ground Zero after 9/11 and being questioned about his proximity to a federal building, in this case the FBI office in New York, while carrying a camera.

Another involved what was supposed to be a quick photo opp of the White House, which he learned is also a no-no without previous permission and definitely not while using a tripod.

He learned snipers atop the White House had him in their sights when they saw the tripod, assuming it might be for a rifle. (It wasnt, obviously, but the case he used to carry his tripod was a rifle case.)

One of his favorite photog adventures, in addition to photographing Phelps, involved getting shots of John Gotti Jr., an organized-crime boss, when he was released from prison.

What he thought could be a near-death experience had him climbing aboard a biplane, piloted by a 93-year-old man, who was in the spirit of things while trying to stay close to performing planes in an air show.

The pilots scarf kept getting in the way of Slatterys lens, as did the wires and cables between the wings. The scary part came when he noticed the pilot landing the plane, not on the runway, but on grass adjoining it.

He said the plane would break up on an asphalt runway, Slattery said, chuckling at the memory. That was the scariest.

So now hes in Rio Rancho to stay.

You can see his work at richtslatteryphotography.smugmug.com.
SEOUL, South Korea, Aug. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Due to high demand and the value of market research for the success of different sectors, this market research report is provided to you that cover many work areas. This report has been designed in such a way that it provides very evident understanding of the business environment and Semiconductors and Electronics industry. Deep Learning market report provides best solutions for strategy development and implementation depending on clients needs to extract tangible results. With the proper utilization of established and advanced tools such as SWOT analysis and Porter's Five Forces Analysis, this market report has been structured.

Deep Learning market report also delivers the list of the leading competitors and provides the insights into strategic industry analysis of the key factors influencing the Semiconductors and Electronics industry. Deep Learning Market Research Report covers major manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, traders, customers, investors and major types, and major applications. The report provides data on patterns and improvements, and target business sectors and materials, limits and advancements. While formulating this Deep Learning market research report, the key attributes that have been adopted include highest level of spirit, practical solutions, committed research and analysis, innovation, integrated approaches, and most up-to-date technology.

Access Insightful Study about Deep Learning market! Click Here to Get PDF Sample Market Analysis @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-deep-learning-market

Competitive Landscape and Deep Learning Market Share Analysis:

The major players covered in the deep learning market report are Baumer Optronic GmbH, JAI A/S, MVTec Software GmbH, Tordivel AS, ISRA VISION, Sick, FLIR Systems, Inc., AMETEK.Inc, Qualitas Technologies Pvt Ltd, SUALAB, Cadence Design Systems, Inc., CEVA, Inc., Inuitive, Cognex Corporation, Basler AG, Omron Corporation, Keyence Corporation, National Instruments, Sony Corporation, Teledyne Technologies, Inc., Allied Vision Technologies GmbH, Texas Instruments Inc. domestic and global players. Market share data is available for global, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America separately. DBMR analysts understand competitive strengths and provide competitive analysis for each competitor separately.

Get PDF Copy of Deep Learning Market Report @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/checkout/buy/singleuser/global-deep-learning-market

Be the first to knock the door showing potential that Global Deep Learning market is holding in it. Uncover the Gaps and Opportunities to derive most relevant insights from our research document to gain market size.

Unlock new opportunities with DBMR reports to gain insightful analyses about the Deep Learning market and have a comprehensive understanding. Learn about the market strategies that are being adopted by your competitors and leading organizations also potential and niche segments/regions exhibiting promising growth.

New vendors in the market are facing tough competition from established international vendors as they struggle with technological innovations, reliability and quality issues. The report will answer questions about the current market developments and the scope of competition, opportunity, cost and more.

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Global Deep Learning Market:

On the off chance that you are associated with the Deep Learning Analytics industry or mean to be, at that point this investigation will give you far reaching standpoint. It's crucial you stay up with the latest Deep Learning Market segmented by: If you are involved in the Deep Learning industry or intend to be, then this study will provide you comprehensive outlook. Its vital you keep your market knowledge up to date segmented By Hardware (Processor, Memory, Network), Software (Solution Platform/API), Services (Installation, Training, Support and Maintenance), Application (Signal Recognition, Data Mining, Image Recognition, Others), End User (Automotive, Law, Agriculture, Retail, Marketing, Security, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Fintech, Human Resources)

According to the Regional Segmentation the Main Bearing Market provides the Information covers following regions:

North America (USA, Canada and Mexico)

Europe (Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Russia, Italy and Rest of Europe)

Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, India and Southeast Asia)

South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, rest of countries etc.)

Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)

The key countries in each region are taken into consideration as well, such as United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, South Africa, Nigeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Germany, United Kingdom (UK), the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Turkey, Russia, France, Poland, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, India, Australia and New Zealand etc.

Market Dynamics:

Set of qualitative information that includes PESTEL Analysis, PORTER Five Forces Model, Value Chain Analysis and Macro Economic factors, Regulatory Framework along with Industry Background and Overview.

Some of the Major Highlights of TOC covers:

Chapter 1: Methodology & Scope

Definition and forecast parameters

Methodology and forecast parameters

Data Sources

Chapter 2: Executive Summary

Business trends

Regional trends

Product trends

End-use trends

Chapter 3: Deep Learning Industry Insights

Industry segmentation

Industry landscape

Vendor matrix

Technological and innovation landscape

Chapter 4: Deep Learning Market, By Region

North America

South America

Europe

Asia-Pacific

Middle East and Africa

Chapter 5: Company Profile

Business Overview

Financial Data

Product Landscape

Strategic Outlook

SWOT Analysis

Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.

BROWSE | TOC with selected illustrations and example pages of Global Deep Learning Market @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/toc/?dbmr=global-deep-learning-market

Competitors  In this section, various Deep Learning industry leading players are studied with respect to their company profile, product portfolio, capacity, price, cost, and revenue.

A separate chapter on Market Entropy to gain insights on Leaders aggressiveness towards market [Merger & Acquisition / Recent Investment and Key Developments]

Patent Analysis** No of patents / Trademark filed in recent years.

A complete and useful guide for new market aspirants

Forecast information will drive strategic, innovative and profitable business plans and SWOT analysis of players will pave the way for growth opportunities, risk analysis, investment feasibility and recommendations

Supply and Consumption  In continuation of sales, this section studies supply and consumption for the Deep Learning Market. This part also sheds light on the gap between supply and consumption. Import and export figures are also given in this part

Production Analysis  Production of the Deep Learning is analyzed with respect to different regions, types and applications. Here, price analysis of various Deep Learning Market key players is also covered.

Sales and Revenue Analysis  Both, sales and revenue are studied for the different regions of the Deep Learning Market. Another major aspect, price, which plays an important part in the revenue generation, is also assessed in this section for the various regions.

Other analyses  Apart from the information, trade and distribution analysis for the Deep Learning Market

Competitive Landscape: Company profile for listed players with SWOT Analysis, Business Overview, Product/Services Specification, Business Headquarter, Downstream Buyers and Upstream Suppliers.

May vary depending upon availability and feasibility of data with respect to Industry targeted

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Customization Available: Global Deep Learning Market

Data Bridge Market Research is a leader in consulting and advanced formative research. We take pride in servicing our existing and new customers with data and analysis that match and suits their goal. The report can be customized to include production cost analysis, trade route analysis, price trend analysis of target brands understanding the market for additional countries (ask for the list of countries), import export and grey area results data, literature review, consumer analysis and product base analysis. Market analysis of target competitors can be analyzed from technology-based analysis to market portfolio strategies. We can add as many competitors that you require data about in the format and data style you are looking for. Our team of analysts can also provide you data in crude raw excel files pivot tables (Factbook) or can assist you in creating presentations from the data sets available in the report.

Key questions answered in this report-:

What is the key market patterns affecting the development of the Deep Learning market?

What are the difficulties hampering the market development?

Who are the key sellers in the market?

What are the market openings and dangers looked by the merchants in this market?

What are the key variables driving the worldwide Deep Learning market?

What will the market size and the development rate be in 2026?

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A London apartment that former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis frequented in the 1960s and 1970s recently sold to an unnamed Saudi billionaire for approximately $24.33 million. Though the identity of the buyer is unknown, Jeremy Gee, the managing director of Beauchamp Estates, tells AD that the buyer purchased the sprawling unit for his college-bound daughter. The historic dwelling occupies the entire first floor of a Mayfair building, and its sale, brokered by Peter Wetherell of Wetherell Mayfair estate agents, sets the record for the highest price for a single unmodernized apartment in Mayfair this year.

The home measures more than 5,000 square feet and includes five bedrooms and five and a half bathrooms, with a 60-foot balcony overlooking Grosvenor Square (the only one in the building) and a south-facing terrace. The interiors feature polished parquet floors throughout, 10-foot ceilings, and a neo-Georgian aesthetic.

Courtesy of WETHERELL

See the video.

In addition to the bedrooms, there are three adjacent reception rooms, all lined with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the square; a family kitchen with a large center island; a library with wood-paneled built-in bookshelves; a bar; and a walk-in storage room. The main suite features his-and-hers bathroomsone outfitted with luxurious green marble tileand his-and-hers dressing rooms. The building itself was constructed between 1938 and 1939, and the first owner of the ground-floor apartment was Sir John Anderson, who was the chairman of the Royal Opera House. It was a bit later, during the 1960s and 1970s, that Artemis Onassis, Jackie Onassiss sister-in-law, kept the dwelling as her London pied-a-terre. Journalist and Kennedy historian J. Randy Taraborrelli once reported that Jackie would use the apartment to be close to her daughter Caroline Kennedy, who was studying in London at the time. Jackies sister, socialite Lee Radziwill, was also a frequent visitor to the home.

Photo: Grant Frazer / Courtesy of WETHERELL

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 13)  Another batch of recoveries from COVID-19 under the "Oplan Recovery" program of the Department of Health (DOH) will be reported on Sunday, the agency announced.

The DOH reported on July 30 a massive rise in recoveries of over 38,000. It said 37,166 of these survivors or "time-based recoveries" were listed through its program.

Oplan Recovery was activated by the DOH "to monitor the statuses of confirmed COVID-19 cases, particularly deaths and recoveries to ensure that our data is updated and accurate," the agency explained in a statement on Thursday.

The department added that it will also begin reporting time-based recoveries every Sunday.

Time-based recoveries refer to patients released from isolation after a certain number of days of quarantine and after symptoms have disappeared upon a doctor's assessment.

The DOH said those without symptoms can return to the community after 14 days of isolation even without taking a confirmatory test. Those with mild symptoms should also complete the 14-day quarantine and three days of having no more symptoms, it explained. For severe cases, quarantine should be 21 days, it added.

However, this time-based strategy does not include immunocompromised patients, the DOH clarified, since they are required to undergo another swab test to determine if they have recovered from the illness or not.

Health Spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire assured that regional officers will continue to check the status of the patients before including them in the list of recoveries.
A very sexy New York City apartment listing has left some locals confused, after the real estate broker advertised the one-bedroom, one-bathroom rental as a place where residents can 'romp & play, all night.'

The Upper West Side apartment was listed on Street Easy last month, but garnered more notice when a Redditor shared a screenshot of the description this week.

According to the original text of the listing, the $2,500-per-month apartment has large closets 'in which you can hide from your very, naughty playmate,' a big living room for 'communal games,' and 'glaring sunlight' that isn't good for the 'walk of shame.'

Ooh-la-la! A very sexy New York City apartment listing advertises the one-bedroom, one-bathroom rental as a place where residents can 'romp & play, all night'

Sex den? The Upper West Side apartment was listed on Street Easy last month, but garnered more notice when a Redditor shared a screenshot of the description this week

50 shades of natural light: 'A sexy king-size one bedroom where youll find four very large closets in which you can hide from your very, naughty playmate,' read the listing

It went on: 'And should you be lucky enough to be found, the two of you can retreat to the king-size bedroom where you both can romp & play, all night'

Located at 201 West 82nd Street, the three-room apartment was listed by KYLM, LLC.

'HIDE & SEEK (adult style),' the description read, according to a screenshot.

'A sexy king-size one bedroom where youll find four very large closets in which you can hide from your very, naughty playmate.

'And should you be lucky enough to be found, the two of you can retreat to the king-size bedroom where you both can romp & play, all night.

'Tired of playing with only the two of you?' it went on. 'Well then, invite many more dutty guests to partake in communal games, held in your stadium-sized living room.

'However, be mindful not to let your guests stay past dawn though, [or] else theyll sure to be beamed by glaring sunlight; not good for the "walk of shame."'

'Tired of playing with only the two of you?' it said. 'Well then, invite many more dutty guests to partake in communal games, held in your stadium-sized living room'

Available: Located at 201 West 82nd Street, the three-room apartment was listed by KYLM, LLC

Normal: Despite the very sexy description, photos show a well-lit, clean apartment with no indication that it is used as any sort of sex den

Attention! The broker has since updated the description, removing any mention of 'naughty playmates' and romps  perhaps after seeing a screengrab of it earn attention on Reddit

Despite the very sexy description, photos show a well-lit, clean apartment with no indication that it is used as any sort of sex den.

The galley kitchen is wide enough to fit a small table and chairs, the bedroom is filled with natural light  and feminine decor  and the living room is neat and tidy.

The broker, however, has since updated the description, removing any mention of 'naughty playmates' and romps  perhaps after seeing a screengrab of it earn attention on Reddit.

'Lol wtf. Maybe one of the agents sent it to another as a joke, and they pasted it before actually reading it,' one commenter wrote. 'Otherwise, I think Id be too nervous of what a black light would find to rent that place!'

'COVID making agents thirsty af,' joked another, while a third wrote: 'Some niche marketing.'

'I guess the adjectives of "charming," "bathed in sunlight" and "cozy" are done,' quipped another.
Two men, 20-year-old Kevin Reddick and 19-year-old Osiris Chambers plead guilty in Middlesex Superior Court on Tuesday to the voluntary manslaughter of Malachi Mims and almost shooting another victim.

Chambers and Reddick, Cambridge residents, were sentenced to 11 to 13 years in state prison by Judge Laurence Pierce. They were also sentenced to 6 years of probation on the offenses of armed assault to rob, one count for Reddick and two counts for Chambers.

The shooting took place at roughly 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 16, 2017, in the area of Tremont and Hampshire Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

According to 25 News, investigators said that the men told Mims they wanted to buy marijuana from him. But when they met up, they tried to rob him of the drugs at gunpoint.

When Cambridge police arrived at the location, they saw that Mims had been shot once in the abdomen and called an ambulance to take him for medical care. Mims was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The men were recorded fleeing the scene after the shooting Reddick wearing a black jacket and Chambers wearing a teal-colored jacket. Police recovered the jackets at Reddicks home and tested them for DNA. Both jackets tested positive for gunshot residue and the DNA analysis of the teal jacket matched the DNA profile of Chambers.

Mims was the youngest son in a family of five. Within six months, two more of Mims siblings will die as a result of gun violence.

Thomas Pomare, Mims older brother, flew in from California for the funeral and was staying with friends in Attleboro.

The 34-year-old was asleep when two men broke into the home. Pomare woke suddenly and the intruders, not expecting anyone to be on the couch, were startled and shot him in the head.

In March 2018, the oldest, 38-year-old Keith Pomare was murdered when he drove by a shooting in Mattapan and was struck by a bullet.

I dont think any mother guesses that their children would die first. [Its] just not the order of things, said Niva Scott, the mens mother said in an interview with the Dayton Daily News. If these children really knew, I mean its so quick to pull the trigger and they destroy the whole family.

The investigation on this case was conducted by the Middlesex District Attorneys Office, Cambridge Police Department and Massachusetts State Police assigned to the District Attorneys Office.

Got a news tip or want to contact MassLive about this story? Email newstips@masslive.com or message us on Facebook orTwitter. You can also call our news tips line at 413-776-1364.

Related Content:
Here are todays top news, analysis and opinion. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times.

Painless, seamless, faceless: PM Modi says reforms will change how we pay taxes

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a new tax scheme on Thursday in a bid to honour and encourage honest taxpayers of the country. The platform for Transparent Taxation  Honoring the Honest was launched by PM Modi via video-conferencing. Read More

Mahant Nritya Gopaldas tests Covid-19 positive, shared stage with PM in Ayodhya

Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust chairperson Mahant Nritya Gopaldas has tested positive for coronavirus disease Covid-19. Read More

Former President Pranab Mukherjee in coma, vital parameters stable: Hospital

Former President Pranab Mukherjee is in a comatose state, but his vital parameters are stable, the Armys Research and Referral (R&R) Hospital said on Thursday morning. Mukherjees condition remains unchanged and he continues to be on ventilatory support, it further said. Read More

Pooja Bhatt defends Sadak 2 against backlash as she calls lovers, haters two sides of same coin

Pooja Bhatt and Soni Razdan have reacted to the backlash against Sadak 2, directed by Mahesh Bhatt. The films trailer has received 4.5 million dislikes on YouTube. Read More

IPL 2020: CSK captain MS Dhoni undergoes Covid-19 test for upcoming season

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni underwent a Covid-19 test on Wednesday for the upcoming season and his test report is expected to come up today. Read More

Milan fashion week: Luxury brands to return to the runway in September

After the coronavirus pushed many fashion houses to make online-only presentations in July, more than half of participating Milan fashion houses are making plans to present in-person previews for Spring-Summer 2021. Read More

Covid -19 : Was 150 million Aarogya users data compromised?

Hindustan Times National Political Editor, Sunetra Choudhury talks about the number of Covid-19 cases in India so far and the recovery rate. She also speaks on procurement of vaccines, Aarogya Setu apps vulnerability, masks and more. Watch the full video for more details.
Former Ecuador president Abdala Bucaram was arrested at his home as part of an organized crime probe stemming from the murder of an Israeli man who was jailed for selling COVID-19 medical supplies to the former leader's son.

Shy Dahan, one of two men arrested for allegedly selling $300,000 worth of supplies to Bucaram's son and former politician, Jacobo Bucaram, whose goal was to move them at exorbitantly high prices to hospitals in Guayaquil, was found dead Saturday.

On Wednesday, police officers from the Rescue and Intervention Unit broke down the entrance door to the former president's home in Guayaquil and found him sitting on his bed as the shocking scene unraveled on live television.

The 68-year-old spent several hours at the police headquarter and had to be rushed to a hospital after he fainted due to chest pains. He was discharged in the afternoon and placed under house arrest.

Law enforcement agents also arrested two Metropolitan Transit Agency cops, identified as Leandro Berrones and Samuel Solis, on Wednesday.

Scroll down for video

Ecuador's former President Abdala Bucaram (left, in 2019) was arrested for his alleged involvement in arranging the death of Shy Dahan (right)

Members of the Rescue and Intervention Unit stormed the home of Ecuador's former president Abdala Bucaram on Wednesday in Guayaquil and arrested the 68-year-old. The arrest is part of a probe surrounding Saturday's murder of Shy Dahan, an Israeli man who was jailed in June for selling COVID-19 medical supplies to the ex-leader's son

A police agent aims his weapon at former Ecuador president Abdala Bucaram during Wednesday morning's raid at his house in Guayaquil

Israel natives Dahan, who was in his late 30s, and Oren Sheinman were arrested June 2 for allegedly selling $300,000 worth of supplies to the former Ecuadorian president's son and former politician, Jacobo Bucaram, whose goal was to move them at exorbitantly high prices to hospitals in Guayaquil.

Dahan and Sheinman were found with $100,000 cash and fake documents trying to pass themselves off as U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents.

Dahan was found dead following an attack at Litoral Penitentiary in Guayaquil on Saturday. Sheinman was badly injured in the assault in which both men were beaten with hammers and knives, according to Israel's Channel 12.

Hector Gabriel Vanegas, a lawyer for Sheinman, shared on Twitter a statement offered by Dahan in which he claimed that 'at the moment I have received death threats and ... we are in danger, we have many things to defend ourselves [from].'

Ecuadorian cops rush inside the home of Ecuador's ex-president Abdala Bucaram

Abdala Bucaram (right) was with his wife Maria Rosa Pulley (left) when the police barged inside him home and apprehended him Wednesday in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Bucaram wad the president of Ecuador from August 10, 1996, to February 6, 1997

The bizarre recent events took a dark turn over the last week, when a digital news outlet published audio of a reported conversation between former President Bucaram and Dahan.

In the audio, a man identified as Dahan asks by phone, 'I have your word that no one is going to try and kill me, none of that?'

The response, purportedly from Bucaram: 'We've talked about one's word. I maintain my word that in court, I'll get you out.'

Vanegas said Sheinman has information about organized crime networks in Ecuador and has been subject to 'constant threats' since his detention.

The former chief of state held a press conference Tuesday and acknowledged the phone call with Dahan but denied having committed any crime

'The Bucaram family hasn't been responsible for a single death in this country,' he said.

Bucaram, who was known for his wild antics during his short-live presidency from August 10, 1996, to February 6, 1997.

Bucaram has not been charged, but Interior Minister Maria Paula Romo told an Ecuadorian radio station that a judge ordered his detention while investigators examine 'the degree of participation - if there was or not' in crimes related to an inmate's death Saturday at the Litoral Penitentiary in Guayaquil.

Ecuador former President Abdala Bucaram has not been charged with Saturday's murder of Shy Dahan, an Israeli man who was arrested in June for selling COVID-19 medical supplies to the ex-leader's son

Oren Sheiman is one of two Israeli men who moved around Ecuador with bogus Drug Enforcement Agency badges

Jacobo Bucaram reportedly purchased the COVID-19 medical supplies from two Israeli men, including one murdered at a Guayaquil, Ecuador, prison Saturday, and planned to sell them at higher prices to health facilities in the country

'The investigation right now is confidential,' Romo added, declining to go into more detail.

The chief prosecutor's office confirmed Bucaram had been detained, but revealed little about the investigation, other than to say it is part of an organized crime probe that also involves one of the ex-president's sons and three transit employees.

Bucaram - who was kicked out of office by Congress six months after his 1996 election - has been caught up in a COVID-19 crime probe since June, when authorities raided his home and found an unlicensed gun, several pre-Columbian art sculptures, as well as 5,000 face masks and 2,000 coronavirus antibody rapid test kits.

Investigators said at the time that the raid was part of an ongoing probe into suspected embezzlement at a large public hospital.

In late July, his three adult sons were ordered detained as a preliminary measure as the investigation advances, though they have not been located. Bucaram, meanwhile, has been charged with illegal possession of a firearm and for harboring the antiquities, which are considered state-owned cultural patrimony.

Oren Sheinman survived an attack in which his accomplice Shy Dahan was killed inside a Ecuadorian prison Saturday

Bucaram rose to power with the votes of Ecuador's poor and indigenous groups and became known as 'El Loco Que Ama' or 'The Crazy Man Who Loves' for his many bizarre acts. He once shaved his Charlie Chaplin-like mustache on a telethon to earn money for poor children and liked to compare himself to great world leaders who had been assassinated.

He was ousted by Congress shortly into his presidency for 'mental incapacity' and accused of corruption and nepotism.
WASHINGTON - The Justice Department said Thursday that it has seized millions of dollars from cryptocurrency accounts that militant groups, including al-Qaida and the Islamic State, relied on to finance their organizations and violent plots.

Law enforcement officials said the groups used the accounts to solicit donations, including by trying to raise money from the sale of fraudulent personal protective equipment for the coronavirus pandemic.

Officials described it as the largest-ever seizure of virtual currency funds related to terrorism. Its also part of a broader Justice Department goal of disrupting the financing of extremist organizations, including those designated as foreign terror groups.

Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are favoured for illicit transactions because they are perceived as hard to trace, and one of the groups singled out Thursday explicitly encouraged donations by telling potential contributors that the money trail would be difficult for law enforcement to untangle, the department said.

The legal action, which included undercover law enforcement work and a forfeiture complaint filed in Washingtons federal court, is meant to deprive the organizations of funds needed to buy weapons and develop fighters, Assistant Attorney General John Demers said in a conference call with reporters announcing the case.

This action shows that law enforcement remains a step ahead of them, said Demers, the departments top national security official.

The department said it has confiscated about $2 million (U.S.) so far, in addition to more than 300 cryptocurrency accounts, four websites and four Facebook pages related to the schemes.

The seized funds are expected to be turned over to a fund for victims of terrorist attacks, officials said.

One prong of the U.S. investigation targeted the military wing of Hamas, known as the al-Qassam Brigades, which last year began a public fundraising campaign through social media to solicit Bitcoin donations while reassuring potential donors that such contributions would be untraceable and used for violence, officials said. It also posted on websites instructions for how to anonymously make donations.

Law enforcement officials ultimately seized more than 150 cryptocurrency accounts that they say laundered funds to and from accounts operated by the al-Qassam Brigades. Also Thursday, prosecutors unsealed criminal charges against two Turkish individuals accused of acting as money launderers related to the cryptocurrency.

Without funding, you cannot have these operations conducted, said Michael Sherwin, the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. The focus here was a very proactive effort to target these organizations in a very wide-scale manner.

The department also identified a scheme that officials say was shepherded by an Islamic State associate who officials say manages certain hacking operations for the group.

Prosecutors say the man, identified as Murat Cakar, registered a website in Turkey to sell face masks and other protective gear to help prevent COVID-19. The masks were produced by a Turkish company and not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration despite being advertised as such.

The Justice Department said it seized that site as well as four related pages used for the scheme and for Islamic State funding.

Another scheme by al-Qaida and affiliates sought to raise funds through Bitcoin for attacks even as the groups purported to act as charities, according to the court documents.

Last month, an undercover agent for Homeland Security Investigations, part of the Department of Homeland Security, messaged the administrator of one supposed charity seeking to make donations. The administrator replied that he hoped for the destruction of the United States, and shared a Bitcoin wallet address for the purpose of receiving funds.

Bullets and bombs is all affordable, but the drone stuff, its very hard to unless u have like anti aircraft stuff which is like millions of dollars, the administrator wrote, according to court documents. Here they shoot it with a ground to air missile ... its possible to hit them but hard. Or a 23mm machine-gun. U know those big guns attached to a car.

The investigation involved officials from multiple agencies, including the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service and HSI.
Shares in European planemaker Airbus fell on Thursday after the United States government said it would maintain 15pc tariffs on the companys aircraft and 25pc tariffs on other European goods.

Airbus shares were down 2.1pc at 07:05 GMT, making the stock the worst performer on Frances benchmark CAC-40 index.

On Wednesday, the US government said it would maintain the tariffs on Airbus and other European goods despite moves by the European Union to resolve a 16-year-old dispute over aircraft subsidies.

Airbus said it profoundly regrets the US decision to keep tariffs in place on its aircraft.
The images of young children being separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexican border over the past several years was a shocking revelation of the cruelties faced by migrants, asylum seekers and those seeking a better life than the ones they were born into. The anguish they faced and their desperate cries for help made us weep for the world and the times we are living in.

But not too long ago, Canada was at the centre of this cruelty. Since we never saw these stark images on our TV screens or Twitter feeds we did not think this could exist in our country, or so we believed. We are, by all accounts, a reasonable people who respect the rights of refugees and certainly, children who come seeking asylum. Sadly, this narrative is incorrect.

On Aug. 13, 2010, I was at CFB Esquimalt to support those who came on the MV Sun Sea. The ship carried 492 Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka, including 49 children.

As the ship docked, the men and women were separated to different detention centres on the mainland. The women who were accompanied by their children on board were sent to the Burnaby Youth Detention Centre (and were separated from their spouses and fathers), six unaccompanied minors were taken by the B.C. Childrens Aid Society, and the one boy who came just with his father was separated and sent to the Burnaby Youth facility.

Families were separated for months. And the lone boy who came with his father was separated from the only parent he had in Canada. All these children were traumatized from a very young age due to the ravages of war in their homeland. One toddler had arrived with shrapnel found in his head, a stark reminder of his war-torn childhood. Others had, and continue to carry with them, the scars of trauma that we may never fully understand.

I have often reflected on the journey of those who came on the MV Sun Sea and the Ocean Lady a year before. The way we treated these men, women and children offends me to the core.

The narrative that these refugees were dangerous, unwanted and unwelcome strangers was set weeks before the arrival of the MV Sun Sea. The Immigration Minister at that time scaremongered Canadians by suggesting that terrorists were on board. He repeatedly claimed that these refugees were members of the LTTE group, and were criminals, human smugglers and bogus.

This narrative stuck as the asylum seekers were brought to shore, only to be subject to mandatory detention without release for months. Their humanity was stripped from them as they were given identification numbers B001-B492, and their names and individual stories became invisible.

In detention they faced intimidation and constant harassment at the hands of the Canadian Border Services Agency and RCMP interrogations. We broke them, mentally and spiritually, even before we released them.

Our Canadian government contravened the refugee convention on numerous occasions in the processing of these refugees. They contacted Sri Lankan government authorities and compromised the identities of those who came here. We even deported a failed claimant to face death at the hands of Sri Lankan authorities.

The majority of those on the MV Sun Sea and Ocean Lady had to overcome hoops that most asylum seekers never faced. Many were part of the 6,000-plus legacy case files where cases heard by the Immigration and Refugee Board were indefinitely postponed, some for up to seven years.

Others continued to fight their legal battles to demonstrate their admissibility to Canada, and others faced, and beat, criminal charges, for their role in ensuring that those on the ship were fed or made safe. Still more are waiting for permanent residency and reunifying with family members they havent seen in a decade, including minors they left as unborn babies, toddlers, and children who are now teens and young adults. COVID-19 is the latest hurdle delaying family reunification.

In these ten years, I have met the vast majority of those who came on these two ships. Today, while they mark a decade in Canada, they are struggling with prolonged separation from their children and spouses, depression, substance dependency, and the lasting trauma of war. Many fathers dont know their children, and many more have no relationship with them.

Being a refugee is neither a choice nor a crime; it is a necessity. When people take extraordinary risks to their lives to get to safety, let us give them a fair shot at success. In the case of the MV Ocean Lady and MV Sun Sea, our system failed. We failed those children, and ultimately, we failed in our own morals. Let us never make the same mistake again.
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Competition Dashboard:

The densely packed market is competitive as the key players are all looking for a sizeable portion of the market to secure their prospect. To expand their market portfolio, they are banking mainly on mergers and acquisitions and exploring distant regions. Morgan Advanced Material recently assisted in the construction of Chinas first turbofan jetliner engine. GTAT Corp. has recently opened a world-class Silicon Carbide manufacturing plant on June 26, 2018,

Some of the key players functioning in the Global Silicon Carbide Ceramics Industry are Saint-Gobain (France), Morgan Advanced Material (U.S.), CeramTec (Germany), Ortech Advanced Material (U.S.), KYOCERA Corporation (Japan), Coors Tek Inc. (U.S.), Blasch Precision Ceramics (U.S.), Hitachi Chemicals (Japan), ESD SIC bv (Netherlands), Ceradyne Inc (U.S.), and others.

Industry Trend:

Demand from several industries has spurred extensive investment in research and developments. Recently, joint research efforts of a team of scientists at Lobachevsky University of Nizhny Novgorod (UNN) comprising chemists, physicists, and engineers, have made it possible to obtain garnet-silicon carbide ceramic compositions with a high relative density.

CeramTec-ETECs has recently launched SICADUR, an armor material made from silicon carbide, fulfills all the current requirements of composite armoring systems.

Segmentation:

Global SiC Ceramics Market can be segmented by Type and Application.

Type-Wise Segmentation of the market includes pressure sintered, reaction bonded and recrystallized silicon carbide.

Application-Based Segmentation consists electronics & electrical, automotive, machine manufacturing, metal mining, aerospace & defense, metallurgic, industrial, and others. SiC Ceramics wear resistance, and biocompatibility properties make it suitable for use in artificial bones, biodegradable splints, and implant materials. This has helped the medical industry register the most significant growth.

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Regional Analysis:

Global SiC Ceramics Market covers namely five major regions including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Latin America (LATAM), and the Middle East & Africa (MEA).

The APAC, with 39% of the market share, is currently the frontrunner and the situation is expected to remain the same during the forecast period substantiated by the highest CAGR 7.95%. Electronics & electrical sector, along with the booming automotive sector to secure the prospects of the region. Massive steel production can also be a driving factor. China has significant control over the market with a revenue of USD 796.1 million. India and Taiwan are also posing as lucrative markets for the same.

North America follows the APAC and is getting influenced by mining activities and demand from the automotive industry. Aerospace & defense sector is also contributing considerably to the 26% share of the global market.

Lastly, Europe is showing a slackening speed owing to a meltdown in countries such as the U.K., and Slovakia. However, the market has been kept steady by Germany, Russia, and Belgium.

Overview:

With a leap of an impressive CAGR of 6.45%, the Global Silicon Carbide (SiC) Ceramics Market is expecting an escalation up to USD 7,474.1 million during the forecast period (2017-2023), reveals Market Research Future (MRFR) in a detailed study. Its strength, resistance to acid, low thermal expansion, and thermal conductivity make it the choicest component for many industries. In the automotive industry, its hardness is getting many accolades and is gaining traction in high-end semiconductors in electronics & electrical sector owing to its thermal conductivity. In addition, jewelry, sporting goods, and energy sectors are also showing demand for SiC Ceramics.

However, when its price is under consideration, bottlenecking of the market is also possible. SiC Ceramics are the costliest variation in the ceramic section which can hold back the market growth. But this will not last long as steel is showing interest in the sector and given the burgeoning market of steel, slackening growth for long is a rare possibility.

COVID-19 Study in Detail:

COVID-19 Impact Analysis on Aluminum Extruded Products Market @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/report/covid-19-impact-aluminum-extruded-products-market

COVID-19 Impact on Self-Healing Materials Market @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/report/covid-19-impact-self-healing-materials-market

COVID-19 Impact Analysis on Artificial or Synthetic Leather Market @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/report/covid-19-impact-artificial-synthetic-leather-market

NOTE: Our teams of researchers are studying COVID-19 and its impact on various industry verticals and wherever required we will be considering COVID-19 footprints for a better analysis of markets and industries. Cordially get in touch for more details.

About Market Research Future:

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MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by Components, Application, Logistics and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.

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The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced almost $18 million in grants to tribes across the United States, including $3.2 million to New Mexico pueblos.

The money is part of HUDs Indian Community Development Block Grant Imminent Threat program, according to a news release. It is specifically to aid tribal response to COVID-19.

Todays grant announcement will help families throughout Indian Country to access essential resources amid the coronavirus outbreak, HUD Secretary Ben Carson said in a statement.

The awards include:

 $900,000 to the San Felipe Pueblo Housing Authority to purchase three housing units as temporary lodging for families impacted by COVID-19. In addition, the grant will be used to purchase computers for access to telemedicine and to participate in remote learning.

 $1.5 million to the Zuni Housing Authority to purchase five manufactured homes as temporary lodging to families impacted by COVID-19. The grant also will be used to buy basic supplies for families.

 $899,754 to the Taos Pueblo Housing Authority to rehabilitate five housing units to help reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19. The grant will also be used to provide rental, food and utility assistance.

We welcome suggestions for the daily Bright Spot. Send to newsroom@abqjournal.com.
After winning a runoff for the Republican nomination in Georgias 14th Congressional District Tuesday night, Marjorie Taylor Greene delivered a message for her soon-to-be colleague in the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Shes a hypocrite, Greene said. Shes anti-American. And were going to kick that bitch out of Congress!

Unsporting though it may have been, this manages to be one of the less controversial of many infamous remarks from Greene, an effective lock to win Novembers general election in her deep-red, northwest Georgia district. Greene, a construction executive, is someone who over the years has enjoyed uploading videos to Facebook about whatevers on her mind. She described the 2018 midterms as an Islamic invasion of our government, said Black people are held slaves to the Democratic Party, and accused George Soros, the Democratic megadonor, who is Jewish, of being a Nazi. More of these videos are being unearthed by the day. Among the latest hits: Greene has had some questions about the so-called plane that crashed into the Pentagon.

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Where Greene has broken new ground, though, is in her support for QAnon, a vast and ever-morphing conspiracy that holds that Donald Trump is secretly combating a cabal of globalist and Democratic elites who run a pedophile ring and worship Satan. Im very excited about that now theres a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take this global cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles out, Greenewho, again, will almost certainly serve in the United States House of Representatives next yearsaid in 2017. And I think we have the president to do it.

During the runoff, Republican leadership denounced Greenes comments, and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise worked to elect her runoff opponent, John Cowan. Cowan was a character in his own right, but he did at least appear to function as a human being within the recognizable conventions of planet Earth. Greene beat him by 15 points. The day after the runoff, Scalise, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, House Conference Chair Liz Cheney, and National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Emmer were all silent. One prominent Republican leader, though, was eager to celebrate Greenes win.

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Congratulations to future Republican Star Marjorie Taylor Greene on a big Congressional primary win in Georgia against a very tough and smart opponent. Marjorie is strong on everything and never gives up - a real WINNER!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 12, 2020

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Some other House Republicans did call out Greene. Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger said theres no place in Congress for these conspiracies, a remark which led Greene to call him the Mitt Romney of the House GOP. Virginia Rep. Denver Riggleman, meanwhile, said that if shes the future of the Republican Congress, were in trouble.

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QAnon is the mental gonorrhea of conspiracy theories, Riggleman told Politico. Its disgusting and you want to get rid of it as fast as possible.

Riggleman will not be in the next Congress. At a drive-thru convention earlier this year, the freshman Republican lost renomination to a certain Bob Good, who has described himself as a bright-red biblical and constitutional conservative, with voters turning against Riggleman because he had officiated a same-sex wedding. Another Republican, Colorado Rep. Scott Tipton, likewise a run-of-the-mill conservative, lost his primary to Lauren Boebert, another Q-curious challenger who owns a gun-themed restaurant and gained local notoriety for defying a coronavirus lockdown order.

There have been numerous other Republican congressional candidates this cycle with QAnon sympathies. As in Greenes case, these sympathies are less substitutes for other prejudicial views than the cutting-edge adjuncts of them. Most of the Q enthusiasts have either lost their primaries or are effectively guaranteed to lose to a Democrat in November, in throwaway districts for Republicans. But some are getting through the door.

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This means the House Republican conference in the 117th Congress, which is expected to be the minority once again, is going to be a sight. Its not just that the replacements are getting more, well, colorful. Where House Republicans are in the political life cycle, combined with specific, Gingrich-era rules that House Republicans impose on their conference, means the party is facing a real depletion of those within the conference who have any idea what theyre doing.

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In terms of the political life cycle, House Republicans are going through a similar phase to what House Democrats went through after their loss of the majority in 2010. Following the productive Congress of 200910, when Democrats had unified control of the government, Republicans took control of the House and werent about to lose it anytime soon. Some powerful, senior members of the caucusat least, the ones who hadnt already lost or retired in 2010saw the writing on the wall and decided to retire (Henry Waxman, George Miller, Barney Frank) or jump to the Senate (Ed Markey).

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But Republicans have a separate issue that makes their turnover worse: The conference has term limits of six years atop a committee, a rule that Democrats dont share. Ahead of the 2018 midterms, House Republican committee chairmen or former chairmen of the Appropriations (Rodney Frelinghuysen), Energy and Commerce (Joe Barton), Judiciary (Bob Goodlatte), Oversight (Darrell Issa), Financial Services (Jim Hensarling), Foreign Affairs (Ileana Ros-Lehtinen), Transportation (Bill Schuster), and Science (Lamar Smith) committees all retired. This cycle, Republican ranking committee members or ex-chairs of Armed Services (Mac Thornberry), Agriculture (Mike Conaway), Judiciary (Jim Sensenbrenner, Doug Collins), Energy and Commerce (Greg Walden), Homeland Security (Peter King), and Natural Resources (Rob Bishop) are either retiring or running for a different office. This doesnt even count the dozens of other non-chairmen, many of them senior committee members, whove retired in the last two cycles, or the dozens that lost their reelections in 2018.

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Republicans will wax poetic about why they have these limits: We are citizen-legislators, not career politicians, who come to serve but a brief spell in public service and then return to labor on our homesteads. And committee term limits do relieve some of the congestion that Democrats will complain about, namely how it can take them 30 years in Congress before assuming a chairmanship. But the counterpart to that is that the rules deplete both the expertise and the power of committeesand electorally, they prompt widespread turnover. Its enough of a problem that House Republicans, with Trumps backing, have been reconsidering the rule itself.

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What House Republicans are looking at next year is a minority in which the people who know how to govern will be gone, and their replacements will include people who either subscribe to or dont rule out! the dumbest conspiracy theory in existence, or have otherwise been marinated in a very-online conspiracy media bubble that make the days of Fox News as the central misinformation organ look quaint.

This is nothing for Democrats to celebrate. If Joe Biden becomes president, Republicans, just by the nature of cyclical politics, will have a good opportunity to retake the House in 2022. And they thought the House Republicans of 2011 were unmanageable?

For more of Slates news coverage, subscribe to What Next on Apple Podcasts or listen below.
By Azernews





By Akbar Mammadov

Azerbaijans newly appointed Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramov has said that Bakus position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is unchangeable and unwavering.

Bayramov made the remarks in an interview with CNN Turk TV channel during his visit to Ankara on August 11.

The minister said that the conflict must be resolved in line with the international law as well as the UN resolutions of 1993 that require the withdrawal of Armenian military units from the territories of Azerbaijan and the return of Azerbaijani IDPs to those territories:

The same requirements are reflected in the documents, resolutions and decisions of various international organizations. In this case, the issue of settlement through political dialogue is obvious, he noted.

We believe that serious pressure should be exerted on the Armenian side by international organizations and states. Azerbaijan's position on this issue is unchangeable and unwavering. These resolutions must be fully implemented," said the minster.

Bayramov said that Azerbaijan supports a political solution to the conflict through negotiations, adding that there is a sufficient international legal framework for a political solution to the conflict.

The minister also spoke about Armenias military provocation on the border in Tovuz district on July 12, saying that Armenia once again exposed its terrorist and aggressive nature.

He noted that Armenian forces shelled civilian settlements, killing a 76-year-old village resident.

This is not the first time, this is a usual approach made by Armenian armed forces.

Bayramov underlined that the terrorist nature of the Armenian state is very well known. He recalled that in that 1970-80s, Armenia supported ASALA and other terrorist organizations which committed a number of terror acts in the world, of which Turkey was also the victim.

Armenia also used terror widely during the military operation while occupying Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions of Azerbaijan, the minister said.

Commenting on the ongoing large-scale military drills between the two countries, Bayramov said: Azerbaijan and Turkey have an ancient history of military cooperation. Joint military exercises are carried out in accordance with a military agreement signed between the two countries.

He said that the exercises are carried out regularly, which is a great part of the military cooperation between the two countries.

The military cooperation comes in a broad sense that there is also in military-technical, military education and military healthcare cooperation.

Bayramov emphasized that the cooperation between Turkey and Azerbaijan serves not only the development of the two countries but also the region, ensuring peace and security in the region. I think that military cooperation should be evaluated in this direction, the minister said.

Starting from July 12, Armenian armed forces committed another military provocation in the director of Tovuz district of the Azerbaijan-Armenia state border.

This provocation had clear political and military purposes, stressed Bayramov.

The minister said that by this provocation Armenia sought to involve the military-political organization (CSTO), of which Armenia is a member and other member countries in the conflict.

creating a new tension, ignition zone in the state border of the two countries. By this attack, Armenia also sought to

The minister added that at the same time, Armenia had the goal to create tension in the region, through which regionally important and great railway and oil-gas pipelines pass from Azerbaijans area, to distract the attention of its population from to foreign issues from a very tense internal situation that aggravated due to the coronavirus pandemic, once again to impede the conduct of negotiations on the substance.

Bayramov emphasized that as a result of the resolute retaliation measures of the Azerbaijani army, Armenian armed forces were repulsed and the provocation was thwarted.

Unfortunately, our servicemen were martyred and I would like to deliver my condolences to their families and Azerbaijani people, he said.
By Jonathan Stempel

Aug 13 (Reuters) - A former chief executive of Hertz Global Holdings will pay $2.18 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges he failed to reimburse incentive-based pay to the rental car company following a financial restatement.

Without admitting or denying wrongdoing, Mark Frissora agreed to pay $1.98 million to Hertz and a $200,000 civil fine to the SEC, according to settlement papers filed on Thursday with the federal court in Newark, New Jersey.

Frissora, 64, of Naples, Florida, had been Hertz's chief executive from July 2006 to September 2014.

The settlement requires a judge's approval. It follows Hertz's agreement in February 2019 to pay a $16 million civil fine to settle related SEC charges.

A lawyer for Frissora declined to comment.

According to the SEC, Frissora pressured subordinates to "find money," mainly by reassessing reserve accounts, resulting in accounting changes that left Hertz's financial results materially inaccurate.

The SEC said Frissora also led Hertz's decision in 2013 to extend its "holding periods," or estimates for how long it would keep vehicles in its fleet, lowering reported expenses without revealing to investors the risks of holding older vehicles.

In July 2015, Hertz reduced previously reported pretax income by $235 million, and according to the SEC belatedly disclosed the extended holding periods.

Hertz filed for bankruptcy protection in May after its business was decimated during the coronavirus pandemic. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Tom Brown)
A region in Spain has introduced a ban on smoking in outdoor public places when social distancing cannot be guaranteed.

The ban came into effect Thursday in Spain's northwestern region of Galicia, with other areas mulling similar restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Under a law approved by the regional government of Galicia late on Wednesday which came into force at midnight, removing a face mask to smoke in public is not allowed if it is not possible to maintain a distance of two meters (6.7 feet) between people.

The move is supported by research from Spain's health ministry, who last month found that smoking can spread the virus because people project droplets when they exhale smoke.

In addition, the virus could be spread when a person removes their face mask to smoke a cigarette, and by touching their cigarette before bringing it to their mouth.

But experts have warned there is not yet enough evidence to say for certain that the disease could be spread through tobacco smoke.

The move comes despite a mountain of research suggesting smokers are less likely to catch coronavirus. Experts across the world have discovered very few smokers are getting hospitalised by Covid-19, suggesting they are protected or aren't getting infected as much.

A region in Spain has introduced a ban on smoking in outdoor public places when social distancing cannot be guaranteed. Above, a woman smokes a ta bar terrace despite the ban on the first day the new law came into force in Galicia

The ban came into effect Thursday in Spain's northwestern region of Galicia. Above, a man smokes a cigarette in a bar's terrace in Valencia on August 13

WHY IS SMOKING THOUGHT TO PROTECT AGAINST THE CORONAVIRUS? Swathes of studies have shown a low prevalence of smokers in hospitals with Covid-19. When smokers do get diagnosed with the virus, however, they appear to be more likely to get so sick that they need ventilation, two studies in the review showed. If the findings are proven, scientists say it's likely that it is not cigarettes - filled with thousands of harmful chemicals - that would offer a potential protection, but the nicotine that is beneficial. A theory flouted by scientists is that nicotine reduces ACE-2 receptors, which are proteins in the body the virus binds to in order to infect cells. The coronavirus enters cells inside the body via the structures, which coat the surface of some cells, including in the airways and lungs. If nicotine does lowers ACE-2 expression, it makes it harder for viral particles to gain entry into cells and therefore cause an infection. On the other hand, other studies show that nicotine enhances the action of the ACE-2 receptor, which in theory, puts smokers at a higher risk of contracting the coronavirus. Other scientists say low levels of ACE-2 expression as a result of nicotine may prevent worse damage from viral infection, and there is no evidence that says higher quantities of ACE-2 receptors increases the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the first place. Dr Konstantinos Farsalinos, from the University of West Attica, Greece, who queried whether nicotine could be a cure for Covid-19 in a paper published on May 9, said: 'Up-regulation of ACE2, though seemingly paradoxical, may in fact protect patients from severe disease and lung injury.' A 2008 study in mice found that getting rid of ACE-2 made the animals more likely to suffer severe breathing difficulties when infected with the SARS virus, which is almost identical to Covid-19. Other scientists have turned their head towards nicotine's ability to prevent inflammation, where evidence is more robust. Nicotine has been shown inhibit the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as TNF, IL-1 and IL-6, which are involved in promoting an inflammatory response. A 'cytokine storm' is a phenomenon in which an abundance of cytokines are released in response to infection. Doctors have previously said that it's often the body's response to the virus, rather than the virus itself, that plays a major role in how sick a person gets. A cytokine storm can lead to respiratory failure and the attack of healthy tissues, causing multi-organ failure. Therefore, the cytokine storm is being looked at as a target for COVID-19 treatment. When smokers are infected with a virus like SARS-CoV-2, their immune system is more 'tolerant' and does not overreact, experts also say. On the other hand, non-smokers may be more prone to having the sudden and deadly cytokine storm when they are infected with the virus. Scientists have stressed that the evidence supporting nicotine as a medicine does not mean everyone should take up smoking. Advertisement

It is mandatory in all of Spain, except in the Canary Islands, to wear a face mask in all outdoor and indoor public spaces.

The Spanish Society of Epidemiology in July called for smoking to be banned in outdoor spaces, arguing there is a risk that smokers infected with COVID-19 but who are asymptomatic 'could release droplets' containing the virus 'which put at risk the rest of the population'.

The smoking ban is the first of its kind in Spain and is part of a series of new measures imposed by Galicia, best-known as the destination for pilgrims hiking along the Camino de Santiago, to curb the spread of COVID-19.

It has already ordered the closure of bars and nightclubs and restricted the number of people who can enter shops at the same time.

Officials in other regions such as Madrid and the southern region of Andalusia, along with those in the central regions of Castilla y Leon and Castilla La Mancha, said they were considering similar smoking restrictions.

Alberto Fernandez Villar, head of the pneumology department at Vigo hospital, and a member of the Galician governments clinical committee, said: 'We know smokers with Covid-19 have a greater viral load and are potentially bigger spreaders.'

Viral load refers to the number of particles of the coronavirus - called SARS-CoV-2 - someone is first infected with.

No scientific studies have conclusively proven that smokers have a higher viral load, compared to coronavirus-infected non-smokers.

But evidence has shown smokers may have more ACE-2 receptors, which the virus latches on to to infect humans.

This means someone with more ACE-2 receptors may be more susceptible to a large viral load entering their bloodstream.

Spain's highly decentralised system of government makes regions responsible for healthcare, leading to a patchwork of different measures to curb the virus across the country of 47million people.

The World Health Organization has said tobacco users are likely to be more vulnerable to being infected by the virus and could increase the possibility of transmission of the disease since it involves contact of fingers with the lips.

While the smoking ban was applauded by many medical experts, some questioned its effectiveness.

'There is not yet enough solid scientific information to show that in open spaces, tobacco smoke can transmit the disease,' Fernando Garcia, an epidemiologist at the Carlos III institute for health, told AFP.

'To take such an extreme measure when there is not enough evidence, I think is a bit disproportionate.'

With 30 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, Galicia has one of the lowest prevalence rates of the virus in Spain, which has nearly 330,000 infections, the highest number in Western Europe.

The ban on smoking comes as the country grapples with the worst infection rate in western Europe. Spain now has 376,864 confirmed total cases, and 28,579 deaths.

Spain confirmed 44,400 new cases over the past 14 days alone, compared with just 4,700 new cases registered by Italy, with 60 million inhabitants, which was the first European country to be rocked by the virus.

Spain is still in good shape compared with many countries in the Americas, where the spread seems unchecked in the United States, Mexico and several South American countries.

But hospitalizations with COVID-19 have quintupled in Spain since early July, when cases were down to a trickle after a severe lockdown stopped a first wave of the virus that had pushed the health care system to breaking point.

On Tuesday, Spain's ministry reported 805 people nationwide hospitalized over the past seven days. Half of the 64 people who died over the previous week were from Aragon, the region surrounding Zaragoza.

The Spanish Society of Epidemiology in July called for smoking to be banned in outdoor spaces. Above, a man smokes a cigarette in a street of Valencia on August 13, 2020
David Frost - Francois Lenoir/Reuters

The UK's chief Brexit negotiator said on Thursday that a free trade agreement with the European Union could be agreed in September, as Ireland's prime minister said a "landing zone" for the deal had emerged.

British and EU officials meet in Brussels for the seventh round of trade talks next week after a fortnight break following five weeks of intensified negotiations.

David Frost said: "Our assessment is that agreement can be reached in September, and we will work to achieve this if we can."

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator, has set an end of October deadline for the trade deal to be finalised, which is supported by influential member states such as Germany.

Ireland's Taoiseach, Micheal Martin, met Boris Johnson for talks on Thursday in Hillsborough, Northern Ireland (see video below). He said both sides knew that they needed to avoid the economic shock of a no trade deal Brexit after the coronavirus crisis.

If a trade deal is not agreed by the end of the year, the EU and UK will trade on far less lucrative WTO terms.

"Where there's a will, there's a way," he said. "It seems to me that there is a landing zone if that will is there on both sides, and I think it is."

A Downing Street spokesman said: "The Prime Minister [...] reiterated the UK's determination to reach a deal."

Much still remains to be settled in the negotiations, including the thorny issues of fishing rights and the "level playing field" guarantees, in particular over state aid rules.

Mr Frost said: "The UK's sovereignty, over our laws, our courts, or our fishing waters, is of course not up for discussion, and we will not accept anything which compromises it  just as we aren't looking for anything which threatens the integrity of the EU's Single Market."

The last round of negotiations yielded some progress, with both sides making concessions after months of deadlock.

Story continues

The UK accepted EU demands that the future relationship be governed by one overarching framework rather than separate deals. The EU has conceded that the UK will not abandon its insistence that the European Court of Justice has no role in future relations.

Mr Barnier and Mr Frost will meet for dinner in Brussels on Tuesday. Negotiations close on Friday, with further meetings possible the following week.

The travelling British team is expected to be about 50 officials. Some others will pitch into negotiations virtually after Belgium was taken off a Government safe list for coronavirus. Negotiators will not have to quarantine for a fortnight after returning to Britain because they are on official Government business.

Both sides are in a race to make the October deadline, which will afford time for the EU to ratify the agreement before the end of the year. The UK leaves the transition period, and the Single Market and Customs Union, on December 31.

At least 2.04 million EU citizens have been granted residency rights beyond the end of freedom of movement rules in Britain at the end of the year after having lived in the UK for at least five years, it was revealed on Thursday.

Of those, 1.475 million were awarded pre-settled status, which protects their residency rights until the applicant reaches the five year threshold.

Just 4,600 people out of 3.8 million applications by July 31 were refused. There were 36,500 withdrawn applications and 34,900 were ruled invalid. About 200,000 applications are pending a decision.

The deadline for applications for the EU Settlement Scheme, which opened in March 2019, is June 30 next year. After that, EU citizens will be treated like immigrants from any other country.

Anyone establishing residence in the UK before the end of the transition period can apply.

The Minister for Future Borders and Immigration, Kevin Foster, said: "EU citizens are an integral part of UK society. We are always looking for reasons to grant status, and refusals are a last resort."
PANAMA CITY - A Haitian migrant who had been staying in a Panamanian government camp has died of an undisclosed illness that authorities say was not COVID-19.

Panamas National Immigration Service said Wednesday that the woman died in a hospital in the capital of an infectious disease that led to kidney failure. She had previously been at a migrant camp in La Penita in Darien province where migrants have complained of the conditions.

On Thursday, Santiago Paz, local representative of the International Organization for Migration, said the woman was hospitalized July 26. He said Panamanian authorities had taken those in need of medical attention to hospitals in the capital.

That was the case as well for a 2-year-old Brazilian toddler who died June 25 after being at a migrant camp near Panamas border with Costa Rica, he said. The child and his mother had been among migrants in a camp in La Penita who were moved to a camp on the other side of the country to alleviate overcrowding and provide better conditions.

The announcement of the womans death came the same day that a judge ordered eight Haitian migrants to remain in jail pending trial on charges they set fire to a tent housing medical supplies at a shelter in remote Darien province near the border with Colombia. Four other migrants facing charges were released and required to check in with authorities twice a week.

They face the possibility of deportation to Haiti.

Frustrations have been growing for migrants have been stuck in Panama for months by pandemic-casused border closures. The migrants want to be allowed to continue travelling north and have complained about overcrowding and poor conditions in the camps.

There are nearly 2,000 migrants at government-run camps in Darien and additional concentrations of migrants near the border with Costa Rica. The government has defended its treatment of the migrants.
Charmed actress Rose McGowan criticized Kamala Harris yesterday for accepting donations from Harvey Weinstein in one of her past campaigns.

Biden named Harris as his running mate on Tuesday afternoon, making history by selecting the first black woman to compete on a major party's presidential ticket and acknowledging the vital role black voters will play in his bid to defeat President Donald Trump.

Despite an outpouring of support from Hollywood on the selection, including from figures like Taylor Swift, McGowan, 46, expressed her concern on Twitter that Harris had previously accepted donations from convicted sexual predator Weinstein.

'Did you return the money Weinstein gave you? @SenKamalaHarris How many predators bankroll you?,' she asked in a retweet comment from Jeffrey St. Clair, the editor of CounterPunch.

Rose McGowan speaks at a press conference outside the Criminal Court in New York. Harvey Weinstein court hearing, New York, USA, on 6 January 2020

Democratic vice presidential running mate, US Senator Kamala Harris, speaks during the first press conference with Joe Biden in Wilmington, Delaware yesterday

Rose McGowan, one of the leading voices in the #MeToo movement, asked whether Senator Kamala Harris had returned money donated to her during her California general re-election campaign

St. Clair wrote: 'It's hard to say which is more revealing of the fatal rot at the core of American politics, the fact that Trump and his daughter sent checks to Harris' campaigns or that Harris greedily cashed them.'

His comments were attached to a reveal from Washington Post reporter Matt Viser who listed President Trump and Ivanka's donations to Harris's California attorney general re-election campaign.

'Donald Trump donated twice to Kamala Harris when she was running for reelection as California attorney general, according to state records,' Viser wrote. 'Ivanka Trump donated as well.'

The graphic, posted by Viser, said Trump donated a total of $6,000 to her campaign while Ivanka sent in $2,000.

After accusations of sexual misconduct against Weinstein surfaced in 2017, it was revealed that he had donated to several political campaigns over the years.

One commenter to McGowan's tweet set the record straight, sharing an article which said Harris planned to donate the $5,000 she'd received from Weinstein to a non-profit women's rights organization called Equal Rights Advocates.

'Good,' McGowan responded. 'Still creepy. Everyone knew.'

One commenter to McGowan's tweet set the record straight, sharing an article which said Harris planned to donate the $5,000 she'd received from Weinstein to a non-profit women's rights organization called Equal Rights Advocates

The 46-year-old, who was one of the leading #MeToo activists after accusing Weinstein of sexual assault, also said she feared he would hire a hitman to kill her in the wake of her claims.

On British morning television programme Good Morning Britain earlier this year, McGowan also alleged Weinstein could be 'one of the biggest rapists in history'.

Weinstein was convicted in February of sexual assault and rape, more than two years after allegations of the disgraced movie mogul's sexual misconduct sparked the global #MeToo movement.

The 67-year-old producer was acquitted of the most serious charge of predatory sexual assault but faces a lengthy jail term that could be up to 29 years.

McGowan told GMB the guilty verdicts were a 'huge moment' and that she hoped it would lead to more predators being convicted.
Eighty advocacy groups in Maryland are mounting a campaign to press the General Assembly to reconvene in a special session to tackle the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, including an expected surge in evictions and massive cuts to the state budget.

The groups, which sent a letter to Senate President Bill Ferguson, D-Baltimore City, and House Speaker Adrienne Jones, D-Baltimore County, last month, said they are stepping up their efforts with plans that include rallies, marches, digital ads and text messaging.

The leaders of the groups, which include CASA of Maryland, Progressive Maryland and the Maryland Center on Economic Policy, say it is imperative that state lawmakers meet before their normal 90-day session in January to consider emergency protections for renters and workers and a settlement of a lawsuit over inequitable funding at historically Black colleges and universities.

"Since Day One, Maryland essential employees have been showing up every single day and performing their duties," Ricarra Jones, the political director for 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, said in a statement. "We are urging the members of the General Assembly to do the same, as essential workers."

Spokesmen for Ferguson and Jones declined to comment.

Several states have planned special sessions amid the pandemic, including Virginia, where lawmakers will meet on Tuesday.

Del. Julian Ivey, D-Prince George's, has been calling for the Maryland legislature to reconvene to focus on the coronavirus, evictions, foreclosures and police brutality, but there appears to be a slim chance of a special session being held. A majority of delegates and senators would have to sign a petition calling on the governor to hold one.

Maryland's last special session was held in 2012 when the legislature reconvened to consider votes on taxes and an expansion of gambling.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia and SHENZHEN, China, Aug. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today PAI Health , a heart health software company, announces that it has been selected as one of the top 10 companies accepted onto Ping An Technology Innovation Center for the Cohort 5 China Expansion Program running from July to December 2020. During the rigorous selection process, Ping An Technology Innovation Center did industry research and reviewed 1442 companies from all over the world and conducted multiple rounds of online interviews with finalists. The acceptance rate was less than 0.7%.



As Ericson Chan, CEO of Ping An Technology pointed out, China Expansion Program has broadened its internal reach throughout Ping An Group, bringing new technologies to plenty of product and technology teams within Ping An subsidiaries for collaboration considerations. Ping An Technology Innovation Center collects the technology needs of Ping An subsidiaries, sources and selects high-tech companies globally who meet these requirements, and invites them to land in the Chinese market as cohort companies. It also helps these cohort companies localize their technologies with the help of Ping An's powerful technology platforms, and manages their technical and commercial collaborations with Ping An subsidiaries throughout the 5-month acceleration period.

We selected PAI Health for their innovative technology as we believe it can have a profound impact on world health, helping more people take preventative care by becoming more physically active, says their account manager from Ping An Technology Innovation Center. Their science-backed solution has the potential to be integrated across many business partnerships and applications.

PAI Health is known for its innovation in biometric sensing and algorithm development with data insights rooted in the proven science of cardiorespiratory fitness, one of the leading predictors of health and longevity. The companys digital services, that are both device and platform agnostic, enable insurers, corporations and health providers to engage, assess, monitor and guide people toward better health.

We are honored to be selected into the Ping An Technology Innovation Centers China Expansion Program, said Sally Powell, General Manager of PAI Health. We look forward to collaborating with such high caliber tech companies to expand our services and deploy our new health standard for physical activity across the Chinese market.

About PAI Health

PAI Health allows organizations to assess, monitor and guide their people to better health to reduce risk and costs, while providing individuals with motivational guidance on recommended physical activity levels for better health. The company is on path to establish the science-backed Personal Activity Intelligence (PAI) score as the global health standard for physical activity through partnerships with insurers, employee wellness programs, technology platforms, health care providers and other industry partners. For more information, visit www.paihealth.com .

PAI Health Media Contact

Tricia Burton

pr@paihealth.com

About Ping An Technology Innovation Center

Ping An Technology Innovation Center, founded by Ping An Technology in 2017, is Ping Ans open innovation platform and strongly supported by Shenzhen Futian District and Ping An Global Voyager Fund.

The 5-month acceleration program is designed to empower technology founders with education, tools and resources they need to validate, reinforce, scale and localize their businesses behind the strength of the Ping An brand. The program is based in Futian, Shenzhen.
STORY LINK Pound to New Zealand Dollar (GBP/NZD) Exchange Rate Rises as US-China Trade Tensions Weigh on Kiwi

GBP/NZD Exchange Rate Edges Higher as US-China Tensions Intensify

Pound (GBP) Rises Despite Growing Concerns Over UKs Economic Recovery

GBP/NZD Outlook: Could the Kiwi Suffer as US-China Trade Tensions Escalate?

Like this piece? Please share with your friends and colleagues:

The Pound to New Zealand Dollar (GBP/NZD) exchange rate rose by 0.6% today, with the pairing currently trading around NZ$1.97.The New Zealand Dollar (NZD) has suffered from a sell-off of risky assets today following reports of an escalation in US-China trade tensions. As a result, the risk-sensitive Kiwi has suffered as China is New Zealands largest trading partner.Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing, explains:The Chinese side  the whole world  is speculating that Trump could make some even more severe adventures in his China policy to save his prospect of re-election.New Zealand has also reported 14 new cases of Covid-19 just a day after the nations largest city, Auckland, went back into lockdown.Meanwhile, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern appeared to be concerned about the situation, saying, We can see the seriousness of the situation we are in. Its being dealt with in an urgent but calm and methodical way.The Pound (GBP) rose against the Kiwi today owing to a lack of economic data following yesterdays dismal UK GDP figure for the second quarter. The report showed that Britain had entered its deepest recession since records began.UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak commented:Ive said before that hard times were ahead, and todays figures confirm that hard times are here.Meanwhile, Sterling traders are becoming increasingly concerned after it was revealed that footfall in Londons West End was down two-thirds compared to last year. Consequently, this has sparked fears for the UKs retail sector in the months ahead.London Mayor Sadiq Kahn commented:For decades central London has been the economic engine of the UK, a cultural powerhouse and a gateway for global tourism to the UK. But it now faces a real existential threat from the Covid-19 pandemic.However, owing to a quiet day on the UKs economic front, Sterling traders appear to have heaved a sigh of relief. Nevertheless, with signs of a growing number of UK Covid-19 cases, we could see the GBP/NZD exchange rates gains being short-lived.New Zealand Dollar (NZD) investors will be keeping a close eye on US-China developments. If tensions intensify between the worlds two largest economies, however, we could see the Kiwi suffer.Pound (GBP) traders, meanwhile, will be looking ahead to Sundays release of the Rightmove house price index for August. Any signs of a struggling British economy would prove GBP-negative.The GBP/NZD exchange rate could continue to rise this week if the New Zealand Dollar (NZD) continues to be besieged by concerns for the global economy.

International Money Transfer? Ask our resident FX expert a money transfer question or try John's new, free, no-obligation personal service! ,where he helps every step of the way, ensuring you get the best exchange rates on your currency requirements.

TAGS: New Zealand Dollar Forecasts Pound New Zealand Dollar Forecasts
In a lab on San Antonios West Side, a group of scientists and engineers are building two suitcase-size devices that may help humanity find space life and an alternate place to live in our solar system.

The Ultraviolet Spectrograph and the Mass Spectrometer for Planetary Exploration, in development at the Southwest Research Institute, are two of nine scientific instruments set to travel to one of Jupiters moons, Europa, in 2024 aboard NASAs Europa Clipper space probe.

The 390 million-mile journey to the ice-covered moon, thought to have an ocean twice the size of Earths, may take the helicopter-size probe six years to reach and cost taxpayers $4.25 billion, but the payoff could be priceless.

/Courtesy SwRI

Whats in Europas oceans? Is it habitable? Can it sustain life? asked Kurt Retherford, Ph.D., principal investigator on the Ultraviolet Spectrometer and staff scientist at the Southwest Research Institute. We need to send more missions to go investigate these things.

SwRI, a nonprofit applied-science research organization, is the linchpin of San Antonios little-recognized space economy.

Now Playing: Military reporter Sig Christenson explains Space Command and its potential impact for San Antonio. Video: Luis Vazquez

Related: San Antonio in hunt to land U.S. Space Command

Over the past five years, NASA has awarded more than $1.3 billion in grants and contracts  208 in all  to SwRI and 23 other San Antonio companies, universities and organizations. Another two area companies are part of the space agencys $20 billion contract to provide information technology support across the federal government.

Add to that contracts and subcontracts with dozens of companies in the space sector such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, United Launch Alliance, SpaceX and others, and the financial impact to San Antonio and South Texas is much greater.

Thats work thats already underway. Its likely to increase along with the number of commercial space endeavors and ambitious NASA missions, including the possibility of manned space flight to the moon and Mars.

We are in an extremely exciting time for human space flight, said Walt Ugalde, NASAs intellectual property licensing manager. Believe it or not, theres a lot of commercialized space technology out there if you just stop and look. We always tell folks theres more space in your place than you care to realize.

Ugalde, a Leon Valley native and John Marshall High School graduate, said the opportunities for doing business with NASA are boundless.

Jerry Lara, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

Related: S.A. was military air hub, from early flight to space

Get real curious  engage intentionally, he said. Really take the time to see what kind of opportunities there are for corporations, small businesses and startups.

Across the region, many are hard at work doing everything from designing spacecraft and sensors, developing the worlds largest telescopes, building space robots, testing the survivability of lunar habitats, maintaining NASAs ground equipment, helping resupply the International Space Station, providing computer tech support to astronauts and more.

The citys space history

San Antonios space history looms large in Americas journey to the heavens. Scientists here outfitted monkeys for space, learned how human bodies react to extreme altitudes and screened the first astronauts. They also invented freeze-dried ice cream and tested day-glo-orange Tang.

Astronaut Ed White, the first American to walk in space, was born here. Frances Northcutt, the first woman to work in Mission Control, grew up in Luling. Astronaut David Scott, the seventh person to set foot on the moon and first to drive a four-wheeled vehicle there, was born on Randolph AFB and attended the San Antonio Academy from 1943-45. Astronaut Bernard Harris, graduate of Sam Houston High School, logged more than 438 hours and became the first African American to walk in space in 1995. Longtime resident Dr. Lawrence Lamb led development of NASAs medical exams and evaluated all those who went to the moon. Dr. Tom Tredici, an ophthalmologist who helped design the gold visors on the Apollo astronauts spacesuits, still works at Brooks on the Southeast Side at age 97. The list goes on.

Scientists at the Air Forces School of Aviation Medicine at Randolph, which later became the School of Aerospace Medicine at now-decommissioned Brooks AFB, laid the foundation for understanding how space impacts the human body. In 1958, Airman 1st Class Donald Farrell spent seven days in a pressurized chamber at Randolph in an experiment that mimicked the space capsule environment.

Jerry Lara, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

Related: Space exploration began at Brooks  on the ground

Randolphs and Brooks scientists trained and studied Sam, a rhesus monkey and one of the first primate astronauts. Sam flew to an altitude of 55 miles aboard a Mercury spacecraft in 1959. Brooks engineers fabricated his biopack survival capsule, and one of the doctors wives fashioned a prototype monkey spacesuit out of a silver ironing board cover. Sam retired at the San Antonio Zoo.

Countless astronauts endured physicals and centrifuge training at Brooks over the years, including 30 candidates vying to join the Mercury program in 1962. John Glenn visited again in 1998 before his shuttle mission at age 77.

Center of space universe

In San Antonios space business universe, Southwest Research Institute is a supergiant star. Operating on a 1,500-acre campus, the institute performs the most work for NASA in San Antonio, with 129 contracts worth more than $945 million. Last week, SwRI announced that the institute will be listed in NASAs Rapid Spacecraft Development catalog that the U.S. government uses to procure proven spacecraft.

We beat out Dallas and Houston by a factor of 10 in our area of space research, said James Burch, Ph.D., SwRIs vice president of space science and engineering. He started the organizations space program in 1977 and grew it from just himself to its current 470 people. You look at space research and building satellites in Texas, its San Antonio  nothing comes close.

While most of SwRIs space business  worth $150 million annually  is with NASA, its scientists and engineers also work with aerospace companies, the Department of Defense, universities and the European Space Agency.

Courtesy SwRI

Related: That time when San Antonio turned a monkey into an astronaut

Burchs team has led missions that sent dozens of spacecraft across the solar system, and he rattles the details off with ease.

Image was the first to analyze Earths magnetosphere. New Horizons flew to Pluto and gazed the Kuiper belt. Juno, the first polar orbiter of Jupiter, uses microwaves to peer inside the planet. Magnetospheric Multiscale isnt a catchy name, but the billion-dollar mission, launched five years ago, has sent four spacecraft to understand the interactions between the suns and Earths magnetic fields. Punch will stare at material coming off the sun and track it all the way to Earth. The eight CYGNSS satellites are revolutionizing hurricane tracking and analysis. In 2021, Lucy will head into the abyss toward the Trojan asteroids.

In space science, nobody matches us, said Burch, an Army veteran of the Vietnam war, whose program holds more space mission primary investigator positions than any other organization in the country. A lot of people are jealous, but too bad. Were super overloaded right now with work.

And SwRI is hiring.

We like to hire young engineers and young scientists and let them sink or swim with us  thats the way we do it, he said. People that are willing to work hard and work fast are successful.

According to Burch, the real challenge is attracting the scientific and engineering talent to San Antonio, due largely to the fact that there arent a lot of aerospace companies in the area.

Youve got to convince them to come to a place they havent thought of being before, and theres a certain amount of culture shock, he said. Once they get here, they dont want to leave, and thats another problem because you do want to have a certain amount of turnover.

Southwest Research Institute

Related: At 97, scientist is last of the old breed at San Antonios former Brooks AFB

Burch attributes much of SwRIs success to its well-funded research and development program.

Ive never proposed anything that I havent already built a prototype and proved that it works, he said. A lot of our competitors dont have that and so theyre proposing ideas  you know, drawings  and Ive got a prototype. That gives you a real edge.

SwRI scientists get one shot at ensuring their spacecraft is ready for flight.

Thats the exciting part of it because youre working on something and you know you cant fix it, he said. So, it launches, and its got to work for five or 10 years, and you cant fix it except whatever you can do with software, but not that much.

Burch is currently lead investigator on the Magnetospheric Multiscale project, which will help scientists understand magnetic reconnection, the process that leads to solar flares and explosions of solar material that can wreak havoc on Earth. Hes also leading Europa Clippers Mass Spectrometer mission that may find life-forming compounds erupting from Europas ocean vents.

You want to find if space life exists elsewhere, any kind of life, whether its a cell or a critter, right? he said. While its very cold on Europa, and a similar moon of Saturn, in their oceans down deep its habitable for cells, maybe fish.

Who knows? You got to take the first steps.

Hes confident his instruments can find building blocks of life if theyre present on Europa.

Kurt Retherford and his core team of 20 people at SwRI, as well as hundreds of others around the country, have worked on their Ultraviolet Spectrometer for more than five years.

What really excites me about studying Europa is the potential for finding a new place in the solar system where life could originate, he said. That would set us up to do a subsequent mission where maybe we land on the surface and find more solid evidence for life that has existed there or may be ongoing today. That kind of discovery  life in the solar system  we havent done that yet, and this would really change our perception of who we are as humanity.

Small business, big impact

A low-key 60s-era building on the citys East Side serves as home base for the Rothe family of companies  Rothe Development, Rothe Enterprises and Rothe San Antonio Calibration. Founded by Wilhelm Bill Rothe, a member of Werner von Brauns Operation Paperclip team of rocket scientists, Rothe Development opened in 1967 and has collaborated with NASA since 1973.

Jerry Lara, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

Today, the company oversees 15 NASA contracts worth nearly $300 million that employ 125 people around the country. Rothe also works as a subcontractor on another seven space contracts.

SA Inc.: Get the best of business news sent directly to your inbox

In a wood-paneled conference room, company Vice President Dale Patenaude and his son, Eric, director of business development, both University of Texas-Austin engineering graduates, laugh and banter as they recount their businesss contributions to space exploration.

In the early days, Rothe ran various engineering projects at Brooks where it maintained centrifuges, tested equipment and, at one point, designed a small treadmill for dogs. Later, Rothe took over the machine shop and services contract at Johnson Space Center and performed machining, painting and precision cleaning.

Jerry Lara, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

Cleanliness is an important part of space flight, and for years Rothe was responsible for removing all germs and hydrocarbons from items going to space.

The last place any kind of hardware that would go up on a space shuttle was our cleaning rooms, said Eric, who worked at Johnson Space Center before returning to the family business.

The company also made the cables that went on the gantry for the shuttle, said Dale, whos been with the company since 1971.

In the first space shuttle launch, they didnt think they needed them so they didnt put covers over the cables, OK, and the first launch burnt up all the cables, he said, and we got an immediate reorder  Hurry up and redo us all these cables!

Jerry Lara, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

Over the years, the company designed and produced the shuttles joystick controllers, upgraded simulator software for the shuttles arm and redesigned interior instrument panels. Rothe engineers even designed and built a model of the space station that Christa McAuliffe was planning to use as a teaching aide during the doomed Challenger mission.

Related: Texas Power Brokers: Scientist aims to find secrets of solar systems past

Managing the NASA machine shop was often a hectic endeavor.

Dale recalls one satellite that didnt start  it was a dud for some reason  and so they suddenly had a hurry-up program to make a satellite capture device for the shuttle.

The problem: The satellite wasnt designed to be captured, nor was the shuttles arm designed to grab a satellite.

We were busy making iteration one while theyre designing iteration two and iteration three, he said.

Eric said, When youre a service provider in the machine shop at a place like NASA, youre constantly asking, whats this new thing were doing?

After the Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003, Rothe machined a replica shuttle wing of aluminum and carbon fiber for testing at SwRI. The problem was that the specific type of aluminum needed wasnt available anymore.

So we had to go to the aluminum mill and make a special order of this alloy of aluminum, Dale said. And we had to use the same kind of tooling that (the original builder) used, so we had to look through all the diagrams and everything and figure out exactly how they put these wings together.

Rothe had about 100 projects going at any one time while operating the Johnson Space Center machine shop.

The biggest hassle is not making the stuff, its accounting for all of it, Dale said.

Related: Revenue jumps to a record at Southwest Research Institute

The company has supported NASAs neutral buoyancy lab  basically a 40-foot deep swimming pool used for training astronauts  since 2003. And the biggest thing its working on now for NASA is running information technology for flight operations, which includes direct support for astronauts and the flight directors.

We do the help desk for the astronauts, Dale said. It doesnt matter what time of day. Theyre VIPs.

Rothe also supports cargo missions to space, packaging materials in custom foam cutouts and Kevlar bags, and escorting the cargo to the launch pad.

The type of cargo you send up is everything from food for the astronauts to clothing and science experiments and hardware you use to fix stuff on the space station, Eric said. All sorts of stuff.

And then there are contracts for ground support equipment, laboratories, calibration, radar, space launch weather instruments, welding and sheet metal work.

So theres all sorts of big jobs and all sorts of little jobs, Eric said.

Dale said hes seen the contracts ebb and flow over the years.

NASA has this habit of taking small business contracts and making them part of a big contract, and then they go for a number of years, he said. And then they make it back to small business again, and it goes back and forth between small business and big business.

Related: Retail therapy for the COVID-19 era: Anxious San Antonians snapping up sage, weighted blankets, candles, crystals, CBD oil

Eric said many contractors in the NASA sphere form teams.

Its a process by which you can use your capabilities with someone elses capabilities to have a team that covers all the capabilities necessary for any kind of contract, he said. So, on any given contract where youre a prime and a company is a subcontractor to you on this project, youll be the other way around on another contract.

Dale said Rothe will likely do more information technology work for NASA, and keep an eye on the agencys budget.

Its a matter of priorities, he said. How much priority do you put on space?

Both are optimistic for the future.

Im excited to see that NASA has been given the opportunity to let the private companies take care of some of the small stuff so they can think about the big stuff, Eric said. I think NASA should be in the mode of dreaming big and doing the hard projects and letting the contractors fill in underneath.

Looking to the stars

Both the University of Texas at San Antonio and UT Health San Antonio hold contracts with NASA. But those arent the only efforts at local universities to advance space exploration. One UTSA professor is leading an international project to usher in the next generation of massive telescopes to better understand the universe.

Chris Packham, physics and astronomy professor at UTSA, studies exoplanets. These planets orbit stars other than our sun, and they could unlock knowledge about life in space and the development of the universe. The nearest exoplanet is more than four light years away, and there currently are no telescopes or technology to study them from Earth.

To move things forward, we need to think about the next-generation telescopes, Packham said. One example is a 30-meter telescope in planning for construction in Hawaii or La Palma, one of the Canary Islands.

Im leading part of a group to build an advanced infrared instrument for the 30-meter telescope, he said. And part of the key drive there is to understand exoplanets, understand their atmospheres and deep-probe the formation of these exoplanets.

Related: UTSA partnering with Japan to build powerful telescope

He said scientists could also use the proposed instrument to peer into the centers of galaxies far away from our own galaxy and understand the effects of the always-present supermassive black hole.

Collaboration between UTSA and SwRI, as well as experts in California, Hawaii, Japan, Canada, India and China, is the only way such a complicated instrument can be built, he said. The project could take decades and cost many millions of dollars.

Its thrilling to think that we can go out and command this kind of exciting exoplanet scientific venture, but its also really nice to think that this brings these worldwide collaborators here to San Antonio, he said. Its a real thrill for me for San Antonio to be kind of the home base for this proposed next-generation instrument.

At the crossroads

Sam Ximenes, founder and CEO XArc Exploration Architecture Corp. and board chair of the WEX Foundation, has a vision of San Antonio being a space hub. In 2013, he saw Houston redeveloping an airport into a spaceport and SpaceX scouting locations at Boca Chica and McGregor, and realized San Antonio was in a good position to develop into a major space player.

He believes San Antonio can become a space construction and habitation leader.

Related: Budding space explorers will learn how to build a moon base

The expertise and abilities for terrestrial application in road construction or even companies that do refurbishment of aircraft, he said, are examples of the kinds of companies that could transfer their knowledge for space applications.

Whatever you do in your profession, passion or avocation, you can apply that in space, he said. For any profession, I can give you a place where you can fit into the space community.

Ximenes sees San Antonios diverse culture, military ties and proximity to Houston as important factors in attracting talent, and hes helping children learn about space and pursue space careers via the WEX foundation.

Whatever is put up there is going to have a benefit down here, he said. Nobody thinks about San Antonio being part of the space program.

On Aug. 6, the San Antonio industry group Tech Bloc hosted a Facebook Live event that brought together a panel of space experts  including Packham, Retherford, Ugalde and two other NASA scientists  to discuss S.A.s growing role in off-planet exploration.

At least 90 people watched the event, and the recorded broadcast has more than 3,000 views, according to Ileana Gonzales, Tech Blocs operations and community engagement manager.

The goal was to use some of the San Antonio space research as a distraction and a way to think about things other than the COVID situation, Packham said.

Ugalde sees a bright space future for the community.

Ive been trying to embed myself back into the San Antonio market so that NASA can begin to leverage the expertise of industry and innovators in the region. We are reaching out to businesses interested in participating in the technology development aspect of commercial space particularly for the moon and Mars, he said. Theres a way for people in San Antonio industry and businesses to become an active participant in their space program.

He said San Antonios biomedical, cybersecurity, engineering, tourism and art industries are ripe for business with NASA.

We do know one of the cool things about San Antonio is its thriving arts community, he said. Weve always found that folks that can apply a little bit of artistic, abstract thinking to engineering challenges usually come up with novel solutions to complex problems.

Brandon Lingle writes for the Express-News through Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. ReportforAmerica.org.

brandon.lingle@express-news.net
The Ghana Red Cross Society (GRCS) has started a pilot communication strategy project in five communities in the Upper East Region aimed at reducing disaster risk.



The project is been carried out in collaboration with the Swiss Red Cross involves mounting speaker polls through which Community Disaster Preparedness and Response Team (CDPRT) volunteers in the communities could share messages on disaster risk management.



The project which is expected to last for as long as the volunteers can manage it is expected to give better services, to reach all remote communities and settlements that need such information to manage, reduce risks, and vulnerability, since the traditional media could not do that.



Mr Paul Wooma, the Upper East Regional Manager of GRCS said this when he presented some logistics to the Community Disaster Preparedness and Response Team (CDPRT) volunteers to aid them in their duties.



The initiative was part of the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Programme of the GRCS which seeks to identify hazard-prone areas and prepare response strategies to ensure that its impact on people and their livelihoods are lessened.



The items presented to the volunteers included pickaxes, spades, megaphones, cutlasses, and Wellington boots.



The rest are bicycles, rakes, hand gloves, wheelbarrows, and speaker polls.



Mr Wooma said the items were strategic considering the wake of the novel Coronavirus when people needed to take cleanliness more seriously to protect themselves against the disease.



Communities within the Bongo district that are benefitting from the pilot project are Aniakunkua, Azoosidana, Atonobugrim, Akeeba, and Akana.



Bon-Naba Baba Salifu Atamale Lemyaarum, the Paramount Chief of the Bongo Traditional Area commended GRCS for its humanitarian works in the area.



He said a nation that did not take disaster risk management seriously was bound to be doomed as disaster could not be ruled out completely in the world.



Bon-Naba Lemyaarum said tree planting was a serious component in disaster risk reduction as it had the potential to restore the degraded environment in the area and urged community members to incorporate tree planting into their daily activities.



Mr Peter Ayimbisa, the District Chief Executive of Bongo, commended the CDPRT volunteers for their voluntary services and asked that the items be used to the benefit of the whole district.



He said although it was the duty of government to provide the local assemblies with such items, the government could not do it exclusively.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Uber and Lyft are ratcheting up the fight with Californias state government over the classification of drivers with a move that would deprive Californians of their ride-hailing services (and halt driver income).

Driving the news: On Wednesday, both companies said that if a court doesnt overturn or further pause a new ruling forcing them to reclassify California drivers as employees, theyll suspend their services in the state until Novembers election, when voters could potentially exempt them by passing a ballot measure.

Between the lines: Many critics suggested the companies are bluffing, but Im not so sure. A few reasons...

The logistics arent trivial. Theyd have to figure out staffing needs and a schedule, hire however many drivers they need, and onboard everyone. Its unlikely the companies want to go through all the above, just to reverse course if they win in November. Depriving customers of these services could get them more support in November. The companies have, in the past, successfully turned customers into their political advocates. With demand for ride-hailing already being significantly deflated, the additional drop in revenue is perhaps something theyre willing to swallow. Even if they could make these shifts quickly, its unlikely the companies want to give drivers a taste of employee life and risk sabotaging their ballot measure. Lastly: Theyve done it before. In 2016, when Austin passed new rules requiring driver fingerprinting, Uber and Lyft suspended operations and didnt return until Texas overrode the rules a year later.

Why it matters: Only Uber and Lyft are party to this lawsuit, but several district and city attorneys  and regulators  are already suing other gig economy companies like Instacart and DoorDash over the same California law.

What happens at the California ballot box in November will have ramifications beyond Uber and Lyfts ride-hailing businesses.

It could also affect the future of high-demand services like food and grocery delivery, which have become critical for many Californians while the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

(Uber also operates a food delivery business and recently agreed to acquire rival Postmates, which is widely popular in California cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles.)

The bottom line: Dont expect these companies not to pull out all the stops to fight this.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Voto Latino lauds the announcement of Senator Kamala Harris as Joe Biden's running mate. The first-generation daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants, Senator Harris has worked her entire career for justice and equality, as District Attorney of San Francisco, as Attorney General of California, and as the junior Senator from California. Now, she will continue that fight as the next Vice President of the United States.

"Senator Harris has been a friend and supporter of Voto Latino since we were just an idea on paper," said Voto Latino President and CEO, Maria Teresa Kumar. "Vice President Biden's selection of Senator Harris signals his vision for the future already born and an understanding that this country's strength is our diversity, a stark contrast from the white nationalist currently inhabiting the White House. Voto Latino is in full support of a Biden/Harris ticket and will work to help them to victory come November 3."

Voto Latino previously endorsed Vice President Biden, the organization's first endorsement in its history. The organization was deeply involved in discussions with the Biden campaign around policies concerning the Latinx community. Voto Latino will continue to engage with the campaign in order to ensure Latinx people are educated, engaged, and empowered to register to vote and turn out to the polls in November.

Voto Latino is a grassroots political organization focused on educating and empowering a new generation of Latinx voters, as well as creating a more robust and inclusive democracy. Through innovative digital campaigns, culturally relevant programs and authentic voices, we shepherd the Latinx community towards the full realization of its political power.

Contact: Danny Turkel

[email protected]

SOURCE Voto Latino

Related Links

www.votolatino.org


The COVID-19 coronavirus continues to spread freely across the country, leaving thousands of dead in its wake, and you know what that means: Its Back to School season! For most of the crisis, its been easy to sit back and trust that the United States government had everything well in hand, but reopening schools hasnt gone as smoothly, so I thought everyone would appreciate it if I offered a few suggestions. I dont know anything about the novel coronavirus or other coronaviruses or epidemiology or medicine or science, but neither does Jared Kushner, and I do know a thing or two about school: I once attended high school, and I hated it. The only reason Americas school systems arent already doing whatever I tell them to, as far as I can figure, is that it has been more than a few years since I set foot in a school.

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So to update my knowledge, I consulted Netflixs popular teen movies The Kissing Booth and The Kissing Booth 2. After carefully studying both films, Ive identified several common school scenarios where the novel coronavirus might spread. Here are four Kissing Boothbased case studies, complete with potential problems as well as strategies to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus. With the common-sense measures Ive outlined below, we can make this the safest school year (compared to other years when we reopened schools in the middle of a deadly pandemic) ever!

Safety in the Classroom

Potential Problems

Despite being about high school students, The Kissing Booth franchise doesnt feature many scenes set in high school classrooms. This detention scene is an exception, however, and the glimpse it gives us of a typical high school classroom in 2020 shows some of the pitfalls teachers and administrators will need to avoid in order for students to safely return to school. First, no one is wearing a mask, despite CDC guidance recommending cloth face coverings. Second, although the seating arrangements show some evidence of social distancing, not all of the students have an empty seat between them. Third, once Tuppen enters the classroom in a short skirt and starts showing off his gams, the hootin and a-hollerin that ensues sprays coronavirus-laden aerosol droplets all through the classroom, practically guaranteeing that everyone on camera will contract COVID-19.

Safer Alternatives

Wear Masks: Masks would obviously help here, and since they only appear in The Kissing Booth franchise during Halloween partiesthe films were made before the outbreak of the novel coronavirusthis will be the last time we specifically note that no one is wearing a mask. Wear a mask!

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Reduce Class Sizes: Students should be seated in a checkerboard pattern, at least six feet apart, to allow for social distancing. In this classroom, with three columns of five desks, that means only eight students can be safely accommodated; the scene shows nine. Limiting all classrooms to a maximum of eight students would help slow the spread of the novel coronavirusand since most classrooms are nine students, tops, this shouldnt be a big lift.

Do Not Allow Tuppen to Pull Any Stunts: Tuppen may claim that he is going to use the bathroom, but he is undoubtedly up to something, and probably something that will spread the novel coronavirus. This muscular boneheads pranks and capers are hilarious during normal school years, but as long as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, his mischief could have deadly consequences. Crack down on Tuppen!

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Do Not Reopen Schools in the Middle of a Pandemic: Another way to help students manage the risk of COVID-19 in classroom situations is by not sending them back to school in the middle of a pandemic.

Safety in Common Areas

Potential Problems

Common areas have a high potential to become transmission sites for the coronavirus. In this clip, however, the students of Los Angeles Country Day School are doing most things right. Almost all of the students are observing social distancing requirements, no one is engaging in high-risk activities like whistling at Tuppens legs, and students are communicating through text messages, which do not spread the novel coronavirus. This clip is the best example of pandemic-safe school practices in the entire Kissing Booth franchisenot counting the clips where people are not attending schooland theres a lot to learn from it.

Safer Alternatives

Encourage Sexting: Elle and Noah are modeling safe student behavior in this scene by sending flirty texts to each other instead of having sex on one of the tables in the chemistry lab. (They save that for a montage.) Bottom line: Anything you can do to encourage teenagers to spend more time sexting each other counts as a public health measure.

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Make Sure Your School Library Is as Big as the Roman Coliseum: Sometimes, the best solutions to the pandemic are also the easiest. If your school librarys reading room is any smaller than the one shown in The Kissing Booth, simply expand it!

Do Not Reopen Schools in the Middle of a Pandemic: This would also help.

Safety at Social Events

Potential Problems

Every frame of this scene is a coronavirus nightmare. These kids have all contracted COVID-19.

Safer Alternatives

Forbid Students From Having or Attending Parties: The simplest way to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus outside of school is to explain to your students that they are absolutely not allowed to throw any epic, booze-fueled parties when their parents are out of town. Problem solved!

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Teach Students About Capitalism: The Flynn family home in The Kissing Booth franchise, which houses four (4) people, was created by taking a 6.3 million home in Cape Town and using CGI to add four more floors and an extra wing. Its not clear where the Flynn family fortune comes from, but no one gets a house like that by doing anything good. Once students understand the staggering amount of human suffering theyll probably be complicit in if they accept the hospitality of people like the Flynns, they will stop attending this kind of luxurious super-spreader event.

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Do Not Reopen Schools in the Middle of a Pandemic: That way, even if your students insist on catching the novel coronavirus at a bitchin high school party at the Flynns blood-money manor, they wont spread it any further on your account. No one said this was a cure-all!

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Sign up for the Slate Culture newsletter The best of movies, TV, books, music, and more, delivered to your inbox three times a week. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time.

Safety in the Kissing Booth

Potential Problems

To be honest, a kissing booth is just not a great idea right now.

Safer Alternatives

Youre the Los Angeles Country Day School, Why Do You Need a Fundraiser? Who are you kidding with this? Ask the parents to pay more in tuition. Or just ask the Flynns to cover the whole thing. They clearly have more than they could possibly spend. This is just offensive.

Implement Contactless Payments: Cash is unsanitary and worse yet, vulgar.

Dont Reopen Schools in the Middle of a Pandemic: Maybe this?
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has taken a hard line toward players who protested during the national anthem in the past. Jones has said he expected players to have the toe on the line and stand during the national anthem.

A lot has changed in the country regarding player protests since George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer in May. Floyds death sparked a nationwide protest movement against police brutality and racial injustice. Athletes from nearly every major sport have demonstrated support for social justice.

Jones, 77, has been quiet publicly since the protest movement began. He broke his silence Wednesday, speaking publicly for the first time since April.

With a rapidly changing landscape and mindset regarding race relations in the nation, Jones seems to be reconsidering his hardline stance and indicated he is actively attempting to find a middle ground that is satisfactory to all parties. Instead, he provided little clarification.

Im going to show grace, and Id to show that kind of grace in every sensitive matter that comes up. Everybodys genuine here. Im giving here the benefit of the doubt relative to any decision that I make. I have one thing: My job is to run the Dallas Cowboys. My job is to do whats right, Jones told reporters Wednesday. I want to sit down when I have an issue and I have a decision to make, I want to show the world that I can do it with grace and come up with the right solution.

Jones said hes had conversations with ex-presidents, likely the current president and others as he seeks counsel and input moving forward. He seems to have backed away from his controversial stance that players who protested during the national anthem was disrespectful to the flag and the military.

That was then, this is now. ... I want our players to understand the perception and where theyre coming from regarding the flag and the sensitivity there and the many memories there, Jones told reporters Wednesday. And I want our fans to understand and do better do because of whats gone on over the last few months and want them to understand where our players are coming from there, and they do not feel like that the ones who . . . kneel, they do not feel like theyre dishonoring the flag.

Jones said the team will discuss how they will handle the national anthem in 2020. Jones sounds as if hes ready to soften his previously rigid position regarding the issue.

I dont know what were going to be faced with here a month from now or two months from now. When it happens, Im giving you the backdrop of how Ill make the decision at the time or encourage our players, Jones told reporters Wednesday. Our players have always been open ears for anything that I have to offer and Ive been open-eared with what they have to offer, and thats what well do.

-- Geoffrey C. Arnold | @geoffreyCarnold
After receiving a rap from the Bombay high court (HC), the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday withdrew its order to remove Dr Deepa Kane from the post of professor and head of the cardiac anaesthesia department (HoD) of Seth GS Medical College, attached to KEM Hospital.

Senior advocate Anil Sakhare, who represented the civic body, on Wednesday informed the bench of justice SJ Kathawalla and justice Madhav Jamdar that the order will be withdrawn and a fresh decision will be taken by the additional municipal commissioner after hearing Dr Kane and Dr Sanjeeta Umbarkar, on whose complaint the former was removed from the post.

Dean of KEM Hospital, Dr Hemant Deshmukh, had issued the order on July 27, removing Dr Kane from the post. She was appointed on the post on December 3, 2019. The action was taken based on a complaint lodged by Dr Umbarkar, an associate professor in the department, alleging that Dr Kane lacked the necessary educational qualifications and experience in cardiac anaesthesia.

However, when Dr Kane moved HC, BMC claimed that she was removed from the post of HoD because the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) had withdrawn approval for her appointment.

MUHS counsel, advocate Rajshekhar Govilkar, on the other hand, pointed out that the approval was withdrawn based on two communications received from BMC, in January and February 2020, informing the university about purported deficiencies in Dr Kanes qualifications and experience. Govilkar added that it was not an independent decision of the university, and was completely based on the communications.

HC was irked to note that Dr Umbarkar had filed three complaints and representations with the dean of KEM Hospital, additional municipal commissioner and MUHS. Several communications had been exchanged between them, but at no point was Dr Kane informed about the complaints against her.

On the contrary, her lawyer advocate Rohaan Cama pointed out that even after repeatedly approaching the authorities for specifics about her dismissal, she was not provided any information. This is complete malafide... This is not the way to deal with doctors and professors, the bench had said earlier, after it was pointed out that all the steps and action was taken behind Kanes back, in complete breach of the principles of natural justice.

The judges were also annoyed to note that Dr Deshmukh, the then HoD, was the one who had signed Kanes experience certificate, yet he has questioned the same document.

The court has allowed the civic body to take a fresh decision on the issue after granting the opportunity of hearing to both sides. However, it has clarified that till then, Dr Kane will be back on the post held by her. HC also ordered that the fresh decision of the additional municipal commissioner will not be implemented for two weeks if it is adverse to the HoD, cardiac anaesthesia.
Logos of Bytedance, the China-based company which owns the short video app TikTok, or Douyin, are seen on a strap of an employee card, in Beijing

By Fanny Potkin

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Chinese tech giant ByteDance censored content it perceived as critical of the Chinese government on its news aggregator app in Indonesia from 2018 to mid-2020, six people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The sources said that local moderators were instructed by a team from ByteDance's Beijing headquarters to delete articles seen as "negative" about Chinese authorities on the Baca Berita (BaBe) app.

In a statement to Reuters, BaBe said it disagreed with the claims and that it moderates content according to its community guidelines and in line with Indonesia's local laws.

Those guidelines, which are published on its website, do not mention China or the Chinese government.

Following the publication of this story, BaBe said that before the "more localised approach" it currently uses, Babe had "some moderation practices in place that were not consistent with our philosophy of having the Indonesian team deciding what is appropriate for its market.

"These guidelines were replaced in 2019 and weve since built and empowered local moderation teams to make decisions that suit the local market," the statement added.

It did not immediately respond to a follow-up Reuters query asking which month in 2019 those guidelines had changed.

ByteDance in Beijing said it had no additional comment beyond the BaBe statement. China's internet regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a fax that it has consistently requested Chinese enterprises abide by international rules and local laws as a basis to develop international cooperation.

It also said that it noted the Indonesian firms statement and hoped media outlets would objectively and fairly report on Chinese companies normal overseas exchange and cooperation efforts.

U.S President Donald Trump has threatened to shut down ByteDance's short-video app TikTok - widely popular in the U.S., Indonesia and other countries - on national security grounds unless it is sold to a U.S. company.

Story continues

Some U.S lawmakers, including Republican Senator Josh Hawley, have raised concerns over TikTok's data security practices and allegations that it engages in censorship at the behest of the Chinese government.

"If ByteDance will censor BaBe in Indonesia, whats to stop it from censoring TikTok in the United States? Hawley said, when asked to comment on the Reuters story. "We shouldnt trust any assurances they make. This is another reason TikTok as it currently exists should be banned in the United States.

A senior Trump administration official also weighed in on the news. "Entities such as ByteDance ultimately answer to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and have a history of censoring free speech to conform to CCP propaganda," the person said.

The company has repeatedly disputed those allegations.

Indonesia, a country of 270 million where over half the population is under 30, is one of ByteDance's fastest-growing markets. TikTok had more than 147 million downloads in the country, according to data from app analytics firm SensorTower.

ByteDance bought Indonesian news aggregator BaBe in 2018 after TikTok was briefly banned in the country for showing "pornography, inappropriate content and blasphemy", according to officials.

In seeking to reverse the ban, ByteDance agreed with Indonesian authorities to hire a team of local TikTok moderators and reinforce its presence in the world's fourth largest country, according to the then Indonesian communications minister and three company sources.

It then purchased the full operations of BaBe, in which it had already been a majority investor.

Soon after, moderation guidelines for BaBe, which uses artificial intelligence to aggregate stories from hundreds of Indonesian media outlets, were crafted by a team from ByteDance's Beijing headquarters, two of the six sources said.

BaBe moderators were also told not publish any articles on the TikTok ban while negotiations with the Indonesian government were underway, the people said.

Under the new BaBe guidelines, articles from partner media outlets that were perceived as critical of the Chinese government would either not be republished on the BaBe app or would be taken down from the app, according to the six sources.

Articles with the keyword "Tiananmen," a reference to China's 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, or to Mao Zedong, the founder of modern China, were among those taken down, one person with direct involvement said.

Another direct source described articles about tensions between Indonesia and China over the South China Sea as being banned on the app, even when they came from the country's official news agency, Antara.

Three of the sources said BaBe was using content guidelines patterned on those used for ByteDance's Chinese news app, Toutiao, with some tweaks made for Indonesia regarding the topic of elections as well regarding race, ethnicity, and religion in Indonesia. Sensationalist articles on those topics, which are highly sensitive in Indonesia, would be dropped, they said.

"They wanted a non-political happy tone for the app," one of the people said.

The guidelines changed in mid-2020, when it became possible to read articles on previously censored topics on the BaBe app, a separate source said, calling it a "learning process for ByteDance."

ByteDance disagreed with this assessment and said guidelines changed in 2019.

A 2019 internal ByteDance presentation reviewed by Reuters describes BaBe as Indonesia's top news app with more than 8 million monthly active users and 30 million downloads by the end of 2019.

(Additional reporting by Alexandra Alper in Washington, D.C.; Brenda Goh in Shanghai, Yingzhi Yang; editing by Jonathan Weber and Nick Tattersall and Jon Boyle)
It was during the summer of 2019 that the Trilateral Commission published an eight page brochure called,  Democracies Under Stress: Recreating the Trilateral Commission to Revitalize Our Democracies to Uphold the Rules-Based International Order . As I mentioned in an article published back in February , the brochure spoke about how the institution was now dedicated to  rediscovering  its roots,  sharpening  its mission and  rejuvenating  its membership.

This apparent attempt at modernising came in the wake of the deaths of the Trilateral Commissions two founding members  David Rockefeller and Zbigniew Brzezinski  and also that of former European Chairman of the Commission Peter Sutherland.

On reading the literature, it was plain to see that the group were working to ensure its long term survival by seeking the next generation of corporate, political and academic members, all in a bid to maintain the goals of its founding fathers, which include the implementation of a New International Economic Order.

Ever since its inception in 1973, the policy of the Commission has been that membership is by invitation only. Third party applications have never been welcomed. That is until now.

In a July 2020 press release titled, Trilateral Commission Invites Applications for New American Members, the institution confirms that for the first time ever they are issuing a public call for applicants for membership. An extract from the press release reads:

Traditionally, the Trilateral Commission has only solicited nominations for membership from existing members. As part of the Commissions recent efforts to refocus its critical mission and rejuvenate its extraordinary activities, it is now issuing a public call for applications to its United States group.

The North American Chair of the Commission, Meghan OSullivan, had this to say:

We are excited to further strengthen and diversify the Commissions ranks. Our members include people with remarkable experience in the public and private sectors, extraordinary intellectual acumen, and energy and passion for the world. While we welcome those who have reached the pinnacle of their careers, we are also intensely interested in people who still have another chapter  or more  to come.

We are also informed by the Commission that spanning their 47 year existence, they have secured members who share the groups common values and a commitment to the rule of law, open economies and societies, and democratic principles.

So is the decision to appeal for new members a sign that the institution genuinely wants to democratise? Does it really want to open itself up to a broader range of individuals? Is this the opportunity that the common man has been waiting for, to muscle in on a carefully selected band of elites and with it bring a much needed level of public scrutiny?

Everything was going so well in the press release until the fourth paragraph. First we are told that prospective members must be U.S. citizens, which is fine considering the invitation for applicants is for the American branch of the Commission only. The request for applicants to send in a biography or curriculum vitae is also standard. But then comes a heavy dose of reality:

They are also required to obtain one nominating letter from a Trilateral Commission member from North America, Europe, or Asia and at least one additional letter from a member or non-member. Recommenders should send their letters to membership@trilateral.org.

So your only hope of getting onto the Trilateral Commission is if you personally already know someone who has a seat at the table. Hows that for rejuvenating the membership? Clearly your application only stands a chance of progressing if you know the right people. After 47 years, the Commission is not about to compromise itself by throwing the doors wide open to the public. Yes, they will accept new applicants into the fold. But only those who have been meticulously vetted and believe unconditionally in the Commissions values. What they do not want are outsiders who risk unsettling  or even infiltrating  the institution. Whichever way you look at it this is elitism 101. What we would call in the UK Jobs for the Boys.

The objective of bringing in a new era of talent is also demonstrated by the Commission seeking applications for its David Rockefeller Fellows program. The criteria for this reads:

The Commission seeks applicants 35 years old or younger who show keen interest in national and global issues and strong potential for future leadership. DRFs join the Commissions annual meetings and have other opportunities to engage with its membership.

This appears to be about both nurturing and grooming the next generation of the Trilateral Commission. The fact that fellows are permitted to attend annual meetings and engage with the membership supports this notion. It will allow current members to sound out those who have the potential to further the cause of globalisation, and if he or she adds value then they could progress up the corporate ladder and become fully fledged members of the institution. Whether they become a CEO, an executive director of a multi national or a banker, in some manner they will hold a level of influence over a particular sector. After all, it is very common to find members of the Trilateral Commission sitting on the board of corporations, councils and think tanks. This is one of the ways that the Commission exerts power over the legislature, and why it is no coincidence that the beliefs of the group end up permeating the national conversation.

Let us not forget what is one of the overriding objectives of the Trilateral Commission. Soon after the Commission was formed, former member Richard N. Gardner (a former U.S. Ambassador to Spain and Italy) wrote an essay for Foreign Affairs magazine (the official publication of the Council on Foreign Relations). In The Hard Road to World Order, Gardner emphasised the objective of dismantling national sovereignty

In short, the house of world order will have to be built from the bottom up rather than from the top down. It will look like a great booming, buzzing confusion, to use William James famous description of reality, but an end run around national sovereignty, eroding it piece by piece, will accomplish much more than the old-fashioned frontal assault.

For the Trilateral Commission, the future is now. The new applicants of today may well become the leaders of tomorrow. This is ultimately how they have maintained their significance over the best part of half a century, by having the right people positioned in the right places.
NEW HAVEN  A Hamden man was arrested after he allegedly stabbed a New Haven man multiple times Wednesday night following an altercation, according to police.

The victim, 28, was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery overnight and was in stable condition Thursday, Capt. Anthony Duff said.

Officers had responded to a Davenport Avenue residence between Stevens and Kossuth streets at about 11:42 p.m. Wednesday for the reported stabbing, Duff said.

Edward Dingle, 40, of Hamden, was identified as a suspect and arrested by responding officers, Duff said.

Officers learned the incident began as the victim, who was walking near his home, walked past Dingle, Duff said. A verbal dispute between the two men escalated into a physical fight and Dingle stabbed the victim multiple times. Dingle then fled on foot on Stevens Street.

Dingle also is accused of punching a person who tried to break up the dispute, Duff said.

Dingle is charged with first-degree assault, third-degree assault, carrying a dangerous weapon and second-degree breach of peace, Duff said.

He was held in lieu of $100,000 bail and scheduled to appear in Superior Court in New Haven Thursday, Duff said.

Police canvassed the Davenport Avenue area overnight, Duff said. The streets have since reopened.

Duff said detectives are asking witnesses and anyone with security camera video of the area to contact the New Haven Police Department at 203-946-6304.

william.lambert@hearstmediact.com
Were doing OK with pickup, he said. Were so small we can only do a little indoor dining, but this isnt the first place people are thinking of in August. But we own the building; well be OK. Were not going to get rich anytime soon, but hopefully some help will be coming to restaurants.
Sedgwick Appoints CEO and President

Sedgwick, a Memphis-based national claims administrator, has promoted Mike Arbour as chief executive officer and Bob Peterson as president.

Sedgwick said that Arbour is only the third CEO since Sedgwick was founded in 1969. He replaces David North, who will stay on as executive chairman and will continue to be active with the company, according to a press release.

Sedgwick said during the 25 years of Norths tenure, the companys annual sales grew from $50 million to $3.5 billion.

Arbour was previously group president of global operations. Prior to joining Sedgwick in 2016, he worked for nearly 15 years at VeriClaim, first as chief financial officer and for the past 10 years as president and CEO, according to his Linkedin page. Before then, Arbour was vice president at the Sprout Group.

Peterson was president of sales and marketing before his promotion. He started with Sedgwick in 1992 as an executive vice president for client development.

Sedgwick said it employs 27,000 people in 65 countries. The company started out as a regional claims administrator had has grown steadily through organic business development and strategic acquisitions, the company says on its website.

Lodestone Security Appoints CEO

Lodestone Security, a cybersecurity specialist own by Beazley, has appointed Frank Luzsicza as chief executive officer.

Luzsicza will lead Lodestones cybersecurity and breach response teams for clients in North America, the company said in a press release. He has more than 20 years of experience in cybersecurity, technology and risk management.

Luzsicza joins Lodestone from TUV Rheinland Group, where he was executive vice president and a member of the group executive council. Frank was responsible for the firms end-to-end global cyber security and digital services business.

Before TUV Rheinland Group, he held leadership positions at IBM Security and was an active board member supporting the cyber security start-up community.

Lodestone Security was established in 2017 by Beazley, a specialist insurer that provides cyber and breach response insurance.

GRS Appoints Business Development Leader

Global Risk Solutions, a Miami-based provider of claims adjusting and environmental risk management services, has appointed Suzanne Ziemann as assistant vice president of business development in its property and casualty solutions division.

Ziemann was previously assistant vice president and head of primary casualty claims for Axis Capital, where she was responsible for an internal domestic primary casualty adjusting team as well as third-party administration partners, the company said in a press release.

Before that, she was national sales and account manager for two large claims administration companies. Ziemann has a bachelors degree in finance, with an emphasis in risk management, and holds the Casualty Claim Law Associate designation.

Ziemann, who is based in Atlanta, will work with Rob Edwards, assistant vice president of business development. He joined GRS in February and is based in Providence, Rhode Island. Both report to Falin McMellon, senior vice president of business development.
By PTI

MANGALURU: Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said six companies of the Central Reserve Police Force are being dispatched to the violence-hit areas of Bengaluru.

Three companies from Hyderabad and three from Chennai will be deployed in DG Halli and KG Halli police station limits where disturbances occurred Tuesday night, after which three people died in police firing, he said in an interaction with reporters at Udupi before leaving for Bengaluru.

He said efforts to vitiate the atmosphere in society through hooliganism which will not be tolerated.

Restoration of peace is the priority of the government and strict action will be taken against such elements, he said.

Several police personnel were also injured in the clashes.

The minister said police had to resort to firing as a last resort.

A total of 110 people have been taken into custody in connection with the violence.

He said the situation is now under control and additional police forces are deployed in the area.

Rapid action force and the 'Garuda' force are also being deployed, the minister added.
Forever more and forever moored. We've spotted a boat that's permanently anchored in place on the shore near Seattle.

Although it isn't going anywhere, this one-of-a-kind house looks as if it could set sail at any moment, Located on Mercer Way on Mercer Island, WA, it's for sale for $2 million.

"The property was originally a boat, the USS Manzanita," says the listing agent, Lori Holden Scott. The Coast Guard commissioned it in 1906, and it was built in Camden, NJ, and completed in 1908.

In 1917, the ship became part of the U.S. Navy, and it later became a lighthouse tender along the Oregon coast, from 1929 through 1941.

In 1949, the boat was going to be scrapped, when a local librarian and her father bought the stern portion of the vessel.

Exterior of converted boat on Mercer Island, WA Vicaso

Historical photos Vicaso

Historical photo Washington State Library

Exterior Vicaso

So, they bought this boat for a thousand dollars, and they barged it over to Mercer Island. They cut down some trees, sort of winched it up onto the property, and put it on a foundation, Holden Scott explains.

Bedroom Vicaso

Bedroom Vicaso

What was once one-fifth of a boat was then converted into a residence, permanently affixed to dry land. The converted boat is now a 1,390-square-foot home, with three bedrooms, one full bathroom, and two half-bathrooms.

The three staterooms are pretty efficient. Theyre small, they fit a twin bed on a platform with drawers, and there are armoires in the rooms, Holden Scott says. The bathroom boasts a modern soaking tub and shower.

Bathroom Vicaso

Laundry Vicaso

The high-end and modern kitchen is located on the lower level, near a spiral staircase.

It has mahogany countertops, copper backsplash, AGA appliances, ice machine, Sub-Zero freezer drawers, and AGA refrigerator drawers, says Holden Scott.

Kitchen Vicaso

Kitchen Vicaso

Even with modern conveniences, the rooms have a nostalgic feel, thanks to all the wood paneling. The fireplace in the main living space is a vintage highlight, according to the agent.

Pretty much everything else, all of the hardware, some of the furniture, its all original to 1908, she says.

Living space Vicaso

The house survived the wrecking ball in 1971, when a new family bought the property with the intent of tearing the boat down and building a larger house. Luckily, they decided to keep it and raise their family there. While the home isn't huge, the location is near-impossible to beat.

Its right there on the lake, with 60 feet of waterfront and a beautiful view of Mount Rainier. Its great lakefront property, Holden Scott says.

For those fleeting sunny days in Seattle, there's also plenty of patio, deck, and dock space.

Deck Vicaso

Deck Vicaso

The current owners bought the home in 2006, as their second home on the island.

They kind of use this home as sort of a party house, a place to keep a boat, a place to entertain friends and familyjust a fun kind of recreational place on the lake. So they never lived in that house, Holden Scott explains.

When asked whether the house feels like a house or a boat, Holden Scott told us the place feels like a strange hybrid.

When Im on there, I feel like I am actually moving. I feel like I am on a boat, no doubt about it, she says. It is so funky, but in a way that makes you smile.

Bedroom Vicaso

Lower level Vicaso

Staircase Vicaso

Bedroom Vicaso

Bathroom Vicaso

Aerial view Vicaso

Exterior Vicaso

Lower level Vicaso

Bathroom Vicaso

Interior Vicaso

The post Forever Moored: Stern of the USS Manzanita Is Converted Into a $2M Home appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com.
Andrew Malo | Intelligencer file photo

COLLINSVILLE  The Metro East Comic Book Convention will be held 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 23 at the American Legion Post 365 at 1022 Vandalia St., Illinois 159, in Collinsville.

Admission will be free; masks are to be worn at all times
When molecular tests are in very short supply, they should be used above all on people showing symptoms of a coronavirus infection and their close contacts, officials say. Beyond that, the tests can be used to conduct so-called surveillance testing -- when a sample of a community is tested to monitor the state of the outbreak in that population. One way to make tests go further is to use pool testing, in which samples are grouped into one batch and subjected to a single test. If it comes up negative, no further action is taken; only if its positive is each person individually tested. This method makes sense only if fewer than about 5% of people in a population are infected at a given time. Otherwise, too many pools test positive, creating even more work.
WASHINGTON  The coronavirus pandemic has led to a marked deterioration in Americans mental health, according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study made public on Thursday. That study, which surveyed 5,412 Americans, found that 40.9% of respondents reported at least one adverse mental or behavioral health condition.

According to the new study, 31 percent of respondents were suffering from symptoms of anxiety or depression; 26 percent experienced symptoms of traumatic disorder; 13 percent were using drugs or alcohol more heavily, or for the first time, to cope with the pandemic; and 11 percent had seriously contemplated suicide.

Younger adults, racial/ethnic minorities, essential workers, and unpaid adult caregivers reported having experienced disproportionately worse mental health outcomes than other groups, the study concluded.

These findings represented levels of psychological distress higher relative to pre-pandemic levels. Anxiety symptoms tripled in incidence compared with the same period in 2019; the incidence of depression symptoms quadrupled. The rate of serious suicidal thoughts doubled in comparison to levels recorded in 2018.

Significantly, more than 90 percent said they were not being treated for anxiety, depression or posttraumatic stress disorder before the pandemic struck, meaning that their symptoms arrived with the coronavirus and its attendant social disruptions.

Addressing mental health disparities and preparing support systems to mitigate mental health consequences as the pandemic evolves will continue to be needed urgently, the authors of the study said. But with much of the nation still under lockdown, state and municipal governments strained and people desperately looking for both work and childcare, it is not clear just what a response will look like, or how effective it will be.

People of color have suffered disproportionately from the pandemic in terms of infection rate. The pandemic is also more likely to leave them suffering from psychological ailments. Suicidal thoughts were significantly more frequent among Black (15.1 percent) and Hispanic (18.6 percent) respondents than they were in the cohort at large. Hispanics were also more likely to suffer from symptoms of anxiety and depression than their counterparts in other demographic groups (40.8 percent of Hispanics reported such symptoms).

Story continues

Living life at home during the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photo: Getty Images)

President Trump has repeatedly urged states to lift lockdown orders, arguing that the social isolation they foster are more detrimental to public health than the virus itself. The study by the CDC makes no evaluation of measures like lockdowns, or countervailing measures like reopenings. But it does suggest that the aggregate effect of the pandemic has been detrimental to the American psyche.

The survey was undertaken between June 24 and June 30. By that time, the coronavirus had killed tens of thousands in the New York metropolitan area and was moving south, to Florida, Georgia and Texas, where it would kill thousands more. In recent weeks, the pandemic has also penetrated the Midwest, while also continuing to take a toll on California.

The conversation about mental health came to the fore earlier this month when former first lady Michelle Obama admitted that the pandemic, combined with the grotesque images of police brutality and Washingtons vituperative politics, were causing her anguish.

I am dealing with some form of low-grade depression, Obama said on her new podcast. She later said she was doing just fine, but the admission seemed to give many Americans license to discuss their own experiences throughout the last six months. With many schools not opening to in-person instruction, the influenza season approaching and the economic recovery in an apparent stall, those experiences could remain challenging well into 2021.

New York Times columnist Jennifer Senior put the matter bluntly in an op-ed published the same day Obama revealed her own struggles. We are not, as a nation, all right, she wrote, citing statistics from the Kaiser Family Foundation and other sources that describe an irritable nation that is sleeping too little and eating too much, tumbling into what Senior calls a sulfurous pit of distress.

And there was the tweetstorm from Los Angeles-based writer Susan Orlean, whose adventures with rose were a reminder  if a highly amusing one  that alcohol has become an all-too-reliable crutch for a jittery, lonely population.

Just how the nation will emerge from that pit remains unclear. Trump has promised a vaccine before the end of the year, but that time frame has been widely described as overly optimistic. Most experts believe that the current state of affairs will continue well into 2021.

_____

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Israels Defense Minister Benny Gantz has suspended fuel imports to Gaza as of this morning, Aug. 13. The office of the Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said that the decision was made in light of the launching of incendiary balloons from the Strip toward Israeli territories, adding, Hamas is accountable for all that is done in the Gaza Strip, as well as for actions launched from Gaza against Israel. Therefore, Hamas will have to bear the consequences of the violence committed against the citizens of the State of Israel."

On Aug. 11, Israel closed the commercial Kerem Shalom crossing point to all goods excluding fuel, food and humanitarian aid. Fuel transfers have now been halted as well.

Last night, Israel took another punitive measure against Hamas, limiting the fishing zone open to Gazans. The office of the COGAT said on Wednesday that the fishing zone would be reduced from 15 nautical miles to eight, noting, The decision was made in light of ongoing and returning terrorist activities from the Gaza Strip against Israeli citizens in recent days, which represent a violation of Israeli sovereignty."

Over the past week, Israel has counted several dozen fires sparked by explosive-laden balloons launched from Gaza. Dozens of incendiary balloons were launched into southern Israel on Tuesday and Wednesday, igniting over 80 fires. As of this morning, 10 bush fires were reported, including one in the Shokda forest and one in the Beeri nature preserve. Two suspected balloons landed in Israeli villages. Local farmers have reported several fires reaching farmlands in the past week.

At first Israeli security officials thought that the balloons had been launched independently by small groups unaffiliated with Hamas. According to reports, the IDF now believes that Hamas is authorizing the actions. Still, with no injuries so far, Israel does not seem to be considering a wide-scale military operation. Instead, it will apparently continue attacking Gaza targets, take punitive measures and exchange messages with Hamas through mediators.

The IDF has been responding to the incendiary balloons with attacks by fighter jets and tanks against Hamas targets both underground and above. Early this morning, Israel once again attacked targets in the Gaza Strip. The IDF said that Israeli warplanes, combat helicopters and tanks hit a number of targets belonging to Hamas including "military facilities of Hamass naval force, underground infrastructure and observation posts."

After a week of increasing balloon attacks and less than three weeks before the opening of the school year on Sept. 1, residents near the Gaza border fear that another wide-scale escalation is just a matter of time.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 04:13:57|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Permission is being delayed for a UN team to board a derelict tanker off the coast of Yemen, which threatens to leak more than 1 million barrels of oil, a UN spokesman said on Wednesday.

"The Ansar Allah (Houthi) authorities have recently come back to us with a range of technical follow-up questions, which we have answered," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "We hope that the authorities will authorize the mission right away."

Dujarric cited recent ecological disasters in Lebanon and Mauritius as reasons for early approval: the thousands of tons of ammonium nitrate left unsafe for years in a Beirut warehouse before exploding Aug. 4, devastating the port; and the Japanese bulk carrier grounded for weeks on the Mauritius coast now leaking oil.

"That risk cannot be overstated," the spokesman told a virtual press briefing. "We are happy to provide -- and have been providing -- any technical information required, and we want to keep working with everyone to get this done as quickly as possible."

He said the rebels in control of the area first indicated on July 5 that they would allow an inspection and emergency repair team to board the floating oil storage and offloading vessel. An official UN request was sent on July 14.

Since then the Houthis have requested additional information on the team and its operations, said the spokesman.

The tanker called Safer has not been maintained for five years, UN Environment Programme Executive Director Inger Andersen told the UN Security Council last month and warned that if there is a spill, it will directly affect millions of people in Yemen and destroy entire ecosystems for decades. Enditem
Marines have been notified that their government-issued phones should not be used to find a date or beat the next level of "Candy Crush Saga."

Dating, gambling, cryptocurrency and any apps that attempt to bypass monitoring tools or download rules are forbidden on Marines' government phones, a recent service-wide message states. The message hit days before President Donald Trump vowed to ban the China-linked TikTok video-sharing app over security concerns.

The Marine Corps can already control which applications can be installed on official mobile devices through a "strong, technical management process," said Maj. Greg Carroll, a spokesman for the deputy commandant for information.

Read Next: 1 Crew Member Hurt After Bullet Strikes Air Force Helicopter Over Virginia

"Mobile devices are a central component in both home and professional lives of Marines; therefore, it has become a potential target for compromising personal information or providing a platform for other criminal behavior," he added.

For that reason, the service-wide message on apps advises Marines to apply the same rules the Corps sets for their government-issued devices on their own cell phones. Users should not only delete any apps the U.S. government has deemed a risk -- such as TikTok, which the Pentagon already banned -- but also get rid of anything that accesses their photos and videos, contacts, microphone, location or calendar.

"Mobile applications have the potential to be poorly designed or created with malicious intent, which can result in compromising a user's mobile device," Carroll said.

Last year, a lance corporal learned a tough lesson in the California desert when he took a selfie that gave up his location during a training exercise. It resulted in the Marine's entire artillery unit being taken out by a mock enemy force.

"They were like, 'OK, you guys are dead,'" Lt. Gen. Lori Reynolds, the Marine Corps' deputy commandant of information, told reporters earlier this year. "... I'm sure that lance corporal was not happy. But it's OK to learn those things at Twentynine Palms -- we don't want to learn those elsewhere."

The Marine Corps didn't offer up data on the number of Marines who've tried to put Tinder, games or cryptocurrency apps on their government phones. The forbidden apps will be blocked from Google Play and the Apple Store, the administrative message states.

"Only applications the Marine Corps has identified as necessary to conducting authorized activities are installed on government-furnished equipment," Carroll said.

Leaders aren't just worried about the digital dangers that accompany some of these apps. A command chief master sergeant in Japan just blasted his troops for using dating apps for hookups while under quarantine during the global pandemic.

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.

Related: A Lance Corporal's Phone Selfie Got His Marine Unit 'Killed' at 29 Palms
How Books and Buckets program in Long Beach aims to keep kids away from gang violence
Recreational marijuana sales during the month of June were in excess of $158 million in Colorado, the highest amount to date.

The Denver Post reports that the previous record occurred in May, with nearly $149.2 million in sales. One year ago, June 2019 recreational sales amounted to $122.4 million.

Factoring in medical marijuana sales, the total for June neared $200 million. State revenues from sales have amounted to $203.3 million so far this year.

As of Aug. 3, there were 597 stores selling recreational products in the state, compared to 439 medical venues. Four of the medical establishments had delivery permits.

Increased cannabis sales during the pandemic are not unique to Colorado. CNN reported this week that Illinois, which legalized recreational marijuana on Jan. 1, experienced $60 million in sales in just July.

"You have more stores opened up providing greater access across the state," said Jason Erkes of Cresco Labs, which has stores in Illinois and five other states. "You have more product coming to market, so when people are checking out, people can buy more, and you have the pandemic which just hit, causing a lot of symptoms of anxiety and depression and people are looking to cannabis as an alternative. So, it's really been a perfect storm for the industry."
TORONTO - As the Canadian economy continues to adapt to the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic, some restaurants in Toronto are saying goodbye to a service industry staple: tipping.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 13/8/2020 (523 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A server wears a face mask as she carries a tray of glasses and water at a restaurant in Montreal, Sunday, July 5, 2020. As the Canadian economy continues to adapts to the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic, some restaurants in the country's most populous city are saying goodbye to a service industry staple: tipping. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

TORONTO - As the Canadian economy continues to adapt to the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic, some restaurants in Toronto are saying goodbye to a service industry staple: tipping.

Three restaurants  Richmond Station, Ten and Burdock Brewery  have publicly signed onto doing away with the practice, with the aims of making the industry more equitable and providing service workers with access to the social safety nets afforded to other professions.

While some restaurants are implementing what's known as a "hospitality included" fee, Richmond Station has opted to include the price of service in its menu prices.

Another restaurant, Anthony Rose, has added a mandatory 15 per cent gratuity to all of its takeout orders as more people skip dining out in favour of eating at home or in outdoor spaces.

Unlike the practice of "tip-pooling," which typically pays back-of-house staff such as cooks and dishwashers significantly less than front-of-house staff, a hospitality included fee is designed to be more evenly distributed.

Ryan Donovan, co-owner of Richmond Station, said his team decided it was the right choice when they saw how badly service workers were hit by the pandemic.

"The reality is that for a really significant portion of our staff, their earnings aren't insured," Donovan said, noting that an employee's tips do not contribute to either employment insurance or the Canada Pension Plan.

"That social safety net is so important, and for people in this industry, it's just not there for them."

Donovan also acknowledged other issues related to tipping, including racialized employees being tipped less than their white colleagues and women having to deal with harassment and sexism from patrons in order to receive a tip at the end of their meal.

In his view, tipping inequity is one of the major roadblocks that stands in the way of creating a more equitable restaurant industry.

But for 23-year-old server Hannah Kavoosi, who works in downtown Toronto, the idea of getting rid of tipping is not something she's ready to get on board with yet.

Kavoosi, who said she has previously worked at a restaurant without tipping, sees the practice as an effective tool in incentivizing engagement between customers and servers.

"I think the quality of service you give is reflective of the tips you get," Kavoosi said.

"When there's no difference in how much I'm being paid with one customer to the next, it becomes a less personal experience."

Another server, 29-year-old Natasha Fernandes, told The Canadian Press she is also against the idea of ending tipping, and agrees it would likely result in a less enthusiastic workforce.

Fernandes, who is Black, also noted that racism in server-customer interactions goes both ways.

"There is a lot of racism in the service industry," Fernandes said, arguing that the potential of a tip is sometimes the only factor that dissuades servers from picking and choosing which guests to serve well.

"A lot of servers unfortunately won't give certain people equal service" if tipping is axed, she said.

James Rilett, vice-president of the industry group Restaurants Canada, said he believes ending tipping would not go over well with customers.

Rilett said conversations with restaurant owners and customers over the years have led him to believe that consumers tend to prefer tipping over price increases on menu items.

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"I think the biggest problem is sticker shock," he said. "Just seeing the price of your burger go up 20 per cent  people are going to react to that."

Rilett said in his experience, most restaurants "abandon the (no-tipping) model within five to six months" after implementing it.

Although aware of the arguments against the hospitality fee model, Donovan said the move is a sacrifice on the part of the employee and the business.

"Some people like the tipping system because they get more take-home money, and that's OK.... Our goal is just to offer a stable alternative."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 13, 2020.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version misspelled James Rilett's surname.
Mexico and Argentina have reached agreements to produce the UK drugmaker AstraZeneca Plcs promising Covid-19 vaccine for Latin America, the nations governments said.

The countries will make 150 million to 250 million initial doses of the potential Covid-19 vaccine designed by scientists at the University of Oxford after the required trials, Argentine president Alberto Fernandez and Mexican foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard said in messages on Twitter on Wednesday night. Billionaire Carlos Slims foundation is helping finance the plan, Ebrard said.

Follow latest updates on coronavirus here

The goal is to produce the vaccine as of the first half of next year, and there will be no profits from it during the pandemic, Fernandez said in his statement following a meeting with representatives of AstraZeneca. His health minister said Argentina will prioritize getting the vaccine to the elderly, medical professionals and people with pre-existing conditions.

The vaccines phase 3 results are due as early as November, and Mexicans will have universal access to the vaccine, which will be free, Ebrard said at President Andres Manuel Lopez Obradors news conference on Thursday morning. Lopez Obrador said the cost to Mexico will be less than 25 billion pesos, ($1.12 bilion).

This is a deal for production in Mexico of the vaccine that today is considered the most advanced in the world, Ebrard said. Manufacturing is scheduled for the first quarter of 2021, according to AstraZenecas Mexico country chief, Sylvia Varela.

Mexico is third in the world in confirmed Covid-19 deaths with more than 53,000, trailing only Brazil and the US, and Latin America accounts for half of the 10 countries with the most cases globally.

Click here for complete coronavirus coverage

Slims son, America Movil chairman Carlos Slim Domit, also joining the news conference, said that the collaboration will allow Mexico to obtain the vaccine one year early. Biotechnology company mAbxience will produce the active substance in Argentina and Mexican laboratory Liomont will complete the process of formulation, Fernandez said Wednesday. The finished vaccine will then be exported to the rest of Latin America.
Historic levels of saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta have caused coconuts in Ben Tre Province to shrink by half in size and farmers incomes by even more.

One afternoon in early August, Tran Trung Tac, owner of a dwarf coconut grove, opens 100 coconuts one by one for their water for making caramel sauce used to braise fish and meat.

The 70-year-old from Giong Tom District in Ben Tre, the country's biggest producer of coconuts, has been forced to make caramel sauce because the coconuts now are far too small to sell to traders.

From being the size of a stretched human palm, they have now become just half that.

"Each dwarf coconut should have at least 250 millimeters of water but now there is just half or even one-fourth of that, and more than 200 coconuts make just one liter of caramel sauce these days," Tac said.

Coconut farmer Tran Trung Tac opens a dwarf fruit to get water. Photo by VnExpress/Hoang Nam.

He said the elevated saltwater levels in rivers used for irrigation are the reason the fruits are no longer as they used to be.

In his 5,000-square-meter orchard, most trees are over 20 years old.

In previous years he could sell his coconuts for VND130,000-180,000 ($6-8) a dozen, and earn some VND3.5 million ($150) a month.

The monthly income has now dropped to just VND180,000-350,000 since it is difficult to sell the smaller fruits.

Tac and other farmers are in a dilemma over their future course.

He used to grow sugarcane and rice before switching to dwarf coconuts. In the initial years he intercropped pomelo and lime in his grove, but the coconuts trees proved that only they could endure the salinity, which sometimes has risen to 5,000 milligrams per liter.

"The only solution I can think of now is to fertilize the coconut trees to help them recover. If I switch from coconut and the salinity gets worse next year, I will not know what to do."

Hoang Nuoi is a coconut trader in that neighborhood who buys from farmers. For the past decade he has been buying 1,000-2,000 nuts every day.

"This year coconuts are the worst ever. Their cost has therefore dropped dramatically. Dried coconuts now fetch VND90,000 for a bunch of 40 instead of just 12 fruits."

Farmers show off their coconuts along the streets of Ben Tre hoping a trader will buy. Photo by VnExpress/Hoang Nam.

Ben Tre is the coconut capital of Vietnam. It has the largest total coconut-growing area in the country -- 74,000 hectares (182,800 acres) -- mostly in the two districts of Giong Tom and Mo Cay Nam.

Ben Tre and four other Mekong Delta provinces, Long An, Kien Giang, Soc Trang, and Ca Mau, declared an emergency earlier this year.

During the last dry season, from late November to May, the delta, home to 12 provinces and Can Tho City, was hit by the worst drought ever and this caused historic levels of salinity in its rivers as water flowed inland from the sea.

The rainy season arrived late last year and was shorter than usual, resulting in 8 percent less rainfall than normal at 1,240 mm, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

A series of upstream dams in China is seen as preventing the natural flow of water, while the sea level rise and gradual subsidence of southern Vietnam are also blamed for the salt intrusion in the delta.

By mid-March seawater had intruded 50-110 kilometers into major rivers, all branches of the Mekong, two to eight kilometers more than in 2016 when the region had suffered the worst drought in a century.

This years lack of freshwater damaged 41,900 hectares of rice and 6,650 hectares of fruit orchards, while 96,000 families struggled to get water for their daily needs.

It has now become common in Ben Tre to see coconut trees with withered flowers or coconut fruits dying young due to salt intrusion.

The province agriculture department said around 20 percent or 14,000 hectares of coconut areas have been hit by salinity and drought.

Under a government decree on relief for people affected by natural disasters, coconut farmers will get a subsidy of VND4 million per hectare if more than 70 percent of their crop is damaged and VND2 million for those with 30-70 percent damage.

"The department sent its personnel to show farmers how to lead water into irrigation canals to wash the soil and use organic fertilizers," Huynh Quang Duc, the agriculture departments deputy director, said.

A woman holds a dwarf coconut. Photo by VnExpress/Hoang Nam.

To prepare itself should drought and salinity return next dry season, Ben Tre has started dredging the Kenh Lap reservoir in Ba Tri District to store water during the ongoing rainy season.

With a capacity of more than one million cubic meters, Kenh Lap is the delta's largest reservoir. It ran dry in April.

Some 5,000 cubic meters of mud would be removed from its bed to ensure a consistent 2-meter depth for the reservoir, a manmade one that is nearly five kilometers long and 40-100 meters wide.

The dredging is scheduled to be finished by the end of this month, and authorities will then let water in from the Kenh Lon River.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) revised down its forecast of global oil demand for 2020, predicting a year-on-year contraction of 9.1 million barrels per day (b/d) in its monthly report published on Wednesday.



This is 0.1 million b/d lower than last month's forecast, mainly due to lower economic activity levels in a few major non-Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, according to the report.

The global oil market started to recover gradually since May, recording three consecutive months of increases, mainly supported by the historic decision of the OPEC and non-OPEC countries participating in the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC) to cut production, said OPEC.

The oil market was also buoyed by the gradual recovery of global oil demand, particularly from China, and expectations of an inventory drawdown in the second half of 2020, it added.

For 2021, world oil demand growth is forecast to rise by 7.0 million b/d, unchanged from last month, according to the report.

Total world consumption is now pegged at 97.6 million b/d in 2021. The forecast assumes that COVID-19 will largely be contained globally, with no further major disruptions to the global economy.
We remain confident that whether companies are pitching to investors, recruiting new talent, training their teams, or engaging with customers, video is the most authentic and transformative medium available. Our inclusion on such a prestigious list solidifies that.

Inc. Magazine revealed that The DVI Group has jumped by 439 to rank no.1238 on its prestigious list of America's fastest-growing private companies. The strategic communications agency reported an impressive three-year average growth of 363% to become one of the top 10 Atlanta Advertising and Marketing companies on the list, while also achieving the honor of ranking for a second consecutive year.

To be listed among such innovative and forward-thinking companies for a second time is fantastic, says DVI CEO Matthew Lopes. As a strategic communications agency specializing in video, we remain confident that whether companies are pitching to investors, recruiting new talent, training their teams, or engaging with customers, video is the most authentic and transformative medium available. Our inclusion on such a prestigious list solidifies that.

At a local level, the list shows staggering growth. Atlanta Advertising and Marketing companies account for $279.9 million in total revenue and have a median growth of 220%. For DVI, a key part of their success can be attributed to maintaining a focus on long-term and strategic relationships. By expanding the training technologies side of the business and hiring a new Vice President of Sales and Business Development, the company has continued to capitalize on the increasing demand for strategic video content and drive year-on-year growth.

The companies on this years Inc. 5000 come from nearly every realm of business, says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. From health and software to media and hospitality, the 2020 list proves that no matter the sector, incredible growth is based on the foundations of tenacity and opportunism.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000

ABOUT THE DVI GROUP

Founded in 2000, The DVI Group is a strategic video communications agency based in Atlanta, Georgia. Working from the ideology that the future of communications starts with video, The DVI Groups video solutions touch every aspect of its clients business ranging from human resources and learning to marketing and communications. DVI has developed a patent-pending video training system specifically designed for training todays aviators. The companys clients have included world-renowned brands like Delta Air Lines, Doosan Infracore North America, Hansgrohe, MBUSA, The Home Depot, and InterContinental Hotels Group.

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000

Methodology

The 2020 Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2016 and 2019. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2016. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2016 is $100,000; the minimum for 2019 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Companies on the Inc. 500 are featured in Inc.s September issue. They represent the top tier of the Inc. 5000, which can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000.

About Inc. Media

The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com.
[August 13, 2020] Weyland Tech Enters Agreement to Acquire Fixel AI, Leading Innovator in AI-Powered Digital Marketing Technology

NEW YORK, Aug. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Weyland Tech, Inc. (OTCQX: WEYL), a leading global provider of eCommerce, mCommerce, and fintech business enablement solutions, has reached an agreement to acquire Fixel AI, an award-winning innovator of digital marketing technology.

Fixels audience engagement platform provides startups to Fortune 500 companies the ability to dramatically enhance their online marketing spend by segmenting and ranking website visitors based on their level of engagement. Applying the power of A.I. machine learning, Fixel automatically analyzes in real-time dozens of user interactions on a companys website to identify the most engaged visitors with the highest purchase intent, while eliminating low quality traffic that has nearly zero probability of making a purchase. As demonstrated by many real-world applications, Fixels audience segmentation technology creates high-intent audiences for retargeting and use their unique characteristics to target lookalike audiences on advertising platforms, like Google, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Proprietary AI analytics provides granular insights into top-performing audiences which can be used to further optimize campaigns. The typical waste in spending on online campaigns can be eliminated by identifying and removing underperforming low volume keywords and channels. Delivered as a cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS), Fixels technology can be quickly and easily embedded into any website. It integrates seamlessly with all major ad platforms, CMS and DMP services, including Facebook, Google Ads, Shopify and WordPress. The CCPA and GDPR complaint, first-party data solution works regardless of third-party cookies or other data sources, so businesses can be confident their targeting is accurate. Weyland plans to operate Fixel as a new subsidiary, but expects Fixels technology to be immediately integrated by Logiq, Weylands end-to-end eCommerce marketing solution for enterprises and major U.S. brands. Logiq also publishes several branded websites which it uses to generate first-party data. Fixel excels as a unique plug-and-play method of building high-quality audiences who are ready to buy, while filtering out all the noise and waste, said Haig Newton, CEO and president of the Logiq subsidiary. They make audience creation easy while providing better control over remarketing campaigns, including making media optimization faster and more efficient. They also provide critical solutions for the vanishing cookie and increasing requirements for privacy protection. Many online companies still use third-party data collected from users on other websites to target consumers with ads. But changes to major web browsers are cracking down on third-party data collection and new internet privacy rules are making this practice less viable. In January, Google announced it plans to remove support for third-party cookies by 2022. Chrome, Safari, and Firefox and other browsers will also no longer support this type of data traking by 2022, with the phase-out heralded as the death of the third-party cookie.



As the ideal solution to the crumbling third-party cookie, Fixels proprietary technology provides a first-party digital tag owned by the brand or publisher which can be used to automatically identify the audiences who are relevant for a marketers business objectives, noted Fixel CEO, Etgar Shpivak. Our proven technology decreases cost per acquisition, increases return on ad spend, and scales lookalikes audiences. This is just one of the many areas where we see tremendous synergies with Weylands eCommerce platforms. Logiqs chief technology officer, Tom Furukawa, commented: Fixel avoids problems with low quality traffic by intelligently scoring site visitors, including those responding to an online campaign, and thereby providing a real set of customers for retargeting. We see Fixels technology greatly complementing and enhancing our LogiqX AI-powered consumer intent engine, which captures and directs consumers from multiple sources who are in the market to purchase a particular product or service, and promotes their engagement and conversion for major enterprises and brands.

The power and unique capabilities of Fixels digital marketing technology has been recognized by both Techstars and Plug and Play, two of the leading startup programs in the U.S. The acquisition of Fixel is anticipated to close by early September upon satisfaction of due diligence and execution of a long-form agreement. Further details of the transaction will be made available in a Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed by Weyland Tech with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and available at sec.gov and from the investor section of the companys website at weyland-tech.com. For more information about Fixel, visit fixel.ai About Weyland Tech

Weyland Tech, Inc. (OTCQX: WEYL) is a U.S.-based leading global provider of eCommerce, mCommerce, and fintech business enablement solutions. Its CreateApp platform-as-a-service enables small-and-medium sized businesses worldwide to easily create and deploy a native mobile app for their business without technical knowledge or background. CreateApp empowers businesses to reach more customers, increase sales, manage logistics, and promote their products and services in an easy, affordable, and highly efficient way. CreateApp is offered in 14 languages across 10 countries and three continents, including some of the fastest-growing emerging markets in Southeast Asia. Weylands subsidiary, Logiq Inc., provides a data-driven, end-to-end eCommerce marketing solution for enterprises and major U.S. brands, like Home Advisor, QuinStreet and Sunrun. Its LogiqX AI-powered consumer intent engine captures and directs consumers from multiple sources who are in the market to purchase a particular product or service, and promotes their engagement and conversion. Weylands AtozPay subsidiary offers mobile payments, e-wallet, and the AtozGo hyper-local food delivery services in Indonesia, which has the fastest-growing mobile economy in Southeast Asia. For more information about Weyland Tech, go to weyland-tech.com. Important Cautions Regarding Forward Looking Statements This press release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to the business of the Company. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included herein are forward-looking statements including statements regarding: the completion by the Company of due diligence and the consummation of the acquisition, the ability of the Company to successfully integrate Fixel, the continued growth of the eCommerce segment and the ability of the Company to continue its expansion into that segment; the ability of the Company to attract customers and partners and generate revenues; the ability of the Company to successfully execute its business plan; the business strategy, plans, and objectives of the Company; the continued use and success of AtozGo and AtozPay; and any other statements of non-historical information. These forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as believes, expects or similar expressions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve assumptions, risks, and uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be incorrect. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release. The Companys actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those discussed in the Companys periodic reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on its website (www.sec.gov). All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors. Other than as required under the securities laws, the Company does not assume any duty to update these forward-looking statements. LogiqX is a trademark of Logiq, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Brent Suen, CEO

Weyland Tech Inc.

Email contact Media & Investor Contact

Ronald Both or Grant Stude

CMA Investor & Media Relations

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MOSCOW, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading Russian airlines resumed flights from Sheremetyevo International Airport to popular tourist destinations in Antalya, Bodrum and Dalaman, in Turkey, on August 10 as part of the phased restoration of international air traffic. Passenger traffic on these routes totaled 9,000 people during the first 24 hours.

Flights to these destinations are operated by Aeroflot, Rossiya, Nordwind Airlines, Azur Air, Royal Flight and Ikar. Passengers are served in Terminal D, where a wide range of services are available, including multilevel parking, public transport stops, sale of goods in vending machines (including PPE), cafes and restaurants currently offering limited services, and shops operated by Sheremetyevo Duty Free Hienemann.

Regular flights from Sheremetyevo Airport to Istanbul resumed on August 1, and 21,535 passengers traveled between Sheremetyevo airport and Istanbul from August 1-10. There were 4,868 arrivals and 16,667 departures.

Sheremetyevo International Airport is one of the TOP-10 hub airports in Europe and the largest Russian airport in terms of passenger and cargo traffic. Its route network comprises more than 230 destinations. In 2019, the airport served 49,933,000 passengers, which is 8.9% more than in 2018. Sheremetyevo is the best airport in terms of the quality of services in Europe, the absolute world leader in punctuality of flights and the owner of the highest 5-star Skytrax rating. Additional information is at http://www.svo.aero.

SOURCE Sheremetyevo International Airport

Related Links

http://www.svo.aero


Some months ago, some national dailies reported the case of two children who were accused of witchcraft and subsequently set ablaze in Plateau state in Central Nigeria. The incident happened in December 2019. Images of the two children with various degrees o burns and bandages on their hands and heads outraged members of the public. After reading the story, I contacted police officials in Jos, and they confirmed the incident. They stated that the matter was under investigation. I tried reaching the relatives of the victims through various channels. I contacted former colleagues at the University of Jos, and one of them confirmed that the children were treated at the state hospital, but were later discharged. The children returned to their community with the mother. I planned to visit Plateau state to interact with the victims and their families and better understand what transpired on that fateful day, including the nature and patterns of witchcraft allegations in Plateau state. Allegations of child witchcraft have been linked to states and communities in Southern Nigeria, especially Akwa Ibom and Cross River states. Not much is heard about child witch allegations elsewhere in the country. I wanted to understand if the incident was part of a pervasive phenomenon that has largely been ignored or new development in the region.

I wanted to understand the different actors in the field of Plateau witchcraft and how to work with them in tackling this vicious phenomenon. My local contacts told me that the affected community was not in Jos metropolis. They pointed out that there were security challenges in the area. In March, the outbreak of COVID19 led to a lockdown and restriction of movements, including interstate transportation. So I decided to work with local contacts in the state to support these child victims until the time that I could visit and meet with them in person. Through the contacts, I got the phone number of a human right lawyer handling the case, and she promised to link me up with the families of victims. Due to the COVID19 restrictions, she was unable to make the connections for some months. However, in July, she sent me the phone numbers of the relatives of the children. I spoke to one of the relatives, Mrs. Tina, and she recounted the tragic incident to me once more. According to Mrs. Tina, a family member fell ill and was taken to a private hospital in the area. But he was not responding to treatment. At a point, the sick person claimed that a boy in the family was responsible for the ailment; that the boy wanted to kill him. And one day, another relative came to the family house and took the boy to the hospital. This relative asked the 7-year old boy to undo what he had allegedly done, to untie the man so that he could recover from the ailment. But the boy denied knowing anything about the ailment and the allegation. But this relative was not satisfied. Later, he took the boy and a girl from the same family to another old woman who was also being suspected. They brought a Christian evangelist who came with some fuel in a small gallon. The evangelist threatened to set the children ablaze if they did not confess. The children repeatedly denied the allegations and started crying. According to Mrs. Tina, somebody from the crowd snatched the gallon of fuel from the evangelist and poured it on the two children. Another person with a box of matches set them ablaze. The children were screaming and struggling to run away, but some people were pushing them back into the fire.

Another woman came and used some sand to put off the fire but by this time the children had been seriously burnt on their faces and hands. Other children at the scene ran to inform the mother of the children who came and took the children home. Mrs. Tina said that she got a call from the mother of the children who informed her about the incident. On getting to her house, Mrs. Tina found out that the children sustained serious injuries and needed immediate medical attention. She advised the mother to report the matter to the police. But the mother refused. She has been under intense pressure not to report to the police. They took the children to a local hospital but the hospital staff refused to treat them without a police report. They eventually reported the case to the police, and a policewoman accompanied them to the hospital, and the children were subsequently admitted. The children stayed at the state specialist hospital for two weeks before they were discharged. I was told that the police went to the community to arrest the suspects but the people stoned them, and they withdrew and went back to the station. In February, the police invited the head of the community to their office, and they arrested and detained him for two days. While in detention, he provided the names of the suspects who were arrested and then charged to court. I have reliably gathered that the family of the victims has been under pressure from the defendants to withdraw the case so that they could settle out of court. It is important that the court sends a strong message to those who perpetrated this heinous abuse. There have been similar cases of witch burning across the country. And perpetrators are seldom arrested or punished. For instance, in Cross River state, the police have yet to arrest Thomas Obi Tawo (aka General Iron) and those who burnt 15 suspected witches in Boki in May.

According to Mrs. Tina, witchcraft allegations are common in Plateau state. The belief in occult harm is pervasive in rural communities. People use witchcraft and magic to make sense of their existential challenges. She said that people did not believe that misfortunes such as death and sickness occur naturally; they habitually suspect that somebody must be responsible for these unfortunate experiences. Mrs. Tina noted that there was a need for intense public enlightenment in the communities to reason people out of these mistaken beliefs and harmful practices. The Advocacy for Alleged Witches will explore the possibility of sending advocates to the community to meet and interact with the leaders whenever the security situation in the area improves. AFAW will work with the family of the victims to support and rehabilitate the children and make them less vulnerable to allegations of witchcraft and the practice of witch persecution. The support program will focus on two areas- medical treatment and education. AFAW will help defray the costs of the medical treatment and support the education of the children. There is an urgent need for a national action plan against witch persecution in Nigeria.
New Jersey and New York ranked among the top 10 states in the nation that lost airline service due to travel restrictions and a fear of flying during the coronavirus pandemic.

A new analysis by Airlines for America, an industry trade group representing major U.S. airlines, said New Jersey is the second hardest state in the country, experiencing a 67% decrease in scheduled departures from July 2019 to July 2020. New York experienced the largest drop, a 70% decline in scheduled passenger flights.

Flights from Pennsylvania were at the national average with a 50% decline in departures and Montana had the lowest decline, losing 25% of its scheduled flights, the report said.

New Jersey had the sixth highest loss in passengers with an 81% decline in travelers screened by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at airports. New York lead the nation with an 86% year over year decline, the report said.

The report isnt surprising to anyone whos been to the largely vacant corridors of Newark Liberty Airport recently. Drops in passenger volume as high as 96% were reported by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey at their metro area airports, after COVID-19 travel restrictions decimated air travel.

The drop led the authority to close terminals and consolidate operations at its three major airports and seek a $3 billion federal grant to make up for lost revenues, Aviation was the authoritys top money make and it set passenger volume record in 2019. That caused the authoritys worst revenue drop since World War II.

Some carriers, such as United, added flights from Newark this summer. The summer started with a modest 15% gain in passenger volumes, Port Authority officials said. However officials said those gains were lost when New Jersey, New York and Connecticut officials put quarantine restriction on travelers from 35 states where COVID-19 cases are spiking.

The future doesnt look promising.

A recovery in air travel isnt forecast to happen until 2024, said Airlines for America. It took three years for air travel to recover from the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has expressed his dissatisfaction with what he says was the fresh delivery of Russian military supplies to Armenia in the weeks that followed the latest deadly fighting along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in July.

In a statement released on Thursday, the press service of the Azerbaijani leader said that Aliyev raised the issue during his telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin last night.

It said that the conversation was initiated by Aliyev to discuss the issue of military supplies to Armenia.

According to the statement, Aliyev claimed that beginning on July 17, when the situation at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border began to deescalate, Moscow has supplied about 400 tons of military supplies to Armenia.

The deliveries were made through the territories of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran, Aliyev said, as quoted by his press service, adding that military supplies to Armenia raise serious concerns and questions among the Azerbaijani public.

The Kremlin also issued a statement on the August 12 telephone conversation between Putin and Aliyev, but it did not mention the discussion of the issue of military supplies.

The presidents discussed regional issues within the context of the tension along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in July. The Russian side stressed the inadmissibility of any action that would lead to the escalation of the situation, the Kremlin said in its statement.

Armenian officials have not commented on the Azerbaijani presidents statements yet.

At least five Armenian servicemen and 12 Azerbaijani servicemen, including a general, were killed during several days of fighting that erupted along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border on July 12 and proceeded with the use of heavy artillery and drones.

In the wake of the clashes the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in which Russia acts as a co-chair along with the United States and France urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to restart peace talks aimed at resolving the decades-long conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia hosts a Russian military base and is a member of the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization that entitles it to receive armaments from Russia at knock-down prices. It is believed that since 2011 Azerbaijan has purchased from Russia up to 4 billion dollars worth of arms, including some modern offensive weapons.

After the July border escalation Azerbaijan also criticized Serbia for supplying weapons to Armenia.
3 1 of 3 Contributed photo / Middlesex United Way Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Contributed photo / Peter Keast Show More Show Less 3 of 3





MIDDLETOWN  A truck loaded with 1,400 20-pound boxes of fresh vegetables and fruit was delivered recently to the Cromwell Fire Station, where volunteers were ready to help distribute produce to agencies throughout the state.

Firefighters, Boy Scouts from Cromwell Troop 26, and a host of volunteers from the United Way first unloaded the truck into the firehouse. They helped representatives from organizations from all over Central Connecticut load them into cars, vans and a trailer July 29, according to a press release from St. Vincent dePaul Middletown.
The leaders of labor unions representing San Francisco police officers and firefighters have reached a tentative agreement with the city to defer previously negotiated pay raises for two years, in an effort to help close the citys $1.5 billion budget deficit brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Mayor London Breed had called on all of the citys labor unions to postpone $250 million in pay increases for the citys roughly 37,000 workers that are set to kick in over the next two years.

Her recently unveiled budget proposal is balanced in part on the assumption that labor unions will agree to defer those raises, and she has said plainly that deeper budget cuts and layoffs were inevitable if the unions refused.

Weve been through this before, after the 2008 crisis, and we recognize the importance of working together as a whole city, San Francisco Firefighters Local 798 Union President Shon Buford. said. After some fact checks, basically we decided it was the right thing to do for the city, the citizens and for our members to defer our raises ... and help out.

In exchange for deferring raises they expected next year, police officers will vote Friday on a contract extension that will pay them an additional 6% over several years. The city has agreed to that proposal.

San Francisco police officers have always answered the call when our city has been in crisis, whether it be our out-of-control homeless situation, open-air drug markets, the COVID pandemic or our pending fiscal crisis, Tony Montoya, president of the Police Officers Association, said in a statement. Once again our officers are being asked to sacrifice, and they will make that determination at the end of the week.

The police and fire union leaders need their members to vote on the pay deferrals. But if they do, it may create additional pressure on other unions to follow suit.

All city workers are set to receive a raise on Dec. 26. Most employees  nearly 35,000  will get a 3% increase, and 2,300 police officers will get a 2% raise. Raises will total about $50 million in the 2020-21 fiscal year and $200 million the following year.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

The citys workforce has already deferred one batch of raises: A 3% pay hike  cumulatively worth $50 million  that was supposed to kick in this month but wont show up in workers paychecks until the end of December.

Union leaders say they wont agree to additional delays and that the city ought to compensate them for keeping the city running  sometimes at personal risk to their health  during the pandemic. They have also called on Breed to dip further into the citys reserves.

Before the pandemic, the city had set aside about $1 billion in multiple reserve funds. Breeds proposed budget would drain about half of that over three years, the most allowed under city law. That will leave about $500 million to address future risks  including the $1 billion deficit the city is projected to confront three years from now.

Breed said that remainder will be critical for addressing future concerns, including money that may be needed if the pandemic endures into next year.

Dominic Fracassa is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dfracassa@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dominicfracass
Ukraine will make a decision on recognizing or not recognizing the results of the elections in Belarus after their official promulgation by the Central Election Commission of this country, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.

"The official results of the presidential elections in Belarus have not yet been announced. After the Belarusian Central Election Commission officially announces them, we will make a decision on how to react to this fact," Kuleba said at an online briefing on Thursday, answering question what will be the official reaction of the Ukrainian authorities to the election results in Belarus.
Gov. Phil Murphys announcement Wednesday that some school districts can reopen remotely rather than provide in-person instruction is similar to the policies adopted in many other states due to the coronavirus.

According to EdWeek, 34 states, including New Jersey, have policies that provide for either all-remote or in-person learning, or a combination of the two. They primarily have left the decision on how to reopen to local school districts, based on meeting certain metrics.
The American people need assistance  and needed it approved by Congress last month.

Millions are unemployed and supplemental assistance has run its course. Many businesses are languishing or have shuttered. Evictions and mortgage defaults loom. State and city governments are hitting their breaking points, and schools are reopening as the novel coronavirus surges across much of the nation.

The lack of bipartisan compromise and urgency at this moment is demoralizing. Democrats are seeking $600 a week in supplemental unemployment assistance as part of a sweeping stimulus passed in the U.S. House in May. Republicans have countered with $200 a week in a much smaller stimulus package. Most reasonable Americans would look at that divide and agree to meet in the middle at $400 a week in supplemental unemployment through the end of the year (our preference is $600), but this is Congress, rarely described as reasonable.

Through this frustrating lens its almost tempting to view President Donald Trumps recent executive orders as necessary actions to break a stalemate and do right by the American people. We have no quarrel with the goal of providing direct assistance to those most in need at this economically perilous time or attempting to break a congressional stalemate. However, these executive orders fall short in myriad ways, are legally questionable and have only made this turbid moment even murkier.

How are the executive orders inadequate?

Lets start with Trumps unemployment assistance. Trump has called for additional federal assistance of $400 a week, but its really $300 in federal assistance with an additional $100 provided by states, even though its not clear if cash-strapped states can come up with the funds.

On top of this, the federal funds would come from $44 billion allocated to the Department of Homeland Securitys Disaster Relief Fund. These funds are normally used to address hurricanes, wildfires and tornadoes, and this raises another problem: Its Congress that determines appropriations, not the president.

The basic notion here is the president is rejecting Congresss power of the purse, David Super, a constitutional law expert at Georgetown Law, told the Washington Post. That is something nobody who cares about separation of powers can let slide, even if they like what the money is being spent on.

Its also not enough money. Trumps order calls for the assistance to last through Dec. 6, but it would cover about five weeks of need with 30 million Americans out of work.

The delay in payroll tax collection is also problematic. While Trump has ordered the U.S. Treasury to stop collecting payroll taxes from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31, this is merely a deferral. The bill would still come due down the line.

But a cut would be intolerable since the payroll tax is used to help fund Social Security and Medicare, immensely popular programs. And, of course, its not clear how a payroll tax cut benefits the unemployed.

Trumps executive order on evictions is also lacking. While Trump has said he wants to eliminate evictions during this crisis  a sentiment we share  this executive order merely asks federal officials to consider the merits of an eviction ban.

Even if these executive orders were unassailable, which they are not, they would be inadequate given the scope of the crisis. These executive orders dont address the need for additional school funding as students resume learning. They dont provide support to struggling small businesses or alleviate burdens on state and local governments.

The only solution is for Democrats and Republicans to hammer out a bipartisan agreement  and its not at all clear these orders have hastened progress on that front. The bottom line: These orders dont do the trick. Congress needs to alleviate the suffering out there, not amplify it with gridlock.
As Latin America continues to battle the coronavirus outbreak, some economies in the region could see a "record-breaking contraction" not seen since World War II, according to investment bank Goldman Sachs.

Latin America and the Caribbean have become a new global epicenter of the pandemic, and the United Nations warned several countries in the region are "now among those with the highest per capita infection rates worldwide."

Countries like Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Colombia and Chile are among the ten worst-affected, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. More than 100,000 people have died from Covid-19 in Brazil alone.

"The outlook is pretty uninspiring," Alberto Ramos, head of Latin America economic research at Goldman Sachs, told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia" on Wednesday.

"We expect to climb (out) of a very deep hole during the second-half of the year and throughout 2021," Ramos said, adding that some countries such as Argentina, Peru and Mexico are likely to see double-digit contractions in growth. He said others may experience less severe declines that are "still a record-breaking contraction  at least the worst we've seen since the Second World War."

The only silver lining is that inflation remains low in the region, which would allow most central banks in the region to maintain a relatively accommodative monetary policy stance for an extended period of time to support the economies, Ramos explained.

Mexico's gross domestic product fell 17.3% in the second quarter from the previous three months, Reuters reported in late July citing preliminary data.
Vice President Mike Pence said he 'can't wait' to debate presumptive Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris on October 7 in Utah, claiming she had 'embraced the agenda of the radical left.'

Pence made his comments while making an appearance on 'Hannity' Wednesday, just hours after Joe Biden and Harris had their first joint appearance in Delaware.

'I think she is a skilled debater, but I can't wait to get to Salt Lake City and be on the stage - whether to compare Joe Biden's nearly 50 years in public life, the agenda of the radical left, the agenda that she's embraced throughout her political career -- with the results of this president and this administration,' Pence said.

Vice President Mike Pence made his comments while making an appearance on 'Hannity' Wednesday

The joint appearance came about 24 hours after Biden's campaign tweeted to supporters that his pick would be Harris, a former 2020 rival and California senator, who was friends with his late son Beau.

Harris slammed Trump for 'running the economy into the ground.' And mishandling the coronavirus pandemic. 'It didn't have to be this way,' she noted.

'We don't have to accept the failed government of Donald Trump and Mike Pence,' Harris said, noting that the election was just 83 days away.

Pence took the moment to blast back at Harris, choosing to tout employment figures in the African American community as proof of Trump's accomplishments with minority groups. Black unemployment has been on a steady decline since the Obama administration and prior to the pandemic.

Earlier in the day, Harris slammed Trump and Pence for 'running the economy into the ground' while at her first press conference with Biden in Delaware

'I think she is a skilled debater, but I can't wait to get to Salt Lake City and be on the stage --whether to compare Joe Biden's nearly 50 years in public life, the agenda of the radical left, the agenda that she's embraced throughout her political career -- with the results of this president and this administration,' Pence said

'Joe Biden and Kamala Harris come from a party that's been talking about helping African-Americans for decades,' Pence said. 'This is a president who, because of the policies we advanced, we actually saw the lowest unemployment ever recorded for African-Americans.

'We saw the creation of thousands of opportunity zones creating billions of dollars of investment in our inner cities. This is a president who doubled the school choice program here in our nation's capital, has been fighting for educational opportunities for every American, especially [in] our minority communities.'

Pence then continued by criticizing more of what he felt was the radical agenda the duo would embrace in the Democratic platform.

Democratic presidential candidate formerJoe Biden is joined by his running mate Sen. Kamala Harris

'They actually want to raise taxes by $4 trillion. They want to do their own version of the Green New Deal, of a $2 trillion, massive environmental agenda,' Pence said. 'They're going to appoint activist [judges] to our courts. They're going to support taxpayer funding of abortion. They support open borders.

'And the truth of the matter is, beyond all of that, with everything that's happening in Chicago and New York and Portland and Seattle, you have in President Trump, a leader who is standing without apology with the men and women of law enforcement.

'And in Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are Democratic Party and the radical left, you have people talking about cutting funding to law enforcement, a party that is advocating defunding law enforcement. The choice could not be clearer.'
JERUSALEM, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Mike Evans, the founder of the Friends of Zion Heritage Center in Jerusalem, said that five to six Muslim Gulf States would make peace with Israel. Evans who has met with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the UAE, and that he fully expected that to happen.

Evangelical Advisor to Trump Says Historic Peace Agreement

But there's another Muslim leader that is very close to the Crown Prince and has the same ideological beliefs concerning Israel. That is Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. "I had the privilege of being in a delegation that met with him. What came out of his mouth was totally astonishing. To me, he is more pro-Israel than a lot of Jews. There's no doubt in my mind that he has the courage to do exactly what the UAE did. And it will happen. It's just a matter of time," said Evans.

Evans continued, "When our delegation asked him what his feelings were towards the Jews and evangelicals, he said, 'I know a lot about them because my mother was a Jewish evangelical.' We were all shocked when he said that and asked, 'What do you mean?' He said his father's house director was an Ethiopian Jewish evangelical. He learned from her growing up about the Jewish people and about evangelicals."

Evan said, "The Crown Prince completely understands the situation. I had the privilege of briefing Prime Minister Netanyahu after my meeting with him along with the White House. I cannot discuss the details, but I can only say that if you are impressed with the Crown Prince of UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, you will be even more impressed with the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia. He is totally capable of making peace with Israel. It's going to happen in time." It's all about trust and both crown Princes trust Jarad Kushner.

SOURCE Friends of Zion Museum
Madrid: Spain reported 2935 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, the highest number since the country's lockdown ended and up from 1690 recorded the previous day, although officials argued the situation remained manageable.

The Madrid region, which failed to report its data the previous day due to technical difficulties, led the tally with 842 new infections in the 24 hours to Thursday, followed by the Basque Country, with 545 cases.

Medical workers prepare to test people for COVID-19 in Barcelona. Credit:AP

"The number of known cases keeps rising in Spain, but it is a mild rise that allows the implementation of control measures," health emergency co-ordinator Fernando Simon said, adding that the localised outbreaks did not amount to a second wave of infections that many expect in the autumn.

He said more than half of the infected people showed no symptoms.
Ilim Completes Equipment Purchase for Its New Pulp and Paper Mill in Ust-Ilimsk The construction of Ilim's new pulp and paperboard mill project, with a CAPEX of USD 1.2 billion, was launched in 2018. The mill will house a kraft linerboard machine with a production capacity of 600 thousand tons per year. Aug. 13, 2020 - Ilim Group continues to implement the project for construction of a new pulp and paperboard mill (PPM) in Ust-Ilimsk, Russia, in accordance with the project schedule. Installation of main buildings and facilities is currently in progress at the construction site. All main process equipment has been purchased, its delivery to the construction site is under way. More than 100 vehicles carrying equipment units for the future production line arrived at the mill construction site. Delivery of the first lots of equipment and parts for the Cooking and Washing Area, Vacuum Evaporation Plant and Woodroom took place in July. The first containers with the KLB machine equipment are expected to be delivered in October. In order to ensure continuous implementation of the project, Ilim has invested in the construction of a new concrete plant and crushing and screening complex that provide the future PPM construction site with concrete. The PPM construction project team is fully staffed, recruitment and training of PPM operators is in process. Ilim works closely with the regional authorities to jointly develop the city's social infrastructure. "Ilim's new mill is a unique innovative project that is unparalleled in Russia and has very few comparable facilities globally," said Kseniia Sosnina, Ilim Group CEO. "Its production process is based on the cutting-edge technologies and is in compliance with international environmental standards. Main custom designed equipment was manufactured by Andritz and Voith, our long-standing partners and leading manufacturers of process facilities for the global pulp and paper industry. "I am certain that Ilim will be proud of its pulp and paperboard mill in Ust- Ilimsk, which will strengthen Ilim's long- standing partnership with its customers in China and become the next step in the strategic development of our company," Sosnina concluded. Ilim Group in the spring of 2019 signed a contract with Voith to supply an XcelLIne paper machine. With an annual output of 600 thousand tons, this custom designed KLB machine will be the largest in the world in terms of kraftliner (virgin board) production capacity. The equipment will be delivered to Ust-Ilimsk as pre-assembled Mill Installation Units. The heaviest element of the KLB machine, Nipco-P center rider roll, will weigh 79 tons. Ilim's new recovery boiler, supplied by ANDRITZ, fully complies with highest environmental standards by minimizing the environmental impact through high boiler efficiency and availability as well, as a modern combustion air system. Moreover, this RB will be equipped to handle all non-condensable odorous gases generated in the new pulp line in any foreseen operating situation. This will ensure safe and odorless pulp production. PPM Background Information The construction of a new of a pulp and paperboard mill project with a CAPEX of USD 1.2 billion was launched in 2018 and will be completed in 2022. The project involves construction and launch of a Woodyard, Evaporation Plant, Caustic Plant; Lime Kiln, KLB machine, launch of Softwood and hardwood kraft pulp lines, installation of a Recovery Boiler and Bark Boilers, and construction of a Warehouse. Implementation of this project will allow Ilim Group to increase production output of board and other packaging materials by another 600 thousand tons. Delivery of this project will help Ilim reinforce its presence in the packaging segment, primarily in the growing Asian markets. Upon completion of the investment project in Ust-Ilimsk, Ilim Group will become one of the largest manufacturers of unbleached packaging materials globally with a total board output of 1.5 million tons per year, bringing its aggregate production output to over 4.4 million tons per year. Ilim Group, with headquarters in St. Petersburg, Russia, operates three large pulp and paper mills and two modern corrugated box plants. The business assets are located in Koryazhma (Arkhangelsk Oblast), Bratsk and Ust-Ilimsk (Irkutsk Oblast), Kommunar (Leningrad Oblast), and Dmitrov (Moscow Oblast). For further information, visit: www.ilimgroup.ru . SOURCE: Ilim Group
Toronto police officers are looking for a man after reports of indecent acts directed toward women near the Trinity Bellwoods area on Monday and Wednesday.

Officers responded to a call around 2:10 a.m. after reports of an indecent act in the Queen Street West and Dovercourt Road area on Monday.

Police said a man driving a car approached a 30-year-old woman walking in the area and asked for directions.

After she agreed to give him directions, he passed her a phone with a pornographic video playing. He then committed an indecent act and drove away, police said.

A similar complaint was reported 20 minutes later, around 2:30 a.m., when a man did the same thing to another 30-year-old woman walking in the area of King Street West and Sudbury Street.

On Wednesday, a man approached a 24-year-old woman in the Dundas Street West and Bathurst Street area and did the same thing.

Police believe the same man is responsible for all the incidents and are alerting the public.

The man is being described as brown, approximately 30-35, slim build, with dark hair and brown eyes.

Police said he was driving an older model of a black Honda Civic in the first two incidents. In the last incident, he was driving a white SUV.

Toronto police says officers have been briefed about the incidents and there is heightened awareness for patrols.

Anyone with information is being asked to contact the police.
(Photo : REUTERS/Stephanie Keith) A person wearing a t-shirt supportive of QAnon participates in a "Back the Blue" rally in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, New York, U.S. August 9, 2020. Picture taken August 9, 2020. (Photo : REUTERS/Stephanie Keith) A person wears a t-shirt with the anagram WWG1WGA, the QAnon slogan, while participating in a "save the children" march and rally in New York City, New York, U.S. August 12, 2020

Have you heard about the conspiracy group called 'QAnon'? If not yet, better check your social media now. This controversial pro-Trump group has been all over most giant social media platforms. If you search the word 'QAnon,' a lot of pages or groups refer to the group. So, how did it happen without us knowing? And who is the 'Q'?

Learning who the 'Q' is

If you're unfamiliar with the subject 'QAnon', check your social media and you will know exactly what it is. That is how the group is now infiltrating most social media platforms today.

'QAnon' is now back on the headlines when Georgia's Republican candidate Marjorie Taylor Greene won against her fellow Republican John Cowan. It turns out, Greene is a current supporter of the controversial conspiracy group.

In 2017, Greene patronizes the group calling it "something worth listening to and paying attention to."

When asked during a debate if she was a member of the QAnon group, she simply said, "I am committed to my allegiance to the United States of America. I, like many Americans, am disgusted with the Deep State who has launched an effort to get rid of President Trump. Yes, I'm against all of those things and I will work hard against those issues."

'QAnon' whose members are called the 'Q,' is a 'conspiracy cult' that claims numbers of famous politicians and celebrities work together to start a global 'child trafficking abuse.' These alleged people are called 'deep state.'

Aside from the human trafficking crime, these personalities were also said to be targeting the United States President Donald Trump and his supporters.

How 'QAnon' is all over social media

On Aug. 7, Tech Times reported that Facebook recently wiped away the biggest 'QAnon' group on the platform, with 200,000 members.

The group called 'Official Q/QAnon' was removed as the group was said to be posting several speculations and conspiracies about different personalities.

It was said that after the group removal, the members of the 'QAnon' quickly dissolved. However, as Tech Times looked on the platform, several pages named 'We Are Q' are still active with likes of over 60,000 members.

Just like Facebook, Twitter also took down accounts of QAnon supporters in the platform.

Weve been clear that we will take strong enforcement action on behavior that has the potential to lead to offline harm. In line with this approach, this week we are taking further action on so-called QAnon activity across the service.  Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) July 22, 2020

Not so surprisingly, Reddit also became home of QAnon supporters for quite some time. It was revealed on its official MOD support chat that Reddit was hacked by unknown sources to become breeding ground of the group.

Nearly 100 subreddits were reportedly infiltrated by QAnon communities. The threat actors allegedly posted references to "We Stand With Donald Trump #MIGA2020"-- which is the common catchphrase of the group.

What is your opinion about 'QAnon'?

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Jamie Pancho

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
RTHK: Harris joins Biden with call for leadership

Democrat Kamala Harris made her campaign-trail debut as Joe Biden's US vice presidential running mate on Wednesday, criticising Republican Donald Trump for mismanaging the coronavirus pandemic and making an urgent argument for a Biden administration.

The day after Biden tapped her to join his campaign, Harris and Biden shared memories of their family connections and their agenda for the White House.

Harris, a US senator from California, quickly leaped to the attack on Trump, saying he had endangered Americans by not taking the pandemic seriously, plunging the United States into an economic crisis even as it wrestles with racial and social injustice.

"America is crying out for leadership, yet we have a president who cares more about himself than the people who elected him, a president who is making every challenge we face even more difficult to solve," Harris said.

Biden, in introducing her, said he made "the right choice" of Harris to join his campaign.

"I have no doubt that I picked the right person to join me as the next vice president of the United States of America, and that is Senator Kamala Harris," Biden said in introducing Harris, who sat behind him on stage to watch Biden's speech.

"She's ready to do this job on day one. We're both ready to get to work rebuilding this nation," he said.

The joint appearance came just days before Biden will formally accept the Democratic presidential nomination at next week's party convention, which will take place largely as a virtual event because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Republican convention, where Trump is set to be nominated to seek a second four-year term, follows a week later and kicks off a 10-week sprint to the November 3 election. (Reuters)

This story has been published on: 2020-08-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
LLS announced today, Rich Pentz and Tina Swallow were awarded the prestigious titles, National Man of the Year and National Woman of the Year, and broke new local campaign records, raising $518,906 and $467,686 respectively. The campaign has helped LLS invest nearly $1.3 billion, ensuring that the organization continues to deliver its cancer curing mission and impact for patients, who need support now, more than ever.

The funds raised through Man & Woman of the Year are used for:

Research to advance lifesaving therapies like immunotherapy, genomics and personalized medicine, which are saving lives today.

Free blood cancer information, education and support for patients and families.

National and local advocacy efforts driving policies that accelerate new treatments and ensure patients have access to care so that they can live longer, healthier lives.

"Cancer will not wait for COVID-19 to go away. And cancer patients can't wait either," said Louis J. DeGennaro, Ph.D., LLS president and CEO. "With the grit and determination of LLS supporters and volunteers like our Man & Woman of the Year candidates, LLS maintains a very significant, impactful mission agenda. We will continue to forge ahead relentlessly to find cures and help blood cancer patients access the care they need."

Pentz, a senior director of institutional sales and relationship management at Principal Global Investors in Indianapolis, IN, spearheaded "Team Echo" after accepting his nomination in memory of his mother, Patricia, who lost her battle to acute myeloid leukemia six years ago. He leveraged social media and organized innovative fundraising tactics in lieu of his other event plans, which were canceled due to COVID-19. Pentz said he was "elated beyond words" to find out his campaign, which culminated on his mother's birthday, June 20, broke a new fundraising record for Indiana. "It's not about winning the title, it's about the impact we're making on the cancer landscape," said Pentz.

Swallow, a 21-year Navy veteran and services director at Cisco in Washington, D.C., led "Team Bridge to a Cure" and ran her campaign in honor of her oldest son, Beau, who survived stage 4 cancer. "I've made it my mission to never stop fighting for cancer cures," said Swallow. "Just like LLS, my mission has not changed, what has changed is the urgency for patients."

The National Man & Woman of the Year runners-up were Jesse Giordano of "Team Unity" of Opal Wealth Advisors in Long Island, NY, and Lauren Palmer of "Team Gold" in Charlotte, NC  they raised $437,510 and $352,792, respectively. The National "All Star" winners were Brian Fuller of "Team Lexie's Legacy" in Atlanta, GA, and Allison Jockel of "Team AML All Stars" in Charlotte, NC. Collectively, they raised more than $542,192. Fuller broke a new national All Star fundraising record and ran his campaign in memory of Lexie Clayton, a former LLS staff member who passed away from cancer at 36 years old.

To learn more about Man & Woman of the Year, visit www.mwoy.org.

About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is a global leader in the fight against cancer. The LLS mission: cure leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. LLS funds lifesaving blood cancer research around the world, provides free information and support services, and is the voice for all blood cancer patients seeking access to quality, affordable, coordinated care.

Founded in 1949 and headquartered in Rye Brook, NY, LLS has chapters throughout the United States and Canada. To learn more, visit www.LLS.org. Patients should contact the Information Resource Center at (800) 955-4572, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., ET.

For additional information visit lls.org/lls-newsnetwork. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

The LLS Children's Initiative: Cures and Care for Children with Cancer

The LLS Children's Initiative is a $100 million multi-year effort to take on children's cancer through every facet of LLS's mission: research, patient education and support and policy and advocacy. The LLS Children's Initiative includes: more pediatric research grants, a global precision medicine clinical trial, expanded free education and support services for children and families and driving policies and laws that break down barriers to care. To learn more, visit www.lls.org/childrens-initiative.

Media Contact:

Kristin Hoose

[email protected]

(914) 821-8973

SOURCE The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS)

Related Links

http://www.lls.org


More police are being deployed to the frontline to help manage the COVID response, after the graduation today of 56 new officers.

The ceremonies for the graduation of Wing 340 at the Royal New Zealand Police College were trimmed to take account of new Alert Level 2 restrictions in Wellington, says Police Minister Stuart Nash.

The newest officers to join the frontline took their constables oaths without the usual presence of family and guests, to observe limits on mass gatherings. Instead the ceremony was live streamed on a private YouTube link for whanau and loved ones.

They will be deployed all over the country. Twenty-two new constables are posted to the greater Auckland/Tamaki Makaurau area.

"Reports from the first day of Alert Level Three indicate the vast majority of residents in our largest city have responded well to the new restrictions."

Nash says as of 7am on Thursday, police had carried out 852 COVID-related patrols and checks in the greater Auckland area.

He says these included reassurance patrols at essential businesses like supermarkets, responses to complaints about potential breaches, and checks on other businesses.

Police enforcement of both Alert Levels Three and Two follows the same pattern as our earlier lockdown.

"Police take a graduated approach where they engage, encourage and educate people about the COVID restrictions, before moving to more formal warnings or even arrests."

Wing 340 is the 38th police recruit wing to graduate since the Coalition Government took office.

In that time, 2309 new police officers have graduated and been deployed to the frontline.

It takes the total number of full time police, after turnover and attrition, to approximately 10,167 officers. It represents about 1329 extra officers since the start of the 17/18 financial year, a 15 per cent increase.

The rollout of new police is changing the face of modern Policing and making it a more diverse organisation. There are more female officers, Maori, Pasifika and Asian officers, and officers with a wide range of skills and competencies.

We are keeping up the momentum to train and deploy new Police to improve community safety and enhance the wellbeing of New Zealanders."

New constables have been deployed to Police Districts as follows:
Investors are betting on the automation of human resources management in China. We reported last year that Moka, one of the key players in the space, secured roughly $27 million for its Series B led by Hillhouse Capital. This week, the startup announced closing a Series B+ at over 100 million yuan ($14.4 million), lifting its total raise for the B round to 300 million yuan ($43.2 million).

The startup declined to disclose its investors in the latest round, saying the proceeds will go toward recruitment, product innovation and business expansion. GGV Capital invested in its Series A round.

Chinese investors have in recent years shifted more attention to enterprise-facing products as the consumer tech market becomes crammed. Moka makes software to aid HR managers' day-to-day operations, from posting job openings, discovering potential candidates, to managing current staff. For instance, Moka will alert the HR manager when employees update their resumes, a sign that they could be sniffing out new opportunities.

Moka's newly appointed CEO Li Guoxing, a former engineer at Facebook. (Image Credits: Moka)

As the new round closed, Moka also appointed its co-founder Li Guoxing as its new chief executive officer. The five-year-old Beijing-based startup was founded by Li, a Facebook veteran, and Zhao Oulun, who was previously the CEO of the company. Zhao worked at the car-sharing service Turo in San Francisco before returning to China.

The new CEO claimed that Moka acquires users at two-thirds of the industry average cost, with subscription renewal rate for its software as a service hovering above 100%. "The future of business competition definitely lies in the fight for talent," he said. "So hiring will surely become a company strategy in the future."

As of June, Moka had accumulated over 700 paid clients, from tech giants like Xiaomi, Didi, Arm China, Shopee and Alibaba, to fast-food giants Burger King and McDonald's. Its team of 300 staff operates out of five major cities in China.
Twenty-one-year-old Manik Sarkar, who is pursuing a course in hospitality in Copenhagen (Denmark), has been trying to return to India since March. Flights have been cancelled multiple times and Sarkar is uncertain about the return journey.

If I am able to travel to say, France, and take a flight from there to India, I am not sure if there will be a return flight before October when I was planning to start some internships to complete some practical lessons. Flights are not frequent and we dont even get proper communication about the status. My course is over but I was looking to work here and I am not sure if I will be allowed to return, he said.

Amidst the Coronavirus outbreak, there is rising uncertainty about what happens to students stuck in a foreign land after their course or those who want to come back for a short trip to be with their families.

Industry sources told Moneycontrol that places such as Italy, Denmark, Japan and Australia are among those where Indian students are stuck. About 1 million Indian students study overseas and it is estimated that 85 percent of them have returned home amidst the pandemic and are studying online.

International flights have been halted till August 31 and currently, air bubbles or special flights between a fixed set of countries, operate apart from the repatriation flights under the Vande Bharat Mission.

Banking on the Vande Bharat Mission

Mayuri Kamath, who is pursuing research in linguistics in Gyumri, Armenia, is betting big on the Vande Bharat Missions fifth phase to book tickets home. There was a flight scheduled for August 17 but I have a research meeting during that time. I am hoping that more flights are added. I cannot keep staying for long because it is expensive and I have a young child back home in Nashik, she said.

As of August 12, the Vande Bharat Mission, in its fifth phase, has flights scheduled from Sydney, Abu Dhabi, Armenia, Bahrain, Melbourne, Toronto, Dhaka, Kuwait, Kuala Lumpur, Doha, Muscat and Auckland, among others.

However, places such as Peru, Portugal, Spain and China have been excluded. It is likely that these will be included in future phases.

Twenty-five-year-old design-student Parvati Narayanan is stuck in Milan and is waiting for the special flights to resume. I have completed my course and cannot keep overstaying because living costs are expensive. I am hoping to return at least by September because my wedding is scheduled in December in Madurai, she said.

The dilemma: Stay put or return home?

Education consultants are of the view that the rise in cases also increases the uncertainty about these students being able to go back once they are repatriated. Overseas education consultant Biswajeet Rudy told Moneycontrol that countries like Australia want minimal flight operations to restrict the spread of infection.

If a student from Australia comes back to India, he/she will not be allowed back at least for the next two to three months because we are now a high-risk nation for Covid-19. Hence, it is essential that students plan their trips accordingly to avoid missing out on any internships or employment opportunities in the host nation, he explained.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency of the United States, too, has said that new international students to institutes cannot enter the US if the course is fully online. However, this is not applicable to students who are already in the US.

There is a fear among those planning a student visa extension, especially in places like the US, that if they come back to India, they wont be allowed to re-enter, added Rudy.

India has a total of 2.39 million confirmed Covid-19 cases, with 47,033 deaths so far.

China and Italy, which had the highest cases of Coronavirus in the early days, in March and April, were among the first countries to which international flights from India were suspended.
Patient zero in Victoria's calamitous second wave of COVID-19 was not a badly behaved security guard but a night duty manager at the Rydges hotel on Swanston Street, one of Melbourne's busiest quarantine hotels.

Leaked emails show the night manager reported on Monday, May 25, that he had come down with a fever, and late on the afternoon of the following day Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions officials were told the hotel employee had tested positive. It is presumed he caught it from a returned traveller, who has not been identified.

The Rydges on Swanston hotel, whose night manager was "patient zero" in the coronavirus outbreak. Credit:Justin McManus

The emails seen by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald show a considerable effort was then made to contain the spread of the infection.

Seven security guards contracted to patrol the hotel were stood down immediately and told to get tested and go home to isolate. A small number of hotel staff and health workers were told to do the same.
Later this month will see a change in the weather just as children are expected to go back to school.

A weather forecaster has warned of cooler conditions in the final week of August which could see daily temperatures drop as low as 14 degrees.

This lower than average temperature is more akin to late Spring or early Summer.

Hazy sunshine this week is bringing humid conditions but Irish Weather Online said a change is coming from Monday onwards.

Met Eireann's forecast beyond Sunday says the weather will be "remaining humid and unsettled with showers or longer spells of rain."

But Irish Weather Online said: "The outlook for next week involves a gradual change to more unsettled and cooler conditions with the westerly flow resuming and then becoming quite cool at times towards the end of August.

"Some guidance for about two weeks from now suggests daytime highs only 14 to 17 C.

"It seems safe to say that the month will turn cooler and wetter than it has been (in Ireland).

READ NEXT: Staggering price paid at auction for farm in Offaly
August 13 : The trailer of Sadak 2, starring Sanjay Dutt, Aditya Roy Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, released on Wednesday morning and since it release, it has received millions 'dislikes' on YouTube - to be clear, dislikes and not likes.

The trailer of a big film, especially one which featured well-known actors, generally gets many more likes than it does dislikes; this has been reversed for Sadak 2 and it is unusual enough to be comment-worthy.

At the time of writing this, the trailer of Sadak 2 got more than 15 million views and it was trending number 1 on YouTube. But it has received 4.8 million dislikes and merely 260K likes on YouTube.

The Internet, it appears, is making good on its declared intention of boycotting Sadak 2.

Since the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, cries to boycott "star kids" have been louder than ever and their anger only amplified on Wednesday when a bulk of Singh "fans" headed to YouTube to express their feelings towards Sadak 2.

The film also marks Mahesh Bhatt's directorial return after two decades. The fact that Sadak 2 is directed by Mahesh Bhatt has also contributed to the surge of social media hate. Mr Bhatt is known to be close to actress Rhea Chakraborty, who is being questioned in the investigation into Sushant Singh Rajput's death. Rhea, who was dating Sushant, is accused by his family of illegally transferring money amounting to  15 crore from the actor's account and driving him to suicide.

Sadak 2 is a sequel to 1991 hit Sadak, also directed by Mahesh Bhatt and starring his daughter Pooja and Sanjay Dutt. Sanjay Dutt, who reprises his role as a driver named Ravi in the new film, announced a day before the trailer released that he was taking a break for medical treatment.

Sadak 2, in which Alia Bhatt stars as a young woman working on exposing a godman, will release later this month on Disney+Hotstar. The film also stars Aditya Roy Kapur, Makarand Deshpande and Gulshan Grover.

On Monday, the hashtag #UninstallHotstar trended on Twitter as many netizens urged people to boycott the Bhatt family's project.
Rajesh Asnani By

Express News Service

JAIPUR: Sachin Pilots difficulties dont seem to be ending days after his ghar vapsi (homecoming) in Rajasthan Congress.

Pro-Gehlot Congress MLAs opposed the return of the Pilot camp rebels at a meeting in Jaisalmer on Tuesday night.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot wasnt too kind, saying the loyal MLAs were naturally upset at the truce and the tough time the party had to face because of the rebels.

However, the CMs advice to his loyalists was: Forget and forgive, and move on.

The uneasy calm in the Gehlot camp is accentuated by the lack of clarity over the exact formula for truce worked out between Pilot and Priyanka Gandhi. Sources say it might be revealed after the expected Cabinet reshuffle.

Not only did Pilot lose his twin posts of deputy CM and party chief, his loyal ministers, Vishwendra Singh and Ramesh Meena, too, were dropped from the Gehlot cabinet.

ALSO READ | Wait and watch: BJP leader to assess situation in Rajasthan after Gehlot-Pilot truce

Besides, some of the other Pilot loyalists lost their positions in the state party organisation.

While boarding a flight for Jodhpur from Jaisalmer on Wednesday, Gehlot said, Its natural for (loyalist) MLAs to be upset given the manner this episode happened and the way they were forced to stay in hotels for a monthI have told them that we need to be tolerant if we want to serve the nation, state and the people to save democracy.

Sources said the legislative party meeting in Jaisalmer on Tuesday night was pretty noisy with central leaders Avinash Pandey, Ajay Maken and Randeep Surjewala stepping in to pacifying the MLAs.

The pro-Gehlot MLAs expressed displeasure at the leaderships generosity towards Pilot and his men. Some MLAs expressed reservations at the truce worked out between Pilot and Priyanka.

The loyalists returned to Jaipur on Wednesday afternoon.

They will continue to stay at the Fairmont hotel in the state capital where they had stayed for over a fortnight before shifting to Jaisalmer.

They may continue to remain corralled till the Assembly session begins on August 14.

However, the pro-Pilot camp has reportedly not been asked to come to the Fairmont. An MLA of the Pilot group, G L Khatana, said, The party leadership has assured us that there will be no discrimination against us. If there is any CLP meeting, and the party issues a whip, we will surely attend the meeting.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 13) The Philippine National Police on Thursday said it has not found any violations or lapses thus far in the case probe proceedings on the controversial killing of National Democratic Front of the Philippines peace consultant Randall "Randy" Echanis.

Speaking to CNN Philippines, PNP spokesperson Bernard Banac stressed that the police investigators were allowed to perform their tasks unhampered.

At this point, we dont see any lapses or violations on the part of the investigation body. As always, whenever there is an investigation ongoing, we always give them the presumption of regularity, Banac said in an interview with The Source.

We allow them to perform their tasks without us meddling into it. We think theyve done their job well to establish the identity of the person very clearly and surely, he added.

After a cloud of confusion on identities, the Quezon City Police District on Wednesday finally acknowledged that the person slain in Quezon City on Monday was indeed Echanis.

QCPD previously identified the cadaver as a certain Manuel Santiago due to evidence secured in the scene but later confirmed Echanis identity after conducting a fingerprint test.

Echanis remains were returned to his family on Wednesday evening, following the pronouncement of the finger print cross matching result. But his body was again transferred to the Philippine General Hospital for x-ray and independent autopsy set on Thursday, the family's legal counsel said.

The activist's kin and some netizens earlier cried foul after the police forcibly took the cadaver from the funeral home, even after the remains were positively identified by his wife. Police had said forensic examination, including fingerprint or DNA comparisons, must be done to validate the identity claim.

READ: Duterte won't intervene in Echanis' case probe - Palace

Banac, for his part, said the police had to perform the task to preserve the integrity of the probe.

We leave it to the investigation unit, to decide on the matter. But for them, they didnt want the investigation to be disturbed, the PNP spokesperson said.

Police investigation is still underway, Banac noted, with authorities looking into different angles on the cause of the death, including robbery and personal grudge.

The Justice Department's task force on extrajudicial killings was also directed to look into the case. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the special investigation team may now proceed to do its work as the identity issue has been resolved.

Meanwhile, Anakpawis partylist, which Echanis headed, called on the agency to ensure fair and impartial proceedings on the separate probe to avoid giving false hopes to the slain activists loved ones and colleagues.

Senator Risa Hontiveros has also condemned the killing, and likewise expressed support for a full-blown and independent investigation on Echanis case.

Echanis, 72, and a neighbor were killed inside a rented house in Novaliches, Quezon City on August 10. The peasant leader and activist was a third nominee of Anakpawis during the 2010 partylist elections.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 16:40:44|Editor: huaxia

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An employee tends papaya tree in a tropical fruits greenhouse in Wanchang Township of Yongji County, Jilin City, northeast China's Jilin Province, Aug. 12, 2020. Yongji County has encouraged local farmers to grow tropical fruits such as papayas and bananas in the pursuit of agricultural structure optimization. (Xinhua/Xu Chang)
The Vernon County Censor

Aug. 25, 1920

100 years ago

C.M. Froiland has purchased from Schroeder Brothers the Stoddard store which they recently purchased from Vig and Tuhus. Mr. Froilands Montana land went in on the deal.

Chris Sather wishes us to announce that his meat shop just south of the Censor office will be open for business Saturday morning of this week. He extends a cordial invitation to all to come in and get acquainted.

Ladies silk top union suits, special at $2 at Rogers.

Two cars came together and stood on end on the Coon Valley hill Sunday. No one was injured.

If the weather permits  and it has been unwilling of late  a band concert will be held at the park Friday evening.

Jerry Bann, the pop corn man, has departed with his high toned jitney to dispense pop corn and peanuts at the fairs.

The residences of F.P. McIntosh, Wm. Crook and T.L. Buchanan are being adorned with new coats of paint.

Miss Latta has installed in her restaurant a Armour fountain and is now ready to cater to your wants in the soda line.

The carpenter fraternity seems to be fated at the busy season of the year, John Weber, is not yet able to work, and now J.M. White sustains a broken arm Thursday while working on Boyles new coal unloader.

This week will see the beginning of harvesting of Vernons 1920 tobacco crop. some of the early crops are ready for axe and spear. It is estimated that not over five per cent of the weed will be in the shed by the end of the week.

The Vernon County Censor

Aug. 16, 1945

75 years ago

With President Truman giving reporters at the Whitehouse the official release of the final collapse of Japan, all radios were tuned in for the long awaited news which came at six oclock last Tuesday evening. Within a few minutes, the city fire siren gave a long shriek and a large crowd quickly gathered on Main Street. One car after another took up an accompaniment of honking horns, and gradually the traffic began to converge at the corner of Main and Court Streets, where a big bonfire had been started by Mrs. Hilda Gross. Those who participated in the celebration of World War I victory here recall that Mrs. Gross also ignited the blaze of that celebration in the same spot back on Nov. 11, 1918. The city band arrived in two large trucks. As the evening wore on, the band made a tour of residential section of the city, followed by pedestrians and many with cars. The celebrations continued until after ten oclock. Wednesday morning a colorful procession got under way, led by the American Legion and color guard, the smartly clad city band, white gowned nurses, the newly uniformed Civil Air Patrol, a sizeable group of visiting service men, a group dressed in costumes of our allies, with other groups and vehicles. The parade wound its way to the city park bowl for the planned observances. The program opened with a selection by the band under the direction of Emory Nordness, after which Judge Lincoln Neprud acted as marshal of the day. Next came the advance of the colors by the American Legions, invocation by Rev. Zuener, America sung by audience, several vocal numbers by a trio composed of Kathleen Henden, Bonnie Heinden, and Toddy Henry. Then the audience stood in silent tribute in respect to those who had made the supreme sacrifice in the war.

The Vernon County Broadcaster-Censor

Aug. 13, 1970

50 years ago

The Vernon County Board, in a one-day session Thursday, passed an ordinance regulating assemblages of 5,000 or more within the boundaries of Vernon County. The ordinance is strong enough to discourage applicants and is intended to prevent them from acquiring land for the purpose of a rock festival.

Deaths: Todd Hughes, 2; Julius Hovey, 85; Forrest (Bud) Umberger, 49; Pluma M. (Nelson) Harris, 78; Effie Madge (Nuzum) (Wilson) McHenry, 86; Norman E. Winchel, 39; Marian (Jenkins) Reed, 44.

The Milwaukee Road asked to close their depot in Westby. It asked the same of Cashton and other Wisconsin communities. The Westby depot was built in 1916 when passenger service was still provided. Freight cars will still be brought into the community twice a week. No objections were raised to the proposal.

Monday night the Viroqua City Council voted to eliminate 15 parking meters in the downtown area to improve the flow of traffic and make intersections safer.

Floyd Burt, Bud cheesemaker, walked off with a first and 2 seconds at the Wisconsin State Fair. Louis Biddle, Soldiers Grove, had a first, third and fifth this year. Burt was first in fresh cheddar, second in semi-aged and aged cheese classes. Biddle had a first in aged cheddar.

Women and men may be hired for crossing guard positions and the Viroqua Council raised the salaries to $2.00 an hour for three hours of work each school day.

Area teachers attending the Wisconsin Education Association leadership conference August 12-13 in Ripon include: Viroqua: Kenneth Deaver, Wyman Felde, William Mapp and Warren Selck; Westby: Ronald Bjerke; La Farge: Mary Steinmetz.

The Vernon County

Broadcaster

Aug. 17, 1995

25 years ago

With the school year about to start, the Viroqua School Board at its regular meeting outlined plans for teachers to move into the new school building. Some teachers expressed concerns that they would have little time to set up before students arrived. The contractors had asked that the teachers not move in early so they would not have to finish their work by working around the teachers.

The Viroqua school district received $262,248 in Chapter I funds which allowed for the recall of Chapter I teacher Ken Penfield, as well as the posting for two Chapter I positions which were opened by a resignation and a retirement.

Congressman Steve Gunderson spoke at a Vernon County forum held in Viroqua. He explained that Medicare funding would not be cut and not to be taken in by scammers. Scammers were sending out letters to citizens asking for money so they could lobby against the supposed Medicare cuts.

Scott Wasson, address unknown, failed to show up to start his one-year jail term. He had plead guilty for operating after revocation for the fifth time. He now faced up to five years in jail for failing to report.

A rural De Soto couple faced drug charges after a raid of their residence found $23,000 of crystal methamphetamine and $11,000 of hash. The charges against them carried a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison and a fine of up to $1,060,000. Kathy Shawley and Thomas Paremski were released on a $25,000 signature bond and a $20,000 signature bond respectively.

Congressman Steve Gunderson predicted that the soon to be released military study would kill the proposed low-level jet flight corridor.

Viroquas Legion baseball team lost to Ripon by a score of 1 to 0 which ousted them from the state tournament.

The Vernon County Broadcaster

Aug. 19, 2010

10 years ago

Fire engulfed the Bethel Lutheran Church at the intersection of Co. B and Co. Y northeast of Viroqua. Eight fire departments responded to the blaze. The 127-year-old building was totally destroyed.

The VHS Class of 1970 met for its 40th class reunion on July 17 at Norwegian Hollow in Viroqua.

The Chaseburg Coon Valley Blues baseball team finished its 2010 season on a winning note, as the Blues handily took care of the La Crosse 35ers, 8-2 at The Park Wednesday, Aug. 11.

The 22nd annual reunion of the Alumni Club of Vernon County Normal/Teachers College was held on Saturday. Alumni club chairperson Ken Deaver welcomed the 65 persons present.

Flooding last weekend caused damage and road closures for several communities in Vernon County. Rainfall throughout the county Friday morning August 13, accumulated to 3-4 inches between 7-11 a.m.

Bob and Barbara Fisher recently signed a conservation easement on 33 acres of Vernon County land. The Mississippi Valley Conservancy has added that piece of bluff top land to the nearly 12,000 acres of southwestern Wisconsin it protects from development.

Vernon County Historical Society  by Bonnie Sterling, Donna Halverson, Peg ORourke, Irving Leif and Denise Kirchoff

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The rank was based on parameters like number of students who get admitted each year, the range of diversity among studentsthe range of diversity among students, and student-teacher ratio

Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi, has secured the first position among all central universities in the country in rankings released by the ministry of education.

Such a proud moment for Jamia!! Jamia Millia Islamia tops central universities in government rankings.#JamiaMilliaIslamia https://t.co/LzsegkOuph  Jamia Millia Islamia (@jamiamillia_) August 13, 2020

As per a report in The Times of India, Jamia topped among 40 central universities in the Grading/scoring of performance of central universities. Jamia Milia Islamia had a score of 90 percent.

Rajiv Gandhi University of Arunachal Pradesh scored 83 percent, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, scored 82 percent and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) got 78 percent.

According to a report in The Quint, a statement issued by Jamia Milia mentioned that the ranking is based on a tri-party evaluation signed between the varsity, the HRD Ministry and the University Grants Commission (UGC).

All the universities were required to sign a tripartite MoU with MHRD (ministry of education) and UGC for continuous evaluation. Jamia was the first university in 2017 to sign this MoU and present itself for performance evaluation, the statement added.

The reports said that the rank was based on parameters like number of students who get admitted each year in UG, PG, PhD and MPhil courses. It also takes into account the range of diversity among students in terms of percentage of female students as well as students from other states and countries.

The quality of faculty, student-teacher ratio, teacher vacancy also played a part in determining the score.

The Jamia Milia Islamia statement also said that the university did well on parameters of governance, finance, nationwide and worldwide rankings like NIRF, NAAC and QS in addition to co-curricular and extracurricular actions.

Vice chancellor Najma Akhtar attributed the achievement to high-quality instructing, related and centered analysis of highest high quality and improved notion of the college. She added that she hoped to enhance the efficiency in the coming years.
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What started out as a fun, creative way to uplift Texas families in the pandemic has made international headlines 5,000 miles away, in Scotland. A Cypress family discovered a way to bring a neighborhood together one rock at a time, by creating a "quarantine caterpillar."

"It was a way to bring our community together," Lyn McWilliam said, "We painted rocks, with messages of hope. Nicole and Alex (Lyn's daughters) painted a couple of rocks, and people took it from there. We now have over 700+ rocks!"

Lyn's daughter, 11-year-old Nicole first got the idea from her mom's hometown Facebook page of Monifieth, Scotland. It struck a chord. She started the "quarantine caterpillar" with just a few rocks and a sign inviting her neighbors to decorate the stones and add to it. Nicole's big sister, Alex, then helped get the creative idea off the ground, and then it took on a life of its own.

'JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW I LOVE YOU': Wife prays under husband's hospital window as he fights COVID-19

"The rocks are all different. Some of the artwork is amazing," Lyn said. "The girls just thought it would be a cool thing to do."

It's been a heartwarming project that's helped connect Cypress neighbors during the one of the most heartbreaking times in the pandemic.

"This is a glimmer of happiness," Lyn said. "It's a scary time, but we will get through this. We're not alone. We're doing this together."

So, what does this cool caterpillar mean for Nicole and Alex? Alex said the project has made people have fun during a scary time.

"It brings me closer to my friends, family and neighbors both here and in Scotland," Nicole said.

Just crawling along through a Cypress neighborhood, this "quarantine caterpillar" keeps growing with some cool, creative rocks painted with a splash of H-town pride.

"There's a rock with a NASA sign," Lyn said. "The girls are loving it. They're so proud of what they've achieved."

Once news of their crafty creation began growing, a Scottish newspaper, the Evening Telegraph reached out to Lyn to get story.

"They actually got in touch with me and wrote a story about it," Lyn said. "Scotland is our home. We moved from there 7 years ago."

The Monifieth caterpillar had inspired the McWilliam daughters. The Scottish quarantine caterpillar was started in May by Joanne Lindsey and her daughters, Megan and Olivia, according to the Evening Telegraph. The Monifieth caterpillar counterpart has now reached almost 2,000 stones.

The best part of the whole project is that it's been a shining ray of hope for this family and neighborhood during a dark time.

"With this caterpillar, we felt there is a way to bring hope, to have a purpose," Lyn said. "We will get through this."

alison.medley@chron.com
by Vladimir Rozanskij

The Catholic bishops are calling for an end to the violence and negotiations between the government and the opposition. Kirill says Lukashenko's victory "exalts attention to the spiritual and moral issues of people's lives". For some Orthodox priests, their bishops applause is a "humiliation of human dignity". Demonstrations and clashes continue.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - The crude fabrication of the presidential elections of 9 August have pushed the head of the Catholic Church in Belarus, Metropolitan Archbishop of Minsk-Mogilev Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz (formerly bishop in Moscow), to launch an appeal to national authorities and opposition representatives. Broadcast on 11 August by the Catholic Telegram channel Religija segodnja, in his statement the Metropolitan noted that it is the first conflict of such magnitude in the recent history of Belarus and he called all sides to launch negotiations.

Archbishop Kondrusiewicz (photo 1) appeals: "At this crucial moment in our history, in the name of God and his infinite mercy, love and peace, I address all the parties in conflict, with the appeal to stop all violence. May your hands, created for peaceful work and fraternal harmony, not be raised with weapons or stones. May the strength of arguments based on dialogue in truth and mutual love reign in place of the force of arms ". Based on the "secular traditions of the Slavs", he proposes to quickly gather a round table, so that behind it, and "not behind the barricades", we can look for ways out of the crisis.

The Catholic Church in Belarus has a majority in the western regions of the country, on the border with Poland; it is significantly present in the other regions with an Orthodox majority. Msgr. Oleg Budkevic, Catholic bishop of Vitebsk (photo 2), a city close to the border with Russia, has also appealed in favor of national pacification, underlining that "the only way out is the search for truth, and the truth is never on the side of violence it is clear that we do not live in an ideal world, but there is always the possibility of using common sense, always! . Archbishop Budkevic invited believers to use the only effective weapon, that of praying the Holy Rosary.

The Orthodox Metropolitan of Minsk Pavel (Ponomarev, photo 3), patriarchal exarch of all Belarus, instead followed the example of the patriarch of Moscow Kirill (Gundjaev) and congratulated President Lukashenko "for the election to the high office of the President of the Republic of Belarus. The congratulations, however, came with some delay compared to the official results communicated by the authorities. Metropolitan Pavel, unlike Kondrusiewicz, is a Russian citizen and not a Belarusian, and Lukashenko said he trusted him "for the defense of the sovereignty of Belarus, the custody of the spiritual and cultural heritage and the strengthening of social and economic stability of our homeland, sending an indirect message of friendship to the Russian President Vladimir Putin himself.

The patriarch of Moscow Kirill in turn stressed that Lukashenko's victory "enhances attention to the spiritual and moral issues of people's lives, as evidenced by the fruitful collaboration between the organs of state power and the Orthodox exarchate in Belarus". The status of Metropolitan Pavel is comparable to that of Metropolitan Onufryj (Berezovskij) of Kiev, head of an autonomous Church, but at the same time subject to the Moscow Synod. Kirill's and Pavels appeals certainly did not have a favorable impact on Belarusian public opinion, which is very angry at the electoral fabrications. Some Orthodox priests have even declared that such actions by the authorities are a "humiliation of human dignity".

Belarusian Orthodox theologian Natalia Vasilievich wrote on Facebook that "the authorities put pressure on the Orthodox priests who participated in the protests", even curbing the support they show on social media.

In the end, four days after the elections, the protests show no sign of stopping, after the "exile" in Lithuania of the opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaja. In Minsk several hundred women in white dresses formed a human chain with flowers in their hands, in solidarity with Tikhanovskaya and with the victims of the protests.

One of the excluded candidates, Valerij Tsepkalo, announced on Telegram that he wanted to found a "National Salvation Front" for the defense of democracy in Belarus, and that he wanted to turn to the European Union for support.

Tsepkalo asked all Belarusians to recognize Tikhanovskaja as the legitimate president of the country. Lukashenko himself has decided to convene a "special consultation" on the situation, although he believes that "the riots are orchestrated from abroad".
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Yangon, Myanmar  Thu, August 13, 2020 07:14 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066d985dc 2 SE Asia Myanmar,Rohingya,Rohingya-Muslims,Rohingya-people,election,politics Free

A Rohingya Muslim has been barred from standing in Myanmar's upcoming election, in a decision decried by rights groups as discriminatory and a symptom of the "ongoing genocide" against the persecuted minority.

A 2017 military operation drove 750,000 Rohingya out of the country into sprawling refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh, prompting genocide charges at the UN's top court.

Myanmar has denied the allegations and justified the military operations as a means of rooting out terrorists.

Another 600,000 Rohingya remain in Myanmar, but most are not regarded as citizens and will have no vote, living in what Amnesty International describes as "apartheid" conditions.

Three Rohingya-led parties had hoped to field at least a dozen candidates in November's vote, according to regional watchdog Fortify Rights.

But Abdul Rasheed, 58, a member of the Democracy and Human Rights Party, told AFP on Wednesday that his candidacy was rejected by the district election commission in Rakhine state capital Sittwe a day earlier.

The commission said this was because his parents were not Myanmar citizens when he was born, Rasheed said -- even though he had proof his parents and grandparents were granted citizenship in 1957, four years before his birth.

"This is not in line with the law," he said, adding he would appeal the decision.

"The Rohingya are being degraded so we cannot compete."

The Muslim minority has had citizenship and other rights eroded over decades.

Rasheed, who said his father worked as a Myanmar government civil servant for more than 30 years, also tried without success to stand in the country's landmark 2015 election.

"This rejection is discriminatory and not unrelated to the ongoing genocide of Rohingya," said Matthew Smith from Fortify Rights, a group for which Rasheed also consults.

"The government of Myanmar must end its mass disenfranchisement of Rohingya."

The Rakhine State election commission in Sittwe denied any unfair treatment of Rasheed.

"He wasn't rejected because he is a Muslim but because his application was not in line with the electoral law," chairperson Tin Hlaing told AFP.
She welcomed her longed for first child, son Billy, back in May.

And Sheridan Smith looked sensational as she returned to work as part of the BBC's VJDay75 programme, due to air on Saturday.

The Cilla actress, 39, wowed as she donned a shimmering silver sequinned gown by Jacques Azagury which exuded old Hollywood glamour.

Wow: New mother Sheridan Smith looked sensational as she took to the stage as part of the BBC's VJDay75 programme, due to air on Saturday

The gorgeous dress featured elegant flared sleeves and cinched in at her waist with a silver satin sash.

The beauty revealed her bronzed legs courtesy of the gown's thigh-high split.

Sheridan wore her blonde tresses in a wavy updo while her pretty features were enhanced with a radiant palette of make-up.

She captioned the snap: 'Honoured to have performed a tribute to Dame Vera Lynn as part of #VJDay75. BBC One, Saturday 8.30pm.

Newborn: She welcomed her longed for first child, son Billy, back in May

The sighting comes after it was revealed last month that Sheridan is set to star in a moving documentary about her journey to motherhood, after welcoming her son Billy in May.

The actress will appear on the ITV special Sheridan Smith: Becoming Mum this autumn, which will also explore her struggles with mental health as she visits psychiatrist Dr Alain Gregoire.

Sheridan has been incredible open about her struggles with mental health following the death of her father Colin in 2016.

Challenges: The sighting comes after it was revealed last month that Sheridan is set to star in a moving documentary about her journey to motherhood (pictured in March during her pregnancy)

The documentary will follow Sheridan throughout her pregnancy, after announcing last year that she was expecting her first child with fiance Jamie Horn.

As she prepares for motherhood, Sheridan speaks about her own battles with mental health, and visits a charity group which offers help and support for other mums-to-be.

The series will also offer a glimpse of Sheridan's first moments after a mum following the birth of her son Billy.

This is not the first time Sheridan has offered an insight into her pregnancy, as she played a mother-to-be struggling with being alone in lockdown for the ITV series Isolation Stories.

Sheridan revealed in 2017 that she'd struggled with her mental health following the death of her father Colin, telling The Sunday Times Culture: 'My life was falling apart and I didn't tell anyone.

'I was totally terrified that I was going to come unstuck, that I couldn't hold these feelings of insecurity in much longer without it coming to a head.

'Which it did last year. My dad getting cancer triggered it, but it had been a long time coming.'

Touching: This is not the first time Sheridan has offered an insight into her pregnancy, as she played a mother-to-be struggling with in lockdown for the ITV series Isolation Stories

Close: Sheridan has been open about struggling with her mental health following the death of her father Colin in 2016. She recently welcomed her first child with fiance Jamie Horn (above)

Last week the star also revealed the name of her newborn, after being gifted with a cake to celebrate the end of filming for her documentary.

Sheridan captioned her sweet post: 'Beautiful cake yesterday made for the little man by lovely Cat and @britruevis at @truevisiontv headquarters.

'We finished our documentary for @itv, cant wait for you guys to see it! Been an emotional rollercoaster but worth every second! #becomingmum'

Sweet: Last week the former Gavin and Stacey star announced she'd named her son Billy, as she shared a snap of the cake she received after completing filming for her documentary

Sheridan announced the news of her son's birth in a social media post in May and gushed she's 'overwhelmed with love' for the new arrival.

The star shared a first glimpse of the tot's tiny hand as she told fans: 'Our little man has arrived! We are both completely overwhelmed with love.'

Sheridan first confirmed that she and partner Jamie Horn were expecting in November, when she shared a snap of a baby blanket embroidered with the name: 'Baby Smith-Horn.'

A month earlier she also took to Twitter where she posted about preparing for her 'most important role to date'.

She wrote: 'Super excited for 2020, gonna finally get to work with a producer I admire hugely! But first, my most important role to date..' along with emojis of a pregnant woman and a woman cradling a newborn baby.

Sheridan and Jamie got engaged in May 2018 just three months after meeting on dating app Tinder.
Vietnam on Thursday morning logged three COVID-19 cases, including two local infections and one imported patient, raising the national tally to 883.

Two of the three new cases reported in central Quang Nam Province revealed links to the outbreak in Da Nang while the other was an imported patient who was quarantined upon arrival.

The imported case is a 40-year-old woman with a permanent address in Hanoi who arrived in Vietnam from Saudi Arabia on flight VN5002 on August 9.

After landing at Can Tho International Airport in the namesake Mekong Delta city, she was brought to a centralized COVID-19 quarantine center in Bac Lieu Province.

She tested positive for the novel coronavirus on August 11. She is now isolated and treated at Bac Lieu Province General Hospital.

The two community-based cases, aged 51 and 83, are linked to previous COVID-19 patients and can be traced to the outbreak epicenter in Da Nang.

They are being isolated and treated at Quang Nam Regional General Hospital after testing positive for the novel coronavirus on Wednesday.

Vietnams COVID-19 tally stood at 883, including 322 imported cases quarantined upon arrival, as of Thursday morning.

Since July 25, there have been 421 new local infections in Vietnam, most of which are linked to Da Nang, including nearly 20 medical workers.

Eighteen COVID-19 patients have died in Vietnam so far, most with severe concomitant conditions.

About 15 COVID-19 patients in the country remain severely ill due to underlying conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and bone marrow failure, and require a ventilator or ECMO machine, doctors said at a consultation focusing on the treatment of serious COVID-19 patients in Vietnam held on Wednesday afternoon.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Most Ukrainians believe that the Ukrainian language should be the only national and official language, while Russian can be used freely. This is evidenced by the results of a survey conducted jointly by the Socis Center and the Razumkov Center.

The Ukrainian language as the only official one is supported by 64.5% of the respondents.

Some 17.7% of respondents believe that the Russian language can be recognized as the official language in some regions, while maintaining the national status of the Ukrainian language.

Some 15.2% of respondents supported the recognition of both Ukrainian and Russian as the national languages in Ukraine. Another 2.6% were undecided about the answer.

The study was conducted from July 21 to July 28, 2020 using the method of standardized face-to-face interviews at the place of residence of the respondents. The results represent the adult population of Ukraine as a whole (over 18 years old), excluding the uncontrolled territories of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, in terms of age, gender, type of settlement (city or village) and the division of the country into regions. A total of 4,000 respondents over the age of 18 were interviewed.
A Lanarkshire farmer has had to pay 2,000 to clean up two tonnes of raw meat waste which was dumped on his land.

Davy Shanks stumbled across the disgusting discovery in one of the worst fly tipping incidents to hit Scotland recently.

NFU Scotland and Scottish Land & Estates (SLE) said the incident was 'frustrating and heart-breaking'.

The waste was dumped from a public road, over the side of a bridge - creating both a health risk and an environmental incident.

Despite repeated calls to North Lanarkshire Council for assistance, Mr Shanks was left with organising and paying for the clean-up costs.

North Lanarkshire Council agreed to a 24-hour road closure which allowed Mr Shanks to shovel the rotting butchery waste into plastic tubs to be lifted and disposed of by a local waste disposal firm.

Mr Shanks used his own staff and local environmental cleaning company Greenerleaf to clear up, but because the process took place at the weekend, overtime pay was also incurred.

The clear up operation lasted four hours, and no compensation for Mr Shanks is available.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) are investigating the incident just off the A73 Stirling Road near Brackenhirst Farm. An appeal for information has been issued.

Mr Shanks said it was 'ridiculous' that he was held responsible for someone elses waste simply because it was dumped on his land.

Other than agreeing to the road closure, I received little support from my local authority and, disappointingly, despite the seriousness of the incident they failed to return my calls," he said.

This is a fly-tipping hotspot on a public road. We have had couches, beds and pallets tipped over the side of the bridge on numerous occasions, but this was the first time we have seen food waste dumped, creating an environmental hazard."

Mr Shanks said that until the local authority fenced the bridge or introduced CCTV, these incidents would continue to happen.

He added there was a case for some of the costs of clearing up to be covered by local authorities rather than farmers and landowners.

And since lockdown, fly-tipping has increased 'ten-fold': "We now use a phone app which sends an alert to the relevant council of any new incident," he said.

"We have seen numerous different episodes of fly tipping, more so during lockdown, these have been logged and photographs sent to the app of which only a few have ever been lifted.

"We have a burnt-out pick-up sitting in a gateway since March which we have reported but the council response is that they have no resources available to lift it.
With police collecting call detail records (CDR) of Covid-19 patients in Kerala, the opposition and legal experts questioned the legality of the move, saying it was an infringement on the right to privacy.

The government, on its part, said it is for better tracking and surveillance of patients and that it was experimented in many places earlier also.

Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in pandemic situations such drastic steps will be needed but police will ensure that these records are not misused. He also said it was part of a scientific method to contain the spread of virus.

But the opposition said in the name of records the government was trampling rights. The government has violated the Supreme Court directive that collection of CDRs will be permitted only in serious criminal cases. It is planning to convert Kerala into a surveillance state. It is a violation of rights, said Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala. He said chances are the CDRs will be misused and patients will have to bear more stigma and taboo. The Congress said it will move the court if the order was not withdrawn.

Kerala police chief Loknath Behera on Wednesday issued a circular which said the ADGP Intelligence and ADGP headquarters will get in touch with all service providers to get CDRs of Covid patients. After this, their route maps will be prepared. There are also reports that some service providers declined to share details.

The right to privacy of an individual has been defined in detail in KS Puttaswamy v Union of India. The decision to retrieve CDRs is against the right to privacy. The government cant breach individual rights like this, said Supreme Court lawyer MR Abhilash, adding that unless it was for a criminal investigation or a matter of serious national security issue CDRs cant be retrieved.

But the CM justified it saying it was done for the sake of public health and safety. We have experimented this in the worst affected areas like Kasaragod earlier. Strict instructions were given to the police not to misuse these details, he said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 13)  A Vietnamese-flagged vessel ran aground in waters off Antique province on its way to Davao City to deliver rice, the Philippine Coast Guard said Thursday.

Coast Guard personnel inspected the vessel, MV Globe 6, for damage that could cause a harmful oil spill.

The vessel was grounded between Nagubat Island and Liwagao Island in Antique Thursday morning.

The officer on duty was asleep when the incident happened, the PCG said, quoting Captain Nguyen Hoai.

The MV Globe 6 had 25 crew members on board and was carrying rice from Ho Chi Minh City.
Borowiecka, whose decision to go public with her story helped kick-start the Polish reckoning, was euphoric when she learned of Glodz's replacement. She forwarded several emails she had sent to the Vatican in the past two years seeking his removal and accusing him of having covered up for predator priests and having discredited victims.
SPRINGFIELD  Illinois farmers appear ready to rebound from last years flood-plagued harvest with strong numbers this fall.

According to the U.S. Departments Illinoic Crop Report released Wednesday, 10.9 million acres of corn were planted in Illinois this spring, up 4 percent from last year. Harvested area, forecast at 10.7 million acres, is up 5 percent from 2019.
The potential for conflict between Biden and Harris advisers was resolved in another way, at least for now: Mr. Biden and his advisers conveyed to Ms. Harris that they expected to have the same understanding with respect to staff hiring that Mr. Biden had followed with former President Barack Obama. During the campaign and, if they win, during a Biden-Harris administration, Ms. Harriss staff hiring would be approved by Mr. Biden.

Jennifer OMalley Dillon, Mr. Bidens campaign manager, told Ms. Harris plainly after she was picked that they would be one team, and that she would have the full support of the Biden staff. In a statement Thursday night, after this story was published online, Ms. OMalley Dillon said some Harris aides would be coming on board.

Weve already begun welcoming members of Senator Harris team to the campaign and are all moving forward together, as one unit focused on beating Donald Trump this fall, Ms. OMalley Dillon said.

But other Biden advisers made clear that selecting Ms. Harris for the vice presidency did not mean selecting her full political entourage for jobs in the campaign or government  a reality Ms. Harris is said to have accepted.

Within the Biden team, it was understood that rule would apply even to her sister, Maya Harris, a former Hillary Clinton adviser who is Kamala Harriss closest confidante. But a Biden spokesman said on Thursday night that the matter of Maya Harris did not come up in conversations with the senator.

Searching for a Partner

Having been through a vice-presidential search himself, Mr. Biden was clear from the start about what he wanted in a running mate  and in a selection process. He wanted a full partner in government with whom he felt personally simpatico. He did not want a Survivor-style process of elimination whereby a large pool of candidates would be gradually slashed down, with the losers identified as such in public, according to people who spoke to him about the process.

And for the most part, that is what Mr. Biden got  a discreet search team, led by four Democratic dignitaries, that held interviews with about a dozen women, a smaller number of whom were then asked to turn over a huge volume of private documents for review. To ensure the contenders privacy, he did not allow even his senior staff members to see some of their most personal vetting information.
Brazils president Jair Bolsonaro has insisted there are no fires in the Amazon rainforest, calling evidence produced by his own government showing thousands of blazes a lie.

The right-wing populist has long resisted evidence showing the worlds largest rainforest is being burnt - with logging and farming believed to be behind much of the destruction.

Brazils national space research agency Inpe has said fires across August reached a nine-year high in 2019, with researchers expecting the scale of the blazes to be even worse this year.

More than 10,000 fires have been recorded in the first 10 days of August, up 17 per cent per cent from the same period a year ago, according to the agency.

However in a speech to South American leaders Mr Bolsonaro said foreign representatives who travelled to the farthest flung cities in the region would see no evidence of the fires.

Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Show all 25 1 /25 Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Fire rages in the Amazon rainforest in the Brazilian state of Rondonina on August 23 Reuters Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Smoke billlows from burning tracts of the Amazon rainforest in the Brazilian state of Para on August 23 AFP/Getty Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Fire rages in the Amazon rainforest in the Brazilian state of Rondonina on August 23 EPA Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Land in the Amazon rainforest left scorched in the fires in the Brazilian state of Rondonina on August 23 AFP/Getty Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Smoke billows during a fire in an area of the Amazon rainforest in the state of Rondonia, Brazil on August 23 AFP Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Fire tears through a farm in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso AP Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures An area of the Amazon rainforest left scorched in the fires in the Brazilian state of Amazonas on August 24 AFP/Getty Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Satellite images show a series of fires in the southwest Brazilian state of Rondonia on August 15 AP Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Smoke billows during a fire in an area of the Amazon rainforest in the state of Rondonia, Brazil Reuters Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures A satellite image released by NASA shows the active fires that have been detected in the Amazon region EPA Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Smoke billows during a fire in an area of the Amazon rainforest in the state of Amazonas, Brazil Reuters Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Smoke billows during a fire in an area of the Amazon rainforest in the state of Rondonia, Brazil Reuters Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Smoke billows during a fire in an area of the Amazon rainforest in the state of Rondonia, Brazil Reuters Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Smoke billows during a fire in an area of the Amazon rainforest in the state of Amazonas, Brazil Reuters Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Indigenous people from the Mura tribe wallk in a deforested area inside the Amazon rainforest in the Brazilian state of Amazonas on August 20 Reuters Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Fire tears through a farm in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso AP Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Smoke billows from a stretch of fire in the Amazon rainforest in the Brazilian state of Rondonia on 23 August AFP/Getty Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Smoke billows during a fire in an area of the Amazon rainforest in the state of Amazonas, Brazil Reuters Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Indigenous people from the Mura tribe wallk in a deforested area inside the Amazon rainforest in the Brazilian state of Amazonas on August 20 Reuters Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Smoke billows from a stretch of fire in the Amazon rainforest in the Brazilian state of Rondonia on 23 August AFP/Getty Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures A view of logs felled illegally in the Amazon rainforest are seen in sawmills in the Brazilian state of Amazonas on August 22 Reuters Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures A scorched patch of land in the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil on 20 August EPA Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Several fires are seen burning in the Amazon rainforest in this satellite image taken by NASA on 11 August AFP/Getty Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures Smoke billows from a stretch of fire in the Amazon rainforest in the Brazilian state of Rondonia on 23 August AFP/Getty Amazon rainforest swept by fires: In pictures The sunsets behind clouds and smoke from fires in the Amazon rainforest in the Brazilian state of Rondonia on 18 August EPA

"They won't find any spot of fire, nor a quarter of a hectare deforested," Mr Bolsonaro told a meeting of members of the Leticia Pact, an agreement between Amazon countries to protect the rainforest. "This story that the Amazon is going up in flames is a lie and we must combat it with true numbers.

Recommended Number of fires more than doubles in Brazilian wetlands

He went on to suggest that, as the Amazon was a wet forest, it does not catch fire - and claimed media and foreign governments were presenting a false narrative around the natural wonder.

Experts say that fires are not a natural phenomenon in the rainforest, but are usually man-made in order to clear deforested land for pasture.

Earlier this month analysis by advocacy group Greenpeace Brazil said it had recorded a total of 6,803 fires in the Amazon rainforest last month, compared to 5,318 in the same month of 2019.

Its a terrible sign, Ane Alencar, science director at Brazils Amazon Environmental Research Institute told Reuters.

We can expect that August will already be a difficult month and September will be worse yet.

Additional reporting by agencies
KYODO NEWS - Aug 13, 2020 - 18:58 | World, All

Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai pledged Thursday to carry on with his fight for the rule of law and freedom in the territory after his arrest for allegedly endangering China's national security.

Speaking in an interview streamed on YouTube one day after his release from police detention, the Apple Daily owner said he had misjudged China's reaction toward global criticisms over the imposition of the sweeping national security law on the former British colony.

"I didn't expect arrest as quick as this," Lai said. "I thought that China, with such a strong response from the international community...knew that implementation of the national security law was a blunder."

Related coverage:

Hong Kong activist, media mogul released after arrests: local media

China urges Japan not to meddle in Hong Kong after activists arrests

Japanese come out in support of arrested Hong Kong activist

Lai speculated that a lack of coordination could have been at play over his arrest. "Maybe the top and the lower rank don't coordinate. Maybe the regime is in great disorder. That's my impression."

The Beijing-enacted legislation, which went into force in the territory on June 30, outlaws activities that China defines as acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.

Hong Kong police arrested Lai and nine others on Monday for alleged collusion with foreign forces and fraud. Around 200 police officers also raided Apple Daily's newsroom and offices to gather evidence.

During Lai's detention, the newspaper was sold out at newsstands as people came out to show their support, boosting the daily publication from 70,000 to 550,000 copies. The stock price of its parent company was up by 330 percent Tuesday as investors snapped up shares.

"I really was overwhelmed by the emotion of the city," Lai said. "People obviously were angry about my arrest and they came out in different ways to support us."

Lai condemned his arrest and the raid as "such a violation of Hong Kong people's belief of freedom of speech."

While agreeing that confronting China may not be conducive, Lai said the world needs to change China's behavior and attitude into adopting a more civilized value. Otherwise, "the world will not have peace," he said.

All of the arrested had been released on bail by early Wednesday, including activist Agnes Chow, who on a separate YouTube live-feed video described her fear of loss of freedom should she be indicted.

Chow, who is fluent in Japanese and well-known in Japan, also expressed gratitude to her supporters in the country.
Yanomami indigenous look on as arriving to receive health care during the Yanomami / Raposa Serra do Sol Mission amidst at the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic at the 4 Special Border Platoon in the city of Alto Alegre on July 01, 2020 in Roraima, Brazil. (Getty Image) (Photo : Getty Images)

A way to help curb deforestation and environmental damage in the Amazon rainforest and consequently slow down climate change is to provide indigenous communities in Brazil full indigenous property rights to their tribal lands.

New research from UCSD scientists have been published online in the PNAS journal.

The current situation

The Amazon rainforest contains half of all the remaining tropical rainforest on Earth. It is one of the most important biodiversity hotspots on the planet, playing a major role in shaping water and climate cycles worldwide.

Unfortunately, the Amazon basin is currently losing an alarming number of trees in a very short time. Recent years in particular have seen high levels of deforestation from the combination of illegal logging and massive forest fires.

READ: Indigenous Communities in Australia Cultivated Banana 2,000 Years Ago





Claiming the Amazon

The question of who the Amazon belongs to is a topic of hot debate. Private entities conduct illegal mining and logging to show a "productive" use of the land, thereby getting the title to those lands. Presently, there are millions of hectares of lands that are pending classification as a tribal territory. There have also been objections against the viewpoint that indigenous tribal property rights will be able to stop or reduce the illegal logging of the rainforest.

The rights are being granted to Brazilian indigenous peoples through a long and complex constitutional procedure, which are different from the rights to private property that are more familiar to us.

The study

Kathryn Baragwanath, political science researcher from UC San Diego, led the study with an innovative methodology that combines Amazon rainforest vegetation cover satellite data and government records on indigenous property rights. The researchers included in their study the data between 1982 to 2016.

The research team found that there was significant reduction in deforestation in tribal territories which are fully owned collectively by the tribes themselves. This is in comparison to areas that are either not owned or only owned partially by these local tribes. There was a 66% average effect in deforestation reduction.

According to the study authors, which include Columbia University's Ella Bayi, collective property rights can be considered effective if they are analyzed from the final titling stage in Brazil, which may be completed up to 25 years, or at the stage when the tribes gain the full rights.

According to the researchers, full indigenous property rights provide the tribes with official recognition of territorial ownership. This enables them to demarcate territories and get access to support from enforcement and monitoring agencies.

READ: Kiribati President Plans to Raise Islands to Address Sea Level Rise





Implications

Baragwanath says that their research shows how full indigenous property rights carry significant implications regarding the capacity of indigenous people to curb deforestation in their territories.

Baragwanath also adds that giving these territories to these tribes is a very inexpensive way for government to both promote conservation of the rainforest as well as help in curbing global warming.

It is an important matter because a lot of indigenous territories still haven't received full indigenous property rights, which tells NGOs and policymakers who are concerned with this matter that they should focus their resources and efforts in this aspect.

READ NEXT: Brazil Records Big Increase in Amazon Forest Fires
A mother said her family were removed from a flight after her three-year-old autistic son would not wear a face mask.

Alyssa Sadler, from Houston, Texas, said her Southwest Airlines flight from Midland to Houston was returned to the gate when her son refused to wear the mask.

She was also traveling with her one-year-old daughter on Monday when her son began throwing a fit when she tried to put his face mask on.

The boy has a sensory processing disorder and does not like to have his face touched.

Alyssa Sadler, from Houston, Texas, said her Southwest Airlines flight from Midland, to Houston was returned to the gate after her three-year-old autistic son refused to wear a face mask

She was also traveling with her one-year-old daughter on Monday when her son began throwing a fit when she tried to put his face mask on (file photo)

A flight attendant noticed he would not put the mask on and the flight was returned to the gate despite Ms Sadler's note from the boys doctor about his condition.

Ms Sadler wrote on Facebook: 'When you get kicked off your flight because your 3 year old autistic child won't wear a mask.

'Looks like I'm stuck here in midland.'

Ms Sadler said the captain announced the reason for the early return over the loudspeaker, telling the plane that a noncompliant passenger refused to wear a facial covering.

In July, Southwest and American Airlines they were tightening their face mask rules by eliminating exceptions for medical reasons, with children under two exempt from the policy

She said an escort helped remove her familys luggage and that airline officials later wrote up her son for noncompliance to the carriers policy.

She said: 'He was screaming. He was throwing a fit. He was screaming "no, no, no".

'They're going over the security safety features and all that, and the flight attendant walks by and tells me that he has to put a mask on,' she told KPRC.

'So, I try to put the mask on him. He is three and has autism and sensory processing disorders, so he wouldn't keep the mask on.'

A flight attendant noticed he would not put the mask on and the flight was returned to the gate despite Ms Sadler's note from the boys doctor about his condition, Ms Sadler says

In July, Southwest and American Airlines they were tightening their face mask rules by eliminating exceptions for medical reasons, with children under two exempt from the policy.

All US airlines have similar mandatory face mask policies and the family will receive a full refund for their flight.

Southwest Airlines said: 'We communicate this policy to all customers at multiple touchpoints throughout the travel journey, so we regret any inconvenience this family experienced.

'If a customer is unable to wear a face covering for any reason, Southwest regrets that we are unable to transport the individual.'

A member of the family will drive Ms Sadler and her children to Houston today.
New Zealand could be kept in lockdown until October after another 13 cases linked to a family-of-four were uncovered.

Health authorities are scrambling to contain the growing cluster of cases linked to the Auckland family, who tested positive on Tuesday, plunging the country back into lockdown.

There was early speculation the virus arrived on the packaging of frozen-food shipments before infecting a family member - a worker at Americold - who unpacked them.

The unexpected outbreak plunged New Zealand back into lockdown after 102 days without recording a locally transmitted case of the virus.

Chinese health authorities have now revealed that traces of coronavirus have been found in frozen chicken wings and on food packaging.

A sample taken from frozen chicken wings that had arrived in Shenzhen from Brazil were reportedly contaminated with COVID-19, with an epidemiologist now warning the public to take precautions around frozen food.

Health authorities are scrambling to contain the growing cluster of cases linked to the Auckland family (pictured: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Thursday)

The new cases include five children, including one toddler (pictured, cars queue at a COVID-19 test centre in Auckland on Thursday)

Frozen shrimp from Ecuador sold in Xian also tested positive for coronavirus, according to local authorities, with the virus able to survive cold temperatures.

This means that an infected worker at a frozen food storage facility could transmit the virus to unknowing shoppers, as the food is dished out to supermarkets across the country.

The new cases include three men in their 50s, two men in their 40s, a man in his 30s, a woman in her 60s, a woman in her 50s, two girls, one boy and a teenage boy, taking the total in the cluster to 17 cases.

This includes a little girl aged between one and four, and a boy aged between five and nine.

Another case is a girl aged between 10 and 14, and a boy between 15 and 19 - as well as a pupil at Glamogran School.

None have recently travelled overseas.

Despite fears the family member, who works at a cold store facility, contracted the virus from imported food, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters suggested the cluster may be linked to a hotel quarantine breach.

Mr Peters said he hasnt been officially informed that there was a breach but expects it to be announced by health officials on Friday.

He said his source was a 'very reliable' journalist investigating the outbreak.

Chinese health authorities have revealed that traces of coronavirus in imported frozen chicken wings and on food packaging have been found (pictured, a lab in China on Wednesday)

Epidemiologist Michael Baker said New Zealand could remain in lockdown for another seven weeks (pictured, Wellington on Wednesday as the country went back into lockdown)

'It wasn't an official, I found out from somewhere else, but I think there's been a breach inside our quarantine system,' he told the ABC on Thursday.

The unexpected outbreak has prompted warnings from a top scientist that New Zealand could remain in lockdown for another seven weeks - the start of October.

Epidemiologist Michael Baker said it will depend on how far the outbreak had already spread and if a direct link to an overseas case could be identified.

'You would expect a longer lockdown would be more likely. The most positive outcome is if contact tracing identifies a clear line of transmission from an imported case or someone working at managed quarantine,' Prof Baker told the NZ Herald.

'If the direct line to imported cases is established quickly that's very helpful and then it's finding out the extent of infection among the contacts, if some of them are infected then it's working out the extent of infection among their contacts and so it goes on.'

Prof Baker suggested New Zealand would go back to the situation in March when no more cases were recorded after five weeks of Level Four restrictions and then two weeks at Level Three.

All the 600 families and staff at Glamorgan School in Torbay have been ordered to stay in self-isolation after a boy tested positive

Prof Baker suggested New Zealand would go back to the situation in March when no more cases were recorded after five weeks of Level Four restrictions and then two weeks at Level Three

'I don't think anyone is imagining that will be necessary this time around but if you are taking the extreme range of possibilities we know from experience in March that it was very effective,' he said.

Meanwhile a school in Auckland's north shore has been closed after a young student tested positive to the virus.

All the 600 families and staff at Glamorgan School in Torbay have been ordered to stay in self-isolation.

Health officials are working to trace close contacts of the child, including classmates and staff.

The school is set to reopen on Monday, but authorities have warned it could remain shut next week if more cases are confirmed there.

A six-year-old boy at Southern Cross Campus in Auckland has also tested positive to coronavirus.

The school's board held an emergency meeting on Thursday night. Two teachers and 28 of the boy's classmates are now in self-isolation.
More details have emerged about the man who fled hotel quarantine nine days into his 14-day mandatory isolation, sparking a large-scale police hunt.

Queensland Police has launched a review into the state's hotel quarantine program after the man absconded from a Toowoomba hotel, west of Brisbane earlier this week.

Aaron Sydney Green, 25, handed himself in after two days on the run and has since been charged and escorted back to hotel quarantine after he appeared in court.

Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll told reporters he left the hotel on August 10, nine days into mandatory quarantine after returning from a New South Wales hotspot but wasn't identified as missing until the next morning.

Queensland Police will review the state's hotel quarantine system after a man absconded nine days into his 14-day mandatory isolation. Pictured are police at a NSW/Queensland border checkpoint near Coolangatta on August 7

She told reporters Green had attempted to unlawfully enter Queensland by allegedly lying on his border declaration pass on August 1.

Police also alleged he was driving a stolen vehicle and had restricted drugs and utensils in the car.

Toowoomba Magistrates Court heard on Thursday that Green fled hotel quarantine to find drugs after he had an argument with his partner, ABC reported.

He pleaded guilty to contravening a public health direction and fined $1,500 for failing to complete compulsory isolation.

Green was escorted back to hotel quarantine, where he will be closely monitored until he completes his isolation period.

He has since returned a second negative COVID-19 result after he was initially tested at the start of hotel quarantine.

Green has also been fined $4003 for providing false information and charged with four drug offences to appear in Goondiwindi Magistrates Court on September 2.

Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll (pictured) revealed more details about the hotel quarantine escapee while announcing a review will be launched

The incident has sparked a review into Queensland's hotel quarantine system.

'Somewhere in this, this person has slipped past us in the system that is set up at that hotel,' Commissioner Carroll said.

'The reason why I have asked for a review is because I don't know what the system was in this particular hotel and obviously there must have been some failing.

'Because if we had a very robust system, with good framework and governance this would not have occurred.

Queensland recorded no new cases of coronavirus on Thursday.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk recently laid down orders that anyone entering her state from Sydney 'hotspots', Liverpool, Fairfield, and Campbelltown, would have to enter 14-day mandatory quarantine at their own expense.

More than 16,000 people have spent time in Queensland hotel quarantine since March. Pictured are Australian Defence Force personnel outside the Ibis Airport Hotel in Brisbane earlier this year

The rules were tightened again last Saturday, with the border slamming shut to all of New South Wales and the ACT, after Premier Palaszczuk declared them both hotspots.

The measures came amid mounting fears that Victoria's horror second wave could spill into NSW.

As the high case count in Victoria starts to steady, COVID-19 infections have slightly climbed over the past few days, largely due to an outbreak at a school in Sydney's north-west.

In recent months, there have been several cases of people fleeing from mandatory hotel quarantine.

Queensland recorded another day of no new cases on Thursday, almost a week after closing its border to NSW residents. Pictured are police at the border checkpoint near Coolangatta

In July, flight attendant escaped from a Sydney hotel by allegedly convincing security guards she had to catch a plane in order to return to work.

She was fined $1000 and returned to the hotel.

Instagram influencer Sarah Josephine Liberty was busted breaking out of the Marriott Hotel on Pitt Street in Sydney via the fire escape on July 4 to have a cigarette.

Police later found her 150 metres away and issued her with a $1000 fine before she was returned to her room.
Luigi Ventura will face trial on sexual assault charges, following complaints by four men.

Pope Franciss former ambassador to France will face trial on sexual assault charges, following complaints by four men, according to the Paris prosecutors office.

The trial of Luigi Ventura is due to start on November 10, the prosecutors office said on Thursday, a year after the Vatican stripped the Italian-born archbishop of his diplomatic immunity.

He will attend the hearing to defend his honour and innocence, Venturas lawyer Bertrand Ollivier told the AFP news agency.

Jade Dousselin, a lawyer for one of the plaintiffs, said the decision to put Ventura on trial was a victory for the alleged victims.

The move validates what we have been saying all along and reinforces the victims in their decision to press their claims so that his impunity would not be allowed to continue, she said.

The allegations

An investigation was opened after the Paris municipality alerted prosecutors to a complaint by a young employee that he was repeatedly groped by Ventura, who allegedly caressed his buttocks, at a diplomatic ceremony in January last year.

He was later joined by two other men with similar complaints dating back to 2018, and then by a fourth.

A complaint was also filed in Ottawa by a man who made similar allegations about an incident in 2008, while Ventura was serving in Canada.





Ventura was questioned by French police in July last year and resigned last December when he reached the 75-year age limit for his post.

A career diplomat, Ventura served in Brazil, Bolivia and the United Kingdom before being appointed nuncio, or envoy, to Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Niger, Chile and then Canada.

The Catholic Church has been battling a wave of allegations detailing decades of sexual assault and abuse by clerics, mostly involving minors. Alleged sexual assault complaints by adult men are rare.

Pope Francis has promised to confront criminal offences in the Churchs ranks.

A report in June said at least 3,000 children had fallen victim to sexual abuse in the French Catholic Church since 1950.

In the most recent high-profile case, defrocked Catholic Priest Bernard Preynat was given a five-year jail term in March for sexually abusing boy scouts in his care several decades ago.

But in January, an appeals court overturned the conviction of Preynats superior, Lyons former archbishop Philippe Barbarin, for not reporting the abuse despite knowing about it for years.
90 Day Fiance fans have witnessed the rocky relationship between Andrei Castravet and Elizabeth Potthast unfold during the past two seasons of Happily Ever After? Since making their debut in the franchise during season 5 of 90 Day Fiance, Elizabeths family has made it clear they do not approve of the relationship. However, Andrei is not the only one to blame for all of the family drama.

90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After? stars Andrei and Elizabeth

A second wedding in Moldova for the 90 Day Fiance stars

Andrei and Elizabeths relationship quickly blossomed after they connected on a dating app and met up in Dublin back in 2016. The Moldova native moved to Florida to be with Elizabeth, and just one year later they tied the knot. The couple welcomed their daughter Eleanor Louise in January 2019.

Elizabeths family has never trusted Andrei, and they have been extremely vocal with their objections to the relationship. They have accused Andrei of being too controlling, suspect he is using Elizabeth for a green card, and his issues with work permits and jobs have caused serious doubts about his ability to support his family.

Even though Andrei and Elizabeth still rely on her family for money they moved forward with their plans for a second wedding in Moldova. With Elizabeths dad giving them a budget of $15,000. This additional cost, of course, caused even more tension.

Despite their objections to the relationship, Elizabeths family traveled to Moldova for the couples second wedding. In Touch Weekly noted that as soon as their plane touched down in Europe, the tension started to escalate.

Tension between Andrei and Elizabeths family escalated after they arrived in Moldova

Elizabeths dad Chuck Potthast and her brother, Charlie, wasted no time in trying to find out more about Andrei. They started asking his family and friends questions about his past during a dinner, and this enraged the 33-year-old.

This led to a nasty fight between Andrei and Charlie that almost turned violent during the August 9 episode. The two were cursing, taunting, and challenging each other while getting in each others faces.

Get the f**k out. Ill f**k you up man, Andrei told Charlie.

RELATED: 90 Day Fiance: Elizabeth Potthast Calls Rumors That Andrei Castravet Is Abusive Disgusting

To which he responded, Do it!

Andrei threatened to take the fight outside, but his friends jumped in to break things up. He finally agreed to sit back down at the dinner table when Elizabeth pulled him away, and the two men cooled down.

I dont know what the f**k is going on, but like, theyre both at fault right now and like, thats no way to behave. This is not OK, Elizabeth said in her confessional.

90 Day Fiance fans are starting to turn on Chuck and Charlie Potthast

Chuck and Charlies concerns about Andrei and his relationship with Elizabeth do have some merit. But it is clear to fans at this point that Andrei isnt the only one to blame for the drama.

According to Screen Rant, Charlie was a loud, obnoxious American stereotype during his fight with Andrei in Moldova. He refused to keep his mouth shut  continuing with the name-calling and provocation  and embarrassed himself in front of Andreis family and friends.

This wasnt the best look for an American in a foreign country, but the 90 Day Fiance star chalked it up to her husband and brother being similar and hot-headed.

As for Chuck, numerous fans have started to argue that he should keep quiet about his problems with Andreis behavior.

Some fans now believe that the Potthast familys negative behavior toward Andrei has been an attempt to cover up or divert attention away from their own secrets.

New episodes of 90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After? air Sunday nights on TLC.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 17:42:41|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- China's Changsha municipal government has donated 40,000 medical-grade face masks to Annapolis, its sister city in the United States, local media reported.

The donation from Changsha, capital city of central China's Hunan Province, was first offered to officials of Maryland's capital city Annapolis in April, when the need for masks among public safety workers was at its highest in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a statement by Annapolis City Manager David Jarrell.

The masks arrived in August, with one of the boxes featuring stickers of American and Chinese flags with a message reading: "Go, City of Annapolis! Best Wishes from Changsha! True unity inspires people to work as one to overcome adversity," the Capital Gazette newspaper reported.

"We sincerely wish you and everyone in Annapolis continued good health, and the fortitude to persevere during this challenging period," read a note accompanying the shipment from Changsha's Foreign Affairs Office. Enditem
Beirut: Lebanese security forces deployed heavily in Lebanese capital on Thursday, stopping protesters from reaching a conference centre where MPs began meeting for the first time since a catastrophic chemicals explosion last week.

Senior US official David Hale was expected in Beirut later on Thursday to stress the urgent need for financial and governance reforms, ending endemic corruption and bringing transparency, among other messages, the US embassy said.

Firefighters carry the coffin of their comrade Rami Kaaki, one of 10 firefighters killed during the last week's explosion in Beirut. Credit:AP

The August 4 blast at a warehouse storing highly-explosive material in Beirut port injured some 6000, left around 300,000 without habitable housing and wrecked swathes of the city, which was already in a deep financial crisis. Some 30-40 people are still missing more than a week after the blast. The current death toll could be as high as 200.

The authorities say the blast was caused by more than 2000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored for years without safety measures.
President Trump Signs Additional COVID Relief  What To Expect from the Markets

Up until the end of the last week, Republicans and Democrats were locked in heated negotiations regarding the size and scope of pending COVID-19 relief efforts. Our researchers had little hope that any negotiations would be successful given the two sides were so far away from one another in terms of wants and wishes.

On Saturday, August 8, 2020, President Trump signed a new Executive Order (and memorandums) to provide additional relief from the coronavirus that continues to spread in the US and around the world. These measures provide for as much as $400 in enhanced unemployment payments, and also offer Americans with temporary payroll tax relief, student loan deferments, and assistance to homeowners and renters.

NEW EXECUTIVE ORDER  WHAT TO EXPECT

The markets, meanwhile, continued to Melt-Up over the past few weeks with the SPX500 briefly reaching into new all-time high territory before selling off on Friday. In all likelihood, given news of the Executive Orders issued by President Trump yesterday, the markets will likely view this a reprieve from the mounting pressures that lie just under the surface of the US economy.

We believe there is a very strong likelihood that the US and global markets will interpret the newly signed relief efforts positively, resulting in a strong potential for a continued melt-up over the next few days/weeks. Investors and traders have been banking on the fact that the US Fed and Congress would do everything possible to support the US economy and the millions of displaced workers who find themselves suddenly unemployed.

We want to point out there is a huge unknown factor that is lurking just below the surface of the sky-high market valuation levels  those individuals who have entered a forbearance or deferment programs designed to alleviate the economic and accounting collapse associated with the COVID-19 virus event. Quite a bit of this very unusual effort has been detailed in this Wolf Street article where the author itemizes dangers within the household credit markets.

The reality is grim: hundreds of billions in student loans, auto loans, and mortgages have been deferred, while the number of unemployed jumped to 32.1 million at the start of August. Instead of facilitating these losses through traditional channels, new forbearance and deferment programs, including that from these latest Executive Orders, have shifted these extensive, looming liabilities into the performing loans category on banks balance sheets so everything seems rosy for investors.

We believe we are witnessing the most incredible economic phenomena unfolding since the roaring 20s. We have gotten to a point where traditional accounting doesnt seem to matter as long as the ship is still floating. Put a fresh coat of paint on it and call it good  who cares about fundamentals and whether the ship is structurally sound or not.

Before you continue, be sure to opt-in to our free-market trend signalsnow so you dont miss our next special report!

For skilled traders, this is one of the most challenging, yet exciting, times to be in the market. We are navigating a new open sea where the conditions are changing almost every week. Gold and Silver have already started screaming that risks and excesses are FULL-TILT. Daily volume is starting to slow down on many charts and many of the major indexes are nearing the February 2020 highs. The markets are either going to continue to melt-up for a while or digest this new COVID-19 relief package as a real concern for what the markets will look like near the end of 2020. Our researchers believe the melt-up scenario is the most likely outcome, but we dont believe it will last more than two to three weeks before reality sets in.

TRANSPORTATION INDEX CONSOLIDATION AND BREAKOUT PATTERNS

The Daily TRAN/SPY chart below highlights the consolidation and breakout rally mode that has continued to set up in both the TRAN and SPY. We believe the current rally may continue for a few more days before another consolidation pattern sets up. Weve discussed measured moves as a common technical analysis technique. The Transportation Index has moved 1825 to 2000 points in each of the three upside measured moves from the March 20 bottom. Each of these moves has happened after a consolidation breakout pattern. Currently, the TRAN has already moved in excess of 1900 points from the last consolidation breakout pattern. Thus, we strongly believe a further melt-up may only offer 100 to 250 upside points before a new consolidation pattern begins.

The Weekly TRAN/SPY chart below highlights similar longer-term consolidation and breakout patterns that seem to present very real opportunities for SPY traders. When the TRAN enters a longer-term consolidation period, then breaks out to the upside, there is often a larger upside move in the SPY that is likely to follow. Each of these upside price moves in the SPY seems to total $25 to $35 of upside price activity before a new peak sets up. If a similar type of price move continues from the current upside price breakout, then the upside SPY target level should be near $340 to $350 where a new peak will form. This is only $5.50 to $15.50 away from current SPY price levels (+1.75% to +4.5% higher).

We suggest traders expect a continued moderate melt-up after President Trumps Executive Order actions on Saturday with very clear targets in the SPY just 2% to 4% higher. At that point, we believe the markets will enter another consolidation period and begin to move sideways. Watch metals and watch for conditions that could present greater risks. If Gold breaches $2300 or Silver breaches $37.50, then traders should really start to worry that metals are suggesting risk levels are now at critical levels.

As a technical analyst and trader since 1997, I have been through a few bull/bear market cycles in stocks and commodities. I believe I have a good pulse on the market and timing key turning points for investing and short-term swing traders. 2020 is going to be an incredible year for skilled traders. Dont miss all the incredible moves and trade setups.

If you found this informative, then sign up now to get a pre-market video every day before the opening bell that walks you through the charts and my proprietary technical analysis of all of the major assets classes. You will also receive my easy-to-follow ETF swing trades that always include an entry price, a stop, two exit targets, as well as a recommended position sizing. Visit my Active ETF Trading Newsletter to learn more.

While many of you have trading accounts, the most important accounts are long-term investment and retirement accounts. Why? Because these accounts are, in most cases, an individuals largest store of wealth (other than home equity) and if they are not protected during a time like this, you could lose 25-50% or more of your entire net worth in a few days. We can help you preserve and even grow your long term capital when things get ugly (like they are now) and scary (as we expect them to soon be).

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Chris Vermeulen

www.TheTechnicalTraders.com

Chris Vermeulen has been involved in the markets since 1997 and is the founder of Technical Traders Ltd. He is an internationally recognized technical analyst, trader, and is the author of the book: 7 Steps to Win With Logic



Through years of research, trading and helping individual traders around the world. He learned that many traders have great trading ideas, but they lack one thing, they struggle to execute trades in a systematic way for consistent results. Chris helps educate traders with a three-hour video course that can change your trading results for the better.



His mission is to help his clients boost their trading performance while reducing market exposure and portfolio volatility.



He is a regular speaker on HoweStreet.com, and the FinancialSurvivorNetwork radio shows. Chris was also featured on the cover of AmalgaTrader Magazine, and contributes articles to several leading financial hubs like MarketOracle.co.uk

Disclaimer: Nothing in this report should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any securities mentioned. Technical Traders Ltd., its owners and the author of this report are not registered broker-dealers or financial advisors. Before investing in any securities, you should consult with your financial advisor and a registered broker-dealer. Never make an investment based solely on what you read in an online or printed report, including this report, especially if the investment involves a small, thinly-traded company that isnt well known. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report has been paid by Cardiff Energy Corp. In addition, the author owns shares of Cardiff Energy Corp. and would also benefit from volume and price appreciation of its stock. The information provided here within should not be construed as a financial analysis but rather as an advertisement. The authors views and opinions regarding the companies featured in reports are his own views and are based on information that he has researched independently and has received, which the author assumes to be reliable. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any content of this report, nor its fitness for any particular purpose. Lastly, the author does not guarantee that any of the companies mentioned in the reports will perform as expected, and any comparisons made to other companies may not be valid or come into effect.

Chris Vermeulen Archive

 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.




Play called off on Day 1

STUMPS! Play has been called off on Day 1 due to rain and bad light. Pakistan reach 126/5 at stumps.

Play stopped

The play has been stopped once again due to rain. Pakistan are 126/5 at the moment.

OUT!

Chris Woakes gets rid of Fawad Alam for a duck. Fawad was trapped on the pads, the umpire was not interested. Joe Root asks for a review and it showed three reds. Pakistan are 120/5

GONE!

Asad Shafiq gets a fuller one from Stuart Broad, and he has just edged it to third slip. No mistake from Dom Sibley this time. Pakistan 117/4

GONE!

Sam Curran gets rid of Abid Ali, who nicked one to Rory Burns at second slip. Fantastic stuff. Pakistan 102/3

100 for Pakistan

Two boundaries from Babar Azam, and Pakistan have reached the 100-run mark. Babar Azam looking really solid here.

Play resumes and Abid Ali reaches 50

Play has resumed after the heavy downpour and Abid Ali gets to his fifty with a streaky edge that runs down through the slips

Tea taken, umpires to inspect outfield

Pakistan are 85/2 as tea is taken at Southampton. Umpires will inspect the pitch soon. The outfield is wet but action might begin soon.

Rain stops play

Heavy showers in Southampton, and the play has been halted once again. Covers are on and the players are walking off.

GONE!

Finally, James Anderson gets an edge off Azhar Ali, and this time there was no mistake from Rory Burns at second slip. Huge wicket. Azhar departs for 20, Pakistan 78/2.

Back after rain

Pakistans Azhar Ali and Abid Ali return to the middle as the play resumes after Lunch. Anderson and Broad into the attack for England.

Rains stops pay

Rain arrives and the umpires have decided to go off. We are only 10 minutes away from lunch. It does look like the umpires will call for an early lunch but we will wait for official confirmation. Pakistan are 62 for 1.

Testing times

Abid Ali and Azhar Ali are living dangerously. James Anderson and Stuart Broad have gone past their bat on numerous occasions.

50 up for Pakistan

Abid Ali and Azhar Ali have taken Pakistan to 50-run mark. This is a good partnership between the two batsmen.

Woakes brings in four slips

Four slips to Chris Woakes as skipper Azhar Ali continues to defend everything that comes his way. Azhar looks well settled now.

DROP!

Good bounce rrom Woakes, gets a thick edge off Abid Alis bat, and it has been put down by Rory Burns in the 2nd slips. Poor from England.

Change in bowling attack

Sam Curran has replaced James Anderson into the attack. The left-armer will be eager to make a mark here.

Good start from England

How good have Stuart Broad and James Anderson have been this morning. The duo have given little to no space to Pakistan openers to get comfortable. Good start from England.

Azhar Ali needs to do more

As a captain, Azhar Ali needs to do more today. He needs to lead the team from the front and get them to a heavy total here in Southampton in the first innings/

GONE!

LBW appeal against Shan Masood and the finger goes up. Shan Masood is not waiting and he is walking. That looks plumb. James Anderson gets the first one. PAK 6/1

Changes in team

Two changes for England from their winning-team from Manchester - Jofra Archer rested and Sam Curran returns. Ben Stokes has been replaced by Zak Crawley. One change for Pakistan - Fawad Alam is in for Shadab Khan.

Shan Masood, Abid Ali out to bat

Shan Masood, Abid Ali out to bat. James Anderson starts with the new ball for England. HERE WE GO!

Pakistan win toss

Pakistan captain Azhar Ali has won the toss and elected to bat first. Fawad Alam to play in second Test.

Hafeez to self-isolate

Mohammad Hafeez has been asked to self-isolate himself as he breached the bio-bubble protocol on Wednesday. Hafeez was clicked with a woman without keeping two-meter distance.

England will miss Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes will miss the last two tests of the series for some family reasons.

Will Anderson break record

James Anderson is on the verge of completing a huge milestone. Anderson is 10 wickets away from becoming the only fast bowler in history to claim 600 Test wickets, and overall, only the fourth to the landmark.

Pitch update

It is hot and humid in Southampton. But there is a little bit of greenery on the pitch, something that will bring a smile on a pacers face.

Weather update

There is a thunderstorm expected in England but Southampton might stay clear atleast on Thursday.

Hello and Welcome

Hello and welcome to the live coverage of Day 1 of England vs Pakistan 2nd Test match at Rose Bowl in Southampton.

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Tony Messenger Tony Messenger is the metro columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Follow Tony Messenger Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today

When he was in the Missouri Senate, Eric Schmitt had a reputation.

The Republican from Glendale was the guy you visited last. Schmitts a nice guy, who gets along with people on both sides of the aisle. He sometimes finds himself on both sides of an argument, but doesnt always want to let people know where he stands on an issue. So lobbyists knew that if they visited with him early on an issue he might nod along and seem like a yes vote until the guy waiting outside his third-floor office on the Capitol came in and got him leaning the other way.

So it has been in Schmitts short tenure as the appointed attorney general. He came out of the chute as an advocate for criminal justice reform, filing a fire-breathing amicus brief in the case that was a precurser to a unanimous Missouri Supreme Court decision upending a longstanding debtors prison scheme.

But then, a couple of months later, he fought to keep a man in prison who was there because of the application of the same scheme Schmitt opposed. He backed off after I pointed out the contradiction in a column.

Later, Schmitt found himself on both sides of the First Amendment. In a case involving public officials in southeast Missouri, he filed a head-scratching brief suggesting that the First Amendment somehow allowed some public records to be withheld from discovery in a lawsuit. It was around the same time that the man who appointed him as the attorney general, Gov. Mike Parson, was making a similar argument to avoid Sunshine Law disclosure.

Schmitt quickly backtracked, withdrew the brief, and later gently urged Parson to give up the argument, too, while refusing to issue an official opinion on the topic, as requested by state Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis.

For much of this year, Schmitt has found himself on both sides of another issue: the importance of prosecutorial discretion. First he was against it. Then he was for it. Now hes against it again, at least if its being used by a Black prosecutor in St. Louis.

Schmitts arguments with himself started last August, when St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner filed a motion for a new trial for Lamar Johnson, who had been convicted of murder in 1995. Gardner alleges, as does the Midwest Innocence Project, that Johnson was convicted on perjured testimony and prosecutorial misconduct. Hes innocent, they say. The judge wouldnt grant the hearing and appointed Schmitt to supersede Gardners authority.

Schmitt argued before the Missouri Supreme Court that Gardner doesnt have the discretion to seek a new trial for a man already convicted, even if she believes hes innocent.

Then Michael Flynn happened. U.S. Attorney General William Barr sought to rescind the prosecution of President Donald Trumps former national security adviser, who had already pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. The judge, in a move similar to the one made in Johnsons case, wouldnt let Barr do it.

Enter Schmitt and his fellow Republican attorneys general, demonstrating their Trumpist loyalty. In an amicus brief, Schmitt argued that prosecutorial discretion was sacrosanct.

The decision to charge is often a prosecutors most-noticed act, but the most consequential decision is often the decision not to pursue charges. Our system depends on prosecutors ability to make this decision unimpeded, the AGs wrote.

You can almost see a parenthetical remark inserted by Schmitt in the brief in disappearing ink:  unless the prosecutor is named Kim Gardner.

The brief went further, stating that if voters didnt like a prosecutorial decision, they could make the change at the ballot box. Gardner, despite Schmitt and Parson and their dark-money investors throwing everything they had at her, handily won her primary race on Aug. 4.

So now, having nothing but a few Fox News appearances to show for their efforts, and with COVID-19 raging in Missouri, and Trumps popularity falling, Parson and Schmitt have turned to the Legislature, asking it for extraordinary powers to do that which Schmitt says must not be done to white Republican prosecutors.

This time, Schmitts propensity for flip-floppery, aided by Parsons political desire to turn Gardner into his electoral Willie Horton, drew even the ire of members of his own party.

On Tuesday, after Parson tried to add Gardner-bashing to his poorly contrived tough-on-crime special session, Speaker of the House Elijah Haahr pumped the brakes, effectively killing the omnibus crime bill that had passed the Senate and starting over, maybe, next week.

Then, the next day, the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys made it clear that an attack on Gardners independence was an attack on every duly elected prosecutor in the state:

Any attempt to vest the attorney general with jurisdiction to prosecute homicides without the request of the elected prosecuting attorney fundamentally changes our system of local, independent prosecution that has served the citizens of Missouri well since 1875.

Had Schmitt spent a bit more time in the courtroom, he would have seen this coming. Instead, hes been blinded by ambition. Now hell face his own judgment in November in his race against Democrat Rich Finneran, himself a former prosecutor. Meanwhile, the Missouri Supreme Court still holds Lamar Johnsons fate in its hands. The courts decision turns, in part, on which Eric Schmitt they choose to believe.

Updated at 9 p.m. Thursday to correct the date of the primary election earlier this month.

From City Hall to the Capitol, metro columnist Tony Messenger shines light on what public officials are doing, tells stories of the disaffected, and brings voice to the issues that matter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
Childhood traumas play an effective part in shaping our personalities and while many grow up with rough edges, Bollywood star Ali Fazal was lucky enough to find his healing in late comedian Robin Williams works. On the death anniversary of the Hollywood star, Ali Fazal credited the legend for healing him in his childhood.

Williams son, Zachary Pym Zak Williams shared a monochromic picture of his father to mark his sixth death anniversary and wrote an emotional caption. It read, Dad, today marks six years since your passing. Your legacy lives on in your family and in those who carry your spirit within their hearts. We will continue to fight for whats good in the world, for peace, and for connecting people instead of tearing them apart. Love you so much! (sic)

The post made Fazal revisit his childhood memories of healing days courtesy Williams. Fazal shared, Its funny how thousands of miles away, your father managed to heal me through my childhood in so many ways.. him passing was indeed the jolt I will never forget. But with it we realise great art and its power to change and heal the world. He is a reminder of that Universal Balm (sic).

Williams died by suicide after he was found hanging at his home in Paradise Cay, California on August 11, 2014. Fans still find it hard to come to terms with his untimely death at the age of 63 and the autopsy that attributed his suicide to his struggle with Lewy body disease.

Though he was much loved as Popeye in the 1980 release, Williams starred in several critically and commercially successful films. With two Primetime Emmy Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and five Grammy Awards, Williams has a humongous body of work to his credits, some of which include The World According to Garp (1982), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Dead Poets Society (1989), Aladdin (1992), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Jumanji (1995), The Birdcage (1996), and the Night at the Museum trilogy (20062014) among others.

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An Upper Sharia court in Kano, on Wednesday, sentenced a 70-year-old man to death by stoning.

The court, sitting at Kofar Kudu, issued the verdict after the suspect, Mati Audu of Falsa community, Tsanyawa local government of the state, pleaded guilty of defiling a 12-year-old girl.

Daily Trust reports that the presiding judge, Ustaz Ibrahim Sarki Yola, passed the judgement after the suspect confessed to have committed the offense in three different sessions of the court.

Yola said the judgement was in line with the provisions of Islamic law which prescribes death by stoning for any married persons who is found guilty of the offence.

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Winnipeg Police Services media relations people didnt have Police Chief Danny Smyths best interests at heart when they OKd his decision to publish an opinion piece in last Saturdays Free Press.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 13/8/2020 (524 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

Winnipeg Police Services media relations people didnt have Police Chief Danny Smyths best interests at heart when they OKd his decision to publish an opinion piece in last Saturdays Free Press.

If you missed it, Smyth took issue with the erosion of the "social contract" between police and the community. His complaint is social media is being used to reject the need for police and he took aim at "woke" members of the community including the "editorial board challenging the integrity of police leaders without having all the facts" and "selected academic experts who take the opportunity to denounce the police."

Smyth says this is making it hard for members of the police service to do their job.

I wouldnt want to do what cops do in this city. I had a limited career in law enforcement working as an immigration officer at a port-of-entry, arresting and detaining individuals under the immigration act for three years. I was terrible at it. My first arrest resulted in me apologizing to the individual. I cried when I found out a woman I was deporting to Tonga was attempting to sell her seven-year-old into prostitution. I just dont have the stomach for that kind of work.

And I like Smyth. I think hes a sensible, smart police chief. Hes got a tough job, dealing with a difficult situation in a city that often has challenges: one of which is being the frequent title holder as the murder capital. Weve held that title 16 times from 1981 to 2012  the highest per-capita murder rate among Canadas largest nine cities.

But his Saturday column came across as defensive and inflammatory. The fact is, there are members within the community  "woke" or not  who do not think the police are doing a good job.

Theres also a significant portion of the population who think journalists, politicians and academics are not doing a very good job. They, too, take to social media to make their feelings known. In some cases, they even show up outside peoples offices to complain.

But the biggest issue I have with Smyths column is his premise that the social contract is deteriorating. He claims that he entered into a social contract with the community of Winnipeg. That alone is a ridiculous premise.

Social contract theory, according to Thomas Hobbes, argues that without rules, our society would become a dog-eat-dog world. Instead, as a society, we have devised a code of conduct that allows for order. We are born into this, with laws and rules that govern our actions. (Yes, I know this is a simplistic overview, but this is a column and not a treatise.)

So, Smyth did not enter into a social contract. He was born into it, just like you and I. Its not like he signed on a line when he became police chief. Instead, this contract has been in existence since long before he was born and will continue after hes gone.

The contract or agreement allows society to set laws or rules by which we must abide. In the case of law enforcement, it is the government who creates the criminal code and requires the police to enforce it. Of course, there are problems with this. The social contract gives government far too much power and it doesnt provide us with much choice to get out of it if we dont agree.

More specifically, this social contract provides law enforcement with a power imbalance  the very thing that the "woke" citizens and "academics" right now are decrying on social media. People are taking to social media and to the streets to protest.

The social contract is not deteriorating. For those who are watching carefully, its being interrogated because its problematic.

Right now, were seeing the imbalance play out with Black Lives Matter protests in Spokane, Minneapolis or Atlanta. Those protests are here, too. And the protests for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls will never go away, with the memory of a tiny body wrapped in a duvet cover still firmly in many Winnipeggers minds.

Perhaps Smyth may want to remember that two of his police officers stopped a car in which 15-year-old Tina Fontaine was riding just before she died.

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Or the fact that in a space of 10 days last April, three Indigenous people died at the hands of police in Winnipeg.

A good leader would stop being defensive and try to understand what that means.

Shannon Sampert is a retired political scientist who works as a media consultant. She will return to the classroom in September to teach at the University of Manitoba.

www.mediadiva.ca.

shannon@mediadiva.ca

Twitter: @CdnMediadiva
This consistent recognition as one of the MSP 501 reflects our commitment to empowering our clients with exceptional service.

Stratosphere Networks 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, MSPs from around the globe completed an exhaustive survey and application this spring to self-report product offerings, annual total and recurring revenues, profits, revenue mix, growth opportunities and company 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 Stratosphere Networks to the 2020 MSP 501.

Were thrilled that Channel Futures choose to include us on their list of the worlds best managed service providers for the ninth year in a row, said Steve Melchiorre, CEO of Stratosphere Networks. This consistent recognition as one of the MSP 501 reflects our commitment to empowering our clients with exceptional service.

Stratosphere delivers managed services  including managed IT, managed cybersecurity and co-managed IT and trusted advisor services to organizations across all industries. The company serves businesses in the Chicago area and beyond from a state-of-the-art Network Operations Center (NOC) and Security Operations Center (SOC).

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 mailto: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 Channel Futures.

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, 2018. The MSP 501 list recognizes top managed service providers based on metrics including recurring revenue, profit margin and other factors.

About Stratosphere Networks

Stratosphere Networks provides comprehensive managed services  including managed cybersecurity, managed IT and co-managed IT services  and trusted advisor services to businesses across all industries. Our team of IT experts strives to empower clients with exceptional service from our state-of-the-art Network Operations Center and Security Operations Center. The company has earned recognition as a leader in the realm of IT managed services, receiving accolades such as the Channel Partners 360 Business Value award, the MSPmentor 501, Crain's Best Places to Work in Chicago and more. Visit http://www.stratospherenetworks.com for more information.

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.
Davone Unique Anderson, 25, has confessed to killing the two mothers of his children, according to police

A Pennsylvania man has confessed to killing the two mothers of his children because he thought one was cheating on him and then feared the other would tell cops about the murder, according to police.

Davone Unique Anderson, 25, of Carlisle, allegedly shot dead Sydney Parmelee and Kaylee Lyons, both 23, in two separate attacks just weeks apart last month.

Anderson told officers that he shot Parmelee in the head at Lyons' home on East Louther Street, Carlisle, on July 5 because he thought she was cheating on him, according to arrest documents.

He said he then killed Lyons at the same home on July 30 because he was concerned she would rat him out to the police for killing Parmelee, the documents say.

The two women, who went to high school together, both had children with their suspected killer.

Parmelee, a nursing student at Harrisburg Area Community College, had a daughter with Anderson and had given birth to a son by him in March.

Lyons and Anderson had a toddler son together and she was also six weeks' pregnant with his baby at the time of her slaying.

Police said Anderson admitted to cops 'I killed them both' after he was picked up by officers on July 31.

Police were called to reports of a suicide at the property on July 5 where they found Parmelee with a gunshot wound to the head, PennLive reported.

Anderson allegedly told cops at the time Parmelee had followed him to the home where they got into an argument.

Police said the suspect said he had gone outside to smoke when he heard a gunshot ring out.

A Pennsylvania man has confessed to killing the two mothers of his children Sydney Parmelee (right) and Kaylee Lyons (left) both 23, according to police

He allegedly told cops he went back inside to found Parmelee's body on the couch next to the 14-month-old son he shares with Lyons.

Anderson said 'he and Parmelee were in a relationship, had two children together and had recently been going through a separation,' officers wrote.

'Anderson appeared calm, answering questions in a monotone manner,' they added.

However, police said evidence at the scene indicated Parmelee's death was not a suicide but a homicide.

They said investigators found no evidence she wanted to commit suicide and there was there no gunpowder burns to indicate she shot herself.

Suspicions were also raised, police said, after Anderson made conflicting statements to different cops and when they realized the victim's cell phone and wallet were missing.

An investigation was launched into her death.

Police then responded to another 911 call at the home on July 30 of reports of someone in cardiac arrest.

Officers said they arrived on the scene to find Lyons with a gunshot wound to the head.

Anderson told officers he shot Parmelee (left) in the head at Lyons' home on East Louther Street, Carlisle, on July 5 because he thought she was cheating on him, according to arrest documents. Police said he then killed Lyons (right) at the same home on July 30 because he was concerned she would rat him out to the police for killing Parmelee

The victim had been found by Andersons mom and another woman who told cops the suspect asked them to go to the house to pick up his son.

They said they found the child alone in the house with the shooting victim.

A witness also allegedly told cops Anderson had gone to a home in the Harrisburg area soon after Lyons' shooting, where he got a change of clothes and some bleach.

The witness claimed Anderson didn't want anyone to know where he was, had a gun, and asked about being tracked.

Lyons was rushed to hospital where she died the following day. Her unborn baby also died.

Anderson was arrested the next day on July 31 while driving Lyons' Honda Civic and allegedly confessed to the grisly crimes later that day.

'Anderson made an excited utterance to a correction officer that he "killed them both",' investigators said.

He told officers 'I killed Sydney' because he believed she was being unfaithful to him, they said.

He is thought to have shot her with a stolen gun before trying to stage the scene as a suicide.

Police said he then told cops 'I killed Kaylee too' - shooting her with her own gun because he feared she would turn him in to the authorities for killing Parmelee.

Anderson is charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the slayings of the two women as well as one count of first-degree murder of an unborn child for the death of his and Lyons' unborn child.

He is also charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of children, two counts of persons not to possess firearms and one count of theft by receiving stolen property.

He is expected to appear in court later this month.
The First National Bank (FNB) Ghana Limited has pledged increased funding to mortgage services after a successful merger with the erstwhile the GHL Bank raised its balance sheet to GHc21 billion.



The Executive Head of Home Loans at the bank, Mr Kojo Addo-Kufuor, told the Graphic Business that the bigger balance sheet meant that more funding would now go into its mortgage portfolio to help prospective owners realise their dreams.



Mr Addo-Kufuor was speaking to the paper after the opening of a virtual Property Developers Forum hosted by the bank.



The forum brought estate developers and allied service providers in the country together virtually to discuss pertinent issues affecting the industry.



The discussion centered on how the industry could survive the raging novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and emerge stronger.



Resolve

Mr Addo-Kufuor, who was the Chief Executive Officer of the GHL prior to the merger, said the FNB Ghana had resolved to help address the housing needs of Ghanaians and would, therefore, not allow the pandemic to undermine that commitment.



Housing is a universal need. "



People need shelter regardless of the situation they find themselves in."



"So, whether Covid-19 or no Covid-19, the demands have not changed."



"That is why keeping the relationship with developers and agents is a very important activity on our calendar every year, he told estate developers and other industry stakeholders.



Mortgage budget

He said the bank would arrive at the exact amount of funding to dedicate to its mortgage portfolio after completing a review of applications received by the now consummated GHL Bank.



He said following the merger, the bank had introduced an enhanced home loans portfolio with a dedicated team and a robust platform to serve the increasing number of people "discovering the benefits of mortgages."



The bank now controls about 40 per cent of the mortgage business in the country.



Interest on mortgage

When asked how the pandemic had impacted mortgage demand, he said demand was still active in spite of the ravaging nature of the disease on incomes and lives.



"People are now getting used to the idea of getting a mortgage to buy a home or build as the pain of saving up takes rather long.



"We saw more banks relooking their models to meet the demands as it was growing." This has not changed even during the pandemic."



"There is still the demand and we are ready to help as many more people realise that dream of home ownership," Mr Addo-Kufuor said.



Official data put the housing deficit at 2.5 million units although many experts believe that lack of capacity, rather than availability of properties is to blame for the acute housing shortage.



Advice

He advised mortgage clients and prospective ones to prioritise speed and efficiency while servicing their obligations under the pandemic.



He said they must also insist on due diligence to help assure security.



Commendation

Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of the Council of the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA), Mr Samuel Amegayibor, has congratulated the bank on the successful acquisition and subsequent merger with the GHL Bank.



A statement from the bank said Mr Amegayibor expressed the association's readiness to support the renewed entity to succeed.



It said he also congratulated the bank on successfully hosting the first virtual Property Developers Forum.



We were not sure of what to expect but this has been a great meeting overall.



"GREDA is behind you and the entire membership of GREDA will maintain ties with the First National Bank Ghana.

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
Jahnvi Kapoor's post was flooded with comments as fans of Sridevi paid tribute to her.

Actor Janhvi Kapoor on Thursday shared a throwback picture of herself along with her late mother, actor Sridevi.

Kapoor on Instagram remembered Sridevi on her 57th birth anniversary. The 23-year-old actor's post was flooded with comments as fans of the late icon paid tribute to her.

Here is her post



View this post on Instagram I love you mumma A post shared by Janhvi Kapoor (@janhvikapoor) on Aug 12, 2020 at 11:36pm PDT

Sridevi breathed her last on 24 February, 2018, in Dubai, where she had gone to attend a family wedding.

Born as Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan in 1963, she was known for her iconic roles in Hindi movies like Chandni, Lamhe, Mr India, Chaalbaaz, Nagina, Sadma, and English Vinglish, among many more.

The Padma Shri awardee had also made a mark with her extraordinary performances in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada films. Her last feature was Mom, for which she also received Best Actress National Award, posthumously.

Meanwhile, Kapoor's second project after Dhadak, Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl premiered on Netflix recently. The Dharma Productions film centres around the life of IAF officer Gunjan Saxena who became the first woman pilot to take part in the 1999 Kargil war.

(With inputs from Asian News International)
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 13, 2020) - Tower Resources Ltd. (TSXV: TWR) (OTC Pink: TWRFF) ("Tower" or the "Company") is pleased to report partial results from its ground magnetic-induced polarization (Mag-IP) survey along the April Trend on the Company's Nechako, BC gold-silver property (Fig. 1). Till gold grain and heavy mineral concentrate (HMC) Au and Ag analyses are also reported for the 15 reverse circulation (RC) holes that were drilled in February.

Mag Survey Results

The Mag survey has been completed, together with 70% of the IP survey. The survey contractor, Frontier Geophysics Inc., has advised Tower that the preliminary magnetic data, shown in Figure 2, are "very active". Notably, the sediment-hosted pyrite-arsenopyrite-sphalerite-galena mineralization of the Discovery Zone that was intersected on the April Trend in the last diamond drill (DD) hole of the February-March drilling campaign, APR20-10 (7.1 m core intercept grading 2.75 g/t Au, 40.2 g/t (1.2 oz/ton) Ag, 0.30% Zn and 0.28% Pb; see Tower's May 06, 2020, press release), is coincident with a linear, stratiform Mag low that extends southeast along strike to the limit of the survey area. The parallel, untested creek lineament target to the southwest is manifested as a similar Mag low.

At the north end of the survey grid, the mineralized breccia dome is manifested as a prominent, lens-shaped Mag low while the underlying unmineralized part of the breccias horizon forms a broad Mag high. The coincidence of the Mag low and breccia dome suggests that the mineralization within the dome may be more persistent than the intermittent zones (e.g. 0.4 m of 3.92 g/t Au, 152 g/t (4.4 oz/ton) Ag, 3.1% As 4.9% Zn and 0.53% Cu) that were encountered in DDH No. APR20-07 on the southern flank of the dome (see May 06, 2020, press release). The Y-shaped alteration pipe that crosscuts the thick basalt horizon between the breccia and April Trend is spotted with smaller Mag highs that reflect the known zonation from pyrite to pyrrhotite within the pipe.

Story continues

RC Drilling Results

While assays for the four DD holes of Tower's February-March drilling campaign were released on May 06, those for the bedrock and till samples from the 15 concurrent RC drill holes were delayed due to the temporary closure of ODM's heavy mineral processing laboratory during the peak of the current coronavirus pandemic. All results have now been received and those for the till samples are summarized in Table 1.

The most interesting assays obtained from the short (typically 3 m) bedrock intercepts were from Hole NRC20-74 which intersected visibly mineralized sediments that formed the target for the discovery DD hole, No. APR20-10. The first of two bedrock samples collected from the RC hole subsequently returned 0.4 g/t Au, 2.5 g/t Ag and 0.24% As.

Nine of the 15 holes intersected the partially eroded Lower Till horizon that contains remnants of the Au-Ag-As-Zn-Pb dispersal trains emanating from the April Trend and Breccia Dome. The Upper Till samples collected from these holes were not processed. The Lower Till samples, weighing approximately 10 kg, generally yielded less than 10 gold grains because most of the Au in the dispersal trains occurs as invisible inclusions in sulphide mineral grains. However, two samples contained very anomalous concentrations of 363 and 317 gold grains. The first sample is from the base of the Lower Till section that directly overlies the mineralized sediments in Hole NRC20-74 on the April Trend. The second sample was collected from a 1.5 m vertical section exposed in a new road cut through Upper Till directly overlying the head of the dispersal train from the Breccia Dome. Due to the shallowness of the road cut, the original sulphide mineral grains in the till have been consumed by post-glacial weathering, liberating their invisible gold inclusions as visible gold grains.

The HMCs of the Lower Till samples from both dispersal trains are large, sulphide-rich and anomalous in Au, Ag, As, Zn and Pb and to a lesser degree in Sb and Cd. Most of these HMCs returned Au analyses of 1 to 5 g/t. As a rule, the Au grade of a till HMC from the proximal part of a dispersal train tends to mirror the grade of the bedrock source mineralization, and the average 2.75 g/t Au grade of the 7.1 m mineralized intercept in diamond drill hole APR20-10 appears to reflect this relationship. Exceptional, 15 to 30 g/t HMC Au assays were obtained from a few till samples but are not reliable indicators of source grade because these samples were either collected directly over mineralized bedrock (Hole NRC20-74) or their HMCs were atypically very small (Holes 70 and 71).

Mr. Joe Dhami, Tower's President and CEO comments, "While the strong correlation of the magnetics with the known zones of alteration and mineralization will in itself be helpful in planning the upcoming RC and diamond drilling programs, the IP results are expected to provide the extra detail needed to accurately place the drill holes. The IP data should be particularly helpful for extending the Discovery Zone where we already have considerable background knowledge of the geology, alteration and mineralization from RC hole NRC20-74 and diamond drill hole APR20-10."

National Instrument 43-101 Disclosure

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Stuart Averill, Chairman of ODM, a Director of the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

About Tower Resources

Tower is a Canadian based mineral exploration company focused on the discovery and advancement of economic mineral projects in the Americas. The Company's key exploration assets are the Rabbit North copper-gold porphyry project located between the New Afton and Highland Valley Copper mines, the Nechako gold project near New Gold's Blackwater project and the More Creek gold project in the Golden Triangle area of Northern British Columbia.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Tower Resources Ltd.

Joe Dhami, President and CEO

(778) 996-4730

www.towerresources.ca

Reader Advisory

This news release may contain statements which constitute "forward-looking information", including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future business activities of the Company. The words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future business activities and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Company's future business activities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, fluctuations in market prices, successes of the operations of the Company, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurances that such information will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking information except as required under the applicable securities laws.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.





Figure 1

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5023/61642_6f09b2b2249ec9c1_002full.jpg





Figure 2

To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5023/61642_6f09b2b2249ec9c1_003full.jpg





Table 1

To view an enhanced version of Table 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5023/61642_6f09b2b2249ec9c1_004full.jpg

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/61642
(Natural News) Nearly 24 hours after North Carolinas WRAL broke the news of the heinous murder of a five-year old child, mainstream media outlets such as CNN and MSNBC are yet to cover the story.

(Article by Richard Moorhead republished from BigLeaguePolitics.com)

Darius N. Sessoms, a 25-year old black man, has been accused by witnesses of callously shooting white five-year old Cannon Hinnant, who was riding his bike through Wilson, North Carolina.

Sessoms was brought into custody and charged with first degree murder on Sunday night.

ABC News, Reuters, and NBC are among the other corporate news outlets that are steadfastly ignoring the story, as of Tuesday night.

The national media is a disgrace. I cannot tell you how much contempt I have for these disgusting frauds. pic.twitter.com/Wtp44oQznt  Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) August 11, 2020

Every one of these news outlets has extensively covered incidences of crime in which the races of the perpetrator and the victim are reversed, including the Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd cases. In both cases, similarly to the Hinnant case, the alleged prepetrators were arrested and charged in the crimes. Theyre remarkably silent when it comes to a case in which the alleged perpetrator is black, even though the murder of the five year old child appears to be even more heinous and senseless than the deaths of two grown men.

Sessoms brother appears to be a convicted pedophile.

Reports of the killing also appear to dismiss the racial dynamics of the heinous crime, declining to share pictures of the victim and the suspect.

Read more at: BigLeaguePolitics.com
He also serves on the M-Team, or multidisciplinary team, of volunteers who offer their professional expertise to assist PLOWS Council on Aging. The not-for-profit helps seniors age 60 and older in Palos, Lemont, Orland and Worth townships to live independently by connecting them with supportive resources. It also serves adults age 18 to 59 living with disabilities.
Shares is the leading weekly publication for retail investors. It is packed with investment ideas, news and educational material to help build and run portfolios and get more from your money.

Shares puts on free Investor Events throughout the year across the country. They provide an opportunity for investors to learn more about companies on the stock market and hear from a range of investment experts including fund managers and Shares journalists.
After President Donald Trump signed an executive order that would ban all US transactions with messaging app WeChat, some of the biggest names in American industry have begun to voice concerns about the shift directly to White House officials. According to a report published by the Wall Street Journal, representatives from more than a dozen major US companies, from Apple to Walmart to Disney to UPS, participated in a call this past Tuesday to highlight how they might be affected by action against taken against WeChat.

President Trumps executive order was meant to curtail the apps use because the Chinese government allegedly uses it as a tool to harvest personal and proprietary information from US citizens and traveling Chinese nationals. While the administrations national security concerns are clearly laid out, the rest of the orders language is broad and unspecific. When the ban goes into effect on September 20th, it will officially bar any transaction that is related to WeChat. The exact nature of those banned transactions remains unclear to almost everyone, however, and the Journal notes that detailing them is a task that falls to the Commerce Department.

Narrowing down that language before the 20th is crucial, as it could limit the potential blow US companies may take if cut off from Tencents non-American users. In the United States, WeChat isnt much more than a messaging service, one primarily used by people with professional ties to China and members of the Chinese diaspora. But in its native country, WeChat has quickly become a sort of platform-agnostic operating system  in addition to acting as a social network, WeChat has grown into a payment platform, a marketing tool, a destination for games, a financial lender and a self-contained app ecosystem. In other words, losing access to the platforms hundreds of millions of loyal users in China could put a serious dent in a companys balance sheet.

Ironically, the many American companies that rely on WeChat on some level stand to suffer far more than WeChats own parent company. Noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo told the Journal that Apple, which has long dealt with soft sales growth in China, may see global iPhone shipments dip by as much as 30 percent in the wake of a ban. Visitors to Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland have been able to use WeChat to purchase passes, rent strollers and buy concessions  if the executive order extends to American transactions with WeChats more popular Chinese counterpart as some fear, that revenue may be at risk. The same could be true for the money UPS collects from Chinese customers who pay for shipments via WeChat, and the list goes on from there.

For what its worth, WeChat owner Tencent Holdings seems considerably less concerned. The company saw its quarterly profits soar to over 30 billion yuan ($4.3 billion) this week, and executives noted in a call with investors that the companys US WeChat business accounted for a paltry 2 percent of its overall global revenue. During that same call, Tencent CFO John Lo said the company believes that President Trumps executive order will not affect WeChats domestic Chinese operations though he  like everyone else  is still waiting for further clarity.
Putting on a rare display, bluefin tuna leap out of the glistening waters as they feast on smaller fish.

Dozens were spotted off the Devon coast by kayaker Rupert Kirkwood, who photographed them splashing for two hours.

But then Atlantic bluefin are no strangers to a feeding frenzy. Their Pacific cousins are a favourite in the sushi restaurants of Japan.

Bluefin tuna, the most valuable fish in the world, were spotted leaping out of the water three miles off Plymouth on Tuesday

Dozens of the huge Atlantic bluefin tuna joined the spectacular two-hour feeding frenzy alongside whales and dolphins

A Japanese sushi restaurant owner paid a record 2.5million for a Pacific bluefin tuna in Tokyos Toyosu fishmarket last year

At market, they sell for thousands  and even millions  of pounds, making the bluefin the most valuable fish in the world.

Mr Kirkwood, 60, was three miles off Plymouth on Tuesday when he saw the bluefin in action alongside whales and dolphins.

There was a constant roar of a tuna feeding frenzy for about two hours. I saw about 20 different feeding frenzies over that time, he said.

They pin the shoaling fish  sand eels and herring  against the surface then hit them from below with such force that the tuna often breach the surface themselves.

Mr Kirkwood, who is known as The Lone Kayaker and spends his time observing marine wildlife, added: Ive seen the occasional flurry and tuna jumping  but getting a photo of them is virtually impossible because they are so fast.

Kayaker Rupert Kirkwood, 60, who photographed the feeding frenzy said that getting a photo of the tuna is virtually impossible because they are so fast

On average Atlantic bluefin tuna are 6.5ft long and 550lb

The reason I did is because so many were erupting from the surface. Theyve been seen down in Penzance the past couple of weeks, I saw a handful at Fowey the other day.

'Im not aware of anyone who has ever seen this sort of level of activity this far east.

It was so calm that for about three hours I heard almost constant porpoise breathing, splashing dolphins, splashing tuna and breathing minke whales.

As bluefin tuna are an endangered species, it is illegal to catch them in the UK. If caught by accident, they must be returned to the sea.

David Attenborough called them superfish as they can reach speeds of 43mph and dive more than 3,000ft
Bindi Irwin and hubby Chandler Powell are going to have a baby!

On Tuesday, stars of Crikey! Its the Irwins show broke the good news on Instagram. The mom-to-be, Bindi, 22, let the world know their Baby Wildlife Warrior is due in 2021 in a photo caption.

Chandler and I are proud to announce that were expecting! she wrote beside a photo of the couple, both donning Australia Zoo khaki shirts and holding an adorably tiny matching shirt for the little one on the way. Its an honour to share this special moment in our lives with you.

Bindi continued: Though Im still in my first trimester, we really want you to be part of our journey from the beginning of this new life chapter. We couldnt wait to share the news as this beautiful little being has become the most important part of our lives. Your support means the world to us.

Wakeboarder Chandler Powell (L) and conservationist and TV personality Bindi Irwin (R) pose for a photo at the ceremony for Steve Irwin, who was honored posthumously with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California, on April 26, 2018. (MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images)

She added: Please let me know your best advice and send good vibes & prayers to our little sweetheart. Love & light. 

Chandler, 23, shared a comment on Bindis post: Youre going to be the best mother  And she replied: Were going to be parents!! Still crying tears of happiness. I love you so much.

Instagrammers joined in the excitement, sharing messages of congratulations in the comments section and offering up over 1.3 million likes.

On the same day, father-to-be Chandler shared his own announcement full of excitement on Instagram.

Were going to be parents!! he captioned beside the same photo as Bindi. We have a baby Wildlife Warrior on the way coming in 2021. Becoming a dad is the highlight of my life. I cannot wait to embark on this new adventure and life chapter with my gorgeous wife, @bindisueirwin. Bee, youre going to be the most amazing mother.

And brother Robert Irwin also announced on Twitter that hes going to be an uncle!

The best news ever! he wrote with a photo with him in the photoshoot, along with mom and co-star Terri Irwin.

I am so happy for Bindi & Chandler to be welcoming a new member of the family, he adds. I cant believe Im going to be an uncle! Incredibly excited for this brilliant new chapter and all the fun adventures ahead with a new little Wildlife Warrior!

Robert Irwin, Terri Irwin, Bindi Irwin, and Chandler Powell attend The Paley Center For Media Presents: An Evening With The Irwins: Crikey! Its The Irwins Screening And Conversation at The Paley Center for Media on May 3, 2019, in Beverly Hills, California. (Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

And Wildlife Warrior mom Terri Irwin also shared the good news on her Twitter, with a photo of herself and the lovely couple.

This is the best day ever! I am over the moon to announce that @BindiIrwin and @chandlerpowell9 are going to have a baby! Terri shared joyously. Words cannot express the love that is filling my heart. While I wish that Steve was here to share this beautiful moment, I know that he would be so proud.

Bindi and Chandler met in 2013 when Chandler came to Australia from his native city of Florida to partake in a wakeboard competition, and she took him on a tour of Australia Zoo.

Last July, they got engaged, and on March 25, they had their wedding ceremony right before virus-containment measures were in effect, limiting wedding sizes to just five people.

Bindi herself is the daughter of the late Steve Irwin, star of The Crocodile Hunter show and zoo keeper at Australia Zoo, who died from a stingray attack in 2006. Yet, its clear the Irwins are filling out his legacy, and now there will be one more generation of Wildlife Warriors to look forward to.

Steve Irwin poses with his daughter, Bindi Irwin, on Oct. 2, 2006, in Uluru, Australia. (Australia Zoo via Getty Images)

We would love to hear your stories! You can share them with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.nyc
Old Mill Rd., 500 block, 7:10 p.m. Aug. 4. A man was struck by gunfire multiple times outside his residence. He was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries to his upper body. Police recovered more than 300 grams of suspected marijuana from the scene. Additionally, an occupant of a neighboring residence reported she was sitting with her small child inside her residence when the child was struck by what was believed to be debris caused by the rounds fired. The child did not require medical treatment. The shooter fled in a vehicle.
Cameron Reynolds, President and Chief Executive Officer of Volition, upon releasing these results commented, "During the second quarter, given the persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic, we focused on two key areas to try and mitigate the effects of lockdowns and allow us to keep moving towards our first commercial products utilizing our cutting edge Nu.Q platform. Firstly, we significantly strengthened our balance sheet to ensure we have sufficient capital to work on our many programs concurrently, and launch products where possible during the pandemic. Secondly, we have increased the flexibility of our supply chain of key components and are moving towards producing our key components in house. Cancer remains our core disease focus, however, we have discovered that our technology potentially has applications beyond just cancer, for example with COVID-19."

https://youtu.be/EU0yrbMLgj4

An interview with Cameron Reynolds, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Reynolds added, "I am proud of the way our team has adapted to the different world we find ourselves in and kept on working at full speed, their fantastic efforts have put us in an excellent position as we move towards the launch of our first products expected later this year and early next year."

Company Highlights

Financial

Cash and cash equivalents as of June 30, 2020 totalled approximately $21.3 million compared with $12 million the previous quarter.

totalled approximately compared with the previous quarter. Raised $13.8 million in gross proceeds in an underwritten public offering.

in gross proceeds in an underwritten public offering. Periodically sold shares of our common stock pursuant to our previously disclosed "At The Market" equity offering program, or "ATM", under our existing registration statement along with our Rule 10b5-1 plan. Through the end of the second quarter of 2020 we had raised approximately $1.7 million in gross proceeds under the ATM.

in gross proceeds under the ATM. During July and the first week of August we raised an additional approximately $4.7 million in gross proceeds through the ATM.

in gross proceeds through the ATM. Volition was added to both the Russell 3000 and Russell Microcap Indexes in June.

Product Production Facility

Submitted an offer to purchase a neighboring facility in Belgium known as "Silver One". We expect this facility to be the production hub of all of our products and components, to both secure our own supply at a lower cost, and to drive reagent revenue building on our purchase of Octamer GmbH (now called Volition Germany) earlier this year.

Clinical  COVID-19

The preliminary study results reported in May demonstrated the Area Under the Curve (AUC) for a single Nu.Q assay was 98.7% PCR positive versus control subjects, with 100% sensitivity at 94% specificity. A second Nu.Q assay also showed promising results with an AUC of 86.2%.

To date we have now tested two independent cohorts of COVID-19 positive patients with quantitative nucleosome immunoassays and found that nucleosomes were highly elevated in plasma of severe COVID-19 patients relative to healthy control subjects and importantly, that both histone 3.1 variant and citrullinated nucleosomes increased with disease severity.

Given that the highest levels of nucleosomes were found in patients requiring artificial ventilation or extracorporeal oxygenation, we believe that nucleosomes could serve as a guiding biomarker for disease severity in COVID-19 positive patients.

These data imply that Nu.Q could have strong prognostic potential, and so we are now focused on the completion of larger longitudinal studies that would be needed to support a potential COVID-19 product launch.

Our collaborators have submitted this data for peer-review and we look forward to its publication.

We have filed a novel patent for this application and plan to utilise results of these trials and other ongoing studies to further our aim of developing a clinically useful product to help in the battle against the COVID-19 global pandemic and potentially other diseases such as influenza and pneumonia.

Clinical- Veterinary

In a proof of concept study conducted by Texas A&M University , a single Nu.Q Vet assay detected almost 70% of both Canine Hemangiosarcoma and Canine Lymphoma with AUCs of 84.5% and 83.1% cancer versus healthy, respectively, at a specificity of 90%. These two cancers alone represent almost a third of all canine cancers.

, a single Nu.Q Vet assay detected almost 70% of both Canine Hemangiosarcoma and Canine Lymphoma with AUCs of 84.5% and 83.1% cancer versus healthy, respectively, at a specificity of 90%. These two cancers alone represent almost a third of all canine cancers. Based on the results of this study, we plan to move forward with other Nu.Q Vet assays in our pipeline, and with the larger range of cohorts and trials that we have collected and planned.

The first Nu.Q Vet products expected to be launched late in 2020 are likely to be for blood and lymphoma remission monitoring and we then aim to target additional uses (such as remission monitoring for other cancers and for diagnosis itself) in 2021.

Assay Development and Clinical Studies (Cancer)

We exceeded our target of 12 assays being finalized by the end of the second quarter with respect to our fully-automated magnetic bead-based chemiluminescent format. To date, 13 assays have been developed and are being tested in our clinical research programs. We plan to reach a total of 20 by the end of 2020.

In various ways our "Marquee trials" have now been affected by the continued pandemic either by slower or paused collection, or a host of other supply chain or travel and communication issues. We believe we have successfully managed those areas under our direct control (such as assay development and running samples  both on track with our milestones) but many issues are not within our control.

We have now successfully completed 8 assays on subsets of both of our National Taiwan University studies  colorectal and lung cancers - and are working on data analysis. We expect over this coming quarter to run an additional number of assays and to submit the data at upcoming conferences.

Epigenetic Toolbox

We have developed and are seeking patents on our novel Nu.Q Capture-based epigenetic tools. We are using these tools to expand diagnostic developments that focus on circulating DNA fragment analysis, leading to a broader and potentially more powerful investigation of the epigenetic status of a patient's circulating chromosome fragments. We have made significant progress with this work and will continue to publicise data as it is completed in the coming quarters.

Publications

The second quarter was the best quarter ever from a publications point of view.

We had three abstracts published at ASCO, the American Society for Clinical Oncology, including data in both lung and blood cancers.

We have received acceptance for oral presentation of two abstracts at the Veterinary Cancer Society Meeting in October this year.

A Nu.Q Vet paper regarding pre-analytics has been submitted for peer review and accepted for publication.

Three papers have been submitted by collaborators using our Nu.Q technology, for lung disease, for complications during pregnancy and for COVID-19, yet again showing the wide adaptability of our platform.

We have other papers in process, including a pre-analytics paper for humans that we expect to submit over the next couple of months, and two papers from the Nu.Q Capture program on mass spectrometry and also sequencing.

Upcoming Milestones

Volition expects to achieve the following milestones during 2020 and beyond:

We will focus on driving revenue in the coming quarters, where possible during the pandemic, in 4 key areas:

Our four potential triage tests (3 cancers and COVID-19);



Nu.Q Vet products;



Reagent sales; and



Licensing of our technology for others to commercialize.

Continue to advance our previously announced large-scale colorectal and lung cancer trials in Europe , Asia and the U.S.

, and the U.S. Commission and complete longitudinal studies for COVID-19.

Publish several abstracts and peer reviewed scientific papers with clinical results as well as showing the robustness and utility of our Nu.Q platform.

Advance the development of Nu.Q Capture

Announce patient data demonstrating the wide utility of our epigenetic toolbox.

Complete the purchase and fit out of "Silver One", to serve as our manufacturing hub and service lab in Belgium .

Mr. Reynolds concluded, "We are extremely proud of the accomplishments we have achieved thus far. I thank the dedicated Volition team for their tireless efforts especially given the challenging circumstances we all face during the COVID-19 pandemic. I, along with the rest of the Board and indeed the whole company, look forward to sharing the results of key studies over the coming year."

For further details please contact [email protected]

VolitionRx Limited Second Quarter 2020 Earnings and Business Update Conference Call Date: Friday, August 14, 2020

Time: 8:30 a.m. Eastern time U.S. & Canada Dial-in: 1-877-407-9716 (toll free) U.K. Dial-in: 0 800 756 3429 (toll free) Toll/International: 1-201-493-6779 Conference ID: 13707978

Cameron Reynolds, President and Chief Executive Officer of Volition, will host the call along with David Vanston, Chief Financial Officer and Scott Powell, Executive Vice President, Investor Relations.

A live audio webcast of the conference call will also be available on the investor relations page of Volition's corporate website at http://ir.volition.com. In addition, a telephone replay of the call will be available until August 28, 2020. The replay dial-in numbers are 1-844-512-2921 (toll-free) in the U.S. and Canada and 1-412-317-6671 (toll) internationally. Please use replay pin number 13707978.

About Volition

Volition is a multi-national epigenetics company developing simple, easy to use, cost effective blood tests to help diagnose a range of cancers and other diseases. Early diagnosis has the potential to not only prolong the life of patients, but also to improve their quality of life. The tests are based on the science of NucleosomicsTM, which is the practice of identifying and measuring nucleosomes in the bloodstream or other bodily fluid - an indication that disease is present. Volition is primarily focused on human diagnostics but also has a subsidiary focused on animal diagnostics.

Volition's research and development activities are centered in Belgium, with additional offices in Texas, London and Singapore, as the company focuses on bringing its diagnostic products to market.

For more information about Volition, visit Volition's website volition.com or connect with us via:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/volitionrx

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/volitionrx

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VolitionRx/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/VolitionRx

The contents found at Volition's website address, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube are not incorporated by reference into this document and should not be considered part of this document. The addresses for Volition's website, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube are included in this document as inactive textual references only.

Media / Investor Contacts

Safe Harbor Statement

Statements in this press release may be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that concern matters that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or projected in the forward-looking statements. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "aims," "targets," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "optimizing," "potential," "goal," "suggests," "could," "would," "should," "may," "will" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements relate to the timing, completion and delivery of data from clinical studies, the effectiveness of Volition's blood-based diagnostic and prognostic tests, Volition's ability to develop and successfully commercialize such test platforms for early detection of cancer and other diseases as well as serving as a diagnostic or prognostic tool for COVID-19, the timing of product launches and publications, and the timing and completion of the acquisition of the additional facility in Belgium. Volition's actual results may differ materially from those indicated in these forward-looking statements due to numerous risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, results of studies testing the efficacy of its tests. For instance, if Volition fails to develop and commercialize diagnostic or prognostic products, it may be unable to execute its plan of operations. Other risks and uncertainties include Volition's failure to obtain necessary regulatory clearances or approvals to distribute and market future products; a failure by the marketplace to accept the products in Volition's development pipeline or any other diagnostic or prognostic products Volition might develop; Volition's failure to secure adequate intellectual property protection; Volition will face fierce competition and Volition's intended products may become obsolete due to the highly competitive nature of the diagnostics market and its rapid technological change; downturns in domestic and foreign economies; and other risks identified in Volition's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, as well as other documents that Volition files with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about Volition's business based, in part, on assumptions made by management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this release, and, except as required by law, Volition does not undertake an obligation to update its forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances.

Nucleosomics and Nu.Q and their respective logos are trademarks and/or service marks of VolitionRx Limited and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, service marks and trade names referred to in this press release are the property of their respective owners. Additionally, unless otherwise specified, all references to "$" refer to the legal currency of the United States of America.

SOURCE VolitionRx Ltd

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While SLAC and Stanford do not produce or distribute this ventilator, they are offering the technology at no cost to others who want to build the ventilator and deploy it after having obtained regulatory approvals. The scientists described the device in a recent paper posted to the medRxiv preprint server.

A fancy version of the simplest technology

Ventilators provide air to patients who cant breathe sufficiently on their own  a common problem for those severely affected by COVID-19.

A ventilators operating principle is simple: It compresses oxygen-rich air and pushes it through tubes into a patients lungs, expanding them and helping the patient take up oxygen. The lungs contract on their own, pushing the air back out. Then the cycle starts over.

In the simplest version, doctors squeeze a self-inflating bag by hand to pump air into the lungs. High-end automated versions compress the air in other ways and use complex electronics to control pressure, volume, air flow and other parameters.

SLACs emergency ventilator is based on a simple model, but it adds a mechanism that automatically squeezes the self-inflating bag. The system also incorporates modern, inexpensive electronic pressure sensors and microcomputers with sophisticated software that precisely controls the squeeze. The microcomputers also drive a small control panel, and operators can control the system with that or with a laptop computer. The rest is standard hospital parts.
As part of measures to deepen financial inclusion and enhance the Nigerian governments conditional cash transfer programme, the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) has registered its full involvement in the programme.

According to details contained in the Central Bank of Nigerias 1st Quarter Financial Inclusion Newsletter, NIPOST is now involved in the Conditional Cash Transfer programme by engaging and partnering with Western Union for the use of NIPOST outlets across the country for money transfers.

The CBN said in its newsletter that they have commenced BVN registration in 50 locations, with over 50 BVN machines received from the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS).

In 2019, the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) was revised with special focus to accelerate the financial inclusion of vulnerable segments across the Nigerian society. They include women, youth, rural areas, Northern Nigeria and Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

The NFIS has equally identified critical priorities to accelerating the achievement of the national financial inclusion target of 80 per cent by December, 2020. These include uptake of Digital Financial Services (DFS), expansion of agent network especially at rural areas, digitising government payments specifically to increase the coverage of recipients of social transfers for greater financial inclusion, among others.

Similarly, as parts of moves to deepen financial inclusion, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has enrolled over 41million Nigerians for the National Identity Number (NIN). In the same vein, a World Bank-assisted project for electronic ID ecosystem was approved to commence in June 2020.

According to the 2018 Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access Report on Access to Finance, 96.3 million Nigerians out of 99.6 million do not have or use mobile money services, despite teledensity of 97.4% in the Country.

Experts say that it is imperative to drive the usage of mobile money and DFS as viable tools to scale Nigerias COVID-19 responses to vulnerable segments, including the poor and vulnerable households, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and micro-businesses. This is expected to sustain and improve financial inclusion outcomes in the country.
New Delhi: It is close to two months since Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput (SSR) was found dead at his Bandra residence on June 14, 2020. From nepotism to depression - all kinds of theories have been under the scanner in this mysterious death case. While fans and family have been demanding a CBI probe for days, Mumbai police investigation so far has ruled out any foul play.

Sushant Singh Rajput's sister Shweta Singh Kirti took to her social media handles and shared a picture holding a placard reading #CBIforSSR. She wrote in the photo caption: Its time we find the truth and get justice. Please help our family and the whole world to know what the truth is and find closure, otherwise we will never be able to live a peaceful life!!#CBIForSSR Raise your voice and demand #JusticeForSushantSinghRajput #WarriorsForSSR @sushantsinghrajput

Her timeline has been flooded with comments from supporters and friends, backing CBI probe in the death case in which shocking details are being unfolded almost every other day.

Meanwhile, Sushant's girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty faces the wrath of his fans and family. She is also under the Enforcement Directorate (ED) scanner in money laundering case related to the late actor's death. She, along with her father, brother and close associates have been grilled by the financial probe agency for hours in the last few days.
A possible ban on TikTok, the popular video-sharing app owned by the Chinese tech conglomerate ByteDance, showcased the determination of US President Donald Trumps administration to root out national security threats it says China poses.

But brokers and policy analysts say that Trumps executive order fell short of clarifying how the app threatens American security and that to force a sale of TikToks US operations within 45 days is more likely to lead to chaos than to a resolution.

A regular deal takes about five to six months, said Chris Griner, who focuses on national security issues for merger deals at the law firm Stroock & Stroock & Lavan. Now you've also got to throw in the government and make sure they're happy with the transaction.

Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China.

This is a giant fire sale. This is extraordinary

Chris Griner, national security merger specialist

Microsoft is said to be bidding for TikToks US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand operations at about US$30 billion. And 45 days is a tall order to complete a deal this massive.

You could throw a bunch of lawyers into the dungeon and have them work for 45 days, Griner said. But still, you've got to negotiate with all parties.

I just don't see that they are going to be able to pull this off without some kind of an interim solution, he said, adding that putting TikTok assets into a trust before the deal completes might be one way to allay US government concerns about the companys ownership in time.

This is a giant fire sale. This is extraordinary.

Data theft and cybersecurity problems sponsored by foreign nations are real issues, and some of the government measures against Chinese tech companies make sense, said James Lewis of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, where he directs the technology and public policy programme.

For example, calling on US companies to avoid Chinese cloud service providers or undersea cable companies make[s] sense, because they are well-known avenues for spying, Lewis said.

Story continues

Others, like the confusing ban on apps, only show the administration is still wrestling with how to deal with the new digital economy and are symbolic more of American displeasure than actual restrictions.

In TikToks case, Trumps advisers were at odds with each other on how much of a national security threat TikTok presents and how the app, which has more than 100 million American users, should be handled.

During a meeting at the Oval Office last week before the executive order was issued, according to The Washington Post, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin argued that TikTok should be sold to a US company, while Trumps top trade adviser Peter Navarro demanded an outright ban. The infighting eventually deteriorated into a shouting match, the report said.

The Trump administrations confrontations with China, triggered first by the trade deficit, have blossomed beyond trade to politics, markets, human rights, among other issues.

Since Beijing instituted the new national security law for Hong Kong on June 30, Trump has doubled down against China and its ruling Communist Party: sanctioning Chinese officials over suppressing the freedom of Hong Kong; forbidding US entry to individuals found to have been involved in human rights abuses in Xinjiang; closing Chinas consulate in Houston, sending a high-level administration official to Taiwan.

At front and centre is a tech war that continues to escalate.

The move on TikTok is an advance of the tensions that started with government actions against Huawei Technologies, the Chinese tech giant that leads in next-generation 5G connectivity technology.

On national security grounds, the US has moved to bar Huawei from doing business in the US and excluded Chinese technologies in the countrys 5G infrastructure. Britain, Canada and Australia are among countries that have adopted similar restrictions after months of coaxing by the US.

But the TikTok move was a head scratcher.

Some of the Trump administration policies are actually trying to address real problems, like cyber-enabled theft of intellectual properties, Daniel Russel, a diplomacy expert at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said during a panel discussion Tuesday about the national security laws impact on US-China relations hosted by the South China Morning Post.

In many, if not most, of the cases, the measures by the Trump team really dont do anything to solve the problem, says Daniel Russel of the Asia Society Policy Institute said. Photo: Nora Tam

But in many, if not most, of the cases, the measures by the Trump team really dont do anything to solve the problem. In some cases, they are making things worse, Russel added.

For one thing, the administration has not clearly explained the threat TikTok poses to US national security.

Craig Allen, head of the US-China Business Council, which promotes trade with China, called on the Trump administration to share what it knows.

Right now, the evidence has been presented in very vague terms, without any level of granularity that would give one comfort that rule of law and due process has been fully given to foreign companies operating in the US market, Allen said.

Asked on Wednesday whether the US is fearful of what TikTok can employ the personal data of its users for or even if there is evidence that such information is being stockpiled, John Demers, the assistant attorney general for national security, went little beyond the language of the executive order.

Its certainly what TikTok can do. If not TikTok, we are worried about the Chinese governments access to the data, said Demers at a discussion at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. Beyond that, to what we know, Im not going to get into that.

Analysts note that Its not even clear that Trump has the legal authority to ban an app outright.

Lewis said that the executive order presents an interesting regulatory problem  how do national rules catch a foreign-sourced, globally available app.

The administrations solution  banning the user agreement that is part of any download  could be challenged in court and companies might be able to find a workaround, he said.

Asked for comment, a TikTok spokesperson referred to a Monday newsletter produced by the company  sent to hundreds of congressional staff on Capitol Hill  that argued that the consequences of the recent executive order go far beyond TikTok.

They present a direct threat to free expression. And they reverse long-standing policies that have led to decades of American economic growth, innovation, and investment, Michael Beckerman, head of public policy at TikTok, wrote.

TikTok has threatened to take legal action against Trumps executive order; that federal lawsuit could come soon.

Trumps order officially started the purchase clock for Microsoft, which confirmed it is in talks to acquire TikToks US operations, among other international assets.

Dan Ives, a tech analyst at brokerage firm Wedbush in New York, said that it seems as though ByteDance has its back against the wall with Microsoft looking like the only white knight around.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said this week that the software giants takeover of TikTok was no sure thing. Photo: AFP

Ives suggested there was a strong possibility that a sale to Microsoft would get done given the green light already by the White House for a deal and a potential coup to get this prized asset.

However, he said, deal negotiations will be complex with a number of technology and data privacy issues that need to be worked out  especially the national security concerns to be met between Chinese and US data.

Microsoft itself was less optimistic.

Given the government involvement, Bill Gates, a Microsoft founder, told Wired this week, its a poison chalice.

Who knows whats going to happen with that deal?

Additional reporting by Jacob Fromer

Purchase the 120+ page China Internet Report 2020 Pro Edition, brought to you by SCMP Research, and enjoy a 30% discount (original price US$400). The report includes deep-dive analysis, trends, and case studies on the 10 most important internet sectors. Now in its 3rd year, this go-to source for understanding China tech also comes with exclusive access to 6+ webinars with C-level executives, including Charles Li, CEO of HKEX, James Peng, CEO/founder of Pony.ai, and senior executives from Alibaba, Huawei, Kuaishou, Pinduoduo, and more. Offer valid until 31 August 2020. To purchase, please click here.

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Babaginda Ibrahim

An Army Lance Corporal, Babangida Ibrahim has been given a total of 55 years imprisonment for killing a Staff of the World Health Organisation (WHO), working in Zamfara State and stealing his property.

The sentence was handed down by a General Court Martial presided over by Major General PB Fekrogha on Wednesday.

The Court Martial, which sat at the Command Officers Mess 1, Asokoro, Abuja, found Lance Corporal Ibrahim guilty on all four counts.

According to Vanguard, for Count One, Lance Corporal Ibrahim was sentenced to 40 years imprisonment, Count 2, Five years imprisonment, Count 3, Five years imprisonment and Counts 4, Five years imprisonment. However, Counts 2, 3 & 4 are to run concurrently.

According to the facts of the case, Lance Corporal Babangida Ibrahim, while on deployment on Operation Mesa to fight banditry in Zamfara State, at about 10 pm on August 11, 2014, without justification, shot and killed Mr Bello Aliyu Abdullahi (WHO Staff) with his personal AK 47 rifle.

Thereafter, Lance Corporal Ibrahim at about 4 am, broke into the house of Mr Bello, located at Gidan-Dari, Anka LGA, Zamfara State. He stole the Gionee E3 and a Nokia handset belonging to Mr Bello.

Lance Corporal Ibrahim also dishonestly took the Honda Accord car belonging Mr Bello with registration number TRK 414 AA, containing one Laptop computer and the sum of #6,000, which he subsequently moved to Kaduna where his family resides and was using the car as a personal car before investigators arrested him.

Lance Corporal Babangida Ibrahim was charged on four counts and they are Count One, Committing Civil Offence, Culpable Homicide by virtue of section 114 of the Armed Forces Act, Cap A20, Laws of AFN 2004.

Count 2, House Breaking, punishable under section 110 (a) of Armed Forces Act, Cap A20 LFN 2004.

Count 3, Offence of Theft, contrary to section 286 of the penal code and punishable under section 287 of the penal code Cap P2 LFN 2004, triable by virtue of section 114 of the Armed Forces Act, Cap A20 LFN 2004.

Count 4, Theft, contrary to section 286 of the penal code and punishable under section 287 of the penal code Cap P 2, LFN 2004.

Members of the General Court Martial are Major General PB Fakrogha, President, Brigadier General JO OchaiBrigadier General POE Pearse, Brigadier General EJ Ikomi, Brigadier General AL Okpodu, Brigadier General SD Makulo, Col MK Ibrahim, Col L Abubakar, Col MA Yusuf and Captain KC Ogili (Judge Advocate).

The Prosecution Council for the Nigerian Army was led by Major Dipreye Biambo while the Defence Counsel for the accused soldier was led by Barr. Felix Jimba.

The President of the GCM, however, disclosed that the judgment and sentence is subject to confirmation by the convening authority which is the Nigerian Army.
Crocker began operations in late 2019 and brings economic benefits to the local and state economies. At the peak of construction, Crocker had over 200 construction workers onsite and has since employed 10 full-time employees at its Operations and Maintenance building. Additionally, the project is estimated to produce $18 million in new tax revenue and $24 million in landowner payments during the first 20 years of operations.

Unique to Geronimo, its large-scale operating wind farms further benefit from a charitable fund called Community Funds. The contributions from Community Funds are above and beyond any tax revenue or other economic impacts from Geronimo's projects and are meant as charitable donations to the local project host communities. To date, Geronimo has initiated thirteen wind farm Community Funds across the nation, resulting in a total commitment of over $9.6 million in charitable donations over the first 20 operational years of these projects.

In Clark County, the Crocker Community Fund will receive an estimated $40,000 per year for a period of 20 years, totaling approximately $800,000 in local charitable funding. The Fund board has been elected and is composed of local landowners in the project footprint, as well as Clark County residents. The Fund donations will be funded by Geronimo and dispersed by the newly elected board to support charitable causes within and near Crocker.

"As a member of the Crocker Community Fund Board, I am excited to see what we can do for our community over the next 20 years with the funds we will receive from Geronimo Energy," stated Jody Obermeier, a Crocker Community Fund Board member and landowner within the Crocker Wind Farm. "We are in the set-up stages right now as a board and fund. The Crocker Community Fund is going to be a great asset to our small community, and as a board, we will see that the funds are used to have the greatest community impact."

"We are a community-focused and farmer-friendly company, and our Community Funds are at the heart of this value system," stated David Reamer, President for Geronimo Energy. "In addition to the economic benefits our projects offer, such as tax revenue and job creation, we are committed to giving back to the host communities where we develop wind farms. We've been working in the Clark County area for over a decade, and we couldn't be more excited to see the Crocker Community Fund established to benefit our neighbors and friends."

About Geronimo Energy

Geronimo Energy, a National Grid (NYSE: NGG) company, is a leading North American renewable energy development company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with satellite offices located throughout multiple states in the regions where it develops, constructs, and operates. As a farmer-friendly and community driven company, Geronimo develops projects for corporations and utilities that seek to repower America's grid by reigniting local economies and reinvesting in a sustainable future. Geronimo has developed over 2,400 megawatts of wind and solar projects that are either operational or currently under construction, resulting in an investment of over $4 billion in critical energy infrastructure and the revitalization of rural economies. Geronimo has a vast development pipeline of wind and solar projects in various stages of development throughout the United States. Please visit www.geronimoenergy.com to learn more.





Contact: Andrea Savage

Geronimo Energy

8400 Normandale Lake Boulevard

Suite 1200

Bloomington, MN 55437

952.300.9480, [email protected]

SOURCE Geronimo Energy

Related Links

http://www.geronimoenergy.com


Incredible footage has showed the lavish extent of a Sydney wedding which saw guests thrown out of the venue for breaching its coronavirus restrictions.

Video has emerged of the event showing a huge band of drummers surrounded by guests dancing in close proximity, a woman dressed as a Prosecco wedding cake and $50 bills flying across the reception venue.

Fireworks went off as the glamorous bride and groom arrived, and big groups of men were seen jumping on one another during the raucous party.

At another point, guests were seen drinking bottles of Corona as they partied the night away, despite COVIDSafe rules saying people should be seated when drinking.

Guests at The Renaissance venue in Lidcombe in the city's west were told to leave the venue after they allegedly refused to follow the venue's COVID-safe rules on Sunday.

The festivities were led by one of Australia's top rappers, Youngn Lipz, who at one point came down into the crowd where guests stuffed money into his collar.

The bride Nazife and groom Patrick (pictured) celebrate the festivities with fireworks going off by their side and a band of drummers playing in front of them

The event even featured a woman dressed as a Prosecco wedding cake (pictured) with flutes lining a metal cage surrounding her dress

In New South Wales, up to 150 people can attend a wedding but guests must follow a venue's COVID-safe plan.

Guidelines to stop the spread of coronavirus include only allowing the bride and groom on the dance floor, but vision showed guests dancing wildly in close quarters - with one reveller even being held on another person's shoulders.

The video also showed the bride Nazife enjoying the proceedings with bank notes littered around her wedding dress trail, and ended with a headstrong boast to camera by the guest filming the footage.

'Let me tell you something,' he said. 'Nobody parties like the 60 we treat our women like queens, we put them in castles, we give them the best weddings and put big rocks on their ring.'

Footage also showed revellers standing close to a performer on stage as they jumped up and down to the music.

Guests were later removed from the venue by management, with previous footage of elaborate event drawing harsh criticism.

A spokeswoman for the venue told Daily Mail Australia the bride and groom were 'very upset' about guests being told to leave, but declined to comment further.

The bride Nazife (pictured) is seen ahead of the raucous wedding party at The Renaissance in Lidcombe, western Sydney on Sunday night

The bride (pictured) at the western Sydney wedding party dancing surrounded by drummers

The bride's wedding dress was littered with bank notes (pictured, left) as revellers partied in close proximity - while one reveller held a guest on his shoulder (right)

The couple and Youngn Lipz have been contacted for comment.

Earlier in the day, Nazife and her groom Patrick arrived in lavish Rolls-Royce Phantoms and posed for pictures in Sydney's Circular Quay before travelling to the reception venue.

The MC at Sunday's wedding John Alten appeared on Triple M's podcast The Briefing earlier this week on an episode of 'The Fun Police: are COVID Marshals ruining weddings?'

'I've got to act like the fun police in some cases,' he said. 'From my perspective it is important these restrictions are re-iterated constantly - people's health is paramount.'

Revellers at the wedding reception (pictured). Australian Deputy Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd said the scenes at the wedding were 'beyond disappointing'

One of Australia's top rappers Youngn Lipz (pictured, centre) - who performed at the party - is seen with the guest who filmed the boisterous wedding reception (left)

Youngn Lipz (left) could be seen having his collar stuffed with $50 bills by revellers at one point in proceedings. Pictured right is a reveller dancing with a beer in hand

Australian Deputy Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd said the scenes at the wedding were 'beyond disappointing' and could put 'lives at risk'.

'Its really unacceptable that people are not taking this incredibly seriously,' he told Sunrise.

'We can have people who have no symptoms or very mild symptoms who are still very infectious to other people.

'Lives are at risk when people breach rules and regulations that are put into place to protect us all.'

Video from the western Sydney event showed guests (pictured, with the bride) flouting social distancing measures as they danced to the music

The wild scenes, which come as the number of fines issued by the NSW government's Department of Customer Service rises to a total of $152,500, prompted Premier Gladys Berejiklian to deliver a warning to the state's venues.

'Compliance is critical,' she said. 'If we don't see a greater uptake in the next little while - we will consider further measures.'

The Garry Owen Hotel in Rozelle in Sydney's inner-west was this week singled out as the 'worst pub seen so far' for COVID safety breaches.

The pub was issued with two fines worth a total of $10,000 for what the NSW government called a 'complete disregard of mandated COVID safety measures'.

'The list of breaches grew from there. In fact the venue was essentially being operated as though there were no restrictions in place,' Liquor & Gaming NSW Director of Compliance Mr Argeres said.

The bride and groom (pictured earlier on their wedding day) were 'very upset' about guests being told to leave, a venue spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia

Offences included the business not being registered as COVIDSafe, not having an up-to-date COVID-19 Safety Plan, not enforcing sign-in procedures and a lack of hygiene processes.

Inspectors also observed physical distancing not being enforced and customers standing and mingling while drinking.

Staff at the hotel have said coronavirus protocols have been completely overhauled in the wake of the inspection.

'It's completely different, it's completely safe and they will notice the changes we've enforced when they come in,' the hotel's new COVID safety marshal Vanessa Hardin told ABC News.
In the blissful days before coronavirus, Lisa Gardner-Springer of Minneapolis hatched a plan for a summer vacation. While their oldest daughter would be exploring Europe with friends, she, her husband, Colin, and their younger daughter would head to Quebec.
Parts of Delhi recorded moderate to heavy overnight rain, measuring between 15 and 115 millimetres (mm), until Thursday early morning.

Palam and Safdarjung weather stations recorded 86 mm and 42 mm, respectively.

The downpour was heaviest between 2:30 am and 5:30 am on Thursday early morning.

Regional Meteorological Centre (RFC), Delhi, has predicted more intense spells on Thursday that may cause traffic disruption in the national capital.

Also read: Monsoon strengthens over northwest India but Delhi remains largely dry

An orange category warning has been issued for Delhi by India Meteorological Department (IMD) authorities on Thursday that implies the disaster control department should be prepared to avert any rain-related incidents.

Though Delhi had a rain deficiency of 35% until Wednesday, the figure is likely to improve substantially, when the overnight downpour is accounted for.

Watch| Heavy rains bring respite in Delhi; downpour in NCR likely in next 48 hours

Heavy rains are expected in parts of the national capital region (NCR) for the next two days. But, Delhi will receive light to moderate rains. The monsoon trough is running close to Delhi and southwesterly winds are bringing moisture to the region, said Kuldeep Shrivastava, head, Regional Weather Forecasting Centre (RWFC).

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Jimmy Lai, Hong Kong entrepreneur and pro-democracy activist, has been arrested this week for violating new national security laws imposed by the Communist Party of China. The Hoover Institution has posted the brief special edition of Uncommon Knowledge with Mr. Lai below.

The special edition is drawn from two Uncommon Knowledge interviews, the first before a live audience this past October (the video is posted here) and the second on June 9, 2020 for a special edition of Uncommon Knowledge following his arrest in May for defying a police ban and participating in demonstrations against Beijing (the video is posted here). The least we can do is sit up, take note, and express our support of Mr. Lai along with our loathing of the Chinese Communist regime.
Hindustan Unilevers Sanjiv Mehta continues to be the highest paid FMCG CEO in the country, with a gross salary of Rs 19.42 crore in FY 19-20.

But when it comes to hikes, Maricos Saugata Gupta comes on top. His gross salary went up by 49.5 percent in 2019-20 to Rs 13.78 crore. The remuneration of Gupta includes the perquisite value of stock options exercised during the financial year FY20 amounting to Rs 2.91 crore.

Mehtas salary of Rs 19.42 crore increased only 2.86 percent from FY18-19. The salary of Sanjiv Puri of ITC jumped by 27.21 percent to Rs 7.83 crore in FY19-20.

Britannia MD Varun Berrys salary increased by 7.58 percent to Rs 9.78 crore in FY19-20, and Daburs Mohit Malhotra, who took over as CEO from April 1, 2019, took home a salary of Rs 6.61 crore in FY19-20.

Details of Emami Ltd were not available as the company is yet to release its annual report.

Are these salaries linked to the performance of companies?

Not really. The competition in the FMCG sector is cut-throat, intense on volume and margins, and runs on distribution muscle with ad blitz. FMCG CEOs enjoy this spotlight but are under continuous pressure every quarter to deliver results and growth.

In 2019-20, HULs net profit saw an 11.48 percent rise to Rs 6,756 crore from Rs 6,060 crore in the previous year. Its sales stood at Rs 39,136 crore, marginally up 1.44 percent.

Maricos net profit rose 13 percent in 2019-20 to Rs 1,072 crore (excluding exceptional items) and sales fell marginally to Rs 7,315 crore. The company sells renowned brands such as Parachute, Saffola Edible oil, Parachute Advanced, Nihar Naturals, Livon.

Cigarette-to-hotel conglomerate, ITCs net profit grew by 21.4 percent to Rs 15,136.05 crore, while its sales went up 3.2 percent to Rs 50,968 crore. It sells brands such as Aashirvaad, Sunfeast, Bingo! YiPPee! Savlon, Fiama, Vivel, among others.

In FY19-20, Britannias net profit was up 32 percent to Rs 1,484 crore.

Mehtas big, fat cheque

According to the latest annual report, Mehtas remuneration of Rs 19.42 crore was 151.22 times higher than the average ratio of remuneration of HUL employees. In FY19, too, he was the highest paid CEO among the three FMCG companies.

If we look at the salary break-up, Mehta drew a salary of Rs 12.46 crore, along with a bonus of Rs 3.31 crore, stock option of Rs 3.20 crore and Rs 0.45 crore as contribution to PF, superannuation and consultancy fees.

HUL sells prominent brands such as Surf Excel, Rin, Wheel, Sunlight, Vim, Pureit, Lux, Lifebuoy, among others.

Bad economic conditions

In FY20, the macro-economic environment was particularly challenging, and there was a sharp decline in consumption, especially in rural areas.

In the last month of FY20, COVID-19 hit the country. In the third week of March, the government announced the lockdown, and this disrupted the supply chain.

To tide over the crisis, most FMCG companies entered into innovative tie-ups with food-delivery chains like Swiggy and Zomato.
Kumar Vikram By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: A larger part of the population in India will grow older in the year 2036 as the proportion of the age group 0-24 is expected to fall from 50.2 per cent in 2011 to 35.3 per cent in the year 2036. Moreover, with the declining fertility, along with the increases in life expectancy, the number of older persons (over 60 years) in the population is expected to increase by more than double from 10 crores in 2011 to 23 crores in 2036 - an increase in their share to the total population from 8.4 to 14.9 percent.

The fact has come out in population projections of India and States (2011-2036), a report prepared by a 'Technical Group on Population Projection'.

Moreover, in the age group of 15-24, its share to the total population is expected to fall from 19.3 percent in 2011 to 15.1 percent in 2036. Similarly, the proportion of the population in the working age-group 15-59 years is expected to rise from 60.7 percent in 2011 to 64.9 percent in 2036.

The report released recently says that the population of India is expected to increase from 121.1 crores to 152.2 crores during the period 2011-2036 - an increase of 25.7 percent in twenty- five years at the rate of 1.0 percent annually. As a consequence, the density of the population will increase from 368 to 463 persons per square kilometer.

The crude birth rate will decline from 20.1 during 2011-15 to 13.1 during 2031-35 because of the falling level of total fertility. In contrast, the crude death rate is expected to increase marginally due to the changing age structure of the population with the rising median age as a result of a continuing decline in fertility and an increase in the expectation of life at birth. It will increase from 7.2 during 2011-15 to 7.3 during 2031-35.

The infant mortality rate of the country, which is reported to be 46 in 2010 is expected to go down to 30 by the end of the period 2031-35.

The report said that between 2011 and 2036, because of the declining fertility, the proportion of the population aged under 15 years is projected to decline from 30.9 to 20.1 percent; the proportion of the middle age-group (15-59 years) and the older ages (60 years and above) are set to increase considerably.

Another important consequence of the declining fertility will be that, at the national level, the population in the school-going age of 5-14 years is expected to decline from 25.4 crores in 2011 to 20.9 crores in 2036. The share of the population aged 5-14 years to the total population of all ages is expected to decrease by 7.2 percent from 21.0 percent in 2011 to 13.8 percent in 2036. 4

The youth population in the age- group 15-24 years is expected to increase from 23.3 crores in 2011 to 25.1 crores in 2021 and then continue to decrease to 22.9 crores in 2036. Its proportion to the total population is expected to fall from 19.3 percent in 2011 to 15.1 percent in 2036.

From the above, it is evident that 50.2 percent of the population in the country, was aged 24 years and below in 2011, constituting 30.9 percent and 19.3 percent in the ages 0-14 years and 15-24 years respectively, said the report.

Out of the total population increase of 31.1 crores between 2011 and 2036, the share of the workers in the age-group 15-59 years in this total increase is 81.4 percent. This has implications in the availability of labour in the future, the report said.
Google Assistant has a new song to help remind users to wear a mask and exactly how it should be worn. Discovered by Android Police, the song takes just a few seconds of time to play. But it isnt necessarily going to be found in the way users might expect. Instead, Google tucked it behind a more general command.

To find the song, users need to activate Assistant on either their smart home speakers or their smartphone. Thats via the Okay or Hey Google hotwords. Then, they simply need to ask Google Assitant to sing them a song.

Google will respond with what sounds, from a distance, like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. In actuality, the song reminds users that wearing a mask is a simple matter that protects the health of others. It also points out that masks arent effective if they dont cover the nose as well as the mouth.

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After being played back the first time, Assistant switches things up. From the first playback, users can listen to the song again simply by asking the Assistant if it wears a mask.

How does the new mask song fit in with other Assistant changes?

Now, Google has already done a whole lot more than releasing a simple ditty to help users combat Covid-19. Not least of all, it helped build out the official government site for the disease. It also released a hand-washing song that lasted a full 40-seconds  for listening during the hand-washing process. And it released hand-washing reminders for its Wear platform to match that.

Its also released a ton of information via all of its apps and services about the ongoing pandemic. As well as investing in the endeavors being undertaken by others.

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This is cute but also very important

The obvious goal of this song is to apply some pressure to end-users to wear masks when they go out in public. So, although the AI-sung song itself is cute, its subject-matter is deadly serious. Especially in Googles home region. Because cases have not been as well-controlled as some other nations, Google has gone so far as to extend remote working policies into 2021.
Amy Jackson pretty active on social media and enjoys a huge fan following. Recently, she shared a bunch of throwback pictures and videos from her visit to Cyprus. Her throwback post has been giving out some major vacation goals.

Also Read | Amy Jackson All Set To Relive Cannes Film Festival Amid Coronavirus Lockdown

Amy Jacksons throwback pictures from Paphos, Cyprus

Amy Jackson is a very active celebrity on the internet. From informative posts to goofy pictures with family, the actors social media feeds are a treat to watch. Recently, Amy Jackson shared a throwback post that consists of a bunch of pictures and videos from the actors visit to Greece. On August 13, 2020, Amy Jackson took to her official Instagram handle to post throwback pictures of how much she enjoyed her visit to Paphos, Cyprus, and her caption read, a p h r o d i t e . She also tagged the location as Aphrodite's rock, which is a popular tourist location.

Also Read | Amy Jackson Looks Back At Her Career In Film Industry, Says I Miss Being In India

Just as the actor shared the picture on the internet, it went viral in no time. The post gained over 16,000 likes within a few minutes. The post consists of two pictures and two videos. Fashion and beauty model, Roxy Horner even commented on the post with .

Also Read | Amy Jackson Looks Gorgeous In Her 'lil Foxy Look' In These Close-up Shots; See Pics

In the first picture, Amy Jackson can be seen standing on a huge rock that is connected to the sea at the shore. She can be seen wearing a sleeveless white colour thigh-length loose jacket with a hoody attached to it. Amy Jackson has also worn a creme colour hat and has tied her way hair in a pony-tail. The second one is a video of the beautiful location that has captured the entire scenery right from the rocky walls to the ocean that has no end.

Also Read | Amy Jackson's Italy Travel Pictures That Will Invoke The Wanderlust In You, See Here

The third picture is very similar to the first one, but a zoomed-in version of it. Amy Jackson can be seen admiring the ocean and enjoying the natural beauty. The fourth post is a zoomed out live picture of the seashore and the ocean that has no end. These pictures shared by Amy Jackson surely give one major vacation goals.

Get the latest entertainment news from India & around the world. Now follow your favourite television celebs and telly updates. Republic World is your one-stop destination for trending Bollywood news. Tune in today to stay updated with all the latest news and headlines from the world of entertainment.
BAD AXE, MI  A part-time Huron County Sheriffs deputy is facing criminal charges after he was accused of exposing himself multiple times to a woman in Port Austin.

Patrick A. OBrien, 66, on the afternoon of Thursday, Aug. 13, appeared before Huron County District Magistrate Jessica Testolin-Reinke for arraignment on three counts of aggravated indecent exposure. The charge is a two-year high court misdemeanor.

The charges are the result of an investigation conducted by the Michigan State Police, with charges authorized by the Michigan Attorney Generals Office.

Attorney General Dana Nessel is alleging that OBrien was in his Port Austin home between July 26 and 27 and repeatedly exposed himself and masturbated in an area visible to the public through a window. OBrien was off-duty at the time.

The Port Austin woman is the complainant in the matter, Nessel stated. Port Austin is located at the tip of Michigans Thumb region.

OBrien has been placed on paid administrative leave from the Huron County Sheriffs Office.

Police officers are expected to know the rules, and we cannot turn a blind eye to those who choose to neglect their duties and violate the very laws they are meant to enforce, Nessel said. Since I took office, I have consistently advocated for law enforcement accountability, and my office will take action against anyone who breaks the law  regardless of whether they have a badge or not.

Nessels office came on board after the Huron County Prosecutors Office recused itself from the case due to a conflict of interest.

Contacted by MLive, Huron County Sheriff Kelly J. Hanson said OBrien is a part-time deputy. He declined to comment further.

Records show OBrien previously worked for the Chattanooga Police Department in Tennessee, having retired there as a sergeant after 26 years of employment and then moving to Port Austin.

Magistrate Testolin-Reinke released OBrien on a $5,000 personal recognizance bond. He is to appear in court for a probable cause conference on Sept. 3, with a preliminary examination scheduled for Sept. 11.

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BEIJING, Aug. 13 -- On August 9, a Y-20 military transport aircraft of the PLA Air Force flew from the Shenyang Taoxian International Airport to Russia with a flight of over 7,600 km, carrying a total of 57 soldiers from the PLA Northern Theater Command to participate in the International Army Games 2020.

Chinas self-developed large transport aircraft Y-20 is the important strategic equipment of the PLA Air Force to realize long-range transportation and aerial delivery and landing. This year has witnessed multiple firsts for Y-20 in Chinas military operations other than war (MOOTWs).

On February 13, the PLA Air Force dispatched six Y-20 transport planes to airlift medical supplies to Wuhan, marking Y-20s first debut in MOOTWs.

On April 24, Y-20 urgently flew to Pakistan to send nucleic acid testing kits, protective suits and other medical supplies for epidemic prevention and control as well as a military anti-epidemic expert team, marking the first time that Y-20 has flown abroad.
The 19 state governors under the Northern Governors Forum (NGF) on Wednesday called for an investigation into the claims made by a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Obadiah Mailafia, that one of them is a commander of the Boko Haram group.

Mr Mailafia, a former presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress (ADC), had alleged that one of the Northern governors is the commander of Boko Haram group in Nigeria.

He made the assertions while appearing in a radio programme, Nigeria Info Abuja 95.1FM on Monday, alleging that pardoned terrorists revealed that a serving northern governor was a Boko Haram leader.

He also claimed to have had a chat with some repentant terrorists who identified the northern governor.

He was later invited by the State Security Service (SSS) for questioning on Wednesday. He was released hours later.

Mr Maliafa said, During the lock-down, the insurgents were moving and distributing arms and ammunition across the country. We have met with some of their repentant high commanders, they have sat down with us not once, not twice.

The repentant Boko Haram are members of the deadly insurgent group who have either captured or members who willingly laid down there weapons to be reintegrated into their communities by the government after competition of the Deradicalisation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (DRR) programme.

The Nigerian government had announced in July the integration of 601 ex-Boko Haram terrorists including 14 foreign nationals from Cameroon, Chad and Niger into the society.

However, many Nigerians and a serving senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, have since faulted the amnesty initiative, calling for the programme to be stopped.

Allegations too weighty to Ignore

In reaction, the Chairman of the forum, Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State, has called on the security agencies to investigate the claims.

In a statement signed by the governors Director of Press and Public Affairs, Makut Macham, the governor said the forum found the allegation very weighty and deserving of investigation, Punch newspaper reports.

The forum, which has been working with the federal government, security agencies, community, civil society, traditional and religious leaders as well as development partners to defeat terrorism, banditry and other forms of criminality in the region finds the allegation by Dr. Mailafia very weighty, which deserves further investigation.

We, as Northern governors, have met severally to discuss insecurity in the region and the nation at large where we did not only condemn the activities of terrorist groups such as Boko Haram, bandits and other criminals but also engaged the President and all heads of security agencies in finding solutions to the problem.

To now say that one of our members is leading Boko Haram is a serious allegation that cannot be swept under the carpet. We demand an immediate and thorough investigation.


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Sickening footage has exposed the squalid property where a pedigree cat breeder kept 118 cats she was selling for more than $500 each.

Dead kittens, bowls of raw meat, piles of garbage and faeces covered the premises of Sandra Yandell's home at Lewiston, north of Adelaide.

Conditions at the cattery were so 'appalling' the stench made an RSPCA inspector's eyes and throat burn when they walked inside.

RSPCA uncovered 'extreme filth and degradation' during an inspection on 27 May

Sickening footage has exposed the squalid property where a pedigree cat breeder was keeping 118 cats she was hawking for more than $500 each

A number of cats suffered ailments including respiratory issues, dental problems, ear infections and conjunctivitis.

The 66-year-old was convicted at the Elizabeth Magistrate's Court on Thursday over a series of animal cruelty charges.

RSPCA officers seized 118 ragdoll cats from the home after discovering the 'extreme filth and degradation' during an inspection on 27 May.

During a court appearance last week, RSPCA's legal counsel Chloe Swinden urged the magistrate to consider jail time, reported the Daily Telegraph.

Sandra Yandell, 66, (pictured) was given a six month suspended jail sentence and a two year good behaviour bond after pleading guilty to more than nine counts of ill treatment of an animal

The RSPCA told the court they witnessed squalid conditions including urine soaked furniture, rubbish and faeces everywhere

'This type of activity ... is simply unacceptable,' Ms Swinden said.

But Ms Yandell's defence argued the offences weren't a result of intentional mistreatment, but the impact of 'significant setbacks in her life'.

These included the loss of her partner of 27 years to cancer in 2002 and health problems which reduced her capacity to care for the felines.

'She didn't do it for the money, she did it for the love,' he said.

'(But) she was unable to keep up with the running of the operation. Things spiralled out of control.'

Bowls of raw meat covered the floor and three dead kittens were also found buried under piles of garbage

At the sentencing on Thursday, Magistrate Yoong Fee Chin told the court the images spoke for themselves

Yandell was given a six-month suspended jail sentence and a two year-good behaviour bond after pleading guilty to more than nine counts of ill treatment of an animal.

She was also ordered to pay a $500 fine for not following the cat breeders' code of practice.

At the sentencing on Thursday, Magistrate Yoong Fee Chin told the court the images spoke for themselves, reported Adelaide Now.

'It was hard for the cats to walk without being exposed to bodily waste,' he said.

'The cats had been exposed to the appalling situation for a sustained period.'

Magistrate Chin agreed she had tried to perform good deeds by giving cats away to children undergoing cancer treatment as a form of therapy.

But Ms Yandell's legal defence argued the offences weren't a result of intentional mistreatment, but the impact of 'significant setbacks in her life'

The Magistrate described the property as an 'appalling condition' for cats to be exposed to

He also acknowledged the breeder had suffered serious abuse online and within the community since the offences were published.

All the cats have now been surrendered into RSPCA's care.

While the majority have been re-homed, about 50 remain under veterinary care or in foster care.

On the breeder's website, and online classifieds website 'adpost.com' the ragdolls were being advertised anywhere from $500 to $2,000.

'It was hard for the cats to walk without being exposed to bodily waste,' he said

On the breeder's website, and online classifieds website 'adpost.com' the ragdolls were being advertised anywhere from $500 to $2,000

RSPCA South Australia Chief Inspector Andrea Lewis said the incident is a reminder for people to be diligent when buying from breeders.

'It's not about the kittens and puppies that look so appealing in the online adverts, it's about the breeding mothers, forced to produce litter after litter,' Ms Lewis said.

'If you don't see for yourself what kind of operation the breeder is running, you risk supporting the kind of animal suffering evident in this case.'
Kim Soo-hyun, chairman of Jeondaehyup, poses after a Korea Times interview at its newsroom in Seoul on Aug. 3. He characterized the nationwide student organization as a free democracy crusader. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul



South Korea's protest culture shifting from Molotov cocktails to satire



By Kang Hyun-kyung



The farcical Operation Busan Landing last year had created a stir on the peaceful Gwangan Beach.



It was a mission conducted by several South Korean university students affiliated with the nationwide student organization "Jeondaehyup," or the Council of University Student Representatives of Korea, to sound the alarm about the country's porous maritime security by lampooning left-wing politicians accused of having pushed for engagement with North Korea at the cost of national security.



Seven young people in North Korean military uniforms  a woman and six men  were seen aboard two speed boats in the waters off Busan's Gwangan Beach on July 26 last year. As their boats neared land, they jumped off and waded toward the beach.



Armed with M1 Garand rifles, with one holding a North Korean flag, their faces had camouflage paint. After their arrival on the beach that had scattered beachgoers, a tall man in the group came forward and began to read a statement over a loud speaker. Introducing themselves as seven members selected by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, he said he and the others were assigned a special mission to make sure that the state of South Korea's maritime border security is loose enough to infiltrate.



He described President Moon Jae-in as a henchman of Kim, saying Moon faithfully fulfilled his assignment directed by Kim to demoralize the South Korean military, control the media so they report stories only to curry favor with North Korea and implement a series of policy measures aiming to transform the South into a socialist state.



He then handed out leaflets to beachgoers.



Kim Soo-hyun, chairman of Jeondaehyup, said the performance on the beach aimed at mocking President Moon for introducing a set of measures to engage with the North at the expense of South Korea's security.



"We tried to tell the public that South Korea's maritime border with North Korea is porous enough to allow infiltration by North Koreans," Kim said during a recent interview with The Korea Times at the newsroom in Seoul.



According to Kim, the students decided to perform the farce after news reports about four North Koreans aboard a small wooden boat arriving at the eastern port city of Samcheok a month earlier. The North Korean boat freely cruised through South Korean waters for 57 hours without any deterrence from the South Korean military. Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo was grilled at the National Assembly National Defense Committee meeting.



"We thought our sudden presence in North Korean military uniforms would have alarmed the South Korean military and troops would have been sent immediately there to arrest us," Kim said. "But they didn't. It was the police that actually caught us. They arrived there after someone reported to them about what they believed were North Korean spies."



After being questioned by the police, all seven students were released. Currently, there were no laws to hold them accountable because their guns were fake and what they did was a form of protest.





Seven university students in North Korean military uniforms are seen in the farcical Operation Busan Landing performance on Busan's Gwangan Beach in July last year in this image capture.



The Gwangan Beach spectacle helped Jeondaehyup members draw public attention as it was covered by many media outlets.



People in their 50s or older were surprised to know that the organizer was Jeondaehyup, because they are aware of another student organization with that name in the 1980s that was radical and accused frequently of pro-North Korea activities.



Launched in 1987, Jeondaehyup had organized many anti-dictatorship protests. The protesters chanted anti-American slogans. Unlike today, student protests in the 1980s were violent, maybe because of the authoritarian regime that relied on the police and military to crack down on anti-government activities.



Students armed with Molotov cocktails and steel pipes took to the streets and clashed with heavily armed police. Some activists relied on an extreme form of protest  self-immolation  as a last resort to make their voices heard. Some students were arrested and some were tortured during interrogation.



In 1989, Jeondaehyup stunned the nation for secretly dispatching its member Lim Su-kyung, then a student of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, to Pyongyang for the 13th World Festival of Youth and Students as a South Korean student delegate, without permission from the government. During the youth festival, Lim, who later became a lawmaker, reportedly praised North Korea's founder Kim Il-sung. She was arrested as soon as she returned to South Korea after wrapping up the three-day event in Pyongyang and imprisoned for five years for violating the National Security Law.



At that time, there were few inter-Korean student exchanges as students were educated to believe North Korea was their enemy. Accordingly, it was unthinkable that a South Korean student would attend an event in North Korea.



Some of the Jeondaehyup members later took over key government posts. Unification Minister Lee In-young is one of the founding members of the student organization and served as its first chairman. Rep. Woo Sang-ho of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and former presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok also led the radical student group. There are several other student protestors-turned-politicians in Cheong Wa Dae, Cabinet ministries and other key government jobs.



They are called the "Generation 586," which stands for people who are in their 50s, went to college in the 1980s and were born in the 1960s. They were called 386 when they were in their 30s and 486 when they were 40-somethings.



The old Jeondaehyup disappeared from history in 1993 when it was replaced with another radical student organization, Hanchongryon.



'Generation 586' vs. millennials



Kim is critical of Generation 586 politicians.



"They are self-centered hypocrites," he said. "If things go badly, they blame others, without making any sincere efforts to check what went wrong with them. This is what the Moon Jae-in government has done since he took power. His aides, mostly Generation 586 politicians, are no different from Moon."



Kim said Generation 586 politicians are the embodiments of "naronambul," an abbreviation of a Korean phrase literally meaning "It's romance if I'm involved; for others, it's an affair." The term refers to selfish use of a double standard to justify one's deeds but turning harsh critic when the same action is done by others.



Kim and many other millennials are critical of Generation 586 politicians because of their "wrong-guided" direction in national security and foreign policy. They claim President Moon's "peace offensive" with North Korea has left the South-North Korean border porous and the liberal government's pro-China policy has taken a heavy toll on the South Korea-U.S. alliance.





The students launched a rally near Gangnam Station in southern Seoul last year. They mocked President Moon for his China-first policy, claiming his policy priority undermined South Korea-U.S. alliance. / Courtesy of Jeondaehyup



Kim claimed Generation 586 politicians also are self-deniers. Democracy is endangered because of them, he said.



He cited an incident at Dankook University as a prime example showing freedom of expression is in peril in South Korea after Generation 586 politicians took the helm in key policy areas. Last November, a 25-year-old man was investigated by police after hanging a poster on the wall of a building at Dankook University's Cheonan campus that criticized Moon for currying favor with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.



In June, a district court in Daejeon ruled the man, identified only by his surname Kim, was guilty of intrusion and fined him 500,000 won. He appealed to a higher court, claiming the ruling violates freedom of expression.



At Kim's trial, an unnamed university official pleaded for clemency, saying the university didn't consider his action an intrusion. But the court sided with the police that claimed hanging posters there is illegal and constitutes intrusion.



"Charging him for putting up posters is a laughable decision," Kim said. "He is the first to be punished for hanging posters at a university. Even President Chun Doo-hwan, who Generation 586 politicians described as a dictator, didn't punish students for hanging posters on campus."



Unlike in the turbulent 1980s, nowadays democracy is settled in South Korea. Millennials were born and raised in a free country, whereas their Generation 586 cohorts grew up when the nation was impoverished and under the rule of President Park Chung-hee, who rose to power through a military coup.



South Korean politics started showing signs of stabilizing in the late 1980s after the June 29 Declaration in 1987 in which the Chun Doo-hwan government backed down in the face of roaring protesters and promised to hold a direct election for the next president.



Political stabilization, meanwhile, has allowed students to turn their attention from politics to issues that are closely related to their wellbeing or their own future.



Some experts claim a generation gap may be the source of their clashes in several issue areas.



Kim Su-wan, a professor of Arabic language at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, said the Generation 586 and the younger generation are not comparable and it's almost impossible to find any similarities between the two in terms of their upbringing and the socio-economic environment in which they were raised.



She said the campus life of her students is very different from that of her generation. "In the 1980s, when we attended university, we had pretty strong bonds with other students in the same department. But nowadays, students are individualistic and pragmatic," she said.



Born in 1966, Kim is a Generation 586 professor.



"There has been a shift in professor-student relations, too," she said. "In the 1980s, professors were respected more than they are today. These days, I sometimes feel professors are treated by students as education service providers who pass their expertise on to their students.



"In the past, the two sides were closer and some professors revealed their positions on certain political issues in class one way or another. Back then, it was OK. But these days we professors don't even think about presenting our standpoints on certain political issues in class."



Kim said the prime concern for many university students is about careers after graduation. Unlike in the 1980s, she said, student representatives prioritize on-campus issues, such as tuition fees or professor evaluations, as their agendas to fight for.



An illegitimate heir



Although using the same name, the old and new Jeondaehyup are completely different organizations.



The old one was tightly organized and radical. In the 1980s, violence in protests was, to some degree, justified as a means to make their voices heard.



But the new Jeondaehyup uses non-violent forms of protest. The way they launch protests is fun, creative and witty. President Moon, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are the three most mocked politicians by the millennial protesters.



In the satirical "Moon Jae-in the Great" sequel leaflets produced in 2018, Moon was ridiculed for his policy mishaps. Moon pushed for green energy and the establishment of solar power, while scrapping the nuclear energy policy that had been pursued by previous conservative governments. But his course of action ironically resulted in deforestation and a worsened ecosystem, a leaflet reads.



In another leaflet, the South Korean leader is portrayed as a puppet of Chinese leader Xi.

As revealed in the Lim Su-kyung case, some of the old Jeondaehyup members were linked to North Korea and their left-leaning political orientations made them vulnerable to criticism that they were North Korea sympathizers or Juche ideologists.



The new Jeondaehyup lies in the opposite side in the political spectrum  they are closer to the right.



Unlike Generation 586 politicians, this generation of Jeondaehyup identifies North Korea as their enemy. The two generations were poles apart in their reactions to the deaths of General Paik Sun-yup and Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon.



Paik was a Korean War hero. But few Generation 586 politicians paid tribute to the general after his death. They view Paik as a pro-Japanese collaborator for the general's past as a military officer serving in the Manchuria region during Japanese colonial rule of the area.



New Jeondaehyup members, however, treated General Paik as a hero who saved a nation in peril during the Korean War.



They set up a memorial altar for General Paik after he died on July 10, a day after Seoul Mayor Park died in an apparent suicide. The city prepared a five-day funeral for Park, but there was no state funeral set for the Korean War hero.





The new Jeondaehyup hosted a memorial service for Korean War hero Gen. Paik Sun-yup after his death on July 10. They said they admire General Paik because he's a Korean War hero. / Korea Times file
Press Release

13 August 2020

Alexandria, Virginia - The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) - the world's largest professional association - hosted well-regarded futurist and trendcaster Dr. Shawn DuBravac for the first webinar in its GBTA Collaboratory 2020 series. DuBravac shared his insights on the path to pandemic recovery for the global travel industry.

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DuBravac joined GBTA Interim-Executive Director Dave Hilfman to discuss the current state of travel and what the post-pandemic recovery may look like for airlines, hospitality and ground travel.

"What has been the quickest and steepest recession in U.S. history might also prove to be the shortest recession in history. The downturn has been 'uneven' and the recovery will be as well," said Dr. DuBravac. "Different industries have been impacted at different rates and in diverse ways. For example, leisure travel and extended stay properties are bouncing back sooner than corporate travel." Added DuBravac, "As we move forward into recovery, I see the unevenness remaining, as some segments of the economy recover more quickly than others."

Other key takeaways from the webinar include:

The rate of recovery depends on changes in the landscape of the pandemic, according to DuBravac. "Key drivers of recovery will include the release and dissemination of a COVID-19 vaccine and a steady decline in the rate of positive cases, both of which will breathe confidence into businesses and consumers."

Business stability will be aided by increased fiscal stimulus from government, more uniform and systematic quarantine rules, and the proposed liability waiver that would grant immunity against potentially fraudulent class-action lawsuits to businesses that follow public safety guidelines and take recommended precautions against coronavirus infection. "In previous downturns, we worried our industry wouldn't recover to pre-recession levels, but it did," said Hilfman. "Each of the steps listed above will help remove barriers for travelers."

The pandemic exerted unique pressures on the industry that can't be solved simply by pricing; changing prices won't stimulate the full return of pre-pandemic demand. Early industry data suggests travelers are showing preference for travel closer to home, suggesting drivable destinations might recover quickest. As broader uncertainties abate, there will be greater opportunity to influence demand with pricing and other creative solutions.

As an 'uneven' downturn gives way to an 'uneven' recovery, travelers will return in an equally uneven fashion. They will bring with them pandemic-influenced preferences, some of which have yet to fully emerge. Domestic travel will return more quickly than international travel, suggesting areas of the industry that rely on international travel the most will feel a slower recovery.

DuBravac highlighted the importance of innovation and creativity. "Businesses that have paid attention to the shifting needs of travelers during this pandemic, and those that capitalize on emerging opportunities to offer new and innovative solutions will be the businesses that not only survive the downturn, but thrive in the recovery," said DuBravac.

This webinar, "The Economics of Business Travel Recovery," is the first in a series being presented by GBTA. For more information on future webinars, visit gbta.org.
Lakhimpur Kheri : , Aug 13 (IANS) The carcass of a young tigress from the buffer zone of the Dudhwa National Park has been found.

Dr. Anil Kumar Patel, Deputy Director of the Dudhwa buffer zone, said the carcass of the big cat was recovered from a forest area in the Mailani range on Tuesday. Patel said the tigress was around four to five years old.

"No injury marks were detected on the body while all the organs of the big cat were found intact," he said and added: "The conditions indicated the tigress seemed to have died a few days back." He further said that a nylon rope piece was found tied around the tigress' neck, causing abrasion mark, which raised doubts of some foul play.

The official said that the autopsy will be carried out according to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) guidelines to ascertain the exact cause of death. Patel said, "A report in this connection would be lodged under the Wildlife Protection Act." Meanwhile, reports said a farmer from the neighbouring Hardua village had gone to the fields to collect grass when a big cat hiding in the bushes charged upon him. He raised an alarm following which fellow villagers rushed to the spot and the big cat ran back into the neighbouring forest.

The villagers later found the dead body of the tigress lying in the bushes and called the forest authorities.

Patel along with his team rushed the spot and carried out preliminary investigations.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has angrily denied the existence of fires in the Amazon rainforest, calling it a "lie," despite data produced by his own government showing that thousands of fires are surging across the region.

Mr Bolsonaro last year similarly denied a spike in fires that provoked a global outcry, with the right-wing populist trading barbs with French President Emmanuel Macron and other world leaders.

The president's comments came even as Reuters witnesses in the remote Amazon town of Apui observed smoke blanketing the horizon in all directions during the day and large fires setting the sky aglow at night.

Fires in Brazil's Amazon for the month of August hit a nine-year high in 2019 and this month so far looks even worse. More than 10,000 fires were recorded in the first 10 days of August, up 17pc from the same period a year ago, according to data from the country's national space research agency, Inpe.

But in a speech to other South American leaders on Tuesday, Mr Bolsonaro challenged foreign representatives to fly over the Amazon, saying that travelling by air from the far-flung cities of Boa Vista to Manaus, you would not see a single flame.

"They won't find any spot of fire, nor a quarter of a hectare deforested," the former army captain told a meeting of members of the Leticia Pact, an agreement between Amazon countries to protect the rainforest.

"This story that the Amazon is going up in flames is a lie and we must combat it with true numbers," he said.

Mr Bolsonaro interfered in Inpe after it released unfavourable data on Amazon deforestation last year, firing the agency's head, Ricardo Galvao, who defended his agency's numbers that showed rising destruction.

In his speech, Mr Bolsonaro argued that Brazil has shown itself capable of protecting the Amazon alone because the majority of the forest is still standing.

He said the Amazon is a wet forest that preserves itself and does not catch fire.

The media and foreign governments are presenting a false narrative about the Amazon, he said.

Experts say that fires are not a natural phenomenon in the rainforest, but are usually man-made in order to clear deforested land for pasture.
The man shot by a Secret Service officer near the White House this week said he was armed, then reached along the right side of his body as if to retrieve an object, clasped his hands together and pointed his arms toward the officer, according to court charging documents filed Thursday.
While the Salzburg Festival has been forced to limit its offerings in a year marred by the global pandemic, art lovers in town are in for a treat.

In a season unlike any other, a smaller crowd is being accommodated at the events and performances, and the gallerist Thaddaeus Ropac hopes many of them will come to his show of new works by the celebrated German artist Anselm Kiefer.

The event, which runs through Oct. 3, features 18 monumental paintings and an installation, a sculptural piece encased in glass. All were produced in Barjac, a town in southern France where Mr. Kiefer lives part time.

Mr. Ropac, an opera fan and Austrian native, said the Salzburg gallery, which opened in 1983, was active all year round but even more so during the summer. The town becomes a cultural hub, so bustling you can feel it in the air.
Clive Palmer speaks to the media on May 14, 2014 in Canberra, Australia. (Stefan Postles/Getty Images)

Western Australian Parliament to Pass Clive Palmer Bill

Extraordinary legislation designed to block a potential $30 billion damages claim from Clive Palmer is close to being passed by Western Australias parliament.

The government has put forward unprecedented legislation to amend a 2002 state agreement with Palmers Mineralogy company.

It is intended to have the effect of terminating arbitration between the two parties and stopping Palmer seeking damages against the state.

The bill looks set to pass the upper house late on Thursday after the WA Nationals and Greens sided with the government to suspend all other business.

But in twist, Palmer said the Queensland Supreme Court had on Thursday registered his two arbitration awards.

He said this meant WAs draconian and disgraceful legislation would now be invalid under the constitution.

Attorney-General John Quigley has previously said any court action between the bills introduction and assent would be covered by the legislation.

WAs lower house signed off on the bill on Wednesday night, just hours after it was introduced to parliament.

The Liberal opposition and some crossbenchers had unsuccessfully sought more time to scrutinise the legislation, arguing it was unreasonable to consider it within 48 hours.

Government upper house leader Sue Ellery said MPs could not afford to provide Palmer with any opportunity to challenge the bills validity.

If the bill is not enacted and his self-serving claims are not extinguished, then the damages exposure is quite breathtaking, she said.

Liberal MP Nick Goiran labelled the fast-tracking of the legislation a pathetic charade for democracy.

Palmer and his associated companies Mineralogy and International Minerals are pursuing damages over a 2012 decision by the former Liberal government to not assess his proposed Balmoral South iron ore mine in the Pilbara.

The government has calculated the total claim to be $27.7 billion minus costs, an amount Premier Mark McGowan said would effectively bankrupt the state.

He said the situation could have been avoided had the former government heeded legal advice in 2014 to appeal one of the award decisions.

The government has also tabled evidence Palmer offered to withdraw his legal challenge against WAs border closures if officials agreed to move arbitration hearings relating to the damages claim from Perth to Canberra.

The offer was made in a letter from the in-house counsel for Mineralogy to state lawyers in WA.

Palmer has called on both the premier and attorney-general to resign and said their legislation will cause other companies to reconsider investing in WA.

By Michael Ramsey in Perth
Mrs Jean Mensa, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), on Wednesday expressed the Commissions gratitude to Ghanaians for the massive participation in the just-ended 2020 Voter Registration Exercise.



The spirit of patriotism demonstrated over the past six weeks has been phenomenal. We are most grateful to you. We would like to thank all our partners; the Security Agencies under the auspices of the Election Security Task Force, the Media and the Civil Society and Observer groups for this contribution which made the 2020 Voter Registration Exercise a success, she said.



Speaking at the 9th edition of the Let the Citizen Know series in Accra, Mrs Mensa commended the Commissions Regional Directors, Directors, Deputy Directors, District Electoral Officers and support staff as well as temporary officials for their hard work and efforts to make the exercise a success.



We have had 36 days of no rain in a rainy season and a smooth and seamless Voters Registration Exercise, it can only be by His grace. We are grateful to God, Mrs Mensa said.



She gave an assurance that the Commission was determined to put in place the necessary measures to clean the register to rid it of all unqualified persons, including minors and foreign nationals.



We are confident that at the end of the day we will present Ghanaians with a credible register that reflects Ghanaians and Ghanaians alone. A wholly-owned Ghanaian enterprise, she said.



Mrs Mensa said the Commission was confronted with a myriad of obstacles before the commencement of the exercise especially the COVID-19 pandemic which threatened to throw its activities out of gear.



First of all, it affected the global supply chain worldwide and caused the manufacturing industry which came to a grinding halt. This meant that the major manufacturing companies worldwide had shut down.



The manufacturers of our devices - the Biometric Voter Registration Kits and Biometric Verification Devices also closed shop for a period creating a lot of uncertainty around the production and delivery of the kits.



Additionally, as a nation, we were all confronted with fear and uncertainty around the Coronavirus not knowing what lay ahead. We also had the global and national lockdown which brought the world and our nation to a standstill, she said.



Mrs Mensa said despite the circumstances and uncertainties the Commission kept its focus and remained unperturbed, cognisant of the fact that it would pass.



Faced with the uncertainty around COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown, we had no option then but to revise our calendar and move all our activities from April to July, three months behind our planned schedule.



It meant that, for the first time in the history of the country, a new register was to be prepared at the end of the second quarter to the beginning of the third quarter, as opposed to the previous exercise which had been conducted in the first quarter of the year,

Source: GNA









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The last veteran of the original 1st Battalion US Rangers, which was formed at Carrickfergus in 1942, has died.

Lester Bernard Cook passed away on Sunday.

Born in Des Moines, Iowa, on September 25, 1922, he enlisted in the Iowa National Guard while still in high school.

His unit, the 168th Infantry Regt. 34th Division "The Red Bulls", was activated on February 10, 1941.

Tributes were paid by the mayor of Mid and East Antrim Borough Peter Johnston.

He said: "I am saddened to hear of the news of the passing of Lester Cook. I would like to offer my condolences to his family.

"Although he was not known to us personally, I can say that on behalf of council we feel and acknowledge this loss.

"The US Rangers Museum in Carrickfergus was established in 1994 following a visit by a number of veterans - original "Darby's Rangers" who donated their photographs, uniforms, medals and much more.

"We are honoured to be the birthplace of the US Rangers and we are as committed to telling their stories and keeping their memory alive just as much today as we were then. We thank you for your service."

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Stationed in Northern Ireland following the United States' entry into the Second World War in December 1941, Mr Cook came to Sunnylands Camp to try out for a new, elite special operations force being raised as the spearhead of all Allied offences against the enemy in the war in Europe.

He was one of up to 2,000 men who were put through a vigorous selection process - only 500 made the cut. The new unit was officially activated on June 19, 1942.

In a recent telephone interview Mr Cook said: "I had no idea what I was getting into when I saw a notice on the bulletin board about the Rangers. I was stationed in Belfast, Ireland, with the 168th Infantry."

He went on to serve the full tour with Darby's Rangers.

The original 1st Ranger Battalion comprised six line companies. Eventually these would come to number 2,000 men.

The Rangers were instrumental in the Allied assaults on North Africa, Sicily and Italy.

Some 198 Rangers were brought home in May 1944, most of these were from the original Darby's Rangers. This elite commando-style force remains the only US military unit to be formed on foreign soil.

Mr Cook's military career spanned three wars and 26 years.

He earned two Silver Stars, Purple Hearts and Presidential Unit Citations among many other accolades.

This summer Mr Cook was inducted into The Ranger Hall of Fame at Fort Benning, Georgia.

He passed away on Sunday following a stroke.

His loss is felt by the wider WWII Rangers community of veterans and descendants, where he was an active member of their Facebook page on which he participated up until a few months ago.

Recently the US Senate unanimously passed the United States Army Rangers Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act. Pending approval by the House of Representatives, it is hoped a medal presentation will take place next year to honour and give recognition to the WWII Rangers.
Antonio Guterres says without concerted action, inequality, global poverty and violence could rise for years.

The coronavirus pandemic not only threatens gains in fighting global poverty and building peace but risks exacerbating existing conflicts and generating new ones, the UN chief warned.

Speaking at a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) video conference on Wednesday on sustaining peace during the pandemic, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the unprecedented challenges from COVID-19 clearly risk pushing things in the wrong direction.

The pandemic threatens not only hard-won development and peacebuilding gains, but also risks exacerbating conflicts or fomenting new ones, he added.

Guterres said his March 23 call for an immediate ceasefire in conflicts around the world to tackle the coronavirus led to a number of warring parties to take steps to de-escalate and stop fighting, but many did not.

#COVID19 risks exacerbating conflicts and fomenting new ones. The @UNs work to sustain peace is more urgently needed than ever. My remarks to the Security Council: https://t.co/XuKtF10cOm  Antonio Guterres (@antonioguterres) August 12, 2020

His predecessor as secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, told the council: It is truly astonishing that in response to this pandemic, the world has placed billions of people under lockdown, closed international borders, suspended trade and migration, and temporarily shut down a whole variety of industries  but has not managed to suspend armed conflicts.

Ban criticised the UNSC for wasting valuable months in arguments over the details of the text and not adopting a resolution until July 1 demanding an immediate cessation of hostilities in key conflict areas to tackle COVID-19.

This has weakened the message that this council needs to send to all warring parties: now is the time to confront our common enemy, Ban said.

And he said delayed council action further aggravated the current volatile global security situations.





The impact of COVID-19 on conflict-affected settings has been much worse than initially thought, said Ban, who is a co-chair of the group of prominent world leaders founded by Nelson Mandela known as The Elders.

He pointed to health and humanitarian ramifications, social cohesion, governance, the rule of law and threats to multilateralism that are jeopardising ongoing efforts to sustain peace, or may even cause a reversal in hard-won peace and security gains to date.

Long-lasting effect

While governments try to confront the pandemic, some groups have seen an opportunity to ramp up violence, Ban said, citing as examples Boko Haram and other armed groups in Nigeria, growing mob violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and killings by drug cartels in Mexico.

He also warned the economic effect of the pandemic will be both long-lasting and severe with ripple effects for many fragile and conflict-affected states.

As examples, Ban said Lebanons political and economic crisis, exacerbated by last weeks deadly explosion at Beiruts port, is being compounded by COVID-19s effect on two key money-earners, tourism and trade, while Iraqs budget is being stretched thin because of the collapse in oil prices.

Guterres said the pandemic has raised growing questions about the effectiveness of health systems, social services, trust in institutions, and systems of governance.

All of this means that our commitment to sustaining peace is more urgent than ever, he said.





Epic crisis

The UN chief also warned without concerted action, inequalities, global poverty and the potential for instability and violence could grow for years.

While there have been many peaceful protests, Guterres said, in a number of countries, COVID-19 has been an excuse for harsh crackdowns and a spike in state repression.

Guterres stressed the importance of leadership.

The world is looking to all leaders  including the council  to address this epic crisis in ways that make a concrete, meaningful and positive contribution to the lives of people, he said.

Guterres called for all sectors of society to engage in building peace and preventing and ending conflicts.
Houston Exponential on Thursday unveiled a new database that brings together details about the citys nascent technology ecosystem, making it easy to find out details about startups, venture funding and accelerators.

HTX TechList, available at htxtechlist.com, allows young companies, investors and startup development organizations to fill out detailed profiles for their organizations that are searchable based on more than 2,000 different tags.

Its built on software developed in Israel that helped grow that countrys robust tech ecosystem, said Harvin Moore, Houston Exponentials president. The growth so far in Houstons startup community has increased demand for a way for investors and startups to find each other, he said.

FUNDING: Houston tech startups funding jumps in first half of 2020

In the past three years, weve gone from 11 startup development organizations to 34, Moore said during an online launch event Thursday. And weve gone from 400 startups to more than 1,100.

The software being used comes from Start-Up Nation Central and is called GlobalFinder. During the launch presentation, Greater Houston Partnerships president, Bob Harvey, said the Israeli site gets more than 70,000 searches each month from a global audience.

At launch, the database was prepopulated with 246 companies, 45 investors and 21 tech hubs. Now it is up to organizations in Houston to fill in their own profiles, said Serafina Lalany, chief of staff at Houston Exponential, a nonprofit charged with supporting the citys tech community.

Release Notes: Get Dwight Silvermans weekly tech newsletter in your inbox

Startups, investors and hubs/accelerators must fill out 80 percent of the fields in the softwares profile and pass muster with Houston Exponentials data team before the information goes live in the database, Lalany said. They are also expected to update the information regularly.

Data hygiene is very important to us, she said.

There is no charge for posting to or accessing the database. Moore said HTX TechList was funded by Houston Exponentials general funds.

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Discovered in 2016, the phenomenon could lead to improved oil spill remediation and provide a source of clean energy from hydrocarbon fuels

"Blue whirls" -- small, spinning blue flames that produce almost no soot when they burn -- have attracted great interest since their discovery in 2016, in part because they represent a potential new avenue for low-emission combustion.

Now, a team of researchers at the University of Maryland and Texas A&M University has identified how these intriguing whirls are structured. Their findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances on August 12, 2020.

The team includes now-graduated UMD aerospace engineering PhD students Joseph D. Chung and Xiao Zhang, working with Professor Elaine S. Oran, who is TEES Eminent Research Professor at Texas A&M University and previously Glenn L. Martin Professor at UMD's A. James Clark School of Engineering, and Dr. Carolyn R. Kaplan of the Department of Aerospace Engineering at UMD.

Using high-performance computing methods at the University of Maryland's Deepthought2 cluster and other computer systems, the researchers showed that a blue whirl is composed of three different flames -- a diffusion flame and a premixed rich and lean flame -- all of which meet in a fourth structure, a triple flame that appears as a whirling blue ring. The researchers also found that vortex breakdown -- a fluid instability that occurs in swirling flows -- enables the blue-whirl structure to emerge.

"The flame and flow structure revealed by the simulations serves as a fundamental base to further investigate how to create the blue whirl in a more controlled way," said Zhang. "It leads pathways to answering more complex questions."

"Examples of such questions are: How can we create blue whirls on different scales? Can we bypass the transitional, sooty, dangerous fire whirl stage and create the stable and clean blue whirl directly? The newly developed algorithms and models also provide great exploring tools to find these answers," Chung said.

Blue whirls were initially discovered in 2016 by Oran, working with Professor Michael Gollner, previously of the Department of Fire Protection Engineering and now at University of California, Berkeley, and Professor Huahua Xiao, previously in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at UMD and now at the University of Science and Technology in Hefei, China. At the time, they were investigating the behavior of a known phenomenon -- the fire whirl, also known as fire tornado -- when it occurs on a water base.

"Blue whirls evolve from traditional yellow fire whirls," Oran said. "The yellow color is due to radiating soot particles, which form when there is not enough oxygen to burn the fuel completely."

"Blue in the whirl indicates there is enough oxygen for complete combustion, which means less or no soot, and is therefore a cleaner burn. We now know that blue whirl will burn all of the fuel available as it exits a burner or from a surface."

###

Support for the new study was provided by grants from the National Science Foundation, the Army Research Office, the Army Research Laboratory, and the Minta Martin Endowment Funds in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Maryland, and the TEES Eminent Professorship at TAMU. Computations used in the new study were performed on the University of Maryland, Deepthought2 cluster, Thunder from the Air Force Research Laboratory, and Stampede2 from the Texas Advanced Computing Center.

The A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland serves as the catalyst for high-quality research, innovation, and learning, delivering on a promise that all graduates will leave ready to impact the Grand Challenges (energy, environment, security, and human health) of the 21st century. The Clark School is dedicated to leading and transforming the engineering discipline and profession, to accelerating entrepreneurship, and to transforming research and learning activities into new innovations that benefit millions.
French President Emmanuel Macron has held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss postelection violence in Belarus and the situation in Lebanon following a devastating blast in Beirut.

Macron on August 12 also spoke by phone with his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rohani, urging Tehran to avoid interfering in Lebanon or escalating tensions.

Iran wields influence in Lebanon through the militant Shi'ite Hizballah group, whose political wing was a major bloc in the outgoing Lebanese government and has an alliance with President Michel Aoun, a Maronite Christian.

Lebanon's government under Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned this week following days of demonstrations in the wake of an explosion at the Beirut port on August 4 that devastated entire neighborhoods of the city and left 171 people dead.

In his talks with Rohani, Macron emphasized the "necessity for all the powers concerned...to avoid any outside interference and to support the putting in place of a government which can manage the emergency," the Elysee said.

The blast has been blamed on a large stock of ammonium nitrate allowed to sit for years at the port in what many in Lebanon consider another example of the political elite's negligence and corruption.

Analysts say the political fallout from the blast may put pressure on Hizballah, the countrys strongest faction with a militant wing considered more powerful than the Lebanese Army.

Macron visited Beirut in the wake of the blast and offered broad support for the former French protectorate, organizing an international donor conference that raised some $295 million in pledges to help Beirut.

In his talks with Putin, Macron urged Russia to cooperate with the international community in restoring stability to Lebanon.

Macron suggested that Russia should support Lebanon via collective efforts at the UN Security Council.

Putin and Macron also discussed Belarus, where protesters have faced a harsh crackdown following the August 9 presidential vote that the opposition says was rigged to grant strongman President Alyaksandr Lukashenka a sixth-straight term.

Macron told Putin he was "very worried about the situation in Belarus and the violence that citizens have faced during the elections," the Elysee said in a statement. "He emphasized the need to find again the path of dialogue."

With reporting by AFP, AP, dpa, and Reuters
Meeza payment cards allow state employees to withdraw cash from ATMs, shop online, pay governmental dues, and to purchase goods at electronic purchasing points

Egypt's Ministry of Finance plans to replace five million current payment cards, used to disburse state employee dues, with free Meeza payment cards, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait announced Thursday.

Meeza payment cards allow state employees to withdraw cash from ATMs, shop online, pay governmental dues through the government payment and collecting system, and to purchase goods at electronic purchasing points (POS), according to Maait.

Maait said that Egypt is witnessing a new phase of digital transformation with an aim of achieving goals of financial inclusion, through which citizens can obtain services needed at their real cost.

He added that the drive is consistent with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi's directives on a gradual transformation to Digital Egypt, a national project that is one of Egypt's economic priorities.

"Egypt has made significant strides in this regard. All electronic systems in the finance ministry are expected to be fully completed by the end of June 2021 in line with Egypt's national project of digital transformation," Maait stated.

Maait added that the electronic payment and collecting system targets saving around 25 percent of the currency issuance cost and about 50 percent of the time required to get a service, in addition to reducing the number of procedures being taken, by which Egypt's ranking in global indices would improve, specifically in global competitiveness in doing business, and transparency.

The head of the Electronic Payment and Collecting Unit at the finance ministry, Dalia Fawzy, revealed that Banque Misr, the National Bank of Egypt, the Housing and Development Bank, the Arab African International Bank, Emirates NDB, the United Bank, Banque du Caire, the Commercial International Bank and the Arab Banking Corporation will contribute to the project in the trial phase.

Under Egypt's Strategic Vision 2030, the government has adopted a digital transformation project that aims to shift all payment and collecting processes to electronic means.

Given that the Covid-19 crisis has proved the importance of electronic payments and collecting, in order to contain the pandemic, Egypt's government has decided to fast-track the digital transformation project and to expand fintech solutions.

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People wear face masks and keep social distancing as they enter a cinema following an ease in restrictions that had been imposed to help control the coronavirus, in Peshawar, Pakistan. (AP)

Washington: The United States has urged its citizens not to travel to Pakistan due to the COVID-19 pandemic and terror threat.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 3 Travel Health Notice for Pakistan due to COVID-19, the State Department said in its latest travel advisory on Wednesday.

"Travellers to Pakistan may experience border closures, airport closures, travel prohibitions, stay at home orders, business closures, and other emergency conditions within Pakistan due to COVID-19," it said.

It also urged US citizens not to travel to Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, including the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas, due to terrorism and kidnapping and also in the immediate vicinity of the Line of Control due to terrorism and the potential for armed conflict.

Noting that terrorist groups continue plotting attacks in Pakistan, the advisory said that a local history of terrorism and ongoing ideological aspirations of violence by extremist elements have led to indiscriminate attacks on civilian as well as local military and police targets.

Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting transportation hubs, markets, shopping malls, military installations, airports, universities, tourist locations, schools, hospitals, places of worship, and government facilities, it said, noting that terrorists have targeted US diplomats and diplomatic facilities in the past.

At the same time, the State Department said that Pakistan's security environment has improved since 2014 when Pakistani security forces undertook concerted counter-terrorist and counter militant operations.

There are greater security resources and infrastructure in the major cities, particularly Islamabad, and security forces in these areas may be more readily able to respond to an emergency compared to other areas of the country. While threats still exist, terrorist attacks are rare in Islamabad, it said.
Photo: TNRD New Pinantan playground revealed on August 12

Pinantan Lake has a fun new addition for kids.

The Pinantan Elementary Playground has been revamped with new, state-of-the-art equipment.

The Pinantan Playground is a great addition to the community and gives our kids another place to get outside and stay active, said the Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities in a press release. Modern recreational infrastructure like this playground provides safer and improved spaces for families and children. Canada's Infrastructure plan invests in thousands of projects, creates jobs across the country, and builds stronger communities.

The project was a collaboration between the federal Gas Tax Fund which contributed $85,500 along with the Pinantan Parent Advisory Committee which contributed $15,000. The total redesign cost $100,500.

The partnership between the District, the Pinantan PAC and the TNRD assured that the chosen playground was designed for use by all kids in the community, whether or not they are of school age.
ANN ARBOR, MI - Ann Arbor Public Schools leaders are intentionally holding off on answering two questions as they respond to a flood of emails from parents about starting the school year with remote learning only.

When will the transition to in-person classes begin?
Bill Barr has the chance to be the greatest of all time, but if he wants to be politically correct, hell be just another guy, because he knows all the answers, he knows what they have, and it goes right to Obama and it goes right to Biden, said Trump, alluding to his frequent accusation that the Obama White House directed the investigation of his campaign, something that officials in the Obama administration and the Justice Department at that time have denied.
If you run into Attorney General William Barr over the weekend, be sure to congratulate him.

The readers have spoken! Barr was the runaway winner of our vote for Worst Trump Cabinet Member. He swept the field last fall, too. What we need now is a Worst Museum where we can put Barrs portrait looming over the door.

The Worst of Trump is clearly a topic people are pondering. We got thousands of responses to the contest. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos came in second and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo third.

They were far, far behind the leader. But give DeVos credit  its not easy to build up so much rancor when youre in a relatively low-profile cabinet post. Betsy DeVos is one I particularly love to hate because of her smug arrogance, while being the very picture of ignorant incompetence, wrote a voter.

What can be better than a secretary of education who doesnt believe in public schools and appears never to have attended any schools herself? asked another.
The National Judicial Council has recommended the appointment of 22 new judges in federal and state courts.

The council, according to a statement Thursday, also warned a judge accused of misconduct. It dismissed petitions against 16 others.

Read the full statement below.

The National Judicial Council under the Chairmanship of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Honourable Dr. Justice I. T. Muhammad CFR, at its 2nd Virtual Meeting held on 11th and 12th August, 2020, considered the Report of its Investigation Committee on allegation of misconduct made against Hon. Justice K. N. Ogbonnaya of High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

At the end of deliberation, the Plenary resolved to issue warning letter to Hon. Justice K. N. Ogbonnaya of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory following its findings on the petition written against him by Dr. Uchechukwu Samson Ogah, OON, that His Lordship refused to release a copy of Judgment delivered to the petitioner within the constitutionally prescribed period of seven (7) days.

In the same vein, Council also dismissed a petition written by Mrs Ademujimi Adenike Nancy against Hon. Justice Sunday Olorundahunsi for want of merit.

The Council also considered the Report of Preliminary Complaints Assessment Committee on petitions written against the following sixteen (16) Judicial Officers and dismissed the allegations levelled against: Hon. Justice Ayodele Daramola, Chief Judge, Ekiti State, Sulyman Kawu, Chief Judge, Kwara State, Hon. Justices I. N. Oweibo, Hadiza R. Shagari, Ijeoma L. Ojukwu, Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa all of the Federal High Court, Hon. Justices B. A. Oke-Lawal, O. A. Ogala of the Lagos State High Court, Hon. Justice Augusta Uche Kingsley-Chukwu, High Court of Rivers State, Hon. Justice Mustapha A. Ramat, High Court, Nasarawa State, Hon. Justices M. M. Ladan, Muhammed Lawal Bello both of the High Court of Kaduna State, Hon. Justice Adamu M. Kafin Madaki, High Court of Bauchi State, Hon. Justice L. M. Boufini, High Court, Bayelsa State and Hon. Kadi Goni Kur, Sharia Court of Appeal, Borno State for either lacking in merit or being subjudice.

Similarly, at the Meeting, Council considered the Report of its Interview Committee and recommended twenty-two (22) Judicial Officers as Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Heads of Court, Judges of High Court of States, Kadis of States Sharia Courts of Appeal and Judges of Customary Courts of Appeal.

It also received the final report of the Judicial Ethics Committee and other Ad-Hoc Committees set up.

Council also received the notification of retirement of thirteen (13) Judges and notification of death of six (6) Judges of States High Courts and Sharia Court of Appeal.

Soji Oye, Esq

Director, Information
Doctors are warning that the global death toll from diseases like tuberculosis, malaria and HIV could increase sharply this year because of disruption to health services caused by the coronavirus pandemic. One report warns that malaria deaths in Africa could double in 2020. Henry Ridgwell reports
The Goa government on Thursday said it has signed a tri-partite agreement to carry out world-class German dual vocational education and training in the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) of the state.

This will ensure optimal up-skilling of ITI graduates, including green skilling at par with the latest technological developments in the industry, thereby remarkably enhancing the employability of graduates from these ITIs, Goa Skill Development Minister Vishwajit Rane said.

The MoU was signed virtually between the Directorate of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Siemens Limited and the German-headquartered GIZ, he said.

The MoU will facilitate in-plant training of the students so that they can get practical hands on experience in their respective trades, Rane said, adding that students will be exposed to the latest advancement in the industry and this would help vastly improve their employability.

I am very happy that this Indo-German initiative of training is going to play a role in increasing employability of the students, he added.

He said various trades, including for skills like electrician, mechanical electronics, fitter, turner and machinist, which are currently taught in the ITIs, would come under the ambit of this MoU.

Siemens and GIZ India will undertake intensive training of instructors of ITIs and hand hold them throughout this process, he added.

Rane claimed this is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the government, industry and an international development for skill training in Goa.
Technavio has been monitoring the aluminum market for packaging industry and it is poised to grow by 1748.06 th tons during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of over 3% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200813005330/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Aluminum Market for Packaging Industry 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire)

Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Please Request Latest Free Sample Report on COVID-19 Impact

The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. Alcoa Corp., Amcor Plc, Ardagh Group SA, Ball Corp., Constellium SE, Crown Holdings Inc., Ess Dee Aluminium Ltd., Hindalco Industries Ltd., Norsk Hydro ASA, and United Company Rusal Plc are some of the major market participants. To make the most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments.

The growing need for sustainable packaging has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market. However, government regulations on packaging might hamper the market growth.

Aluminum Market for Packaging Industry 2020-2024: Segmentation

Aluminum Market for Packaging Industry is segmented as below:

Type Foils Sheets Others

Geography APAC Europe North America South America MEA



To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR43828

Aluminum Market for Packaging Industry 2020-2024: Scope

Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our aluminum market for packaging industry report covers the following areas:

Aluminum Market for Packaging Industry size

Aluminum Market for Packaging Industry trends

Aluminum Market for Packaging Industry industry analysis

This study identifies the increasing demand for aluminum container for liquid products as one of the prime reasons driving the aluminum market for packaging industry growth during the next few years.

Aluminum Market for Packaging Industry 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the aluminum market for packaging industry, including some of the vendors such as Alcoa Corp., Amcor Plc, Ardagh Group SA, Ball Corp., Constellium SE, Crown Holdings Inc., Ess Dee Aluminium Ltd., Hindalco Industries Ltd., Norsk Hydro ASA, and United Company Rusal Plc. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the aluminum market for packaging industry are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

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Aluminum Market for Packaging Industry 2020-2024: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist the growth of aluminum market for packaging industry during the next five years

Estimation of the size of aluminum market for packaging industry and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the aluminum market for packaging industry

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of the vendors in aluminum market for packaging industry

Table Of Contents :

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market ecosystem

Value chain analysis

Market Sizing

Market definition

Market segment analysis

Market size 2019

Market outlook: Forecast for 2019 2024

Five Forces Analysis

Five forces analysis

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

Market Segmentation by Application

Market segments

Comparison by Application

Consumer packaging Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Pharmaceutical packaging Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by Application

Market Segmentation by Type

Market segments

Comparison by Type

Foils Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Sheets Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Others Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by Type

Customer Landscape

Overview

Geographic Landscape

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

APAC Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Europe Market size and forecast 2019-2024

North America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

South America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

MEA Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Key leading countries

Market opportunity by geography

Market Drivers

Market Challenges

Market Trends

Vendor Landscape

Overview

Vendor landscape

Landscape disruption

Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

Alcoa Corp.

Amcor Plc

Ardagh Group SA

Ball Corp.

Constellium SE

Crown Holdings Inc.

Ess Dee Aluminium Ltd.

Hindalco Industries Ltd.

Norsk Hydro ASA

United Company Rusal Plc

Appendix

Scope of the report

Currency conversion rates for US$

Research methodology

List of abbreviations

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200813005330/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: media@technavio.com

Website: www.technavio.com/
Dubais largest bank, Emirates NBD is in early talks with Lebanons BLOM Bank which is looking to sell its Egypt-based subsidiary BLOM Bank Egypt.

The deal is not certain, the Dubai-based bank said though both sides are still continuing the discussion.

The talks came into being after BLOM Bank, reportedly hired CI Capital to advise on the sale of its Egyptian subsidiary.

Sources, Zawya reports, indicated that Emirates NBD has been contacted as potential bidder for the takeover.

BLOM Bank expect to pocket $250 million to $300 million from the potential deal as it tries to boost its capital to resist the unprecedented financial crisis that has gripped in the Middle East country.

An acquisition will boost Emirates NBD presence in the Egyptian market that entered in 2013 after the acquisition of BNP Paribas subsidiary.

The Lebanese lenders Egypt unit has 41 branches while Emirates NBD has over 69 branches and units cross the Middle East country including major districts and cities such as Greater Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, North Coast, Delta, Upper Egypt, Sinai and the Red Sea.
(Newser)  A US review has found that maintenance work probably triggered the deadly explosion in Beirut last week. The State Department is in agreement on the cause with Lebanese investigators, the Wall Street Journal reports, though President Trump had blamed "a bomb of some kind" immediately after the blast. US and Lebanese officials think welding at a warehouse at the city's port set materials on fire, which then touched off a chemical stockpile. Videos show an explosion at the port before the larger blast shook Beirut. More than 160 people were killed in the Aug. 4 explosions; at least 60 remain missing. The State Department has found no signs that an attack or any crime was behind the explosions. Trump backed away from the bomb claim the next day, saying, "They dont really know what it was."

story continues below

An Israeli expert said data from seismological sensors across the region show a series of six blasts took place before the main one. Boaz Hayoun, a former military engineering officer who's a munitions expert, said the six explosions took place at 11-second intervals, followed by a 43-second pause before the city erupted. "I cannot say categorically what caused this, but I can say these blasts were at the same location," Hayoun said, per Reuters. IRIS, an international geological project, said it picked up what it called the "small bursts" but doesn't think they're connected to the main explosion. On Thursday, a US astronaut tweeted a look at the devastated city from the International Space Station taken Tuesday. "Thinking of Beirut today. My heart goes out to all of those who have been affected by the recent tragedy," Chris Cassidy posted. "Sending love from @Space_Station." (Read more Beirut stories.)
These days, Andrew Lang (1844-1912) is usually remembered for "The Blue Fairy Book" (1889) and its red, green, yellow and other color-titled sequels. These 12 substantial volumes expanded the hitherto largely European canon of folk tales to include works from India, Africa, Brazil and other parts of the world. Lang himself only chose the stories and always credited his wife, Leonora Lang, among others, for the actual retellings.

A shy, somewhat reserved man, Andrew Lang was an astonishingly productive and pivotal figure in late 19th-century English literature. Having won fellowships and distinction at the University of St. Andrews and at Oxford's Balliol and Merton colleges, he abandoned academia for life as a freelance journalist and "elegant hack" (a description he rather liked). He soon became a Fleet Street legend: It was said that he could write his articles for the Daily News during the editorial meetings in which they were assigned.

What's more, he could write winningly on any subject. Consider the wryly witty lecture "How to Fail in Literature" (the text of which you can find online). He starts by reminding us that "it is not enough to attain failure, we should deserve it." To do so in writing, you must always strive to be "obscure, unnatural, involved, vulgar, slipshod, and metaphorical." Along with mixing metaphors, don't neglect "the free use of parentheses, in which a reader gets lost, and of unintelligible allusions, and of references to unread authors." As for subject matter, "he who would fail cannot begin better than by having nothing to say."

In "Old Friends: Essays in Epistolary Parody" Lang devises possible encounters between characters from differing works of fiction. For instance, Catherine Morland, the gothic novel devotee of Jane Austen's "Northanger Abbey," relates a visit to the home of Charlotte Bronte's Mr. Rochester: "No sooner had I entered this battlemented mansion than a cold chill struck through me, as with a sense of some brooding terror." She notes, in particular, the bizarre behavior of the governess, a Miss Eyre, and the sound of unseen but hideous laughter.

As this shows, Lang possessed a distinctly playful imagination. He once planned a complicated jeu d'esprit based on the supposed resemblance between Lord Darnley and Elizabeth I. It was to end with Darnley, in drag, secretly replacing the queen on the throne of England, which explains why Elizabeth never married. With Walter Herries Pollock, Lang concocted "He," a still funny parody of H. Rider Haggard's "She." In it, the main characters travel to Oxford in search of "He-Who-Has-Been-Mummified-Alive." What's particularly delicious about this is the fact that "She" itself had been dedicated to Lang.

This is because Lang had read "King Solomon's Mines" in manuscript and arranged for the publication of Haggard's first great adventure novel. The two became close friends and together collaborated on "The World's Desire," which sets up a triangle made up of Odysseus, Helen of Troy and a seductive Egyptian queen, who turns out to be an earlier incarnation of the near immortal Ayesha of "She." Who could resist such a romantic premise? As Lang observed, we are always stirred by ancient songs and legends, by the mere thought of a great warrior crying aloud a woman's name through the din of battle and the clash of swords.

To me, Lang himself is a hero of literature. Besides being the champion of Robert Louis Stevenson and Haggard, he was the first critic to produce a study of Kipling's work, found a publisher for the young Arthur Conan Doyle's first major novel "Micah Clarke," and repeatedly informed the English that Mark Twain was one of the world's great writers. Drawing on his classical education, he translated, with S.H. Butcher, Homer's "The Odyssey" and, with Walter Leaf and Ernest Myers, "The Iliad." Both would be the standard English versions for half a century. Not only did Lang pioneer the study of myth and ritual, he helped establish the Folklore Society and served as president of the Society for Psychical Research. His version of that winsome medieval French love story, "Aucassin and Nicolette," is the one I read in college. Among his historical works are a life of Joan of Arc and a series of short investigations into some of Europe's most mysterious figures, including the feral and enigmatic Kaspar Hauser and the seemingly deathless Comte de Saint-Germain.

For today's readers, Lang's most immediately appealing publications are probably "The Adventures of Odysseus," a superb retelling for children of that clever warrior's exploits, the somber Scottish fairy tale, "The Gold of Fairnilee," in which young Randal is rescued from the Queen of Fairyland by the devotion of bonny Jean, and "The Disentanglers," the high-spirited, even campy annals of a service that specializes in breaking up reckless infatuations and forestalling misguided marriages. While I like it a lot, most people will rightly prefer "Prince Prigio," the first of Lang's Chronicles of Pantouflia. Because that realm's current queen is a complete rationalist, she refuses to invite the fairies to the christening of her new baby. The king is distressed. "They are very old friends of our family," he explains timidly. "Often and often they have been godmothers to us. One, in particular, was most kind and most serviceable to Cinderella I, my own grandmother."

Naturally, the fairies come anyway and generously lavish baby Prigio with wonderful gifts such as seven-league boots and a cap of invisibility. Sheer nonsense, says the queen, when she pitches everything into a disused garret. An old, legitimately cross fairy then delivers her present: "My child, you shall be (BEGIN ITAL)too(END ITAL) clever." As a result, Prigio grows up a self-centered know-it-all, much disliked by everyone. But one day he wanders up into that disused garret ... "Prince Prigio" is a genuine treat and belongs on the same shelf of endlessly rereadable fairy-tale comedy as Thackeray's "The Rose and the Ring" and Kenneth Grahame's "The Reluctant Dragon."

- - -

Dirda reviews books each Thursday in The Washington Post.
Technavio has been monitoring the slickline services market and it is poised to grow by USD 943.28 million during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of over 5% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200813005459/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Slickline Services Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire)

Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Please Request Free Sample Report on COVID-19 Impact

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the key factor driving the market?

Increase production from mature oil gas fields is one of the key factors driving the market growth.

Who are the top players in the market?

AOS Orwell Ltd., Archer Ltd., Baker Hughes Co., Expro Holdings UK 2 Ltd., Halliburton Co., Pioneer Energy Services Corp., Schlumberger Ltd., Superior Energy Services Inc., Weatherford International Plc, and Wellservices BV. are some of the major market participants.

Which region is expected to hold the highest market share?

North America

What is the year-over-year growth rate of the global market?

The year-over-year growth rate for 2020 is estimated at 3.93%.

The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. AOS Orwell Ltd., Archer Ltd., Baker Hughes Co., Expro Holdings UK 2 Ltd., Halliburton Co., Pioneer Energy Services Corp., Schlumberger Ltd., Superior Energy Services Inc., Weatherford International Plc, and Wellservices BV are some of the major market participants. The increase production from mature oil gas fields will offer immense growth opportunities. To make most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments.

Slickline Services Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

Slickline Services Market is segmented as below:

Application Onshore Offshore

Geographic Landscape APAC Europe MEA North America South America



To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR40332

Slickline Services Market 2020-2024: Scope

Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our slickline services market report covers the following areas:

Slickline Services Market size

Slickline Services Market trends

Slickline Services Market analysis

This study identifies the introduction of digital slickline services as one of the prime reasons driving the slickline services market growth during the next few years.

Slickline Services Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the slickline services market, including some of the vendors such as AOS Orwell Ltd., Archer Ltd., Baker Hughes Co., Expro Holdings UK 2 Ltd., Halliburton Co., Pioneer Energy Services Corp., Schlumberger Ltd., Superior Energy Services Inc., Weatherford International Plc, and Wellservices BV. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the slickline services market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform

Slickline Services Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist slickline services market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the slickline services market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the slickline services market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of slickline services market vendors

Table of Contents:

PART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

PART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORT

2.1 Preface

2.2 Currency conversion rates for US$

PART 03: MARKET LANDSCAPE

Market ecosystem

Market characteristics

Value chain analysis

Market segmentation analysis

PART 04: MARKET SIZING

Market definition

Market sizing 2019

Market outlook

Market size and forecast 2019-2024

PART 05: FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

PART 06: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY APPLICATION

Market segmentation by application

Comparison by application

Onshore Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Offshore Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by application

PART 07: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPE

PART 08: GEOGRAPHIC LANDSCAPE

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

North America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

APAC Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Europe Market size and forecast 2019-2024

MEA Market size and forecast 2019-2024

South America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Key leading countries

Market opportunity

PART 09: DECISION FRAMEWORK

PART 10: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES

Market drivers

Market challenges

PART 11: MARKET TRENDS

Rise in deepwater and ultra-deepwater E&P activities

Declining prices of raw materials

Introduction of digital slickline services

PART 12: VENDOR LANDSCAPE

Overview

Landscape disruption

Competitive scenario

PART 13: VENDOR ANALYSIS

Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors

AOS Orwell Ltd.

Archer Ltd.

Baker Hughes Co.

Expro Holdings UK 2 Ltd.

Halliburton Co.

Pioneer Energy Services Corp.

Schlumberger Ltd.

Superior Energy Services Inc.

Weatherford International Plc

Wellservices BV

PART 14: APPENDIX

Research methodology

List of abbreviations

Definition of market positioning of vendors

PART 15: EXPLORE TECHNAVIO

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200813005459/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: media@technavio.com

Website: www.technavio.com/
GENEVA, Aug 11 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) and Russian health authorities are discussing the process for possible WHO prequalification for its newly approved COVID-19 vaccine, a WHO spokesman said on Tuesday.

President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia had become the first country in the world to grant regulatory approval to a COVID-19 vaccine after less than two months of human testing, a move hailed by Moscow as evidence of its scientific prowess.

"We are in close contact with Russian health authorities and discussions are ongoing with respect to possible WHO prequalification of the vaccine, but again prequalification of any vaccine includes the rigorous review and assessment of all required safety and efficacy data," WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told a U.N. briefing in Geneva, referring to clinical trials. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Editing by Michael Shields)
Rhea Chakraborty, who is at the radar of investigators in the case of Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide case, said in the Supreme Court hearing on Thursday that she has no issues with the case being handed over to CBI for the probe.

Rhea Chakraborty, the actor who landed in controversy after a month of Sushant Singh Rajputs death, has agreed to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe in the Supreme Court hearing on Thursday. The actress reportedly said that she has no objections to Sushant Singh Rajputs case being transferred to Central Bureau of Investigation by the top court.

In relation to the same case, Bihar administration has filed a submission in the Supreme Court stating that theres no point of transferring Sushants case to Mumbai police. Calling the plea infructuous, they said that the plea is redundant as CBI has already taken over the case.

Vikas Singh, the lawyer of Sushant Singh Rajputs family, has accused Siddharth Pithani, Sushants former roommate, of duplicity and being an accomplice of Rhea Chakraborty, who is claimed to be involved in a shady conspiracy regarding Sushants death. There have been social media campaigns, protests going on against Rhea Chakraborty as she is being considered as the main suspect behind Sushants death.

Also read: Shared stage with PM Modi, attended mega Janmashtami gala, now Ntriya Gopal Das tests Covid +

Also read: Ayushmann welcomes Supreme Court verdict that daughters have equal birthright to inherit property

Rhea Chakraborty is considered as the main accused in the FIR filed by Sushants family as well. She and her family, that includes her brother Showik, father Indrajit, mother Sandhya, and several others like Shruti Modi and Samuel Miranda are believed to be the suspects in the CBI FIR.

Rhea is accused of having led Sushant to suicide, criminal conspiracy and cheating. She, alongside her family, is under investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Also read: Seamless,Painless, Fearless: Pm Modis big push for tax reforms
Michigan Rd., 15200 block, 1:03 p.m. Aug. 3. A woman was in her vehicle pulling away from the curb when a male acquaintance intentionally struck her vehicle from behind multiple times with his vehicle and attempted to force her off the roadway. The man eventually overturned his own vehicle and was taken to a hospital, treated and released. The woman was treated at the scene with minor injuries. Police have been unable to locate the man.
CARROLLTON  A Carrollton man has pleaded guilty to concealing the 2018 death of a 6-month-old infant.

Ryan Wheeler, 36, of Carrollton was charged Nov. 29, 2018, with concealment of a homicide after authorities found the babys body wrapped in a sheet inside a trash bag and buried in a shallow grave in a wooded area near a house on East Cemetery Road in rural Carrollton.

The infant and his mother, Jamia Ellis, 24, of Alton, had been reported missing. Ellis, who is Wheelers girlfriend, was found alive. She pleaded not guilty in December to charges of first-degree murder and concealment of a homicide.

She is scheduled to go on trial Aug. 31.

After spending 18 months in jail on $500,000 bond, Wheeler was granted a recognizance bond to be released from Greene County Jail with an ankle monitoring system on July 16. Ellis remains in Greene County Jail, where she has been lodged since November 2018 in lieu of a $1.5 million bail.

Ellis attorney filed a 16-page motion in her case on July 31, claiming information had come forward that was favorable to Ellis. The motion said former cellmates of Wheeler provided testimony to Illinois State Police claiming that Wheeler had a role in the murder and that the state failed to provide all correspondence of those interviews, according to the Greene Prairie Press.

Wheelers plea comes a couple of months after first-degree murder charges were added against him. Greene County States Attorney Caleb Briscoe said on Tuesday that information used to file the additional charges was not credible after review.

We wanted to act swiftly upon learning that Wheeler may have have been involved in the murder, Briscoe said. Upon further review, however, we felt that the newfound evidence was simply not credible  I have a legal and moral obligation to only present credible evidence in court. Im satisfied that this plea reflects our confidence that the facts supported the charge against, and ultimate conviction of, Wheeler.

The evidence used against Wheeler came from an investigation conducted by Carrollton Police Department, Greene County Sheriffs Department and Illinois State Police.

Concealment of a homicide carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $25,000 fine.

Wheeler is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 16.
Mark E. Ojakian, the ultimate Democratic insider, who rose from legislative researcher to chief of staff under Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, then became the controversial head of Connecticuts college and university system, announced Wednesday that he will retire at the end of 2020.

Affable and persuasive, Ojakian served as deputy state comptroller for 16 years, when Connecticut had Republican governors, then moved into the executive branch when Gov. Dannel P. Malloy took office in 2011. His promised two-year stint as president of Connecticut State Colleges & Universities stretched to five.

The 66-year-old West Hartford resident is confident that his direction, combining the 12 disparate community colleges into a single institution, despite a lot of push back from faculty and staff, will continue. He has made the system stronger and resilient while making it easier for students to transfer credits to universities.

Ive always known in my career when its time to move on, Ojakian said in an interview. I knew when it was time to leave the governors office. Now I know that it is time for me to leave this position, which I have been honored to hold for the last five years. I have assembled an incredible team, which I have the utmost confidence in being able to take the ball and continue to run it down the field.

A political pro with deep associations across state government, politics and the legislature, Ojakian used them all in helping negotiate the historic union concessions in Malloys first year in office, then became his second chief of staff later in 2011.

Ojakian became a lightning rod in recent years as he guided the states higher education system, with 9,000 employees and more than 100,000 students.

As deputy secretary of the Office of Policy and Management under Malloy, Ojakian led the original reorganization of Connecticuts higher education system, now guided by a Board of Regents, which became the single entity governing the community colleges and four state universities.

The board is, I think, not only a dedicated, hard-working strategic board, but now I think more than ever understands the need for them to be engaged in the initiatives that we are putting forward, especially around the consolidation effort, Ojakian said. I think that the pieces are in place to continue and if I wasnt confident that that could occur, I would not have made this decision.

He said that an organization can be measured by a team that can continue successfully in the absence of the leader. I believe Ive done that, he said.

Ojakian also focused on training college students for jobs in advanced manufacturing, and addressed the need for equity in education for both low-income and LGBTQ students.

The resignation was announced at noon on Wednesday, followed quickly by a tribute from Gov. Ned Lamont. Mark Ojakian has been a dedicated public servant in Connecticut for more than 40 years, Lamont said in a statement. He is as intelligent and knowledgeable about the workings of government as anyone. I have come to rely on his counsel and appreciate his friendship. Over the past five years, Mark brought stability to a system that was in turmoil. He recognized that public higher education represents not just opportunity for individuals to expand their knowledge and improve their lives, but a critical component of the states long-term workforce development strategy.

Lamont said he remains committed to the Students First consolidation initiative, which has the goal of improving academic success while assuring the long-term finances of the community colleges.

We need to ensure not only that every campus remains open and operational, but that they make strides toward reducing chronic inequities, Lamont said.

Ojakian began his state career in 1980, after answering a newspaper ad that his now-90-year-old mother found for an entry-level General Assembly researcher. From 1994 until 2010, Ojakian was deputy comptroller under State Comptroller Nancy Wyman, who became Malloys lieutenant governor running mate in 2010 and served in that role for two terms.

Ojakian was subject to some criticism for being picked by Malloy to head higher education, and received more flak of his own for hiring Ben Barnes, Malloys former budget secretary, as the CSCUs chief financial officer.

When we were leaving the Malloy administration, people would say we shouldnt be selected for other positions because we served under the governor, and so it was kind of strange to think that the skills you had, not only before you became part of a governors team, but also that you developed being on the governors team, did not translate into your being able to do other functions, Ojakian said.

Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, praised Ojakians goals for higher education and the continued efforts by his board.

Mark's vision has always focused on the urgency of creating an enhanced educational environment for the tens of thousands of students he serves and it was always a pleasure to work with him toward that end, Looney said in a statement. I believe he has pointed a path to sustained success.

House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, said Wednesday that Ojakian used his vast experience in state government to transform the university system.

On a personal level, Mark has been dear friend who has helped me throughout my career as his wisdom and advice has always been a comfort, Klarides said. He embodies qualities that we all should hope to possess in life: optimism, common sense, humor and loyalty.

His warm personality and gentle demeanor allowed him to navigate rough waters in a way others simply could not, said state Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven. Whether it was talking to leaders on the other side of the aisle, advocating for a budget that people disliked, or union negotiations, he was always direct, honest, sincere, and a gentleman. He is a true friend to everyone he has worked with and he embodies respect and dedication.

If he has any regrets, Ojakian said he missed the close contact that lawmakers develop during the arc of legislative sessions, which this year was nipped in the bud when the coronavirus pandemic closed the Capitol on March 12, less than two months before the scheduled end of the session, leaving hundreds of pieces of legislation to die.

It was my 42nd session and I just wanted to go up there, Ojakian said. Ive always stayed up there on the last day and I would always stand and listen to the governors speech at midnight, and Id always go to all the caucus events afterwards to say thank you and to see my friends and to just kind of continue to be part of a system. That feels sort of unfinished to me, but we have much more important things than worrying about my last hurrah. This is more about making sure we all continue to stay safe and that we reopen in a safe way. And I hope were there.

kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 23:11:28|Editor: huaxia

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ANKARA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Turkey and Libya Thursday inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enhance trade and economic ties, Turkish Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan said.

"With the MoU, we have taken an important step together in order to solve the problems of the projects that were left half-finished in the past and their receivables, and realize new projects and investments," Pekcan said at a press conference with Al-Hadi Al-Taher Al-Juhaimi, Libya's planning minister.

Recalling that some construction projects by Turkish companies in Libya had recently been interrupted, Pekcan said there were uncertainties regarding completion of these projects and Turkish companies had remaining receivables in these projects.

"The signed document will facilitate the conclusion of bilateral negotiations between our companies and Libyan employers' management in a way that will produce solutions and serve as a guiding document in this sense," she stated.

The Libyan minister welcomed Turkish contractors' work in Libya and said Turkish firms contributed to 20 percent of the investment projects in the country.

As long as the turmoil ends in Libya, the country will focus on new development plans and is willing to partner with Turkish companies under this development plan, he stated.

Turkey backs the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord of Libya led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj and has signed agreements on maritime boundaries as well as security and military cooperation last year. Enditem
The Victorian Liberal Partys decision-making committee has been asked by one of its members to consider disciplinary action against former premier Jeff Kennett over his public criticism of the state Opposition Leaders performance during the pandemic.

Internal tensions are simmering within the Victorian Liberals amid criticisms that Opposition Leader Michael OBrien has struggled to make significant gains against Premier Daniel Andrews, despite Victoria's stage four lockdown.

Jeff Kennett has described Victorian Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien as "soft". Credit:Wayne Ludbey

On Thursday, Mr Kennett weighed in on Mr O'Brien's performance during an interview on Sydney radio station 2GB.

"Hes a soft character. He always tries to get the balance right," Mr Kennett said. "Hes not as aggressive as some. He had a much better day yesterday when he went on the attack."
He's the hunky bachelor who has made no secret of his love for the outdoors.

But opening a bottle of Champagne on a luxury yacht appears to fall short of Locky Gilbert's skill set, if Thursday's episode of The Bachelor is anything to go by.

Fans watching from home were quick to flock to Twitter to comment on his rather embarrassing moment during his solo date with Bella Varelis.

Baby steps: 'I'm like, super-nervous, how do you do it?' he laughed, as he attempted to open the the pricey beverage

'Oh FFS. What a man child. I'm out,' one viewer wrote in response to Locky's admission he had no idea how to open a bottle of bubbles.

A second fan was equally shocked to learn the 30-year-old reality star had never popped a cork before.

'Jeez who hasn't ever popped a bottle of champagne? That's weird,' they wrote.

A third went straight for the jugular: 'Lochie has never opened a Champagne bottle with a cork. I'll bet he's used to drinking it from a box.'

'What a man-child': On Thursday, Bachelor fans were beside themselves when Locky Gilbert admitted he didn't know how to open a bottle of Champagne during his yacht date with Bella Varelis. Both pictured

Ouch! Fans watching from home were quick to flock to Twitter to comment on his rather embarrassing moment during his solo date with Bella Varelis

During their romantic date, Bella said it was time to pop open a bottle of Champagne, to which Locky explained, 'I've actually never popped a bottle before.'

'I'm like, super-nervous, how do you do it?' he laughed, as he attempted to open the the pricey beverage.

Speaking in a piece to camera, the former Survivor star admitted he was embarrassed over the mishap.

Finally! 'I can't believe that Locky's never popped a bottle of champagne before,' Bella then tells the camera - The Bachelor continues on Wednesday at 7.30pm on Ten

'I can't believe that Locky's never popped a bottle of Champagne before,' said Bella in her interview, before adding: 'I kind of coaxed him through it a little bit.'

Minutes later, Bella scored her first kiss with Locky as they bobbed up and down in the water.

The Bachelor continues Wednesday at 7.30pm on Channel Ten
The Venezuelan Bishops Conference appeals for unity, inclusion and togetherness in the run up to the December National Assembly Elections.

By James Blears

In a letter (original in Spanish) published earlier this week, the Bishops Conference highlights the suffering of the Venezuelan people, caused by the deep economic slump and the moral crisis which the country is undergoing, which they say is being forgotten by those who took the role of representing them in the political sphere.

The Bishops point out that this situation has been further aggravated by Covid-19, spreading throughout the country, which is marked by the very serious deterioration of the sanitary system and public services. Nevertheless, the Bishops say the Venezuelan people have a great capacity for democracy, with an electoral process involving a peaceful and rational manner, to establish a consensual route to resolve problems.

To do this they are urging free, just and impartial elections with the participation of all political parties and movements, according to electoral norms and procedures. But they are conscious of irregularities including the banning of political parties and the prevention of some candidates. The Bishops note that some groups of leaders are expressing their determination not to take part in the forthcoming elections.

Rather, the letter appeals for a togetherness, with the acceptance of the Authorities for the good of the Venezuelan people in a spirit of fraternal cooperation.

Currently neither the Government of President Nicolas Maduro, nor the opposition coalition  which has at least some of its power base in the National Assembly which Juan Guido leads  are willing to ease their entrenched position, or set aside political differences. Yet these and all other elections are supposed to be an indication of the will of the people who vote.
Each country will make decision based on national interest: Aus official on India's Chinese apps ban

India

pti-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Aug 13: Australia has decided not to ban Chinese mobile applications at this stage but recognises that each country will make a decision based on its own national interest, a senior Australian official said on Thursday, weeks after India banned several Chinese apps.

The Indian government had on June 29 banned 59 Chinese apps, saying they were prejudicial to sovereignty, integrity and security of the country.

Watch: COVID-19 nurse pours out bucket of sweat from her PPE kit China

Later, the government banned 47 more Chinese apps. Asked about India's ban on the applications and whether Australia was also considering any such ban on Chinese apps, Tara Cavanagh, Regional Director South Asia Region, Australia's Department of Home Affairs, said his country has decided not to ban those apps at this stage.

"We recognise that each country will make its own decision in its own national interest. We have looked at the matter and we have decided that we will not be making such a decision at this stage," she said at a media briefing.

Asked what was the reason for Australia not naming China in cyberattacks, Cavanagh said Australia's position is that it attributes such attacks when it is in its national interest to do so. Australia launched its Cyber Security Strategy 2020 on August 6.

Under the strategy, USD 1.67 billion will be invested over 10 years to achieve the vision of a more secure online world for all Australians and prioritises actions to protect the vulnerable, combat cyber-crime and protect critical infrastructure and systems of national significance.

India-China standoff: The importance of Misri meeting Liu

PM Modi launches platform for 'Transparent taxation-Honouring the Honest' | Oneindia News

About Australia-India cooperation on cybersecurity, the senior official in the Australian High Commission here said the two countries for several years have had a very active dialogue on cybersecurity that is being significantly stepped up through the signing of the comprehensive strategic partnership. Australia's deputy high commissioner here Rod Hilton said there was a very fast-growing relationship in areas of cyber and critical technology. The two countries have been increasing information sharing and stepping up cooperation, Hilton said.

Australia and India formalised the Cyber and Cyber-Enabled Critical technology Framework Agreement that was signed by their foreign ministers and it contains a number of areas they will work on together, he said. On June 4, Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Scott Morrison signed the Australia India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP), taking the bilateral relationship to a historic high point.

"A key pillar of the CSP is cyber. Both countries have identified the importance of a holistic approach to cyber-related issues, including cybersecurity," the Australian High Commission said.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has halted a speech in parliament, telling legislators he needed to "sit down for a minute" after suffering a drop in blood pressure.



The 54-year-old was half an hour through his speech on Wednesday when he began appearing tired, interrupting it twice to take a sip of water from a glass in front of him.



He was speaking about U.S. sanctions on Syria and the war-torn country's economic crisis when he told the room: "My blood pressure has dropped and I need to drink water."



Shortly afterwards, he said: "I need to sit for a minute if you don't mind," before exiting the huge hall.



It was not clear how long he was absent but when he returned, al-Assad, a trained eye doctor who is not known to have any specific health condition, joked that "doctors are the worst patients," Al Jazeera reported.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has accused Donald Trump of trying to undermine the 2020 US presidential election by sabotaging the US Postal Service, an essential agency for states looking to expand mail-in voting amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"The president is afraid of the American people. He knows that on the legit, it will be hard for him to win," Ms Pelosi told reporters on Thursday in response to a question about why she thought Mr Trump was trying to diminish an essential government operation during a pandemic.

"You'd have to ask [Republicans]" why they're toeing Mr Trump's line, Ms Pelosi said.

The president has been transparent that he does not want to fund the postal service because he believes it will lead to more voters casting ballots by mail, which he has said is vulnerable to fraud.

There is virtually no evidence of large-scale fraud on vote-by-mail ballots, although at least one recent GOP congressional primary last cycle was mired in illegal absentee ballot harvesting accusations.

The Democratic-controlled House passed a comprehensive coronavirus relief bill in May that would send $3.6bn to states and localities to help secure their voting operations this fall.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's GOP proposal last month included no such money.

Democrats are also asking for billions of dollars in funding for the USPS to bolster its operations ahead of what is expected to be a busy next few months for the agency as Americans across the country seek to mail in their ballots instead of going to polling places in person in order to avoid possible Covid-19 exposure.

"They need that money in order to make the post office work, so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots, Mr Trump said in an interview with Fox Business on Thursday.

But if they dont get those two items, that means you cant have universal mail-in voting, because theyre not equipped to have it," he said.

He added: Therefore, they cant do the universal mail-in vote. Its very simple. How are they going to do it if they dont have the money to do it?

Mr Trump's naked opposition to funding for the USPS and election security has riled progressive voting rights groups that have been instrumental in lobbying for funding in Democratic bills.

Donald Trump is saying the quiet part out loud: His continued efforts to cripple the USPS are a clear attempt to sabotage the election and suppress the vote in the middle of a pandemic," said Sean Eldridge, the president of Stand Up America, a progressive voting rights group.

If Senate Republicans gave a damn about the future of our democracy, they would demand that the Trump administration return to the negotiating table on a COVID-19 relief bill that protects our elections and funds the Post Office, Mr Eldridge said.

Mr McConnell has, however, blamed Democrats for stalling negotiations on a fifth coronavirus relief package, saying they have been unwilling to compromise.

Ms Pelosi said Democrats would return to the negotiating table when Republicans agree to budge from their rough $1trn cap on a package. The Democrats would come down about $1trn from their asking price in return.

Mr McConnell said that is an absurd form of negotiating.

"Thats throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. People who have serious policy proposals that are fitted to actual needs cannot breezily knock off a trillion here, and add a trillion there," he said.
With the ongoing pandemic and the school year nearly here, I (like other parents I know) feel that things are difficult to balance.

As I think about back-to-school preparations, I appreciate that the packed lunch is still an easy and safe way to give my child nutritious food and some comfort from home during the school day. It is also a manageable way we can balance our pandemic concerns with our environmental aspirations.

In an effort to help ease preparations, I am sharing 10 tips to make our lunches litterless, while keeping things simple and safe during the pandemic.

1) Reducing waste inside the home requires us to change our habits outside of the home. When we grocery shop, instead of reaching for a package of cheese strings, consider buying a brick of cheese and cutting it creatively. Rather than buying prepackaged produce, opt for the unpackaged options and bring your own produce bags. Consistently choosing lunch snacks that have limited or no packaging is a great way to reduce waste.

2) Involve your child in the lunch-packing process. Depending on their age, you can split the workload while encouraging independence and ownership. When children have a voice and can choose their own lunch options, they are more likely to eat it.

3) Consider swapping out sugary juice boxes with a single stainless-steel water bottle that can be filled (and refilled) with good old H2O right from the tap. Getting into the habit of drinking water at lunch is good for your childs health and your pocketbook. Though juice boxes are recyclable, they are often not rinsed properly before being put into the bin. This leads to contamination of other recyclables and can result in the whole lot being sent to landfill. In speaking with teachers and education assistants, I have learned that juice boxes are the No. 1 unfinished lunch item, and more often than not they end up half-full in the garbage.

4) Opt for reusable stainless-steel containers, thermoses, and water bottles. Stainless steel is relatively easy to clean using hot water and soap. A bottle brush can help you clean inside thermoses and water bottles. Stainless steel is also durable, light, and free of BPA and other harmful toxins. The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a report in 2018 acknowledging the growing body of evidence that suggests chemicals added to food directly or indirectly via packaging could have long-term developmental repercussions in children.

5) Practice your lunch routine before school starts by packing a demo lunch and going on a picnic. This gives you the opportunity to see your childs lunch gear in action. Check to see that your young ones can open and close the containers by themselves. This way you can be sure the food you pack is accessible. This also ensures your child will not have to ask for help from school staff.

6) Reach for reusable fabric snack bags rather than plastic ones. Reusable bags offer the element of surprise and the novelty of opening a colourful package. They are easy to wipe out at the end of the day and can be tossed in the washing machine for a deep clean.

7) Swap out that plastic cling wrap. This disposable product can easily be replaced with beeswax food wraps. These sustainable alternatives are reusable, washable with cold water, and compostable after approximately one year of use.

8) Prepacked granola bars may seem like a convenient snack option but the wrappers are not recyclable, meaning theyre destined for landfill. A great alternative is baking your own granola bars in large batches, which you can freeze and thaw as needed. This offers an opportunity for your child to be involved in the baking process, not to mention you can customize your creation and add all your favourite healthy ingredients.

9) Do some research! Consider consulting with teachers, fellow parents, and online resources for lunch-packing inspiration. A quick Google search will bring up hundreds of blog posts and articles with parents documenting their school lunch ideas. One of my favourite ideas is fresh fruit or vegetable skewers. Try visiting the website of the brand of your childs lunch box. For example, the Planet Box website provides specific recipes that help you make the most of the compartments provided.

10) Its not always possible to avoid packaging. If you are looking to check up on the recyclability of specific items within the City of Peterborough, there is an excellent online resource located on the City of Peterborough Waste Management webpage called What Goes Where. This web page allows you to search a particular item or material and receive specific instruction about how and where its disposed.

The GreenUP Store offers a variety of tools to help you create your childs litterless lunch kit. We carry many reusable stainless-steel containers from reputable brands like Planet Box, Onyx, and UKonserve. The products feature easy-open lids, silicone seals, or insulated double-walls to keep food warm or cold. We also have many reusable water bottles, lunch bags, fabric snack bags, and more!

For more information visit our website at www.greenup.on.ca/greenup-store. Please visit us at the GreenUP Store at 378 Aylmer St. in downtown Peterborough, give us a call at 705-745-3238 ext. 222, or email kristen.larocque@greenup.on.ca with your zero-waste lunch questions.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 12:36:40|Editor: huaxia

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QUITO, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- China's willingness to keep the door open to dialogue with the United States to address differences and mitigate tensions between the two powers should be lauded, Ecuador's former Foreign Minister Francisco Carrion has said.

"I applaud the Chinese position of being open to dialogue and finding a way out of the differences between the two countries," Carrion told Xinhua recently.

"China is a sufficiently skilled country, and above all patient, and knows how to handle things with great prudence and composure," he added.

Carrion said he agreed with top Chinese official Yang Jiechi who recently underscored the importance of maintaining respectful and productive bilateral China-U.S. ties.

Yang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, in a signed article published on Aug. 7 called on both sides to develop a bilateral relationship based on coordination, cooperation and stability, so as to bring China-U.S. relations back onto the right track.

"They must seek dialogue, especially between two great world powers, respecting their fundamental interests," said Carrion.

However, he acknowledged that the current political climate in the United States might make that difficult as the November presidential elections draw near.

Seeking reelection, U.S. President Donald Trump will probably "use that tension with China, which he sees as a rival of the United States, to score electoral points," said Carrion.

The former diplomat, who had also served as Ecuador's ambassador to the United States, noted that it is very common for candidates to appeal to nationalism as a way to sway voters and seek an adversary to foment that feeling.

As part of that strategy, the White House has adopted a more antagonistic attitude towards China and interfered in China's domestic affairs, including Hong Kong.

Carrion said the U.S. inteference would be "in the end unnecessary and useless because the situation in Hong Kong is up to China to resolve, not the United States."

Some U.S. politicians seek to tarnish China's image, he said.

"I believe there are sectors in the United States that are very concerned about China's growth and competitiveness in various fields," said the diplomat.

The two countries are unlikely to have greater confrontation since "for purely economic reasons, it is not convenient for them to enter into a dangerous escalation," said Carrion.

China has a huge presence in the U.S. market as well as investment, as does the United States in China, which proves there are "very deep trade ties" between the two, he noted.

It is necessary to stabilize ties for the wellbeing of both countries and the rest of the world, he stressed. Enditem
In a moment marking the return of the sacked deputy chief minister, Sachin Pilot and CM Ashok Gehlot shook hands at the Congress Legislature Party meeting on Thursday. This is the first time that both leaders have come face-to-face since Pilot opened rebellion against the senior leader a month back. Party leaders K C Venugopal, Avinash Pande, Randeep Surjewala, Ajay Maken and Govind Singh Dotasra were also there at the meeting, posing together for the cameras at Gehlot's official residence.

Earlier this week, the sacked deputy CM and 18 other dissident MLAs returned to the party-fold after intervention by the top Congress leadership in Delhi. Their meeting was followed by the Congress Legislature Party meeting, ahead of Friday's assembly session.

The Congress has also revoked the suspension of MLAs Bhanwarlal Sharma and Vishvendra Singh, who were suspended from the party's primary membership last month over their alleged involvement in a "conspiracy" to topple the Congress government in the state.

The opposition BJP has already announced that it will seek a no-confidence motion against the Gehlot government during the session. The Congress has 107 MLAs in the 200-member assembly, and the BJP 72.

With PTI inputs
The Belarusian Nobel Prize-winning writer Svetlana Alexievich has condemned brutal police violence against demonstrators across Belarus, saying "the authorities have declared war on their people" and the President Alyaksandr Lukashenka should step down from power to prevent a bloody civil war.

Alexievich made the remarks from Minsk in a telephone interview with RFE/RL on August 12 as protests continued across Belarus over the official results announced from the country's August 9 election, which demonstrators say fraudulently gave Lukashenka victory with more than 80 percent of the vote.

"Leave before it's too late, before you have plunged the people into a terrible abyss, into the abyss of civil war," the 72-year-old author said in comments directed at Lukashenka. "Nobody wants blood. Only you want power. And it's your desire for power that requires blood."

Alexievich told RFE/RL she had been shocked by the violence and cruelty that police in Belarus have inflicted upon peaceful protesters -- including groups of women in Minsk and other cities.

She said the Belarusian people were "absolutely sure" that Lukashenka lost the election to his main rival, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who was forced to leave the country for Lithuania when she tried to file a formal complaint with the Central Election Commission about the official results.

"Nobody sees those who love Lukashenka around, those who support him [now] the way they had supported him in the past," Alexievich said. "And how can one trust that man after seeing what is happening on our streets?"

Alexievich also suggested that Russian riot police -- OMON security forces -- may have been brought into Minsk by Lukashenka's regime in order to violently disperse the ongoing protests.

"We see almost inhuman, satanic fury, that the OMON [riot police] are acting with here and it is hard to believe that it is Belarusian OMON," Alexievich said.

Postelection Crackdown In Belarus 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.

"It seems to me that Belarusian guys would not be capable of beating their own mothers and sisters in this way," she said. "It is not real. In smaller towns, where everybody knows each, other OMON refuse to beat people. But here [in Minsk] something unreal is going on."

Alexievich praised Tsikhanouskaya, a political novice and until recently a stay-at-home mother, saying she had accomplished a lot and remains "a symbol of thirst for changes, thirst for new life, thirst for honesty."

Alexievich said that she was grateful to Tsikhanouskaya and her associates for "preserving our dignity."

"I simply have felt real love for my people in these last few weeks," she said. "This is a completely different people, and there is a completely new strength in these people."

Alexievich said she thinks it is now impossible now for Lukashenka to resign without consequences because blood has been shed.

The 72-year-old Alexievich won the 2015 Nobel literature prize for her work chronicling the horrors of war and life under under repressive Soviet regimes -- including the way Soviet authorities mishandled the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
Soldiers swoop on Muyuka WhatsApp

Security forces launched a broadside in Muyuka Thursday, arresting hundreds of persons as part of investigations into the murder of a lady on Tuesday by separatist fighters.

The operation comes after a crisis meeting Wednesday during which South West Governor, Bernard Okalia Bilai promised the family of the murdered lady that the culprits will be tracked down and punished.

Law enforcement authorities are said to have combed the nook and cranny of Muyuka Subdivision, expanding their dragnet beyond the Makanga neighbourhood where armed men tied and hacked a lady to death with a machete.

Eyewitness accounts say hundreds of persons have been arrested and transported to the Gendarmerie Legion in Buea where they will be interrogated.

I'm on my way to Kumba. In Muyuka, men and women, young and old are piled in trucks at gunpoint. Tens of military men are gathered along the road carrying heavy armour, journalist Kwoh Elonge posted on Facebook. You see the fright in the eyes of these civilians. They know they are the collateral of a gruesome crime committed by deranged, brainwashed, young men!

Cameroon-Info.Net understands that on Tuesday, August 11, 2020, separatist fighters kidnapped Bih Blanche Chi alias Bebe, a 35-year-old mother of four in Muyuka on allegations of being an informant for the state forces.

In a video recorded by the armed men, the lady pleaded her innocence. She revealed that a soldier was asking her out, the reason why she had been seen with soldiers.

But it seemed the armed men had already resolved to kill the defenceless lady even before listening to her. She was thus hacked twice with a machete and her body abandoned in the middle of the Buea-Kumba highway.

Lucas Ayaba Cho, leader of the Ambazonia Governing Council that owns the Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF) says those who killed the lady in Muyuka were indeed separatist fighters.

This lady is an innocent woman mistaken for a spy and shamelessly killed. We know who the killer is and the code of conduct under which he operates must be applied. Its a sister force and we are in talks for actions to be taken, he said.
Citizens of the Grand Duchy are no longer welcome in some states. Our list will catch you up to those who dared banning us altogether.

Denmark



Luxembourg figures among the four countries classified as "orange" by the Danish authorities, meaning that tourists are banned from entering the country. The same rule applies to Spanish visitors.

Meanwhile, according to ReopenEU, Luxembourgish residents are still eligible to enter Denmark for work related reasons. Your on-duty editor can also confirm that we are allowed to transit through the country, if for example you've booked holiday accommodation in Sweden and wish to drive through Denmark.

This map was published by Danish authorities on 13 August 2020. /  Politik.dk

Lithuania

Since 10 August, travellers coming from Luxembourg are no longer allowed in Lithuania, due to the reproduction rate of the virus over the past 14 days.

Lithuanian authorities might adapt their decision if new developments occur, but for the time being, the ban remains in place.

Finland

Finland has less drastic measures in place, but considers the Grand Duchy a "yellow" threat nevertheless. This means that Luxembourgish residents can enter the country for business travels, but not for leisure.

Finish citizens wanting to visit Luxembourg are also allowed to return, but may be subjected to quarantine procedures.

 Border Trafic Finland

Cyprus

Cyprus has classified Luxembourg as a "Category C" country, which means that Luxembourgish citizens are currently not allowed to enter Cyprus.

Only Cypriot citizens living on the island permanently, their family members, and Cyprus residents are allowed to return from a voyage to Luxembourg. The only exception to this rule are individuals who have obtained a special authorisation from the Republic of Cyprus allowing them to enter the country.

This means that for as long as Luxembourg remains a "Category C" country, tourists from the Grand Duchy will not be allowed to enter the island.

Countries with restrictions instead of bans

Belgium

Belgium placed Luxembourg on its "orange" list several weeks ago, causing a wave of outrage across the border region. This situation remains unchanged however.

Belgians are still able to visit Luxembourg and vice versa, but quarantine procedures are recommended upon return. It is also important to note that Brussels declared masks mandatory in the streets of the city centre.

Germany

German authorities caused a similar stir when declaring the Grand Duchy and at-risk zone on 14 July.

Despite the announcement, travelling between both countries remains possible. To avoid any complications, it is advised that Luxembourgish residents bring a negative test result no older than 48 hours.

Switzerland

Switzerland considers Luxembourg an at-risk zone as well. Tourists from the Grand Duchy need to quarantine for ten days as soon as they enter the country.

Romania

Since Thursday, Romania has introduced a mandatory 14 day quarantine for Luxembourgish tourists.

Meanwhile, according to ReopenEU, Romanian citizens can travel to the Grand Duchy and back without additional restrictions.

Ireland and Estonia

Luxembourg is listed as a travel destination that requires quarantine measures upon return by the Irish authorities. Travels to and from Ireland are not banned but advised against. Even if travellers are in possession of a negative test, they still need to quarantine for 14 days. Similar regulations have been installed by Estonia.

United Kingdom

Not particularly welcome here either, we're afraid. As of last week, Luxembourgish visitors to the UK will have to quarantine for two weeks upon arrival.

Latvia

The country placed Luxembourg on its "red" list and installed the same quarantine procedures as Estonia and Ireland.

Norway

Even though Norway has not banned Luxembourgish tourists, it still considers the Grand Duchy as a "red" risk zone. This means that all travellers coming from Luxembourg need to quarantine upon arrival. The space of isolation has to be reached by car and not public transport.
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The Kaiser Permanentes Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine opened this summer, and its students will not learn anatomy by dissecting a cadaver. Instead, they will don virtual reality headsets and dissect virtual bodies. The school does have a collection of pre-dissected, plastinated cadavers, but according to the chair of biomedical sciences students will spend the majority of their time studying electronic resources. This reflects a trend in which medical educators are reevaluating the importance of cadaveric dissection. Anatomy labs are expensive and dissection is time-consuming, but medical education will lose something if cadavers are taken out of school.

In America, cadavers didnt become common in medical schools until after 1910, when a report sponsored by the American Medical Association called for widespread changes in medical education. Dissecting a cadaver has been called a rite of passage for medical students, but today, medical educators are more likely to describe a cadaver as a tool for learning anatomy. Neither term captures the true function of dissection.

Anatomy lab functions a lot like undergraduate science labs; it gives students a chance to directly experience what they learned in class. I still remember the first peripheral nerves I saw in lab, fine threads penetrating a layer of connective tissue by the umbilicus. I will always remember that these were branches of the T10 nerve root. Seeing the real thing was more memorable than the best diagram, or 3-D rendering, could be.

Many medical schools, including Kaiser Permanente, require undergraduate laboratories in biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and physics. If direct experience is so important that its worth four years of prerequisite coursework, why is it suddenly not needed in medical school? My suspicion is that the temptation to do away with hands-on experience is a direct result of our dependence on standardized testing.

Standardized testing has become the apotheosis of education. Its objective, and it gives educators a way to demonstrate that theyre doing the data-driven decision making thats expected of them. These tests embody a science-like view of education, but there are downsides to this metric-driven perspective.

One limitation has to do with multiple-choice tests. A lot of medical knowledge is difficult to ask about in a multiple-choice format. Questions like, If a patient comes into your ER complaining of chest pain, what diagnoses do you need to rule out? are too open-ended for multiple-choice. Standardized test questions, therefore, often focus on pathognomonic findings, those specific for a certain disease. Janeway lesionssmall, red, non-tender lesions on the palms and solesare a sign of infective endocarditis thats easy to write questions about. Theyre also a lot less common than chest pain.

Another limitation of metric-driven education is the timing of the measurements. While educators may want to know what makes a good physician 20 years after they graduate, they can only test students while theyre in school. Could insisting on objective data leads us maximize short-term results, possibly to the detriment of more important long-term effects?

Subjectively, I would say that the things that make the biggest difference in physicians 20 years after graduating are engagement with their patients and a sense of curiosity. What could medical schools do to encourage these traits? Dissecting a cadaver is unpleasant, but its also one of the few experiences in medical school that creates wonder. There are no Montessori medical schools, but if there were you can bet theyd have an anatomy lab.

The educators at Kaiser Permanente have said that they have an anatomy lab, but that lab uses multi-user touch-interface anatomy workstations instead of the real thing. These virtual aides actually have more in common with traditional anatomy atlases than with a cadaver. They not only fail to provide that sense of wonder, but they also cannot have anything that is not in the textbook. They are the textbook! Real cadavers have unexpected anatomic variation. They have evidence of diseases. Allowing students to discover these findings for themselves, instead of on a labeled, idealized model may change how they deal with uncertainty.

Lastly, and importantly, individualism has traditionally been an important part of medicine, not just for patients but for physicians. Patients are always asking me, What would you do? They never ask, What are the national guidelines? In my experience, patients not only want their care to be customized to their own goals, they also usually want what their physician thinks is the best care.

The seed of physician individualism may get planted during anatomy lab. Its obvious to every student in lab that theyve entered into a privileged tribe, one that is allowed to break rules for the good of their future patients. Examining a pre-dissected, plastinated cadaver may not provide the same experience. Physicians go on to break all sorts of taboos, from asking probing questions, to physical exams, to cutting living patients in the hope of making them better. Dissecting a cadaver may be an important part of transitioning into this role.

Regardless of Kaiser Permanentes medical school, medical education throughout our country will continue to evolve. The cost and time spent in anatomy lab are valid concerns, but for me, this experience was well worth it. I hope that medical educators can look past short-term metrics to see what experiences provide lasting value to future physicians, and that these laboratories remain part of medical schools for years to come.

Christopher Watson is a radiation oncologist and can be reached at his self-titled site, Chris Watson.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
With over 18 years of experience in strategic and operational marketing, sales and business development roles within big pharma, mid-sized pharma, biotech, startups and non-profit organisations, Sandra Orta is passionate about contributing to a better world.

Sandra Orta, general manager at Roche Diagnostics MCZA

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

You're the GM at Roche Diagnostics MCZA. Tell us more about your role here

What is the core function of Roche Diagnostics MCZA (Management Centre South Africa)?

We also focus on womens health diagnostics, including areas such as HPV and cervical cancer, ovarian and breast cancer, preeclampsia and fertility.

Do you have any role models? If so, who?

The world has been severely hit by Covid-19. Roche Diagnostics has a tradition of innovation healthcare technology. How has Roche Diagnostics navigated through this pandemic?

You're a successful businesswoman. How do you keep a balance?

What advice do you have for the future females in the STEM sectors?

How do you think South Africa can help in the fight against GBV (Gender Based Violence)?

As we celebrate Women's Month in South Africa. Do you have any words of encouragement for all the women out there?

Having built and managed high-performance teams across Europe and emerging markets, Sandra Orta is the current general manager at Roche Diagnostics MCZA, a healthcare company that specialises in innovative solutions.I believe in a healthy Africa and therefore, I am passionate about contributing towards it, in healthcare, in diagnostics and in life. Creativity, strategy, marketing and complexity are just some things I love. I always aim big - every single day I wake up determined to become a better and stronger leader, and to support and inspire my team to grow and of course to have fun.Yes, as the general manager at Roche Diagnostics, I oversee the Roche Diagnostics business both here and across sub-Saharan Africa; but that's just a title. I see myself as a hardworking employee who is here to enable my team to reach its full potential while contributing to leading diagnostics in Africa. I really love my role and it is an honour to be leading the organisation across the continent during these very challenging times.Roche Diagnostics has a proud tradition of innovation in healthcare around the globe. Locally we are committed to improving health and making a real difference in peoples lives through the early diagnostics of key diseases  thats everything from HIV, TB, cancer and Covid-19, to heart disease, anaemia and Alzheimers disease.Through diagnostics, we are able to give people the power of knowing and to have improved control over their health and well-being and empowering health care professionals to make the right decisions for their patients at the right time.My mom because she's hardworking and loving  the two key ingredients for success in life. She encouraged me to follow my dreams. I don't think she would have imagined I would follow her advice so accurately: I have lived in three different continents, and one of my biggest dreams was to work in Africa.My daughter is also a role model. She teaches me every day the importance of love and caring and patience and to find balance in life.Lastly, the team that I work with is also very encouraging. The last months of 2020 haven't been easy and I am so impressed by their commitment, hard word and creativity.It has been and continues to be challenging. We remain focused as a team and remember our core purpose - to lead together for a healthy Africa.As females, we are businesswomen, moms, daughters, friends and so much more. Keeping a balance is not easy but it is important to remain creative and to think long term as we plan. Not every day is perfect.Follow your dreams. Do not pay attention to stereotypes. A STEM career is a competitive environment but so rewarding if it is your passion.I think as females we need to speak up and we must provide a support system to protect women when who do not speak up. It requires brave women and we must support them.Follow your dreams, do not listen to those who say it is not possible, and never give up. The journey for women in leadership roles is a tough one, but success is possible if you are committed and hardworking. Remember to ask for help, ask for what you need and want. You are not alone.
JUBA  The United States of America has warned its citizens against traveling to South Sudan due to the Coronavirus pandemic, crime, kidnapping and armed conflict in the country.

In a statement issued on Monday, the US Department of State placed South Sudan in Level 4, the highest level of travel advisories.

A travel advisory is an official warning statement issued by government agencies to provide information about the relative safety of travelling to or visiting one or more specific foreign countries or destinations.

Violent crime, such as carjacking, shootings, ambushes, assaults, robberies, and kidnappings is common throughout South Sudan, including Juba. Foreign nationals have been the victims of rape, sexual assault, armed robberies, and other violent crimes, it stated.

According to the State Department, armed conflict is ongoing and includes fighting between various political and ethnic groups.

Weapons are readily available to the population. In addition, cattle raids occur throughout the country and often lead to violence, further read the statement.

The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency consular services to U.S. citizens in South Sudan. U.S. government personnel in South Sudan are under a strict curfew, it added.

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By Associated Press

WASHINGTON: Even before last week's intelligence assessment on foreign election interference, Republican Sen Ron Johnson was facing criticism from Democrats that his investigation of presidential candidate Joe Biden and Ukraine was politically motivated and advancing Russian interests.

But the stark warning that Russia is working to denigrate the Democratic presidential candidate adds to questions about the probe by Johnson's Senate committee and whether it is mimicking, even indirectly, Russian efforts and amplifying its propaganda.

The investigation is unfolding as the country, months removed from an impeachment case that had centered on Ukraine, is dealing with a pandemic and confronting the issue of racial injustice.

Yet allegations about Biden and Ukraine remain a popular topic in conservative circles, pushed by Russian media and addressed regularly by President Donald Trump and other Republicans as a potential path toward energizing his supporters.

Johnson's own interest in the topic, from his perch as chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, has drawn concerns during a presidential election that US intelligence officials warn is ripe for foreign disinformation.

"Particularly as a public official and somebody who's responsible for keeping the country safe, you should always be suspicious of narratives that are trying to sort of damage or target the electoral process in your country," said former CIA officer Cindy Otis, a foreign disinformation expert and vice president of analysis at Alethea Group.

"You should always be suspicious of narratives that foreign countries are pumping out."

ALSO READ: Joe Biden raises USD 26 million within 24 hours of announcing Kamala Harris as VP choice

The intelligence assessment has put Johnson on the defensive, with the Wisconsin Republican issuing a 5,000-word open letter Monday in which he laid out what he said was the basis for scrutinizing both the FBI's Russia investigation and the dealings of Biden and his son Hunter with Ukraine.

In an interview Wednesday, Johnson said his investigation was rooted in facts, not Russian propaganda, and that the "American people deserve the truth" about his probe and what he said were its damning findings.

He said he hoped to get the information out, in report form, before November's vote.

Johnson said that though he was sensitive to the threat of Russian interference, he was not responsible for peddling any disinformation in his investigation and described as "completely false" the idea that he is pushing foreign propaganda.

"I completely reject this entire narrative, this coordinated attack on me," he said.

"It's ridiculous if it weren't so serious." The statement last Friday from William Evanina, the government's top counterintelligence official, made no reference to Johnson in particular but did allude to foreign efforts to smear Biden that in some ways parallel Johnson's own probe.

That includes the work of Andrii Derkach, a member of Ukraine's parliament and 1993 graduate of a Russian spy academy, who has disclosed leaked recordings of Biden meant to cast the candidate in a negative light.

Johnson suggested he was not willing to unequivocally trust the assessment without seeing the underlying intelligence.

In his open letter, he distanced himself from Derkach, saying he had never received any information from him and "almost all of the documents we are seeking and will make public are from U.S. sources." But, Otis said, given how easily Russia launders its information, and how swiftly material originating in Russia can get picked up and spread to English-language forums, "it is very difficult to peel back the origination point for this stuff, even with the aid of having technology on our side."

Johnson's preoccupation with Biden has dismayed Democrats on the committee who view it as a politically motivated distraction at a time when the panel, which oversees the response to national disasters, should be focused on the coronavirus outbreak.

"At this moment when Americans need us to work together, this extremely partisan investigation is pulling us apart," Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, the committee's top Democrat, said at a May 20 meeting at which the panel authorized a subpoena related to the Biden investigation.

Democratic Sen Kamala Harris of California, now Biden's running mate, at the same session accused Johnson of shirking his oversight responsibilities related to the pandemic response in favour of forcing a vote on "a purely political matter that will do absolutely nothing for those at risk of contracting COVID-19."

Johnson said those attacks were unfair because his committee has taken up multiple pandemic-related bills and devoted most of its time to the outbreak.

Saying that "a couple of investigators" were devoted to the Ukraine probe, he added, "We literally can chew gum and walk at the same time."

Democrats have repeatedly sounded the alarm about the committee's work, including by requesting briefings from law enforcement and intelligence officials, given the extent of Russia's own interest in pushing the anti-Biden narrative.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 13)  President Rodrigo Duterte is set to address the nation on August 17 (Monday) to discuss the new community quarantine classifications to be implemented in parts of the country under strict lockdown, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on Thursday.

The 15-day modified enhanced community quarantine over Metro Manila and the provinces of Rizal, Cavite, Bulacan, and Laguna will end on August 18. Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque earlier said it is "highly unlikely" that the strict lockdown will be extended in these areas as there are no more sources of cash aid to distribute to poor families affected by stay-at-home rules.

He also said quarantine recommendations for all other provinces and cities for their classifications for August 16 to 31 have already been submitted.

Over 4,400 new coronavirus cases were reported by the Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday, bringing the national case count to 143,749. Nearly 60 percent or 2,618 cases came from Metro Manila. Laguna accounted for 233, Cavite for 227, Rizal for 174, and Bulacan for 129 of the new cases, based on the latest report.
Turkish security forces killed nine PKK terrorists in northern Iraq during a cross-border counterterrorism operation in the region, unintentionally killing two Iraqi military officers and raising tensions between the two countries.



Seven of the terrorists were killed in air-backed operations in the Haftanin, Avasin and Metina regions after being detected by reconnaissance and surveillance activities, the Turkish Defense Ministry said on Twitter.



The ministry said Turkey's operations will continue until the last terrorist is killed and shared footage of the operation, Daily Sabah reported.



Separately, Turkey killed two other PKK terrorists in the Zap region in an air-backed operation, the ministry said on Twitter.
According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the sector contributed $168bn to African economies last year and given that globally, it is estimated that 50-million travel and tourism jobs are at risk due to Covid-19, the future of the industry is unclear.

Liberating female leaders

Taking on the challenges

Difficult decisions

Its difficult to predict how quickly the sector will recover or even whether it will ever look the same again. However, it is crucial to drive economic growth and is a large-scale employer, said Melanie Humphries, regional head, Pretoria, Investec Bank, as part of Investecs Women Behind the Mask series.The Covid-19 pandemic has had a major impact on women in hospitality and travel. For women, this presents specific challenges of their own  both in terms of balancing private/family life with work, as well as in terms of being female leaders in times of upheaval.Mpolaheng Mohlopi, chief financial officer, Lanseria International Airport, said she has found the current time to be liberating for female leaders. It's allowed for these conversations that you would not necessarily have had in the past regarding our work conditions.It's an awesome time for us to learn and to collaborate, to ask each other what is it that we really need as women leaders. This pause has been necessary in that we can redefine the new normal and make sure that we lead that process of the new normal.Lereece Rose, senior director finance (Africa and Asia) at Boeing Capital Corporation said representation matters in the context of women. When women see other women in phenomenal roles, they're able to mimic that behaviour more easily and they find the strength and the courage to carve out their own distinct path.Rose looks up to women like Rosa Parks, Marie Curie, Viola Davis, Jane Goodall and Jacinda Ardern. All these women dared to do things, they ran with the ball. For me, it's really important that we know that in leading, these women ensure exponential empowerment of other women and I feel that we should use our platforms to dare a little in our own spaces so that we can encourage other women.Velma Corcoran, country manager for sub-Saharan Africa, Airbnb, said women have been disproportionately impacted from this crisis, which comes from lots of women tending to have to shoulder most of the parenting responsibility. Now is the opportunity for women to come together, to rewrite the rules and to rethink our roles.One of the exciting things that's emerged from this is that female leaders in various parts of the world have managed the crisis far better than their male counterparts, she said, citing Germanys Angela Merkel and her data-driven approach and New Zealands Jacinda Ardern's empathetic rationality. I really believe that there are a small number of female leaders that have emerged as a benchmark for what competent leadership looks like in these turbulent times.There is a video of Ardern addressing her nation in her hoodie after putting her children to bed and she's on there and she's on social media. When I see that I feel completely liberated because I think as working mums we've often felt that we need to hide the messiness of balancing work kids and life. And now I feel like you know, we should own it. We should celebrate it."Corcoran highlighted the importance of businesses like Airbnb in growing the hospitality sector in SA. In an independent study in 2018, we found that hosts and guests on Airbnb contributed R8.9bn to the SA economy, supporting the equivalent of 22,000 jobs. Prior to Covid-19, one in seven visitors coming to SA was staying in an Airbnb and one in four rand spent on tourism accommodation in SA is spent on Airbnb.Airbnb is also an economic lifeline for many local families, and I think that's going to be really important as we emerge from this crisis, she said.Corcoran said the pandemic has been tough on Airbnb as well as its thousands of hosts in SA. Our priority through this pandemic has been to support our hosts and then to try and introduce measures so that they can safely reopen their homes to guests as and when the time is right.Mohlopi noted that the pandemic has been one of the most challenging times in her career, as a key decision maker in the air transport sector, which employs over half a million people in SA. At Lanseria we give opportunities to about 4,500 people and we are really just looking forward to a moment where we can have all these people returning back to what they do best. We can only imagine what this has been as an impact to their families."She hopes that the economy will open up again in due course. We have seen that there is been a rise in terms of [Covid-19] recoveries cases and this gives us hope that, even with the intra-provincial travel that has been allowed, the aviation sector will soon return to what we know it.Pre-Covid we used to have more than 1,500 movements a day. With business aviation only recently opening up, we are sitting at about 250, which is less than a quarter of what we used to do. [However] this is a good start and we are hopeful that we will soon return to the skies.On this score, Lanseria Airport is working closely with the South African Civil Aviation Association implement processes and procedures to ensure the safety of all air travellers through the airport. These days when people are traveling, they want to know that the places that they are engaging with have been adequately cleaned and that we are following to all the safety protocols that are required by government, she said.One of the big changes is that access to the terminal is only limited to passengers and in some cases accompanied minors as well as people with disabilities. Within the airport, the challenge has been to introduce touchless processing procedures through the airport.According to Rose, the pandemic really has created a tremendous challenge not just for Boeing but for the entire aviation manufacturing sector.One of the biggest things is that we've seen is that airlines have cut back on operations dramatically. They are making very difficult decisions that result in the grounding of their fleets, deferring aircraft orders and slowing down or, in some cases, even stopping payments. We've also seen that airlines are really accelerating aircraft retirements, they are also deferring elective maintenance and requiring fewer services.She added that Boeing is doing everything it can to support its global suppliers: Their stability remains a key item to watch for us right now in the aerospace industry.However, she remains positive for the longer term. Our view is that air travel has been resilient and that long-term demand fundamentals are still intact."Health and safety will be paramount in the future. As travel resumes and we see that restriction ease around the globe, we think it's important that aircraft and passenger health and safety is a priority for us. We are working with industry stakeholders to support multiple layers of protection aimed at minimising health risks for both passengers and for crew throughout the travel journey, Rose said.And technology and innovation can help drive inclusive growth. Its really about how do we use technology to solve problems, as an enabler or as a means to provide access. Airbnb was born out of a crisis in 2008, solving a real problem within a financial crisis when people needed access to additional income streams and different ways of monetising their assets and I have no doubt that after this pandemic, we are going to see similar scenarios that need to be solved where technology has a critical role to play, said Corcoran.
Virgin Atlantic plans to operate three flights a week from Delhi to Londons Heathrow from September 2, while Mumbai services are planned to re-commence from September 17 with four flights per week. Both the destinations will provide connections to New York JFK and will operate on 787-9 Dreamliner.

British premier carrier Virgin Atlantic on Thursday announced the resumption of its flight services to Delhi and Mumbai from London Heathrow, under the air bubble pact, starting September 2.

Virgin Atlantic plans to operate three flights a week from Delhi to Londons Heathrow from September 2, while Mumbai services are planned to re-commence from September 17 with four flights per week, the airline said in a release.

Both the destinations will provide connections to New York JFK and will operate on 787-9 Dreamliner, it said.

The flights to the two destinations in India from London are being resumed under the air bubble pact between the UK and Indian governments, it said.

An air bubble is a bilateral arrangement with a set of regulations and restrictions, in which the carriers of the two countries can operate international flights.

"This year marks 20 years of flying between the UK and India and we are delighted to resume our passenger services to this beautiful country," Alex McEwan, commercial manager (India), Virgin Atlantic, said.

Indian budget carrier SpiceJet, which has secured temporary slots under the air bubble pact, has already announced its plans to fly to the UK from September.

Virgin Atlantic said it has put in place additional measures at the airport and on board to ensure health and safety of its people and customers.

All customers eligible under the guidelines issued by the ministry of home affairs as per the air bubble scheme will be able to travel onboard Virgin Atlantic's direct services to London Heathrow and the US, it added.

All international commercial air passenger services in India are suspended since March 22, in the wake of travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, various evacuation and charter flights and services under the air bubble pact with a few countries are being carried out.

Photograph: Luke MacGregor/Reuters
"Being named to the Inc. 5000 list is a validation of our marketing and technology specializations for financial and agricultural services." - Shane Stiles, Gate 39 Media President

Gate 39 Media, a full-featured marketing and technology agency dedicated to serving the financial and agricultural industries, today announced it has ranked #3,266 in Inc.'s annual list celebrating the 5,000 fastest-growing privately held companies in America.

The list, which is open to businesses of all sizes, ranks the 5,000 companies by their three-year revenue growth rates. To qualify, a company must be independently owned, privately held, and based in the U.S. It also needs to have met minimum revenue thresholds of $100,000 in 2016 and $2 million in 2019. Gate 39 Media joins rank alongside organizations that have included Microsoft, Oracle, and Intuit.

With key technology investments over the past two years in its FCM1 and Anthem Ag platforms, deep integration with leading financial and ag data providers, digital marketing and CRM systems, and leveraging the Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services platforms, Gate 39 Media has expanded its integrations services to meet the growing demand for reliable custom applications by clearing firms and brokerages in futures and equities, funds, agribusiness customers including grain merchandisers and ag advisories, and fintech firms.

Of the announcement, Gate 39 Media President Shane Stiles said, Being named to the Inc. 5000 list is a validation of our marketing and technology specializations for financial and agricultural services. Digital solutions need to be able to span the spectrum of marketing, sales and service. From creating custom websites and institutional-level customer and operations portals, to providing integration with financial APIs, cloud computing, and leveraging CRM platforms such as HubSpot, we provide complete coverage for our clientsand this has enabled our growth.

Gate 39 Media has also grown its business and those of its clients by incorporating inbound strategies to attract, engage, and delight customers. The firm has built a solid reputation for creating effective websites, design, marketing campaigns and strategies, and custom application development solutions.

Gate 39 Media was named a 2019 HubSpot Top Digital Agency and achieved Platinum Solutions Partner Agency status with HubSpot, a leading growth platform offering digital marketing, sales and services CRM solutions. The firm is also on the Gramercy Institute Financial Agency Short List, a hand-selected roster of trusted resources serving the U.S. financial industry.

View the full Inc. 5000 list at http://www.inc.com/inc5000 and learn more about Gate 39 Media at http://www.gate39media.com.

About Gate 39 Media

Gate 39 Media is a financial services marketing and technology agency providing complete solutions for the financial, agricultural, and professional services industries since 2001. Located in downtown Chicago, Gate 39 Media serves firms ranging from some of the worlds largest exchanges, RIAs, brokerage firms, and fund managersto start-ups in FinTech, and emerging managers and advisors. Gate 39 Media is a HubSpot Platinum Solutions Partner. To learn more about Gate 39 Media, visit http://www.gate39media.com.
I mean of all people, Donald Trump should totally understand how you can be with a woman who publicly humiliated you. He also shouldnt be surprised that past enemies can become your friends. I mean, look who he has been working with: Ted Cruz, who called him a pathological liar and a narcissist. Lindsey Graham, who said he was a bigot and a nut job who was destroying the Republican Party. Marco Rubio, who called him a con artist and said he had a small [expletive]. And, of course, Jared Kushner, who selfishly married the love of Trumps life.  TREVOR NOAH

[Imitating Trump] Yeah, she was so horrible to Sleepy Joe. And that loser deserves so much more respect than that.  TREVOR NOAH

Like, is Trump attacking or defending Joe Biden? I cant tell. You know, I thought this election would be Trump versus Joe Biden. Now I think we could just lock Trump in a room and let him hash it out by himself. [As Trump] What did me say to me? Me heard me.  TREVOR NOAH

Oh, my god! How lazy are you? Youre just repeating what you said about Hillary. Youre stuck in 2016, and that is not fair. Why are you the only one who gets to live in a time when you werent president?  STEPHEN COLBERT
Appointment

13 August 2020

Scott Oaksmith has been promoted to senior vice president of real estate and finance. In this role, he will lead several strategic areas of the company, including real estate investment and asset management, as well as the company's treasury operations. Oaksmith will work closely with the company's franchise development and brand teams to accelerate the growth trajectory of the company's brands through strategically deploying capital in the form of hotel development, joint venture investing and lending programs with a focus on major markets and sought-after destinations where guests want to travel. As part of his new role, Oaksmith will also assume oversight of Choice's business intelligence group, where he will oversee the company's data analytics initiatives and promote a culture of data informed decision-making. Since joining Choice in 2002, Oaksmith has held numerous positions within the company, including controller, as well as senior vice president of finance and chief accounting officer.
Basavaraj Bommai said that officials are also gathering details on cases against the SDPI members in Mysuru and Mangaluru, among others

Bengaluru: Karnataka home minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday said the role of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) behind the Tuesday night violence in parts of Bengaluru, had come to light and investigation will go deep into it and their connections.

The minister said, four people associated with SDPI have been arrested in this regard and investigation is under way.

"KG Halli and DJ Halli are peaceful since yesterday and there have been no untoward incidents...as the investigation is progressing new information is coming out. I cannot share with you everything, but in the days to come I will share before the media," Bommai said.

Speaking to reporters, he said, as per the information gathered so far and video footage, most importantly the role of SDPI is coming to light.

"We are collecting more information regarding it, we are investigating deeply in this regard. Already, several SDPI office-bearers have been arrested. Muzammil Pasha, the SDPI district secretary is the main (person), also Firoz, Afraz Pasha and Shaik Adil, all of them are from SDPI. Their role is completely being investigated and they have been arrested," he added.

Three people were killed after police opened fire to quell a mob that went on a rampage in a city locality on Tuesday night over an inflammatory social media post allegedly put out by a Congress legislator's relative.

Pulakeshi Nagar MLA Akhanda Srinivasa Murthys residence and a police station at DJ Halli were among those targeted by the angry mob.

The house of the MLA, who was not at home at the time, was allegedly set on fire.

The rioters also torched many police and private vehicles, badly damaged the house and looted the belongings of MLA Murthy and those of his sister. An ATM was smashed into pieces.

After the arson and violence, the entire DJ Halli resembled a war zone. Nearly 140 people have been arrested so far, in connection with the incident.

Bommai said, through some video footage it has come to light that SDPI workers had come from neighbouring areas of KG Halli and DJ Halli, and it is being investigated.

"The investigation will look into who are behind the incident, its links with other such incidents in the past. We will go deep into it and will not rest until we break through this conspiracy," he said.

Officials are also gathering details on cases against the SDPI in Mysuru, Mangaluru and other places, Bommai said, adding that all angles at the local level are also being looked into like rivalry between and within political parties.

"Everything that might have led to this incident, we will investigate. Whoever is at fault or have supported it, we will take action even if it is an elected representative," he added.

Assuring people of security, the Home Minister said, police have worked putting their life at risk, with COVID on one side and such incidents on the other. "I appeal to people not to fear and cooperate in maintaining peace and order," he added.

The SDPI on Wednesday had denied its role in the violence and had blamed police inaction. The Karnataka government on Wednesday announced that a district magistrate would conduct an inquiry into the violence.

The government has also decided to recover losses caused to public property during the violence from the rioters. Meanwhile, Muzamil Pasha and others have been named as one of the many accused in the FIR.

The police registered at least five FIRs in connection with the incident  two in Devara Jeevanahalli (DJ Halli) and three in Kadugondanahalli (KG Halli) stations.

Besides Pasha, police have named Afnan, Syed Masood, Ayaz and Allabaksh in the first FIR at DJ Halli. The second FIR has three names and 'other 200 persons.'

The police in their FIR charged the rioters with barging into the two police stations with an intention to kill the policeman there and kill the Pulakeshinagar MLA Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy's nephew whose alleged inflammatory post in social media enraged a section of the society.

Meanwhile, a contingent of the Rapid Action Force conducted a flag march in the riot-affected areas.
London: Three people were killed and six others injured Wednesday when a passenger train derailed in northeast Scotland after heavy rain and flooding hit the area. The train driver was believed to be among the dead, British Transport Police said.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union said that the train conductor was also believed killed. Formal identification has yet to take place. Six people were hospitalised, but their injuries are not considered serious.

Images from the scene show that several cars of the four-carriage train had left the tracks and one had tumbled down an embankment. Smoke was seen billowing from the wreck.

Air ambulances and coast guard helicopters came and went as the rescue operation unfolded. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said a police investigation aims to find out what caused the derailment and ensure "nothing like this happens again."

"As I understand there was about a month's worth of rainfall in a very short period which undoubtedly aggravated the problem there," he added.

Torrential rain had caused flooding and travel disruptions in Scotland, and on Wednesday morning Network Rail Scotland tweeted warnings of a landslip affecting services in the area.

It was not clear how many people were on the train, an early morning ScotRail service from Aberdeen to Glasgow.

British Transport Police chief superintendent Eddie Wylie said the derailed train was not a busy service, "and from (closed circuit television) inquiries and witness statements we believe all passengers have been accounted for."

"However, once the area has been made safe, then a full and thorough search will be conducted, which is likely to take some time," he said.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described the derailment as a "major" incident and said she would be convening an emergency response meeting.

The transport police said officers were called at 9:43 am (0843GMT) to the railway line near the coastal town of Stonehaven, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northeast of Edinburgh and south of Aberdeen.

Local lawmaker Andrew Bowie had been in Stonehaven surveying flood damage earlier Wednesday.

"The situation was really bad this morning. The River Carron, the main river which flows through it, had burst its banks, and the heavy rain had caused flooding in the center of Stonehaven and lots of the side streets leading off it," he said.

Bowie added that the water had receded and it was unclear if flooding was connected to the derailment.

"We obviously don't know why the derailment took place, but obviously we have suffered terrible weather here," he said.

Serious train accidents are rare in the UK. The country's last fatal derailment was in 2007.

Queen Elizabeth II sent a message of condolence, saying "it was with great sadness that I heard of the train derailment."

She added that the entire royal family joined her in sending thoughts and prayers to the families of those affected.

The head of Network Rail cut short a family vacation to return to the UK. The chief inspector of railways, Ian Prosser, said inspectors were at the site and assisting in the preliminary investigation.
A PUB in Henley will re-open next month for the first time since March under new management.

David Thompson, 37, will be the third tenant of the Little Angel in Remenham Lane in 18 months.

He is moving to the Brakspear pub from the Belgian Arms in Holyport, near Maidenhad, where he has been for the last three years and which he will continue to run as well.

He has appointed a general manager, Zach Leach, and a head chef Danny Little, while his business partner, Chris Peverell, will keep the pub in Holyport running when hes not there.

The Little Angel was previously managed by Ben Bass, who joined in September last year with more than 20 years experience of working in pubs.

Earlier in the year the pub was fully refurbished.

Mr Thompson, who lives in Pinkneys Green with his partner, Natasha Wicks, and their three-month-old daughter, Beatrix, said he was looking forward to re-opening the Angel, which closed in March due to the coronavirus lockdown.

He hopes to employ up to 30 people in total.

Mr Thompson said: There will be people who will question re-opening a pub in the middle of this crisis but I want to bring talented people into the industry and we have started recruiting.

We want to make it a place where people can drop in any time of the day but keep the pub feel to it. Well be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, or for those just wanting a quick coffee or pint.

There will be taster evenings, where customers are invited to meet staff and give their thoughts on the food and drink pairings.

Mr Thompson said: Weve done several of these at the Belgian Arms and they always sell out.

He was born in the Lake District and moved with his family to Scotland when he was 10. He then left home at 17 to pursue a career in hospitality and trained and qualified as a chef at the Waterhead Hotel in Ambleside.

He then worked in Dubai, France, Spain and Switzerland.

Mr Thompson has been at the Belgian Arms for three-and-a-half years.

He said: My sous chef was biting at my ankles and wanting to move up through the ranks, so when Brakspear approached me and asked if I would be interested in the Little Angel I was really excited. I accepted their invitation and then I told my family.

Mr Thompson said the pubs food offering would be very important, especially Sunday roasts.

We want to make sure that every single dish that goes out is spot on and memorable, he said.
Kupang:

An angry mob barged into a police station and killed a man who had attacked a group of school children with a knife in eastern Indonesia police said.

Seven children were injured after a man went on a stabbing spree inside a primary school on Savu, a small island in East Nusa Tenggara province.

The 32-year-old attacker tried to flee but was caught and taken to a police station, said local officer Silfeston, who like many Indonesians goes by just one name.

But once there hundreds of locals, furious at news of the attack, rushed to the station, forcing their way past police and into the cell where the man was being held.

"The suspect was tortured by the mob and died," Silfeston said.

Footage aired on local broadcasters showed dozens of shouting men pushing past police and climbing over walls at the station.

The injured children, aged eight to 11, were taken to hospital for treatment, Silfeston said.

Police are still investigating the mob killing and the motivation behind the knife attack.Savu is home to around 100,000 people.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Xiaomi has launched several exciting products a couple of days ago. The Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra and the companys transparent TV got launched, but neither of those products will reach global markets.

That information was confirmed by Daniel D, Xiaomis Senior Product Marketing Manager and Global Spokesperson. He confirmed the news on Twitter.

The Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra will not reach global markets, unfortunately

To be more precise, the Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra, Mi TV Lux Transparent Edition, and Redmi K30 Ultra will not leave China, at least for the time being. Thats too bad, as all three of those products are quite compelling.

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Daniel D said that there are no plans for a global release. That implies that there are no plans at the moment, things may change in the future. It would be nice to see some of these devices outside of China by the end of the year, thats for sure.

The Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra and the other two products probably wont reach global markets, though. The Mi 9 Pro 5G did not launch outside China last year, so this one probably wont either.

The Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra is actually assembled at Xiaomis new Smart Factory. It features a next-gen fully-automated production line. That actually helped Xiaomi keep the phones price down.

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That is the first phone assembled in that factory, by the way. If the Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra ends up reaching other markets, its price tag will surely rise quite a bit. Not only because of this factory, but because thats usually what happens with all the extra costs.

Xiaomis new flagship is a considerably beefed-up variant of the Mi 10 Pro

The Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra is essentially a beefed-up variant of the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro. This is the first device in the world to support 120W fast wired charging. It also comes with a much more powerful camera setup than the Mi 10 Pro.

The Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra also supports a 120Hz refresh rate for its display. That is not something the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro offered, as it capped out at 90Hz.

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The Mi 10 Ultra comes with really thin bezels, and a display camera hole in the top-left corner. The device does include an in-display fingerprint scanner, and four cameras on its back.

The devices periscope camera supports zoom up to 120x, and it actually offers quite a bit of versatility when it comes to shooting images. Android 10 comes pre-installed on the phone, along with Xiaomis MIUI OS.
This began as my normal daily "day ahead" article, but as you can see based on the time of day and the following content, it turned into something else. Apologies for the break from the norm, but we have bigger fish to fry at the moment. Why? In a word: because of this.

This has instantly created a very big mess in the mortgage market, and a ton of anger--justifiably so! For those that aren't going to click the link above or who don't really understand it, let's break it down in even shorter, simpler terms.

The FHFA announced a new hit on all conventional refis (except certain construction-to-perm loans) effective for loans delivered to Fannie/Freddie on 9/1 or later. That applies to any conventional refi that isn't currently locked and that can't close before the end of next week (depending on the lender... they need time to get the loan to the GSEs and for the GSEs to purchase them)

The hit is 0.50% of the loan amount (i.e. $1500 on a $300k loan).

It will be applied as an LLPA although many lenders have simply raised costs today and will implement the LLPA shortly

Lenders will be eating this fee on loans that are already locked

Multiple lenders repriced for the worse last night (latest reprices we've ever seen, suggesting many lenders were truly caught off guard).

Other lenders simply hit rate sheets this morning, ironically affecting the purchase mortgages that were not supposed to be affected by this.

Why is this happening? FHFA's party line this fee is due to "market and economic uncertainty." For those who'd like to geek out on the potentially valid, esoteric justifications, here are two links that might help build that case:

https://www.americanbanker.com/news/fannie-freddie-to-face-bank-like-liquidity-standards-starting-sept-1

https://singlefamily.fanniemae.com/media/23101/display

The thesis is that GSEs are hitting the time frame where they have to cover servicing deficiencies due to covid-related forbearances at the same time that their capital requirements are becoming more onerous. Truly, this is not a bad counterpoint, but if it's truly the justification, why are purchases not affected? And why now as opposed to a month ago? Why roll it out in a way that immediately hits the biggest lenders for 10s of millions of dollars unexpectedly? Why roll it out in a way that instantly and unavoidably makes homeownership more expensive and that hits the pocketbooks of millions of Americans eager to take advantage of record-low rates?

Why is this really happening?

I'm a big fan of the middle path and balanced viewpoints. My views have been (and mostly continue to be) fairly one-sided on this topic--largely due to how it was communicated and the other considerations mentioned above. I will entertain that there is a middle ground here and you should too (based on the two links above). That said, what follows is the more cynical--and in my opinion, more defensible--view

Lender margins are very wide for a few reasons (a combination of latent covid-related uncertainty but mostly overwhelmed capacity). FHFA can plainly see this and FHFA would like more money for GSEs.

In other words, FHFA is basically saying "we see you have quite a bit of extra money there and we think some of your money should be our money instead."

If that seems a bit cynical and reactionary to you, consider the following:

Again, why now versus a month or two ago? The writing on the wall was certainly there. The only thing that's really changed is the revelation of very wide lender margins--especially on refis

Why wouldn't this apply to purchase mortgages? (see the previous bullet point)

Why is the FHFA implementing this in a way that blindsides lenders, costs them a significant amount of money instantly, and forces them to pass those costs on to consumers by varying degrees? This is the hardest one for me to reconcile. I really can't come up with any way to view this in a constructive light. In fact, it seems like fairly damning evidence that the move was made with some level of disdain for the mortgage industry on the part of FHFA.

To help flesh out my assessment, let's consider a few comments by Bob Broeksmit, president of the MBA. I've been impressed with Bob's comments throughout 2020 as they strike a difficult-to-achieve balance of forcefulness, emotion, logic, and diplomacy. In today's note to MBA members, he was as animated as I've seen him in defense of the mortgage industry. Here are a few highlights:

"As I think you all know, I do not traffic in hyperbole, but Director Calabrias directive requiring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to impose a fifty basis point price increase on all refinances effective September 1st is a stunningly brazen confiscation, and it must not stand. It will first cost lenders hundreds of millions of dollars as the bulk of your enormous locked pipelines cannot be closed and delivered by the end of August, and it will, starting today, cost consumers billions in the midst of a pandemic when the administration claims to be working to get relief and stimulus to the struggling economy. "

In referencing the purchase vs refi issue mentioned above, Broeksmit says "Refinances, generally speaking, are less risky than purchases, and there is no increase in pricing for purchases. Lets face it  in order for the GSEs to make a refinance loan, the borrower must be paying timely on the current loan, and since most refinances reduce the monthly payment, how can they be more risky than the current historically high guaranty fees contemplate? I have seen this move referred to as a cash grab, which sounds apt to me. "

He goes on to highlight attempts to contact FHFA and the GSEs starting on Monday without a reply. In fact, even now there is no update or press release directly from the FHFA. Just the implementation of the fee through the GSEs. Not even a Ray Liotta meme! Bob's take: "Make no mistake  FHFA knew that this absurdly short implementation window would mean that lenders would bear the brunt of the cost of this on your locked pipelines, and yet they proceeded."

His closing thoughts need no preface from me: "For the GSEs to add a 50-basis point surcharge on refinances when the nation is struggling with the greatest economic downturn since the Great Depression is outrageous. We will shout from the mountaintops, ourselves and together with other organizations, reaching the media, elected representatives, and policymakers, and I urge you to do the same. Call your Senators and Representatives. This is still America, and we cannot sit still in the face of this wholly unwarranted confiscation."

Find MBA's call to action here: https://www.votervoice.net/MBA/campaigns/76617/respond

Now, about that "Day Ahead"... Frankly, who cares? We have bigger fish to fry today. Markets are calm enough that I would advise all of you to focus on navigating the sudden storm. As always, we'll send alerts and updates as needed, but even then, pricing strategies will be all over the board and not likely as connected to market movement as normal. A few thoughts as you batten down the hatches:

Not every lender has the 50bps on their LLPA list yet. In those cases, pricing has been hit across the board (tough luck for purchases!) and we'd expect it to be "un-hit" when the LLPA shows up

In a few cases, we've heard the LLPA will be applied to loans even if it isn't showing up in pricing engines

In almost no case would we expect to see a lender attempt to alter the terms of an already-locked loan. This would violate COC policies best we can tell.

Again, this applies to ALL conventional refis (not FHA/VA/USDA). The only exceptions are certain construction to perm refis for the 3 of you that are actually doing those.

If it's not locked yet, and it can't close by next week assume you're getting hit

Assume you're getting a bit of a double whammy until further notice due to weaker pricing AND the 50bp LLPA.

MBS Live members, please feel free to use the 'contact us' link on the site if you need to reach me with a suggestion for an edit or update to this info.
Alliance Banks Branch-In-A-Tablet digital solution has helped the bank clinch the Best Digital Bank In Malaysia award at the IDC Financial Insights Innovation Awards 2020. This is attributed to the way the solution is designed to offer a quick and simple paperless customer experience for selected services at its branches.

The Branch-In-A-Tablet solution allows individuals to open their savings accounts or activate their debit cards and online banking accounts on a tablet in-branch, allowing them to complete the entire procedure within 15 minutes. Enterprise clients, too, can open their business accounts digitally in one visit to the bank, as opposed to the previous process where they need to make multiple visits to complete their account opening application. Additionally, the solution enables the banks personnel to attend to customers at any location of their choice outside the branch.

We designed the Branch-In-A-Tablet solution with the customer in mind. Our project team worked closely with our employees at the branch, studied the processes, and empathised with users and customers real-life experiences to understand the gaps and customer needs to bring this solution to life, said the group chief executive officer of Alliance Bank, Joel Komreich. It was noted that up to 90% of the banks current and savings accounts for individuals were now opened using the solution.

The Branch-In-A-Tablet project, developed in collaboration with open source giants Red Hat, saw significantly positive outcomes: account opening times were slashed by 70%, while increasing staff availability to customers by 75%.

In recognising Alliance Banks win, the financial insights innovations award programme head at IDC Financial Insights Asia/Pacific, Darshiniy Selvaratnam, said that Alliance Banks phydigital banking has demonstrated the optimal convergence of traditional branch-based banking and digital solutions for account onboarding processes.

The combination of human and digital elements in the staff-assisted solution is exemplary of an inclusive and customer-first model by Alliance Bank. The Branch-In-A-Tablet has shown the best use case of technology in meeting heightened customer demand for instantaneous delivery in financial services without scaling back on branch networks, said Darshiniy.

Prior to this recent win, Alliance Bank was also named as one of the 20 Best Banks 2020 in Asia/Pacific by IDC Financial Insights. The bank was one of the two Malaysian financial institutions to have made it into the list this year.

Separately, Alliance Banks Branch-In-A-Bank solution also earned the bank the Silver award for Branch Innovation of the Year in Asia at the Asian Banking & Finance Retail Banking Awards 2020. This award aims to honour banks that have introduced ground-breaking products and services, and have successfully adapted with the rapidly evolving technology.

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Tech giants Apple, Facebook and Microsoft are among 52 major companies that have denounced Trump's restrictions on employment-based visas.



Back in June, Trump signed into law a series of new restrictions on visas that prevents foreign workers from coming into the United States, saying the high unemployment caused by the Coronavirus pandemic was an opportunity for Americans to get back to work.



The visa categories that were affected include L-1 visas for intracompany transfers, H-1Bs for workers in specialty occupations as well as the H-4 visa for spouses, H-2Bs for temporary non-agricultural workers and most J-1 visas for exchange visitors.



Many top companies in the US depend on these visas to bring in foreign workers.The visa restrictions are in place till 2020.



However, in a court filing made available today August 12, 52 major US companies have voiced their disapproval of the visa ban, saying it limits their ability to get the best talents from the world to work for them.



According to the companies, Trump's visa restrictions "fundamentally disserves the interests of the United States by stifling the ability of U.S. businesses to attract the world's best talent, drive innovation, and further American economic prosperity."



"The presidents suspension of nonimmigrant visa programs, supposedly to protect American workers, actually harms those workers, their employers, and the economy, the group said in its friend-of-the-court filing.



Rather than shielding domestic workers from the threat of foreign competition, the proclamation all but ensures that firms will need to hire abroad to fill highly-skilled positions, for which the domestic demand far exceeds the available supply of workers.









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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AstraZeneca is forging ahead with its potential coronavirus vaccine after signing fresh supply deals in Latin America.

Argentina and Mexico are the latest countries to sign an agreement with the British drugs group following talks with executives.

Argentinian president Alberto Fernandez said they would produce enough doses of the Covid-19 jab for the whole of Latin America, excluding Brazil.

Argentinian president Alberto Fernandez (pictured) said they would produce enough doses of the Covid-19 jab for the whole of Latin America, excluding Brazil

Under the deal, Astra has licensed Buenos Aires-based Insud Group to make between 150m and 250m doses of the vaccine it is developing with Oxford University.

Similar manufacturing deals have been struck with countries including the UK, US, South Korea, India and Brazil, with more than 2bn doses due to be produced.

Astra boss Pascal Soriot has vowed that the company will not profiteer from the vaccine and will sell the drug at-cost to developing countries in order to make sure it is distributed fairly.

Poverty levels are high in most Latin American countries and the United Nations recently warned virtually every country in the region was plunging into economic recession.

Fernandez said his country's deal with Astra 'gives Argentina the peace of mind of being able to have the vaccine when required and at a reasonable price'.

Argentina has passed 5,000 coronavirus deaths and posted a record daily number of Covid-19 infections on Wednesday, while Mexico has registered nearly 55,000 deaths and almost half a million cases.

Production of the Astra-Oxford vaccine  which has not yet had approval from regulators  will take place in the first half of next year, Fernandez said.
Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia:

Robust fundraising and healthy demand from investors make the secondary market a bright spot for private equity in H1 2020.

The global secondary market is now almost five times larger than in 2008, with $280bn in total assets under management (AUM) as of December 2019. As of December 2008, the industry held $55bn in AUM, said Preqin.

According to the report, in the first half of 2020, secondaries funds raised $44bn in total, including $19bn for Ardian ASF VIII, the largest secondaries fund ever closed. 11 secondaries funds closed raising a combined $44bn. The three largest secondaries funds closed secured $36bn in aggregate capital, 81% of the total amount raised.

These funds will face fierce competition for opportunities - there is now $125bn of dry powder in the sector, which may buoy NAV for those looking to sell their fund stakes. The average size of secondaries funds closed in H1 2020 reached $4bn.

As of June 2020, there are 73 secondaries funds in the market seeking a combined $69bn. Eighteen are Europe-focused funds, up from 10 a year prior, while the number of Asia-focused vehicles has risen from three to eight in the same period. Thirty-seven of the funds in the market target North America.

Demand among investors remains strong, and with 73 funds currently in the market seeking a combined $69bn, it seems likely that more capital will flow into secondaries funds in the second half of the year.

By median net IRR,......................

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UPDATE: Rose was arraigned on Thursday morning and more details were released on the allegations.

EDITORS NOTE: Patrick M. Rose did not work for the Boston College Police Department and should not be confused with a Patrick R. Rose who retired from there this year.

_________

A former president of the Boston Police Patrolmens Association was arrested and charged on multiple counts of indecent assault on a child under 14, according to the Boston Globe.

Authorities said Patrick M. Rose, 66, will be arraigned in West Roxbury Municipal court on the charges Thursday morning, the Globe reports.

Rose was taken into custody on Wednesday after allegations involving child rape surfaced, according to WCVB-TV.
(Reuters) - Russia's granting of regulatory approval to a COVID-19 vaccine after less than two months of human testing has prompted expressions of caution as well as interest from around the world. Moscow said on Wednesday that the first batch of the vaccine would be ready for some medics within two weeks and rejected safety concerns as 'groundless'. Here is a summary of the reaction: INQUIRIES Israel will examine Russia's COVID-19 vaccine and enter negotiations to buy it if it is found to be a 'serious product', Israel's health minister said

(Reuters) - Russia's granting of regulatory approval to a COVID-19 vaccine after less than two months of human testing has prompted expressions of caution as well as interest from around the world.

Moscow said on Wednesday that the first batch of the vaccine would be ready for some medics within two weeks and rejected safety concerns as "groundless".

Here is a summary of the reaction:

INQUIRIES

Israel will examine Russia's COVID-19 vaccine and enter negotiations to buy it if it is found to be a "serious product", Israel's health minister said.

Philippine scientists were set to meet representatives of the Russian research facility that developed the vaccine on Wednesday, to discuss possible participation in clinical trials and access to its research data.

Brazil's Parana state governor Ratinho Junior was expected to meet the Russian ambassador to Brazil on Wednesday to discuss the terms of an agreement to produce the vaccine. But it was unclear if the state's research institute would get regulatory approval in Brazil.

Kazakhstan plans to send government officials to Moscow later this month to discuss possible deliveries.

CAUTION

The World Health Organization and Russian health authorities are discussing the process for possible WHO prequalification, a WHO spokesman said on Tuesday.

"Prequalification of any vaccine includes the rigorous review and assessment of all required safety and efficacy data," WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told a U.N. briefing in Geneva, referring to clinical trials.

Jarbas Barbosa, assistant director of the WHO's regional branch, the Pan American Health Organization, was asked on Tuesday about potential production of the vaccine in Brazil. He said that should not be done until Phase 2 and 3 trials are completed to guarantee its safety and effectiveness.

European health experts said that with no full trial data, the vaccine would be hard to trust.

German Health Minister Jens Spahn said the vaccine had not been sufficiently tested, adding the aim was to have a safe product rather than just being first to start vaccinating people.

Mexico's coronavirus czar, Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell, said he was surprised by the Russian announcement and the government would wait for more information.

(Compiled by Philippa Fletcher; Editing by Nick Macfie)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Kamala Harris made a scathing attack of President Donald Trump's White House record in her maiden campaign speech as presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's running mate. A day after Biden revealed his choice for his deputy, the pair addressed the media at a school in Wilmington, Delaware, Wednesday. Kamala Harris blamed Trump for 'making every challenge we face even more difficult to solve.' 'The President's mismanagement of the pandemic has plunged us into the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and we're experiencing a moral reckoning with racism and systemic injustice that has brought a new coalition of conscience to the streets of our country demanding change,' Harris said. The California Senator said 'America is crying out for leadership' as 'we have a president who cares more about himself than the people who elected him.' 'He inherited the longest economic expansion in history from Barack Obama and Joe Biden. And then, like everything else he inherited, he ran it straight into the ground.' Harris, 55, is the first black woman and Asian American to be chosen as a running mate. The event was not open to the public citing COVID concerns, with the 78-year old former Vice President and Harris walking on stage wearing mask. Harris, who is the daughter of immigrants from India and Jamaica, said that the two candidates are 'cut from the same cloth.' She made a direct contrast between Trump and Biden, and highlighted the latter's qualities of 'empathy, compassion and sense of duty.' Biden said the President has already started his attacks targeting Harris, calling her 'nasty'. 'It's not a surprise because whining is what Donald Trump does best, better than any president in American history,' according to Biden. He will formally accept the Democratic presidential nomination next week. 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.
VINEETU PADHYAY By

Express News Service

DEHRADUN: Forced out of jobs due to the pandemic and subsequent lockdown, educated youth  including professional and technical degrees holders  are seeking menial jobs for sustenance.

Engineering graduates and diploma and masters degree holders have applied for manual jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in Uttarakhand.

Several aspirants said they had applied, but hadnt yet got work.

I have applied for work under the rural employment guarantee scheme after I lost my job in Haryana. I returned to my village as the lockdown was lifted, but there were no job prospects. I am hoping to get some work in my village now, said Mukesh Singh, a resident of Laddi village in Champawat district and a diploma holder in mechanical engineering.

Kundan Singh, who holds a polytechnic diploma, has also applied for MGNREGS work through village panchayat members. Officials say steps are being taken to ensure employment to those who have lost jobs.

Last month, the state government had sent a proposal to the Centre seeking approval to provide 200 days of work under the MGNREGS.

At present, the scheme provides guarantee for 100 days of work in a year.

Uttarakhands unemployment rate increased to 8.7% in June compared to 8% in May, said a survey by Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, a Mumbai-based think tank.

Scheme for self-employment

In May, the state launched Mukhyamantri Swarojgar Yojana to provide jobs for returnee migrants.

The scheme aims to provide an investment subsidy of 15-25% to those starting their own businesses
The composer of the iconic EastEnders theme tune has hit out at show bosses for shortening the track.

Simon May is the man behind the instantly recognisable 'doof doof' beat but has said it has been shortened from 80 seconds to just 28 seconds at the end of each episode, with the announcers talking over it.

Speaking to Distinct Nostalgia, he said: 'TV companies are paranoid about somebody going to a different station when their programme is over.

Iconic: The composer of the EastEnders theme tune Simon May, 75, has hit out at show bosses for shortening the track from 80 seconds to just 28 seconds

'But you want to enjoy the programme and the way to enjoy it is enjoy the music that follows.

'I wrote it in such a structural way you can hack four hours away here and there. But I think we've got down to the final rung.'

Simon, 75, whose theme has played at the end of almost every episode of EastEnders since its 1985 debut, added that his pet hate is a lack of respect for TV theme tunes.

MailOnline has contacted representatives for EastEnders for comment.

Composer: May is the man behind the instantly recognisable 'doof doof' beat but has said it has been shortened from 80 seconds to just 28 seconds at the end of each episode

Simon wrote the theme in 1980 with assistance from Leslie Osborne and it was composed again in 1984 for the show.

Widely known for its dramatic use of sound and drums, the tune was voted as the most recognisable piece of music in the UK in a 2008 poll by PRS Music, beating out the national anthem God Save The Queen.

Simon previously told how his inspiration for the theme came from looking at his Cockney friends and understanding 'what the Cockney character is about'.

Music: Simon said bosses are worried about people switching over at the end of a show but said the way to keep them is with a good theme

While the theme may have been composed in the 80s, the musician previously told how he actually began writing the music that would be used for the tune when he was just seven years old, based on the scales his music teacher taught him.

The drum beat has become synonymous with dramatic moments in the soap with Simon admitting the show's stars often check to see if they have been given the closing scene.

Speaking to the BBC, he said: 'I know some of the EastEnders cast and they always tell me that when they get their scripts they go to the last page to see if they've got their 'doof doof' line'.
Whats that popping sound? Could it be a million figurative lightbulbs clicking on above public-school parents heads?

The vast majority of American families send their children to public schools. Only 11 percent of children attend private schools, and fewer than 5 percent are homeschooled. And as one school board after another gives the no go signal for the coming school year, families are being thrown into crisis. And yet, the great American entrepreneurial spirit is awakening as parents are forced to rethink education for their children. And that is to the benefit of children and the nation.

Even before the pandemic, American families had concerns about the quality of education their children were receiving from our public schools. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos called the latest national assessment devastating. Two-thirds of American students cant read at grade level, and reading scores have worsened in 31 states.

The teaching of history has given way to the teaching of social studies, which is now morphing into lessons in civic action from a leftist perspective. A recent study of curriculum in American public schools found that the majority of civics classes teach students how to protest in favor of progressive political causes. Students are not free to disagree.

In their bracing and deeply researched book Get Out Now: Why You Should Pull Your Child from Public School Before Its Too Late, authors Mary Hasson and Theresa Farnan make a compelling case that, while education achievement markers have been declining, Americas public schools have been extraordinarily successful in churning out youthful progressives.

Christian families have particular reason for concern. Thirty years of research by the Nehemiah Institute shows that Christian children who attend public schools tend to lose their Christian worldview at a far greater rate than children in other education settings. The 2015 survey found that 90 percent of public-schooled Christian teens who attended church had abandoned their Christian worldview to embrace a secularist worldview.

Story continues

Even before the coronavirus threat, parents were beginning to learn how morally toxic their public schools were becoming. Sex ed today is not what you remember. Increasingly, schools teach an agenda-driven curriculum that sexualizes children and promotes the concept of sexual rights for children. How to consent to sex, how to pleasure your partner, how to get a secret abortion.

Powerful, international pressure groups are getting in on the sex-ed racket. The Human Rights Campaign, the global leader in pushing transgender ideology, writes sex-ed lessons for public schools. As does Planned Parenthood. As does the scandal-plagued Southern Poverty Law Center.

Why? The industry leader, SIECUS (Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S.), just rebranded its motto as Sex Ed for Social Change. Sex Ed is an opportunity to shift the culture on LGBTQ equality and a vehicle for creating a generation of young people who affirm each others identities.

Families were beginning to rethink public schooling even before the pandemic when schools started imposing radical gender-bending ideology on their children. The anti-science position that biological sex is meaningless, that some people are born in the wrong bodies, that girls can have penises, too. The growing number of children, mostly girls, who have been persuaded to believe they are trapped in the wrong body is an unmitigated medical and social scandal.

Parents should let their school know, in writing, every year, that they do not consent to their childs participation in inappropriate sex-related lessons or activities. But the risk remains, and so do all of the other failures, which screen-delivered public school can only exacerbate.

There is no better time to make a change than right now, when public education is in chaos. Parent resource groups are forming to help families make an exit strategy and find the best education option for their children. Today, there are more options than ever.

Homeschooling continues to be a growing trend in America, where families have the freedom to hand-select every class for their child, advancing or slowing progress to meet the childs individual needs (the antidote to boredom and frustration).

Hybrid homeschooling is a new option, where children are homeschooled part of the week and learn in a more traditional school setting with other students for the rest.

The most exciting new parent solution is the pandemic pod, a return to where families in one neighborhood or social circle hire a teacher to instruct their small group of children. It has been called a 2020 version of the one-room schoolhouse, privately funded.

Finally, every church should start a school. Family Research Council scholar Joseph Backholm argues that the education and formation of Christian children has been outsourced for so many decades that it should surprise no one when Christian children abandon their faith and family values. If neighbors can start education pods, churches can and must start small Christian schools to meet the most important need for families: saving the souls of their children.

The last piece of the puzzle to set families truly free to make the best education decisions for their children is for states to set free public-education funds. Most counties fund public schools through collection of property taxes. The Fairfax County School Board receives $14,000 per student, per year. Imagine the possibilities if the primary educators of children  their parents  were given the freedom to spend that money to acquire the best education for their child. Or to provide it themselves, by a parent who can now afford to stay home.

Lets rethink, not rotely reopen. If there ever was a time when parent power could defeat the power and monopoly of the education elites, that time is now. Let freedom ring!

Tony Perkins is President of Family Research Council. Cathy Ruse is Senior Fellow and Director of Human Dignity at Family Research Council.

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During Joe Biden's first trip to Israel in 1973, he met prime minister Golda Meir, who chain-smoked as she detailed regional security threats days before the Yom Kippur War.

Biden, a newly elected senator at the time, later described that meeting as "one of the most consequential" of his life. In the more than four decades since, his career has been punctuated by a staunch defence of Israel, especially in its handling of the Palestinian conflict.

Biden, set to become the Democratic Party's presidential nominee next week, will face in Donald Trump a president that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described as Israel's best friend to ever sit in the White House.

Netanyahu's acrimonious relationship with Biden's old boss, former president Barack Obama, is well documented.

But some experts say a Biden win would be welcomed across Israel's political and military establishment -- not just by Netanyahu's rivals on the left.

Biden has long been a vocal supporter of the Jewish state, saying in a 2015 speech that the US must uphold its "sacred promise to protect the homeland of the Jewish people".

Such a history of defending Israel is key to winning the trust of Israeli leaders, perpetually sensitive to international criticism.

"We like people who love us," said Nadav Tamir, a past diplomat and foreign policy advisor to former Israeli president Shimon Peres.

"There is no doubt Biden is a friend who has very strong emotions for Israel," he told AFP.

But experts suggested Biden could also restore the traditional American role of interlocutor between Israel and the Palestinians.

The Palestinian Authority has cut ties with Trump, accusing him of egregious bias towards Israel.

Biden "will do much better than Trump on the real issues because he understands that the Israel-Palestinian issue is not a zero-sum game," Tamir said.

- Not just Obama's VP -

Biden served in an Obama administration that often clashed with Israel.

Story continues

Netanyahu was outraged by the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and, in an unprecedented diplomatic slight, took advantage of a Republican party invitation to condemn it in front of Congress without a presidential invitation.

Just weeks before Obama's term ended, Washington abstained on a UN Security Council resolution condemning Jewish settlement construction in east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, a decision that left Netanyahu fuming.

"We cannot hide it. There is a problem between Israeli officials and the Democrats," said Eldad Shavit of Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies.

But Shavit, a former military intelligence officer who worked in Netanyahu's office from 2011 to 2015, stressed that Biden was comfortingly familiar to Israel's political class.

"Biden knows us and we know him," Shavit said.

- Jerusalem embassy --

Biden's record on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict extends beyond the flashpoints of the Obama years.

He supported recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital two decades before Trump triggered global outcry by doing so.

Biden supported a 1995 Senate bill to establish a US embassy in Jerusalem by 1999, saying the move would "send the right signal".

His 2020 campaign says that if elected, Biden would not reverse Trump's embassy move, but would reopen a consulate in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem "to engage the Palestinians".

Biden has also dismissed Trump's controversial Middle East peace proposal as a "political stunt" and pledged to pursue fresh negotiations on a two-state solution with the Palestinians at the table.

The Palestinian Authority was not consulted on Trump's plan, while Netanyahu's government gave substantial input.

- Political comfort zone -

Tamir voiced concern that Biden is steeped in an American political tradition that urges disagreements with Israel to remain discreet.

During the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, Biden pointedly refused to criticise a 2001 Israeli missile strike in Nablus that killed two children, saying disputes with Israel should be "aired privately", even after George W. Bush's administration had publicly condemned the incident.

While Biden has openly criticised Israel since then, Tamir argued that he remains naturally inclined to address pro-Israeli audiences and reference his affection for the Jewish state, absent any tough love.

"He needs to get out of his political comfort zone... (and) leverage his superpower force" on Israel, by pushing it to consider difficult but essential decisions, like seeking a viable resolution with the Palestinians, Tamir said.

As Shavit noted, Biden may be compelled to alter his approach towards Israel because the Democratic Party now includes "more progressive" Israel sceptics, notably supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders, who has called Netanyahu a "reactionary racist".

Whether he is capable of adopting a tougher public posture towards Israel is an important but "open question", Tamir said.

He added: "You need to push us, because the Israeli political system is so deadlocked, you cannot reach a historic decision without being pushed."

bs/scw/par/leg
New Delhi/Srinagar, Aug 13 : Last year while most people were still processing the ramifications of the revocation of special status to Jammu and Kashmir, hundreds of masked youth swarmed the streets in Anchar, a small neighbourhood in downtown Srinagar, waving Islamic flags and hurling stones on security forces The rioters laid a siege of the area triggering anxieties that Kashmir was going to erupt with massive street violence once again as it had in 2016 when Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter with security forces.

A year later, official data accessed exclusively by IANS reveals that the sharp edges of the stones have not only been blunted in Anchar, the epicentre of Pakistan's war against India in 2019, but in the rest of the valley too.

Though stone-pelting incidents did not decline significantly after August 5, last year, when the state of Jammu & Kashmir was reorganized and converted into a union territory, but the sting of the stones has been taken out, as per an analysis of the data done in four ways.

Image Source: IANS News

With the country-wide lockdown imposed due to the Coronavirus pandemic this year, it was difficult to establish whether the nullification of Articles 370 and 35A caused a drop in the number of killings related to stone-pelting incidents. Therefore, IANS chose to compare civilian casualties during stone-pelting incidents of 2019 and 2016.

The comparison is valid because one, the government shut down communication lines in both the cases. Second, the change events -- the revocation of J&K's special status and the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani -- both happened around the same time in summer in their respective years. Separatist violence on the streets, generally goes down in Kashmir during winters.

The data reveals that civilian casualties due to stone-pelting incidents and the subsequent clashes with security forces in 2019, were 94 per cent less than the number in 2016. Similarly, the injured due to stone-pelting incidents were down by 70 per cent in 2019 compared to 2016. The significant drop is an indicator that all the preemptive measures taken to avoid loss of life last year were effective.

Second, a comparison of the period from January 2018 to July 2018 and the period from January 2019 to July 2019. The two periods are comparable because both are before the decision on reorganization of the state was taken and when neither communication blockade nor coronavirus related lockdown was in place. The data of the two periods once again reveals that the casualties had come down by 87.5 per cent.

Image Source: IANS News

Third, a comparison between the non-winter months (March to November) of 2018 and 2019. This set factors in for the argument that winters prevent rioters and stone-pelters from coming to the streets. As per the data, the killings in stone-pelting incidents during the nine month period last year came down by 62 per cent compared to the corresponding period in 2018.

The circumstances of the entire year of both 2018 and 2019 are not analogous after the August decision, but data reveals that the stone-pelting related killings dropped by 71 per cent last year from the previous year.

Fourth, a comparison of months from January to March of last year and this year, to factor in for the view that after March this year, the lockdown related to the pandemic suspended all activity. This year till March, when the communication lines had been restored to a large extent, no one was killed during the 50 odd stone-pelting incidents in the valley, as per the data. Last year as well, for the corresponding period, there were no killings during stone-pelting incidents. It also confirms that casualties are nil or low during peak winters.

Overall, the data shows that the stone-pelting phenomenon has not ended but its lethality has reduced drastically.

Image Source: IANS News

Until 2019, the approach to stone-pelting in Kashmir was merely counselling of occasional stone-pelters and their parents by police or detention of stone-pelters in local rehabilitation centers in Kashmir. However, in the last decade stone-pelting mobs grew bigger and assumed greater potential to cause fatalities in clashes.

"It created a vicious cycle of violence, with Pakistan-sponsored separatists using the death of rioters in the clashes with security forces to fuel more protests and more killings. We were on a back foot," an officer of the CPRF, Indian paramilitary said.

Anticipating that the Pakistan sponsored terror groups and separatists in Kashmir would mobilize cadres to perpetrate violence on the streets after J&K directly came under the control of New Delhi, the government took some major preemptive measures.

The J&K police arrested and send around 3,500 serial offenders among stone-pelters to various jails outside Jammu and Kashmir. A Kashmiri police officer who was involved in identifying stone-pelters during the violent crisis in 2016, said that the casualties of rioters due to clashes with security forces, dropped down enormously because the move acted as a "deterrent".

"Kashmiri people find it very hard to leave their comfort zone. For any native rioter or terrorist, its not a huge hassle if they are detained and jailed in Kashmir. Their parents visit them, bring them food and other essentials in jails and everyone is familiar and connected.

Image Source: IANS News

"But travelling to a different state, where they have few connections, cause immense discomfort to both the stone-pelters and their parents," a senior Kashmiri police officer in Srinagar said.

The only area which had come to represent the war front against India last year, Anchar also known as "Little Pakistan" was a challenge for two months as the rioters and stone-pelters had dug up roads, blocking its access.

"But that so-called siege also ended after we arrested the pro-Pakistan kingpin of the stone-pelters, Hayat Ahmad Bhat," a police officer in Soura said. The graffiti on the walls which hailed Al Qaida's provincial chief, Zakir Musa and the Islamic State, in the area last year, have been smudged.

-- Syndicated from IANS
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 14:59:46|Editor: huaxia

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SEOUL, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's export of the information and communications technology (ICT) products rose last month on demand for semiconductors and mobile phones, a government report showed Thursday.

The ICT export grew 3.3 percent from a year earlier to 14.99 billion U.S. dollars in July, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Import in the ICT industry added 1.2 percent to 9.86 billion dollars, sending the trade surplus to 5.13 billion dollars.

Global demand for locally-made chips and mobile phones increased 5.2 percent and 9.5 percent each last month.

Export for computers and peripherals jumped 69.4 percent in July, keeping a fast growth as the COVID-19 pandemic encouraged people to work at home and attend online classes.

Display panel shipment declined in double figures on weaker demand for OLED panels.

The ICT export to China, South Korea's biggest trading partner, amounted to 6.97 billion dollars, followed by Vietnam with shipment of 2.49 billion dollars, the United States with 1.81 billion dollars and the European Union with 940 million dollars respectively. Enditem
Lebanese army members and volunteers prepare aid to be distributed to people in the aftermath of a massive explosion in Beirut's port area, in Beirut, Lebanon August 12, 2020. (Photo : REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani)

On the evening of August 4, a powerful explosion in the city's port in Beirut, Lebanon sent a massive orange fireball in the sky, followed by a gigantic show wave that had so much force that it overturned cars, damaged buildings, and shook the ground across the Lebanese capital.

The explosion claimed the lives of 220 people, left 110 people missing, injured more than 5,000, and left 300,000 homeless. The culprit, the authorities point is the 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, an ingredient commonly used for agricultural fertilizer and a component for explosives. The chemical ingredient was reportedly stored in a warehouse for six years without safety measures in place.

READ: Beirut Explosion: How Does Ammonium Nitrate Affect the Environment?

The International Committee on Red Cross said that the survivor's needs were hugethey need badly need shelter, food, cleaning detergents, and whatever they can get to pick up what is left of their homes.

The explosion has heavily damaged two main water and electricity stations. The country's main grain silo was also severely damaged.

Even before the explosion, the country has been suffering from a significant economic downturn.

The explosion has pushed families into hunger and poverty, and the United Nations warned that a humanitarian crisis is looming unless food and medical aid are swiftly and expertly delivered.

International donors pledged $297m in aid for Lebanon as of Sunday. In the wake of massive resignation of key government officials, a commitment of several nations to help Lebanon underscored that the assistance should be directly delivered to the Lebanese population, with utmost efficiency and transparency.

READ MORE: Derecho Causes Havoc Across Midwest



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READ NEXT: Mauritius Citizens, Groups Try to Contain Oil Spill to Protect Coastline and Mahebourg Lagoon
As New York State Republicans gathered in Saratoga in mid-July 1918 for their state convention, they thought they had a handle on the issue of womens suffrage.

For the first time in state history women would attend a major political partys convention as delegates and the party had a strong plank in its platform in support of the Constitutional Amendment which would grant women the right to vote, which was currently being discussed in the United States Senate.

We emphatically call upon the United States Senators from New York to vote for the submission of this amendment to the States, the platform said.

But there were divisions between the moderate delegates and the more radical faction of suffragettes who were demonstrating outside of the hall as the convention kicked off on July 18, 1918.

Much of their focus was directed at one of states U.S. Senators.

James Wadsworth of Geneseo, was strongly opposed to womens suffrage. In addition, he was married to Alice Hay who was president of the National Association Opposed to Women Suffrage, a popular anti-womans vote group which had chapters in most northeastern cities.

Sharp criticism of Senator James Wadsworth by members of the National Womens Party for his attitude in working against the federal suffrage amendment was the feature of the womens share in the advance activities here, wrote reporter Pauline Mandigo of the Knickerbocker Press.

Alice Hay Wadsworth, the wife of New York Senator James Wadsworth, served as president of the National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage from 1917 to 1920. Courtesy of WikipediaCourtesy of Wikipedia

Women formed picket lines, staged demonstrations in front of the United States Hotel and made speeches demanding that either Wadsworth change his position or resign.

Wadsworth did not plan on doing either.

The women dont like a man who shows a feminine facility in changing his mind, a Syracuse Herald editorial said, and, neither, as Senator Wadsworth has found out to his sorrow, do they like a man who wont change his mind.

The suffragettes would wait for the conventions final moments for their most dramatic protest.

During the final session on the last day of the convention, on July 19, women draped a gigantic banner, at least 25-feet in length, over a balcony on the south-end of the convention hall. The banner was the work from suffragettes from across the state, Buffalo, Rochester, Brooklyn, and Syracuse.

Printed on the cloth, in foot-high lettering, was the following:

SENATOR WADSWORTH OBSTRUCTS THE FREEDOM OF WOMEN. WE DEMAND HIS SUPPORT OF THE NATIONAL AMENDMENT OR HIS RESIGNATION

When it was spotted, Joseph Levenson of New York, pointed and shouted, By whose authority is that banner hung!

Every head whipped around towards the banner and the Post-Standard said that the hall roared in a mighty burst of wrath.

The brazen act enraged the room, including many of the many of moderate-leaning female delegates on the convention floor.

While the delegates, aroused by the insult to one of the party leaders, irrespective of their factional leanings, shouted angrily, two assistant party secretaries were ordered to the balcony to remove the offending banner.

There they were met by the indefatigable Elsie Hill, who tied the end of the banner around her waist. This act froze the two men, unwilling to use force on the woman.

Joined by a more male delegates, a tug-of-war was started over the banner.

Into the scene came Annie Peck, an ardent supporter of womens rights and famous mountain climber. In 1911, at the age of 61, she had climbed one of the five peaks on Coropuna in Peru 21,000-foot and placed a Votes for Women banner at the summit.

Peck wrestled the banner from Hill, slapped another woman, then handed the offending sign to a delegate who gave it to states party chairman.

You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Peck told the suffragettes responsible for the banner. I am a suffragist, but I am a decent one.

The excitement in the hall simmered down.

Now that we have expressed our boiling emotions, we all feel better, said Party Chairman J. Sloat Fassett, who would order the banner removed from the hall and burned across the street. After the rain comes the rainbow.

Senator Wadsworth, who had sat impassively through the demonstration was honored with three cheers by the entire hall, which only angered the militant factions more.

Those whom the gods which to destroy they first make mad, Abbey Scott Baker told the New York Sun. The three cheers for Jim Wadsworth will sound the death knell of the Republican party in this state.

Wadsworth would stick to his guns.

On June 4, 1919, when the Senate voted 56-25 to pass the 19th Amendment and sent it to the state for ratification, he was one of just eight Republicans to vote against.

Wadsworth was reelected to the Senate in 1920 but lost his seat in 1926. He would represent New York in Congress from 1933 to 1951.

HE MAY FIND IT INSTRUCTIVE

There was still one more bit of drama to occur in Saratoga on the day the convention ended between suffragettes and Wadsworth, only this time it was with the Senators wife, Alice.

During a walk that evening, Mrs. Wadsworth, still upset about what was said about her husband in the convention hall, came upon a group of the banner suffragettes handing out literature in front of a hotel. There was Abbey Scott Baker, Edith Ainge of Jamestown, and Isabella Mott de Angelis of Utica.

I dont like your methods, Wadsworth said. It seems unfair to single out an individual for an attack of this kind.

Yes, Baker replied, but we are attacking him on his public record.

Then you are proud of him? asked de Angelis.

By now, sensing trouble, a crowd of 40 to 50 had gathered around the women, most of them supportive of the senators wife.

They cheered enthusiastically and tossed their hats and canes in the air when Wadsworth replied: Indeed, I am. It is great for any woman to believe in her husband, politically and every other way.

She asked if she could have some of the literature which was arrayed on the table in front of her, much of which openly attacked her husbands suffrage position.

Yes, and take one of our magazines, urged one of the suffragettes. Give it to Senator Wadsworth. He may find it instructive.

More on Crusade for the Vote

A Suffrage Army states demands at the front door of a state senator in 1911

Syracuse Herald holds a test vote to gauge citys enthusiasm for womens suffrage

Meet the Upstate suffragette who stood up to Charles Darwin

Matilda Joslyn Gage directed the womens suffrage movement from her Fayetteville home. Then she was written out of history.

Explore the Post-Standards special Womens Suffrage edition from 1915

Syracuse suffragette Harriet May Mills reflects on her time in suffrage movement

New labor of love National Womens Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls opens later this month

Video and podcasts to get smart on the womens suffrage movement

How Central NY launched the womens suffrage movement

Social justice movement channels spirit of CNY suffragist (Commentary)

Visit key places in the suffrage movement across Central NY (map)

Syracuse women rejoice after the Tennessee ratifies the 19th Amendment

This feature is a part of CNY Nostalgia, a section on syracuse.com. Send your ideas and curiosities to Johnathan Croyle at jcroyle@syracuse.com or call 315-427-3958.
Bengaluru Commissioner of Police Kamal Pant said on Wednesday (August 12) that the imposition of Section 144 in areas under DJ Halli and KG Halli police station limits has been extended till 6 am on August 15.

Section 144 does not allow the gathering of four or more people at a place. Earlier on Wednesday, Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai had said that an inquiry into Tuesday's violence in Bengaluru will be done by a district magistrate. "It has been decided in a meeting with Chief Minister with senior officials that district magistrate will hold an inquiry into the incident as per the guidelines of the National Human Rights Commission. So far, 146 people have been arrested," Bommai told ANI.

A violent mob rampaged through Bengaluru's Pulakeshi Nagar on Tuesday night and vandalized two police stations and the residence of Congress MLA Akhand Srinivas Murthy whose nephew allegedly shared an insulting Facebook post against Prophet Mohammad.

At least three people were killed after the police opened fire on the rioters to bring situation under control. Several, including 60 cops, were injured in the violence which resulted in the damage of many vehicles too. The violence is stated to have been incited by SDPI, the political arm of the Islamic fundamentalist organization PFI. SDPI's local leader has been arrested for his involvement in the violence.

Eyewitnesses said that the mob attacked at least five times and the number of people attacking each time was increasing. A large number people perpetrating the violence were from outside the area. People opined that people outside were called to attack the MLA's house and the police stations to hide their identity. The police have so far arrested 150 rioters including the Social Democratic Party of India's local leader Muzammil Pasha.
Monique Samuels from The Real Housewives of Potomac is in the middle of controversy once again. No, her parrot did not escape again but someone was plotting against her. The Bravo star went on Instagram Live to reveal that Gizelle Bryant is the one behind a vicious rumor that brings into question the paternity of her youngest son.

Gizelle Bryant and Monique Samuels | Larry French/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

What is this rumor about?

On the new season of RHOP, Samuels confirms she is estranged from Charrisse Jordan after meeting on the show and forging a strong friendship. The entrepreneur blames Jordan for helping a vicious rumor get around perpetuated by another former friend.

Charrisse has been facilitating nasty rumors about me and my family. Why would I wanna be around that? Samuels said during her RHOP confessional.

Although Samuels did not want to talk about what the rumor was about, Bryant said that it had to do with an alleged affair the former had with her personal trainer.

Jordan clapped back on Twitter saying, I am so happy that [Monique Samuels] is no longer crying about her bird running away and has gone on Live to talk about me. Youll fool some but the truth always prevails.

I am so happy that @iammrssamuels is no longer crying about her bird running away and has gone on Live to talk about me. Im not thinking about you or your lies boo. Youll fool some but the truth always prevails . @BravoTV  Charrisse Jordan (@CharrisseJordan) August 10, 2020

RELATED: RHOP: Karen Huger Slams Gizelle Bryant for Dragging Her Co-Stars

Monique Samuels blames Gizelle Bryant

This week, Samuels took to Instagram Live to clear things up for fans as everything was getting messy. During the broadcast, she revealed that there was an alleged meeting with some of the RHOP stars to try to take down Samuels. Karen Huger told the latter that Bryant was planning on revealing that her youngest son was not her husbands.

Gizelle is planning to go to [the] reunion to tell people Chase isnt Chriss and that you were cheating on him and thats not his baby, Samuels said that Huger revealed.

RELATED: RHOP: Wendy Osefo Shuts Down Karen Huger in Epic Tweet, Fans Cant Get Enough

How disgusting is it? You can say whatever you want about me, but to talk about my child? Samuels added. If someone were to talk about anyone of Gizelles daughters or even the illegitimates from her ex, she would go berserk. To bring up my childs name, when you know the mess aint true, how low and disgusting is that.

Was Ashley Darby involved?

Samuels was told by Huger that Robyn Dixon was also at the meeting, but she doesnt know how involved she was in this plan to spread the vicious rumor. Many fans called out Ashley Darby, but Samuels defended her saying she has been a friend throughout this ordeal.

Ashley, once we made up, told me about everything that was going on, Samuels explained. She wasnt at the dinner and she did not want to play any part in what was going on. Every time that a camera was in her face and she was expected to start speaking on these nasty rumors, Ashley and Michael shut the crap down.

Samuels assured fans that the Darbys said they would not talk about her family matters on camera and shut down the conversation.

Every time she shut it down she then called me and gave me a heads up as to what was going on, Samuels continued. Ashley has been more of a friend to me than Candiace on a rainy day.

The Real Housewives of Potomac airs Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.
President Donald Trump is pushing US schools to open classroom doors wide. In some districts that have followed his instructions, theyre slamming shut again.Schools that reopened fully and early are seeing hundreds of students, staff and teachers put into quarantine as Covid-19 spreads. Some are closing buildings opened just days ago. Others are frantically looking for workarounds -- and for the money to pay for them. In Memphis, Tennessee, and Irvine, California, teachers must sign liability waivers in case they get sick.

Nationally, most districts are ignoring Trumps full-speed-ahead advice. New Jersey on Wednesday reversed course on mandatory in-person classes, and Boston wont attempt them. Still, too many insist on putting educators and communities at risk, said Lily Eskelsen Garcia, president of the National Education Association and a sixth-grade teacher in Salt Lake City.There is no one, maybe besides parents, who wants kids back in school as much as teachers do, Eskelsen Garcia said. We hate online learning, too. Were throwing our computers against the wall, too. But we want to do it when and where we can do it without killing anybody.Trump has been demanding schools reopen so that parents are able to work -- part of a bid to restart the economy and create the impression the US is returning to normal ahead of the November election. Yet the virus is continuing to rage across parts of the US, with the countrys death toll at about 165,000.

Test subjects

The president has tried to force reopenings by saying that half the money for schools in the next round of stimulus legislation should be reserved for those that open their doors. On Wednesday, at an event with parents and educators, he criticized districts trying to use halfway measures to bring students back to class, like combining virtual learning with class time, and having fewer kids in the school at a time.

At a later briefing, the White House released simple advice for reopening: Students and staff should assess their own health, understand the symptoms of Covid-19, wash their hands, socially distance around vulnerable people, and maintain good ventilation. The guidelines also said schools should encourage wearing masks.

Trump said theres no substitute for traditional schooling.

When you have students sitting at home playing with a computer, its not the same, he said at the briefing. When you sit at home in a basement looking at a computer, your brain starts to wither away.

Nationally, just over half of students in kindergarten through high school will attend school virtually in the fall, while 44% will take classes in person in some form, according to a survey of public-school districts by Burbio, a New York-based data service. And many of those going back to in-person classes wont be going back full-time, with schools staggering attendance to groups small enough to maintain social distancing. Some 66% of students across the 200 largest districts are taking virtual-only classes, Burbio found.

Schools out

Large urban districts that are starting the year online include Atlanta, Houston, Boston, Los Angeles and Chicago. Some have written off the entire semester for in-person classes. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced Wednesday that public-school students will not be showing up in person in the fall.In New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy abandoned a requirement that New Jerseys 2,500 public schools conduct in-person teaching, allowing some to use distance-only learning when the academic year begins in early September.

Others are setting dates for students to come back to class that may roll forward, depending on the pandemics spread. In metro Atlanta, Fulton County schools -- in March the first in Georgia to shut down -- will bring in the youngest children and special-education students for limited hours in September, and then phase in the rest. But thats only if the infection rates in the county are low enough and dropping, said Superintendent Mike Looney.He said hes taken heat from parents and teachers alike, but will follow health guidelines about whats safe.When students do return, they will be required to wear masks, he said. The district is also working to reconfigure its physical plant to allow proper distancing.

Vanishing students

Other metro Atlanta districts have pushed forward with reopening and paid an immediate price in an area with high community spread.In Cherokee County, north of the city, more than 900 people -- most of them students, but also teachers and staff -- are in quarantine just nine days after the school opened its doors because students reported infections. The high school had to close again.The district required masks of teachers and staff but not of students, spokeswoman Barbara Jacoby said.Nearby Paulding County also had to close its high school for cleaning this week, after students, teachers and staff tested positive. The districts Aug. 3 opening day became briefly famous after a student sent out a photo of a throng of maskless students in a hallway there. She was promptly suspended and then un-suspended.

Trump has asserted that children are virtually immune to the coronavirus. The president appears to be referring to the notion that children are less likely to become ill from the virus, even though they can spread it to adults.

Relatively little is known about how Covid-19 is transmitted to and from children. On one hand, some early evidence has suggested that children -- and especially younger children -- dont transmit it as frequently as adults or even older children.

But children can certainly still contract the virus, and a growing number have as the virus has surged throughout the country. Covid-19 infections among US kids grew 40% in the second half of July, according to a report this week from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Childrens Hospital Association.

And while children do appear to be at a lower risk of getting very ill, a federal study published last week found that a growing number require hospitalization.

Lasting damage

Advocates for reopening schools often point to regions that have already done so successfully, or never closed schools to begin with, such as several nations in Northern Europe. Experts, though, stress that those regions have had far less viral transmission than the US.

Paul Peterson, director of the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard University, said at the White House that students who miss school likely will earn less money when theyre older.To Eskelsen Garcia, the NEA president, the superiority of in-school teaching isnt in question. This is not about pedagogy, she said. This disease kills people.Eskelsen Garcia said shes been heartened by the number of districts resisting Trumps pressure and that schools should reopen only when the community infection rate is low.Her advice: Listen to what Trump says. Then do the exact opposite of whatever comes out of his mouth.
Britain suffered its worst train crash in more than 15 years after a derailment in Scotland killed three people, including the driver, and left another six injured.

The Scotrail service was traveling from Aberdeen to Glasgow when it left the tracks at 9:43 a.m. on Wednesday near Stonehaven on the North Sea coast. While the cause is still to be determined, the train may have hit a landslide after Scotland experienced heavy rain and widespread flooding.

The six people who were injured were taken to the hospital for treatment, British Transport Police Chief Superintendent Eddie Wylie said in a statement, adding that their condition is not believed to be serious.

The force will work with Britains Rail Accident Investigation Branch and the Office of Rail and Road to establish how the Inter City 125 HST came to derail.

A major incident was declared and about 30 emergency service vehicles attended the scene, with aerial TV footage showing that two carriages had overturned, with another rolling down an embankment.

The crash marks the first fatal accident in the U.K. involving people on a train since 2007, when a Virgin West Coast Pendolino derailed at a faulty set of points in northern England, killing one woman on board.

The death toll is the highest since 2004, when a train driver, five passengers and a motorist died after an HST hit a car parked on a level crossing near Reading, west of London.

Photograph: Network Rail engineers and Police officers work near the scene of a train crash by Stonehaven in northeast Scotland on Aug. 12, 2020. Photo credit: Michal Wachucik/AFP via Getty Images.

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.
OTTAWAMore than 12 million eggs will be redistributed via an emergency federal program designed to help farmers faced with too much food and nowhere to sell it due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced Thursday that the government has signed eight agreements worth nearly $50 million to help align the needs of food banks and other community groups with what farmers and producers can supply.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Bibeau called the program a win-win-win.

Its reaching three objectives, she said.

The first one to feed the people in need, second to support our farmers by buying some of their surplus at the cost of production and the third one was avoiding food waste.

The organizations receiving the money include Food Banks Canada, Second Harvest and the Quebec group La Tablee des Chefs.

Altogether, approximately 12 million kilograms of everything from fish to fowl will be purchased from food producers and then redistributed under the $50-million food surplus program announced by the Liberals earlier this year.

The near shutdown of the hospitality industry has meant a sharp decline in the number of places to sell perishable foods.

That has led to litres of milk being dumped down drains, potatoes going bad in storage and farmers facing higher costs to hold on to animals they had nowhere to sell if slaughtered.

At the same time, food banks have reported sharp increases in the number of people seeking assistance, having lost their jobs due to the pandemic, and there were calls for the federal government to find a way to match up the two.

Lori Nikkel, the chief executive officer at Second Harvest, said pre-pandemic, an estimated 58 per cent of all the food produced for Canadians was going to waste.

That number was definitely pushed higher by COVID-19, she said, and she applauded the federal governments leadership in spooling up the program.

Second Harvest uses an online platform, FoodRescue.ca, to link up organizations that need food for their programs with farmers and producers who have surplus goods.

They received $11 million from the government to expand that program to include paying producers directly for their food, and ensure the groups on the receiving end have what they need to process, distribute and store it.

Nikkel said the money will go fast, and she hopes the federal government will consider a new round of funding at a later date as the need will not go away.

The commodities are going to change, she said.

Who we are helping now may not be the people we are helping tomorrow.

Bibeau said the government will keep an eye on whether the demand from organizations, and oversupply from producers, remains in the coming months.

Well keep the door open in the sense that for now, we feel its a very worthwhile program, and we look forward to seeing how it will evolve in the coming weeks.

Ten per cent of the product being purchased by the surplus program is being sent to northern communities.

Among the projects focused on those is one with Fisher River Cree Nation in Manitoba, which received $10.8 million to catch millions of kilograms of walleye and redistribute the fish to more than 75 Indigenous communities.

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Maersk Tankers hires Eva Birgitte Bisgaard as its new Chief Commercial Officer

Maersk Tankers has appointed Eva Birgitte Bisgaard as its Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), as the company continues to strengthen its service to its partners and customers.

This includes using digitisation to enhance the performance of partners vessels, which will reduce CO2 emissions and optimise earnings. Bisgaard will be joining Maersk Tankers after 19 years with the Danish Telco operator TDC, during which time she held a wide range of senior management positions. For the past three years, she was Senior Vice President of the consumer unit YouSee. She has played an active role in the transformation of TDC, creating and delivering an enhanced customer and partner experience through the expanded use of digital solutions. Previously, she held commercial vice president positions in the companys business-to-business divisions. At Maersk Tankers, Bisgaard will spearhead the companys commercial engagement with partners and customers. The company has been on a growth trajectory in recent years, increasing the number of vessels under commercial management to 224 and it is looking to grow further. We are building scale through partnerships, using the vast amount of data at our disposal to boost commercial performance and make a positive impact on the climate. Eva Birgitte is an inclusive people leader who shares our values. She has a proven track record of leading business transformations, embracing digitisation and maintaining long-standing relations with partners in a highly competitive industry. This makes her a strong fit for Maersk Tankers and our strategic ambitions to shape the future of the industry, says Christian M. Ingerslev, CEO of Maersk Tankers. Bisgaard will join Maersk Tankers on 1 October 2020. She will report to Ingerslev and become a member of the Leadership Team. I am excited to have the opportunity to work for a company with the proud history and bold ambitions of Maersk Tankers. Having spent my career within the fast-moving tech field, I look forward to helping Maersk Tankers and its partners develop and deploy digital technology to respond to industry and environmental challenges and opportunities. We will work in tandem with our partners and customers, creating solutions together that meet their needs, says Bisgaard. Bisgaard is Norwegian and holds a Master in International Business from Aarhus University, Denmark.




Graphite India declined 1.02% to Rs 184.75 after the company posted consolidated net loss of Rs 78 crore in Q1 June 2020 as against net profit of Rs 220 crore in Q1 June 2019.

Consolidated net sales for quarter ending June 2020 stood at Rs 409 crore, declining nearly 58% from Rs 967 crore in the same period last year. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 12 August 2020.

Graphite India reported a pre tax loss of Rs 80 crore in Q1 June 2020 as against a profit before tax of Rs 333 crore in Q1 June 2019. It posted an EBITDA loss of Rs 63 crore after inventory write down of Rs 159 crore.

The company reported gross debt of Rs 308 crore and cash (net of gross debt) of Rs 2,290 crore.

Commenting on company's performance, KK Bangur, Chairman of Graphite India said, The quarter started on an unprecedented note with the announcement of the nationwide lockdown in an attempt to contain the outbreak of Covid-19. From mid April, we gradually started resuming operations at our factories and offices in a calibrated manner. Graphite India registered consolidated Net Sales of Rs 409 crore, EBITDA Loss of Rs 63 crore after inventory write down of Rs 159 crore and Net Loss of Rs 78 crore during the quarter. The capacity utilization was 36% as compared to 75% in Q1 FY2020. Despite challenging environment, our balance sheet remains robust with a Net Cash balance of Rs. 2,290 Cr at the end of June 2020. The global health crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has morphed into an economic crisis. The steel industry has been hit hard by the pandemic and as per the World Steel Association (WSA), most countries excluding China have registered a decline in steel production on a y-o-y with world steel output being reduced by 25% in Q2 CY2020.

He further added, "The consumption of inventory was at a slower pace than expected due to lower steel demand resulting in subdued graphite electrode demand and pricing. Steel production in India also significantly declined during the quarter due to the prolonged lockdown, restricted inter-state movement and migration of labor. It is difficult to ascertain the full impact of Covid-19 on our business but management is staying close to its customers, suppliers and employees during these difficult times. Business activity has shown early signs of picking up with the relaxation in lockdown restrictions. However, economic recovery is expected to be slow as the adverse impact of Covid-19 is here to stay. In the near term, the graphite electrode industry may benefit from lower exports of steel from China to the rest of the world driving steel production in the regions having EAF capacities. Graphite electrode demand and realization continues to remain under pressure. Needle coke prices are still not fully aligned with electrode prices and we expect them to soften further. Graphite India has initiated several cost rationalization measures which will enable the Company to navigate through these difficult times."

Graphite India is the largest Indian producer of graphite electrodes and one of the largest globally, by total capacity.

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Jeollanamdo Medical Association President and Vice-President of the Korea Medical Association Lee Pil-soo stages a one-person protest in front of Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul's Jongno-gu District, Wednesday, demanding the government guarantee doctors' safety in hospitals and repeal the motion to foster more physicians by wasting tax money. Yonhap



The government on Thursday urged doctors to cancel their nationwide strike slated for this week, warning that it will take stern actions if the walkout leads to any harm and disruptions to patients.



The Korea Medical Association (KMA), which represents 130,000 doctors, is set to stage a general strike Friday, voicing opposition to the government's plan to foster more physicians.



"We urge doctors to refrain from taking extreme measures by sacrificing the patients," Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said in a statement.



"The issue surrounding the medical policy should be discussed with the government. Patients have nothing to do with it," Park said, warning that the country will take legal actions if the strike threatens patients' health and safety.



South Korea currently plans to increase the number of doctors in the country, citing lack of medical infrastructure in rural areas, as well as the new coronavirus pandemic, which is not likely to end soon.



Under the country's medical workforce reform plan, the health ministry is planning to expand admission quotas at medical schools by 4,000 over the next 10 years starting 2022, and open a new public medical school as well.



The scheme will increase the number of students admitted annually to medical schools to 3,458 in the 2022-2031 period from the current 3,058.



The group says that increasing the number of new doctors will only lead to more competition among doctors and will not help ease the disparity in medical infrastructure among regions.



Doctors also protest against the plan to include traditional oriental medicine in the nation's public health insurance system, as they consider the field to be less scientific and vital.



On Wednesday, the health ministry said it is open to talks with the KMA, but it added it cannot further delay the scheme. Local doctors rejected the request, saying the protest will be held as planned.



Park said it is still not too late for the doctors to come to the negotiation table.



Doctors working at vital departments, including intensive care units, will continue to be on normal duty on Friday despite the strike. Last week, trainee doctors at hospitals also launched a one-day walkout. (Yonhap)


Merritt Appeals Remaining Criminal Charges

NEWS PROVIDED BY

Liberty Counsel

Aug. 13, 2020



SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 13, 2020 /Christian Newswire/ -- Sandra Merritt is asking the California Court of Appeals to dismiss all eight remaining felony charges pending against her. The bogus criminal investigation and heavy-handed tactics began under then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris (now Senator and VP Candidate) and then her replacement, Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who filed 15 charges for Merritt's undercover journalism work in exposing Planned Parenthood's trafficking in baby body parts. During a press conference, Becerra stood with a sign reading, "I Stand with Planned Parenthood."



Multiple counts have already been dismissed.

Becerra has not shown, and cannot show, probable cause for any of the politically motivated charges. Merritt's appeal details with evidence that she did not intend to violate any laws but used legal undercover techniques to investigate and expose potential fetal-trafficking abuses and crimes being committed by Planned Parenthood. Liberty Counsel filed a 71-page brief along with a 2,600-page appendix.

Merritt's appeal also points out the roughshod "investigation" initiated by Kamala Harris, then-Attorney General of California, and continued by her successor Xavier Becerra. Among numerous documented deficiencies, their investigator, who had never investigated any previous cases of illegal recording, admitted that he never asked the alleged recording "victims" any questions to probe their manufactured stories. He simply wrote down and accepted what they told him at face value. For most of the so-called "victims," he had to inform them that they were alleged "victims," since the videos depicting them had not yet been published. They had no idea that they were "victims" until the Attorney General's investigator called to tell them and recruit them for this prosecution.

Merritt's appeal also examines the testimony of those alleged "victims" in court, each of which admitted under oath that their conversations with Merritt could be overheard by others in the public spaces where they were recorded, and they took no steps to prevent others from overhearing their candid discussion of what Planned Parenthood does behind closed doors. Under California law, conversations that "may be overheard" are, by definition, not "confidential," and can be recorded without consent.

Liberty Counsel's Vice President of Legal Affairs and Chief Litigation Counsel Horatio Mihet said, "This political prosecution against Sandra Merritt has gone on long enough. It is time for the legal inquisition, that began with Kamala Harris at the behest of her Planned Parenthood financiers, to meet its demise. We will not rest until Sandra Merritt is vindicated."

Liberty Counsel provides broadcast quality TV interviews via Hi-Def Skype and LTN at no cost.

SOURCE Liberty Counsel



CONTACT: Mat Staver, 407-875-1776, Liberty@LC.org



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SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- American Jewish Committee cautioned Governor Gavin Newsom and top state education officials about last-minute additions before a scheduled hearing on the revised model ethnic studies curriculum.

"We were surprised and disappointed to see last night's posting by the California Department of Education (CDE), announcing new recommendations literally on the eve of a long delayed public hearing to review revisions to the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC) by the State's Instructional Quality Commission (IQC).The first draft of the Model Curriculum was laden with material highly objectionable to the California Jewish Community," wrote Serena Eisenberg, Director of AJC Northern California, and Richard Hirschhaut, Director of AJC Los Angeles, in a letter to Governor Newsom, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, Chief Deputy Superintendent Stephanie Gregson, and members of the Instructional Quality Commission.

Governor Newsom and CDE officials criticized the first draft of the controversial ethnic studies curriculum when it was released a year ago, and they vowed that a new draft would be prepared that addresses key concerns of the Jewish community.

The AJC letter pointed out that the last minute addition included a recommendation to include a sample lesson on Arab Americans, but no content was provided in advance of the meeting, and the CDE said only it would be available "in the near future," in other words, after today's hearing.

While AJC has consistently welcomed the inclusion of a lesson plan focusing on Arab Americans and their experience of Islamophobia in California, consistent with the objective of AB 2016 to prepare pupils "with an appreciation for the contributions of multiple cultures," the Jewish advocacy organization strongly objects to the effort to short-circuit ordinary procedure.

In several letters to, and meetings with, state educational officials over the past year, AJC has repeatedly called for a transparent process and "a broadly inclusive, pluralistic model curriculum that, as promised repeatedly, will not promote antisemitic biases in the classroom," wrote Eisenberg and Hirschhaut.

"We remain perplexed why the same considerations that call for inclusion of the Arab American experience would not call for the inclusion of the Jewish American experience and lessons about the dramatically rising antisemitism in California, especially when a significant portion of Jewish Californians are of Middle Eastern and North African descent," states the AJC letter.

"This latest action of CDE is, unfortunately, reminiscent of the CDE's procedural irregularities over the past year and raises reasonable concerns that new promises it makes will be broken," wrote Eisenberg and Hirschhaut.

"While we look forward to the adoption and implementation of an ethnic studies curriculum, in light of the reasonable grounds for insecurity raised by last night's actions, AJC cannot and will not support the Model Curriculum until the final version emerges after the full public comment period is complete," wrote Eisenberg and Hirschhaut.

"Minorites, especially people of color, have waited far too long to have their stories told, taught, and ingrained into the fabric of our public school curriculum. Now more than ever, we hope to see a high-quality ethnic studies course in public schools as a way to empower students, build understanding, and eradicate racism."

SOURCE American Jewish Committee
Election officials in the United States have warned they need extra funding to be able to handle the 2020 election.

State and local officials told CNN that the pressures placed on voting by the coronavirus pandemic has stretched already thin budgets. They called for extra funding from Congress to prepare for polling season.

"There are enough things to worry about with this election. The last thing we should worry about is will we be able to pay for it," Gerry Pelissero, the county clerk for Gogebic County, Michigan, told CNN.

Experts have estimated that it will cost $4bn to make the changes necessary, which include the hiring of more poll workers, protective equipment for those workers and other changes to deal with an increase in mail-in ballots.

Negotiations over election funding have become a sticking point between Democrats and Republicans in recent months.

The Democrat-held House passed a bill in May that allocated $3.6bn to fund the election, but Senate Republicans have not included any money for elections in their own bill.

Donald Trump said he has resisted the calls for extra money to prepare for the elections because he wants to stop what he described as universal mail-in voting. No such measure has been proposed, but the president has increasingly and falsely claimed that mail-in voting  a method which is expected to be used by record numbers this year to protect against the coronavirus  is vulnerable to fraud.

"The items are the post office and the $3.5 billion for mail-in voting," Mr Trump told Fox Business Network, saying Democrats want to give the post office $25 billion. "If we don't make the deal, that means they can't have the money, that means they can't have universal mail-in voting. It just can't happen."

Democrats have cried foul, accusing Mr Trump and his party of trying to make it harder for Americans to vote, as opinion polls show him trailing his Democratic rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.

Election officials said the money they have for the election would soon run out.

"The bottom line is this election is going to cost dramatically more," Terry Burton, the director of Ohio's Wood County Board of Elections, told CNN. "The preparations involved, the personal protective equipment, the postage costs, the amount of staffing to accommodate all the different aspects of running an election during a pandemic is going to dramatically increase the cost of elections all over Ohio and across the country."
Fort Bend ISD special education teachers and paraprofessionals on Monday received a notification letter they were being re-classified as vital employees who were to report to the classroom for face-to-face learning in two days.

With only a week until the start of school, teachers who had just finished training for online classes expecting to spend at least four weeks working remotely were left frantically trying to arrange child care or file documents to establish themselves as at-risk workers due to cancer treatments or other medical conditions. The last-minute change unleashed a tidal wave of anxiety among the districts teaching community, according to American Federation of Teachers Fort Bend president Glenda Guzman Macal.

ROADMAP TO REOPENING: Hidalgo, Harris County leaders issue new guidance for reopening schools

I have been bombarded since Monday with calls from special education teachers and paraprofessionals being compelled to return to the buildings with only a two-day notice, McCall said by phone, questioning why district officials hadnt opted to delay the start of school until after Labor Day to sort out staffing shortages and allow more time for COVID-19 cases to decrease. Here we are at the height of the pandemic in this area with the infection rate at record levels and Fort Bend ISD has now backed themselves into a corner and put themselves in a bad position with their schedule. That together with the lack of communication to teachers and parents about their specific health and safety protocols and other plans has just created more fear and more anxiety.

Trustees were notified that the district was facing a staffing crisis during Mondays school board meeting held via zoom teleconference.

We're still finding a large number of staff members, including a significant number of teachers, probably 50 percent or more of our teachers, who are reluctant to return to campus for fear of being exposed to the virus, Superintendent Charles Dupre said and explained as a result, special education teachers, paraprofessionals and other employees had been notified by letter on Monday they were being re-classified as vital employees assigned to return to the classroom.

Now, some have expressed concern about that because they feel we are attempting to force them and force their hand and put them in an unsafe environment, Dupre said.

On HoustonChronicle.com: COVID's true toll in Texas is higher than reported, data shows

We are very gently trying to have conversations with them to compel them to work with these students in these classrooms on a limited basis. Some teachers dont appreciate the level of the conversation because they do feel they are being pressured and that is not our intent, Dupre said. Our intent is simply to let them know they are needed, that the students need them and if there is any way they can find it within themselves to come and work with these students, we need them to do this.

Agenda documents indicate Fort Bend ISD has 8,520 special needs students and from that group, administrators have identified 1,103 students they recommend should return to the classroom. Without direct interaction with teachers, these students may not be able to make progress academically, officials said. After discussions with each students family, a group of 440 students were registered to return for face-to-face learning when school starts.

Weve got a lot of children who have to have their needs met in a face-to-face special education environment, but we do not have teacher availability or in many cases classroom aid availability to meet all of those needs, Dupre told trustees.

Trustees Kristin Tassin, Grayle James and board president Jason Burdine urged special education teachers to consider returning to the classroom during trustee discussions.

Any staff members who are willing and able and dont have any pre-conditions, our students need us right now more than they ever have, Burdine said.

Teachers share concerns via social media

Teachers responded to the notification letter and pleas from trustees to return to the classroom via hundreds of social media posts to education-focused Facebook groups.

Last month, I watched board meeting after board meeting in which our superintendent pretended to care about the health and safety of FBISD employees. They brought in medical professionals to answer questions for the board who point blank said that as long as there is uncontrolled community spread, it is not a good idea to bring people into these buildings. Why do that, if the district was not going to follow any of their guidance? teacher Julia Williams posted, echoing concerns shared by other teachers who also questioned why trustees ignored advice from medical advisory board members who said it wasnt yet safe to re-open schools. I pray I will be able to forget about my needs and focus on the needs of the children as I have in the past, but truthfully, Im not sleeping or eating.

We need more time. Time for the positivity rate to decline. Time for the community spread to be more controlled. Time to develop plans about what learning will really look like when we phase kids back to campuses. I do miss my school kiddos so much, but I feel like the district is putting me in a position where I have to choose between your family and mine. And thats an impossible situation to be in, Williams wrote.

Trustees ignore warnings from medical advisory committee of potential widespread outbreaks

Fort Bend ISDs medical advisory board members include a small group of area doctors, hospital officials and Fort Bend County Health and Human Services Director Dr, Jacqueline Minter, who answered questions and offered trustees their recommendations during the July 20 school board.

MORE FROM KRISTI NIX: Medical officials warn schools could suffer widespread COVID-19 outbreaks

When asked if it was safe for special education students and teachers to return to the classroom, Dr. Minter said it wasnt recommended as the COVID-19 infection rate had advanced to high level and was considered uncontrolled. Special needs students are also often medically fragile, she said. Trustees also asked board members if the health and safety protocols Fort Bend ISD planned to put in place would be sufficient to keep teachers and students safe.

At this time with this amount of uncontrolled community spread, theres no amount of hand sanitizer, masking up, isolating, social distancing, temperature checks, screening at the front door that can prevent a teacher who is asymptomatic, who does not know theyve been exposed, from coming into a classroom and potentially developing symptoms two or three days from now, Dr. Sapna Singh, from the Fort Bend Medical Society said and urged district officials to plan ahead for the possibility of outbreaks. What is the structure for handling the consequences of these interactions? Will the entire class be quarantined? Will they be gone for 14 days? Will every one of her teachers contacts be required to quarantine?

According to Texas Department of Health and Human Services Department data, it is estimated there are currently over 5,000 active COVID-19 infections among Fort Bend County residents with a record high of 5,222 active cases reported Wednesday, Aug. 12 at, representing an increase of approximately 27 percent over July 20 reports of 3,778 active cases.

Staffing shortage leads to delays

Due to the current staffing shortage, district officials say special education students will not begin face-to-face instruction until Monday, August 24. Learning Centers operations are also being affected by staffing shortages that had created delays, officials said. Elementary Learning Centers are now scheduled to open Wednesday, August 19 with secondary Learning Centers opening date delayed until Monday, August 24. The first day of Fort Bend ISDs online school is Monday, Aug. 17.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Gov. Abbott asks Texans to remain vigilant as school resumes this month

Fort Bend ISDs Learning Centers were created to provide a place for students to access online classes with district-trained monitors available to oversee students as well as answer questions and help with any technical issues. District officials say the centers are intended to serve homeless students, children in foster care and others with unique needs. Space is limited with priority given to children of district employees, first responders, essential medical workers and active US Military, according to agenda documents.

At Mondays school board meeting, trustees were told the district had received more than 11,000 applications for students hoping to enroll in learning center services. However, due to staffing shortages, enrollment would be limited to 1,100 students until personnel issues are resolved. For students in pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade, Learning Centers will open at Walker Station Elementary, Patterson Elementary, Settlers Way Elementary, Dulles Elementary, Sullivan Elementary, Palmer Elementary, Drabek Elementary, Armstrong Elementary, Sienna Crossing Elementary, Pecan Grove Elementary and Blue Ridge Elementary.

All the districts secondary campuses will operate a Learning Center with the exception of Dulles Middle School, Fort Settlement Middle School, James Reese CTE High School, Kempner High School and Progressive High School. Learning Centers will be open during school hours with elementary school centers scheduled to be open from 8:10 a.m. to 3:25 p.m. and middle and high school centers from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. After school care will also be provided to Learning Center students from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

knix@hcnonline.com

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Paramedics have been told not to bring patients to the emergency ward at one of Melbourne's busiest hospitals as it grapples with a COVID-19 outbreak that has 'infiltrated' the wards.

Fears the virus could overwhelm Werribee Mercy Hospital escalated overnight, with staff telling ambulance workers its emergency room was a no-go zone on Thursday due to concerns of an outbreak.

Daily Mail Australia has been told Werribee Mercy is among a growing number of hospitals across metropolitan Melbourne that are struggling to cope with staff being exposed to the virus.

A nurse checks a woman who entered the emergency department doors at Werribee Mercy Hospital on Thursday

The emergency department at Werribee Mercy Hospital did not take on ambulances on Wednesday night and did not appear to be accepting them on Thursday morning either

So concerned are hospitals about outbreaks during Victoria's deadly second wave that many have stopped visitors attending altogether.

A source told Daily Mail Australia Melbourne's hospitals faced serious concerns of being overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases over the coming days and weeks.

'It's pretty much the same (at hospitals) across the city,' the source said. 'It's infiltrating.'

Last week, it was revealed the Department of Health and Human Services were investigating four cases of the virus linked to Werribee Mercy Hospital.

In March, one emergency department worker tested positive to COVID-19 causing other staff members considered at risk of infection to be isolated and tested.

A further three were confirmed then as also having the virus.

On Thursday, Wyndham, where Werribee Mercy is located, continued to top Victoria's active COVID-19 scoreboard with 913 active cases.

Only the municipality of Brimbank, also in Melbourne's western suburbs, ranked close with 886 active cases.

Werribee Mercy Hospital's emergency department was turning away ambulances on Wednesday night due to staff shortages related to COVID-19

Many of Wyndham's residents infected with the virus are extremely vulnerable, with 83 cases linked to BaptCare Wyndham Lodge Community and 74 cases to Glendale Aged Care Facility in Werribee.

Victoria recorded 278 new coronavirus cases and eight deaths on Thursday as 1140 active cases were confirmed in healthcare workers themselves.

In total, 2073 healthcare workers have had COVID-19 to date, which has likely led to thousands more needing to isolate while they underwent tests for being in close contact.

As the aged care outbreaks continue to grow, the state has taken over three additional aged care centres.

Many residents, some already with COVID-19, are being housed at Melbourne's already busy hospitals, which threaten to be overrun with the virus.

At present, 664 people with coronavirus are in hospital, including 37 in intensive care.

Sources have told Daily Mail Australia ambulances were told to bypass Werribee on Wednesday as the hospital did not have enough staff to treat them.

The bypasses threaten to become more frequent as hospital staff at Werribee and other COVID hotspots are forced off work due to infection or contact with an infected coworker.

It remains unclear if any patients within Werribee Mercy Hospital have become infected themselves through contact within the hospital.

A spokesman for Werribee Mercy Hospital told Daily Mail Australia the hospital 'elected to bypass ambulances' on Wednesday night due to a 'staff management situation'.

The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne suffered from COVID related deaths earlier this year during the first coronavirus outbreak

People line up to get tested for COVID at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in March

The hospital refused to confirm if an outbreak of COVID-19 was loose in the hospital or if any staff or patients actually had the virus.

On Thursday morning, Daily Mail Australia observed the hospital's emergency department standing vacant for hours without a single visit from an ambulance.

In April, The Alfred Hospital came under fire after it failed to reveal to the public for days that it not only had a COVID-19 outbreak, but that patients had died from it.

More than a 100 staff were forced into isolation as the virus ravaged sections of the hospital.

Then last month, the hospital was described as a 'breeding ground' for COVID-19 after eight staff members tested positive, forcing hundreds more into self isolation.
With the city now in Stage 3 and Torontonians looking to have a little bit of fun after months of lockdown, John Chapman says hes having to turn people away at Planet Bowl, the large bowling centre he manages in Etobicoke.

While Chapman says he could accommodate far more people inside and still ensure a safe amount of distancing in accordance with COVID-19 health precautions, provincial rules dont allow it.

The safety measures for indoor gatherings mean he cant have more than 50 people inside at any time  a maximum that Planet Bowl has hit on several occasions since Toronto entered Stage 3 of the provinces reopening plan on July 31.

Were definitely losing business, he said. Trying to stay open and pay the bills  50 people at a time doesnt really cut it.

Its a similar situation faced by bowling centres across the province  some have tens of thousands of square feet of space, but remain constrained by provincial restrictions.

When its affecting businesses to the point where they cant run their operations and they have to lay off people, that doesnt make any sense, said Bob McKay, owner of Woodlawn Bowl in Guelph.

His bowling centre has been open for about three-and-a-half weeks since Guelph entered Stage 3, but hes already had to lay off 60 per cent of his staff because sales are not making up for the costs of running the business.

Im not unique here, not unique in our industry and not unique in business in general, said McKay, who also sits on national association Bowl Canadas best practices committee to reopen the bowling industry.

The industry has been pleading with the government to revisit the indoor capacity rules, but operators say they have yet to receive a response. They point out that the rules have been varied in other situations, such as movie theatres, which are allowed up to 50 people per screen, rather than in the entire building.

The 50-person limit in our circumstances, makes the operation of a bowling centre a loss scenario, wrote Bowl Canada executive director Paul Oliveira in a July 17 letter to provincial officials, including Premier Doug Ford and chief medical officer of health Dr. David Williams.

To be held to this restriction after a four-month closure is unfair and, we feel, needs to be addressed.

Oliveira highlighted that there are several bowling centres with tens of thousands of square feet  and in one case a hundred thousand square feet.

Bowling centres range widely in size, with many being very large facilities. As such, they understandably have considerable fixed costs in terms of utilities, property taxes, etc., he wrote.

Having looked at what other provinces have done, Bowl Canada has suggested to government that bowling centres either be permitted a limit of 30 per cent of their occupancy limit or one customer per 107 sq. ft.

Oliveira also said theyre open to discussing other possible limits with government. He told the Star that the industrys pleas are not about trying to fit as many people as possible into a bowling centre, but rather setting a reasonable ratio in terms of the square footage a centre occupies.

To make sure that our businesses can continue to stay alive, he said.

The provincial government did not provide a response to the Star by deadline Wednesday.

Anxiety is building inside the centres as bowling league season approaches in September, which usually sees multiple teams inside the centres for much of the year.

For now that generally wont be possible with the current capacity restrictions, and centres are wondering if thats going to change any time soon.

Every single day I get 10 to 20 phone calls saying, What are we doing? When are we starting? How can we start?  McKay said. Its like, Guys, I would love to get you an answer, but I cant. 
Gracefully spinning among a group of dancers clad in pink, 11-year-old Anthony Mmesoma Madu stands out in black leggings, a white turtleneck and poise beyond his years.

A video of him dancing barefoot in the rain on concrete outside the studio where he trains, the Leap of Dance Academy, went viral last month.

More than 15 million people have watched his joyful leaps and pirouettes, undeterred by the rain and coarse surface. Academy Award winner and How to Get Away With Murder actor Viola Davis had also shared the video of Anthony dancing in the rain with the caption, Reminds me of the beauty of my people. We create, soar, can imagine, have unleashed passion, and love.... despite the brutal obstacles that have been put in front of us! Our people can fly!!!

Leap of Dance Academy reshared the video last week with the caption, Changing stereotypes. As a dance school in Africa, and Nigeria to be precise our academy stands to educate our audience that ballet is here to stay; Its for both boys and girls said Anthony Mmmesoma Madu. (When ballet was created 400 years ago, it was created for men. Men were the first dancers. Special shoutout to all parents who have allowed their boys to dance. Speaking from the Nigerian perspective most children are enrolled in school to have a white collar job but never to become a dancer. We hope supportive and inspirational mom like Anthonys mom has given us a reason for early child talent discovery.

The video caught the eye of Cynthia Harvey, the artistic director at the elite American Ballet Theatre of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School of Dance in New York, which gave him a scholarship and arranged internet access for virtual training this summer. Next year, he will train in the United States on a scholarship from Ballet Beyond Borders.

In an interview with the Cincinnati Enquirer, Harvey said, A friend who lives in the UK sent me the video, within a day, I was trying to find him.

His parents in Lagos, Nigerias teeming lagoon city, wanted him to become a priest. Instead, he has captivated millions with his ballet.

When I am dancing, I feel as if I am on top of the world, he told Reuters.

Anthony Mmesoma Madu, an 11-year-old ballet dancer, poses during a rehearsal with other students at the Leap of Dance Academy in Lagos, Nigeria July 27, 2020. Picture taken July 27, 2020. (REUTERS)

When my friends see me dancing, they feel like, what is this boy doing, is he doing a foreign dance? he said. Now I have won a grand prize to go to the U.S. ... I will be in the plane and this is what I am waiting for, and ballet has done it for me.

The video also sparked a flood of donations to the academy, which teaches its students for free. Founder Daniel Ajala Owoseni said he will use the money, and fame, to promote ballet in Nigeria, a country where it is not yet widely practised.

I saw the need to bring a form of art that shows discipline, dedication and commitment, he said. Students who are able to learn all of these can ... transfer (them) into other spheres of their lives. Owoseni will also be given a two-week advance training course to help him teach others better.

Talking about Anthony to NPR, Owoseni said, Anthony has been a very dedicated student. From the day when he started, hes someone who if he doesnt get the combination correctly, he start crying in class.

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A man was shot to death Wednesday afternoon at a busy corner of downtown San Francisco, prompting a police search for the shooter that closed Mission Street for several hours.

The incident occurred shortly after 3:15 at Fourth and Mission streets, according to a statement Wednesday evening that was released by the San Francisco Police Department. Officers arrived at the scene and quickly sealed off the Fifth & Mission parking garage  the largest in the city  to conduct a floor-to-floor search. Several blocks of Mission Street were closed to traffic during the investigation as well.
In meet with PM Modi, Kamala Harris refers to Pak terror role, agrees on need to monitor

What Kamala Harris learnt from her mother

International

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Washington, Aug 13: Taking the centre stage of American politics for the first time after becoming the presumptive vice-presidential nominee of the Democratic party, Indian-origin Senator Kamala Harris remembered her mother Shyamala Gopalan, saying it was she who taught her not to sit and complain about things during the time of problem but do something to improve it.

Kamala Harris: Joe Biden's Indian-African-American running mate | Oneindia News

Presumptive Democratic party presidential nominee Joe Biden on Tuesday named 55-year-old Harris as his vice presidential running mate, making history by selecting the first black woman to compete on a major party's presidential ticket.

Making her first appearance along with Biden in Wilmington in Delaware, Harris said her mother had a great role in her life.

Biden nailed it says Obama on selection of Kamala Harris

"My mother, Shyamala, raised my sister Maya and me to believe that it was up to us, and every generation of Americans, to keep on marching. She'd tell us, Don't sit around and complain about things, do something," Harris during her appearance in Wilmington, Delaware.

Harris, whose father is from Jamaica and mother an Indian, is currently the US Senator from California.

"You know, my mother and father, they came from opposite sides of the world to arrive in America, one from India and the other from Jamaica, in search of a world-class education," she said.

Harris' mother Shyamala was a breast-cancer specialist who emigrated from Tamil Nadu in 1960 to pursue a doctorate in endocrinology at the University of California Berkeley. Father Donald J Harris, who migrated from British Jamaica in 1961, is a Stanford University emeritus professor of economics.

"What brought them together was the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, and that's how they met as students in the streets of Oakland, marching and shouting for this thing called justice, in a struggle that continues today," Harris said.

"And I was part of it. My parents would bring me to protests, strapped tightly in my stroller. And my mother, Shyamala, raised my sister Maya and me to believe that it was up to us, and every generation of Americans, to keep on marching," she said.

Inspired by her mother frequently telling her to do something, Harris said that she did something.

Kamala Harris VP nomination historic but not a surprise: Delhi uncle

"So I did something. I devoted my life to making real the words carved in the United States'' Supreme Court, Equal justice under law. And 30 years ago, I stood before a judge for the first time, breathed deep, and uttered the phrase that would truly guide my career and the rest of my career, Kamala Harris for the people," she said.

"The people, that's who I represented as district attorney, fighting on behalf of victims who needed help. The people, that's who I fought for as California's attorney general, when I took on transnational criminal organisations who traffic in guns and drugs and human beings," Harris asserted.

Taking a jibe at President Donald Trump, Harris said she has worked to hold his officials accountable to the American people.

"And it's the people who I have fought for as a United States Senator, where I've worked every day to hold Trump officials accountable to the American people. And the people are who Joe and I will fight for every day in the White House," she said.

In her maiden speech, Harris also talked about her family.

"I cannot wait for America to get to know my husband, Doug, and our amazing kids, Cole and Ella," she said.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has asked a court to dismiss a lawsuit against his executive order (EO) targeting social media companies, calling it a profound misunderstanding, according to a copy of the motion seen by the Reuters news agency.

The lawsuit was brought in June by the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), a Washington, DC-based tech group funded mainly by Facebook Inc, Alphabet Incs Google and Twitter Inc. It marked the first major legal test of Trumps directive.

Trump issued the executive order in May against social media companies in an attempt to regulate platforms where he has been criticised, just days after Twitter took the rare step of fact-checking one of his tweets about mail-in voting. Trump threatened to scrap or weaken a law known as Section 230, which protects internet companies from litigation over content posted by users.

The lawsuit by CDT argued that Trumps social media executive order violates the First Amendment rights of social media companies, will chill future online speech and reduce the ability of Americans to speak freely online.

The administration argues that the executive order only directs government agencies, and not private companies, to act.

The EO challenged here imposes no obligations on any private party, said the motion filed by the Department of Justice in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, which was seen by Reuters.

It directs executive officials to take steps that could lead various agencies to examine  allegations that large social media online platforms have displayed political bias in moderating content, the motion said.

The lawsuit reflects long-simmering tensions between the Trump administration and social media companies that have become key tools in Trumps political arsenal.

Avery Gardiner, CDTs general counsel, called Trumps executive order unconstitutional. CDTs lawsuit argues that the White House ran afoul of the First Amendment, which prohibits government officials from retaliating against an individual or entity for engaging in protected speech.

Reactionary and politicised

Instead of actually trying to address the merits of the issues, and to engage in litigation that will show the severe constitutional deformities of the executive order, it is resorting to legal maneuvering, Gardiner said on Wednesday, referring to the Trump administrations move.

The CDT has negotiated a briefing schedule with the DOJ. CDT will be filing its response by the end of August and the government is likely to respond by September 21, she said.

White House spokesman Judd Deere said the administration moved to dismiss the case because it is not a valid legal argument.

The left-wing lobbying organizations brief seems to suggest it doesnt understand how administrative action works or possibly that it doesnt understand the nature of the judicial system, he told Reuters on Wednesday.

The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.

Twitter called the executive order a reactionary and politicised approach to a landmark law. It declined comment on the CDT lawsuit. Google and Facebook did not respond to requests for comment.

Trumps order seeks to channel complaints about political bias to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). At a recent Senate hearing, the agencys chairman, Joseph Simons, said the FTC has not taken any action to enforce the order.

The US Commerce Department has petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeking new transparency rules in how social media companies moderate content after Trumps executive order directed the action. Earlier this month FCC Chairman Ajit Pai agreed to open the petition to public comment for 45 days.
The coronavirus is raging through the White Mountain Apache tribe. Spread across a large reservation in eastern Arizona, the Apaches have been infected at more than 10 times the rate of people in the state as a whole.

Yet their death rate from Covid-19 is far lower, just 1.3 percent, as compared with 2.1 percent in Arizona. Epidemiologists have a hopeful theory about what led to this startling result: Intensive contact tracing on the reservation likely enabled teams that included doctors to find and treat gravely ill people before it was too late to save them.

A crucial tool has been a simple, inexpensive medical device: an oximeter that, clipped to a finger, detected dangerously low blood oxygen levels in people who often didnt even realize they were seriously ill.

Contact tracing is generally used to identify and isolate the infected, and thereby to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Elsewhere in the United States, the strategy mostly is failing; the virus has spread too widely, and tracers are struggling to keep up.
The next meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) on resolving the situation in Donbas is scheduled for August 18, with the participation of new Head of the Ukrainian delegation Leonid Kravchuk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

"As for the meetings of the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk, I am sure that the process will not stop. The next meeting is scheduled for August 18. The meeting will be held in a new format, chaired by Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk," the president said, answering a question from journalists in Boryspil on Thursday.

Zelensky said that among the main issues that will be discussed at the TCG meeting are the continuation of the ceasefire regime and the issue of exchange.

However, answering the question of whether the current situation will affect the meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk, the President of Ukraine said: "I do not know. I cannot, unfortunately, yet look into the future."
Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan today held a consultation devoted to the course of construction and future activities of the center for foreign economic activity in Gyumri, as reported the news service of the Government of Armenia.

Representatives of the State Revenue Committee reported that the center will fully start operating in 2022, construction works are underway, and a competition for the second phase of construction of the center has been declared. They stated that the center will operate under the one-stop shop principle in order to organize the procedures for export and import for economic operators as smoothly as possible.

The participants of the consultation also touched upon the opportunities for development of the center for foreign economic activity, taking into consideration the international practice, as well as other activities envisaged in the future.

Prime Minister Pashinyan attached importance to the implementation of consistent activities for simplification of the procedures for export and import, ensuring of favorable conditions for business and reduction of the time limits for the provision of documents. We need to do everything we can to ensure good conditions and opportunities for economic operators to work, the Prime Minister said, emphasizing that the decision on construction of the center for foreign economic activity in Gyumri is of major and strategic significance. Pashinyan assigned to consider, under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan, all the opportunities that will help enhance the activities of the center and create much more favorable conditions for business.
Inspirus, a Sodexo Group company and leader in elevating employee experiences and optimizing organizational culture through recognition and reward solutions, has been recognized once again on the HRO Today Bakers Dozen Customer Satisfaction Ratings: Recognition list.

In this latest achievement, Inspirus has been ranked 5th for Overall Customer Satisfaction in Recognition and Quality of Service on the HRO Today Bakers Dozen list. The HRO Today Bakers Dozen Customer Satisfaction Ratings are calculated solely on customer feedback. Through an online survey, verified respondents answered questions about the quality of service, deal size, and breadth of service received from their recognition provider. HRO Today aggregates this data using a predetermined algorithm. Questions and categories are weighed based on importance, with special emphasis given to questions pertaining to the quality of customer service. These weights determine the final published rankings. Inspirus, where employees champion the idea Bring Joy to Work, One Experience at a Time, has made the prestigious list for 13 consecutive years.

It is an honor to be included on this prestigious list once again and we remain committed to connecting all employees through meaningful recognition, says CEO at Inspirus and Sodexo Benefits and Rewards Services, USA, Tatiana Frierson. This has been a challenging year for many organizations, and I am so proud of our people for ensuring our solutions and services continue to meet the needs and expectations of our clients.

For more than a decade, Inspirus has been ranked by our clients as a top provider on the HRO Today Bakers Dozen Customer Satisfaction Ratings list, says Inspirus Senior Vice President of Customer Experience, Theresa Harkins-Schulz. We would like to thank our clients for continuing to recognize us as a top provider and for their partnership. Also, many thanks to the Inspirus team for always striving to create a great customer experience and leading with a servants heart.

Inspirus strives to provide innovative solutions that help clients engage their employees. We continue to listen to our clients needs and feedback through our annual Client Experience Survey. In 2020, Inspirus ranked highly with an overall 95% satisfaction rating receiving the highest marks in areas of customer service and client satisfaction.

Key results from the Inspirus 2020 Client Experience Survey include:



Overall Satisfaction with Inspirus Account Team 95%

Ease of Working with Inspirus 95%

Responsiveness 95%

Overall Satisfaction with Partnership 96%

Inspirus provides solutions and services that foster connections and a sense of belonging for everyone.

About Inspirus

Inspirus believes employees make up the foundation of culture, shaped and evolved through every day experiences that are essential to the development of strong, high-performing organizations. Through our technology and integrated solutions, we elevate the employee experience and optimize organizational culture by providing a holistic approach to the entire employee journey. We seek to influence the employee experience through our six Quality of Life dimensions: recognition, health and well-being, personal growth, physical environment, social interaction, and ease and efficiency.

Only Inspirus combines an integrated rewards engine, communication tools, and analytics into a single platform spanning recognition, service anniversary, well-being, and diversity and inclusion. Through Sodexos broader mission of improving the Quality of Life of all we serve, Inspirus aims to bring joy to work, one experience at a time.

Visit inspirus.com for more information.
The total number of people killed by the novel coronavirus around the world passed 750,000 on Thursday, with some countries toughening control measures as caseloads once again creep up.

The Latin America and the Caribbean region remains the global epicentre, accounting for almost one-third of all deaths and housing two of the worst-affected countries -- Mexico and Brazil.

However, fear is growing in other regions of new spikes, with countries including New Zealand and Italy tightening measures in a bid to secure hard-won gains in fighting the virus, which has now infected more than 20 million worldwide.

New Zealand, which earlier this week broke a streak of more than 100 days without a new infection, is scrambling to find the source of 17 new cases in its biggest city Auckland -- which faces the prospect of a three-day lockdown being extended.

"As with our first outbreak, things will get worse before they get better," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a televised address.

Italy, one of the worst-hit countries in Europe, imposed mandatory coronavirus testing for all travellers arriving from some fellow EU nations and banned all visitors from Colombia.

Health officials worry that Italians returning from foreign holidays may bring home the virus and pass it on at summer events.

Less attention to control measures during the summer holidays is partly to blame for increased numbers of cases, especially among younger people, WHO epidemiologist Richard Peabody said.

"If you take... the pressure off the virus, then it will come back," he warned.

- 'Prioritise learning' -

Elsewhere in Europe, the first case was reported in one of Greece's overcrowded island camps housing migrants and asylum seekers, and Spain's Galicia and Canary Islands regions banned public smoking where social distancing was not possible.

Finland reversed a long-held policy by recommending mask-wearing in public places.

And a smartphone app designed to help track virus transmission in Britain will undergo new trials, officials confirmed, following a failed launch in June and a switch to technology designed by Apple and Google.

Story continues

In secretive North Korea -- which long insisted it had no cases -- officials could be seen disinfecting underground train carriages, distributing hand sanitiser and checking temperatures of masked passengers at station entrances.

"We are stepping up propaganda activities as required by the maximum emergency system," said Jon Gyong Hui, a chief doctor at the railway station in capital Pyongyang.

There was some relief for watchers of the world's biggest economy, as new benefits claims for joblessness in the United States dipped below one million per week for the first time since March.

But around 28.3 million people were still receiving some form of government aid in the week ending July 25, far higher than the 1.7 million at the same time last year.

Europe's powerhouse Germany saw bleak news from two economic giants -- conglomerate Thyssenkrupp reporting second-quarter losses of 678 million euros ($800 million) and tour operator TUI losing 1.4 billion euros over the same period.

Continued woes for the aviation and transport sectors mean global oil demand is likely to remain depressed throughout this year and much of 2021, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said.

By December 2021, consumption will still be two percent lower than it was at the end of 2019, the Paris-based body said.

In a further sign of how tough it will be to safely return to normal life, the UN highlighted that 43 percent of all schools lacked basic hand-washing facilities before the pandemic.

"We must prioritise children's learning. This means making sure that schools are safe to reopen," said UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore.

- Playing it safe -

Pharmaceutical companies and health authorities are still locked in a race to produce a vaccine or any effective treatment for the virus.

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed earlier this week his country had developed the first inoculation offering "sustainable immunity".

But Western scientists and the World Health Organization complained that vital data were missing -- including a "Phase 3" trial with thousands of volunteers.

Moscow is pressing ahead with production and distribution and says it has pre-orders from 20 countries for one billion doses.

The Brazilian state of Parana signed a deal Wednesday to test and produce Russia's potential vaccine, though officials stressed they would have to be sure of its safety and effectiveness first.

And in a setback for the drug, Philippines' strongman president Rodrigo Duterte will not be among the first to test it, despite promising to be a guinea pig and declaring "huge trust in Moscow".

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In this April 16, 2020, file photo, a customer puts gold bars on basket for sell to a gold shop in Bangkok, Thailand.

The North Korean secret organization that oversees Kim Jong Uns slush funds and foreign currency is looking to cash in on record gold prices by diverting scarce electricity to facilities that produce the precious metal, sources in the country told RFA.

Although gold exports are prohibited under UN sanctions aimed at depriving Pyongyang of cash and resources that could be channeled into its nuclear and missile programs, Office 39 has made a push to produce more gold, which is fetching nearly $2,000 an ounce, officials familiar with mining operations said.

The central Party ordered the priority supply of electricity to gold production facilities under Office 39, an official who requested anonymity for security reasons told RFA Tuesday.

Formally the Central Committee Bureau 39 of the Workers' Party of Korea, the organization charged with procuring slush funds for Kim Jong Un was set up in the late 1970s under the rule of regime founder Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Uns grandfather.

The office operates departments in each province, which are responsible for the production and export of gold and silver to raise funds for the party.

The gold production plant under the Kumgang department in North Pyongan province, where I work, has been supplied with electricity for more than 12 hours per day all this year, the official said Tuesday. The Kumgang unit handles gold.

Gold plants in North Pyongan provinces Kumgang department are located in the Unsan county area, including in Chonma county. The mines in this area have gold of high purity, the source added. North Pyongan lies in western North Korea on the border with China.

North Korea is starved for resources and must ration electricity, leading to frequent blackouts in residential areas. Refugees who have fled North Korea have described to Western media situations where blackouts lasted months at a time.

The extra electricity comes as Office 39 seeks to recoup losses from the previous year, the source said.

Last year, gold production fell because electricity was only supplied for one to two hours a day, and sometimes there was no electricity at all. But this year production is up a little as electricity is being normally supplied, the source said.

Knowing that not only electricity, but also coal is in short supply, the central Party has ordered the Kaechon Area Coal Mining Complex to produce high-calorie coal and directly supply it to the gold production facilities since June, the source added.

But despite the Partys emphasis on gold production, not all of the provinces gold plants are getting as much electricity as needed.

There are many gold production facilities in North Pyongan, under the Ministry of Peoples Armed Forces, provincial security department, and the Ministry of Public Security. But only the gold mines under Office 39 are getting supplied with sufficient electricity and coal, the source said.

Another source, a resident of South Hwanghae provinces Ongjin county told RFA that the offices mines in that area were also fully supplied with electricity.

The authorities are suddenly normalizing the operation of the Ongjin mine, because prolonged sanctions on North Korea and the coronavirus crisis have dried up the partys sources of funds it used to generate from trade between North Korea and China, the second source said.

According to a report by the South Korea-based Korean Resource Corporation, North Koreas gold reserves are believed to be the sixth largest in the world at an estimated 2,000 tons.

The UN Security Councils North Korea Sanctions Committee did not respond to RFAs requests for comment as of Wednesday evening.

After closing at an all-time high of $2,063 per troy ounce on August 6 the price of gold fell about seven percent over the following week, closing at $1,914 per troy ounce on Wednesday, according to figures from Business Insider, up 25 percent since the beginning of the year.

Reported by Hyemin Son for RFAs Korean Service. Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden took note of the historic moment Wednesday when introducing Sen. Kamala Harris, his vice presidential choice, at a campaign event in Delaware.

Biden and Harris, both wearing face masks because of the coronavirus pandemic, spoke from the stage of a high school in Bidens hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.

Their speeches focused on the theme of their campaign, stressing their leadership in helping Americans during the crises of the pandemic and growing economic turmoil, as well as the inspirational message of choosing Harris.

This morning, all across the nation, little girls woke up  especially little Black and brown girls, who so often feel overlooked and undervalued in their communities  but today, just maybe theyre seeing themselves for the first time in a new way, Biden said.

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, joined by his running mate Sen. Kamala Harris, speaks during a campaign event at Alexis Dupont High School in Wilmington, Del., Aug. 12, 2020.

Biden officially named Harris as his running mate Tuesday, making her the first Black woman and South Asian American woman to be named on a major party ticket for a presidential election.

Due to the pandemic, the candidates first joint event was held in a nearly empty gymnasium. COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, has killed more than 165,000 people in the U.S.

Biden said he and Harris would work to "rebuild this country."

He accused President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence of failing to lead during the COVID-19 crisis and said that he and Harris would fix "the mess created in the U.S. and abroad by Trump and Pence, whom the Democrats are seeking to defeat in the November general election.

Harris, from California, also attacked Trump in her speech.

"America is crying out for leadership, yet we have a president who cares more about himself than the people who elected him, a president who is making every challenge we face even more difficult to solve," she said, saying Trump has endangered Americans by not taking the pandemic seriously.

Ahead of their appearance Wednesday afternoon at Alexis DuPont High School, several Delaware locals  including many members of Harriss Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, dressed in the groups signature salmon pink and apple green  came to show their support.

About 100 people now at the back of the high school - including a handful of people protesting Biden for his stance on abortion. Unclear who is already inside. pic.twitter.com/lRBTabxLUa  Esha is at #AAJA20 (@egkaur) August 12, 2020

We are coming out to support this monumental experience, Melanie Daniels, an AKA member dressed all in pink, told VOA outside the high school.

"And as a Delaware native and a graduate, class of 88, Alexis DuPont High School, its just an awesome moment in time for us, her colleague, Shealese Russell-Reams, who was dressed all in green, added.

The two women were among more than a dozen people who stopped by over the lunch hour in hopes of catching a glimpse of Biden and Harris entering the high school, where a virtual fundraiser was scheduled to take place later Wednesday afternoon.

After winning enough primaries to secure the nomination earlier this year, Biden, 77, committed himself to picking a female running mate. There was much speculation he would choose a Black woman to run with him. A number of familiar and respected names surfaced in the press as potential candidates.

Harris delivered stinging criticism of Biden during the primary debates but had high praise for him during a campaign event several weeks ago.

Joe has empathy. He has a proven track record of leadership, and more than ever before, we need a president of the United States who understands who the people are, sees them where they are, and has a genuine desire to help and knows how to fight to get us where we need to be, Harris said.

Harris, 55, was born in Oakland, California. She is the daughter of immigrants  her father is from Jamaica, and her mother is from India.

She graduated from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law and was elected district attorney for San Francisco in 2003 and California attorney general in 2010.

Harris arrived in Washington less than four years ago as a U.S Democratic senator from California.

In her 2020 presidential campaign, Harris was briefly the Democratic front-runner after success in the early debates.

Harris is only the third woman ever picked for vice president by a major party.

Semocratic Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro was Vice President Walter Mondale's running mate in 1984 when they lost by a landslide to the Republican ticket of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin ran with Republican John McCain in 2008 but lost to Democrats Barack Obama and Biden.
A Thane man, Sagar Surve has been facing torturous trolls and is having sleepless nights for having a phone number that is similar to actress Rhea Chakraborty. The numbers are similar but differ by a single digit.

After some social media sites and television channels flashed the purported number of Rhea, the 32-year-old Surve has been the target of abusive calls, trolls, messages, video calls and harassment for over a week now.

Shaken by this unexpected onslaught, he has blocked over a 100 callers, avoided using his social media accounts, and as per Navi Mumbai Police's advise, even switched off his phone for some time. He is using a friend's number for his routine work.

When contacted, a Navi Mumbai Police official pointed out that since it's a case of "mistaken phone number", there's little that can be done to check the menace, though the victim (Surve) has been advised to use an alternate number till the calls and messages subside.

Rhea is one of the accused in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case.
A wealthy buyer has purchased a 30ft strip of grass with a view of the exclusive resort of Sandbanks for an astonishing 3.5million.

The empty plot of land with overgrown grass and uneven concrete runs down to the edge of Poole Harbour in Dorset.

It has one of the finest views of the Millionaire's Row - where mansion homes sell for up to 10million. It also has a slipway for launching boats straight onto the water.

The new owner who paid the full asking price for the plot will have to obtain planning permission before they can build their own luxury pad. It is thought the build cost would be in excess of 1million.

The empty plot of land with overgrown grass and uneven concrete, pictured, sits behind two houses and has one of the finest views of the Millionaire's Row in Sandbanks, Dorset

An aerial view of the empty plot of land, highlighted, which sold for 3.5m after the new owner paid the full asking price for the area which has a slipway for launching boats into the water

The mind-boggling figures are par for the course for the Sandbanks area, which is the fourth most expensive place in the world to buy property - behind London, Manhattan and Tokyo.

And although this half-an-acre plot is about a mile from the exclusive peninsula, seafront properties around the harbour remain in huge demand.

It is thought the ongoing uncertainty of Brexit and coronavirus is leading to people looking to buy holiday homes here than abroad.

London-based buyers are also now said to be casting their net further from the capital as the Covid-19 pandemic has shown they can work from home.

Tom Doyle, of Sandbanks estate agents Lloyds Property Group, which sold the plot, said: 'To anybody outside the area it might seem madness to pay 3.5m for a vacant plot of land.

'But people pay a premium for water frontage property and houses on that road sell for between 6-7m. It does attract high net-worth individuals.

'It is a very vibrant market at the moment. Why is that? A lot of people are thinking seriously about not having a second home abroad and focussing on securing something exciting in the UK.

'Working and living away from London is also a factor. The mindset seems to be to go into the city one day a week and then work from home for the rest of it.'

An aerial view of Sandbanks with the plot of land towards the top left, in the distance. It comes as London-based buyers are now said to be casting their net further from the capital

He added: 'The new owner is going to build a house there himself to live in.. He will not be putting it back up for sale when it is complete. He already lives locally but he wants a house on the water which is what this will be.'

The plot is on Dorset Lake Avenue and faces south west.

On its website, Lloyds Property Group states that it is 'prime waterfront location' on the 'gateway to Sandbanks'.

Prices in the area have soared, with prospective buyers even able to get more for their money in the exclusive London neighbourhood of Mayfair.

Sandbanks' popularity is attributed to its seclusion, and every home in the community is within just a few minutes' walk of the beach, with most of them enjoying stunning views over the harbour or out to the English Channel.

An aerial view of Poole Harbour and the plot of land, pictured far right. The area is the fourth most expensive place in the world to buy property - behind London, Manhattan and Tokyo

Houses were first built on Sandbanks in the late 19th century, but it was not until the 1960s when a property boom saw the peninsula - measuring less than half a square mile - become more and more built-up, turning into a Millionaires' Row filled with luxury beachfront mansions.

The property market on the peninsula has shot through the roof in recent years, with many houses being demolished and replaced with cutting-edge new properties to meet demand.

In July 2009 a 14,990 sq ft (1,393-square-metre) empty plot of land on the peninsula was put up for sale for 13.5million  the equivalent of nearly 10,000 per square metre.

In May 2014, a bungalow bought for just 1,000 almost a century ago (around 40,000 in today's money) and now a luxury holiday home was reported to be now worth 5million - a 500,000 percent increase in value.

Earlier in 2014 a tatty 1950s three-bedroom Sandbanks bungalow which would be worth just 200,000 in most other parts of the country went on sale for an eye-watering 2.25million.

In 2013, 15 homes were sold for a combined total of 80million as Sandbanks' reputation has continued to grow.

Millionaire's Row: An exclusive stretch of real estate home to Harry Redknapp and Russian millionaire Maxim Demin that was once named the most expensive in the world The Sandbanks peninsula in Dorset has become a millionaire's playground in recent years, and continues to keep even the likes of Miami and Monte Carlo off the top of a list of ultimate waterfront destinations. An 850ft stretch of road in one the UK's most exclusive enclaves contains just 13 harbourside mansions that total a staggering 93million in value. The narrow plots measuring between 40ft and 60ft wide on Panorama Road previously made it the most expensive piece of coastline in the world in terms of price per square foot. Maxim Demin, the Russian millionaire owner of Premier League club AFC Bournemouth, lives in the luxurious area. Former Tottenham manager and 2019 I'm a Celebrity winner Harry Redknapp also lives around the corner. The 13 properties in Sandbanks which together are worth some 93m The mansions on the peninsula in Poole Harbour, Dorset, offer unrivalled views over the world's second biggest natural harbour. There is almost total privacy at the front of the properties while back gardens run down to the water's edge. Such is the 'super-prime level' of the Sandbanks market, two ultra-modern properties with indoor swimming pools were once snapped up in quick succession for a combined 15.6m. One, a sprawling state-of-the-art mansion, sold for more than 8m, while the other sold for 7.5m before the sales brochure had come out. Adrian Dunford, of Sandbanks estate agents Tailor Made, said in 2018: 'We now believe this part of Sandbanks is the most expensive stretch of coastline on the planet in terms of price-per-square foot. 'The multi-million pound mansions in Miami and Monte Carlo will be on much bigger plots of land than you get on Sandbanks. 'The thing about Sandbanks is that it is a peninsula and so we are hemmed in. You can't increase the number of properties and so supply and demand dictate the prices. 'That row of properties is located in the most enviable part of Sandbanks. The houses have direct water access and also overlook the busiest part of the harbour. 'The south westerly aspect allows for sensational views to Old Harry Rocks, Poole Harbour, Brownsea Island and the Purbeck Hills. 'Sometimes with the bigger, headline-priced properties you need two summers to sell them. 'So to have two at the very top end of the market go as quickly as they have says an awful lot about the state of the local market. 'The properties were bought by London-based buyers and that maybe a reflection of what is happening with the Brexit.' Advertisement
The Supreme Court, however, stayed a contempt petition related to the case and asked the Centre to file a review petition in the Delhi High Court.

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Centre to consider amending the Official Languages Act to allow publication of official notifications in languages other than English and Hindi.

The court made this suggestion in the context of a case regarding the publishing of the draft Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) notification in 22 languages mentioned in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. The Delhi High Court had on 12 August asked the Centre to reply to a petition seeking contempt action against it for not publishing the draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notification, 2020, in 22 Indian languages, The Print reported.

A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde verbally remarked to Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, "Your government should consider amendment of the Official Languages Act. These days, translation is the easiest thing on Earth. We translate judgments, Parliament has instant translation software. It is time for you to update your Act."

The court also said that that the Delhi High Court's order was in the "correct spirit."

The Supreme Court, however, stayed a contempt petition related to the case and asked the Centre to file a review petition in the Delhi High Court.

Background of the case

On 30 June, the Delhi High Court had directed the Centre to ensure that the draft Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) notification of 2020 is published in all the 22 languages mentioned in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution within 10 days. The court had also extended the time granted to the general public to give their suggestions for the Draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) 2020 till 11 August.

The bench said the translation may be undertaken by the Centre itself or with the assistance of the state governments, where applicable.

"Such translations should also be published through the website of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India as well as on websites of environment ministries of all states as well as those of state pollution control boards, within 10 days from today," the court said in its order dated June 30, which was made available on Wednesday.

The bench said publishing the translated versions within 10 days "would further enable the public to respond to the draft within the period stipulated in this judgment".

Subsequently, a contempt plea was filed by environmentalist Vikrant Tongad which alleged that the ministry neither published the translated versions of the draft EIA nor sought more time from the court on this regard.

On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court had asked the Centre to reply to the contempt plea. The Centre's appeal in the Supreme Court had challenged this order.

With inputs from agencies
This story was originally published by High Country News and has been republished here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

During the fall of 2019, the Department of Homeland Security began pumping large amounts of water from a southern Arizona aquifer to mix concrete for the Trump administrations border wall. The aquifer is an essential water source for the San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge, so when the pumping escalated, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials watched helplessly as the water levels at several pondsthe main habitat for the endangered fish at this Sonoran Desert refugedropped precipitously.

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In what Bill Radke, who has managed the refuge for two decades, called life support actions, staff was forced to shut off water to three of the ponds to minimize broader damage. As a result, biologists had to salvage endangered fish from the emptying ponds. It was like cutting off individual fingers in an attempt to save the hand, Radke wrote in an email to staff.

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Documents confirm that border wall construction caused groundwater levels to plummet and harmed endangered fish at the refuge.

Since its creation in 1982, the 2,300-acre refuges sole mission has been to protect the rare species of the Rio Yaqui, including endangered fishes like the Yaqui chub and Yaqui topminnow, and other species, such as the tiny San Bernardino springsnail and the endangered Huachuca water umbel, a plant that resembles clumps of tubular grass. Through a series of artesian wells connected to an aquifer, the refuge has kept ponds filled in this fragile valley for nearly 40 years.

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Under normal circumstances, a significant construction project like a border wall would be required to go through an extensive environmental review process, as dictated by the National Environmental Policy Act. The Department of Homeland Security says it operates under the spirit of NEPA and solicits public comment. But with environmental lawsincluding NEPA, the Endangered Species Act, and the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Actwaived for the border wall, the refuge lacks any legal protection, either for itself or the endangered species in its care. So wildlife officials have tried to work with the department, sending hydrological studies and providing recommendations about how to reduce water use near the refuge, information that the Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly claimed it takes into consideration.

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But, as emails recently obtained by High Country News show, Homeland Security consistently ignored the expertise of Radke and his team. The emails, which were sent from August 2019 through January 2020, chronicle months of upheaval at the refuge as well as dysfunctional communication between Fish and Wildlife and Homeland Security. During crucial moments, Homeland Security kept wildlife agency staff in the dark as land managers and hydrologists worked to anticipate damages.

What we are seeing in these FOIA documents confirms a pattern with CBP and DHS that goes back 15 years, said Randy Serraglio, Southwest conservation advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity.

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Matthew Dyman, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman, stated that DHS and CBP have and continue to coordinate weekly, and more frequently on an as needed basis, to answer questions concerning new border wall construction projects and to address environmental concerns from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Nevertheless, documents confirm that border wall construction caused groundwater levels to plummet and harmed endangered fish at the refuge.

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In October, Radke wrote to Fish and Wildlife staff that the threat of groundwater depletion at the San Bernardino refuge had gone from concerning to a dire emergency. Subsequent emails detail the refuges difficulty in obtaining water usage estimates from DHS contractors for an accurate risk assessment. Fish and Wildlife officials sent the department a hydrology analysis to raise an alarm and requested a 5-mile buffer around the refuge for well drilling.

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According to the emails, though, the Department of Homeland Security did little in response. I was disappointed today to see firsthand that DHS and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did not abide by the (most recent) Oct. 16 Fish and Wildlife Service request to minimize water withdrawal from the aquifer that supports all wetlands on San Bernardino NWR, Radke wrote. Instead contractors made plans to drill even closer to the refuge, drilling their second new well 480 feet east of [the refuge].

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CBP spokesman Dyman maintains that construction contractors honored the buffer request. But emails show otherwise: At least one well was drilled less than 500 feet from the refuge boundary; it was abandoned only after it didnt produce water. And Fish and Wildlife soon learned that even more well locations were being considered near the refuge, according to emails. Homeland Security also continued to pump large volumes of water from a private landowner whose well is just 1.5 miles from the refuge.

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Around the same time, pond levels in the refuge dropped. In a series of emails in late November, Radke grew increasingly frustrated. On Nov. 22, he wrote to agency employees: Our refuge water monitoring is already showing harm to our aquifer during months when the refuge has always demonstrated an increase in groundwater levels. We have ponds dropping precipitously (as much as a foot already) that have never gone low during the winter monthsnot ever. Fish and Wildlife had warned Homeland Security that this would happen, but no apparent action was ever taken. I do not know what reaction to expect from DHS or [the Army Corps of Engineers] to our continuing requests for them to minimize or mitigate impacts to the refuge, Radke wrote, but so far our requests have been consistently met with indifference.

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On Dec. 12, Radke called the water withdrawals for the border wall the current greatest threat to endangered species in the southwest region. By that point, refuge staff had begun to track the impact themselves; there was little else they could do. The monitoring became an overwhelming priority that diminishes our ability to adequately meet other important objectives, obligations and due dates, Radke wrote.

By January, the impact on the ponds was obvious. According to a Fish and Wildlife memo, swings in water pressure and depth were clearly documented. The report noted that these changes began to occur as water was used off refuge for border wall construction. Earlier emails speculated that the situation would only grow more dire at the refuge during the sweltering summer months, when evaporation both from the ponds and the water being pumped would use even more of the precious desert resource.

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In an email, Dyman told High Country News that Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are working closely with the construction contractor on estimated water usage requirements for barrier construction in Arizona as well as working with San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge to mitigate the impacts of groundwater use for the project. Beth Ullenberg, a spokeswoman for the Fish and Wildlife Service, confirmed that the refuge is working with Homeland Security. The agency has identified that larger capacity pumps are now needed in order to maintain pond levels and appropriate pond outflows, Ullenberg wrote. She said the contractor is purchasing, and will install, the new pumps at the refuge.

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Those pumps came too late for at least three ponds, and according to a document obtained by Defenders of Wildlife, as recently as May water pumping near the refuge was still having a direct and detrimental impact to the refuge. Environmental groups say a pattern of secrecy, lack of communication, and failure to coordinate with land managers at the border continue to endanger other biodiverse regions, such as Quitobaquito Springs in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, where they intersect with border wall construction.

[The Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Patrol] have consistently ignored the input of land managers and landowners and other stakeholders along the border with regard to these construction projects, Serraglio said, and it has resulted in serious damage time and time again.
ADDIS ABABA Seven African countries will start administering coronavirus antibody tests from next week, a regional body said on Thursday, as part of efforts to understand the extent of the outbreak on the continent.

Liberia, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Nigeria, Morocco are the first set of countries that committed to it," said John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, based in Addis Ababa.

Western governments are using antibody tests to find out how many of their citizens have been infected, in the hope that will help them reopen their economies.

Africa has so far conducted 9.4 million coronavirus tests, a 10% increase over last week, Nkengasong said. These tests show whether people currently have COVID-19.

The continents relative isolation has so far spared it the worst of the pandemic, but low levels of testing in many countries mean Africas infection rates are likely to be higher than reported, experts say.

As of Thursday, Africa had recorded more than a 1 million cases of COVID-19 and 24,113 deaths, according to a Reuters tally.

Nkengasong said 25 African countries still have full border closures while 23 are imposing testing at entry points.

He stressed the need to harmonize border testing and recognition of certificates in order to facilitate travel.

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By Azernews





By Akbar Mammadov

President Ilham Aliyev has said that the large-scale joint military drills being held between Azerbaijani and Turkish troops are another manifestation of the Turkish-Azerbaijani unity and brotherhood.

He also said that these exercises are a common occurrence and their intensity will increase in the future.

Aliyev made the remarks on August 13 while receiving the Turkish military delegation headed by the National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar who is on a visit in Azerbaijan to observe the last episode of the first stage of the Turkey-Azerbaijan Joint Large-Scale Military Exercises.

Today is the last day of the Turkish-Azerbaijani joint military exercises. The first stage of military exercises is coming to an end. This is a very significant event that once again demonstrates our unity and brotherhood. Exercises have been held in various cities of our country for several days. These exercises are of great importance from the point of view of military cooperation. At the same time, they are very important and useful for the strengthening of relations between our people and brotherhood between nations, the president said, addressing the Turkish military officials.

Aliyev pointed out that over 10 joint exercises are held in both Azerbaijan and Turkey every year.

These exercises have become a common occurrence. There is no need to look for any extraordinary circumstances here. We are also seeing that these exercises have caused some concern in certain countries. But there is no reason for this. This is another manifestation of Turkish-Azerbaijani unity and brotherhood, he said.

The president stressed that as in all areas, the cooperation and collaboration in the military and military-technical spheres are developing rapidly between the two countries.

It is no secret that Turkey currently possesses a strong military-industrial potential and we are benefiting from this potential. We are very delighted that Turkey produces the most sophisticated weaponry and military equipment today. Of course, we want to continue to benefit from these opportunities, as we have done to this day. I am confident that as is the case in all other areas, Turkey will be our number one partner in the area of military-technical cooperation in the near future, Aliyev said.

I believe that the intensity of these exercises will be increased from now on. Naturally, there is a need for this. I am sure that our brothers, the personnel of the Turkish Armed Forces visiting Azerbaijan these days, saw that they are perfectly at home here. I am convinced that after returning to Turkey, they will keep these memories in their hearts, the president concluded.

Aliyev also thanked Turkey for unequivocally supporting Azerbaijan amid Armenias military provocation on the border a month ago that resulted in the death of Azerbaijani servicemen and civilian.

This [support] further encourages us and once again shows how close we are to each other, Aliyev said.

Aliyev described the Turkish-Azerbaijani relations in the political, economic and other spheres as an example for all countries, saying that there are no countries in the world today that would be as close and attached to each other as Turkey and Azerbaijan.

This is a fact based on both historical and ethnic roots. At the same time, we as two brotherly countries are further strengthening this unity through our policies, Aliyev stressed.

In turn, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar reiterated his countrys support for Azerbaijan over Armenian provocation on the border, saying that from the first day, all our 83 million people led by Mr. President angrily condemned the latest attack in Tovuz.

We see that these provocations represent a large-scale attack and contradict international law, that this is a continuation of criminal actions since the time of the Khojaly genocide and the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh. You are aware of our position on this. Azerbaijan is our brother. We are like two sons of one mother. We do feel perfectly at home here, he stressed.

Akar emphasized that the cooperation between the Turkish and Azerbaijan armed forces have been developing since Azerbaijan gained independence and there is framework military agreements and agreements on cooperation in the field of military education.

We are cooperating in the field of the defense industry. As a logical result of all this, we have a strategic cooperation agreement signed in 2010. Thus, within the framework of these agreements, our trips, contacts and joint presence at exercises are quite natural activities. So far, we have done everything necessary for the sovereignty, independence and security of our countries, and we will continue to do so, Akar noted.

Akar said that exercises are like a laboratory where theory is turned into practice.

We have seen the continuation of our cooperation, not just the completion of these exercises today, but only one stage, Akar noted.

The Republic of Turkey and our 83 million people led by Mr. President are indeed watching this activity here with great love and enthusiasm. As Ataturk said, the joy of Azerbaijan is our joy and its sorrow is our sorrow too. This is truly a natural result of being one nation, Akar continued.

We stand for peace and stability. We are supporters of peace and tranquility not only in the sense of security and tranquility of our countries, we stand for peace and tranquility in the entire Caucasus, in the entire region. On the other hand, we want everyone to know that we will not allow our rights and interests to be violated, and will do everything necessary to protect them, he stressed.

It should be noted that Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces General Yashar Guler, Commander of the Land Forces, General Umit Dundar, Commander of the Air Force of the Turkish Armed Forces General Hakan Kucukakyuzu, Commander of the Turkish Naval Forces, Admiral Adnan Ozbal? and other military officials were also received by the president.

Turkish Ambassador Erkan Ozoral and Azerbaijani Defence Minister, Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov also participated in the meeting.

The Turkish military delegation arrived in Azerbaijan on August 12 evening to observe the joint large-scale military drills held between the two countries' troops, Azerbaijans Defence Ministry reported today.

The military delegation observed the final episode of the first stage of Live-Fire Joint Large-Scale Tactical and Flight-Tactical Exercises of the Land Forces and the Air Force of Azerbaijan and Turkey. The observation of the final episode took place within the framework of the Distinguished Visitors Day of the exercises.

The Turkish military officials visit follows Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramovs and Defence Minister Zakir Hasanovs visit to Turkey on August 11 where they were both received by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

It should be noted that The Land and Air forces of the two countries are participating in the military exercises held in line with the agreement on military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkey, in accordance with the annual plan.

According to the plan, exercises involving the Land Forces were held from August 1 to 5 in Baku and Nakhchivan, while exercises involving the Air Forces were conducted from July 29 to August 10  in Baku, Nakhchivan, Ganja, Kurdamir and Yevlakh.

The personnel, armoured vehicles, artillery and mortars, combat and transport helicopters of the Air Forces, as well as air defence and anti-aircraft missile divisions of the two armies, are involved in the drills.








JAIPUR: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday met former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot at his residence for the first time ever since the two fell out over various issues last month.

Gehlot, Pilot and other senior state Congress leaders gathered at the residence of the Chief Minister who had convened a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) at 5 PM - the first since the reconciliation efforts in the party started showing some results.

In a show of solidarity, the Congress leaders flashed victory signs before the commencement of the Congress Legislature Party meeting.

On August 11, a CLP meeting was held by Gehlot at Suryagarh hotel in Jaisalmer where party MLAs were camped for the last few days. This was the first meeting of MLAs after reconciliation talks between Pilot and party leadership in Delhi.

The reconciliation has come right ahead of the commencement of the special session of the Rajasthan Assembly on August 14.

In a related development, Congress General Secretary Avinash Pande said the suspension of two MLAs accused of conspiring with the BJP to bring down the government was being revoked.

"After a consultative discussion, the suspension of @INCRajasthan MLA Sh. Bhanwarlal Sharma ji and Sh. @vishvendrabtp ji is hereby revoked," he said.

Meanwhile, the opposition BJP has said that it will bring a no-confidence motion in the Assembly tomorrow.

We are bringing a no-confidence motion tomorrow in the Assembly along with our allies," Gulab Chand Kataria, the Leader of Opposition in Rajasthan Assembly, said.

"There are a lot of differences in the government. The way they have struggled, there are chances that they might bring a vote of confidence in the Assembly, but we are also ready to bring a no-confidence motion," Rajasthan BJP president Satish Punia said.

Earlier in the day, Gehlot said whatever misunderstanding occurred within the Congress party in the last one month, need to be forgiven and forgotten in the interest of the country, state, people and in the interest of democracy.

Last month, Pilot was removed as Deputy Chief Minister and Rajasthan Congress chief after his differences with Gehlot came out in open triggering a political crisis in the state. Pilot was reportedly miffed after the SOG sent him a notice to record his statement in a case of alleged poaching of Congress MLAs in the state.

However, this apparently seems to have ended now as Pilot has agreed to work for the party after a meeting with the Congress top leadership.
Lebanon on Tuesday marked a week since its worst-ever peacetime disaster with a mix of grief and rage, as survivors remembered the dead and protesters vowed to bring down the political elite.

The resignation of Lebanon's government the previous day did little to extinguish the anger caused by the August 4 blast at Beirut port that killed 171 people and disfigured the country's capital.

At 6:08 pm in Beirut (1508 GMT) Tuesday, church bells rang and mosques called for prayer to mark the precise moment that a portside fire ignited a vast stock of ammonium nitrate fertiliser, sparking a huge explosion that was felt as far away as Cyprus.

The fireball and subsequent shockwave, caught in dramatic videos posted on social media, wrought devastation across entire neighbourhoods of Beirut.

A week later, the blast that left 6,000 people injured and made an estimated 300,000 people temporarily homeless looked like a potential watershed in Lebanon's troubled political history.

On Tuesday, Ali Noureddin joined thousands of people to march solemnly by the wreckage of Beirut port, where his brother Ayman had been stationed as soldier when the blast went off.

"My brother died because of state negligence and corruption," he said, holding a picture of his late brother, who was 27.

Ali dismissed the resignation of Hassan Diab's government on Monday as insignificant unless it were followed by the wholesale removal of Lebanon's hereditary political elite.

"Change will only happen when the entire regime changes," he said, holding back tears. "But I hope all these young people here and my brother's death can bring about change."

In his resignation speech, the 61-year-old Diab cast himself as a champion of the struggle against corrupt political overlords, despite the fact many see him as a puppet rather than a victim.

Some saw his departure as a victory for the protest movement that forced out the previous government last year.

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But others warned that given the power of Lebanon's factions and clans, the same old faces may be back before too long.

"It's a long fight that won't end in a month or two," said Hussein El Achi, an activist and lawyer defending the protest camp.

"But (the political elite) are weak, they have never been weaker, even among their own people," he said.

Protests continued for the fourth consecutive night Tuesday, as dozens of demonstrators clashed with security forces and tried to break down barriers leading to the parliament in central Beirut.

The Lebanese Red Cross said 10 people had been taken to hospital while 32 were treated at the scene.

- Search for next PM -

The blast rocked a country already on its knees, with an economic collapse sending poverty levels soaring even before the coronavirus pandemic hit.

Some observers argue that deep public anger over the tragedy will reduce Lebanese politicians' room for manoeuvre as foreign pressure grows to pass reforms as a condition for a bailout.

"They will find it very difficult to avoid the kind of structural reforms that the international community has made a precondition for any aid," said political science professor Bassel Salloukh of the Lebanese American University.

France has taken the lead in the international emergency response, organising an aid conference which raised a quarter of a million euros.

President Emmanuel Macron visited blast-ravaged neighbourhoods of Beirut two days after the disaster, adopting a tough tone with Lebanese officials and warning that they needed to strike "a revamped pact with the Lebanese people".

For now Diab's team will continue in a caretaker capacity, but negotiations were underway for a successor.

According to the Al-Akhbar daily newspaper, veteran diplomat Nawaf Salam is favoured by Paris, Washington and Riyadh, three of the key outside power brokers in Lebanon.

Iran, sponsor of Lebanon's dominant Hezbollah movement, also appeared to be on board with such a scenario, which would see Salam head up a neutral government not hostile to the Shiite group.

It was not clear how other factions viewed that solution.

- Food 'catastrophe' looms -

In the blast zone, the increasingly hopeless search for survivors continued, but rescue teams were only pulling lifeless bodies from the rubble.

The UN refugee agency said that 34 refugees were among the dead.

The blast ripped the sides off towering grain silos that shielded part of the city from the shockwave. But the blast spilt thousands of tonnes of grain, vital to the import-dependant country's food security.

On Monday, the head of the World Food Programme, David Beasley, said Lebanon needed all the help it could get because 85 percent of Lebanon's food used to come in through the port.

He warned that unless port operations resumed quickly, Lebanon would be without bread in two weeks.

Further adding to its woes, the country on Tuesday recorded its highest-yet daily number of deaths and new infections from the novel coronavirus, with seven fatalities and 309 new cases.

Health officials have warned that the chaos caused by the blast risked leading to a spike in infections.

The head a major public hospital warned that the next few days would be critical.

"The events of the previous week have, understandably, shifted attention away from the pandemic," Firass Abiad said on social media.

But, he said, "we cannot afford to allow the virus to go unchecked."

bur-jmm/ho/par
Actor couple Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt were spotted at Sanjay Dutts house, a day after it was announced that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer. Ranbir played Sanjay in a blockbuster biopic, directed by Rajkumar Hirani. The two will be seen together in the upcoming film Shamshera. Alia and Sanjay will be seen together in the upcoming film Sadak 2.

Pictures of the couple at Sanjays house have been shared, and show them exiting the building and entering their car, wearing casuals.

Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt at Sanjay Dutts house. (Varinder Chawla)

Sanjay was recently admitted to Lilavati hospital after complaining of breathlessness. He was discharged on Saturday. When he was taken to the hospital, he was low on oxygen saturation. But when his Covid-19 report came negative, he run cancer analysis and it came positive, a source from the hospital told Hindustan Times.

Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt at Sanjay Dutts house. (Varinder Chawla)

On Tuesday, Sanjay had announced that he was taking a short break from work for some medical treatment. Hi friends, I am taking a short break from work for some medical treatment. The actor further said My family and friends are with me and I urge my well-wishers not to worry or unnecessarily speculate. With your love and good wishes, I will be back soon!

In a statement issued on Wednesday, his wife Maanayata said, I thank everyone who has expressed their well wishes for Sanjus speedy recovery. We need all the strength and prayers to overcome this phase. There is a lot that the family has gone through in the past years but I am confident, this too shall pass.

Also read: Sanjay Dutts wife Maanayata on his cancer diagnosis: God has yet again chosen to test us

Earlier, Ranbir had spoken about the process of transforming into Sanjay for the biopic, Sanju. He had told Mid-Day, It was my job as an actor to understand how this guy walks, how he talks. I would call Sanjay sir in the middle of the night, before the shoot, and ask him what he went through during a particular incident in his life. I would give my own interpretation to the script, but to hear it from the man himself is different.

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TDT | Manama

The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) in London has awarded Husain Al Ajmi with the Allan Bridgewater Award for Excellence, which is the top honour amongst the CII awards. Al Ajmi becomes the first winner ever of this prestigious award globally.

The CII has designated the award to celebrate inclusivity within the insurance profession, considering those demonstrating a lasting impact within the profession nationally as well as globally. For three decades, Al Ajmi has had outstanding relentless contributions to the industry, expanding the profession whilst enhancing its standards nationally and in the MENA region.

Mr Al Ajmi has been a mentor for many working in the insurance profession in the Middle East and was instrumental in developing insurance education and training for the region, the CII stated. Al Ajmi commented: It is an honour to be the recipient of the prestigious Allan Bridgewater Award for Excellence.

It was my mission to contribute towards raising of standards of the insurance industry within the Arab world. I am pleased to dedicate this award to the Central Bank of Bahrain for their continued support. I would also like to thank the CII and its awards panel for their trust and recognition of my contributions to the enhancement of the training and development of the insurance and risk-management professions.

Al Ajmi has unique experience in the insurance and risk-management industry. He has translated, authored, and co-authored over 40 course materials and textbooks in the area of insurance and risk management for the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF) and the CII, in addition to other US-based global organisations including AHIP, LOMA and The Institutes.

Al Ajmi is currently the Foundation for Insurance and Finance Education CEO, and before that was the BIBF Insurance Learning Centre assistant director and head. He is a visiting lecturer in several universities, including the University of Memphis in the US.
Thursday marks the start of the Bon holidays in Japan, when Buddhists honor the spirits of their ancestors.

People in northeastern Japan are paying respects to the dead on the 10th Bon festival since the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident in March 2011.

In Watari Town, Miyagi Prefecture, families were seen visiting a temple along the coast to pray at the graves of their loved ones. The town lost more than 280 people in the 2011 disaster.

The families arrived earlier than usual to take advantage of the cooler temperatures and to avoid overcrowding as a precaution against the coronavirus.

A taxi company is offering a service in which drivers visit family graves for people who have opted to stay at home this year.

On Thursday, a taxi driver visited a grave in Nagoya City, central Japan, at the request of a woman in Niigata City, about 350 kilometers away.

The woman had visited the home of her husband's parents in Nagoya and the family grave every year during the Bon holidays. But this year she decided not to travel.

The driver wiped down the gravestone, placed incense and offered a silent prayer.

Photos of the process are sent to the people who requested them.
Donald Trump on Thursday tore into Kamala Harris and other Democrats, saying the presumptive vice presidential nominee is a mad woman and claiming her party wants to get rid of any kind of animals and tear down New Yorks famed Empire State Building.

The president, trailing Joe Biden in national polls and ones in most key swing states, contended in a Fox Business interview that Democrats want to rip down the iconic building and replace it with a new one featuring no windows. He also said the partys Green New Deal calls for no cows, before making his claim that all Democrats want to abolish all animals.

He also repeated his claim that, before the coronavirus outbreak, the economy was so strong George Washington, the countrys first president, would have been unable to defeat him. The president called Mr Biden and Ms Harris big taxers, claiming they are proposing what amounts to a $4trn tax hike.

He is going to give ... massive tax increases to pay for AOCs plan, he said, referring to freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whom he dubbed a poor student and not even a smart person his latest attack on a female critic.

A few minutes later, the president lashed out at Speaker Nancy Pelosi, predicting Republicans would take back the House because she is stone-cold crazy.

The president again on Thursday morning tried painting the Democratic ticket as radical and far to the left ideologically.

Its amazing Sleepy Joe buys into it, he said of proposals like the progressive Green New Deal.

And now you have a mad woman. Such hatred for Judge Kavanaugh, he said, referring to Ms Harris sharp exchanges with now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings.

He dubbed Democrats angry because I beat them in 2016.

The president again described Mr Biden, who is 77, as mentally hindered, saying, the former VP doesnt even know hes alive.

That came one day after Mr Biden harshly criticised the presidents leadership abilities and handling of the coronavirus outbreak.
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He is referred to as Individual B in both other complaints and described in affidavits as the brother of Harveys mayor and a city police officer and de facto head of Harveys Building and Planning Department. In those capacities, Individual B oversaw traffic and towing matters for the Police Department, including assigning city towing work to private companies, and directed certain public planning matters, including the leasing and sale of city-owned property, the complaints state.
The company estimates that participating residential customers have recognized approximately $300 million in savings over the past five years through Georgia Power's energy efficiency programs, developed in consultation with and approval by the Georgia Public Service Commission. In terms of an individual's savings, these can range from saving several dollars per month to up to 50% reductions in energy use on some efficiency improvements.

In addition to communicating energy efficiency tips for homeowners, renters and businesses, Georgia Power offers programs such as:

The Home Energy Improvement Program (HEIP). HEIP educates customers on various improvements as well as provides rebates of 50% of the cost up to $600 per year. Energy and monetary savings from improvements continue for years. The program's Individual Improvement approach allows Georgia Power customers to receive incentives for installing one or more qualifying individual energy efficiency measures, including air sealing, duct sealing, attic insulation and more.

per year. Energy and monetary savings from improvements continue for years. The program's Individual Improvement approach allows Georgia Power customers to receive incentives for installing one or more qualifying individual energy efficiency measures, including air sealing, duct sealing, attic insulation and more. Georgia Power has also continued offering separate energy efficiency options throughout the pandemic, including rebates for LED lighting and programmable Smart Thermostats.

Save energy and money by changing a standard light bulb in your home to an ENERGY STAR  -qualified LED bulb. LEDs use up to 90% less energy than standard bulbs and can last up to 15 times longer.

-qualified LED bulb. LEDs use up to 90% less energy than standard bulbs and can last up to 15 times longer.

When used properly, a programmable Smart Thermostat can help you save energy when you're asleep or away from home. Use the thermostat's pre-programmed energy-saving setpoints as a guide for summer, winter and vacation modes. According to ENERGY STAR, with proper use, programmable thermostats can save about $180 per year in energy costs.

Tips, Tools & Resources

Whether customers own a home or rent, a variety of energy efficiency programs and resources are available at www.GeorgiaPower.com/Save, which also includes access to energy tips, as well as rebates and incentives for both homes and businesses. The Online Energy Checkup resource provides a customized report to help customers understand their home's energy use and find ways to save money. Additionally, Georgia Power's My Power Usage program allows customers to track their daily energy use, project their monthly bill, and set daily or monthly usage alerts.

Energy Assistance Programs

Georgia Power also partners with nonprofit, community and faith-based organizations to offer assistance programs to those in need. These programs include:

Georgia Power's Senior Citizen Discount  Georgia Power customers 65 years of age or older who meet the income requirements for eligibility can receive up to $24 a month off their bill.

 Georgia Power customers 65 years of age or older who meet the income requirements for eligibility can receive up to a month off their bill. Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)  Georgia Power supports the Division of Family & Children Services to help qualifying, low-income households pay their home energy bills.

 Georgia Power supports the Division of Family & Children Services to help qualifying, low-income households pay their home energy bills. The Salvation Army's Project SHARE  Established in partnership with The Salvation Army, Georgia Power customers can provide assistance to residents in the same community for expenses, such as utility bills, housing, food and medical necessities.

Visit www.GeorgiaPower.com/EnergyAssistance for more information.

About Georgia Power

Georgia Power is the largest electric subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), America's premier energy company. Value, Reliability, Customer Service and Stewardship are the cornerstones of the company's promise to 2.6 million customers in all but four of Georgia's 159 counties. Committed to delivering clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy at rates below the national average, Georgia Power maintains a diverse, innovative generation mix that includes nuclear, coal and natural gas, as well as renewables such as solar, hydroelectric and wind. Georgia Power focuses on delivering world-class service to its customers every day and the company is consistently recognized by J.D. Power and Associates as an industry leader in customer satisfaction. For more information, visit www.GeorgiaPower.com and connect with the company on Facebook (Facebook.com/GeorgiaPower), Twitter (Twitter.com/GeorgiaPower) and Instagram (Instagram.com/ga_power).

SOURCE Georgia Power

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A scene at the Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino in 2013. Several Patton patients have sued over conditions that they say leave them vulnerable to COVID-19. (Los Angeles Times)

A deadly COVID-19 outbreak at Patton State Mental Hospital in San Bernardino is a horrific reminder that locked psychiatric facilities, just like jails and prisons, are jam-packed incubators for disease that should be made safer by judicious but significant releases and by alternative placements.

More than 250 people at Patton  at least 112 patients and 147 staff and other workers on site  have tested positive for the virus. So too have at least 66 patients and 58 staff at the Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk. Cases are also in the double digits at Coalinga, where two have died, and infections have been reported at each of Californias other two state mental hospitals, in Napa and Atascadero.

Several Patton patients filed suit last week seeking transfers to safer settings.

As with other densely packed institutions where people congregate and have little ability to practice social distancing, psychiatric hospitals have seen cases spread rapidly once the disease is introduced. The virus makes no distinction between patient and therapist, so it does not help that patients are locked in; the virus is not. Staff enter and leave state mental hospitals daily and can unknowingly spread infection to their families and neighbors. The Atascadero State Hospital is the largest single employer in Atascadero, but workers also come home to communities up and down the Central Coast. The Bay Area, the San Joaquin Valley, the Inland Empire and Los Angeles County are similarly vulnerable.

Californias psychiatric hospital complex is a fraction of its former size; it now houses and treats chiefly people accused of crimes but deemed incompetent to stand trial, people found not guilty by reason of insanity and people committed because they've been deemed gravely disabled under the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act. Removing such people from state hospitals sounds scary, and in some cases it is. Not everyone is suitable for alternative placement in motels or with family. But many are, and the danger can be greater when leaving people in than moving them out.

Meanwhile theres a backup of people waiting to get out whose treatment is completed but who have nowhere to go, and a backup of people waiting to be moved in from jails that are also unsafely crowded. Many of those currently in the institutions have conditions that make them especially vulnerable to COVID-19  the elderly and those with diabetes, heart conditions and other medical disorders.

Like jails and prisons, the hospitals are not safe zones that protect patients and their home communities. Its often the opposite. Even in the best of times the state should make it a top priority to get people out of institutions and into community care, leaving a few remaining institutional slots for those special cases than can be handled no other way. Its even more urgent now, in the era of COVID-19, to reduce the institutional population in the name of better, safer care, not just for the patients, but for all of us.
WASHINGTON  The number of Americans applying for unemployment dropped below 1 million last week for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak took hold in the U.S. five months ago, but layoffs are still running extraordinarily high.

The figures show that the crisis continues to throw people out of work just as the expiration of an extra $600 a week in federal jobless benefits has deepened the hardship for many  and posed another threat to the U.S. economy.

Applications for jobless benefits declined to 963,000, the second straight drop, from 1.2 million the previous week, the government said Thursday. That signals layoffs are slowing, though the weekly figure still far exceeds the pre-outbreak record of just under 700,000, set in 1982.

The virus is blamed for more than 166,000 deaths and 5.2 million confirmed infections in the U.S.  easily the highest totals in the world. The average number of new cases per day is on the rise in eight states, and deaths per day are climbing in 26, according to an Associated Press analysis.

Worldwide, the scourge has claimed more than 750,000 lives and caused over 20 million known infections.

The virus, the shutdowns meant to fight it and the reluctance or inability of many people to shop, travel or eat out continue to undermine the economy and force companies to cut staff. Over the past few months, 23 states have paused or reversed their business re-openings because of a resurgence of the virus.

Overall, fewer people are collecting unemployment, a sign that some employers are hiring. The total declined last week to 15.5 million, from 16.1 million the previous week.

Another larger-than-expected decline in jobless claims suggests that the jobs recovery is regaining some momentum, but  much labor market progress remains to be done, said Lydia Boussour, senior economist at Oxford Economics.

Hiring is believed to have slowed since the spring, when states reopened and millions of workers at bars, restaurants and stores were rehired. The job gain in August will probably fall short of the 1.8 million added in July, analysts say.

For months, on top of their state benefit, unemployed Americans also collected the $600 a week in federal jobless aid. But that expired at the end of July, and negotiations in Congress to extend it, probably at a lower level, have collapsed in rancor.

Last week, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that would provide $300 a week to replace the expired $600. But experts say it could take weeks for the states to reprogram their computers and process and dispense the payments.

A crush of benefit applications earlier in the outbreak resulted in huge backlogs that left millions of the unemployed waiting. Washington state went so far as to call in the National Guard to help process applications.

Some economists say they believe the end of the $600 has contributed to the drop in unemployment claims of late. Some of the unemployed may feel less incentive to apply.

The supplemental federal aid had enabled many jobless Americans to afford rent, food and utilities, and its expiration threatens to weaken consumer spending.

Michelle Meyer, an economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said the loss of the additional aid will reduce Americans incomes by $18 billion a week.

Thats a big hit to purchasing power, she said.

In addition to people who applied last week for state benefits, nearly 489,000 others sought jobless aid under a new federal program that has made self-employed and gig workers eligible for the first time. That figure isnt adjusted for seasonal trends, so it is reported separately.

Counting those receiving aid under the new program would bring to 28.2 million  roughly 18% of the U.S. workforce  the number of Americans now receiving some form of unemployment benefits.

With confirmed virus cases still high, its not clear when business owners will be able to reopen or will have enough customers to rehire.

Grace Della is one of them. She opened her food tour business in Miami a decade ago with $300 from her mother. On weekends, she led the tours herself and eventually built up a business with 13 guides, averaging 10 tours a day through culinary hot spots in South Beach and Little Havana.

With scant customer demand, it has been more than four months since Miami Culinary Tours has taken out guests. Della, 46, said she hopes to reopen later this month but isnt sure she can, given the states high level of confirmed infections.

Della said she tries to stay positive but confesses to moments of crippling fear. At one point, hyperventilating with anxiety, she contacted firefighters.

Theres no money coming in, Della said. Were all scared.

___

AP writer Kelli Kennedy in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, contributed to this report.
With the country moves back into Level 3 (Auckland) and Level 2 (rest of NZ), New Zealand Blood Service is reminding donors that blood donation continues to be an essential service.

All donor centres and mobile drives across the country remain safe places to visit during all lockdown levels.

Blood donation is an essential service and NZBS has made significant preparations for this scenario," says Asuka Burge, National Manager, Marketing and Communications New Zealand Blood Service.

"We have reinstated social distancing at all sites and donor hosts have returned to our donor centres within the Auckland supercity boundary to pre-screen donors before they enter,

In line with Ministry of Health guidelines, our donor centre and mobile blood drive teams across the country will be wearing masks. Donors are expected to wear masks when visiting a site, and we encourage them to bring their own. If they dont have one, we will have some available on site."

Asuka says any donor who feels unwell should contact the NZBS and cancel their appointment.

She says this will allow the service to rebook the appointment.

"Bookings are essential to ensure we can manage supply and demand of blood and blood products as we transition between alert levels across the country.

The need for blood and blood products is constant, there is no substitute for blood. We continue to ask all eligible and healthy donors to book an appointment and maintain their commitment to donating blood or plasma.

Donor centres continue to be safe places to visit. NZBS is asking healthy donors to continue to keep appointments to donate blood Blood stock levels are currently at healthy levels Travel to a nearby donor centre or mobile blood drive is considered essential travel. We encourage anyone visiting our site to scan the QR codes provided at reception for contact tracing purposes. NZBS is asking donors NOT to travel from outside the Auckland supercity boundary to visit an Auckland donor centre Some mobile drives in Auckland will be rescheduled  please check our mobile app or website for updated information. NZBS is advising donors over 70 years of age living within the Auckland supercity boundary to follow Ministry of Health guidelines and stay safe at home. Booking an appointment is essential. Donors without appointments may be turned away if there are no available beds. This helps sites manage the flow of people in donor centres at any given time, and allows NZBS to forecast supply, ensuring it is collecting sufficient quantities of blood types and blood products.



"The need for blood is constant. There is no substitute for blood; blood donors save lives."

For more information on donating blood during the COVID-19 lockdown, visit https://www.nzblood.co.nz/give-blood/covid-19-updates/
Times have changed in Salem, Mass., since the 17th century, when 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft and 20 were executed for it. Today, the city of 43,000 revels in its macabre lore and has turned Halloween into a monthlong celebration where apple cider is consumed by the gallon, potions and herbs promise protection from evil spirits, and countless children and adults roam the streets in search of sugary and spooky delights.

But this year, that will change.

With coronavirus cases spiking around the country, cities, towns, retailers and confectioners are bracing themselves for what could be a substantially more subdued Halloween this year. High-profile events at Disneys theme parks and Knotts Berry Farm have already been canceled, and in places like Salem  where the holiday accounts for more than 30 percent of the citys annual tourists  officials are trying to figure out what Halloween looks like during a pandemic.

The sales that the businesses generate during October are what carry them through the quiet winter months, said Kate Fox, director of Destination Salem, the citys marketing organization.

Its just really a catastrophic year from the business perspective, she added, noting that with five weekends in October this year, two full moons, and the end of daylight saving time falling during Halloween night, 2020 was on track to be our biggest year for tourism ever.
Kamala Harris, whom Joe Biden tapped Tuesday as his presidential running mate, is a politician best known for her rise through Californias political system to the U.S. Senate, but she has also forged a foreign policy agenda with a hard edge, calling out U.S. adversaries while saying Washington must reclaim its moral authority on the world stage.

In an election that will likely focus primarily on domestic issues, including the coronavirus pandemic, the economic downturn and racial equality, not as much attention has been given to Harriss foreign policy views. But as a potential vice president who is likely to have a substantial policy portfolio as well as her own future ambitions for the top job, her preferences in this area could prove important.

She has been deeply concerned about Donald Trumps efforts to isolate the U.S. from the rest of the world, said Halie Soifer, the executive director of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, who served as Harriss national security adviser in the Senate from 2017 to 2018. She and Joe Biden would repair our relationships with the rest of the world and continue to uphold our commitments to our allies, including NATO and other vital alliances.

Sen. Kamala Harris heads to a Senate Intelligence Committee meeting in 2017. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Perhaps the most definitive public outline of Harriss foreign policy views came in the form of written answers she gave in August 2019 to a series of questions posed by the Council on Foreign Relations during her abortive campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. Her responses laid out a number of positions that largely conformed to centrist Democratic thinking.

For instance, while she was willing to cooperate with China on issues such as climate change, she said that Beijings abysmal human rights record must feature prominently in U.S. policy toward that country, citing Beijings imprisonment of more than a million Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang province and its violent crackdown on peaceful protesters in Hong Kong. The United States must reclaim our own moral authority and work with like-minded nations to stand up forcefully for human rights in China and around the world, she said.

Story continues

Harris also criticized Trump for his handling of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the threat posed by the countrys growing nuclear weapons capability. President Trump has handed Kim one PR victory after the next, all without securing any real concessions, so the next president will have serious work to do, she told CFR. She added that she would consider the targeted and immediately reversible relief of certain sanctions on North Korea in order to improve the lives of that countrys people if the regime were to take serious, verifiable steps to roll back its nuclear program.

The United States ultimate objective must remain complete denuclearization, she said, adding that we cant accept North Korea as a nuclear weapons state.

Harris questions Gina Haspel, President Trump's pick to lead the CIA, during her confirmation hearing in May 2018. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Harris emerges from her exchange with CFR as a strong advocate for the rules-based international order that critics accuse Trump of undermining. The greatest U.S. foreign policy accomplishment since World War II has been the postwar community of international institutions, laws, and democratic nations we helped to build, she said.

In the CFR interview and elsewhere, Harris has also taken strong positions against Russia and particularly its president, Vladimir Putin, criticizing the Kremlins use of military force to undermine democratically elected governments in Georgia and Ukraine.

Trumps impeachment stemmed from his alleged efforts to condition aid to Ukraine on an investigation by that countrys government into Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Harris, for her part, vowed to prioritize working with the government of Ukraine to build out its military, strengthen its civil society, and combat corruption, while working closely with our European partners on a diplomatic solution to its war with Russian-supported separatists in the countrys east.

As a career district attorney and attorney general in California, Harris had little in the way of foreign policy experience when she was elected to the Senate in 2016, but that didnt prevent her being named to the Intelligence Committee, where she impressed Democrats and Republicans alike as a quick study who asked searching questions.

I found her to be very engaged, a former Senate staffer told Yahoo News. She did her reading and was prepared, and she was an impressive member of the committee.

Harris speaks in March 2018 about the Senate Intelligence Committee findings on threats to election infrastructure. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters)

Harris brought her hawkish attitude toward Russia to her work on the committee, according to the former Senate staffer. She was right in line with the [committees other] Democrats, talking about Russian election interference and concern over the coordination and collusion with the Trump administration, asking the tough questions, the former staffer said.

Should she be elected vice president, Harriss time on the committee will have served her well by giving her a solid understanding of the intelligence community, said Marc Polymeropoulos, a former senior CIA official who retired in 2019.

Such an insight will be of critical importance given President Trump's near-constant attacks on the intelligence profession over the last three and a half years, he told Yahoo News. She will also have had access to the highly classified reporting that went into the intelligence community assessment that detailed Russian interference in the 2016 elections, as well as the most recent sensitive reporting that shows what the Russians and other state actors are up to.

Larry Pfeiffer, a 32-year intelligence community veteran who now heads George Mason Universitys Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy and Security, said he also expects Harris to bring to a Biden administration experience dealing with intelligence on Russian covert operations.

Vladimir Putin, and those here and abroad who support and enable his efforts to undermine democracy in America and around the world, should begin to sweat, he said.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
Mr. Sammi Awuku, the National Organiser of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), says John Dramani Mahama has no knowledge about how to implement the free Senior High School programme let alone to better it.

Mr. Awuku argued that, because John Mahama fought against the policy, he cannot be trusted to continue with its implementation.

John Mahama says he will implement Free SHS when elected. Should Ghanaians replace the man who dreamed it, believed it, and delivered it for one who never believed it, ridiculed it and fought against it? Once again, candidate Mahama wants to associate himself with success, but he does not know how to solve the problems to achieve the success story. He has no blueprint for achieving this success he dreams of.

The concept of Free SHS for 1.2 million teenagers and growing is too complex for the NDC candidate and the party. Between the two main candidates, it is obvious which one truly cares for the youth of Ghana and therefore the country Ghana. Definitely, it is Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo, Sammi Awuku said.

John Mahama , on Saturday, August 2020, during a visit to the Overlord of Dagbon, Yaa-Naa Abukari II debunked claims that he will abolish the Free Senior High School (SHS) programme being implemented by the governing NPP if he comes to power.

Free Senior High School education has come to stay. If anybody tells you that I, John Dramani Mahama, son of E.A Mahama will abolish Free SHS when I come, tell the person he is a bloody liar. What I am against is the poor implementation of the Free SHS which is creating great inconvenience for the parents, for the students and for the teachers and the point I have made is that we can make it better.

If this government had followed our plan of continuing with the 200 new Senior High Schools that we were building, we will not have the current situation that we have in our Free SHS plan, said John Mahama. Mahama's sudden U-turn on Free SHS 'deceptive'

Earlier, the National Youth Organizer of NPP, Henry Nana Boakye has called on Ghanaians to disregard John Mahama's statement that he has no intention to cancel the Free SHS policy of the Nana Akufo-Addo government.

According to Nana Boakye, Mr. Mahama's comments on implementing Free SHS better is driven by ill-faith.

The seeming endorsement given to Free SHS policy by Mr. Mahama is driven by ill-faith, deception and opportunism borne out of Mr. Mahama and the NDC's innate tendencies to subtly associate themselves with goods things to benefit unduly from same.

He further questioned where the former president will get the funding from for the Free SHS policy since he cancelled trainee allowances due to funding challenges during his tenure as president of the country.

If Mr. Mahama couldn't pay trainees' allowances in that he had to insensitively cancel it, where would he get over GHS2 billion to fund Free SHS? Ghanaians should consider Mr. Mahama's statement as comic relief because he (Mahama) couldn't find few millions of cedis to reimburse three consecutive terms' feeding grants to keep Second Cycle Institutions in the northern part of Ghana opened.

 citinewsroom
A Chinese state-controlled tabloid close to the ruling Communist party has refused to carry the Indian embassys response to an interview of Pakistani Ambassador where the diplomat repeated Islamabads lies and half-truths about J&K.

Tweeting about the nationalistic Global Times tabloid refusing to carry the response, the Indian embassy said: The Global Times @globaltimesnews declined to carry the Indian Embassys response to this interview.

The tabloid, which is affiliated to the Communist Party of Chinas mouthpiece, the Peoples Daily, did not give a reason for not carrying the Indian response to the interview.

The Indian embassy had approached the tabloid to share its response on Kashmir but was told the tabloid will not run it; after having asked  and having received  the key points in Indias response.

The refusal to carry New Delhis version of a sensitive issue in state-controlled media is in contrast to Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidongs wide access to media in India  he has written for mainstream newspapers, including Hindustan Times, and has been interviewed by the Press Trust of India, Indias largest news agency, on the border tension.

Beijing and Islamabad are all-weather strategic allies and have close military ties.

After being refused, the Indian embassy on Thursday tweeted the response originally meant for the tabloid as a rejoinder to Pakistani envoy Moin ul Haques interview.

It was published under the headline Urgent actions on Jammu, Kashmir needed last week, two days after August 5, one year of the abrogation of J&Ks special status.

Haque, incidentally, was slated to serve as high commissioner to India but never took up the post because of New Delhi-Islamabads fraught ties in the past one year.

The two-page response called out the unsubstantiated allegations made by Haque and said Pakistans Kashmir policy is a rapacious campaign of cross-border terrorism.

Indias concerted efforts to bring peace, stability and progress to J&K stand in stark contrast to Pakistans strategy, which is little more than a blatant and rapacious campaign of cross-border terrorism aimed at debilitating the region, the embassy said.

Its unprovoked ceasefire violations, numbering close to 3000 in the first seven months of 2020 alone, provide support for terrorist infiltration along the India-Pakistan Line of Control (LOC), the Indian response added.

The Indian embassy response pointed out that terrorists recruited, trained and armed by Pakistan have disturbed peace and order in J&K, with over 450 incidents of terrorist orchestrated violence taking place since August 2019, leading to several civilian casualties.

And it is in fact Pakistan that has repeatedly effected administrative and demographic changes in territories that it has occupied illegally and forcibly in J&K and Ladakh.

Terming the claims made by Haque to the Chinese state-controlled media outlet as lies and half-truths, the embassy wrote in its response: Perhaps Ambassador Haque could consider holding up a mirror to his own regime and reflect on Pakistans own actions in the region before making ludicrous characterisations of the Indian governments actions.

Besides levelling allegations, Haque told Global Times that Islamabad expects the global community to play the role of honest broker in the dispute and take concrete actions to ameliorate the sufferings of the Kashmiri people. We could only hope that the growing international condemnation would dissuade Indias fascist religious-nationalist regime from their illegal acts, he said.

On August 5, Pakistani media based in Beijing had raised the issue of the removal of Article 370 at a regular Chinese foreign ministry briefing.

China closely follows the situation in the Kashmir region. Our position is consistent and clear. This issue is a dispute left over from history between Pakistan and India. That is an objective fact established by UN Charter, security council resolutions and bilateral agreements between Pakistan and India. Any unilateral change to the status quo is illegal and invalid. This issue should be properly resolved peacefully through dialogue and consultation between the parties concerned, spokesperson, Wang Wenbin had said.

Wang had added that peaceful coexistence serves the fundamental interests of both and the common aspiration of the international community.

China hopes that they (India and Pakistan) can properly handle the differences through dialogue, improve relations and jointly safeguard peace, stability and development of both countries and the wider region, Wang said.
Processing tra fish for export (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi  The Business Times on August 11 posted a story describing the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) as a significant economic milestone for Vietnam.



According to the article, the EU is already Vietnams second largest export designation. Vietnamese exports to the Eurozone have grown consistently in recent years, hitting a total of 42.5 billion USD in 2018, representing a year-on-year growth rate of 11 percent. They comprise mainly telecommunications equipment, electronics, footwear, textiles, and food products like coffee, rice and seafood.

With the EVFTA having entered into force, 70 percent of Vietnamese exports will now enter the EUs 26 member states duty free, the article said, adding that the remaining tariff lines items will be reduced gradually over seven years.

Many businesses could seek opportunities to persify or reconfigure their supply chains to deal with current issues, or guard against future risk, according to the article.

As countries around the world cautiously begin to reopen their economies after COVID-19 lockdowns, more companies will seek to build new resilience into their supply chain - and Vietnams value proposition is further strengthened by the EVFTA, the article said.



With Vietnam being one of the first markets in the region to ease lockdown restrictions, the country is in a prime position to capture opportunities from pent-up investment demand and shifting global production trends, it concluded.
Mary Evans

Mary Levering Evans, assistant vice president emerita for student affairs at Miami University, died July 20, 2020. Evans, 81, began her career at Miami in 1966 as an assistant dean of women.

She went on to serve as assistant dean for co-curricular programs 1973-1980, associate dean of students and director of student activities 1980-1989, and then as assistant vice president for student affairs until she retired in 1992.

Jane Goettsch, who retired as director of Miamis Women*s Initiatives Aug. 7, 2020, said Evans leaves a lasting legacy that her colleagues and her students will not forget.

Mary stood by me and was a tremendous support to me during the late 1980s, when student protests over campus safety, partially directed at me, resulted in a sit-in in the presidents office and President Paul Pearsons subsequent creation of a university commission on the status of women. Mary supported my membership on the commission, which ultimately issued 57 recommendations. These recommendations included the (re)establishment of a womens center, which Mary was pivotal in opening in 1991 and I had the great privilege of directing starting in 1999.

After her retirement, Mary and I got together frequently either for lunch at Skyline Chili Uptown or for snacks at her Oxford home on Silvoor Lane, Goettsch said. I will be forever grateful that she saw potential in me. She was skilled at mentoring and bringing out the best.

Evans, born in Richmond, Virginia, graduated from the University of Richmond with a degree in English literature. She took great pleasure in all living things, enjoying nature, hiking and vacationing in her beloved Maine.

Mark Cannon 86, deputy executive director of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International, interacted with Evans in his role as chief of staff of ASG while a student and, after he graduated, frequently visited with her on return trips to campus.

Mary was sort of the personification of Mother Miamisuper supportive of the institution, nurturing of the student leaders she mentored, warm-hearted, cheerful, and gracious with a gently persuasive way about her, Cannon said.

Evans, a strong supporter of the Animal Friends Humane Society, a Butler County, Ohio, animal shelter, had an assortment of cats and dogs throughout her life. Her favorites were Maine Coon cats, on which she became an expert.

Actively involved in Rotary and other organizations, she was named Woman of the Year in Oxford in 1976 for her work, both professionally and as a volunteer.

If you needed advice, she was there for you, said Mike Thomas 89, ASG president in 1988-1989, who runs his own consulting firm. If you needed a foil to push against, she could be that, too. Mary was no pushover, though, and could be formidable if the situation required it. But she was always patient and deeply kind. My experience at Miamiand my lifewould have been profoundly diminished if Mary hadnt been a part of it. I already miss her terribly.

Evans is survived by her sister, Betsy Evans, and preceded in death by her brother and sister-in-law, Marshall and Mary Ray Evans, and her dear friend of 38 years, Sue Summers 66 MS 71, administrator emerita of finance and business services at Miami.

Due to current restrictions, the funeral was private. The recorded service https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9qymVZJU4Y will be available for three months.

Donations in her memory can be made to the United Methodist Church, 14 N. Poplar St., Oxford, Ohio 45056 or Animal Friends Humane Society, 1820 Princeton Road., Hamilton, Ohio 45011. Rotarians are encouraged to remember her through donations to the Rotary Foundation
New Delhi :

Hyundai Motor India Ltd and Japanese carmaker Nissan on Tuesday said it will hike car prices from January to offset higher input costs, fluctuating exchange rates and marketing expenses.

While Hyundai said it will hike prices by up to Rs 1 lakh across models, Nissan has decided to hike prices of its vehicles by up to Rs 30,000.

Hyundai Motors India Limited, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing Rakesh Srivastava said in a statement, In these challenging year-end market conditions, we are constrained to consider price increase on account of factors like increased input costs, fluctuating exchange rates and increasing marketing expenses.

The proposed price increase will be up to Rs 1, 00,000 and will be effective from January 2017 across all models from Eon to Santa Fe, he said.

The company sells a range of passenger vehicles, from entry level small car Eon with a starting price of Rs 3.27 lakh to SUV Santa FE priced at Rs 31.98 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

While, Earlier on Tuesday, Nissan Motor India said that it will also increase prices of its vehicles by up to Rs 30,000 from next month to offset higher input costs.

The company sells a range of vehicles under the Nissan and Datsun brands starting with entry level small car Datsun Go priced at Rs 3.28 lakh to SUV Nissan Terrano Rs 13.75 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

Following the array of price hike trend, Tata Motors had on Monday announced that it would hike passenger vehicle prices by Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000 from next month in order to offset increased input costs.

Renault India has also announced plans to increase prices of its vehicles by up to 3 per cent from next month for the same reason.

Earlier, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) had announced hike in prices of its vehicles by up to 3 per cent from next month to offset increased input cost and consistent upward trend in foreign exchange rates.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 23:32:53|Editor: huaxia

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SHANGHAI, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- More restaurants across China are taking measures to stop food wastage and raise public awareness of food security, especially amid the impact of COVID-19.

Smaller portions, half-portion dishes and free to-go boxes are now common in restaurants, encouraging diners to order food on demand and helping cultivate thrifty habits.

"Most of our clients are aware of food waste when they order, and our servers politely remind them of the issue from time to time," said Qiu Yan, Vice President of Harvest Festival (Group) Co. Ltd, a restaurant chain headquartered in Shanghai.

"Signs with 'save food and stop wasting food' are placed on every table in our restaurants," said Qiu.

Since the outbreak, restaurants adjusted their daily food purchase based on an estimate of the number of customers, and employees were assessed on their ability to avoid excess buying, said Qiu.

Harvest Festival has also launched a wider choice of take-out meals as the earlier standardized boxes would lead to food waste as appetites vary.

Shanghai's Pinhai Restaurant is trying to change the Chinese dining tradition of sharing dishes communally. Zhao Xianzhen, the general manager, believes that the deep-rooted mealtime etiquette causes food wastage.

Eating separately is not only hygienic but also cuts the costs of restaurants, said Zhao, adding that food can be served to customers in separate tableware.

Zhao also spoke of the need to train catering industry employees, enabling them to offer reasonable and healthy suggestions to customers.

Restaurants in central China's Wuhan are also taking the lead in creating an environment where waste is shameful and thriftiness laudable.

Since 2013, restaurant chain Xiaolanjing in Wuhan has offered to-go boxes free to customers and all dishes can be served in half. In a downtown Haidilao hotpot branch, servers politely remind customers that they can order half dishes and should not order too much.

"If all of us can cherish every meal and treat them as hard-won fruits of farmers and workers, the problem of food waste can be solved," said a Guangzhou citizen surnamed Zhou. Enditem
At least five people were injured after a car hit eight motorbikes in Saigon and was only stopped at an electric pole Thursday night.

A car is damaged after hitting eight motorbikes before crashing into an electric pole in HCMC, August 13, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Dinh Van.

A Camry driven by a woman hit several motorbikes at an intersection in Binh Thanh District at around 7:45 p.m. The car was driving on Xo Viet Nghe Tinh Street, from the Thanh Da area to the National Highway 13 direction, when the collision happened around 100 m away from the red light.

The car went on to hit the traffic sign before coming to a stop after hitting an electric pole.

One female victim in the accident was found underneath the badly damaged car along with her motorbike. Dozens of passersby cooperated to lift the car and rescue her.

After the accident, eight motorbikes were seen scattered in the area and at least five people were taken to hospital.

"The sound of vehicles colliding with each other was like fireworks. The injured were everywhere," said Ta Quang Huy, 26, a motorbike taxi driver who witnessed the accident, adding that "the car was going really fast."

Motorbikes are scattered on the street after being hit by a car (pictured) in HCMC, August 13, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Dinh Van.

The car's driver stayed in the vehicle following the accident and was uninjured, according to witnesses. When a person opened the doors to her car, she stepped out in a panicked state, and was taken away by the police.

A traffic police officer said that after she hit the first motorbike, the woman panicked and stepped on the gas pedal by mistake.

Road accidents are a leading cause of death in Vietnam, killing 17 people every day. There were 6,790 traffic accidents recorded in the first six months, killing 3,242 and injuring 4,939 people.
MUMBAI: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut once again defended Aaditya Thackeray, the son of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Yuva Sena chief, and blamed the media for taking up his name in connection with Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajputs death case.

The senior Shiv Sena leader also alleged a controversy to link Aaditya Thackeray to the actors mystery-shrouded death.

Talking to reporters on Thursday, Raut categorically denied any role played by Aaditya Thackeray in the actors death. He said that Aadityas name has not come up in the investigation done so far by the Mumbai Police to determine the exact cause of popular Bollywood actors death.

Raut alleged that it was the national media that is unnecessarily taking up Adityas name in the case. Though the Shiv Sena leader didnt take any name, he said the Opposition still cannot digest the fact that the Sena-led government is in power in the state.

Aaditya Thackeray's name has not come up anywhere but it is only the media which is taking his name again and again, Raut said.

Raut further said, one can take anyone's name in the Supreme Court. The Mumbai Police is calmly investigating the whole case and the truth will come to fore soon.

Aaditya, a state minister in Uddhav Thackeray-led government, had earlier clarified that he was nowhere related to actor Sushant Singh Rajput death case and that he and his family are being targeted for no reason.

He said that dirty politics is being played following the death of the Bollywood actor and without naming anyone, added that the allegation being levelled is political stomach-ache stemming from frustration.

Amid all this, the Bihar Police on Thursday filed a written submission in the Supreme Court on actress Rhea Chakraborty's plea seeking to transfer an FIR lodged against her in Patna to Mumbai in connection with Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death.

In its written reply, the Bihar Police told the top court that Vinay Tiwari, Superintendent of Police (SP), who reached Mumbai on August 2 with advance intimation to Mumbai Police, was virtually "detained" in the name of "quarantine".

Tiwari had reached Mumbai to investigate the FIR registered in Patna by Rajput`s father KK Singh against Rhea Chakraborty under sections including abetment to suicide.

In its reply to the Apex Court, the police also alleged that the 4-member SIT of Bihar Police officers, which reached Mumbai on July 27, was not allowed to discharge its duty for the conduct of the investigation.

"The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Bihar had requested Mumbai authorities for removal of Vinay Tiwari, IPS, from quarantine, however, the same had been unfortunately disregarded by them," read the reply by Bihar Police.

In its reply, the Bihar Government claimed that Bihar Police has the jurisdiction to probe the Sushant Singh Rajput case.

The Bihar Police stated that it is mandatory for the police officer to register the FIR and proceed with the investigation.

"It is only after completion of the investigation, the police officer shall forward the report to the concerned Court of competent jurisdiction," read the reply.

"The Station House Officer (SHO) is obliged to register the FIR and carry out the investigation expeditiously. At the stage of the investigation, it cannot be said that the SHO does not have territorial jurisdiction to investigate the case," the Bihar Government stated in the affidavit, a copy of which was accessed by ANI.

"Any contention that the Investigating Officer (IO) did not have jurisdiction to do so on the face of it deserves to be rejected. Section 156(2) contains an embargo that no proceeding of a police officer shall be challenged on the ground that he has no territorial power to investigate," the Bihar police claimed.

Earlier, the Maharashtra Police told the top court in its affidavit that the Bihar Police did not have jurisdiction to investigate into the FIR or examine witnesses related to Rajput`s case.

Actor Rhea Chakraborty also filed her written submissions before the apex court in the case.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against Rhea Chakraborty, Indrajit Chakraborty, Sandhya Chakraborty, Showik Chakraborty, Samuel Miranda, Shruti Modi, and others in connection with the actor`s death.

Rajput, 34, was found hanging at his apartment in suburban Bandra on June 14. The Mumbai Police had registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) and an investigation is underway.
Parliamentary candidates of the two main political parties in the Ketu South Municipality have described the just ended Voter Registration Exercise as largely successful.



Madam Abla Dzifa Gomashie, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate, and Mr David Tiahno Quarshie, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate for Ketu South, said the exercise had been without ugly incidents and commended the Electoral Commission for a peaceful registration.



Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) the political rivals shared their impression on the exercise, which sought to compile a new electoral roll ahead of the general election in December.



Madam Gomashie expressed gratitude to the citizenry for defying the odds to go out to register and noted that though the exercise was successful she had some reservations.



She said the centre for the mop up was too far from the communities making it difficult for some people to commute to the office to register.



Again, logistics including chairs and canopies needed for the smooth running of the exercise created a challenge and should be addressed going forward, she said.



I am happy for the people of Ghana, Volta Region and especially Ketu South for coming out to register in their numbers in these extraordinary times. Neither the fear of COVID-19, the harassments, intimidation and the challenge forms stopped them from coming out.



Mr Quarshie said he was satisfied with the overall conduct of the registration exercise and debunked claims of intimidation, harassment and tagging of residents as foreigners in the Municipality.



He called on the people of the Volta Region, especially those in Ketu South, to disregard the so-called Togolese tag on them because the current government did not consider them as such.



Mr Kofi Sakyi Boampong, the Municipal Director of the Electoral Commission, said the process was successful and the office did not intentionally leave out any eligible applicant.



Any eligible applicant desirous of registering for the voter card would have done so within the regular and the mop up period.

The office made efforts to communicate the gazetted schedules to the public in a bid to inform them to participate in the exercise, he said.



The exercise, which ended on Sunday, had 139,100 applicants in Ketu South registering out of which about 800 applicants had their registration challenged.

Source: GNA









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Kroger has an at-home test kit that it's selling to businesses to help them determine if a worker has Covid-19.

With a nasal swab and a test tube, hundreds of Kroger employees have given themselves a Covid-19 test at home.

The nation's largest supermarket chain said Thursday it wants to sell the at-home test kits to employers trying to reopen or stay open as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

Kroger and CVS Health are both pitching themselves to employers as nationwide testing delays cause long waits for patients and make it harder for public health officials to track the virus and stop its spread. The slow turnaround times, which can be a week or more, have also made it harder for businesses, schools and other parts of society to figure out how to safely operate.

CVS has a program called Return Ready. Companies and colleges can hire the health-care company to open Covid-19 test sites at an office or on a campus, track tests at its drive-thru sites or handle related services, such as contact tracing or administering flu shots.

Kroger is striking deals with corporations that can buy its at-home test kits, which are shipped overnight to employees. Its testing program is called COVIDCare Plus.

Colleen Lindholz, president of Kroger Health, said results from the company's at-home test kits typically take about three days  including shipping.

"That's honestly a key differentiator for us right now," she said.

CVS Chief Medical Officer Dr. Troyen Brennan said instead of relying on backlogged labs, employers can hire CVS to open a location on their campus, test workers and get the results within minutes with a rapid diagnostic test.

"Point-of-care testing has no delay, so we're expanding point-of-care testing," he said. In the months ahead, Brennan said he expects rapid test devices with greater sensitivity to become available and narrow the difference in accuracy between tests processed on-site and by labs.

Many companies will have to pitch in to provide the kind of rapid and plentiful testing that the U.S. needs, said Fred Turner, CEO of Curative, a developer of Covid-19 tests. He said he'd like testing to become an easy, standard tool used to reduce risk in everyday situations, such as before a person boards a plane or goes to the office  not just when the person shows symptoms.

"We need to be doing millions of tests per day," he said. "We're yet to break the 1 million mark. As a country, the more people who are working on scaling this up, the better it is."

Kroger and CVS were among the national retailers who met with President Donald Trump in April and committed to opening drive-thru testing locations as the country struggled to roll out widespread testing and dealt with shortages of supplies, such as swabs and masks.

Kroger owns numerous grocery chains, including Harris Teeter and Fred Meyer. It has more than 2,200 pharmacies and 220 clinics in 35 states.

Lindholz said the grocer had drive-thru testing locations in 19 states, including Alaska, but most have now closed. She said the approach required the company to pull nurse practitioners and pharmacists out of stores, go through lots of protective equipment and expose employees to health risks.

She said Kroger wanted to find a simpler, safer and faster way. It developed at-home test kits first for its employees. The box includes a swab, alcohol wipes, a test tube and biohazard bag. A Kroger medical professional explains directions and guides the person through the test with a virtual visit.

The at-home test kits cost $119 each, but businesses can get a volume discount. Nearly 1,000 of Kroger's employees have taken the tests. The company declined to say how many customers it has so far.

CVS declined to release its pricing information, saying each contract is different based on the type of test, frequency of testing and services the company chooses.

CVS has more than 1,800 drive-thru testing locations. Brennan said wait times for test results have dropped from nearly 10 days in mid-July to an average of less than four days. He said CVS wants that to improve to three days or less for at least 95% of its tests.

The company has more than 40 clients using Return Ready, including universities and corporations, and more than 1,000 prospective clients, CVS Chief Executive Larry Merlo said last week on an earnings call.

Brennan said CVS tailors its testing services to the employer. For example, CVS can staff a dedicated clinic for the employer with a rapid test device. It can also test workers' at one of their drive-thrus and send results to the employer.

With Kroger's at-home tests, Lindholz said the company saw "a way to make a difference and to be helpful to the country"  especially as it saw such a great need. She said it also may change the way customers think of Kroger and link its mission of serving fresh food to health.

Along with the at-home kits, Kroger can customize the program like setting up a test site at large manufacturing or meatpacking plants, she said. It also plans to add rapid testing at its store pharmacies.

She said Kroger and its lab partner, Gravity Diagnostics, can handle 60,000 tests per week initially, but plans to double that to up to 120,000 per week. She said the grocer is looking to hire lab partners in other parts of the country.

Lindholz said it has spoken to clients in hospitality, sports, health care and education, but declined to disclose their number and names.

When a person does the at-home test, she said they put the swab up each nostril  but only halfway up, unlike the nasopharyngeal swabs that go deep into the nostril.

Even so, Lindholz acknowledged that the test may make some squeamish. She said the telemedicine consultation goes a long way, with health-care employees trained to coax and calm the person who's getting tested.

She said it's waiting on approval from the Food and Drug Administration for an approach people may find less intimidating: a saliva-based test.
"David has done a solid job navigating the COVID crisis," said Justin Gmelich, a partner at the hedge fund King Street and longtime Goldman markets executive before that. He praised the firm's flexible work-at-home policies and the insights that analysts and traders had provided him as a client, although he said he had concerns about the talent pool because at least a half-dozen senior traders had left the bank since Solomon's ascension. With nearly half the bank's employees under the age of 30, his messaging appears attuned to the mores of a changing finance industry. Already, Solomon  a yogi and music lover  had brought a different vibe to the job, ripping up the firm's stodgy dress code and talking about bringing one's "whole self" to work. In managing Goldman's response to the virus, he is also becoming an unlikely poster boy for a softer era on Wall Street, where personal well-being can take precedence over profits and displaying anxieties isn't a matter of embarrassment. Solomon, 58, did stumble into a minor scandal recently while indulging his favourite hobby. Last month, he took the stage to DJ at a concert in New York's affluent Hamptons beach community, while a large crowd partied in close quarters. The gathering drew the ire of Governor Andrew Cuomo, who demanded an investigation. A spokesman for the state's health department said the inquiry was continuing. "David admits it was a mistake to participate, and he's told people at the firm that," a Goldman spokesman, Jake Siewert, said of the Hamptons concert. Siewert added that Solomon had put live events on hold for the foreseeable future but planned to continue recording electronic music.

Since the earliest days of the coronavirus, Solomon had been watching it make its way from China to the United States and worried about its potential economic impact. In early February, he spoke with David Tepper, a well-known stock investor and Goldman alumnus, who had read a dire forecast for the virus in medical journal The Lancet. The two were at a Super Bowl event in Miami, and Tepper said he had come to believe the illness could hobble the United States. "I was struck by the fact that he was more worried than I was, and I was worried," Solomon recalled. He began working on larger-scale contingency plans. Loading By the end of February, Solomon's senior team was holding regular 6.30 am meetings to discuss what Goldman should do to safeguard both its employees and its business if the virus spread more widely. In March, after the coronavirus was declared a pandemic and most of Goldman's workers went home, Solomon chose to go into the office daily. To lead, he said, was to show up physically. "For me, it doesn't seem right the CEO of Goldman Sachs goes out to, you know, a country house, a suburb or some other place, and is not in charge, in the office, because that's what we do," he said in a phone interview in late June.

For now, with everyone dispersed, Solomon has sought new ways to keep in touch with workers. "Your jobs are safe during this crisis," he said in an audio message distributed to the firm's workers April 2, noting that Goldman would provide additional family leave to employees. He attended an after-work "geek-out" session for employees on the topic of winemaking and sipped the wine under discussion as he watched. All 150 participants had received the same bottle from the bank. In late May, after a black man, George Floyd, was killed by a white police officer, touching off nationwide protests over racial injustice, Solomon encouraged employees to speak more openly about race and intolerance. Fred Baba, a managing director in the firm's markets division, responded with an email to a small group of colleagues discussing his experience with racism and describing the previous few months as "demoralising." Loading The email, which argued for mentoring people of colour and supporting minority-owned business, soon inspired a Goldman podcast with Baba and an op-ed article on Bloomberg. Solomon also convened an emotional town-hall meeting on race, during which he choked up as black partners shared their anguish over police violence toward black people.
France said Thursday it was 'temporarily reinforcing' its military presence in the eastern Mediterranean Sea amid tensions between neighbours Greece and Turkey over recently-discovered gas reserves.

The French military said two Rafale jets would arrive Thursday on the island of Crete for a stay of 'several days', after having taken part in a military exercise in Cyprus earlier in the week.

The assault helicopter carrier Tonnerre (Thunder), en route to deliver aid to Beirut after last week's deadly port explosion there, was joined overnight by the La Fayette frigate, previously deployed to Cyprus, and they took part in an exercise with the Greek navy.

In this photo provided by the Greek National Defence, a French Tonnerre helicopter carrier is escorted by Greek and French military vessels during a maritime exercise in the Eastern Mediterranean today

In this photo provided by the Greek National Defence, a French Tonnerre helicopter carrier, rear left is escorted by Greek and French military vessels during a maritime exercise in the Eastern Mediterranean today

'The purpose of this military presence is to strengthen the autonomous assessment of the situation and to affirm France's commitment to free movement, to the security of maritime navigation in the Mediterranean and respect for international law,' said a ministry statement.

Relations between France and Turkey have been icy as President Emmanuel Macron has accused Ankara of violating the sovereignty of Greece and Cyprus - claims Turkey rejects.

Turkey is at odds with Greece and the European Union over maritime rights in the Eastern Mediterranean amid a scramble for resources following the discovery of huge gas reserves in recent years.

Last month, Greece announced it had deployed ships in the Aegean in 'heightened readiness' after Turkey announced plans for energy exploration near a Greek island in an area it claims is within Turkey's continental shelf.

Then on Monday, Ankara dispatched the research ship Oruc Reis, accompanied by naval vessels, off the Greek island of Kastellorizo.

In this photo provided by the Greek National Defence, a French Rafale fighter jet at Souda airbase on the island of Crete today

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias urged Ankara to 'immediately' remove the Oruc Reis from Greek waters and Greece deployed warships to monitor the vessel.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Wednesday he hoped sense would prevail and dialogue resume, warning: 'The risk of an accident lurks when so many military assets are gathered in such a contained area.'

France, Turkey and Greece are members of the NATO military alliance, but Macron has been critical of Turkey also over its involvement in the Libyan conflict.

Tensions have risen over the last year between Macron and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, notably when the French leader said the lack of NATO response to a unilateral Turkish operation in northern Syria showed the alliance was undergoing 'brain death'.

The strain worsened in June when France denounced an 'extremely aggressive' intervention by Turkish ships against a French navy vessel participating in a NATO mission in the Mediterranean, a claim Ankara dismissed as 'groundless'.
Itential achieved the rank of No. 1568, representing a three-year revenue growth rate of 276.8 percent Itentials growth is a testament to the increasing digitization of business and the essential role our platform plays in accelerating digital transformation initiatives for Enterprise IT and Service Provider teams.

Itential, the leader in intelligent, multi-domain network automation today announced it has been named to Inc. Magazines annual Inc. 5000 list of the nations fastest-growing private companies. Itential achieved the rank of No. 1568, representing a three-year revenue growth rate of 276.8 percent. The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economys most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses.

Its an honor to be recognized by the Inc. 5000 as one of the fastest-growing, privately held companies in the nation, said Ian Bresnahan, CEO of Itential. Itentials growth is a testament to the increasing digitization of business and the essential role our platform plays in accelerating digital transformation initiatives for Enterprise IT and Service Provider teams. Our intelligent network automation platform provides the speed, agility, and competitive advantage our customers need to keep their networks running seamlessly, no matter how complex or distributed.

Since Itential was founded in 2014, the company has grown exponentially, becoming the leading provider of multi-domain network automation software for both Enterprises and Service Providers. Headquartered in Atlanta, with offices in London, Itentials products are powering the worlds largest networks while propelling its customers to achieve new competitive advantages and accelerate digital transformation initiatives through intelligent automation.

Not only have the companies on the 2020 Inc. 5000 been very competitive within their markets, but the list as a whole shows staggering growth compared with prior lists as well. The 2020 Inc. 5000 achieved an incredible three-year average growth of over 500 percent, and a median rate of 165 percent. The Inc. 5000s aggregate revenue was $209 billion in 2019, accounting for over 1 million jobs over the past three years.

The companies on this years Inc. 5000 come from nearly every realm of business, says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. From health and software to media and hospitality, the 2020 list proves that no matter the sector, incredible growth is based on the foundations of tenacity and opportunism.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000. The top 500 companies are also being featured in the September issue of Inc., available on newsstands August 12.

About Inc. Media

The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com.

For more information on the Inc. 5000 Conference, visit http://conference.inc.com/.

About Itential

Itential provides powerful network automation software to companies worldwide, from Fortune 500 telecommunications and financial service companies to enterprises of all sizes. We are committed to building world-class products that accelerate the move toward software-driven networks and next generation, agile network operations. We are exclusively focused on delivering network automation solutions that help our customers realize their vision of digital transformation. Our solutions leverage the latest thinking, open standards, open architectures, partners and best practices to drive network operations and maximize the impact of automation.

For more information:


Thanks to the massive population of India, every movie-production house in the world tries to include our 'cultures' in their films in order to make us relate to them and watch them again and again.

One of the biggest examples of this phenomenon is Marvel Studios, which is responsible for creating some of the most engaging and entertaining movies in the 21st century under the umbrella that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is.

Also Read: 5 Indian References Made In The MCU

Having said that, there are multiple racial stereotypes and cliches Hollywood movies and sitcoms continue to show onscreen that are unacceptable. Here are four of them:

1. Always With The Slums

Yes, India has one of Asias biggest slums in Dharavi, Mumbai but that does not mean that all of us live in them.

In 2012, when The Avengers first introduced Bruce Banner in the MCU, his location was disclosed to Natasha Romanoff as the slums of Kolkata and it drew a lot of criticism by the Indian film industry and rightly so.

Kolkata has a rich culture and heritage, and a filmmaker should respect that. There are two scenes about India, and they only show slums," actor Rituparna Sengupta told Hindustan Times. "It could have been done in better taste."

2. Why The Yellow Filter?

This problem is a lot bigger than India. Most of the Asian countries including India, Pakistan and Bangladesh have undergone the yellow filter effect in numerous Hollywood films. The latest and most prominent of such films is Netflixs Extraction.

While the scenes that were shot in Australia seem to be the normal shade, the rest of the film which was supposed to be in Bangladesh (but was shot in multiple Asian countries) came with an oversaturated yellow tone.

This yellow filter is used to depict warm and tropical climate but it also makes the surroundings look uglier and unhealthy. According to Matador Network, this filter is used by American films to depict countries that are stereotyped as impoverished, polluted, or war zones (or all three).

3. Indian Guys With The Unbelievable Cringey Accent





A milestone in the 'funny Indian accent' stereotype can be traced back to February 25, 1990, when The Simpsons introduced an orange-coloured Apu with the nastiest accent, in their otherwise all-yellow skinned people universe.

Whats worse is that it was a white guy, Hank Azaria, who did the voiceover for the supposedly Indian character. It took over 30 years and a freaking documentary by comedian Hari Kondabolu named The Problem With Apu to finally get over this issue in 2020 when Azaria willingly stepped down as Apus voice artist.

Once I realized that that was the way this character was thought of, I just didnt want to participate in it anymore.



Hank Azaria says that he will no longer play the "Simpsons" character of Apu, which has been criticized as a demeaning stereotype. https://t.co/mgR0Mwf9L4  The New York Times (@nytimes) February 25, 2020

Kunal Nayyars character in The Big Bang Theory, Rajesh Koothrappali was another case of a walking house of stereotypes. An Indian guy who cant talk to women because he is too nervous and needs alcohol to open his mouth, who comes from a house of arranged-marriage believers and whose parents house, albeit seen through the Rajs computer screen, is full of mandalas in the background.

4. The Comic Relief:

Over the decades, the way someone from a certain country speaks or looks, has clearly had a lot to do with their character portrayal in Hollywood films.

A Frenchmans accent is considered sexy, Africans are seen as the mighty and powerful, Russians are always the rude and tough bad guys, and the moment an Indian guy says hello, people are falling on the floor, laughing their asses off.

While Apu and Raj Koothrappali have been in use for years, one of the biggest additions to this category came in 2016 with Rayn Reynolds Deadpool introducing us to Dopinder who, surprise surprise, is a frustrated, insecure cab drive with an incredibly thick accent.



Sure, the English film industry over the years, has become a lot more inclusive and racially sensitive than the time when Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom came out in which our kings were seen eating snakes stuffed with smaller snakes, drinking a cup of eyeball soup and relishing frozen monkey brains for dessert.

Having said that, soft and 'accidental' racism continues to find its way to the silver screen from time to time and directors and producers cheekily try to pass it by as 'normal' while giving further weightage to the pre-existing stereotypes against India and thats unacceptable.
Minsk: Hundreds of people are back on the streets of Belarus' capital protesting for a fifth straight day against an election they say was rigged to extend the rule of the country's authoritarian leader and against a crackdown on rallies that has left two dead and 6000 arrested.

In several areas of Minsk, large groups of people formed long "lines of solidarity". More than 100 women carrying flowers and portraits of their loved ones detained during protests gathered in the south-western part of the city, where police had shot rubber bullets at people chanting and clapping on balconies the night before.

The Belarusian Nobel Prize-winning writer Svetlana Alexievich has condemned the brutal police violence against demonstrators, saying "the authorities have declared war on their people" and the President Alexander Lukashenka should step down from power to prevent a bloody civil war.

Nobel Prize winner and author Svetlana Alexievich has called for the Belarus President to step aside. Credit:Sergei Grits

"Leave before it's too late, before you have plunged the people into a terrible abyss, into the abyss of civil war," the 72-year-old author said in comments directed at Lukashenka in an interview with Radio Free Europe. "Nobody wants blood. Only you want power. And it's your desire for power that requires blood."
CAMPBELL, Calif., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Continuous vital signs monitoring, which leverages medical wearable sensors to decrease contact between the patient and caregiver, opens the door for improved inpatient care and proactive remote patient monitoring (RPM). This medical technology can prove essential for the world's ability to manage the effects, spread, and long-term impact of infectious diseases, including COVID-19.

VivaLnk , a leading provider of connected healthcare solutions known for its unique medical wearable sensor platform, announces today the availability of its new multi vital ambulatory monitoring solution for Infectious Respiratory Diseases. Currently deployed in Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East, it is now available in the Americas and Western Europe.

"VivaLnk's continuous temperature monitor wearable, which was used for the first time in the fight against COVID-19 in our hospital, really reduced cross infection risks for our doctors and nurses due to its capabilities to provide data and vitals remotely. We used more than 200 temperature monitors throughout our hospital, and it made a huge impact in the care we were able to provide," said Ms Zhang, deputy director of the nursing department of the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center.

Built upon VivaLnk's proprietary ambulatory medical wearable sensor platform, the solution can easily be set up and scaled in hospitals, nursing homes and remote environments. Even pop-up hospitals with little to no network and IT infrastructure can be supported with the flexible platform. Once deployed, nurses and caregivers can effectively manage the vitals of all patients from a centralized console to easily identify changes, and view trends and history.

The multi vital monitoring solution includes:

Vitals: temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, Sp02 Oxygen Saturation , and ECG

Reusable sensors with continuous monitoring and live streaming

Centralized patient monitoring application console

On-premise data server software

RPM option with patient companion app and cloud hosting

Up to 21 days of continuous monitoring on a single charge

"Continuous monitoring of patients' vitals is essential for early detection of symptoms of infectious diseases, especially as we navigate the changing landscape of COVID-19," said Jiang Li, Founder and CEO of VivaLNK. "With temperature, heart rate and Sp02, it rounds out the key vitals for infectious respiratory diseases monitoring."

The VivaLNK solution works by automatically and continuously collecting patient vitals, and wirelessly sending it to a secure on-premise server via a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) WiFi router. The data is then consolidated and presented to a centralized console for caregivers. In RPM or remote field hospital deployments, an optional patient app and mobile device, and a cloud hosted application are available.

This solution is currently deployed in 15 hospitals (1,500 beds) in China for on premise in-patient monitoring of COVID-19, and in Romania, Qatar, and UAE using the mobile option. For more information, visit https://www.vivalnk.com/covid-19 .

About VivaLnk

VivaLnk is a provider of connected healthcare solutions for patient care and telemedicine. The company's portfolio includes wearable medical grade devices and data analytics applications that continuously monitor the health and well-being of individuals. The company's vision is to improve the quality and accessibility of healthcare worldwide by combining technology, data, and analytics into an integrated solution.

Media Contact

[email protected]

SOURCE VivaLnk
Some Ghanaians stranded abroad due to COVID-19 restrictions may not be able to vote during the 2020 elections if the measures to halt the spread of the disease remains.



The Electoral Commission (EC) chair, Jean Mensa said at a press conference in Accra on Wednesday, August 12 that it has been unable to travel to register workers in the Ghanaian missions as well as students on scholarships abroad.



She indicated that the working timetable for the commission may not allow for them to partake in the December exercise if they are unable to get onto the roll anytime soon.



It is a challenge for all of us that we are grappling with. We have Ghanaians beyond the borders who are unable to come in. The Commission would have liked to register all eligible Ghanaians but it is a challenge that we are grappling with.



We find that we are not able to travel because there are restrictions on travel not only in Ghana but around the world.



As part of our plans we were supposed to have travelled to all countries where we had Missions and Embassies to register the Mission staff and students on Government of Ghana scholarship but we have not been able to do that because of the travel restriction.



There are discussions ongoing and maybe at a later stage when there is some a solution we will provide you with the information on that but for now they are all caught within the restrictions and travel bans globally. It puts us in a tight position and we are not able to say for sure that we will be able to cross the borders. We are working within some timelines and so it has to fill within a particular time so that those persons will be captured on the register, she said.

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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Unclassified minutes of a secret Israeli cabinet meeting held 51 years ago reveal that Israel planned a massive transfer of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to the tiny Latin American country of Paraguay.

The protocols of the May 1969 government vote exposed an Israeli-Paraguayan agreement to encourage the emigration of 60,000 Palestinians from territories Israel captured during the 1967 Six-Day War.

The transcript, revealed on Tuesday, detailed each nations commitments, including Israeli funding for flights transferring Palestinians who agreed to leave the Gaza Strip, a $100 grant per deportee, and a payment of $33 per person to the Paraguayan government, which in turn promised the refugees permanent residence and a four-year path to citizenship.

The Radical Women at the Heart of Palestines First Intifada

When Mossads Greatest Female Assassin Got It Wrong

At the time the accord was ratified, Paraguayan tyrant Alfredo Stroessner was 15 years into what would become the longest dictatorship in Latin American history and was better known for sheltering top Nazi officers than for welcoming refugees. Notorious SS doctor Josef Mengele was among the Third Reich elite who fled to Paraguay after World War II. Stroessners interest in the Palestinian immigrants was likely connected to his nations urgent need for agricultural workers who could help pull his cash-strapped and resource-poor nation into subsistence.

Details of the scheme confirm long-held Palestinian claims that Israel, from its inception, wanted only to rid itself of the native Arabs living on land under its rule.

Kamal Cumsille, a University of Chile professor of Arab studies and an expert on Arab migration to Latin America, told The Daily Beast, There is no doubt Israel maintained a hostile policy aimed at Palestinians leaving, but said he never heard of an actual agreement for the transfer of Palestinians until the expose, which was first revealed in a broadcast by Eran Cicurel, foreign editor for the Israeli Kan News.

Story continues

The shock does not stop there. Despite its importance, the Israeli-Paraguayan scheme appears to have been stymied by poor planning, blundering Mossad agents, and a quickly overlooked terrorist attack that left one Israeli dead and helped launch the wave of Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) terror against Israeli targets that characterized much of the '70s and '80s.

It is unclear how many Palestinians emigrated to Paraguay within the short-lived plans framework. In a 2004 interview, Meir Novik, a police commander involved in the operation, said a few dozen Palestinians had moved. Speaking with Cicurel, Paraguayan authorities concurred.

But Moshe Peer, an Israeli diplomat who in 1970 served as Israel's consul to Paraguay and as the Israeli embassys first secretary, said in a 2004 interview that thousands had been transferred.

On May 4, 1970, a year after the Israeli government formally approved of the plan, two Palestinian transferees armed with rifles forced their way into the Israeli embassy in Asuncion, Paraguay, with the aim of assassinating Ambassador Benjamin Varon.

When told Varon was out that day, Khaled Derwish Kassab, 21, and Talal al-Demasi, 20, instead shot and killed Edna Peer, 34, the ambassadors secretary who was also the diplomat Moshe Peers wife and a mother of three.

Two years later, a Paraguayan court sentenced the pair, identified as PLO members, to 13 years in jail.

By then, Israel had become the target of much more ambitious attacks by PLO terrorists, including the 1972 massacre of its Olympic team in Munich.

The strikes didnt stop, including two now infamous attacks perpetrated by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a far-left faction of the PLO. In 1976, an Air France jet destined for Tel Aviv was hijacked to Entebbe, Uganda. Lt. Col. Yonatan Netanyahu, brother of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was killed while commanding the successful rescue mission. In 1985, the Achille Lauro, an Italian cruise ship sailing from Egypt to the Israeli port of Ashdod, was commandeered, resulting in the death of American passenger Leon Klinghoffer, 69.

Cicurel unearthed the damning 1969 protocol in a tranche of recently declassified documents. I couldnt believe my eyes, he said. It appeared to be a massive conspiracy that not coincidentally was concealed from public view.

Allusions to a transfer plan have slipped out over the years, but never any information hinting at its true dimensions.

In 1969, with Israel still basking in the euphoria of its 1967 victory over the armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Iraq, the nations leaders had no idea how to proceed regarding almost one million Palestinians now under their rule.

Israel had evaded the issue of Palestinian refugees displaced by its 1948 war of independence. According to Tom Segev, the preeminent Israeli historian and expert on the nations establishment, Israels founding prime minister, David Ben Gurion, envisioned a Jewish state in the land of Israel, with maximum territory and minimum Arabs.

Of the estimated 950,000 Arabs living in the British-controlled land which became Israel, close to 80 percent fled or were expelled during the war. About 150,000 remained, becoming Israeli citizens.

Maximum territory doesnt mean all the land, explained Segev, whose most recent book is the 2018 Ben Gurion biography A State at Any Cost. It never has. In 1948, Ben Gurion ordered the army not to extend to east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, not because we didnt have the force to conquer itwe didbut because so many Arabs lived there. His aim was as much land as possible, with as few Arabs as possible living on it. Whenever the possibility of an Israeli expansion to land with a major Arab population came up, the answer was no.

Yet 19 years later, Prime Minister Golda Meir confronted the conundrum of the fate of the same stateless Palestinians, who, she said in an interview, have nowhere to turn for their needs than us. About 300,000 of them lived in Gaza.

Meir weighed various options, including asking Egypt and Jordan, who ruled over the West Bank and Gaza until the 1967 war, for help.

For many years, Israeli diplomats stationed from Australia to Brazil were charged with handling the matter of refugees, with the aim of settling them elsewhere, Segev says. It was the desire of the state of Israel to solve the problem this way. So for Golda, this plan was just another in a long line of similar schemes.

Little is known of other initiatives to transfer Palestinians, but the Paraguay plan was singularly concrete and ambitious. And, according to Moshe Peer, it was also a botched security failure.

If they knew a group like this was coming to Paraguay, why was the embassy not secured? he asked in a largely unnoticed 2004 interview with the Israeli newspaper Maariv. In what appears to be the only public statement he ever made on the events, Peer disclosed an excruciating coincidence: he was the diplomat responsible for implementing the Palestinian resettlement plan.

Three weeks before the embassy shooting, Peer found himself rescuing a Mossad agent who was arrested after complaints from a few of the transferred Palestinians, who sensed theyd been abandoned without money and without work.

Mosssad agents provided the operations backbone, scouting out possible emigres in Gaza and promising resettlement in Paraguay.

In the week after his wifes murder, one of them made Peer swear not to breathe a word of the plan for at least 30 years.

Peer said that Gazan refugees were assured theyd become landowners, that this was their promised land. The Mossad agent who accompanied them promised hed return in two or three weeks to see how they were doing, and never came back. They were told start working, youll get the money later. They felt theyd been set up.

They looked for the ambassador and when they couldnt find him, they shot my wife, he concluded. My family was the victim of this transfer.

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Peter Overton has spoken about his infamous confrontation with Hollywood actor Tom Cruise, which aired on 60 Minutes in 2005.

The veteran journalist, 54, told The Kyle and Jackie O Show on Thursday that he didn't regret asking a 'fair question' about Cruise's marriage to Nicole Kidman - insisting it was relevant given that he was a childhood friend of the Australian actress.

During their sit-down interview in Los Angeles 15 years ago, the Mission: Impossible star snapped at Overton, telling him to 'put your manners back in' after he tried to steer the conversation towards his personal life.

'It was one of those moments': Peter Overton (pictured) has spoken about his infamous interview with Hollywood actor Tom Cruise, which aired on 60 Minutes in 2005

Cruise, 58, lost his temper with the reporter when he asked a question about Kidman, whom Overton has known since their days growing up in Longueville, a suburb on Sydney's lower north shore, in the 1970s.

The star grew frustrated with the line of questioning and told Overton that he was 'stepping over the line' and to 'put his manners back in'.

Radio host Kyle Sandilands asked: 'What were you thinking back then? When you're being rubbished on camera by Tom Cruise? Are you thinking to yourself, how do I look respectful, but also still in charge of the interview?'

Intense: During the sit-down interview 15 years ago, the Mission: Impossible star (left) had told Overton (right) to 'put your manners back in' after he asked a question about Nicole Kidman

Childhood friends and neighbours: Overton has known Kidman (pictured) since their days growing up in Longueville, a suburb on Sydney's lower north shore, in the 1970s

Overton explained: 'I just maintained who I am, and I didn't get angry. He did. And I just kept true to myself and said it's a fair question.'

'I hold no ill will towards Tom. It was one of those moments,' he added.

Overton said that he tried to smooth things over with Cruise after the interview, but felt slightly taken aback by the whole experience.

Looking back: The veteran journalist, 54, was asked about their tense encounter on The Kyle and Jackie O Show on Thursday. Pictured: Overton with radio host Kyle Sandilands (left)

'What the hell just happened to me?' Overton, who is celebrating 10 years as the newsreader for Channel Nine's 6pm bulletin, said that he tried to smooth things over with Cruise after the interview, but felt slightly taken aback by the whole experience

Exes: Cruise and Kidman were married from 1990 to 2001, but the famous Scientologist doesn't like talking about their relationship. Pictured with their children, Connor and Isabella, on January 24, 1996 in Sydney

'I sat there thinking, what the hell just happened to me?' he said.

'I said to the producer, "Well, how did that go?" And I'll never forget it, he said: "Top five." Of all the 60 Minutes stories, he's thinking of the promos, as they do!'

Cruise and Kidman were married from 1990 to 2001, but the famous Scientologist doesn't like talking about their relationship.

Meanwhile, Overton is about to celebrate 10 years as the newsreader for Channel Nine's 6pm bulletin.

The respected anchor is married to former Studio 10 presenter Jessica Rowe, and the couple share two daughters, Allegra, 13, and Giselle, 11.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, aged 30, the junior congresswoman from New York who hasn't even completed a full term, is being told to pipe down by the Democrats at their national convention.

Here's the slap-in-the-face speaking slot she was given for the upcoming convention, which certainly seems to have left her bitter, posting some passive-aggressive poetry in response:

I only have a minute.

Sixty seconds in it.

Forced upon me, I did not choose it,

But I know that I must use it.

Give account if I abuse it.

Suffer, if I lose it.



Only a tiny little minute,

But eternity is in it.



- Dr. Benjamin E. Mays

(and recited by Elijah Cummings)  https://t.co/ul9CE7NriV  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 12, 2020

After all, isn't she the author of the Green New Deal, adopted by Joe Biden, cow farts and all? Didn't she revitalize the Democratic Party with her surging victory in New York, followed on by an even bigger primary reelection tally? Isn't she their biggest Twitter star? Hasn't she become the face of the all-critical progressive wing of the party as Bernie Sanders retreats to his mansions? Isn't she Joe Biden's very environmental adviser? And in that perpetual Democratic obsession with demographic box-ticking, isn't she a three-fer? They can tick off three boxes by letting her speak  youth, progressive, and Latinx.

Oh, the ingratitude. And yes, she's mad.

This isn't a good thing for a party that is struggling to harness the youth vote, trying to keep the progressives from staying home (or worse still, voting for Trump), and trying to get the Latinos enthusiastic about them. Ocasio-Cortez can even claim some black identification, as almost anyone of Puerto Rican descent can, so call it a four-fer.

Four reasons stand out as to why this might be happening:

One, they're a bunch of hidebound jurassics focused on seniority and union-influenced priorities, something that always shuts the young out.

Two, Ocasio-Cortez's Twitter success doesn't impress them  recall some of Nancy Pelosi's remarks about Twitter being insubstantial.

Three, Ocasio-Cortez has cost them a lot of money with her primary challenges to established Democrats  all of which she so far has won on. That's got to be making a lot of Democrats mad and out to put a cork in her.

Four, and this is the big one: In a party seeking to win over the mainstream  imagine the crazy things she will say! Primaries tend to skew left for Democrats, but general elections tend to skew right, given that Democrats are seeking to win over the independent middle. Ocasio-Cortez takes her big win in solid blue New York as license to progressivize the party, creating countless ads for the Republican side of the equation. For Democrats, with the polls seemingly in their favor, all they have to do is prove they aren't crazy...and Ocasio-Cortez will ensure they can't manage that.

Hence the urge to whisk her in and whisk her out.

It's a ham-handed move, given that Republicans have plenty to campaign on from her tweets. All it will do is cost the Dems.
The new site will be ADA compliant and have responsive design.

North Adams Preparing to Launch New Website

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  The city is finally getting a new website designed to be far more user-friendly than the current one. It's set to be launched on Aug. 24.

The city's website is more than a decade old  ancient in internet terms  and hasn't had much in the way of upgrades since.

"The current city website has a lot of shortcomings. First and foremost is security," said Mark Pierson, the city's chief information officer. "The site is very vulnerable, it is hard to navigate, it is not modern at all. You cannot resize this for a tablet, a phone, it's very clumsy."

He told the City Council on Tuesday that editing the site is extremely difficult, the content management system is limited, it has a lot bugs and is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, something the city is under order from the Department of Justice to fix.

"We have to get outside help to anything with the front page," he said. "And oftentimes the site crashes, leaving the site down for most of the day."

He described the new site as "slick" and easy to navigate and it also translates to tablets and phones. It features an image of the downtown with navigation links for home, government, business, residents, visitors and help at the top styled like the city's new hexagon logo.

In the middle are the most commonly used menu items like calendar, meeting and notices, payment center, contacts, and special areas like COVID-19 updates. Also included is a link to where documents related to governmental meetings will be posted. It has the attributes of most websites nowadays with a search bar, popup alerts and social media sharing.

It's also fully compliant with ADA so those with impaired vision can navigate the site and find the information they need.

The builder is Revize of Troy, Mich., which also redesigned the city of Pittsfield's website in 2017. The cost was $20,240 and includes support for the first year; the annual maintenance and support cost is $2,400 per year, beginning in the second year of the contract. This includes servicing and content backup, and built-in redundancies and security so the uptime rate should be 100 percent.

The build was authorized last August and was expected to launch around March but the COVID-19 pandemic "derailed it," said Pierson. Once staff was able to be get back into City Hall months later, "we hit the ground running," he said. "I also want to give a shout out to [Administrative Assistant] Michelle Ells who did a lot ofwork on this site."

In response to questions, Pierson said the payment portal is the same, it just has a better and larger visual.

"I think it looks great, I like the setup," said Councilor Marie Harpin. "It looks like it's easy to navigate."

Pierson said the launch is set for Monday, Aug. 24, to ensure the IT Department will be on hand smooth out any issues rather than trying a weekend debut.

The original site was built by the former Agency BCM, which had been a sister site to iBerkshires.com.
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Linkedin Ivany Atina Arbi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 13, 2020 10:11 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066da97ec 1 National sexual-abuse-in-Catholic-Church,Carmelite,sexual-abuse,Catholic-church,sexual-abuse-Catholic-church-Indonesia,Sang-Timur,Maria-Bunda-Carmel,#catholicsexabuse,Gereja-Herkulanus Free

Two more victims of childhood sexual abuse at a Catholic school have spoken up following collaborative reports between The Jakarta Post and Tirto.id on abuse in the Catholic Church, as the Church continues to remain passive in dealing with sexual assault allegations.

Now grown women, the victims, Anna and Vivian, who chose pseudonyms to protect their privacy, said they read the reports of Sisca and Ellen, also pseudonyms, and found similarities between their experiences.

Anna and Vivian reached out to the collaboration team shortly after the reports were published last month in the hopes of bringing broader awareness to the case and "ending the perpetrator's years of lies".

Vivian said a priest at the Maria Bunda Karmel (MBK) parish still texted her from time to time, asking personal questions such as whether she was married. He also asked her to send him pictures of her. The last message sent was in May.

Anna said she experienced abuse  allegedly from the same priest  about 15 years ago when she was a student at Sang Timur Catholic Junior High School, which is located next to the MBK parish.

As a Catholic, she was mandated to attend school confessions twice a year, and that was when she said the abuse began.

The priest, she recalled, "would run his hand up and down my chest while I sat kneeling in front of him during confession. He did it so carefully that as a 15-year-old, I was not sure if it was his way of showing unconditional love to us, or if it was something else."

The groping, Anna further said, went on for years and happened six to eight times during mandatory confessions until she graduated from the school. "Each time, I left the confession room feeling awkward, but I did not know what to think of it, nor what to do about it."

The mandatory confessions took place in a chapel, instead of a traditional partitioned confessional, which allowed the religious leader to make direct contact with his students.

Anna, afraid her stories would be dismissed by people who regarded the clergy as "old, harmless and loving", chose to bury them until 10 years later when she got together with her childhood friends. She was surprised to know that two of her friends admitted that the same person often asked them to kiss his cheeks upon leaving the confession room.

"I knew there was something not right about this priest. And so for years, we all lived with this fact and truth that he had abused his power and authority, and exploited the innocence of these girls," she added.

Vivian, also a former Sang Timur student, said the same "old" priest used to kiss her cheek and the corner of her lips several times during morning blessings between 2013 and 2014. She told her parents but they dismissed it, saying it was probably the priest's way of showing his affection, "like showing a grandfather's love for his grandchild".

"I try to shrug the uneasiness off, but deep down I know it doesn't feel right to me," Vivian said.

She said the priest was still making her uncomfortable by sending her short messages, some of which came via WhatsApp.

"I honestly feel uncomfortable about it, so I choose to ignore his requests," she said.

She expressed hope that other parents would never dismiss such reports of sexual abuse against their children.

A child and adolescent psychiatrist at the University of Indonesia's School of Medicine, Fransiska Kaligis, said separately that all reports of sexual abuse against minors should be followed up seriously to minimize any negative impacts.

"These traumatic experiences can eventually affect the way children see themselves, other people and their world. These children could see others and their surroundings as something scary, and could also feel insecure in facing others," Fransiska said

Head priest at the MBK parish, Father Krispinus Ginting, did not respond to the team's question about what action the church was going to take to follow the media reports. The alleged perpetrator, identified only as H, also remained silent upon request for an interview by phone.

The new Vatican guidelines on investigating and reporting alleged cases of sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults by perpetrators within the Catholic Church urges clergymen to report cases to the police.

The clergy can open a preliminary investigation based on a possible delict sourced from anonymous reports, media reports or even social media reports.

"The anonymity of the source should not automatically lead to considering the report as false," the handbook, issued on July 16, states.

Indonesian Carmelite order head Father Budiono said that they were always open to sexual abuse reports.

As leaders, we are open to reports or complaints. They should file the reports directly with us and inform us of their clear identity, he said, adding that victims could make reports by phone too.

All four victims who spoke to the Post and Tirto.id team said they would report their cases only if they were guaranteed protection.

Anna said the other women did not file immediate reports because of the confusion and concerns felt by victims. She expressed her disappointment when she read that the former head of the parish interviewed in the reports, Father Andreas Yudhi Wiyadi, said he had never heard of any sexual abuse cases.

The Church betrays us! Anna wrote in her message to the team.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Sixty five years since Rosa Parks was ordered to relinquish her bus seat because she was Black, Joe Biden has asked Sen Kamala Harris to sit in the second most powerful seat in the nation as the first Black, Asia-American woman Vice President of the United States.

Tuesday Biden announced Harris as his running mate in the race for the presidency. Wednesday, Biden and Harris formally addressed the nation from a Wilmington, Delaware high school gymnasium, practicing Coronavirus safety protocols.

This morning all across the nation little girls woke up, especially little Black and Brown girls, who so often may feel overlooked and undervalued in their communities, but today just maybe they are seeing themselves for the first time in a new way: as the stuffs of president and vic president, said Biden

Harris said she is mindful of all the heroic and ambitious women before me, whos sacrifice, determination, and resilience makes my presence here today possible.

Applauding from above were Rosa Parks, 1972 presidential candidate Shirley Chisholm and 1984 vice president candidate Geraldine Ferraro.

Wednesdays introduction also marked the 3rd anniversary of the Unite The Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia during which counter demonstrator Heather Heyer was run over and killed by a white supremacist. The event and Trumps reaction to it, inspired Biden to run for president. In addition to noting it his remarks in Wilmington, Biden tweeted the following:

Three years ago today, white supremacists descended on Charlottesville with torches in hand and hate in their hearts. Our president said they were very fine people.

It was clear then, and its clear now: We are in a battle for the soul of our nation, and we must win.

Heather Heyer was a brave young woman who saw what was happening in her hometown of Charlottesville and decided to fight against it.

Let us honor her memory by continuing to stand against hate.

Harris, 55, is the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India. Following her parents divorce she was raised by her mother.

Like Barack Obama, she ran for president in her first term in the U.S. Senate. During the Democratic Debates she recalled her experience with school busing as a child and challenged Biden over his opposition to it. Some had thought that would discount her as his running mate. But just as Biden had No Malarky painted on his campaign bus he made it known he also holds no grudges.

Biden may not hold a grudge, but he does hold memory of his beloved late son Beau Bidens admiration for and close friendship with Harris which began when Beau Biden served as Attorney General of Delaware and Harris as Attorney General of California. It was not uncommon for the two to talk multiple times daily.

Donald Trump was also a past supporter of Harris. Trump contributed to Harris twice, in 2011 and 2013, for a total of $6,000 when she ran for Attorney General in California. A Harris spokesman told the Sacramento Bee she donated the money to a nonprofit group helping Central Americans.

As Attorney General for California, Harris directed the largest justice department in the nation outside of the U.S. Justice Department itself.

With their Wednesday remarks in Wilmington, Biden and Harris made their opening arguments for why Trump and Pence should not be reelected.

As somebody whos presented my fair share of arguments in court, the case against Donald Trump and Mike Pence is open and shut, "

The presidents mismanagement of the pandemic has plunged us into the worst economic crises since the great Depression and we are experiencing a moral reckoning with racism and systemic injustice that has brought a new coalition of conscience to the streets of our country demanding change, said Harris.

Biden was long said to be the candidate Trump feared the most. And Harris is also likely the vice president candidate Trump and Pence feared the most.

Like Biden, Harris is a moderate and the Senator and former Attorney General does not have obvious vulnerable areas for Trump and Pence to snipe at like other candidates did, such as Susan Rice (Benghazi) and Elizabeth Warren.

The choice of Harris has already produced a fundraising windfall for Biden and can be expected to produce a windfall of votes as well. The choice of Harris will not only solidify Bidens already wide lead among women voters in the polls, it should also increase voter turnout among African-American and other Obama voters who sat out the 2016 election.

The proper way to pronounce Kamala is like the punctuation, comma. For the Biden bid, Kamala Harris is also an exclamation point.
Several of the 2020 Democratic primary candidates favored the abolishment of the Electoral College. Or, as once-confident candidate Elizabeth Warren put it, I plan to be the last American president to be elected by the Electoral College.

Furor over the Electoral College among the left arose from the 2000 and 2016 elections. Al Gore and Hillary Clinton, respectively, won the popular votes. But, like three earlier presidents, they lost the Electoral College voting  and with it the presidency.

The Founding Fathers saw a purpose in the Electoral College. It ensured that small, rural states would retain importance in national elections.

The Electoral College lessened the chance of voting fraud affecting the outcome of a national vote by compartmentalizing the outcome among the various states. It usually turns the presidential election into a contest between two major parties that alone have the resources to campaign nationwide.

The college is antithetical to the parliamentary systems of Europe. There, a multiplicity of small extremist parties form and break coalitions to select heads of state, often without transparency.

Yet to change the U.S. Constitution is hard  and by intent.

Historically, an amendment has required a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress and an additional ratification by three-fourths of the states through votes of their legislatures.

There is a chance that some states could render void the Electoral College without formally amending the Constitution.

To circumvent the Constitution, Democrats have pushed The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, an agreement among a group of states that would force state electors to vote in accordance with the national popular vote and ignore their own state tallies. Already, 15 states totaling 73 percent of the 270 electoral votes necessary to win the presidency have joined.

Liberal academics have an array of proposed constitutional changes. Why do two Wyoming senators each represent about 290,000 voters while each California senator represents 20 million?

Forget that the founders established a constitutional republic, not a radical democracy, in order to check and balance popular and often volatile public opinion. One way was by creating an upper-house Senate that would slow down the pulse of the more populist House of Representatives.

Nevertheless, there is an ongoing effort to dream up ways to create more, and apparently liberal, senators  to change the rules rather than the hearts and minds of the voters.

In his recent eulogy at John Lewiss funeral, Barack Obama proposed giving statehood to liberal Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. That would instantly give Democrats four additional senators.

Others want senators allotted by population. That was the argument in a recent Atlantic article titled The Path to Give California 12 Senators, and Vermont Just One.

There is nothing in the Constitution that specifies the exact size and makeup of the Supreme Court. It only offers guidance on how justices are appointed and confirmed, and that there will be a chief justice. But since 1869, the Supreme Court has been fixed at eight associate justices and one chief justice.

Democratic primary candidates Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Beto ORourke and Elizabeth Warren said they would consider ending that 151-year tradition and pack the court with additional justices in the fashion of President Franklin D. Roosevelts failed 1937 effort.

The left is apparently afraid of a second Donald Trump presidential term that might allow him four or five Supreme Court picks over eight years in office.

The effect of such appointments could be mitigated by expanding the court to 12 or more justices, along with altering the rules for selecting them.

In his eulogy for Lewis, Obama also called for an end to the Senate filibuster. He claimed it was a racist relic from the Jim Crow era used to stymie needed social change.

Given recent polling, Obama now apparently believes Trump will lose the election, and Congress with it. But he also seems to fear that fundamental progressive transformation could be checked by a filibuster-happy Republican Senate minority.

Democrats were perfectly happy with the filibuster  or the mere threat of the filibuster  from 2017 to 2019, when the Democratic Senate minority blocked much of the Trump agenda.

Efforts to change time-honored rules for short-term gain are becoming more common.

Sanctuary cities nullify federal immigration law to empower illegal immigration. The nonenforcement of laws against rioting and looting has become common in big cities. The First Amendment is inert on college campuses.

The left should beware. Politics are volatile and often change. When Democrats destroy longstanding rules for short-term advantage, they may regret it when they too are in need of sober traditions and the U.S. Constitution.

Victor Davis Hanson is a classicist and historian at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and the author of The Second World Wars: How the First Global Conflict Was Fought and Won, from Basic Books. You can reach him by e-mailing authorvdh@gmail.com

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The Bombay High Court on Wednesday said that it will issue its final verdict on the matter related to new tariff order amendments (NTO 2.0) on August 24. A coalition of broadcasters under the banner of Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) had filed a petition against the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India in January citing grievances against the NTO 2.0.

The High Court has also barred TRAI from taking any coercive actions against TV broadcasters for not complying with the new regulations of the tariff order till it issues the order on August 24. Broadcasters had until August 10 to comply with the new regulations.
After the 73-day face-off in Doklam between India and China in 2017, China started strengthening its airbase adjoining the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) deploying fighter jets at Nagri Gunsa Airport (Ngari Gunsa), just 200 km from Pangong Tso in Ladakh.

During the 2017 Doklam standoff, Chinese and Indian troops were placed on high alert over a dispute near the Bhutanese border. Indian and Chinese troops were locked in a standoff in Doklam from June 16, 2017, after India stopped the building of a road in the disputed area by the Chinese Army. The face-off ended on August 28, 2017.

Defence experts associated with China believe that there are 14 airfields in total in three sectors--northern, central and eastern. Recently, a report by the US Air Force's China Aerospace Studies Institute (CASI) has revealed that China has deployed 36 aircrafts at the Hotan airbase of Xinjiang in addition to Nagri Gunsa Airport, including 24 J-11, six J-8 fighter, two Y-8G transport aircraft, two KJ-500 airborne early warning aircraft, two MI-17 helicopters and CH-4 drones.

According to experts, China's Hotan, Yarkant and Kashgar air bases are close to Ladakh and if there is a war, China can use them against India. This year, a report by Howard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs said, "The most important PLAAF forward air bases and airspace near the Indian border areas, which will be important in combat operations, are located at Hotan, Lhasa / Gongagar, Nagri-Gunassa and Jigze., where China's fighter jets are stationed."

"Under the radius of these air bases and airspace are Kashmir, Northern India and North-East India. There is no blast pen the airbases of Ngari-Gunsa and Xigaze, so the Indian Air Force could destroy fighter jets deployed at these airbases in China during retaliation. At the Lhasa airbase, China has recently designed a rigid blast pen to protect up to 36 aircraft.

China has a total of around 2,100 fighter jets, including J-10, J-11 and SU-27.

On the other hand, Indias nuclear strategy, which has traditionally focused on Pakistan, has now increased emphasis on China, and Beijing is now in the range of Indian missiles, according to a report. The report said that this posture has likely been reinforced after the 2017 Doklam standoff.

An analysis of Indias nuclear forces published in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists on July 20 by Hans M. Kristensen and Matt Korda makes this observation. The authors said, "While Indias primary deterrence relationship is with Pakistan, its nuclear modernization indicates that it is putting increased emphasis on its future strategic relationship with China. All the new Agni missiles have ranges that indicate their primary target is China. This posture is likely to be reinforced after the 2017 Doklam standoff, during which Chinese and Indian troops were placed on high alert over a dispute near the Bhutanese border. Tension remained high in 2019, with troop injuries on both sides of the border."

"The expansion of Indias nuclear posture to take a conventionally and nuclear superior China into account will result in significantly new capabilities being deployed over the next decade, which could potentially also influence how India views the role of its nuclear weapons against Pakistan," they said.

"According to one scholar, we may be witnessing what I call a decoupling of Indian nuclear strategy between China and Pakistan. The force requirements India needs in order to credibly threaten assured retaliation against China may allow it to pursue more aggressive strategies  such as escalation dominance or a splendid first strike  against Pakistan," the report said.
The startup has so far raised Rs 31.5 crore till now and is in the process of raising another Rs 90 crore before 2021

Hyderabad: SkyrootAerospace, a city- based startup has successfully test-fired its upper stage rocket engine named 'Raman, which can place multiple satellites into orbit, a top official of the firm said on Thursday.

Founded by former scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Skyroot is into building India's first privately built space launch vehicles.

The company was tightlipped on when the rocket engine was test-fired.

"We demonstrated India's first 100 per cent 3D-printed Bi-Propellant Liquid Rocket Engine injector. Compared to traditional manufacturing this reduced the overall mass by 50 per cent, reduced total number of components and lead time by 80 per cent. The engine is capable of multiple restarts enabling them to insert various satellites into multiple orbits in a single mission," Pawan Kumar Chandana, Co-Founder and CEO, Skyroot Aerospace said.

Two of the firm's rocket stages are getting ready for test firing in six months, he added.

Skyroot has developed in-house software for launch vehicle guidance, navigation and control functions and testing for onboard avionics modules is in progress and the firm is targeting its first launch vehicle in December 2021, Naga Bharath Daka, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, Skyroot said.

"Our first launch vehicle 'Vikram-I' which is under manufacturing and targeting launch in Dec 2021, hosts an Orbit Adjustment Module (OAM) at the top which gives the final burn and inserts multiple satellites into space. In an 'Indias first', we successfully test-fired its liquid engine," he said.

Skyroot will highly benefit from the newly-created Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN- SPACe)which allows access to ISRO's testing and launch range facilities, Naga Bharath Daka said.

"We are already in active discussions with ISRO for testing activities. We look forward to utilizing ISROs launch ranges for our launch," he added.

The startup has so far raised Rs 31.5 crore till now and is in the process of raising another Rs 90 crore before 2021.

Mukesh Bansal, founder of Myntra, Solar Industries, Vedanshu Investments and few other angel investors participated in the early stage funding.
Dutch oil major Royal Dutch Shell is planning to snap up a major stake in a petrochemical businesses, according to anonymous sources cited by Reuters.

According to the source, Shell signed a memorandum of understanding to pick up a 50% stake in India-based Nayara Energys petrochem project.

Nayara Energy Limited (formerly Essar Oil Limited), which also runs Indias second-largest single-site refinery that makes up 8% of Indias total refinery capacity, is 49.13% owned by PJSC NK Rosneft, which it picked up in August of 2017.

The other owners include Trafigura and Russian United Capital Partners Investment group.

The Reuters source claims that the deal was discussed as far back as November of last year, months before the pandemic decimated Big Oils bottom lines.

The project will be capable of producing 10.75 million tonnes of chemicals, according to Nayaras proposal.

Shell already has a presence in India, including fuel stations, an LNG import terminal, a port, and a plant that turns waste into gasoline and diesel.

Another of Shells petrochemical complex projects in the United States has suffered setbacks as a result of the pandemic, announcing in the early stages of the pandemic that it would suspend construction activity in its Beaver County petrochemical facility in Pennsylvania out of fear for its workers. Development later resumed, then stopped, before resuming yet again.

The source said that a new and equal joint venture will be created for building the project, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Indias crude oil demand and refining capacity is sizable as the worlds third-largest oil consumer and importer.

The largest share of Indias crude oil is sourced from the Middle East, mainly from Iraq.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
NEW YORK, Aug. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The longest continuously operating Black-owned investment banking firm in the country, Blaylock Van, LLC is helping more investment managers, pension funds and companies interested in diversifying their inclusion of Black- and women-owned firms in the wake of the global pandemic. With offices in eight markets from coast to coast, Blaylock Vans services include public finance, corporate banking, debt and equity, sales and trading, structured finance, research and more.



Certified as a Minority Business Enterprise by the State of New York, the State of Wisconsin, the City of New York and the National Minority Supplier Development Council, Blaylock Van is 81 percent Black-owned and 8 percent Native American-owned. As the pandemic has taken a toll on businesses, municipal budgets and investment portfolios alike, Blaylock Van offers advanced capabilities when it comes to supplier diversity and diversity and inclusion efforts for investors and issuers.

More and more clients are reaching out in need of thoughtful solutions for their businesses and funds going forward. Fortunately, we are well-positioned to help firms and governments affected by the pandemic as well as those seeking to solidify their inclusion of African-American diversity firms, said Eric Standifer, CEO and president of Blaylock Van. Our client base ranges from investment managers to municipalities, and from pension funds to family offices, and our highly qualified team delivers expertise in supporting diverse growth opportunities. We also have a team of professionals with experience in advising CDFIs and MDIs, helping these institutions leverage their capital in efficient ways to address affordable housing programs and lending to communities of color.

During the pandemic, Black-owned small businesses have been hit disproportionately hard, according to research from the University of California-Santa Cruz, and many minority-owned businesses struggled to find Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. With its diverse strengths and broad reach, Blaylock Van can assist businesses and investors with corporate banking, equity and debt underwriting, real estate financing and investment opportunities.

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In addition, Blaylock Van has hosted interns for several decades through the CORO Foundation, which trains ethical, diverse civic leaders with the aim of creating a wealth of strong and diverse leaders across industries.

About Blaylock Van, LLC

Blaylock Van, LLC (BV) is a Black-owned investment banking and financial services company, providing personalized service for clients across the country. Clients include corporations, municipalities, investment managers, pension funds and family offices. Global electronic equity and fixed-income trading platforms allow direct market access to more than 40 worldwide exchanges, while proprietary web-based research platform is designed to specifically address the needs of fundamental portfolio managers and analysts. The firms headquarters are in New York City, with offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Columbus, Ohio, Dallas, Madison, Wis., Miami and Oakland, Calif. For more information, please visit https://brv-llc.com/ .

Contact Information:

Melissa Jasmin

Project Manager

ThinkZILLA Consulting Group

888-509-1145

melissa@thinkzillaconsulting.com

thinkzillaconsulting.com




For thousands of years, the Miwok people lived throughout Northern and Central California  spread over a hundred villages along the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers and north of the San Francisco Bay area, east into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.

Then came sudden and drastic change  when an influx of European settlers in the 19th century invaded Miwok lands based on promises of riches overnight. In 1839, John Sutter built his fort and raided around the area. Then the California Gold Rush brought an onslaught of non-Native people into the area.

As many say, the rest is history  and has followed with many years of regaining the right to these historical lands and official recognition of the abuses faced.

This history is not new to Indian Country  we all have come to know this through the years and as other tribes have encountered the same struggles.

U.S. Census 2020: Social Distance Powwow

The Miwok story is personal for me  I am a descendent of the Blue Family. My late grandmother, Dorothy (Blue) Olvera, and late father, Henry Sonny Olvera, were very proud members of this Tribe.

I now take my family history with me to the work I do on behalf of the state. As the Tribal Affairs Specialist for the California Complete Count  Census 2020 Office, I work with Tribal Governments and tribal outreach to encourage the hardest-to-count Californians to take the Census.

Its hard for me to admit, but prior to this role, I had little knowledge about how important the Census is for Indian Country. I think back to the 2000 Census when someone knocked on my front door to count me. I didnt understand why this person wanted to know my name and who lived with me  I was suspicious.

This is a similar situation other Californians face today  understanding why the Census is important and how exactly its important for them and their family.

The Census counts every person in the United States regardless of background or immigration status. This simple, nine question survey helps determine dollars that fund important programs and our political power for the next 10 years.

Kayla Hilario. Courtesy photo

In exchange for stolen land, the government made promises of health, housing, education and more to our people. The Census is the pathway for telling the government who is here, so they know how to allocate these promised dollars, resources and congressional representation to our people. Some programs that rely on Census data for funding are childcare subsidy programs, workforce development/employment programs, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) programs, food stamps, Indian health services, housing, not to mention public schools, hospitals, and roads. By taking the Census, you ensure valuable dollars are brought to our communities for services we depend on every day.

Whether a household is counted as an American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) household depends entirely on the race of Person 1, the first person listed on the Census form. If filling out the form online, make sure that when you select Head of Household as a American Indian/Alaska Native household that it does not switch the head of household when you respond to the question Who is responsible for paying the rent/mortgage? It is equally important for all other persons in the household who identify as AI/AN to be counted as such on the form.

Remember, the Census is self-response which means no proof of tribal enrollment is required. Select your racial identity as you see yourself. You have the option to select multiple races. To honor your heritage, consider adding your specific tribal affiliation, for example: Ione Band of Miwoks.

Please know, your information is safe and secure. The information you provide cannot be used against you in any fashion. We encourage community members who live off tribal lands to complete the questionnaire form online ( my2020census.gov ), by calling 844-330-2020, or mail.

If you choose to complete the questionnaire online ( my2020census.gov ) or by phone, you can input or provide your ID when prompted. Enumerators have already begun knocking on doors to collect information for those who have not yet responded.

Its important for all our communities to be counted  especially Indian Country  to ensure we bring back resources and representation that is rightfully ours. Lets not forget about our past as we help shape our future.

Kayla Hilario is a Tribal Affairs Specialist for the California Complete Count  Census 2020 Office. She is a citizen of the Ione Band of Miwok Indians.

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A New Jersey man paid $20,000 in Bitcoin to have his 13-year-old child porn victim murdered by a hitman, before calling it off and asking for a refund, according to authorities.

John Michael Musbach, 31, of Haddonfield, was arrested Thursday and charged over the murder-for-hire plot of the New York girl in 2016 after an informant handed details of the scheme to authorities.

The killing contract allegedly came after Musbach was arrested on child pornography charges back in March 2016 when the girl's parents learned he was exchanging sexually explicit videos and photos with their 13-year-old daughter online.

Prosecutors said Musbach then arranged to have the child killed, even checking that her age was not a problem for a hit to be carried out, and paid around $20,000 to a website offering the service - only backing out when he was asked to send another $5,000 payment.

John Michael Musbach, 31, of Haddonfield, under investigation by the Atlantic County Prosecutors Office (pictured) for child porn offenses was arrested Thursday accused of paying $20,000 in Bitcoin to have his 13-year-old child porn victim murdered by a hitman

The suspect, who worked for a cloud hosting company at the time, first began communicating online with his victim in the summer of 2015.

The conversations soon escalated to Musbach getting the young girl to send sexually explicit videos and photographs of herself and to him sending similar videos and images of himself, according to federal prosecutors.

The girl's parents discovered the nature of the chats in September 2015 and notified police in New York state.

Musbach was told he was under investigation for his online sexual contact and was told to stay away from the victim.

He was then arrested by Atlantic County Prosecutors Office on child pornography charges in March 2016 and his cell phone and laptop were seized.

Musbach confessed to sending and receiving sexually explicit images and videos to the victim while knowing that she was just 13.

He pleaded guilty to child endangerment by sexual contact in October 2017 and received a two-year suspended prison sentence in 2018 and was placed on lifetime parole.

In 2019, a cooperating informant began providing information to Homeland Security agents in St. Paul, Minnesota, and provided messages between Musbach and a website on the dark web which claimed to offer contract killings or other acts of violence in return for cryptocurrency payments.

The messages revealed that in May 2016, Musbach had arranged through the website to have the child executed, prosecutors said.

Musbach was due to make his initial court appearance Thursday before US Magistrate Judge Karen M. Williams (pictured)

In the messages, Musbach asked if a 14-year-old was too young to target and, when he was told the victim's age wasn't a problem, he paid around 40 Bitcoin (equivalent to around $20,000) to have the hit carried out, prosecutors said.

Authorities said the 31-year-old then repeatedly messaged the websites administrator asking when the hit would take place.

Musbach only backed out when he was asked for an extra $5,000 to secure the hit, prosecutors said.

He then sought to cancel the contract and asked for a refund.

The websites administrator then revealed the website was a scam and threatened to report him to the police.

Musbach was arrested Thursday and charged with using interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire.

He was due to make his initial court appearance Thursday via videoconference before US Magistrate Judge Karen M. Williams.

Musbach faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 if convicted.
Varanasi, Aug 13 : In a shocking incident, the mortuary at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) hospital, handed over the wrong body to the family of Additional Chief Medical Officer (ACMO) who had died of Covid-19.

The ACMO, Dr. Jung Bahadur Singh, had died late on Tuesday night and the body was handed over in a body bag to the family on Wednesday.

The family took the body for cremation at the Harishchandra Ghat and started the cremation rituals.

Just when the pyre had been lit, the family of a Covid-19 patient from Ghazipur who had also died the same day, reached there and apprised the ACMO's family of the mix-up.

The ACMO's family removed the wrapper to see the face of partially burnt body and were shocked to find that the body was not of the ACMO.

Later, further rites of cremation of Ghazipur's patient were completed by his family while the ACMO's family went back to the mortuary to take his body for cremation.

The ACMO, who held the responsibility of ensuring necessary arrangements at all COVID hospitals in the district, had fallen ill and was admitted to a private hospital a week ago.

"The result of his initial corona test had come negative two days ago, but when his test was conducted again, he was found positive," said District Magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma.

The ACMO had been shifted to BHU hospital's ICU, where he breathed his last on Tuesday late night.

According to the official statement of the district administration, the body of another Covid-19 patient from Ghazipur, who died on Wednesday morning, had been kept along with the body of the ACMO at BHU's mortuary.

As per the COVID protocol, both bodies were wrapper packed, which led to the mix-up.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.  Floridas coronavirus death toll increased Tuesday by 277 victims, the highest number reported during the pandemic.

At least 8,553 residents have died from COVID-19 complications so far, along with another 132 nonresidents who died in the state, according to official data.

The previous high for COVID-19 deaths in Florida was 257 on July 31. The daily totals are not reflective of deaths in the past 24 hours, but rather recent weeks. Recent days have seen reports of 93 deaths on Monday and 77 deaths on Sunday.

What about the coming weeks and months? The latest version of a leading coronavirus model, by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, projects Florida could top 13,000 deaths by Labor Day, on Sept. 7.

The widely cited model, released Aug. 6, also projects 19,358 COVID-19 deaths in the state  and 295,000 deaths across the U.S.  by Dec. 1.

But if nearly everyone wears masks and practices social distancing in public, the totals would drop to 15,765 deaths in Florida and 228,271 deaths in the U.S., the forecast says.

Were seeing a rollercoaster in the United States, wrote institute Director Dr. Christopher Murray. It appears that people are wearing masks and socially distancing more frequently as infections increase, then after a while as infections drop, people let their guard down and stop taking these measures to protect themselves and others  which, of course, leads to more infections. And the potentially deadly cycle starts over again.

Floridas new COVID-19 cases remain far below record highs, with 5,831 cases logged on Tuesdays report. Thats more than the 4,155 new cases posted on Monday. Test results reported on a single day typically reflect tests taken over several days.

Overall, 542,792 people in Florida have been diagnosed with infections. The peak for one day was 15,300 cases reported on July 12; the state has had 17 consecutive days of fewer than 10,000 cases.

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The daily COVID-19 testing positivity rate over the past two weeks has ranged from 8.4% to 12.3%, and was 10.3% based on Mondays test results, records show. The state processed 67,000 results over the previous day.

Public health experts say the positivity rate shows the prevalence of the disease in the population. The World Health Organization had advised governments that before reopening, the rate should remain at 5% or lower for at least 14 days.

SOUTH FLORIDA

South Florida, which accounts for 29% of Floridas population, reported 2,558 new cases in the past day, or 43.9% of the daily total for the state.

Broward County: 707 new coronavirus cases were reported Tuesday, bringing the total to 63,605. The median age of those infected in the county is 39. A total of 856 people in Broward have died from the virus, 35 more than reported Monday.

Palm Beach County: 344 new cases, bringing the total to 37,641. A total of 940 people have died, four more than reported the previous day. The median age of those infected in the county is 41.

Miami-Dade County: 1,507 new cases, bringing the total to 135,130. A total of 1,883 people have died. Thats nine more than reported Monday. The median age of those infected in the county is 43.

The most recent data concerning infections among children under age 18 show 279,464 have been tested for COVID-19 statewide. About 15.1% of them, or 42,198 have tested positive.

South Florida has had 45%, or 17,932 of the cases involving children. That includes 8,807 cases in Miami-Dade County, highest in the state, 6,330 in Broward, and 2,795 in Palm Beach County.

COVID-19 hot spots: How Floridas cases and deaths compare to other U.S. states 

TESTING AND POSITIVITY RATE

A total of 4.05 million people have been swabbed in Florida since the pandemic began, producing a positivity rate of 13.4%. The state reports that 3.5 million people have tested negative. At the end of May, Floridas positivity rate was about 5.6%.

In South Florida the positivity rates on Tuesday were 10.2% for Broward, up from Mondays 9.4%; 13.5% for Miami-Dade, up from 10.8%; and 8.6% for Palm Beach County, which is up from 7.3%.

Palm Beach County Health Department director Dr. Alina Alonso said during Tuesdays county commission meeting the goal is for that number to fall below five percent, which would allow for effective contact tracing.

When a case comes back as positive, a contact tracer gets in touch with the person to do just what the name suggests: figure out who theyve been in contact with in the past two weeks. Those people can then be contacted and isolated so they dont expose other people.

Overall, Palm Beach Countys positive testing rate currently sits at 13.2%. While the recent numbers are better, Alonso cautioned commission members about entering Phase 2 of reopening since the April shutdown.

It would be a disaster if we went into Phase 2 with these numbers around us, Alonso said. We would be back in the hole as fast as we opened up, so I just want people to start thinking about that as we go forward.

HOSPITALIZATIONS

Across the state, 6,753 people were hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19 as of about 1 p.m. Tuesday. The states online tool updates several times throughout the day. Broward County reported 920 patients hospitalized, Palm Beach County had 442, and Miami-Dade had 1,442, most in the state.

The number of people in hospitals for COVID-19 has been declining. The total hospitalized for the disease two weeks ago was nearly 9,000.

Overall, Florida has reported 31,354 people have been hospitalized with the virus since March.

DEATHS

Statewide: The official COVID-19 death total for Florida reached 8,685 on Tuesday. That figure includes 132 people who were not residents. South Floridas reported deaths on Tuesday rose by 48 for a total of 3,679, about 42.4% of the states total.

COVID-19 is the states deadliest infectious disease. Throughout 2019, there were 2,703 deaths attributed to the flu and pneumonia in Florida, records show.

Seniors: At least 3,638 deaths have occurred among residents and staff of nursing homes and long-term care facilities, a figure that represents 42.5 of the state total for coronavirus deaths of residents.

Miami-Dade County has the highest number of long-term care facility deaths, with 635, or 17.5% of the total. Palm Beach County had 381 deaths, or 10.5%, and Broward accounted for 256 deaths, or 7%.

Nationwide: Florida has reported an average of about 165 deaths per day, or 1,159 total over the past seven days. Floridas death rate ranks 18th in the United States when compared with other states and the District of Columbia, with 38 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventions COVID Data Tracker.



2020 Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

Visit the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) at www.sun-sentinel.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin knows how to troll. In the midst of a democratic uprising in Belarus, in which thousands of citizens have taken to the streets to reject last weekends stolen election, Putin offered the nations struggling dictator his congratulations.

I hope your state activity will facilitate mutually beneficial Russian-Belarusian relations in all areas, deepen cooperation within the Union State, and build up integration processes, he wrote in a congratulatory telegram to Alexander Lukashenko on Monday.

Putin likes autocrats, of course. But Lukashenko has gone out of his way to defy Putin in recent years. In April 2019, he expelled the Russian ambassador to Belarus, accusing him of treating his country as a Russian province. In December, he secured a $500 million infrastructure loan from the China Development Bank. In July, his regime arrested 33 men he accused of being Russian mercenaries fomenting discord ahead of this months election.

What makes this a master troll, however, is Putins mention of mutually beneficial Russian-Belarussian relations. Lukashenko has publicly rejected the Kremlins proposal for a closer union between the two Slavic states. This year, the two countries failed to reach an agreement on crude oil exports to Belarus, dealing a blow to the countrys command-and-control economy, which relied on the revenue generated by refining Russian crude and selling it on the European market.

So what exactly is Putin up to? Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for a quarter of a century, is in serious trouble. After he claimed victory with 80% of the vote in this weekends election, his country erupted in protest. Demonstrations persist despite a nationwide internet blackout. Why would Putin throw his weight behind Lukashenko now?

Daniel Fried, a former senior U.S. diplomat who is now a fellow at the Atlantic Council, says Putins embrace of Lukashenko reflects a deeper anxiety for Russias leader. After the democratic uprising that drove Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych into exile in 2014, Fried said, Putin cannot abide a second democratic revolt among the three Slavic nations.

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In this respect, Putins desire to see the uprising in Belarus fail is more important than sticking it to a former client who has sought independence. If Russians see their neighbors defying a dictator, it could give them ideas about defying their own.

This dynamic also presents a challenge for Western diplomacy. On the one hand, the instinct to sanction Lukashenko and his cronies is correct. Since 2015, the U.S. has tried to reach out to Lukashenko, with modest results. He has, for example, freed political prisoners and courted Western investment.

But that Western engagement has not produced tangible results. Just watch the coerced video of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the leading opposition figure who stood for election after her husband was arrested in June, disqualifying him from the election. Over the summer, she emerged as a popular alternative to Lukashenko. This week she was forced to flee to Lithuania in part because she feared for the safety of her children.

That said, it would be a mistake to end Western engagement in Belarus altogether. The Senate is expected to confirm soon the first U.S. ambassador to Belarus in more than a decade. Some lawmakers, such as Senator Chris Murphy, have argued that sending her to Minsk now would be normalizing relations with a democratically illegitimate dictator. Fried, however, said it would be useful to have a powerful advocate on the ground in Minsk for the rights of the Belarussian people in the aftermath of the sham election.

Its unclear what will happen next  not just with the U.S. ambassador to Belarus but with the Belarussian dictator. Whatever the result, Belarussians have made it clear that they dont want to be ruled by a mini-Putin. America and its allies should make it clear that they are ready to help turn this crisis into an opportunity for democratic transition.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Eli Lake is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. He was the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast and covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun and UPI.

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

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

2020 Bloomberg L.P.
I place a high value on people and building relationships.

Unforgettable Coatings, a paint, specialty coating, and roof application contractor, prides itself on giving clients unforgettable experiences. However, Unforgettable Coatings success starts with its employees.

"We love one another. We spend our time caring for each other, and the natural ramification has been employees never leaving. In fact, in 13 years  31 in management  one person has turned over, said Cory Summerhays, founder and president of Unforgettable Coatings, Inc. "Inspiring other companies to act the same way or emulate our culture is a challenge that our leadership team hopes to accomplish by leading with our example."

Along with a dedicated focus on painting and roofing services, Unforgettable Coatings pushes employees to get involved in their communities. The Unforgettable Gift is an annual program set up by the Unforgettable Coatings team to gift one couple with $15,000 to go toward fertility procedures or adoption services. The inability to experience parenthood has touched those close to the Unforgettable team and they jumped at the opportunity to serve in this way.

Unforgettable Coatings is also a special donor to SafeNest, a local nonprofit committed to ending domestic violence in Clark County. An additional part of SafeNests mission supports those affected by broken homes by inspiring hope for a new future by focusing on personal empowerment. Personal development is right in line with the Unforgettable core values.

That spirit of empowerment also plays a role in the management style at Unforgettable Coatings. Cory Summerhays and his leadership team place a high premium on trusting those they hire. Members of the team have the autonomy needed to make decisions, which instills confidence in individual abilities to execute a project.

Cory Summerhays further explains, "Just that expression of trusting the individuals has yielded success for us. I place high value on people and building relationships. Over 70 of our painters have been with us for over five years; some have eclipsed the 10-year mark  something almost unheard of in our industry."

About Unforgettable Coatings

Unforgettable Coatings is a growing painting, specialty coating, and roofing contractor that provides services for residents and business owners in Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and Idaho. Quality and service are central to Unforgettables business model.

Learn more about Unforgettable Coatings at https://www.unforgettablecoatings.com/ and Cory Summerhays at https://corysummerhays.com/.
Protesters on the steps of the Michigan Capitol in April expressed their displeasure with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's orders to keep people at home and businesses locked during the coronavirus outbreak. (Associated Press)

I cant stop thinking about a poster I saw on social media a few weeks ago, held aloft by an African American woman standing on what looks like her front lawn. It read, Not all blacks are criminals. Not all whites are racist. Not all cops are bad. Ignorance comes in all colors.

In a crisp 20 words, her sign crystallized something Ive been thinking a lot about lately: the decline of nuance.

We have forgotten how to hold and process opposing ideas at the same time and forge them into informed opinion we are prepared to revise as the world shifts on its axis.

America has a terrible case of the Screaming Memes. We yell past each other and bellow ill-considered thoughts into the ether, where they spread unfiltered onto our streets. To paraphrase the late, great John Prine, our heads are full of bumblebees.

This is not just about the encroaching incivility many have noted. Its also about the conditions that feed our burgeoning inability to draw distinctions between degrees and kinds of evil.

The frustrations of lockdown dont help. When, in the early days of the protests, a brief 1:30 p.m. curfew was imposed in my Santa Monica neighborhood, a very nice, highly intelligent Facebook friend pounced on it as the tyranny of a police state and declared their intention of flouting the order. As friends who grew up in the former Soviet Union mutter darkly when they hear this sort of thing from Americans, If you think this is a police state, try living in one.

Im not sure the curfew was warranted either, but its a giant leap of logic to go from bad move by the constabulary to police state.

Or take the issue of police reform. Read a reputable newspaper and youll find a range of arguments of what that might mean in practice. But venture online and defund the police is rapidly devolving into a crude meme advocating total shutdown of police departments. Type in defend the police and youll find polar opposite views. And if you dare to suggest in either forum that there may be room for some middle ground that calls for major reforms but not disbandment, someone will denounce you as a milquetoast libtard or a Trump apologist.

Story continues

Sometimes you have to shout to make yourself heard. The anger in communities of color has simmered off the boil for a long time, and it took the loud and sustained cry generated by the George Floyd killing for the rest of America to finally embrace the urgent need to repair race relations in America.

At least thats how we react if were listening rather than getting mad.

So much of todays ethos is an unproductive, shoot-from-the-hip fury that runs an ugly streak through our public discourse and deforms our capacity to learn before we speak. I mean the insta-rage that floats free across the media and the internet; that spills into the streets and corrodes us into encamped armies of dueling sloganeers. Public health officers striving to contain the virus are rewarded with daily death threats. "Black lives matter!" is met with redundant cries of All lives matter! People claim rights for things as disparate as stopping police brutality and gathering in public without masks.

Slogans can channel a protest movements unifying power in demonstrations. Slung around the Web by shouters, however, they accelerate the impetus to bully, an example set by our vile president with his Twitter finger locked on the campaign-boosting blame trigger.

And its not just the Internet that prematurely loosens our tongues. The dumbing down of education is also to blame. Anyone who spends time around small children knows that their hunger to learn by self-discovery and experimentation is prodigious. Do it self! my toddler used to say, batting me away when I was overdoing the maternal guidance. But self-discovery is only part of the equation.

Ive taught college for many years, and recently Ive noticed a growing tendency for students to begin each written or in-class contribution with I feel that  . Guided by a social media ethos, we are all becoming tech-savvy opinion machines who react on a dime, speak before we are informed and cultivate the attention span of gnats.

Given the chance, however, theres nothing my students love better than a deep-dish discussion of morality in the movies we study. If it were up to me, Id reinstate a revamped humanities curriculum  a vanishing breed in our colleges  with an emphasis on moral and social philosophy, the tools of logical reasoning and critical inquiry. And Id encourage those who left college behind decades ago to continue educating themselves at home. In particular, we need to restore a skill that has deserted us: the ability to hold two or more contrasting or conflicting ideas at the same time until we can shape them into positions from which meaningful action can follow.

By this I dont mean we should stick to shrugging bromides, giving up on argument or on crafting solutions because its all too complex. We can be so open minded that our brains fall out, from which follows an unhelpful, debate-club, both-sideism. Instead we must be equipped to hold our tongues and listen, to localize intellectual debate and sharpen our thinking so that we can achieve moral clarity  and stand ready to revise as needed.

Ella Taylor is an adjunct professor in the School of Cinematic Arts at USC and a film critic for npr.org, the Criterion Collection and other outlets.
The Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has fined Nigeria Info 99.3FM N5 million.

The fine, according to the commission, was for providing its platform to be used to promote unverifiable and inciting views that can incite crime, public disorder.

A former presidential aspirant, Obadiah Mailafia, had while speaking on the station alleged that a northern state governor is a commander of the terror group, Boko Haram.

The full press statement from NBC management:

The National Broadcasting Commission has noted with grave concern, the unprofessional conduct of Nigeria Info 99.3FM, Lagos, in the handling of the Programme, Morning Cross Fire, aired on August 10, 2020, between 8.30am and 9.00am. The station provided its platform for the guest, Dr. Mailafia Obadiah, to promote unverifiable and inciting views that could encourage or incite to crime and lead to public disorder.

The Commission, again, wishes to reiterate that Broadcasters hold Licenses in trust for the people.

Therefore, no Broadcast Station should be used, to promote personal or sectional interests at the expense of the people.

Dr. Mailafia Obadias comments on the Southern Kaduna Crisis were devoid of facts and by broadcasting same to the public, Nigeria Info 99.3FM, is in violation of the following sections of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code:

3.1.1 No broadcast shall encourage or incite to crime, lead to public disorder or hate, be repugnant to public feelings or contain offensive reference to any person or organisation, alive or dead or generally be disrespectful to human dignity;

3.1.2 Broadcasting shall promote human dignity, therefore, hate speech is prohibited;

3.3.1 (a) The broadcaster shall ensure that any information given in a programme, in whatever form, is accurate;

3.3.3.1(b) The Broadcaster shall ensure that all sides to any issue of public interest are equitably presented for fairness and balance;

3.11.1(a) The broadcaster shall ensure that language or scene likely to encourage or incite to crime, or lead to disorder, is not broadcast;

3.11.1(b) No programme contains anything which amounts to subversion of constituted authority or compromises the unity or corporate existence of Nigeria as a sovereign state;

5.4.1(f) The Broadcaster shall not transmit divisive materials that may threaten or compromise the indivisibility and indissolubility of Nigeria as a sovereign state.

Consequent on these provisions and in line with the amendment of the 6th edition of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code, Nigeria Info 99.3FM Lagos, has been fined the sum of N5,000,000.00 (Five Million Naira), only.

This is expected to serve as a deterrent to all other broadcast stations in Nigeria who are quick to provide platform for subversive rhetorics and the expositions of spurious and unverifiable claims, to desist from such.

The Commission wishes to put it on record that it will not hesitate to suspend the Broadcast Licence of broadcast stations that continue to breach the Code.

Stations are, by this statement, admonished to desist forthwith, from airing unwholesome content, or be ready to face appropriate sanctions. (NAN)
United States officials have discussed with foreign governments the possibility of establishing a demilitarized area in and around the Libyan city of Sirte, Washingtons Ambassador to Libya Richard Norland said Monday.

One of the ideas we are suggesting is supporting some sort of a demilitarized solution around Sirte. We are not the only ones who suggested that, but if we can use our influence to do so, we would like very much to do that, Norland told Cairo-based Ahram Online in an interview.

The aim is to get forces to pull back, to find some sort of neutral security arrangement for the city itself and to avoid the risk of Sirte becoming a flashpoint for an expanded conflict, Norland said.

Why it matters: Norlands comments add depth to reports last week that the Trump administration was engaging in 360-degree diplomacy with all sides in Libyas conflict to bring about a cease-fire.

The United States fears the Libyan civil war is on the cusp of developing into a major regional conflict driven by foreign powers.

Turkey's military and Syrian mercenaries have helped western Libyas UN-recognized government turn back an offensive launched last year by eastern Libyas Gen. Khalifa Hifter, who is backed by Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. Turkeys intervention, in turn, prompted Hifters foreign backers to double down, with Russia sending fighter aircraft and more Wagner Group mercenaries to Libya.

The Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) is not backing off its threats to press the counteroffensive. Hifters foreign patrons have called for a cease-fire but have shown signs of readiness to use force in case the GNA refuses to negotiate  something the United States fears could plunge Libya further into war.

Egypts President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has threatened to militarily intervene if the GNA advances on Sirte, a threat Turkey appears not to take seriously, but the United States does, according to Norland.

Whats next: US officials may be eyeing a potential foot in the door with Cairo.

Egyptian officials told Norland during his trip to Cairo on Monday that Sisi does not want to see any kind of military action either from the east or the west of Libya, and that Egypt opposes any kind of attack on Tripoli, the American diplomat told Ahram Online.

If Cairos position is serious, it could offer the United States an opportunity for a coordinated push toward an enduring cease-fire, Norland suggested.

Hearing those assurances from President Sisi  to the extent that growing confidence can be built around those assurances  I think it could have a very powerful impact on what happens next to stabilize the situation further, the ambassador said.

Whether Egypt would accept a demilitarized Sirte remains to be seen. Spokespeople for the US State Department and for Egypts Foreign Ministry did not return Al-Monitors requests for comment by publication time.

Know more: Fehim Tastekin explores why Hifters backers appear so dead-set on keeping Sirte, even at the risk of fighting Turkey.
Two Memorial area residents are staying active during the pandemic by building toys for at-risk children.

Paul Smith and Earl Montgomery used the woodshop at their the senior living community Buckner Parkway Place, to build a total of 60 wood cars, trucks and trains, and three wood rocking chairs.

Related: Spring Branch ISD balancing multiple objectives with reopening plan

Some kids have nothing. This is saying to that child, Somebody out there cares about me - somebody has done something for me, and I didnt ask them to do it, said Smith, 86, who is one of the founders of the woodshop at Parkway Place.

The chairs, designed by Smith, contain five separate pieces of wood that can be unassembled and reassembled without tools. He calls them puzzle or gospel chairs.

I made the first one of these chairs 21 years ago for my granddaughter, said Smith. Ive probably made 32 chairs in total over the years. Ive started calling them gospel chairs because I use a cross as the final piece that locks the chair together, and I like to attach a story to it.

The toys will go to vulnerable children in Southeast Texas served by Buckner Children and Family Services, a ministry of the nonprofit Buckner International, which also oversees Parkway Places provider, Buckner Retirement Services. In Houston, Buckner operates two Buckner Family Hope Centers and a program for single parents pursuing a college degree called Buckner Family Pathways.

I was looking for something that would keep me active during this time, and I love working with my hands, said Montgomery, 86, who has previous experience with metalworking and crafting. I built the toys for children in need who can use a smile.

Buckner Retirement Services is a nonprofit senior living organization that aims to help seniors live active, healthy lifestyles while maintaining their independence. Buckner Retirement Services is part of Buckner International, a global faith-based ministry helping more than 350,000 people each year in Texas and six countries across the globe.

Renew Houston: Get the latest wellness news delivered to your inbox

Located in Memorial, Buckner Parkway Place is a 15-acre community with on-site care options so residents can know their address will remain the same despite changing medical needs.

Due to the global pandemic, Parkway Place implemented visitor restrictions on March 13. Independent Living, the care level where Smith and Montgomery reside, recently began allowing guests again with restrictions in place to limit the number of people and to best mitigate risks.

At Parkway Place, we are committed to providing an experience-rich community that cultivates our residents passions, whether its a hobby theyve been doing for years or something theyve always wanted to try, said Abraham Mathew, executive director at Parkway Place.

Mr. Smith and Mr. Montgomery are wonderful examples of residents committed to not only living life to the fullest despite a global pandemic, continued Mathew, but also continuing to contribute to society and help those less fortunate.

ryan.nickerson@hcnonline.com
Britain will impose a 14-day quarantine on all arrivals from France, the Netherlands, Malta and three other countries, British Transport Minister Grant Shapps said on Thursday, citing rising Covid-19 infection rates.

The British government, wary of a second wave of coronavirus, has been removing countries from its safe travel list over the last few weeks based on infection data.

"Data shows we need to remove France, the Netherlands, Monaco, Malta, Turks & Caicos & Aruba from our list of #coronavirus Travel Corridors to keep infection rates DOWN," Shapps said on Twitter.

Read More

"If you arrive in the UK after 04:00 Saturday from these destinations, you will need to self-isolate for 14 days."

The reimposition of quarantine conditions is hitting Britons' favourite holiday destinations in the middle of summer and dealing a fresh blow to a desperate travel industry.

Earlier, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said his government would be ruthless when it came to imposing fresh restrictions on arrivals because of the danger of importing fresh cases of the virus.

For UK holidaymakers, France is the second most-visited country behind first-choice destination Spain - which has already been removed from the safe travel list.

Almost 13 million Britons travelled to France in 2017, data from Statista showed.

Britain usually welcomes about 3.5 million visitors from France each year according to the same data, making France the second biggest market for tourists coming into the UK behind the United States.
At the time, the paper came out in the afternoon and Kingsbury would come to work at 5:30 a.m. Kingsburys routine, Proctor said, was to work until lunch, go home and take a nap and come back to the office to finish his day by 2:30 p.m.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 10:17:25|Editor: huaxia

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SUVA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Fiji reported on Thursday one new border quarantine case of COVID-19, bringing the total number of such virus in the island nation to 10 since July 6.

Fiji's Ministry of Health Acting Permanent Secretary James Fong confirmed the new COVID-19 case on Thursday, saying that the patient is a 61-year-old male Fijian citizen who had travelled from Sacramento in the United State, transiting through Auckland, a city in New Zealand, and arriving in Nadi, Fiji's third largest city, on a flight on August 6 this year.

The man, who tested positive for COVID-19 after developing mild symptoms in a government-designated border quarantine facility in Nadi, has been admitted to the isolation facility at Nadi hospital and is in stable condition.

This brings the total number of COVID-19 cases in the island nation since the first case was recorded in March to 28. Ten have been border quarantine cases reported since July 6 this year.

Fong said that as announced in July there was one death in Fiji, and two have since recovered, leaving seven active border quarantine cases now.

Fiji reported its first COVID-19 death on July 31 this year. The patient was a 66-year-old Fijian man who had a history of cardiac problems and returned from India early July.

Fong confirmed that all active cases in Fiji are currently in stable condition and will be discharged in accordance with the current Ministry of Health COVID-19 case discharge protocols.

He also stressed that as long as Fiji's border quarantine and infection prevention control protocols are upheld there is no risk to the Fijian public from this new border quarantine case. Enditem
Channel Seven has been airing raunchy midday movies for years, courtesy of a syndication deal with Lifetime.

But it seems the Nine Network is giving the competition a run for its money.

On Thursday afternoon, viewers were left stunned when Nine aired steamy 2008 drama The Other Man been 1:15pm and 3pm.

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Adult content: Viewers were left stunned on Thursday afternoon when Channel Nine aired steamy 2008 drama The Other Man been 1:15pm and 3pm. At about 2pm, actress Laura Linney (pictured) was shown topless in bed during an intimate hotel room scene

At about 2pm, actress Laura Linney was shown topless in bed during an intimate hotel room scene with Antonio Banderas.

Another scene showed her in a romantic embrace with co-star Liam Neeson.

The film was broadcast nationally, including in Melbourne, where many schools have been temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a result, children being home-schooled may have been exposed to the adult content.

Raunchy: Another scene showed her in a romantic embrace with co-star Liam Neeson. While the film may be rather risque, it is perfectly legal under the 2010 Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice to broadcast mature-rated content between the hours of 12pm and 3pm on a weekday because children are unlikely to see it

Loophole: This rule exists because kids are usually at school on weekday afternoons - but this is no longer the case for many young Australians, especially in Victoria. Pictured: Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews

While the scene may be rather risque for a midday movie, it is perfectly legal under the 2010 Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice.

Under the guidelines, mature-rated content can be legally broadcast between the hours of 12pm and 3pm on a weekday because children are unlikely to see it.

Of course, this rule exists because kids are usually at school on weekday afternoons - but this is no longer the case for many young Australians, especially in Victoria.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Channel Nine for comment.

What would Kerry say? The mucky midday movie will no doubt surprise Nine viewers, as the network's late owner Kerry Packer was known for his puritanical streak

The mucky midday movie will no doubt surprise Nine viewers, as the network's late owner Kerry Packer was known for his puritanical streak.

On September 4, 1992, Packer infamously pulled Australia's Naughtiest Home Videos from the air half way through its first episode.

The program featured off-colour clips of a smutty nature, including animals having sex, and sexist commentary by host Doug Mulray, which would be considered highly offensive by today's standards.

But the program never finished, as it was axed in the middle of its broadcast on orders of Packer himself, who was watching from home.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said in a press release Friday that more South Dakotans have died from accidents than from COVID-19 in the past five months, while asking people to put our positive pants on and have an optimistic outlook during the pandemic that has killed 148 state residents.

There is a risk associated with everything that we do in life, Noem said. We mitigate risks by taking proper precautions when we get in our cars, when we operate farm equipment, and when we make choices about what we eat and how much we exercise. The same should be true about life as we get back to normal.

State health secretary Kim Malsam-Rysdon said the accidents Noem referenced included injuries and accidents in a general way, including a number of accidental injuries that do lead to death.

Unfortunately in South Dakota, we do see many people dying from accidental injury, Malsam-Rysdon said, noting the numbers have been higher over the last five months than coronavirus fatalities.
Heavier mixed-breed dogs have higher health risks if neutered or spayed early, according to a new study from researchers at the University of California, Davis. The study found mixed-breed dogs weighing more than 44 pounds as adults are at higher risk for one or more joint disorders if neutered before 1 year of age. Dogs weighing up to 43 pounds had no increased risk for joint problems. The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science.

It's standard practice in the U.S. and much of Europe to neuter dogs by 6 months of age. This study, which analyzed 15 years of data from thousands of dogs at UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, suggests dog owners should consider their options carefully.

"Most dogs are mixed breeds," said lead author Benjamin Hart, distinguished professor emeritus at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. "We hope this study will influence the spay or neuter process in order to give people wishing to adopt a puppy the time to make an informed decision on when to spay or neuter."

Researchers examined common joint disorders including hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia and cranial cruciate ligament tears, a knee injury, in five weight categories. They also looked at risks of mixed-breed dogs developing cancers based on weight but found no increased risk in any weight category compared to intact dogs.

The risk of joint disorders for heavier dogs can be up to a few times higher compared to dogs left intact. This was true for large mixed-breed dogs. For example, for female dogs over 43 pounds, the risk jumped from 4 percent for intact dogs to 10-12 percent if spayed before a year of age.

NEUTERING POLICIES SHOULD BE REVIEWED

"The study raises unique challenges," noted co-author Lynette Hart, professor at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. "People like to adopt puppies from shelters, but with mixed breeds it may be difficult to determine just how big the dog will become if you don't know anything about the dog's parents."

Neutering prior to adoption is a common requirement or policy of humane societies, animal shelters and breeders. The authors suggested the policy be reviewed and modified appropriately. Shelters, breeders and humane societies should consider adopting a standard of neutering at over a year of age for dogs that will grow into large sizes.

Lynette Hart said the study is especially relevant for people and organizations raising service dogs.

"They need to take a serious look at this," said Hart. "Joint disorders can shorten a dog's useful working life and impact its role as a family member."

A previous study conducted by the UC Davis researchers found health risks based on neuter age varied greatly depending on the breed of the dog.

###

Other authors include Abigail Thigpen with UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, and Neil Willits with the Department of Statistics in the UC Davis College of Letters and Science. Research support came from the Center of Companion Animal Health at UC Davis.
Gen. Frank McKenzie, the top U.S. commander for the Middle East, issued a stark warning on Wednesday about the Islamic State in Syria.

McKenzie, participating in a virtual U.S. Institute of Peace forum, said that in parts of western Syria, "conditions are as bad or worse" than they were prior to the terrorist group's rise in 2014, and "we should all be concerned about that." This region is controlled by the Syrian government, and insurgents there have a degree of freedom to move around. There is barely a U.S. presence in western Syria, McKenzie said, and the United States does not believe the regime will do anything to try to push back against the militants.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, it's been difficult to transfer people out of Syrian refugee camps. One camp, al-Hol in northeastern Syria, has as many as 70,000 inhabitants, and it can be easy to radicalize people in these conditions, McKenzie said. "As young people grow up, we're going to see them again unless we can turn them in a way to make them productive members of society," he added. "We can either deal with this problem now or deal with it exponentially worse a few years down the road."

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Trials of a Russian-made vaccine for COVID-19 will begin in the Philippines in October, a spokesman for President Rodrigo Duterte said Thursday, indicating that the nations leader would take the drug after the tests were over.

Phase 3 trials of the vaccine will take place simultaneously here and in Russia, starting in October and will go until next March, presidential spokesman Harry Roque told a daily press briefing in Manila. The trials in the Philippines will commence after a panel of vaccine experts reviews results of clinical trials during the first and second phases of testing, he said.

Roque said Duterte was serious about a comment he made earlier this week in which the president offered to volunteer to take the vaccine, subject to his security detail clearing this.

May 1 is when the PSG [Presidential Security Group] may allow him, after all the tests have been carried out for this vaccine, Roque told a virtual press briefing. Let me reiterate, the president can be vaccinated by May 1, 2021.

Its not a metaphorical statement, hes willing to undergo it, Roque said, emphasizing that it would depend on final approval by Dutertes security detail.

To assuage the public over concerns about the safety of the vaccine, Duterte on Tuesday said he was willing to be the first Filipino to take it during the trials.

The president said this while announcing that his government was accepting an offer from his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that the Philippines be among the first nations to receive free supplies of the Sputnik V vaccine developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow.

Tuesday coincided with Russia becoming the country to register the worlds first vaccine against the coronavirus disease, as nations across the world race to develop a cure against the outbreak that has spread to all corners of the globe. The Russian vaccine is named after the first satellite launched by the Soviet Union more than 60 years ago.

Roque said the Gamaleya Institute and the Philippine health department had agreed to hold joint clinical trials here, to be funded entirely by Moscow.

I am happy to announce that Russia is open to the transfer of technology for the local manufacturing of the vaccine, Roque said. In truth, they are also encouraging other countries to help manufacture their vaccine.

Since taking power in 2016, Duterte has distanced himself from its longtime defense ally, the United States, and has drifted toward its traditional rivals, Russia and China.

He previously said China also promised to prioritize Manila when it developed its own vaccine against COVID-19.

On Thursday, the Philippine health department reported 23 deaths from the coronavirus, bringing the total to 2,426. There were also 4,002 new infections, with the total number of infections in the country at 147,526  the highest number coronavirus cases among all countries in East Asia.

There have been expressions of worry about Russias announcement this week. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top expert on infectious diseases in the U.S., said he doubted the news that the Russian vaccine was ready for public use.

Having a vaccine and proving that a vaccine is safe and effective are two different things, Fauci said, according to The Hill, an American news website that covers the U.S. Congress.

Mark Navales in Cotabato, Philippines, contributed to this report.
NEW YORK, Aug. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The longest continuously operating Black-owned investment banking firm in the country, Blaylock Van, LLC is helping more investment managers, pension funds and companies interested in diversifying their inclusion of Black- and women-owned firms in the wake of the global pandemic. With offices in eight markets from coast to coast, Blaylock Vans services include public finance, corporate banking, debt and equity, sales and trading, structured finance, research and more.



Certified as a Minority Business Enterprise by the State of New York, the State of Wisconsin, the City of New York and the National Minority Supplier Development Council, Blaylock Van is 81 percent Black-owned and 8 percent Native American-owned. As the pandemic has taken a toll on businesses, municipal budgets and investment portfolios alike, Blaylock Van offers advanced capabilities when it comes to supplier diversity and diversity and inclusion efforts for investors and issuers.

More and more clients are reaching out in need of thoughtful solutions for their businesses and funds going forward. Fortunately, we are well-positioned to help firms and governments affected by the pandemic as well as those seeking to solidify their inclusion of African-American diversity firms, said Eric Standifer, CEO and president of Blaylock Van. Our client base ranges from investment managers to municipalities, and from pension funds to family offices, and our highly qualified team delivers expertise in supporting diverse growth opportunities. We also have a team of professionals with experience in advising CDFIs and MDIs, helping these institutions leverage their capital in efficient ways to address affordable housing programs and lending to communities of color.

During the pandemic, Black-owned small businesses have been hit disproportionately hard, according to research from the University of California-Santa Cruz, and many minority-owned businesses struggled to find Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. With its diverse strengths and broad reach, Blaylock Van can assist businesses and investors with corporate banking, equity and debt underwriting, real estate financing and investment opportunities.

In addition, Blaylock Van has hosted interns for several decades through the CORO Foundation, which trains ethical, diverse civic leaders with the aim of creating a wealth of strong and diverse leaders across industries.

About Blaylock Van, LLC

Blaylock Van, LLC (BV) is a Black-owned investment banking and financial services company, providing personalized service for clients across the country. Clients include corporations, municipalities, investment managers, pension funds and family offices. Global electronic equity and fixed-income trading platforms allow direct market access to more than 40 worldwide exchanges, while proprietary web-based research platform is designed to specifically address the needs of fundamental portfolio managers and analysts. The firms headquarters are in New York City, with offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Columbus, Ohio, Dallas, Madison, Wis., Miami and Oakland, Calif. For more information, please visit https://brv-llc.com/ .

Contact Information:

Melissa Jasmin

Project Manager

ThinkZILLA Consulting Group

888-509-1145

melissa@thinkzillaconsulting.com

thinkzillaconsulting.com
Some Republicans have touted DeSantis as a future presidential candidate: Getty Images

Governor Ron DeSantis has compared the reopening of schools in Florida to the operation that killed terrorist Osama bin Laden.

Mr DeSantis, an attorney and former naval officer, likened the logistics behind schools reopening to a Navy SEALs operation.

Just as the SEALs surmounted obstacles to bring Osama bin Laden to justice, so too will the Martin County school system, Mr DeSantis said at a press conference on Wednesday.

[We will] find a way to provide a meaningful choice of in-person instruction or continued distance learning  all in, all the time, DeSantis added.

The governor, whom some Republicans have touted as a future presidential candidate, had been attempting to reassure parents it is safe for children to return to school amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

His comments came after Florida earlier this week reported a surge in new infections. Officials claimed the rise was the result of old testing data dating back to June.

The data was stale. It was not indicative of current trends, much less a, quote, record day of fresh infections in Miami, DeSantis said of the figures.

Stale test results shouldnt be used by policymakers to determine the way forward for students, parents, workers and businesses in the here and now, he added.

Several schools welcomed students back on Monday, with more set to follow suit as the month progresses.

Florida is among some of the states hardest hit by the virus, with over 550,000 confirmed cases in total. Almost 8,000 of those have been recorded in the past 24 hours, official figures show.

The reopening of schools in Florida has been a hotly contested issue as coronavirus infections continue to surge. Last week, a teacher wrote her own obituary and posted it to Facebook in protest at the reopening plans.

Meanwhile, several employees at a school in Manatee County are quarantining for 14 days after being exposed to the coronavirus on campus, the schools principal said in a message to families whose children are starting school next week.

Story continues

We were alerted today that we had a confirmed case of COVID-19 on our campus, Carl Auckermans Wednesday evening email to Palmetto High School parents said.

Using contact tracing, the Manatee County school district and the Florida Department of Health in Manatee County found that a number of school employees had direct exposure to the infected person, the Bradenton Herald reported.

Direct exposure means someone was within six feet of a person with COVID-19 for at least 15 minutes, according to the districts guidance, which follows recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It was unclear how many people were sent home on Wednesday, the newspaper reported. The email said the individual associated with the confirmed case is also isolated according to district protocols.

He said the area of the campus where the person works will be fogged and sanitized on Thursday and employees who did not have direct contact will also return to work.

Additional reporting by Associated Press

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Five who attended same meeting as DeSantis test postitive for Covid
??? Hoy conmemoramos el Dia de los #PueblosIndigenas, institucionalizado por la @ONU_es.



El ministro de Cultura se une al saludo reafirmando nuestro compromiso de trabajar por los derechos de los pueblos indigenas del Peru. ???? pic.twitter.com/rjJWKOe900
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 03:42:21|Editor: huaxia

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Chinese Ambassador Xu Erwen (2nd L) and Croatian Health Minister Vili Beros (2nd R) pose with medical supplies from China in Zagreb, Croatia, April 12, 2020. (Xinhua/Gao Lei)

"Unilateralism is a one-way train heading to a dead end," a Chinese envoy said. "We should give stronger support to the UN and better meet challenges and pursue common development through multilateral cooperation."

UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Wednesday warned against unilateralism in responses to COVID-19, branding it as "a one-way train heading to a dead end."

There is no doubt that COVID-19 has brought tremendous impact and challenges to the world, said Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations. "However, we have every reason to believe that humankind will eventually prevail and make the world a better place."

To make that happen, he said, the international community must be united and uphold multilateralism.

Countries are dependent on each other and have a shared future. No one can artificially sever the ties that connect them. Unilateralism is a one-way train heading to a dead end, Zhang told an open debate of the Security Council on pandemics and the challenges of sustaining peace.

"We should give stronger support to the UN and better meet challenges and pursue common development through multilateral cooperation."

Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, speaks at the meeting on "Member States' Counter-Terrorism Priorities in the Post COVID-19 Environment" during the Virtual Counter-Terrorism Week, at the Chinese UN mission in New York, on July 10, 2020. (Xinhua)

Zhang stressed the need to uphold justice and the rule of law.

"International law and the norms of international relations are important guarantees for international fairness and justice. All countries should honor their commitments and fulfill due responsibilities and obligations. We cannot allow the practice of power politics, bullying and exceptionalism to take the world back to an age of the jungle."

He called for respect for science and support for technological progress.

Advances in science and technology are the common pursuit of humankind. Everyone is entitled to a better life. So are those in developing countries, said Zhang.

The practice of putting up artificial barriers to hinder other countries' scientific and technological development, and to interfere with market competition for selfish gains is immoral, irresponsible, and against one's own interests, he said. "It is our sincere hope that UN members and the international community will act together, shoulder responsibilities together, share the benefits together, and jointly build a better future for all." 
The 360 shows you diverse perspectives on the days top stories and debates.

Whats happening

The Japanese city of Nagasaki held a somber ceremony on Sunday to mark the 75th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing that killed 70,000 people in the waning days of World War II. The attack came just three days after the American military bombed Hiroshima, killing 140,000.

These remain the only instances in which nuclear bombs have been used in war, but the specter of an apocalyptic conflict has hovered over international conflicts ever since. After a series of close calls in the 1950s and 1960s that led to the brink of nuclear war  including the Cuban missile crisis  leaders from the U.S. and Soviet Union saw mutual benefit in de-escalating the nuclear arms race. In 1972, they signed the first of what would become a series of arms control treaties that, though far from perfect, have helped temper the risk of nuclear war for the past 50 years.

Those agreements have gradually unraveled in recent years. President Trump has withdrawn from two of the three arms control deals that were in place when he took office, in part because Russia had violated the terms of the agreements. The third deal, known as New START, is set to expire in early February, just two weeks after the start of the next presidential term.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has said he is willing to extend the deal, but the Trump administration hasnt taken him up on his offer. If New START is allowed to run out, the worlds two major nuclear powers will be operating without an arms control agreement for the first time in a half-century.

Why theres debate

The dissolution of these pacts has led many experts to fear that the world may be on the brink of another nuclear arms race.

Though the U.S. and Russia have drastically reduced the number of nuclear weapons they possess, both countries still have arsenals large enough to destroy all life on Earth many times over. Current warheads are many times more powerful than the ones dropped on Japan. The two countries have also invested in new technologies  such as Russias hypersonic weapon  that can evade missile defense systems and strike anywhere on the planet. Some experts fear that the development of low-yield nuclear bombs, which are smaller and less deadly, could make it more likely one actually is used.

Story continues

The calculus of arms control has shifted in recent decades as more countries have acquired nuclear capabilities. When the first treaties were signed, the focus was on a possible confrontation between the Americans and Soviets. Today, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea also have nuclear weapons. Iran and Saudi Arabia may be on the path to acquiring them, as well. The increased number of nuclear nations makes any arms control negotiations much more complex and increases the number of scenarios in which an attack may occur.

Perhaps the biggest challenge to future arms control is the emergence of China as a major nuclear power. Though its arsenal is much smaller than Russias or Americas, China has expanded its capabilities to the point where the Trump administration has suggested it will allow New START to expire if the Chinese arent involved. Beijings eagerness to catch up in the nuclear race could push Russia and the U.S. to up their production in order to stay ahead, resulting in a three-way arms race, some experts fear.

Even with all of these complicating factors, there is still optimism that another era of heightened nuclear tensions can be avoided. Trump could change his mind and renew New START before the deadline. Joe Biden has indicated he would do so if he were to win the presidency. There are also factors that could stifle another arms race that dont involve formal treaties. One of the biggest is money. Expanding and updating a nuclear arsenal is extraordinarily expensive. The global recession caused by the coronavirus may mean nations simply lack the funds to aggressively compete with their rivals.

Larger nuclear stockpiles also dont necessarily change the likelihood that an atomic bomb might be used. The principle of mutually assured destruction, which has been a major factor in preventing a nuclear attack since 1945, still stands regardless of how large or sophisticated a countrys arsenal becomes.

Perspectives

Why theres concern

New conflicts have increased potential flashpoints

While nuclear weapons have not been used since 1945, great-power military flashpoints are increasing the risk that they might be. These potential triggers include the South China Sea, Taiwan, the India-Pakistan and India-China borders, the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict, North Korea and Ukraine.  Simon Tisdall, Guardian

The public has become complacent about the nuclear threat

The absence of public debate or a sense of alarm about the grim advent of sophisticated new nuclear, hypersonic, cyber and space weapons is striking. In the decades after Hiroshima, noisy anti-nuclear ban the bomb protests  spanned the globe. Today, by comparison, an eerie silence reigns.  Simon Tisdall, Guardian

Nuclear weapons held by unstable nations raises the pressure for everyone

Today, nuclear arms are in the hands of states with weak institutions, including Pakistan, which shares a disputed border with nuclear-armed India, as well as despots, such as North Koreas Kim Jong-un, whose tolerance for risk is hard to assess.  Ruadhan Mac Cormaic, Irish Times

China has no incentive to participate in arms control treaties

Beijing has absolutely no reason to become part of USRussian arms control talks at this point and has made that clear on many occasions. Moreover, although the administration has been talking about this for two years, it has taken no diplomatic stepsplans, proposals, or drafts exchangedto make it happen.  Jessica T. Mathews, New York Review of Books

The end of cooperation could set off a new nuclear arms race

Without the longstanding architecture in place, Washington and Moscow would enter a dangerous arms control hiatus and could see already poor relations spiral out of control. The US and Russia have many nuclear-tipped missiles already pointed at each other, but it would be even worse if both sides try to one-up their adversary by creating more deadly and usable weapons. That, unfortunately, is exactly whats happening. Welcome to the new arms race.  Alex Ward, Vox

Why theres hope

Biden would likely reverse the trend of crumbling nuclear diplomacy

Joe Biden  reiterated his commitment to extending New START if elected (he'd have 15 days to exchange diplomatic notes with Russia). Its fate would be far more uncertain in a second Trump term.  Dave Lawler, Axios

Recent tensions shouldnt overshadow the enormous progress thats been made

The ultimate protection against a nuclear war is to eliminate nuclear weapons altogether. But in the meantime, we should not disregard the achievements of six decades of nuclear arms control.  William Hartung, Forbes

China doesnt appear eager to get locked in an arms race

As much as American national security culture obsesses over nuclear inferiority, theres simply not much enthusiasm in Beijing to outpace the U.S. here in any meaningful way.  Ankit Panda, New Republic

The U.S. can  and should  lead the way into a new era of nuclear arms control

The worlds most powerful nation must resume its responsibilities as custodian of the nuclear peace. ...If the world cant trust the United States, with its overwhelming nuclear advantage, to stand guard and enforce a degree of peace, other nations will feel obligated, or emboldened, to create their own nuclear umbrellas.  David Von Drehle, Washington Post

The pandemic may have made it impossible to pay for more nuclear weapons

[The U.S. nuclear plan] was excessive, unaffordable and unsustainable before the coronavirus pandemic hit. Now, with the exploding federal debt, the need for trillions more spending for economic stimulus and relief, plus the other demands of the $700 billion plus annual defense budget, Congress will want to  and will need to  delay, trim, or even cancel some of the major elements of the nuclear modernization plan.  Daryl G. Kimball, Just Security

Is there a topic youd like to see covered in The 360? Send your suggestions to the360@yahoonews.com.

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Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Getty Images
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Mission: Impossible 7 has been plunged into further chaos after a fire broke out on its 2 million set this week.

Production on the highly-anticipated film has already been delayed by months because of the coronavirus pandemic.

On Tuesday, a stuntman's bike caught fire during filming in rural Oxfordshire after jumping from a ramp, damaging the set and leaving star Tom Cruise 'very frustrated' about potential further delays.

Plumes of black smoke were seen from the blaze which broke out when the bike landed on pillows filled with cardboard.

Dangerous: Mission: Impossible 7 has been plunged into further chaos after a fire broke out on its 2 million set

Scary: Plumes of black smoke were seen from the blaze which broke out when the bike landed on pillows filled with cardboard

Cruise, 58, is believed to have been working with a parachute for a quarry 'snow scene' at the time of the blaze, which was attended by Oxfordshire Fire Service.

A source told The Sun the stuntman was supposed to land on large pillows which had been filled with card to soften the impact while his bike would crash close by.

However, despite 'six weeks' of planning, things didn't go to plan and the motorbike hit the cushions sparking a fire.

They said: 'This has been a massive challenge to stage and has cost a fortune, not to mention weeks and weeks of construction.

Expensive: The stuntman was supposed to land on large pillows which had been filled with card to soften the impact

Emergency: Oxfordshire Fire Service attended the scene after the blaze broke out on the film's set

High flyer: Snaps show a stuntman hanging from a wire in the air after he separated from the bike

Big project: Tom Cruise, 58, is believed to have been working with a parachute for a quarry 'snow scene' at the time of the blaze

High octane drama: The stuntman's bike caught fire after jumping from a ramp, damaging the set

Raced to the scene: Firefighters were on hand to control the fire which broke out in Oxfordshire

Blaze: The set had taken six weeks to build but the stunt did not go according to plan, causing damage

'Unfortunately, it was miscalculated. The heat and the friction of the tyres meant that when the bike crashed, the cardboard padding sparked and went up in flames.

'Fortunately, nobody was hurt but it's a total catastrophe, not to mention extremely expensive for all concerned. Tom is very frustrated. Nobody wants more delays.'

MailOnline has contacted a representative for Tom Cruise and the Mission: Impossible film for a comment.

Filming for the seventh instalment of the franchise kicked off again last month after it had to pause because of coronavirus.

Chaos: Despite 'six weeks' of planning, things didn't go to plan and the motorbike hit the cushions sparking a fire

Hiatus: Filming for the seventh instalment of the franchise kicked off again last month after it had to pause because of coronavirus

Risky: A number of fire engines were spotted in the rural film set to control the blaze which broke out

Lucky escape: Tom, who often likes to perform many of his own stunts, did not take part in this dangerous action sequence

Secrets from the set: It appears that the highly anticipated film will feature an action scene in the snow

Under control: Firefighters were quickly on the scene to manage the outbreak but not before it had caused damage

Hanging in the air: The stuntman jumped off a ramp on the bike before separating from the vehicle

Drama: Writer-director Christopher McQuarrie has promised at least three obscene stunts as the franchise continues, admitting that even hes terrified of his own plans

Preparing: Tom has been practising his stunts during lockdown, and has been seen racing around dirt tracks on a motocross bike and piloting a helicopter

Always on the edge: Tom broke his ankle while filming a stunt for the last Mission: Impossible movie in London three years ago

On the move: At the end of August filming for Mission: Impossible 7 is due to move to Norway, where it is thought that Tom will be 'exempt from quarantine rules'

Action man: Tom recently threw himself out of a helicopter 10,000ft over the over the Oxfordshire countryside for another scene

Back on track: Production for the next instalment started again last month after a long hiatus

Annoyed: A source said Tom was 'very frustrated' with the potential further delay to filming

Tom, who famously likes to perform his own stunts but was not involved in Tuesday's motorbike scene, recently threw himself out of a helicopter 10,000ft over the over the Oxfordshire countryside for another scene.

Two of the other cast members joined him in the skydive after filming on Mission: Impossible 7 resumed following a Covid shutdown.

Writer-director Christopher McQuarrie has promised at least three obscene stunts as the franchise continues, admitting that even hes terrified of his own plans.

Tom has been practising his stunts during lockdown, and has been seen racing around dirt tracks on a motocross bike and piloting a helicopter.

In action: Tom is known for doing his own stunts but it is not thought that he was involved in the one which went wrong on Tuesday (pictured in Mission: Impossible - Fallout in 2018)

Mission: Impossible 7's delays The action film has been besieged by problems since the project started in January last year. Filming began in February this year in Venice but it only lasted for a few weeks before the coronavirus pandemic escalated in Italy, forcing production to be halted. The team decided to move to Surrey, England, to continue filming but that didn't last either as the virus quickly took hold in the UK. The film's production was forced to go into hiatus, with the cast and crew even asking the Government for special exemptions to resume filming. They were eventually allowed to continue in July, picking up in Oxfordshire. But in the interim, one of the film's main stars Nicholas Hoult was forced to drop out due to scheduling conflicts, and was replaced by Esai Morales. It was also revealed that director Christopher McQuarrie wanted to blow up a 111-year-old bridge in Poland, sparking protests among locals and train enthusiasts. Petitions were sent to the Polish government and the crew had to say they never intended to demolish the bridge, only its unsafe parts. This week's fire at the set in Oxfordshire is the latest in many incidents affecting the blockbuster. Advertisement

The actor broke his ankle while filming a stunt for the last Mission: Impossible movie in London three years ago, but that hasnt dampened his enthusiasm for daredevil action.

He later recalled how he sustained the injury when his foot hit a wall during a heart-stopping rooftop chase involving co-star Henry Cavill.

I knew instantly my ankle was broken, he said. But I really didnt want to do it again so just got up and carried on with the take.

[After the shot] I said Its broken, thats a wrap, take me to hospital, and everyone got on the phone and made their vacation arrangement.

Tom who is planning to shoot a future movie on board the International Space Station  personally lobbied Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden for permission to allow shooting to restart on Mission: Impossible 7, despite the coronavirus crisis, but with a reduced crew. It is now due for release in November next year.

While last month it was revealed that director McQuarrie wanted to blow up a 111-year-old bridge in Poland as part of the shoot, much to the consternation of locals.

At the end of August filming for Mission: Impossible 7 is due to move to Norway, where it is thought that Tom will be 'exempt from quarantine rules'.

The actor revealed how 'excited' he was to start shooting the latest instalment of the franchise in a phone call with Norways Minister of Culture Abid Raja.

Speaking about his return to filming in Norway, Tom said: 'Its a gorgeous country, I cant wait to get back there. Im very excited, as is the whole crew, about coming back.'

During the call, the minister told how Norway is 'looking forward to having [Tom] back' and claimed how the Hollywood star and crew are allowed to shoot in the country without having to quarantine at home first, Norwegian publication VG reported.

Adjustments: After delays from coronavirus, Tom discussed filming logistics with British Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden, who confirmed filmmakers will be exempt from certain quarantine rules on a video chat. It is also believed that the actor will be exempt in Norway

However cast and crew will have to pass two tests for coronavirus within 48 hours of landing in Norway and a series of daily rigorous health checks will be on place.

The set are expected to declare they are healthy, temperature checks will be completed and a mobile coronavirus test lab will be installed with medics on site, according to VG.

The plan is for Tom to arrive in Norway at the end of August with the crew set to start arriving in the latter part of the month, according to the minister.

Norway has provided the backdrop for the famous scene in Mission: Impossible  Fallout where Ethan Hunt hangs off the edge of Pulpit Rock known as Preikestolen.

The epic scene shows Ethan scaling the cliff face which boasts a 604-metre drop into the Lysefjorden.
Banks are already under so much pressure in ordinary times, especially as bad actors become more technologically savvy. But now, with the fast-changing global situation and most of us working remotely and moving to digital transactions, theres heightened opportunity for financial cyber crime.

Silent Eight announced today that it will offer its powerful artificial intelligence (AI) solution for name, entity, and transaction alert adjudication on-demand, through the remainder of 2020. The decision comes in the wake of the current and ongoing pandemic, which has placed significant constraints and challenges on banks and financial institutions (FIs). These most notably include increasing and burdensome alert backlogs and unprecedented levels of cybercrime.1 The pandemic has also impacted the ability of both government and private sector institutions to meet their anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing (AML/CFT) obligations.2

Silent Eights AI has historically been installed on-premise for Tier 1 institutions3 to solve name, entity, and transaction alerts. Now the solution will be widely accessible to a broader market, and across more sectors, as a means of providing immediate and ongoing backlog relief, without requiring a long term commitment.

The custom AI is configurable in as few as two (2) weeks via cloud deployment and offers a new way for banks and FIs to solve alerts in a scalable and agile manner in real time, regardless of external conditions such as COVID-19.

Banks are already under so much pressure in ordinary times, especially as bad actors become more technologically savvy, said Silent Eight CEO and Founder, Martin Markiewicz.

But now, with the fast-changing global situation and most of us working remotely and moving to digital transactions, theres heightened opportunity for financial cyber crime. With so much financial uncertainty fueling recessionary fears, the technology industry as a whole has a responsibility to protect the institutions that ensure the global flow of capital -- and, as a byproduct, the world -- from those looking to wreak havoc.

The on-demand AI is available immediately. Clients pay only for alerts solved, with no minimum volume commitment.

Features and benefits of the AI include:



Fully customized; learns from your institutional processes and behavior

Military-grade encryption

Deployable in as few as 2 weeks

No limit on geographies, or hits per alert

Covers any type of alert: Adverse Media, PEP, Sanctions, Customer Due Diligence

To learn more, visit http://www.silenteight.com.

About Silent Eight: We are a technology company whose mission is to enable financial institutions to fight global crime with the use of our AI. Our name screening solution works with a client's existing due diligence process to solve every alert and reduce regulatory risk. We are currently used by top tier banks around the world.

1 Will Douglas Heaven, The Pandemic has changed how criminals hide their cash-and AI tools are trying to sniff it out, MIT Technology Review, [website], https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/08/06/1006104/covid-pandemic-criminals-cash-money-laundering-financial-crime-ai-machine-learning (accessed 7 August 2020).

Robert Kim, COVID-19 is raising AML compliance risks even higher, Bloomberg Law Analysis, [website],

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/bloomberg-law-analysis/analysis-covid-19-is-raising-aml-compliance-risks-even-higher (accessed 28 July 2020).

Thomas Bock, Pandemic adding to banks alert backlog, Thomson Reuters, [website], https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/insights/articles/bank-alert-transaction-fraud, (accessed 28 July 2020).

2 Financial Action Task Force (FATF), COVID-19-related Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risks and Policy Responses, FATF, [website],https://www.fatf-gafi.org/publications/fatfgeneral/documents/covid-19-ml-tf.html (accessed 26 July 2020)

3 Weve partnered with Regulatory Technology firm Silent Eight. Standard Chartered Bank, 9 July 2018, [press release], https://www.sc.com/en/media/press-release/weve-partnered-with-regulatory-technology-firm-silent-eight/
Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa will soon travel to Saudi Arabia, a senior military official said on Thursday, confirming the visit that is seen as an effort by the Imran Khan government to mend ties with the kingdom is on the cards.

Major General Babar Iftikhar, the spokesperson for Pakistans military, insisted that Gen Bajwas visit was a pre-planned tour linked to military-to-military relations between the two countries.

There is no need to read too much into it, he told reporters at his briefing, describing relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia as historic, important and good. Nobody can doubt the centrality of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to islamic world, the military spokesperson said in response to a question. A Reuters report quoting military officials said the visit will take place this weekend but there was no independent confirmation from Riyadh.

The visit is widely seen as an effort by Islamabad to repair ties with Saudi Arabia that has been upset at the Imran Khan government badgering Riyadh to convene a meeting of foreign ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Conference to target India over Kashmir.

Foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi crossed the red line last week when he asked OIC to stop dilly-dallying and set a deadline for the Saudi-led grouping of 57 Islamic countries. If you cannot convene it, then Ill 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 and support the oppressed Kashmiris, Shah Mahmood Qureshi told a Pakistani news channel last week.

The remark did not go down well with the Saudi leadership which had made Pakistan pay back $1 billion two weeks ago, forcing Islamabad to borrow from China instead. The Saudis are yet to respond to Pakistans request for a $3.2bn oil credit facility, part of a $6.2bn package announced in 2018.

Analysts have said that the Pakistan military leadership enjoys better relations with the Saudi leadership than the countrys political leaders.

Saudi Arabia is also asking for another $1bn back, putting pressure on Pakistans fragile foreign exchange reserves. But the bigger blow would be if the Saudi government starts to send back the approximately 2.5 million Pakistanis who live and work in the Kingdom.

If need be, officials have privately said that the Pakistan Foreign Minister may be removed from his position in a bid to normalise relations with the Saudi leadership.

The Pakistan foreign minister has twice postponed his press conference to explain his remarks in a bid to placate Saudi Arabia, the last on Tuesday.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 19:47:14|Editor: huaxia

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CAPE TOWN, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- A new round of rolling power blackouts hit South Africa on Thursday despite President Cyril Ramaphosa's promise of no blackouts during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Debt-ridden state-run electricity utility Eskom said rolling blackouts started at 08:00 Thursday morning and would last into the weekend.

The load shedding dealt a heavy blow to the South African economy that has already been battered by COVID-19.

Eskom, which provides more than 95 percent of the electricity consumed in South Africa, attributed the load shedding to the delay in the return to service of two generation units as well as the breakdown of four other units during the night.

More than 2,000MW of capacity have been lost to the grid, according to the utility.

Eskom urged the public to reduce electricity usage to assist the utility in limiting the load shedding requirement.

The provinces of Gauteng, Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal, and Mpumalanga seem to suffer the most with respect to power reductions.

South Africa has suffered from load shedding for more than a decade, particularly in recent years.

Load shedding cost the country between 3.5 billion and 7 billion U.S. dollars in 2019, according to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

In 2020 there have been 661 hours of outages with 1,383 GWh having been shed, already exceeding 2019's figure, the council said.

Despite a drop in demand due to the COVID-19 lockdown, Eskom has nevertheless implemented two rounds of load shedding, with the first round in July which lasted about 10 days, as opposed to its targeted three days envisaged in its "winter plan."

Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter admitted that this was due to its unreliable and unpredictable generation fleet caused by the fact that major maintenance has been deferred over the past years.

Load shedding is likely to continue until September 2021, he said. Enditem
Amid Covid-19 crisis there is some positive development in Mysuru region, as it has received a total investment of Rs 1,675.35 crore, generating around 3,000 jobs directly and around 5,000 jobs indirectly. Karnataka has received a total of Rs 30,626.5 crore despite Covid-19 crisis, since March.

The 53rd State High-Level Clearance Committee (SHLCC) has cleared investment of one company in Chamarajanagar district, while the 119th State Level Single Window Clearance Committee (SLSWCC) has cleared investment of three companies in Chamarajanagar district, six companies in Mysuru district, six companies in Mandya district and one company in Hassan.

For latest updates on coronavirus outbreak, click here

The 72nd Land Audit Committees (LAC) has cleared investment of two companies in Mysuru district and four companies in Hassan district. The 73rd LAC has cleared four companies in Mandya district and one company in Hassan district.

Interestingly, Chamarajanagar has received a single investment of Rs 270.95 crore by First Steps Babywear Private Limited, promising generation of 938 direct jobs.

The highest investment for a district in the region is Rs 680.06 crore in Hassan by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, even though the employment generation is a meagre 18.

Thus, even in district-wise tally, the investment in Hassan tops the list, with Rs 793.08 crore from six projects, followed by Chamarajanagar with Rs 477.05 crore from four projects, Mysuru with Rs 232.36 crore from eight projects and Mandya with Rs 172.86 crore from nine projects.

Principal Secretary for Commerce and Industries Gaurav Gupta said that the flow of funds for investment and employment generation, amid the Covid-19 crisis, is a positive development and an indication for more hope in future.

Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths on August 14

The projects, approved for investment since March, would fructify in one or two years. There is hope for more investment in the coming years. It is also a good sign that the investors are looking beyond Bengaluru and the border district of Chamarajanagar has attracted good investment, he said. Gupta said, Agro-processing projects and textile and garments related industries are showing interest in Mysuru region. More sectors would be encouraged to invest here.

Revanna Gowda, Managing Director of Karnataka Udyog Mitra, said that the government is making all efforts to attract investors to Tier-II and Tier-III cities and has been successful to some extent.

The Badanaguppe-Kellamballi Industrial Area, which was opened two years back in Chamarajanagar district, has all infrastructure and facilities to set up industries. The projects cleared by SHLCC and SLSWCC would be notified in the Gazette soon. Those cleared by LAC are in the

final stages and would soon be cleared by either SHLCC or SLSWCC, depending on the quantum of investment, he said.
'Transparent Taxation  Honoring the Honest': PM Modi unveils 'fundamental reforms' for taxpayers

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Aug 13: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched a platform 'Transparent Taxation Honoring the Honest' via video conference, which, he said will strengthen efforts of "reforming and simplifying our tax system".

PM Modi launches platform for 'Transparent taxation-Honouring the Honest' | Oneindia News

He unveiled the next phase of direct tax reforms aimed at easing compliance and rewarding honest taxpayers as the government looks to rebuild the pandemic-hit economy.

Govt taking steps to simplify taxation; curb harassment of honest taxpayers: FM

Addressing via video conference, Modi said,''The ongoing structural reforms has reached new heights today. "Transparent Taxation - Honoring the Honest will have faceless assessments, faceless appeal and taxpayer charter. Faceless appeal will be applicable from September 25, while faceless assessment and taxpayer charter will come into place from today itself.''

''Earlier, our focus has been on banking the unbanked, securing the unsecured, funding the unfunded. Today, we are launching Honouring the Honest,'' Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.

''Now the atmosphere is becoming in the country to do all the work keeping paramount duty paramount. The question is, how is change coming? Does it just come strictly? Does it come just from punishment? No, not at all,'' PM Modi said.

''Every rule, law and policy is taken out of the power centric approach and is being turned into People Centric and Public Friendly. This is the use of the new governance model of the new India. There was a time when we used to talk about reforms. Decisions were taken in desperation or under pressure, and they were called reforms. Reform for us means reform is policy based, not piecemeal. Holistic reform becomes the basis of another reform, making way for the new reforms. And we cannot stop after one reform, this is a continuous process,'' the Prime Minister said.

''Fundamental and Structural Reforms were needed in India's tax system because our system was created in the period of slavery. After independence, a lot of changes were made here and there, but the character of the largely system remained the same,'' he said.

Modi said,''Compliance is difficult where there is complexity. If the law is clear, then taxpayers is happy, as well as the country. This work has been in process for some time. Like now, GST has come in place of dozens of taxes.''

Speaking about the tax reforms announced by the Centre, PM said, "Taxes have also been reduced in the country along with the complexities of procedures. Tax is now zero on income of up to 5 lakh rupees. The tax has also been reduced in the remaining slabs. We are one of the lowest tax consuming countries in the world in terms of corporate tax."
Alexander Tamargo/Getty; Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Sen. Kamala Harris (left) and Beau Biden

Kamala Harris took a moment during her first appearance with running mate Joe Biden to pay tribute to the presidential candidate's late son, Beau Biden.

Harris, 55, was friends with Beau when they were both attorneys general in California and Delaware, respectively.

"Ever since I received Joes call, I've been thinking about the first Biden I really came to know  Joes son, Beau," Harris said during her speech in Wilmington, Delaware, on Thursday in the first joint appearance with Biden since he named her his vice presidential pick.

"In the midst of the Great Recession, Beau and I spoke on the phone practically every day, sometimes multiple times a day, working together to win back billions of dollars for homeowners from the biggest banks in the nation that were foreclosing on peoples homes," Harris remembered.

"And let me tell you about Beau Biden," she continued. "I learned quickly that Beau was the kind of guy who inspired people to be a better version of themselves."

"He was the best of us," she said of Beau, who died in 2015 of brain cancer at age 46.

RELATED: Joe Biden Recalls Son Beau's Final Moments: He Said 'Dad, I'm Not Afraid'

Mark Wilson/Getty Beau Biden at the Democratic National Convention in 2008

OLIVIER DOULIERY/Getty Images Sen. Kamala Harris speaking in Wilmington, Delaware, on Wednesday after being named Joe Biden's running mate

The elder Biden acknowledged Harris' friendship with his late son as well on Tuesday when he announced the prosecutor-turned-lawmaker would be his running mate in the 2020 election against President Donald Trump.

"I watched as they took on the big banks, lifted up working people, and protected women and kids from abuse," Biden tweeted. "I was proud then, and I'm proud now to have her as my partner in this campaign."

Story continues

Biden noted Harris and Beau's history again Wednesday in his own speech before introducing Harris  with their twin set of remarks doubling as backstory on Harris and a set of criticisms of the Trump administration they hope to beat. (The Trump campaign has been quick with its own attack ads.)

"My campaigns have always been family affairs," Biden said Tuesday, noting: "Heres the best part: Kamala, youve been an honorary Biden for quite some time."

Biden pointed out that Beau had long "respected Kamala and her work."

"That mattered a lot to me as I made this decision," Biden said.

RELATED: Joe Biden Picks Kamala Harris as His Running Mate: 'a Fearless Fighter'

Kamala Harris/Twitter From left: Beau Biden and Kamala Harris

The former vice president and his wife, Former Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden, have had Beau on their mind throughout 2020.

The couple held a private memorial service in late May to mark the fifth anniversary of his death.

Beau had survived the 1972 car accident that killed his mother  Biden's first wife, Neilia Hunter  and the couple's 1-year-old daughter, Naomi. Beau and his younger brother, Hunter, survived.

Just before the fifth anniversary of Beau's death, Biden told Late Show host Stephen Colbert that his son has been in the back of his mind since launching his 2020 campaign last April.

"Every morning I get up, I ask myself, 'Is he proud of me?' Am I meeting the requirement that I promised him that I would do?" Biden told Colbert, adding that Beau was his "soul" and that Hunter was his "heart."
A 26-year-old man who was shot dead at his home in north west London has been named by detectives.

Detectives launched a murder investigation after armed officers and paramedics were called to reports of a shooting in Hansel Road, Kilburn, shortly after midnight on Wednesday.

Officers found Jeffrey Wegbe with a gunshot wound to his chest and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

In a statement, his family said: "Our beloved Jeffrey was killed on Wednesday morning in what can only be described as a senseless violent attack.

"Understandably, we are distraught by the news and ask that you keep us all in your thoughts and prayers.

"We would also like to say a huge thank you to the family, police and wider community for all their support.

The investigation is being led by homicide detectives from the Metropolitan Polices Specialist Crime Command.

Detective Inspector James Howarth said: It appears that Jeffrey Wegbe was attacked at his home when males approached his front door and fired shots that have ultimately led to his death.

We retain an open mind concerning the motive for the attack and are pursuing a number of lines of enquiry at a pace.

"I urge anyone who has information concerning this incident to contact my team who are waiting to speak with you. All information will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Police said no arrests have been made.

Anyone with information is asked to call the incident room on 020 8358 0300, or police via 101 or tweet @MetCC quoting Cad 140/12Aug.

Alternatively contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have long cultivated what both Sunni Muslim countries call a "fraternal" relationship.

But the long-standing economic, political, and military ties between the South Asian state and the oil-rich Middle East kingdom have been based less on common values and more on transactions, experts say.

Riyadh has provided huge financial support in the form of cheap oil and loans to Islamabad, which has been reeling for years from a struggling economy and energy crisis.

As the custodian of the two holiest sites in Islam, Saudi Arabia has given legitimacy to Pakistan's political and military elite, which has promoted a conservative Islamic identity in the country.

Riyadh also allegedly helped fund Pakistan's nuclear weapons program in the 1970s.

In return, Pakistan has sent its forces to help defend the kingdom over the decades.

Islamabad has also cooperated closely with Saudi Arabia to curb the expanding influence in the region of Iran -- Pakistan's western neighbor and Riyadh's mortal foe.

The Saudis have also been allowed to spread their extremist Wahhabi version of Islam in Pakistan through a vast network of mosques and seminaries.

But those close ties seem to have hit rock bottom as the relationship has hit major snags.

'Stand With Us'

In unprecedentedly blunt comments, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi lashed out at Saudi Arabia for its perceived lack of support for Islamabad's interests in the disputed Kashmir region.

The Muslim-majority Himalayan region is divided between Pakistan and archrival India but claimed by both in its entirety. The two countries have fought three wars over the region.

Qureshi said on August 5 that Islamabad expected the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) -- a group of 57 Muslim countries from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia that is based in Saudi Arabia -- to convene a meeting on Kashmir.

Otherwise, he said, Pakistan would be "compelled" to "call a meeting of the Islamic countries that are ready to stand with us on the issue of Kashmir," which has been viewed as a threat to create a new bloc that would rival the Saudi-dominated OIC.

The foreign minister mentioned Iran, Turkey, and Qatar, Riyadh's regional rivals with which Pakistan has bolstered ties in recent years.

Qureshi said Pakistan last year pulled out of an international summit for leaders of Muslim countries in Malaysia because of Riyadh's concerns that the meeting could undermine the OIC.

But now, he said, Pakistan was demanding Riyadh "show leadership on the issue" of Kashmir. "We have our own sensitivities," he said. "Gulf countries should understand this. I'm taking a position despite our good ties with Saudi Arabia. We cannot stay silent anymore on the sufferings of the Kashmiris."

Qureshi's comments came on the first anniversary of India's decision to revoke the special status of territory under its administration in Kashmir, a move that outraged Pakistan.

Pakistan's Foreign Office on August 6 defended Qureshi's rare public criticism of Riyadh, saying the minister's remarks reflected the "people's aspirations and expectations."

Game Of Loans

The same day, media reports in Pakistan said the government was forced to repay $1 billion of a $3 billion loan it had secured from Saudi Arabia.

Those loans were part of a $6.2 billion package announced by Saudi Arabia in October 2018, which included a total of $3 billion in loans and a further $3.2 billion loan for oil imports.

Media reports also said Pakistan had not received any oil under the deal since May.

In February, Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman signed investment deals with Pakistan worth $20 billion, including for a $10 billion refinery and petrochemicals complex in the port city of Gwadar.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was criticized and even mocked on social media for chauffeuring for the crown prince upon his arrival in Islamabad, a move intended to portray the kingdom's importance to Pakistan.

On August 10 -- just days after Qureshi's outburst, the Saudi ambassador in Islamabad met with Pakistan's chief of army staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa. The military holds an oversized role in the country's domestic and foreign affairs.

A Pakistani government statement said that "matters of mutual interest, the regional security situation, and bilateral defense relations between the two brotherly countries were discussed during the meeting."

'Ungrateful'

"The Saudis have stood by Pakistan in times of need," says Husain Haqqani, Pakistan's former ambassador to the United States and a director at the Washington-based Hudson Institute. "But Riyadh feels Pakistan is less forthcoming in supporting Saudi Arabia on its security concerns while demanding both economic assistance and political support."

Pakistan failed to send troops to help a Saudi-led coalition that has been fighting Huthi rebels in Yemen since 2015.

Meanwhile, Islamabad is wary of the burgeoning economic ties between Riyadh and New Delhi. Saudi Arabia has become India's fourth-largest trading partner and the main source of its oil imports, with bilateral trade at $27 billion annually.

In comparison, Pakistan's bilateral trade with Saudi Arabia stands at just $3.6 billion.

"The Saudis look at Pakistan as an ungrateful recipient of their assistance, including direct budget support, oil supplied on a deferred-payment basis, and several hundred thousand jobs for unskilled workers," Haqqani says. "But for the Saudis, India is a major trading partner and they are refusing to play Islamabad's zero-sum game on India."

In recent years, Saudi Arabia has expelled thousands of Pakistanis for not possessing valid legal documents, although some observers say the expulsions are the consequences of worsening diplomatic relations.

Saudi Arabia remains the main source of Pakistan's remittances. Overseas Pakistani workers sent nearly $19 billion home between July 2019 and April 2020, with $4.4 billion remitted from Saudi Arabia alone, according to the State Bank of Pakistan.

Mosharraf Zaidi, a Pakistani columnist and former diplomat, says the diplomatic row will have "implications" for Islamabad, adding that the government has made "a habit of making bombastic statements about the closest strategic partners of the country."

"Saudi Arabia is not a casual partner of the country," Zaidi says.

Najam Sethi, a prominent Pakistani journalist, wrote in a column that Pakistani-Saudi ties had "hit rock bottom already" and Qureshi's "outburst is a consequence of this fact rather than a cause of it."

Imtiaz Gul, head of the independent Center for Research and Security Studies in Islamabad, says the spat with Riyadh is an "expression of frustration with the lack of Saudi support on Kashmir and its close economic relations with India."

But he says it does not signal a strategic realignment by Islamabad, which has forged warmer ties recently with Iran. "Pakistan will largely remain aligned with Saudi Arabia and the other OIC countries, including Turkey," Gul says. "The relationship with Iran has been tricky and very wobbly from the very beginning. And I don't expect it to reach to the level of our relationship with Turkey or Saudi Arabia."

'Thoughtless'

Pakistani opposition parties and political commentators have slammed the government for its public criticism of Riyadh, arguing that Islamabad cannot afford to alienate its Saudi benefactors.

Khurram Dastagir, a former defense minister and central leader of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party of ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, said Qureshi's remarks were "most unfortunate and ill-advised" because "we have a long-standing relationship with Saudi Arabia."

Dastagir said that "if there are differences, they should not be expressed in the unfortunate manner as said by the foreign minister."

Farhatullah Babar, a former senator and central leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), told RFE/RL that Qureshi's statement was "irresponsible, thoughtless, and undiplomatic."
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 11:47:56|Editor: huaxia

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PRAGUE, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Wednesday that the Czech Republic is a sovereign country, and he does not see any major threat here.

He made the remarks after visiting U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed at a joint press briefing here that the United States, a country with a poor track record of respecting other nations' sovereignty, stood "prepared to support" the Czech people if the latter were bullied by others.

During his visit, Pompeo repeated his anti-China agenda while talking about cooperation with the Czech Republic on 5G security and nuclear power plant construction. He claimed that using technologies from China and Russia would pose a "danger" to the sovereignty and security of the Czech Republic.

Calling the Czech Republic "a leader in Europe" on 5G and cybersecurity, Babis said that his country is "a sovereign country and I do not see any major threat here."

On the relations with China, despite Pompeo's botched attempt to sow discord, Babis said that the Czech Republic "seeks lines with the European Union and there's no fundamental problem here."

Pompeo's groundless claims about China have aroused strong condemnation from the Chinese Embassy in the Czech Republic.

Calling Pompeo's rhetoric as "full of ideological bias and Cold War ideas," the embassy said Pompeo is attacking China without any substantiation.

"In the name of so-called 'democracy and freedom,' Pompeo is attacking China without any substantiation, tarnishing China, trying to make China scapegoat for all existing problems and deliberately fomenting discord between other countries and China," the embassy said.

Quoting a Czech proverb that says "people are often caught in their own trap," the embassy urged Pompeo to stop spreading political viruses and false information, interfering in China's internal affairs, and subverting the unity and cooperation of the international community. Enditem
The official result of Belarus's presidential election was never in doubt, with President Aleksandr Lukashenko often described as "Europe's last dictator" and opposition ruthlessly suppressed. But it's clear yesterday's pollofficially won with 79% of the votewent as badly for him as it could have, with protestors swarming into the streets as soon as the cooked numbers were announced.

Earlier, the central election commission said Lukashenko, in power for more than a quarter of a century, won 80% of the vote in Sunday's election, while Svetlana Tikhanouskaya, who emerged from obscurity to become his main rival, took just 9.9%.

"The authorities are not listening to us. The authorities need to think about peaceful ways to hand over power," said Tikhanouskaya, a former English teacher who entered the race after her blogger husband was jailed.

Related Coverage

"Of course we do not recognise the results."

Foreign observers have not judged an election to be free and fair in Belarus since 1995, and the run-up to the vote saw authorities jail Lukashenko's rivals and open criminal investigations into others who voiced opposition.
The federal government says it is resuming the rollout of Digital Switch Over (DSO) to revolutionise the broadcast industry, create jobs and take millions of Nigerians out of poverty.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said this on Thursday when he featured on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum at the agencys headquarters in Abuja.

He said the DSO, a transition from analogue to digital television broadcasting, is critical to the efforts of the government at repositioning the creative industry and making it the alternative to oil.

The DSO is key to us because it is capable of providing between one to two million jobs in the next couple of years.

President Muhammadu Buhari equally appreciates the fact that it is the DSO that can help to take out 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next ten years.

We are very optimistic that the rollout will resume very soon, he said.

The minister said they would have resumed the rollout of DSO since it was stalled in 2018 but because of constraints mainly on funding.

We have rejigged the DSO campaign and we are going back to the Federal Executive Council in the next couple of weeks to ask for certain impetus that will enable us to roll out more and this is largely about resources, he said.

NAN recalls the rollout of DSO commenced in Jos, Plateau in April 2016 and moved to Abuja, Ilorin, Kaduna, Enugu and lastly in Osogbo in February 2018.

The minister also disclosed that he would be receiving the report of the Task Team on Audience Measurement in Broadcasting in the week.

He said the task team was set up to make recommendations on how to get an objective and scientific audience measurement system.

The audience measurement system is the missing link in the entire ecosystem in the sense that as at today, people use very subjective methods to determine where they are going to place their adverts.

Normally in other climes, where you have an audience measurement system, you are able to know how many people are watching a particular programme, at what time of the day, and through which medium.

And that is going to determine when you are going to advertise your products and at what time belts.

Different programmes attract different rates, just as different programmes attract more number of eyeballs, he said.

Mr Mohammed said the report of the team is expected to give parameters for assessing and measuring the number of eyeballs or ears that watch or listen to a programme that will be a guide for the advertisers.

(NAN)
Oracle -announced that NITI Aayog has engaged Oracle to help it modernize vital IT infrastructure underpinning the Aspirational Districts Programme. A key project of the Indian Government, its purpose is to help improve the quality of life of citizens in 112 of Indias most backward districts, constituting 28 percent of Indias population of nearly 1.4 billion.

Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, said This program is aligned with our Prime Ministers vision of a new India. It focuses on improving peoples capacity to participate in Indias economic development. Data driven decisions will help identify the strengths and weaknesses of these districts and pave the way for their progress. By using a range of Oracle Cloud services, we are looking to fast-track their transformation by providing simplified data access, increased process automation and real-time data governance.

The programme uses data to identify top-performing districts  these could be Dantewada in Chhattisgarh, Nandurbar in Maharashtra, Dahod in Gujarat, Kupwara in Jammu & Kashmir, Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh, or Godda in Jharkhand, among others. The weaker performing districts are encouraged to catch-up with top performers, by competing with, and learning from them in the spirit of competitive and cooperative collaboration.

Information is collected across five key themes, on 49 Key Performance Indicators, identified as having the greatest impact on the quality of life and economic productivity. They include: education, health and nutrition, agriculture and water resources, financial inclusion and skill development, basic infrastructure including access to road, potable water, internet connectivity, and housing under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana  Gramin (PMAY-G).

This work requires assimilating thousands of data points from multiple sources and in differing formats from across the country, which are checked for data accuracy (triggering alerts in the case of the data feed appearing to be inconsistent), and integrated for analysis and reporting. Critical to the success of the programme is for this data to be fed back in real time to administrators, district collectors, government officers and the general public via a highly visual and intuitive dashboard: http://championsofchange.gov.in/, to ensure the data is accessible and understandable by all.

Oracle Autonomous Database, the worlds first and only true autonomous database, is at the heart of data management in this programme. Being self-driving, self-securing and self-repairing it requires a minimal IT team and resources to support it. Highly secure by nature, the system and the data it manages are protected from system failure and attack by machine learning (ML) and automation. ML and AI built into its data capabilities, enable greater insight to be gained than a human based system alone.

Shailender Kumar, Regional Managing Director, Oracle India said, Oracle has committed nearly 30 years in India, serving its people, the government and enterprise firms. Robust and modern technologies are the backbone for real social and economic transformation at micro and macro levels. We are honoured to support NITI Aayog in this transformation programme. With a range of Oracle Cloud services, we look forward to support this programmes success and facilitate the creation of a new India.

The complete Oracle Cloud solution incorporates:
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As we continue our commitment to the integrity, honesty, and quality of our journalism  as well as to bold design and original photography  were proud to have your support, said Gus Wenner, President and COO of Rolling Stone. We believe this tradition of deep reporting will always have a place in the cultural conversation, but we couldnt sustain it without dedicated readers like you.

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Stocks to watch today: Here is a list of top stocks that are likely to be in focus in Thursday's trading session based on latest developments. Investors are also awaiting April-June quarter earnings that are scheduled to be released today. Companies set to announce their earnings are Hero MotoCorp, Tata Steel, Eicher Motors, Grasim Industries, Godrej Industries, Prestige Estates among others.

Share Market News Live: Sensex up 80 points, Nifty at 11,343; Hero MotoCorp, Eicher Motors Q1 results today

InterGlobe Aviation: Private equity firm Westbridge Capital has bought 5.43 million shares or 1.41% stake in the domestic airline for Rs 559 crore through an open market transaction.

Aurobindo Pharma: Company reported a 22.81% rise in its consolidated net profit to Rs 780.68 crore for the quarter ended on June 30, 2020, as against a net profit of Rs 635.68 crore for the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

Ashok Leyland: Company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 388.82 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, as against a net profit of Rs 274.96 crore for the April-June 2019 quarter.

Tata Power: The company's consolidated net profit grew by 10% to Rs 268 crore for quarter ended June as against a net profit of Rs 243 crore during the same period a year ago.

Bharat Forge: The company reported a consolidated loss of Rs 127.3 crore for the quarter ended June 30 as against a profit of Rs 171.9 crore in April-June period of the previous fiscal.

Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services: Company's Rs 3,089 crore rights issue was subscribed 1.3 times the final day of the share sale yesterday.

Natco Pharma: Company's consolidated net profit fell by 14.5% to Rs 122.1 crore for the quarter ended June as against Rs 142.8 crore during the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

Indiabulls Housing Finance: Company said that Sameer Gehlaut, co-founder and chairman of Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd ( IBHFL) has stepped down from his current position. He will be replaced by SS Mundra, former deputy governor of Reserve Bank of India. Gehlot will take charge as the chief executive of subsidiary Indiabulls Ventures with immediate effect.

IT Stocks: Shares of IT companies will be under focus after the Trump administration has relaxed some rules for H-1B visas holders allowing them to enter the United States if they are returning to the same jobs they had prior to the proclamation of the visa ban.

Earnings today: Hero MotoCorp, Tata Steel, Eicher Motors, Grasim Industries, Balkrishna Industries, Power Finance Corporation, Trend, Godrej Industries, Prestige Estates and Endurance Technologies are among companies which will announce their April-June quarter results today.
Some U.S. politicians including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have been unscrupulously cooking up stories in recent days, pointing fingers at China for Xinjiang and Hong Kong affairs. They even described the regular business operation of Chinese enterprises as providing material support to regimes engaging in human rights violations and abuses.

However, it no secret to the world that these lies made by Pompeo and the likes are nothing but a disguise covering the deeply rooted social problems of the U.S., and a blame game to pass the buck for the White Houses failure in domestic governance.

They probably dont know that the more disguise they wear, the worse results they will get.

The human rights cards played by these U.S. politicians have long been a notorious signboard of the American double standards.

At present, the right to life and health of the U.S. citizens is being seriously threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic that has caused over 5 million infections and 160,000 deaths in the country. However, these U.S. politicians indifference to the situation is really astonishing.

U.K. newspaper The Independent pointed out that some U.S. politicians are always saying human rights, but they neglect their own obligations to protect human rights and ignore the lives of the people. African Americans are dying at 2.5 times the rate of white people, which exposed the long-existing racial inequality in the U.S. In Michigan, black people make up only 14% of the population and account for roughly 39% of deaths. Governor of the state Gretchen Whitmer recently noted that the pandemic has confirmed and highlighted the deadly nature of these pre-existing inequalities caused by systemic racism.

The 43rd Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution strongly condemning the continuing racially discriminatory and violent practices perpetrated by law enforcement agencies against Africans and people of African descent. Website Politico noted that the U.S. is more and more considered as a villain, not a hero, on the subject of human rights.

It is pointed out that the U.S., as the most warlike country in the history, has left tens of millions displaced who tried to escape the hell that the U.S. has helped to create. It has been refusing to ratify multiple key international human rights conventions, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women.

The White House declared to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO) this year when COVID-19 was still rampant, a move considered by the world as a crime against humanity.

Pompeo shamelessly announced that to protect human rights is the conscience of a country, but what did he do when American citizens were saying they can't breathe? The sharp contrast well explains the hypocrisy and double standards of Pompeo and the likes on human rights issues.

Adopting double standards and taking human rights as a political tool to suppress other countries, the U.S. has totally violated the principles of human rights. Robert Malley, head of the Washington-based International Crisis Groupsaid bluntly that the U.S. had credibility gaps when it came to promoting human rights, and human rights seem to be treated purely as a transactional currency. Sarah Snyder, a human rights historian teaching at American University criticized White Houses rejection of the idea that the U.S. should be bound by any of the international agreements.

The evil intention behind the human rights cards played by these U.S. politicians is never a secret. Senior researcher Stephen Roach with Yale University believes that these politicians arguments are all based on conspiracy theories and analysis that lacks the support of facts.

Michael Swaine, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, pointed out that Pompeos remarks were a kind of political opportunism and ideological mania. He said Pompeo is the worst secretary of state ever, and the U.S. politician is proving this point everyday with his remarks and practices. The Guardian called Pompeo a dangerous man feeding prejudices, fears and schisms.

Practice is the sole criterion of truth, and the happy life of the people is the largest human right. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, Chinas per capita GDP surged from less than $200 forty years ago to todays over $10,000, and more than 800 million people have shaken off poverty. In Chinas fight against the COVID-19 epidemic, the country has always put people and their lives in the first place, and tried everything possible to protect their rights to life and health. In Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China is resolute in fighting violent terrorist, separatist and religious extremist forces and in promoting Xinjiangs development, ethnic unity, and social stability. In Hong Kong, China cracks down on a very narrow category of criminal acts and activities that endanger national security and protects the safety and rights and freedoms the vast majority of the Hong Kong residents enjoy in accordance with the law, so as to maintain prosperity and stability of the special administrative region. Besides, China has approved and joined 26 international human rights document. In the face of facts, any attempt of the U.S. politicians to attack Chinas human rights protection will end up in vain.

The Chinese people has long seen through the plot of Pompeo and the likes who violently interferes in Chinas domestic affairs under the excuse of human rights and contain Chinas development with supremacy. By concentrating on its own path and affairs, China is responding forcefully to those who impede the countrys development.

(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by Peoples Daily to express its views on foreign policy.)




Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and vice presidential running mate, Kamala Harris, appeared together for the first time Wednesday. The two held a campaign event in the northeastern state of Delaware.

The former vice president introduced Harris as a smart, tough and experience person who is, in his words, ready to do this job on day one." He called her life story Americas story.

Biden went on to say, And this morning, all across the nation, little girls woke up, especially little Black and brown girls that feel overlooked and undervalued in their communities, but today  today just maybe theyre seeing themselves for the first time in a new way as president and vice presidents."

There was no crowd. There were no cheers. The two Democrats stood several meters away from each other in a nearly empty high school gymnasium.

When it was her turn to speak, Harris thanked all the ambitious women before me, whose sacrifice, determination and resilience makes my presence here today even possible.

Harris criticized President Donald Trump. She said the United States leads the world with more than 5 million coronavirus cases "because of Trump's failure to take it seriously from the start.

She criticized: "His refusal to get testing up and running, his flip-flopping on social distancing and wearing masks. His delusional belief that he knows better than the experts. All of that is reason and the reason that an American dies of Covid-19 every 80 seconds.

Biden and Harris will officially accept the nomination at the Democratic Party convention next week. The Republican Party will hold their convention the following week to nominate President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.

Historic moment

Harris makes history as the first Black woman and first person of Asian ancestry to be the nominee for vice president of a major party. She talked about how her parents met while protesting for civil rights in the 1960s.

"My mother and father, they came from opposite sides of the world to arrive in America. One from India and the other from Jamaica in search of a world-class education. But what brought them together was the civil rights movement of the 1960s, she said.

She added: They met marching and shouting for this thing called justice in a struggle that continues today.

Harriss parents ended their marriage when she was seven. As a child, she went to both Black and Hindu religious centers. Harris said her mother knew Americans would consider her and her sister as Black girls. She wrote in her autobiography, she [her mother] was determined to make sure we would grow into confident, proud black women.

Melanie Campbell is head of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation. She said she wished her late mother could have lived to see the historic moment.

Campbell said. This moment is more than about the VP slot. It affirms Black women and all we did for this country.

In a speech in 2018, Harris recalled visits to her grandparents near the Bay of Bengal in southern India. I was not conscious of it at the time, but it was those walks on the beach with my grandfather in Besant Nagar that had a profound impact on who I am today, Harris said.

Her grandfather was among those who worked for Indias independence. He later became a high-ranking government official.

Her uncle Gopalan Balachandran told reporters outside his New Delhi home, I knew she was quite ambitious in the sense that she always wanted to run for public office

On social media, users joked about how Indian parents in the United States will now push their children to aim even higher. One wrote, Beta (son) what are you doing these days? Oh, just a Harvard professor? Not even a mayor yet?

Im Mario Ritter, Jr.

Hai Do wrote this story for VOA Learning English with reporting from VOA, Asssociated Press and Reuters. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

ambitious adj. having great desire to succeed

resilience n. the ability to recover from something bad that happens

delusional adj. believing in things that are not true

confident adj. believing you can do something well

conscious adj. awake and able to understand what is happening

impact n. an strong or notable influence

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China International Publishing Group (CIPG), a multi-language publishing house based in Beijing, is displaying more than 5,800 publications at the Shanghai Book Fair August 12-18.

Zhou Huilin (L2), director general of Shanghai Publicity Bureau, Lu Cairong (L3), vice president of CIPG, and Xu Jiong, director general of Shanghai Press and Publication Bureau (L4), visit the CIPG section at the Shanghai Book Fair running between August 12 and 18. [Photo by Wu Wentao/China.org.cn]

The group is particularly showcasing the third volume of "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China" which underscores the Chinese president's latest thoughts on national governance rendered into 15 different languages, such as English, French and Arabic.

Amid the complex milieu in a year when the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect human society, CIPG is paying equal attention to the stories reviewing the nation's all-out efforts in fighting against the highly infectious respiratory disease.

More than 20 books, such as, "Stories of Courage and Determination, Wuhan Coronavirus Lockdown" and "China's Battle Against Coronavirus, A Daily Log" have been published to demonstrate the resilience and undaunting spirit being shown by all walks of life in the country, particularly by the medical staff working in the frontline.

There are also five cartoon series entitled "The Pathogen Beside Us" published as a scientific reminder to keep children away from the disease.

The publishing group is also holding book debuts, interactive reading events and press conferences during the book fair.
Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh said that SADs targeted attack against a senior and highly-professional officer of the Punjab Police is a shameful attempt by them to exploit the unfortunate hooch tragedy to push their own political agenda with eye on the next assembly polls in state.

Reacting to Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithias statement accusing Punjab DGP Dinkar Gupta of shielding SSP Amritsar Rural over the latters alleged failure to act on complaint against the liquor mafia, Captain said there is no need of `shielding an officer who had an unblemished track record including war on drug and illicit liquor smugglers and traders.

He said SSP Dhruv Dahiya had been on his personal security team. A person with links with the mafia, as was suggested by the SAD, can hardly be trusted with the CMs security, he quipped.

Stating that all SSPs and DCs were appointed directly by him, the CM said that the DGP or CS cannot be held responsible for their actions in any case. He said that contrary to what Majithia is falsely claiming, the SSP had received no specific complaint from any citizen regarding manufacturing of hooch.

If there had been even a suspicion of the SSP protecting or conniving with liquor smugglers, I would have been the first to take action against the officer as was done against five others immediately after the tragedy came to light, he said.

Expressing shock at SADs continued attempts to seize the major tragedy for promoting their own vested interests, Amarinder said, it reflects the appalling low that SAD has touched in its desperation to connect with the people.

The CM said, Small-scale manufacturing of illicit liquor had been going on for years, but police busting several modules in recent months and the covid-induced lockdown had spiked demand for liquor. Some liquor smugglers saw this as an opportunity to make a quick buck and started using chemicals in manufacturing hooch, leading to the tragedy.
Florida-based Roper Technologies has agreed to acquire insurance software maker Vertafore in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $5.35 billion.

Roper said the Vertafore management team led by CEO Amy Zupon will continue to lead the business from its Denver, Colorado headquarters. Vertafores name, brands and office locations will not change as a result of the transaction, according to the announcement.

This is the third change of ownership for Vertafore in the past decade. Bain Capital and Vista Equity, current owners of Vertafore, acquired it in 2016 for $2.7 billion from TPG Capital, which paid $1.4 billion for the company in 2010.

Its also the third insurance software deal announced within the past month.

Vertafores cloud-based software provides agency management, compliance, workflow and data products for the property/casualty insurance industry. More than 20,000 agencies and 1,000 insurance carriers use Vertafore software.

Roper owns a variety of niche market technology software and device firms including iPipeline, Logitech, ConstructConnect, Horizon, Strata Decisions, Metrix and iTradeNetwork.

Vertafore is a fantastic business characterized by clear leadership in its niche market, a strong management team, high customer retention, and a long track record of consistent revenue and cash flow growth, said Neil Hunn, Roper president and CEO. The acquisition of Vertafore is a great example of our disciplined capital deployment strategy which focuses on durable, long-term cash flow compounding.

Bloomberg reported back in October that Bain and Vista were considering a sale of Vertafore.

The deals announcement comes after two smaller insurance software transactions were announced in July. Cloud insurance software firm Majesco agreed to be acquired by Thoma Bravo, a private equity firm focused, in a transaction valuing the company at $594 million.

Also Sapiens International Corp. said it had agreed to acquire Delphi Technology Inc., a software vendor focused on the medical professional liability insurance carrier markets. The total consideration is up to $19.5 million in cash.

Roper said it anticipates funding the Vertafore transaction using its cash on hand, revolving credit facility, and new debt. Vertafore is expected to contribute approximately $590 million of revenue and $290 million of EBITDA in 2021. Roper expects the acquisition to be immediately cash accretive. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter.

J.P. Morgan and Wells Fargo Securities served as financial advisors to Roper on this transaction.

Topics Mergers
When an African American woman married her college sweetheart, a white man from a small town, people talked. They married and welcomed a beautiful baby girl together, but still, the scornful glances and bigoted whispers continued.

Eventually, the happily married wife and mother took to social media to share her story. But rather than join the haters in their vitriol, she chose a message of love and inclusivity.

Asharel Chastain moved around a lot as a kid. But when she entered the third grade, her family settled in Glenpool, Oklahoma. She said Glenpool was predominately white, and most of her new friends were white.

Moving to Glenpool was difficult and different at first, Asharel wrote on Love What Matters, because I had always gone to black schools and had always been around black people. I, of course, adapted, and opened up to my new community.

She added that eventually, growing up in the new community was easy because everyone made her feel welcomed as if the color of her skin did not matter. [M]y parents always taught me to love everyone, no matter the color of their skin, and that is what I did, she said.

Brady Chastain grew up in a small town with hardly any black residents, but his parents taught him a similar lesson: to love others despite the color of their skin.

Sharing their love story, Asharel said she and her husband were just freshmen in college when they met.

We had several classes together  We both knew we liked one another, but of course, we played it off until we couldnt anymore, she recalled.

Brady proposed shortly after the couple graduated from college; Asharel said yes. They married in a beautiful outdoor ceremony on July 7, 2018, and 10 months after the wedding, Asharel fell pregnant with a baby girl; they named their daughter Avaya.

We have adjusted, she said. We were once this young couple in college helping one another with homework, to now being a married couple with our own house, own cars, college degrees, two dogs, and our first child!

Yet Asharel and Brady, who made their home in Missouri, soon discovered that prejudice had followed them into happily married life and parenthood.

As an interracial couple, we sometimes get glares from both the white and black communities, Asharel said. Glares that are meant to be judgmental since we are married outside of our race.

Asharel said that the glares and hateful stares never bothered them, but they did definitely notice it.

We have been together for so long and have come so far in our relationship that we just laugh, and talk about how ridiculous people are in 2020 to still judge an interracial couple, she added.

As a college couple, the pair would be upset by the looks and comments, unable to understand why their mutual love didnt speak for itself. However, with age comes insight; both Asharel and Brady now acknowledge that the most deeply ingrained prejudices can be oblivious to love.

The Chastains understand the prejudice they receive, but they do not condone it.

We love each other so much it only makes our love grow stronger, Asharel wrote. From this interracial relationship, we have both learned so much about one anothers background and we have grown together as a couple.

Talking about their little bundle of joy, their baby girl, Asharel wrote: To our little mixed girl, we will teach her to love everything about her curls, fair skin, and green eyes. We will educate her on both her black and white cultural background. We will teach her to love every ounce of herself, no matter what society says about interracial people.

Baby Avaya will grow up the way her parents did: loving with an open heart, and without prejudice.

We are determined to teach our daughter to love everyone, no matter the color of their skin, appearance, etc. We are determined to teach her to love with an open heart. We will teach her to know the color of someones skin does not define who they are, she added.

We will ignore the negativity, and continue to shine as a family, Asharel wrote. We will stand for interracial couples. We will be the change in the world.

We would love to hear your stories! You can share them with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.nyc
HAGEN (dpa-AFX) - German perfume and cosmetics retailer Douglas Group (DUGLY.PK, DUGLF.PK) Thursday reported that its adjusted EBITDA for the first nine months of fiscal 2019/20 decreased by 10.6 percent year-over-year to 264 million euros. However, Douglas noted that even during the corona crisis, it was able to expand its market share in the core markets of Germany, France, Spain, and Italy - both online and offline. Consolidated Group sales for the nine months totaled 2.5 billion euros, down 7.5 percent compared with the previous year's level. In the same period, sales of the store business fell by 17.2 percent year-on-year. By contrast, Douglas' e-commerce business sales jumped by 39.6 percent to 640 million euros, partially offsetting the impact on earnings. Following the end of government-ordered store closures, Douglas said it has reopened nearly all of its 2,400 stores in Europe in compliance with official regulations and hygiene measures. The number of customers in the stores has risen since April when the easing of restrictions began, the company added. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Four of the regions leading health-care organizations have joined forces for a public service campaign amid COVID-19 in support of masking among the regions residents.

The Wear a Mask initiative launched Wednesday, and will feature newspaper, digital and social media messages in English and Spanish encouraging the public to wear masks. The public-service announcements are expected to appear in print and in digital media.

The effort was announced by HCA Northern Virginia including Dominion, Reston, and Stone Springs Hospitals, Inova Health System, Novant Health UVA Health System, including Culpeper Medical Center and Virginia Hospital Center.

Research shows that consistently wearing a mask out of the home leads to a significant slowdown in daily COVID-19 growth rates over time, said Dr. Jon DSouza, chief medical officer of Culpeper Medical Center. This joint masking campaign will allow us to build on the success weve already seen in Virginia and prepare us for any potential surges. We are proud to be joining other leading healthcare organizations in putting the safety of our communities first.

The venture is the first time that Novant Health UVA Health System has joined other leading healthcare organizations in a joint marketing effort to benefit their communities, Novant said. HCA Healthcare undertook a similar campaign in Richmond.

COVID-19 remains a huge risk at these hospitals, according to their chief medical officers. The chiefs agree that surges of the contagious respiratory illness occur in communities when masks are not worn in outdoor and indoor public spaces where people gather.

We are in this battle against COVID-19 together, said Thomas Taghon, chief medical officer of Reston Hospital Center. It doesnt matter your political affiliation, what you do for a living, who you work for, where you live, or how much money you have, COVID-19 is an equal opportunist when it comes to infecting people.

Recent studies in Health Affairs, The Lancet and other medical journals compared the growth rate of COVID-19 before and after mask adoption. the release stated.

Results showed mask adoption led to a significant slowdown in daily COVID-19 growth rates over time. Globally, countries that embraced wearing masks or mandated them have had significantly lower infection and death rates due to COVID-19, according to the local hospitals.

In Northern Virginia, we are succeeding, which is one of the reasons we have been able to progress to Phase 3, said Dr. Stephen J. Motew, chief, clinical enterprise at Inova Health System. Infection and death rates in the region have remained stable and relatively low, but we are not out of the woods.

For hospitals and front-line medical teams treating COVID-19 patients, prevention remains critical in fighting this pandemic.

While healthcare workers continue to fight COVID-19 inside hospital walls, they are relying on the public to do their part by wearing masks, using good hand hygiene and social distancing, the hospital said in a statement.

Science has proven that masks are effective in slowing the transmission of the virus, said Dr. Zan Zaidi, clinical physician executive at Novant Health UVA Health System. We see this in communities where mask adoption has been embracedstatistics show a reduction in death and infection.

Local clinical leaders agreed wearing masks, washing hands and distancing is working.

We cannot let our guard down, said Dr. Jeffrey DiLisi, senior vice president and chief medical officer of Virginia Hospital Center. We must keep at it, to protect one another and ourselves from a virus for which there is not yet a vaccine or a cure.
Kaufman worked with both the sellers and the buyers of the sprawling six-bedroom home. Other details remained private.

By marketing the property across Sothebys International Realtys exclusive media network, we generated strong local and international demand and several offers, Kaufman said.This sale reflects how confident luxury buyers are in the long-term fundamentals of Montreal. It also reveals a consumer trend that is emerging with the pandemic: More than ever, people are seeking security and a desirable lifestyle by investing in their homes.

Don Kottick, president and CEO of Sothebys International Realty Canada, said that the reopenings have sparked a gradual return to the pre-pandemic normal.

The Montreal real estate market, as well as major metropolitan markets such as Toronto and Vancouver, saw significant gains in the first months of 2020 before COVID-19 disrupted their momentum, Kottick said. Were now seeing pent-up consumer demand surge into new activity. In addition, global uncertainty is firing up new demand for real estate in key Canadian markets including Montreal, not only amongst locals, but from buyers from the US and overseas who are seeking sanctuary and a secure financial investment.
Regarding: Town votes to rescind license of defiant gym (article, Aug. 12):

Reading through Bill Duhart's article, this question arises:

Why did the Bellmawr borough council wait this long to rescind the mercantile license of the Atilis Gym?

Was the town hoping that the gym owners would see the errors of their ways in reopening against the governors COVID-19 orders? Did they think the owners would do what countless other gyms in New Jersey have done to continue in business with indoor services restricted: loan out equipment to members to take home, provide virtual training and outdoor classes, and reopen very carefully, step by step, when allowed?

Instead, the Atilis owners decided to hang their response on claims of violations of their rights, and to actively agitate against what science, medicine and common sense tell us about keeping as safe as possible from COVID-19.

One wonders if the two owners understand that with great rights and freedoms, come great responsibilities: to respect your fellow countrymen and countrywomen, to do no harm, and to abide by the greater good even if it means a temporary problem or inconvenience.

One has to look no further than a few states over from ours to see what harm too quick and indiscriminate reopening brought to them.

Do we miss our gyms, the fun and the easy camaraderie? Yes! Should we be willing to risk our lives and those of our loved ones, patients and coworkers just to be able to go to the gym now? Most emphatically, no!

That time will come soon enough. If we aren't learning from this pandemic, then we are condemned to repeat all our mistakes and make things worse for much longer than necessary.

Who wants that?

Paula Zevin, Somerset

Postal service issues are not partisan ones

Lately, I have found that the local mail delivery is beginning to be a bit unreliable. There are times when the mail truck is not seen in my neighborhood for three days.

We are hearing varying reasons for this recent issue with the mail. The one thing you do hear is that some delays are a result of deliberate decisions within the U.S. Postal Service chain of command.

The fact is, all Americans are dependent on reliable mail delivery. Many of us actually watch for the mail delivery each day. There are checks and medicine to be delivered, as well as all of the items that we now order online to avoid making stores visit during this COVID-19 pandemic.

Mail delays impact everyone, not just people from one political side or the other. I am not sure if this is intended to cast doubt on the reliability of mail-in election ballots in November or is occurring for some other unknown reason, but this is a bipartisan problem.

At this point, the the only certain result that I see is that we are all getting upset over the level of our mail delivery service.

James Dulong, Mantoloking

Nasty business at the White House

President Donald Trump did it again. He effectively screamed I am a hypocrite for the umpteenth time when he called Joe Bidens vice presidential pick, U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, nasty.

This would be humorous if it werent so sickening: Trump is a man who has derogatory terms for anyone he doesnt like. Hes lied so many times its almost impossible to count them. And, in using the word nasty to describe a woman, he is a misogynist who sounds like a 10-year-old schoolyard bully who has never grown up from that time in his life.

America deserves better.

Allen Edelstein, Highland Park

Unacceptable for Biden to ban half the choices?

Why is it acceptable that Joe Biden, in promising to select a woman, did not even consider African American men, Latino men or Asian men for his vice-presidential running mate?

That is pure discrimination.

Tom Scott, Spottswood

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The cello has accompanied Anita Lasker-Wallfisch through hell and back. At age 17, she played marches in Auschwitz while prisoners burned next door. Less than a decade later, she became a founding member of the English Chamber Orchestra.

It was always music that helped me survive [until] the next day, Ms. Lasker-Wallfisch, the last known living member of the womens orchestra at Auschwitz, said in a telephone interview from her home in London last month.

If it were not for her skills as a cellist, she might not have been spared in World War II. Becoming a member of the band shortly after her arrival at the concentration camp in 1942 entitled her to privileges such as extra food and ensured her eventual escape.

On Saturday, Ms. Lasker-Wallfisch, 95, is to speak about the role of music in her life at the Salzburg Festivals lecture series Reden uber das Jahrhundert or Talking About the Century, at the festivals famous Felsenreitschule theater. (Because of her age and current risks associated with travel, she will appear by video recording.) Her speech will be framed with cello works by Paul Celan and Bach, performed live by the soloist Julia Hagen.
A former Shippensburg University student is suing the school in federal court, claiming officials did nothing when she complained that her female supervisor was continually pressuring her to join her in a three-way sex romp.

Her repeated refusals of those overtures from the assistant dean resulted in her unjust termination from her graduate studies program, the ex-student claims in the sexual harassment complaint filed in U.S. Middle District Court.

University spokeswoman Megan Silverstrim said it is against school policy to comment on pending lawsuits. The university was just made aware of this filing and our legal counsel is reviewing it, she said.

The former student, a Shippensburg-area resident, claims in her suit that starting in January 2019 the assistant dean began overtly propositioning her to participate in a menage a trois with her and another man.

When she complained to a full school dean that official told (her) that she did not want to hear about it, the suit states.

Her supervisor then kept sexually harassing her as many as four times a week, including repeating her proposition to engage in a menage a trois, showing (her) photographs and text messages of a sexual nature and flaunting details about her sex life, the ex-student claims. She claims that during a business trip to Philadelphia in the spring of 2019 her boss showed her photos of the boss nude and acting as a sexual dominatrix.

Her supervisor also implied that her job would be at risk if she didnt agree to participate in three-way sex, the former student contends.

She said she complained again to the full dean, who again did nothing. And the sexual harassment continued, she contends. She claims it culminated when she again rejected sexual advances by her supervisor during an August 2019 business trip to New Orleans.

The former student claims she returned from that trip and was told she no longer had a job. Again, the full dean refused to listen to her sexual harassment allegations, she contends. She says she later filed a sexual harassment complaint and attached sexually explicit text messages her supervisor had sent her.

Her boss was placed on leave and then resigned, the suit states, but the student wasnt reinstated by the university.

The former student insists university officials showed a blatant disregard for her civil rights in their handling of her harassment complaints. She seeks unspecified financial damages.
PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- Rolls-Royce, in conjunction with the federal government, announced this week an investment of millions into the companys Pascagoula facililty, where propulsion components for U.S. Navy ships are manufactured.

The Defense Production Act Title III office, a department of the U.S. Department of Defense, had agreed to sink $22 million into the purchase of additional equipment, with Rolls-Royce making an additional investment, along with support from the Jackson County Board of Supervisors and the State of Mississippi.

The Pascagoula facility is already considered a Center of Excellence within Rolls-Royce, and the new investment will only strengthen the companys ability to manufacture propellers and propulsor components for Navy ships.

Rolls-Royce will build a new 26,000-square-foot building, with new foundry and machining equipment provided by the federal funding, which will also support new jobs and workforce development.

County and State support includes land, roadway and other infrastructure needs, along with workforce development assistance.

On behalf of the Jackson County Board of Supervisors, I thank Rolls-Royce for their continued investment in our community, said Barry Cumbest, president of the board of supervisors. This expansion and new capital investment reflects their continued confidence in our workforce, strong business climate, and commitment to supporting our advanced manufacturing industry.

George Freeland, Jackson County Economic Development Foundation Executive Director noted the Countys track record with regard to public-private partnerships.

Jackson Countys winning formula of public-private partnership has yet again produced economic development success, Freeland said. With the modernization and expansion of the Rolls-Royce naval facilities to include casting and finishing of propellers, Jackson County continues to both expand and diversify its economy.

This project is the result of a long term partnership between Jackson County, Rolls-Royce, our state legislative delegation, federal delegation and the State of Mississippi.

Naval components manufactured by Rolls-Royce at Pascagoula include controllable-pitch propeller systems, fixed pitch propellers, and water jets. The components help power the majority of U.S. Navy ships, including aircraft carriers, destroyers and other vessels, many of which are built at nearby Ingalls Shipbuilding.

The facility expansion will bring new jobs that are considered crucial to the success of the advanced manufacturing facility.

This DPA Title III investment will protect and create jobs in the Gulf Coast region hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure critical capabilities are retained in support of U.S. Navy operational readiness, the Department of Defense said in a release.

This community partnership between the Defense Production Act Title III organization and Rolls-Royce, along with Mississippi and Jackson County officials, is a major success for all involved, said Daniel Rediger, Head of Naval Operations for Rolls-Royce. Rolls-Royce will improve our capability to serve Navy shipbuilding; the Navy will benefit from our added capacity; and Jackson County will add new, highly skilled jobs and a secure future for local industry.

Its a win-win-win and we are excited to be a part of this project, Rediger continued. We also want to recognize the NAVSEA Shipbuilding Industrial Base Task Force for their support through the DPA Title III process, and for recognizing what a vital role we play in the shipbuilding supply chain.

Additionally, we would like to thank the Jackson County Economic Development Foundation for helping to coordinate the investment effort with the Jackson County board of supervisors, the Jackson County legislative delegation, and the state of Mississippi. This support and spirit of partnership have been instrumental in the success of the project.
Satellite images of North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear complex next to Kuryong River. Compared to the left taken on July 22, the right taken on Aug. 6 shows the overblown river covering the land. 38 North said the flooded water might have affected operation of the complex's uranium enrichment plant on the river bank, shown in the northeast corner. 38 North-Yonhap





Significant flooding has happened along a river near North Korean's Yongbyon nuclear complex, and facilities at the complex could have been damaged, a U.S. monitoring website said Thursday.



The website 38 North, a think tank monitoring North Korea, made the analysis based on satellite imagery from Aug. 6, saying that "water had reached the two pump houses that service the reactors" at Yongbyon nuclear complex.



"The August 6 imagery, when compared to imagery from July 22, shows a dramatic rise in the water level of the Kuryong River that flows alongside the Yongbyon complex," the think tank said. It said the flooding appears to the worst in recent years.



The think tank also revealed an image of a fully submerged dam on the Kuryong River and pointed out that the flood could potentially damage the pumps or clog piping systems that draw water from the river, causing the reactor to shutdown.





In this June 27, 2008 file image from TV, the demolition of the 60-foot-tall cooling tower at its main reactor complex in Yongbyon North Korea. Yonhap
Mercedes and Art Raya bond over their love of riding. Mercedes Raya

Hundreds of thousands of bikers from around the world flock to the small town of Sturgis, South Dakota, each year for its 10-day motorcycle rally.

Even in the middle of a pandemic, droves of riders, mostly unmasked, showed up in town for this year's event.

For some riders, like father-daughter team Art and Mercedes Raya, the trip is a sacred event that can't be missed.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Mercedes Raya was 19-years-old the first time she and her dad boarded their Harleys and embarked on a two-week trek from their home in San Diego to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota.

Art Raya, an avid biker who raised his daugher on his own, taught her to ride two years earlier in the parking lot of SeaWorld. Riding instantly became her passion, and when she graduated high school, Art bought her first motorcycle.

Related: The rise and fall of Harley-Davidson

It's been 16 years since that first trip, and the pair consider the ride a sacred rite that they've made eight times together. Each trip, Mercedes, now 35, and Art map out remote routes on small back roads through rural towns and get to experience pieces of America that are overlooked by so many.

To them, the journey is something so special that even a pandemic couldn't interrupt.

"We were planning on coming this year whether the rally was held or not. It just means so much to us, to be father-daughter and to have the relationship that we do, and the same passion that we have for riding," Art Raya, 70, told Insider, fighting back tears. "She's had that passion from the time that I sat her on the back of my motorcycle and hit the throttle and boom, it just blossomed from there."

The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally draws hundreds of thousands of bikers from around the world to the small South Dakota city and surrounding communities. After passing though the scenic Black Hills, visitors arrive at a 10-day party that celebrates riding culture.

This year the city of Sturgis, which hosts the event, considered calling it off over the risks of the novel coronavirus. Officials realized that even if the official event wasn't held, many of those dedicated riders who travel to the community each year would still show up.

Story continues

Mercedes and Art are among that crowd. They know the possible dangers of the coronavirus, but felt the memories together were worth the risk.

While the crowds are considerably smaller than previous years, uninhibited clusters of mostly unmasked riders filled the city during opening weekend.

There's more parking available and some bars are less busy, but Mercedes said the gathering is no less of a celebration.

"I mean my dad is 70-years-old, of course I'm going to worry a little bit. The thing is, you can't stop living," Mercedes said. "If you want to wear a mask, wear one. And if you're super worried about the virus, then you shouldn't be here."

Mercedes Raya was 19 the first time she rode to Sturgis with her dad. Now 35, she still looks forward to the 3 and a half day trek with him. Mercedes Raya

With every ride, Mercedes and Raya have grown closer

When Mercedes took her first motorcycle safety course as a teenager, " she did horrible," her father told Insider, laughing.

"She couldn't get the hand-eye coordination thing, and I was freaking out," he said.

Art was worried that his daughter might not pick riding up easily, but as soon as he took her out for her first few figure-eights in a parking lot, she became a natural and never looked back.

"Just the smile on her face, it gives me chills right now to even thinking about it," he said. "I said 'I'll never take you anywhere I don't think you can handle'"

That included Sturgis.

While most riders are there for the ride, not the rowdiness, it can draw a tough crowd too.

In the opening weekend this year there were nearly 90 drug arrests and 286 total citations within city limits.

"Bringing up a young woman in a motorcycle world, it's male dominated. There's just no ifs, ands, or buts about it," Art said. " Sturgis at that time it was a pretty different world. Having a 19-year-old daughter there, and going into bars and stuff, it was me being the dad always, always trying to protect her, or shield her at least."

Now a grown woman, psychologist, and experienced rider, Mercedes says that she still feels like she's forced to prove herself among groups of mostly men.

Some women at the event lean into the age-old role of being eye candy, dressed in string bikinis or no tops at all. For Mercedes, that culture can be frustrating at times.

"I've been trying to be taken seriously as a rider for years," she said. "I'm trying to break into the man's world. It's hard to play in the man's sandbox without being naked."

"I've taught her to be a strong, independent woman from the very beginning. She really holds her own and I'm so happy," Art said.

Art and Mercedes Raya feel that their 3-day rides from San Diego to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally are spiritual. Mercedes Raya

Riding is spiritual to the Raya family and others at Sturgis

Art, who retired in 2012, has ridden his motorcycle all over the United States.

His trips with Mercedes, though, are especially meaningful.

For two weeks, they will ride 12-hour days, taking in spectacular views, sounds and smells that can only be experienced on a bike, Art said.

"It's spiritual for us. You're smelling everything, he said. "We always say, 'I'd rather be riding and thinking about God than in church thinking about riding."

"We take 3 and a half days because we want to see roads we've never seen before," Mercedes said.

When they arrive at the rally, they stay in Deadwood, South Dakota, about a 30-minute drive outside of the event center.

Neither one of them are heavy drinkers, but they will visit local bars, spend time at a cigar shop, and listen to live music, Mercedes said.

This year, the event took on a more political vibe than normal, with vendors selling merchandise supporting President Donald Trump on every corner, she said.

Shops also leaned into merchandise poking fun at coronavirus fears and social distancing.

"There's definitely a political feel," Mercedes said. "I don't do politics personally, so it doesn't matter to me."

For them, it's all about the riding.

She and her dad will spend maybe one full day in Sturgis itself and the rest of the time exploring the Black Hills on the backs of their 2016 Harley Davidson Road Glides with Art's 11-pound chihuahua, Chi Chi.

"I think we're so fortunate. I really think I'm one of the most fortunate dads ever to have this relationship with my daughter," Art said. "Our relationship matured, as it should, but the passion for this has never, ever left us."

The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally continues through August 16.

Read the original article on Insider




By Baek Byung-yeul







LS ELECTRIC, Doosan Fuel Cell, Hanwha Power Systems and Hanwha Asset Management have joined forces to expand into the lucrative renewable energy business, they said Thursday.







The four companies signed a partnership on Wednesday to utilize unused energy from city gas facilities.







Before sending city gas to households, decompression stations must lower the pressure from high-pressure natural gas. In the process, the stations generate waste pressure that the companies said they could recycle into electricity.







LS ELECTRIC, which has been investing in the renewable energy sector and has shown its strength in solar energy, energy storage systems (ESS) and smart grids, will be responsible for developing the fuel-cell business model and supervising the project.







Hanwha Power Systems, an energy equipment company of Hanwha Group, will develop a decompression power system while Doosan Fuel Cell will provide a fuel-cell system. Hanwha Asset Management will be in charge of providing financial support.







"With this memorandum of understanding, the participating companies are aiming to develop a fuel-cell business model utilizing decompression power generation," an LS ELECTRIC official said. "Taking advantage of this new business model, we expect we can contribute to the government's Green New Deal project."







With growing attention on eco-friendly fuel-cell energy, there also has been increasing interest in utilizing unused energy sources such as waste pressure.







The government has been bolstering moves to take the renewable energy business as its next economic growth engine. In July, President Moon Jae-in said Korea will invest 160 trillion won ($135 billion) by 2025 in the project, which will ease the country's reliance on fossil fuels.







The government also expects the Green New Deal project to create 1.9 million jobs and boost the country's economy.




Ebonyi State Judiciary workers have embarked on indefinite strike to drive home their demand for improved welfare packages.

The workers said they want the state government to implement the Consolidated Judiciary Salary Structure.

The strike crippled the state judiciary as no court proceeding held at the State High Court.

When our Correspondent visited the State Judiciary Headquarters, there was no staff sighted within the premises in total compliance to the directives of the leaders of the Unions.

However, some youths identified as non Judiciary workers were seen clustering around the gate of the State High Court

Some Police officers were also seen at the gate possibly to protect the facility.

The workers had about three weeks ago issued a 14-day ultimatum and added seven days grace period to demand that the State government commences the implementation of the CJSS or faced i.

The Vice President ofJ udiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (South East Zone), Comrade Mark Ifezue, explained that the National leadership mandated the workers to withdraw their services pending the implementation of the wage structure.

The National Organising Secretary of the Union, Comrade Chinedu Eze, expressed worry over the presence of some strange faces sighted within the premises of the Judiciary Headquarters, Abakaliki, which according to him was under lock and key by Judiciary Workers.
Ottawa Awarded $6.8M Contract to Chinese State-Owned Nuctech Despite Lower Bid from Canadian Company

The Canadian government awarded Chinese state-owned company Nuctech a deal to install X-ray security equipment in its embassies and high commissions around the worldeven though Canadian companies offered lower bids on the same contract.

At least two Canadian companies had competed for the bid to supply X-ray and other scanning equipment to Canadian embassies, consulates, and high commissions around the world170 in all, according to a report from The National Post.

Nuctech won the bid for $6.8 million even though Calgary-based KPrime Technologies offered to supply the equipment for $5.4 million.

The deal has raised security concerns in light of Nuctechs close ties to Beijing, having been founded by the son of former CCP leader Hu Jintao, as well as being linked to the Chinese military.

In 2014, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration banned Nuctech equipment from the countrys airports due to security concerns. Officials in the EU have also raised concerns about the risks Nuctech poses to airport security.

Nuctech has been dubbed the Huawei of airport security in that it has provided security equipment such as X-ray machines, scanners, and explosive detection systems to airports and customs offices in over 150 countries, giving it access to the strategic infrastructure of those countries in areas as sensitive as aviation and border security.

For Western countries that enter into ventures with Chinese-state backed companies like Nuchtech or Huawei, part of their rationale has often been that these companies can bid much lower on contract tenders, allowing governments to save money.

However, the fact that a Canadian companys bid was significantly lower$1.4 million lessraises questions about what other factors Ottawa based the decision on.

After Canadas deal with Nuctech was announced last month, it was met with criticism and concern from some experts who said Nuctech shouldnt have been allowed to bid at all, given the apparent security risks and the deteriorating relationship between Ottawa and Beijing.

Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor remain jailed in China, and last week a fourth Canadian was given the death penalty on drug charges in that country since Canada detained Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in 2018.

Last month, Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Phillipe Champagne said he would review the contract in light of Nuctechs connection to the Chinese regime, saying the standing offer is not a contract, and Global Affairs has not purchased any equipment from Nuctech at this time.

However, since 2017, Nuctech has already been awarded four contracts valued at $6.5 million to provide scanners and lab equipment to the Canada Border Services Agency, according to procurement documents obtained by Global News.

Nuctechs Checkered History

Nuctech has long been accused of alleged unfair business practices and corruption.

In February, the Taipei Times reported that the former head of Taiwans Aviation Police Bureau Sun Yi-ming was found guilty of corruption based on charges related to illicit activities he was involved in. The activities included working with Nuctech to deceive Taiwans regulators by having parts shipped to Japan for assembly and repackaging, as well as accepting kickbacks, in relation to a contract with Nuctech to procure X-ray scanners.

Experts in Taiwan said the case reeked of a Chinese intelligence operation, with an eye to penetrating Taiwans airport and border security, the Taipei Times reported.

In 2008, Nuctech was involved in a bribery scandal in Namibia relating to a $55.3 million contract it had signed with the government. Namibias anti-corruption commission discovered that a $12.8 million down payment had been passed to the firm Teko Trading, which suggested an attempt to bribe Namibian authorities to secure Nuctechs access to the market and its influence in the country.

In 2010, the EU imposed a five-year tariff on Nuctech products for alleged dumping on the European market.

The companys pending deal with Canada raises important questions about how Canadas foreign policy should handle companies that have ties to autocratic regimesand on what grounds Canada decided to award the contract in the first place.
Matthew McConaughey is a Hollywood star, known for movies like Interstellar, Dallas Buyers Club, Dazed and Confused, and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days  to name just a few. This means his three children could probably have anything they ever wanted. But does McConaughey give into his kids every wish? Heres what he had to say.

What is movie star Matthew McConaugheys background, and where did he meet his wife Camila Alves?

Livingston Alves McConaughey, Camila Alves, Levi Alves McConaughey, Matthew McConaughey, Vida Alves McConaughey, and Kay McConaughey in 2019 | Rick Kern/WireImage

RELATED: Matthew McConaughey Donates Over $1.5 Million to School Charities

American actor and Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey was born in Texas in 1969. His mom was a school teacher and father was a business manager, but sadly, he passed away in 1992. McConaugheys mother, Kay, who he calls K-Mac, taught him how to treat a lady, according to Southern Living.

She was a typical Texan mom, McConaughey shared. She would stand no nonsense  My parents taught us how to respect women from early on.

Kay continues to play an important role in his childrens lives as the family moved to Texas to be closer to her.

Although McConaughey was considered one of Americas sexiest bachelors for many years, when he met Camila Alves in 2006 at a club in Hollywood, he never looked back. After a Christmas Eve engagement in 2011, McConaughey married Camila Alves in June 2012 at their home in Texas. Their two oldest children participated in the ceremony, with Levi as the ring bearer and Vida as the flower girl. Livingstone joined the family in December of that same year.

What kind of parent is the Dazed and Confused star to his elementary-age kids?

In an interview on NBCs Today, the shows host asked McConaughey what kind of dad he is to his three children: Levi, who is 11, Vida, who is 10, and Livingston, who is 7 years old.

The main thing is, my wife, Camila, and I have a similar moral bottom line, he explained.  We can nudge them and shepherd them, but, boy, they are who they are. The actor feels their kids reflect their own personal DNA; they express their individuality, regardless of parenting.

RELATED: Matthew McConaughey Says He Once Built a 13 Story Treehouse

He went on to describe one of their Friday night family traditions: pizza, a movie, and a dance party.

Thats when were really rocking, McConaughey said.

Although the couple prefers to keep the children out of the public eye as much as possible, McConaughey further discussed his parenting style In a June 2020 Town and Country Magazine interview. The Dallas Buyers Club star explained:

Sometimes loving your kids means giving them just what they want. Other times it means tough love. Affluent people can give their kids everything they want, but theyre not usually going to get what they need. Loving a child is a lot harder if you really give a d*mn.

Matthew McConaughey is a yes man to his young children

Matthew McConaughey at the 2014 Film Independent Spirit Awards in 2014 | Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

RELATED: Matthew McConaughey Smelled So Bad on Set Kate Hudson Gave Him Deodorant

The actor acknowledges hes generally a yes dad to his children.

No takes a lot more energy. Its a lot easier to say yes,' he said in a recent interview with EOnline.

However, McConaughey and Alves have initiated the practice of gratitude within their family, teaching their children to be grateful for both the lighter and the more serious aspects of their lives. Although initially, they were a bit reluctant to participate, the kids started sharing these really heartfelt things about life and death situations and survival, according to McConaughey.

So, at least when the Interstellar star says yes to his kids  theyre thankful for it.
The Trump administration wants to change the definition of a showerhead to let more water flow, addressing a pet peeve of the president who complains he is not getting wet enough.

Publicly talking about the need to keep his hair perfect, Donald Trump has made increasing water flow and dialling back long-standing appliance conservation standards  from light bulbs to toilets to dishwashers  a personal issue.

But consumer and conservation groups said the Department of Energys proposed loosening of a 28-year-old energy law that includes appliance standards is silly, unnecessary and wasteful, especially as the western US bakes through a historic two-decade drought.

Because my hair  I dont know about you, but it has to be perfect. Perfect Donald Trump

Since 1992, federal law has dictated that new showerheads should not pour more than 2.5 gallons of water per minute.

As newer shower fixtures came out with multiple nozzles, the Obama administration defined the restrictions to apply to what comes out in total, so if there are four nozzles, no more than 2.5 gallons should come out between all four.

The new proposal would allow 2.5 gallons from each nozzle.

With multiple nozzles, you could have 10, 15 gallons per minute powering out of the showerhead, literally probably washing you out of the bathroom, said Andrew deLaski, executive director of the energy conservation group Appliance Standards Awareness Project.

Weve got a pandemic, serious long-term drought throughout much of the West. Weve got global climate change. Showerheads arent one of our problems Andrew deLaski

On the White House South Lawn in July, Mr Trump made the issue personal, complaining: So showerheads  you take a shower, the water doesnt come out. You want to wash your hands, the water doesnt come out. So what do you do? You just stand there longer or you take a shower longer?

Because my hair  I dont know about you, but it has to be perfect. Perfect.

Mr deLaski and officials at Consumer Reports said there has been no public outcry or need for change. The Department of Energys database of 12,499 showerheads showed 74% use two gallons or less water per minute, which is 20% less than the federal standard.

Frankly its silly, he said. The country faces serious problems. Weve got a pandemic, serious long-term drought throughout much of the West. Weve got global climate change. Showerheads arent one of our problems.

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Energy Department spokeswoman Shaylyn Hynes said the 2013 Obama definition of a showerhead clashes with what Congress intended and the standards of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

If the rule is changed, Ms Hynes said it would be allowing Americans  not Washington bureaucrats  to choose what kind of showerheads they have in their homes.

Appliance and plumbing energy and water conservation standards save consumers about 500 dollars (382) a year on energy bills, Mr deLaski said, and if people are having trouble getting water flowing in their shower, they should check their homes water pressure and can replace a faulty showerhead for a small amount.

Mr deLaski said he has a hard time understanding Mr Trumps concerns, adding: If the president needs help finding a good shower, we can point him to some great consumer websites that help you identify a good showerhead that provides a dense soak and a good shower.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 23:23:38|Editor: huaxia

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ANKARA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Turkey will continue its cross-border operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq if Baghdad "continues to tolerate the group's presence in its territory," the Turkish foreign ministry said on Thursday.

"Our country is ready to cooperate with Iraq on this issue. However, if the PKK presence in Iraq is tolerated, our country is determined to take the measures it deems necessary for its border security no matter where it may be," the ministry said in a written statement.

"The PKK also challenges sovereignty, territorial integrity, security and stability of Iraq," said the statement, noting Turkey is ready to cooperate with Iraq on the issue.

The Turkish Armed Forces carry out cross-border operations in northern Iraq, a region where PKK members have hideouts.

The Iraqi army said two border guard battalion commanders and the driver of their vehicle were killed in a "blatant Turkish drone attack" in the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq.

Iraq canceled a ministerial visit and summoned Turkey's ambassador on Wednesday.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for over 30 years, which has claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people. Enditem
Bollywood actress Rhea Chakraborty (C) leaves the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office after questioning within the scope of the investigation of the suicide case of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, in Mumbai. PTI photo

New Delhi: Bollywood actress Rhea Chakraborty and the Bihar government filed their written submissions in the Supreme Court on Thursday on Chakraborty's plea seeking to transfer an FIR lodged against her in Patna in connection with actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death to Mumbai.

Seeking the dismissal of Chakraborty's petition, the Bihar government, in its written submissions filed through advocate Keshav Mohan, said, "No impediment would deserve to be allowed to come in the way of CBI to undertake and complete the investigation expeditiously."

In her written submission, Chakraborty said the transfer of the probe to the Centreal Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at the behest of the Bihar police was without jurisdiction.

The apex court had, on August 11, reserved its order on Chakraborty's plea and asked the parties concerned to file their written submissions by Thursday.

The body of Rajput (34) was found hanging from the ceiling of his apartment in Mumbai's Bandra on June 14 and since then, the Mumbai police is probing the case.

Rajput's father Krishna Kishore Singh had lodged an FIR in Patna against Chakraborty and others, accusing them of abetting the actor's suicide.
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The limited-edition, launched just in time for National Rum Day (8/16), sees SANTA TERESA continue its commitment to help and unite its communities in the face of adversity. The super-premium rum brand worked with over 25 bartenders facing difficulties across the globe to conceive a new label for SANTA TERESA 1796 as a symbol of the resilience and creative talent of the bartending community. All contributors were compensated for their time and creative input. SANTA TERESA will also donate $10,000 to the USBG Bartender Emergency Assistance Program.

Providing bartenders with a creative outlet during the COVID-19 lockdown, each contributor designed a portion of the label focused on the theme of resilience, reflecting how they are persevering through this challenging time. To bring the trade community together to support one another, Global Brand Ambassador of SANTA TERESA, Geoff Robinson kicked off the process by nominating a bartender colleague to participate. The first bartender designed a portion of the label, before 'passing the bottle' to the next participant, and so on until the label was complete. The final label is a mosaic of artworks, with styles ranging from photography to charcoal drawings to paintings, created by bartenders from Madrid to Miami and everywhere in between.

"We believe that, no matter the situation, we are always stronger together," said Geoff Robinson, Global Brand Ambassador, SANTA TERESA. "We are committed to making a positive impact in our communities and with many of our bartending colleagues out of work due to COVID-19, we are pleased to both support and honor the industry through the new SANTA TERESA 1796 Crafted Together Limited Edition bottle."

"SANTA TERESA is a brand built on resilience and courage," said Alberto C. Vollmer, Chief Executive Officer of SANTA TERESA, and Fifth Generation Rum Maker. "Over two centuries, we have worked to unite and support our communities tackling adversities head on and we continue this commitment through the SANTA TERESA 1796 Crafted Together Limited Edition bottle which provided an outlet for originality and creativity, as well as assistance to our bartending family facing hardship at this time. SANTA TERESA is always here to support them."

SANTA TERESA 1796 Crafted Together Limited Edition bottle will be available for purchase this August on ReserveBar.com for $48. The bottle features SANTA TERESA 1796, a bold and elegant rum with blends aged up to 35 years in bourbon oak barrels, which are then further processed through the artisanal Solera Method, resulting in a rum that is rich, refined yet unexpectedly dry.

About SANTA TERESA

To commemorate the bicentennial of the Hacienda Santa Teresa, the fourth generation of the Vollmer family (Alberto J. Vollmer), challenged the Master Distillers to elaborate the best crafted rum in the world. The final result was SANTA TERESA 1796. Launched in 1996, it is a bold and elegant rum with blends of up to 35 years of aging in bourbon oak barrels then further aged through the artisanal Spanish Solera Method, resulting in a rum that is rich, refined yet unexpectedly dry. Each aspect of SANTA TERESA 1796, from the special pot still rum, the artisanal production process, to the bottling system, and the hand application of the wax used to seal the cork, makes every bottle a unique piece. It is the perfect spirit for whisky drinker looking to discover new flavors, with notes of wood, dark chocolate, leather and nuts.

SANTA TERESA is an independent rum brand owned by Ron Santa Teresa, a publicly traded company headquartered in El Consejo, Venezuela, and controlled by the Vollmer family for five generations. In 2016, SANTA TERESA forged a global distribution alliance with Bacardi Limited, headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda. Bacardi Limited refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited.

For more information please visit: https://www.santateresarum.com/

ENJOY RESPONSIBLY.

2020. SANTA TERESA IS A TRADEMARK.

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People on the south coast have found a new summer pastime  waving to ghost ships in the English Channel. Empty cruise liners are drifting around in the water because its cheaper than paying docking fees. If thats not a metaphor for aimlessness and ennui, I dont know what is. Our aimless, ennui-filled government appears to be drifting helplessly towards a huge backlash over A-level exam results. Listless ministers are also making a half-hearted attempt to re-launch the contact-tracing app today  setting afloat the patched-up piece of tech without much hope itll reach its destination.

Inside the bubble

Our political correspondent Ashley Cowburn on what to look out for today:
While Dublin saw an increase in funding raised, the number of investment rounds dropped by 27% compared to last year, according to the TechIreland report (Stock image)

Senior venture capitalists have described as worrying the lack of money coming through for new Irish startups.

While the overall amount raised on both parts of the island reached 545m for the first six months of 2020 -- the highest for four years -- the figures were skewed by a handful of giant deals, leaving early stage funding struggling badly.

The number of companies raising funds declined by over 20pc and the number of companies raising investment for the first time fell by almost 60pc, said Brian Caulfield, a venture partner in Draper Esprit and a longtime investor in Irish tech companies.

There is also clear evidence that early-stage companies are finding it particularly difficult to raise funding, with only three companies founded since 2019 raising just 340,000.

Read More

The wider figures collated by TechIreland include venture capital, grants and other funding sources attracted by tech companies in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The headline 545m figure is up 25pc on the first six months of 2019, according to the organisations study.

Nevertheless, the headline conceals some very worrying trends, said Mr Caulfield.

The chief executive of TechIreland, John ODea, said that the overall funding figures so far this year have been distorted by three very large investments into Fenergo, Lets Get Checked and ALX Oncology, which between them add up to 237M, more than 40pc of the overall funding.

There was a slight drop in funding into companies outside Dublin, with the exception of Cork, where eight firms raised a total of 88m in the first half of this year, up from 37m into 5 firms last year.

While Dublin saw an increase in funding raised, the number of investment rounds dropped by 27% compared to last year, according to the TechIreland report.

Meanwhile, funding in Northern Ireland halved from 25m in the first half of 2019 to 12m during the same period this year. Investment is still concentrated in Belfast with little of note in the rest of the province, said Mary McKenna, an Investor based in Northern Ireland.

Despite the concerns over very early stage companies, some venture capitalists say that they are surprised at how much continues to be invested during the Covid-19 crisis.

Every VC investor I know assumed capital markets would be shut or suppressed for 12-18 months following lockdowns, including me, said Paul Murphy, a general partner at London-based Northzone. We were all wrong. Its a funding frenzy out there.
After Sachin Pilot's return, Gehlot says could have proved majority even without the 19 rebel MLAs

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Aug 13: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday made a significant comment during Congress Legislative Party (CLP) meeting. He said that his government would have proved majority even without the support of 19 MLAs.

Ashok Gehlot calls for trust vote after uneasy truce | Oneidnia News

This apparent reference to the 19 MLAs of Sachin Pilot camp was made right in front of Pilot who was present for the meeting.

Rajasthan truce sealed, Sachin Pilot attends CLP meeting at CM Ashok Gehlot's residence

However, Gehlot was quick to add that proving majority in this manner would not given him "happiness".

In the same breath, Gehlot said that Congress would bring motion for Vote of Confidence in Rajasthan Legislative Assembly.

Rajasthan Congress MLA Vishvendra Singh, who was among the 19 rebel legislators, Thursday said the state government will complete its five-year tenure under the leadership of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

His statement came hours after his suspension from the party's primary membership was revoked.

The former tourism minister also said he is a worker of the Congress party and will fulfil any responsibility given to him.

BJP to move no confidence motion against Ashok Gehlot tomorrow

"It is our duty that the MLAs remain protected and no vindictive action is taken. The high command has assured us so," he told PTI before his suspension was revoked.

He said there were "certain issues" that prevented the rebel MLAs, led by ex-deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, from coming back to Rajasthan from the Delhi-NCR, where they were camping during the month-long rebellion.

"The party high command has intervened and we are assured that everything will be fine," he said.

Far more serious conflicts have happened within the party in the past, but the party emerged united and victorious always, he said.

"We are in the process of dialogue and the high command is intervening," he said.

"Things will definitely smoothen within the party," he added. "The government will complete its five-year term under the leadership of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot."

Rejecting allegations that the rebel MLAs'' intentions were to topple the Gehlot government, Singh said they had gone to narrate certain things to the party high command, but false cases were registered by the Rajasthan police, therefore they were not comfortable coming back.

Singh was terminated as the state's tourism minister on July 14 for not attending Congress Legislature Party meetings. Three days later, he was suspended from the party''s primary membership for alleged involvement in the "conspiracy" to topple the state government after three audio clips surfaced.

Another MLA, Bhanwarlal Shrama, was also suspended from the party membership. The party Thursday revoked his suspension too.

Singh said the MLAs had grievances that their works were not being done and they were unable to convince people in their constituencies as to why it was so.

"There was a lack of coordination between the party and the government," he said.

Gehlot had said during the political crisis that there was no dialogue between him and his then deputy Sachin Pilot for one and a half years.

On 15 August, Modi becomes longest-serving Prime Minister of non-Congress origin; replaces Vajpayee

Singh also expressed hope Thursday that a three-member committee announced by the All India Congress Committee will find solutions to the grievances of the legislators.

The month-long political crisis came to an end when Pilot and the MLAs met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and others in Delhi on Monday.

On Thursday, Pilot met the chief minister at the latter's residence in Jaipur, the first time after the crisis ended. The meeting came just before the Congress Legislature Party meeting.

Pilot was also sacked as deputy CM and PCC president on July 14 for failing to attend the CLP meeting. Along with Sachin Pilot and Vishvendra Singh, Ramesh Meena was also sacked as a cabinet minister.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Thursday, August 13, 2020, 23:40 [IST]
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 23:39:15|Editor: huaxia

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ISLAMABAD, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan's army said on Thursday that security of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has been further enhanced.

Major General Babar Iftikhar, director general of army's media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations said all formations deployed for the security of CPEC have been further equipped and become more active.

"The security is a continuous process. It is a very big project. Its security requirements are increased as it is developed and makes progress. Security will be further enhanced," Iftikhar said when asked about security of CPEC during a press conference in Rawalpindi.

He said there will be no compromise on security of CPEC as the project is linked to Pakistan's future.

"We are enhancing the security infrastructure as the projects are making progress. We have a better sense of the threats to the project. There is no compromise on its security," Iftikhar said.

Talking about fencing of the 2,600-km border with Afghanistan, Iftikhar said fencing will be completed by the end of next year to stop the illegal cross-border movement and to ensure security in both countries. He said that 1,700-km fencing has already been completed.

"There has been a substantial decrease in terrorist activities in Pakistan and illegal cross-border movement due to border fencing," Iftikhar said. Enditem
(Natural News) Facebook has revealed that it has censored more than 100 million posts for sharing misleading or harmful information about the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19).

Between April and June 2020, Facebook removed seven million posts about the coronavirus for what it deemed to be harmful information about the coronavirus. This is on top of putting warning labels on 98 million posts across both Facebook and Instagram during the second quarter of 2020 for containing misleading coronavirus misinformation.

Most of the posts censored by Facebook only had warning labels applied to them. However, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had previously revealed that those labels have almost the same effect as removing the posts. He confirmed that the warnings dissuade users from clicking through to content 95 percent of the time.

Zuckerberg says they have the final say on COVID-19-related posts on Facebook

Facebooks claims of fighting against misleading and harmful coronavirus information are put in doubt by how it tends to favor certain points of view.

The release of the statistics follows Zuckerberg came out strongly against the drug hydroxychloroquine during a House Judiciary Committee hearing last month. During the hearing, Zuckerberg vowed to take down any posts supporting hydroxychloroquines use for treating COVID-19.

We do not want to become the arbiters of truth. I think that would be a bad position for us to be in and not what we should be doing, the Facebook CEO said during the hearing. But on specific claims, if someone is going to go out and say that hydroxychloroquine is proven to cure COVID, when in fact it has not been proven to cure COVID, and that that statement could lead people to take a drug that in some cases, some of the data suggests that it might be harmful to people, we think that we should take that down.

When he was challenged by Wisconsin Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, who suggested that the decision to use the medicine should be down to patients and their doctors, Zuckerberg insisted that Facebook would be making the final ruling, regardless of some doctors opinions on the matter.

Facebook relies on the China-biased WHO for censorship guidance

In their quest to supposedly remove misinformation about the coronavirus, Facebook and other social media platforms have at times come up against the doctors whore on the frontlines of the fight against the virus.

In July, Facebook removed a video of a Washington press conference held by Americas Frontline Doctors, a group founded by Dr. Simone Gold, a board-certified physician and attorney, and made up of medical doctors. The group held the event to address what they called a massive disinformation campaign about the coronavirus.

When asked by New York Times tech columnist Kevin Roose on Twitter about the video, Facebook spokesman Andy Stone said that the company removed it for sharing false information about cures and treatments for COVID-19.

In a follow-up tweet, Stone added that Facebook would direct users who had interacted with the video post to information on myths debunked by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Also, one other thing to note. Were showing messages in News Feed to people who have reacted to, commented on or shared harmful COVID-19-related misinformation that we have removed, connecting them to myths debunked by the WHO, he wrote.

Facebooks reliance on the WHO, however, is problematic. The organization has been under scrutiny for the influence China seems to have over it.

Over the course of the ongoing pandemic, some of the WHOs actions seemed to have been geared more towards covering up Chinas role in the virus spread. This even prompted Japans Deputy Prime Minister Aso Taro to dub the WHO as the Chinese Health Organization.

Perhaps the most glaring example of the WHOs China bias is its exclusion of Taiwan, even though the island nation has been largely successful in dealing with the coronavirus. (Related: World Health Organization (WHO) forced to release statement after awkward Taiwan interview.)

The U.S. is already withdrawing from the WHO, and in turn, signed a health agreement with Taiwan.

The question now is why Facebook is still reliant on an organization whose credibility is in doubt as a resource for which to label coronavirus-related news as misleading.

Follow Pandemic.news for more on the truth about the coronavirus.

Sources include:

Breitbart.com

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At least 15,800 essential workers in California would not have contracted Covid-19 if the state had stockpiled enough personal protective equipment (PPE) prior to the coronavirus pandemic, a new study has claimed.

The UC Berkeley Labour Centre study released on Wednesday also revealed that the state would have saved $93m (71m) on weekly unemployment claims for healthcare workers if it had prepared a sufficient stockpile.

The study urges California officials to start stockpiling face masks, gloves and other forms of PPE so that it can be prepared for a possible second wave of Covid-19 and any future crisis, according to the Los Angeles Times.

State senators Richard Pan and Connie Leyva are pushing a bill, titled Senate Bill 275, that would force California into creating a statewide stockpile, and they said on Wednesday that the report highlights the urgency that needs to be shown on the issue.

Mr Pan, who represents Sacramento, said that what this UC Berkeley study shows is the cost of not being ready is very high, while Chino official Ms Levya said "how do you say, looking at these numbers, we dont need to do this? in reference to the bill that is currently making its way through the legislature.

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Approximately 251,100 healthcare workers filed an initial unemployment claim in California between 15 March and 11 July, with a majority of them working in outpatient care.

The report claimed that after California suspended elective surgeries and reduced non emergency care, those healthcare workers were unable to work, which cost the state $93m.

California limited the healthcare it provided in order to preserve the levels of PPE it had in stock, so that it could continue to care for coronavirus patients.

The study also claimed that dozens of deaths of essential workers could have been avoided alongside the conservative estimate of 15,800 workers who would not have contracted Covid-19, if the state had stockpiled enough PPE.

William Dow, co-author of the report and a professor of Health Policy and Management in the School of Public Health at UC Berkeley, said it was one shocking number after another as I looked at this. Based on these numbers, we should be building a stockpile for the future.

California stockpiled PPE in 2006, while Arnold schwarzenegger was the states governor, in preparation for the Avian Flu, but his successor Jerry Brown removed the funding to properly store the supplies in 2011, the Times reported.

The state then had to pay markups on PPE over the first few months of the pandemic, after the 21 million masks in its stockpile expired and were only approved for low risk settings when the crisis hit the US.

Although California governor Gavin Newsom announced last month that the state will create a stockpile to make sure it is prepared for a possible resurgence of cases later in the year, the bill would extend that beyond the pandemic.

The proposed bill would require the state to create a 90 day supply of PPE over the next five years, with hospitals and other health facilities required to do the same by 2023.

Each facility would be fined $25,000 (19,181) under the proposed bill, if it did not keep a sufficient inventory of unexpired PPE, according to the Times.

Gabriel Montoya, a member of Service Employees International Union California, which is sponsoring the bill, told the Times that after months of struggling to find enough equipment in his job as a emergency medical technician, he is pleased efforts are being made to prevent a shortage from happening again.

We cant wait for the next pandemic to start building the infrastructure to have these supplies, said Mr Montoya. We have to start doing that now, he added.

California has recorded more than 586,000 Covid-19 cases, as at least 10,654 people have died after contracting the virus in the state since the pandemic began.

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, in the US as a whole, some 5.1 million people have tested positive for coronavirus. The death toll has reached at least 165,531.
Emails show Emanuels lieutenants enjoyed cordial relationships with the Labkon family that owned General Iron through four generations. The former mayor also was the top recipient of the more than $500,000 in campaign contributions to local politicians from family members, who hired a former top aide to Emanuel as one of their City Hall lobbyists.
Idris Elba's wife Sabrina Dhowre has revealed that the actor thought 'it was the end' after testing positive for Covid-19.

In the earlier stages of the global pandemic this spring, the 47-year-old heartthrob was forced to quarantine in New Mexico after discovering he'd contracted coronavirus, which the American model, 32, later caught.

Sabrina has discussed the 'really scary' incident in a new candid interview with Grazia UK where she also spoke about racism in the UK.

Worrying: Idris Elba's wife Sabrina Dhowre has revealed that the actor thought 'it was the end' after testing positive for Covid-19 (pictured in March)

Talking about their battle with Covid-19, she recalled to the publication: 'At one point, Idris really thought that this could be the end. He has asthma. He is older. It was really scary.'

The couple have since made a full recovery with Idris recently admitting that he feels 'very lucky to be alive' and that he 'dodged a bullet'.

Sabrina also spoke about racism in the UK after hundreds and thousands of people have been protesting following footage of George Floyd choking to death while being restrained by white police officer Derek Chauvin in Minnesota on May 25.

Discussing the Black Lives Matter movement, she said: 'George Floyd was killed on the street with a knee on his neck for eight minutes and forty-six seconds, and you're going to complain there's a riot? What is the value of a black man's life in America?'

Scary: In the earlier stages of the global pandemic this spring, the 47-year-old heartthrob was forced to quarantine in New Mexico after discovering he'd contracted coronavirus, which the American model, 32, later caught (pictured during their quarantine)

Sabrina added that it is not about a 'need to riot' but rather a look at how people can stop injustice and make changes so it doesn't happen again.

Talking about racism in the UK, she continued: 'It's just more subtle. You see the aftermath of all of the systematic racial issues that are in place, through the gentrification of certain areas, or when you're the only person of colour in a restaurant.'

Sabrina added that she has never experienced an 'outburst of racial prejudice in London' but she has witnessed it and is aware it exists.

Interview: Sabrina has discussed the 'really scary' incident in a new candid interview with Grazia UK where she also spoke about racism in the UK (pictured in February)

The star insisted that there also needs to be more diversity in the modelling industry and more plus-size models.

Sabrina said that growing up she only had Naomi, Tyra and Iman to look up to in the modelling industry and there is still '100% way more work to do'.

The model, who is proud of her gorgeous curves, also wants to see 'sample sizes' viewed as a form of discrimination.

Just last month, Idris admitted that he feels 'very lucky to be alive' and that he was counting his blessings after his coronavirus battle.

Anger: Hundreds and thousands of people have been protesting after footage emerged of George Floyd (pictured) choking to death while being restrained by white police officer

In an interview with BAFTA after receiving the Special Award, one of the highest accolades, for his exceptional career, the Luther star said: 'I do feel like I dodged a bullet  I'm very thankful to be alive.'

At the time he was diagnosed with COVID-19, Idris was in Santa Fe, New Mexico, shooting his latest Netflix project The Harder They Fall.

In one of many updates he gave fans via his Instagram account, the star, who was asymptomatic, said: 'It's weird because I never sit still, Sabrina never sits still either. I think she's finding it harder, she's getting cabin fever.

'We're both good, mentally just trying to stay optimistic. I hope you guys are too man. Keeping yourselves, you know, sane and not getting worried or too panicked.

Counting his blessings: Just last month, Idris admitted that he feels 'very lucky to be alive' and that he was counting his blessings after his coronavirus battle (pictured in 2018)

'Take it from me man, I thought I was going to see the worst of it as an asthmatic, but thankfully I came through and you can too.'

Following Idris' diagnosis, it was revealed his wife Sabrina had also tested positive after choosing to remain with her husband in self isolation when he was diagnosed.

Defending their decision to isolate together following The Wire star's diagnosis, she told Oprah Winfrey 'I wanted to be with him' and claimed she felt 'the instinct of a wife' to take care of him.

The couple met at a party in 2016 in Canada, they tied the knot in a star-studded ceremony last year in Morocco.
Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo-Mafo, has observed the need for government to sustain its support towards the treatment of sewerage in the country.

He was speaking on Thursday, August 13, 2020, shortly after embarking on a familiarization tour of the Lavender Hill Faecal Treatment Plant.

The Minister was impressed with the works being done at Lavender Hill Faecal Treatment Plant and assured management of Governments assistance to make the Sewerage Systems Ghana Limited a profitable and viable firm.

Mr Osafo-Mafo was taken round the various treatment facilities at the

Lavender Hill Faecal Treatment Plant which was commissioned in 2016.

According to the Minister, the President Nana Akufo-Addos Government would ensure that the Lavender Hill Faecal Treatment Plant is replicated in other parts of the country specifically Kumasi, Tamale, Tema, among others.

Government support is not one time, it must be continuous, Mr Osafo-Mafo said, as he thanked the management of Lavender Hill Faecal Treatment Plant.

He stated that it is the duty and responsibility of government to ensure the financing of the treatment of sewerage, saying sewerage is a waste and it must be treated.

Managing Director of Sewerage Systems Ghana Limited, Haidar Said, stated that the facilities his outfit has contributed so far have provided at least 300 director jobs and almost a thousand indirect jobs.

He stated that by the time the company finishes the Kumasi, Tamale and Tema projects, there will be about 1,200 direct jobs and over 5,000 indirect jobs.

He added that Kumasi project estimated completion is around the end of October or early November this year.

The Kumasi project, he said, is around 12 to 15 million direct cost and about 20 million direct and indirect cost.

According to him, the Tema project is to cost about 75 or 76 million.

General Manager of Sewerage Systems Ghana Limited, Florence Cobbold, told the press that the Kumasi project is about 100 or 120 truck per day capacity or 1000 cubic meters.

The Lavender Hill Faecal Treatment Plant is about 2,000 cubic meters a day.

She noted that sewerage management is very important and that there is the need to see waste as money, saying that waste management forms part of the secular economy.

Present during the visit were Mayor of Accra, Mohammed Adjei Sowah; Chairman of the Jospong/Zoomlion Groups of Companies, Dr Joseph Siaw-Agyapong.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has allocated huge funds to the Turkish intelligence to radicalize Indian Muslims with the help of preachers recruited from surrendered ISIS cadres.

According to an Indian security report, Turkey has been sponsoring ISIS and its affiliates in Syria, similar to what Pakistan has been doing with IS-KP in Afghanistan. Such proxies have eliminated independent voices on the ground in Pakistan and Afghanistan, while at the same time, denying their involvement.

Indian security officials are also concerned over reports that Erdogan, in his efforts to bring down the Saudi leadership of the Islamic world, may find a partner in Pakistan. The recent open threat by Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to the Saudi leadership was due to Turkey's push and also the assurance of financial assistance to Pakistan.

Erdogan has been using the religious institutions as well as terrorism to further his single point agenda of claiming the leadership of the Muslim Ummah. Turkeys religious institution Diyanet has already made a substantial presence in India through its activities and now Erdogan plans to exploit ISIS Terrorists to trouble India. India shall be prepared to tackle it by adopting proactive measures," said an official aware of these developments.

Turkish Directorate of Religious Affairs  Diyanet has become a central Intuition for Erdogans plans of becoming the new Caliph of the Islamic world. It is mostly copying the functioning religious system in Talabini Madrassas. Erdogan has reorganised the Diyanet and delivered a huge budget the institution, raised salaries and benefits of Imams, and is using them in the mosques as Erdogans party operatives, not only in Turkey but also in foreign countries.

Liberal and Gulenist Imams who refused to obey political orders from Erdogans party were eliminated from the Diyanet in recent years. Now each Imam across Turkey has become personally loyal to Erdogan.

As part of using Islam to spread Turkey's strategic influence, Erdogan has recently formed a Religious Services Directorate. The formation of the directorate was announced on August 06, 2020, as an institution which will coordinate and deliver commands of the Defence Ministry on religious services in the Turkish Army, in addition to serving as a religious counselling service.

The staff of the directorate will be in military rank and equal to other military officers in the Turkish Army. The staff usually coordinates and carries on religious services within forces, but according to the related law, they may get other military duties also.

Previously, the Turkish Armed forces were using professional imams who were serving their compulsory military services to run religious services in military camps This religious directorate likely serves three main purposes for Erdogans party. The first purpose is to create new job opportunities for pro-Erdogan Imams.

Secondly, Erdogan will have the chance to control and profile more secular high-rank military officer with the help of imam military officer. The possibility of plotting a coup against the Erdogan government has become less likely. Possibly, the profiling lists of such military officers will be considered for next promotions in the Turkish Army. Third, this is another premeditated step for the Erdogan regime to transfer the system from a secular democracy to religious republic.
Between canceled standardized tests, virtual college tours and online classes, the admissions process for the Bay Areas new high school seniors is swirling with even more uncertainty than usual.

For students, counselors and colleges one change is most pressing: The use of standardized tests, which for most colleges, have become optional as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. After March, many test dates got canceled.

The University of California and California State University systems will be test-optional, as well as private Bay Area universities like Stanford, Santa Clara University, University of San Francisco and St. Marys College.

But making tests optional, while perhaps necessary, isnt making things any easier. Some students are worried about what happens if they dont submit test scores  even if the reason was they never had a chance to take a test.

Claire Quigley, a senior at Hillsdale High School in San Mateo, was scheduled to take her ACT in June. When that got canceled, she had to reschedule. She went on the ACTs website as soon as the new dates came out, but so did everyone else, it seemed, and the website crashed. When she was finally able to log on, all the spots to take the test were taken.

Pretty much all colleges around the nation are test-optional, so I wasnt as worried, she said. But then again, theres also that thought like, What if they pick a student who has a test over me? Thats just always in the back of my mind.

Caoimhe Lyons, a senior at St. Ignatius College Prep in San Francisco, had a similar experience. She signed up to take the SAT in March but ended up having to cancel it because of another commitment. So she registered for May and June. Those both got canceled. She then tried to sign up for September and October, but all the spots were taken. She has the same fear as Quigley.

If theyre choosing between me and a different applicant, and its 50/50 but the other person did get the chance to take the test, does that give them a leg up over me? she said.

College admissions officers said they dont yet know how theyll handle the lack of test scores.

Were spending a lot of time reviewing and reconsidering our evaluations process, said Eva Blanco Macias, vice president of enrollment at Santa Clara University. Theres a lot of questions right now with the class of 2022 about how schools are going to review the application ... and were still having to answer some of those questions for ourselves.

Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle 2020

Allen Koh, CEO of Cardinal Education, a college admissions consulting firm in Burlingame, said that the test cancellations have been an unmitigated disaster and discouraging to students.

Psychologically, a lot of these kids are broken, he said. A standardized test is almost like training for an Olympic event  theres peak performance, and then trying to stay at that level of performance is very difficult.

He also explained that he isnt sure that optional truly means optional.

I dont think admissions officers are always consistent with how they talk to students versus how they speak internally, he said. Externally, theyre saying that standardized tests will be optional, there will be absolutely no penalty ... what were worried about is a huge swath of middle- and lower-class Americans who would tremendously benefit from taking standardized tests that have checked out because theyre not getting good advice.

Test scores may still be tied to merit scholarships, he said. They can also bolster a students academic record, as they did before they were made optional. Because of this, Koh said, any students who can take the test, should.

Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle

But for students who werent able to take the test, like Quigley and Lyons, all hope isnt lost. One option they have is asking their school counselors to explain in their letters of recommendation that testing in their area was canceled, said Iris Berkley, a college consultant at CollegeBound Academics in Orange County.

Its always good to have that verified by your school counselor, she said. She added that students could also send their senior years first quarter grades to colleges, even though that isnt usually required.

Another concern is a wave of would-be college freshmen deferring their admissions for a year because universities are going online. Deferrals take spots in the next years class, according to officials at UC Berkeley and Santa Clara.

For each person allowed a deferral, that is one fewer person admitted the following year, a spokesperson for UC Berkeley said.

Santa Claras deferral requests rose from 15 in 2019 to just over 30 this year. Both colleges said that they do have limits on the number of students allowed to defer admission in order to keep things fair for the incoming class.

We have reached the level where were not comfortable with expanding (deferrals) for current students to then hamper the next incoming class, Blanco Macias said.

San Francisco State University had 48 students defer this year  about 1.5% of its fall 2020 class. Last year, the school did not even offer deferrals. Stanford declined to provide numbers because fall enrollment is not yet finalized, and USF did not respond to requests for comment.

But counselors think students dont need to be worried about the deferral phenomenon.

Students should not be discouraged by the number of students taking gap years this coming year, Koh said. Its actually not nearly as many as people had feared, because the reality is, if you take a gap year, what are you going to do with your time?

COVID Resources Coronavirus Map Tracking COVID-19 cases across the Bay Area and California.

Thats probably the least of the concerns, Berkley added. If anything, (classes going online) probably resulted in fewer gap years and more kids deciding to go to community college.

Quigley said that if corona is still a thing by next spring, when shes choosing a college, shed opt for a community college over a gap year or attending classes at a four-year university online.

Id rather save the money, she said. I find no point in paying a lot of money just to be at home taking online classes.

Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle

But all the changes for admissions this year may bring some silver linings  test scores, whose fairness has been called into question in recent years, could become optional for good if this year goes well.

If you can make it through this and successfully enroll a decent freshman class, then youre going to wonder why you need these tests at all, Berkley said.

Colleges are also shifting to virtual campus tours, which can make seeing and researching schools a lot more accessible, Berkley said.

Naia Urruty, a senior at Convent of the Sacred Heart High School in San Francisco, said shes worried about choosing a college without getting to visit first because she wants to see the community and how the students interact.

But shes done some virtual tours, and she said that even though theyre not the same as the in-person experience, theyre still pretty helpful.

Theyre easy to attend, she said. For some schools its more convenient to do virtual tours  like if you want to go to a college thats far away, you can can just do a virtual tour now.

Consultants and school counselors encourage students to do virtual tours as part of their research, which they emphasize is even more critical this year as students navigate the application process from home. Overall, they want students to not worry about uncontrollable factors right now and instead focus on their essays and letters of recommendation.

We are telling all of our students to be ambitious, Koh said.

Danielle Echeverria is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: danielle.echeverria@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @DanielleEchev
2020 Women's Suffrage Centennial Silver Dollar

The United States Mint (Mint) will accept orders for 2020 Womens Suffrage Centennial Silver Dollar products beginning at noon EDT on August 18, the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which gave women the right to vote. Public Law 116-71 authorizes the Mint to strike and issue this coin to commemorate the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Available product options are below.

Proof Silver Dollar (20CJ)



Introductory price: $69.00

Regular price: $74.00

Uncirculated Silver Dollar (20CK)



Introductory price: $64.00

Regular price: $69.00

Proof Silver Dollar and Medal Set (20CM)



Introductory price: N/A

Regular price: $120.00

Introductory pricing will be in effect from noon EDT on August 18, 2020, through 3 p.m. EDT on September 18, 2020, after which regular pricing will be in effect.

This stunning coin pays homage to the many pioneers, activists, and foot soldiers who fought bravely and tenaciously for decades to make this Constitutional amendment a reality, said United States Mint Director David J. Ryder.

According to United States Senator Marsha Blackburn (TN), sponsor of the Senate version of the authorizing legislation, the 2020 centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment is a rare moment to celebrate the milestone that made it possible for women to finally have a voice in government. Ninety-nine years after women gained the right to vote, I became the first woman from Tennessee to serve in the United States Senate. This commemorative coin serves as an important reminder of the history that led us to where we are today. I am honored to have worked with Senator Gillibrand and Representatives Stefanik and Lawrence to commemorate the pioneers and trailblazers who made it possible for us to be members of these chambers.

Representative Elise Stefanik (NY-21), sponsor of the House version of the authorizing legislation, said, I am honored to celebrate the important work of womens suffrage activists through the Womens Suffrage Commemorative Coin. One of the most vocal advocates for womens suffrage, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, was born and raised in Johnstown, New York, and I am looking forward to celebrating the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment in my district this year. I thank my colleagues Senators Gillibrand and Blackburn and Representative Lawrence, who I worked with in a bipartisan fashion to advance this legislation and create this coin in order to commemorate the important work of women suffragists in their fight for equality.

The Womens Suffrage Centennial Proof Silver Dollar and Medal Set features a 99 percent silver medal with its own unique designs, which will be available only as part of this set. Mintage for this set is limited to 10,000 units, with orders limited to one per household for the first 24 hours of sales. The Mint will release a bronze version of the medal in 2021.

The obverse (heads) of the Womens Suffrage Centennial Silver Dollar features overlapping profiles of three distinct women. Each woman is wearing a different type of hat to symbolize the many decades the suffrage movement spanned. The figure in the foreground is wearing a cloche hat with an art deco pattern and a button with the year of the 19th Amendments ratification. The inscriptions LIBERTY, $1, and E PLURIBUS UNUM encircle the design.

The coins reverse (tails) shows 2020 being dropped into a ballot box, styled with art deco elements to indicate the artistic style of the era. VOTES FOR WOMEN is inscribed inside a circle on the front of the box. The inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and IN GOD WE TRUST are on the ballot box.

The obverse of the medal features a childs reaching hand, amid adult womens hands and arms holding up a heavy weighta kind of foundation of stone. Womens suffrage was a struggle that continued across generations, with countless hands turned to the task. WOMENS SUFFRAGE CENTENNIAL is inscribed.

The medals reverse honors the Women's Suffrage Movement by juxtaposing the text of the 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, with the flag of the United States. 1920 is inscribed.

Both the silver dollar and the medal were produced at the United States Mint at Philadelphia. A Certificate of Authenticity is included with each product option.

The Mint is currently accepting orders only at catalog.usmint.gov/. Information about shipping options is available at catalog.usmint.gov/customer-service/shipping.html. To reduce the risk of employee exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace, the Mints sales centers are closed until further notice. Click here for details.

Public Law 116-71 authorizes the Mint to produce up to 400,000 silver $1 coins across all product options. A $10 surcharge collected from the sale of each coin is authorized to be paid to the Smithsonian Institutions American Womens History Initiative for research and creation of exhibits and programs to highlight the history and impact of women in the United States.

About the United States Mint

Congress created the United States Mint in 1792, and the Mint became part of the Department of the Treasury in 1873. As the Nations sole manufacturer of legal tender coinage, the Mint is responsible for producing circulating coinage for the Nation to conduct its trade and commerce. The Mint also produces numismatic products, including proof, uncirculated, and commemorative coins; Congressional Gold Medals; silver and bronze medals; and silver and gold bullion coins. Its numismatic programs are self-sustaining and operate at no cost to taxpayers.

Note: To ensure that all members of the public have fair and equal access to United States Mint products, the United States Mint will not accept and will not honor orders placed prior to the official on-sale date and time of August 18, 2020, at noon EDT.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:



Visit https://catalog.usmint.gov/womens-suffrage-centennial-commemorative-coin/?_ga=2.42772453.1904491176.1597246650-519524313.1574450506 to sign up for electronic product notifications.

Visit https://www.usmint.gov/coins/coin-medal-programs/commemorative-coins/womens-suffrage-centennial to learn more about the 2020 Womens Suffrage Centennial Silver Dollar.

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United States Mint  Connecting America through Coins
Members of the armed forces want to talk about racial injustice and civil unrest, and the Pentagon is encouraging them to "tell us exactly what's bothering them" to reduce tension and keep morale positive, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday.

Open communication among service members across ranks makes for a stronger military, Gen. John Hyten said at a Hudson Institute event.

Read Next: 1 Crew Member Hurt After Bullet Strikes Air Force Helicopter Over Virginia

"There was significant stress in the 1980s. There was the Cold War, we had racial challenges still in the force, and that carried on for a long time," he said. "Leadership said, 'We're going to eliminate this from the force,' and we started down that path, but the force itself never really talked about it."

Today, service members are open to discussing topics that are causing tension in the force, such as racism, Hyten said.

"If we go out and grab a bunch of soldiers or sailors or Marines, the cool part is that they'll tell us exactly what is bugging them," he said.

Hyten's comments are in line with recent statements from Air Force and Army leaders promoting open dialogue within the military about current events.

The Air Force released a list of materials to help airmen discuss race and inclusion last month. And Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville encouraged soldiers to talk about their personal experiences at a Center for Strategic and International Studies talk July 31.

"I think it's healthy that people will tell us exactly what's bothering them," Hyten said."There's stress on the force, there's no doubt about it. But the morale is still positive."

Talking about national defense strategy, Hyten said he has been working on a new joint, all-domain command-and-control strategy that would move away from specific areas of operations for each service.

"In the future, there will be no lines on the battlefield," he said. "Which means [the] Army can, on its own platform, defend itself or strike deep. Marines can defend themselves or strike deep."

That future strategy will work to centralize control and planning across all branches, and then allow for execution of plans to happen independently within each branch, he added.

Hyten said the U.S. also must collaborate more closely with allies to face global adversaries. Part of that collaboration involves moving troops out of Germany and better fortifying NATO partners closer to Russia, he said.

"When the president talked about restricting in Germany, that accelerated our decision timeline," he explained. "But we were already going down that path."

When Hyten joined the military in 1981, Germany was the boundary for NATO to stop Soviet aggression, but the boundary with Russia is now on the Baltic and Black Sea coastlines, he said.

"You'll see Poland be a more active partner; you'll see Romania be a more active partner," Hyten said. "It's important that we look at NATO through a 2020 vision, not a 1981 vision. Everything is different when you look at the world from the coast of the Black Sea."

Related: Nearly 12,000 US Troops Will Pull Out of Germany at Cost of Billions, SecDef Says
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Mass layoffs of 22,000 municipal employees remain a stark possibility come Oct. 1 and Mayor Bill de Blasio does not think the federal government will be able to help New York City in the form of a new stimulus bill.

Heres the reality, we all hoped and prayed thered be a stimulus, that appears to be dead now, de Blasio told reporters during a press conference Wednesday. Were going to Albany to ask for appropriate long-term borrowing capacity that would stave off the layoffs.

If we dont have that, were going to keep working with labor, looking for every solution, every kind of savings, but if we dont have something else that stops it, we do plan 22,000 layoffs on Oct. 1. Its a massive painful number, it resembles the kind of thing we had to do decades ago, but the job here is to try and avert it if we can, he said.

De Blasio has been asking the state Legislature for borrowing authority and the federal government for a new stimulus package to help pull the city out of financial ruin as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

But the state has not yet approved his request for borrowing authority and and the city is still waiting on federal stimulus money.

For now, de Blasio said the city was working with some of the citys biggest labor unions to try to come up with other types of savings, he said.

Every city agency will have to make further cuts if no new money comes in, de Blasio said.

Every single agency will experience cuts, every single agency will have to save a lot of money and generally that will take the form of layoffs, de Blasio said.

Negotiations on a new stimulus package have hit a snag, as Democrats and Republicans have yet to come to an agreement on a proposal they all support.

Rep. Max Rose who supported the both CARES Act and HEROS Act called on lawmakers to act and said he would not accept a deal that would leave the citys first responders and teachers hanging.

Talk is cheap, if these politicians really cared about our small businesses, the unemployed and frontline workers they would act. For months, I have been fighting for and demanding that the Senate pass a bill, Rose said.

The fact that we havent just come to the cliff, but jumped off is a giant middle finger to the American people. All sides need to compromise, but the presidents advisers are insisting that New York and other states who beat COVID must now go bankrupt. I will not accept a deal that results in our heroic first responders and teachers being laid off, he continued.

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The Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) says the Boko Haram terrorist group has introduced the use of child soldiers to resuscitate its declining influence in the Lake Chad Basin.

The Chief of Military Public Information for MNJTF, Timothy Antigha, said this in a statement issued from NDjamena  Chad on Thursday.

Mr Antigha, a Nigerian army colonel, said the recruitment of child soldiers by the sect was part of their new strategies following the recent mass surrender by their fighters to the military.

He said information on this disturbing development was brought in by intelligence sources and corroborated by concerned individuals and groups a couple of days ago.

He added that the Boko-Haram terrorists further confirmed the development when they posted pictures of children dressed in military fatigue and holding assault rifles in a video released during the Sallah celebrations.

According to him, the recruitment of child soldiers is the latest in a retinue of brutal and inhuman tactics deployed by Boko Haram since it began the futile attempt to cause mayhem and overthrow constitutional and social order.

Earlier, Boko Haram have engaged in the mass abduction of school girls, sexual enslavement of women and mass murder of innocent civilians.

This recent employment of child soldiers is as a result of frustration caused by several operational losses, leadership crises, as well as disillusionment among fighters and their subsequent surrender in hundreds to the MNJTF.

The focus on children is because they are easier to manipulate and indoctrinate than the adults within the region who can now see through the veil of deceit.

Arising from this latest atrocity by Boko Haram, the MNJTF urges parents, local authorities, religious and traditional institutions to be vigilant and promptly alert security agencies of any overt or covert attempts to recruit their children and wards, he said.

Mr Antigha advised youth to be mindful of promises of power and influence, economic prosperity and spiritual growth by the sect owing to the disillusionment and surrender that had depleted their ranks.

The stories of hardship and evil within the terrorist organisations as revealed by all surrendered Boko Haram fighters should be sufficient notice that Boko Haram and ISWAP have nothing good to offer anyone.

It would be recalled that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict forbids the recruitment and use of children in Armed Conflicts.

The Protocol states among others that; Armed groups distinct from armed forces of a country should not, under any circumstances, recruit or use in hostilities anyone under 18.

It is against this background that the MNJTF is drawing the attention of the United Nations, its relevant agencies and other stakeholders to the latest acts of inhumanity and desperation by Boko Haram, and urges severe condemnation and other necessary action.

On our part, the MNJTF will continue with activities that are focused on the protection of children and other vulnerable groups within its area of operation, he added.

(NAN)
Motorola Razr 2020 could be announced as soon as September 9 as the company is hosting a virtual event on the day

The Motorola Razr 2020 could be announced as soon as September 9 as the company is hosting a virtual event on the day. The Motorola Razr 2020 or Razr 2 or Razr 5G, whatever it ends up being named, is the successor to the Razr 2019 which was launched in India earlier this year. The revamped Razr lineup plays the nostalgia card but wasnt able to garner much love from the end consumers due to the extremely high price tag coupled with mid-range specs.

With the Razr 2020, Motorola seems to have refined certain shortcomings as the phone has been leaked previously giving away some key specifications as well. Nevertheless, this years Razr is expected to go up against the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 and Microsoft Surface Duo. Motorola has sent out press invitations for its event on September 9 with the tagline flip the smartphone experience once again, hinting at the launch of its second-generation foldable phone.

Motorola Razr 2020 leaked specifications

Some renders of the upcoming Motorola Razr 2020 have been leaked previously, giving us a look at the design of the phone, which is in line with the Razr 2019 design but looks more refined. The phone has a Mercury Silver finish and the fingerprint sensor on the chin seems to have been moved under the display. When closed, theres a smaller display on the flap accompanied by a camera. The screen looks the same as on the current generation Razr, but earlier rumours have indicated that the Razr 2 could come with a larger on-screen display.

Motorola Razr 2020 confirmed to launch on September 9

Motorola Razr 2020 is also expected to feature mid-range hardware, opting for a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G packed with upto 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage. It is rumoured to feature a larger 6.7-inch display. The phone is also expected to come with a 48-megapixel sensor instead of the 16-megapixel shooter found on the current model and a second 20MP camera.

The Razr 2020 could come with 2,845mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging. Overall, this years Razr looks like an incremental update that works on what the Razr 2019 missed like better cameras, bigger screen and battery. It launches on September 9, and well know more about the Razr 2020 as we near the official announcement.
The El Pomar Center on the campus of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
A woman passes by a notice of a temporary shutdown posted at the entrance of Lotteria's Gunja branch, Wednesday. At least 11 Lotteria employees have tested positive for COVID-19 since Tuesday. / Yonhap





By Jun Ji-hye







Lotteria, the fast-food chain of retail giant Lotte, has come under criticism for its bungled management of a COVID-19 outbreak that occurred among its employees, which is raising concerns over the possibility of a bigger outbreak.







According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), at least 11 employees, including managers, from eight Lotteria branches in Seoul have been confirmed as infected as of noon Thursday.







The number is expected to continue increasing as authorities are carrying out an epidemiological investigation to find out who else may have come into contact with the patients.







The infection spread at a get-together of Lotteria employees on Aug. 6, during which time they discussed measures to improve work performance and had dinner together.







Lotte GRS, which runs the franchise, has been criticized for its belated efforts to inform the public about the virus outbreak among its employees.






EDWARDSVILLE  After much anticipation and nerves, Edwardsville School District 7 started its fall semester Thursday and Edwardsville High School (EHS) students and faculty say they are ready.

We are here, we are ready and excited to be back; this is home, EHS senior Rachel Goebel said.

As students arrived Thursday, they were greeted by staff members outside and inside the vestibule, making sure that students had their IDs, wore face masks and knew where they were headed.

EHS returns with a hybrid system, along with District 7 middle schools, meaning students will be using an A-B-A-B system. With it, about half of the 2,000 students will be at school each in-person day.

Multiple differences are noticeable, including arrows on the floors keeping students on the right side of hallways and stairwells, as well as assigned seating to help with contact tracing, if needed.

Thats one weird thing to get used to; having assigned seating is going to be different, EHS junior Kennedy Fox said.

Students will also not have a traditional lunch period but instead will be able to purchase brown-bag lunches.

Those participating in after-school activities may use the cafeteria, which will otherwise go unused.

I think its going to be hard not having lunch together, Fox said. Thats when we get time to catch up and hang with friends.

With the A-B-A-B system, students are primarily split using their last names. Students are already seeing the effects of the hybrid schedule.

Doing the hybrid, its really off, Goebel said. Im not walking in with my friends Ive known since grade school because they are on different days  that will take some getting used to.

While students noted the differences, including the lack of crowds at sporting events, they are staying optimistic, as is first-year EHS Principal Steve Stuart.

Students are excited to be back and I think they want to be here, Stuart said. We are just doing anything we can to make sure everyone is happy, safe and have the tools needed to be successful.

One major difference Stuart highlighted is that parents will not be allowed in the building. Instead, they will meet a staff member outside the main entrance and will be assisted with anything that is needed there.

He also explained that he has worked with his faculty and superintendent Jason Henderson to not only reduce the number of students per class but find the best feasible way to space students out in classrooms. Henderson explained during the last school board meeting on Aug. 10 that they have hired more teachers than usual this summer to help reduce class sizes.

The district has also received a shipment of face masks for students and face shields for teachers from the state. Gov. J.B. Pritzkers office confirmed with the Intelligencer on Wednesday that 8,450 cloth face masks and 1,000 face shields were delivered to the district office earlier this week. Those masks are for any student who may not have one or who left one at home.
Theres no shortage of dramatic images coming out of Belarus after last Sundays presidential election, in which longtime dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko says he won 80 percent of the vote. In Minsk, large groups of women wearing white and carrying flowers linked hands to form a human chain. Crowds have gathered outside a detention center to chant hold on and stay strong to the prisoners being detained and reportedly tortured inside. In a grim video released by the state media, a group of sweaty and bruised protesters are paraded before the camera, asked by a distorted off-camera voice if they are going to do any more revolution. Never again, they reply, plainly terrified.

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One of the more compelling videos is one of the least visually dramatic ones. It shows a stout man wearing shorts, a Pink Floyd T-shirt, and a policemans cap, flanked by his sons, one of whom is wearing his uniform shirt. He introduces himself as Sergei and says he is ashamed of what the Belarusian security forces have been doing, then he and his children begin tearing the patches off his uniform. Brosai! he instructs his sonsThrow it out!as they chuck the whole kit into the trash.

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The video is part of a growing meme of security service officers throwing out their uniforms. Something about the sight of this man making a family activity out of it, having his sons tear apart the uniform he probably once took pride in, makes this one stand out. Its one thing to watch smartly dressed young students stare down an authoritarian regime. But if guys like Sergei have had enough, the regime might really be in trouble.

It was predictable that the election would spark an uprising. And in retrospect, it was also predictable that video would play a major role in that uprising. Several weeks before the election, the government jailed one of Lukashenkos most popular opponents, a political YouTuber named Sergei Tikhanovsky. His wife, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, ran in his place, forming an unlikely trio with two other women: the wife of another imprisoned candidate and the campaign manager of a third. The three women attracted unprecedented crowds at their rallies.

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On Sunday, Lukashenko claimed victory with an unlikely 80 percent of the voteonly slightly less than he earned in 2015 without any competition. Golos, a monitoring organization that had asked voters to send in photos of their ballots, estimated that it was Tikhanovskaya who had won 80 percent of the vote.

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Protests and riots quickly broke out, and about 3,000 people were detained by the security services. An obviously distressed Tikhanovskaya, who may have been detained for several hours at the election commission office, released a video on Tuesday saying she was leaving the country for the sake of her children and asking her supporters to accept the election results and not resist the authorities.

As protests erupted, the government shut down much of the internet, making search engines as well as Facebook and Twitter inaccessible. A dramatic animation produced by the anti-censorship group NetBlocks shows internet activity shutting down throughout the country:

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Update: It has been almost 24 hours since #Belarus fell largely offline after a series of worsening internet disruptions during Sunday's elections.



Real-time network data confirm the incident is ongoing, limiting freedom of expression and assembly 



 https://t.co/JcBhvhgVcR pic.twitter.com/Siz33QIFqU  NetBlocks.org (@netblocks) August 10, 2020

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One exception is the encrypted messaging app Telegram, which has remained accessible and become the main forum for opposition organizing. (Telegram co-creator Pavel Durov left Russia in 2014 after complaining of pressure from ally President Vladimir Putin, an erstwhile backer of Lukashenko.) Most of the viral videos shared outside the country were released via the Telegram channel Nexta, which is based in Poland.

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Andrey Bastunets, deputy head of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: To a considerable extent, [Telegram] channels are coordinating the actions of the people who are taking to the streets and public squares because they are the means by which information and action plans are distributed.  To be honest, [Telegram channels] have seized the initiative from the united opposition headquarters in terms of organizing protest actions.

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The Belarus protests are similar to a number of decentralized protests around the world in recent months, which have been organized via social media rather than by any central organization. As such, the movement has been highly resilient: Protests have continued even after their ostensible leader, Tikhanovskaya, fled the country, and after other prominent opposition figures were jailed. But the movement is also now reliant on one messaging app, access to which has been unpredictable.

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Activists on Telegram called for a general strike, starting on Tuesday, and several strikes have been reported at state-owned factories around the country. Thursday also saw the first, albeit minor, defection from the presidential administration. The EU is considering new sanctions against Minsk. (Previous sanctions were lifted in 2016 after the release of political prisoners.) The crackdown may also have put the brakes on plans to send a U.S. ambassador to Belarus for the first time since 2008.

Maybe the final straw was his cavalier attitude toward the coronavirus. Maybe it has to do with an energy dispute with Russia that has crippled the countrys economy. Or maybe Lukashenko has simply overstayed his welcome after 26 years. No matter the reason, it appears that Belarus has reached a tipping point. Lukashenko may still be able to hang on through sheer force, but he may have a harder time finding people like Sergei to carry out his orders.

For more of Slates news coverage, subscribe to What Next on Apple Podcasts or listen below.
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If one or two students or teachers is diagnosed with the coronavirus in a New Jersey classroom, everyone he or she came close to at school could be asked to stay home for 14 days, according to new state guidelines.

But if two people in different classrooms get sick, the entire school could be shut down.

The state Department of Health released 19 pages of new health rules for schools Thursday as districts across New Jersey prepare to reopen schools for in-person classes for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Many public school officials have been asking the state for clearer health guidance since June, when the states original 104-page school reopening plan said decisions on when and if to close schools when people get sick would largely be left up to school leaders and local health officials.

The new guidelines include more specific rules on how schools should handle positive COVID-19 cases, when they should ask students in individual classrooms to quarantine and when entire schools should close and switch to remote learning. The rules are meant to be general guidelines, the state said, and districts can opt to develop more stringent rules.

The new guidelines also detail a color-coded coronavirus tracking system first unveiled by state officials Wednesday that divides the state into six regions. If the virus rate and health data in any one region gets too high, the state could tell all schools in that region to close their buildings, state officials said.

Understanding that COVID-19 may impact certain areas of the state differently, the department will provide data by six regions of the state to inform local decisions, said state Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli.

Under the new guidelines:

 If one teacher or student in a school has a confirmed COVID-19 case, the school can remain open. But anyone the person came close to at school will be asked to quarantine at home. Students and staff in close contact with positive case are excluded from school for 14 days, the rules say.

 If two people in the same classroom get sick, the school can remain open. But everyone in the classroom could be asked to quarantine. Recommendations for whether the entire classroom would be considered exposed will be based on public health investigation, the guidelines say.

 If two or more people in different classrooms have confirmed COVID-19 cases within 14 days at the same school, it gets more complicated. The entire school could be shut down if a clear connection between cases or to a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 cannot be easily identified, the recommendations say.

The new guidelines were released as New Jerseys nearly 600 public school districts are submitting their reopening plans to the state education department for approval.

Gov. Phil Murphy originally asked all schools to offer at least some in-person classes. But, on Wednesday the state guidelines were modified to allow school districts to start the school year with only remote learning at home if officials felt they could not open with safety measures in place.

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Most schools originally planned to open with hybrid plans, combining a few days of in-person classes each week with at-home distance learning. Students are expected to wear masks and classrooms are supposed to either have desks six feet apart or install barriers between students.

All students in every district also have the option of choosing an all-remote learning plan, even if their school is offering in-person classes.

Last March, Murphy ordered all public and private schools to close and switch to remote learning at the start of the pandemic.

This year, New Jersey officials said they are going to take a regional approach to tracking health data to help determine whether schools should remain open.

Under the new guidelines, the state will be divided into a six-region COVID-19 Regional Risk Matrix:

 Northwest: Morris, Passaic, Sussex, Warren

 Northeast: Bergen, Essex, Hudson

 Central West: Hunterdon, Mercer, Somerset

 Central East: Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Union

 Southwest: Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Salem

 Southeast: Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland

Each region will be assigned a color (green, yellow, orange or red) every week based on the virus risk in the area.

Where a region falls in the color-coding categories is based on three criteria: number of cases in past week, percent positivity past week and syndromic surveillance in the past week, the state health department said.

If a region is labeled red, every county should switch to remote learning and close school buildings. If it is orange, the regions schools should also switch to remote learning if they cant guarantee they are adhering to all prevention measures to prevent the virus from spreading, the guidelines say.

The health guidance also says schools should move choir and music classes outdoors, if possible; allow only the use of masks, not clear face shields, in schools; and sanitize desks, countertops, doorknobs, computer keyboards and hands-on surfaces at least daily.

The guidelines include sample forms school districts should ask parents to fill out every day to say they have checked their children for a list of coronavirus symptoms before sending them to school. There are additional sample letters to send home to students families if there are COVID-19 cases in their classroom or school.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com.

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While we only have five of the gang members now as part of this take down, we have been a part of prosecutions on these individuals for years, and have witnessed how much havoc they have been wreaking on our community, DeVine said in a news release. We are pleased to see the investigation lead to federal charges on so many of them because we know the sentencing guidelines on the federal side is much more appropriate than what is available to us on the state side. We are committed to coordinating with law enforcement and the federal government in order to appropriately handle these cases, every time that we can.
Chinese tech giant ByteDance censored content it perceived as critical of the Chinese government on its news aggregator app in Indonesia from 2018 to mid-2020, six people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The sources said that local moderators were instructed by a team from ByteDance's Beijing headquarters to delete articles seen as "negative" about Chinese authorities on the Baca Berita (BaBe) app. In a statement to Reuters, BaBe said it disagreed with the claims and that it moderates content according to its community guidelines and in line with ...
Jamilie Joseph was a fixture in her western Sydney community for 70 years  both as a family member and the focus of a web series discussing life as a widow.

After her death from coronavirus, the 80-year-old is also being remembered as an organiser  whose kitchen was regularly filled with people and where she cooked food such as stuffed grape leaves and biscuits.

Jamilie Joseph moved to Parramatta from Lebanon as a young child. Credit:Facebook

Mrs Joseph became infected from the Our Lady of Lebanon Co-Cathedral cluster and died late on Wednesday evening.

Hers was the first reported death related to COVID-19 in NSW in 12 days.
In two recent one-on-one interviews, Sharon Dorram spoke out regarding her career in the beauty industry

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 13, 2020 / Often referred to as "colorist to the stars," Sharon Dorram recently spoke out in two interviews on Ideamensch and Thrive Global about her career in the beauty industry.

With more than 20 years of experience in the beauty industry, Sharon Dorram is a well-known hair stylist and colorist and the owner of the Sharon Dorram Color at Sally Hershberger salon on the Upper East Side of New York City. Throughout her career, she has been a spokeswoman for many hair care product companies and has had many celebrities as clients.

In her interview with Ideamensch, Sharon explained that during the economic downturn of 2008, she and Sally Hershberger decided to join forces and open their salon together. She said that she and Sally were both females at the top of their field and it was exciting to find an exclusive space on the gold strip of East 71st Street.

Sharon Dorram also explained how she brings ideas to life.

"If you can see it and dream it you can actualize it. I know in life when we have a goal, we set out to create it takes a focus, a single-minded focus, a laser focus so strong that over time it will come true," said Sharon Dorram.

In her interview with Thrive Global, Dorram explained that the toughest obstacle in her career is happening right now with COVID-19 and she is determined to bring business back to NYC. Her business has been adapting with PPE and many new precautions in place. The salon recently opened again to serve clients.

Sharon Dorram also shared advice for those starting out in the beauty industry.

"The best advice I can give anyone starting in this business is you have to LOVE what you do," said Sharon Dorram.

"For me work is not a 4-letter word and if it is it is P L A Y. I love what I do, I love my staff and most of all I love my clients. I live by these words 'Hard work pays off'."

For more information, visit https://www.sharondorram.com/.

About Sharon Dorram

Sharon Dorram has more than 20 years of experience in the beauty industry and is the owner of Sharon Dorram Color at Sally Hershberger. She studied at Bennington College in Vermont, the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, and the Winchester School of the Arts in the United Kingdom. In the late 80s, she trained under Louis Licari, a world-famous hair colorist. Throughout her career, Sharon Dorram has been a spokesperson for many hair care product companies including multi-national brands like Matrix and Nexxus. Sharon was a spokesperson for over 2 years and is now an ambassador for Virtue Labs and was named the creative consultant for the John Frieda brand in the late 1990s. Through her work, she has earned the title of "colorist to the stars," by creating beautifully natural color reminiscent of children's hair and having a star-studded roster of clients. In 2009, she collaborated with celebrity stylist Sally Hershberger to open Sharon Dorram Color at Sally Hershberger.

Contact:

Sharon Dorram

212.535.3519

contact@sdsh.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-dorram-496b045/

SOURCE: Sharon Dorram

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/601567/Sharon-Dorram-Featured-in-Two-Exclusive-Interviews
Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Mostly cloudy skies. Morning high of 35F with temps falling to near 20. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy early with some clearing expected late. Low 13F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph.
STATEN ISLAND. N.Y. -- Summer school looked different for New York City students this year, as kids learned through a remote-only instruction model due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak -- but a new report has found that nearly a quarter of students didnt log on during the six-week program.

Those who attend virtual summer school included students who werent promoted in June, were recommended for additional academic support, or needed to retake a course under the citys new grading policy -- which was created during the 2019-2020 school year when school buildings closed in mid-March and classes moved remotely amid the pandemic.

According to a Chalkbeat report, by the final week of the summer program, at least 23% of summer school students who were required or recommended to attend didnt log on a single time, according to internal data obtained by the media outlet.

That represents nearly 27,000 students. Chalkbeat reported these numbers dont include students with disabilities who receive 12-month Individualized Education Program (IEP) services.

To prepare for the summer, the city Department of Education (DOE) improved a centralized platform called iLearn, which contained pre-packaged lessons -- despite opposition to use a centralized platform from school principals, Chalkbeat reported. The agency also required educators to conduct live meetings during the school day.

Summer school this year was geared toward helping the city prepare for the 2020-2021 school year, which will offer families the option of full-time remote learning or blended learning, where students would attend in-person classes two to three days a week and remote learn the rest of the week. Under the blended learning model, schools will operate at significantly reduced capacity for in-person instruction, with, on average, between half and one-third of the student population going to school at one time.

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK ***

But according to Chalkbeat, the iLearn platform wasnt working properly when summer school started in July. There were widespread technical glitches that prevented students from accessing classes or assignments -- and those issues continued during the duration of program.

The media outlet said that many students received little direction on how to sign on with user names and passwords that were newly mandated from the DOEs central offices.

While teachers were required to conduct daily instruction, students werent mandated to participate in the live lessons, due to scheduling conflicts or a lack of access to technology. And the students who were required or recommended for virtual summer school were the ones who had trouble with remote learning during the regular school year, Chalkbeat reported. Students also said they were unfamiliar with their teachers, which made them more reluctant to log on, participate in live discussions, or ask questions.

The media outlet said its difficult to know how many students were regularly participating in summer school or were on track to pass courses because city officials declined to provide attendance data.

During the last school year, the DOE shared student daily interaction data regularly from April to June.

According to Chalkbeat, DOE spokesperson Danielle Filson questioned the accuracy of summer school participation data due to widespread technical glitches and incomplete data entry, as well the possibility some students will complete much of their work during the final days of summer school.

This is the first time weve offered summer learning remotely, and were doing everything we can to make sure students are logging in, engaging in live instruction, and getting the additional instruction time they need so that they dont fall behind, Filson said in a statement to Chalkbeat.

She added that some teachers found ways offline to deliver content to students, which wouldnt be reflected in data.

Summer school ended for elementary and middle school students on Tuesday. The program ends Thursday for District 75 students, and it ends Friday for high school students.

When the new academic year starts, schools will continue to choose their own curriculum, instead of initial plans by officials to require schools to use a centrally-managed platform like iLearn or Google Classroom. Instead, officials are emphasizing a slower rollout of these platforms, and schools will have a range of options, according to Chalkbeat.

Related stories:

What will reopening look like in largest U.S. school districts?

2020-2021 school year: 26% of NYC families choose full-time remote learning

Coronavirus: Reopening plans for Staten Island charter schools

2020-2021 school year in NYC: Guidelines on gym, music and more

Coronavirus: How NYC plans to safely reopen schools in fall

2020-2021 academic year: Reopening plans for schools across Staten Island

NYC schools reopening: State guidelines for special education

The Catholic elementary school reopening plan: Face masks, temperature checks and more

NYC schools reopening: Transportation plan for students remains unclear

FOLLOW ANNALISE KNUDSON ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER.
Key benchmark indices firmed up further and hit fresh intraday high in mid-morning trade. At 11:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 129.79 points or 0.34% at 38,499.42. The Nifty 50 index added 42.90 points or 0.38% at 11,351.30.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 1.28% while The S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 1%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1526 shares rose and 878 shares fell. A total of 118 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index rose 1.08% to 7,869. The index has added 8.7% in eight sessions while the benchmark Nifty 50 index rose 4.2% during the same period.

Bharat Forge (up 9.99%), Ashok Leyland (up 8.16%), Tata Motors (up 1.99%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 1.16%) advanced.

Eicher Motors shed 0.64% ahead of its quarterly earnings release today.

Earnings Impact:

Tata Power surged 7.84% to Rs 57.10 after consolidated net profit jumped 10.3% to Rs 268.10 crore on 16.9% fall in net sales to Rs 6,452.99 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019.

Revenues dropped mainly due to lower power demand, delay in solar EPC businesses on account of COVID-19 and lower coal FOB prices. However, the company maintained stable performance despite lower profits from solar EPC businesses mainly on account of lower financing cost and stable performance across clusters. The company reported a strong cash generation due to strong collection and tighter control over working capital.

The Q1 FY21 consolidated EBITDA stood at Rs 2,037 crore including renewable EBITDA of Rs 588 crore as compared to Rs 663 crore in Q1 FY20 mainly due to delay in the solar EPC projects due to COVID-19. During the quarter, Tata Power won new renewables bids totaling 220 MW (megawatt). The company's solar EPC order book stands at Rs 8,700 crore.

Aurobindo Pharma fell 3.75% to Rs 899. The pharma company's consolidated net profit jumped 22.8% to Rs 780.68 crore on 8.9% increase in net sales to Rs 5835.23 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. EBITDA margin marginally improved to 21.2% in Q1 June 2020 from 21.1% from Q1 June 2019.

US formulation revenue stood at Rs 3,107.1 crore in Q1 June 2020, registering a growth of 15.6% from Rs 2,688.4 crore in Q1 June 2019. Europe formulation revenue came at Rs 1,322.2 crore, a decline of 5% against Q1 last year. Aurobindo's Growth Markets revenue declined by 7.6% year on year to Rs 289.6 crore.

Aurobindo's research & development (R&D) spend at stood at Rs 254.5 crore in Q1 June 2020 which 4.3% of revenues. The company received final approval for 10 ANDAs from USFDA in quarter ending June 2020.

Global Markets:

Most Asian markets edged higher on Thursday. The media reported that China's banks are expected to dispose of 3.4 trillion yuan ($489.9 billion) of bad loans this year, in a bid to contain financial risks amid a weakened economy.

The US stock market finished higher on Wednesday, 12 August 2020, as investors chased for riskier assets amid stronger-than-expected economic data and some signs of a slowdown in the spread of the coronavirus pandemic cases in the US and optimism over efforts to produce a vaccine.

Markets appeared to have little reaction to presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's pick of California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate, the first Black American woman and the first person of Indian decent to appear on the ticket of a major national party.

Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the White House and top Democrats in Congress may not be able to reach a deal on coronavirus aid, marking a fifth day without talks, as the stalemate blocked relief to tens of millions of Americans.

US consumer prices climbed by 0.6% in July, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Wednesday. The stronger than expected consumer price growth was partly due to a continued spike in energy prices. However, the jump in energy prices was partly offset by a pullback in food prices.

Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices still advanced by 0.6% in July after inching up by 0.2% in the previous month.

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When India was marking one year of abrogation of Jammu & Kashmirs special status and PM Modi was performing the ground-breaking bhoomi poojan ceremony of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya, Pakistan was busy changing its political map. In the new political map, it has not only included Gilgit-Baltistan and so-called Azad Kashmir as its territories, but also shown the buffer zone like Sir Creek and Indian territories of Junagadh and Manavadar. Indias Ministry of External Affairs termed this Pakistans political absurdity.

The new map shows buffer zone like Sir Creek and Indian territories of Junagadh and Manavadar as Pakistani territories. (Photo: Twitter/ @pid_gov)

This is the neighbouring countrys latest step after the completion of the first round of propaganda on Kashmir. In the past year, Pakistan has tried every single step possible to draw the worlds attention to the Kashmir issue and what it calls Indian oppression. On every international platform, Pakistans PM Imran Khan and his appointees have tried to bring in the issue of Kashmir.

In September 2019, Imran Khan visited the US and UN General Assembly. In his speech, he constantly highlighted Kashmir. In the speech at UN General Assembly, he said that a blood bath will ensue if and when Indian authorities lift the curfew over the disputed territory. He even warned of a potential nuclear war. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi wrote seven letters to the UN as of December 2019, and repeated the rhetoric that India has been deploying missiles in the region.

Imran Khan and his ministers have not limited their efforts to the UN. They have been trying to utilise every single international platform for Kashmir issue. Even in June 2020, Pakistan asked the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) to facilitate solution on Kashmir. Earlier this year, at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, Imran Khan again urged the US President to mediate on the issue. These are just glimpses of what the Pakistani establishment has done to try and internationalise the issue.

The Pakistani bandwagon doesnt stop at international platforms. It is constantly trying to keep the issue alive at the domestic level too. Earlier this month, Pakistan changed the name of Kashmir Highway to Srinagar Highway to show solidarity with the Kashmiris. Be it issuing postal stamps, or organising Kashmir Solidarity Day marches in Pakistan, or tweeting fake videos to show that Muslims are oppressed in India  Imran Khan has tried them all.

                  #YOUM_E_ISTEHSAL#EndIllegalSiegeofKashmir#EndPersecutionofKashmiris#KashmirSiegeDay#IIOJKUnderSiege pic.twitter.com/Ve9HuYEr5o  Govt of Pakistan (@pid_gov) August 5, 2020

But to what results? Clearly, nothing.

Besides its usual allies  Turkey and China  no one is buying Pakistans propaganda on Kashmir and Indian Muslims. US President Donald Trump has constantly been changing his stand on mediation, as he usually does in domestic politics. More recently, Saudi Arabia ended a loan and oil supply to Pakistan after the latters criticism that the Saudi-led OIC is not doing enough to pressure India on the Kashmir issue.

From trying to raise the Kashmir issue on international platforms to organising Kashmir Solidarity Day marches at home, Imran Khan has tried every trick in the book. (Photo: Twitter/ @pid_gov)

With his propaganda over Kashmir issue proving to be unsuccessful, it now seems that Khan needs something new to sell at the domestic and international level. Thus, the new political map with the inclusion of Junagadh and Manavadar with Sir Creek.

Domestically, it seems that Imran Khan has lost the hold over the Pakistani public. Firstly, the Pakistan government miserably failed to impose lockdown and control the spread of Covid-19 in the country. Second, the countrys economic condition is worsening with each passing day. It has been stuck in Chinas debt-trap policy. Saudi Arabia ending the loan has further worsened the situation. Third, and most importantly, no major country is convinced to stand with Pakistan over the Kashmir conflict.

The Pakistani state is defined by two pillars, as scholar Madiha Afzal notes in her work Pakistan Under Siege. These are  Islam, and paranoia about India. In a 2010 survey, when Pakistani citizens were asked what the biggest threat to their country was, a whopping 53 per cent of the respondents said it was India. 23 per cent said Taliban, and a measly three per cent said Al-Qaeda. So Khan knows that anti-India sentiments are more prevalent in his country than the fear of terrorism. By releasing the new political map, he wants to further aggravate the sentiment and consolidate his vote bank.

Of course, this does not make any major difference on the ground. However, there are many things that can be expected, like creating fake social-media profiles and peddling fake stories about India 'occupying' Junagadh and Manavadar, maliciously capturing Indian fishermen near Sir Creek, and creating rhetoric about Indian territories on international platforms. But then, what better can we expect?

Also Read: Imran Khan must remember India is global power, Pakistan a sinking ship
A man who claimed he was not wearing a face mask because of a "bad pimple" has been fined by Australian police.

The man from the Port Phillip area, south of Melbourne, was one of 29 people who were fined for not wearing mandatory face coverings on Wednesday.

When confronted by police for not wearing a face mask after leaving his home, the man said he had a "bad pimple".

In total Victoria Police said they issued 204 fines in the past 24 hours for breaches of coronavirus restrictions.

The breaches included a man who visited a friend while he was awaiting coronavirus test results.

According to 7 News, police fined a number of people for holding illegal gatherings, including a group of seven who were found drinking alcohol in Prahran Square.

Police also discovered a group of five men who were celebrating a birthday at a house in Braybrook.

People who breach Covid-19 restrictions in Melbourne face fines of up to $1,652 (904) and $5,000 (2,736) if they test positive for the virus but fail to self-isolate.

It comes after a fight broke out on a plane to Ibiza when two passengers refused to wear a face mask.

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KLM confirmed there was an incident on the flight on Friday after two passengers "misbehaved verbally and physically".
After five months with only fog and wind rustling through the nations most famous penitentiary, Alcatraz Island will reopen to visitors Monday.

The islands reopening, which comes as state and local coronavirus restrictions begin to ease, marks one of the last national park sites to welcome back the public since the pandemic began. It also offers a bit of hope for San Franciscos badly shaken tourist economy.

The prison that once held Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly is now an international destination. It has historically drawn close to 6,000 people a day to the ferry docks, helping drive business to crab shacks, T-shirt stands and street performances at Fishermans Wharf, Pier 39 and North Beach.

Visiting the island, however, wont be quite the same  at least not right away. The biggest change is that the main cellhouse will remain closed to limit the potential spread of the coronavirus. Those hoping to see the psychiatric quarters of convicted killer and ornithologist Robert The Birdman Stroud or the lockup of mobster James Whitey Bulger will have to settle for views of the prison exterior.

But officials with the National Park Service say its a great time to explore other, less-known facets of Alcatraz. The island has long been a pillar of maritime navigation and was home to the first lighthouse on the West Coast  its replacement stands today. It also holds the remnants of a Civil War fort. The Native American occupation of Alcatraz, which began in 1969, is commemorated as well.

The island operated as a federal penitentiary only between 1934 and 1963. It was notorious for its time as a prison not only because of the cast of characters held there but for its high-security fortifications, island location and cold, swift bay currents that made escape virtually impossible. Whether anyone successfully got out is still a matter of debate.

Like any historical site, there are many layers here, said Charlie Strickfaden, spokesman for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which manages the island. This presents a great opportunity for a staycation.

Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle

A new audio tour of the islands outdoor spaces is being developed for visitors, replacing the popular prison audio tour. The tour will be available for download on mobile devices, so park officials recommend that those coming to the island bring ear buds. No ranger-led tours are being scheduled, to prevent people from clustering and to ensure physical distancing.

The number of people allowed on the island also will be limited. Instead of running the Alcatraz-bound ferries at their capacities of 600 or 700, just 150 people will be allowed to board. Tickets for Alcatraz, handled by Hornblower Cruises, typically sell out six to eight weeks in advance.

All ferry passengers will have their temperatures taken prior to boarding, and masks will be required during the ride. Masks are not required on the island, per National Park Service policy, but theyre highly recommended.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

While most National Park Service sites began reopening around Memorial Day, many areas where big crowds are common have waited. Most have taken their cues from local and state health officials.

Strickfaden said that the Golden Gate National Recreation Area made the decision to reopen Alcatraz in coordination with San Francisco officials and partner organizations. He said they did so only when they felt they could offer a safe experience for visitors.

The subsidiary of Hornblower Cruises that runs the ferries, Alcatraz Cruises, was forced to furlough most of its employees during the pandemic. Company spokeswoman Antonette Sespene said its great that the public and staff are returning, and she expects other businesses along the waterfront to feel the same.

People are going to want to spend their time at the pier and watch the sea lions and have lunch again, she said. Its a win for everybody in our city.

Kurtis Alexander is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kalexander@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kurtisalexander
For the third time since last February, Gong has raised a significant sum. In February, the company scored $40 million. In December, it grabbed another $65 million. And today, it was $200 million on a $2.2 billion valuation. That's a total of $305 million in less than 18 months.

Coatue led today's cash infusion, with help from new investors Index Ventures, Salesforce Ventures and Thrive Capital, and existing investors Battery Ventures, NextWorld Capital, Norwest Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital and Wing Venture Capital. It has now raised a total of $334 million, according to the company.

What is attracting this kind of investor attention? When we spoke to Gong about its Series B round, it had 300 customers. Today it has around 1,300, representing substantial growth in that time period. The company reports revenue has grown 2.5x this year alone.

Gong CEO Amit Bendov says his company is trying to create a category they have dubbed "revenue intelligence." As he explains it, today sales data is stored in a CRM database consisting of descriptions of customer interactions as described by the salesperson or CSR. Gong is trying to transform that process by capturing both sides of the interaction, then, using artificial intelligence, it transcribes and analyzes those interactions.

Bendov says the pandemic and economic malaise has created a situation where there is a lot of liquidity in the market and investors have been looking for companies like his to invest some of it.

"There's a lot of liquidity in the market. There are very few investment opportunities. I think the investment community was waiting a little bit to see how the market shakes out [...] and they are betting on companies that could benefit long-term from the new normal, and I think we're one of them," Bendov told TechCrunch .

He says that he wasn't looking for money, and in fact still is operating off the Series B investment, but when firms come knocking with checkbooks open and favorable terms, he wasn't about to turn them down. "There are CEOs schools [of thought] that tell you to raise money when you can, not when you need to. It's not very diluted at this kind of valuation and it was a very easy process. [...] The whole deal closed in 14 days from term sheet to money in the bank," he said.

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Bendov said that taking the money was "pretty much a no-brainer." In fact, he says the money gives them the freedom to operate and further legitimacy in the marketplace. "It gives us the ability to buy companies, make strategic investment, accelerate plans, and it also, especially since we cater to large enterprise customers, it gives them confidence that this company is here to stay," he said.

With around 350 employees today, it hopes to add 100 people by the end of the year. Bendov says diversity and inclusion is a "massive priority" for the company. Among the steps they've taken recently is opening a recruiting hub in Atlanta to bring more diverse candidates into the company, working with a company called FlockJay to train and hire underrepresented groups in customer success roles, and in Israel where the company's R&D center is located, helping members of the Arab community with computer science backgrounds to learn interview skills. Some of those folks will end up working for Gong, and some at other places.

While the company has grown remarkably quickly and has shown great promise, Bendov is not thinking ahead to an IPO just yet. He says he wants to grow the company to at least a couple of hundred million dollars in sales, and that's two to three years away at this point. He certainly has plenty of cash to operate until then.
Editors note: This is part one in a three-part series. Click here for part two, Establishing Conditions Conducive to Growth of Black Businesses and Entrepreneurship and here for part three, Prioritizing Racial Equity for Inclusive Prosperity.

A convergence of calamity has caused crisis-level alarm across America. Were witnessing several historic events unfolding simultaneously:

A global pandemic last spring caused the entire developed world to temporarily shut down their economies. The U.S. has been unable to gain control of the COVID-19 coronavirus and remains in a state of rising cases and deaths (160,000-plus deaths and rising since March), creating cascading problems for businesses, employees, schools and local economies.

The killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police triggered a national outrage that expanded internationally. Sustained protests have elevated cultural awareness spanning a broad spectrum of systemic racial problems we all inherited from a 20th century segregationist society. Rapid racial demographic shifts will soon transform America into a minority-majority multicultural society, and that flip has already occurred in public schools, which fuels fears of encroaching multiculturalism among some segments of society.

The economic shutdown has exposed myriad systemic problems (health, education, economics, wealth, infrastructure, ownership and access to resources) adversely impacting minority communities disproportionately. White societys elevated awareness to systemic racial segregation policies and practices and unprecedented response both in the street and in the boardroom is encouraging to see. But I am not so mystified to believe this moment is a movement. It isnt.

However, there is a small window of opportunity now to transform this moment of national focus into an ongoing movement of permanent transformation toward building a more equitable and inclusive America. We simply need five key items:

Vision

Strategy

Plan of Action

Investment

Commitment

Today, theres no shortage of CEOs and foundation leaders publicly proclaiming promises of support for racial equity activities, diversity and inclusion programs and investments in minority businesses and entrepreneurship. PwC, for example, is leading a group of CEOs for Action. At least 1,000 CEOs have taken a diversity pledge. In Indianapolis, a coalition of key stakeholders led by Eli Lilly and Co., have pledged $2.2 million to advance effective solutions to racial inequality through the Central Indiana Racial Equity Fund. And Indianapolis is also welcoming Black-owned Lightship Capital, a venture capital firm with a $50 million fund and a focus on investing in promising tech-based minority enterprises.

Theres a lot of good activity occurring in spite of an out-of-control pandemic, historic levels of unemployment and a 41% closure rate of Black-owned businesses between March and June (according to data published by the National Bureau of Economic Research).

But lets be real. Lots of entrepreneurial activity in the past has resulted in chronically low productivity outcomes, particularly for Black and Latinx entrepreneurs.

The moment were witnessing today, with an unprecedented amount of attention from the landscape of employers across America, which is 80% white, and the landscape of K-12 education with a teacher landscape thats 80% white, and a spotlight by a media industry thats 80% white, requires a vision, strategy and plan that prioritizes increasing measurable productivity among Americas Most Vulnerable Populations (MVP) as a key measure of racial equity success in the next five years.

VISION  STRATEGY

In the midst of a raging pandemic and a historic economic shutdown that has disproportionately hit minority businesses, the National Institute for Inclusive Competitiveness was launched with a vision. The NIIC assembled an experienced team of societal change agents dedicated to the mission of increasing the economic productivity among the nations MVP by 1% GDP in one generation. The strategy required to move that needle currently doesnt exist in any local or regional ecosystem in America, despite more than 50 years of Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies (CEDS) plans produced in every Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), funded by federal, state and public-private partnerships.

The success of strategic economic planning processes, such as Accelerate Indy, is indisputable. But heretofore, such economic success across white America over the last 50 years has eluded Black America, which lacks both the necessary economic infrastructure and economic competitiveness strategies to compete in a 21st century globally competitive tech-based innovation economy fueled by a fourth industrial revolution.

For America to sustain her global competitiveness in a post-pandemic era, she must cultivate more talented minority innovators who are prepared, equipped, fully supported and ready to compete in growth stage industries that produce jobs and wealth while contributing meaningfully to local, regional and national competitiveness.

How Do We Get There From Here, will be the focus of my discussion at the Beyond 2020 Indiana Minority Business Conference on Aug. 28-29, presented by Innopower LLC and Recorder Media Group. Please join us.

Mike Green is chief strategist at The National Institute for Inclusive Competitiveness and co-founder of ScaleUp Partners, a consultancy specializing in inclusive competitiveness strategies to improve the productivity of underrepresented minorities in the innovation economy. Email mike@niicusa.org.
Thought Leaders Professor Graham Pockley Director John van Geest Cancer Research Centre

Professor Pockley among other researchers from the John van Geest Cancer Research Centre have recently developed a blood test for the detection of prostate cancer. News-Medical spoke to Professor Pockley to find out more!

What provoked your research into the detection of prostate cancer? Why is there an urgent need for a more accurate test for the detection of prostate cancer?

The John van Geest Cancer Research Centre at Nottingham Trent University works closely with several prostate cancer support groups and a common theme raised was the process of having to provide tissue for analysis (prostate biopsy) and the difficulty in getting a definitive diagnosis.

Current tests for prostate cancer are not 100% accurate and so there is a possibility to over-diagnose and under-diagnose prostate cancer. It is essential that men with low-risk prostate abnormalities are not diagnosed as having prostate cancer, as those with low-risk/grade disease do not require active treatment.

Furthermore, unnecessarily labeling men as having prostate cancer can assign these men to life-long surveillance and have significant psychological, quality of life, financial, and societal consequences.

We, therefore, embarked on a program to see if we could reliably detect prostate cancer based on a simple blood test.

Image Credit: Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock.com

Why is prostate cancer the most common cancer amongst men?

Overall, prostate cancer is the second most commonly occurring cancer in men, is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the UK, and the fourth most commonly occurring cancer overall. In the UK, about 1 in 8 men will get prostate cancer in their lifetime.

Prostate cancer mainly affects men over 50, with the risk increases with age and a family history of prostate cancer. The risk is even higher for Black African Caribbean men who are 3 times more likely to get the disease - 1 in 4 Black African Caribbean men will get prostate cancer in their lifetime. These men are also more likely to present with prostate cancer at an earlier age (approximately 5 years younger than white British men) and to die from the disease.

https://prostatecanceruk.org/prostate-information/are-you-at-risk

What current methods are available for the detection of prostate cancer and what are their limitations regarding PSA levels?

The most widely used diagnostic test currently available measures the blood level of a protein called Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA for short).

Heightened amounts of PSA may mean that the patient has cancer, but 15% of individuals with prostate cancer have normal levels of the protein, and many healthy people can have high amounts of PSA. This blood test is therefore not widely accepted as a reliable diagnostic tool.

Other methods exist to detect prostate cancer, but they are not always accurate. A small piece of the prostate can be taken for analysis, but results from this invasive procedure are often incorrect. Although interest in the potential diagnostic capabilities of MRI scanning is developing, MRI cannot currently be used as a sole diagnostic because a positive MRI can be incorrect in approximately 25% (1 in 4) of cases and a negative MRI can be incorrect in approximately 20% (1 in 5) of cases.

Scans can, therefore, help to spot a tumor, but they are not accurate enough to be conclusive on their own. New tests are therefore urgently needed.

Image Credit: Jarun Ontakrai/Shutterstock.com

Why is it not only important to detect the presence of prostate cancer, but also identify the stage that it is at?

The clinical challenge in prostate cancer diagnosis resides in distinguishing men with low- or small volume intermediate-risk prostate cancer which is unlikely to progress (both require 'active surveillance') from men with an intermediate disease which is likely to progress or with high-risk disease (both of which require treatment).

Some prostate cancer grows too slowly to cause any problems or affect how long you live. Because of this, many men with prostate cancer will never need any treatment. However, some prostate cancer grows quickly and is more likely to spread. This is more likely to cause problems and needs treatment to stop it from spreading.

Recent findings from a decade-long study involving 415,000 British men (The Cluster Randomized Trial of PSA Testing for Prostate Cancer (CAP) Randomized Clinical Trial) have not supported single PSA testing for population-based screening and suggest that asymptomatic men should not be routinely tested to avoid unnecessary anxiety and treatment. It is therefore essential that new approaches for enabling more definitive, early detection of prostate cancer are developed.

Can you describe your research that led to the discovery of your new blood test? How did you incorporate computational models in your research?

The John van Geest Cancer Research Centre at Nottingham Trent University has expertise in monitoring immune responses, and we felt that we could use this approach for detecting the presence of cancer. We know that there is a two-way relationship between cancer and the immune system and that the immune system has the potential to recognise cancer, We therefore postulated that the presence of cancer will trigger changes in the biology/appearance of white blood (immune cells) that can be detected in the blood.

However, standard statistical tests could not detect differences in the profiles of white blood (immune) cells in the blood of patients with prostate cancer and men without prostate cancer.

We, therefore, turned to more complex computational models. Our model uses data from blood tests and artificial intelligence-based computing (machine learning) to detect the presence of prostate cancer more accurately.

The tool has two elements, the first detects whether a man has prostate cancer. If prostate cancer is detected, the second element will detect the clinical risk of the disease (low, intermediate, high) and thereby enable the clinician to decide whether the patient requires no further investigation/treatment (watch and wait) or whether further investigation and treatment are required

How does this test work?

This test works by analyzing the biology of immune cells known as natural killer (NK) cells in the blood. NK cells are the first line of attack against cancer and so are likely to be influenced by the presence of cancer.

The data from the analysis are then analyzed using the computational model that predicts whether cancer is there and, if so, its severity.

Image Credit: Alpha Tauri 3D Graphics/Shutterstock.com

How could the new test you have developed help to reduce the numbers of invasive biopsies? Do you believe this could also limit the psychological impact these biopsies have on men?

The studies have focused on asymptomatic men with PSA levels lower than 20 ng/ml, as men with PSA levels higher than 20 ng/ml are more likely to have prostate cancer and are thereby less likely to pose a clinical diagnostic quandary.

In contrast, men with a PSA lower than 20 ng/ml pose a major problem because although only 3040% of these men will have prostate cancer, all currently undergo potentially unnecessary invasive prostate biopsies to determine who has the disease.

It is, therefore, this group of men for which the development of new and more accurate approaches for the early detection of cancer is a clear unmet clinical need, and for whom the benefits of such an approach will be most relevant and significant.

The novelty of this approach is that it interrogates the immunological response to the tumor, not the tumor itself and that it requires a simple blood test (liquid biopsy). Based on current practice, we expect that this approach could avoid up to 70% of prostate biopsies, thereby sparing men with a benign prostate disease or low-risk prostate cancer from unnecessary invasive procedures with which are associated significant side-effects.

Do you believe that this test could help to potentially limit the number of men dying from prostate cancer?

The test has the potential to identify high-risk prostate cancer at an early stage in asymptomatic men having moderately elevated PSA levels and so has the potential to reduce the number of men dying from prostate cancer.

When will this test be readily available for use?

We need to obtain the necessary funding to prove the capacity of the test to accurately diagnose prostate cancer in a much larger number of patients  a crucial step to enable critical clinical decisions to be made based on results that it generates. If funding is received, then it is possible that the test could enter into formal clinical trials in 3-4 years.

Image Credit: Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock.com

What are the next steps in your research?

The test is at the experimental stage. We now need to validate the approach in a prospective (forward-looking) Clinical Trial in a larger number of men to demonstrate its effectiveness and get approval for it to be used to make important clinical decisions.

We are currently trying to obtain funding for such a trial.

Where can readers find more information?

About Professor Pockley

Professor Pockley is Professor of Immunobiology at Nottingham Trent University and Director of the John van Geest Cancer Research Centre. Research in the Centre focuses on the discovery and application of new cancer biomarkers for detecting cancer, monitoring disease progression, and developing new immunotherapeutic approaches. Progress in these areas is based on a fundamental understanding of cancer cell biology and immunobiology.

Having obtained a Doctor of Philosophy for studies investigating the immunomodulatory properties of human placental protein 14 from Sheffield City Polytechnic (now Sheffield Hallam University) in 1988, Professor Pockley undertook a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship studying ocular mucosal immunoregulation in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at Wayne State University, Detroit, USA.

In January 1990, he returned to the UK to take up a Lectureship and direct the experimental transplantation program in the Professorial Surgical Unit at the Medical College of St. Bartholomews Hospital, London. He returned to Sheffield as a Lecturer at the University of Sheffield Medical School in September 1994, where he was promoted to Reader in Immunobiology in 1996 and Professor of Immunobiology in 2004.

Professor Pockley became the Associate Director of the John van Geest Cancer Research Centre at Nottingham Trent University on 1 May 2012 and its Director in September 2016. He retains an Honorary Professorship in the Department of Oncology and Metabolism at The University of Sheffield (2012 - present).

Professor Pockley has published over 200 articles and in 2019 PLOS Biology1 identified him as being in the top 0.5% (in terms of citation impact) of the ~6.9 million scientists that have published at least 5 papers since 1995 across all disciplines.
Tariq Mazaal arrived in Germany in 2015 and since then has secured an education, volunteered his time to help other and started his own organisation to help refugees writes Zaman Al-Wasl.

During a small ceremony at the Museum of Art of Cultural History in Germany, the Bremen State Government, in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, awarded Tariq Mazaal the Diaspora Prize in the Peace category for his efforts and volunteering work in Germany.

Mazaal, born in Deir ez-Zor, in 1999, sought refuge in Germany in 2015 without his family after the schools were closed in his city due to the war. Upon his arrival in Bremen, he learned German in a just eight months, despite the language being difficult for him and the rest of the refugees.

After learning German, Tariq was able to enroll in a school and complete his studies there. After obtaining his MSA certificate, he began vocational training in business administration in a number of companies, while at the same time, studying for his high school diploma.

Because of his fluency in the language, Tariq started helping other refugees by filling in their forms and documents, and accompanying them to government departments. He later volunteered in organizations that help refugees, such as AWO, Caritas, Fluchtraum, and Help a Refugee, which he joined in 2017. At the time, Tariq and a number of his volunteer friends thought of the idea for creating the Refugee for Refugee association to support other refugees.

According to Tariq, Shahanim Korko-Philip, a representative in the Peoples Assembly in Bremen and a member of the Green Party, nominated him for the award.

The award is aimed to strengthen and support volunteers and effective organizations to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which lays out 17 goals set by the UN.

Tariq Mazaals was awarded his prize in the Peace category for his volunteer work in more than one organization, and especially in his own association, Refugee to Refuge, from a number of nominees from African, Arab and other countries.

Mazaal was previously awarded the Citizens Award from Burgerpreis Bank, which he dedicated to the Refugee to Refugee Association, as well as honored by the Minister of Social Business and Integration in Bremen.

This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
Wang Biyun shine on the livestreaming platform. [Official Kuaishou account of Wang Biyun]

Making short videos with her grandsons has dramatically changed the life of Lao Yaolian, 76, who has spent most of her existence farming the countryside in Beihai, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The physical toll of hard work shows on Lao, who has a wrinkled face, short gray hair and walks with a slight stoop. Despite her tribulations, she likes to wear bright floral shirts and has a mischievous sense of humor.

All of this has added up to Lao, who only received two years of primary school education, becoming an unlikely social media star with millions of followers.

Her humorous and heartwarming performances in her grandsons' clips have become popular on short-video applications, including Douyin, Kuaishou and Huoshan. "It makes life in my later years colorful and full of fun," she said.

Lao's "village grandma" videos are each less than one minute long and tell simple stories about her life in the countryside with her two grandsons and other family members.

Popular episodes include grandma receiving gifts from her grandsons, the family discussing who should eat the chicken legs, grandma learning how to put on makeup, and grandma urging her grandsons to find girlfriends.

The everyday interactions between Lao and her grandsons are made even funnier by the way she speaks Mandarin with a strong accent.

The homey nature of the scenes  shot in a farmyard, fields and on country roads  elicit a sense of nostalgia in Lao's fans. Many of her followers say the videos remind them of their own hometowns and grandmothers.

Lao is eager to hear feedback from her supporters and is often astonished that so many people like her clips. She has about 10 million followers on the short-video platforms.

Her supporters even visit her village to meet their idol. Walking on the streets in Beihai, she is often surrounded by people who want to take pictures with her.

Due to her fame, she has been invited as a guest of honor to many events in the city.

However, Lao is not the only elderly social media star who has become popular with younger generations.

Old Charmers

The growth of middle-aged and elderly internet users has spawned a batch of "silver web celebs" on video-sharing platforms, who are a welcome relief from the plethora of young and pretty presenters.

A report by Kuaishou confirms that videos featuring middle-aged and senior people are becoming more popular. Last year, shares on Kuaishou of videos made by users born in the 1960s received more "likes" on average per day than other age groups. Videos shared by those born in the 1970s received the most comments from viewers.

Older actors are among the favorite silver web celebs. You Benchang, who in the 1980s played the role of "mad monk" Ji Gong in a famous television series of the same name, started uploading humorous videos last year. The 87-year-old now has about 11 million followers.

However, most silver celebrities are ordinary people without acting experience. Some are signed up with online celebrity management companies, while others simply make videos on their own.

The content of their videos varies: however, most like to buck the stereotype of older people living a sedentary, contented life. Senior online celebrities have exhibited their talents for fitness, cooking or dancing, all of which send a positive message about aging.

Some seniors like to present themselves in groups, most typically a family or couple, in their clips. These videos are often full of homespun wisdom, which helps attract a large number of young followers.

A video of four older women dressed in qipao modeling the traditional attire in an alley topped Douyin's search list last year. Their gray hair and makeup were elegantly styled, indicating that the four women were enjoying a vibrant and sophisticated retirement.

All in their 60s, they formerly worked as a bank executive, university teacher, company employee and engineer. They have more than 3 million followers on social media. "Seeing you age gracefully, I'm not afraid of getting old," was one comment typical of their followers.

Without professional assistance or any formal training, many of the older video producers are learning as they go. Although some of their productions are basic, the amateur producers are still keen to share their videos.

A Star Is Born

In 2017, Huang Shenglong, one of Lao's grandsons, uploaded the first video of his grandmother, which showed her eating jackfruit in a courtyard. People shared the video and it eventually ended up with 400,000 views.

"At that time, there were hardly any videos of old people on social media and my grandma was certainly one of the earliest ones," the 25-year-old said. "Many viewers called her the most popular granny back then."

Huang discovered that his grandmother's great acting "gift" was her ability to keep a straight face while saying something funny. Other villagers admired her acting skills because they couldn't control their laughter.

"Grandma thinks it's just like making a movie, and people around the country can see it on their phones, so she is excited and eager to make more," Huang said.

He said Lao likes watching videos of other older people and compares them to hers. She also contributes story ideas for her own videos.

"The short-video platforms give ordinary rural women like my grandma a chance to shine," Huang said. "When she is recognized by strangers, she is shy but happy," he added.

The majority of fans of "grandma and grandson" videos are young people, Huang said. He believes the reason is because young people in cities don't spend much time with their grandparents, and the videos comfort them.

"The countryside scenery in the videos, including the old tile-roof houses and farmland, also invoke childhood memories for the audience because many villages have been abandoned as cities expand," he said.

Cash Me Outside

Wang Biyun, also known as "Granny Wang," has 15 million followers on Douyin and is the most popular of the silver web celebs.

The 79-year-old wears high heels and body-hugging skirts and impresses netizens with her Latin-dancing skills during her livestreams to promote various products. She preaches a life of elegance to her followers and offers tips to young women on how to keep fit and manage their personal relationships.

In April, Wang sold makeup worth 5.3 million yuan ($756,800) during an eight-hour livestream, a sales record for social media celebrities of all ages.

At the other end of the spectrum is 80-year-old villager Cui Shuxia from Taipingbu Village in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. In May, she became an online celebrity when she helped her grandson livestream the sale of homegrown apricots. Memorable lines from Cui during the livestreams included "Let me try one for you, although I've lost my teeth."

She also recounted the history of apricot trees in her village and her growing them. Netizens were charmed by Cui's humorous and natural way of speaking.

Her grandson does the majority of the livestreaming, but when she appeared on the show sales skyrocketed. About 8,000 boxes of apricots were sold in a week.

The earnings of the grandma-and-grandson streams come from bonuses given by the platforms for original works, along with rewards from viewers and advertisers.

Products are placed in the video stories and one advertisement can earn tens of thousands of yuan, according to Huang.

"The money is not bad," he said, "But we have to keep updating every day to maintain our popularity and fans. Each episode takes about two hours to finish."

Huang said the team wants to do more to promote local farm produce and tourism places to their followers through videos and livestreams.

(Source: China Daily)
Press Release

13 August 2020

Against the backdrop of relentlessly evolving consumer demands and technological disruption, what does service quality mean today? What is required to maintain the prerequisite momentum? And how can hoteliers reconcile brand standards with the varying needs and expectations of guests from around the world? Helping us find the answers to these questions and more, Richard Leuenberger, Managing Director of Badrutt's Palace in St. Moritz, joins us on a journey of discovery through service excellence.

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Service excellence credentials

The success of Leuenberger's approach to service quality speaks for itself. Under his stewardship, Badrutt's Palace ranked first in TripAdvisor's 2019 Travelers' Choice Awards in the category "Top 25 Hotels for Service - Switzerland". Not to mention topping the charts for Swiss hotels overall.

Before assuming his role at the helm of this historical establishment - "family owned since 1896" - Leuenberger held leadership posts at the prestigious Shangri-La and Ritz-Carlton in Asia among others. He also happens to be an alumnus of our very own EHL, having graduated with honors in 2002.

Service quality as a differentiator

When asked what the words "service quality" mean to him, Leuenberger explains that service quality is what sets luxury hotel operators apart from others. With guest expectations at the center of this endeavor, it may be tempting to define how this should look in practice by means of standards.

Leuenberger, however, adopts a more holistic approach, defining service quality by its outcome: customer satisfaction. When a hotel's staff's day-to-day actions are oriented toward this outcome, service quality ensues as a matter of course.

Steadfast tradition in changing times

It goes without saying that consumer demands are ever evolving and technology has the odd disruption up its sleeve. A challenging set of circumstances for the hospitality industry. How does the GM work with this? He sees technology developments both as a shift to keep pace with and as an enabling factor. A tool with which to connect to staff and facilitate their work, leveraging the potential of Instagram or Facebook, for example, and using the hotel's own apps. This backdrop provides the hotelier with a strategic opportunity to refocus on where service quality should be felt and where it has changed.

While Leuenberger recognizes that guests expect fast Wi-Fi, for instance, he consciously chooses not to overload his guests with technology, emphasizing that the hotel's traditional charm is one of the key factors that attracts guests in the first place. As a vivid example, he explains how guests will come into the lobby for the pure pleasure of hot chocolate that is still made the way it always used to be. Hot chocolate done right. That's the kind of quality people are looking for.

Being a standalone hotel gives Badrutt's Palace a certain nimble agility to react to the times and continue to meet these quality expectations. So when his staff identify a way to improve the customer journey or enhance a guest's stay, they can execute it without getting tied up in hierarchical approval processes. And they do so using technology to its best advantage.

Maintaining a broad perspective

Leuenberger explains that suitable benchmarks are essential in successfully balancing tradition with innovation. He recommends comparing one's own establishment with other players in the industry, always ensuring you set your benchmark high, and being careful not to succumb to the temptation of comparing your current hotel to one you've helped shape before.

Employee engagement is half the battle

Alongside the undeniable draw of working at a hotel that was the world's first winter resort, where service excellence is simply part of the DNA, Leuenberger credits this constructive approach to technology with keeping employee engagement high. He believes that acknowledging that people have changed and that smartphones are omnipresent is key. The way we go through our days has changed. So, too, a hotel must change the way it communicates, the kinds of events it organizes for its staff, and what it focusses on in its daily briefings.

Building on employee engagement, nurturing a culture of excellence sets the tone for service quality, ensuring the required momentum is maintained throughout operations:

"If you have a culture of excellence, a lot of the service quality issues become redundant. It's just basics, right?"

Universal truths

How, then, to instill a "culture" of excellence across cultures? Across national borders? Leuenberger encourages us to focus on universal truths, such as: "When it comes to providing a luxury level of service, people are very sensitive to what's worth the most to them, and it's their time." He evaluates service provision from the guest perspective, asking himself whether that level is being reached.

Leuenberger considers the prevalent importance of the Three Steps of Service as formulated by the Ritz-Carlton to be another universal truth:

"A warm and sincere greeting.

Use the guest's name. Anticipation and fulfillment of each guest's needs.

Fond farewell. Give a warm good-bye and use the guest's name."

Let culture do the talking

When looking to run a hotel abroad, naturally, our interviewee recommends understanding what is relevant to the respective country and its citizens. He also believes, however, that hiring the right people, people who embody your corporate culture of excellence, will solve this issue for you, as they will want to achieve that excellence, automatically incorporating local relevance.

And at the end of the day, who knows? Perhaps the challenges of opening up shop on new continents will be overshadowed in the future by the dawn of space tourism? With experimentation being a sign of our times, we'd be well advised to heed Leuenberger's wisdom.
(Natural News) Could the White House soon be occupied by a power-hungry authoritarian that will not hesitate to use the full power of the presidency to absolutely crush political enemies? And no, I am not talking about Joe Biden. There are certainly a whole lot of negative things that you can say about Joe Biden, but I wouldnt call him an authoritarian. In part one of this series, I called him a creepy old man that likes to sniff hair and rub up against people at awkward moments, and at this point everyone can see that he is in an advanced state of decline. In fact, one recent survey found that 59 percent of likely voters do not believe that he will even finish a single term in the White House

(Article by Michael Snyder republished from EndOfTheAmericanDream.com)

In another illustration of how many Americans are concerned about Joe Bidens advancing age and declining mental faculties, a new Rasmussen poll has found that 59 percent of likely voters dont believe hell finish a 4 year term in the White House. Broken down along party lines, 74 percent of Republicans believe Biden wont make it through his first term while 49 percent of Democrats agree.

Of course that survey question assumed that Biden will make it to election day, and there is absolutely no guarantee that will actually happen considering how rapidly he is deteriorating.

In any event, it appears that Kamala Harris will take over for Biden at some point, and that should deeply alarm all of us.

There are some people that get into politics because they truly want to serve the American people, and there are others that get into politics for the fame and the power. Tom Del Beccaro actually ran against Kamala Harris in California, and he assures us that she is squarely in the latter category

For Harris, politics is a game of ambition not something of substance. She is not a policy person. Her convictions arent with respect to the issues; they are with respect to power and the limelight.

And once she gets her hands on power, she is not afraid to abuse it.

During her time as attorney general of California, she ruthlessly went after pro-life activist David Daleiden. You may remember that Daleiden had filmed numerous undercover videos in which Planned Parenthood employees admitted that they make huge profits from the sale of tissue from aborted fetuses, and that upset Harris so greatly that she sent a team of heavily armed agents to his home to seize all of his footage

Daleiden, the founder of the pro-life Center for Medical Progress and a self-described citizen journalist, made headlines last summer with a series of sting videos purporting to show Planned Parenthood clinic employees discussing the illegal sale of tissue from aborted fetuses. The videos prompted a congressional investigation and an attempt by GOP lawmakers to defund Planned Parenthood. The womens health provider also sued the Center for Medical Progress, claiming the videos were deceptively edited.

Throughout her tenure, Harris seemed to think that the solution to just about any problem was to throw someone in jail. In fact, at one point she even supported a bill which would have put parents of truant children in prison

Harris was also fond of overcriminalization. She supported legislation that would jail the parents of truant children. She strongly opposed criminal justice reform measures throughout her tenure in California. She also supported the Golden States unconstitutional law muzzling crisis pregnancy centers, which the Supreme Court struck down last year as a clear violation of the First Amendment and an attempt to criminalize the moral and political viewpoints of others.

During the Democratic debates, Tulsi Gabbard used her record to attack Harris repeatedly.

In one very memorable moment, Gabbard pointed out that Harris put more than 1,500 people in prison for marijuana violations even though Harris basically admitted that she had used marijuana herself

I want to bring the conversation back to the broken criminal justice system that is disproportionately negatively impacting black and brown people all across this country today. Now Senator Harris says shes proud of her record as a prosecutor and that shell be a prosecutor president. But Im deeply concerned about this record. There are too many examples to cite but she put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations and then laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana. She blocked evidence  she blocked evidence that would have freed an innocent man from death row until the courts forced her to do so. She kept people in prison beyond their sentences to use them as cheap labor for the state of California.

I dont know about you, but that certainly does not sound like someone that I want in the White House.

And when she was running for president, Harris actually mocked Biden when he suggested that her plan to impose nationwide gun control via executive order would not be constitutional

Last year, Senator Kamala Harris may have become the first presidential candidate in history to laugh derisively at the idea that the Constitution limits what a president can do. When former Vice President Joe Biden said that her plan for gun control by executive fiat didnt pass constitutional muster, she scoffed and deployed one of her canned one-liners, I would just say, Hey, Joe, instead of saying no we cant, lets say yes we can!

As bad as Hillary Clinton was, she never proposed using an executive order to institute a nationwide gun grab.

If Harris really does become president, I anticipate that there will actually be discussion in some red states about the possibility of declaring independence from the federal government.

Yes, I do think that things could really get that bad.

As our society continues to literally come apart at the seams, one of the last things that we need is a power-hungry authoritarian in the White House.

I dont understand why Joe Biden would make such a choice, and if he wins in November we are going to be stuck with her.

Having Kamala Harris just one heartbeat away from the presidency is truly a nightmare scenario, because Joe Bidens health would be the only thing standing in the way of a reign of terror unlike anything America has ever seen before.

Read more at: EndOfTheAmericanDream.com and VoteDemocrat.news.
Moscow resident detained in bride murder case

 flickr.com/ Francisco Osorio

10:56 13/08/2020

MOSCOW, August 13 (RAPSI)  Moscows Basmanny District Court has detained Muscovite Alexander Voronin charged with killing his bride shortly before their wedding, the Investigative Committees press service has told RAPSI.

In late July, the body of the killed local woman Marina Pankratova was found in a flat in central Moscow. Her boyfriend escaped and became the main suspect in the murder. Reportedly, the couple prepared for the wedding.

Investigation is underway. If convicted, Voronin could face up to 15 years in prison.




With the deadline looming to register kids to return to school  or opt for remote learning  parents across the GTA say they are being forced to make critical decisions about their childrens educational future without sufficient information around class sizes, safety protocols, and what online learning will actually look like.

For the public school boards in Toronto, Peel and Halton, the deadline to register a decision is next Monday, while York Region District School Boards deadline is this Friday. Parents with children in the Durham District School Board submitted their decisions earlier this week.

But the process, particularly for parents in the Toronto District School Board, has been fraught with chaos, confusion and mounting anger at how the registration is being rolled out.

With the Ford governments plan to reopen schools in September, but doing little to limit class sizes, school boards across the province have been faced with the difficult task of giving parents direction and options without all the details at hand.

Schools across Ontario shut down after March break and switched to online learning after the province declared a state of emergency over the COVID-19 pandemic.

We are worried sick about what we are going to do, said Karen Leiva, whose son is supposed to go into senior kindergarten in September, but her husband is a transplant recipient and at high-risk for COVID-19. He cant go back to a regular class, its too much risk. And at the moment, they are asking us to make decisions based on little to no information.

Its so chaotic, its confusing, and frankly, its so incredibly disappointing. Parents are so stressed out.

Unlike most other school boards which have sent out a survey for families to fill out, the TDSB first opted for a robocall, saying it was the quickest way to reach families and process their choices. The robocall consisted of asking families to choose between two options for their return.

But the choices were not what people expected.

They added in an option that has confused everybody, said Toronto mom Jennifer Bain. Its not just a matter of picking in-school or remote, but what they did out of nowhere is ... they added in a theoretical question of, would you return if there is a school day with smaller classes? So people who are not following this closely now think there are smaller classes, and are terrified they made the wrong choice if they chose A over B.

They should have explained why that weird question even showed up, said Bain.

Ryan Bird, a spokesman for the TDSB, said the survey contained a series of options because trustees passed a motion at the last board meeting urging the province to provide additional funding for smaller class sizes.

We do understand its not as clear cut as a yes or no, but being able to know that piece of information is very important ... so that we were ready should we receive funding from the ministry, he said.

On Wednesday, the TDSB and trustees publicly acknowledged the confusion around the pre-registration process and asked for patience in a Q&A sent out to families.

We want to sincerely thank you for your patience and understanding, the email states. This is a complex process  one that has never been undertaken in the TDSBs history  but one that staff are committed to working with families to complete.

But parents say instead of providing clarity, the Q&A document has made it worse.

Others say the questions on the call were so poorly worded, that there was confusion among parents as to what they had even opted for.

The first question didnt explain there was another question coming, said Leiva. Once we got off the phone, both my husband and I were like What just happened? Leiva said she felt compelled to send an email right after to the school principal, and trustee to make sure her selection was clarified.

She said even with the clarification on the Q&A document, its still unclear.

According to the TDSB clarification, if you say no to coming back to school, but yes to a smaller class option, you will be put into remote learning. But if you said yes to both options, you will attend school with regular class sizes.

It is such bad communication, its awful, said Bain. She said she wont make any decisions about her daughter entering Grade 7 until all her questions are answered in person.

I have at least 10 questions that have not been addressed anywhere, and I need answered before I can make my decision, said Bain. They include things like how middle school class rotations will work, and what remote learning will actually look like.

One of the concerns parents raised was around the pre-registration itself: Theres a whole confusion over whether this is a survey that has no consequences or if this is a registration that is irrevocable, she said.

According to the TDSB Q&A, the robocall is the actual registration. However, if people dont respond they will be emailed an online form, and as a last resort, they will receive a call from their home school about their intentions.

Bird acknowledges that things have not been perfect.

We recognize we dont have all the answers and that is frustrating for everyone involved, he said. But we are trying to get the information out as soon as we can. Unfortunately, we are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

He said there is some flexibility if parents change their minds prior to the start of the school year. After the week of Aug. 24, requests for change will have to be made directly with schools.

Some boards are already seeing the result of all the confusion play out. In Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, which has approximately 81,000 students, 25 to 30 per cent of parents in elementary and secondary schools have indicated a preference for online learning, according to board spokesperson Bruce Campbell.

OISE professor and former Deputy Minister of Education Charles Pascal said what is unfortunate is that the chaos could have all been prevented with a little foresight on the part of the government.

There is so little time to deal properly with confusing local options for parental decisions, said Pascal.

The letter sent to parents of TDSB was not helpful, but thats what happens when a well-intentioned board is put into a pressure-cooker by the minister, he said, adding that delaying the start of school for a month would help sort out some of the confusion.

But for Kathryn Dunmore, who recently became a guardian for her 7-year old nephew, she said she has few options but to send him back to school.

Its quite scary, said Dunmore, who lives in Oakville, and has no other child care options available. As a parent, you can take all the precautions and prepare your kids ... but what else can you do?

She said her biggest concern is the same as for all parents: Am I making the right choice for my family?

Whether you are putting them out there, or keeping them home, either way, its an added stress on us, she said. And both decisions are not easy.
Michael Cohen published a first look at his book about Donald Trump on Thursday, revealing several bombshell claims, including that he witnessed a 'golden showers' incident.

In the peek at his memoir 'Disloyal,' Cohen reveals the 'mob boss' mentality of the president in his foreword, which he titled 'THE REAL REAL DONALD TRUMP.'

'Apart from his wife and children, I knew Trump better than anyone else did,' Cohen wrote, claiming he was the one who pushed him to run for president in 2011 and 2015.

'In some ways, I knew him better than even his family did because I bore witness to the real man, in strip clubs, shady business meetings, and in the unguarded moments when he revealed who he really was: a cheat, a liar, a fraud, a bully, a racist, a predator, a con man,' he revealed.

But he also refers to Trump as someone he knew intimately well.

He recalls driving south from New York to testify against the 'real real Donald Trump' in 2019.

'Not the billionaire celebrity savior of the country or lying lunatic, not the tabloid tycoon or self-anointed Chosen One, not the avatar @realdonaldtrump of Twitter fame, but the real real Donald Trumpthe man very, very, very few people know,' the book reads.

In the first part of his book, which was published to DisloyalTheBook.com on Thursday afternoon, Cohen claimed that Trump has 'no real friends.'

'He has no one he trusts to keep his secrets,' he continued. 'For ten years, he certainly had me, and I was always there for him, and look what happened to me.'

The book also includes a flurry of admissions from Cohen, some of which he already pleaded guilty to and was given a three-year prison sentence for.

'I stiffed contractors on his behalf, ripped off his business partners, lied to his wife Melania to hide his sexual infidelities, and bullied and screamed at anyone who threatened Trump's path to power,' Cohen admitted.

Michael Cohen released the forward of his upcoming book 'Disloyal,' about his longtime friendship with Donald Trump where he claimed he witnessed the 'golden showers' incident and helped Trump commit tax fraud, create a secret back channel to Vladimir Putin and lie to Melania

'Coming Soon,' the president's former fixer and personal attorney wrote in a tweet along with an image of the cover

Cohen previewed the cover of his upcoming book 'Disloyal' on Twitter Thursday morning

COHEN ON.... What he knows: I know where the skeletons are buried because I was the one who buried them. How Trump works: Trump's theory of life, business and politics revolved around threats and the prospect of destructionfinancial, electoral, personal, physicalas a weapon. Who he was for Trump: I was one of Trump's bad guys. In his world, I was one hundred percent a made man. What Trump made him: An acolyte obsessed with Donald J. Trump, a demented follower willing to do anything for him, including, as I vowed once to a reporter, to take a bullet. How Cohen knows what he writes: I knew him better than even his family did because I bore witness to the real man, in strip clubs, shady business meetings, and in the unguarded moments when he revealed who he really was: a cheat, a liar, a fraud, a bully, a racist, a predator, a con man. What Trump offers his fans: ...an intoxicating cocktail of power, strength, celebrity, and a complete disregard for the rules and realities that govern our lives. The inner Donald Trump: ...he has a million acquaintances, pals and hangers on, but no real friends. He has no one he trusts to keep his secrets. How Trump instructs his aides: Like a mob boss, using language carefully calibrated to convey his desires and demands, while at the same time employing deliberate indirection to insulate himself and avoid actually ordering a hit. What will happen to Trump: I'm certain that Trump knows he will face prison time if he leaves office Why Trump wants to be 'leader for life': Whoever follows Trump into the White House, if the President doesn't manage to make himself the leader for life, as he has started to joke aboutand Trump never actually jokes- will discover a tangle of frauds and scams and lawlessness Advertisement

'From golden showers in a sex club in Vegas, to tax fraud, to deals with corrupt officials from the former Soviet Union, to catch and kill conspiracies to silence Trump's clandestine lovers, I wasn't just a witness to the president's riseI was an active and eager participant,' he wrote.

The mention of him witnessing golden showers brings a reminder to the Steele Dossier, which claims Russian President Vladimir Putin has blackmail on Trump from the time he was in Moscow for the Miss Universe pageant in 2013 and allegedly watched prostitutes urinate on a bed because it had been slept in by the Obama. Trump has denied the claim repeatedly.

However Cohen says the golden showers incident was in Las Vegas - suggesting he might be referring to a trip with Trump to a club there called The Act whose repertoire included stimulated urination by performers on stage. Trump did a deal at the club to take his Miss Universe competition to Moscow, a previous book by investigative journalists revealed.

Cohen, 53, previewed earlier in the day the cover image and title of his upcoming memoir 'Disloyal: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump,' along with a teaser, 'Coming Soon' in the text of the tweet.

The foreword, however, hints at a series of bombshell in the book.

Cohen says: 'Trump had colluded with the Russians, but not in the sophisticated ways imagined by his detractors.

'I also knew that the [Robert] Mueller investigation was not a witch-hunt. Trump had cheated in the election, with Russian connivance, as you will discover in these pages, because doing anything -and I mean anything - to 'win' has always been his business model and way of life.'

He says Trump tried to 'insinuate' himself into Putin's world and his 'coterie of corrupt billionaire oligarchs.'

'I know because I personally ran that deal and kept Trump and his children closely informed of all updates, even as the candidate blatantly lied to the American people saying, 'there's no Russian collusion, I have no dealings with Russia... there's no Russia.'

Cohen makes clear that he speaks from a position of knowledge saying that for 10 years, he was Trump's last call at night and first in the morning, and he was 'in and out' of Trump's office '50 times a day.'

'Our cell phones had the same address books, our contacts so entwined, overlapping and intimate that part of my job was to deal with the endless queries and requests, however large or small, from Trump's countless rich and famous acquaintances,' he writes.

'I called any and all of the people he spoke to, most often on his behalf as his attorney and emissary, and everyone knew that when I spoke to them, it was as good as if they were talking directly to Trump.'

Ominously, he writes: 'I know where the skeletons are buried because I was the one who buried them.'

He describes himself as having been 'at the center of Trump's innermost circle' and that his 'boss' had come to his son's bar mitzvah and told him: 'You're family.'

'I f***ing believed him,' he writes.

Cohen tells how he feared he would be killed by Trump's supporters when he gave evidence to Congress after flipping and co-operating with Mueller.

'The President of the United States wanted me dead,' he writes - saying that he knew that Trump was like a 'mob boss' who would never directly order a hit but instead spoke in a way 'carefully calibrated to convey his desires and demands.'

'I knew how he worked because I had frequently been the one screaming threats on his behalf as Trump's fixer and designated thug.

'The President called me a rat and tweeted angry accusations at me, as well as my family.'

He says he received 'hundreds' of death threats on his cell phone, his email and even in the mail.

'I was exactly the person Trump was talking about when he said he could shoot and kill someone on 5th Avenue and get away with it,' he writes.

'If that sounds overly dramatic, consider the powers Trump possessed and imagine how you might feel if he threatened you personally,' Cohen added.

'The notion that I was being followed or stalked may have seemed crazy; but it was also perfectly logical. I wasn't just famousI was perhaps the most infamous person in the country at the time, seen by millions upon millions as a traitor.

'He also possessed a cult-like hold over his supporters, some of them demonstrably unhinged and willing to do anything to please or protect the President.

'I knew how committed these fanatics were because I'd been one of them: an acolyte obsessed with Donald J. Trump, a demented follower willing to do anything for him, including, as I vowed once to a reporter, to take a bullet.'

Cohen makes clear he wrote the foreword while in prison, putting at the end of it 'Otisville, New York..

But he says he is convinced that Trump knows he will follow him to prison, calling it 'the inevitable cold Karma to the notorious chants of 'Lock Her Up!''

In fact, he says, he believes Trump wants to avoid jail by becoming leader for life, saying he has 'joked about it' and adding: 'Trump never jokes.'

Cohen hints at a semi-sympathetic view of a tortured inner Trump, lost, alone, and without the people he really needs: another Roy Cohn, the pitbull Mafia lawyer of his youth, or, Cohen says - with no self-effacement - Cohen himself.

'Watching Trump on the evening news in the prison rec room, I almost feel sorry for him,' he writes.

'I know him so well and I know his facial tics and tells; I see the cornered look in his eyes as he flails and rants and raves, searching for a protector and advocate, someone willing to fight dirty and destroy his enemies.'

He names AG Bill Barr - who tried to block the book by gagging, then jailing, Cohen - Jared Kushner, Rudy Giuliani and Mike Pompeo as 'new wannabe fixers, sycophants willing to distort the truth and break the law in the service of the Boss.'

The memoir, however, does not come without Cohen owning up to his own actions.

Secret back channel: Michael Cohen says Trump ordered him to find a conduit to the Russian president Vladimir Putin

I lied to Melania: Michael Cohen says he told Trump's wife lies to cover up her husband's infidelities

TRUMP'S NIGHTMARE SUMMER READS Michael Cohen's book - planned for 'late September' comes amid a flurry of books - some of which Trump and his aides have tried to stop - about the president. They include: The Room Where It Happened Both the White House and the Department of Justice tried to gag the former national security advisor's bombshell account which told how Trump begged China's President Xi to help him win the election - and thought Finland was part of Russia Too Much And Never Enough Mary Trump, the president's niece, has become a number one bestseller with her devastating account of her uncle, calling him a sociopath and narcissist and Frankenstein's monster, a victim of a loveless childhood, called a 'clown' and a 'fool' by his own sister and willing to ogle his own niece. His family failed to gag her - and she also revealed how he and Ivana gave cheap Christmas gifts. Rage Bob Woodward, the legendary investigative journalist, will publish his second book on Trump in September. It will include 25 'love letters' between the president and Kim Jong Un with the North Korean dictator calling their relationship something from 'a fantasy film.' Trump has been interviewed by Woodward for the book. Advertisement

'I made choices along the wayterrible, heartless, stupid, cruel, dishonest, destructive choices, but they were mine and constituted my reality and life,' he wrote.

He says he lost touch with his siblings, became obsessed by money, desperate 'to inhabit the world from the vantage point of private jets and billion-dollar deals, and I was willing to do whatever it took to get there.'

He admits to 'ego, short temper, and willingness to deceive' - but says that his account will allow people to see inside Trump's world.

'It's only gangster who can reveal the secrets of organized crime,' he says of Trump's world, calling himself 'one hundred per cent a made man.'

Cohen goes on to criticize himself and the GOP for 'grovelling at Trump's feet'.

'I recognized the childish games, replete with a Trump-like slogan, because I had played them myself. In the pitiful sight of Republicans throwing aside their dignity and duty in an effort to grovel at Trump's feet, I saw myself and understood their motives.

He adds that he had an 'insatiable desire' to appease the president.

'My insatiable desire to please Trump to gain power for myself, the fatal flaw that led to my ruination, was a Faustian bargain: I would do anything to accumulate, wield, maintain, exert, exploit power.

'In this way, Donald Trump and I were the most alike; in this naked lust for power, the President and I were soul mates. I was so vulnerable to his magnetic force because he offered an intoxicating cocktail of power, strength, celebrity, and a complete disregard for the rules and realities that govern our lives.

'To Trump, life was a game and all that mattered was winning. In these dangerous days, I see the Republican Party and Trump's followers threatening the constitutionwhich is in far greater peril than is commonly understoodand following one of the worst impulses of humankind: the desire for power at all costs.'

He said that in the weeks before giving evidence against Trump, he even considered killing himself.

'The time to testify nearing, I asked the sergeant-at-arms for a few minutes of privacy and the room was cleared.

'Sitting alone, my thoughts and heart racing, I had the first panic attack of my life. I struggled to breathe and stand.

'The pressure was too much; I had contemplated suicide in recent weeks, as a way to escape the unrelenting insanity.

'Reaching for a seat, I started to cry, a flood of emotions overwhelming me: fear, anger, dread, anxiety, relief, terror.

'It felt something like when I was in the hospital awaiting the birth of my daughter and son, with so many powerful and unprecedented emotions welling up in anticipation.

'Only now I was that child being born and all of the pain and blood were part of the birth of my new life and identity.'

He also pleaded that the country doesn't make the same mistakes by supporting the president and warned he doesn't believe Trump would leave peacefully in the 2020 election.

'To those who support the President and his rhetoric, as I once did, I pray the country doesn't make the same mistakes as I have made or pay the heavy price that my family and I are paying.

'Given my experience working for Mr. Trump, I fear that if he loses the election in 2020 that there will never be a peaceful transition of power.'

The revelation of some of the book's contents came after a federal court ruled against what a judge said was Attorney General Bill Barr's attempt to stop Cohen from publishing the tell-all.

Cohen recalled his experience at his Oversight Hearing.

'Representative Elijah Cummings had the final word, as chair of the Oversight Committee. I sat in silence, listening to this now deceased man with decades of experience in the civil rights movement and other forms of public service, who as a lawyer had represented disgraced lawyers like me.

'He understood that even the least of us deserve the opportunity to seek penance, redemption and a second chance in life.

'Cummings was the lone politician I encountered in all my travails who took an interest in me as a human being. When I reported to serve my sentence, he even took steps to ensure my security in prison. It was a selfless act of kindness for which I will always be grateful.

'"I know this has been hard",' Cummings said to me and the nation, his words hitting me like a kick in the gut.

'"I know you've faced a lot. I know that you are worried about your family. But this is a part of your destiny. And hopefully this portion of your destiny will lead to a better Michael Cohen, a better Donald Trump, a better United States of America, and a better world. And I mean that from the depths of my heart".'

'Representative Cummings concluded by saying, "We are better than this".'

The U.S. government made an agreement with federal prosecutors at the end of July to abandon its efforts to impose a gag order on Cohen as he prepares to release his book critical of his former boss.

Cohen was released from prison in May 2020 amid concerns over coronavirus after he served one year of his three-year sentence for pleading guilty to campaign finance violations and lying to Congress.

He returned to prison in early July after tweeting about planning to publish a book alleging Trump used racial slurs against former President Barack Obama and former South Africa President Nelson Mandela.

'Favorable ruling yesterday by the Court as I am close to completion of my book' Cohen wrote of Trump's niece Mary Trump being able to publish her critical book about her uncle.

'...anticipated release date will be late September.' Cohen wrote in another tweet.

A week after the president's former fix-it man and personal attorney was released from prison for the second time, where he spent two weeks after refusing to cease speaking to the media, the ruling came in that he could speak with the media and publish his memoir.

The tweet of him touting his new book Thursday is the first time he has posted since being released from prison.

Cohen was released from prison in late July after being ordered to return after tweeting and talking about how his upcoming book will reveal Trump's racist comments toward former President Barack Obama and Nelson Mandela

The court ruled against Attorney General Bill Barr, who Cohen sued, for trying to issue a gag order against him and sending him back to prison after his May released. The judge argued the move was in violation of Cohen's First Amendment Rights

Cohen was thrown back into prison one week after tweeting that he would release his tell-all book ahead of the November presidential election and claiming it was a 'favorable ruling' that Trump's niece Mary Trump was permitted to publish her own tell all

Cohen sued U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr and federal prison officials during his second stint, claiming he was ordered back because of the book.

U.S. Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein ordered he be released at the end of last month, saying the government's action was retaliatory and a violation of his First Amendment rights.

Cohen intentionally revealed that the book would be coming out ahead of the November elections.

His will join a list of other pre-Election Day books aimed at ousting Trump, including Bob Woodward's 'Fear: The Trump White House,' Mary Trump's 'Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man,' and former National Security Advisor John Bolton's 'The Room Where It Happened.'

Both Mary and Bolton also faced lawsuits from Trump's administration trying to stop their publication, but ultimately the court ruled it was lawful for them to go ahead with releasing their respective memoirs.

Michael Cohen claims Donald Trump 'wants to be a leader for life to avoid prison' and insists there are more 'scandals' to emerge from the White House with 'greater levels of treachery and deceit'

Michael Cohen has claimed that Donald Trump wants to be 'leader for life' in order to avoid prison time and says recent scandals faced by the president's administration are only the 'tip of the iceberg' in bombshell new book.

The foreword of Cohen's book Disloyal, which he titled THE REAL REAL DONALD TRUMP, was published to DisloyalTheBook.com on Thursday afternoon.

Cohen, who wrote the foreword while behind bars in Otisville, New York, said: 'As the months passed by and I thought about the man I knew so well, I became even more convinced that Trump will never leave office peacefully.

'The types of scandals that have surfaced in recent months will only continue to emerge with greater and greater levels of treachery and deceit. If Trump wins another four years, these scandals will prove to only be the tip of the iceberg.'

Cohen said he's convinced that Trump knows he will follow him to prison, calling it 'the inevitable cold Karma to the notorious chants of 'Lock Her Up!''

'But that is the Trump I know in a nutshell. He projects his own sins and crimes onto others, partly to distract and confuse but mostly because he thinks everyone is as corrupt and shameless and ruthless as he is; a poisonous mindset I know all too well.

'Whoever follows Trump into the White House, if the President doesn't manage to make himself the leader for life, as he has started to joke aboutand Trump never actually jokes- will discover a tangle of frauds and scams and lawlessness.'
TEL AVIV/GAZA Israel said on Thursday it would stop shipments of fuel into Gaza in response to Palestinians in the enclave launching incendiary balloons that have torched tracts of farmland on the Israeli frontier.

Palestinians in Islamist Hamas-ruled Gaza have launched dozens of helium balloons laden with incendiary material in recent days to pressure Israel to ease its blockade of the territory.

Fuel shipments were stopped in light of the continued launching of incendiary balloons from the Strip toward (Israel) and of the undermining of security stability," a defence ministry statement said.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum called the measure a grave act of aggression" that would deepen Gazas economic hardship.

The halt in fuel shipments could shut down Gazas sole power plant and lead to further electricity cuts, said Mohammad Thabet, an official with Gazas main power distribution company.

Gaza relies on Israel for most of its energy needs. Its population of two million currently receives around six hours of electricity followed by a 10 hour power cut.

Overnight, Israeli warplanes and tanks struck what the military said were Hamas facilities, calling it a response to the balloons. Israel had earlier shut down Gazas main commercial crossing and reduced the area where it permits Palestinians to fish.

In Gaza City, a school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was damaged by one of the strikes, Gazas interior ministry said.

The school was empty at the time and there were no reports of casualties. Apparently the device did not explode," an UNRWA statement said.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said the report was being checked.

Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since 2008 and have traded blows in the past few years. Citing security concerns, Israel keeps tight control of its border crossings with Gaza and imposes a naval blockade.

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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Aside from providing reliable performance, Nissan has a knack for making their vehicles more entertaining.

It was December last year when Nissan in the Philippines turned their LEAF EV into a roving Christmas tree, by putting thousands of LED lights and turned it into a glowing, traveling Christmas tree.

And now while Filipinos are urged to stay at home, the local arm of the Japanese marque lifts our spirits up by collaborating with local songwriters, this time, with a Nissan X-Trail.

This joint effort with Barbie Almalbis and Zsaris used the Nissan X-Trails soundthe car door, seats and turn signals, as well as the sound activations of the Nissan Intelligent Mobility (NIM) features like the rear cross traffic alert, lane departure warning, blind spot warning, and moving object detectionto help Zsaris create her own rendition of Barbies hit single, Money For Food

nissan x trail

The NIM features are some of the key considerations why Nissan vehicles are among the highly-considered models in the local automotive scene in terms of safety and innovation.

Almalbis, who has been around the performing arts industry for some time already, expressed her elation over the project.

This is definitely one of the most unique musical projects Ive ever worked on, she said.

I never imagined that someone could make music with a vehicle, but by discovering more about the Nissan X-Trail and Nissan Intelligent Mobility, I realized that it is indeed possible."

"This project really showed me how versatile this vehicle could be  not only as a great ride, but also as a surprising musical instrument! This was a great way for Zsaris and I to explore our art, and we hope that this would inspire everyone to stay creative while staying safe at home.

Meanwhile Zsaris shared the same sentiments as Almalbis.

This is the epitome of a creative challenge  when I first heard about this project, recreating such an iconic song using the sounds of the Nissan X-Trail and Nissan Intelligent Mobility features, I was stunned, Zsaris claimed.

Story continues

But actually it forced me to think outside the box while being at home and was a new experience that gave me the opportunity to find creativity anywhere, at anytime, from anything! And also having the opportunity to work virtually with Barbie.

nissan x trail

Meanwhile, the Japanese carmakers local wing reminded everyone to keep the creativity alive while staying indoors.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge for all of us. But we must remember that even if were staying safe at home, we can still exercise our creativity. We are so happy to bring creativity to life at this time and collaborated with such talented artists like Barbie Almalbis and Zsaris, to recreate a famous Filipino song with the Nissan X-Trail, Nissan Philippines President and Managing Director Atsushi Najima said.

As the first vehicle in the Philippines to carry Nissan Intelligent Mobility, the Nissan X-Trail features a unique array of sounds that helps create a safe and secure experience for both drivers and passengers. The Nissan X-Trail is truly a vehicle that inspires creativity and passion. It promises a smooth, comfortable, and intelligent drive that is capable of handling any challenge it faces."

"The nature of the Nissan X-Trail, and this creative endeavor, is a true example of how we at Nissan are able to create bold innovations even in tough situations, he added.

For more information about Nissan X-Trail X-hale, visit Nissan Philippiness official Facebook page.

Photos from Nissan in the Philippines

Also read:

Nissan tackles COVID-19 challenges from different fronts

Nissan PH premiers virtual showroom for Asia & Oceania region

Magical, Mystical journey: Nissan 'Go Anywhere' Drive to Siquijor
Benchmark indices ended lower for the second straight session amid record surge in coronavirus cases and mixed global cues. Gains in consumer durables and capital goods stocks were offset by a fall in pharma and financial stocks. Sensex ended 59 points lower at 38,310 and Nifty lost 7 points to 11,300.

Investors turned cautious ahead of the release of CPI data. Yesterday, Sensex ended 37 points lower at 38,369 and NSE Nifty 50 closed 14 points lower at 11,308.

Kotak Bank, Cipla, Sun Pharma, Britannia and Dr Reddy's were among the laggards today on NSE, while HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, SBI, Eicher Motors and Tata Motors were among the top gainers.

While IT stocks were trading among the top gainers, pharma scrips led the selling pressure in today's session. Gains in IT, auto, realty, media and metals were capped by losses in pharma, banking and financials.

Traders said gains were erased over worries of rising coronavirus cases. In India, coronavirus cases surpassed 23.95 lakh mark today, with total deaths standing at 0.47 lakh.

Global Markets

Earlier, domestic indices opened on a bullish note, although later erased gains with European markets opening in the red. European indices started lower today as investors were concerned over the fading possibility of economic recovery from the pandemic.

Asian markets were trading positive tracking overnight gains in the US supported by technology stocks. Wall Street closed higher amid signs of slowing down in coronavirus spread and better economic data. Traders shrugged off uncertainty over a second coronavirus stimulus bill after the Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the White House is open to resuming coronavirus aid talks with Democrats.

As per analysts, equities worldwide have turned muted as investors remained wary over the uncertainty regarding the fresh US economic relief and worsening coronavirus crisis on a global scale. Globally, there are 208 lakh confirmed cases and 7.47 lakh deaths from COVID-19 outbreak.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said,"Global cues were also mixed as Asian markets ended positively while European markets were trading in the negative. Uncertainty in global markets has emerged due to the doubtful US stimulus package and the impact of the US-China trade meeting over the weekend. Domestic stock valuation concerns and continuing high rate of virus infections impacted the Indian markets."

Valuation and outlook

As per Angel Broking, Nifty doesn't have enough strength to go beyond the sturdy wall of 11350-11400 as well. The index needs to break below 11238, which will result in some immediate correction towards 11125-11064.

Now, investors are keeping an eye over the US-China key trade talks scheduled on August 15, 2020. Breakthrough in the stalled US stimulus talks will decide the direction for equity markets.

Commenting on Nifty's near term technical outlook, Manish Hathiramani, proprietary index trader and technical analyst, Deen Dayal Investments said," The Nifty has resumed its up move after a brief pause yesterday. We should be heading to levels closer to 11500 during the course of this month's expiry. The support for the Nifty is at 11150 so a closing below that level could be kept as a stop for all long trades."

Meanwhile, April-June quarterly earnings announcements by Hero MotoCorp, Tata Steel, Eicher Motors, Grasim Industries, Godrej Industries, Prestige Estates will also set the tone for the stock market tomorrow.

Commenting over the near term outlook for equity markets, Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking said,"Markets have been hovering in a narrow range for the last four sessions and indications are in the favour of further surge. However, a lot would depend upon the outcome of the Supreme Court hearing on AGR case on Friday. We thus advise continuing with hedged trades, with the bias on the positive side."

Share Market Highlights: Sensex ends 59 points lower, Nifty at 11,300; Sun Pharma, ITC, HDFC Life top losers

Gold price falls for 4th day, trades above Rs 51K mark

InterGlobe Aviation share price rises 8% after Westbridge Capital buys 5.43% stake
For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME.

Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire.

Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III.





to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever.





Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation.





View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union.

Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history.

Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words.




Mayank Singh By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: While the Indian and Chinese soldiers are locked in a stand-off in Ladakh, the militaries of the two countries are likely to carry out a joint exercise in September in Russia.

An Army officer said, Russia has sent us an invitation for a multilateral exercise Kavkaz 2020 and the invitations have been sent to China and Pakistan too.

While India has confirmed its participation, the response of other participating countries is not yet known, added the officer.

Russia is holding a multinational exercise from 15 September to 26 September in its Astrakhan region and has invited all Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member countries and few other countries.

The militaries of 18 countries will partake in the exercise together.

About the theme of the exercise, It is based on a joint operation by friendly countries against an enemy which has taken over a part of Russia, told the officer.

India is sending a 178-member strong tri-services contingent, 140 Army personnel, and 38 officers from the Air Force and Navy. An Army Colonel rank officer will be leading the Indian Contingent.

The 18 countries include Russia, Iran, Egypt, Syria, Turkey, and the Central Asian Region countries.

The SCO is an eight-member economic and security bloc that India and Pakistan joined as full-time members back in 2017.

The founding members of this group include China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Joining the exercise in Russia will mark the beginning of international joint-exercises since the halt of training programs in view of COVID-19.

Prior to this exercise, Indian and Chinese marching contingents had participated in the 75th anniversary of Victory Day parade in Moscow in June.

Although Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe were there they did not meet.

Around 40,000 soldiers each of the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA has been locked in a tense standoff since the first week of May at the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh.

The standoff had turned violent on June 15 in which India lost 20 soldiers. The Chinese side had acknowledged their side of the casualties but did not make the figures public.
Jacqueline Jossa has voiced concerns that she is suffering from heatstroke.

Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, the actress, 27, bemoaned the sweltering UK heat - which saw temperatures rise to 34 degrees Celsius - and stressed that she was finding the heat 'unbearable' and exhausting.

Heatstroke, also known as sun stroke, is a severe heat illness that results in a body temperature greater than 40 degrees Celsius and causes red skin, confusion, headaches and dizziness. The NHS suggest ringing an ambulance if suffering.

Stress: Jacqueline Jossa has voiced concerns that she is suffering from heatstroke

Jacqueline shared the selfie video, in which she looked into the camera and said: 'This weather is a killer I've had to come and sit inside. I've put clothes on because I've got a zoom call literally in 10 minutes...

'Had I not have had the zoom call I would be nacked. Continously, all day. It's just unbearable. I feel exhausted. I think I've got heat stroke or something. I'm just so hot. It's just too much.'

Heatstroke starts with heat exhaustion, which according to the NHS, is usually not considered as serious if you can cool down within half an hour.

If someone has heat exhaustion, they should be moved to a cool place, laid down with their feet slightly raised, hydrated with water and cooled down with a cold pack.

Pain: Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, the actress, 27, bemoaned the sweltering UK heat - which saw temperatures rise to 34 degrees Celsius - and stressed that she was finding the heat 'unbearable' and exhausting

'Call 999': After this however, heatstroke can set in, with the NHS writing: 'Call 999 if you or someone else have any signs of heatstroke'

Signs include a headache, loss of appetite, dizziness and confusion, excessive sweating and pale, clammy skin, cramps in the arms, legs and stomach and a temperature of 38C or above.

How does heat affect the body? Dehydration - drink plenty of water to ensure you replace water lost through sweating, urination and breathing Overheating - this is a problem for people with heart and breathing problems. Symptoms include headaches, nausea and tingling skin Exhaustion - this is when you start to lose water or salt from your body. Feeling faint, weak, or having muscle cramps are just some of the symptoms Heatstroke - once a body temperature reaches 40C or higher, heatstroke can set in. Indicators are similar to heat exhaustion but the person may lose consciousness and stop sweating Advertisement

After this however, heatstroke can set in, with the NHS writing: 'Call 999 if you or someone else have any signs of heatstroke...

'Heatstroke can be very serious if not treated quickly. Put the person in the recovery position if they lose consciousness while you're waiting for help'.

Prior to her medical woes, Jacqueline enjoyed a family day with her husband Dan Osborne who has returned from a trip to Turkey where he underwent dental treatment and was showcasing his pearly whites.

The couple, who share daughters Ella, five, and Mia, two, appeared in good spirits as they bonded during the outing, with everyone larking around for the camera, while little Mia did her best impression of Scooby Doo.

Last week Dan left Jacqueline at home with their children in Essex while he whisked his mother and a friend off to the Anatolian peninsula for a three-person round of dental work.

Not only are they using Katie's dentist, they're also staying at the same resort she has just returned from, after breaking both her feet on holiday with her new boyfriend and two of her children.

Talking to his followers from the pool of the five-star Akra Hotel in Antalya, Dan said: 'I'm here getting a couple of my teeth done at the back

'My mum is getting so much work done and my mate Sam is getting a full set of gnashers and I bought them out to Dental Centre Turkey.

'The treatment is unbelievable. I'm more than happy with mine!'

New look: Prior to her medical woes, Jacqueline enjoyed a family day with her husband Dan Osborne who has returned from a trip to Turkey where he underwent dental treatment and was showcasing his pearly whites
SKIP BOLEN/NETFLIX

Maybe in the future, we'll define ourselves by Netflix eras: First came the coming-of-age (The Kissing Booth, To All the Boys I've Loved Before), then the cozy, kooky rom-coms (Someone Great, Always Be My Maybe). Now, in the summer of our discontent, we have action: Extraction, The Old Guard, Spenser Confidential. These are big, brutal movies for small screens, bloody and hectic and stacked with the kind of stars who don't "do" streaming: Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Wahlberg.

Project Power has all that, and an Oscar winner in Jamie Foxx. It also has a faintly ridiculous sci-fi concept (there's a pill, see, and it makes you wildly, unpredictably powerful for approximately five minutes). But it's a lot smarter than the trailer and the opening scenes get across  and surprisingly fun, too, in the way that movies like Lucy and Limitless are fun: the kind of loony, kinetic thriller that knows it's all just shenanigans, and leans in.

Unlike those movies, Power (out Aug. 14) springs from a far more diverse cast  the best part of which might be Dominique Fishback (The Deuce, The Hate U Give). As Robin, a shrewd but reluctant student with dreams of a rap career and a reality that involves dealing after school to support her ailing single mother, she's not the sort of girl to try her own merchandise; more the kind to find a useful friend in Frank (a game but vaguely miscast Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the local cop who serves as both her loyal customer and de facto bodyguard.

When he's not getting her out of street scrapes, he's busy trying to crack down on the new narcotic running through New Orleans: some kind of chem-lab mystery that looks like a tiny Edison bulb and appears to turn its users into something between the Hulk and randomized X-Men. With one dose, will you become a human flamethrower, or impervious to bullets? Nobody knows! But man, what a rush. (Frank likes to think of his own using as competitive edge; how else to keep up with a suspect who suddenly runs like a cheetah?)

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Enter Art (Foxx), a lone-wolf vigilante type who the authorities claim is the true force behind Power, though he seems as desperate to root out the real source as they are determined to protect it  and he knows enough, at least, to guess that Robin can help him get there. The contours of everything that follows will be more than familiar to anyone who's darkened the doors of a multiplex: the unlikely friendship between a grown mercenary and a precocious kid, the adrenalized chase scenes and breathless Big Government conspiracies, the certainty that good will triumph in the end.

But Foxx, still a movie star to his bones, imbues Art with both fierce purpose and breezy charisma; it would be tempting to call his signature acting mode "relaxed intensity," if that were thing. And Fishback's Robin feels more real than almost any other teenager in recent screen memory: funny and sullen and whip-smart, but also sensibly freaked out by the things that any other ordinary mortal would be. (The intermittent freestyles she drops  actually penned for the film by one of her onscreen classmates, Jane Chika Oranika, a.k.a. the rising Alabama MC Chika  are also shockingly great for "movie raps.")

Directing duo Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman (Catfish) fumble the setup a little early on with silly exposition, but they quickly find a groove with Mattson Tomlin's nimble, fast-moving script and work hard, too, to soak the movie in its multicultural setting, turning New Orleans into a sort of low-key secondary character. The pair benefits, no doubt, from lowered expectations; buzz for the next film by the guys who brought you Paranormal Activity 4 has been oddly muted so far. But for all the patently corny bits and some 17 attempts at an ending, Power still somehow makes it easy to suspend your disbelief and your imaginary degree in biochemistry, and just let it ride. B+

Related content:
OAK BROOK, Ill. - There was a higher incidence and severity of physical intimate partner violence (IPV) among patients seen at a large, academic medical center in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the prior three years, according to a new study published in Radiology.

"Our study showed a higher incidence of physical IPV, both in absolute numbers and proportion, with more severe injuries despite fewer patients reporting IPV," said Bharti Khurana, M.D., principal investigator and director of the Trauma Imaging Research and Innovation Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. "This indicates that victims are reporting to health care facilities in the late stages of the abuse cycle. Fear of contracting infection and closure of ambulatory sites might be preventing victims of mild physical or emotional abuse from seeking help compared to the pre-pandemic era."

Social distancing has proven to be effective for controlling the spread of coronavirus but with negative socioeconomic and psychological impacts. Service-oriented economies have seen increased unemployment and a higher incidence of substance and alcohol abuse and mental health disorders.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, reports of IPV have increased worldwide during mandatory "lockdowns" to curb the spread of the virus.

Dr. Khurana and colleagues set out to assess the incidence, pattern and severity of injuries related to IPV at Brigham and Women's Hospital during COVID-19 pandemic. The demographics, clinical presentation, injuries and radiological findings of patients reporting physical abuse arising from IPV between March 11 and May 3, 2020, were compared with the same period over the past three years.

Data from 26 physical IPV victims from 2020 (37+/-13 years, 25 women) were evaluated and compared with 42 physical IPV victims (41+/-15 years, 40 women) from 2017 to 2019. While the overall number of patients reporting IPV was lower, the incidence of physical IPV was 1.8 times greater during the pandemic. Five victims of severe abuse were identified in 2020 (5/26=19%) compared to one each of the previous years.

The total number of deep injuries (injuries to deep internal organs) was 28 during 2020 versus 16 from 2017 to 2019. The number of deep injuries per victim was 1.1 during 2020 compared with 0.4 from 2017 to 2019. The incidence of high-risk abuse defined by mechanism (injuries due to strangulation, stab injuries, burns or use of weapons such as knives, guns and other objects that could inflict deep injuries) was 2 times greater. Patients with IPV during the COVID-19 pandemic were more likely to be ethnically white. Seventeen (65%) victims in 2020 were white, compared to 11 (26%) in the prior years.

"During the pandemic, victims experienced more injuries to the chest and abdomen compared to prior years," said coauthor Babina Gosangi, M.D., assistant professor of radiology at Yale New Haven Health in New Haven, Connecticut, and former emergency radiology fellow at Brigham and Women's Hospital. "For instance, one victim sustained multiple bilateral rib fractures with right pneumothorax and bilateral lung contusions--requiring hospital admission for more than 10 days--after she was repeatedly punched in the chest. Another victim was stabbed in the abdomen and had lacerations to the liver and kidney."

It is challenging to help IPV victims in the time of the pandemic when health care providers are overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients. In addition, alternative options for IPV victims to seek help have decreased. Many ambulatory clinics are no longer seeing as many patients in person due to the virus and are instead pivoting their services to virtual consultation. Telehealth visits limit the opportunity to visualize bruises or other signs of physical trauma and hamper the ability of the health care provider to gather nonverbal cues.

It may also be difficult for victims who are at home to report IPV, and health care providers may be omitting IPV screening questions altogether on these calls due to patient's limited privacy. Therefore, the role of radiologists in identifying victims of IPV through imaging exams has become crucial.

By recognizing high imaging utilization, location and imaging patterns specific to IPV, old injuries of different body parts, and injuries inconsistent to provided history, radiologists can identify victims of IPV even when the victims are not forthcoming.

Dr. Khurana, who is also assistant professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, sees this as an opportunity for radiologists to use their expertise in providing patient-centered care and play a critical role in facilitating early intervention, preventing life-threatening injuries and saving lives by early identification of IPV victims.

"As health care providers, we are missing opportunities to identify victims early in the cycle during the pandemic," she said. "There is under-reporting by the victims, accentuated due to fear of seeking care due to COVID-19. At the same time, IPV-related injuries may be getting overlooked or misinterpreted, as our frontline physicians are overwhelmed by a vast number of COVID-19 patients in the Emergency Department."

The researchers emphasize that radiologists and other health care providers should proactively participate in identifying IPV victims and reaching out to vulnerable communities as an essential service during the pandemic and other crisis situations.

###

"Exacerbation of Physical Intimate Partner Violence during COVID-19 Lockdown" Collaborating with Drs. Khurana and Gosangi on this paper were Hyesun Park, M.D., Richard Thomas, M.D., Rahul Gujrathi, M.D., Camden P. Bay, Ph.D., Ali S. Raja, M.D., Steven E. Seltzer, M.D., Marta Chadwick Balcom, J.D., Meghan L. McDonald, R.N., Dennis P. Orgill, M.D., Ph.D., Mitchel B. Harris, M.D., Giles W. Boland, M.D., and Kathryn Rexrode, M.D. The study was partially funded by a Stepping Strong Injury Prevention Innovation award.

Radiology is edited by David A. Bluemke, M.D., Ph.D., University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, and owned and published by the Radiological Society of North America, Inc. (https://pubs.rsna.org/journal/radiology)

RSNA is an association of radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists and related scientists promoting excellence in patient care and health care delivery through education, research and technologic innovation. The Society is based in Oak Brook, Illinois. (RSNA.org)

For patient-friendly information on medical imaging, visit RadiologyInfo.org.
In a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed last week, the two partners agreed to promote KT's data center business and smart city projects globally. They will also cooperate on joint data center projects, business information exchange, public-private partnerships, and business development and financing consultations.

"KT will leverage its diverse business achievements in the domestic market into expanding globally through cooperation with KIND," said Park Yoon-Young, head of KT's Enterprise Business Development Unit. "Our partnership will help Korean businesses avail themselves of ICT resources as easily abroad as they do in the nation."

KT will focus on designing data centers and creating business plans, developing products and managing business operation, while KIND will take a lead in finding new demands for data centers in connection with its overseas projects, sharing such information with KT, helping the nation's top telecom operator attract investments.

"KIND is entering the new business of building data centers by signing the MOU with KT," said Hur Kyong-Goo, CEO of KIND. "When our two companies cooperate, we will more effectively assist Korean businesses in achieving their global reach."

Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corp., also known as KIND, is a government-invested corporation that assists Korean businesses in their overseas investment and development projects. KIND supports their overseas infrastructure contracts, providing them with information and consulting service as well as making joint investments in public-private partnership projects.

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Matthew Broderick is a New Yorker through and through, and on Thursday the Manhattan-native swapped the city concrete for the sand as he was photographed out at a Hamptons beach for a sunny solo outing.

For most celebrity city-dwellers, summer means spending extensive amounts of time upstate to escape the heat, and Matthew, 58 - the longtime partner of Sarah Jessica Parker - was no exception.

The couple who have multiple city townhouses across both Manhattan and Brooklyn, also have a beach house in the Hamptons where they frequently spend time on the weekends.

Ferris Bueller's day off: Matthew Broderick was seen hitting the beach in the Hamptons for a sunny solo outing as he escaped the city heat

The former Ferris Bueller's Day Off actor indulged in a day off of his own, as he relaxed by the ocean with a towel in tow.

Broderick went into full Hamptons mode as he sported colorful blue swim-trunks, a grey t-shirt and a white fedora with his face shielded from the UV rays by topping the look off with a stylized pair of sunglasses.

Though his family was nowhere to be seen, it appeared as if Matthew was enjoying his alone time by the beach.

Rest & Relaxation: The actor walked along the beach, sticking his toes in the sand with a big grin on his face. Though his family was nowhere to be seen, it appeared as if Matthew was enjoying his alone time

Earlier this week, his wife Parker was seen walking around the Seaport neighborhood of New York with their 11-year-old daughter to visit one of her SJP stores.

With the weekend fast-approaching, it's likely the family will be reuniting to spend some quality time together upsate, as summer approaches its end.

On Monday Sarah posted a series of Instagram photos to celebrate the new summer rose from her Invivio Wine X SJP collaboration.

Summer strolling: On Tuesday, Sarah Jessica Parker and the couple's 11-year-old daughter, were seen walking around the Seaport neighborhood in New York City to visit one of her many SJP stores

Wine O' Clock: SJP posted an Instagram photo of the latest wine to drop in her Invivo Wine collaboration. She described the rose, that inspired by those from the South of France as having 'notes of clear rose petals and bright berries'

She described the rose, which is heavily inspired by those from the South of France, as having 'notes of clear rose petals and bright berries.' The photo was seemingly shot in the couple's backyard at their Hampton's property.

Due to the Coronavirus, the whole family have been spending a lot of their recent month's at their beachfront property.

In March it was announced that Matthew's older sister, Janet, 64, had in-fact tested positive for the virus herself. She was rushed to the hospital and treated for pneumonia but has since recovered.
On August 11 (Tuesday), Former Vice President of the United States Joe Biden chose California Senator Kamala Harris as a candidate for the Vice President's Elections this year. The Democratic nominee is the first person of Indian descent to be nominated for such a post. The 55-year-old American politician was born to a Tamil mother Shyamala Gopalan and Jamaican father Donald Harris. Ever since her name was announced for the VP elections, people from India, especially Tamil Nadu are congratulating her.

Kamala Harris has become the top trending name right now on the internet. All thanks to the people of India who consider her to be the Vice President of the US. However, a Tamil actress has recently taken an objection over the same and asked people to stop claiming her identity.

Actress Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli has claimed that she is related to Kamala Harris and said the latter identifies herself as 'American'. Taking to Twitter, the Richie actress wrote, "Come on guys... @KamalaHarris is very clear about her identity and says she identifies herself as simply 'American'. Can we not claim her identity pls.. you ask me how I know this? that's only because her thatha and my great grandfather were distant cousi........" (sic)Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli mentioned in her tweet that Kamala Harris' grandfather and her great grandfather were distant cousins. Interestingly, on August 12 (Wednesday), Kamala Harris opened up about her parents in her first election speech.

Kamala said, "My mother and father, they came from opposite sides of the world to arrive in America. One from India and the other from Jamaica in search of a world-class education. But what brought them together was the civil rights movement of the 1960s. And that is how they met as students in the streets of Oakland marching and shouting for this thing called justice in a struggle that continues today."

Also Read : Oops! Meera Mitun Makes BIG Blunder In Tweet To Kerala CM; Twitterati Are Not In Mood To Spare Her

Well, apart from Lakshmi, Priyanka Chopra, Anand Mahindra, Mindy Kaling, Padma Lakshmi and others also reacted to this piece of news. Do let us know your reaction to Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli's claims about Kamala Harris.

Also Read : Vanitha Vijaykumar Demands Rs 2.5 Crore From Lakshmy Ramakrishnan For Defaming Her!

(With ANI Inputs)
On Wednesday, in the morning, at Boulder Opal Motor Inn, Winton, His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC undertook, via telephone, a media interview with Breakfast Presenter, ABC Western Queensland, Mr Dan Prosser.

Following, at Longreach, His Excellency visited Longreach State School, and the Governor addressed students and guests and read a book.

Following, at Longreach Regional Council, Longreach, His Excellency received a briefing from Longreach Regional Council representatives.

Following, at the Qantas Founders Museum, Longreach, His Excellency attended a morning tea and presented Ambassador badges.

Following, at Longreach, His Excellency toured the Qantas Founders Museum.

In the afternoon, at the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame and Outback Heritage Centre, Longreach, His Excellency hosted a community afternoon tea, and the Governor addressed guests.

In the afternoon, His Excellency returned to Government House following official travel to Birdsville, Winton and Longreach.
The oil spill off the coast of Mauritius has imperilled protected wetlands that boast rare mangrove forests and scores of fish and coral species.

The bulk carrier MV Wakashio, which struck a reef on July 25, has spewed more than 1,000 tonnes of fuel near two of Mauritius' three "Ramsar sites", named after the international convention to preserve wetlands.

Thankfully, salvage crews on Wednesday finished removing all the fuel that was in the vessel's tanks, though another 100 tonnes remained on board elsewhere.

Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth has warned, however, of a high probability that the 300-metre (984-feet) vessel will break up.

Here's a look at the two sites:

- Blue Bay -

Trace amounts of oil have been found at Blue Bay, a 353-hectare (872-acre) Ramsar site featuring 38 species of coral including spherical "brain coral" that is more than a century old.

That oil was "immediately contained" as part of clean-up operations, said Sunil Dowarkasing, a former Greenpeace strategist and environmental expert assisting in the clean-up.

But a larger intrusion could deliver a hefty blow to the site abutting tourist-friendly Blue Bay Beach, he said.

"If Blue Bay Marine Park is polluted then we are going to lose a jewel for Mauritius," Dowarkasing said.

Blue Bay's mangroves, seagrass meadows and macro algae provide a habitat "for about 72 fish species and the endangered green turtle, as well as a nursing ground for juvenile marine species", the Ramsar Convention notes on its website.

- Pointe d'Esny -

The shallow, brackish waters of the 22-hectare Pointe d'Esny site feature a mangrove forest, mud flats, threatened plants and native butterflies.

The area is more protected than Blue Bay, with a coastal road separating the mangroves from the nearby lagoon.

But mangrove roots are prone to trap oil, Dowarkasing warned, rendering Pointe d'Esny especially vulnerable if there is extensive intrusion.

Mauritius' third Ramsar site, the Rivulet Terre Rouge Estuary Bird Sanctuary, is located on the opposite side of the country's main island and is not threatened by the spill.

rcb/fb/gd/ri
The scientists at USC Michelson Center note that knowing the order of symptoms for the coronavirus will help doctors with diagnosis and treatment, and may even help patients decide to seek care or quarantine

USC researchers have found the likely order in which COVID-19 symptoms first appear: fever, cough, muscle pain, and then nausea, and/or vomiting, and diarrhea.

Knowing the order of COVID-19's symptoms may help patients seek care promptly or decide sooner than later to self-isolate, the scientists say. It also may help doctors rule out other illnesses, according to the study led by doctoral candidate Joseph Larsen and his colleagues with faculty advisors Peter Kuhn and James Hicks at the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience's Convergent Science Institute in Cancer.

Recognizing the order of symptoms also could help doctors plan how to treat patients, and perhaps intervene earlier in the disease.

"This order is especially important to know when we have overlapping cycles of illnesses like the flu that coincide with infections of COVID-19," said Kuhn, a USC professor of medicine, biomedical engineering, and aerospace and mechanical engineering. "Doctors can determine what steps to take to care for the patient, and they may prevent the patient's condition from worsening."

"Given that there are now better approaches to treatments for COVID-19, identifying patients earlier could reduce hospitalization time," said Larsen, the study's lead author.

Fever and cough are frequently associated with a variety of respiratory illnesses, including Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). But the timing and symptoms in the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract set COVID-19 apart.

"The upper GI tract (i.e., nausea/vomiting) seems to be affected before the lower GI tract (i.e., diarrhea) in COVID-19, which is the opposite from MERS and SARS," the scientists wrote.

The authors predicted the order of symptoms this spring from the rates of symptom incidence of more than 55,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in China, all of which were collected from Feb. 16-Feb. 24, 2020, by the World Health Organization. They also studied a dataset of nearly 1,100 cases collected from Dec. 11, 2019 through Jan. 29, 2020, by the China Medical Treatment Expert Group via the National Health Commission of China.

To compare the order of COVID-19 symptoms to influenza, the researchers examined data from 2,470 cases in North America, Europe and the Southern Hemisphere, which were reported to health authorities from 1994 to 1998.

The scientific findings were published Thursday in the journal Frontiers in Public Health.

"The order of the symptoms matter. Knowing that each illness progresses differently means that doctors can identify sooner whether someone likely has COVID-19, or another illness, which can help them make better treatment decisions," Larsen, the lead author, said.

###

In addition to Larsen, Kuhn and Hicks, other study co-authors were Margaret R. Martin of Nexus Development PA LLC and John D. Martin at NanoCarrier Co., Ltd., in Chiba, Japan.

The Michelson Center brings together a diverse network of scientists and engineers from USC Dornsife, USC Viterbi School of Engineering and Keck School of Medicine of USC to solve some of the greatest intractable problems of the 21st century -- from cancer, to neurological disease, to cardiovascular disease. Established with a generous $50 million gift from retired orthopedic spinal surgeon Gary K. Michelson and his wife, Alya Michelson, the Michelson Center aims to transform and influence the course of scientific discovery and biomedicine for generations to come.

The study was funded by National Cancer Institute (Award Number U54CA143906 and P30CA014089) and the Carol Vassiliadis fellowship. Larsen was supported by the USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, and the Schlegel Family Endowment Fellowship.
The Munna Bhai M.B.B.S actor had taken to his social media on Tuesday night to announce that he is taking a short break from work

The news of Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt getting diagnosed with lung cancer has left his fans and followers shocked.

The Munna Bhai M.B.B.S actor had taken to his social media on Tuesday night to announce that he is taking a short break from work for some medical treatment and urged his fans to not worry or unnecessarily speculate.

Now, his wife Maanyata Dutt has broken her silence and issued a statement.

I thank everyone who has expressed their well wishes for Sanjus speedy recovery. We need all the strength and prayers to overcome this phase. There is a lot that the family has gone through in the past years but I am confident, this too shall pass, she said in the statement. Adding further, the former actress also urged fans to not speculate. It is my heartfelt request to Sanjus fans to not fall prey to speculations and unwarranted rumours, but to just help us with their ongoing love, warmth and support, she wrote.

Amidst the reports of the actor all set to travel to the USA for undergoing the treatment, his wife added in the statement: Sanju has always been a fighter, and so has our family. God has yet again chosen to test us to overcome the challenges ahead. All we seek is your prayers and blessings, and we know we will emerge as winners on the other side, as we always have. Let us use this opportunity to spread light and positivity.
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United Arab Emirates and Israel have agreed to establish full diplomatic ties as part of a deal to halt the Israeli annexation of occupied land sought by the Palestinians for their future state.

But questions immediately arose about the solidity of the agreement after Israeli officials said the agreement to halt annexation was only 'temporary' and was done at the request of the Trump administration.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he is 'committed to annexing parts of the West Bank' but agreed to 'temporarily suspend' those plans in order to sign the deal with the UAE.

The Trump administration admitted late Thursday the issue was not permanently off the table.

'It's off the table now, but it's not off the table permanently,' said David Friedman, the U.S. ambassador to Israel.

The announcement makes the UAE only the third Arab nation to have active diplomatic ties to Israel, after Egypt and Jordan.

In a surprise announcement, Trump tweeted a statement from the countries, acknowledging the deal.

But the agreement - while a win for the White House - abandoned the 'deal of a century' Trump's administration unveiled in January - a plan put together by Senior Adviser Jared Kushner, who President Trump tasked with peace in the Middle East.

In that plan, Israel would annex much of the West Bank in return for the rest being part of a 'two state solution,' in which the future Palestinian state would consist of the West Bank and Gaza, connected by a combination of above-ground roads and tunnels.

But a senior Israeli official told Reuters applying Israeli sovereignty to areas of the West Bank - territory Palestinians seek for a state along with Gaza and East Jerusalem - was still on the agenda and the pause was 'temporary.'

The official said, 'The Trump administration asked us to temporarily suspend the (sovereignty) announcement so that the historic peace agreement with the UAE can be implemented.'

Kushner conceded the specifics would take time.

'It's going to take a while to get these agreements enforced,' he told reporters during a briefing at the White House on Thursday.

He declined to give specifics when he was asked what 'temporary' means.

'Somewhere between a long time and a short time - that's what temporary means,' he said.

White House adviser Jared Kushner - at a press briefing with National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien - said it would take time to implement all the aspects of the deal

President Trump, Jared Kushner, Treasury Secretary Steven Munchin and National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien announced the deal in the Oval Office

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he is 'committed to annexing parts of the West Bank' but agreed to 'temporarily suspend' those plans in order to sign the deal with the UAE

Trump, however, spent Thursday crowing over the deal his administration had achieved.

'This is very important. This is a big event,' Trump said in a hastily scheduled Oval Office announcement. 'This is a truly historic moment. Not since the Israel/Jordan peace treaty was signed more than 25 years ago has so much progress been made towards peace in the Middle East. By uniting two of America's closest and most capable partners in the region - something which said could not be done - this deal is a significant step towards building a more peaceful, secure, and prosperous Middle East. Now that the ice has been broken I expect more Arab and Muslim countries will follow the United Arab Emirates' lead.'

The recognition grants a rare diplomatic win to Trump ahead of the November election as his efforts to see an end to the war in Afghanistan have yet to come to fruition while efforts to bring peace between Israel and the Palestinians have made no headway.

National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien said the president should be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

'It wouldn't surprise me if the president's eventually nominated for a Nobel Prize,' he told reporters during a briefing at the White House. 'Today's work is an example of why he would be rightly considered and should be a front runner for the Nobel Peace Prize.'

Kushner joined President Trump in the Oval Office for the announcement.

'What happened was here we were able to achieve results others were not able to achieve and it will advance the region and the whole world. I would like to say to the people of the region - Muslims, Jews, Christians - that this does give hope that the problems of the past do not condemn you to a future with conflict,' Kushner said.

President Trump said there would be a signing ceremony at the White House in 'the next few weeks.'

'It was like in love,' Trump said of his calls earlier that with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates. 'Tremendous relationship built up over the last year. Before that it was very tense, as everything in the Middle East is, very tense. It is a very tense place. It is becoming less tense.'

The deal will consist of the two countries signing agreements on investment, tourism, security, technology, energy and other areas. It will also allow direct flights between Israel and the UAE and set up reciprocal embassies in each other's nation.

For Israel, Thursday's announcement comes after years of boasting by Netanyahu that his government enjoys closer ties to Arab nations than publicly acknowledged.

Deal - and your plan is trashed, Jared: Donald Trump says Israel will abandon part of his own Middle East peace plan in return for diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates

What Trump proposed - and is now abandoning: This was the 'deal of the century' unveiled by the White House in January which is now off the agenda in return for Israel getting full diplomatic relations with the UAE, which includes Abu Dhabi

International relations: Benjamin Netanyahu's rocky coalition government is now going to have full relations with the United Arab Emirates, whose de facto ruler is Abu Dhabi's crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed

Israel in revolt: Netanyahu's government has been the target of large-scale demonstrations with anger over

'A historic day,' Netanyahu called it in a tweet.

Netanyahu has sought to build settlements on lands sought by the Palestinians and embraced a Trump proposal that would allow him to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank while granting Palestinians limited autonomy in other areas.

For the UAE, home to skyscraper-studded Dubai and the rolling, oil-rich sand dunes of Abu Dhabi, it further burnishes its international campaign to be seen as a beacon of tolerance in the Middle East despite being governed by autocratic rulers. It also puts the UAE out first in a regional recognition race among neighboring Gulf Arab states.

And for the Palestinians, who long have relied on Arab backing in their struggle for independence, the announcement marked both a win and setback.

While Thursday's deal halts Israeli annexation plans, the Palestinians have repeatedly urged Arab governments not to normalize relations with Israel until a peace agreement establishing an independent Palestinian state is reached.

A joint statement from the U.S., the UAE and Israel was issued immediately after Trump's tweet. It said delegations would meet in the coming weeks to sign deals on direct flights, security, telecommunications, energy, tourism and health care. The two countries also will partner on fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

'Opening direct ties between two of the Middle East's most dynamic societies and advanced economics will transform the region by spurring economic growth, enhancing technological innovation and forging closer people-to-people relations,' said the statement by Trump, Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the day-to-day ruler of the UAE. It said the leaders had a three-way call discussing the deal.

Among Arab nations, only Egypt and Jordan have active diplomatic ties with Israel. Egypt made a peace deal with Israel in 1979, followed by Jordan in 1994. Mauritania recognized Israel in 1999, but later ended relations in 2009 over the Israels war in Gaza at the time.

The announcement on President Trump's desk in the Oval Office

Officials applaud after President Trump announced the deal

In addition to Trump, the main U.S. mediators for agreement were the presidents senior advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner, special Mideast envoy Avi Berkowitz and David Friedman, the U.S. ambassador to Israel.

Friedman said it would be called the Abraham accord.

5'Abraham, as many of you know, was the father of all three great faiths,' he said in the Oval Office. 'No person better symbolizes the potential for unity among all these three great faiths than Abraham. That's why this accord has been given that name.'

President Trump joked he wanted to call the deal 'the Donald J. Trump accord but Id didn't think the press would understand.'

The UAE is a U.S.-allied federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula. Formed in 1971, the country like other Arab nations at the time did not recognize Israel over its occupation of land home to the Palestinians.

'Arab oil is not dearer than Arab blood,' the UAEs founding ruler, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, once pronounced when agreeing to an oil boycott over U.S. military support to Israel in the 1973 Mideast war.

The UAE relied on white-collar Palestinians in creating its nation. Over time, it maintained its stance that Israel allow the creation of a Palestinian state on land it seized in the 1967 war.

But in recent years, ties between Gulf Arab nations and Israel have quietly grown, in part over their shared enmity of Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Prince Mohammed also shares Israels distrust of Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and the militant group Hamas that holds the Gaza Strip.

It remains unclear what prompted Israel and the UAE to make the announcement now. In June, the United Arab Emirates ambassador to the U.S. warned in an Israeli newspaper op-ed that Israels planned annexing the Jordan Valley and other parts of the occupied West Bank would 'upend' Israels efforts to improve ties with Arab nations.

The agreement gives Netanyahu a domestic boost at a time when Israel's shaky coalition government is plagued by infighting and facing the possibility of early elections in the coming months.

Netanyahu has seen his popularity plummet as the country grapples with a renewed coronavirus outbreak and skyrocketing unemployment as the result of earlier lockdown measures.

Netanyahu also delivered a valuable diplomatic achievement to his good friend, Trump, ahead of U.S. elections.

Still, by dropping the annexation plan Netanyahu may be hedging his bets ahead of a possible change in the White House.

Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, has made clear that he would oppose any moves by Israel to unilaterally redraw the Mideast map and annex lands sought by the Palestinians.

Netanyahu also risked criticism inside his own hard-line Likud Party, whose members strongly supported annexation. Netanyahu appears to be betting that Likud members - and the small, but influential settler movement - will agree the peace agreement delivers more benefits than unilateral annexation. Opinion polls have shown that annexation is not a high priority for the vast majority of the Israeli public.

Abandoning its annexation plan changes little on the ground. Israel already holds overall control of the West Bank and continues to expand its settlements there, while granting the Palestinians autonomy in a series of disconnected enclaves. Some 500,000 Israelis now live in the rapidly expanding West Bank settlements.

Next year, Israel will take part in the UAEs delayed Expo 2020, the worlds fair being hosted by Dubai. A secret synagogue also draws practicing Jews in Dubai. The UAE also has announced plans to build the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi, which will house a mosque, a church and a synagogue.

Israelis traveling with Western passports routinely enter the UAE without a problem, though one still cant make a phone call between the two countries. Israelis also work in Dubais gold and diamond trade as well.

Emirati officials also have allowed Israeli officials to visit and the Israeli national anthem was played after an athlete won gold in an Abu Dhabi judo tournament. Israel also has a small mission representing its interests at the International Renewable Energy Agency in Abu Dhabi.
The expansion of ECEMS sales territory for Riston dry films further enhances the solutions and service we can deliver to our customers in Eastern Canada working with ECEMS," said Andy Kannurpatti, west business leader, DuPont Interconnect Solutions.

DuPont Interconnect Solutions today announced that it is expanding its territory for East Coast Electronic Materials Supply LLC (ECEMS) to support its Riston dry film product line in Eastern Canada.

Effective October 1, 2020, customers in Eastern Canada will be able to purchase DuPont Riston dry film as well as chemistry product lines from ECEMS. With this action, ECEMS will become the distributor for the Eastern region of the United States and Eastern Canada for DuPont Interconnect Solutions Riston and chemistry product lines. ECEMS will expand its warehouse located in Canada to serve the growing customers best.

"ECEMS is a channel partner that aligns with DuPonts value proposition of providing innovative materials solutions for advanced interconnects, best-in-class technical service and support to our customers. We have a long history of working together to serve customers with our chemistry product lines and more recently, since October 2019, with our Riston dry films as well. The expansion of ECEMS sales territory for Riston dry films further enhances the solutions and service we can deliver to our customers in Eastern Canada working with ECEMS," said Andy Kannurpatti, west business leader, DuPont Interconnect Solutions.

We are excited by growing our relationship with DuPont. By aligning more fully with DuPont, we are able to leverage our strength in technical service and logistics to meet the varied needs of our customers as the industry continues to change, said John Robinson, president, ECEMS.

This announcement does not change or impact current distribution channels managed by Insulectro, Tritek, Allen Woods, Etchomatic and Photo Chem.

About ECEMS

East Coast Electronic Material Supply, as a principal distributor for DuPont, Hubbard Hall, AGFA, and Kyocera, supports over 250 customers across a variety of businesses, including Research and Development, Aerospace, Military, Photovoltaics, Printed Circuit Board Manufacturing, Chemical Milling, and General Metal Finishing. Our sales and service people have decades of experience in the industries we serve and are a valuable resource ready to answer all your technical questions and fulfill your product support needs. For more information please visit https://www.ecems.net

About DuPont Electronics & Imaging

DuPont Electronics & Imaging is a global supplier of materials and technologies serving the semiconductor, advanced chip packaging, circuit board, electronic and industrial finishing, display, and digital and flexographic printing industries. From advanced technology centers worldwide, teams of talented research scientists and application experts work closely with customers, providing solutions, products and technical service to enable next-generation technologies. More information about DuPont Electronics & Imaging can be found on our electronic solutions and image solutions websites.

About DuPont

DuPont (NYSE: DD) is a global innovation leader with technology-based materials, ingredients and solutions that help transform industries and everyday life. Our employees apply diverse science and expertise to help customers advance their best ideas and deliver essential innovations in key markets including electronics, transportation, construction, water, health and wellness, food, and worker safety. More information can be found at http://www.dupont.com/.

# # #

8/13/20

DuPont, the DuPont Oval Logo, and all trademarks and service marks denoted with ,  or  are owned by affiliates of DuPont de Nemours, Inc. unless otherwise noted.

For further information contact:

Winnie Chou

+886-3-3773578

winnie.chou@dupont.com
ALBANY  The New York State Labor Department said Thursday it has thwarted $1 billion in fraudulent unemployment payments during the COVID-19 pandemic, stopping 42,000 false claims. It also said it has referred more unemployment fraud cases to federal prosecutors in the past five months than in the previous 10 years combined.

Fraudsters have used real identities of employed New York residents, possibly collected from data breaches at banks and insurance companies, to file claims. The fraud often comes to light when the employee receives an official monetary determination letter or other communication from the Labor Department. Recipients should report such notifications to the Labor Department at on.ny.gov/uifraud.
Edgar Roman, 25, is charged with the murder of Arizona woman Zoraleigh Ryan, 55, after he crashed into her twice while she crossed the street Monday in Chicago

Chicago police charged an SUV driver with murder Monday after he allegedly struck a 55-year-old grandmother, then looped around the block to deliberately crash into her for a second time, killing her.

Arizona woman Zoraleigh Ryan was visiting Chicago with her daughter Shannon, 20, when they were both hit by a driver as they crossed the street in the city's North Side.

Ryan was killed when the driver allegedly circled the block and charged his vehicle at the women again.

A bystander managed to pull Shannon to safety, but Zoraleigh was hit and dragged for half a block under the vehicle.

Edgar Roman, 25, later turned himself in at the 17th District police station after the apparently random attack.

Roman initially claimed to cops that he had been carjacked by two black men at Dearborn and Kinzie who forced him at gunpoint to run into the women.

He later admitted that he alone was responsible, although an exact motive for the attack is not known.

Ryan's daughter was able to identify Roman and the incident had been captured on security camera footage.

His smashed-up silver-colored Ford Explorer SUV was found by police a short distance from the station.

Zoraleigh Ryan, 55, pictured, and her 20-year-old daughter were first hit by Roman at around 10.30pm Monday night in Chicago. Roman sped down a street to hit them a second time less than a minute later. Ryan could not move in time and was dragged half a block under the car

Police are still investigating as they try to establish a motive for the attack

Roman is charged with first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, leaving the scene of an accident, and filing a false report.

He made his first court appearance on Wednesday where prosecutors laid out the horrifying details of his fatal hit and run.

Judge Susan Ortiz called the state's allegations against Roman, 'very, very disturbing' and said he appeared to 'create a path of intentional destruction'.

'The allegation is that this defendant, Mr. Roman, intentionally took the equivalent of a loaded gun, a several thousand pound vehicle, and struck these three people  came back and then intentionally pointed his vehicle of all three of these victims,' Ortiz said.

'She didn't deserve it,' Ryan's 17-year-old granddaughter, Angelina Adams, told 12News of Zoraleigh's death.

'Now my only grandma is gone because people want to be dumb. An innocent person that is just so sweet, doesn't hurt anyone. She always makes sure everyone's good before herself.'

Ryan and her daughter were visiting Chicago for another daughter's baby shower and had just celebrated Shannon's 20th birthday at Chicago Cut steakhouse, 300 North LaSalle.

They left the restaurant at around 10:15 p.m. and decided to walk to a 7-Eleven before heading back to their hotel.

On finding the store closed because of looting in the city, the pair changed their minds and called an Uber for the rest of the way home.

Zoraleigh Ryan, pictured right with her daughter, was pronounced dead at the scene

Ryan, pictured above right with a member of family, was visiting her daughter in Chicago

Ryan's granddaughter Angelina Adams said that she was 'so sweet' and 'didn't deserve this'

They were crossing the road at Hubbard on the east side of State Street to wait in the Marriott hotel for their car when Roman crashed into them.

Shannon had seen the SUV charging toward them at a high speed but was unable to get out of the way in time.

The force of the impact threw both mother and daughter to the far northeast corner of the intersection where a 26-year-old man who had been nearby rushed to their aid.

Shannon Ryan was able to get up but her mother remained tucked up against the curb as Roman parked up his car a short distance away and walked to stand about ten feet away watching them.

Zoraleigh Ryan, pictured above left with a family member, has been described by her son as a 'peacekeeper'

At this point, Zoraleigh was still speaking and could tell the others about her injuries.

Her daughter told the good Samaritan who ran to help them to take pictures of Roman's car and licence plate but the suspect fled back to his vehicle and sped away.

He appeared again less then a minute later speeding down Hubbard Street and moving straight toward the group, the Assistant State's Attorney James Murphy told the court Wednesday.

The man managed to push Shannon Ryan out of the way and they were both 'brushed' by the car but Zoraleigh could not be moved in time.

She was caught under the SUV and dragged for half a block before being run over again. Her daughter rushed to her side but the older woman was no longer breathing.

'The SUV came, hit them both. A bystander was able to get to Shannon in time to pull her from the street but couldnt get back in time to get Zoraleigh before the SUV did a U-turn and came back to hit her again,' explained Ryans daughter-in-law Stephanie Logue.

Shannon suffered broken arms and ribs in the collision. Her mother was pronounced dead at the scene.

'A decent enough human who felt bad when he hit her would have gone back and got out the car. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?" No, but he hit her again to make sure that she was dead,' Adams added.

After racing at the group for the second time, Roman then allegedly looped around to the scene in his car twice more as they waited for police to arrive, even looking one bystander straight in the eyes.

Police arrived at the scene as Roman was driving down the street for the fourth time and a pursuit began. Prosecutors say the SUV sped from the area, crashing through barricades to escape.

Her son Ryan Logue has blamed the lack of policing in Chicago for his mother's death

Roman fled the scene after police arrived but later handed himself in at a police station

The car was later seen 'driving erratically' on Grand Avenue but it again smashed through barriers to get away, taking off the hood of the SUV as he refused to stop for police.

Roman has not revealed the reason why he targeted the Ryan family on Monday night but some local authorities have tried to link it to looting and Zoraleigh's family have blamed the lack of policing in the area.

'I hate to turn it kind of political but thats what it is. We have to understand that in those places where theres less police. Theres crime going up those are facts and the facts dont care about the feelings,' her son Ryan Logue said.

'My mom was such a peacekeeper,' Logue added. 'She only wanted whats best for her children and grandchildren.

'This was a legitimate act of violence. Then he turned around and tried to finish the job. It was so violent and demonic.'

Police told the Chicago Sun Times that they have not been able to link the case to looting. Yet local Alderman Brian Hopkins said that it was to blame.

'We have reason to believe that this vehicle was involved in looting. Detectives have not made that determination yet. But, theres some witness statements that suggest it,' he claimed.

Some local authorities have tried to blame the death on recent looting, pictured above

'We know that the looters drive extremely fast and recklessly. That was what this vehicle was doing.

'The looters have no regard for the safety of others. And the driver of this vehicle was driving in a manner consistent with that.  I believe that, because this vehicle was driving in such a reckless manner downtown, that it was connected to the looting incidents.'

Roman is now being held on $2 million bail with a restriction that he must go onto electronic monitoring if he can post a $200,000 deposit bond.

He was previously arrested for a DUI in 2018, according to CWB Chicago, but prosecutors struck a deal that allowed him to plead down to a misdemeanor charge of reckless driving.

His other previous convictions include robbery, for which he received probation, and driving without a valid license.
New Zealand races to track outbreak's origin as cases jump A health worker conducts a test at a COVID-19 coronavirus testing centre in the suburb of Northcote in Auckland

New Zealand rushed to track the source of a sudden return of the coronavirus Thursday as the number of new cases in its biggest city rose to 17 and officials warned more infections were inevitable.

National health chief Ashley Bloomfield said there were 13 new confirmed infections in Auckland, all linked to four family members found on Tuesday, ending the country's record of 102 days without community transmission.

The surge in new cases raised the prospect that a three-day lockdown imposed in Auckland since midday Wednesday would be extended as teams of health workers hunted for the cluster's origin and ramped up testing in the city.

Bloomfield said among the new cases was a student at one of New Zealand's largest high schools, attended by more than 3,000 children.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said there were likely to be more cases linked to the recent spike.

"As with our first outbreak, things will get worse before they get better," she said in a televised address.

Ardern was encouraged by the fact that all the cases so far were in a single cluster limited to Auckland.

"You can see the seriousness of the situation," she said.

"While it is serious, it is being dealt with in an urgent but calm and methodical way."

Bloomfield said authorities were urgently exploring all possible routes of transmission.

"We want to find out how large it is as soon as possible, so we've been testing all close contacts, casual contacts, workplace, family-related," he told TVNZ.

"This is what we want to do as quickly as possible to find out how extensive the outbreak is and who the first case might have been."

- Freight link 'unlikely' -

Auckland's lockdown is scheduled to end late Friday and Bloomfield said any decision on extending it depended on what the investigations uncovered over the next 24 hours.

"It's too early to say... we'll have a lot more information tomorrow," he said.

Story continues

He played down one line of inquiry examining whether the virus was imported via freight, then picked up by a male member of the family, who worked in a cool room for imported goods.

"It's a possibility -- it's unlikely but it's something we need to rule out," Bloomfield said, adding that another focus was whether the infection came from managed isolation facilities.

These facilities, mainly hotels and motels that have been sealed off from the general public, house thousands of new arrivals from overseas, with positive cases placed in stricter quarantine.

Bloomfield said that COVID-19 cases found in the community, along with some at-risk family members, were now being moved into quarantine as well for the first time, rather than being allowed to self-isolate at home.

"It will help us prevent any further inadvertent spread in the community," he said.

Despite New Zealand's previous success in containing the virus -- with just 22 deaths in a population of five million -- Bloomfield said health authorities had always anticipated such a return, even if it had taken some people by surprise.

"As you'll recall, last week I was talking about when -- not if."

ns/dm/kaf
New claims for unemployment benefits in Texas fell for the fifth consecutive week, adding to evidence that layoffs across the state are slowing and the beginning of an economic recovery is underway  but analysts warn that recovery could be destabilized with the federal pandemic unemployment benefits ended.

About 51,000 people in Texas applied for unemployment benefits last week, down nearly 20 percent from 63,000 a week prior. Initial jobless claims in Texas have trended down following a midsummer spike driven by a surge in COVID-19 cases that required businesses to walk-back re-opening efforts.

Initial jobless claims in Texas are at the lowest levels since the shutdown orders began in March. Still, claims running four times higher than pre-pandemic rates; in early 2020, about 14,000 people typically applied for unemployment benefits each week in Texas.

Nationally, initial jobless claims last week fell below 1 million for the first time since the pandemic-driven shutdowns began in March. Initial claims peaked near 7 million per week in late March. Before the shutdowns, around 218,000 claims were filed in the U.S. each week.

While falling claims are a welcome sign, the labor market is still in high distress, experts warn. Continuing claims remain elevated  15.5 million in the U.S. last week  meaning those who are receiving benefits are not finding work or getting called back to previous jobs.

Texas Inc.: Get the best of business news sent directly to your inbox

Following the expiration of the federal $600 per week unemployment benefit, President Donald Trump promised additional assistance for jobless workers. But that could take months to hit the pocketbooks of claimants due to legal and technical hurdles, leaving claimants solely reliant on state benefits, which typically only replace a small fraction of prior wages.

In Texas, 1.8 million are collecting unemployment benefit checks, according to state data.

Real pain for economy ahead without $600

Congress is still debating whether to extend expanded unemployment benefits, which began in the spring and ran through the end of July and added $600 per week to state unemployment benefits.

Economists and other analysts have said that ending the extended benefits is likely to do more harm to a fragile economy and further disrupt the beginning of a recovery. Less money flowing to households means less money flowing through the U.S. economy, which depends on consumers who drive about 70 percent of the nations economic activity.

Analysts at JPMorgan Chase wrote in a note to investors that household incomes could be squeezed if the benefits lapse for too long. Economists at Deutsche Bank wrote that the impact of expired benefits will disproportionately hit lower-income households, which are a critical engine of the recovery.

Spending by lower-income households, which have little room in their budgets for saving, has significantly outpaced middle- and higher-income households throughout the pandemic. By mid-June, spending in lower-income households had almost entirely recovered from the plunge that followed business shutdowns and widespread layoffs, economists said.

Robert Kaplan, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said Wednesday that Congress extending some version of enhanced unemployment benefits is critical for claimants to sustain themselves.

Thats going to be important to the economy, said Kaplan, speaking at a radio event with Krys Boyds KERA Think program. Were going to see real pain in the month of August (if benefits are not extended). People have been waiting on benefits as a lifeline, and its not a small number of people.

Texans have been without the $600 checks for three weeks.

Department of Labor details $400 roll out

On Saturday, President Donald Trump promised $400 per week in additional assistance for the unemployed by directing Federal Emergency Management Agency money to help make up the gap left by the expired $600 per week in unemployment benefits.

But most experts doubt the administration and state unemployment agencies can get that money into the hands of claimants any time soon. Legal and technical hurdles to disbursing the money abound since only Congress is authorized to fund and approve changes to the unemployment insurance system.

The presidents order could further tax overburdened state unemployment agencies trying distribute the money without violating federal law, experts said.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Why it could take the Texas Workforce Commission months to start paying Trumps $400 a week for unemployed

Late Wednesday night, the Department of Labor issued guidance for states to implementing the employment assistance, detailing the complications of the roll out.

For example, because the executive memo states that only claimants who receive at least $100 per week from an unemployment benefits program can get assistance, the Department of Labor said that state unemployment agencies will need to develop a process to verify each week that claimants are eligible, as unemployment benefits can vary week to week.

The Department of Labor also said that the wages assistance is not payable to people collecting Disaster Unemployment Assistance, a federally funded unemployment program for disasters such as hurricanes. That program is separate from the unemployment disaster program for the pandemic (Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claimants are eligible).

States will also need to apply to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which would oversee the extended benefits, and decide how to meet the presidents directive that they match $300 from FEMA with $100 in state funds. States may choose to count unemployment benefits as the $100, which would mean that jobless workers would only get $300 in additional benefits.

Opting to provide an additional $100 on top of regular benefits could be a problem for cash-strapped states that need to balance their budgets.

Texas is already borrowing huge amounts of money to pay unemployment benefits. According to the Texas Workforce Commission, which administers benefits, the state has already borrowed $3 billion in loans from the federal government to pay benefits since June 9.

That creates another economic headache: If the state cant pay back the loan, it will need to raise taxes on businesses in the coming years.

erin.douglas@chron.com

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There were no handshakes but plenty of smiles at the meeting this morning, Aug. 13, between Israels Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias. Dendias arrived to Jerusalem for a snap visit, meeting first with Ashkenazi and then with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The visit comes just two months after that of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakisis on June 16. Like Mitsotakisis, Dendias was not asked to enter isolation and the meetings in both cases took place in Jerusalem.

Dendias arrived to Jerusalem only three days before the expected reopening of Israeli skies on Aug. 16. A statement by Israels Foreign Ministry after the meeting said that Greece will now allow Israelis to visit. I welcome Greeces decision to allow tourism from Israel to Greece in the era of the coronavirus. This decision expresses the warm bond between the countries and the common desire to return to a normal life.  I hope that more European countries will follow suit.

The statement gave no further details, but according to reports, 600 Israeli tourists will be allowed to visit Greece per week. The tourists will be allowed to visit four locations: Athens, Crete, Thessaloniki and Corfu. The Israeli tourists will probably need to undergo two tests  one before their flight, and one upon arrival to Greece  and will reportedly be quarantined until they receive the test results, which might take up until 48 hours. Israels Health Ministry is expected to issue a statement this afternoon about Israeli tourism abroad and the countries that are set to open their gates to Israelis. Cyprus is expected to be one of them.

Dendias' visit was also significant in terms of security and diplomacy. Tensions between Greece and Turkey flared on Aug. 10, when Ankara dispatched the research ship Oruc Reis accompanied by Turkish naval vessels off the Greek island of Kastellorizo. Greece deployed warships to monitor the vessels. On Aug. 12, Israels embassy in Greece tweeted a statement of support for Athens, saying,

Israel is closely monitoring the escalation of tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, and Israel expresses its full support and solidarity with Greece, its maritime zones and the right to determine its [exclusive economic zone].

The unusual Israeli statement was widely quoted in Greece. Turkey certainly also took note. Following the statement and ahead of Danidas' visit, Israeli Ambassador Yossi Amrani met with the Greek foreign minister on Aug. 12. The two men reportedly discussed bilateral issues as well as the alleged Turkish violations.

In a statement ahead of the meeting with Dendias, Netanyahu said that ties between Greece and Israel are expanding, in part due to the shared geopolitical interests of two democratic countries in the eastern Mediterranean. Netanyahu also spoke out against Turkeys actions in the eastern Mediterranean, stating, Of course we take any aggressive actions in the eastern Mediterranean seriously from any actors, including Turkey.

After his meetings in Jerusalem, Dendias tweeted his thanks to his Israeli hosts for their position on the conflict with Turkey.

Israel and Greece have become close allies in recent years, especially over the EastMed undersea pipeline project that will carry Israeli gas to southern Europe. On July 19, Israels government ratified the EastMed pipeline agreement, which was signed last January with the governments of Cyprus and Greece. The agreement has strengthened the alliance being forged between Jerusalem and Athens but also added a layer to the hostility building between Jerusalem and Ankara ever since the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident.
The States prison watchdog has criticised the failure of prison staff to arrange the urgent transfer of a terminally ill prisoner to hospital as directed by a prison doctor.

The Inspector of Prisons, Patricia Gilhealy, said it represented a major failing by the prison authorities at the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise.

Ms Gilhealy has called on the Irish Prison Service (IPS) to ensure all urgent hospital referrals in future are prioritised.

Although the IPS provided evidence that standard operating procedures for prisoners needing urgent medical attention were being implemented, the inspector said it was concerning that they still allowed hospital referrals to be cancelled for operational reasons such as no escort staff being available.

A report into the death of the 53-year-old prisoner revealed that 54 medical appointments for prisoners in the Midlands Prison had been cancelled in the previous year due to staff shortages.

The man, who had been in custody since 1985, died in St James Hospital in Dublin on June 14, 2018.

He had been diagnosed with a terminal condition in late 2017 and was transferred to the Midlands Prison from Shelton Abbey in order to have improved access to medical care.

The prisoner had been referred to the Midlands Regional Hospital in Portlaoise after he had complained of severe pain two days earlier.

The prison doctor had recorded the referral as urgent. The prison authorities were notified via e-mail by a nurse at 10.52am on June 12, 2018 that the man needed to be transferred as soon as possible.

However, the report said the nurse contacted the prison authorities again at 5.30pm after she became aware the prisoner had not been taken to hospital some seven hours after he had been examined by the doctor.

She was informed that there was not enough prison staff to escort him to hospital.

Without consulting the doctor, the nurse agreed that the referral could be deferred until the following morning as she considered that the prisoner was not in distress.

The report said such a view was at odds with the mans two carers who said he was not in good shape at the time and that his pain was extremely bad.

Read More Latest: Paddleboarders missing in Galway Bay found alive after 16 hours in sea

It said the prisoner was not brought to the hospital first thing the next morning but only after he was found in a collapsed state in his cell after he sounded an alarm bell at 10.33am.

He was brought to the Midlands Regional Hospital in Portlaoise by ambulance and transferred later that day to St James Hospital in Dublin.

Ms Gilhealy said several concerns arose over the failure to follow the doctors instruction including the fact that nobody seemed to treat his transfer to hospital with any degree of urgency even after it was deferred.

The inspector said the contact details for the prisoners next-of-kin were incorrect which delayed notification to his family at a critical time and they were only alerted to his condition shortly before he passed away.

Ms Gilhealy said a delay of over seven hours by prison staff in responding to the request by hospital staff to notify the mans relative was poor practice whether due to miscommunication or tardiness.

She also noted that several prison staff involved in the prisoners care did not attend a critical case review into his death.

Ms Gilhealy remarked that one prison officer had made an unbecoming attempt to absolve the prisons detail office, which oversees the transfer of prisoners, from any blame.

The inspector said the IPS should satisfy itself about the competence of all staff involved in the failure to follow the doctors orders and take any action necessary to ensure there is no repeat in any prison establishment.

She also said an increased number of medical checks should be immediately carried out on any prisoner who had an urgent hospital referral delayed.

The IPS fully accepted 10 out of 11 recommendations made by the watchdog including the need for staff to fully detail all their records and evidence in relation to deaths in custody.

It said a reminder had been issued to all prison staff of the importance of urgent hospital referrals for prisoners, while an e-mail group was being established in all prisons to ensure relevant staff were aware of proposed transfers and their timeframes.

The IPS only partially accepted the inspectors recommendation for a review of the application of its Compassionate Temporary Release Policy to ensure that terminally ill prisoners were released on licence in order to avoid the indignity of dying in prison.

It said such decisions were made on a case by case basis but decision makers should not be required to give medical options more significance over other factors such as security issues.

The report noted how the prisoners family had felt aggrieved that they had to arrange and pay for his funeral, even though his daughter was only an infant when he was sent to prison.

It said there seemed to be a breakdown in communication that the mans daughter was unaware that the IPS had contributed 2,000 towards the cost of the funeral  the maximum sum permitted  while the prison governor had also authorised a further 100 towards the cost of clothing for his remains.
Mahesh Bhatt's upcoming movie Sadak 2 has landed itself in midst of a controversy even before its release. The trailer of the film, released yesterday, has become the most disliked movie trailer ever on YouTube. The trailer has over 6.6 million dislikes, making it one of the most disliked videos.

The trailer also has one of the worst 'like to dislike' ratios on Youtube. While the trailer has over 3,00,000 likes, they pale in comparison to the 6.6 million dislikes. The trailer has been viewed around 23 million times on YouTube.

The dislikes are the result of an online campaign which was initiated a few days ago by fans of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput who allegedly committed suicide on June 14. Some fans believe the conspiracy theory that the actor was ostracised by the film industry, most notably by 'insiders', which drove him to suicide. Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt has been termed as one of these 'insiders'. He is also being investigated in the money laundering case attached to Sushant Singh Rajput's death case.

Rajput's death has also added fuel to the nepotism debate in the film industry with many of Rajput's fans wanting to bring the practice to an end as soon as possible. Sadak 2 has found itself at the centre of this anti-nepotism sentiment as it stars Alia Bhatt who is the daughter of filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt.

These are the reasons why the trailer of Sadak 2 was targeted by Sushant Singh Rajput fans. The comment section of the film's trailer is filled with angry Rajput fans demanding an end to Bollywood nepotism.

Mahesh Bhatt's daughter Pooja Bhatt commented on the hate that Sadak 2 is getting. "Am absolutely not! Lovers/Haters two sides of the same coin. Gotta hand it to both for giving us their valuable time and making sure we are trending. Thank you for your wishes!," said Bhatt.

Sadak 2 stars Sanjay Dutt, Alia Bhatt, Pooja Bhatt, Aditya Roy Kapur, and Makarand Deshpande in pivotal roles and is expected to release on Disney+Hotstar on August 28. It is a sequel to the 1991 movie Sadak.Also Read: Pakistani musician claims Sadak 2's song Ishq Kamaal complete rip-off of his 2011 production

Also Read: PM Modi launches faceless tax assessment: How it will benefit taxpayers
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-14 02:14:25|Editor: huaxia

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JERUSALEM, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday his country and the United Arab Emirates reached "a full and official peace deal."

In a broadcast press conference, Netanyahu said the move "opens a new era" of cooperation between the two countries and hailed it as "a historic breakthrough towards peace in the Middle East."

The agreement was announced following a telephone talk earlier on Thursday held by U.S. President Donald Trump, UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Netanyahu.

According to Netanyahu, the deal includes "full diplomatic relations, exchange of embassies, trade ties, tourism and direct flights between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi."

He added that the deal includes also cooperation in the fields of energy, water and environment.

The Israeli prime minister said the UAE is expected to make "a very substantial investment" in Israeli efforts to develop a vaccine against COVID-19, in addition to other investments in Israel.

"It is very important for our future," he added.

Asked about part of the agreement under which Israel will halt its plan to annex portions of the occupied West Bank in return for the deal, Netanyahu said the annexation "is still on the table."

He stressed the plan has not been canceled but only "temporarily suspended" following a request by President Trump.

The Israel-UAE deal marks the first diplomatic ties between Israel and a Gulf country. The UAE is the third Arab country that has official relations with Israel.

Over the recent years, Israel's ties with Gulf countries have been warming up amidst shared worries over Iran's regional influence. Enditem
His Excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will on Monday, 17th August 2020 commission and hand over the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat Building to the African Union Commission (AUC) in Accra.



It will be recalled that at the 12th African Union (AU) Extraordinary Summit held in Niamey, Niger in July 2019, Ghana was selected to host the Secretariat of AfCFTA by Member States of the African Union. As part of the obligations and commitments under the Host Country Agreement, Ghana is required to provide a fully furnished office complex as the Headquarters for the AfCFTA Secretariat and an official residence for the Secretary-General.



The AfCFTA Secretariat will administer the free trade agreement creating a Single Market for 55 countries with a combined population of 1.2 billion and a total Gross Domestic Product of about US $2.5 trillion. So far, 54 countries have signed the Agreement with 28 countries ratifying the same.



The hosting of AfCFTA Secretariat in Ghana will promote Ghana as an attractive regional and investment hub in Africa, boost economic activities, and provide job opportunities for Ghanaians.



The handing over ceremony will be attended by the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, the newly elected Secretary-General of AfCFTA, the Speaker of Parliament, Chairman of the Council of State, Senior Government Officials, and members of the Diplomatic Corps. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a limited number of other guests from the Private Sector and other Public Sector Organisations have been invited to witness the ceremony. The ceremony will be broadcast live through local and international television networks and social media platforms to a global audience.

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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Amman, Aug 13 : Jordan has decided to close the Jaber border crossing with Syria for one week starting from Thursday after an increase of local coronavirus cases.

On Wednesday, Interior Minister Salameh Hammad said that the decision was taken upon a recommendation from health authorities, Xinhua news agency reported.

This is one of the busiest border crossings in Syria and is the main crossing for Syrian exports to Jordan and the GCC countries.

Jordan witnessed a rise in the number of locally-transmitted coronavirus cases with the majority of them were registered at the northern border crossing with Syria.

A total of 20 cases were registered on Wednesday, of which 16 were local infections, said Health Minister Saad Jaber, increasing the total number of confirmed cases to 1,303.

Prime Minister Omar Razzaz on Wednesday directed related authorities to improve the health measures at the border crossings with Saudi Arabia and Iraq, vowing immediate measures to curb the spread of coronavirus.
Good rainfall in catchment areas over the past 21 days has led to a sharp rise in the water levels of the seven lakes that supply drinking water to the city. From around 4 lakh million litres (30% of full capacity) on July 24, the water level on Thursday was at 8 lakh million litres (60%). However, there is still a shortfall of 6 lakh million litres of water for the lakes to reach full capacity.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is monitoring the situation on a daily basis and any decision to roll back or relax water cuts could be reviewed next month, depending on the rainfall over the next 20 days. BMC imposed 20% water cuts in the city on August 5. While there were no water cuts in 2019, owing to good rainfall in catchment areas, BMC had imposed a 10% water cut in 2018, a 20% cut in 2016 and a 25% cut in 2014.

An official from BMCs hydraulics department said, If there is sufficient rainfall and the lakes are full, we can review the situation of water cuts. Normally, the situation is reviewed in the first week of October, but this year due to shortfall, the situation is being constantly monitored.

Generally, 15% of monsoon rainfall is expected in June, 35% in July and August, followed by 15% in September. The city has seen more rainfall than its monthly average in June and July.

According to BMCs data, the seven lakes at present have 8.70 lakh million litres of water, which is 60.17% of their full capacity of 14.47 lakh million litres. On Sunday, the water levels were at 7.31 lakh million litres (50.53%). The overall lake level in 2019, in the corresponding period, was 92.38 % and it was 88.26% in 2018. Bhatsa dam, which caters to 55% of the citys total water requirement, is at 60.75 % of its total capacity, compared to 89.78 % at this time in 2019. Out of the total seven lakes, Tulsi and Vehar, located within Mumbais limits, have overflowed.

The seven lakes are bifurcated into two systems, the Vaitarna system supplies to the western suburbs and the island city, and the Bhatsa system supplies to the eastern suburbs. The lakes are situated in Mumbai as well as neighbouring Thane and Palghar districts.

The civic body supplies 3,750 million litres of water daily against the citys demand for 4,200 million litres. Further, BMC chief Iqbal Singh Chahal has plans to bring water to Mumbai from Bhandardara dam in Ahmednagar, if required. However, BMC officials said a final decision on this may be taken next month.
Even City Council members know what its like to lose loved ones to the coronavirus.

In Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcias family, six people have died of COVID-19  all cousins on her fathers side who lived on the West Side.

My dad, he was crying every day for weeks, said Garcia, who represents District 4 on the Southwest Side, which has one of the citys highest rates of coronavirus infection. He thought his whole family was going to pass away.

Garcias firsthand experience puts a spotlight on the disproportionate impact the virus has inflicted on the citys poorest neighborhoods.

Nearly half of those who have died of COVID-19 lived on the West and South Sides, parts of town that are overwhelmingly Hispanic, figures shared with the San Antonio Express-News show.

Previously, the city had not released data showing deaths by geography.

More than a third of the 276 deaths that occurred within city limits as of Aug. 2 were in two council districts: District 3, which covers the Southeast Side, and District 5, which includes parts of the South Side and the heart of the West Side.

Neighboring District 4, which covers the Southwest Side, accounts for 11 percent of the citys deaths.

Express-News

Compare that to the three North Side districts  8, 9 and 10  which together accounted for 16.3 percent of the citys deaths as of Aug. 2.

The numbers came as no shock to South Side politicians and health experts.

Unfortunately, they didnt surprise me, said Garcia, who pushed the Metropolitan Health District to provide her the figures. I knew we were going to be affected. I was just sad because my theory proved true.

An early hot spot of the disease helps account for the high numbers in District 3, represented by Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran. At Southeast Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, 18 residents died of the virus. Critics pointed out the nursing home had low ratings in federal inspections.

Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer

The pandemic, officials and experts say, has taken advantage of the citys pervasive poverty, high rates of chronic health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease and gaps in health care access along racial lines  trends that have persisted decades after the end of policies of racial redlining and legal segregation.

It just again magnifies the disparities that exist in our city, Viagran said.

Thats a sentiment echoed by Dr. Erika Gonzalez, an allergy and immunology specialist and a board member at CentroMed, a nonprofit health network with clinics throughout Bexar County

This is not a virus that at all discriminates, Gonzalez said. That alone should make us take a step back and ask ourselves if people on the North Side are equally at risk of getting the disease as somebody on the South Side.

The West and South sides are home to thousands who work in the service sector  think grocery store clerks and restaurants servers, jobs that cant be done remotely.

Theyre asked to go into work, Viagran said. Theyre asked to still be present and maybe not gain the appropriate protective gear that they need to work.

Viagran added, I cant just tell people to stay home when maybe their livelihood is that they cant stay home. They have to go out and work.

If someone who lives and works in those parts of town contracts the virus, it often can be difficult for them to isolate themselves from family members. Residents of the West and South Sides often live with extended family members. Grandparents often take care of children while parents are at work.

Two employees at the West Side pawn shop owned by District 5 Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales have relatives who have died of the virus, she said  a mother and mother-in-law. Another employees mother has tested positive.

You cant isolate in your home when you have a lot of people living there, said Gonzales, who lives next door to her mother.

Close proximity to other family members can result in an entire household coming down with the virus, said Gonzalez, the immunologist  something that happens more often in households where people have jobs that dont allow them to work from home.

That has Gonzales, the council member, on edge considering that many school-aged children live with their grandparents  raising the risk that once school starts, kids will bring the disease home to their elders.

Those elders are at risk of complications not just because of their age but because of those underlying health conditions that plague minority communities.

In-person schooling should be delayed as long as possible to prevent that, the councilwoman said.

I feel like that it just has to happen because were going to leave children orphaned if we send them back to school, Gonzales said.

In response to the concentration of deaths, Metro Health is redeploying teams in those areas to reach households in person to spread awareness of testing availability along with other information about the severity of the virus and tips to try to prevent transmission.

The workers will sound the now-common refrain: wash your hands frequently; keep 6 feet of social distance from people outside your household, including relatives; and wear masks when out in public, including at relatives homes.

OnExpressNews.com: No doctors referral? Heres where to get tested for coronavirus in San Antonio

Metro Health also is trying to obtain a more granular understanding of deaths and cases, especially in those three districts, Assistant City Manager Colleen Bridger, who is serving as interim director of Metro Health, told City Council members last week.

One idea pitched by Viagran is to add more permanent testing sites that dont charge people for tests, especially walk-up sites.

The South Side has four free testing sites  three of which require appointments. Two are drive-thru sites and one allows walk-ins.

But there are no free testing sites in Gonzales district, according to a city map. There is one free walk-in site just outside the district.

For Councilwoman Garcia, the disease continues to take a heavy toll. At one point, 14 of her cousins were hospitalized with the virus.

A deacon at Divine Providence Catholic Church on Old Pearsall Road where Garcia attends Mass succumbed to the disease. And several nuns at the convent at Our Lady of the Lake University, where Garcia teaches, also have fallen to the virus.

Death is all around us, Garcia said. Unfortunately, I feel like its all around me, my family, my church family and my Our Lady of the Lake family.

For Gonzalez, the immunologist, COVID-19 also has become personal. Her mother and father are both hospitalized with the virus  and she doesnt expect that they will leave the hospital together.

I think its only a matter of time, really, for my mother, Gonzalez said. Were just hoping for better outcomes for my Dad. I only say that because people need to understand that this is real.

Joshua Fechter is a staff writer covering San Antonio government and politics. To read more from Joshua, become a subscriber. jfechter@express-news.net | Twitter: @JFreports
The European Unions partial suspension of trade privileges for Cambodia kicked in on Wednesday, leaving the country to absorb a potential loss in exports in light of a COVID-19-induced economic slowdown.

In February, the European Commission completed a year-long investigation and evaluation period and decided to suspend the Everything But Arms trade privileges on 40 types of products, accounting for $1.4 billion in 2019 exports to the economic bloc. The suspension, the EU said, was necessitated by systemic human rights violations.

The EUs decision to partially withdraw Cambodias duty-free quota-free access to the EU market is now effective, read a statement issued by the EU Commission on Wednesday.

With the sanctions, some 20 percent of Cambodias total exports to the European markets are affected, including those of garment and footwear products and travel goods  among which are Cambodias key products for EU exports. Garments account for two-thirds of the now-tariffed products, with footwear products accounting for 20 percent, according to EU Commission data.

Since February 2020, when the EUs decision on partial withdrawal was taken, the Cambodian Government could at any time have taken the necessary steps to fulfill the conditions allowing the European Union to fully restore EBA preferential access to the EU market. This remains the case.

EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said Brussels could reverse course if Cambodia improves its human rights and political situation, including the political rehabilitation of banned opposition politicians and revocation of amendments to the much-criticized political party and NGO laws.

I stand ready to continue our engagement and to restore fully free access to the EU market for products from Cambodia provided we see substantial improvement in that respect, Hogan said.

EU was one of the largest Cambodias export destination. Bilateral trades rose to $6.59 billion in which Cambodia had a vast surplus in 2019.

EU kicked off its review process of Cambodias eligibility to the Everything But Arms trade preferences scheme in February 2019, following the Cambodian Peoples Partys complete sweep of the National Assembly and Senate elections in 2018.

The complete control of the legislature was facilitated by the dissolution of the principal opposition, Cambodia National Rescue Party, which was dissolved in November 2017 and then-president Kem Sokha imprisoned on treason charges. The government also launched a sweeping crackdown on critics, civil society, and the free press.

The partial EBA withdrawal is a direct consequence of the actions of the Royal Government of Cambodia, which failed to adequately protect and promote the human rights of its citizens, said Chak Sopheap, executive director at the Cambodian Center for Human Right, in a statement.

Unfortunately, 2020 has witnessed a renewed crackdown on the exercise of fundamental freedoms and a further weakening of civic space, Chak Sopheap added.

Foreign Ministrys spokesperson Koy Kuong said Cambodias government adheres to its previous statements in responses to EUs demands. Despite multiple calls from industry bodies, civil society and activists to improve the rights situation, the government has continued its crackdown on dissent and political participation.

[The sanction enforcements] will not hurt EU-Cambodian relations, Koy Kuong told VOA Khmer through a messaging application. Bilateral cooperation on various sectors will continue and we will even enhance them.

Of course, even with this kind of decision on EBA, the Royal Government of Cambodia remains highly resolved to continue promoting and improving human rights, labor rights, and democracy further.

Others are not convinced. Former CNRP lawmaker Ou Chanrath said the state would further extend its crackdown in a show of defiance aimed at the EUs decision.

He said those who would pay the price would be critics living inside the country and opposition leader Kem Sokha, whose prolonged case and trial will become more complicated to find a way out.

This is such a loss for Cambodia with detrimental effects on poor citizens, Ou Chanrath said, referring to some 700,000 workers serving in the garment and footwear industries.

Some 230 factories had been either halted their production or closed with a total of some 93,000 workers out of work as of August 11, according to Labor Ministrys spokesperson Heng Sour. Factories in Cambodia have been hit hard by the COVID-19 economic global slowdown because of falling orders.

Ken Loo, secretary-general at the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC), said the EUs partial withdrawal of the EBA would further burden the garment industry that has been hit hard by COVID-19.

We regret that the EU did not consider our pleas [for relief] and moved to withdraw 20 percent of our export to the European market, Ken Loo told VOA Khmer in a telephone call.

It must affect our industry, he said adding that he expected a worse second half of the year for the garment industry.

Cambodian government would release some $1.164 billion as a leeway to nurture the economy dealing with the impacts by the EBAs partial loss and the COVID-19 pandemic, said Finance Ministrys spokesperson Meas Soksensan.

As factory orders slow down, global brands have also expressed concern over Cambodia embrace of coal power plants, which they say contradicts their commitment to moving towards renewable energies, even warning this could affect sourcing from Cambodia.

H&M spokesperson Ulrika Isaksson said without the EBA it would be hard to facilitate the changes needed in the garment sector, affecting the competitiveness of Cambodian exports.

When it comes to sourcing in Cambodia going forward, we do see that a lack of adequate initiatives in developing the Cambodian garment industry, and the partial withdrawal of the EBA privileges, as problematic, she said in an email.

We are therefore evaluating if and how our business and production strategy in Cambodia will change.
On August 8, food delivery startup Zomato introduced 'period leaves' for its women and transgender employees. The move, it said, was part of the company's effort to address the stigma attached to menstruation while also acknowledging the biological differences between men and women.

The company said, "all women (including transgender people) at Zomato can avail up to 10 days of period leaves in a year."

Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal said in a note to employees, "There shouldnt be any shame or stigma attached to applying for a period leave. You should feel free to tell people on internal groups, or emails that you are on your period leave for the day."

The move comes a year after the much-popular food delivery platform rolled out a 26-week paternity leave policy in June 2019.

Stir on social media

However, the menstrual leave introduction by Zomato has yet again stirred up a controversy over whether the policy of period leaves at workplaces is a good or a bad idea. Differing opinions on the issue have polarised people on social media, giving rise to 'for' and 'against' camps.

While some have said the concept of period leaves leads to the furthering of the notion that women are 'weak', others have pointed out that option of availing such leaves is a voluntary one and helps people with painful menstrual cycles. The naysayers also argue that such a policy will only prejudice employers against hiring women and lead to their alienation at work.

Earlier this year, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's tweet advocating support for menstrual leave for women in public and private workplaces and calling for its support via a petition had also left Twitter divided, with many diverging opinions emerging on the topic.

The severity of period-related pain and cramps (dysmenorrhea) experienced by menstruators varies. Several people suffer from medical conditions which only worsen the already debilitating period pain. The Endometriosis Society of India estimates that nearly 2.5 crore Indian women suffer from endometriosis, a chronic painful disorder that affects roughly 1 in 10 women globally.

But is the idea an altogether new one?

However, while the debate has going on for a very long time now, it would be interesting to note that the concept is not a new one in India. Several companies and workplaces have provided the option of such leaves to female employees. In fact, the Bihar government had introduced a similar option as early as in 1992, as pointed out by Kavita Krishnan, Secretary of the All India Progressive Women's Association in a 2017 article.

She said, "...women employees in Bihar government services have been eligible for two days of leave in a month for this purpose, though not specifically stated, since 1992."

The need for India to introduce a monthly period leave system has been raised time and again. In 2018, Ninong Ering, a Lok Sabha Member of Parliament from Arunachal Pradesh, had moved a private members Bill, the Menstruation Benefit Bill, 2017, which proposed two days of paid menstrual leave every month for women working in the public and private sectors.

Countries like Japan and South Korea, among others, have introduced a menstrual leave provision for their employees.
According to a local association of multinational pharmaceutical companies, Russia's plan to allow the public to use a potential coronavirus vaccine before clinical trials are complete could put people at risk.

Race for the vaccine

The Russian government plans to give a vaccine developed by Moscow's Gamaleya Institute conditional registration as early as this week. It would open the door to public use.

However, less than 100 people had officially received the inoculation against the epidemic by early August and its widespread use could be risky according to the Association of Clinical Trials Organizations that sent a letter to Health Minister Mikhail Murashko in August 10. .

ACTO Executive Director Svetlana Zavidova said that all corporations are following the rules, but Russian ones aren't. The rules for conducting clinical trials are written in blood and can't be violated.

Also Read: Wuhan Lab Welcomes US Reporters to Nullify Theories About Being Coronavirus Origin

Zavidova also said that it is a Pandora's Box and that they do not know what will happen to people injected with a vaccine that is not proven yet.

The Gamaleya vaccine is being developed together with the Russian Direct Investment Fund. The company has begun its Phase 3 testing last week.

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on August 10 that he hopes it will be registered soon while one of his deputies has said that production is likely to start in September and the Health Ministry said mass vaccinations could begin by October.

Christian Lindmeier, the World Health Organization spokesperson, told reporters last week in Geneva that vaccines should go through all stages of testing before it gets licensed and distributed for public use.

Competitive Behavior

RDIF head Kirill Dmitriev said that they see this as part of competitive behavior by some western pharma companies that want to dominate the vaccine market and do not want to have any competition. The Ministry of Health of Russia will follow all of the needed procedures for approval and no corners will be cut.

As early as April, scores of Russia's business and political elite have already been given access to the experimental vaccine, according to those familiar with the effort.

Military volunteers completed Phase 2 trials back in July, according to the Defense Ministry. The results have not yet been published in journals that are peer-reviewed so it can't be seen by the public yet.

Pharmaceutical companies and researchers in other countries including the U.K, the U.S, China, and Japan are also racing to develop vaccines. Pfizer Inc., Moderna Inc., and AstraZeneca Plc have all begun late-stage testing for COVID-19 vaccines, with initial results from some of the human trials expected as early as October.

ACTO represents a group of multinational companies that conduct clinical trials in Russia, including AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Novartis AG.

According to Federal Statistics Service data, Russia had over 27,000 coronavirus-related deaths in the past three months. The country ranked fourth as having the most cases in the world, with more than 900,000 people diagnosed with COVID-19.

Zavidova said of the Russian efforts that they have not published anything. There is still a standard to publish data even from studies that are not successful.

Related Article: United States to Acquire 100 Million Doses of Coronavirus Vaccine From Moderna

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
If theres a more authentically American story than the one of Sen. Kamala Harris, youd have to make it up.

On Tuesday, the California Democrat, the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, became the first woman of color in American history to be named to a presidential ticket. And across the United States, Black women, who saw themselves reflected in Harris eyes, rejoiced.

Im so excited I can hardly talk, former Philadelphia City Council member Marian B. Tasco told the Philadelphia Inquirer. For us to have an African American woman be a candidate for vice president, that is just so exciting for me, having worked so long in the political arena.

Its long past absurd that America stands nearly alone in the industrial world for never having put a woman in the Oval Office  and yes, Clintonistas, I hear you, the popular vote numbers in 2016 said it all. That does not mean Harris joining the 2020 ticket is any less epochal.

Harris, who enjoyed a close relationship with Bidens son, the late Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, survived a culling process that sometimes threatened to be reduced to a mere popularity contest as various contenders waxed and waned.

As The Washington Posts Karen Tumulty wrote, the very qualities that some believe hampered Harris short-lived presidential bid  that she is cautious and deliberate  are the very attributes that make her an ideal running-mate for Biden, who will benefit from her counsel should he win the White House in November.

But crucially, in choosing Harris, Biden picked a running-mate who will meet where the country where it is now: A multiracial and multiethnic republic, where the voices of Black and Brown people have been raised and are, rightfully, prominent.

Harris, like President Barack Obama before her, brings an intimate knowledge and understanding of that changing America.

During last Augusts Democratic debate, she took Biden to the woodshed over his opposition to busing, forcefully arguing it was a ticket to opportunity for hundreds of thousands of Black children just like her. She and Biden later mended fences over that televised moment of confrontation.

While shes not without her flaws, Harris is a living refutation of the crass and hateful nativism of the Trump administration. Trump will struggle to brand Harris in the same way he has found it difficult to label Biden, despite round after round of new ads.

Thats due in part to changing American attitudes about race and race relations (a majority of Americans support the Black Lives Matter movement), but also because of the policy ground Harris has staked out during her time in the Senate.

Like Biden, a Senate veteran before his ascension to the vice presidency in 2008, Harris is largely a moderate Democrat who will defy Trumps efforts to paint her as some empty vessel for the partys progressive wing.

Its also not likely Harris will wilt in the face of any presidential Twitter storm. Her questioning of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh reminded the nation of her prosecutorial bona fides. They were cemented with Twitter shade of her own, when she clapped back at Trump Dont worry, Mr. President, Ill see you at your trial.

Finally, though it seems grim to talk about it, Harris has the experience and expertise to step in if Biden, who will be 78 by the time of his possible inauguration in January, is incapacitated and unable to serve.

Biden has described himself as a transitional candidate. And in Harris, he has found an ideal partner to whom to pass the baton.

As much as Trump has tried to move the country backwards, putting up walls, withdrawing America from the world stage, and hearkening back to a segregated past, Harris is a living reminder that the arc of history is always forward-moving.

Shes America as it is now, and will be in the decades to come. Trump is an unpleasant chapter the country cant move past quickly enough.

An award-winning political journalist, John L. Micek is Editor-in-Chief of The Pennsylvania Capital-Star in Harrisburg. Email him at jmicek@penncapital-star.com and follow him on Twitter @ByJohnLMicek.

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No end in sight for flights ban

THAILAND: The ban on international commercial flights will remain in force while the COVID-19 pandemic situation remains critical in many countries, the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) said yesterday (Aug 12).

tourismtransportCoronavirusCOVID-19healthSafety

By Bangkok Post

Thursday 13 August 2020, 08:06AM

Empty seats at Suvarnabhumi airport in Samut Prakan province last month. Photo: Wichan Charoenkiatpakul.

It is an indefinite ban, said CAAT director Chula Sukmanop and the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) would monitor the global situation before deciding when the flights could resume.

Mr Chula said the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking (JSCCIB) had told the government that a large number of foreigners intended coming to Thailand on business, so officials were checking if there were enough state quarantine (ASQ) facilities available.

More private accommodation providers were applying to become ASQ-certified, he said, restating that those arriving would have to pay their quarantine expenses themselves.

They would also be required to notify Thai officials in advance where they would be staying while in the country and complete the mandatory 14-day quarantine period.

A number of foreign people seeking medical treatment in Thailand under a special entry programme are required to stay at a contracted hospital for at least 14 days to ensure they dont bring in and spread the virus, he said, adding: As of now, no commercial airlines are permitted to operate flights into and out of Thailand and only a number of foreign businesspeople are allowed to enter the country for business purposes.

These people, along with Thai nationals looking to return to the country on repatriation flights, had booked to come to Thailand, said Mr Chula.

The maximum number of incoming passengers is limited to 500 per day in line with COVID-19 precautionary measures.

No ordinary tourists are allowed entry at the moment, while no travel bubble programmes with other countries are agreed just yet, he said.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Cherdkiat Atthakor, meanwhile, said 102 Thai nationals on a repatriation flight from Uzbekistans capital Tashkent were due to arrive home this morning, having left Uzbekistan yesterday on Uzbekistan Airways Flight HY3609.

All these passengers tested negative for the new coronavirus before they were allowed to board the repatriation flight, he said.

Of those 102 people, 94 are Thai workers who went to work in Uzbekistan under a labour cooperation programme, seven are spa workers and the other one has been living in Uzbekistan.

The employers of all the workers, except for two of the spa employees, have agreed to pay for their repatriation costs.
Bo Derek revealed why she and John Corbett have never decided to get married amid their romance of 18 years.

'I think when youre beginning a young family and youre going to have children and set up this new family tree branch, its obviously a wonderful commitment and its meaningful,' she explained to Fox News.

The 63-year-old, who rose to fame as a blonde bombshell in the 1979 sex comedy 10, shared: 'But for us in our lives, it hasn't been yet.'

Longtime love: Bo Derek revealed why she and John Corbett have never decided to get married amid their romance of 18 years; pictured together in 2018

Before she met her current beau she thought she would never find love again, having lost her husband John Derek to heart failure in 1998.

However she explained that when she met Corbett she felt 'just an attraction, a comfort. He makes me laugh all the time. Hes full of life, full of joy.'

Bo shared: 'I became attracted to him and I still am. We take things day by day and I think we are still there. Were starting to get a little more settled,' she quipped.

Although John Derek directed several of her films - including Tarzan, The Ape Man and Bolero - it was Blake Edwards who directed 10 which made her a star.

Her side: She felt 'if you're beginning a young family and youre going to have children and set up this new family tree branch, its obviously a wonderful commitment and its meaningful'; seen in February

Amid a cast that included Blake's wife Julie Andrews as well as Dudley Moore, Bo made a splash while strutting her stuff across the beach in a swimsuit.

'It was one of those moments where a fairy godmother comes in, taps you on the forehead with her magic wand and changes everything,' Bo reflected.

'People say Im an icon, whatever that means. I wouldnt call myself that. I dont take it personally. But I played a part that certainly became iconic for sure.'

John Derek was 30 years Bo's senior and became smitten with her when she was 16 years old acting in his film Fantasies in Greece.

Throwback: Bo rose to fame in 1979 as a blonde bombshell strutting her stuff in her swimsuit across the beach in the Blake Edwards sex comedy 10

Although he was married to Linda Evans and had children older than Bo, he began a relationship with her and stayed with her in Germany until she turned 18.

Once Bo was legally an adult in the United States, he divorced Linda and made Bo his fourth and final wife, according to his obituary in the Independent.

He not only managed her but also directed her in films such as the romantic comedy Ghosts Can't Do It, which featured Donald Trump in a Razzie-winning cameo.

Throwback to 1981: Bo met her current man a half-decade after the death of her first husband John Derek (right), who was 30 years her senior and directed her in multiple films

Although their movies together were not taken seriously, the couple lived in luxury at a ranch until his death at the age of 71.

'Ive always been a fairly optimistic person, but it was a huge change, an enormous loss. The air just gets sucked out of the room when you lose your partner. So I wallowed in that for a while,' Bo told Fox News.

'I didnt expect to end up with anyone again. Some women want to pair up again right away. I didnt. I remember consciously fashioning myself after some girlfriends that I have [who] are single and led very full, fantastic lives with friends and family and projects that they do. And that gave them happiness.'

'He makes me laugh all the time': She explained that when she met John Corbett she felt 'just an attraction, a comfort'; they are pictured together in 2015

John Corbett told Today a few years ago that he met Bo after his agent friend Norby Walters fixed them up as Oscar party dates.

'Im grateful for the life I was given. I feel very good about the decisions Ive made,' said Bo to Fox News looking back at her career.

'They werent always the most successful business decisions as far as money in the bank, but I had a blast making films and having my career on my own terms. And that business has been very good to me. And it has opened so many doors for me.'
Patrick Riccards son is scheduled to attend high school in West Windsor this fall but hes worried about more than just the looming coronavirus pandemic.

My son is starting high school and hes dyslexic, said Riccards, 47, who works for a nonprofit education company. When we moved to emergency virtual education, it was a frustrating disaster. Parents received notice that much of the special education our children were entitled to receive was going to be suspended. If you are a parent of a special ed kid, you fought for years to give your child these protections.

Riccards wants in-person instruction to resume when school begins next month and his district has a plan for parents to opt in for that. But he thinks public sentiment may be shifting and it may only take a few large districts like Newark or Elizabeth to make remote instruction the universal choice.
The sativa-dominant Tropic Lemon 0.3g and 1g 510 thread vape cartridges are the first to launch under Verse Originals, a line of universal cannabis products offered at a great value. Crafted with botanical terpenes, the 0.3g value cartridges are now available in Alberta, with British Columbia, Ontario and Saskatchewan expected to follow, along with the launch of the 1g value cartridge in the coming weeks in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario. Additionally, the Verse Originals 1:20 CBD oil is expected to be available soon in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario. Created using high quality extracts, the premium cannabis-derived CBD formula offers a subtle terpene profile with a citrus aroma. In partnership with Verse, The Valens Company will also produce and manufacture additional products for the Verse Originals product line, including drink drops, using SoRSE by Valens emulsion technology.

As one of the first entries into the Canadian market, the much-anticipated Verse 0.5g crumble is now available in Saskatchewan, with the 1g offering expected to be available in Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan in the coming weeks under the Verse Concentrates line, an ultra premium, curated collection of concentrates developed with experienced cannabis users at the forefront. Precisely created using hydrocarbon extraction, Verse crumble captures the essence of the indica-dominant White Rhino strain with its high THC potency and aromas and flavors of blueberries and mangos, green grapes and Thai Basil. The Valens Company's commitment to building out the concentrates category in Canada is furthered by its hydrocarbon extraction capabilities. Through this exclusive extraction process, the delicate makeup of the cannabis plant is maintained allowing for the original combination of cannabinoids and terpenes to remain in the extracted oil, resulting in a refined and consistent end product.



"Canadian cannabis consumers have been eagerly waiting for more next-generation products to hit the shelves, and in partnership with Verse, we have come to deliver two unique product lines with both original and reimagined high-quality cannabis extracts and concentrates," said Tyler Robson, Chief Executive Officer of The Valens Company. "Together with Verse, we aim to set a new industry standard for accessibility, quality, price point and value, all of which we have favourably captured through the brand's innovative yet simple product offering that we are confident will meet a wide range of consumer needs."

For more information on Verse, please visit https://versecannabis.com/.

About The Valens Company

The Valens Company is a global leader in the end-to-end development and manufacturing of innovative, cannabinoid-based products. The Valens Company is focused on being the partner of choice for leading Canadian and international cannabis brands by providing best-in-class, proprietary services including CO2, ethanol, hydrocarbon, solvent-less and terpene extraction, analytical testing, formulation and product development and custom manufacturing. Valens is the largest third-party extraction company in Canada with an annual capacity of 425,000 kg of dried cannabis and hemp biomass at our purpose-built facility in Kelowna, British Columbia which is in the process of becoming European Union (EU) Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) compliant. The Valens Company currently offers a wide range of product formats, including tinctures, two-piece caps, soft gels, oral sprays and vape pens as well as beverages, concentrates, topicals, edibles, injectables, natural health products and has a strong pipeline of next-generation products in development for future release. Finally, The Valens Company's wholly-owned subsidiary Valens Labs is a Health Canada licensed ISO 17025 accredited cannabis testing lab providing sector-leading analytical services and has partnered with Thermo Fisher Scientific to develop a Centre of Excellence in Plant-Based Science. For more information, please visit http://thevalenscompany.com. The Valens Company's investor deck can be found specifically at http://thevalenscompany.com/investors/.

About Verse

Introducing Verse

There is a clear need in the marketplace for Verse. On the one hand, beautifully branded and marketed flower-based brands line the shelves of cannabis stores nationwide. On the other hand, quality-obsessed craft products, fill the needs of those demanding more, but at a high price.

This is where the idea for Verse was born. An assortment of the highest quality cannabinoid-based Gen2 products accessible to all. A brand whose North Star would always be innovation and quality but values like realness and honesty would trump frills and gimmicks.

Like the verse of a song or poem, where creativity follows the rules of rhythm to become attractive to its listener, so does Verse, combining creative innovation with the rules of science to engineer extraordinary experiences for consumers.

Notice regarding Forward Looking Statements

All information included in this press release, including any information as to the future financial or operating performance and other statements of The Valens Company that express management's expectations or estimates of future performance, other than statements of historical fact, constitute forward-looking information or forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as of the date hereof. Forward-looking statements are included for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. Wherever possible, words such as "plans", "expects", "scheduled", "trends", "indications", "potential", "estimates", "predicts", "anticipate", "to establish", "believe", "intend", "ability to", or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "will", or are "likely" to be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of these words or other variations thereof, have been used to identify such forward-looking information. Specific forward-looking statements include, without limitation, all disclosure regarding future results of operations, economic conditions and anticipated courses of action.

The risks and uncertainties that may affect forward-looking statements include, among others, regulatory risk, United States border crossing and travel bans, reliance on licenses, expansion of facilities, competition, dependence on supply of cannabis and reliance on other key inputs, dependence on senior management and key personnel, general business risk and liability, regulation of the cannabis industry, change in laws, regulations and guidelines, compliance with laws, reliance on a single facility, limited operating history, vulnerability to rising energy costs, unfavourable publicity or consumer perception, product liability, risks related to intellectual property, product recalls, difficulties with forecasts, management of growth and litigation, many of which are beyond the control of The Valens Company. For a more comprehensive discussion of the risks faced by The Valens Company, and which may cause the actual financial results, performance or achievements of The Valens Company to be materially different from estimated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking information or forward-looking statements, please refer to The Valens Company's latest Annual Information Form filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities at www.sedar.com or on The Valens Company's website at www.thevalenscompany.com. The risks described in such Annual Information Form are hereby incorporated by reference herein. Although the forward-looking statements contained herein reflect management's current beliefs and reasonable assumptions based upon information available to management as of the date hereof, The Valens Company cannot be certain that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking information. The Valens Company cautions you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements. The Valens Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Nothing herein should be construed as either an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy or sell securities of The Valens Company.

SOURCE The Valens Company
Michelle Bridges is known for her body sculpting workouts.

And on Thursday, the 49-year-old showed off the results of her exercise regimen as she flaunted her taut torso in a sultry selfie.

Posting to Instagram, the personal trainer explained that she was shooting her new activewear range for MB Active.

Fab physique: Michelle Bridges is known for her body sculpting workouts, and on Thursday, the 49-year-old showed off the results flaunting her taut torso in a sultry selfie

'Back at it! And SO happy to be too! Todays photo shoot was for my new @m_b_active range. No Limits its form meets tech meets cool,' she captioned the picture.

Michelle showed of her toned physique in a maroon crop top and matching exercise leggings.

The mother-of-one looked ageless in the photo wearing flawless foundation, pale pink eyeshadow and lashings of mascara.

Revenge picture: On Friday Michelle (pictured) posted a sultry picture to Instagram just 20 minutes after her ex, Steve 'Commando Willis, shared a selfie with his new girlfriend, Harika Vancuylenberg

Last week, Michelle shared another sultry photo just 20 minutes after her ex, Steve 'Commando' Willis shared a selfie with his girlfriend, Harika Vancuylenberg.

Michelle was glowing as she posed in her office after filming new workouts for her 12 Week Body Challenge.

'As I'm typing this we're about 5 workouts in.... and oh boy, do I no longer look as sweat and pain free,' she jokingly captioned the picture.

Lovebirds: Commando (left) looked more loved up than ever with Harika (right) in the sweet selfie. The couple were snuggled up to each other and wearing promotional clothing for Commando's workout program, Get Commando Fit

Meanwhile, Commando looked more loved up than ever with Harika in the sweet selfie.

The couple were snuggled up to each other and wearing promotional clothing for Commando's workout program, Get Commando Fit.

'GCF Caps & Beanies have arrived,' he captioned the photo.

The way they were: Michelle and Commando (pictured) began dating in 2015, after splitting from their respective partners, and welcomed son, Axel in December that year. The couple announced their shock split in January

It follows a tumultuous year for the former Biggest Loser trainer who split from Commando in January.

The couple began dating in 2015, after splitting from their respective partners, and welcomed son, Axel in December that year.

They announced their shock split in January this year, and following the breakup, Michelle blew 0.086 when she was pulled over in her Range Rover with son Axel in the car, about 11.25am on Australia Day.

'These actions will haunt me': Following the breakup, Michelle blew 0.086 when she was pulled over in her Range Rover with son Axel (pictured) in the car, about 11.25am on Australia Day

The star was fined $750 and had her licence disqualified for three months, after pleading guilty to mid-range drink driving.

Outside court, a tearful Michelle said: 'I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep remorse, shame and humiliation [over] this incident and extreme lack of judgment.

'I would like to apologise to my family, friends and community for this gross error in judgment and the consequences of these actions will haunt me forever.'
A new musical about Princess Dianas life is set to stream on Netflix before it makes its Broadway debut, due to the coronavirus crisis.

Diana: A New Musical, is set to premiere in New York in May 2021, but with fans facing a long wait, the producers have opted to film the show and make it available for Netflix subscribers.

In a joint statement, the Diana producers said: We speak for the entire company when we say that we couldnt be more excited to finally be able to share our show with theatre lovers everywhere. Though there is no substitute for the live theatre, we are honoured to be a part of the quality entertainment that Netflix provides its subscribers worldwide.

Its the first time a Broadway show has been shown on the small screen first.

The version will be filmed at Longacre Theatre on Broadway, where it was scheduled to open at the end of March 2020 before it was postponed because of the pandemic.

There will not be an audience.

It will feature the original Broadway cast, including Jeanna de Waal as Diana, Roe Hartrampf as Prince Charles, and Erin Davie as Camilla Parker Bowles.

Diana, here in 1997, has been portrayed by many actors on screen over the years. (Reuters)

Read more: Princess Diana onscreen: How actors have portrayed the iconic royal

The Actors' Equity Association, a union representing stage actors, has approved the plans to keep actors safe during the filming, including regular coronavirus testing, isolating actors and stage managers, and changes to ventilation in backstage areas.

Mary McColl, executive director of Actors' Equity Association, told Associated Press: Now comes the hard part  taking a safety plan from the page and putting it into practice. The work to provide the safest workplace possible in this environment will require everyone to work together, from the employer to every employee.

Actor de Waal previously told Access Hollywood about the pressure she felt playing the late Diana, and said: Its an actors dream to take on such a wonderful story and prolific figure in history that still has a current role in how we think and address and how we hear from the royals.

Story continues

She also said she wanted to do justice to Dianna, because she is still so loved.

The musical is not the only retelling of Dianas life due out soon. Kirsten Stewart was announced as the actor taking on the same role in a film called Spencer, which starts filming in 2021.

According to Deadline, Pablo Larrain will direct Stewart in Spencer, a drama which will focus on one weekend in the late princesss life when she decided her marriage to Prince Charles was not working.

Roe Hartrampf will play Charles and Jeanna de Waal will play Diana in the Broadway musical. Pictured here in January before the show was delayed. (WireImage)

Read more: Fashion historian reveals secrets of Princess Diana's wardrobe

It will be set over three days during one of Dianas last Christmases at the Queens Norfolk estate of Sandringham.

Diana, Princess of Wales, died in a car crash in Paris in 1997. Her life has been retold several times over the years, with Netflix subscribers also able to also see her played by Emma Corrin in season four of The Crown later this year.
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NEW YORK, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- CB Insights today named icometrix to its second annual Digital Health 150 ranking, which showcases the 150 most promising private digital health companies in the world.

The 2020 Digital Health 150 cohort highlights startups that are reimagining the lines of the traditional healthcare experience across 12 categories, from Virtual Care Delivery and Clinical Trials, to Drug Discovery and Specialty Care.

"This year's Digital Health 150 is our most global ever, covering the best private healthcare companies from 17 countries. Beyond geographic diversity, these companies are innovating across the entire healthcare value chain, spanning technologies that benefit pharma & biotech companies, to payers, hospitals, insurers, and more," said CB Insights CEO Anand Sanwal.

"We are honored to receive this renewed recognition by CB Insights," said Wim Van Hecke, CEO of icometrix. "Innovative digital health solutions are changing healthcare at a rapid pace. Through our brain MRI and CT measures, we help radiologists, neurologists, neurosurgeons, and their referring physicians to make more informed and more accurate decisions for patients with neurological disorders. With our recently launched icompanion, a free app for people with multiple sclerosis to track symptoms, treatments, physician visits, as well as view their MRI scans on-the-go. All of this contributes to enhanced patient care worldwide, providing individual patients with the right treatment at the right moment," Van Hecke concludes.

icometrix offers AI solutions to obtain clinically meaningful data from MR and CT scans. Its icobrain portfolio incorporates brain volumetrics for patients with neurological conditions in clinical practice. icolung, an AI solution launched to help fight COVID-19, quantifies lung pathology on chest CT in admitted COVID-patients. Today, icometrix is internationally active in over 100 clinical practices and works with healthcare providers and pharmaceutical companies on the evaluation of drug trials for neurological diseases.

About icometrix

icometrix (Leuven, Belgium; Chicago, USA) is the world leader in software solutions to obtain clinically meaningful data from brain MRI and CT scans. The fully automated icobrain software has market clearance in the USA, Europe, Japan, Canada, Brazil, India, and Australia. Today, the icobrain portfolio is used in patients with multiple sclerosis, dementia, and brain trauma.

Contact:

Wim Van Hecke, CEO

[email protected]

+32 16-369-000

icometrix.com

Press Kit:

https://icometrix-files.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/Press-releases/Press-Kit-icometrix-20200813.zip

SOURCE icometrix

Related Links

http://icometrix.com


BowPoint Made The List! #692 Im extremely proud of our team and what weve been able to accomplish these last few years together, said BowPoints Founder, Berlin Haugen. We are lucky to work with some of the very best private equity groups in the country, and we truly owe our record growth to our amazing clients!

Inc. Magazine Names BowPoint to Inc. 5000 List of Americas Fastest-Growing Private Companies

BowPoint, LLC (BowPoint), a St. Louis based buyside mergers and acquisitions firm has been named by Inc. Magazine as number 692 on its annual Inc. 5000 list of Americas fastest-growing private companies, making BowPoint one of the few M&A firms to have ever been named to the Inc. 5000, and ranking BowPoint as the fastest growing financial services firm in the State of Missouri.

BowPoint joins companies such as Intuit, Zappos, Under Armour, Microsoft, Patagonia, and many others who first gained national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000. The 2020 Inc. 5000 winners achieved an incredible three-year average growth of over 500 percent, and a median revenue growth rate of 165 percent, with aggregate revenue of $209 billion in 2019.

The companies on this years Inc. 5000 come from nearly every realm of business, says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. From health and software to media and hospitality, the 2020 list proves that no matter the sector, incredible growth is based on the foundations of tenacity and opportunism.

BowPoints rapid revenue growth has been the result of the successful completion of a record 19 transactions in 2019 involving buyers and sellers headquartered in 13 U.S. states and 2 Canadian provinces, accounting for over $350 Million in total enterprise value, with completed transactions within the niche manufacturing, value-added distribution, industrial products, medical equipment, residential services, consumer services, industrial services, financial services, branded consumer products, and food co-packing industries.

Im extremely proud of our team and what weve been able to accomplish these last few years together, said BowPoints Founder, Berlin Haugen. We are lucky to work with some of the very best private equity groups in the country, and we truly owe our record growth to our amazing clients!

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000.

Selection Methodology:

The 2020 Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2016 and 2019. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2016. They had to be U.S. based, privately held, for profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2016 is $100,000; the minimum for 2019 is $2 million. Companies on the Inc. 500 are featured in Inc.s September issue.

About BowPoint:

BowPoint is a St. Louis, Missouri based buyside mergers and acquisitions intermediary that specializes in generating deal flow and provides M&A deal origination and corporate development support services to middle-market private equity groups, family offices, billionaire entrepreneurs, and retired Fortune 500 CEOs seeking to make platform and add-on acquisitions across North America.

About Inc. Media:

The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit

http://www.inc.com.

For More Information Contact:

Berlin M. Haugen  Founder & CEO

BowPoint | http://www.bowpoint.com

7733 Forsyth Blvd, Suite 1100 | St. Louis, MO 63105

314.315.4170 (Direct) | bhaugen@bowpoint.com
Former Minister for Justice and TD for Louth, Dermot Ahern has paid tribute to An Garda Siochana, the PSNI and US authorities for their patience and determination in bringing Aaron Brady to justice for the murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe.

From the minute that the murder had occurred the gardai had an idea of who was responsible, he said, but it had taken seven years to gather the evidence.

Mr Ahern admitted that he had worried that there might not be sufficient evidence for a conviction.

Mr Ahern told RTE radios Today with Sarah McInerney show that he had known Adrian Donohoe personally.

He was a lovely man, a gentle giant, he would do anything for anybody.

It had been devastating to see the way he was murdered so callously.

Gangs like this operated along the border for years, he said. They were still a difficulty and there was still intimidation.

He cited the example of the Paul Quinn murder for which no one had been convicted. Thats the type of climate.

Mr Ahern said that had been the reason he had introduced the legislation for the Special Criminal Court when he was Minister for Justice. There was significant evidence of witness intimidation and witnesses were distressed at having to go into a box and give evidence against people who are dangerous.

The former Minister agreed with the comments of the judge in the Aaron Brady case about intimidation through social media and he hoped that the people involved would be prosecuted.

The people who deserve great credit were the witnesses who came forward, he said.

Mr Ahern said he was relieved that justice had been done for Detective Donohoe and he hoped that more people will be found guilty for this heinous crime.

The murder of Adrian Donohoe and the fact that he had been gunned down so callously, along with the murder of Garda Tony Golden, had put a cloud over the area, he added.

Detective Ryan, who had been in the car with Detective Donohoe must have had an awful time and the murder had also had an impact on the staff of Lordship credit union.
A new study found out that teens and young adults who vape and smoke cigarettes are five to seven times more likely to get infected with COVID-19 than those who don't.

The World Health Organization has reported that there is a growing number of teens and young adults who were hospitalized due to COVID-19. The health agency report proved that as the days progressed, teens and young adults are becoming susceptible to COVID-19.

It was first previously thought that teens and young adults are less likely to get infected for the virus. However, this is also a warning from the health experts, which reminds the teens and young adults that vaping or smoking cigarettes can make them more vulnerable.

This time, scientists and researchers provided data and evidence to back up their claim and established the relationship between COVID-19 and the use of e-cigarettes. Researchers from Standford University School of Medicine showed that teenagers and young adults who vaped are five to seven times more likely to test positive for the virus.

Their study was published in the Journal of Adolescent Health on Tuesday. The study was as participated by 4,351 people age between 13 to 24 across the United States. Moreover, this is the first study that looks into the relationship between vaping and COVID-19.

Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, a pediatrics professor at Stanford and co-author of the study, said through a press release, "Teens and young adults need to know that if you use e-cigarettes, you are likely at immediate risk of COVID-19 because you are damaging your lungs."

Meanwhile, the use of e-cigarettes has become popular among teens and young adults in recent years. According to the data obtained from the Pew Research Center, 16 percent of college students said they vaped nicotine in 2018 compared to 6 percent in 2017.

In the same research center, Grade 12 students who vaped skyrocketed from 11 percent to 25 percent while eight percent to 20 percent for Grade 10 students from 2017 and 2018 subsequently. The data showed how teens and young adults increasingly used e-cigarettes.

Many officials in the United States blamed teens and young adults for the virus resurgence. When the country reopened after spring lockdowns, young adults congregated at bars, held parties, spring break beaches, and more.

Shivani Mathur Gaiha, the study's lead author, said: "Young people may believe their age protects them from contracting the virus or that they will not experience symptoms of COVID-19, but the data show this isn't true among those who vape."

Gaiha added that the study proves that teens and young adults who are vaping and at the same time using cigarettes are at elevated risk of getting infected for the virus. The lead author said that this should be given importance because the risk is not a small increase but a big one.

Check these out!
JOHANNESBURG An Africa-wide study of antibodies to the coronavirus has begun, while evidence from a smaller study indicates that many more people have been infected than official numbers show, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

Experts are eager to know the real number of COVID-19 cases in Africa, as confirmed cases and deaths have been relatively low on the continent of 1.3 billion people. Poor data collection, however, has complicated efforts.

But recent surveys in Mozambique found antibodies proteins the body makes when an infection occurs to the virus in 5% of households in the city of Nampula and 2.5% in the city of Pemba. Thats while Mozambique has just 2,481 confirmed virus cases. Further studies are underway in the capital, Maputo, and the city of Quelimane.

What is important is far fewer people are coming down with the disease, Africa CDC director John Nkengasong told reporters. How many people are infected and asymptomatic on our continent? We dont know that.

Africas young population, with a median age of 19, has been called a possible factor.

The new continent-wide antibodies study will include all African countries, but the ones showing interest to start in the coming weeks are Liberia, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Nigeria and Morocco, Nkengasong said.

The African continent reached the milestone of 1 million confirmed cases last week, while global health experts have told The Associated Press the true number is estimated to be several times that. More than 24,000 deaths have been confirmed, and the case fatality rate is 2.2%.

The Mozambique antibodies surveys detected the virus in all neighborhoods in Nampula and Pemba, National Institute of Health director Ilesh Jani told reporters.

The groups with the highest exposure to the virus were market vendors at 10%, followed by health professionals at between 5.5% and 7%, police at between 3.7% and 6% and shop and other business employees at between 5% and 5.5%.

We dont know why more are not being hospitalized, Jani said. In Nampula we thought we would see more mortality but there has been no increase in deaths.

He wondered whether the low death rate will continue or whether the disease is going to become more aggressive.

In a separate survey, researchers in Kenya who tested more than 3,000 blood donors have said one in 20 people there could have antibodies to the virus. The country has more than 28,000 confirmed cases.

But the Africa CDC director warned, The sampling was not a very systematic sampling and we should interpret that with care.

Nkengasong also said the Africa CDC has not been in touch with Russia about its reported vaccine for COVID-19 announced this week. African health authorities want to make sure that any virus intervention they pursue is backed by good science, he said, adding that we are open to all partnerships.

___

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
Uber In California would "almost certainly shut down" if a judge's ruling issued last week is upheld on appeal, according to Uber top official.

The said ruling of a California judge stated that ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft are not exempted from a state law that identifies their drivers as employees rather than contractors, according to a report.

Brad Rosenthal, Uber's director of strategic, operational initiatives, said that if the company had to reclassify the bulk of its drivers as employees, rather than contractors, it would force the company to restructure its business model.

Lyft CEO John Zimmer said on Wednesday that the company would also likely halt its operations in California for the same reasons.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi would stop its operations in its home state of California until November.

Judge's Ruling

Judge Ethan Schulman of the San Francisco County Superior Court found that there was an "overwhelming likelihood" that these companies have been misclassifying their drivers as contractors rather than employees.

This was based on a law that took effect on January 1 this year and sought to clarify how the workers are classified.

The companies have avoided giving their drivers state-mandated benefits such as unemployment aid by identifying their drivers as independent contractors.

Many drivers have asked for unemployment benefits as they were unable to work due to the coronavirus pandemic but were told they did not qualify.

William Gould, a law professor at Stanford University, said that this is a great victory for the state of California, and the rule of law generally.

"I think that consumers and citizens of California generally, can and should welcome this decision," Gould was quoted in an NBC News report.

Both companies asked the judge to extend the hold period beyond ten days while they are beginning with their appeal process.

Schulman is set to hold a hearing on the issue on Thursday.

Khosrowshahi said it would "take a significant amount of time" to readjust if they will be forced to follow the judge's ruling.

He said that this would result in smaller services with much higher prices of Uber in California.

Khosrowshahi said it is the reality, and it is up to the courts, and they will comply with the law and will look to get going again.

Schulman said that Uber and Lyft managed to save millions of dollars every year by identifying their drivers as contractors.

However, the judge found that the companies have been violating a 2018 California Supreme Court decision and a state law based on that ruling known as AB5.

Khosrowshahi claimed that if the ruling were to be followed, it would put a lot of drivers out of work.

However, he addressed this statement by Khosrowshahi on Monday.

"But if the injunction the People seek will have far-reaching effects, they have only been exacerbated by Defendants' prolonged and brazen refusal to comply with California law," the judge said.

Check these out:

Uber Car Service Hires David Plouffe: Ex-Obama Advisor to Help in Fight Against Taxi Industry

So Much for That Gig: Uber Now Testing Self-Driving Cars

Uber Sets Eyes on Argentina But May Receive a Chilly Welcome - Here's Why
The Rector of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ), Prof. Kwamena Kwansah-Aidoo, has signed a book of condolence at the Lebanese Embassy, as Lebanon mourns the death of hundreds of her citizens in the explosion that took place on Tuesday, August 4, 2020.



Prof. Kwansah-Aidoo also lighted a sympathy candle.



The Rector, on behalf of the Institutes Governing Council, management, staff and students expressed his deepest sympathies to the Embassy, the entire Lebanese Community in Ghana and to Lebanon during this period of mourning.



He also called for prayers for the Lebanese people while encouraging the Ambassador and the families of those who lost their lives and the injured in the disaster to remain steadfast and have faith that the good Lord will see them through this difficult period.



He said the gesture both represented and exemplified the Institutes long-standing relationship with the Embassy and the Lebanese communmity who had been a key partner in education, providing scholarship support for a number of exceptional but financially challenged students at the undergraduate and graduate levels at GIJ since 2013.





Source: graphiconline.com









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Vishvendra Singh, the former Rajasthan minister for tourism and a part of the 18 dissident Congress leaders, who had backed sacked deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot in his bitter power struggle against CM Ashok Gehlot, spoke to HT about the recent political high drama in the desert state. Edited excerpts of the interview:

Were you in Delhi or Manesar in Haryana for all these days? Why were the lawmakers camping in Haryana?

Initially, we went to Delhi. But since Delhi hotels were shut because of the raging coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak, I decided to stay at my residence in the national capital, Mr. Pilot stayed at his and the rest of the MLAs (members of the Rajasthan legislative assembly) decided to stay at one place ... they wanted to stay at a central place in Haryana. Besides, Manesar and Gurgram are both close to Delhi. We went to Delhi to update the party high command that the election manifesto was not being implemented at a pace it should have been, and the coordination between the two  the government and the organisation  had left a lot to be desired. We wanted to apprise the high command about all these sticking points.

Also read: Congress revokes suspension of 2 Rajasthan MLAs from Sachin Pilot camp ahead of key meet

We also heard a statement allegedly from the Pilot camp that the Gehlot government is reduced to a minority and Pilot had the support of 30 MLAs. Was there an attempt to topple the democratically elected government?

Theres a leader, and always only one leader. We went under the leadership of Mr. Pilot as the PCC (Pradesh Congress Committee) chief and deputy CM. We all along had maintained radio silence about our misgivings. Though we have been abused by a section of people, we did not react to those statements. We are part of the same family and we wanted to convey a unified picture to the party high command.

ALSO WATCH | Gehlot head of the family, never disputed his leadership: Vishvendra Singh

There was a perception that the Pilot faction was hobnobbing with the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) and the latter was behind the political turmoil because it had wanted to cash in on the factionalism and form its own government. How do you react to this perception?

How are we supposed to be linked to the BJP? Each one of us (MLAs) has paid our own bills, and each one of us has paid the lawyers. Mr. Pilot has all the relevant documents to back my assertions. If we were allegedly hobnobbing with the BJP, then we would not be having this discussion?

Whos your leader? Gehlot or Pilot?

Our leader is Mrs. Sonia Gandhi. At the Centre, it is also Rahul Gandhiji and Priyanka Gandhji. At the state level, it is Mr. Gehlot since he is the CM and the head of the family  we have never disputed his leadership, neither has Mr. Pilot joined issue over it. Else, Mr. Pilot would not have settled for the deputy CMs portfolio. Whoever the high command chooses is our leader. If the high command would have decided Mr. Pilot as the CLP (Congress legislative party) leader, then he would have been our leader. However, Mr. Gehlot was chosen by the high command, while Mr. Pilot is the leader of the state organisation, as the PCC chief.

Will you attend the CLP happens, as and when it is convened?

Why not? Im not guilty of any wrongdoing.

Did the high command give you any assurance about restoring your Cabinet berth?

No. We have put no condition  the only condition is that we want self-respect and we want protection from the high command and that the promises made to the public must be fulfilled without any further delay.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 13)  Vice President Leni Robredo urged the Department of Education to realign items in their budget to respond to the needs of teachers and students as the big shift of the countrys education system to blended learning nears.

Robredo said in an August 10 letter that her office has consolidated and recommendations from education experts, advocates, teachers, parents and students who reached out to it.

Among them is that the 29.5 billion allotted for DepEds school building program could be used to address the health concerns of educators.

Robredo argued that physical spaces will not be occupied anyway in light of President Rodrigo Dutertes pronouncement that no face-to-face classes will be allowed unless a COVID-19 vaccine becomes available for mass distribution.

The Vice President said a portion of the money could also be utilized to procure gadgets and other equipment required for a new kind of schooling, which already forced millions of students to forego their education.

Robredo added that around 700 million has been set aside for the in-service training of teachers this year. But many of these trainings have already been, or will be, conducted online, thus freeing up resources that would otherwise have been used for travel and accommodations.

Robredo also noted an observation from Senator Ping Lacson that a significant amount of the 2019 DepEd budget was left unutilized.

These funding resources could be tapped to support instructors needs, which include a COVID-19 mass testing program and provision of the much-needed supplies to do their work, she said.

Mechanism for transparency

Robredo also called on DepEd to find a way to apprise the public, and most importantly the teachers, of how much is left from their resources as well as inform them where the funds go, so they could understand the challenges faced by the agency and help them decide which programs can still be effectively implemented.

Under Department Order 14, DepEd can set aside subsidy for the testing of learners, teachers and personnel, subject to availability of funds and applicable budget and accounting regulations.

Education Undersecretary Annalyn Sevilla said in a Facebook post on Thursday that they lack the legal authority to finance the treatment and hospitalization of DepEd personnel found to be infected with COVID-19. She said they are only allowed to pay for supplies needed to implement the minimum health standards in workplaces and schools.

However, like any other government employee, DepEd personnel are covered by PhilHealth in case they are admitted to hospitals.

DepEd has partnered with the Department of Health and local governments in referring its employees in need of care and monitoring due to coronavirus-related reasons, Sevilla added.

Despite a law allowing them to recommend to adjust the school calendar during times of emergency and calamity, DepEd said they will stick to the August 24 school year opening date.

Lessons under the new normal in education will be delivered through the digital platforms, radio and television broadcasts and printed self-learning modules.

But Robredo said some teachers raised concerns on the said mode of learning due to lack of clear operational objectives.

She added that teachers are uncertain as to who will shoulder the expenses of printing, reproducing and distributing the learning materials. She stressed the need to fill the gaps in module reproduction and delivery since the school year opening is less than two weeks away.

Other recommendations

Issues on internet access have to be fully addressed by devoting funds to set up internet hubs in schools and communities, the top-ranking government official remarked.

Robredo also asked DepEd to ease the requirements for private schools for distance education, which includes setting up a 24-hour technical support team. She said she finds this burdensome at a time of a big adjustment for basic educational institutions, which are already facing dwindling enrollment.

DepEds data as of Tuesday shows that 2.75 million children who used to attend private basic educational institutions have not enrolled for the next school year.
The primary function of PMRUs is to assist NPPA in monitoring of prices of drugs, ensuring availability of drugs and raising consumer awareness

A Price Monitoring and Resource Unit (PMRU) has been set up in Karnataka under the aegis of National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India.

PMRU will function at the State level under the direct supervision of the State Drug Controller for increasing outreach of NPPA. PMRUs are societies registered under the Societies Registration Act having its own Memorandum of Association/ Bye laws. The Board of Governors of PMRU includes the representatives from Central Government and State Government concerned and other stakeholders.

NPPA, under its Central Sector Scheme named Consumer Awareness, Publicity and Price Monitoring (CAPPM), has already set up of PMRUs in 12 States/ UTs, including Kerala, Odisha, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Nagaland, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Mizoram and Jammu & Kashmir. NPPA has plans to set up PMRUs in all the 36 States/ UTs. The expenses of PMRUs, both recurring and non-recurring are borne by NPPA under the Scheme.

Till now NPPA is headquartered at Delhi only and with the setting up of PMRUs in States/ UTs, NPPA shall have outreach at State Level as well.

The primary function of PMRUs is to assist NPPA in monitoring of prices of drugs, ensuring availability of drugs and raising consumer awareness. They act as collaborating partners of NPPA with information gathering mechanism at the grass-roots level. They will render necessary technical assistance to both the NPPA and the respective State Drug Controllers of States/ Union Territories.
First published in the Sydney Morning Herald on August 15, 1963

CANBERRA, Wednesday.-The House of Representatives today received its most colourful petition - a petition in aboriginal dialect, pasted on a bark painting, from 500 aborigines in Arnhem Land.

Mr Nelson with the Yirrkala bark petition. Credit:Staff

Beginning with the words, "Bukudjulni Gongayuru Napurrunha Yirrkalili." the petition is from the 17 tribes of Yirrkala people.

It is typewritten in an Anglicised version of the Yirrkala dialect, with an English translation. The bark painting shows fish and animals.
Since the Harvard-Yale game that was the 1988 general election, all U.S. presidents, including the Wharton School graduate currently occupying the White House, have been Ivy League alumni. President Gerald Ford (University of Michigan, 35) often ditched Hail to the Chief as his walk-on music and replaced it with his college fight song, but he never won the Electoral College, having assumed the Oval Office after Richard Nixon resigned.

So if Joe Biden (University of Delaware, 65) prevails in November, he will be the first graduate of an American state university to be elected president since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

Technically, the University of Delaware bills itself as private-public because of an arcane corporate charter. Yet it is a state-funded land-grant college charging out-of-state students about $11,000 more in tuition than residents, and it was defined as public by the court that ordered it to desegregate in the 1950s. So we state school alumni will be claiming Mr. Bidens potential victory as our own. And just as L.B.J. had a fellow state schooler on the ticket in Vice President Hubert Humphrey (University of Minnesota, 39), Mr. Bidens running mate, Kamala Harris, is a Howard alum who also graduated from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

A flashback in Richard Ben Cramers book What It Takes found Mr. Biden, as a young father and senator, holding court in a Delaware backyard pontificating on college to other parents: Theres a river of power that flows through this country  And that river, Joe said, flows from the Ivy League.
(Newser)  A New York cabbie was arrested Tuesday for allegedly raping a 12-year-old girl in the backseat of his car, People reports. A police source says Rafael Martinez, 32, picked up the girl in his livery cab Monday to take her home from her grandmother'sand, according to the girl, climbed in the back and raped her. Martinez then allegedly returned to the wheel and drove her home. The New York Post reports that police located Martinez through his Brooklyn employer, Evelyn Car Services, which promptly fired him. The girl was taken to a hospital with her parents and Martinez was charged with rape, criminal sex act, sexual abuse, endangering the welfare of a child, menacing, and assault.

story continues below

Sources tell the New York Daily News that the GPS in Martinez's vehicle shows him stopping to perpetrate the alleged crime. "We have enough evidence to corroborate her story. There's both physical and electronic evidence," says a police source. "You know what surprised me the most? He knew we were coming, and he waited. He stayed instead of getting on the next plane out." Martinez kept quiet when officers led him out of the NYPD Brooklyn Child Abuse Squad headquarters in Boerum Hill. Sources say the girl had gone to her grandmother's to pick up her new bicycle. (Read more sex crime stories.)
On Wednesday, a New York teen was placed in critical condition after a man set him on fire due to a dispute while inside a Bronx apartment building, said police officers.

Teen on fire

Police sources identified the victim as 18-year-old Winston Ortiz and noted he was stabbed three times, soaked with gasoline, and then set ablaze with a match. The incident occurred on the fifth floor of the building found in 1045 Woodycrest Avenue, Highbridge.

According to Fox News, police sources noted that the suspect entered the building 10 minutes before Ortiz, who lived two blocks away from the apartment before the crime took place.

Before emergency medical personnel arrived at the scene, two people in the building were able to put out the fire using buckets of water successfully. EMTs immediately transferred Ortiz to Harlem Hospital and was said to be in critical condition.

Another resident of the building, a 34-year-old mother, said she was notified of the incident after a woman in the hallway screamed loudly after seeing the victim.

Wishing to stay anonymous, the woman said she stepped outside her room and saw flames raging. She noted she thought the apartment was on fire but when she took a closer look, saw a teenager covered with fire.

The witness and the screaming girl's mother, who both lived on the sixth floor of the building, grabbed buckets of water and drenched Ortiz in an attempt to douse the flames. It was not stated if the teenage girl knew the victim or had any affiliation with him.

Also Read: 'Professional Hitman' Used Electric Saw to Dismember, Scatter Body Parts of Tech CEO

The incident had severely traumatized the 34-year-old mother who was frightened for her daughters who were living with her. She noted it was a very disturbing and concerning incident and worries for the safety of the people in the building.

A quiet kid

A friend of Ortiz's family, 37-year-old Susan Coles, said the victim was a simple Christian boy from a religious family and was very active in his church. Coles noted Ortiz graduated from Lighthouse Charter School and was a relatively quiet kid and said she could not believe he would be involved in something like the incident, as reported by NY Daily News.

Police officers said they are looking for a 17-year-old Hispanic teen who stood about 5-foot-10 or 5-foot-11, wore black clothes, and carried a book bag and a blue surgical mask.

Residents of the building on the fifth floor immediately rushed to the scene after they heard the teenage girl screaming in the hallway and tried to help Ortiz, who was on fire.

The 34-year-old mother said she panicked when she first saw the scene and told her daughter to call 911. She noted another woman came and helped her douse the fire with buckets of water. Several other residents of the building approached and passed buckets of water and were able to put the flames out. Despite successfully putting the fires out, Ortiz was too badly burned to be recognized, said the mother.

Related Article: Man Reported Missing Girlfriend, But Was Charged of Murder After Police See Bloody Residence

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
HONG KONG, Aug.12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Cogobuy Group ("Cogobuy" or the "Company", stock code: 400.HK; with its subsidiaries (the ''Group'')) is pleased to announce the Company's flagship Ingdan Innovations, a platform engaged in chip sales and technology services, has signed a strategic investment agreement with Guangdong Finance Fund Management Co., Ltd. ("Guangdong Finance Fund Management"), making it the leading strategic investor in Ingdan Innovations. The investment supports Ingdan Innovations' rapid development in the trillion-RMB domestic chip market, and will contribute to the resumption of high growth for the Company's core business.

Guangdong Finance Fund Management belongs to Guangdong's largest provincial integrated financial platform, Guangdong Yueong Investment Holding Co., Ltd., with assets under management near 42 billion RMB and focuses on investments in strategic emerging industries, modern services, advanced manufacturing, digital creativity, industrial Internet of Things, and green and low-carbon fields.

Ingdan Innovations is the Group's chips sales and technology services platform. Ingdan Innovations leverages a network of over 50% of global IC suppliers and top domestic chip companies, and provides chips sales services to over 100 global high-end chip suppliers and tens of thousands of smart hardware companies. With Guangdong Finance Fund Management as a strategic investor, Ingdan Innovations will have access to more capital, enabling it to capture the strong demand for high-end chips, driven by the large-scale expansion of 5G, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, and other new infrastructure in China. The new investment will also help the Company's business resume its high growth trajectory.

Mr. Jeffrey Kang, CEO of Cogobuy Group, said, "Despite the headwinds of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and sharp deterioration in China-U.S. relations, China effectively brought the pandemic under control and stabilized domestic economic growth through bold infrastructure investments. These new policies are speeding up the development of 5G new infrastructure and increasing the demand of high-end chips. Cogobuy expects domestic demand for high-end chips in the coming years to increase significantly, creating opportunities for rapid growth in the Company's chip sales. We also expect the successful addition of our leading strategic investor, Guangdong Finance Fund Management, the largest provincial integrated financial platform in Guangdong, to encourage other strategic investors to join in the near future. The new capital will help Cogobuy rapidly increase our chip sales and market share in the trillion-RMB domestic chip market, effectively realizing the recovery of the Group's high growth."

 End 

About Cogobuy Group

Cogobuy Group is headquartered in Shenzhen, with offices and branches across major cities in China, including Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Wuhan, Chengdu, Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Xi'an, as well as overseas branches in Singapore, Israel, and Japan. Following a major business restructuring in 2019, the Group merged its chips sales and artificial intelligence and internet of things ("AIoT") services under its Ingdan Innovations business unit, and merged its R&D and IoT product financing and corporate services, into its Ingfin Services business unit, forming a new "Ingdan Innovations + Ingfin Services" dual business model. For further information, please refer to the Company's website at http://www.cogobuy.com/

SOURCE Cogobuy Group

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A Queensland court has found a journalist is not entitled to protect a source who provided information linked to a murder investigation and terrorism raids.

Media lawyers say the decision highlights the urgent need for laws that better protect confidential sources.

The journalist, who has not been identified, works at a television news station.

The front pages of Australia's major daily newspapers during a campaign warning the threat of prosecution is having a chilling effect on journalism. Credit:Eddie Jim

In 2018, he received information from an unnamed source and directed a reporter and cameraman to knock on the door of a home. A few days later, the crew went back to the address to film an arrest taking place, according to the recent Queensland Supreme Court judgment.
Aaron Mayne was handed a sentence of two years and four months

A Co Down man who tried to kick the door of his friend's flat in before setting fire to the letterbox was jailed on Thursday.

In the aftermath of the incident in Newtownards last November, Aaron Mayne was caught in possession of a knife which Judge Geoffrey Miller QC described as a "potentially murderous weapon."

From Bangor Road in Newtownards, Mayne was handed a sentence of two years and four months after he appeared at a remote hearing of Downpatrick Crown Crown, sitting in Belfast.

The 30-year old - who appeared via a videolink from Maghaberry - was told he will serve 14 months of his sentence in prison, followed by the same period on licence when he is released from jail.

Crown barrister Jonathan Connolly said police received a 999 call around 10pm on November 7 last year, stating a man was trying to kick in the door of a flat in John Street, and that a fire had been started at the property.

As police arrived at the scene, they stopped Mayne close to the flats and detained him. Officers then made their way to the blaze, and observed flames coming from a melting letterbox.

Due to concerns about the safety of the occupant, police forced entry to the smoke-filled flat and found a male lying asleep on a chair.

Mr Connolly said that whilst the occupant was escorted to safety, one officer had to attend hospital due to smoke inhalation.

When Mayne was searched at the scene, a large black knife was found in his backpack. He was also found to be in possession of five Diazepam tablets.

He was arrested and during police interviews he claimed he had gone to the flat to confront his friend about money missing from his child's moneybox.

Mayne said he set fire to the letterbox in a bid to make his friend leave his flat so he could confront him. He said he had consumed drink and drugs before arriving at the flat, and when asked about the knife, Mayne claimed he carried it for protection.

The father-of-one later admitted five charges arising from the incident - including arson, attempted burglary with intent to commit GBH and possessing the knife.

Defence barrister Alan Blackburn said having spend the last eight months in prison, Mayne now realises that he "needs to change his ways."

Telling Judge Miller there was "no history of violence" on Mayne's criminal record, Mr Blackburn said the incident at his friend's flat was "out of character."

As he sentenced Mayne, Judge Miller said that reports compiled on the defendant indicate there are unresolved issues from his past which have impacted on his mental health.

Also noted by the Judge was Mayne's history of drug consumption, which began aged 11 with the use of cannabis and which has also had a detrimental impact on his mental wellbeing.

Describing Mayne's behaviour last November as "pre-meditated", Judge Miller said his actions resulted in a police officer seeking hospital treatment.

He also expressed concern about the knife Mayne was carrying that night, saying it was a "pretty horrific item."

Saying there was "no question" the offences warranted custody, Judge Miller imposed a sentence of two years and four months.
Actor Russell Crowe has confirmed he made a sizeable donation on behalf of Anthony Bourdain to help Beirut-based restaurant Le Chef rebuild after a mammoth explosion, which left at least 200 dead and destroyed numerous homes and buildings near the source of the blast.

The late food presenter visited Le Chef twice over the course of his career, telling CNN it was his first order of business to return to the establishment with a camera crew on his second visit.

According to the establishments GoFundMe page, which aims to rebuild the restaurant after it was left in shambles after the explosion, Bourdain once called it a legendary spot, famed for its simple, straightforward, home-style classics.

Getty Images

Beirut-based journalist Richard Hall pointed out that someone called Russell Crowe made a very generous donation to our Le Chef fundraiser, however said that he wasnt sure if it was actually Crowe himself.

The Gladiator actor stepped forwards on Twitter and responded to Hall, confirming that he made it on behalf of Anthony Bourdain.

He continued: I thought that he would have probably done so if he was still around. I wish you and LeChef the best and hope things can be put back together soon.

Bourdain passed away in 2018 of suicide. The chef was widely celebrated for his exploratory travel and food programmes Parts Unknown as well as No Reservations and was catapulted to fame after he penned a 1999 New Yorker essay titled Dont Eat Before Reading This.

The explosion in Beirut began at a port warehouse, where 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate was stored unsafely and the blast killed at least 200 people, left 5,000 injured and 300,000 people homeless.

The explosion has since sparked anti-government protests and the Lebanese government resigned yesterday, with Prime Minister Hassan Diab announcing the news to the nation on Monday evening.

Le Chef's GoFundMe can be found here.

For those seeking mental health support, the Samaritans operate a 24/7 helpline which can be contacted at 116 123 or by email at jo@samaritans.org. The NHS also provide resources to support those battling suicidal thoughts here and mental health charity Mind can be contacted by text at 86463, by phone at 0300 123 3393 and online at their website.
The older generation make up a large proportion of the workplace, with over-50s now accounting for 31% of the UK workforce alone.

In the UK in particular, there is set to be a 25% increase in the number of people aged 65 to 79 at work. One in three of the working age population will be 50 or over by 2025, according to the Centre for Ageing Better.

However, during the coronavirus pandemic, a large chunk of the older population has been placed in an at-risk category, meaning during the lockdown and even during easing measures, they have been more isolated than ever before.

The #ChamberBreakers podcast series puts a deep lens on issues surrounding how individuals and businesses can improve mental health in society and at work  particularly for potentially vulnerable groups like black, indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC) people, members of the LGBT+ community, older people and the homeless.

In the fourth episode, Lianna Brinded, head of Yahoo Finance UK, and Xavier White, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and innovation marketing manager for Verizon Business, speak to Christina McKelvie  Scotlands Minister for Older People and Equalities.

McKelvie describes how the Scottish Government has harnessed state and community networks to help older people deal with the trauma of COVID-19.

Older people feel they've lost time, said McKelvie in this latest episode of ChamberBreakers.

They are thinking of five months in a shielding situation, maybe longer if we don't have a vaccine, thats valuable, precious time to not see family; not be able to take part in family events; to grieve properly if you've lost someone  weddings; babies being born. You don't know what you miss until you've not got to anymore.

For the people I'm speaking to the biggest issue is lost time and lamenting the loss of that time. That can be tough. Just that thought process can lead to poor mental health.

But with so much pressure to deal with the mental health issues brought on by lockdown, what specific help can government, NGOs, businesses, and individuals offer to societys most vulnerable group?

Story continues

One way is to buttress the networks that already help with loneliness and isolation, says McKelvie.

COVID-19 exposed a lot of the challenges that we were already focusing on, she says. But it exposed far more people and in a more acute way for some. That's why Scotlands the Clear Your Head campaign website has resources for support  it's full of brilliant information.

Another way is to prepare people better for being older in the first place. For those that have worked their entire lives, the workplace can be their entire life.

Retirement can be a real trigger point for mental health conditions  with all of the disconnection and loss that you feel from that, McKelvie says.

Giving these people the connections to volunteering opportunities or other creative opportunities is really important. One of the things that we do is get our older people involved in our public boards. Because you can have lots of really experienced people alongside younger people to make the boards more diverse. That way we understand the need out there.

The six-part podcast #ChamberBreakers is out every Thursday. Next weeks episode features Kirrin Medcalf, head of trans inclusion at Stonewall and trans youth worker at Gender Intelligence, talking about the issues transgender people face at this time of global crisis.

Check out the previous #ChamberBreakers cast with Hayden Taylor of Unloc and and the accompanying article, as well as clicking, subscribing, and rating the podcast here.
DUBLIN, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Hepatitis C Tests (In Vitro Diagnostics) - Global Market Analysis and Forecast Model (COVID-19 market impact)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This model discusses in detail the impact of COVID-19 on Hepatitis C Tests market for the year 2020 and beyond.



Diagnosis of HCV infection can be done by screening for anti-HCV antibodies along with a serological test to confirm the viral infection. Nucleic acid test for HCV ribonucleic acid (RNA) is performed in case of positive test results for anti HCV antibodies to confirm chronic infection. Since there is no vaccine available for HCV infection, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends blood tests to screen patients that are at an increased risk of HCV infection and reducing the risk of HCV exposure in health care settings.



Screening of pregnant women for HCV is standard of care in most countries and considered to be a cost-effective strategy for reducing the risk of transmission to the baby. The HCV tests include EIA, NAAT and multi parameter NAAT HCV tests.



Each of the covered 39 country's color-coded and fully-sourced market models are equipped with epidemiology based indications with procedure volumes. To increase the data transparency, the interactive excel deliverable covers installed base, new sales volumes, product usage, average selling prices, market size and company share/rank analysis (wherever available). Moreover, analyst comments with qualitative insight offer context for quantitative data.



Key Inclusions of the market model are:



Currently marketed Hepatitis C Tests and evolving competitive landscape -

Insightful review of the key industry trends.

Annualized total Hepatitis C Tests market revenue by segment and market outlooks from 2015-2030.

Granular data on total procedures, units, average selling prices and market values by segment.

Global, Regional and Country level market specific insights -

Qualitative market specific information is available with global trends further broken down into regional trends. In addition the publisher's analysts provide unique country specific insights on the market.

SWOT analysis for Hepatitis C Tests market.

Competitive dynamics insights and trends provided for Hepatitis C Tests market.

Drive the understanding of the market by getting the veritable big picture including an overview of the healthcare system. In addition the Market Access segment allows you to delve deeper into market dynamics with information on reimbursement policies and the regulatory landscape.

Country specific overview of the healthcare system.

Country specific reimbursement policies.

Country specific medtech regulatory landscape.

Robust methodologies and sources enable the model to provide extensive and accurate overview of the market. Demand and supply-side primary sources are integrated within the syndicated models, including Key Opinion Leaders. In addition, real world data sources are leveraged to determine market trends; these include government procedure databases, hospital purchasing databases, and proprietary online databases.



The model will enable you to:

Understand the impact of COVID-19 on Hepatitis C Tests market.

Develop and design your in-licensing and out-licensing strategies through a review of pipeline products and technologies, and by identifying the companies with the most robust pipeline.

Develop business strategies by understanding the trends shaping and driving Hepatitis C Tests.

Drive revenues by understanding the key trends, innovative products and technologies, market segments, and companies likely to impact the Hepatitis C Tests market in the future.

Formulate effective sales and marketing strategies by understanding the competitive landscape and by analysing the company share of market leaders.

Identify emerging players with potentially strong product portfolios and create effective counter-strategies to gain a competitive advantage.

Track device sales in the global and country-specific Hepatitis C Tests market from 2015-2030.

Organize your sales and marketing efforts by identifying the market categories and segments that present maximum opportunities for consolidations, investments and strategic partnerships.

Companies Mentioned

Abbott Laboratories

Siemens Healthineers AG

F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd

Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics Inc

Hologic Inc

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/1pfltz

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ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

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Gov. Willie Obiano of Anambra has approved the suspension of 12 traditional rulers in the state for an initial period of one year with effect from Aug. 11, over alleged misconduct.

Greg Obi, the Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Community Affairs, who made this known in a statement on Thursday said the suspended monarchs travelled out of Anambra without government approval.

Mr Obi said the governor invoked the Anambra Traditional Rulers Law of 1981 to justify the suspension.

According to him, the suspended monarchs include Alex Edozieuno of Mkpunando; Mark-Anthony Okonkwo of Alor; Chukuwma Orji of Ezinifite; G.B.C Mbakwe of Abacha; Chijioke Nwankwo of Nawfa and Nkeli Nelly of Igbarim.

Others are Anthony Onyekwere of Owelle; A. N. Onwuneme of Ikenga; Ikechukwu Chidubem of Umumbo; S. O. Uche of Ezira; Emeka Ilouno of Ifitedunu and Peter Ikegbunem Udoji of Eziagulu.

During the sanction period, you are required to stop holding yourselves out as traditional rulers and to cease from discharging traditional rulers functions in your communities or elsewhere in the state and beyond.

This sanction may be lifted at the end of one year or renewed or upgraded in the intervening period depending on governments review of your conduct.

By this sanction, membership of Anambra State Traditional Rulers Council is revoked, furthermore any appointment in other government committee is hereby rescinded, he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that this brings to 13 the number of traditional rulers suspended in the state in the last one month.

Peter Uyanwa of Ukwulu had been suspended in July over alleged misconduct by the governor for the same period. (NAN)
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Linkedin Layal Abou Rahal (Agence France-Presse) Beirut, Lebanon  Thu, August 13, 2020 07:54 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066d9b209 2 World Lebanon,Beirut,Beirut-blast,Beirut-explosion Free

Lebanon buried more of its dead Wednesday from the huge explosion at Beirut port that disfigured the city, toppled the government and deepened a painful economic crisis.

Top foreign diplomats kept streaming into traumatized Lebanon to show solidarity over its worst peacetime disaster and push for reforms to curb the corruption blamed for causing it.

Survivors and volunteers were still sweeping rubble-strewn streets a week after a large depot of industrial chemicals blew up in an explosion so powerful it was dubbed "Beirutshima" on social media.

The official death toll from the colossal blast that evoked memories of the Hiroshima atom bomb blast rose to 171, while 6,500 were injured and 300,000 left temporarily homeless.

Beirut's main fire station, located a stone's throw from the devastated port, held an emotional funeral for one of the 10 comrades it lost in the conflagration.

"May God be with you, our hero," firefighters cried as they saw off the coffin of their lost friend Jo Noun during their fourth such ceremony since the August 4 disaster.

Ten firefighters are confirmed to have died, and six more are still among the missing, including three members of the same family.

Their relatives have been waiting, in their mountain village of Qartaba, for their return.

"In one piece or several, we want our sons back," Rita Hitti told AFP. The three missing young men are her son, nephew and son-in-law.

Direct aid

Lebanese and foreign emergency response teams were still searching the dusty "ground zero" where the explosion pulverized buildings and left a water-logged 43-metre-deep crater where a quay and warehouses once stood.

The human error that sparked the kind of wholesale devastation usually associated with a major earthquake has sparked public rage, matched only by the speed at which officials are seen to be passing the buck.

Enquiries made by AFP, and the public comments of Lebanon's top officials, reveal that the hazard posed by the ammonium nitrate depot had been known for some time at every echelon of the state before the deadly catastrophe.

Around 100 of the wounded were recently still listed in critical condition and it was feared the death toll could yet rise as Beirut's hospitals, only half of which are operational, kept treating the casualties.

Among those killed was a diplomat from Germany, whose top diplomat Heiko Maas arrived in Lebanon Wednesday for a short visit of support.

In a social media message before flying out he stressed the need for "profound economic reform", echoing calls made by French President Emmanuel Macron last week during a high-profile visit to disaster-stricken Beirut.

When he Maas got off the plane, he announced a one million euro donation directly to the Lebanese Red Cross, in line with a pledge that emergency aid should bypass a government that has lost the trust of the people.

Jockeying

Angry protesters demonstrated for a third night running Tuesday to demand the wholesale ouster of a ruling political elite they see as directly responsible for the port tragedy.

Mock gallows and nooses have become the symbols of the new wave of protests, which have rekindled a revolutionary street movement that had lost steam in recent months amid economic hardship and the coronavirus pandemic.

Under intense domestic and foreign pressure, Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced his government's resignation on Monday. Many citizens bitterly laughed off his efforts to cast himself as a champion of the fight against corruption.

Some saw it as a victory and a sign that continued pressure could force change in a country which has been ruled by the same cartel of former warlords and their relatives since the 1975-1990 civil war.

Others feared that the resignation of Diab's government could herald the return of old faces, such as former prime minister Saad Hariri.

According to the Al-Akhbar daily newspaper, Nawaf Salam, a former judge at the International Court of Justice, is the favored successor of some of Lebanon's top foreign partners, including France.

However Salam is not an acceptable choice for the Muslim Shiite movement Hezbollah, which wields most power in Lebanon, the paper said.

A return of Saad Hariri, who resigned under pressure from the street late last year, would be a red rag to a bull for the rejuvenated protest camp.

Parliament was due to convene on Thursday to approve the state of emergency, which would give security forces heightened powers to curb the street demonstrations.
Deer roam around Sturtevant Camp in the San Gabriel Mountains. (George Scharffenberger)

Editor's note on Sept. 16: Sturtevant Camp and all trails, roads and campgrounds in the Angeles National Forest are closed because of the Bobcat fire.

The trip to the local mountains seemed doomed from the start.

COVID-19 cases in California were on the rise. Testing requirements had changed from anyone with or without symptoms to those most at risk. Then there was a fire at the trailhead that temporarily shut the area mere days before our 4-mile hike in. Going to camp in the San Gabriel Mountains wasn't going to be easy.

A hiker passes the waterfall on the way to Sturtevant Camp in the San Gabriel Mountains. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

I got the idea after a previous long hike to Sturtevant Falls in the Angeles National Forest in late May. I emerged feeling refreshed. We didnt have cell service the entire hike. We wore masks during the hike and ate sandwiches by the falls at a safe distance from everyone. We stopped at the local mule-pack station on our way out and asked about the cabins dotted along our trail. Could people rent those?

No, but there is a camp with cabins where you could spend the night, the helpful woman behind the counter replied. After we left the trail and drove down Santa Anita Canyon toward the city, toward cellphone service and emails and a steady stream of notifications, I was ready to plan my next escape.





The more-than-a-century-old camp

The trail to Sturtevant Camp is about 4 miles long. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Sturtevant Camp looked like a typical sleep-away camp, according to the online photos. Theres a lodge with a cafeteria and cabins with twin bunk beds. It was founded in 1893 and eventually sold to a Methodist church association, which ran the camp until 2011. Now it's run by volunteers with the Sturtevant Conservancy, said board member Deb Burgess, who runs the board.

The bliss upon arriving was like none other. Theres absolutely no cell service near Sturtevant Camp. Theres a small nature trail that leads to a helipad overlooking the canyon. If we were truly the hiking type, we could have used our Saturday to hike to Mt. Wilson or Mt. Zion.

A butterfly alights on a bloom along the Gabrielino Trail. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Instead, we spent our time mostly luxuriating in the quiet. We watched young bucks and fawns come right through the camp, unbothered by our presence. We walked down to the creek and counted butterflies. We tried our hand at archery and played card games.

Story continues

Photos inside the lodge show black-and-white images going as far back as women wearing prairie dresses. In that way, it was not like a typical sleep-away camp. Sturtevant Camp was founded 12 years prior to the founding of the Forest Service. In the early half of the 20th century, Angelenos would stay for the entire summer as their big getaway.

Just a half-hour from downtown Los Angeles, Big Santa Anita Canyon remains a reprieve for many. Day hikes to Sturtevant Falls and Hermit Falls are popular even on weekdays, with an often overflowing parking lot at Chantry Flat. (During the pandemic, hikers are turned away when the lot fills.)

In 2015, Burgess purchased the camp for "a whopping $25,000." With a small team, she and others spent months painting and making repairs to the camp and formed a nonprofit organization to run it. "Until COVID happened, it [was] not unusual for that camp to be completely full," Burgess said.

Optimistic messages from last weekend. pic.twitter.com/XYFl2PaYO1  Kelcie Pegher (@klcpegher) July 27, 2020

How the pandemic changed camp

Like everything else, the camp was closed through April and May. In the last two months, volunteers worked toward a slow reopening, with just a couple of cabins in rotation and more rigorous cleaning measures.

The lodge, typically open to any hikers passing through for coffee and water, now is closed to passers-by. People usually first encounter Sturtevant Camp on a day hike and then follow up by booking a spot. We just want to keep Sturtevant Camp alive, Burgess said.

I planned the trip with friends at the end of May, when cases were trending downward and it looked like the city was gearing up to reopen by July 4. As the trip came closer, and cases began to rise, we started making compromises and rationalizations. Could everyone get tested the week before? Could everyone isolate themselves as much as humanly possible prior to seeing each other? What precautions could we take to ensure we could remain socially distanced  aside from sleeping?

Then I learned the Forest Service was closing down the Chantry Flat trailhead because of a small fire. How would we get there? I sent several panicked emails to our volunteer counselor, who assured me we would be allowed in the canyon because of our reservation.

Finally it was time to go. I prepared our meals and packed them in bags. The day before, we dropped everything off at Adams' Pack Station. Burgess said Sturtevant Camp is the No. 1 revenue driver for the last remaining mule-pack station in L.A. County. On Fridays, mules make the slow climb to camp loaded down with groceries, gear or duffel bags. The pack station charges $1 per pound, as it has for more than 100 years.

Then it was time to go. The hike to Sturtevant Camp can be deceiving. The fire road at the start of Chantry Flat slopes downward, giving a false sense of hope that the hike is long but not challenging. Though the website noted it is a difficult hike, it also said even small children can make it. Maybe kids in California, a friend quipped as we made our first ascent.

The views nearly made up for the grueling climb.

Its one of the very, very few canyons in the Angeles [area] that has a really nice canopy and has water running through it. Its a beautiful place, nearly 10 degrees or plus cooler than Sierra Madre, Burgess said.

The last half-mile is the most unforgiving, with switchbacks and a near-constant climb up to an elevation of 3,200 feet. When I arrived at the final sign  with Sturtevant Camp 1/10 of a mile away, out of water and out of breath  I nearly gave up.

Burgess called the last mile a tease. The sign says its a half-mile  its a mile.

Once we arrived, we were met by a volunteer camp counselor who takes care of the property on weekends. Electricity comes on every evening from 5 p.m. till dusk, and refrigerators run on propane. We were able to keep our distance from the other couple staying at the camp, and we used separate bathrooms to keep risks low.

Our two nights passed quickly by the fire. Our volunteer camp counselor, Teah Vaughn, spent much of the weekend working through a to-do list of items to repair or check on around the camp. She also found time to bake cookies and brownies after dinner and made breakfast pastries in the morning.

Theres something special about the fact it hasnt changed much in almost 130 years of folks being there, she said. Theres a lot of hard, dirty work that goes into maintaining a very old, off-grid camp, but theres never any complaints.

Later, Vaughn said she realized our weekend trip was her one-year anniversary as a volunteer counselor. Though the volunteer counselors dont often see one another, they do all share one cabin. Vaughn described different pairs of hiking boots under the bed and extra jackets from other counselors.

There is something so unique but so familiar in the whole experience, and I cant imagine not being a part of it.

When The Times wrote about Sturtevant Camp in 1986, the location boasted many of the same amenities that exist today, including its biggest draw: seclusion.

The adults really know how to enjoy it  there are no phones up there, no way for them to be bugged, Gary Keene, a Methodist minister who worked at the camp from the late 1970s through the mid-80s, said in the piece.





The appeal of seclusion

More than 30 years later, I could relate. The relentless barrage of news notifications on my phone over the last four months left me tired and burnt out. The seclusion was the biggest and only motivation for planning the trip in the first place.

Because of the fire a week prior, the canyon was closed to everyone except for cabin owners. There are just 81 cabins, built at the turn of the 20th century, which have a laundry list of requirements for the owners. One such requirement is that owners cannot reside there year-round. The few people we ran into warily asked how we got into the canyon. Without the steady stream of day hikers, the canyon felt more like the wilderness than the woods.

On Sunday, refreshed from the silence, we retraced our steps to head out. It felt like seeing the journey for the first time. As we made it down to the little dams that are part of many day hikes in the canyon, we heard a rustle in the bushes.

A small brown bear climbed out. We made our presence known, and rather than running away, the bear took a dip in the creek. It took its time, and eventually climbed up the sloped mountain. I had never seen a bear in my life, let alone one a mere 40 feet away from me. Rather than fear, I was in awe.

I dont think Ill ever become much of a true camper. The idea of carrying a tent with me and sleeping on the ground has never been appealing. When my parents sent me to a two-week sleep-away camp as a child in Pennsylvania, I wrote daily letters filled with grievances.

But in a time period of deep uncertainty, where renting an Airbnb or going to a hotel room feels unsafe, a cabin in the woods was enough.





How to go

You can book a trip to Sturtevant Camp at its website: sturtevantcamp.com. We stayed in the Retreat Cabin, which sleeps up to six and costs $270 per night. The honeymoon cottage for two runs $90 per night, and guest cabins that sleep up to eight are $320 per night. You'll find a pack list of what you need to bring, directions to the trail head and other information.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Carrolls Cuisine meat plant in Tullamore, Co Offaly, where nine people have tested positive for Covid-19 (Niall Carson/PA)

Some 20% of workers in meat processing plants get sick pay, a committee has heard.

Meat Industry Ireland chairman Philip Carroll has defended the industrys handling of coronavirus outbreaks at the Special Oireachtas Committee on Covid-19.

It comes after travel restrictions were reimposed in counties Laois, Offaly and Kildare last week following outbreaks at meat processing plants.

Mr Carroll said: We believe that about 20% of the workforce is covered by sick pay.

Clusters don't start in meat processing plants - Covid is introduced into meat plants but because they are a location where a lot of people work, there is a degree of certainty that there will be a formation of clusters Philip Carroll, Meat Industry Ireland

He defended conditions at meat plants and said outbreaks do not originate in plants.

Clusters dont start in meat processing plants  Covid is introduced into meat plants but because they are a location where a lot of people work, there is a degree of certainty that there will be a formation of clusters, he said.

Siptu divisional organiser Greg Ennis told the committee that nine out of 10 workers do not have access to sick pay and he said this was a significant contributory factor to the spread of Covid-19.

Mr Ennis said: They remain petrified of contracting the disease but feel that they must walk that tightrope and in many cases walk that tightrope even if they are unwell.

He said the conditions in meat processing plants heighten conditions for the spread of the virus.

Mr Ennis said: It is now beyond doubt that the meat processing industry contains unrivalled vectors for the transmission of Covid-19 which has previously caused 1,115 meat plant workers to become infected in 20 clusters as of early July.

These vectors include close contact with other workers, bottlenecks in canteens and toilets, noise pollution as workers shout and this creates droplets. These droplets are then circulated through industrial air systems.

It is notable that circa 90% of workers within the industry do not have sick pay, forcing vulnerable workers who may have Covid-19 symptoms to go into work Greg Ennis, Siptu

There are relatively low wages which cause workers to share accommodation and car pool and in many cases share rooms with other workers who work in the industry.

It is notable that circa 90% of workers within the industry do not have sick pay, forcing vulnerable workers who may have Covid-19 symptoms to go into work.

Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) general secretary Patricia King said meat processing plants are very vulnerable to the spread of Covid-19.

She said: Meat processing is labour intensive and involves physically intensive work around production lines and workers working in close proximity, which makes social distancing difficult to achieve while also language differences can often impede good communication.

Expand Close Screen grab of ICTU general secretary Patricia King appearing before the committee (Oireachtas TV/PA) / Facebook

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Despite the fact that this is a highly profitable, heavily subsidised industry, low pay combined with deficient terms and conditions including the absence of sick pay schemes are common across the sector. Workers may often live in crowded or congregated accommodation settings, while transport to and from work may not be conducive to social distancing.

Nora Labo, of the Independent Workers Union, told the committee there is no reason why working in a meat plant should make someone more vulnerable to getting Covid-19 than any other environment.

She said: There is no intrinsic reason why working in a meat plant should be more conducive to contracting Covid-19 than any other environment.

We are convinced the reason why Ireland has seen so many worrying outbreaks in meat plants in the past few months is down to the workers substandard working and living conditions which are the industrys long-term disregard for the wellbeing of its staff.

These problems are aggravated by the unscrupulous practices of the work placement agencies to which many of the workers in this sector are employed. Our union estimates up to 40-50% of workers are employed through these agencies.

Ms Labo said Covid-19 outbreaks in meat processing plants are due to a variety of factors, with low pay and unsuitable accommodation the key drivers.

As most meat plants are in rural areas, there is a shortage of suitable accommodation and most meat workers are paid minimum wage with no overtime premium and budgets force them into shared accommodation, she said.

Being foreign and having limited English is a disadvantage so many workers are being housed by their employment agencies. They are seeking to maximise profit from the accommodation they are providing to employees.

They are there to protect and maintain the health and safety of workers and when someone contracts Covid, they are not even notified Patricia King, ICTU

Ms Labo said the dismal housing situation fuels the spread of coronavirus among workers.

She claimed workers are often moved around without notice and do not receive rental contracts.

Ms Labo said employers at meat plants make no effort to transport workers and there is little public transport in rural areas, which forces workers to carpool  further increasing the potential spread of coronavirus.

Ms King said there is a major flaw in the current regulations that means employers do not have to notify the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) if a worker becomes infected with Covid.

She said this must be rectified, adding: It is untenable that we have a Health and Safety Authority that is assigned in law for overseeing the implementation of all aspects of the protocol and who have the power to inspect workplaces and order closure where appropriate.

They are there to protect and maintain the health and safety of workers and when someone contracts Covid, they are not even notified. They dont in my judgment, and all the indicators to me are that they dont want to be notified. They dont want this task, and from day one I have had this argument with the Government about this.

Health and Safety Authority chief executive Sharon McGuinness said that 39 meat processing plants have been inspected by the HSA  30 were announced while nine were unannounced.

She said plants were given less than a days notice of inspections, adding: With regard to the amount of notice given, this would be the night before or late evening for an inspection first thing in the morning.

If it is an 8am inspection, we would announce it at between 4.40pm to 5pm. If we were going to two plants in the same area, we would ring that plant to say we are on our way.
A group of San Francisco residents is accusing city officials of obstructing public oversight and violating the states environmental protection law in the cleanup of a polluted auto repair garage being readied as the site for new condos.

The citys approach to the five-unit development at a vacant auto repair garage at 1776 Green St. is part of a pattern identified by The Chronicle in June, where planning officials have repeatedly let developers bypass state-mandated environmental reviews when assessing whether chemical-tainted properties  like gas stations, vehicle repair shops and parking garages  are safe for building new homes.

In the citys tony Cow Hollow neighborhood, the San Francisco Planning Department granted an exemption from state review for cleanup work beneath the sidewalk outside of the Green Street garage where, years ago, gasoline storage tanks leaked high levels of cancer-causing benzene into the soil and groundwater. The exemption meant that the work, which includes excavating soil, could proceed without a public hearing and formal consideration of residents concerns as required under the states environmental law.

Neighbors appealed the exemption to the Board of Supervisors in July, arguing that it violated California law, which requires a thorough public review before cleanup begins. The neighbors want the supervisors to require that the project go through the states environmental review process so they have a chance to fully vet cleanup plans and better ensure that nearby residents, construction workers and the condos future occupants wont be exposed to any remaining hazards.

Despite the pending appeal, the San Francisco Department of Public Works allowed work to begin this week, and expects it to conclude on Friday. The supervisors have yet to vote on the appeal.

In the 30 years Ive been doing this I have never seen anything like it, said Richard Drury, an environmental lawyer representing the group of neighbors in their appeal. We are in the midst of an appeal process and they are short-circuiting the elected officials. City staff are making an end run around the Board of Supervisors.

Supervisor Catherine Stefani, whose district includes the auto repair garage, said it was her expectation that city departments closely adhere to the letter of the law.

If thats not the case here, I will make sure they are held accountable, she said.

Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle

The Public Works Department referred questions to the Planning Department.

Spokeswoman Gina Simi said that the city is following the law and will address the legal issues that the residents have raised during the appeal process.

She has previously said the city cleans polluted properties according to state and regional standards, regardless of whether they go through the states environmental review process. In its document granting the exemption, Planning Department officials argue it is allowed because the sidewalk work is not part of the development itself  an approach the neighbors say illegally piecemeals the project by carving it up into smaller parts.

Simi said they are separate projects and each may be implemented without the other.

The Green Street neighbors say whats missing in the citys process is the greater level of transparency and public engagement they are entitled to. Several environmental lawyers previously told The Chronicle that state law allows far more scrutiny of development on toxic sites than the citys process alone. Under state law, the public can require that safer measures be taken to reduce significant impacts on the environment and health, and can more easily sue if they are not.

The California Environmental Quality Act requires local governments to notify the public about potential hazards at a site before cleanup and other development work begin. It allows the public to demand health protections and additional levels of cleanup, and requires formal consideration of those comments. To enforce compliance, people can sue agencies they think are failing to adhere to the law.

The neighbors also say the San Francisco Planning Department is simply not allowed to exempt the Green Street property from the state process.

The state law prohibits certain environmental review exemptions for tens of thousands of properties on a statewide roster of hazardous-waste sites, called the Cortese list, to protect the public, construction workers and future occupants from exposure to dangerous substances.

But in the past five years  as the city has faced intense pressure to build more housing  a Chronicle investigation found that the San Francisco Planning Department granted or considered implementing prohibited categorical exemptions for at least a dozen projects on Cortese list sites. The 12 projects, which included the Green Street garage, involved more than 250 current and future housing units around the city  in the Mission, Sunset, Cow Hollow, Nob Hill and other neighborhoods.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

A categorical exemption is supposed to go only to projects with no significant impact on the environment or human health. After The Chronicle asked the Planning Department this year why it was exempting properties toxic enough to be on the Cortese list, planning officials announced they would no longer grant those exemptions.

But in the Green Street case, the Planning Department simply used a different kind of exemption for cleanup work in the sidewalk. The so-called commonsense exemption is intended for projects that present no possibility of significant hazards, according to state law.

In their appeal, the neighbors argue that the danger is apparent: Benzene  associated with the garages gasoline storage tanks under the sidewalk  was found in 2018 in the propertys groundwater at levels exceeding safety thresholds by about 900 times.

Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle

Additionally, they accuse the city of trying to piecemeal the cleanup from the development  a strategy that is barred under state law. The neighbors say the cleanup work under the sidewalk is clearly related to the development.

In his appeal, Drury wrote that the California Environmental Quality Act requires analysis of the project as a whole, so that environmental considerations do not become submerged by chopping a large project into many little ones  each with a minimum potential impact on the environment  which cumulatively may have disastrous consequences.

Anne Mackenzie, who lives down the street from the garage and is contesting the exemption, said she was surprised late last week to see work notices fixed to the garage with bright red tape. Mackenzie and other neighbors have pushed the city for months to send the proposed development through environmental review so that they can weigh in on the cleanup.

I dont understand why they would approve this work if they had read the report documenting contamination on the property, said Mackenzie, who has lived on Green Street for 50 years. We are paying these people in these positions to take care of our community. We should not have to be fighting for them to go through this (public process).

Cynthia Dizikes is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cdizikes@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @CDizikes
Get ready for another season of My Big Fat Fabulous Life. Series star Whitney Way Thore revealed in an August 12 Instagram post that new episodes of her reality show will be coming to TLC in November 2020.

My Big Fat Fabulous Life premieres November 10

Whitney Way Thore | Tyler Essary/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

Thores reality show will return Tuesday, November 10 at 9/8c on TLC. The new season will chronicle some major developments in her life, including her sudden split from fiance Chase Severion after she learns hes expecting a child with another woman. Shell also have to deal with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Fortunately, her longtime friend Buddy Bell is on hand to provide the support Thore needs.

Thore will also have to consider how to move forward with her successful online workout business with Ryan, given that hes still in close contact with her ex. As she reels from her unexpected breakup, she begins to wonder if weight loss surgery is the path to finding love.

Fans cant wait to see more of Whitney Way Thore

RELATED: My Big Fat Fabulous Life: Fans Think Whitney Way Thores Broken Engagement Was Staged

My Big Fat Fabulous Life fans were overjoyed to learn that the coronavirus pandemic hadnt put a stop to filming new episodes of the show.

Cant wait! You are so beautiful and I love watching your show! You are one of the strongest women Ive ever seen. Keep shining that light pretty girl, one wrote. Another declared Thores announcement the only good thing to happen in 2020.

Thore called off her engagement in May

The last season of My Big Fat Fabulous Life chronicled Thores whirlwind romance with Severino, including his romantic proposal in Paris in October 2019. But the happy times didnt last. A few months later, the two ended their engagement.

Thore made the announcement on Instagram, explaining that Severino had rekindled a relationship with another woman while he and Thore were living apart.

Chase recently told me this information and the fact that it had resulted in a pregnancy, she wrote in the May 21 Instagram update. Chase will be a father in October.

Thore added that the two had called off their wedding and asked for privacy for all involved as we move on and focus on the future.

Sweet Home Sextuplets and Little People, Big World are also returning

Sweet Home Sextuplets | TLC

Fans of other TLC shows also got some good news. New episodes of Sweet Home Sextuplets and Little People, Big World are on the horizon.

The Waldrop family is back on TV beginning Tuesday, September 29 at 10/9c. The new season of Sweet Home Sextuplets sees the Alabama family still squeezed into their mobile home as their house undergoes renovations. They also face multiple crises, from a tornado that rips through the area to the challenges of quarantining with 11 people.

Little People, Big World also returns on September 29, with a new episode airing at 9/8c. Amy Roloff is preparing to leave the farm behind for good but still has to work with her ex-husband Matt to settle the financial particulars. Meanwhile, Tori and Zach Roloff are dealing with the challenges of parenting two young kids after welcoming baby Lilah Ray in November 2019.
As per the latest development, Samsung is looking to consider 3 years of Android OS support for the Galaxy A series of smartphones.

Note that Samsung previously used to have an update policy that promises 2 years of Android OS updates. Besides, this policy applied for all the devices, even the flagship models.

However, in the recently concluded Unpacked event, Samsung announced that smartphones running Android 9 Pie out of the box will get updates for three years.

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But as per the latest reports from Tizenhelp, the top-end variants of Galaxy A-series are also being considered to get 3 years of Android OS updates. Apparently, this piece of information was shared via a customer representative from Korea.

Only high-end Galaxy A series phones are under review for this update policy

Notably, not all the Galaxy A-series devices will get the 3 years Android OS support. If at all this policy comes into effect, only high-end Galaxy A series variants will pick up the updates.

Apparently, the high-end Galaxy A series includes Samsung Galaxy A90, Galaxy A80, Galaxy A71, and their 5G variants only.

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Though Samsungs take for global devices is still under review as this information comes from a Korean customer representative.

Matter of fact, Samsung has clarified that 3 years of Android OS updates on Galaxy A series totally depends on hardware support.

Galaxy A-series phones are under additional review for this policy

As per the screenshot, the Korean representative reveals that some high-end variants of the Galaxy A-series are under additional review.

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However, previously released models of Galaxy S9, Note 9, A-series, and tablets are not eligible for this policy.

The representative also added that the OEM is checking the hardware and resources of these phones. And it totally depends on these factors whether these devices will support the new update policy or not.

If the devices get clearance, then the information will be shared on the Samsung Members App. Furthermore, there are good chances for the companys high-end tablets of getting 3 years of OS updates as well.

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What should we expect?

Well, the devices are under review and nothing concrete is available to share on this matter. Notably, we will have to wait for official confirmation from Samsung.

Good thing is that at least Samsung is considering other devices apart from their flagships for this policy. Keep in mind that other devices (not mentioned officially by Samsung) will continue to get 2 years of Android OS updates.

As of now, Galaxy Note 10, Note 20, S10 and S20 series along with some other devices will surely get 3 years of OS support.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a televised speech this evening, announcing a historic comprehensive peace with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Netanyahu explained that delegations from both countries will meet in the coming days to discuss details for an agreement in all the relative fields, including the opening of mutual embassies, direct flights, cooperation in the battle against the coronavirus, environmental issues, energy and more. He also said that he believes other Arab countries would soon follow in the footsteps of the UAE.

Responding to questions by reporters, Netanyahu rejected the assertation that normalization with the UAE would be carried out in exchange for Israel giving up on annexation. The prime minister stressed that there is "no change in my plans for annexation, with full coordination with the US," explaining that he has always stressed that annexation could be carried out only with the agreement and support of Washington. He also said that he is still fully committed to his election promises of implementing Israeli sovereignty on Jewish settlements in the West Bank, adding that all sides involved in reaching normalization with the UAE agreed simply on suspending momentarily the issue of annexation. "I will never give up on our rights in our land, said Netanyahu.

Asked if he is ready to repeat his 2009 support for the two-state solution, Netanyahu said he is committed to President Donald Trumps peace plan, calling it the most realistic plan since 1967. Still, he refused to define what a Palestinian entity would be.

Clearly, Netanyahu was trying to appease his right-wing camp, which believes that the agreement with the UAE scraps all chances for annexation. While praising the agreement, Yamina leader Naftali Bennett said, Its unfortunate that Netanyahu has squandered a once-in-a-hundred-years chance to extend Israeli sovereignty to the Jordan Valley, Maale Adumim, Beit El and the rest of the settlements. It is tragic that Netanyahu did not seize the moment and did not have the courage to implement sovereignty even on one square centimeter of the land of Israel.

Netanyahus coalition partners, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, were informed about the agreement only minutes before Trump made his declaration. Asked why he did not inform his Blue and White partners earlier, Netanyahu said that all the parties involved in reaching the deal agreed to keep it between them until the very last moment, and so did he.

Despite being sidelined, both Gantz and Ashkenazi praised the agreement. Minister Ashkenazi tweeted, "I congratulate PM Netanyahu on the agreement.  I welcome the decision to halt unilateral annexation & am committed to discussing in detail the full balanced Trump Peace Initiative with countries of the region." Evidently, the coming days will reveal whether annexation is indeed still on the table, as Mr. Netanyahu insisted.
PORTLAND, Ore., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Umpqua Bank, a West Coast regional bank, today released its "Business Resiliency" survey, a nationwide study gauging the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the confidence and future of U.S.-based small and mid-size businesses. More than 1,200 leaders at companies across all industries and geographic regions were surveyed on how their businesses are responding and what they will need in the months ahead to navigate successfully through a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic event.

"There's no denying that the pandemic's economic impact is deep and continues to be painful for businesses, but there is reason for measured optimism," said Umpqua Bank President Tory Nixon. "Small and mid-size businesses are showing resilience and ingenuity in the face of unprecedented disruption and uncertainty. Our research indicates that many have already made strategic pivots that in some cases have made them more competitive, and many more are preparing to pull all the levers at their disposal to emerge healthier, more efficient and better able to serve their customers in the long run."

Survey participants come from businesses that weathered the initial economic shutdown but face continued uncertainty and are a primary audience for financial assistance through the federal Paycheck Protection Program. They represent a broad cross-section of U.S. enterprises that drive significant job creation and prosperity, including middle market companies with at least $10 million in annual revenue that contribute $6 trillion to the U.S. economy annually and employ 44 million Americans.

Key takeaways from Umpqua's "Business Resiliency" survey include the following:

Investments in tech, automation accelerate to remain competitive

Even as a significant majority of mid-size companies delay or cut spending in several areas, including outside vendors, marketing and promotions, hiring and benefits, nearly 5 in 10 have increased spending on technology, digital transformation or automation. More than 80% of businesses have already begun automating or plan to automate tasks previously performed by workers, and 76% are exploring ways to digitize the customer experience. Though smaller businesses are less likely to have concrete plans to make these shifts, moving toward automation and digital customer experience still rank as two of the top priorities for 29% and 46% of small businesses, respectively.

Companies are making strategic shifts and pivots to adapt and reinvent their business

Mid-size companies in particular are making significant changes to lines of products and services, with 75% reporting they have or plan to do so. Roughly 30% of small businesses report a similar strategic shift. Nearly 80% of mid-size companies have already (17%) or are likely (61%) to make changes to their pricing model.

Remote work and emphasis on new skills highlight potential of long-term workplace changes

The U.S. workforce has experienced significant upheaval in recent months. According to the report, some of the changes could have long-lasting impact. Remote workplace, for example, could be here to stay as nearly 8 in 10 mid-size and almost 50% of small businesses are moving now and planning in the future to allow more employees to work from home. More than 60% of mid-size companies are also likely to replace current employees to add different skillsets, as well as move away from a traditional staffing model in favor of utilizing more contract workers.

Measured 12-month optimism is coupled with planning for expansion

Nearly 7 in 10 businesses expect their revenue to remain stable (40%) or increase (29%) the next year. Another 66% expect their profitability to remain stable (40%) or increase (26%) in the next year. Despite the challenging environment, roughly 70% of mid-size businesses are also thinking about expansion plans, with businesses in the Western U.S. leading all other regions in planning.

Some businesses are stronger today and focused on positive, long-term changes

Though many businesses have been negatively impacted by the pandemic, not all businesses have been impacted adversely. Nearly a quarter of businesses report a stronger competitive advantage. Another 41% say they're adapting and making changes that will make them profitable and competitive long term.

According to Richard Cabrera, Umpqua's head of commercial & corporate banking, there's tremendous opportunity for financial institutions to continue rising to the occasion following the Paycheck Protection Program by providing tailored solutions that preserve cashflow and create efficiencies necessary to remain competitive in the current and post-COVID economy.

"The stakes in the current economy are high, and the pandemic is clearly forcing companies to carefully consider key aspects of their business and go-forward strategy," said Cabrera. "With the help of experts in banking and other professional services, many small and mid-size enterprises will emerge from this crisis looking and behaving very differently, which likely will contribute to significant shifts in the U.S. economy as a whole."

Survey Methodology

The Umpqua Bank "Business Resiliency" report surveyed more than 1,200 decisionmakers at small and mid-size companies across the country. The online survey was conducted in partnership with DHM Research, a public policy and business research firm, and targeted executives at companies with $500,000 to $500 million in annual revenue. The survey has a 2.8% margin of error and was fielded from June 22-July 7, 2020.

The full report can be downloaded at https://www.umpquabank.com/

About Umpqua Bank

Umpqua Bank , headquartered in Roseburg, Ore., is a subsidiary of Umpqua Holdings Corporation, and has locations across Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada. Umpqua Bank has been recognized for its innovative customer experience and banking strategy by national publications including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, BusinessWeek, Fast Company and CNBC. The company has been recognized for eight years in a row on FORTUNE magazine's list of the country's "100 Best Companies to Work For," and was recently named by The Portland Business Journal the Most Admired Financial Services Company in Oregon for the fifteenth consecutive year. In addition to its retail banking presence, Umpqua Bank also owns Financial Pacific Leasing, Inc., a nationally recognized commercial finance company that provides equipment leases to businesses. A subsidiary of Umpqua Holdings Corporation, Umpqua Investments, Inc ., provides retail brokerage and investment advisory services in offices throughout Washington, Oregon, and California.

Media Contact:

Kurt Heath, External Communications

503.219.6124 / [email protected]

SOURCE Umpqua Bank

Related Links

http://www.umpquabank.com


Sleep is extremely important for both the body and the brain, especially as researchers now have an idea of what happens to the mammalian brain after chronic sleep deprivation--and it's not looking good.

How the Brain Eats Itself

According to a report by ScienceAlert, sleep is more than just a way for the body to replenish energy levels, but it also helps the brain clear itself of toxic byproducts from the day's activities.

This same process also happens with the sleep-deprived, but it gets overboard, and the result is the brain literally eats itself, causing damage that even catching up on sleep may not be able to reverse.

The brain is cleared by two types of glial cells, which are often deemed the "glue" of the nervous system.

The first type is known as microglial cells responsible for the process of phagocytosis--a word that means "to devour" in Greek--and clears out old and worn out brain cells.

Meanwhile, the second is known as astrocytes, and its job is to prune unnecessary synapses in the brain to help it refresh and to reshape its wiring, but due to chronic lack of sleep, the astrocytes increase their activity and begin devouring portions of synapses, much like what microglial cells do.

This process is known as astrocytic phagocytosis.

"We show for the first time that portions of synapses are literally eaten by astrocytes because of sleep loss," Bellesi said in an interview with NewScientist.

Read Also: Elon Musk's Mysterious Neuralink Chip Could Make You Hear Things That Were Impossible to Hear Before

The Research From 2017

Researchers from the Marche Polytechnic University in Italy, headed by neuroscientist Michele Bellesi, conducted the study in 2017 that led to this discovery using four groups of mice with varying degrees of rest.

One group got six to eight hours of sleep, meaning they are well-rested, while another group is periodically woken up.

On the other hand, one group of mice was kept awake for an extra eight hours, making them the sleep-deprived group; the last one was kept awake for five days straight, making them chronically sleep-deprived.

The team then began imaging their brains and compared them, looking for astrocyte activity.

Increased Astrocyte and Microglial Activity

Based on their research, the scientists found astrocytes in 5.7% of the well-rested group's synapses, while the spontaneously awake mice had it in 7.3% of their synapses.

For the sleep-deprived and chronically sleep-deprived group, the astrocytes have significantly increased their activity and began eating parts of the largest synapses, which tend to be the most heavily used ones and the oldest ones.

They could be found in 8.4%, and 13.5% of the synapses of the sleep-deprived and chronically sleep-deprived groups, respectively.

Furthermore, the last group's microglial activity has also increased, which could be worrying as it was linked to various forms of neurodegeneration, including Alzheimer's.

"Only chronic sleep loss activates microglia cells and promotes their phagocytic activity ... suggesting that extended sleep disruption may prime microglia and perhaps predispose the brain to other forms of insult," the researchers wrote.

The paper was published in the Journal of Neuroscience.

For now, scientists are still uncertain whether the same process happens in the human brain.

Read Also: Understanding the Link Between Sleep Positions and Hip Pain

This article is owned by TechTimes.

Written by: Nhx Tingson

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
KENTWOOD, MI -- The first trial in months before Kentwood District Court Judge William Kelly appeared to go off without a hitch Wednesday -- thanks to social distancing, masks and a good dose of hand sanitizer.

Kelly presided over what was the first jury trial in Kent County since trials were suspended as the coronavirus pandemic escalated in March. Other types of court hearings, such as status conferences and sentencings, have been conducted virtually during the pandemic.

I think it went pretty well, Kelly said after the one-day misdemeanor trial wrapped up Wednesday, Aug. 12.

The trial involved a domestic violence charge with six jurors.

Kelly and his staff sought permission from the State Court Administrators office to run a trial because the Kentwood court remains in phase 2 of the state court systems plan for reopening to full operation. Jury trials are not currently allowed in phase 2.

For jury selection Wednesday, court officials were able to space out 11 prospective jurors in Kellys courtroom until a panel of six jurors was selected.

During the trial, jurors sat at different locations in the gallery, not in the jury box, to accommodate the six-foot spacing rule. All jurors also were required to wear masks.

Kentwood District Court Administrator Michele White said hand sanitizer was available in several locations in the building, including the jury deliberation room where seats also were spaced apart.

Until Wednesday, no jury trials had been run in Kent County Circuit Court or the countys five district courts since the pandemic began to peak in Michigan more than four months ago. In most cases now, courtrooms are limited to 10 people.

Kelly said district courts may be able to run trials more easily because only six people sit on a jury in misdemeanor cases, while 12 sit on a jury in felony cases.

Still, working out the logistics to run a trial took some careful thought and planning, he said.

The court administrator and I worked hard to make sure we could maintain social distancing, he said.

Kelly talked to jurors after the trial. He said they seemed comfortable with the courts efforts to keep them safe.

He may look at holding other trials in the future.

Jury trials are an important part of the justice system, he said. If we couldnt pull it off safely, we wouldnt do it.

Also on MLive:

As coronavirus cases climb in Muskegon prison, families express fear and confusion

State regulators set to fine Grand Rapids $50K for permitting failures on biodigester project

Naval specialist from Kalamazoo returns home after 7-months at sea due to coronavirus
The AASU, which was a part of the high-level committee on Clause 6 of Assam Accord, released the confidential report, saying that the public has the right to know the contents

On 25 February, a high-level committee formed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), had submitted its recommendations for implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, to Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, so that it could be handed over to Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

This confidential report was made public on Tuesday (11 August), by the All Assam Students Union (AASU). According to PTI, AASU said that the public has the right to know of the contents of the report on Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, a key provision that has been contentious for decades as it debates over who can be defined as 'Assamese people.

This report on Clause 6 defines Assamese people as all persons residing in the territory of Assam on or before 1 January, 1951, and their descendants. It has selected 1951 as being selected as a cut-off year, has left minority groups worried.

The AASU and another committee member Nilay Dutta, who is the advocate general of Arunachal Pradesh, addressed a press conference, saying that they were releasing it only because the "government is just sitting idle".

"It has been more than five months since we submitted the report but there is simply no action from the government. People are asking us daily what happened to it. We have finally decided to release it as the people have the right to know," AASU chief advisor Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharya said.

So what is Clause 6 of the Assam Accord?

As per Clause 6, Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards, as may be appropriate, shall be provided to protect, preserve and promote the culture, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people.

The bone of contention since the signing of the pact on 13 August, 1985 has been the definition of Assamese people, which the committee tried to fix as the tribal, indigenous and all other Indian citizens residing within the territory of Assam as per the First Schedule of the Constitution on or before 1 January, 1951 along with their descendants.

The signing of the accord in 1985 ended a six-year-long, violent anti-immigrant movement, sparked by anxiety by the migration into Assam from Bangladesh in the aftermath of the Bangladesh War of 1971.

According to Scroll.in, using the war as the cut-off, the Accord defined anyone who came before midnight on 24 March, 1971 as an Indian citizen in Assam. But the accord did not define who falls under the ambit of Assamese people.

On 25 February, the high-level committee on the implementation of Clause 6, headed by Justice (Retired) BK Sharma, had submitted the report to Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal for handing it over to Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The chairman of the committee had submitted the report to the chief minister in the presence of the entire state cabinet, top government officials, and journalists.

So what does this confidential report say?

The 'confidential' report released by ASSU sought to implement the Assam Accord in letter and spirit and has also asked the government for prompt measures to seal the India-Bangladesh border. It also suggested reservation of 80-100 percent in Parliament seats from the state, while recommended creation of an Upper House in Assam.

Who is defined as 'Assamese'?

According to The Print, AASU president Dipanka Kumar Nath during the press conference said that the committee had recommended five specific categories to define the Assamese keeping in mind the implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord.

These categories were  Assamese communities residing in the territory of Assam on or before 1 January, 1951, any indigenous tribal community residing in the territory of Assam on or before 1 January, 1951, any other indigenous community residing in the territory of Assam on or before 1 January, 1951, all other citizens of India residing in the territory of Assam on or before 1 January, 1951 and descendants of the above categories.

Reservation in Parliament

It also suggested reservation of 80-100 percent in Parliament seats from Assam should be reserved for the Assamese people as defined above. The report further suggested a similar percentage of posts in the Central government, Central public sector units, and private sector companies operating in Assam should be reserved for the Assamese people.

Creation of an Upper House in Assam

The report has also suggested the creation of an Upper House of the Assam legislature, in which all seats would be reserved for Assamese people. The composition of the House shall be from among the SC [Scheduled Castes], ST [Scheduled Tribes] and the tribes/communities of the State, the report said.

Assamese language to remain official language in state

The high-level committee in its report has also said that the Assamese language should continue to be the official language of the state with appropriate provisions for use of local languages in Barak Valley, Hill Districts and the BTAD (Bodoland Territorial Area Districts).

The committee also suggested a mandatory provision of an Assamese language paper for recruitment in state government services with alternatives for Barak Valley districts, BTAD and Hills Districts.

Land Rights

The committee in its report recommended that land rights in Assam be confined to those defined as the Assamese. Unless the land rights of the Assamese People are protected along with the political rights, it will be a futile exercise to adopt measures for full implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord in its true spirit, it said.

'Not acceptable for govt to neglect report'

"We do not know where the report is. Is it in the chief minister's almirah or somewhere? Has it been sent to Delhi? It is not acceptable to neglect the report this way," Bhattacharya said during the press conference on Tuesday.

When asked if there will be any legal implication for making the report public, senior advocate Dutta said it will not have any repercussions.

According to The Telegraph, the ASSU also noted that the BJPs state unit president Ranjeet Kumar Dasss recent observation that several recommendations in the report would be difficult to implement had forced their hands.

It is clear that the report is out in some quarters. Let there be debate and discussion on what it is not implementable, AASU general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi said.

Unfortunate that report was made public, says CM

Soon after the report was made public, Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal termed it as "unfortunate" that the AASU made the report public.

Assuring that the state government is committed to implementing the said provision of the 1985 agreement, Sonowal in a statement said, the BJP-led government will not do anything that will harm the interests of the people.

The Union Home Ministry had in January last year formed the committee headed by retired Union Secretary P Bezbaruah, but six of the nine members declined to be part of it, following which the panel was reconstituted on 16 July, 2019 with 14 members and Justice Sharma as its chairman.

With inputs from agencies
SANTA MONICA, Calif., Aug. 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Fuel Cycle Inc., the leading market research cloud for Fortune 500 companies is honored to be recognized by Inc. 5000 as one of the nation's fastest-growing private companies.

The Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies, represents a unique look at the American economy's most dynamic segmentindependent small businesses. Intuit, Zappos, Under Armour, Microsoft, Patagonia, and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as Inc. 5000 honorees.

"We are honored to be included in the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in America," says Eran Gilad, Fuel Cycle President & CEO. "Receiving this recognition is a testament to the work of our team, our Market Research Cloud, and the trust our clients place in us. We take great pride in the continued success and growth of Fuel Cycle. This award confirms the criticality of our strategy to give decision-makers access to market intelligence they need to create products, messaging, and experiences that fit the spirit of our times."

The companies on the 2020 Inc. 5000 are not only competitive within their markets, but this year also shows staggering growth over prior lists. The 2020 Inc. 5000 achieved a three-year average growth of over 500 percent, and a median rate of 165 percent. The aggregate revenue was $209 billion in 2019, accounting for over 1 million jobs over the past three years.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000 can be found at www.inc.com/inc5000.

"The companies on this year's Inc. 5000 come from nearly every realm of business," says Inc. Editor-In-Chief, Scott Omelianuk. "From health and software to media and hospitality, the 2020 list proves that no matter the sector, incredible growth is based on the foundations of tenacity and opportunism."

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000

Methodology

The 2020 Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth from 2016 to 2019. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2016. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.)

About Inc. Media: The world's most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, and connections to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of digital channels.

About Fuel Cycle: Fuel Cycle is the leading cloud-based market research platform for supercharging the relationship between humans and brands. It is the only all-in-one ecosystem combining quantitative and qualitative data to power real-time business decisions across product, brand, customer, and employee experiences. To learn more, visit fuelcycle.com.

SOURCE Fuel Cycle
New jobless claims in Michigan fell last week to the lowest level since the global coronavirus pandemic intensified 22 weeks ago, though more than a half a million workers in the state continue to collect unemployment assistance as the economy struggles to regain its pre-pandemic footing.

New claims filed in Michigan totaled 14,462 for the week ending Aug. 8, according to numbers released Thursday by the U.S. Labor Department. The number of initial filings declined from 19,842 the previous week.

Yet continuing jobless claims remain stubbornly high at more than 500,000, indicating a number of Michigan workers may be experiencing extended layoffs now that federal coronavirus assistance has expired for workers and businesses.

Reporting of continuous jobless claims lags initial claims by a week. In Michigan, 522,491 workers continued to receive unemployment assistance for the week ending Aug. 1, up slightly from 514,836 the previous week.

Michigans unemployment rate also ticked up slightly from 11.96% the week ending July 25 to 12.13% the week ending Aug. 1.

While the unemployment numbers remain stubbornly high in Michigan, they are well off their historical peaks of 388,554 initial claims filed the week of April 4 and continuing claims that totaled 996,374 the week ending April 25.

Nationally, new jobless claims fell below 1 million for the first time in months. There were 962,000 new filings across the country, and nearly 15.5 million people are receiving some sort of unemployment assistance.

Some economists say they think the expiration of the $600 extra federal unemployment benefit has contributed to the drop in unemployment claims over the past two weeks.

The supplemental federal aid had enabled many jobless Americans to afford rent, food and utilities, and its expiration threatens to weaken consumer spending and further slow the economy.

Unemployment benefits have accounted for roughly 5% of national income since April, a larger share than even Social Security. The loss of the $600 has shrunk benefits for the average recipient by one-half to three-quarters.

Michelle Meyer, an economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, says that the loss of the additional aid will reduce Americans incomes by $18 billion a week.

Thats a big hit to purchasing power, she said.

Last week, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that would provide $300 a week in federal aid to the jobless to replace the expired $600-a-week benefit. But experts say it would take weeks for the states to implement that payment, if at all.

Congress remains deadlocked on new aid for workers and businesses.

In the meantime, with confirmed virus cases still high in many parts of the country, its not clear when business owners will be able to reopen or will have enough customers to rehire furloughed workers.
American democracy is alive and well, or at least functioning, in Boys State, a happy pill of a documentary. Each year, thousands of high-school boys congregate in their home states for some intense governance cosplay sponsored by the American Legion. In a single whirlwind week, participants are embedded in opposing parties  like Federalists and Nationalists  decide platforms and run for office, including governor. The movie focuses on the 2018 edition of Texas Boys State, when some 1,000 teens embraced ideals and engaged in a lot of hoo-ha togetherness.

After some bare-minimum background  images of Boys State alums like Dick Cheney and Cory Booker are mixed into the opening credits  the directors, Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine, jump right into the fray. This shrewdly puts viewers on more or less the same newbie level as the subjects, including Ben Feinstein. A politics junkie and double amputee from San Antonio, Ben owns a Ronald Reagan doll and announces his personal platform when he explains to his family that its bad for America to focus on race or gender or disability rather than individual failings.

Steven Garza, Bens political opposite, enters soon after. A thoughtful, open-faced striver from Houston, Steven calls himself a progressive, admires Bernie Sanders (and Napoleon) and arrives at Texas Boys State in a Beto ORourke T-shirt. Ben and Steven dont interact much at first because theyre in opposing parties. Ben is thrown in with the Federalists, where he secures the position of party chairman. Steven is placed in the Nationalists with the two other main figures: Robert MacDougall, an Austin smiler in cowboy boots who summons up visions of George W. Bush; and the sharp-witted, razor-tongued Rene Otero, a transplant from Chicago.

With a lot of access, multiple cameras and great narrative flow, the filmmakers track these four political tyros as they navigate the days, nights and many, many meetings of their Boys State encounter. Despite all the yammering, the tone remains briskly energetic (the editor is Jeff Gilbert), and the boys appealing, or mostly. Although the weeks activities vary (and include a talent show), the focus remains on process. Each party selects its reps and spends time drawing up a platform, with suggestions that range from the frivolous to the deadly serious. Gun rights are a big deal, and more than one boy declares his opposition to abortion.
A group of more than thirty female journalists have issued a strongly worded statement condemning the excruciating circumstances in which female journalists are forced to operate in Pakistan.

The statement titled- Joint Statement: Attacks on women in media in Pakistan said, "vicious attacks through social media are being directed at women journalists and commentators in Pakistan, making it incredibly difficult for us to carry out our professional duties".

The statement further outlined the systematic abuse the female journalists are subjected to are instigated by government officials and then amplified by a large number of Twitter accounts, mainly declaring their affiliation to the ruling party.

In what is certainly a well-defined and coordinated campaign, personal details of women journalists and analysts have been made public. To further discredit, frighten and intimidate us, we are referred to as paddlers of " fake news", "enemy of the people" and accused of taking bribes (often termed as "paid" journalists or lifafas), the statement read further.

The statement further mentioned how female journalists are targeted because of both their work and their gender. Critical posts are drowned under sexual slurs and baseless allegations. There have also been multiple reports of pictures and other personal information of female journalists being accessed and spread online, endangering their safety. The group of journalists also retreated that they are being prevented from exercising their right to free speech and participate in public discourse. When they self-censor, others are prevented from receiving information to form their views, which is a violation of their rights under article 19 A of the constitution of Pakistan.

The statement, in the end, demanded the government to immediately restrain its members from targeting women in the media. Secondly, Pakistan Prime Minister, Imran Khan should send out a clear message to all party members, supporters and followers, to desist from launching these attacks, whether directly or indirectly. Lastly, the government should hold all such individuals within the government accountable and take action against them. The group also demanded to the Standing Committees on Human Rights of the upper and lower house of parliament to take notice and to hold the government accountable by ensuring the acknowledge, apologise, and list the actions they will now take to put an end to such a threatening environment.

Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists also stated support of women in media in Pakistan raising voice against attacks and to end impunity. Soon after the statement was released, multiple attempts were made to hack the micro-blogging accounts of these journalists.

Aima Khosh, one of the signatories of the statement in a tweet revealed how her account is trying to be hacked by hackers. Her tweet read, "the statement by women journalists is trending, human rights defenders are speaking up and the HR minister has expressed concern. At the same time, someone is trying hard to break into my account. To whoever this is, I have only one thing to say: #AttacksWontSilenceUs".

The statement by women journalists is trending, human rights defenders are speaking up and the HR minister has expressed concern. At the same time, someone is trying hard to break into my account. To whoever this is, I have only one thing to say: #AttacksWontSilenceUs pic.twitter.com/Za7cZBFT6K  Aima Khosa (@aimaMK) August 12, 2020

Benazir Shah, another signatory of the statement also confirmed attempts being made to hack her account.

Imp to stress this - there have been attempts to hack into the social media accounts of women reporters and analysts, as well as limit our access to information. #AttacksWontSilenceUs  Benazir Shah (@Benazir_Shah) August 12, 2020

Nafisa Shah, another journalist blamed Pak Govt behind these hacking attempts being made on their account. She revealed that it isn't just the female journalists but female politicians as well whose accounts are being tried to be hacked by PTI trolls.

Attempts to hack into accounts seems to be a norm in PTIs Naya Pakistan, not just of women journalists, but opposition women politicians as well. My account was restricted last 5 days, and this is not the first time. In solidarity: #AttacksWontSilenceUs https://t.co/QSQDQEJJR1  Nafisa Shah (@ShahNafisa) August 12, 2020

#AttacksWontSilenceUs was soon trending in Pakistan as support from various sections of society poured in showing their solidarity with the demand made in the joint statement. People like Hamid Mir and Zahid Kishori, senior journalists from Pakistan, supported the statement and tweeted with #AttacksWontSilenceUs on Twitter.

Pakisan needs more independent, strong, determined & successful women in journalism. #AttacksWontSilenceUs seems a very powerful slogan to start with.Let grow such men & women doing exceptionally good work & sitting on the fence while performing their duty in this profession," said Zahid Gishkori on Twitter.
PHOENIX, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- INT Technologies, the nation's largest certified Veteran-Owned Staffing and Consulting Company, announced today that it has been named to Staffing Industry Analysts' (SIA) 2020 list of diversity staffing firms. Firms on the list range from smaller, niche organizations to global organizations and solutions providers; and encompass the full spectrum of staffing segments, including IT, healthcare, industrial and office/clerical. Firms, in general, reported their largest segments; and firms could report services in more than one segment.

In a 2019 SIA survey, 60% of large companies that use staffing firms said they had a program for diversity suppliers in place, and 29% said they planned to explore putting one in place over the next two years.

"Today, more than ever, diversity and inclusion are critical to the success of business and more importantly, to our society. When business and community work together to create a level playing field for all, we all benefit. We appreciate being included in this respected list," said Chris Knott, Founder & CEO of INT Technologies.

In 2000, Chris Knott decided to utilize his business acumen, expertise and lifelong entrepreneurial spirit to launch INT Technologies, a full spectrum Information Technologies staff augmentation firm. Today, INT Technologies is very proud to be the largest Veteran-owned staffing business in the United States.

"SIA's diversity-supplier list dates back over a decade, with a focus on heightening visibility for the list and for the ongoing conversation around diversity and inclusion in more recent years," said Subadhra Sriram, Editor & Publisher, Media Products, at SIA. "But diversity and inclusion cannot remain just a conversation. The workforce solutions ecosystem must continue to address the racism and cultural bias that impacts the hiring process and the talent industry-wide. It is our hope that this list helps companies to support diversity and inclusion in business ownership and keeps a spotlight on the changes that are needed to advance more diverse and inclusive communities."

The 2020 list of Diversity-Owned Staffing Firms provides a useful reference for companies with contingent workforce programs looking to use diversity-owned staffing suppliers and for staffing firms seeking diversity-owned subcontractors.

About INT

INT Technologies is the nation's largest certified Veteran-Owned Staffing and Consulting Company. We have 20 years proven track record assisting our varied clients with their projects and staffing needs within the financial, insurance, healthcare, government, aerospace, and technology industries. Serving clients nationwide, our leadership team -comprised of Chris Knott, Richard Krause, James Moloney, Ben Meyer, and Carolyn Russell -focuses on integrity and service and the relationships they help build. Proof of our commitment to "our client is our highest priority" can be seen in the fact that each of INT's founding clients remain INT clients 20 years later. www.inttechnologies.com

About Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA)

SIA is the Global Advisor on Staffing and Workforce Solutions

Elevating the Workforce Solutions Ecosystem

Founded in 1989, SIA is the global advisor on staffing and workforce solutions. Our proprietary research covers all categories of employed and non-employed work including temporary staffing, independent contracting and other types of contingent labor. SIA's independent and objective analysis provides insights into the services and suppliers operating in the workforce solutions ecosystem including staffing firms, managed service providers, recruitment process outsourcers, payrolling/compliance firms and talent acquisition technology specialists such as vendor management systems, online staffing platforms, crowdsourcing and online work services.

SOURCE INT Technologies
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 09:53:41|Editor: huaxia

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WINDHOEK, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Namibia will suspend all domestic flights for 18 days starting from Wednesday amid an increase in COVID-19 cases, national airline Air Namibia has announced.

The suspension of regional flights will be extended until Sept. 20, and Frankfurt flights until Sept. 30, in line with the reopening of international borders, Air Namibia corporate communications officer Twaku Kayofa said Wednesday.

"The latest development is in alignment with Namibia's travel restrictions as stipulated in Stage 3 regulations, aimed at curbing the further spread of COVID-19," Kayofa said.

Air Namibia has introduced flexible rebooking options for travelers who need to change their travel dates.

Kayofa said for domestic flights, all tickets purchased on or before Wednesday will be offered one free change to a new travel date until Oct. 31.

To date, Namibia has recorded a total number of 3,406 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 22 deaths. Enditem
A judge used sexually explicit language including asking an assistant prosecutor if she wanted 'foreplay before or after sex', a formal complaint alleges.

The complaint alleges Judge Bruce Morrow pulled an assistant Wayne County prosecutor into a private conference during the trial of James Edward Matthews in June 2019.

Judge Morrow reportedly gave feedback to the assistant prosecutor while comparing her examination in the trial to sex.

The Wayne County Circuit judge warned her his remarks would make her 'blush', before making inappropriate, sexually-charged references, the complaint says.

A complaint alleges Judge Bruce Morrow pulled an assistant Wayne County prosecutor into a private conference at Third Circuit Court in Detroit before giving her feedback to while inappropriately comparing her examination in the trial to sex

Morrow allegedly said: 'You start with all the information from the report, all the testimony crescendos to the cause and manner of death, which is the sex of the testimony.

'You want to tease the jury with the details of the examination.

'You want to lead them to the climax of the manner and cause of death,' reported The Detroit News.

According to the complaint, Morrow's comments made the assistant prosecutor feel 'frozen' and afraid to move.

The complaint, authorised by Michigan's Judicial Tenure Commission, alleges a second incident occurred on June 11 at the same trial.

The Wayne County Circuit judge warned her his remarks would make her 'blush', before making inappropriate, sexually-charged references Third Circuit Court in Detroit (pictured), the complaint says

Morrow asked the assistant prosecutor why she presented evidence that the suspect's DNA was found during a vaginal swab of the victim.

The complaint says Morrow said: 'All you did was show they f*****!'

Matthews, the defendant in the trial, said the couple had sex differently because he did not want to hurt the pregnant victim or cause a miscarriage.

'Does he think his d*** is so big that he would hurt that baby?' the judge allegedly responded.

In a third instance, the complaint alleges Morrow approached two female assistant prosecutors and asked their weight while 'overtly eyeing both of their bodies'.

The Judicial Tenure Commission has asked the Michigan Supreme Court to appoint a master to preside over a hearing about the complaint.
The Central Committee of the Workers Party of Korea (WPK) and top leaders of the Republic of Korea (RoK), the Republic of Nicaragua and political parties sent messages of condolences to Vietnamese Party and State leaders,

people and family of former General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee Le Kha Phieu over his passing.

General Secretary of the CPV Central Committee Le Kha Phieu in Can Tho in 1998

In its message of condolences sent to the CPV Central Committee, the WPK Central Committee said the late leader was a veteran revolutionist and an eminent political activist who dedicated his whole life to the cause of national development and reunification as well as the socialism building cause of Vietnam.

In a message sent to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong, President Moon Jae-in, on behalf of the RoKs government and people, extended condolences to the Vietnamese people and family of comrade Le Kha Phieu.

He said the former Party General Secretary made important contributions to the development of Vietnam as well as the RoK  Vietnam relationship.

General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Sandinista National Liberation Front Sandino, President Daniel Ortega Saavedra and Vice President of Nicaragua Rosario Murillo also sent a letter of condolences to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong.

The Central Committee of the Marxist Communist Party of India; Vice President of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela Jesus Faria; First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Youth of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela Rander Pena; Communications Secretary of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front of El Salvador Sigfrido Reyes; Vice President and International Relations Secretary of the Communist Party of Brazil Walter Sorrentino; Secretary General of the Dominican Republics United Left Movement Miguel Mejia; Secretary General of the Communist Party of Uruguay Juan Castillo; First Secretary of the Communist Party of Bolivia Ignacio Mendoza, and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Argentina also sent messages of condolences to the CPV Central Committee.

President of the Communist Party of Chile Guillermo Teillier also cabled a message of condolences to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong./.VNA
Statewide

All information from the Iowa Department of Public Health, except where noted. (In parenthesis: Change from day before.)

Cases of coronavirus: 50,167 (+465)

The total number of people who have ever tested positive for active novel coronavirus infection since testing began March 8, 2020.

Average number of cases per day: 354 (-11)

As of yesterday, over a seven-day average.

Percent change in cases over 14 days: -8.1% (-10.7%). National average: -18.3% (+0.7%). (Info: KFF.org)

Rate of spread: 1.00 (no change)

The average number of people who currently become infected by an infectious person. Over 1.0 means the virus will spread, and below 1.0 means it has stopped spreading. (Info: Rt.live)

Positive testing rate on previous day: 5.5% (-2.5%)

As of May 12, the World Health Organization recommends a positive testing rate of less than 5% or lower for at least 14 days before an area reopens.

Deaths: 954 (+5)

The total number of people who died of the novel coronavirus beginning March 8, 2020.

Average number of deaths per day: 4.3 (-0.3)

As of yesterday, over a seven-day average.

Fatality rate: 1.9% (no change)

National ranking in cases per capita: 19th (+1; Illinois now 20th) (Info: kff.org)

National ranking in deaths per capita: 27th (no change) (Info: kff.org)

Recoveries: 39,220 (+672)

As of June 30, IDPH now classifies anyone not hospitalized or deceased after 28 days to be recovered.

Recovery rate: 78.2% (+0.6%)

Positive serology tests: 2,888 (+20)

The number of people with no current infection who tested positive for antibodies of the novel coronavirus.

Hospitalized patients with COVID-19: 261 (+18) Hospitalized in NE Iowa (RMCC Region 6): 53 (+2) Hospitalized in North Iowa (Region 2): 68 (-2)

Patients admitted in last 24 hours: 38 (-15) Region 6: 8 (+4) Region 2: 9 (-1)

Hospitalized in intensive care units: 88 (+16) Region 6: 19 (+4) Region 2: 22 (+6)

Hospitalized on a ventilator: 25 (no change) Region 6: 6 (+1) Region 2: 6

Long-term care facility outbreaks: 28 (no change)

An outbreak is added when a facility has three or more residents test positive, and removed when no new cases appear.

Deaths attributable to long-term care facility outbreaks: 511 (+3) Percentage of total deaths: 53.6% (+0.1%)

------------------

Black Hawk County

Cases: 3,192 (+28)

Average cases per day (7-day average): 9.9 (-4.7)

Recoveries: 2,598 (+32)

Deaths: 66 (no change)

Average deaths per day (7-day average): 0.4 (-0.2)

Number currently infected: 528 (-4)

Percent currently infected of total infections: 13.6% (-0.2%)

Fatality rate: 2.1% (no change)

Serology positive: 700 (no change)

Total population currently infected: 0.4% (no change)

Total population ever infected: 2.9% (no change)

Percent positive in past 14 days: 9% (no change)

Iowa school districts may request a temporary waiver to send students home for 14 days and move all instruction online if 10% of students are absent and a 14-day average shows at least 15% of county residents screened for coronavirus test positive.

Data below from blackhawkcovid19.com:

Reported cases by sex:

Male: 54.7% (no change)

Female: 45.3% (no change)

Reported cases by age:

0-17: 5.1% (no change)

18-40: 53.2% (no change)

41-60: 30.1% (no change)

61-80: 9.3% (no change)

80+: 2.3% (no change)

Reported cases by race:

Asian: 10.6% (no change)

Black: 25.0% (no change)

Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 2.3% (no change)

White: 62.1% (no change)

Reported cases by ethnicity:

Hispanic/Latinx: 16.3% (no change)

Non-Hispanic: 83.7% (no change)

Hospitalization rate: 4.3% (no change)

------------------

Bremer County

Cases: 231 (+1)

Average cases per day (7-day average): 4.6 (-0.7)

Recoveries: 123 (+3)

Deaths: 7 (no change)

Average deaths per day (7-day average): 0 (no change)

Number currently infected: 101 (-2)

Percent currently infected of total infections: 42.6% (-1.0%)

Fatality rate: 3.0% (no change)

Serology positive: 6 (no change)

Total population currently infected: 0.4% (no change)

Total population ever infected: 1.0% (no change)

Percent positive in past 14 days: 10% (no change)

Iowa school districts may request a temporary waiver to send students home for 14 days and move all instruction online if 10% of students are absent and a 14-day average shows at least 15% of county residents screened for the coronavirus test positive.

-----------------

Buchanan County

Cases: 131 (+1)

Average cases per day (7-day average): 1.3 (-0.8)

Recoveries: 67 (no change)

Deaths: 1 (no change)

Average deaths per day (7-day average): 0 (no change)

Number currently infected: 63 (+1)

Percent currently infected of total infections: 46.7% (+0.4%)

Fatality rate: 0.8% (no change)

Serology positive: 4 (no change)

Total population currently infected: 0.3% (no change)

Total population ever infected: 0.6% (no change)

Percent positive in past 14 days: 7% (-1%)

Iowa school districts may request a temporary waiver to send students home for 14 days and move all instruction online if 10% of students are absent and a 14-day average shows at least 15% of county residents screened for the coronavirus test positive.

------------------

Butler County

Cases: 129 (+4)

Average cases per day (7-day average): 1.4 (no change)

Recoveries: 110 (+2)

Deaths: 2 (no change)

Average deaths per day (7-day average): 0 (no change)

Number currently infected: 17 (+2)

Percent currently infected of total infections: 12.8% (+1.2%)

Fatality rate: 1.6% (no change)

Serology positive: 4 (no change)

Total population currently infected: 0.1% (no change)

Total population ever infected: 0.9% (no change)

Percent positive in past 14 days: 7% (no change)

Iowa school districts may request a temporary waiver to send students home for 14 days and move all instruction online if 10% of students are absent and a 14-day average shows at least 15% of county residents screened for the coronavirus test positive.

---------------

Fayette County

Cases: 86 (+1)

Average cases per day (7-day average): 0.9 (+0.2)

Recoveries: 65 (no change)

Deaths: 0

Average deaths per day (7-day average): 0

Number currently infected: 22 (+1)

Percent currently infected of total infections: 22.5% (+0.8%)

Fatality rate: 0%

Serology positive: 11 (no change)

Total population currently infected: 0.1% (no change)

Total population ever infected: 0.5% (no change)

Percent positive in past 14 days: 4% (no change)

Iowa school districts may request a temporary waiver to send students home for 14 days and move all instruction online if 10% of students are absent and a 14-day average shows at least 15% of county residents screened for the coronavirus test positive.

----------------

Floyd County

Cases: 164 (+6)

Average cases per day (7-day average): 4.4 (+0.5)

Recoveries: 126 (no change)

Deaths: 3 (no change)

Average deaths per day (7-day average): 0.1 (no change)

Number currently infected: 35 (+6)

Percent currently infected of total infections: 20.5% (+2.9)

Fatality rate: 1.8% (-0.1%)

Serology positive: 7 (no change)

Total population currently infected: 0.2% (no change)

Total population ever infected: 1.1% (+0.1%)

Percent positive in past 14 days: 14% (no change)

Iowa school districts may request a temporary waiver to send students home for 14 days and move all instruction online if 10% of students are absent and a 14-day average shows at least 15% of county residents screened for the coronavirus test positive.

--------------------

Grundy County

Cases: 82 (+1)

Average cases per day (7-day average): 0.9 (-0.1)

Recoveries: 54 (no change)

Deaths: 1 (no change)

Average deaths per day (7-day average): 0 (no change)

Number currently infected: 27 (+1)

Percent currently infected of total infections: 31.0% (+0.8%)

Fatality rate: 1.2% (no change)

Serology positive: 5 (no change)

Total population currently infected: 0.2% (no change)

Total population ever infected: 0.7% (no change)

Percent positive in past 14 days: 3% (no change)

Iowa school districts may request a temporary waiver to send students home for 14 days and move all instruction online if 10% of students are absent and a 14-day average shows at least 15% of county residents screened for the coronavirus test positive.

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Joe Biden 2020 for President Campaign Commits Major Ad Dollars to Black-Owned Media

Presumptive Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden is ramping up his campaign with a record-setting $280 million advertising buy.

During a telephone call on Wednesday, August 5, with the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), Biden campaign officials said they will spend $280 million for television ads, print and digital advertising, as well as for social media in the run-up to the General Election on November 3, 2020.

The Biden Campaign will also spend on ad buys with African American-owned media, including the NNPA, TV One and others. Campaign officials said they will continue to add other media outlets targeting African Americans as the campaign moves forward.

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We are not taking any chances; the Black vote is very important, a campaign spokesperson said. We will engage at a much higher level with NNPA and other outlets than we did for the primary. We are trying to reach all Black American voters, and we must reach all of the outlets.

The campaign has hired Truxton Creative, owned by Terrance Green, an African American media strategist and creative director who was a key contributor in President Barack Obamas campaigns.

Green has also enlisted the services of Converging Media, a predominately Black-owned media buyer, to aid his companys efforts.

This is just who [Biden] is as a candidate and person, Congressman Cedric Richmond (D-La.), co-chair of the Biden campaign, told NNPA Newswire. He got into politics because of civil rights, and he understands the value that African Americans bring to the country, to the campaign and the electorate.

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., NNPA President and CEO, responded, Black Lives Matter. Black Voters Matter. Todays announced commitment by the Joe Biden for President Campaign is timely and welcomed news for the Black Press of America. Black-owned media is the most effective approach to mobilizing the largest Black voter turnout in history for the November national elections. The NNPA continues to be the trusted voice of Black America.

Congressman Richmond continued: Joe Biden understands the value that the Black Press has always brought, and that is the unvarnished truth directly to Black people in a way they understand it. That is very important, its crucial to the survival of those outlets, and we want to reach the people they reach, and we want to support them for who they are and what they mean to society. Its not a secret that we got here with overwhelming African American support, so this is what we do.

Bidens live interview with NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., in South Carolina in February and the subsequent endorsement of Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), help to catapult the campaign.

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I got started in the African American community. I got involved in the Civil Rights Movement when I was a kid. I helped de-segregate a movie theater, that kind of thing, Biden told Chavis.

Biden opined that the Black vote would likely determine the next president.

Its going to be the determining factor in who the nominee is going to be, and I hope that means who the next president will be, Biden pronounced.

He added that the Black Press serves a vital role in the political process.

The Black Press is the way I did my politics. You go where people are, he stated. You walk into a Black barbershop or beauty salon, and your newspaper was there. Its who we are. The neighborhood we come from. Its incredibly important; youre incredibly important.

Despite a lack of cash during primary season, Richmond said that Biden still spent money with the Black Press. We did a buy with the NNPA in the primary when the truth is that everybody reported that we were broke, but we wanted to do it, Richmond stated.

We couldnt do a Bloomberg number at that time, but we did [an ad buy] because its who we are,

During the primary, former Democratic Presidential Candidate Michael Bloomberg spent $3.4 million on an ad buy with the NNPA on behalf of the Black Press of America.

The way you spend your money shows your value. This is the same person who says he will have the most diverse administration in U.S. history, Richmond said. Hes picking a woman as vice president, and hes committed to having an African American woman on the Supreme Court. Thats just who Joe Biden is, so as much as people try to paint another picture, you cant because this is who he is.
Chamm establishes a truth about todays Punjab with every frame: that this Punjab is not grand anymore, it is organically deprived.

Historically, Indian cinema exploited the labour of Dalits in its making, whilst erasing or appropriating their stories. This was not an accidental practice. When their stories were told on screen, it would be by savarnas who also played their characters with patriarchal, sexist and casteist undertones.

The scenario has slowly changed, and the identity of Dalit characters in cinema  directed by a Dalit (and a few non-Dalit) filmmakers  has become explicit, transcending boundaries of caste and class. These filmmakers have helped shape visual storytelling that combines justice with aesthetics.

Justice with aesthetics was rarely present in cinema made by savarnas, or it was seldom honest. Dalit-Bahujan filmmakers have filled this gap, while creating a new wave of cinema that is more appealing to a Dalit-Bahujan audience.

In this series, we examine 10 Indian films that count not only among the finest cinema the country has produced, but are also intertwined with justice, politics, and aesthetic.

***

Udta Punjab  directed by a Brahmin filmmaker, Abhishek Chaubey  released in June 2016 after a much-reported row with the censors. Apart from its censorship woes, the film on its release was lauded for highlighting the epidemic of drug abuse among the youth of Punjab. However, Id argue that the film in fact sensationalised the subject, failing  precisely due to this reason  in providing the audience with what good cinema must: perspective.

That perspective can be found in Chamm, a 2017 Punjabi language film, directed by Rajeev Kumar. Chamm released not in theatres but in screenings among the villagers to whom it belongs, passing from the people of one pind to another. To watch Chamm is to develop a perspective to see human stories from lands far from our own, in languages that are not ours, of people who share a commonality in their joys and sorrows. Chamm also establishes a truth about todays Punjab with every frame: that this Punjab is not grand anymore, it is organically deprived.

***

Chamm translates to skin in Punjabi; the films story is as intrinsic to Punjab as the idea of revolution once was to it.

Its protagonist is Keepa Singh, a Dalit who works as a tanner. He skins animals and sells their hides at a factory to make a living. His wife is employed as a housemaid; they live with Keepas brother (who doesnt have a regular job) and his pregnant wife. Keepa and his wife have no children, but they rejoice in the impending addition of a niece or nephew to their family. In his community, Keepa is respected for his honesty.

Keepa is Sikh by religion. But by Jat Sikhs, hes treated as unworthy (an untouchable). His worth is recognised only in the wake of a village election for Sarpanch. A Jat Sikh candidate, hoping to cash in on Keepas image within his community, asks for his help in contesting the polls. This candidate, however, loses, and his rival  another Jat Sikh  decides to teach Keepa a lesson by bringing the plot of land on which Keepa carries out his tanning under government control.

To continue working there, Keepa has to cough up half a lakh, which he scrapes together somehow, even borrowing money from a friend whose son recently died of a drug overdose. Even as Keep manages the balancing act between work, hunger and survival, a personal tragedy awaits: his sister-in-law, advised by a con baba that she should deliver her baby only at her husbands home or risk her childs life, returns. When it is time for the birth, complications arise that make an at-home delivery impossible, and she is rushed to the hospital. The hospital demands money to admit her, and as Keepas family cannot arrange the funds in such a short time, the baby is lost. A sorrowful Keepa and his brother bury the infants remains.

But Keepas tragedies are not due to poverty alone, they are deeply social. Keepas grief is historical.

***

Chamm demands our uninterrupted attention as viewers, to see it as more than a movie or a story. It addresses the two eternal pursuits of a man: hunger and dream/s. But it requires that one think rationally rather than emotionally, because to understand the emotional complexities which lie at the heart of any exploitation, it is necessary to think rationally. In Black Skin White Mask, Franz Fanon observed that, All forms of exploitation are alike. They all seek to justify their existence by citing some biblical decree. All forms of exploitations are identical, since they apply to the same object  man. By considering the structure of such an exploitation from an abstract point of view, we are closing our eyes to the fundamentally important problem of restoring man to his rightful place. Caste is the position of an individual in our society. This position denotes limitations to low/lower castes, and freedom to high/higher castes. This is the subtext of Chamm.

Keepa Singh is politically aware but deploys all his energies into his work, his livelihood. He is also stuck in the dilemmas of the past. But politics comes to him. He is a vote, hence he must be identified. Meanwhile, his personhood is crucified.

As a director, however, Rajeev Kumar keenly explores the personhood of Keepa Singh. He is shown carrying hides to the factory, breaking [animal] bones and separating them, meditating on his life and misery. His younger brother, struggling to find regular employment, is almost brainwashed by Jat Sikh politicians at the beginning of the film. Keepas wifes upper caste-class employers accuse her of stealing food, assaulting her dignity. This is an important frame, sharpening our perspective and making it more critical, as this is a story about the invisible men (and women) in our lives and movies.

To keep his work of skinning dead animals, Keepa is pushed into a dire financial situation. This in turn means he does not have the money to save his brothers child. It is a metaphorical situation, hard even to imagine. But there are people in this caste-society who go through it. Chamm succinctly addresses this problem; at the same time, it also provides hope.

***

His brother eventually moves to the city and a veterinary doctor comes to stay as a paying guest at Keepas house. She organises the Dalits in the village. After confrontations with Jat Sikhs, Keepa and his community succeed in buying land and cultivating it. When the doctor leaves the village, the villagers promise to continue their struggle against exploitation, by being organised. This is Chamm  from being deeply personal, it becomes profoundly political. Miseries are pushed into the background, and hope is resurrected.

Chamm explains to us the emotional theater of a colonised man, as analysed by Fanon. Chamm demands the necessity of the vision of Ambedkar in the struggle against caste. Chamm ensures we do not forget the possibility of Raidas Saheb/Ravidas Begumpura:

The regal realm with the sorrowless name

they call it Begumpura city, a place with no pain,

no taxes or cares, none owns property there,

no wrongdoing, worry, terror, or torture.

Oh my brother, Ive come to take it as my own,

my distant home, where everything is right 

They do this or that, they walk where they wish,

they stroll through fabled palaces unchallenged.

Oh, says Ravidas, a tanner now set free,

those who walk beside me are my friends.

*

Yogesh Maitreya is a poet, translator and founder of Panther's Paw Publication, an anti-caste publishing house. He is pursuing a PhD at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

 Featured image: Still from Chamm, via Facebook/@chamm2017
Zanu-PF was elected inclusively on the basis of that political undertaking. Let it be also noted that the signing of the Global Compensation Agreement on the 27th of July 2020, was a fulfilment of the aspirations of the Zimbabwean people as expressed in the referendum of 16 March 2013. In that instance nearly 95 percent of the population endorsed the new Constitution with the quoted provisions therein, she said.
News that Russia has registered the first vaccine to treat COVID-19 before starting and completing Phase 3 trials was greeted with alarm with some experts concerned it may come with safety issues that could stoke anti-vaccination and anti-science sentiment.

Image For Representation/Reuters

The countrys top medic has claimed that the Russian COVID-19 vaccine dubbed Sputnik V is simple, effective and can be trusted, reported Sputnik news agency.



Sergei Tsarenko, deputy head of the anaesthesiology and resuscitation department at Moscow City Hospital 52 told Sputnik, "Gamaleya Center in microbiology is a brand like Mercedes in the automotive sector. I have known academics Gintsburg and Logunov working in this center for many years. Together with them, we are developing new methods to combat resistant bacteria."



Also Read: Russia 1st Nation To Approve COVID-19 Vaccine, Putin's Own Daughter Has Used It



The report, citing Tsarenkom, claimed that vaccination is a safer and more reliable way to prevent deaths from COVID-19. Essentially, the Sputnik V vaccine consists of two components. According to the medic, "Just like the space shuttle was placed on the rocket, part of the coronavirus also places it in the adenavirus harmless to humans. And this 'rocket' is launched into the human body."

Image For Representation/AP

"Then the body becomes immune to this 'rocket' and 'space shuttle'. In order to consolidate the success, a similar 'space shuttle' is placed in another 'rocket', namely adenavirus, and transferred to the body after three weeks. Again, immunity is formed. As a result, it is weak against both adenaviruses (because the body does not need it), and a permanent and safe immunity is formed against coronavirus."



Also Read: Russia COVID-19 Vaccine May Be Ready By Mid-August, But Concerns Still Remain

"It's simple like anything genius. But it did not occur to anyone except our experts. A few more vectorial vaccines are being developed in the world, but no one has two rockets among them," added Tsarenkom with confidence.



Image For Representation/Reuters

The medic said the institute had developed the method, also known as viral vectors, a long time ago. It has since been tested in several vaccines developed against other diseases such as Ebola and MERS. Its as simple as all ingenious things in the world and so far no one else has managed to achieve it," Tsarenko added.

Also Read: As Human Trials Complete In Russia, Doctors & Teachers First In Line For COVID-19 Vaccine



Reports state that mass production of the vaccine was likely to begin soon and doctors and teachers would be offered immunisation first.

The vaccine will reportedly be made available for medics from late August or September, and the drug would go into general use from January 2021. Vaccination would be voluntary, Putin said.

Disclaimer: The information mentioned in the article is based on facts available in public domain. Indiatimes does not endorse any medication or vaccine for COVID-19. Any course of treatment should only be followed after consulting a medical expert.


The woman touted as a replacement for Victoria's beleaguered Labor Premier Daniel Andrews has been silenced by her boss.

Jacinta Allan, the popular Minister for Transport Infrastructure, has emerged as a contender for the top job with draconian Stage 4 lockdowns decimating the state economy and the government's once unassailable popularity.

A former federal Labor MP from Victoria, Michael Danby, has described as 'shameful' the Andrews Government's botched hotel quarantining fiasco which has seen Melbourne's five million residents placed into a strict Stage 4 lockdown with an 8pm curfew.

'There'll be a political accounting for this,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

While there is no suggestion a leadership challenge is imminent, a Victorian Labor Party source from the Premier's own Socialist Left faction said Ms Allan would be a capable replacement for Mr Andrews.

Jacinta Allan, the popular Minister for Transport Infrastructure, has emerged as a contender for the top job after draconian Stage 4 lockdowns decimate the state economy and the government's once unassailable popularity.

This week, the 46-year-old mother of two who has 14 years' of ministerial experience, promised Daily Mail Australia a statement paying tribute to the late Joan Kirner (pictured), to mark the 30th anniversary of her becoming Victoria's first-ever female premier

The 46-year-old mother of two - who has 14 years' of ministerial experience - this week promised Daily Mail Australia a statement, via a spokeswoman, paying tribute to the late Joan Kirner, to mark the 30th anniversary of her becoming Victoria's first-ever female premier.

But the next morning another spokeswoman, technically employed by the Premier's office, rang to say Ms Allan would not be providing a tribute to Ms Kirner, instead directing enquiries to the Minister for Women Gabrielle Williams - who isn't regarded as a serious leadership contender.

Australian female leaders in government Rosemary Follett, Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Terrritory: May 1989 to December 1989; and June 1991 to March 1995 Carmen Lawrence, Premier of Western Australia: February 1990 to February 1993 Joan Kirner, Premier of Victoria: August 1990 to October 1992 Kate Carnell, Chief Minister of the ACT: March 1995 to October 2000 Clare Martin, Chief Minister of the Northern Territory: August 2001 to November 2007 Anna Bligh, Premier of Queensland: September 2007 to March 2012 Kristina Keneally, Premier of New South Wales: December 2009 to March 2011 Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia: June 2010 to June 2013 Lara Giddings, Premier of Tasmania: January 2011 to March 2014 Katy Gallagher, Chief Minister of the ACT: May 2011 to December 2014 Annastacia Palaszczuk, Premier of Queensland: February 2015 to present Gladys Berejiklian, Premier of NSW: January 2017 to present Advertisement

Ministerial media queries are usually cleared by the Premier's office before written responses are sent to journalists, as is the practice in all state governments.

The Labor Socialist Left source said Ms Allan and another left-winger Jill Hennessy, who held the health portfolio before becoming Attorney-General, were the leading contenders to replace Mr Andrews.

'Jacinta is obviously someone who people would consider if Daniel falls under the proverbial bus,' this factional insider told Daily Mail Australia.

'Jacinta is someone people would be talking about.

'Would Jacinta be a good option? She's certainly someone who would be actively considered by a lot of people.'

Mr Danby, the former member for Melbourne Ports, described the Andrews Government's handling of the hotel quarantining as 'shameful'.

'Unfortunately, we have to go through this period of lockdown to try and suppress the disease to the level that exists in New South Wales - it's shameful it came to this,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

Mr Danby, who hails from Labor's Right faction, slammed the decision to give contracts to private security firms instead of initially putting the Victorian police or the Australian Defence Force in charge like other states, which have not been placed into a Stage 4 lockdown.

'Why that decision was made - it just doesn't seem logical to anyone,' he said, likening lockdown to the London bombings of World War II.

'We're grinning and bearing it - that's what people did during the Blitz.

'They should have done what they did in all other states.'

With Victoria recording another 278 new COVID-19 cases, Mr Danby also blamed the left-wing ideology of 'intersectionality' for the policy of giving contracts to security firms whose directors are from a minority group.

'If it's true that a firm was chosen to be hotel guards because of that criteria, then whoever is responsible for that intersectional decision should resign - whether it's a bureaucrat or a minister,' he said.

Mr Andrews was regarded as 'bland' when he took over as Labor leader a decade ago by his own hard-left faction.

The next morning, a spokeswoman from the office of Premier Daniel Andrews (pictured) rang to say Ms Allan would not be providing a tribute to Ms Kirner, instead directing enquiries to the Minister for Women Gabrielle Williams - who isn't regarded as a serious leadership contender

'People didn't expect Daniel to become leader when Daniel became leader,' the party's left-faction source said.

'Frankly, a lot of people didn't think he'd last and he did.'

If history is any guide, election-winning premiers, even in Victoria, can lose power without being voted out by the people if there's an economic catastrophe looming.

On August 10, 1990 Ms Kirner replaced John Cain as premier, after the State Bank's merchant banking arm Tricontinental lost $2.7billion.

In her first fortnight as Victoria's first female premier - and only the second woman in Australia to lead a state government - Ms Kirner agreed to sell the State Bank of Victoria to the federal government, then led by Labor's Bob Hawke.

Ms Williams, Victoria's Minister for Women, described Ms Kirner as someone who 'left an indelible mark on Victorian politics and remains a role model, not just for women, but Victorians everywhere'.

'As we mark 30 years since her time as Victorian Premier, we pay tribute to her contribution while also noting there's still more work to do to achieve gender equality - a task we continue to pursue every day,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

While there is no suggestion a leadership challenge is imminent, a Victorian Labor Party source from the Premier's own Socialist Left faction said Jacinta Allan (right) would be a capable replacement for Daniel Andrews (left)

Like Ms Kirner's predecessor Mr Cain, Mr Andrews took Victoria's Labor Party from the electoral wilderness and won re-election in a landslide, only to govern as a recession loomed.

History could be repeating, with a once-popular premier in Victoria now vulnerable to a challenge from his own side, despite his Labor Party in November 2018 winning more than double the number of seats as the Opposition Liberal and National parties combined.

In 2020, Ms Allan is a face of a popular $8.3billion program to replace dangerous railway crossings - with 38 to date replaced under her watch.

Like her boss, she also hails from Labor's Socialist Left faction - which also produced Ms Kirner.

Attorney-General Jill Hennessy, another minister from the Socialist Left faction who previously held the health portfolio, is regarded as another possible leadership contender

In just two months, Mr Andrews' approval rating in Newspoll plunged from 75 per cent in April, when he was riding on the crest of approval for his handling of the bushfires, to 57 per cent in mid-July.

While 57 is still a healthy number, his dissatisfaction rating more than doubled from 17 per cent to 37 per cent in the same period, even before Melbourne and the neighbouring Mitchell Shire were placed into a strict Stage 4 lockdown.

The economy is also on the skids with the state's own Department of Treasury and Finance predicting 325,000 Victorians will be out of work by the end of September - up from 265,700 in June.

A jobless rate of 11 per cent is also expected - a level unseen since 1994 during the long aftermath of the 1991 recession that saw older, mainly blue collar men lose their jobs.
Canadian Sentenced to Death in China amid Tensions Over Arrest of Huawei Executive  Zooming In | The China Angle with Simone Gao

Hello, welcome to the China Angle. Im Simone Gao. In just under two years, Chinas relationship has grown sour with Canada. In that time, several Canadian citizens have been sentenced to death over drug related charges. Is China finally taking steps to help crack down on international drug trade, or is China taking revenge on Canada for not kowtowing to the communist regime? What are the implications for the safety of the United States, and the Western world in general? Well go into this and more in todays China Angle.

Last week, China sentenced two more Canadians to death. Since 2019, China has sentenced 4 Canadians to death in total, all on drug related charges. Lets quickly review who they are, and what they were charged for.

On August 7th, China sentenced Ye Jianhui to death for manufacturing and transporting drugs. The court did not release specific details on what drugs or how much was made.

One day earlier, China sentenced Canadian citizen Xu Weihong to death, the court similarly gave no details. However, local media said Xu had gathered ingredients and tools to make ketamine in October 2016. He produced and stored the product in his house. Reports said that police confiscated 265 pounds of ketamine.

On April 30, China sentenced Canadian defendant Fan Wei to death. He allegedly manufactured and sold more than 140 pounds of methamphetamine between July and November 2012.

An online court statement said, in the same case, a U.S. citizen identified as Mark, as well as four MexicansLyon, Pedro, Oscar, and Carrettwere given suspended death sentences or life in prison.

And finally, China sentenced Canadian citizen Robert Schellenberg to death on January 14th, 2019. He was accused of attempting to smuggle 485 pounds of methamphetamine from China to Australia in 2014. He appealed his case in December 2019, but court ordered a retrial, which lasted only 1 day. His sentence was changed from 15 years in prison to death.

So, we can see that China has taken a clear stance on cracking down on Canadians involved in the drug trade. But what triggered all these drug related arrests? One thing to keep in mind is that, just before the harsh sentencing began, Canada arrested a Chinese citizen on December 1st, 2018. Not just any citizen, but the CFO of one of Chinas largest tech companies. That company is Huawei, and the person is Meng Wanzhou, daughter of the companys founder.

Huawei is one of the largest producers of smartphones and network equipment. It is also a pet company of the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP. Its worth noting that the United States blacklisted Huawei in May 2019 for security concerns. The US has also encouraged Western nations to avoid accepting new 5G technology from Huawei for similar security concerns. Just recently, on August 7th, the tech-giant has stated that it can no longer procure chips for its high-end smartphones. U.S. sanctions forbade companies from selling these chips to Huawei thats used to make those phones. 50% of Huaweis entire revenue comes from consumer products such as smartphones and computers. This sanction is a half death sentence to Huawei.

What did the Communist Regime do in response? On Huaweis case, they didnt do anything. The CCP recently put sanctions on 11 American officials including lawmaker Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz. That is a supposed direct retaliation against the US sanctions of the Chinese officials who played roles in human rights abuses in XinJiang and Hong Kong.

But those sanctions against the American officials really dont mean anything since these people do not have assets or bank accounts in China nor do their families go to China for education or business. The punishment is for show only.

But the CCPs retaliation against Canada is different. Here is what they did after Meng Wanzhou was arrested.

After Meng was arrested in Canada, the United States requested her extradition. The reason is she allegedly violated sanctions on doing business with Iran. Huawei actively worked to cover-up these connections, according to internal documents leaked in June. Meng has been under house arrest in Canada since then. In May, Canadian courts denied her bid for freedom, and decided to continue the extradition case.

After her arrest, China demanded her release. The CCP also warned Canada of serious consequences if she was not released.

What serious consequences? Just over one week after Mengs arrest, China initiated its revenge by arresting two Canadians inside China, named Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. In the following months, the CCP began restricting Canadian imports to China. One telling import was Canola oil, as China is the largest consumer of Canola oil. Other Canadian agricultural products began running into issues as well, like peas, soybeans, and pork. Meanwhile, we started to see more Canadian citizens were accused of spying activities or sentenced to death for drug dealings in China.

This is not to say, these Canadians must be innocent, but their alleged crimes were certainly used by the CCP to punish and tame the Canadian government . Even the Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said so. On June 22, a spokesman for Chinas foreign ministry told Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to stop making irresponsible remarks. This came after Trudeau said Beijings decision to charge two canadian citizens with spying was linked to Canadas arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.

Here, we are not suggesting the CCP is treating America better than Canada. Not at all. The Chinese Communist Party views America as its No. 1 enemy. But when they know they can not threaten and tame president Trump, they choose another way to compromise America. They waged a drug war against America: One of the biggest players in the United States opioid epidemic is China.

For most companies that are able to produce medicines, they can also produce illicit drugs. That includes both precursors and final products. We all know that China is dominant in making chemical precursors to all sorts of medicines. The pandemic has pointed out that reality. In fact, the Chinese regime has been working with cartels in Mexico and South America to sell illicit drugs to buyers inside the United States. According to former head of the Drug Enforcement Administration Derek Maltz, Clearly the Chinese are way more dangerous, way more sophisticated, way more complex, and way more of a national security threat to Americaits not even a comparison [with Mexican cartels],

As far as illicit drugs go, China may be best known for its fentanyl production and distribution. Fentanyl is a highly potent, synthetic opioid. It can be 50 to 100 times stronger than heroin. It is cheap to make, and just two milligrams can be fatal. Chinese producers have sent fentanyl to the United States directly by mail. Of course, Mexican cartels can produce fentanyl too. However, these cartels still highly rely on Chinese precursors. The Mexican cartels also distribute for China. In August 2019, the Mexican navy intercepted a 25-ton shipload of fentanyl originating from China and bound for Culiacan, Sinaloathe home base of the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico.

There is also methamphetamine. In 90s and 2000s, China was already setting up large-scale imports of chemicals to Mexican drug cartels, according to Maltz. One Chinese importer was arrested in Maryland in 2007. 205 million dollars in cash was found in his residence, a scene that most would only imagine on television. Maltz emphasized that the man was just an individual case, and he earned this money only through chemical sales, not finished products. That is to say, there may be even worse offenders out there.

Coincidentally, drug warfare is one of Chinas espoused methods of subverting a nation without fighting. Two Chinese colonels outlined this in a military treatise called Unrestricted Warfare. So, that is to say, China experienced the Opium Wars in the past, and it is well in the process of facilitating a new one in the West.

That brings us back to the main topic: if drug charges were really at the heart of these Canadians being sentenced to death, why would China also allow so many fentanyl and meth producers to poison the United States? The regime has the power to clamp down and eliminate most anyone it wants inside its borders, as evidenced in Tibet and Xinjiang. So why not systematically remove the drug makers? Is it because some of them are helping the CCP achieve its goals of ruining the United States?

Lets go back to Canada. I believe it is crucial for Canada to see the Chinese Communist Party as is. As suggested in the book unrestricted warfare, there is really nothing off the limit for the regime. When the current Chinese leader abandoned his predecessor Deng Xiaoping s strategy: hide our capabilities and bide our time. There are really only two ways left in terms of how the Party acts. To enemies who are more powerful than China, they wage covert wars to grind it down internally. For countries who are weaker than China, the CCP openly harass and bully them if they dont toe the party line. Freedom is at risk. This has been the China Angle, Im Simone Gao, thanks for watching, and see you next time.

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A California judge has refused to grant Uber and Lyft more time to appeal his decision requiring the ride-sharing companies to classify drivers in that state as employees rather than independent contractors.

At a hearing in San Francisco Superior Court on Thursday, Judge Ethan Schulman said he found no reason to push back his August 20 deadline for the companies to appeal the preliminary injunction he issued on Monday before it could take effect.

'I am unconvinced that any extension of the 10-day stay is required,' Schulman said. 'Both applications are denied.'

Uber and Lyft have said they will appeal the latest ruling, which came one day after the heads of both companies said that they will be forced to shut down service if Monday's injunction isn't overturned.

The injunction came in a lawsuit where California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the attorneys for Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco accused Uber and Lyft of violating Assembly Bill 5, a new state law making it harder to treat 'gig' workers as independent contractors.

San Francisco's district attorney on Wednesday filed a similar preliminary injunction against food delivery firm DoorDash, which is also accused of violating AB5.

A California judge on Thursday refused to grant Uber and Lyft more time to appeal his decision requiring the ride-sharing companies to classify drivers in that state as employees rather than independent contractors (file photo)

All three app-based companies have argued that their workers prefer the flexibility that comes with being classified as a contractor worker.

The companies have saved millions of dollars each year with the designation, because treating workers as employees would require benefits such as minimum wage, paid sick and family leave, unemployment insurance and workers' compensation insurance.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ethan Schulman (pictured) said he found no reason to give Uber and Lyft an extension on their 10-day deadline to file an appeal against the injunction he granted on Monday

Uber and Lyft have indicated that they will both have to suspend service in California for several months beginning on August 20 if the injunction goes into effect on that date.

'If the court doesn't reconsider, then in California, it's hard to believe we'll be able to switch our model to full-time employment quickly,' Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told MSNBC on Wednesday.

'We will have to shut down until November.'

Lyft co-founder and president John Zimmer issued the same warning about a probable shutdown on a call with investors.

'We may appeal this ruling and request a further stay. If efforts here are not successful, we would be forced to suspend our operations in California,' Zimmer said.

Becerra balked at the threats of Uber and Lyft leaving the state in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday.

'Any business model that relies on shortchanging workers in order to make it probably shouldn't be anywhere, whether California or otherwise,' he said.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi is pictured in an MSNBC interview on Wednesday, where he warned that the ride-sharing company could be forced to shut down service in California for several months if a state court does not overturn a ruling requiring it to reclassify its drivers

In his Monday ruling, Schulman concluded that there is an 'overwhelmingly likelihood' that the Uber and Lyft are in violation of AB5, which requires companies to classify workers as employees if they controlled how workers did their jobs, or the work was part of their normal business.

Lawyers for the firms had said they are not violating the law because drivers are not fundamental to the business, arguing the companies are 'multi-sided platforms' whose activities encompass much more than transportation.

But Schulman rejected that argument, writing that it 'flies in the face of economic reality and common sense' and assailing the companies' 'prolonged and brazen refusal' to comply with state law.

He also addressed the companies' gripe that restructuring will take a long time and cost a lot of money, saying that low ridership during the pandemic means that now could be the best time for them to make changes.

Neither Uber nor Lyft is profitable, and both have suffered steep ridership declines during the coronavirus pandemic.

Shares in both firms took a hit on Thursday afternoon, with Uber's down 0.9 percent and Lyft's down 4.8 percent. Lyft had reported dismal second-quarter results late on Wednesday, fueling the drop.

Labor advocates praised Schulman's ruling as a milestone in their fight to apply traditional worker protections to a fast-growing segment of the labor force.

'This is a resounding victory for thousands of Uber and Lyft drivers who are working hard - and, in this pandemic, incurring risk every day - to provide for their families,' Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer said in a statement.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (right) and Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer (left) are leading the state's lawsuit against Uber and Lyft. After their injunction was granted on Monday, Feuer said: 'This is a resounding victory for thousands of Uber and Lyft drivers who are working hard - and, in this pandemic, incurring risk every day - to provide for their families'

Both Uber and Lyft have pledged to spend more than a hundred million dollars to support a November ballot measure, Proposition 22, that would exempt them from AB5. Pictured: Drivers protest the proposition on August 6 in Los Angeles

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin filed a lawsuit accusing DoorDash of violating AB5 in June, and on Wednesday sought an injunction against the company.

'We are seeking an immediate end to DoorDash's illegal behavior of failing to provide delivery workers with basic workplace protections,' Boudin said.

'All three branches of California's government have already made clear that these workers are employees under California law and entitled to these important safeguards.'

A DoorDash spokesman responded to the motion by saying it was ill-timed and that the company's internal data suggested the majority of its workers wanted to remain as contractors.

'In the midst of one of the deepest economic recessions in our nation's history, today's action ... threatens billions of dollars in earnings for California Dashers and revenue for restaurants that rely upon sales from delivery to keep their businesses open', the spokesman told Reuters.

If the injunction is granted, DoorDash is expected to file an appeal.

Should they lose their respective appeals, Uber, Lyft and DoorDash will have to refocus their fight on a November ballot measure, Proposition 22, which would exempt certain gig economy companies from AB5.

Together with Instacart and Postmates, the companies are spending more than $110million to promote Proposition 22 and ensure that it passes.

DoorDash is facing an injunction to reclassify its California contractors as employees - marking the latest effort by state prosecutors to force gig economy companies to provide benefits to their workers, including health insurance, paid time off and sick leave (file photo)

Uber CEO Khosrowshahi has warned that permanently restructuring its operations in California would result in 'much smaller service [and] much higher prices', hurting both drivers and customers.

'That's a reality, so it's not a game of chicken one way or another,' he said. 'It's really up to the courts and we're going to comply with the law, and we will look to get going again.'

He said that service would have to pause for a few months, and when it resumed it would be much more limited and concentrated in cities rather than suburbs.

Khosrowshahi penned an op-ed in the New York Times over the weekend calling for states to require all gig economy companies to establish benefit funds for their workers instead of forcing them to classify workers as employees.

He called the current employment system 'outdated and unfair' and said it 'forces every worker to choose between being an employee with more benefits but less flexibility, or an independent contractor with more flexibility but almost no safety net'.

'Uber is ready, right now, to pay more to give drivers new benefits and protections,' Khosrowshahi wrote.

'But America needs to change the status quo to protect all workers, not just one type of work.'
Israel halves Gaza fishing zone after dozens of fires sparked in south

by JUDAH ARI GROSS

August 13,2020 | Source: The Times of Israel

Israel slashed Gazas permitted fishing zone Wednesday night after suspected Palestinian terrorists launched dozens of balloon-borne explosive and incendiary devices into Israel over the course of the day, igniting brush fires along the tense border region.



Israels military liaison to the Palestinians said the fishing zone would be halved from 15 nautical miles to eight in response to the balloon attacks, which have ramped up in recent days, igniting a fresh standoff after months of calm.



On Wednesday, dozens of balloons were flown into southern Israel from Gaza, sparking at least 24 fires in the Hof Ashkelon and Eshkol regions, according to the Fire and Rescue Services southern division.



Most of the fires were small, the fire department said, noting that they did not endanger life or property.



Recent weeks have seen rising tensions along the Gaza border, with increasing balloon-based attacks, as well as a sniper attack on Sunday and a rocket launch from the Strip last week that was intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system.



The Kan public broadcaster on Tuesday aired footage of a laser system to intercept the balloons that was deployed near the Gaza border. It was unclear when the system would be used operationally.



Terror groups in the Strip have also threatened additional violence if there are delays in the implementation of an unofficial ceasefire with Israel, notably the distribution of Qatari aid money. The head of the Mossad reportedly visited Doha last week to convince the country to deliver the funds to Gaza.



The decision to shorten the fishing zone came days after Israel shut the main commercial crossing into Gaza as a punitive measure to stop the balloon attacks.



The restriction on the Gaza fishing zone would remain in place until further notice, according to the liaison, known formally as the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories



The decision was made by Defense Minister Benny Gantz at the recommendation of IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi, COGAT said.



The decision was made in light of ongoing and returning terrorist activities from the Gaza Strip against Israeli citizens in recent days, which represent a violation of Israeli sovereignty, the liaison said in a statement.



The liaison said Israel holds the Gaza-ruling Hamas terror group responsible for these attacks and says the organization will bear the consequences of the violence being directed toward Israeli citizens.



Israel has in the past used fishing zone restrictions as a punitive measure against Gaza following attacks or border riots, though critics say the policy is a form of collective punishment borne mostly by people unconnected to the border tensions.



The decision came less than a day after Israeli attack helicopters, fighter jets and tanks attacked at least three sites in the Gaza Strip in the predawn hours of Wednesday in response to airborne arson attacks that sparked more than 60 fires in Israel on Tuesday.



The Israel Defense Forces said it targeted a military base, underground infrastructure and observation posts belonging to the Hamas terror group.



The Hamas-linked Al-Resalah news said Israeli aircraft fired several missiles at agricultural land east of Rafah in southern Gaza, and two Hamas observation posts in central Gaza were shelled. There was no immediate reports of casualties.



The IDF said the strikes were in response to the arson attacks over the last week and noted that Israel holds Hamas responsible for all violence emanating from the territory.

Theme(s): Others.
Police department of the Samtskhe-Javakheti region of Georgia has launched an investigation into the case of blackmailing Enzel Mkoian, an Armenian member of the countrys parliament, JNews reported.

The agency notes that this investigation is carried out under the Georgian Criminal Code article on extortion, which is accompanied by violence against the extortion victim or his close relative, and threatening to destroy or damage their property and to disseminate news or other information.

The aforesaid crime is punished with imprisonment for 4 to 7 years.

Tariel Murmanishvili, a lawyer for the ruling Georgian Dream party MP, on Monday stated that Mkoian had received two threatening phone calls. "He is being told to leave politics and transfer $5 million to their [bank] accounts. Otherwise, they threaten to kill him and his family members," Murmanishvili said.

Enzel Mkoian has been a member of the Georgian legislature since 1999.
Member of Parliament (MP) for Manhyia North Constituency, Collins Owusu Amankwah has called on former President Mahama to exhibit exemplary leadership in the fight against the Covid-19 disease.



According to him, the former President who doubles as the Flagbearer of the opposition NDC, must be conscious of the virus by observing protocols himself to help curb its spread.



We need to be disciplined and conscious of our health by observing the social distance and all other protocols because the coronavirus is still with us, he said.



Speaking on UTVs 'Adekye Nsroma' programme, Collins Owusu Amankwah also expressed worry over the way former President Mahama was welcomed to the Odododiodoo constituency saying, even though the President has declared no rally ahead of 2020 election but notwithstanding, there will be some one on one campaign. Therefore, it is encumbered on us to observe all protocols to help save lives. Mr. Mahama at Odododiodoo Constituency failed to observe the Covid-19 protocols. My worry is the way people came around him as if nothing was at stake; meanwhile the virus is still with us.



The level of indiscipline is too much, we must all think about Ghana first. The virus is not a respecter of ones political affiliation; we are all at risk so talk to your footsoliders to observe all protocols. It is not right. The way Mahama was hugging and greeting the old women knowing very well how risky and vulnerable they are to the virus, he was supposed to show leadership by example for his followers to follow," he said.



He further appealed to all political parties to educate their footsoldiers on the COVID-19.





Source: Josephine Acheampomaa/[email protected]









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has said that certain world powers have refused to sell weapons to the Nigerian government to prosecute the war against the Boko Haram insurgents and tackle other forms of insecurity.



Mohammed disclosed this when he featured on the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja today August 13. The Minister appealed to the world powers not to be weighed by unsubstantiated arguments, to deny the country these important weapons at this time.



I want to use this opportunity to say that the international community can help us better than they are doing right now. To fight terrorists we need platforms and weapons.



When the international community is weighed by unsubstantiated arguments to deny the country of vital platforms and weapons to fight insecurity, you cannot turn round to accuse the country of not fighting terrorism.



Certain world powers have refused to even sell to us certain vital weapons.



For more than two to three years now, we have paid for certain vital weapons that they have not released to us and they even refused to give us spare parts.



I think our appeal to them is that they should please help Nigeria to provide us with these sensitive platforms so that we can fight insecurity more effectively. he said





Mohammed added that the progress the Buhari-led administration has made in security can only be ascertained when compared with the level of insecurity that was in Nigeria pre-2015 when it came into power.





Source: LIB









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 03:30:16|Editor: huaxia

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A boy plays on a swing at a playground in New York, the United States, on Aug. 9, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

The sharp increase in the number of cases among children is mainly concentrated in COVID-19 "hotspots" such as California, Florida and Arizona.



WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- The number of COVID-19 cases among children in the United States has increased sharply recently as a new report by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children's Hospital Association (CHA) showed a 90-percent surge in child cases over four weeks.

Leading experts told Xinhua on Wednesday that factors including high COVID-19 infections among adults, increasing gatherings among teenagers and returning to school during the pandemic may contribute to the high infections among children.

"The sharp increase in the number of cases among children is mainly concentrated in COVID-19 'hotspots' such as California, Florida and Arizona. The surge in adult cases in these states also led to an increase in children infections," Zhang Zuofeng, professor of epidemiology and associate dean for research with the school of public health at University of California, Los Angeles, told Xinhua.

File photo of Zhang Zuofeng, professor of epidemiology and associate dean for research with the school of public health at University of California, Los Angeles. (Photo credit: UCLA)

According to the new report of the AAP and CHA, 179,990 new COVID-19 cases in children were reported from July 9 to Aug. 6, a 90-percent increase in child cases over four weeks.

As of Aug. 6, a total of 380,174 child cases were reported in the United States. Children represented 9.1 percent of all cases, said the report.

The overall rate was 501 cases per 100,000 children in the population.

Children made up between 3 and 12 percent of total state tests, and between 3.7 and 18.6 percent of children tested were tested positive, according to the report.

"Increased numbers may just reflect the general increase in numbers of cases," said Stanley Perlman, professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Iowa.

File photo of Stanley Perlman, professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Iowa. (Photo credit: UIowa)

A hyper inflammatory syndrome has been recognized in children, which is a concern, he told Xinhua.

Zhang said that the increase in infections among children may also be related to such factors as more gatherings of younger ones and going back to school during the pandemic.

In addition, children were 0.5 to 5.3 percent of total reported hospitalizations, and 0 to 0.4 percent of all COVID-19 deaths, according to the report.

Zhang noted that children infected with COVID-19 tend to have milder symptoms and a lower fatality rate. Children with severe illness are mainly related to obesity, asthma and other diseases. 
By John W. Whitehead

August 12, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - " Theres a pattern emerging if you pay close enough attention.

Civil discontent leads to civil unrest, which leads to protests and counterprotests.

Without fail, what should be an exercise in how to peacefully disagree turns ugly the moment looting, vandalism, violence, intimidation tactics and rioting are introduced into the equation. Instead of restoring order, local police stand down.

Tensions rise, violence escalates, and federal armies move in.

Coincidence? I think not.

This was the blueprint used three years ago in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017, when the city regularly cited as being one of the happiest places in America, became ground zero for a heated war of wordsand actionsover racism, sanitizing history, extremism (both right and left), political correctness, hate speech, partisan politics, and a growing fear that violent words will end in violent actions.

It was a setup: local police deliberately engineered a situation in which protesters would confront each other, tensions would bubble over, and things would turn just violent enough to call in the bigger guns.

It is the blueprint being used right now.

When put to the test, Charlottesville did not handle things well at all.

On August 12, 2017, what should have been an exercise in free speech quickly became a brawl that left one dead and dozens more injured.

As the New York Times reported, Protesters began to mace one another, throwing water bottles and urine-filled balloons  some of which hit reporters  and beating each other with flagpoles, clubs and makeshift weapons. Before long, the downtown area was a melee. People were ducking and covering with a constant stream of projectiles whizzing by our faces, and the air was filled with the sounds of fists and sticks against flesh.

And then there was the police, who were supposed to uphold the law and prevent violence

They failed to do either.

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Indeed, a 220-page post-mortem of the protests and the Charlottesville governments response by former U.S. attorney Timothy J. Heaphy merely corroborates our worst fears about what drives the government at all levels: power, money, ego, politics and ambition

When presented with a situation in which the government and its agents were tasked with protecting free speech and safety, Heaphy concluded that the City of Charlottesville protected neither free expression nor public safety.

In other words, the government failed to uphold its constitutional mandates. The police failed to carry out their duties as peace officers. And the citizens found themselves unable to trust either the police or the government to do its job in respecting their rights and ensuring their safety.

Despite the fact that 1,000 first responders (including 300 state police troopers and members of the National Guard) had been called on to work the event, and police in riot gear surrounded Emancipation Park on three sides, police failed to do their jobs.

In fact, as the Washington Post reports, police seemed to watch as groups beat each other with sticks and bludgeoned one another with shields At one point, police appeared to retreat and then watch the beatings before eventually moving in to end the free-for-all, make arrests and tend to the injured.

Incredibly, when the first signs of open violence broke out, Heaphy reports that the police chief allegedly instructed his staff to let them fight, it will make it easier to declare an unlawful assembly.

This is not much different from what is happening on the present-day national scene

The Heaphy report focused on the events that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, but it applies to almost every branch of government that fails to serve we the people when government officials and police leadership opt to advance their own agendas at the expense of constitutional rights and public safety

As the Pew Research Center revealed, public trust in the government remains near historic lows and with good reason, too

This isnt America, land of the free, where the government is of the people, by the people [and] for the people.

Rather, this is Amerika, where fascism, totalitarianism and militarism go hand in hand.

We have been saddled with the wreckage of a government at all levels that no longer represents the citizenry, serves the citizenry, or is accountable to the citizenry.

It doesnt matter whether youre talking about the federal government, state governments, or local governing bodies: at all ends of the spectrum and every point in between, a shift has taken place.

We the people no longer count for much of anything beyond an occasional electoral vote and as a source of income for the governments ever-burgeoning financial needs

Everything happening at the national level is playing out at the local level, as well: the violence, the militarization, the intolerance, the lopsided governance, and an uneasy awareness that the citizenry have no say in how their communities are being governed

As I have warned repeatedly, the architects of the police state have every intention of manipulating this outrage for their own purposes

Predictably, the police state is allowing these protests, riots and looting to devolve into a situation where enough of the voting populace is so desperate for a return to law and order that they will gladly relinquish some of their freedoms to achieve it. And thats how the police state will win, no matter which candidate gets elected to the White House, and we the people will continue to lose

So whats the answer

No matter what forces are manipulating these present riots and violent uprisings, howeverand there are definitely such forces at play herenone of this would be happening without the government having laid the groundwork.

Clearly, its time to clean house at all levels of government.

Stop tolerating corruption, graft, intolerance, greed, incompetence, ineptitude, militarism, lawlessness, ignorance, brutality, deceit, collusion, corpulence, bureaucracy, immorality, depravity, censorship, cruelty, violence, mediocrity, and tyranny. These are the hallmarks of an institution that is rotten through and through.

Youve got rights. Weve all got rights. This is our country. This is our government. No one can take it away from us unless we make it easy for them.

Youve got a better chance of making your displeasure seen and felt and heard within your own community. But it will take perseverance and unity and a commitment to finding common ground with your fellow citizens.

Right now, as I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People, were making it way too easy for the police state to take over.

Stop being an accessory to the murder of the American republic.
Travel giant Tui has revealed the pandemic pushed it to a 1.1 billion euro loss in its third quarter (PA)

Travel giant Tui has revealed the pandemic pushed it to a 1.1 billion euro (995 million) loss in its third quarter after it halted holidays, but insisted demand was bouncing back.

The groups losses for the three months to June compare with year earlier earnings of 102.3 million euros (92.6 million) and came after it had to suspend its operations for most of the quarter amid global lockdowns, while it was also hit by extra costs from the crisis.

It said widespread cost-cutting action helped limit losses as it pushed ahead with a plan announced in May to slash group costs by 30%, costing up to 8,000 jobs worldwide.

The group also said in July it was shutting 166 or nearly a third of its high street stores in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

Tuis trading update laid bare the impact of the pandemic and closure of its operations as it said revenues crashed 98% to 75 million euros (68 million) in the quarter.

Bookings have also plunged 81% for this summer and are 40% lower for a scaled-back winter programme.

With the second government credit line, we are prepared if the pandemic again has a significant impact on tourism Fritz Joussen, chief executive of Tui

Tui said demand was beginning to return since its operations tentatively got back up and running in mid-May, with holidays resuming from mid-June as global restrictions began to ease.

It has seen 1.7 million new bookings made since holidays restarted, it added, with bookings for summer next year up by a very promising 145%, though it has cut its programme by a fifth.

But the holiday sectors hopes for a rebound this summer were dealt a blow by recent new UK restrictions on travel to Spain.

Full-year 2020-21 will be a year of transition and we expect a normalised level of business from full-year 2021-22, the group said.

Tui secured a second credit line from the German government on Wednesday, helping boost its battered balance sheet.

Fritz Joussen, chief executive of Tui, said: Our integrated business model is proving its worth even in the crisis.

The implementation of our hygiene and safety concepts and the relaunch of the business could be implemented in the flight, hotel, ship and destination segments from a single source  this has given our guests a high level of security.

He added: With the second government credit line, we are prepared if the pandemic again has a significant impact on tourism.
U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain speaks at the podium outside the James A. Byrne Federal Courthouse in Center City, Philadelphia on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020, after Jovaun Patterson's sentencing hearing. At left is Assistant U.S. Attorney Salvatore Astolfi; John Schmidt, acting special agent in charge of the ATF's Philadelphia Field Division; and Tom Malone (right), an attorney who has been helping victim Mike Poeng. Read more

A West Philadelphia gunman who shot and wounded a store owner with an AK-47 rifle during an attempted robbery two years ago was sentenced Thursday to 14 years and three months in federal prison in a case that pitted the regions top federal law enforcement official against the citys prosecutor.

Jovaun Patterson, 31, pleaded guilty in December to federal attempted robbery and weapons charges in exchange for the negotiated sentence in the May 2018 shooting of Mike Poeng outside his KCJ Inc. beer deli at 54th and Spruce Streets. That came a year after city prosecutors first agreed to let Patterson plead guilty to assault and robbery charges for a state prison term of 3 to 10 years.

That deal stirred outrage in the law enforcement community and action from U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain, who said the case was an example of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner offering sweetheart deals to violent defendants.

In a news conference after Thursdays sentencing, McSwain said the district attorneys agreement with Patterson sent a message that violent crime has little consequences and called the offices mishandling of the case symbolic of a larger catastrophe in the city with homicides, shootings, and serious violent crime skyrocketing. He also called Krasners prior statement that poverty equals bullets a condescending slap in the face to law-abiding, low-income Philadelphians.

There are scores of low-income people in the city who respect the law, never shoot anybody, love their neighbors, and work hard to improve their neighborhood, he said.

Krasners office did not respond to a request for comment on McSwains statements.

Patterson had been a regular customer of Poengs deli when he approached the owner outside the store on May 5, 2018, brandishing the assault weapon and announcing a stickup. Poeng, who arrived to the United States in 1981 from Cambodia as a refugee, fought back, but Patterson shot him in the groin and fled. He was arrested nearly two months later, but the gun was never recovered.

Poengs injuries required multiple surgeries and left him unable to work  he ultimately gave up his store  and he was stunned when city prosecutors failed to notify him before their November 2018 plea deal with Patterson, a violation of the states Crime Victims Act. After criticism of the deal, Krasners office unsuccessfully tried to get Common Pleas Court Judge Rayford Means to vacate it.

In a rare move, McSwains office in February 2019 then announced its own case against Patterson, the first time federal prosecutors brought charges in a crime for which Krasners office already won a conviction and sentence.

Poeng, who has moved from Philadelphia with his family for safety reasons, did not attend Thursdays sentencing hearing because of the coronavirus risks. But he submitted a victim-impact statement to U.S. District Judge Mitchell Goldberg.

I died that day. My heart literally stopped pumping, and I died, said the statement, which was read aloud by an attorney, Tom Malone, who helped Poeng navigate the legal system. After being shot by a weapon designed for war, and nearly having my leg blown off, I can no longer walk normally.

Patterson told the judge he hoped Poeng could forgive him. I take full responsibility for my actions, he said. I didnt mean to harm him.  A lot of humans think I am heartless, but I am not.

Goldberg said he found it mind-boggling that Patterson said he didnt mean to harm Poeng, and he said the initial plea deal Patterson struck with the District Attorneys Office was woefully inadequate and showing little reflection for the victim.

Goldberg also expressed concern about the negotiated federal sentence, which was at the low end of the guidelines. But he said he reluctantly accepted it so that Poeng could get some finality and would not have to return to Philadelphia for a trial.

Pattersons attorney, S. Philip Steinberg, wrote in his sentencing memorandum that Patterson was depressed and drug dependent after his younger half-brother had been fatally shot in 2013. Pattersons drug abuse spiraled out of control and he was ingesting Ecstasy pills, Xanax, Percocet, marijuana, and alcohol daily, including on the day of the shooting, Steinberg wrote.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Salvatore Astolfi asked the judge to order Patterson to reimburse Medicare $400,412 for Poengs medical bills, pay $8,179 to a crime victims fund, and compensate Poeng for his lost wages. The judge agreed that the restitution amount can be finalized 90 days after the hearing.

The judge ordered Patterson to receive drug treatment, vocational training, and gambling counseling while in prison, and serve five years of supervised release when he is freed.

After Patterson was federally charged, the Common Pleas Court judge granted a request by his defense lawyers for Patterson to withdraw his guilty plea in the city court system. Krasners office has appealed that decision and Superior Court has yet to rule. If the court rules against Patterson, he could spend more time behind bars.

In an interview this week, McSwain said his office is actively investigating other cases that have not been handled appropriately by the local authorities. He declined to elaborate.
(Publishers note: this was the winning essay in the sixth grade division of a contest hosted by the Sweetwater County Historical Museum.)

John Wesley Powell was a very historical figure in Green River history. He was a soldier, geologist, explorer, author, and scientist. He led the Geographic Expedition of 1869. During that expedition, John Wesley Powell explored the Green and Colorado rivers in three months of the summer in 1869. He was also the first to pass through the Grand Canyon Government-Sponsored. Powell was a great man in Green River history for his expedition through the Gree...
VANCOUVER, BC, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - KORE Mining Ltd. (TSXV: KORE) (OTCQX: KOREF) ("KORE" or the "Company") announces the Company has started trading on the OTCQX Best Market in the United States as of today. OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) is operator of financial markets for 11,000 U.S. and global securities. KORE upgrades to the OTCQX market from the OTCQB market however the ticker symbol remains "KOREF".

Scott Trebilcock, President and CEO stated, "Qualifying for the OTCQX market is another milestone in the Company's efforts to broaden its U.S. shareholder base. Given two of KORE's most advanced assets are U.S. gold projects, KORE equity could be appealing to a board range of U.S. based investors. KORE plans to support trading on OTCQX with additional outreach and investor relations programs."

About KORE Mining Ltd.

KORE is 100% owner of a portfolio of advanced gold assets in California and British Columbia. KORE is funded to deliver its planned 2020 exploration and development programs. KORE is supported by strategic investor Eric Sprott, who owns 26% of the basic shares outstanding. Management and the Board are aligned with shareholders owning a further 38%. Information on KORE and its assets can be found on the Company's website at www.koremining.com and at www.sedar.com, or by contacting us as [email protected] or by telephone at (888) 407-5450.

On behalf of KORE Mining Ltd

"Scott Trebilcock"

Chief Executive Officer

(888) 407-5450

Investor Relations

Arlen Hansen, KIN Communications

1-888-684-6730

[email protected]

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell any KORE common shares in the United States.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Kore Mining

Related Links

http://www.koremining.com


Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 18:07:58|Editor: huaxia

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PHNOM PENH, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Four people were seriously wounded when an old unexploded bomb went off in northwestern Cambodia, the National Police reported on Thursday.

The blast happened in Veal Veng district of Pursat province late Wednesday afternoon when they picked up the unknown bomb from a nearby forest and brought it to play at home.

"The bomb exploded while they hurled it several times, leaving four people seriously injured," the National Police said, adding that all of the victims are males, aged between 10 and 22 years.

The ill-fated people had been rushed to the Pursat Provincial Referral Hospital, the Police said, adding that the bomb was left from the war time.

Regional and internal conflicts from the 1960s to late 1998 had left Cambodia as one of the most mine and explosive remnants of war affected countries in the world. An estimated 4 to 6 million landmines and other munitions were left over from the almost three decades of war.

According to government figures, from 1979 to June 2020, landmine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) explosions had killed 19,789 people and either injured or amputated 45,102 others.

Ly Thuch, first vice president of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, has said that the Southeast Asian nation is committed to clearing all types of landmines and UXOs in the kingdom by 2025 and to achieve this, it is seeking a total budget of 377 million U.S. dollars from development partners. Enditem
Two persons who robbed a family at gun point and made away with their household belongings at Amasaman have been sentenced to a 20 year jail term each by an Accra Circuit Court.

Benson Osei aka Abouden aka Nana Yaw Osei aged 35 and Evans Baffour Asare, 26, were found guilty on the charges of conspiracy to commit crime to wit robbery and robbery.

The court sentenced each of the accused to 20 years on each count, the sentences were however to run concurrently.

The trial judge, Afua Owusuwa Appiah handing down the sentence said the court took into consideration the use of guns by the accused, the fact that items taken away from the family by the accused was not retrieved, the spate of robbery in the country and the seriousness of the offences.

According to the court it also considered the fact that Osei was married with three kids and Asare was also married with two kids.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Sylvester Asare prayed the court to hand down sentences which would serve as deterrent to other likeminded people.

ASP Asare said the accused ought to be kept away for the good of the society.

Yaw Dankwah, counsel for the accused prayed the court to consider the two years that the accused person had spent in custody, adding that they have shown remorse during the trial.

Mr. Dankwah said the court's punishment should be reformative and same must bring hope to the accused, adding that deterrent punishment has not been helpful.

Prosecution's case was that the complainant is a chop bar operator at Apenkwa near Tesano but resides at Agya Appiah, near Amasaman with her family.

Osei and Asare also reside at Amasaman and Joeman, near Ablekuma all in the Greater Accra Region respectively.

Prosecution said on March 16, 2019 the accused met and agreed to rob the complainant.

He said on March 16, this year, about 1am, the complainant and her daughter were at home sleeping when Osei and Asare armed with a gun and machete broke into the house.

DSP Asare said the accused attacked the family and made away with 20 pieces of Holland wax prints, 20 pieces of GTP wax prints, ten pieces of Hi-Target fabrics, a 42 inch flat screen TV, four mobile phones and cash of GHC3,500.

He said on June 20, 2019, Osei was arrested at Tema Station over a similar offence and during interrogation, he admitted the offence saying he sold the wax prints and flat screen TV at GHC500 and GHC600 respectively to one Kweku Achaw and David Offei respectively.

The Prosecution said when Offei was arrested by the Police, he admitted that Osei sold to him 28 pieces of assorted wax print but he also sold same to one Felicia Adai Torto for GHC800.

Prosecution said on February 21, 2020 Asare was arrested at Circle and during interrogation he admitted that he and Osei robbed the complainant and her daughter at Amasaman on March 16, last year.

---GNA
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 05:50:50|Editor: huaxia

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MADRID, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- The northwestern Spanish region of Galicia is set to ban smoking on streets and public places if a safe distance of two meters between people can't be observed, local authorities said Wednesday.

At a press conference after meeting the region's committee of experts on COVID-19, Galicia's leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo said that the finished document will be given to the Official Gazette of Galicia and the ban will come into effect on Thursday.

"The members of the committee agree that smoking without limitation on a terrace with nearby people is a high risk of infection," Feijoo said, adding that the measure would apply to "the streets or in public places where distance is not possible," as well as "when in motion."

Feijoo said that the ban seeks to reinforce preventative measures against the COVID-19 pandemic since smoking is a "transmitting factor."

In July, Spain's Public Health Commission published a document "Position in relation to the consuming of tobacco and related substances during the COVID-19 pandemic," which warned of the risk posed by smoking and vaping during the pandemic.

The Spanish Health Ministry confirmed 1,690 new coronavirus cases (excluding new cases in Madrid) in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of cases reported in Spain to 329,784, with 28,579 deaths. Enditem
100%

Website ashfordcastle.com uses latest and advanced technologies like: JQuery. It is very popular on the web, it's within the 1 million most visited websites of the world at position 278586 by Alexa. It supports HTTPS. The main html page has a size of 283014 bytes (276.38 kb uncompressed).

This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-11-21, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 16:06:30|Editor: huaxia

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YANGON, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar authorities seized 375 kilograms of methamphetamine (ice) in Shan state, according to a release from the Military True News Information Team on Thursday.

Acting on a tip-off, the joint anti-narcotic police made a seizure in Tachileik township on Thursday morning.

A total of 375 kilograms of methamphetamine (ICE) worth over 9 billion kyats (over 6.42 million U.S. dollars) were seized from a car.

The seized narcotic drugs were transfered systematically to the concerned authorities, the release said.

According to the latest release issued by the President's Office on Monday, a total of 1,279 drug-related cases were registered across Myanmar while 1,968 people were charged in connection with the cases as of Aug. 8 this year. Enditem
Jeremy Clarkson has used his annual A-level Results Day tweet to poke fun at results chaos.

The former Top Gear presenter, 60, wrote: 'A level results not great? Don't worry, I got a C and 2 Us and I'm currently building a large house with far reaching views of the Cotswolds.'

He added: 'And I didn't even get the chance to insist the government gave me three As instead.'

The Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? presenter posts a similar tweet to his 7.2 million followers on A-level results day every year to reassure students who didn't get the results they wanted.

Jeremy Clarkson poked fun at A-level results chaos in his annual Results Day tweet after a last-minute Government change meant students could take grades based on past performance, mock grades or choose to sit exams in the autumn

Teachers were asked to submit a grade for each pupil based on their performance over the year and in prelims and to rank students in order after exams were cancelled for the first time this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

After a last-minute decision from the Government, pupils in England could claim their mock grades as their final grades if they were higher, or choose to sit autumn exams.

Clarkson posts the same tweet every year for students nervous about collecting their results and Twitter users have started to catch on.

Last night and this morning, many users shared how they were waiting for the annual Jeremy Clarkson tweet about his C and two Us in his A-level exams.

On Twitter, one user wrote: 'It's not truly results day without this tweet.'

Another commented: 'Can't wait for Jeremy Clarkson to tell me he never did A Levels but still owns 20 houses and 50 cars.'

Many Twitter users have caught on to Clarkson's yearly tweet and have posted memes making fun of it

A third said: 'Jeremy Clarkson thinking of a new way to show off his wealth to depressed A-level students this year.'

Another Twitter user said: 'Waiting for the Jeremy Clarkson tweet about how he got a U in his exams but his chefs making him truffles.'

Clarkson posts a similar tweet to his 7.2 million followers on A-level results day every year to reassure students who didn't get the results they wanted

On Tuesday night, less than 48 hours before results were released, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced the potential grounds for appealing these grades were being widened.

It came after Nicola Sturgeon abandoned similar arrangements in Scotland after fury that around 125,000 pupils had been downgraded.

Regulator Ofqual moderated the marks suggested by teachers to ensure the overall results were in line with those in previous years.

When students opened their results this morning, the proportion of A-level entires awarded an A grade or higher rose to an all-time high, with 27.9 per cent securing the top grades this year, figures for England, Wales and Northern Ireland show.

However, exam boards downgraded nearly two in five (39.1 per cent) of pupils' grades in England, according to data from Ofqual.

One Twitter user said the only thing they were looking forward to was Clarkson's tweet

This amounts to around 280,000 entires being adjusted down after moderation.

The figures from Ofqual show that in England a total of 35.6 per cent of grades were adjusted down by one grade, 3.3 per cent were brought down by two grades and 0.2 per cent by three grades.

Teachers will send emails to pupils today revealing the predicted grades they thought they deserved for their A-level results.

Another Twitter user said that it isn't Results Day unless Clarkson tweets his results

In response to his second tweet, a few Twitter users said it was in bad taste.

One wrote: 'You're boasting to kids? Whove had an actual pandemic disrupt their studies?'

A second commented: 'Suggesting students have had it good because their education was disrupted by a global pandemic.'

Another said: 'You went to Repton - so you wouldn't have had to insist. Your comment on this is bad taste (and astonishingly that's the first time I've ever thought that about you).'
French President Emmanuel Macrons momentous visit to Beirut, which saw him posture as Lebanons savior after the disastrous blast, generated a range of sentiments, from astonishment and indignation to admiration and envy, depending on ones vantage point.

For Turkey, the French bid for a comeback in the region after failed interventions during the Arab Spring comes at a time of bilateral tensions, with Turkey challenging France in its former colonial lands. Had the port blast happened a decade ago, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would have probably been the first leader to rush to Beirut to offer sympathy and support. But since the enthusiastic welcome he received in November 2010, Erdogan has become an unwanted guest for many of Lebanons political camps.

The massive Aug. 4 explosion at the Beirut port, caused by the unsafe storage of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, was widely seen as the collapse of Lebanons corrupt and sectarian political system, which Macron seized as an opportunity for brownie points in foreign policy. In a rather imperious tone, he called for a new political order to replace a system captured by organized corruption and urged Lebanese leaders for clear answers on reform, pledging to return Sept. 1.

Macrons extraordinary posturing was too much even for the French as he seemed to stake a claim on shaping Lebanons future, almost as if picking up where the French mandate left it off in the 1940s. Responding to the criticism, Macron said he was acting out of friendship and in the interest of the Lebanese people because if France did not play its part, other powers may interfere whether it be Iran, Saudi Arabia or Turkey.

Yet, many of the leaders that Macron blamed for the corrupt order have long been buddies with Paris, including Saad Hariri, who was prime minister in four of the six years that the stockpile of ammonium nitrate was at the port. Moreover, the sectarian system underlying Lebanons woes is essentially a French product, albeit revised under the 1989 Taif agreement, and France has always defended it.

On Aug. 8, Erdogan sent Vice President Fuat Oktay and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to Beirut to convey pledges of assistance and reconstruction offers, but the political climate in Lebanon is no longer very promising for Erdogan. How did Turkey lose ground there?

Ankaras Syria policy has resonated badly in Lebanon, especially for fostering radical Islamists next door. Even before the Syrian crisis, Salafi-Islamist groups in Tripoli, Akkar and Palestinian refugee camps had shown what dangers could be in store for Lebanon and its fragile ethnic, religious and sectarian fabric. Then Turkey and Lebanese forces became adversaries in the Syrian war as Hezbollah rushed to help Damascus in 2013. Erdogan lost the sympathy of Lebanons resistance that he had earned with his harsh outbursts against Israel.

And while Ankaras sectarian leanings favoring Sunnis over Shiites and claims of leadership in the Sunni world may be flattering for some in Lebanon, for many others they echo back to Lebanons bitter past and current predicaments.

Third, the Lebanese are widely averse to the Ottoman legacy that underlies Erdogans regional ambitions. This goes not only for ethnic Syriacs and Armenians, the remnants of genocide under the Ottomans, but also for many Arabs. The 1915-1916 executions in Damascus and Beirut, ordered by Jamal Pasha, the Ottoman governor nicknamed Saffah or the blood-shedder by Arabs, have never been forgotten. Lebanon marks May 6 as Martyrs Day in memory of the executed nationalists and the square where they met the gallows is called Martyrs Square.

Fourth, Turkeys rediscovery of its ethnic kin in Lebanon has allegedly involved its intelligence service, along with diplomats and civil society, irking the Lebanese authorities.

Finally, some of the Sunni actors who used to be close to Turkey have drifted away, wary of angering Saudi Arabia. Back in 2005, Hariri and Erdogan were so close that a company owned by the Hariri family acquired the controlling stake of Turk Telecom in a major privatization. The sell-off grew into a scandal as the company defaulted on huge loans for years and finally Turkish lenders took over its stake in 2018. More importantly, however, the Hariris have deep-rooted ties with the Saudis. And amid growing tensions between Ankara and Riyadh, Turkeys Sunni partners in Hariris Future Movement have largely distanced themselves from Ankara.

A recent quarrel between Lebanese of Armenian and Turkish origin illustrates how Turkeys standing in Lebanon has evolved under Erdogan. In a live program on Al Jadeed TV in June, ethnic Armenian host Nishan Der-Haroutounian called Erdogan an obnoxious Ottoman as former Environment Minister Wiam Wahab criticized Erdogans regional policies. The show sparked a barrage of insults to Armenians on social media, while members of an Arab community that claims ancestry from Turkeys southeastern province of Mardin staged a protest outside the TV station. Mounir Hassan, a leading member of the community, posted a video threatening to slaughter Beiruts Armenians. We  are proud of the massacre that our Ottoman ancestors carried out against the Armenians because you deserve it, he said. Ankara, meanwhile, handed a formal note of protest to Beirut and legal proceedings were launched against Der-Haroutounian.

The incident unleashed accusations that Ankara was trying to mobilize communities with ancestries from Turkey to gain a foothold in Lebanon. The daily Al Akhbar wrote that Turkey had been using smart mechanisms in the style of the Muslim Brotherhood to cultivate influence in Tripoli and northern Lebanon, where the Sunnis are concentrated, since Erdogan visited the Turkmen village of Kouachra in 2010. The article alleged that the Turkish diplomatic mission and intelligence service were involved in the efforts, along with TIKA, the governments agency in charge of development projects abroad. More than 10,000 Lebanese have received scholarships to study in Turkey, it said, adding that the Turkish Embassy was encouraging those of Turkish and Turkmen ancestry to obtain Turkish citizenship.

During his Aug. 8 visit to Beirut, Turkeys foreign minister confirmed the citizenship incentive as he addressed a crowd chanting pro-Erdogan slogans. Well grant Turkish citizenship to those brothers of ours who say Im Turkish or Im Turkmen and request citizenship. Thats the presidents instruction, Cavusoglu said.

Lebanese authorities reportedly suspect Turkish interference in anti-government protests in the north earlier this summer amid concerns that Turkey might be using humanitarian aid for the needy to cultivate political influence. In remarks to the daily Al-Lewa in early July, then interior minister Mohammed Fahmi said four people had been arrested after arriving on a private plane from Turkey in possession of $4 million, pointing an accusing finger at Ankara.

In a July 29 article on its Arabic wire, Turkeys state-run Anatolia news agency dismissed the allegations as a smear campaign. The report claimed that media close to Hezbollah and the Saudi-Emirati axis were trying to demonize Turkey, each for its own purposes, including to undermine the Lebanese Sunnis, intimidate Christians, consolidate Shiites behind Hezbollah and blackmail financially the Saudi-Emirati pair.
Some of those freed in the capital Minsk had bruises and described being tightly packed inside cells and complained of mistreatment, including beatings

Belarus on Thursday began releasing some of the thousands of people detained in a crackdown by strongman President Alexander Lukashenko that had prompted the European Union to consider imposing sanctions.

Some of those freed in the capital Minsk had bruises and described being tightly packed inside cells and complained of mistreatment, including beatings. A spokeswoman for the interior ministry declined immediate comment.

Their release came as thousands of people formed human chains and marched in the streets for a fifth consecutive day of protests against Lukashenko, whom they accuse of rigging Sunday's presidential election to extend his 26-year-long rule.

The protesters were joined by workers from some state-run industrial plants that are the pride of Lukashenko's Soviet-style economic model, media reported.

In Minsk, ambassadors from EU countries laid flowers at the site where one protester died, as a crowd cheered and chanted.

Lukashenko, alleging a foreign-backed plot to destabilise the country, has dismissed the demonstrators as criminals and unemployed.

The government said that 700 more people had been detained in a fourth night of clashes on Wednesday between police and protesters.

People outside the Okrestina detention centre, some in tears, waited in the hope of gleaning news of friends and relatives inside. Police and soldiers with machine guns drove them away when they got too close. Sergei, one of the freed detainees, said there had been 28 people in a cell that would normally contain five. Prisoners took turns to sleep, he said, and were given a single loaf of bread to share out over two days.

"They did not beat me in the cell, they took me out of the cell and beat me there," said Sergei, who declined to give his last name.

Reuters could not independently verify his account.

Lukashenko has sought better relations with the West amid strained relations with traditional ally Russia.

The EU partially lifted sanctions, imposed over Lukashenko's human rights record, in 2016, but could introduce new measures as early as this month.

A former Soviet collective farm manager, the 65-year-old Lukashenko has ruled Belarus for more than a quarter of a century but faces increasing anger over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, a sluggish economy and human rights.

Anna Krasulina, spokeswoman for opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who fled to neighbouring Lithuania earlier this week saying she feared for the safety of her children, told Reuters she expected Tsikhanouskaya to release a video message later on Thursday.

Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. human rights chief, has condemned the mass detentions "including bystanders, as well as minors, suggesting a trend of massive arrests in clear violation of international human rights standards".

Vartan Grigoryan, another freed detainee, had traces of severe beatings on his face. "I was seized, beaten, taken to prison and beaten again," he told Reuters. "After that, I felt bad and was taken to the hospital by ambulance."

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The secretary of an embattled female Kentucky judge accused of having threesomes in her chambers testified the menage a trois was just a prank to give their colleagues something to talk about.

Laura Aubrey wept on the stand as she attempted to put the alleged rumors to bed Wednesday, as the misconduct hearing for Kenton County Family Court Judge Dawn Gentry entered its third day.

Gentry is facing 12 charges of misconduct from the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission, including allegations that she, Aubrey, and her case specialist Steve Penrose engaged in sexual activity together at the office.

The under fire judge, 39, is also accused of giving preferential treatment to attorneys if they appeased her sexual demands and threatening to rule against those who rejected her advances.

She was suspended  with pay  in January and even faced an impeachment inquiry from Kentucky lawmakers over the allegations.

Family Court Judge Dawn Gentry is facing 12 charges of misconduct from the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission

The misconduct includes allegations that Aubrey, Gentry and her case specialist Steve Penrose (left) engaged in sexual activity at the office (Kenton County Court House shown right)

During her testimony Wednesday, Aubrey painted a contrasting picture of what life was like in Gentrys office, insisting she didnt see any drinking of beer, liquor, or the rife sexual misconduct that had been described so liberally by other witnesses in the two days prior.

Aubrey said, however, she had become aware in early 2019 of rumors circulating among courthouse workers of a tryst between her, Gentry and Penrose.

I will tell you there were two occasions when the rumors got so ridiculous that, yes, we may have been laughing and kidding around and basically said, theyre going to talk. Lets give them something to talk about, Aubrey recounted.

The rumored lovers then convened in Penroses office and began moving furniture around loudly, with Penrose breathing heavily to fool her co-workers into thinking the trio were sexually engaged, the secretary claimed.

On Monday and Tuesday, courthouse custodians, deputy clerks and numerous other employees testified to observing alcohol containers in Gentrys chambers, singing and guitar playing, and moaning and grunting coming from the offices.

Another attorney, Katherine Schulz, claimed that Gentry had kissed her in a bathroom and propositioned her for a threesome, which she refused.

One witness recounted for the court how, on April 12, sounds were heard coming from Penroses locked office, which included a female moaning, grunting and strange music, the court heard Monday.

Other staffers for fellow Family Court Judge, Christopher Mehling, testified that they heard the same sounds, in addition to the voices of two women.

The embattled judge, 39, is also accused of giving preferential treatment to attorneys if they appeased her sexual demands, and threatened to rule against those who rejected her advances.

On Monday and Tuesday, courthouse custodians, deputy clerks and numerous other employees testified to observing alcohol containers in Gentrys chambers, singing and guitar playing, and moaning and grunting coming from the offices.

On Wednesday, Aubrey claimed to the court that nobody moaned during their purported prank.

The claim led to an awkward exchange between Judicial Conduct Commission chairman Michael Sullivan and Aubrey, who attempted to clarify whether Penrose was breathing to attempt to sound like a woman, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

When a man breathes heavily, it ought to sound like a man breathing heavily, Sullivan said, according to the outlet.

Aubrey clarified that Penrose breathed in a high-pitched way.

When quizzed whether staging such a prank in response to the rumors was professional, Aubrey insisted it was not.

It has haunted me, a tearful Aubrey said on the stand. [But] It seemed to me laughter was the only thing that could get us through it.

Penrose, a former pastor turned case specialist, is mentioned frequently in the claims of Gentrys misconduct. Despite being subpoenaed by the court Sunday, he has yet failed to appear at the hearing.

According to those who filed the original complaint against Gentry which led to the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commissions probe, the judge fired an employee to create a job for Penrose. Then, the pair allegedly engaged in sexual activity in the courthouse with Aubrey, and asked an attorney to have a threesome with them.

She and Penrose are in a band together, called South of Cinthy. According to Gentry's ex-husband, they were having an affair during her marriage. Penrose plays the guitar in the band and Gentry plays the bass.

Gentry admitted Monday that Penrose sent her nude photos she kept on her folder in her phone.

Penrose (right), a former pastor turned case specialist, is mentioned frequently in the claims of Gentrys misconduct. Despite being subpoenaed by the court Sunday, he has yet failed to appear at the hearing.

She and Penrose are in a band together, called South of Cinthy. According to Gentry's ex-husband, they were having an affair during her marriage. Penrose plays the guitar in the band and Gentry plays the bass

In Wednesday testimony, the former pastor was described as overbearing and obnoxious.

The character description came from Yolonda Reis, Gentrys first defence witness who works at the Kenton County Clerks Office and is the drummer in her band.

Reis said there was no sexual relationship between Penrose and Gentry. When asked if she was surprised Penrose had sent Gentry nude pictures, if they werent in a sexual relationship, Reis insisted she wasnt.

He was kind of obnoxious like that, she said, according to the Enquirer. I think he thought an awful lot of himself.

Attorney Katherine Schulz wept as she testified for three hours yesterday about her alleged interactions with Gentry.

She described a tumultuous few last months working for the judge on a panel that aims to give free help to children whore subject to abuse.

Katherine Schulz claimed that Gentry had kissed her in a bathroom and propositioned her for a threesome, which she refused

Before resigning in May 2019, Schulz claims Gentry propositioned her for a threesome, kissed her in a bathroom and threatened to rule against her in court cases.

The courtroom and these cases I love so much, I feel its a weapon that was used against me, Schulz said. I felt I was not very effective. I felt continued fear.

Gentry denied making any sexual advances, testifying Monday that Schulz made the allegations up.

I admit that I engaged and interacted with Ms. Schulz in an inappropriate manner when she initiated personal contact with me while she was under the influence, Gentry said in a legal filing. I also admit that I did not handle the situation appropriately afterwards.

Schulz claims that Gentry told her to download Snapchat, through which the judge regularly contacted her.

The attorney says she received a Snapchat message in early 2019, asking her to go to a conference in Louisville and to have sex with steve [Penrose] and me.

Schulz said she was wary of angering Gentry, so instead laughed the message off.

On another occasion not long afterwards, Schulz said she found herself in Penroses basement with Gentry after a night out of drinking.

Schulz said she found the judge on the bathroom floor of the basement with a nosebleed. When she leaned down to help her, she says Gentry lunged at her and began kissing her aggressively.

I kissed her back, Schulz clarified, adding that Gentry kept telling her Im going to rule against you in all of your cases.

When asked why she though Gentry would make that threat at that time, Schulz said she wasnt sure.

Gentry, 39, became a judge in 2016 when former Gov. Matt Bevin picked her to fill a vacancy. Gentry, who makes $136,900 a year, was elected to a four-year-term in 2018

After that day, Schulz claims Gentry gave her unfavorable rulings in court cases, cases that involved child abuse and neglect.

Schulz said she believed it stemmed from her criticizing Penrose shortly after the kiss.

The incident reportedly caused Schulz a great deal of anxiety, before she was admitted to the emergency room on May 13, 2019, believing she was having a heart-attack. Two days later she resigned from the panel.

Gentry, 39, became a judge in 2016 when former Gov. Matt Bevin picked her to fill a vacancy. Gentry, who makes $136,900 a year, was elected to a four-year-term in 2018.

In total she is facing is facing 12 misconduct charges, including Harassment and retaliation against Katherine Schulz, inappropriate hiring and relationship with Stephen Penrose, Hiring and appointing court staff not based on merit, two counts of failure to be candid and honest with the commission and Retaliation against individual who cooperated with the Judicial Conduct Commission's investigation into her conduct.

Gentry has denied almost every aspect of the charges. During her temporary removal hearing in January, she admitted there was one inappropriate joke shed received on Snapchat, and conceded that she appointed acquaintances to family court positions.

Her hearing is expected to last until Friday.
Recently, the US has ramped up its efforts to suppress China. In particular, some senior officials have torn off their disguise and focused on bottomless attacks at China. In less than a month since June 24, US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Christopher Wray, Attorney General William Barr and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo successively delivered harsh remarks on China. As Global Times reported, Pompeo's remarks titled "Communist China and the Free World's Future" summarized the US policy toward China from a cold war lens, which was interpreted by many as a new "Iron Curtain Speech." The other three accused China from the perspectives of ideology, espionage and economic activities.

As early as October 2018, US Vice President Mike Pence's speech on China policy was considered to be the prelude to a new cold war between the two nations. Over the past three years, Trump has shown to China and the world through his concrete actions that he has no interest in improving and stabilizing Sino-US relations.

This was not the first time Pompeo and others attacked the Chinese government and the Communist Party of China. But this time it was among the most devilishly calculated, fierce and ill-influenced ones ever done by these four Trump mouthpieces. Why did this anti-China "Gang of Four" spare no efforts in attacking China?

The primary reason is to meet Trump's need for re-election. The COVID-19 outbreak in the US has become the biggest Black Swan event in this election year. The lack of US preparation for it has led to economic recession, soaring unemployment, and huge sufferings for people. Trump's inaction to the pandemic has made him a target of public criticism.

Given that the virus is still spreading and short-term prospects for economic recovery are slim, the Trump camp has turned its spearhead to China. They believe that by playing the China card, they can divert domestic conflict and attention. They think this will help gather support from core voters to save the flagging election. In this regard, the anti-China "Gang of Four" is faithfully implementing Trump's election plan. As the Election Day approaches, their attacks on China will become more frequent.

The political manipulation of anti-China "Gang of Four" also represents powerful conservative voices in the US. Such forces regard China as the most terrible opponent threatening the US global leadership. They attribute all problems to the challenges brought about by China's rise, and argue that past emphasis on cooperative engagement has failed. Therefore, a new policy of containment and suppression is necessary to engage in an ideological confrontation with China as soon as possible.

Over the past four decades, Sino-US relations have weathered many storms but gone through them smoothly. The fundamental reason for this is due to the fact that both countries have realized differences in ideology and cultural values should not be obstacles to bilateral exchanges and cooperation.

The US' "failure of engagement with China" assertion is untenable in either history or reality. It is a naked narrative fabricated by some politicians to instigate a Sino-US confrontation to serve their narrow ends. Former president George W. Bush called China's rise a "good opportunity" rather than a threat. Barack Obama welcomed the rise of a prosperous, peaceful and stable China. Are all these statements about China a complete lie? If so, it is not the American politicians who should lodge their dissatisfaction and protest, but China.

Obviously, the purpose to unleash this dangerous spin by the anti-China "Gang of Four" is to completely mess up Sino-US relations. It desires to lead bilateral relations to a new cold war. People of insight in the US should actively and promptly speak up to contain this anti-China countercurrent and jointly safeguard the long-term development of bilateral relations from greater damage. After all, a wrecked Sino-US relationship is not in line with US national interests. It is time to put things right.
With dividend cuts sweeping the market, it has never been more important for income investors to tread carefully...

Deceptively high yields have turned into traps and the promise of payout growth has vaporised in many cases. The good news is that some stocks are well placed to withstand these problems - and it looks like Midwestone Financial(iowa) (NSQ:MOFG) might be one of them.

For investors wondering how to react to the Coronavirus crisis, it's worth remembering that dividends remain a vital component in the overall return from shares. With the right tools, it's possible to find stocks that are better placed to ride out this chaos.

With that in mind, here's a checklist of key dividend measures that can put you on the path to finding them - plus a summary of why the dividend paid by Midwestone Financial(iowa) scores well...

GET MORE DATA-DRIVEN INSIGHTS INTO NSQ:MOFG 

1. High (but not excessive) dividend yield

Yield is an important dividend metric because it tells you the percentage of how much a company pays out in dividends each year relative to its share price. That makes it easy to compare dividend payouts right across the market.

High yields are obviously appealing but be careful of excessively high yields (usually above 10%) because they can be a sign of problems. When the market suspects a company may be unable to sustain its dividend, the share price will fall and actually push the yield higher - and this can be a trap. So it pays to be wary of excessive yields.

Midwestone Financial(iowa) has a dividend yield of 4.10%.

2. Dividend growth



Another important marker for income investors is a track record of dividend growth - and evidence that the growth will continue. Consistent dividend growth can be a pointer to companies that are carefully managing their payout policies - and rewarding their shareholders over time. Rather than aggressively dishing out earnings, dividend growth companies tend to have more modest yields, but are better at sustaining their payouts.

Story continues

Midwestone Financial(iowa) has increased its dividend payout 9 times over the past 10 years - and the dividend per share is forecast to grow by 8.64% in the coming year.

3. Dividend safety

Attractively high yields obviously turn heads - but its important to know that a dividend is affordable. Dividend Cover (similar to the payout ratio) is a go-to measure of a company's net income over the dividend paid to shareholders. Its calculated as earnings per share divided by the dividend per share and helps to indicate how sustainable a dividend is.

Dividend cover of less than 1x suggests that the company cant fund the payout from its current year earnings - and might be relying on other sources of funds to pay it.

Midwestone Financial(iowa) has dividend cover of 2.69.

What does this mean for potential investors?

Yield, Growth and Safety are the three main pillars that support some of the most popular dividend investing strategies. But it's important to know that dividend payouts can be cut or cancelled very quickly when the outlook changes.

To get a fuller understanding of the dividend prospects for any stock, it's important to do some investigation yourself. Indeed, we've identified areas of concern with Midwestone Financial(iowa) that you can find out about here.

Alternatively, if you'd like to find more dividend shares that might be worth investigating, you can find ideas on this Dividend screen.


13 August 2020

PICTON PROPERTY INCOME LIMITED

("Picton", the "Company" or the "Group")

LEI: 213800RYE59K9CKR4497

Directorate Change

Picton is pleased to announce that Richard Jones has been appointed as a Non-Executive Director of the Company with effect from 1 September 2020.

Richard will also become the Chairman of the Property Valuation Committee with effect from 1 October 2020, taking over this role from Roger Lewis who will retire from the Board on 30 September 2020.

Richard is a highly experienced real estate professional with over 30 years' experience and was UK Managing Director on the Aviva Investors' Global Real Estate Board where he sat on their Global Real Estate Investment Committee until 2014.

As a non-executive, he has sat on a number of boards and is currently on the Investment Committee of Henley Secure Income Property Unit Trust, and Transport for London's Commercial Property Advisory Group.

Nicholas Thompson, Chairman, commented: "The Board is delighted to announce Richard's appointment, which follows a thorough search process. We look forward to working with him and benefiting from the extensive knowledge and experience that he brings to this role.

"At the same time, I would like to thank Roger for all that he has contributed to the Company during his tenure".

There are no other details or disclosures required under LR 9.6.13R of the Listing Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority.

This announcement contains inside information.

For further information:

Tavistock

Jeremy Carey/James Verstringhe, 020 7920 3150,

james.verstringhe@tavistock.co.uk

Nicholas Thompson

c/o Northern Trust, 01481 745001, team_picton@ntrs.com

Note to Editors

Picton, established in 2005, is a UK REIT. It owns and actively manages a 659 million diversified UK commercial property portfolio, invested across 47 assets and with around 350 occupiers (as at 30 June 2020). Through an occupier focused, opportunity led approach to asset management, Picton aims to be one of the consistently best performing diversified UK focused property companies listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.

For more information please visit: www.picton.co.uk.

ENDS
Junior doctor shortages, insufficient personal protective equipment and ambulance ramping all point to an impending crisis for Perth hospitals if a second wave of coronavirus hits, according to the Australian Medical Association of WA.

AMA WA president Andrew Miller said the state was no better prepared than Victoria for an inevitable outbreak via freight or airline services.

Treating COVID-19 patients who require ventilators in ICU is like 'flying a 747', AMA says. Credit:AP

Well see problems in general practice, well see problems in being able to service aged care  thats the domino that will fall  and then well have problems in the hospital system once the patient hits there in terms of critical care, ED, ICU, anaesthesia, he said.

Weve seen in Victoria what happens if the healthcare workers start getting infected at an enormous rate  36 per cent of the cases there are healthcare workers and of course a whole lot more in addition have to go into quarantine because theyve been exposed to positive colleagues  and you end up with a critical shortage instead of a chronic shortage of healthcare workers.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 23:54:01|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

- - - -

NEW YORK -- Global COVID-19 deaths surpassed 750,000 on Thursday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

With the total COVID-19 cases around the world reaching 20,651,113, the death toll worldwide rose to 750,030 as of 8:27 a.m. (1227 GMT), the CSSE data showed.

- - - -

MOSCOW -- More than 20 countries are interested in getting Russia's COVID-19 vaccine, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Thursday.

Russia maintains "the closest contact with the World Health Organization on the development and future use" of the vaccine, Zakharova told a news briefing.

- - - -

HELSINKI -- Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) on Thursday recommended citizens to use face masks in confined spaces where a safe social distance is not possible to protect others.

Persons with symptoms of COVID-19 should avoid social contact and apply for a testing immediately, the THL added.

- - - -

ADDIS ABABA -- The Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Thursday revealed the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa surged to 1,073,788 as the death toll rose to 24,256.

The Africa CDC, a specialized healthcare agency of the African Union (AU) Commission, in its latest situation update issued on Thursday, said the number of COVID-19 cases across the African continent has risen from 1,064,546 on Wednesday to 1,073,788 as of Thursday.

- - - -

LONDON -- The British government announced Thursday that it has launched a new COVID-19 test and trace App, with trials taking place in parts of the country.

The NHS (National Health Service) Test and Trace App will start its trials from Thursday with residents on the Isle of Wight and NHS Volunteer Responders across England, followed shortly by residents in the London borough of Newham, according to the government.

- - - -

KATHMANDU -- Critical COVID-19 cases in Nepal are rising rapidly as the pandemic spread among the elderly and people with existing health conditions, Nepal's Ministry of Health and Population said.

According to the ministry, the number of people held at intensive care units (ICUs) and those who were on ventilators reached 96 on Thursday, a sharp rise from just 22 on July 29.

- - - -

WINDHOEK -- Namibia reported a record number of five COVID-19 deaths, Health and Social Services Minister Kalumbi Shangula said on Thursday.

This brought the total number of deaths to 27.

- - - -

HANOI -- Vietnam reported 25 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing its total confirmed cases to 905, along with three more deaths from the disease, according to the country's Ministry of Health.

The ministry also confirmed that three more COVID-19 patients had died, bringing the death toll in the country to 20 as of Thursday, noting that all the three patients, aged from 52 to 87, had underlying medical conditions.

- - - -

TEHRAN -- Iran's COVID-19 cases rose to 336,324 on Thursday after an overnight registration of 2,625 new infections, official IRNA news agency reported.

At her daily briefing, Sima Sadat Lari, the spokeswoman for Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said out of the new cases in the past 24 hours, 1,246 patients needed to be hospitalized.

- - - -

YEREVAN -- Armenia reported 229 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing its total to 41,023, according to the country's National Center for Disease Control.

Data from the center showed that 405 more patients have recovered in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of recoveries to 33,897.

- - - -

BISHKEK -- Laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 are decreasing significantly in Kyrgyzstan, indicating a downward trend, the country's Deputy Health Minister Mademin Karataev told an online briefing on Thursday.

In line with a decrease in patients with COVID-19, the number of observations are decreasing and makeshift hospitals are being closed, and some hospitals have been resuming operations as formerly, said Karataev. Enditem
Israel and UAE to establish full diplomatic ties, as Tel Aviv says deal will delay annexation of Palestinian lands.

Israel and the United Arab Emirates have reached an agreement  brokered by the United States  to work towards a full normalisation of relations, a deal the Palestinians called a treacherous stab in the back.

Under the agreement announced by the US President Donald Trump on Thursday, Israel said it has agreed to delay the annexation of Palestinian lands in the occupied West Bank, but the plan remains on table.

The UAE is the first Gulf Arab state and the third Arab nation  after Egypt and Jordan  to announce active ties with Israel.

The surprise deal was the product of lengthy discussions between Israel, the UAE and the US that accelerated recently, the White House said.

A joint Israel-UAE statement was also tweeted out by Trump, who called the deal a huge breakthrough.

HUGE breakthrough today! Historic Peace Agreement between our two GREAT friends, Israel and the United Arab Emirates!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 13, 2020

The agreement came after a phone call earlier on Thursday between Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi.

This historic diplomatic breakthrough will advance peace in the Middle East region and is a testament to the bold diplomacy and vision of the three leaders and the courage of the United Arab Emirates and Israel to chart a new path that will unlock the great potential in the region, said the joint statement.

Delegations from Israel and the UAE would meet in coming weeks to sign bilateral agreements on investment, tourism, direct flights, security, telecommunications and other issues, the statement said.

Speaking to reporters in the White House, Trump said he hoped other Muslim nations in the region will follow the UAE.

Now that the ice has been broken, I expect more Arab and Muslim countries will follow the United Arab Emirates, he said.

Netanyahu said it was a historic day in response to Trumps tweets about the normalisation deal.

In a news conference later, he said he agreed to delay the annexation in the occupied West Bank as part the deal, but he would never give up our rights to our land.

Stab in the back

The Palestinian groups slammed the Israel-UAE agreement, saying it does nothing to serve the Palestinian cause and ignores the rights of the Palestinian people.

Hamas condemned the deal, which it said was a treacherous stab in the back.

This agreement does absolutely not serve the Palestinian cause, it rather serves the Zionist narrative. This agreement encourages the occupation [Israel] to continue its denial of the rights of our Palestinian people, and even to continue its crimes against our people, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said in a statement.

The Fatah movement said the UAE is flouting its national, religious and humanitarian duties toward the Palestinian cause.

Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestinian Liberation Organizations (PLO) executive committee, said the UAE has come out in the open on its secret dealings with Israel.

Israel got rewarded for not declaring openly what its been doing to Palestine illegally and persistently since the beginning of the occupation, she posted on Twitter.

May you never experience the agony of having your country stolen; may you never feel the pain of living in captivity under occupation; may you never witness the demolition of your home or murder of your loved ones. May you never be sold out by your "friends." https://t.co/CBaNl1QQqx  Hanan Ashrawi (@DrHananAshrawi) August 13, 2020

Reporting from West Jerusalem, Al Jazeeras Harry Fawcett called the deal a huge development and something that Netanyahu had been working towards for much of his political career.

The idea has been to normalise relations between Israel and its important Arab Muslim neighbours in the region and this is the first such agreement in full, he said.

Under the Arab initiative, there should be first a settling of the Arab-Israeli conflict before any normalisation, so this is a major upset in terms of what has been the explicit thinking of Arab politics up until this point.

Al Jazeeras senior political analyst Marwan Bishara said the Israel-UAE is not about peace in the Middle East.

Let me tell you why. The UAE does not border Israel. The UAE does not have territorial or national claims with Israel. It is the Palestinians that have a problem with Israel, and the UAE [has] basically gone against the Arab Palestinian public opinion, he said.
AKRON, Ohio  The City of Akron paid $32,500 for an Israel-based company to develop a mobile app that offers incentives for residents to support local businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.

The city has set aside an additional $40,000 to reimburse businesses for discounts that will be given to app users under what is being called a blimp point system, a city spokeswoman said Thursday.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- American Jewish Committee (AJC) will host a series of panel discussions on key policy issues at the Democratic and Republican conventions.

"Our programs on the sidelines of both political conventions every four years have offered unique opportunities to engage in-person delegates and other attendees," said Jason Isaacson, AJC Chief Political and Public Policy Officer. "As the pandemic compelled us to embrace virtual programming, for the first time ever we are able to welcome many more people to attend and participate in these probing conversations."

AJC at the 2020 Political Conventions follows on the popular AJC Advocacy Anywhere series, first launched in March, that has gained more than three million viewers, and the AJC Virtual Global Forum in June, in which many of the political issues to be explored during the conventions were discussed.

The series of AJC programs at both political conventions will feature panels composed of major thought leaders, members of Congress, party officials, and AJC experts. Registration is free at AJC.org/conventions.

Panel discussion topics will include the future of the U.S.-Israel relationship, the ongoing threat from Iran, current immigration challenges, the fight for racial justice, and the urgency of maintaining U.S. global leadership.

The lineup of public AJC programs, and currently confirmed speakers, includes:

Democratic National Convention

Monday, August 17, 12:00 PM (ET)

The Future of the U.S.-Israel Relationship: Challenges and Aspirations for a Vital Alliance

Featuring: Former Rep. Robert Wexler (FL), President of the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace; Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL)

Tuesday, August 18, 12:00 PM (ET)

Where We Go from Here: U.S. Policy toward Iran, Negotiation Prospects, and Ongoing Threats to Peace

Featuring: Former Rep. Steve Israel (NY), Director of the Cornell Institute of Politics and Global Affairs; H.E. Shaikh Abdulla AlKhalifa, Ambassador of Bahrain to the U.S.

Wednesday, August 19, 12:00 PM (ET)

American Identity: Integration and Immigration

Featuring: Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY)

Thursday, August 20, 12:00 PM (ET)

Maintaining U.S. Global Leadership

Featuring: Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD)

Republican National Convention

Monday, August 24, 12:00 PM (ET)

The Future of the U.S.-Israel Relationship: Challenges and Aspirations for a Vital Alliance

Speaker to be announced

Tuesday, August 25, 12:00 PM (ET)

Where We Go from Here: U.S. Policy toward Iran, Negotiation Prospects, and Ongoing Threats to Peace

Featuring: Brian Hook, U.S. Special Representative for Iran and Senior Policy Advisor to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (2018-2020)

Wednesday, August 26, 12:00 PM (ET)

American Identity: Integration and Immigration

Featuring: Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC)

Thursday, August 27, 12:00 PM (ET)

Maintaining U.S. Global Leadership

Featuring: Dr. Peter Berkowitz, Director of Policy Planning, U.S. Department of State

SOURCE American Jewish Committee

Related Links

http://www.ajc.org


IPL Plastics has reported a 9pc fall in revenue to $153m (130m) for the second quarter of the year, as it continues to look for potential buyers.

The company, formerly One51, is being sold for C$555m to US private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners.

Its agreement with Madison contains a 'go-shop' provision that allows the company to engage in discussions with other possible buyers for up to 40 days.

If IPL, as expected, proceeds with its sale to Madison it then needs get the backing of two-thirds of shareholders. The IPL board has unanimously recommended that the deal be approved.

Nonetheless, the company has hired Canadian group BMO Capital Markets and is actively looking at other options. However, analysts have said they don't think a competing offer will disrupt the sale.

Net income at IPL was $5.3m for the three months to June 30, a decrease of 37.6pc from the $8.5m reported in the same period last year.Adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) was $26.8m in the second quarter, compared with $28.5m in the corresponding period last year.

Net debt of $297m was little changed from the position at the start of the year.

Alan Walsh, CEO of IPL Plastics said: "Our Q2 performance improved through the quarter as the diversity of our product range and markets assisted recovery and delivered financial results ahead of market expectations. This was achieved in challenging market conditions due to widespread Covid-19 disruption, which continues to impact operations and limits visibility regarding performance for the remainder of 2020."

One51 emerged out of the IAWS group of companies as an investment firm but entered the plastics business in 2006 when it acquired Protech Plastics.

Its 200m purchase of a 67pc stake in Canadian firm IPL in July 2015 was transformational, shifting it from being a mixed investment vehicle into a plastics company.

In 2017 CDPQ and a number of other large IPL shareholders swapped their shares in the Canadian company for shares in One51, which changed its name to IPL Plastics.

Flor O'Donoghue of Davy, said if this was IPL's last results as a listed entity, the company "will bow out having made good progress over the course of the last 18 months in improving the group's operating margin. This margin progress helped the company deliver a stronger-than-expected result in quarter two".
Flavio Briatore agrees with Bernie Ecclestone about Ferrari's lack of leadership.

Amid the Maranello team's latest crisis, former F1 supremo Ecclestone said his friend and former business partner Briatore would be an "incredibly competent" replacement for Mattia Binotto.

Briatore agrees that Ferrari's troubles are home-made.

"There are people who always follow the difficult path - the most complicated roads," the former Benetton and Renault boss told Betway in Italian.

"And at the moment that is Ferrari."

Binotto recently admitted that he has finally stopped acting both as Ferrari team boss and technical director. Briatore said that arrangement was an "anomaly".

"Ferrari has an important business and a spectacular name - any driver would want to drive for them for two or three years," said the Italian.

"But then you look at the track and they have had problems for years. They've had great drivers and not won anything, and there must be a reason.

"The reason in this case is that Ferrari does not have clear leadership. When there is no clear leader, not everyone pushes in the same direction.

"If the direction is set by three, four, five people, the results are what they are," Briatore added. "Right now, Ferrari is not really Ferrari."

(GMM)
Uh-oh! It could be you, or it could be us, but there's no page here.
KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) - Metropolitan Community College of Kansas City announced Wednesday that they were the victim of a ransomware attack. Metropolitan Community College of Kansas City, or MCCKC, said in a release they recently discovered the attack that resulted in certain data being encrypted.
The Pound Sterling Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate remained flat on Thursday, which left the pairing trading at around 1.1056.

The Euro was left flat despite the latest unemployment data from France showing the jobless rate did not jump as much as expected.

However, tensions between the European Union and United States were in focus during the session. The US said it would maintain its 15% tariffs on Airbus and aircraft as well as the 25% tariffs slapped on other goods from the bloc.

Although, risk appetite was offered some support as Washington decided not to exacerbate a 16-year trade dispute over aircraft subsidies by dishing out fresh tariffs.

Meanwhile, the European Commission said it wanted to negotiate with the US and end the row.

A European Commission spokesperson noted:

The Commission acknowledges the decision of the US not to exacerbate the ongoing aircraft dispute by increasing tariffs on European products.

Meanwhile, the Pound was offered support after the government said it would step up demands to the US to drop tariffs on a range of goods from the UK.

This included tariffs on single malt Scotch whisky after industry warnings. The Scotch Whisky Association said that exports to the United States had plummeted -30% since the tariffs came into force, which could put the future of the industry at risk.

In a statement issued today, Britains Trade Secretary Liz Truss said:

These tariffs damage industry and livelihoods on both sides of the Atlantic and are in nobodys interests. I am therefore stepping up talks with the U.S. to remove them as soon as possible.

The pairing remained flat as the Pound was supported by increased US Dollar weakness.

Traders also continued to shrug off yesterdays dire UK growth data which showed Britains economy fell into a recession.

In a note to clients, RBC strategists wrote:

In reality, most market participants had been pencilling in a decline in Q2 GDP of around 20% for some time now so yesterdays release from the ONS didnt come as too much of a surprise even if the magnitude of the contraction dwarfs anything any of us have experienced before.

Wednesdays data showed the economy shrank by a record -20.4% between April and June, which was substantially larger than the EUs slump of -12.1% in the same period.

Although, GBP was unable to make gains against the single currency as traders remained cautious about the long-term outlook for Britain.

Brexit continues to plague the currency as the 31 December deadline inches closer.

Pound Euro Outlook: Eurozone GDP and Employment Change in Focus

Looking to tomorrows session, traders could see the Euro (EUR) fall against the Pound (GBP) following the release of the latest Eurozone growth data.

If the latest reading of Q2 growth shows the bloc has contracted more than expected, it will send the single currency lower.

Added to this, traders will be focused on the latest flash employment change data from the bloc which could weaken EUR further.

If the latest data shows the Eurozones employment change has fallen more than forecast in the three months to June, it will send the Pound Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate higher.
Early Wednesday, the morning after Joe Biden asked Kamala Harris to run as his vice president, Republicans blasted her as "A California Progressive Radical."

Hours later, the Trump campaign slammed the first-term U.S. senator from the nation's most populous state as "a California Radical who Completes the Left-Wing Takeover of Joe Biden."

For President Trump and his followers, the fiery rhetoric has become almost reflexive, part of a larger political war against the Democratic-led state that includes pitched legal battles over environmental regulations, immigration policies, healthcare programs and access to voting.

The initial Republican attempts to hit Harris have been contradictory, on one hand labeling her a "phony" who lacks conviction, and on the other a tool of "radicals on the left," suggesting she is a zealous ideologue.''

Attacking California, which has served as a conservative boogieman for decades, blurs some of those complications, conjuring images for some voters that Trump has drawn of cities overrun with crime, homeless people and immigrants.

Trump has said that San Francisco, where Harris began her political career, is "going to hell" and quoted media allies who called it an "American dystopia."

Democrats and other critics say the appeals are at least in part meant to further Trump's demonizing of minorities  given that Latinos make up a plurality of the state's population  something Trump's supporters deny.

Harris is not only the first Black woman to run for the White House on a major party ticket. She is the first Democrat from California, or indeed west of the Rockies, to do so.

Although Harris is known to Californians, she is relatively unknown on the national stage. She earned Democratic plaudits for her prosecutorial grilling of Trump aides and nominees in Senate Judiciary Committee hearings, but she quit the presidential race last year before the first primary after failing to gain enough support.

Story continues

Republicans are wasting no time in trying to define the Oakland-born Democrat in negative terms, including her years as district attorney in San Francisco, and then as California's attorney general before she was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016.

Harris subscribes to a checklist of super-radical positions that might play in the Bay Area, but wont play in swing counties in the Midwest, said Steve Cortes, a senior advisor for strategy for the Trump campaign. She embraces a radical worldview of extreme leftist policies like massive tax hikes, gun confiscation, and decriminalizing illegal border crossings.

Biden's backers say voters won't be fooled by those harsh attacks and mischaracterizations of her record. They argue that Americans are focused on the pandemic, the faltering economy and the issues of racial injustice raised by the George Floyd killing during an arrest in Minneapolis in May.

People are hungry. People are scared. People are worried about their jobs," said Barbara Boxer, who held Harris' Senate seat for 24 years before retiring in 2017. "If the message from the Republicans is 'reject Biden and Harris because she's from California,' I think thats the most absurd thing they could do."

Until Harris got the nod, the White House had largely tamped down its anti-California jibes during the coronavirus pandemic. A brief cease-fire of sorts even appeared.

In April, Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has frequently clashed with Trump, publicly praised the president for getting a Navy hospital ship to Los Angeles and sending medical supplies that the state needed to fight the contagion.

Gavin Newsom was very nice today, Trump responded in a White House briefing. Theyve done very well in California. His reelection campaign later featured Newsom's comments in an ad.

But Trump continued to claim falsely that California is sending ballots to people who arent citizens, illegals and anybody who is walking or breathing in an attempt to steal the November election.

Democrats argue that Trump's targeting of the state is rooted in resentment that California thrived economically despite overwhelmingly rejecting Trump and his policies. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton defeated Trump by 30 percentage points in 2016, and Biden is leading polls by similar margins.

It just happens that California is the most diverse state in the nation, and it sure undermines his framing that we need to go back to the old ways, said state Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra, whose office says it has filed at least 95 lawsuits against the Trump administration since 2017.

Becerra argues that California's pre-pandemic economy proves its progressive policies work. Republicans say tight regulations have hampered growth and exacerbated the large economic gap between rich and poor that has fueled the homeless crisis.

Mike Madrid, a longtime GOP strategist in California who is helping lead the Lincoln Project, a Republican group working to defeat Trump, says Californians may have a myopic view of their own importance.

In California, we think everybody wants to be like us," Madrid said. "The fact of the matter is most states dont, especially not Rust Belt states. They like their state the way it is. They are like, 'just bring the damn jobs back and leave us alone.'

Madrid said Trump is using the same language that anti-immigrant activists used effectively in California in the 1990s to stoke fear and resentment in their campaign for Proposition 187, which severely restricted the rights of immigrants.

He is stoking fears of people being replaced and America being taken over, Madrid said.

The measure passed, but backlash and demographic changes cemented Democrats' hold on the state ever since.

Madrid believes Trump's appeals will work "with a certain type of Republican they need to get, especially voters who see jobs traditionally held by working-class whites shifting to nonwhite newcomers, and those who believe Trump's disproved claims that urban violence is tied to immigration.

But Madrid said the audience for California-bashing is narrowing to a smaller and smaller slice of the country, as Republican strongholds in the Sun Belt become more diverse.

Texas is becoming more like California every year, Madrid said. "People who want California but just cant afford it are moving to Austin, Houston, San Antonio.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 22:50:33|Editor: huaxia

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BEIRUT, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon continued to receive on Thursday several aircraft carrying donations to support the country following the explosions that hit Lebanon on Aug. 4, killing at least 170 people and wounding more than 6,000.

Lebanon received the fourth Emirati aircraft carrying tons of medical equipment, while Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Lebanon Hamad Al Shamsi said his country will send support for the Lebanese who lost family members and provide aid for the rehabilitation of destroyed houses, LBCI local TV channel reported.

Lebanon's Red Cross Secretary General George Kettaneh assured that partnership between the Lebanese Red Cross and the UAE Red Crescent has been effective for a long time and both are preparing an assessment of the damage to distribute help.

Meanwhile, Lebanon received medical aid from Kuwait, Jordan and the Netherlands which has been ongoing since the second day of the explosions.

Moreover, Algeria sent medical equipment and food products to Lebanon.

Also, the public and private sectors in France mobilized their support since the second day of the explosions, including medical equipment, food, reconstruction efforts and rescue teams.

Brazil has also sent two aircraft of donations to Lebanon including medical equipment and medicines. Enditem
For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL  August 13, 2020  Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include Career Education Corp. PRDO, Chegg Inc. CHGG, GP Strategies Corp. GPX and Grand Canyon Education, Inc. LOPE.

Here are highlights from Wednesdays Analyst Blog:

4 Stocks to Watch as Online Education Gains Traction

The United States is still unsure when to open schools. With coronavirus cases continuing to rise, new decisions are being announced daily and school districts are still unsure if it will be safe to open the campuses. Most states are pondering over a gradual resumption of campus opening after fall.

That said, the education system cannot stop and students will continue to learn remotely. This new normal may even lead to a hybrid form of education, combining online and in-person learning.

Students Prefer Virtual Schooling

According to a CNBC report, citing a study by Burbio, which aggregates school and community calendars nationwide, 52% of students would go to school virtually only and just 25% want to attend every day. Another 19% would have some form of hybrid schooling, combining online and in-person learning. The remaining 4% of districts remain undecided.

Moreover, the study found that the 200 largest districts were two-thirds virtual despite a decision by the New York government. New York governor Andrew Cuomo last week said that school districts can open New York City schools. The U.S. education system has been one of the biggest casualties of the pandemic, with both teachers and students hesitant to go to school. However, students and teachers over the past few months have well adapted to remote learning.

Online Education to Gain Traction

Schools across the world have started imparting classes online given that there are no immediate signs of coronavirus subsiding. In fact, countries that are reopening economies are witnessing a spike in fresh COVID-19 cases.

Story continues

A report from UNESCO says more than 1 billion students globally have been prevented from attending schools, colleges and universities. However, they are learning through various video lectures, online seminars, animations and reading materials. Students have even opted for online tests. This is where online education can be a game changer.

The online segment presently comprises a small fraction of the $2.2 trillion global higher education market  less than 2%, according to market intelligence firm HolonIQ  but the appetite from students for online offerings is likely to grow because of the coronavirus disruption. According to market research firm Technavio, the online education market is poised to witness a CAGR of more than 18% from 2020-2024 to reach $247.46 billion.

Stocks in Focus

With the timeline for a coronavirus vaccine still uncertain, it is likely that parents, students and teachers will prefer the shift to online education. Given this scenario, it would be prudent to keep a close watch on four online education providers that are poised to grow.

Career Education Corp. offers bachelors, associate and non-degree programs in information technologies, visual communication and design technologies.

The companys expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 11%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.7% over the past 30 days. Career Education has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Chegg Inc. offers Chegg Services, comprising digital products and services such as Chegg Study, Chegg Writing and Chegg Tutors. These allow students to find human help on its learning platform through a network of live tutors.

The companys expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 39.6%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 5.8% over the past 30 days. Chegg carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

GP Strategies Corp. is a global provider of training and e-learning solutions, management consulting, and engineering services, improving the effectiveness of organizations by customizing solutions that enhance an organization's people, processes and technology.

The companys expected earnings growth rate for next year is more than 100%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 15.8% over the past 60 days. GP Strategies has a Zacks Rank #2.

Grand Canyon Education, Inc. is a regionally accredited provider of online postsecondary education services focused on offering graduate and undergraduate degree programs in its core disciplines of education, business and healthcare.

The companys expected earnings growth rate for next year is more than 12.8%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 2.6% over the past 60 days. Grand Canyon Education carries a Zacks Rank #3.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 13)  Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano on Thursday appealed to Congress to provide funds under the "Bayanihan to Recover as One" bill for the hiring of thousands of contact tracers for the COVID-19 fight.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said Ano wrote a letter to Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri asking for Congress to allocate P5 billion in the fund to be created under "Bayanihan 2" to hire and train 50,000 contact tracers starting September.

The current roster of 85,000 contact tracers is not enough to meet the recommendation of the World Health Organization to have one contact tracer for every 800 people. The DILG said it is not even enough to meet the requirement of tracing czar Benjamin Magalong of a 1:37 patient to close contacts ratio in order to cut the transmission of the disease.

Interior Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya proposed the inclusion of a provision in the "Bayanihan 2" for contact tracing fund to be used for recruitment, training, compensation, and operational expenses.

Of the 50,000 contact tracers to be hired, 20,000 will be deployed in Luzon, 15,000 in the Visayas, and another 15,000 in Mindanao, according to Malaya.

The version of "Bayanihan 2" passed by the House of Representatives this week allots a 162-billion standby fund for interventions to address the COVID-19 crisis. In July, the Senate passed its own version of the bill, allocating P140 billion for recovery efforts.

A bicameral conference committee will meet to reconcile conflicting provisions in the bills.
The family of Breonna Taylor said they remained hopeful that police officers involved in the 26-year-old black womans death would face criminal charges during a Thursday press conference marking the 150-day anniversary of her death.

Bianca Austin, Ms Taylors aunt, called on the residents of Louisville, Kentucky to continue demanding justice and holding major demonstrations to help put further pressure on local officials amid an investigation into the police-involved killing.

We need to take our city back so there won't be any more names, she told reporters outside of the Louisville Metro Hall. We don't need another Breonna Taylor, David McAtee or Tyler Gerth.

Civil rights activist and attorney Ben Crump, who represents the Taylor family, also said they expected the officers involved in the shooting to face charges sooner rather than later following a meeting with Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, and a separate meeting with the Mayor Greg Fischer.

He described the meeting with Mr Fischer as positive and productive in a statement that said the family sat down with the mayor to discuss how we try to work together to heal this city beyond just getting justice in the criminal matter for Breonna Taylor."

The attorney generals office released a statement ahead of the familys press conference saying the meeting was scheduled so Mr Cameron could personally express his condolences to Ms Taylors mother, Tamika Palmer, and others.

The statement did not provide any other details of the meeting, which took place at a state office in Louisville, but added that the investigation into the shooting is ongoing.

In a written statement, Ms Palmer described the attorney general as seeming sincere and genuine throughout the meeting, which she noted he called for.

"We all deserve to know the whole truth behind what happened to my daughter," she added. "The attorney general committed to getting us the truth. We're going to hold him up to that commitment."

As for the findings of the investigation, Ms Palmer said Mr Cameron "didn't say which direction he's pointing to, and I could be wrong, but after meeting him today I'm more confident that the truth will come out and that justice will be served."

Ms Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical worker, was slain by Louisville police serving a "no knock" narcotics search warrant at her apartment on 13 March They found no drugs in her home. An officer was shot during the raid by her boyfriend, who has said he thought he was defending against a home invasion.

The state's first African American attorney general, Mr Cameron took over the case after the local prosecutor recused himself. He has seen increasing pressure from protesters in recent weeks.

Dozens of activists who went to his Louisville home were arrested after they wouldn't leave his yard, and in late July, an armed militia marched into downtown and demanded that Mr Cameron make his decision within a month.

Ms Taylor's family and high profile celebrities - from LeBron James to Oprah Winfrey - have called for three police officers who were at her home to be charged with her killing.

Mr Cameron has meanwhile asked everyone to be patient during the investigation. Earlier this month, he said he was waiting on ballistics tests from the FBI.

Additional reporting by AP
Kanye West releases 2020 platform packed with Bible verses: 'Creating a culture of life'

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Billionaire rapper and 2020 presidential hopeful Kanye West revealed his campaign platform on Sunday, a document calling for the fostering of a culture of life in the United States and the restoration of prayer in classrooms.

West, who took to Twitter on July 4 to announce his long-shot candidacy after undergoing a spiritual awakening in recent years, posted the short platform to his campaign website.

While Democrat and Republican Party platforms tend to be thousands of words long and touch on various political issues, Wests platform comes in at just over 400 words.

Titled Creating a Culture of Life, the platform has 10 different sections highlighting West's goals, each capped off with references to different Bible verses. The sections are short and don't go into much detail on how those goals will be accomplished if West is elected.

The first section of the platform calls for the revival of Americas Constitutional commitment to freedom of religion and the free exercise of ones faith. West believes this can be done in part by restoring prayer in the classroom including spiritual foundations.

At the end of the section, the platform cites Psalm 78:4 and states that We will not hide the truth from our children, but will declare to the next generation His praises and wonder.

Secondly, West calls for the restoration of a sound national economy and the reduction of household debt and student loan debt. He then references Jeremiah 29:11 to stress that God has plans to give us hope and a future.

The third bullet point on Wests platform calls for the restructuring of the national education system in a way that serves the most at-risk and vulnerable populations so that they are provided the widest possible range of educational and vocational paths to job opportunities and career success.

West also calls for a strong national defense that is fully prepared but not so quick to tie up our countrys young men and women in foreign quagmires that do not advance our national interest.

When it comes to foreign affairs, the rapper believes the nation needs to ensure that the best interest of Americans is taken into account first and foremost. He believes that the U.S. should project strength, not aggression.

We want trust, but we must also verify. We want fair trade, not one-sided deals that hurt American workers, the platform reads.



The platform also calls for the reforming of Americas legal system so that justice is equitable for all citizens, regardless of race or ability to defend oneself in court.

Recognize the disparity in verdicts and prison sentences, caused by the lack of financial resources or legal assistance, it says before it references Proverbs 20:10 to stress that there will not be differing weights and differing measures.

As the country has been embroiled in national unrest and protests in the months since the death of African American George Floyd in police custody on Memorial Day, West calls for reform to policing in a manner that treats all Americans the same no matter their race, color or ethnicity.

Refocus police forces on real crime, the platform reads. Eliminate federal sentencing guidelines that tie the hands of judges, resulting in ridiculous sentences for the most minor offenses.

The seventh item on Wests platform calls for the U.S. to take care of the environment by pursuing clean air and water initiatives as a national security priority. West wants to make renewable energy a top priority.

He also calls for faith-based groups to be supported as they provide vital local services, giving communities a shared purpose in government.

We will provide ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works, the platform reads, citing Hebrews 10:24.



Finally, the platform states plainly that Creativity and the Arts can be an important source of innovation and development of other national strengths and resources.

Although Wests platform does not specifically touch on the issue of abortion, the platforms title, Creating a Culture of Life," seems to borrow from the Catholic pro-life phrase "Culture of Life."

The phrase indicates objection to the ending of life in the womb through abortion or at the end of life through euthanasia. The term is believed to have been introduced by St. John Paul II in the 1990s.

Although West is most known for his rap songs, he has undergone a spiritual transformation in recent years as he has embraced Christ. He has even led a national Gospel tour that has taken him to preach about Jesus in prisons, youth conferences and megachurches.

In an interview with Forbes in July, West said that God told him to run for president in 2020 and he urged President Donald Trump and Presumptive Democrat nominee Joe Biden to drop out of the race. He also floated the idea of selecting Michelle Tidball, an obscure preacher from Cody, Wyoming, as his running mate.

Its Gods country, we are doing everything in service to God, nobody but God no more, he said.

At his first campaign rally in July, West admitted that he wanted to abort his first child with Kim Kardashian West.

However, his wife decided to keep the baby. He recalled for the audience in South Carolina that he was still living the rappers lifestyle when Kardashian West told him she was pregnant with their oldest child, North, who was is now seven years old. The couple talked about aborting the baby for about three months. His wife even had the abortion pills in her hand one point.

Im in the apartment in Paris and I have my laptop up, and I have all my creative ideas  and the screen went black and white, West recalled. And God said, If you f*** with my vision, Im gonna f*** with yours.

Earlier in July, West slammed Planned Parenthood in his Forbes interview. He said that the abortion giant was created by "white supremacists to do the devil's work."

I am pro-life because Im following the word of the Bible," he said.

In an interview last year with Zane Lowe, he also discussed his spiritual transformation.

"Now that Im in service to Christ, my job is to spread the Gospel, to let people know what Jesus has done for me. Ive spread a lot of things," he explained. "There was a time I was letting you know what high fashion had done for me. I was letting you know what the Hennessy had done for me. I was letting you know all these things, but now Im letting you know what Jesus has done for me, and in that Im no longer a slave; Im a son now, a son of God. Im free."

In 2019, West released his Jesus is King album.
On 5 August, presumptive presidential candidate for the Democratic Party Joe Biden announced he will not travel to his partys national convention, as a precautionary measure due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In an official statement, the party said that instead of Biden travelling to Milwaukee he will address the nation and accept the Democratic Partys nomination from his home state of Delaware.



The Democrats national convention, slated for 17-20 August, will take key decisions in terms of finalising the partys platform for the presidential race and choosing Bidens running mate. Bidens physical absence at the convention due to Covid-19 could potentially weaken his hand and allow his Republican rival Donald Trump to take advantage of the situation and undermine Bidens capabilities. Since Biden was chosen as the Democratic candidate, Trump and his team have focused on Bidens health and how this impacts his ability to lead the US. Trump, who strongly opposed the national shutdown at the start of the pandemic, could be adamant in attending the Republican national convention  which will be held one week after the Democratic one  without wearing a mask, to prove he is fit, healthy and braver than Biden. Trumps campaign could also propagate the claim that Biden will not attend his partys convention because he is worried that he will trip up when speaking to party representatives. Biden suffers a stutter since childhood, but Trump suggests that Bidens cognitive abilities should be tested.



Other than Bidens absence, finalising the Democrats platform could be problematic because there are severe rifts since the far-left camp of the party  supporters of former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders  will send one quarter of eligible representatives to the convention. This large number of left-leaning representatives could hinder the party from closing ranks behind Biden if he does not adopt some of the social and economic reforms the far left is calling for. The conservative camp is worried these reforms will obstruct the economic recovery of the US, which has stumbled due to the pandemic. Some party supporters understand the risks of opening up debate about the partys platform and policies, and the promises it will make to voters, because this could lead to division between the party and voters at a time when the Democratic Party is seeking to unite voters against Trump and his policies. Or because making broad and unattainable promises could constrict policies and decisions Biden may choose in the future if he is elected to the White House. They suggest postponing presenting the party platform until after Biden wins the election.



Joe Baerlein, the principal of Baerlein and Partners in Boston, wrote in Politico advising Biden not to open detailed discussion of the partys platform in the elections, and only focus on Trumps weak points in handling the Covid-19 pandemic and his quarrel with China. Baerlein also suggests that Biden should announce early on his intention to appoint Trumps Republican rival Mitt Romney as Secretary of State if he wins the election, to prove that he is keen on the unity of the US to prevent further partisan fissures.



The Democratic convention could also be split over Bidens pick for vice president. He had promised earlier that he will choose an African-American female as his running mate, and the list is long for potential candidates. Susan Rice, Obamas national security adviser; Senator Kamala Harris, known as the strong woman of the judiciary due to her long career as a district attorney; and Congresswoman Karen Bass, who is the leader of the Congressional Black Caucus and who is spearheading police reform legislation named after George Floyd (the black man murdered by police two months ago).



Bidens dilemma is not only deciding between the three women, but also dealing with the anger of white females who wanted the opportunity, such as Senators Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar who both ran against Biden in the Democratic primary race for president, and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.



Biden may lean towards choosing Rice since he has known her well for many years and they both served under the Obama administration. However, Harris would be a better choice for Democrats even though she and Biden do not see eye to eye, especially after she attacked him during primary debates when she was seeking the Democratic candidacy for president. Harris is popular with the partys leftist camp and could deliver many votes from women of colour and young female voters on the left.



Reactions to whomever Biden picks as his black female running mate could also be problematic. First, choosing a female will not add much to a party which already fielded a female candidate to contest the presidential race in 2016, namely Hillary Clinton. Choosing a black woman will not make much difference in US political life since Barack Obama already served as president for eight years. Therefore, pulling on the heartstrings of women and minorities may not be of much benefit to Biden in comparison to Obama and Clinton, because conditions, contexts and challenges are different today.



Democrats must brace for Trumps actions and surprises as soon as he is officially nominated by the Republican Party this month, and as developments unravel that could change Bidens and Trumps chances, such as finding a vaccine or cure for Covid-19 by September, as Trump promised. There are also three presidential debates that are usually scheduled towards the end of September and early October. Will the Democrats be able to hide Bidens stammer and ignorance of foreign policy, and will they be able to convince American voters during these debates?

*A version of this article appears in print in the 13 August, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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An Indian man melted the hearts of millions in his home country after unveiling a life-size and almost lifelike sculpture of his late wife during a house-warming party.

Srinivas Gupta, a businessman from Karnataka, India who lost his wife in a tragic car accident three years ago, wanted his life partner to be physically present at a recent house-warming event that he had a life-size silicone statue of her made by a local artist. Madhavi, Guptas late wife, had always wanted to own her own bungalow, so after her death the businessman decided to honor her memory by building one in her honor. A year ago, he commissioned a local sculptor to make an ultra-realistic statue of Madhavi, so she could be with him and their two daughters when the new home was ready.

It is a great feeling to have my wife again at my home, as this was her dream home, Srinivas Gupta told India.com. An artist, Shreedhar Murthy, from Bengaluru took a year to prepare my wifes statue. Silicon was used for the statue for durability. Our artist suggested me to have silicon statue instead of the wax statue as we live in Koppal which is a hot place, and an AC (air-conditioning) cant be open all the time to maintain the wax. So as per the suggestion, we got the silicon statue prepared.

Photos and videos of Gupta and his two daughters posing next to Mdhavis lifelike silicone statue went viral in India this week, with most social media users praising the businessmans gesture as a symbol of his undying love for his late wife.

So much of love. Felt emotional. It may be a statue for the world but for him, she is right there present with him. Brilliant creation. Talking about talent, no one can beat Indians, one Twitter user commented.

Hats off to Srinivas Gupta for giving true value for his long term relationship. He is showing how we have to value our relationship, that is lacking nowadays in all families, someone else wrote.



I can understand and appreciate the idea of having his wife there with him for an important family event, but am I the only one who thinks that maybe Gupta went a bit too far? That ultra-realistic statue looks so lifelike its actually creeping me out a little bit.
TORONTO, Aug. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Compass Gold Corp. (TSX-V: CVB) (Compass or the Company) is pleased to provide an update on the recently completed fieldwork at the Dialeke prospect on the Companys Sikasso Property in southern Mali (Figure 1).



Highlights

Exploration work at Dialeke identifies two discrete >1-km-long zones of coincident gold-in-shallow-soil anomalism associated with the Siekeroli shear zone

Pronounced gold in soil anomaly present adjacent to Dialeke workings

Gold-bearing quartz veins recovered from shallow artisanal workings

Drilling at Dialeke will start when ground conditions permit

Compass CEO, Larry Phillips, said, These latest results from our Dialeke prospect have added two clear new targets to our already robust pipeline of highly prospective gold targets at Tarabala, Samagouela and Sodala. Our objective for the coming year is to confirm a gold resource at one or more of these targets contained on our Sikasso Property.

He added, Our technical team recently completed a review of all of our exploration results and has outlined an aggressive and cost-effective exploration program for the coming field season once ground conditions permit. The first stage of this exploration program will include a fully-funded 3,000 m drill program on our Samagouela and Tarabala prospects, where we had considerable success earlier this year. We are anxious to resume this next phase of field work as soon as the rainy season ends.

Dialeke Overview

Dialeke is located on the boundary between the Ouassada and Faraba-Coura permit areas (Figures 1 and 2). It is one of eighteen prospects previously identified along the 16-km Farabakoura Trend through regional, shallow, soil geochemistry, deep auger sampling and airborne magnetic surveys. The initial target at Dialeke was chosen based on an isolated 3.8 g/t Au shallow soil sample (the highest shallow soil on the Ouassada/Faraba-Coura permits), close to the inferred location of the Siekeroli fault, and cut by a strong NW-trending fault interpreted from airborne magnetic surveying.

The latest assay results from the Dialeke prospect were received following the Companys recently completed field work in southern Mali, which concluded with the start of the rainy season. Samples collected there in May from spoils heaps at a new area of east-west trending artisanal workings, covering 4.5 hectares, contained mineralized quartz veins with grades up to 35.1 g/t Au (Figure 2). Follow-up Gradient IP and shallow soil surveys confirmed the Dialeke workings are centred on an area marked by numerous smaller faults and gold soil anomalism adjacent to the main Siekeroli shear zone. Another target area 800 m to the west of the Dialeke workings contains gold in soil samples up to 1.22 g/t Au. This area represents an exciting new target 2 km to the north of the focus of Compass field work in May 2019. This work was completed in mid-July, and the final assays were received in early August. Drilling on the prospect is planned once ground conditions permit.

Figure 1: Location of Compass Golds western permit areas. Target trends are illustrated in yellow with corresponding prospects (purple text): https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/09806274-5f87-4e48-ac2d-75d43a8ece45

Technical Review:

Pit Reject (spoil) Samples

A total of 90 unbiased samples were collected on a 25 x 25 m grid over the newly identified workings at Dialeke. The samples were 1.5 to 2 kg and randomly collected by shovel from the waste piles adjacent to artisanal workings. Shafts vary in depth from 6 to 30 m, with the water table occurring at 24 m.

Gold concentrations ranged from 1 ppb to 35,110 ppb (35.11 g/t Au). Five samples had gold grades greater than 1 g/t Au (1.08, 2.98, 4.00, 4.63 and 35.11 g/t Au), and 18 samples had gold grades between 0.2 and 1.0 g/t Au. Inspection of the pit reject samples showed the mineralization was present in smoky quartz veins with oxidized pyrite that cut a sheared granodiorite. This is similar to the mineralization noted in other prospects on the Farabakoura Trend (e.g., Farabakoura, Kabangoue, and Boumban).

Figure 2: Location of the Dialeke prospect on the Farabakoura Trend. Other prospects on the trend are also illustrated: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3f4596d0-7853-4929-9b98-c569cf169b7a

Shallow Soil Sampling

A total of 320 infill soil samples were collected on a 100 m x 100 m grid centred over the Dialeke and Farabakoura NW workings. Gold concentrations ranged from 1 ppb to 1,220 ppb (1.22 g/t Au), with an average concentration of 24 ppb. Eleven samples contained more than 100 ppb Au (0.10 g/t Au), which is considered extremely anomalous in the total shallow soil database (7,101 samples) covering the 179 sq. km Ouassada and Faraba-Coura permits.

Gold anomalism correlates closely with the presence of artisanal workings and interpreted faults. A large 1,200 m long and up to 550 m wide zone of enhanced gold anomalism parallels the western contact of the Siekorole fault and is centred on the Dialeke workings. This is considered the primary target zone.

A second area of enhanced anomalism is noted in the NW corner of the sampling grid, including one sample with 1.22 g/t Au. This 500 x 500 m zone correlates with a fault parallel to the Siekorole fault that cuts a granodiorite. Only weak anomalism is present in the vicinity of the Farabakoura NW artisanal workings, although a pit reject sample from this location contained 1.20 g/t Au.

Gradient Induced Polarization (IP) Survey

Concurrent with the geochemical sampling programs, a Gradient IP ground geophysical survey was performed over the Dialeke and Farabakoura NW workings. The survey covered an area of 1.5 sq. km (1.4 x 1.0 km) and lines were orientated in a NE direction. The resistivity and chargeability data were processed and interpreted by Jeremy S. Brett, M.Sc., P.Geo. (MPH Consulting Limited).

The processed data indicate the location of the Siekorole fault (Figure 1) and a parallel fault 600 m to the west. The Dialeke workings are located at the centre of a 700 x 700 m zone of faulting that is likely a favourable location for mineralization. The large area of gold soil anomalism in the northwest of the soil grid appears to correspond to an area of less structural complexity.

Interpretation of Field Work

Surface geochemical and geophysical surveys at Dialeke have significantly enhanced the understanding of likely locations for gold mineralization at the prospect. Two targets have been identified that require follow-up drilling: a 700 x 700 m area centred at Dialeke, and a 500 x 500 m area 400 m to the northwest of Farabakoura NW. Both targets are located on north-northwest trending faults in contact with intrusive rocks and extend for over 1 km.

Next Steps

Compasss technical team recently completed a thorough review of all exploration data collected to date to appraise current and new target areas. The review outlined an aggressive exploration program for the coming field season totalling at least 3,000 m of air core drilling on previously identified broad zones of shallow gold mineralization on the Companys Samagouela and Tarabala prospects, and ground geophysics and in-fill soil surveys on additional areas of interest. This exploration is fully-funded and is expected to start as soon as field conditions allow, likely in November.

Targets have been selected according to their potential to host shallow, open-pittable ore systems.

About Compass Gold Corp.

Compass, a public company having been incorporated into Ontario, is a Tier 2 issuer on the TSX- V. Through the 2017 acquisition of MGE and Malian subsidiaries, Compass holds gold exploration permits located in Mali that comprise the Sikasso Property. The exploration permits are located in three sites in southern Mali with a combined land holding of 867 km2. The Sikasso Property is located in the same region as several multi-million-ounce gold projects, including Morila, Syama, Kalana and Komana. Mineralization hosted on adjacent and or nearby properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on the Companys property. The Companys Mali-based technical team, led in the field by Dr. Madani Diallo and under the supervision of Dr. Sandy Archibald, P.Geo, is conducting the current exploration program. They are examining numerous anomalies first noted in Dr. Archibalds August 2017 National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report on the Sikasso Property, Southern Mali.

QAQC

All pit reject and soil samples were collected following industry best practices, and an appropriate number and type of certified reference materials (standards), blanks and duplicates were inserted to ensure an effective QAQC program was carried out. All samples were prepared and analyzed at SGS SARL (Bamako, Mali) by fire assay technique FAE505. All standard and blank results were reviewed to ensure no failures were detected.

Qualified Person

This news release has been reviewed and approved by EurGeol. Dr. Sandy Archibald, P.Geo, Compasss Technical Director, who is the Qualified Person for the technical information in this news release under National Instrument 43-101 standards.

ForwardLooking Information

This news release contains "forwardlooking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements regarding the Companys planned exploration work and management appointments. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forwardlooking information. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by such information. The statements in this news release are made as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forwardlooking information except as required by applicable law.

For further information please contact:

Compass Gold Corporation Compass Gold Corporation Larry Phillips  Pres. & CEO Greg Taylor  Dir. Investor Relations & Corporate Communications lphillips@compassgoldcorp.com gtaylor@compassgoldcorp.com T: +1 416-596-0996 X 302 T: +1 416-596-0996 X 301













Website: www.compassgoldcorp.com

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
In a typical August, parents would traditionally be thinking about a return to the structured consistency of the school year. This year that transition is anything but comforting. Recently, the superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia, the largest public school system in Pennsylvania, released a revised back-to-school plan.

As a pediatrician and a teacher, we still dont know exactly how the planned return to school will actually unfold in each district in our community. Regardless of how the delivery of instruction may change throughout this year, we do know that our community members and representatives must keep in mind the more than 1 in 7 kids in the School District who receive special education services. This figure does not even include children who live in Philadelphia yet attend unaffiliated charter or private schools. During a normal time, children with disabilities and their families face significant barriers to getting the services they need and deserve. COVID-19 has intensified this disparity, like so many others.

Legally, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act holds public schools accountable for providing eligible students with special education services, for example a student with Down syndrome, autism, or ADHD who is having academic difficulties. Each case requires personalized efforts to support the needs of the individual child. Whats common across the board is the need for the resources, time, and staffing to develop and implement these personalized plans. Money is tight right now for everyone, from individuals to cities. Where we spend our money reflects what we value. We implore constituents to contact and urge their local representatives to show that we value our children  all of them.

 READ MORE: N.J. schools face excruciating choice as state data shows kids make up a growing share of COVID-19 carriers

Our experiences as a medical provider and educator give us a profound appreciation and sympathy for just how challenging it will be to put into operation the School Districts current plan. As in so many cases, the devil is in the details. It is therefore all the more important that we unite to support marginalized students and their families.

From an optimistic perspective, we at least have the experiences of this past spring to inform our actions. The move to a virtual platform has been, to say the least, tough for many. In the pediatricians office, we are seeing parents desperate for help. Raising a behaviorally challenging son or daughter can be difficult enough. The additional burden of being an impromptu teacher, without any training in education and long removed from the intricacies of long division or chemistry, can break ones spirit. The stress is felt not just by the parents but the child. His or her frustration may turn into outbursts of frank anger and push them to give up.

 READ MORE: Free internet coming for 35,000 Philly families: city, schools, Comcast to spend $17M on digital equity plan

Yet, we also know were building on a far from perfect system to begin with. Even prior to the pandemic, teachers often lacked the support needed to adequately support their students. The requirements of documenting for individual education plans are involved, let alone the resources and effort needed to actually implement them. The asks may have been clear, but the means to execute were often lacking. Our government officials responses to the pandemic present an opportunity to ensure that we support our parents, teachers, and administrators in providing the necessary services to help children with disabilities thrive.

In this moment of significant political and cultural division, supporting some of our most vulnerable is an issue that our community can unite on  across the political aisle, across professions, and across our city.

George Dalembert is a general pediatrician in Philadelphia. Emily Wetzel-Ulrich is a teacher in Philadelphia.
Gone is the era of the cookie-cutter, ski jump nose. Todays cosmetic doctors are approaching rhinoplasties with a more artistic, individualized approach, using new surgical and nonsurgical techniques to refine rather than revamp one of the most prominent features of the face. You are taught to do rhinoplasty a certain way, but now its much less mathematical, said Dr. Matthew White, a facial plastic surgeon in New York. Its about really spending time talking to the patient and figuring out what they are looking for.

Wendy Lewis, an aesthetics industry consultant, remembers when a particular New York surgeon  Dr. Howard Diamond  was so well known for creating a specific nose, one with a scooped-out bridge and pinched tip, that it was called a Dr. Diamond nose.

That was the standard, and by todays standards that would be unacceptable, Ms. Lewis said.

According to the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, rhinoplasty, which typically costs between $5,000 and $15,000, remained the most popular facial plastic surgery in 2019. The group surveyed 774 of its members and from the information they provided, the academy estimated that 55,000 surgeries were performed in the United States last year.

The data shows that rhinoplasties are as popular as ever, said Dr. Patrick Byrne, a plastic surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic, pointing to the ubiquitous nature of social media and use of smartphone cameras  he says they distort the proportions of the face, making the nose look larger  as key drivers of the demand.

For Nikki Kanter, 36, a digital marketing consultant in Chicago, wanting to look better in pictures was a factor in her decision to get a nose job. In pictures, if I didnt angle my face right, I looked like a boxer, said Ms. Kanter, who had broken her nose in college when she was hit in the face by a bag of beads thrown from a float at a Mardi Gras parade. Her rhinoplasty fixed the damage that had been done internally, straightened the bridge of her nose and fixed the droopiness of the tip.
The beauty industry has today issued a rallying plea urging Boris Johnson to reopen the sector as it continues to lose millions of pounds and countless job losses.

Skin care guru Caroline Hirons has penned an impassioned letter to the Prime Minister asking for the government to open beauty clinics on August 15.

The letter, delivered to Downing Street last night, calls on the government to give the green light for salons to reopen as staff have been left for five months without an income.

Labour MP Carolyn Harris told MailOnline that the sector had been 'forgotten' amid the pandemic with workers 'left adrift and financially in ruin'.

The beauty sector contributes nearly 30 billion annually to the UK economy alone with 370,000 people - or one in every 60 jobs - employed by the industry.

Skin care guru Caroline Hirons has penned an impassioned letter to the Prime Minister asking for the government to open beauty clinics on August 15

The letter, delivered to Downing Street last night, calls on the government to give the green light for salons to reopen as staff have been left for five months without an income

After a rise in Covid-19 infections at the end of July, and with less than 24 hours notice, Boris Johnson announced he was back-pedalling on his plan to allow a number of businesses, including the remaining parts of the beauty industry, to reopen on August 1.

He said he was 'squeezing the brake pedal' on lifting coronavirus restrictions further.

The PM said the scheduled August 1 return of casinos, bowling alleys and close contact services like beauticians would be pushed back to August 15 'at the earliest'.

Bestselling author Caroline Hirons, 50, has gained a huge following on her blog and social media with her straightforward, easy-to-follow tutorials.

Miss Hirons, who has 440,000 followers on Instagram, runs a brand and retail consulting business and is a qualified facialist after working her way up from the shop floor.

Her Beauty Backed initiative has the support of MPs, the British Beauty Council, beauty brands and retailers and makeup artists.

She was the driving force behind the letter delivered to the PM, which states: 'Clinical aestheticians, beauty therapists and makeup artists, all of whom are qualified and insured, have not been able to earn an income for more than five months.

'If restrictions continue, you will further impact those who safely carry out treatments and will demonstrate that the Government does not comprehend or appreciate the value of the beauty industry.'

MP Carolyn Harris told MailOnline: 'The economic damage done to this industry is beyond belief. It's the forgotten sector.

'There has been no thought given to how these professionals would survive through and pandemic, and after. They've had nothing in comparisons to other industries.

'The victims of this are going to be working class women who've gone to college and done a qualification to allow them to be self-sufficient so they could continue to work while earning a nice living.

'In the UK, there are 370,000 people employed by this industry - mostly women - who have been put in a very precarious position because they couldn't claim any of the support the government was offering.

'They've been left adrift and financially in ruin.'

Many have accused the government of 'outright sexism', arguing the neglect of the female-dominated industry  which generated almost 1.2 billion in tax revenues for the Exchequer in 2018  is simple misogyny. File photo

Many have accused the government of 'outright sexism', arguing the neglect of the female-dominated industry  which generated almost 1.2 billion in tax revenues for the Exchequer in 2018  is simple misogyny.

Barbers reopened in July, and men can get beards, nasal hair and moustache trimmed, while not wearing a mask.

Ms Harris said even 'big, established companies' had suffered as they remain unable to pass on supplies.

She added: 'The knock-on effect is incredible. I don't think anybody can underestimate not only the feel good factor, but the mental health side of things.

'Everyone needs me-time, reflection and a little bit of TLC and we can get that from a simple treatment.

'The sector has always been one of the most hygienic and would have been the best place to go back to work. I am desperately worried about the industry, workers and fearful about the loss of jobs.

'Even in a recession, people will go to buy beauty treatments. That's the one industry that never felt the impact from the previous recession because people want to feel good about themselves and how they look.

'This is such an important industry that's always been overlooked and dismissed as just pink and fluffy.

'There's still an opportunity for the government to get this right. We've written to the Chancellor and asked him to give it serious thought.'

A spokesman for the National Hair & Beauty Federation told MailOnline: 'The NHBF continues to work closely with other industry bodies to campaign for all beauty treatments to restart and for those still unable to work to receive financial compensation.

'This is not just about appearance as face treatments are essential for the medical care and well-being of thousands of people. Lockdown had a massive impact on the UK hair and beauty industry which for the three months that both hair and beauty salons were closed resulted in a combined loss of turnover of 5,630,000.'
Uttar Pradesh has been put on high alert and a strict vigil is being maintained in the districts bordering Nepal, ahead of Independence Day celebrations. Senior police officials in the rank of Additional Director General (ADG) and Inspector General (IG) will patrol in sensitive districts while additional police force will be deployed in public places.

Moreover, district police chiefs have been ordered to step up security measures and inspection in sensitive areas under their jurisdiction. Traffic would be restricted in the bordering Delhi from Thursday and will continue till August 15 midnight, said Prashant Kumar, ADG (Law and order).

READ | Pandemic Hits Sales Of National Flag Ahead Of Independence Day

The DGP has instructed the district police chiefs to conduct security drills and carry out checking at bus stations, railway stations and district borders. They have also been directed to closely monitor social networking websites. Camping in districts around Ayodhya will continue.

ADG Ashutosh Pandey will camp in Amethi, ADG Ashok Kumar will be in Gonda, ADG Ram Kumar in Bahraich, IG Vijay Bhushan in Barabanki, IG Vijay Prakash in Sultanpur, IG A K Rai will patrol in Basti, IG Piyush Mordia in Ambedkar Nagar, DIG Chandra Prakash in Maharajganj, and DIG R. K. Bharadwaj Siddhartha Nagar.

READ | Man Makes COVID-themed Independence Day Kites, Urges People To Boycott Chinese Manjha

Traffic Advisory issued in Delhi

Heavy and medium-range goods carriers will not be allowed entry into Delhi via Noida from 11 pm on Wednesday till 11 am on Thursday and again on Friday and Saturday for the same time period, the Gautam Buddh Nagar police said.

The restrictions have been imposed in view of the full dress rehearsal on Thursday and the Independence Day parade on Friday in the national capital, the district traffic police said in an advisory. "Please use alternative routes to Delhi during the restricted period in order to avoid inconvenience," the police said. The Delhi Police had earlier announced similar restrictions and diversions in view of the Independence Day programmes.

READ | Delhi Police Chief Reviews Preparedness Ahead Of Independence Day

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 officials 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.

READ | Delhi Police Personnel To Participate In Guard Of Honour At Red Fort On I-Day Quarantined
Pa. private schools form 'Christian school district' with in-person classes this fall

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Two suburban Philadelphia private schools have merged to create what they are calling a Christian school district and plan to have full-time, in-person classes this fall.

The schools  Berks Christian School and West-Mont Christian Academy in Pottstown  will remain as separate schools but have officialized the partnership in which they will share a single leadership team.

It has been a very exciting week at BCS as we announced creating a Christian school district with our friends from West-Mont Christian Academy! a post on the BCS Facebook page reads.

According to BCS, the process to merge the schools resources to create a Christian school district serving three counties was in the works before the coronavirus pandemic. Both schools offer preschool through 12th-grade education.

We are so thankful that God is always working in His perfect timing! the BCS Facebook post states.

According to The Reading Eagle, resources at both schools will be merged to provide more robust biblically-integrated education across Berks, Montgomery and Chester counties.

The schools say they share a "philosophical common ground of excellence in Biblically-based education that motivates students to lead and serve in their local communities."

"The combined resources of the district will allow more robust programming on both campuses," Phil Warner, Berks Christian's head of school, told the newspaper.

The schools worked together to create an online format when Pennsylvania mandated all schools halt in-person instruction amid the pandemic.

The online program will be enhanced and available for the coming academic year through the new partnership.

Home education is also offered by the new district, through both Berks and West-Mont.

According to the Annie E. Casie Foundation, 24,658 Pennsylvania children are enrolled in homeschool programs, as homeschooling has gained popularity since 2014.

Each group had pieces that came together to allow us to be responsive to our parents and students, Anthony Buttacy, West-Monts Head of School said in a statement. To continue to grow, this district model is the next step to take to ensure that both campuses continue to thrive.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) has released a lengthy set of guidelines for school officials and teachers as the state prepares for the academic year during the coronavirus pandemic.

According to a recent statement, individual counties will cater their instruction to two metrics: incidence rate and percent positivity.

Counties, including Berks, Montgomery and Chester, will review the two metrics to determine whether the coronavirus risk is low, moderate or substantial. Guidelines on how to instruct students safely depend on this dictation, according to the department.

It is important to note that a safe return to in-person instruction will look different across every school, district, and county depending on a variety of factors, the PDE statement reads. One of which is the spread of COVID-19.

School entity decisions on instructional models require a great deal of consideration of local factors, the statement continued. Including size of the school entity, classroom size, school resources, proportion of staff and students with special needs and underlying health conditions, and the ability to accommodate remote learning with equal access for all students.

A county with a low level of coronavirus cases (5% positivity rate) is recommended to use full in-person or a blended teaching model in schools. Counties with a moderate level (5% to 10% positivity rate) are recommended to use a blended or fully-remote model. Counties with a high level are recommended to instruct in a fully-remote style.

As of Tuesday, Montgomery County has had over 10,000 coronavirus cases. Montgomery has the most cases among counties served by the new Christian school district. Chester and Berks have both had over 5,000 coronavirus cases reported as of Wednesday evening.

The new system plans to begin with in-person instruction starting Aug. 1.

According to a post on the West-Mont Christian Academy Facebook page, the school has capped class sizes to ensure social distancing requirements are met in each of its classrooms.

According to the schools joint COVID-19 preparedness plan, class sizes will not go above the number of desks that can be kept at least 6 feet apart.

All communal spaces, such as faculty or student lounges, lobbies, cafeterias, and libraries, will be closed, the plan states.

The new school district positions both schools to meet the challenges of the current COVID-19 crisis and to provide excellent education to families in the region for years to come," according to the BCS statement.
Foxconn and many other manufacturers are planning to move their supply chain from China to other markets, including India. The iPhone maker has declared that Chinas time as the 'worlds factory' is now coming to an end because of the trade war with the U.S.

The Taiwanese iPhone maker has already started to move manufacturing to other Southeast Asian countries and other regions to avoid the escalating tariffs on Chinese made goods. The tariff is being imposed by countries like the U.S. and India.

 Wistron India

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Chairman Young Liu said to reporters No matter if its India, Southeast Asia or the Americas, there will be a manufacturing ecosystem in each, Liu told investors on a conference call, adding that while China will still play a key role in Foxconns manufacturing empire, the countrys days as the worlds factory are done.

 Reuters

Liu also said last that Apples most successful product i.e. the iPhone can be manufactured outside of China and we can already see Apple taking the leap with Indian companies for several of their recent smartphones.



Foxconn is not only responsible for manufacturing Apples iPhones; there is a possibility of products from other companies such as Nintendo Switch, Dell computers amongst others could also be manufactured outside of the country if supply chains can be more refined. In fact, production for some of these products outside of China has already risen to 30%, up from 25% from June 2019.

 MensXP/Akshay Bhalla

The iPhone maker is now in the process of overhauling its China-focused manufacturing strategy as the company plans to expand operations in India. This move comes as a part of the economic tension with Washington and Beijing. President Trump recently issued an executive order that will ban U.S. residents from doing business with Tencent Holdings Ltds WeChat and ByteDances TikTok.



This could have an adverse effect on iPhone sales in China as WeChat is deeply entwined with the digital society for payments and e-commerce.
Let it not be said that Joe Biden won't tolerate a critic in his inner ranks. In picking Kamala Harris, a U.S. senator from California, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate stuck with a long line of other presidential contenders by ignoring a former rival's attacks in selecting a running mate, but broke with past patterns to make history in picking the first woman of color to be on a major party's ticket.

We'll leave the politics to later in the election cycle, but there are a few things worth noting right off the bat about this selection. First, with Harris by his side, Biden will have a greater ability to lead on issues involving crime and police reform. Harris is, of course, a former prosecutor and state attorney general. Her record involves tough decisions in dealing with tough criminals. If she doesn't run from that record, it could be an asset down the line in striking a balance between law enforcement and protecting civil liberties. She's also not beloved in some circles of her party. So by picking her, Biden could be signaling a general election strategy aimed at more traditional swing voters.
The hero's journey is a circuitous one. After setting out into the great unknown, battling monsters and men, our protagonist inevitably winds up at Point A again, ready to slay whatever Big Bad sent them packing in the first place.

That's a familiar road for Jonathan Majors, the 30-year-old actor who's quickly becoming that guy - the one you can't stop seeing in ... well, everything.

He started acting because of a fight in middle school; he had a bunch of big emotions and a blocked vent. Now, a decade and a half later, in his first leading role, Majors is playing the kind of hero his younger self (and the boys he used to "cut up with") could've used. Someone who's learned how to harness his hard-earned rage for good.

"As a boy, I was warring with my community. I was warring with myself," says Majors, who stars in HBO's new sci-fi drama "Lovecraft Country," a "Twilight Zone"-y road trip through the real and imagined horrors of the Jim Crow South and the South Side of 1950s Chicago.

Majors plays Atticus Freeman, a Korean War veteran returning "home" to a hostile America.

"The soldier (in me) was very real," the actor recalled of his youth, "and now at times the soldier is still there. But I began to love my community, love myself, love where I come from. And then the fight's different: You're now fighting for them." But the quest from Point A to Point B and back for Atticus - and Majors himself - is never free of potholes.

There are vengeful ghosts and good old boys waiting for Atticus, who has returned to Chicago to save the father who deserted him and the community that never understood him. He is the prodigal son, soon-to-be patriarch and political protester all in one.

"This role, presented to the world with dignity and honor and sincerity, will alter the hero's narrative in general," he says. "Heroes now can come in any shape and form. Of course there can be a Black James Bond, a female James Bond. Atticus Freeman exists. We have taken something that is so iconically White and male and pushed the scope."

Still, "Lovecraft Country" creator Misha Green says producers didn't have Majors specifically in mind for the lead role at first. But when he walked in the door to audition, "he was clearly our Atticus." The actor got the call that he was in two days before he started shooting "The Last Black Man in San Francisco."

"Jonathan has this presence that's vulnerable yet ferocious at the same time," Green says, pointing to Major's gift of embodying "all the little details and contradictions that make us human."

Courtney B. Vance, who stars opposite Majors in "Lovecraft Country," put it this way: "He has that look. I don't know what else to call it. A face that you could put any young Black man on to."

Vance plays Atticus's Uncle George, the uncle everyone wishes they had - the one who sees the good parts your own parents don't.

"I am so proud of him. He is like my son," says Vance of Majors. "I see in him a younger version of me because I know the journey, and it is one where he must be diligent and vigilant to stay on this path. He will be working nonstop for the rest of his life."

- - -

For anyone following Majors's stellar work in the past year alone, the role of Atticus is both culmination and coronation. In each of his three most recent roles, Majors codifies the Black male experience in America as the forgotten son who is still fighting to be seen.

In "The Last Black Man in San Francisco" - 2019's ode to the Bay Area and the actor's most lauded role to date - Majors plays Montgomery Allen, an impossibly talented street Shakespeare aggressively documenting the boys on the corner for a one-man play that is a masterpiece to watch on-screen and a master class in acting.

"He really wanted to feel the people around him because in doing that, he would understand them," Majors says of "Mont," referring to the character like an old friend. "He has the emotional aptitude to realize if you're understood, then I'm understood. For me, growing up, that was the place I had the most discomfort. I felt so misunderstood."

The film's director, Joe Talbot, called Majors "a quiet observer and a confident philosopher. He feels somehow young and old all at once." It was Majors who first coined the script as "quiet," according to Talbot, who used the actor's description as "a guiding light for how we all approached the material, and each other."

"He was also perhaps the only actor who came in for Montgomery that immediately understood the character. He didn't reach for the low-hanging fruit to make him into a prototypical nerd or goofball. He understood Montgomery was more than that - he was an eccentric empath," Talbot says.

If in "Last Black Man," Majors was grappling with the ancient Greek aphorism "know thyself," then in his next big project, Spike Lee's Vietnam reunion drama "Da 5 Bloods," the Yale-trained actor delved into the logical next step of self-help-ism: "Know thy father.

David, the character Major plays in the film, is the only actual young blood in the group, made up of a cadre of veteran Black actors. David follows his father - a MAGA hat-wearing Vietnam vet suffering from PTSD, played by Delroy Lindo - to Saigon, the root of it all.

"A son has to know his father because, irregardless of what the relationship is, you will ultimately become them," Majors says. "There is a deep satisfaction that comes when you know them."

Being misunderstood, a son finding his father and a soldier seeking his place in America: Those themes, those men, have all shown up in Majors's own life.

"With all my characters I try to track what it is they're getting out of the story and what it is I need," Majors says. "Lovecraft's" Atticus, in particular - gifted, earnest and angry - is all too familiar for the young actor on the cusp of becoming.

So, the beginning.

- - -

Our hero starts his journey in Texas, the middle son. His mother is a pastor. His father is in and out. Young Majors is a voracious reader who's bursting with emotions - rage, heartbreak, "deep, deep joy" - that he doesn't know how to handle. At 14, he's sent to an alternative school after losing his temper in a big way.

"When you're like 11, 12, and you get into a fight at school, it's not a big deal. But all of a sudden you got some weight to you and your ire is more adult. It was like 'Oh, that's young-man strength,' " Majors explains.

He spent his time outside of the school system with other "Black and Brown boys," doing physical training and learning about decorum. By the time Majors got back to the classroom, he had "shifted." A teacher steered the quiet kid toward the stage and he began to crack open.

"Everything I had held onto and was festering unbeknownst to me, would come out in language and other people's words," Majors says of his first theater classes. Acting became a lifeline. But the actor is quick to note the stage didn't save his life. "I got a good mama. She saved my life. But (acting) did give me a reason to live and showed me how to live," Majors says.

"I began to find out things about myself emotionally, like where my tears come from, and the fact that I had a great deal of empathy. ... That began to open up my emotional drain."

Still, like the classic hero's journey, the course wasn't free from obstacles.

Majors got into "a bit more trouble," and a bit more after that. Despite lettering in drama (yes, you can do that), he was suspended again in high school and threatened with permanent expulsion.

He remembers his mother picking him up after that particularly rough visit to the principal's office. "It put so much shame on me," he recalled. The image of his Letterman jacket, still in its plastic, thrown haphazardly in the back of his mother's car stands out in his mind. "Let's just go. Let's get out of here," he remembers telling her.

Majors transferred to another high school and was "safe" for a time. Then he started skipping class. A lot.

"I didn't know what it was. I just had my own way of thinking about things and trying to get things done." He had to appeal to the school district's superintendent - a man whose son Majors had coincidentally gotten into a fight with in elementary school - and ask to be reinstated. Majors, who was a senior at the time, was directing a school play.

"I walked in there and said, 'Listen, man, first off, yeah, I am the guy who slapped your son. Yeah, sorry about that. I know it may not seem like it, but I've really straightened out.'"

He was reinstated at school, and the path was straight from then on out. He attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and earned a graduate degree from the Yale School of Drama. During his last semester at Yale, director Gus Van Sant cast Majors in the LGBT miniseries "When We Rise." He finished his coursework in a trailer on set and hasn't stopped working since.

- - -

It's impossible to keep a straight face when up against Major's Cadillac-sized grin. Just before our Zoom interview, the actor finished a long call about a new film project, adding it to the growing pile. So, ask him how he's doing and Majors doesn't do the humblebrag Hollywood thing. He goes for the truth.

"Oh, man. Whoo! I'm good, I'm really good, you know, all things considered. I'm good," Majors says from the Santa Fe, N.M., home he's been living in since February, practically bouncing from the rounded Pueblo-inspired walls. He is waiting for production to resume on his next project, the Jay-Z backed Western "The Harder They Fall."

But that's on the horizon. For now, the actor is still steeped in the past of the "hella entertaining" "Lovecraft Country." Set to debut Sunday, the show is premiering to a country in the throes of a great reckoning with race and patriotism. It's fitting, though: As Atticus, Majors is playing a modern-day hero who proves that America's past is prologue.

"There are pieces (of art) that in one go encompass the past, future and the present," Majors says. "This is not a Black show; this is an American show. Our protagonists are heroes. They are Americans."

The show is seemingly yet another recent success story for the actor who spent too much his youth fighting - often literally - to be seen. But unlike then, Majors's trajectory is clear.

"I think it's gonna turn out all right," he says, still beaming about his next big thing.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday predicted that nuclear armament for Korea, Japan, and Taiwan will become a "big point of discussion" in response to China's alleged aggression.

Asked by Hugh Hewitt on MSNBC radio whether Korea, Japan or even Taiwan should seek nuclear weapons in response to China's "recklessness with [Covid-19]" and "aggressiveness," Trump said, "I'm not going to suggest anything."

But he added, "It causes problems. And it's a big point of discussion for us over the next two months... a very big point of discussion."

That suggests he is likely to make the threat of nuclear armament of China's neighbors a major talking point in his flagging re-election campaign until November.

Meanwhile, a new book claims that Trump threatened to cut troop numbers in Korea to extort a sharp increase in Seoul's share of the upkeep cost for the U.S. Forces Korea.

CNN security correspondent Jim Sciutto quotes unidentified military officers to that effect in his book "The Madman Theory: Trump Takes on the World" out Tuesday.

He recalls that Trump demanded a fivefold increase in Seoul's contribution, and when Korea demurred, U.S. officials walked out.

"If Seoul did not pay up, the National Security Council instructed its negotiators to hint to Korean officials that the president could withdraw some U.S. forces from the peninsula," Sciutto writes.

"Specifically, the threat involved the removal of an entire brigade combat team, comprising some 4,000 U.S. soldiers -- about one in seven of the nearly 28,500 U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines based there."
Biden: The choice we make this November will decide the future of America for a very long time.

It's going to be amazing, having normal adult human beings in charge again.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris did their first joint speaking appearance on Wednesday, and both walked out wearing face masks. President Donald Trump and Mike Pence have mostly refused to wear masks, even as the number of Americans who have died from coronavirus surpasses 160,000.

"The choice we make this November is going to decide the future of America for a very, very long time," Biden said at the event. "I have no doubt that I picked the right person to join me as the next vice president of the United States of America."

No joint photo yet of Pres Trump and VP Pence wearing masks. pic.twitter.com/i1TgcD3ixe  Mark Knoller (@markknoller) August 12, 2020

Says Biden: "Kamala is smart, she's tough, she's experienced, she's a proven fighter for the backbone of this country . Kamala knows how to govern, she knows how to make the hard calls. She's ready to do the job on day one."

Kamala Harris: "I'm ready to get to work."

Biden and Harris walk out and he begins, "hello, hello." pic.twitter.com/IAoBlGygPu  Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) August 12, 2020

I'm humbled to be joining @JoeBiden in the battle to defeat Donald Trump and build a country that lives up to our values of truth, equality, and justice. Tune in now to watch our first campaign event. https://t.co/rWs5tOrD6E  Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) August 12, 2020

 biden and harris begin their first joint event coming out to speak wearing face masks. pic.twitter.com/2paaTMBxTV  fake nick ramsey @  (@nick_ramsey) August 12, 2020

"I wish we were able to talk to the folks outside," Joe Biden says to kick off his first event with his new running mate, Kamala Harris. "But we're keeping our social distancing. And playing by the rules."  Matt Viser (@mviser) August 12, 2020

Biden & Harris appearing publicly for the first time as one ticket pic.twitter.com/6g4rgNQV8K  Michael Del Moro (@MikeDelMoro) August 12, 2020

"She's ready to do this job on day one," @JoeBiden says of @KamalaHarris. pic.twitter.com/w3zB15fpGx  Steve Herman (@W7VOA) August 12, 2020

"America is crying out for leadership. Yet we have a president who cares more about himself than the people who elected him."  @KamalaHarris  Ken Thomas (@KThomasDC) August 12, 2020
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug.13

Trend:

Head of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministrys Office of Affairs and Chairman of the Tender Commission Farhad Mollazade, Head of the ministry's Consular Department Faig Bagirov and others were held criminally responsible, Trends reports referring to the website of Azerbaijani State Security Service on August 13.

As earlier reported, the criminal case was raised by the service in connection with abuse of power, embezzlement, bribery and numerous illegal acts causing damage to the interests of the state which are protected by the law committed by several ministry officials.

According to the report, during criminal investigation, new information was obtained about the embezzlement of budget funds allocated for the activities of the ministry. Based on the collected materials, a comprehensive audit of financial and economic activities was planned by a relevant decision.

As was discovered in the course of financial inspections, solid suspicions arose that Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina Eldar Hasanov misused significant budget funds and committed other offenses.

On the grounds of the conducted investigation, Hasanov was detained as a suspect.

At present, investigative-operational measures on the criminal case are underway. Additional information will be provided to the public.
Chinese authorities have claimed that they detected the coronavirus on frozen chicken wings imported from Brazil.

A sample of the food product shipped into the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen tested positive for COVID-19, the city government said on Thursday.

Fears have arisen that contaminated food shipments could cause new outbreaks in the country as officials have warned the public about the infection risks from imported meat and seafood.

Chinese authorities have claimed that they detected the coronavirus on frozen chicken wings imported from Brazil. The file picture shows a woman looking at frozen products in Beijing

In this file photo, a worker of Nanming district's Center for Disease Control and Prevention collects a swab from frozen fish at Wandong market in Guiyang, Guizhou province on July 1

The discovery came a day after traces of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 were found on the packaging of frozen shrimp from Ecuador. China has been stepping up screenings at ports amid the concerns over food imports.

The authorities also said that they have also found the pathogen on the packaging of imported frozen seafood that arrived in another Chinese port city earlier this week.

Shenzhen's disease control centres tested a surface sample taken from the chicken wings as part of routine screenings carried out on meat and seafood imports since June, when a new outbreak in Beijing was linked to the city's Xinfadi wholesale food centre.

The local health authorities traced and tested everyone who might have come into contact with potentially contaminated food products, and all results were negative, the city's notice said.

Officials said the public needed to take precautions to reduce infection risks from imported meat and seafood. This file picture take on June 17 shows customers at a market in Beijing

The Shenzhen Epidemic Prevention and Control Headquarters said the public needed to take precautions to reduce infection risks from imported meat and seafood.

In addition to screening all meat and seafood containers coming into major ports in recent months, China has suspended some meat imports from various origins, including Brazil, since mid-June.

The first cluster of COVID-19 cases was linked to the Huanan seafood market in the city of Wuhan. Initial studies suggested the virus originated in animal products on sale at the market.

Li Fengqin, who heads a microbiology lab at the China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment told reporters in June the possibility of contaminated frozen food causing new infections could not be ruled out.
A bodybuilder and a cancer survivor have revealed that they drink human breast milk to reach their health goals, despite the dangers associated with milk sharing.

Jameson 'JJ' Ritenour, an amateur bodybuilder, and Howard Cohen, a prostate cancer survivor, have opened up about consuming breast milk as adults in the third episode of Netflix's new docu-series (Un)Well, which explores the dark underbelly of the global wellness industry.

While Ritenour sees breast milk to be a natural supplement to help him lose fat and get ripped, Cohen had been drinking it for two decades because he believes it's kept him cancer-free. However, there is not enough evidence to prove either of their claims are true.

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Breast is best? Jameson 'JJ' Ritenour, an amateur bodybuilder, revealed on the third episode of the new Netflix docu-series (Un)Well that he drinks breastmilk while training

Supplement: Ritenour mixed the donor breast milk in his protein shakes every morning

'If I wanna grow and be the best that I can, I'm going to eat like a baby; I'm going to sleep like a baby, and if drinking breast milk is a part of that, then it's definitely an edge I'm going to take advantage of,' Ritenour said.

He explained that he was 'looking for an edge' that was a 'more natural source of nourishment' a few years ago when he heard about athletes supplementing with breast milk.

At the time, the mother of his children, Melissa, had excess breast milk, so he decided to try out the unorthodox health trend for himself.

'I had a free supply of it, and I could just reach in the fridge, you know, crack a cold one,' he said. 'I decided to put it in my shakes and kind of see what happened from there.'

While Ritenour did get chiseled, he and Melissa eventually broke up. Not only was he too upset to workout, but he also lost his milk supply, and his body returned to its normal state.

Result: Ritenour said he got ripped while drinking breast milk a few years ago (L). However, his body went back to normal after he broke up with her partner, who was also his milk supply (R)

'I wanna be ripped again. Like, I want, "Oh, get him a Band-Aid 'cause he's cut,"' he explained, and he was willing to do whatever it took.

Ritenour bought breast milk off of a mother he found on Facebook and met her at a coffee shop to pick up her 'boob juice.'

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns of the dangers of giving a baby breast milk from a source other than the child's mother.

'Risks for the baby include exposure to infectious diseases, including HIV, to chemical contaminants, such as some illegal drugs, and to a limited number of prescription drugs that might be in the human milk,' according to the FDA's website.

Also, the milk can become contaminated and unsafe to drink if it isn't handled and stored properly. Adults are also susceptible to the some of same risks if they're drinking someone else's breast milk.

Going all out: 'I wanna be ripped again. Like, I want, "Oh, get him a Band-Aid 'cause he's cut,"' he explained in the episode

Making the exchange: Ritenour started buying breast milk off a mother who was selling it on Facebook

See the difference? He said the breast milk helped him lose fat while retaining muscle after just a few months of drinking it. He is pictured in July 2019 (L) and September 2019 (R)

Dr. Sarah Keim, an epidemiologist at Nationwide Children's Hospital, told the show's producers that there is really no way for the average person to tell if someone's breast milk is contaminated or carrying disease.

'I don't think there is any circumstance where one could recommend breast milk sharing,' she said. 'Unless you have a lab in your kitchen, you really can't test the milk yourself and know that it's completely safe.'

A study conducted by Nationwide Childrens Hospital revealed that out of 102 samples of breast milk purchased online, 75 per cent had the presence of pathogenic or disease-causing bacteria.

She noted that some had such high bacterial concentrations that it was 'closer to something like sewer water.' Three of the samples had salmonella, and 10 per cent were cut with cow's milk or baby formula.

'There are certainly some adults online that are buying milk for either fitness purposes, other health reasons. There is really very little evidence this is beneficial,' Dr. Keim said of the practice.

No proof: Some professional wrestlers in Mongolia also drink breast milk to give them an edge, but the evidence of the human milk's alleged benefits is only anecdotal

Trust him: Bruce German, a professor of food and chemistry at the University of California-Davis, explained on the show that breast milk is 'not particularly valuable for athletes'

Just say no: Dr. Sarah Keim, an epidemiologist at Nationwide Children's Hospital, said that donor breast milk can contain diseases and harmful bacteria, insisting it's not worth the risk

However, Ritenour swore it was working for him. After a few months of drinking breast milk he had bought online, he lost fat while retaining muscle mass.

He believed it was giving him the edge he wanted, and he even felt more energetic, though he admitted he wasn't sure if that just psychological.

After measuring Ritenour to track his progress, his trainer agreed that 'the vitamins from the breast milk have really helped him.'

The episode also touched upon how some professional wrestlers in Mongolia drink breast milk while training because they believe it gives them a competitive edge.

Evidence that breast milk gives athletes a boost is merely anecdotal, and the show's experts stressed that the risks of donor breast milk far outweigh any of its perceived benefits.

Believer: Howard Cohen, a prostate cancer survivor, has been drinking breast milk for the past two decades because he believes it has kept him cancer-free

Not stopping: Some research has shown that a component in breast milk has the potential to destroy cancer cells, but there's no proof drinking it would do the same

Bruce German, a professor of food and chemistry at the University of California-Davis, told producers that breast milk is 'not particularly valuable for athletes.'

He noted that it is low in protein, high in saturated fat, and very high in lactose, which many people can't digest, making it a 'rather poor' supplement for athletes.

Meanwhile, Cohen recalled how his battle with prostate cancer led him to this questionable wellness trend.

He started drinking breast milk over 20 years ago after he read a 1999 article on a study that showed a breast milk ingredient called HAMLET (human alpha-lactalbumin made lethal to tumor cells) destroyed cancer cells in a lab.

'The only problem [with drinking breastmilk] is it's a protein, and usually, proteins are digested in the gastrointestinal tract,' said Anders Hakansson, a professor of experimental infection medicine at Lund University in Sweden, who conducted the study. 'So whether it would actually reach the tumor out in the body somewhere ... we don't know.'

Cohen claimed that breast milk caused his PSA levels, a measure of prostate cancer risk, to drop when he was drinking it. He noted that they elevated again once he stopped getting breast milk from his neighbor who was no longer nursing.

No evidence: Anders Hakansson, a professor of experimental infection medicine at Lund University in Sweden, said it's unclear if drinking breast milk could reach a tumor in the body

Another thought: A few experts noted that it's unethical for adults to drink breast milk because there is a shortage

He convinced doctors to give him a prescription to get breast milk at a local milk bank, and he said once he started drinking it again, his PSA levels plummeted. He noted that his cancer has been undetectable for years.

Some research following the 1999 study showed that patients with bladder cancer who were given HAMLET flushed out dead cancer cells in their urine.

Pauline Sakamoto, the executive director of Mother's Milk bank, where Cohen gets his breast milk, said the prostate-cancer survivor has 'definitely convinced me there is something there.'

However, she pointed out that he and older cancer survivors would be near the bottom of the list for those who need breast milk because there is a shortage.

Neonatal intensive care units in the U.S. need eight million ounces, but milk banks only provided 5.7 million ounces last year, which makes adults drinking it an ethical issue.

'There is not enough donor breast milk for babies in intensive care units that desperately need it, so it's not an ethically grounded nutritional source for an adult,' Katie Hinde, a professor at Arizona State University's Center for Evolution and Medicine, said on the show.
Children can safely wear masks starting at age two  and face coverings should be mandatory in schools to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, says the American Academy of Pediatrics in new guidance that could impact schools here.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, plans for the safe return of children to school, child care, and other group settings must include the universal use of cloth face coverings by children two years of age and older and the adults with whom they interact, says the new statement from the prestigious academy, issued Thursday.

It comes as teacher unions across Ontario continue to push for changes so that all students  not just those from Grades 4 to 12  wear masks when they return to class this fall.

The province has urged younger children, from junior kindergarten to Grade 3, to wear masks.

Asked about the issue on Thursday, Premier Doug Ford said the province is taking the advice of experts at Sick Kids hospital, but hes open to any suggestion.

He said one idea that has been run by pediatric experts is that maybe (for) the youngest ones, maybe its easier if they wear face shields. I know we only have a few weeks left, but I just want to get advice from the (COVID) health table about the face shields for the younger ones.

Ford noted that Sick Kids warned that younger students would be wiggling around with the face masks all the time, its hard for those young kids to be wearing those masks. But again were just taking the advice off the health team about that. But Id be open to any suggestion, if they give me the direction to do that.

Ontario is the only jurisdiction to require masks all day when school returns, though a handful of other provinces have said teens need to wear them in the hallways, or on buses.

A report released by Sick Kids and other childrens medical experts across the province said younger children might have difficulty putting or keeping masks on, or be more likely to spread germs if they continually touch their faces and adjust masks.

The academy also said masks can be safely worn by all children age 2 years and older, including the vast majority of children with underlying health conditions, with rare exception.

Liz Stuart, president of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association, has told the Star that children have to wear masks when they go to the mall, and schools should be no different.

Kids can learn routines, thats what we do in schools  we teach kids routines. I believe that younger children absolutely can wear masks, I dont understand why we arent pushing it here, she said.

Academy president Dr. Sally Goza said in a statement that children are incredibly adaptable and resilient. Just like children understand that they must wear bicycle helmets and buckle into their car seats, they will come to learn to wear masks routinely when necessary.

Goza said this virus is going to be with us for some time, and face coverings are a proven, effective way to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As parents prepare to send their children to school and into child care settings, cloth face coverings should be part of their new normal.

The academy represents 67,000 pediatricians and pediatric experts in the United States.
Turkey and Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) Thursday inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enhance trade and economic ties, Turkish Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan said.

"With the MoU, we have taken an important step together in order to solve the problems of the projects that were left half-finished in the past and their receivables, and realize new projects and investments," Pekcan said at a press conference with Al-Hadi Al-Taher Al-Juhaimi, Libya's planning minister.

Recalling that some construction projects by Turkish companies in Libya had recently been interrupted, Pekcan said there were uncertainties regarding completion of these projects and Turkish companies had remaining receivables in these projects.

"The signed document will facilitate the conclusion of bilateral negotiations between our companies and Libyan employers' management in a way that will produce solutions and serve as a guiding document in this sense," she stated.

The Libyan minister welcomed Turkish contractors' work in Libya and said Turkish firms contributed to 20 percent of the investment projects in the country.

As long as the turmoil ends in Libya, the country will focus on new development plans and is willing to partner with Turkish companies under this development plan, he stated.

Turkey backs GNA led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj and has signed agreements on maritime boundaries as well as security and military cooperation last year.

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AKWESASNE. An Akwesasne man and two others been arrested for their roles in a $46.8 million money laundering scheme involving the smuggling of cut rag tobacco into Canada from the United States.

The announcement comes from United States Attorney G...
South Africa: Government committed to supporting media: Mthembu

Minister in the Presidency, Jackson Mthembu, says government is committed to supporting media as a vehicle for nation building and public participation, and as a sector that is crucial to the enhancement of democracy.

Addressing the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) Community Media Sustainability Consultative conference virtually on Thursday, Mthembu said media diversity and the invaluable role of the media in ensuring access to information are the cornerstones of democracy.

Diversity is a way in which new voices, new media sources, new language choices, diverse and representative content, in terms of class, race, gender and geographic spread, can be incorporated in the media environment, providing wider access and wider choice of media.

The need for such diversity has increased in importance as, globally, media has become more concentrated, limiting access, expression of diverse views and opinions and choice of sources of news, Mthembu said.

Held under the theme, Building a resilient and future-forward community media sector, the consultative conference is a pivotal milestone towards the development of a sustainability model for community media in South Africa.

Mthembu said community and small commercial media are critical in the battle of ideas, giving meaning and effect to freedom of expression and the celebration of media freedom.

Besides its many other benefits, community and small commercial medias overwhelmingly unique selling point is that it deals with issues not adequately addressed by mainstream commercial media, the Minister said, adding that messaging such as the washing of hands, physical distancing and the wearing of masks, have found concrete expression in the sector during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Mthembu said government is fully aware that despite the considerable progress that has been made in establishing a footprint of community and small commercial media projects across the country, there is still much more work to be done.

While government is currently supporting the sector as best as we can on our own, we know we can do more in terms of identifying other role players that can support it, Mthembu said.

Government established the MDDA in 2002 in order to support a vibrant community and small commercial media sector in the country to safeguard South Africas democracy.

The two-day conference is expected to draw from both the local and international body of knowledge on sector sustainability strategies, and is expected to conclude with Terms of Reference for a research study that will seek to unearth the root causes for the lack of sustainability in the sector, build on its strengths and develop a responsive sustainability model.

It is envisaged that the sustainability model will categorise community media into its ability to self-sustain, partially self-sustain or not be self-sustainable at all.

Additionally, it should identify interventions such as funding, training, innovation and technology, community and government support, among others, to ensure the survival of the sector.

The model will be built in a way that it is embedded in and supports the District Development Model. It will, moreover, inform the MDDAs future funding and support processes.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-08-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Dr. Daniel Asare inspecting the security in their new uniform

13.08.2020 LISTEN

The management of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) says they have put in place new measures to boost the security of its staff and patients while on the facility.

The hospital has thus revamped its internal security department, branded the uniform of the security personnel and provided the needed logistics for them to effectively discharge their duties.

It also organized a reorientation programme on new developments in the field of security for the personnel.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of KBTH, Dr. Daniel Asare, who inspected the first assembly of the security personnel in their full uniform, expressed hope that the changes would help enhance the protection of lives and property.

Speaking with the media after the inspection, Dr. Asare said the security of the hospital staff was a priority to management; adding that in recent times there have been incidents of theft at the health facility.

Doctors at the polyclinic have their cars broken into and valuables taken away when they come to work; nurses have also been attacked when they end their shifts and are going home; my office was also broken into and valuables taken away, he said.

He therefore noted that the security lapses had to be addressed hence the move to properly clothe and reorient the internal security of the hospital.

He noted that apart from the support given to the internal security personnel, the hospital management had also mounted CCTV cameras at entry and exit points as well as in some critical departments.

He further noted that management had also outsourced some of its security activates to private organizations to augment the work being done by its internal security.

I hope they will deliver, with the new measures taken to ensure they are up to date with security issues at the hospital, he said.

---Daily Guide
US college towns experienced a significant economic hit from the coronavirus pandemic after students fled university campuses in the spring to finish the majority of the semester online.

But now as the fall semester approaches, every college across the nation is preparing its own version of what classes will look like  whether they be in-person, online, or a hybrid mixture of both options.

A concern across college towns now is what might happen to coronavirus infection rates if students return to their campuses, potentially putting local residents at risk.

Three Connecticut towns  Mansfield, West Hartford and Windham  wrote a letter to state officials to implore them to make stricter restrictions prior to college students returning to their respective campuses.

As host communities for large numbers of students, we believe it is absolutely necessary to have further restrictions on outdoor and indoor gatherings to protect the health of both our permanent residents and our student residents, the letter read, the Hartford Courant reported.

Multiple states have reported in recent months that young people between the ages of 20 to 30 are increasingly driving the spread of the coronavirus.

From 5 July to 1 August, people under 30 represented 43 per cent of Connecticuts cases, a stark increase from earlier in the pandemic.

This has been noticed in other states as well. In New Mexico, 44 per cent of those who are testing positive for the virus are under 30. In California, people in their 20s make up the largest number of cases in the state, with people in their 30s following closely behind.

Experts have noted the increase in cases among young people could be due to them holding frontline jobs  such as delivery drivers, servers, and grocery store clerks  but it also comes with younger people thinking theyre immune to serious symptoms from the novel virus.

Early data has suggested younger people are more likely to have mild to no symptoms from Covid-19, but the potential for a number of students to be asymptomatic carriers in college towns has concerned state and local officials.

Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah Walker called the University of Virginias plan to bring students back to campus a recipe for disaster.

I, for one, do not understand why the students are coming back into the community from all over the globe and why we would take that chance, Ms Walker said.

The county health director in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, has asked for classes at the University of North Carolina to be completely online for the first five weeks amid fear students could spread the virus. Similarly, the mayor of Athens, Georgia, warned University of Georgia students could put other residents in danger if masks were not enforced on and around campus.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has acknowledged that shared living spaces, such as dorms, could act like nursing homes when it comes to how the novel virus spreads, making these areas their own hotspots.

Shared housing residents often gather together closely for social, leisure, and recreational activities, shared dining, laundry facilities, stairwells, and elevators and may have challenges with social distancing to prevent the spread of Covid-19, the CDC wrote on its website.

It was advised for students to maintain social distancing, wearing masks, and following other guidelines to prevent the spread of the novel virus. But these recommendations would all rely on colleges to put plans in place for how to enforce the rules with students.

Dr Anthony Fauci, the nations leading infectious disease expert, addressed the challenge of students going back to college when speaking with Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont.

The expert, who is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he was actually impressed by most universities back-to-school plans and thought college towns would be able to handle the challenges if an outbreak were to occur.

Youve got to be careful if youve got people coming in from outside, Dr Fauci said. But I think if they maintain the guidelines theyve put together for people coming back, they should be fine.
In Hong Kongs newly restrictive environment, the freewheeling publication is both a target and a test case for the governments authority over the media

Hong Kong: After more than 200 police officers raided the newsroom of Hong Kongs biggest pro-democracy newspaper, Apple Daily, a staff reporter messaged the editor-in-chief with a question: Should I still go to work?

You decide, the top editor, Ryan Law, replied. This is the biggest news story in the world.

The reporter hurried to the office. The Monday raid led reporters and editors to produce livestreams and more than two dozen articles that day about the police sweep. They detailed the arrest of the newspapers founder, Jimmy Lai, analysed the legal implications of the crackdown, and covered the international outrage that it triggered.

Apple will definitely keep fighting, screamed a bold red banner headline in Tuesdays edition.

Apple Daily is a tabloid with an agenda, known for both juicy morsels of celebrity gossip and hard-hitting investigations of government malfeasance. It has more than anything become known for its unabashed support of Hong Kongs pro-democracy movement  printing inserts for use as protest posters and reporting critically about Hong Kongs leaders, police and the Chinese Communist Party.

Now the paper, which often breaks some of the biggest news in Hong Kong, has become one of the citys biggest stories itself.

Lai, 72, along with his two sons and four executives from Apple Daily and its parent company, Next Digital, face possible charges of collusion with a foreign country or external elements under the new national security law. The newspapers headquarters have been searched and more than 30 crates of documents seized from its business offices.

Reporters are worried that sources might get in trouble for speaking with them. The security law looms over everything they do, posing new risks of serious legal penalties for what they publish.

I worry that through some circumstances outside my control, Ill be unable to protect my sources, said Icy Chung, a general assignment reporter. I worry a day will come when we have to choose between turning ourselves in and turning our sources in.

In Hong Kongs newly restrictive environment, the freewheeling publication is both a target and a test case for the governments authority over the media.

Before Beijing imposed the national security law on Hong Kong on 30 June, the newspaper had sought to prepare for the possibility that it would one day become a target of authorities. Editors discussed whether they would have to destroy their reporting notes after the publication of a sensitive article. They debated the types of opinion pieces that might put them in legal jeopardy. They stopped using bylines on many stories to protect reporters.

Some reporters now worry about the survival of the newspaper, said Alex Lam, spokesman of the newspapers union and a reporter in the investigative team.

We have a culture of instinctively wanting to go and help the company when it is in trouble, he said. The attitude now is one of meeting challenges together.

The company organised legal briefings on how to respond if police raided the newsroom. On Monday night, hours after the raid, the company had sent out a message to all employees with the phone numbers of its lawyers and guidelines on what information they are not required to give to police: their home addresses and passwords to their electronic devices.

Law said that he wanted the newsroom to continue to churn out the news  Apple Daily is one of the quickest in posting breaking news in Hong Kong  despite the stress of coming under such scrutiny.

No matter what circumstances and in what environment, please do your work, he said. We must be able to publish the news.

The day after the raid, the newspapers investigative team agreed to finish projects that were close to completion even if the government froze the companys finances and they were no longer paid, said Kaman Cheung, an editor who leads the team.

What I can guarantee is that the work our reporters do, we will publish, and we wont be scared, Cheung said. Sensitive reporting material had been uploaded to private servers overseas before the passage of the national security law, she said.

Chung, the general assignment reporter, said that she had also erased auto-saved passwords on her work desktop and disabled face-recognition functions on her phone before the passage of the security law. She had even deleted the contact information of people she had interviewed from legally authorised protests last year.

Since the raid, Hong Kong residents have showered Apple Daily with support, lining up early Tuesday to buy print copies. The newspaper said it printed 550,000 copies of its Tuesday paper, compared with a regular run of about 70,000.

I myself and many other Hong Kong people were trying to get a copy of Apple Daily to support the media and show our solidarity with Jimmy Lai, said Joey Siu, an activist who posted a photo of herself with the paper she bought. Of course we have differences in our political stances, but they are on the pro-democracy side, and we will defend our right to choose what media we want.

Apple Daily has long faced challenges. As at traditional news outlets worldwide, the decline in print advertising and rise of new online competition has eroded its bottom line. For the fiscal year ending in March, Next Digital, the Apple Daily parent company, said its revenue had declined by 11 percent, while its net losses grew by nearly 23 percent. Last year it established a paywall for its online content from Apple Daily and its sister paper in Taiwan.

Political pressure has compounded the difficulties. Major advertisers shun it for fear of business repercussions in mainland China. Its newspapers have been stolen and burned. Lai was the target of a murder plot in 2009 and had the gates to his mansion rammed in 2013. In 2015, firebombs were thrown at Lais home and Nexts headquarters.

With major companies avoiding the paper, its pages now have advertisements from local supporters. A Thai products store put a beer ad on the front page Wednesday. Alcohol is good to drink, it said. This paper is good to read. Another, from an adult products store, used suggestive language to compliment Hong Kongers on their enthusiasm.

In addition to buying up copies of the paper, many in Hong Kong bought Next Digital stock after the police raid, and its price surged by more than 1,100% from Monday to Tuesday, briefly making it Hong Kongs most valuable media holding.

Hong Kong people will stand in line to buy copies of the paper; they buy the stock, said Victoria Tin-bor Hui, an associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame. Its an everyday form of resistance when you can no longer go out and protest.

On Wednesday, Apple Daily staff took a brief moment to celebrate the return of Lai, their embattled owner, after he was released on bail.

Lai, who had been marched through his newspaper in handcuffs while police officers carried out the search Monday, was given a heros welcome. He bowed and waved as employees applauded and handed him a bouquet of flowers. Cheung Kim-hung, the Next Digital chief executive who had also been arrested, gave him a hug.

We will persevere and just keep going, Lai told the team. The media business is getting harder and harder. Lets climb the mountain.

Annie Karni and Jeremy W Peters c.2020 The New York Times Company
Vladimir Putins announcement Tuesday that Russia has officially approved a COVID-19 vaccine has intensified the global conflict between national powers and pharmaceutical giants to be the first to mass produce and market a vaccine for the deadly virus.

It has also underscored the perverse and destructive subordination of medical science and technology to the financial and geopolitical interests of rival cliques of nationally-based capitalists. The conflict, particularly between the ruling elites in United States on the one side and their counterparts in Russia and China on the other, to control the production and distribution of a vaccine is an immense obstacle to the rational and efficient development of a life-saving drug in the midst of an international public health catastrophe.

Putin declared his governments registration of a vaccine developed by the Moscow-based Gamaleya Institute for Epidemiology and Microbiology a world first. He named the vaccine Sputnik V after the 1957 Soviet satellite that stunned the West and sparked the Cold War space race between the USSR and the United States.

Vladimir Putin, center (Credit: en.kremlin.ru)

He said the vaccine had passed all needed tests, but his government has failed to provide any data on the safety and efficacy of the drug to the World Health Organization (WHO) or any other international scientific or medical organizations. Moreover, in a reckless and dangerous break with international protocols on vaccine research, his government has approved the drug before phase three clinical trialsinvolving thousands of volunteershave even begun. This phase of human trials is considered decisive in determining whether a vaccine is safe and effective.

To date, there have been only two months of human trials of the Russian vaccine, involving a mere 76 individuals. And yet Kirill Dmitriev, the chief executive of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, which is financing the vaccine project, told reporters, People outside of clinical trials will have access to the vaccine in August, and some, already on the massive scale, in October. He added that Russia had received applications for over one billion doses from 20 countries. Russian Minister of Health Mikhail Murashko said the country would soon begin a mass campaign to distribute the vaccine.

This rush to produce a vaccine by ignoring safety protocols has evoked sharp criticism not only from the US and other Western powers, but also from scientific and commercial bodies within Russia. The Moscow-based Association of Clinical Trials Organizations published an open letter on Monday asking the health ministry to delay registration of the vaccine until all clinical trials had been completed.

Fast-tracked approval will not make Russia the leader in the [vaccine] race, the letter stated. It will just expose consumers of the vaccine to unnecessary danger.

In the US, Daniel Salmon, the director of the Institute for Vaccine Safety at Johns Hopkins University, said, I think its really scary. Its really risky. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease official, on Tuesday made clear he considered the Russian vaccine unsafe.

There are geopolitical, commercial and domestic political motivations behind Putins rush to produce a vaccine. It is clearly an attempt to steal a march on international competitors in the vaccine sweepstakes, first and foremost, the United States. Washington has been waging a campaign of fabrications to discredit Russias vaccine program in anticipation of an announcement such as that made on Tuesday.

Last month, the New York Times published a series of lurid articles, based on a joint statement by US, British and Canadian intelligence agencies, making completely unsubstantiated charges that Moscow was hacking American vaccine research. While that charge has been largely dropped, the campaign of lies about Russian meddling in the US elections has continued unabated. Last week the director of national intelligence declared, without providing any evidence, that Russia was actively working for Trumps reelection, while Iran and China preferred a Biden victory in the November presidential contest.

These propaganda efforts, spearheaded by the Democratic Party-aligned Times, are preparations to ban the import of any vaccine developed by Russia or China, considered by many to be ahead of the US in the production of a vaccine, and block such a vaccines distribution to allies and US client states. Last month, Fauci testified before Congress and said the US would likely bar distribution within its borders of any vaccine developed by Russia or China.

The country that dominates distribution of the vaccine will have immense leverage over allies and enemies alike, who will be dependent on the good will of the vaccine-owning country to obtain supplies of the drug.

Second, there are countless billions in profits involved in winning the vaccine race.

Third, all capitalist governments are in crisis and facing mounting domestic opposition as a result of the devastating impact of their unprecedented bailouts of the rich and their herd immunity policies, summed up in the back-to-work and back-to school drives being universally implemented. Putin and Trump have in common the attempt to divert public attention from the criminal ineptitude and contempt for human life expressed in their response to the pandemic by hyping advances in the development of a vaccine.

Putins premature announcement of a vaccine takes place under conditions of infections in Russia heading rapidly toward one million and more than 15,000 confirmed deaths from the coronavirus. His approval ratings are plunging, and Russian social media are rife with denunciations of the government, particularly from health care workers decrying the conditions in hospitals and clinics. Meanwhile, his government has released a budget calling for sweeping cuts in health care.

Nevertheless, for all of the Putin regimes corruption and criminality, it is the American government and ruling elite that are in the forefront of the sabotage of any global coordination of the battle against the pandemic. It is Trump, after all, who has pulled out of the WHO, called it a stooge of China, and sought to whip up a war fever against China, blaming the more than five million infections and over 160,000 deaths in the US on the China virus. In this, he is joined by the Democratic Party, whose presidential candidate, Joe Biden, regularly attacks Trump from the right for being soft on Beijing.

Trump, through his Operation Warp Speed, has used the pandemic to lavish billions of dollars in tax-payer funds on his corporate cronies in the pharmaceutical industry. Just Monday he announced a $1.5 billion deal with Moderna to provide 100 million doses of an eventual vaccine. This is on top of $950 million previously handed to the company to underwrite development and testing of the drug. In all, the US government has to date handed out over $9 billion to five companies working on vaccines.

Moreover, as sciencemag.org noted on Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration can approve the use of medicines prior to the completion of efficacy trials through what is known as an emergency use authorization. The publication pointed out that there has been growing concern that President Donald Trump will push for this with a COVID-19 vaccine to help his re-election prospects in November.

The chief obstacles to the development and mass distribution of an effective and safe coronavirus vaccine to the worlds people are the class interests of the ruling capitalist oligarchy. The containment and eradication of the virus and the saving of lives take a back seat to utilization of the pandemic to plunder the economic resources of society and restructure class relations to further impoverish the working class.

As the World Socialist Web Site stated previously:

In a rational and humane society, the issue of secrecy in the development of a life-saving vaccine, all the more in the midst of a deadly pandemic, would never even arise. All questions of personal gain or national advantage would be completely subordinated to the pursuit of a globally coordinated effort, utilizing the revolutionary gains in science and technology and the knowledge of experts in every country, to contain and ultimately eradicate the virus and provide the needed medical care and social support for all those impacted both physically and economically.

This, however, is impossible within the framework of capitalism, which subordinates all social needs to the enrichment of a parasitic elite and the pursuit of its predatory geopolitical interests. The capitalist framework of private ownership of the means of production and production for profit, along with the division of the world into rival nation states, stands as an absolute barrier to defense of basic rights, including the right to life.

The struggle against the pandemic is inseparable from the struggle for the expropriation and overthrow of the capitalist oligarchy by the international working class.
A 63-year-old Perry County woman died Wednesday morning when her car crossed into oncoming traffic and rammed into another vehicle head-on, according to Pennsylvania State Police.

The Shermans Dale resident was traveling north around 7:40 a.m. on the 800 block of Germany Ridge Road in Spring Township, when she drifted into the opposite lanes and struck a vehicle driven by a 60-year-old woman from Elliottsburg, state police said.

The 63-year-old died after she was flown to Holy Spirit Hospital with significant lower leg injuries, according to state police.

The Elliottsburg woman was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

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The World Socialist Website spoke with Amazon workers about the unsafe conditions at Amazon warehouses during the COVID-19 pandemic. The names of the workers have been changed in order to protect them from company retaliation.

On its website, Amazon claims that [o]ur top concern is ensuring the health and safety of our employees. But the reality is just the opposite. As the company makes money hand over fist from the pandemics boost to online retail sales, hundreds of thousands of low-wage workers labor for long hours in unsafe and, after a glut of new hires to handle the increase in sales, cramped conditions in the companys fulfillment centers, making them potential centers for the spread of the disease.

As with most other large US corporations, Amazon is concealing the spread of the virus among its workforce from public scrutiny. The most comprehensive count of infections and deaths at Amazon comes from a former Amazon worker, Jana Jumpp, who has been compiling statistics sourced from the rank and file.

Stephanie, a warehouse worker, said: They gave us a temporary two-dollar raise that ended in May which wasnt hazard pay. Instead they had given unlimited unpaid time off from March till the end of April. Then we got the two-dollar raise still till the end of May and then they took that as well. They had pretty much been trying to encourage people to come to work because of all the doomsday shopping with toilet paper and what not.

They added a safety team that yells at people but there is no action for not wearing a mask or not social distancing. And now its July. They gave us a bonus; however, it was only $500 for full-time employees and $250 for seasonal. They started hiring seasonal employees in March to help and they havent stopped since. They hire about 60 people a day just at my building, so now the entire facility is crowded.

Theres no room in any of the breakrooms for people to eat and its almost impossible to social distance when switching shifts. This is especially because theyve called mandatory overtime for the last three weeks in a row while we keep being informed of multiple COVID cases in the building.

So, everyone is now required to work 11-hour shifts or they have to use time off. Plus, the building is getting hotter and the air conditioning either doesnt work well enough or there isnt any. Half the stations dont have fans; people are claiming they cant wear masks because of the heat. And now the building is almost running shifts on top of each other because the mandatory overtime day shift comes in an hour early and the night shift leaves an hour late. And we still are getting notified of more COVID cases.

They keep warning us about heat stroke, but I feel as though a man thats about to be a trillionaire [Bezos] can afford to properly air condition his buildings and continue paying us hazard pay. A 500-dollar bonus after taxes was about 311 bucks. That doesnt help much!

There is a lot of irony in the fact that hes (Jeff Bezos) also making a bunch of money selling Trump and Blue Lives Matter merchandise, while our building runs Juneteenth info on the tv screens. And a lot of make-up products and luxury goods and such are counterfeit.

Amazon dominates the online retail space, servicing over 6 million third-party sellers with over 350 million products online. Many of the sellers are not properly vetted, and claims of fraud have sharply increased over the recent years. Amazon spent over $500 million last year launching a Counterfeit Crimes Unit, composed of former federal prosecutors, experienced investigators, and data analysts.

Stephanie also explained the mistreatment and coercive practices by management. I realized that when I went to complain that my manager was being incredibly rude, and the senior HR rep basically told me she can discipline me how she wants and that I should be grateful Im making money.

Its also seemingly not fair because they are adding required hours to our schedules, but we arent being compensated with more [paid time off] in any way. So, we are being required to work more hours, even if I didnt feel well Id have to come to work because I do not have the extra time off balance for the new extra long shift.

Jeff, an Amazon worker in Las Vegas said: Unethical, careless and negligent would be a few words I have to describe my experience and the experience of many of my coworkers here at Amazon. With 115-degree Las Vegas heat, they have no air conditioning other than what they call Swamp coolers, which are only good to spread the virus around this place! I think to myself, is this a warehouse or a modern-day sweatshop, because this place is just a huge sauna... Clearly Amazon is everything but what people make it out to be with working conditions like these!

They have a mediocre temperature checker right when you walk in, as if having a high temperature was the only symptom of COVID-19. This means that anyone can go in showing symptoms other than high temperature with no hesitation. They say 6 feet apart but sometimes not even the managers follow that rule, making others think its okay to violate that rule. The hypocrisy in my warehouse is insane.

Another thing are the masks. We were given two cotton masks every 2 months instead of a clean one each day. I find that gross and appalling due to how hygiene is not a regulation in Amazon warehouses. Rules were to wash them ourselves and hope for the best.

Both Stephanie and Jeff agree with the move by autoworkers, with the assistance of the World Socialist Web Site, to form rank-and-file safety committees.

Stephanie said Amazon has their own safety committee but they dont do anything. Theres no repercussions for breaking rules besides like cell phone use so theyre just trying to pump as much work out of as many people as possible. Most of my coworkers [agree]. People are getting quite fed up.

Jeff added, Totally agree on all of those demands! Workers have to be tested each day for it to work? You can be okay one day then, boom! You get sick from a coworker the next day and so on. And [the demand for trained medical personnel, independent of management and reporting directly to safety committees] is a big one! We are being forced to work. They should give us unlimited time off if we need it.

If youre an Amazon Worker and want to help forming a rank-and-file safety committee at your workplace, contact the WSWS International Amazon Workers Voice.
Rioters in Portland Return to Courthouse to Set Fires, Launch Fireworks

Rioters in Portland, Oregon, returned to the citys downtown area late Aug. 12 and set fires outside the federal courthouse before clashing with police.

Several hundred people gathered in Chapman Square and Lownsdale Square Park around 8:30 p.m., where they gave and listened to speeches for about two hours.

Members of the group then began launching commercial-grade fireworks at the fence that had been erected around the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse to protect it from rioters; at least two fires were ignited outside the building.

Most in the crowd were wearing helmets and gas masks, and carrying shields and batons, according to the Portland Police Bureau.

Because of the criminal behavior occurring, public address announcements were made telling the group to stop launching fireworks and starting fires at the federal courthouse, the police said in a nightly incident summary.

As officers made the announcement, rioters shined lasers at their eyes. The beams from the lasers can cause permanent eye damage.

Batons and a rock that were used by rioters to attack police officers in Portland, Ore., overnight on Aug. 12, 2020. (Portland Police Bureau)

Most of the mob advanced to the nearby Central Precinct, where they blocked traffic and continued criminal actions. At 11:32 p.m., an unlawful assembly was declared by police.

Many in the crowd ignored orders to disperse and sparked a fire just outside the police building.

Portland police officers and Oregon state troopers collaborated to disperse the crowd, using tear gas and crowd-control munitions. During the action, rioters threw a large explosive and other fireworks at the officers, as well as rocks, bottles, and cans of paint. One officer suffered severe injuries, while others were treated for minor injuries.

The rioters then turned toward the Justice Center, a county building near the federal courthouse. Rioters and officers continued to clash into the early hours of Aug. 13.

One portion of the group threatened three workers who had emerged from the back of the Justice Center, while others blocked private vehicles from leaving a parking garage around the corner because some thought the vehicles contained off-duty police officers. Some in the group also completed what they call a de-arrest, or surrounding an officer and the person he or she has taken into custody and freeing the detainee by force.

Federal officers deploy tear gas and crowd control munitions at demonstrators during a riot at the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse in Portland, Ore., on July 28, 2020. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Photo)

Two people were arrested, police said: Marissa Wilderhancock, 19, on charges of reckless burning and criminal mischief; and Daniel Applegate, 31, on charges of interfering with an officer, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and riot. Applegate had an outstanding warrant for rape, police said.

It wasnt clear if they would be prosecuted. Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt announced this week that his office would drop cases for a range of charges, including riot, disorderly conduct, and interfering with a public safety officer.

The Trump administration reached a deal with the state last month on having city, county, and state officers protect the courthouse after police failed to protect the building earlier in the month, forcing the federal government to surge assets to Portland.

Demetria Hester, a black activist who was released this week without being charged, was seen among the crowd.

Your mom hates you. You go home and you drink yourself to sleep, Hester told officers standing on the street. Because you think about the evil that you do every day. You hurt people that pay you to protect them.

You dont care about your wife. You beat her. You beat your kids, she added.
Portland, Seattle, Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York, and other major cities are experiencing a breakdown of order  violence and conflict that is a mixture of left-wing revolution, racial unrest, and old-fashioned crime. Whatever else they might have in common, all are governed by progressive Democrats, and all owe their current disorder in some part to the failure of progressive Democratic policies on the issue of public safety.

That should be an advantage for a Republican president running for reelection. What is unclear is whether President Trump can make it work for his campaign.

What has been striking to many observers of the rioting following the May 25 death of George Floyd has been the degree to which local officials allowed  and sometimes seemingly encouraged  the forces of disorder to run wild in their cities.

In early June, a crowd in St. Paul looped a rope around the neck of a statue of Christopher Columbus near the state Capitol and pulled it to the ground. Looking at a video of the event, the question is natural: Where are the police? Certainly, no one tried to stop the destruction. In the wake of Floyds death in police custody, the City Council, following the phrase popular on the Left, instead voted to defund the police.

Scenes of unrest erupted around the country. In Seattle, after several nights of violent protests, an anarchist group took over a police precinct building and then a six-block section of the city, which they renamed the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, or CHAZ. (It later became known as CHOP, for Capitol Hill Organized Protest.)

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan did nothing to stop it. Durkan said the occupation had a block party atmosphere and might turn into a summer of love. Media coverage followed her lead.

Now, emerging accounts of CHAZ/CHOP show that life in the zone was more dystopian hell than summer of love. There was violence. Looting. Property destruction. Armed men demanding protection money. Businesses disappearing, with years of work lost. The disaster lasted for 24 days until the rioters showed up at Durkans house, and the mayor finally took action to shut it all down.

But that did not stop the disorder in Seattle. On July 24, weeks after the zone was closed, the citys police chief sent a message to residents and businesses. The City Council has outlawed pepper spray and other crowd-control tools, the chief said, so police would have no ability to safely intercede to preserve property in the midst of a large violent crowd. The unspoken message from the city to its residents: Youre on your own.

The situation in Portland has become a national issue  and embarrassment. For more than 70 nights, rioters have attacked the substance and symbols of the rule of law: the U.S. courthouse in the city and various police facilities. For weeks, armed officers of the Department of Homeland Security protected the federal courthouse. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler condemned federal law enforcement and claimed repeatedly that the presence of those forces, ordered there by Trump, was responsible for the mayhem.

Then the authorities left, and the riots continued, mostly targeting city police. Wheeler recently lost his temper with the rioters, telling them, You are not demonstrating, you are attempting to commit murder. But who encouraged them in the first place? In the end, even after all the violence, the worst thing Wheeler could say was that the disorder might help to reelect Trump.

New York has not had nightly Portland-style demonstrations. But Mayor Bill de Blasios policies of slashing the police budget, weakening police crime-investigating abilities, and freeing prisoners has resulted in a horrendous crime wave that has people fleeing the city. Shootings were up 201 percent in the four-week period ended August 2, compared with the same period in 2019, the Wall Street Journal reported, while the number of shooting victims rose 165 percent, and the number of homicides climbed by 50 percent. Increases like that have not happened in decades.

Chicago has seen its already-horrendous violent crime rate spike again  murders up 55% since this time last year. And then, on Monday, hundreds of looters attacked the citys Miracle Mile shopping area, smashing windows, stealing anything they could carry, and at one point, getting into a shootout with police. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot pronounced herself shocked by the violence, although it is not clear why she would have been. Lightfoot has said she would welcome federal help to go after licensed gun dealers; other than that, she wants federal law enforcement to stay out.

Other cities with progressive leadership are discussing proposals to defund the police. They often deny that they actually want to defund the police; they simply propose to redirect police funding to other purposes, such as mental health treatment or affordable housing. But the bottom line is, as progressives discuss weakening police forces around the country, the threat of violence and disorder grows.

This is an election year. Election years are times for partisan arguments. They dont have to be nuanced. They dont have to be subtle. And one Republican message this year is: The people who are tolerating and even cheering on the forces of disorder are Democrats. What will the presumptive Democratic candidate for president, Joe Biden, do about that?

Probably not much. Do not look for Biden to have what in the 1990s was called a Sister Souljah moment  to take a stand against extremists on his own side. Instead, Biden, who has apologized for his role in the Bill Clinton-era crime bill, is trying to play both sides of the street. For example, he has said that he does not support defunding the police, but when interviewed by progressive activists who asked whether he would support redirecting funds away from police, he agrees.

Down in the polls, time running out, Trump faces a daunting reelection battle. But the failure of progressive governance to ensure public safety around the country has given him an opportunity, if he can take it.

Byron York is chief political correspondent for The Washington Examiner.

Byron York is chief political correspondent for The Washington Examiner.
(Alliance News) - Tribal Group PLC on Thursday said it showed a resilient performance over the first half of 2020 thanks to its existing contracts coupled with some short-term cost cuts.

The education software and services provider saw its pretax loss widen in the first half ended June 30 to GBP4.7 million from GBP4.3 million a year prior.

Revenue for the half was down to GBP38.2 million from GBP40.4 million the year before.

Tribal saw its biggest revenue dive in the Education Services division which decreased by 17% to GBP9.2 million, from GBP11.1 million a year prior. This was mainly due to the impact of Covid-19 on contracts in the Middle East after most activities were paused.

Tribal said that its existing contracts as well as non-software contracts have operated at planned levels. This, coupled with short-term cost saving measures, protected the company over the tough period.

The company decided to cancel the final dividend of 2019 to save cash, compared to 1.1 pence per share in 2018. It does however intend to resume its dividend payment this financial year.

Chief Executive Mark Picket said: "Overall our first half performance was better-than-expected, benefiting from significant cost mitigations which will not continue at the same level in the second half; I would also note that the account management and general project work is slowing as customers assess the impact of Covid-19.

"Despite this, the outlook for the full year is expected to be slightly ahead of current market expectations for revenue and adjusted earnings before tax, interest, depreciation and amortisation, and ahead for adjusted EBITA."

Going forward, Tribal noted that sales opportunities remain positive for the moment with increased interest from universities and colleges.

Tribal shares were up 12% at 64.00 pence each on Thursday afternoon in London.

By Greg Roxburgh; gregroxburgh@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
The allegations levelled by the late actor Sushant Singh Rajput's father against Rhea Chakraborty lacked substantiation and any basis, the actress' lawyer told the Supreme Court on Thursday.

The top court on Tuesday reserved the verdict in the Sushant Singh Rajput case and instructed all parties involved to submit their notes by Thursday.

In her final submission, Rhea, via her lawyer, stated that there was no evidence to show how she abetted the alleged suicide. She also said that she was fine with the CBI probe into Sushant's death, but opposed to the manner in which the inquiry was transferred. Rhea also called the FIR lodged against her by Sushant's father in Patna "completely illegal."

On the other hand, the Bihar government, in its submission, maintained that the FIR at Patna was legal and valid and alleged that there was non-cooperation from Maharashtra Police in the case.

The next hearing is expected to begin anytime now. The hearing will be held on Rhea Chakraborty's plea seeking transfer of the FIR, accusing her of abetting the actor's suicide, from Patna to Mumbai.

On Tuesday, a bench of Justice Hrishikesh Roy was told by senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for Bihar government, that no FIR was lodged in Mumbai yet on Sushant's death. While senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for Rhea Chakraborty, told the bench that the FIR lodged by Sushant's father against the actress had absolutely no connection with any offence in Patna.

Divan also alleged that a huge media trial was going on parallelly in the case. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Maharashtra, told the bench that he is opposing the jurisdiction of Bihar in investigating the case.

Sushant, 34, was found dead inside his apartment in suburban Bandra in Mumbai on June 14 and since then Mumbai Police has been probing the case keeping in mind various angles.
Microfluidic device prototype. Credit: The Ohio State University

Dr. Raphael Pollock has earned the reputation as one of the world's best surgical oncologists for patients facing one of the toughest cancers to treat, sarcoma. Frequently these tumors start out in the very deepest recesses of the retroperitoneum, the part of the abdomen where the kidneys, pancreas and inferior vena cava are located.

Director of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Pollock's 30 years of experience in the operating room naturally led him to ponder the steps before surgery, specifically if there were better ways to diagnose or detect sarcomas. In early 2019, he tapped into Ohio State's scientific breadth and depth to investigate a new diagnostic method based upon research he conducted while at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He reached out to Shaurya Prakash, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and an expert in microfluidics.

Currently, there are two predominant options to acquire a diagnostic biopsy of a tumor deep in the abdomen: invasive surgery under general anesthesia; or a method utilizing computed tomography (CT) scans to guide a long needle through the skin to acquire tissue from the mass. Both are expensive and take time to schedule.

"I've been interested for a while in the role of exosomes in the spread of cancers," Pollock said. Exosomes are extracellular vesicles containing constituentsprotein, DNA, and RNAof the cells that secrete them. They can affect function and behavior of other cells with which they interact. Until recently, they were regarded as merely cell waste products without much clinical research relevance.

"We learned that there are a number of things inside the exosomes that interact potentially with cells in the tumor microenvironment," he added. "Then they circulate in the bloodstream and land in other parts of the body."

So Pollock asked Prakash if there could be an efficient way of extracting these exosomes from a peripheral blood sample to obtain the contents that might be used to diagnose a tumor deep within the body. The microfluidics expert was intrigued.

"I learned that often by the time sarcomas are diagnosed, the disease state is very advanced," Prakash said. "The value of isolating these circulating biomarkers is earlier detection. Prognosis is better with earlier detection and diagnosis."

In the past, Pollock had employed ultracentrifugation to isolate exosomes from blood, but it was arduous and expensive. He and Prakash reviewed the literature and realized there might be several different engineering concepts that could be leveraged to improve the process.

Size-based filtration was first, since exosome size is quite specific. Prakash's previous water treatment research was useful in developing a microfluidic filtration system. Their second area of focus was targeting a surface marker or protein with monoclonal antibodies to attach, secure and extract the exosomes.

The duo's prototype microfluidic device integrates size-based separation followed by immunoaffinity-based capture of extracellular vesicles in one process. They also are exploring the use of electrical charge to enhance the exosome filtering.

Prakash and Pollock have submitted two manuscriptsone of which was published recently in the Journal of Microelectromechanical Systemsdemonstrating their device is more effective than ultracentrifugation in terms of time, yield, and purity.

Exploded view of microfluidic channels separated by a nanocapillary array membrane. The dotted line represents the cross-section that was utilized for SEM characterization of the device, as seen inset. Credit: The Ohio State University

The collaboration is just the latest example of an emerging partnership between the College of Engineering and The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute.

"These circulating biomarkers are a very small fraction of the overall constituency of blood," explained Prakash. "The real engineering challenge is extracting that proverbial needle from a haystack. And how do you sort that out and get the right needle."

Exploded view of microfluidic channels separated by a nanocapillary array membrane. The dotted line represents the cross-section that was utilized for SEM characterization of the device, as seen inset.

Only a portion of captured exosomes may have been connected to the tumor, so capturing as many as possible within a blood sample is critical.

Beyond the manuscripts, the research team is gearing up to submit a proposal. Coincidentally, the National Cancer Institute is now seeking proposals that focus on developing new methodologies to extract exosomes to investigate whether the cargo inside may be applicable as biomarkers for cancer.

"We're now in a position to really drill down into the engineering concepts of the device," Pollock said.

He added that while this type of device could be applied to many types of cancers, it is especially advantageous for sarcoma diagnosis.

"After a long operation to remove a confirmed tumor, it is very difficult in scans to differentiate tumor recurrence from post-surgical scarring," he explained. "But if you can detect something a tumor releases in the bloodstream, that provides you with a higher index of suspicion of what you may be seeing on a scan.

"Instead of relying on repeat scans over months to determine size increase or decrease, we can potentially identify recurrence at a very early point when the total volume of recurrence is small and more amenable to treatment. We're very excited about the potential."

Looking ahead, Prakash and Pollock want to build toward a systematic clinical trial. While there is nothing in the prototype device that cannot be used in a clinical trial, Prakash said some optimization would be required.

"It's been a total partnership," Pollock said. "None of this would have happened without the mutual interest and opportunities to communicate about possibilities."

The research team included mechanical and aerospace engineering PhD student Prashanth Mohana Sundaram, and Lucia Casadei, Gonzalo Lopez, Danielle Braggio and Gita Balakirsky from the Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Explore further Paper-based technology advances earlier cancer detection
Photo: (Photo : Instagram/dremadmamounhamza)

Last week, the devastating Beirut blast had injured thousands of people. One selfless nurse saved three babies from dying, which was caught on camera by photographer Bilal Jawich. Now, the nurse talks about how she managed to get the infants despite all the commotion.

Photojournalist Bilal Jawich captured the photo at the Saint George Hospital University Medical Center on the day that a massive explosion happened in Beirut. The photo shows nurse Pamela Zeinoun cradling three premature newborn babies.

The nurse was calm after the blast.

Jawich told TODAY Parents that dead bodies and bloody, crying people surrounded the nurse. The photographer was astonished and surprised by how calm Zeinoun was while doing her duty. He said that the nurse was not even trying to be a hero.

See also: Heroic Nurse Woke up with 3 Babies in Her Arms After Beirut Blast Knocked Her Unconscious

Zeinoun was unconscious for a while, and when she woke up, she found herself carrying the three infants in her arms. She attempted to call her mother when Jawich captured the photo. Jawich said that the phones were not working since everything was destroyed.

The nurse felt the babies were hers.

The nurse rescued the infants from their incubators as the roof collapsed on them. Zeinoun told ITV News that she felt that the babies were hers and under her protection. She said that if the babies are going to make it, they will make it with her.

See also: Volunteers Help Teen Who Has Inoperable Brain Tumor Restore Classic Car

A mom gave birth after the blast.

Emmanuel Khnaisser was preparing for her delivery at the same hospital when the blast happened. Her husband, Edmund Khnaisser, captured the scary moment. He told BBC that he was afraid that his wife or his baby was dead because everything was shattering around them.

Yesterday My son George was Born under a catostraphic blast! It was crazy! I did not believe we came out alive. My wife... Posted by Eddy Khnaisser on Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Thankfully, Emmanuel safely gave birth to her son, George. Her husband explained that his wife gave birth to the "old-style labor" way, where there is no electricity or medications. He wrote on Facebook that they greatly appreciate St. George Hospital's team because they stayed with them until they were safe.

Edmond wrote on behalf of his son thanking the staff for bringing him safely into the world. He prays for the safety of everyone, including for Lebanon as a whole.

See also: Teacher Used Own Money to Make Schooling Safe and Fun for Kids

The Beirut blast

The Beirut blast that happened on August 4 has killed more than 200 people and injured more than 6,000. Apart from that, it had left about 300,000 people homeless. Lebanon's General Security Chief, Abbas Ibrahim, said that ammonium nitrate had caused the blast in the city's port area.

The highly explosive materials were confiscated from an Africa-bound ship in 2013, said the Lebanese officials. The explosion was said to be about one-fifth of the size of the blast that happened in 1945 in Hiroshima, Japan.

Non-functional facilities

The WHO assessed the city's 55 healthcare facilities. It found that half of them were not functioning normally. Beirut's three major hospitals had to close down, and three others had reduced capacity due to the blast.
In the capital and the town of Baranovichi, southwest of Minsk, drivers attacked members of traffic police

Police in Belarus said Thursday they had detained 700 more people during a fourth day of protests over the ex-Soviet country's disputed election.

"Some 700 people have been detained for participating in illegal mass events" on Wednesday, the ministry said in a statement, bringing the total number of people detained to more than 6,700.

The ministry said it had registered fewer instances of mass unrest "although the level of aggression towards members of law enforcement remains high".

A total of 103 members of law enforcement have been injured with 28 hospitalised since Sunday, the interior ministry said.

In the capital and the town of Baranovichi, southwest of Minsk, drivers attacked members of traffic police, the ministry said.

"Members of law enforcement used arms to stop the transgressors," it said.

Rallies and clashes with riot police erupted in the authoritarian ex-Soviet country amid claims long-serving leader Alexander Lukashenko has stolen Sunday's election from his rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, 37.

Dozens have been injured in the post-election unrest and two people died.

Police have acknowledged opening fire on demonstrators and wounding one in the southwestern city of Brest on the Polish border on Tuesday night.

For the second day in a row, dozens of women joined hands in the capital on Thursday to form human chains, many wearing white and holding flowers, to denounce the violence.

A religious procession was set to take place later in the day.

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"Pre-pandemic, our worldwide aspiration was for Moulin Rouge to show leadership, to set the bar and we feel even more galvanised in that effort now.

"We're very hopeful Moulin Rouge will reinvigorate people's hearts and minds as well as the economy of Melbourne," says producer Carmen Pavlovic.

This story of life amid the Parisian Bohemians has always been about how art can flourish in, and speak to us most poignantly in adversity. And that message will arrive in elaborate, luscious, ground-breaking spectacle in July at the Regent Theatre.

The producers of the Moulin Rouge musical hope its opening next year in Melbourne will come as an invigorating, inspirational antidote: the pulsing heart of the city's cultural rebirth.

"In the context of Black Lives Matter as well, there's a reinvigorated debate between equity, diversity and inclusion which is so much the world of Moulin Rouge. We hope that our inspiration is infectious because there's a great simpatico between Moulin Rouge and Melbourne.

"I love the idea of the show spilling into the worlds of fashion, music and art so it will be embedded in the fabric of broader Melbourne  beyond theatre."

Pavlovic, who runs Global Creatures, hopes the show's financial injection  creating many jobs and drawing tourists from around the country  will be a good argument to gain government dispensation for the New York creative team to fly to Australia this year to hold final auditions. Some auditions have taken place already on Zoom but the ensemble for this show is often completely entwined so dancers need to audition in groups.

"I'd expect any creative team to observe the rules in terms of quarantine so we have to factor that into our schedules but we're confident about that side of things," she says.

"The more complicated issues on our list are how to hold COVID-19 safe partnering auditions, when we will be allowed to hold them and when we can go on sale  which requires us to have a certain understanding of what the government will require."
Huawei has released the full stack Ascend AI software at the Huawei Ascend Innovation (HAI) 2020 conference, setting a new milestone as Huawei and partners are making strides forward to bring AI to reality.

The release includes the Compute Architecture for Neural Networks (CANN) 3.0, MindStudio full-pipeline development toolchain, and MindX for Ascend application enablement.

The software portfolio covers all the way from developing basic software to deploying AI in real world.

Tony Xu, President of Huawei Ascend Computing Business, said the goal of this release is: To deliver AI computing power of the ultimate accessibility, ease of use, and performance. The value of AI can be fully unlocked only when industries can bridge the divide between AI computing and application. Implementing this goal will bring benefits to developers and startups, as well as numerous industries.

Huawei's AI computing solutions boast advantages in superior computing power, openness, ease of use, security, and low consumption. These AI solutions have been widely used in sectors including healthcare, transportation, finance, university education, scientific research, astronomical exploration, smart city, and oil exploration.

CANN 3.0

Basic architecture connects hardware and software, and is crucial to unlocking AI computing power. Huawei released CANN 1.0 at HUAWEI CONNECT 2018. CANN 3.0 signifies an upgrade to a unified heterogeneous computing architecture.

CANN 3.0 supports backward compatibility. Using CANN as the computing foundation for collaboration across devices, the edge, and the cloud, enterprises can deploy one set of code on over 10 device form factors, more than 14 operating systems, and multiple AI frameworks. This enables AI development in all scenarios. In addition to being inclusive, CANN 3.0 is simplified.

AscendCL provides unified programming interface to meet developers' requirements for custom frameworks and operators, enabling efficient development. CANN 3.0 provides two operator development modes: TBE-DSL and TBE-TIK, to deliver both efficiency and performance.

CANN 3.0 fully releases the performance of AI hardware by leveraging competitive features. These features include a high-performance algorithm library composed of over 1000 operators deeply optimised for Ascend; in-depth graph optimisation, automatic graph splitting and fusion, and intelligent optimisation of data pipelines.

Based on the highly adaptive software and hardware, Huawei Atlas hardware equipped with CANN 3.0 surpasses industry peers on mainstream inference and training models. In video scenarios, the Atlas 300I inference card, powered by Ascend chips, can process 80 channels of 1080p 25FPS HD videos concurrently, which is twice that of its industry counterparts.

MINDSTUDIO 2.0

MindStudio 2.0 is released to facilitate development from end to end, covering operator development, model training, inference, application development, and application deployment. Developers gain unprecedented ease in AI development and no longer need to perform such operations on different tools.

MindStudio supports training and inference scenarios. It provides an Ascend training acceleration tool, which uses a unique Less BN algorithm to intelligently identify unnecessary BN operators in the network, and a random freezing algorithm, to greatly improve the model training efficiency. For inference scenarios, the Ascend model compression tool uses unique intelligent algorithms to accelerate the inference process.

MINDX

Regarding AI computing, in addition to performance, Huawei attaches as much importance to its ease of use. At HAI 2020, Huawei released MindX 1.0, which features 2+1+X to accelerate the convergence of AI and industries. 2 indicates the MindX DL deep learning platform and MindX Edge intelligent edge platform; 1 indicates the ModelZoo pre-trained model library; X indicates the software development kits (SDKs) for various industries.

MindX DL focuses on unified management and scheduling of data center devices and computing resources, enabling partners to quickly develop deep learning systems. James Pei, President of 4Paradigm, a leading AI startup, shared how 4Paradigm and Huawei build a full-stack AI appliance.

The advantage of MindX Edge is that it can deploy edge-cloud collaborative inference services on various devices at one click. The platform requires only a memory overhead of 256 MB and a CPU usage of 3%.

ModelZoo is classified by scenarios and frameworks. It is the core driving force for the two deep learning platforms: MindX DL and MindX Edge. Currently, Huawei has provided more than 20 high-performance models in ModelZoo. The number is expected to exceed 50 in the second half of this year.

Huawei Ascend takes one step further to enable AI applications across industries by providing industry SDKs that are based on Huawei's basic algorithms and expertise in AI. Currently, Huawei has deployed an Atlas-powered smart manufacturing solution in the Songshan Lake Production Centre. AI is applied to detect label defects and missing screws within seconds. This solution improves inspection accuracy from 90% (using traditional machine vision) to 99.9%, and improves efficiency by 3 times, realising the smart manufacturing of Atlas by Atlas.

"AI has been applied on a large scale to workstations, production lines, and workshops in Huawei's factories," according to Dr Wu Jiayun, Head of Vision Lab in Huawei's Industrial Automation Lab. More than 80 production lines in Huawei factories have applied AI for producing servers, 5G products, and terminals. The experience accumulated in the large-scale application will also be packed into the SDKs for the manufacturing industry. It is expected that the SDK combining vision technology with the manufacturing industry will be officially launched in October this year.

In addition, more and more partners are using Huawei Atlas to empower digital transformation of industries. The instant translator system iFLYREC, provided by iFLYTEK, translates for HAI 2020 online, is based on the Atlas AI solution.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) also has a use case. According to Chen Jianjun, Senior Manager of ICBC's Big Data and AI Lab, ICBC has launched a Smart Brain based on Atlas hardware and basic software platform to provide high-dimensional, low-latency, large-scale, and high-density computing for the financial industry.

Huawei always prefers to provide the ultimate simplicity to customers and partners, and take care of the complex part itself. According to Tony Xu, Huawei's full-stack Ascend AI software helps maximise the performance of AI hardware and lower the entry barriers to AI application.

Ascend serves as the platform for AI infrastructure and also the enabler of AI for industries. Huawei is working with ecosystem partners to build a vibrant Ascend computing ecosystem and together ascend to pervasive intelligence. -- Tradearabia News Service
Khawaja Holdings, a multinational holding company, is expanding into Japan as part of their 2020 multi-national expansion plan.

Khawaja Holdings has committed itself to global expansion to promote the growth of businesses all over the world. With a strong commitment to excellence, they provide businesses with the tools and assistance they need to fulfill their vision.

With a GDP of about $4.97 trillion, Japan ranks 3rd in the world with a population of almost 126 million. CEO Ahmad Khawaja is leading Khawaja Holdings in the rollout of a global expansion plan and they have set sights on Japan.

"With our existing relationships in Japan, we must begin our expansion. There is so much opportunity there for Khawaja Holdings to help companies grow and provide better products, solutions, and quality of life for the Japanese population," said CEO Ahmad Khawaja.

He added, "We will begin by opening a main Japanese headquarters; however, most of our staff will work remotely to ensure health and quality of life. We believe in this day and age we can function at full capacity even with a predominantly remote staff. Our company is based on a foundation of trust and success."

Khawaja Holdings has already announced expansion into several countries this year, and they show no signs of slowing down even through the Coronavirus pandemic.

CEO Ahmad Khawaja said that, as [Khawaja Holdings] expands, they maintain best practices for safety and health and continually update and innovate their processes to protect their team and their partners.

They plan to open the doors to a new Japanese office this year.

About Khawaja Holdings:

Khawaja Holdings is a multinational holding company with operations and plans for expansion in nearly every continent. We enable businesses and economies to thrive, allowing entrepreneurs and innovative companies to reach their full potential. Visit www.khawajaholdings.com/.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200813005069/en/

Contacts:

Arjun Annand

E-mail: support@khawajaholdings.com
Cape Town, South Africa (PANA)  The Johannesburg Society of Advocates (JSA), a body of lawyers, has expressed its disapproval of the Zimbabwean Governments clampdown on public dissent over the past couple of months, accusing it of taking advantage of lockdown regulations
The annual event is organised to discuss solutions to address difficulties regarding economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

Since the organisation of the 8th meeting in December 2019, a number of issues have been handled including Chinas admission of Vietnamese dairy products for export to China, Chinas restoration of exporter status to three Vietnamese companies to export fishmeal to China, and Chinas recognition of the Dong Dang-Pingxiang railway to be eligible to be used to export fruit to the Chinese market.

Notably, Vietnam-China trade revenues were maintained and indeed expanded in the early months of 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Director of the Asian and African Markets Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Le Hoang Oanh, suggested the two sides extend clearance times and restore import and export activities of goods at Vietnam-China border markets and gates.

She also suggested market opening for Vietnamese agricultural products and the establishment of a Vietnam Trade Promotion Office in Chengdu city in Sichuan province as well as boosting trade promotion and business transactions on online platforms.

The Ministry of Commerce of China said it would coordinate with the relevant ministries, branches and localities in China to study and implement Vietnam's recommendations while promptly resolving existing issues in bilateral trade relations.

The Chinese side also proposed several issues related to bilateral trade cooperation including Vietnams support for Chinese experts and investors to enter Vietnam, the acceleration of the handover progress of the Cat Linh  Ha Dong urban railway project, and others.

Trade revenue between Vietnam and China reached US$65.17 billion in the first seven months of 2020, up 4.79% over the same period in 2019.

China continues to be the largest trade partner of Vietnam and Vietnam has become the seventh largest trading partner of China.
The authorities in Burkina Faso last Tuesday opened the spill gates of the Bagre dam.

The waters are expected to reach communities in areas downstream of the White Volta in the Savannah, Northern and Upper West regions in about a weeks time.



As the spillage happened, residents of three regions of northern Ghana braced themselves for the annual ritual of flooding even as the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) intensified measures to save lives and properties.



Simulation exercise



Speaking to the Daily Graphic yesterday on phone from Savelugu in the Northern Region, where a simulation exercise took place on the Lipga Dam, the Director-General of NADMO, Mr Eric Nana Agyemang Prempeh, said :  Yesterday, I joined regional directors, district directors and their deputies as well as other selected staff of NADMO from the Search and Rescue Team in the Savannah , Northern and Upper West regions for a Watermanship and Tree Cutting Simulation exercise".



Latest updates



Nana Agyemang Prempeh said the latest updates dated August 11, 2020, which his outfit received from Sonabel, the Agency responsible for the management of the Bagre and Kompienga dams, indicated that the volumes of spilled water could be heavy.



The upstream level as of Tuesday August 11, 2020 is 234.97 metres. The rate of filling is 99.60 per cent compared to 62.44 per cent on the same date in 2019.



The spill gates have been opened. The average discharge/flow for August 10 was 76.50m3/sec. For Kompienga dam, the upstream level of Monday August 10, 2020 is 172.54 metres. The rate of filling is 39.26 per cent compared to 28.76 per cent on the same date in 2019, he quoted from the updates.



Operation Thunderbolt



The NADMO Director-General said under an exercise known as OperationThunderbolt 2020, staff of the organisation were being trained and prepared for the task ahead.



Last week, NADMO issued a flood alert in communities downstream the White Volta in the three regions and urged the residents to move to higher grounds and safe havens.



Curbing the flooding



Over the years, the spillage of the dam had led to destruction to farmlands in several local communities.



The government had indicated that the construction of a Pwalugu Dam in the Upper East Region would help check the perennial spillage of the Bagre dam.









Source: graphiconline.com









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SAN DIEGO  Last month, I learned that my uncle died of Covid-19. Not long after, his mother passed away from the virus, too. Since my parents are essential workers, Im starting my senior year of high school worrying whether theyre next.

I live in one of San Diegos most infected ZIP codes. And Im a Latino in a county where Hispanics  43 percent of Covid-19 victims yet only 34 percent of the population  bear the brunt of the pandemic.

When schools went remote earlier this year, low-income students like me, who have limited access to computers and the internet, faced challenges keeping up with schoolwork. Trying to study in cramped quarters and without reliable connectivity was frustrating. But as schools begin this fall, Id much rather endure the troubles of distance learning than return to campus prematurely and sacrifice my own health or that of my family.

Throughout the pandemic, my five-member family has been huddled in a 920-square-foot, two-bedroom apartment, where I share a room with my two brothers. For my parents, social distancing isnt an option. My father is a supervisor at a car distribution company, and my mother, in remission from cancer, recently resigned as a caregiver at a hospice facility. Cases in our county were rising, so she opted instead to take care of my autistic cousin through a respite care program. Its not much, but in my mothers words, the extra money will allow us to salir adelante, or get ahead.
Teaching for All, an initiative focused on promoting inclusive education in South Africa through material and teacher development, hosted a digital conference on the topic of inclusive education in South Africa.

Building blocks to inclusive education

Embracing the premise that all children have the ability to learn and have the right to a quality education, and every child matters and matters equally, the projects mandate is to highlight the need for inclusive education and emphasise its importance in determining the future success of learners and the education sector as a whole in South Africa.Hosted by Maps Maponyane and streamed on the British Councils Sub-Saharan African YouTube channel and Zoom to over 1000 combined participants across both platforms, the aim of the conference was to engage with the next generation of school teachers on inclusive education issues and advocate for inclusive education by discussing the roles, responsibilities, opportunities and challenges that teachers currently face, especially when it comes to remote teaching.Bernard Rey, Head of Cooperation at the European Union in South Africa, the project funders, gave a congratulatory message. Good teachers are true game changers for quality and equitable education, he said.From the EUs investment in this project, we are satisfied with what it has been achieved, and that the Teaching for All project has developed research and material to concretely support South African universities in equipping passionate teachers with the readiness to support any child, irrespective of challenges.Joanne Newton, programme manager at Teaching for All, said the webinar provided an opportunity to mark the projects successes over the past four years, as well as allow participating university students to share their insights on inclusive education in South Africa.We see teachers as key change agents, playing a pivotal role in transforming South Africas education system into one that is inclusive, equitable and quality-driven. Learners face several challenges such as the language of instruction, socio-economic circumstances, and learning or cognitive differences. We feel that the education system must be one that recognises and responds effectively to learner diversity, provides dignity and ensures better outcomes for all learners, particularly the marginalised, she added.Keynote speaker and former chair and current Professor of Inclusive Education at the University of South Africa (UNISA), Professor Nareadi Phasha, said that the movement towards inclusive education in schools is gaining momentum worldwide and that she has no doubt that inclusivity will characterise schools in the coming decades.Inclusive education is socially justified as it promotes respect and dignity. Instilling this in schools will be an effective means of combating discriminatory attitudes and creating welcoming communities, building inclusive societies and achieving quality education. Further, the movement goes beyond physical access and includes access to educational materials, she added.Phasha said the provision of access to quality education is expected to break the cycle of many problems, including poverty and mortality rates, as well as reducing the rate of HIV infection. While much attention has been placed on physical access to schools, active engagement and participation in the classroom has been negated. This is often the case with a child that lacks resources, has a low literacy rate or does not understand the work being taught due to a language barrier. This, in turn, can be exacerbated by factors such as teenage pregnancy and gender-based violence, which often lead to an increase in learner absenteeism.Phasha highlighted three aspects of African traditional culture that are fundamental to inclusive education. They include humanness - being treated as equal and with dignity, irrespective of attributes; interdependence - being an integral part of a society and community; and communalism - which implies that the community is more important than the individual. The latter suggests that the responsibility of educating children should not be shifted onto one person such as the teacher, but should be the collective effort of many carers  in alignment with the African proverb that it takes a village to raise a child.When asked about the greatest challenges for inclusive education in South Africa, webinar participants agreed that the lack of resources, as well as attitudes, are amongst the major issues that need to be addressed.The event concluded with a panel discussion amongst learners currently studying education at their respective tertiary institutions. They all agreed that there is a need to acknowledge and accept diversity in the classroom, and thus promote inclusivity.Various obstacles to promoting inclusive education were highlighted, such as a lack of technology and data to enable remote teaching, especially in the current state of lockdown, and introverted learners being unable to approach the teachers for help.With the Covid-19 pandemic compelling educators to change their way of teaching, participants explored whether South Africas education authorities should place greater emphasis on home learning alternatives in the future.University of Fort Hare student, Portia Lerato Jafter, said while the idea may seem plausible, it comes with its own challenges. For a number of children, particularly in rural areas, this may not be possible due to a lack of resources such as technologies to enable online learning, as well as the fact that they may require input and guidance from elders in the household, which they may not have access to.Tshwane University of Technology student, Gift Tshepo Mogobane, said that the burden of ensuring adequate resources to drive effective inclusive education while engaging in home learning should not only be the responsibility of the teacher, but a cooperative effort by everyone in the community to ensure that learners are guided to reach their full learning potential.Ultimately, it was agreed that success depends on the attitudes of inclusivity and the drive for teachers to ensure their students are included. And while there are still a number of obstacles and challenges that the education system will be faced with, Teaching for All is taking a step in the right direction of addressing one of the most pressing topics in ensuring quality education for all  inclusivity over anything else.By the end of 2020, the Teaching for All module will be in place at Unisa and will reach more than 50% of graduating teachers. In addition, it will be integrated at 15 universities across the country and translated in five languages, as well as braille. In-service training is currently being undertaken in six provinces.
The second Kisan Rail left Bihar's Barauni for Jharkhand's Tatanagar with milk tankers on Thursday, six days after the ran the country's first such train with fruits and vegetables from Maharashtra to Bihar.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced this initiative in her Budget speech earlier this year, envisaging setting up of a "Kisan Rail" through the public-private-partnership (PPP) mode for a cold supply chain to transport perishable goods.

This train will supply milk to Bokaro Steel City, Hatia and Tatanagar. It consists of four tankers of milk -- one each for Bokaro Steel City and Hatia, while two others are for Tatanagar.

This train between Barauni and Tatanagar will operate every alternate day.

The first such train was operated on August 7 between Devlali in Maharashtra and Danapur in Bihar.

"The Kisan Rail will provide a good market to the farmers for their produce. Aggressive marketing is being done by the Central Railway in coordination with local farmers, businessmen and the APMC to ensure farmers get maximum benefit," the said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Manipur government has asked teachers of all state-run colleges and employees of the higher education department to take necessary approvals from competent authorities before expressing any opinion on government policies or programmes in the media.

In a memorandum issued recently, Director of University and Higher Education K Diana Devi said non- compliance of the order might lead to disciplinary action.

Some government college teachers have been writing or expressing their views on government policies and programmes in the media which is likely to promote defiance of authority, Devi said in the statement issued on August 10.

She also said that due approval from the competent authority should be taken before publishing or making statement regarding any government policy or programme in the media, failing which appropriate action may be initiated against them as per the relevant provisions of Central Civil Service (Classification, Control and Appeal Rules, 1965).

Several members of the Federation of Government College Teachers Association (FEGOCTA) and All Manipur College Teacher Association (AMCTA) had been criticising the state government for its failure to implement the recommendations of the seventh pay commission.

Many of them have also aired their views on the issue on news channels and social media.

Devi, in her statement, stipulated that no government servant shall in the media publish any document in his own name or anonymously or make statements in the name of other person which has the effect of adverse criticism of any current or recent policy or action of the central/state government and which too is capable of embarrassing the relation between the Centre and government of any state.

N Somorendro, the general secretary of FEGOCTA, said the agitation over pay scale, which was suspended following the COVID-19 outbreak, was resumed by its members, as the government did not pay heed to their repeated requests.

He also said that government college teachers will not take part in any academic activity if the state does not fulfil their demand.
Four people were charged with rioting after windows were broken and property was defaced in several neighborhoods late Tuesday and early Wednesday in Richmond, causing the shutdown of the John Marshall courthouse downtown.

Mayor Levar Stoney and Commonwealths Attorney Colette McEachin both noted that all of Wednesdays court cases were delayed at the John Marshall Courts Building, including a sentencing hearing for a man convicted of the second-degree murder of Markiya Dickson, the 9-year-old killed while playing in Carter Jones Park last year.

We cant go about bringing justice to her because of your selfishness, Stoney said at a regularly scheduled coronavirus news conference Wednesday afternoon, referring to those responsible for breaking 22 windows at the courts building.

Damage from overnight could cost Richmond hundreds of thousands of dollars from city coffers, Stoney said.

These dollars that could be going to help lives here in the city of Richmond are now going to fixing windows, he said. So it is in conflict with what these people say they are standing for.

He added: It will not be tolerated and you will be charged with all applicable charges.
An exhibition featuring photographs, art and memorabilia depicting the history, life and times of the community of Threecastles will open to the public from this weekend.

Threecastles Hall Committee is holding the exhibition, entitled Reconnecting with the past  Building a legacy for the Future, in conjunction with National Heritage Week. Minister of State with responsibility for Heritage Malcolm Noonan visited Threecastles to officially launch the exhibition on Saturday.

The exhibition shows life and various events in the hall and community, both then and now. It includes photographs, the history of the hall and some stories that will take you back in time.

The hall was built by the Macra na Feirme committee in 1951. All the building was done by the local community, many of whom were tradesmen and farmers. These men gave their time willingly.

Although the hall was set up by the local Macra committee it was also used by the local ploughing committee, Threecastles GAA Club and The Ladies Club. These were all very active committees for years. Photographs from this time will be on display.

In recent years the hall was handed over to the community and is run by a voluntary committee. It is still used by the farming community and the GAA Club for meetings. In non-Covid times, it hosts a bridge club, art classes and yoga or pilates classes.

One huge advantage of any local community hall is being able to provide a venue for refreshments after a funeral. And Threecastles Hall is no different. For any family who is bereaved having a facility like this is such a relief in what are very difficult times.

As with all venues, money is needed to run it. Back in the 50s, 60s, 70s and into the 80s, the Macra committee ran discos on a regular basis which generated a very good income. These were hugely popular and Threecastles Macra Hall discos were very popular bringing people from far and wide. Many romances started, and continued, at these events. Maybe some of the people in Kilkenny met their significant other at the Hall. The present committee would love to hear from you if you were one of those couples!

The exhibition will include some of the stories from those days. There will also be a slideshow of photographs running continuously on screen throughout the week. The Art exhibition titled Custodians features farms and farmers in the locality and has been created by local artist Rachel Burke. The engagement project was funded by Kilkenny County Council and Creative Ireland.

The exhibition starts on Saturday, and runs for nine days until August 23 from 11am until 4pm, with extended opening hours on Wednesday, August 19, until 8pm to facilitate people who are working. Refreshments will be served both Saturdays and Sundays. Full compliance with the Covid-19 restrictions will be implemented but will not impede the satisfaction you will get from visiting.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 04:39:36|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations and partners continue to conduct needs assessments and deliver emergency assistance to people most in need in Lebanon following last week's massive Beirut explosion, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Wednesday.

The World Food Programme has prepared 150,000 food parcels for distribution to families affected by the economic crisis and COVID-19 lockdown measures. In addition, it will scale up its cash assistance program in Lebanon tenfold to reach 1 million people, including residents directly affected by the blast, said OCHA.

The UN Refugee Agency has distributed hot meals for 30,000 people, along with food kits for 700 people. Nonfood items and hygiene kits have also been provided, it said.

Partners of the UN Population Fund have distributed dignity kits to an estimated 2,000 adolescent girls and women. Forty front-line social workers have been trained to provide psychosocial support to women affected by the Beirut blast.

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is supporting 720 children and adults with psychosocial support through face-to-face sessions, phone calls, and door-to-door visits to families, said OCHA.

UNICEF assessments indicate that 20 public technical and vocational education and training schools that cater to about 8,000 adolescents and young persons have been damaged. This is in addition to initial assessments by Lebanese education authorities that have identified 120 damaged public and private schools.

To make things worse, Lebanon has entered the community transmission phase of COVID-19, with 1,200 cases under investigation. This is particularly concerning for the thousands of youths and volunteers supporting cleaning and rehabilitation services, said OCHA. Enditem
Luxury fashion brands namely Giorgio Armani, Fendi, Prada and Versace are all returning to the runway in September, according to the Milan Fashion Week SS 21 calendar.

After the coronavirus pandemic pushed many fashion houses to go digital and make online-only presentations in July, more than half of participating Milan fashion houses are making plans to present in-person previews for Spring-Summer 2021.

Due to ongoing Covid-19 precautions, including social distancing, mandatory mask requirements, as well as some travel restrictions, fashion houses have indicated that seating will be more limited than usual at next months shows.

In this Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019 file photo, models wear creations as part of the Fendi Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)

Italy was the first country outside of Asia to report locally transmitted coronavirus cases, which appeared during the February runway shows in the Lombardy region that includes Milan. Closing the week that saw the fashion crowd packed as usual into to tight venues, Giorgio Armani took his collection online, with models parading the collection in an empty theatre as the show streamed live around the globe.

Many brands followed suit for this summers menswear presentations too. Dolce&Gabbana and Etro were the only Milan designers to invite guests to physical shows. But fashion industry officials acknowledged that digital proved a poor substitute to the actual fashion show.

In this Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020 file photo, Miuccia Prada acknowledges the applauses at the end of her Prada women's Fall-Winter 2020-2021 fashion show, that was presented in Milan, Italy. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)

Luxury fashion is adapting to the Covid-19 pandemic by shifting runway shows onto digital platforms. The only other option would have been to cancel the fashion season altogether, a tough choice for an industry that in Italy alone is expected to suffer a 20%-30% drop in revenues this year, from 67 billion euros ($76 billion) as compared to last year. So the focus now is to stanch losses and maintain ties with consumers, and a spotlight on digital displays given the necessity to maintain social distance, according to a previous report by the Associated Press.

In all, 28 fashion houses plan to stage live shows and another 24 will participate in the Sept. 23-28 Milan Fashion Week through digital shows.

In this Saturday, Jan.11, 2019 file photo, designer Giorgio Armani, center, accepts applause at the conclusion of the Emporio Armani men's Fall-Winter 2020/21 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)

Dolce&Gabbana, Salvatore Ferragamo, Max Mara and Marni will also be present physically, along with other brands like No. 21, Sunnei, Drome and MSGM. Missoni, DSquared2 and GCDS are among those opting for a digital presence.

Gucci announced that it would seek its own fashion rhythms outside of established calendars, and such Milan stalwarts as Jil Sander and Bottega Veneta.

-- with inputs from Associated Press
"We are in close contact with the Russian health authorities and discussions are underway regarding a possible pre-qualification of the vaccine by WHO," WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said at a virtual press briefing on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

Geneva, Aug 12 (IANS) The World Health Organization (WHO) is in close contact with Russia regarding a possible pre-qualification of the world's first COVID-19 vaccine, a WHO spokesman said.

"The pre-qualification of any vaccine involves rigorous review and evaluation of all the data required for safety and efficacy" in clinical trials, said Jasarevic, adding that at the WHO level, this process would be the same for any vaccine candidate.

"Each country has national regulatory bodies that approve the use of vaccines or drugs in its territory," he said. "Manufacturers are asking for WHO pre-qualification because it is a kind of seal of quality."

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that his country has registered the world's first vaccine against the novel coronavirus.

Putin said he hoped that the mass production of the vaccine registered in Russia should begin in the near future, and vaccination will be available to everyone in the country voluntarily.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said that she expected the production of the vaccine to start at the end of August or the beginning of September and health workers will be the first to be vaccinated.

--IANS

rt/
Artillerymen assigned to a brigade under the PLA 77th Group Army operate vehicle-mounted howitzers to fire 122 shells at simulated targets during a live-fire operation in plateau area at the elevation of 4,500 meters in late July, 2020. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Guo Peng)

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) recently held live-fire drills in a high-elevation region in the Himalayas, where some of the PLA's latest weapons, including a new 122-millimeter caliber wheeled howitzer and the vehicle-mounted version of the HJ-10 anti-tank missile system, made their first public appearances.

Compared with their heavier counterparts, these two new weapons are characterized by high mobility, which will come in handy - particularly in plateau regions, analysts said on Tuesday.

A combined arms brigade attached to the PLA Tibet Military Command recently conducted a series of live-fire artillery exercises in the middle section of the Himalayas, which has an elevation of about 4,600 meters, China Central Television reported on Tuesday.

The drills featured anti-aircraft shooting and precision artillery strikes on hostile headquarters, missile installations and communication hubs using long-range rocket launcher systems. This was followed by live-fire coverage of hostile positions, bunkers and camps with howitzers, according to the report.

In addition to the new camouflage the soldiers wore, military observers also noticed the public debut of two new weapons: a 122-millimeter caliber wheeled howitzer and the vehicle-mounted version of the HJ-10 anti-tank missile system.

Graphics: GT

The new howitzer, the designation of which is not revealed in the report, looks very similar to and uses similar technologies as the PCL-181 155-millimeter caliber wheeled howitzer, which made its public debut at China's National Day military parade in 2019. However, this version has a shorter barrel and four wheels instead of the PCL-181's six wheels, Shanghai-based news website eastday.com reported on Tuesday.

This means the new 122-millimeter caliber wheeled howitzer can shoot in all directions and can be deployed rapidly, a significant advantage over its 122- millimeter caliber predecessor, the PCL-09, the report said.

Beijing-based military expert Wei Dongxu told the Global Times on Tuesday that compared with the 155-millimeter caliber PCL-181, the new 122-millimeter caliber howitzer is more mobile and better-suited for air transport via tactical cargo planes like the Y-9.

At the cost of range and firepower, the new howitzer's smaller and lighter ammunition is easier to transport and reload, Wei said.

Another newly revealed weapon is the vehicle-mounted version of the HJ-10 anti-tank missile system. Compared with the original version that uses tracks and is loaded with four missiles, this new version uses four wheels and is loaded with two missiles, eastday.com reported.

Wei said this configuration can greatly reduce its weight, making the system more mobile and easier to maintain.

The HJ-10 can not only destroy armored ground targets within 10 kilometers, but it can also attack small water surface targets and low-speed aircraft like helicopters, reports said.

In plateau warfare, wheeled vehicles can often enjoy an advantage over vehicles that use tracks, which are heavy and are affected by lower levels of oxygen, analysts said.
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has felicitated with renowned politician, businessman and elder statesman, Senator Patrick Osakwe, on his 72nd birthday.

the governor in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Olisa Ifeajika, in Asaba, commended Osakwe, his predecessor in the Senate, for his contributions to the growth and development of the state, particularly, Delta North Senatorial District which he represented for 12 years in the Red Chamber of the National Assembly.

governor Okowa acknowledged that Senator Osakwe remains a true patriot and great party man whose unflinching commitment to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State and Nigeria is extraordinary.

Okowa added that the elder statesmans untiring efforts as a political leader and bridge-builder would remain a reference point for contemporary political discourse.

He recalled Osakwes contributions as a three-time Senator, who served in the Senate Committees of Gas, Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, Appropriation, Niger Delta and Senate Services where he influenced the construction of several strategic link roads in Ndokwa and beyond.

As a worthy party leader and elder statesman, you have remained a respectable voice, bridge-builder and we thank you for your consistency and loyalty to the PDP.

Your commitment to the growth and development of our party, Delta and Nigeria is laudable and worthy of appreciation.

On behalf of my family, the government and people of Delta, I heartily rejoice with a great leader and elder statesman, a reputable and reliable political leader, Senator Patrick Enebeli Osakwe, on the occasion of his 72nd birth anniversary.

It is with immense pleasure and gratitude to God that I join your family, political associates and other well-wishers in thanking God for blessing you with the strength and wisdom to live a fulfilling life of service and commitment to the well-being of our people.

It is our prayer that God will continue to protect you and grant you good health to render more services to mankind, Governor Okowa declared.
Jimmy Lai had just finished his morning exercise and was catching up on the news when the police arrived.

There were 15, 20 policemen there, and they said I was under arrest and that they were from the national security department, the media tycoon recounted in a live-streamed video chat Thursday.

His arrest Monday morning at his home was the highest-profile detention under a new national security law that took effect in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory on June 30. He has not been charged but was held for 36 hours on suspicion of colluding with a foreign country or entity. He was released on bail.

Lai, 71, said he was worried he could be sent to the mainland, where the legal system has fewer protections. His fears were allayed when he realised that the officers were not speaking in Mandarin, the mainland Chinese language.

I kind of settled down a little bit because I knew that I wouldn't be sent to at least, he said.

The national security law says that certain cases can come under the jurisdiction of mainland Chinese and officials say most cases will be handled locally.

In the hours after his arrest, Lai was taken to his office and his personal yacht as police searched for evidence. He was also shifted between several police stations, as there was an electricity blackout in one, while in another the fingerprint machine was not working.

A lot of the time I was sitting there waiting, he said, adding it was the first time he had spent so much time in handcuffs as police took him from place to place.

The headquarters of his Next Digital media group, which operates the pro-democracy Apple Daily tabloid, was raided by hundreds of officers after his arrest, stoking fears that press freedom would be curtailed.

has long enjoyed freedoms not found on the mainland under a one country, two systems framework.

Lai expressed surprise that his arrest came so quickly, saying that he thought authorities would keep a low profile because of the strong condemnation of the law by some in the community.

He has been a harsh critic of the new law and China's ruling Communist Party.

If I knew that I will end up here or eventually in prison, would I have changed myself in other way? I thought about it, and I said no, because this is my character, he said. This is the way I react to things.

My character is my destiny. Following Lai's arrest on Monday, investors rushed to buy Next Digital stock in a show of support. The stock surged more than 1,100% to 1.61 Hong Kong dollars before settling around 0.38 Hong Kong dollars on Thursday. That's still nearly five times higher than before Lai's arrest.

He urged people not to engage in a buying spree of Next Digital shares.

I advise nobody to touch it, he said. Because this is just a very ephemeral phenomenon that's not going to last.

(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.)
SPRINGFIELD  City councilors opposed to plans for a biomass plant on Page Boulevard have urged the state Legislature to eliminate a clause in a climate bill they claim is favorable to the project.

Ten councilors led by Councilor at Large Jesse Lederman signed a letter to the chairs of the state conference committee considering the climate bill, Sen. Michael Barrett, D-Lexington, and Rep. Thomas Golden, D-Lowell.

A House version of the bill (H.4993) would grant state subsidies to biomass projects by classifying them as non-emitting sources, Lederman said.

Commercial biomass incinerators are not renewable energy, period, full stop, Lederman said in a press release on Thursday.

The council letter states that the House bills reference to biomass as a non-emitting source is of great concern to us especially as the only proposed commercial wood-burning power incinerator in the Commonwealth is proposed to be constructed right here in our city.

Palmer Renewable Energy has a building permit and state and court approvals to construct a 35-megawatt biomass project at 1000 Page Blvd., at the intersection with Cadwell Drive in East Springfield. The plant would convert wood to energy.

Building Commissioner Steven Desilets has said the building permit, issued 12 years ago, remains valid.

Councilors and many residents have raised concerns that the plant would worsen air pollution and be a threat to public health. The developers have said a state-of-the-art facility is planned that would pose no harm to public health.

Lederman said a separate Senate version of the climate bill does not list biomass as a non-emitting source.

The language in the House bill contradicts definitions in the Massachusetts Clean Energy Standard for emitting and non-emitting sources, and would promote the sale of biomass energy that does not meet the standards of the Massachusetts Renewable Portfolio Standard, the council letter said.

Lederman is chairman of the councils Sustainability and Environment Committee. Other councilors signing the letter were Justin Hurst, Adam Gomez, Tracye Whitfield, Michael Fenton, Melvin Edwards, Marcus Williams, Victor Davila, Timothy Allen and Orlando Ramos.

Palmer Renewable Energy and local state representatives were not immediately available for comment on the councilors letter.
If youre one of those people who hates it when a stranger shows up uninvited at your home, the coronavirus pandemic has had one upside: keeping you away from door-to-door salespeople, petition-gatherers and religious proselytizers. The chance of getting COVID-19 discourages such outreach, partly because it makes residents even less eager to interact with random visitors.

So these days, its less likely than before that your serenity will be disturbed by the barking of your dog.

But if you want to keep annoying intruders off your lawn and porch, heres some advice: Fill out your census form ASAP. Otherwise, you can expect a personal visit from someone dispatched by the federal government to find out whos living in your home. And it may come at a cliffhanger moment during your favorite Netflix series.

The Census Bureau mailed reminder cards in July, and dont think you can get away with tossing them. Starting Monday, its workers started heading out, wearing personal protective equipment, to locate the laggards. They will keep at it until the Oct. 31 census deadline. Now is your last chance to head them off.

There are other good reasons to fill out your census questionnaire. A full count of the people in Illinois is especially important at a time when we are losing population. Its population that determines our representation in Congress, as well as our allocation of federal dollars.

If everyone does their duty, theres less chance of losing a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, which would reduce our influence in Congress. Theres more of a chance well get back our fair share of the taxes we send to Washington  money needed for highways, Medicaid, mass transit, soil conservation, disabled veterans outreach and dozens of other purposes.

You know those scary fiscal problems the state of Illinois has? Forfeiting federal aid because of a census undercount would only make them worse.

But we are in danger of losing out, because many people arent submitting their census forms.

The Trump administration has hindered full participation with its clumsy shenanigans. First, the Commerce Department insisted on including a question about citizenship on the census forms, a ploy that seemed designed to discourage responses from non-citizens and Latinos. The U.S. Supreme Court shot that down last year, concluding that Secretary Wilbur Ross stated reason for the question  that it would help with enforcement of the Voting Rights Act  was fraudulent.

Then, in July, President Donald Trump ordered that people living in the country illegally not be counted for the apportionment of congressional districts.

This appeared to be another lame gambit to deter some people from participating.

But people should filter out all the political theatrics, fill out their census forms and send them in.

 Chicago Tribune
Professional Realty Services International Administrative Team

INC. Magazine ranked Professional Realty Services International as one of the Fastest Growing Private Companies In America for the 5th time on its 39th annual INC. 500 (and subsequently the INC. 5000), the most prestigious ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies. The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies in the American economys most dynamic segmentindependent businesses. Companies such as Microsoft, Dell, Dominos Pizza, Pandora, Timberland, LinkedIn, Yelp, Zillow, and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees of the INC. 500/5000.

"For Professional Realty Services to be recognized as part of INC. Magazine's Fastest-Growing Companies in America for the 5th time is an amazing honor, but it's just the beginning." said JW Webb, Professional Realty Services International's Founder and CEO. "Over the last 10 years, the average real estate agent in America paid their Brokerage $185,000 to $235,000 on a 70/30 split. Real estate professionals should be able to enjoy all of the tools and technologies they need to succeed, and they should be able to expect world class service, support and free education, without getting gouged with disproportionate commission splits."

"We call the real estate professionals in our organization Partners ... for a reason. It's a completely different mindset."

"I am humbled to say that we are 1,000 Agent Partners strong. Tomorrow, who knows. But I do know that I will never stop. And no matter what other Brokers who don't know me have to say, I will never, ever, ever quit. It is an honor to serve our Agent Partners!"

This honor from INC. Magazine shows that Professional Realty Services is emerging as a leader in the real estate industry.

About Professional Realty Services International:

Founded in Spokane, Washington in 2005, Professional Realty Services has an agent-centric company culture that views its agents as Business Partners and empowers them to build their business on their own terms by providing extremely competitive commission structures, cutting edge systems, technologies and world-class broker support. The company now manages offices and brokers in over 150 markets throughout North America.

In 2015, INC 500 recognized Professional Realty Services as the #7 Fastest-Growing Real Estate Company in America and the #1 Fastest-Growing Real Estate Company in the Northwestern United States. Professional Realty Services has been ranked by INC. Magazine 5 times.

To learn more about Professional Realty Services International, visit ProfessionalRealtyServices.com.
Chief minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot shook hands and flashed victory signs at a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting in a show of unity on Thursday, the first such interaction between the two leaders since Pilot rebelled over a month ago and triggered a political crisis that threatened the state government.

Three days after the Congress high command brokered a peace deal that ended the turmoil, Gehlot said at the meeting that his government will move a confidence motion in a crucial assembly session beginning on Friday and emerge victorious, a move aimed at sending a message of stability after the month-long tussle, according to party leaders.

On the day the warring factions reunited, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said the truce was temporary and announced that it will move a no-confidence motion against the government, which appears to be comfortably placed in terms of numbers, especially after the return of 19 dissident legislators, including Pilot, to the Congress fold. The BJP, which also asked its MLAs to prepare for polls, did not ask for a floor test at the height of the crisis that began unfolding in mid-July.

Speaker CP Joshi can use his discretion to decide whether to allow the government or the BJP motion  both seeking a floor test, according to analysts. An official at the assembly secretariat, who did not want to be named, said the governments trust motion was likely to get preference. This has been the tradition of the house, said the official.

Political analyst Narayan Bareth said the motion by the ruling side gets preference in such a situation. When a confidence motion and a no-confidence motion are moved simultaneously, the assembly tradition is that the ruling side gets preference. However, the final call is of the speaker, he said.

With the return of the rebels, the Congress alone has 107 legislators, including the speaker, in the 200-member House where the majority mark is 101. It also appears to have the support of all 13 independents; three of them backed Pilot and have now pledged support to Gehlot. Five MLAs from other parties, too, back the government in the House. On the other hand, the BJP (72) and its ally Rashtriya Loktrantrik Party (3) have a total of 75 seats.

At the CLP meeting in Gehlots residence, all 19 legislators, who protested against chief minister over his style of functioning and alleged that Pilot was being sidelined, were present. Apne to apne hote hain [they are our own], Gehlot said in his peace message, referring to the dissidents.

At the same time, he also said the Congress would have proved its majority in the House even without the rebel MLAs, but that would not have made us happy or given a stable government, according to legislators present at the meeting who did not want to be named.

To be sure, the Gehlot government has already indicated that it is keen on a floor test despite the truce because the party thinks it is the perfect way to send across a message of unity. A floor test will also give some breather to Gehlot to let him put his house in order since a motion can be moved only once in a session.

On Thursday, the Congress also revoked the suspension of seven-time legislator Bhanwar Lal Sharma and former tourism minister Vishvendra Singh, two Pilot loyalists who were accused of being part of a conspiracy to topple the government. Gehlot assured all MLAs that their grievances will be addressed and he was ready to meet them wherever they want. Pilot said he was in the Congress and will remain in the Congress, a Rajasthan Congress leader said, requesting anonymity. Pilot also thanked all for supporting him during his tenure as the state Congress chief for over six years and for the post of deputy chief minister. If the style of functioning or governance has to be changed, then we should not hesitate,Pilot said, according to the leader cited above.

Addressing MLAs, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said the month-long crisis was a nightmare for all of us and asked MLAs to refrain from blaming each other. It is time for unity in the larger interest of the government and the party. Without the party ,we are nobody, he said.No more post-mortems...Congress president Sonia Gandhi has told me to convey this to you, he told the legislators. He said the high command decided on the truce in consultation with Gehlot. Venugopals message was meant to convey to the MLAs who have backed Gehlot during the crisis that the chief minister was always part of the discussions with the Pilot camp, a central Congress functionary said.

He said there was some resentment in the Gehlot camp over the return of Pilot and the other rebels who threatened the stability of the government. The chief minister and other senior leaders had to persuade them. Now, they are willing to work with the rebels, the leader said. After the meeting, Congress leaders Venugopal, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Ajay Maken and Govind Singh Dotasra, among others, posed for photographs along with Gehlot and Pilot.

Before Thursdays CLP meeting, Gehlot tweeted, asking MLAs loyal to him to forgive and forget in the interest of the country and the state.

The BJP, too, held a meeting of its legislators where former chief minister Vasundhara Raje is believed to have asked them to prepare for polls. She [Raje] said this government would not last long and that we should be ready for elections, a BJP lawmaker present at the meeting said on condition of anonymity. Gulab Chand Kataria, the leader of the opposition, said his party readied a no-confidence motion proposal and 40 lawmakers signed it.

Raje separately denied reports of a division in the BJP. Some people are spreading news about a division in BJP. Let me tell them that the BJP is a family and we are all together she tweeted. State BJP president Satish Poonia said Gehlot made cheap allegations against the BJP, referring to the Congresss charge that the opposition party was trying to topple the government. This government does not have a future.
Andrew Momodu, a former aide to the ex-National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, has dumped the ruling party and defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Momodu also promised to support the re-election of Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State by pledging the sum of N5 million for his campaign during PDP governorship campaign rally in Ward 8, Anwain, Etsako West Local Government Area of the state on Tuesday.

He made the pledge on behalf of Anwain Progressives Union (APU), the umbrella Union of Anwain Clan after hundreds of APC members in the area defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the event.

Momodu assured Governor Obaseki that 6,000 votes from the ward would be cast for the PDP in the forthcoming poll to appreciate him for attracting development to the area, particularly the ongoing Agbede-Anwain road construction.

The Anwain Progressives Union, the umbrella union of Anwain Clan, has resolved to support Governor Obaseki with N5 million for his campaign, he said. We have collected our PVCs and have all resolved to give the governor 100 per cent of our votes come September 19, 2020. We are sure of giving you 6,000 votes from this ward.

Addressing the PDP supporters in Anwain and Idegun communities, Governor Obaseki promised to reciprocate the kindness shown him by prioritising healthcare, education and agriculture, among others in the second term of his administration if re-elected.

Since I started this campaign, this is the only place where indigenes are donating money to support my campaign. I am very grateful, he said

This is coming barely 24 hours after Governor Obaseki accused Oshiomhole of importing assassins to kill the states commissioner for youth, Hon. Damian Lawani.
Kochi, Aug 13 : Close on the heels of an NIA court denying bail to Swapna Suresh, the prime accused in the gold smuggling case, an Economic Offences Court on Thursday, where the Customs has filed a case against her, also refused to give her bail.

The Customs in their argument said that given her huge and wide ranging contacts with higher ups, granting bail to her could be detrimental to the investigation. This was accepted by the court.

After the scam came to light last month and the NIA was handed over the probe, the Central agency had arrested Swapna and her associate Sandip Nair from Bengaluru on July 11.

Swapna was later arrested by the Customs and the Enforcement Directorate and has undergone multiple rounds of questioning from all the agencies.

The gold smuggling case was unearthed when P. S. Sarith, a former employee of the UAE Consulate here, was arrested by the Customs on July 5 while he was facilitating smuggling of 30 kg gold in the diplomatic baggage to Thiruvananthapuram from Dubai.

It turned murkier when the name of Swapna, a former employee of the Consulate and employed with the state IT Department, surfaced and more so when her links with powerful IAS official M. Sivasankar, came out. Sivasankar held the dual posts of Principal Secretary to Vijayan and state IT Secretary.

The IAS officer was subsequently removed from both posts and then suspended by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Meanwhile, the NIA probe team on Wednesday night arrived for the second time at the State Secretariat to find out more details from the State Protocol office on the statement made by Kerala Higher Education Minister K. T. Jaleel. He had said that during Ramzan he had received kits for distribution and copies of the Holy Quran directly from the UAE consulate, which is in a violation of the protocol.

According to the code of conduct for state ministers, they cannot accept gifts which are valued at over Rs 5,000. Besides, the rules are clear that all such items should be routed only through the Ministry of External Affairs and not given directly to either state ministers or Union ministers.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
An order of nuns has been urged to "do the right thing" and pay a "fair" redundancy package to more than 180 nursing home workers.

Staff at the Caritas Convalescent Centre, St Mary's Centre Telford and St Monica's Nursing Home in Dublin have protested after being told the homes were closing down.

The Sisters of Charity are shareholders and landlords of the services and sit on the boards of management, while the HSE funds the vast portion of staff costs. Liquidators KPMG told staff they will be paid statutory redundancy terms. But Labour Court chairman Kevin Foley has recommended that the workers' exit package should mirror public service workers' terms and said the nuns and HSE should engage with unions.

Liz Meade, a healthcare assistant at St Monica's Nursing Home in Dublin's inner city where a protest took place yesterday, said losing her job was particularly hard after battling Covid-19. Two residents at the nursing home she has worked at for over 23 years died from the virus and two staff members tested positive.

"Most of the residents will be moved to different nursing homes around Dublin when they leave," she said. "In some cases, their things were packed into black bags before they left.

"One of the hardest things I've endured was coming back one day and five or six patients were gone that I had looked after for up to 10 years, and I never got to say goodbye to them before they left."

She said she was very humbled to have been put in such a trustworthy position to look after people in end-of-life care.

Brian Condra of Siptu said the public service package is three weeks' pay per year of service on top of statutory payments. He said the nuns had substantial assets to fund this.

Under banners with the slogan #payupsisters, Siptu, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation and Forsa are planning further protests.

The Religious Sisters of Charity said last night it was "aware of the decision to place St Monica's Nursing Home Company into liquidation".

They said they understood that the board has been planning for this and were conscious of the difficulties that this closure will have for the staff, the residents and their families.

"The order established St Monica's Nursing Home DAC in 2002 to ensure that it would be run and managed independently by a skilled and experienced board of directors. The order understands that the company and liquidator are managing the wind down of the company and the careful transfers of residents."

A KPMG spokesperson declined to comment.
Former senior British diplomat joins in advisory role as company starts to engage with central banks

LONDON, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- L3COS, the world's first quantum-safe blockchain-based operating system that enables full governmental and regulatory oversight, has today announced the appointment of Sir Mark Lyall Grant as a member of its advisory board. The move came as the company started engaging in early discussions with central banks on the ways in which the L3COS operating system can provide central banks in the G20 and beyond with a functioning, but fully secure Central Bank Digital Currency ("CBDC").

Sir Mark will provide strategic advisory services and counsel to the L3COS board and senior management as it engages with sovereign institutions and regulatory authorities around the world.

Sir Mark, currently a visiting professor at King's College London, is a highly regarded former civil servant and diplomat having held the senior position of the United Kingdom's National Security Adviser (2015  2017); prior to that he was the British Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations (2009  2015).

Speaking on the appointment of Sir Mark, Zurab Ashvil, the CEO and founder of L3COS, said:

"Sir Mark's addition to the team comes at the right time as central banks fully explore how they might integrate blockchain technology into the fabric of the global financial system.

"His undeniable insight gained from his many senior roles within Government will afford L3COS the insight and knowledge we need to tailor the L3COS solution to the needs of central banks and other leading global financial institutions. We are thrilled by his decision to support us at this pivotal moment in the development of L3COS.

"Nowhere is that insight better exemplified than by our recent discussions with central banks about how they can set up a CBDC and best utilise L3COS's blockchain technology that enables full governmental and regulatory oversight. It would be inappropriate to comment on the content of those discussions as they remain at an early stage; however, we are confident that the L3COS solution can help to provide a fully reliable, secure, durable, valuable and portable CBDC."

Sir Mark added:

"I am delighted today to be joining the L3COS Advisory Board. L3COS is a dynamic, future-oriented company.

"It is clear that one of the key drivers of future economic growth will be the secure digitisation of large parts of major economies, creating greater efficiency and productivity.

"The COVID-19 crisis is already further accelerating this trend. L3COS has spent six years building a unique quantum-safe technology with rich functionality, which can play a central role in supporting digitisation for governments, businesses and individual citizens. I look forward to helping L3COS to take forward this exciting project."

L3COS

L3COS, (pronounced "Leckoss") brings the benefits of blockchain to the wider economy. It enables full governmental and regulatory oversight, but is applicable for businesses large and small as well as for individuals. It is the first and inevitable, but essential, step in making the world fully digitalised.

L3COS has developed the first quantum-safe blockchain operating system with sufficient scale and speed to meet the growing needs of central banks around the world. Its blockchain technology is immutable, fully auditable, traceable and transparent, all of which makes fraud, money laundering or other black-market financing impossible. Blockchain is now a tried and tested technology with up to half of the leading companies in the US, and many others around the globe already deploying it in their systems and process management.

L3COS (Level 3 Consensus Operating System) is the next generation blockchain. It operates on three levels of consensus, one for each of government, business and society. The operating system facilitates secure, regulated and digitalised activity for countries, and their sovereign institutions such as central banks, for corporates and for individuals. This triple layer consensus system is quantum-safe, cost effective and can digitalise transactions faster and with greater transparency.

Sir Mark Lyall Grant, GCMG

Sir Mark, currently a visiting professor at King's College London, is a highly regarded former civil servant and diplomat having held the senior position of the United Kingdom's National Security Advisor (2015  2017).

Prior to that he was the British Permanent Representative to the United Nations (2009  2015) and was also the Director General Political at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office where he was the Principal Adviser to the Foreign Secretary on strategic foreign policy issues (2007  2009) and the UK High Commissioner to Pakistan (2003  2006).

In his earlier postings he served in Paris and Pretoria; as Private Secretary to the Minister for Europe in the FCO; and worked on EU and Africa policy.

Knighted in 2006, Sir Mark was educated at Cambridge and a qualified barrister. He was appointed to the Bench of Middle Temple in 2011.

Related Links

https://l3cos.com



SOURCE L3COS
Relentless efforts by the national disaster relief force (NDRF), Haryana Police, local administration and villagers on Thursday led to the safe return of 45-year-old farmer Puran Singh of Sirsas Natar village, who had fallen into a manhole on Wednesday night.

Sirsa deputy commissioner (DC) Ramer Chander Bidhan said Puran was rescued from a 30ft deep manhole while another farmer, Kala Singh, was still trapped inside.

The incident took place on Wednesday night when two farmers were going to irrigate their fields. Puran slipped into a manhole and Kala jumped to rescue him. Some locals informed us about them and we, along with Haryana Police and NDRF teams, reached the spot. Puran was rescued last night and is currently undergoing treatment at a private hospital, the DC added.

He said they had called the army from Hisar on Wednesday night to conduct a search operation for the missing farmer.

The army started its operation on Thursday morning. We are making tremendous efforts to search the farmer and rescue him from the manhole, Bidhan said.
China hopes India will not complicate border issue

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Aug 13: China has said that it hoped that India would not complicate the border issue along the Line of Actual Control.

China expressed hope that the Indian side can meet the Chinese side half way and not do anything to further complicate the situation. The Chinese embassy spokesperson tweeted that China hoped India will refrain from any action that will complicate the border situation and that it will create a favourable condition for maintaining peace and stability in the border areas. The Chinese also said that they hoped for healthy development of bilateral relations.

Indo-China stand-off: Two HAL light combat choppers deployed in Ladakh

This statement came in the wake of an Indian source stating that the confrontation would go on for longer. The official also said that the two countries have been maintaining close communication through both military and diplomatic channels. The overall situation at the border is becoming stable, the official had also said.

PM Modi launches platform for 'Transparent taxation-Honouring the Honest' | Oneindia News

While the Chinese say that the border situation does not get complicated, the fact is that they are yet to withdrawn from the Depsang Plains and the Pangong Tso areas.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Thursday, August 13, 2020, 8:45 [IST]
CHERRY HILL, NJ  The Cherry Hill Public School District averaged 3.04 substance-abuse cases per 1,000 students for the 2018-19 school year, according to recently released numbers.

New Jersey has released its annual list of substance-abuse cases reported by each school district, revealing the most recent data of reported cases. Cherry Hill ranked 223rd in number of cases out of 358 school districts in the state.



It ranked 145th when it came to increases from last year, with an increase of 1.84 cases, according to the state.



The data, obviously, was compiled before Gov. Phil Murphy shut down school buildings because of the coronavirus crisis, and it's not known what impact the outbreak has had on the substance abuse crisis in schools.



Murphy announced on Wednesday that in-person instruction can return in September, but districts can opt to go fully remote. Read more: NJ Coronavirus, School Reopen Updates: What You Need To Know



The state Department of Education has cautioned that these numbers are reported by each district, so each jurisdiction is responsible for reporting its results fairly and accurately. But they are required by law to report them.



To see the full lists, click here.



With reporting by Tom Davis, Patch Staff

This article originally appeared on the Cherry Hill Patch
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-14 00:36:44|Editor: huaxia

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GAZA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Marking the International Youth Day, Palestinian young people organized a campaign in Gaza City demanding to change the difficult reality and remove the obstacles they face in the blockaded coastal enclave.

Lasting for several days, the campaign kicked off with a demonstration on Wednesday in front of the headquarters of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Gaza.

Inspired by Palestinian folklore, young Palestinian men performed a traditional Dabke dance, while young artists painted murals and carried Palestinian flags.

Salah Abdul Ati, one of the campaign's organizers, told Xinhua that we came here "on the occasion of International Youth Day to pass a message. We want to save the youth of Gaza ... save the youth of Palestine."

"There are no people in the world whose main pillar, the youth, can cope with the Israeli blockade, internal Palestinian division, poverty and unemployment that we endure right now," he added.

Israel has imposed a tight blockade on the Gaza Strip, which is home to 2 million people since mid 2007, which led to a notable deterioration of economic and social conditions.

Besides, Israel launched three large-scale military operations in the Gaza Strip between 2008 and 2014, which left thousands dead and injured, and caused extensive damage to infrastructure, industry and agriculture.

"Palestinian youths are facing an unknown fate. We have come here to say we will not accept the destruction of our dreams, the destruction of our freedom, independence and decent life," Zahra Abu Shaaban, a local activist told Xinhua.

She stressed that the Israeli blockade had led to the deterioration of the humanitarian conditions and contributed to the dire economic situation of the strip's young population.

Meanwhile, Mahmoud Abu Qamar, another activist in his 30s, told Xinhua that all we want is to "live in dignity, freedom, and choose our representatives through elections and active participation in official and civil institutions."

He added that thousands of young people have been unemployed for years and are unable to move and travel.

He called on the Palestinian leadership and factions "to be united in order to find realistic solutions for the youth that would restore hope, ambition, and confidence in themselves and in the future."

Meanwhile, on Thursday, a group of young people organized an exhibition of handicrafts and products at the Palestine Hotel in Gaza City, which aimed to support them in light of the severe economic conditions.

Sawsan al-Khalili, who exhibited a group of embroideries, said that the move came to support young entrepreneurs because of the severe economic conditions they suffer from.

Al-Khalili called on the Palestinian Authority to provide job opportunities for the Palestinian youths and grant them the opportunities to express themselves "as they are capable of production and creativity."

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said that the rate of unemployment among the Palestinian males had reached 31 percent, while it reached 63 percent among Palestinian females. Enditem
Independent Hajj Reporters, a civil society organisation that monitors and reports Hajj activities both in Nigeria and in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has congratulated the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ably led by the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bn Abdulaziz and the Crown Prince, Muhammad Bn Salman for successfully organizing Hajj 2020 despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

IHR extended the commendation in a letter written and dispatched to Saudi Arabian Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr Mohammed Saleh Bin Taher Benten said We write to congratulate the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia especially The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince, Muhammad Bin Salman for their exceptional leadership direction that led to the successful conduct of Hajj 2020 despite the current Covid-19 pandemic.

The letter was signed by the National Coordinator of IHR, Ibrahim Muhammed and was sent through the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Nigeria.

After received the letter, the Charge De Affairs in the Saudi Embassy in Nigeria, Mr Alfawzan thanked Independent Hajj Reporters and promised to deliver the letter to the Minister.

IHR in the letter further expresses its deepest appreciation to the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and other institutions, individuals and groups that worked tirelessly to ensure that Hajj 2020 took place.

It said the feat achieved is a source of Joy and pride to the entire Muslim Ummah.

recall that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia successfully hosted Hajj 2020 despite the ravaging cases of Coronavirus pandemic; though it was hosted without the participation of pilgrims of other nations from outside the Kingdom, this years Hajj was well organised with utmost health and security precautions.

World Leaders had earlier congratulated King Salman on the success of this year Hajj rites at the holy sites and the extraordinary arrangement made amid the global outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic

It is worthy to note that not a single case of Covid-19 was recorded during the Hajj operation.

Signed

Independent Hajj Reporters

13th August 2020


Aftermath of attack in Penda Mboko WhatsApp

Yet-to-be-identified gunmen attacked Penda Mboko, Mungo Division of Cameroons Littoral Region in the early hours of Thursday, August 13, 2020 wreaking havoc.

The residence of the Manager of the Industrial Unit of the Cameroon Development Corporation, CDC, in Penda Mboko was the prime target of the armed men, Cameroon-Info.Net has learned.

The suspected separatist fighters are thought to have crossed into the Mungo Division, from Muyuka Subdivision in the restive South West Region.

Ali Malex, CDC Penda Mboko Industrial Manager is said to have been taken away to an unknown destination by the armed men. Before kidnapping him, open sources say the gunmen disarmed his guard. They also shot and killed the managers son who is currently writing the GCE Ordinary Level Exams.

Before leaving Penda Mboko, the suspected separatist fighters burnt down the official residence of the CDC Penda Mboko Industrial Manager. All property, including cars, we set ablaze.

They stormed the Industrial Unit Manager's house, burnt all the cars and set the whole house ablaze. As if that was not enough, the armed boys shot and killed a form five student who lives within the manager's yard and finally kidnapped the Industrial Unit Manager, someone familiar with the story said.

Elements of the military arrived late after the unidentified gunmen had committed their atrocities. The attacked area is quite a distance from the military camp.

Cameroon-Info.Net recalls that on October 29, 2018, unidentified gunmen attacked Government Bilingual High School Penda Mboko. Students and teachers were forced to flee before the armed men set their school items on fire.

Penda Mboko, situated in the Mungo Division of the Littoral Region borders the South West region where armed fighters have been battling security forces.

Back in 2018, unidentified armed men attacked the gendarmerie brigade in Penda Mboko setting it ablaze before taking off.

The locality has been under security alert as internally displaced persons troop in from Muyuka after separatists slaughtered a 35-year-old lady on Tuesday.
BCFC/iStockBy JAMES HILL, ABC News



(NEW YORK) -- A lawyer for an alleged child-sex trafficking victim contends in a new court filing that attorneys for Jeffrey Epstein's $655 million estate are engaged in a "concerted and coordinated effort" to delay the woman's lawsuit in an attempt to steer her claims into a private victim compensation fund established by the estate.



"They have done everything they can to make these cases as difficult as possible for the victims so the victims feel like they have no real choice but to submit to the fund and postpone the proceedings indefinitely," Robert Glassman, an attorney for the alleged victim who sued under the pseudonym Jane Doe, wrote.



Doe filed the lawsuit against the estate in January. The complaint also names Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's alleged accomplice, as a co-defendant. Doe alleges she was recruited by the pair in 1994 when she was a 13-year-old music student at a summer camp in Michigan.



Of the more than 30 women who brought legal claims against Epstein's estate following his death last year, Doe is the only accuser who has declined to put her lawsuit on hold to pursue an alternative resolution via the Epstein Victims' Compensation Fund, a voluntary non-adversarial program that began evaluating claims in June.



In the seven months since Doe filed the lawsuit, estate lawyers have yet to turn over a single document in response to pretrial requests and have "resorted to belittling [Doe] ... simply because she is exercising her constitutional right to pursue a legal claim against those responsible for causing her unimaginable harm," according to Glassman's claims in a letter to U.S. Magistrate Judge Debra Freeman.



"In short, since [Doe] has not agreed to stay her case and walk away, she is being punished by the Epstein estate for doing what she has a basic right to do. That is simply unacceptable and [she] is not walking away," Glassman wrote.



Glassman declined to comment on the letter when reached by ABC News.



Lawyers for the estate did not respond to an email request for comment, but in a letter filed with the court late Wednesday, they disputed Glassman's allegations that the estate had belittled the alleged victim as "completely untrue."



"We have done no such thing, and the inclusion of this claim by plaintiff's counsel further highlights their lack of good faith in these discussions," Epstein estate attorney Mary Grace Metcalfe wrote.



The parties have been wrangling for months now over the estate's insistence on a confidentiality order and a non-disclosure agreement being in place before they would turn over any relevant information in their possession to Doe's lawyers, who have thus far declined to sign on to its terms. During a teleconference last week, estate lawyer Bennet Moskowitz told the court that Doe's lawyer's refusal to sign the agreement is the only thing standing in the way of the estate turning over documents to her legal team.



"It kind of boggles our minds because this case is brought by someone acting through an anonymous name. That is reason alone to have a confidentiality agreement," Moskowitz said.



Moskowitz also advocated for putting the litigation on hold while Doe submits a claim to the compensation fund, arguing that it was "a very sensible thing to do."



According to a spokesperson for the compensation program, forms were sent to over 100 potential claimants so far and more than 25 claims have been filed and are being reviewed.



Unlike a lawsuit, the claims process is designed to be confidential from start to finish, which may be a favored path for the vast majority of alleged Epstein victims. But the process, by its very nature, may also prevent disclosure of information about the scope of Epstein's finances and his alleged sex-trafficking operation that might otherwise be revealed in public court records or proceedings. The only public reporting required of the program is a periodic aggregate accounting of the number of claims paid and the total amount of the awards.



Judge Freeman, who is overseeing the case, seemed to be nudging Doe's lawyers during the telephonic hearing in the direction of staying the case, as dozens of other Epstein accusers had done.



"I'm not trying to twist anybody's arms here. I just think you need to talk because I don't want to see money unnecessarily spent," Freeman said. "And I'm not saying you should agree to a stay, but I think you should consider it."



But Glassman told ABC News in a brief interview last month that -- while Doe may at some point opt to submit a claim to the compensation fund -- she has no interest in delaying the lawsuit while that process runs its course. Glassman also said that he sees no need for the confidentiality agreement the estate wants in place because there is an existing court order which prohibits the disclosure of his client's identity to anyone not involved in the case.



"We're interested in taking this case to trial and getting the evidence that we need in order to prepare the case for that time," Glassman said.



Doe's lawsuit alleges that she is the first known child victim of Epstein and Maxwell. According to her civil complaint, after first meeting them at the music camp, a months-long grooming process continued after she returned home to Florida, where Epstein had a seaside estate on Palm Beach Island. Doe's father had recently passed away, the complaint said, creating an opportunity for Epstein and Maxwell to fill the void.



"Epstein gave himself the name of Doe's 'godfather' while Maxwell acted like an older sister to her," her complaint said. "They took her to movies, went shopping with her and lounged around Epstein's estate with her."



Doe, now 40, alleges the abuse escalated over the next few years as Epstein and Maxwell asserted more and more control over her life and aspirations. Epstein paid for voice lessons, private high school tuition and even co-signed a lease on a New York City apartment for Doe and her mother, according to her complaint.



She claims the abuse occurred at Epstein's homes in Florida, New York and his ranch in New Mexico, and that she would often travel to those locations with Epstein and Maxwell on one of Epstein's private jets.



"Epstein's system of abuse was facilitated in large part by his co-conspirator and accomplice, Maxwell, who helped supply him with a steady stream of young and vulnerable girls," the complaint said, "many of whom were fatherless, like Jane Doe, and came from struggling families."



The allegations in Doe's complaint are substantially similar to the circumstances of one of the three child victims described in the criminal indictment filed against Maxwell last month. Maxwell has denied Doe's claims in the civil suit and has pleaded not guilty to the charges in the criminal indictment. She is currently being held without bail in a federal jail in Brooklyn, New York.



In a letter to the court Wednesday, Maxwell's attorney Laura Menninger indicated that she intends to ask the court to put Doe's claims against Maxwell on hold, pending the outcome of her criminal case. Citing the difficulties she's had communicating with Maxwell at the jail, Menninger asked for another week to consult with her client before filing a formal request.



Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
They were at the point of tearing it down  and thats the point at which I got involved, Gale Rothner told the Jewish Federations JUF News publication in December. I thought it would take six months to renovate. It took three years. Everything that could go wrong did. There had been water damage, and it needed new HVAC, plumbing, electrical  you name it, we replaced it. So now the guts of the house are brand new.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 13)  Some local officials are asking the Department of Education to outline plans to protect teachers who will deliver printed learning modules to their students before opening the next school year, which is less than two weeks from now.

While the local governments appreciate DepEds attempt to re-establish some sense of normalcy for students by ensuring learning continuity in the time of COVID-19, some governors believe the department should review its decision to start the 2020-2021 school calendar on August 24, League of Provinces of the Philippines national chairman Dakila Cua told CNN Philippines New Day.

Listening to teachers concerns

Cua, who is also the governor of Quirino province, raised teachers' fear of catching COVID-19 by going out to distribute educational materials for children amid the unabated rise of infections.

How do we make sure that these teachers who will distribute the modules are also protected? Maybe when that is resolved, when that is clear, that is a good sign to start already, he said.

Cua also noted the importance of managing the risks of teachers. For example, educators should be aware of what to do in case the modules become a source of infection, the governor said.

Lessons under the new normal in education will be delivered through digital platforms, radio, television broadcast, and printed learning modules. The strategy is called blended learning. President Rodrigo Duterte has prohibited face-to-face classes until a COVID-19 vaccine is available for mass distribution.

However, issues on access to internet and other educational tools have yet to be fully addressed with over a week left from the school year's opening date.
When Emily Visnic moved from Branford to West Palm Beach, Fla., she must have known that things were just a little bit different down there.

But finding a live, hissing ball python coiled on top of the damp clothes in her washing machine as she returned from her daily run to her 5th-floor studio apartment wasnt anywhere on her radar of weird things that might happen in her new home.

So what did she do?

What do you think?

I screamed my lungs out and ran out, Visnic, 26, told the Miami Herald Monday. It was hissing very loudly.

On Wednesday, she elaborated on that in a phone call with Hearst Connecticut Media.

You probably heard it from Connecticut, I screamed so loud, said Visnic, who grew up in Branford and went to Tisko and Sliney elementary schools and Walsh Intermediate School before heading up to boarding school in Vermont while she pursued her passion as a ski racer.

Luckily for Visnic, she never actually touched the slithery critter.

When she opened the washing machine, It started hissing and moving. ... Oh, my God! she said.

Asked whether she had ever come face to coil with a snake before, she said, Not in my washing machine and not live. ... My grandparents used to live in North Haven and they had snakes  not pythons  in their backyard, she said.

But theres more, according to Visnics mother, Molly Visnic, who lives in Branfords Pine Orchard section.

She has a phobia of snakes, Molly Visnic said. ... I have one daughter whos afraid of birds and this daughter is afraid of snakes.

The first that Molly Visnic heard of it, We got a phone call and it was basically screaming, scared, that shes got to move and shes gotta get out of this place, she said. Were grateful that the security and the maintenance men were right there.

Emily talked about moving into her grandparents house in Jensen Beach, about an hour north of her home.

For the most part, Florida has just been heaven on earth down there for her, Molly Visnic said. She just loves it. ... But with all the beauty of Florida comes reptiles.

Not that there werent any signs that a snake was nearby.

Emily Visnics downstairs neighbor previously had complained about a mysterious hissing coming from her downtown West Palm Beach apartment for at least a day before Visnic, a student nurse-anesthesiologist, had her encounter with the agitated python on Friday.

When she returned home that day, on Friday, she noticed a dark, intricate pattern in the washing machine after opening the lid, she told the Herald.

It didnt initially occur to her that it might be a live critter  until she reached inside.

I thought to myself, Did I put something in there thats snakeskin? Visnic told the Herald.

But then she saw it and it was slimy and moving.

She told WPEC 12 News, the CBS affiliate in West Palm Beach, I looked down and I saw something snakeskin and I was like, Huh. What did I put in here that was snakeskin? And I reached down and it started slithering and, oh my gosh. I screamed so loud. It was a huge python!

The washing machine is inside Visnics apartment, not in an exterior laundry room, she told Hearst Connecticut Media.

Its kind of mysterious and thats what Im so curious about. How the hell did it get in my washing machine? Visnic told 12 News.

The apartment she lives in does not allow pet snakes.

Visnics mother said all the press coverage actually has been a blessing.

She was so shaken up and the media coverage has made it fun, Molly Visnic, who has another daughter who is also is studying to be a nurse-anesthetist at Yale, told a reporter for the New Haven Register. The news coverage is distracting her. ... It made a scary experience fun.

So how big was this python?

Emily Visnic really has no idea  she was outta there!

It was very big, she said. I cant even give you an estimate because it was so coiled up.

Since finding it, I was so worried, she said. I was worried about, Are there more? I was worried that there was some kind of snake infestation.

Fortunately for Visnic, some apartment building maintenance workers were close at hand and able to help. They used a grabber tool to remove the snake from the machine, she told the Herald.

The maintenance guys were pretty shocked, as well.

They have never seen a snake on the premises in the 10 years theyve worked here, she told the Herald.

An officer at the local animal control agency told Visnic that the snake may have been a pet that escaped, reached her apartment through the buildings vents and found a nice, invitingly moist environment in the washing machine.

I dont know what they did with it, she told the New Haven Register. I just hope its far away.
eVIN is a mobile- and cloud-based application which lets health workers and those handling the cold chain update information on vaccine stocks after every immunisation session and allows health officials to monitor vaccine stocks and flows and storage temperatures.

On 3 August, the health ministry announced that India's Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN), an indigenously-developed, online logistic management system used to track real-time information on vaccine supply chain and stocks across the country, will be deployed in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic.

Developed, launched and implemented in 2015 by the United Nations Development Programme India to support the Universal Immunisation Programme, eVIN is a mobile- and cloud-based application which lets hundreds of thousands of front line health workers update information on vaccine stocks.

Especially those handling the 'cold chain' (the system of storing and transporting a vaccine at recommended temperatures from the point of manufacture to the point of use), can update vaccine stocks after every immunisation session. The app also allows health officials to monitor vaccine stocks and flows and storage temperatures.

Developed with support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and described by the health ministry as 'a best practice in logistics management for vaccines', eVIN has been implemented in 32 states and Union territories and will soon be introduced in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Ladakh and Sikkim.

As per the health ministry, 23,507 cold chain points across 585 districts of 22 states and two UTs routinely use the eVIN technology for efficient vaccine logistics management and over 41,420 vaccine cold chain handlers have been introduced to digital record-keeping by training them on eVIN.

Nearly 23,900 electronic temperature loggers have been installed on vaccine cold chain equipment for accurate temperature review of vaccines in storage, as per the health ministry statement.

'Reduces waste': UNDP

An evaluation of the system released by the UNDP showed it achieved reduction in utilisation of vaccines from 3,053 lakh doses in pre-eVIN period to 2,149 lakh doses in post-eVIN period across the initial 12 eVIN states, mostly on account of wastage and mismanagement, resulting into savings of approximately 900 lakh (90 million) doses of vaccines.

It also reduced stock-outs by 80 percent, gave an estimated future return on investment of nearly 300 percent and supported a vaccine availability rate of over 99 percent at all cold chain points, as per a 3 August PIB press release.

The UNDP has claimed that eVIN has been embraced by health staff: "Digital record keeping has made vaccine handlers work easier. It has also created a sense of agency and shared responsibility. More than 50 percent of the health staff are women who havent used the technology before have embraced eVIN with enthusiasm and competency. Having a dedicated a vaccine manager also helps link health and immunisation officers with the last mile health workers."

The cold chain sickness rate  a proportion of cold chain equipment that is out of order at any point of time out of total functional equipment  a key indicator which demonstrates the efficiency of the immunisation supply chain, is 1.9 percent in eVIN states compared to 3.4 percent in non-eVIN states (the Government of India has set a threshold of two percent), as per the UNDP.

Which is indicate of better upkeep of equipment, improved reporting of breakdown of equipment, timely repairs and reduced time for cold chain equipment in the eVIN states compared to non-eVIN states, the UNDP has claimed.

This (eVIN) has ensured that every child who reaches the immunisation session site is immunised, and not turned back due to unavailability of vaccines. eVIN combines state-of-the-art technology, a strong IT infrastructure and trained human resources to enable real time monitoring of stock and storage temperature of the vaccines kept in multiple locations across the country, the health ministry has stated.

The eVIN has already begun playing its role in the fight against the pandemic. Since April 2020, eight states (Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Maharashtra) have been using the eVIN application with 100 percent adherence rate to track state specific COVID-19 material, ensure availability and raise alerts in case of shortage of 81 essential drugs and equipment, as per a PIB press release.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-14 00:17:40|Editor: huaxia

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BERLIN, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Turnover of TUI plummeted by 98.5 percent year-on-year to 72 million euros (85 million U.S. dollars) in the third quarter (Q3) of the company's fiscal year from April to June, the Germany-based tourism giant announced on Thursday.

TUI, one of the world's largest tourism companies, recorded a quarterly loss of 1.45 billion euros, down from earnings of 48.5 million euros between April and June last year, according to the company.

All travel activities by TUI had been stopped in mid-March due to worldwide travel warnings and restrictions caused by the COVID-19 crisis. The interruption of TUI's business applied to almost the entire reporting period, said the company.

However, TUI had "successfully resumed its travel activities in all European markets" from mid-June onwards. Due to increased hygiene and safety measures in aircraft, during transfers and in the company's hotels and clubs, the "restart from Germany was successfully implemented," the company noted.

On Wednesday, TUI announced an additional governmental loan of 1.2 billion euros to cope with the effects of the COVID-19 crisis. Already at the beginning of April, TUI was granted an emergency loan of 1.8 billion euros by the state-owned German development bank KfW.

"With the second government credit line, we are prepared if the pandemic again has a significant impact on tourism," said Friedrich Joussen, the company's chief executive officer, on Thursday. (1 euro = 1.18 U.S. dollars) Enditem
No Ukrainian army casualties were reported over the past day.

Ukraine has reported four enemy provocations on Wednesday, August 12, as Russia's hybrid military forces violated the newly-agreed truce in Donbas, eastern Ukraine.

"In total, the Ukrainian military recorded four ceasefire violations by the enemy in the past day," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation (JFO) said in a Facebook update as of 07:00 Kyiv time on August 13, 2020.

Read alsoUkraine's JFO HQ reports enemy death toll in Donbas since start of new truce

In particular, several shots from small arms by the Russian Federation's armed formations were recorded near the town of Maryinka and the village of Pivdenne. The enemy also opened fire from an automatic grenade launcher twice near the village of Zalizne. Another fact of provocation was recorded near the town of Krasnohorivka. In that area, the enemy planted one POM-2 anti-personnel mine with the help of a hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher.

It is noted the shots were provocative, so the Ukrainian military did not return fire.

No Ukrainian army casualties were reported over the past day.

Since Thursday midnight, no attacks by Russian Federation's armed formations have been recorded, the JFO HQ said.

The situation is under full control of the Ukrainian military, it said.
Ex-CJ Sinha, 10 others indicted over Farmers Bank scam

A Dhaka court has opened the trial of former chief justice SK Sinha and 10 others on charges of loan fraud and embezzlement of Tk 40 million from the Farmers Bank.

Judge Sheikh Nazmul Alam of Dhaka's Special Judge Court No.4 on Thursday framed the charges against Sinha in absentia and fixed Aug 16 for recording witness testimonies.

Mahbubul Haque Chisty alias Babul Chishti, the former chairman of Farmers Bank's audit committee who is also accused in the case, was brought to the court from jail for the hearing.

KM Shamim, former managing director of Farmers Bank, renamed Padma Bank, and its former senior executive vice president Gazi Salauddin, both of whom secured bail in the case, also attended the hearing.

Ruhul Islam Khan, the lawyer for the Anti-Corruption Commission, read out the charges to the three accused, all of whom pleaded not guilty.

Their lawyers also appealed for the charges to be dropped against them but the judge framed the charges against the 11, including the eight absconding suspects, and ordered the initiation of the trial.

The ACC started the case against Sinha and the 10 others on Jul 10, 2019.

In October 2018, ACC Chairman Iqbal Mahmood said the commission had found evidence of fraud involving transactions of Tk 40 million borrowed by two so-called businessmen, Shahjahan and Niranjan, from Farmers Bank.

The national antigraft agency later launched an investigation into allegations that the fund was deposited in Sinhas bank account, credited as the proceeds of the sale of his house.

Sinha came under fire from the ruling Awami League over the verdict on the 16th amendment to the constitution and left the country on leave in October, 2017.

Later, he became the first chief justice of the country to quit when he submitted his resignation from overseas, 81 days before the end of his term.

After his resignation, the Supreme Court said in a rare statement that Sinha had been facing 11 specific charges, including corruption, money laundering, financial irregularities and moral blunder.

The government has appealed for a review of the verdict cancelling the 16th constitutional amendment, which allows the MPs to remove any top judge on the grounds of incompetency or misconduct.



THE ACC CASE

The graft-busters have brought charges against Sinha and others under the Penal Code, the Prevention of Corruption Act, and the Money Laundering Prevention Act.

According to the case documents, Shahjahan and Niranjan opened separate accounts in the banks Gulshan branch on Nov 6, 2016 and applied for Tk 20 million innloans each on the following day.

They used the address of a building owned by Sinha in Dhakas Uttara to open the accounts and apply for the loans.

The duo also mentioned a 32 decimal piece of land owned by Ranajits wife Shanti as the property against which they sought the loans.

The couple were acquaintances of Sinha and close to him, according to the case.

Ranajit is Niranjans uncle and Shahjahans friend, the ACC says.

The ACC alleges that the then MD of the bank, Shamim, approved the loans without any scrutiny in breach of its rules and by abusing powers.

The loans had been approved abnormally fast, a day after the applications were filed on Nov 7 that year.

Two pay orders worth Tk 40 million were issued for Sinha and money was deposited to his account in Sonali Banks Supreme Court branch on Nov 9.

The money was withdrawn through cash transactions, cheques and pay orders later.

On Nov 28, about Tk 22.36 million was transferred to an account of the former chief justices brother at the Uttara branch of Shahjalal Bank through two cheques.

Ranajit used the influence of Sinha for quick approval of the loans by presenting Niranjan and Shahjahan as the borrowers but the two were very poor and never involved in any business, according to the case.

The loan has not been repaid yet, the ACC said in the case and added: SK Sinha misled the other accused through Ranajit to get papers signed.

Justice Sinha, who has denied the allegations of corruption, said in a book published from the US last year that the government had exiled him and that he had resigned in the face of intimidation and threats.

He said at the launch of the book in Washington that he was living in the US as a refugee and sought asylum.

The media in Bangladesh reported that his brother Ananta Kumar Sinha bought a house in New Jersey.

The ACC then launched an investigation into allegations of money laundering against the former chief justices brother.

ACC spokesman Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya said at the time that Ananta Sinha allegedly bought a three-storey, 4,000 square feet house for $280,000, laundered money abroad, and amassed a significant amount of wealth illegally.

Justice Sinha is also accused of corruption, abuse of power, and bribery in a case started by former BNP leader and lawyer Nazmul Huda, who is known to be close to the ruling Awami League now.





Source: bdnews24.com




Technavio has been monitoring the manganese mining market and it is poised to grow by 5385.13 K tons during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of almost 5% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200813005505/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Manganese Mining Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire)

Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Please Request Free Sample Report on COVID-19 Impact

Frequently Asked Questions

At what rate is the market projected to grow during the forecast period 2020-2024?

Growing at a CAGR of almost 5%, the market growth will accelerate in the forecast period.

What is the key factor driving the market?

Advances in manganese battery technology is one of the key factors driving the market growth.

Who are the top players in the market?

African Rainbow Minerals Ltd., Anglo American Plc, Assmang Proprietary Ltd., Compania Minera Autlan SAB De CV, Consolidated Minerals Ltd., Eramet SA, Gulf Manganese Corp. Ltd., Manganese X Energy Corp., South32 Ltd., and Vale SA are some of the major market participants.

Which region is expected to hold the highest market share?

APAC

What is the year-over-year growth rate of the global market?

The year-over-year growth rate for 2020 is estimated at 4.43%.

The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. African Rainbow Minerals Ltd., Anglo American Plc, Assmang Proprietary Ltd., Compania Minera Autlan SAB De CV, Consolidated Minerals Ltd., Eramet SA, Gulf Manganese Corp. Ltd., Manganese X Energy Corp., South32 Ltd., and Vale SA are some of the major market participants. The advances in manganese battery technology will offer immense growth opportunities. To make most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments.

Manganese Mining Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

Manganese Mining Market is segmented as below:

Application Alloys Others

Geographic Landscape APAC Europe MEA North America South America



To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR41126

Manganese Mining Market 2020-2024: Scope

Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our manganese mining market report covers the following areas:

Manganese Mining Market size

Manganese Mining Market trends

Manganese Mining Market analysis

This study identifies increasing adoption of stainless steel as one of the prime reasons driving the manganese mining market growth during the next few years.

Manganese Mining Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the manganese mining market, including some of the vendors such as African Rainbow Minerals Ltd., Anglo American Plc, Assmang Proprietary Ltd., Compania Minera Autlan SAB De CV, Consolidated Minerals Ltd., Eramet SA, Gulf Manganese Corp. Ltd., Manganese X Energy Corp., South32 Ltd., and Vale SA. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the manganese mining market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

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Manganese Mining Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist manganese mining market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the manganese mining market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the manganese mining market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of manganese mining market vendors

Table of Contents:

PART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

PART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORT

2.1 Preface

2.2 Currency conversion rates for US$

PART 03: MARKET LANDSCAPE

Market ecosystem

Market characteristics

Value chain analysis

Market segmentation analysis

PART 04: MARKET SIZING

Market definition

Market sizing 2019

Market outlook

Market size and forecast 2019-2024

PART 05: FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

PART 06: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY APPLICATION

Market segmentation by application

Comparison by application

Alloys Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Others Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by application

PART 07: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPE

PART 08: GEOGRAPHIC LANDSCAPE

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

APAC Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Europe Market size and forecast 2019-2024

North America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

MEA Market size and forecast 2019-2024

South America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Key leading countries

Market opportunity

PART 09: DECISION FRAMEWORK

PART 10: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES

Market drivers

Market challenges

PART 11: MARKET TRENDS

Increasing adoption of stainless steel

Adoption of sustainable and non-combustible energy sources

Excess steel production capacity

PART 12: VENDOR LANDSCAPE

Overview

Landscape disruption

Competitive scenario

PART 13: VENDOR ANALYSIS

Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors

African Rainbow Minerals Ltd.

Anglo American Plc

Assmang Proprietary Ltd.

Compania Minera Autlan SAB De CV

Consolidated Minerals Ltd.

Eramet SA

Gulf Manganese Corp. Ltd.

Manganese X Energy Corp.

South32 Ltd.

Vale SA

PART 14: APPENDIX

Research methodology

List of abbreviations

Definition of market positioning of vendors

PART 15: EXPLORE TECHNAVIO

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200813005505/en/

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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched a platform to honour the honest taxpayers of the country. He said that it will be a new milestone in the structural reforms initiaited by the government.

"The government is now focussing on making tax-paying seamless, painless, faceless. Faceless as it shouldn't matter who is paying tax and who is tax officer," said PM Modi in his video conference address.

The Transparent Taxation - Honoring The Honest platform will bring in faceless assessment, faceless appeal, and taxpayers charter. Faceless assessment & taxpayers charter come in force from today, whereas faceless appeal service will be available from September 25, PM Modi said.

"The taxpayer will now be given the respect they deserve. The taxpayer will now be trusted, not looked at with doubt. The (tax) department will have to carry out the steps and processes in a time-bound manner," PM Modi said.

Asking people to pay taxes due to them, Modi said while it is the responsibility of tax officers to deal with taxpayers with dignity, people should also consider paying taxes as their responsibility.

Fundamental reforms were needed in Indian tax system, he said, adding India is among the nations with lowest corporate tax rates.

The Budget for fiscal 2021 had announced a "taxpayer charter", which is expected to have statutory status and will empower citizens by ensuring time-bound services by the Income Tax Department. This has come into effect now.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes or CBDT has carried out several major tax reforms in direct taxes in the recent years, the statement pointed out. Last year, corporate tax rates were reduced from 30 per cent to 22 per cent, and for new manufacturing units, the rates were reduced to 15 per cent. Dividend distribution tax was abolished.
The strange saga of Angolan billionaire Isabel dos Santos and an ongoing alleged financial scandal has taken a new turn with her decision to leave her position on the board of the countrys leading telecommunications operator.

According to Reuters and Portuguese news media, she chose to leave her post as a member of Unitels board of directors amid ongoing tensions between board members.

In her resignation statement, dos Santos, who holds a 25 percent stake in Unitel, referred to a 20-year period dedicated to the creation, development and success of Unitel. But Unitel is not her only interest. The daughter of former president Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who was replaced by Joao Lourenco in September 2017 after 38 years in power, has amassed a fortune of over $2 billion through stakes in various companies.

As an example, she was once chairwoman of Sonangol, the group that oversees petroleum and natural gas production in Angola. In January, Angola named dos Santos a formal suspect over allegations of mismanagement and misappropriation of funds during her time as chairwoman of Sonangol, which had already indicated it wanted to reduce the influence of dos Santos in Unitel, which it part owns.

In the same month troubled Brazilian carrier Oi sold its 25 percent stake in Unitel to Sonangol for one billion dollars. The state-owned firm already owned 25 percent; after the deal it had a 50 percent share. The remaining shares belong to two other companies, Geni and Vidatel. Vidatel is, or was, controlled by Isabel dos Santos.

However, before this, in December 2019, Angola froze the assets of dos Santos, including stakes she held in Angolan firms such as Unitel, BFA and ZAP MIDIA.

Following this tangled trail is as difficult as working out what will happen next. Isabel dos Santos has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, and whether her exit encourages the Unitel board to discover a sense of unity is by no means certain.
Narendra Modi who took oath as prime minister for his second term on May 2019 is set to become the longest serving non-Congress leader to occupy the office. With 2,272 continuous days in office as of Friday, Modi will match the record held by the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee who served in office for 2,272 days across three separate terms. On Saturday, he will surpass it.

In May 2014, Modi was first elected PM when he led the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a landslide victory in the Lok Sabha elections winning 282 seats in the Lower House. Five years later, he returned to power with an unprecedented 303 MPs.

Vajpayee who was first elected PM in 1996, was in office between May 16 and June 1, a tenure that lasted 13 days. His second stint came in 1998, when he was PM for 13 months between March 1998 and April 1999. This was followed by a five-year term between 1999 and 2004. While Vajpayee resigned on May 27, 1996, after his 13-day stint, and after delivering one of the best speeches Parliament has ever heard, his successor Deve Gowda was sworn in only on June 1. Technically, Vajpayee was the caretaker PM for those days, a fact some calculations of his tenure overlook.

Other than Vajpayee and Modi, PMs with long tenure include Indias first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who assumed office on August 15, 1947 stayed in the seat till May 27, 1964, a total of 6,130 days or almost 17 years. His daughter Indira Gandhi who first assumed office on January 24, 1966 continued till March 24, 1977; she returned as PM on January 14, 1980 and continued till her assassination on October 31, 1984. She was in office for 5,829 days. Dr Manmohan Singh was PM for 10 years between May 22, 2004 and May 26, 2014, a total of 3,656 days. Then come Modi and Vajpayee.

On Modis term, BJP national vice president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe said his leadership has left an indelible mark on polity as well as governance. Some PMs left a mark on polity while others on governance. He has made a mark on both.

Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said, Prime Minister Modi will be remembered for setting scary, disappointing and nation-damaging records. He is the first Prime Minister to give the unwarranted gift of highest unemployment, giving clean chit to land grabber China apart from being the architect of biggest and scariest economic disaster existent in India, Shergill added.

Abhay Deshpande, a political commentator, said, Hes taken the BJP from a party with a fractured mandate to a party with a clear mandate. It is obvious he will be in a position to create a record for being the longest serving non-Congress PM.
August 13, 2020

New initiative can provide critical care patient monitoring anywhere, anytime to help meet the urgent challenges of ICU capacity

Helps mitigate the impact of natural disasters and pandemics like the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak

Amsterdam, the Netherlands - Royal Philips combines Philips advanced patient monitoring technology with predictive patient centric algorithms enabling care teams to quickly scale up critical care patient monitoring capabilities within a few hours [2]. As health systems in the U.S. continue to experience surges in critical care and emergency care demand related to the COVID-19 crisis, the kit provides hospitals a way to quickly and easily expand their critical care capacity.

Innovative approach to help manage capacity surge in the ICU

The Philips Rapid Equipment Deployment Kit is a fully configured and ready-to-deploy ICU patient monitoring solution, which includes 20 ICU monitors, 20 measurement servers and one central management monitoring station. The kits are pre-built, pre-configured and pre-packed into sturdy cases that can elevate a hospital's general care area to a critical care level in a matter of hours [3]. Kits are complete with step-by-step instructions allowing the pre-configured system to be deployed by hospital staff, with remote technical and clinical support from Philips. Kits can be transferred from hospital to hospital as needed. Once a crisis/surge passes, the kits are disinfected, packed up and stored to have available in preparation for future emergencies.

"The current health crisis has demonstrated a clear need for us to deliver innovative solutions to our customers that provide a complete critical care monitoring solution with all of the equipment they require on demand. This eliminates the need to source and configure individual pieces of high-demand equipment during a crisis," said Peter Ziese, General Manager of Monitoring Analytics at Philips. "To help ensure economical and more efficient use of hospital resources, the Rapid Equipment Deployment Kits provide the speed, flexibility and ease of implementation for advanced critical care patient monitoring that many of our customers must have during this most pressing time."

Philips critical care patient monitoring solutions

In June, Philips announced it had received Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA for Philips' IntelliVue Patient Monitors MX750/MX850 and its IntelliVue Active Displays AD75/AD85, for use in the US during the COVID-19 health emergency [4]. These patient monitoring solutions support infection-control protocols and remotely provide critical patient information when caring for hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The MX750 and MX850 monitors are the latest additions to Philips' portfolio of integrated patient monitoring solutions to help support improved clinical and operational workflows. Updated features, include enhancements to monitor and assess clinical and network device performance, and additional functionalities to strengthen cybersecurity. Visit Philips critical care patient monitoring for more information on the Rapid Equipment Deployment Kits in the US market and Philips full suite of critical care patient monitoring solutions.

Philips COVID-19 solutions portfolio

Philips has a comprehensive portfolio of services and solutions to help support the delivery of high-quality care to COVID-19 patients. Solutions include secure, connected and intelligent approaches to diagnosis, treatment and predictive monitoring in the hospital, plus screening, remote patient monitoring and care at home. With healthcare under more pressure than ever before, Philips' telehealth and AI-enabled data analytics can help support workflows, facilitate remote collaboration and optimize resources. Philips' COVID-19-related solutions are designed for rapid deployment and scalability. For more information on how Philips is addressing COVID-19 globally, please visit the Philips centralized COVID-19 hub .

[1] Philips Rapid Equipment Deployment Kits are available in the US market only.

Kits are available in the US market only.

[2] Compared to Philips' standard delivery time of 12-16 weeks. Average time for delivery is 7 days as of July 2020.

[3] Compared to Philips' standard go-live of 5-7 days upon arrival. Average time for go-live is 5 hours as of July 2020.

4] The status of the Emergency Use Authorization can be found on the FDA website .

The IntelliVue Patient Monitors MX750/MX850, IntelliVue 4-Slot Module Rack FMX-4 and IntelliVue Active Displays AD75/AD85 have neither been FDA cleared or approved for the indication to assist in for monitoring and recording of, and for generating alarms for, multiple physiological parameters of adult, pediatric, and neonate patients having or suspected of having Coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19)

The IntelliVue Patient Monitors MX750/MX850, IntelliVue 4-Slot Module Rack FMX-4 and IntelliVue Active Displays AD75/AD85 have been authorized for the emergency use by FDA under an EUA

The IntelliVue Patient Monitors MX750/MX850, IntelliVue 4-Slot Module Rack FMX-4 and IntelliVue Active Displays AD75/AD85 have been authorized only for the duration of the declaration that circumstances exist justifying the authorization of the emergency use of medical devices under section 564(b)(1) of the Act, 21 U.S.C.  360bbb-3(b)(1), unless the authorization is terminated or revoked sooner.

For further information, please contact:

Kathy O'Reilly

Philips Global Press Office

Tel.: +1 978-221-8919

E-Mail: kathy.oreilly@philips.com

About Royal Philips

Royal Philips.





Attachments
Tens of thousands of Belarusians staged a wave of peaceful protests on Thursday against President Alexander Lukashenko's disputed re-election and an ensuing brutal police crackdown.

In apparent concessions, Belarus announced the release of more than 1,000 detained protesters and the interior minister apologised to injured bystanders.

European countries condemned the police violence, with the European Union set to discuss possible sanctions on Friday.

Crowds stood on central streets in the capital Minsk waving lit-up phones and flowers, and cheering as cars drove past honking horns in support.

Earlier tens of thousands of people formed human chains in the city, many wearing white and holding flowers and balloons, to protest against police brutality during four nights of unrest since Sunday's vote.

Similar human chains formed in half a dozen other cities, local media reported.

Official statements suggested a more conciliatory approach following public outrage at extreme police violence including shootings and beatings.

Senate Speaker Natalya Kochanova said on television that Lukashenko had ordered officials to review detentions and more than 1,000 people taken into custody at protests had been released.

AFP journalists saw men and women emerge from a Minsk detention centre.

The interior ministry has said it has detained some 6,700 people at protests since Sunday.

Interior Minister Yury Karayev said on state television: "I apologise for the injuries of random people at protests who got caught in the middle."

Lukashenko's opponents accuse him of rigging the election to defeat his main rival, popular opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who has left the ex-Soviet country for neighbouring Lithuania.

People came out to contest the election results and police used stun grenades, rubber bullets, tear gas, water cannon and, in at least one case, live fire to disperse the crowds.

At least two people have died and hundreds have been wounded in the violence while nearly 7,000 have been arrested.

Story continues

- V signs as women freed -

Outside Minsk's Okrestina detention centre, women detainees emerged first in small groups then male detainees, as hundreds of friends and relatives waited.

Many of the detainees looked tired and tearful but some raised V signs and punched the air.

Volunteers handed out food and blankets and offered rides home.

The constitutional court has so far released 569 names of people sentenced to brief jail terms, usually 15 days.

Amnesty International said detainees had testified that they received severe beatings and threats of rape.

Those detained have said they were held in overcrowded cells with insufficient food and water.

- 'Change!' -

On Thursday, demonstrators held placards reading "Change!" and "No violence" and wore white bracelets, one of the symbols of the opposition movement.

"We want to show that we, the women of our country, are against violence," said Yekaterina, a 38-year-old hairdresser wearing a white sweater and jacket and holding a bunch of white flowers.

Large groups of workers at several major factories staged walk-outs, local media reported.

Russia's foreign ministry on Thursday claimed protests showed "clear attempts at outside interference".

But leaders of neighbouring Poland and the Baltic states urged Lukashenko to "terminate the use of force against your people immediately".

European Union foreign ministers were set to discuss possible new sanctions on Belarus at an extraordinary meeting on Friday.

Prominent Belarusians have condemned the violence and urged Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron grip since 1994, to step down.

In an interview with RFE/RL, writer Svetlana Alexievich, winner of the 2015 Nobel literature prize, spoke of her shock at the "inhumane, satanic" actions of riot police and urged Lukashenko to go peacefully.

- 'Inhumane actions' -

The interior ministry on Wednesday acknowledged that police deliberately fired on a group of protesters, wounding one.

Officials have confirmed the deaths of two protesters.

Police said the first died on Monday when an explosive device went off in his hand, while his widow told local media he was unarmed.

The Belarusian Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, on Wednesday said a 25-year-old man died after being detained and sentenced to 10 days in prison in the southeastern city of Gomel.

His mother told local media he had heart problems and had gone out to see his girlfriend, not to take part in protests.

- Foreign-controlled 'sheep' -

The protests broke out after authorities said Lukashenko won 80 percent of the vote in Sunday's election to secure a sixth term.

Lukashenko, 65, has dismissed the demonstrators as foreign-controlled "sheep".

The protest movement arose in support of Tikhanovskaya, a 37-year-old political novice who ran for president after potential opposition candidates including her husband were jailed.

The official results gave her 10 percent of the vote, but Tikhanovskaya said the election was rigged and claimed victory, demanding that Lukashenko hand over power.

She left for neighbouring Lithuania on Tuesday as allies said she came under official pressure.

burs-as-am/kaf
We came out here to do one thing: to shut it down, Pfleger, of St. Sabina Catholic Church, said at the time. We came here to get their attention. Hopefully we got their attention.  Today was the attention-getter, but now comes the action.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has expressed concern that Russia has provided military supplies to Armenia in the weeks following deadly clashes along the border between the two South Caucasus countries in July.

According to a statement issued by Aliyevs press service on August 13, Aliyev called Russian President Vladimir Putin the previous day to seek clarification of this issue.

Baku claimed that more than 400 tons of military goods have been provided by Russia to Armenia via the airspace of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Iran since the clashes erupted.

At least five Armenian servicemen and 12 Azerbaijani servicemen, including a general, were killed during several days of fighting that erupted along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border on July 12 and involved the use of heavy artillery and drones.

The Kremlin also issued a statement on the August 12 telephone conversation between Putin and Aliyev, but it did not mention the discussion of the issue of military supplies.

The presidents discussed regional issues within the context of the tension along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in July. The Russian side stressed the inadmissibility of any action that would lead to the escalation of the situation, the Kremlin said in its statement.

Armenian officials have not commented on the Azerbaijani presidents statement.

In the wake of the clashes, the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, in which Russia acts as a co-chair along with the United States and France, urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to restart peace talks aimed at resolving the decades-long conflict involving ethnic Armenian separatists over Azerbaijans breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia hosts a Russian military base and is a member of the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization, which entitles it to receive discounted armaments from Russia.

It is believed that since 2011 Azerbaijan has purchased up to $4 billion worth of arms from Russia.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and a delegation of high-ranking military officials arrived in Baku on August 12 to observe the final part of a joint live-fire military exercise involving Turkish and Azerbaijani land and air forces.
Environmentalists on Thursday said the draft EIA notification must be translated into all Indian languages so that everyone gets an equal opportunity to comment on it.

In the last few months, the draft Impact Assessment (EIA) notification proposed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has drawn flak from experts and activists alleging that it diluted various provisions.

Avinash Chanchal, climate campaigner at Greenpeace India, said, "Since this draft EIA 2020 is going to impact a vast range of communities, translation of draft into all indian languages must be done so that everyone has an equal opportunity to comment on the draft."



Sharing a similar view, Yash Marwah from environmental collective Let India Breathe said it's sad that the ministry did not translate the draft into other languages.

"We create content in multiple languages. It is weird that despite the Delhi High Court order the government has not translated it. More than two million people have already opposed it and if it is translated in more languages, the opposition will only grow," Marwah said.

The Delhi High Court on June 30 had directed the Ministry of to translate the draft in official vernacular languages mentioned in the eighth schedule of the Constitution.

The ministry, however, approached the Supreme Court against the order which was "dismissed as withdrawn" on Thursday.

The ministry said the plea filed in the Delhi High Court seeking translation of the draft was against the Constitution.

"We challenged it in the Supreme Court which has asked us to go to the high court again. In our view it (the plea) is against the constitutional scheme. It is also against the official languages Act. We will file the review plea in the high court," Secretary R P Gupta told PTI.

He asserted that Article 343 of the Constitution says the official language of the Union government would be Hindi.

"English has been permitted only as special cases," he said.

Environment lawyer Vikrant Tongad, the petitioner who had moved the high court seeking translation of the draft, had also moved contempt petition against the ministry after it did not comply with the Delhi High Court order.

The Supreme Court has stayed the petition.

"There are 22 languages in the 8th schedule of the Constitution.The draft EIA must be translated into these languages. We sought that and approached the high court but the ministry did not comply despite orders. We then moved contempt of court petition against the ministry for non compliance," Tongad told PTI.

"They (ministry) went to the Supreme Court against the decision of the high court. The apex court refused to hear their plea and asked them to move the review plea in the high court. We are happy with the top court's order," he added.

According to Environment Secretary Gupta, more than 15 lakh emails and letters have been received by the ministry from the public on the draft.

He said 99 per cent of the mails/letters are repetitive and have the same issues.

When asked whether there is any support received by the ministry on the draft, he said, We have to go through that.

(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.)
Tensions are mounting in the eastern Mediterranean between countries vying for the vast deposits of natural gas that have been discovered there.

The potential for military action is rising as neighbours forge new alliances and, in some cases, make old wounds worse in the regional scramble to secure energy rights for this century and beyond.

How much natural gas is at stake? Some estimates put the size of the reserves at 3.5 trillion cubic metres, which would put the region on a par with Venezuela and Nigeria. The United States could run for nearly a decade on that find alone. Additionally, there is a further 5.13 trillion cubic metres of gas estimated to be in the Nile Basin. It is no surprise then that Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan and the Palestinian authorities all want as large a piece of the pie that they can secure for themselves.

And for the most part, they have. Egypt has started to exploit its reserves of gas and oil and is now a regional exporter. Lebanon, with the help of France and Russia, is also about to start commercial drilling. Europe has long been wanting to cut its reliance on Russian gas, and the energy-hungry trading bloc would be an ideal market for eastern Mediterranean natural gas.

So what is the sticking point? The main causes of friction are the overlapping and competing claims made by Greece and the Republic of Cyprus on the one hand and Turkey and Northern Cyprus on the other. Relations have got so bad between the fractious neighbours that both sides have threatened military action to defend what they say are their territorial rights.

There are up to 3.5 trillion cubic metres of natural gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean [Al Jazeera]

Cyprus divided

At the epicentre of these claims lies the island of Cyprus.

Having gained its independence in 1960 in a power-sharing deal between the Greek Cypriot majority and the Turkish Cypriot minority, a Treaty of Guarantee was signed between Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and the United Kingdom, the islands former colonial ruler.

The treaty banned Cyprus from participating in any political or economic union with any other country.

But in 1974, Greek Cypriot nationalists backed by Greeces military dictatorship staged a short-lived coup seeking to unite Cyprus with Greece. Turkey, invoking its treaty obligations, responded by invading the northern end of the island.

In a short, bloody war, Cyprus was effectively partitioned into two states divided by a United Nations-controlled buffer zone.

To this day, the internationally recognised government of the Republic of Cyprus, a European Union member, controls the southern, Greek Cypriot part of the island while Turkish Cypriots maintain a self-declared independent state in the north that is unrecognised by the international community but guaranteed by Turkey.

Legal issues

Turkey does not recognise the Republic of Cyprus and therefore rejects any claims it makes regarding offshore drilling. Turkey is also one of the few countries that are not signatory to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), an international treaty governing the use of the oceans and their resources.

According to the UNCLOS, a nations territorial waters extend up to 12 nautical miles (22.2km) from the shore, and up to 200 nautical miles (370km) from the shore is its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). As the name suggests, anything found in or under the water out to this distance belongs exclusively to that country.

Turkey, however, has a unique way of looking at EEZs, refusing to accept that islands can have such zones, and insisting that any islands control extends only 12 nautical miles from its shore.

Turkey cites what is called the continental shelf theory, and says that (islands excluded) a countrys landmass, and therefore its EEZ, extends underwater to the very edge of the continental shelf. And everything on that continental shelf is part of its own territory until the bottom drops off.

The UN does not recognise this method of calculation, which has triggered a cascade of claims and counter-claims between the countries, as Turkey refuses to acknowledge those made between Cyprus and Greece. And because Turkey does not recognise the Republic of Cyprus, it does not recognise the bilateral deals Cyprus has with Lebanon and Israel.

Turkey does not agree with international standards for determining an EEZ [Al Jazeera]

Turkey and its neighbours

The key player here is Turkey.

With a rapidly growing population, it is eager to revive its stagnant economy as US-imposed sanctions and the sharp drop in the value of its currency, the Lira, have shrunk its budget. It imports more than 90 percent of its natural gas, and securing energy supplies is key to its growth.

Despite these challenges, Turkey is massively boosting its military-industrial-complex.

A large shipbuilding programme is under way, new air defence destroyers, advanced corvettes, frigates and a large mini-aircraft carrier, the amphibious assault ship Anadolu, have all been built for its growing navy. Combat drones, missiles and attack helicopters are also now being designed and made in Turkey.

Its neighbours have watched with increasing unease as Turkey, with its large combat-hardened armed forces, is now involved not just in northern Syria but also in the rapidly expanding war in Libya.

Turkish seismic research vessel Oruc Reis sails through the Mediterranean after leaving port in Antalya on August 10 [Reuters]

The Libyan angle

In the last few months, Ankara has managed to reverse the fortunes of Libyas embattled UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) besieged in the capital Tripoli, by sending extensive military aid and troops.

Breaking the siege, forces aligned to the rival self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) were driven back. Supporting the LNA are Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Russia and France.

How is this linked to gas in the eastern Mediterranean? In November 2019, Turkey and the GNA signed a bilateral maritime deal that carved up a large portion of the eastern Mediterranean between them. Using the continental shelf method, they allocated themselves blocks for drilling and gas exploration.

Several of these blocks were just off the Greek islands of Crete and Karpathos. This immediately invoked heavy condemnation from Greece and also from Egypt and the international community, as a move that was not only illegal but also significantly destabilising.

Escalating tensions

Turkey feels it is being increasingly isolated diplomatically, especially when it comes to regional energy deals. Early last year, the energy ministers of Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine all met in Cairo to discuss cooperation, the setting up of the East Med Gas Forum, and to look into the building of a large undersea pipeline that would funnel gas to Europe. Turkey was pointedly not invited.

Its increasingly go-it-alone attitude is unsettling its neighbours after Turkey deployed armed drones in December to Northern Cyprus to protect its survey ships. In May, the French aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle conducted military drills off the coast of the island as a tacit warning to Turkish survey vessels attempting to prospect there, encroaching on European interests. In a clear signal to Ankara, the US announced in July that it would start military training for the Cypriot army.

If these events were not concerning enough, Turkey has now sent an exploration ship, the Oruc Reis, protected by a flotilla of warships, into the contested blocks near Crete. The ship was supposed to be deployed in July, but Turkey had held back due to the sharp and widespread international condemnation that followed. Ankara reversed this decision when Greece and Egypt signed a bilateral maritime deal in early August, announcing it would continue active exploration in the disputed region.

The deployment of the Oruc Reis has sharply escalated regional tensions. Greece and the EU have condemned the move, saying its territory has been violated. France has now said it will increase its military presence there in an effort to stave off conflict. The Greek armed forces have gone on full alert, Hellenic naval vessels are shadowing the Turkish flotilla, and minor clashes between Greek and Turkish aircraft and naval units have increased.

In this heated climate, the possibility of a miscalculation leading to military action between the two NATO members is growing by the day.

A conflict in the eastern Mediterranean, however, would unravel all the peace and relative stability that the region has enjoyed for years.

Regardless of the outcome, war would be disastrous, damaging the regions economy and hardening European and regional attitudes against an increasingly isolated Turkey. With so much at stake and so much wealth and security to be had, the eastern Mediterranean stands to greatly benefit if everyones claims are satisfied. The Republic of Cyprus has already requested a ruling from the International Court of Justice in the Hague on its and Turkeys overlapping claims.

Despite this arbitration, and with so many bilateral and trilateral ties and alliances binding the countries vying for these rich finds of natural gas, the potential for a small incident to trigger a cascade of events that will draw everyone into war is increasingly likely.

Video production and additional reporting by Adam Adada.
By PTI

SINGAPORE: The first batch of volunteers aged between 21 and 55 in Singapore have received a dose of a potential coronavirus vaccine being developed in the country.

Called Lunar-Cov19, the vaccine is developed by Duke-NUS Medical School and American pharmaceutical company Arcturus Therapeutics.

Arcturus in a statement on Tuesday said that this first phase of the trial involved volunteers aged between 21 and 55, who were injected with a single shot of the vaccine.

Data from this phase of the early-stage trial would be used to select the dosage regimens of the next phase, which will involve those aged 56 to 80, as well as younger adults.

Arcturus president and chief executive Joseph Payne said that based on pre-clinical trials, its vaccine may only need to be administered once, and at a very low dose.

"These favourable attributes could greatly facilitate mass vaccination campaigns necessary to control this global pandemic," he said.

As of last week, more than 250 people here had volunteered for the trials of the vaccine but only around 100 were selected.

The trial, which is being administered by the SingHealth Investigational Medicine Unit, is expected to last until October this year.

The vaccine was originally slated to begin trials in September, but had been approved ahead of time due to pre-clinical trials "exceeding expectations".

Lunar-Cov19 contains genetic material called mRNA, which encodes part of the virus.

Injected into a person, it causes the body's cells to begin manufacturing a protein similar to that of the virus, allowing the body to recognise and learn to fight it.

Meanwhile, Singapore on Thursday reported 102 new coronavirus cases, taking the national tally to 55,497.

Migrant workers living in dormitories made up the majority of the cases, said Ministry of Health (MOH) in its daily update.

The new cases included five community cases comprising a permanent resident and four work pass holders.

There were also six imported cases who had been placed on stay-home notices upon arrival in Singapore.

On Wednesday, 800 foreign workers were quarantined after health authorities discovered a case among them in a dormitory that had been cleared of the virus.

They are among about 22,800 workers who are still serving out their quarantine period.

These workers will be tested when their quarantine ends, and it expects the new infection case counts to remain high in the coming days before tapering off, said MOH.

The 11 imported patients reported on Wednesday comprised two Singaporeans, three work pass holders, one work permit holder, four dependant's pass holders and one special pass holder.

These patients had returned from Indonesia, India and the Philippines.

Among them is a Filipino seaman holding a special pass who arrived from India on August 8 on a vessel.

The seaman reported symptoms and was tested on the vessel.

He remained on the vessel until his test result came back positive for COVID-19, and was subsequently conveyed in an ambulance to a hospital.

Singapore has recorded 27 deaths from COVID-19 complications, while 15 who tested positive have died of other causes.
The United States Postal Service (USPS) may be critical for a successful November election, but budget shortfalls and an unwillingness to assist from President Donald Trump could put polls in danger.

USPS already faced questions over how it would handle the expected spike of mail-in ballots due to the coronavirus pandemic, but several operational changes imposed by new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a Trump ally, have led to mail backlogs across the US as rumours of additional cutbacks swirl, fuelling worries about the November vote.

Democrat demands that a coronavirus relief bill include federal aid for the currently overtaxed post office and funding for the upcoming US election have become major sticking points in negotiations for legislation members of both sides say needs to be passed soon, President Donald Trump said on Thursday.

The items are the post office and the $3.5bn for mail-in voting, he told Fox Business Network, saying Democrats want to give the post office $25bn. If we dont make the deal, that means they cant have the money, that means they cant have universal mail-in voting. It just cant happen.

Questionable policies

The pandemic has forced states to expand voting by mail as a safe alternative to in-person polling places. Some states are opting to send ballots to voters or allow people to use fear of the virus as a reason to cast an absentee ballot. That has led to predictions of an unprecedented amount of mail voting in the presidential election.

Trailing in the polls, President Donald Trump has been sowing public distrust in USPSs ability to adequately deliver ballots and has, without evidence, said allowing more people to vote by mail will result in rampant corruption.

The agencys new leader, DeJoy, a former supply-chain CEO and a major donor to Trump and other Republicans, has pushed cost-cutting measures to eliminate overtime pay and hold mail until the next day if postal distribution centres are running late.

Demonstrators rally during a coronavirus response protest. A demonstrator holds an American flag next to a US Postal Service mailbox [Kevin Lamarque/Reuters]

DeJoy, 63, of North Carolina, was tapped to head the service by a Trump-appointed board of governors and started in June. He is the first postmaster general in nearly two decades who is not a career postal employee.

DeJoy has said repeatedly that the Postal Service is in a financially untenable position and needs to rein in expenses. This past week, it reported $2.2bn in losses during the three months that ended in June.

Postal leaders want at least a $10bn infusion from Congress as well as regulatory changes that would end a costly mandate that they fund in advance billions of dollars in retiree health benefits.

Without dramatic change, there is no end in sight, and we face an impending liquidity crisis, DeJoy told the Postal Services governing board on Friday.

Memos from post office leadership, obtained by The Associated Press news agency (AP), detailed an elimination of overtime and a halting of late delivery trips that are sometimes needed to make sure deliveries arrive on time. One document said if distribution centres are running behind, they will keep the mail for the next day.

Another said: One aspect of these changes that may be difficult for employees is that  temporarily  we may see mail left behind or mail on the workroom floor or docks.

Additional records obtained by AP outline upcoming reductions of hours at post offices, including closures during lunch and on Saturdays. Rumours have also circulated about the potential for entire offices to shutter after the USPS told Senator Joe Manchin that regional managers there have identified 12 offices for feasibility studies.

Postal employees have been recently instructed not to talk to news media while on duty, according to another memo obtained by AP.





The changes have taken their toll on the Postal Services 630,000 employees.

As they risk their health each day along with other front-line essential workers, letter carriers have become angry, frustrated and embarrassed by various USPS management initiatives that are now resulting in delayed mail and undelivered routes in many areas of the country, said Fredric Rolando, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, which represents nearly 300,000 carriers nationwide.

Bipartisan criticism

The new policies have angered lawmakers from both parties and drawn criticism from former President Barack Obama, who said the current administration is undermining the Postal Service in an election thats going to be dependent on mail-in ballots.

DeJoy has been the target of multiple letters from members of Congress who have called on the postmaster general to rescind his measures and have complained about a lack of transparency from the agency.

Eighty-four House members, including four Republicans, signed a letter that said it is vital that the Postal Service does not reduce mail delivery hours, which could harm rural communities, seniors, small businesses and millions of Americans who rely on the mail for critical letters and packages.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had a closed-door meeting with DeJoy this past week to discuss the agencys worsening performance and need for emergency funding. Schumer later described it as a heated discussion.

Pelosi and Schumer followed up with a letter to DeJoy that said the operational changes threaten the timely delivery of mail  including medicines for seniors, paychecks for workers, and absentee ballots for voters  that is essential to millions of Americans.

During a meeting on Friday with the Postal Service governing board, DeJoy said the agency is not slowing down election mail and remains committed to fulfilling its role in elections.
Katie Price has been accused of promoting a scam watch company on her Instagram stories.

Fans took to TrustPilot earlier this month to complain how they haven't received their purchases after the former glamour model, 42, advertised them back in July.

Katie promoted the watch company Harry Lewis on social media, telling fans they could get a watch for 10 in the company's 80% off flash sale.

Caught out: Katie Price has been accused of promoting a scam watch company on her Instagram stories

However, some have accused Harry Lewis of being a scam after their emails bounced back when they complained they haven't received their watches, but the money had been taken out of their account.

One told The Sun: 'After I saw Katie advertising the watches on 23 and 24 July, I went on and bought four, at 10 each, for my family - but nothing turned up.

'I didn't even get a confirmation email after they took the money - and the email on their website bounced back. It's a scam.'

Scam? Fans took to TrustPilot earlier this month to complain how they haven't received their purchases after the former glamour model, 42, advertised them back in July

Promotion: Katie promoted the watch company Harry Lewis on social media, telling fans they could get a watch for 10 in the company's 80% off flash sale

Another fan of Katie's wrote on TrustPilot: 'Scam do not buy. I was directed to the website from Katie Price's Instagram story sharing these watches she had received.

'Ordered 22nd of July, email confirmation stated I would receive a further email when shipped, had no other email. Contacted them or should I say trued to and the email was redirected back to my inbox as a non existent email address . Absolute scam.'

'Scam. Please be aware I bought two watches from this company and did not receive anything. If you try to contact them the email address does not exist,' wrote another.

Upset: However, some have accused Harry Lewis of being a scam after their emails bounced back when they complained they haven't received their watches

Katie's representative told MailOnline: 'Katie would never have endorsed this brand knowing what we do now- she has been targeted herself as other well known personalities.

'This has had a terribly negative impact on Katie, who's fans and supporters are her world, we are getting to the bottom of this and those responsible will be held accountable.'

MailOnline has contacted Harry Lewis for comment.

It's been a tough time for Katie, who had to go to hospital on Wednesday to take a coronavirus test ahead of crucial surgery on her feet later this week.

The television personality is unable to walk after falling in Turkey, causing hairline fractures in her feet.

Last week, Katie went to a specialist after returning to the U.K. and told fans the prognosis was 'devastating'.
(Photo : REUTERS/Florence Lo) The messenger app WeChat is seen in between China flags in this illustration picture taken August 7, 2020. (Photo : REUTERS/Bobby Yip) WeChat mascots are displayed inside Tencent office at TIT Creativity Industry Zone in Guangzhou, China, May 9, 2017.

WeChat ban in the United States has already begun. Unlike ByteDance's TikTok, its parent company called Tencent said to be unconcerned with its impact on China's messaging app. It turns out, American users on the platform are not that many with only 2% of the market. The Cupertino company Apple, however, should be the one worrying the most. Here's why.





Why WeChat isn't affected with the U.S. ban

On Aug. 6, the U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order asking Chinese companies of Tencent and ByteDance of being banned in the country. These apps include famous TikTok and WeChat.

In the span of 45 days, all companies associated with the said Chinese tech giants must withdraw their arrangements over 'national security issues.' ByteDance already released a statement regarding the ban saying they were 'shocked' with the sudden decision.

Meanwhile, Tencent reveals not feeling any worried on their end, according to BBC.

It turns out, WeChat's user base on America is only 2% of its total market or revenue. Therefore, not being totally affected, even the WeChat ban is implemented.

"If you look at the executive orders from May 2019 and then obviously the executive order a couple of days ago, they specify very clearly they cover U.S. jurisdiction, and consequently we don't see any impact on companies advertising on our platform in China," said James Mitchell, Tencent's chief strategy officer.

Tech Times also reported that the Tencent games, including Fortnite, League of Legends, and Valorant, are also unaffected by the executive order.

Video game companies owned by Tencent will NOT be affected by this executive order!



White House official confirmed to the LA Times that the EO only blocks transactions related to WeChat



So Riot Games (League of Legends), Epic Games (Fortnite), et al are safe



(pending updates)  Sam Dean (@SamAugustDean) August 7, 2020

WeChat U.S. Ban: How about Apple?

Although WeChat expresses unmoved by the recent U.S. ban, the same expression may not be said to Apple. Interestingly, the Cupertino-based company may be the one that will be most affected by the U.S. ban.

Once the 45 day-deadline is over, Apple devices won't be allowed to download 'WeChat' nor 'TikTok.' Since 'WeChat' is the main messaging app of China, Tencent warns that iPhones may not be an option for smartphones in the country anymore. After all, the app that they needed the most won't be available on the device.

According to calculations, Apple's yearly revenue in China amounts to an estimated $44 billion. Apple has not yet commented on the matter.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Jamie Pancho

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
BAD AXE  The Huron County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to reopen the Huron County Building to visitors for normal business hours, starting this coming Monday.

The normal business hours for the building are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The building had been previously been open to visitors from 8 a.m. until noon Monday through Thursday and closed on Fridays except by appointment during July. Prior to that, it was closed to the public from March through June when the coronavirus pandemic started taking hold of Huron County.

Commissioner Todd Talaski said during Tuesdays board of commissioners meeting that he does not understand why the county building is still closed.

We have a certain amount of business that needs to happen there, Talaski said. I dont see the benefit of keeping it closed. It's more difficult for the public to figure out when they came come in to figure out business.

Chairman Sami Khoury said that officers in the county building were not getting a high number of visitors, and that people could still call ahead to make an appointment. He was not opposed to opening back up fully.

Talaski suggested that if the county building were to close down again, it should be so that some days it's open in the morning and others later in the day so it would work with peoples schedules.

Commissioners John Bodis and Ron Wruble were concerned about potential liabilities if something goes wrong and staff members get infected.

Jodi Essenmacher, the executive assistant for the commissioners, said that employees who work in the county building are split 50-50 over whether to reopen.

Most of them I talked to want to see it go back to normal, Essenmacher said. There are still a handful who have hesitancies due to personal reasons.

There are signs in the building indicating that people must wear masks and maintain a six-foot distance from each other. There is hand sanitizer in the halls, and peoples temperature is taken before entering the building.

In other board of commissioners news:

The commissioners approved the chairman signing a letter indicating the countys interest in pursuing Michigan community development block grant funding for reimbursing coronavirus expenses.

Huron County would be due to receive $334,471 if it moves forward.

Counties that receive this money are required to follow requirements stated in the CDBG grant administration manual.
EMIRATES has announced it will resume passenger services to Cebu on Aug. 20, with twice-weekly services utilizing a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft and bringing its gateways in the Philippines to three.

The airline will also resume services to Birmingham on Sept. 1 and Houston on Aug. 23. This will bring the airlines network to 74 destinations, offering travelers convenient connections between the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas through its Dubai hub.

Once scheduled services resume to Cebu, Emirates would have returned to operating out of three gateways in the Philippines. Scheduled services to Clark resumed earlier this month while flights to Manila have returned to operation since June 11.

We are pleased to restart our operations to Cebu once again and resume our operations to all three points in the Philippines. This is a significant milestone in our recovery and we are delighted to be able to serve our customers across the country in an efficient manner, helping passengers to return home or connect to other destinations in our growing network. We would like to thank the authorities for making this possible and look forward to welcoming travelers onboard. With comprehensive safety measures in place, in the air and on the ground, Emirates is committed to ensuring the health and well-being of passengers, crew and our employees at every step of the journey, said Satish Sethi, country manager for Emirates-Philippines.

Twice-weekly service

The twice-weekly service between Cebu and Dubai will operate on Tuesdays and Thursdays as flight EK2607/2608 until Aug. 27. Starting from Sept. 1 the flight will operate as EK338/339, on the same schedule.

Emirates flights on the Dubai-Birmingham route will operate four times a week, operated with a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, while flights between Dubai and Houston will operate three times a week utilizing a Boeing 777-200LR aircraft.

The airline currently serves five gateways in the United States including New York JFK, Washington DC, Boston (Aug. 15), Chicago and Los Angelesexpanding its US network to six cities and offering 27 weekly flights to the country.

Story continues

Customers can book flights on emirates.com or via travel agents.

Customers can stop over or travel to Dubai as the city has reopened for international business and leisure visitors.

Covid-19 PCR tests are mandatory for all inbound and transit passengers arriving to Dubai and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), including UAE citizens, residents and tourists, irrespective of the country they are coming from. / PR
Burma Three Activists Charged for Unlawful Assembly Over Karen Martyrs Day Event in Myanmar

The 70th Karen Martyrs' Day commemoration in Yangon faces pressure from police on Wednesday. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

YANGONTwo Karen men and one Burmese woman were charged Wednesday by police under the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law for holding an event to mark the 70th Karen Martyrs Day in Yangon.

The death of Karen revolutionary leader Saw Ba U Gyi, who was murdered on Aug. 12, 1950, is commemorated annually as Karen Martyrs Day. Saw Ba U Gyi founded the Karen National Union (KNU), one of Myanmars prominent ethnic armed groups.

On Wednesday morning, Kyauktada Township police detained two Karen activistsSa Thein Zaw Min and Saw Hser Kwar Larduring a commemoration of Karen Martyrs Day in the center of Yangon near Maha Bandula Park.

On Monday, authorities in the township denied the Karen organizers request for permission to hold the Karen Martyrs Day event, citing COVID-19 restrictions. Mass gatherings are banned in Myanmar under the governments COVID-19-related restrictions.

On Wednesday, police also arrested Burmese activist Daw Sein Htwe, who attended the 70th Karen Martyrs Day event, for allegedly absconding from a lawsuit brought against her under the Unlawful Assembly Law last year.

On Wednesday evening, the two Karen activistsSa Thein Zaw Min and Saw Hser Kwar Larwere released after police opened lawsuits against them under Article 20 of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law, according to Naw Ohn Hla, chair of the Karen Womens Union (KWU).

Under Article 20, organizers of a gathering can face a maximum sentence of one month in prison and a fine of 10,000 kyats (US$7.31) for failing to properly inform township authorities about a gathering, including details on the kind of activities involved, slogans, speeches, places and times.

Police Colonel Myo Thet of the Kyauktada Police Force told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that police sued the two Karen activists for reading messages that were not mentioned in the letter about the event that they filed with authorities.

Under one of the terms of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law, people who join an assembly must not recite or shout chants other than the ones approved.

On the same day, the Kyauktada Township Court sent Daw Sein Htwe to Insein Prison as she declined to request bail after being charged under Article 19 of the same law. Article 19 of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law carries a maximum sentence of three months in jail and a 30,000 kyat fine (US$21.93) for violating any of over a dozen rules on how and when people may assemble.

This weeks arrests mirror a series of arrests that followed last years Karen Martyrs Day events in Yangon, after which Sa Thein Zaw Min was sentenced to 15 days in prison.

On Oct. 12, 2019, Kyauktada police opened unlawful assembly cases against Daw Sein Htwe and two other activistsMa Zarchi Linn of the Democracy, Peace and Women (DPW) group and Naw Larshee Htoo of the KWUfor leading a rally in solidarity with three other Karen activists who had earlier been sentenced to 15 days in jail for holding a rally on the 69th Karen Martyrs Day in Yangon.

Karen activists Sa Thein Zaw Min, Saw Albert Cho and Daw Naw Ohn Hla, were sentenced to 15 days in prison by the Kyauktada Township Court on Oct. 2, 2019 for the 2019 Karen Martyrs Day gathering.

Police Colonel Myo Thet said that Daw Sein Htwe was sued on Wednesday under Article 19 of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Precession Law for leading the solidarity rally last year without informing the township authorities.

You may also like these stories:

Myanmar Police Detain Three for Holding 70th Karen Martyrs Day Event in Yangon

Myanmars Ruling Party to Contest All Seats in Conflict-Torn Rakhine State in November Election
Ukrainian consuls will meet with heads of local law enforcement agencies soon.

Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has said another Ukrainian citizen was detained in the town of Brest, Belarus, during ongoing protests in that country.

"On August 12, relatives of a citizen of Ukraine applied to Ukraine's consulate in Brest, who did not return home from work on August 11. The consulate immediately began searching and established he was detained in Brest on August 11 (as a protester) and is now in a local detention center," the MFA's press service wrote on Telegram on August 13, 2020.

Read alsoUkraine's Foreign Minister calls on Ukrainians not to travel Belarus amid protests

Ukrainian consuls will meet with heads of local law enforcement agencies soon to clarify all the circumstances of the incident and provide the necessary consular and legal assistance.

The situation is under the control of the Ukrainian consulate in Brest and the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.

Protests in Belarus: What is happening?
Technavio has been monitoring the residential backup power market and it is poised to grow by USD 1.92 billion during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of over 4% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200813005378/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Residential Backup Power Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire)

Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Please Request Free Sample Report on COVID-19 Impact

Frequently Asked Questions-

At what rate is the market projected to grow during the forecast period 2020-2024?

Growing at a CAGR of over 4%, the market growth will accelerate in the forecast period.

What is the key factor driving the market?

Growing use of batteries for power back up is one of the key factors driving the market growth.

Who are the top players in the market?

ABB Ltd., Caterpillar Inc., Cummins Inc., Exide Industries Ltd., Kohler Co., Panasonic Corp., Schneider Electric SE, Tesla Inc., Toshiba Corp., and Trojan Battery Co. LLC. are some of the major market participants.

Which region is expected to hold the highest market share?

APAC

What is the year-over-year growth rate of the global market?

The year-over-year growth rate for 2020 is estimated at 3.81%.

The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. ABB Ltd., Caterpillar Inc., Cummins Inc., Exide Industries Ltd., Kohler Co., Panasonic Corp., Schneider Electric SE, Tesla Inc., Toshiba Corp., and Trojan Battery Co. LLC. are some of the major market participants. To make most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments.

Residential Backup Power Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

Residential Backup Power Market is segmented as below:

Technology Generators Batteries Fuel Cells

Geographic Landscape APAC Europe MEA North America South America



To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR40814

Residential Backup Power Market 2020-2024: Scope

Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our residential backup power market report covers the following areas:

Residential Backup Power Market size

Residential Backup Power Market trends

Residential Backup Power Market analysis

This study identifies an increase in hybrid power systems as one of the prime reasons driving the residential backup power market growth during the next few years.

Residential Backup Power Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the residential backup power market, including some of the vendors such as ABB Ltd., Caterpillar Inc., Cummins Inc., Exide Industries Ltd., Kohler Co., Panasonic Corp., Schneider Electric SE, Tesla Inc., Toshiba Corp., and Trojan Battery Co. LLC. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the residential backup power market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform

Residential Backup Power Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist residential backup power market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the residential backup power market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the residential backup power market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of residential backup power market vendors

Table of Contents:

PART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

PART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORT

2.1 Preface

2.2 Currency conversion rates for US$

PART 03: MARKET LANDSCAPE

Market ecosystem

Market characteristics

Value chain analysis

Market segmentation analysis

PART 04: MARKET SIZING

Market definition

Market sizing 2019

Market outlook

Market size and forecast 2019-2024

PART 05: FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

PART 06: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY TECHNOLOGY

Market segmentation by technology

Comparison by technology

Generators Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Batteries Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Fuel cells Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by technology

PART 07: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPE

PART 08: GEOGRAPHIC LANDSCAPE

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

APAC Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Europe Market size and forecast 2019-2024

North America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

MEA Market size and forecast 2019-2024

South America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Key leading countries

Market opportunity

PART 09: DECISION FRAMEWORK

PART 10: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES

Market drivers

Market challenges

PART 11: MARKET TRENDS

Rising adoption of fuel cells for power backup

Increase in hybrid power systems

Development of smart cities

PART 12: VENDOR LANDSCAPE

Overview

Landscape disruption

Competitive scenario

PART 13: VENDOR ANALYSIS

Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors

ABB Ltd.

Caterpillar Inc.

Cummins Inc.

Exide Industries Ltd.

Kohler Co.

Panasonic Corp.

Schneider Electric SE

Tesla Inc.

Toshiba Corp.

Trojan Battery Co. LLC

PART 14: APPENDIX

Research methodology

List of abbreviations

Definition of market positioning of vendors

PART 15: EXPLORE TECHNAVIO

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200813005378/en/

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Instead of getting $400 a week in lost wages assistance as outlined in President Trumps memo issued Saturday, unemployed people in some states would get only $300, according to U.S. Department of Labor guidance issued Wednesday.

Its also possible they could get nothing if the plan is deemed illegal.

Trump announced the plan after Congress was unable to agree on a way to replace the extra $600 a week everyone on regular state or federal pandemic unemployment got from April through July.

His memo calls for using up to $44 billion from a federal disaster fund to provide $300 a week in lost wages assistance to unemployed people whose primary benefit is at least $100 a week (closing out additional assistance to the lowest-paid workers).

The federal law that allows funds to be used this way requires states to pay 25% of the $400 a week cost from their own funds  money that some governors, including Californias Gavin Newsom, said they didnt have.

Initially, it appeared that if states didnt provide the matching funds, their residents would get nothing. But the Labor Department guidance said, States may meet the $100 per claimant per week state match with the payments they make for regular state (unemployment insurance) benefits to claimants who are fully or partially unemployed as a result of the coronavirus. However, In this case eligible claimants will only receive a (lost wages assistance) payment of $300 in addition to their weekly benefit amount.

This makes it sound like self-employed and other people receiving Pandemic Unemployment Assistance would not be eligible for the extra $300, because money for that program is coming from the federal government under the Cares Act, not regular state unemployment, which is funded by a tax on employers.

However, the guidance says eligible claimants are people who self-certify they lost work caused by coronavirus disruptions and receive at least $100 of regular unemployment compensation, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, Extended Benefits and other federal programs.

The program is called lost wages assistance because its not part of the regular federal-state unemployment system. In fact, the guidance states that federal grants for administration of state (unemployment compensation) law may not be used to pay for any part of the costs of administration of the emergency assistance.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

Georgetown University law professor David Super argues that the entire program is illegal under the Stafford Act, which purportedly allows it.

The Administration is paying the full cost of the benefit with federal funds in defiance of the Stafford Acts unwaivable requirement that states pay one-quarter of the cost, he wrote in a blog post. Allowing states to double-count their regular unemployment benefits as their match when they are already counting those benefits to meet requirements of unemployment law is expressly prohibited by longstanding fiscal integrity rules.

In an email, Super said, Some of the confusion comes from this program being run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency but grafted onto a program being run by the Department of Labor, and from top administration officials making pronouncements that often conflict each other and the agencies. My best guess is that they will end up allowing the new benefit to go to recipients of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and other federally funded benefits, although they have gone back and forth on that question repeatedly.

Super wrote that chaos surrounding the programs ground rules, and the difficulties many states will have reprogramming their computers will delay payment of the new benefit until late August or early September. Because the administration only set aside enough money for five or six weeks of aid, many families may receive only a single retroactive check.

Kathleen Pender is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: kpender@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kathpender
DALLAS, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Securus Technologies today provided an update on the company's COVID-19 assistance efforts, providing free calls, video connections, and JPay Stamps in an emergency program deployed in conjunction with partners across the country. The program was implemented on March 13  the day the pandemic was declared a national emergency in the United States  and is designed to help incarcerated individuals stay connected with their loved ones.

To date, those free offerings total:

23 million free call credits for incarcerated individuals and their families, resulting in 176 million free minutes of phone connections;

5 million free video connections to friends and families of incarcerated individuals;

11 million free JPay Stamps for electronic messaging;

Total accommodations for 398 agencies and 739 sites across the United States .

In addition to this ongoing assistance, Securus is offering compassion credits designed to accommodate incarcerated individuals who fall ill with COVID-19. Those credits, which are uploaded onto prepaid cards and distributed by correctional facilities, allow additional free access to Securus phone calls and video connections throughout an individual's medical care. The company is also making free calls available to public defenders at many locations.

For those facilities enabled with Securus tablet technology, the company has introduced select free movie and game titles during the COVID-19 pandemic, which have been downloaded almost 2 million times. This expanded assistance is in addition to the collection of no-cost resources, including educational offerings, free eBooks, podcasts and other self-help tools that are always available free of charge.

"The pandemic has changed the way we communicate and stay connected with the ones who mean the most," said Dave Abel, president and CEO of Aventiv Technologies, parent company of Securus Technologies. "Aventiv is proud to facilitate free and reduced cost communications during this challenging time and will continue to invest in the ones we serve."

The program is a continuation of an ongoing expansive transformation by Securus Technologies to improve access to its services and greater support for those impacted by incarceration. The company continues to work with its partners to garner feedback about the situation on the ground. All support from Securus will be in accordance with the latest public health guidelines to ensure that the support is tailored and responsive to the unique needs of the incarcerated community.

ABOUT SECURUS TECHNOLOGIES

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Aventiv Technologies serves more than 3,450 public safety, law enforcement and corrections agencies and over 1,100,000 incarcerated individuals across North America, Aventiv is committed to serve and connect by providing emergency response, incident management, public information, investigation, biometric analysis, communication, information management, incarcerated self-service, and monitoring products and services in order to make our world a safer place to live. For more information, please visit www.Aventiv.com. Aventiv is a portfolio company of Platinum Equity. Founded in 1995 by Tom Gores, Platinum Equity is a global investment firm with a portfolio of approximately 40 operating companies that serve customers around the world.

SOURCE Securus Technologies

Related Links

http://www.Aventiv.com


An American woman living in HCMC who recently recovered from Covid-19 has registered to donate plasma to the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi.

Kelly Michelle Koch, 50, was one of 17 people to sign up for the donation for a research approved recently by the Ministry of Health. She's the first foreigner in the country to do so.

She went to the hospital on Wednesday and first had to undergo several screenings and tests to ensure her plasma is safe.

"I felt I had the opportunity to help people, and I was very thankful for everything that the Vietnamese government and healthcare providers did for me," she said.

Kelly Michelle Koch (R) has her blood pressure taken at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi, August 12, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Minh Nhat.

She tried to reassure people about donating plasma, saying: "Another benefit is we get free medical tests. We have screenings for many different things."

She had contracted Covid-19 in March during a trip to Phuket in Thailand. She was treated at the Cu Chi Field Hospital in HCMC, and recovered by early April.

The health ministry earlier this month approved research into the use of plasma from recovered Covid-19 patients to treat the rising number of new cases in the country.

Donors should be between 18 and 65 years old, weigh over 50 kg if male and over 45 kg if female.

They will be tested for hepatitis B, HIV and syphilis.

Screenings and tests are also done to determine the levels of antibodies in donors blood. Women donors must not have had over three pregnancies since they might then not have sufficient antibody levels, according to Vu Thi Thu Huong, head of the hospitals diagnosis department.

Following donation, the plasma is preserved for up to 12 months.

Huong said two people have been approved for the donation: a 29-year-old man and a 39-year-old woman.

Koch's offer is still awaiting approval.

Human plasma is currently used for Covid-19 treatment in some European countries, China and South Korea.

Vietnam has had 883 Covid-19 cases so far, 456 of them active and 18 have succumbed to the disease.

Koch said she has no plans to return to the U.S. any time soon.

"This is my home now. It's very safe here.

"I believe the government did a very good job of containing and minimizing the impacts on the citizens of Vietnam, so I feel very fortunate that I was in Vietnam at this time because now we can pretty much freely return to our work within the country."
The coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt our lives. Although progress is being made on some fronts, there still exists uncertainty on one key area: Education. With Labor Day just a few weeks away, every family is asking the same question: Will our kids go to school in September? Barring any major calamity, the answer must be yes.

The 2020 school year is over. We cannot go back and try to fix anything that went wrong. But, we learn from experience and begin to plan for the next school year. We can provide parents with some clarity to questions regarding the most important thing in their lives, their children.

These are not easy issues to deal with. But, we cannot go another six months or one year with our children learning remotely. It just does not work for too many families and students, especially younger ones. For the past few months, more than one million New York City students have been forced to learn from home. While in a handful of instances, this approach has worked, the clear, unmistakable reality is that it has not worked for the vast majority of students. We need a better approach. We cannot shortchange our children. And, we cannot wait to plan.

There is a reason why schools exist in the first place. Schools provide the best place for children to learn from teachers, to interact with other children, to develop interpersonal and social skills, which allow children to mature and to grow. Moreover, when quality teachers and counselors monitor children properly, they will be less likely to fall behind academically. What the past few months have revealed, among other things, is that children need to be in a classroom to obtain the best education possible. This is especially true for younger children.

While some children are capable of learning on their own through the use of Zoom or whiteboards, most are not. In addition, most parents cannot take the place of quality teachers.

We are reopening businesses with an emphasis on safety and health. Accordingly, we must reopen our schools with the same objectives in mind. We must guarantee that the health, safety and well-being of our children remain our number one priority. We must feel confident that the schools and classrooms are safe and clean.

Assuming things such as social distancing are still in effect come September, we must determine that appropriate space and spacing is available. I suggest the following approach to meet these new needs and to address the new normal:

1. Keep city and state colleges closed.

2. Move high school students to the college campuses. For example, The College of Staten Island Campus would accommodate some of the nearby high schools on Staten Island.

3. Move middle school students to the high schools.

4. Move grammar school kids to the middle schools.

By doing the above, we will allow more space per student at each location and be able to more closely follow social distancing guidelines. In addition, we should consider either providing tax or other incentives to the many private colleges located in New York City to handle an overflow of students. Alternatively, the city can lease buildings from these colleges for classroom space.

I do admit this plan seems out-of-the-box. But, we need to do something other than force children, especially younger children, to lose another year education. The last thing families need is to go through the entire summer not knowing what the coming school year will look like. Officials at all levels need to work together to devise a plan to reopen our schools safely and securely.

Now is the time to put all the ideas on the table and to pick the best option.

(Robert J. Reilly is executive vice president and chief operating officer of RTR Financial Services, Bloomfield.)
JACKSON COUNTY, MI  An Independent candidate is running for Jackson County Sheriff.

Joseph Beaman, 50 of Summit Township, filed to run July 15 and the 900 nominating signatures were approved in late July. Hes running as an Independent because he said he believes theres no place for partisanship in law enforcement.

I really felt compelled to run, he said. When I saw the final tallies for the Republicans  and I know Val (Cochran) Toops from some other contact through the community, I just wasnt satisfied and I thought I had something to bring to the race.

On Nov. 3, Beaman will face Republican Gary Schuette, an attorney and retired Jackson police detective, and Democrat Val Cochran Toops, who serves on multiple caucuses for the Michigan Democratic Party and is part of the People for Peace, a Jackson area group.

Beaman works as an Institutional Parole Agent for the Michigan Department of Corrections at G. Robert Cotton Correctional Facility.

Retired police detective, attorney moves on to face Democratic challenger for Jackson County sheriff seat

A pivotal point in Beamans decision to run came in late 2017 after tapes were published of Sheriff Steven Rand saying a host of discriminatory and demeaning statements about women and black, gay, Hispanic, disabled and overweight people. Rand did not seek reelection.

The Jackson County Sheriffs Office needs a strong leader to change the culture and regain community support, Beaman said.

If our expectations are that the deputies  when doing their extraordinarily difficult job  are out there, its important that the leadership that they have, their sheriff, undersheriff, command staff, captains, that these individuals are in the community doing good work, Beaman said.

Hes spent almost 20 years working for the Michigan Department of Corrections in various managerial roles as well as working directly with prisoners. Beaman said his strengths will be managing the jail and doing the administrative work required of the sheriff.

I do not have road patrol experience, he said. Quite honestly, Im smart enough to know what I dont know. My expectation is that whoevers placed in my undersheriff position  Im going to find someone who has the strengths I dont necessarily have.

Jackson County and the sheriffs office will face budget issues in the coming years. The Jackson County Board of Commissioners voted against a millage to help pay for public safety in the face of an estimated countywide $2.7 million budget shortage in 2021. They said they will make budget cuts to various departments.

No new taxes on November ballot. Jackson County will make budget cuts instead

The sheriffs office needs to be prepared for budget cuts, Beaman said.

When youre facing these serious financial strains and were asking ourselves, What do we want a deputy to do? What do we want this person to be? Beaman said. I dont know what a perfect deputy looks like, but I do know that the community has an idea of what they need.

One of the main changes Beaman wants to institute is diversionary sentencing. He said he wants to incorporate jobs skills and education into programming because his time working for MDOC has shown him that poverty and a lack job opportunities are one of the big reasons people end up back in prison. .

Beaman admits to having experience on the other side of the law. He was arrested in 1999 for driving a stolen car. His car had died and there was another sitting right there, so he decided to take it to work, he said. He said he was working for a bank, not struggling at all, and made the decision to drive that car.

He was given a delayed sentence with 12 months of probation. After successfully completing that, his case was dismissed, and he has no felony record.

I didnt have a felony conviction and I could get on with the rest of my life, Beaman said. I could move on. Shortly afterwards I worked for the Department of Corrections and I couldnt if I had been convicted of that felony.  When I look back at my life, I turned out pretty well.

That opportunity is what Beaman said he wants to offer to other people, through working with the Jackson County Prosecutors Office and Jackson County District Court.

Not everybodys going to figure it out, Im certainly aware of that, Beaman said. But we have a lot more people that we can be using some type of alternative sanctions on than putting them in jail.  We can make sure that individuals are going to their treatment, taking their medication if thats what theyre required to do ... I want to be clear, some people need to be in jail, unfortunately.

If elected, Beaman will likely be the first Black sheriff in Jackson County. He said he was raised by his white mother and her family in Jackson, while his Black father lived in New York City.

I think its very important for kids to see that a sheriff looks like all kinds of different people, Beaman said.  Im happy to hold that torch.

As sheriff, Beaman said he plans to use parts of the to use Second Chance Act signed by President George W. Bush in 2008 and a 2015 report on the Task Force on 21st Century Policing created by President Barack Obama.

Theres so many moving parts right now, trying to balance this idea that we can be a compassionate law enforcement while still being tactically sound and tactically able to complete our missions that require a certain level of precision, Beaman said. I dont believe that those two things are mutually exclusive, they actually work best together  when you can offer help but at the same time you can get tactically done what you need to get done.

Read more from the Jackson Citizen Patriot:

Meterless parking continues downtown, 1 street assessment passes but 3 fail at Jackson council meeting

Jacksons interim city manager appointed to full-time position

Jackson ax-throwing bar builds outdoor lanes for use during pandemic

Man who fired gun outside Jackson party store sentenced
In spite of efforts by the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), the agency responsible for the protection of endangered species of wildlife, in recent years, Nigeria has become a primary transit hub for several illicit wildlife and forest products, in particular for the global illegal pangolin trade, sourced primarily from Central Africa.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes recently launched World Wildlife Crime Report 2020 found that in 2019 alone, at least 51 tons of pangolin scales seized globally originated from Nigerian ports compared to only 2 tons in 2015. Indeed, in 2019, more than half of all seizures of pangolin scales worldwide could be traced back to Nigeria.

Moreover, from around 2011, great volumes of rosewood, locally known as kosso, were exported from Nigeria to Asia. In October 2018, the CITES Standing Committee recommended that parties suspend commercial trade in kosso from Nigeria until the country carries out a non-detriment findings assessment for trade in the species.

READ ALSO:

Data further suggests an increasing role of Nigeria in the illicit ivory trade. Despite a global decline in trafficking in ivory since 2011, Nigeria has been identified in a growing number of incidents as part of the illegal trade chain, with 5,629 kg of ivory being seized in 2009-2011, compared to 11,769 kg in the period 2012-2014, to 12,211 kg in the period 2015-2017.

The Nigerian government must be commended for its political will towards tackling wildlife crime. NESREA has made efforts in resolving some of the regulatory and policy challenges confronting wildlife crime in the country, such as adopting the Nigerian Endangered Species (Control of International Trade and Traffic) Act of 2004 and its 2016 amendment, which meets the requirements to successfully implement CITES in the country.

The government is also currently reviewing its National Ivory Action Plan (NIAP) in line with CITES recommendations. The government also recently requested support from the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the national preventive and criminal justice response to wildlife and forest crime, as well as a corruption risk assessment for these sectors that will be conducted by the UNODC.

Partnership

To comprehensively tackle wildlife and forest crime, the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Government of Germany and UNODC came together on World Elephant Day to announce a new partnership aimed to strengthen Nigerias response to the trafficking of wildlife and forestry products.

The partnership includes the Federal Ministry of Environment, the Nigeria Customs Service, NESREA, various law enforcement agencies and civil society organisations to improve data-collection capacity and understanding of the driving factors of these trends, enhance the relevant policy and legal framework, strengthen law enforcement and border control agencies in their capabilities to exchange intelligence on shipments, disrupt trafficking flows and networks, cooperate internationally with their counterparts in source and destination countries, and to investigate and prosecute wildlife and forest crime offences.

Officials Speak

The UNODC Representative in Nigeria, Oliver Stolpe, in his remarks, highlighted the threat that wildlife trafficking poses to nature and the biodiversity of the planet. He observed that when wild animals are poached from their natural habitat, butchered and sold illegally, the potential for transmission of zoonotic diseases, such as COVID-19, from animals to humans  is increased.

The Ambassador of Germany to Nigeria, Birgitt Ory, remarking on the launch of the project stated: Together with UNODC we seek to support the Nigerian government in the important fight against trafficking in illicit wildlife products. We have a shared interest in preserving natures riches for future generations.

In his goodwill message, Aliyu Jauro, Director General/CEO of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), expressed optimism that the successful implementation of the project will reduce the illicit trade in endangered species of wildlife to the barest minimum and Nigeria will regain her good image in the CITES community.

The Minister of Environment, Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar, represented by the Acting Permanent Secretary, Bolatito Obisesan, acknowledged in a keynote remark that the project will further add value to governments effort in combating illicit activities that are detrimental to wildlife conservation in Nigeria.

While thanking the government of Germany and UNODC for initiating the project, the minister gave assurance of undoubtful continuous support of the project for the period it will last.
Image: HAL

The Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) in a statement on August 12 said two Light Combat Helicopters (LCH) produced by it have been deployed for operations at high altitude (Leh sector) to support the Indian Air Force (IAF) at short notice.

The development comes amid tensions with China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

"It is the lightest attack helicopter in the world designed and developed by HAL to meet the specific and unique requirements of Indian Armed Forces reflecting the crucial role of HAL in 'Atma Nirbhar Bharat'," HAL's CMD, R Madhavan, said.

Officials told Hindustan Times that the deployment is symbolic in nature and an acknowledgement of the potential that platform holds. It is, however, yet to be fully weaponised according to IAF's requirements, according to the report.

"The LCH holds a lot of promise but is not really capable of carrying out missions in its current configuration. It lacks anti-armour and air-to-air weapons. Thats work in progress," the officials said.

In the statement, HAL said the Vice Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Harjit Singh Arora took part in operation along with HAL test pilot, Wg Cdr (Retd), Subash P John recently by taking-off from high altitude location to a forward area for a simulated attack on a high altitude target.

"This was followed by a landing at one of the most treacherous helipads in the region. The LCH successfully demonstrated its quick deployment prowess to forward locations in extreme temperatures," the company said in a statement.

The IAF and the Indian Army together need around 160 LCHs, HAL said.

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) had approved the proposal for an initial batch of 15 LCHs, the statement said.

The IAF issued Request for Proposal (RFP) for 15 Limited Series Production (LSP) helicopter (10 for IAF and 5 for Army) and HAL had submitted its response, it said, adding, technical evaluation and the price negotiations have been concluded and the order is expected shortly.

"However, as a proactive measure, HAL has launched production of LSPs in anticipation of orders at its Bengaluru facility," the HAL statement said.
Three aged care centres taken over by the Victorian Government had been "desperately calling for additional staff" amid a rapidly deteriorating COVID-19 situation and as increasing numbers of employees went into isolation.

Leading Age Services Australia CEO Sean Rooney said the homes had wanted to transfer their first residents infected with COVID-19 immediately to hospital in order to reduce the risk of transmission to other residents and staff.

In some cases, these transfers were arranged but were then refused by health authorities, Mr Rooney said.

State government health services on Thursday took over the management of Glenlyn Aged Care Facility in Glenroy, Florence Aged Care Facility in Altona North and Kalyna Aged Care in Delahey, with Premier Daniel Andrews saying they were of "particular concern".
BONITA SPRINGS, Fla., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Oasis Senior Advisors knows the value of a team. The national franchisor, well known for helping seniors who are in transition find the living community that's right for them, welcomes Fort Myers, Florida-based CONRIC PR & Marketing as its agency of record.

The agency will be working alongside the Oasis corporate team to develop, implement and manage internal and external communications. CONRIC will produce national integrated marketing campaigns and work with over 80 franchise owners across the country to expand audience reach.

Oasis Senior Advisors CONRIC PR & Marketing

"This is an important strategic move for us as a recognized national brand who values not only the seniors we serve and the partners we work with, but also the franchisees who count on us to provide the marketing strategy needed to succeed," says Tim Evankovich, CEO of Oasis Senior Advisors. "The award-winning strategies that the CONRIC team brings to the table will help us elevate our brand and increase our audience reach nationally with a clear and concise message."

Oasis Senior Advisors connects seniors with the housing communities that best fit their needs at no cost to seniors or their families. They act as liaisons, navigating families through a housing transition that could otherwise be difficult and confusing. The advisors sort through the options, taking individual needs into account and giving careful consideration to the level of care required, the value of independence, and each family's budget.

"We believe in Oasis Senior Advisors' mission and vision of helping seniors and their adult children navigate through what can often be difficult transitions in life," says CONRIC CMO and President Connie Ramos-Williams. "We look forward to working closely with Oasis Senior Advisors' franchise owners across the country as well as with the corporate team who are all purpose-driven and passionate about helping seniors."

For more information about Oasis Senior Advisors, franchise opportunities, or to connect with an advisor, visit oasissenioradvisors.com.

About Oasis Senior Advisors

Founded in 2014 by Tim Evankovich, Oasis Senior Advisors provides free, personalized assistance in finding senior living solutions for seniors and their families that best fit their needs. This includes independent living, assisted living, memory care, residential care homes, respite and more. The company, based in Bonita Springs, Florida, services a growing number of franchises across the United States. Their personalized and caring approach has built a dynamic network of partners such as hospital discharge planners, elder law attorneys, home care and more. Through client satisfaction and strong partnerships throughout the country, Oasis Senior Advisors is positioned for continued growth. Franchise opportunities are available nationwide. Visit oasissenioradvisors.com or call 888-455-5838 to learn more.

ORGANIZATION

John Benbrook

President, Oasis Senior Advisors

610-574-8643

[email protected]

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239-690-9840

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Demand for all types of new housing is running at 47,000 a year and can be met by the Government funding initiatives for the private rental and social rental parts of the housing market.

The report by Ronan Lyons of Identity Consulting, who is also assistant economics professor at TCD, was commissioned by industry group Irish Institutional Property.

The group includes many of the Irish stock market listed homebuilders and property firms, as well as international property firms, including Kennedy Wilson and investor Bain Capital.

The estimate that annual underlying demand is running at 47,000 new homes through 2025 compares with other estimates that 35,000 new housing units are required over many years, and includes demand for rental and social homes.

Population growth and net migration alone require 30,000 new homes to be built each year, while falling household size and obsolescence of existing housing stock brings the total demand for new units to 47,000, according to the report.

Read More HR expert says common sense is easing Ireland's return to work

Action must be taken to increase housing output in a short a timeframe as possible, Mr Lyons said, even as that only supply of owner-occupied housing appears to be meeting demand in recent years.

Ronan Lyons of DAFT

The other sectors, however, still look chronically under-supplied and providing private rental and social rental homes will be central modes of tenure in meeting Irelands substantial housing needs over coming decades, the report says.

Under a cost-rental scheme, Mr Lyons favours the Government sharing the housing costs for low-income households. Nonetheless, he says the Government setting controls on rents for new homes will make the supply of rental housing even scarcer.

And under shared-equity loans, he says, thousands of aspiring homeowners, currently shut out of the housing market will be able to afford to buy.

The overwhelming evidence from both sale and rental markets in Dublin is that availability is the key determinant of subsequent price changes, according to the report.

The demand will be acute over the next few years for smaller homes such as apartments in cities. However, the costs of building an apartment in Dublin can average as much as 460,000, the report says.
In the words of James Hansen, the scientist most responsible for promoting global warming, wind and solar are grotesque solutions for reducing CO2 emissions. Michael Shellenberger, a prominent activist, has the same opinion. Hansen and Shellenberger, as well as many other global warming activists, have come to the conclusion that nuclear energy is the only viable method of reducing CO2 emissions from the generation of electricity. Nuclear reactors dont emit CO2. Coal and natural gas do. Hydroelectric electricity does not emit CO2 either, but opportunities for expansion are limited. In the United States most of the good sites have already been developed.

Wind and solar are grotesque because there are many problems. Promoters of wind and solar simply lie about the problems. Reducing emissions of CO2 by one metric tonne, 1000 kilograms or 2204 pounds, is called a carbon offset. Carbon offsets are bought and sold, usually for less than $10 each. If you build wind or solar plants to displace electricity from natural gas or coal plants, you will generate carbon offsets. Each carbon offset generated will cost about $60 if electricity from a coal plant is displaced. If electricity from a natural gas plant is displaced the cost per carbon offset will be about $160. Wind and solar are expensive methods of generating carbon offsets.

Wind and solar are not remotely competitive with coal or natural gas for generating electricity. The promoters of wind and solar lie about this constantly, claiming that they are close to competitive. The lies have two major components. They ignore or misrepresent the massive subsidies that wind and solar get, amounting to 75% of the cost. Then they compare the subsidized cost of wind or solar with the total cost of gas or coal. But wind or solar cant replace existing fossil fuel infrastructure because they are erratic sources of electricity. The existing infrastructure has to be retained when you add wind or solar, because sometimes the wind doesnt blow or the sun doesnt shine. The only fair comparison to the compare to total cost of wind or solar per kilowatt hour (kWh) with the marginal cost of gas or coal electricity. That marginal cost is essentially the cost of the fuel. The only economic benefit of wind or solar is reducing fuel consumption in existing fossil fuel plants. It is hard to build wind or solar installations that generate electricity for less than 8-cents per kWh, but the cost of the fuel, for either gas or coal, is about 2-cents per kWh. Wind and solar cost four times too much to be competitive.

Wind and solar run into difficulty if they are the source of more than about 25% of the electricity in a grid. Getting to 50% generally involves adding expensive batteries, further destroying the economics and the usefulness for CO2 reduction.

The only justification for wind and solar is the reduction of CO2 emissions, but wind and soar are limited and costly for this purpose. CO2-free nuclear energy can be both economical and practical. That, clearly is the reason why prominent global warming activists are advocating nuclear, rather than wind and solar to alleviate the supposed global warming crisis.

Neither nuclear nor coal is currently cost competitive with natural gas. Its not that nuclear or coal are so expensive as it is that natural gas, thanks to fracking, is incredibly cheap. Gas that cost more than $10 per MMBtu (million British thermal units) a decade ago, now costs less than $2. Gas-generating plants are very cheap to build and incredibly efficient. A gas plant using a combination of a gas turbine and a steam turbine can turn 65% of the energy in the gas into electricity. By contrast a coal plant struggles to reach 40%. Both coal and nuclear are handicapped by well-organized and unprincipled political opposition from the Sierra Club and similar organizations. The Sierra Club hates natural gas too, but most of their efforts go into scaring people with the imaginary danger of coal. The Sierra Club doesnt need to expend much effort scaring people with nuclear because the nuclear industry has already been destroyed in the U.S. thanks to previous efforts of the environmental movement.

Coal and nuclear have one very important advantage over gas. They have fuel on site to continue operating if fuel deliveries are interrupted. For coal this is around 30 days, for nuclear more than a year. Some gas plants can temporarily use oil from local tanks, but in most cases that wont last long. Gas deliveries can be interrupted by pipeline failure or sabotage. The pumping stations on natural gas pipelines are increasingly powered by electricity, rather than gas, creating a circular firing squad effect.

Nuclear electricity is a young industry with a big future. That future is materializing in Asia given the successful propaganda campaign to make people afraid of nuclear in the U.S. and in much of Europe. Nuclear fuel is extremely cheap, around four times cheaper than gas or coal. Nuclear reactors dont have smokestacks and they dont emit CO2. New designs will dramatically lower costs, increase safety and effectively remove most of the objections to nuclear. It is an incredible contradiction that most environmental organizations advocate wind and solar and demonize nuclear. In the future nuclear may be cost competitive with natural gas.

It is an intellectual and economic failure that the 30 U.S. states with policies designed to reduce CO2 emissions, called renewable portfolio standards, mostly explicitly exclude nuclear power as part of the plan. Instead they effectively mandate wind and solar. There are signs of reform as some states have provided support to prevent nuclear power stations from being closed.

The global warming hysteria movement is surely one of the most successful junk science campaigns ever launched. Predicting a catastrophe is a great way for a science establishment to gain fame and money. The many responsible scientists that object are attacked, if not fired. Money trumps ethics every time. The environmental movement needs looming catastrophes too, so they act as PR men for the science establishment. The tragedy is that our legislators swallow these lies and waste billions on boondoggles like wind and solar. It is ironic that increasing the CO2 in the atmosphere has a bountiful effect on plant growth, greening the Earth and increasing agricultural production. Rather than a threat, CO2 is a boon.

If you still believe in the global warming hysteria movement, you should face reality and dump wind and solar for nuclear. Wind and solar are not appropriate for the problem they are assigned to solve. Nuclear is.

Norman Rogers is the author of the book: Dumb Energy: A Critique of Wind and Solar Energy.
President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit Scranton on Aug. 20, the Times Leader reported.

The news was reported by NBC political reporter Monica Alba. Trump is slated to visit several other battleground states, including Wisconsin, Minnesota and Arizona.

No further details were made available at this time, though Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chair Nancy Patton Mills responded to the announcement soon after it was made.

Instead of coming to Pennsylvania and campaigning next Thursday evening, Donald Trump should do what he does best  sit on his couch and watch TV, Patton Mills said.

This announcement comes after Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden on Tuesday announced his running mate: California Sen. Kamala Harris.

More from PennLive

Kamala Harris VP pick excites Democrats hoping Pa. goes blue: Shes going to be able to make the case
Vietnam confirmed 22 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday evening, including 17 local infections, while announcing 12 recoveries and two more virus-related deaths.

Among the new local infections patients, 14 were documented in Da Nang, two in neighboring Quang Nam Province, and one in the north-central province of Quang Tri, the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control announced.

The patients are between 17 and 73 years old.

The five imported patients arrived from Japan on the flight VJ7387 on August 5. They were quarantined immediately after arriving at Cam Ranh International Airport in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa.

On the same evening, the Ministry of Health announced the deaths of two more COVID-19 patients, an 83-year-old woman in Quang Nam and an 87-year-old man in neighboring Quang Ngai Province, both with underlying conditions, bringing the number of fatalities confirmed on Thursday to three.

Patient No. 623, from Quang Nam, had a history of heart failure and bone marrow failure.

She tested positive for COVID-19 on August 2 during her treatment at Quang Nam Regional General Hospital and was transferred to a quarantine facility at Hue Central Hospital 2.

The woman was put on a ventilator on August 8. She passed away at 6:00 pm Wednesday.

Her cause of death was identified as severe respiratory failure because of COVID-19, septic shock, irreversible multiorgan failure in patients with myelosuppression, Sigma's colon tumor, and atrophic malnutrition.

Patient No. 479, from Quang Ngai, had a history of high blood pressure and type-2 diabetes who also suffered from myocardial infarction, atherosclerosis of the lower extremities, and embolism  which resulted in the amputation of his left foot.

He tested positive for the novel coronavirus on July 27 while hospitalized at Da Nang Hospital and was transferred to Hoa Vang Medical Center in the same city for quarantine and treatment.

He was on a ventilator between August 2 and 4. The man passed away at 9:00 pm Wednesday.

His death was attributed to a wound infection in patients with hypertension, type-2 diabetes, heart failure due to myocardial infarction, multiorgan failure and COVID-19.

Vietnam also declared 12 patients free of the virus on Thursday, including ten from the Hoa Vang makeshift hospital in Da Nang and two from Quang Nam Central General Hospital in the namesake province.

The country has logged a total of 905 COVID-19 cases, including 327 imported patients, since the pandemic first hit in January.

Four-hundred and twenty-one patients have recovered while 20 have lost their lives, most of whom with underlying conditions.

The ages of COVID-19 patients who have died in the Southeast Asian country range from 33 to 87 years old.

A total of 438 local infections have been documented in Vietnam since July 25, when Da Nang recorded the countrys first transmission in the community after 99 days.

The majority of these patients can be traced to Da Nang  Vietnams outbreak epicenter at present.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Iran recorded 174 deaths from coronavirus and 2,625 new cases on Thursday to take its death toll to more than 19,000 and total cases to 336,324, the Health Ministry said.

In the past 24 hours 2,625 new cases have been recorded, ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari told state TV.

Iran is one of the worst-hit countries from the outbreak in the Middle East.
LONDON (Reuters) - The British government has become embroiled in an unlikely row with ice cream maker Ben and Jerry's over its approach to migrants arriving by boat from France, after the brand criticised ministers' increasingly bellicose rhetoric.

More than 500 migrants have arrived on British beaches in recent days, with many fleeing poverty, persecution or war in countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.

That has prompted a reaction from the government, who have asked the military to help, urged France to stop the boats at source, and even appointed a "Clandestine Channel Threat Commander" to lead efforts to prevent crossings.

A frostily worded Twitter thread from Unilever-owned <ULVR.L> Ben and Jerry's tagged interior minister Priti Patel, and cited several media reports about the plight of those who undertake the dangerous 21-mile crossing in overloaded dinghies.

"Hey @PritiPatel we think the real crisis is our lack of humanity for people fleeing war, climate change and torture," the brand's UK account tweeted.

Ben & Jerry's was acquired by Unilever in 2000 in a unique deal that allows it to operate with more autonomy than other subsidiaries.

It uses that freedom to pursue a cultural and social mission that has recently included strongly supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. It also supports marriage equality and electoral campaign finance reform.

While Patel has not directly replied to the migration thread, fellow minister James Cleverly responded: "Can I have a large scoop of statistically inaccurate virtue-signalling with my grossly overpriced ice cream please?"

He did not say what inaccuracies he was referring to. Unilever and Ben & Jerry's were not immediately available to comment.

Some of the arrivals stand a chance of being granted asylum, while others, considered illegal economic migrants, are unlikely to be allowed to remain in Britain.

(Reporting by William James in London and Siddharth Cavale in Bengaluru; editing by Stephen Addison)
To The Eagle:

Does truth matter?

A friend of mine recently posted an article on her Facebook page that she took from a conservative leaning internet site that showed masked protesters in Portland Oregon pouring gasoline on a fire. The article that accompanied the post said that BLM protesters in Portland were burning Bibles and American flags, inferring that BLM protesters in Portland hate God and hate America.

I have lived in Portland for over 45-years and still keep a home there, and was sad to read that some Portlanders might be using the BLM movement to express a hate for Christianity and America. Not knowing if this Bible and flag burning story was true, I asked several people who had been eye witnesses to the Portland BLM protests if they heard anything about Bibles or American flags being burned. No one that I asked knew anything about Bible or flag burning. I also called KGW, KOIN-6 News, and the Willamette Week and Oregonian newspapers to find out if this story was true.

After reaching out to these Portland news outlets, a reporter from the Oregonian metro news desk returned my call. This is a summary of what the Oregonian reporter told me.

The Oregonian metro news desk had been covering the Portland BLM protests since they first started. The reporter told me that the paper was aware of the internet stories about Portland BLM protesters burning Bibles and flags. That the Oregonian shares news tips and intelligence with other local and national media outlets and that neither the Oregonian or its affiliates could confirm that Bibles or flags had been burned during the BLM protests.

The reporter told me that during the month of July, Christian groups were observed passing out literature (possibly Bibles) near the Mark Hatfield Justice Center, and that there had been several incidents of small fires being set in the park blocks adjacent to the Justice Center. The reporter affirmed that no one from the Oregonian or its affiliates had witnessed Bibles or flags being burned; and as fires were started BLM protesters were observed extinguishing the fires and trying to prevent vandalism and graffiti.

The internet has several conservative leaning web-sites that resemble legitimate on-line magazines and newspapers. However, if you do a deep dive and look behind the professional looking internet page, frequently you will discover that there is no substance to the organization sponsoring the sites.

No credentialed news department; no independent journalists; no requirement to adhere to the standard of confirming the accuracy and truth about a news story before it is published; the organization has few or no employees, and no physical location. Nothing! Just a few people that have a political agenda, who are skilled in desk top publishing and know how to copy and paste a bogus story.

Many of the conservative leaning websites (including some Christian Evangelical sites) are nothing more than facades that were created to promote the narrative that Democrats hate God, hate America, and that the BLM movement is a Marxist front organization.

As we approach the final 90-days before the November election its likely that many false and misleading internet and cable news stories will be circulating. A word to the wise. Be skeptical when reading or listening to news stories that are not being reported by established credentialed news organizations. The story may not be true.

Frederick I. Lehr

Grays River

Editor's note: For an in-depth article on this issue, click on this link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/11/us/politics/russia-disinformation-election-meddling.html?searchResultPosition=1
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take lives across the USA, colleges continue to plan their reopening in the fall. Most colleges are putting together strategies to prevent future outbreaks of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Now, a new study by researchers at California Institute of Technology and Johns Hopkins University and published on the preprint server medRxiv* in August 2020 shows that poorly planned and inadequate testing approaches to mitigate viral spread among the returning university students are likely to result in epidemics that will plague the country for a long time.

The current situation

Already, even with students mostly out of campus, several flare-ups have occurred, providing a glimpse of the much larger epidemics that could follow the gathering of hundreds of thousands of students freely mixing, studying, and playing together on campus and in the surrounding cities and towns. Even as many institutions have already made their mitigation plans public, it is proving difficult to understand just what underlies these strategies.

The current study focuses on one component of these plans: on-campus testing. The researchers assessed testing plans released by over 500 colleges and universities in various parts of the country, from a medley of testing plans for over 1,200 institutes of higher education published in the Chronicle. In addition, they examined statistics of transmission and text from websites directed at the public.

Muddled and variable strategies

The result? The researchers describe it as a highly variable and muddled state of COVID-19 testing plans among US institutions of higher education that has been shaped by discrepancies between scientific studies and federal guidelines.

The researchers say that in several cases, the testing strategy is not compatible with the best practices recommended by public health authorities, and may pose questions of bioethics. The range of testing covers no testing to regular testing for students, staff, and faculty.

Testing or no testing

Overall, over half the universities planned to do or provide access to testing in some form for SARS-CoV-2. However, only a little more than a quarter planned to test all undergraduates at the time of reopening, that is, at baseline. Only one in five colleges even plan regular testing, whatever the timeline of regularity may look like.

Secondly, there was a clearly drawn geographical line, demarcating testing from non-testing universities. Thus, those institutions in the Northeast have recorded their commitment to far more testing than others. Many of these institutes depend on the Broad Institute for their testing, because of the capacity it has built in the pandemic. The researchers describe this: 11 schools in Massachusetts, three in New York, two in Maine, one in Rhode Island, and one in Connecticut are all contracting with the Broad Institute to perform their testing.

The five states at the top, concerning the number of institutions, are Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, California, and Texas. However, the researchers found that among these states, where they had the most substantial amount of information available, there was an inverse correlation between planned testing at re-entry and the COVID-19 test positivity rate.

If testing is done for all students initially, but infectious students are not quarantined, there could be outbreaks just the same, the investigators point out.

Why is there so much confusion?

The researchers comment, tongue-in-cheek, The variability of testing strategies might lead one to conclude that there is uncertainty in the science of best practices for the safe reopening of colleges. The truth is that much current research focuses on this area, providing guidelines for the kind of testing required. This can be best described as readily available and frequent testing facilities to ensure a safe reopening.

The problem is twofold: one is due to the lack of a uniform policy, while the other is financial. First, there is no unified policy on testing prescribed on a national basis for colleges and universities. Secondly, the cost of a COVID-19 test is set by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for all practical purposes. This has led institutions to consider how to squeeze the maximum utility, dollar-wise, out of each test, rather than maximizing the public health value of each test.

Testing or Quarantine?

Many institutes have adopted a 14-day quarantine either together with or instead of testing students at the time of re-entry. Another option is to ask for viral RNA tests (using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, RT PCR) taken at a specified time period before the students enter the campus. However, there is no consensus on the period in which the test must be done.

For instance, New Yorks Syracuse University allows only a 10-day window before the test result loses its validity. However, Simpson College in California has a 30-day window. And at USC, there is no need to test again within a 90-day test window prior to re-entry. These recommendations ignore the current lack of consensus on the duration for which neutralizing antibodies may persist following COVID-19 infection.

Other universities are planning to use, in addition, as yet unproven methods such as pooled samples of environmental DNA for testing, like the University of South Florida. And wastewater testing is the method of choice for Michigan Tech.

Frequency of Testing

The world over, scientists are relying on the most sensitive available PCR tests for case detection. However, there is a suggestion, based on more recent research, that repeated and rapid testing is more important than 100% sensitivity, where COVID-19 testing is concerned. In fact, research on the frequent testing approach for university campuses, in particular, shows that if college communities are tested once in two days, outbreaks on these campuses could be contained.

In the US, however, few colleges even plan to do regular screening of all students, staff, and teachers. And among these few, there is no agreement as to the frequency with which such testing should be carried out.

The Cost of Health

Of course, cost plays a dominant role in such decision-making, as cited by the Chancellor of the California State University system, Timothy White, defending the decision to hold only online classes for the fall semester in view of the $25 million costs of weekly testing for half the students at all the campuses  which is beyond the systems financial capacity. Others have bought enough tests for 300 people to be tested daily throughout this semester.

Another issue relates to the lack of unified government policies. While the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) deals with matters such as surface decontamination, communication, and contact tracing on college campuses, it continues to present COVID-19 testing as an interim consideration. This does not take into account the plentiful research already available on the role played by frequent testing at regular intervals on successful containment.

The CDC thus treats the issue as a non-recommended measure based on the lack of evidence, justifying it by stating it to be unknown if entry testing in institutes of higher education provides any additional reduction in person-to-person transmission of the virus. Consequently, the CDC says it does not recommend such testing. And this is being used as grounds for universities to refuse to test adequately.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill quotes CDC guidelines while putting the onus of preventing viral spread on the students, workers, and staff. Some surprising quotes defending zero testing policies include the description of universal testing as conferring a false sense of security, the tests cannot provide assurance that someone will not become sick after the test is performed, and mass screening has limited efficacy (as it only establishes a result in a moment in time).

Inequity Shows up in Testing Differences

As with other areas of US healthcare, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the forefront the lack of fairness with which heath resources are distributed among different segments of society. This is now becoming obvious in the field of higher education, where resource-rich private universities plan to test, at 37%, vs. straitened public universities at 16%.

Moreover, almost all the top 50 (US News World Report) US colleges/universities plan some form of testing compared to less than half of the lower-ranked institutions. Endowments also play their role, obviously, as higher endowments are associated with a higher chance of testing being included in reopening plans than smaller ones.

Even within universities, the failure to confirm if staff and low-wage workers on campus are being offered testing is a glaring omission. This only repeats the pattern visible since the start of the pandemic, with so-called essential workers in many low-paying jobs, who typically are from other than white communities, being exposed to higher risk but with less chance of getting access to testing or medical care. These workers have a higher rate of complications, as well. These temples of learning are thus strengthening disparities and injustice in society rather than removing them.

Students and staff are seen as part of the academic program rather than as individuals whose safety matters. This is glaringly obvious in the way Pennsylvania State University treats the re-entry of its 40,000 students as a research opportunity, enabling the pandemic to be studied in real-time. Some small university towns think this will be a public health crisis, instead, given the already documented propensity of younger Americans to disregard containment norms and exercise liberty of movement unfettered by public health recommendations.

Implications

The researchers caution that such a crisis can be averted only with urgent action on the part of Federal and state authorities, working in concert with university administrators. They advocate for scientific and ethical considerations to rule, to develop a transparent and universal approach to testing, making access available for all stakeholders in a university community.

*Important Notice

medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
The Malaysian government has deported more than 20,000 foreign workers since the beginning of the year over violations of immigration laws, while about 15,000 others have been detained for similar violations, Home Minister Hamzah Zainuddin told reporters on Thursday.

He said the largest group of deported migrants as of Aug. 10 were from Indonesia  9,276. Other countries involved include Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, India, China, Pakistan, Vietnam, Nepal and Cambodia.

Some of those deported had been detained by authorities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Malaysia found that some countries are reluctant to accept their citizens over fears they are carrying the coronavirus, Zainuddin said.

I do not understand this because at the moment, our position combating COVID-19 is much better than some of those countries, Zainuddin said at a news conference following a service awards ceremony at the Immigration Departments headquarters in Putrajaya.

But they believe that there is possibility of the returnees bringing back virus strains other than what they have there, and this could be another problem for them.

Malaysia has taken several measures to control the spread of the novel coronavirus, including closing borders at the height of the pandemic.

As of Thursday the nations COVID-19 infections stood at 9,129, compared with 132,816 in Indonesia and 269,115 in Bangladesh, according to disease experts at U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University. Globally, more 20.7 million infections and more than 750,000 deaths have been recorded.

Zainuddin said officials were working with other nations embassies to ensure that all the documentation was in place to deport migrants. He said the process was necessary because officials in other countries wanted to identify those returning properly.

The procedure to deport an undocumented migrant is not complicated, we can send them back with the agreement of their home country. This is why they want to make sure that those deported are their citizens, he said.

It is the same process if our citizens are being deported back to Malaysia from overseas. We too need to be sure that they are Malaysian.

Zainuddin said the Immigration Department had carried out 4,764 operations to nab undocumented immigrants in the country, resulting in 18,575 detentions as of Aug 10.

In addition, the department arrested 269 employers over immigration violations.

He said the success to deport 20,000 migrants so far had proved that the department should be able to quickly send the rest to their home countries. Last year, the department deported more than 50,000.

We want to send back as many of them as possible so anyone who wants to be in this country, must follow the procedures in place. Follow the legitimate way, Zainuddin said.

Alex Ong, coordinator for human rights group Migrant Care, said the government must consider the pandemic while carrying out deportation operations.

The process of deportation should be done in a coordinated way and in collaboration with the countries of origin. The community needs to have all the facilities to quarantine and the ability to treat patients with COVID-19, he said, adding that the migrants needed to be fit enough to travel.

It would not be good if the deportation is for the sake of executing our laws without considering the preparedness of the countries of origin, he said.

Ong said migrants should not be forced to return to countries that face major coronavirus outbreaks.

It is akin to forcing a healthy person into a pond full of crocodiles, he said.

Nisha David in Kuala Lumpur contributed to this report.
The Special Commission of Inquiry into the handling of the Ruby Princess outbreak, commissioned by the NSW government, has found several "serious errors" were made, leading to an "inexplicable" and "unjustifiable" decision to deem the ship low risk.

The inquiry's report, handed to the NSW government on Friday afternoon, found NSW Healths expert panel made a "serious and material error" when it conducted its risk assessment of the Ruby Princess on March 18 - a day before it docked in Sydney with COVID-19 positive passengers on board, who were allowed to disembark.

The Ruby Princess cruise ship. Credit:Janie Barrett

The panel had deemed the ship "low risk" because members did not have updated Communicable Diseases Network Australia guidelines from March 10 in mind, the report states. These updated guidelines meant all on board the ship who had an acute respiratory illness or influenza-like illness were suspect cases for COVID-19 and "all should have been tested".

Commissioner Bret Walker said in his report the decision to assess the ship as low risk meant, "in effect, 'do nothing'," and that it "is as inexplicable as it is unjustifiable".

The report found the panel was "not helped by the drafting of the risk assessment form, which was not updated with the new 'suspect case' definition.

"This too was a serious error," the report states.

The full panel should also have read the ship's log of the illnesses on board and, having done so, they should have noticed the "significant spike" in respiratory or flu-like illnesses, particularly on March 17.

"They should have requested an updated log either late on 18 March, or early on 19 March. These are all serious errors."

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The Russian vaccine that was announced on Wednesday has been recommended for the use of people from ages 18 to 60 years. "Clinical studies have now been carried out on a group of volunteers aged from 18 to 60 years old. Thus, this vaccine is now indicated for use in people from 18 to 60 years old," Vladimir Bondarev, head of the Russian Health Ministry's Scientific Centre for Expert Evaluation of Medicinal Products, said.

Bondarev also said that additional clinical studies are required for older people, as mentioned in Sputnik News. The studies are likely to be done during the post-registration clinical trials.

Alexander Gintsburg, Director of the Gamaleya Scientific Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology that is producing the Russain vaccine, said that he has been vaccinated and is feeling good. Gintsburg is 60-year-old.

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the registration of the world's first coronavirus vaccine. He added that one of his daughters has been administered the vaccine. The Russian vaccine Sputnik V is now all set to be produced industrially. Putin said the vaccine has passed all necessary checks, as mentioned in the news website.

"This morning, for the first time in the world, a vaccine against the new coronavirus was registered," he said, during a televised video conference call with government ministers. Vladimir Putin also thanked everyone who worked on the first coronavirus vaccine and said it is a "very important step for the world".

The vaccine, developed jointly by Gamaleya and Russian Direct Investment Fund, has two separate components that together are expected to provide immunity against the virus. The Russian vaccine has been tested on 76 volunteers so far. The tests were conducted at the Sechenov University and the Defence Ministry's Burdenko Main Military Clinical Hospital.

Also read: Russia launches first coronavirus vaccine; Vladimir Putin's daughter gets vaccine shot

Also read: Russian roulette? Why Putin's COVID-19 vaccine claim feels dangerous
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 16:34:49|Editor: huaxia

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SHANGHAI, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- A man tested positive for COVID-19, months after recovery and discharge from hospital, Shanghai municipal health commission said Thursday.

The man arrived in Shanghai on Sunday from northeast China's Jilin Province. He visited the Zhongshan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University the next day and tested positive for COVID-19 without showing symptoms.

He was sent to a designated hospital for medical observation and treatment.

In April, the man was diagnosed as a confirmed imported case of COVID-19.

So far, Shanghai authorities have traced 23 close contacts who have tested negative and have been quarantined. The man's activity areas have been disinfected.

On Wednesday, authorities in central China's Hubei Province said a woman had again tested positive for COVID-19, months after recovery. Enditem
New Delhi:

In an exclusive interview to News Nation, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi spoke on demonetisation. Naqvi said that the demonetisation decision was taken in the good interest of the country.

The minister also said that as the decision was taken in good interest of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not apologise for it.

As the demonetisation has been a prominent issue since its announcement on November 8, Opposition has been criticising it inside and outside of Parliament. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that Opposition had different demands on every day of the Parliament and, because of it, there were no substantial debate on the matter. The minister said that Rs 3 crore per hour has been wasted with lack of debate in the Parliament.

Naqvi admitted that people are facing problem but they are not unhappy with the difficulties after demonetisation and people are supporting Prime Ministers decision to fight against black money.

Also read | 0.75% discount on use of debit/credit cards, mobile wallets at PSU petrol pumps from December 13

On being asked about Prime Ministers statement that he is not been allowed to speak in Parliament, Naqvi said that Opposition has not allowing him to speak. Their strategy is like hit and run. Naqvi said that we are always ready for debate and every question of Opposition will be replied in ample manner.

When asked about common mans difficulties, Naqvi said that they are cognisant of the ground report. He said that 99 per cent of people are supporting the move and ready to face the difficulties. He emphasised that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has will power to take bold step such as this and people support him for that.

Replying on the need of the demonetisation, Naqvi said that despite all the difficulties, we are happy that people are having conviction in the Prime Minister of the country. He also said that in other scenario, there would have been protests and agitation but people are supporting PM in his ambitions to wipe out black money.

The minister said that the Opposition has become frustrated. He also assured that the problems will exacerbate in the promised 50 days from the demonetisation.

On being asked that Prime Minister is changing his stance of situation getting back to normalcy in 50 days, Naqvi said that cashless economy will help us to overcome the current situation.

Replying on the proliferation of cases with bankers being involved in irregularities, Naqvi said that it is the system which needs makeover and many people are involved in corrupt practices.

Naqvi said that Congress does not stand chance in UP polls. He also said that BJP will come to power in Uttar Pradesh. He said that action against Pakistani artistes is in reaction to what is happening between the two countries. He also said that triple talaq is not constitutionally correct and it needs discussion on this.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Corruption complaints made about Queensland politicians and candidates will be kept under wraps in the lead-up to elections as part of new laws introduced to State Parliament, with fines of more than $6000 or up to six months imprisonment.

The revelations follow commentary by Crime and Corruption Commission chairman Alan MacSporran at the conclusion of the corruption investigation into a school principal appointment involving former deputy premier Jackie Trad.

Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath. (File photo). Credit:Glenn Hunt

Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath told Parliament the bill came at a "critical time" as Queensland headed to the polls in October, and would prevent media from publicising corruption complaints within the caretaker period.

The LNP has previously pushed to ban the practice of publicising referrals to the corruption watchdog.
Karin Buchel (right) and Mexican counterpart Cesar Guerra Guerrero. Photo courtesy: EFTA

Where are we now in the negotiations between the EFTA/Switzerland and Vietnam?

Negotiations for a comprehensive free trade agreement started in 2012 and 16 rounds have been held so far. Switzerland and the other EFTA states are seeking to conclude a modern and far-reaching free trade agreement with Vietnam.

The 16th round was held in Oslo, Norway over two years ago and it seems there has been little progress since. Are we facing some obstacles?

In many areas, good progress has been achieved so far and some chapters could already be finalised. Some work still needs to be done in different areas.

As for all negotiations, it is fundamental to gain preferential access covering the main interests and, at the same time, taking into account the sensitivities. For Switzerland, it is also very important to add value with commitments going beyond World Trade Organization agreements, for instance in the protection of intellectual property rights or in the area of government procurement.

What can be done to reach a consensus on the different areas?

In some areas, it must still be determined if a common ground can be found. In Switzerlands view, the respective free trade agreements that both sides have concluded recently could be helpful and could be used as references in order to find solutions between the EFTA states and Vietnam.

The EU-Vietnam FTA is one example of the agreements recently signed and ratified by Vietnam, but the country is also part of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. On the EFTA side, we have concluded several agreements in recent years in Asia, for example with the Philippines and Indonesia.

Therefore, we dont refer to one agreement specifically but hope that our recent respective agreements on both sides could help us solve the last outstanding issues in the negotiations between the EFTA states and Vietnam.

How might trade and investment volumes between Switzerland and Vietnam look like once the FTA is materialised?

The FTA will improve the bilateral market access for trade in goods due to the lowering of tariffs on goods traded between the parties to the FTA. In general, our experience has shown that the volume of trade increases more strongly in the years after the conclusion of an FTA than with non-FTA trading partners.

The Swiss FDI stock in Vietnam has tripled in the last 10 years to around $700 million by the end of 2018 because of the market potential and an already good investment climate in Vietnam.

However, the precise impact of an FTA on the trade between Switzerland and Vietnam is difficult to predict as the development of trade is influenced by multiple factors, such as changes in the exchange rate or in the business cycle.

In 2019, Switzerland and Vietnam traded goods for a value worth CHF3.6 billion ($3.95 billion). Switzerland imported goods for a value worth CHF2.9 billion ($3.18 billion) from Vietnam, while exporting goods for a value worth CHF800 million ($880 million) to Vietnam (without gold bars and other precious metals, coin, precious stones and gems, works of art and antiques, according to the Swiss Federal Customs Administration).

An FTA between Vietnam and Switzerland would also improve legal certainty for investors. International econometric studies find a positive effect of comprehensive FTAs on foreign direct investment (FDI) flows. Some studies also show that the closer the integration is between countries by means of, inter alia, FTAs, the less likely it is that a company will divest.

The Swiss FDI stock in Vietnam has tripled in the last 10 years to around $700 million by the end of 2018 because of the market potential and an already good investment climate in Vietnam. Additional legal certainty by the means of an FTA would benefit this development.

You mentioned protection of intellectual property rights. Which part of these rights concerns you the most?

Swiss products and services enjoy an excellent reputation both domestically and abroad, which is why indications of source such as Swiss, made in Switzerland, or the Swiss Cross are being used with increasing popularity. Switzerland aims at protecting such indications, as well as those of our partner countries in free-trade agreements, building on relevant international treaties.

This is important for both countries because companies that invest in local quality are better protected and consumers have the guarantee that a product or service they buy is of the quality and the high standards that the label promises.

In next October, Switzerland and Vietnam will be commemorating 50 years of diplomatic relations. Is there a political will from both sides towards a conclusion of the FTA?

We are fully aware that we commemorate 50 years of diplomatic relations in 2021 and we would of course welcome a conclusion of our negotiations as soon as possible. However, it is not possible to predict when the negotiations can be concluded. We hope that we will soon be able to solve the last outstanding issues and agree on an ambitious FTA which is beneficial to both sides.
NEW YORK, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Brands can use principles from Design Thinking to bolster consumer demand for products and packages that are better for the planet, advises Jamie Klein Daley, VP of strategy at CBX, in a column for Packaging Digest.

It all starts with acknowledging the reality that most consumers are unwilling to pay extra for sustainability, and that being preachy is a nonstarter. "People like the idea of embracing responsible purchasing behavior," Daley writes. "The problem is in the framing: Paying a voluntary penalty is a tough sell no matter the domain."

Daley: "If you think carefully about what it's like to be your customer, you can craft a superior experience that cements long-term loyalty and drives strong brand-identification."

In the Aug. 6 column ("Sustainable Packaging Success Starts with Design Thinking"), Daley critiques approaches that give consumers a choice between, say, an expensive sustainable package, on the one hand, and a cheaper, landfill-clogging one on the other.

However, brands can shift the conversation in productive ways by emphasizing the rewards associated with sustainable products and packs. Design Thinking, with its focus on cultivating a deep understanding of consumers, provides a solid framework for this approach. "If you think carefully about what it's like to be your customer, you can craft a superior experience that cements long-term loyalty and drives strong brand-identification," Daley writes.

In the column, she provides anecdotes of how some designers and academic researchers have moved the conversation "away from explicit, moralistic references (consumers read this as a penalty) and toward what is easy, natural, and rewardingin other words, a benefit."

The veteran brand strategist cites the win-win approach of Litter One. Users of the kitty litter system subscribe to receive 100 percent biodegradable boxes that basically maintain themselves. "It's easier, cleaner, and better for the planetthe kind of approach that triggers consumers' feel-good neurotransmitters."

Over the long term, the goal should be to make all of the options provided to consumers both sustainable and affordable. Manufacturers and designers are already working toward that end by revamping their internal processes, Daley writes. CBX, for one, has reduced the development cycle for new products, brands and packaging by up to 18 months through Leap by CBX, a newly launched initiative based on elements of Agile Scrum and Design Thinking.

"Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle has had its day," Daley writes in the conclusion to the piece. "The future belongs to those who can Replace and Rethink."

The full piece is available at https://www.packagingdigest.com/author/Jaime-Klein%20Daley

About CBX

CBX is an independent agency specializing in brand strategy and design services, including branding, innovation, packaging and retail design. Founded in 2003, the company currently employs nearly 100 creative and support staff at its New York City headquarters and Minneapolis office. Its client list includes Mondelez, Kroger, Keurig Dr Pepper, General Mills, Hain Celestial, and Merck.

NOTE TO MEDIA : Jaime Klein Daley of CBX is available as a resource for articles related to brand strategy and design. Please see media contacts.

Press Contact: At Jaffe Communications, Bill Parness, (908) 789-0700, [email protected]; or Elisa Krantz, (908)-789-0700, [email protected]

SOURCE CBX

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University students who fail half their subjects in their first year will lose access to government subsidies and loans under a crackdown on excessive enrolments and ballooning HELP debts that are not being repaid.

The measures to prevent people taking on study loads they cannot handle have been revealed in a newly released bill covering the government's sweeping overhaul of university funding.

University students over-enrolling in subjects, amassing major debts and consistently failing, face strict new requirements. Credit:Louise Kennerley

Under the changes, universities will face tougher requirements to verify people's academic suitability for their chosen courses and monitor their ongoing progress. Students will also be able to wipe their debts for subjects when their progress has been harmed by special circumstances.

"These measures will ensure students can't take on a study load they won't complete, leaving them without a qualification but a large debt," Education Minister Dan Tehan said.
Education Minister Dan Tehan has moved to ease concerns about university students being unfairly punished under a policy to strip people of government funding and loans if they fail half their first year subjects.

The measure revealed on Thursday triggered an immediate backlash from some university students and graduates, who warned that struggling and vulnerable students would be most at risk from the policy and needed support to complete their studies.

Education Minister Dan Tehan says universities should show common sense in applying a new policy on failure rates. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The National Union of Students said it was appalled by the revelation, while Labor called it a distraction from the revenue crisis facing the university sector amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and from internal Coalition criticism of the government's broader higher education overhaul.

Mr Tehan said some students were amassing crippling debts while undertaking studies they were not suited to. He said universities would have discretion under the policy and should use a "common sense" approach, supporting students to complete their degrees.
He said that he and other leaders were made aware of six virus cases among members of the mosque, including two people who were hospitalized. Mustapha said medical doctors who are members of the center were consulted, and they recommended the mosque shut down so others who may have been exposed could quarantine.
Two young women have been found alive south of the Aran island of Inis Oirr over 16 hours after they went missing while paddleboarding in Galway Bay.

The two women, aged 17 and 23, were rescued by a fishing vessel early this afternoon about three miles south of Inis Oirr.

RNLI Galway operations manager Mike Swan said he had been informed they were talking away on the deck of the fishing vessel and in good spirits after their overnight ordeal.

Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 115 is due to fly the women into hospital in Galway for medical examinations.

Their rescue was confirmed just before lunchtime after an extensive overnight air and sea search.

RNLI member Barry Heskin told RTE radios News at One that the women had been wearing buoyancy aids, which undoubtedly helped them but they had not been wearing wet suits.

A member of the Irish Coast Guard after hearing the news of the rescue. Picture: Hany Marzouk

It had been a very dark night with heavy rain, thunder, lightning and high winds. Im sure they were very scared, he said.

Fortunately the temperature of the water in Galway Bay had been relatively high recently, he added.

The phenomenal amount of support from the people of North Clare and around Galway Bay had meant the search could be divided up and could be spread further afield.

The fisherman who found the women is a crew member of the lifeboat.

Mr Heskin said he did not know how the women ended up where they did or how they survived over night.

When news came through about the safe recovery of the women Mr Heskin said there was jumping around the station and a few tears were shed.

We will be celebrating for the rest of the day.

Minister of State Hildegarde Naughton praised emergency serives and local volunteers for their fast response.

"Their quick thinking and bravery have resulted in the safe return of two young ladies to their families today," she said.

"The appreciation of the work of our emergency services can be heard in the shared sigh of relief not just across Galway, but indeed nationwide, as the good news reached us this afternoon. Thankfully this most recent event has had a happy ending; however, it is imperative for us all to be vigilant of the sea and the elements as we enjoy our coastline during the fine weather."

Local Garda keeping her eye on the sea during the search for the missing Paddle boardes girls at the Galway Bay. Photo: Hany Marzouk

The two women had left Furbo beach after 8pm on Wednesday, and the alarm was raised just after 10pm when they had not returned.

They wearing buoyancy aids, but not wetsuits. Sea conditions were calm but with an offshore north-easterly breeze.

The RNLI Aran island and Galway lifeboats, the Irish Coast Guards Shannon and Sligo-based helicopters and Doolin and Costello Coast Guards searched throughout the night.

Mr Swan said that the overnight search had focused on the inner Galway bay area and had extended west to Black Head.

The Marine Institute ocean sciences staff also worked on tide and current modelling to assist the search crews.

The institute, based in Oranmore has also launched its rigid inflatable to assist the sea search, along with a number of fishing vessels, local and visiting angling and leisure craft.

Residents living close to the coast from Barna west to Spiddal had searched the shoreline near their homes, and also took place from Kinvara west to Newquay.

Earlier: Air and sea search underway for two women missing in Galway Bay

Part of the search and rescue operation off the Galway coast in search for the two missing paddleboarders who were found today. Picture: Paddy Cummins/IrishPhotodesk.ie

An extensive air and sea search is underway in Galway Bay after two young women who set out on stand-up paddleboards from Furbo last evening failed to return to shore.

The two women, aged 17 and 23 and from Galway, left Furbo beach on the paddleboards together after 8pm on Wednesday.

The alarm was raised just after 10pm when they had not returned.

The women were wearing buoyancy aids, but not wetsuits. Sea conditions were calm at the time but with an offshore north-westerly breeze.

The RNLI Aran island and Galway lifeboats, the Irish Coast Guards Shannon and Sligo-based helicopters and Doolin and Costello Coast Guards have been searching throughout the night for the two women.

The Irish Coast Guard Coordination centre at Valentia said in a statement this morning that it is currently coordinating an extensive search of Galway Bay, after two females aged 17 and 23 who were paddleboarding at the time were reported overdue last night at 10:05pm just off Furbo, Co. Galway.

A girl and her dog look out to sea as the RNLI boat searched the waters for two misssing girls. Picture: Andy Newman.

All available air and marine rescue assets are currently being utilised in the search and the Coast Guard are liaising with An Garda Siochana at Salthill in an effort to locate the two missing females.

"Any sightings or information should be reported to the Coast Guard Marine Rescue Sub-Centre at Valentia on 112 or 999, it said.

Galway RNLI operations manager Mike Swan said that the overnight search had focused on the inner Galway bay area and had extended west to Black Head.

The Marine Institute ocean sciences staff are working on tide and current modelling to assist the search crews.

The institute, based in Oranmore, has also launched its rigid inflatable to assist the sea search, along with a number of fishing vessels, local and visiting angling and leisure craft.

Residents living close to the coast from Barna west to Spiddal have been asked to check the shoreline near their homes, and shore searches are taking place right around the bay
NEW HAVEN  The Department of Justice Thursday notified Yale University that it has found the university illegally discriminates against Asian-American and white applicants in its undergraduate admissions process.

The two-year investigation focused on Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, after a complaint was made by Asian-American groups at Yale, according to a press release.

There is no such thing as a nice form of race discrimination, said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband for the Civil Rights Division.

Unlawfully dividing Americans into racial and ethnic blocs fosters stereotypes, bitterness, and division. It is past time for American institutions to recognize that all people should be treated with decency and respect and without unlawful regard to the color of their skin, Dreiband said in a statement. In 1890, Frederick Douglass explained that the business of government is to hold its broad shield over all and to see that every American citizen is alike and equally protected in his civil and personal rights. The Department of Justice agrees and will continue to fight for the civil rights of all people throughout our nation.

Thursday night, Yale President Peter Salovey issued a statement titled Yales Steadfast Commitment to Diversity.

The departments allegation is baseless, Salovey said, Despite producing large quantities of documents and data ... the DOJ concluded its investigation before reviewing and receiving all the information it has requested, he wrote.

I am dismayed that the DOJ inexplicably rushed to conclude its investigation without conducting a fully informed analysis, which would have shown that Yales practices absolutely comply with decades of Supreme Court precedent, Salovey wrote. He said Yale will not change its admissions processes in response to todays letter because the DOJ is seeking to impose a standard that is inconsistent with existing law.

Salovey concluded, By bringing people of different backgrounds, talents, and perspectives together, we best prepare our students for a complex and dynamic world. Yales admissions practices help us realize our mission to improve the world today and for future generations. At this unique moment in our history, when so much attention properly is being paid to issues of race, Yale will not waver in its commitment to educating a student body whose diversity is a mark of its excellence.

Scot X. Esdaile, president of the Connecticut chapter of the NAACP, said, This looks like a right-wing reaction from the Department of Justice attacking special measures that were being made to make classrooms equitable on Yales and Harvards campuses.

In October 2019, a federal judge rejected a lawsuit against Harvard University brought by Students for Fair Admissions, a group of Asian Americans who had been rejected by Harvard. The group claimed Harvard favored other people of color over Asian Americans in its admissions policies. The Justice Department filed a brief supporting the plaintiffs in that suit.

U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs wrote that the university could consider race as a factor in order to achieve a diverse student body. The rich diversity at Harvard and other colleges and universities and the benefits that flow from that diversity will foster the tolerance, acceptance and understanding that will ultimately make race conscious admissions obsolete, she wrote.

Students for Fair Admissions has appealed the decision to the 1st Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

Edward Blum, president of nonprofit Students for Fair Admissions, said in an email Thursday, We applaud the Justice Departments extensive investigation into Yales racially discriminatory admissions policies.

The Justice Departments findings of decades-old, purposeful racial discrimination in admissions is not surprising since all of the Ivy League and other competitive universities admit to using racial classifications and preferences in their admissions policies. This investigation reinforces the need for all universities to end race-based admissions policies.

Our nations civil rights laws and Constitution must be interpreted to forbid the use of race and ethnicity in college admissions, Blum said. In our multi-racial and multi-ethnic nation, the admissions bar cannot be raised for some races and ethnicities, and lowered for others.

The Department of Justice found Yale discriminates based on race and national origin in its undergraduate admissions process, and that race is the determinative factor in hundreds of admission decisions each year. For the great majority of applicants, Asian Americans and whites have only one-tenth to one-fourth of the likelihood of admission as African-American applicants with comparable academic credentials, according to the release.

Yale rejects scores of Asian-American and white applicants each year based on their race, whom it otherwise would admit, according to the Justice Department.

Although the Supreme Court has held that colleges receiving federal funds may consider applicants race, the Department of Justice found Yales use of race is not sufficiently limited. Yale uses race at multiple steps of its admissions process, resulting in a multiplied effect of race on an applicants likelihood of admission, and Yale racially balances its classes, the department says.

The Department of Justice has demanded Yale agree not to use race or national origin in its upcoming 2020-21 undergraduate admissions cycle, and, if Yale proposes to consider race or national origin in future admissions cycles, it must first submit to the Department of Justice a plan demonstrating its proposal is narrowly tailored as required by law, including by identifying a date for the end of race discrimination.

We would like to secure Yales compliance with Title VI by voluntary means, Dreiband wrote. To that end, Yale must agree not to use race or national origin in its upcoming 2020-2021 undergraduate admissions cycle, and, if Yale proposes to consider race or national origin in future admissions cycles, it must first submit to the Department of Justice a plan demonstrating that its proposal is narrowly tailored as required by law. Any such proposal should include an end date to Yales use of race.

The Justice Department said if Yale refuses to comply it will file a lawsuit against the university to force Yale to abide by Title VI.

Because Yale receives millions of dollars in taxpayer funds, it must comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a cornerstone civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin in programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance.

The Justice Department launched its investigation of Yales admission policies in April 2018. In Fridays letter to attorney Peter Spivack of Washington, D.C., Dreiband wrote: Yale grants substantial, and often determinative, preferences based on race to certain racially-favored applicants and relatively and significantly disfavors other applicants because of their race. Yales race discrimination imposes undue and unlawful penalties on racially-disfavored applicants, including in particular Asian American and White applicants.

Dreiband said the likelihood of admission for Asian American and White applicants who have similar academic credentials is significantly lower than for African American and Hispanic applicants to Yale College, with Asian American and white applicants having one-tenth to one-fourth of the likelihood of admission as African American applicants with comparable academic credentials.

He said, it appears Yales diversity goals are not sufficiently measurable ... not narrowly tailored and that the university uses race at multiple points in its admissions process.

Yales race discrimination dates back more than four decades, to at least the 1970s, and Yales race discrimination contains no time limits, Dreiband wrote. Instead, it appears that Yale intends to continue discriminating on the basis of race, apparently in perpetuity. Indeed, Yale admits that it intends to continue its race-based admissions process for the foreseeable future.

The totality of the information produced by Yale demonstrates that Yales multi-decade use of race continues unabated without any serious effort by Yale to consider an admissions process that is free of race discrimination, the Justice Department letter stated.

edward.stannard@hearstmediact.com; 203-680-9382
COEUR D'ALENE, ID / ACCESSWIRE / August 13, 2020 / Timberline Resources Corporation (OTCQB:TLRS)(TSXV:TBR) ("Timberline" or the "Company") has arranged a non-brokered private placement offering of up to US$3,700,000 of Units of the Company at a price of US$0.11 per Unit solely to persons or institutions who qualify as accredited investors (the "Offering") under Rule 506(b) of Regulation D promulgated by the SEC under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). The Offering is subject to approval by the TSX Venture Exchange.

Each Unit consists of one share of common stock of the Company and one common share purchase warrant (each a "Warrant"), with each Warrant exercisable to acquire an additional share of common stock of the Company at a price of US$0.20 per share until the warrant expiration date of August 15, 2023.

Crescat Capital has agreed to subscribe to US$1,800,000 of the offering. Crescat is a global macro asset management firm headquartered in Denver, CO. The firm recently launched a friendly activist precious metals mining fund. "We are excited about the exploration and development potential of Timberline's impressive collection of Nevada properties", said Crescat's founder and CIO, Kevin Smith.

Finders' fees may be payable with respect to subscriptions accepted by the Company, and consulting fees may be payable by the Company in relation to the Offering. Certain insiders may participate in the Offering.

The Company plans to use the net proceeds of the Offering for exploration on its Nevada gold projects, primarily drilling Lookout Mountain on the prolific Battle Mountain-Eureka Trend, and for general corporate purposes.

The securities offered in the Offering have not been registered under the Securities Act or the securities laws of any state of the United States and may not be offered or sold absent such registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities nor shall there be any sale of the securities referenced herein in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale is not permitted. The securities referenced herein have not been approved or disapproved by any regulatory authority.

About Timberline Resources:

Timberline Resources Corporation is focused on advancing district-scale gold exploration and development projects in Nevada. These include the Lookout Mountain and the Windfall projects, both in the Eureka district. The Company is also operator of the Paiute joint venture project with Nevada Gold Mines in the Battle Mountain district. These properties all lie on the prolific Battle Mountain-Eureka gold trend. Timberline also controls the Seven Troughs property in Northern Nevada, which is one of the state's highest-grade former gold producers. Timberline controls over 43 square miles (27,500 acres) of mineral rights in Nevada. Detailed maps and NI 43-101 estimated resource information for the Eureka property and NI 43-101 technical reports for the Paiute project may be viewed at http://timberlineresources.co/.

Timberline is listed on the OTCQB where it trades under the symbol "TLRS" and on the TSX Venture Exchange where it trades under the symbol "TBR".

Forward-looking Statements: Statements contained herein that are not based upon current or historical fact are forward-looking in nature and constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements reflect the Company's expectations about its future operating results, performance and opportunities that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. These include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the advancement of projects, and exploration potential. When used herein, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "upcoming," "plan," "target", "intend" and "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to Timberline Resources Corporation, its subsidiaries, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to the Company and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause the Company's actual results, performance, prospects, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to risks involving forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, changes in the Company's business and other factors, including risk factors discussed in the Company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020. Except as required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For Further Information Please Contact:

Steven A. Osterberg

President and CEO

Tel: 208-664-4859

E-mail: info@timberline-resources.com

SOURCE: Timberline Resources Corporation

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/601531/Timberline-Announces-37-Million-Private-Placement
ITASCA, Ill., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Balasa Dinverno Foltz LLC ("BDF"), a leading regional wealth management firm, and CI Financial Corp. ("CI") (TSX: CIX) of Toronto are pleased to announce that BDF has been ranked Number 2 overall and Number 1 in financial services on the Crain's 2020 list of 100 Best Places to Work in Chicago.

"We're thrilled to receive this recognition from Crain's Chicago Business and to achieve this high ranking on the Best Places to Work list," said Armond Dinverno, BDF President and Co-Founder. "As wealth managers, we recognize that our people are the key to our success and we deeply appreciate our team members' dedication. We share a culture of team before self and unmatched excellence centered on serving our mission, which is to help our clients enjoy a full life."

BDF is a registered investment advisor ("RIA") firm with approximately $4.5 billion in assets. Its team of 62 people provide customized wealth management services to individuals and families, business owners and institutions and non-profit organizations in the Chicago area. BDF recently agreed to be acquired by CI, a global asset and wealth management firm.

"We congratulate BDF and its team for this remarkable accomplishment," said Kurt MacAlpine, CI Chief Executive Officer. "To rank second in one of the largest and most competitive markets in America speaks to the strength of BDF's culture and the high quality, commitment and professionalism of their team members. We are proud to welcome the BDF team to CI and are excited to be working with them to continue to grow their business."

The Crain's 2020 list of the 100 Best Places to Work in Chicago is compiled by Best Companies Group, an independent workplace excellence research firm, based on an in-depth analysis of companies' benefits, policies, practices and other information, and the results of a confidential employee survey used to evaluate employees' workplace experience and culture. BDF ranked Number 2 both overall and in the small company category. This is the second consecutive year BDF has appeared on the Top 100 list, having ranked sixth overall on the 2019 Best Places to Work in Chicago list.

CI is acquiring BDF as part of CI's strategy to expand its presence in wealth management and to globalize the firm. With the acquisition of BDF, CI will have over $11 billion in wealth management assets in the United States. BDF will form a cornerstone of CI's business and a platform for continued expansion.

About Crain's Chicago Business

Crain's Chicago Business is the top source of news, analysis and information on business in metropolitan Chicago for decision-makers in the private and public sectors. Crain's publishes a weekly business magazine, providing deeper analysis, commentary, special reports and features. Crain's also produces databases, live events and sponsored content, all with the aim of deepening readers' understanding of local business. Crain's Chicago Business is the leading source of information on Chicago's economy, the companies, industries and institutions that operate here and the entrepreneurs and innovators who drive the city's growth.

About Balasa Dinverno Foltz

BDF was founded in 2001 by Mark Balasa, Armond Dinverno, and Mike Foltz, who each have more than three decades of industry experience. BDF provides personalized investment management and financial planning, and manages approximately $4.5 billion on behalf of business owners, individuals and families, and institutions. BDF's expertise includes practice groups specializing in the unique needs of women, widows, business owners, insurance brokers and agency owners, lawyers, financial professionals, and divorcing individuals. In addition to a Barron's Top 50 RIA ranking, BDF has received extensive recognition over the years, including being listed on the 2020 FT300: Top Registered Investment Advisors, the Investment News Best Places to Work for Financial Advisors (2020) and being ranked Number 30 on the RIA Channel Top 100 Wealth Managers for 2020. For more information, visit www.bdfllc.com.

About CI Financial

CI Financial Corp. (TSX: CIX) is an independent company offering global asset management and wealth management advisory services. It held approximately C$187 billion (US$140 billion) in assets as of July 31, 2020. CI's primary asset management businesses are CI Investments Inc. and GSFM Pty Ltd., and it operates in wealth management through Assante Wealth Management (Canada) Ltd., CI Private Counsel LP, WealthBar Financial Services Inc., BBS Securities Inc., The Cabana Group, LLC, Congress Wealth Management, LLC, One Capital Management, LLC and Surevest LLC. Further information is available at www.cifinancial.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning anticipated future events, results, circumstances, performance or expectations with respect to CI Financial Corp. ("CI") and its products and services, including its business operations, strategy and financial performance and condition. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as "believe", "expect", "foresee", "forecast", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "goal", "plan" and "project" and similar references to future periods, or conditional verbs such as "will", "may", "should", "could" or "would". These statements are not historical facts but instead represent management beliefs regarding future events, many of which by their nature are inherently uncertain and beyond management's control. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements involve risks and uncertainties. The material factors and assumptions applied in reaching the conclusions contained in these forward-looking statements include that the investment fund industry will remain stable and that interest rates will remain relatively stable. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include, among other things, general economic and market conditions, including interest and foreign exchange rates, global financial markets, changes in government regulations or in tax laws, industry competition, technological developments and other factors described or discussed in CI's disclosure materials filed with applicable securities regulatory authorities from time to time. The foregoing list is not exhaustive and the reader is cautioned to consider these and other factors carefully and not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Other than as specifically required by applicable law, CI undertakes no obligation to update or alter any forward-looking statement after the date on which it is made, whether to reflect new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE CI Financial Corp.

Related Links

http://www.ci.com/


Publicly talking about the need to keep his hair perfect, Donald Trump has made increasing water flow and dialling back long-standing appliance conservation standards  from light bulbs to toilets to dishwashers  a personal issue.

But consumer and conservation groups said the Department of Energys proposed loosening of a 28-year-old energy law that includes appliance standards is silly, unnecessary and wasteful, especially as the western US bakes through a historic two-decade drought.



Because my hair  I dont know about you, but it has to be perfect. Perfect

Since 1992, federal law has dictated that new showerheads should not pour more than 2.5 gallons of water per minute.

As newer shower fixtures came out with multiple nozzles, the Obama administration defined the restrictions to apply to what comes out in total, so if there are four nozzles, no more than 2.5 gallons should come out between all four.

The new proposal would allow 2.5 gallons from each nozzle.

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With multiple nozzles, you could have 10, 15 gallons per minute powering out of the showerhead, literally probably washing you out of the bathroom, said Andrew deLaski, executive director of the energy conservation group Appliance Standards Awareness Project.



Weve got a pandemic, serious long-term drought throughout much of the West. Weve got global climate change. Showerheads arent one of our problems

On the White House South Lawn in July, Mr Trump made the issue personal, complaining: So showerheads  you take a shower, the water doesnt come out. You want to wash your hands, the water doesnt come out. So what do you do? You just stand there longer or you take a shower longer?

Because my hair  I dont know about you, but it has to be perfect. Perfect.

Mr deLaski and officials at Consumer Reports said there has been no public outcry or need for change. The Department of Energys database of 12,499 showerheads showed 74 per cent use two gallons or less water per minute, which is 20 per cent less than the federal standard.

Frankly its silly, he said. The country faces serious problems. Weve got a pandemic, serious long-term drought throughout much of the West. Weve got global climate change. Showerheads arent one of our problems.

Energy Department spokeswoman Shaylyn Hynes said the 2013 Obama definition of a showerhead clashes with what Congress intended and the standards of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

If the rule is changed, Ms Hynes said it would be allowing Americans  not Washington bureaucrats  to choose what kind of showerheads they have in their homes.

Appliance and plumbing energy and water conservation standards save consumers about 500 dollars (382) a year on energy bills, Mr deLaski said, and if people are having trouble getting water flowing in their shower, they should check their homes water pressure and can replace a faulty showerhead for a small amount.

Mr deLaski said he has a hard time understanding Mr Trumps concerns, adding: If the president needs help finding a good shower, we can point him to some great consumer websites that help you identify a good showerhead that provides a dense soak and a good shower.
Ashok Gehlot

Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said on Thursday that whatever was the "misunderstanding" in the Congress party, it should be "forgiven and forgotten" for moving forward.

Ashok GehlotThe Congress crisis in Rajasthan appears to have ended with the intervention of top leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who met rebel leader Sachin Pilot earlier this week.

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"Whatever misunderstanding occurred in the party in the last one month, we need to forgive and forget in the interest of the country, the state, the people and in the interest of democracy," Gehlot said in a tweet.

Ashok Gehlot tweet

"We have to put all our energies in this fight to save democracy with the spirit of forgive and forget and move forward," he wrote on Twitter.

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The struggle of the Congress is to save democracy under the leadership of the party president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, he said.

Ashok Gehlot tweet

"Save democracy should be our priority with the spirit of forgive and forget. The conspiracy that is going on to topple elected governments one by one in the country, the way governments were toppled in the states of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and other states.

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"How ED, CBI, Income Tax, the judiciary have been misused, it is a very dangerous game that is going on to undermine democracy," Gehlot said in a series of tweets.
Many rehab patients in Pennsylvania are forced to choose between going to treatment and risking getting the virus, or staying at home and struggling with substance use alone. Read more

Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News and Triblive/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter.

Waking up on June 14, Colleen Moskov couldnt remember what had happened the night before. She had blacked out from another episode of binge drinking, a frequent occurrence over the last six months. But that morning, Moskov decided shed had enough.

She called Avenues Recovery Center near her Maryland home, hoping to start treatment immediately. The facility said it was full, but there was an opening at one of its Pennsylvania locations, near Scranton. The 28-year-old packed her bags and headed north.

When she arrived, the staff asked if she had been in contact with anyone who had tested positive for COVID-19 or if she had a cough, and they took her temperature.

Then she was admitted. To Moskovs surprise, no one asked her to get tested for COVID-19 or to quarantine as a new patient.

Over the next month, none of the staff she encountered wore a mask or tried to keep six feet apart, she said. Clients who relapsed and had spent days in the greater Scranton area  recently a hotbed of coronavirus cases  were allowed to reenter without any quarantining. Cleaning products were in short supply, and guest speakers were invited to the facility almost daily.

It was like COVID-19 didnt exist there, Moskov said.

And its not the only treatment facility said to be flouting basic coronavirus protocols. Staff and residents at a handful of facilities across Pennsylvania told Spotlight PA they fear a lack of protective measures could endanger their recovery  and their lives.

Of the states approximately 800 treatment facilities, 115 have reported COVID-19 cases to the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, which licenses them. Since March, the agency has received 170 complaints about facilities failing to implement protective measures.

So far, however, the state has issued zero citations.

In many instances, addiction advocates and treatment providers said that while facilities are making an honest effort to implement precautions, they struggle without specific guidance from state and federal authorities. They also face challenges getting staff and clients to consistently wear masks, and dont have access to rapid testing needed to keep the virus out while still letting new patients in.

Ultimately, patients are left to battle two monsters at the same time  the coronavirus pandemic and the addiction epidemic  with many forced to choose between going to treatment and risking getting the virus, or staying at home and struggling with substance use alone.

Moskov said her entire stay at Avenues Recovery Center at Lake Ariel was marred by worries of contracting the virus, or worse, taking it home to her husband and 1-year-old daughter at the end of treatment.

I didnt want to drink anymore, and stopping on my own hadnt worked, Moskov said. But the constant tension between some of the patients and some of the staff over COVID-19 was distracting to my treatment.

Fear of COVID-19  and retaliation

Pennsylvanias drug and alcohol department, like many other state licensing agencies, has not issued specific COVID-19 guidelines for treatment providers. Instead, it refers facilities to state and federal guidance, including Health Secretary Rachel Levines mask order.

But clients told Spotlight PA that some facilities arent even following those basic rules.

Interviews with four patients from Avenues at Lake Ariel, along with a review of photographs taken inside the facility, revealed a host of problems. A bag of face masks sat by the front desk, clients said, but was largely untouched. Some visiting speakers took them, but staff and most patients never wore them, even at group therapy sessions where dozens of people sat close together. The thermometer used to check incoming staff and clients temperatures often malfunctioned, and one patient who felt feverish said he was told not to worry, it must be allergies. Social media posts show at least two staff members at the facility have had COVID-19.

When Moskov and a few other patients raised concerns about the lack of precautions to the clinical director, he dismissed them.

He said, Were you worried about COVID-19 when you were getting drugs off the street?  Moskov recalled.

In a statement, Avenues Recovery Center said it follows all national and state recommendations, including screening staff and clients before they enter the facility, regularly cleaning the building, and mandating sick staff stay at home until cleared by the health department.

Avenues has gone above and beyond to try to provide high quality substance abuse treatment in the safest environment possible, the statement said. Our staff take the responsibility of client care seriously, understanding that what we do matters.

Erica Mortimer, director of quality assurance, cast doubt on concerns raised by clients, saying, It is not uncommon for clients in active addiction to distract attention away from their own behavior by altering facts and manipulating situations to serve their purpose.

Several individuals in treatment told Spotlight PA they were reluctant to raise concerns publicly or file complaints in anticipation of exactly this kind of response. They worried people wouldn't believe them, staff and management at the facilities might retaliate, and judges or probation officers would misconstrue their fears as an attempt to avoid court-mandated treatment.

I wish I could choose not to go in person and just do telehealth, said one client who attends outpatient services at a Gaudenzia facility in Norristown as part of a drug treatment court mandate. But I dont want to get sanctioned by the court for not doing what theyre asking.

The client said group therapy often involved 20 people in a room, most without masks. Chairs were placed close together and books, pens, and other items were passed around  despite Narcotics Anonymous guidelines discouraging that.

In a statement, Gaudenzia said that since mid-March, all staff and clients have been required to wear masks in common areas and groups have been limited to 12 people. Management has done two unannounced visits to check for compliance, and the facility has had no COVID-19 cases, the statement said.

However, two people familiar with the program said the protocols were only enforced in late July, after Spotlight PA contacted Gaudenzia.

Rather than issue citations, the state drug and alcohol department educates facilities and helps them overcome obstacles, Secretary Jennifer Smith said in an interview. The facilities are marked compliant as long as theyre making an effort.

Its pretty rare in my experience to come across a provider who is just belligerent and absolutely insisting that they dont want to follow the protocols, Smith said. They usually want to, but in a lot of cases, there are real barriers.

Facilities struggle with masks, testing

In Pennsylvania, treatment providers have pointed to challenges accessing personal protective equipment, getting insurance companies to reimburse telehealth, and finding space to isolate COVID-positive individuals from others. Many facilities are running low on funds, as they are admitting half as many clients as usual but are also hiring more staff to cover for employees who are out sick or need to care for family members.

But the state can offer only limited help. It has no dedicated coronavirus funding for these facilities and a finite stockpile of masks to share among health-care providers, including nursing homes. Instead, the drug and alcohol department has a list of COVID-19 resources on its website and has been trying to connect facilities with suppliers to acquire protective equipment.

Providers say its far too little. Across the nation, addiction experts are calling out a lack of support and guidance for treatment centers during the pandemic.

There are essentially no specific guidelines other than to act with safety around people who are at risk for developing COVID, said Paul Earley, president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine.

Its particularly concerning, he added, since individuals with substance use disorder are at high risk for contracting COVID-19 and are also more likely to spread the virus to others.

Every state should be taking action now to help support this population, Earley said. From something as simple as dropping off a case of N95 masks to providing financial support to figuring out how to help with safe housing, there are myriad needs that our industry has that not only serve the addiction population but the population at large.

The society has created its own guidelines to help fill the void. It advises providers to screen patients by phone and in-person, practice social distancing, quarantine newly admitted patients, and divert people to telehealth when possible.

Above all, it emphasizes the use of masks.

Wearing masks is the single most important thing we do to prevent COVID transmission, Earley said.

Many treatment providers across Pennsylvania agree but said its not always easy to get clients to comply.

Vince Mercuri  executive director of the Open Door of Indiana, Pa., an outpatient drug and alcohol treatment facility and mental health crisis line  said he often has to stop clients in the hallway and ask them to put on a mask. He wears his own any time he steps out of his office to encourage similar behavior.

In residential treatment, social distancing and wearing masks become even more difficult, said Michael Watterson, executive director of ARC Manor Addiction Recovery Center in Kittanning.

It is their home and it feels overwhelming to keep masks on every time they are not in their own room, he said.

Ideally, Watterson would like to test every patient for COVID-19 before theyre admitted. But as testing demand across the nation has soared, labs have become backlogged and it can take days or even weeks to get results. Its not practical to keep someone quarantined for up to a third of their treatment, waiting for those results, Watterson said. Even isolating clients for a day or two has been so distressing that some have left against medical advice, he said.

Rapid testing, which produces results in as little as 15 minutes, could solve the issue. But right now, its not widely available in Pennsylvania  a concern raised by nearly all patients, staff, and management interviewed for this story. (The state recently announced a $1 million investment in a Lehigh Valley company that aims to develop rapid tests by the end of the year.)

Widespread testing with quick results was key to mitigating a COVID-19 outbreak at the Kirkbride Center in Philadelphia. After six patients showed symptoms of the coronavirus in early April, the facility enlisted the help of a local hospital to test everyone on that unit.

By early May, 46 patients at Kirkbride had tested positive. They were all isolated at a city quarantine site, preventing the virus from spreading to hundreds of other patients, said Fred Baurer, Kirkbrides medical director.

Since then, Kirkbride has instituted a universal mask policy, educated patients about social distancing, and kept new admissions apart from other patients. From mid-May to mid-June, Kirkbride had only two positive cases, and none have been recorded since.

Across the border in West Virginia, the Valley HealthCare System has been using rapid testing to ensure all patients are COVID-negative before entering its residential programs. The facility connects patients with nearby rapid testing sites and can also transport them there, said Gerry Schmidt, chief operations officer of the system and former president of NAADAC, a national association for addiction professionals.

As the pandemic lingers, its crucial that patients feel safe coming to treatment, Schmidt said, especially with overdose deaths rising nationwide.

It would be difficult to immerse yourself in a treatment program where you didnt feel safe, regardless of how bad your addiction is, he said. But when facilities take proper COVID-19 precautions, it shows clients that we care.

We care about them, we care about the general public, and we care about each other.

100% ESSENTIAL: Spotlight PA relies on funding from foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results. If you value this reporting, please give a gift today at spotlightpa.org/donate.
New Zealand reported 13 new coronavirus cases in the community on Thursday from the previous day as the nation reels from a new outbreak.

Health Director-General Ashley Bloomfield told reporters in Wellington on Thursday that he expects the Covid cluster to increase.

The nation also reported a case from an overseas arrival on Thursday, and now has 36 active cases. All confirmed cases will be quarantined.

New Zealand latest outbreak has thrown the largest city Auckland back into lockdown and threatens to dent the economic recovery.

The countrys run of 102 days without community transmission ended this week with the announcement that four new cases had been detected in an Auckland household. A further four probable cases were identified Wednesday. Authorities are trying to stop the virus spreading to avoid the fate of nations like Australia, Japan and Vietnam, which after early successes in containing Covid-19 are now battling its resurgence.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has put Auckland, a city of 1.6 million people, into lockdown for an initial period of three days as health officials try to trace the origin of the infections. Social distancing rules and limits on gatherings have also been reimposed on the rest of the country.

I know this disruption to businesses is putting extraordinary pressure on you, but the best long-term economic response is for us to get this immediate response right, Ardern said on Thursday.

While Ardern said it was heartening that so far the outbreak was restricted to one cluster, she warned New Zealanders that the numbers would worsen.

Health authorities are investigating whether the outbreak may have originated at a cold storage firm where one of the infected people worked.
BLED, Slovenia  U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Slovenia on Thursday to make the case for high-speed wireless networks that bar Chinese companies like Huawei.

On the second leg of a four-nation tour of central and eastern Europe, Pompeo met with Slovenian officials in the mountain lake town of Bled and signed a joint declaration on 5G Clean Network Security that aims to keep untrusted telecommunications vendors out of Slovenia.

Free nations must work together to confront authoritarian threats, he said. It is absolutely critical that every nation makes a good sovereign decision about how the private information of its citizens is going to be handled.

Pompeo has led a U.S. campaign across Europe and elsewhere against Huawei and other Chinese companies that the Trump administration accuses of sharing sensitive data and personal information with Chinas security apparatus. The campaign has had mixed results, but NATO ally Slovenia is on board.

Protecting communications networks from disruption or manipulation, and ensuring the privacy and individual liberties of the citizens of the United States and Slovenia are vital to ensuring that our people are able to take advantage of the tremendous economic opportunities 5G will enable, the declaration says.

Slovenia last month rolled out a nationwide commercial 5G network with the Swedish telecoms giant Ericsson, which Pompeo and other U.S. officials frequently mention as a trusted alternative to Huawei.

The tide is turning against the Chinese Communist Party and its efforts to control information, Pompeo said.

Besides the 5G declaration, Pompeo discussed energy security with Slovenias president and prime minister. The United States is keen to wean Europe from its dependence on Russian oil and gas and has launched numerous initiatives throughout the continent to diversify European energy sources. It has offered to sell U.S. fuel to Europe and has been promoting nuclear energy.

Pompeo arrived in Slovenia from the Czech Republic, where he called upon the young democracies in the region to embrace hard-won freedoms and counter threats from Russia and particularly China, which he said is in many ways more dangerous than the former Soviet Union.

The CCP is already enmeshed in our economies, in our politics, in our societies in ways the Soviet Union never was, he told Czech lawmakers, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.

Pompeo, however, said that even more of a threat is the Chinese Communist Party and its campaigns of coercion and control.

In your country alone, he said, we see influence campaigns against your politicians and security forces, the theft of industrial data that you have created through your innovation and creativity, and weve seen the use of economic leverage to stifle freedom itself.

Pompeo said they should continue to resist Chinese attempts to assert economic and political leverage over them. He noted several recent developments in which China has threatened Czech officials with retaliation for showing support for Taiwan, Tibet and Hong Kong.

China has accused the United States of oppressing Chinese companies through its declarations about telecom equipment suppliers Huawei and ZTE being national security threats.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / August 13, 2020 / Golden Lake Exploration Inc. (CSE:GLM) ("GLM" or the "Company") reports that its initial Phase 1 reverse circulation ("RC") drill program on the company's keystone Jewel Ridge gold property, located near the town of Eureka, NV, is proceeding well. All three proposed holes on the Hamburg Mine target have been completed (total of 1,800 feet or 549 meters drilled) to target depths. The drill has now moved approximately 1.5 kilometers northwest to patented claims on the South Eureka Tunnel Target area. Drilling will continue on this target area for the remainder of the program.

The South Eureka Tunnel adit is located on the western side of valley, marked by a large area of tailings and dump material located to the north of the adit. Historic reports (Nolan, 1962) indicate that adit extended in a westerly direction for more than 1,800 feet (550 meters), however detailed information related to mine workings, production and geology are not available. The South Eureka Tunnel oxide gold target area is located south-east and north of the adit, was previous drilled with shallow holes (average depth 47,4 meters) by General Minerals Development Corp. -- Peter Galli Exploration (1971-1980), and by Norse-Windfall Inc (1983-1988).

The Company is also pleased to announce that EM Strategies has been retained to lead the Company's permitting of a Phase 2 drill program on additional targets on Federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) claims on the Jewel Ridge property. EM Strategies, based in Reno and Elko, specialize in third party and proponent work with the BLM, US Forest Service (USFS), state and county governments to provide permit acquisition and regulatory compliance services.

About the Jewel Ridge Property

The Jewel Ridge property is located on the south end of Nevada's prolific Battle Mountain - Eureka trend, along strike and contiguous to Barrick Gold's Archimedes/Ruby Hill gold mine to the north and Timberline Resources' advanced-stage Lookout Mountain project to the south.

The property comprises 96 unpatented lode mining claims and 30 patented claims covering approximately 728 hectares (1,800 acres). The Jewel Ridge property contains several historic small gold mines. The Company's focus is on Carlin-style disseminated gold deposits, the primary focus in the area since the late 1970s.

Nevada Carlin-type gold deposits (CTGD) have a combined endowment of more than 250 million ounces, which are concentrated (85 per cent) in only four trends or camps of deposits: Carlin, Cortez (Battle Mountain-Eureka), Getchell and Jerritt Canyon. The Company cautions that results on adjacent and/or nearby projects are not necessarily indicative of results on the Company's property.

About Golden Lake Exploration Inc.

Golden Lake Exploration is a junior public mining exploration company engaged in the business of mineral exploration and the acquisition of mineral property assets. Its objective is to acquire, explore and develop economic precious and base metal properties of merit and to aggressively advance its exploration program on the Jewel Ridge property.

Qualified person

Golden Lake Exploration's disclosure of a technical or scientific nature in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Garry Clark, P.Geo., who serves as a qualified person under the definition of National Instrument 43-101.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Mike England"

_______________________________

Mike England, CEO & DIRECTOR

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Telephone: 1-604-683-3995

TollFree:1-888-945-4770

Neither the Canadian Stock Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This news release contains forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Investors are cautioned that these forward looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected. These forward -looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and by those made in our filings with SEDAR in Canada (available at WWW.SEDAR.COM).

SOURCE: Golden Lake Exploration Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/601588/Jewel-Ridge-Property-Drill-Program-Update-Jewel-Ridge-Gold-Property-Eureka-NV
The Niger State Police Command says 14 persons have been killed by gunmen at Ukuru Village in Mariga Local Government Area of the state.

The commands Public Relations Officer, Wasiu Abiodun, an assistant superintendent of police, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday in Minna, the state capital.

Mr Abiodun said on August12, at about 15:30 hours, the command was informed that gunmen invaded Ukuru Village, opened fire on the natives and rustled several cattle in the process.

He said at the end of the shooting, 14 people were confirmed dead while five others sustained various degrees of injury.

He said that the injured were receiving treatment at Mariga General Hospital.

The spokesman added that policemen and local vigilante were on the trail of the alleged cattle rustlers.

(NAN)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 13:26:27|Editor: huaxia

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HONG KONG, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Travelers from the Chinese mainland will be able to transit in Hong Kong International Airport to other destinations from Saturday through Oct. 15, but the transit service for the other way around is still suspended, the Airport Authority Hong Kong said Thursday.

Hong Kong International Airport has resumed transit services since June 1. Passengers are required to have boarding passes under the same ticket if their connecting flights are operated by different airlines. Their luggage must be labeled with a tag to the destination.

Travelers are also required to complete transfers within 24 hours. Enditem
Dublin, Aug. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Thermocouple Temperature Sensors Market - Growth, Trends and Forecast (2020 - 2025)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The thermocouple temperature sensors market is expected to register a CAGR of over 3.68% during the forecast period 2020-2025. The increasingly popular trend of the development of smart cities in countries is contributing to the high growth of the electronic security market.

Further, the introduction of advanced technologies in the global sensors market, along with the ever-rising trend of digital transformation in the industrial world, has resulted in a rising demand for sensors, especially for smart sensors.

Moreover, thermocouple temperature sensors are mainly used for thermal management and automatic transmissions systems in the automotive industry. Therefore, the stringent emission norms for automobiles, aggressive development in an autonomous vehicle, and increasing penetration of electric vehicle (EV) globally are some of the major factors driving the market growth. For instance, the Indian government is focusing on creating charging infrastructure and policy framework, so that by 2030, more than 30% of vehicles are electric vehicles.

In February 2019, STMicroelectronics' has entered into a partnership with Hyundai Autron launch development lab for eco-friendly automotive sensor solutions. The collaboration will provide the environment for engineers to collaborate on pioneering solutions for eco-friendly vehicles, with a focus on powertrain controllers.

However, technical awareness about sensor and heating issues in the extreme condition is the key restraints which hamper the market growth.

Key Market Trends



Automotive Industry is Expected to Register a Significant Growth

The need for temperature sensors for safety and precision measurements of the smart automotive equipment, in order to analyze and produce sensor data timely, is likely to increase because of the miniaturization of the intelligent sensor technology. This is expected to fuel the demand for thermocouple temperature sensors in this application.

Automatic Temperature Control (ATC) is a common feature among most of the electric vehicles and high-end models in the mid-range segment the increased sales of electric vehicles among high disposable income regions, such as the United States, Germany, and China, provides an opportunity for the growth of the thermocouple temperature sensors market.

The battery charges used for charging multiple devices in the automotive segment are equipped with temperature-sensing elements that regularly check and monitor the heating issue, as this is a common problem with batteries mostly used in automated vehicles. This helps in increasing the life of devices and decreases damage; thereby, ensuring that the batteries have charged enough.

Therefore, with increasing electric vehicles manufacturing, thermocouple temperature sensors demand is also expected to increase.

Story continues

North America Holds the Largest Market Share

The United States is expected to have a prominent share in the thermocouple temperature sensor market. The country is one of the largest automotive markets in the world and is home to over 13 major auto manufacturers. Electric vehicle use in the United States has risen rapidly, with an estimated 1% of automotive sales in the US market from electric vehicles.

California dominates the US market in terms of sales of electric vehicles (EVs). It's Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) program is driving the demand for EVs, by requiring automakers in the state to sell a certain percentage of electric cars. US auto market, which is likely to further pressurize automakers to expand their affordable EV offerings, thereby fueling the demand for a thermocouple temperature sensor in the country.

US aerospace manufacturers are very competitive internationally. In 2017, the aerospace industry contributed USD 143 billion in export sales to the US economy. Companies in the aerospace sector, such as Boeing, won contracts worth USD 12 billion in 2018, to supply 47 new 787 Dreamliner jets to American Airlines. Similarly, the company signed a deal with Singapore Airlines for the delivery of 39 new wide-body jets, worth USD 13.8 billion, in 2017. Such trends are expected to drive the demand for a thermocouple temperature sensor in the country.



Key Topics Covered:



1 INTRODUCTION



2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY



3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY



4 MARKET DYNAMICS

4.1 Market Overview

4.2 Introduction to Market Drivers and Restraints

4.3 Market Drivers

4.3.1 Rising Trends of Security and Surveillance

4.3.2 Rapid Technological Developments

4.4 Market Restraints

4.5 Value Chain / Supply Chain Analysis

4.6 Industry Attractiveness - Porter's Five Force Analysis



5 MARKET SEGMENTATION



6 COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

6.1 Company Profiles

6.1.1 Maxim Integrated Inc

6.1.2 Keyence Corporation

6.1.3 NXP Semiconductors NV

6.1.4 Honeywell International Inc.

6.1.5 Danfoss Group

6.1.6 Texas Instruments Inc.

6.1.7 Microchip Technology

6.1.8 STMicroelectronics



7 INVESTMENT ANALYSIS



8 MARKET OPPORTUNITIES AND FUTURE TRENDS



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/k55tvh



About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

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A Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo has asked Nigerians youths to flush out older generation from political offices so that they can take over leadership.

Obasanjo made this call while speaking at an interactive session held virtually to mark this years International Youth Day on Wednesday, August 12, 2020.

He said unless the youths to take over leadership positions by squeezing older generation out of office, the old leaders would not vacate their offices except they are forced out.

The former president further enjoined the youths to demand affirmative action with positive discrimination in favour of youth enshrined in the constitution of political parties.

Unless you squeeze out those who are in the office and those who want to remain in office perpetually, some after the age of 80. Unless you squeeze them out they will not want to be out, Obasanjo said.

The type of change I am talking about, that I believe we can all embark upon is to subscribe into the constitution of political parties in favour of youth. Or if you like it you call it affirmative action in favour of youths. For instance, if you say, in the constitution of a political party, not less than 50 per cent of those who hold executive office within the party will be less than 40 years of age. Youre just making sure that people that are 40 years of age will hold 50 percent of executive offices within the political party. You can even go beyond that and say that people who will be put up for election, not less than 50 percent of them, will be less than 40 years of age. Thats affirmative action. Thats positive discrimination in favour of youths.

I am saying this because if you leave it entirely for people to do it for you, nobody will do it for you. You have to do it for yourself.

The session was organised by the Youth Development Centre, an arm of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), and attended by participants from Nigeria, Mali, USA, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa.

KanyiDaily recalls that Obasanjo had made this same call last year when he said that the African youths will not get into power on a platter of gold, unless they snatch it from the aging leaders.
Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday reached a historic peace deal, that will lead to full normalization of diplomatic relations between the two middle eastern nations, with the help of US President Donald Trump. Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter, Trump announced, "HUGE breakthrough today! Historic Peace Agreement between our two GREAT friends, Israel and the United Arab Emirates!"

A joint statement said that this historic diplomatic breakthrough is a testament to the bold diplomacy and vision of the three leaders, Trump, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Sheilch Mohammed Bin Zayed. It added that it is also the courage of the UAE and Israel to chart a new path that will unlock the great potential in the region.

Under the agreement, Israel has agreed to suspend declaring sovereignty over areas outlined in the President's Vision for Peace and focus its efforts now on expanding ties with other countries in the Arab and Muslim world. The United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates are confident that additional diplomatic breakthroughs with other nations are possible, and will work together to achieve this goal. The United Arab Emirates and Israel will immediately expand and accelerate cooperation regarding the treatment of and the development of a vaccine for the coronavirus.

HUGE breakthrough today! Historic Peace Agreement between our two GREAT friends, Israel and the United Arab Emirates!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 13, 2020

An official statement read, "All three countries face many common challenges and will mutually benefit from today's historic achievement. Delegations from Israel and the United Arab Emirates will meet in the coming weeks to sign bilateral agreements regarding investment, tourism, direct flights, security, telecommunications, technology, energy, healthcare, culture, the environment, the establishment of reciprocal embassies, and other areas of mutual benefit. Opening direct ties between two of the Middle East's most dynamic societies and advanced economies will transform the region by spurring economic growth, enhancing technological innovation, and forging closer people-to-people relations."

The statement also read, "Working together, these efforts will help save Muslim, Jewish, and Christian lives throughout the region. This normalization of relations and peaceful diplomacy will bring together two of America's most reliable and capable regional partners. Israel and the United Arab Emirates will join with the United States to launch a Strategic Agenda for the Middle East to expand diplomatic, trade, and security cooperation. Along with the United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates share a similar outlook regarding the threats and opportunities in the region, as well as a shared commitment to promoting stability through diplomatic engagement, increased economic integration, and closer security coordination."

"Today's agreement will lead to better lives for the peoples of the United Arab Emirates, Israel, and the region. The United States and Israel recall with gratitude the appearance of the United Arab Emirates at the White House reception held on January 28, 2020, at which President Trump presented his Vision for Peace, and express their appreciation for United Arab Emirates' related supportive statements. The parties will continue their efforts in this regard to achieve a just, comprehensive and enduring resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," it added.

"As set forth in the Vision for Peace, all Muslims who come in peace may visit and pray at the Al Aqsa Mosque, and Jerusalem's other holy sites should remain open for peaceful worshippers of all faiths. Prime Minister Netanyahu and Crown Prince Sheilch Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan express their deep appreciation to President Trump for his dedication to peace in the region and to the pragmatic and unique approach he has taken to achieve it," the statement further added.
Elephants eat fruits and vegetables during celebrations of the World Elephant Day at the Wild Elephant Valley scenic spot in Dai Autonomous Prefecture of Xishuangbanna, southwest China's Yunnan Province, August 12, 2020. [Xinhua/Chen Xinbo]

KUNMING, August 12 (Xinhua)  A series of activities were held in the Dai Autonomous Prefecture of Xishuangbanna, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Wednesday to call for more people to protect elephants.

A group of 20 Asian elephants glutted themselves with fresh watermelons, bananas and dragon fruit on a big table at the Wild Elephant Valley scenic spot.

The World Elephant Day was set up in 2012 and falls on August 12 every year. This year, a photo exhibition on Asian elephant protection, a field research camp and an Asian elephant protection exhibition were held.

Asian elephants are under first-class state protection in China. There are about 300 Asian elephants in the country, mostly in Yunnan.

Children interact with elephants during celebrations of the World Elephant Day at the Wild Elephant Valley scenic spot in Dai Autonomous Prefecture of Xishuangbanna, southwest China's Yunnan Province, August 12, 2020. [Xinhua/Chen Xinbo]

Tourists feed elephants during celebrations of the World Elephant Day at the Wild Elephant Valley scenic spot in Dai Autonomous Prefecture of Xishuangbanna, southwest China's Yunnan Province, August 12, 2020. [Xinhua/Chen Xinbo]

Volunteers prepare fruits and vegetables for elephants during celebrations of the World Elephant Day at the Wild Elephant Valley scenic spot in Dai Autonomous Prefecture of Xishuangbanna, southwest China's Yunnan Province, August 12, 2020. [Xinhua/Chen Xinbo]

Elephants take part in a parade during celebrations of the World Elephant Day at the Wild Elephant Valley scenic spot in Dai Autonomous Prefecture of Xishuangbanna, southwest China's Yunnan Province, August 12, 2020. [Xinhua/Chen Xinbo]

(Source: Xinhua)
Dubai, United Arab Emirates--(Newsfile Corp. - August 12, 2020) - Chun Can Capital Group (OTC Pink: CNCN) is pleased to announce that it has completed an agreement to acquire a Gold Mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Africa, with 3,000,000 ounces of Inferred Gold Resources according to a JORC Report, and has appointed a new Senior Management Team with H.E Dr. Fahed Al Merhebi of Zurich Capital Funds Holdings Inc. as Chairman of the Board. Additionally, the Company appointed Ms. Zoli Macanda Simbodyal as the Chief Executive Officer, and Mr. James Mufaro as Chief Operating Officer.

DRC Gold Mine

The Company's Gold Mine was acquired through an agreement with Golden Square Equity Partners Limited, in London. The Mine is known as the Misisi Gold Project in the DRC. The mine is located in Eastern DRC with 3,000,000 ounces of Inferred Gold Resources grading at 2.14 grams per ton. At today's price of $1,946 per ounce, the valuation of the gold resources would equate to in excess of $5.8 Billion.

The Misisi Gold Project is a large prospective exploration property located near the town of Misisi, located 250km south of Bukavu, the provincial capital of the South Kivu Province in the DRC. The Misisi Project hosts the Akyanga gold deposit, which currently has an Inferred Mineral Resource of 44.4 million tonnes at 2.16 grams per tonne containing 3 million ounces on a 100% basis and 2,164,500 ounces on a 72.15% attributable basis. The Company has received a Statement of Mineral Resources Report completed by Denny Jones Pty Ltd., a leading Australian based Resource Consultancy, and the Report is in accordance with the requirements of the 2012 Joint Ore Reserves Committee Code (JORC Code).

H.E Dr. Fahed Al Merhebi

H.E Dr. Fahed Al Merhebi is Chairman of Zurich Capital Funds Holdings Inc., a Dubai based Investment Group. Zurich Capital has acquired 52% of the Common Stock of the Company and become the majority controlling shareholder of the Company. Dr. Al Merhebi is Deputy President of the Arab African Council for Integration and Development ( AKF-FOS AACID UN DESA CSO). He graduated with a PhD. ln finance and international law and is experienced in banking and finance. In the UAE he has been named several titles including the Prince of Finance, mentioned by many Arab news and was chosen as the most influential figure for the year 2016.

Story continues

Zoli Macanda Simbodyal

Ms. Zoli Macanda Simbodyal is a Chartered Accountant, B Com. Hons. (Univ. of Cape Town), MSc Finance (University of Wales), CA(SA), ACA (England & Wales). She holds several directorships in a portfolio of corporates in South Africa and London. She is a financial advisor with project management experience with the following companies: Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Chartered Accountants & Auditors, NM Rothschild Investment Bank in London, New York and South Africa.

James Mufaro

Mr. James Mufaro is a Zimbabwean national, has an MBA Business Administration, BSc. Engineering, and is an experienced mining professional having operated in various roles senior roles in Africa. James last role was at Samancor Chrome, Johannesburg, South Africa as their Chief Operations Director and prior to this role was Head of Mining.

About Chun Can Capital Group

Chun Can Capital Group, a Nevada corporation, is a public company listed Over-the-Counter, trading symbol "CNCN". The Company was formed on August 16, 1996 (registered number NV19961175609) and recently completed a change in control and has commenced a new business plan of acquiring and operating Gold Mines around the world. The Company has relocated its executive offices to Dubai, U.A.E., where its Chairman H.E Dr. Fahed Al Merhebi is based.

Safe Harbor

This release contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements appear in a number of places in this release and include all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the Company, its directors or its officers with respect to, among other things: (i) financing plans; (ii) trends affecting its financial condition or results of operations; (iii) growth strategy and operating strategy. The words "may," "would," "will," "expect," "estimate," "can," "believe," "potential" and similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Chun Can Capital Group's ability to control, and that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. More information about the potential factors that could affect the business and financial results is and will be included in the Company's filings.

Chun Can Capital Group

Zoli Macanda Simbodyal

Chief Executive Officer

Email: zoli@beleholdings.com

SOURCE: Chun Can Capital Group

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/61608
ELIZABETHTOWN, N.Y. The 911 call from a white, off-duty police officer around the height of the George Floyd protests in early June sounded ominous: A group of Black youths had menaced him outside his upstate New York getaway, he said, sparking an exchange of gunfire between the officer and a member of the group.

What responding State Police troopers discovered caused the officers story to start unraveling. First, he was reportedly found asleep inside the camp home in Elizabethtown, located in the largely white Adirondacks region, after a night of heavy drinking. And, though he had indeed fired his weapon, there was no evidence anyone had fired at him.

Weeks later, what authorities think actually happened in the case of Cohoes Police Officer Sean McKown is still shrouded in secrecy.

State Police have refused to disclose any information about the incident, except to say that their investigation is closed. Nor has the agency explained why it didnt seek charges against McKown, even as Gov. Andrew Cuomo was in the midst of approving legislation that would punish false 911 calls based on race.

Meanwhile, McKowns police department is allowing him to retire from the force rather than face potential disciplinary measures that could cost him his pension.

Amid pressure from activists and community leaders, Essex County District Attorney Kristy Sprague has asked state police for the case file on McKown, though she also wont discuss the case. A letter with more than 700 signatures was delivered to Spragues office last week, demanding a more aggressive response to the incident.

It feels as though someone is trying to sweep this thing under the rug, said Nicole Hylton-Patterson, director of the Adirondack Diversity Initiative. If its true that he made a false report that put the lives of these youths at risk, he should be charged and prosecuted.

McKown, a 20-year veteran of the Cohoes Police Department and nephew of former Police Chief William Heslin, called 911 after midnight on June 6.

A group of eight to 10 black males came around his property and words were exchanged after he questioned why they were on his property, a dispatcher wrote in an internal Albany County sheriffs office email obtained by The Times Union, of Albany, through a public records request. They told him off. They then returned for round two, more words were exchanged to which at that point gunfire was exchanged between both parties. Sean is uninjured, however is waiting for State Police response as they are on another call.

The Times Union, citing anonymous sources reported that when troopers arrived, a highly intoxicated McKown said he told the youths to leave before grabbing his service gun from his vehicle. He said a Black male lifted his shirt and displayed a silver gun in his waistband. McKown said after hearing what he thought was a gunshot, he fired four rounds and ditched his gun while retreating.

McKown later called police and acknowledged the story was a lie, the Times Union reported. This time he said that out of fear, he fired shots into a tree stump to scare off whoever had made the noise.

After viewing a neighbors security video, troopers also told McKown their investigation showed his weapon had been deliberately set down, not tossed away. As their questioning continued, McKown allegedly asked the troopers why they were trying to jam him up, the Times Union reported.

Matthew Melewski, an attorney in nearby Westport supporting the efforts, said at a news conference: This is not a trivial matter. This is not a child pulling a fire alarm and falsely reporting a fire.

In response to inquiries by The Associated Press, the State Police would only say the incident was reported and investigated but no charges were filed. It refused to immediately disclose written reports related to the incident, telling the AP it would need to apply for the records under the states open records law, a bureaucratic hurdle that could delay the release of the documents for months.

Sprague told the AP via email that she had made a formal written request for the investigation file before the outcry. But added, I will not comment on any facts, potential witnesses or potential evidence.

McKown, 46, has been allowed to take sick time until his retirement takes effect this month, Cohoes Mayor Bill Keeler said in an interview.

The conduct, if true, is in my opinion unbecoming of a police officer, Keeler said. However, letting the officer retire was the cleanest, easiest, fastest and most certain of an outcome," he added.

In 2018, McKown was suspended without pay after pleading guilty to reckless driving after being charged with driving under the influence of alcohol in rural Illinois.

A message was left at a cell phone number believed to be McKowns. Efforts to reach him through a police union were unsuccessful.

Melewski said it appears that charges of falsely reporting an incident are warranted, and possibly more serious charges.

Its hard to know exactly why this investigation was stopped, Melewski said in an interview. Its very disturbing that somebody decided to bury it.

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
The lawyer for the prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case Christian Brueckner has said that he does not believe the German will ever be charged in the case.

Friedrich Fulscher has said that the main witness against Brueckner, 43, is a criminal who swapped information for police favours.

German Brueckner, a convicted paedophile, is currently in prison in Kiel, Germany on a drugs conviction and police are gathering evidence to charge him within the next two months.

The lawyer told Sky News that the informant who claimed suspect Brueckner - a German drifter - confessed his guilt to him in a bar may have done so as a cry for help in 2017 and 'is the worst witness you can get.'

It is believed that the unnamed witness told detectives that the German said that he knew what had happened to Madeline McCann, who famously disappeared in 2007 from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal.

Fulscher, however, believes that the police informant may have got an early release from a sentence he was serving in a foreign country in return for the information.

'If this is the same person, I think it's the worst witness you can get,' Fulsner said in an interview with Sky News. 'A human who has spent his whole life cheating people for his own benefit is never a reliable witness.'

Prime suspect Christian Brueckner's lawyer says that his client will ever be charged in relation to the case, saying the key witness is unreliable

Speaking to Sky News (pictured) Brueckner's lawyer Friedrich Fulscher said that the main witness against Brueckner is a criminal who swapped information for police favours

Brueckner is currently the target of Hans Christian Wolters - a German prosecuter - who has said he believes Brueckner abducted and killed Madeline, but he has so far not gathered enough evidence to charge him.

Wolters said he would not allow the case to drag on and would announce any decision to drop it, but Fulscher said that even dropping the case would be too late to restore his client's reputation.

Many people, he said, would always consider Brueckner responsible for the British girl's, even if he is found to innocent.

'If you pee in the same place long enough it will stink,' he said. 'And that's definitely what's happening in the Christian B case. He won't be able to lead a normal life at any point, without being recognised and facing hostility.

'A prosecutor who goes public (during an investigation) knows that. He can destroy a reputation and it was taken very lightly in this case.'

He went on to say that a prosecutor is aware of the potential reputational damage to a suspect if the prosecutor goes public, saying that the decision to do so was 'taken very lightly in this case.'

Madeleine McCann (pictured) went missing from her parents holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007

Earlier in the week, the lawyer also spoke to The Sun about the case, saying: '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, Fulscher said if the case ever did get to trial, Christian Brueckner would face the court 'serenely and calmly... he has nothing to hide'.

Investigators in the Madeleine McCann case breathed a sigh of relief last week after the EU's top court moved to block Bruekner's bid for release.

The 43-year-old tried to overturn his conviction and seven-year jail term for the 2005 rape of a 72-year-old American woman in Praia da Luz.

He argued that he had been extradited from Portugal to Germany in 2017 on the basis of a drugs charge, not the rape, making the case against him invalid.

But the European Court of Justices Advocate General today gave legal advice that Bruekner's argument should be dismissed.

Legal expert Michal Bobek said that Brueckner had left Germany to travel to Italy in 2018, after he had been extradited from the Algarve the previous year.

Police use rakes to search an allotment in Hanover on July 28 as part of the Madeleine investigation

He was then arrested in Milan and extradited to Germany a second time, under a different warrant that allowed him to be prosecuted for the rape of the pensioner.

It means that the child abuser, who has been convicted several times, is unlikely to be released on 7 January 2021, buying Madeleine McCann detectives valuable time to build the case against him.

While the opinion is not binding on ECJ judges, they usually follow the assessment of the Advocate General.

The Advocate General at the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) gave a non-binding opinion that Brueckner's extradition was unlawful, raising fears that he would be freed.

Brueckner is currently serving a sentence for drug dealing in the prison in Kiel in the north of Germany but could have been freed immediately, as he had already served two-thirds of his sentence.

This now looks unlikely, which will boost hopes that enough evidence can be gathered to allow the 43-year-old to be charged with the murder of Madeleine McCann.

Brueckner was extradited from Portugal to Germany in 2017 where he was jailed for sex offences against children.

He was released in August 2018 but was put under 'surveillance' and required to meet with a probation officer once a month.

Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry McCann have endured 13 years of heartbreak following their daughter's disappearance

But he fled the country  first to the Netherlands and then on to Italy  and was arrested in Milan and extradited back to Germany and jailed for drug offences dating back to 2011.

His lawyer told the court last month he had simply 'gone on holiday' and that there had been no requirement for him to inform the authorities he was leaving the country.

He said: 'In the framework of the supervision order he was not required to remain on German territory.'

Last month, German police named the serial sex offender as their prime suspect in the kidnap and murder of three-year-old Madeleine who vanished on May 3rd 2007 while on holiday in Praia da Luz with parents Kate and Gerry McCann.

Mobile phone data showed Brueckner was in Praia da Luz when the little girl - who was just days away from turning four - was taken.

German investigators also allege that records show he received a 30-minute phone call on the night of the crime.

Detectives in northern Germany have spent months making desperate appeals for information to link Brueckner to the youngster's abduction but have not so far secured the vital evidence they need.

Wolters, who is leading the investigation, has told the McCanns they have concrete evidence that Madeleine is dead, in the biggest break-through in the 13-year-old case.

He said he hoped to be able to charge Brueckner within the next two months  but has added that their investigation will not drag on forever.

Wolters has said the outcome of the ECJ hearing could result in Brueckner's rape conviction being quashed.
Mount Greylock Interim Superintendent Proposing Fully Remote Start to School Year

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  Mount Greylock Regional School District's interim superintendent Tuesday told the community he will propose the district start the year with fully remote learning for general education students.

In a virtual town hall, Robert Putnam previewed the proposal for the start of school that he will present to the School Committee for a vote on Thursday evening. Districts throughout the commonwealth must present their reopening plans, approved by school committees, to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education by Friday.

Putnam emphasized throughout his presentation that all of his plans for the preK-12, three school district are still subject to negotiation with the district's teachers union. He mentioned "bargaining" at least four times in his half-hour presentation before addressing attendees' questions.

As he has throughout his six-week tenure as interim superintendent, Putnam said remote learning will be the cornerstone of the district's planning for the 2020-21 school year. And when classes resume in mid-September, Putnam expects remote learning to be the only mode of instruction.

"I have a tentative agreement to start remotely and then move to hybrid once details have been worked out," he said at the outset of his presentation. "We also have a tentative agreement to establish a metric with which we can make decisions [about bringing children back into schools]."

Putnam said that, depending in part on the levels of COVID-19 infection in the area, the district will, at some point, offer families the option of keeping their child or children home for remote learning or sending the children to school for part of the week in a hybrid model.

"Once fully implemented, families should plan to remain in that model for four weeks, but we will make available the possibility of switching between models every four weeks," he said.

Students on individualized education programs or Section 504 plans who require specialized instruction and related services would receive in-person learning under either the remote or hybrid model, he said.

Students studying remotely will receive "synchronous" instruction, meaning they would follow lessons virtually in real time with their classmates.

If a family chooses a hybrid model, its children would attend school half the time and be home the other half getting the same lessons at the same time.

"The important difference would be that [at some times] students would attend school in person and [at other times], they would attend remotely, unless their family has chosen the remote only option," Putnam said. "This particular model offers opportunities to keep classes together, albeit in an online method.

"Mrs. Andersen's third grade class would be Mrs. Andersen's third grade class. There would be remote students in it. There would be in-person students. And they would be connected because they would all be participating simultaneously, synchronously in the same lessons every day."

Putnam painted a bleak picture for children who attend school in person during the era of social distancing.

"Imagine, if you will, that you are a student," Putnam said. "You are riding into school on a bus where you're wearing a mask the entire time and you have separate seating; there is no more than one child to a bench that is typically found on a bus. Then, once you arrive at school, the staging for students is not something where you just walk in. We will keep everyone out in staged areas outside the school, at which time we're going to be checking for the [health] reports parents would have filed prior to students getting on the bus. Students would be staged in distant groups before entering the school.

"Then once students begin, they're walking 6 feet apart in a line, making sure that they're applying hand sanitizer prior to entering the building. Then, of course, once they're in the building staying in a classroom and not interacting with other classes. Having mask breaks. Sitting in rows facing forward. Not sharing any items. Not doing any group work that we would typically do.

"I'm trying to paint this picture to give you a sense of the challenges that in-person learning exerts on any planning."

At the middle/high school, students' weeks in the hybrid model would be divided by day of the week. Half would go to Mount Greylock on Monday and Tuesday; the other half would go to school Thursday and Friday. On the days they are not in the building, the students will participate in remote learning.

For elementary school pupils in the district, the hybrid model would divide classes into cohorts by time of day. On Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, half the students would be in school in the morning and participating remotely in the afternoon; the other half would participate remotely in the morning and attend school in the afternoon. Both elementary school groups would work remotely on Wednesdays.

That morning/afternoon split for elementary schools raised a couple of questions from attendees at Tuesday's virtual town hall.

One person asked whether the AM/PM mode allows for the same deep cleaning of classrooms between cohorts that will occur at Mount Greylock, where the cohorts attend on a Monday/Tuesday or Thursday/Friday schedule.

Putnam said that sanitizing the elementary schools between groups would be "somewhat problematic," but the reopening advisory group focused on facilities told him it could be done.

Putnam noted that the same cleaning issue would crop up for school buses, which would have to do a quick turnaround between dropping the morning pupils off at home and picking up the afternoon cohort to bring it to school.

That connected to another question raised in the town hall's chat: Whether the district had the capacity to do four bus runs each day at its two elementary schools.

"I spoke to our Dufour [Tours] person, and she said this is possible," Putnam said. "I like her. She's very frank. She said most anything is possible, but there are costs associated with all possible things."

Potentially, some of the "costs of the possible things" may arise as Putnam continues bargaining sessions that began last week with the district's unions.

Picking up on Putnam's repeated references to those negotiations, an attendee asked when the district's plan actually would be finalized.

"That's an excellent question," the interim superintendent said. "I can't give you a solid answer on that yet."

Classes in the district are scheduled to resume on Sept. 14.
Ankara, Aug 13 : Turkey will resume academic year via distance learning programs and gradually restart face-to-face schooling in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Education Minister Ziya Selcuk announced.

"Distance education will begin on August 31. We decided to start face-to-face education in classrooms recommended by the Scientific Committee on September 21. The committee will decide which age group will return to school and when," Selcuk told the media on Wednesday.

Turkey shut down the primary, secondary and high schools on March 16 and launched a distance learning program on March 23 for around 18 million students as part of measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

"If the increase continues at this rate, we may need to turn to heavy measures," Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said in a statement on Wednesday.

Turkey confirmed 1,212 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, raising the total to 244,392.

Meanwhile, 18 people died in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 5,891.

Turkish health professionals conducted 67,237 tests in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall number of tests to 5,454,988.

Turkey reported the first COVID-19 case on March 11.
- Instagram sensation Ikorodu Bois are set to take their movie-making skills to a whole different level

- The talented group of comedians recently received some sophisticated production gadgets from Netflix

- Actor Kunle Afolayan presented the gifts to them in his Lagos-based movie production studio

Popular social media sensation Ikorodu Bois seem to be having nothing short of an amazing 2020 despite all that has been happening around the world.

The talented young boys are set to improve their skit and movie-making skills as they were gifted sophisticated production gadgets by movie streaming and production company, Netflix.

READ ALSO: Radio presenter Wangari Nguri says she was called ugly for being muscular

Ikorodu Bois at Kunle Afolayan's film studio. Photo: Instagram/@ikorodu_bois

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Mwingi: COVID-19 fears after 70-year-old man who complained of breathing difficulties dies

They shared the exciting news with fans and followers across their social media platforms.

"Netflix!Thank you! Netflix you guys are amazing, we have received the gift, we love it!" their caption read in part on Instagram.

The gadgets were presented to them by popular Nollywood actor and filmmaker, Kunle Afolayan.

The comedy group paid a visit to Afolayans Lagos-based movie production studio where they were presented with the gadgets.

READ ALSO: Renowned Nigerian pastors refuse to reopen churches despite government's approval

Appreciating the Nollywood actor who has also offered to be their mentor, the group said they were ready to be under his care and guidance.

"We would love to say a very big thank you as you received us with open arms and for giving us the opportunity to better our crafts and for also deciding to be a mentor to us," they said.

"For the scholarship program as well, we want you to know how much we appreciate this sir, you are a father and we are ready for the father-children tutelage from you sir," they added.

READ ALSO: Faces of 4 brilliant, youthful Kenyan women doing greatness behind progressive politics arena

Barely a month ago, the young boys were recognized by the Russo Brothers following their remake of the trailer for the blockbuster movie, Extraction.

The young comedians were invited by the directors to attend the premiere of the second part of the movie.

Many Nigerians showered congratulatory messages on the youngsters and joined them in celebrating the feat on social media.

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

Source: TUKO.co.ke
The Agriculture Ministry has changed a decree that banned natural wines - originating in Slovakia - from the Slovak market.

A winegrower works in a vineyard during sunny weather near Svaty Jur in the Bratislava Region on May 8, 2020. (Source: TASR)

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Despite winning international competitions and being chosen by high-profile chefs, Slovak inspectors have not previously considered that natural wines come up to scratch and aimed to withdraw them from the market.

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Natural wines may be turbid due to the nature of the production process but a Slovak legislative decree required wine to be clear. This situation is now being remedied after the Agriculture Ministry decided to omit the problematic wording from the decree.

We are really glad that we have managed to approve a similar legal regulation to that followed by our fellow winemakers in other European countries, said Katarina Kuropkova of the Slobodne vinarstvo winemaking family business from Zemianske Sady near Sered in the Trnava Region.
Washington: Before he entered politics, US President Donald Trump donated funds to Kamala Harris' re-election campaigns while she was California attorney-general, campaign finance records show.

Trump gave $US5000 to Harris' campaign in September 2011 and $US1000 in February 2013. His daughter Ivanka Trump gave Harris' campaign $US2000 in 2014.

Kamala Harris rose to national prominence as a senator for California. Credit:AP

In 2015, the year Trump began his campaign for president, Harris said she gave his donations to charity.

Harris, a Democrat, served as California's attorney-general from 2011 to 2016, before she was elected to the US Senate.
By PTI

LUCKNOW: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati on Thursday termed the alleged manhandling of a BJP legislator at a police station in Aligarh "worrying" and demanded a "proper" investigation into it.

BJP MLA from Iglas Rajkumar Sahyogi has alleged that he was manhandled at Gonda police station where he went to protest the filing of a case against a Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) member.

Local policemen have told reporters that a spat between police officials, that included SHO Anuj Kumar Saini, took place after the legislator allegedly misbehaved with them.

In a tweet, Mayawati said, "Law and order is dying in UP. Yesterday's Aligarh incident of local BJP MLA and police levelling charges against each other and manhandling is most serious and very worrying."

This incident needs to be properly investigated and strict action should be taken against the guilty, the BSP chief demanded.

In another tweet, she said, "It is clear from such frequent jungle raj-like incidents, especially in matters of crime control and law and order, as to what the difference is between SP and BJP governments. The government needs to pay proper attention to this. It is the BSP's advice in public interest."

Taking note of the incident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed the police chief to ensure effective action in the case.

"The DGP has issued directions to suspend the SHO with immediate effect and transfer the ASP (rural) from the district. The DGP also directed IG zone Aligarh to give his detailed report in the matter," Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi has said.
(Natural News) The Australian police have gone full Nazi combining their fascist-looking uniforms with violent tactics for obtaining private information from citizens who havent broken the law. These power-crazed, hot-headed maniacs are functioning as if Hitler gave them direct orders to get everyones papers at all costs. Dressed in black from top to bottom, the S.S. police of Australia have a new style for running their regime, and its all fueled and propagandized by the biological weapon and contagion you may know as coronavirus.

First off, lets review the deaths in Australia by diseases and disorders in 2019, and then look at the deaths from Covid-19 up to mid-July, just to put this all in the proper perspective. Take a guess how many people died from respiratory diseases in Australia in 2019. The answer is 15,330. Over 15,000 Australians died in 2019 from diseases of the respiratory system, and Covid had not even broken out yet. Now guess how many died from Covid-19 counting all the way up to July 14th, 2020. The answer is 108. It gets worse. Over 36,000 Australians died from circulatory and cardiovascular diseases. Over 1,100 died from automobile accidents. Nearly 600 from skin diseases.

Still, the police are busting car windows and literally yanking people from their vehicles if they dont answer questions to their liking.

We had to smash car windows and pull people out because they wouldnt give us details they wouldnt tell us where theyre going  Victorian S.S. senior policeman quote

The coronavirus rules are so over-the-top now that routing spot checks are now like terrorist interrogations with out any probable cause, search warrants, or even your permission. Are you outside your home past the strict 8 p.m. curfew? Victorias Australian Gestapo want to see your papers saying where youre going, why, and what business you may have leaving your home during this pandemic thats killing fewer people than skin diseases.

Thats right, Victorias police commissioner Shane Patton is cracking the whip on the whole leper colony by carrying out violent spot checks without a warrant or probable cause, just the fact that you might be spreading coronavirus covertly in the night. Were you thinking thats only happening to people in their automobiles at night? Youre wrong. It gets worse. Victoria police are allowed IN YOUR HOME to carry out these spot checks, again, without your permission, without due cause, and with no warrant. That means they can break your windows or break down your doors and charge in to make sure youre wearing a covid mask, maintaining social distancing, or any other randomly made-up pandemic rules that are not even based on any science at all.

By the way, just in case you were wondering, Victoria is the second-most populated state in Australia, so its not just some rogue little county or city enforcing these Nazi-style ordinances and rules.

Chief Health Officer guidelines in Victoria Australia mean unlimited police searching homes, cars and people with no warrants and no probable cause

Do you think youre somehow immune to the new world order in Australia? Youre not. If your neighbor spots you in your windows with no mask or hugging your child, you may be reported for a much needed spot check. The police say they are all being baited into these raids, so its very necessary they check everyone who disobeys orders. Right about now youre thinking that the state of Victoria itself must be having its own pandemic explosion of cases, and tests showing positive, and deaths too. Nope. Not even close. So far 162 deaths in Victoria and in all of Australia the total death toll is under 250. So, you were saying? How are these illegal spot checks justified? Theyre not.

Tune your internet dial to Pandemic.news for updates on the Nazi SS Police (Communist Chinese dressed as Russians) beginning their work in America soon. Get ready for some guerilla warfare kinetic style to defend the Republic and the Constitution of the USA.

Sources for this article include:

Breitbart.com

Pandemic.news

NaturalNews.com
The Western region has taken its turn of Trainer of Trainers sensitization on the dangers and management of the Aflatoxin being undertaken by the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA).

From the same region, some 40 Agric Extension Officers have received their training.

The programme falls in line with the National Aflatoxin Sensitisation and Management (NASAM) project supported by the Alliance for Green Revolution Africa, (AGRA) to educate farmers, Agric officers on best practices in the fight against Aflatoxin.

The team also used the opportunity for community visits to some parts of the region.

The AEAs are in direct contact with farmers consistently and would be very instrumental in the fight against Aflatoxins, thus, the NASAM Team finding it very important to involve them in sensitizing farmers.

The first community the team visited was a community called Whindo where they interacted and educated grains farmers in the whole area.

The event drew together about 100 farmers who showed high interest.

The second community visited was Assakae, a very vibrant trading town where about 50 farmers and traders of grains were sensitized on the dangers and measures to curb the Aflatoxin menace.

The farmers raised genuine concerns on the need for the government to support them and also help address the issue of the lack of ready markets.

They further decried the high cost of farm inputs.

The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) Director for Western Region, Mr. S. Y. Apiigya, who graced the training event emphasised the harmful effects of Aflatoxins on both crops and animals.

He urged the Agric Extension Officers who were present at the training to pay attention to the education which is about to be imparted into them since this menace goes through the food chain.

On his part, the Business Development Manager of GSA, Mr. George Anti, also emphasized the need for the farmers to take this sensitization with all the seriousness it deserves.

This is because Aflatoxins pose serious health effects to both humans and animals as well as affecting our economy badly when goods are rejected from entering the EU and other countries when the Aflatoxin levels are high, he noted.
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Market Overview

Almond milk is a type of plant milk and acts as a substitute for animal-based milk products. The milk is extracted from almond, thereby making it free from lactose and casein and rich in various healthy nutrients. The growing lactose intolerant population coupled with the growing vegan population are the key drivers of growth for the market. Changing pattern in consumer eating habits and a shifting inclination towards on-the-go products among the working population is expected to positively impact the growth of the almond milk market. Manufacturers are tapping into the market by coming up with a wide variety of flavoured products.

This is gaining more traction towards almond milk products and causing the market to grow positively. Not to mention, innovative and attractive packaging designs also helps add value to the product. Advertising campaigns run by major market players are influencing a positive growth of almond milk products as well. According to the latest in-depth research conducted by Market Research Future (MRFR), it states that the global almond milk market is expected to garner a CAGR of 13% during the forecast period between 2017 and 2024.

Competitive Analysis

Global Almond Milk Market Trend comprises of various Leading Players. This includes SUNOPTA Inc. (Canada), WHITEWAVE Foods (France), DAIYA Foods Inc. (Canada), Blue Diamond Growers (U.S.), Tofutti Brands Inc. (U.S.), Galaxy Nutritional Foods, Inc. (U.S.), HAIN Celestial Group (U.S.) and among others.

Feb 27th, 2019, GRUPO LALA announced in a release about its agreement with Blue Diamond Growers to distribute the companys almond beverages in Mexico. This will help Blue Diamond to enter the mainstream market in Mexico and expand its market standings globally.

Jan 11th, 2019, Blue Diamond, a global leader of almond products, announced the introduction of two new Almond Breeze products. The products are Almond milk Blended with Real Bananas and Almond milk Creamer. This is a result of the companys promise of delivering plant-based beverages.

Market Segmentation

Global Almond Milk Market is segmented on the basis of packaging material, distribution channel, and product type.

By packaging material, the market includes carton, glass, others. The glass packaging material of almond milk is the dominant segment in this category and is expected to witness the fastest growth rate during the review period.

By distribution channel, the market divides into non-store-based and store-based distribution. Due to the one-stop shopping experience it offers, the store-based distribution channel dominates the market. Add to this, the segment is reported to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

By type, the market comprises of plain and flavored segments. Flavored almond milk is projected to grow faster in the coming years as compared to the plain almond milk segment. It is observed that there is a growing inclination of consumers towards flavored milk products. Also, the growing interest towards flavored milk products can be attributed to the manufacturers who are bringing our variety of flavors in the market. This demand is expected to continue over the forecast period, thereby boosting the market segment further in the coming years.

Access Full Report Details and Order this Premium Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/almond-milk-market-2872

Regional Analysis

Global Almond Milk Market is geographically segmented into different regions, namely Europe, Asia Pacific, North America, and the Rest of the World (RoW).

North America is the dominant player in the global almond milk market due to the increasing consumption of on-the-go beverages therein. The fast-paced lifestyle in this region, particularly in the US, aids the demand for the market and is believed to continue in the coming years. The US region comprises the highest population of lactose intolerance. This acts as a key driving factor behind the growth of the almond milk market in this region.

The European region stands tall as the second-largest market contributors globally due to the presence of countries like Germany, France, and the UK, wherein there is a growing demand for almond milk products. Asia Pacific is believed to be the fastest growing regional market during the forecast period as per the report released by MRFR. Herein, rapidly growing awareness concerning plant-based milk products and the health benefits associated with almond milk is acting as a major market growth driver. New product developments by manufacturers is expected to proliferate the market growth of almond milk in the rest of the world region.

Related Video Analysis on FnB Reports:

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/videos/botanical-extracts-market

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/videos/prebiotics-market

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/videos/nutraceuticals-market

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/videos/gummy-supplement-market

NOTE: Our Team of Researchers are Studying Covid19 and its Impact on Various Industry Verticals and wherever required we will be considering Covid19 Footprints for Better Analysis of Market and Industries. Cordially get in Touch for More Details.
LIMA, PERU / ACCESSWIRE / August 12, 2020 / Alicorp S.A.A. ("the Company" or "Alicorp") (BVL: ALICORC1 and ALICORI1) announced today its unaudited financial results corresponding to the Second Quarter 2020 (Q2 '20). Financial figures are reported on a consolidated basis and are in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") in nominal Peruvian Soles, based on the following statements, which should be read in conjunction with the Financial Statements and Notes to the Financial Statements published at the Peruvian Securities and Exchange Commission (Superintendencia del Mercado de Valores - SMV).

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Consolidated Revenue decreased 7.6% YoY in Q2 '20, while Volume decreased 6.6% YoY, as a result of i) an 8.7% YoY decrease in the Consumer Goods Peru business, due to restrictions in production capacity, ii) B2B (-22.9% YoY), as a result of the closing of restaurants, and iii) Aquafeed (-12.8% YoY), explained by an aggressive competitive environment as lower shrimp prices put pressure on our clients' cost structures. These effects were paritially offset by growth in i) Consumer Goods International (+8.6% YoY) and ii) Crushing (+3.4% YoY).

as a result of i) an 8.7% YoY decrease in the Consumer Goods Peru business, due to restrictions in production capacity, ii) B2B (-22.9% YoY), as a result of the closing of restaurants, and iii) Aquafeed (-12.8% YoY), explained by an aggressive competitive environment as lower shrimp prices put pressure on our clients' cost structures. These effects were paritially offset by growth in i) Consumer Goods International (+8.6% YoY) and ii) Crushing (+3.4% YoY). Gross Profit decreased 9.3% YoY, while Gross Margin decreased 0.4 p.p. compared to Q2 '19 mainly explained by the impacts of COVID-19 on the top line, as well as i) a change in product mix in our B2B unit, ii) higher COGS related to COVID-19, and iii) higher prices of soybean and palm oil in our Consumer Goods Peru and B2B units.

mainly explained by the impacts of COVID-19 on the top line, as well as i) a change in product mix in our B2B unit, ii) higher COGS related to COVID-19, and iii) higher prices of soybean and palm oil in our Consumer Goods Peru and B2B units. EBITDA decreased 5.3% YoY, mainly explained by the impacts of COVID-19 on the top line, as well as in COGS and SG&A expenses, which resulted in a YoY reduction in EBITDA in our CGP, B2B and Aquafeed business units. These effects were partially offset by a solid performance in our CGI unit, as a result of volume growth across all geographies, in addition to a strong YoY recovery of the Crushing business.

mainly explained by the impacts of COVID-19 on the top line, as well as in COGS and SG&A expenses, which resulted in a YoY reduction in EBITDA in our CGP, B2B and Aquafeed business units. These effects were partially offset by a solid performance in our CGI unit, as a result of volume growth across all geographies, in addition to a strong YoY recovery of the Crushing business. Net Income totaled S/ 84 million in Q2 '20 (-20.3% YoY), explained by i) lower consolidated operating profit, and ii) foreign exchange losses due to higher FX volatility.

explained by i) lower consolidated operating profit, and ii) foreign exchange losses due to higher FX volatility. Earnings per Share (EPS) decreased from S/ 0.122 in Q2 '19 to S/ 0.096 in Q2 '20.

As of June 2020, Net Debt[1] reached S/ 3,190 million, a S/ 161 million decrease from December 2019, mainly explained by an improvement in our operating cash flows (led by working capital efficiencies). This allowed us to improve our leverage indicators measured by the Net Debt-to-EBITDA ratio, which showed a decrease from 2.41x[2][3] as of December 2019 to 2.21x[4] as of June 2020.

RECENT EVENTS

The Company launched/revamped 27 products or lines , 10 in Consumer Goods International, 8 in Consumer Goods Peru, 8 in B2B and 1 in Aquafeed.

, 10 in Consumer Goods International, 8 in Consumer Goods Peru, 8 in B2B and 1 in Aquafeed. In the Q2 '20, Alicorp was recognized by "Consultora Arellano" in its "Marcas 2020" report as one of the Top 10 Top-of-mind brands for peruvian consumers. Moreover, our brands "Don Vittorio", "Primor", "AlaCena" and "Nicolini" stood out among the Top 10 most consumed and preferred brands by Peruvians. In addition, our brands "Sapolio", "Bolivar", "Opal" and "Patito" stood out among the most consumed and preferred brands in the Home Care platform.

For a full version of ALICORP's Second Quarter 2020 Earnings Release, please visit:

https://www.alicorp.com.pe/en/investors/financial-information/

Conference Call

Alicorp S.A.A. (BVL: ALICORC1 and ALICORI1)

Second Quarter 2020 Earnings Conference Call

Date: Thursday, August 13, 2020

Time: 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time

11:00 a.m. Lima Time



Presenting for Alicorp:

Mr. Alfredo Perez, Chief Executive Officer

and other members of the senior management team



To access the call, please dial:

From the U.S.: 1-877-830-2576

From Outside the U.S.: +1-785-424-1726

Conference ID: ALICORP



Alicorp's 2Q20 Results will be accompanied by a webcast presentation

available at: https://webcasts.eqs.com/alicorp20200813/en

INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACT

Investor Relations Team

T: (511) 315-0800 Ext.444411

E-mail: investorrelations@alicorp.com.pe

About Alicorp

Alicorp is a leading Consumer Goods company headquartered in Peru, with operations in other Latin American countries, such as Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, and exports to other countries. The Company focuses on four core businesses: (1) Consumer Products (food, personal and home care products), in Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia and Chile, among other countries, (2) B2B Products (industrial flour, industrial lard, pre-mix and food service products), (3) Aquafeed (fish and shrimp feed) and (4) Oilseeds crushing (soybean and sunflower) which is part of the vertically-integrated consumer business in Bolivia. Alicorp has over 7,600 employees in its operations in Peru and international subsidiaries. The Company's common and investment shares are listed on the Lima Stock Exchange under the ticker symbols ALICORC1 and ALICORI1, respectively.

DISCLAIMER

This Earnings Report may contain forward-looking statements concerning recent acquisitions, its financial and business impact, management's beliefs and objectives with respect thereto, and management's current expectations for future operating and financial performance, based on assumptions currently believed to be valid. Forward-looking statements are all statements other than statements of historical facts. The words "anticipate," "may," "can," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "projects," "intends," "likely," "will," "should," "to be," and any similar expressions or other words of similar meaning are intended to identify those assertions as forward-looking statements. It is uncertain whether the events anticipated will transpire, or if they do occur what impact they will have on the results of operations and financial condition of Alicorp or the Consolidated Company. Alicorp does not undertake any obligation to update the forward-looking statements included in this press release to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

[1] Net Debt is Financial Debt less cash and cash equivalents as of June 2020 and includes the effect of IFRS 16.

[2] Net Debt-to-EBITDA ratio as of December 2019 excludes the effect of LTM impairments for S/ 37 million.

[3] Net Debt-to EBITDA ratio as of December 2019 includes Intradevco in the last 12 months.

[4] Net Debt-to-EBITDA ratio as of June 2020 excludes the effect of LTM impairments for S/ 85 million. SOURCE: ALICORP S.A.A.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/601477/ALICORP-SAA-Alicorp-Second-Quarter-2020-Consolidated-Financial-Statements
Anblicks, a leader in cloud data engineering, has completed its acquisition of KNOWARTH, a leading technology solutions provider enhancing the digital experience to global enterprises.

The addition of KNOWARTH, which has deep technology expertise in areas including modern applications and cloud infrastructure, further complements Anblicks capabilities to help clients develop the appropriate data strategy and foundation to implement AI and analytics across their businesses.

With KNOWARTH now part of Anblicks, we will enable enterprises with their cloud, data, and modern apps strategy to help them achieve their business objectives in digital transformation. This will allow them to compete and excel in the new business environment, said Kumar Kanakamedala, CEO, Anblicks. Im thrilled to welcome this talented team to Anblicks. By bringing together our joint focus on employees, customers, and innovation, we will be able to set the new standard for digital transformation.

The acquisition will help Anblicks to serve additional global markets such as Australia, Middle East, Singapore and India along with existing the USA and Indonesia markets.

KNOWARTH was founded with a purpose to rethink enterprise open source portal software and help businesses achieve their goals with high-performance and collaborative products. Five years later, we have delivered over 500 projects, authored 11 books, and expanded our business with over 60% repeat customers thanks to a growing team of innovators, said Manish Sheladia, Managing Director, KNOWARTH. As part of Anblicks, well be able to pioneer simpler, smarter, and streamlined analytical solutions  at a greater scale  all while unifying our two great company cultures.

With KNOWARTH now part of Anblicks, customers will be able to expand into managed services and modern applications to plan, execute, manage, analyze, and extend its enterprise suite, with data-driven analytics powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies.

About Anblicks (http://www.anblicks.com)

Anblicks is a cloud data engineering firm. We engineer cloud-based data solutions to accelerate your digital transformation. Anblicks is committed to bringing value to various industries using data strategy, cloud data engineering, and 247 managed data services. Global customers benefited with our Anblicks Ignite Enterprise Data Platform and products. Anblicks is headquartered in Addison, Texas, and employs more than 400 technology professionals, data analysts, and data science experts in the USA, Australia, India, and Indonesia.

About KNOWARTH (http://www.knowarth.com)

KNOWARTH is a technology solutions provider enhancing digital experience for the world's leading enterprises, and enabling businesses to build products and enter new markets. Our experience lies in delivering high-quality custom-built solutions that help companies enhance customer experience, improve retention rates, and ROI. Our extensive experience in various verticals like telecom, healthcare, finance, insurance, media with comprehensive knowledge and expertise in Liferay DXP, has resulted in us becoming a go-to partner for Liferay Digital Experience Solutions.

Media Contact:

Marketing Team

madhuram(at)anblicks(dot)com

Phone: +1 972-996-6373
Bangladesh says it has begun the trial of a former chief justice on money laundering and embezzlement charges, a prosecution lawyer said on Thursday.

A Dhaka court ordered the start of the trial of Surendra Kumar Sinha and 10 others after they were indicted in relation to a bank transaction of 40 million takas (470,000 dollars) in 2016, lawyer Ruhul Islam Khan said.

The court also issued an arrest warrant for Mr Sinha currently living in Canada, and seven other fugitives, and it fixed August 18 as the date to cross-examine the witnesses.

The accused include two of Mr Sinhas personal aides and six officials from the private Farmers Bank, later renamed Padma Bank Limited.

The bank employees were accused of helping Mr Sinha and his aides launder the money through the banks channels, eventually moving the funds into Sinhas personal account, investigator Syed Iqbal Hossain said.

The transaction took place when Mr Sinha headed the judiciary and a sum was sent to buy a home in the U.S. in his brothers name, he added.

Mr Sinha denies the allegations, saying the governments prosecution was politically motivated.

He left the country for Australia in October 2017 amid a souring relationship with the ruling Awami League party leaders.

Mr Sinha travelled briefly to the U.S., but he eventually left for Canada and reportedly applied for political asylum there in 2019.

(dpa/NAN)
US ambassador to India Ken Juster has said that US universities have been playing a significant role in promoting Indian languages, culture and traditions.

Delivering his remarks while inaugurating the US-India Museum Curation Workshop, Juster said that US-India cultural engagement is an important part of the bilateral relations.

The role of US universities in promoting Indian culture has also been significant. Many top US universities have innovative academic research programs on India and South Asia. Some of the most prominent US universities that focus on South Asian Studies include the University of Chicago, Duke, Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Wisconsin and Yale. Other US universities, such as Columbia, George Washington, Stanford and the University of Washington have been at the forefront of supporting Indian and South Asian Art History, he said.

For more than 60 years, the American Institute of Indian Studies has contributed significantly to the promotion of Indian studies and culture, both in the US and within India, by supporting academic research, the learning of Indian languages, and the exploration of Indian culture and traditions. The US Department of State has consistently provided funding to the institute to support language study and other academic exchanges, he added.

Indias Ministry of Culture has provided substantial support to the Institutes Center for Art and Archaeology to set up the first online museum of India -- the Virtual Museum of Images and Sounds -- which makes its considerable archives accessible to the general public and scholars alike, the Ambassador said.

He stated that the foundation of the US-India relationship is the people-to-people ties and shared interests in promoting stability and prosperity in the India-Pacific region and beyond.

We now look forward to a new generation of Indian and US museum professionals working together and sharing best practices to ensure that museums continue to inform, to educate, and to entertain, thereby connecting the past with the present, as well as looking to the future, Juster said.

He said that the US embassy supported the first All-India Museum Summit, which was organised by the American Institute of Indian Studies in July last year.

The summit brought together American museum experts, who engaged with over 150 leading museum professionals, curators, directors, and conservationists from across thirteen states of India and from Bhutan to brainstorm on innovative ideas for re-imagining museums for the 21st century, he noted.

Juster said that the workshop represents another building block in the arc of US-India cultural relations.

Later, the US envoy took to his Twitter and shared his experience in addressing the workshop.

It was a pleasure to address the US-India Museum Curation Workshop and share ways to strengthen collaboration between Indian and American museum professionals, he said. (ANI)
A new lawsuit alleges Facebook is violating an Illinois privacy law that prohibits the collection of biometric data without a users consent. Photo: Jenny Kane/AP

Facebook (FB) has been accused of illegally harvesting the biometric data of over 100 million Instagram users in new legal proceedings issued in California.

The lawsuit, filed overnight in state court in Redwood City, alleges that the photo-sharing app has collected, stored, and profited from the data of the users without their knowledge or consent.

According to Bloomberg, the filing alleges that Facebook is violating an Illinois privacy law that prohibits the collection of biometric data without a users consent.

The social media giant could be forced to pay as much as $5,000 per violation if a court determines that it acted recklessly or intentionally in doing so.

The baseline fine per violation under the Illinois law, known as the Biometric Information Privacy Act, is $1,000.

Responding to a request for comment, a Facebook spokesperson said: This suit is baseless. Instagram doesn't use face recognition technology.

READ MORE: UK economy officially enters recession after record 20.4% contraction

Last month, the company offered to pay $650m (495m) in a separate lawsuit taken against the social media giant over the use of biometric data in a photo-labelling service on its main Facebook platform.

That offer was up from the $550m originally negotiated as part of a January settlement agreement in the case.

The service, known as Tag Suggestions, uses face-matching software to suggest the names of people in photos uploaded to the network.

That class action lawsuit, taken in Illinois, argues that the company has been collecting facial data without users permission  and without telling them how long the data will be stored.

Though it has agreed to settle, Facebook has also denied the allegations in that lawsuit.

The collection of biometric data and in particular the use of facial recognition technologies has become increasingly controversial in recent months.

READ MORE: European stocks mixed after late Wall Street sell-off

The European Commission warned earlier this year that facial recognition tools can be faulty, can violate privacy, and can aid and abet crime.

Story continues

But the blocs executive arm stopped short of proposing a mooted five-year ban on its use in public spaces, fearing it could stifle innovation.

EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager has instead tasked member states with examining their own use of facial recognition technology.

The bloc has become a leader in data protection, with its sweeping GDPR regulation forcing technology giants to step up their privacy regimes.

GDPR also served as the inspiration for the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which came into effect in January 2020.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-14 02:07:37|Editor: huaxia

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President of North Macedonia Stevo Pendarovski (L) hands the mandate for the formation of the new government to Zoran Zaev, leader of Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM), in Skopje, North Macedonia, Aug. 13, 2020. President Stevo Pendarovski of North Macedonia on Thursday handed the mandate for the formation of the new government to Zoran Zaev, leader of Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM), Media Information Agency (MIA) reported. The coalition "We Can" led by Zaev and Besa Movement leader Bilal Kasami won 35.89 percent of votes with 46 parliament seats at the early parliamentary elections held on July 15. (Str/Xinhua)

SKOPJE, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- President Stevo Pendarovski of North Macedonia on Thursday handed the mandate for the formation of the new government to Zoran Zaev, leader of Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM), Media Information Agency (MIA) reported.

The coalition "We Can" led by Zaev and Besa Movement leader Bilal Kasami won 35.89 percent of votes with 46 parliament seats at the early parliamentary elections held on July 15.

"Based on Article 84, according to Article 90 of the Constitution and the proposal of the 'We can' coalition, I name Zoran Zaev, SDSM leader and member of Parliament, to be the prime minister-designate to form the government," Pendarovski said at the ceremony held on this occasion.

Speaking at the ceremony, Zaev underlined that the new government will be committed to pursuing the "right path" towards the European Union (EU) and to building the "one society for all" concept freed from nationalism and ethnic prejudice.

"It is an honor and a great responsibility as the leader of the SDSM-led We Can coalition to have been entrusted by President Pendarovski the mandate to form a new, European, democratic and responsible government with institutions even better equipped to serve the citizens," Zaev said.

The SDSM leader noted that the country will get a government committed to the main objectives of EU integration, prosperity and long-term stability, economic development, fighting against crime and corruption and cleaning the judiciary.

So far, talks between political parties have not given results on forming a majority of at least 61 seats out of a total of 120 in the Assembly of North Macedonia.

Zaev said that he would resume talks with Ali Ahmeti, leader of the Democratic Union for Integration, which has won 15 seats in the parliament.

Under the Constitution of North Macedonia, the prime minister-designate has 20 days to send to parliament a program and to nominate candidates for ministers.
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump took a swing at his FBI director, Christopher Wray, on Thursday, expressing impatience with the bureau's level of cooperation with inquiries into its investigation of the Trump campaign in 2016.

Speaking by phone with Maria Bartiromo of Fox Business, Trump railed against past investigations of his former adviser Carter Page, his former national security adviser Michael Flynn and his own conduct as president.

Asked whether Wray was withholding FBI documents that could shed more light on those cases, Trump noted there was an election coming up before saying: "I wish he was more forthcoming. He certainly hasn't been. There are documents that they want to get and that we have said we want to get. We are going to find out if he's going to give those documents. Certainly, he's been very, very protective."

The president then added: "Let's see how Wray turns out. He's going to either turn out one way or another."

An FBI spokesman declined to comment on the president's criticism Thursday, but the bureau has said previously that it is cooperating with such requests, including congressional subpoenas, "consistent with our law enforcement and national security obligations."

Conservatives have long called for the Trump administration and Congress to "investigate the investigators," and the president's remarks are the latest instance in which he has publicly chastised current law enforcement officials for not more aggressively pursuing the former officials who investigated him. Two Republican-led Senate committees are investigating the FBI's handling of the Russia case, underscoring how the partisan battles over 2016 and the politicization of the Justice Department are still raging four years later.

Also Thursday, the chairman of one of those investigating committees, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a Trump ally, said Wray has assured him witnesses and documents will be provided for Graham's investigation of the FBI.

"I believe the Director is committed to being helpful - in an appropriate manner - by balancing the needs of privacy for Bureau employees with public transparency for the benefit of the American people," Graham said in a statement. "Director Wray expressed to me his commitment to holding accountable those who may have committed violations of law or policy, providing appropriate due process sooner rather than later."

The president's criticism of his FBI director comes amid the backdrop of an ongoing inquiry by Connecticut U.S. Attorney John Durham into how the FBI and other intelligence agencies pursued evidence of Russia's election interference in 2016. The FBI also investigated whether any Trump associates conspired with Russians to interfere in the election, a case that was handed to special counsel Robert Mueller, who ultimately concluded that there was insufficient evidence to accuse anyone close to Trump of participating in such a conspiracy.

Trump and his backers have argued that a group of liberal-leaning government officials conspired to hamstring his presidency by pursuing false accusations. He has called former senior FBI officials "dirty cops" and urged that they be charged with crimes. The president has also expressed impatience waiting for Durham release his findings.

On Thursday, that impatience appeared to also be directed at Attorney General William Barr.

"Bill Barr has the chance to be the greatest of all time, but if he wants to be politically correct, he'll be just another guy, because he knows all the answers, he knows what they have, and it goes right to Obama and it goes right to Biden," said Trump, alluding to his frequent accusation that the Obama White House directed the investigation of his campaign, something that officials in the Obama administration and the Justice Department at that time have denied.

A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment Thursday on Trump's comments about the attorney general.

Barr has been highly critical of the investigation of the Trump campaign, and his department is seeking to dismiss the case against Flynn, who previously pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with a Russian ambassador but is now fighting that case.

Barr has repeatedly said he will not wait until after November's election to release whatever Durham finds. It is unclear, however, whether Durham will finish his work before November, and Democrats have raised alarms that if such a report were released before the election, it could unfairly influence voters.
Initially filed in 2014, the Harvard case rests on many of the same complaints that the Justice Department leveled against Yale. It argued that Harvards admissions process amounted to an illegal quota system, that classes were racially balanced, and that Harvard favored Black and Hispanic applicants at the expense of Asian-Americans, who were held to a higher standard.

Harvard won the case in district court, with a judge finding that the university had not intentionally discriminated against Asian-Americans. A Justice Department effort to enforce its order against a defiant Yale might result in something of a rerun of the Harvard lawsuit.

Mr. Dreiband, the assistant attorney general, said the evidence in the civil rights division's investigation indicated that Yale was racially balancing its classes by admitting similar proportions of each major racial group year after year, and that it had not made a serious effort since at least the 1970s to find another way of building a diverse student body.

Our investigation indicates that Yales diversity goals appear to be vague, elusory and amorphous, he said in a four-page letter explaining the departments finding.

While some applicants  mainly African-American and Hispanic students  were favored by Yale because of their race and ethnicity, others were disfavored, Mr. Dreiband said, and it was mainly Asian-American and white applicants who were unduly bearing the brunt of the preferences.

Edward Blum, president of Students for Fair Admissions and the architect of the lawsuit challenging admissions practices at Harvard, portrayed the Justice Departments finding as a first step in unraveling affirmative action across the world of selective colleges.

All of the Ivy League and other competitive universities admit to using racial classifications and preferences in their admissions policies, Mr. Blum said in an email. This investigation reinforces the need for all universities to end race-based admissions policies.
TVA confirmed Thursday that the new 70-megawatt solar facility in Madison County announced in February will support Facebooks operations in the region. TVA is partnering with Nashville-based solar developer Silicon Ranch to develop the carbon-free energy.

TVA is building the energy system of the future, and we are leading the charge by contracting 1,300 megawatts of utility scale solar in the past two years, said Chris Hansen, TVA vice president, Origination & Renewables. This public-private partnership demonstrates the strength of TVAs public power model to deliver clean, renewable energy at a competitive price to stimulate investment and jobs that help communities grow across the seven states we serve.

Silicon Ranch will fund construction of the solar facility and will own and operate the plant. The project will create more than 350 construction jobs, with additional employment for ongoing operations and maintenance, including ranchers and farmers to care for the land as part of Silicon Ranchs holistic approach to land management.

The facility is expected to come online in fall 2022, with planned interconnection to the TVA grid through the Jackson Energy Authority distribution system, pending environmental reviews.

We are thrilled to be partnering with TVA and Silicon Ranch to bring this new solar facility to the grid in support of our operations in the Tennessee Valley, said Urvi Parekh, head of Renewable Energy at Facebook. The nearly 450 megawatts of new solar energy we are developing with TVA is an important part of our goal to support our global operations with 100 percent renewable energy.

Facebook will support all of its operations with 100 percent renewable energy by the end of 2020. The Madison County project is part of TVAs Green Invest program, which helps customers like Facebook meet their long-term sustainability goals with new renewable energy projects.

In 2018, Facebook was proud to collaborate with TVA to pioneer the Green Invest program. Since January, Green Invest has generated $1.6 billion in economic activity in TVAs service territory.

The Tennessee Valley is our home, and Silicon Ranch is honored to be part of this compelling economic development story with TVA, Facebook, JEA, and the Jackson Chamber that demonstrates whats possible when we work together with a shared vision for the entire region, said Silicon Ranch Co-Founder and CEO Reagan Farr. Weve been proud to partner with Facebook to supply renewable energy to its state-of-the-art data center in Georgia, and today were thrilled to support Facebooks operations right here in the Valley. Moreover, we are grateful to expand our meaningful relationship with TVA and look forward to collaborating on this innovative, customer-driven renewable energy solution.

This Facebook announcement comes on the heels of three other major Green Invest deals this year: General Motors, Vanderbilt University, and Knoxville Utilities Board.

TVA is a national leader in carbon reduction  double the national utility average. This year over 60 percent of TVAs electricity is from carbon-free generation. To add to TVAs clean generation, the utility announced earlier this year an option to purchase approximately 3,000 acres in North Alabama to facilitate development of utility scale solar.

"We are on the forefront of a great change that is sweeping the energy industry, and TVAs innovation has positioned us to help communities and businesses meet their sustainability goals while attracting high-quality jobs to our region," said Mr. Hansen.




Outgoing Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Riva Ganguli Das calls on State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury at his office of the Ministry on Thursday.
Dublin, Aug. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market Forecast to 2027 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis by Reactor Type; Strategy; Application; Capacity" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The nuclear decommissioning services market was valued at US$ 5.82 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach US$ 9.43 billion by 2027; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.3% from 2020 to 2027.



As large number of nuclear power plants are nearing the end of the operational timeline, the operators and the governments are planning to decommission the facilities, which is driving the growth of nuclear decommissioning services market. In the recent scenario, the decommissioning of nuclear facilities is outpacing the construction of newer facilities across the major regions around the globe.



According to the World Nuclear Industry Status Report (WNISR), during the mid-2018, 115 nuclear reactors have been decommissioned, and approximately 70% of the world's nuclear reactors, which accounts to 173 reactors, have been permanently shut down. These statistics showcase the demand for decommissioning services, which is catalyzing the nuclear decommissioning services market. The average lifespan of nuclear power plants across the globe is 30 years; however, with refurbishments, several numbers of facilities continue to operate for another 20-30 years. Owing to the fact that the majority of the governments are inclined toward the construction of newer nuclear facilities with advanced technologies, the focus on decommissioning of older facilities is increasing, which is increasing the involvement of decommissioning service providers in the industry.



Geographically, several countries have laid-down their roadmaps and plan to decommission the nuclear facilities. For instance, in Europe, Germany, Spain, and Belgium are aiming to decommission its ageing nuclear power facilities by mid-2020s-2030s completely. France declared its plans to shut down 14 of 58 nuclear reactors by 2035. The UK is expected to decommission all 15 reactors by 2030. Moreover, in Asia, Japan is expected to shut down its 6 nuclear power plants by 2030, while South Korea has announced its plans to decommissioning 6 of 24 reactors by mid-2020. These figures showcase the demand for decommissioning services, which is anticipated to propel the nuclear decommissioning services market over the years.



Over the years, the nuclear decommissioning services market players have been operating manually with a massive workforce. This consumes more time for decommissioning an entire nuclear power plant. Additionally, operating a massive workforce in a nuclear power facility exposes the workforce to the risk of radioactive materials existing at the site. Attributing to these factors, the nuclear decommissioning services market players are focusing on robotic technologies, which are foreseen to pace up the decommissioning activity and also to reduce the cost of the process. This factor is expected to catalyze the nuclear decommissioning services market in the coming years. At present, the cost incurred in decommissioning a nuclear power plant is approximately US$ 3.73 billion annually, which is estimated to surge over the years, the need for advanced technologies is surging among the nuclear decommissioning services market players. Thus, the market is poised to provide numerous profitable business opportunities for the market players during the forecast period.



Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market



Globally, the COVID-19 outbreak has weakened various activities across industries. However, the energy and power generation industry is also hit hard by the outbreak due to limited manpower and disruption in supply chain of components and services. During this outbreak, several nuclear decommissioning services market players have operated with restricted manpower in various countries; whereas, in several countries, the activity of nuclear decommissioning is put on hold owing to imposition of lockdown measures by respective governments. For instance, the European countries have been exercising termination of nuclear power plant activities, thereby requiring decommissioning services. Several nuclear facilities ended respective operation in 2019 owing to political concerns or reaching end of operational lifecycle. The countries with higher number of COVID-19 cases in the European region include France, Germany, Russia, UK, and Italy. The French nuclear decommissioning services market was hit the hardest attributing to the fact that, the country has terminated its oldest nuclear power plant, such as the Fessenheim nuclear power plant, in early 2020, and is yet to start with decommission activities.



Reasons to Buy

Save and reduce time carrying out entry-level research by identifying the growth, size, leading players and segments in the global Nuclear Decommissioning Services market

Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies

The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the global nuclear decommissioning services market, thereby allowing players across the value chain to develop effective long-term strategies

Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets

Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it

Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to client products, segmentation, pricing and distribution

Key Topics Covered:



1. Introduction

1.1 Study Scope

1.2 Report Guidance

1.3 Market Segmentation



2. Key Takeaways



3. Research Methodology

3.1 Coverage

3.2 Secondary Research

3.3 Primary Research



4. Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market Landscape

4.1 Market Overview

4.2 Porter's Five Forces Analysis

4.2.1 Bargaining Power of Buyers

4.2.2 Bargaining Power of Suppliers

4.2.3 Threat to New Entrants

4.2.4 Threat to Substitutes

4.2.5 Competitive Rivalry

4.3 Ecosystem Analysis

4.4 Additional Customization

4.4.1 Nuclear Decommissioning Services Contracts



5. Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market - Key Market Dynamics

5.1 Market Drivers

5.1.1 Accentuating Numbers of Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning

5.1.2 Europe to Drive the Market Growth

5.2 Market Restraints

5.2.1 Extension of Operating License

5.3 Market Opportunities

5.3.1 Induction of Robotics to Pace Up the Activity

5.4 Future Trends

5.4.1 Increase in Construction of Newer Nuclear Power Plants

5.5 Impact Analysis of Drivers and Restraints



6. Nuclear Decommissioning Services - Global Market Analysis

6.1 Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market Overview

6.2 Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market - Revenue, and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million)

6.3 Market Positioning - Global Market Players Ranking



7. Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market Analysis - By Reactor Type

7.1 Overview

7.2 Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market Breakdown, by Reactor Type, 2019 & 2027

7.3 Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR)

7.3.1 Overview

7.3.2 Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR): Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million)

7.4 Boiling Water Reactor (BWR)

7.4.1 Overview

7.4.2 Boiling Water Reactor (BWR): Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million)

7.5 Gas Cooled Reactor (GCR)

7.5.1 Overview

7.5.2 Gas Cooled Reactor (GCR): Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million)



8. Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market Analysis - By Strategy

8.1 Overview

8.2 Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market Breakdown, by Strategy, 2019 & 2027

8.3 Immediate Dismantling

8.3.1 Overview

8.3.2 Immediate Dismantling: Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million)

8.4 Deferred Dismantling

8.4.1 Overview

8.4.2 Deferred Dismantling: Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million)

8.5 Entombment

8.5.1 Overview

8.5.2 Entombment: Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million)



9. Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market Analysis - By Application

9.1 Overview

9.2 Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market Breakdown, by Application, 2019 & 2027

9.3 Commercial Power Reactor

9.3.1 Overview

9.3.2 Commercial Power Reactor: Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million)

9.4 Prototype Reactor

9.4.1 Overview

9.4.2 Prototype Reactor: Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million).

9.5 Research Reactor

9.5.1 Overview

9.5.2 Research Reactor: Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million)



10. Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market Analysis - By Capacity

10.1 Overview

10.2 Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market Breakdown, by Capacity, 2019 & 2027

10.3 Below 100 MW

10.3.1 Overview

10.3.2 Below 100 MW: Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million)

10.4 100 - 1,000 MW

10.4.1 Overview

10.4.2 100 - 1,000 MW: Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million)

10.5 Above 1,000 MW

10.5.1 Overview

10.5.2 Above 1,000 MW: Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million)



11. Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market - Geographic Analysis

11.1 Overview

11.2 North America: Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market

11.3 Europe: Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market

11.4 APAC: Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market

11.5 ROW: Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market



12. Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Global Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market

12.1 Overview

12.1.1 North America: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic

12.1.2 Europe: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic

12.1.3 Asia-Pacific: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic



13. Industry Landscape

13.1 Overview

13.2 Market Initiative

13.3 New Product Development

13.4 Merger and Acquisition



14. Company Profiles

14.1 AECOM

14.1.1 Key Facts

14.1.2 Business Description

14.1.3 Products and Services

14.1.4 Financial Overview

14.1.5 SWOT Analysis

14.1.6 Key Developments

14.2 Ansaldo Energia S.p.A.

14.3 Babcock International Group PLC

14.4 Bechtel Corporation

14.5 Energy Solutions

14.6 GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH)

14.7 Onet SA

14.8 Orano

14.9 Studsvik AB

14.10 Westinghouse Electric Company LLC

14.11 Fluor Corporation

14.12 NUVIA Group

14.13 Northstar Group Services, Inc.

14.14 Atkins (SNC-Lavalin)

14.15 PreussenElektra GmbH

14.16 NUKEM Technologies

14.17 GNS Gesellschaft fr Nuklear-Service GmbH

14.18 Manafort Brothers Inc.

14.19 Sogin S.p.A.

14.20 Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. Ltd.



15. Appendix

15.1 About the Publisher

15.2 Word Index



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/qr2xys

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.
India's third Covid wave likely to peak on Jan 23, daily cases to stay below 4 lakh: IIT Kanpur scientist

Covid-19: Zydus launches India's cheapest version of Remdesivir at Rs 2,800

India

oi-Briti Roy Barman

New Delhi, Aug 13: Zydus Cadila on Thursday launched the cheapest generic version of Gilead Sciences' antiviral drug remdesivir in India to treat COVID-19 following reports of shortages at hospitals in the world's third-worst hit nation.

Zydus has priced it at 2,800 rupees ($37.44) per 100 mg vial. The Covid- 19 drug will be sold under the brand name Remdac to government and private hospitals treating virus infected patients, the company reported.

In a statement the company said, "The drug will be made available across India through the group's strong distribution chain reaching out to government and private hospitals treating COVID patients."

Govt panel on Covid-19 vaccine protocol discusses delivery mechanism

"Remdac is the most affordable drug as we would like to enable patients to have access to this critical drug in the treatment of COVID 19", said Dr. Sharvil Patel, the Managing Director of Cadila Healthcare Limited."

PM Modi launches platform for 'Transparent taxation-Honouring the Honest' | Oneindia News

Zydus is the fifth company to launch a copy of the antiviral in India after privately held Hetero Labs Ltd, Cipla, Mylan NV and Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd.

Officials in some Indian states had a few weeks ago complained of supply issues, but a top executive at drugmaker Cipla Ltd had earlier this week said the supplies were stabilising.

Gilead has also entered into licensing agreements with Dr.Reddy's Laboratories Ltd and Syngene International Ltd to make remdesivir for distribution in 127 countries, including India.

Why Russia chose Sputnik V for its COVID-19 vaccine, why is it significant

In June 2020, Zydus entered into a non-exclusive agreement with Gilead Sciences Inc, to manufacture and sell Remdesivir, the investigational drug, which has been issued an emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat patients suffering from severe symptoms of COVID-19.
Mermaids are having a moment that has lasted roughly a decade. The mania started around 2012, when sirens supplanted vampires in young adult fantasy, but the trend really took off in 2015, when celebrities took to Instagram in swimmable tails. Mermaid hair, mermaid fitness classes and mermaid food soon followed. Even in the midst of the current pandemic, people are drawing inspiration from Disney's Ariel, looking longingly out their windows and singing #quarentinelife parodies of "Part of Your World."

Mermaid mania is coming around to books again - but this time, the trend has broadened to include nonfiction titles for readers of all ages.

Despite their obvious appeal, mermaids are an uneasy fit for children's literature. These are, after all, mythical beings who do not make very good role models. For centuries, traditional stories have portrayed mermaids as dangerous seductresses, with their hybrid bodies representing the peril and beauty of the sea, as well as the (supposed) irrationality of women.

So how do you tell these often plainly misogynistic stories in a modern, kid-friendly way? That's the challenge faced by two new children's books that survey mermaid tales from around the world: "The Very Short, Entirely True History of Mermaids," by Sarah Laskow, and "The Mermaid Atlas," by Anna Claybourne.

Both are awash in the blues and greens of the ocean, and they cover many of the same stories. Claybourne's volume is the more lavishly illustrated, and it casts a wider net, depicting a menagerie of human-animal water spirits, including the duckfooted lamia of northern Spain and Vatea, the laterally split human/dolphin ancestor of Cook Islands inhabitants. "The Mermaid Atlas" also feels more organized, orienting young readers (ages 7-11) with a map at the beginning of each section.

The stories are repetitive at times, and even a little dull - a byproduct, perhaps, of glossing over kid-unfriendly details. For instance, she omits the rather crucial plot point that Ireland's selkies (beings capable of shifting from seal to human form) only marry men under duress, after having their seal skins stolen. Likewise, her account of Eastern Europe's rusalkas skips over their origins - they are often the ghosts of girls who were murdered near water - and jumps straight to how these vengeful spirits drown young men, which feels a little unfair to the rusalkas.

Laskow, science editor at the Atlantic, takes a more unflinching look at the dark side of mermaid stories. She doesn't shy away from the fact that selkie husbands are thieves and abductors. She also provides readers (ages 8-12) an anthropological framework for understanding the preponderance of mean mermaids in these tales: "People believed that mermaids were so charming they were hard to resist, and could convince humans to do things they weren't supposed to. Some medieval Christians believed that mermaids wanted to capture their souls! Stories like this were a lesson."

Laskow's book also devotes many pages to modern mermaids and science lessons on mermaid topics. I particularly enjoyed her interview with a biologist about how mermaids might breathe underwater. (They'd need gills, which they'd have to keep moist all the time, even when gallivanting on land.)

Both books show that mermaids have always been a diverse group - a necessary corrective given the ugly #NotMyAriel backlash after Disney cast an African American actress as the lead in the hotly anticipated live action "The Little Mermaid." If there's one thing all mermaids have in common, it's their mutability. These are hybrid creatures who have one foot (fin?) in two different worlds. No wonder, then, that they've become an avatar for people who occupy liminal spaces, like adolescent girls and, more recently, transgender folks.

Jessica Love's 2018 stunner, "Julian Is a Mermaid," (age 4 and older) taps into that cultural current, with a story about a little boy who sees people dressed as mermaids on the subway and decides to dress up himself. After a suspenseful moment during which Julian's abuela (grandmother) finds him in feminine garb and seems to turn away from him, she returns with a necklace for Julian, then takes him to the Coney Island Mermaid Parade. It's this vision of acceptance - and the extravagant beauty of the sea, as seen through Julian's daydreams - that provides a refreshingly modern alternative to traditional mermaid tales.

Reading all these kid-friendly mermaid books left this adult reader wishing for juicier fare - and I slaked my thirst with two recent nonfiction titles, Carolyn Turgeon's 2018 book "The Mermaid Handbook: An Alluring Treasury of Literature, Lore, Art, Recipes, and Projects" and the 2019 folklore anthology, "The Penguin Book of Mermaids" (edited by Cristina Bacchilega and Marie Alohalani Brown). Bacchilega and Brown's volume brings together dozens of tales from a diverse array of cultures, including three that have never before appeared in English. The authors leave interpretation largely to the reader, but they do provide a compact overview of the genre, noting that mermaids "reflect our fascination with and fear of female bodies and of water and our dread of predators or poisonous creatures that live in or near water. But such tales are also social and cultural commentaries about what it means to be human: they encapsulate our beliefs and mores, express our weaknesses and strengths, and expose our deepest fears and desires."

Turgeon also surveys mermaid tales, but hers is a more lyrical volume, one that includes odes to mermaids by Tennyson and Shakespeare and luscious paintings by Botticelli and Klimt. A novelist, Turgeon summarizes mermaid folklore with a keen eye for symbolism and a gift for plain, nonacademic language. "The Mermaid Handbook" also extensively covers mermaids in modern American culture - from Annette Kellerman's (tragically lost) early 20th-century movies to the advent of the "mermaid gown" silhouette in the 1930s and onward to the modern mermaid movement, in which people of all ages, sizes and gender identities embrace their inner sea goddesses. Mermaids, it seems, surface and retreat as they please, but they are always with us. Long may they reign.
Victorias state logging agency has abandoned its latest attempt to gain sustainability certification from the Forest Stewardship Council Australia, saying it was concerned it would not be fairly assessed because three of the councils directors are involved in forest activism.

In an online statement, VicForests said it had decided to postpone its attempt to gain certification by the end of 2020, citing concerns over an ongoing Federal Court case and some directors of the council, the local branch of an international sustainability initiative.

Three directors of FSC Australia ... are leading public activism and advocacy, calling for the complete cessation of native forestry and actively seeking to discredit VicForests," the statement said.

Salvage logging south of Victoria's Alpine National Park.

Pandemic restrictions on auditors working in the field, and challenges arising from last summers bushfires also prompted the decision, it said.
MANZINI - A total of 67 people, including businesspeople, were yesterday arrested as the Manzini Disaster Management Task Team cracked down on traders who were not complying with the COVID-19 guidelines.

This comes hardly a day after the implementation of a revised curfew for Manzini, which had been declared the COVID-19 epicentre. Most of the people who were arrested yesterday were running their businesses yet their trading licences had expired, some were using unapproved sanitisers, while others failed to wear their face masks properly. As a result, some paid up to E800 as admission of guilt fines.

Vusela

The task team, which was led by Manzini Regional Administrator (RA) Chief Gija, conducted a vusela exercise in businesses within the city with the main aim of ensuring compliance with the COVID-19 guidelines.

During the exercise, the task team, which included members of the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) and His Majestys Correctional Services (HMCS), inspected trading licences for validity, floor markings, and infrared thermometers. They also inspected the businesses for the availability of handwashing facilities or alcohol-based sanitisers and the wearing of masks, among other things. The task team divided itself into two groups in order to cover a wider area and, according to Chief Gija, the exercise went well. He said a number of people were taken to the Manzini Police Station to pay their admission of guilt fines for breaching different COVID-19 guidelines.

He said once a person was found to have breached the COVID-19 guidelines, the law enforcers would take them to the police station where they would pay a fine.

In fact, the RA said as they had mentioned that they would intensify the implementation of the law on people who would fail to comply with the COVID-19 guidelines, they would continue with the inspection exercise and visit the hot spots in the city.

Implementation

He said as part of intensifying the implementation of the regulations, people would be charged and taken to court the following day for failing to comply with the COVID-19 guidelines.

On the same note, Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati said a total of 67 people were arrested and most of them paid fines ranging between E60 and E120. However, she mentioned that some paid E500, while others forked out E800 as fines for failing to comply with the COVID-19 guidelines.

It is worth noting that over the weekend, the task team arrested 39 people for being drunk or selling alcoholic beverages. The arrested individuals were found at Mangwaneni, a peri-urban township, about four kilometres from the central business district (CBD) of Manzini. This was during the random raids conducted by the task team headed by Chief Gija.
By Carl O'Donnell

(Reuters) - Around the world, politicians, drugmakers and regulators offer contradictory outlooks on when a COVID-19 vaccine will be ready. Much depends on what 'ready' means and for what group of people. Some key questions around the timeline are:

WHEN WILL WE KNOW A VACCINE WORKS?

More than half a dozen drugmakers around the world are conducting advanced clinical trials, each with tens of thousands of participants, and several expect to know if their COVID-19 vaccines work and are safe by the end of this year.

The most optimistic timeline comes from AstraZeneca Plc <AZN.L>, which is running a study in Britain that it says could be completed as early as August.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious diseases expert, told Reuters last week that a trial by Moderna Inc <MRNA.O> could produce decisive results by November or December. Others will come later, some much later.

Some experts are skeptical that the trials, which must study potential side effects on different types of people, can be completed that quickly. Peter Hotez, the dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, says that collecting enough data to prove a vaccine is safe for the world could take until mid-2021.

WHEN WILL THE FIRST SHOTS BE READY?

Several drugmakers are building manufacturing capacity so they can begin production as soon as vaccines are approved by regulators. Some efforts are backed by a U.S. government program called 'Operation Warp Speed'.

Fauci told Reuters he expects "tens of millions" of doses to be available in early 2021, and that by the end of the year there could be more than a billion. That contrasts with more optimistic guidance from U.S. President Donald Trump, who said a vaccine could be ready before the Nov. 3 presidential election, though he did not define 'ready'.

Several companies, including Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Pfizer Inc <PFE.N>, say they each expect to make more than 1 billion doses next year. That could mean several billion available by the end of 2021.

Story continues

WHEN CAN I GET IT?

First supplies late this year or early next would likely go to those in rich nations who are deemed by governments to work in essential industries or who are at greatest risk from the virus. That is likely to include people with other issues such as diabetes, healthcare workers, and members of the military.

Countries including Canada, Japan, Britain, and the United States have locked in deals putting their citizens first in line for inoculations as they become broadly available during 2021.

Most vaccines are being tested as two shots given a month apart, giving full strength protection only after the second shot is administered.

WHEN WILL THE WORLD BE INOCULATED?

The wait time for COVID-19 vaccines will likely be longer for people in developing countries, which don't have early supply deals. Some may struggle to pay for vaccines that could cost upwards of $40 per person, said Hotez.

"I am worried that Operation Warp Speed vaccines will not reach developing countries any time soon," Hotez said.

Gavi, a vaccine alliance for developing countries, aims to secure 2 billion doses of vaccine in 2021, enough to inoculate the most vulnerable 20% of the population in poorer countries. Several manufacturers, including the Serum Institute of India, are preparing to manufacture for poor and middle-income countries.

WILL I BE ABLE TO GET A CHINESE VACCINE?

The Chinese government has authorized some experimental vaccines to be used in select patients outside of clinical trials, making it the first country to have vaccines authorized for wider use.

But they are unlikely to be available in the West any time soon. Domestic regulators would need to approve them, and clinical trials by Chinese companies outside of China are still ongoing.

WHAT ABOUT RUSSIA?

President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia had become the first country in the world to grant regulatory approval to a COVID-19 vaccine after less than two months of human testing.

The vaccine still has to complete final trials, raising concerns among some experts at the speed of its approval. Still, Russian business conglomerate Sistema has said it expects to put it into mass production by the end of the year.

(Reporting by Carl O'Donnell, editing by Peter Henderson, Rosalba O'Brienand Nick Zieminski)
New Delhi: Indian Consumer electronics and mobile accessories brand VingaJoy has launched new power bank VingaJoy FuelBar VB  SX3 at Rs 2,499.

This Made In India power bank features a Non-Metallic Frame body. There is also an LED Digital Battery Indicator, which lets you know the charging level and functionality of the power bank. The power bank has dual input charging ports (TypeC/V8) and output charging port with 2.0A.

In addition, 500 life cycles are being provided with double USB ports. In this, LED light is also being given under the name of display Indicator. There is a carry bag inside the box which comes free with the power bank as a complimentary gift.

VingaJoy FuelBar VB  SX3 Powerbank will be only available at nearest Retail Stores.

The company had last month launched wireless neckband Beat Brothers Neckband CL-130 at Rs 1,399.

Beat Brothers Neckband CL-130 keeps you connected with your playlist for upto 12 hours on a single charge along with an exhilarating HD audio quality, the company said.

The neckbands magnetic absorption design makes for a comfortable wearing experience, which is handy, compact, and portable. The design also allows protection of the cable from accidental damages when not in use.
After the encounter of wanted gangster Vikas Dubey, followed by the Ayodhya Ram Mandir Bhumi Poojan, politics in Uttar Pradesh has been rapidly taking sharp turns. A competition has begun to own and build new statues in the state without any historical understanding and socio-political retrospection.

The current debate over the statue of Lord Parashuram is a classic instance for this. During the tenure of the Samajwadi Party (SP) government, Akhilesh Yadav had announced the building of a 108-foot statue of Lord Parashuram in Lucknow, but no initiative was taken. His government observed Parashuram Jayanti (birthday of Parashuram) as a state holiday.

Quite deliberately, the holiday was changed to a working day by present chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who comes from a Kshatriya background. Yogi has been a staunch Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) supporter with a Kshatriya bent of mind. But, the discussion over this change conveys differently that it was not for the convenience of governance but to suppress the Brahmins and keep them under Kshatriya control. Further, Brahmins in RSS believe that Yogi, being from a Kshatriya background, took this audacious decision in his own community's interest. They also think that instead of arresting Dubey, he was deliberately killed.

Against this background, Congress leader Jitin Prasada started organising Brahmins against Adityanath. Now both Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati are vying for Brahmin votes by building statues of the Brahmin deity whose portrait always has an axe on his shoulder.

Several Hindu epics narrate the tale of Brahmin Parashuram who killed many Kshatriyas. In fact, he had killed numerous kings who hail from the Mulavasi/Sudhra clans and lineages, not particularly from the Kshatriyavarna. According to Varnadharma, kings must necessarily be from Kshatriyavarna but one can find a lot many kings who were non-Kshatriyas. This is why Brahmins, Vysyas and Sudhras ruled kingdoms in epics, and even in history during ancient and medieval times.

The Kshatriyas always believed that only they should rule or become kings. However, many Shudras were given the Kshatriya status by Brahmins. But, in case of priesthood, only Brahmins were/are entitled to become priests in any temple. Its an essential privilege for them to control the minds of other varnas through spiritual fascism.

Spiritual inequality lays a strong and solid foundation to make other people as permanent slaves to Brahminism. As a result, Kshatriyas also never aspired for priesthood in temples like other varnas. But Brahmins did hold all sorts of positions, from priest to king to minister to military admiral to a sanyasi. Perhaps Adityanath becoming a yogi may not be acceptable to UP Brahmins.

Kshatriya, as a varna, also has disadvantages in performing choice-based labour as they have been spiritually prescribed with specific duties related to ruling and governance only. However, the principles of varnadharma mentioned in epics are different from the real historical accounts. Therefore, it is time to deconstruct or reconstruct its themes and sanctions in consonance with the history, culture, spirituality and socio-political nexuses.

Parashuram is the 6th avatar of Lord Vishnu and referred to as Jamadagnya Ram, Bhargava Ram, Rambhadra, etc. He was born to the Brahmin sage Jamadagni and his wife Renuka, daughter of King Renu, and also considered as one of the seven immortals (chiranjeevis). Interestingly, he appears both in the Ramayan and Mahabharat. Thus, I feel that Parashuram might not be a single person. Rather, it may be a position or designation intended to hold the power and authority of Brahmins over Kshatriyas and other rulers.

It will be clear with the story of Kartavirya Arjuna's fight with Ravan and Parashuram. Kartavirya Arjuna was a powerful king who used to rule Mahishmati kingdom from Ujjayani capital  located in present day Madhya Pradesh.

Epics reveal that Kartavirya Arjuna is Kshatriya and belongs to the Haihaya lineage. However, Kartavirya Arjuna was killed by Parashuram in a battle that took place for a celestial cow called Surabhi. According to oral history, Yellamma is the mother of Parashuram. She is also known as Mahurya as her famous temple located in Mahur of Maharashtra and this temple is considered as one of the shakti peethas.

Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati with the promise of building big statues of Lord Parashuram, a warrior Brahmin icon, are setting themselves against the Phule-Ambedkar ideology that Kanshiram popularised among the Shudra/OBC and Dalits of UP.

Akhilesh Yadav, being a young Yadav-OBC leader and Mayawati, as an experienced Dalit chief minister, may feel that it is a strategic move to lure the Brahmin vote bank in the coming Uttar Pradesh assembly elections scheduled for 2022, but it will certainly be an ideological disaster for OBC/Dalit/Adivasi politics.

This categorically shows a lack of historical and philosophical understanding among the present day Shudra/Dalit leaders who represent OBCs and Dalits in a big state like UP and had ruled here earlier.

In fact, they are running after power politics which never offers power to the powerless and never annihilates the social and caste inequalities but strengthens Brahminism in disguise. Thus, it is time to recall the words and stands of Mahatma Phule and Ambedkar to understand what intrinsically Parashuram was and is to disseminate the subaltern ideological spectrum.

In his Slavery, Phule wrote an open letter to Parashuram by inviting him to join the struggle against colonial rule instead of engaging in mediation in the Himalayas.

Parashuram was absent but Parashuramites were present with good education and books while most of OBCs/Dalit/Adivasi were busy with their axes to cut the trees in order to make the land ready to cultivate. Ambedkar fought for his people with a pen and that pen penned the Indian constitution and changed our life considerably. Mayawati who built many statues and Ambedkar kshetras now wants to build a statue to Parashuram and undo what she has done so far.

The successors of Parashuram are not for change and decided to bring back their Axe-Parashu Rajya and Arrow Ram Rajya by eliminating so many modern Kartavirya Arjuna and Shambukas. Let Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati be aware of the Shudra/Dalits who do not like these retrograde steps.
A study on the Impact of Technology Adoption: Evidence from Maize and Cowpea Farmers in Northern Ghana, has recommended more stakeholder involvement in the agriculture sector to provide credit and input support to farmers.



This would go a long way to help farmers to continue to implement the technologies on the farms, a Principal Technologist at the Science and Technology Policy Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-STEPRI), Mr Emmanuel Jumpah, said when he presented the findings at a validation workshop in Accra on August 11, 2020.



He noted the adoption of technology was critical to achieve sustained food productivity, ensure improved food security and raise farmers income.



He said agricultural extension remains critical to improving farm productivity.



Expanding easy access to extension services and monitoring of farmers production activities by agric extension agents are highly recommended, he said.



Africa RISING



The study flows from the Africa Research in Sustainable Intensification for the Next Generation (Africa RISING), a project aimed at generating and disseminating technologies for the adoption of smallholder farmers for improved livelihoods.



It is being implemented with several collaborators (farmers, researchers, policy institutions among others) in West Africa (Ghana and Mali), East Africa (Ethiopia and Tanzania) and Southern Africa (Malawi and Zambia).



In the Ghana, the project targets smallholder farmers in the northern part of the country engaged in crop (maize and cowpea) and livestock (small ruminants) production.



Technologies generated in these areas are disseminated to farmers through the concept of technology parks.



Mr Jumpah said the Africa RISING intervention had achieved some positive outcomes and working to consolidate and sustain the gains was imperative.



CSIR-STEPRI research component



The CSIR-STEPRI has been collaborating with the Africa RISING project since 2017 in the area of analysing policies that impact smallholder farmers.



In an overview, a Research Scientist, Dr Adams Abdulai, said the CSIR-STEPRI current research work involved monitoring group dynamics among users of small-scale maize shelling machines in northern Ghana.



He said it would also conduct simulation and other socio-economic analyses of selected sustainable intensification technologies/practices for different farmer contexts to have a better understanding of the adoption potential of these proven technologies and opportunities for scaling up.



The next steps are to undertake gender analysis in relation to technology adoption to inform policy, create awareness of the community, district and regional levels on the research findings for scale up by actors and other stakeholders, he said.



Dr Abdulai said visibility of the Africa RISING intervention would be increased through policy engagements and use of available platforms to disseminate widely research findings based on the SI framework.



Analysis of SI tech

A Principal Technologist at the CSIR-STEPRI, Nana Yamoah Asafu-Adjaye, said a simulation analysis of SI technology adoption was conducted with an objective to assess the economic impact (poverty rate, farm income effects, per capita income and adoption rates).



He said the results on the maize-cowpea living mulch technology showed that adoption rates differed with the introduction of cowpea in maize cultivation.



Cowpea living mulch planted one week after maize is GH6227.81, same planted two weeks after maize is GH6180.85 and cowpea planted same day with maize is GH5646.57.



The effect of different growth levels of cowpea living mulch and level of maize maturity have demonstrated that planting maize with cowpea as living mulch at one week after planting maize would be of most benefit to farmers, he said.

Source: graphiconline.com









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A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Wednesday denounced the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority's attempt to seek "Taiwan independence" under the pretext of the epidemic, calling such a move nothing but a farce.

Ma Xiaoguang, the spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the remarks in response to the recent visit by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar to Taiwan.

Azar's visit has violated the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, Ma said, voicing firm opposition to the move.

The DPP authority's attempt to use the event to conduct political manipulation, and seek "Taiwan independence" under the pretext of the epidemic, is nothing but a farce, Ma noted.
Parviz Fattah, an official under former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's administration (2005-13), gave an interview to Iranian state TV on Aug. 1 that continues to rock Iranian media, even leading to speculation of a run for the presidency.

A former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) member who served as Ahmadinejads energy minister and as head of the Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation for four years, Fattah has since 2019 been head of the Mostazafan Foundation, a charitable organization that is often described as the second wealthiest institution in Iran next to the Oil Ministry. In his time at the foundation, he has already become a household name.

What has made Fattah the headlines of several newspapers and the top story on several websites is not his past job experiences but his very frank conversations about the one thing that remains on every Iranians mind: corruption. During the television interview, the soft-spoken and mild-mannered Fattah called out corruption at some of the top institutions in the Islamic Republic. What lends his accusations credibility is that he avoids the theatrics and limelight of the president he worked under for four years as energy minister.

The Mostazafan Foundation was created after the revolution to confiscate the belongings and property of former officials from the Mohammad Reza Pahlavi era. In the decades since, the foundation has continued to grow, now owning factories, businesses, construction firms and dozens of companies, many through confiscations of properties. The purpose of the foundation is to redistribute confiscated wealth to the needy and poor. "Mostazafan" means "the oppressed" in Persian, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei chooses the head of the foundation.

What has made Fattahs criticism of corruption interesting is that he has criticized those close to Khamenei and other institutions that he runs. One such person is Haddad Adel, who is the father-in-law of Khameneis son, the influential Mojtaba who many suspect of having deep influence behind the scenes. Adel, a former chairman of parliament and presidential candidate, was accused of sitting on 8,000 square meters of land in Tehran that belong to the Mostazafan Foundation.

Fattah revealed other assets of the foundation that other organizations and institutions are holding on to. Former President Ahmadinejads office is reportedly in an exclusive part of northern Tehran. A parliamentary organization has a building also in an exclusive part of Tehran. Fattah said that both the IRGC and the Iranian navy are holding on to property owned by Mostazafan.

The interview continues to make waves in Iranian media because very rarely will a top official, chosen by the supreme leader, criticize other individuals or organizations that operate under the supreme leader. Typically when such things are done, it is to settle intra-party or partisan scores. However, that a conservative figure like Fattah claimed corruption against other conservatives has caught many by surprise. And Iranian media outlets, despite quoting him as saying that he has no political ambition and he only wishes to serve his job as head of the foundation, continue to speculate about whether the interview suggests he has political ambitions for the 2021 presidential election.
The Iranian capital of Tehran will remain on partial lockdown for an additional week, the citys Coronavirus Combat Taskforce announced on Thursday, following the reinstatement of COVID-19 restrictions on July 23 after a surge in cases impacted the city.

Dr. Alireza Zali, Commander of the Coronavirus Taskforce of Tehran, confirmed that 534 COVID-19 patients were admitted to Tehran hospitals since Wednesday, 137 of whom entered intensive care units. Dr. Zali did not announce the number of deaths in the city, however, with Iranian health authorities continuing to limit knowledge of death figures in Tehran for "security reasons.

The partial lockdown to curb the spread of the virus in Tehran includes the closure of coffee shops, cinemas and theaters, beauty salons, language schools, swimming pools and gyms, mosques and shrines, wedding halls and libraries, and bans all gatherings of over 10 people, such as seminars and funerals. The taskforce also made wearing masks compulsory on public transport, as well as in government offices, where one-third of the staff have been sent home to work remotely.

According to Dr. Zali, protective measures have successfully reduced the number of new COVID-19 cases, precautions including wearing masks, observing health protocols and cutting the number of staff present in offices.

The taskforce also announced Thursday that normal traffic restrictions in the capital would be reinstated, with Dr. Zali claiming that the cancellation of the restrictions, which was instituted on July 23, had no meaningful effect on reducing the use of public transport and the rate of contamination.

Per Health Ministry Spokesperson Dr. Sima-Sadat Lari, 336,324 total COVID-19 cases have been reported in the country as of Thursday, including 2,625 new cases in the most recent reporting period. With 174 additional deaths over the same period, the total death toll in the country has now reached 19,162, including 164 health workers, and 3,971 COVID-19 patients currently require intensive care.

The Iranian health ministry publishes a daily report of COVID-19 statistics, though the official figures have frequently been contested by critics including health officials, lawmakers and city council members.
Schools across the country are preparing to welcome back students next month, though the circumstances will be anything but normal during the current pandemic. While schedules will be much different than in past years, class will soon be back in session.

In the coming days, many school boards are looking to confirm from families and guardians which children will be returning to the classroom and which will be opting out for remote learning. It can be a daunting decision for many people, especially when theres so many aspects to consider: How do you know which is best for your child? What happens if you change your mind? What special considerations should you keep in mind when it comes to protocols, like wearing masks and physical distancing?

Consider the childs health and stage of development

Judith Wiener is a professor emerita in the department of applied psychology and human development at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

She says the first thing to be considered when deciding on whether to send children back to school is their age, their developmental stage and their health.

If there is an adolescent whos focused on learning, is independent and adaptive to online classes, its a very different situation from someone who has difficulty focusing and needs the social environment.

You're balancing their needs for education, she tells Yahoo Canada.

Many school districts are implementing a change to the curriculum, where students have fewer classes per day, several days a week, rather than the full week. This pared-down curriculum could in fact benefit those with learning disabilities.

This may be very advantageous, she says. At least at the secondary level, I dont think were compromising education, and for some special needs kids, this could be helpful.

When it comes to physical health, a child with a compromised immune system will obviously be more at risk for contracting the virus and bringing it home. Its also important to consider family members, like grandparents, who live at home who are at higher risk.

Story continues

There are many factors to consider when choosing to send your child back to the classroom, or keep them home for remote learning. (Getty)

Consider the physical environment

Many schools are housed in older buildings with poor ventilation. While its reasonable to expect students to get outdoor time during the warmer months, considering this is Canada, thats not a long-term solution. And there could be risk if schools get overcrowded.

When it comes to small children, a significant part of their learning involves play, so the notion of keeping them apart is unrealistic, according to Wiener.

To put anywhere above 15 students in a classroom is unrealistic, she says.

Consider everyones mental health

Dr. Marshall Korenblum with the University of Torontos department of psychiatry says mental health of both the children and parents and guardians need to be thoroughly considered.

Things like professional work load and support from family members need to be factored into whether sending a child back to school is the best decision.

How are they managing? he asks. What is your stress level as a parent? If its high, then consider getting help, whether mental health help or child care help.

Wiener adds that keeping children at home can also lead to stress-related risks like family violence, or children acting inappropriately out of boredom or lack of discipline. Students might also feel increased anxiety about catching the virus if they go to school.

Youre looking at mental health problems either way you go when you have this awful situation, she says.

Wiener suggests teaching young children the pandemic protocols like proper hand-washing and wearing a mask as soon as possible, rather than have it taught in the classroom. She says this could be more compelling if you find a mask the child thinks is cool.

Consider your community

Korenblum says this is the one factor that overrides all others when considering sending children back to school: what are the COVID-19 rates in your community?

If youre surrounded by COVID, schools arent in a bubble, he says. So the chances of your kid getting sick is highly dependent on whats going on in the community. If its high, the likelihood is its in the school since its a microcosm, just a part of the community.

Its okay to change your mind

Isaac Bogoch is an infectious diseases physician and scientist in Toronto. He says people should feel okay if they decide to pull their children out of school if circumstances change.

Things can change and people might not be comfortable because of an outbreak or an increase of cases or learning something new about the disease, he says. These arent static decisions, this is clearly a dynamic situation and the decisions can be dynamic as well. They can change their minds over time.
One new COVID-19 case was confirmed in Winona County by the Minnesota Department of Health Thursday, increasing the countys total to 266.

No new COVID-19 deaths in the county have been announced since July 16, with the countys total continuing to be 16.

Of the countys first 265 positive cases, 52% or 137 have been females, while 48% or 128 have been males, county officials released Wednesday evening.

Of the countys cases, 228 no longer need to be in isolation, up 33 from the previous weeks 195.

The county has confirmed 13 cases since the previous weeks update, with county officials having changed the countys totals by gender slightly by decreasing the males by 4 and increasing the females by 17.

The positive patients have ranged in age from younger than 10 to older than 100, with the average age 33.

The vast majority of cases in the county have been residents between 20 and 39 years old, with 123 having tested positive  or about 46% of the countys first 265 cases. Ten of these cases were diagnosed in August.

Also, August has seen an increase in cases of residents who are 19 or younger. Ten people in this age range were diagnosed, raising the countys total in this range to 27.

This month so far, two people in the county between 40 and 59 years old have been diagnosed with COVID-19, raising the age ranges total in the county to 44.

Of people between the ages of 60 and 79 years old, three have tested positive in the county in August, raising the total for the age range during the pandemic to 39.

No people who are 80 years old or older in the county have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in August, leaving the total at 32.

The lower amount of cases diagnosed in older ages is a trend that has occurred throughout the summer.

In Winona, 218 of these cases have occurred, while 15 are in Lewiston, 11 are in St. Charles and 21 are in announced communities that are being kept confidential because of low numbers of positive cases in the town.

Of the patients, 179 have been symptomatic, while 43 have been asymptomatic. Forty-three other cases do not have it charted if they were showing symptoms or not.

Twelve people in the county have been hospitalized because of COVID-19, ranging in age from younger than 10 to 85 years old with an average age of 50.

Three county residents have spent time in an intensive care unit because of the disease, ages 65 to 83 years old, with the average age 81.

No new hospitalizations had occurred in the past week.

The countys positive patients who have not required hospitalization  totaling 253  range in age from younger than 10 to older than 100 with the average age being 32.

Of the countys 16 deaths, the age range has been 67 to older than 100m with the average age of 87.5.

Winona Countys infection rate is at 0.522%, while nearby counties infection rates include: 1.131% in Olmsted; 0.337% in Fillmore and 0.236% in Houston.

According to MDH Thursday, 10,254 COVID-19 tests have been completed in Winona County as of 4 p.m. Wednesday, with a positive rate of 2.7%.

In the past week, 577 of these tests were completed in the county.

The states positive is more than twice the countys at 5.6%.

In Minnesota, 697 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed Thursday.

The cases bring the states total to 62,993, with 56,346 no longer needing to be isolated.

Of these positive cases, 7,205 are health-care workers.

Statewide, 1,203,559 COVID-19 tests have been completed, with 963,096 residents having been tested.

Seven new deaths were reported in the state, bringing the total to 1,685.

Of these people, 1,263 resided within long-term care or assisted-living facilities.

Statewide, 5,742 people have required hospitalization because of COVID-19, with 308 remaining in hospitals Thursday.

Of the currently hospitalized patients, 154 are in intensive care.

For daily Minnesota COVID-19 situation updates, visit the Minnesota Department of Healths website.

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The Liberian-flagged oil tanker Wila was eventually released by Iranian forces near the Strait of Hormuz.

The United States military said Iranian forces boarded a civilian vessel in international waters in the Gulf.

The US Central Command released a grainy black-and-white video on Twitter showing a helicopter near a large ship.

Today in international waters, Iranian forces, including two ships and an Iranian Sea King helicopter, overtook and boarded a ship called the Wila, the US Central Command said.

Today in international waters, Iranian forces, including two ships and an Iranian "Sea King" helicopter, overtook and boarded a ship called the 'Wila.' pic.twitter.com/455UQ5jwHT  U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) August 12, 2020

According to Refinitiv tracking data, Wila  a Liberian-flagged oil tanker  was anchored near the United Arab Emirates port of Khor Fakkan.

The Wilas registered owner is a Liberian firm called Bandit Shipping Co, managed by Greek firm IMS SA, according to UN records. Neither firm could be immediately reached.

A US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the incident took place near the Strait of Hormuz  through which 20 percent of all oil traded passes  and the ship was released by Iranian forces after five hours. The official said the US military was not involved in anything other than monitoring the situation.

US military officials did not offer any reason for Iran seizing the vessel. Iranian state media and officials did not immediately acknowledge the seizure or offer a reason for it.

Iran-US tensions

Private maritime intelligence firm Dryad Global said it suspected two other ships had been intercepted by Irans paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Gulf over the last week as well, based on the ships tracked behaviour.

Tensions have escalated since 2018 when US President Donald Trump withdrew the US from a multinational accord that had lifted international sanctions off Iran in return for the freezing of its nuclear programme. Adopting a campaign of maximum pressure, the Trump administration then reimposed crippling sanctions on the Iranian economy.

During the heightened tensions between the two last year, a number of incidents occurred, including attacks on ships, the downing of drones, and the seizure of oil tankers in the strait.

In July 2019, Iran briefly seized a British-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf after Britain seized the Iranian tanker Grace 1, accused of violating sanctions on Syria.

The Guard seized at least six other ships last year over alleged fuel smuggling.
New Delhi, Aug 13 : As ByteDance continues to struggle in the US, a new report claimed on Thursday that China-based company that owns the short-video making app TikTok may sell its India business to Reliance Jio amid uncertainties around its operations in the country.

Citing people familiar with the early-stage discussions, Tech Crunch reported that the "two companies began conversations late last month and have yet to reach a deal".

TikTok's business in India "is being valued at more than $3 billion".

ByteDance or Reliance Jio were yet to comment on the report.

The speculations come at a time when several employees working with TikTok's parent company ByteDance are actively seeking opportunities outside the company as the platform stares at an uncertain future due the ban on the app in the country.

ByteDance has nearly 2,000 employees in India and has now put the pause button on new hiring.

Soon after Indian announced the ban on TikTok, along with 58 other apps over national security concerns, TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer who is also the COO of ByteDance said that employees are the company's "biggest strength" and their wellbeing its "topmost priority".

"We have also assured more than 2,000 strong workforce that we will do everything in our power to restore the positive experiences and opportunities that they can be proud of," Mayer said in a blog, addressing the company's India staff.

However, these assurances appeared to be not enough to calm the minds of many of the company's anxious employees.

Their worries mounted after the platform faced threat of a similar ban from the Donald Trump administration in the US even as Microsoft disclosed plans to buy TikTok service in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand by mid-September - a deadline set by the US President.

According to a report in the Financial Times, Microsoft is looking to acquire TikTok's entire global business including its service in India and Europe.

The US President earlier this month even issued an executive order, prohibiting any entity in the country from carrying out transactions with the TikTok owner within 45 days.

It is only natural that uncertainties surrounding the company at a time when India's relations with China have come under strains due to border tensions in Ladakh will put pressure on the employees.

It has emerged that what is TikTok's loss, could be gains for the Indian startups that are trying to fill the gap left vacant by the ban.

Many TikTok employees are now reportedly seeking opportunities with rivals like Chingari, Trell, Bolo Indya and Sharechat, among others.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
The Independence Day celebration at the iconic Red Fort in Delhi this year will be a low-key affair due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Security arrangements and preparations have been made differently keeping in mind social distancing due to the coronavirus COVID-19 crisis.

Here's what to expect at this year's Independence Day.

IMAGE: A policeman stands guard outside Red Fort ahead of the upcoming Independence Day celebrations, in New Delhi. Photograph: Arun Sharma/PTI Photo

1. School children will not be a part of the annual event and the number of dignitaries on the list of invitees is likely to be much lesser.

2. The iconic Red Fort has been kept shut for public from August 1 on wards for sanitisation and preparation ahead of the Independence Day event.

IMAGE: Indian soldiers rehearse for the Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort, in New Delhi. Photograph: Kamal Kishore/PTI Photo

3. 500 NCC cadets have been called in place of the school children.

4. Social distancing will be maintained, and the staff will be in PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) kits.

IMAGE: Army Band members perform to honour the COVID-19 warriors as they take part in 74th Independence Day celebrations, at Tipu Sultan's summer palace in Bengaluru. Photograph: Shailendra Bhojak/PTI Photo

5. The 74th Independence Day celebration will be marked by musical performances by the bands from the Army, Navy and Indian Air Force.

6. Around 1,500 corona warriors have also been invited to the programme.

IMAGE: Preparations underway at Red Fort ahead of the upcoming Independence Day celebrations, in New Delhi. Photograph: Kamal Kishore/PTI Photo

7. More than 300 CCTV cameras have been installed inside the Red Fort. The security system has been strengthened all over Delhi, including around the Red Fort

8. It has been learnt that 350 police personnel who will constitute the guard of honour have been kept in isolation at the newly constructed police colony in Delhi Cantonment.

IMAGE: Technicians work in the premises of Red Fort as part of preparations for the upcoming Independence day celebrations, in New Delhi. Photograph: Kamal Kishore/PTI Photo

9. The soldiers stationed near the metal detector will be seen wearing PPE kits. Apart from this, hand sanitizers will be kept in place. The seating arrangement will be different and will be kept two yards away.

10. Wearing a mask will be mandatory for those attending the Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort. Not only this, entry will be given by seeing status green in the Arogya Setu app on their mobile.

IMAGE: NCC cadets take selfies after taking part in a rehearsal for the Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort, in New Delhi. Photograph: Kamal Kishore/PTI Photo

11. According to the ministry of home affairs, the theme of Independence Day celebrations this year will be based on Self-reliant India.
Clive Palmer has let fly at the WA government over draft laws to thwart a multibillion-dollar claim for compensation over a long-running iron ore dispute.

Although he accused the state of betraying the rule of law  which WA Law Society president Nicholas van Hattem described as like the principles at stake in the Australian film The Castle  the emergency legislation looks set to pass through the upper house on Thursday afternoon.

Clive Palmer has likened WA draft laws aimed at thwarting his claim to legislation at the centre of Australian cult classic The Castle.

"Why does the act purport to take from me and every citizen their rights of natural justice, and take away West Australians' right to have proper legal process in our own country Australia?", the mining billionaire said in a two-page written statement released on social media.

"The act is more akin to the laws of China than Australia.
The survey has revealed, whom Ukrainians would support in the election run-off.

Incumbent President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has twice as many supporters as his predecessor, Petro Poroshenko, that's per a sociological survey conducted jointly by Socis Center and Razumkov Center.

Respondents were asked: "If the presidential election were held in Ukraine next Sunday, who would you vote for?" Razumkov Center reports.

The poll's results showed 25.6% would back Zelensky, while 13.7% would support Poroshenko.

Pro-Russian Opposition Platform-For Life's Yuriy Boyko would gain 12% of the vote, former PM and long-time opposition figure Yulia Tymoshenko would come fourth with 8.8%, and ex-security chief Ihor Smeshko would get 7.0%.

Read alsoOver half of Ukrainians consider themselves Europeans  poll

All other candidates stood below 3%.

Controversial blogger Anatolii Sharij and former Radical Party leader Oleh Liashko would get 2.9% each, while National Corpse chief Andriy Biletsky would gain 1%.

Some 10% of those surveyed said they would vote for another candidate, someone who was not listed in the survey.

The poll showed that if the elections went into a second leg with Zelensky and Poroshenko competing as it was last time, 44.3% of the respondents would support the incumbent head of state, while 20.4 would vote for Poroshenko.

At the same time, 25% of those polled said they would not go to polls, and another 10.3% refused to answer or had no answer to questions put forward.

Among those who had made up their choice and would definitely vote in the second round, 68.4% would vote for Zelensky, and 31.6%  for Poroshenko.

Read alsoOver half of Ukrainians do not trust official COVID-19 statistics  poll

Sociologists interviewed 4,000 respondents over the age of 18 door-to-door.

The results represent Ukraine's population with the exception of the temporarily occupied Crimea and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Calling Macau: the Difficult Times in what was Once Gambling's Most Fertile Region Continue

Published August 13, 2020 by Lee R

In Macau, another month of almost total drop-off year-on-year extends a forlorn string.

The most difficult Covid industry effect would have to be in the Macau industry, where the damage is almost complete, and hopefully not permanent.

The Drop

The numbers continue to tell the sad story in Macau, with the Special Administrative Region's (SAR) Gaming Inspection and Coordination Department reporting a revenue drop for July that is 3.5% down year-on-year.

Logistical Interference

The hit is absorbed in the gambling hub not just through direct shutdowns within the jurisdiction of one of the lowest reporting countries in the world, but because of secondary blows to China's economy and key sectors which would traditionally feed Macau's revenues logistically.

The environmental impacts include travel restrictions against crossing over from mainland China; visa restrictions against foreign tourist entry; less demand from the key junkets transporting groups of high rollers in and out of the island; and the trade war between China and the USA.

Revenues

As for more numbers in the month of July, Macau's gambling industry generated $3.04 billion in local currency value, which barely beat the previous month's total of $2.95 billion in local currency value, in a time in which a recovery is ardently needed.

GGR Tells the Tale

While the intake in the billions might sound substantial at face value, it belies the greater truth that translates to gross gaming revenue for July of $168 million, representing a staggering (yes you are reading right) 94.5% drop from 2019. Sequentially speaking, the loss is right in line with June's 97% drop and May's plummet.

Nothing to Celebrate

Hopes for recovery in time for a 20th anniversary celebration of Portugal's handing over the SAR on December 20, 1999 were re-ignited in July, when Guangdong province lifted quarantine requirements for Macau arrivals, but that comes off as but a drop in the ocean.

Policy Developments

That's because the only tangible benchmark visible is the targeting of August 12th for the reopening of borders to non-tourist visas, and the ones coming over the border to gamble require tourist visas.

Outlook

Only the full realisation of the most advanced stage of removal of visa restrictions can give Macau any realistic change of recovering in time for its independence anniversaryand in time to resuscitate the gambling industry.
Last year while most people were still processing the ramifications of the revocation of special status to Jammu and Kashmir, hundreds of masked youth swarmed the streets in Anchar, a small neighbourhood in downtown Srinagar, waving Islamic flags and hurling stones on security forces

The rioters laid a siege of the area triggering anxieties that Kashmir was going to erupt with massive street violence once again as it had in 2016 when Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter with security forces.

A year later, official data accessed exclusively by IANS reveals that the sharp edges of the stones have not only been blunted in Anchar, the epicentre of Pakistan's war against India in 2019, but in the rest of the valley too.

Though stone-pelting incidents did not decline significantly after August 5, last year, when the state of Jammu & Kashmir was reorganized and converted into a union territory, but the sting of the stones has been taken out, as per an analysis of the data done in four ways.

With the country-wide lockdown imposed due to the Coronavirus pandemic this year, it was difficult to establish whether the nullification of Articles 370 and 35A caused a drop in the number of killings related to stone-pelting incidents. Therefore, IANS chose to compare civilian casualties during stone-pelting incidents of 2019 and 2016.

The comparison is valid because one, the government shut down communication lines in both the cases. Second, the change events -- the revocation of J&K's special status and the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani -- both happened around the same time in summer in their respective years. Separatist violence on the streets, generally goes down in Kashmir during winters.

The data reveals that civilian casualties due to stone-pelting incidents and the subsequent clashes with security forces in 2019, were 94 per cent less than the number in 2016. Similarly, the injured due to stone-pelting incidents were down by 70 per cent in 2019 compared to 2016. The significant drop is an indicator that all the preemptive measures taken to avoid loss of life last year were effective.

Second, a comparison of the period from January 2018 to July 2018 and the period from January 2019 to July 2019. The two periods are comparable because both are before the decision on reorganization of the state was taken and when neither communication blockade nor coronavirus related lockdown was in place. The data of the two periods once again reveals that the casualties had come down by 87.5 per cent.

Third, a comparison between the non-winter months (March to November) of 2018 and 2019. This set factors in for the argument that winters prevent rioters and stone-pelters from coming to the streets. As per the data, the killings in stone-pelting incidents during the nine month period last year came down by 62 per cent compared to the corresponding period in 2018.

The circumstances of the entire year of both 2018 and 2019 are not analogous after the August decision, but data reveals that the stone-pelting related killings dropped by 71 per cent last year from the previous year.

Fourth, a comparison of months from January to March of last year and this year, to factor in for the view that after March this year, the lockdown related to the pandemic suspended all activity. This year till March, when the communication lines had been restored to a large extent, no one was killed during the 50 odd stone-pelting incidents in the valley, as per the data. Last year as well, for the corresponding period, there were no killings during stone-pelting incidents. It also confirms that casualties are nil or low during peak winters.

Overall, the data shows that the stone-pelting phenomenon has not ended but its lethality has reduced drastically.

Until 2019, the approach to stone-pelting in Kashmir was merely counselling of occasional stone-pelters and their parents by police or detention of stone-pelters in local rehabilitation centers in Kashmir. However, in the last decade stone-pelting mobs grew bigger and assumed greater potential to cause fatalities in clashes.

"It created a vicious cycle of violence, with Pakistan-sponsored separatists using the death of rioters in the clashes with security forces to fuel more protests and more killings. We were on a back foot," an officer of the CPRF, Indian paramilitary said.

Anticipating that the Pakistan sponsored terror groups and separatists in Kashmir would mobilize cadres to perpetrate violence on the streets after J&K directly came under the control of New Delhi, the government took some major preemptive measures.

The J&K police arrested and send around 3,500 serial offenders among stone-pelters to various jails outside Jammu and Kashmir. A Kashmiri police officer who was involved in identifying stone-pelters during the violent crisis in 2016, said that the casualties of rioters due to clashes with security forces, dropped down enormously because the move acted as a "deterrent".

"Kashmiri people find it very hard to leave their comfort zone. For any native rioter or terrorist, its not a huge hassle if they are detained and jailed in Kashmir. Their parents visit them, bring them food and other essentials in jails and everyone is familiar and connected.

"But travelling to a different state, where they have few connections, cause immense discomfort to both the stone-pelters and their parents," a senior Kashmiri police officer in Srinagar said.

The only area which had come to represent the war front against India last year, Anchar also known as "Little Pakistan" was a challenge for two months as the rioters and stone-pelters had dug up roads, blocking its access.

"But that so-called siege also ended after we arrested the pro-Pakistan kingpin of the stone-pelters, Hayat Ahmad Bhat," a police officer in Soura said. The graffiti on the walls which hailed Al Qaida's provincial chief, Zakir Musa and the Islamic State, in the area last year, have been smudged.
By PTI

PORTLAND: Protesters and police clashed in downtown Portland in a demonstration that lasted into the predawn hours of Thursday, with some in the crowd setting a fire and exploding commercial grade fireworks outside a federal courthouse that's been a target in months of conflict for Oregon's largest city.

Officers used tear gas to break up the crowd of several hundred people who gathered near the Mark O Hatfield US Courthouse, the neighboring Multnomah County Justice Center and a nearby police precinct station.

Protests have been held nightly in the city since the police killing of George Floyd in May, who died after a white officer pressed a knee to his neck Protesters hurled rocks, bottles and paint at officers during the demonstration that started Wednesday night and went into Thursday morning, Portland police said in a statement.

Some demonstrators were detained, one officer suffered a hand wound described as serious and several other officers suffered non-specified injuries, the statement said, without providing further details.

The protests in Portland reached their apex last month outside the federal courthouse, with demonstrators clashing nightly with federal agents dispatched to the city to protect the courthouse.

The demonstrations dwindled after a drawdown of the agents, who were replaced by Oregon state troopers.

But protests that turned violent re-emerged over the last week, mostly near a police union headquarters building miles from the federal courthouse.
Medical workers protest against police violence at recent rallies (AFP or licensors)

A second protester dies in Belarus following Sundays disputed presidential election, as the countrys Catholic Bishops call for calm and for a fruitful dialogue based on truth.

By Devin Watkins

Deadly clashes continued into their fourth night across Belarus.

The unrest was set off on Sunday after President Alexander Lukashenko declared victory in the nation's presidential election.

Disputed death

On Wednesday night, a 25-year-old man died in the south-eastern city of Gomel.

Belarus Investigative Committee said he had been arrested on Sunday and sentenced to ten days in prison for taking part in protests.

Officials said he fell ill and was taken to hospital where he later died.

But the mans mother told Radio Free Europe that he was not taking part in any demonstrations but was on his way to see his girlfriend when he was arrested.

She added that her son had heart problems and that he had spent several hours in a police van.

Not the first

He is the second person to have died in the unrest in the last four days.

Reports suggest at least 200 protesters have been wounded in clashes with police.

The UN reports that at least 6,000 people have been detained since Sunday.

Appeal for truth and dialogue

Catholic Bishops in Belarus have called for calm and for an open dialogue between protesters and the government.

Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of Minsk appealed to all parties to cease acts of violence.

Do not let the force of violence prevail, he said, but rather the strength of argumentation, based on dialogue in trust and mutual love.

The Bishop of Vitebsk, Aleh Bukevich, added his voice to the fray.

There is only one way out of this situation, he said, seeking the truth! We must be certain and defend truth, not lies.

But, he added, truth cannot be found where there is violence.
Jimmy Trinh, owner of the Banh Mi Shop in the Delmar Loop, needed to get the bread right. The crisp, light baguette that crackles with each bite is as much a feature of the Vietnamese sandwiches his restaurant serves as pate, pork roll or pickles are. Banh mi means bread, after all.

I love the texture of banh mi, Trinh told me in a phone interview. I love the airiness of it. But I always hated it cutting the roof of my mouth.

Trinh hit upon an especially St. Louis solution. He lives next to the Hill, so with Peter Vitale of Vitales Bakery he developed what he calls an Italian-French-Vietnamese-fusion, easier-on-the-roof-of-your-mouth banh mi.

For the necessary crispness, Trinh toasts the baguette before assembling the sandwich. The banh mi retains its pleasant, palate-safe crunch even when picked up curbside and ferried home in a paper bag. Which makes it a good place to begin this new, still nascent column on takeout dining and St. Louis restaurants in the time of COVID-19.

The restaurant  The Banh Mi Shop opened in late February on the block of Melville Avenue in the Delmar Loop that has been the home of several small restaurants over the years. Its the first restaurant for Trinh, who has worked at the late Tani Sushi Bistro in Clayton and  if your downtown-dining memory goes back about a decade  Jade Restaurant & Lounge.

Trinh and his family came to the United States as refugees from Vietnam, and he grew up in California and Minnesota. In Minneapolis, his parents ran a small chain of Vietnamese restaurants. When they retired, they offered Trinh and each of his siblings a location.

We all said, No, take the money and run, he says. And then now Im in the restaurant business.

The takeout  The Banh Mi Shops menu is compact: banh mi, a few rice-noodle bowls and some spring rolls.

The Saigon Classic ($7.95) is the restaurants banh mi dac biet, a baguette slicked with aioli and layered with pork-liver pate, head cheese, pork roll and ham. Its a lot of oink, but the sandwich is light and snapping thanks to its generous garnishes of cilantro, jalapeno, cucumber and pickled daikon and carrot. A blend of Maggi Seasoning sauce and chile sauce adds a savory-spicy jolt.

Other banh mi options include grilled beef, grilled pork and chicken with lemon grass. Chicken sauteed with yellow curry and coconut milk delivers a moderate but persistent chile kick.

The menu reflects how Trinh ate banh mi with his family.

We ate it with curry, he says. We ate it with grilled beef, grilled steaks and stuff like that. Its just a good option to just throw it all together.

The banh mi, Trinh notes, is one of the first fusion foods because the French introduced (Vietnam) to the baguette. We kind of just ran away with it.

Bologna  The Banh Mi Shop must be the result of a lifelong passion for banh mi?

Not exactly.

Honestly, as a kid, I wasnt a huge fan, he says. Because I was like, Man, growing up in America, I want a bologna sandwich.

The turning point came after Trinh graduated from high school. His mother suggested he visit Vietnam for a few weeks to meet extended family.

I ended up staying for three months, he says. And I pretty much ate every street food there was, but I kept going back to the banh mi.

Trinh couldnt get over the banh mis simplicity.

Like, oh my god, its so simple, he says, but its right in front of my eyes the entire time, and I just didnt realize to love it as much as I did (until) I was sitting in the streets of Vietnam in Saigon and having dust from the mopeds kick me in the face and eating a banh mi.

That (moment) was like, Oh my god, this is way better than a bologna sandwich. But, you know, a bologna sandwich and banh mi? Not that far off.

Indeed, in her cookbook The Banh Mi Handbook, Andrea Nguyen describes gio lua (often called pork roll in the U.S.) as the Viet equivalent of bologna (mortadella).

The inevitable part about the coronavirus pandemic  The Banh Mi Shops logo is a short, red plastic stool of the sort Trinh might have squatted on as Saigon mopeds spat dust at him and his banh mi.

On the Banh Mi Shops website you can see a photograph of actual red stools both inside and outside its storefront. In March, only a month after opening, the restaurant closed its dining room and even now, as the pandemic restrictions have loosened somewhat, it continues to operate as takeout, curbside pickup and delivery only.

As for business during the pandemic, Trinh says, one week, its great, the next week, its like, Holy (crap), I think we just rang 50 bucks for the entire week.

The takeaway  Trinh says: When you speak of Vietnamese food, everybodys like, Phos great, phos great, phos great. For us Vietnamese people, (its) like, oh, yeah, phos great, but oh my god, theres so much more. Theres so much more.

Where The Banh Mi Shop, 567 Melville Avenue, University City  More info 314-390-2836; thebanhmishopstl.com  Menu Banh mi and a few other Vietnamese dishes  Current services Curbside pickup, takeout and delivery  Hours 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday (closed Monday); contact the restaurant for thelatest hours, services and other information, which may vary during pandemic

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Details added: first version posted on 15:14 on August 12

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 13

Trend:

Armenia has recently announced its new National Security Strategy to the public, Assistant to Azerbaijans President - Head of the Foreign Affairs Policy Department of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan Hikmat Hajiyev said, Trend reports.

"In the notes written as a preface to the strategy, Armenias Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan broadly refers to the history of Armenia, touches upon the Armenian highlands, Hayk, King Artashes, Arshakids, the Kingdom of Van as well as to 'genocide' and other similar historical moments of a mythical nature, which is not entirely compatible with such documents in terms of format," Hajiyev said.

"Generally, the National Security Strategy of Armenia is like a fake history textbook. Typically, such documents do not make so many references to the history. It is felt that Armenia still remains a hostage of the past, and its inferiority complex has manifested itself in this document too," he noted.

"While more consider the strategy, it promptly becomes obvious that it advocates jingoistic, xenophobic and racist values. Messages are about the greatness of the Armenian people and their superiority over other peoples and promote intolerance towards neighboring nations," the assistant to president said.

"The prime minister of Armenia, by making citation from a poem by Vahan Teryan, welcomes the destruction of the great Babylonian civilization. Actually, the whole essence of the strategy is summarized in the citation: 'Babylon was our enemy, but where is it now? It's covered with deserts.' There is no difference between this thinking and the outlook of terrorists destroying ancient historical sites in the Middle East. Seeing all this, it becomes clear how the Nazi Garegin Nzhdehs jingoistic 'Tseghakronism' ideology appeared, and why such ideologies are so widespread in Armenia," Hajiyev pointed out.

Perhaps, in no country except Armenia, the national security strategy contains verses," he noted.

"The document also touches upon the 'Velvet Revolution' and emphasizes that it sets new standards. In fact, such a reference in the National Security Strategy does not correspond to the document's format and is illogical. Since such documents should not propagate any political force, they shall describe the concept of the general and long-term security of the state," he added. "It means, the concept should be a document that meets the interests of the state, not the authorities. It turns out that this strategy will automatically become invalid when tomorrow the forces opposing Pashinyan and the 'Velvet Revolution' come to power in Armenia. It seems that this is the National Security Strategy not of the Armenian government, but of the government of Pashinyan who came to power as a result of the 'revolution' with the support of Soros and his associates who received money from the Soros Foundation."

"The document contains numerous references to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, accusations against the Azerbaijani side and claims that there is an Armenophobia in Azerbaijan. Furthermore, the document contains references to the illegal regime created by Armenia in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan," the assistant to president said. "In this regard, I want to stress that the facts and arguments about the conflict in the strategy are also falsified. Armenia occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts of Azerbaijan. It is Armenia that has committed genocide against Azerbaijanis, carried out ethnic cleansing and war crimes."

"Despite the requirements of four UN Security Council resolutions, Armenia has not yet withdrawn its armed forces from the occupied territories. Armenia carries out illegal activities in the occupied territories, including the policy of illegal settlement. Armenia is trying to destroy the traces of Azerbaijan in the occupied territories," Hajiyev pointed out. "Armenia, grossly violating the ceasefire regime on the line of contact and the state border, commits provocations, deliberately fires at civilians and civilian objects of Azerbaijan. Armenia is not interested in negotiations, trying to artificially prolong the status quo and consolidate the occupation."

"As for the fabrications about the 2016 April battles, I want to note that then the Armenian armed forces resorted to yet another provocation against Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan had to take retaliatory measures to protect its population," he said. "During the latest provocation committed by Armenia in the direction of the Tovuz district of the state border, the civilian population and civilian objects were once again targeted."

"The document many times refers to the principle of self-determination of peoples, noting that the right of the so-called institution for self-determination must be recognized unconditionally," Hajiyev said.

"Armenia is trying to disguise the fact of occupation by the principle of self-determination. In no case should this principle be applied to the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. This is occupation, not self-determination. The conflict must be resolved within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and there is no alternative to this," he pointed out. "As President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev noted, the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan has never been and will not be a subject of negotiations. Azerbaijan will not allow the creation of a second Armenian state on its territory."

"This document on strategy, requiring unconditional and unlimited recognition of the right of the so-called 'structure' for self-determination and recognizing this illegal regime as a 'free country', is itself another blow of Armenia on the negotiation process within the OSCE Minsk Group," he said. "I believe that the co-chairs and the international community as a whole should respond to this document."

According to the assistant to president, in general, giving comments on the territory of another state in a document relating to Armenia itself is a vivid example of the occupation policy.

"The document reads that Armenia is allegedly committed to the negotiations within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group," Hajiyev said. "However, such statements as 'Karabakh is Armenia, thats all!' made by the prime minister of this country, and 'A new war for new lands' conception proposed by the defense minister, attempts to involve the so-called regime in the negotiations as a party, and provocative judgments on the conflict in the strategy prove that Armenia deliberately disrupts the negotiation process and intends to continue the occupation."

"The document emphasizes that the so-called 'state' [illegal regime in the occupied territories] must have proper lines of defense capable of ensuring its security, as well as safe and diversified communication with the outside world, including Armenia. Thus, hints are made at Lachin district and other occupied districts adjacent to the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. This shows once again that Armenia does not intend to return the occupied Azerbaijani lands," he said.

As Hajiyev also noted, the document reads many times that Armenia is the guarantor of the security of the so-called 'state', which is an open recognition of the occupation.

"Furthermore, its claimed that Azerbaijan's attempt to resolve the conflict by military means poses a threat to the physical existence of the population of the so-called 'state'. In fact, the occupation policy of Armenia put an end to the physical presence of the Azerbaijani civilian population in their native lands. Armenia pursued a policy of ethnic cleansing, having expelled about a million refugees and internally displaced persons from their homes," he stressed.

"The document says that the purpose of the negotiation process is 'to preserve the results of the war.' This clearly shows that Armenia intends to continue the occupation of Azerbaijani territories and is not interested in negotiations designed to serve a sustainable peace. When considering the document, it becomes clear again that the latest provocation committed by Armenia in the direction of Tovuz district on the state border was purposeful," Hajiyev pointed out.

"Azerbaijanophobia in Armenia is clearly seen in the strategy. Hatred towards Azerbaijanis is openly incited in this country," the assistant to president said. "The strategy speaks of the mass murders of Armenians allegedly committed by Azerbaijan. In the document Ganja is called Gandzak. These statements of the country, which committed genocide and atrocities against Azerbaijanis, destroyed the heritage of Azerbaijan in Armenia and the occupied territories and changed its place names are a hypocrisy indeed."

"The document states that there is no place for violence and xenophobia in Armenian society, but in fact, Armenia forcibly expelled more than one million Azerbaijanis from its territory, as well as from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan," Hajiyev noted. "Armenia is a country, which destroys mosques, historical monuments and graves. Xenophobia has reached such a level that the architectural features and the very essence of the Blue Mosque in Yerevan and the Yukhari ["Upper"] Govhar Agha Mosque in Shusha are changed. [Armenia] calls them Iranian monuments. The grave of the great Azerbaijani poet Ashig Alasgar was destroyed in Armenia," said Hajiyev.

He reminded that back in 2003, the then former Armenian president said in the center of Europe that "Armenians and Azerbaijanis are ethnically incompatible."

"The document says that the Armenians became victims of the first "genocide" of the 20th century, and that Armenia pays special attention to the topic of preventing genocide at the international level, which is yet another lie. Armenia itself at the end of the 20th century committed genocide against Azerbaijanis in Khojaly," he emphasized.

"The strategy has also reflected statements against Turkey, references to the so-called "genocide". The reason for this is Turkey's call to Armenia to liberate the occupied territories of Azerbaijan on the basis of international law and historical justice," Hajiyev noted. "On the wave of mythical history, Armenia again demonstrates that it cannot live in peace with its neighbors, and therefore, the future development of Armenia as a state is impossible."

"The document reads that Armenia is concerned about the regression in the spheres of democracy and human rights in the region, simultaneously adding that a lag in the field of democracy and human rights in Azerbaijan and Turkey is observed and that negatively affects the fulfillment of international obligations by these countries," the assistant to president said. "This is another indicator of racism and jingoism. I think that Armenia, which occupied the territory of another state and carried out ethnic cleansing, is the last country that has the right to speak about human rights."

"Armenia, falsely and shamelessly positioning itself as a herald of democracy and a defender of human rights, must focus on solving its internal widespread human rights problems rather than worry about us," he noted.

"In general, Armenia's talking about democracy and human rights is ridiculous. This country was governed by a military junta for almost 20 years; high-rank government officials have been shot in the parliament, and the current prime minister is threatening to 'put on the asphalt' his political rivals and is doing so," Hajiyev added. "Politicians and journalists in Armenia are persecuted for their political views. Journalist Mher Yeghiazaryan died in prison after a hunger strike."

"The document contains references to threats in the region. I want to stress that the biggest threat in the region is exactly Armenia itself as well as its occupation policy. The greatest threat to Armenia's national security is posed by the policies of Armenia and Pashinyans government," he said.

"The document reads that Azerbaijan and Turkey keep Armenia in an economic blockade and have isolated it from regional projects. This is blatant arrogance," he noted. "Such accusations of Armenia in terms of the occupation of the internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan are beyond the pale".

"The document points out that Armenia's foreign policy view is based on international, inter-ethnic and inter-civilization dialogue. The fact that Armenia puts forward with such a thesis is just ridiculous. It doesn't reflect the reality," Hajiyev said. "As I mentioned above, Armenia is a state that carried out ethnic cleansing on its territory and in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, destroyed and appropriated the cultural and historical monuments of the Azerbaijani people."

"The foreign policy of such a state cannot be based on dialogue between peoples and civilizations. Armenia became the only country to boycott the 7th Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations in Azerbaijan in 2016. This shows once again that the values promoted by Armenia completely contradict the values of the UN Alliance of Civilizations," he added.

"The strategy speaks about the development of relations between Armenia and the countries of the Middle East. Armenia is a state that occupied the territory of the country of the Islamic world and is destroying its Islamic heritage. What kind of cooperation between such a state and Muslim countries can we talk about? I believe that the countries of the Middle East should take this fact into account," the assistant to president said.

"The document reads that Armenia will work towards ensuring that the members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) fulfill their allied obligations to each other, as well as towards increasing the effectiveness of the organization, as if Armenia owns this organization and will teach a lesson to its other members," Hajiyev further noted. "Armenia arrested the ex-CSTO secretary general without consulting any of its members, and now intends to teach a lesson to other members of the organization. Armenia, which has long boycotted the appointment of a new CSTO secretary general, has itself dealt a severe blow to the effectiveness of the organization. As the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev noted, Soros' followers cannot be the allies of the CSTO."

"According to the document, Armenia promotes freedom of speech and pluralism, and opposes terrorism and extremism. However, this is an absolute lie. Recently, in Los Angeles, Brussels and other cities of the world, the Armenians barbarously attacked and injured Azerbaijanis," he said. "This is precisely the result of the extremist policy of Armenia. The Armenian diaspora also promotes an ideology based on unreasonable, mythical Armenian exclusivity. As a result, the diaspora creates additional obstacles in the way of the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict with its destructive activities."

"As for the document points about 'pan-Armenianism', I want to note that in fact this means interference in the internal affairs of other countries because Armenia sets directions and priorities for the Armenians living there," he commented. "The strategy says that conditions will be created for the repatriation of Armenians to Armenia. Thus, Armenia intends to acquire additional human resources to pursue a policy of illegal settlement of the occupied territories of Azerbaijan."

"The document overtly acknowledges the existence of a demographic crisis, poverty, social inequality and social polarization in Armenia, and also indicates that the growing emigration is one of the main problems," Hajiyev noted. "At the same time, a number of statements in connection with the economic development of Armenia are made. However, we must not forget that until Armenia liberates the Azerbaijani lands, it will not participate in regional economic projects and will remain in economic isolation."

"In the conditions of an unresolved conflict, it makes no sense to talk about any prospects for the economic development of Armenia, as well as the elimination of emigration, poverty, unemployment and social inequality," he added. "Stabilizing the size of the population and achieving demographic growth is set as the goal of the Armenian state. However, if Armenia continues its occupation policy, it will not be able to achieve these goals and the situation will only worsen, because people have no confidence in the future of Armenia, and many Armenians, fearing confrontation with Azerbaijan, leave the country."

"As the document notes, in the development of Armenia as a center of high technologies, special attention will be paid to the role of the system of science and education. However, how is it possible to achieve this goal amid a massive outflow of educated people from the country, which is recognized in the strategy itself?!" Hajiyev questioned.

"According to the document, the solution of internal problems through violence between Armenians is unacceptable and instead, they must be settled via free courts, but in fact, political pressure on the already non-free courts is increasing," he noted. "The Constitutional Court, which does not want to follow the instructions of the prime minister, is under pressure, and the judges are replaced."

"The documents section about the environment, logically should have considered the issue of the Metsamor NPP, but, what is interesting, it doesnt mention it at all. In the meantime, this nuclear power plant, located in an active seismic zone and having exhausted its service life, first of all, poses a great danger for Armenia itself," he pointed out.

"In general, the analysis of the document shows that Armenia focuses on baseless accusations against Azerbaijan and Turkey rather than such issues as economic development, education and science. This characterizes the views of the Armenian government for the future. The main goal is to keep the Armenian people hostage to the conflict," concluded Hajiyev.
K amala Harris accused President Donald Trump of leaving the United States in tatters in her first appearance with Democrat White House hopeful Joe Biden since being unveiled as his running mate.

Making history as the first black woman and the first person of Indian descent to join a major US partys presidential ticket, the California senator went straight on the attack against President Trump after joining Mr Biden on the campaign trail.

He inherited the longest economic expansion in history from Barack Obama and Joe Biden and then, like everything else he inherited, he ran it straight into the ground, she said.

This is what happens when we elect a guy who just isnt up for the job. Our country ends in tatters and so does our reputation around the world.

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden and his running mate Sen. Kamala Harris / AFP via Getty Images

She added: Everything we care about  our economy, our health, our kids, the kind of country we live in  its all on the line.

"We have a president who cares more about himself than the people who elected him, a president who is making every challenge we face even more difficult to solve. I am ready to get to work.

Ms Harris, the 55-year-old daughter of an Indian mother and a Jamaican father, said Mr Biden, 77, takes his place in the ongoing story of Americas march toward equality and justice as the only person who served alongside the first black president, and has chosen the first black woman as his running mate.

As they shared the podium for the first time in Wilmington, Delaware, Mr Biden said his choice sent a powerful message to young girls.

This morning, all across the nation, little girls woke up  especially little black and brown girls, who so often feel overlooked and undervalued  today, just maybe, theyre seeing themselves for the first time in a new way. As the stuff of presidents and vice presidents, he said.

The choice of VP has energised the presidential campaign and a Reuters/Ipsos poll last night claimed nearly nine out of 10 Democrats approved of Mr Bidens decision.
Key indices traded with small losses in afternoon trade. The Nifty hovered around the crucial 11,300 mark. Indices witnessed volatility on account of weekly index options expiry.

At 13:22 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 71.23 points or 0.19% at 38,298.88. The Nifty 50 index was down 11.6 points or 0.1% at 11,296.60.

The broader market outperformed the benchmarks. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 1.3% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.76%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1454 shares rose and 1114 shares fell. A total of 148 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 351.15 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 939.67 crore in the Indian equity market on 12 August 2020, provisional data showed.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 20,634,064 with 749,424 deaths. India reported 6,53,622 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 47,033 deaths while 16,95,982 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Earnings Today:

Among Nifty companies, Hero MotoCorp (down 0.05%), GAIL (India) (up 0.66%), BPCL (up 0.05%), Grasim (up 0.34%), Eicher Motors (down 1.42%) and Tata Steel (down 0.94%) will announce their quarterly earnings today.

APL Apollo (up 1.38%), Balkrishna Industries (up 0.19%), City Union Bank (down 0.47%), DCM Shriram (down 0.38%), Engineers India (up 0.76%), Godrej Industries (down 0.7%), Kaveri Seed (up 1.29%), Praj Industries (up 2.32%), Prestige Estates (up 0.02%), Shankara Building Products (up 0.18%), Shriram Transport Finance (up 3%) and Trent (up 2.5%) are some of the other companies that will announce their quarterly earnings today.

Earnings Impact:

Aurobindo Pharma fell 5.54%. The pharma company's consolidated net profit jumped 22.8% to Rs 780.68 crore on 8.9% increase in net sales to Rs 5835.23 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. EBITDA margin marginally improved to 21.2% in Q1 June 2020 from 21.1% from Q1 June 2019. US formulation revenue stood at Rs 3,107.1 crore in Q1 June 2020, registering a growth of 15.6% from Rs 2,688.4 crore in Q1 June 2019. Europe formulation revenue came at Rs 1,322.2 crore, a decline of 5% against Q1 last year. Aurobindo's Growth Markets revenue declined by 7.6% year on year to Rs 289.6 crore. Aurobindo's research & development (R&D) spend at stood at Rs 254.5 crore in Q1 June 2020 which 4.3% of revenues. The company received final approval for 10 ANDAs from USFDA in quarter ending June 2020.

Ashok Leyland jumped 11.77%. The commercial vehicle manufacturer posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 389 crore in Q1 June 2020 compared with net profit of Rs 275 crore reported in Q1 June 2019. Consolidated income from operations for quarter ending June 2020 stood at Rs 1480 crore, tumbling 77% from Rs 6514.73 crore in the same period last year. The commercial vehicle manufacturer said that a drop in revenue was due to the lock down on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. With virtually no operations or revenues in the first part of this quarter owing to the lock down, the demand is seen to be gradually opening up as the lock down is being eased.

Tata Power surged 8.59% after consolidated net profit jumped 10.3% to Rs 268.10 crore on 16.9% fall in net sales to Rs 6,452.99 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. Revenues dropped mainly due to lower power demand, delay in solar EPC businesses on account of COVID-19 and lower coal FOB prices. However, the company maintained stable performance despite lower profits from solar EPC businesses mainly on account of lower financing cost and stable performance across clusters. The company reported a strong cash generation due to strong collection and tighter control over working capital. The Q1 FY21 consolidated EBITDA stood at Rs 2,037 crore including renewable EBITDA of Rs 588 crore as compared to Rs 663 crore in Q1 FY20 mainly due to delay in the solar EPC projects due to COVID-19. During the quarter, Tata Power won new renewables bids totalling 220 MW (megawatt). The company's solar EPC order book stands at Rs 8,700 crore.

Aster DM Healthcare slipped 3.88% after consolidated net loss of Rs 88.59 crore in Q1 June 2020 compared with net profit of Rs 10.05 crore in Q1 June 2019. Net sales skid 13.2% to Rs 1,760.63 crore in Q1 June 2020 as against Rs 2,028.59 crore in Q1 June 2019. EBITDA margin stood at 8.1% in Q1 FY21 as compared to 11% in Q1 FY20.

Kalpataru Power Transmission declined 1.76% to Rs 245.70 after the company posted a 55% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 45 crore in Q1 June 2020 as compared to Rs 100 crore in Q1 June 2019. Consolidated net sales for Q1 June 2020 stood at Rs 2330 crore, falling nearly 16% from Rs 2771 crore in Q1 June 2019. The company said revenue and profitability growth impacted by lockdown and restrictions. EBITDA margin declined by 140 basis points to 11.5% in Q1 June 2020 from 12.9% in Q1 June 2019. The company's order book as of 30 June 2020 stood at Rs 24,934 crore out of which 73% is domestic order while 27% is international order.

NCC fell 0.80% to Rs 30.90. The construction company's consolidated net profit slumped 76.5% to Rs 17.01 crore on 44.7% decline in net sales to Rs 1,297.60 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. In the first quarter of 2020-21, the company has secured orders aggregating to Rs 2592 crore and the order book stood at Rs 27916 crore as at the end of the first quarter.

Global Markets:

European markets opened lower while Asian markets were trading higher on Thursday. The media reported that China's banks are expected to dispose of 3.4 trillion yuan ($489.9 billion) of bad loans this year, in a bid to contain financial risks amid a weakened economy.

The US stock market finished higher on Wednesday, 12 August 2020, as investors chased for riskier assets amid stronger-than-expected economic data and some signs of a slowdown in the spread of the coronavirus pandemic cases in the US and optimism over efforts to produce a vaccine.

Markets appeared to have little reaction to presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's pick of California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate, the first Black American woman and the first person of Indian decent to appear on the ticket of a major national party.

Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the White House and top Democrats in Congress may not be able to reach a deal on coronavirus aid, marking a fifth day without talks, as the stalemate blocked relief to tens of millions of Americans.

US consumer prices climbed by 0.6% in July, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Wednesday. The stronger than expected consumer price growth was partly due to a continued spike in energy prices. However, the jump in energy prices was partly offset by a pullback in food prices.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President Donald Trumps reelection campaign is ramping up efforts to hold Michigan, undeterred by signs that voters in the crucial swing state may be slipping toward Joe Biden.

Trumps narrow victory in 2016 shocked Democrats who expected Michigan to follow a nearly 30-year trend of supporting their presidential candidates. But the margin of Trumps win was small -- only 0.3% separated him from Hillary Clinton -- and Republican organizers foresaw a need to dispatch an unprecedented show of force to keep Michigan red in 2020.

Christopher Velazco, state director for the Trump campaign, said Michigan has never experienced a political presence of this size and scope. With less than three months until the Nov. 3 election, the Trump campaign is knocking on doors, holding in-person training events and registering voters to cast mail-in ballots in anticipation of a close result.

We have continuously and methodically been building the largest, most aggressive operation the state has ever seen, Velazco said.

Knock-down, drag-out

Democrats are not holding in-person events or knocking on doors in response to the coronavirus. Instead, Bidens campaign scheduled a series of online meetings focused on his plan to spur investment in the auto industry and in rural communities, and to improve community policing.

GOP organizers have registered twice as many voters compared to 2016 through a combined effort of the Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign. More than 1,500 staffers are on the ground -- also more than the campaign had on Election Day 2016 -- and another 41,000 volunteers attended training sessions.

The Trump campaign contacted 4.5 million voters by the first week of August, which accounts for more than half of all registered voters in Michigan. Republican organizers made more phone calls in the three months after COVID-19 outbreaks forced a pivot to online events than they did throughout the entire 2016 election cycle.

Its also opening new field offices across Michigan. The campaign christened one in Marquette last weekend as part of a push to win the only Upper Penninsula county that voted blue in 2016, and another was set to open in Grand Traverse County this week.

The campaign is boosting on-the-ground efforts with a robust advertising plan, reserving $15 million in television ads before Nov. 3 and spending $1 million on Facebook since May.

Meanwhile, polls show Trump is trailing presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden by a wider margin than he did against Hillary Clinton in August 2016. A statewide poll taken by Lansing-based EPIC-MRA found seven in 10 voters believe the country is headed in the wrong direction.

Organizers are getting the message out to more voters, but an ongoing pandemic undermines their main talking points. Before the coronavirus killed 6,250 Michigan residents and left more than 1 million workers unemployed, the campaign was poised to argue Trump built one of the strongest economies in American history.

David Dulio, director of the Center for Civic Engagement at Oakland University, said the top issues facing the country, from COVID-19 to civil unrest sparked by the death of George Floyd, dont work in Trumps favor. Voters across the political spectrum will hold Trump responsible for the economic recession, he said, which could make a significant impact on the decisions of nearly 275,900 voters who picked third-party candidates in 2016.

In times of a down economy, the opposite party tires to take advantage of that, Dulio said. Trump would much rather have the economic numbers he had in January and February to run for reelection. Its a tougher sell to say We were doing really well before the coronavirus. Give me another chance and Ill turn it around quicker than my opponent.

Trumps reelection campaign aims to hold onto Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, three swing states that were previously part of the Democratic blue wall before flipping by razor-thin margins. Campaign Manager Bill Stepien expressed quiet confidence inspired by internal data while disregarding polls in a recent call with reporters.

Stepien told reporters that Republicans dont need to win all three states to keep Trump in the White House. Still, organizers in Michigan said its laughable to suggest the campaign would give up in Michigan.

This will be a knockdown, drag-out fight to the very end, Stepien said.

Organizers have been in this position before: It didnt look like Trump would win Michigan in 2016 either. Polls projected a close loss, but the RNC had data suggesting Trump could squeak out a win by 7,000 votes.

The campaign blitzed Michigan in the last days of the election, capped off with a rally in Grand Rapids that ended hours before polls opened. The result was extremely close, but in line with what the RNC expected: Trump won Michigan by 10,704 votes.

Trump himself often recounts the story of how he proved pundits, pollsters and the news media wrong during his stops in Michigan.

Michael Joyce, a spokesperson for the RNC, said Michigan is a must-win state not only for its 16 electoral votes but because of its symbolic value.

The campaign views its upsets in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania as a generation-defining rewrite of the national political playbook. RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel is also a native of Metro Detroit.

Im not going to just sit here and say its all about turnout and the only polls that matter are the polls on Election Day, Joyce said. Im going to say campaigns matter. At the end of the day, you can have the winning message, but if youre not running an effective campaign, none of it will matter.

Mixed opinions in Trump country

Even in deeply-red central Michigan, Trump organizers encounter voters who arent sure the country is headed in the right direction. MLive spent a day with the Trump campaign in Midland County, observing how the campaign is meeting voters at their doorstep during a pandemic.

Trump won Midland County by a 19-point margin in 2016, the widest lead secured by a Republican candidate since 1988. That year was also the last time Michigan voted for a Republican president.

Field organizer Chloe Waszak, armed with a mask and a list of addresses, ventured into a series of cul-de-sacs on a cool August afternoon. Waszak said knocking on doors makes some voters uncomfortable, but others are glad to see the campaign is on the ground.

You have people who answer the door and are like Yes, my sister patriot, lets get him reelected in 2020, and you have people on the opposing side who (say) please get off my porch, I dont want to talk about this, Waszak said.

GOP field organizers are required to wear masks and keep a distance from residents while they canvas neighborhoods. Waszak said theyre not out to pick a fight with anyone who doesnt want unsolicited strangers appearing during the pandemic.

Youre never going to sit there and argue with somebody at the door or try to prove a point because ultimately, its their property. Its their house, Waszak said. If they feel that way, I just make sure to tell them Were following COVID guidelines, but I respect how you feel and I hope you have a great day.

Waszak took a few steps back as a masked Amy Hofmeister emerged from her home. Hofmeister, 45, said shes undecided in the presidential election, but will support GOP Senate candidate John James and U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Midland.

Hofmeister said shes unlikely to vote for a Democrat because of her opposition to abortion, but is turned off by some of the things Trump has said during the last four years.

I would like to see somebody not be a hothead, Hofmeister said. Thats the only problem, where hes like blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Hofmeister voted absentee in Michigans August primary, citing concerns about exposing herself to COVID-19. She supports Gov. Gretchen Whitmers actions to stop the virus from spreading, but said the president has really come around and is taking the situation more seriously.

Trump railed against Whitmers stay-at-home orders with a barrage of insults on Twitter and interviews. Voters in Michigan largely favored her response to the pandemic compared to Trump, though the presidents supporters organized several raucous protests against half Whitmer.

A few blocks down the road, Carrie Burr said Trump is directly responsible for the countrys prolonged battle with COVID-19. Confirmed cases in the U.S. have steadily risen since March, reaching 50,000 to 60,000 new cases each day during the last few weeks.

I think if he would have come out in March and said Please listen to your governor, please wear a mask and know we are doing this as a shared sacrifice, we could be where Europe is, Burr said.

Dulio, the political science professor, said Trumps ability to win back Republican voters that he turned off during the last four years is one of the biggest keys to his reelection chances.

Joyce said organizers have encountered voters who dont like Trumps rhetoric, but trust the president to rebuild the economy if given a second term.

I think the common trend that we see with that type of voter who necessarily didnt come out and support Donald Trump in 2016, but might not have even supported Hillary Clinton is: I dont like the Presidents tweets, I dont like the stuff hes saying, but its clear to me that he got the economy moving before coronavirus, Joyce said.

Hofmeister said shes not worried about who can best guide economic recovery.

That will work itself out with either party, she said.

Julie Carey, 63, described herself as a strong supporter of the president and was able to fire off a list of his achievements, from rewriting trade deals to appointing conservative judges. Carey said Biden would bend to radical progressives in the Democratic Party and doesnt view him as a middle-of-the-road candidate who can appeal to moderate Republicans.

I wish Joe would get out more, talk more, Carey said. I dont have a lot of confidence in his ability to be on a platform for the U.S. I would love to see him debate Trump before absentee voting starts.

Carey was out of town during the August primary, so she dropped off an absentee ballot to her clerks office. But she plans to vote in person during the November election.

I just think the whole thing by mail is very questionable, Carey said. I think that the election results could drag on because of discrepancies.

Velazco, the Trump campaigns Michigan state director, said registering Republicans to vote by mail is a major part of their strategy. Meanwhile, Trump has cast serious doubts on the security of voting by mail, and supporters in West Michigan burned applications to request an absentee ballot.

Burr, 41, said shes not taking any chances with absentee voting.

I want to watch my vote counted, she said.

Burr described herself as fiscally conservative, but plans to vote for Biden. Her husband used to vote for Republicans, but broke with the party over Trump.

Im realizing Im never going to be a Trump Republican, so its one of those things where maybe we can realize Trump does not reflect Republican ideals, Burr said.

Burr said shes frustrated with how divided the country has become, but feels Biden can help find common ground among Americans. Biden wasnt her first choice, but said his experience with personal trauma might make him better equipped to lead the country through a deadly pandemic.

Im a very passionate person when it comes to the election, and I feel very strongly that everyone needs to vote, regardless of our opinions, Burr said. I would like to see a nice blue sweep, but it doesnt matter which side of the aisle youre on; we all want whats best for the country.

READ MORE ON MLIVE:

Joe Biden selects Kamala Harris as vice presidential running mate

Why Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wasnt chosen to be Bidens running mate in 2020 presidential election

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer set to speak at Democratic convention

Biden campaign claims lagging auto jobs puts Trump at disadvantage in Michigan

Michigan pro-Trump Republicans say Bidens police policies will push voters toward Trump
The growing work-from-home movement amid the coronavirus and its likely continuing challenges has created the need for additional broadband capacity in more places. Mobile telco and other service providers are rallying around 5G wireless as the most promising solution for reliably faster Internet connectivity.

But the path to rolling out 5G  which is a vague reference to the fifth-generation wireless network technology  has been rocky and spotty. It remains to be seen, at least in terms of consumers expectations, how electronics businesses in various sectors can decrease their risk, deliver new products on schedule, and build resiliency into their products. This all takes addressing collaboration challenges and supply chain considerations during the product design phase.

5G networks, now in their early deployment phases, promise to be five times more responsive than todays networks. Download speed of 20 gigabits-per-second means 5G will enable more specialized tasks at the workplace, according to Saheen C. Najeeb, Digital Marketing Analyst at Fingent, an enterprise software development company headquartered in White Plains, N.Y.

But like anything new in the electronics world, the innovative higher-speed technology is much more complex when it comes to security concerns, he warned.

As per a research study by Purdue University and the University of Iowa, 5G inherits many security policies and subprotocols from its predecessors, which are more error-prone and thus raise privacy and other security concerns, he told TechNewsWorld.

That 5G speed bump itself could be worth the heightened security risks to some businesses and consumers if it helps launch a high-speed wireless alternative to wired broadband. Industry reports suggest the pandemic may fast-forward 5G adoption in the U.S.

If it does speed up the deployment process, 5G can have a big impact on overcoming 5G supply chain challenges. Meanwhile, the full implications that 5G holds for WFH across the entire electronics value chain are mostly speculative, some industry watchers suggest.

5G and the FUD Factor

Every technology upgrade comes with two sides. 5G is no different. Developers sing the praises of the better benefits, speed, and flexibility 5G will bring to business and everyday users. Politicians and broadband proponents paint a darker picture. Some opponents to the technology are painting with broad strokes a picture based on fear, uncertainty, and doubt.

Those just switching to remote working are indeed in for some research as they look to improve their home Internet connections, according to Jase Rodley, founder/CEO of Dialed Labs, a marketing firm in Casper, Wyo.

The problem with the long-promised and long-awaited 5G, and something that will likely stop it flying off the shelves into the houses of people who need it, is the fact that many politicians and officials have sparked rumors and debates about its safety, he told TechNewsWorld.

As a result, more people now are turning to unconfirmed news websites claiming that China will use it to hack into our lives and learn all of our secrets. This could seriously impede just how quickly 5G is taken on by the general public, he suggested.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Other naysayers take issue with some of 5Gs aesthetic and personal challenges. For instance, 5G will enhance location tracking and personal data collection, Fingents Najeeb explained.

Since 5G signals are short-range, it requires more cell towers covering a much smaller area. It means they know your exact location, which is a piece of sensitive information, he said. To be clear, however, Najeeb was not stating his personal opposition to 5G.

What 5G Does

The 5G network offers several key points to improve performance over earlier network technologies to help accelerate business capabilities, according to Najeeb. They are:

To connect more devices faster than is done now

Reduce the lag time between devices

Enable the bulk volume of data transmission from a large number of devices with better responsiveness

Provide higher bandwidth and lower latency

Make working from home more feasible by providing a higher-speed broadband Internet, video conferencing, and other technologies

Having ubiquitous Internet connectivity is great for resiliency and provides functionality that was not available even a few years ago, noted Drew Schmitt, senior consultant at Crypsis Group Crypsis Group, an incident response, risk management, and digital forensics firm with headquarters in McLean, Va.

But enterprise deployments should introduce security evaluations and feedback loops into product development, as well as go-to-market strategies. That will add protection against threat actors who evolve tactics against new opportunities, he suggested.

4Gs Needed Retirement

It is a non-disputed fact that the national broadband infrastructure is critical to keeping businesses running and remote workforces connected during the lockdown and the continuing WFH mandates of the lingering pandemic, according to Jamie Jefferies, Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) vice president at Ciena. His firm provides communications networking equipment, software, and services that power 85 percent of the worlds top 20 service providers.

This infrastructure must continue to evolve if our economy is going to bounce back, he told TechNewsWorld. With more and more businesses using distributed workforces located outside of city centers and central office locations strategies, the acceleration of 5G and fiber rollout must come from a nationwide strategy that benefits all areas.

In order to expand 5Gs rollout, service providers and the government will need to quickly facilitate new arrangements for digging more fiber into the ground, building radio towers, and developing networks that can intelligently shift Internet capacity to support demand in new locations, Jefferies added.

This will pave the way for growth and innovation across the nation, he said of the growing need for a 5G upgrade.

Mobile Needs Push Beyond Fixed Broadband

When 4G was developed, wireless systems were defined by essentially three major vendors. The standards were not open, and connections were established with fixed cabling. Cellular operators sourced equipment from these major vendors, and 4G became a reality, explained Dr. Lauro Rizzatti, consultant at Rizzatti, an electronic design automation (EDA) marketing and public relations firm in the Pacific Northwest.

With the rise of applications such as connected vehicles  think cars, planes, trains, construction equipment farm tractors and so forth  and all the other connected devices that comprise IoT, the data volume for cellular networks has exploded. That spawns the need for 5G and, as everyone knows, 5G networks are being brought up by many carriers in all parts of the world right now, he told TechNewsWorld.

But there is an important twist in the way the new wireless network is being implemented. This time, cellular operators took control and defined open standards. This allows new companies to build hardware and software required for 5G networks, Rizzatti explained.

5G technology is more challenging to implement than 4G. For example, signal transmission requires an array of up to 64 X 64 multiple-input/multiple-output (MiMo) antennas that can support the beamforming required for 5G signals.

While WFH creates the need for more broadband capacity in more places, fast-forwarding 5G adoption will only happen if the chips powering 5G are fully tested, and verification, a huge and potentially underestimated challenge, said Rizzatti.

Chipping Away at 5G Challenges

New products for the 5G market have at their core a mission-critical system on chip (SoC). It is the verification of those SoCs that is challenging, according to Rizzatti. Pre-silicon verification requires more than the standard chip design verification flow.

One challenge is the need to develop robust and reusable tests for these SoCs. This involves solid, deterministic verification suites that can be run before silicon is available on prototypes of the hardware and, after silicon is available, on the real system.

In the pre-silicon stage of chip development, hardware emulation is required to run the requisite number of tests at speed. Once silicon is available, the focus moves to verification of the chip in the lab and in the field.

When these two technologies come from the same vendor, they can be created so both pre-silicon and post-silicon are mapped accurately to resolve problems at any point during design and deployment.

Due to the size of the 5G ecosystem, these verification test suites need to be shared to ensure interoperability, explained Rizzatti. To help alleviate this issue, an alliance of telecom industry companies created the Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) standard.

Faster Connectivity  With a Catch

5G technology promises increased Internet availability and performance with fewer strings attached. Its infrastructure is significantly less than fiber or DSL, according to Crypsis Groups Schmitt.

From a business productivity and continuity perspective, this means that businesses are better able to support remote work in a COVID-19 and post-COVID world, where remote work may remain as more of a mainstay business model, he told TechNewsWorld.

But it comes with a potential for higher security overhead, he warns. Many businesses are already struggling to keep security prioritized as users require flexible connectivity into business networks from home.

Security may have some trouble keeping up. As 5G becomes more prevalent and businesses adjust their strategies to include more, perhaps permanent, remote workers, this means that network defenders must be ready to account for this increased surface area, said Schmitt.

Traditional security measures have always been focused on the perimeter. There it could be controlled with users located in physical locations. With 5G technologies, defenders must also consider endpoint-focused strategies that provide protections for systems that may be connected to the organizations network or users home networks at any given time.

This becomes even more crucial when we consider IoT devices, he said.
Russias Ombudsman proposes establishment of international workforce bank

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

17:55 13/08/2020

MOSCOW, August 13 (RAPSI)  Russias Human Rights Commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova believes a bank of jobs will offer young people wider prospects as concerns search for vacancies and facilitate support provided by national governments.

Yearly, the Ombudsman Office registers numerous addresses of young people finding themselves in dire straits. The applications concern a wide range of issues, like the right to general and professional education, housing for orphans and children left without parental care, housing for young families, assistance in getting jobs, and so on, Moskalkova said addressing the Samarkand Forum on Human Rights, a high-level event focusing on the rights of young people.

The Rights Commissioner added that amid the pandemic, the most difficult problems were employment, education, and health care; an answer could be the creation of an international workforce bank, she said.
President Donald Trump on Thursday hinted he could fire FBI director Christopher Wray over his claim the nation's top cop and his agency is covering up their role in the Russia probe.

'I wish he was more forthcoming. He certainly hasn't been,' Trump told Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo in a phone interview.

He argued there are documents wanted in the investigation of why the FBI started a counterintelligence probe into Trump's 2016 campaign over concern Russians were trying to influence the election.

'There are documents that they want to get and that we have said we want to get. We're going to find out if he's going to give those documents, but certainly he's been very, very protective,' the president said.

President Trump hinted he could fire FBI director Christopher Wray over unproven allegations he is stalling on cooperating with the Russia probe and said Attorney General Bill Barr should start prosecutions soon

There has been no evidence that neither FBI Director Chris Wray (left) nor his agency have not been cooperating and Attorney General Bill Barr (right) said last month the Justice Department's internal probe on the Russia investigation will wrap later this summer

He appeared to be referring to documents wanted by Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, the chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, who is subpoenaing the FBI as part of his probe into the Russia investigation.

There is no evidence that Wray and the FBI haven't cooperated.

But he took a wait and see attitude on Wray's fate, declining to say either way.

'Lets see how Wray turns out. Hes going to either turn out one way or the other,' he noted.

The FBI has been Trump's favorite punching bag when it comes to the investigation into his 2016 campaign and his actions surrounding Comey's firing and the special counsel's investigation. He has blasted 'dirty cops' in the bureau and complained about a deep state working against him.

Trump has, in the past, blamed Wray's hiring on former deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. But it was Trump who nominated him to the position after he fired James Comey.

'He was chosen by a certain person, and I said go ahead put whoever you want. Im so honest that I said you can put anybody you want,' Trump said on Thursday.

The president also hinted Attorney General Bill Barr should start prosecutions in the matter.

'Bill Barr has a chance to be the greatest of all time, but if he wants to be politically correct hell be just another guy because he knows all the answers,' he said.

President Trump has repeatedly argued that then President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden ordered the investigation as the two were in the White House when it started.

He said Barr knows this but did not offer any evidence.

'He knows what they have, and it goes right to Obama and it goes right to Biden. They had the meetings, and that was one meeting they caught him,' he said.

But in late June Barr told Fox News the probe has 'not involved' people at the level of Obama or Biden.

'I think the people that we're looking at are not at that level,' he said.

John Durham was chosen by Attorney General William Barr to lead a review into the Russia investigation and his report is expected to be released in late summer

John Durham, the U.S. Attorney who is heading a criminal inquiry into the Russia investigation, is to release his findings by the end of the summer.

The review, which became a criminal investigation last fall, has been derided by Democrats as simply a scheme to damage President Trump's Democrat rivals before November's election.

But Department of Justice spokeswoman Kerri Kupec, said that the report was not the 'goal' of the criminal investigation but that it will be 'pivotal to the restoration of that one tiered system of justice.'

'There is a story to be told there. The American people deserve resolution, and frankly, justice deserves resolution,' Kupec stated on behalf of Durham.

Barr said last month that he believed there would be developments in Durham's investigation 'before the end of the summer.'

Kerri Kupec said she was hopeful that a report would emerge before the end of summer

'There are no guarantees in life, but we certainly hope to see one by the end of the summer. I think it's important,' Kupec said told Fox News.

Kupec stressed that she was 'hopeful' a report would emerge sooner rather than later in an effort to prevent the Durham's work from being potentially buried by a Democrat win, should Trump lose in November.

Last month, Barr said Durham is 'pressing ahead as hard as he can' with the investigation.

'I expect that, you know, we will have some developments hopefully before the end of the summer,' he added.

Barr said that the coronavirus pandemic delayed the probe, but that progress has been made.

Even after the election, the investigation is likely to continue 'what happens after the election may depend on who wins,' Barr said to Fox News.

After special counsel Robert Muellers investigation, AG Bill Barr, pictured, appointed Durham to investigate origins of the FBIs original Russia probe, which began in July 2016

Durham's investigation comes after a report by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz found 'significant inaccuracies and omissions' in the FBI's application to a court to obtain permission to monitor Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

Horowitz report found that the decision the FBI made to investigate the campaign had not motivated by political bias.

Durham, meanwhile, is completing a separate report into how the FBI's Russia investigation developed at the direction of Barr.

James Comey, as FBI director, authorized Operation Crossfire Hurricane, which was the agency's counterintelligence investigation into whether Trump's 2016 campaign colluded with Russian officials trying to interfere in the president election.

It was a joint investigation by the FBI, the CIA and the National Security Agency.

It was sparked by information that George Papadopoulos, an adviser to Trump's campaign, claimed the Russians had damaging material on Hillary Clinton.

It would ultimately obtain surveillance warrants on Page, and FBI agents questions former Trump national security advisor Mike Flynn at the White House during his short tenure. Flynn would later plead guilty to lying about his contacts with Russia's ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak.

It was eventually taken over by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, whose investigation cleared the Trump campaign of any collusion but came to no conclusion as to whether President Trump tried to hamper the special counsel's probe.
Agartala, Aug 13 : The father of a 3-day-old baby, who died in a Tripura government-run medical college, on Thursday alleged that he began bleeding after a nurse "carelessly" inserted a nasal tube to take samples for a Covid-19 test.

Govind Ballabh Pant Medical College and Hospital Superintendent Debashish Roy told IANS that a three-member committee was formed to probe the death and related matters.

"The committee, comprising senior doctors, would submit their report in the middle of next week. However, the family members of the kid are yet to submit any formal complaint over the incident," Roy said.

The newborn's father Diptanu Saha told the media that on Wednesday afternoon, a nurse had came to take the swab samples of his son after his wife tested positive for coronavirus.

"Soon after the nurse carelessly inserted the cotton contained tube, the baby began bleeding from the nose and died after a few hours," he said.

Saha and his wife alleged that medical negligence of the doctors and health workers caused their first child's death.

State Covid-19 Surveillance Officer Deep Debbarma, meanwhile, told IANS that the child has tested negative for the deadly virus.

Health and Family Welfare Department Director Radha Debbarma told IANS that they would inquire the matter separately if they receive a complaint from the family.

The opposition Congress and Communist Party of India-Marxist on Thursday took out protest rallies against the alleged medical negligence and demanded stern action against the guilty health staff over the baby's death.
The full Democratic presidential ticket held its first joint campaign event on Wednesday. In a Wilmington, Delaware, gymnasium, Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris strode out to Curtis Mayfields Move On Up in matching black face masks. Biden removed his when he got to the podium. Harris took hers off when she reached her seat, which was placed several feet away, such that she wasnt visible in the podium camera shot.

I wish we were able to talk to the folks outside, but were keeping our social distancing and playing by the rules, Biden told the small audience of journalists. When the would-be first lady and second gentleman, Jill Biden and Douglas Emhoff, joined the candidates for post-speech photos, they wore masks, too, and only removed them once they reached the safe embraces of their respective spouses. Biden and Harris did pass within a few feet of each other when they switched places at the microphone, but after the event, the couples stayed far apart.

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These careful protective measures against transmission of the novel coronavirus seemed designed to set a good example for viewers at home, drawing a sharp contrast to the reckless anti-mask posturing of the Trump administration. They also raised an important question about the planned mechanics of the Biden-Harris campaign: Are the candidates gonna pod, or what?

Quarantine pods, or bubbles, are one of the most effective harm reduction strategies for limiting coronavirus infection risk while maintaining some small semblance of normal life. Essentially, a pod is an expansion of ones household to include one or a few other households, creating a small group of people who interact with one another as normalhugging, sharing meals, hanging out indoorswhile limiting contact with anyone outside the pod. The idea is that if one pod member somehow becomes infected, theyre only likely to spread it to a small group of others. Its the next best thing to total isolation.

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Biden and Harris arent really eligible for a pod under the strictest definition: They work outside their homes, occasionally go maskless in indoor spaces, and engage in regular travel. Their bubbles, if they had them, have technically popped. If I were evaluating the candidates lifestyles as potential additions to my own pod, Id consider them too high-risk (to say nothing of my relative desire to make Joe Biden one of my few social contacts for the next who-knows-how-many months).

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But its still worth wondering whether Biden and Harris will ever clasp hands and talk at close range without masks, especially if they continue to do in-person events together. Or will they continue to treat each other as if they could both possibly be infected, with all the precautions theyd use with strangers? The latter protocol is safer, certainly, but the former could be more fun and make the candidates appear less stilted to voters. As it is, every awkward pass of a microphone will serve to remind us that were still in the middle of a pandemic, though maybe they figure its good for voters to be reminded of that and are participating in some deliberate hygiene theater.

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Neither Bidens nor Harris communications teams responded to requests for comment about the COVID-related precautions the campaign is taking, so I dont know for sure which route the candidates have selected. Since Biden and Harris called themselves extended family on Wednesdayin addition to sharing a microphone and breathing maskless in each others close proximityit seems like they might indeed be pod bonded. (Ive decided that pod bonded is to social contacts what fluid bonded is to sex partners. Stay with me, here!) Then again, Biden said in late July that hed never been tested for COVID-19. If true, that seems like an increasingly irresponsible strategy for a 77-year-old whos trying to be president in less than six months. And if he wants to pod with Harris, they should both get tested on a regular basis to avoid inadvertently infecting each other, especially considering their higher-risk lifestyles.

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Of course, if Biden and Harris do pod up, they run a greater risk of a dual infection. This could be one case in which pod absolutely wont save America: Not to get too morbid, but if one member of the ticket ended up with COVID-19 and passed the virus to the other, the Democratic Party could find itself weeks away from the election without any healthy, ready-to-lead candidates in the race. For the safety of the ticket, Biden and Harris should make like an extreme version of Christo and Jeanne-Claude (or, I guess, a president and vice president) and keep their distance to preserve the continuity of their work should one fall ill. As a bonus, if they spend the rest of the campaign cycle apart, they might not be entirely sick of each other come November.

For more of Slates news coverage, subscribe to What Next on Apple Podcasts or listen below.
It has been seven years since the central air conditioning system worked at the New York City middle school where Lisa Fitzgerald OConnor teaches. As a new school year approaches amid the coronavirus pandemic, she and her colleagues are threatening not to return unless its repaired.

Her classroom has a window air conditioning unit, but she fears the stagnant air will increase the chances that an infected student could spread the virus.

Window units just arent going to cut it. We dont want to stay cool, we just want the air to flow properly, said OConnor, a science teacher who has worked at the Patria Mirabal School in Manhattan since 2009. We are really super stressed out about it.

Schools around the country are facing similar problems as they plan or contemplate reopening this fall, dealing with aging air conditioning, heating and circulation systems that dont work well or at all because maintenance and replacement were deferred due to tight budgets. Concerns about school infrastructure are adding momentum to plans in some districts, even in colder climates, to take classes outdoors for the sake of student and teacher health.

Nationwide, an estimated 41% of school districts need to update or replace their heating, ventilation and cooling systems in at least half their schools, according to a federal report issued in June.

Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., chairman of the House Education committee, called on the federal government to help districts improve their systems, saying the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calling ventilation an important part of coronavirus spread at schools.

Ventilation is key and you dont fix that for free,? Scott said.

There is no evidence that the disease can spread through ventilation systems from one classroom to the next, according to Dr. Edward Nardell, a Harvard Medical School professor who specializes in airborne diseases. The danger, Nardell said, is from ineffective systems that dont remove floating viruses and let them linger in classrooms after they are expelled in an infected persons breath, sneeze or cough.

Most schools are designed for comfort, not for infection control. So there is a danger that if you put 20 kids in a room, that if one of them has asymptomatic COVID and is infectious, you now have 19 more kids who are exposed, Nardell said. Healthy children almost always recover from COVID, if they become ill at all, but they can pass the disease to teachers, parents and other adults.

Nardell believes schools should consider installing ultraviolet lights along classroom ceilings, a technology some used in the 1950s and earlier to combat measles, tuberculosis and other airborne diseases and that is still used in hospitals and homeless shelters. Viruses and bacteria are destroyed using a spectrum of UV light that is safe for humans. Manufacturers say the devices would cost $3,000 per classroom.

Some, including Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, say one solution to air circulation problems may be teaching classes outdoors, which was done during tuberculosis and influenza outbreaks in the early 1900s, even in cold weather. The coronavirus spreads less efficiently outdoors and students could more easily sit 6 feet (2 metres) apart.

Having classes outdoors has other benefits, said Sharon Danks, CEO of Green Schoolyards America, a Berkeley, California, non-profit that advocates for outdoor education. Children actually are less distracted and feel better emotionally when taught outdoors, she said.

Nature has been shown to restore the ability to pay attention, she said.

Several schools in the Northeast have bought large event tents like those used at outdoor weddings and plan to use them to teach outside through November.

The White River Valley Middle School in Bethel, Vermont, is spending about $10,000 on tents and other equipment. While some schools have equipped tents with propane heaters, White River Valley Principal Owen Bradley said his students can handle the expected November daytime temperatures in the 30s (about 0 Celsius) without them.

Bradley said one upside will be an opportunity to help students better understand and appreciate nature.

We hope they value it forever and help us save the planet, he said.

Schools bringing students back this fall will require or at least strongly suggest masks, but officials say they can only be so effective during six-hour school days indoors. Air circulation is needed.

Stephen Murley, the school superintendent in Green Bay, Wisconsin, said most of his districts 42 campuses have older air systems. When there is high humidity, they are set to recirculate drier indoor air to prevent unhealthy black mould from growing on the walls  but battling the coronavirus requires fresh air.

We have two things working at odds with each other, Murley said.

Janet Robinson, the superintendent in Stratford, Connecticut, said some of her districts 13 schools were built between 80 and 100 years ago and arent capable of handling modern air systems  they are a challenge. There are also crowding issues  one has classrooms built for 15 students but that typically have 25, making social distancing impossible.

It is kind of naive for politicians and whoever to say, Just bring (the students) in and keep them at 6 feet (2 metre) distance, she said.

Brian Toth, superintendent of the Saint Marys Area School District in northern Pennsylvania, said his districts five schools air systems have no exit vents to circulate fresh air in and the virus out. He estimates it would cost at least $600,000 per school to replace the systems. When his schools reopen Aug. 31, students will be asked to wear masks, but Pennsylvania law exempts children whose parents claim they have a physical or mental condition.

You look at the way schools were built, nobody expected to have a classroom with a 6-foot radius around a student, Toth said. Instead, classrooms pack them in like sardines and now we are facing the consequences.

___

This story was first published on Aug. 10, 2020. It was updated on Aug. 13, 2020, to the correct the amount of money a Vermont school is paying for tents. The White River Valley School now says it is spending $10,000, not $50,000.
PORTAGE, MI -- The Portage Board of Education approved the districts back-to-school plan Wednesday, which includes in-person and virtual learning options.

The plan includes virtual options for all students and in-person learning for elementary students four days a week.

Superintendent Mark Bielang said there are many different opinions among parents and there is no one-size-fits-all plan.

Its impossible to present a plan acceptable to everyone, said Bielang during the Wednesday, Aug. 12 virtual meeting.

The board voted 6 to 1 for the COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Plan. Board member Joanne Willson voted against the plan, citing concerns about social distancing.

Districts across the state are considering back-to-school plans after having to close buildings in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kalamazoo, Muskegon and Grand Rapids schools are considering a fully virtual return to school this fall.

Prior to voting, the Portage board heard those variable opinions from parents and teachers regarding the reopening plan. The school district is scheduled to resume classes Monday, Aug. 31.

Some parents urged the school board to avoid in-person learning for all students. Other parents asked members to reconsider their decision to not offer in-person learning for secondary level students.

Willson told fellow board members that all students should learn virtually for the first portion of the school year. She cited a lack of social distancing and not taking students temperatures at school every day as concerns with the in-person learning plan.

How will you stop the sharing of toys, crayons? Willson asked of elementary teachers in classrooms.

Board Vice President Terri Novaria said the administration created the plan based on science. She said achievement gaps will only increase if all students are limited to virtual learning and that education is important for everyone.

Education is essential to the long-term health of our students, their families and their communities, Novaria said.

Board member Kurt Droppers said the administration is offering plans for families.

What were hearing from our community is they want choices, Droppers said. Because everyone doesnt see this the same way.

The different options approved by the district vary depending on grade level. Summaries of each, as stated by school administrators, were stated as follows in a press release from the school district:

Families with students in Young Fives - 5th grade have two choices:

Face-to-face learning Monday through Thursday with virtual learning on Friday. Students are in the school building with a teacher Monday through Thursday.

Virtual learning will be taught by a Portage teacher Monday through Friday connecting to their face-to-face courses and using district curriculum.

Families with students in 6th grade - 12th grade have two choices:

Virtual learning taught by Portage teachers Monday through Friday.

Students also have the choice to be in the school building while participating in virtual instruction Monday through Thursday. Officials say this allows for academic and social-emotional needs to be met while supporting family choice.

Alternate third choice for all families in Young Fives - 12th grades:

KRESA Virtual & Innovative Collaborative (KVIC) countywide virtual curriculum taught by a Kalamazoo County teacher Monday through Friday, plus mentoring by a Portage staff member.

In our schools, offices, classrooms, and cafeterias, Portage Public Schools is committed to ensuring that we are creating safe, healthy spaces for our staff and students, the plan reads.

The plan was created based on parent and teacher survey results, which said top concerns were students health and safety, social and emotional well being and rigorous instruction, the district said.

All students participating in the in-school option must wear masks except when eating and during mask breaks, the plan reads. Mask breaks are allowed under a set of rules including students remaining in their seats.

No guests are welcome in the classroom and students must wash their hands and disinfect their areas afterward.

If student needs a break (mental, social/emotional) mask break protocol will be put in place, the plan reads.

Staff will be trained to spot COVID-19 symptoms, there will be no gatherings of multiple classes, schools will have a quarantine space, social distancing will be followed where possible, and hand-washing will be scheduled throughout the day, along with many other protocols.

School leaders say they will continually evaluate the programs, with hopes of getting back to all in-school learning as soon as allowed.

On Wednesday, July 29, Portage teachers joined other unions across the county who urged district leaders to avoid in-person learning for the first portion of the school year because of the pandemic.

Teacher union presidents from eight area schools asked to begin the school year with remote, distance learning. The letter was created by the Kalamazoo County Presidents Council, a group of local teacher union presidents.

The letter was signed by the education associations representing teachers from Climax-Scotts, Comstock, Galesburg-Augusta, Gull Lake, Kalamazoo, Parchment, Portage and Vicksburg schools. The letter was also signed by the Kalamazoo Support Professionals and the Portage Transportation Union.

The decision to return to face-to-face instruction is a looming disaster with deadly consequences, the unions wrote in the letter.

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.

Also on MLive:

Kalamazoo schools will start the year online-only

Michigan school leaders in support of fall season say high school athletics are safer than college

Michigan Virtuals Online Teacher of the Year offers learning tips amid coronavirus pandemic
August 14, 2020 will mark the 75th anniversary of V-J Day, the date that the Empire of Japans surrender officially ended World War II.

PCNs Voices of Veterans program will honor that anniversary by featuring those Pennsylvanians who served in that war, as well as veterans of several wars since then. One such veteran from our region is Stan Stewart of Hershey, who served as a corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Other veterans to be featured on the program include the following:

Wayne Von Stetten, Willow Street, Pa.; 1st class Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy

Dick Schimmel, Allentown, Pa.; Staff Sergeant in the Special Branch, Signal Aircraft Warning, under the U.S. Army Air Corps

Don Bee, Greenville, Pa.; Aviation Boatswain Mate 3rd Class in the U.S. Navy

Charles Reddig, Ephrata, Pa.; Major in the U.S. Army Air Corps and a B-25 pilot in the Pacific

Max Hartswick, State College, Pa.; Corporal in the U.S. Army

Arthur Wells, Hellertown, Pa.; Seaman first class in the U.S. Coast Guard

Mickey Yonkovig, Kulpmont, Pa.; Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Corps

Chuck Caldwell, Gettysburg, Pa.; Sergeant in the U.S. Marines

Fred Voskuhl, Pittsburgh, Pa.; Electrician third class in the U.S. Navy

Dick Bailey, from Grove City, Pa.; Sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Forces

Voices of Veterans will begin airing August 31 and continue through September 6. For more information on Voices of Veterans and PCN, visit the official website.
Cities and Libraries Partner to Achieve a Complete Census Count - How We're Doing it in Kansas City With $1.5 trillion in federal funding at stake and vulnerable populations at high risk of being undercounted again in the 2020 Census, community leaders in Kansas City know we have to work together for a complete count to ensure proper funding distribution, fair government representation, and appropriate, data-informed school and voting district designations for the...

The census isand locals from a diverse cross-section of Kansas City are worried that the numbers don't really reflect the local population. Even worse, federal, state and city cash are based on these numbers . . . Here's one of many emergency efforts to guarantee a more accurate count . . . Checkit:
The Nigeria Navys Director, Naval Information, Commodore Suleiman Dahun, has recently renounced a Fake Press Statement that announced the invitation of candidates and interview for NNBTS.

According to him, the attempt was simply organized by fraudsters who are hell bent on deceiving and mischievously take individuals money.

The information is not factual, as the command gave no such announcement. He urged members of the public to neglect the message, as it was orchestrated by fraudsters.

The Headquarters, has not by any chance directed for prosperous candidates of batch 30 to come and resume their training.

They Tweeted:

NIGERIAN NAVY SUSPENDS RESUMPTION FOR TRAINING OF ITS NEW RECRUITS The Nigerian Navy has suspended the resumption for training of successful candidates of the NNBTS Batch 30.The candidates were initially scheduled to commence training   Nigerian Navy (@NigNavyToday) May 5, 2020
BELLMAWR, N.J.  A New Jersey gym that reopened against statewide pandemic orders has lost its business license.

The 5-1 vote by the Bellmawr Borough Council on Tuesday night came nine days after the owners of Atilis Gym kicked in a plywood barrier installed by authorities after a state judge found the gym in contempt for violating court-ordered limits on indoor operations.

Related video: Tips to stay fit from your own living room

The gyms owners, Frank Trumbetti and Ian Smith, have also defied COVID-19 emergency orders imposed by Gov. Phil Murphy and New Jersey Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli.

The license revocation took effect immediately, but patrons continued to use the gym Wednesday.

Returning to the gym? Tips to work out safely during COVID-19

At Tuesday's meeting, a lawyer for the gym owners argued the business did not threaten public safety.

Youre saying they violated safety standards? asked attorney John McCann. Whats the standard?

Wheres the evidence that theyre a danger? continued the attorney, who claimed the gym is the safest place in New Jersey right now.

Prior to the vote, Bellmawr Police Captain Michael Draham described repeated violations of shutdown orders at the gym.

The boroughs zoning officer, Jim Burleigh, also said the gym had failed to request township approval before moving some exercise equipment into the parking lot for patrons use.

Burleigh asserted large pieces of equipment outside the business could be a hazard for children.

McCann, however, argued borough officials had not shown the gym was a threat to public health. He contended no gym patrons have been infected by the coronavirus, attributing that information to Trumbetti and Smith.

I take my clients at their word, said the attorney, who noted Trumbetti's mother had died from COVID-19.

Should you wear a face mask to the gym? A look at the debate

McCann also said council members should require proof that the gym is a health risk.

Story continues

Demand the science from the state, McCann said.

The Atilis Gym would close tomorrow if we could see the science, he added.

The state Attorney Generals Office has cited scientific reports to support the view that extensive and prolonged interactions (at gyms) continue to present significant risks."

In a May 22 court filing, the state noted a study from South Korea found the risk of infection in gyms is high, perhaps higher than other confined indoor spaces in which people remain for extended period (sic) of time."

Supporters talk to Atilis Gym partners Ian Smith, center, and Frank Trumbetti, left, outside the Bellmawr business on Saturday.

The gym controversy has drawn sign-carrying, flag-waving supporters to the Bellmawr business and led to appearances by Trumbetti and Smith on national television.

In a Facebook post Sunday, Smith predicted the council session would be "very clearly an extension of Murphy's will." Smith also said he and Trumbetti were prepared to live at the gym in an effort to prevent its closing.

Several protest participants were among audience members who sharply criticized the councils vote. Among other points, they claimed the COVID-19 death toll has been inflated and that the governors emergency orders are unconstitutional.

The license revocation was damaging and it doesnt promote unity, said Dawn Fantasia, a Sussex County freeholder who attended the meeting remotely.

The only Bellmawr residents to speak supported the councils vote.

I just wanted to say, Thank you, said Jesse Jamison.

Kathleen Mortka said her initial support for the gym ended when promised safety guidelines were not implemented.

"There are photos on social media  showing unmasked people who were not social distancing," Mortka told the council. She said that showed "they did not care about me or any other patrons."

Murphy closed gyms statewide under a March 16 order intended to curb the spread of COVID-19, which is blamed for more than 14,000 confirmed deaths and more than 1,800 probable deaths in New Jersey.

Persichilli issued another shutdown order May 20 after the gym reopened without authorization. The gym was allowed to reopen on June 15 to accommodate retail businesses inside the building.

The state took the gym back to court last month, alleging "wanton violation" of a court order that allowed only individualized instruction inside the building.

Superior Court Judge Robert Lougy in Trenton issued the contempt finding on July 24, setting the stage for Trumbetti and Smith to force their way into the closed gym on Aug. 1.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: New Jersey's Atilis Gym loses license after defying COVID-19 orders
PHILADELPHIA  In Lancaster County, amid the low hills and high corn, horse-drawn Amish buggies slow tourist traffic on winding country roads.

Old-time preachers reign on the radio, warning of dark consequences for sinners run amok in 21st-century America.

And in the town of Leola, not 50 feet from a clutch of cows lounging under a hot summer sun, a small workshop hums and bustles with the creation of a product that could, someday soon, help the homeless in Philadelphia.

Tiny homes, said Matt Meshey, a co-owner of Liberation Tiny Homes. We see them as the solution to a lot of issues, homelessness being one of them. This has gone from a novelty to people realizing its something they can really do.

Both Philadelphia officials and organizers of the homeless encampment on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway  2 months old as of Monday  have discussed the possibility of using tiny homes to house many of those now living in tents on a ball field at 22nd Street.

How is it that a group of 12 Lancaster County craftsmen who either grew up Amish or have Amish heritage is hammering out a new way to potentially solve one of the knottiest problems in America's poorest big city, 75 miles to the east?

This unlikely story starts with an impassioned individual with a vision.

Stephanie Sena, 41, a professor who teaches courses on poverty at the Widger School of Law at Villanova University, has worked for years helping individuals who are homeless. Shes the founder and executive director of the Student-Run Emergency Housing Unit of Philadelphia (SREHUP). Since 2011, the organization, with chapters at various local colleges and universities, operates homeless shelters in church basements during the cold months.

Sena, who considers homelessness a human rights violation, is on a first-name basis with many of the roughly 1,000 street homeless in Philadelphia. A few of the 100 to 150 people now occupying the Parkway encampment have been to her house for dinner.

She's been working with City Council as well as the Department of Licenses and Inspections on a plan that could recalibrate current thinking on homelessness.

Sena expects to start a pilot program that would create a village of 20 tiny homes per acre for the homeless on available city land. Shes looking at a price tag of $40,000 to $50,000 per unit, 8-1/2 feet wide by 30 feet long by 13-1/2 feet high. The cost includes water, sewer and electrical hookups. Its not yet clear how many acres would be used.

Marcus Stoltzfus enters a tiny home as Josh King (right) works at Liberation Tiny Homes in Leola, Pennsylvania. (ALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS)TNS

The envisioned village would include a community center, and services for the homeless would be provided. The idea of tiny home villages for the homeless has taken root in Seattle and Austin, Texas, with some success.

"The city is turning to us," said Sena, who met with L&I leadership on Monday to iron out some zoning and code problems. Several members of City Council have already indicated they're on board.

"I'm confident this will go forward," Sena said Monday morning. "This is my life's work. We are so close."

Sena said she is lining up funding from private and nonprofit sponsors. In her thinking, the residents would own a share of the village, and, as each home appreciates over time, the tiny home occupant could take out some of the equity after he or she moves.

"This is a really good idea," said City Councilmember Kendra Brooks, who accompanied Sena and other council members on a trip to Liberation Tiny Homes earlier this summer.

"The homes are quality and offer privacy. It would not be like living on the streets or in a shelter. People deserve dignity, a fresh start."

L&I officials did not respond to a request for comment.

The seemingly incongruous pairing of a Villanova professor and a coterie of country builders, none of whom has a college degree, somehow works.

"We're on board with Stephanie's vision," Meshey said. "She talks about a community setting with wellness centers in a village. It's more than just houses for people. She's been fighting for this for years. She impressed us."

At Liberation the other day, co-owner Marcus Stoltzfus gave a tour of the small factory, his voice rising to overcome the whirring of saws in the kinetic workshop.

The 5-year-old workshop is one of only two that manufacture tiny homes in Pennsylvania, the other being not far up the road, also in Lancaster County. There are probably just 75 to 100 builders of tiny homes in the United States, according to Dan Fitzpatrick, president of the Tiny Home Industry Association, headquartered in Denver.

Liberation homes are typically made of PVC vinyl and look well-crafted, not like the garage sheds many people picture when they think of tiny homes, Stoltzfus said. Inside, even within the 255-square-foot footprint, there's ample room for two individuals and a pet to live, he said.

Marcus Stoltzfus, co-owner of Liberation Tiny Homes, does a walk-through of the still-raw interior of one of his products. (ALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS)TNS

To demonstrate Liberation's flexibility in making tiny homes not just for the homeless, Stoltzfus pointed out a larger-than-usual model costing more than $100,000 being built "for an actress whose name we all know." She needs it as a guest house on her Massachusetts property.

Stoltzfus conceded that Liberation tiny homes run around $10,000 or so more than Sena's desired price. "But," he said, "we will partner in some way with the city."

Sena and the Liberation craftsmen have discussed ways to drive down costs, such as having homeless individuals trained to help make their own homes.

Ultimately, Fitzpatrick said, tiny homes are "perfect for the kind of housing Stephanie Sena wants for the homeless."

And, he added, "even though you call it a tiny home, remember: The key word here is home."

By Alfred Lubrano, The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS)

More:

Philadelphia homeless encampment organizers vow to stay despite deadline

Award-winning White House chef visits Harrisburg Salvation Army for grand opening

Homeless high school senior was class president and named valedictorian, next is college
President Muhammdu Buhari has said that Nigeria is expecting to take delivery of military weapons and aircraft from Jordan, China, and the United States to help in the fight against the insurgents, Boko Haram.

The president made this known at a virtual meeting with the Security Committee of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), represented by one governor from each of the six geo-political zones of the country on Tuesday, August 11.

President Buhari during the meeting, appealed once again for Nigerians to be patient with his government and not to expect a dramatic change in the ongoing efforts to combat insurgency because fighters and pilots to operate the new weapons and aircraft must first be trained.

The President used the opportunity to dispel commonly held assumptions that the terrorists in the Northeast had far more weapons and money than the government, stressing that what is left of them are mere scavengers desperate for food, raiding shops and markets, and killing innocent persons in the process.

He also expressed concern that in spite of the fact that borders with neighbouring countries had been shut, bandits and terrorists continued to have access to small weapons.

These terrorists are in the localities. How is it that they are not short of small arms? he queried the security and intelligence chiefs.

According to President Buhari

We have said enough on the need for them to rejig their operations. I am glad that there is better synergy and cooperation which are very important. I have directed the Service Chiefs to meet among themselves in-between the National Security Council meetings. The services have resources; yes, they need more, and mobility, and are doing their best, but there is a need for better gathering and interpretation of intelligence. Our intelligence-gathering must be improved.

The President informed the Governors of the imminent shipment of military weapons and aircraft from Jordan, China, and the United States, but again asked for patience on the part of the public because the new weapons and aircraft must be manned by trained fighters and pilots who must first receive appropriate training.

President Buhari also expressed satisfaction with the level of support from neighboring countries in the war against terrorism.

The President also expressed satisfaction with the level of Naval activity in the Gulf of Guinea, using newly-acquired equipment, but demanded that hard-to-reach areas of Lake Chad where Boko Haram terrorists have found new havens, as well as the forests now inhabited by bandits, must be accessed and rid of nefarious elements.
Dele Momodu

Controversial Journalist, Dele Momodu, has blasted members of the Buhari Media Organization over the recent attacks launched on his person. Momodu in a statement released on Thursday August 13, slammed the organization for describing him as a lackey of embattled former Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke.

Momodu in his statement said since his interview with Madueke where he revealed she had cancer, members of the organization have been angry and throwing tantrums like babies deprived of lollipops.

He went on to state that members of the organization claimed Diezanis cancer story was false yet they expect Nigerians to believe the story of President Buhari going to the UK to treat an undisclosed ailment and returning to Nigeria afterwards. He said if President Buhari can be healed of his undisclosed ailment and fully recover thereafter, then Deizani can enjoy the same privilege.

He went to describe members of the organization as parasites who cant even defend their own existence talk less of a President.

Read His Statement Below;

THE BUHARI MEDIA ORGANIZATION IS AN ASSOCIATION OF MEDIA VULTURES

My attention has just be drawn to a release by a group that calls itself The Buhari Media Organization calling me a lackey of former Minister of Petroleum, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke.

Ever since I interviewed the embattled woman about five years ago, they have been angry and throwing tantrums like babies deprived of lollipops. But my question is who are those calling anyone a lackey?

These are shameless vultures who, out of joblessness, turned themselves into attack dogs. Please, show me one of them who can be described as accomplished in any field of human endeavor. Nigeria is the only country where government waste scarce resources on parasites who cant even defend their own existence talk less of a President.

What is there to defend in a government that promised so much but delivered so little? I wonder why they blame everyone for their failure and frustrations. I did my job professionally and ethically by interviewing Mrs Alison-Madueke. I stand by my story that she was nursing cancer.

They claimed it was false, yet President Muhammadu Buhari had an undisclosed ailment that kept him away in London for months and got healed and returned to Nigeria by the mercy almighty of God. If Buhari can recover, who says Mrs Alison-Madueke cannot enjoy the same privilege? Or was his sickness or return also fake? But it is in the nature of vultures to run around scavenging for dead bodies.



Are these parasitic elements not tired of the surfeit of dead bodies that litter everywhere in Nigeria today? Only vultures take pride and delight in death.

Lets now come to the issue of Mrs Alison-Madueke. Im too hardworking to be the lackey of anybody. I do my job well and assiduously to live on my sweat. I interviewed the former Minister and reported our encounter verbatim.

There was nowhere in the story I passed judgment for or against her. They said the story was written to attract pity for her. Should I have written she did not have cancer when I had copious evidence to back her claims? And even if she lied by claiming to have cancer, my job as a reporter was to record and report what she told me since journalists have no means of testing anyone.

Im not the reason the Buhari government has not prosecuted the woman in over five years. While they engaged in media lynching and savoured their campaigns of calumny against every imaginary enemy, they studiously ignored the massive and unprecedented corruption in their own backyard.

I remain resolute in doing my job as dictated by the best tenets of journalism. No government would tell me who to interview or not.



Finally, I will continue to do my job of promoting free speech for every Nigerian, and providing alternative and uncommon information for my readers, using my extensive networks and access to newsmakers. I will never be bullied by some supposed journalists without jobs.



CHIEF DELE MOMODU


In an historic breakthrough, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel have agreed to the full normalisation of relations between the two countries. US President Donald Trump helped broker the agreement.

US President Donald Trump, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, spoke before the deal was announced, said a Wam news agency report.

Under the agreement, Israel has agreed to suspend applying sovereignty to areas of the West Bank that it has been discussing annexing, senior White House officials said.

"HUGE breakthrough today! Historic Peace Agreement between our two GREAT friends, Israel and the United Arab Emirates!", said Trump in a tweet.

"As a result of this diplomatic breakthrough and at the request of President Trump with the support of the UAE, Israel will suspend declaring sovereignty over areas outlined in the Presidents Vision for Peace and focus its efforts now on expanding ties with other countries in the Arab and Muslim world," said a joint statement, released by Wam.

The parties will continue their efforts in this regard to achieve a just, comprehensive and enduring resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As set forth in the Vision for Peace, all Muslims who come in peace may visit and pray at the Al Aqsa Mosque, and Jerusalems other holy sites should remain open for peaceful worshippers of all faiths.

This historic diplomatic breakthrough will advance peace in the Middle East region and is a testament to the bold diplomacy and vision of the three leaders and the courage of the UAE and Israel to chart a new path that will unlock the great potential in the region, it said.

All three countries face many common challenges and will mutually benefit from todays historic achievement.

Delegations from Israel and the United Arab Emirates will meet in the coming weeks to sign bilateral agreements regarding investment, tourism, direct flights, security, telecommunications, technology, energy, healthcare, culture, the environment, the establishment of reciprocal embassies, and other areas of mutual benefit. Opening direct ties between two of the Middle East's most dynamic societies and advanced economies will transform the region by spurring economic growth, enhancing technological innovation, and forging closer people-to-people relations, the statement said.

The United States, Israel and the UAE are confident that additional diplomatic breakthroughs with other nations are possible, and will work together to achieve this goal.

The UAE and Israel will immediately expand and accelerate cooperation regarding the treatment of and the development of a vaccine for the coronavirus. Working together, these efforts will help save Muslim, Jewish, and Christian lives throughout the region, it said.

This normalisation of relations and peaceful diplomacy will bring together two of Americas most reliable and capable regional partners. Israel and the UAE will join with the US to launch a Strategic Agenda for the Middle East to expand diplomatic, trade, and security cooperation. Along with the US, Israel and the UAE share a similar outlook regarding the threats and opportunities in the region, as well as a shared commitment to promoting stability through diplomatic engagement, increased economic integration, and closer security coordination. Todays agreement will lead to better lives for the peoples of the UAE, Israel, and the region.

The US and Israel recall with gratitude the appearance of the UAE at the White House reception held on January 28, 2020, at which President Trump presented his Vision for Peace, and express their appreciation for United Arab Emirates related supportive statements.

Prime Minister Netanyahu and Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan express their deep appreciation to President Trump for his dedication to peace in the region and to the pragmatic and unique approach he has taken to achieve it.
Its not a secret that Canadians love to identify other Canadians who made it big in America, as in Did you know that Ryan Reynolds is Canadian? Keanu Reeves? Kim Cattrall? Pamela Anderson? Michael J. Fox? Drake? Etc.

However, what is perhaps less known about this national pastime of Canadian-spotting is that its focus extends far beyond spotting actual Canadians. In recent days, its become clear that not only are we determined to identify anyone famous who hails from our nation, but anyone famous who has a distant, tenuous connection to it.

Enter Kamala Harris, U.S. presidential candidate Joe Bidens official pick for VP running mate.

If youre reading this outside of Canada, you may know Harris as a United States senator from California with a tough-on-crime, tough-on-Brett Kavanaugh reputation, a former District Attorney of San Francisco and later the Attorney General of California. Also, not a small deal: the first black woman and Asian American to appear on a major party presidential ticket.

If youre reading this inside Canada, however, you probably know Kamala Harris as a woman who went to high school in Montreal. A lot of ink has been spilled to relay this message to you. It seems every major and minor publication in Canada  this one included  has at some point highlighted the fact that Harris moved to Quebec as a middle schooler after her mom got a job at McGill University. The candidate attended Westmount High School in Montreal, before returning to the States indefinitely  a sequence of events Canadian media reiterated several times this week and I suspect will continue to reiterate until election day in the United States, at the expense of more relevant information such as: who is Harris beyond a former Montreal high school student and what exactly does she stand for?

Going off some recent Canadian news coverage you might not know  stories whose headlines can be summed up as follows: Montreal high school graduate Kamala Harris is running for Vice President of the United States. Did we mention she went to high school in Montreal?

Brace yourself for more of these headlines in the coming months, likely (Im guessing) along the lines of: Kamala Harris favourite Montreal haunts according to her Grade 11 P.E. teacher, Harris classmates tell-all and Youll never believe what Kamala Harris said about Bonhomme.

The odd thing is that the adolescent pasts of our own political candidates  Canadian candidates that is  are rarely examined as closely as Harris was this week. I have yet to read, for example, a feature article about 16-year-old Peter MacKays preferred extracurricular activities. Was Erin OToole a social butterfly at Bowmanville High School? I guess well never know.

The other odd thing about the Harris-Canada news moment is that though we may fixate on and relish stories of her time in Montreal, Harris isnt quite as nostalgic. Here she is in her own words, from her 2019 memoir, The Truths We Hold: An American Journey:

I was 12 years old, and the thought of moving away from sunny California in February, in the middle of the school year, to a French-speaking foreign city covered in 12 feet of snow was distressing, to say the least. My mother tried to make it sound like an adventure, taking us to buy our first down jackets and mittens, as though we were going to be explorers of the great northern winter. But it was hard for me to see it that way.

By the time I got to high school, I had adjusted to our new surroundings  What I hadnt gotten used to was the feeling of being homesick for my country. I felt this constant sense of yearning to be back home.

And home is where she went as soon as she was able.

In other words, despite the excitement of many Canadian fans of the candidate on social media this week, it doesnt sound like Harris is going to pull a Harry anytime soon and renounce the presidential ticket for a quiet life in Canada.

But none of this matters. The further Harris is from our grasp, the closer we will embrace her. The Canadian press and the Canadian public in general will never cease to be fascinated with Canadian celebs who move to America and with Americans like Harris who make a pit stop in Canada on their way to glory. Perhaps its just who we are and who we will always be: true, north, strong and desperate for the affections of people who leave us.

Emma Teitel is a columnist based in Toronto covering current affairs for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @emmaroseteitel
Hong Kong: WSD reports 1 more COVID-19 case

The Water Supplies Department today said that one more staff member of its subcontractor who worked at the construction site of Tong Hang No 3 Fresh Water Service Reservoir in Fanling has tested positive for COVID-19.

The department said the contractor notified it of the update.

After a staff member of the subcontractor had tested positive for the virus on August 8, nine staff members who had close contact with the patient were arranged to stay at quarantine centres by the Centre for Health Protection (CHP). Three of them tested positive earlier and one more was confirmed to be infected today.

All five infected staff members are undergoing treatment, while the test results of other project personnel are all negative.

The onsite operations of the project, including the site office, has been suspended. The contractor has also thoroughly cleaned and disinfected the site.

The department added that it will maintain close liaison with the CHP and has reminded all project personnel to pay attention to their hygiene.

This story has been published on: 2020-08-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
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Linkedin Budi Sutrisno (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 13, 2020 18:55 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066dd80da 1 Environment pertamina,Pertamina-oil-spill,PHE,Pulau-Pari,Pari-island,Thousand-Islands-regency,Kepulauan-seribu,environment Free

State-owned energy company Pertamina, through its subsidiary Pertamina Hulu Energi (PHE) Offshore Southeast Sumatra (OSES), has been assisting the Thousand Islands administration in Jakarta to clean up the coagulated oil waste seen in the waters and beaches of some of the islands in the regency recently.

The PHE OSES has been assisting the local administration and coordinating with local authorities and the community to clean up the oil spill, PHE media and relations manager Yudy Nugraha told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

The company has expressed objection to a previous news article published by the Post, which he said was an accusation against Pertamina for being the source of pollution.

As reported in the news article, residents of Pari Island said they had seen the oil waste in the waters of Pari and Lancang islands since Friday before the clotted oil reached the coast of Pari on Tuesday morning.

Read also: Coagulated oil on Pari Island may have come from passing ships, environment agency says

While the Thousand Islands Environment Agency said the oil might have originated from ships sailing through the waters, Pari residents suspected the oil waste had leaked from Pertaminas drilling operation in Indramayu and Karawang in West Java.

The residents also claimed such pollution had regularly occurred in recent years, especially in the month of August along with easterly currents and winds, including during last years oil spill from Pertaminas YYA-1 exploration well.

However, Yudy said, the YYA-1 well had been closed since September last year.

The source of the oil spill [in Pari] is still unclear, he said.

A fingerprint test on a sample of the oil spill will be conducted to find the source.
Given everything that we are facing in the new normal with the pandemic, this is going to allow us to configure grades 9-12 at the new building, reconfigure a standalone middle school to grades 6-8 and keep those numbers in check, Slack said. We will have approximately 400 students, if all students return for the middle school, we would have about 530 students if all students report for 9-12.

He said the new high school will allow more room for people to space out, an essential component in the new normal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

While Slack said data for a back to school survey is still being gathered, it has initially found about 75% of respondents from the elementary, middle and high school level said they will send their children back to school, while about 25% prefer the virtual learning option. Building principals are reaching out to families who have not responded to the survey, Slack said.

While it isnt enough to make a big difference, Slack said results of the survey have fluctuated slightly because some respondents have changed their mind on how to send their child back to school between in-person and virtual learning options.
California Senator Kamala Harris makes history as the first Black woman to compete on a major partys presidential ticket.

Joe Biden Selects Kamala Harris as Vice Presidential Running Mate

By all accounts, Joe Biden should easily walk into the White House following the November elections. Donald Trump should be a one term-president, and America could be rid of the nightmare weve been in for the past 3  years, leading to the end of his four-year term. On Tuesday, August 11, 2020 former Vice President Joe Biden took one step closer to becoming the 46th President of the United States by selecting California Senator Kamala Harris as his Democratic running mate. A historic selection, Harris becomes the first Black woman to run on the Democratic Partys national ticket for vice president.

In selecting Harris, Biden has put aside issues which came up when the two candidates debated when competing for the presidential nomination. Biden selected his former presidential rival over a host of other highly qualified women. He has, however, selected a seasoned politician who understands the challenges of competing in a national campaign.

Senator Harris is 55-years-old. Born in October of 1964, she is the last of the Baby Boomers and born on the cusp of Generation X. She is part of the next generation; a generation not quite ready to retire, but who contemplates how they will make ends meet if they do. Furthermore, Harris is a mother of young adult children who represent a generation of Millennials, uncertain about surviving in a country that is struggling with unemployment, skyrocketing-housing costs, and college tuition loans, leaving them burdening in debt before they ever really get started in life.

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Senator Harris checks all of the boxes that Biden needs to ensure victory come November 3, 2020. Harris joins Biden in the 2020 race at a moment of unprecedented national crisis. COVID-19 has claimed the lives of more than 160,000 people in the U.S. Furthermore, the U.S. is facing a major racism crisis, where the treatment of African Americans by the police and within society in general, have become major social issues in America and throughout the presidential campaign.

Joe Biden is 77-years-old and if he wins, will have turned 78 before his inauguration. By the end of his first term, he will be 82. He needs to have a running mate who is part of and can relate to the younger generations of voters.

Obviously, putting together a team that will win in November is key for Biden, but America also has to have confidence in the question no one ever wants to ask. If something happens to the President, is the Veep ready and able to step in? In this coming election, America does not only have to ask themselves, Trump or Biden but are also forced to ask themselves, Pence or Harris? Obviously, the answer is Harris.

Trumps poor handling of the nations health crisis and the issues on race have given Biden an opportunity to seize even more momentum and strengthen his position against Trump. In adding Harris to the ticket, he can point to her relatively centrist record on issues such as health care and her background in law enforcement in the nations largest state. Harris also will inspire the Black vote, a vote that paved the way for former President Barack Obama, and a vote desperately needed to put Joe Biden in the White House.

The African American voters of South Carolina revived the Biden presidential campaign, a campaign that was appearing to be fledgling. This kind of spike in support and the ability to inspire African Americans to show up to the polls (or absentee ballot) in the November election will carry a Biden-Harris team to victory. The Democratic Party cannot afford to have a traditional and unmotivating ticket, which caused so many voters to stay home in 2012, allowing Donald Trump to sneak into the presidency.

Although there were other potential nominees for VP, in the end, it was the first time Senator from California who got the nod.

Senator Harris was the strongest candidate on the list and is the clearest path to victory in November. Her political ascent has been nothing but phenomenal. She worked for the San Francisco city attorney before she was twice-elected as the Citys district attorney. She won a tightly contested race to become California Attorney General (She won by less than 1%  the Los Angeles Sentinel was the first media outlet in the nation to declare her the winner). By anyones observation, she has been a fighter for the people, and all things being considered, she ran a pretty viable presidential campaign as well. She has also been at the forefront for police reform and criminal justice reform. Biden calls Harris a fearless fighter for the little guy.

My hats off to Vice President Joe Biden for selecting my friend, Kamala Harris as his nominee for vice president. Kamala is a strong and amazing woman; she has the compassion and leadership skills necessary to help lead this nation. We are experiencing unprecedented challenges within this country. Between this pandemic and the issues of race and police brutality, and all of the other challenges that we face as a nation, there is no finer choice to help get the country back on course than Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Lets all get out and vote, stated Danny J. Bakewell, Sr.  civil rights activist and executive Publisher of the Los Angeles Sentinel & Chairman of Bakewell Media.

In a recent poll taken by the University of Virginia  Center for Politics, it was Kamala Harris who led all other candidates, including Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Val Demmings [FL] and Stacey Abrams as the potential vice-presidential nominee. The poll points out some concerns that her time serving as a DA and as an AG may turn off some liberals, but surely not enough to detract them to the Trump/Pence ticket. On the positive side, her actual friendship with Biden and her close relationship to former President Barack Obama are BIG plusses. She will shine under the bright lights of a Presidential campaign and most believe that in a vice-presidential debate, Harris would as one Sentinel reader put it, Whoop Mike Pence Ass!

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Biden is the Democratic Partys nominee, largely because of the support he has garnered across the nation from the African American Community. In late February, 2020, the African American community became Bidens base when South Carolina Congressional Representative James Clyburn and his endorsement catapulted Biden to victory in the state and pulled the former vice presidents campaign out of a tailspin that rocketed him past Pete Butigieg, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, who had all defeated Biden in the Iowa Caucuses just a few weeks earlier.

Clyburn told MSNBC that he had received a call earlier in the day to inform him of his pick. Minority Whip Clyburn said, He was overjoyed with the selection and was confident that Senator Harris was the right choice to serve as his running mate.

Senator Harris has proven herself to be a seasoned politician and tireless campaigner, and will add a tremendous boost to energizing voters to defeat Donald Trump this November.

Her no-nonsense approach and seasoned litigator skills in last summers debate was a clear indication to the nation that Harris is a force on the national scene and worthy of her vice-presidential selection. The former California attorney general even challenged Biden during the Democratic presidential primary debate about his opposition to school busing and his relationship to White segregationist in the 70s when African Americans were lobbying for busing as a way to fight segregation.

But, that brief glimpse into a tenuous moment between the Biden and Harris did not stop Biden from selecting Harris as his running mate and the next Vice President of the United States. In todays political climate, a little agitation is good; it helps get the dirt out. Because of the many issues that face our country today, from police and justice system reform, to financial recovery from the Corona Virus, to the reality that more Black and Brown people are dying from COVID-19, we need a candidate who is in touch, who brings a pulse to the community while addressing our needs.

Harris is leader who comes from a generation that understands the need to bridge the gap between the haves and the have nots; a leader who is not afraid to have the uncomfortable conversations about race and racism in America.
PENCIL cases and lunchboxes are more likely to transmit Covid-19 than school uniforms are, a virologist has said.

Dr Kim Roberts, Assistant Professor of Virology, Trinity College Dublin said school uniforms are a low risk for transmission of the virus and as fabrics are generally designed to draw moisture away, the virus can dry out and become inactivated sooner.

"We don't think the fabric is a high risk or even a particularly good form of risk of transmission of this virus. I would think that from the data we have that school uniforms is actually very low risk for the transmission of this virus," Dr Roberts told RTE's Morning Ireland.

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"If you are infected with the virus and you cough or sneeze into your elbow, then potentially you're putting quite a lot of virus on to that specific location. In terms of how long the virus survives on fabric, it is down to how much virus is deposited there so the greater the amount of virus, the longer the virus could survive," she added.

"So from that perspective, I can see the logic of wanting people to wash school jumpers every day, although logistically, that's quite difficult especially if it's crested."

Dr Roberts said the virus can "survive longer" on hard surfaces and that lunchboxes and drinking bottles should be washed regularly.

"A virus can survive longer on hard surfaces such as plastic lunchboxes or pencil cases pencils and my understanding is that in general schools are recommending that children bring in their own pencils, pens, etc that are well labeled so that that isn't sharing of equipment within the within the classroom," she said.

"Certainly you don't want to be sharing drinks bottles, you don't want be sharing lunchboxes, you need to be encouraging kids really not to be sharing food. "

It comes after Dr Glynn told a Covid-19 briefing last night that schoolchildren contracting Covid-19 when they return to the classroom is "inevitable", but symptoms are likely to be mild.

Dr Glynn said schools are not a zero-risk environment but the risk of outbreaks occurring in classrooms has to be balanced against the need for children to receive an education.

"I hope there aren't clusters but as I have said here previously, I think there will be clusters, there will be cases.

"It's virtually inevitable because this is an infectious disease that spreads when people congregate, but everything is a balance of risk."

When asked if he has any words to reassure parents who are concerned about sending their children back to school, Dr Glynn said some children will get the virus but that many children suffer mild symptoms or none at all.

"There will be a proportion of children who are diagnosed with Covid as there has been to date," he said.

"The first piece of reassurance I'd give parents is the vast majority of children who are diagnosed with this disease suffer at most very mild symptoms.

"In fact we believe that many children who contract Covid in fact have no symptoms at all.

"The second thing I'd say is that we're not powerless, parents aren't powerless, children aren't powerless against this.

"There are many things we can do to reduce the risk of transmission and we need to really focus on that over the coming weeks."

He said that some schools might need to shut if an outbreak occurs. "There won't be a blanket approach that says close every school once there's a case," Dr Glynn said.

"There may be schools that need to close. The hope is if you do have a case in a class, hopefully, in terms of close contracts it will only be the other children, for example, that might be defined as close contacts and will have to restrict their movements."

Today, the Department of Health reported 92 additional confirmed Covid-19 cases in Ireland, and no further deaths.

There are now a total of confirmed 26,929 cases of Covid-19 in Ireland and 1,774 coronavirus related deaths.

Of the cases notified today, 24 are in Dublin, 24 in Kildare, 8 in Limerick, six in Carlow, six in Kilkenny, five in Meath, five in Clare, and remaining 14 cases are in Cork, Donegal, Kerry, Laois, Louth, Monaghan, Offaly, Waterford and Wicklow.

Twelve cases have been identified as community transmission.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-14 02:03:32|Editor: huaxia

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ADDIS ABABA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia's confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 26,204 after 1,086 new COVID-19 positive cases were confirmed on Thursday, the Ethiopian Ministry of Health said.

This is so far the highest daily increase in the Horn of Africa country.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Health, in a statement issued on Thursday, revealed that from a total of 14,688 medical tests that were conducted within the last 24 hours, some 1,086 of them tested positive for COVID-19, eventually bringing the total number of positive cases to 26,204.

Sixteen more patients succumbed to illnesses related to the COVID-19 pandemic on Thursday, bringing the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in the East African country to 479, according to the ministry.

The ministry further said 11,428 patients who tested positive for COVID-19 had so far recovered, including 394 in the last 24 hours period.

According to the Ethiopian Ministry of Health, a total of 14,295 COVID-19 patients are still undergoing medical treatment, out of which 193 are in severe condition.

Ethiopia, Africa's second-most populous nation with about 107 million people, confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on March 13.

The East African country had so far conducted some 550,119 COVID-19 medical tests, according to the ministry.

Amid the rapid spread of the virus across the East African country, the Ethiopian government as well as healthcare experts and analysts mainly attribute the recent spike of COVID-19 pandemic to the unrest that affected the East African country earlier this month.

The Ethiopian government is also intensifying its mass COVID-19 testing campaign as the number of COVID-19 cases rises rapidly in recent weeks.

Earlier this month, the East African country officially launched a nationwide month-long testing campaign, which the Ethiopian government said "will determine the next steps to undertake in the new year," which will start on September 11.

The Ethiopian government is currently mobilizing resources to ensure there's no shortage of laboratory materials and quarantine centers.

Ethiopia is also boosting its COVID-19 testing capacity at border points with neighboring countries.

As the East African country strengthened the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese engagement has injected much-needed momentum in Ethiopia's anti-pandemic efforts.

On Monday, the Chinese technology and social media giant, ByteDance, donated 100,000 COVID-19 testing kits in support of Ethiopia's anti-COVID-19 pandemic efforts. Enditem
Prayers at Hagia Sophia, Turkey







Muslims in India deeply respect and revere Ram. Renowned poet Iqbal termed Ram as Imamul Hind, the great leader of Indians. Muslims welcome the creation of the Ram Mandir. There can be no objection whatsoever if scores of Ram Mandir come up. What they are not reconciled is shaping up of the scenario with the irrational and brutal demolition of the Babri Masjid.

The entire governmental machinery was put to play leading to the bhoomi pujan, causing serious setback to Indias secular values. This is the result of steep, exponential rise of communalism in the country, which has immensely benefited BJP politically.

There is a need to note here, however, that Indian Muslims havent liked the recent

Mustafa Kemal Pasha (1881-1938), the Turkish field marshal and revolutionary, who was the founding father (hence called Ata Turk) of the Republic of Turkey, undertook sweeping reforms, which modernized Turkey. Yet, his reforms couldnt erase Islam from Turkey. Similarly, despite his repressive ways, Stalin also couldnt erase Islam from the Russia.

Indeed, to be a believer in a faith or not is a matter of one's choice, which can't be dictated by those in power. Demolition of a place of worship can't erase a faith.

Against the backdrop of the bhoomi pujan, there were celebrity voices from the Congress, particularly that of Priyanka Gandhi, on the occasion of the bhoomi pujan, in favour of the construction of the Ram Temple.

It is all too well known what role the Congress has played in facilitating the environment for laying the foundation stone of the Ram Mandir. BJP furthered the whole process, culminating it into its political agenda.

No less significant is to recall the track record of the Congress in communal violence in India, which is not at all comfortable. Its behaviour in anti-Sikh riots is a testimony for this.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi likened the Ram Mandir campaign to freedom struggle at the bhoomi pujan at Ayodhya. As he did this, he appeared to reveal his real worldview, failing to understand as why the two events are poles apart. Indeed, there cannot be any comparison between the two.The freedom movement was aimed at emancipating the country from the shackles of the slavery of foreign rule in which people of all faiths suffered -- except perhaps those who have practiced and proliferated the divisive politics of hate. It was a pluralistic movement, and had no religious connotation.Muslims in India deeply respect and revere Ram. Renowned poet Iqbal termed Ram as Imamul Hind, the great leader of Indians. Muslims welcome the creation of the Ram Mandir. There can be no objection whatsoever if scores of Ram Mandir come up. What they are not reconciled is shaping up of the scenario with the irrational and brutal demolition of the Babri Masjid.The entire governmental machinery was put to play leading to the bhoomi pujan, causing serious setback to Indias secular values. This is the result of steep, exponential rise of communalism in the country, which has immensely benefited BJP politically.There is a need to note here, however, that Indian Muslims havent liked the recent conversion of the Hagia Sophia museum into a mosque in Turkey. Articles in the Indian Urdu media bear testimony to this.Mustafa Kemal Pasha (1881-1938), the Turkish field marshal and revolutionary, who was the founding father (hence called Ata Turk) of the Republic of Turkey, undertook sweeping reforms, which modernized Turkey. Yet, his reforms couldnt erase Islam from Turkey. Similarly, despite his repressive ways, Stalin also couldnt erase Islam from the Russia.Indeed, to be a believer in a faith or not is a matter of one's choice, which can't be dictated by those in power. Demolition of a place of worship can't erase a faith.Against the backdrop of the bhoomi pujan, there were celebrity voices from the Congress, particularly that of Priyanka Gandhi, on the occasion of the bhoomi pujan, in favour of the construction of the Ram Temple.It is all too well known what role the Congress has played in facilitating the environment for laying the foundation stone of the Ram Mandir. BJP furthered the whole process, culminating it into its political agenda.No less significant is to recall the track record of the Congress in communal violence in India, which is not at all comfortable. Its behaviour in anti-Sikh riots is a testimony for this.

Muslims in India deeply respect and revere Ram. Renowned poet Iqbal termed Ram as Imamul Hind, the great leader of Indians

Ironically, however, those who blamed the Congress for the anti-Sikh riots also did not anything to restrain the street turbulence against Sikhs. They remained silent at that point of time. The anti-Congress political ammunition later was meant to reap political benefit.

While the Congress can't come out of the troubled waters by practicing soft Hindutva, the exponential rise of BJP can well be attributed to the Congress politics. There is already certain amount of unease within the party with its stance on the bhoomi pujan. The Muslim leadership in the party has given vent to its rumblings over the party's stance.

Former Rajya Sabha chairman Rehman Khan has expressed disappointment over the change seen in the Congress stance. He referred to the the Constituent Assembly debate on May 26, 1949 regarding the deletion of the provision of separate electorate for the minorities, quoting Frank Anthony, representing the Anglo Indian community, as stating that Congress men were spiritually attached to RSS and Hindu Mahasabha.

Amidst the current political turmoil around the Ram Mandir, one shouldnt forget that the country is facing the enormous challenge of the pandemic. The Modi government has failed to tackle the grim situation arising out of Covid-19. The consequences of the failure reverberate, impacting lives and livelihoods of the people.

But would the government get serious with the main issue of the deadly virus leaving aside its obsession with communal agenda?

---

*Advocate based in Kalyan, Maharashtra
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A disabled tenant is fighting a serious infection after his public housing flat was flooded with raw sewage for the fourth time since March.

Tony Scott's carer Claire McCrackan was forced to clean up the mess in the bathroom of his housing commission apartment in Adelaide.

Disgusting images and video taken from inside the home show the dirty water coming up through the drains, flooding the floors and bath tub.

Claire McCrackan (left) is Mr Scott's carer and has looked after him since 2017, she has called for a disability liaison officer to be appointed to work with Housing SA

Mr Scott, who suffers from a rare genetic disease, was taken into hospital after he suffered a bacterial infection transmitted through faeces after the latest flood on March 13.

Claire told Daily Mail Australia: 'Raw sewerage keeps coming up the drains and flooding the flat.

'So here we are in a pandemic with an extremely vulnerable man in s**t from every unit flowing through his flat. '

The 65-year-old has lived in a public housing complex designed for people with disabilities for 39 years and doesn't want to leave his home.

Mr Scott's carer, Ms McCrackan, said it was a surreal experience to be sterilising door handles and cleaning up the flat again.

I felt nauseous, I felt sick, we took some 60 buckets of s****y water and bucketed it out and its like where do we put it? she said,'It flooded so badly it flowed out the front door.'

Pictured: Raw sewage has come up through the drain into Mr Scott's toilet multiple times leaving him unable to go to the bathroom for at least five hours



Ms McCrackan said Tony doesn't have 'that long left' and just wants peace and quiet: 'I shouldn't have to move him, he can't live in an unfamiliar environment, it frightens him.

The raw sewage has come out of the pipes into Mr Scott's bathtub in the Housing Trust flat he has lived in for 39 years

The plumbing problems aren't isolated to Mr Scott's flat, his carer found out a neighbour has reported cigarette butts coming up through the drain into the shower.

Mr Scott's carer is disappointed the authorities only seem to care when she jumps up and down and wants something positive to come from speaking out.

After being contacted by Daily Mail Australia, a Housing SA spokesperson said they were working as quickly as possible to resolve the maintenance issue, and regret any inconvenience caused to the tenant.

They have a team assessing the drain and will offer Mr Scott a permanent relocation if 'lengthy and disruptive' repairs are required.

Ms McCrackan said although the complex was originally built for tenants with a disability, there are only a few disabled people living there now, many residents are out of the judicial system or have addiction issues.

She would like to see the flats revert back to being primarily for people with disabilities and a rapid response developed for the block so nobody else has to suffer through the same situation.
They were late raising the bridges, late blocking the roads, trying to say that they picked things up over social media, rushed 400 officers downtown, but they were once again caught unprepared. And you know the mayor doesnt like anyone asking tough questions. You saw the press conference. She gave her rationale, offered rhetoric, and when a reporter tried to ask a penetrating question about the Cook County states attorney, she lashed out at him.
Salus BioPharma

Canvedas medical cannabis brand

Canvedas medical cannabis brand

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO NEWSWIRE SERVICES IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. ANY FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS RESTRICTION MAY CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF UNITED STATES SECURITIES LAWS.

TORONTO, Aug. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MPX International Corporation (MPX International, MPXI or the Corporation) (CSE:MPXI; OTCQX:MPXOF), a multinational diversified cannabis company, is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Canveda Inc. (Canveda), a licence holder under the Cannabis Act (Canada), has entered into a production and distribution agreement with Panaxia Pharmaceutical Industries Israel Ltd. (Panaxia), the largest manufacturer and distributor of medical cannabis products in Israel, for the packaging and distribution of cannabis which will be marketed and sold in Israel under Canvedas medical brand Salus BioPharma.

MPXI has a long-standing relationship with Panaxia and welcomes the opportunity to market our brand in Israel as part of our international cannabis strategy, noted W. Scott Boyes, Chairman, President and CEO of MPX International. Panaxia is a major player in the Israeli market and an emerging participant in the global cannabis space and we are honored to be able to work with them on this initial project.

A first shipment of 100 kg of high-quality cannabis flower will be shipped from Canada to Israel as soon as an export permit from Health Canada is acquired. All the required import permits from Israel have been issued.

Panaxia uses high-quality cannabis flower to manufacture and distribute a variety of standardized, pharma-grade, smokeless, measured dosage cannabinoid-based products including sublingual tablets, slow release tablets, pastilles, rectal suppositories, vaginal suppositories, skincare ointments, topical patches and oral spray inhalers.

The Salus BioPharma products will be sold to patients with a variety of conditions such as PTSD, chronic pain, cancer, epilepsy, Parkinsons, Alzheimers, anorexia and HIV/AIDS.

Story continues

We are proud to work on this project with our Canadian partners MPX International Corporation and expand our collaboration to the Israeli market. As an experienced pharmaceutical company and the largest manufacturer and distributor of medical cannabis products in Israel, we are committed to providing premium, standardized, and scientifically-backed pharmaceutical cannabis products to our partners and patients worldwide. MPXI leads the pharmaceutical approach to medical cannabis in Canada, which makes them a natural partner for distribution of high-quality pharmaceutical cannabis products in Israel, said Assi Rotbart, GM of Panaxia.

We will be shipping our initial 100 kg of bulk high-quality Sativa and Indica cannabis strains to test the market in Israel. Panaxia will be responsible for quality control, packaging and distribution of Salus BioPharma products, said Michael Arnkvarn, COO, Canada of MPXI. The Salus BioPharma brand is our premier medical brand and we are excited to commence international distribution of our Salus BioPharma products with Panaxia in Israel. Following this initial foray into the international cannabis market, we are working to expand distribution of the Salus BioPharma Brand to additional international markets.

About MPX International Corporation

MPX International Corporation is a multinational diversified cannabis company focused on developing and operating assets across the international cannabis industry with an emphasis on cultivating, manufacturing and marketing products which include cannabinoids as their primary active ingredient. With current operations spanning four continents in Canada, Switzerland, South Africa, Malta and Australia as well as evolving partnership and distribution opportunities in other jurisdictions, MPXI continues to position itself as an emergent global participant in the cannabis industry.

About Panaxia Pharmaceutical Industries Israel

Panaxia Labs Israel, Ltd. is a publicly traded company (TASE:PNAX.TA). It is the largest Israeli manufacturer and home-delivery distributor of medical cannabis products, and the first to have received the approval of the Israeli Ministry of Health for the manufacturing of medicinal cannabis-based pharmaceuticals (under the IMC-GMP directive) as well as EU-GMP standard certification required for commercial production and export of medical cannabis and its products to Europe. The company manufactures over 30 hemp-based medicinal products and has accumulated a broad foundation of clinical experience based on tens of thousands of patients.

Panaxia is a subsidiary of the Segal Pharma Group, owned by the Segal family and founded over forty years ago. The company manufactures over 600 different pharmaceutical products that are distributed in over 40 countries worldwide. Panaxia Labs Israel is a subsidiary of Panaxia Pharmaceutical Industries, co-founded by Dr. Dadi Segal, Dr. Eran Goldberg, and Adv. Assi Rotbart as the cannabis division of the Segal Pharma Group. A sister subsidiary, Panaxia US, manufactures in North America over 60 hemp-based medicinal products, including sublingual tablets, lozenges, oils, and inhalators designed for treating conditions such as PTSD, cancer, chronic pain, epilepsy, anorexia, burns, and many other ailments. Panaxia Group has over 150 employees, who also conduct all of its clinical trials.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release includes certain forward-looking statements under applicable Canadian securities legislation that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results, performance, prospects, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, MPX Internationals objectives and intentions. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic and social uncertainties; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; delay or failure to receive board, shareholder or regulatory approvals; those additional risks set out in MPX Internationals public documents filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com , including its audited annual consolidated financial statements for the financial years ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 and the corresponding annual managements discussion and analysis; and other matters discussed in this news release. Although MPX International believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. Except where required by law, MPX International disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

For further information, please contact:

MPX International Corporation

W. Scott Boyes, Chairman, President and CEO

T: +1-416-840-4703

info@mpxinternationalcorp.com

http://mpxi.tv



For additional information on MPXI visit our website www.mpxinternationalcorp.com or http://mpxi.tv.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5173bd31-6e4b-41a7-8943-08a39e692c2f




DMK MLA KK Selvam, representing Thousand lights constituency in Chennai, was on Thursday (August 13) dismissed from the party from indulging in anti-party activities. It may be recalled that Selvam had met BJP President JP Nadda and some other senior BJP leaders in Delhi on August 4, 2020.

However, after meeting the BJP leaders in Delhi, Selvam had told reporters that he was not joining the BJP and had met them only to make certain demands related to his constituency. I visited Railways Minister Piyush Goyal to request him to install two lifts at the Nungambakkam station in my constituency and also asked BJP President JP Nadda to develop temple town Rameswaram on par with Ayodhya," he had said.

Selvam also demanded that DMK president MK Stalin must hold internal party elections and snap ties with the Congress and the Gandhi family. His other demand was about wanting Stalin to condemn Karuppar Koottam, a Youtube channel that had made a derogatory video related to a holy hymn on Lord Muruga. On being asked about reaching Delhi and meeting BJP leaders without informing the party high command, Selvam had said that he was ready to face disciplinary action from the party.

Recently there have been various reports of DMK youth wing leader and MK Stalins son Udhayanidhi wielding influence in appointing those in his close circle for plum posts. This is said to have caused heartburn among a few old-timers.

Thousand Lights as a constituency also holds significance as it is bang in the heart of Chennai city and was a constituency that MK Stalin had also fought elections from. When asked about the possibility of more leaders from DMK joining the DMK, BJP Spokesperson Narayanan Thirupathy said that the BJP welcomes anybody who accepts their ideology.
NEW YORK, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Inc. magazine revealed today that Insights to Behavior is No. 312 on its annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies. The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economy's most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses. Intuit, Zappos, Under Armour, Microsoft, Patagonia, and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000.

Insights to Behavior an Inc. 500 company.

"We're proud to be recognized among Inc.'s respected list of fastest-growing private companies," says Insights to Behavior CEO, Kenton Levings. "We've placed significant focus over the past several years on growing our business, supporting our customers, and building the most robust behavior management system on the market today."

Not only have the companies on the 2020 Inc. 5000 been very competitive within their markets, but the list as a whole shows staggering growth compared with prior lists as well. The 2020 Inc. 5000 achieved an incredible three-year average growth of over 500 percent and a median rate of 165 percent. The Inc. 5000's aggregate revenue was $209 billion in 2019, accounting for over 1 million jobs over the past three years.

"The companies on this year's Inc. 5000 come from nearly every realm of business," says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. "From health and software to media and hospitality, the 2020 list proves that no matter the sector, incredible growth is based on the foundations of tenacity and opportunism."

About Insights to Behavior

Insights to Behavior is an innovative behavior management company offering an exciting, new technology-based solution for developing behavior interventions and a library of professional development courses for K12 School Districts. Our web-based system takes you from observations to a behavior plan in an hour, reducing special education referrals, legal liabilities, improving staff development, and addressing safety and discipline, while simultaneously saving districts significant amounts of money, time, and staff allocations.

To learn more about how to create legally-defensible behavior plans in under an hour, visit insightstobehavior.com.

As points of distinction to the Inc. 5000 nomination, Insights to Behavior is:

The only Behavior Management and Social-Emotional Learning Support product to earn a spot on Inc. 5000.

The 2nd fastest-growing privately held company in its home state of Oklahoma .

. The 5th fastest-growing privately-held education company on the Inc. 5000.

CONTACT: Jeffery R Powers | [email protected] | 888-542-4265 x707

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at www.inc.com/inc5000. The top 500 companies are also being featured in the September issue of Inc., available on newsstands August 12.

The 2020 Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2016 and 2019. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2016, U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. Minimum revenue required for 2016 is $100,000. Minimum for 2019 is $2 million. Companies on the Inc. 500 are featured in Inc.'s September issue. They represent the top tier of the Inc. 5000, which can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000.

For more information about how to see your company name on the Inc. 5000 contact ProSales Connection, visit https://www.prosalesconnection.com.

SOURCE Insights to Behavior

Related Links

http://insightstobehavior.com


Despite the disruption of COVID-19, Harony Gold (TSX: AR) said today that its South African operations managed to achieve up to 75% of planned production during the last quarter of the financial year, which was higher than initially expected by the company.

The company filed its fiscal year end today.

"Year on year, total annual gold production was 15% lower at 37 863kg, or 1.2Moz, mainly due to the impact of the COVID-19 national lockdown and phased recovery in South Africa," said the company.

Due to lower production year on year, the company said all-in sustaining costs for all operations is expected to be between 17% to 19% higher.

However, with high gold prices the company is expecting to generate more cash.

"It is estimated that the operating free cash flow margin for FY20 may double  from 7% in the previous financial year to about 13% to 15% in FY20."
We have been engaged with Canadian federal and provincial regulatory agencies to ensure our new reduced GWP product line complies with all requirements, states Tim Lacey, Global Vice President & General Manager, DuPont Performance Building Solutions.

Read in French here

DuPont (NYSE:DD) is preparing to launch a reduced Global Warming Potential (GWP) solution for Styrofoam Brand XPS Boardstock in order to fully comply with the Canadian Environmental Protection Act as new federal and provincial regulations come into effect on January 1, 2021.

Pursuant to Section 69 of the Ozone-depleting Substances and Halocarbon Alternatives Regulations of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, DuPont has been granted a permit to import and manufacture Styrofoam Brand XPS Boardstock, with a reduced GWP, for an essential purpose until December 31, 2022.

Beginning in the 4th quarter of 2020, with a complete Canadian conversion ready by January 1, 2021, DuPont will transition its heritage blue Styrofoam Brand XPS Boardstock family of products to a new grey, reduced GWP product line.

We have been engaged with Canadian federal and provincial regulatory agencies to ensure our new reduced GWP product line complies with all requirements, states Tim Lacey, Global Vice President & General Manager, DuPont Performance Building Solutions. This is another step in our plan to deliver more sustainable solutions to the industry.

As part of a multi-phased approach, the grey, reduced GWP product line will deliver greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions in support of the Paris Climate Agreement and along a more aggressive timeline than the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. This new Styrofoam Brand XPS Boardstock aligns with and enables progress towards DuPonts 2030 Sustainability Goals, which includes a commitment to reduce GHG emissions by 30 percent on a path to carbon neutrality by 2050.

About DuPont Safety & Construction

DuPont Safety & Construction, is a global leader in products and solutions that protect what matters  people, structures and the environment  and enables its customers to win through unique capabilities, global scale and iconic brands including Corian, Kevlar, Nomex Tyvek, Styrofoam Brand, Great Stuff, FrothPak and Filmtec.

About DuPont

DuPont (NYSE: DD) is a global innovation leader with technology-based materials, ingredients and solutions that help transform industries and everyday life. Our employees apply diverse science and expertise to help customers advance their best ideas and deliver essential innovations in key markets including electronics, transportation, construction, water, health and wellness, food and worker safety. More information can be found at http://www.dupont.com.

Media Contact

Stacy Coughlin

DuPont Performance Building Solutions

stacy.coughlin@dupont.com
The Congress on Thursday revoked the suspension of Bhanwarlal Sharma and Vishvendra Singh, two MLAs who had rebelled against the Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan.

IMAGE: Congress leader Sachin Pilot along with party MLAs addresses a press conference at his residence in Jaipur. Photograph: PTI Photo

They were suspended from the party's primary membership last month over their alleged involvement in a "conspiracy" to topple the Congress government in the state.

The decision to revoke the suspension of the two MLAs follows a patch-up between Ashok Gehlot and his sacked deputy Sachin Pilot after the intervention of the party's top leadership in Delhi.

"After a consultative discussion, the suspension of @INCRajasthan MLA Sh. Bhanwarlal Sharma Ji and Sh. @vishvendrabtp ji is hereby revoked," All India Congress Committee general secretary Avinash Pande tweeted.

The Congress had taken action against them on July 17 after three audio tapes allegedly pertaining to the conspiracy to topple the government surfaced.

Both the MLAs were issued show cause notices.

Prior to this, Singh was also sacked from the Ashok Gehlot cabinet along with Pilot and Ramesh Meena on July 14, in a disciplinary action after they failed to attend CLP meetings.

Singh held the portfolio of the tourism whereas Pilot was deputy CM and Ramesh Meena was food and civil supply minister.

The revolt by Pilot and 18 dissident MLAs led to a political crisis in the state.

After the party high command intervened in the matter on Monday, the MLAs returned to Jaipur.

The chief minister has called a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party at his residence on Thursday at 5 pm, a day before the state assembly session is scheduled to begin.
Highlights Realme is reportedly working on new smartphones that will feature 5G connectivity.

One of them will be powered by Snapdragon 765G SoC and have 90Hz display.

The other one will have a MediaTek Dimensity 720 SoC and 5000mAh battery.

Realme is working towards bringing the 5G connectivity to lower price ranges, the result of which is the recently-launched V5. The company is not stopping at it and making more affordable 5G handsets for eligible markets. Two new Realme devices have now been spotted on China's TENAA certification website, both having support for 5G connectivity, using two different processors.

The device (seen above) could have a camera design similar to the one seen on the Realme V5 while there will be a punch-hole on the display. The device will come in a grey colourway on a probably plastic body, if not faux glass. Its uncanny resemblance with Realme V5 hints that it could also belong to the V-series.

This one has also been spotted with a 90Hz refresh rate on the display. It has a model number RMX2176, listed to come with a 6.43-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080x2400 pixels. It will be powered by an octa-core chipset, the features of which resemble those of the mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G processor. There will be two RAM and UFS 2.1 storage configurations, 6GB/128GB and 8GB/256GB.

The TENAA listing has further revealed there will be a 64-megapixel main camera on the RMX2176 device, accompanied by an 8-megapixel ultrawide sensor, a 2-megapixel macro sensor, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. For selfies, there is going to be a 32-megapixel camera on the device. And, finally, the RMX2176 will be backed by a 4300mAh battery under the hood. However, the charging speed on the device is not clear via the TENAA listing.

RMX2200 as seen in the TENAA listing.

Another device that has been found bears the model number RMX2200 and it flaunts a Snapdragon 765G processor, as well. There is a slightly bigger 6.52-inch display on the device, however, with an LCD panel and without the 90Hz refresh rate. This one would instead use a MediaTek Dimensity 720 chipset for 5G connectivity, paired with three RAM options - 4GB, 6GB, and 8GB. There will two storage configurations - the 64GB one is likely to be paired with the 4GB, 6GB variant while the 256GB variant could go with the 8GB RAM version.

The RMX2200 has three cameras, instead, and their graphic resolution is way too low. According to the listing, the device will have a 13-megapixel main camera, a 2-megapixel macro camera, and a 2-megapixel depth-sensing camera. An 8-megapixel camera will be given on the front, sat inside the waterdrop-style notch at the top. The device will have a 5000mAh battery with fast charging support, as well.

We do not know when these devices will launch or what they will be known as when they come out. Our guess is they will belong to the V-series that saw its first device launched as the Realme V5. Anyway, the two devices are headed to China first before they arrive in other markets.
Dwayne Johnson banked $87.5 million in the year ending June 2020, according to Forbes' annual ranking.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has been named Hollywood's top-paid actor for a second year running, heading a list dominated by lucrative Netflix contracts.

The former professional wrestler banked $87.5 million in the year ending June 2020, according to Forbes' annual ranking.

That figure  slightly down from last year's $89.4 million haul, but comfortably ahead of second-placed Ryan Reynolds ($71.5 million)  was boosted by Johnson's $23.5 million fee for upcoming Netflix action flick Red Notice, as well as endorsements.

Netflix shelled out more than a quarter of all the paychecks collected by this year's top 10.

Others benefiting from the streaming giant's $140 million A-lister splurge included Reynolds (Six Underground and Red Notice), third-placed Mark Wahlberg (Spenser Confidential), and fourth-placed Ben Affleck (The Last Thing He Wanted.)

Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda made his debut on the list after Disney paid $75 million for the movie rights to the smash-hit Broadway production, which soared on Disney+ streaming last month.

Perennials such as Bollywood megastar Akshay Kumar and martial arts legend Jackie Chan returned to the top 10, as did Will Smith and Adam Sandler.

Largely absent this year were the cast of Marvel's Avengers films  who dominated last year  with the record-breaking franchise taking an extended break from the big screen.

But Vin Diesel, lynchpin of the ever-popular Fast & Furious franchise, returned at number five with $54 million.

The ranking does not include actresses, who will be featured in a separate list next month.

The top 10:

1. Dwayne Johnson ($87.5 million)

2. Ryan Reynolds ($71.5 million)

3. Mark Wahlberg ($58 million)

4. Ben Affleck ($55 million)

5. Vin Diesel ($54 million)

6. Akshay Kumar ($48.5 million)

7. Lin-Manuel Miranda ($45.5 million)

8. Will Smith ($44.5 million)

9. Adam Sandler ($41 million)

10. Jackie Chan ($40 million)
Campus News

Ghana program graduates 22 future leaders

Graduates of the 2020 Leadership Empowerment Academy Program gather for a photo. The socially distanced graduation ceremony took place last month at the University of Cape Coast in Ghana.

By KEVIN MANNE

This pandemic has brought about many challenges, but it has also brought about optimism, ingenuity, empathy, love and support. It has also highlighted the importance of leadership  and completing this program amid such challenges is something that will contribute to the growth and development of these graduates for the rest of their lives. 

Twenty-two new graduates are equipped with the leadership skills to take their careers to the next level after completing the Leadership Empowerment Academy Program (LEAP), a global collaboration between the University of Cape Coast and the UB School of Managements Center for Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness (CLOE).

The socially distanced graduation ceremony took place at the University of Cape Coast in Ghana, Africa, on July 10. Representatives from UB attended virtually via video conference, including School of Management Dean Paul Tesluk, who shared graduation remarks.

This pandemic has brought about many challenges, but it has also brought about optimism, ingenuity, empathy, love and support, says Tesluk. It has also highlighted the importance of leadership  and completing this program amid such challenges is something that will contribute to the growth and development of these graduates for the rest of their lives.

LEAP is a yearlong program that teaches graduate students at the University of Cape Coast about analytical thinking, self-reflection, creative problem-solving and interpersonal relationships, giving them a competitive advantage in the job market. This was the programs third cohort of students, with 70 graduates in total. The next program began Aug. 7.

Throughout the year, students participate in four in-person sessions, typically with three in Ghana and one in Buffalo, but that session was made virtual this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants also have the opportunity to attend CLOEs annual leadership conference.

LEAP is part of a growing portfolio of global programs available from the UB School of Management, including a slate of virtual global learning experiences scheduled for this fall.
The FBI is asking the public for help with locating the mother of a toddler who was found wandering around a Florida neighborhood last month after they traveled there from Georgia.

Two-year-old Kamdyn Cavett Arnold was discovered in a parking lot of an apartment complex near the 1860 block of SW 68th Avenue in Miramar on the morning of July 27.

At the time, the Miramar Police Department shared images of Kamdyn on social media with hopes of locating his parents.

As of Thursday evening, authorities have yet to locate his mother, 21-year-old Leila Cavett, who was last seen with her son on July 26.

The FBI is asking the public for help with locating the mother of a toddler who was found wandering around a Florida neighborhood last month after he and his mom traveled there from Georgia

Two-year-old Kamdyn Cavett Arnold (pictured) was discovered near the 1860 block of SW 68th Avenue in Miramar on the morning of July 27. His mother, Leila Cavett (right), 21, is still missing

As of Thursday evening, authorities have yet to locate Cavett (right), who was last seen with her son on July 26. Surveillance footage shows the young mother holding Kamdyn while walking into a Race Trac gas station (left)

Surveillance footage shows the young mother holding Kamdyn while walking into a Race Trac gas station.

During a press conference on Thursday, FBI Miami Special Agent in Charge George Piro said: 'Leilas separation from her son is completely out of character. Her family and others in our community are very concerned about her safety and well-being.'

Authorities said they had recently received a tip that the missing woman had traveled to Florida from Georgia and her last known location was near Hollywood Boulevard and US Route 441.

Cavett was last seen driving a mid-to-late 90s white Chevy Silverado 3500, with a red tailgate and a Baby on Board sign on the passenger window.

Authorities found her unattended Chevy in Hollywood on July 28. Hollywood police then took over the case and launched a missing person investigation.

Cavett's family members said they last talked to her on July 17 and have no idea why she would've traveled to Florida.

The toddler is seen pushing a chair around inside the Miramar police station in an image from WPLG

Footage of the adorable toddler shows him interacting with police officers (pictured)

According to her Facebook page, Cavett lives in Atlanta, Georgia, but is originally from Alabama.

'I FaceTimed her on July 17. We were on the phone for about an hour and she was fine,' one of her sisters told reporters a few weeks ago.

'She didnt have any plans to come to Florida, so were very confused right now.'

Authorities said Cavett is about 5 feet 3 inches tall with shoulder length hair. She has a fish tattoo on her right wrist and another tattoo that says Kamdyn on her right arm.

When Kamdyn was found, police shared footage of him interacting with officers at the Miramar police station and pushing around a chair.

The toddler is now in the custody of Child Protective Services as police continue their investigation.

Authorities are urging anyone with information to call 954-602-4000.
Syracuse, N.Y.  When Patrona Jones-Rowser came down with Covid-19 in March, she didnt hide it. She blared it on Facebook.

Jones-Rowser, who is African American, went public to warn friends and community members about the disease. She had good reason. As the virus spread through Onondaga County, Black residents caught it at three times the rate of whites on a per-capita basis, according to a syracuse.com analysis of county health data.

African Americans in Onondaga County also face greater risk of complications. They have been hospitalized from Covid-19 at almost three times the rate of white residents. The death rate for Blacks is more than 50% higher than for whites.

I wanted people to know, hey listen, take it seriously, said Jones-Rowser, 44, a long-time neighborhood advocate on the South Side.

She recovered. But four months later she was still getting short of breath walking upstairs, she said.

The coronavirus poses a supersized risk for African Americans. To examine that disparity in CNY, syracuse.com analyzed county statistics on Covid-19 by race combined with population data from the Census.

County officials agree: Black residents face heightened risk from the virus. But that comes as no surprise to most health experts. Its part of the same old story.

Blacks face worse outcomes from most lethal diseases. Cancer, heart disease, diabetes, stroke  they all kill Blacks at higher rates than whites in Onondaga County.

Its a national problem. Across the country, statistics show a big disparity in health outcomes between the races. Social inequities in housing, education, employment and other key necessities play a big role, experts say.

Heres one way to sum it up:

In Onondaga County, 49% of Black residents die prematurely, before age 65. Only 18% of white residents die that young.

Covid unearthed a lot of things

Health inequality between the races has gone on for decades. The coronavirus raised the stakes.

I think Covid unearthed a lot of things that maybe we lost a line of sight to, said Brandiss Pearson, a nurse practitioner and the director of community engagement at St. Josephs Health.

Pearson said she hopes the pandemic will inspire a renewed vision to address those disparities.

Public health officials say theyre trying. But the roots of many health inequities are tangled up with other festering, race-based problems unfixed for decades. Inequality of health, many experts say, is a product of deeper inequality.

State and county health departments chip away at parts of the problem  with programs to promote good nutrition and exercise, for example  but the health bureaucracys goals are often modest compared with the challenge.

Dr. Indu Gupta, county health commissioner, said racial health inequities developed over decades and decades. It will take time to reverse them, she said.

When we make changes, it will take a minimum of a few years to see anything (make a) dent, Gupta said.

The health-care system cant overcome the problem alone, said Dr. Mustafa Awayda, chief hospitalist at the VA Medical Center in Syracuse. Awayda also serves as medical director of a free health clinic on the South Side and runs the HIV program at Syracuse Community Health Center.

A full-fledged campaign against racial health disparities requires a national commitment to end social inequities, too, Awayda said. Health care, Awayda said, is a human right.

What will fix it is addressing ... discrimination and institutional racism and disparities, he said. I mean, this needs to be addressed. Better opportunities, better jobs, better food outlets. Its kind of a vicious cycle that needs to be broken.

Mourning a father lost at 53

When Syracuse resident Danny White contracted Covid-19, he was already weakened by a long battle with diabetes, his daughter Kyra said. White had lost his sight and required regular dialysis to compensate for kidney failure.

White died June 7. He was 53.

For more than two years before that, he lived at a Loretto adult care facility, his daughter said.

Kyra White said her memories are of happier days with her father, who worked as a bus driver and mechanic and loved to play cards in his free time. She remembers going on impromptu excursions with her father and sister Danyell.

He would take us on little picnics and places, she said. At nighttime, when it got dark, we would go downtown and go by the little fountains. We would do stuff like that, just to get out of the house sometimes.

She takes some comfort in knowing that death relieved her fathers suffering, she said.

Hes been sick. Hes been in pain. He would have to go to dialysis. He would have to stick himself with needles, she said. Now hes not in pain.

Patients are usually more susceptible to Covid-19 when they have chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes or asthma. These, too, flourish among Black residents.

More than 8,800 people who died of Covid-19 in New York state  representing 35% of total deaths  also had diabetes, state health officials report.

In Onondaga County, diabetes and other chronic health problems afflict African Americans in disproportionately high numbers, the county health department reports. For example:

Blacks are four times as likely as whites to be hospitalized with diabetes, and 2.4 times as likely to die from the disease.

African Americans are hospitalized for hypertension at 4.6 times the rate for the total population. (Separate statistics were not available for white patients.)

African American adults are hospitalized for asthma at 3.7 times the rate of white patients.

Nationally, Black people develop health conditions that make them vulnerable to Covid-19 complications at earlier ages than whites, according to a June 2020 research paper from a Syracuse professor.

In the 45-64 age group, for example, Blacks are nearly twice as vulnerable as whites to severe complications because of underlying health issues like hypertension or diabetes.

Income differences also play a role. The study found significantly higher risk among the poorest 25% of people compared with the richest 25%.

Economist Emily Wiemers, the lead author of the study and a professor at Syracuse Universitys Maxwell School, studies aging and how families cope with illness. She said public officials should bear in mind the extra risk from Covid-19 faced by African Americans and poor people, especially as lockdowns ease and businesses and schools reopen.

Davon Kearse of Syracuse said he feels lucky not to have ended up in the hospital when he had Covid-19, like others he knows. Kearse, 54, was diagnosed nine years ago with diabetes, which he manages with insulin and other medications. He caught the coronavirus from an unknown source in May.

Kearse said he endured pneumonia-like symptoms including a bad cough, soreness and shortness of breath. He recovered after about three weeks. But he fears that the virus may have weakened his immune system. He is currently fighting off another respiratory infection thats not Covid-19, he said.

People have to understand, this is not a joke,' he said. Its a game changer.

Where coronavirus spreads fastest

The high rate of coronavirus infection among Blacks in Onondaga County mirrors what is happening in the rest of the country. In part, experts say, African Americans are extra-vulnerable to infection because many live in densely populated urban neighborhoods, use public transportation or have jobs where its tough to call in sick or work from home.

In the South Side neighborhood where Jones-Rowser lives  ZIP code 13205, which is majority Black  the coronavirus had struck 20 out of every 1,000 residents as of Aug. 4, county data showed. Four miles away in Eastwood  ZIP code 13206, where 78% of residents are white  the infection rate was more than three times lower at 6 per 1,000.

County officials say the South Side infection rate is likely inflated somewhat by the presence of two large nursing homes where there are dozens of cases of Covid-19. But the racial disparity remains significant.

Countywide, the coronavirus infection rate among African Americans was 16.5 per 1,000 residents as of Aug. 4; among whites, the rate was 5.1 per 1,000.

Nationally, data from the federal Centers of Disease Control showed that, from March through May, Blacks caught the virus 2.7 times as often as whites on average, as reported by The New York Times.

Covid-19 has spread most rapidly in the poorest neighborhoods of Syracuse, which is typical in pandemics, said David Larsen, a professor and infectious disease expert at Syracuse University. About two-thirds of the citys Black population live in high poverty areas, according to Census data.

The causes of infectious disease transmission are highly related to socioeconomic status, Larsen said. Everything comes back to how wealthy you are.

Exposure is greater because houses are closer together, with some containing extended families. Residents of poor areas are more likely to use public transportation. And they are more likely to have service jobs with no option to work from home.

It really highlights the social inequality, pandemic does, Larsen said.

Besides African Americans, other ethnic minorities also have suffered above-average harm from the coronavirus.

Life expectancy by Census tract Average life expectancy tends to be shorter in Census tracts that have high percentages of minority or poor residents. Most tracts on the South Side of Syracuse, where much of Onondaga Countys Black population resides, have shorter than average life expectancy. Tracts shaded darkest blue have the longest average life expectancy; darkest red have the shortest. (Click/tap arrows in top-left corner to toggle map legend.) Source: Data from 2010-2015 from National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  View map full size

In New York and nationwide, for example, the death rate among Hispanics from Covid-19 is higher than the rate for whites and exceeds the percentage of Hispanics in the population. Onondaga County has not broken out mortality data on Hispanics, who represent about 5% of the county population and about 5% of the coronavirus cases.

Asians, however, who represent 3.7% of the county population, account for 8% of all local cases and 5.7% of deaths, the county reports. Experts say that may be due in part to large numbers of infections on Syracuses North Side, home to many Asian immigrants.

I have to make it stretch

Dr. Lynn-Beth Satterly, who ran a free health clinic in Syracuse for 12 years, said the U.S. health-care system is tilted against those who struggle to make ends meet. The Affordable Care Act of 2010 helped by making health insurance more available to low-income people, but many still have trouble paying for care, she said.

Medicines broken, Satterly said.

Douglas Dixie, who lives on the southwest side of Syracuse, said he was diagnosed four years ago with diabetes. Dixie, 64, successfully manages the disease with insulin.

But for about half of each year, its a struggle, Dixie said. His insurance coverage pays for insulin up to a fixed dollar value each year, after which he must pay out of pocket. That increases his cost from $200 for 15 doses to $700.

The price of insulin has nearly tripled in the past 10 years. Dixie resorts to spreading out his doses during part of the year. A 2018 study at Yale University found that 25% of patients rationed their insulin because of the cost.

Thats one of my problems, Dixie said. I cant take as much as Im supposed to take because I have to make it stretch.

So far, Dixie has gotten away with the strategy.

I still got my toes, he said. Got my legs.

The high cost of insulin has attracted widespread attention. State lawmakers this year passed legislation proposed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo that will cap out-of-pocket insulin expenses for insured patients at $100 per month, beginning next year.

A general mistrust

Research has shown that African Americans suffer worse health outcomes than whites even when they have equal socioeconomic status.

Studies that assess the bodys wear and tear from aging  by measuring blood pressure, certain blood components and other bio-markers  have concluded that Blacks age faster than whites at all income levels, on average.

Arline Geronimus, a professor at the University of Michigan and one of the leading researchers on the topic, has labeled the phenomenon, weathering. African Americans weather faster than whites, Geronius and other scientists have found.

The Rev. Nebraski Carter, 84, pastor of Living Water Church of God in Christ in a poor neighborhood, put it this way:

A lot of health problems would go away if we got justice,' he said. Equality.'

For years, Carters church on the southwest side has hosted a health education program every summer started by Luvenia Cowart, a professor at Syracuse University. The program has taught church members about nutrition, exercise, dementia care and other subjects.

But wellness tips alone cant overcome all the barriers some face, said Carter, who has been the pastor for 46 years. People who dont see a chance of improving their situation often dont take care of themselves.

They lose hope and they just give up, he said.

Pearson, who worked for 17 years as a nurse and nurse practitioner before taking a job as community engagement director at St. Joes, said some African Americans feel alienated from a health system that has too often reflected the racism of society at large.

Many Blacks still remember the infamous Tuskegee experiment conducted by the U.S. Public Health Service, Pearson said. Black men were studied for syphilis that was left untreated  without their knowledge or consent  despite the availability of effective treatment with penicillin. The secret study went on for 40 years, ending in 1972 only after it was exposed.

We all know about the Tuskegee experiment, and I think its just kind of that narrative thats been passed down, Pearson said.

There is sometimes a hesitation for African Americans to seek care, even when there are symptoms, Pearson said. I think that (theres) just a general mistrust of the health care system.

One thing that would help would be more people of color working as health-care providers, Pearson and others say.

Among U.S. doctors, for example, only 2.6% were Black in 2019; and 7.3% of students enrolled in medical schools in 2020 identified as Black, according to a report from the Association of American Medical Colleges. Blacks make up 13.2% of the U.S. population.

More generally, there is a growing national shortage of physicians that is likely to impact Blacks and other minorities heavily, the association reported. As it is, Black patients use the services of primary care doctors 30% less than white patients, according to the report.

The health bureaucracy responds

Since 2008, the state health department has had a Prevention Agenda that lays out a broad-based plan to improve public health and to reduce inequities, including those caused by race. Dozens of goals are updated every five years, and progress is measured county by county.

The idea is to establish concrete goals that can be tracked. But even if achieved, some goals dont move the needle far.

Here is one of the goals aimed at improving mental health, for example: Reduce the number of adult New Yorkers with incomes less than $15,000 who report, on telephone surveys, experiencing frequent mental distress' during the past month. The five-year goal is to lower the number reporting distress from 11% to 10%.

Health disparities in Onondaga County remain stubbornly persistent, despite efforts at improvement.

In 2017, the last year for which data are available, 49.3% of Black people who died in Onondaga County were under age 65. By contrast, 18.4% of white deaths involved people under 65.

The gap of 30.9% is so wide that the goal in the state Prevention Agenda is not to eliminate the disparity, but to reduce it. For a decade the state goal has been to have only 17.3% more premature deaths among African Americans.

But every year since 2008, 24.8% to 31.5% more African Americans have died young in Onondaga County, state records show.

TAG, COMMENT, SHARE!!! You can add my name to the list of celebrities who have tested positive for Covid 19, the Corona... Posted by Patrona M. Jones-Rowser on Saturday, March 28, 2020

Guided by the states agenda, each county in New York publishes its own health assessment and improvement plan every few years. Onondaga Countys plan focuses on initiatives such as improving nutrition and exercise, reducing smoking and drug use, and preventing suicide.

Working with local hospitals and community organizations, the county health department has initiatives under way to promote exercise and healthy eating in Syracuse public schools; to combat smoking and drug abuse; and to improve access to fruits and vegetables in poor neighborhoods, among other goals.

County officials also cite other initiatives.

From 2012 to 2018, for example, the countys lead hazard reduction efforts cut the percentage of Syracuse children whose blood tests showed elevated lead levels from 17.1% to 10.4%.

More than 20 years ago, Onondaga County launched an aggressive program to lower the alarming Black infant mortality rate in Syracuse, which was 23 deaths per 1,000 births in 1997. The Syracuse Healthy Start program, which includes home visits and other actions, cut the rate by more than half by 2013.

But the improvement appears tenuous and dependent on continued intervention.

The infant mortality rate among Blacks who participated in the Syracuse Healthy Start program fell to 8.1 per 1,000 births in 2018. But the overall Black infant mortality rate, which includes families that do not participate in the program, has risen 30% in the past five years, from 10.6 in 2013 to 13.8 in 2018.

Acknowledging theres a problem

The general health of Blacks in the United States has improved over the decades as racial barriers came down, according to researchers.

The decade following the Civil Rights Act of 1964, for example, brought significant improvements in health for African Americans, according to a 2019 paper by scientists from Harvard and Johns Hopkins universities. Hospitals were desegregated, improving birth outcomes. Better jobs raised incomes for Blacks.

Over the long run, as living conditions and health care improved for Blacks, the national gap in life expectancy between Blacks and whites declined from 8.3 years in 1950 to 3.3 years in 2017.

But that progress still leaves wide gaps by geography.

Average life expectancy in Onondaga County is 80.5 years, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. But a map of life expectancy by Census tract shows big variations, with worse numbers mostly clustered in tracts with lower incomes or large minority populations.

In some areas, including wealthy suburbs like Manlius and Skaneateles, life expectancy is as high as 86. But in Census Tract 54 on the South Side, where Patrona Jones-Rowser lives, its 72.6 years.

A few blocks away, near Garland Bros. Funeral Home, average life expectancy drops to 69.5 years. Funeral home director Charles Garland said chronic diseases like asthma, hypertension and diabetes are prevalent in the neighborhood.

If there was ever a disease made to affect minorities, its the coronavirus, Garland said.

Half a mile from Garlands funeral home, the 42-year-old Syracuse Community Health Center provides care for under-served patients regardless of their ability to pay. Some 60% of the patients are African American, said Derrick Murry, chief operating officer.

Onondaga County located its drive-thru coronavirus test site at the center in part to make it accessible to poor and minority neighborhoods, officials said.

Covid-19 has brought new attention to the chronic health problems and infection rates that plague poor neighborhoods, Murry said. Poverty is a key factor, which means solutions wont come easily, he said.

It really is a community effort that has to be put in place to address some of these very dire issues,' Murry said. Acknowledging theres a problem is the first step.

Public affairs reporter Tim Knauss covers government, public spending and other issues for syracuse.com/The Post-Standard. Contact him anytime: email | Twitter | | 315-470-3023
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Linkedin Andre Arditya (The Jakarta Post) The Conversation  Thu, August 13, 2020 14:28 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066dbfe2e 3 Opinion reformasi,Youth,Soeharto,New-Order,#Indonesia75 Free

Indonesias youth movements today are the natural heirs to their forerunners. In the arc of the nations history, the young have always played important and revolutionary roles.

In records and references, the youth movements fighting against the established older generation are tied to the moments they reached critical points and broke new ground.

Hence, the references to the youths of 1908, 1928, 1945, 1966, 1974, 1978 and  of course  1998.

Last year, a nation-wide wave of youth protest against a set of controversial bills was seen as the biggest student protest since 1998.

The protests show that youth have retained their critical political outlook and sense of political agency, despite frequent allegations in the past two decades that they had become apathetic, said Yatun Sastramidjaja, assistant professor in anthropology at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

In her estimation, the current generation of activist youth  coming of age as Indonesia turns 75 this year  represents a seminal moment in the nations history.

This is for the simple reason that the forerunners struggle for freedom from oppression and justice and truth remains necessary and all the more urgent today, Yatun said.

A generational consciousness

Yatun said that one recurring driving factor for the youth over different periods was their generational consciousness.

They embody the idea that a progressive new era, a better Indonesia, is possible, and that they have a responsibility to lead the way in the ongoing struggle for a better future, she said.

The generational consciousness of youth agency has proven to be a driving force for change in Indonesias history.

Youth and student movements throughout Indonesias history have contributed clear visions of progressive change and how this can be achieved.

And they have done so in imaginative ways befitting the needs of each historical period, she said.

Common destiny of pre-independence kaum muda

According to Yatun, political conditions and available opportunities shaped the roles of youth  specifically educated young people.

According to her 2016 study of Indonesian student movements, in the late Dutch colonial period, native-educated youth was a relatively tiny but highly privileged group.

They saw themselves as the agents of a dawning new era and called themselves kaum muda (the young).

They felt more enlightened than their feudalistic and ethnically divided parental generation, and well attuned to progressive developments on the world stage  including the rise of nationalism.

They were the first to develop a generational sense of common destiny and collective agency.

This was manifested in 1908, when Indonesian students in Jakarta (then Batavia) founded Boedi Oetomo, Indonesias first nationalist organisation.

They would later organise two youth congresses in 1926 and 1928; the latter produced the famous Youth Pledge for allegiance to one country, one nation, one language.

In 1928, kaum muda embraced their proclaimed role as agents of history; the fate of the nation was intimately tied to the actions of youth.

The youth of the national revolution

During the struggle for independence, a new generation of nationalist youth took a more radical stance.

In World War II, following the surrender of Japanese Empire - which then occupied Indonesia - on August 15, 1945, activist youth demanded Soekarno immediately proclaim independence.

They then abducted Soekarno and Mohammad Hatta to pressure the two hesitant leaders to proclaim independence, which they later did on August 17.

Wikimedia , CC BY

They called themselves by the more inclusive populist term pemuda (youth), insisting on the need to involve rakyat (common people) in the independence struggle.

In the national revolution that followed, they formed numerous struggle groups to lead the peoples battles for freedom.

But pemuda gradually lost the lead role in the revolution to the Indonesian army. The youth then moved into the national political arena.

The educated youth was redefined into the exclusive term mahasiswa (university student). It was institutionalised in the form of national student organisations with close affiliation to political parties.

Towards a period of repression

When the tide turned against Soekarno following the foiled coup of 1965  which the army, led by General Soeharto, blamed on the Communist Party, Soekarnos ally  the student organisations mobilised against Soekarno.

Mahasiswa joined forces in the Indonesian Student Action Front (KAMI), which for months staged mass demonstrations against the Communist Party and Soekarnos cabinet in 1966.

The student movement played a key role in the transition to Soehartos New Order.

In the 1970s, the notion of students as a moral force  driven by historical and intellectual duty to defend the oppressed  became a recurring theme in the student movements.

In this period, protests against Soehartos authoritarian rule were brutally repressed.

In 1974, the repression was disguised as mass riots that were blamed on student protest. In 1978, the military raided and occupied universities that were seen as hotbeds of student activism.

The student movements of the 1970s laid the groundwork for the fundamental criticism of authoritarianism and state-led crony-capitalism that continues to resonate with student activists to this day.

Activist youth

The student movements of the late 1980s and early 1990s did away with the emasculated label of mahasiswa and embraced the role of aktifis (activist).

Hence, Yatun said, the student movement of 1998 came out of nowhere, but benefited from a climate of New Order opposition that students had nurtured since the 1970s.

The 1998 student movement was initially triggered by the economic crisis that hit Indonesia in late 1997 with devastating impact on the middle classes. It accelerated the process of Soehartos delegitimisation.

However, it was the collective memory of student struggle that spurred the mass participation of students who had previously not been politically active.

These students felt called upon by the public to live up to their historical reputation as defenders of the people in times of crisis.

Ultimately, it was the students creative capacity not only to create a spectacular movement that grabbed attention and won hearts and minds, but also to present a cogent counter-narrative to the New Order, captured by the slogan of reformasi and the students agenda of reform, said Yatun.

The student movement of 1998, as well as the preceding movements, has since provided a road-map for the student movements that have continued to fight against corruption, injustice and authoritarianism.

In constant battle against the old guard

Muhammad Fajar, a PhD candidate in political science at Northwestern University, Illinois, the United States, said Indonesian youth has always been in a constant battle against the established older generation.

The old political elites always try to restrain the younger generation, Muhammad said.

When the young criticise, the old ones seek to silence them; when the young fight for gender equality, the old ones hold tighter to patriarchy, he said.

But Muhammad also warns that emphasising the role of educated youth excludes anyone outside this social category as equal actors in the struggle.

Defining the youth roles from the point of view of those who were involved in the historical moments ignores those who didnt participate, or were left behind, or marginalised from the movements due to lack of access to education, jobs and power, Muhammad said.

Youth of today

Muhammad said that if anything could be learned from historical youth movements, it was to always be wary of the older generation.

When the old political elites start to speak about youth, young people should be suspicious. What the elites talk about are their realities and interests, and not the realities faced by the youth, he said.

While they retain the collective desire for progressive change and collective capacity to push for it, todays youth are mostly driven by the same broader narratives of political, social, economic, ecological, educational, racial and gender justice everywhere.

This does not make todays youth movements any less nationalist. Rather, it makes them all the more suited to lead the Indonesian nation into necessary new directions, Yatun said.

---

Andre Arditya, Editor Politik + Masyarakat, The Conversation

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
South Africa: Extended COVID-19 relief for small-scale farmers

The Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Thoko Didiza, has extended the validity period of the COVID-19 Disaster Agricultural Support Fund Voucher.

The fund is aimed at providing assistance to distressed small-scale farmers, who need financial relief from the impact of COVID-19.

The validity period for the fund has now been extended to 30 September 2020. Initially, the vouchers were valid until 30 June and the Minister had extended it to 31 July 2020.

These extensions emanated from delays in the printing of vouchers and supply chain disruptions in the availability of production inputs caused by COVID-19, which negatively affected farmers ability to redeem their vouchers.

I have noted that there are still challenges on the ground being experienced by both farmers and suppliers when it comes to the availability of some production inputs such as day old chicks and seedlings, as well as errors picked on some vouchers, which relate to incorrect ID numbers and incorrect allocation of production inputs, the Minister said on Thursday.

The Minister has instructed the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development to identify applications that were erroneously disqualified and to make sure that they are provided with production inputs.

I have considered all these challenges and decided that it would be prudent to extend the validity period to 30 September 2020 to allow suppliers to build adequate stocks of production inputs and farmers to redeem their vouchers, Didiza said.

Further information on the extension of the validity period and names of more than 14 000 successful applicants will be available on the departmental website: www.dalrrd.gov.za, as soon as possible in order to encourage transparency.

Improved operations at deeds office

Meanwhile, the Minister has met with the Chief Registrar of Deeds and all provincial registrars in order to plan on how backlog challenges in all deeds offices can be addressed.

The meeting follows numerous complaints from various stakeholders regarding backlogs and constant closure of deeds offices.

The measures to address the backlogs at the deeds office include allowing examiners to examine documents at home in order to fast track the examination of documents.

Registrars have the authority to manage this and should do so, taking all appropriate steps to ensure the safety of the documents as well steps to avoid fraudulent transactions, the department said.

All deeds offices will re-arrange their offices to ensure social distancing and safety of staff, especially those with co-morbidities.

Officials must be provided with the relevant tools of trade to allow them to work from home, the department said.

However, it is understood that in some instances, this may not be possible due to various factors such as where offices are in rural areas and where it is not safe to do so.

Registrars must ensure that despite these challenges, service delivery continues unhindered. Upgrading of Deeds Offices' IT systems to respond to the 4th Industrial Revolution will be prioritised, despite budget cuts due to COVID-19, the department said.

The department said the closure of deeds offices will be minimised and done under extreme circumstances.

Various options will be undertaken, which are not limited to ensuring that decontamination is only done in affected areas and not in the whole building and also to ensure that all officials continue to work while at home, the department said.

The Minister expressed her appreciation for the important role deeds offices play in the property sector and in the recovery of the economy post COVID-19.

While I appreciate all that, I want to guarantee all stakeholders that the safety of our employees will not be compromised and we will all work very hard to address the backlog as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown, which affected the operations of these offices.

We will ensure that all health and safety measures, as stipulated by the Departments of Health and Employment and Labour, are adhered to," the Minister said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-08-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Mumbai, Aug 13 : The Enforcement Directorate's investigation into the Yes Bank-Rana Kapoor money-laundering probe has found that Kapil Wadhawan, CMD of the Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL), started his realty business in 2007-08, pursued it in United Arab Emirates (UAE) by forming Wadhawan International Investments Ltd (WIIL), and the company has some assets in Australia worth Rs 1,000 crore.

The revelations figure in the ED's supplementary charge sheet filed in a PMLA court in Mumbai on July 13, naming 11 other accused in the matter, official sources said.

The 100-page charge sheet has been filed against 19 persons or entities, including eight named in the previous charge sheet, filed before the special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Among the accused are Wadhawan, his brother and DHFL's Non-Executive Director Dhiraj Wadhawan, Yes Bank's former MD and CEO Rana Kapoor, his wife Bindu, their daughters Radha, Rekha and Roshni, and chartered accountant Dhulresh Jain.

The entities named are the Kapoors' family concern, DHFL, Yes Capital Pvt Ltd, DOIT Urban Ventures Pvt Ltd, Rab Ventures, Kyta Advisors Ltd, RKW Developers, Morgan Credit Pvt Ltd, Belief Realty, Golden Western Ltd, Samapti Trading Pvt Ltd and Valencia Developers.

The ED charge sheet read: "Kapil Wadhawan stated that in or around 2007-08, they pursued their realty business in UAE's Dubai in partnership with a local Emirates family, namely Saeed Al Raqbani, and that accordingly, they incorporated WIIL at Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) as holding company for the ownership of realty projects in Dubai." "Apart from this, they had some business interest in Australia also. That in Australia, they have got assets/projects held by WIIL... in Australia, WIIL had invested in a prime property (land consisting of warehouse) in central Melbourne, and the present value of the Australian property stands at Rs 1,000 crore approximately." Presently, this property has been given out on rent.

The ED said that when asked about the shareholding pattern of WIIL, Kapil Wadhawan said that some of the Wadhawan group companies in India had extended loans to it and later, these loans were converted into equity, and thus, these companies became shareholders in WIIL.

It also said some of the Wadhawan Group's Investment companies, namely Wadhawan Holdings Ltd (WHL), Aashiana Realtors Pvt Ltd (Aashiana), Resources Realty Pvt Ltd, and Yardsticks Developers Pvt Ltd, had made overseas investments of approximately Rs 1,00 crore in WIIL, which was subsequently invested in UAE for development of realty projects and in Melbourne for purchase of land, measuring approximately three acres.

The ED said that Dheeraj Wadhawan also informed it that WIIL had invested in two countries - the UAE and Australia - and that the company invested in 12,500 square metre land consisting of a warehouse in Australia.

He also stated that the Australian property on rent is servicing a loan of (Australian) $20 million (Rs 100 crore) taken on the said property.

Dheeraj Wadhawan also said that some of their group companies had funded WIIL and that these funds were collected by their companies by way of borrowing from market and financial institutions, disposal of investments and proceeds received from the UAE joint venture.

The ED, in its charge sheet, also said that the Wadhawans also confirmed they owned two residential properties in New York City, through Wealth Core International Ltd.

In 2018, DHFL allegedly gave another Rs 300 crore loan to Rana Kapoor's family-controlled firm -- DOIT Enterprises (India) Pvt. Ltd, which is now called DOIT Urban Ventures India Pvt Ltd, without the required nod from its own finance committee.

Kapoor's wife was earlier a Director in DOIT, and control was later transferred to the couple's three daughters, with each owning 33 per cent.

DFHL had given DOIT a Rs 300 crore loan in March 2017, and in April 2018, the loan amount was increased to Rs 600 crore on the basis of a letter from Radha Kapoor, who also sought replacement of the old security and guarantor with new ones, the ED said.

The ED also stated that Kapil Wadhawan, in his statement to the financial probe agency on May 18 this year, claimed that he was responsible for managing overall operations of the company and for sanctioning of various credit facilities. He was empowered to sanction upto Rs 100 crore loans individually, upto Rs 200 crore with one senior officer and upto Rs 300 crore with the board's Finance Committee. The directors comprising the committee were both the Wadhawans and G.P. Kohli (Independent Director).

The ED also said that Bindu Kapoor, in her statement about her association with DOIT Urban Ventures India Pvt Ltd, told the agency that "she has no idea about it".

Asked about the application by her as Director of DOIT Urban Ventures India Pvt Ltd to sanction Rs 300 crore in March 2017, she said that she had never visited the office of DHFL and had signed the said loan documents, as per the directions of her husband, at her home at Samudra Mahal and without going into the contents.

The ED had registered a case of money laundering on March 7 this year based on the Central Bureau of Investigation FIR registered the same day against 12 people, including Kapoor, his wife and daughters, the Wadhawan brothers and five firms.

The Wadhawans were arrested by the CBI from Mahabaleshwar hill station in Maharashtra on April 26 and the ED also arrested them in May.

The ED on July 9 attached Rs 2,203 crore assets, comprising 344 bank accounts, investments and high-end vehicles in India, New York and Australia, of Kapoor and his family, the Wadhawans and others under the PMLA in the Rs 3,700 crore fraud case.

(Anand Singh can be contacted at anand.s@ians.in)
Prince Harry is to make his Netflix documentary debut later this month as he appears in a film about the Paralympics.

The Duke of Sussex has worked with Peter Ettedgui and Ian Bonhote, who made McQueen, on Rising Phoenix, a documentary telling the story of the origins of the Paralympic games as well as some of the tales of the athletes.

In the trailer released on Twitter on Thursday, Harry says: There isnt anything else in the world that can bring you back from the darkest places [like] sport.

He adds: Lives are being changed on the tracks, but lives are also being changed in the stands.

A spokesperson for The Duke of Sussex said: The Duke is proud to have been one of the people who contributed to this film, which is a unique and powerful documentary that hopes to change the way people view disability  and tell the incredible story of the Paralympics.

Harry pictured with athletes from the UK 2020 Invictus Games team in October 2019. He is supporting a documentary about the Paralympics. (UK Press)

Read more: Nine things we learned about Prince Harry and Meghan as Finding Freedom is released

The duke, 35, has been supportive of the film since it was first pitched as an idea.

According to Netflix, Rising Phoenix tells the extraordinary story of the Paralympic Games. From the rubble of World War II to the third biggest sporting event on the planet, the Paralympics sparked a global movement which continues to change the way the world thinks about disability, diversity & human potential.

Harry founded the Invictus Games in 2014 after leaving the Army, as a way for injured service personnel to continue the feeling of camaraderie and partnership linked with serving together.

The games and associated foundation was set up by Harry after he had seen a similar initiative in the US, called the Warrior Games, and he realised the impact of sport for those with serious injury.

The 2020 games were set to take place in May in The Hague, but had to be postponed until 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The documentary will look at the formation and growth of the Paralympic games. (Netflix)

Read more: Prince Harry wanted to find new route after palace 'told him no', author claims

Story continues

At the time of that announcement, the duke said: Life has changed dramatically for all of us since I was last in The Hague, but the IG 2020 team has done an incredible job to adapt so quickly to the situation, and they are busy putting plans in place for next year.

The new dates will be shared with you very soon. I hope that all of those in the Invictus family are coping well and supporting each other through this challenging time.

The documentary will be available on Netflix from August 26.
At the invitation of the American Association of Exporter and Importers (AAEI), Mr. Ricardo Trevino, Deputy Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO), has participated in this years AAEI Annual Conference which is taking place online from 11 August to 3 September 2020, with over 400 participants attending. This Conference aims to provide a forum for policy-makers to speak directly to international trade professionals about the benefits and shortcomings of the multilateral trading system.

Together with Mr. Alan Wolff, Deputy Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Deputy Secretary General Trevino discussed trade and Customs matters at a live panel session entitled What is the Future of Trade: Multilateral or Bilateral?, held on 11 August 2020. The panel was moderated by Ms. Marianne Rowden, President and CEO of the AAEI, who began by highlighting the differences between WCO and WTO working methods and structures, as well as the main objectives of the two Organizations.

During his intervention, Deputy Secretary General Trevino explained the nature of the WCO as the only intergovernmental organization dealing with Customs matters and focusing on standard-setting, capacity building delivery, and fostering Customs-to-Customs cooperation. He continued by emphasizing that almost all of the WCOs technical bodies are open to the entire WCO membership, and therefore all WCO Members can contribute to the development of the Organizations standards, instruments and tools. This openness is important for the Organization, because it allows Members from countries at different development levels and with different trading environments to work collectively on standards that would be acceptable to the majority, being another step towards the higher harmonization of border procedures, he said. Through the work done in Trade facilitation and e-commerce, this openness and inclusiveness do not only concern Members, but also other international trade stakeholders, he added.

After Mr. Trevino had mentioned the large number of bilateral and multilateral agreements, he was asked by the moderator to address this issue in the context of the SAFE Framework of Standards and Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) for Authorized Economic Operators (AEOs). In response, he highlighted the highly critical relevance of the SAFE Framework of Standards, adding that to date, 171 Members have signed the Letter of Intent to implement these Standards. Moreover there are 95 operational AEO programmes  not to mention the ones which are under negotiation , plus another 20 which are under development, as well as 85 MRAs which provide the ultimate benefits to traders, operating in both the country of origin and the country of destination. For his part, WTO Deputy Director General Wolff highlighted the close cooperation between the WTO and the WCO, and the relevance of this cooperation in matters such as trade facilitation, tariffs, valuation and origin.
Wang Hua, a veteran Chinese performer and regular Charlie Chaplin impersonator, mixes the comedic clown style of China's Peking Opera with Western mime.

Wang Hua, a veteran Chinese performer in Jinan, Shandong province, imitates Chaplin's iconic image. [Photo/China News Service]

Wang, an elder man who lives in Jinan, Shandong province, brings happiness to local residents by imitating Chaplin's iconic image and appearing on the stage or street, performing Chaplin's classic moves and his own pantomime sketches.

His unique style is the result of 38 years of practice and hard work.

Unlike others who imitate Chaplin completely, Wang adds elements of the traditional Chinese Peking Opera in his imitation. He absorbs the essence of Chinese opera and integrates it into European comedy art. This is a magical combination of "Western pantomime and Chinese clowns".

Wang started his career as a magician and was inspired by Chaplin's image when he saw him in an outdoor film by chance. After that, he bought Chaplin's clothes and started trying to imitate him.

"Many years ago, I was a magician. At one time, I happened to see Chaplin on an outdoor screen and I became fascinated by him," Wang told China News Service on Aug. 5. Afterwards, he bought a similar costume to Chaplin and many friends praised his impersonations.

In that era, TV was not yet a household appliance in China, so Wang often went to different villages to watch more of Chaplin's films in open air screenings. Later he bought various Chaplin performances on VHS and repeatedly studied them. "There are no shortcuts to imitation. I must go over every detail over and over again," he said.

"Chaplin's iconic duck walk is the most difficult to imitate, requiring total coordination. You have to both exaggerate and be funny. After six months of practice, I thought I had mastered it, but after two years, I still felt inadequate," Wang recalled. "I didn't really master it until after ten years of practice."

Wang can't forget the first time when he performed Chaplin, as everyone applauded him. Sometimes he would still make mistakes during the performance but he could quickly make up for it with other movements.

Wang first learned magic and imitated Chaplin for fun, as well as making a living from it. But this was not what he ultimately wanted to achieve, so in later performances, he paid more attention to spiritual enrichment and artistic cultivation.

Wang Hua, a veteran Chinese performer in Jinan, Shandong province, draws a traditional Chinese painting. [Photo/China News Service]

Wang also keeps learning painting, musical instrument playing, and other skills, and constantly tries to add new styles to his traditional pantomime performance. "I don't want to just imitate Chaplin," Wang said. "I want to use my accumulated experience to add new innovations to my imitation."

Art is interlinked, and traditional art can be blended with modern forms, he added.

Wang believes many young people nowadays are pursuing dreams of becoming pop stars, while showing no interest in traditional arts such as Peking Opera and mime. Even Chaplin is forgotten by many people. However, he still believes that the true art will survive the test of time. "Classics are always classics. Adding new elements to traditional arts will keep them popular," he said.

He also wants to advise young people to get in touch with traditional and timeless art, from which they can get inspiration about life and creation.
In response to the lack of trust in the audience measurement system as the official currency of the advertising industry in Bulgaria, bTV Media Group released an Industry Paper to all broadcasters, relevant associations, media agencies and advertisers in the country. Based on the best practices and examples from other European markets, the Industry Paper proposes concrete solutions and steps that would put an end to the unhealthy discussions over truthfulness and transparency of peoplemetric data.

Several months ago, after years of parallel existence of two audience measurement systems, the market finally switched to a single AMS provider  GARB - in May 2020. As positive a development as it was, GARB has never been selected or challenged in a tender, and currently does not provide measurement of all types of video content, across all possible channels and platforms  all indispensable in todays digital environment. Moreover, questions and doubts from various stakeholders about the objectivity of the data provided by GARB followed.

As a first step to resolving the existing AMS issues, in the Paper bTV Media Group proposes the establishment of a Joint Industry Committee (JIC) of all market stakeholders. The JIC would own the data from the AMS and would guarantee a transparent relationship between the AMS provider and all stakeholders. Among the members, who would participate in the financing of the JIC and the AMS, would be all relevant broadcasters and associations. Stakeholders that prefer not to participate in the financing would be given the opportunity to acquire the peoplemeter data on a license basis and even have a consulting function in the Technical Committee, one of the JICs main bodies. The JIC would be managed by the Management Board, and a conflict mediation mechanism would be used in case of potential disputes among stakeholders.

The second necessary step would be to put the current AMS to tender, for the first time in Bulgaria, as the best form of an audit which is overdue. The tender would be organized by the JIC, and would prove whether GARBs methodology is in line with the international best practices and guidelines. A tender brief, that corresponds to the current needs of the market, would cover consumption of all forms of video content (Total Video), all forms of content distribution (from TVs to digital apps), and all types of platforms (including social media).

The AMS selected in the tender would be subject to regular reviews. The AMS would not remain static and would constantly adapt to the evolving business needs of the advertising industry. The further development of the AMS would be a responsibility of the JIC.

The current AMS has been in place for more than ten years. A system that old needs to be challenged in full and not only audited. Regular tenders after 3-5 years is an industry practice in all markets with an accepted AMS, including in countries from our region, where a strong Joint Industry Committee provides for a healthy and growing media and advertising market. I believe our Industry Paper comes at a good time to address all the doubts and questions regarding the inexplicable changes in viewership over the past year, and the relevance of the current system in the new digital reality. Now, more than ever in this post-crisis environment, we should help our advertising partners make the most reasonable and effective investment decisions based on transparent and reliable viewership data, commented Florian Skala, CEO of bTV Media Group.

See the full Industry Paper here >>
The healthcare industry is continuously changing and developing with the introduction of new treatments and more advanced technology. Nurses play a pivotal role in the industry, and traditional nurses' roles are a thing of the past. There's a higher population of aging patients with unique sets of needs. To provide the best level of care, changes are necessary.

Luckily, with research providing new and more effective treatment options, alongside improved technology, the industry is evolving to meet these needs. For those looking to pursue a career in nursing, it's an exciting time to get started. You must understand what the future of nursing looks like, so you can be strategic with your choices as you enter the field. With so many job roles available to nurses, you want to choose a futureproof path that will allow you to develop and progress as healthcare continues to shift.

Here is some crucial information about what you can expect in the near future regarding the nursing industry.

Higher education through online programs

While many registered nurses obtain their BSN in-person at a university, higher education is required to meet the evolving healthcare industry's demands. Those who take further education, such as Marymount's online FNP program, and MSN programs, receive priority over nurses who do not have these degrees.

With upskilling and further education available online, nurses can continue to work full-time while obtaining their degree, so they can still cover their family expenses, and won't lose their current job. Best of all, they can continue to gain valuable on-the-job experience while becoming educated in new treatments and technologies. Online education programs continue to increase in popularity and will do so for the foreseeable future.

Nurses will require BSNs

While entry-level nursing positions have typically only required you to be a registered nurse, the Institute of Medicine is moving towards requiring nurses in the United States to possess a BSN. They set a goal of having 80% of all nurses holding a BSN by this year, and while they haven't quite reached that goal yet, they will continue to strive for it. Studies have shown that nurses with higher education contribute to both lower risks of mortality and lower risks of failure to rescue. Hence, it's no surprise that the Institute of Medicine wants more educated nurses on staff. If you're considering becoming a nurse, prepare to take your BSN at the very least (MSN-FNP is even better).

Telehealth and chatbots will become the new normal

Automation is happening in every industry, including healthcare. Finding ways for patients to access care more conveniently is essential as the demand rises above the available resources. It's necessary to understand what is involved with telehealth and chatbots and how it may affect nursing. Telehealth allows patients to manage their healthcare through an online portal. If patients require prescription refills, access to test results, or need to schedule appointments, they can do it all through the portal without talking to anyone. Appointments can also take place online, via video chat, voice chat, or through messaging.

These online portals will automate many tasks that are typically performed in-person by a nurse, but the convenience makes them extremely popular. Wait times for an online appointment are shorter, and chatbots respond to patient queries instantly. On top of that, healthcare facilities don't have to pay a salary to a chatbot.

There is a new chatbot platform called Florence, which patients can use to track their health, such as their weight, mood, and even their period cycles. It will also send out reminders for taking pills and help patients find local pharmacies and specialist doctors.

Reliance on technology

Clinical technologies are continuing to evolve to improve the effectiveness and accuracy at which nurses perform their duties. New software and devices are rendering manual systems outdated, and nurses will need to adapt by learning the latest technology. With software and devices like electronic IV monitors and medication administration systems, human error is reduced, and therefore, healthcare professionals will become increasingly reliant on these new systems.

For nurses who have been in the profession for many years, the transition will take longer, as lots of training is required. On top of that, they will need to be open to changing processes and new ways of reporting and interacting with patients. For those entering the field, the more education you can get on new technologies, the better equipped you will be for the industry.

A focus on population health

In an effect to reduce the pressure on the healthcare industry, there will be a growing focus on population health. Population health refers to a more broad and preventative approach to healthcare, which involves programs within communities that promote healthy living practices. By encouraging the population to eat well, exercise, and get vaccinated, there will be a reduction in the number of people requiring healthcare.

By implementing population health systems, the aim in each community is to increase physical activity and exercise, decrease diabetes, reduce the number of workdays missed on account of sickness, lower infant mortality rate, and more. There will also be a focus on social issues that could impact population health like food insecurity and lack of housing.

Nurses will play an integral part in population health initiatives by identifying the widespread problems within a community and connecting patients with the support and services that they need.

FNPs will have authority to operate their own practices

There is a predicted shortage of primary care physicians on the horizon due to the ever-growing aging population that will need care in the near future. By 2032, the United States could require an additional 122,000 more primary care physicians to keep up with the demand. With the predicted shortage looming, the healthcare industry is beginning to grant FNPs full practice authority. There are currently 23 states, including DC, which allow FNPs to run their own private practice, without needing supervision from a physician.

More states will inevitably continue to follow suit as they will require additional healthcare professionals to provide adequate care to their patients. It's excellent news for FNPs as more job opportunities are coming, and there is more opportunity for progression within the career path.

Bilingualism is becoming more important

It's no secret that being bilingual is extremely valuable, regardless of what career you're in. The United States is an extremely multi-cultural country, with over 350 languages spoken, according to the United States Census Bureau. As a nurse, you will treat patients that come from different backgrounds, and being able to understand them is incredibly important. Equally as important is that they can understand you. For many Americans, English is not their first language, although to do understand it and speak it at home. That said, 22% of Americans do not speak English at home, and therefore there must be healthcare professionals who can communicate with them.

Bilingual nurses will take priority over those who are not. Patient communication is one of the most essential parts of being a nurse. Being able to assess patient illnesses and injuries accurately is only possible through communication. Additionally, when advising on treatment, nurses need to give thorough and exact instructions to patients regarding at-home care and prescriptions.

Salaries will go up

Great news for registered nurses is that the increased demand also brings with it a boost in salary. To encourage more individuals to pursue a career in nursing, it needs to be lucrative. That is why the salary for nurses will continue to grow. While the growth varies based on specific job titles within the industry, in general, it is going up. From 2019 to 2020, the salary for Nurse Practitioners increased by 4.8%. Nurse Practitioners receive a higher wage than Registered Nurses, and therefore it is beneficial to invest in further education to obtain your MSN-FNP to access those higher wages.

Patients are more knowledgeable

Traditionally, patients would trust medical professionals' expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of injuries and ailments. With the amount of information that everyone has access to online, many are self-diagnosing before even seeing a nurse or doctor. Almost every patient in the younger generation will have researched their symptoms online to determine their condition. They have also likely searched for potential treatment options, both natural and pharmaceutical.

While a lot of the information online is inaccurate, patients may still have a decent understanding of what they are experiencing, especially because they know their bodies better than anyone. Nurses need to prepare for the queries and opinions that their patients may have when they come for assessment or treatment. Nurses will need to allow patients to voice their views on their condition and what they have learned before offering up professional knowledge and advice.

Patients may very well have identified what is wrong with them, but they may also have collected misinformation, which can lead to anxiety and stress. Often patients will assume the worst when they experience specific symptoms and go down the rabbit hole of searching on Google. One symptom could mean many different things, so it's essential to approach the subject with patience and compassion and work together to reach a valid conclusion.

Nurses are retiring later

Nurses are waiting longer to retire and opting to continue working. Working as a nurse, in the majority of clinical and hospital settings, is physically demanding and becomes more difficult as you age. That said, it's beneficial to have experienced nurses available to help with growing patient demands, though healthcare facilities need to accommodate their individual needs. The majority of RNs are between the ages of 45 and 59, with 24% of nurses still working at the age of 69.

We may not see the effects of this shift for many years, but it's predicted that by 2050, 75% of the total workforce in the United States will be over 65 years old. That could present a problem, with 75% of the workforce retiring at the same time.

Older nurses typically move off the hospital floor and into clinical positions. They often do reception in medical clinics and jobs that are similar, which don't have the physical demands of working on the floor, but their experience still provides value.

The rise of retail health clinics

Today's society wants convenience, and people expect the same when it comes to healthcare. When people are sick or need immediate care, they don't want to wait for days to get an appointment or sit waiting at the hospital for half of the day to be seen. That is why retail health clinics are becoming so popular. They are an alternative option for patients who need medical attention and often in drugstores and supermarkets. The clinics have extended operating hours, making them the perfect choice for those who work throughout the day and cannot attend a doctor's office during opening hours. Clinics also tend to be open 7 days a week and offer walk-in appointments without having to pre-book.

There are already over 2000 retail health clinics operating in the United States, which will continue to increase. They can offer a variety of essential health services such as treating colds, UTIs, performing physical assessments, and administering vaccinations. They have set prices for all their services, and you can see exactly how much each service costs before you visit. Another reason they are rising in popularity is that they are almost twice as cheap as a doctor's office, and 80% less expensive than going to the emergency room.

So, how does this affect nursing? The good news is that with so many states giving FNPs full practice authority, they can open up their own retail health clinics. Patients prefer the convenience and cost-effectiveness of visiting a retail health clinic for their ailments. These clinics offer new opportunities for FNPs who are entrepreneurial-minded and want to run a clinic.

Conclusion

Though no one can predict exactly what nursing will look like in the future, it's essential that all those pursuing this career path are ready for changes and strive to adapt to offer the best care possible to their patients.
Check out the news you should not miss today:

Politics

 During a working session with Cambodian Ambassador to Vietnam Chay Navuth on Wednesday, Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Vuong Dinh Hue said that the capital hopes to expand cooperation with its Cambodian counterpart Phnom Penh, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

Society

 Vietnam on Wednesday morning reported three new cases of COVID-19 and one death, increasing the countrys tally to 883, with 456 under treatment, 409 recoveries and 18 fatalities, according to the Ministry of Health.

 Police in the south-central province of Binh Dinhs Tuy Phuoc District on Wednesday said they are investigating a case in which a group of people allegedly kidnaped, assaulted a woman, and filmed the scene before uploading it on the Internet.

 Seven flights are scheduled to carry more than 1,400 tourists to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City from the central city of Da Nang, with the first two trips conducted on Wednesday to Hanoi. The tourists have been stuck in the central city since COVID-19 re-emerge in late July.

 According to Le Minh Tan, director of Ho Chi Minh Citys Department of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs, around 120,000 workers from about 4,000 enterprises in the city are expected to lose their jobs in September due to COVID-19.

Education

 A group of seven Vietnamese high school students recently won the highest prize at the 2020 Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship with their initiative to recycle corn pulp into crop products and animal feed. This year, the contest was held online with the participation of more than 10,000 students from 30 countries and territories.

Business

 As of July, businesses nationwide owed social insurance premiums totaling over VND20.6 trillion (US$887.6 million) on account of the coronavirus crisis, according to Vietnam Social Insurance (VSI), the Vietnam News Agency reported.

 The Vietnamese prime minister recently approved a discount of 15 percent this year for those who are renting government land and paying rental yearly if they had to stop their business for 15 days or more because of COVID-19.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
UPDATE: A man has been taken into custody in connection with this incident, sources say. Read the story here.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The New York City Police Department released an image of a male wanted for questioning in connection with the assault of a 8-year-old girl in New Dorp Monday afternoon.

Police responded near Edison Street and Bryant Avenue at around 1:40 p.m. after a male allegedly pushed the 8-year-old to the ground, causing minor lacerations to her knees, according to a statement from the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

The child, who police previously said was with her 41-year-old mother at the time of the incident, refused medical attention at the scene, police said.

The individual fled the scene in an unknown direction, according to the police statement.

The NYPD released a surveillance image of the male sought in connection with the incident, taken from an area deli.

A witness said the girl was bleeding and in tears, at which point the mother yelled something at their alleged attacker, the Advance/SILive.com previously reported.

(The girl) was crying, and said, this man was chasing us, and he pushed me for no reason, I dont know why he did it, the witness said.

Minutes later, the family was seen ringing doorbells on Edison Street seeking help from residents.

Anyone with information in regard to the identity of this individual 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 or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

All calls are strictly confidential.
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Madrid, Spain  Thu, August 13, 2020 19:00 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066dd891f 2 World Spain,smoking-ban,coronavirus,coronavirus-restrictions,COVID-19,COVID-19-protocol,pandemic,SARS-CoV-2,virus-corona,novel-coronavirus Free

A ban on smoking on streets and restaurant terraces when social-distancing cannot be guaranteed came into effect Thursday in Spain's northwestern region of Galicia, with other areas mulling similar restrictions.

Under a law approved by the regional government of Galicia late on Wednesday, smoking in public is not allowed if it is not possible to maintain a distance of two meters (6.7 feet) between people.

When he announced the measure the head of the regional government of Galicia, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, said several experts had warned his administration that "smoking without any restrictions, including on a terrace without any limitations, with people nearby, or in crowded places, without any social distancing, represents a high risk of infection."

Officials in the southern region of Andalusia, along with those in the central regions of Castilla y Leon and Castilla La Mancha, said they were considering similar smoking restrictions.

The World Health Organization has said tobacco users are likely to be more vulnerable to being infected by the virus and could increase the possibility of transmission of the disease since it involves contact of fingers with the lips.

Spain's highly decentralized system of government makes regions responsible for healthcare, leading to a patchwork of different measures to curb the virus across the country of 47 million people.

The smoking ban is part of a series of new measures imposed by Galicia, best-known as the destination for pilgrims hiking the Camino de Santiago, to curb the spread of COVID-19.

It has already ordered the closure of bars and nightclubs and restricted the number of people who can enter shops at the same time.

With 30 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, Galicia has one of the lowest prevalence rates of the virus in Spain, one of the European nations hardest-hit by the pandemic with nearly 29,000 deaths.
Italians refer to it as the time bomb when discussing the thousands of young men who every day attempt to cross the Mediterranean from Tunisia on boats to reach Italian shores in search of a better life. Social malaise and the lack of a viable future gives many no other choice than to choose the path of migration. In some parts of Tunisia unemployment has reached 35% as the country experiences its worst recession since its independence in 1956.

The latest boat headed to Italy, with 18 Tunisians on board, was blocked by the Tunisian coast guard on Tuesday night off the coat of Djerba. For Italy, the multiple arrivals on a daily basis, have to be stopped at all costs because it just is unable to cope with such an influx. Concerned with the mounting number of undocumented arrivals from Tunisia in recent weeks, Italy quickly held a number of meetings with Tunisian authorities to urgently address the problem.

Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio went as far as threatening to suspend 6.6 million of cooperation funds for Tunisia's development, already earmarked by Italy, unless the Tunisian government took immediate and significant measures to rein in the departures.

As the situation and numbers grew out of hand at the end of July, Italy's Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese flew to Tunis to requests the stepping of controls along the Tunisian coastline and a resumption of the twice-weekly repatriation flights that were taking place prior to the Covid-19 lockdown in Italy.

Repatriation flights in place

Twice weekly charter flights of up to 80 illegal economic migrants resumed this week on Mondays and Thursday from Italy to Tunisia. The flights are part of an already existing Italian-Tunisian agreement that had to be put on hold during Italy's lockdown over Covid-19.

In addition, following the pressure applied by the Italian Foreign Ministry, Tunisia last week announced that it would increase patrol teams with surveillance along its coastline and search teams in order to stem illegal migration towards Italy.

Health concerns come to the fore

More than 4,000 Tunisians have arrived in Italy since the start of this year and adding to being unable to accommodate these economic migrants, which Lamorgese said have no right to stay, Italy also has health concerns due to coronavirus.

Italian authorities are now testing all migrants who arrive on its shores for the virus and have deployed ships off the coast of Sicily and Calabria, where migrants can isolate. After their 14-day quarantine, the migrants will move to a variety of reception centres all over Italy.

With the spike in arrivals in July, reception centers in the south of Italy have been under intense pressure. In Pozzallo, in the south of Sicily, a number of migrants recently fled the centre and in the tiny island of Lampedusa, constantly dealing with the migrant emergency, the centre is constantly having to accommodate many more migrants than its maximum capacity.
Strong Performance Amidst Turbulent Macro

Second quarter revenues of $182.7 million , up 16.0% year-over-year

IFRS Diluted EPS of $0.26 for the second quarter

Non-IFRS Diluted EPS of $0.51 for the second quarter

LUXEMBOURG, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Globant (NYSE: GLOB), a digitally native technology services company, today announced results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020.

Please see highlights below, including certain Non-IFRS measures. Note that reconciliations between Non-IFRS financial measures and IFRS operating results are disclosed at the end of this press release.

Second Quarter 2020 Financial Highlights

Revenues rose to $182.7 million , representing 16.0% year-over-year growth compared to the second quarter of 2019.

, representing 16.0% year-over-year growth compared to the second quarter of 2019. IFRS Gross Profit margin was 36.3% compared to 38.5% in the second quarter of 2019.

Non-IFRS Adjusted Gross Profit Margin was 38.2% compared to 40.2% in the second quarter of 2019.

IFRS Profit from Operations Margin was 8.1% compared to 12.3% in the second quarter of 2019.

Non-IFRS Adjusted Profit from Operations Margin was 13.5% compared to 16.4% in the second quarter of 2019.

IFRS Diluted EPS was $0.26 compared to $0.36 in the second quarter of 2019.

compared to in the second quarter of 2019. Non-IFRS Adjusted Diluted EPS was $0.51 compared to $0.53 in the second quarter of 2019.

Six months ended June 30, 2020 highlights

Revenue rose to $374.3 million , representing 23.2% year-over-year growth compared to the first six months of 2019.

, representing 23.2% year-over-year growth compared to the first six months of 2019. IFRS Gross Profit margin was 37.0% compared to 38.9% in the first six months of 2019.

Non-IFRS Adjusted Gross Profit Margin was 38.9% compared to 40.6% in the first six months of 2019.

IFRS Profit from Operations Margin was 8.9% compared to 12.4% in the first six months of 2019.

Non-IFRS Adjusted Profit from Operations Margin was 14.6% compared to 16.7% in the first six months of 2019.

IFRS Diluted EPS was $0.60 , compared to $0.68 in the first six months of 2019.

, compared to in the first six months of 2019. Non-IFRS Adjusted Diluted EPS was $1.15 , compared to $1.02 in the first six months of 2019.

Cash and Other Metrics for the Quarter ended June 30, 2020

Cash and cash equivalents and Short-term investments totaled $404.1 million as of June 30, 2020, an increase of $321.6 million , from $82.5 million as of December 31, 2019. During the second quarter of 2020, we raised approximately $301 million in net proceeds from our equity offering of 2.3 million shares, and we also repaid $50 million under our credit facility. As of June 30, 2020, we had a total amount of $75 million drawn from our credit facility.

as of June 30, 2020, an increase of , from as of December 31, 2019. During the second quarter of 2020, we raised approximately in net proceeds from our equity offering of 2.3 million shares, and we also repaid under our credit facility. As of June 30, 2020, we had a total amount of drawn from our credit facility. Globant completed the second quarter with 12,333 Globers, 11,573 of whom were technology, design and innovation professionals.

The geographic revenue breakdown for the second quarter was as follows: 72.8% from North America (top country: US), 20.8% from Latin America and others (top country: Argentina ) and 6.4% from Europe (top country: Spain ).

(top country: US), 20.8% from and others (top country: ) and 6.4% from (top country: ). In terms of currencies, 87.0% of Globant's revenues for the second quarter were denominated in US dollars.

During the twelve months ended June 30, 2020, Globant served a total of 805 customers and continued to increase its wallet share, having 113 accounts with more than $1 million of annual revenues, compared to 97 for the same period one year ago.

of annual revenues, compared to 97 for the same period one year ago. Globant's top customer, top five customers and top ten customers represented 10.7%, 31.9% and 44.9% of second quarter revenues, respectively.

"As we start the second half of 2020, we are seeing ourselves emerge into a new world. The pandemic has already changed many aspects of our lives and I am proud of how our company continues to accompany our employees, vendors, communities and customers to evolve," said Martin Migoya, Globant CEO and co-founder. "The pandemic has sparked the need for digital transformation across many industries and regions. Organizations need to reinvent themselves in order to address new consumer needs, so this presents a unique opportunity for us. As a leader in digital and cognitive transformation we know we can be the best partners to support our clients in their journeys. We will continue to invest in our global expansion and in our expertise around the latest trends to reinforce our positioning as a pure digital player."

"We have achieved solid results while navigating a challenging environment. We delivered revenues and adjusted diluted earnings per share above our expectations. Organic recovery looks strong for the third quarter and we are very enthusiastic with gA's acquisition," explained Juan Urthiague, Globant's CFO.

2020 Third quarter Outlook

Based on current market conditions, Globant is providing the following estimates for the third quarter of 2020:

Third quarter 2020 Revenues are estimated to be at least $203 million , or 18.5% year over year growth.

, or 18.5% year over year growth. Third quarter 2020 Non-IFRS Adjusted Profit from Operations Margin is estimated to be in the range of 13.5%-15.5%.

Third quarter 2020 Non-IFRS Adjusted Diluted EPS is estimated to be at least $0.58 (assuming an average of 40.9 million diluted shares outstanding during the third quarter).

Due to the ongoing uncertainty related to the potential impacts of COVID-19 on the Company's full year financial results, Globant is not providing a full year 2020 financial outlook at this time.

Conference Call and Webcast

Martin Migoya and Juan Urthiague will discuss the second quarter 2020 results in a conference call today beginning at 4:30pm ET.

Conference call access information is:

US & Canada +1 (888) 346-2877

International +1 (412) 902-4257

Webcast http://investors.globant.com/

About Globant (NYSE:GLOB)

We are a digitally native company where innovation, design and engineering meet scale. We use the latest technologies in the digital and cognitive field to empower organizations in every aspect.

We have more than 12,300 employees and we are present in 16 countries working for companies like Google, Rockwell Automation, Electronic Arts and Santander, among others.

We were named a Worldwide Leader of Digital Strategy Consulting Services by IDC MarketScape report. We were also featured as a business case study at Harvard, MIT, and Stanford. We are a member of the Cybersecurity Tech Accord.

For more information, please visit www.globant.com

Non-IFRS Financial Measures

While the financial figures included in this press release have been computed in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board ("IASB") applicable to interim periods, this announcement does not contain sufficient information to constitute an interim financial report as defined in International Accounting Standards 34, "Interim Financial Reporting" nor a financial statement as defined by International Accounting Standards 1 "Presentation of Financial Statements". The financial information in this press release has not been audited.

Globant provides non-IFRS financial measures in addition to reported IFRS results prepared in accordance with IFRS. Management believes these measures help illustrate underlying trends in the company's business and uses the non-IFRS financial measures to establish budgets and operational goals, communicated internally and externally, for managing the company's business and evaluating its performance. The company anticipates that it will continue to report both IFRS and certain non-IFRS financial measures in its financial results, including non-IFRS measures that exclude share-based compensation expense, depreciation and amortization, impairment of non financial assets, acquisition-related charges and COVID-19 related expenses. Because the company's non-IFRS financial measures are not calculated according to IFRS, these measures are not comparable to IFRS and may not necessarily be comparable to similarly described non-IFRS measures reported by other companies within the company's industry. Consequently, Globant's non-IFRS financial measures should not be evaluated in isolation or supplant comparable IFRS measures, but, rather, should be considered together with its unaudited condensed interim consolidated statement of financial position as of June 30, 2020, its audited consolidated statement of financial position as of December 31, 2019 and its unaudited condensed interim consolidated statement of comprehensive income for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, prepared in accordance with IFRS as issued by IASB.

Globant is not providing a quantitative reconciliation of forward-looking Non-IFRS Adjusted Profit from Operations Margin or Non-IFRS Adjusted Diluted EPS to the most directly comparable IFRS measure because it is unable to predict with reasonable certainty the ultimate outcome of certain significant items without unreasonable effort. These items include, but are not limited to, share-based compensation expense, impairment of assets, acquisition-related charges and COVID-19 related expenses. These items are uncertain, depend on various factors, and could have a material impact on IFRS reported results for the guidance period.

Forward Looking Statements

In addition to historical information, this release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "believe," "may," "will," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "should," "plan," "expect," "predict," "potential," or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our future financial and operating performance, including our outlook and guidance, and our strategies, priorities and business plans. Our expectations and beliefs regarding these matters may not materialize, and actual results in future periods are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Factors that could impact our actual results include: the impact and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic; our ability to maintain current resource utilization rates and productivity levels; our ability to manage attrition and attract and retain highly-skilled IT professionals; our ability to accurately price our client contracts; our ability to achieve our anticipated growth; our ability to effectively manage our rapid growth; our ability to retain our senior management team and other key employees; our ability to continue to innovate and remain at the forefront of emerging technologies and related market trends; our ability to retain our business relationships and client contracts; our ability to manage the impact of global adverse economic conditions; our ability to manage uncertainty concerning the instability in the current economic, political and social environment in Latin America; and other factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in our most recent Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and any other risk factors we include in subsequent reports on Form 6-K.

Because of these uncertainties, you should not make any investment decisions based on our estimates and forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this press release whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Globant S.A. Condensed Interim Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income (In thousands of U.S. dollars, except per share amounts, unaudited)

























Six months ended

Three months ended

June 30, 2020 June 30, 2019

June 30, 2020 June 30, 2019











Revenues 374,280 303,685

182,708 157,534 Cost of revenues (235,836) (185,616)

(116,467) (96,889) Gross profit 138,444 118,069

66,241 60,645











Selling, general and administrative expenses (101,454) (79,192)

(49,582) (40,560) Net impairment losses on account receivables (3,544) (1,075)

(1,927) (639) Profit from operations 33,446 37,802

14,732 19,446











Finance income 707 265

451 95 Finance expense (5,106) (2,335)

(2,651) (1,267) Other financial results, net 3,624 (3,284)

907 (1,371)











Share of results of investment in associates (82) 

(82) 











Other income (expense), net 43 8

27 27 Profit before income tax 32,632 32,456

13,384 16,930











Income tax (9,443) (6,972)

(3,365) (3,545) Net income for the period 23,189 25,484

10,019 13,385











Other comprehensive income, net of income tax effects









Items that may be reclassified subsequently to profit and loss:









- Exchange differences on translating foreign operations (1,537) (159)

567 457 - Net change in fair value on financial assets measured at FVOCI (23) 27

91 (8) - Gains and losses on cash flow hedges (834) 433

1,235 1,315 Total comprehensive income for the period 20,795 25,785

11,912 15,149











Net income attributable to:









Owners of the Company 23,189 25,484

10,019 13,385 Net income for the period 23,189 25,484

10,019 13,385











Total comprehensive income for the period attributable to:









Owners of the Company 20,795 25,785

11,912 15,149 Total comprehensive income for the period 20,795 25,785

11,912 15,149











Earnings per share









Basic 0.62 0.70

0.27 0.37 Diluted 0.60 0.68

0.26 0.36 Weighted average of outstanding shares (in thousands)









Basic 37,347 36,361

37,686 36,516 Diluted 38,420 37,467

38,759 37,622







Globant S.A. Condensed Interim Consolidated Statements of Financial Position as of June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 (In thousands of U.S. dollars, unaudited)







June 30, 2020 December 31, 2019 ASSETS



Current assets



Cash and cash equivalents 356,869 62,721 Investments 47,205 19,780 Trade receivables 169,969 156,676 Other assets 9,294 13,439 Other receivables 20,620 19,308 Other financial assets 4,797 4,527 Total current assets 608,754 276,451





Non-current assets



Investments  418 Other assets 7,513 7,796 Receivables 19,416 8,810 Deferred tax assets 26,875 26,868 Investment in associates 3,694 3,776 Other financial assets 3,809 1,683 Property and equipment 87,749 87,533 Intangible assets 30,078 27,110 Right-of-use assets 70,216 58,781 Goodwill 187,925 188,538 Total non-current assets 437,275 411,313 TOTAL ASSETS 1,046,029 687,764





LIABILITIES



Current liabilities



Trade payables 22,680 31,487 Payroll and social security taxes payable 67,000 72,252 Borrowings 1,691 1,198 Other financial liabilities 5,865 8,937 Lease liabilities 20,755 19,439 Tax liabilities 6,927 7,898 Income tax payable 5,731 4,612 Other liabilities 39 368 Total current liabilities 130,688 146,191





Non-current liabilities



Trade payables 7,396 5,500 Borrowings 75,121 50,188 Other financial liabilities 1,305 1,617 Lease liabilities 48,670 41,924 Deferred tax liabilities 1,223 1,028 Provisions for contingencies 3,368 2,602 Total non-current liabilities 137,083 102,859 TOTAL LIABILITIES 267,771 249,050





Capital and reserves



Issued capital 47,505 44,356 Additional paid-in capital 473,137 157,537 Other reserves (4,951) (2,557) Retained earnings 262,567 239,378 Total equity attributable to owners of the Company 778,258 438,714 TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES 1,046,029 687,764







Globant S.A. Supplemental Non-IFRS Financial Information (In thousands of U.S. dollars, unaudited)













Six months ended

Three months ended

June 30, 2020 June 30, 2019

June 30, 2020 June 30, 2019











Reconciliation of adjusted gross profit









Gross Profit 138,444 118,069

66,241 60,645 Depreciation and amortization expense 4,639 2,920

2,349 1,693 Share-based compensation expense 2,328 2,453

1,207 1,010 Adjusted gross profit 145,411 123,442

69,797 63,348 Adjusted gross profit margin 38.9 % 40.6 %

38.2 % 40.2 %











Reconciliation of selling, general and administrative expenses









Selling, general and administrative expenses (101,454) (79,192)

(49,582) (40,560) Depreciation and amortization expense 9,897 8,527

5,003 4,108 Share-based compensation expense 10,485 6,834

5,327 3,857 Acquisition-related charges (a) 4,248 3,165

1,490 1,333 Adjusted selling, general and administrative expenses (76,824) (60,666)

(37,762) (31,262) Adjusted selling, general and administrative expenses as % of revenues (20.5)% (20.0)%

(20.7)% (19.8)%











Reconciliation of Adjusted Profit from Operations









Profit from Operations 33,446 37,802

14,732 19,446 Share-based compensation expense 12,813 9,287

6,534 4,867 Acquisition-related charges (a) 5,040 3,534

1,878 1,588 COVID-19-related expenses (b) 3,185 

1,469  Adjusted Profit from Operations 54,484 50,623

24,613 25,901 Adjusted Profit from Operations margin 14.6 % 16.7 %

13.5 % 16.4 %











Reconciliation of Net income for the period









Net income for the period 23,189 25,484

10,019 13,385 Share-based compensation expense 12,813 9,287

6,534 4,867 Acquisition-related charges (a) 5,143 3,631

1,926 1,614 COVID-19-related expenses (b) 3,185 

1,469  Adjusted Net income 44,330 38,402

19,948 19,866 Adjusted Net income margin 11.8 % 12.6 %

10.9 % 12.6 %











Calculation of Adjusted Diluted EPS









Adjusted Net income 44,330 38,402

19,948 19,866 Diluted shares 38,420 37,467

38,759 37,622 Adjusted Diluted EPS 1.15 1.02

0.51 0.53

(a) Acquisition-related charges include, when applicable, amortization of purchased intangible assets included in depreciation and amortization expense line on our condensed interim consolidated statements of comprehensive income, external deal costs, acquisition-related retention bonuses, integration costs, changes in the fair value of contingent consideration liabilities, charges for impairment of acquired intangible assets and other acquisition-related costs. We cannot provide acquisition-related charges on a forward-looking basis without unreasonable effort as such charges may fluctuate based on the timing, size, and complexity of future acquisitions as well as other uncertainty inherent in mergers and acquisitions.

(b) COVID-19 related expenses include, when applicable, bad debt provision related to the effect of COVID-19 on our customers' businesses, donations and other expenses directly attributable to the pandemic that are both incremental to charges incurred prior to the outbreak and not expected to recur once the crisis has subsided and operations return to normal and clearly separable from normal operations.

Globant S.A. Schedule of Supplemental Information (unaudited)























Metrics Q2 2019 Q3 2019 Q4 2019 Q1 2020 Q2 2020











Total Employees 9,905 11,283 11,855 12,538 12,333 IT Professionals 9,215 10,462 11,021 11,755 11,573











North America Revenues % 75.2 77.1 75.0 74.5 72.8 Latin America and Others Revenues % 16.1 17.0 20.0 19.5 20.8 Europe Revenues % 8.7 5.9 5.0 6.0 6.4











USD Revenues % 88.7 86.3 86.7 86.8 87.0 Other Currencies Revenues % 11.3 13.7 13.3 13.2 13.0











Top Customer % 10.4 11.9 11.7 11.7 10.7 Top 5 Customers % 27.2 26.1 27.0 29.1 31.9 Top 10 Customers % 41.0 38.6 38.5 41.0 44.9











Customers Served (Last Twelve Months) 585 744 822 876 805 Customers with >$1M in Revenues (Last Twelve Months) 97 104 107 112 113

Investor Relations Contact:

Paula Conde & Amit Singh, Globant

[email protected]

+1 (877) 215-5230

Media Contact:

Wanda Weigert, Globant

[email protected]

+1 (877) 215-5230

SOURCE Globant

Related Links

http://www.globant.com


Bhubaneswar: Orissa high court (HC) has advised doctors working in the states government-run hospitals and private healthcare facilities to write the name of drugs in capital letters or in a legible manner that will help in easily deciphering them, their doses, strength, and also the frequency of use.

HC made the observation while disposing of a bail application of Krushna Pada Mandal, who is accused in a Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, case.

Justice SK Panigrahi observed that the physician community at large must walk an extra mile and make conscious efforts to write prescriptions in good handwriting, preferably in capital letters.

While there could be some good justifications for sloppy handwriting (by doctors) due to heavy work pressure, long working hours, writers cramp and due to adverse the patient-doctor ratio in the country at large and also in Odisha, the medical professionals should protect themselves by exercising this basic care and caution from the looming threat of allegations of medical negligence. Perhaps, the capital letters could ensure proper visibility to the prescriptions and will remove the guesswork and related inconveniences. The digital era could also throw open several options to make prescriptions and the diagnosis more patient-friendly, Justice Panigrahi said while granting bail to the accused in the NDPS case.

Mandal, who is lodged in a jail in Berhampur, had filed a bail application seeking release to take care of his wife, who is suffering from gynecological, cardio-vascular and haematological complications.

Mandal had applied for an interim bail to get her treated, as she lives alone in Berhampur town in Ganjam district.

However, during the verification of the medical documents of Mandals wife, the court found the handwriting of a doctors prescription to be illegible.

The documents were far beyond the comprehension of any common man or even for the court. Such illegible handwriting in medical records has the propensity to have adverse medico-legal implications, the order said.

HC also referred to the circular, issued by the Medical Council of India (MCI) in September 2016, which had said every physician should prescribe drugs with generic names and preferably in capital letters and ordered the chief secretary of Odisha to examine the feasibility of issuing appropriate circulars to implement the Councils circular.

The objective of such notification is that writing names of medicine in capital letters ensures that doctors, who have poor running handwriting, can compensate for their deficiency by writing in capital letters. Appropriate steps may be taken to create awareness among the medical professionals, involved in medico-legal cases, to record their observations and comments in a legible manner, the court added.
Israel-based Coralogix, provider of machine-learning based log analytics and monitoring solution, on Thursday announced a strategic expansion into India with a commitment to invest over $30 million in the next 5 years.

As part of its expansion plans, Coralogix will set up a new Amazon Web Services (AWS) Mumbai region to help companies with regional server support, data storage capabilities, and compliance with the upcoming security laws.

By localizing data, Coralogix will help customers meet compliance requirements for Indias new data privacy laws and dramatically improve service performance," the company said in a statement.

Coralogix is also rolling out an onsite team to provide sales and customer success support to India-based companies.

With todays strategic move, we are proactively addressing new Indian data privacy laws scheduled to take effect in 2021 by providing Coralogix customers with a solution well ahead of most of our competitors," said Ariel Assaraf, CEO and cofounder, Coralogix. When the new laws are enacted, we anticipate a profound sense of urgency for companies who fall under domestic compliance rules to store their data locally and avoid being penalized for non-compliance."

Cloud and software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology companies that collect user data are expected to be affected by these new laws. Several regional brands operating within these industries have already signed on as Coralogix customers including Postman, Jupiter Money, BookMyShow and more.





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A for sale sign on Ohio Avenue in Ridley Park, Delaware County. The number of home sales in the suburbs was up in the second quarter of the year, while sales in Philadelphia dipped. Read more

When the coronavirus pandemic shut down in-person real estate activity, Realtor Stacey DeLong was understandably scared.

I thought, There goes the year,  said DeLong, owner of the Stacey DeLong Group with Keller Williams Montgomeryville in Montgomery County. But that hasnt been the case. I havent seen really any effect on my business. ... We may have had a month or two of quiet, but that picked right back up.

Right away, she and her agents found that home buyers werent afraid to spend their money.

The housing markets in Philadelphia and the suburbs had different reactions to the first months of the coronavirus pandemic.

While home sales in the city dropped from the first quarter to the second because the pandemic delayed the housing markets usually busy spring season, sales activity increased in the suburbs by 9%, according to Drexel University economist Kevin Gillens analysis of data from Houwzer, the Philadelphia-based real estate brokerage. And while home prices rose in Philadelphia in the second quarter of the year, prices of homes in the suburbs dipped.

In the suburban counties, more than 1,000 more homes sold during April, May, and June than sold in the first three months of the year. In the city, roughly 2,200 fewer homes sold, according to Gillens report, released Thursday.

The sharp difference between the markets numbers for the city and its suburbs is both notable and relatively unusual, Gillen wrote. Lower housing inventory in Philadelphia than in the suburbs is likely a key reason why prices are up while sales are down, he said.

 READ MORE: A historically low number of Philadelphia houses are for sale

The supply of homes for sale is low everywhere. But in Philadelphia, it would take roughly three months and 10 days for all listed homes to sell, given the current pace of sales. However, in the suburbs, it would take about five months for the supply of listed homes to sell.

Although both the city and suburbs are in a sellers market right now, Gillen wrote in his report, the city has generally been a consistent sellers market for nearly five years, while the suburbs have frequently swung back and forth from a balanced market to a sellers market during this same time period.

Median sales prices across the region are up from a year ago, but mainly because more higher-end homes sold during the early months of the pandemic, and because the housing markets busy season shifted.

Accounting for those factors, and differences in home characteristics, Philadelphias prices rose almost 9% from a year ago, while suburban house prices were down nearly 7%.

 READ MORE: High-end real estate listings are returning in the Philly area, outpacing the recovery of the more affordable market

Compared with the period of April to June of last year, house prices this year dropped the most in Delaware, Gloucester, and Camden Counties. Prices fell 7.7% in the Pennsylvania county, while prices dropped by about 6% in the New Jersey counties.

Charles V. Insalaco, a licensed real estate agent and president of the Builders League of South Jersey, said hes seen robust sales in his region despite the pandemic.

 READ MORE: Coronavirus delays Philadelphias busy spring housing market

Over the last decade or more, people have been migrating from the suburbs to the cities, he said, but some of that trend is reversing as city residents seek more space, and millennials, the largest segment of the home-buying population, look for homes outside the city as they start families.

Buyers are realizing everything that South Jersey has to offer, including open spaces, quick public transit commutes to Philadelphia, proximity to the Shore, and towns that offer the walkability of a city, he said.

In the Pennsylvania collar counties, Gov. Tom Wolfs shutdown of in-person real estate activity created pent-up demand, so buyers and sellers who were ready for sales raced out of the gate once Wolf allowed the industry to resume in mid-May, said Jamie Ridge, president of the Suburban Realtors Alliance.
Some stranded Ghanaians in Lebanon have successfully arrived in the country following businessman, Kennedy Agyapongs support.



The group, numbering about 300, arrived at the Kotoka International Airport on Thursday, August 13, 2020.



Mr Agyapong who is the Member of Parliament for Assin Central, following the stranded Ghanaians appeal for evacuation initiated a fund raising project.



He managed to raise total donations of $428,650 and a personal donation of $200k, all of which he presented to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.



Some of the evacuees speaking in an interview with Net 2 TV shared horrible experiences during their stay in Lebanon.



Meanwhile, the government is also expected to evacuate about 1,500 citizens following a recent explosion in Beirut, Lebanon which left scores injured and other dead.

Source: adomonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- The currently raging coronavirus "could not have been leaked from a lab," Chinese virologists told U.S. media Monday, calling for more international cooperation during the turbulent period disrupted by the pandemic.

"I have repeatedly emphasized that it was on Dec. 30 that we got contact with the samples of SARS-like pneumonia or pneumonia of unknown cause sent from the hospital," Yuan Zhiming, director of Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory, told NBC News, the first Western media outlet that was invited to the institute since the COVID-19 outbreak in China.

"We have not encountered the novel coronavirus before that ... there is no way that it is leaked from the lab," Yuan stressed.

His remarks were seconded by Wang Yanyi, director of Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), who said in her interview with NBC News that the fact that none of the institute's scientists contracted the virus has made it extremely unlikely that the virus could have escaped from the lab.

The WIV, founded in the 1950s, is a renowned research organization that became China's first biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the WIV has been the subject of multiple conspiracy theories that the virus was leaked from it.

However, it has been a consensus among the international academic community that the leak theory has no evidence and the virus has a natural origin.

Top U.S. infectious disease expert and health official Anthony Fauci has clarified that current scientific evidence shows it is highly unlikely that the virus was manmade.

"If you look at the evolution of the virus in bats and what's out there now, (the scientific evidence) is very, very strongly leaning toward this could not have been artificially or deliberately manipulated," he noted in an interview published in May by National Geographic.

Peter Daszak, director of EcoHealth Alliance, a global non-profit network that develops solutions to preventing pandemics, also pointed out that there is "absolutely zero evidence that it escaped from a lab."

"The fact that they published the sequence (of the pathogen) so quickly suggests to me that they weren't trying to cover up anything," he added.

In fact, despite the U.S. administration's repeated allegations that COVID-19 stemmed from a research lab or a wet market in Wuhan, it has failed to provide any proof to back up its claims.

According to NBC News, current and former U.S. intelligence officials said in April that spy agencies had ruled out that the coronavirus was manmade.

Facing a raging controversy of the leak theory, WIV director Wang said "it is unfortunate that we have been targeted as a scapegoat for the origin of the virus."

"Any person would inevitably feel very angry or misunderstood being subject to unwarranted or malicious accusations while carrying out research and related work in the fight against the virus," Wang said.

Despite being unfairly targeted, the Chinese experts called for more international cooperation amid the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic.

Wang noted that the institute will "fully support" the World Health Organization in its efforts to investigate in the origin of the pathogen, urging that politics not cloud investigations into how the virus spilled over into humans.

Yuan said the deterioration of U.S.-China relations will hurt scientific cooperation, which is vital to mitigating the outbreak.

"We don't want to see the tension between China and the U.S., because it is not good for the scientific development. It is not good for the progress and stability of the world," he said.

"We have learned a lot from the American scientists in terms of their scientific technology, spirit and relevant experience," he said. "During this pandemic, I think we still need to believe in science, respect science and trust the scientists."
A Jammu and Kashmir police team from Shopian reached Rajouri on Thursday to collect DNA samples of three families to match them with those of three young men allegedly killed in a fake encounter and buried in Baramulla, a top official said.

Today a police team from Shopian reached Rajouri. It will take DNA samples of the families before returning. Thereafter, an analysis will be done and then something may emerge. The Shopian police team has just reached and the formalities are being completed by them, Rajouri district commissioner Nazir Sheikh said,

There is no decision to send these families on August 16 to Baramulla and there is no such communication with us as of now but families did approach us, he said.

The DC said there is no authentication that the three men were killed in a fake encounter by security forces.

Matching the DNA with three bodies may take place at a later stage but only missing persons complaint has been lodged with us and we are working on the basis of it. We cant say anything else on it because there is no authentication as of now.

The three men have been missing since July 17.

Lal Hussain, uncle of Imtiyaz Ahmad, one of the three missing men said, The families are in a state of shock. The pictures that went viral on social sites are of my nephew Imtiyaz Ahmad and two other relatives Ibrar Ahmad and Ibrar Ahmad Khan.

He claimed that the administration had promised to send the families to Baramulla on August 16 where the bodies of the terrorists have been buried.

In 2018 my nephew Imtiyaz Ahmad had gone to Shopian to work in an apple orchard. In 2019 he cleared his 12th class examination and wanted to pursue his studies but his father is just too poor. This year he again went to Shopian on July 2 and was joined by the other two on July 17 to work in apple orchards but they never returned, he said.

Ibrar Ahmad, 26, son of Mohammad Yousuf of Tarkassi had worked in Kuwait for four years as labourer on a working visa. He was the father of a 15-month-old boy..

They were simple nomads, who wanted to support their families. They never indulged in any terror activities, Hussain asserted.

The families of three labourers had lodged a missing report with Rajouri police on August 9.

The three young men aged 21, 26 and 18 years had left Rajouri and reached Shopian via Mughal Road on July 2 and July 17 to work as labourers but since then remain missing.

Lal Hussain had last spoken to his nephew Imtiyaz on July 17 at 7.30 PM.

Defence spokesperson of 15 Corps and 14 Corps, Colonel Rajesh Kalia on August 10 had said, We have noted social media inputs linked to the operation at Shopian on July 18. The three terrorists killed during the operation have not been identified and the bodies were buried based on established protocols. Army is investigating the matter.

On Tuesday National Conference leaders headed by provincial president Devender Singh Rana urged the administration to mobilise the police for tracing the missing men earnestly and let their families know about their welfare and whereabouts.

NC also constituted a two member team of the party functionaries, comprising advocates Choudhry Liaqat and Muzaffar Ahmed Khan, to explore all the legal options and if needed file a habeas corpus petition in the High Court about the three men .

CPI (M) leader MY Tarigami and Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari have also demanded an order by the Lt Governor for a time-bound judicial probe.

The incident of three labourers from Rajouri going missing from Shopian district from July 17 is a serious issue and needs a time-bound judicial probe, said Tarigami.

According to media reports the trio went missing just a day before the security forces claimed it killed three unidentified militants in Shopian.

There are unverified reports that the missing labourers have been killed in a fake encounter in Shopian on July 18. This is shocking and must be probed by a sitting High Court judge in a time-bound manner, he added.

In the past also unfortunate incidents of civilians being killed in fake encounters for rewards and promotions have been reported in Kashmir. The 2010 unrest was the creation of the Machil fake encounter, he said.
In the wake of the Bengaluru violence, Hyderabad Commissioner of Police (CP) Anjani Kumar alerted officers and the City Polices social media unit to monitor and update senior officers on any derogatory posts. Kumar held a video conference with all senior police officers following the violence in Bengaluru.

He said that in case of any exigency, the response time should be less than 10 minutes to reach the spot, adding that all senior officers should arrive at the spot and utilise all available resources to keep the situation under control and peaceful.

Anjani Kumar said all SHOs and additional inspectors should be present round the clock in the police station with the Divisional ACP and to remain in the Zone throughout the night. We have zero tolerance for communal situations. There will be no jurisdiction in any police station during a crisis. All nearby officers, Blue Colt teams and patrol cars should reach the spot as early as possible, he said.

Also read: Congress spokesperson Rajiv Tyagi dies of heart attack, party leaders condole his sudden death

Also read: Bengaluru Violence: Karnataka CM assures action against accused, calls for peace

Meanwhile, Cyberabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar warned people against posting inappropriate and inflammatory content on social media.

As you are aware, a malicious social media post has led to violence in Bengaluru resulting in loss of life and property. Do not post or circulate inappropriate content on social media which is likely to adversely affect public order and peace in the society, Sajjanar said, adding that the Cyberabad Police was on the lookout for unsocial elements circulating malicious content on social media.

Also read: Modi hai to mumkin hai: Rahul Gandhis jibe at Centre over low GDP growth
The decision of China's top legislature on the vacancy of the Legislative Council (LegCo) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) is reasonable and legal, reflecting a highly responsible attitude towards the life safety and health of Hong Kong residents, experts have said.

The sixth LegCo will continue to perform duties for no less than a year until the term of the seventh LegCo starts, according to a decision passed Tuesday at the 21st session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC).

Oleksiy Koval, a member of the Board of the Ukrainian Association of Sinologists, said that the decision made by the NPC Standing Committee can maintain Hong Kong's rule of law and social stability to the greatest extent, and enable Hong Kong to better restore production and life, adding that it is in the common interests of the Hong Kong people.

Noting that the decision is in line with the Constitution of the People's Republic of China and the Basic Law of the HKSAR, Wang Zhi'an, an international law professor at Japan's Komazawa University, said its legitimacy cannot be questioned.

The decision, he added, will help uphold the constitutional order and the rule of law in the HKSAR, and ensure the normal governance of the HKSAR government and the orderly functioning of Hong Kong society.

Charles Egou Engwau, a Ugandan lawyer, expressed the belief that in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries have the right to adopt a different approach from the past in accordance with the law.

The decision is conducive to ensuring the effective governance of the HKSAR government and enabling all sectors in Hong Kong to focus on the prevention and control of the outbreak, he added.

Cavince Adhere, a Kenyan international relations researcher, said the postponement of the elections is a universal practice in the context of prioritizing the safety and health of citizens.

Adhere said that although many countries have decided to delay elections, the postponement of the LegCo election has been criticized by some people, which fully exposes their sinister intentions and double standards.
Prof Kwamena Ahwoi says he was pressured into ordering the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to pull down the Pier Hotel in the Airport area of Accra.



The hotel owned by Alhaji Yusif Ibrahim was pulled down by the military on April 12, 1999.



Years down the line, Prof Kwamena Ahwoi in his controversial book "Working With Rawlings" disclosed that, "President Rawlings had called me and asked me to order the AMA to pull down the hotel. I told him it was inadvisable to pull down the hotel but that I would get the AMA to get the owner to do something about the drainage to avert the feared flooding during the heavy rains. I woke up one morning to the news that the military had demolished the hotel. I had no evidence that the demolition was on the orders of President Rawlings, but given the antecedents of the demolition, I had my suspicions . . ."



This subsequently turned into a judgement debt which was paid under the Mills administration according to Kweku Baako who was contributing to a panel discussion on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo'.



The renowned Journalist also corroborated Prof Ahwois account that there was intense pressure on him to award a waste management contract to Eddie Annan; cited on Pages 136 and 137 of the book.



Listen to him in the video below





Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
NEWPORT BEACH, CA  The National Weather Service Thursday warned of oppressive heat this weekend beginning Friday, high surf and elevated fire danger.

The National Weather Service has revised the schedule it issued Wednesday regarding heat warnings in Southern California.

In Orange County, highs of 79 in Laguna Beach; 80 in Seal Beach, Newport Beach and San Clemente; 84 on Santiago Peak; 89 on Ortega Highway at 2,600 feet; 91 at Fremont Canyon and in Fullerton; 93 in Yorba Linda; and 94 in Rancho Santa Margarita, Trabuco Canyon and Mission Viejo.

Highs will hover in the high 80s to low 90s across the county will last at least through the next week in Inland Orange County and the Santa Anas.

This week, a moderate rip current risk is in place at Orange County beaches, with surf height from 2 to 4 feet. The ocean water temperature is between 58 and 67 degrees, with a mixed south swell from 170 degrees and west swell from 270 degrees, according to the National Weather Service San Diego.

There is no risk of thunderstorms, they say.

A heat advisory will be in force from 11 a.m. Friday to 9 p.m. Sunday in L.A. County's coastal zone - beach cities, metropolitan Los Angeles, Downtown L.A. and the Hollywood Hills. A more serious excessive heat warning will be in effect from 11 a.m. Friday to 9 p.m. Monday in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys, the San Gabriel, Santa Monica and below 5,000 feet  the Santa Ana mountains in Orange County, and from 11 a.m. Friday to 9 p.m. Tuesday in the Antelope Valley.

Triple-digit temperatures are expected in some L.A. County communities Thursday, then will keep climbing.

"Extreme heat will significantly increase the potential for heat- related illnesses, particularly for those working or participating in outdoor activities," warned a National Weather Service statement.

"Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible, reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Wear lightweight and loose-fitting clothing when possible."

Story continues

The NWS noted that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments to reduce health risks during outdoor work. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location, it said.

And the weather service stressed that children, seniors and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances, especially in hot weather, when temperatures in vehicle interiors can quickly turn lethal.

Forecasters said there is a slight chance of light showers and afternoon thunderstorms Thursday as moisture streams into the region from the south as a result of the former hurricane Elida, now only a tropical depression. NWS meteorologist Curt Kaplan called it part of "a complicated pattern."

He said the ridge of high pressure producing the heat would remain over the southwestern United States several days.

The NWS also warned of elevated critical fire-weather between Friday and Monday, in part, Kaplan said, because of very dry vegetation, providing fuel for wildfires. Another factor, he said, is the fact that surface winds coming from the north will be weak, keeping the ground warm.

As of Thursday morning, no red flag warnings had been issued.

Along the coast, rough seas are expected, forecasters said, producing surf of 3-5 feet, dangerous rip currents, and sneaker waves that could inundate beaches and overtop jetties.

"Stay out of the water or swim near a lifeguard," urged the NWS website.

Mostly cloudy skies were forecast for all of L.A. County Thursday, along with highs of 79 at LAX; 82 in Avalon; 85 on Mount Wilson; 90 in Long Beach and Downtown L.A.; 94 in San Gabriel; 95 in Pasadena; 96 in Burbank; 101 in Woodland Hills; and 102 in Palmdale and Lancaster. Friday's highs will be 108 degrees in Woodland Hills, Palmdale and Lancaster. Saturday's highs will be around a degree higher in those communities, then descend to 106 on Sunday but remain in triple-digits through Wednesday.

This article originally appeared on the Newport Beach-Corona Del Mar Patch
Choking back tears, Valerie McIntyre says her job at del Lago Resort & Casino in Seneca County saved her life.

McIntyre is one of roughly 5,200 casino employees in New York who are waiting to learn when they will be allowed to return to work. New York's four commercial casinos and several racinos have been closed since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the past five months, there has been no indication when the casinos and racinos can open. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on July 30 that casinos remain closed because it's "an issue of density, the likelihood of compliance and the essential nature of the business."

Simply, the casinos are considered nonessential businesses.

"You don't need a casino to maintain survival," Cuomo said.

But McIntyre, a table games supervisor at del Lago, disagrees. She, along with two other casino employees  Greg Mallette, the cage operations manager and assistant hotel manager for Vernon Downs, and Robin Torr, the hotel front desk manager at Tioga Downs Casino Resort  explained to The Citizen why their jobs are essential and why they think casinos can reopen safely amid the public health crisis.

McIntyre, like Cuomo, is from Queens. She was a sixth-grade teacher before moving to upstate New York 14 years ago.

"I did not work for health reasons," she said in a joint interview with Mallette and Torr. "When del Lago decided to open, they saved my life. So not only is this my passion, but this is my love."

Torr has a similar story. She is a native Long Islander who worked at resorts on the east end of Suffolk County. She decided to move upstate to take a job at Tioga Downs Resort Casino, which expanded into a full commercial casino in late 2016.

The reason Torr sought the job was to build her career in the hospitality industry. She has worked in various hotel roles for 15 years. Now that she's a hotel front desk manager, she says she's closer to her goal of becoming a hotel director or general manager.

"It was a big step and a big opportunity for me, and I did it," she said. "I worked my whole life for this."

Mallette is a 10-year veteran at Vernon Downs. Because of his decade of service, he doesn't know what he would do if he lost his job. Not only is he uncertain what he would do, but he lives in the Mohawk Valley  a region where there are few job opportunities.

What bothers Mallette is seeing other employees and industries deemed to be essential, while casinos remain closed and workers are told that they do not have essential positions.

"I put the roof over the heads of two kids. I put food in their stomach," he said. "To tell me that I'm not essential, well guess what? I am essential to them."

Employees at New York's casinos and racinos have been furloughed for months. While on furlough, they are eligible for unemployment benefits. Until the end of July, they received an additional $600 every week from the federal government. But those payments have ended and there hasn't been an agreement to restore the payments, whether at the $600 level or another amount.

Torr said without the federal payments, casino workers are receiving $150 to $250 in weekly unemployment benefits. McIntyre added that she is losing $2,400 a month out of her normal pay. She couldn't refill prescriptions recently because she couldn't afford the copays.

"The fear is paying your rent, putting food on your table, car payments, insurance," she said. "It is heavy right now."

Even if the casino workers wanted to take on another job, it's not easy. Mallette had a job interview that he believed he was qualified for, but the manager was concerned that he would leave once Vernon Downs reopens.

Now, he says, he's not employable because of the specter of him leaving to return to his post at Vernon downs.

"We're sitting in this state of limbo where it's not just run out and get another job," Mallette said, "because there's difficulty beyond the fact that there's not a lot of employment."

Casino employees agree that they want to reopen safely. Del Lago developed a reopening plan that is based on federal and state health guidelines. Face coverings would be required, employees and guests would be screened before entering the casino and there would be limited capacity on the gaming floor.

Torr noted that when New York closed the commercial casinos in March, it was part of a regional approach with Connecticut and New Jersey. New Jersey's casinos reopened in early July. Two tribal casinos reopened in Connecticut, although they operate on sovereign land.

In New York, the Oneida Nation reopened its three casinos in June. The Seneca Nation in the Buffalo area began reopening its casinos around the same time. At the tribal casinos in New York, there hasn't been a significant increase in COVID-19 infections.

With that data from tribal casinos in New York, along with minimal infections reported at casinos in other states, the casino employees think they can resume operations.

"We understand that there's a pandemic out there. We understand that there's a virus and it's very dangerous to many people," Torr said. "But at the same time, we know we can operate safely. It's been proven around the state already."

The longer the casinos are closed, though, the more likely it is that Mallette, McIntyre, Torr and thousands of other casino employees could be laid off. That possibility worries their coworkers.

McIntyre is also concerned about the viability of the casinos after being closed for nearly five months.

"Any business that remains closed for this long can't sustain and will close permanently," she said. "You cannot lose such a substantial amount of revenue and expect to reopen and give everybody back their jobs as it was. It's impossible."

Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 04:46:13|Editor: huaxia

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MOSCOW, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron held a phone conversation on Wednesday, discussing the situation in Lebanon, Ukraine and Belarus, the Kremlin said in a statement.

"Putin and Macron discussed in detail the situation in the Republic of Lebanon, focusing on the steps taken by Russia and France to provide humanitarian assistance to the people in Lebanon after the explosion in the port of Beirut on August 4," it said.

Macron shared the impressions of his recent visit to Lebanon, as well as the results of a videoconference organized by France on Aug. 9 to rally international aid for that country.

"During the exchange of views on internal political developments in Lebanon, the Russian side reaffirmed its position in support of the republic's national unity and sovereignty," said the statement.

The need to resolve any controversy via a process consisting of and led by the Lebanese, based on constructive dialogue and without external interference, was also underscored, it added.

The presidents also considered various aspects of the situation in Ukraine. They praised the additional ceasefire measures that were approved at the Minsk contact group meeting on July 22.

Putin reiterated the importance of strict fulfillment by Ukraine of its obligations concerning the political aspects of the Minsk Agreements. It was agreed to continue this joint work within the Normandy format.

The current situation in Belarus was also touched on, according to the statement. Enditem
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) is calling for an immediate independent audit of the new voter register compiled by the Electoral Commission.



The party argues that the audit will check deduplication and multiple registration issues recorded in the register.



While addressing a press conference at the NDCs headquarters in Accra on Thursday, August 13, 2020, the partys Director of Election, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, said details of the multiple registrations should be made available to all political parties.



In fact, the EC needed to replace its system with a more robust system, including the introduction of facial recognition technology. No one has said anything about facial recognition again. When they [EC] speak these days, they dont talk about it. Technically, any credible Biometric Verification System is able to detect duplicate registration in real-time and address same. So it beats our imagination that this registration in the midst of a deadly pandemic, people will move from one registration centre to another to engage in multiple registrations.



Why would they do that? If there are any records of multiple registrations, the EC may have to examine the causes internally because we are reliably informed that the ECs own system is defective and therefore deduplicates registrants by itself so they should look internally at their systems and processes. That is why we are calling for an independent audit of the entire register in relation to multiple registrations and details of all the multiple registrations on the register should be made available to the political parties for verification. We are highly suspicious of this move because we are aware the management of the EC has transferred almost all the experienced IT experts at the Headquarters to the various regions for very strange reasons, he said.



Mr. Ankrah further called for the prosecution and arrest of New Patriotic Party and EC officials who were involved in some clashes at Banda during the voter registration exercise.



While Akufo-Addo closed our borders and was using the military and his vigilante groups to prevent eligible Ghanaians from registering, the NPP Parliamentary Candidate and executives in the Banda constituency were busily colluding with the EC officials to register foreigners who have no place on our register.



Our [NDC] vigilant agents spotted the Ivorians who came in a truck with an Ivorian registrant number and tried to stop them from registering but they were advised to rather challenge them to avoid any violence. We are therefore calling for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the known persons involved in it.



EC inaugurates adjudication committee for suspected double registration cases



The Commission has already inaugurated an Adjudication Committee to manually determine cases of duplicated voter registrations.



The 16-member committee chaired by Deputy EC boss responsible for Operations, Samuel Tettey, is made up of political party representatives, civil society groups and IT personnel of the commission.



It has been tasked with manually reconciling cases where registrants facial and biometric features as captured by the biometric registration kits conflict.



The incidences of multiple registrations that will come before the committee will be those that are flagged by the automatic biometric identification system without being resolved.



During the inauguration of the committee, the EC Chairperson, Jean Mensa, said the committee was part of the next leg towards ensuring credible elections as the voter registration exercise comes to a close.



But she noted that the commission was still warry of double registrations hence the de-duplication system.



It is now time to turn our attention to ensuring a clean and credible voters register ahead of the 2020 general election.



The commission is of the view that the voters register is the bedrock on which a credible election is built. It is therefore important that the new voters register bears the hallmarks of integrity, Mrs. Mensa said.



Under this system, the committee is presented with cases that are flagged when the system is unable to determine duplication.



Committee members are trained and provided with policies to enable them to determine and rule on the different cases presented to them, she explained.

Source: citinewsroom.com









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Bhopal: A 45-year-old government school teacher and his 14-year-old sons decomposed bodies were found hanging from a ceiling fan in their home on Thursday morning in Ujjain district, police said.

The deceased were residents of Birlagram of Nagda tehsil of Ujjain district.

Nagda police station in-charge SC Sharma said, A milkman on Thursday morning informed the neighbours that Kanhaiyalal was not taking milk for the past three days and also foul smell was emanating from his house.

The neighbours informed the police. When police broke open the door of the house, Kanhaiyalal and Ayush were found hanging from a ceiling fan with the same rope. Their bodies had started decomposing. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination, said Sharma.

Police said the man had two sons and a daughter. A few days ago, his wife had left with a son and the daughter for her parents home in Kota district of Rajasthan .

Police are investigating the matter.

Prima facie, it looks like a case of suicide but we will be able to say anything on the incident only after the post mortem report, said Sharma.
The young Chili's employee told local reporters that she would not return to work at the chain. Diane Macdonald / Contributor/ Getty Images

A 17-year-old Chili's hostess in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said a group of angry customers attacked her on Sunday after she was unable to sit a party of 13 together because of the chain's coronavirus-related guidelines.

Kelsy Wallace told the local news station WBRZ that a group of women ripped her hair and hit her with a wet-floor sign. "I had blood rushing everywhere," Wallace said.

On Thursday, the police in Baton Rouge said they arrested three women in connection with the assault: Tammy Dabney, Rodneka Dabney, and Erica Dabney.

A police representative told Business Insider that anonymous Crime Stoppers tips "played a vital role in the arrests."

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A 17-year-old Chili's hostess in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said she was attacked by a group of diners on Sunday after she tried to follow the restaurant's coronavirus-related seating rules.

Kelsy Wallace told the local news station WBRZ that her general manager instructed employees not to sit more than six people at a table as part of the restaurant's efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Related: Risk ranking of everyday activities for COVID-19

On Sunday, Wallace said, she was asked to seat a party of 13. Wallace said she sat six diners at one table and asked the other seven to sit at two separate tables.

She said that the diners became irate and that a group of women hit her, ripped out her hair, and slammed a wet-floor sign on her face. "I had blood rushing everywhere," Wallace told WBRZ.

Brinker International, Chili's parent company, did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

The police in Baton Rouge announced on Thursday that three women were arrested in connection with the attack. Tammy Dabney was charged with aggravated second-degree battery, while Rodneka and Erica Dabney were charged with disturbing the peace and simple battery. It was unclear whether the three women had obtained legal representation.

Story continues

Baton Rouge Police (@BRPD) August 14, 2020

"Investigators believe that the three are connected in the assault of a female juvenile restaurant employee," a police representative said in a statement sent to Business Insider.

The representative said that anonymous Crime Stoppers tips "played a vital role in the arrests" and that the investigation into the incident "remains ongoing."

Wallace told WBRZ that she was upset that the restaurant's managers let the group walk out, adding that she wasn't planning to go back to work at Chili's. Business Insider was not able to get in contact with Wallace for comment.

Coronavirus-related policies in restaurants and stores have sparked a heated culture war that has sometimes resulted in aggression and violence against workers. In one recent survey, hundreds of McDonald's employees reported experiencing harassment or violence by anti-mask customers. In May, a Family Dollar security guard in Flint, Michigan, was killed after confronting an unmasked shopper.

Send tips to acain@businessinsider.com.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Health care is an integral part of Ping An's "finance + ecosystem" strategy. The strategy is to use technology to empower five ecosystems: financial services, health care, auto services, real estate services and smart city services. These ecosystems help the Group extend its reach to internet users beyond its core financial businesses. At the end of 2019, Ping An had more than 200 million retail customers and nearly 516 million internet users.

"Ecosystems require a merger of online and offline services and this is our competency," Jessica said. In the health care ecosystem, Ping An has built a comprehensive model to serve online and offline patients, providers and payers through Group subsidiaries and affiliates, including Ping An Good Doctor, Ping An HealthKonnect and Ping An Smart Healthcare, which is a part of Ping An Smart City.

For patients, Ping An Good Doctor provides end-to-end service, including 24/7 online consultations, prescriptions, referrals, appointments, second medical opinions and drug deliveries  supported by the in-house full-time medical team and proprietary artificial intelligence (AI)-based medical system. In 2019, Ping An Good Doctor became China's largest online health care services platform, with more than 315 million registered users, 729,000 daily consultations on average, and a professional network of more than 3,000 hospitals and 94,000 pharmacies. Between 22 January to 6 February as the COVID-19 outbreak peaked in China, the number of new registered users increased by 10 times compared with the period from 1 to 21 January. The average number of daily online consultations grew nine times over the same period.

For medical service providers, Ping An Smart Healthcare provides a digital platform to support all the steps before, during and after medical service delivery. Ping An launched its COVID-19 smart image-reading system in early 2020 to assist doctors with fast and accurate diagnoses to help control the epidemic. The system can generate smart analysis results in about 15 seconds, with an accuracy rate above 90%. AskBob Doctor, an AI-based diagnosis and treatment assistant tool, has been used 33 million times by 430,000 doctors for medical decision support, patient follow-up and patient education since its launch in June 2019. As of July 2020, Ping An Smart Healthcare supported a network of nearly 17,000 medical institutions across 90 cities in China.

For payers, such as social health insurers, Ping An HealthKonnect uses advanced algorithms and technologies to build anti-fraud and health care resource optimization models to reduce overtreatment, fraud and abuse. HealthKonnect also offers small- to medium-sized insurers smart risk management services. As of the end of 2019, Ping An HealthKonnect provided services for over 800 million people in more than 200 cities.

In her speech, Jessica described the difference between Ping An from other high profile technology giants, saying: "Most internet companies started off as consumer internet businesses and grew their ecosystem centered around their own consumers. We started off as a financial services company and used technology to empower five ecosystems. We see ourselves as an enabler so our ecosystems are more open."

"Our philosophy is very different," she added. "We not only built our own flagship where we became the largest online health care provider, but we also care about the other health care institutions and commit to using our experience, knowledge as well as technology to enable them to do better."

During the outbreak of the coronavirus, Ping An Health Technology Research Institute helped more than 30 cities in China to analyze and predict the trend of cases to help with local control measures. The forecasts achieved a 99% accuracy rate for predictions one day in advance and 98% accuracy seven days in advance.

Looking ahead to 2021, Jessica said: "We remain cautiously optimistic that we will recover and be in a stronger position. China, relative to the rest of Asia, has gone through the virus a bit earlier and it has resumed business as much as possible. COVID-19 has spurred the adoption of online health care services by customers, businesses and regulators because they saw the necessity of doing so, and that has spurred us to provide better digital health care services to our clients."

- End -

About Ping An Group

Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. ("Ping An") is a world-leading technology-powered retail financial services group. With over 204 million retail customers and 534 million Internet users, Ping An is one of the largest financial services companies in the world.

Ping An has two over-arching strategies, "pan financial assets" and "pan health care", which focus on the provision of financial and health care services through our integrated financial services platform and our five ecosystems of financial services, health care, auto services, real estate services and smart city services. Our "finance + technology" and "finance + ecosystem" strategies aim to provide customers and internet users with innovative and simple products and services using technology. As China's first joint stock insurance company, Ping An Group is committed to upholding the highest standards of corporate reporting and corporate governance. The Company is listed on the stock exchanges in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

In 2020, Ping An ranked 7th in the Forbes Global 2000 list and 21st in the Fortune Global 500 list. Ping An also ranked 38th in the 2020 WPP Kantar Millward Brown BrandZTM Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands list. For more information, please visit www.pingan.cn.

SOURCE Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd.

Related Links

www.pingan.cn


OTTAWAA timeline of events regarding the Canada Student Service Grant program, based on public documents, events and statements from cabinet ministers, government officials, and WE Charity:

March 6, 2020: WE Charity staff prepare a concept paper on service learning for public servants at Employment and Social Development Canada.

April 5: Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau talk over the phone about how to help students whose summer job and volunteer opportunities were vanishing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Finance Department officials are tasked with considering options the next morning.

April 7: Small Business Minister Mary Ng and WE co-founder Craig Kielburger have an introductory phone call in which Ng asks WE to send what it calls a preestablished proposal to help young people launch businesses.

April 7 or 8: Morneaus office contacts the WE organization, among other groups, to get their input on potential programs. Morneau says the call was on April 7, while WE says it was April 8.

April 9: WE Charity sends the unsolicited proposal for a youth business program to Youth Minister Bardish Chagger, Ng, Morneau and Trudeaus office. The price tag is between $6 million and $14 million to provide digital programming and $500 grants, plus incentive funds, for 8,000 students.

April 16: ESDC officials mention WE in the context of the student program in an email discussion with Finance officials.

April 18: Morneaus officials raise the idea of partnering with a non-profit, or for-profit group to administer the program. (ESDC officials suggest the same day that WE might be an option.) Morneau said it was the first time he was involved in any talk about WE and the grant program.

April 19: Wernick contacts Craig Kielburger. WE says the call was to discuss launching a youth service program in the summer and that Wernick asks Kielburger to develop a proposal to fulfil that objective. During the call, Wernick learns of the April 9 proposal for a youth business program and Kielburger agrees to send both proposals.

April 20: Morneaus office contacts WE to ask about its ability to deliver a volunteer program. An officials record of the call notes WE Charity will rework their 10-week summer program proposal to fully meet the policy objective of national service and increase their current placements of 8,000 to double.

April 21: Morneau approves going with an outside organization to run the volunteer program, but no specific group is chosen.

WEs youth entrepreneurship program proposal is included in annex nine of a briefing package about a student aid program that goes to the Prime Ministers Office, chief of staff Katie Telford later tells the finance committee. The proposal is declined.

April 22: Trudeau announces a $9-billion package of student aid, including the outline of a volunteer program paying students up to $5,000 toward education costs, based on the number of hours they volunteer. WE sends Wernick an updated proposal to reflect the announcement. The message is forwarded to Chagger, Ng and Morneau.

April 26: Morneau speaks with WE co-founder Craig Kielburger, but told the finance committee neither of them talked about the Canada Student Service Grant program. Craig Kielburger later tells the committee he only brought up the youth business proposal, not the grant program.

April 27: Volunteer Canada, a charity that promotes volunteering and helps organizations use volunteers well, meets Chagger and raises concerns about paying students hourly rates below minimum wage and calling it volunteering.

May 4: WE sends a third proposal to ESDC, this time with more details and specific to the grant program. Finance official Michelle Kovacevic, who was working on the program, told the finance committee she received it May 7.

May 5: Chagger goes to a special COVID-19 cabinet committee with the recommendation to go with WE for the program. Neither Morneau nor Trudeau is at the meeting.

The same day, a member of the Prime Ministers Office policy team speaks with WE as part of stakeholder consultation, but then directs the organization to ESDC.

WE begins incurring eligible expenses.

May 8: Trudeau finds out that WE is being recommended to run the student-volunteer program hours before a cabinet meeting. He later tells the finance committee that he pulled the item from the agenda and sent it back to the public service for more due diligence because of how the deal could be perceived.

May 21: The public service comes back to Trudeau, he tells the finance committee. The recommendation to go with WE doesnt change.

May 22: Cabinet, including Trudeau and Morneau, approved handing the reins of the program to WE.

May 23: The public service officially begins negotiating a contribution agreement with WE, which would have paid up to $43.5 million in fees to the group.

May 25 to June 3: In a series of meetings with Volunteer Canada, WE suggests the target for placements through the program had gone from 20,000 to 100,000.

June 12: WE co-founder Marc Kielburger says in a video chat with youth leaders that he heard from Trudeaus office about getting involved in the volunteer program the day after it was announced by the prime minister. He later backtracks, saying the contact came the week of April 26 from Wernick, and not the Prime Ministers Office.

June 23: WE Charity Foundation signs a contribution agreement with the federal government. WE signatories include Scott Baker, named as president of the one-year-old foundation and executive director of WE Charity, and chief financial officer Victor Li. Chagger signs for the government.

June 25: Trudeau unveils more details about student aid. A government release notes that WE will administer the student-volunteer program.

June 26: Facing questions about WE, Trudeau says the non-partisan public service made the recommendation, and the government accepted it: As the public service dug into it, they came back with only one organization that was capable of networking and organizing and delivering this program on the scale that we needed it, and that was the WE program.

July 3: Citing the ongoing controversy, WE and the Liberals announce a parting of ways and the federal government takes control of the program. Ethics commissioner Mario Dion tells Conservative and NDP ethics critics in separate letters he will examine Trudeaus role in the awarding of the agreement because of the prime ministers close ties to the group.

July 9: WE says it has paid Trudeaus mother Margaret about $250,000 for 28 speaking appearances at WE-related events between 2016 and 2020. His brother Alexandre was been paid $32,000 for eight events, and Trudeaus wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau received $1,400 in 2012 for a single appearance. The organization says Trudeau himself has never been paid by the charity or its for-profit arm.

July 13: Trudeau apologizes for not recusing himself from discussions about WE over his familys longtime involvement with the organization. Morneau also issues an apology.

July 16: Dion says he will investigate Morneaus actions in the affair. Chagger testifies at the finance committee, saying Trudeaus office didnt direct her to go with WE.

July 21: Ian Shugart, clerk of the Privy Council, tells the Commons finance committee there is no evidence to suggest Trudeau spoke with WE before the organization was awarded the deal to run the student-volunteer program.

July 22: Morneau tells the finance committee he just repaid over $41,000 to WE for travel expenses the organization footed for the minister and his family. The Opposition Conservatives call for Morneau to resign.

Trudeaus office says he and Telford have agreed to testify before the committee with a date and time to be set.

The House of Commons ethics committee also calls on Trudeau to testify, and votes to seek copies of records for Trudeau and his familys speaking appearances dating back years. Six opposition members outvote five Liberals to have that committee start its own investigation.

July 23: Conservatives and New Democrats ask Dion to launch a new probe of Morneau over his travel expenses.

July 27: A copy of the contribution agreement with WE Charity Foundation is filed with the finance committee. It lays out the details of the program, including a provision for a maximum contribution of $543.53 million  $500 million for grants, and $43.53 million to WE.

July 28: Craig and Marc Kielburger testify over four hours of sometimes testy interactions with MPs on the finance committee. The co-founders of WE Charity say their history and experience, not ties to Liberal cabinet ministers, landed the group the deal to run the volunteer program. They add they would have never agreed to take part in the program had they known it could jeopardize the work the WE organization has done over 25 years.

They also say WE estimated the cost of the program to be between $200 million and $300 million.

July 29: The Conservatives call on the federal ethics czar to widen his probe of Trudeau to include travel expenses WE covered in addition to speaking fees for his mother, wife and brother. Dion sends letters to the Tories and NDP saying he is expanding his probe of Morneau to look into the $41,000 in WE-sponsored travel.

July 30: In a rare event, Trudeau testifies before the House of Commons finance committee and lays out when he first learned about WEs involvement in the Canada Student Service Grant program. He says WE Charity didnt receive any preferential treatment in the process. He also says it is now unlikely the grants will be rolled out.

July 31: Speaking to reporters, Trudeau says he believed there was no conflict of interest because his family would not benefit from WE running the student volunteer program.

Aug. 13: WE Charity announces that it is scaling back its operations, making dozens of layoffs in Canada and the United Kingdom, while also looking to sell some of its real estate holdings in Toronto.

The same day, WE Charity registers as a lobbyist of the federal government, disclosing 65 communications with federal officials or ministers in 19 different departments or federal institutions, dating as far back as January 2019.
NSW Police said on Friday that they would not be charging Tangara School for Girls with any breaches of COVID-19 protocols as a coronavirus cluster associated with the school grew to 21 cases on Friday.

"The NSW Police Force has finalised its investigation and determined no breaches of public health orders have taken place," a spokesperson said.

The Tangara School for Girls cluster has increased to 20. Credit:Kate Geraghty

One case linked to the Tangara cluster was reported among the state's new coronavirus cases diagnosed in the 24 hours to 8pm on Thursday.

The school community has been asked not to speak to the media but one Tangara parent anonymously reported alleged breaches of COVID-19 protocols to radio station 2GB.
The Salt Lake City Police Department suspended its K9 program on Wednesday, one day after the release of an officers body-camera footage that showed his dog appearing to repeatedly bite a Black man kneeling on the ground with his hands up.

In a statement, the department said it was enlisting outside experts to conduct a thorough review of the programs policies and procedures while various investigations examine the April 24 incident that left Jeffrey Ryans, 36, with severe injuries that his lawyers said may require amputation.

The K9 officer involved in the encounter, Nickolas Pearce, was placed on administrative leave while the citys civilian review board and internal affairs investigators investigate, the department said.

I am disturbed by what I saw in that video, frustrated by how the situation was handled, and am committed to working to ensure neither happen again, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall tweeted Wednesday.

Image: Jeffrey Ryans (White & Garner Trial Lawyers)

Lawyers for Ryans, a train engineer, said in an interview Wednesday that he was getting ready to go to work early that morning when officers arrived at his wifes home, where he was staying.

In disturbing body-camera footage first published by the Salt Lake City Tribune and obtained by NBC News, the officers can be seen talking with Ryans, whos standing in the home's backyard. Im just going to work, he says. One officer asks how they can get to the yard; another appears to say Ryans is going jump the fence.

Pearce then appears to walk to the other side of the house, where he approaches Ryans and says, Get on the ground or youre going to get bit.

As Ryans kneels with his hands up, Pearce appears to say hit and good boy while his dog bites Ryans, who repeatedly shouts in pain and asks why the dog is biting him.

The Salt Lake Police Department declined a request for an interview with Pearce, and the Salt Lake Police Association did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday night.

Story continues

In a notice of claim dated June 29 that was filed with the Salt Lake City Recorders Office  the first step in filing a lawsuit  lawyers for Ryans said Pearces dog, Tuco, bit him several times for roughly one minute.

On each side of his leg, Ryans suffered two-inch gashes, one of his lawyers, Gabriel White said.

Weve seen lots of dog bites, but this one looks like something else, he said. I wouldve assumed he had an accident with a chainsaw.

Salt Lake City police spokesman Detective Greg Wilking said that authorities had been called to the home because of a report of domestic violence. Citing the pending lawsuit, Wilking declined to discuss details of the incident, but in the body-camera footage, officers can be heard telling Ryans after he was bitten that he violated a protective order and wasnt allowed to be there.

In an interview Wednesday, Gabriel White and another lawyer, Daniel Garner, said Ryans wife had secured the order last year amid disagreements. The arguments werent violent, they said, though she told Ryans to move out in December. They later reconciled, and he moved back in when the coronavirus outbreak began, when she asked for help with their three children, they said.

After speaking with someone in the local district attorneys office, she believed the protective order had been lifted, they said.

Unbeknownst to her, a judge has to lift it, Garner said.

A request for comment left with the Salt Lake County District Attorneys Office was not returned Wednesday. Garner and White declined to make Ryans or his wife available for an interview.

The lawyers said they werent sure who reported the alleged domestic violence on April 24, but they said there are no allegations that anything violent occurred. It was just a marital disagreement, White said. Then she went to bed.

Wilking said that Ryans was arrested on suspicion of violating a protective order, charges that are pending.

Garner and White said that Ryans was laid off after he was injured. Multiple surgeries have left him tens of thousands of dollars in debt, they said.

They said the officials named in notice of claim have 60 days to respond. "If they take responsibility, there won't be a lawsuit," Garner said.

"My client's main goal is to see the reforms that the nation has been having a conversation about," Garner said. "And hes got a mountain of medical bills he has to deal with now."
Youre allowed to vote in person only if you havent yet cast your ballot by mail. If you decide youd rather vote in person, youll need to bring your mail-in ballot to an early voting site or your election precinct polling place and surrender it to an election judge. The election judge should then give you a standard ballot, which you can fill out to vote in person.
By George E. Norcross, III, Richard T. Smith and Marie Blistan

In just a few weeks, a new school year unlike any weve ever experienced will begin. More than 1.4 million New Jersey public school students will start classes for the fall, some possibly returning to classrooms for the first time since March, but most continuing to learn online.

Teachers, administrators, parents and students all deserve praise for how they have handled the springs abrupt transition from in class learning to online. But if online learning is the new normal for the foreseeable future  and there should be little doubt that for most families it will be  there needs to be more done to ensure that every child has the tools they need to get the education they deserve.

According to the state Department of Education, as many as 230,000 students were deemed to be at a disadvantage when the pandemic first took hold in New Jersey in mid-March because they didnt have access to needed technology. The children who were the least likely to have the needed tools are also the ones who are at the most risk of receiving an inadequate education in the first place. In one of the wealthiest states in the country to have almost 20% of its children unable to learn remotely is surely a crime.

Thats why state government deserves praise for its new plan to close this digital divide but even under the most optimistic timetable, too many students wont be prepared for school next month. An estimated 90,000 students remain stuck without consistent Internet access or a device at home they could use for online learning in the fall. As the governor acknowledges, New Jersey does not have the funding to meet this vital need, even with the help of our congressional delegation to bring additional funding from Washington.

The need is clear and the public sector cannot do it alone on the back of already tapped taxpayers. The private sector is going to have to step up to help.

Camden is an example of where that is working. Campbell Soup, Townsend Press, the Norcross Foundation, the Camden Education Fund and others worked with Coopers Ferry Partnership to donate to the Camden School District to purchase Dell Chromebooks, along with licensing fees for Google platforms. The new computers went to schools across the city, including Camden and Woodrow Wilson high schools, Big Picture Learning Academy, Brimm Medical Arts, Creative Arts Morgan Village Academy and Pride Academy.

Camdens ability to quickly pivot to online learning is due in large part to the broad changes implemented in the citys schools following the 2012 passage of the Urban Hope Act, which allowed the city to do something unprecedented: rethink from the ground up how it educates its children. Working with educators, the community and leaders of businesses and non-profits, Camdens Renaissance and district-run schools alike were turning a corner prior to the pandemic  graduation rates and test scores were up, while drop-outs were down  and its critical to continue that progress.

While challenged areas  Newark and its environs, Jersey City, Trenton need to have strong private sector support  almost every community will have some children at a disadvantage, allowing even the smallest firms to do their part locally.

There is a big gap to achieve our shared goals of making sure every child has the ability to learn remotely. One source or even a handful cannot make up the difference. Thats why like Camden, other communities need a combined effort and private sector leadership.

We are urging the N.J. Chamber of Commerce to bring businesses together to support children  without a better education outcome the children will struggle and so will our state. This is a moral responsibility for all to come together to provide support. Camdens example is a step in the right direction. We urge more to join us throughout New Jersey.

George E. Norcross, III is chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Cooper Health System, Cooper University Hospital, and MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper.

Richard T. Smith is president of the NAACP New Jersey State Conference.

Marie Blistan is president of the New Jersey Education Association.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Heres how to submit an op-ed or Letter to the Editor. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters.
Black women's natural hair has always been taboo in the workplace. Duke University's Fuqua School of Business conducted a study and found that Black women with natural hairstyles including curly afros, twists or braids are less likely to get job interviews than White women or Black women with straightened hair.

The article, shared by CNN Business on Twitter, received tons of backlash from Black women -- mainly being that this study didn't tell us anything we didn't already know.

We didn't need a study to demonstrate this. We've known for years that Black hair is considered 'unprofessional.' Antiquated employee handbooks still cite certain textures and styles closely associated with Black hair as unacceptable for the workplace, which has resulted in a growing number of states passing hair-centric anti-discrimination laws, according to Allure.

From my freshman year in college to now, I've been told by older professionals that natural hair "wasn't acceptable in the workplace," and it's been proven to be true by tons of Black women.

We shouldn't live in fear of not getting a particular job based on how our hair looks. The perceived notion of "professionalism" that comes with wearing your hair straight versus it's natural state has got to go. Why not hire a potential employee based on their abilities anyways?

While we didn't need new research to know that we face discrimination in employment based on our hair, these situations are more common than people may think. Just recently, a fellow journalist Treasure Roberts, tweeted about wearing her hair in braids on air for the first time.

In the tweet she writes, "Years ago I was told to take a clip out of my newsreel because I was wearing braids. The news director told me I wouldn't get a job with braids. I left the clip in and landed a job in the industry. Now, I'm wearing them on-air for the first time. Braids are professional."

We've been conditioned to believe that our hair is unprofessional, but somehow Black women's hair is the most curated aspect of who were are. Our protective hairstyles or even our hair in it's natural state seems to be a negative for us, but when non-Black women wear them, suddenly they become acceptable, trendy or a fashion statement.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen called on the international community to speak out against Beijing as her government announced a 10% increase in defense spending to help offset China's increasing military advantage.

"Our 23 million people have the right to determine our own futures, which is the antithesis of the approach Beijing has taken," Tsai told an online event hosted by the Washington-based Hudson Institute. She praised the U.S. and the U.K. for criticizing China's actions in the former British colony of Hong Kong, while calling on more nations to do so.

Tsai's remarks on Wednesday come days after U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar traveled to the island, the most senior visit by an American official in more than four decades. During the visit, Azar described Taiwan as "an inspiration to the region and the world" and stressed its "shared democratic values" with the U.S.

Tensions over Taiwan -- long one of the most sensitive topics between the U.S. and China -- have flared as the world's two largest economies clash over issues from Hong Kong to 5G technology. As Tsai spoke, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo was in Prague blasting the Communist Party's "campaigns of coercion and control," although he reaffirmed the U.S.'s commitment to the "one China" policy.

On Wednesday, Tsai repeatedly played to Trump administration talking points on the need for "like-minded" democracies to stand together to protect a "free and open Indo-Pacific." In Taipei, Tsai's cabinet later proposed a budget that would boost total defense spending to $15.4 billion (NT$453.4 billion) in the year starting in January, compared with NT$409.4 billion in the current year.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry mocked the budget increase by Taiwan, which Beijing views as part of its territory. "No matter how much it spends -- you know Taiwan is a small place -- its attempt to confront the mainland is like an ant trying to shake a tree," ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular news briefing Thursday, an expression China has previously used against Pompeo.

While the pace of Chinese defense spending has slowed with its overall economy in recent years, the People's Liberation Army's budget was about 25 times the size of the Taiwanese military's last year, according to data compiled by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. In May, China said it expected defense spending to increase about 6.6% this year, the slowest pace since at least 1991.

Taiwan's defense ministry said Thursday that the budget increase would help it improve equipment and develop "asymmetric capabilities."

Officials in Taipei have raised concern that China may seek to accelerate its plans to gain control over Taiwan after imposing a national security law in Hong Kong widely seen as eroding the city's traditionally separate status from Beijing. Taiwan's defense ministry reported a sharp increase in the number of Chinese military incursions into the island's air defense identification zone in June.

Although Tsai reiterated her willingness to talk with Beijing on the basis of "peace, parity, prosperity, and dialogue," she said the island should be capable of defending itself. She said that Taiwan's relationship with the U.S. had "never been closer" and expressed her hope that the two sides could speed up progress on a free-trade agreement, arguing that it would have "strategic implications" as well as economic benefits.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 04:24:09|Editor: huaxia

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KIEV, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Only 300 of the more than 3,000 state-owned enterprises are to remain in state management, while others will be subject to privatization, Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Wednesday.

"There are more than 3,000 state-owned enterprises in Ukraine, and not a single Ukrainian government has been able to effectively manage such a large number of enterprises... That is why we are now in the final stages of drafting a bill that will determine the list of facilities to remain under state control. Our strategy is to leave about three hundred companies," said Shmyhal during a government meeting on Wednesday.

Shmyhal added that the enterprises working in the national security, energy, natural monopolies fields, and the enterprises of social importance would continue to be state-run.

On March 7, 2018, a law on privatization came into force in Ukraine, aimed at simplifying the procedure for transferring state property to private hands, fighting corruption and strengthening the protection of investors' rights.

The document divides all objects of denationalization into two groups. The first includes objects of small privatization - assets of state and municipal property, the value of which does not exceed 250 million hryvnia (9 million U.S. dollars). The second group includes assets worth over 250 million hryvnia, which are called objects of large-scale privatization.

Over the past two years, auctions for the sale of small-scale privatization objects, held through the electronic platform ProZorro.Sale, have brought Ukraine over 2.5 billion hryvnia (90.6 million U.S. dollars). Enditem
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Beijing, China  Thu, August 13, 2020 17:30 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066dd340c 2 World China,food-waste,operation-empty-plate Free

Chinese diners are being told to order less food as part of a campaign by President Xi Jinping to tackle waste and embrace thrift.

"Operation empty plate" aims to overturn the ingrained cultural habit of ordering extra food for group meals.

"As for the phenomenon of food waste... Shocking and distressing," Xi was quoted as saying Tuesday in state media, adding it was "necessary to maintain crisis awareness regarding food security".

"This year's impact of the coronavirus pandemic has further sounded the alarm for us."

Catering groups responded to Xi's call by embracing a so-called "N-1 policy" -- urging groups of customers to order one dish fewer than the number of diners at a table.

The campaign also suggests restaurants serve smaller or half-portions for lone diners.

A 2018 report by the Chinese Academy of Sciences claimed the average restaurant diner wasted 93 grams (3 ounces) of food every meal, contributing to the 18 million tons of food large cities throw away every year.

Public concerns over food security have increased in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, which initially saw panic-buying and shortages in locked-down cities.

Worries have been compounded by severe floods that have devastated vast swathes of farmland in the Yangtze river delta -- where around half of China's agricultural production takes place -- disrupting harvests and leading to a rise in food prices.

State media and online platforms have also begun to wage war on food waste.

Popular livestreaming platforms Douyin and Kuaishou said they would shut down accounts of people who gorge themselves on excessive levels of food, sometimes until they vomit -- a viral video practice known as "mukbang".

But some social media users were dubious about the food waste drive.

"First of all we should change our national tradition of loving to keep up appearances, we always feel that ordering one dish between two people is shameful," wrote one user on Weibo.

"This is insane," wrote another. "In future, do I have to use half a piece of toilet paper when I use the bathroom?"
Bollywood actors Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Wednesday night were spotted outside Sanjay Dutt's residence. The duo arrived together late in the night at actor's home in Mumbai after Dutt announced a break from films for medical treatment.

In the pictures, which are being shared on the Internet, the two can be seen exiting the building and entering their car. While Alia was seen in a casual no-makeup look, Ranbir sported a denim jacket over a t-shirt and cap.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Manav Manglani (@manav.manglani) on Aug 12, 2020 at 1:05pm PDT

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ranbirbtown (@ranbirbtown) on Aug 12, 2020 at 9:05pm PDT

Dutt shares a good bond with both Alia and Ranbir. They have earlier worked together in Kalank and now will share the screen in Sadak 2. The trailer of the film was released on Wednesday. Likewise, Ranbir played Sanjay in the actor's biopic, Sanju, and received critical acclaim for his performance. They'll be seen together in the upcoming film Shamshera.

Read: Sadak 2 Trailer: Sanjay Dutt and Alia Bhatt's Scenes to Steal the Show in This Mahesh Bhatt Film

Amidst reports of Dutt's cancer diagnosis, his wife Maanayata Dutt released a statement saying, the Bollywood star is a "fighter" who has always emerged winner amid adverse conditions, and urged fans to not fall prey to speculations.

I thank everyone who has expressed their well wishes for Sanjus speedy recovery. We need all the strength and prayers to overcome this phase. There is a lot that the family has gone through in the past years but I am confident, this too shall pass. However, it is my heartfelt request to Sanjus fans to not fall prey to speculations and unwarranted rumours, but to just help us with their ongoing love, warmth and support. Sanju has always been a fighter, and so has our family. God has yet again chosen to test us to overcome the challenges ahead. All we seek is your prayers and blessings, and we know we will emerge as winners on the other side, as we always have. Let us use this opportunity to spread light and positivity, the statement read.

Read: 'This Too Shall Pass': Wife Maanayata Releases Statement on Sanjay Dutt's Health

The 61-year-old actor was admitted to Lilavati Hospital over the weekend after complaining of breathlessness. He was discharged from the medical facility on August 10, and put a statement on Tuesday announcing he would be taking a "short break" from professional commitments to focus on medical treatment.
A new report has shown that consistent breach of COVID-19 protocols, a dearth of issue-based campaigns, abusive actions, war of words and fake news have marred Edo State pre-election environment.

The report reveals that close observation of recent campaign rallies by both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State showed the parties disregarding precautionary measures for COVID-19 prevention.

Published by Centre for Democracy and Development(CDD), the report, titled New Allegiances, Familiar Faces: A Preview of Edos 2020 Gubernatorial Election analysis, was conducted through the network of stationary and roving observers from civil society organisations, media organisations and citizens groups.

According to the report, Political parties have also consistently not adhered to COVID-19 protocols. Close observation of recent campaign rallies by both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State showed the parties disregarding precautionary measures for COVID-19 prevention.

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CDD observers noted that while some campaign rallies in Benin City, which were televised to a national audience, observed protocols such as the wear(ing) of face masks and the observance of social distancing, political rallies in small towns and rural areas have largely ignored these requirements.

The fact that politicians and their supporters do not wear face masks or maintain physical distancing during rallies cast doubt on the existence of coronavirus among voters. It remains to be seen whether the Commission will have the authority to insist that political actors, who are known for routinely disregarding election rules, should adhere strictly to the guidelines as conceived.

It is also important to point out that the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the economic livelihood of ordinary citizens in Edo State, money already plays a significant role in Nigerias politics. The new circumstances, COVID economy therefore, heighten the susceptibility of voters and electoral officials to vote-selling and bribery, respectively.

Dearth of Issue-Based Campaigns

CDD observers report that instead of issue-based campaigning, the political parties and their candidates have largely focused their messaging around praising their preferred candidate, while impugning the character of the opposing party candidate. From the camp of the APC, derogatory commentary focusing on the alleged forgery of academic certificates by Obaseki have been repeated on the campaign trail.

During an August 2 appearance on Channels TV, Mr Oshiomhole doubled down on the often-repeated claims that Mr Obaseki was parading forged credentials, and was therefore unfit to occupy the office of governor, the report highlighted.

Abusive Actions

Since the start of the campaign, there has been rampant defacing or outright destruction of campaign billboards. The trend, as documented by CDD observers on the ground, is that in PDP strongholds, APC campaign billboards are targeted and defaced, while in areas with larger concentrations of APC supporters, PDP campaign billboards are defaced.

CDD has observed several instances (of) the use of government vehicles for the purpose of campaigning. This is in flagrant disregard for the provisions of the Electoral Act as amended, which makes it clear that no person shall provide for the purpose of conveying any other person to a registration office or to a polling unit any government vehicle or boat, or any vehicle or boat belonging to a public corporation except in respect of a person who is ordinarily entitled to use such vehicle or boat and in emergency in respect of an electoral officer.

The Act states that any person who contravenes the provisions of this section; shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a maximum fine of 500,000.00 or to imprisonment for six months or to both.

But CDD observers regularly spot public vehicles being used for the purpose of campaigns; a 28 July rally hosted by deputy governor Phillip Shuaib, saw him arrive in a long convoy of government vehicles.

APC supporters have also reported to our observers that they are being coerced to withdraw their support for their preferred candidates through threats to revoke long-held land allocations. APC supporters in Agbede town, Estako West local government alleged being a victim of political persecution as work on their previously approved building under construction was stopped, allegedly on account of their insistence to support their preferred candidate.

War of words

CDD observers have found candidates and key figures of the two major parties have been using a lot of hate speech and derogatory and intemperate language during the campaign so far. On 26 July, Oshiomhole, in a speech to supporters made a comment, which portrayed Obaseki as a green snake, which ought to be killed.

As party candidates and key party figures deploy violent and charged rhetoric capable of inciting supporters, CDD observers have reported that their foot soldiers across the state, especially in rural communities, have also been exchanging verbal abuses, hate songs and chants, capable of provoking violent confrontation at a localised level.

This sort of divisive language was the trigger for the 25 July clash between supporters of the APC and PDP in Kings Square in Benin, the Edo State capital.

Clashes occurred after party supporters sang abusive songs to insult their perceived political adversary during a courtesy visit by Obaseki to the palace of the Oba of Benin. Reprisal chants and then a free for all fight between the two partisan camps then followed.

Social Media, Fake News and Disinformation

The two leading political parties have established platforms to spread false news and disinformation on social media. The tension in the electoral space in Edo State is being fuelled by this weaponisation of fake news and disinformation online.

While the bulk of supporters of the two major parties campaign offline at rallies and other campaign events, organised groups of rival party supporters are busy using social media to amplify the messages being generated on the ground.

The partisan social media influencers are creating an avalanche of false news to discredit opposition candidates, key party figures and families linked to the election. Most of the disinformation being peddled is targeted at inciting hatred or the rejection of major party figures. Identity politics in the context of the ethnic origins of candidates and party figures is a prominent feature of the false content being disseminated according to CDD observers.

Recommendations

On the basis of CDDs observation of the pre-election environment, there are clear early warning signs which point to challenges that could jeopardise the electoral integrity, if not urgently addressed.

Apart from the threat posed by COVID-19, the attitude of the political parties, the inciting rhetoric and the role of fake news, misinformation and disinformation are all capable of constraining participation in, and undermining the integrity of, the election.

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The report proffers the following recommendations to stakeholders involved in the Edo State gubernatorial electoral process:

CDD calls on INEC to intensify its efforts in the area of training of ad-hoc staff to understand the new measures for COVID-19 prevention, and how to implement those measures at the polling unit level. This is in addition to reinforcing a firm understanding of their roles as impartial agents in the conduct of the election.

INEC and partners must commence voter education that clearly communicates her procedures for conducting the polls during the COVID-19 to voters.
House Democrats are also proposing a ban on police chokeholds and no-knock warrants. Another bill would prohibit sexual relations between officers and arrestees, something that is already banned in many states and is included in a wide-ranging overhaul measure that state Senate Democrats offered last week. One would expand the definition of hate crimes to include false 911 calls made on the basis of race.
Kruger National Park (KNP) will partially open some of its camps for accommodation from Friday, 14 August 2020 in line with the Level 3 regulations on intra-provincial travel.

Maintain social distancing by at least 2m at all times.

Limitations on vehicle capacity and number of occupants will be firmly enforced upon entry at gates. The restriction is that occupants may not exceed more than 70% of capacity and we request visitors to adhere so they are not turned back at the gates.

Guests visiting the park must wear masks in the public areas as this is compulsory in South Africa; the driver of the vehicle must also ensure all passengers travelling with them adhere to this.

The park's management said there the regulations would be strictly enforced, and travellers may only overnight in their province of residence. For example, if they are from Limpopo, their booking must be for KNP rest camps in that province. The Olifants River is recognised as the boundary between Mpumalanga and Limpopo.The following rest camps and accommodation facilities are in the Limpopo Province: Pafuri Border Camp, Punda Maria Rest Camp, Sirheni Bushveld Camp, Shingwedzi Rest Camp, Bateleur Bushveld Camp, Mopani Rest Camp, Shipandani Overnight Hide, Tsendze Rustic Camp, Boulders Bush Lodge, Shimuwini Bushveld Camp, Sable Overnight Hide, Letaba Rest Camp and Olifants Rest Camp. Punda Maria, Shingwedzi and Letaba will reopen on 20 August 2020.The following rest camps and accommodation facilities are in the Mpumalanga province: Balule Camp, Roodewal Bush Lodge, Satara Rest Camp, Tamboti Tent Camp, Talamati Bushveld Camp, Skukuza Rest Camp, Pretoriuskop Rest Camp, Berg-en-Dal Rest Camp, Malelane Camp, Biyamiti Bushveld Camp, Lower Sabie Rest Camp and Crocodile Bridge Rest Camp. Satara and Pretoriuskop will reopen few days later on 17 August 2020.Gareth Coleman, managing executive of the KNP, said the park is ready to welcome back overnight guests but this will be done in phases. As the regulations of Covid-19 continuously change; it is imperative that we as KNP also adjust to make sure that those who will be visiting enjoy their experience regardless of the pandemic. The issue of PPE, training and the recording of personal details of visitors will be strictly adhered to; we are pleading with our clients to work with the gate and camp staff members on the observation of Health Protocols around the virus for safety."The guidelines to adhere to during the intra travel overnight stay in the KNP are as follows:
There was black rice, black-eyed peas, blackened kale, purple carrots, beets, blackened salmon  all of these things that really play on that idea of Amandas work, she said. Even though everyone was joining virtually, they were able to taste and smell the exact same thing. It really was this sensorial experience for all of the participants. Amanda and Erick talked about issues of race embedded in Devils Food Cake vs. Angel Food Cake and Amanda was able to take that idea and talk about her use of language and the What Black is this, you say? series. It was a very different way of having this conversation about the everyday labels, things and tastes that we experience through art.
13.08.2020 LISTEN

Gentlemen,

I shall go straight to the point: I am writing to inform you, that, sadly, and very reluctantly, I have decided to call off the meeting scheduled for tomorrow. A thousand apologies. I am truly sorry that I have had to spring this on you, at the eleventh hour, so to speak. Do forgive me.

Based on intelligence, which I picked up, not too long ago, you are all apparently labouring under the illusion, that, somehow, you can take away my family's 14-square mile freehold, upland evergreen rainforest property, at Akyem Juaso. Amazing.

If that is true, then please be absolutely clear, in your minds, that that will never happen. Ever. No one in the Republic of Ghana, not even the President, can lawfully sieze our privately-owned land, to hand it over to any Chief, or any other Ghanaian citizens, for that matter. Period.

The idea that we can be deprived of our lawfully acquired, and legally registered Akyem Juaso rainforest property, purchased with the concurrence of Nana Ofori-Atta 1, from the then Gyasehene of Akyem Kwabeng, in 1921, and 1926, for 1000 all together (an astronomical sum then), is, with the greatest respect, nonsensical. It will never ever happen. Full stop.

If it is true that that corrupt and criminally -minded current Okyeame of Akyem Juaso (whose stock in trade is felling trees illegally on our said land), apparently thinks he can scheme, and successfully manipulate you, to somehow take our freehold land, away from us, and, be helped by you, to successfully grab what is our lawfully-owned freehold rainforest property, so that it can be handed over to the next Odikro of Akyem Juaso (now a vacant position following the death of the late incumbent, Barima Kofi Osei, my very good friend), as Stool land, means that he is even more stupid, than I previously thought he was. What perfidy.

Fuethermore, he is said to be lobbying furiously, for that now-vacant Chieftaincy position, and title, in order to ensure that a blood-relative, of his, apparently obtains it - which is where you too-clever-by-half lot, fit in, in his stupid-scheming. He can dream on - it is a free society after all, is it not? We will face all if you in court, if anyone dares to attempt any takeover of that land, which has belonged to my family since 1921, from the British colonial era. Yooooo...

Thanks.

Respectfully yours,

Kofi.
A brush fire, dubbed the Lake Fire, erupted in Lake Hughes, an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County north of Santa Clarita Wednesday afternoon. Plumes from the blaze could be seen throughout Ventura County.

A fast-moving Southern California wildfire forced evacuation orders for about 100 homes and other buildings in northern Los Angeles County on Wednesday.

The blaze, dubbed the Lake Fire, had grown to about 10,000 acres as of 8 p.m. PDT between Lake Hughes and Lake Castaic in the Angeles National Forest, about 65 miles northeast of Los Angeles. No injuries had been reported.

The fire broke out around 3:40 p.m. and spread throughout the unincorporated area of the county, according to fire officials. The entire Lake Hughes area was ordered to evacuate by Wednesday night.

Video: Apple Fire grows as thousands are evacuated in Southern California

The fire was feeding on chaparral and other brush, some of which hadn't burned since 1968, but the flames were moving into heavier forest on top of ridges, county Fire Chief Eric Garcia said.

Its pretty explosive fire behavior, he said.

Plumes of smoke could be seen from dozens of miles away as the fire burned in steep terrain with difficult access for firefighters.

About 500 firefighters from several departments and 15 helicopters and air tankers were battling the blaze and more firefighters were arriving, Garcia said.

Fire crews and possibly some aircraft will battle the blaze overnight, fire officials said.

The area was expected to see temperatures in the mid-90s or higher through the weekend, with low humidity, but winds remained light.

A wildfire that started between Hood River and The Dalles in Oregon's Columbia River Gorge also prompted evacuations on Wednesday. The Oregon Department of Forestry said the blaze had grown to 200 acres as of 8:15 p.m. after starting while crews were mopping up another fire in the same area.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Lake Fire in California burns 10,000 acres in Angeles National Forest
When Joseph R. Biden Jr. dialed up Senator Kamala Harris on a videoconference call and asked her The Question  You ready to go to work? he said, to which she replied, Oh my God, I am so ready  his choice as vice president was a well-kept secret but hardly a surprise.

Almost from the start of the 2020 campaign, the possibility of a Biden-Harris ticket had loomed large in the imagination. Voters would bring it up unprompted on the campaign trail, sometimes to the annoyance of Ms. Harris, and Democratic strategists pictured it as they dreamed up an ideal alliance to take down President Trump.

Now that a Biden-Harris ticket is the Democratic reality, here are five takeaways from their first full day as a ticket after a rollout that was as smooth as it was socially distanced from spontaneity:

Harriss early plaudits spanned the ideological spectrum.

A wave of news coverage heralded Ms. Harriss nomination as groundbreaking, but it could easily be lost just how rare it is that Black women are elevated to positions of political power in America. Ms. Harris is only the second Black woman ever to serve in the United States Senate, and the first South Asian-American woman. No Black woman has ever served as the governor of a state. Before Ms. Harris, no Black woman had ever been on a major partys presidential ticket.

And yet the choice of Ms. Harris can, at the same time, fairly be described as conventional and even the most expected pick, not just because of her ideological alignment with Mr. Biden but also because of her ability to draw support from so many corners of the Democratic coalition. During her own primary bid, that fact sometimes left her without her own base, as she oscillated between explicit appeals to the left (her pre-candidacy embrace of Medicare for all) and moves toward the middle (she promised a middle-class tax cut as her top priority).
Lebanons parliament granted a broad set of powers to the government today, approving a state of emergency in the aftermath of the deadly Beirut blast.

The day after the explosion, Lebanons Cabinet declared a two-week state of emergency, which after eight days was subject to parliamentary approval. Authorized by the parliament today, the state of emergency is set to end Aug. 21 but can be renewed.

The army has extensive powers over civilian affairs under the order, including the ability to set curfews, censor media, ban public gatherings, make house arrests and prosecute civilians in military court for crimes related to breach of security.

Last weeks deadly explosion of ammonium nitrate in the Lebanese capital killed at least 172 people and injured over 6,000. Several dozens of people are still missing.

The government has said it will hold to account those responsible for improperly storing a stockpile of the explosive ammonium nitrate for six years at Beiruts port. But protesters put the blame squarely on Lebanons ruling elite.

Some 10,000 anti-government demonstrators poured into Beiruts Martyrs' Square over the weekend, demanding an independent investigation into the explosion and a complete overhaul of the political class. Under the state of emergency, the army would have the authority to suppress any future gatherings.

By Monday, Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced the governments resignation, although Diab and his ministers were asked to stay on by President Michel Aoun until a new government is formed.

The Beirut explosion, which left hundreds of thousands homeless and caused billions of dollars in damage, came as Lebanon was already dealing with its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. Foreign governments have also condemned the Lebanese leadership for failing to carry out much-needed economic and political reforms.

During his visit to the damage last week, French President Emmanuel Macron said he would push for reform in a new political pact and ensure that French aid doesnt fall into corrupt hands.

Senior US diplomat David Hale traveled to Beirut today to discuss ending endemic corruption, bringing accountability and transparency, and introducing widespread state control through functioning institutions, according to a State Department statement.
Ms Truss welcomed an announcement by US trade representative Robert Lighthizer (pictured together in June) that Washington would not go ahead with a threatened extension of the tariff regime that would have affected gin and blended whisky

Liz Truss has urged the US to lift punitive tariffs on top-class British whisky after it eased duties on a swathe of products imposted in a trade war with the EU.

The international Trade Secretary welcomed an announcement by US trade representative Robert Lighthizer that Washington would not go ahead with a threatened extension of the tariff regime that would have affected gin and blended whisky.

And in a 'modest' easing of the tariffs, Mr Lighthizer said products such as shortbread would now be exempted as the two sides continue to seek a resolution to a dispute centred on planemaker Airbus.

But duties on top-quality single malt whiskies - which are made from a single batch of malted barley - remain in place at 25 per cent.

Karen Betts, chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association, blasted UK ministers for being slow to act.

Ms Truss - who met Mr Lighthizer last week in Washington - said she would now be urging the Americans to go further to end the economic damage the levies were causing to both sides.

'I am pleased that the US has not applied these additional tariffs, and welcome the decision to lift tariffs on shortbread,' she said in a statement.

'However, the announcement does not address tariffs that already exist on goods like single malt Scotch whisky.

But duties on top-quality single malt whiskies - which are made from a single batch of malted barley - remain in place

In a 'modest' easing of the tariffs, Mr Lighthizer said products such as shortbread would now be exempted as the two sides continue to seek a resolution to a dispute centred on planemaker Airbus

'These tariffs damage industry and livelihoods on both sides of the Atlantic and are in nobody's interests. I am therefore stepping up talks with the US to remove them as soon as possible.'

Mr Lighthizer, however, warned that the EU still had not done enough for the US to consider any further easing of the tariffs, which cover 7.5 billion dollars (5.75 billion) worth of European and UK products.

'The EU and member states have not taken the actions necessary to come into compliance with (World Trade Organisation) decisions,' he said.

'The United States, however, is committed to obtaining a long-term resolution to this dispute.

'Accordingly, the United States will begin a new process with the EU in an effort to reach an agreement that will remedy the conduct that harmed the US aviation industry and workers and will ensure a level playing field for US companies.'

Ms Betts said the latest development was 'deeply disappointing', adding: 'The tariff is inflicting huge damage on the Scotch Whisky sector, with exports to the US down 30 per cent since the tariff came into effect and the industry grappling with losses now totalling around 300 million.

'These losses relate only to tariffs  the impact of Covid-19 has been serious and has compounded what is now a very serious situation for Scotch Whisky, with some brands forced out of the market and jobs in the industry and our supply chain now at risk.

'The UK government must accelerate negotiations to bring an end to tariffs between the UK and US before preparations for November's Presidential election bring talks to a halt.

'It has taken the UK government a full six months after the UK left the EU to start to tackle tariffs directly with the US government, which seems to us inexplicably slow.'
Nigerias foreign affairs minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, has narrated his experience of battling with the coronavirus infection for three weeks.

Mr Onyeama spoke during the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 press briefing on Thursday.

First of all. I will love to express my profound gratitude to the PTF and the media for the support I got in the last three weeks. I didnt work alone because you were checking up on me every single day and keeping my spirit high. I cant thank you enough further.

I have to say that one of the things I was thinking about is that the PTF is like a military high command. It occurred to me that none have been tested positive. Maybe it was a good thing that a member of the team can now speak from experience and not just from hearing. COVID-19 is real. I used to have protection but it did not stop that.

The minister also spoke on stigmatisation of persons infected with the deadly virus.

I will like to say that the issue of stigmatisation is nothing to be ashamed of. Anybody can get this virus and it is nothing to fear. It is not a death sentence. In my case, the moment I felt something different on a Friday, I was tested the following day but we dont have the capacity. I was discussing with the Minister of Health that if people cannot be tested sooner enough, they can recommend some medication. Dont feel it is anything shameful. Just treat it like any other sickness.

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I will like to use the opportunity to thank the medical crew in the isolation I was staying and very proud that they are Nigerians. We can be negative on ourselves but for the three weeks in isolation, I cannot speak more highly of our medical crew. The most agreeable. I could even go back there for weekends. I really congratulate them for the work they did.

PREMIUM TIMES, on Wednesday, reported that Mr Onyeama tested negative for coronavirus after three weeks in isolation.

He was confirmed positive on July 19 after his fourth Covid-19 test. He joined the list of prominent Nigerians who have contracted the virus.

Apart from officials who have tested positive and recovered from the virus, some others have died from complications caused by the virus.
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Linkedin Archana Thiyagarajan (Agence France-Presse) New Delhi, India  Thu, August 13, 2020 07:24 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066d99494 2 World Kamala-Harris,vice-president,US-presidential-election,US-presidential-race,election,politics Free

Kamala Harris's late mother left her native India in 1960, but half a world away from Washington the uncle and aunt of the US vice-president hopeful follow her every move -- and are very proud.

Harris was born in California in 1964 to a Jamaican father, economics professor John Harris, and breast cancer specialist Shyamala Gopalan.

She was the first black attorney general of California -- the first woman to hold the post -- and the first woman of South Asian heritage to be elected to the US Senate.

Following her nomination on Tuesday as presidential hopeful Joe Biden's running mate, the 55-year-old is now seeking to become the first female vice president of the United States.

"There is no question about how happy we are," Harris's maternal uncle Balachandran Gopalan, an academic in the Indian capital New Delhi, told AFP on Wednesday.

"She is a very committed personality -- committed to public service and most importantly committed to common human decency," he said.

Shyamala would often bring her daughters to India, the uncle said, and when she died in 2009 Harris returned "to immerse her ashes in the Bay of Bengal".

He added that while Harris can't speak Tamil, the language of the southern state of Tamil Nadu that the family comes from, "she can understand a little bit".

He believes the nomination of Kamala -- her name meaning "lotus" in Tamil, as well as in Sanskrit and Hindi -- is a "big deal" for Indian Americans.

"So far they have only achieved high professional jobs, but this is one of the highest political jobs," he said.

Up since 4 am

Harris's aunt Sarala Gopalan, who still lives in the city her big sister left at 19 -- Tamil Nadu's capital Chennai, formerly Madras -- said the entire family is "thrilled and happy".

"A friend of mine in the United States gave us the message at 4 am in the morning, and we have been up, since then," Gopalan, a doctor, told news channel CNN-News18.

"She is a person who never forgets her roots and believes in family values," she told the Deccan Herald daily.

"Even today she calls me 'chithi' and she has always been a caring person," she said, using the Tamil word for a mother's younger sister.

And since Shyamala is no longer alive, "we will always be available for Kamala and (her sister) Maya", she said.

Besides her mother, Harris has said that a major influence was her maternal grandfather P.V. Gopalan -- father of Shyamala, Balachandran, Sarala and another daughter, Mahalakshmi -- a senior Indian civil servant.

"He would take walks every morning along the beach with his buddies who were all retired government officials and they would talk about politics, about how corruption must be fought and about justice," Harris said in a 2009 interview.

"My grandfather was really one of my favorite people in my world."
Two University of Massachusetts Amherst computer scientists are part of a task force that says mobile health technologies can help COVID-19 patients at home, and predict which ones will need medical intervention.

The technologies include wearable sensors, electronic patient-reported data and digital contact tracing. They also could be used to monitor and predict coronavirus exposure in people presumed to be free of infection, providing information that could help prioritize diagnostic testing.

The 60-member panel included UMass Amherst assistant professors Sunghoon Ivan Lee and Tauhidur Rahman from the College of Information and Computer Sciences. Their focus was on mobile health sensors, their area of expertise.

The task force drew experts from Australia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland and across the United States.

The teams study was published in the IEEE Open Journal of Engineering in Medicine and Biology.

A large number of researchers and experts around the world dedicated months of efforts to carefully reviewing technologies in eight different areas, Lee says.

I hope that the paper will enable current and future researchers to understand the complex problems and the limitations and potential solutions of these state-of-the-art mobile health systems, Rahman adds.

The task force review found that smartphone applications enabling self-reports and wearable sensors could be used to monitor clinical workers and detect early signs of an outbreak in hospital or healthcare settings.

Similarly, in the community, early detection of COVID-19 cases could be achieved by building on research that showed it is possible to predict influenza-like illness rates, as well as COVID-19 epidemic trends, by using wearable sensors to capture heart rate and sleep duration, among other data.

Lee and Rahman are inventors of mobile health sensors. They reviewed 27 commercially available remote monitoring technologies that could be immediately used in clinical practices to help patients and frontline healthcare workers monitor symptoms of COVID-19.

We carefully investigated whether the technologies could monitor a number of obvious indicators and symptoms of COVID-19, and whether any clearance or certification from health authorities was needed, Lee said.

We considered ease of use and integration flexibility with existing hospital electronic systems. Then we identified 12 examples of technologies that could potentially be used to monitor patients and healthcare workers.
The U.S. Justice Department seized $2million from more than 300 cryptocurrency accounts linked to overseas terror organizations, it announced Thursday.

The department said three Middle East terrorist groups used cryptocurrencies and social media to finance their operations and raise funds for their terror campaigns.

The groups made money though schemes that included selling bogus COVID-19 safety equipment to US hospitals, then using the funding to buy weapons and train fighters.

The US dismantled the elaborate cyber campaign this week in the largest ever seizure of its kind.

The groups involved included Hamas's military wing, al-Qassam Brigades; al-Qaeda; and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as ISIS

Attorney General William Barr, pictured, announced the seizure Thursday

Terror groups were using online campaigns such as this to attract cryptocurrency donations

The overseas terror organizations told donors that donating via cryptocurrency could not be tracked but the US government infiltrated the scheme and took over one of their websites

'It should not surprise anyone that our enemies use modern technology, social media platforms and cryptocurrency to facilitate their evil and violent agendas,' Attorney General William Barr said in a release Thursday.

'As announced today, we will seize the funds and the instrumentalities that provide a lifeline for their operations whenever possible.'

'Terrorist networks have adapted to technology, conducting complex financial transactions in the digital world, including through cryptocurrencies,' Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin added.

'IRS-CI special agents in the DC cybercrimes unit work diligently to unravel these financial networks.'

As well as seizing the $2million-worth of cryptocurrency and the 300 cryptocurrency accounts, US authorities also took over four websites and four Facebook pages linked with the fundraising activities.

The Trump administration said the groups used the accounts to solicit donations for their causes.

The take-down of the fundraising campaigns involved undercover law enforcement work and forfeiture complaints filed in Washington's federal court, the department revealed.

It is meant to deprive the organizations of funds needed to buy weapons and equipment and develop fighters and plots, Assistant Attorney General John Demers, the department's top national security official, said.

'This action shows that law enforcement remains a step ahead of them,' Demers added.

Assistant Attorney General John Demers, the department's top national security official, said that the seizure of funds would have a massive impact on terror operations

'Two million dollars is a lot of equipment that they can buy, a lot of weapons a lot of training that they can fund, a lot of tickets to fly people around the world. This is going to make a big difference in their operation.'

During the final stages of their probe, officials said, U.S. agents operated an undercover website mirroring a Hamas website for 30 days.

According to the department release, the military wing of Hamas, known as the al-Qassam Brigades, began a public fundraising campaign last year through social media to solicit Bitcoin donations and reassured potential donors that such contributions would be untraceable, officials said.

It also posted on websites instructions for how to make donations.

Posts from this fake Syrian charity explicitly referenced weapons and extremist activities and was being used to raise funds for overseas terror groups through social media

This al-Qassam Brigades boasted that bitcoin donations were untraceable and would be used for violent causes but it was ultimately seized by the US Department of Justice

The US secretly took over a website run by the Brigade and used it to monitor those who believed they were giving funds to the terror group.

Instead, they were donating money to an account controlled by the US Government.

Law enforcement officials ultimately seized more than 150 cryptocurrency accounts that they say laundered funds to accounts they thought were being operated by the al-Qassam Brigades.

'Without funding, you cannot have these operations conducted,' said Michael Sherwin, the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.

'The focus here was a very proactive effort to target these organizations in a very wide-scale manner.'

The department also identified a scheme that officials say was orchestrated by an IS associate who manages certain hacking operations for the group.

Prosecutors say the man, named as Murat Cakar, registered a website in Turkey through which he claimed to sell medically authorized face masks for the coronavirus.

It promoted its alleged wares through Facebook accounts.

One bogus scheme posed as a website selling masks but was really raising money for ISIS

The masks were actually produced by a Turkish company and were not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The website collected payments via PayPal and U.S. credit cards, but never delivered any equipment, investigators said.

The Justice Department said it seized that site as well as four related pages that facilitated funding for the group.

A separate scheme by al-Qaida and affiliates sought to raise funds through Bitcoin for attacks even as the groups purported to act as charities, according to the court documents.

An uncover agent for Homeland Security Investigations, part of the Department of Homeland Security, messaged the administrator of one charity asking to make donations.

One of the websites seized by the DOJ this week for soliciting donations for terror groups

A criminal complaint filed against one of the cryptocurrency accounts involved in the online fundraising efforts shut down by the US Department of Justice this week

The administrator replied that he hoped for the destruction of the United States and he shared a Bitcoin wallet address for the purpose of receiving funds.

'Bullets and bombs is all affordable, but the drone stuff, its very hard to unless u have like anti aircraft stuff which is like millions of dollars,' the administrator wrote, according to court documents.

'Here they shoot it with a ground to air missile ... its possible to hit them but hard. Or a 23mm machine gun. U know those big guns attached to a car.'

The investigation involved officials from multiple agencies, including the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service and HSI.

Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are favored for illicit transactions because they are perceived as hard to trace, and one of the groups explicitly encouraged donations by telling potential contributors that the money trail would be difficult for law enforcement to untangle, the department said.

The seized funds are now expected to be turned over to a fund for victims of terrorist attacks.
No matter how you slice it, its clear that we are heading into a new and unprecedented era for energy. The novel coronavirus has shaken up the global energy sector in previously unimaginable ways. At the beginning of this year, who could have predicted in just four months the West Texas Intermediate crude benchmark would plunge into unprecedented negative territory, that Halliburton would leave the shale shale sector for dead, and that nations around the world would be scrambling to design stimulus packages that will define the future trajectory of the ways we power our planet?

This rare opportunity to redefine the future of the energy sector has not gone unnoticed by pundits, world leaders, or the private sector. The World Economic Forum has loudly advocated for a new energy order and a great reset. International agencies such as the United Nations, the International Energy Agency, and the European Union, are all either currently considering or actively drafting green stimulus plans. One notable exception, however, is the United States, which has been slow to follow the green stimulus trend, potentially missing out on a major economic opportunity, and earning the scorn of a number of blue chip companies, around 30 of which petitioned the U.S. Congress to reconsider and develop a stimulus package rooted in green energy.

Now that Big Oils Most Profitable Business Is No Longer Oil, leaning into the global green energy transition makes a lot of economic sense. But in the United States, its going to require a huge sea change and governmental mobilization as sweeping as Franklin Delano Roosevelts New Deal to decarbonize the domestic economy in time to prevent catastrophic climate change. But it can--and should--be done. PV Tech recently reported that there is a raft of new studies which has come to underscore the business case of pushing renewables to the heart of the COVID-19 recovery, amid claims green energy plays offer a low-cost, high-return opportunity for investors. And just last week, physicist, engineer, researcher, inventor, serial entrepreneur, and MacArthur genius grant winner Saul Griffiths organization Rewiring America made its big debut with a jobs report showing that rapid decarbonization through electrification would create 15 million to 20 million jobs in the next decade, with 5 million permanent jobs after that. Related: Big Oil Forced To Change Strategy After The Oil Price Crash



While it remains to be seen whether leadership in the U.S. will see the writing on the wall in terms of the economic necessity of a green energy transition, many other governments and much of the private sector isnt wasting any time. Global investment in offshore wind more than quadrupled in the first half of 2020. More new wind farms were approved at the height of the pandemic than during all last year, reports Greentech Media. Some of these offshore projects include battery storage or hydrogen. Some of them include floating solar panels. Is this what the future of projects looks like for oil and gas majors? According to some experts, the future of energy doesnt just lie in renewables, it lies in a "super-hybrid" approach to renewables.

Over recent years and months, global energy giants have entered a sort of race for their slice of the green hydrogen pie. And in this market, super-hybrid renewable production makes a lot of sense. Hydrogen holds great promise as a clean fuel source that burns leaving nothing but water vapor in its wake. But hydrogens carbon neutrality is in vain if that hydrogen is produced using fossil fuels, creating whats known as gray hydrogen. To truly decarbonize the global economy, the entire life cycle of energy has to be assessed, and all stages of production need to be green. In short, we need to innovate. And so far, it looks like these super hybrids are winning the race to the top of a new era for oil majors.

By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Another band of downpours and thunderstorms swept across the Philadelphia region yesterday, taking down trees and wires, causing flooding, and prompting several water rescues, my colleague Anthony R. Wood reported. The storms hit areas that were still recovering from powerful storms late last week. There are more showers possible today and into the weekend. Stay dry out there, Philly.

 Josh Rosenblat (@joshrosenblat, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

Its a choice families and communities are being forced to make: risk COVID-19 exposure by returning to classrooms or wrestle with another season of virtual learning. Data from two counties in South Jersey have offered a window into the potential hazards of reopening schools fully. Mirroring national trends, children and teenagers are accounting for a growing share of the coronavirus cases in Camden and Gloucester Counties.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy reversed course yesterday, saying schools can choose to shift entirely to virtual learning in the fall. Previously he mandated that schools offer some in-person classes.

Its been almost 10 years since lawyers sued Philadelphia police over unjustified stop and frisks, mostly of Black citizens. And they say the racial disparities are still glaring. Black residents are 50% more likely than white people to be stopped without reasonable suspicion, according to a semiannual monitoring report submitted to a federal judge in July.

And in a moment where the city has acknowledged the need for more reform, advocates are pushing for changes. Included among them are department-wide training and accountability, interventions in problem police districts, and an expanded system to bring non-police responders to address certain complaints.

Why are you crying, Mommy? Miriam Smiths 6-year-old daughter, Peyton, asked her Monday night.

The man who had stolen so much from her and saddled her with survivors guilt that led to family struggles, drugs, and prostitution had died, my colleague Ellie Silverman writes.

More than 38 years ago, when Smith was almost as old as her daughter Peyton now is, Louis Giambi killed her parents and 3-year-old sister. Giambi was a drug dealer and hired hit man who murdered the wrong victims in their Camden County home in what became known as the Pine Hill Massacre.

What you need to know today

Through your eyes | #OurPhilly

Great shot. Thanks for sharing, @datleib.

Tag your Instagram posts or tweets with #OurPhilly and well pick our favorite each day to feature in this newsletter and give you a shout-out!

Thats interesting

Opinions

Five months into this pandemic, weve seen bad behavior only get worse: unmasked men waltzing into big box stores and yelling about liberty, as though having to wear a mask while shopping for beef jerky is akin to being stabbed in the chest with a giant totalitarian sword. Now weve got parents acting like toddlers at places that by definition are refuges for childhood joy.  writes columnist Maria Panaritis about the coronavirus mask resister who punched a Sesame Place employee.

What were reading

Your Daily Dose of | XO sauce

Phillys sprawling food scene contains a world of ingredients. You can find XO sauce, a savory, spicy, and salty condiment, if you visit Chinatown, Washington Avenue, or maybe an H Mart. But, if you want a version of XO sauce thats original to Philly, youll have to visit Jacob Trinh at Global Auto Tags & Services, my colleague Jenn Ladd writes.
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As schools in some parts of the country have started the academic year, tension is boiling over in several places as state and local leaders spar over who decides when to reopen school buildingsor when to keep them closed.

School superintendents, grappling with the economic and public health consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, have been caught between sometimes conflicting guidance and directives from federal and state leaders, and from local health officials.

And in recent weeks, some have faced new directives from their governors and state education departments that have come well after theyve unveiled plans for how and when to start the school year.

The backdrop: President Donald Trump continues to push schools to reopen their buildings full-time, despite big upticks of the virus in some states. Congressional leaders are still far from a deal on additional education aid district leaders say is necessary for reopening during an unprecedented school year. And while some families are pushing for schools to open to aid vulnerable students and help parents return to work, others want schools to continue with remote learning to reduce the risk of community spread of the virus.

Heres what the situation looks like in a few states.

In Florida, silencing local health officials

The Trump administration has held up Florida as an example, praising a state order that requires schools to open buildings five days a week, despite spiking virus rates in the state. That order, issued by the state Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, allows districts to continue remote learning at the advice of local health officials.

But Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis administration directed county health officials not to grant that permission, the Palm Beach Post reports . Without clear direction and concerned about losing state funding, many districts opted to open their buildings. Thats despite data that show that, in many areas, more than 5 percent of COVID-19 tests come back positive. CDC Director Robert Redfield has said areas that surpass that threshold are considered hot spots and should delay or modify reopening plans.

When we voted to reopen schools, Ill be honest and tell you I did it because we are under an executive order to do so, said Marc Dodd, a school board member in Lake County, according to the Post. Do I think theyre safe? Absolutely not.

In Iowa, setting a high bar for remote instruction

Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds has said schools will violate state law if they plan to start the school year with remote instruction, KCCI reports.

On July 17, Reynolds ordered every student to spend at least half of their schooling inside classrooms unless their parents request remote instruction full-time. Under that ruling, a district can seek permission to offer full-time remote learning if the COVID-19 positivity ratea measure of how many tests come back positiveaverages 15 percent to 20 percent countywide over the previous 14 days. Thats much higher than the 5 percent threshold suggested by public health officials.

I acted through the proclamation to provide additional flexibility under the law, including allowing parents to choose remote learning for their children, if thats what they believe is in the best interest for them and their family, Reynolds said at a news conference after two districts said they planned to disregard the guidance. But if schools move to primarily remote learning without approval, according again to the law, those days do not count towards instructional time.

However, the states Waukee County Community District plans to offer online and in-person options.

We are not in conflict with the law, Superintendent Brad Buck said last week. (Buck is the former director of the Iowa education department.)

In Kentucky, sparring over a delayed start

Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, said Monday that schools should postpone in-person classes until Sept. 28, the Courier-Journal reported. He had previously recommended postponing until the third week of August.

The new recommendation sparked significant pushback from local leaders and some school districts. School officials in Oldham County voted to abide by the recommendation Tuesday after 1,700 parents, community members, and the president of the districts school board signed a petition urging the district to stick with its original, earlier opening date. Instead, the district will start the year in remote instruction.

Elsewhere, a former state education board member seemed to challenge local officials to defy the governors recommendation.

Will Kentucky superintendents finally stand up to Governor Beshear and demand their authority to do whats right by their local communitys needs? @KASAEdLeader @jimflynnkysupts  Gary Houchens (@gary_houchens) August 10, 2020

Schools in states like Georgia have seen spikes in new cases after the return to in-person school, Beshear said when he announced the delay. And some Kentuckians have vacationed in areas with higher rates like Florida. On Wednesday, the governor tweeted about a Georgia school that temporarily closed after students tested positive for the virus.

This is what we want to avoid. As a parent, I know our recommendation to push back in-person instruction to Sept. 28 is hard, but its the right thing to do for the safety of our kids, their teachers and school staff. We cant let this happen in Kentucky. https://t.co/QtTTTlSZbQ  Governor Andy Beshear (@GovAndyBeshear) August 12, 2020

In Arkansas, taking hybrid plans off the table

Education Secretary Johnny Key issued guidance Aug. 5 that requires districts to offer in-person instruction five days a week when classes resume later this month.

That guidance seems to rule out so-called hybrid models, in which alternating cohorts of students switch between in-person and remote learning days to reduce crowding in buildings. Some of the states largest districts had already announced hybrid learning plans before Key issued that guidance. And some parents were disapointed they no longer had the option.

At a news conference, Key said the guidance clarified what our stance has been all along.

After that directive, Fayetteville Public Schools altered a hybrid plan it had announced July 15, offering families fully remote or fully in-person options instead.

The Arkansas Education Association has proposed a virtual start to the school year , citing high test-positive rates.

Making the hot seat even hotter?

As Education Weeks Stephen Sawchuk reports, the pandemic turned superintendents jobs into a high wire act, even before conflicts with state leaders entered the picture.

The superintendents job is a tough one on a good day, Sawchuk wrote, summarizing a new report from the American Enterprise Institute. But... the pandemic has required them to make some impossible choices balancing school health, quality teaching, and constituencies like parents and teachers whose priorities frequently conflict.

State leaders also face conflicting pressures as they oversee large-scale plans to contain the virus that include schools, health providers, and other groups.

But state leaders and superintendents have a few things in common: Most arent epidemiologists, and none of them have every faced circumstances like this before.

Whats happening in your state? Check out Education Weeks interactive map of school reopening plans.

Photo: Custodian Doug Blackmer wipes down a desk in a classroom at the Jesse Franklin Taylor Education Center in Des Moines, Iowa, July 29. (Charlie Neibergall/AP)

Follow us on Twitter @PoliticsK12 . And follow the Politics K-12 reporters @EvieBlad @Daarel and @AndrewUjifusa .
Apartments with over 3 Covid cases to be containment zones for 7 days: Check BBMP's full guidelines

Mid-Air collision of two IndiGo flights averted at Bengaluru airport; DGCA to probe, take strict action

2 cops deputed for CM Bommai's security held for trying to 'extort' money from drug peddlers

Bengaluru: Section 144 to remain in place in DJ Halli, KG Halli areas till Aug 15

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Bengaluru, Aug 13: Bengaluru Commissioner of Police Kamal Pant on Wednesday said that Section 144 imposed in areas under DJ Halli and KG Halli police station limits has been extended till 6 AM on August 15. For the uninitiated, Section 144 disallows gathering of four or more people at a place.

Bengaluru violence over Facebook post | Stone pelting & arson in city | Oneindia News

Three people were killed after police opened fire to quell a mob that went on a rampage in a city locality irked over a social media post allegedly put out by a Congress legislator's relative, with the Government terming the violence as a "well-planned act."

Bengaluru violence: SDPI comes under the scanner yet again

"Three people have died (in police firing)," Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant told PTI. Further, 110 people have been arrested in connection with the rioting at Pulakeshi Nagar here.

Scores, including around 50 policemen, were injured in the violence that erupted on Tuesday night and continued till the wee hours of Wednesday, apparently triggered by the online post. Pulakeshi Nagar MLA Akhanda Srinivasa Murthys residence and a police station at D J Halli were among those targeted by the angry mob. The house of the MLA, who was not at home at the time, was allegedly set on fire.

Tourism minister C T Ravi said:"It is clear and evident that yesterday's violent attack was carried out by a Muslim mob in a pre-planned manner."

Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai said six companies of the Central Reserve Police Force are being dispatched to the violence-hit areas of Bengaluru.

Three companies from Hyderabad and three from Chennai will be deployed in DG Halli and K G Halli police station limits, he told reporters at Udupi before leaving for Bengaluru. He said the situation is now under control and additional police forces are deployed in the area. Rapid action force and the 'Garuda' force are also being deployed, the minister added.

Meanwhile,the state government on Wednesday announced that a district magistrate would conduct an inquiry into the violence. The government also decided to recover losses caused to public property during the violence from the rioters.

Bengaluru violence: Karnataka govt orders magisterial probe

Pant said Naveen, said to be a nephew of the legislator, who allegedly put out the social media post has been arrested.

Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said the "attack on the residence of the MLA, the police station and rioting are condemnable. "Already given directions to initiate stringent action against the criminals (and) the government has initiated all the measures to contain violence," he said.

The attack on police, media persons and common citizens was unpardonable.The government will not tolerate such instigation and mischief, he added.

Bengaluru violence: An attempt to polarise, cops dig further

The rioters also torched many police and private vehicles, badly damaged the house and looted the belongings of MLA Murthy and those of his sister. An ATM was smashed into pieces. After the arson and violence, the entire DJ Halli resembled a war zone. To disperse the unruly mob, police resorted to lathi charge, lobbed tear gas shells and later opened fire, killing three people.

The opposition Congress and JD(S) extended complete support to the state government in restoring peace in violence-hit parts of the city and demanded immediate action against the culprits.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Thursday, August 13, 2020, 10:57 [IST]
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year, the Atlantic decided to recirculate Kings famous Letter From Birmingham Jail, which the magazine had run in its August 1963 issue and republished, in print and online, in 2018. Several hours later, the publications staff noticed that Googles Ad Exchange platform, which serves many of the ads on the Atlantics website, had demonetized the page containing the letter under its dangerous or derogatory content policy. In other words: As part of its efforts to protect advertisers from offensive internet content with which they would not want their products to be associated, Ad Exchange had locked out one of the most important texts of the civil rights movement.

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Google controls more than 30 percent of the digital ads market. A big chunk of that business happens through Ad Exchange, a marketplace for buying and selling advertising space across the web. According to its publisher policies, Google does not monetize, or allow advertising on, dangerous or derogatory content that disparages people on the basis of a characteristic that is associated with systemic discriminationrace, gender, sexual orientation, disability, etc. As the policy outlines, this might look like promoting hate groups or encouraging others to believe that a person or group is inhuman. Because of the scale of Googles ad-serving business, however, it cant enforce this policy on the front lines by hand, so instead the company uses an algorithm that, in part, scans for offensive keywords in articles. But the system doesnt always take context into consideration. Several mainstream publishers, including Slate, have had articles demonetized under this policy when covering race and LGBTQ issues.

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For example: Last Thursday, Google informed Slates advertising operations team that 10 articles on the site had been demonetized for containing dangerous or derogatory content. The articles in question covered subjects like white supremacy, slavery, and hate groups, and most of them quoted racial slurs. They included pieces on the racist origins of the name kaffir lime, the 2017 police brutality movie Detroit, Joe Bidens 1972 Senate run, and a Twitter campaign aimed at defaming Black feminists, which all had quotes containing the N-word. Another, about the use of offensive words in tournament Scrabble, referenced a book that had the N-word in the title, and a demonetized Dear Prudence column reproduced a reader letter asking for advice about a racist nephew who had lobbed an ethnic slur for Middle Eastern people. Articles about the end of slavery in Massachusetts, the legacy of assimilation, and Twitter debates, as well as a podcast transcript from the Slow Burn season on white supremacist David Duke, either quoted or described racist views.

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Needless to say, the articles were not promoting the discriminatory ideologies affiliated with these slurs but rather reporting on and analyzing the context in which they were used.

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Once flagged by the algorithm, the pages were not eligible to earn revenue through Ad Exchange. Slate appealed the moderation decisions through Googles ad platform last Thursday morning, as it normally would when a demonetization it feels is unjustified occurs. Not long after, as part of the reporting of this story, I contacted Googles communications department, whose personnel said they would contact the engineering team to look into it. The pages were subsequently remonetized by Friday morning.

Other publications told me theyve run into similar issues with the dangerous or derogatory content policy. BuzzFeed has had articles covering racism and sexual orientation demonetized, such as a profile of former Breitbart editor Katie McHugh, an investigation into Chicago police officers writing racist posts on Facebook, a list of distinguished queer people of color from history, a feature on controversies surrounding Pride events, a news post about a woman who yelled slurs at a CVS, and a column about Tyler Perry. BuzzFeed did not appeal the decisions, so the articles are still demonetized.

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Googles advertising policies for publisher content were recently in the public eye when it removed the far-right blog Zero Hedge from Ad Exchange and threatened to do so for the Federalist, a right-wing news and commentary site, in June. However, Google had taken these enforcement actions because of racist reader comments that kept appearing on these sites articles. Some commentators took the incident as evidence of conservative censorship by Big Tech, but Google did the same thing to the tech blog Techdirt in 2018. In Slates case, Googles algorithm flagged content within the articles themselves rather than the comments. (Slate puts comments on separate pages from the articles.)

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We have strict policies against content that promotes hatred, intolerance, discrimination or violence against others and have automated tools to help quickly uncover the use of slurs. We recognize that context can matter, in news reporting for example, so publishers always have the option to appeal the decision and we will quickly review, a spokesperson for Google said in a statement. The spokesperson declined to disclose what exactly had triggered the flagging mechanism in the case of the recent demonetizations on Slate out of concern that it might give bad actors information about how to game the system, but did admit that the moderation algorithm can at times single out keywords associated with discrimination without recognizing the context. The spokesperson framed it as a trade-off between being able to flag offensive content immediately with automatic triggers for keywords and allowing publishers to earn revenue on journalism dealing with racism. She also noted that it could be tricky to whitelist a publication like Slate so that it would never get flagged for these keywords because they could appear in derogatory contexts in the comment pages.

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How big of a problem are demonetizations like this for a publisher like Slate? We decide what to cover based on what we think is important for our audience and what we think is important for society, and that wont be impacted by Googles demonetization decisions, said Dan Check, Slates CEO. He further noted that while revenue from Google ads is important, Slate has many other revenue streams. Slate publishes hundreds of articles per month, so demonetizing 10 articles likely wouldnt create a huge dent.

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Still, the demonetizations underscore the fact that publishers ability to make money from their work remains partially at the mercy of opaque algorithms that can be tweaked at any time, possibly with significant consequences for their business. The potential concerns might be especially pronounced for news organizations whose missions are to focus on topics, like racism and discrimination, that arent necessarily ad platformfriendly.

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It does make sense that Google would err on the side of demonetizing too much, as opposed to too little, when it comes to dangerous or derogatory contentbecause theres a lot of offensive stuff on the web, certainly, but also because the advertisers that spend billions with Google are notoriously skittish about placing ads next to content that is even remotely controversial. Apart from Googles own policy enforcement mechanisms, advertisers themselves can choose to limit where their ads appear based on content, which can be a disincentive for covering certain stories. In March, for example, when the coronavirus began severely affecting the U.S., publishers saw huge spikes in traffic as readers sought out information on the pandemic. Yet businesses didnt want their ads appearing next to news about sickness and death, so many publishers werent able to capitalize on a coverage area where there was intense reader interest.

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While Slates articles were remonetized by the next day after I contacted Googles PR team, the appeals process can often take longer, and simply appealing a decision doesnt always mean that an actual human employee at Google will get involved to look at the context. Indeed, the effectiveness of Googles system hinges on the efficiency of the appeals system. A rapid system that gets humans involved early and often shouldnt pose too many problems. But in an environment in which so much of online journalism is still funded through advertising, sluggish ad-serving that relies too heavily on automation could dissuade publishers from running slurs in any context, or even from devoting more resources to covering issues having to do with racism and other forms of discrimination in the first place.
Tensions escalated between the Ontario government and teachers unions Thursday, as the province rushed to free up money to allow boards to address pandemic safety concerns just weeks before schools are set to reopen.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce said school boards will be allowed to access $500 million of their own reserve funds to achieve physical distancing in classrooms. The government will also spend $50 million to update school ventilation systems, and another $18 million to hire principals and support staff to administer online learning.

Lecce stressed that the province is making moves to provide more support and flexibility to school boards and keep kids safe.

Were taking action, he said. One-time, temporary, targeted, timely action to ensure students are safe, and to respond to this generational challenge together.

Lecce said the funds the government will now allow the boards to access are rainy day savings that can help immediately.

Theyre literally sitting there, theyre cash on hand, they can be utilized, Lecce said, adding four boards that dont have reserves will receive funding from the government.

We face a very difficult time, adversity in our economy and our society, and in the health of our children, he said. Now is the time to put those tax dollars, respectfully, to work.

The new spending commitments come just weeks after the province unveiled its back-to-school plan, which has angered unions and worried some parents who have been asking the government to lower class sizes at the elementary level.

The plan will see students in kindergarten through Grade 8 return to school without any reduction in class sizes, though students will spend the day in a single cohort to limit contact with other children.

Most high schoolers will also be in class full-time, though students at 24 designated boards across the province will take half their courses online in a bid to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The funding announcement also came shortly after Ontarios four major teachers unions released a letter alleging the provinces back-to-school plan violates its own occupational health and safety legislation.

The letter states that the province is in the midst of a global pandemic, with no conclusive evidence on how COVID-19 infects children or the rate at which they transmit the disease.

Absent scientific consensus on significant aspects of COVID-19s biology or epidemiology, Ontario is obliged ... to follow the precautionary principle and implement all reasonable measures necessary to reduce the risk that COVID-19 poses to our members health and safety in the workplace, the unions letter states.

The letter alleges the provincial plan fails to provide adequate health and safety protections such as smaller class sizes, minimal measurable standards for ventilation in schools and mandatory masking for younger children.

The unions  the Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens, the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario, the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation  together represent more than 190,000 teachers and education workers.

They have asked for a meeting with the minister of labour and representatives to discuss the issue by next Friday, Aug. 21.

Asked about the unions letter Thursday, Lecce said the governments plan has been endorsed by the provinces top doctor.

The ultimate decision point on safety is made by our medical leaders, he said.

The provinces chief medical officer of health said he supported the additional measures announced Thursday and  while it is impossible to eliminate all risk  the plan is safe.

If it was a risk I would not recommend schools be reopened, Dr. David Williams said.

Green party Leader Mike Schreiner said the government announcement passes the buck entirely to local school boards.

Everyone has been telling (the government) for months that they are on the wrong track, he said in a statement. Now with just weeks to go, boards are expected to upgrade their ventilation systems and find adequate spaces that are safe for our children to learn.

Ontario NDP Health critic France Gelinas said the Progressive Conservative governments announcement will offer no comfort at all to parents, school staff and students who are anxious about returning to class.
The global food allergen testing market is expected to grow by USD 783.20 million as per Technavio. This marks a significant market slow down compared to the 2019 growth estimates due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first half of 2020. However, steady growth is expected to continue throughout the forecast period, and the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 6%.

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The market is driven by increasing allergic reactions among individuals. In addition, increasing product launches are anticipated to boost the growth of the food allergen testing market.

The rising consumption of processed foods has significantly contributed to the prevalence of food allergies across the world. These allergies can range from mild symptoms such as rashes to anaphylactic shock leading to death. The prevalence of food allergies is high among children. For example, about 50% of children suffer from food allergies in the UK alone. The prevalence of food related-allergies is expected to affect nearly 4 billion individuals by 2050. These factors are increasing the demand for food allergen testing, which is driving the growth of the market.

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Major Five Food Allergen Testing Companies:

3M Co.

3M Co. operates its business through segments such as Safety and Industrial, Transportation and Electronics, Health Care, Consumer, and Corporate and Unallocated. The company offers allergen testing to detect both processed and unprocessed proteins with a simplified workflow.

ALS Ltd.

ALS Ltd. operates its business through segments such as Life Sciences, Commodities, and Industrial. The company offers a wide range of in-house and partner laboratory allergen testing, providing extensive support to the food manufacturing industry.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. operates its business through segments such as Life Science and Clinical Diagnostics. The company offers iQ-Check Real-Time PCR Kits. It is used in the qualitative detection of major pathogens in food and environmental samples.

Bureau Veritas SA

Bureau Veritas SA operates its business through segments such as Marine and Offshore, Agri-Food and Commodities, Industry, Buildings and Infrastructure, Certification, and Consumer products. The company offers allergen testing for products such as peanut, gluten, soy, milk, and egg, among others by utilizing accredited ELISA-based methods.

Eurofins Scientific SE

Eurofins Scientific SE operates its business through segments such as Western Europe, North America, and Rest of the World. The company offers tests to analyze multiple allergens via LC-MS/MS method for products such as meat and meat products, baby foods, sweets, and pet food, among others.

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Food Allergen Testing Market Technology Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2020-2024)

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Global Food Safety Testing Market Global food safety testing market by geography (Asia, Europe, North America, and ROW) and application (meat and poultry, fruits and vegetables, processed foods, dairy, and other applications).

Global Microbial Testing Market Global microbial testing market by application (pharmaceutical industry and healthcare industry) and geography (North America, Europe, Asia, and ROW).

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PARKSIDE  An enthusiastic group of residents turned out along Edgmont Avenue Wednesday night to Back the Blue.

The supporters lined the street waving flags and cheering as cars honked their horns in passing.

We want to show support for our police and first responders because the way the world is today, Black Lives Matter are trying to shine a lot of negativity on our police department. I want to show them and other departments across the country , there are still people out there who still support them and respect them and the sacrifices they make, said Ron Markawicz, one of the organizers of the event.

We need to show support for our local police departments; Brookhaven, Parkside and Chester, Upland and Aston, said Mike Cole, the other organizer who has lived in the borough for over 30 years. We want to show our support and appreciation for what police do every day under tough circumstances.

I am so proud of our citizens that organized this, said borough Council President Shirley Purcival. Im very very thrilled they thought enough of our police department and emergency services to do this.

Weve got to support the police, said business owner Rob Carrasco, whose phone repair shop, Fixfy, was damaged the first night after protests over the murder of George Floyd protests became violent. He said someone tried to smash in the windows of the store and police were there in minutes.

An event like this is very gratifying to see the people come out and support us, with all that is going on. Its nice to see people support the police, said Parkside Police Chief Tom Murray. Murray has been on the job in Parkside after retiring from 40 years in Marple, where he was the head of the department.

Thats not to say other folks dont. We had numerous events here in the borough in the past eight weeks. They call themselves residents for social justice and theyve been fine. Theyve been courteous. Theyve come out and do the same thing thats going on here, and we support that. Weve been out for every one of their events making sure they are safe, he said.

Murray said he thinks most people support the police.

Anything we can do to support the police, said one resident, who initially gave his name but requested the Times not to use it. Who doesnt want the police? Only criminals. If you dont want the police, get on a do not call list and rely on a friend.

I would like to address a current misconception occurring in our nation and neighborhood that if a person supports the Black Lives Matter movement, then that person is anti-police. We should support both, said borough Councilwoman Anna Guy.

Guy didnt attend the rally, but has been involved in a number of Black Lives Matter rallies in the borough. She reached out by email to say that residents should encourage social services that work to mitigate the effects of mental illness, drug abuse, poverty and domestic violence. These are problems that endanger both the public and the police.

What if we worked together to make sure that the Black and blue lives were both protected? Guy asked.
SHANGHAI Chinese tech giant Tencent Holding is making forays into fund advisory services, vying for a share of the potentially lucrative market with rival Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, which entered the business just months ago.

Teng An Fund, Tencents fund distribution unit, starts offering selected investors investment advisory services this week, according to the companys client service department, the latest sign that Chinese tech majors are bulking up in financial services closer to home amid growing scrutiny of their technology businesses overseas.

The service, which is called Yi Qi Tou and translates as invest together, recommends mutual fund investments to retail buyers as Teng An has teamed up with fund houses to create suitable investment advisory strategies.

Teng An Fund said the service would be officially launched via Tencents popular messaging app WeChat once the trial period is over, enabling its more than 1 billion users invest in fund products within the app.

The news was first reported by some local media earlier on Wednesday.

Tencents move came after its main rival Ant Group established a joint venture with U.S. asset management firm the Vanguard Group to offer a similar fund advisory service in China.

China started issuing fund advisory licenses last September. Mutual fund houses, brokerages, banks and fund distributors are also rushing to participate.

The tech companies are pushing forward on expanding their stakes in the financial sector at home at a time when they are facing mounting pressure overseas due to continued Sino-U.S. disputes.

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to ban the short-video app TikTok and messaging service WeChat by late September on grounds that the Chinese-owned apps pose a national security threat, escalating a high-stakes confrontation with Beijing over the future of the global tech industry.

Beijing-based ByteDance, the owner of the TikTok, was also taking steps to move into the online stock brokerage and wealth management business in Hong Kong, trademark registration documents show.

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
Tech giants such as Facebook, Google, and Microsoft, among others, have released a statement on Wednesday, announcing that they are collaborating to secure the U.S. election process.

Some of the big tech companies joining are Facebook, Google, Twitter, Reddit, Microsoft, Verizon media, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and the Wikimedia Foundation.

In the companies' joint statement, they said that they had worked closely for the past several years to counter information operations across their respective platforms.

"In preparation for the upcoming election, we regularly meet to discuss trends with U.S. government agencies tasked with protecting the integrity of the election," the statement was quoted in a USA Today report.

The statement was released after the tech companies had a meeting with government officials. During the meeting, the tech firms shared what is happening on their respective platforms.

The statement said that they specifically discussed the preparation of the upcoming conventions and scenario planning related to U.S. election results.

The companies did not further explain what scenarios they discussed and whether there were decisions made.

U.S. Election Process

The U.S. Election Process this year is expected to be different. Election results this year are seen to come in later than in previous elections.

This is because the current COVID-19 pandemic has led many voters to mail-in voting. This means the focus on discussion of results could go on for days after in-person voting ends on Nov. 3.

The meetings between the government and tech giants aim to fill a gap in information-sharing. This after Facebook said they were caught off guard by security threats and lack of information coming from federal authorities in 2016.

Some tech companies are already thinking about how they could handle a drawn-out election.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that his company was considering new rules on premature claims of victory or other statements about the U.S. election results.

Some of the participants in the meeting were representative of the FBI's foreign influence task force, the Justice Department's national security division, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency was also present during the meeting.

The companies said they would continue to meet regularly before the U.S. elections in November.

Foreign Threats

The State Department confirmed on Aug. 7 that it was sending text messages to Iranians and Russians, offering a prize for information on foreign efforts trying to meddle in the U.S. election process.

According to a BBC report, William Evanina, Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, said that foreign nations were using "covert and overt influence measures" to sway the vote.

The U.S. counterintelligence said that China did not want Trump to be re-elected, while Russia is trying to decry Democrat's bet Joe Biden.

Evanina said that China is trying to expand its influence efforts ahead of the vote. On the other hand, Russia is seeking to boost Trump's candidacy on social media and Russian television.

Meanwhile, Iran is trying to divide the country by spreading disinformation and anti-U.S. content online.

Check these out:

Many Americans Find it Inappropriate for Either Democrats or Republicans to Dispute US Election Result

US Supreme Court Denies Absentee Voting for Texas Voters

Trump Says He Doesn't Want to Delay Election; But Worried on Mail-In Ballots
The United States is holding off on its threatened tariff hikes on European imports.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative announced on Wednesday that it would maintain the tariff rates of 15% on aircraft and 25% on more than a hundred products from Europe. Although it removed duties on some goods from Greece and the United Kingdom, Washington added levies to an equal amount of imports from France and Germany. Altogether, the orders still amount to roughly $7.5 billion worth of products.

More from Footwear News

Many fashion items will continue to be subject to tariffs: British-made apparel and accessories  including womens and girls outerwear and swimwear, as well as mens and boys suits and sweaters  will still be taxed at 25%. The USTR said the modifications will take effect on Sept. 1.

The European Union and member states have not taken the actions necessary to come into compliance with World Trade Organization decisions, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement. The U.S., however, is committed to obtaining a long-term resolution to this dispute.

He added, Accordingly, the U.S. will begin a new process with the EU in an effort to reach an agreement that will remedy the conduct that harmed the U.S. aviation industry and workers and will ensure a level playing field for U.S. companies.

The trade battle between the U.S. and the EU arose over subsidies to major civil aircraft companies in both nations. Last fall, the World Trade Organization gave the U.S. permission to impose levies worth roughly $7.5 billion on the EU  primarily targeting airliner manufacturer Airbus, but also hitting British-made fashion products as well as a variety of food and beverages hailing from other European countries. Some companies that were expected to bear the brunt of the tariffs were luxury conglomerates: LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, for instance, houses both fashion labels based in the U.K., like Nicholas Kirkwood, as well as a mix of wine and spirits brands, such as the France-based Chateau Cheval Blanc and Moet & Chandon.

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Uniview's self-developing deep learning face recognition algorithm could detect 0.2s/person with an accuracy of 0.3C.

In order to help Malaysia to recover economy smoothly after COVID-19, Kuala Lumpur based Uniview donated sets of temperature screening series products OET-213H-BTM32+EP-S31-W to Malaysia's ministry of women, family, society development, Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Malaysia, Xiamen University Malaysia, Masjid Saidina Umar Al-Khattab, Ministry of Home Affairs(JPN), and Department of Islamic Development Malaysia from June to August.

As the highlight product in UNV Heat-Tracker Body Temperature Screening Solution & Products series, OET-213H-BTS1+EP-S31-W integrated Uniview's self-developing deep learning face recognition algorithm, could detect 0.2s/person with the accuracy of 0.3C. Fast and accurate detection greatly save labor costs.

Uniview's thermal products are deployed at the entrances and will be in operation soon. Body temperature detection integrated with facial recognition for specific identification. Real-time sound warning enabling personnel to respond quickly. Information uploaded onto a centralized platform in real-time for effective management.












TOKYO, Aug 13, 2020 - (JCN Newswire) - NEC Corporation (TSE: 6701) and PERSOL CAREER CO., LTD. today announced the start of a proof-of-concept (PoC) of a new direct recruiting service for companies seeking to hire IT engineers from India, particularly Japanese companies.The aim of this PoC is to test the direct recruiting service for Japan-based companies considering the employment of foreign IT engineers. Six companies in Japan, including GMO Internet, Inc. and Wired Beans Co., Ltd., are participating in the recruitment activities for IT engineers living in India.Engineers who participate in the service shall take an IT skill test, where their experience, skills, achievements and resume are confirmed. With this information, recruiters can expect to increase the success of their recruitment activities.Moreover, the service is based on the concept of self-sovereign identity (SSI), where individual identity holders can fully create and control their credentials, including how their personal data is shared and used.Points to be verified by this PoC include the following:- Evaluating the needs of India-based IT engineers seeking to work in Japan- Simplifying the recruitment process for Japanese recruitment companies- Ensuring the adequacy of the programming skill checkBackgroundIn recent years, the shortage of IT human resources in Japan has become a serious issue and it is estimated that this shortfall could rise up to 800,000 people by 2030(1). Amid the intense competition for IT human resources in Japan, it is important to attract and retain talented international human resources in order to further revitalize the Japanese economy and boost its competitiveness. Moreover, spread of the new coronavirus infection has also accelerated online recruitment activities and work styles.Under these circumstances, job seekers need to digitally and remotely authenticate their experience, skills and achievements that cannot be measured through conventional interviews and resumes. Similarly, it is important for recruiters to access the abilities of job seekers. In line with this, job seekers are increasingly required to manage and control access to their personal data, which raises the question of how this data is handled.This PoC will be carried out with a smartphone application that leverages AONT technology(2), both developed by NEC, in addition to blockchain technology as well. Job seekers can securely and easily manage (add/edit/delete) their highly confidential information, such as personal data, set access control for data disclosure, prevent falsification of information, and ensure high authenticity.Authentication of job seekers' skillsIT engineers in India who are seeking to change employers take a test to verify their skills beforehand. This skill check test can be taken online and the results will be auto-linked to the smartphone application. With this, job seekers can save their skill certificates as highly reliable information. This certificate can be viewed by companies that have been given permission to access it. This eliminates the need for taking a skill check test for each company and expands a candidate's chances of getting shortlisted. This PoC will be conducted in collaboration with HackerEarth(3), a developer and provider of IT skill tests.Future prospectsIn this three-month PoC from August to October 2020, the two companies are seeking to create fair job opportunities across India and Japan based on job seekers' experience, knowledge and achievements, and based on the results, NEC aims to launch the direct recruiting service in FY2020.Further, in this PoC, considering the impact of the new coronavirus infection, there will be an analysis of the best ways to provide services that effectively respond to the changes in future employment and working environments in India and Japan.Through this approach of conducting a PoC that uses the latest ICT, both companies will be contributing to an ecosystem where people from all over the world can live and work in different ways, and where they can freely trust and cooperate with each other.Mr. Teruyuki Nakajima, General Manager, Corporate Business Incubation Division, NEC Corporation, said, "I'm very pleased that NEC will start a new direct recruiting initiative that utilizes its own blockchain technology. Through these initiatives, we hope that opportunities to find employment online will be provided to everyone fairly, and that a world where diverse work styles and lifestyles will be realized."(1) "Study on Demand and Supply of IT Human Resources (contracted by METI)" Mizuho Information & Research Institute, in 2019 PDF https://www.meti.go.jp/policy/it_policy/jinzai/houkokusyo.pdf(2) AONT (All-or-Nothing Transformation) technology:A technology to transform data to generate multiple new data pieces so that the pieces reveal nothing about the original's content unless all the pieces are combined to recover the original. It helps store highly confidential data securely(3) HackerEarth:HackerEarth is a developer of assessment software which is used for measuring developers' skills through online coding assessments and remote interviews. The company also has a community of over 4.5M developers worldwide who rely on HackerEarth to practice their coding skills and become job-ready https://www.hackerearth.com/About PERSOL CAREER CO., LTD.PERSOL CAREER's mission is "GIVE PEOPLE THE POWER TO OWN THEIR WORK -LIFE". PERSOL CAREER services include "doda", a job-change service, and "iX", a high-class human resources strategic platform, as well as other recruitment services, such as job advertisements and support for recruitment of new graduates in Japan. PERSOL CAREER will strive to create social value that focuses on the work of individuals, to face social issues head on, and to realize a society in which all work produces smiles. For more information, visit PERSOL CAREER at new windowhttps://www.persol-career.co.jp/About NEC CorporationNEC Corporation has established itself as a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies while promoting the brand statement of "Orchestrating a brighter world." NEC enables businesses and communities to adapt to rapid changes taking place in both society and the market as it provides for the social values of safety, security, fairness and efficiency to promote a more sustainable world where everyone has the chance to reach their full potential. For more information, visit NEC at https://www.nec.com.Source: NEC CorporationCopyright 2020 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
Bengaluru, Aug 14 : Karnataka's Covid tally breached the 2 lakh-mark with 6,706 new infections, even as 1.2 lakh patients have recovered from the virus so far, Health Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey said on Thursday.

The state's Covid tally presently stands at 2,03,200.

A record number of 8,609 Covid patients were discharged in the past 24 hours, raising the total recoveries to 1,21,242.

Bengaluru continued to record the highest number of infections at 1,893, resulting in the city's tally breaching the 80,000-mark to reach 81,733 cases, out of which 33,148 are active.

Among other places, Mysuru accounted for 522 infections, followed by Ballari (445), Udupi (402), Davangere (328), Belagavi (288), Kalaburagi (285), Dharwad (257) and Dakshina Kannada (246).

Meanwhile, 103 more patients succumbed to the virus, increasing the statewide death toll to 3,613.

On a positive note, the total number of active cases dipped below 80,000 again to reach 78,337. This figure is fluctuating at the 80,000 mark.

Of the 2 lakh cases, 78,337 are active while 727 are admitted to the ICUs.
"Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all other women" - Maya Angelou

From the left to right: Lee Zama , Faith Khanyile, Nombini Mehlomakulu, Mary-Jane Morifi, Busi Silwanyana click to enlarge

Nombini Mehlomakulu

When I pictured myself as a woman in advertising, I always strived towards being a black woman who maintains her warm nature, one with confidence and a person deeply rooted in social issues and human connections. I would one day cross paths with a woman who is a beautiful reflection of these attributes.Upon our first encounter I was not sure what to expect from such an extraordinary woman but to my surprise, I was greeted with a warm hug. Confidence exudes from her aura, yet she maintained a sense of warmth with each encounter around the agency. Nombini Mehlomakulu certainly exceeds all expectations and more.As we take a look into her career, we unpack what it is to be a woman of essence and substance. We take a journey back to discover what makes her unique, unapologetic, captivating and a soulfully grounded woman in power.Born and raised in Sterkspruit, Eastern Cape, in the village of Phelandaba. Nombini started her career in the advertising industry after attending the University of Natal (now UKZN). She began her career in advertising working on blue chip clients in some of the countrys best agencies, after which she moved into the corporate world of financial services and mining. As she navigated through these sectors, her natural leadership stood out and she was awarded a scholarship to study at Harvard Business School.Nombinis foundation has always been one layered with the importance of dreaming big, working hard and the importance of being a well learned individual. These are teachings she takes from her parents; her Tata, a man whom she describes as a Gentle Giant who was a visionary, had a commanding presence, charisma and charm, and her quietly spoken highly intelligent mother (mamGcina). As a child, she along with her siblings, worked in the family business during school holidays.She reminds me that success comes with lifes ups and downs and openly shares some of her highs and lows, both of which are inspirational. For a start, this month marks the first anniversary of her venture capital firm, Lwazi Capital being a partner to integrated media agency Ebony+Ivory. She sighs with relief that so far, this has been a worthwhile partnership underpinned by the marrying of principles, visions and various cultures.I cant help but take motivation from her quote: Working in the advertising industry is electrifying and one is forced to become knowledgeable, not just about the industry or the business but with people and the issues with which they are faced, ranging from globally under pressure economies due to Covid-19, the emergence to the forefront of polarised politics, to the impact of climate change, and clients which are put under pressure to deliver a quality product with highly reduced budgets.You have a winning formula when you bring together professionals who have a wealth of experience and young stars who bring a dynamic current perspective, she notes. In her words: with a 50 year heritage, Ebony+Ivory has a diverse client base which keeps the team engaged and the intellectual capital and creativity that resides within the team is second to none. E+I boasts an impressive Client list including; Brand South Africa, SASRIA, Wits University, IDC and JSE just to name a few.I asked Nombini how she felt about being a black woman and whether she wasnt afraid of how being unapologetically black would come across, she answered with resolution. I am proud to be a black woman. As African women, we should learn to own our space, stand up for ourselves, say what needs to be said to get our message across and always remainhumble.This has been the mantra she has carried in all walks of her life and it reminded me of Miss Universe, Zozibini Tunzis speech to young women, where she emphasised the importance of taking up space in society and cementing yourself. Nombini added to this with conviction: If they dont want to give me a seat at the table, I will create my own table.Some of the challenges in her career were uncontrollable aspects such as market conditions and business environments, however she expresses how it was all worth it. This statement hits a chord for us both as she scrolls through her playlist of powerhouse women to find the artists name for me. After this inspiring talk at the table of women leadership, I will be sure to add the Yolanda Adams song It wasn't easy but it was worth it to my favourites.To close off on this insightful look at Nombinis professional and unique business journey, we hope it ignited the spark within women from all walks of life. Seeing more women achieve success is what will fuel and feed our passion in order to make our dreams and goals seem that much more attainable.
A Melburnian refused to wear a mask in public because of an acne breakout on his chin.

Police fined at least 29 residents in coronavirus-hit Victoria for failing to wear a mandatory face covering when leaving home on Wednesday.

The man from the Port Phillip area, south of Melbourne CBD, told authorities his excuse for not wearing a mask was due to the fact he was suffering a bad pimple.

A south Melbourne man was fined for failing to wear a mandatory face covering after telling police it was because of a 'bad pimple' on his chin (Melbourne CBD pictured on Wednesday)

Victoria Police issued a total of 204 fines to individuals breaching coronavirus rules in the last 24 hours, including 29 people not wearing a mask (Melbourne pictured during lockdown)

Police discovered several other breaches including a group of seven Melburnians who were gathered in Prahran Square drinking alcohol.

Five men were also found celebrating a birthday at a house in Braybrook.

Another man was discovered visiting a friend who admitted he was waiting for the results of a COVID-19 test.

Melbourne is under a strict stage 4 lockdown where residents may only leave home for essential reasons and must stay inside between 8pm to 5am.

Shopping and exercise must be done 5km from home and only one person from each household can go shopping per day.

Recreational activity is also banned and you can only exercise with one other person for one hour a day.

Victoria Police and the Australian Defence Force conduct regular patrols and spot checks across Melbourne.

Victoria (Melbourne pictured) saw 278 new COVID-19 cases and eight deaths on Thursday

Multiple people were also intercepted across the Metro Melbourne on their way to see a friend during curfew hours on Wednesday night.

71 people were fined for breaking curfew and 9 fines were issued at vehicle checkpoints.

Police issued a total of 204 fines to individuals in the last 24 hours and checked at least 17,291 cars at designated checkpoints.

At least 4,708 spot checks were also conducted on people at homes, businesses and public places across Victoria.

Penalties for breaching most coronavirus rules include a $1,652 fine or a $200 fine for failing to wear a mask.

Melburnians allowed to work on-site also have to show a permit or official work ID or face fines of up to $99,123 for businesses and up to $19,826 for individuals.

Another eight Victorians died from coronavirus on Thursday and 278 new cases have been recorded.

The deaths bring the state's death toll to 275 and the national figure to 360.
In the dead of night, you can hear the muffled screams outside Minsk's Akrestina prison.

Often described as a "house of torture," the facility is just one of many where beatings and abuse of protesters demonstrating against authoritarian President Alyaksandr Lukashenkas claim of victory in a disputed August 9 election are alleged to be taking place.

While riot police have shown little reluctance to mete out brutal forms of justice on the streets, many who have spoken of suffering violence at the hands of police say an even worse fate awaited them once they were in custody.

The few images that have emerged from the grounds of police facilities are harrowing.

One video posted on social media appeared to show bodies lying motionless in a police courtyard, leading to speculation that they were dead.

Another, broadcast by state television, showed young demonstrators, obviously under duress and some bruised and beaten, lined up against a wall vowing never to dabble in making "revolutions" again.

Nikita Telizhenko, a Russian journalist for the media outlet Znak who was caught up in the violence against demonstrators, described his experience in custody to Current Time, the Russian-language network led by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA.

Telizhenko, who was eventually released from custody after the Russian Embassy in Minsk intervened on his behalf, said from the safety of Smolensk that he was detained after police saw him using his mobile phone to inform his editors of developments in downtown Minsk on August 10, the second night of mass protests.

He said officers who approached him suspected that he was using the popular social-messaging app Telegram to help coordinate the demonstrations. Despite insisting that he did not have the app installed and showing officers the messages he sent to his editor, he was detained and taken to a central police station.

There, he said, force was used against detainees without exception.

"Any question that was unsuitable to the Belarusian police officers immediately resulted in beatings," he said. "People were screaming, people were soiling themselves from the pain."

Telizhenko, who spent 16 hours at the station, said the violence against detainees was carried out with impunity, and in the presence of other police.

"They relish it. They make people pray when they start beating them," he said. "They beat me on the head, beat me on the legs. One man who was being led in front of me was smashed against the door frame as a joke."

Telizhenko said detainees were forced to lie face down on the ground and suffered consequences if they tried to sneak a peek at what was going on. Among the around 150 detainees he saw, there were "people with injured spines, broken arms and legs, and concussions, and no one received treatment."

Minsk resident Syarhey Melyanets told RFE/RL's Russian Service that he and his two brothers were detained after they drove to the center of the capital to pray for a peaceful resolution to the violence that at that point had already resulted in thousands of detentions and reported injuries.

He said he was sitting in his car, just sending messages on his phone and not displaying any protest symbols, when they saw a group of 30 to 40 police officers running.

"They pounced on one of my brothers, knocked him down, and began to beat him," Melyanets said. "Then they jerked me out of the car."

He said his phone was taken from him and he was hit with truncheons on the head, stomach, and back. He was dragged to a waiting van and ordered to lie stacked atop other detainees in the van until a larger police van arrived to take them to a police station.

While they waited, Melyanets said, the riot police mocked them and threatened them, with one telling them that if it were up to him, he "would burn you all."

Once in the police van, an officer began to tase him in the back and near his heart.

"I keep telling him that I cant say anything other than what Im saying, because its true," Melyanets said. "He swore again and again and hit me with a taser several times. In short, he tortured me all the way."

RFE/RL's Belarus Service spoke with people lined up outside Minsk police stations and detention facilities in search of information about missing loved ones.

Even beyond the fence at one facility, people gathered could hear the screams of detainees inside. The crowd called for trucks -- presumably ferrying detainees away to another location -- to stop. Their pleas for information were met with shrugs and smiles from the police.

"How can this be in our country?" asked one woman, who did not provide her name. "How can this be in peacetime, that people are snatched away?"

Lukashenka, the longtime president who election officials claim won more than 80 percent of the vote in an election many Belarusians believe was rigged, publicly wrote off the protesters as malingerers who simply need to "find a job."

"They have nothing to do," he said on national television on August 12. "Therefore, they are wandering the streets and protesting."

Written by Michael Scollon based on reporting by RFE/RL's Belarusian Service, RFE/RL's Russian Service, and Current Time
AMP chief executive Francesco De Ferrari has dodged questions on whether the wealth giant has a cultural problem around issues of sexual harassment as pressure mounts for clarity surrounding the sudden departure of one of its most senior employees.

Mr De Ferrari accepted responsibility for appointing his former Credit Suisse colleague Alex Wade to lead the group's newly merged entity, AMP Australia, in October last year. Mr Wade stepped down last week, effectively immediately, with no explanation provided by the company.

AMP chief executive Francesco De Ferrari spoke about the importance of corporate accountability but refused to explain why a senior employee had left the company as the group unveiled its results on Thursday. Credit:Peter Braig

Mr De Ferrari faced a long list of media questions after allegations were aired that Mr Wade was forced to resign as a result of misconduct, including sending inappropriate photographs to female employees.

"This is not me trying to evade the question. I am trying to run a business that delivers for clients and for shareholders," Mr De Ferrari said.
After being arrested and taken to a police station, Berwyn Ibrahim was make to promise that she would never protest reports Sowt Al-Asima.

The Syrian regimes intelligence forces have forced the head of the Youth Party for Development and Change, Berwyn Ibrahim, and those who were arrested with her, to pledge that they would not undertake any other sit-ins or protests.

Ibrahim was arrested with three members of the party on Monday, while she was protesting in front of the Syrian Peoples Assembly building in Damascus. She was protesting the systematic fraud that took place during the recent parliament elections. They were released hours later.

Ibrahim said in a statement to Rudaw that she rejects the policy of exclusion and exclusivity, adding, We, and dozens of Syrian candidates, have submitted objections to the electoral process to the Supreme Constitutional Court, within the conditions set by the law, only to be surprised with a collective rejection of all appeals. This is considered a violation of the law and the constitution, which comes against the backdrop of the politicization of the court by some leaders of the Baath Party.

Concerning the sit-in, Ibrahim affirmed that, following these violations, the leadership of the Youth Party for Development and Change and the leadership of the Syrian Democratic Peoples Party decided to organize a quiet protest before the Peoples Assembly. We also informed all relevant governmental entities a week prior.

She pointed out that, after the protest and reading out the statement signed by the participating forces, we were surprised that a large group of security forces personnel in civilian clothes attacked us, confiscated our mobile phones and our personal items, and drove us in cars after blindfolding us, to an unknown destination. We later learned that we were taken to the Arnous Police Station in Damascus.

Ibrahim added, After several hours of exercising ill-treatment towards us, we were separately asked to sign a document pledging that we would not protest in the future.

She stressed that the protest was not the first and it certainly wont be the last, saying, We reject exclusion and monopoly and the concept of a sole government.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
New Delhi: Actress Kangana Ranaut has called out the Mumbai Police for their investigation in actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death case and said that she supports CBI inquiry in the matter. Kangana's team released a video on social media today in which she is seen holding a placard that reads "Justice for Sushant #CBIfor SSR". She says, "We want CBI for Sushant Singh Rajput. We deserve to know the truth."

The tweet read, "Mumbai Police wants to rush the probe, Sanjay Raut saying they are almost done with the investigation, we deserve to know the truth #CBIForSSR #JusticeforSushanthSinghRajput." Kangana's team also tagged Sushant's sister Shweta Singh Kirti and actress Ankita Lokhande in the post. Shweta and Ankita, who was Sushant's ex-girlfriend, have been actively supporting the CBI probe in his death case.

Earlier today, Shweta had shared a video supporting the CBI probe in Sushant's case.

"It's time we find the truth and get justice. Please help our family and the whole world to know what the truth is and find closure, otherwise, we will never be able to live a peaceful life!!#CBIForSSR Raise your voice and demand #JusticeForSushantSinghRajput #WarriorsForSSR," she said.

It's close to two months since Sushant's death. He was found dead at his Bandra residence on June 14. Several theories - from nepotism to depression - have been raised in his death case. The Mumbai Police investigation has so far has ruled out any foul play, but his family, friends and fans are waiting for the CBI report.

Sushant's girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty has been accused of abetment to suicide by his father KK Singh in an FIR in Patna. She is also under the Enforcement Directorate (ED) scanner in a money laundering case related to Sushant's death. She, along with her father Indrajit Chakraborty, brother Showik and her close associates have been grilled by the ED for several hours in the last few days.
There's nothing scary about these sharks -- they're as soft and as cuddly as can be.

"Baby Shark Week" at St. Luke's North hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, decided to celebrate "Shark Week," which began Aug. 9, in the sweetest way ever: by dressing newborns up in little shark costumes.

PHOTO: St. Luke's hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, is celebrating 'baby shark week.' (St. Luke's hospital )

MORE: Clorox wipes and wireless mics: Here are teachers' 2020 back-to-school wish lists amid COVID-19

Nurse Amber Tenay told "Good Morning America" that "No one planned to deliver a baby during a pandemic. In this scary time we want the families to feel safe and have a great experience."

The idea, Tenay said, was born out of one of the hospital physicians' love for the annual "Shark Week."

PHOTO: St Luke's hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, is celebrating 'baby shark week.' (St. Luke's hospital)

MORE: Baby poses with rescue calf in adorable Chick-fil-A photo shoot

Tenay helped make costumes and take photos and footage of the baby sharks.

"All the families were so excited," she said. And for one mom, who had themed her pregnancy announcement photos to "Baby Shark" the moment felt like it was "meant to be," Tenay told "GMA."

The hospital hopes that "Baby Shark Week" will become an annual event.

"We really strive to give our patients a positive experience," Tenay said. "We want them to feel well taken care of."

It's 'Baby Shark Week' at a Missouri hospital, and it couldn't be cuter originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com
Music is front and center in the rise of TikTok and other short-video apps. It's not just the video platforms that are harvesting the fruit of their surging popularity. Music rights holders are also prepared to extract money from the millions of songs found in snappy user-generated videos.

To detect copyrighted content, record labels and publishers summon a technology called audio fingerprinting, a tool pioneered by now Apple-owned Shazam. ACRCloud, a five-year-old startup based in Beijing and Dusseldorf, competes with the likes of Audible Magic and Nielsen-owned Gracenote to provide that service. It can quickly match a target song's "fingerprint" or ID -- key acoustic features like the tempo and tones of a piece -- with a reference database of millions of tracks.

The audio fingerprint, or digital summary of an audio signal (Source: ACRCloud)

ACRCloud helps monitor copyright usage for some of the largest music labels in the West, names of which the company cannot disclose because the partnerships are confidential. The record labels apply the startup's automated content recognition (hence its name ACRCloud) algorithms to monitor works present in radio and TV programs, user-generated content on platforms like YouTube and TikTok, or whichever service that should be paying the copyright holders.

It's not just the publishers and labels that keep tabs on their intellectual property. For compliance purposes, broadcasters and UGC services also proactively track the music that gets played through their channels.

In the nascent short-video industry, big labels normally charge an astronomical flat fee from UGC platforms, ACRCloud co-founder Tony Li said, and the rate is often disproportionately larger than the cost of actual usage. To cut down expenses, several major Chinese short video apps recently began using ACRCloud's acoustic algorithms to log what tunes users insert in their videos.

On the other hand, many small copyright holders and labels hardly earn any royalties because they lack a system that can automatically match music usage to royalties.

Story continues

That's where content identification can play a role. "UGC platforms use an audio fingerprinting service to generate royalty reports, making music usage more transparent to both UGC platforms and rights owners," Li told TechCrunch .

UGC services can face huge fines if they are found plagiarizing. Earlier this year, a group of music publishers and songwriters reportedly threatened to sue TikTok over copyright infringement. It's unsurprising to see TikTok's parent company ByteDance doubling down on music licensing and even developing its own artists to be less dependent on big labels.

The other obvious use case of acoustic fingerprinting is song recognition, a technology pioneered by Shazam, where Li worked from 2012 to 2014 to help the company expand to China. Phone makers like Huawei, Xiaomi and Vivo have integrated ACRCloud's music recognition technology into their devices.

Li has always been in the space of audio technology. Aside from his stint with Shazam in China, the entrepreneur also previously worked on Huawei's ringtone business in African markets. Li has never raised outside funding for ACRCloud and has kept the team small, with only 10 employees.
The past decade was the hottest ever, according to a new report on climate change, with 2019 the second warmest year since record-keeping began in the mid-1800s.

Last year's average global temperature was only surpassed by a freakishly warm year in 2016, when an enormous El Nino event caused the thermometer to spike.

There was also a record number of 'extreme warm days' in 2019, when high temperatures exceeded the 98th percentile for the past 60 years.

The warming trend caused alpine glaciers to lose mass, scientists said, continuing a trend dating back over 30 years.

Scroll down for video

According to a report in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, the past 10 years were the hottest ever, with 2019 the second warmest on record

Loss of ice in the polar regions has raised global sea levels 3.4 inches above what was recorded in the 1990s.

And ocean temperatures are also at near record highs, second only to 2016.

Published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, the study found that concentrations of greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide were at record levels in 2019.

That's compared to both modern instrumental recordings and ice core samples dating back 800,000 years.

The study, based on data from researchers in over 60 countries, confirms similar findings from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

And the heatwave shows no signs of ending: From Arizona to Siberia, regions around the globe have been charting record high temperatures in 2020.

In February, the thermometer in Antarctica topped 68F (20.7C) for the first time.

Gavin Schmidt, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, says the rise in temperatures is 'persistent,' and not the result of fluke weather phenomena.

'We crossed over into more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit warming territory in 2015 and we are unlikely to go back,' Schmidt said.

'We know that the long-term trends are being driven by the increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.'

Concentrations of greenhouse gases have continued to rise, hitting record levels in 2019. Scientists say without efforts to curb climate change, the warming trend will only continue.

Chris Rapley, professor of climate science at University College London, has called global warming one of humanity's greatest follies.

'This is not so much a record as a broken record,' Rapley said. 'The message repeats with grim regularity, yet the pace and scale of action to address climate change remain muted and far from the need.'

More than 190 nations signed the Paris climate accords in 2015, promising to combat global warming and stem the rise in global average temperatures.

Two years later, President Donald Trump announced the US would be withdrawing from the agreement.
Since the Bahujan Samaj Party lost the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections in 2012, questions have been raised over party supremo Mayawati's statues installed in Lucknow and Noida during the BSP government in the state. There were allegations of embezzlement in purchase of statues worth several crores, however, the matter is sub-judice in court.

On Wednesday, videos showing installation of marble idols of BSP chief at Bahujan Samaj Prerna Sthal went viral on social media platforms. Although the video could not be verified by News18, media reports suggested that the idols were being installed at Prerna Sthal located at Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg in Lucknow. The video shows three statues of Mayawati made of white marble stone being installed at the above said venue.

Amid speculations that the the idols are being erected ahead of the 2022 state assembly polls, sources familiar with the development claimed it was just a renovation process and no new idols were being bought. The place where the idols were installed earlier was exposed to sunlight and rain and that was causing damage to the marble statue. Hence, the statues are being moved from one pace to another. No new statue is being built, said the source.

The marble statues of BSP Chief shows her holding a handbag. The base structure for the statue was being prepared here for about a month, but no one noticed it at that time. To install these idols, a framework has been prepared on four pillars, where black stones have been installed. The structure resembles the one built at Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar site in Gomtinagar, where the statues of Mayawati are installed in the cover structure. Due to strong rains in the evening only three statues could be installed.
Republic of Ireland defender Cyrus Christie has accused the Garda of "doing nothing" about the racist abuse he suffered in Ireland.

The Fulham right-back revealed his distress after several incidences of racist abuse, including the creation of a petition calling for him to be lynched.

In an interview with Off the Ball AM Christie (27) said he viewed the petition as a threat to his life and spoke of his frustration at the investigation.

"When you're making petitions for people to get lynched, that's a threat on your life. The Garda really didn't understand where I was coming from, they really didn't do anything about it," he said.

"Even when I sat down and spoke to them they didn't understand."

The defender revealed he left a meeting with gardai early because "I just knew they wouldn't do anything. They were like, 'I just don't believe someone in Ireland could be racist'.

"You're going to get racist people everywhere. I'm not trying to say the whole country was racist, but you have everything you need there, the evidence what people are saying.

"I believed it was enough for them to do something. We actually ended up ending the meeting early.

Losing

"You're fighting a losing battle there really, and I can see why people don't ever try and pursue anything."

Speaking about the online abuse he received, Christie said it took fellow player James McClean highlighting it before it was condemned.

"It was put out there for people to see, people just turned a blind eye to it. In that case, it was there for everyone to see, there was obviously a massive reaction," said Christie.

"But, like I said, the reaction wouldn't have been the same if I'd come out and said it. It was James McClean that actually came out and said it. The weirdest thing was, his profile was there for everyone to see.

"And then obviously when the Garda came in and supposedly said they were going to deal with it, and done nothing.

"The craziest thing was the police officer called the guy up on his phone, found him straight away. I don't understand how you can pull it up in front of us and then a year later you get a message - the case is closed. I don't understand."

In response to questions by the Herald a spokesperson said a full investigation was carried out by officers in Irishtown and two persons were identified.

Submitted

"The first suspect was a juvenile at the time of the offence and he was deemed suitable for inclusion in the Garda Youth Diversion Scheme, which has taken place," they said.

"A full investigation file was submitted to the DPP in relation to the second culprit (mid 20s) and a direction of no prosecution was received.

"An Garda Siochana had agreed that contact liaison would continue through a nominated spokesperson in the FAI. This nominee was kept informed at all times."
Kerala: Govt''s support sought for boosting pearl spot farming

August 13,2020 | Source: Outlook India

Voicing concern over the below- par performance of pearl spot (karimeen) farming,Chennai headquartered Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (ICAR-CIBA) has sought the state government''s support to boost aquaculture production of Keralas state fish. It is high time that Kerala had a road map for the successful utilisation of highly prospective brackishwater resources of the state towards the betterment of pearl spot farming practices in the region, said Dr K K Vijayan, Director of CIBA at a webinar held for fish farmers in Kerala.



"Even as the fish has a huge demand and market value in the state, the pearl spot farming sector is on a stagnation, unable to yield expected output given the potential resources," he is quoted as saying in a release here on Tuesday. According to CIBA estimates, Kerala produces around 2,000 tonnes of pearl spot per annum through farming against a demand of 10,000 tonnes. "This data shows how far the state is lagging behind the targeted aquaculture production of this fish," Vijayan said.



In a bid to increase production, the sector requires a solid network of farmers, government agencies and aquaculture experts for ensuring the quality seeds and feeds which are essential for the smooth functioning and growth of the farming practice, he said. The CIBA director said that the institute successfully developed the technology of pair breeding of the fish that would help set up cost-effective modular units of pearl spot hatcheries and produce quality seeds for the farming, in required quantities at the required time.



"The institute is ready to provide all scientific and technological support if the state government develops a road map to improve the sector," he said. Farmers should be advised to follow scientific practices to make the ventures both profitable and sustainable. Under CIBAs guidance, a pearl spot hatchery is functioning in Alappuzha district and the institute provides species specific feeds and technical support to farmers in different parts of the state. The model can be emulated across the state, which is highly resourceful and prospective for pearl spot farming, Vijayan said. Slow growth of pearl spot is one of the reasons being faced by the aqua farmers as this fish would attain weight up to 200g during a long farming period of one year.



In order to tackle this, CIBA proposes to go for selective breeding of the species which would help farmers harvest the crops with a profitable growth rate within six months. However, it requires a comprehensive plan and financial assistance from the state government as the process is likely to take up to 5 years costing Rs 5 to 10 crore for completion. "In addition, coordinated efforts among the scientific community and the government are required to make this happen accordingly," he added.
Master of Social Work, Amanda Mulhern, Crises Worker, takes health crises call during a morning shift at the Montgomery County Mobile Crisis Center in Plymouth Meeting, Pa. Thursday, August 13, 2020. Read more

Around the country, calls for police funding to be redirected to social services have escalated in recent months.

So have questions about whether its more beneficial to have trained crisis workers instead of police officers deal with incidents related to mental health.

But experts overseeing mobile crisis intervention units in the Philadelphia area said that working in conjunction with police departments is optimal. These partnerships can provide an additional layer of support for both law enforcement and crisis workers, they said.

The work often begins with educating police departments about what people with mental-health issues face, said Shamit Chaki, director of the Crisis Response Center at Einstein Medical Center, which partners with a mobile unit at John F. Kennedy Behavioral Health Center.

There is no linear direction in how to manage a crisis, said Chaki, who has helped train the Philadelphia Police Department. We give police officers tools and a repository of information they can draw from. We want them to be aware that recovery is possible for people in these crises.

Incidents related to mental health account for 10% of all police calls in the United States, according to a 2015 report by the Treatment Advocacy Center, a national nonprofit focused on making treatment for severe mental illness possible. The same report found that adults with untreated severe mental illness accounted for one in every four fatal police encounters, and were 16 times more likely to be stopped by the police than other people.

Americas first mobile crisis unit was created in Eugene, Ore., more than three decades ago. Since then, the units success has inspired many others across the country, including in Philadelphia, Montgomery and Chester Counties.

The mobile crisis team that Philadelphias Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services (DBHIDS) oversees has had a strong reciprocal partnership with the citys Police Department for decades, said David T. Jones, commissioner of DBHIDS. The team responds to approximately 3,700 crises annually, Jones said, which can come directly to the citys mental health line or be forward by 911 dispatchers.

In 2018, the department added three mobile units focused on responding to children and adolescents.

If a caller indicates that theyre calling because theyre feeling lonely and isolated, then our delegates ... make them aware of services that are available, Jones said. If the individual is expressing ideas of harming themselves or others, the delegate would keep them engaged and dispatch the mobile team. If they have a firearm and express theyre having thoughts of shooting themselves, the work would also engage the police.

Jones said its not unusual for the caller to ask for a clinician or a trained crisis worker to be on scene.

The mobile team often act as first responders, he said. Or, if the police respond to a situation where they determine that the individual needs behavioral intervention, they call us.

As researchers warn of a looming mental-health crisis due to COVID-19  a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 11% of adults reported seriously considering suicide in late June  the citys mobile crisis unit has pivoted to connecting with people in new ways over FaceTime or Zoom, Jones said.

Chester Countys mobile crisis unit, overseen by Holcomb-Chimes Behavioral Health Systems since 2009, receives more than 2,500 calls a month, both directly and through 911 dispatchers, said Sonja Kenney, clinical manager of the unit.

Were built to manage most situations without police, she said. Contacting law enforcement would be a last resort, like if there needs to be an involuntary hospitalization or there could be violence or danger.

In Montgomery County, the goal of the crisis worker is to make the caller feel comfortable and get a sense of what may have prompted them to call, said Jess Fenchel, vice president of behavioral health at Access Services, which runs a mobile crisis center that serves Montgomery County and surrounding areas.

It takes a certain amount of bravery to call, Fenchel said. We assess their level of safety and ensure some stability. We want to hurry up, and then slow down. We need to get quickly to people, but then slow down a scenario and help them be calm, so they can make the best decisions.

Montgomery County created the mobile crisis unit in 2013 and has since formed partnerships with almost all 50 of the countys police departments.

Vera Zanders, deputy administrator in the countys Office of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Early intervention, said mobile crisis intervention is one of the most important parts of a robust community mental-health system.

Its an essential way to invest funds if we truly want to help individuals be able to recover, Zanders said. We want to take the strain off of the police.

Many emergency response systems across the country arent properly trained to respond to behavioral health crises, so overreliance on first responders can put them in scenarios theyre not comfortable with, Fenchel said.

Even when officers do receive mental-health training, theyre not living ... in that space on how to connect with a person on the hardest day of their life, said Anna Trout, crisis and diversion director of Montgomery Countys Office of Mental Health.

Thats an impossible ask of police, but not an impossible ask of the mobile crisis team, Trout said. Its just not their role, and when its not someones role when the crisis is potentially life-or-death, why would we continue to keep putting them in that situation when we have other options?

If you or someone you know is thinking of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text TALK to the Crisis Text Line at 741741.
Tragedy hit the Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) of the Bono Regional Police Command when a member of the team, Corporal Rexford Amoako, was allegedly shot and killed accidentally by one of his colleagues.

According to the police, the RDF was deployed from Sunyani last Monday for highway patrol duties within Dormaa.



However, during the operation, a member of the team allegedly fired his gun accidentally which killed Corporal Amoako in the Diabaa Forest in the Dormaa West District.



The Bono Regional Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Police Service, Chief Inspector Augustine Kingsley Oppong, confirmed the incident to the Daily Graphic.



He said investigation had begun to ascertain the actual cause of the tragic incident.



"An investigation has begun to establish what actually took place and further developments shall be communicated to the public," Chief Inspector Oppong stated.



Suspects rearrested



Meanwhile, eight suspects arrested for their involvement in the clash between supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) at Nkrankwanta in the Dormaa West District last Saturday were today put before a Sunyani Circuit Court.



They are Ali Musah, alias Buge; Lonfintey Sansah, Mohammed Osman, alias Mba, and Kwasi Sam.



The rest are Oppong Johnson, Abubakar Sulemana, Fuseini Mohammed and Musah Sule.



While Musah was charged with an attempt to commit murder contrary to Section 48 of the Criminal Act, 1960 (Act 29), the others were charged with causing unlawful damage.



Discharge, rearrest



The clash between the supporters of the two political parties resulted in the death of one person while two others were injured.



The court, presided over by Justice Sylvester Nii Okine Ablorh, however, discharged the suspects for lack of jurisdiction.



Justice Ablorh explained that since one of the charges bordered on attempted murder, the prosecution should have separated the charges on different charge sheets and sent the attempted murder charge to the district court for committal.



However, soon after their discharge, the police rearrested them.

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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Israel and the United Arab Emirates agree to normalise relations in a deal brokered by US President Donald Trump.

Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have reached a historic deal that will lead to a full normalisation of diplomatic relations between the two Middle Eastern nations.

The deal came after a phone call between United States President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi.

The White House says the agreement will see Israel suspend its plans to annex Palestinian areas of the occupied West Bank.

Here are the latest updates:

Friday, August 14

20:15 GMT  US officials tried to appeal to numerous countries to make similar agreements

Senior White House officials sought to use the momentum from the deal between Israel and the UAE to appeal to more Arab and Muslim countries to set aside long-standing tensions and make similar agreements.

A senior White House official told Reuters that President Donald Trumps senior adviser, Jared Kushner, and Middle East envoy, Avi Berkowitz, had been in touch with numerous countries in the region, trying to see if more agreements would materialise. The official declined to name the countries.

19:22 GMT  Spain backs the Israeli-UAE agreement

Spain welcomed the agreement reached to normalise relations between Israel and the UAE, hoping that Israels commitment to suspend the annexing of parts of the West Bank will become permanent, read a statement released by the countrys foreign ministry.

The Government of #Spain welcomes the agreement reached to normalise relations between #Israel and the #UAE, both important partners of Spain in the #MiddleEast, and the role played by the #USA to this end. Full official statement  https://t.co/q5NEp4Bxqd pic.twitter.com/pn1h3W1XTK  Spain MFA (@SpainMFA) August 14, 2020

Spain hopes that this agreement will contribute to regional peace and to the resumption of negotiations between Israel and Palestine, with a view to the establishment of two States living in peace and security, based on international parameters to achieve a fair, lasting and mutually acceptable solution for the parties, read the statement from the Spanish government.

18:25 GMT  Hezbollah chief says Israeli-UAE deal was favour to Trump

The leader of Lebanons Hezbollah movement condemned the deal between Israel and the UAE to normalise ties as a betrayal of Islam and Arabs, saying it was done as a favour to United States President Donald Trump.

Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech that Trump announced the deal because he needed an achievement ahead of US elections in November. He said he expected a number of Arab states to follow the UAE example to satisfy Washington.

17:39 GMT  France welcomes the Israel-UAE deal

French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the courageous decision by the UAE to normalise ties with Israel.

I salute the courageous decision of the United Arab Emirates and hope that it will contribute to the establishment of a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, Macron said on Twitter.

I said it to President Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed.

Je salue la decision courageuse des Emirats arabes unis et souhaite quelle contribue a letablissement dune paix juste et durable entre Israeliens et Palestiniens. Je lai dit au President Trump, au Premier ministre Netanyahou et au Prince heritier Mohamed bin Zayed. https://t.co/adyQw3ILZs  Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) August 14, 2020

15:48 GMT  Israel-UAE agreement has  far-reaching implications: Pakistan FM

Following the UAE-Israel normalisation agreement, Pakistans foreign ministry noted that such a development is with far-reaching implications.

Pakistan has an abiding commitment to the full realization of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination. Peace and stability in the Middle East region is also Pakistans key priority, read a statement released by the ministry.

Pakistans approach will be guided by our evaluation of how Palestinians rights and aspirations are upheld and how regional peace, security and stability are preserved.

14:53 GMT  EU welcomes normalisation and hopes for new negotiations

The European Unions High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, welcomed the UAE-Israel agreement, adding that Israels annexation plans should now be abandoned altogether.

I welcome Israel-UAE normalisation; benefits both & is important for regional stability, Borrell said on Twitter.

Suspending annexation is positive step, plans should now be abandoned altogether. EU hopes for resumed Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on 2-state solution based on intl agreed parameters, he said.

I welcome Israel-UAE normalisation; benefits both & is important for regional stability.

Suspending annexation is positive step, plans should now be abandoned altogether. EU hopes for resumed Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on 2-state solution based on intl' agreed parameters.  Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) August 14, 2020

14:30 GMT  How did Israel and the UAE get to normalising relations?

Back in October 2018, Israeli Minister of Culture and Sports Miri Regev became the first Israeli to visit Abu Dhabi in an unprecedented official state visit. Her visit to the UAE was a clear sign of the Gulf country working to push its covert relations with Israel out in the open.

Following Regevs visit, Israeli Communications Minister Ayoub Kara and Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz also travelled to Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

From official meetings to clandestine relations  including intelligence sharing and direct and indirect flights  relations between Israel and the UAE have been going on for decades.

Read the full story here.

14:22 GMT  Palestinians take to the streets to protest

Palestinians in Gaza and East Jerusalem held demonstrations in protest at the planned establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Demonstrators in Gaza waved Palestinian flags and held placards reading: Palestine is not for sale and Normalisation is treason.

Palestinians hold banners reading normalisation is a treason during a protest against the United Arab Emirates deal with Israel to normalise relations, in Gaza City [Mohammed Salem/Reuters]

Leaders from various Palestinian groups participated in the rally, which was organised by Islamic Jihad.

In East Jerusalem, protesters burned posters with photos of the UAEs Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and laid them on the floor for people to trample on.

14:12 GMT  Netanyahu thanks Egypt, Oman, Bahrain for their support

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked the leaders of Egypt, Oman and Bahrain for their support of the agreement to normalise ties with the UAE.

I thank Egyptian President al-Sisi, and the governments of Oman and Bahrain, for their support of the historic peace treaty between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, which is expanding the circle of peace and will be good for the entire region, Netanyahu said on Twitter.

I thank Egyptian President al-Sisi, and the governments of Oman and Bahrain, for their support of the historic peace treaty between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, which is expanding the circle of peace and will be good for the entire region.  Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) August 14, 2020

14:01 GMT  Oman backs UAE-Israel agreement

Oman has become the second Gulf country after Bahrain to declare its support for a UAE-Israeli agreement to normalise ties.

A spokesman for the Omani Foreign Ministry has expressed the sultanates backing of the UAE decision on relations with Israel as part of the joint historic declaration between it [UAE], the United States and Israel, Omans state news agency reported.

#            #                . pic.twitter.com/ZEcq2dPEoN     (@OmanNewsAgency) August 14, 2020

The official hoped the agreement will lead to comprehensive, fair, and lasting peace in the Middle East, according to the agency.

13:43 GMT  Palestinians unanimously reject UAE-Israel deal

Palestinians reacted with shock and dismay after United States President Donald Trump unveiled an agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel to normalise ties.

The late Sheikh Zayed was a dear brother to me, I knew how much he was proud of his support for Palestine I never imagined that in my lifetime I would see the day in which the UAE would simply sell the Palestinians out for the sake of normalisation, said former Palestinian Authority minister Munib al-Masri.

Its very shameful. I cant believe it until now, he said.

Read Walid Mahmoud and Muhammad Shehadas full story on how Palestinian leadership and public reacted to the deal here.

13:26 GMT  UAE makes peace with Israels war on the Palestinians

In an opinion piece for Al Jazeera, Marwan Bishara writes, The agreement rewards US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for their protracted assault on the Palestinians over the past four years. Once signed, and implemented, it is likely to embolden Netanyahus coalition, deepen Israels occupation and strengthen Israels alliance with Arab autocrats.

But Western media outlets welcomed the peace agreement as a historic breakthrough.

Read Bisharas full opinion on the UAE-Israel normalisation agreement here.

12:45 GMT  China welcomes Israel, UAE deal

China on Friday welcomed the normalisation of ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

China welcomes any measures that help to ease tensions between Middle Eastern countries, promoting regional peace and stability, said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian.

He added that China hoped concrete steps would soon be taken to bring the Palestine issue back on the track of equal dialogue.

10:20 GMT  Israelis and Palestinians react to UAE deal





07:30 GMT  UAEs Gargash says positive reactions to Israel agreement are encouraging

The United Arab Emirates minister of state for foreign affairs on Friday described as encouraging the reactions from main global capitals to its agreement with Israel.

The agreement dealt with the threat of further annexation of Palestinian territories, which had undermined chances of a two-state solution, Anwar Gargash said in a tweet.

                                         .  .   (@AnwarGargash) August 14, 2020

06:54 GMT  Turkey slams UAEs hypocritical behaviour

Turkey condemned the UAE for normalising ties with Israel as a hypocritical betrayal of the Palestinian cause.

While betraying the Palestinian cause to serve its narrow interests, the UAE is trying to present this as a kind of act of self-sacrifice for Palestine. History and the conscience of the people living in the region will not forget and never forgive this hypocritical behaviour, the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.

06:22 GMT  UAE, Israel normalised ties to keep US militarily engaged in Middle East

Trita Parsi, executive vice-president of the Quincy Institute, said the main aim of the UAE-Israel decision to normalise ties was to keep Washington militarily engaged in the region.

The Iran expert made the comment when asked about what the deal might mean for Tehran and what role the alleged threat from Israel and USs arch foe played in the historic agreement.

Parsi, noting the close business ties between Abu Dhabi and Tehran, said the alliance between Israel, UAE and Saudi Arabia is more about the fact they are terrified of the idea of the United States leaving the Middle East.





Amplifying, exaggerating a threat from Iran is one very potent instrument to keep the United States committed to the Middle East, keeping its troops in the Middle East and providing them with the diplomatic manoeuvrability that they otherwise would not be able to get if it was solely based on their own power, he told Al Jazeera from Reston in the US state of Virginia.

So, in that sense, the threat from Iran fulfils that function, but its not the threat from Iran that is bringing those states closer together. What is bringing them closer together is the desire of keeping the United States militarily engaged in the region.

05:21 GMT  Iran says UAE-Israel deal is dangerous

Irans foreign ministry condemned the deal normalising ties between Israel and the UAE, calling it a dangerous and strategic act of idiocy that will further invigorate the axis of resistance in the region, according to the official IRNA news agency.

The shameful measure of Abu Dhabi to reach an agreement with the fake Zionist regime [Israel] is a dangerous move and the UAE and other states that backed it will be responsible for its consequences, the statement said, according to IRNA.

This is stabbing the Palestinians in the back and will strengthen the regional unity against the Zionist regime, the foreign ministry said.

04:18 GMT  US envoy calls UAE-Israel deal Irans worst nightmare

Brian Hook, the US State Departments lead official on Iran who will be leaving his post soon, said the new agreement amounted to a nightmare for Iran in its efforts against Israel in the region.

What we see today is a new Middle East, Hook said at the White House.

The trend lines are very different today. And we see the future is very much in the Gulf and with Israel, and the past is with the Iranian regime.

03:40 GMT  He deceived us: Israeli settler leaders slam Netanyahu

David Elhayani, head of Israels Yesha Council of settlers, lambasted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for suspending plans to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank as part of the agreement normalising ties with the UAE.

Netanyahu has repeatedly promised the application of Israeli sovereignty in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley. We had face-to-face meetings. He assured us that he was working on it, that this is the main political issue on which he was running in the election, Elhayani said in a statement.

He deceived us. He has deceived half a million residents of the area and hundreds of thousands of voters, he added.

Shai Alon, mayor of the Beit El, a settlement near the Palestinian city of Ramallah that is considered illegal by most of the international community, accused Netanyahu of selling out his supporters.

They pulled a fast one on the settlers, Alon was quoted as saying by The Times of Israel newspaper.





03:01 GMT  Palestine recalls its ambassador to UAE

The Palestinian foreign ministry recalled its ambassador to UAE on the orders of President Mahmoud Abbas.

In a statement, the official Wafa news agency said the move came in the aftermath of the tripartite US-brokered Israel-UAE deal on full normalisation of the relations between the two countries.

01:23 GMT  Trump to host Israel, UAE leaders at White House

United States President Donald Trump said he plans to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the White House in the next three weeks.

I look forward to hosting them at the White House very soon to formally sign the agreement, he said.

Well probably be doing it over the next, I would say, three weeks.

Trump hinted that the UAE may not be the last country to strike a deal with Israel, which so far has only had formal diplomatic relations with two other Arab nations, Egypt and Jordan.

That was a tremendous thing that happened. We have a lot of other interesting things going on with other nations also having to do with peace agreements and a lot of big news is coming over the next few weeks, he said.

I am sure you will be very impressed and more importantly its great for our country, a great thing for the world.





01:06 GMT  UN chief hopes Israel-UAE deal can help two-state solution

Antonio Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations, said he hoped the normalisation of ties between Israel and the UAE can help realise a two-state solution with the Palestinians.

The secretary-general welcomes this agreement, hoping it will create an opportunity for Israeli and Palestinian leaders to re-engage in meaningful negotiations that will realise a two state-solution in line with relevant UN resolutions, international law and bilateral agreements, a spokesman for Guterres said in a statement.

The secretary-general will continue to work with all sides to open further possibilities for dialogue, peace and stability, the spokesman said.

Hello, this is Zaheena Rasheed in Male, Maldives, taking over from my colleague Ramy Allahoum.

Thursday, August 13

20:20 GMT  Jordan says Israel-UAE deal should prod Israel to accept Palestinian state

Jordan has said that the Israel-UAE deal could push forward stalled peace negotiations if it succeeds in prodding Israel to accept a Palestinian state on land that Israel had occupied in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

If Israel dealt with it as an incentive to end occupation  it will move the region towards a just peace, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said in a statement on state media.

20:02 GMT  Mahmoud Abbas rejects and denounces UAE-Israel deal

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas denounced Israels accord with the United Arab Emirates in a statement issued by his spokesman.

The Palestinian leadership rejects and denounces the UAE, Israeli and US trilateral, surprising announcement, said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a senior adviser to Abbas.

Abu Rudeineh, reading from a statement outside Abbass headquarters in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, said the deal was a betrayal of Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa and the Palestinian cause.

The statement urged the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to assemble to reject the deal, adding neither the UAE nor any other party has the right to speak in the name of the Palestinian people.

19:30 GMT  Israel-UAE deal will not stop Netanyahus annexation plans

Mustafa Barghouti, secretary general and co-founder of the Ramallah-based Palestinian National Initiative, said the deal between Israel and the UAE will not stop Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus annexation plans.

The Israelis and Emirates had relations already, there was never a struggle between them so I dont know why they need to call it a peace agreement, Barghouti told Al Jazeera.

The reality is that the problem is with the Palestinian people, with the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian land; the problem is with the Israeli plan of annexation of Palestinian land which Netanyahu has confirmed one more time today that he is proceeding with.

The problem is with the system of racism and apartheid that Israel excises against the Palestinian people.

19:25 GMT  Iran official says UAE-Israel deal will not secure regional peace

The agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates will not secure peace in the region, tweeted a special adviser on international affairs to the speaker of Irans parliament.

UAEs new approach for normalizing ties w/fake, criminal #Israel doesnt maintain peace & security, but serves ongoing Zionists crimes, tweeted Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, also a former deputy foreign minister.

Abu Dhabis behavior has no justification, turning back on the Palestine cause. W/ that strategic mistake, #UAE will be engulfed in Zionism fire.

19:15 GMT  Nothing historic about Israel-UAE normalising ties

Omar Baddar, a US-based analyst, said there was nothing historic or groundbreaking about Thursdays deal between the UAE and Israel.

Israel didnt halt the annexation for the West Bank (annexation is ALREADY a de facto reality on the ground). Israel merely suspended its announcement of a reality it has already illegally imposed on Palestinians. It is FALSE to say Israel suspended it at the UAEs request, Baddar wrote on Twitter.

3) Israel suspended (put off) its annexation announcement after realizing it was going to be costly to Israel, with many US Democrats threatening for the first time to cut off military aid to Israel. The suspension came long before this UAE deal was reached.  Omar Baddar (@OmarBaddar) August 13, 2020

19:05 GMT  How the world reacted to UAE and Israel normalising diplomatic ties

The United Arab Emirates has become the first Gulf Arab country to reach a deal on normalising relations with Israel, capping years of discreet contacts between the two countries in commerce and technology.

The so-called Abraham Agreement, announced by United States President Donald Trump on Thursday, secures an Israeli commitment to halt further annexation of Palestinian lands in the occupied West Bank.

However, addressing reporters later in Tel Aviv, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he agreed to delay the annexation as part of the deal with the UAE, but the plans remain on the table.

Read more here.

18:55 GMT  Bahrain says UAE-Israel deal strengthens chances of peace

Bahrain has welcomed the accord between the UAE and Israel, saying the historic diplomatic breakthrough will advance peace in the Middle East region.

The small island state also praised the US for its efforts towards securing the deal.





18:05 GMT  Joe Biden says Israel-UAE deal brave and badly needed

United States Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden hailed the Israel-UAE deal as an historic step toward a more stable Middle East, warning he would not support Israels annexation of Jewish settlements if he wins the White House in November.

The UAEs offer to publicly recognize the State of Israel is a welcome, brave, and badly-needed act of statesmanship, the former Vice President said in a statement. Annexation would be a body blow to the cause of peace, which is why I oppose it now and would oppose it as president.

17:50 GMT  Netanyahu calls UAE deal start of a new era for Israel and Arab world

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hailed the United States-brokered deal to normalise ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, saying the agreement signalled the beginning of a new era with the Arab world.

Today a new era began in the relations between Israel and the Arab world, he said at a televised press conference.

Netanyahu said the full and official peace with the UAE would lead to cooperation in many spheres between the countries and a wonderful future for citizens of both countries.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the agreement to establish diplomatic ties between Israel and the UAE in Jerusalem on Thursday [Abir Sultan /Pool via Reuters]

17:45 GMT  UKs Johnson welcomes Israel-UAE move to normalise ties

United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson has welcomed the agreement between Israel and the UAE that will lead to a full normalisation of diplomatic relations between the two states.

The UAE and Israels decision to normalise relations is hugely good news, Johnson said on Twitter.

It was my profound hope that annexation did not go ahead in the West Bank and todays agreement to suspend those plans is a welcome step on the road to a more peaceful Middle East.

17:10 GMT  Israels president invites UAE Crown Prince to visit Jerusalem

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin has extended an invitation to UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to visit Jerusalem, hours after the announcement that the two countries were establishing full diplomatic ties.

I invite the crown prince to visit Jerusalem, he wrote on Twitter, adding a greeting in Arabic.

I congratulate the President of the United States @realDonaldTrump, the Prime Minister of Israel @netanyahu and Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed @MohamedBinZayed on this impressive achievement and invite the Crown Prince to visit Jerusalem. Ahlan waSahlan."  Reuven Rivlin (@PresidentRuvi) August 13, 2020

Rivlin, whose post is ceremonial, said the agreement was an important and strategic milestone that could jump-start agreements with other countries in the region.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, whose role is largely ceremonial, hailed the agreement as an important and strategic milestone [File: Mick Tsikas/AFP]

16:55 GMT  UN chief welcomes any initiative on Middle East peace, security

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomes any initiative that can promote peace and security in the Middle East region, a UN spokesman said after Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced a deal on bilateral ties.

16:30 GMT  Hamas calls deal a reward for the Israeli occupations crimes

Hamas has accused the UAE of stabbing Palestinians in the back by agreeing to establish full diplomatic ties with Israel.

This announcement is a reward for the Israeli occupations crimes, said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum. The normalisation is a stabbing in the back of our people.





16:15 GMT  Israeli legislators welcome UAE deal

Israeli lawmakers have welcomed the establishment of full diplomatic relations with the UAE, with Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz  who is also Israels alternate prime minister under a power-sharing deal  saying the agreement expressed an alliance between countries in the region that aim for stability and prosperity.

He said the deal will have many positive implications on the region and called on other Arab states to pursue peace deals with Israel. He also thanked United States President Donald Trump, calling him a true friend of Israel.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, part of Gantzs Blue and White party, said he welcomed Israels backing down from unilateral annexation of the West Bank, saying Trumps Middle East plan would be discussed in consultation with countries in the region.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid said negotiations and agreements, not unilateral steps like annexation were key to Israels diplomatic relations.

16:12 GMT  UAE normalised ties with Israel to manage annexation threat

The UAE said its agreement with Israel was made to deal with the threat that further annexation of Palestinian territories posed to the two-state solution.

The UAEs Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Anwar Gargash, urged the Palestinians and Israelis to return to the negotiating table.

16:10 GMT  Egypts Sisi welcomes UAE-Israel deal, halt to annexation

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has welcomed the normalisation of ties between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, saying he valued efforts that will achieve prosperity and stability for the region.

I followed with interest and appreciation the joint statement between the United States, United Arab Emirates and Israel to halt the Israeli annexation of Palestinian lands and taking steps to bring peace in the Middle East, Sisi said on Twitter.

I value the efforts of those in charge of the deal to achieve prosperity and stability for our region.

16:05 GMT  UAE, Israel to sign bilateral deals on areas including tourism, direct flights

Delegations from the UAE and Israel will meet during the coming weeks to sign bilateral agreements on areas including energy, tourism, direct flights, investment, security, communication and technology, the UAE foreign ministry said.

15:50 GMT  UAE-Israel deal a win for diplomacy, the region

The UAEs embassy to the United States said an agreement to fully normalise relations between Israel and the UAE was a win for diplomacy and for the region that lowers tensions.

UAE Ambassador Youssef Al Otaiba said the agreement maintained the viability of a two-state solution and the UAE remained a strong supporter of the Palestinian people, in a statement on Twitter.

Youssef Al Otaiba, the UAEs ambassador to the United States, said his country remained a strong supporter of the Palestinian people [Reuters]

15:48 GMT  UAE official says Israeli annexation would have ended peace hopes

UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said on Thursday that any further Israeli annexation of Palestinian territory would have ended hopes for peace in the region.

In an interview with Sky News Arabia after the announcement that the UAE had agreed to a deal to normalise relations with Israel, Gargash said the UAE had dismantled a ticking time bomb that was threatening the two-state solution.

15:45 GMT  Palestinian official accuses UAE of normalisation with Israel

Senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi accused The United Arab Emirates of normalisation with Israel after Thursdays announcement of a historic peace deal.

Ashrawi, a veteran Palestinian negotiator and member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said on Twitter: The UAE has come out in the open on its secret dealings/normalization with Israel. Please dont do us a favor. We are nobodys fig leaf!





15:40 GMT  Pompeo says Israel-UAE agreement is enormous step forward

An agreement on normalising relations reached between Israel and the United Arab Emirates on Thursday is an enormous step forward on the right path, United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters with him on a trip to central European countries.

Pompeo made his remarks shortly before taking off from Slovenia for Austrias capital, Vienna.

The agreement, which US President Donald Trump helped broker, will lead to the full normalisation of diplomatic relations between the two Middle Eastern nations.

The agreement will lead to the full normalisation of diplomatic relations between the two Middle Eastern nations [File: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool via Reuters]

15:40 GMT  Israel hails great day for peace after deal with UAE announced

Israel hailed a United States-brokered peace deal with the United Arab Emirates as a great day for peace and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to hold a news conference at 16:00 GMT to comment further.

Saying he had to deal with a matter of great national interest, Netanyahu abruptly left a cabinet discussion on the coronavirus crisis about an hour before US President Donald Trump announced the agreement to normalise relations between Israel and the Gulf Arab country.

On Twitter, Ron Dermer, Israels ambassador in Washington, wrote: A great day for peace! Israel commends the courage of MBZ [de facto UAE leader Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan] for the historic decision of the UAE to join Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994) in making peace with Israel. Israel deeply appreciates all  Trump has done to make this breakthrough possible.
CHICAGO, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Office of Experience (OX), a Chicago-based design and digital innovation agency, is excited to partner with iEducation Group on the launch of the Fusion Global Academy website and brand. Fusion Global Academy, a primary member of iEducation Group's growing private school network, is a resource that provides premier, accredited one-on-one education virtually for students from sixth to 12th grade. The Fusion Global Academy experience is delivered exclusively online, with teachers who can connect with the same students anywhere in the world at times most convenient to the student.

The launch of Fusion Global Academy provides one-on-one education online at any time. The Office of Experience partnered with Fusion Global Academy to launch its website, shown here, and brand. The launch of Fusion Global Academy is ideal during this time of social distancing, when more of the burden of keeping education on-track is on students, parents and families. Fusion Global Academy provides premiere, accredited one-on-one education virtually for students from sixth to 12th grade.

"Our work for Fusion Global Academy comes at a time when society is thinking of new ways to educate our children," says Stratton Cherouny, co-founder of OX. "Particularly in this time of COVID-19, Fusion Global Academy is a resource for people to experience the benefits and continuity of one-on-one learning, first-hand. If there is a silver-lining in education to this pandemic, COVID could be a catalyst for discovering a better way to learn."

The launch of Fusion Global Academy is ideal during this time of social distancing, when more of the burden of keeping education on-track is on students, parents and families. Students who enroll at Fusion Global Academy receive a consistent, personalized experience and can have confidence they are learning from certified teachers at an accredited school, whose graduates go on to some of the most recognized universities and colleges in the world.

"There is a world of difference between real virtual instruction and online learning, as parents around the world have seen firsthand over the past several months," said Peter Ruppert, iEducation Group CEO. "Through Fusion Global Academy, students get live, personalized instruction with each teacher throughout every class to ensure they are able to master the content and grow in knowledge and skills. We turned to OX to help communicate the value of our 'teach from anywhere, learn from anywhere' model, and to do so through a website where content can be managed with ease."

Fusion Global Academy follows the same one-to-one philosophy and model as Fusion Academy, iEducation Group's brick and mortar business, but moves the entire experience online. By eliminating physical barriers, Fusion Global Academy is ready to educate millions of students domestically and worldwide, providing a reliable, high-quality education during this uncertain time and beyond.

To learn more or enroll, visit: FusionGlobalAcademy.com

About the Office of Experience :

The Office of Experience (OX) helps companies excel at every point of contact with their customers. By integrating strategy, design and technology, we ensure that the brands and experiences of our clients operate as one, uniting expectation and reality to create value. Together, we make thoughtful plans, design critical moments, and bring them to market. In an era where the experience is the brand, OX is built to transform. Learn more at www.officeofexperience.com .

About Fusion Global Academy:

Launched by iEducation Group, Fusion Global Academy is a private online school offering live, one-to-one teaching to students in grades 6-12. Guided by a fundamental belief in the immense potential within every person, Fusion Global Academy helps each student flourishemotionally, socially and academicallythrough positive mentoring relationships and a personalized education experience. Instruction is 100% online, helping students all over the world find a new way to achieve academic success.

Contact:

OX Public Relations

April Umminger

703-340-6716

[email protected]

SOURCE The Office of Experience

Related Links

http://www.officeofexperience.com


REUTERS

Federal agents fired tear gas and shoved protestors to the ground in Bend, Oregon, where a demonstration erupted on Wednesday night after local activists attempted to block a bus from taking people into ICE custody.

Two Mexican immigrants identified as longtime members of the Bend community were detained by immigration officials and put on an unmarked bus before the protest began, according to reports.

A woman who attempted to block the vehicle from taking the men was joined by hundreds of residents throughout the day, essentially forming a human chain around the bus within a hotel parking lot.

Police officers arrived on the scene but were not taking part in the ICE operations, with Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz saying in a statement: We are on scene to allow free speech and a peaceful area to assemble and to provide life safety support. We are not there in an assisting role with ICE.

After nightfall, a group of 50 additional federal agents descended on the protest. The agents violently clashed with activists, forcing people out of their way and firing tear gas without warning, according to the Washington Post.

The Bend Police are not involved with ICE operations.



We do not use funds or personnel or equipment to enforce federal immigration laws or to detain people based on immigration status. This is consistent with Oregon Law and Department policies.  City of Bend Police Department #BendPolice (@BendCityPolice) August 13, 2020

Spontaneous protest to stop ICE from detaining two longtime residents of Bend is in its 6th hour. pic.twitter.com/UeHvvxfGUd  Emily Cureton (@emilycureton) August 13, 2020

Bend police chief in his first week in the job arrives to warn protestors federal agents are coming to break this up. pic.twitter.com/X2uu6TRaWh  Emily Cureton (@emilycureton) August 13, 2020

Family members of the detained immigrants who had gathered outside of the bus along with activists were shoved to the ground, including a young girl, the newspaper reported.

Story continues

After dispersing the crowd, agents stormed the bus and took the men out of the vehicle. They were moved into another unmarked van nearby, which drove off shortly after.

Families of the detained immigrants released a statement through a local advocate after the protest, which said in part: We are simply trying to provide for our families, but because of the colour of our skin and our country of origin, that is not what has happened here today.

ICE alleged the two men had a history of criminal violent behaviour in a statement on Wednesday, despite reports indicating neither immigrant was presented with a warrant before they were detained. Both men had been living in the area for nearly 15 years, according to the Post.

While ICE respects the right of people to voice their opinion peacefully, that does not include illegally interfering with federal law enforcement duties, Ken Cuccinelli, acting deputy secretary of Homeland Security, said in a statement.

Federal agents have been dispersed to several cities across the country facing major protests under President Donald Trump, with violent clashes occurring between officers and activists in Portland in recent weeks. The Bend police department said in a statement on Wednesday that it was not made aware of detailed plans from ICE or other federal agencies conducting operations in the city this week.
Islamabad was involved in planning, training the perpetrators and executing the February 2019 Pulwama attack that left 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel dead and brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war, said two officials aware of the details of the charge sheet the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has readied in the case.

The charge sheet, which is expected to be filed at the end of this month, concludes Pakistans spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and its proxy, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), planned and executed the state-sponsored attack, for which highly-trained terrorists were sent to India.

It says Pakistan used Adil Ahmad Dar, a local resident who rammed an explosive-laden car into a CRPF convoy in Pulwama, as a suicide bomber to project the attack as a result of a home-grown militancy against Indias occupation of Kashmir, one of the officers cited above said.

However, strong technical, documentary and material evidence have been collected apart from experts reports and evidence shared by foreign agencies, which prove that the Pakistani government was directly involved in the attack, aimed to create unrest in India, said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Maulana Masood Azhar, who founded JeM in 2000 after he was freed from an Indian prison in exchange for 155 passengers of a hijacked aircraft, and his younger brother, Mufti Abdul Rauf Asghar, have been named as primary accused in the charge sheet. Seven alleged JeM operatives arrested from Kashmir since February, Shakir Bashir Magrey, Mohammad Abbas Rather, Mohammad Iqbal Rather, Waiz-ul-Islam, Insha Jan, Tariq Ahmad Shah, and Bilal Ahmed Kuchey, have been named for conducting reconnaissance, providing logistics and assisting in planning the attack.

The names of Pakistani terrorist Mohammad Umar Farooq, who was sent to India to execute the attack, Kamran, JeMs area commander, Mudassir Khan, and Adil Ahmad Dar also figure in charge sheet but not as accused as they have been killed. Farooq, Kamran, and Mudassir Khan were killed in March 2019 in separate exchanges of fire with security forces.

A second officer said the Union home ministry has given the go-ahead to file the charge sheet against Azhar and others under anti-terror laws.

Azhar was among those India designated as individual terrorists in 2019. The move came following an amendment to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, which allows the government to designate individuals as terrorists.

The US has similar laws for such designations and the 2019 move opened an added avenue for joint action against terrorists.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has denied his countrys role in the Pulwama attack and even offered to prosecute the culprits if India provided evidence. Islamabad has not, however, taken any substantive action against global terrorists operating from its soil, including Azhar even as it has been under pressure from the international community.

Pakistan has been on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)s grey list of monitored jurisdictions since June 2018 for failing to counter-terror financing, especially by groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, JeM, Taliban, al-Qaeda and Haqqani Network.

A FATF plenary meeting in February warned Pakistan that it had failed to meet all deadlines for a 27-point action plan, and gave the country four more months to implement it.

HT in March reported the Pulwama attack was originally set to be carried out in the first week of February 2019. But weather conditions forced a suspension of the security convoy movements. The ISI and JeM had to wait until next the CRPF convoy travelled along the Jammu-Srinagar highway.

NIAs probe has concluded the explosive material for the attack was collected over a period of time from mining blocks and locations used by cement factories for blasting rocks in Khrew (Pulwama), Khunmoh (Srinagar), Tral, Awantipora, and Lethpora.

The NIA charge sheet also details the email, text, and social media communications of key players in the bombing, including Azhars brother, the second official cited above said.

The Pulwama attack threatened to spark a full-blown conflict between India and Pakistan. JeM claimed responsibility for the attack and prompted India to carry out an airstrike on a terror camp in Pakistans Balakot.

Pakistan retaliated a day later and triggered a brief dogfight involving warplanes of the two countries.
GUELPH  Dog bites are twice as likely to happen to people living in a city compared to the country, found University of Guelph researchers.

The new study also discovered that the majority of those dog bites come from a dog off leash, and many of the canines are not vaccinated against rabies.

Dog bites are common, said epidemiology PhD student Danielle Julien, who conducted the study with Ontario Veterinary College population medicine professor Jan Sargeant. Its such an important public health issue.

And yet, Julien said there is a shortfall in data on dog bites. Knowing more about the specifics of dog bites, including where theyre more likely to happen, can help tailor public education messages to reduce the risk.

Finding that information out can potentially have an effect on public health, she said.

The researchers set out to determine the differences between urban and rural communities when it comes to numbers of dogs, dog ownership dynamics and human exposure to dog bites. More than 2,000 people were surveyed, split evenly between rural and urban homes.

Pet dogs are more common in rural households, but dog bites are more of a city problem. Among households in rural areas, six per cent had at least one person bitten by a dog in the past year, while urban households reached nearly 11 per cent.

Julien said she was surprised by the results, thinking before that more bites would happen in rural areas, where dogs are pets but theyre also working animals.

Most of the bites came from unleashed dogs and a high percentage of the bites were from dogs not vaccinated against rabies, found the study published in Zoonoses and Public Health.

Nearly 60 per cent of bites happened while playing with or interacting in other ways with the biting dog, and almost 77 per cent of biting dogs were off leash. Nearly 17 per cent were not vaccinated.

It is legally mandated in Ontario, Julien said of rabies vaccination.

The study didnt look a which dog breeds were more likely to bite. But the researchers did find men age 24 to 35 most commonly suffered dog bites.

Past research noted that theres less green space in urban areas for dogs to exercise and socialize, and people also come into closer contact with dogs. That could help explain the higher incidence of dog bites in cities, but studies havent been done specifically in southern Ontario.

It would be interesting to investigate that, Julien said.

The study points to other areas that could be examined, such as what precedes a dog bite.

Whats happening just before a dog bites someone, Julien asked.
Mumbai, Aug 13 : Shweta Singh Kirti, sister of Sushant Singh Rajput, posted a new video on Instagram and Twitter on Wednesday, to reiterate her demand for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) enquiry into the death of the late actor.

?"We stand together as a nation for CBI Enquiry! Demanding an unbiased investigation is our right and we expect nothing but the truth to come out. #CBIForSSR #Warriors4SSR #justiceforSushanthSinghRajput @PMOIndia @narendramodi @AmitShah," Shweta said in the video, which she posted on her verified Instagram account and her unverified Twitter handle.

In another post, she is seen holding a placard that reads: "I am sister of Sushant Singh Rajput and I request for #CBIforSSR." She captioned the image as: "It's time we find the truth and get justice. Please help our family and the whole world to know what the truth is and find closure, otherwise we will never be able to live a peaceful life!!#CBIForSSR Raise your voice and demand #JusticeForSushantSinghRajput #WarriorsForSSR @sushantsinghrajput." Shweta has already garnered a lot of support for her video, with people leaving comments like "We all stand strong with you", "Hope for the best. We want justice", "We are with you and God is with us".

Sushant was found dead in his Bandra flat on June 14, and the late actor's family feels he was murdered. They have alleged that they are getting threats as they continue their fight for justice.

The family has said they were not even given time to mourn Sushant's death, with stories surfacing that he is mentally imbalanced, and photographs of his dead body going viral.

Latest updates on Sushant Singh Rajput Death Mystery

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
An LCBO store is being built in north Welland at Woodlawn Road and Primeway Drive  at the expense of one of two outlets currently operating in the city.

The new store is to be open by next spring, but it will result in a relocation of the one at the Fitch Street Plaza, LCBOs press office confirmed in an email this week.

The Fitch Street LCBO opened in 1962 and will move to its new address in the spring.

LCBOs press office said it is not expected that anyone will lose employment in the change.

We are committed to our employees and do not anticipate any impact to LCBO jobs as a result of this relocation, reads an email statement from LCBO communications staff.

There are about 20 units in the plaza, three of them currently sitting empty.

Businesses that surround the LCBO store believe its departure will have an impact on the amount of traffic generated to the shopping centre.

Ryan Nava, co-owner of Tailgates Bar and Grill, says the eatery that he and business partner Jevan Elia reopened in November, welcomes many customers who pop in for a bite to eat or a quick pint before or after shopping at the LCBO.

The liquor retailer sitting so close was part of the appeal when they embarked on their venture late last year.

When we took over, that was one of the main draws, the LCBO being right there, he said Thursday, adding that it appears the store is the number one generator of business to the plaza.

It will definitely have a trickle effect, he said.

The convenience that came from stocking their bar and coolers is one he says they will miss.

When we did our liquor order, we just walked over and they had it ready for us, he said, adding that his restaurant and the staff at LCBO have developed a great relationship in the short time theyve been neighbours.

Sean McLaren, owner of Blue Ribbon Appliances, says he doesnt necessarily get spin-off business from the LCBO because he is a specialty retailer that mostly serves people who come to him for a specific, planned purchase.

But long lines on weekends form in front of his store, and he regularly sees people visiting other spots in the plaza after buying their drinks on a daily basis.

It will impact the shopping centre an awful lot he said, adding there has been a buzz around the plaza about the LCBO relocating for some time.

They probably draw lots for the other retailers, he said.

I see people carrying parcels around from the LCBO and popping in there for whatever they need, he said referring to the nearby Dollar Tree.

Some of the other businesses in the plaza include Giant Tiger, Rexall, Zero Gravity Physiotherapy, CIBC, and Welland Smiles Dentistry.

The plaza is owned by Value Centres Inc., based out of Concord, Ont.

RELATED STORIES Business New LCBO store under construction in north Welland

They could not be reached for comment Thursday.

There are no known plans to close the other Welland LCBO store, located in the Rose City Plaza on Ontario Road.

The construction value of the new store in north Welland is $1 million, the City of Wellands manager of development approvals Grant Munday recently said.

The new store will be 720-square-metres and also include 104 additional parking spaces.

An 80-room Holiday Inn Express is in the process of being built slightly north of the new LCBO store.

Kris Dube is a St. Catharines-based reporter for the Welland Tribune. Reach him via email: kris.dube@niagaradailies.com
New Delhi: The Bihar Police on Thursday (August 13, 2020) filed a written submission in the Supreme Court on actress Rhea Chakraborty's plea seeking to transfer an FIR lodged against her in Patna to Mumbai in connection with Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death.

In its written reply, the Bihar Police told the top court that Vinay Tiwari, the Superintendent of Police (SP) who had reached Mumbai on August 2 with advance intimation to Mumbai Police, was virtually "detained" in the name of "quarantine".

Tiwari had reached Mumbai to investigate the FIR registered in Patna by Rajput`s father KK Singh against Rhea Chakraborty under sections including abetment to suicide. In its reply to the apex Court, the Bihar Police also alleged that the 4-member SIT of Bihar Police officers, which reached Mumbai on July 27, was not allowed to discharge its duty for the conduct of the investigation.

"The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Bihar had requested the Mumbai authorities for removal of Vinay Tiwari, IPS, from quarantine, however, the same had been unfortunately disregarded by them," read the reply by Bihar Police.

In its reply, the Bihar Government claimed that Bihar Police has the jurisdiction to probe the Sushant Singh Rajput case, according to news agency ANI. The Bihar Police stated that it is mandatory for the police officer to register the FIR and proceed with the investigation.

"It is only after completion of the investigation, the police officer shall forward the report to the concerned Court of competent jurisdiction," read the reply.

"The Station House Officer (SHO) is obliged to register the FIR and carry out the investigation expeditiously. At the stage of the investigation, it cannot be said that the SHO does not have territorial jurisdiction to investigate the case," the Bihar Government stated in the affidavit, according to ANI.

"Any contention that the Investigating Officer (IO) did not have jurisdiction to do so on the face of it deserves to be rejected. Section 156(2) contains an embargo that no proceeding of a police officer shall be challenged on the ground that he has no territorial power to investigate," the Bihar police claimed.

Earlier, the Maharashtra Police told the top court in its affidavit that the Bihar Police did not have jurisdiction to investigate into the FIR or examine witnesses related to Rajput`s case.

Actor Rhea Chakraborty also filed her written submissions before the apex court in the case.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against Rhea Chakraborty, Indrajit Chakraborty, Sandhya Chakraborty, Showik Chakraborty, Samuel Miranda, Shruti Modi, and others in connection with the actor`s death.

Rajput was found dead at his Mumbai residence on June 14.
Good morning, Bay Area. Its Thursday, Aug. 13, and neighbors are fuming over the cleanup of an auto garage in Cow Hollow. Heres what you need to know to start your day.

Bay Area residents this week join the global race for a coronavirus vaccine, with developers of two of the most promising candidates seeking hundreds of volunteers in San Francisco, Oakland and Santa Clara County.

Kaiser Permanente enrolled its first Northern California participants in a global clinical trial for a vaccine made by Pfizer and the German company BioNTech on Monday. In San Francisco, researchers with UCSF and the Department of Public Health expect to start giving volunteers a vaccine made by AstraZeneca and Oxford University next week. Sutter Healths East Bay AIDS Center also expects to join the AstraZeneca trial.

To be able to be part of the solution is tremendously exciting, said Dr. Susan Buchbinder, co-lead investigator of the Bay Areas AstraZeneca vaccine trials.

Read more from health reporter Erin Allday, and hear her talk on the Fifth & Mission podcast about how the studies work, how close we are to a real vaccine, and how big challenges lie ahead.

More:

 Why do some people get sick from COVID-19 and others dont? Stanford study may unravel the mystery.

 UCSF scientists say nose spray to kill coronavirus could be available in months.

 California turning the corner on the pandemic, Newsom says.

 Canceled tests, virtual tours: Pandemic changes make college admissions even more stressful.

S.F. garage cleanup proceeds despite appeal

Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle

A group of San Francisco residents is accusing city officials of obstructing public oversight and violating the states environmental protection law in the cleanup of a polluted auto repair garage on property slated for new condos.

In the tony Cow Hollow neighborhood, the San Francisco Planning Department granted an exemption from state review for cleanup work beneath the sidewalk outside a garage where, years ago, gasoline storage tanks leaked high levels of cancer-causing benzene into the soil and groundwater. Despite a pending appeal by neighbors, the city allowed work to begin this week.

Read more from Cynthia Dizikes about the citys approach, which is part of a pattern identified by The Chronicle in June.

Mixed messages from GOP on Kamala Harris

During the race for the presidential nomination, Kamala Harris struggled to pick a lane in the crowded Democratic field  but could that become a strength for her as Joe Bidens running mate? As senior political writer Joe Garofoli explains, Republicans are finding it hard to define her and her positions, and to pick a coherent line of attack.

Read Garofolis roundup of some of the early GOP attacks on Harris and his fact-checks on their accuracy.

 10 things to know about Kamala Harris and her Bay Area background.

 From Esther Mobley: Kamala Harris, the only candidate on either ticket who drinks booze, has great taste in wine.

Around the Bay

 Battle over AB5: Uber, Lyft would pause ride-hailing in California if drivers become employees.

 Tackling deficit: San Francisco police, fire unions strike tentative deal to postpone raises to help city budget.

 Robust protections sought: S.F. City Attorney Herrera proposes tighter controls on city contracting after Nuru corruption scandal.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

 A long time coming: After decades of trying, S.F. supervisors finally approve 1,100 homes at Balboa Reservoir.

 Historic losses: S.F. projected to lose $10.7 billion in tourism spending in 2020 and 2021.

 Banner design unveiled: S.F. police unveil new Black lives matter posters to be placed in stations.

 Struggle over watchdog: Sonoma County supervisors put law enforcement oversight bill to voters; sheriffs union pushes back.

 From Justin Phillips: How should the Bay Area honor Colin Kaepernick? Make him a part owner of the Warriors

He was before his time

Courtesy of Bob March / SFC

Many Bay Area Baby Boomers can remember where they were on weekday afternoons after school. They were sitting as close as they could to a black-and-white TV console waiting for Captain Satellite to lift off at 3:30 p.m.

As the pioneering host of the childrens show that aired on KTVU-Ch. 2, Captain Satellite appeared in his space suit with a bubble helmet, sitting inside his spaceship. A deeply trusted guide into astral travel, the captain rode the space race through the late 1950s and 1960s. Now he has taken his last flight.

Bob March, who created and portrayed the captain, died Aug. 6, according to his son Robin March, whom viewers will know as Rupert the Robot. He was 93.

Read more from Sam Whiting.

Bay Briefing is written by Taylor Kate Brown and sent to readers email inboxes on weekday mornings. Sign up for the newsletter here, and contact Brown at taylor.brown@sfchronicle.com.
Advertisement

Thousands of people have lined up at a Texas food bank, with cars stretching for a mile as the state struggles with being the third worst affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

Fair Park in Dallas County held its fourth food drive since the pandemic was declared in March but the event on Tuesday was the first mega distribution that offered an option for several hundred walk-up clients without transportation.

People traveled from the other side of the state to reach the North Texas Food Bank which fed 1,710 families.

'I actually live in West Dallas. But I came this far just to get the help,' Rene Hightower told CBS Dallas.

Images show vehicles weaving through parking lots as over 90 volunteers got to work distributing 10,000 boxes to feed 8,000 people.

Scroll down for video

Cars lineup to get food during the North Teas Food Bank's fourth free food distribution at Fair Park in Dallas on Tuesday

Fair Park in Dallas held its fourth food drive since the pandemic was declared in March and the event on Tuesday and North Texas Food Bank fed 1,710 families

The desperate long lines have emerged after almost 30 million Americans said in a census of 249 million respondents last month said that at some point before July 21 they didn't have enough to eat

Images show vehicles weaving through parking lots as over 90 volunteers got to work distributing 10,000 boxes

Rice and pasta filled boxes as well as canned goods donated by Texans as families struggle to put food on the table

The desperate long lines have emerged after almost 30 million Americans (about 12%) said in a census of 249 million respondents last month said that at some point before July 21 they didn't have enough to eat and about 5.4 million said they 'often' didn't have enough.

And they come against a backdrop of record unemployment figures.

The number of continuing unemployment claims nationwide, including people receiving non-traditional benefits such as gig workers, was revealed on Thursday as being 28 million, down slightly from 31 million the week before.

New weekly claims for unemployment benefits fell below one million for the first time in five months.

Dallas County has recorded 55,787 cases of coronavirus and 794 deaths. In Texas there are 524,814 cases and 9,552 deaths. The positivity rate in Texas is 24.5 percent - the highest since the start of the pandemic.

Testing in Texas has dropped to its lowest level since June, with fewer than 35,000 new tests taken on Wednesday. Texas reported 6,200 new cases on Wednesday, down significantly from its peak in mid-July when there were several days with more than 10,000 new cases.

Toby Overstreet of Dallas grabs a box of food as he makes his way through the walk-up line of the North Teas Food Bank

A volunteer is seen loading milk into the trunk of someone's car as the third worst affected state by coronavirus struggles

It was their first mega distribution that offered an option for several hundred walk-up clients without transportation. About 70 walk-ups were served

Despite unemployment improving, the organizers said they ultimately haven't seen a decrease in the need for nutritious food because of the cut to benefits

New claims for jobless benefits dropped below one million for the first time since March

Food recipients joined the line before dawn, hours before the drive opened.

The offerings included dairy, canned goods, noodles, spaghetti sauce, peanut butter, rice, trail mix and some recipe ideas.

One man came after his daughter heard about the event on the news and passed on the information.

'If it wasn't for this, we'd probably go hungry,' Richard Archer said. 'With unemployment benefits cut, her husband's been laid off for three months. So, it's just been a struggle. If it wasn't for church, and food giveaways, the kids would be going hungry.'

One woman at the food drive this week said she showed up because every dollar she can save on feeding her family, helps to avoid another crisis.

She has now taken in her daughter's family due to money being tight.

'There's times I open the refrigerator and there's little there,' Diana King told CBS. 'We make do with what we have and we make it stretch.'

'It helps pay a bill, so the water doesn't get turned off. The gas doesn't get turned off. Mortgage? We are right there on the borderline.'

The long lines come after unemployment benefits were cut from $600 to $400 this month, however in some states the figure could be reduced to $300 if the local government doesn't fork out the $100 increment it's recommended to provide.

Texas is below the national rate of 11.1 percent for unemployment. In June, Texas saw a decrease in the state unemployment rate to 8.6 percent after adding 243,900 private sector positions the month prior. It was second consecutive monthly decrease and the lowest rate since March.

Testing in Texas has dropped to its lowest level since June, with fewer than 35,000 new tests taken on Wednesday. Texas reported 6,200 new cases on Wednesday, down significantly from its peak in mid-July when there were several days with more than 10,000 new cases

Dallas County, where the food bank was located, has recorded 55,787 cases of coronavirus and 794 deaths

Some people said they were trying to save on grocery costs to avoid a crisis elsewhere amid the coronavirus pandemic

One person said she had driven from across the city to get some help with feeding her family due to benefits cut

We can all curse the darkness, but its much better to shine a light! Forever in awe of the work done by the North Texas Food Bank. Thank you for looking solutions in the midst of overwhelming problems. Thank you for showing love to strangers. Thank you for nourishing bodies and families.  thank you for being an example to us all. North Texas Food Bank Posted by Hannah Davis on Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Recipients are required to fill out a short form with the income and the Director of Governmental Relations with the North Texas Food Bank said many had no income

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow on Thursday said he expects the nationwide unemployment rate to return to single-digit levels as early as this month and growth in the third quarter should be 20 percent or more as the economy recovers from the recession triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.

'The key point that I would make is the economy is rebounding, it looks like a V-shaped recovery and the recent news now is even better than it was a month ago,' Kudlow said in a virtual appearance at a conference hosted by the Council of the Americas.

Despite unemployment rates improving, the food bank organizers said they ultimately haven't seen a decrease in the need for nutritious food because of the benefits that expired in July.

'When stimulus checks hit, we saw a decrease,' Valerie Hawthorne, Director of Governmental Relations with the North Texas Food Bank, said. 'But with unemployment insurance benefits running out, we've seen the need increase.

'Anytime you have an economic crises, you're going to have a food crisis.

'It's very easy to compromise on food and nutrition: got to make that rent payment, got to make that car payment. So that's why we are out here today. so we can help folks.'

Recipients are required to fill out a short form with the income.

'We've seen a lot of zeros,' she told CNN. 'Food is one of those items that is easy to cut from a budget. You've got to make your mortgage payments. You've got to make that car payment, so food becomes a choice for a lot of families.'

Overall, the effort was deemed a success as families avoid the hours-long wait that has been seen at food drives across the country.

Food insecurity is only set to worsen due to the pandemic. Prior to March it was estimated that 37 million faced food insecurity but Feeding America predicts the figure will hit 54.3 million by July 2021.

Katie Fitzgerald, COO of Feeding America, said food bank demand has increased by 50 percent since the pandemic. She told CNN food insecurity affects people of color, women, children, seniors and those with disabilities the worst.

Now organizers are urging people to donate money to help them continue their work.

'We want the North Texas Food Bank to be a success,' Brian Luallen, Executive Director of Fair Park First, said. 'We provide logistics and structure. They are doing the heavy lifting, distributing over 100 pounds of food to each family, and it's critical they get the donations needed to keep doing good work in the community.'

There are now more than 5.2million coronavirus cases nationwide and more than 166,000 deaths.
The release of the A-level results in Northern Ireland is always a big event, and that's usually because local schools have once again outperformed others in England and Wales.

This year, results day is hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons, as 37% of grades here have been downgraded by the examination board from the estimates provided months ago by teachers.

Instead of good news about record pass rates, there's the bad news about students falling far short of what was expected, leading many to wonder if they'll get the university places to which they've been looking forward.

This is the moment that students and teachers have been dreading ever since Education Minister Peter Weir announced in March that A and AS Levels could not proceed normally this year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Many predicted at the time that it would be a shambles, and they no doubt feel vindicated today.

It's worth asking, though, what they would have had instead, had they been in charge.

Read More

The authorities at the time had little choice. It would have been impossible, once schools shut and the whole country went into lockdown, for exams to go ahead according to the usual timetable, and at least ministers in the UK made an early decision to cancel A-levels to ease the pressure on students already struggling with the sudden lockdown.

It was weeks before the government in Dublin similarly accepted that a return to normality was not possible.

The uncertainty for families was unbearable.

Where those in decision-making positions do deserve criticism is not using the extra time available to iron out any glitches in the system. The standard excuse is to blame the computers which worked out all the grades according to some mindbogglingly complicated algorithm, as if that absolves examiners of responsibility for making sure that they were using the right algorithm in the circumstances and that it would produce the desired results.

This isn't an ordinary year, so some flexibility needed to be built in.

Instead they used a very blunt tool, and it's one which has punished exceptional students who just so happen to attend schools where results are traditionally lower than average.

Read More

These are the very students who need the most support and encouragement, because they don't have all the advantages of teenagers lucky enough to attend the best grammar schools. They've been badly let down.

Disappointed students do have the options of appealing their grades, or else sitting a real exam when possible; but that option won't be available to everyone, and many may not want to put their lives on hold in order to fix a problem that was not of their own making.

Why did examiners think that adding injustice on to the social disadvantage that already existed was the best solution?

To be fair to them, it should be acknowledged that only a minority of estimated grades in any given year ever match the result that the student actually achieves.

Last year, the figure was just 45.8%.

Teachers are not infallible, and nor can they read the future, but there's no point denying that they do tend to overstate how well their students will do. Just taking teachers at their word wouldn't have worked either.

Likewise, whilst there are many students who are devastated this week because their grades weren't as good as they expected, it's also only fair to point out that this always happens anyway.

Read More

Good students don't automatically perform on the day as they struggle to cope with the pressure. Every system produces winners and losers. What matters is that the number of those who are disappointed should be kept to a minimum.

The best advice for those who have been affected is not to fixate too much on the grade itself. The important thing is whether it's enough to get you where you want to go. Universities seem minded to be flexible when it comes to responding to students' individual situations, so the lower grades may be sufficient to get many onto the courses that they picked. Few people will care in five, 10 or 20 years time if they got a C when they'd hoped for an A as long as it sets them in the coming days onto their chosen path.

The problem is that this means having faith in the ability of those higher up who have power over all our lives to put right what they got wrong, and that's not easy right now.

The UK economy has not only officially gone into recession, it's suffering the worst economic downturn in the whole of Europe, with a full-blown Brexit to come in the New Year once the transition period ends.

To make matters worse, the UK also has one of the worst rates of Covid-19 deaths in the world.

It all just adds to the sense of things falling apart.

There are no easy answers, but this latest mess over A-levels does feel grimly appropriate for 2020.

Nothing else has gone right this year, so why should this?
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Linkedin Francesco Guarascio and Yves Herman (Reuters) Brussels, Belgium  Thu, August 13, 2020 19:30 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066ddb0e5 2 World saliva-test,pandemic,SARS-CoV-2,virus-corona,novel-coronavirus,Belgium,students,coronavirus,coronavirus-testing,COVID-19,COVID-19-test Free

Thousands of students at a Belgian university will collect weekly from September a sample of their saliva for a rapid COVID-19 test replacing more commonly used swabs - one of Europe's largest experiments with the new testing method.

The pilot scheme could be applied in other universities, schools or companies if it proves successful in faster identifying clusters of infections among students, Belgian researchers and government officials told Reuters.

Belgium, among the European countries hardest hit by the pandemic, plans to boost its testing capacity from the autumn.

Around 30,000 students and academic staff at the Belgian University of Liege will use the self-tests at home and take the tube with the saliva sample to the university labs every week through December.

"They will have the results in the evening," Fabrice Bureau, deputy director for research at the university, told Reuters.

Saliva at-home tests could vastly increase testing capacity, as they are simpler and faster than common nasopharyngeal swabs, which some people find unpleasant.

But they are less accurate as the virus is more likely to be found in the nose and in the back of the throat than in the saliva, especially in individuals with a low viral load, a study by the Belgian medicine agency said last week.

Nasal swabs detect the virus in 80% of positive cases, while saliva tests have a 60% rate of success, Bureau said.

This could lead to a higher number of infected people being wrongly reported as not having contracted the virus. However, the weekly repetition of saliva tests would partly offset this shortfall, Bureau said.

The saliva test, developed by the university itself, is expected to be used in Belgium under a special authorization granted by national authorities before it obtains a European Union mark of safety, according to the minister in charge of testing, Philippe De Backer.

Saliva tubes significantly reduce the time and the staff needed to perform tests as the inactivation of the virus potentially collected in the samples - the most time-consuming part of the testing process - is done in the tube itself with the automatic release of chemicals once its cap is sealed.

Usually this part of the testing process is performed in high-security labs by medical experts.

Asked whether at-home tests could expose healthy people to the virus if the tube was not properly closed, Bureau said there was a risk. De Backer played down the dangers, saying infected people could contaminate others even without the tube.

Untested tests

The use of saliva tests has been relatively limited so far.

Britain is currently trialing a saliva test against swabs on about 14,000 people in a bid to find a simpler and quicker way of detecting outbreaks.

In May, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the first at-home saliva diagnostic test.

De Backer said the Belgian government would monitor the pilot project closely and might include it in its national strategy to boost testing if it proved successful.

From October Belgium, a country of 11 million, plans to test up to 90,000 people a day, of which nearly half via traditional labs with automated testing machines made by large companies such as Switzerland's Roche.

Such tests only work with disposable plastics and reagents produced by the suppliers of the machines - a feature that caused shortages at the height of the crisis as demand rocketed.

The remainder would be done with so-called open testing platforms based on machines that can process different chemical kits and reagents, such as those made by U.S firm Thermo Fisher .

Some of the chemicals and plastics needed for the open platform will be provided by the University of Liege, which is already able to produce reagents for millions of tests a week, Bureau said.
WILMINGTON: Kamala Harris made her campaign-trail debut as Joe Biden`s Democratic running mate on Wednesday, delivering a strong rebuke of President Donald Trump`s leadership and highlighting the historic significance of her new role.

Harris said Biden, the former vice president under President Barack Obama, had recognized the critical moment being faced by the country by picking her to be the first Black woman and Asian American on a major-party U.S. presidential ticket.

"Today, he takes his place in the ongoing story of America`s march toward equality and justice as the only person who served alongside the first Black president, and has chosen the first Black woman as his running mate, said Harris, a U.S. senator from California.

Nearly nine out of 10 Democrats approved of Harris as Biden`s pick, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday.

Forced by the coronavirus pandemic to stage a more subdued launch than would be expected from a typical presidential campaign, the new running mates managed to display a personal connection that dates back to Harris` friendship with Biden`s son Beau, who died of cancer in 2015.

Harris said she had long admired Biden`s commitment to his family and country, and she described him as ready to meet the challenges created by Trump`s failures in handling the pandemic and its economic consequences, as well as racial unrest.

"This is a moment of real consequence for America," she said. "Everything we care about  our economy, our health, our kids, the kind of country we live in  its all on the line."

"America is crying out for leadership, yet we have a president who cares more about himself than the people who elected him, a president who is making every challenge we face even more difficult to solve," Harris said.

The speech, delivered in a Delaware high school gymnasium near Biden`s home, featured no cheering crowds. The two candidates wore masks as they arrived and kept their social distance on a stage flanked by state flags.

The joint appearance came just days before Biden will formally accept the Democratic presidential nomination at next week`s party convention, which will take place largely as a virtual event due to COVID-19.

The Republican convention, where Trump is set to be nominated to seek a second four-year term, follows a week later and kicks off a 10-week sprint to Election Day on Nov. 3.

STUFF OF PRESIDENTS

In choosing Harris, Biden selected a former rival for the nomination whose most memorable campaign moment came during a televised debate when she criticized his past position on using busing to integrate schools and talked about its effect on her as a little girl.

Biden on Wednesday said her addition to the ticket sent a powerful message to girls across America.

"This morning, all across the nation, little girls woke up - especially little black and brown girls, who so often feel overlooked and undervalued in their communities - today, just maybe, they`re seeing themselves in the first time in a new way. As the stuff of presidents, and vice presidents," Biden said.

In recent months, as unrest has convulsed many U.S. cities following the May police killing of George Floyd, a Black man, in Minneapolis, Harris has been a prominent voice calling for change. She has marched alongside protesters and pushed legislation to reform policing practices.

Some activists have said her work in the Senate had helped temper concerns about her past as a prosecutor in California and could build enthusiasm among some of the party`s liberal voters for the more centrist Biden.

Harris is the daughter of immigrants, her mother from India and her father from Jamaica. On Wednesday, Harris recalled her parents` involvement in the U.S. civil rights movement, and her friendship with Beau Biden, who was attorney general of Delaware when Harris was attorney general in California. She stressed that, like Biden, "my family means everything to me."

Harris, 55, was announced as Biden`s choice on Tuesday after a selection process that drew extra scrutiny thanks to Biden`s age. The 77-year-old would be the oldest president ever if he wins, raising speculation that he would not seek re-election in 2024.

At a joint fundraiser with Harris later on Wednesday, Biden said his campaign had raised $26 million and had 150,000 new contributors in the 24 hours since he revealed his pick.

Trump told reporters at a White House news conference that he had watched some of the Biden-Harris rollout event and was surprised his Democratic opponent had chosen someone who failed in her own presidential bid.

Harris thanked Joe Biden and his wife Jill for welcoming her into their extended family, specifically mentioning the former second lady, who described Harris` attacks on Biden during the primary debate as a "punch to the gut."

She said Joe Biden had proven his empathy and connection with those who are suffering.

"He`s someone whose first response when things get tough is never to think about himself, but to take care of everybody else," Harris said.
ADRIAN, Mich., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In order to enhance its support for the medical industry, Wacker Chemical Corporation (WACKER) has extended its partnership with H.M. Royal to include SILPURAN, WACKER's exclusive line of liquid silicone rubber (LSR) and high consistency rubber (HCR) specifically dedicated to medical applications. H.M. Royal has been a distributor of other WACKER product lines since 2016. The partnership extension goes into effect on Sept. 1.

"This expanded strategic partnership benefits both organizations and, ultimately, our customers," stated Dr. Ian Moore, Vice President, WACKER SILICONES NCA region. "Many of our customers' processes include silicone rubber for multi-industry applications. With the SILPURAN product line consisting of a large portfolio of HCRs and LSRs, the extended partnership with H.M. Royal creates a one-stop shop for customers' LSR and HCR silicone needs."

H.M. Royal and WACKER's partnership began in 2016, when H.M. Royal started serving as distributor of WACKER's ELASTOSIL line which consists of LSRs and HCRs used in many standard and generally less sensitive medical applications such as medical wearables, tubing, patches, and similar products. In 2019, H.M. Royal began also offering WACKER's room temperature curing (RTV) product lines.

The products in the SILPURAN portfolio are designed specifically for applications such as wound dressings, medical adhesives, gels, intravenous (IV) administration sets, needle-free valves and seals, drainage and feeding tubes, urinary catheters, syringe seals, respiratory masks and similar medical applications.

SILPURAN products have met ISO 10993 standards and passed United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) Class VI tests, and they are filled and packaged in Class 8 clean rooms. The outstanding levels of purity needed for fulfilling current and future medical requirements are ensured by the WACKER CLEAN OPERATIONS program.

With the increased U.S. demand for common medical products, production of WACKER's medical-grade silicones have been prioritized and the company continues to meet customer needs for short lead times.

"Combining resources with H.M. Royal supports the health care industry's needs for speed and quality in the delivery of solutions," stated Jake Carlson, Business Development Manager at WACKER Distribution Management.

For more information, visit www.wacker.com/healthcare. For product ordering information, contact the Infoline at [email protected] or 888-922-5374.

Wacker Chemical Corporation

Wacker Chemical Corporation (WACKER) is the U.S.-based subsidiary of German-based Wacker Chemie AG. The company is dedicated to developing tailored solutions and innovative product applications for customers in a wide range of industries globally. WACKER's 240-acre site in Adrian, Michigan, has been producing elastomers, silicone fluids and silicone emulsions since 1969. It is WACKER SILICONES' main production, sales, R&D and distribution hub in the region, and the headquarters of WACKER BIOSOLUTIONS' business division. Among its comprehensive customer service and support activities, WACKER provides hands-on customer training for the use of our applications via the WACKER ACADEMY. For more information, visit www.wacker.com.

H.M. Royal, Inc.

For over 90 years, H.M. Royal, Inc. has distributed innovative raw materials and product ingredients for businesses operating in diverse markets such as transportation, communications, electronics, medical, construction, agricultural, mining, defense, civil infrastructure, capital goods and general industry. Areas of focus include rubber, plastics adhesives, sealant, and protective coatings. Headquartered in Trenton, NJ and Buena Park, CA, H.M. Royal deploys a professional technical sales development team throughout the U.S. Sales and sales development are supported by world-class customer service and a network of full-service warehouses. For more information, visit www.hmroyal.com or call 800-257-9452.

For further information, please contact:

[email protected]

SOURCE Wacker Chemical Corp.

Related Links

https://www.wacker.com/


By PTI

NEW DELHI: Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi on Thursday accused the government of dismantling India's environment rules and demanded that the draft EIA 2020 be withdrawn immediately.

The draft environment impact assessment (EIA) notification, 2020, which involves the procedure of issuing environmental clearances to various projects, was issued by the Environment Ministry in March this year and has received thousands of suggestions from the public.

Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar has said the EIA 2020 is only a draft and not a final notification and the ministry has received thousands of suggestions from the public which will be considered before a final draft.

In an article, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has said that the government has a social obligation to protect the environment and must withdraw the EIA.

"Simply put, the government must stop dismantling India's environmental regulations. An essential first step is to withdraw the Draft EIA 2020 Notification. What is essential is widespread public consultation to shape a national agenda that will place India at the forefront of the battle against global warming and pandemics," she said in the article.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also shared the article on Twitter saying, "Nature protects, if she is protected."

"Government of India must stop dismantling India's environmental regulations. Essential first step is to withdraw the Draft EIA 2020 notification," he said.

Noting that the origins and spread of the global novel coronavirus pandemic and its catastrophic impact are a warning to the entire world, Sonia Gandhi said the protection of the environment must go hand in hand with promoting public health and access to dignified livelihoods for all.

She said India, with its rich biodiversity and widespread inequality, must especially pay heed now.

"Our nation has all too often sacrificed the environment and the rights of our people while chasing the chimera of unbridled economic growth," she said.

"Of course, progress requires trade-offs, but there must always be boundaries that cannot be transgressed," she said, alleging that the government has eroded our environmental protection framework in the last six years.

"The pandemic should have made the government reflect and reconsider its environmental and public health governance. Instead, the Ministry is handing out clearances during the lockdown without proper public consultations. The announcement of coal auctions by the Prime Minister in previously declared 'no go' areas, signals that the government is in no mood to course-correct," she said.

"The disastrous Draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), 2020 Notification, which among other provisions, gives a clean chit to polluters violating environmental regulations through ex-post facto approvals, will unleash unprecedented devastation on our environment," she maintained.

"We have an incredible opportunity to reset our economy and demonstrate leadership to the world with a growth strategy that transforms India into a green manufacturing hub," she said, adding that the erstwhile Planning Commission's expert group report on low carbon growth strategy and the many suggestions in the 2019 Congress Manifesto can be a starting point.

The Congress chief also alleged that the government has sought to project an image of 'Ease of Doing Business' to the world, mindless of the consequences.

"It formed multiple committees, diluted laws and regulations across the board, and opened up vast tracts of forest land to a select few in the private sector," she alleged.

She also suggested that in times of mass reverse migration, environment protection through public works programmes including afforestation and watershed development, can be turned into a grass-roots movement involving youth, women, communities, gram sabhas and non-governmental organisations.

Rahul Gandhi on Sunday urged people to protest the EIA 2020 draft, saying it was "dangerous" and if notified, the long term consequences will be "catastrophic".

Javadekar has brushed aside Congress leaders' criticism and termed it as "premature".

He also accused protesting Congress leaders of taking big decisions without consultations during their regime.
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A trip to Dubai with her employers family has turned into a nightmare for a Filipina caregiver, who has been stuck in the United Arab Emirates since March.

With her Canadian temporary residence visa and work permit both expired, Genalin Bautista is now alone in Dubai and has a deadline to leave the city by Sept. 20, when her visitor visa expires there.

I dont know anyone here. Im scared to go out. This is a disaster, a nightmare, says the 35-year-old, who came to work as a live-in caregiver for a Brampton, Ont. family in 2018 after working as a nanny in Hong Kong for a decade.

My worst fear is I will never be able to return to Canada again.

Over the past few months, Bautistas employer has reached out to the Immigration Department, Canada Border Services Agency, MPs and Immigration Minister Marco Mendicinos office to bring the familys caregiver home, to no avail.

Genalin is a victim of COVID-19, says Nardine Hanna, an engineer, who hired Bautista to help care for her three daughters because both she and husband travel extensively for work.

At this point, we dont even care if Genalin can work for us or not. We just want her to be safe and secure and come home.

Bautista accompanied the family to Dubai, where Hanna was travelling on business, in early March before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on March 11.

When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called on all Canadians abroad to return home the following week, the family rescheduled for the earliest flight available on March 23, but the border was already closed to all international travels except for Canadian citizens and permanent residents.

The family decided to remain in Dubai with Bautista, who, like other foreign workers, was initially banned from entering Canada.

A few days later, on March 27, Canada changed its rules and reopened the border to foreign nationals with a valid work permit. However, the family was unable to get on a repatriation flight until May 11 and, by then, Bautistas temporary residence visa had expired and she was denied boarding.

Hanna and her family had no choice but to return home without Baustista.

Bautista immediately reapplied for a new visa, but then her work permit also expired. She cant renew or extend her work permit while shes out of Canada. Without a valid work permit, she has lost her status as a caregiver and proof that her return to Canada is essential.

So, the Immigration Department decided to suspend her visa application until the COVID-19 travel ban is lifted.

Bautista is temporarily living with a friend of her employers in Dubai.

This situation Ms. Bautista finds herself in is just astounding and deadly serious. She has done nothing wrong and has followed all the rules, said NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan, who has reached out to the immigration ministers office for help on Bautistas behalf.

She has been stranded in Dubai because of the cumulative impact of the global pandemic. The inability for IRCC to exercise discretion to accommodate the extenuating circumstances needs to be fixed immediately.

Bautista had already applied for permanent residence in October, as soon as she met all the criteria for the caregiver immigration pathway program.

Kwan said the minister can use his discretion to issue the woman a new visa and work permit or expedite her permanent residence application. So far, Kwan said, she has not heard from Mendicinos office, which did not respond to the Stars request for comment.

Hanna said Bautista has become part of the family and is the second mom to her daughters, ages three, six and 12.

This is tough for everyone. The girls miss Genalin a lot, said Hanna, who continued to pay Baustista $2,000 a month in wages until this month.

Between working from home, looking after my kids full time and trying to bring Genalin home, I have lost a lot of energy.

The borders of the Philippines are open to its citizens returning from abroad but Bautista said its not an option.

I have five family members to support back home. There were very few jobs in the Philippines even before COVID-19, said a stressed Bautista. Ive worked very hard and invested so much in building a life in Canada. I dont know where to go if I cant go back there.

Read more about:
Technavio has been monitoring the robotic lawn mower market and it is poised to grow by USD 436.16 million during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of over 19% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200813005377/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Robotic Lawn Mower Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire)

Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Please Request Free Sample Report on COVID-19 Impact

Frequently Asked Questions-

At what CAGR is the market projected to grow during the forecast period 2020-2024?

Growing at a CAGR of over 19%, the market growth will accelerate in the forecast period,

What is the key factor driving the market?

Demand from the commercial segment is one of the key factors driving the market growth.

Who are the top players in the market?

AL-KO KOBER SE, ANDREAS STIHL AG CO. KG, Deere Co., Honda Motor Co. Ltd., Husqvarna Group, MTD Products Inc., Robert Bosch GmbH, STIGA Spa, The Toro Co., and Zucchetti Centro Sistemi Spa. are some of the major market participants.

Which region is expected to hold the highest market share?

Europe

What is the year-over-year growth rate of the global market?

The year-over-year growth rate for 2020 is estimated at 18.42%.

The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. AL-KO KOBER SE, ANDREAS STIHL AG CO. KG, Deere Co., Honda Motor Co. Ltd., Husqvarna Group, MTD Products, Inc., Robert Bosch GmbH, STIGA Spa, The Toro Co., and Zucchetti Centro Sistemi Spa are some of the major market participants. The demand from commercial segment will offer immense growth opportunities. To make most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments.

Robotic Lawn Mower Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

Robotic Lawn Mower Market is segmented as below:

End-user Residential Commercial

Size of the Lawns Small-sized Lawns Medium-sized Lawns Large-sized Lawns

Geography APAC Europe MEA North America South America



To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR40754

Robotic Lawn Mower Market 2020-2024: Scope

Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our robotic lawn mower market report covers the following areas:

Robotic Lawn Mower Market size

Robotic Lawn Mower Market trends

Robotic Lawn Mower Market analysis

This study identifies the development of smart cities as one of the prime reasons driving the robotic lawn mower market growth during the next few years.

Robotic Lawn Mower Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the robotic lawn mower market, including some of the vendors such as AL-KO KOBER SE, ANDREAS STIHL AG CO. KG, Deere Co., Honda Motor Co. Ltd., Husqvarna Group, MTD Products, Inc., Robert Bosch GmbH, STIGA Spa, The Toro Co., and Zucchetti Centro Sistemi Spa. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the robotic lawn mower market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

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Robotic Lawn Mower Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist robotic lawn mower market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the robotic lawn mower market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the robotic lawn mower market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of robotic lawn mower market vendors

Table of Contents:

PART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

PART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORT

2.1 Preface

2.2 Currency conversion rates for US$

PART 03: MARKET LANDSCAPE

Market ecosystem

Market characteristics

Market segmentation analysis

Value chain analysis

PART 04: MARKET SIZING

Market definition

Market sizing 2019

Market outlook

Market size and forecast 2019-2024

PART 05: FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

PART 06: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY END-USER

Market segmentation by end-user

Comparison by end-user

Residential Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Commercial Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by end-user

PART 07: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPE

PART 08: GEOGRAPHIC LANDSCAPE

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

Europe Market size and forecast 2019-2024

North America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

APAC Market size and forecast 2019-2024

South America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

MEA Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Key leading countries

Market opportunity

PART 09: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY SIZE OF THE LAWNS

Small-sized lawns Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Medium-sized lawns Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Large-sized lawns Market size and forecast 2019-2024

PART 10: DECISION FRAMEWORK

PART 11: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES

Market drivers

Market challenges

PART 12: MARKET TRENDS

Development of smart cities

Rising number of market consolidation activities

Integration of IoT with mobile robots

PART 13: VENDOR LANDSCAPE

Overview

Landscape disruption

Competitive scenario

PART 14: VENDOR ANALYSIS

Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors

AL-KO KOBER SE

ANDREAS STIHL AG CO. KG

Deere Co.

Honda Motor Co. Ltd.

Husqvarna Group

MTD Products, Inc.

Robert Bosch GmbH

STIGA Spa

The Toro Co.

Zucchetti Centro Sistemi Spa

PART 15: APPENDIX

Research methodology

List of abbreviations

Definition of market positioning of vendors

PART 16: EXPLORE TECHNAVIO

About Us

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In February, as news about the novel coronavirus spread, an employee at Feliz Modern asked Ginger Diaz if she thought the business would have to close.

The idea seemed ludicrous.

I was like, Of course were not going to shut down  were retail, recalled Diaz, who started Feliz Modern with her husband in 2017. Retail doesnt shut down. We dont even shut down at Christmas.

The rest, of course, is history. As the pandemic took hold in San Antonio and residents were ordered to stay home, Feliz Modern closed its stores on West Olmos Drive and at the Pearl and laid off its 13 employees.

The website closed, the in-store closed, everything closed, Diaz said.

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She has since reopened the stores, albeit with limited hours. The business started bringing workers back after receiving a loan through the federal Paycheck Protection Program and seeing online sales increase.

Diaz recently discussed how the pandemic has affected the gifts, party and home decor business. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Feliz Modern is very active on social media. In the early days of the shutdown, were customers reaching out, trying to figure out what was happening?

Our main community is on Instagram. Its where we put the most time and effort and where we have the most engagement.

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The number of people who messaged us just to say, Hang in there, Dont quit and We appreciate having a bright spot during this time  that blew me away. I dont think Ive ever messaged a business like that, and I really like small businesses and shopping local.

At the time, it just felt so impossible to stay in business.

Over time you went back to taking online orders, adding delivery within a short distance of the shops, restarting curbside and reopening both stores. What was that like?

There was definitely a learning curve.

(Before the pandemic) you could order items online and pick them up for free in the store, so we already had some systems around that. But when you cant talk to someone face-to-face, you have to get your systems down about how youre communicating via email, and people dont always read everything you send them in an email.

Having signs up in the parking lot, getting a cellphone for the office so customers could text us and making it easy for them to text us  we were trying to figure out how to make it as simple and safe as possible. We put a cart outside our door and instead of bringing items to customers windows, we felt like it was safer to set items in the cart and go back inside and let them come pick it up.

READ ALSO: Downtown Grand Hyatt to reopen after shutdown of more than 5 months

We were selling online and shipping (pre-pandemic), but it was about 10 percent of our business. Now its about 50-50 (between store and online sales).

For the last year weve been investing a lot of money and time into the website. Our goal was that eventually the in-store business would be about 10 percent, like it would flip, because with the website we can sell to anybody anywhere.

We joke that we shouldve been more specific about how much we wanted the website to do well because we didnt want it on these terms. But we got our wish. It became our No. 1 revenue generator.

Describe the process of applying for a Paycheck Protection Program loan.

It was pretty complicated. Im part of the Entrepreneurs Organization. Youre broken into small groups called forums, and you meet monthly to discuss business issues. We all leaned heavily on each other with the PPP process because none of us had ever done it.

At the time, the information was coming out fast and furious and changing constantly. It was difficult to understand whether we were signing up for something that was going to be a further liability or a help. We didnt want to sign up for anything that would make it even harder for us to get out of the hole. We were figuring out if it was a loan or a grant, in essence, and how to determine the amount we were able to borrow.

Looking back, if wed had all of the final rules, its actually not a complicated process. The complicated part was trying to understand the information as it trickled out from the Small Business Administration.

We couldve probably brought back one or two people with just online sales, but with the PPE funds, we were able to bring back six people.

Everyone weve brought back since then  were adding them as contractors just in case. We dont know yet if there will be another shutdown or not. Now were up to nine full-time employees and two contractors, with two more starting soon.

Whats been the most challenging part of adapting to everything going on with the pandemic?

Definitely the uncertainty and anxiety  not just your own, but your employees. Everyone has different feelings about safety and procedures, and weve handled everything in a group vote-type environment.

Have there been any silver linings?

Personally, I feel like my anxiety has been reduced in some ways, because you just cant plan ahead. You need to take it week by week, so its made me focus more on the present. I have more time to go on walks and take care of myself.

We also used the time while we were closed to do a complete revamp and reorganization of our back area and store.

As a store thats open seven days a week, we never have the chance to completely tear everything apart to make it better. We have to do everything overnight if were going to make any big change. This is a luxury, and the shops never looked better.

Its been nearly five months since those March stay-at-home orders. How is business faring currently, and how are you approaching the future?

Were at about 55 percent of normal (sales levels). Were trying to set ourselves up to where we can be closure-proof  not as in we wont close, but if theres another stay-at-home order, we could maintain all of our salaries off the online business.

Even when everyone was home, we were still able to ship. For the weeks where we had no employees, the only other human I saw besides my family was the mailman who showed up every day to take our packages.

Im putting a lot of my energy into making the website feel like it would feel in the stores. That means creating collections online that revolve around the displays we have in the stores.

If we can get it tight enough to where we can cover at least the employees off of online sales, that would be a huge achievement. Then we dont have to worry about layoffs again, because that was just brutal. I never want to do that again.

Madison.Iszler@express-news.net | Twitter: @madisoniszler
Sickness, frustration, a geographically diminished existence - it recently occurred to me that I had experienced something like this before.

I'd arrived in Delhi in mid-September 2010, as the monsoon was giving way to the clearer skies of fall. I had been on the move for nine months, first busing my way through the Middle East, then down Africa's Great Rift Valley. I was trying to carve out a living as a writer, and I was in a hurry, probably too much so.

As such, I wasn't too perturbed when an unfamiliar debilitation overtook me as I boarded a train to Kathgodam and India's mountainous north. It was only when I reached the Khali Estate, a rambling colonial-era hotel in the Himalayan foothills of Uttarakhand state, that I realized it had portended something more serious. The next morning, on the day I was supposed to embark on a week-long trek around the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary, I could scarcely lift myself out of bed. The walk wasn't happening, that much was clear.

The nearest town was Almora, a picturesque hill station strewn along a ridge. On its main drag, I found a doctor sitting on a stool outside a pharmacy. He looked me over, humming happily to himself, then dispatched me to a threadbare clinic, where a blood test revealed typhoid. Back at the pharmacy, the grinning doctor said, "It is nothing for you to worry about, so long as you rest, rest, REST!" Each rest rose in octave and emphasis, to drive the point home.

He gave me a blister pack of antibiotics - "four of these a day" - and told me I should eat only bland food: rice, bread and, curiously, radishes.

"Radishes?"

"There is nothing better for the stomach when you have typhoid," he said. Ten years later, an online search to try to verify this claim throws up a reference to radishes on a list of "food to be avoided when you have typhoid," suggesting this may have been a dubious prescription all his own.

I returned to the Khali Estate forlorn. The owner's mild-mannered son, Himanshu Pande, said I could stay for as long as it took to convalesce, free of charge. The estate's cottages weren't too busy. Besides, I wasn't going to cost much in food. There was a radish patch out back.

The days stretched out ahead of me. A period that I had anticipated to be one of forward progress and discovery now threatened monotony and stasis. The internet was down; I had run out of books. I wondered what I would do with myself, unaccustomed as I had become to being immobile. But the choice between forsaking an adventure and forfeiting my physical well-being was no choice at all. So I settled in and began the work of not losing my mind.

Mostly, I looked at things. The Khali Estate was founded in 1874 by Gen. Sir Henry Ramsay, then the colonial commissioner of Kumaon province.

Later research revealed that he was a model administrator, one of those benign figures whose paternalism lent legitimacy to Britain's self-image of empire as altruistic endeavor, obscuring the extractive project that was its true raison d'etre. One thing I could say with certainty was that he had an eye for geographical situation.

Looking north, through the branches of deodar pine forest, the hills beyond Khali were a green bowl. But above them, disembodied in the haze, hovered the Garhwal Himalayas, part of the central Himalayan mountains, which serrate the borderlands of northern India before crashing into Nepal's yet higher massifs immediately to the east. Several of India's most famous mountains, including Shivling, Trishul and Nanda Devi, were identifiable through the window of my round-walled cottage.

Over the coming days, it would be hard to exaggerate how much distraction I sought in this panorama. Using my camera zoom as a makeshift telescope, I found that it was possible to scrutinize the mountains for hours without acknowledging the tedium of the situation in which I found myself. In the early mornings, the sharp light rendered them blue and spectral. Reddish dusks made them brood with menace. In the afternoon, when the lowering sun muted its glare off the snow, I would study the cracks and crevices, picking routes up the vertical pitches and icebound ridgelines, even though such feats were far beyond my capacities as a climber, even in months when I didn't have typhoid.

For the first few days, I reconciled myself to this lonely vigil, as waves of nausea and a crushing lethargy left me bed-bound. As the illness crescendoed, I didn't leave my room at all, the solitude punctuated only by the whispered interjections of genteel attendants, who tiptoed in with trays of rice, radishes and tea.

Before long, the enervation lifted. Determined to reawaken my atrophied muscles, I began to undertake a circuit of the estate's resting places: a flagstone terrace strewn with wicker chairs, a hammock tied between two tree trunks. As my strength improved, I took short forays into the pine forest, its loam springy with fallen needles, which smothered an adjacent hillside.

Among the estate's staff I found fast friends. I whiled away countless hours in idle conversation with Himanshu and his colleague Dinesh, talking about life in rural Uttarakhand, and about a much-heralded community tourism project, Village Ways, which they had established in the Binsar Sanctuary's villages. Sometimes we would be joined by Himanshu's father, M.D., an otherwise saintly and ephemeral presence, always tending flowers.

Another of the estate's factotums, Madan Sah, was the unofficial custodian of Khali's history. He revealed a roster of past guests and owners that read like a Who's Who of India's extraordinary century. For a spell in the 1930s, Mohandas Gandhi oversaw an ashram here, until the independence movement lured him back to lower ground. Subsequent owners included the Nehru family, the political dynasty of Jawaharlal, India's first prime minister. Not until it was acquired by the Pande family was the estate transformed into a heritage hotel.

Now, the estate's main house, a large red-roofed bungalow encircled by a sandstone colonnade, was left open as a kind of living museum. Inside, the melange of colonial and traditional Indian aesthetics had been carefully preserved. The drawing room had moss-green sofas arranged around a cedarwood fireplace; tribal rugs decorated a floor of seasoned pine. And in one wing, in a musty room lined with cabinets, the most magnificent discovery: a library.

Most of its books were antique tomes of limited diversion. But in among these was a comprehensive back catalogue of the Himalayan Journal, the annual magazine of the Himalayan Club, founded in 1929. And so my own adventures into the Garhwal became vicarious.

I pored through Khali's fraying copies. In the 1930s, the Garhwal Himalayas had been the arena for some of the greatest exploits in mountaineering history. At the time, Nepal, with Everest and its colossal neighbors, was off limits to foreigners. Instead, it was in the Garhwal that European alpinists - "cragsmen" in the British idiom of the time - got to grips with the Himalayan proposition. In this era, two Englishmen stand preeminent. Eric Shipton and Bill Tilman were an unlikely pair - Shipton lithe and romantic, Tilman stocky and taciturn. But together they attacked the region's peaks and passes with a purism that would inspire climbers for generations.

In the Journal's 1979 edition, I found a reprint of Tilman's chronicle of their finest caper. In 1934, the two men spent four months surveying the Garhwal's trackless upper reaches. Their journey exposed hidden dimensions to the snowy contours I had been mooning over through my bedroom window. What appeared from Khali's vantage to be a depthless rampart was in fact a citadel fit for the gods: two concentric circles of 20,000-foot peaks, with the tallest and most sacred, Nanda Devi, a twin-peaked mountain of uncommon beauty, erupting from its center. For 50 years, the glacial basin at Nanda Devi's foot had defied every effort to reach it, until that summer, when Shipton and Tilman shinnied along the formidable box canyon of the Rishi Gorge. When they emerged into the inner sanctum, confronted by what Tilman describes as "an appalling cirque of reddish-brown cliff draped with ice-fluting," they had taken nine days to cover four miles.

Soon enough, my frustration ebbed. In that green chasm between Khali and the mountains were the foothills that I had originally come here to explore. But I no longer resented my lost opportunity, feeling grateful instead for the chance it had afforded to arrest my breakneck motion. I suppose the typhoid had precipitated my first proper taste of "slow travel." The result had been an intimate engagement with my immediate surroundings, and that was okay.

When I leaf through the timeline of that restless year, much of it comes back in a haze of boxes ticked and stories filed. But Khali broke the continuum; the two weeks I spent there are recalled with halcyon clarity. I can still picture the estate's management and functionaries lining up to send me off and wish me well, and myself, shaking all their hands, fighting back tears.

Thinking of the episode now, in this cruel and travel-less coronavirus year, I can't help wondering whether one aspect of modernity it might encourage us to dismantle is our culture of fidgety experientialism, of our absolute allergy to boredom. That, at least, was the lesson I took from the last time I languished in a similar quietude: Take stock. Take a breath. The world will still be there tomorrow.
Canadian writer Jordan Scott remembers a trip to the river that he and his father took one day when he was still a boy. He was in primary school in British Columbia and his classmates could be cruel about the stutter that made his speech different. They stared. They giggled. His father came to pick him up early and they drove to the Fraser River, which churns through the landscape on its way to the Pacific. He and his father didnt talk much, but as they looked out at the water his father said something that stayed with Scott. See how that water moves? his father told him. Thats how you speak.

In likening Scotts speech to the powerful, unpredictable energy of water over stones, his fathers words released a knotted-up place inside him. Scott, now a poet, tells the story of that day in his new picture book I Talk Like a River, out next month from Holidays Houses Neal Porter Books imprint. The story ends with a moment of joy as the child goes back to school the next day and tells the class about the river, his favorite place in the world. The stutter is still there, but his speech is his own, with its own force and distinctive movement. I talk about the river. And I talk like the river, Scotts story ends. For me, he explained, it was really important to have the child go back and talk the way hes going to talk. There was always this idea that you had to overcome the stutter, you had to speak fluentlythat was the goal. The last line was a very important part of the book for me. The defiance at the end of it.

The story has remained a touchstone for Scott, I used [it] as a structuring principle for my poetry throughout the years. Once I had kids I would tell them that story as a way to explain the way that I speak. It grew from there. The narrative was strong, and I felt that I could challenge kids with the metaphor. But it wasnt the story he set out to publish. He approached Vancouver-based Greystone Books editor Lara LeMoal with another childrens manuscript. She connected him with Hilary McMahon of Westwood Creative Artists in Toronto, and McMahon gently encouraged me to write this book. She knew that I have written about stuttering in poetry and she was very intrigued by the prospect of a kids book. Her comments and suggestions were incisive and instrumental.

McMahon submitted the manuscript to Porter in a limited multiple submission in May 2018. I hadnt had much business with her, I didnt know her, Porter said, but his response was immediate. My litmus test these days is, Do I have to publish this book? And the answer was an emphatic Yes! 

In one of the first conversations I had with Neal, Scott recalled, he said, This book is for everyone who has a hard time expressing themselves, who has a hard time speaking. The stutter acts as an extreme example of the kind of lack of fluency that we all share, difficulties with expression in social spaces, and accepting that which is perceived as different.

Porter had a second impulse on reading the manuscript. I wanted Sydney [Smith] to illustrate it. Porter and Smith had just finished working on the Ezra Jack Keats award-winning picture book Small in the City, which came out last fall. It took a little bit of arm-twisting, Porter said. Hes a thoughtful guy and he had already begun thinking about his next written and illustrated book. I asked him to take a pause.

Reading the story persuaded Smith to shift his plans. I wanted to do it justice, he said. One of the first things he did was to contact Scott. I breached that wall, that code of silence between author and illustrator. I knew this was his first picture book. And I had been in touch with Neal and he was fine with it. The two met in a Toronto coffee shop and talked for two hours. I brought some sketches. He was very gracious. Some people have a specific idea of what their story is going to look like. Jordan was open to anything.

An 'Electric Current' of Collaboration

The collaboration became a three-way relationship: writer working with artist, editor with writer, editor with artist. It was one of the great publishing experiences of my career, Porter said. It was inspiring, and it was also a hell of a lot of fun. There was an enthusiastic and electric current circulating among all three of us.

Scott and Porter pored over the text together. Wed read passages to each other, Porter remembered. It was a lovely thing. Scott concurs. It was reminiscent of one of those classic author-editor relationships. Im interested in minutiae like syllables and line breaks, Scott said. The changes that he made really shaped the book. I trusted him.

Meanwhile, Porter and Smith were in constant touch. I have such a shaky ego that I need some excitement, Smith said, and Neal was definitely a good source of excitement. What was scary, a little bit of a risk, was working with no ink line. Smiths expressive black line has been a signature feature of his artwork. His paintings for I Talk Like a Riverespecially the early spreads that show the boy at home and in schooluse murky wash to convey brooding and anxiety. Theres a lot of liquid, he said. Its loose and washy but its also very messy. The panels are off-center; theyre all kind of falling off the page a little bit. Nothing was supposed to feel very confident. Theres a lot of stuff that I dont know how it happened.

After Smith got further into the project, he and Porter met in Toronto (Smith has since moved to Halifax). I didnt get to meet Jordan, Porter said, but I did go up to Toronto when Sydney was still there, and we had a memorable meeting, also in a coffee bar. Sydney had lots of images scattered over this long communal table and we sort of went at it, arranging and rearranging, trying to find the thread through the storyThis one, not that one. 

Smith felt that the paintings he was doing often turned out better when he didnt have to rework them. I found in the past that theres something really magical about those first sketches. They can embody a lot of the impressionistic, improvisational spirit of art-making and the second version, the third version, loses that. The central image, the painting where hes standing in the river, there was just one version. And Neal was really open to that as well.

A striking gatefold spread represents the moment the boy begins to think of himself in a new way. Its literally going inside the boys head and seeing what he sees, Porter said. The closed pages show the boys face in tight closeup as he looks at the river bubbling, churning, whirling, and crashing. Then the gatefold opens wide, revealing the great, broad expanse of the river, its surface glinting in the sun, the boy plowing through the current, freedom and space all around him.

Smith recalled when he pitched the idea of doing a gatefold to Porter, telling him, This probably wont work, but I really like the idea of opening up the head of the character. Porter was initially doubtful: Do you think we really need it? he asked.

Then I saw him at a conference in Pittsburgh, Smith remembered, and he said, That gatefold idea... I cant get it out of my head. They decided to go ahead with it. Once you open it, Smith said, its such a contrast to the darkness of the face. Its color and light.

Scott saw Smiths painting as a natural extension of his poetic attempts to represent stuttering. When I first started reading poetry, the writer said, poets would signal a stutter with a simple repetition of a syllables-s-snake. I thought that kind of simple graphic representation was not adequate. Ive always been trying to create the stutter internally. When I opened up the book for the first time and saw what Sydney had donehe took the concept of the stutter and made it part of the landscape.

The moment that I fully understood the story, Smith said, was when [Jordan and I] were talking in the coffee shop. Its at the point when the character realizes that theyre not broken, that theyre not unnaturalthat theyre perfect the way they arethat it all sort of fell into place. This is beautiful and powerful and liberating. And at that moment I felt ready to take on the book.

I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott, illus. by Sydney Smith. Holiday House/Neal Porter, $18.99 Sept. 1 ISBN 978-0-8234-4559-3
It was one week before Christmas 1980 when an anonymous caller contacted the newsroom of the former Fairfax afternoon tabloid, the Sydney Sun.

The female caller said she had been told to pass on a message.

"I am speaking on behalf of the Justice Commandos of Armenian Genocide. The attacks are in retaliation for the injustice done to the Armenians by Turkey in 1915.

"Turks and Turkish institutions are our targets."
Bowing to public pressure, health tech company Epic Systems has now notified its employees that they can work from home until the end of the year.

Epic had planned to require thousands of employees to return to the office this month to preserve its culture. Employees were previously told to return to the office unless they had problems arranging child care or had a health condition. Those employees were earlier told they could work remotely until Nov. 2.

But after hearing concerns from local public health officials earlier this week, Epic said it would rethink its remote work policy. The company had also heard feedback from its own employees, who shared fears about their health and safety.

Epic, which is based in Verona, Wisconsin, employs about 9,000 people. It is one of the largest heath technology companies in the U.S., and it sells medical record software to some of the nation's top hospitals.

Now, the company has said that staff will receive four weeks' notice before they're asked to return to the campus, which is based in Dane County. Those who choose to come in are welcome to, Epic said, but the company will monitor the number and limit it if required.

The company shared the following statement with CNBC on Thursday:

On August 8th, Epic paused our phased return to campus in response to a letter from Public Health Madison and Dane County. On August 12th, we updated our policy.

As of August 13th, staff can continue to work from home until at least the New Year. For those staff who wish to come in, they are welcome to return to campus. We believe that in-person collaboration is important.

We will continue to closely monitor data to guide our decisions, including Dane County public health reports, the impact of UW students' return to campus, and the advice of public health experts. For the safety of our staff and our community, we'll monitor the number and location of people on campus and limit the number if needed. Staff will receive at least four weeks' notice before they are asked to return to campus next year.

This novel disease is challenging. Infectious disease experts told us that many companies, like ours, have had to adjust to changing information and developments about the virus and revise their plans multiple times. We appreciate constructive feedback from our staff. We look forward to a time when everyone can be together again in person.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. Three relatives have been charged in a dog attack that resulted in the death of a Tennessee woman.

The Shelby County district attorneys office said Wednesday that Phyllis Jones, her daughter Kimberly Jordan, and Jordans son, Dedricz Perry, have been indicted on reckless homicide charges in the death of 59-year-old Doris Arrington in April.

Authorities said Arringtons body was found in a north Memphis neighborhood with severe injuries to her legs and arms from animal bites. The cause of death was massive blood loss, prosecutors said.

Police found four dogs in a nearby house. They had blood on their mouths and bodies. The dogs owners were identified as the three relatives, authorities said.

Investigators said Memphis Animal Services had received complaints about the dogs.

The three were arrested Tuesday by the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force. Online court records do not show if they have lawyers who could comment.

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
A man in China has been diagnosed with the coronavirus for the second time in four months, according to authorities.

The unnamed patient from Chinas north-eastern province Jilin tested positive for COVID-19 again on Monday after he was first infected with the pathogen in April and recovered.

The announcement came a day after officials announced that an elderly woman in the former epicentre Hubei province was diagnosed with the coronavirus for the second time in six months.

The unnamed patient from Chinas north-eastern province Jilin tested positive for COVID-19 again on Monday after he was first infected with the pathogen in April and recovered. In this file picture, a health worker conducts a coronavirus test on a man in Beijing on June 24

The announcement came a day after an elderly woman in the former epicentre Hubei province was diagnosed with the coronavirus for the second time in six months. This file photo taken on February 16 shows doctors check a patient who is infected with the coronavirus in Wuhan

The Chinese man was confirmed as an imported case in April after arriving in the country from abroad, said the officials in a notice. It remains unclear where the citizen had travelled from.

He was later discharged from the hospital and passed quarantine, the authorities claimed, without specifying exactly when the man recovered.

On August 9, the Jilin resident travelled with his wife to Shanghai to seek medical advice at the Zhongshan Hospital.

He tested positive for the coronavirus on August 11 after the hospital conducted nucleic acid testing on its admitted patients, a requirement ordered by the government.

The Chinese man was confirmed as an imported case in April after arriving in the country from abroad, said the officials in a notice. It remains unclear where the citizen had travelled from. Hazmat-clad health workers are pictured conducting swab tests on June 16 in Beijing

So far, there have been no scientifically proven cases of someone catching it twice, with experts tending to blame inaccurate test results or lengthy illness. In this file photo taken on February 13, a medic checks a coronavirus patient at the Jinyintan Hospital in Wuhan

The man has been quarantined for treatment after being diagnosed as an asymptomatic coronavirus patient, according to the Shanghai officials.

His spouse and another 23 close contacts have also been put under isolation. They were tested and declared virus-free by the authorities.

The news comes as a woman in China has tested positive for coronavirus six month months after recovering from the infection.

The 68-year-old, from Jingzhou city, which neighbours Wuhan, the epicentre of the pandemic, was diagnosed with COVID-19 for the second time on August 9.

She had tested positive previously on February 8 and beat the disease later that month, according to the Jingzhou government.

The patient has been quarantined and is receiving treatment. Her close contacts have all been tracked down and tested for the infection.

It comes a month after a doctor in Israel was diagnosed with COVID-19 for the second time and raises questions about our understanding of immunity against the disease.

So far, there have been no scientifically proven cases of someone catching it twice, with experts tending to blame inaccurate test results or lengthy illness. Some say it is not uncommon for parts of viruses to keep circulating even after recovery.

Traditional understanding of viruses suggests that people who have had COVID-19 already should develop a level of immunity that is at least temporary.

But cases such as this one call the idea of natural protection into question. As well as concerns about reinfection, there are also signs that people may simply remain ill for a long time with the virus still circulating in their bodies.
Basically, were purchasing the land and taking on the responsibility to clean it up, Bodeen said. It works out well for the property owner because a lot of the time the properties end up the way they are because the property owner cant afford to fix it up.

She said the property owners are not always what some paint as absentee landlords.

Sometimes, the people we work with have just gotten in a bad spot, whether it be a fire or maybe their health, Bodeen said, and theyre just not able to fix or clean it up as they had hoped.

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The city has funds that are used to partner with LCCDC and reimburse for demolition costs.

Then we construct a new home and offer it to a first-time home buyer, Bodeen said.

The LCCDC will use $300,000 of the grant money for construction costs and $30,000 will go to the home buyers at $10,000 per home for down payment and closing costs.

Thats in the form of a second mortgage, Bodeen said. They have to live in the house for a certain number of years.
Ghislaine Maxwell appears via video link during her arraignment hearing where she was denied bail for her role aiding Jeffrey Epstein to recruit and eventually abuse minor girls, in Manhattan Federal Court, New York, on July 14, 2020 in this courtroom sketch. (Jane Rosenberg/File Photo via Reuters)

Judge Denies Ghislaine Maxwells Request to Delay Unsealing of Court Documents

A federal judge on Aug. 12 declined a request by Ghislaine Maxwell to delay the unsealing of potentially explosive additional court documents related to her dealings with the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Maxwell, the former girlfriend and longtime associate of Epstein, faces criminal charges that she aided the disgraced financiers sexual abuses. She was arrested in New Hampshire over a month ago on charges that she facilitated and aided Epstein by recruiting, grooming, and sexually exploiting minor girls. She has denied all of the allegations and intends to fight the charges in court.

Her attorneys on Monday requested a 3-week delay in the unsealing of the documents over critical new information they said could affect the British socialites ability to obtain a fair trial.

U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska denied Maxwells request in a two-page order, saying that the 58-year-old knows, her ipse dixit does not provide compelling grounds for relief, using a term in Latin that means making an assertion without evidence.

(L) Ghislaine Maxwell attends a symposium in New York City in a 2013 file photograph. (Laura Cavanaugh/Getty Images) (R) Jeffrey Epstein in a 2013 mugshot in Florida. (Florida Department of Law Enforcement via Getty Images)

Given that Ms. Maxwell is not at liberty to disclose this new information because it is subject to the protective order in the criminal action  the Court has no reasonable basis to impose a stay, Preska wrote.

Should the protective order in the criminal action be modified to permit disclosure of the relevant information to the Court, Ms. Maxwell may renew her request for a stay of the unsealing process.

Maxwells attorneys did not specify what critical new information they had discovered on Friday, but said that it was subject to a court protective order.

The documents come from a long-settled civil defamation case against Maxwell by Virginia Giuffre, who said Epstein kept her as a sex slave with Maxwells help.

Maxwell has asked the federal appeals court in Manhattan to block the release from that case of a 2016 deposition about her sex life, also citing the threat to a fair trial.

That court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on Sept. 22. Maxwells criminal trial is scheduled for next July.

By Thursday, U.S. prosecutors are expected respond to a request by Maxwells attorneys to move Maxwell to the general prison population. Her lawyers argue that the defendant is unable to adequately prepare for her trial defense due to the onerous conditions of her confinement resulting from the purported prison suicide of Epstein.

The Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) where Ghislaine Maxwell, the alleged accomplice of the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, is being held, in New York City on July 6, 2020. (Mike Segar/Reuters)

According to a letter from her attorneys (pdf), Maxwell has been held in solitary confinement under 24-hour surveillance for 40 days. The prison guards constantly watch her and take notes about everything she does. Some of the guards do not appear to be regular prison employees, the lawyers noted.

A lawyer representing seven women who say they were abused by Epstein previously told The Epoch Times that he is worried that Maxwell will end up dead.

I have grave concerns that she doesnt make it out of jail alive, Spencer Kuvin said.

Ivan Pentchoukov and Reuters contributed to this report.
Sidewalk chalk might be thought of as a childrens toy but as more people have been going on walks to get out of the house during the coronavirus pandemic, Amy Reyor is hoping to use it to bring her neighborhood a little bit of joy.

The Springfield artist has been creating 3D artwork using sidewalk chalk on Roosevelt Ave during the pandemic. Shes created everything from what looks like an ice cream cone falling on the ground to fish swimming.

I was just noticing huge crowds of people walking more than normal. All of us bored and sad and depressed, just trying to find something to do, she said. So I just decided to see what I could do.

That feeling turned on her creative energy. She bought sidewalk chalk and started drawing.

Shes noticed more and more people stopping by or even parking to get out of their cars to come see the artwork. During a Facebook Live with MassLive, a woman and her corgi stopped to let her know that theyve changed their walking route so that they can see the artwork each day.

As an art major, shes surprised at the medium thats bringing her so much joy.

Its a lot of fun, she said. Im glad I found it.

This has also led her to do more artwork again overall, something she hadnt been doing as much since college.

She has been doing portraits and playing with all my old art supplies again.

Focusing on this, rather than the uncertainty of the pandemic, has helped with her own anxiety. Her yoga studio, she said, has been closed due to the pandemic and she needed another outlet.

When I feel anxious I just grab my chalk and I come out here, she said. I pretend that the cars going by is the beach.

She said getting to be creative in this way is a form of meditation that has helped her in the way yoga usually does.

Her artwork can take anywhere from 20 minutes to two hours depending on the level of detail needed.

She also did a drawing at Shelburne Falls Coffee Roaster in East Longmeadow when they reopened their doors. But mostly she sticks to Roosevelt Ave in Springfield  hoping to spread joy.

And she hopes others do the same because everybodys feeling awful.

Spread positivity, she said. Be a light. Figure out a way to spread hope.

To find her drawings follow Reyors projects on Instagram and send her a DM for the exact location.

Artist creates 3D sidewalk chalk drawings to bring joy during coronavirus pandemic Posted by MassLive on Thursday, August 13, 2020

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A woman was shot dead in her US home while her 10-year-old daughter was taking part in an online Zoom class with teachers and other pupils, police say.

Maribel Rosado Morales, 32, was shot twice in Indiantown, Florida, after the man, suspected of being her ex-boyfriend, stormed into her property at around 8am local time on Tuesday.

Ms Morales' daughter was taking part in the remote lessons with staff at Warfield Elementary School when a teacher heard a disturbance on the Zoom call.

The teacher muted the girl's audio but then saw the girl cover her ears before the screen went blank, Martin County Sheriff's Office added.. Officers later said the computer was hit by a bullet.

Ms Morales ex-boyfriend Donald Williams, 27, has been arrested. Williams has made a "full confession", detectives said, and has been charged with first-degree murder.

Donald Williams / Martin County Sheriff's Office

Sheriff William Snyder said: "There was some type of argument. He went in and confronted her with something to do with a video. He says she actually started to smile at him, and he became enraged and shot her."

The shooting took place in front of four of Ms Morales' children and two young cousins, police said.

One of her sons tried to stab Williams with a kitchen knife after the shooting. The boy told detectives he dropped the knife and raised his hands after Williams pointed his gun at him. None of the children were injured, police said.

Besides the murder charge, Williams also faces two counts of aggravated assault, one count of burglary and one count of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He previously served two years in prison for burglary and was released in 2014.

The Warfield Elementary School and the Martin County School District said in a statement: "Our deepest sympathies and condolences go out to the victim's family, including the children present in the home who were witnesses to this heart-breaking and senseless tragedy.

"We have our grief team deployed to assist students and staff who will undoubtedly feel the impact of this horrible incident. We stand ready to assist and offer support in any way we can."
Kim Kardashian showed off her sprawling fitting room on her Insta Stories this Thursday while plugging SKIMS.

The 39-year-old reality star flaunted her trim midriff and famous curves as she modeled a few different outfits from her shapewear line.

Various clothes and shoes were strewn around the vast fitting room and a woman could be glimpsed in the background tidying up.

Looking fab: Kim Kardashian showed off her sprawling fitting room on her Insta Stories this Thursday while plugging SKIMS

She recently returned from a family trip to the Caribbean in what was allegedly a bid to save her marriage to her third husband Kanye West.

'Kim is focused on healing her relationship with Kanye and has been busy taking care of their kids and him,' shared an Us Weekly insider Thursday.

'She has been helping and supporting him a ton while hes been struggling with his mental health and wants him to know and feel that she is there for him through thick and thin,' the source explained to the magazine.

'The quarantine has been hard on Kanye and, in turn, has been difficult for her too. Their marriage definitely faced some hardships and was just hanging on with Kanye not being able to fully be present for their family, but ultimately Kim wants to keep everyone together and work things out for their kids.'

Sizzling sensation: The 39-year-old reality star flaunted her trim midriff and famous curves as she modeled a few different outfits from her shapewear line

'Kimye' married in Florence six years ago and share four children - North, seven, Saint, four, Chicago, two, and Psalm, one.

'They had a good family week in the Dominican Republic,' an insider dished to People magazine over this past weekend.

'Kim and Kanye are getting along. They both seem much happier,' continued the insider on August 9, the day the family arrived in Miami.

A source shed light on Kim's state of mind: 'Between the kids, work, and dealing with Kanye's bipolar episodes, it's been hard for her to think clearly.'

Workspace: Various clothes and shoes were strewn around the vast fitting room and a woman could be glimpsed in the background tidying up

Kanye praised Kim's mother Kris Jenner on Twitter this Tuesday just weeks after denouncing her on Twitter as 'Kris Jong-Un.'

'My mother in law Kris Jenner ... makes the best music playlist,' wrote Kanye, who slammed her multiple times on Twitter last month.

During the Caribbean trip a The Sun insider said Kim 'offered to fully support a 2024 run for president if he got help and listened to the political consultants they hired.'

However the source also claimed that he refuses to budge from the idea of running this year, saying: 'Kanye seems set on what he calls "God's plan" - that he becomes president. He's saying it's a higher calling.'

As seen in 2018: Her latest post comes after she, Kanye and the children returned to the United States following a trip to the Caribbean that was allegedly to save the marriage

Kim flew to Wyoming on July 27 for marriage crisis talks with Kanye and then returned home to Los Angeles while he stayed put.

After his presidential campaign rally on July 19 in which he tearfully revealed he and Kim considered aborting North, he launched into a days-long string of Twitter rants denouncing his wife and his mother-in-law.

He claimed Kim and Kris tried to have him committed and accused his wife of having an inappropriate relationship with the rapper Meek Mill.

Kanye, who called Kris a 'white supremacist' in one of his outbursts, also posted and deleted a tweet claiming he was 'trying to divorce' his wife.

Family matters: 'Kimye' married in Florence six years ago and share four children - North, seven, Saint, four, Chicago, two, and Psalm, one

Amid her husband's Twitter outbursts Kim, who was reportedly livid that he shared the abortion story publicly, made a statement saying the family was 'powerless' to intervene in Kanye's bipolar disorder issues inasmuch as he is an adult.

Kanye eventually suspended the tweet storms, apologizing to his wife 'for going public with something that was a private matter.'

However a few days after his crisis talks with Kim he broke his silence on the social media platform to address the campaign rally.

Sister act: Earlier this week Kim fired up her Instagram page to wish a happy 23rd birthday to 'The funniest and most loyal person on the planet,' her half-sister Kylie Jenner

'I cried at the thought of aborting my first born and everyone was so concerned about me... Im concerned for the world that feels you shouldnt cry about this subject,' wrote the Power rapper.

He followed that up with a Tweet that claimed: 'There is a tactic of 4 Ds Distract Discredit Dismiss To Destroy.'

Kanye continued in the same tweet: 'I am quite alright Take a second and think about what is being projected here.'
A tailings spill in 2014 may still be affecting the British Columbian lake, as contaminated sediment is mixed into the water column each spring and fall

Natural mixing of lake waters may resuspend contaminants deposited in a catastrophic mine spill six years ago, according to a new paper led by a University of Alberta scientist.

The results show that the turbidity, or cloudiness, in portions of British Columbia's Quesnel Lake increases each spring and fall when the lake mixes from top to bottom in a natural process called turnover. The source of the turbidity appears to be the resuspension of spill-related material from the bottom of the lake, raising concerns about contaminants being reintroduced to the water column.

On August 4, 2014, a tailings dam containing mine waste from the Mount Polley copper and gold mine failed. "The catastrophic tailings spill dumped 18 million cubic metres of waste water and sediments into the West Basin of Quesnel Lake," explained Andrew Hamilton, postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and lead author on the paper. "At the time, it was the largest mine-related spill ever documented."

Since 2014, Hamilton and an interdisciplinary group of scientists from the University of British Columbia (UBC), the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC), and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) have monitored the effects of the spill. This study presents results from 2014 through 2017.

"During the first turnover after the spill, mixing brought suspended sediment to the surface, turning the previous clear-blue lake to bright green--a change that was readily apparent in satellite imagery," explained Hamilton. "Remarkably, 12 months after the spill the suspended sediment loads had substantially reduced, and the lake waters had appeared to return to their pre-spill state, but it turns out this was only temporary."

"Over the subsequent three years, we saw an increase in turbidity above the spill deposits at the bottom of the West Basin every spring and fall when winds drove large basin-scale wave motions, like the sloshing of water in your bathtub. As turnover occurred, this sediment was then mixed from depths below 100 metres over the whole water column." Understanding effects

The biggest concern is the unknown effects of this phenomenon on the ecology of the lake. The tailings contained elevated concentrations of some metals, such as copper, and if these metals are being seasonally remobilized from the lake bed they could make their way into the food web. Chronic exposure to elevated copper concentrations can reduce the growth, reproduction, and survival of fish populations, and small changes to colour and clarity of a lake can alter algal communities at the base of the food web.

"In other related research, we have seen a seasonal increase in some metal concentrations in the Quesnel River that corresponds to the timing of the turbidity increase observed in the lake," explained Ellen Petticrew, professor at UNBC and co-author on the study. "This paper will help us explain some of these other processes we are observing, and helps build a more complete understanding of the long-term impact of the spill on the lake."

"While the immediate environmental devastation of other catastrophic mine waste spills around the world may have been more apparent, our research shows that the environmental impacts of the spill in Quesnel Lake are long-term," said Bernard Laval, professor of civil engineering at UBC. "Investigating these subtle impacts over time will help inform if and how Quesnel Lake recovers, and the potential for lasting impacts of other tailings spills which are increasingly frequent globally."

"Understanding all factors affecting the long-term water quality of Quesnel Lake is critical as its watershed supports substantial recreation, world-renowned resident trout fisheries, and multiple Fraser River Pacific salmon stocks that are vital to Indigenous, recreational, and commercial fisheries," added Hamilton. "Inevitably these spills end up flowing downstream into lakes or the ocean where they can disappear from view, yet that doesn't mean the impact is over."

###

This research was supported by funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada's Environmental Damages Fund, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, UBC's Department of Civil Engineering Flood Fund, as well as in-kind support of instrumentation from Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Mount Polley Mining Corporation.

The paper, "Seasonal turbidity linked to physical dynamics in a deep lake following the catastrophic 2014 Mount Polley mine tailings spill," was published in Water Resources Research(doi: 10.1029/2019WR025790).
Fort Polk, LA (71446)

Today

Cloudy skies this morning followed by thunderstorms during the afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 73F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms this evening followed by occasional showers overnight. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 36F. WSW winds shifting to N at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
Called Pivotal, the new plan is designed for businesses with 100 or more employees and can be customized to meet each workforce's unique needs. Pivotal is designed to allow employers to collaborate directly with their insurer and health care providers, as well as their insurance agent, on the best ways to address the health care needs of their own workforce.

"Health care coverage is one of the most important benefits offered by employers and the one most valued by employees," said Dr. Michael Genord, president and CEO, HAP. "HAP created Pivotal with the full support of Henry Ford Health System because we know that choosing a health plan is such a 'pivotal' decision for employers. The Pivotal plan is thoughtfully designed, leveraging the strengths and innovation of HAP and Henry Ford as we continue to support the businesses in our home state of Michigan."

With Pivotal, employers take the lead on developing their health plan, selecting benefits that are affordable and most needed by their organization. The collaboration between HAP and Henry Ford, which includes industry best practices, evidence-based medicine and improved efficiency, provides an opportunity to better manage the quality and cost of care  something that is important to employers and to their individual employees and families.

Robust network

Pivotal offers a robust network of health care providers, which includes Henry Ford Health System and its Henry Ford Physician and Jackson Health networks and Henry Ford Allegiance Health, as well as HAP's full network of ancillary providers, HAP's full pharmacy network and all HAP-contracted pediatric physicians and providers. In all, the Pivotal network includes seven hospitals, more than 6,000 physicians, and 3,500 ancillary providers such as urgent care, labs, radiology, imaging, rehab services, long-term care and nursing facilities, and physical, occupational and speech therapy.

"Pivotal's extensive network means high-quality, value-based care is close to home for patients," said Dr. Bruce Muma, president and CEO, Henry Ford Physician Network, which comprises more than 2,100 Henry Ford Medical Group, hospital-employed and private practice physicians across southeast Michigan. "We are thrilled to partner with HAP and provide patients with the exceptional care experience that Henry Ford is known for."

Virtual care at zero cost share

Virtual care continues to play an important role in health care and that trend is expected to continue as consumers have found it to be safe, secure and convenient. HAP Pivotal features access to virtual care with zero cost share for members, who are able to see any doctor in the network that has virtual care capabilities.

This innovative benefit comes with three ways for members to access virtual care:

Video visits mean a member can see their doctor or specialist from the convenience of their own home. This is made possible by using the patient's own smartphone, tablet or computer with physicians set up with a secured patient portal such as Henry Ford's MyChart.

MyChart. Clinic-to-clinic telemedicine video visits in which a practitioner at one health care facility can connect the member to a health care provider at another location, making it a convenient option for those who are near one facility but need to access a specialist across town.

E-visits, which use email for non-urgent electronic visits.

Concierge customer service

Every Pivotal plan comes with premiere concierge service and personalized attention. This includes a personalized onboarding experience for each employer group, concierge phone support that offers easy access to a specialist who will help members navigate their health care experience, same-day appointments with primary care physicians for sick visits, and appointments within 10 business days to see a specialist or to get an annual physical.

"HAP and Henry Ford have a long history of working together and sharing the same focus," said Dr. Genord. "Working together, we've made sure that as many Michigan businesses as possible have access to high-quality affordable care, whether they're in Detroit or Jackson or anywhere in between. Pivotal members can rest assured knowing that Henry Ford and HAP are everywhere they need us to be, continuing our long tradition of making their health and well-being our top priority."

For more information on Pivotal or other HAP plans for employers, call HAP at 800-427-7587 to contact a HAP sales representative.

About Health Alliance Plan

Health Alliance Plan (HAP) is a Michigan-based, nonprofit health plan that provides health coverage to individuals and companies of all sizes. For 60 years, HAP has partnered with leading doctors and hospitals, employers and community organizations to enhance the health and well-being of the lives it touches. HAP offers a product portfolio with six distinct product lines: Group Insured Commercial, Individual, Medicare, Medicaid (through HAP Empowered Health Plan), Self-Funded and Network Leasing. HAP excels in delivering award-winning preventive services, disease management and wellness programs, as well as personalized customer service. HAP is an operating unit of Henry Ford Health System, one of the nation's leading health care systems. For more information, visit www.hap.org.

About Henry Ford Health System

Henry Ford Health System is a six-hospital system headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. It is one of the nation's leading comprehensive, integrated health systems, recognized for clinical excellence and innovation. Henry Ford provides both health insurance and health care delivery, including acute, specialty, primary and preventive care services backed by excellence in research and education. Henry Ford Health System is led by President & CEO Wright Lassiter III. Visit HenryFord.com to learn more.

SOURCE Health Alliance Plan

Related Links

https://www.hap.org


CAMDEN COUNTY, NJ  In the wake of Tropical Storm Isaias and with many other storms in the forecast, many families might be dealing with damage to their homes and cars.

The Camden County Prosecutors Office is warning residents to beware of scammers who will try to take advantage of the situation.



Though some companies, like window or tree businesses, might go door-to-door to ask residents if they have any issues, this not standard procedure amid the coronavirus pandemic, the prosecutors office warns.



Residents should speak with anyone who knocks on their door and claims to be from a company who specializes in storm-related issues through a closed, locked door or doorbell camera, authorities said.



Residents can ask the person their company name, their name, and to leave a business card. However, some scammers will put their personal number on a business card claiming to be from a legitimate company, so detectives suggest doing a Google search of the company and call their main line to ask if the person is employed there.

This same method works for anyone who calls and claims to be from a company. Other potential scams include fake fundraisers or charities claiming to raise money for victims.

The New Jersey Department of Consumer Affairs recommends researching a company or fundraiser before giving money. Donations should be used with a credit card that has fraud protection, detectives said.

Lastly, residents should never provide personal information to someone who calls and says theyre from your insurance company, utility company, or any other business without verifying the call is legitimate.



Detectives suggest asking for an account number or hanging up and call the company back to ensure the resident is speaking to a real employee.



For more tips on weather-related scams, visit the Federal Trade Commissions webpage.

This article originally appeared on the Gloucester Township Patch
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- To honor and recognize the achievements of individuals who have made contributions to advancing the civil rights of all people, Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) has provided a $1,750 sponsorship to support the City of Victorville's 6th Annual Civil Rights Essay Contest for local elementary students.

From left to right: Mayor Gloria Garcia, City of Victorville; Superintendent Jan Gonzalez, Victor Elementary School District (VESD); and Hannah Reynolds, 2017 Victorville Civil Rights Essay Contest winner.

The annual contest, kicking off this month, invites 5th and 6th grade students to write an essay about an American Civil Rights Leader and why he or she should be honored within Victorville's Civil Rights Memorial. Based on the winning essay, a bronze plaque for the civil rights honoree will be added to the city's memorial and will include an excerpt from the student's essay.

The current memorial recognizes a diverse group of leaders including: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Asa Philip Randolph, Frederick Douglas, Cesar Chavez, Harriet Tubman, and Lucy Burns.

Essays will be read by the City of Victorville Community Service Advisory Committee, who will evaluate submissions based on content, expression, research, and originality.

In years past, the City of Victorville has hosted a recognition ceremony to honor the civil rights leader and the student at the city's memorial on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This year's ceremony is currently scheduled for MLK Day 2021, pending COVID-19 restrictions.

"Our Civil Rights Essay contest is one of my favorite annual events," said Victorville Mayor, Gloria Garcia. "With IEHP's sponsorship, we're able to continue our tradition of bringing families, students, and community leaders together to honor the work and courage of incredible civil rights leaders. While we may face obstacles and challenges due to COVID-19, this will not stop us from encouraging local youth to learn about those who have made a difference in our world."

The City of Victorville has sent invitations to elementary schools within the City inviting students to submit entries through Sept. 2, and the winning essay will be announced in October. For more information, visit VictorvilleCA.gov/CivilRightsMemorial.

"We are so honored to be a part of something so thoughtful and inspiring," said LuAnna Jauregui, IEHP's manager of community partnerships. "We are grateful that we have great cities in our region, like the City of Victorville, who take time to connect with students to honor the work of those who have truly made a difference in this world."

About IEHP

IEHP, Inland Empire Health Plan, is one of the top 10 largest Medicaid health plans and the largest not-for-profit Medicare-Medicaid plan in the country. With a network of more than 6,400 Providers and more than 2,000 employees, IEHP serves more than 1.2 million residents in Riverside and San Bernardino counties who are enrolled in Medicaid or Cal MediConnect Plan (Medicare-Medicaid Plan). Through a dynamic partnership with Providers and Community, award-winning service and innovative products, IEHP is fully committed to advocating for our Members and providing them with quality, accessible and wellness-based health care services. For more information, visit iehp.org.

About the City of Victorville

Located in Southern California at the high-point between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, Victorville is the leading city for both industry and retail in the High Desert Region. Victorville is a growing, vibrant community that is home to approximately 125,000 residents and some of the area's largest employers. Clean air, abundant mountain vistas, family-friendly recreation activities, spectacular sunsets and breathtaking night skies entice locals and visitors alike to fall in love with this city that is within a few hours of SoCal beaches, National Parks, mountain retreats, other major attractions; and less than an hour from Ontario International Airport.

SOURCE Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP)

Related Links

iehp.org


Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 15:53:09|Editor: huaxia

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ADEN, Yemen, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's internationally-backed President Abdu-Rabbu Mansour Hadi left his temporary office in the Saudi capital Riyadh and headed to the United States for annual medical checks, the state-run Saba News Agency reported Thursday.

Hadi left for the United States late on Wednesday, a government official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The Houthi rebels aligned with Iran launched a large military campaign and seized Yemen's capital Sanaa in late 2014, forcing Hadi and his government to flee into the southern port city of Aden.

Subsequently, the pro-Houthi forces backed by armored vehicles attacked Aden, leading Hadi to escape into exile in neighboring Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia along with other Arab countries intervened militarily and began pounding the Houthi-controlled Sanaa in March 2015 in response to an official request from Hadi to protect Yemen and roll back Iran's influence. Enditem
Messages were doing rounds on social media platforms that this year Ganpati idol immersion will not be allowed at the beaches due to the COVID-19 outbreak

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on Wednesday clarified that there were no restrictions on immersion of idols at the city's beaches during the upcoming Ganesh Chaturthi festival.

The civic body issued a statement to this effect after some messages started doing rounds on social media that immersion of idols will not be allowed at beaches in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The BMC also urged citizens to immerse their idols in 167 artificial ponds, which will be set up at various locations in the city for the 10-day festival.

"Devotees living one or two km away from the beaches can immerse their idols in the sea. However, others who live far away should preferably immerse their idols at home or in artificial ponds," the civic body appealed in the release.

The BMC has already issued guidelines that no public immersions will be allowed at COVID-19 containment zones in the city.

Considering the viral outbreak, the civic body has already appealed to citizens to celebrate the festival in a simple manner, avoid crowds, and take adequate precautions.
The Cabinet chief thanked the companies associated with Confiep for their solidarity in the fight against the pandemic.

"Private companies and the Government, at its different levels, are going to work in a coordinated and timely manner. Peru needs us," he expressed.

El titular de la PCM, @WalterMartosR , acompanado de la ministra Pilar Mazzetti, participa en la ceremonia de entrega de 1320 cilindros de oxigeno donados al @Minsa_Peru por la @CONFIEP , representada por su presidenta @mleondecespedes . pic.twitter.com/o4GUrqeKGK

El titular de la PCM agradecio a las empresas asociadas a la @CONFIEP por la solidaridad para luchar contra la pandemia, a traves de la donacion de balones de oxigeno. Estamos recibiendo este elemento importante que permitira subsanar la necesidad de oxigeno en las regiones. pic.twitter.com/KRTDWVrze8
At least four people have been killed in clashes in Ivory Coast as hundreds have taken to the streets following President Alassane Ouattaras decision to run for a third term this October, sources said on Thursday.

At least three people were killed on Wednesday in the central town of Daoukro in clashes between Ouattara supporters and backers of rival candidate Henri Konan Bedie, a security source and witnesses said.

On Thursday, an 18-year-old died in the southeastern town of Bonoua, 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the economic hub Abidjan in violence between demonstrators and security forces, said local mayor Jean-Paul Amethier.

The police station in Bonoua has been ransacked by angry demonstrators, and the police chief and officers have taken refuge in the courtyard, local resident Herve Niamkey said.

In Abidjan, scattered groups of demonstrators built barricades and burnt tyres in response to a call from the opposition and civil society groups, AFP journalists saw.

His candidacy is against the constitution  we dont want a third term, said protester Herve Seka in Anono district.

In the district of Yopougon, police fired teargas and chased protesters down narrow streets.

Several dozen protesters gathered in Port Bouet, a seaside area of Abidjan, while a heavy deployment of riot police maintained order in the upscale district of Cocody, where many politicians live, including Ouattara.

The government announced a ban on protests late on Wednesday in a communique read on state television.

Despite the violence, Ouattaras Houphouetist Rally for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) party announced that he would be formally nominated as its candidate at a big rally in Abidjan on August 22.

A party stalwart, Adama Bictogo, added that the party would demand that the government be held to account for the deaths in Bonoua.

Ouattara, 78, announced a week ago that he would contest the October 31 presidential elections, a move that came after his anointed successor Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly died of a heart attack.

The announcement sparked fury among Ouattaras critics, as he has already served two terms and can only contest a third by arguing that a constitutional change entitles him to reset the clock.

The vote is taking place in a country still scarred by a low-level civil war that erupted in 2011 when former strongman Laurent Gbagbo refused to cede power to Ouattara after losing elections.

The ensuing unrest claimed some 3,000 lives and split the country along north-south lines.

 Challengers lining up 

Daoukro is a stronghold of supporters of Bedie, an 86-year-old former president who last month was endorsed by the Democratic Party of the Ivory Coast (PDCI) as its candidate for the election and has called Ouattaras candidacy illegal.

Another candidate is former foreign minister Marcel Amon-Tanoh, 68, who does not yet have the backing of a party.

Gbagbos party, the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), has yet to name a candidate. Gbagbo was cleared of crimes against humanity last year by the International Criminal Court, although prosecutors are appealing the ruling.

Former rebel chief and ex-premier Guillaume Soro, 47, has said he will contest the vote, but he lives in self-imposed exile in France.

Soro has been sentenced in absentia to a 20-year jail term in Ivory Coast on charges of attempted insurrection.
Over the past week ahead of the countrys 55th birthday celebrations, over 180 critically endangered Hawksbill turtles were hatched in two different locations in Singapore, and were carefully guided back into the sea.

A batch of 41 hatchlings was first found on Pulau Satumu, Raffles Lighthouse Island on 6 August. Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) lighthouse keepers had been watching over the turtles nest and worked closely with NParks staff over the past few months to ensure the eggs reach maturity.

Along with a team from the National Biodiversity Centre, Raffles Lighthouse keepers carefully guided the hatchlings towards the sea.

The second batch of 146 little hatchlings made their way back to the sea across two nights, 7 and 8 August, at East Coast Park.

A female Hawksbill turtle was spotted on 23 May, coincidentally on World Turtle Day, at East Coast Park laying a batch of eggs. Another female was seen on 2 July but eventually left without laying eggs.

Hawksbills have declined in numbers by over 80% over the last century. They are hunted for their beautiful shells, commonly used in jewellery, and are drove nearly into extinction. Hawksbills hatchlings have also been sold illegally on the black market as aquarium pets.

Despite being one of the busiest ports and straits globally, Singapore has a rich marine environment that sees these critically endangered Hawksbill turtles coming to our shores to lay eggs. Females make the journey back to the beaches where they were born to nest every two to five years.

If you chance upon a nesting turtle in Singapore, NParks recommends the public to call 1800-4717300 to inform them. Other recommendations include keeping a distance from the turtle and the eggs, refrain from touching the turtle and the eggs, keep clear of tracks left by the turtle, and no flash photography allowed.
Auckland: New Zealand officials are scrambling to trace the source of an outbreak of the coronavirus, reporting 13 new cases in Auckland on Thursday, including a person who visited an aged residential care facility in Waikato.

The cases are being treated as a cluster and would now be moved into a quarantine facility instead of allowing them to recover at home, Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said.

New Zealand's Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield. Credit:Getty Images

He declined to name the aged care home as some residents and their families were still being informed. He said the person who visited the site, did so the day before they started showing symptoms.

The visit was to a family member and the person visiting also had contact with several staff, who were being tested. All aged care facilities in the country were currently closed for visitation.
People who work at grocery stores can't work from home. Here, Anthony Capone, a Vons supervisor in Torrance, greets customers in April. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

With California schools starting up again virtually, many parents are wondering how they can get back  or stay  at work if their kids cant physically go back to class.

Its not a one-size-fits-all conundrum. Two-parent households of means might be able to work from home and take turns helping kids navigate distance learning or hire a tutor. A single parent who is an essential worker might find herself with fewer options.

Daniel Alvarez, who works in a food facility, said he isnt sure how his family is going to manage his two school-age kids studies when his wife is finally able to return to her job as a hair stylist.

What do we do? Alvarez said recently while waiting in line with other parents for donated backpacks, school supplies and pantry items in East Los Angeles.

L.A. Unified School District, which serves more than 600,000 kids, including Alvarez's, will have online learning until further notice because of a surge in coronavirus cases. Gov. Gavin Newsom has also said that school districts can't reopen for in-person instruction if they're in a county that's on the state watch list. Only those that have been off the list for more than 14 days are allowed to reopen for in-person instruction, Newsom said.

Of course we want to be in compliance, we want everybody to be safe, Alvarez said. But we still need that second income to survive.

So what can parents in similar or equally untenable situations do?

Check with your district

Some school districts are offering support to working parents, or are considering means of support. Its key to look out for updates and see if theres any news you missed.

The Glendale Unified School District, for example, is rolling out on-campus, supervised technology pods for elementary children. Held in classrooms and other spaces during regular school hours, children of parents who opt into the program will be assigned to a small group whose members can access distance learning by their regular teachers, according to district officials. A substitute teacher or certified aid will provide support. Children and staff in the pods will be physically distanced and wont interact with members of other pods.

Story continues

These pods are designed to essentially allow working parents an alternate to child care, said Neda Farhoumand, former Glendale Council PTA president. And I will say the interest has been tremendous, much more I think than anyone expected.

Meanwhile. Los Angeles County is considering using parks and libraries in unincorporated areas as alternative learning sites for students, following a proposal by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors.

A report outlining a plan to provide staffing, supervision and programming to children is expected to arrive in late August.

Check with your employer

Some employers offer paid leave for caregivers, flexible work schedules and stipends for child care.

When schools first closed in the spring amid the pandemic, several of Californias largest employers stepped up their efforts to help working parents manage distance learning. Many of those measures were intended to be short-term, to get parents over what was previously thought to be a hump with an end in sight. Some have expired or will shortly.

But with the end growing ever hazier, those same employers are being forced to consider what to do next  and soon. Unions representing large contingencies of workers are urging employers to extend and in some cases, expand those benefits.

Child-care services have shifted from being viewed as a perk to being a critical need, said Rachael McCann, a senior director at the human resources consulting firm Willis Towers Watson.





Team up

Sometimes called a learning pod or social bubble, families have been joining forces to lessen the individual load of helping their children learn. In some cases, parents might take turns watching one another's children and helping them throughout the school day. In others, children might go to a designated space in one familys home or backyard and receive instruction from a tutor.

In the spring, Judith Goldstein, a single mother of a soon-to-be-sixth grader, had to leave home to work at a Highland Park grocery store most days of the week. She and her neighbors share a front patio, and they began living in a weird commune, as Goldstein described it. That meant that even though Goldstein was gone, her daughter Shai wasnt alone.

Still, it wasnt ideal. Her daughter was unhappy and distracted. With distance learning still in place, Goldstein decided to team up with another family to pool financial resources to hire a tutor. On the verge of launching a retail business in Highland Park, Goldstein said she will be able to take the kids to the business several days a week, and send them to the other familys home on the remaining days.

Parents are relying on one another in creative ways that do actually cultivate community, Farhoumand said.

Instead of the traditional carpool, a parent who works at JPL might help lead science enrichment for a small group of students, while another with a background in IT might provide Zoom assistance, she said.

Facebook groups and community meetings are good places to look for parents to team up with, she added. A Facebook group for LAUSD parents has nearly 25,000 members.





Apply for unemployment insurance, if possible

In California, its possible to receive unemployment benefits if you need to stay home with your child when their school pivots to online teaching. However, Californias Employment Development Department reviews unemployment claims on a case-by-case basis, and various factors can make the applicant ineligible.

For example, there may be someone else in the home who can care for the child, said Tia Koonse, legal and policy research manager at the UCLA Labor Center. You also probably cant get benefits if you could have stayed home with your child while remaining employed, Koonse added: Your employer may be willing to revise your schedule or let you telework.

Regular unemployment insurance benefits range from $40 to $450 per week, according to the EDD. (The EDDs unemployment insurance calculator can help you estimate how much you might receive.)

One downside: it might take a while for the money to show up. Possibly a very long while. Understaffed and technologically outdated, the state agency has struggled to process the avalanche of pandemic-related claims. There is now a substantial backlog, and some claimants have been waiting for their first dollar to arrive for months.
The 501(c)(3) tax exempt Thousand Currents and ActBlue Charities are supporting Black Lives Matter (BLM) Global Network, which is campaigning openly against President Trump on its website and also in other venues. BLM leader Patrisse Cullors said openly in a CNN interview, "Trump not only needs to not be in office in November but he should resign now. Trump needs to be out of office. He is not fit for office." "we are going to push for is a move to get Trump out Our goal is to get Trump out." 501(c)(3) resources cannot be used legally to influence an election.

A response to the tweet with the Cullors interview says, "Thanks, sending this tweet to the IRS so they can see BLM's 501(c)(3) status should be removed." (BLM itself is not tax exempt, but Thousand Currents and ActBlue Charities are.) Another person posted a screen shot of IRS rules, while another added, "So they want tax exempt status, but they are going to pull this?" People can act on this information via Form 13909. California, where Thousand Currents and the Tides Foundation are domiciled, uses Form CT9, "Complaint to The California Attorney General Regarding a Charity or Charitable Solicitation."

The very end (last ten seconds) of this Cullors video says, We get Trump out of office by leading with bold and creative action. There is more than ample evidence that BLM is therefore using tax-exempt resources from Thousand Currents, ActBlue Charities and, as of July, the Tides Foundation, to influence the election. While Form 13909 and CT9 complaints have doubtlessly been filed, there is no guarantee that regulatory agencies will be able to act on them prior to mid-October, when people will start to send in absentee ballots. We therefore need to take this controversy viral so voters can form their own opinions in the meantime.

The Tides Foundation Steps In

The Capital Research Center reported, "Tides Center Takes Control of Black Lives Matter Global Network." I am not familiar with the Capital Research Center but they also posted a letter from Thousand Currents to the California Attorney General.

"We represent Thousand Currents. By this letter, we hereby provide written notice to the California Attorney General in accordance with California Corporations Code 5913 of a proposed transfer (the "Transfer") by Thousand Currents, a California nonprofit public benefit corporation, of all of the assets associated with Thousand Currents' fiscal sponsorship of the Black Lives Matter Global Network project (the "Assets"), constituting substantial assets of Thousand Currents, to The Tides Center, a California nonprofit public benefit corporation ("Tides"), which will serve as the new fiscal sponsor of the Black Lives Matter Global Network project."

I have no way of knowing whether the Tides Foundation was aware of BLM's political activity when it accepted the fiscal sponsorship. That is between the Tides Foundation, Thousand Currents, and Black Lives Matter Global Network. My only concern, and that of the public, involves the use of taxpayer money to campaign against President Trump while engaging in a partisan, and I stress "partisan," get-out-the-vote effort that is emphatically not directed to people in MAGA hats or centrist blue collar Democrats in trade union hats.

Take This Issue Viral

Black Lives Matter Global Network has deceived many people and organizations (including for example Starbucks, the MLB, and the NBA) into believing it is a civil rights movement whose principal objectives are racial equality and police reform. BLM has made it clear that its priorities are instead, "This is the revolution. Change is coming," and "we continue the revolution" in combination with a 501(c)(3)-funded anti-Trump campaign. BLM and its supporters also seem to believe they have the right to "cancel," or destroy the livelihood or academic career of anybody who says one word against them. We must therefore expose BLM's betrayal of the trust of the American people, a fraud backed by the Democratic National Committee, and voters will express their revulsion accordingly on Election Day. Nothing is more devastating to the opposing side than the sense of broken trust among its former supporters.

There is ample precedent for discrediting an opposing movement to cost the other side an election. The 501(c)(3) tax-exempt Million Mom March claimed to be a commonsense gun safety organization in 2000, but it was actually promoting House candidates on its website and running what was called a thinly-disguised campaign rally for Al Gore. Nobody knows whether it would have turned out the additional few hundred votes Gore needed to win Florida because a columnist exposed the issue several months before the election. The MMM's supporters distanced themselves from it within a month of the scandal hitting the fan, and its collapse may well have cost Gore the election due to (1) the MMM's inability to get out the vote as planned and (2) outright alienation of voters whose trust the MMM betrayed.

As but one example, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America withdrew its public-relations support from the MMM when it learned of the electioneering. The Tides Foundation may feel similarly compelled to repudiate its even closer ties with BLM Global Network, which will be a comprehensive humiliation for BLM and all its corporate, academic, political, and organizational supporters.

Readers should therefore take viral this credible argument that Black Lives Matter Global Network is a political campaign disguised as a civil rights movement. Take it to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, talk radio, and your local newspapers to provide others with the evidence provided here that (1) BLM is campaigning openly against Trump and (2) BLM receives 501(c)(3) tax exempt support from the indicated sources. You can see the linked BLM website and Cullors interviews yourself. You don't have to take my word for them, and neither do Mr. and Ms. American Voter.

Civis Americanus is the pen name of a contributor who remembers the lessons of history and wants to ensure that our country never needs to learn those lessons again the hard way. He or she is remaining anonymous due to the likely prospect of being subjected to "cancel culture" for exposing the Big Lie behind Black Lives Matter.
Some U.S. schools have already begun the 2020-21 academic year, with thousands more set to launch in the next few weeks. Americans would be well-served to look beyond the countrys borders for signs of how school reopenings might go and lessons they might learn.

In the United States, the volley of conflicting guidance documents and policy recommendations for safe schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic has been difficult to parse, and tensions are high as the stakes for key decisions have life-and-death implications.

Numerous countries managed to reopen school buildings earlier this year, and the resulting successes and failures are instructive.

The Kaiser Family Foundation published a side-by-side comparison of the rate of positive COVID-19 tests on the day of school reopenings in 13 different countries. All but two had a national positivity rate below 4 percent on the day schools reopened. As of July 29, when some school building reopenings in the U.S. were just weeks away in some states, the positivity rate in the U.S. was 8.3 percent, according to the Kaiser report, which drew from data compiled by the Our World in Data initiative, based at the University of Oxford in England. None of the 13 countries examined by Kaiser reopened school buildings when the positivity rate was as high as that of the U.S.

As of this week, several statesincluding Arizona , Florida , Georgia , and Texas were recording positivity rates between 10 and 25 percent, much higher than the rates in countries where the government and public health officials deemed schools safe to reopen.

School reopenings have been most successful in countries that have significantly outpaced the United States ability to test for COVID-19, trace and isolate potentially infected people, and flatten the curve of new cases and hospitalizations. The United States currently accounts for 4 percent of the worlds population and 25 percent of the worlds COVID-19 cases.

That said, theres plenty of turmoil around the world. Kenya has canceled the rest of the school year and plans to require students to restart in the same grade when school resumes in 2021. Bolivia canceled the last few months of the school year and wont resume until 2021. Mexicos school buildings will remain closed this fall, and all students will learn via television broadcasts .

As in the United States, reopening plans in Canada differ from one province to the next, and theyre still forming as the school year is set to begin later this month. One province, British Columbia, has delayed the start of the school year from Sept. 8 to Sept. 10, giving teachers and staff a little more time to plan for students return.

In Toronto, the traditional September-to-January semester for high schoolers will be halved into a quadmester . Instead of taking four courses for the first half of the year, students will take two courses from September to November and then two more from November to January. One group of students will visit the school building for class each morning, and another group will visit each afternoon. Elementary schools in Toronto tend to have small enough class sizes that social distancing in-person is possible and schedule disruptions wont be dramatic.

Other countries have already begun reopening school buildings, with mixed results. Heres a look at three of them.

DENMARK

How Reopening Worked: Schools shut down in March as the country began a month of lockdown . By April, the countrys caseload had diminished to the extent that leaders felt comfortable reopening school buildings with a shortened day and requirements for social distancing. The country has not widely adopted masks, and teachers and staff were not required to wear them while at school.

On-the-Ground Perspective: Courtney Lockett is a kindergarten teacher at the Esbjerg International School on the west coast of Denmark. Her school opened on April 16 with requirements for two meters (roughly 6.5 feet) of space between desks, and recommendations to encourage hand-washing and teach outside as much as possible.

Parents are no longer allowed to enter the building, and class sizes were reduced, with the goal of keeping small groups of students together for the entire school day, rather than mixing people and increasing the risk of exposure to someone who is sick. Some teachers who previously taught a single subject were expected to become all-purpose classroom teachers. Dividers and temporary fences kept small groups of students from mixing while on the playground for recess.

The school day ended at 1 p.m., two hours earlier than usual. Lockett and her colleagues were encouraged to pare down the curriculum and focus on the essentials. Under the circumstances that we were in, it just wasnt possible to have normal teaching, she said.

Older students stuck to the social-distancing requirements for the most part, Lockett said, but its just not possible to keep 4- and 5-year-olds from playing next to each other and touching each other, Lockett said. Her students were all aware of the virus and nervous about it but thrilled to be interacting in person again.

They were just so happy to be together, Lockett said. It was just the best day ever when they were back in school.

The restrictions began to ease in May as the school year wound down and the virus caseload remained stable in Denmark. No one at Locketts school tested positive for the virus, she said.

This coming school year, class sizes will return to normal, but social distancing and other precautions will still be in place.

Lessons for U.S. Schools: Parents and teachers were anxious about returning to school in April, Lockett said, but the peninsula nations relatively low number of new cases kept the fear from becoming too overwhelming. She attributes the relative stability of the reopening process, in part, to the countrys small size and its universal health care and abundant free child-care options , achieved through some of the highest taxes in any country .

Were not so worried about how to pay for things as people in the States are, Lockett said.

For teachers, Lockett recommends trying to put on a happy face and be willing to talk about the virus if students want to.

If they hear adults being really moody and stressed, then theyre going to feed off that, she said. We just tried to do our best with the circumstances to show that things were going to be OK.

ISRAEL

How Reopening Worked: Emboldened by a persistent drop in new cases and enthusiasm for restarting the nations economy, leaders in Israel fully reopened school buildings in May. Children older than 7 are required to wear masks when theyre outside the classroom, and children in 4th grade and above are required to wear masks all day, but enforcement has been inconsistent.

But during that first week, one school reported more than 250 students and staff had contracted the virus. The reopening coincided with a heat wave that forced classrooms, already cramped with students in close proximity, to close the windows, reducing ventilation. Close to 250 schools in the country were forced to shut down again after reopening, and experts believe the school reopenings contributed to a second wave  of COVID-19 cases in the country at large.

On-the-Ground Perspective: On May 17, the day the government reopened schools and urged people to resume daily life outside the home, a 7th grade student at Gymnasia Haivrit high school reported to the school that he had tested positive for COVID-19. One day later, another student tested positive. The number of infections at the school quickly soared to 154 students and 26 staff members, the New York Times reported .

Upon learning of the first case, teachers and students who had come in contact with the infected 7th grader were urged to quarantine. After the second case was confirmed, the school closed. A few teachers were hospitalized, while 60 percent of the students were asymptomatic, according to a report in the European infectious disease journal Eurosurveillance. The most common symptoms were cough, headache, fever, sore throat, and muscle pain.

There was a general euphoria among the public, a sense that we had dealt with the first wave well and that it was behind us, Danniel Leibovitch, Gymnasias principal, told the Times. Of course, that wasnt true.

By the next month, 87 people who had come in contact with students or staff from the school also tested positive, according to the Eurosurveillance report.

Lessons for U.S. Schools: The Eurosurveillance report ends with a blunt set of recommendations: COVID-19 prevention in schools involves studying in small groups and minimizing student mixing in activities and transportation. Teachers and parents should lead by wearing face masks, hand hygiene, keeping physical distance, etc. School attendance should be avoided at any sign of illness.

Modest numbers of COVID-19 cases in a given community shouldnt prompt schools to relax or abandon precautions. Improving air circulation is also a priority that shouldnt be overlooked amid the partisan battle over school reopenings.

SOUTH KOREA

How Reopening Worked: The school year was set to begin in March, but got delayed three months due to the pandemic. The governments plan in June established phases of reopening for different grade levels: high schoolers first, then younger students gradually over the next several weeks. Schools that recorded a new COVID-19 case were required to close once again for cleaning. Teachers were required to enforce requirements including using designated stairways and doors, refraining from hugging, and keeping desks separated. Some schools were forced to close as soon as one day after reopening, due to a confirmed COVID-19 case.

On-the-Ground Perspective: Gyungbuk Girls High School, located near the center of the countrys COVID-19 outbreak, placed red and blue tape on floors, and staff members rehearsed the flow of foot traffic in the school before it reopened, according to an account in the Los Angeles Times. Students were so excited to return to school that some of them quickly violated the social-distancing requirements. Kids will be kids, principal Nam Young-mok told the Times.

Another school in Korea delayed the lunch period until 1:40 p.m., after classes ended, to prevent students from congregating maskless with each other after eating.

Lessons for U.S. Schools: Bringing students back in smaller groups could soften the blow if a school has to close once again shortly after reopening. Widespread use of masks in the country, as well as widely available COVID-19 tests and contract tracing operations, has helped ease the transition back to in-person schooling.

Even countries that appear to have gotten the virus under control can experience unexpected surges. A few weeks ago, the country reported 113 new infections the first time that number soared above 100 in four months.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, erroneously amended the sixth edition of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code, the chairman of the National Broadcasting Commission board, Ikra Bilbis, has said.

The minister while unveiling the reviewed code on August 4 in Lagos had said the amendments were necessitated by a presidential directive, in the wake of the 2019 general elections. He said the aim was to reposition the NBC for optimum performance.

The code, since its amendment, has stirred up controversy in the industry with many Nigerians kicking against its provisions.

Many Nigerians view the move as a backdoor attempt to clamp down on free speech, dissent bad the media.

In the amended code, the ministry increased the fine for hate speech from N500,000 to N5 million. It also announced tougher regulation of web broadcast among others.

Earlier on Thursday, the NBC fined a radio station, Nigeria Info 99.3 FM, N5 million for providing its platform to be used to promote unverifiable and inciting views that can incite crime and public disorder.

The decision came after a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Obadiah Mailafia, claimed on the radio that a governor of a northern State was the leader of the extremist group, Boko Haram.

Disagreements

In June, Armstrong Idachaba, NBC acting director-general (DG), who is also a member of the board, disowned a call for position papers by the board of the commission.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, Mr. Bilbis said he received over 50 position papers for the sixth amendment of the code but none of them was used.

Following the 2019 national elections, some members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) made observations to the Honourable Minister of Information at a FEC meeting about the divisive broadcasts engaged in by some broadcast media before, during and after the elections and the need to strengthen the operations of the NBC to avert such future occurrence.

This noble observation of Mr. President was unfortunately misunderstood by the Hon. Minister of Information.

Instead of studying and following the law, relevant rules and regulations, and direct the appropriate authorities as stipulated by the law to act on, he erroneously embarked on the review alone.

As a board, we have received and taken our time to compile the responses of numerous stakeholders which include our Nobel laureate, activists, legal practitioners, broadcasters, investors, BON, Content Creators, Copyright experts, and professional organizations. Most of them have adduced reasonable reasons against the proposed amendment.

The NBC was set up by law and there is an Act that guides its operations. The Honourable Minister therefore cannot usurp the powers of the board as clearly stated in the act. Any such action by the Honourable Minister is illegal.

The board of the NBC wishes to make it quite clear that as long as it is in place, the only NB Code that we recognize and which we shall work within the setting of operating policies and standards for the NBC is the 6th edition of the NB Code which was launched in 2019 in Kano, he said.

He also said the board was informed the launch of the new codes.

You may all recall that by 26th march 2020, (the day of the Public Presentation in Lagos), the federal government had already announced a COVID-19 lockdown of Lagos, Ogun states and the FCT.

It was therefore not a sincere effort to present such an important review document which affects peoples investments and livelihoods under such a situation, he said.

Mr. Bilbis said the amendment would destroy investments and lead to job losses.

He also said the minister has failed to show the approval of his own version by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The NBC is made up of a board of commissioners appointed by the president as a policy-making body.
NEW YORK, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Isolation Gown Market Research Report by Type (Extended-Use, Reusable, and Single-Use), by Certification (AAMI Level 1 Isolation Gown, AAMI Level 2 Isolation Gown, AAMI Level 3 Surgical Gown, and AAMI Level 4 Surgical Gown), by Distribution Channel - Global Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19



Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05951076/?utm_source=PRN



The Global Isolation Gown Market is expected to grow from USD 1,283.56 Million in 2019 to USD 3,891.56 Million by the end of 2025 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 20.30%.



Market Segmentation & Coverage:

This research report categorizes the Isolation Gown to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets:



Based on Type, the Isolation Gown Market studied across Extended-Use, Reusable, and Single-Use. The Single-Use further studied across Disposable Cotton Gowns, Disposable Polyester Gowns, and Disposable Spunbound Polypropylene Gowns.



Based on Certification, the Isolation Gown Market studied across AAMI Level 1 Isolation Gown, AAMI Level 2 Isolation Gown, AAMI Level 3 Surgical Gown, and AAMI Level 4 Surgical Gown.



Based on Distribution Channel, the Isolation Gown Market studied across Offline and Online.



Based on Geography, the Isolation Gown Market studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas region surveyed across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The Asia-Pacific region surveyed across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa region surveyed across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom.



Company Usability Profiles:

The report deeply explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global Isolation Gown Market including Anyang General International Co., Ltd., Berner International Corporation, BeYing Textile&Medical Co.,LTD, Boston Scientific Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc., Cardiva Integral Solutions, DACH Schutzbekleidung GmbH & Co. KG, Derekduck Corp, Dispowear Sterite Company, Dongguan Kinshun Packing Materials Co., Ltd., Franz Mensch GmbH, Hopeway B.V., Leboo Healthcare Products Limited., Medline Industries Ltd, Molnlycke Health Care AB, Narang Medical Limited, Shanghai Medical Corporation, Texsan Medical Ltd, TURISTA Co.,Ltd, and VWR International, LLC..



FPNV Positioning Matrix:

The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Isolation Gown Market on the basis of Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape.



Competitive Strategic Window:

The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies. The Competitive Strategic Window helps the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. During a forecast period, it defines the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth.



Cumulative Impact of COVID-19:

COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, so for and, the long-term effects projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlaying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report is delivering insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecast, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market.



The report provides insights on the following pointers:

1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on the market offered by the key players

2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyzes the markets

3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments

4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players

5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and new product developments



The report answers questions such as:

1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Isolation Gown Market?

2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Isolation Gown Market during the forecast period?

3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Isolation Gown Market?

4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Isolation Gown Market?

5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Isolation Gown Market?

6. What are the modes and strategic moves considered suitable for entering the Global Isolation Gown Market?



Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05951076/?utm_source=PRN



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WASHINGTON (AP)  A federal judge has turned back an effort to delay an independent medical review for a Saudi citizen held at the Guantanamo Bay detention center who was so badly mistreated in American custody that he cannot be put on trial.

U.S. District Judge Ellen Huvelle late Wednesday rejected the U.S. governments bid to put a hold on a March order that called for an independent panel of doctors to examine prisoner Mohammed al-Qahtani at the U.S. base in Cuba.

The Department of Justice has said it intends to appeal the March decision, which was issued by a judge who has since retired. But Huvelle noted in her ruling that, due to his health, the risk of delay to the prisoner far outweighs any potential harm to the government from dispatching a team of doctors to evaluate him.

Government lawyers, she wrote, failed to demonstrate either a likelihood of success on the merits or that the balance of harms weighs in their favor.

Al-Qahtani, who has been held at Guantanamo since early 2002, has long posed a legal dilemma for U.S. authorities. The government says he tried without success to enter the country in August 2001 to join the hijackers who seized four passenger planes in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

U.S. forces later captured him in Afghanistan and sent him to Guantanamo. He was then subjected to treatment that was so brutal that the Pentagon legal official in charge of the war crimes tribunals determined that it amounted to torture and he could not be prosecuted. The government has never said what it plans to do with him and his attorneys are seeking to have him returned to his native Saudi Arabia for medical treatment.

The prisoner has been diagnosed with severe mental illness, including schizophrenia, apparently due to a brain injury from a childhood car accident in Saudi Arabia. Huvelle factored this into her decision.

Mr. al-Qahtanis mental health issues were evident to U.S. government officials when he was first detained at Guantanamo Bay and have been exacerbated by the torture he initially suffered at the hands of the U.S. government and the over 18 years he has spent in detention, she wrote.

Story continues

Attorneys for al-Qahtani are seeking whats known as a Mixed Medical Commission, consisting of one doctor chosen by the government and two others from neutral third countries, to confirm the health condition of the prisoner. and eventually secure his release to Saudi Arabia for treatment. The Kingdom has agreed to his return.

The government has argued that al-Qahtani can get any medical treatment he needs at Guantanamo and that creating a Mixed Medical Commission, which has never before been provided for a prisoner at the detention center, would set a precedent that would inspire other to seek one as well.

The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request to comment on Wednesdays ruling.

Ramzi Kassem, an attorney for al-Qahtani, said he thinks the government is worried about what an independent medical panel would conclude about his client.

Theyre concerned the mixed medical commission will come back and say he meets the criteria for medical repatriation, said Kassem, a law professor at the City University of New York.

In her ruling, the judge noted it would likely take some time to put together a medical panel and dispatch it to the detention center, which has put restrictions on visitors due to the COVID-19 pandemic that have brought legal proceedings against other detainees to a standstill.

The U.S. still holds 40 prisoners at Guantanamo, down from a high of nearly 680 in 2003.
"Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl"

Cast: Janhvi Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Angad Bedi, Viineet Kumar Singh, Manav Vij

Direction: Sharan Sharma

Rating: * * * (three stars)

By Vinayak Chakravorty

We will gloss over veracity of facts, particularly the presentation of Indian Air Force, and keep the scope of this review to discussing cinematic elements. Factuality has never been a strong point with mainstream Bollywood, after all.

Gunjan Saxena's life unfolds as a set-piece biopic, played out to a pattern. The approach has its advantage. When your aim is to inspire with the story of an achiever who triumphed against all odds, keeping it simple and formulaic is the best way to connect with the larger audience.

The flip side is "Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl" misses out on probing deeper into the mind and persona of its subject, unlike the recent "Shakuntala Devi". There is no visible effort to explore the warts of a human being here, while defining a woman who defied every stereotype to emerge a winner.

Compared to the late math genius Shakuntala Devi, therefore, Flight Lieutenant Gunjan Saxena gets a rather unidimensional biopic, which adopts a set-piece tactic, dividing the story into chapters.

You have Gunjan's years as a dreamer, a teenager growing up in an era that scoffs at the idea of a girl who wants to fly. Once she has defied all diktats and made it into the Air Force training academy, you have Gunjan's formative years -- where her battle to trounce the overwhelming chauvinistic prejudice among an entirely male bunch of seniors and batchmates would seem like a bigger challenge than learning how to fly a chopper. Finally, you have the Kargil War where Gunjan, at the age of 24, became the first female Indian Air Force pilot to fly in combat zone.

For the sake of taking off on a high note, debutant director Sharan Sharma and his co-writer Nikhil Mehrotra start the story in chapter three as Gunjan is called in to fly for a recce in the war zone. That initial element of drama, however, is shortlived as we are immediately taken to Gunjan's past -- to the days when her dream of growing up to be a pilot is mostly ridiculed by almost everyone around, except her.

To their credit, Sharma and Mehrotra manages to retain an engaging appeal about their storytelling all through the film, and that remains the main reason why the near-two hour runtime is watchable all along. Mehrotra, whose works include "Dangal" and "Chhichhore", has utilised many cliches of standard Bollywood drama but credibly keeps his storytelling from going over the top, either with melodrama or with pop jingoism.

It is an engaging watch overall, with some well-executed scenes -- sequences featuring Janhvi Kapoor as Gunjan Saxena and Pankaj Tripathi as her father are, especially, excellent and among the highlights of the film. Mehrotra's screenwriting is subtly while creating drama in Gunjan's training academy phase, too.

And yet there are the essential trappings that keep coming back to remind you this is a Bollywood film. It is amusing, for instance, to watch a film in 2020 that, while narrating a story with Kargil War as backdrop, refers to the Pakistani army as "dushman". The banner of Dharma Productions at the start should perhaps prepare you for it, but there are too many songs -- the dream gaana, the military training gaana, even a shaadi gaana (co-producer Karan Johar has actually managed to squeeze in a slice of "Saajan ji ghar aaye" into the screenplay at one point for a hearty effect).

All such things, of course, goes into packaging a tailormade script for Janhvi. Although there are still many rough edges to polish, the young actress is definitely in far more assured form in this authorbacked project. She is supported by a handpicked cast that perfectly fit their roles. Pankaj Tripathi, Angad Bedi as Gunjan's elder brother, and Viineet Kumar Singh and Manav Vij as Gunjan's senior officers are particularly worth an applause.

(Vinayak Chakravorty can be reached at vinayak.c@ians.in)

-- Syndicated from IANS
Seasoned diplomat Vikram Doraiswami has been appointed as India's next envoy to Bangladesh.

Doraiswami, a 1992 batch Indian Foreign Service officer, is currently serving as additional secretary in-charge of international organisations and summits at the headquarters of the external affairs ministry in Delhi.

"He is expected to take up the assignment shortly," the external affairs ministry said in a press release.

Doraiswami succeeds Riva Ganguly Das in Dhaka.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The U.S. Navy, already behind schedule in completing planned maintenance, repairs and new construction shipyard work at the start of the year, was hit with an unexpected problem in March. That was when the covid19 pandemic caused personnel problems because about a quarter of shipyard workers were not showing up for work. While the shipyard personnel are considered essential workers and allowed to continue working during the covid19 quarantine, they were not obliged to show up. Some had very real health concerns if they were older or had underlying health conditions which made a case of covid19 potentially fatal. Most of those who die from covid19 are elderly or have underlying health problems which makes covid19 fatal. Some 80 percent of the population simply do not get infected, just as with the annual influenza pandemic.

This was less of a problem in other commercial enterprises because replacement workers could be hired. The shipyards were different because most of the shipyard workers have special skills and qualified replacements are hard to find. There is also the problem with union contracts, which guarantees shipyard workers their jobs after the covid19 emergency has passed. This replacement workers would only be getting temporary work, although they would prove themselves qualified for future hiring. For decades the problem with hiring was a lack of skilled people available to hire. Because of all this, hiring temporary replacements means bringing in unskilled workers who can be trained for low skill jobs. Normally, some retirees could be persuaded to come back for an emergency but with the covid19 situation most retirees would be in danger of a fatal case of covid19 and are thus not available.

The navy did have a solution for this; the 2005 SurgeMain program where over 2,400 navy reservists were identified who had skills that could be used in the shipyards, where a lot of work was making major repairs on ships so the vessels can go back to sea. These are the kinds of repairs that the ship crew can handle but ships are brought into shipyards every few years so the many backlogged repairs can be done in less time because the ship is not at sea and most of the crew is not present.

In 2020 the SurgeMain program brought in 1,600 reservists but this only made up for about a quarter of the shortage. The labor shortage is also threatening some critical shipbuilding projects, like components for the new Colombia class SSBNs (ballistic missile nuclear subs) where construction of the subs is to begin in 2021. Before that a lot of key components are being built and work on these items had been delayed by the worker shortage. As it is the reservists were told that they could on active duty for up to a year.

The navy is still working on calculating how much the labor shortage will delay ships getting back to sea or even built.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Aug. 12, 2020 | PADUCAH

By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 12, 2020 | 07:23 PM | PADUCAH

During Wednesday's meeting, the Paducah Board of Commissioners voted to move forward with the City Block Project.



By a vote of 3-1, Commissioners approved an ordinance for a development agreement between the City and Weyland Ventures Development, LLC for work on the City Block Project. Commissioner Richard Abraham voted no, and Gerald Watkins was unable to attend the meeting.



The project will include the development of a hotel, parking, open space, and mixed-use residential buildings that will be located on the 2.88-acre city-owned block surrounded by Second Street, Broadway, North Water Street, and Jefferson Street.



Under the agreement, the project will be divided into two construction phases. The city-owned block is divided into three tracts with Weyland purchasing the two smaller tracts (Tract 1 and Tract 2 in the picture). The middle tract (Tract 2) will continue to be owned by the city and will be used for parking and as open space.



The first phase involves Weyland purchasing Tract 1 for $141,000 for the construction of a 4 1/2 story boutique hotel along Jefferson Street. Weyland plans to invest a minimum of $12 million in the hotel. The City will be reviewing the design of the hotel to ensure that it suits the area. Weyland will also be providing improvements to Tract 2, creating a green space, open space, and parking. According to the plans, there will be 172 parking spots. The City will reimburse Weyland for the development expenses involved with Tract 2.



The second phase will include the construction of two mixed-use commercial and residential buildings along Broadway on Tract 3. Weyland will be purchasing Tract 3 for $155,000 with plans to invest a minimum of $9 million into the project.



Additionally, the Paducah Board of Commissioners approved an ordinance to amend and extend the agreement with Paducah Riverfront Hotel, LP for the city-owned property that is located at 501 North 3rd Street. The ordinance was approved by a vote of 3-1, again with Richard Abraham voting no. In 2015, the City had approved an agreement with Paducah Riverfront Hotel ( LinGate Hospitality) for a right of first refusal, as well as an option to purchase or lease the property. That agreement expired last month, but this ordinance extends the agreement for two more years. The ordinance has an expiration date of July 15, 2022, and amends the agreement to allow the developer more flexibility on the type of accommodations that can be developed on the property.



You can see the full meeting below.




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

India cannot keep depending on imported defence supplies: Rajnath Singh

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Aug 13: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said India cannot depend on foreign governments and overseas suppliers to meet its requirement of military platforms, and self-reliance in the defence sector is far more crucial than any other field.

Singh made the comments after launching a number of new products brought out by several defence public sector undertakings and the Ordnance Factory Board.

Atmanirbhar: The complete import embargo list of Defence Ministry

"Security is its first priority for the development of any nation. It is known to all of us that the nations, which are able to protect themselves, they have been able to build their strong image at the global level," Singh said.

"We cannot depend on foreign governments, foreign suppliers and foreign defence products to meet our defence needs. It is not compatible with the objectives and feelings of a strong and 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'," he added.

In a mega push to boost domestic defence production, 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 running into 2024.

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.

Smiles, handshake as Sachin Pilot & Ashok Gehlot meet after Congress truce | Oneindia News

"We should not only be able to ensure the fulfilment of our national interests but also be able to help other people in times of need. Self-reliance in the defence sector is far more crucial than any other field," Singh said.

Defence Minister promised a 'bang, ended with a 'whimper: Chidambaram

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 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.

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Story first published: Thursday, August 13, 2020, 20:26 [IST]
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Hong Kong, Aug 13 : Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai, who was arrested over alleged collusion with foreign forces, said on Thursday that there would be no world peace without changing China, calling on Americans to support the citys fight for freedom, it was reported.

"If we don't change (China), the world will not have peace," the South China Morning Post (SCMP) quoted the Apple Daily founder as saying in a live-streamed session organised by the Washington-based Heritage Foundation, a day after he walked free on bail.

Lai also warned the people of Hong Kong against radicalism and urged them to brace themselves for a long fight to resist the encroachment on the city's autonomy.

"We're like an egg and there is a high wall. We have to be very flexible, innovative and patient," he said.

Lai, along with his two sons and four senior employees of the tabloid-style newspaper known for its scathing criticisms of Beijing, was arrested on Monday when more than 200 officers raided the Apple Daily offices, sparking an international backlash.

In the 40-minute live chat with the US think tank on Thursday, the 72-year-old said he did not expect the arrests to come so early, considering the "strong responses from the international community" after Beijing imposed the sweeping national security law on June 30, the SCMP reported.

Lai is the first high-profile figure to be held under the new law which is aimed at punishing acts of secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security.
The Chinese company accused of dehumanizing Nigerians in Abia state

A Nigerian man has shared photos on Twitter exposing a Chinese company in Abia state where Nigerian workers are treated as slaves.

According to the man, the workers are subjected to the most dehumanizing condition anyone could think of. Tthey resume by 6am and close by 7pm and no one dares object to the treatment.

According to the writer, the workers are mandated to call the Chinese citizens on the site Masters, otherwise they will be sacked.

He wrote:

@fisayosoyombo @segalink, I took my investigations to INNER GALAXY GROUP. A Chinese modern day slave camp, right inside Nigeria.

This company is located at Umuahala, Obuzor Asa, in Ukwa West LGA of Abia State.

My revelation is heart breaking, to say the least. @hartng

This company has over 1000 Nigerian workers, working under the most dehumanizing conditions ever known to mankind. They resume work as early as 6am, & close as late as 7pm daily. Monday till Sunday.

NO LEAVE.

NO OFF.

NO EXCUSE.

NO OFFER LETTER.

NO EMPLOYMENT LETTER.

A worker can be employed today, & be sacked that same day for no reason. Every day & minute in that company, could be your last, as a Nigerian worker. There is no job security, or job guarantee. They will sack workers, chase them away with Army or police, never to return.

Just like a slave, and a slave master relationship. Every Nigerian in that company is mandated to call their Chinese employers MASTER or MISTRESS. failure to do that, attracts a direct sack. Nigerians are violated and molested by their Chinese employers daily.

Male Nigerian workers are physically assaulted, why their female counterparts are sexually assaulted without any consequence.

For instance. A Chinese MASTER in inner Galaxy, instructed soldiers to beat up this Nigerian worker like this.



This lady was sacked by her Chinese employers at Inner Galaxy group, because a Chinese MASTER solicited for paid SEX from her, and she declined.

This man was injured right inside the company premises, while on production duty. His foot was amputated, because of the level of damage. Up till this very moment, he has not been compensated, but has long been sacked by the company.



The government of Abia State @Abiastategov is fully aware of these atrocities, the governor of Abia state OKEZIE IKPEAZU @GovernorIkpeazu is fully aware.

In fact, the governor is a regular visitor to INNER GALAXY GROUP.

But he chose to be silent, despite all the atrocities.

INNER GALAXY GROUP, has Abia state government, in its armpits, in the name of Employers of labour They bought over the @PoliceNG & the @HQNigerianArmy around them with bribes. They now detect to the Army & police how to treat & oppress Nigerians, who are their employees.

Chinese MASTERS will use derogatory words on Nigerian employees, and you dare not talk back at them. Because the consequence is grievous. After the physical assaults you will get, you will still be sacked. Chinese MASTERS will boast of killing you, & getting away with it.

Nigerians are treated worst than second class citizens. The Chinese treat their Nigerian employees as lesser humans in their own soil.

Here is the canteen the company provided for their Nigerian workers, to go have their meals.

See where Chinese employers, Masters and Mistress of Inner Galaxy group do have their meals. I sneaked in a secret camera to capture this. Please compare it to what Nigerians use, and see the difference, for yourself.

For over 3 months & counting, Inner Galaxy Group has been holding workers on hostage because of covid19. They locked the gates, denying workers access to go home. If you dare complain, the @PoliceNG DPO of Obehie police station CSP Isiguzo will be called, to arrest you.

Workers are camped in a prison like accommodation provided by the company before now.

See where Nigerian workers of inner Galaxy group sleep, after 13 hours of tedious job daily.

It is truly heartbreaking to see what fellow Nigerians, are reduced to. Because of government insensitivity, and the high rate of unemployment. Chinese now feel they are doing us favour, by treating Nigerians as slaves in our own country, in the area of employment.

With the little i know, it is only prisoners that are subjected to these type of dirty environment and accommodations in Nigeria.

Nigeria has failed are citizens, @Abiastategov has failed her people. Okezie Ikpeazu @GovernorIkpeazu is a failure.

@hartng

Cameras are allover the company, monitoring activities of workers daily. Workers can not gather themselves for any reason whatsoever. They cant form Union, they cant protest or press on for any demands. The Army Barracks around, is been used at will. Just like police.

Here some workers protested the dehumanizing conditions, they are subjected to daily by Inner Galaxy group. They were rounded up right inside the company, beating up, and sacked.

On a final note, let me state it here categorically that, out of over 1000 Nigerian workers with Inner Galaxy group, it was in June that the company gave 18 employees offer letters. Out of over 1000 workers.

IT IS NOT A GUARANTEE THAT, THEY CANT BE SACKED ANY TIME.
EASTON  On Thursday morning, the Washington County Fairgrounds were eerily quiet.

Tractors werent roaring.

Cows werent mooing.

Kids werent screaming from high-flying rides.

And there was no smell of sausage, peppers and onions.

But in cow barn No. 6, a group of young adults was slapping green paint on a fence.

Battenkill Community Services is spending Thursdays in August and September painting barns on the fairgrounds, a volunteer project for the group that supports adults with developmental disabilities.

We normally come down during fair week and spend every day down here, checking out the exhibits and doing all the good fair stuff, said Karen Squires, special projects manager for Battenkill Community Services. And when the fair got canceled, everybody was bummed, I mean like majorly bummed.

Battenkill Community Services is a nonprofit that serves people from Saratoga, Warren, Washington and Rensselaer counties. Their buses pick up adults from Whitehall to Buskirk.

A number of the members at Battenkill Community Services have volunteered to help paint barns, giving them a chance to actually spend time at the fairgrounds. The Washington County Fair was supposed to take place Aug. 24-30, but was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Theyre excited, Squires said. They think its kind of neat to be here without anybody here.

Dan H. usually spends a week with his farming family at the Washington County Fair. He shows sheep and loves fair food  particularly the pizza, cheese fries, ice cream and taco salad.

I enjoy it, Dan said, volunteering here. (Battenkill Community Services does not release last names of its clients.)

The crew has already gone through 5 gallons of green paint in just two days. The fair supplied the paint.

I think most people would agree its good work. It feels good to get good work done, said Josh Beayon, a direct support professional at Battenkill. And paintings good because when you paint you can see the finished product or the progression of it.

Battenkill Community Services is always in need of donations, and is also looking for other volunteer opportunities for its members.

Part of our mission is to service others in our community, and this is what we want to do, Squires said. Its teaching teamwork to our guys, teaching skills, working together and not getting paint on one another and just having fun. And they really feel like theyre helping the fair and to know that they can walk by here in years to come and say, We painted that.

The Washington County Fair is also a nonprofit run by a volunteer board of 32 directors and organized by hundreds of volunteers, said Rebecca Breese, a fair co-manager.

In a year when we have lost our main source of income, Breese said, help and support from organizations like the Battenkill Community Services enables our community landmark to come back better than ever in 2021.

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Two weeks before fall orientation is scheduled to begin for a resumption of on-campus schooling, Reed College is already dealing with two employees who tested positive for the coronavirus.

The two positive cases were detected early this week after mandatory virus tests implemented by the college. Neither employee was suffering any symptoms.

The results illustrate the challenges facing colleges and universities as they weigh the pros and cons of relaunching in-person instruction. Most colleges in Oregon intend to open their campuses, their dorms and dining halls this fall with strict new precautions and protocols intended to keep the virus at bay.

Increasingly, faculty and alumni are questioning the wisdom of doing so given recent increases in the number of cases.

Groups at Reed College, Willamette University and Lewis & Clark College have sent letters to their respective college presidents urging them to back off plans to reopen. Requiring in-person instruction under the current circumstances is gravely irresponsible, claimed 345 Willamette alumni.

We are concerned that it is contrary to the health and safety both of the Reed community and the greater Portland community to encourage hundreds of students to travel to Portland and live in campus dorms or shared off-campus housing while COVID-19 cases are at record high levels, 188 Reed faculty and staff wrote in a letter to college President Audrey Bilger.

At Lewis & Clark, about 80 alumni also urged the administration to keep the campus locked down.

There are still many things we do not know about how this disease spreads and affects individuals and communities over both the short and long term, the group said in a letter to the college president. We respectfully urge you to reconsider plans for in-person classes and activities on campus this fall.

All Oregon colleges shut down their campuses last spring and moved to online classes as part of Gov. Kate Browns stay-home order.

The Willamette alumni said they will make no contributions to the university until and unless it closes its Salem campus and goes all virtual this fall. Otherwise, the local dissent is downright genteel compared to the more bare-knuckled debate in some other states. Early this month, professors at the University of North Carolina reached out directly to students urging them to stay away from campus this fall. At Purdue, the university president blasted an engineering professor who objected to their reopening plan as frankly, not the most scientifically credible corner of our very STEM-based campus.

Meanwhile, at the University of Oregon, the administration is polling faculty members to determine how they feel about reopening. A leader of the Oregon faculty senate said he supports the colleges tentative plan to reopen.

I do believe the UO is doing a good job balancing the need to protect safety, said Elliot Berkman, an associated professor of psychology and president of the faculty senate. The administration is doing everything it possibly can at this point to make sure we are prepared in case public health experts determine community transmission is low enough and our testing capacity is high enough that we can resume with those precautions in place.

Oregon officials said last spring that they had tentatively decided to reopen campus in the fall. Now, after a recent surge in cases, UO officials said they will make a final decision on Aug. 26.

Most other colleges in Oregon are less equivocal. Theyre opening. They hope that aggressive testing, isolation wards, contact tracing and social distancing will protect against outbreaks.

The challenges facing colleges came into focus with the two positive tests at Reed this week.

Last week, the college launched the first step of its precautionary regime -- coronavirus tests for all 400 staffers and faculty members who will be on campus this fall.

Proponents would argue that in this case, Reeds system worked. The tests detected the two positive cases.

Per guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, both employees will enter a 10-day quarantine period. They will be allowed to return after that quarantine if theyre symptom-free and they get their doctors approval, Reed spokesman Kevin Myers said.

As the number of infections surged this summer, at least two Oregon colleges -- Portland State University and the University of Portland -- dumped their plans to reopen. The virus risks were simply too high, their administrators decided.

The debate is also playing out at the K-12 level, where this highly personal issue has also taken on partisan tones. President Donald Trump downplays the danger posed by the virus and is pressuring states and school districts to open. Teachers unions have filed lawsuits to halt the reopening plans. Students and their parents are stuck in the middle. Virtual classrooms typically means their children remain at home, which poses all sorts of financial and logistical hardships on the parents.

Portland Public Schools has announced it will remain in virtual mode at least through early November.

I think these decisions are extremely difficult, said Roza Tammer, one of the Lewis & Clark alumni who signed on to the letter urging the college to remain virtual only. Peoples livelihoods are at stake; peoples educations are in question.

But Tammer and some fellow alumni argue the danger posed by the virus is too great.

Virtual learning can never fully replace the rich experience of living, studying and learning on Palatine Hill, the dissenters wrote. But in a time of extraordinary uncertainty about how COVID-19 will impact the fundamental health and well-being of so many, its vital that you proceed with great caution This is not a risk that Lewis & Clark has to take.

Tammer is an epidemiologist with the state of Oregon. She said she is speaking out strictly as a concerned graduate, not in her professional capacity.

In response, college president Wim Wiewel noted that Lewis & Clark will allow any student or faculty member to take or teach all their classes online rather than in-person.

We have chosen the path that is right for us, Wiewel said in his response. We will continue to evaluate our choices as the fall semester and the course of the pandemic unfolds.

At Reed, President Bilger acknowledged that the virus is still with us, and it is impossible not to have worries about being out in the world. But, she added, she hasnt changed her mind about reopening.

I continue to support pursuing the well-developed plan we announced for bringing students back to campus and presenting our educational program with a mix of online and in-person instruction, she said.

More than 200 Reed students weighed in this week posting a petition on Instagram calling for a continued campus lockdown.

-- Jeff Manning; jmanning@oregonian.com
The High Court has ruled against a Queensland family of a woman left with brain damage after a severe asthma attack, effectively ending their years-long quest for compensation.

In addition to the finding against them, the family has also been ordered to pay the Queensland governments legal costs incurred in the legal battle.

Jennifer Leanne Masson was left with serious brain damage after an asthma attack in 2002.

Jennifer Leanne Masson was 25 when she was left with permanent serious brain damage in 2002 after suffering a severe asthma attack, despite being treated by paramedics and rushed to hospital.

Her family maintained she had received inadequate care from the treating paramedics, in particular that she had initially been given the drug salbutamol instead of adrenalin, which they claim was a key reason for her death.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 14 2020

Indonesian ride-hailing decacorn Gojek launched a website on Monday to help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) go online.

The website, melajubersamagojek.com, provides advice to business owners on which Gojek applications can help them accelerate their digitizational process.

Going digital is not easy if there is only one part of the value chain that is digitalized. That is why we offer end-to-end solutions, Gojek co-CEO Andre Soelistyo said during an online press conference.

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At the first hearing, the Supreme Court requested all the involved parties to submit notes regarding the same. Bihar government compiled a detailed report in response to Rhea Chakraborty's petition seeking transfer of FIR from Patna to Mumbai. In the report, they explained that the Bihar government had complete jurisdiction to probe the case. The Bihar Government also feels that since the CBI has taken over the case Rheas plea to transfer the probe to Mumbai has become infructuous. The Supreme Court is expected to announce their decision on the same today.

questioned by the Enforcement Directorate after Sushants father KK Singh accused the actress of money laundering. Rhea is currently beingafter Sushants father KK Singh accused the actress of money laundering.

With each passing day, it seems that the investigation surrounding Sushant Singh Rajput is getting murkier. Recently, actress Rhea Chakraborty filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking the transfer of the FIR filed against her in Patna.
Businesses in Nepal have laid off 22.5% of their workers to curb the spread of coronavirus which affected tourism and other activities, a senior central bank official reportedly said on August 13. According to the reports, a detailed study was conducted by the central bank in June which revealed that most of the jobs were lost in hotel and restaurants followed by agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and the wholesale and retail sectors. In addition, the tourism sector is the worst-hit in the small Himalayan nation.

As per reports, a nationwide lockdown was imposed in the country in March after two cases of COVID-19 were reported.

READ: India Gifts 10 Ventilators Worth Rs 28 Million To Nepal To Help Its Fight Against COVID-19

Workers lose jobs

The study claimed that the lockdown measures were relaxed in June but the economic activity would take some time to revive even after the elimination of virus. Gunakar Bhatta, an executive director of the Nepal Rastra Bank, who led the study said, "Businesses, specially the hotels, said it will take them 13 months to return to a pre-COVID-19 situation".

The study noted that workers are facing average pay cuts of more than 18% and the pandemic forced 61% of business to shut down completely. The production and turnover of the business establishments that stayed open were on average up to 73% lower. So far, Nepal has reported 24,432 coronavirus cases and 91 fatalities and the health workers expect that the peak infections are still week away.

READ: Uttar Pradesh On High Alert Ahead Of Independence Day; Security Amped Along Nepal Border

Meanwhile, India on August 9 gifted 10 ventilators worth Rs 28 million to Nepal to support the country's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. As per reports, Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra handed over the ventilators to Nepal Army chief Purna Chandra Thapa during a ceremony at the Nepali Army Headquarters.

As per a statement from the Indian Embassy in Nepal, these ventilators will support a wide range of applications which include advanced invasive or non-invasive respiratory support. It further added that these can be used in hospitals with ICU, tertiary multi-specialty hospitals, and dedicated ICUs. Moreover, due to their compact nature, the ventilators are portable and handy in the transportation of patients requiring intensive care, the statement added.

READ: China, Nepal Should Support Each Others Core Interests: Chinese Official

READ: Four Indian Army Gurkha Soldiers Test COVID-19 Positive In Nepal


BERLIN - Tens of thousands of travellers who were tested for the coronavirus upon entering Germany in the last two weeks waited Thursday to learn whether they were infected as Bavaria state officials acknowledged that many recipients had yet to be notified, including hundreds with positive results.

Bavarian Gov. Markus Soeder postponed his own vacation to the North Sea coast to deal with the holdup, which came as Germany reported its highest number of new virus cases since May 1.

The state Health Ministry said there had been delays in releasing 44,000 test results to people who were checked on their way into Germany, primarily at highway rest stops, including 908 who had tested positive for COVID-19.

The breakdown that occurred is very irritating and regrettable, Soeder told reporters.

The governor said state Health Minister Melanie Huml offered her resignation, but that he did not accept it and Humi still had his confidence.

It was a failure in the implementation, but not in the strategy, Soeder said.

Huml said that government employees and staff members from a private company had worked through the night on processing the results and were making calls to all the people who had tested positive.

She could not say how many had been reached, nor where all the people with pending results lived, saying that many of those tested had provided cellphone numbers so their locations were unknown.

This is an ongoing process, she said.

Bavaria has offered free voluntary tests at airports, as well as specific train stations and highway rest areas, and has carried out some 85,000 since the end of July, Huml said.

The interest was higher than expected, and the delays were almost exclusively at the rest areas and train stations where some 60,000 people were tested since July 30, officials said.

Volunteer organizations initially ran the traveller testing program, and workers manually entered tested peoples contact details into computer spreadsheets.

The Bavarian Red Cross, one of the groups involved, said they had been given one day to set up five test stations and the Health Ministry provided no software, so the groups had to rely on what they had.

Managing Director Wolfgang Obermair said it was regrettable that his and other aid organizations were being painted in a negative light.

The stations are all now being taken over by private companies, which Obermair said had worked on streamlining the process in the past two weeks.

Soeder, who has national political aspirations, has been widely criticized for the failure to ensure people were promptly informed of the test results.

Anyone who constantly portrays himself as a crisis manager as governor and regularly pats himself on the back is also responsible for ensuring that everything works, Annalena Baerbock, co-leader of the Greens, told German news agency dpa.

Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn defended Soeder, telling public broadcaster ZDF that the delay in communicating the results of 44,000 tests was annoying, without a doubt but that Bavaria was heading in the right direction.

Basically, Im very grateful that we are testing so extensively and that Bavaria also makes it possible to take tests at rest stops when entering the country by car, Spahn said. But then, of course, the results have to be transmitted.

Soeder noted that Bavaria was the only state offering the roadside tests and said the high number of infections detected underscored that the overall strategy of test, test, test was a good one.

We were the pioneers, but naturally mistakes were made, and these mistakes are very regrettable, he said.

Germany has widely been seen as a success story in managing to quickly slow the spread of the pandemic, from a peak of more than 6,000 new cases daily in late March and early April to the low hundreds.

The numbers have been rising recently, however, with the countrys disease control centre, the Robert Koch Institute, reporting 1,445 new confirmed cases Thursday.

The daily count of new cases in Germany has topped 1,000 several times recently. The German health minister said Wednesday that small and mid-sized outbreaks have occurred in almost all regions, largely driven by travellers returning from abroad, people partying and family gatherings.

As of Saturday, any travellers arriving anywhere in Germany from high-risk areas were required to take coronavirus tests.

Karl Lauterbach, an epidemiologist and lawmaker for the centre-left Social Democrats, said the new figures were worrying.

The rising number of infections is clearly the start of a second wave, Lauterbach told German broadcaster n-tv.

He called for test procedures to be changed, saying local health authorities have reached their limits and the focus should be on so-called super-spreaders who make up 10-20% of those infected but are responsible for 80% of transmissions.

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Mumbai Police have taken the custody of two directors of Goodwin Jewellers for investigation into six cases registered against them in the city.

The two directors, Sunilkumar Mohanan Akkarakaran, 45, and his brother Sudheerkumar Mohanan Akkarakaran, 43, were lodged in Thane jail after they were previously arrested by the Thane police in December for allegedly duping thousands of investors across Maharashtra to the tune of Rs25 crore.

Mumbais LT Marg police station is interrogating the two accused in three first information reports (FIRs) filed by Zaveri Bazaar-based jewellers claiming that the accused bought gold jewelry from them but did not pay them. The accused duped the three jewellers to the tune of nearly Rs7 crores.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 14:52:26|Editor: huaxia

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SYDNEY, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- The number of unemployed Australians topped one million for the first time ever during the month of July amid the COVID-19 pandemic despite almost 115,000 jobs being created during the same period, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said Thursday.

Between June and July, the national unemployment rate rose from 7.4 percent to 7.5 percent, an increase of 15,700 people, reaching its highest level percentage-wise since 1998, as businesses struggled with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, some economists suggested the real rate of unemployment was closer to 10 percent as the official figures did not include the number of people who were not working but relying on government wage subsidy programs such as JobKeeper.

"Without JobKeeper, the ABS estimates that the unemployment rate would be 0.8 percentage points higher, and adding in those people that have lost their job and exited the workforce since March, the rate rises to around 10 percent," Sarah Hunter from BIS Oxford Economics told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

In a recent update, the Reserve Bank of Australia outlined a "baseline scenario" where the country's unemployment rate will reach 10 percent by the end of the year, and gradually decline to around seven percent over the following years. Enditem
The Duke of Sussex will credit sport with helping bring people 'back from the darkest places' as he appears in a new Netflix documentary.

Prince Harry, 35, who is currently living in a $14 million mansion in Santa Barbara, stars in a new Netflix documentary Rising Phoenix, which is set to air on the platform on August 26 and shares the history and stories behind the Paralympic Games.

In a trailer for the film, the Duke says: 'There isn't anything else in the world that can bring you back from the darkest places than sport.'

Prince Harry follows in the footsteps of Meghan Markle, 39, with the move after the Duchess offered a voiceover for a Disney film earlier this year.

Sources revealed in January that Prince Harry and Meghan plan to make a living by providing voiceovers and producing documentaries on worthy issues such as mental health and climate change.

The Duke of Sussex, 35, credits sport with helping bring people 'back from the darkest places' as he appears in a new Netflix documentary

Elsewhere in the trailer, Prince Harry adds: 'Yes, lives are being changed on the track. But lives are also being changed on the stands.'

In the clip, the Duke can be seen wearing a relaxed green shirt and a pair of simple grey jeans and reclines on a green sofa as he speaks from within a studio space.

The sporting subject of the documentary is a passion of Prince Harry's, with the royal setting up the Invictus Games in 2014.

The film will premiere in over 190 countries worldwide on the streaming service on August 26.

The royal is following in the footsteps of his wife Meghan Markle, 39, who offered a voiceover to a Disney documentary earlier this year

Its release was planned to coincide with Tokyo 2020 but it is now hoped it will now form an important part of the celebrations leading up to the Paralympic Games next year.

In January, Prince Harry and Meghan announced they planned to quit as senior royals, seek financial independence and move to North America.

The couple, who are breaking away from the monarchy to earn their own money in the US, have had to ditch using Sussex Royal as their brand name.

Prince Harry is following in his wife's footsteps with the move, with former actress Meghan agreeing to do the narration for a Disney documentary Elephant after a direct request from filmmakers,

The Duchess signed a voiceover deal with Disney in return for a donation to an elephant charity (pictured, promoting the documentary)

The move came after the Duke of Sussex was filmed touting his wife's voiceover skills to Disney boss Bob Iger at the UK premier of Lion King last year.

Her fee for the project went entirely to the Elephants Without Borders charity - an organisation dedicated to conserving wildlife and helps protect the animals from poaching.

Shortly after the Duke and Duchess announced their intention to step back from royal duty, a senior Netflix executive said the streaming giant would like to work with them.

Netflixs chief content officer Ted Sarandos said at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in January that the streaming giant would like to work with Harry and Meghan, adding: Who wouldnt be interested? Yes, sure.

The decision to work with Netflix is also a move reminiscent of former US president Barack Obama and his lawyer wife Michelle.

The duke and duchess want to follow in the footsteps of former US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle, who are currently working with Netflix on several documentaries, sources revealed

In January, sources confirmed the couple had discussed their plans with the former US president and his wife and wanted to mimic the way they had managed to build a successful, but dignified, life for themselves after the White House.

Since leaving the White House, the Obamas have earned a small fortune by selling rights to their autobiographies and setting up their own production company, which has bagged a lucrative deal with Netflix.

A source said: They have found huge commercial success without actually looking like they are getting their hands dirty, to put it bluntly, and retaining their popularity.

In fact it is fair to say that their star has soared since leaving the White House, particularly Michelles, and this is something Meghan admires very, very much.

Since leaving the White House the Obamas have begun to earn a small fortune by selling rights to their autobiographies and setting up their own production company, which has bagged a lucrative deal with Netflix

After stepping down as senior members of the Firm in March, the couple signed with New York-based Harry Walker Agency in June, which represents the Obamas and the Clintons.

Finding Freedom co-author Omid Scobie also claimed the couple have big plans for the next few years, and are basing their working model on the Obamas.

He said their plans were 'not too dissimilar' from what the former president created after leaving the White House and setting up Higher Ground production company.

He pointed to the Obama's multiyear production deal with Netflix to produce films and documentaries covering topics like race, class and civil rights.

The news that Prince Harry will appear in the documentary comes after it emerged the Duke and Duchess have snapped up a $14.7million home in Santa Barbara, California (seen above)

The trailer's release comes after it emerged Prince Harry and Meghan have secretly bought a private family home in Santa Barbara, ditching Tyler Perry's 12-bedroom Beverly Hills mansion for 'considerable privacy.'

The couple bought the sprawling nine-bedroom and 16-bathroom mansion in upscale Montecito for $14.65million on June 18, making them neighbors with celebs Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres.

Property listings say the home took nearly five years to build and included a library, office, spa with a separate dry and wet sauna, a gym with a stripper pole, game room, arcade, theater, wine cellar and five-car garage.

Harry and Meghan bought the luxury property after securing a $9.5million mortgage, it is believed, implying that they made a down-payment of more than $5million.

The Sussexes have been living in the Montecito home for six weeks. They are pictured above with Archie in September last year

Reports said yesterday that Harry and Meghan purchased the home with help from Prince Charles, but a source told DailyMail.com that the couple 'feel proud to have struck out on their own and they are saying they bought it without any help from his family.

'They do have a mortgage, but they see this as their own place, free from relying on anyone else  a proper family home,' the source said.

At their peak Harry and Meghan's combined wealth had been estimated to be around $43million.
(Natural News) Truck drivers are getting caught in the crossfire as violent crimes spill over into the nations highways.

In a series of reports, motoring and trucking news outlet Transportation Nation Network noted that within the past few weeks, violence against truck drivers had a notable uptick, a couple of which have been deemed life-threatening and even fatal.

One such incident, which happened in a Chicago suburb, involved a 58-year-old male who was found dead in the cab of his truck. The victim, who was not identified, suffered a gunshot wound, Illinois police have said.

A similar incident happened in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where a truck driver ended up in the hospital after attempting to thwart a robbery of his semi-truck. According to authorities, a motorist pulled up alongside the victims semi and attempted to steal tools from the truck.

As reported by local news outlet KTUL, the suspect ran over the truck driver after the latter noticed the robbery. According to authorities, the semi driver went through the windshield as the suspect drove across the street to a field.

Aside from violent crime, truck drivers must also be able to handle situations involving protesters, according to Collin Mooney, executive director of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.

Even a peaceful protest can transition pretty quickly into a violent situation. I recommend if any truckers are operating in any area where protests are gathering or plan to gather, avoid the area altogether. Not just for their safety, but for preserving the equipment and supplies as well, Mooney said, referring to an incident wherein trucker and independent contractor Bogdan Vechirko nearly drove an 18-wheeler into a large group of protesters in Minneapolis.

https://twitter.com/MnDPS_DPS/status/1267237995477970945?s=20

The incident, which took place two months ago, did not result in any injuries among the protesters. It did, however, result in the 35-year-old Vechirko sustaining physical injuries after he was pulled out of his cab and beaten by several protesters before others stepped in to shield him.

This incident, which ended with Vechirko being released without charges, has since spurred discussions as to how truckers should act when confronted with protesters.

We will defend ourselves every time, up to and including, using our 80,000-pound trucks and its 1,800 foot-pounds of torque to run you over. We dont want to, but will if we have to, to save our own life, Mark Staite, a truck driver who mentors young people joining the trucking industry through a small trucking-education group on Facebook and YouTube, said in a Facebook post that has since gone viral. (Related: Trucking company halts deliveries to cities that are pushing to defund or abolish the police.)

Despite his jarring message, however, Staite maintains that he is not calling for violence, noting in an interview that the preservation of safety is of paramount importance.

Thats not the point here. We, as professional drivers, dont want to run people over, Staite said, noting in his viral Facebook post that truck drivers will not be this generations version of Reginald Denny  a reference to an incident in 1992 wherein Denny, a truck driver, was surrounded by an angry mob protesting the acquittal of the four police officers who were filmed brutally beating Rodney King, an African-American man.

As detailed in several articles, a group of men forcibly pulled Denny out of his trailer before beating him nearly to death on live television. Denny, as a result of the incident, would come away with severe and permanent brain damage and 91 skull fractures.

In response to the violence faced by truck drivers and in the wake of the Vechirko incident, the American Trucking Associations, ATA Safety Management Council (SMC) and the ATA Transportation Security Council (TSC) have released a list of recommendations and tips on how to avoid unsafe situations, as well as advice on what to do in the event that truckers find themselves amid a rioting mob.

According to the ATA, drivers and dispatchers must avoid protest areas altogether, or, if unable to do so, simply stay in contact with other drivers and their contacts in order to provide travel updates. In addition, drivers and dispatchers must also contact delivery locations and ask for current situations and conditions.

The ATA also recommends that carriers tell their drivers to immediately call 911 if they feel like they are in danger of being surrounded by rioters or violent mobs.

In addition, the Iowa Motor Truck Association has urged its members to stop as soon as they see masses of people blocking the roadways and look for ways to avoid a confrontation.

Do whatever [is] necessary to change directions and get out of the area, the IMTA said. If you are alert, you should be able to see these masses of people far enough in advance that you can act before being surrounded.

YouTube personality Red Viking Trucker has also aired advice for truckers in the event that they encounter violent groups on their trips.

One thing drivers should never attempt, he said in a video, is to assume that violent people can be reasoned with.

If someone is comfortable enough to break into your vehicle, break into your house or shoot at you, get into your truck in the middle of the night  if that person is comfortable doing that, theyre not a reasonable person. If you try and think that you can make them see the error of their ways, you are a statistic waiting to happen, he said.

WATCH:

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

TransportationNation.com

CDLLife.com

KTUL.com

CCJDigital.com

NBCNews.com

TwinCities.com

BusinessInsider.com

NPR.org

NBCLosAngeles.com

TruckingInfo.com

TruckersNews.com
iStock/vesilvioBY: LUIS MARTINEZ



(WASHINGTON) -- The FBI is investigating the shooting of a U.S. Air Force helicopter as it flew over northern Virginia on Monday.



One crew member had a minor injury, according to the FBI and the Air Force. The UH-1N Huey helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing at a nearby airport and a bullet was discovered in the airframe.



On Monday afternoon, the helicopter from the 1st Helicopter Squadron at Joint Base Andrews was flying a routine training mission over Middleburg, Virginia, at an altitude of 1,000 feet when it took fire from the ground, said an Air Force spokesperson. McClatchy was the first to report the shooting incident.



Already training for an instrument approach to Manassas Regional Airport, the helicopter quickly diverted to the airport to make an emergency landing.



"The Airport received a call from Manassas Control Tower at 12:20 pm on Monday about a military helicopter inbound that had an on-board emergency and that paramedics would be arriving shortly," said Pattie Prince, the communications manager for the city of Manassas.



The helicopter landed safely at 12:43 p.m. and "initial findings are that the helicopter was struck by a bullet resulting in a minor injury to an aircrew member and damage to the aircraft," said the Air Force spokesperson.



"The crew member "sustained a non-threatening injury, for which he was treated and subsequently released from the hospital," said a spokesperson for the FBI's Washington Field Office.



"The FBI Washington Field Office (WFO) dispatched special agents and its Evidence Response Team to the Manassas Airport after receiving reports that a helicopter was shot at from the ground nearby," said the FBI spokesperson.



"WFO is working jointly with our law enforcement partners, including the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident," said the spokesperson.



Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Kanpur, Aug 13 : The family of Khushi, wife of slain gangster Amar Dubey, an aide of Vikas Dubey, has now claimed that the newly married girl is a juvenile.

Khushi, who was married to Amar Dubey, on June 29, barely four days before the Bikru encounter took place in which eight policemen were killed, was arrested by the Special Task Force on July 8 -- the same day when her husband was killed in Hamirpur.

Khushi's father, Shyam Lal Tiwari, on Wednesday, submitted an affidavit before the special anti-dacoity court at Mati headquarters in Kanpur Dehat, pleading that Khushi should be tried as a juvenile.

Her lawyer, Shivakant Dikshit, told reporters that "Khushi's age was 16 years and 11 months on the day of the Bikru incident. Her high school certificate has been enclosed with the affidavit, which shows she was born on August 21, 2003." Khushi's father alleged that the police implicated his minor daughter in the Bikru case. "She is not an adult and not mature enough to engineer an ambush with the gangster and his aides. We suspect that the police implicated her, and even if my daughter committed a crime, police should treat her as a juvenile and let the court decide," he added.

Khushi, who has been in jail for over a month, was booked under stringent IPC sections, including murder and criminal conspiracy.

Government counsel Rajiv Porwal said, the judge has sent Khushi's file to the Juvenile Justice Board to ascertain her age.

Shortly after Khushi was arrested, Congress leader Jitin Prasada tweeted: "Khushi probably had no choice being married off to Amar and continues to suffer as a widow and facing police harassment."
The Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jnr has disclosed that he mediated an out-of-court settlement between his protege Anas Aremeyaw Anas and the Multimedia Group Limited (MGL).



The settlement came to light last Tuesday after the media conglomerate issued a public apology to the investigative journalist over allegations which were made on its Adom TV television channel by the Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Mr Kennedy Agyapong.



In an appearance on Metro TV's Good Morning Ghana Thursday (August 13, 2020), Kweku Baako said the management of the Multimedia Group pleaded with him to intercede on their behalf last year.



He said: "The Multimedia people last year made an intervention, they came to me and pleaded for me to talk to Anas to let them off. That time Anas was in the UK, so I even called him in their presence at the base and they agreed that they would do a retraction and apology and Anas agreed.



"I was surprised that it took so long because it was last year that we did the negotiation. I have double-checked and I realised that the delay was on both sides in a way but more on the side of the Anas side, I think they were very strict and I have no problems with that in terms of the content and things. But, bottom line, I think the Multimedia people have done justice and done the retraction and apology, now the out-of-court settlement is a consent judgement which has the effect of a legal judgement".



He, however, declined comment on the substantive defamatory suit between Anas and Mr Agyapong which is still before the court.



Apology and retraction



The apology signed by the Management of Adom TV said the allegations which suggested that Anas is a criminal who engages in illegal mining and the impersonation of army officers are false and should not have been broadcast on its Badwam Mpensenpensenmu television show.



"The said allegations have been found to be false and same should not have been on the programme. The publication of such words against Anas Aremeyaw Anas is most regrettable," the apology published in the Daily Graphic said.



"The Management of the Multimedia Group, Benjamin Kwame Asante, Dominic Kissi Yeboah and Abdulai Awudu do hereby apologise and unconditionally and unreservedly retract the allegations and comments made against Anas Aremeyaw Anas.



"Management undertakes not to further publish or reproduce the said allegations and comments on any of its platforms".



Background



It will be recalled that in April 2019, Anas sued the Multimedia Group Limited and three of its staff for defamation.



In the suit, Anas had prayed the court for damages; costs, including lawyers fees over defamatory comments made by the Assin Central Member of Parliament, Mr Kennedy Agyapong on February 26, 2019, on Adom TV (a television channel of Multimedia) which he says injured his reputation as a lawyer and globally acclaimed investigative journalist.



The comments were made during what Anas' suit described as a "one-sided conversation" about a then yet-to-be premiered investigative documentary on galamsey (illegal mining) produced by Anas.



The suit further argued that the three Multimedia staff Benjamin Kwabena Asante known as Omanhene (presenter of Adom TV and host of Badwam Mpensempensemu), Dominic Kissi Yeboah (television programme producer at Adom TV and producer of Badwam Mpensempensemu) and Abdulai Awudu (General Manager of Multi TV) allowed the defamatory material to be published about him by Mr Agyapong.







Source: Graphic.com.gh









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(Photo : Screenshot from Twitter post of @Aerezona) Massive Increase in Digital Information Might Have Negative Consequences: Scientists Say It Could Consume Earth's Mass (Photo : Screenshot from Twitter post of @GeorgeW78246413) Massive Increase in Digital Information Might Have Negative Consequences: Scientists Say It Could Consume Earth's Mass

A scientist claimed that the massive increase in digital data could consume the planet's atomic mass within 350 years or so. According to Science Alert's latest report, a new research suggests the production rate of digital bits continues to increase without any sign of slowing, which could lead to an "information catastrophe".

When cosmic rays enter the Earth's upper atmospheres they collide with atoms and molecules; mainly oxygen and nitrogen: the interaction produces a cascade of lighter particles; a so-called air shower secondary radiation that rains down (x-rays, protons, electrons, neutrons, etc.) pic.twitter.com/aqtZkq3LYi  George William (@GeorgeW78246413) May 26, 2020

Also Read: Researchers Develop AI Bird Watcher to Explain Why Thousands of Birds Are Found Dead in Solar Farms in the US

Melvin Vopson, the researcher from the University of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom, suggested that the massive increase of digital information's stockpiles could have significant consequences on the Earth's matter.

Also Read: Satellite Images Show 20% More Population of Emperor Penguin; 11 New Colonies Found in Antarctica

"We are literally changing the planet bit by bit, and it is an invisible crisis," he said.

The new study advised that the physicist's previous theoretical construct called the "mass-energy-informative equivalence principle," should be read and analyzed first to understand his latest ideas. His previous theory was inspired by the work of German-American physicist Rolf Landauer in the 1960s, saying that thermodynamic constraints allow information to have a physical nature.

Based on Landauer's ideas, the scientist suggested that a digital bit of information was not just physical, but also has a quantifiable and infinite mass while it stores information.

Melvin Vopson's suggestions

According to Vopson's theoretical calculations, the data storage's mass would increase by a small amount if it is combined with digital information. IBM estimations show that 2.5 quintillion bytes of digital data are produced each day on the planet, leading to a total of ~10*21 digital bits of information every year.

He explained that if the amount of digital content increases by 20% annually, the number of digital bits produced will exceed the number of all atoms on Earth in about 350 years. It could also consume all the Earth's energy since the power consumption of all the digital information would be more than what the planet can provide.

"Assuming a conservative annual growth of digital content creation of 1 percent... we estimate that it will take around ~3,150 years to produce the first cumulative 1 kg of digital information mass on the planet," explained Vopson.

"It will take ~8,800 years to convert half of the planet's mass into digital information mass," he added.

For more interesting scientific theories, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Also Read: Researchers Discover Chronic Sleep Deprivation Could Make the Brain Eat Itself

This article is owned by TechTimes,

Written by: Giuliano de Leon.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Not up for the job: Kamala Harris slams Trump in first speech as VP nominee

Democratic Party's Vice Presidential nominee Kamala Harris launched a scathing attack on US President Donald Trump. Harris targeted Trump over his handling of the Covid crisis and said that the President's failure to take the crisis seriously affected the US. She further said that Trump is the reason that millions of Americans are unemployed and added that the economy has taken the biggest hit during the Trump rule. Harris said that once elected, the Biden administration will create millions of jobs, fight climate change and build an affordable care act among various other strong initiatives for the welfare of Americans. 'Our country ends in tatters and so does our reputation around the world.' Harris said the case against President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence is open and shut as she mentioned a lot of sectors where the current administration has created a complete mess. Earlier, Trump had refered to Biden picking Harris as his running mate as 'surprising' and called her nasty. Watch this video for all the details. ...read more
Generated $19.6 million in Revenue, $2.1 million in Adjusted EBITDA, and the Fourth Consecutive Quarter of Positive Cash Flow

TORONTO and NEW YORK, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - AcuityAds Holdings Inc. (TSX: AT) (OTCQX: ACUIF) ("AcuityAds" or "Company"), a technology leader that provides targeted digital media solutions enabling advertisers to connect intelligently with audiences across all digital advertising channels, today announced its financial results for the three months ended June 30, 2020.

Second Quarter 2020 Highlights

Total revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2020 was $19.6 million , a decrease of 24% compared to the same period in 2019. The decrease was mainly attributable to a reduction in client spend due to the COVID-19 pandemic during the month of April which was partially offset by subsequent increases in May and June.

was , a decrease of 24% compared to the same period in 2019. The decrease was mainly attributable to a reduction in client spend due to the COVID-19 pandemic during the month of April which was partially offset by subsequent increases in May and June. Gross margin for the three months ended June 30, 2020 was approximately 52% compared to 48% for the same period in 2019 and 50% in Q1 2020.

was approximately 52% compared to 48% for the same period in 2019 and 50% in Q1 2020. Net revenue or gross profit for the three months ended June 30, 2020 was $10.1 million as compared to $12.4 million for the same period in 2019, a decrease of 18%.

was as compared to for the same period in 2019, a decrease of 18%. Adjusted EBITDA increased approximately 100% to $2.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2020 compared to $1.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019 . Adjusted EBITDA for the six months ended June 30, 2020 was $3.9 million compared to $2.1 million for the same period in 2019, an 89% increase. Adjusted EBITDA for the trailing 12-month period totalled $11.6 million .

for the three months ended compared to for the three months ended . Adjusted EBITDA for the six months ended was compared to for the same period in 2019, an 89% increase. Adjusted EBITDA for the trailing 12-month period totalled . Total Connected TV segment revenue grew 330% year-over-year and approximately 400% sequentially from Q1 2020.

Total Self-Serve segment revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2020 was $4.9 million .

was . Net loss for the three months ended June 30, 2020 was $1.6 million compared to net loss of $3.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019 . Net loss for the six months ended June 30, 2020 was $1.4 million compared to $6.2 million for the same period in 2019.

was compared to net loss of for the three months ended . Net loss for the six months ended was compared to for the same period in 2019. Adjusted Net Income for the three months ended June 30, 2020 was $1.4 million compared to an Adjusted Net loss of $0.7 million in 2019. Adjusted Net Income for the six months ended June 30, 2020 was $2.4 million compared to a loss of $1.2 million for the same period in 2019.

was compared to an Adjusted Net loss of in 2019. Adjusted Net Income for the six months ended was compared to a loss of for the same period in 2019. Operating cash flow for the three months ended June 30, 2020 was $5.3 million compared to cash flow used of $4.0 million for the same period in 2019. Operating cash flow for the six months ended June 30, 2020 totaled $9.3 million compared to cash flow used of $6.6 million for the same period in 2019.

was compared to cash flow used of for the same period in 2019. Operating cash flow for the six months ended totaled compared to cash flow used of for the same period in 2019. As of June 30, 2020 , the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $9.1 million compared to $7.4 million as of December 31, 2019 .

, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of compared to as of . As of June 30, 2020 , the Company had working capital of $4.0 million , compared to approximately $1.0 million as of March 31, 2020 .

Subsequent to the Quarter End

Acuity selected six large brands to enter into beta testing of the Company's proprietary, new Self-Serve platform.

Acuity entered into a partnership with OverActive Media to deliver programmatic solutions for advertisers and brands to target audiences associated with esports.

"Our operating results for the second quarter reflect dramatically improved business conditions throughout the quarter, with month-over-month advertising spend improvements beginning in May and continuing into the third quarter," said Tal Hayek, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of AcuityAds. "Advertisers continue to recognize the value of our programmatic solutions, specifically ROI that continues to exceed industry expectations. Despite a drop in campaign activity in March and April, we posted another quarter of significant improvement in EBITDA and our overall financial position. We expect the monthly advertising spend improvements to continue into the third quarter of 2020, contributing to another quarter of sequential Adjusted EBITDA growth."

Mr. Hayek continued, "We continue to make important strides in the launch of our new Self-Serve platform, and throughout the quarter began beta testing with six large brands after receiving applications from more than thirty companies. I am delighted to report that the feedback thus far has been extremely positive and we are delivering ROI metrics that are well above industry standards. As we move closer to an official launch in the fall of this year, we anticipate AcuityAds continuing to grow into one of the leading programmatic providers in the industry, delivering a holistic, omni-channel solution with ROI that exceeds our competitors."

Jonathan Pollack, AcuityAds' Chief Financial Officer, commented, "The Company has steadfastly maintained its focus on improving gross margins and controlling its expense structure, which was partially assisted during the quarter by the availability of certain government funding programs. This has resulted in 100% year-over-year growth in quarterly Adjusted EBITDA and a gross margin of 52% for the quarter, which represented an improvement of close to 400 basis points year-over-year. The Company's net working capital also improved and hit an all-time high of $4.0 million as of June 30, 2020, as our cash balance increased and our outstanding line of credit balance was reduced. As such, our balance sheet continues to improve, putting the Company in one of its strongest financial positions to date."

The following table presents a reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to Adjusted EBITDA for the periods ended:



Three months ended Six months ended

June 30, June 30, June 30, June 30,

2020 2019 2020 2019 Net income (loss) for the period $(1,600,405) $(3,461,394) $(1,395,630) $(6,242,645) Adjustments:







Finance costs 450,644 766,564 1,053,036 1,375,573 Foreign exchange gain (loss) 632,594 380,291 (881,702) 590,205 Depreciation and amortization 2,256,647 1,840,345 4,422,991 3,648,143 Income taxes 38,743 52,433 142,608 121,974 Share-based compensation 89,692 578,386 232,816 836,783 Acquisition integration costs - 481,477 - 1,289,920 Severance expenses 74,127 238,362 170,492 272,735 Non-recurring expenses 199,136 195,862 199,136 195,862 Total adjustments 3,741,583 4,533,720 5,339,377 8,331,195 Adjusted EBITDA $2,141,178 $1,072,326 $3,943,747 $2,088,550

The following table presents a reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to Adjusted Net Income (Loss) for the periods ended:



Three months ended Six months ended

June 30, June 30, June 30, June 30,

2020 2019 2020 2019 Net income (loss) for the period $(1,600,405) $(3,461,394) $(1,395,630) $(6,242,645) Adjustments:







Depreciation and amortization 2,256,647 1,840,345 4,422,991 3,648,143 Share-based compensation 89,692 578,386 232,816 836,783 Foreign exchange gain (loss) 632,594 380,291 (881,702) 590,205 Total adjustments 2,978,933 2,799,022 3,774,105 5,075,131 Adjusted Net Income (Loss) $1,378,528 $(662,372) $2,378,474 $(1,167,514)

Conference Call Details:

Date: Thursday, August 13th, 2020

Time: 8:30 AM Eastern Time

Participant Dial-in Numbers:

Local  (+1) 416 764 8688

Toll Free  (+1) 888 390 0546

Conference ID: 66934945

Recording Playback Numbers:

Local  (+1) 416 764 8677

Toll Free  (+1) 888 390 0541

Passcode: 934945 #

Expiry Date: Thursday, August 20th, 2020 at 11:59pm Eastern Time

Non-IFRS Measures

This press release makes reference to certain non-IFRS measures. These measures are not recognized measures under IFRS, do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS, and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Rather, these measures are provided as additional information to complement those IFRS measures by providing further understanding of our results of operations from management's perspective. Accordingly, these measures should not be considered in isolation nor as a substitute for analysis of our financial information reported under IFRS. We use non-IFRS measures including "revenue less media costs margin", "Adjusted EBITDA" and "Adjusted Net Income (Loss)" (as well as other measures discussed elsewhere in this press release).

The term "revenue less media costs margin" refers to the amount that "revenue less media costs" represents as a percentage of total revenue for a given period, while the term "revenue less media costs" refers to the net amount of revenue after deducting direct media costs. Revenue less media costs is used for internal management purposes as an indicator of the performance of the Company's solution in balancing the goals of delivering excellent results to advertisers while meeting the Company's margin objectives and, accordingly the Company believes it is useful supplemental information.

"Adjusted EBITDA" refers to net income (loss) after adjusting for finance costs, impairment loss, fair value gain, income taxes, foreign exchange gain (loss), depreciation and amortization, share-based compensation, acquisition and related integration costs, severance expenses and adjustments to the carrying value of investment tax credits receivable. The Company believes that Adjusted EBITDA is useful supplemental information as it provides an indication of the results generated by the Company's main business activities before taking into consideration how those activities are financed and taxed and also prior to taking into consideration depreciation of property and equipment and certain other items listed above. It is a key measure used by the Company's management and board of directors to understand and evaluate the Company's operating performance, to prepare annual budgets and to help develop operating plans.

"Adjusted Net Income (Loss)" refers to net income (loss) after adjusting for non-cash items such as impairment loss, fair value gain, depreciation and amortization, share-based compensation and foreign exchange gain/loss. The Company believes that Adjusted Net Income (Loss) is useful supplemental information as it provides an indication of the results generated by the Company's main business activities on a cash basis. It is another key measure used by the Company's management and board of directors to understand and evaluate the Company's operating performance, to prepare annual budgets and to help develop operating plans.

These non-IFRS measures are used to provide investors with supplemental measures of our operating performance and thus highlight trends in our business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on IFRS measures. We believe that securities analysts, investors and other interested parties frequently use non-IFRS measures in the evaluation of issuers, and that these non-IFRS measures in particular are relevant to their analysis of the Company.

About AcuityAds:

AcuityAds is a leading technology company that provides marketers a powerful and holistic solution for digital advertising across all ad formats and screens to amplify reach and Share of Attention throughout the customer journey. Via its unique, data-driven insights, real-time analytics and industry-leading activation platform based on proprietary Artificial Intelligence technology, AcuityAds leverages an integrated ecosystem of partners for data, inventory, brand safety and fraud prevention, offering unparalleled, trusted solutions that the most demanding marketers require to be successful in the digital era.

AcuityAds is headquartered in Toronto with offices throughout the U.S., Europe and Latin America. For more information, visit AcuityAds.com.

Disclaimer in regards to Forward-looking statements

Certain statements included herein constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements may relate to the Company's future financial outlook, financial position, anticipated events, results, success of its work from home policies or the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company's business and operations. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management at this time, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Also, given the evolving circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, it is difficult to predict how significant the adverse impact of the pandemic will be on the global and domestic economy, the business, operations and financial position of the Company's clients and the business, operations and financial position of the Company. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Many factors could cause the Company's actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements or future events or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, the factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's Annual Information Form dated March 5, 2020 for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 (the "AIF") and the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 dated August 13, 2020 (the "MD&A"). A copy of the AIF, MD&A and the Company's other publicly filed documents can be accessed under the Company's profile on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval ("SEDAR") at www.sedar.com. In addition, the effects of COVID-19, including the duration, spread and severity of the pandemic, create additional risks and uncertainties for the Company. In particular, the impact of the virus and government authorities' and public health officials' responses thereto may affect: the Company's actual results, performance, prospects or opportunities; domestic and global credit and capital markets and its ability to access capital on favourable terms, or at all; and the health and safety of its employees. The Company cautions that the list of risk factors and uncertainties described in the AIF and the MD&A are not exhaustive and other factors could also adversely affect its results. Readers are urged to consider the risks, uncertainties and assumptions carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such information.

Except as required by law, AcuityAds does not intend, and undertakes no obligation, to update any forward-looking statement to reflect, in particular, new information or future events.

SOURCE AcuityAds Holdings Inc.

Related Links

https://www.acuityads.com/


When I heard of Daisy Colemans suicide last week, I thought of Antonia Barra, a Chilean woman who died by suicide in 2019, three weeks after she was allegedly raped. Both women are perhaps best known for the causes they came to be symbols for. Daisy Coleman and her friend Paige Parkhurst were raped in 2012, when Coleman was 14 and Parkhurst 13. Both girls watched their community turn on them; they were harassed and threatened for seeking redress while their attackers were celebrated via hashtags like #jordanandmattarefree. The case was outrageous enough that online advocates heard about it and flocked to support them: Justice for Daisy became a rallying cry in 2013, just as Justice for Antonia has become one in 2020. It is customary to refer to people in Colemans position as survivors. I came very close to reflexively calling Barra one as I wrote this. But both women are dead, and so I find myself freshly suspicious of our hashtags and even our most supportive terms.

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Coleman was a prominent survivor. It matters, thenfor how we think about rapethat she didnt survive. Take the excellent 2016 Netflix documentary Audrie & Daisy, which paired the stories of Coleman and Audrie Pott, who was sexually assaulted at a high school gathering and bullied afterward. Convinced her life was effectively over, 15-year-old Pott took her life days after she was stripped bare, drawn on, photographed, and penetrated by three high school boys. The frame of the Netflix film wasto be blunt about itthat one girl survived and one did not. That doesnt seem fair now, to either girl.

The documentary is well done. It interviews two of Audries tormentors, who appear to have learned nothing at all from the experience despite losing in a civil suit (one of their takeaways is that girls gossip whereas boys are easygoing). We hear from Audries parents, who do their best to convey her specificity and uniqueness as a person. Most importantly, of course, we hear from Daisy Coleman. We see her through different phasesalways quietly insistent, narrating the epiphanies shes achieved at enormous personal cost as she looks back on unsuccessful attempts to end her life and forswears suicide in the future. She is an artist; we get to watch her draw. The narrative arc of the film is about mutual rescue: Coleman joins a group of survivors who were assaulted at a similar phasewhile in school, disbelievedand they help one another by dealing with the sense of isolation, the social rejection, and the self-doubt. Its implied that things might have turned out differently for Audrie Pott if shed found a similar community. But the burdens of survivorship are real. When Coleman co-founded an organization called SafeBAE for young victims of sexual assault, the narrative load she carriedas someone who was raped and didnt find justice and went on to become known nationwidewas essential to the programs mission. The executive director, Shael Norris, told the Washington Post the function she saw Colemans story as serving: I think it was her resilience that has inspired so many other survivors to get help and speak out.

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Coleman was resilient. To be clear, thats no less true with her suicide. By the age of 23, she had gone through more than many of us can understand. She lost her father as a child and one of her brothers in 2018, both to auto accidents. The documentary can be hard to watch as it reviews the details not just of the assaults but of the aftermath when Colemans family became targets in town (their house even gets burned down). Its hard not just because the events it documents are terrible but because you know that there is more tragedy ahead: her brothers death and her own. At the time of her death, People reported, she was being stalked and harassed by an acquaintance.

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Its hard to ponder the shortcomings of the survivor label, which can potentially flatten someone into a parable instead of a person, without starting to question the other ways we express solidarity and support, even with the best intentions. I felt this acutely when Antonia Barras death sparked outrage (and a fresh burst of support for victims of sexual assault) in Chile. Heres what happened: Barra was allegedly raped in September 2019. She killed herself three weeks later. Other women came forward to say the man Barra accused had assaulted them too, and in late July, that man was finally charged. But the judge permitted him to remain at home under house arrest. The decision provoked outrage (and has since been reversed in an appealMartin Pradenas is now in custody). Many people objected to what they saw as a gross but typical miscarriage of justice, and several women came forward with similar experiences. One was a relative of mine. On social media, she described her own sexual assault and said that her rapist was still at large two years later despite her every effort to bring him to justice. She had been instructed not to talk about the case, but she was fed up. She named him.

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It was a long and painful account. I scrolled down to the replies, expecting to see the kinds of sympathetic responses one might find in response to such an agonizing disclosure. And there were some. But the bulk of the replies were what I think of as hashtag-based expressions of support, and I briefly went blind with fury when I read them.

I believe you.

This is what the replies to her said. Yo te creo. And for the first time I found that boilerplate expression of supportwhich I know well and havent blinked at in other contextsnot just wanting but offensive. I understood, intellectually, that these replies were at the same time perfectly reasonable: Belief is the frame weve developed to counteract the skepticism with which sexual assault victims are treated. The intentions are good. But reading the responses, I felt certain that if I came forward with an account of personal harm, I would never forgiveor make the mistake of confiding inany person who dared say such a thing to me, especially under the aegis of support. Somewhere along the way, it seems we all agreed (I did too!) that the proper response to people who have been assaulted is, in effect, I do not think you are a liar. It is reactive rather than responsive. It grants higher standing to the ugly premise that survivors are liars than to the actual pain being expressed.

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What brought me to tears, quite unexpectedly, was a spectacle that should have been moving for the best reasons. My relative received a kind and supportive response; this was, by most metrics, the most positive reception a confession of this kind could expect. Why, then, did it feel like so little? Why did victory feel like, well, crumbs? I thought about the time a professor of mine taught Shakespeares The Rape of Lucrece through a feminist lensyes, shed killed herself, but in doing so she reclaimed her own agency. Agency! I was struck dumb at the time by this analysis, and I found myself dumbstruck again as I scrolled through the I believe you hashtags. Are we really still in such a blinkered time that saying I dont think youre lying counts as full-throated allyship? While everyone debates whether Me Too has gone too far, is this really our starting point? Is this where we still are? Is saying I believe you really  helpful?

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I asked this question of Paige Parkhurst, Daisy Colemans friend who was also attacked that fateful night, and who also dealt with rejection and threats from her own community as well as the onslaught of hashtag support that came later. I asked her what it had been like for her to go through all thisand what, if she were in charge, would have actually helped someone in her position. I wondered whether the fact that her rapist at least got a consequence had made a difference. I was not at all at peace with how our case turned out, Parkhurst said to me in a DM exchange. My family attended a court date and there he [pleaded] guilty and was sentenced to spend time in a juvenile detention center.  We found out that he only spent 7 days in the facility and wasnt on probation for any extended period.

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She also said that being in the national spotlight hadnt helped. I have children now and sometimes I worry for our safety. I wonder if the boys or their family will come back, its kind of a fear that I think most victims live with.

Then I asked her about the phrase Id grown obsessed with. Would it have helped to hear people say I believe you back in 2013, when she was on the receiving end of threats and hate? Yes, I think if the police at least wouldve believed us and listened to us then it wouldve helped tremendously. We looked at them to help us and they failed completely, she replied. Then I told her about my relatives social media post and my reaction to the responses. I do believe that oftentimes we take the bare minimum. I guess it goes to show how much we have failed survivors in our society. I never expected the police to react the way they did. We really put our faith into them and it backfired.

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But is I believe you good enough as a standard response? I pressed her. It would have felt good to hear it when the police and the community werent listening to her?

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Yes, it would, she replied.

Maybe these phrases are signposts. They index how bad things have been by offering assurances so basic that in any other context they would sound condescending and even rude. But in a world where disbelief is rampant, they also provide real comfort. I can get as mad as I like about the circumstances that have made I believe you a rote response to sexual assaultjust as I can agonize over the propriety of a word like survivor when our survivors are taking their own lives. (This is, after all, what survivor is supposed to indexthat these are matters of life and death.) But for those whove dealt with conditions as they are and not as we would have them be, I believe you helps. I wanted them to believe me, Daisy Coleman said in Audrie & Daisy. My relative had clicked like on every single one of those I believe yous, and there were dozens.

If you have been sexually assaulted, you can reach out for help to the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673. If you are dealing with suicidal thoughts, you can reach out for help, by phone to the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255, or over text message to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 (on almost all carriers, these texts are free).
H ealth officials are responding to two coronavirus outbreaks in the Midlands after staff tested positive at a sandwich factory and fruit distribution centre.

Greencore, a sandwich factory in Northampton, has confirmed that some of its staff are self-isolating after several tested positive for Covid-19.

The company took the decision to proactively test workers as a result of a rise in cases in the town.

In a statement, Greencore said: As a result of the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the Northampton area, we took the decision to start proactively testing all of the colleagues at our Northampton site.

We can confirm that a number of colleagues have tested positive for the virus and are now self-isolating.

We are liaising closely with PHE East Midlands, Northamptonshire County Council and Northampton Borough Council, who are fully supportive of the controls that we have on site.

Greencore added that a range of social distancing measures, hygiene procedures and regular temperature checks are in place at the factory.

All 186 workers at Fyffes Group Limited in Coventry will now be tested as a precaution / Google Maps

"We are doing everything that we can to keep our people safe," said Greencore.

It comes as 10 members of staff tested positive for the virus at fruit wholesalers Fyffes in Coventry.

A spokesman for Fyffes told Coventry Live: "The management of Fyffes Group Ltd is working closely with the Public Health team at Coventry City Council and Public Health England (PHE) Midlands, following a number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 among people working at our Coventry facility.

The safety of all our workers is our number one priority and a number of actions to tackle this outbreak have been agreed and are currently being implemented.

In regards to the Northampton outbreak, Lucy Wightman, director of public health at Northamptonshire County Council, said employees have been asked to act now after the number of confirmed cases in the town increased from 66 in the week ending August 2 to 85 for the week ending August 9.

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

She said: We are working with colleagues at Greencore in Northampton after the discovery of an outbreak of Covid-19 in the workplace.

Public Health England Midlands have been providing support to colleagues at Greencore in managing the outbreak.

This has been supplemented by support from the local infection prevention and control team and Northampton Borough Councils environmental health colleagues.

She added: It is evident that Greencore has highly effective measures in place and they continue to work extremely hard to exceed the requirements needed to be Covid-19 secure within the workplace.

Northampton borough has been experiencing a high number of cases over the last four weeks and residents and employees have been asked to act now to follow additional measures, to avoid a local lockdown or further government intervention.

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Dr Mamoona Tahir, consultant in communicable disease control with PHE Midlands added that PHE Midlands is liaising with management, the local authority and the Health & Safety Executive to advise on increased social distancing measures at Fyffes Group Ltd.
Treasury yields edged higher on Thursday as data showed weekly jobless claims dipped below one million for the first time since March.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose one basis point to 0.684%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was also higher at 1.368%. Yields move inversely to prices.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance came in at 963,000 last week, marking the fist time the total fell below 1 million since March 21. Economists polled by Dow Jones estimated a number of 1.1 million.

"Treasury yields increased slightly in response the data," Jon Hill, BMO's rates strategist, said in a note. "Much has been made about supply this week driving rates higher, but it's worth emphasizing the fundamental backing for the move as NFP, PPI, CPI, and claims have all come in better than expected."

The U.S. 10-year note had climbed to a high of 0.691% in the previous session, hitting its highest level since July 7. The 30-year bond rose to a high of 1.384% on Wednesday, its highest level since July 9, before paring gains.
GREENWICH  If you like Ike, theres an upcoming auction at University Archives that you will love.

On Aug. 19, the Westport-based auction house will host the largest and most diverse sale in its history. And one of the lots to be auction will be a late Greenwich collectors extensive assortment of political campaign pins and memorabilia from over the decades.

There are treasures in there to be found, said John Reznikoff, University Archives president and co-founder.

Bidding on each of the 23 campaign memorabilia lots will start at $100 each. One thing we are sure of is everything is authentic. This person had a great eye, Reznikoff said of the unidentified collector.

The sale features a whopping 351 lots, including documents signed by President Abraham Lincoln, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac; items associated with former U.S. Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth, a Windsor native; and an Aetna life insurance policy for a 21-year-old enslaved house servant named Lucinda.

Most of the political lots focus on one presidential dream team, including dozens of large pins touting the candidate, his running mate or the potential first lady. Some include booster pins from several campaigns, such as Taft, Coolidge, Hoover and William Jennings Bryan, or the alternative and fringe party runs of Lyndon LaRouche, Pastor Mihran and John Lindsay.

A Franklin D. Roosevelt lot includes snarky buttons saying, If Wilkies in the Whitehouse, Its U.S. in the Poorhouse and Better a Third Termer than a Third Rater. The Richard Nixon-Spiro Agnew campaign crows Theyll Tell It Like It Is, while Gerald Fords features Bettys Husband for President. The Jimmy Carter-Walter Mondale lot includes the catchy gem Gritz & Fritz in 76.

Contributed / University Archives

In addition to the well-known I Like Ike, a Dwight D. Eisenhower collection includes Me Gusta Ike (Spanish) and Mi Piace Ike (Italian), the more amorous Jaime Ike for the generals French fans and the turn-it-on-its-head Ike Likes Me.

University Archives declined to comment on the items late owner. The collection came to them when one of their regular clients purchased it and decided to put it up for sale, Reznikoff said.

The whole collection includes thousands of pinbacks and other wearable memorabilia amassed over the decades. Given the $100 opening bids, the collection should fetch more than $2,300, he said.

The market will bear what the market will bear, Reznikoff said.

He expects to see much interest in Civil Rights-related items and the Aetna insurance policy, a significant piece of African American history believed to be one of only two known such documents in private hands.

The document shows that a Kentucky man paid a $15 premium for the sum assured of $600 on Lucindas life, according to the 1853 slave policy issued by the Hartford-based insurance company. The opening bid on the document is $1,000.

The auction also includes items associated with King and his wife, Coretta, that were retained by the slain Civil Rights leaders secretary, Reznikoff said.

Those interested in the auction are advised to preregister. Online bidding has already started. The live auction begins at 10:30 a.m. Aug. 19 and will likely run into the afternoon, Reznikoff said.

To learn more about the items up for auction, visit UniversityArchives.com.
The President of the United States signed an executive order on Saturday to extend enhanced federal unemployment benefits. The cost of the enhanced benefits will be shared between state and federal government with 75 percent federal funding and 25 percent state funding. President Trump directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist in providing weekly supplemental benefits from the Disaster Relief Fund to bring continued financial relief to Americans who are suffering from unemployment due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The U.S. Department of Labor's guidance allows for existing Georgia Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund payments delivered by the Georgia Department of Labor to potentially serve as the states 25 percent matching funds for the program. The GDOL and Governor Kemps office are reviewing the executive order and creating a plan that works best for Georgians, said officials. Timelines will be announced as soon as they are available.

The Presidents executive order gives states various options for implementing the White House plan," said Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler. "The GDOL is working with the governors office to provide financial resources to continue to bridge the gap for Georgias unemployed workforce. GDOL will deliver a system to process these weekly supplements as quickly as possible.

At this time, there is no need for claimants to contact GDOL concerning the proposed enhanced unemployment benefits. It will announce more information on its website and social platforms as it becomes available.

The GDOL also announced Thursday that initial claim levels dropped to lows not seen in 21 weeks for the week ending Saturday. Claims totaled 62,335, down 11,596 from the first week in August and less than 50 percent of what the agency was seeing a month ago. The agency issued $309 million in regular unemployment benefits and federal funds including Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation payments, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance payments, Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation supplements, and State Extended Benefits. Since March 21, $12.3 billion has been paid to eligible Georgians in unemployment benefits.

From week ending March 21 through Aug. 8, 3,430,394 regular UI initial claims have been processed, more than the last eight years combined (3.3 million). Of these claims processed, 1,501,501 were identified as valid claims. The invalid claims could potentially be duplicate filed claims or those without enough earned or any wages to receive benefits.

The number of initial unemployment claims filed throughout the United States for the week ending Saturday was 963,000, a decrease of 228,000 from the previous weeks revised level of 1,191,000.

Last week, the GDOL issued more than $51 million in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance payments to eligible individuals who are self-employed, gig workers, 1099 independent contractors, employees of churches, employees of non-profits, or those with limited work history who do not qualify for state unemployment benefits. The PUA program may provide benefits to claimants that did not have enough wages to establish a valid regular state UI claim but were prohibited from employment due to COVID-19. From week ending March 21 through Aug. 8, 324,535 PUA claims have been validated. Of the valid PUA claims eligible for payment where a request for payment has been made, 84 percent have been issued.

In addition, the total federal funds issued to Georgians for Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation totaled over $122 million last week. Over the past 20 weeks, the GDOL has issued more than $8.4 billion in FPUC funds. FPUC provided an additional $600 weekly payment to any individual eligible for both state and federal unemployment compensation programs.

From week ending March 21 through Aug. 8, the sectors with the most regular UI initial claims processed included Accommodation and Food Services, 818,180, Health Care and Social Assistance, 407,516, Retail Trade, 373,200, Administrative and Support Services, 288,294, and Manufacturing, 266,087.

As of Tuesday, the trust fund balance was $385,365,324, down $2.162 billion, or 85 percent, from the March 24 balance of $2,547,476,454.

Today, over 125,000 jobs are listed online at EmployGeorgia.com for Georgians to access. The GDOL offers online resources for finding a job, building a resume, and assisting with other reemployment needs.

At this time, GDOL career centers are remaining closed to the public. All online services are still available as the staff continues to answer calls, process claims, respond to customer inquiries, and provide assistance to applicants. The GDOL will reopen offices to the public as soon as social distancing can be effectively implemented to protect both staff and customers.

Information on filing an unemployment claim, details on how employers can file partial claims, and resources for other reemployment assistance can be found on the agencys webpage at dol.georgia.gov.






France was added to the UK's quarantine list yesterday in a savage blow to tens of thousands of British holidaymakers.

After a week of speculation ministers acted on a worsening coronavirus situation across the Channel, ministers ordered travellers returning from the popular destination to isolate for 14 days.

The quarantine is set to come in at 4am tomorrow  and with an estimated British 500,000 holidaymakers in France, a weekend of chaos looms.

There are concerns that the sudden change in rules could spark a rush for ferries at Calais and Dunkirk  and a scramble for seats on the Eurostar.

John Keefe, the public affairs director at Channel Tunnel operator Getlink, warned that there is 'very limited' capacity on services throughout this month.

France recorded 2,669 new cases of coronavirus yesterday, up from 2,524 on Wednesday. It is a record figure for the nation since it came out of lockdown.

The review of the rules saw the Netherlands, Monaco and Malta added to the quarantine list - and Portugal remains on it, along with Spain.

The Turks and Caicos Islands and Aruba in the Caribbean have also lost their places.

The move came after Boris Johnson said the UK would be 'ruthless' when it came to travel quarantine even with its 'closest and dearest friends'.

'We have got to be absolutely ruthless about this, even with our closest and dearest friends and partners. I think everybody understands that,' Mr Johnson told reporters as he visited Northern Ireland yesterday.

The Prime Minister spoke as he visited Northern Ireland this afternoon ahead of an expected decision on which nations will be placed on the restricted travel list

The quarantine is set to come in at 4am on Saturday  and with an estimated British 500,000 holidaymakers in France, a weekend of chaos looms. Pictured: Beachgoers enjoy a hot day at a beach in Bormes-les-Mimosas, southern France

Pictured: A graph showing the countries from which travellers arriving in the UK are currently exempt from the 14-day coronavirus quarantine, and the number of Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people in each country. Speculation is mounting that France could be removed from the list of exempt countries, but there a number of others that have higher or similar figures

'We will be looking at the data a bit later on this afternoon - looking exactly where France and other countries are getting to.

'We can't be remotely complacent about our own situation. Everybody understands that in a pandemic you don't allow our population to be reinfected or the disease to come back in.

'That is why the quarantine measures are very important and we have to apply them in very strict way.'

Speculation has been mounting about quarantine exemptions being scrapped as infections rise across much of Europe.

Hundreds of thousands of Britons are either on holiday in France or planning to go there, but yesterday it recorded more than 2,500 cases - a record since lockdown was eased.

Hundreds of thousands of Britons are either on holiday in France or planning to go there, but yesterday it recorded more than 2,500 cases - a record since lockdown was eased. Pictured, Cergy-Pontoise, north west of Paris

The country appears to be perilously close to the yardstick of 20 cases per 100,000 population in a seven-day period.

But ministers are believed to be prepared to hold off on restrictions when changes are announced, with the situation kept under close observation.

The quarantine list already includes Spain and Portugal. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not believed to have signed off on the adjustments yet.

Travellers are expected to be given around 30 hours notice of any changes coming into force, so they can make new arrangements if required.

The Netherlands (23.1 per 100,000), Gibraltar (35.6), Monaco (38.2), Malta (46.7), San Marino (53.0), the Faroe Islands (198.5), Turks and Caicos (278.9) and Aruba (547.9) all have higher rates of new cases per 100,000 than France.

Those on the list with a slightly lower rate than France are Denmark (15.3 per 100,000), Iceland (14.7), the Czech Republic (14.0), Switzerland (13.3) and Poland (12.7).

Hundreds of thousands faced a stampede to get home from France after it was added to the UK quarantine list last night. Travellers have 30 hours to make it back to the UK before the quarantine comes into effect. Pictured: Departures at Lyon-Saint-Exupery Airport

All the above have now overtaken Portugal's rate of 12.4 new cases per 100,000 people in the last seven days, but despite this, Portugal remains on the list of countries from which all arrivals to the UK, including those returning from holiday, must quarantine for two weeks.

Downing Street reminded potential holidaymakers this week that 'there is no risk free way of travelling overseas' with Boris Johnson adding that he 'would not hesitate' to bring in travel restrictions for other countries.

The latest data on coronavirus cases on foreign soil is being analysed by the Government's Joint Biosecurity Centre (JCB), which reports to Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

Britons in France and other countries could be forced to make a dash home or risk being forced to quarantine on their return to the UK, should the government decide to remove more countries from the list.

Despite Portugal having a lower rate of new Covid-19 cases in the past seven days than a number of countries on the government's exemption list, travellers entering the UK from Portugal are required to self-isolate on their arrival in the UK. Pictured: Beachgoers crowd Praia da Duquesa, in Cascais, Portugal. on August 09, 2020 as tourism slowly returns

UK Ministers are believed to be planning new measures for a swathe of countries amid a surge in European coronavirus cases

The Netherlands is among the countries exempt from the UK's quarantine rules, but saw a rate of 23.1 new cases per 100,000 people in the last week- a higher rate than France

On Tuesday, the UK updated its travel 'green list', but did not take Portugal off the quarantine list, in a blow to the country's economy that benefits greatly from tourism from the UK.

The UK Government was warned that cases in Portugal had not fallen fast enough to be able to safely add the country to the 'green list'.

On Monday, France reported the first significant rise in the number of coronavirus patients in hospital since the lockdown was lifted, although it fell again on Tuesday before rising two days on the bounce.

France's prime minister Jean Castex (pictured at a hospital in Montpellier this week) has told his citizens to 'pull themselves together' amid a fresh surge in coronavirus cases in France

Earlier this week France's prime minister told his citizens to 'pull themselves together' amid a fresh surge in coronavirus cases.

Jean Castex said the public was becoming careless and raised the spectre of a second lockdown after a rise of more than 10,000 cases in the last week.

'If we don't act collectively, we expose ourselves to the heightened risk that the rebound in the epidemic becomes hard to control,' Castex said on a visit to an intensive care ward in the South of France.

Some parts of France have tightened their mask rules despite the summer heatwave, with police now set to ramp up checks on face coverings - while neighbouring Belgium yesterday made masks compulsory in all public spaces including outdoors.

Travel chiefs: This is a devastating blow to the industry

ByTom Payne Transport Correspondent For The Daily Mail

The bombshell decision to reimpose quarantine on France is a devastating blow to Britains crippled travel sector, industry leaders said last night.

Airlines and tour operators have suffered colossal losses during the pandemic as a result of plummeting passenger numbers and sweeping global travel restrictions.

A long-awaited announcement on travel corridors brought some respite in mid-July  but a steady yet sharp rise in coronavirus cases on the continent has brought hopes of a revived travel season to a sudden end.

Travel bosses last night said the decision to reimpose quarantine on France  weeks after Spain, Belgium, Andorra and the Bahamas were also kicked off the safe country list  effectively signals the death knell for foreign holidays for the rest of the year.

But ministers are believed to be prepared to hold off on restrictions when changes are announced, with the situation kept under close observation

FRANCE QUARANTINE Q&A What are my holiday refund rights? If you have booked a package holiday in France, or any other quarantine country, your tour operator should cancel the holiday. You can then claim a full refund. Will I get a refund on my flight, ferry or train ticket? If the airlines continue to operate the route, there is no right although they may offer money back as a goodwill gesture. Ferry operators and Eurostar may offer refunds but most firms will give customers a voucher to rebook at a later date. Eurotunnel says it will give refunds up to 24 hours before travel. And accommodation? If a hotel or villa remains open and available, there is no legal right to cancel and get a refund, although some booking websites, such as Airbnb and Booking.com, do offer last-minute cancellation on some listings. Can I claim on insurance for flights and accommodation? These are unlikely to be covered if the policy was bought after March 10 when most insurers removed cover for Covid-19-related cancellations. Can I claim statutory sick pay in quarantine? No  there is no automatic eligibility to statutory sick pay, unless you meet the required conditions, such as displaying coronavirus symptoms. What happens if you pass through a country on the quarantine list? You dont have to quarantine as long as passengers remain in the car for the whole journey and no one joins them. Advertisement

It also spells misery for millions of Britons with ruined trips, who now face a battle to claim refunds from airlines which may refuse to give them their money back.

Most holidaymakers are unlikely to be covered on travel insurance as the majority of policies bought after March 10 carry no cover for Covid 19-related cancellations.

Travel bosses last night criticised the Governments inaction on airport testing  seen by many as a viable alternative to blanket quarantine measures  and blasted ministers chaotic approach for throwing the industry into chaos and uncertainty.

One senior industry figure told the Daily Mail: It has been chaos at every turn. The latest announcement on France is a watershed moment and a dark day for our industry. We are in uncharted waters. It is hard to see where we go from this.

Gloria Guevara, president of the World Travel and Tourism Council, said the worst fearsof the industry were coming true, and estimated three million UK jobs could be lost due to the ongoing uncertainty.

Tim Alderslade of trade body Airlines UK added: Its another devastating blow to the travel industry already reeling from the worst crisis in its history.

Having the political will to move to a sub-national approach to quarantine, in addition to a testing regime for arriving passengers so that those testing negative can avoid having to self-isolate  which other countries like Germany have already implemented  is urgently needed.

He said this would provide carriers and customers with additional certainty around the ability to operate this autumn and winter.

Karen Dee of the Airport Operators Association said: Our airports are facing pressures that were unimaginable six months ago and it is essential that the Government work with the industry to introduce regional travel corridors to low-risk areas and agree a package of financial measures that support our airports who have already lost over 2billion since the start of the pandemic.

'We have consistently called for support including relief from business rates and an extension to employment support beyond October and it is long overdue that the Government provides the same level of support to aviation that it has provided to other sectors.

Rory Boland of consumer group Which? said: Its understandable that the Government wants to restrict travel to these countries at this time, but the burden of this decision disproportionally falls on holidaymakers  thousands of whom are likely to be left significantly out of pocket because their airline will refuse to refund them.

Unlike tour operators, airlines now routinely ignore Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel warnings and refuse refunds because, they argue, the flight is still operating. Some major airlines, like Ryanair, wont even allow customers to rebook without charging a hefty fee.

The Government wants us to act responsibly and not travel to countries with an FCO warning, but it needs to make it clear to airlines that they too need to act responsibly and not ignore government travel advice in an effort to pocket customer cash.
(Newser)  Bad news for bleach drinkers: Your self-proclaimed "archbishop" is behind bars. Colombian officials have nabbed Mark Grenon and his son Joseph Grenon and accused them of selling a "miracle" drink that has already killed seven Americans, CBS News reports. The nation's top prosecutor said the Grenons were arrested in the town of Santa Marta for sending their "Miracle Mineral Solution"really chlorine dioxide, a toxic bleachto the US, Africa, and other parts of Colombia. Mark Grenon is the leader of a purported Florida church called Genesis II, which peddles the substance and claims it can cure nearly any illness, including HIV/AIDS, cancer, and, of course, COVID-19.

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Back in July, federal authorities charged Mark and his three sons with dealing an unregulated, possibly dangerous substance. Hazmat teams searched the church grounds in Bradenton under federal order and uncovered 50 gallons of muriatic acidwhich health officials warn can cause "severe corrosive injury"along with 8,300 pounds of sodium chlorite, which can be unhealthy in large amounts. The US Food and Drug Administration banned the sale of MMS and told consumers of the product to "stop now." When the Guardian prompted Mark for a response, he said in part: "May God open your eyes Picklehead Ed that doesn't research the Truth or YOU ARE A PAID LIAR!" (Mark said he contacted President Trump about MMS right before Trump made an alarming suggestion.)
Mexico was colonized in the 16th Century by Spain in what is called the Spanish Conquest. This was done with Spains power and support, it was done as well with the Catholic Churchs support and power. It was Christian colonization with the theory that it was best to conquer in order to convert to the Christian faith.

One estimate is that as much as 95% of the Indigenous people (commonly called Indians) from todays Dominican and Haiti to Mexico was wiped out due to violence, disease, malnutrition, forced labor, outmarriage, and rebellion. Indian includes Taino, Guanahatabeys, and Island-Caribs. Decimated, replaced by Africans and Spaniards and later also other Europeans.

In Mexico today to be Spanish to be upper class and powerful; to be Indian (indigenous) is to be lower class and oppressed. A caste system and systemic racism came into existence through the Eruopean invasion of the Caribbean at the hands of Spain (Christopher Columbus and others).

All this from Robert Chao Romeros informative, accessible new study Brown Church.

The chapter for today tells us more about the resistance and the message of liberation from colonial Spain than about the conditions. The principal figures are Antonio de Montesinos and La Virgen de Guadalupe, but especially the powerful work of Bartolome De Las Casas (1484-1566). It is said in the book that what we now know as liberation theology has its Latin origins in Montesinos, Las Casas and La Virgens vision to Juan Diego.

You realliy must read this book, but I will give you some highlights.

First, in 1511  I was impressed how early these liberation themes were developed right out of Catholic Christian theology  Montesino preached prophetic sermons against enslaving and oppressing and brutalizing Indians. He gave birth then to the Brown Church as he offered a multicultural protest to Spanisn imperialism and colonialism.

Second, the focus of the chapter is on Las Casas, and he is impressive in all respects (except his momentary policy of permitting African slaves to replace the Indian slaves). After his conversion to justice and perception of injustice to the indigenous, he spent his life fighting imperialism. He established social justice Catholicism in Mexico. His theology was race conscious. He wrote major books chronicling the stories. He believed the only legitimate form of missions was peace-shaped and embodied by good Christian behavior instead of violence and coercion. He worked to abolish slavery and the systemic structures creating it. He was the first labor organizer of the Americas. He fought Spains imposed Laws of Burgos (legal racism, systemic oppression, paternalistic religious instruction through colonial conquest) and The Requirement, which turned indigenous peoples into Canaanites worthy of conquest and death. He saw it all as a mockery of the gospel, and worried more about the reputation of Christ and the gospel.

Third, La Virgen and the vision to Juan Diego. The Virgin appears in the dress of the indigenous to an indigenous man that was eventually embraced, a church/shrine built, and it all led to the massive conversion of indigenous (Indian) Mexicans. God broke through the systemic forms blocking access to the Indians.
HEFEI, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- As trans-provincial travel in China resumed after months-long suspension due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the usual hustle and bustle returns to tourist attractions across the country. "I received over 20 guests from Hebei and Inner Mongolia today, a big improvement compared with previous months," said Huang Min, a tour guide based in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced on July 14 that travel agencies and online tourism companies were allowed to resume their trans-provincial group tours gradually. The resumption has unleashed the domestic travel demand of Chinese people who had been confined to their homes for months to prevent the spread of the virus. Since July 29, popular tourist destinations across the country have received nearly three times the tourists compared with last quarter, according to a report released by the country's major online travel agency Trip.com Group. "The resumption of trans-provincial travel has boosted the tourism sector. Take Hongcun (a historic village in Hongcun Town), for example, its average daily visitors have increased to more than 3,000, nearly half of the number in the same period last year," said Hu Weimin, marketing director of Yixian County Hui Huang Tourism Group. According to Hu, as the resumption comes ahead of the summer vacation, family travel has become quite popular, registering an increase of nearly 60 percent. Travel agencies that encountered financial difficulties due to the epidemic have also returned to work. Trip.com Group's report showed that over 4,000 travel agencies have launched domestic travel products on its platform. Liang Jianzhang, chairman and co-founder of Trip.com Group said in the first half the year, travel agencies had to rely on short trips to survive and the revenue only accounted for one-tenth of their previous income. Liang added that outbound tourism usually accounts for half of the revenue for travel agencies and 40 percent of their earning comes from cross-provincial travel. Wu Minghua, a 34-year-old from Guangdong, said tourists like himself had to sign an undertaking that mentioned about complying with anti-epidemic measures such as daily temperature screening, among others. "We were told before the trip that vehicles will be disinfected every day to ensure a clean and safe environment for passengers," said Wu. Due to the impact of the epidemic, small-scale and customized tour groups began to gain popularity, said Li Kang, head of a travel agency in Hefei, capital of Anhui Province. "People are willing to pay more for quality service and strict health and safety protection measures," Li said. As scenic spots are busy preparing for a major inflow of tourists, local tourism departments also introduced incentives to attract visitors from outside the region. Provinces such as Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, and Guizhou announced free tickets or big discounts to tourists. "Hongcun will allow free entry for children under 16 when they travel with their parents," said Hu. "We are eager to seize the opportunity by offering tailored services to meet demands of tourists amid the recovering tourism market," said Li. Enditem


Phoenix, Arizona--(Newsfile Corp. - August 13, 2020) - The Stock Day Podcast welcomed PCS Edventures! (OTC Pink: PCSV) ("the Company"), a Boise, Idaho company that designs and delivers technology-rich products and services for the K-12 market that develop 21st-century skills. CEO of the Company, Todd Hackett, joined Stock Day host Everett Jolly.

Jolly began the interview by noting the current challenges of the pandemic. "Can you discuss some of the new educational material to be used at school or at home that you have been bringing to the forefront?" asked Jolly. Hackett shared that the Company began reinventing themselves in an effort to meet the increasing demands of remote learning and smaller classroom settings once the COVID-19 pandemic began. "We broke down the large kits and reduced them into smaller individual kits," said Hackett.

"We are also launching a program called BrickLAB STEAMventures, which will be a hardcopy book mailed every 30 days," shared Hackett, noting that customers would subscribe for the program and receive a new product every 30 days to help students further their education. "They would be in smaller containers, so they would be affordable for use at home or in the classroom," added Hackett. "We spent a lot of time redeveloping our curriculum for home-use, as well as school-use one-on-one."

"Do you think that is going to add to the bottom line financially?" asked Jolly. "I do. We're going to launch it on September 1st, and we anticipate a lot of opportunities for us, especially with today's environment," said Hackett.

The conversation then turned to the Company's expansion into the law enforcement drone industry. "This is a new market, and we've worked with law enforcement to develop this product," shared Hackett, adding that the drone will be especially effective in search and rescue situations. Hackett then explained that the drone will be equipped with a digital-zoom HD camera, as well as a spotlight. "It's equipped for that type of operation," he continued. "We think it's going to be a good opportunity," said Hackett, adding that while there are competitors in this space, the Company is confident that their product suits the needs of law enforcement personnel more effectively.

"When do you think the company will launch this product?" asked Jolly. "Within the next two weeks," said Hackett. "We've done demos for some police departments within the last two weeks. We have some minor adjustments to make, but basically it's ready."

Jolly then asked about the Company's financials, as well as their plans to uplist. "We're in the process of uplisting at the present time," explained Hackett, adding that the process will likely be completed by the end of the year. "We're moving in that direction, we just got our first Q1 out," said Hackett. "This is a priority, we want to do it and we think it would be better for our shareholders."

Jolly noted that the Company's market cap has remained low despite high revenues. "We do feel that our company is undervalued at this time," said Hackett. "I think we need to do a better job of reaching out to our shareholders, which we're doing now, and communicating with them and showing them that this is a long-term growth story."

To close the interview, Hackett encouraged interested listeners to take a look at the Company's current projects. "We're going to do whatever we can to maximize profits," said Hackett, noting that the Company has overcome the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and is continuing to grow. "We've adjusted and we're creating other ways to make this work under the current environment."

To hear Todd Hackett's entire interview, follow the link to the podcast here: https://audioboom.com/posts/7657095-pcs-edventures-discusses-the-launch-of-remote-educational-products-with-the-stock-day-podcast

Investors Hangout is a proud sponsor of "Stock Day," and Stock Day Media encourages listeners to visit the company's message board at https://investorshangout.com/

About PCS Edventures!

PCS Edventures!.com, Inc. (OTC Pink: PCSV) is a Boise, Idaho company that designs and delivers technology-rich products and services for the K-12 market that develop 21st-century skills. PCS programs emphasize experiential learning in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) and have been deployed at over 7,000 sites in all 50 United States and 17 foreign countries. Its Thrust-UAV division develops and sells drone-related products and products that use drone technologies. https://www.edventures.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934; actual results could differ materially from such statements.

Contact

Investor Contact: Mike Bledsoe 1.800.429.3110, mikeb@edventures.com

Investor Relations Web Site: pcsv.global

About The "Stock Day" Podcast

Founded in 2013, Stock Day is the fastest growing media outlet for Nano-Cap and Micro-Cap companies. It educates investors while simultaneously working with penny stock and OTC companies, providing transparency and clarification of under-valued, under-sold Micro-Cap stocks of the market. Stock Day provides companies with customized solutions to their news distribution in both national and international media outlets. The Stock Day Podcast is the number one radio show of its kind in America. Stock Day recently launched its Video Interview Studio located in Phoenix, Arizona.

SOURCE:

Stock Day Media

(602) 821-1102

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/61653
Former AFL star Andrew Leoncelli has lost almost $3,000 after falling victim to a cruel online puppy scam.

The former Melbourne player was searching on Gumtree for Staffordshire bull terrier puppies for his children when a Google ad popped up on the page for a breeder's website.

He warned other families not to fall from the same scam, saying everything seemed fine until the seller suddenly stopped responding to messages and calls.

Despite raising his concerns with police, the website is still up and puppies are still advertised for sale.

The website appeared to be a reputable breeder with guarantees and testimonials and then I had several email exchanges with a woman named Sarah Laudin who claimed to be from Tasmania saying the puppy was the last in its litter,' he told the Herald Sun.

But after making the 'irrational' and 'emotional decision' to fork out $2,850 for a puppy, the 'breeder' became elusive and dropped out of contact.

Former AFL star Andrew Leoncelli (pictured) lost $2,850 to an online puppy scam while trying to purchase a pet for his kids

He now believes he was the target of a highly sophisticated overseas crime syndicate.

'My children were tugging at the heartstrings and my partner really wanted the puppy, but the next day after the money had cleared they were being elusive and refused to answer my calls,' he said.

The couple became suspicious and decided to make inquiries about the breeder.

But when they started asking more questions, the breeder's name suddenly changed to 'Nick Isler'.

Mr Leoncelli said his partner called Isler, who then tried to sell the couple another puppy over the phone.

Once Mr Leoncelli had paid for the puppy, the 'breeder' became elusive and dropped out of contact (pictured, the puppy he was offered)

An ad for a staffy breeder popped up on his screen (pictured) while he was scrolling through Gumtree

When she asked about the dog they had initially inquired about, the man changed tactics- insisting that was the same puppy he was trying to sell her.

Mr Leoncelli said the man over the phone had a heavy African accent and had been very pushy to sell the dog.

The ex-sportsman, who is now the managing director of real estate company CBRE, said the scam had left his family devastated and wants authorities to take action.

He is now calling for the search engine companies, Google and Gumtree, to be held accountable for allowing scammers to post ads on their sites.

He also said banks need to boost their consumer safety measures after 'Sarah Laudin's account, to which he transferred the funds, were with Commonwealth.

'There are not enough protections for the average consumer. This has to stop and these businesses need to take responsibility for allowing their ads,' Mr Leoncelli said.

The fake website (pictured) features a variety of puppy profiles, touting the pets as '99 per cent potty trained'

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said Malvern police were investigating the incident.

'It is understood a victim believed they bought a Staffordshire bull terrier puppy from a website and made a substantial deposit payment,' she said.

'Once they paid the deposit the online business ceased all contact, leaving the victims without a puppy or their money back.'

'The investigation remains ongoing and police urge anyone with information in relation to the scam to come forward.'

A Commonwealth Bank Australia spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia the security of their customers banking details is a top priority.

'We invest in state of the art fraud prevention and detection technology and have a dedicated team who actively monitor unusual or suspicious activity,' she said.

'Another way we try to keep ahead of the curve is working closely with law enforcement agencies and other banks to share information and understand potential threats.'

In May, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission warned lonely Australians seeking pets to keep them company during the pandemic to be cautious of their online purchases after $300,000 had been lost to puppy scams.

A Gumtree spokesperson said the advertisements had been placed on the site through Google Adsense program and not through the Gumtree platform directly.

'We are frustrated by Mr Leoncellis experience of an ingenuine third party advert on site,' she said.

'We have done everything possible to action this issue and are committed to removing reported third party adverts as swiftly as possible.'
American Airlines passenger planes crowd a runway where they are parked due to flight reductions to slow the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at Tulsa International Airport in Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. March 23, 2020.

American Airlines is preparing to scrap flights serving two dozen small and medium cities as the expiration of federal coronavirus aid that placed restrictions on carriers from cutting service approaches, according to an executive at the airline.

Carriers are required to maintain minimum levels of service through Sept. 30 under a $25 billion federal aid package that also prohibited layoffs through the end of the third quarter. American was granted $5.8 billion in support under the program.

The deal was meant to preserve both jobs by providing payroll assistance and air service around the country, even though most planes were flying with a fraction of their normal passenger loads. Regulators allowed airlines some exemptions in service.

The new cancellations for up to 30 destinations could show up in fall schedules as early as next week, the American Airlines executive told CNBC. The person asked not to be identified because the changes haven't been finalized yet. The executive didn't say which cities could be cut.

Airline labor unions and executives from carriers themselves have been pushing Congress for another $25 billion in payroll support to keep paying workers through the end of next March, as demand remains depressed.

The proposal has gained bipartisan political support in Congress and from President Donald Trump, but lawmakers and the White House have failed to reach a deal on a new, national coronavirus aid package that would likely house the provision for additional airline aid.

The Department of Transportation had to inform airlines by Aug. 1 if the government planned to extend the minimum service requirements.

"The Department did not propose to extend the obligations, but will use the authority in the CARES Act to monitor ongoing access by the traveling public to the national air transportation system," a DOT spokesman said. "The Department is also prepared to implement any new provisions of law in this area if enacted by Congress."

United Airlines isn't planning to cut service to smaller cities as a result of the federal aid terms expiring because bookings to those destinations have generated decent demand, according to a person familiar with the matter. The situation is fluid and service could still change, however, said the person.

Delta Air Lines declined to comment.
Unlike in the United States, living on campus is not the norm for students in Australia; renting a room in a shared house off campus is often a rite of passage. Fewer than 1 in 10 opt for the full residential experience, but those who do must contend not only with restrictions to prevent virus transmission but also doubts about whether enough is being done to protect them.
Broader Prospects for Promoting Bilateral Trade





The very first flights of EgyptAir Cargo, the national freighter of Egypt, have landed in Bandaranaike International Airport on 2nd and 5th August 2020 consecutively, the Egyptian embassy in Colombo has announced in a statement.





The freighters departed BIA with a total of 188 tons of Sri Lankan products to export destinations worldwide, benefiting from the broad global network of EgyptAir.





Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt in Colombo Hussein El Saharty has announced that this long-awaited event is considered an inaugural step towards establishing a regular air transport route between Egypt and Sri Lanka, which will broaden the horizons for bilateral trade between the two friendly countries, and through them to the markets beyond.





Ambassador El Saharty praised the efforts exerted by both Mr. Sunil Adikaram, General Manager Sales and Operations of Forwardair Aviation, the Cargo General Sales Agent of EgyptAir in Sri Lanka and his efficient team on one side, and EgyptAir Cargo team in Cairo on the other side, to attain this significant achievement. Ambassador El Saharty revealed that feasibility studies are now being carried on both sides to consider several options for establishing a regular transit cargo route for EgyptAir either through BIA or MRIA, benefiting from the growing facilities in both hubs.





Bilateral trade values between Egypt and Sri Lanka averaged USD 50 Million annually in the last few years. Even during recent COVID-19 lockdowns, exporters, trade authorities and diplomatic mission in both countries worked hard to facilitate the regular and smooth flow of trade, resulting in Sri Lanka being able to export a total of 738 tons of its products to Egypt during the two months of April and May 2020, including 264 tons of Ceylon tea, 208 tons of desiccated coconut, 26 tons of cocoa powder, 234 tons of rubber products, and 7 tons of PPEs. Similarly, Egyptian products, especially citrus fruits, have been smoothly exported to Sri Lanka during the same period. Huge trade potentials are still to be explored and untapped.





It is worth mentioning that the first bilateral agreement between Egypt and Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) for the operation of regular flights was signed in 1950 in London, while the first trade and payments agreement was concluded in 1954 in Cairo. Another updated air transport agreement has been signed in 2005. Colombo and Cairo have been connected through direct regular flights operated by Air Ceylon from the late 1940s until the late 1970s, while EgyptAir has operated intermittently between both capitals during subsequent years. The future holds immense opportunities for enhancing trade and connections between both countries.












DUBAI, U.A.E, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Future Market Insights' recent study infers that the foamed plastics market is projected to be valued at over US$ 85 Bn by 2030.

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Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India. FMI's latest market research reports and industry analysis help businesses navigate challenges and take critical decisions with confidence and clarity amidst breakneck competition. Our customized and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. A team of expert-led analysts at FMI continuously track emerging trends and events in a broad range of industries to ensure that our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers.

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YEREVAN, AUGUST 13, ARMENPRESS. An Azerbaijani propaganda event scheduled for August 12 in Los Angeles has been cancelled after protests from the Armenian community, Asbarez reports.

Montebello City Councilmember Jack Hadjinian had earlier announced that he was resigning his position on the Board of Directors of the Sheriffs Youth Foundation in protest of Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanuevas decision to host a forum to discuss concerns within the Azerbaijani-American community.

The online event, which was scheduled to take place on Wednesday afternoon and has angered the Armenian-American community, has since been cancelled.

I can no longer support such a reckless leader as Sheriff Villanueva who continues to challenge the Board of Supervisors, and now has planned an event with a terrorist group known as the Azerbaijani Community, said Hadjinian in a Facebook post announcing his resignation.

The Azeris are spreading anti-Armenian propaganda and Sheriff Villanueva is giving them a platform to further extend their lies across the County of Los Angeles. I will never compromise my principles just to carry a badge or an ID card, added Hadjinian.

Hadjinian cited several recent examples of aggression by the Azerbaijanis against the Armenian-American community, including the July 24 vandalism at the Krouzian-Zekarian Vasbouragan Armenian School in San Francisco, where the building was spray painted with crude pro-Azerbaijani graffiti.

Hadjinian, who was appointed to the board four years ago, has been a supporter of the Sheriffs Youth Foundation, raising more than $100,000 to help disadvantaged kids by implementing many after school programs, Asbarez reported.

I truly believe in the Foundations purpose and goals, said Hadjinian in the resignation letter. But I refuse to be associated with a reckless person as Sheriff Villanueva.

On Tuesday afternoon, individuals who had signed up to take part in the forum received notification of the events cancellation, despite which announcements promoting the event were being posted on Twitter.
Every September, about 34,000 students populate McMaster Universitys august campus, fill classrooms and libraries and residences, and inject the surrounding Westdale neighbourhood with new life.

That is not going to happen this year.

But the annual migration to west Hamilton will not be as diminished as might be expected given COVID-19 measures implemented by the school, that are among the most stringent of any university in Ontario  including moving most classroom learning online and closing all student residences.

While McMaster has no hard numbers, anecdotally it appears most out-of-town students who had planned to live in Westdale  a popular student settlement area  are still coming.

That was the upshot of a survey conducted by the Westdale Village Business Improvement Area of landlords who say most of the properties they rent to students will be occupied.

In many cases, students signed leases before the pandemic, but Westdale Village BIA executive director Tracy MacKinnon said interviews with landlords  who own about 60 houses  suggest few are trying to break them.

The students have been living at home for months and they want to get away from Mom and Dad, and get the university experience, she said.

Sean Van Koughnett, McMasters associate vice-president and dean of students, said parents are perhaps on the same page as their kids.

So we are expecting the neighbourhoods to look relatively normal in terms of the number of students living there.

As for the campus, while indoor spaces will be mostly off-limits, the outdoors will not be closed off from students.

We are realistic ... People will want to walk through campus, sit on a bench, those things will happen but we want to discourage density and dont want to compromise anyones health.

The big change will be the absence of first-year students and international students.

About 6,500 students register for first-year classes at McMaster, but since the university shut down nearly all its 4,200 residence spaces, Van Koughnett said many students will stay home for remote courses rather than live off campus in Hamilton.

As for the approximately 5,000 students who enrol from out of the country, he said some were living in Canada already during the pandemic, but those who were not are unlikely to travel.

If they do (travel here), we will have a student wellness centre and quarantine process in place.

Westdale merchants who benefit from students are concerned about the reduced number coming to the city, said Lora Gutierrez, who owns Loras Walk-In Closet on King Street West.

It will be different, quieter ... Then again, Im on Instagram and when students see something they want (online), they find a way to buy it.

The challenge for popular restaurants and bars will be handling the influx of students, given distancing regulations and reduced seating.

They will be back in town wanting to mingle, havent seen each other in a long time; the hugs and high-fives and all that stuff, it will be difficult to manage, said Snooty Fox owner Jordan Geertsma, who added he worries about the health of students attending house parties to circumvent the rules.

On the issue of social distancing, McMaster Students Union president Giancarlo Da-Re told The Spectator in an email he expects students will exercise all public health guidelines within the larger community.
Civil rights groups behind the #StopHateForProfit boycott are giving Facebook poor grades on its response, saying the company failed to address or fell short of addressing the coalitions demands.

In a report card sent to advertisers and released exclusively to USA TODAY, the coalition makes the case that Facebook hasnt taken meaningful steps to stop the spread of hate speech on its platforms.

We put out an assessment to clarify what civil rights groups, including Color Of Change, have been demanding for several years versus what Facebook has actually done and agreed to do, said Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change. Despite a sweeping statement from corporate leaders that Facebook must do better to protect its Black users, the company has failed to address our core demands meaningfully.

Of the 10 demands made during the month-long boycott, Facebook has not addressed six and only partially addressed four, according to the report card.

For example, Color of Change says Facebook did not follow its recommendations to shut down hate speech on its platforms, yet told advertisers that it leads the industry in removing hate speech and that its artificial intelligence technology is getting better and faster all the time. While Facebook conceded to another demand, hiring a civil rights executive, it does not plan to do so at the leadership level, as organizers requested, Color of Change said.

Robinson says the coalition created the report card to rebut claims Facebook made in its own missive to advertisers which compared the #StopHateForProfit recommendations and the ongoing work at Facebook.

Theres some overlap between what the boycott organizers have asked for and what we already do, which reaffirms the fact that our end goals are the same  fight online hate, Facebook wrote to advertisers during the boycott. This doesnt mean we wont do more to address the delta between what we currently do and what the organizers have asked for, but the side-by-side is meant to illustrate what we are doing and what we are exploring thanks to continued conversations with the civil rights community.

Asked for comment on the report card from civil rights groups, Facebook said it has invested billions in removing hate speech from its platforms and has a clear plan of action to continue the fight.

During the companys second-quarter earnings call, chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg said often when companies are boycotted, they dont agree with the boycotters.

Thats not true at all here. We completely agree that we dont want hate on our platforms, and we stand firmly against it. We dont benefit from hate speech. We never have. Users dont want to see it. Advertisers dont want to be associated with it. And weve been working for a really long time to get better at this, to finding it, Sandberg said. In many ways, we lead our industry in transparency and execution. Were going to keep working really hard at this, not for financial reasons or advertiser pressure, because its the right thing to do.

The pact between corporations and civil rights groups was forged in the aftermath of George Floyds death. Advertisers pulled spending from Facebook in July to protest the companys record on civil rights, giving voice to years of complaints that Facebook disproportionately stifles Black users while failing to protect them from harassment.

More than 1,000 advertisers including Disney, Walmart and Verizon took part, siphoning millions in ad dollars  not enough to put a dent in Facebooks revenue, but enough to draw greater public scrutiny of toxic content on Facebook.

Last week, 20 state attorneys general issued an open letter to Facebook, demanding that it step up enforcement of its hate speech policies. The attorneys general outlined seven steps the company should take, including allowing independent audits of hate speech. Facebook responded: We share the Attorneys Generals goal of ensuring people feel safe on the internet and look forward to continuing our work with them.

That same week, nearly three dozen House Democrats including Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York sent a letter to Zuckerberg and chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg urging Facebook to address hate speech targeting women, particularly women candidates and political leaders.  Cindy Southworth, Facebooks head of womens safety, said the company would continue to work with lawmakers to to surface new solutions.

Hate speech also came up during a congressional hearing last month on the market power of big tech companies.

Are you so big that you dont care how youre impacted by a major boycott of 1,100 advertisers? Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington, challenged CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

No, Congresswoman, of course we care, said Zuckerberg. But, he continued, Facebook would not let advertisers dictate the companys policies.

Even after the boycott officially ended, some advertisers including Ben & Jerrys have continued on, as have some of the campaigns biggest supporters.

Prince Harry, who with wife Meghan Markle worked behind the scenes to support the Stop Hate for Profit movement, has continued to call on social media to stamp out hate.

Our message was clear: The digital landscape is unwell and companies like yours have the chance to reconsider your role in funding and supporting online platforms that have contributed to, stoked, and created the conditions for a crisis of hate, a crisis of health, and a crisis of truth, he wrote in an essay for Fast Company.

The Duke of Sussex says he has been talking with Color of Change President Rashad Robinson about how to take action on racial justice since the protests began.

This is not down to the Black community, Harry said in a virtual interview posted Monday on Instagram by Color of Change. This is down to every single person that is on the planet right now.

Read more about:
Detectives last night began checking overseas arrival lists at airports throughout the country.

The killers of the Turkish Consul-General and his bodyguard at Dover Heights yesterday may have been special "hit" men flown into Australia to carry out the assassination, police believe.

First published in The Sydney Morning Herald on December 18, 1980

The Consul-General, Mr Sarik Ariyak, 50, and Mr Engin Sever, 28, were shot dead in their cars in what police described as a "carefully planned and professional" murder.

As Mr Ariyak and Mr Sever were leaving the Ariyaks' brick home in quiet, suburban Portland Street, the assassins struck.

They were on a motorcycle, and both wore full-face motorcycle helmets. While one kept the motorcycle going, the other leaped off the pillion seat and fired about a dozen shots from a machine pistol at the two men, sitting in separate cars.

The murders done, the gunman got back on the pillion seat and the two men rode off.

Mrs Ariyak had been watching, stunned, from the driveway of her home.
The finance ministry of Germany, Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF), released a draft bill on the introduction of electronic securities (eWpG) on Tuesday, and it includes a blockchain solution to digitize securities.

The bill would revamp both the German securities law and the corresponding supervisory law with a focus on blockchain strategy, according to a press release published by BMF.

With the establishment of digital securities, one of the central components of the federal government's blockchain strategy and the joint key issues paper of the BMF and the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV) on electronic securities (eWpG) will be implemented, the release said.

Currently, the law dictates that financial instruments classified as securities under civil law must be securitized in a document. This document, a paper certificate, currently acts as the source of all facts relating to each security and incorporates details on buyers accounts, according to the report.

However, a replacement for these paper certificates is needed to ensure a more secure and easily marketable alternative, according to the release. One way to achieve this is by entering details regarding these securities on a blockchain-based register, the release read.

Further, the draft bill also provides greater regulatory clarity  The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority will track the launch and upkeep of decentralized registers as new financial services in agreement with the eWpG, the German Banking Act Kreditwesengesetz (KWG) and the key securities depository rule.

The draft differentiates between the keeping of a central electronic securities register by a central securities depository and the keeping of registers for issuing electronic bonds made possible by distributed ledger technologies, among other things, the release read.

The proposed changes to the legal framework by adopting blockchain and other new technology aims to bolster Germany as a hub of business and magnify transparency, market integrity, and investor protection, according to the release.





 2020 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
Chicago Residents Clash With Black Lives Matter Demonstrators Over Tactics

Residents in the neighborhood of Englewood in Chicago faced off with demonstrators from Black Lives Matter and other groups on Tuesday, questioning their tactics in the aftermath of looting and violence.

Protesters with Black Lives Matter Chicago and other organizations gathered outside the Englewood Police Station, drawing criticism from some locals.

If you aint from Englewood, get the [expletive] out of here, Darryl Smith, who has lived in the area for 51 years, shouted, Fox 32 reported.

Smith said the anger stemmed from what transpired over the weekend. After a 20-year-old man refused to stop for the police and fired gunshots at officers, he was shot before being taken to the hospital, police officials said.

Possibly in response to what officials called misinformation about the police-involved shooting, hundreds of people descended on the downtown area on Sunday night and committed crimes like looting and property destruction.

A lot of people saying the looting started because of Englewood. We are tired of Englewood getting a black eye, those people were opportunist, Smith said.

He took aim at what he sees as misguided priorities.

Chicago police officers respond to shots fired near reports of rioting on West Madison Street near South Karlov Avenue on the West Side, of Chicago, Aug. 10, 2020. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Yall dont come out when the kids get shot. Yall come out when it has something to do with the [expletive] police, Smith told the demonstrators, according to Block Club Chicago. We out here every day watching our kids get their brains blown out, with no budget, no resources. Yall [expletives] getting all the resources, and you want to come over here and disrupt our neighborhood.

Community members told ABC 7 that theyve been working with the police and regard the demonstrations as an intrusion on those efforts.

If you are going to do something, do it right. And you put other peoples lives at risk when you coming into someone elses neighborhood you dont know the dynamic, Duane Kidd, a local, told the broadcaster.

Coming into our community for just one day and then run out, Kidd added to the Chicago Tribune. Everyday. If they got something to say about the police, we got to deal with it tomorrow. The community. Not them. Theyll be somewhere sipping sangria.

Eventually, most of the demonstrators left the area, news outlets reported.

Police officials said Wednesday that they appreciated the support from nearby residents.

The good citizens, the good community members of Englewood, stepped up and said we are not going to allow more chaos in our neighborhoods,' Commander Larry Snelling of the 7th District told ABC 7.

Police officers detain a man who was found inside of a Best Buy store after parts of the city had widespread looting and vandalism in Chicago on Aug. 10, 2020. Police made several arrests during the night of unrest and recovered at least one firearm. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Black Lives Matter Chicago didnt respond to a request for comment.

In a press release issued on Sunday, the group said that members of the Englewood community are traumatized and want answers regarding the shooting of the 20-year-old, Latrell Allen.

The people of Englewood showed up immediately because they wanted to protect their community members from harm. CPD, meanwhile, was only interested in protecting itself; their response to these bystanders was sending in hundreds of officers with assault rifles, tear gas, and batons, the group alleged.

Black Lives Matter Chicago at a rally on Monday denounced the arrests of more than 100 looting suspects and said they want to abolish the police.

Good Kids Mad City, another local group, said on Twitter that they didnt participate in the protest on Tuesday because aggressive agitators were being disruptive & tried to provoke us into a violent confrontation.

The Chicago Police Department, meanwhile, released a video showing footage of people they said engaged in the looting and civil unrest.

Anyone with information was asked to contact Chicago Police Department detectives directly at (312) 744-8263 or submit a tip online or with your mobile device at www.CPDTIP.com.
H.E. Chinese Ambassador Hu Zhangliang Meets with Hon. Minister of Gender and Children's Affairs Ms. Manty Tarawalli

2020/07/29

H.E. Chinese Ambassador Hu Zhangliang met with Hon. Manty Tarawalli, Minister of Gender and Children's Affairs today at his residence and donated a batch of items to the ministry to support the latter's efforts of taking care of Sierra Leonean women and children.

Ambassador Hu said that July 29, 2020 marks the 49th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Sierra Leone. He said that over the past 49 years, China and Sierra Leone have always been genuine friends who understand and support each other. He commended the efforts taken by H.E. President Julius Maada Bio, H.E. First Lady Fatima Bio and Minister Tarawalli in protecting and empowering women and children and vowed to further strengthen China-Sierra Leone friendly cooperation.

Honorable Minister Tarawalli thanked Ambassador Hu for the support given by the Chinese Embassy to help build the National SGBV One Stop Centres and for the items donated to help promote the welfare of women and children. She said that her ministry would continue to work closely with the Chinese Embassy to promote the friendly relations between the two countries.
CHARLOTTESVILLE  Three years after violence filled Charlottesville, the scene Wednesday afternoon at Market Street Park where activists and community members gathered in remembrance took on a relaxed tone.

In the shadow of the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, which had served as backdrop for the deadly Aug. 12, 2017 Unite the Right rally now festooned with Black Lives Matter signs and anti-racists posters, organizers of the Reclaim the Park event offered people a chance to remember the events, proclaim solidarity and reclaim the park as their own.

Expressing themselves through music and art on handmade easels, the event had a relaxed and reflective atmosphere. Organizers had declared the park a community-built space, and used personal vehicles to close the streets surrounding Market Street Park.

Clergy led the event off with a prayer circle and people brought coolers, chairs and tents as organizers asked attendees to not take photos or videos without consent and to wear masks and maintain social distancing standards. Speakers shared personal experiences and talked about the history of the Lee statue and racism in Charlottesville.

Among the speakers was Susan Bro, who said her daughter, Heather Heyer, showed up three years ago to fight for equal treatment of all people.

Heyer was killed in a car attack after the Unite the Rally, which devolved into violence between white supremacists and counter-protesters, was broken up by police. The attack also injured more than 30 other counter-demonstrators.

The only thing my daughter did was show up to walk, Bro said. She was a random murder in an act of terror.

Bro, standing in front of the Lee statue, called for systemic change across the nation and for justice for those killed by police across the country, including George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others.

Heather got her justice. She had her day in court. They have not, Bro said. Remember my daughter today. Please remember why she was here.

Although the event was solemn in nature, it also had a light, party atmosphere as attendees blew bubbles, made posters and sprayed each other with Silly String.

People were invited to paint signs, have their photos taken in a photo booth, pray and do yoga. The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative gave out buttons, stickers and literature, Nine Pillars hosted hip hop and The Womens Initiative and the Charlottesville Black Youth Action Committee had tables.

Local activist Don Gathers said people need to continue to stand up, show up and to shout down racism and hatred and all of its evil forms, in every opportunity, whenever it presents itself.

It is enormously sad that in 2020, we still have to shout the phrase Black Lives Matter, but unless and until we are listened to, and not just heard, well continue to spew it out at every opportunity, he said. Even when people dont feel that its necessary. Even when we hear Blue Lives Matter. No one was born blue. Even when we hear that all lives matter. All Lives Matter cant possibly be a catchphrase or byline unless and until Black lives matter.

Police and the news media were asked to stay away and there was little police presence, although Charlottesville police officers on bicycles were stationed nearby and Virginia State Police, who staged at National Guard Armory on Avon Street Extended were in the area and made several passes in cruisers.

In a media gaggle in front of Charlottesvilles Central Library, Amanda Moxham, a local anti-racist activist, and Zyahna Bryant, the local activist who started the petition to remove the Lee statue, said community members held the event in the downtown park to reclaim the narrative of Charlottesville and Aug. 12.

By taking space today, were not only reclaiming the narrative of August 12, but were reclaiming the narrative of our city, Bryant said.

The event was unofficial as the organizers did not seek nor receive a permit to hold it. Organizers said the presence of clergy leading prayer and reflection would put the event under an exception in the citys ordinance, but that is not listed as an exemption for an event permit.

City Manager Tarron Richardson said in a statement that event permits have been suspended since the declaration of a local emergency in response to the coronavirus pandemic and no event permits were issued for any city parks on Tuesday or Wednesday. The city took no enforcement action during the event.

Daily Progress staff writers Bryan McKenzie, Allison Wrabel, Tyler Hammel, Katherine Knott and Nolan Stout contributed to this story.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 15:24:29|Editor: huaxia

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JERUSALEM, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Israel said on Thursday that it had struck Hamas' sites in the Gaza Strip after militants in the Palestinian enclave launched explosive balloons into southern Israel.

The attack was carried out overnight by Israeli war jets and tanks, the army said in a short notice.

"The targets of the strike included a military compound used by the Hamas naval force, underground infrastructure and observation posts," the statement read.

The army warned that it holds Hamas, ruler of Gaza, "responsible for all events transpiring in the Gaza Strip and emanating from it."

Dozens of balloons carrying explosive or incendiary materials have been flown into southern Israel over the past days, causing local fires.

In response, Israel also closed Kerem Shalom, Gaza's main goods crossing, halted fuel supply and reduced Gaza's fishing zone.

Commentators on Palestinian and Israeli media said the balloons often aim to pressure Israel to allow the transfer of Qatari money to Gaza amid an escalating financial and humanitarian crisis in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

Israel and Hamas had fought three rounds of war with occasional bursts of violence between them. Over the past months, both sides kept an unofficial cease-fire. Enditem
They are kept in a pretrial detention center.

Belarus' authorities have opened a criminal case against citizens of Ukraine Kostiantyn Reutski and Yevhen Vasylyev, human rights activists and civil volunteers who were detained in that country on August 12.

Belarusian human rights activist Tatyana Ravyaka told Radio Liberty's Belarusian Service that their case is related to "mass riots" in Minsk on August 10-12.

Read alsoNine Ukrainians detained in Belarus amid protests, news photographer beaten  MFA Ukraine

Ravyaka's apartment, where the Ukrainian citizens were staying, was searched the day before. Investigators seized Reutski's computer, Vasylyev's Ukrainian passport and other things.

The two Ukrainians are in a pretrial detention center now, Ravyaka said.

The Ukrainian embassy has already been informed about their detention.

"They are my friends, we attended the same human rights courses. They just arrived in Belarus today [August 12], had some coffee, went for a walk and were detained. They could not and did not take part in any riots," she said.

Protests in Belarus: What is happening?
I was going to be an accountant, that was my goal, he said. I decided to apply for the fire department, not knowing all that was involved in that process. I thought it was an opportunity to do something good for the community. Little did I know the minute I walked in that was all I wanted to do after that. Its been a great career.
New Delhi: Apple has confirmed that the new 2020 iPhones may not launch in September, the time the Cupertino-headquartered company usually does.

Jon Prosser, a reliable Apple insider, has now said that the company could now launch the iPhone 12 in October. Prosser said that Apple could launch the iPhone 12 models during an October 12 event while the pre-orders the following week and shipping would begin from October 19. The tipster said that the iPhone 12 Pro models would go on sale sometime in November, without divulging the exact details regarding the dates.

Prosser also said that Apple would make announcements regarding its upcoming iPad and Apple Watch. However, this will only be made through press release and not during an event. Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple iPad will be launched on September 7, he said.

Apple is expected to launch four new iPhones under the iPhone 12 series which would include two premium variants this year. iPhone 12 Pro will come in 6.1-inch or 6.7-inch sizes and may feature a high refresh-rate 120Hz ProMotion display, as presently seen on iPad Pro. The rear camera module on device will house four sensors with a LiDAR scanner which was introduced in the recently launched Apple iPad Pro.

All four iPhone models are expected to feature OLED displays and 5G support, as famed Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo had previously claimed.

Among several other launches that Apple is reportedly planning this year include new iMac, AirPods Studio, HomePod 2 and HomePod Mini. The company is also expected to unveil a renewed AirPower charging mat, and smaller wireless charger AirPower Mini, as well as AR based Apple Glass.
A wave of euphoria, so at least it looked for a fate of Moment of the pandemic's history, was the first detectable and acute side-effect of the Russian Corona-vaccine "Sputnik V". Day one after its questionable admission there was not only a lot of questions and criticism, but also the big announcements. The Iranian President Hassan Rouhani about reported to his Cabinet, according to the Iranian Agency Irna has a "breakthrough in vaccine development", Donald Trump, in turn, the spendier pants was pulled over, and promised an additional 1.5 billion dollars for a hundred million doses of the vaccine from the American manufacturer Moderna, and the otherwise rather careful to brasige Robert-Koch-Institute (RKI) in Berlin daily position paper announced, quite surprisingly, in a afternoon to the short - to medium-term objectives of the national Corona-strategy in the country, the "availability of a vaccine (possibly more) until the fall of 2020" to. This fall! Wow! Corona-Management with a Bang, it was thought there. The term "Preliminary forecasts", says the RKI-paper exactly, "the possible".

If this were Russian forecasts, in the first Moment, was not found. In any case, resist Hyper voice optimistic RKI notice until the final resolution of the puzzle, each common forecast. Even Donald Trump, whose repeated promises to want to be the first American Covid-19-vaccines until the beginning of November to distribute, was understood by all as a challenge to his re-election in November, is far from his most important Corona-adviser, the immune experts Anthony Fauci, been carefully corrected.

at the beginning of 2021 to mid-2021 is for him to be realistic, the latter date was advertised a few days ago, among other things, the German research Minister Anja Karliczek. The experts of the world health organization and in Germany for the vaccine-approval, the competent Paul-Ehrlich-Institut have now both agreed to also almost universally on the formula "vaccine approval in the ideal case, from the spring of 2021".

this could have been an exciting story if the RKI is really a vaccine developments were available, which indicated a much earlier vaccination against Sars-CoV-2 call. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a "Mistake". The position paper with preliminary forecasts for the autumn of 2020 had been a many-month-old early Version of the position paper to be put online by mistake, as I said, it was informed by a spokeswoman for the RKI on Wednesday evening. In the last few months several times revised the document to include in the current latest Version anyway, the surprising autumn forecast, a long time ago. However, the older Version with the questionable paragraph by the competent RKI has been released and from the communication Department also released.

"We do not expect, of course, currently, that already this autumn one of the currently tested vaccines," said RKI spokeswoman. For the position paper responsible for drawing professionals to the Institute would make the document again, and then updated again to publish. How many of the six vaccines approved by then, which are now in the third and decisive test phase with several thousands of volunteers, it is difficult to predict.

Updated Date: 13 August 2020, 16:20
By PTI

AHMEDABAD: The administrator of the private hospital here where eight COVID-19 patients died in a fire last week was arrested on Wednesday on the charge of `causing death by negligence', a police official said.

Bharat Mahant (57), main administrator of Shrey Hospital, was arrested by officials of Navrangpura police station after he underwent medical test and tested negative for coronavirus, he said.

Mahant, who was at the helm of affairs at the hospital since 1998, will be produced in the court on Thursday, said Assistant Commissioner of Police M A Patel.

A fire broke out on the fourth floor ICU ward of the hospital, which had been authorized to treat coronavirus patients, in the wee hours of August 6.

Eight patients died.

On August 10, a First Information Report under IPC section 304 (A) (causing death by negligent or rash act) was registered against Mahant.

The FIR said that while the cause of fire was a short circuit, the patients died due to "lack of ventilation" in the ICU as its four windows had been fixed shut with screws and did not open.

There had been no fire safety audit of the hospital prior to the incident, nor was there any fire alarm system, it said.

Though there were fire extinguishers in the ward, they were not used because the staff had not been given training in fire-fighting, the FIR alleged.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 13, ARMENPRESS. The Lebanese prosecution intends to question several Cabinet members of both the incumbent and previous governments over the August 4 Beirut port explosion, Al Arabiya TV reported citing a source within the judiciary.

According to the source the prosecution will start by questioning Ghazi Aridi, the former Lebanese minister of public works and transportation. Other former ministers of finance, justice and public works will also be summoned.

171 people died and nearly 6000 were injured when more than 2700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded in a warehouse in the port of Beirut on August 4. Dozens are missing. Heavy damages occurred across the Lebanese capital.

The highly explosive material was stored at the facility for 6 years. The cause of the explosion is under investigation.

Days after the blast many Lebanese citizens took to the streets to demonstrate against the government. The protesters accuse the ruling coalition in corruption and demand early elections and an independent probe into the blast. Two days after the protests began, PM Hassan Diab announced his governments resignation on August 10.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
Police have been handed tough new powers to stop potential spies trying to enter Britain as it steps up its defences against foreign espionage.

Laws brought in after the 2018 novichok poison attack in Salisbury will hand officers greater powers to detain people arriving at UK ports and airports if they are suspected of working for hostile intelligence agencies.

Under Section 3 of the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019 specially trained officers will be allowed to stop and search arrivals under similar rules to those used to apprehend suspected terrorists believed to be arriving to commit atrocities in the UK.

It comes amid heightened tensions with China over its foreign spying activity and the involvement of Huawei in UK communications infrastructure.

Relations with Moscow are also in a severe cold patch following the attack on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Wiltshire two years ago, which left a local woman dead.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said the new powers send a 'clear message' the Government has zero tolerance for those acting against British interests.

'The threat posed to the UK from hostile state activity is growing and ever changing,' she said.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said the new powers sent a 'clear message' to those from hostile states

Specially trained officers will be given new powers to stop, search and detain suspected spies at UK ports. (Stock image)

'These new powers send a very clear message to those involved in it that this Government has zero tolerance for those acting against British interests.

'But I am clear more must be done and we are developing new legislation to bring our laws up to date and create new ones to stay ahead of the threat.'

On March 4, 2018, Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a park bench after Russian agents smeared the deadly chemical on the door-handle of Mr Skripals home.

The father and daughter were rushed to hospital and put in induced comas.

In April, Yulia was discharged from hospital and moved to a secret location where she is being guarded by British intelligence agents.

Mr Skripal, a double-agent who arrived in the UK as part of a spy-swap deal between Britain and Russia in 2010, recovered a month later and joined his daughter in hiding.

The Novichok attack later claimed the life of mother Dawn Sturgess, 44, after she handled a perfume bottle containing the poison and sprayed the substance onto both her wrists.

Her boyfriend Charlie Rowley, who had found the bottle and given it to his partner, also fell ill and was rushed to hospital.

According to British intelligence, agents of Russia's military intelligence (GRU) Anatoly Chepiga and Alexander Mishkin were behind the Skripal poisonings.

The powers, which will see officers follow a code of practice when carrying out searches, will also apply to spies from other countries including China.

Safeguards including independent oversight by the Investigatory Powers Commissioner have also been put in place .

In 2018, Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were put in induced comas after Russian agents smeared the deadly chemical novichok on the door-handle of Mr Skripals home

GRU agents Anatoly Chepiga and Alexander Mishkin were seen walking through Salisbury on the day they unleashed the novichok chemical weapon

The new powers come after an influential committee of MPs released a bombshell report this year into allegations of Russian meddling and said there was 'credible' evidence that Moscow did try to influence the result of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.

On the issue of Brexit, the Intelligence and Security Committee said it had not been provided with any evidence that the Kremlin had sought to influence the 2016 vote.

The ISC report went on to savage successive governments for the way in which they had approached the subject of Russian meddling and said Britain had long 'underestimated' the threat posed by the Kremlin.

The ISC said that while it was now too late to 'shut the stable door' on such activity the Government must 'urgently' bring forward 'greater powers and transparency' to address the problems.
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Lebanon's Tripoli port readies to fill in for blast-hit Beirut Tripoli port in northern Lebanon is able to handle some five million tonnes of imports a year

Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli is readying its port to temporarily replace that of Beirut and ensure urgently needed food deliveries, officials said Thursday, after the capital's harbour was levelled in a massive explosion.

Tripoli port's capacity is smaller than Beirut's, through which the vast majority of Lebanon's food and other imports used to transit.

A fire at Beirut port on August 4 spread to a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate, causing a gigantic explosion that devastated swathes of the city and killed at least 171 people.

Immediately after the disaster, Lebanon's Supreme Defence Council ordered that the port of Tripoli be set up for "import and export operations".

"The port of Tripoli can stand in for Beirut on a temporary basis, for the time it will take it to be operational again," Tripoli port director Ahmad Tamer told AFP from his office at the harbour.

Tripoli port employees are working 18 hours a day to respond to the emergency needs and the sprawling compound is busier than it has ever been.

The smaller ports of Saida and Tyre can also contribute to the effort but their capacity is limited and does not allow for bigger vessels to dock.

Lebanon relies on imports for 85 percent of its food needs and the UN's World Food Programme has warned that the destruction of the main port could worsen an already alarming situation.

Lebanon's economic collapse in recent months has seen it default on its debt, plunged the local currency into free-fall and sent poverty rates soaring, on top of the country's COVID-19 outbreak.

- 'Chance to grow' -

Tamer said seven ships that had been heading to Beirut on the day of the explosion were immediately rerouted to Tripoli, where they unloaded their cargo.

Tripoli had already undergone major upgrade works in order to accomodate increased traffic expected in connection with the reconstruction effort needed in neighbouring, war-ravaged Syria.

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Tamer said that before the explosion Tripoli port was only functioning at 40 percent capacity, processing two million tonnes of imports per year, with a maximum capacity of five million.

The port director said that he wanted to increase the rate of work at the port and hire more employees to boost its current turnover of 80,000 containers a year.

The huge silos at Beirut port are still partially standing but unusable, with one side of the towering structure completely gutted by the explosion.

Tamer said plans for new silos in Tripoli were now being discussed.

"A country with no grain silos can easily go hungry," he said.

The United Nations and several countries have sent thousands of tonnes of wheat and other commodities since the disaster to prevent a shortage of bread in Lebanon, where public anger against the government has boiled over into street protests.

Ships carrying emergency aid are still able to sail to Beirut and unload aid, usually with the help of the military.

According to the ministry of economy, 12 out of the port's 16 cranes are still operational and some ships have continued to unload in some of the least damaged parts of the port.

Media reports suggest that several countries have already expressed interest in rebuilding Beirut port, including China, France and Turkey.

jd-r/at/jmm/fz
Veteran media professionals say Apple Daily stands as a lone, critical voice among Hong Kong's mainstream media outlets and say the authorities may close it down under the national security law. The attack on the newspaper is an indication that press freedom is no longer tolerated in Hong Kong, they say. "Apple Daily is almost the only one among mainstream media outlets that is not afraid of antagonizing the Hong Kong or Chinese governments. Now it has become a lonely voice," said Daisy Li, veteran journalist and chief editor at online media CitizenNews.

Another journalist at the paper who returned to the office during the raid said she was "heartbroken" by the sight of a boss handcuffed and led away by the police and felt humiliated that police escorted her at every step. "I felt very upset and helpless but angry too," she said.

Reporters said the high-profile raid, in which police officers rummaged through documents on their desks, left them feeling shocked, angry and humiliated. "We thought they might arrest our boss someday, but no one expected 200 police officers rushing into our office and going through stuff on our desks," said a journalist at the Apple Daily, who declined to be named.

Lai was held on charges including subversion and collusion with a foreign country, which are new offenses under the new national security law carrying a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The legislation allows for people accused of breaching the law to be transferred to mainland courts for trial, where 99 percent of cases result in conviction.

Lai, 71, was one of ten people arrested Monday for violating the national security law imposed by China on July 1. Among them, two were his sons, four were senior executives at Lai's Next Digital company, and three were activists, including 23-year-old Agnes Chow. Lai and Chow were released on bail late Tuesday.

The arrest of pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai and the high-profile police raid on the Apple Daily newspaper this week has stoked widespread fears of the end of Hong Kong as a flourishing city where information and opinions were freely aired.

Since Hong Kong's return to Chinese rule in 1997, press freedom has been gradually eroding, as media outlets become co-opted by the Chinese authorities through ownership or major stakes of mainland companies or businesses with strong ties to China. Two television companies, NOW and Cable TV, well known for their independent reporting, recently had their head of news replaced, while respected public broadcaster RTHK has been put under government review after the removal of a 31-year-old satirical political comedy show.

"Apple Daily is an outspoken media whose reporting have often embarrassed the Beijing and Hong Kong authorities. It's the bellwether of press freedom in Hong Kong," said Bruce Lui, senior journalism lecturer at the Hong Kong Baptist University. "All kinds of opinions should co-exist when there is press freedom, and when there is no longer Apple Daily, it means the authorities no longer tolerate these voices and can silence them."

Since the mainland state media characterize Apple Daily as a paper that engages in "collusion with foreign powers," according to the national security law's Clause 55 and 56, Lai risks being sent to China for trial, and could be given the maximum life imprisonment, Lui said.

The Chinese government's opinions on Lai and his freewheeling paper could be gleaned from a statement from its Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office. It called for the "severe punishment" of those who "collude with foreign forces" and "act as their agents" to harm national security by "secession, subversion and infiltration." The office accused Lai and his paper of being a mastermind behind protests in Hong Kong, using his media platforms to "fabricate and spread rumors and to incite and support violence," and of providing financial support for anti-China and pro-independence forces.

Kenneth Chan, a political scientist at the Hong Kong Baptist University, said press freedom has long been Hong Kong's asset and "an indispensable element" of the city's comparative advantage over other countries in Asia. "The raid on Apple Daily... can but tell the world that the government sees in press freedom in the context of a communist-style power struggle," he said.

Despite the hardship, Hong Kong journalists insist they would not be cowed into silence. And members of the public have also shown overwhelming support for the Apple Daily. After the raid, the paper's parent company Next Digital's share price more than doubled on Monday and rocketed five times again the next day to reach a six-year high. Regardless of the arrests, the paper printed five times as many copies and newspapers sold out across Hong Kong on Tuesday.

Lai returned to his office on Wednesday, receiving a hero's welcome from his applauding staff. An Apple Daily journalist said he would not be surprised if the authorities closed the paper soon, but "most of our colleagues want to stay for as long as we can."

"The future is difficult, but the spirit of defiance is alive and strong among Hong Kongers, including journalists. There will still be people willing to safeguard Hong Kong's press freedom," said Mak Yin Ting, former chairwoman of the Hong Kong Journalists Association.
Its been another tough year for cannabis investors in 2020. The ETF MANAGERS TR/TIERRA XP LATIN AME (NYSE: MJ) is down 25.6% year-to-date, but the November US elections could have a huge impact on where cannabis stocks are headed in 2021 and beyond.

COVID-19 Disruption: On Wednesday, DataTrek Research co-founder Jessica Rabe said the COVID-19 pandemic has created a distraction for states looking to legalize cannabis, but tax revenue shortcomings have also applied financial pressure on politicians.

Rabe said state legislatures in states such as New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania have been pushing to legalize recreational cannabis use in recent years. However, putting together the regulatory and tax framework for doing so is a complicated process, and states like New York have had to shift focus to the pandemic in 2020.

In addition, organizations collecting signatures for ballot initiatives have had to shut down efforts due to social distancing rules, delaying some cannabis votes until at least 2022.

Applying Pressure: But even with all the COVID-19 disruption, New Jersey, Arizona, South Dakota and Montana are all voting to legalize recreational cannabis use in November. If the measures pass in New Jersey and Arizona, Rabe said at least a third of the total US population would live in states with legalized recreational marijuana.

Retail marijuana legalization in a state like New Jersey would put greater pressure on legislatures of nearby states (i.e. New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania) to garner enough votes to legalize adult-use sales, Rabe said.

For example, Colorado generated $302.5 million in marijuana tax revenue in 2019. Job creation could be another potential benefit of legalization.

Rabe said investors shouldnt overlook the pressure that further state legalizations would place on the federal government to lift the nationwide ban on marijuana, particularly if Democrats score a clean sweet in November.

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Should Democrats win the White House and Senate this fall, a Democrat-controlled Congress could put pressure on Joe Biden to deschedule the drug despite his personal qualms, Rabe said.

MJ Chart by TradingView new TradingView.widget( { "width": 680, "height": 423, "symbol": "AMEX:MJ", "interval": "D", "timezone": "Etc/UTC", "theme": "light", "style": "1", "locale": "en", "toolbar_bg": "#f1f3f6", "enable_publishing": false, "allow_symbol_change": true, "container_id": "tradingview_02011" } );

Benzingas Take: American Marijuana estimates the US is losing $53.2 billion per year by not legalizing marijuana. State-by-state legalizations are always good news for Canadian legal producers and US multi-state cannabis operators, but US federal legalization would open the floodgates for cannabis stocks.

Related Links:

Cantor Fitzgerald Raises Curaleaf Target: 'Prime Way To Play' US Cannabis Legalization

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by Shafique Khokhar

Human rights activists hold a national convention to affirm democratic values. The Punjab Legislative Assembly approves a resolution to include Ali Jinnah's famous speech in school curricula. Last month, however, the same Assembly passed a law that protects the Islamic religion. The pluralist vision of the Father of the Nation has yet to materialise.

Lahore (AsiaNews)  A public meeting was held yesterday to mark Pakistans Minority Day. Participants agreed that religious intolerance is institutionalised and represents a threat to the democratic order of the country".

On 11 August 1947, three days before Pakistan's official birth, Quaid-e-Azam (Great Leader) Muhammad Ali Jinnah delivered a famous speech in favour of religious freedom and equality in what would be an overwhelmingly Muslim country.

In memory of the words of the Father of the Nation, the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) and other human rights organisations (including the National Commission for Justice and Peace) held a national convention to promote democratic values against the "tyranny of the majority".

The various speakers expressed concern at the escalation of violence against religious minorities in the country.

CSJ executive director Peter Jacob said that the protection of minority rights must be boosted and the government should make it a policy priority.

The authorities must take legal, political and administrative steps to address the challenge of including minorities, he said.

Punjab's Minister for Human Rights and Minority Affairs Ejaz Alam Augustine tried to defend the work of the provincial government, noting that it has adopted several measures in favour of minorities. However, the latter has sent mixed signals.

On the one hand, the Punjab Legislative Assembly passed a law to protect Islam and ban insults against the Prophet Muhammad. On the other, yesterday it took an exceptional step and unanimously passed a resolution, presented by Khalil Tahir Sandhu, that calls for the inclusion of Ali Jinnahs famous speech 73 years ago in educational curricula.

In that famous address, Ali Jinnah promised to build a country where all its citizens, regardless of their religion, would be equal in the eyes of the state and the law, and that each person would be free to profess and practise their religion.

For historian and political scientist Yaqoob Bangash, minorities have been waiting since then for Quaid-e-Azams vision to become reality, whereby all citizens in Pakistan are truly equal.
Six members of Congress went to bat for PATH rail employees who have been working for almost 10 years without a new labor contract with the Port Authority.

A coalition of eight unions representing 800 rail workers on the PATH transit system are the last of 23 bargaining groups left to settle with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Now, six members of the New Jersey Congressional delegation have urged the Port Authority to settle the contract.

An Aug. 3 letter responding to the Port Authority of New York and New Jerseys request for $3 billion in federal aid to make up for coronavirus related revenue losses, asked about the long standing and unresolved disputes between the PATH labor coalition and the Authority.

It is our hope, as we continue to advocate for emergency funds for the Port Authority, the PANYNJ will work with the PATH labor coalition to address these long standing issues, the Congress members said in the letter.

The letter was signed by U.S. Reps. Bonnie Coleman Watson, Albio Sires, Frank Pallone Jr., Bill Pascrell Jr., Andy Kim, and Tom Malinowski, D-NJ, who made the case that the workforce is essential to the authoritys continuing recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Continuation of the labor dispute only hinders further response during this crisis, they wrote.

Of the two Port Authority employees who died due to the coronavirus, one was a long-time PATH employee.

When Executive Director Rick Cotton and Board Chairman Kevin OToole were appointed to lead the authority in August 2017, resolving expired labor contracts was at the top of a list of issues facing them. A dozen unions were working under expired contracts then, some that lapsed in 2006. Four police union contracts expired in January 2010 and were being arbitrated.

Cotton and OToole made settling those contracts a priority. While new contracts have been reached with other labor unions, talks remain at a stalemate with the PATH labor coalition.

The PATH unions want a contract with terms similar to what railroad workers on NJ Transit, the Long Island Rail Road and Metro North have agreed to. Authority officials want them to agree to the same contract that non-railroad employee groups have accepted.

We hope that this letter will be the wake-up call that Port Authority management needs to finally get back to the table so we can reach an agreement that treats our workers fairly, said Joseph Dominiczak, PATH Labor Coalition president.

Port Authority officials issued a statement that echoed past comments.

Weve reached settlements with several of our unions and are continuing to work at the bargaining table toward agreements with the remaining unions, officials said in a statement. Reaching settlements with all of our represented PATH employees continues to be a Port Authority priority.

After several hundred off duty PATH workers demonstrated outside the Grove Street station in Jersey City in January to draw attention to their plight, Port Authority officials said they were making steady progress at the bargaining table to settle the remaining open contracts, and that is where we will continue to focus our efforts.

Union officials said no real negotiating progress has been made in over two years and the Authority has maintained a take it or leave it posture with an offer that is wholly inadequate.

Because PATH is a bi-state railroad, employees are covered under the federal Railway Labor Act and have the ability to strike, after a specific process is followed. The last PATH strike was a 12-week job action from June to August 1981.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com.
By Express News Service

ROURKELA: Even after easing of COVID-19 restrictions across the State, weekly markets in villages of Nuagaon block in Sundargarh block close down by 1 pm. Such self-regulation has been immensely helpful in containing community spread of the virus and the statistics prove it.

As per records, excluding Rourkela city, the rest of the 17 blocks in the district with three urban local bodies with a population have reported 720 positive cases till now. Now take a look at Rourkela, with a population of 5.6 lakh, where 1,733 cases have been recorded till date.

Chief district medical and public health Officer Dr SK Mishra said of the 720 positive cases recorded from the blocks, merely 130 are local contacts and the rest have travel history. He said collective efforts of people residing in villages along with regulatory and awareness measures undertaken by PRI members especially sarpanchs have yielded encouraging results. On the other hand, dense population and rampant violation of Covid guidelines have been responsible for rise in cases in the Steel City.

Sarpanch of Hatibari in Nuagaon Binod Dehuri said weekly markets in villages are not allowed to open after 1 pm. Besides, vendors and customers are required to wear masks and maintain social distancing.

With such self-discipline in place, no positive case has yet been reported from the panchayat, he said. Nuagaon panchayat samiti chairman Maklu Ekka said since July 3, owing to rise in positive cases across the State, the majority of the 20 panchayats in the block were shut down by their respective sarpanchs.

Though it caused inconvenience to farmers and traders, the cases in the block remained confined to just 20 with no local transmission reported yet. Soon after the first positive case was reported on April 11 in Bisra, residents of villages in seven blocks of the district erected barricades to restrict the entry of outsiders.

However, the barricades were removed a few weeks later by police. Sundargarh zilla parishad president Emma Ekka said barring a few, the majority of tribals residing in villages are aware of the risks and have been taking the required steps to contain the spread of the virus.
(PHOTO: Getty Images)

SINGAPORE  During a verbal dispute with a 92-year-old dementia patient she was caring for, a Myanmar maid pushed the elderly woman to the ground and slapped her on the face several times.

Sandar Aye, 33, later lied to the womans son that the victim had been injured after a fall, but did not know that a CCTV camera had captured her actions.

The elderly victim ended up bedridden with fractures to her spine, pelvis, and hip and remained in a nursing home until she passed away months later.

Sander was jailed for three years on Thursday (13 August) after she pleaded guilty to one count of voluntarily causing grievous hurt to the elderly Singaporean.

Heated exchange led to aggressive act

She had been hired to look after the victim, who has mild dementia, on 14 August last year.

On 5 September, at about 8pm, the victim gestured at Sandar while talking to her. The exchange became heated, with Sandar standing close to the victim. The victim pushed Sandar lightly and the maid retaliated by raising her right fist in a threatening manner.

As the elderly woman backed away, Sandar pushed her on the chest forcefully, causing her to fall on the floor and hit her head against the wall. Sandar then left the woman on the floor and walked away.

She returned shortly afterward to yank the victim into an upright sitting position. She continued to behave in an aggressive manner, grabbed the victims forearms and speaking closely to her face.

As the elderly woman struggled in her grasp, Sandar slapped her face several times, pointed at her and scolded her.

After the incident, the domestic helper called the victims son and lied that the woman had a fall while at home. The son replied he would drop by later. Meanwhile, the elderly woman dragged herself across the floor into her bedroom.

The son came by two hours later and found his mother sleeping in her bedroom. He did not wake her up, but instead asked Sandar how she fell. Sandar repeated her lie that the woman fell backwards in the living room.

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Multiple fractures on pelvis, hip and spine

The next morning, the son visited his mother again and saw the victims leg raised on a chair in the living room. When he asked why her leg was raised, Sandar did not respond. The son later found his mother in pain and unable to move her head and legs.

The woman was brought to the hospital, where she was found with multiple fractures on her pelvis, her right hip, and spine. One of the fractures was on the second spinal bone that keeps a persons head in place.

Doctors suggested that the woman be treated conservatively with pain relievers and the use of a wheelchair.

As the woman was now bedridden, her children sent her to a nursing home. The woman regained her mobility but passed away on 2 January this year from causes unrelated to her injuries.

Denial of offence until confronted with CCTV footage

Three days after the incident, the victims daughter lodged a police report after reviewing the CCTV footage placed in the house. Sandar was brought to the hospital where she was found with scratch marks and bruises on her body.

Even after she was arrested, Sandar continued to deny the offence, insisting that her charge had fell and hit her head against the wall while trying to push the maid away.

She came clean only after the police confronted her with the CCTV footage, but still insisted that she acted in self-defence as the elderly woman had assaulted her.

Seeking a jail term of five-and-a-half years, the prosecution pointed out that the victim was a frail 92-year-old woman with dementia who was fully dependent on Sandar for care.

The prosecution argued that little mitigating weight should be given to Sandars plea of guilt, as she had refused to come clean initially.

For voluntarily causing grievous hurt, the maid could have been jailed up to seven years, and fined or caned.

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A man walks beside a statue of Confucius at the Confucius Temple in Beijing on Sept. 28, 2010. (LIU JIN/AFP via Getty Images)

US Designates Center Promoting Beijing-Backed Confucius Institutes as Foreign Mission

The Trump administration on Aug. 13 designated the center that supports Beijing-backed Confucius Institutes in the United States as a foreign mission of the Chinese regime.

The Washington-based nonprofit Confucius Institute U.S. Center (CIUS) promotes Beijing-funded Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms in universities and schools across the United States. Confucius Institutes, which bill themselves as language and culture programs, have drawn intensified scrutiny in recent months over their role in spreading propaganda and suppressing free speech at U.S. educational institutions.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the designation recognizes CIUS for what it is: an entity advancing Beijings global propaganda and malign influence campaign on U.S. campuses and K12 classrooms. The designation restricts the CIUSs operations and staffing levels in the country.

Confucius Institutes are funded by the PRC [Peoples Republic of China] and part of the Chinese Communist Partys global influence and propaganda apparatus, Pompeo said in a statement.

A growing number of Confucius Institutes have shut down in recent years amid criticism of their role in the regimes campaign to expand its global influence.

There are currently 75 Confucius Institutes set up in American universities and hundreds of Confucius Classrooms across grade K12 classrooms in the country, according to the education advocacy group National Association of Scholars (NAS). Theyre funded and operated by Hanban, or the Office of Chinese Language Council International, an office within Chinas Ministry of Education.

Since 2006, Hanban has poured more than $158 million toward roughly 100 U.S. universities for Confucius Institutes, according to a 2019 U.S. Senate subcommittee on investigations report (pdf). Between 2008 and 2016, Hanban spent more than $2 billion on setting up such institutes on college campuses around the world.

Hanban designates CIUS as its overseas representative in the United States, the Senate report said, while CIUS told the Senate subcommittee that it wasnt the headquarters for Confucius Institutes, and merely provided support for the programs.

NAS researchers have said that Confucius Institutes present positive images of the Chinese regime while whitewashing and avoiding discussion of topics deemed sensitive by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), such as its human rights abuses.

Pompeo said the move was an attempt to seek reciprocity in relations with Beijing. Earlier this year, the state department also designated nine Chinese state-media outlets as foreign missions, in recognition of their role as the CCPs propaganda organs. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has quickened its actions targeting a range of threats by Beijing, including rights abuses in the regions of Xinjiang and Hong Kong, rampant theft of American technology, and military aggression in the South China Sea.

Beijing has enjoyed free and open access to U.S. society, while denying that same access to Americans and other foreigners in China, Pompeo said.

He added that the Chinese regime has taken advantage of Americas openness to undertake large-scale and well-funded propaganda efforts and influence operations in this country.

The secretary said the goal of the latest designation was to ensure that American educators and school administrators can make informed choices about whether these CCP-backed programs should be allowed to continue, and if so, in what fashion.

The United States wants to ensure that students on U.S. campuses have access to Chinese language and cultural offerings free from the manipulation of the Chinese Communist Party and its proxies, he said.

Rachelle Peterson, a senior research fellow at NAS, said the departments action rightly recognizes Confucius Institutes as central nodes of the CCPs overseas propaganda network, and shines a light on the regimes pernicious efforts to influence higher education. NAS has called for the closure of all Confucius Institutes in the country.

This designation is one more excellent reason to shut Confucius Institutes down, Peterson told The Epoch Times in an email.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday barred the installation of Vinayaka idols in public places and taking out rallies to immerse the idols in water bodies this year in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government also advised the public to celebrate Vinayaka Chaturthi at their homes since restrictions are in force to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

An official release here said those who go to markets to buy items required for celebrating Vinayaka Chaturthi should wear masks and keep physical distancing.

Referring to the permission given for public worship in small places of worship, the government said when people offer prayers in small temples, they should adhere to the standard operating procedures already issued.
Filming at the 2m Mission: Impossible 7 set is thought to have been hit by more delays after a motorbike caught fire.

While doing a stunt on Tuesday the bike landed on pillows filled with cardboard and caught alight after the stuntman leaped from a ramp, reports The Sun.

Tom Cruise, 58, is believed to have been working with a parachute for a quarry 'snow scene' at the time of the blaze, which was attended by Oxfordshire Fire Service.

Delays: Filming for Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible 7 is thought to have been hit by more delays 'after a motorbike caught fire and damaged the 2m set on Tuesday' (pictured in 2019)

Photos obtained by the publication show the stuntman coming off the bike, before large clouds of black smoke fill the air.

A source told The Sun the stuntman was supposed to land on large pillows which had been filled with card to soften the impact while his bike would crash close by.

However despite 'six weeks' of planning, things didn't go to plan and the motorbike hit the cushions sparking a fire.

They said: 'This has been a massive challenge to stage and has cost a fortune, not to mention weeks and weeks of construction.

'Unfortunately, it was miscalculated. The heat and the friction of the tyres meant that when the bike crashed, the cardboard padding sparked and went up in flames.

Stunts: A source said the stuntman was supposed to land on large pillows filled with card to soften the impact but his bike hit them as well, sparking the fire (Tom is pictured filming in Paris in 2017 for Mission:Impossible 6)

'Fortunately, nobody was hurt but it's a total catastrophe, not to mention extremely expensive for all concerned. Tom is very frustrated. Nobody wants more delays.'

MailOnline has contacted a representative for Tom Cruise and the Mission: Impossible film for a comment.

Filming for the seventh instalment of the franchise kicked off again last month after it had to pause because of coronavirus.

Tom, who famously likes to perform his own stunts but was not involved in Tuesday's motorbike scene, recently threw himself out of a helicopter 10,000ft over the over the Oxfordshire countryside for another scene.

In action: Tom is known for doing his own stunts but it is not thought that he was involved in the one which went wrong on Tuesday (pictured in Mission: Impossible - Fallout in 2018)

Two of the other cast members joined him in the skydive after filming on Mission: Impossible 7 resumed following a Covid shutdown.

Writer-director Christopher McQuarrie has promised at least three obscene stunts as the franchise continues, admitting that even hes terrified of his own plans.

Tom has been practising his stunts during lockdown, and has been seen racing around dirt tracks on a motocross bike and piloting a helicopter.

The actor broke his ankle while filming a stunt for the last Mission: Impossible movie in London three years ago, but that hasnt dampened his enthusiasm for daredevil action.

He later recalled how he sustained the injury when his foot hit a wall during a heart-stopping rooftop chase involving co-star Henry Cavill.

Adjustments: After delays from coronavirus, Tom discussed filming logistics with British Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden, who confirmed filmmakers will be exempt from certain quarantine rules on a video chat. It is also believed that the actor will be exempt in Norway

I knew instantly my ankle was broken, he said. But I really didnt want to do it again so just got up and carried on with the take.

[After the shot] I said Its broken, thats a wrap, take me to hospital, and everyone got on the phone and made their vacation arrangement.

Tom who is planning to shoot a future movie on board the International Space Station  personally lobbied Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden for permission to allow shooting to restart on Mission: Impossible 7, despite the coronavirus crisis, but with a reduced crew. It is now due for release in November next year.

While last month it was revealed that director McQuarrie wanted to blow up a 111-year-old bridge in Poland as part of the shoot, much to the consternation of locals.

At the end of August filming for Mission: Impossible 7 is due to move to Norway, where it is thought that Tom will be 'exempt from quarantine rules'.

The actor revealed how 'excited' he was to start shooting the latest instalment of the franchise in a phone call with Norways Minister of Culture Abid Raja.

Back to work: Tom is believed to be 'frustrated' by more delays in filming (seen in 2019)

Speaking about his return to filming in Norway, Tom said: 'Its a gorgeous country, I cant wait to get back there. Im very excited, as is the whole crew, about coming back.'

During the call, the minister told how Norway is 'looking forward to having [Tom] back' and claimed how the Hollywood star and crew are allowed to shoot in the country without having to quarantine at home first, Norwegian publication VG reported.

However cast and crew will have to pass two tests for coronavirus within 48 hours of landing in Norway and a series of daily rigorous health checks will be on place.

The set are expected to declare they are healthy, temperature checks will be completed and a mobile coronavirus test lab will be installed with medics on site, according to VG.

The plan is for Tom to arrive in Norway at the end of August with the crew set to start arriving in the latter part of the month, according to the minister.

Norway has provided the backdrop for the famous scene in Mission: Impossible  Fallout where Ethan Hunt hangs off the edge of Pulpit Rock known as Preikestolen.

The epic scene shows Ethan scaling the cliff face which boasts a 604-metre drop into the Lysefjorden.
KUALA LUMPUR A Malaysian court jailed an Indian man for five months on Thursday for violating a home quarantine order, leading to dozens of new coronavirus infections, the Bernama state news agency reported.

The 57-year-old, who resides in Malaysia and owns a restaurant in the northern state of Kedah, pleaded guilty to four charges of violating a mandated 14-day home quarantine order upon his return from India in July.

He was also fined 12,000 ringgit ($2,864) by the Alor Setar Magistrates Court, which held a special hearing at a Kedah hospital where the accused was undergoing treatment, Bernama reported.

Authorities had earlier said the man, who initially tested negative for the coronavirus, had left his home during the quarantine period to visit his restaurant.

After a second test came back positive, dozens of people, including the mans family members, restaurant workers and customers, were found to have been infected.

A total of 45 cases linked to the cluster have since been reported in at least three Malaysian states.

Malaysia has gradually lifted strict lockdown measures since May after successfully containing the spread of the pandemic, but has warned that curbs may be reimposed after more than a dozen new clusters emerged in recent weeks.

The Southeast Asian country has reported 9,129 infections, including 125 deaths.

Authorities reintroduced a requirement last month for people entering the country to undergo the mandatory two-week quarantine at hotels and government isolation centers, after hundreds of incoming travellers were found violating orders to self-isolate at home.

($1 = 4.1900 ringgit)

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
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. , Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas-based technology solutions provider Future Com has added Acronis SCS, an American cyber protection and edge data security company, as a partner vendor on its contract with The Interlocal Purchasing System (TIPS). Initially created in 2002 to help education institutions in the Texas region more easily procure solutions through a pre-vetted list of vendors, TIPS has since expanded its reach to serve public sector organizations across the nation.

In adding Acronis SCS to its TIPS contract, Future Com provides its customers access to a suite of innovative cyber protection solutions tailored to meet the US public sector's unique security and usability requirements. Two such offerings, Acronis SCS Cyber Backup and Acronis SCS Cyber Backup 12.5 Hardened Edition, are the sole backup and disaster recovery solutions available on the contract. "Incorporating Acronis SCS into our TIPS contract has strengthened our customers' ability to stay safe and resilient, even as they navigate an increasingly complex cyber threat landscape," Future Com CEO Doug Hollenshead said.

John Zanni, CEO of Acronis SCS, added, "From ransomware to data breaches, the cyber dangers facing the US public sector are becoming more pressing by the day. Future Com has been a champion for widening public sector access to affordable, user-friendly cyber protection solutions, like those we offer at Acronis SCS. We're looking forward to exploring even more opportunities for partnership and collaboration moving forward."

Existing members of the TIPS Purchasing Cooperative may select solutions off the aforementioned contract via the TIPS website. Other educational institutions, government agencies, and nonprofits interested in learning more about the benefits of membership may do so here.

About Acronis SCS

Acronis SCS is an American cyber protection and edge data security company exclusively dedicated to meeting the unique requirements of the US public sector. Its innovative and comprehensive cyber protection, backup and disaster recovery, anti-ransomware, and enterprise file sync and share software solutions ensure operational assurance and data security across America's federal, state and local government, education, healthcare, and nonprofit computing environments. All Acronis SCS employees are US citizens.

About Future Com

Future Com provides consulting services and products with a focus on cloud and cybersecurity solutions. It partners with its customers, working with them on everything from preventing the loss of electronic data to ground-up network design and implementation. Future Com delivers top technologies and provides customizable consulting services for the products it carries. It maintains the highest-level technical certifications and years of field experience in all aspects of networking and security.

SOURCE Acronis SCS

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Egyptian election authorities began counting ballots Wednesday after polls closed in a vote for two-thirds of the seats in the newly restored, but powerless Senate - the upper chamber of Parliament.

The Senate was restored as part of constitutional amendments approved in a referendum last year.

However, many paid little attention since the 300-seat body - unlike the House of Representatives, the lower chamber - has no legislative powers and will serve a mainly advisory role.

The head the election commission vowed to enforce a law penalizing boycotters with a fine of around 32 US dollars, according to the state-run MENA news agency.

Similar warnings have been issued in previous elections, with no real enforcement, but are designed to boost voter turnout.

Some 63 million voters are eligible to cast ballots, according to the National Election Authority.

Only 200 of the 300 Senate seats are up for grabs, with 787 candidates running.

Security was tight, with police at polling stations and patrolling Cairo streets, and the military deploying troops to assist proceedings.
LANSING, Mich. - The state of Michigan and some private partners are taking steps toward building or assigning dedicated lanes for automated vehicles on a 40-mile (65-kilometre) stretch of highway between Detroit and Ann Arbor.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other state officials announced the project Thursday afternoon near a former railroad station that Ford is renovating to house its autonomous vehicle operations in downtown Detroit. Ford is among nine autonomous vehicle and auto companies on an advisory board for the project.

What may be the worlds most sophisticated roadway will be built here in Michigan  to help increase the safety, efficiency, resilience and operations of roadways in the not-so-distant future, Whitmer said.

Organizers say the project will begin with a two-year study to figure out whether existing lanes or shoulders could be used or new lanes need to be built, and that it is the first of its kind in the U.S.

Eventually, autonomous buses and shuttles would run along the Interstate 94 corridor, linking the University of Michigan to Detroit Metropolitan Airport and the citys downtown.

Much of the project will be bankrolled by companies funded by Google parent Alphabet Inc., which hopes to make money by duplicating the technology for other large metro areas.

The project is being led by a company called Cavnue, which will start the study by running autonomous vehicles with human backup drivers along I-94 and U.S. 12 to collect data.

Jonathan Winer, co-CEO of an Alphabet-funded company called Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners, which owns Cavnue, said at first self-driving buses would use the lanes, which would be similar to dedicated rapid transit lanes in other cities. Eventually, smaller shuttles would be added, as well as autonomous freight trucks and even qualified automated personal vehicles.

The vehicles would all be linked to a central computer system and would share data from sensors along the roadway and from other vehicles, co-ordinating their speeds and allowing them to travel faster than regular traffic, Winer said.

The project could start off running buses in regular traffic, but eventually theyll be on lanes separated from human-driven vehicles by a barrier, Winer said.

For the full-scale implementation, which is enhanced public transit and greater speed, well need the barrier, Winer said in an interview.

Chinese media have reported on a similar project on a new freeway in China, and others have proposed similar ventures in the U.S., but Winer said the Michigan project would be a first.

Theres no place in the world more important for transportations past, present and future than Detroit and Michigan, said Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford. Todays announcement is proof that we dont plan to cede that future to anyone else.

The lanes would be helpful for the current state of autonomous vehicles, which still cannot operate safely with human-driven vehicles under all traffic and weather conditions, said Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor who studies vehicle automation.

But they also run contrary to another school of thought in the industry, that systems being tested are getting better and soon will be able to navigate roads with cars driven by humans, he said.

The tension is one side is saying if we build it they will come, and the other side is saying were coming. Why are you building? Walker Smith said.

Tech and auto companies that favour running the vehicles with normal traffic seem to be winning, Walker Smith said, although that has eased as expectations for autonomous vehicles have become more realistic. The whole industry slowed down after an Uber autonomous testing vehicle ran down and killed a woman in Tempe, Arizona, in March of 2018.

A lot of companies are not yet confident that their systems would be able to perform under a wide range of unpredictable conditions, he said.

You probably need to have dedicated lanes, said Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan.

Vehicles and autonomous driving systems used by all companies would be able to use the lanes, provided they meet standards, Winer said. The lanes would be run by the Michigan Department of Transportation, he said.

The state picked Cavnue after putting out a request for proposals. Winer said it will finance the project with private money because it could sell the technology to other cities. It would be the startups first project.

We think theres a very, very large market here if this technology is effective, he said.

The company plans to build a prototype freeway lane at the American Center for Mobility, an autonomous vehicle testing area Ypsilanti, Michigan, he said, adding that the study will consider how to handle wildlife or humans entering the dedicated lanes.

____

Krisher reported from Saline, Michigan.
Ecolog Deutschland performs COVID-19 tests at Bavaria's three largest airports for travelers returning back to Germany

The test program is designed to provide German returnees with the opportunity to conduct COVID-19 RT-PCR tests to ensure early detection and help break the infection cycle

Contract was awarded expeditiously following a public tender

DUSSELDORF, Germany, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ecolog Deutschland, part of the Ecolog International Group, a leading global provider of integrated services, rapid response and mobile infrastructure, technology, environmental solutions, logistics, screening and diagnostics, has been awarded the contract by the Bavarian State Office for Health and Food Safety (LGL) to perform COVID-19 tests at the three largest airports in Bavaria for travelers returning back to Germany.

Following the announcement of Germany's Health Ministry to provide COVID-19 tests for travelers returning back from certain countries to Germany and the State of Bavaria's timely decision to roll-out a large-scale testing project through setting-up testing facilities across the State in an effort to prevent surge in COVID-19 cases, the Bavarian State Office for Health and Food Safety has decided to establish COVID-19 test stations for travelers arriving at international airports in Munich, Nurnberg and Memmingen.

Ecolog Deutschland has been tasked to establish and operate the testing stations across the three Bavarian airports and to manage and integrate the pre-analytics, logistics and analytics for the complete testing cycle. The project - one of the first in Germany - has a very demanding timeline. Upon receiving the contract award, Ecolog started the preparations on July 30th and put the required infrastructure in place, while the takeover was conducted on July 31st at the airport in Memmingen, followed by Munich and Nurnberg on August 3rd. Until today, thousands of tests have been performed. As part of its economic sustainability philosophy, Ecolog has made efforts to integrate the local and regional companies as subcontractors in various aspects.

The COVID-19 RT-PCR tests are free of charge and mandatory for travelers arriving from high-risk origins as per the Robert Koch Institute listing, while returnees from non-high-risk countries are provided with the opportunity to conduct a test at one of the three airports to enhance public safety and minimize the risk and impact of a potential second wave, with the aim to avoid further economic impact and restrictions.

The project is not the first time Ecolog has been entrusted to support public sector with large-scale testing. Ecolog's Screening & Diagnostics Solution was successfully deployed in Luxembourg a few months back, enabling the pioneering nation-wide COVID-19 testing project by the country. The project has offered a capacity of up to 20,000 tests per day.

Commenting on the contract award, Ali Vezvaei Group CEO of Ecolog said: "We are pleased to have been selected for this project and are more so committed to ensure reliability and quality of services. Our team is working around the clock to ensure a smooth transition and we are grateful to all stakeholders for their close collaboration so that we can jointly make this project a success for all involved."

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1228305/Ecolog_Deutschland.jpg

Contact:

Ecolog Deutschland

Thomas Hueser

Phone.: +49 (0) 173 578 54 63

thomas.hueser@ecolog-international.com

www.ecolog-international.com
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Seoul  Thu, August 13, 2020 15:21 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066dc480d 2 Books kim-jong-un,Donald-Trump,Book Free

Kim Jong Un said his relationship with Donald Trump was like a "fantasy film", according to the publishers of a new book on the US president set to unveil 25 private letters exchanged between the two leaders.

The relationship between the pair has been a key driver of recent diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang, veering from mutual insults and threats of war to a declaration of love from Trump.

Investigative journalist Bob Woodward obtained messages between the two leaders "that have not been public before" for his upcoming book, according to Simon & Schuster.

In the letters, "Kim describes the bond between the two leaders as out of a 'fantasy film', as the two leaders engage in an extraordinary diplomatic minuet", the publisher revealed on the book's Amazon page.

The book, titled "Rage" and a follow-up to 2018's "Fear", is due out on September 15.

Trump and Kim have met three times, beginning with their landmark summit in Singapore in June 2018, but little progress has been made on efforts to denuclearize the North.

Read also: Trump says he may talk to Kim Jong Un this weekend

A few months after Singapore, Trump told a rally of his supporters that the two men had fallen in love.

"No, really, he wrote me beautiful letters, and they're great letters. We fell in love," he said.

Negotiations have been deadlocked since the collapse of a second summit in Hanoi in February last year.

But even with diplomacy at a standstill, Trump has frequently boasted of receiving "very beautiful" and "excellent" letters from Kim.

Woodward, a Washington Post reporter, made his name with his coverage of the Watergate scandal and the role it played in the Richard Nixon's resignation from the presidency in 1974.

Trump has sought to discredit several of the claims made in "Fear", which offered an inside glimpse into his chaotic White House and sold 1.1 million copies in its first week.

Trump -- who was not interviewed by Woodward for "Fear" -- has called that book a "joke" and "a scam".

But in January this year, Trump said he had sat down with Woodward for the upcoming work.

"I was interviewed by a very, very good writer, reporter," Trump said on Fox News.

"I can say Bob Woodward. He said he's been doing something and this time I said, 'Maybe I'll sit down.'"
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  When the city of Santa Fe applied for more than $25 million from the state, the state Department of Finance and Administration asked how the COVID-19 pandemic had affected government business and operations.

While city officials cited many effects, the furloughing of more than 1,000 employees was not mentioned in the application material, according to a copy of the citys application.

Local governments could apply to DFA for an allocation of money from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. Applications include a series of questions for governmental agencies, including how they have enforced statewide health ordinances and what the impact of the pandemic has been.

The city, which faces an estimated $82 million deficit, did not specify what cost-saving measures have been implemented so far, including the controversial decision to furlough employees.

Representatives from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3999, which represents the majority of city employees, said they thought that information should have been included.

I would think its a big issue, AFSCME Vice President Gil Martinez said. We were impacted big. I would say it shouldve been mentioned.

Despite multiple requests, a spokesperson wrote the city could not comment, citing a City Council meeting scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

Santa Fe city councilors narrowly approved a first round of furloughs in April, during which some employees received either four- or 16-hour furloughs.

Many criticized the furloughs for unfairly impacting low-wage workers, many of whom had their pay cut by 40%, while top city officials saw a comparatively smaller decrease. The furloughs were estimated to save $1.3 million.

Currently, many employees are still on furlough for four hours per week until September.

The city also laid off temporary workers, restricted overtime, eliminated vacant positions, and implemented freezes on spending and hiring.

However, none of this was mentioned in the application.

Instead, city officials wrote how the pandemic impacted local festivals, hotel occupancy, gross receipts tax revenues and the opening of city buildings.

Martinez said many employees are still feeling the impact of the initial furloughs.

I was getting phone calls daily with employees that were crying, he said. I dont think the administration understands what type of impact it was.

What information the city did include depicts a local economy ravaged by COVID-19.

Data shows that 88 businesses in Santa Fe closed  45 permanently  after the pandemic hit, officials wrote. Unemployment in Santa Fe County was 9.5% in June and the city lost 6,000 individuals from its workforce compared to last year.

GRT revenue, which accounted for around 70% of the citys budget, was $150 million lower from January to May 2020 than in the same period last year.

The impact on Santa Fe has been severe and far-reaching, the application says.

In a memo attached to the application, Mayor Alan Webber wrote that any money awarded by DFA will go toward grants for local businesses, as well as the rental and loan assistance.

As you will see in our applications, we seek to help those most in need, Webber wrote.
It comes as Greek and Turkish warships are closely shadowing each other over a Turkish energy exploration bid in waters Athens claims as its own.

Meanwhile, Turkey accused Greece and the island nation of Cyprus of encroaching on its rights in the Mediterranean.

It has vowed to defend its interests in the region but also called for dialogue to resolve the dispute.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis tweeted that French President Emmanuel Macron is a true friend of Greece and also a fervent protector of European values and international law.

The mounting territorial tension follows Turkeys move to send a seismic research vessel, escorted by warships, into waters between the Greek island of Crete and Cyprus to look for potential offshore gas and oil reserves, following similar discoveries in other parts of the region.

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Greece claims part of the area is over its own continental shelf and has demanded the Turkish ships withdraw.

Turkey has countered that it is entitled to conduct research in the area.

Greece placed its military on alert and sent warships to the area off Turkeys southern coast.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated a call for dialogue and said he would hold talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Council President Charles Michel later on Thursday to discuss the standoff.

The path for a solution in the eastern Mediterranean is dialogue and negotiation, he said during an address to his ruling partys officials.

A formula based on a win-win solution that protects the rights of all can be found if we act with common sense and reason.

Mr Erdogan said Greeces attitude in the Aegean and the Mediterranean is malicious, adding that the Greek island on which Athens bases its continental shelf claim is located just 1.25 miles from the Turkish coast and 369 miles from the Greek mainland.

He said: We dont have designs on anyones rights, but we wont let any country take away our rights.

The Turkish leader also accused France of provoking Greece and Cyprus into taking wrongful steps.

Mr Erdogan later spoke on the phone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has previously interceded to ease similar tensions between Turkey and Greece, and with EU Council President Charles Michel.

Ms Merkel also spoke on the phone with Mr Mitsotakis.

The Greek Defence Ministry said the French frigate Lafayette and the helicopter carrier Tonnerre held joint exercises with four Greek frigates Thursday in the eastern Mediterranean, including in areas Turkey is exploring.

Two French Rafale fighter jets are making a stop at Souda airbase in Crete on Thursday after being previously deployed in Cyprus for an exercise.

The French Defence Ministry said its presence is aiming at reinforcing Frances autonomous assessment of the situation and affirms the countrys attachment to free movement, maritime safety and respect for international law in the Mediterranean Sea.

Mr Macron announced after a phone call with Mr Mitsotakis late Wednesday that he decided to temporarily reinforce the French military presence in the eastern Mediterranean in the coming days, in co-operation with European partners including Greece.
WASHINGTON  Federal authorities seized millions of dollars in cryptocurrency as part of an operation that dismantled online campaigns to raise funds for major foreign terrorist groups, the Justice Department announced Thursday.

The department said al-Qaeda, the Islamic State and the al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing, solicited cryptocurrency donations from around the world using various online tools to fund their terror activities  a sign of how different terrorist groups have learned to leverage new technologies.

U.S. investigators have seized $2 million, with more still subject to forfeiture, and about 300 cryptocurrency accounts in what authorities described as an unprecedented and wide-scale seizure of cryptocurrency tied to foreign terrorist groups. Also seized are four websites and four Facebook pages that were used to solicit funds.

Michael Sherwin, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said investigators can't yet tie the solicitation of cryptocurrency to actual terror-related incidents, but officials said the funds seized represent a significant dent to the groups' operations. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said the seizures deprived the groups of funds they would've used to buy weapons and equipment, train terrorists and travel to other countries.

Terrorist arrested: Feds: Alleged leader of al-Qaida terrorist group arrested in Phoenix

ISIS rebuilds: Pentagon: President Trump's order to withdraw troops from Syria allows ISIS to rebuild

The investigation that led to the seizures involved undercover operations. Investigators worked with covert sources who were communicating with the terrorist groups and provided federal authorities with information on the cryptocurrency accounts, Sherwin said.

"It should not surprise anyone that our enemies use modern technology, social media platforms and cryptocurrency to facilitate their evil and violent agendas," Attorney General William Barr said in a statement. "Terrorist networks have adapted to technology, conducting complex financial transactions in the digital world, including through cryptocurrencies."

Story continues

Domestic terrorism: DOJ inspector general finds weaknesses in how the FBI identifies homegrown terrorists

The online tactics involved openly asking for donations to fund terrorist activities, duping people into donating to fake charities, and exploiting the coronavirus pandemic by purporting to sell personal protective equipment or PPE, said Don Fort, chief of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations.

Image of FaceMaskCenter.com, a fake website that purported to cell N95 respirator masks, as part of a terrorist campaign to raise cryptocurrency funds.

The Islamic State, for example, targeted hospitals, nursing homes and fire departments in the United States by offering to sell bulk quantities of PPE using fake websites and social media accounts, according to two senior Justice Department officials. One website, FaceMaskCenter.com, claimed to have unlimited supplies of FDA-approved N95 respirator masks. Officials said the website was a scheme by Murat Cakar, an ISIS facilitator responsible for managing the organization's hacking operations.

Some tactics were more blatant.

Officials said al-Qaeda operated a bitcoin money laundering network to solicit donations, at times acting as charities whose goal is to fund weapons for Syrian terrorists. Undercover agents who communicated with one such charity was told the goal is to destroy the United States, officials said.

The Justice Department said al-Qaeda used charities to seek cryptocurrency donations to buy weapons for Syrian terrorists.

Believing in a false sense of anonymity provided by cyber tools, the groups did little to hide their efforts, officials said.

al-Qassam Brigades, for example, advertised on social media in early 2019 about using bitcoin for violent causes and boasted that the donations were untraceable. The group directed users to their websites, where they offered instructions on how to donate anonymously, and created several cryptocurrency accounts to receive funds, according to court records.

The funds were then converted into traditional currency or exchanged for gift cards, according to court records. Investigators were able to track 150 cryptocurrency accounts that laundered funds to and from the terrorist group's accounts.

Two Turkish nationals who officials said acted as money launderers have been charged. The Justice Department is also investigating several people, including U.S. citizens, who knowingly donated funds for terrorist causes. One American is facing charges in an unrelated drug case, officials said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DOJ: Cryptocurrency seized in terrorist financing investigation
India on Thursday lambasted Pakistan for its ludicrous claims on Jammu and Kashmir and asked it to reflect on its actions in the region. Reiterating that Jammu and Kashmir is an internal matter of India, it said that while Pakistan's "misrepresentations" are not surprising but it "cannot conceal the significant progress that J&K has made in the year following the abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution".

Responding to a Global Times Article "Urgent actions on Jammu, Kashmir needed", published on August 7, by Pakistan's Ambassador to China, Moin ul Hague, India asserted that Hague repeated Pakistan's lies and half-truths regarding J&K, adding that Pakistan, or no other country, has locus standi on Jammu and Kashmir.

India's concerted efforts to bring peace, stability and progress to J&K stand in stark contrast to Pakistan's strategy, which is little more than a blatant and rapacious campaign of cross-border terrorism aimed at debilitating the region, added the statement. "Its unprovoked ceasefire violations, numbering close to 3000 in the first seven months of 2020 alone, provide support for terrorist infiltration along the India-Pakistan Line of Control (LOC). Terrorists recruited, trained and armed by Pakistan have disturbed peace and order in J&K, with over 450 incidents of terrorist orchestrated violence taking place since August 2019, leading to several civilian casualties," read an official statement.

"And it is, in fact, Pakistan that has repeatedly affected administrative and demographic changes in territories that it has occupied illegally and forcibly in J&K and Ladakh. The Pakistani obsession with irredentist pursuits has also been laid bare in its latest exercise in political absurdity on 4 August 2020, when it made untenable claims to Indian territories in the state of Gujarat and the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh. Perhaps Ambassador Hague could consider holding up a mirror to his own "regime" and reflect on Pakistan's own actions in the region before making ludicrous characterizations of the Indian government's actions," added the statement.

Highlighting Centre's development aimed work in the union territory, India said, "In the last one year since the historic decision on 05 August 2019, several positive and affirmative union laws have been extended to J&K, resulting in the more effective protection and promotion of social, economic and political rights, especially among underprivileged sections such as women, children and minorities."

"People have been afforded the opportunity to elect their representatives at the grassroots level through elections to the block development councils on 24 October 2019. The administrative machinery of the UT has been revived, grievance redressal mechanisms activated and funding to grassroots level institutions eased, bringing about a revolution in governance and making the Kashmiri people masters of their own destiny," the statement added.

"Evidence of the change sweeping through J&K can be seen in the creation of new education and health infrastructure and opportunities. Fifty new educational institutions were established in the region over the last year, the largest addition in 70 years. Over half a million Kashmiri students have availed government scholarship schemes through the course of the last year, a year-on-year increase of nearly 400%," added the statement.

It also added, "New health infrastructure, including medical and nursing colleges, as well as state-of-the-art hospitals, will soon make affordable and high-quality healthcare services a reality in the region. The government of J&K has advertised 10,000 job openings for youth at all levels, with another 25,000 in the pipeline. Concerted efforts to attract foreign investment to the region have seen over 150 MOUs concluded. Rural market interventions and leveraging of IT have brought benefits to farmers in a region known for its apples and saffron. The focus on relieving hardships has brought water and electricity connections to nearly 300,000 households in some of the remotest areas of J&K."
New alternatives to department stores offer brands more control.

Over the past several years  and especially over the last few months  department stores have, well, not faired well.

Barneys New York, Neiman Marcus, J.C. Penney and Lord & Taylor have all declared bankruptcy, and things haven't worked out for a whole lot of the designers selling to them, especially smaller, independent ones. Retail chains' struggles with declining foot traffic, exorbitant rents and debt have trickled down to the brands they carry, often resulting in cancelled and returned orders and unpaid invoices, the burdens of which brands must carry.

Even under the best, most economically-sound and virus-free conditions, the wholesale system was running many designers into the ground (as detailed beautifully in this New York Times Magazine piece) by creating constant pressure for newness and exclusives, without necessarily making it worth said designers' while. The pandemic seems to have accelerated the gradual realization that traditional wholesale isn't working. So, what's next?

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Moving Forward, What Does Wholesale Buying Look Like for Fashion?

This New Retail Platform Wants to Save Small Brands Hurt by the Pandemic

How Bad Is a Pandemic for Small Retailers  and Can They Bounce Back?

The movement towards direct-to-consumer retail has been strong and successful for many. But for others, wholesale partners are an important step towards brand awareness, be it online or in physical stores (the latter of which most young brands can't afford to open on their own).

We could certainly see some leaders in multi-brand retail adapting to a more nimble buying process. (Some have even told us they plan to do as much.) But at the same time, some new options are emerging for brands who value the exposure and discovery that multi-brand retail offers, but who also want to take more control of their inventory and where it lives and when. Many operate on a retail-as-service business model: Instead of buying inventory from brands, they may lease out space and/or provide logistical and marketing support for a fee, in addition to potentially taking a commission on sales. Meanwhile, they're up to the challenging task of luring shoppers into IRL stores (or, in two cases, mobile apps) with promises of unique experiences and the chance to discover new products.

Story continues

Read on for a rundown of these platforms and marketplaces, how to shop them now and why they're so promising.

Neighborhood Goods

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Location(s): Plano, Texas; Austin, Texas; New York, NY (Covid info)

Brands on board: Entireworld, Boy Smells, Hay, La Ligne and more.

Neighborhood Goods literally bills itself as "a new type of department store." With the aim of providing brands with a less risky, cumbersome and expensive way to dip their toes into physical retail, it typically charges brands a small fee to showcase their products in one or several of its physical locations and via e-commerce, as well as taking a percentage of sales.

In its New York and Texas shops, Neighborhood Goods boasts an experiential, appealingly designed format with top-notch customer service and even regular food pop-ups. In April, in response to the pandemic, it launched The Commons, a section specifically featuring small brands who were negatively impacted by Covid-19, at no cost to their struggling founders.

Despite its physical store footprint, Neighborhood Goods' business model and $11 million in venture capital put it in a stronger position than most to weather the current retail storm. "In an industry struggling to adapt to the future, this whole crisis is going to accelerate the prevailing winds in the retail industry," co-founder Matt Alexander told me in April. "And we end up being in a relatively good spot on the other side." While stores are now open with restrictions, e-commerce is also available.

Forum by B8ta

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Location(s): Los Angeles, Calif. (Covid info)

Brands on Board: Fvith, Timo Weiland, Haerfest and more.

Last fall, B8ta  a pioneering, heavily-funded, retail-as-service platform  launched a fashion-specific concept called Forum with a physical storefront on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. B8ta offers brands an experiential store design, freedom to curate their own little piece of retail real estate alongside likeminded labels, and data and analytics on in-store engagement. The store, like B8ta's other locations, was designed to host events that engage the local community who might then discover a cool new brand or product. It also partners with the CFDA to highlight its designers.

While the store is now open, B8ta is also offering e-commerce and virtual appointments.

Showfields

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Location(s): New York, NY; Miami, Fl. coming soon (Covid info)

Brands on Board: Coco and Breezy, Dr. Jart, Farm Rio, Solid & Striped and more.

Boldly billing itself as "the most interesting store in the world," Showfields aims to curate "the most mission-driven, design-oriented, innovative, unconventional, and relevant" digitally-native brands in one big, highly Instagrammable space (there's a functioning slide!) in Soho.

It regularly embarks on new initiatives and events to draw attention and create buzz, even throughout quarantine. Showfields's top floor acts as a community space with food and events; there have been immersive theatrical performances with actors selling items, art installations, digital discussions and fundraisers, and a special curation of Black-owned brands sponsored by American Express. It charges brands membership fees, but the brands keep all their sales.

While the store is back open with restrictions, shoppers can also shop via video chat, book individual shopping appointments or simply shop online.

Not Just a Label (NJAL)

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Location(s): Online

Brands on Board: Bliss Lau, Echtego, Zarvich, Calmo and many more.

Not Just a Label launched in 2008 as an international network/directory of sorts for independent designers. In July of this year, it expanded to include a retail marketplace accessible to consumers.

"NJAL is unique and has a defensible right to win, by providing a solution to an outdated ecosystem," said founder/CEO Stefan Siegel in a statement. "Allowing our pool of designers to sell direct to the consumer is the future to fashion design, to commerce, to trade shows, to fashion weeks, to unsustainable practices."

Brands are responsible for fulfillment and shopping; NJAL operates payment and marketing, taking 30% of every sale.

The Yes

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Location(s): Your phone

Brands on Board: Everlane, Levi's, Prada, Khaite and more.

On the more digital end of the spectrum is mobile shopping platform The Yes, which has a slew of fashion and tech veterans behind it including Taylor Tomasi-Hill, Julie Bornstein (StitchFix, Nordstrom, Sephora) and Amit Aggarwal (Google, Bing, Groupon).

The Yes uses AI to to personalize every user's feed in real time. For instance, when you click "yes" on a style, you'll see more similar pieces. With great brands on board and $30 million in venture capital, the app's launch this past May generated headlines billing it as "the future of fashion retail" and a replacement for dying department stores.

Each brand has its own little storefront in the app and The Yes uses dropship, meaning it doesn't hold its own inventory. It collects a share of revenue from each sale made through the app.

"I think we're gonna see a lot of brands struggle, but I do think that we will see a lot of brands taking control," Tomasi-Hill told us in May. "We're giving brands back the power and truly partnering with them."

Shopping apps have long struggled to reach mainstream adoption. Could this be the one people are ready for?

Shop

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Location(s): Your phone

Brands on Board: Over 1 million merchants with e-commerce powered by Shopify including Allbirds, Kotn, Universal Standard, Drunk Elephant and more.

Another mobile shopping platform that launched during the pandemic, Shop bills itself as your personal "shopping assistant." Launched by Shopify, it's a go-to tool for independent brands and retailers setting up e-commerce.

Shop allows shoppers to, yes, shop all of those retailers in one place. One prominent feature is that it allows shoppers to find and shop businesses that are local to them (as long as they use Shopify), aiding in the avoidance of the Amazons and Wal-Marts of the world. It also offers speedy checkout and helps you track and receive updates on all orders. For brands, it offers access to customers' data and could help in customer acquisition.

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates  The Iranian navy boarded and briefly seized a Liberian-flagged oil tanker near the strategic Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions between Tehran and the U.S., the American military said Thursday.

The U.S. militarys Central Command published a black-and-white video showing what appeared to be special forces fast-roping down from a helicopter onto the MT Wila, whose last position appeared to be off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates near the city of Khorfakkan.

The Iranian navy held the vessel for some five hours before releasing it Wednesday, said a U.S. military official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public. The Wila made no distress calls before, during and after the seizure, the official said.

The Iranian helicopter involved appeared to be a Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King, which only Irans navy operates. The Iranian navy also handles all operations in the Gulf of Oman on the eastern side of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of all oil traded passes. Two other Iranian naval vessels took part in the seizure, Central Command said.

The International Maritime Security Construct, which is a U.S.-created maritime group to protect Persian Gulf waterways, called the Iranian boarding a blatant violation of international law that undermines freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce. It said one of its vessels monitored the incident but did not intervene.

We call on Iran to articulate to the international community the legal basis for its actions, the group said in a statement. This type of reckless, aggressive behavior by Iran destabilizes the region and threatens the rules based international order.

Iranian state television later on Thursday acknowledged the brief seizure, referring to the operation as a routine inspection without elaborating.

Officials in the UAE, a U.S.-allied federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula, did not respond to a request for comment.

The Wilas registered owner is a Liberian firm called Bandit Shipping Co., managed by Greek firm IMS SA, according to United Nations records. Bandit Shipping could not be reached, while IMS did not respond to requests for comment.

The Wila had been off Khor Al Zubair, Iraq, in early July before traveling to near Dubai and later Khorfakkan, where its been for around a month, according to data firm Refinitiv. It wasnt immediately clear what cargo it carried.

Private maritime intelligence firm Dryad Global said it suspected two other ships had been harassed by Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in the Persian Gulf over the last week as well, based on the ships behavior.

As tensions between Iran and the U.S. heated up last year over Americas unilateral withdraw from its 2015 nuclear deal, tankers plying the waters of the Mideast became targets, particularly near the strait, the Persian Gulfs narrow mouth. Suspected limpet mine attacks the U.S. blamed on Iran targeted several tankers. Iran denied being involved, though it did seize several tankers.

In July, a U.S.-sought oil tanker was hijacked off the coast of the United Arab Emirates after allegedly smuggling Iranian crude oil. The vessel later ended up back in Iranian waters, suggesting Iran itself seized the vessel.

___

Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.
Publicity stunts are still alive and well during the COVID-19 pandemic. And Steve-O just proved that in an extremely sticky way.

Before being removed by firefighters, the former "Jackass" star's latest antic involved him taping himself to a towering billboard in Hollywood Thursday to promote his upcoming multimedia comedy special, "Gnarly."

The live installation along Cahuenga Boulevard and Yucca Street featured the star adhering himself to the billboard under several layers of black duct tape that covered his body from his torso to thighs. He was shirtless and barefoot and apparently able to take selfies and post Instagram stories in the process.

"Im attached to a billboard right now," he wrote on Instagram, "and want to emphasize that a team of real professionals rigged everything safely. There is zero chance of me falling, and its important to me that we not waste any valuable city resources on this. Im happy to just hang out."

The stuntman said he really wants "the world to know about this project I worked so hard on." On Instagram stories, the stunt actor said he was getting sore after an hour-and-a-half of being taped up and police had been called to monitor him.

"They say that they're not sure I'm committing any crimes. I don't think so. I paid for the billboard," he said. "Hopefully nobody gets too upset."

Story continues

However, firefighters were also called to the scene Thursday and helped get the stunt actor down from the billboard.

Steve-O is seen taped to a Hollywood billboard along Cahuenga Boulevard on Thursday to promote his new project, "Gnarly." (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

Officers from the Los Angeles Police Dept. were also called to facilitate the firefighters' response, said Lt. Brian Bixler, the commanding officer for LAPD's Hollywood Patrol Division. No criminal elements would be pursued because Steve-O rented the billboard and police were there for crowd control, Bixler said.

"A lot of resources [were used]," Bixler said. "We're trying to keep them minimum for the fire department. But definitely the fire department has a lot of rigs out here, and it takes a lot of resources away from what we should be doing  make people safe."

Bixler estimated that a crowd of about 100 people gathered to watch the stunt. He said nobody was wearing masks or social distancing, "And that can create a problem for our communities."

A Times photographer on the scene, however, noted that some observers were wearing masks.

The Los Angeles Fire Dept. was notified by a passerby about a man being duct-taped to a billboard at 9:35 a.m. and responded to what the department considers a "behavioral emergency," said Brian Humphrey, a spokesman for LAFD. (A behavioral emergency is a category LAFD uses when someone is doing something atypical of the average person or placing themselves or others in peril.)

Steve-O is checked out by firefighters after being brought down from a Hollywood billboard on Thursday. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

The department was not informed of the stunt in advance, nor was it permitted as far as he knew, Humphrey said. Twenty-one personnel responded to the incident and helped take down the comedian and cleared the area a little more than an hour later.

"We were responsible to go if for no other reason [than] to protect the public, to make sure that people were not distracted and no harm came to them," Humphrey said.

Responders medically evaluated Steve-O  meaning they spoke with him, took his vitals and assessed whether he had any underlying health conditions or malaise while being involved in the behavioral emergency, Humphrey said.

Unfortunately, he added, the call came as firefighters were battling the Lake Fire in the Angeles National Forest and amid pandemic anxiety. "It could not have come at a more awkward or inopportune time."

A NSFW trailer for Steve-O's new "comedy special filled with really dumb stuff" showcases him attached to a mobile billboard that takes to the streets as well as bits of stand-up comedy and other nearly nude stunts that involve a lot of genitalia. Guest stars include his former "Jackass" costar Johnny Knoxville and "Jackass 3D" writer Wee Man.

Times photographer Kent Nishimura contributed to this report.
With less than a month to go until most Oregon schools begin the new school year, some superintendents are expressing frustration with the states ever-changing guidelines for whether and how they can operate in person, which make it difficult to let parents, teachers and other employees know what to expect.

The Oregon Department of Education said in July that schools couldnt open period unless statewide positive testing rates stayed below 6%. Then it revised the rules, making exceptions for students with special needs such as those with disabilities or learning English as a second language and for schools in remote areas or with low population density.

Many rural superintendents applaud the changes, which came partly in response to their pleas not to preclude physical reopening of their small-town and remote schools based on broader countywide or state coronavirus caseloads.

In Oregons largest district, officials are still negotiating what a return to physical classrooms will look like with the union representing its teachers. The states changing directives arent a huge disruption in large Portland area districts, because Portland Public Schools, like others in the metro area, have said children wont receive any in-person instruction until at least November.

But for superintendents who are experiencing a sense of whiplash, it is the fact that they have gotten very little advance warning of the changes that compounds their worry over keeping teachers, parents and others confident that school leaders know what theyre doing.

Salem-Keizer Superintendent Christy Perry was preparing for a school board meeting Tuesday when she got the email from the Oregon Department of Education.

Perry, who leads Oregons second-largest school district, was expecting the latest state guidelines for returning to school. She thought theyd include more detail about how federally-funded education programs and special education services would operate with classes held remotely.

But there was a surprising wrinkle. Schools would now be allowed and even encouraged to bring some students into buildings in small groups for schooling or services that cant be offered remotely, like speech language pathology, career technical education or help learning English.

It was a 180-degree turn from two weeks earlier, when state officials said schools couldnt hold any in-person class unless counties reported fewer than 30 new coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents - a target most of Oregons largest counties were nowhere close to meeting.

All of a sudden I went Oh, wait a minute, stop, they changed the metrics, Perry said.

Emails began flying between Perry and other Salem-Keizer leaders, who had less than four hours before a public presentation on their plans.

I think that was their attempt to make it better for kids, but in this world where were getting ready to start school and help parents really know what the plan is and help communicate with parents, that just makes it really hard, Perry said.

Rural school leaders welcomed the latest change, which allows many smaller districts to resume in-person schooling if there are few cases of the virus in the immediate area.

Many had pressed state leaders for more flexibility. But those leaders felt similar frustration in late July, after Gov. Kate Brown announced metrics so strict that only Wheeler County schools would be able to operate in-person unless coronavirus cases subsided.

Tucked away in far southeast Oregon, Jordan Valley School District saw itself do a full 360 in the past few weeks. Its leaders spent the summer planning on returning all students to classrooms in the fall. But when the states late July rules came out, the district, which serves fewer than 60 students and sits 70 miles from the nearest town, learned it would have to find a way to teach via distance learning while combating the ultra-remote nature of southern Malheur County.

Two weeks later, Jordan Valley Superintendent Rusty Bengoa said the district was able to pull its old plans out of the trash can, as the new rules released Tuesday mean its students will likely be able to return to classrooms after all.

The district falls under new exemptions in the states plans, which allow districts with fewer than 75 students to open so long as the virus isnt spreading in the community the school serves.

Its been difficult, said Bengoa. To plan most of the year to go in-person, then to be tied to the county like that, its just frustrating. You get a curveball thrown at you. Its just hard.

Bengoa said he does appreciate the help that the schools have gotten from the state this summer, saying he knows that the state education department and the states school activities league have been working nonstop.

This whole COVID deal has made things so unpredictable, he said.

That frustration has boiled over to many parents and other community members.

It is great that the governor keeps taking steps towards prioritizing elementary and rural schools, but she is giving us whiplash, Nyssa parent Zach Olson said.

Bengoa said he has heard from many people who are upset that he is unable to answer their questions about reopening.

Its not that were not communicating things. But things change so fast now, he said. I appreciate the communities and the patience ... I hope this (latest set of rules) sticks around for a while.

State schools chief Colt Gillsaid the education department talks weekly with superintendents and works to adjust plans based on their feedback.

I sit side by side with our superintendents around the challenges it creates, but this effort to provide in person instruction really came out of our meetings with superintendents, Gill said.

The change to allow small groups into schools for services such as special education came after Oregon Health Authority officials reviewed guidelines for childcare and early learning facilities, which have been operating since March under health guidelines with few cases of the virus statewide. It seemed inconsistent to let 4-year-olds statewide learn in person but not allow any school-aged youth with special learning needs get the same type of support.

Gill said as school begins in the fall, the department will continue evaluating whats working to try to get as many students as possible into classrooms without compromising public health. Pediatricians and other child advocates have said childrens well-being is harmed when they cant have in-person learning experiences and eat school meals, so they want public officials to balance those risks, not insist on zero coronavirus cases before children can get back to school.

The idea is again public health first, trying to ensure that were safe and that we dont overtax our health systems, he said. What we dont want to do is have all the schools open at once when we have broad community spread.

The largest school district in Malheur County, Ontario, was preparing a return to school via distance learning until at least October before the state released its metrics-based guidance in late July.

Ontario Superintendent Nicole Albisu said the district was already bracing for not being able to return to classes in the fall, as Malheur County has a weekly positive test rate of 25% -- five times the allowable limit.

Changes are inevitably frustrating, especially when we are asked to completely reorient our daily practices and procedures, Albisu said. Our staff and teachers have shown time and time again that they can bend and adapt to what is the absolute best for our students and their health and education. Everyone is being asked to think creatively, share kindness, and work hard.

Jim Green, executive director of the Oregon School Boards Association, said state agencies are doing the best they can to answer questions during a challenging time. While hes seen some frustration, he said most superintendents quickly moved on to revising plans - again.

Its frustrating, dont get me wrong. Im hearing a lot from superintendents and school districts, Green said. We knew this was going to be difficult and weve never faced anything like this before in the state.

Eder Campuzano of The Oregonian/OregonLive and Emily Cureton of Oregon Public Broadcasting contributed to this story.

This story is the product of an ongoing collaboration between Salem Reporter, The Ontario Argus Observer, The Oregonian/OregonLive, Oregon Public Broadcasting and The Bulletin to bring Oregonians a comprehensive look at public education and the fate of Oregon students amid the coronavirus pandemic.

-- Rachel Alexander; rachel@salemreporter.com, 503-575-1241

-- Nik Streng; niklass@argusobserver.com; @NikStreng
A nasal spray may prevent humans from catching Covid-19 and could even be more effective than wearing PPE, scientists claim.

Experts at the University of California, San Francisco created 'AeroNabs', which can also be inhaled.

They hope it will act as a short-term tool to prevent thousands of people becoming infected before a vaccine is eventually discovered.

AeroNabs contains nanobodies, which are antibody-like immune proteins found in the blood of llamas, camels and alpacas.

But the nanobodies in the formula are synthetic and have been engineered to target SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind the pandemic.

Lab tests have shown the tiny proteins  about a quarter of the size of antibodies found in humans  can block the coronavirus from entering cells.

But the AeroNabs formula still needs to be proven in clinical trials, to see whether it really can prevent a person from actually getting infected.

Nanobodies are so small that synthetic versions could be mass produced quickly, the researchers say.

A nasal spray may prevent humans from catching the coronavirus and be more effective than wearing PPE, scientists in California claim (stock)

AeroNabs contains nanobodies which are antibody-like immune proteins that naturally occur in llamas (stock), camels and alpacas . But the nanobodies are synthetic

Dr Peter Walter, a professor of biochemistry and biophysics at UCSF and co-inventor, said: 'Far more effective than wearable forms of personal protective equipment, we think of AeroNabs as a molecular form of PPE that could serve as an important stopgap until vaccines provide a more permanent solution to Covid-19.

'For those who cannot access or don't respond to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, AeroNabs could be a more permanent line of defense against Covid-19.'

Nanobodies were originally discovered in a Belgian lab in the late 1980s and have intrigued scientists worldwide ever since.

Researchers across the world have turned their attention to nanobodies, in hope that they can be tailored to neutralise the coronavirus.

WHAT ARE NANOBODIES? The remarkable properties of antibodies found in the blood of camelids - camels, llamas and alpacas - were first uncovered by experts at Brussels University in 1989. Since their discovery in the Belgian lab, the distinctive properties of nanobodies have intrigued scientists worldwide. Dr Aashish Manglik, a co-creator of AeroNabs and an assistant professor of pharmaceutical chemistry, has frequently employed nanobodies as a tool in his research. He said: 'Though they function much like the antibodies found in the human immune system, nanobodies offer a number of unique advantages for effective therapeutics against SARS-CoV-2.' The small size of the antibodies allows scientists to target microscopic viruses more effectively in what is known as nanobody technology. Because nanobodies are so much smaller than human antibodies, they are easier to manipulate and modify in the lab. Their small size and relatively simple structure also makes them significantly more stable than the antibodies of other mammals. Plus, unlike human antibodies, nanobodies can be easily and inexpensively mass-produced. Scientists insert the genes that contain the molecular blueprints to build nanobodies into E. coli or yeast, and transform these microbes into high-output nanobody factories. The same method has been used safely for decades to mass-produce insulin. Another South Korean study, reported in the Cell Host and Microbe journal, has found ferrets infected with Covid-19 responded similarly to humans and could be 'a useful tool to evaluate the efficacy of [antiviral treatments] and preventive vaccines.' Researchers in Hong Kong have also found Syrian hamsters had a reaction to Covid-19 which 'closely [resembles] the manifestations of upper and lower respiratory tract infection in humans.' The study, published in Science magazine, found eight hamsters 'lost weight, became lethargic, and developed ruffled fur, a hunched posture, and rapid breathing' when infected with the virus. Advertisement

Nanobodies have proven to work against similar coronaviruses in the past, including the one that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

They are similar to human antibodies, which are immune proteins produced by the body in response to a pathogen.

The antibodies latch on to the pathogen and either tag it for other immune cells, or disable it themselves.

Nanobodies function much like human antibodies, which are also being synthetically produced on mass to create therapies against Covid-19.

But nanobodies have a number of unique advantages for medicines, AeroNabs co-inventor Dr Aashish Manglik said.

He said nanobodies are much smaller, so they are easier to manipulate and modify in the lab and gear towards attacking viruses.

The researchers, led by graduate student Michael Schoof, engineered a completely synthetic molecule based on nanobodies.

Their findings are published in a paper on the preprint server bioRxiv, meaning it has not yet been reviewed by other scientists.

To find effective nanobody candidates, the scientists analysed more than two billion synthetic ones from a library in Dr Manglik's lab. It was not clear when and how these synthetic nanobodies were created and for what purpose.

Tests ruled out weaker nanobodies. The team ended up with 21 nanobodies that had the potential to work against the coronavirus.

SARS-CoV-2 is covered in spikes which are used to infect human cells.

The spikes attach to ACE-2 receptors found on the surface of human cells, including those that line the nasal passageway, lungs and airways.

ACE-2 receptors act like a doorway for the virus to enter cells, and the researchers essentially want to block that doorway.

The select 21 synthetic nanobodies bounded to the spikes of the coronavirus and blocked the ACE-2 interaction.

The nanobodies function a bit like a sheath that coat the spikes, or the 'key', and prevent it from being inserted into an ACE-2 'lock', the release said.

In further experiments, Dr Veronica Rezelj, a virologist at Institut Pasteur in Paris, tested the three most promising nanobodies against the SARS-CoV-2.

She found the nanobodies to be 'extraordinarily potent, preventing infection even at extremely low doses'.

The most potent nanobodies not only act as a sheath, but also as a 'mousetrap'. They clamp down on the virus's spikes when it is in an inactive state so that it cannot open up again.

The scientists then engineered this nanobody to create two more genetically similar ones, using the three to make AeroNabs.

It was 200,000 times more potent than a single nanobody alone. Professor Walter said its results against SARS-Cov-2 were 'off the charts'.

'It was so effective that it exceeded our ability to measure its potency', he claimed.

The researchers still need to demonstrate that the synthetic nanobodies, and AeroNabs, could prevent the real virus from infecting cells.

Dr Manglik, an assistant professor of pharmaceutical chemistry, said: 'Our team is in ongoing discussions with potential commercial partners who are interested in manufacturing and distributing AeroNabs, and we hope to commence human trials soon.

'If AeroNabs prove as effective as we anticipate, they may help reshape the course of the pandemic worldwide.'

Early research using llama nanobodies has also been taking place at the Rosalind Franklin Institute at Oxford University.

Academics hope the llama-derived proteins could eventually be developed as a treatment for humans struck down with a severe case of Covid-19.

Scientists took nanobodies from the blood of a llama called Fifi and tweaked them in a lab to target the interaction between the virus's spikes.

Some experts say it could be used like convalescent serum therapy, which is when the antibody-rich blood of a Covid-19 survivor is injected into a patient.

But AeroNabs, the creators say, does not need to be administered in the blood and can be given directly to the lungs and or nasal passages.
Critics were left frustrated by dimly lit scenes in The Luminaries and Wolf Hall

BBC will ask viewers about layout of windows, sofa and screen as part of a study

The BBC has resorted to asking viewers to monitor the light around their TVs after complaints that hit shows like The Luminaries and Wolf Hall are too gloomy.

As part of a study, the broadcaster will question participants about the layout of their windows, sofa and screen in a bid to create the best lighting conditions.

It follows armchair critics being left frustrated by dimly lit scenes in the BBC drama The Luminaries, with the director of Wolf Hall also defending the lighting in the show as lovely and atmospheric after viewers claimed it was too dark.

Director Peter Kosminksy previously used special low-light cameras to capture the action in BBC's Wolfhall, above, and hit back at critics claiming the lighting was too dim

The new project could lead to the development of smart sets that can adjust to the brightness of a room, alongside menus to optimise different quantities of light.

BBC Research & Development executive Phil Layton, who is running the study, told The Times: 'Some dramas are dark because that's the feel that the director of photography wanted to create.

'We are not trying to lose that, we are trying to preserve the artistic intent. But we are trying to make sure that viewers understand how best to view that content.'

BBC R&D's Alana Boles said the project's findings so far show brightness levels vary at different times throughout the day.

She added: 'TV screens and tablets will potentially need to be able to adapt to variations in viewing lighting to give audiences the best viewer experience as possible.'

Director Peter Kosminksy previously used special low-light cameras to capture the action in BBC's Wolfhall, and author Hilary Mantel, who has praised the adaptation, said that the candlelight helped put actors into the 'Tudor frame of mind'.

Mr Kosminksy hit back at critics claiming the lighting was too dim, by arguing that it could equally be viewed as lovely and atmospheric.

He added: 'They are legitimate concerns to have but the camera we were using is amazing.

Armchair critics were left frustrated by dimly lit scenes in the BBC drama The Luminaries, above, with one Twitter user posting it was 'too dark to see what's going on'

The dramatic beach scene in which Anna (Eve Hewson) accuses Lydia (Eva Green) of killing her husband was impacted by the poor lighting which blighted the BBC1 series

Viewers were frustrated by the lighting in the show, saying it is 'so dimly lit' that it is difficult to make out characters' faces. Pictured: Eva Green (left) and Eve Hewson

I don't like the type of filmmaking where people have to shut off all the lights to be able to see what is on the screen properly. I would never present something to an audience that was dim or gloomy or difficult to see.

Of course the night scenes are quite moody but only in the sense that any drama's night scenes will be quite moody compared to a daylight scene. It would be completely stupid to give something to audiences that they weren't able to see.'

Meanwhile, Twitter users reacted to the lighting in The Luminaries last month, with one tweeting: 'Ironic it's called #TheLuminaries when you can see b****r all because it's always dark.'

Another added: 'I was going to watch #TheLuminaries tonight but then my husband offered to lock me in the dark in the downstairs loo and mumble unintelligibly through the keyhole... so I chose that instead.'

Social media users reacted to the lighting in the BBC's The Luminaries, with one tweeting: 'Ironic it's called #TheLuminaries when you can see b****r all because it's always dark'

A third wrote: '#TheLuminaries on could do with some illumination, its too dark to see what's going on.'

Viewers also previously complained over characters 'mumbling' on screen in the show, making it difficult to hear the dialogue.

It comes after the BBC trialled technology that will allow viewers to tune out background noise, boost characters' voices and possibly make plots easier to follow.

An episode of BBC One medical drama Casualty was the first show to be made with the new tool, The Times previously reported.

A version of the episode on the BBC website now features a slider button - moving it to the right retains the standard audio and shifting it to the left reduces background noise, music included, to make the dialogue clearer.

But some viewers of Wolf Hall complained the historical drama's use of realistic candlelit scenes left them in the dark, or wondering if their televisions were 'on the blink'

The makers of the Tudor drama, starring Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell (pictured), went to such lengths to recreate the world of Thomas Cromwell that they used only candlelight to illuminate night-time scenes

The project was targeted at the 11 million Britons with hearing loss and any others who struggle to make out what actors are saying.

Frustrated viewers filed thousands of complaints with the BBC after they were unable to make out the dialogue in tense dramas like Jamaica Inn and Happy Valley.

Their anger prompted a national debate about actors who don't enunciate - with the issue even being raised in parliament.

Lord Blunkett, the former Labour home secretary, who is blind, criticised actors who tried to create atmosphere by mumbling on-screen in 2017.

'Atmosphere is fine if you can lip read,' he said in the House of Lords. 'When you can't, the mumbling becomes not just an irritant, but an impossibility.'

Each individual element of sound in a programme is graded in a hierarchy based on how important it is to the plot. Some sound effects - like the beep of a heart monitor in medical shows like Casualty - are crucial to an episode's narrative.

The new tech allows these more important noises to stay prominent, while less essential sounds are turned down.
China's ByteDance is in early talks with Reliance Industries Ltd for an investment in its video-based app TikTok's business in India, TechCrunch reported here on Thursday, citing sources.

The two companies began conversations late last month and have not reached a deal yet, according to the report.

Reliance, ByteDance and TikTok did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

The Indian government in June banned 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok and WeChat, for threatening its "sovereignty and integrity" after border tensions with China.

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled bans on U.S. transactions with the China-based owners of messaging app WeChat and TikTok, escalating tensions between the two countries.

Microsoft Corp has been in talks to acquire the U.S. operations of the video-sharing app.

Social media platform Twitter Inc has also expressed interest in having a deal with TikTok, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters late last week.

Also read: Mukesh Ambani's RIL in talks with parent ByteDance to acquire TikTok in India
By Akbar Mammadov

Azerbaijans newly appointed Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramov has said that Bakus position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is unchangeable and unwavering.

Bayramov made the remarks in an interview with CNN Turk TV channel during his visit to Ankara on August 11.

The minister said that the conflict must be resolved in line with the international law as well as the UN resolutions of 1993 that require the withdrawal of Armenian military units from the territories of Azerbaijan and the return of Azerbaijani IDPs to those territories.

The same requirements are reflected in the documents, resolutions and decisions of various international organizations. In this case, the issue of settlement through political dialogue is obvious, he noted.

We believe that serious pressure should be exerted on the Armenian side by international organizations and states. Azerbaijan's position on this issue is unchangeable and unwavering. These resolutions must be fully implemented," said the minster.

Bayramov said that Azerbaijan supports a political solution to the conflict through negotiations, adding that there is a sufficient international legal framework for a political solution to the conflict.

The minister also spoke about Armenias military provocation on the border in Tovuz district on July 12, saying that Armenia once again exposed its terrorist and aggressive nature.

He noted that Armenian forces shelled civilian settlements, killing a 76-year-old village resident.

This is not the first time, this is a usual approach made by Armenian armed forces.

This provocation had clear political and military purposes, stressed Bayramov.

The minister said that by this provocation Armenia sought to involve the military-political organization (CSTO), of which Armenia is a member and other member countries in the conflict.

The minister added that at the same time, Armenia had the goal to create a tension in Azerbaijans border region, through which regionally important and great railway and oil-gas pipelines pass. Yerevan also sought to distract the attention of its population from domestic issues that were aggravated due to the coronavirus pandemic, Bayramov said.

Bayramov emphasized that as a result of the resolute retaliation measures of the Azerbaijani army, the provocation was thwarted.

Bayramov underlined that the terrorist nature of the Armenian state is very well known. He recalled that in that 1970-80s, Armenia supported ASALA and other Armenian terrorist organizations which committed a number of terror acts in the world, of which Turkey was also the victim.

Armenia also used terror widely during the military operation while occupying Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions of Azerbaijan, the minister said.

Commenting on the ongoing large-scale military drills between the two countries, Bayramov said: Azerbaijan and Turkey have an ancient history of military cooperation. Joint military exercises are carried out in accordance with a military agreement signed between the two countries.

He said that the exercises are carried out regularly, which is a great part of the military cooperation between the two countries.

The military cooperation comes in a broad sense that there is also in military-technical, military education and military healthcare cooperation.

Bayramov emphasized that the cooperation between Turkey and Azerbaijan serves not only the development of the two countries but also the region, ensuring peace and security in the region. I think that military cooperation should be evaluated in this direction, the minister said.

---

Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
The Scotch Whisky Association said that the 25% tariff had led to losses of around 300m for the industry. Photo: David Cheskin/PA via AP

The UKs international trade secretary said on Thursday that she was planning on stepping up trade talks with the US after it chose to retain punitive tariffs on Scotch whisky, warning that the levies harmed interests in both countries.

Welcoming the decision of the US not to impose additional tariffs on products such as gin and blended whisky, Liz Truss nonetheless noted that tariffs on existing goods, such as those on single-malt Scotch whisky, remained in place.

These tariffs damage industry and livelihoods on both sides of the Atlantic and are in nobodys interests. I am therefore stepping up talks with the US to remove them as soon as possible, Truss said.

The tariffs were first introduced as part of long-running spat with the EU about state aid involving Airbus (AIR.PA) and American rival Boeing (BA).

READ MORE: Tour operator TUI swings to 1.4bn loss in 'crisis mode'

The World Trade Organization ruled in December 2019 that 2004 subsidies given to Airbus by the EU were illegal, prompting the US to impose hefty tariffs on $7.5bn (6bn) worth of goods from the bloc.

The Scotch Whisky Association warned on Thursday that the 25% tariff had led to losses of around 300m ($393m) for the industry since it was introduced.

The tariff is inflicting huge damage on the Scotch Whisky sector, with exports to the U.S. down 30% since the tariff came into effect, chief executive Karen Betts said.

Scotch whisky contributes some 5.5bn to the UK economy, and supports more than 42,000 jobs across the country, including 10,500 people directly in Scotland, according to the association.

READ MORE: UK housing market sees second month of growth as new buyers flood market

Truss last week flew the US to hold talks with United States trade representative Robert Lighthizer and other key officials.

The UK government said on Thursday that Truss had pledged to hold further talks with Lighthizer to step up pressure on the tariff issue.

Though the EU has taken steps to resolve the dispute, the bloc warned last month that it would take action if the US imposed new tariffs.

I want to reassure people that we are ready to act decisively and strongly on the European Union side if we don't get the type of outcome that we expect from the United States in relationship to finalising this 15-year-old dispute, said Phil Hogan, the blocs trade commissioner.
Cancer cell during cell division. Credit: National Institutes of Health

To impact and improve patient care, the study of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support screening mammography must now shift from simulated research trials to robust clinical evaluations, according to Constance Lehman, MD, Ph.D., director of Breast Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

In a commentary in JAMA Oncology, Lehman commended researchers of a recent study who reported on the performance of three available AI tools in a high quality modern, all-digital screening mammography database and agreed that the time has come to progress beyond simulated research strategies to carefully measure and determine the performance of models in clinical practice.

"In the continued evolution of AI applied to improving human health, it is time to move beyond simulation and reader studies and enter the critical phase of rigorous, prospective clinical evaluation," said Lehman in her commentary accompanying the study.

The head of breast imaging at MGH pointed out that early efforts to develop AI-based deep learning models to assist humans in mammographic interpretation have produced mixed results, including wide variations in quantity and quality of data used for model development, and variable methods to train, test, and internally and externally validate deep learning models.

"Work in both development and validation is needed in larger data bases, including tomosynthesis examinations and diverse [commercial AI] vendors and patient populations," Lehman explained. "But most importantly, rigorous studies to assess whether results from simulation studies will translate to success in routine clinical practice are now essential."

Lehman credited the researchers [Salim and colleagues] for taking an important next step in the discovery process through their use of a large, curated screening mammography database to compare performance of the three commercial algorithms.

That methodology led to the finding that one of the three commercial models achieved a sensitivity of 81.9% with the specificity set at 96.6%. Those results compare favorably with the U.S. Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium benchmarks of 86.9% sensitivity and 88.9% specificity.

In addition, Lehman found intriguing the authors' "insights that challenge existing assumptions in the field." She cited results suggesting that "the volume of cases may be more important than the diversity of vendors or patient populations in the databases used to develop the algorithm."

Lehman went on to note that the highest performing algorithm was developed from the largest dataset of screening mammograms72,000 cancer images and 680,000 normal images in the top performing model compared to 6,000 cancer images and 106,000 normal images in the lowest performing model.

In calling for additional studies, Lehman, who is also professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School, opined that prior failures with computer-aided detection (CAD) programs should serve as a cautionary lesson going forward.

"Although early reader and simulation studies of traditional CAD were encouraging, in the end, improved outcomes for patients receiving mammogram interpretations supported by CAD were not shown," she pointed out. "Many studies have confirmed that humans respond differently to CAD assistance, and the same may be true for AI-assisted readings."

The time has clearly come for a more rapid pace of research in this domain that's coupled with "safe, careful and effective testing in prospective clinical trials," Lehman concluded. "If AI models can be developed that can reliably detect on mammograms women with cancer from those without it, then quality, affordable screening mammography may finally become available to a large population of women globally who currently have no access to its life-saving potential."

Explore further Artificial intelligence used in clinical practice to measure breast density
Virginia would have to spend $45 million a week for its share of enhanced unemployment benefits under an executive order President Donald Trump signed last weekend, but the state could draw on other federal aid to cover its part of enhanced payments to people who lost work in the economic crisis.

The executive order, issued after a breakdown in talks between Republicans and Democrats over a new COVID-19 relief package, requires participating states to pay 25% of the $400 weekly benefit, or $100 a week, for each eligible unemployment beneficiary.

The state could use federal aid received under the CARES Act to cover its share, but that would diminish the amount of money the state has to pay for other critical needs related to the coronavirus public health emergency. The state also could use the first $100 of regular state unemployment insurance, but that would reduce the additional benefit to $300 a week.

At this point, no one is surprised that state governments are being forced to shoulder responsibility for yet another aspect of the countrys COVID-19 response  from testing, to supplying PPE, and now unemployment benefits, said Grant Neely, chief communications officer for Gov. Ralph Northam.
RICHMOND, Va., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Small business and residential customers facing financial hardship can now receive support on their energy bills through Dominion Energy's industry-leading EnergyShare program. Dominion Energy is supplementing its $13 million annual program contribution in Virginia with $1 million this year to further help customers in need of bill assistance, due to coronavirus impacts. Small businesses, nonprofits, and houses of worship will be eligible for $500,000, while the remaining $500,000 will be reserved for residential customers.

For small businesses, a temporary Small Business Relief Program will offer one-time assistance of up to $1,000 toward unpaid Dominion Energy Virginia electric bills that may have accrued during the pandemic. To ensure the funds reach those organizations most in need, Dominion Energy is announcing a partnership with the Virginia Chamber of Commerce Foundation, which is establishing an advisory council, including representatives from:

Virginia Asian Chamber of Commerce and Virginia Asian Foundation

Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Urban League of Hampton Roads

of Virginia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives

Northern Virginia Black Chamber of Commerce

of Commerce Asian American Chamber of Commerce

Metropolitan Business League of Richmond

The council will raise program awareness in the business community, review applications and award assistance to eligible businesses. The Virginia Chamber of Commerce Foundation will administer the program and United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg will manage distribution of funds, as they have done for EnergyShare since the program's inception in 1982. Support for nonprofits and houses of worship will also be administered through the Small Business Relief Program.

"While small businesses are focused on resuming their operations, bringing back their workforce, and prioritizing the health and safety of their customers and employees, the EnergyShare Small Business Relief Program lends a hand to those at the heart of our economy," said Barry DuVal, President and CEO of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. "The landscape continues to change due to the ongoing pandemic and many small businesses are in vital need of additional support  that is why the Virginia Chamber Foundation is proud to partner with Dominion Energy on this relief program."

Energy Share is funded with company contributions, an expense not recovered through customer rates, along with donations from employees, retirees and the public.

Starting Sept. 1, small business applications for EnergyShare will be available on the Virginia Chamber of Commerce Foundation website: www.vachamber.com/foundation/small-business-relief-program. Applicants must submit their completed and e-signed application via e-mail to [email protected] for review; they will receive an e-mail with the assistance decision within 14 business days. Applications will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis, with a rolling application period until program funds are exhausted. Additional small business support is available in the form of on-site energy efficiency assessments, rebates for energy efficiency measures and other incentives for business improvements: www.dominionenergy.com/virginia/save-energy/small-business-improvement.

For residential customers, Dominion Energy's $500,000 increase in funds complements a June announcement, which raised the maximum benefit for the summer cooling season from $300 to $600 per residential account for the year and expanded program eligibility. Additionally, the company removed the requirement of a disconnect notice to qualify for the program. Residential customers can learn more about EnergyShare or find their local EnergyShare agency at www.dominionenergy.com/energyshare or by calling 2-1-1.

"For decades, EnergyShare has helped many in crisis get the financial help they need, and this pandemic has made it an even more crucial resource," said Robert Blue, co-chief operating officer and executive vice president, Dominion Energy Virginia. "If you're having trouble paying your bill, we want you to know we're here to help you find the best solution for your unique situation."

In response to the coronavirus, the company has halted disconnects and is waiving late fees for all customers. Customers also can access long-term payment plans, allowing up to 12 months to pay past due amounts with no minimum down payment. To learn more about Dominion Energy's coronavirus relief efforts, visit www.dominionenergy.com/company/coronavirus.



About Dominion Energy

More than 7 million customers in 20 states energize their homes and businesses with electricity or natural gas from Dominion Energy (NYSE: D), headquartered in Richmond, Va. The company is committed to sustainable, reliable, affordable and safe energy and to achieving net zero carbon dioxide and methane emissions from its power generation and gas infrastructure operations by 2050. Please visit DominionEnergy.com to learn more.

About the Virginia Chamber Foundation

The Virginia Chamber Foundation tracks Virginia's economic competitiveness, conducts research and analysis, and hosts programs  connected to the priorities of Blueprint Virginia 2025. In December 2017, the Chamber released an update to its long-term strategic economic development plan, Blueprint Virginia 2025, which engaged over 6,000 business and community leaders to lay out a plan to getting Virginia back to the top of national business climate rankings. In the fall of 2020, the Virginia Chamber will begin to cultivate policy recommendations and foster key discussions for the next update, Blueprint Virginia 2030. Learn more at vachamber.com/foundation.

About United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg

United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg empowers individuals and addresses systemic problems to provide everyone with a clear path to success. We do this by conducting research, funding programs and organizations, driving systems-level change and engaging with individuals in 11 localities across the region. Learn more at YourUnitedWay.org.

SOURCE Dominion Energy

Related Links

http://www.dominionenergy.com


The packs, which include items like rice, beans, flour, oil and other necessities, are being distributed to families in the 25 countries where Compassion delivers its holistic child development program. As caregivers lose their income to the pandemic, food is an urgent need. The World Food Program reported that the COVID-19 pandemic could almost double the number of people suffering acute hunger, pushing it to more than a quarter of a billion by the end of the calendar year. And the United Nations' Lancet medical journal shared that virus-linked hunger is tied to 10,000 child deaths each month.

Compassion's program ordinarily calls for children to meet at one of its church partners regularly for a holistic child development curriculum aimed at releasing children from spiritual, economic, social, and physical poverty. But stay-at-home restrictions in each country have forced the organization to adapt its program and meet families' needs in unique ways.

Through phone calls, texts, and socially distanced visits, church partners continue to provide life-changing support at a time when children need it most. Reynesto Garcia, a child development center director in the Philippines, says, "We remain at their side. Our workers continue to volunteer to distribute food and essentials to the children in their community. It is our call of duty."

In addition to essential food items, the ministry's church partners have delivered more than 2.8 million health kits, including soap, hand sanitizer, shampoo, washcloths, and other hygiene items, and offered medical support, such as health screenings and payment to healthcare providers for diagnosis and treatment, for more than 162,000 sponsored children.

And in countries where food pack and health kit distribution isn't possible, Compassion church partners have facilitated over 172,000 unconditional cash transfers to families in need, giving them the freedom to purchase supplies and cover basic expenses.

Compassion's first-ever global fundraising campaign, launched across its 15 partner offices, raised more than $12 million for the ministry's disaster relief fund in its first few months, which enabled church partners to meet these critical needs.

Sidney Muisyo, senior vice president of Compassion's global program, shared, "We believe God is inspiring his church to rise up. To be the light-bearers in this dark time. To offer physical, emotional and spiritual support to children in need." And as the pandemic marks its five-month anniversary, he concludes, "Indeed, the need for Compassion's ministry will only increase dramatically as the full impact of COVID-19 becomes clear."

To learn more about Compassion's continual COVID-19 response, visit compassion.com/covid19.

About Compassion International

Founded in 1952, Compassion International is a Christian child development organization that works to release children from poverty in Jesus' name. Compassion revolutionized the fight against global poverty by working exclusively with the Church to lift children out of spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty. Compassion partners with more than 8,000 churches in 25 countries to deliver its holistic child development program to over 2 million babies, children and young adults. Its Child Sponsorship Program has been validated through independent, empirical research.

MEDIA CONTACT:

TIM GLENN

719-272-5377

[email protected]

SOURCE Compassion International

Related Links

www.compassion.com


BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug.12

Trend:

Turkish Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar and Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces, Army General Yashar Guler, commanders of troops and other high-ranked officers arrived for a visit in Azerbaijan, Trend reports.

Upon arrival in Baku, the guests were met by Azerbaijani Minister of Defense Zakir Hasanov and Deputy Minister of Defense, Air Force Commander Ramiz Tahirov.

As earlier reported, the enlarged Turkish military delegation will watch the final episode of the first stage of the Azerbaijani-Turkish Live-Fire Joint Tactical and Flight-Tactical Exercises of the Land and Air Forces within the framework of the Day of High-Level Observers.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

The Brazilian state of Parana signed a deal Wednesday to test and produce Russia's new coronavirus vaccine, though officials stressed they would have to be sure of its safety and effectiveness first.

The vaccine would have to receive Brazilian regulatory approval and complete Phase 3 clinical trials, or large-scale testing in humans, before being produced in Brazil, said officials from the southern state.

Production, if it goes ahead, would likely only start in the second half of 2021, said Jorge Callado, head of the state-run Parana Technology Institute, which signed the deal with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).

"This is a very objective memorandum of understanding on technological exchange. It does not impose obligations, it simply enables us to work together," he told a virtual news conference.

He said that under the deal Russia would share the results of Phase 1 and 2 testing with the state.

President Vladimir Putin announced Tuesday that Russia had approved the vaccine, dubbed "Sputnik V," in a world first, heralding it as a game-changer in the pandemic.

But international health officials have cautioned more testing and scrutiny are needed to ensure it is safe and effective.

Brazil has become a popular testing ground for COVID-19 vaccines, since the new coronavirus is still spreading quickly there.

The country has the second-highest number of infections and deaths in the pandemic, after the United States: more than 3.1 million and 104,000, respectively.

Two experimental vaccines are currently in Phase 3 testing in Brazil, one developed by Oxford University with pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca and the other by Chinese laboratory Sinovac Biotech.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2020 AFP
Three former senior Greater Manchester Police officers are being investigated by the police watchdog over their involvement in a probe into child sexual exploitation.

The inquiry by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) will focus on the supervision and handling of Operation Augusta in 2004.

Operation Augusta was a police and social services investigation into child sexual exploitation by grooming gangs in South Manchester.

Concerns were raised in January by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham over the conduct and decision-making of some officers involved in the investigation.

The operation was prompted by the death of Victoria Agoglia, 15, a girl under the care of Manchester City Council, who reported being raped and injected with heroin by a 50-year-old Asian man.

Three former senior Greater Manchester Police officers are being investigated by the police watchdog over their involvement in a probe into child sexual exploitation. Pictured: Stock image

She died of a drugs overdose two months later in September 2003.

Operation Augusta identified at least 57 victims and 97 potential suspects, and a 'compelling picture of the systemic exploitation of looked-after children in the care system' was established by detectives.

But senior officers at GMP chose to under-resource the investigation, a report to Mr Burnham said, and a decision was made to close it down in 2005.

The IOPC said an investigation has been launched into the 'supervision and setting of direction' in Operation Augusta, in regards to three former senior officers, ITV News reported.

Operation Augusta was prompted by the death of Victoria Agoglia (pictured)

Two of the officers have since retired and a third now works for another organisation.

Steve Noonan, IOPC director of major investigations, said: 'This has been a lengthy but necessary process and it has taken some time to gather the information required to make a decision whether it was necessary to investigate and who should conduct the investigation.

'The mayoral review raised many questions about the actions of those involved in Operation Augusta.

'We have now decided it is necessary to investigate the individual conduct of these three former GMP officers who were all involved in either supervising or setting the direction of Operation Augusta.

'Though the content of the mayoral review has been analysed as part of our decision to begin an investigation, it was not a specific investigation into the actions of the officers involved.

'We now need to establish and examine all the available evidence.

'The investigation is in its early stages.'
Islamist insurgents have captured a strategic port in the restive province of Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique, local military officials told VOA.

The takeover of the port of Mocimboa da Praia on Wednesday came after five days of fierce clashes between the insurgents and Mozambican security forces. The insurgents still held the port on Thursday, according to Mozambican officials.

Since 2017, Islamist militants, some of which are affiliated with the Islamic State terror group, have been carrying out attacks against civilians and Mozambican armed forces. The violence has killed more than 1,000 people and displaced over 210,000 others, according to the United Nations.

IS-affiliated media released images showing dead bodies allegedly of Mozambican soldiers, as well as weapons and ammunition seized from the military.

In April 2019, IS claimed the so-called Central African Province, known as IS-CAP. Terror attacks carried out by IS-CAP have so far been limited to Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The recent fighting has reportedly left at least 55 Mozambican military personnel killed and 90 others wounded.

Strategic port

The port of Mocimboa da Praia is a strategic site in Cabo Delgado, particularly for gas companies operating in the resource-rich region.



Several foreign oil and gas firms such as ExxonMobil and Total have investment projects in the area, but they have largely been disrupted due to militant attacks and the coronavirus pandemic.

The insurgents reportedly took control of the port after a Mozambican naval force defending the vicinity ran out of ammunition.

A military source told VOA that a private South African military unit of the Dyck Advisory Group, which provides air support to the Mozambican government in combating insurgents, tried to join the battle. But its involvement was minimal, due to a helicopter refueling stop in Pemba, Cabo Delgados provincial capital.

I dont understand why [the towns of] Macomia, Mueda or even Palma were not used for the helicopter refueling, said the source, who has been embedded with the military in Cabo Delgados operations.

During the last battle, the insurgents sank one of the HV32 interceptor boats in the port that belonged to the Mozambican military, the source told VOA.

Eric Morier-Genoud, a Mozambique expert at Queen's University Belfast, says while it is not the first time that Mocimboa da Praia has fallen under the control of militants, the "difference is that the government has reinforcement and mercenaries, and they still lost."

"The insurgents said they wanted to stay at once and make it their capital," he told VOA.

Displaced people

Many residents of the affected areas in Cabo Delgado have sought refuge in the nearby province of Nampula.

Salome Said, 70, left Macomia when it was recently attacked by the insurgents.

Their intention was to kill me, she told VOA. One of them said, Leave her. She is an old woman. That was how I escaped. But my house was set on fire. I lost everything, and ran away from my village to find peace here in Nampula, she said.

Said now lives with her niece. She said the militants killed her 16-year-old grandson and kidnapped other young people, adding that being alive is a miracle.



There are about 10,000 displaced people, mostly women and children, from Cabo Delgado who now live in Nampula.

Caritas, a charity organization affiliated with the Catholic Church, has provided aid to the displaced families in Nampula.

Orlando Fausto, a bishop who works with Caritas, said his organization has supplied food and other essential needs.

Despite the difficult situation due to the pandemic, There are more people who are volunteering to make some contribution, Fausto told VOA.

Adina Suhele contributed to this report from Nampula, Mozambique.
(TNS)  Its official: With a unanimous Wednesday vote from the Seattle School Board, the states largest school district will begin the academic year remotely, for the most part.Eventually, some classes could occur outside: The remote learning plan passed with a wide-ranging amendment plan from School Board members that directs the superintendent to explore creating outdoor classes, and also reinforces teaching of ethnic studies, the state tribally developed curricula and Black studies. It also calls for expanding existing partnerships with organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club, which could potentially mean teachers having the option of visiting their students in those settings.But the districts plans are far from set. Seattle Public Schools (SPS) is still bargaining with the teachers union, the Seattle Education Association (SEA). These discussions will set the parameters for how teachers spend their time, and for the support the district will provide to them and families to succeed in an online learning environment. The state sets a minimum number of instructional hours that all districts must provide, but has allowed flexibility in what constitutes an instructional hour.The result of the negotiations will also play a crucial role in setting student schedules and what the school year calendar looks like. So, with just about 20 days before the school years Sept. 2 start, much is still up in the air.Putting these plans together before the end of collective bargaining seems like putting the cart before the horse, said board member Leslie Harris.The plan, which board members criticized last week for its lack of detail, passed by a vote of 7-0. On paper, the remote learning plan  a document drafted to fulfill a state requirement  did not give many insights into what learning would look like for the districts more than 50,000 kids in fall. Because of how early the state set requirements around districts fall plans, much of what the district submitted was related to safety precautions in a hybrid model of in-person and online schooling.A presentation last week set the general parameters: Students would spend about three hours a day on video chat, there will be no F grades, schools will have relaxed rules on late work, and some special-education students may be eligible for in-person instruction.This is a living document, and its subject to change, said Denise Juneau, SPS superintendent.Similar plans to start remotely have emerged in school districts across the state, with the exception of school systems located in a few small communities, such as Onalaska or Taholah. Health officials in all of Washington states top 10 most populous counties have advised against reopening school buildings for in-person instruction.The district provided partial or full answers to hundreds of questions posed by board members in the last two weeks that offer some more details, which are subject to bargaining. Some highlights:Child care, operated by outside providers, will be available at 68 different sites owned by the district.The district will add 25 more sites for meal distribution, for a total of 40.Daily attendance will be required, and taken through a variety of means, including through completion of assignments and presence in virtual classes.There will be a universal assessment for students to check on where they are academically.Tech support will be expanded for families, students and educators.If special education and other specialized services are offered in person, the district plans to provide it in two school buildings in each region of the city.By the end of September, every family will have been contacted by a school staff member to check in on student wellbeing and needs.The district is working on more ways to track student engagement on online learning platforms and Zoom. Staff also shared data from last spring on how many students logged into the districts virtual portal at least once between March and June. The data show older kids were significantly more engaged than younger students.Every student will have a device sometime in the fall, but not by the first day of school. The district will distribute more devices to elementary school students throughout September. All instructional staff will also receive a computer.Things could still changeFor the third summer in a row, bargaining between SEA and the district has crept into the final weeks of summer, leaving the city in a considerable amount of anxiety.This is my constant complaint every year. I feel like we wait until the last minute, said Rebecca Mongrain, a parent of two kids at North Beach Elementary School in Ballard. I feel its more important that we get this buttoned down. Its very frustrating to me.While the district has said some in-person special-education services would be available in the fall, and that reopening buildings for instruction would be a decision made with county health officers, SEA officials have proposed more specific requirements, according to a recent bargaining summary document from the union.Under the unions proposals, one-on-one services in person, such as special education, wouldnt be offered until King County sustains the following conditions for more than two weeks: fewer than 25 new coronavirus cases daily; a flat or decreasing hospitalization rate; and a percentage of positive virus tests averaging 5% daily, the maximum rate at which epidemiologists say reopening schools would be safe . Under the union proposal, hybrid learning for all students wouldnt occur until these conditions remain for close to three months.The question of how and whether to provide in-person services has spurred a heated and complicated debate around the country, splitting public opinion. Most the nations large school districts still have community transmission rates that are too high to reopen safely on a wide scale. Teachers unions, worried about risk to employees, are setting guardrails. Child care facilities have picked up many in-person education duties in the interim. And statements from from President Trump pressuring districts to reopen made a health-related question a political one, too.Some services proved difficult to deliver virtually, particularly for students with disabilities and English learners. Parents, also concerned about safety, are exhausted after a spring when they had to play teacher, and concerned about how little schooling their kids got in the spring.While many parents requested more live instruction, working parents, especially those of young kids, and students with disabilities, dont have many options for supervising their kids and making a living at the same time.They, and educators who are parents, are demanding more flexible scheduling options that dont adhere to a traditional early start, early finish model that schools follow. Examples of schedules from the district so far have used this model.The immediate needs of my family are taking precedence over this debate over reopening, said Jena Meagher, a teacher at Viewlands Elementary School, whose daughter, Kloe, attends Jane Addams Middle School, and receives special-education services. Her teaching schedule would overlap with her daughters school schedule, making it difficult for her to supervise or help.At the Wednesday meeting, Clover Codd, the district human resources chief, said the schedules would be flexible to school and student needs.The union is also asking that the district assign social workers, family support workers and a family advocate to each school; undertake a comprehensive assessment of technology needs for each family and supply more staff to assist with language interpretation for families whose primary language isnt English.
The Denmark Branch of the NPP has generously donated items to help the party fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The items included boxes of face masks and hand sanitizers.

The party acknowledges the effort by the Branch Chairman, Mr. Kennedy Adjei, and his executives for the donation.

The items will serve a very useful purpose for Party activities.

In a similar fashion, the US branch also donated cash GHC100,000 to the COVID-19 Trust Fund set up by the President to raise funds to combat the virus.

The party is most grateful to the branches for supporting it and the government in the fight against the pandemic and also encourages other branches to emulate the gesture.
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Soma Mondal's possible elevation to the top job at Steel Authority of India is a rare event, not just for the domestic industry, but for the global steel sector.

Mondal, who is currently the Director, Commercial at the steel major, has been recommended by the Public Enterprises Selection Board to be the next Chairperson of the company.

To be sure, one can't celebrate, yet. The recommendation has to be now approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. And even if it does get approved, it won't be before December, when the tenure of incumbent AK Chaudhary ends, that Mondal will take over the reign.

If she does, Mondal's appointment will be a key milestone. Mondal will be the first woman to occupy the corner office at SAIL. It will also be the first instance of a woman professional leading a steel company in India.

At present only two women head steel companies in India. Sminu Jindal of Jindal Saw and Rita Singh of Mesco. Jindal is from the OP Jindal family, and her father PR Jindal is the chairman of Jindal Saw. Singh's husband JK Singh had founded Mesco.

While Jindal and Singh are from the promoter families, Mondal's elevation at the top of a steel company is a first for a woman professional.

A veteran in the metals sector, Mondal had joined SAIL in 2017, moving from NALCO, where she was Director, Commercial. She had been with the aluminium maker from 1984, soon after completing electrical engineering from NIT, Rourkela.

The metals industry veteran's elevation, says Aruna Sharma, the former Secretary, Ministry of Steel, Government of India, is a sign of women increasingly becoming a part of the steel sector. "It is a recognition of women now actively being part of the shop floor of a steel company. There are many young women engineers and technicians whom one will see working on the shop floor of a steel company," Sharma, who herself broke the glass ceiling with her appointment at the Steel Ministry, told Moneycontrol.

Industry observers say women make up for about 20 percent of the workforce in the global steel industry. The percentage is lower in India. Among leading steelmakers, Tata Steel in 2019, said it planned to double the number of women employees to 10 percent by 2025.

Mondal's rise, Sharma reiterates, should be seen as of a "woman who has come to the top on merit. And not because she is a woman."

Global steel industry

It is difficult, if not impossible, to find a woman chief executive at any of the leading steelmakers globally.

"Except Martina Merz, CEO of thyssenkrupp, I haven't come across a women chief executive yet, at least in the bigger steel companies," says a senior executive who has been in the steel industry for over 30 years. "But there could be in the smaller ones," he added.

A search does throw up the name of Barbara Smith, Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer at Commercial Metals Co, a medium-size steelmaker based in Texas, US.

Interestingly, the mining industry has seen more women chief executives. Elizabeth Gains is the CEO of Australia's Fortescue Metals Group, and Marie Inkster is the chief executive of Canada's Lundin Mining.
SHENZHEN, China, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- CocoFax, an easy and secure online fax service, owned by CocoFax Technology Co., Ltd., is helping businesses manage fax messages remotely during the COVID-19.

Despite the mainstream adoption of email, instant chat, and the Internet as a whole, fax is still used by businesses for internal and external communication as it is formal, secure, and reliable. One of the major persisting drawbacks of faxing is the mandatory requirement of having a fax machine to be able to send and receive fax messages. This can be detrimental for businesses that rely on fax communication, especially with COVID-19 restrictions in place. That's where CocoFax's online fax services aim to streamline business operations.

CocoFax is a complete e-fax suite that works on the cloud. With CocoFax, businesses do not need fax machines to be installed in-house. They can send fax messages to anywhere in the world via email, Google Drive, computer, Mac or mobile phone.

How to Fax with CocoFax

To get started, all one needs is a CocoFax account. The company offers a free fax number with every account.

"CocoFax is a web app that can be accessed from a web browser. It allows users to send and receive messages on the cloud. Users need to compose a message and provide the recipient's fax number in the 'To' field. They can also attach documents in multiple formats. Next, they need to hit 'Send' to deliver the fax to the recipient who can receive it on their traditional fax machine," explained Bill Zhu, senior product officer, CocoFax.

In this unprecedented time of coronavirus, more and more businesses are forced to operate remotely. CocoFax's e-fax solution is the ultimate solution for remote faxing needs.

CocoFax Features

"CocoFax's innovation also includes 'Fax from Gmail.' With this feature, users can send fax messages from their Gmail account. The proprietary software converts the analog fax signal to a digital format that can be accessed on a web browser. The fax messages are received as TIFF format and CocoFax translates it to PDF for viewing and editing purposes," Bill further added.

CocoFax is completely safe and secure to use. It follows world-class security protocols. The entire transmission between employees and people outside the organization is encrypted end to end. The website is protected by 256-bit SSL certificate.

In addition to providing web-based services, CocoFax software can be installed on either a Windows or Macintosh machine. The team has also developed a Chrome plug-in that can be installed with a click of a button.

CocoFax is a paid tool starting from $12.99 per month, but the company also provides a 30-day free trial. The company is scheduled to release many more cloud-based features in the coming months to help businesses transition faster.

About CocoFax

CocoFax is a leading online fax software enterprise for remote work. To find out more about CocoFax's online fax services, visit https://cocofax.com/.

For media inquiries, contact [email protected].

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Floridas death toll from the coronavirus topped 9,000 Thursday, while its pandemic-buffeted economy led the nation in a drop in the number of new jobless claims.

The jobless claims are still historically high, as the state seeks to claw back economic activity still stunted by the continuing outbreak, and as schools around the state grapple with how to reopen classes safely.

Some 55,106 Floridians filed for unemployment benefits last week, federal figures released Thursday show, a decline of 23,180 claims from the previous week  the biggest drop of any state. By comparison, at the same time in August 2019, there were 5,978 new jobless claims in Florida.

Ross Grahams Miami-based company is actually expanding. The cocktail manufacturer hired four new employees over the past month after an unprecedented spike in online sales during the pandemic through home delivery while bars remain shuttered. That was a shift for Miami Cocktail from mostly in-store sales at specialty grocers.

Weve obviously had to pivot like everyone else and adjust our business, Graham said. The biggest uptick and pleasant surprise has been that online sales boost ... it just continues to grow so thats been exciting.

Miami Cocktail had a 2,900% uptick in online sales during the second quarter of 2020, compared to the same time last year. Theyre even launching in the United Kingdom next week.

Nationally, the number of laid-off workers applying for unemployment aid fell below 1 million last week for the first time since the pandemic intensified five months ago. The Labor Department said applications fell to 963,000, the second straight drop, from 1.2 million the previous week.

Florida reported 149 new deaths from COVID-19 Thursday, bringing its total to 9,047 and its average in daily reported deaths over the past week to 168. That compares with 220 for Texas over the past week and 760 for New York at the peak of its outbreak in April.

While deaths have mounted dramatically over the past couple of weeks, the pandemic-induced crunch at hospitals has been easing since three weeks ago and the states daily increases in confirmed cases have decelerated.

The number of patients treated in Florida hospitals for the disease has gone from a peak of more than 9,500 down to 6,333 in the late morning Thursday.

Meanwhile, in Manatee County on Floridas Gulf Coast, several employees at a Florida high school are quarantining for 14 days after being exposed to the coronavirus on campus.

Using contact tracing, the Manatee County school district and the Florida Department of Health in Manatee County found that a number of school employees had direct exposure to the infected person.

Infections also have disrupted early voting for Floridas primary election on Tuesday. Charlotte County Supervisor of Elections Paul Stamoulis said Thursday that a poll worker at the countys Punta Gorda early voting site tested positive.

We were notified yesterday around noon and immediately shut the location down, wrote Stamoulis in an email.

Punta Gorda is on Floridas Gulf Coast, about an hour and a half south of Tampa.

______

Schneider reported from Orlando, Florida.
If you want to know who really controls Tyro Payments Limited (ASX:TYR), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time. I quite like to see at least a little bit of insider ownership. As Charlie Munger said 'Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome.

With a market capitalization of AU$1.6b, Tyro Payments is a decent size, so it is probably on the radar of institutional investors. Taking a look at our data on the ownership groups (below), it's seems that institutions are noticeable on the share registry. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholder can tell us about Tyro Payments.

View our latest analysis for Tyro Payments

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Tyro Payments?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

Tyro Payments already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone, since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Tyro Payments's historic earnings and revenue, below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Tyro Payments is not owned by hedge funds. TDM Growth Partners is currently the company's largest shareholder with 13% of shares outstanding. Michael Cannon-Brookes is the second largest shareholder owning 13% of common stock, and Internet Fund III Pte. Ltd holds about 7.9% of the company stock.

Story continues

We also observed that the top 6 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Tyro Payments

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Tyro Payments Limited. It is very interesting to see that insiders have a meaningful AU$587m stake in this AU$1.6b business. Most would say this shows a good degree of alignment with shareholders, especially in a company of this size. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public holds a 19% stake in TYR. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 16%, of the company's shares. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Tyro Payments that you should be aware of before investing here.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.



Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 13)  Around 1,000 healthy Filipinos will receive the first doses of Russia's coronavirus vaccine by October after the Philippines sealed the deal with the manufacturers of "Sputnik V."

Dr. Jaime Montoya, the executive director of Department of Science and Technology Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD), on Wednesday shared details about their first meeting with the manufacturers and scientists who developed the Russian vaccine.

In what the official described as a "productive" meeting, Moscow-based Gamaleya Institute presented their findings from the Phase 1 and 2 of the clinical trial. During the testing period, 76 people were inoculated and they did not react with any alarming side effect, Montoya relayed.

"They have shown that it was effective. It produced sufficient antibodies in the people that were given the vaccine. It was safe, only minor adverse effects such as fever for a few days after the injection," he told CNN Philippines.

Russia approved and registered a vaccine for COVID-19 on Tuesday, allowing limited use.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque confirmed the Philippines will join the Phase 3 of the medical research, which will be fully funded by Russia. This critical stage is where thousands of patients have to be vaccinated to test its safety and efficacy. It is also the final stage before approval for mass rollout in Russia. This part of the research will be simultaneously conducted with Russia from October 2020 to March 2021.

Only healthy Filipinos may volunteer to join the clinical trials to determine if they can build the immunity for the coronavirus once they have received the vaccine. Around 1,000 people will be randomly selected from areas with high COVID-19 transmission, Montoya added.

The DOST official earlier said it's better for the Philippines to participate in the Phase 3 because we can find out how Filipinos will respond to the drug.

Once all data have been collated from the three phases of the clinical trial, Russia's findings will be submitted to the Philippines' Food and Drug Administration for review and approval before it can be used by Filipinos. Once proven to be safe and effective, the government targets the product registration of "Sputnik V" by April 2021.

President Rodrigo Duterte, who volunteered to be the first person to be injected with Russia's vaccine, may be vaccinated by May 1, 2021.
U.S. President Donald Trump Wednesday called Senator Kamala Harris, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's running mate, "the kind of opponent everyone dreams of."

"Kamala Harris started strong in the Democrat Primaries, and finished weak, ultimately fleeing the race with almost zero support," the president said on Twitter.

After Harris' selection was announced Tuesday, Trump said he was surprised she was Biden's pick for vice president and called Harris' own run for the presidency a failure. "I was more surprised than anything else because she did so poorly... in the primaries," Trump said Tuesday at a White House news conference.

Trump accused Harris of being "extraordinarily nasty" to then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as she questioned him about sexual misconduct accusations at his 2018 confirmation hearing. "I thought she was the meanest, the most horrible, most disrespectful of anybody in the U.S. Senate," he said.

Trump also accused Harris of being "very, very nasty" and "very disrespectful" to Biden during a Democratic primary debate last year and tried to paint her as being too far to the left, maintaining she is "the most liberal person in the U.S. Senate."

Trump's disparagement of Harris is not unlike his criticism of Hillary Clinton, the first woman to seek the presidency in a major party in the 2016 election. Trump called Clinton "nasty" during the campaign and retweeted a post earlier this year that called Clinton a "skank."

His criticism of Harris comes after he and his daughter, Ivanka, a senior White House adviser, made multiple donations to Harris' campaign for attorney general in the state of California between 2011 and 2014, according to the California Secretary of State' office.

When a reporter asked about the donations, Trump did not respond. But Trump campaign spokeswoman Katrina Pierson said Trump donated to both Democratic and Republican candidates "as a private businessman."


As many as 30 cows and calves allegedly subjected to cruelty were found dead at two different places in the past 24 hours in Madhya Pradesh, said police.

Around 24 cows and calves were being carried in a container truck on a national highway when it was intercepted at Hoshangabad, 70 kilometres south of Bhopal, on Tuesday night. In the other incident, six cows, locked in a room for more than 3 days, were found dead in a village in Shivpuri district, 312 kilometres north of Bhopal, on Tuesday evening, according to police.

The container truck was on its way from Nagpur side when it stopped at Sulia fatak in Hoshangabad city on Tuesday night. When some local people saw a huge quantity of urine mixed with cow dung flowing out of the container, they informed the police about the same. When a police team reached there, the truck driver fled leaving behind the truck, according to the police.

Also read: Locked in a room, six cows starve to death in Madhya Pradesh

The police team found two registration numbers fixed on the truck- one in the front and the other on the rear side belonging to Haryana and Maharashtra. The police personnel opened the container to find that there were at least 63 cows and calves divided in two compartments of the container. Twenty four of the cows and calves were found dead while the remaining were rescued and were sent to the local Krishi Upaj Mandi.

Hoshangabad city police station in-charge SS Chouhan said, An FIR under MP Cow Progeny Slaughter Prevention Act and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act has been lodged against unidentified persons. The truck has two registration numbers plates. We are also looking into this. An investigation is going on.

In Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh, another case was registered under these two laws against seven residents of Gochoni village when six cows were found dead, locked in a room in an abandoned building at the village on Tuesday evening. The cows died of suffocation and starvation. The accused include Asharam Lodhi, Brijesh Lodhi, Nathuram Lodhi and four others who are absconding, said the police.

Shivpuri collector Anugraha P ordered an inquiry in the matter.

Shivpuri superintendent of police (SP), Rajesh Chandel said, On late Tuesday evening, a watchman (chowkidar) of Gochoni village informed the police at Himmatpur outpost about a foul smell emanating from a room in an abandoned building in the village. When the police personnel reached the place and broke open the room, as many as 12 cows were found in unconscious state. The room had no ventilation.

The police team called a team of veterinary doctors and they informed the team that six cows had died. The remaining six were moved to a veterinary hospital, he added.

In the investigation, it was found that the accused had locked the cows on Sunday to protect their crops from the animals. They didnt even provide any food or water to the cows which resulted in the death of the six cows, he added.

The police are investigating the matter and trying to nab the accused, said the SP.
The FBI will lend its expertise to the investigators probing the explosion that killed at least 172 people in Beirut last week, US Undersecretary for Political Affairs David Hale said today in the Lebanese capital.

Hale, the highest ranking US official to visit Beirut since the blast, said the FBI would be joining Lebanese and foreign investigators at the invitation of the Lebanese government.

Im with you. I stand with you, my government does, and the American people do, the senior diplomat said while touring the destruction in east Beiruts Gemmayze neighborhood.

Why it matters: Lebanese officials are running their own investigation and have taken a number of port and customs officials into custody for questioning. But a chorus of foreign governments have called for a more credible, independent probe of the blast, which Lebanese authorities say was caused by some 2,700 tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate stored unsafely at Beiruts port since 2014.

An outside investigation is also a leading demand of the protesters who have taken to Beiruts streets in recent days, most of whom blame long-running government negligence and corruption for the blast. Under growing public pressure, Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab and his ministers resigned Monday, but will stay on in a caretaker role until a new government is formed.

Whats next: During his three-day trip to the small Mediterranean country, Hale will push for structural economic and political reforms, as well introducing widespread state control through functioning institutions, per a statement from the US Embassy in Beirut.

His call for reform echoed that of other donor governments who say future aid to Lebanon should be tied to lasting political change. The United States announced last week it was sending over $17 million in initial relief aid to Lebanon and that announcements of additional assistance were to be expected.

Know more: Fehim Tastekin explains why Lebanon wont be as welcoming of Turkeys role in the crisis as it was of Frances Emmanuel Macron. Rina Bassist provides a look at how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is leveraging the Beirut crisis to go after rival Hezbollah.
Some Boerne ISD students had their first day of on-campus learning Wednesday, after months away from the classroom due to COVID-19.

Of the district's 9,800 students, 77 percent are attending school in person, according to district spokesman Bryan Benway.

Boerne ISD, which has two campuses in Bexar County, said it has protocols in place to help ensure students' safety, including plexiglass barriers between desks, scheduled times for hand sanitation during the day, and face mask implementation.

Last month, the San Antonio Metropolitan Health Department recommend schools offer virtual learning only until at least Sept. 7. However, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that individual districts, not health officials, have the authority to determine campus openings, paving the way for school districts like Boerne to open as they please.

Scroll down to see what the first day of school looked like for Boerne ISD students.
At least three citizens of Ukraine have already been detained in Belarus during political turmoil.

Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba has called on Ukrainian citizens not to travel to Belarus because of the difficult social and political situation there.

"Since the situation in Belarus remains tense, the Foreign Ministry yesterday issued a travel alert for citizens who are in Belarus now, asking them to exercise increased caution, avoid crowded places, not to take part in rallies and protests, follow the news and recommendations of local authorities," Kuleba said at a briefing in Kyiv on August 13.

Read alsoTwo detained human rights activists from Ukraine facing criminal charges in Belarus

According to him, earlier Ukrainians had also been advised to be cautious in Belarus, but now they are urged not to travel there.

"Over the situation around Kostiantyn Reutski, Yevhen Vasylyev and Oksana Alioshyna [the citizens of Ukraine detained in Belarus], the Foreign Ministry is issuing new recommendations to citizens of Ukraine today, asking them to refrain from traveling to the Republic of Belarus until the situation in that country stabilizes and subsequent announcements follow," he said.

Kuleba also asked to heed the ministry's recommendations, explaining that this would help avoid "very difficult situations."

Protests in Belarus: What is happening?
By taking space today, were not only reclaiming the narrative of August 12, but were reclaiming the narrative of our city, Bryant said.

When politicians and entertainers speak about Charlottesville, theyre taking about a weekend and not the community, she said. Bryant pointed to issues such as the disproportionate stop-and-frisk and arrest rates of Black people in the city and the demolition of Vinegar Hill.

Until were able to fully address those deeper issues, were going to continue to have this racial tension that spills over into the streets and, which is how we get situations like the August attacks, Bryant said.

Bryant said having police near the event could create a dangerous atmosphere.

In a space like this, where were trying to reclaim the narrative and center those places, having police in that space is a dangerous thing for Black people, Bryant said. If were really about community, really about being welcoming for everyone, we have to respect those boundaries.
The Islamic Republic of Iran supports stability and security in Lebanon, Chairman of the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Mojtaba Zonnouri said on Wednesday, Trend reports citing IRNA.

The high-ranking diplomat made the remarks in a meeting with Lebanese Ambassador to Iran Hassan Abbas.

"Boosting stability and security in Lebanon will help to the security in the regional and global developments," he added.

Commenting on the recent blast in Lebanon, he extended his condolences to the ambassador, the government and the families of survivors of the tragic incident.

The current threats need to become opportunities, he said, adding that strengthening national unity after the disaster is necessary.

He underlined that global humanitarian assistance is needed in the current situation in Beirut, noting that some countries must not take advantage of the situation in the form of help.

Lebanon's ambassador to Iran Hassan Abbas, for his part, stated that Iran has always been a friend and brother for the Lebanese nation and has played an important role in the region.

Elsewhere in his remarks, he thanked Iran for dispatching medical and health aid to Lebanon.
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Linkedin (Reuters) Zurich  Thu, August 13, 2020 16:05 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066dc89f5 2 News Tourist,accident,switzerland,canyoning Free

Three Spanish tourists have died and a fourth is missing after canyoning in a river gorge in northern Switzerland.

The four men, who have not been identified, went missing in the Parlitobel Gorge in the canton of St. Gallen just before 1700 GMT on Wednesday.

The accident was reminiscent of a tragedy two decades ago in the Swiss mountains that killed 21 people.

The Spanish tourists were reported missing after a violent thunderstorm. Three were found dead during the night; the fourth has not been found, police said. Police did not say where in Spain they were from.

"They were together on a canyoning tour in the Parlitobel gorge and were probably surprised by the storm," St. Gallen police said.

Read also: Teen who went skydiving for first time dies with instructor after parachute failed

Police said the four men were not participating in a guided tour but had struck out on their own. A rescue effort was launched, but weather halted the search on Wednesday before it was resumed on Thursday morning.

Canyoning is traveling through canyons and gorges by a variety of techniques -- walking, climbing, jumping, abseiling and swimming. The area where the Spaniards were canyoning is well-known; the local region's tourist web site advertises it, describing "multiple worthwhile canyoning tours."

The activity is popular in Switzerland, but carries risks, particularly in the Alps where the weather can turn quickly and fill narrow gorges with torrents of water.

In July 1999, 21 people, most of them Australians, were killed during a guided canyoning tour in the Bernese Oberland when they were swept up after sudden rain that rushed into the gorge they were exploring.

Topics : Tourist accident switzerland canyoning
Following a report by Al Sumaria that an explosion hit a U.S.-led international coalition convoy on Wednesday in Iraq, the U.S. Central Command said it is looking into reports on the explosion and cannot confirm whether an attack took place.



"We are looking into this report," the spokesperson said. "At this time, we have no confirmation of the event."



Earlier in the day, Al Sumaria reported, citing security sources, that a logistical support convoy of the US-led coalition column was hit by an explosion near the southern Iraqi town of Batha.



"An explosive device exploded as a convoy of logistical support for the international coalition on the highway near the Al Batha west of Nasiriyah", said Al Sumaria, quoting security media cell.



According to the report, the bombing targeted a coalition logistical support convoy. There were no injuries reported, but one vehicle from the column was burned.



Security forces have reportedly cordoned off the scene and opened an investigation into the incident.



Earlier on Tuesday, reports emerged that an Iraqi contractor convoy was attacked near the Jraischan border crossing between Iraq and Kuwait, but later dismissed by the Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) as "false".
Those nasty cigarette butts dont just trash up the beach; they also constitute the world's biggest source of ocean trash, according to several environmental and anti-smoking groups.

The Cigarette Butt Pollution Project warns that Cigarette butt waste damages habitat, landscapes and ecosystems; ignites destructive, deadly fires; poisons wildlife and children; consumes tax dollars for cleanup and disposal. A butt is made from cellulose acetate, a form of plastic that never biodegrades, and it can do the same kind of damage to ocean life  and land life  as plastic straws and plastic bags.

So were delighted that the Charleston chapter of the Surfrider Foundation is working to encourage smokers to stop flicking and smashing cigarette butts into the sand. As The Post and Couriers Shamira McCray reports, the nonprofit group, which is dedicated to the protection of oceans and beaches, launched a "Hold On to Your Butt" campaign at Folly Beach last week. The campaign features a mural painted by local artists, a short film, educational signs, portable ashtrays that businesses can distribute to their patrons and 20 cigarette butt receptacles placed near businesses and the beachs main access points.

Yet for all the environmental damage caused by a beach full of cigarette butts, not to mention the potential for making our beaches seem less alluring to tourists, those butts are merely the residue of a bigger problem. Even if the new campaign were 100% effective  even if we persuaded all the smokers on the beach to dispose properly of their cigarettes  wed still have smokers on the beach.

Youve probably been there: Youre walking along the beach, and suddenly you find yourself enveloped in a cloud of smoke as you pass by a clutch of smokers. Or worse, youre building sand castles with your children, or lounging on a chaise, and a smoker sits down just upwind from you.

Its not just annoying. The toxic cloud of second-hand smoke is carcinogenic. In much larger doses than youre likely to ingest walking past a smoker, to be sure, but still  death by a thousand breaths.

We wouldnt have to worry about cigarette butts on the beach if people werent smoking on the beach. Actually, we wouldnt have to worry about cigarette butts anywhere if people werent smoking, period, and getting to that place needs to be our goal, through programs to help people stop smoking  and, better still, to deter them from starting in the first place.

But nicotine is one of the most addictive drugs on the planet, so while we work on that, we should concentrate on outlawing smoking on the beach. The Isle of Palms and Sullivan's Island both have banned smoking on the beach; Folly Beach should join them, as should other beach communities that arent already smoke-free.

Wide-open spaces do tend to disperse cigarette smoke, but just like the coronavirus, it can still sicken us, particularly on crowded beaches. So inland communities that havent already done so  and, thankfully, more and more have  should extend their indoor smoking bans to outdoor public spaces. Those communities that dont have even indoor smoking bans should adopt them, if only to protect employees from smoking the same way our laws protect them from other workplace hazards.

But second-hand smoke knows no jurisdiction, so what we really need is for the Legislature to toughen up South Carolina's anemic smoking laws. And again like COVID-19, the need is akin to the need for the governor to order a statewide mask mandate, only this one will be around long after we've packed away our masks.
The event includes a slew of lease offers, employee pricing and MSRP discounts on new Chevy, Buick and GMC models.

Carl Black Orlando, a dealership serving the entire region of central Florida, is currently hosting an event theyve dubbed their Summer Upgrade Event. The event includes a slew of lease offers, employee pricing and MSRP discounts on new Chevy, Buick and GMC models. Those interested in taking advantage of these offers should hurry in, as delivery must be taken by Aug. 31.

Specials belonging to the Summer Upgrade Event at Carl Black Orlando include:



Up to $12,000 off the MSRP of the 2020 GMC Yukon and 2020 GMC Yukon XL, along with employee pricing on all models.

Sign and drive a 2020 GMC Acadia Denali for $459 per month, along with employee pricing on all models.

Sign and drive a 2020 GMC Terrain SLE for $275 per month, along with employee pricing on all models.

Sign and drive a 2020 Buick Encore 1SB for $229 per month, along with employee pricing on all models.

Sign and drive a 2020 Buick Enclave 1SL for $339 per month, along with employee pricing on all models.

Sign and drive a 2020 Buick Encore GX 1SB for $279 per month, along with employee pricing on all models.

Sign and drive a 2020 Chevy Equinox LS for $299 per month, or purchase for $20,990.

Sign and drive a 2020 Chevy Trax LT for $255 per month, or purchase for $18,990.

Get up to $10,000 off the MSRP of the 2020 Chevy Tahoe and 2020 Chevy Suburban.

Those interested in the offers listed above can find more information at the Carl Black Orlando website (http://www.carlblackoforlando.com). Individuals may also contact the dealership by phone with a call to 888-502-0763. Finally, those who wear masks and practice responsible social distancing procedures may head to the dealership location itself at 11500 E. Colonial Drive, Orlando.
As the race towards a coronavirus vaccine reaches the finishing line, governments are looking at the next concern -- procurement and distribution. In India, the expert committee responsible for planning the roadmap has decided that the potential COVID-19 vaccine would be procured by the Centre. The panel, National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19, also decided on Wednesday that each consignment would be tracked in real time till the delivery is complete in order to ensure that it reaches the ones who need it the most.

"The Committee also advised all the States not to chart separate pathways of procurement," stated a health ministry statement. Niti Aayog member (health) VK Paul headed the first meeting of the panel that discussed the maintenance of a cold chain during distribution and storage.

"The expert group discussed the financial resources required for procurement of COVID-19 vaccine and various options of financing the same. Available options in terms of delivery platforms, cold chain and associated infrastructure for roll out of COVID-19 vaccination were also taken up. Further, strategy and follow-up action on all possible scenarios to ensure equitable and transparent delivery of vaccine was deliberated upon," stated the ministry.

The high-level panel discussed that India would support its key neighbour and development partners for COVID-19 vaccine. "The expert group discussed that India will leverage domestic vaccine manufacturing capacity and will also engage with all international players for early delivery of vaccines not only in India but also in low and middle income countries," it said.

India is part of the COVAX platform of the vaccine alliance Gavi, WHO and CEPI and is likely to receive vaccines that could cover 20 per cent of its population by end of 2021. Serum Institute of India that is manufacturing the Oxford University vaccine along with Novavax is conducting trials for the former candidate. It is also likely to sign a deal with the government for vaccine delivery in the country.

Meanwhile, Russia on Tuesday announced the launch of its first coronavirus vaccine. Congratulating the researchers and the nation, President Vladimir Putin said one of his daughters has been administered a vaccine shot.

Also read: COVID-19 vaccine: What is COVAX Facility and why does WHO want countries to join it?

Also read: Russia names first COVID-19 vaccine 'Sputnik V' in reference to space race
Korea needs to reconsider reckless construction of solar power plants



A heated debate is going on over recent landslides caused by the long rainy season. According to the Korea Forest Service, 1,100 large and small landslides occurred during this monsoon season. That included 12 sites where solar photovoltaic facilities had been installed.



Opposition parties, including the United Future Party, called for a National Assembly investigations into the matter. They claim that the landslides were the result of solar power plants mushrooming in the mountains as part of the Moon Jae-in administration's energy policy to phase out nuclear power stations. However, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy pushed back against the criticism, noting that the 12 accounted for only 0.1 percent of the 12,721 solar power facilities nationwide.



Solar power firms make profits based on the total number of Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) they possess and the Supply Marginal Price (SMP). However, the average REC price has fallen recently to the mid-40,000 won ($33) range, marking a drop of nearly 40 percent from 75,000 won in January last year. The SMP has also declined from 84 won per kWh this past January to 70 won in May, and 60 won currently. These sharply pulled down the profitability of solar farm operators, which had started the new business at the behest of the government but found it reduced to being a mere nuisance.



The construction cost of solar stations also plunged from 6.5 billion won per megawatt in 2006 to 1.2 billion won recently. The sharp fall was not due to technological progress but a dumping offensives by Chinese suppliers. Korean equipment makers are no match for their Chinese competitors armed with competitive prices. As a result, made-in-China parts and components are dominating domestic solar power plants. One has to ask who benefits from Korea building solar power stations.



Because of the rapidly aggravating profitability, Korean solar power firms' existence is now at risk. Moreover, critics are pointing to solar farms as the main culprits behind the landslides. The more the nation builds solar stations, the fatter the pockets of Chinese firms grow. All this makes one wonder once again: Why does the Moon administration adhere to its unreasonable energy policy so excessively?




Seventy-one people have tested positive for COVID-19 after attending an event at a winery in northwestern Ohio as experts raise alarm about such gatherings fueling the rampant spread of the virus in rural Midwestern communities.

Kati Finn and six of her girlfriends were among the people who are believed to have contracted the virus at the event at Leisure Time Winery in Napoleon, where they played a game called 'Name That Tune' with about 90 other guests.

Finn, a middle-school secretary from Defiance, Ohio, said she was shocked that all of her friends fell ill after the gathering, where she said everyone practiced social distancing and servers wore masks and gloves.

'It's insane to me that we all got COVID-19 and yet everything seemed so safe there,' she told the Wall Street Journal this week.

Officials said infections linked to the event tripled the total number of cases in Henry County, helping give the community of just 28,000 residents Ohio's highest rate of cases per capita in late July.

Henry County Health Commissioner Mark Adams said officials are still tracing secondary infections among relatives of the winery patrons, and so far about a dozen have been identified.

The winery outbreak represents a growing trend in rural communities that are seeing rapid growth in case counts driven by community contact.

Seventy-one people tested positive for COVID-19 after attending an event the Leisure Time Winery (pictured) in Napoleon, Ohio, last month. As local officials continue tracing possible secondary infections from that event, experts are raising alarm that similar gatherings are fueling a rapid rise in coronavirus cases across rural parts of the Midwest

Kati Finn (pictured) and six of her girlfriends were among the people who are believed to have contracted the virus at the event at Leisure Time Winery. Finn said she was shocked by the outbreak because everyone was practicing social distancing

In the first few months of the coronavirus pandemic, the rural areas typically saw very few coronavirus cases, with most outbreaks linked to hotspots such as meatpacking plants, prisons and nursing homes.

The trend of community contact transmission that's emerged in previously spared areas in recent weeks has caused concern among local health officials who say that kind of spread is much more difficult to trace and contain.

Across Ohio, Missouri, Wisconsin and Illinois, nonmetropolitan areas are seeing higher weekly changes in COVID-19 cases that densely-populated metro areas, according to data from Johns Hopkins.

Officials believe the accelerated spread in rural areas is driven by a combination of pandemic fatigue, complacency and the heightened temptation to resume summer social activities in the wake of lockdowns.

In Ohio, new cases have dropped by 14 percent over the past two weeks, but several smaller counties including Champaign, Madison, Montgomery and Shelby are reporting some of the highest rates of new infections.

Officials believe the accelerated spread in rural areas is driven by a combination of pandemic fatigue, complacency and the heightened temptation to resume summer social activities in the wake of lockdowns. Pictured: Mask-less Trump supporters wait for the president's arrival at an event in Clyde, Ohio, on August 6

In Ohio, new cases have dropped by 14 percent over the past two weeks, but several smaller counties including Champaign, Madison, Montgomery and Shelby are reporting some of the highest rates of new infections. The map above shows counties by case count, ranging from gray for the smallest number and dark blue for the largest number

In Missouri, rural cases began to outpace those in bigger cities in late July as smaller counties started to see significant increases. The graph above shows the seven day percentage increase in each Missouri county, with some of the highest rates shown in rural counties

In Missouri, rural cases began to outpace those in bigger cities in late July as smaller counties started to see significant increases.

For example, Ozark and Hickory counties, which each have fewer than 10,000 residents, now have some of the state's biggest percentage increases in infections in the last week.

Those counties were the last two counties without a single coronavirus case until mid-June.

In the past week Ozark's case count nearly doubled from eight to 15, while Hickory's grew from 23 to 33.

'For us in Missouri, this geographic spread and the lack of institutional outbreaks is really notable,' Chris Prener, an assistant professor of sociology at Saint Louis University, told WSJ.

A similar trend has emerged in rural counties in Illinois, including Cass, Iroquis, Coles and Saline.

In Wisconsin, case rates in several rural counties are now on par with those in metropolitan areas and appear to be on track to surpass them.

Rural counties in Illinois - including Cass, Iroquis, Coles and Saline - have started to see higher rates of coronavirus. The map above shows counties with high rates in yellow

In Wisconsin, case rates in several rural counties are now on par with those in metropolitan areas. The map above shows that the majority of counties in the state are considered high risk

Other states in the Midwest, including Iowa and Kansas, have continued to see significantly higher infection rates in cities than in rural areas.

Total cases and rates of infection across the Midwest remain well below states in the Sunbelt region from Arizona to Florida.

Overall the number of daily new cases has continued to drop nationwide in recent weeks, with more than 5.2million confirmed as of Wednesday.

The US reported 1,499 fatalities on Wednesday - the highest number of daily new deaths since mid-May. In total, more than 166,000 deaths have been reported nationwide.
[August 12, 2020] Technomic revises foodservice industry forecasts reflecting sales growth of 21% in 2021 after significant decline in 2020 CHICAGO, Aug. 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Technomic has revised its forecasts for the remainder of 2020 and into 2021 as the pandemic continues to disrupt the foodservice industry. This data is presented using three scenarios: Best Case, Middle Case and Worst Case. After a dramatic dip in sales in 2020, Technomic's Middle Case scenario predicts that the industry will grow by 21% next year but sales are expected to still be down 11% from 2019 industry sales levels. Key findings from the updated release include: Depending on scenario, the industry is expected to lose anywhere from $250 billion to almost $300 billion in sales this year compared to 2019

to almost in sales this year compared to 2019 Quick service is among the segments performing the best, while full-service restaurants, bars, business and industry, travel and leisure, and education are struggling

Industry prospects going forward are tied directly to medical advances related to COVID-19, such as a vaccine or advanced therapies as well as underlying economic recovery "Few industries have felt the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic quite like foodservice," explains Joe Pawlak, managing principal at Technomic. "Restrictions are wreaking havoc, especially on the segments that depend upon on-premise consumption. What we are seeing is continued decline for the remainder of the year but aggressive growth in 2021. However, it will still take longer to fully bounce back, and we'll be updating our forecasts as circumstances continue to shift and evolve." These forecasts and future updates are available to Technomic clients who are either members of the Foodservice Planning Program or subscribers of Ignie Company. Learn more about Technomic's offerings at technomic.com.

Contacts: Press inquiries: Joe Pawlak, (312) 506-3940, jpawlak@technomic.com

Purchasing details: Patrick Noone, (312) 506-3852, pnoone@technomic.com About Technomic Technomic, Inc., a Winsight company, was founded as a management consulting firm in 1966. Since then, Technomic's services have grown to encompass cloud-based B2B research tools, consumer and menu trend tracking, as well as other leading strategic research and analytic capabilities, to prioritize and size business opportunities. Our clients include food manufacturers and distributors, restaurants, retailers and multiple other business verticals aligned with the food industry that are looking to make informed decisions to support their business growth. Visit Technomic at www.technomic.com. About Winsight LLC Winsight LLC is a business-to-business information company serving the restaurant and noncommercial foodservice, convenience and petroleum retailing and grocery industries. Winsight provides research and analytics, branding solutions, face-to-face opportunities, lead generation initiatives, and content marketing services through products including subscription data products, reports, research tools, research programs, fully custom studies, conferences, custom marketing services, meetings, print and digital trade media. To learn more, visit www.winsightmedia.com

Winsight LLC is a portfolio company of Pamlico Capital. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/technomic-revises-foodservice-industry-forecasts-reflecting-sales-growth-of-21-in-2021-after-significant-decline-in-2020-301111184.html SOURCE Technomic

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Election 2020 Myanmars Ruling Party to Contest All Seats in Conflict-Torn Rakhine State in November Election

The NLD office in Taungup Township in Rakhine State / National League for Democracy - Rakhine State

SITTWE, Rakhine StateThe National League for Democracy (NLD) will contest all the seats up for grabs in Rakhine State in Novembers general election, according to party leaders.

Previously, it appeared the party would not be able to field candidates in some townships in northern Rakhine, but some party members put themselves forward at the last minute, so the party can now contest all the constituencies in the state, said U Soe Lay, vice chairman of the NLDs Rakhine chapter.

We have submitted candidacy applications to the election commission. We will field candidates for all 45 seats including ethnic minister posts, U Soe Lay told The Irrawaddy.

He declined to say how many seats the party thinks it will be able to secure in Rakhine State.

U Soe Lay admitted the party faces certain challenges, as local people have a negative view of the NLD government due to the ongoing conflict between government troops and the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic rebel group that enjoys popular support among Rakhine people, especially in northern Rakhine.

In the 2015 general election, the NLD did not win a single seat in northern Rakhine, but it saw success in the southern part of the state, securing a seat in the Upper House, four seats in the Lower House and nine seats in the Rakhine State parliament, including the Chin ethnic affairs minister position.

The Arakan National Partythe result of a merger between the Arakan League for Democracy (ALD) and the Rakhine Nationalities Development Partywon the most seats in the last election. But this year, there will be at least three rival Rakhine parties, as a group left the ANP and re-established the ALD, and another group of ANP members left to form a new party known as the Arakan Front Party, which is led by the son of imprisoned politician Dr. Aye Maung.

NLD Central Information Unit secretary Monywa Aung Shin admitted that the party is unlikely to repeat its 2015 victory in Rakhine this time.

At first, the party considered not fielding candidates in some constituencies in Rakhine. Then we decided to run for all the seats. It is difficult to say how many seats we will win. It is likely we will have to struggle in all regions including Rakhine in this years election, he told The Irrawaddy.

Due to the current political landscape, public interest in the general election has declined, even in townships in southern Rakhine like Thandwe, Taungup and Gwa, according to local residents.

Public interest in the election is low. There is active fighting on the other side [in northern Rakhine], and there are people being detained on this side. So, people dont want to get involved in politics. Most of the people only care about their livelihoods, said Thandwe resident Daw Kay Zin Oo.

The Union Election Commission has said the general election will be held on Nov. 8, and has put initial voter lists on display in wards and villages. In northern Rakhine, however, voter lists still cannot be posted in many villages due to instability in those areas, while many locals have shown little interest in checking the voter lists.

A total of 386 candidates from 13 political parties as well as independent candidates have registered to run in the election in Rakhine.

The Rakhine State Election Sub-commission says it plans to open around 2,600 polling stations in Rakhine, which has some 1.64 million eligible voters.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko

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An association of travel agents has urged the West Bengal government to reconsider its decision to suspend passenger flights to the eastern metropolis from six cities with high prevalence of COVID-19 cases till August 31. The embargo on the arrival of flights to Kolkata airport from Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Nagpur and Ahmedabad was first imposed for a period of 14 days from July 6. It was initially extended till July 31, and then subsequently to August 15.

The restriction was further extended till August 31. In a letter to state Home Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay, the eastern chapter of the Travel Agents' Federation of India said that residents of West Bengal, stranded in six cities, and the business travellers will be benefited if the direct flight services resume.

"We seek your approval to restart the operations as per our state's SOP (standard operating procedure)," Travel Agents' Federation of India, East, Chairman Anil Punjabi said in the letter. The association also proposed the introduction of Rapid Antigen Test for all passengers at the airport.

"This is not the time for travelling abroad. Flights carrying stranded persons, students and businessmen from other parts of the country can function now," Punjabi told PTI. Soliciting the state government's support for restructuring the travel and tourism industry, the association said, "We need to keep on updating our policies as we have done with containment zones and resumption of international charter flight operations."

Domestic flights to various tourist places can gradually be introduced when the present situation improves, he said.

Also read: Kerala plane crash: Air India Express says 85 injured passengers discharged from hospitals
Afghanistan is becoming the Balkans of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and there is almost no one of Otto von Bismarcks sagacity and vision to prevent the place from blowing up and damaging the neighbourhood.

April 2021 is the last month of the American and allied troops occupation of Afghanistan and there is little likelihood of a change of plans regardless of whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden wins the US presidential elections in November.

Countries sharing a border with Afghanistan, which include the Central Asian states, Iran, Pakistan and China, have an equal stake in keeping the situation from blowing up, as do countries and big powers that dont like the United States, Russia, India, Turkey and the Arab nations.

Afghanistan has never known unbroken central rule as it is usually defined, and it doesnt have a strong centralising army, like another xenophobic state, Myanmar.

Tribes and warlords determine the power structure on the ground and this phenomenon often defies the Islamic impulses.

Afghanistan has an excess of local and foreign actors compounding its misery. Its chief local and foreign actors, respectively, are the Taliban and the United States. Afghanistan is Americas longest war and next year will be its inglorious 20th anniversary.

Although Washingtons objectives of its post-9/11 intervention were met with the dislodgement of the Taliban government and the ouster of Al Qaeda from all power structures, the US returned from the distraction of the Iraq War with new nation-building pledges for Afghanistan, in which India has so far spent $3 billion.

The objectives of foreign interventions amended and enlarged mid-course usually end in stalemate.

The situation with the principal actor opposed to the United States, the Taliban, is equally fraught and troublesome.

Although it controls 20 per cent of Afghanistan, contests another 50 per cent with the international coalition and Afghan forces, twice has held populous Kunduz city in the north, and is close to encircling six to eight other cities whose road links it can sever at will, its future still depends on the gains from the February 2020 peace agreement with the US.

The Talibans hardliners were opposed to the peace deal, which binds it and allies like Al Qaeda, the semi-autonomous anti-India, pro-Pakistan Haqqani Taliban of Sirajuddin Haqqani, etc, from attacking the US and its allies.

One of the biggest beneficiaries of disenchantment in the Taliban is the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), originally constituted from leaders of the Pakistan Taliban facing Pakistan Army persecution.

In the months leading up to the peace deal, the US and Afghan forces on one side and Taliban on the other decimated IS(K), claiming no collusion.

Since the Taliban must sustain violence against the US and Afghan forces and others generally considered outsiders to preserve its raison d'etre, it has, so to speak, outsourced bloodletting and mayhem to IS(K), with the Haqqani Taliban acting as intermediary.

The Jalalabad jailbreak on August 3, while attributed to IS(K), benefited Taliban inmates the most. IS(K) attacks on a Kabul gurdwara and a maternity ward were particularly gruesome but were, however, not meant to help the Taliban cause entirely.

IS(K) mirrors its mother organisation, Islamic State of Iraq and Levant, by making extreme violence an end in itself to gain influence, strength and resources. This has proved a magnet for disenchanted Taliban hardliners.

The key test ahead is if the United States leaves a residual counter-terrorism force of upto 5,000 after the April 2021 withdrawal. A sort of guarantee for the peace deal, it can also increase the Talibans problems with its hardliners to the benefit of IS(K).

Between the Taliban and the IS(K), most states affected by Afghanistans instabilities prefer the Taliban, which is an insurgent movement with no revolutionary ambitions abroad.

These grudging supporters include the leading powers, the US, Russia, China, the Central Asian Republics, Iran, Pakistan, etc.

Although Indian agencies have contacts with the Taliban through Iran, it doesnt translate to meaningful political traction, this being scuppered by Pakistans closeness to the insurgent outfit, and the Talibans own supportive role in the IC-814 hijack.

The Haqqani Taliban through its violent attack on Indian interests and assets in Afghanistan guided by Pakistans ISI also makes accommodation with the Taliban remote for now.

On the other hand, Indias support of the Afghan government and its training of Afghan defence forces makes it anathema to the Taliban. Nevertheless, the IS(K) represents a bigger challenge, with recruits from India and with a chapter dedicated to terrorism in India.

Once the US departs, Indias non-military investments of $3 billion in Afghanistan will go up in smoke and Indias security interests will come under severe strain.

It is unlikely that the isolated civilian government with a depleted military can withstand Taliban pressure for long.

If this is accompanied by an ascendency of Pakistan, it can provide no comfort to New Delhi. Between a rock and a hard place is what confronts India in Afghanistan.

The situation of other states is, however, only slightly better. The United States has to keep an eagle eye on Afghanistan in the foreseeable future with the possibility of repeat military deployments which are politically controversial. Russia, China and Iran have to tolerate a hardline Taliban in their backyard because the alternative of IS(K) is unacceptable.

Having spearheaded the Islamic revolution in the 1990s, the Taliban cannot go soft and still hope to retain its radical base which is ever ready to switch to the IS(K).

The last of its hardcore 400 fighters in Afghan government captivity are to be released after US threats of aid cuts and this only makes the situation more precarious.

All of Afghanistans neighbours and near-neighbours have deepened partnerships with one another to manage the new flux after the US withdrawal, except for India whose differences with Pakistan over Kashmir and now China on the border question stand in the way.

Once a conduit for humanitarian aid to Afghanistan and quiet manoeuvrings with the Taliban, Iran has also moved away over differences over compliances with US sanctions and internal issues related to Muslims and Kashmir.

Busy retrenching, the US has nothing to offer except vague promises of protecting Indian interests.

The only big player left is Russia, with which India has a defence suppliers relationship after the United States displaced it as the most valued political partner. All at once, history is being turned back 20 years and the prospects are dark.

The writer is an analyst and journalist based in New Delhi
Tokyo & Tashkent, Aug 13, 2020 - (ACN Newswire) - JCB International Co., Ltd., the international operations subsidiary of JCB Co., Ltd., and PJSCB Orient Finans are pleased to announce the start of JCB merchant acquiring operations across Uzbekistan. PJSCB Orient Finans has become the first bank in Uzbekistan to launch merchant acquiring operations for JCB, Japan's only international payment brand.Private Joint-Stock Commercial Bank "Orient Finans" (Orient Finans Bank) was founded in 2010 and it is a full-fledged universal financial institution in the banking services market in the Republic of Uzbekistan. The reliability of the bank's financial position is confirmed by the credit ratings of international and national rating agencies. Orient Finans Bank will start the acceptance of JCB to expand the possibilities of servicing the international payment cards.JCB is one of the leading international payment brands, founded in Japan in 1961. As a comprehensive payment solution provider, JCB commits to provide responsive and high-quality service and products to all customers worldwide.After implementing merchant acquiring operations in autumn 2020, JCB cardholders traveling to Uzbekistan will be able to make payments comfortably at merchants using their JCB cards, as well as withdraw cash using the Bank's ATM network throughout the Republic of Uzbekistan.This partnership will also allow merchants in the Orient Finans Bank acquiring network to gain new sales opportunities with the global financial brand through its traditional merchant acquiring and e-commerce transactions.About JCBJCB is a major global payment brand and a leading credit card issuer and acquirer in Japan. JCB launched its card business in Japan in 1961 and began expanding worldwide in 1981. Its acceptance network includes over 34 million merchants and over a million cash advance locations in the world. JCB cards are now issued in 24 countries and territories, with more than 140 million cardmembers. As part of its international growth strategy, JCB has formed alliances with hundreds of leading banks and financial institutions globally to increase merchant coverage and cardmember base. As a comprehensive payment solution provider, JCB commits to providing responsive and high-quality service and products to all customers worldwide. For more information: www.global.jcb/en/About PJSCB "Orient Finans".Private Joint-Stock Commercial Bank "Orient Finans" was founded in 2010 and is a full-fledged universal financial institution in the banking services market of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The bank actively cooperates with major financial institutions of the world. The presence of correspondent accounts in the largest international banks allows clients to quickly carry out international transactions and documentary operations.ContactsJCBKumiko Kida, Ayaka NakajimaCorporate CommunicationsTel: +81-3-5778-8353Email: jcb-pr@jcb.co.jpPJSCB "Orient Finans".Gavhar ShamshiddinovaMarketing DepartmentTel: +99 871-205-55-55Email: g.shamshiddinova@ofb.uzSource: JCBCopyright 2020 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
Ms Nott fears her son will suffer permanent brain damage is he is not treated

The mother-of-four has now been told to take Kobi to a hospital 12 hours away

A four-year-old boy is being denied treatment for a brain injury due to coronavirus border closures after plunging from a balcony.

Kobi Nott fell and cracked his skull while his mother Belinda cooked dinner at their home in Lismore, north-east New South Wales, on May 18.

The youngster suffered brain damage and has been in and out Brisbane Children's Hospital in Queensland - the closest hospital to Lismore - since the accident.

Despite medical advice, Queensland Health told the mother-of-four that Kobi will have to continue his treatment at Sydney Children's hospital because of border closures enforced to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The Brisbane hospital is only two-and-a-half hours away from the family's home, while the Sydney hospital is 12 hours away.

Kobi Nott fell and cracked his skull while his mother Belinda cooked dinner at their home in Lismore, north-east New South Wales

Pictured: Belinda Nott (centre) with her four children, left, to right: Keegan, 11, Kobi, age four, Zali, age eight, and Alexis, 13

Ms Nott told Daily Mail Australia travelling such a long distance with school-age children is not feasible, let alone with an ill child like Kobi who does not cope with extended periods away from home or in the car.

'I am a single mum of four children and the alternative of travelling to Sydney Children's Hospital which is the closest paediatric hospital offering the same services is not an ideal option,' she said.

'Sydney is 12 hours away, and a COVID-19 hotspot.'

She said her once healthy son now endures seizures, speech problems, balance issues, decreased attention span and worrying mood swings, and fears he will never recover without ongoing medical attention.

Ms Nott was told that Kobi will have to continue his treatment at Sydney Children's hospital because of border closures enforced to curb the spread of COVID-19

Kobi Nott has been under the care of a range of specialists since the accident in May

He has been under the care of a range of specialists, including neurosurgeons, neurologists, occupational therapists, and ear, nose and throat experts in Brisbane for the past three months.

While the family had been crossing the Queensland-NSW border for in-person appointments, the state line was closed on Saturday and Kobi the hospital began setting up video appointments.

Ms Nott fears that Kobi will miss out on vital scans to find the cause of his seizures.

'The major issue right now is that until we see the neurologist, no one can know where the seizures are coming from, and if they are untreated and could cause permanent damage,' she said.

Ms Nott fears that Kobi will miss out on vital scans to find the cause of his seizures (pictured: dressings on the boy's fractured skull)

Kobi's extensive medication regime has also started making him sick and he needs in-person appointments

Kobi's extensive medication regime has also started making him sick and he needs in-person appointments.

A Queensland Health spokesperson told 7 News the pair 'do not require an exemption but they must have a border pass and written support from their treating facility'.

But Ms Nott claimed the department said making the 12-hour trip to Sydney was the best option.

Kobi has video appointments with Brisbane Children's Hospital booked up to November this year.

Ms Nott said making the 12-hour trip to Sydney with four children (pictured: Keegan, Kobi, Zali and Alexis) is not feasible

Ms Nott was cooking dinner in the same room as Kobi on the evening of the accident

Ms Nott was cooking dinner in the same room as Kobi on the evening of the accident.

'I walked out of the room for 20 or 30 seconds and he went out the door and overbalanced on the balcony rail,' she said.

She said he 'had always been an active kid who loves the outdoors', but had never climbed over the balcony before.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 13

By Ilkin Seyfaddini - Trend:

The first meeting of the Uzbekistan-US-Afghanistan subcommittee on security of the trilateral cooperation format was held via videoconference, Trend reports citing the Uzbek Foreign Ministry.

The meeting was attended by the co-chairs of the subcommittee - Deputy Chairman of the State Security Service of Uzbekistan Salimjon Khusanov, Deputy Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan Furkat Sidikov, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nancy Jackson, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Thomas Krochi, Deputy Adviser to the President of Afghanistan for National Security Issues Salam Shah Ibrahimi, Deputy Minister of National Defense of Afghanistan Abdulhai Rauf, as well as representatives of the involved ministries and departments of the three countries.

"During the meeting, the importance of increased interaction in the field of border security and the exchange of information between relevant agencies of the parties to improve the effectiveness of the fight against drug trafficking and terrorism was emphasized," the report said.

The sides also exchanged views on the current epidemiological situation and discussed the impact of coronavirus infection on regional and global security.

Special attention was paid to the topical aspects of cooperation related the UN's Women, Peace and Security agenda. Mechanisms for strengthening ties in the field of ensuring the rights and interests of women, addressing the problems of violence against them and access to quality education were discussed.

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Follow author on Twitter: @seyfaddini
Providing Innovative Solutions to the Government Marketplace! We are honored to be included in this Prestigious List.

Inc. magazine today revealed that C&S Jones Group LLC (CSJG) is No. 1028 on its annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nations fastest-growing private companies. The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economys most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses. Intuit, Zappos, Under Armour, Microsoft, Patagonia, and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000.

Charles W. Jones, MBA - President and CEO of C&S Jones Group LLC (CSJG), commented on the recognition: We are honored to be included in this Prestigious List.

Not only have the companies on the 2020 Inc. 5000 been very competitive within their markets, but the list as a whole shows staggering growth compared with prior lists as well. The 2020 Inc. 5000 achieved an incredible three-year average growth of over 500 percent, and a median rate of 165 percent. The Inc. 5000s aggregate revenue was $209 billion in 2019, accounting for over 1 million jobs over the past three years.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000. The top 500 companies are also being featured in the September issue of Inc., available on newsstands August 12.

The companies on this years Inc. 5000 come from nearly every realm of business, says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. From health and software to media and hospitality, the 2020 list proves that no matter the sector, incredible growth is based on the foundations of tenacity and opportunism.

The annual Inc. 5000 event honoring the companies on the list will be held virtually from October 23 to 27, 2020. As always, speakers will include some of the greatest innovators and business leaders of our generation.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has warned of the "danger on the doorstep" as almost 300 COVID-19 cases remain active in neighbouring New South Wales.

No new cases were detected in Queensland on Thursday and the state has now gone 12 days without recording any community transmission.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says NSW still poses a risk. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer, Paul Harris, Kate Geraghty

"As of this morning, New South Wales had 297 active cases, we have 11," Ms Palaszczuk told State Parliament on Thursday morning.

"NSW had 96 additional cases in the past week, theyre having to take appropriate measures.
The logo of Wirecard AG, an independent provider of white label solutions for electronic payment transactions, is pictured at its headquarters in Aschheim, near Munich, Germany, July 1, 2020. Photo:Andreas Gebert/Reuters

Germany has asked Interpol to help it find former Wirecard (WDI.DE) chief operating officer Jan Marsalek, who has been at large since the payments companys massive accounting scandal broke in June this year.

Interpols red notice on Marsalek states that Germany charges the former executive with violation of the German duty on securities act and the securities trading act, criminal breach of trust, especially serious case of fraud.

The DAX-listed Wirecard had a dramatic fall from grace mid-June, after auditors EY refused to sign off on the companys 2019 accounts, saying they could not verify the existence of 1.9bn (1.7bn, $2.25bn) that Wirecard claimed it was holding in trust accounts overseas.

Banks in the Philippines subsequently announced that documents appearing to show that Wirecard had deposited money with them were false, and the countrys central bank said none of the 1.9bn missing from Wirecards balance sheet entered the countrys financial system.

READ MORE: Central bank says Wirecard's missing funds didn't enter Philippines

On Wednesday (12 August) Munich public prosecutors' office and the German federal police issued an appeal for leads on Marsaleks whereabouts, saying in a statement that Marsalek is currently on the run and is strongly suspected of having committed billions in commercial gang fraud, the particularly serious case of embezzlement and other property and economic offences.

There have been reports that he had fled to various countries including the Philippines, China and Russia.

The German Press Agency (DPA) reported today that Filipino immigration officials are believed to have falsified travel documents for Marsalek, that showed that he arrived in Manila on 23 June and left the next day to fly to China.

Wirecard chief executive Markus Braun, who quit in June when the accounting scandal started unfolding, was arrested by the Munich authorities in June, then allowed out on bail, which was revoked and he was re-arrested in July.

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Braun and two other former executives are charged with fraud, market manipulation and breach of trust among other charges.

"The company was to be presented as financially strong and attractive to investors and clients, so that loans could be obtained from banks and other investors on a regular basis, as well as keep it generating its own income," Munich prosecutors said in July.

The DAX announced this week that Wirecard  which announced its insolvency in Junewould be ejected from the index of Germanys 30 most valuable blue-chip companies next week. Its place could possibly be taken by Berlin-based start-up Delivery Hero.

Listen to the latest podcast from Yahoo Finance UK
Black people and Latinos are four times more likely than white people to be hospitalized for COVID-19, and Black people are twice as likely as white people to die of the virus, according to a report published Thursday by the National Urban League.

Those health results stem from people of color tending to live in more crowded housing, which allows easier transmission of the respiratory virus, and people of color being less likely to be able to work from home, according to the leagues annual report called State of Black America Unmasked.

"This is a crisis," said Marc Morial, CEO of the National Urban League. "Those with underlying conditions are more likely to get sick. Those that have less access to doctors and hospitals are going to be diagnosed much later. When theyre diagnosed much later, they are more likely to be hospitalized, theyre more likely to die."

In addition to the pandemic that has killed more than 162,000 Americans, the 2020 report comes at a time of national protests for racial justice after the deaths of Black people in police custody and an economic collapse that shrank the economy 33% during the second quarter.

More: Leaders were slow to bring COVID-19 testing to Latino communities. Now people are sick.

Morial, a former mayor of New Orleans, described the domino effect of African Americans being more likely to work in front-line jobs such as police and firefighters, or in service jobs in hospitals, hotels and restaurants, that run greater risk of infection because they can't be performed from home.

A nurse cleans a COVID-19 patient on a ventilator at a Stamford Hospital intensive care unit on April 24 in Stamford, Conn. The hospital opened additional ICUs to deal with the people suffering from the coronavirus pandemic.

"Systemic racism, economic inequality, and the state of our democracy have been brought into sharp focus," the report said. "Like an earthquake exposes the fault lines in the earth; the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the fault lines in America's social and economic institutions."

Mayor McKinley Price of Newport News, Virginia, said the coronavirus pandemic compounds and complicates the problems with higher rates of illness and death.

Story continues

Its still ravaging our country, said Price, who is president of the African American Mayors Association, which has about 500 members.

More: Hispanic, Black children at higher risk of coronavirus-related hospitalization, CDC says

Michael McAfee, CEO of PolicyLink, a research institute for racial and economic equity, said disparities in health or housing or jobs for people of color are persistent because they were designed into the system, by neglecting universal health care or by steering low-income housing into areas with higher pollution.

Pandemics are always going to exacerbate whats already there, McAfee said. This nation is suffering from its own arrogance. Other countries around the world are showing you what it looks like when you provide health care for your people.

Based on information from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity, the Urban League report notes:

Infection rates per 10,000 people at 62 for Black people and 73 for Latinos, compared with 23 for white people.

Hospitalization rates per 100,000 people at 213 for Black people and 205 for Latinos, compared with 46 for white people.

Death rates of 1 in 1,450 for Black people, 1 in 3,000 for Latinos and 1 in 3,350 for white people, possibly because the Black population is older and more at risk from pre-existing conditions.

The portion of employees able to work from home: 19.7% for Black people, 16.2% for Latinos and 29.9% for white people.

The annual report also contains an equality index, which documented Black people and Latinos trailing white people in categories such as economics, health, education, social justice and civil engagement. Black people ranked 73.8% of equality with white people across those categories, while Latinos ranked 78.8%. Progress has been slight since the National Urban League began publishing the index 15 years ago.

The disparities are still wide," Morial said. "Thats structural racism, that the definition of structural racism, that the disparities are frozen in rock, frozen in ice."

More: Black women and Latinas struggle to buy food, build savings amid COVID-19, study says

Nationwide protests for racial justice also have focused the spotlight on economic and health issues.

Its made us more aware of the disparities and inequities in our communities, from criminal justice to health care to financial housing conditions to transportation, Price said of the protests. We just cant keep one part of society down and expect to live up to what this country is about.

But researchers and officials see signs of progress, despite the gloomy statistics. McAfee said real influence extended beyond the street protests to people of color winning elections as city council members, state prosecutors and members of Congress.

This is real power building that has to happen if youre going to be able to influence this political economy, McAfee said. Its been wildly successful. While we may not have all of the structural changes that want yet, were actually starting to get people in positions of power that can see Black and brown peoples humanity.

More: Bad data is bogging down the COVID-19 fight; US 'needs to change,' experts say

Morial said progress on jobs and economic equity could draw inspiration from programs such as the New Deal under President Franklin Roosevelt or the Great Society under President Lyndon Johnson.

You can make a difference, but we have to make a difference about structural racism," Morial said. "You cant be pretend."

Newport News is rebuilding one of its public-housing neighborhoods with federal Department of Housing and Urban Development grants called the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative. Price said that sort of program allows the city to fight chronic poverty with development and job training.

Weve got to attack those areas where we have concentrated poverty and trying to transform those communities," Price said. Were attacking it from all fronts."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Urban League: Black people, Latinos suffer disproportionately in pandemic
Rome prosecutors sought permission to drop a probe into Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and members of his cabinet after complaints were filed by several citizens on how the government handled the coronavirus pandemic, according to a note from the premier's office.

Prosecutors notified the premier and ministers that they are under investigation following complaints from all over the country. Prosecutors also included a note, which specified that they considered the allegations "unfounded" and "to be dismissed," according to a statement sent by Conte's office.

The complaints include crimes such as causing an epidemic, offenses against health, manslaughter, abuse of office, and acts against the constitution and political rights, according to the statement.

In Italy, prosecutors are obligated to follow up on criminal complaints made by the public. After a preliminary investigation, they have to go to a judge for permission to drop the case or proceed to a more in-depth probe.

The prosecutors' request to drop the case will now be reviewed by a judge who will decide whether to accept the dismissal or order a full investigation. In Conte's case, the decision will be taken by a court that deals specifically with investigations into ministers.

Conte said in a Facebook post that he always acted in Italy's best interest and based on advice from scientists and experts.

The other officials charged are Justice Minister Alfonso Bonafede, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, Finance Minister Roberto Gualtieri, Defence Minister Lorenzo Guerini, Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese and Health Minister Roberto Speranza.

Italy was among the first countries to be hit by the coronavirus pandemic and to implement a strict lockdown of its population and businesses. The lockdown began in late February in some parts of the North and was later extended to the entire country in early March. Over 35,000 people died in Italy due to coronavirus, about half of them in the Northern part of the country.

Conte has been criticized by political opponents both for not doing enough to stop the spread of coronavirus and for doing too much to limit citizen's rights with a draconian lockdown measures that paralyzed the economy. While businesses and people are once again free to work and move around, the government recently extended emergency powers until October arguing that coronavirus is still present and can pose a risk to the country.

"Conte should be arrested," political opponent and League party leader Matteo Salvini said, according to Ansa newswire. "He didn't close the red zones when it was needed and he closed Italy when he shouldn't have. That's a crime."

Salvini's attacks potentially pose a threat to political stability in Italy as Conte tries to drag the economy out of its worst recession since World War II with 100 billion euros worth of stimulus measures passed by the cabinet since the start of the pandemic. The European Commission forecasts an 11% contraction of Italian GDP this year, which along with the extra spending will push the country's debt well over 150% of output.
Sydney University has become the latest tertiary institution to admit to underpaying staff, with a review identifying six years' worth of payroll shortfalls adding up to tens of millions of dollars.

Vice-Chancellor Michael Spence told staff on Thursday that errors in calculating timesheets led to the mistake, which mainly affected casual, non-academic staff. But the university did not yet know the total sum involved, or how many people were affected.

The University of Sydney has identified wage underpayments stretching back six years. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

The University of NSW earlier this year admitted to underpayments of casual academics at its business school, and the University of Melbourne began repaying 1500 academics for underpayments that stretched back a decade.

The revelation comes as Sydney University faces big financial losses due to COVID-19s impact on international student revenue. A $470 million shortfall this year will be mitigated by savings measures including cuts to the casual workforce, but the university predicts further strain next year.
The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers has named Clint Phillips to head up its new Bakersfield, Calif., office.

Phillips has 19 years of experience in the Bakersfield area, where he has specialized in the construction and oil and gas industries.

He was most recently at Walter Mortensen Insurance.

The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers is an independently owned broker with offices throughout the country.

Topics California Agencies
Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Coronavirus Back in New Zealand After 102 Days

Four cases of COVID-19 have turned up in Auckland, New Zealand, after 102 days of no new reported infections in that country, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.

The four cases have been confined to one household, but Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has asked people in Auckland to stay home and bars and many other businesses will close for three days.

"These three days will give us time to assess the situation, gather information, make sure we have widespread contact tracing so we can find out more about how this case arose and make decisions about how to respond to it once we have further information," Ardern said at a news conference late Tuesday.

"I know that this information will be very difficult to receive," Ardern said. "We had all hoped not to find ourselves in this position again. But we had also prepared for it. And as a team, we have also been here before."

Also, she is banning traveling into Auckland unless it's traveling home.

In the rest of the nation mass gatherings will be limited to 100 attendees and people would need to socially distance themselves from each other until Friday.

On Monday, one person tested positive for the virus and six other people in the household were then tested, with three more positive results, Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said.

"Importantly, the person has no history of overseas travel," Bloomfield said, adding that the source of the infections isn't known.

Before these cases the only known infections were 22 travelers who had returned from abroad and were being held in quarantine, the AP reported.

New Zealand had gotten rid of the virus by a strict lockdown in late March when only about 100 had the disease. That stopped its spread.

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Russia Approves COVID-19 Vaccine Before Trials Completed

Before completing clinical trials to ensure the vaccine is safe and effective, the Russian government has gone ahead and approved a vaccine against the new coronavirus, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the vaccine works "effectively enough."

The premature approval of a vaccine confirms concerns from other nations that Russia is more interested in making political and propaganda hay in the race to acquire a working vaccine, the Times reported.

Putin's announcement comes despite a lack of published data on any testing for the vaccine.

Last week the World Health Organization urged Russia not to bypass the usual methods of testing to ensure safety and effectiveness.

"It works effectively enough, forms a stable immunity and I repeat, it has gone through all necessary tests," Putin told a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. He also said one of his daughters been given the vaccine, the Times said.

The Russian vaccine was rushed through monkey and early human trials and was most likely successful. But it hasn't been widely tested in large phase 3 trials -- the only way of ensuring it's safe and effective in broad populations.

Mikhail Murashko, Russia's minister of health, has said mass vaccination will start in October, beginning with teachers and medical workers.

The Russia approval comes far ahead of when Western countries are expected to have a working vaccine, which isn't expected before the end of the year.

The United States, Canada and Britain have accused Russian hackers of trying to steal vaccine research, spurring doubt that Russia has achieved any medical breakthrough on its own.

The Russians have said say their vaccine is based on an Ebola vaccine they developed years ago, the Times reported.

The Russian vaccine uses two strains of adenovirus -- viruses that typically cause mild colds in humans. Similar vaccines are being tested in other countries. It's the approach being used by Oxford University and drug maker AstraZeneca.

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FDA Head Says Any Approved COVID-19 Vaccine Will Be Safe

Dr. Stephen Hahn, the head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said Monday that the agency will not compromise safety when approving COVID-19 vaccines, CNN reported.

That assurance was given during a video briefing with the American Medical Association.

Because of how fast the FDA is working, some have questioned if the agency will weaken its usual rigor when it reviews data from clinical trials.

"Let me assure you that we will not cut corners," Hahn said. "All of our decisions will continue to be based on good science and the same careful deliberative processes we have always used when reviewing medical products."

Many Americans are wary of a vaccine. Hahn said he has seen surveys that show that many people will be reluctant to get vaccinated.

In May, a CNN poll found one-third of Americans wouldn't get a COVID-19 vaccine even if it is widely available and inexpensive.

Hahn urged doctors to get their patients to take the vaccine when it's approved.

"We hope that you will urge your patients to take an approved vaccine so that we can seek to establish widespread immunity," he said.

More than 200 trials are underway, Hahn said, but no one knows when the results of those trials will be ready.

"I can promise you that when the data are available, FDA will review them, using its established rigorous and deliberative scientific process. We all understand that only by engaging in an open review process and relying on good science and sound data can the public, and you as providers, have confidence in the integrity of our decisions," he said.

Despite claims by President Donald Trump that a vaccine will be ready in November, experts say that's not possible.

"I don't see how that would be possible," Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccinologist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, told CNN.

Before a trial can start, Moderna, a company that's ahead of most in developing a vaccine, needs to finish enrolling patients in late-stage trials. That might happen by the end of September. Then the volunteers have to have their first shots, wait 28 days, and then give a second shot. After that, researchers have to wait two weeks to see if the vaccine is effective.

Dr. Peter Hotez, a vaccinologist at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, told CNN "there's just no way" a vaccine will be available by Nov. 3. It's more likely a vaccine will be available in 2021, he added.

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Gilead Seeks FDA Approval for Remdesivir

Gilead Sciences has applied to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval for its COVID-19 treatment, remdesivir, CBS News reported Monday.

The antiviral drug will take the brand name Veklury, the company said.

"Today's filing is an important milestone as we continue to partner with the U.S. government and health care authorities around the globe to address the treatment needs of patients with COVID-19," Merdad Parsey, Gilead's chief medical officer, said in a statement.

At the moment, remdesivir is available on an emergency basis for hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19. If the FDA approves it, however, the drug will gain wider use. Remdesivir is already approved in Europe and Japan, CNN reported.

The request for approval comes after the results of a phase 3 trial. The drug works by blocking the virus from copying itself.

Trials of the drug showed that it can cut recovery time from COVID-19 by nearly a third.

"Since the beginning of the pandemic, Gilead has worked with urgency to establish the efficacy and safety profile of Veklury, and we now have a robust data set supporting the evaluation of use of the drug across a range of hospitalized COVID-19 patient populations," Parsey said.

"Remdesivir isn't a game changer, but it is a positive," Peter Pitts, president of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest and a former associate commissioner with the FDA, told CBS MoneyWatch in April.

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Seller of Phony COVID-19 Drug Indicted

Federal prosecutors have indicted a Georgia man for selling a drug he claimed would cut the risk of being infected with COVID-19 by 50%, the Associated Press reported Monday.

In a statement, prosecutors said the drug sold by Matthew Ryncarz and his company, called Fusion Health and Vitality but operating as Pharm Origins, "bore false and misleading labeling."

"Our office is committed to ensuring that businesses do not take advantage of a global health crisis and people's fears in order to unlawfully make a buck," Savannah-based U.S. Attorney Bobby Christine said in the press release.

The drug called ImmuneShot sold for $19 a bottle on a website Ryncarz created in March and was aimed at people over 50, prosecutors said.

The pitch included: "We are offering you the exclusive price of only $19 per bottle because we know that Immune Shot could be the most important formula in the WORLD right now due to the new pandemic," the AP reported.
Queen Letizia and King Felipe of Spain looked relaxed as they continued their summer holiday with a visit to the island of Menorca.

King Felipe VI, 52, and Queen Letizia, 47, were joined by the Balearic regional President Francina Armengol and Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska for the excursion to a cheese production plant.

The visit comes as the family was rocked by the news King Juan Carlos, who abdicated in 2014, revealed he was leaving Spain amid an ongoing corruption scandal.

However any troubles looked far from their minds as they waved to well-wishers on their arrival.

King Felipe VI, 52, and Queen Letizia, 47, visited the largest producer of cheese in Menorca today

The couple waved and greeted well-wishers who arrived to catch a glimpse of the royals before they entered

The couple are currently on the summer holidays and the latest excursion was one of several trips they have made around Spain

Queen Letizia wore a white flowing square neck dress with buttons and flower detailing down the front.

The thin straps were frilled and she coupled it with a pair of wedges espadrille heels with ribbon ties.

King Felipe looked stylish in a blue button down shirt with rolled up sleeves and lose black trousers.

Safety was a top priority as they wore blue disposable face masks while standing together for pictures.

They were joined by Balearic regional President Francina Armengol (left) and Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska (right) for the visit

Queen Letizia of Spain wore a flowing white dress with a square neck and thin frilled straps for the visit this afternoon

Large crowds gathered nearby waving Spanish flags and holding a large Concordia Real Espanola banner, a group which formed of Spanish citizens who defend the monarchy's legacy

The latest visits come a week after King Juan Carlos, who abdicated in 2014, revealed he was leaving Spain amid an ongoing corruption scandal

Safety was a top priority as the couple kept their distance from the crowds and wore disposable blue face masks

Queen Letizia paired her white cotton dress with a pair of wedged espadrille heels

The couples' outfits were strikingly similar to those they wore two days ago while meeting local teenagers at the Naum Youth Centre in Palma, Majorca, with their two daughters Crown Princess Leonor, 14 and Infanta Sofia, 13.

During their holidays, the couple visited other popular tourist hotspots on the island, including the Fray Junipero Serra birth house and museum.

Letizia recycled a breezy white dress with a built-in belt, and paired it with nude espadrilles for the visit.

The couple looked to have caught the sun during their travels as they waved to the crowds who had gathered to see them

For a handbag, Queen Letizia carried a blue and white detailed bag to her side before setting it down the greet the crowds

King Felipe VI, 52, Queen Letizia, 47 and their two daughters, Crown Princess Leonor, 14 and Infanta Sofia, 13, have started their traditional family holidays in Mallorca. Two days ago they visited the Neum Youth Centre

On Tuesday Queen Letizia kept an eye on her youngest daughter who sustained a knee injury shortly after the family arrived in Mallorca

Today, the pair were visiting the Insular Livestock Cooperative (COINGA) in Alaior, Menorca today, the largest producer of emblematic cheese on the island.

Before entering, they stopped to greet people who were waiting outside to catch a glimpse of the royals.

Large crowds gathered nearby waving Spanish flags and holding a large Concordia Real Espanola banner, a group which formed of Spanish citizens who defend the monarchy's legacy.
On Mondays Four Corners, Stephanie March and Pat McGrath report on how Victoria unleashed Australias new outbreak of coronavirus.

It will reveal the failures by authorities who were supposed to keep the community safe.

When I saw the first case in the hotel quarantine, that was a real red alert. World Health Organisation adviser and epidemiologist

For months Australia was the envy of the world, with COVID-19 largely under control. Restrictions were being lifted around the country and preparations were under way to open interstate borders. Much of the key to Australias success lay in the enforced quarantining of passengers returning from overseas.

The reason that we were doing it was to protect Australiawe were, in reality, the sterile barrier between potential COVID infection and the rest of our country. Quarantined passenger

All that changed when the news broke of a breach in Melbournes hotel quarantine program.

Do they understand how psychopathic this virus is? That all they have to do is do one small thing thats wrong, and they could then acquire it. World Health Organisation adviser and epidemiologist

On Monday Four Corners investigates how COVID-19 escaped back out into the Victorian community, wreaking havoc in the state and putting the rest of the nation in peril.

We had a whole host of concerns around how the hotel quarantine system was being managed. Doctor

Reporters Stephanie March and Pat McGrath piece together what went so very badly wrong in Victoria.

Most of the people working there, theyve got other jobs. Theyre working from one hotel to another hotel. Someone else was driving an Uber. So I wasnt surprised. Security guard

After the initial outbreak, the virus spread with alarming speed and took hold in the most vulnerable places imaginable, aged care homes.

It went from one, it went to five. And then a couple of days it went to 61. Son

This investigation reveals the failures by the authorities that were supposed to keep the community safe.

We were poorly prepared and we were running around, essentially, like headless chooks. Aged care expert

With the virus emerging in other states, experts are warning all Australians to heed the lessons of Victoria and its second wave.

It could happen anywhere. Thats what we all need to wrap our heads around in order to change our behaviour and all do our bit to stop things getting out of hand. Global biosecurity expert

8:30pm Monday on ABC.
Michael Brako Danso, described by the police as a self-styled job recruitment agent in the Agotime-Ziope District of the Volta Region is on the run, following allegations that he swindled at least two job seekers of more than GH60,000 under the pretext of finding them jobs.



Danso, 35, was said to have been operating his scam since June, 2017.



A source close to the Volta Regional Police Headquarters in Ho, disclosed these to the Ghanaian Times last Friday.



It said that in one instance, Danso took an amount of GH14, 500 from one woman, Cynthia Dufe, a casual cleaner in Kpando, with the assurance to secure her a job in any government institution of her choice.



However, after obtaining the amount from the woman, Danso went into hiding, said the source.



Danso, in another instance, was said to have succeeded in obtaining GH 50,000 from a victim in Ho under the pretext of finding a job for him.



He was also said to have duped another person of a large amount of money at Kpetoe with a similar promise.



Several attempts by the police to trace the fugitive since last year have turned futile.



Subsequently, the Regional Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has declared him wanted and gazetted for him to be arrested to assist in investigations into the cases.



Meanwhile, the Kpetoe District Magistrate Court has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Danso in connection with one case of defrauding by false pretence.



The police believe that Danso could be hiding in Tema or Achiase, and appealed to the public to assist with information on Danso.

Source: The Ghanaian Times









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Bengaluru violence: Several SDPI activists under scanner, says Karnataka Home Minister

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Bengaluru, Aug 13: The role of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) behind the mob violence in parts of the city has come to light and investigation will go deep into it, Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Thursday.

Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan said the government was also considering banning SDPI, four of whose members are among the over 140 arrested in connection with the violence on Tuesday night.

Bengaluru: Section 144 to remain in place in DJ Halli, KG Halli areas till Aug 15

According to the FIRs lodged by police, hundreds of people attacked police stations armed with dangerous weapons with an intention to kill the personnel and shouted ''kill policemen'', don''t spare them, finish them'' besides setting on fire one station and trying to torch another.

The riot-affected areas, where prohibitory orders have been clamped, were now peaceful and a strong contingent of the Rapid Action Force performed a flag march. As per the information gathered so far and video footage, most importantly the role of SDPI is coming to light. We are collecting more information regarding it, we are investigating deeply in this regard", Bommai told reporters here.

Smiles, handshake as Sachin Pilot & Ashok Gehlot meet after Congress truce | Oneindia News

SDPI on Wednesday had denied its role in the violence and had blamed police inaction.

Three people were killed after police opened fire to quell a mob that went on a rampage in D J Halli and adjoining areas on Tuesday night over an inflammatory social media post allegedly put out by P Naveen, a relative of Pulakeshi Nagar MLA R Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy.

The MLAs residence and a police station at D J Halli were torched by the rioters who also set many police and private vehicles afire, and looted the belongings of the legislator and those of his sister. The government has termed the violence as a "well-planned act."

Bengaluru violence: SDPI comes under the scanner yet again

Police have so far arrested 147 people while many others have been detained for interrogation. They have registered six First Information Reports (FIRs) five pertaining to the riots and one related to the social media post - and said the rioters wanted to kill police personnel and destroy the K G Halli and D J Halli police stations.

According to one of the FIRs, at about 11 pm on Tuesday about 600 to 800 people gathered in front of the KG Halli police station and abused police for not letting them to ''finish'' Naveen for his alleged social media post. Abusing police, the vandals called upon their fellow rioters to stab policemen to death. Then the mob set the vehicles inside the police station on fire and attacked the police station with stones, rods, clubs and petrol-filled bottles, police said in the FIRs.

"Despite announcements on loudspeaker that the section 144 of CrPC was in place, the mob did not respond. Tear gas was lobbed but that did not deter the rioters to avoid lathi charge. The mob then tried to set the police station on fire using petrol," the FIRs read.

Police said, Afnan, Muzamil Pasha, Syed Masood, Ayaz, Allah Baksh along with 300 others attacked the police station with an intention to kill policemen with dangerous weapons and raised voices like ''kill policemen'', don''t spare them, finish them''.

Bommai said four people associated with SDPI have been arrested in connection with the violence and an investigation was under way.

"Already, several SDPI office bearers have been arrested. Muzammil Pasha, the SDPI district secretary is the main (person), also Firoz, Afraz Pasha and Shaik Adil, all of them are from SDPI. Their role is completely being investigated and they have been arrested," he added.

"K G Halli and D J Halli are peaceful since yesterday and there have been no untoward incidents, Bommai said.

Bommai said through some video footage it has come to light that SDPI workers had come from neighbouring areas of K G Halli and D J Halli and it was being investigated.

"The investigation will look into who are behind the incident, its links with other such incidents in the past. We will go deep into it and will not rest until we break through this conspiracy," he said.

Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda said only those who were really guilty of the violence in parts of the city should be punished, and asked Congress and BJP not to indulge in a political blame game on the issue.

Expressing sadness over the attack on the MLAs residence, the JD(S) patriarch also said, the government should take action to get justice for him and give him compensation for the losses. Meanwhile, members of Bajrang Dal and other outfits staged demonstrations here and in Mangaluru protesting against the violence.

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Story first published: Thursday, August 13, 2020, 20:41 [IST]
Legendary investigative journalist, Bob Woodward, will be releasing a new book about Donald Trump that details the president's reaction to the coronavirus pandemic, his thoughts on former presidents and his 'love letters' with North Korea leader Kim Jong-un.

Sources familiar with Woodward's new book titled Rage told CNN that readers can expect explosive accounts of Trump's thoughts and actions on the coronavirus pandemic, the economic collapse and the Black Lives Matter protests.

The new book comes just two years after Woodward, who is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, released Fear, which was based on hundreds of hours of interviews with members from the Trump administration.

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Legendary investigative journalist, Bob Woodward, will be releasing a new book about Donald Trump that details the president's reaction to the coronavirus pandemic and his personal letters with North Korea leader Kim Jong-un

According to CNN, the famed Watergate journalist obtained 'notes, emails, diaries, calendars and confidential documents' including 25 personal letters between Trump and Jong-un.

In September 2018, Trump told a roaring West Virginia crowd that he and Jong-un were 'in love'.

At the time, Trump said the North Korean leader had written him 'beautiful letters' while they negotiated the country's nuclear disarmament.

'I was being really tough and so was he. We went back and forth, then we fell in love,' he said. 'He wrote me beautiful letters. And they are great letters. We fell in love.'

Simon & Schuster will be publishing Rage and CNN has quoted representatives from the agency saying that in one letter 'Kim describes the bond between the two leaders as out of a "fantasy film".'

Rage will also reveal Trump's opinions of past presidents and whether he thinks he will win re-election in November.

The famed Watergate journalist obtained 'notes, emails, diaries, calendars and confidential documents' including 25 personal letters between Trump and Jong-un (pictured together in June 2019)

Jonathan Karp, CEO of Woodward's publisher Simon & Schuster, also told the network that Rage 'is the most important book Simon & Schuster will publish this year'.

Karp said that 'every voter should read it before November 3'.

For Rage, Woodward conducted more than a dozen interviews with Trump at the White House, Mar-a-Lago and over the phone, sources told CNN.

The title of the book also comes from an interview that Woodward did alongside Washington Post reporter Robert Costa in 2016 while on the campaign trail.

'I bring rage out,' Trump said at the time. 'I do bring rage out. I always have. I don't know if that's an asset or a liability, but whatever it is, I do.'

Rage will be released on September 15.
Just Eat revealed booming order numbers and sales as people stuck at home during the lockdown devoured takeaway meals.

The food delivery firm received 257m orders in the first half of 2020, up 32 per cent on last year.

That fuelled a 44 per cent increase in revenues, which rose to more than 900million for the period.

Lockdown boost: Just Eat received 257m orders in the first half of 2020, up 32 per cent on last year

And Just Eat said it expects the sales bonanza to continue for the rest of the year, even though the Government's new 'Eat Out to Help Out' scheme does not apply to takeaways.

Just Eat Takeaway's chief executive Jitse Groen said: 'Food delivery is rarely in direct competition with restaurant visits, and that doesn't change under these circumstances.'

He said that restaurants still had limited capacity because of social distancing rules, and added: 'We don't believe that there will be a material impact on our figures because of these relief measures from the Government.'

However, despite the surge in demand for takeaways, Just Eat still reported a loss of 143million  even bigger than its 24million first-half loss in 2019.

The company blamed this on the costs associated with its creation earlier this year, from the merger of British company Just Eat and Dutch rival Takeaway, as well as its proposed 5.8billion takeover of US competitor Grubhub.

Just Eat's purchase of Grubhub will make it one of the biggest delivery firms in the world outside China.

On top of the rush of orders, Just Eat added a record number of new restaurants and customers to its system during the first six months of this year.

The number of active customers increased from 44m to 54m and they also ordered more.

Its markets include the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, the Netherlands, France and Spain, among others.

Groen added: 'Just Eat Takeaway is in the fortunate position to benefit from continuing tailwinds. On the back of the current momentum, we started an aggressive investment programme, which we believe will further strengthen our market positions.

'We are convinced that our order growth will remain strong for the remainder of the year.'

Yesterday shares in Just Eat rose by 3.7 per cent, or 320p, to close at 8998p.
Forrest Galante is a biologist and adventurer who scours the land and sea in search of animals long thought to be extinct, with the goal of bringing research and funding to revitalize their populations. It's exciting, inspiring, and as you might imagine, crazy dangerous. Forrest has faced not-so-happy hippos and all manner of "that could have gone south very quickly" situations on his travels. But happily, he still counts all of his fingers and toes.

For Shark Week 2020, Forrest headed to the Maldives to search for the Pondicherry, a shark that had not been seen for decades due to reckless fishing practices. You can find out if he finds a finned friend by watching "Extinct or Alive: Land of the Lost Shark" on Discovery Go.

For this week's episode of Get a Real Job, I spoke with Forrest about his disdain of shark cages, his love of adventure, and his dread of that most feared creature of all: publicists. Here are some takeaways from that conversation. Thanks, as always, for listening!

Swimming outside the box

"I hate cage diving. I've done it once in my life in South Africa. And I was a complete waste of time. I mean, nothing against anybody that wants to go and do it. I think it's a great and very safe way to go and see these animals. I don't dive with sharks for the thrill, but I certainly don't mind the thrill. I'm no adrenaline junkie, but when you have a tiger shark that weighs 2,000 pounds swimming at you at full speed and you use nothing but your hands to stop it from biting, you get a little bit of adrenaline! But when I'm down there, I'm doing work that is pertinent to the species. You gotta be there working with the animal and that's not sitting in a metal box."

Related: Discovery Responds To Tweeters Who Are Pissed That Michael Phelps Wasn't Eaten By a Shark

Sharks are just like puppies

"I've been in the water with great white sharks, bull sharks, tiger sharks, and all those species. But compared to working with certain other species, they're puppy dogs. When you're in the water working with a saltwater crocodile or in the same freshwater ecosystem that houses hippos, that's really scary. Let me stress this  and I'll stress this to everybody: Don't go and try this! Don't watch someone like me on TV and just get in the water with sharks. I can do it because it takes a lot of understanding and patience and a number of other words. It's not easy and it can be very, very dangerous."

So how do you become a shark specialist?

"A lot of people don't see that when I started my career, I spent years of my life counting ants and picking weeds. That's how biologists get started! Once you've mastered that, and you've proven your work ethic, you move on to rats and then foxes. You don't hop in and go, 'I'm going to be a shark scientist. I'm going to jump in the water and start tagging sharks with a spear!' Like, it doesn't work that way. You gotta start at the bottom and earn your street cred."

Related:

Shark Week Pro Tip: 'Try Not to Act Like Prey'

Getting Dirty With Mike Rowe

Max Greenfield Knows Being a Dad Is Insane and He's Here to Help!



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GIS  13 August 2020:  13 August 2020:

A one-day workshop on Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) for Cooperatives was launched, this morning, at the National Cooperative College, in Bois Marchand. Its main objectives are to sensitise some 100 participants on the need to be at par with AML/CFT preventive measures, and provide necessary information to achieve this target.

The workshop is organised by the Ministry of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives, with the collaboration of the National Cooperative College. Internal controllers and representatives from Credit Unions are participating. Resource persons are from the Financial Services Commission, the Independent Commission Against Corruption, and the Bank of Mauritius.

Present at the launching ceremony, the Minister of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives, Mr Soomilduth Bholah, highlighted that Cooperative Credit Unions (CCUs), which encourage savings and offer loans at relatively low rates, must ensure that they are aware of the exact sources of their funding. Directors, secretaries and internal controllers of these CCUs, he pointed out, must be empowered to abide to the law. He further dwelt on the importance of preserving the integrity of the Cooperative movement and of consolidating the local financial systems reputation.

Moreover, the Minister underscored that in some cases, large money transactions are carried out by CCUs. To that effect, the Ministry is leaving no stone unturned to ensure transparency and to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism, he stated.

The Cooperatives Act 2016, he further recalled, makes provisions for the setting-up of a Co-operative Audit Unit within the Ministry Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives. CCUs, he added, are also governed by the Financial Intelligence and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2002 and the Bank of Mauritius Act.

Minister Bholah also expressed satisfaction with regards to the findings of the National Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment report of Mauritius. This August 2019 public report has, in fact, rated the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing within the CCUs as medium low. The identified priorities for the sector to mitigate the level of money laundering risk include outreach and training and the implementation of an effective AML/CFT risk-based supervisory framework.
Australia has a new musical superstar, and hes a 16-year-old rapper from the housing flats in Waterloo in inner-city Sydney named The Kid Laroi. Last month his debut album, a mixtape titled F--- Love, opened at #3 on ARIAs album chart and reached #8 on the USs Billboard 200, the best result ever for an Australian hip-hop artist in the US outside Mullumbimby transplant Iggy Azalea.

Sixteen-year-old Sydney rapper The Kid Laroi has taken the US album charts by storm. Credit:Sony Music

The album's global success marks an incredible rise for the Indigenous teenager, real name Charlton Howard, whose musical moniker is derived from his Kamilaroi heritage. For those who know him, it's the culmination of years of promise.

Sydney-based, Grammy-nominated producer Khaled Rohaim  who produced much of F--- Love, and is one of Laroi's key collaborators  was working on songs for pop stars such as Rihanna and Ariana Grande when he first met Howard, then just 12, at his recording studio in Alexandria.

"I saw this kid standing in the corner at the back of one of the studios, and he was so young I was like, 'What are you doing out at this time of night?' And he's like, 'I make music, I'm a rapper.' So I was like, 'Yeah? Play me your music,'" Rohaim remembers. "He played me four songs and I was blown away. I was like, 'You're better than all the writers that I work with. At the age you are now, you're better than all of them.' I said to him, 'In a year or two, you're going to be one of the biggest artists in the world.' It was a no brainer. I was like, 'This kid is out of here.'"
Before World War II, the Army Air Corps wanted to prove it could contribute to any war effort the United States might encounter. So future Air Force legend Curtis LeMay challenged the Navy to a military exercise to prove to it that airpower was a game changer.

The exercise did not go the way anyone -- except possibly LeMay -- had planned.

In one of the latest episodes of his podcast "Revisionist History," journalist Malcolm Gladwell takes an in-depth look at the life and legacy of Air Force Gen. Curtis LeMay. Gladwell's show is "about things overlooked and misunderstood," and a character as complex as LeMay is deserving of the four-episode series "Revisionist History" afforded him.

In the third episode of the series, Gladwell discusses the way LeMay saw the world and the problems within, especially the looming second World War. While today the Air Force legend is best remembered as a terse, cigar-chomping "bomb them back to the stone age" Cold Warrior, it wasn't always so.

President Lyndon B. Johnson with Air Force Gen. Curtis LeMay at Johnson's Texas Ranch in 1963. Johnson once remarked to an aide "LeMay scares the hell out of me." (National Archives)

By the end of World War II, Gladwell says, everyone in America knew who LeMay was, even if they didn't know their own congressman. But he says the man himself was much further away from the Silver Screen depictions of LeMay-type characters such as Jack D. Ripper in "Dr. Strangelove."

LeMay had an analytical mind that saw solving a problem as more important than how you solved it -- even if the method was morally ambiguous.

Gladwell recalls a story of LeMay's time during the interwar years, around 1937. The Air Corps wanted to practice bombing in a more practical way, far from targets in the desert. It wanted to bomb a target it might have to destroy in the coming years.

In a 1971 speech to the U.S. Air Force Academy, LeMay recounted the story of an exercise that pitted his nascent bomber corps against one of the Navy's battleships, the USS Utah. The Navy would hide the Utah out at sea, and the Air Corps bombers would come find and engage it.

From the start, the Navy didn't exactly adhere to the spirit of the exercise, agreeing to it but determining it would take place in August off the West Coast of the United States.

"In August off the West Coast, there's nothing but fog for a thousand miles out there, and they deliberately picked it for this time, I'm sure," LeMay told the Academy cadets.

For 24 hours, the Air Corps and Navy would square off. At a random time, the Navy would give the airmen the coordinates of the ship. The airmen would then use dummy, 50-pound bombs filled with water, not high explosives.

But the Navy didn't give out the ship's coordinates until late in the afternoon on the first day and, when it did, the Utah wasn't there. So the YB-17 bombers had to find the ship before they could hit it, all while flying fast and high above the Earth.

Ten minutes before the exercise was due to end, LeMay found the Utah. The Navy believed the airmen would not be able to find the ship in the fog, 60 miles from where it was supposed to be, in the given time frame. As a result, the crew of the Utah made no effort to respond to a bombing exercise.

They were still out on the decks of the battleship, going about their day as if LeMay weren't hovering over them with 50-pound water bombs.

"The Navy was so sure they wouldn't be found that the men were all over the decks!" LeMay said. "Everyone was diving for the gangplanks and hatches."

They were diving for the gangplanks because LeMay, one of the Air Corps' best navigators, bombed the Utah anyway -- from an altitude of 400 feet.

(U.S. Air Force)

"Revisionist History" doesn't cover the end result of the joint air exercise. The Navy cried foul, saying it could have evaded the bomber attack. So the exercise was repeated the next day. That time, Army Air Corps bombers not only hit the Utah, they were more accurate and hit the ship from 18,000 feet.

-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook.

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California parents held a press conference Thursday to discuss their lawsuit against the state over Governor Gavin Newsoms new coronavirus restrictions ordering most school districts to begin the fall semester with online-only instruction.

More than a dozen parents filed a lawsuit against California after the governor rolled back the states reopening plans last month and put 33 of the states 58 counties on a watchlist, requiring them to offer only online classes until their coronavirus rates decline. The order affects more than 1,000 school districts that cover more than 10,500 schools and 6,000,000 students.

We all prefer in-classroom instruction for all the obvious reasons, Newsom said, but only if it can be done safely.

In the states rush to enact these new restrictions, they have placed special interests ahead of the wellbeing of the children, and childrens fundamental right to receive a basic minimum education, states the lawsuit, which is seeking a temporary restraining order against the mandated school closures.

I have watched how this closure of schools since March has impacted my children, said Matthew Brach, whose name is on the case, Brach vs Newsom, and who is father to a sixteen-year-old son and thirteen-year-old daughter.

My daughter has emotionally struggled. My son, through the lack of interaction with peers and with teachers has become more withdrawn and detached from school, Brach said, adding that he is a member of the school board of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District, where his children attend school. I am acutely aware of what our community is looking for, what they want.

I am aware of just how much this is affecting all students, Brach continued. Students who are already disadvantaged are being adversely affected by this order, and I feel a personal responsibility to make sure that they get this one chance at a guaranteed education.

Not all kids will go off to college, he noted.

Story continues

Attorney Harmeet Dhillon, who is representing the parents, argues that Californias school closure order is unconstitutional because it discriminates based on the arbitrary criteria of where students live.

So youre living, for example, on the border of a county that is on the bad list, Dhillon said. The county next to you, right across the border  across the street even, is not on that list. The kid in the house across the street gets to have a quality education in-person and you dont.

Marianne Bema, a single mother from Cameroon, Africa who now lives in Los Angeles with her three sons, said she was impressed with the school system when she first moved to the U.S., especially how fluent her sons became in English.

I saw how my boys have been struggling. I saw me, I am not a professional teacher, said Bema, who faces a language barrier when trying to help her sons and noticed they have trouble focusing during online classes. She also does not have an internet connection reliable enough to support online-only classes.

Another parent in the lawsuit, Christine Ruiz, has two sons diagnosed with autism who attend public school. Her 15-year-old son has not received any of the services he is entitled to from his Individual Education Program, such as individualized attention, since schools closed in March, she said.

Jesse Petrilla has two sons including a six-year-old, who has suffered from a significant decline in engagement and motivation and just an overall enthusiasm for learning, his father said.

My wife and I really worry about long-term effects that this is going to have on him psychologically if the schools remain closed, Petrilla said, adding that they are very lucky that she can stay home with him, but many parents dont have that choice.

I believe parents should have the choice to send their children to school or not, teachers should have the choice to teach or not, and districts should have the choice to open or not if the data supports it, he said.

The case is scheduled to be heard Monday by Judge Stephen Wilson of the Central District Court of California.

More from National Review
By Express News Service

PUDUKKOTTAI: Residents of a village near Alangudi could soon have their first hospital with a retired headmaster donating land to the State government to construct a Primary Health Centre (PHC). Access to healthcare was a distant dream for the 4000-pus populace of Kulamangalam North and the nearest PHC was 8 km away in Keeramangalam, and the GH 14 km in Aranthangi town. Although Kothamangalam PHC is nearer(6 km), due to bad roads, villagers go to Keeramangalam.

The situation is set to change. M Saravanam, 74, who retired as headmaster of a government school in Kothamanaglam, stepped in to develop his native, Saravanan donated half an acre towards building a PHC in Kulamangalam. The market value of the land is approximately Rs. 15 lakhs. The registration was completed recently. "There is no government-owned land and the panchayat appealed to villagers to donate land. We owned a patch of land near our house, and my father rose to the occasion. It is not new to my family. My grandfather donated land to construct the panchayat office in the 70s," said Raja Athimoolam, Saravanam's son.

"Ours is a remote village and that lacks public transport. There is just one bus in the morning and one in the evening to our village. During emergencies like pregnancies, we rush to Keeramangalam in private vehicles," added Raja.
TikTok is displayed on the screen of an iPhone in Arlington, Virginia, on April 13, 2020. (OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

Nebraska Governor Bans TikTok on State Devices

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) on Aug. 12 announced that the TikTok app will be blocked on all state government devices due to security concerns.

The Chinese government has long engaged in systematic, covert efforts to access sensitive data from U.S. governments, companies, and individuals, Ricketts said in a statement.

As an app owned by a company based in China, TikTok is legally obligated to provide data from its users to the countrys communist regime upon request. To maintain the security of data owned by the State of Nebraska, and to safeguard against the intrusive cyber activities of Chinas communist government, weve made the decision to ban TikTok on State devices.

Nebraska appears to be the first to take state-level action on TikTok. The U.S. House of Representatives on July 20 voted on a measure to ban TikTok from all government-issued devices. The Pentagon last December ordered military personnel to delete TikTok from government devices. The departments of State and Homeland security followed suit in January. Wells Fargo recently instructed employees to remove TikTok, while the Democratic and Republican national committees have warned their staff against using the app.

India banned TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps in June, saying they posed threats to the countrys security and sovereignty.

President Donald Trump earlier this month issued a baneffective in 45 dayson transactions with TikToks holding company, Bytedance, and Tencent, the Chinese company that owns the WeChat app.

On Aug. 5, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expanded a program dubbed Clean Network to prevent various Chinese apps and telecoms firms from accessing sensitive information on U.S. citizens and businesses.

Trump issued the orders under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a law that grants the administration sweeping power to bar U.S. firms or citizens from trading or conducting financial transactions with sanctioned parties.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will identify transactions covered after the orders take effect in mid-September.

TikTok did not immediately return a request for comment.

A report by security research firm Penetrum found that TikTok does an excessive amount of data harvesting.

Cyber experts warn that the app acts as spyware for the Chinese communist regime. The company has denied these claims and sought to distance itself from its Beijing owner, pointing to its American board members and new chief executive. It says its servers are located in the United States and Singapore, and that it would not share user data with the Chinese regime if requested.

Concurrent with the ban, Trump gave Microsoft 45 days to reach a deal to acquire TikToks U.S. business from ByteDance. The presidents chief China advisor, Peter Navarro, has said that Microsoft should first divest from its own businesses in ChinaBing and Skypebefore being cleared to buy out TikTok.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 09:05:46|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese health authority said Thursday that it received reports of 19 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland Wednesday, including 11 imported cases and eight locally-transmitted ones.

All of the new locally-transmitted cases were reported in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the National Health Commission said in its daily report.

One new suspected COVID-19 case, which was imported from outside the mainland, was reported in Shanghai Municipality.

No deaths related to the disease were reported Wednesday. Enditem
Voters in House District 60 will have to choose two candidates for the upcoming General Election in November. The candidates were asked a series of questions by the Green River Star and their responses to those six questions can be found below.

1. In three sentences, describe yourself and why youre seeking election.

Ted Barney (Republican): I have been a resident of House District 60 my entire life. While serving on the Green River City Council I learned that I really enjoy representing people and researching current issues as well as potential future issues that the people of Green Riv...
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Nearly half of all new teachers leave the profession within their first five years, and sometimes their departures have less to do with teaching and more to do with managing disruptive student behavior. Decades of research have shown traditional disciplinary actions, including in-school or out-of-school suspensions, fail to improve student behavior.

Now, researchers at the University of Missouri are aiming to improve classroom behavior and student well-being with the help of $4.5 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Education. The grants were awarded to the Missouri Prevention Science Institute, a multidisciplinary center housed in the MU Office of Research and Economic Development.

Wendy Reinke, a professor in the MU College of Education and co-director of the Missouri Prevention Science Institute, received a $3.2 million grant to implement the Classroom Check-Up, an online resource she developed with videos and strategies to help early-career teachers implement effective classroom management practices. Some of the topics include establishing clear expectations early, teaching students what appropriate behaviors look like and encouraging positive reinforcement. The intervention will support teachers in rural, suburban and urban Missouri school districts.

"This online platform can reach more teachers who find themselves struggling with classroom management, and supporting these teachers can have a trickle-down effect that leads to improved academic and behavioral outcomes for their students," Reinke said. "Some teachers see thousands of kids over the course of their career, so we try to give them the skills to improve those lives they touch."

Aaron Thompson, an associate professor in the College of Human Environmental Sciences and associate director of the Missouri Prevention Science Institute, received a $1.3 million grant to implement an intervention aimed at helping students with challenging classroom behaviors learn how to set goals and monitor their own progress toward those goals.

"What I believe this intervention does is put students in a situation where they are being asked to be engaged with the solution to the problem," Thompson said. "We have to help them see that certain behaviors can help propel them toward the things they want in life. As we empower kids and promote that student autonomy, they will take more responsibility for their actions."

Thompson will work with school districts in Centralia and Ashland to implement the intervention in middle school classrooms.

"My goal is to promote a process where school support personnel, teachers and students are working together to solve problems in the classroom," Thompson said.

###

Funding for both grants was provided by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences to the Missouri Prevention Science Institute, a research center at MU aimed at increasing interdisciplinary research productivity, meaningful community engagement, diversity and inclusivity excellence, and addressing the contextual factors that contribute to and drive poor mental health outcomes in youth.
Cars India Ltd (HCIL) on Thursday said its compact sedan Amaze has crossed 4-lakh cumulative sales mark in the country.

The Japanese automaker first introduced the model, now in its second generation, in the country in 2013.

" Amaze has been a successful model for HCIL and is a key pillar of our business. The 4-lakh cumulative milestone for Amaze has been possible because of the love of our customers and support of our dealer partners," HCIL Senior Vice-President and Director (Sales and Marketing) Rajesh Goel said in a statement.

It is a contemporary sedan that matches customer expectations, and this milestone is a testimony that Amaze has struck the right chord with Indian customers, he added.

"With 42 per cent first-time buyers opting for Amaze, we believe it's a great choice as first car for customers that offers status of a much bigger sedan and great peace of mind with its lowest cost of maintenance to suit their budget," Goel said.

Amaze comes with BS-VI-compliant 1.5-litre diesel and 1.2-litre petrol engines with manual and CVT (automatic) transmissions.

Thecompany sold 2.6 lakh units of first-generation Amaze till March 2018, while the second-generation Amaze has so far sold 1.4 lakh units since its launch in May 2018.

Being a popular model across metros and non-metros, tier-1 markets have contributed to almost 44 per centof the overall volumes whiletier-2 and -3 towns accounted for 56 per cent sales, HCIL said.

With thegrowing popularity of automatic transmission modelsamong customers, the share of automatics in Amazehas alsoincreased from 9 per cent in first generation to more than 20 per cent in second-generation version, it added.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
I worry that even once we get a vaccine, that because of the speed with which its going to be brought into production, that people are going to be reluctant to take it, Lightfoot said. So were starting now to do a lot of education about vaccines in general.
Actor Arshad Warsi who had worked with Sanjay Dutt in the hit Munna Bhai series,has reacted to the latters cancer diagnosis. He said Sanjay would emerge a winner as he is a fighter.

Speaking to Mid Day, he said: I dont know anyone who would have survived [the difficulties] that he has faced head-on. Despite the situations, he has an air of positivity. I have never seen him crib about his hardships. He will emerge triumphant here too; he is a fighter.

The two actors were expected to work in a comedy called Blockbuster next month. In all likelihood, the shoot will be deferred. Films can come and go, but people like him are rare. I pray that he gets better.

Arshad also mentioned that he had spoken to Sanjay when he was admitted to Mumbais Lilavati hospital. He said: We spoke when he was hospitalised last week; he assured me he was fine.

On August 11, Sanjay had announced that he would taking a short break from work for medical treatment. He wrote on Twitter: Hi friends, I am taking a short break from work for some medical treatment. My family and friends are with me and I urge my well-wishers not to worry or unnecessarily speculate. With your love and good wishes, I will be back soon!

Also read: Alia Bhatts Sadak 2 the most disliked trailer on YouTube amid nepotism debate, fans demand justice for Sushant Singh Rajput

A day after actor Sanjay announced a break from films for medical treatment, his wife, producer Maanayata Dutt said the Bollywood star is a fighter who has always emerged winner amid adverse conditions, while urging fans to not fall prey to speculations.

The 61-year-old actor was admitted to Lilavati Hospital over the weekend after complaining of breathlessness. He was discharged from the medical facility on August 10, and put a statement on Tuesday announcing he would be taking a short break from professional commitments to focus on medical treatment.

(With PTI inputs)

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At the same time, granting Russian language a "state status" is off the table, Ukraine's chief settlement negotiator adds.

A possibility is out there for wider use of the Russian language in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine that are now being temporarily occupied, says a new head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group on Donbas settlement Leonid Kravchuk.

Speaking with Ukrainian Radio, Kravchuk, who is also Ukraine's first president, said that based on the "Constitution and European documents, it is possible in these regions to take steps towards wider use of the Russian language".

"This will not be a violation of Ukrainian legislation," Kravchuk assured.

Read alsoMinsk talks on Donbas may change location over protests in Belarus  Kravchuk

At the same time, granting Russian language a "state status" is off the table, Kravchuk added.

The head of the Ukrainian delegation recalled that the Constitution of Ukraine guarantees the right of national minorities to develop and use their own language.

"But nowhere is there anything written on a second state language. Nowhere," the chief of Ukraine's delegation to the TCG stressed.

Kravchuk believes it would be impossible to regain control over Donbas only through language issues.

Donbas settlement talks
By Nate Raymond

BOSTON, Aug 13 (Reuters) - A Florida-based specialty pharmacy will pay $3.5 million to resolve allegations it served as a conduit for a Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd subsidiary to pay kickbacks to Medicare patients, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday.

The settlement with Advanced Care Scripts Inc was the latest to result from an industry-wide U.S. probe of drugmakers' financial support of patient assistance charities that has resulted in nearly $921 million in settlements.

Representatives for Teva and ACS did not respond to requests for comment. Teva has said it has been cooperating with the investigation since first receiving a subpoena from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston in 2017.

Drug companies are prohibited from subsidizing co-payments for patients enrolled in the government's Medicare healthcare program for those aged 65 and older. Companies may donate to non-profits providing co-pay assistance as long as they are independent.

But the government has alleged that various drugmakers have used such charities as means to improperly pay the co-pay obligations of Medicare patients using their drugs, in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute.

According to the government, until 2015, ACS served as a vendor for Teva Neuroscience Inc and provided, among other things, benefits investigation services to patients who had been prescribed its multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone.

As part of the settlement, ACS acknowledged it relayed data to Teva from two foundations that helped cover the co-pay obligations for Medicare patients using Copaxone, so the drugmaker could correlate the payments it made to the charities.

Those charities were the Chronic Disease Fund, now known as Good Days, and the Assistance Fund. They previously resolved similar allegations with the government for $2 million and $4 million, respectively.

Neither admitted wrongdoing as part of those accords. The charities did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Tom Brown)
RESTON, Va., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Reston-based consulting firm Counter Threat Solutions LLC (CTS) has earned recognition as one of Inc. magazine's fastest growing private companies for 2020. Firms such as Zappos, Microsoft, Dell, Domino's Pizza, Pandora, and Zillow gained their first national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000, which began in 1982 and has become the hallmark of entrepreneurial success.

Theresa Keith, CEO, Counter Threat Solutions

"We are thrilled to make it on to this prestigious list. Our growth has been quite deliberate and measured," says Counter Threat Solutions' CEO Theresa Keith. "We don't seek to simply fill billets or put bodies in seats in an effort to increase personnel headcount. We are following our five-year strategic plan and bringing in new talent that serves our market niche as well as fit within our corporate culture."

That plan is working for CTS: it and other companies on the 2020 Inc. 5000 been very competitive within their markets. In fact, the list as a whole shows staggering three-year average growth of more than 500 percent, and a median rate of 165 percent. The 2020 Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2016 and 2019. CTS ranks 1,691 on the list.

"The companies on this year's list come from nearly every realm of business," says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. "From health and software to media and hospitality, the 2020 list proves that no matter the sector, incredible growth is based on the foundations of tenacity and opportunism."

Complete results of the Inc. 5000 can be found at www.inc.com/inc5000.

About Counter Threat Solutions

Counter Threat Solutions LLC (CTS) is a Woman-Owned Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) consulting company named a 2020 Best Place to Work by the Washington Business Journal. CTS provides mission-savvy subject matter experts to the U.S. Government's Intelligence and Defense communities, as well as innovative financial and IT solutions to its Civilian clientele. Learn more about CTS at ctstruenorth.com or LinkedIn.

CONTACT

Counter Threat Solutions Valerie Passwaiter Reston VA (703) 987-1584 ctstruenorth.com [email protected]

SOURCE Counter Threat Solutions
Employers in Sweden more often reject job applications from transgender people - especially in male-dominated occupations. Moreover, transgender people face discrimination from two different grounds for discrimination. This is according to a study from Linkoping University that was recently published in the journal Labour Economics.

Since 2017, gender identity and gender expression is one of the seven grounds for discrimination in Swedish discrimination legislation. However, transgender people, that is, people who identify with another gender than the one they were assigned at birth, report that they are often subject to discrimination in the workplace. Economics researchers at Linkoping University in Sweden have now confirmed that this is the case. Their study is the first to prove this by way of an experimental method.

"From an economic point of view, it's interesting to ask why employers don't make use of these people's skills. We wanted to find out on which grounds employers discriminate against transgender people, because in this case there are two legislative grounds for discrimination that could apply: firstly, sex, and secondly, gender identity and gender expression", says Mark Granberg, doctoral student in economics at Linkoping University.

Mark Granberg carried out the study together with Ali Ahmed, professor in economics, and Per A. Andersson, doctoral student in psychology.

Previous studies show that transgender people experience workplace discrimination in various forms. In an American study from 2011, half of the transgender people reported that they had been subject to, among other things, harassment at work. But there has been a lack of experimental studies - as opposed to self-report studies - into workplace discrimination of transgender people.

The study is the first to use a correspondence test to investigate employer discrimination against transgender people. The correspondence test is a common method when studying discrimination: the participants do not physically meet the employer, they submit a written application. The Linkoping researchers sent in 2,224 fictitious applications for low-skilled jobs listed on the Swedish Public Employment Service's job database. The applications stated that the applicant had undergone a name change - in some cases from a male name to another male name, and in some cases the names crossed gender boundaries, e.g. Erik became Amanda. For every application, the researchers noted whether they received a reply, and if so, what the reply was.

The results show that it was 18 per cent more likely that a cis person - a person who identifies with the gender they were assigned at birth - got a positive response from the employer, compared to a transgender person.

The results also reveal differences between female and male-dominated occupations. With regard to positive replies to applications, the researchers found that the greatest differences between cis and transgender people were in male-dominated occupations. Here, cis men received a positive reply from the employer in 44 per cent of the cases, compared to 24 per cent for the transgender women - i.e. the cis men received nearly twice as many positive replies.

In the female-dominated occupations, the discrimination appeared to depend mainly on the gender with which the applicant identified at the time of application. In occupations where men and women are more or less equally represented, the researchers saw no statistically significant differences between the applicants.

"The study shows that the legislation is not sufficient to protect this group on the labour market. It also suggests that employers discriminate based on several grounds. For instance, it is likely that a transgender man is discriminated against for being transgender in male-dominated occupations, while in female-dominated occupations, the same person would probably face discrimination for being male."

###

The study received partial funding from the Swedish Research Council.

The study:

Hiring Discrimination Against Transgender People: Evidence from a Field Experiment, Mark Granberg, Per A. Andersson, Ali Ahmed, Labour Economics, Volume 65, August 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2020.101860

Contact:

Mark Granberg, doctoral student in economics. mark.granberg@liu.se

Ali Ahmed, professor in economics, +46 13 281495, ali.ahmed@liu.se
After dying from an "acute illness" earlier this month, a dog in North Carolina has been found to be positive for the novel coronavirus, Monday.

While it remains unclear whether the dog died of the coronavirus disease or due to underlying conditions, its death could be the first of rare yet potentially fatal cases of COVID-19 in pets.

According to North Carolina's Department of Health and Human Services, on August 3, the dog showed signs of respiratory distress and was brought to NC State Veterinary Hospital situated in Raleigh.

In a report by NBC News, the person who took the dog to the hospital advised the staff that one of his family members once tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. The department did not disclose the identity of the person who brought the dog to the hospital nor give any more information about the dog citing patient confidentiality.

In a statement by a spokesperson from the department, the dog died on the same day it was brought to the hospital. But the samples that have been taken from the dog were tested in a diagnostic laboratory and returned with a positive result. The United States Department of Agriculture's National Veterinary Services Laboratory confirmed the result.

However, the statement also indicated that investigation on the dog's cause of death is still ongoing.

Read also: New COVID-19 Cases Emerge in New Zealand Breaking its 102-day COVID-free Streak

COVID-19 in Animals

Based on a list that is maintained by the Department of Agriculture, only a few animals have contracted COVID-19 in the US. Many of the animals were infected after they had close contact with people who had the disease as reported by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The agriculture department also noted that there is just a low risk of these animals spreading the disease to people.

The list was last updated on August 7 and confirmed 13 cases of dogs that have been infected by the virus across eight states. In addition, there were also several cats that contracted the disease, and at least eight tigers and lions from a zoo in the Bronx.

In the past month, National Geographic reported that the first dog to contract the disease in the US has died on the 11th of July. The dog was a German shepherd from New York and was 7-years old. According to the magazine, the dog who was named "Buddy" had lymphoma before he died, thus, it is still not clear if it was cancer that caused his death or that if COVID-19 had a role to play.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the American Veterinary Medical Association, Michael San Filippo stated that most dogs who get infected by COVID-19 are either asymptomatic or only exhibit mild symptoms. He also said that since the dogs are asymptomatic, COVID-19 seems to pose no severe threat to dogs.

However, he also emphasized that there is still a lot to learn about the possibility that the disease may combine with other conditions and cause problems. He also noted that it is still best to keep pets away from people who are ill and to practice physical distancing with pets and other pets or people outside the household.



Related article: Wuhan Lab Welcomes US Reporters to Nullify Theories About Being Coronavirus Origin

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Sushant Singh Rajputs sister Shweta Singh Kirti has reiterated the familys demand for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the actors death. She posted a picture of herself holding up a placard which read, I am sister of Sushant Singh Rajput and I request for #CBIforSSR.

In her Instagram post, Shweta wrote that the truth needs to come out so that the family can finally get some closure. Its time we find the truth and get justice. Please help our family and the whole world to know what the truth is and find closure, otherwise we will never be able to live a peaceful life!!#CBIForSSR Raise your voice and demand #JusticeForSushantSinghRajput #WarriorsForSSR @sushantsinghrajput.

Shweta also made an emotional appeal to fans and well-wishers to support the family in their quest for the truth. In a video shared on her Instagram page, she said, Hello, everyone. I am Sushant Singh Rajputs sister, Shweta Singh Kirti. I request everyone to stand together and demand for CBI inquiry for Sushant. We deserve to know the truth. We deserve justice for Sushant. Otherwise, we will never find closure. We wont be able to live a peaceful life. Tahe dil se aap sab se request hai ki ekjut ho kar CBI inquiry ki maang karein kyunki humein sach jaan ne ka haq hai (I sincerely request everyone to stand united and demand a CBI inquiry because we have a right to know the truth). Thank you.

Sushants family has accused his girlfriend, Rhea Chakraborty, of abetment to suicide and claimed that she entered into a relationship with him to further her career. She has also been accused of misappropriating Rs 15 crore from his bank account in the last one year.

An FIR was filed by Sushants father, KK Singh, against her and her family members in Patna under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. This led to a turf war between the police forces of Patna and Mumbai. Earlier this month, the Centre allowed the transfer of the case to the CBI on a reference from the Bihar government, a move that has been welcomed by the actors family but opposed by the Maharashtra government.

The CBI has filed a case against Rhea, her family members and two of her associates. The agency recorded the statements of Sushants father and sister earlier this month.

The Supreme Court is expected to decide today whether the case would be investigated by the CBI or Mumbai Police. The Maharashtra government has said the FIR registered by CBI should be transferred to Mumbai Police, while Sushants family and the Bihar government have opposed this. Rheas counsel had said that they are fine with the CBI probe, but opposed to the manner in which the probe was transferred. The court had reserved its judgement on Tuesday.

Sushant was found dead at his Mumbai home on June 14. The Mumbai Police have said that it is a case of suicide and recorded the statements of 56 people in the case before the CBI stepped in.

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

Follow @htshowbiz for more
About 30,000 spectators could attend Sochi's Russian GP in September.

That is the claim of race promoter Rosgonki's boss Alexey Titov, who said tickets are about to go on sale.

Russia could therefore become the first GP attended by fans amid the pandemic.

"For three months we have not been engaged in sales at all, but now they are slowly resuming," Titov was quoted by Sport-Express, citing Motorsport Russia.

"It is probably premature to talk now about the number of tickets, but from the point of view of general restrictions, at the moment the figure is 50 percent of the total capacity of the Olympic Park," said Titov.

"It will mean the maximum number of fans will be no more than 30-32,000, but this is being discussed and will be agreed jointly with (Russian federal agency) Rospotrebnadzor."

(GMM)
Now we know. The UK has had a recession and Northern Ireland is in the same boat.

UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP) declined by 2.2% from January to March. Normally that would have been a terrible result, but that was nothing compared to a further 20.4% decline which followed from April to June. Total output in the UK economy in the second quarter was 22.1% down on the end of 2019. The UK's Covid-related recession has been worse than that in France, Germany, Italy and the USA. Only Spain was slightly worse.

A 10% GDP reduction would be the worst recession since 1945, topping even the Great Depression of 1929-32. You have to go back to the calamitous years of 1920-21 to find something comparable.

None of this is a surprise given the extent to which lockdown shut down the economy whilst international travel was reduced to a trickle. Most service sectors experienced output declines of about one-fifth in the first half of the year. The decline in retail was slightly worse than that. In tourism and catering the reduction was about 90%.

For the glass half full person there are a few glimmers of hope in the data. Although unemployment continues to rise, in a technical sense recovery began back in May when GDP rose by about 2%. This was followed by a rebound of 8.7% in June.

The critical question is how long it will take us to get back to the pre-lockdown output level. This is highly uncertain given many imponderables: further spikes of the virus, when will a vaccine be available, what sort of trading relationship is the UK going to have with the EU from the start of 2021, and what happens to the world economy. Some forecasters think it will take the UK economy four to five years to regain 2019 levels. After the last recession in 2008-9 the NI economy took at least seven years. It seems reasonable to allow for at least five years to get us back to where we were in December 2019.

The challenge for both the private sector and government is immense. Public health considerations notwithstanding, the Executive seems to have decided that fundamentally health needs wealth. They have lifted lockdown more rapidly than their Scottish and Welsh counterparts. Lockdown's achievement was fewer Covid fatalities and reduced strain on the NHS. On other hand, we can now see just how deep the lockdown recession will be.

We really cannot afford another general lockdown which costs the economy billions and also reduces well-being in all sorts of ways. We do not know when a vaccine will be available but the priority must be alternative ways of containing a second wave such as test and trace, track and trace and very localised lockdowns.

Here are some further policy suggestions:

Foreign direct investment opportunities: as businesses source at home Invest NI could market the region as a safer location for GB/foreign investment.

Sectoral change: manufacturing could gain and the planning and rates system could be used to promote city centre living.

Adapt to changing tourism patterns: opportunities could emerge for more staycations.

Re-skilling during furlough: encourage more e-learning and take the opportunity to reform/scrap the often ineffective Apprenticeship Levy.

NI's next Programme for Government could be simplified to prioritise productivity and competitiveness. Whatever happens in terms of the virus or Brexit, these remain our key priorities.

Dr Esmond Birnie is Senior Economist at the Ulster University Business School
SUMMERWATER by Sarah Moss (Picador 14.99, 208 pp)

SUMMERWATER

by Sarah Moss (Picador 14.99, 208 pp)

Capturing era-defining events in fiction is notoriously tricky  9/11 addled some great writers in the 2000s, and Sarah Mosss recent work prompts the thought that Brexit might be having a similar effect.

Her kaleidoscopic new novel unfolds over a rainy summers day as seen by 12 different residents of a Scottish holiday park, from a mother wondering how best to use a rare hours childcare, to a young couple hungrily experimenting between the sheets.

At first, the book seems designed to showcase Mosss powers of imaginative sympathy, with action less important than sharp social observation. This is until tragedy beckons in the background tensions surrounding the supposedly Eastern European inhabitants of one cabin, relentlessly badmouthed on account of playing music at night.

A new Moss novel is always a gift but, as with her previous book, Ghost Wall, I cant help feeling that the urge to say something important about the here and now is leading her into melodrama.

HERE IS THE BEEHIVE

HERE IS THE BEEHIVE by Sarah Crossan (Bloomsbury Circus 12.99, 288 pp)

by Sarah Crossan (Bloomsbury Circus 12.99, 288 pp)

If the derisive tag Hampstead adultery novel seeks to damn middle-class hanky-panky as a tired or otherwise unfit subject for fiction, this stylish adult debut from an award-winning YA author ought to make even the weariest reader think again.

Set in North London, its told by Ana, a solicitor and married mother-of-two, who plunges into a heady liaison with Connor, an architect, also married with children, after he visits her office to sort out a will.

The novels cut-up prose looks like a poem, which might seem gimmicky but adds pace and punch, while the jumbled timeline fuels intrigue: as Ana narrates in the aftermath of the affair  Connor is dead  the storys phases blur, from the first stirrings of desire, to stolen weekends away, to pilfering keepsakes from Connors widow as Ana riskily befriends her under false pretences.

Sex, work and motherhood all come under the microscope in this vivid portrait of the agony of being the other woman.

AS YOU WERE

AS YOU WERE by Elaine Feeney (Harvill Secker 14.99, 400 pp)

by Elaine Feeney (Harvill Secker 14.99, 400 pp)

Feeneys dialogue-driven debut follows Sinead, an Irish property developer who doesnt want to let her husband and young sons know about her terminal cancer diagnosis, not even when shes brought to hospital in an ambulance.

We cut between her stubbornly non-maudlin thoughts and fragmented eavesdropping on the war stories traded by her fellow patients on the ward, whose tragicomic tales make up the bulk of the book and shed alarming light on the history of womens struggle for reproductive rights in Ireland.

The clever set-up doesnt come cost-free, since its hard not to feel twitchy whenever Sinead isnt the focus  shes the novels most complex, engaging character, yet we see her only in glimpses, as a secret drinker and love cheat scarred by a tyrannical father.

While Feeney judges her bittersweet tone perfectly, the roundabout narrative structure makes for a frustrating reading experience, even though its entirely consistent with the novels theme of avoiding hard emotions.
IT industry body Nasscom on Thursday said it is "cautiously optimistic" about the exemptions offered in the H-1B and L-1 travel ban.

However, it welcomed the move as it could help US businesses access talent critical to economic recovery post-Covid-19. The industry body said there are caveats in the US Department of State's (DoS) guidance about seniority, unique and significant contributions and other factors that go along with the exceptions that allow leeway in the interpretation of the new guidance. "Its impact can only be gauged in course of time," ...
A court here on Thursday framed charges against former Bishop of Jalandhar Diocese, Franco Mulakkal, in the case relating to rape of a nun in Kerala.

The Additional Sessions Court Judge read out to Mulakkal, who was present in the court, the charges under various sections of the IPC including the punishment for offence for rape as it commenced trial proceedings in the sensational case.

The accused denied the charges against him.

The case was posted for September 16 for the victims examination.

He has been charged under various sections of IPC including 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 377 (Unnatural Sex), 376 (c)(a) Sexual intercourse by person in authority 376(2)(k) (indulging in sexual intercourse by exhorting authority), and 506 (criminal intimidation).

Last week, the Bishop was granted bail by the court with stringent conditions and directed him to be present on the dates of hearing of the case.

The Supreme Court had directed Mulakkal to face trial as it dismissed his plea seeking discharge in the rape case lodged against him by the nun belonging to a congregation under Jalandhar diocese, saying there was no merit in his petition.

Mulakkal, in his plea had challenged the July 7 Kerala High Court order, dismissing his discharge plea in the rape case filed by the nun. The High Court had asked the deposed Bishop of Jalandhar diocese to stand for trial in the rape case.

The senior priest of the Roman Catholic Church had filed the revision petition following the dismissal of his discharge plea by a trial court in March this year.

The rape case against the Bishop was registered by police in Kottayam district.

In her complaint to the police in June 2018, the nun had alleged that she was subjected to sexual abuse by the bishop during the period between 2014 and 2016.

The bishop was arrested by the Special Investigation team.
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While President Trump has long railed against mail-in voting, falsely claiming it leads to rampant fraud, he appeared to confirm Thursday morning that he opposes Democrats' proposed boost in funding to the U.S. Postal Service for the express purpose of making it harder to expand voting by mail.

His comments came during an interview with Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business Network after she asked why the White House and congressional Democrats are still miles apart on approving a new stimulus deal.

Trump said one major factor is the Democrats' push for an injection of funds into the U.S. Postal Service to expand voting by mail.

"They [the Democrats] want three and a half billion dollars for something that'll turn out to be fraudulent -- that's election money basically," Trump said.

"They want $25 billion for the post office. Now, they need that money in order to have the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots. Now, in the meantime, they aren't getting there. But if they don't get those two items, that means you can't have universal mail-in voting because they're not equipped to have it."

California voters:

All registered voters in California will receive a mail-in ballot for the November election under a new law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in June.

All ballot envelopes in California are pre-paid postage.

Ballots postmarked on or before election day will have their votes counted under state law -- as long as they arrive within 17 days.

Read more about voting in L.A. County: How Voting Will Work For The 2020 Election

Eight states, including California which is new to the practice, are mailing ballots to all active voters this fall, including six that have been doing so for years, but most states are not conducting what Trump calls universal mail-in voting.

He goes on say, "If we don't make a deal, that means they don't get the money. That means they can't have universal mail-in voting. They just can't have it."

The Biden campaign quickly responded, calling the president's intentions an "assault on democracy."

"The President of the United States is sabotaging a basic service that hundreds of millions of people rely upon, cutting a critical lifeline for rural economies and for delivery of medicines, because he wants to deprive Americans of their fundamental right to vote safely during the most catastrophic public health crisis in over 100 years -- a crisis so devastatingly worsened by his own failed leadership that we are now the hardest hit country in the world by the coronavirus pandemic," Biden campaign spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement.

This isn't the first time even this week that the president has lambasted voting by mail.

On Wednesday, he devoted a considerable amount of time during his daily briefing with reporters to denounced any plans for additional funding to support the U.S. Postal Service.

"Now they want to take it countrywide -- mail-in voting. It's going to be the greatest fraud in the history of elections. When you always talk about Russia, Russia, Russia and China, Iran on voting -- the biggest problem is going to be with the Democrats, not with China, Russia and Iran," he said.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, experts estimate up to 70% of votes could be cast by mail this election cycle, requiring equipment upgrades to handle the uptick.

And while Trump asserted in his interview with Fox that there's "nothing wrong with getting out and voting," citing people who voted during the first and second world wars, health experts say that voting by mail could reduce voters' exposure and spread of the coronavirus.

Election watchdogs were quick to denounce Trump's latest comments.

"Trump's brazen abuse of the post office to try and win an election is a shameful misuse of presidential power. Defunding the Postal Service and slowing its ability to deliver mail ballots to Americans will hurt Democratic and Republican voters alike," said Trevor Potter, the president of the Campaign Legal Center and former Republican chair of the Federal Election Commission.

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Larsa Pippen has recently drifted apart from the Kardashian family, amid a mysterious feud with the longtime pals.

But the Real Housewives of Miami alum isn't losing any sleep over it, as she enjoys some quality time with her real ride-or-dies.

She showed off her gorgeous curves and her love of Kiss, as she stepped out Wednesday night in a see-through dress that left a rogue tag on display, for a mask-free evening with friends in Beverly Hills.

Invisible dress: Larsa Pippen showed off her gorgeous curves and her love of Kiss, as she stepped out Wednesday night in a see-through dress, for a mask-free evening with friends in Beverly Hills

Fashion mishap: She forgot to remove a tag, which was on display through the barely-there dress

The 46-year-old left little to the imagination in the jeweled long-sleeve Philipp Plein mini dress, displaying the name of the iconic metal band across the chest and butt.

She wore the number over a skintight black bodysuit, which put her toned legs and pert derriere on display.

Pippen paired the look with some pointed black strappy six-inch stilettos with sparkling silver heels.

The open-toe heels showed off her fresh millennial pink pedicure, which matched her pink manicure.

Sparkling display: The 46-year-old left little to the imagination in the jeweled long-sleeve Philipp Plein mini dress

Kiss kiss: It displayed the name of the iconic metal band across the chest and butt. She wore the number over a skintight black bodysuit, which put her toned legs and pert derriere on display

Dripping in diamonds: She finished the ensemble with a pair of diamond stud earrings and a matching diamond chain choker from her jewelry line Larsa Marie

Hell on heels: Pippen paired the look with some pointed black strappy six-inch stilettos with sparkling silver heels

She finished the ensemble with a pair of diamond stud earrings and a matching diamond chain choker from her jewelry line Larsa Marie.

The Chicago-born entrepreneur left her nose and mouth exposed, as she held her sparkling silver face mask in her hand outside the restaurant.

She dined out with friends Sheeraz Hasan, 46, and Love & Hip Hop: Miami star Michelle Pooch, 39, at upscale Italian eatery Il Pastaio.

Paws and claws: The open-toe heels showed off her fresh millennial pink pedicure, which matched her pink manicure

Mask off: The Chicago-born entrepreneur left her nose and mouth exposed, as she held her sparkling silver face mask in her hand outside the restaurant

Lap of luxury: She dined out with friends Sheeraz Hasan, 46, and Love & Hip Hop: Miami star Michelle Pooch, 39, at upscale Italian eatery Il Pastaio

Pooch put on a sizzling display, donning a skintight hot pink sheer mini dress with a structured bustier.

Pippen previously showed off her provocative look posing in a mirror video, while playing Twist & Turn by Popcaan.

She served body in the sultry dinner look, which she captioned: 'Might be late but always on time.'

The estranged wife of Scottie Pippen, 54, teased the ensemble once again from the backseat, listening to Love U Better by Ty Dolla $ign.

Feeling cute: Pippen previously showed off her provocative look posing in a mirror video, while playing Twist & Turn by Popcaan. She served body in the sultry dinner look, which she captioned: 'Might be late but always on time'
ANKARA: President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that any attack on a Turkish ship exploring for oil and gas in disputed Mediterranean waters would incur a "high price" and suggested Turkey had already acted on that warning. Tensions in the eastern Mediterranean have risen sharply this week after Turkey sent a survey vessel to the region, escorted by warships, in a move Greece decried as illegal.

"We said that if you attack our Oruc Reis you will pay a high price, and they got their first answer today," Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara without giving details. The Oruc Reis set out on Monday with its military escort to survey waters between Crete and Cyprus.

In response, President Emmanuel Macron said France would increase its military presence in the region and called on Ankara to stop its exploration work. French and Greek forces held military training exercises off Crete on Thursday. European Union foreign ministers, who have already imposed sanctions on two Turkish energy executives over Turkey`s operations in the eastern Mediterranean, will discuss the situation on Friday.

Greece`s foreign ministry said Minister Nikos Dendias will brief EU counterparts "about the real facts of the recent days regarding operations in the region" at the emergency meeting. Erdogan spoke by phone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and EU Council President Charles Michel on Thursday. He "reiterated his commitment to defend Turkey`s rights against attempts to disregard them", Erdogan`s office said of the call with Michel.

Both Turkey and Greece said this week that they were willing to resolve the dispute over their overlapping maritime claims, but vowed to protect their interests and blamed the other side for the stand-off. "If we act with common sense and reason, we can find a win-win solution that meets everyone`s interests," Erdogan said earlier on Thursday. "We are not chasing any unnecessary adventures or seeking tensions."

In an apparent reference to France, Erdogan also said Greece was being pushed into taking "wrong steps" in the region by "a country that doesn`t even have coast in the eastern Mediterranean".
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-14 00:25:50|Editor: huaxia

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LONDON, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 300 staff have tested positive for coronavirus at a local convenience food factory in Northampton in central England, which sends sandwiches to supermarkets all over Britain, British health officials said Thursday.

Health officials are dealing with the outbreak at the Greencore food company which has seen 299 confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to Lucy Wightman, director of public health at Northamptonshire County Council.

A spokesman for the company, which employs 2,100 people, said those who tested positive were self-isolating.

The confirmed test results may force the town in England's Midlands region into local lockdown. Enditem
Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, urged Thursday to wear face masks while outdoors during the next three months in an effort to save 40,000 lives from the COVID-19 pandemic during that period.

Biden and Harris, D-Calif., called on governors to issue mandatory mask orders after receiving a briefing from health officials including: Dr. David Kessler, a former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration; Dr. Nicki Lurie, former assistant secretary of Health; and Dr. Vivek Murthy, a former U.S. surgeon general.

Every single American should be wearing a mask when theyre outside for the next three months at a minimum," Biden said. Wearing a mask is going to get our kids back to school sooner and safer."

President Donald Trump at a news conference later Thursday accused Biden of politicizing the pandemic while showing his appalling lack of respect for the American people. Trump said the administration would continue to recommend wearing masks and encourage social distancing, but leave decisions on mandates to governors.

But we do not need to bring the full weight of the federal government on law-abiding Americans to have this goal, Trump said. Americans must have their freedoms and I trust the American people and their governors very much.

The COVID-19 pandemic has become a central issue in the presidential campaign with more than 166,000 deaths and 5.2 million cases nationwide. Unemployment spiked at 14.7% in April and 16 million people remain out of work because of lockdowns to prevent the virus from spreading.

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden removes his face mask to speak at the Hotel DuPont in Wilmington, Del., Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

'This is a crisis': National Urban League finds persistent racial disparities exacerbated during pandemic

Biden said when confronted by people who are unwilling or skeptical of wearing a mask because it's uncomfortable, he tells them they should do it to protect others.

Its not about your rights, its about your responsibilities," Biden said he tells reluctant people. "This is America. Be a patriot. Protect your fellow citizens. Do the right thing."

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Trump also said wearing masks is patriotic, even as he questioned their efficacy.

Maybe theyre great. Maybe theyre just good. Maybe theyre not so good, Trump said. But frankly, what do you have to lose?

Harris said Biden also proposes to distribute tens of millions of testing kits nationwide, hiring 100,000 workers to trace the contacts of people who become infected and $25 billion to support manufacturing and distribution of an eventual vaccine for the virus. She urged voters to ask President Donald Trump's administration when they would receive a vaccination.

"Thats what real leadership looks like," Harris said of Biden's recommendation.

More: 'Battle for the soul of the nation': Before they were running mates, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris both used slogan

The pair left the Wilmington, Del., hotel where the briefing took place without taking questions from the media.

Trump has touted that the U.S. has conducted the most tests worldwide and ensured ventilators were provided to anyone who needed them. He has touted therapeutic drugs and suggests a vaccine will be available soon. And the president has said the robust economy of last year would return next year, after treatments are available.

But Biden has blasted Trump for mismanagement that resulted in more suffering than necessary, including tens of thousands more lives lost, millions more jobs ended and millions of children at risk as schools reopen. Harris said Trump squandered a healthy economy inherited from the Obama and Biden administration.

More: FDA denies Henry Ford Health request to use hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 patients

As the administration and Congress debate additional spending to cope with the virus, Biden has proposed trillions in new spending on infrastructure, clean energy and caregivers.

Some 34 states have mandatory mask orders, according to AARP, an advocacy group for older Americans.

Marc Perrone, president of United Food and Commercial Workers, a union representing 1.3 million workers in grocery stores, meatpacking plants and other front-line industries, said governors should pull their heads out of the sand and order mask mandates.

In every grocery store in America, frontline workers are continuing to put themselves in harms way, Perrone said. Without immediate action, these brave workers will continue to get sick and die.

But mask orders have become political lightning rods across the country. Trump has begun wearing a mask while touring facilities with local dignitaries, but has kept federal guidelines for mask-wearing as recommendations rather than orders.

In Georgia, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and a dozen other local jurisdictions ordered people to wear masks in public places. But Gov. Brian Kemp fought the orders in court, arguing that city officials dont have the authority to impose stricter orders than the state. He said Thursday he would drop the lawsuit.

In Florida, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods told his employees they will not wear masks at work and visitors cant wear masks in his offices.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Joe Biden urges mandatory mask wearing for 3 months to save 40K lives
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Inclusive Capital Partners ("In-Cap") successfully completed the transition of the management of the Inclusive Capital Spring Fund ("Spring Fund") from Value Act Capital, at the close of business on July 31, 2020. As a result, In-Cap has now assumed the active management of the existing Spring Fund investments.

On Tuesday, August 11, 2020, the Spring Fund sold 1.4M shares of Nikola Corp. in the open market, solely for portfolio management reasons. Regarding the sale, In-Cap's Jeff Ubben commented, "We have been captivated by Trevor Milton's vision since we reached out to the company in 2017. The Nikola team is executing on a business model that accelerates the hydrogen economy  funding the build out of hydrogen stations with fuel cell trucks paid for on a per mile basis. We see tremendous value in this first mover hydrogen network, to achieve zero emission transportation and to support the renewable build out of the grid with long duration storage."

Ubben continued, "The Spring Fund acquired a large position in 2019, becoming the company's first financial investor. The Nikola position has appreciated to the extent we needed to sell some shares to stay within Spring Fund's internal position limit policy. We reduced our position by 7% in the trading window that opened following Nikola's earnings. We continue to own more than 5% of the company and expect to remain a significant long-term shareholder."

About Inclusive Capital Partners:

Inclusive Capital Partners was formed in 2020 by a team of experienced investors with a shared passion for positively leveraging capitalism and governance in pursuit of a healthy planet and the health of its inhabitants. Based in San Francisco, the investment firm seeks long-term shareholder value through active partnership with companies whose core businesses contribute solutions to this pursuit.

About Nikola Corporation:

Nikola Corporation is globally transforming the transportation industry. As a designer and manufacturer of zero-emission battery-electric and hydrogen-electric vehicles, electric vehicle drivetrains, vehicle components, energy storage systems, and hydrogen station infrastructure, Nikola is driven to revolutionize the economic and environmental impact of commerce as we know it today. Founded in 2015, Nikola Corporation is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. For more information, visit www.nikolamotor.com or Twitter @nikolamotor.

SOURCE Inclusive Capital Partners
An expert committee which met on Wednesday to consider the logistics and ethical aspects of procuring and administering the Covid-19 vaccine once it becomes available, has decided that procurement should be done centrally.

The meeting was headed by Dr V K Paul of the Niti Aayog, and was co-chaired by Secretary (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare). "The Committee advised all the States not to chart separate pathways of procurement," said a press release issued by the Union Health Ministry on Wednesday.

The creation and implementation of a digital infrastructure to manage the delivery mechanism of the vaccine and ensure focus on last mile delivery, was also discussed.

Broad parameters to select the Covid-19 vaccine candidates for India were also deliberated upon. The principles to decide which population groups would receive the vaccine first were discussed, as well. "The group delved on the procurement mechanisms for Covid-19 vaccine, including both indigenous and international manufacturing," the release read.

The group also talked on money matters; the financial resources which would be needed to procure Covid-19 vaccine, and the various financial options through which it could be done.

"Available options in terms of delivery platforms, cold chain and associated infrastructure for roll out of Covid-19 vaccination were also taken up," the statement said. Focus was also put on equitable and transparent delivery of the vaccine, and issues related to its safety were also discussed.

The strategy to spread awareness and involve the community through transparent information was also one of the points discussed at the meeting.

The option of procuring the Covid-19 vaccine through other countries also remains open. "Indias support to its key neighbors and development partner countries for COVID-19 vaccines was deliberated upon," the release said.

The expert group discussed that India will leverage domestic vaccine manufacturing capacity and will also engage with all international players for early delivery of vaccines not only in India but also in low and middle income countries.
You can listen to the latest episode of Today in Pa at this link, or on your favorite app including Alexa, Apple, Google, Spotify and Stitcher. Episodes are available every weekday on PennLive. Subscribe/follow and rate the podcast via your favorite app.

Today in Pa. Daily Podcast | Aug. 13, 2020

Penn State students will have to sign a COVID-19 liability waiver before returning to campus this fall. Meanwhile, a judicial conduct board recommends the suspension of a judge who allegedly referred to a black juror as Aunt Jemima. Temple University is giving $1,500 to thousands of employees who work in its clinics during the pandemic. GlaxoSmithKline donates $10 million to help women, Black and Latinx students pursue STEM careers.

Those are the stories we cover in the latest episode of Today in Pa, a daily weekday podcast from PennLive.com and hosted by Julia Hatmaker. Today in Pa is dedicated to sharing the most important and interesting stories in the state.

Todays episode refers to the following articles:

If you enjoy Today in Pa, consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or on Amazon. Reviews help others find the show and, besides, we like to know what you think of the program.

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By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Violence in DJ Halli police station limits came to an end in the early hours of Wednesday, but politics over the incident raged all day as parties sparred over it.

While BJP leaders deemed the violence a result of Congress appeasement politics, the Congress lambasted the BJP for attempting to add fuel to fire.

Dead silence by @INCIndia @INCKarnataka even after their Dalit MLA Sri Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy was attacked, house ransacked yesterday in Bengaluru. Total support for RIGHT TO RIOT ...?(SIC) For them appeasement is the only official party policy, said BL Santhosh, National General Secretary (Organisation), BJP, floating a hashtag on Congress supporting riots.

Tourism Minister CT Ravi and Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya urged the government to recover the damage costs from those arrested.

MP Shobha Karandlaje alleged the violence was pre-planned.

ALSO READ | Bengaluru violence: Uneasy calm hangs over riot-hit areas; 193 held

PFI-SDPI conspired in this violence, they targeted only Hindu houses and burnt public properties, she said, also lashing out at the Congress. DyCM Dr CN Ashwath Narayan also condemned the post.

It is wrong to post communally inflammatory content against any religion or religious figures. Guilty will be punished. Violence is not acceptable, he said in the afternoon.

But by evening, his stance had shifted. The scale and organised nature of the violence confirms that it was entirely orchestrated by these jihadi elements, he tweeted.

Congress MLAs BA Zameer Ahmed and Rizwan Arshad tried to rein in the mob on Tuesday.

ALSO READ | Bengaluru volence: Day after, peace returns to ravaged locality

Congress leaders condemned the violence and the inflammatory post.

I condemn both violent incident that erupted in Kaval Byrsandra and also the social media post that instigated the mob. I humbly request both Hindus and Muslims of the area to stay calm..., tweeted former CM Siddaramaiah.

While @INCKarnataka leaders are on the ground trying to douse the flames burning #NammaBengaluru, few leaders like @ blsanthosh like to use these incidents like #BangloreRiots to further their political agenda... tweeted Priyank Kharge, Congress MLA.
(Newser)  Could COVID-19 kill the traditional newsroom? Amid the remote work environment sparked by the coronavirus pandemic, Tribune Publishing is closing the offices of five of its newspapers, NBC News reports. They include the Daily News in New York City, the Orlando Sentinel in Florida, and two Maryland newspapers, including the Capital Gazette, where a mass shooting claimed five lives in 2018. The company had already abandoned office space in Los Angeles and Chicago during the first quarter of 2020. The papers will still be published, but it's not clear whether any physical workspace might open in the future. The local newspaper industry, already struggling before the pandemic, is having an even harder time now, with layoffs and furloughs ramping up. Poynter notes several other publishers are leaving some physical offices behind, including McClatchy.

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"Out of an abundance of caution we do not anticipate having employees that can work remotely coming back into the office for the remainder of the year and into 2021," said a Tribune Publishing rep regarding the closure of the Daily News newsroom. "With no clear path forward in terms of returning to work, and as the company evaluates its real estate needs in light of health and economic conditions brought about by the pandemic, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close the office." The AP notes Tribune Publishing owns "some of the most storied newspapers in American journalism." The Morning Call, a Pennsylvania paper whose newsroom is also shutting down, had been in its building for 100 years. The Sentinel had been at its location for 69. But working outside an office, says the editor of an Advance Publications paper that's selling its building, is actually "the way reporters should work." (Read more newspaper industry stories.)
Rinnai established its US operations in 1974 and introduced Tankless Water Heating to the North American Market in 2000. In 2017 the company announced aggressive growth plans in the United States including the expansion of its Corporate Headquarters, the opening of a state-of-the-art Innovation Center, and plans to begin Manufacturing; all in the state of Georgia. Just eight months later the company announced it had moved into a temporary facility in Griffin, Georgia and had manufactured its first tankless water heater in the United States with long term plans of building a new 300,000 square foot manufacturing facility, also in Griffin, Georgia. The company continues to make significant investments in expanding its operations and product portfolio, focusing on its brand promise of Creating a Healthier Way of Living.

DOMESTIC GROWTH IN GEORGIA

Rinnai conducted a comprehensive search to determine where its domestic growth investments would take place and ultimately decided to remain in the state of Georgia. The decision included a training partnership with Georgia Quick Start and Southern Crescent Technical College.

"We're proud to have a global company like Rinnai doing business in Peachtree City and in Griffin, and I want to thank Rinnai for continuing to grow their North American footprint right here in Georgia," said Governor Kemp. "Rinnai's continued investment in Georgia is a testament to our unmatched workforce training programs, pro-business environment, and unparalleled logistics network, and I look forward to working together as they continue creating opportunities for hardworking Georgians."

"The State of Georgia has been a true partner in helping Rinnai America in opening our first manufacturing site in North America," said Frank Windsor, President of Rinnai America Corporation. "We look forward to partnering with them in the years to come as we grow our business in the Americas."

THE BUILDING AND DESIGN

The new 300,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility in Griffin, Georgia will manufacture the company's residential and commercial water heating solutions, as well as future additions to the company's product portfolio as it seeks to expand its product offerings in North America. "By establishing a world class manufacturing facility in Griffin, Rinnai will be well positioned to provide our customers with high quality products and services. The growing partnership with the Griffin community is key to Rinnai's success now, and in the future," said Derrick Black, VP of Operations, Rinnai America Corporation.

Rinnai has contracted with ASD | SKY Architects for the building design and interior design. The 300,000 square foot facility will reside on a nearly 60-acre site in the Lakes of Green Valley in Griffin, GA and will consist of four general areas including office space, manufacturing, assembly, and warehouse. The location provides the company with adequate space for current operations and future growth and expansion. The Lakes at Green Valley is a 570-acre mixed use development located along the Georgia Highway 16 corridor (Arthur K. Bolton Parkway) at the intersection of Rehoboth Road in Spalding County, Georgia. This property was selected due to the great potential of utilizing the natural features to establish a unique "green" development. The property's geographical location was also a primary factor in this site selection. It is located three miles east of Griffin, Georgia and conveniently along a four-lane highway approximately seven miles from Interstate 75. The Park is also located in close proximity to other industrial areas that house such names as Caterpillar, Inc., Norcom and many others. The new facility is scheduled to open late 2021.

To learn more about Rinnai, visit www.rinnai.us.

About Rinnai

Rinnai America Corporation, a subsidiary of Rinnai Corporation in Nagoya, Japan, was established in 1974 and is headquartered in Peachtree City, Ga. Rinnai Corporation manufactures gas appliances including tankless water heaters, a wide range of kitchen appliances and heating and air conditioning units. As the technology leader in its industry, Rinnai is the largest gas appliance manufacturer in Japan and is the number-one selling brand of tankless gas water heaters in the United States and Canada. Annual corporate revenues, including those of its subsidiaries, are in excess of $3.2 billion. With a global perspective to create 21st-century products for the home and business, Rinnai Corporation commits itself to safety and Creating A Healthier Way of Living. For more information about Rinnai's entire product line, visit www.rinnai.us.

SOURCE Rinnai America Corporation

Related Links

http://www.rinnai.us


FILE PHOTO: Woman wearing a face mask walks on a pedestrian overpass with an electronic board showing the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indexes in Shanghai

By Julie Zhu

HONG KONG (Reuters) - China plans to merge domestic broker First Capital Securities <002797.SZ> with smaller rival Capital Securities, three sources said, underscoring Beijing's determination to consolidate the brokerage industry to take on the giants of Wall Street.

China wants to level the playing field as it opens up its financial markets to foreign players including Goldman Sachs <GS.N> and Morgan Stanley <MS.N>, said two of the sources with knowledge of the matter.

In addition to consolidation, China wants to build firms mighty enough to take on Wall Street behemoths in the domestic industry, which is worth 8 trillion yuan ($1.2 trillion) and has over 130 firms.

The merger strategy is being encouraged by the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the top securities regulator, the state-run China Securities Journal reported last month.

Shenzhen-listed First Capital, with a market value of $6.2 billion, plans to issue new shares to private Capital Securities in a deal valuing the smaller firm at about $1.4 billion, said one source, speaking on condition of anonymity as the information was private.

The merger of the two firms - ranked 44th and 62nd respectively by operating revenue last year - could be finalised as early as this year, the source added.

Shares in First Capital surged by the maximum 10% on the news on Thursday to their highest level since Aug. 6.

The Beijing municipal government owns 23% of First Capital and 91.5% of Capital Securities via several companies, the corporate registry showed.

Capital Securities had been preparing for a domestic listing for months but had slowed down the process to prioritise the potential merger, said another source.

First Capital said in a filing on Thursday night that the media report on its merger with Capital Securities is untrue and it does not plan such a merger for at least three months.

Capital Securities, the Beijing government and the Beijing office of the state asset regulator did not respond to requests for comment.

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The potential tie-up comes as China's largest broker, Citic Securities <600030.SS>, is in the process of merging with smaller peer China Securities Co <6066.HK>, said the other two sources. Both companies have previously dismissed media reports on the merger.

Until now, no other brokerages have been publicly named as merger candidates, and talk of a merger between First Capital and Capital Securities indicates that the consolidation strategy is gathering pace.

Citic Securities and CSC did not respond to requests for comment.

Wall Street firms are jostling for a greater share of the Chinese market after Beijing promised to scrap foreign ownership caps on securities firms and mutual funds for foreign investors from April, in an interim Sino-U.S. trade deal signed in January.

Investment banks including Goldman which already hold majority stakes in their China securities business are seeking to move towards 100% ownership and expand operations.

(Reporting by Julie Zhu; Additional reporting by Cheng Leng in Beijing; Editing by Stephen Coates)
The coronavirus outbreak and the resultant social distancing have taken online shopping to the next level. Americans are now spending more time at home, preferring to shop online and opting for delivery at their doors or curbside pickup options. Certainly, this calls for retailers to sharpen their delivery game, an area where Walmart Inc. WMT has been focusing on for a long time now. The worlds largest retailer took yet another step forward in this realm with its latest alliance with Instacart, as reported by various media reports.



Sources revealed that Walmart is teaming up with Instacart for same-day deliveries in some U.S. markets. The deal is currently in its pilot phase, with deliveries available in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego in California and Tulsa in Oklahoma. Thanks to the Instacart deal, customers can easily have a range of Walmarts products, such as groceries, pantry staples, home decor, alcohol, personal care, electronics and more delivered at their door.



Without a doubt, this adds another feather to Walmarts cap in its game against Amazon AMZN, especially at a juncture where the demand for grocery delivery is seeing a spike. In fact, with the continued rise in the number of COVID-19 cases, such trends are likely to stay. Given such a scenario, Walmarts efforts to step up the delivery game are likely to work well and help it stay firm amid the competitive frenzy.



Well, Instacart was already a partner with Walmarts Sams Club division. Apart from this, this provider of grocery delivery and pickup service is delivering products for other retail behemoths like Target TGT and Kroger KR, to name a few. Coming back to Walmart, the company has been undertaking aggressive efforts to boost its business and cater well to customers amid the crisis situation.



To this end, Walmart unveiled Express Delivery during the first quarter of fiscal 2021, through which many items from its stores can be delivered to customers in less than two hours. Also, Walmart's Sams Club division recently launched a curbside pickup service, which offers contact-less order online and deliver to car service. Further, the company expanded its ship-from-store option temporarily to about 2,500 stores and extended curbside pharmacy pickup as well as mail-to-home options in the United States. Apart from this, the company announced a partnership between Uber and Flipkart for the delivery of daily essentials. Walmart has ensured proper sanitization, launched pickup in China, expanded online grocery capacity in the U.K. and introduced contact-less delivery in Canada, among others.



While these raise optimism, high COVID-19 costs, such as escalated wages and benefits to employees, costs associated with sanitization and other safety measures, are concerning for this Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) companys margins. Incidentally, the company has been paying special cash bonuses to some of its workers. Apart from this, price investments and shift in sales mix to lower-margin channels and categories pose threats to the gross margin. Nonetheless, we believe that the supermarket giants robust sales-driving efforts are likely to offer cushion.



You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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These Stocks Are Poised to Soar Past the Pandemic

The COVID-19 outbreak has shifted consumer behavior dramatically, and a handful of high-tech companies have stepped up to keep America running. Right now, investors in these companies have a shot at serious profits. For example, Zoom jumped 108.5% in less than 4 months while most other stocks were sinking.



Our research shows that 5 cutting-edge stocks could skyrocket from the exponential increase in demand for stay at home technologies. This could be one of the biggest buying opportunities of this decade, especially for those who get in early.



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Nasscom on Thursday said it is "cautiously optimistic" about the exemptions offered in the H-1B and L-1 travel ban and the development will help US businesses access talent critical for economic recovery in the post-Covid-19 world. The industry body said there are caveats in the US Department of State's (DoS) guidance about seniority, unique and significant contributions and other factors that go along with the exceptions that allow leeway in interpretation of the new guidance.

Its impact can only be gauged in course of time, it added. On Wednesday, the DoS issued ...
A Houston-area man was among a group of Marines whose bodies were recovered last week following a training accident off the California coast, the Marine Corps announced Wednesday.

The bodies of seven Marines and one sailor were located Aug. 7 off the coast of San Clemente Island following the July 30 incident. The bodies were transferred Wednesday to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where burial preparations will take place. The bodies will then be released to their families for final arrangements.

One of the victims, 22-year-old Cpl. Wesley A. Rodd, was originally from Harris County. He was a rifleman with Bravo Company, Battalion Landing Team 1/4 with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.

His family has requested privacy, but Rodds Facebook page suggests he went to Cy-Fair High School in Cypress. Posts from May also show that Rodd and his wife, Jamie, recently became parents.

A GoFundMe page for Rodd has already generated close to $50,000.

The body of another Texas Marine, Lance Cpl. Guillermo Perez, was recovered the day of the accident. Perez, 19, was from New Braunfels. His body was transferred Aug. 5 to Dover Air Force Base.

The Marines Corps originally identified Perez and Rodd with the incorrect ages.

The accident occurred during a routine training session July 30, when an amphibious assault vehicle started taking on water near the island and sank. Of the 16 service members on board, seven Marines were rescued while Perez was pronounced dead on scene.

After 40 hours of search and rescue efforts by Coast Guard and Navy helicopters, ships and water-craft, officials called off the efforts and said they were presumed dead.

It is not yet known why the mishap occurred, but the incident is under investigation. In an earlier press conference, Lt. Gen. Joseph Osterman said the vehicle sank in several hundred feet, at a depth too deep for divers.

Previous amphibious assault vehicle mishaps have occurred during waterborne operations, but both incidents resulted in one fatality, Marine Corps spokesperson 1st Lieutenant Brian Tuthill said in an email.

The accident marks the deadliest at sea for the Marine Corps since 12 service members died when two CH-53E helicopters collided off the coast of Hawaii on Jan. 14, 2016.

Currie Engel and Sig Christenson contributed to this report.

julian.gill@chron.com
A Sacramento police officer managed to pull a man to safety seconds before a train arrived, after his electric wheelchair got stuck on the tracks as he attempted to cross the road.

Lodi Police Department officer Erika Urrea was patrolling the area near the Union Pacific Railroad in Sacramento, California, on Wednesday morning, when she noticed that an elderly man in a wheelchair appeared to be stuck on the tracks.

Bodycam footage released by the department showed that as the officer drove over to investigate, the crossing arms that indicate a train is about to pass through started to go down, so she jumped out of her car and ran over to try and help him.

A northbound train was travelling pretty fast, and she rushed over to get him unstuck, Lodi Police Department sergeant Steve Maynard told reporters on Wednesday.

She only had a few seconds, and for some reason, she couldnt get the chair loose, so she grabbed hold of him and hauled him from the chair.

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The footage showed both Ms Urrea and the man fall backwards away from the track a couple of second before the train passed through.

Although the officer was able to pull the man out of the wheelchair and away from the tracks, his legs were still struck by the train as it went past.

Mr Maynard said that the man was later taken to an area hospital for injuries suffered to his legs and confirmed that he is in a critical but stable condition.

After the train passed through, Ms Urrea called for help and managed to drag the man away from the train tracks, as she and a responding officer attempted to treat his injuries.

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The time between the officer leaving her car and the train reaching the wheelchair was 15 seconds, according to the Sacramento Bee.

In a statement, the Lodi Police Department wrote: Officer Urrea risked her own life to save another, and her actions prevented a tragedy today. We are extremely proud of officer Urrea and her heroism.

In San Joaquin County, where the incident occurred, there have been five train-related deaths so far in 2020, while California recorded the most fatalities of any state in the US in 2019 with 141.
Yesterday a level three lockdown was imposed in Auckland, New Zealands largest city, after four people in a family tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday. Thirteen other cases linked to the South Auckland family have since been found, including four children.

COVID-19 testing stations in Auckland were overwhelmed yesterday, with some people waiting up to 12 hours for a test and others reportedly being turned away.

About a quarter of Aucklands workers are staying home and schools are closed, except for the children of essential workers. The restrictions were announced for three days, but are widely expected to be extended. They are not as stringent, however, as the level four nationwide lockdown imposed in March-April. Under level three, construction businesses, cafes and other shops can still operate, supposedly with social distancing protocols in place.

The rest of the country is on alert level two, with people told to practice physical distancing, and gatherings of more than 100 people banned. Schools and businesses remain open.

The new coronavirus cases are the first to be discovered in New Zealand in 102 days, apart from international travellers. More than 7,000 returned travellers are currently undergoing two weeks of quarantine in hotels controlled by the military. Of these, at least 23 have the virus.

Prime Minister Jacinda Arderns Labour Party-led government has been glorified by the worlds media for its response to the pandemic, including a relatively early and strict lockdown. The country has experienced just 22 deaths from the virus.

The rediscovery of COVID-19 in the community, however, underscores that the pandemic cannot be defeated at a national level, but requires a coordinated and well-resourced international response that is incompatible with the capitalist nation-state system.

New Zealand joins a list of countries which have seen new outbreaks after apparently suppressing the virus, including Vietnam and parts of China. Australia, which had also been praised for its response, is experiencing a severe resurgence.

The outbreak in Auckland poses serious dangers to the entire working class. The source of the cases is unknown. Authorities have not identified any contact between the household and quarantine hotels or international travellers.

How far the virus has spread is not known. Dr Ashley Bloomfield, director-general of health, told Radio NZ today that it could have been in the community for some weeks.

Over the weekend, the family at the centre of the outbreak visited Rotorua and on Monday they went to Taupo, but the tourist towns have not been locked down. A positive case also visited an unidentified aged care facility in the Waikato region. The decision to limit the lockdown to level three, while mostly allowing business as usual in the rest of the country, is driven by demands from big business for the economy to remain open.

Restrictions in April and May were lifted earlier than health experts had recommended, and the government previously indicated that it would not impose another nationwide lockdown.

Bloomfield warned in recent weeks that the re-emergence of the virus in the community was a matter of when, not if. He urged people to keep records of their movements and use the governments COVID Tracer smartphone app, which records visits to shops and other locations.

Epidemiologists have criticised the governments failure to carry out widespread testing, which could have picked up the outbreak sooner. Testing is still limited to people with symptoms, despite the well-known fact that the virus can be transmitted by asymptomatic people.

Daily rates of testing fell dramatically in recent months, as the government and media trumpeted NZs COVID-free status. In early August around 2,000 people were being tested per day, much less than the health ministrys low target of 4,000. According to the ministry, 508,711 people have been tested in total, about 10 percent of the population, and there are about 270,000 more test kits in stock.

On August 5, professor Michael Baker told the New Zealand Herald there was too much complacency and smugness. He warned that there were multiple points where the virus could enter the country, including quarantine facilities, airport staff and workers on ships.

A series of bungles at quarantine facilities prompted the resignation of David Clark as minister of health last month. In one case on July 9, a man escaped from a quarantine hotel and visited a supermarket in central Auckland. He later tested positive for COVID-19.

Baker noted: If there was suddenly an outbreak in South Auckland tomorrow, for instance, it could take several generations before people were even aware of it. Small numbers of people can go on to infect large numbers of people.

University of Auckland scientist Shaun Hendy also warned: With relatively low numbers of testing, we could potentially have a large number of secondary and tertiary cases before we actually realised what was going on.

South Auckland, where the new cases were detected, is a largely impoverished working class area, with many overcrowded and poorly-heated houses and widespread health problems. It was the epicentre for a measles outbreak last year, which spread from New Zealand to Samoa where it killed 83 people, most of them children.

Epidemiologist David Skegg told Stuff on August 5 that the catastrophic outbreak in Victoria, Australia, could easily be replicated here, if we are not able to act quickly enough to eliminate the infection. He called for a greater sense of urgency in getting prepared, including targeted community testing, sewage testing, greater capacity for contact tracing and preparations for mass masking.

A resurgence of COVID-19 could have major political implications. With an election scheduled for September 19, Ardern has made the governments pandemic response central to Labours campaign. The perception that the government had eliminated the virus fuelled support for the party, which is polling above 50 percent.

In reality, while failing to undertake adequate testing and other public health measures, the governments main response to the pandemic has been to give billions of dollars to businesses through so-called wage subsidies, tax cuts and bailouts.

The global economic crisis triggered by the pandemic has led to tens of thousands of job losses in NZ. The tourism industry, which accounts for one in 10 jobs, has been devastated, and there have been major redundancies in retail and manufacturing. The new COVID-19 outbreak will compound the social crisis that is already pushing workers and young people to the left.

The opposition National Party, which is polling between 25 and 30 percent, is now calling for the election to be delayed. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, who leads the deeply unpopular right-wing NZ First Party in the coalition government, made similar calls in April. The government says it will make a decision on the election date before Monday.
India on Thursday unveiled a $500-million package to help the Maldives build a connectivity project linking its capital Male with three islands, and provided $250 million as budgetary support to help the Indian Ocean archipelago cope with the Covid-19 crisis.

A new cargo ferry service will be launched between the two countries, and people familiar with developments said this will help India replace other countries to become the Maldives top trade partner. An air travel bubble between the two sides will become operational from August 18, and India also renewed quotas for supplying essential commodities to the Maldives during 2020-21.

The measures were announced during a virtual meeting between external affairs minister S Jaishankar and his Maldives counterpart Abdulla Shahid. Responding to a request from the Maldives, Jaishankar announced Indias decision to back the Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP) through a package comprising a grant of $100 million and a new line of credit for $400 million.

Indias total financial commitment in the Maldives is more than $2 billion, with all loan and grant projects being announced after President Ibrahim Solih came to power in November 2018 and put in place his India first policy, the people cited above said.

Thursdays announcements to help the Maldives came against the backdrop of concerted efforts by India to boost economic aid and connectivity with key neighbours amid the border standoff with China.

Last month, India handed over 10 railway locomotives to Bangladesh, reflecting a renewed focus on its neighbourhood first policy. This came close on the heels of the first cross-border container train reaching Bangladesh with 50 containers of FMCG goods and fabrics and the first shipment of container cargo from Kolkata to Agartala in the landlocked northeastern region via Bangladeshs Chattogram port.

India also announced a $400-million currency swap facility for Sri Lanka under the Saarc framework last month, and Colombos request for a bilateral swap facility for $1.1 billion is being considered by New Delhi. India earlier provided $400 million through an extended currency swap arrangement to the Maldives to tide over a liquidity shortage.

Jaishankar noted on Thursday that GMCP will be the largest civilian infrastructure project in the Maldives, connecting Male with the islands of Villingili, Gulhifahu, where a port is being built under an Indian line of credit, and Thilafushi, where a new industrial zone is coming up.

Male and the islands will be linked by a bridge-and-causeway link spanning 6.7km, and the people said the project will easily overshadow the 1.39-km Maldives-China Friendship Bridge, currently the most visible infrastructure project in Male, and help in demonstrating Indias overarching presence in the region.

Once completed, this landmark project will streamline connectivity between the four islands, thereby boosting economic activity, generating employment and promoting holistic urban development in the Male region, the external affairs ministry said in a statement.

Jaishankar recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modis announcement in the Majlis, or Maldivian parliament, in June last year to start a ferry service between the two sides and announced that a direct cargo ferry service will begin shortly to enhance trade and connectivity and boost the economic partnership. The cargo service will provide predictability in supplies for importers in Maldives and exporters in India and reduce logistics costs and times, he said.

An air travel bubble between India and the Maldives to facilitate the movement of people from both sides for employment, tourism and medical emergencies will also be created, Jaishankar said. In keeping with our special ties, Maldives is the first neighbouring country with which an air bubble is being operationalised. The air bubble symbolises Indias support to shore up tourism arrivals and revenues in the Maldives, the statement said.

While fulfilling Indias commitment under the bilateral Trade Agreement of 1981, Jaishankar said New Delhi will renew quotas for supplying essential commodities, such as potatoes, onions, rice, wheat, flour, sugar, dal, eggs, and river sand and stone aggregates, to the Maldives for 2020-21.

The quotas will assure food security and the supply of essential construction items, and provide certainty and price stability for these goods in the Maldives.

Jaishankar said an in-principle decision has also been made to extend urgent financial assistance to the Maldives through a soft loan arrangement. The modalities for this are being finalised by the two sides.

Jaishankar and Shahid took stock of bilateral relations and noted with satisfaction that the Covid-19 pandemic has not been able to slow down the pace of bilateral cooperation, the statement said. Jaishankar assured the government of Solih that India stood by its close maritime neighbour and friend in difficult times.

The Maldives has been the largest beneficiary of Indias Covid-19-related assistance among neighbours. When the pandemic disrupted supply chains, India supplied essential food and construction materials to the Maldives, including 580 tonnes of food items gifted in May.

Shahid expressed appreciation for the steps taken by India to meet the development priorities of his government. He described GMCP as a new milestone in bilateral ties that will anchor the economic and industrial transformation of the Maldives.

Solih tweeted: A landmark moment in Maldives-India cooperation today as we receive Indian assistance of USD250 million as budget support and USD500 million for the Greater Male Connectivity Project.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio  The Ohio House of Representatives withheld more than two dozen records from federal investigators and the public involving House Bill 6, claiming that various email attachments and other documents were a matter of attorney-client and legislative privilege.

The move came in response to a federal subpoena and a public records request that sought information on the bill, which is the focus of a federal public corruption investigation, and previously failed legislation on the issue.

The list of withheld documents was released along with more than 1,000 pages of documents related to the controversial nuclear power plant bailout. The list includes email correspondence between House attorneys Heather Blessing and Paul Disantis and several lawmakers, including the bills sponsors, state representatives Jamie Callender and Shane Wilkin, both Republicans.

The emails include possible amendments and other documents pertaining to the bill that Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law last July. The correspondences began weeks before the bill passed in May 2019 and through January of this year.

The FBI had subpoenaed documents related to the bill, a $1.3 billion bailout for two nuclear plants passed last year. FirstEnergy Corp. had sought the help when its subsidiary, FirstEnergy Solutions, owned the plants. It filed for bankruptcy in 2018, and Energy Harbor now owns the plants.

Taylor Jach, a House Republican spokeswoman, said the documents were withheld from the FBI, as well as Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer, which sought the records.

She said the attorney-client and legislative privilege theyre citing in withholding the release of the records exists between each member and the House attorney or legislative staffer who corresponded with those individual members.

This is boilerplate attorney-client privilege and legislative privilege, she said. No one has asked that this privilege should be waived in this extraordinary circumstance. I am sure members would happily consider doing that.

On the release of the records in general, the House said in a statement: Today, the Ohio House of Representatives, in response to a federal subpoena, submitted to the Department of Justice records related to House Bill 6, said a statement the House released Thursday. The Ohio House is continuing to comply with the subpoena for records and cooperating with federal authorities in this ongoing matter as part of its commitment to restore trust and integrity to the House.

The fact that the information was not made public angered at least one government watchdog.

There is something very odd about withholding information about House Bill 6, said Catherine Turcer, the executive director of Common Cause Ohio.

Documents about the creation of a law should be a matter of public record. We should have access to that information so that we would understand the decisions that went into policy-making.

An FBI affidavit says FirstEnergy and its affiliates funneled more than $60 million in bribes to then-House Speaker Larry Householder and four allies. They were indicted last month on federal racketeering charges.

FirstEnergy and its affiliates have not been charged. FirstEnergy has said it is cooperating with authorities.

The federal subpoena, obtained through a public records request, initially sought records related to four nuclear bailout bills, including House Bill 6.

Three of those bills were introduced in 2017, but they failed to become law.

Besides citing attorney-client privilege, the House attorneys also said they withheld the documents because of legislative privilege.

Under state law, records that can be withheld also include working papers, preliminary drafts, correspondence, proposed amendments or other documents in whatever form or format prepared by legislative staff for a member of the general assembly or for general assembly staff.
CEG Named to 2020 Inc. 5000 List 91.49% growth and best-in-class solutions ranks @Critical_EG one of the fastest-growing #datacenter solution providers in the US! #Inc5000 #WhyCEG

Critical Environments Group (CEG), a leading provider of infrastructure optimization solutions for data centers and mission critical facilities, today announced that is has once again been named to the Inc. 5000 list of Americas fastest-growing private companies. With three-year sales growth rate of 91.49%, CEG continues to be one of the fastest-growing data center solution providers in the United States.

This is the second time that CEG has appeared in this prestigious business list, and it is another in a growing list of accolades the company has received since its brand identity launch in 2017. In addition to making the Inc. 5000 list in 2018 and 2020, CEG was also selected by US Business News as the 2019 Top Critical Infrastructure Consultancy in the Eastern U.S. The Company was also named to the Philadelphia Business Journals 2018 Soaring 76 list and NJBiz Magazines 2018 Fast 50 List.

Its a great accomplishment to make a reappearance on the Inc. 5000 list, says Michael McClain, Chief Executive Officer of Critical Environments Group. CEGs success is due to our employees commitment to excellence, our loyal customers, and the strong support of our investors and strategic partners. The seamlessness of our growth and this Inc. 5000 honor is a testament to the great team we have in place.

The Inc. 5000 list represents a unique look at the most successful privately-owned companies in the United States across all industries and geographic locations. As an Inc. 5000 honoree, CEG shares a pedigree with Intuit, Microsoft, Oracle, and dozens of other companies that are now synonymous with Information Technology.

About Critical Environments Group

Critical Environments Group (CEG) enables its clients to effectively manage, maintain and optimize their data centers and other IT environments. Were meeting the needs of this rapidly evolving industry by achieving value for channel partners or end users throughout the mission critical facility lifecycle. CEGs team of experts is unmatched in its ability to provide intelligent assessments and solutions for achieving readiness, reliability and efficiency today and tomorrow. For more information about CEG and its comprehensive offerings, please visit http://www.criticaleg.com

About Inc. 5000

The Inc. 5000 is an annual list of the fastest-growing private companies in the United States. Started in 1982, this prestigious list has become the hallmark of entrepreneurial success. Ranked according to the percentage revenue growth over a three-year period, companies must be based in the United States and independently held. CLICK HERE to see the full list and Critical Environments Groups corporate profile.


The crime branch of Mumbai Police, which is investigating a fake social media followers racket, on August 12 recorded the statement of a top official of Qyuki Digital Pvt Ltd.

The police had summoned the digital media company's Chief Operating Officer (COO) Sagar Gokhale.

Gokhale reached the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) office around 12 pm and his statement was recorded for several hours, an official said.

He was asked to come again on August 13.

According to sources, Gokhale's name came up during the questioning of rapper Badshah.

The racket allegedly created fake social media profiles and sold bogus 'followers' to celebrities, artists and social media 'influencers'.
MARLBOROUGH, MA  Assabet Valley Regional Technical School students will begin the school year in mid-September, and will get to choose between two different types of learning models amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The district recently approved a plan to open schools beginning Sept. 15 for freshmen. Most students will attend Assabet under a hybrid model, but some will be allowed to choose to learn remotely, according to school officials.

Like almost every district in the state, Assabet Valley is planning to welcome students back to buildings with a variety of virus safeguards in place. Students will be required to wear masks  although there will be mask breaks during the day  and furniture will be reconfigured to allow more distance between students in class.

Students will be arranged in cohorts of up to 20, and grades will alternate between in-class learning and remote learning under the hybrid model. For example, ninth and 11th grade students would attend in-person classes for one week while 10th and 12th graders would learn from home, according to the plan.

The all-remote model will be available for students who "cannot yet return in-person due to documented health-related issues or extenuating circumstances," the plan says. But Superintendent Ernest Houle acknowledged that the entire school may have to switch to all-remote if virus trends worsen.



"Members of our Assabet Valley school community  students, staff, and parents  continue to express their strong desire to return to school in-person this fall. At the same time, we recognize that we may experience a resurgence of the virus, and we must prepare for the possibility that learning will be entirely remote this fall," he said in a letter to parents.

Many districts, including nearby Framingham and Wayland, are ramping up to hybrid model by starting the school year fully remote. Marlborough and Framingham have both been highlighted by state health officials as cities where virus trends are on the rise.

This article originally appeared on the Marlborough Patch
When wearing a mask that hides the lower half of your face, its only natural that you become more aware of whats going on with the upper half. To enhance the visible features you might apply an extra coat of mascara and pull your hair into a tight topknot to feel confident with whats left on display  or you might consider a longer-lasting solution for achieving bright eyes and high-arched brows and book an appointment with a plastic surgeon.

As Manhattan-based plastic surgeon Melissa Doft, MD, explains, the advent of COVID-19 and face-mask mandates, coupled with the fact that many New Yorkers are still working remotely, has caused a remarkable surge in demand for elective procedures, specifically those around the eyes.

I have honestly never been busier in my entire career, Dr. Doft tells us. So many people think late summer is the golden hour to finally schedule the cosmetic procedures theyve been considering in quarantine, which might be just Botox, or a slightly more invasive procedure like an eyelid lift. Before COVID, time was always a big factor; people would ask, Well, how much time do I have to take off work? Now, with everyone working from home, the downtime that accompanies something like an eyelid lift is a total nonissue.

Across the country in Arizona, Sarah Quinn, the medical director at Arcadia Wellness Center, which specializes in cosmetic injections, has seen a similar trend in patients making requests for eye-adjacent Botox procedures. Weve seen almost a 30% increase in people asking for mid- and upper-face injections, Quinn tells us. Whether its Botox around the eyes or a Botox brow lift, the requests for injections stem from the fact that were all wearing masks, but still want to feel confident in the way we look.

Botox Around The Eyes

In light of the demand for eye-area Botox, Quinn has added a new service to her menu of injectables. Were calling this new procedure the bright-eyed look, and it essentially involves putting more units of Botox than standard around the eyes, she explains. The Botox injections relax the facial muscles and soften the crows feet, the lines and wrinkles on the sides of the eyes. In conjunction with that, we might also do standard Botox on the forehead to smooth any wrinkles on the elevens or frown lines, but thats always been a pretty standard request.

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So how exactly does Botox make your eyes look wider without surgically altering the shape? Dr. Doft explains that the neurotoxin affects the anatomical muscular structure around the eye. Around each eye, you have four key muscles: one that pulls up, then three that pull down, she says. The goal of Botox injected around the eye is to weaken the muscles that pull down, so you only have the lift. Your eyes will appear more rested and more awake simply by virtue of the fact that you wont have the wrinkles or fine lines sagging the skin downwards.

Of course, cost comes into question here  and Botox is not cheap. Quinn says her office typically charges around $400 for a standard Botox procedure focused around the eyes, while Dr. Doft says the Manhattan price point is closer to $600. The upside? Though some patients may initially be interested in under-eye filler in addition to a Botox injection, Quinn tells us theres often no need for filler post-Botox. We usually start with the Botox injections and see how it looks, and typically once the muscles around the eyes are relaxed, we see a huge decrease in under-eye darkness and hollows, so we dont even need to add any filler.

Botox Brow Lift

Along with Botox injections placed around the eyes or forehead, Quinn tells us that Botox brow lifts are also becoming increasing popular. A Botox brow lift is a form of Botox thats placed directly underneath the eyebrow, smoothing and tightening the skin that sits directly between your eyebrow and eyelid, she says. This creates a nice, subtle lift in your brow arch, thereby making your eyes look bigger and brighter. Like any Botox injection, the arch lift is temporary  usually lasting between 3 to 6 months  and again, the cost will typically run anywhere between $400-$600.

Eyelid Lift

One of the more invasive  and most permanent  approaches to changing the appearance of the eye is an eyelid lift, but Dr. Doft tells us its not as scary as it sounds. In New York, were seeing lots of eyelid surgeries, even in conjunction with Botox around the eyes, she explains. It can be done in the office, under local anesthesia, so you dont have to go into the hospital. The surgery is just a small incision on the upper eyelid, and we remove a small section of skin, which effectively removes weight from the eyelid and lifts and opens the eye.

As you may have guessed, this surgery costs more, both in dollars and downtime. It takes about a week to recover, so youre black and blue or maybe a little swollen for about a week, Dr. Doft says, and the cost is somewhere between $3,500 and $4,500.

Of course, we cant talk about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the field of plastic surgery and cosmetic dermatology without touching on the safety of these elective procedures. At this time, most states have given to go-ahead for practitioners to resume in-office procedures  including Botox and eyelid lifts  but with increased safety measures.

Were testing all of our patients for COVID within 72 hours of their elective procedure, Dr. Doft tells us of the safeguards in place in her New York office. There are a bunch of different rapid COVID tests out there, but were doing the PCR or nasal swab, which has been cited as the most accurate. The test is covered by insurance, but I have to counsel my patients on the importance of isolation after being tested: You cant go out, you cant see people, because if you contract the virus between your test and your procedure, it could very dangerous  as were all still learning more about the potential secondary effects of COVID.

As our understanding of the virus continues to develop, its clear that the cultural implications will extend far beyond the current health crisis, impacting the psychology of self-confidence and how we all choose to be seen for the foreseeable future.

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

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TikTok-parent ByteDance is also in talks with Microsoft to sell its US Canada, New Zealand and Australia operations.

ByteDance is in early discussions with Reliance Industries Limited to invest in the India operations of TikTok, reports TechCrunch. The conversations began late last month and are yet finalise a deal, the report added.

The discussion comes at a time when the Indian government has imposed a ban on the popular video-sharing network citing security concerns.

In the US too, TikTok is facing a ban unless it is acquired by an American company by September 15. For the sale of US operations and other select markets, ByteDance is in talks with Microsoft and other potential buyers such as Twitter.

As far as India goes, it has been TikToks largest market in the world for quite some time. Before the June ban, TikTok had 200 million users. It had also successfully developed a thriving content creators community.

TechCrunch in its report pointed out that the TikTok-Reliance discussions come as the parent ByteDance is struggling to retain key executives in India. Some of its top high-level executives such as policy head and Rohan Mishra, who headed ByteDances Helo operations in India, have already left the company.

The company has over 2,000 employees in India. ByteDance had last said that it does not intend to lay off its employees. A deal with Reliance, however, could help TikTok overcome several challenges in its largest market.

Reliance, in the meanwhile, has begun focusing on the digital market. Its Jio Platforms, a combination of its telecom, e-commerce and other services, has raised investments from the likes of Facebook, Google and other investors.
SPRINGFIELD  After years of being dogged by bad press over its police department, Mayor Domenic J. Sarno says a recent U.S. Department of Justice report castigating the narcotics unit offers the city a golden opportunity to accelerate police reforms.

Sarno on Thursday announced he retained retired Judge Roderick Ireland, a city native and former Chief Justice of the states Supreme Judicial Court, to assess the police departments strengths and weaknesses and guide them toward improvements in policy and community relations.

The big thing here  he knows and loves this city. Hes always told me: Mayor, anything I can do to help you, just let me know. So I picked up the phone and gave him a call and we spoke, Sarno said during an interview on Thursday.

While other public and private entities  including Gov. Charlie Bakers office and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield  have retained retired judges and former prosecutors for independent reviews of sensitive and controversial issues, this is the citys first foray into such an analysis.

The DOJs Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorneys Office of Massachusetts in July released a report after a two-year investigation into the Springfield Police Departments narcotics unit, concluding detectives routinely used excessive force and retrofitted police reports to justify their actions, among other failings.

While members of the department refuted the accuracy of the analysis  which provided a litany of summaries of arrests the DOJ believed were problematic  Sarno, Police Commissioner Cheryl C. Clapprood and other city officials pledged reforms in its wake.

For his part, Sarno called the report disturbing and disappointing. City officials pointed out that many reforms recommended in the DOJ analysis  the only one of its kind under the Trump administration  were already underway.

Ireland, who retired in 2014 and whose name adorns the former Hall of Justice on State Street, was previously tapped to perform a review of a controversial arrest by Cambridge police of a Black Harvard student in 2018. He also served as an unpaid adviser to House Speaker Robert DeLeo on criminal justice reforms while a debate was raging on Beacon Hill.

Ireland was appointed by former Gov. Deval L. Patrick as the first Black justice to the states highest court, then later as its chief justice.

The Republican has requested a copy of Irelands contract. City Solicitor Edward Pikula said he will provide the newspaper with the contract when all signatures are secured on Friday. Pikula confirmed that Ireland will be paid, but declined to release more details until the ink was dry.

Ireland declined to comment further on the arrangement with the city, but said in a prepared statement earlier Thursday he was honored to be chosen by Sarno as special counsel.

Police reform is a critically important topic, not only in Springfield, but also nationally, and I look forward to sharing my best thinking with him, based on many years as a public defender, lawyer, judge, and student of the law. The citizens of Springfield deserve a law enforcement agency which they can trust, and which follows the rule of law and our Constitution, said Ireland, who holds a degree from Columbia Law School and advanced degrees from Harvard Law School and Northeastern University.

While he now lives in eastern Massachusetts, Ireland, 75, was raised in the citys Old Hill neighborhood, attending Springfield public schools until he graduated from Classical High School.

Sarno said he was propelled to seek outside help after the DOJ report was issued.

I want Justice Ireland to work together with my office, my law department and the police department as well as the Department of Justice, Sarno said. I want him to highlight what were doing well, and equally as important what needs to be addressed and corrected and clarified so we can do better.

The mayor says he often feels hamstrung by the criminal justice system, and to some extent, collective bargaining skirmishes to make policy changes as quickly as he would like.

To me, things cant happen quickly enough, but you have to always deal with the legal aspect and the labor aspect, Sarno said. But here in Springfield  and nationally  no good cop wants a bad cop around them.

The mayor on Thursday and at previous public appearances has held up the rollout of body-worn cameras, a contentious issue that held up collective bargaining negotiations between the city and its police force, as one example of a step forward.

Immediately following the release of the DOJ report, Clapprood said she will require nearly every sworn officer, including plainclothes and narcotics detectives, to wear cameras. The decision was made to expand the use of them, in part, by the report.

While other city police departments that have fallen under DOJ scrutiny find themselves subject to consent decrees, or federal controls that enforce particular police changes, Springfield does not appear poised for that level of ongoing scrutiny. In fact, the report includes a footnote signaling quite the opposite.

The Department of Justice does not serve as a tribunal authorized to make factual findings and legal conclusions binding on, or admissible in, any court, and nothing in this Report should be construed as such, the footnote reads.

Sarno and Pikula have nonetheless emphasized that the city intends to partner with the U.S. Attorneys office and Department of Justice to improve the police department. Sarno said Ireland will be an important part of that commitment.

I thought it was a golden opportunity right now to bring in an outside set of eyes and ears  who is well respected. And once again, hes a Springfield guy, the mayor said, adding that Ireland is already in the very early stages of his review.
By PTI

KOTA: A five-year-old girl was admitted to hospital in a critical condition after she was raped allegedly by a 19-year-old man in Rajasthan's Baran district, police said on Wednesday.

The incident took place in Shahabad area on Tuesday evening, they said.

According to Shahabad Circle Officer Kajodmal, the girl was profusely bleeding after the incident and was rushed to Baran district hospital on Tuesday night.

Later, she was referred to Jay Kay Lon hospital in Kota, the officer said.

The girl underwent one surgery on Wednesday afternoon and there would be two more surgeries, he said.

The accused in the case has been detained, said Shahabad SHO Hariprasad Rana.

The girl, who belongs to a tribal community, had gone outside to attend nature's call at around 5 pm on Tuesday when the suspect, who was in an inebriated condition, allegedly attacked her, the station house officer said.

The suspect, who is also from the girl's community, allegedly dragged the girl inside a 'Maabari Kendra' (mother and child-care centre) centre and raped her, Rana said.

After the incident, the minor returned home crying and bleeding and narrated her ordeal to her mother.

Her family rushed to the police station and a case of rape was registered against the suspect on Tuesday night, the SHO said.

The man has been booked for rape under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he said.
Thousands of people are applying for jobs which would only have attracted a handful of applicants before the virus crisis, according to new research.

Jobs site CV-Library said it received a record number of applications last month as huge numbers of professional workers were made redundant or were furloughed.

There were 4,228 applications for a trainee paralegal role, 3,333 for a job as a human resources assistant, 3,272 for a place as a trainee accountant - all in London - 2,932 for a warehouse worker in Northumberland, 2,653 for a factory worker in Sunderland, 2,154 for an administrator in Coventry and 1,656 for an NHS 111 call handler in the capital.

More than 4,200 people applied to become a trainee paralegal in London according to research by online job site CV-Library

Lee Biggins of CV-Library said while many companies struggled to recruit before the pandemic, they are now being bombarded with applications from job hunters

The Office for National Statistics said the UK had been harder hit in the first half of the year than many other economies

Mail analysis shows the sheer scale of job losses at each company across the UK's high streets

CV-Library chief executive Lee Biggins said: 'On average, our clients' jobs receive around 25 applications per vacancy, so these figures really are massive.

'The job market has done a complete 180, so, while companies may have struggled to recruit before the pandemic, they're now being bombarded with applications from professionals who are desperate for a new job.

'Of course, this is good news for companies that are recruiting, but it does mean you need a robust hiring process which enables you to easily monitor applications, screen applicants and make the right hires, quickly and effectively.'

The study showed that 146 jobs on the CV-Library website received between 500 and 3,000 applications in July, 44 attracted between 500 and 600 applications, 26 drew between 1,001 and 2,000, and 26 got between 601 and 700.

Mr Biggins added: 'Companies also need to remember that they're dealing with humans. While it's not feasible to give feedback to every single candidate, acknowledging applications and sending polite rejection emails to people who aren't successful will be appreciated.'

Britain faces a 'long road ahead' to recovery after suffering the biggest hit so far from the pandemic of the major global economies, experts have warned.

June's 8.7 per cent bounce-back in gross domestic product (GDP) means the economy is set to emerge from its record-breaking recession in the third quarter, but the sheer size of the contraction means it has further to crawl back.

Business groups and economists also cautioned the path of the recovery may not be smooth, given the threat of a second wave and possible further lockdowns, with a jobs crisis also on the horizon as Government support measures come to an end.

One job for a trainee accountant received some 3,272 applications, file photo

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has warned that 'hard times are here' with the country in a deep recession as a result of the Covid-19 shutdown

Demonstrators gathered outside Tate Modern on July 27 to protest 200 job cuts that were forecast at the time, further protests are set to go ahead later this month

Melissa Davies, chief economist at Redburn, says: 'There is a long road ahead for the UK economy to claw back its pandemic losses, all the while facing deflationary headwinds from large amounts of spare capacity and job losses.

'As the furlough scheme rolls off, more stimulus will be needed to support household incomes, not least if infection numbers rise in the autumn.'

James Smith, ING developed markets economist, said: 'Rising unemployment is probably the biggest threat to the recovery at the moment, and this is being linked to the gradual unwinding of the Government's furlough scheme over the next few months.

'Many firms, particularly in the hardest-hit hospitality/recreation sectors are still struggling as a result of ongoing consumer caution and social distancing constraints.'

Samuel Tombs at Pantheon Macroeconomics blamed the Government's slow response to Covid-19 for the depth of the UK's second-quarter contraction.

Some 2,932 applied for a warehouse position in Northumberland, file photo

Many job seekers are being forced to seek opportunities in new industries

Official figures showed UK plc shrank by 20.4 per cent in the three months to June

He said: 'The long duration of the lockdown in the second quarter, due to the Government's slow response to Covid-19 in March, followed by its failure to prevent the virus from spreading from hospitals, was at the root of the economy's under-performance in the second quarter.'

He warned the rebound will 'peter out in the autumn' with further lockdowns likely.

He said: 'The planned reopening of schools next month probably will have to be accompanied by a renewed curtailment of economic activity in the services sector.

'Accordingly, we continue to expect GDP to be about 5% below its pre-Covid peak at the end of this year.'

The survey showed 2,653 people wanted to work in a Sunderland factory, file photograph

More than 300 shop and cafe workers at four Tate galleries are set to be made redundant and 500 roles at the banking giant are also set to go as the Covid jobs catastrophe continued.

The Institute of Directors (IoD) and British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) called for Chancellor Rishi Sunak to take further action before the autumn statement to help prevent a disaster for jobs and businesses.

'The battle now is to prevent longer-term scarring from this plunge in economic activity,' according to IoD chief economist Tej Parikh.

He added: 'The Chancellor must respond now with measures to support jobs by cutting the cost of employment, for instance by reducing employers' National Insurance contributions.

'By the autumn, it might be too late to have greatest effect.'

Nat West is seeking to reduce its headcount by about 550 posts as it plans to close branches

Monthly GDP figures produced by the ONS show that the economy has bounced back to an extent since April. Percentages cannot be added up to give overall change during the period

A further 1,656 people applied for an NHS 111 call handler position in the capital, file photo

Suren Thiru, head of economics at the BCC, said: 'The prospect of a swift 'V-shaped' recovery remains remote as the recent gains in output may fade over the coming months as the economic damage caused by the pandemic increasingly weighs on activity, particularly as the Government support measures wind down.

'Against this backdrop, bold action is needed to immediately inject confidence back into the UK economy.'

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the economy is still a long way off from recovering the record falls seen in March and April.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said that the ONS figures 'confirm that hard times are here'.

He said: 'Hundreds of thousands of people have already lost their jobs, and sadly in the coming months many more will.'

But he told broadcasters there were some 'promising signs' for the economy after the June growth figures.

Rishi Sunak 'considers delaying Budget' if coronavirus outbreak spikes again Rishi Sunak is considering delaying his crucial Budget this Autumn if there is a second wave of coronavirus, it was claimed today. The Chancellor is believed to be ready to shelve the financial package - billed as the defining moment of the government - if the situation escalates again. The contingency planning underlines the anxiety in government about the recent rise in cases across Europe. One ally of Mr Sunak told the Financial Times: 'While it's very likely to happen, there is an element of uncertainty. 'If we have a series of local lockdowns and a second spike, it's not clear that would be the right time for a Budget.' A delay would likely be until the spring of next year, and Mr Sunak could instead choose to deliver a 'mini-spending review' before Christmas to update departmental budgets. Advertisement

The grim figures come after ONS data on Tuesday showed around 730,000 jobs have been lost since the lockdown began in March, while employment also dropped by the largest quarterly amount for 11 years between May and June.

The ONS said the UK economy is now 22.1 per cent smaller than it was at the end of 2019 and 17.2 per cent below levels seen in February, despite two months of growth since April when the UK was in full lockdown.

Jonathan Athow, deputy national statistician at the ONS, said: 'The economy began to bounce back in June, with shops reopening, factories beginning to ramp up production and house-building continuing to recover.

'Despite this, GDP in June still remains a sixth below its level in February, before the virus struck.'

Experts said that hopes of a swift V-shaped recovery look dashed, while there are fears of an economic relapse amid the threat of a second wave of coronavirus and with a jobs crisis also on the horizon as government support measures come to an end.

The Bank of England also warned last week the UK could take longer to rebound than previously predicted, forecasting the economy would not jump back to pre-virus levels until the end of 2021.

The ONS's initial second-quarter estimate shows the economy was hit across the board as the lockdown wrought havoc, with the services sector  which accounts for over three-quarters of UK output  dropping 19.9per cent, the construction sector falling 35 per cent and manufacturing down 20.2 per cent.

Samuel Tombs, at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said 'the UK economy has underperformed its peers to an extraordinary degree', though much of this is down to the economy's reliance on the hard-hit services sector.

He cautioned the rebound will 'peter out in the autumn' with further lockdowns likely.

What does the recession mean for Britain's job seekers? The coronavirus crisis has seen the UK plunge into recession for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis. Countries worldwide have been hit by the pandemic, but Britain suffered the biggest second-quarter contraction of all the major economies. Here we look at some of the key questions surrounding the economy's record-breaking recession and what it means for Britons. Why is the UK in recession and what does it mean? The Office for National Statistics (ONS) officially declared the UK in recession  the steepest on record  after the economy plunged by a record 20.4 per cent between April and June due to the coronavirus lockdown. This follows a 2.2 per cent contraction in the previous three months and means the UK entered into a technical recession, as defined by two successive quarters of falling output. It marks the first time since the 2008 global financial crisis, when the UK fell into a year-long recession. Why has the UK economy been the hardest hit among the major global economies? Britain's second quarter contraction was the steepest of all the major economies, worse even than Spain's 18.5 per cent tumble and more than double the 9.5 per cent plunge seen in the United States. Experts say some of this is down to the later timing of Britain's lockdown in March and the path of easing restrictions. But the hit is also down to the make-up of Britain's economy, which relies on the services sector for more than three-quarters of its output. The services sector  spanning retail and hospitality to banks and real estate  has been knocked particularly badly by the lockdown, with restrictions easing only slowly for many and some activities still not fully open. What does the June rebound in the economy mean? Monthly data showed gross domestic product (GDP) grew by a better-than-expected 8.7 per cent in June, following expansion of 2.4 per cent in May, as lockdown restrictions eased further. With non-essential shops having reopened for business in June, it meant the powerhouse services sector notched up growth of 7.7 per cent. Restaurants, hotels and pubs have also since reopened, which is expected to lead to an even bigger bounce-back in July and August. Experts believe the third quarter overall will see steep growth, meaning the UK will see a swift exit from recession. Does that mean the UK economy is already out of the woods? Unfortunately not. Despite growth over the past two months, the economy is still 22.1 per cent smaller than it was at the end of 2019. And there are fears the UK faces a long road ahead to economic recovery, given the threat of a second wave and possible further lockdowns, with a jobs crisis also on the horizon as Government support measures come to an end. What does it mean for Britons? Recessions ultimately have an impact on living standards, but the full effect will largely depend on the scale of unemployment and how long it takes for businesses and the jobs market to recover. Advertisement
The new board of Coweta Youth Sports is tired of seeing young athletes go to other communities to play sports. They want to redo the fields, get the best coaches and bring softball back.
Vice President Mike Pence appeared on Hannity Wednesday night and reacted to the announcement that Joe Biden had chosen Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate just a day earlier. Harris and Pence will square off in a vice presidential debate in October in Utah, and while Harris has shown herself to be a fierce debater, Pence sounded optimistic.

I just have to tell you, you know, I like the matchup, Pence said. Its on, Sean. I cant wait to get back out there.

Later, while expressing enthusiasm for their debate, Pence took the opportunity to attack Harris and Biden.

I think she is a skilled debater, Pence said, but I cant wait to get to Salt Lake City and be on the stage with her to compare Joe Bidens nearly 50 years of public life, the agenda of the radical left, the agenda that shes embraced throughout her political career.

Pence continually tried to paint Harris as a radical, as have President Trump and other Republicans, along with conservative pundits. But throughout her career, progressives have chided Harris for not being progressive enough. Even Fox News anchor Chris Wallace said of Harris earlier in the day, She is not far to the left despite what Republicans are going to try to say. On Tuesday, Fox News White House correspondent John Roberts echoed that sentiment following a statement on Harris from the Trump campaign. Roberts said that the Trump campaigns strategy would be to try to create a narrative that Harris is a left-wing radical despite her record showing otherwise, and Pence stuck to that strategy.

Joe Bidens decision to add Kamala Harris to the ticket confirms everything President Trump and I have been saying, Pence said, and that is that Joe Biden and the Democratic Party have been overtaken by the radical Left.

Hannity airs weeknights at 9 p.m. on Fox News Channel.

Watch Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto fact-check the Trump campaigns claim that Kamala Harris called Joe Biden a racist:

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It has come to this in Ontario. An optometrist wont see you in your moment of need because theres not enough money in it for him.

You see sudden floaters or flashes  possible warning signs for your eyesight  so you turn to your trusted practitioner for help. And he (or she) turns you away.

In your panic, in mid-pandemic, he fobs you off on a crowded hospital emergency room where the risk of catching COVID-19 compounds the peril. He passes the buck, not in your best interests but his own financial interests.

In its ongoing fee battle with the government, the Ontario Association of Optometrists has opted to fight it out to the last patient. It is a ransom ploy that uses patients as bargaining chips, and it has gone on long enough.

In an internal message revealed by the Toronto Star this week, the association exhorts its more than 1,700 optometrist members to refuse treatment for selected patients as part of a co-ordinated strategy  sending people instead to a more costly emergency room, the better to bolster their negotiating position by worsening the governments finances. It is one of the most stunningly short-sighted and hard-hearted job actions in recent memory.

This is no ordinary pressure tactic. How many elderly, immobile, at-risk patients who are thus referred will only be deterred by long hospital lineups from getting the care they need?

This is a leverage point to get commitment from the government to fix the funding problem, wrote Dr. Sheldon Salaba, president of the OAO  a lobby group akin to a trade association.

Optometrists are not medical doctors but they are trained health professionals bound by an ethical code of conduct, no less than pharmacists or nurses. They are governed by the self-regulating College of Optometrists, which is bizarrely closing its eyes to this ruse.

A supposedly respectable trade association has lost its way. And a presumably independent regulator has forgotten its oversight role.

If optometrists are delegating or triaging to someone else, you want to follow up to make sure that patient actually got seen, muses Dr. Patrick Quaid, president of the college, with an air of curious detachment. If the job action escalates, its very likely it will be the public who will pay the price for it.

But what will the college actually do about it, beyond hope for the best and lament the worst? Patients cannot be the only ones to suffer for the wilful blindness of the watchdog and the trade association.

If recalcitrant optometrists are not disciplined, the regulator itself must also be held to account. For like any self-governing body, the colleges authority is delegated by government and can be reclaimed by the authorities.

This dispute is not new. Like its Liberal predecessor, the Progressive Conservative government is resisting pay demands from optometrists on the grounds that technology has created greater efficiencies while overall revenues keep rising.

Optometrists complain that business is down in the pandemic, because protective procedures require more time while OHIP payments (for people under 20, 65 and older, or with certain medical conditions) are still not keeping pace with rising expenses. But what a time to escalate their pressure tactics  when other workers are risking their lives to help people in need, when everyone is on edge about keeping safe, when our health-care resources are strained to the breaking point.

Not to worry, insists Salaba, the oddly myopic president of the optometrists association: An emergency room is as safe a place to be seen, I would think right now, as our offices would be.

If optometrists cannot feel the pain of their patients, if they cannot sense the fears of front-line nurses and physicians, if they cannot see the anxiety etched on the faces of everyone around them, then they are truly blind to todays realities. And oblivious to their own awful optics.

If they want more money, they are not without recourse. Like other working people with grievances, they could take a day without pay to set up picket lines at Queens Park, taking their protests directly to the politicians in power and making their case to the public, rather than punishing patients without power.

A pandemic is not the time to profit from people in need, nor an opportunity to put private cash flow ahead of public health. If the association cannot find its way, if the College of Optometrists will not reassert its oversight role, let the government reclaim its responsibility to protect the public from unethical conduct.

Doug Ford insists he cannot countenance the greed of landlords who toss tenants out of their apartments in mid-pandemic, when people are at their most vulnerable. A premier cannot be any less concerned about the avarice of optometrists who turn patients away from their offices during a COVID-19 crisis, when people must protect their vision.
There is a small Belgian enclave in the southern Netherlands where respecting two sets of rules to fight coronavirus has become a daily challenge, with international borders criss-crossing streets and even running through shops and homes.

The tiny town of Baarle-Hertog stands cheek by jowl with its Dutch neighbour Baarle-Nassau in southern Netherlands, but its 22 enclaves are Belgian territory and part of the Antwerp municipality which lies about 50 kilometres (31 miles) away.

Before, nobody worried too much about the fact that Belgian Baarle-Hertog was completely surrounded by the Netherlands, with the border running like a patchwork through the two towns and where the position of one's front door determined which country one lived in.

But then the coronavirus pandemic came along -- with Belgium following one set of guidelines and the Netherlands another -- and confusion reigned.

- Mask or no mask? -

In Baarle-Hertog, as in Antwerp, wearing a mask in a public space is obligatory. Not so in Baarle-Nassau, because Dutch rules require masks only on public transport.

"People don't understand whether or not they should wear a mask when they come to my shop," said Sylvia Reijbroek, a local resident whose art gallery is split by the border, marked by simple white crosses on the floor.

The Dutch woman used to be amused by the national boundary splitting the site, but since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic "it's not so nice any more".

Customers entering from the gallery's Belgian side have to put on a mask, before a few metres further, inside the gallery, they are allowed to take it off because they've "crossed the border".

Before the coronavirus, "there was no problem with borders. Now, we see it's different," Reijbroek, who is an artist, told AFP.

- Tale of two towns -

Despite the obvious white crosses demarcating the border between Belgium and the Netherlands, the two villages used to work well together, said Frans De Bont, Baarle-Hertog's mayor.

Story continues

"With corona everything has changed. Nobody knows what to do," he told AFP.

"Now it's: 'you're Dutch and you have your rules' and we have Belgian rules which are stricter. And that's strange," said De Bont, whose 7.5 square kilometre village has recorded 14 coronavirus cases so far.

During the recent lockdown, Reijbroek had to close her art gallery under Belgian law, while an adjoining shop on the Dutch side could remain open.

Calling it an "intelligent lockdown", the Netherlands was one of the few countries in Europe not to order a full quarantine during the height of the pandemic.

"We have two governments which have different ways of dealing with the coronavirus. It's not very pleasant," Reijbroek said.

To help the two towns' population of some 9,600 residents navigate a tricky situation, some businesses now display storefront signs that read: "No mask required here."

To add to the absurdity of the situation, Antwerp's authorities recently tightened COVID-19 restrictions by introducing a nightly curfew.

- Unique situation -

The history of Baarle-Nassau and Baarle-Hertog dates back to the Middle Ages, and the geographical anomaly has attracted tourists from all over the world.

In 1198, the territory was carved up when Henry I, Duke of Brabant, gave Godfried of Schoten, Lord of Breda, some land.

By 1830, when Belgium became independent and separated from the Netherlands, the question about precise borders once again came to the fore.

The border was finally settled in 1995, some 165 years later.

This is a "unique" case in the world, said Willem van Gool, director of the Baarle-Nassau and Baarle-Hertog tourist office.

"You could say that we are the world capital of enclaves. We are used to it," he said.

"But of course, with the coronavirus, we have new problems to solve," explained Van Gool.

"It's difficult for people here," Mayor De Bont conceded.

But for De Bont it's not a competition to see which country has implemented the most effective measures against coronavirus, so clearly seen in the way the two towns deal with pandemic.

"We are working on something bigger. We are busy with a war (against coronavirus) now," he said.

Both countries "are doing their best".

smt/jhe/lc/leg
On August 9, 2020, under the ambitious Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, the defence ministry (MoD) announced the imposition of an import embargo on 101 military products with a declared intent on boosting national military-industrial capacity. This much-publicised announcement has been cheered by all stakeholders of the Indian defence sector, especially the private manufacturers.

The embargo on imports will be effective in three phases: 69 items (from Water Jet Fast Attack Craft to Field Artillery Tractor (FAT) 6X6 for Medium Guns) by December 2020, 11 items (Wheeled Armoured Fighting Vehicle (AFV) to Conventional Submarines) by December 2021 and the remaining 21 (40mm Under Barrel Grenade Launcher (UBGL) to Long Range Land Attack Cruise Missiles) by December 2022. The includes low to medium technology items like Transportable Radar and Mini Trucks of different sizes to high technology items like Astra Mark I Beyond Visual Range Air to Air Missiles (BVRAAMs) and Communication Satellites. It includes both sub-systems as well as complete systems.

The press release by the government lays out the larger intent of the Negative List: to assess current and future capabilities of the Indian industry for manufacturing various ammunition/weapons/platforms/equipment within India. It also outlines the lucrative domestic market size by announcing with the latest embargo, it is estimated that contracts worth almost Rs 4,00,000 crore will be placed upon the domestic industry within the next five to seven years. The embargo is to be progressively implemented between 2020 and 2024, thus indicating that by late 2020s, Indian military industry should be ready to undertake further challenging military technology projects and be a part of the global military-industrial universe.

Read the fine print

Noble intents to re-energise the Indian military industry invariably appear lucrative, but once fine prints are understood, digested and ready to be implemented, such intents find themselves intricately lost in the world of military bureaucracy, complicated institutional dynamics and political apathy. Political or other blame games aside, the soldier is the final victim left to defend the country with whatever weapon he has at his disposal.

Not to be pessimistic, but an interesting parallel announcement with similar intent had occurred earlier  the lucrative world of defence offsets introduced in 2005 and implemented since then. It was designed to boost Indian military-industrial capacity. Various changes were made to the offsets policy from direct to indirect model, from project based to offsets multipliers from time to time. Various estimates were made to show how the industry had benefited from this policy. However, as the saying goes  more things change, more they remain the same  not much progress has happened in the offsets universe in India, resulting in perpetuation of muddle through syndrome in Indian military industry.

This is not to say that all noble attempts are ill-directed. The latest Negative List prepared by the MoD is distinct from earlier attempts like offsets. The list is prepared and available for stakeholders with much clarity. It lays out an estimated market (Rs 4,00,000 crore) for domestic private players. It has taken a pragmatic approach by listing out those products, which incidentally many of the Indian private sector companies were already involved earlier, but as sub-suppliers or junior partners. The intent is to make them transit from sub-suppliers to prime contractors. Importantly, the government has also decided to bifurcate capital procurement budget for FY 2020-21 between domestic and foreign capital procurement routes. An indicative figure of Rs 52,000 crore (roughly translating into about 45 percent of the total capital budget) is earmarked for the private sector for this year.

Oh! To be on the same page 

It is rarely that public sector and private sector participants are on the same page, when a new policy or reform attempt is made by the government. Interestingly, all three employee unions of Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) have welcomed the list with a demand that production rights be given to OFB in identified items. It is not often known that the most pilloried of the public sector entities, it is the OFB that has least import component (13 percent against 40  60 percent for HAL) in its products. This is indicative of larger noble intents.

Intents notwithstanding, it is the translation of ideas into tangible results that matter. In between lies the structure and institutional dynamics, which on many earlier occasions have diluted intents. The press release says, 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 than the services, it is the administrative mechanisms and institutional rivalries, which are capable of playing spoilsport. Relative success of the idea is actually dependent on structural reforms within relevant branches of MoD, which is still underway.
Hong Kong's government broadcaster has withdrawn a political podcast from its website after being warned that an interview with exiled democracy activist Nathan Law could be in breach of a draconian national security law imposed on the city by the ruling Chinese Communist Party.



The podcast about the recent decision by Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam to postpone legislative elections by a year, citing coronavirus concerns, was taken down from the Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) website out of "caution," the station's news department reported.



Law said the decision seemed to have been taken after unconfirmed reports that he is now on a Hong Kong's police list of overseas suspects under the national security law, which bans secession, subversion, collusion with foreign powers, and terrorism.



"I can only assume that they did this not because of the content of my interview, but because of my identity as a 'wanted suspect' under the national security law," he said.



He said that even wanted suspects have the right to give media interviews, but that there has been no official confirmation of media reports that he is a wanted suspect.



"The question of whether or not I really am wanted by the police hasn't yet been confirmed," Law wrote on his Facebook page on Thursday. "The police have never confirmed those reports."



"I hope that RTHK will take a good look at this decision and uphold the profession of journalism," he said.



An RTHK spokesperson said its management decided to adopt a cautious approach and made an editorial decision to remove the program for the time being.



But the RTHK Programme Staff Union questioned if the public broadcaster had overreacted, saying the police had never confirmed whether the interviewee was indeed on their wanted list, according to an RTHK news report, citing the union as saying that the incident could discourage people from accepting interviews.



Law announced he had moved to the U.K. shortly after the national security law took effect in Hong Kong. Several pro-democracy groups campaigning for greater autonomy for Hong Kong, including Demosisto, which Law founded along with Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow, announced their dissolution around the same time.



A student leader during the 2014 Occupy Central pro-democracy movement, Law became the youngest-ever candidate to win a seat in the Legislative Council (LegCo) in 2016, a seat that was later stripped from him after Beijing ruled his oath of allegiance was invalid.



'Doing the right thing'



Meanwhile, pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai, who is out on bail pending investigation for "fraud" and "collusion with foreign powers," under the new law, thanked his supporters around the world.



"I have been very moved during the past few days," Lai said. "I haven't ever felt this touched or happy before, and I'm 73 years old and have been in Hong Kong for more than 60 of those years."



"I know I am doing the right thing," said Lai, who has vowed not to leave Hong Kong in the face of the national security crackdown imposed on the city by Beijing following months of anti-extradition and pro-democracy protests last year.



He said he felt fortunate throughout his arrest and interrogation at the hands of Hong Kong's newly established national security police division.



"At no point, even when I was sitting there in handcuffs, did I feel sorry for myself or humiliated," Lai said.



Lai's arrest came alongside those of several colleagues at the company he founded, Next Media, and that of pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow, who has been dubbed #TheRealMulan by supporters on social media since images of her being led away in handcuffs made international headlines earlier this week.



All have since been released on bail.



Legal action taken against police



Following a national security police raid on its offices, including the editorial department, on Monday, Lai and his Apple Daily newspaper have launched legal action against the police, demanding the return of documents seized by officers.



They are seeking a court order for the police to hand back journalistic material, information with legal professional privilege, and all other material not covered by the search warrant.



Among the items taken by the police were computers belonging to Lai and his secretary Julie Chan, as well as those of reporters and the company's editorial, finance, and security departments.



The lawsuits claim that correspondence with lawyers and private communication between staff and their family and friends were also beyond the scope of the warrant.



Police claimed at the time of the raid not to have taken any journalistic material.



Reported by Lau Siu-fung for RFA's Cantonese Service and Gao Feng for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Rome, N.Y. -- A 33-year-old Rome man was arrested Wednesday and accused of raping a 12-year-old girl, according to the Oneida County Sheriffs Office.

Tarkeem Jones, 33, of Rome, was charged with first-degree rape, deputies said.

Rome police responded in late June to a reported dispute in front of a home, deputies said. An investigation found a home invasion had happened and Jones was identified as having raped a child at the residence, deputies said.

Jones was arraigned in City of Rome court and was remanded to the Oneida County Jail with no bail, deputies said.

Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Chris Libonati via the Signal app for encrypted messaging at 585-290-0718, by phone at the same number, by email or on Twitter.
Being active and connecting with others on social media has had a positive effect on teens mental health

A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus explored the ways that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected how teens use and think about social media. Although the pandemic has forced all consumers to be in front of screens more often, the team found that there are healthy ways to be on social media, and not all screen time should be a cause for concern.

I know a lot of parents were very worried about, Oh, my gosh, my kid ha...
South Africa: Raid at Mmabatho medical depot uncovers unpaid invoices

A team from the North West Department of Health, led by Administrator Jeanette Hunter, on Wednesday raided offices of the Mmabatho Medical Depot and uncovered unpaid invoices of 50 companies, worth millions.

Some of the unpaid invoices dates back to 2014.

When the Administrators team arrived at the department in 2018, the stock level of essential medicine was at 64% and it was improved to about 85% through the intervention.

However, the level started dropping in the beginning of the year and some companies stopped delivering medicines in March 2020 citing non payment of invoices.

The stock levels did not change despite money being made available in April 2020. The department then received technical assistance to speed up payment of suppliers.

Through the intervention, it has come to the attention of the department that a number of invoices were missing.

The Medical Depot could not pay companies as invoices were missing. As a result, companies stopped supplying medication which has affected stock level at the medical depot.

A decision was then taken to raid the offices and block the workers from accessing the depot. The search, which uncovered a number of unpaid invoices, continues.

One unpaid invoice that was found at the Medical Depot in a drawer was worth more than R16 million.

The department confirms that all the invoices will be verified before payment can be processed.

We owe companies who are the suppliers. As a result, we are unable to get enough supply of medicine from the same companies because we owe them.

There are people who are employed to process invoices by the Provincial Government and they are not doing their job. This technically leads to unavailability of medicine in the medical depot, said North West Health MEC Madoda Sambatha.

The raid now provides the management of the department led by the Administrator to work out a plan on how to catch up with payment of suppliers. This will lead to improved availability of medicine which will then be delivered to clinics and hospitals, where they are needed the most.

It breaks my heart to know that there are people in the department who decide to withhold payment of medicine which should be assisting our parents, family members and communities at large. Its treasonous and the situation has to be corrected, he said.

MEC Sambatha said he has noted with dismay that whenever a decision is made to correct the situation at the Medical Depot an anonymous letter always surfaces.

Four managers, two from the Medical Depot and another two from the provincial office in Mahikeng have been put on precautionary suspension, following alleged mismanagement involving expired medication.

A plan to improve delivery timelines and turnaround has been put in place. It involves direct deliveries of medication to hospitals while the Medical Depot will now deliver directly to clinics.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-08-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Like most Canadians, Bob Jackson found out about the arrest of Jimmy Lai by Hong Kong police when he turned on the news Monday morning.

The news, which made international headlines and drew condemnation from the Canadian government, had a unique connection to Jackson, since Lai owns the Ontario hotel, restaurant and spa company that Jackson runs as chief executive officer.

Were praying for him here, said the CEO of Vintage Hotels, which includes 12 hotels and 20 to 25 restaurants and spas in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Jordan and outside Niagara.

With his situation, obviously we support him, but it doesnt have an impact on our business, Jackson added.

Lai has been an outspoken critic of the Chinese government and a pro-democracy voice within Hong Kong. The region is supposed to have a special status under the one country, two systems agreement made by the U.K. and China when the former handed over control of Hong Kong to the latter in 1997.

However, for the past year, the region has been rocked by protests and a crackdown by the Chinese government. A new security law passed June 30 by the Chinese government gives it broad powers to arrest and imprison for life those it convicts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.

The law has been criticized by governments of the West and many international agencies.

These offences are so broadly defined they can easily become catch-all offences used in politically motivated prosecutions with potentially heavy penalties, wrote Amnesty International in a piece published July 17 explaining its concerns with the law.

It was under this new law that police arrested Lai.

The Associated Press reported that it appeared police removed boxes on Monday, of what they said was evidence, from Lais Next Digital headquarters.

Next Digital is the media company that operates the Apple Daily, a pro-democracy tabloid often critical of Chinas Communist Party.

Hes outspoken, and I think hes going to continue to be outspoken, said Jackson. He said Lai typically had been coming to Canada a couple of times a year to meet with senior staff like himself. In addition, the two corresponded by email occasionally.

Vintage Hotels remains a Canadian company governed by a board of directors. As such, Jackson said nothing changes. And while they stay out of politics, Jackson said they support the pro-democracy sentiment.

Given Lais vocal opposition Jackson said he wasnt terribly surprised to see the Chinese government go after him.

The extent they went maybe was (surprising), he said.

Canada condemned the arrests, which also included the arrest of pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow Ting.

In a tweet, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois-Philippe Champagne said Canada is deeply troubled by the arrest of (Lai and) others under Chinas National Security Law in Hong Kong. All human rights and fundamental freedoms, including media freedom and freedom of speech, must be upheld.

Read more about:
A two-term former president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, has advised African youth to be deliberate about taking over leadership positions from the older generations.

The African political landscape has, over the years, been dominated by the older generation, who often use the youth as stepping stones to actualise their political biddings.

Mr Obasanjo, who has benefited from the continents gerontocratic system in the past, at a virtual meeting held on Wednesday to mark the 2020 International Youth Day, told the youth to actively participate in political activities with a view to take over its structure rather than being tools in the hands of their aged leaders.

Unless you squeeze out those who are in office and those who want to remain in office perpetually, some after the age of 80, unless you squeeze them out, they will not want to be out.

The type of change I am talking about, that I believe we can all embark upon is to subscribe to the constitution of political parties in favour of youth, or if you like it, you call it affirmative action in favour of youth.

For instance, if you say, in the constitution of a political party, not less than 50 per cent of those who hold executive office within the party will be less than 40 years.

You can even go beyond that and say that people who will be put up for election, not less than 50 per cent of them will be less than 40 years of age. Thats affirmative action. Thats positive discrimination in favour of youth, Punch newspaper reported the former president to have said at the programme believed to have drawn participants from different parts of the world.

It was organised by the Youth Development Centre, an arm of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.

Born on March 5, 1937, Mr Obasanjo is the first Nigerian to serve as a military head of state and a civilian president. He was democratically elected president of Nigeria in 1999 and he was re-elected in 2003.

Having served his two-term constitutionally allowed tenure, Mr Obasanjo third term agenda was defeated when the Nigerian Senate threw out the Constitutional Amendments Bill.
- Jordan Kirk and his husband had visited the Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort in Arkansas, US, for a night of fun

- At the entrance, Kirk was asked to return his bag to the car because he could not be admitted with it

- The man told the security guy that he was not carrying a bag but a purse (murse) and he would not put it back in the car as he needed it

- This brought a heated exchange as the gay man felt discriminated considering many women were allowed entrance even without a check

A man was left outraged after he was denied entry into a Casino for carrying a male purse.

Gay man Jordan Kirk and his husband had visited the Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort in Arkansas, US, for a night of fun.

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Jordan Kirk during an Interview with Fox News Photo: Jordan Kirk

Source: Facebook

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However, on reaching the entrance, he was asked to return the bag to his car before he could be allowed in.

The bouncer, who gave him these orders, is reported to have told Kirk that "men do not carry purses, they carry bags," before telling him it should have been left in the car.

I was told my bag was too large, and I could put my wallet in my pocket, return my bag back to the car, and then I could come in, Kirk wrote in a Facebook post.

He informed the security guy that he was not carrying a bag but a purse (murse) and he would not put it back in the car.

He then asked to speak to the supervisor who apparently agreed with the bouncer.

"While this was happening we pointed out at least 10 women carrying bags large enough to carry small toddlers, and three backpacks, their reply? 'Women need their purses, yours is just a bag.'" he added.

READ ALSO: Man catches girlfriend with another man after she took money from him to visit her sick brother

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He then demanded to speak to the general manager who even worsened the situation by claiming men might carry explosives in their purses.

"They were worried that a man carrying a bag may have explosives. Explosives? Youre kidding me? Because Im gay, Im carrying a man purse, now I may carry explosives? (sic)" he questioned.

After agreeing to a search, Kirk was finally let in but still maintained the Casino's social media pages blocked him and others from commenting after his post went viral.

READ ALSO: Woman who divorced after 6 months cautions women against hacking partners' phones

Recently, TUKO.co.ke reported about a video that emerged in the backdrop of increasing humiliation and mistreatment of Africans in China with links to COVID-19 pandemic.

In the clip, an African lady was denied entry into a shopping centre sparking rage from the online community.

The middle-aged woman could be seen approaching a shelve inside a slightly vast shopping centre but she was instantly stopped by two Chinese men presumed to be security officers.

READ ALSO: Ronaldinho breaches house arrest rules after allegedly partying in luxurious hotel

READ ALSO: Jamaa azuru kaunti mbali mbali kwa baiskeli akihamasisha umma kuhusu COVID-19

Rattled by the incidence, the lady questioned why she was being stopped from accessing the shelves yet other people were being allowed in.

The attendants, however, remained adamant and asked her to leave the premises without bothering to explain.

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.

Follow up: Babies with Babies, the sad life of single teenage single mothers in Kenya | Tuko TV

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Coronavirus: first infection in Greek island migrant camp On Chios, 35-year-old Yemeni

(ANSAmed) - ATHENS, AUG 13 - Greece on Thursday recorded its first case of COVID-19 in a migrant camp on one of its islands. A migration ministry source told AFP that it was a 35-year-old originally from Yemen living in the Vial camp on the island of Chios in the eastern Aegean. Several migrants that arrived on the island of Lesbos in recent days tested positive but this is the first ''non-imported'' case. ''The man was placed in quarantine in a local hospital and 30 others are undergoing testing,'' an official who spoke on condition of anonymity said. Over 3,800 migrants are staying in the Vial camp, some three times its maximum capacity. Many COVID-19 cases - but none fatal - have been recorded over the past few months in migrant camps in mainland Greece. The news of the infection in the Vial camp came just after a record-high number of infections in a single day in Greece on Wednesday: 262.



(ANSAmed). (ANSA).




Profoundly shocked: Mamata writes to PM Modi over Centre's move to reject Bengal tableau from R-day parade

Proposal to change rules for central deputation of IAS officers affects states' administration: Mamata to PM

Bengal school defies directives, starts classes

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Kolkata, Aug 13: Defying government directives, a state-run school in West Bengal's Paschim Medinipur district restarted classes on Wednesday, prompting the government to issue a notice to the headmaster.

Headmaster Brindaban Ghatak of Hatsarberia BC Roy High School in the Daspur area said the decision to restart classes for standard 10 students was taken as their studies were getting affected due to the lockdown.

"We started the classes following all social distancing norms and standard protocols. The students are very enthusiastic about coming to the school after staying at home for all these months," he told reporters.

CBSE Compartment Exams 2020: Board says cancellation will impact students future

Several guardians have also been requesting the school authorities to restart classes and the managing committee gave the go-ahead, Ghatak said.

"We will close the school building if asked by the Education Department but in that case, we may opt for taking classes in the open," he said, replying to a question.

Ghatak said the school was also considering starting classes of 11 and 12 following all necessary COVID-19 protocols.

PM Modi launches platform for 'Transparent taxation-Honouring the Honest' | Oneindia News

In a late evening development, an official of the Education Department said the headmaster has been issued a show-cause notice and asked to explain the reasons for violating the government order.

"He has to reply within 24 hours. The district inspector has also been asked to visit the school on Thursday and file a report," the official said.

Public health expert Kajal Banik said the move will endanger the health of children.

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Story first published: Thursday, August 13, 2020, 10:23 [IST]
Local historian Gabriel Murray has written a book titled, The Countess of Desart, also known locally as Lady Desart.

It has been published by Dun Emer Press.

The book is over five hundred pages long, and includes over two hundred rare photos. The book concerns the Countess involvement with philanthropy and charities in Kilkenny and a wider European context. The book expands on a story that has had little published research to date.

Kilkenny Corporation named a bridge in her name in 2014. There is also a major choir in Cuffesgrange named after her. Recently Ballykeefe distillery named a gin in her name.

The Countess of Desart (Ellen Odette Cuffe, nee Bischoffsheim,18571933); made an enormous impact on Kilkenny society on her arrival here in 1881. She was born in London into am important Jewish family. She obtained the title when she married novelist William Cuffe, Earl of Desart, from Cuffesgrange. She was the daughter of Henri Louis Bischoffsheim, a wealthy Jewish banker of German origin. He was partly responsible for founding three of the largest banks in the world, i.e. Deutsche Bank, Paribas Bank, and Societe Generale.

She founded and funded Kilkenny Theatre, Kilkenny Library, Aut Even Hospital, Talbots Inch housing, Kilkenny Woodworkers and Kilkenny Woollen Mills. She championed workers rights privately and in government. She was also involved in various charities and social reformers with the Butler family; notably the Marchioness of Ormonde and Lady Constance and Beatrice Butler.

She was a member of over eighty charitable committees and institutions. She was president of the Gaelic League and reviver of the arts and crafts movement in Ireland. She was also president of the Industrial Society in Ireland.

The Countess was president of the Womens Committee of the Jewish Temporary Shelter in London and directly involved in the rescue of over 150,000 Russian Jews from Tzarist Russia, before the borders of England closed, with the enforcement of the Aliens Act in 1906.

Her mothers family the Bidermanns, were victims of the Nazis in Vienna. Her grandfather Michael Lazar Bidermann, was court jeweller to the emperor of Austria. He saved the starving population in the famine, in Vienna, in 1816; by donating a large amount of money. The only surviving synagogue in Vienna was funded by him. The family lost all their properties and possessions in 1938, when Austria was annexed by Germany. Many of her cousins in Paris died in Auschwitz.

She was appointed by the new Irish Free State government as a senator in Seanad Eireann as an independent member in 1922, and served there until her death in 1933. The Mayor of Kilkenny John (Jack) Mac Guinness gave a eulogy on behalf of Kilkenny Corporation.

Hundreds of members of the Kilkenny community walked behind her horse drawn hearse; that made the route from her house in Waterloo road, to Dun Laoghire harbour. She was buried in Falmouth in Cornwall, beside her husband.

The author, Gabriel Murray has researched this book for over twenty years, accessing archives in Ireland, England, France and Austria, to complete his research. The Countess is regarded as the most important Jewish woman in Irish history.

This book finally places her life in a historical context, and adds significantly to the cultural history of Kilkenny city. This is the first biography to be published on her life, philanthropy and great works. It is an important contribution to the historical heritage of Kilkenny.

The Countess of Desart; is available on Amazon.co.uk and in local bookshops.
Boris Johnson today revealed that baby son Wilfred is starting to 'vocalise' and 'goes out like a light' when put to bed, but appeared to forget how old he is.

The PM, who rarely speaks about his private life, made the comments as he chatted with First Minister Arlene Foster and deputy Michelle O'Neill on a visit to Northern Ireland.

Asked how Wilfred was getting on as the posed for the cameras at Hillsborough Castle, Mr Johnson enthused: 'He is getting to the stage where he is starting to vocalise when he wants us.'

Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis joined the group and intervened to observed that Mr Johnson and fiancee Carrie Symonds must be suffering from sleep deprivation.

But Mr Johnson said: 'No, he goes out like a light.'

Ms O'Neill then quizzed the PM on how old his son is, to which he replied uncertainly: 'Just between three and four months... I wouldn't like to say exactly.'

Ms Foster joked: 'That is a man's answer.'

The PM, who rarely speaks about his private life, made the comments as he chatted with First Minister Arlene Foster (right) and deputy Michelle O'Neill (left) on a visit to Northern Ireland

Mr Johnson and fiancee Carrie Symonds pictured taking part in an NHS call with baby Wilfred in Downing Street last month

Wilfred was born on April 29, meaning he will be four months at the end of this month.

It is Mr Johnson's first visit to Northern Ireland since the coronavirus crisis struck.

As well as discussing the pandemic and Brexit arrangements, he has held face-to-face talks with Irish PM Micheal Martin.

And he has been finalising the first stage of plans to mark the centenary of Northern Ireland's foundation.

Northern Ireland was created in May 1921 following the partition of Ireland.

A forum and historical advisory panel will work alongside the Government to commemorate the anniversary.

The Northern Ireland Executive will receive 2.2 billion additional funding this year for its Covid-19 response.

The Treasury has also protected more than 316,000 jobs and granted thousands of business loans.

Mr Lewis said the centenary year would promote the region on a world stage.

'This is a fantastic opportunity for people right across the UK to celebrate Northern Ireland and its integral place within our Union.

'We will use the centenary next year to promote it on the world stage, celebrating its people, culture, traditions and enterprise and its vital contribution to the United Kingdom.'
Police are forensically examining "barnacled" items retrieved from the bottom of Sydney Harbour as part of the unsolved investigation into the 1980 assassination of a Turkish diplomat and his bodyguard in Sydneys east.

Turkish consul-general Sarik Ariyak, 50, was leaving his Dover Heights home with bodyguard Engin Sever, 28, when both men were fatally shot on December 17.

Turkish consul-general Sarik Ariyak was shot dead outside his Dover Heights home in 1980. Credit:Russell McPhedran

It was one of the first international politically motivated attack on Australian soil, described by police as "calculated, deliberate" and "brutal".

The men were leaving the residence in separate vehicles when they were stormed by two unknown men in motorcycle helmets, who fired multiple shots at close range before fleeing on a motorcycle.
By PTI

HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Thursday directed the state government to initiate action against those private hospitals allegedly charging excessively for COVID-19 patients in violation of guidelines and beyond the prescribed rates fixed by the government.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan, while hearing a batch of PILs, directed the government to take strict action in accordance with the law on private healthcare facilities, which are not following the state government guidelines while collecting fee from patients.

The petitions alleged that private hospitals were charging exorbitantly for COVID-19 treatment from patients.

The state government informed the court that certain complaints were received against private hospitals that were under process of examination and disposal.

On Thursday, Telangana Chief Secretary and other senior officials appeared before the Court through video conference and informed it about the various measures undertaken by the state government to tackle COVID-19 and also submitted a report regarding the implementation of its orders.

Expressing satisfaction, the court expected that the government will explore all possibilities to fulfill and comply with its directions.

In the earlier hearings on the same PILs, the bench had expressed displeasure over the state government not implementing its earlier orders on issues related to COVID-19 pandemic in the state, including number of tests, adherence to ICMR guidelines and publication of data with public.

The bench further directed that the private hospitals, which got concessions such as land concessions from the government, should provide free treatment to the poor people.

The bench noted that the Delhi government issued certain guidelines in this regard and wanted the Telangana government to consider and issue a circular on similar lines.

The PILs had also sought directions to the state government to provide required medical equipment, medicines and trained staff to the designated COVID-19 hospitals and to take steps to curtail the spread of the virus.

The court also directed the government to establish a grievance cell under Chief Secretary to monitor coronavirus treatment and to increase the number of oxygen beds in hospitals besides ramping up testing.

The court posted the matter to September 4 and dispensed with the appearance of the Chief Secretary and directed the other officials to appear before it.
'By annoying the Arabs and cozying up to Iran, Pakistan may end up losing Arab economic support, annoying the Americans and increase Shia-Sunni tensions domestically,' Colonel Anil A Athale (retd) points out.

IMAGE: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, September 19, 2019. Photograph: Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Reuters

Come August 14, 2020 and our Western neighbour will be entering the 74th year! Even after over seven decades, the breakaway province of India is in search of identity other than 'Not India'.

In choosing to celebrate 'independence day' one day before the mother country, the urge to be one up on India has never left the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

In its search for 'not India', it embarked upon pretending to be Arabs.

Currently Turkey is the flavour. The Turkish historical series, Ertugrul, has captured not just the popular imagination, but also acquired political, cultural and identity overtones in Pakistan.

In a way it is a return to the past as the original Pan Islam movement began with the Khilafat movement in the 1920s when restoration of the Turkish sultan was taken up.

For a very long time, the typically Turkish fez was the preferred headgear in the subcontinent as mark of religious identity.

Even today the father of the Pakistani nation, Mohammad Ali Jinnah's portrait adorning the Pakistani mind and wall space is never without his fez.

The elevation of Arabs to role models came with the oil boom and petro dollars after 1973.

Then onwards, the Arab dress became fashionable and the skull cap became ubiquitous.

Indians obsessed with COVID-19, Chinese actions in Ladakh and the suicide drama in Bollywood have missed out the significance of a major development in Pakistan.

Possibly for the first time ever, a Pakistani foreign minister criticised the Organisation of Islamic Countries in general and Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries in particular for their lack of support to Pakistan's position on Kashmir.

This development came on the back of the new found bonhomie between Pakistan and Iran.

The seeming shift in stance has a clear China linkage as it has stitched an anti-West alliance with Iran.

If this happens, then it will mean a reversal of the Pakistani position of the last four decades of 'Arabisation' of the country.

The process of Arbabisation of Pakistan was begun by Pakistan military dictator General Zia-ul Haq in the 1980s.

The most visible (and ridiculous) sign of this is the planting of date palm trees along the main road in Islamabad in a mountainous area that otherwise has pine and deodar as native trees! The sight of desert palm trees on the slopes of the Himalayan foothills was indeed a signature of that era.

On a more serious note, Pakistan has over the years been purging the Urdu language of its Persian influence.

It must be remembered that Persian was the language of Muslim rulers in India, not Arabic.

Common expressions like 'khuda hafiz' were replaced with 'Allah Hafiz' and even Ramzan began to be called Ramadan in sync with Arab practice.

Saudi funds flowed into thousands of Pakisyani madrasas during this period with a corresponding rise in anti-Shia and anti-Iran sentiments that gave rise to frequent attacks and pogroms against the minority Shia community.

Anti-Shia extremist organisations like the Sipah I Sahaba, Lashkar e Janghvi and Ahle Hadis received State patronage and help from Pakistan's armed forces.

In reaction, the Shias of Pakistan formed the Tehrik e Jafaria that indulged in violence.

For over three decades the Saudi-Iran rivalry was fought on Pakistani soil, with Pakistan tilting towards the Arabs.

In return for the Pakistani tilt towards the Saudi view on its conflict with Iran, Islamabad received generous economic aid and free oil.

In addition to the direct aid, Pakistani expatriates in Gulf States and Saudi Arabia form the major part of Pakistani foreign exchange earnings.

Much of Pakistan's 'money order' economy is dependent on Arab countries.

If Pakistan is to join the Iran-China axis, it faces the prospect of losing its direct aid as well as earnings of its millions of expatriates.

The Pakistani economy that is under severe threat will find it difficult to absorb this shock.

Iran's ability to replace Saudi oil and aid is limited and there are no employment opportunities in Iran for the millions of Pakistani workers who stand to be expelled from Gulf States and Saudi Arabia.

IMAGE: Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, left, with Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard and head of its Quds Force.

General Solemani was assassinated by the Americans on January 3, 2020. Photograph: DG ISPR/Twitter

Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states see Iran as a threat greater than Israel.

American economic sanctions against Iran and efforts to stop Iran's drive to get nuclear weapons has whole hearted support of the Gulf Arab States and Saudi Arabia.

Iran on the other hand has been the staunchest supporter of (mostly Sunni) Palestinians against Israel.

Iran sees the support to the Palestinian cause as a means to assume the leadership of the Islamic world.

Its quest for nuclear weapons is a part of that endeavour.

If Pakistan moves closer to Iran, the Arabs feel threatened as Pakistan may transfer its nuclear weapon technology to Iran.

China has been trying to bring about an anti-Western axis by roping in Turkey.

But the contradictions of Middle East politics are such that in the Syrian conflict, Turkey finds itself opposed to the Assad regime (in collaboration with the Saudis) while Iran, Russia and China support Assad.

On the long term basis, Turkey and Iran are rivals to gain influence in the former Soviet republics of Central Asia.

There are far too many contradictions between Iran and Turkey (including the Shia-Sunni angle) for this coalition of contradictions to survive.

By annoying the Arabs and cozying up to Iran, Pakistan is playing with fire.

As a single agenda (Kashmir) State, Pakistan may well end up losing Arab economic support, annoying the Americans and increase Shia-Sunni tensions domestically.

It is playing a dangerous game by entering the quicksand of Middle East politics.

India has never been able to craft a sensible Pakistan policy in the last seven decades as we have done the mistake of treating Pakistan as a normal country.

Pakistan is not a nation, but a state of mind of large mass of people who suffer from paranoia, schizophrenia and abiding Stockholm Syndrome (falling in love with the oppressors).

Indian policy makers will do well to consult psychiatrists and psychologists to solve the Pakistan riddle.

Colonel Anil A Athale (retd) is a former Chhatrapati Shivaji Chair Fellow at the United Services Institute of India.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
4:15 p.m. update

Another day of slow-moving downpours means more flash flooding concerns in metro Richmond.

A flash flood warning is in effect until 7:15 p.m. from western Henrico County into portions of Hanover, southern Caroline and western King William, according to the National Weather Service in Wakefield. This means water could quickly rise on roads and streams near Short Pump, Tuckahoe, Glen Allen, Mechanicsville, Ashland and Lakeside.

Rain also extends southward into Chesterfield County at this time, though it hasn't been as heavy or as stationary in that area. This latest flash flood warning does not include Richmond or Chesterfield County.

Unlike yesterday's rain, this activity is roughly moving from east to west.

Due to all the recent rainfall, any area under or near any storms today could see flash flooding become a problem.

That's why a flash flood watch is in effect for all of central and eastern Virginia until midnight.

6:25 p.m. Wednesday update

The Richmond metro area is drying out from an afternoon of excessive rainfall. New downpours are hitting other corners of the region, from Charlottesville to the Washington suburbs to the Northern Neck.

The flash flood warning for Richmond and portions of Henrico County expired at 6 p.m.

As of 6:15 p.m., storms were developing in central Chesterfield County and eastern Henrico County, two areas which missed most of the earlier rains.

Up to 2.6 inches fell in Richmond between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m.  much of that in a two-hour mid-afternoon span  while the official airport gauge 6 miles east of downtown saw very little.

More rain can't be ruled out for Richmond or Henrico County this evening, but models suggest that the heavier activity may be focused elsewhere.

Bearing that possibility for additional rain in mind, a flash flood watch remains in effect for much of central Virginia until the late evening.

More slow-moving downpours will fire up in Thursday's heat and humidity and flash flooding will be a threat to watch out for yet again.

4:35 p.m. update

A flash flood warning remains in effect until 6 p.m. for Richmond and surrounding parts of Henrico County, including Tuckahoe, Laurel, Glen Allen, Lakeside and East Highland Park.

The intense rain and thunder has stopped for now, but a lighter rain continues to fall across those areas.

The runoff quickly covered some roads earlier this afternoon. Here some reports relayed by the National Weather Service in Wakefield.

 Richmond firefighters were called to perform a water rescue at the 2100 block of Bainbridge Street in Richmond at 3:35 p.m.

 Water was flowing across Hermitage Road in Lakeside at 4 p.m.

 The ramp from Hamilton Street to southbound Interstate 195 was closed due to standing water at 4:15 p.m., according to VDOT.

 At 3:41 p.m., standing water also closed some southbound travel lanes of Interstate 95 approaching the Belvidere Street. As of 4:14 p.m., only the south left shoulder was closed but a minor slowdown continued.

 VDOT cameras also showed water covering the intersection of Belvidere and Canal streets at 3:15 p.m.

This storm dumped 2 inches of rain from Tuckahoe into southern and western portions of Richmond. There is no longer any intense rain falling in Richmond or the surrounding counties, but a light-to-moderate rain persists over much of the metro area.

2:55 p.m. update

A flash flood warning is in effect until 6 p.m. for Richmond and surrounding parts of Henrico County, including Tuckahoe, Laurel, Glen Allen, Lakeside and East Highland Park.

The National Weather Service in Wakefield issued the warning at 2:53 p.m. after detecting that storms had already dropped 1 to 2 inches of rain over that area. Another 1 to 2 inches are possible.

Wednesday morning's forecast:

After a soaking start to August, you may be tired of seeing rain and storms in the forecast.

This meteorologist, for one, is tired of the downpours, too.

But thats all the more reason not to let our guard down when it comes to flash flooding potential in the days ahead.

A flash flood watch is in effect for metro Richmond, Fredericksburg, Charlottesville, and all of Northern Virginia this afternoon and evening.

The ground is still wet and creeks are running high after 5 to 11 inches of rain poured down across central Virginia over the past two weeks.

New showers and storms are likely to develop by mid-afternoon and continue into the evening. They will be disorganized, scattered and very slow-moving, so some towns in our region could stay dry while others nearby may have to deal with a few hours of heavy rain.

Some spots could see new rainfall amounts in excess of 3 inches, possibly in as little as one hour, which would cause rapid runoff into streets and quickly-rising streams.

The NWS also mentions the risk of landslides and sinkholes following heavy rain in areas along and west of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

According to National Weather Service forecasters, today's most flood-vulnerable region extends from Charlottesville to western New Jersey, including major cities like Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia. Travelers heading that way this afternoon and evening should anticipate some slower speeds due to rain and potential disruptions due to high water.

Aside from flooding, the severe weather outlook is fortunately looking minimal. The atmospheric setup doesnt favor us getting a lot of damaging wind, hail or tornado warnings alongside the rain, as we saw last week in the Charlottesville region.

If you were hoping for a few days to dry out or tackle a big outdoor project, the forecast isnt all that optimistic. Conditions look just as favorable for scattered heavy rain on Thursday afternoon and evening. A front stalling across the region will mean numerous opportunities for showers and storms through the end of this week, and another potential uptick in chances next week.

If the national NWS rainfall outlook plays out as currently depicted, Virginia will be the soggiest state in the country over the next seven days.

That doesnt mean heavy rain and flooding in every location on every day, but that flooding issues could develop with short notice under (or near) the storms that do fire up. Stay aware of flash flood warnings that may be issued, and avoid driving or walking through flooded roads.
The Reserve Bank has asked urban co-operative banks to implement system-based asset classification. The move is expected to improve the efficiency, transparency and integrity of the current asset classification system in UCBs.

Accordingly, system-based asset classification is a better process to reflect a bank's actual financial health in its balance sheet.

The RBI on Wednesday said that UCBs having total assets of Rs 2,000 crore or above as on March 31, 2020 shall implement system-based asset classification with effect from June 30, 2021.

"UCBs having total assets of Rs 1,000 crore or above but less than Rs 2,000 crore as on March 31, 2020 and having self-assessed themselves as being under 'Level III or Level IV' ... on Comprehensive Cyber Security Framework for UCBs shall implement system-based asset classification with effect from September 30, 2021."

As per RBI, for smooth implementation of the system: "All concerned UCBs may conduct pilot or parallel run and evaluate the results for accuracy or integrity of the asset classification in compliance with the applicable RBI instructions so as to ensure that they are ready for implementation of the system-based asset classification from the appointed date."

"UCBs not meeting the above criteria are also encouraged to voluntarily implement the system-based asset classification in their own interest," RBI said.
By Online Desk

Amid the row over the phone call detail records issue, the Kerala police on Friday clarified that it was not collecting CDRs of COVID-19 patients as part of contact tracing but details of tower locations to ensure that a quarantined person was not roaming around.

The Opposition Congress had yesterday slammed the ruling Left over its decision to allow police to use the CDRs of COVID-19 patients for effective contact tracing, saying it was an "infringement" on the privacy of citizens and the state cannot be allowed to be converted into a "Police State."

In a explanatory note, the state police department said it was utilising the possibilities of technology to trace the contacts of the COVID-19 patients in a legal manner.

According to the Union Health Ministry, the COVID-19 tally in India rose to 24,61,191 including 6,61,595 active cases, 17,51,556 discharged or migrated and 48,040 deaths on Friday.

India recorded the single-day spike of 64,553 cases and 1,007 deaths taking the coronavirus tally above 24-lakh.
San Francisco voters will confront 13 local initiatives when they cast their ballots in November. Its a list that features measures to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in local elections, break up the Public Works Department and overhaul the citys business-tax structure.

And alongside voters in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, San Franciscans will also decide on a sales tax to fund Caltrain, widely considered to be a financial lifeline for the train service in the face of plummeting ridership because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Heres a breakdown:

Proposition A: A $487.5 million bond measure. The Health and Homelessness, Parks and Streets Bond needs a two-thirds supermajority  the threshold for all bond measures  and would allocate:

 $239 million for parks, open spaces and recreational facilities.

 $207 million for facilities mental health and substance abuse services, permanent supportive housing and homeless shelters.

 $41.5 million for seismic improvements to public structures and plazas, installing curb ramps and road repairs.

Proposition B: It would amend the City Charter to split off Public Works street cleaning, sidewalk maintenance and sanitation duties into a new agency, leaving the remaining department to handle engineering, design, project management and other work tied to San Franciscos public infrastructure.

Supervisor Matt Haneys measure would also subject both departments to a five-person commission that would approve contracts, set standards, hold public meetings and oversee each agencys overall performance.

The proposition would cost the city between $2.5 million and $6 million annually, according to the City Controllers Office, mostly from the hiring to fill administrative roles at the new street and sanitation department currently handled by Public Works employees. There is no mandate to hire new street cleaners.

Proposition C: A charter amendment that would allow non-citizens to serve on boards that advise City Hall on public policy issues like housing, health care and civil rights.

The measure, championed by Supervisor Shamann Walton, would eliminate requirements that prevent people from serving on city bodies unless theyre registered to vote. That means they must be U.S. citizens. Waltons measure would relax those requirements. The measure needs a simple-majority vote to pass.

Proposition D: A charter amendment sponsored by Walton to create greater oversight at the Sheriffs Department.

If passed with a simple-majority vote, Prop. D would create a seven-member Sheriffs Department Oversight Board that would make policy recommendations to the sheriff and the Board of Supervisors. The measure would also create the Sheriffs Department Office of Inspector General, which would investigate in-custody deaths and complaints against the department, its employees and contractors.

Any evidence of criminal misconduct by department employees would be referred to the District Attorneys Office. Both of the new agencies would have subpoena power to conduct investigations, but neither could issue formal directives to the Sheriffs Department or hire, fire or discipline any of its personnel. The new agencies would cost, at most, $2 million annually.

Proposition E: Supervisor Norman Yees measure would eliminate the mandate in the City Charter that the Police Department maintain a roster of 1,971 full-duty officers.

The requirement, introduced to the charter in the mid-1990s, has been deemed a needlessly inflexible and antiquated yardstick for police staffing levels. If passed with a simple-majority vote, Prop. E would do away with the fixed staffing requirement and require the Police Department to submit a staffing report to the Police Commission every two years.

Proposition F: A sweeping measure to overhaul San Franciscos business-tax structure.

If passed with a simple-majority vote, Prop. F would recalibrate business taxes in a number of ways, phasing out the payroll, tax, increasing gross receipts business tax rates for some businesses and increasing the number of small companies exempted from the business tax. It would allow the city to unlock hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue tied up in legal disputes and eventually add about $97 million annually.

Proposition G: A measure that would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in local elections.

Seizing on momentum generated by recent national movements for climate action, gun-law reform and other causes led by young people, Yee introduced the initiative to give young people greater agency over the decisions affecting their lives. If passed by voters with a simple majority, the measure would make San Francisco the largest city in the United States to expand suffrage to 16-year-olds.

Proposition H: A measure to streamline the citys permitting process for new businesses looking to open or for existing storefronts seeking to make changes to their operations.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

The measure, placed on the ballot by Mayor London Breed, would require city officials to process permit applications for business uses already allowed under existing zoning rules within 30 days if they are within neighborhood commercial districts. Prop. H would also streamline approvals for certain businesses, including cafes and restaurants. Prop. H needs a simple-majority vote to pass.

Proposition I: A measure to increase taxes on property sales valued at $10 million or more.

Supervisor Dean Prestons measure would double the citys transfer tax for big property sales. Preston brought the measure to the ballot in part to hedge against a predicted wave of real-estate speculation brought on by the economic recession.

The Controllers Office speculated that the tax, if passed with a simple-majority vote, could bring in $196 million on average annually  but cautioned that the transfer tax is the citys most volatile revenue source and that the tax could make it swing even more wildly in the future.

Proposition J: A $288 parcel tax to generate about $48 million a year for San Francisco Unified School Districts teachers. The city passed a similar measure in 2018, but an ongoing legal dispute over the simple-majority threshold used to validate it is the subject of an ongoing legal dispute.

Now, the city is using the more stringent two-thirds supermajority threshold. The new measure would replace the old one if it passes in November. Breed signed the measure onto the ballot.

Proposition K: A measure that would authorize San Francisco to build or rehabilitate up to 10,000 units of affordable housing. Under the state Constitution, voters must approve low-income housing developments before they can be built. Prop. K, authored by Preston, would give the city the go-ahead to build such housing if it passes with simple-majority vote. The measure does not provide funding for the housing, however.

Proposition L: A measure to tax companies where top executives earn vastly more money than the rest of their workforce. Introduced by Haney, the Overpaid Executive Tax would bring in between $60 million and $140 million annually by taxing businesses that pay the highest-earning person in the company 100 times or more than the median salary of its San Francisco workers, starting in 2022.

Measure RR: A three-county sales tax measure to fund Caltrain. The measure, which must also be passed by voters in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, would increase sales taxes by one-eighth of a cent to raise $100 million annually for the rail system. Caltrain officials said that with ridership plummeting during the pandemic, the increase will be a financial lifeline until ridership resumes. The measure needs a simple majority to pass.

Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the threshold needed to pass Measure RR. It requires a two-thirds majority.

Dominic Fracassa is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dfracassa@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dominicfracassa
A notice for arriving passengers regarding the Covid-19 Passenger Locator Form at Terminal 2 in Dublin Airport as a requirement for people arriving in Ireland from overseas to alert the authorities where they will be self isolating has come into effect (PA)

A zero Covid island policy is not possible to achieve due to political differences between the two administrations on the island of Ireland, a committee has heard.

Chief economist at the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) Dan OBrien told the Oireachtas Special Committee on Covid-19 that the chances of coronavirus being eliminated on the island is low.

The committee discussed the implications of a Zero-Covid island policy, which has been supported by a group of scientists and academics.

The Republic of Ireland has a green list of countries that people can travel from to Ireland without the need to quarantine for two weeks but the list does not include Britain.

Mr OBrien said: I think the chances of the success of a zero-Covid island policy is very low and that is because there is two jurisdictions on this island.

In the northern jurisdiction, there seems to be very little probability of the devolved government there agreeing to sealing off travel with Britain.

It does not seem to be achievable politically or otherwise.

Meanwhile, Oxford University Professor Carl Heneghan told the Covid-19 committee than any comparison between the Republic of Ireland and New Zealand regarding the pandemic, is unhelpful.

Prof Heneghan said: Lots of people are using New Zealand as an example (regarding the elimination of Covid-19).

Ireland and New Zealand have very similar populations, about 4.79 million people.

Ireland is more densely populated island than New Zealand.

Oxford professor @carlheneghan tells the Covid-19 committee than any comparison between Ireland and New Zealand is "unhelpful."



He says Ireland is more densely populated while New Zealand's nearest neighbour is Australia which is 1000km away.  Aine McMahon (@AineMcMahon) August 13, 2020

You also have to consider that New Zealands nearest neighbour is 1,000 km away and that its Australia, one of the least densely populated countries in the world.

So I think that any comparison with New Zealand is unhelpful because not only do they have to lock down, they are locking out.

Mr OBrien said time would tell if New Zealands approach to handling the pandemic has worked.

What happens to New Zealand if a year from now it is successful and has not has a single case but the rest of the world has opened up but it has to continue this policy of effectively sealing itself off from the world.

Does that have to go on for a year or two years or do they eventually say this is not sustainable, they have to open up and go through what the rest of the world has gone through?

I think the chances of that sort of policy is low, said Mr OBrien.
As an investigation progresses into the mob violence on the night of August 11 in Bengaluru, the spotlight has fallen on the Socialist Democratic Party of India (SDPI).

A third member of this organisation was arrested on Thursday.

This comes after two others, including Muzammil Pasha, the Bengaluru district secretary of the SDPI, was arrested on Wednesday.

Three people were killed in police firing in east Bengaluru on Tuesday night as a mob attacked a police station and targeted a Congress MLAs house after a relative of the legislator put out a social media post with alleged derogatory references to Islam.

"As per the information gathered so far and video footage, most importantly the role of SDPI is coming to light. We are collecting more information regarding it; we are investigating deeply in this regard," Karnataka home minister Basavaraj Bommai told the media on Thursday.

Many in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), including ministers, are calling for a ban on the SDPI now, after its suspected involvement not just in the Bengaluru riots but also in the Mangaluru violence six months ago over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as well as the riots in Padarayanapura in the state capital in April when it was declared a containment zone with rise in Covid-19 cases.

BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje, who visited the riot-torn areas, told News 18 that she feels the government must ban both the Popular Front of India (PFI) and the SDPI.

"This is not the first case of the PFI and SDPI doing all this. They have done this in Mangaluru where they attacked a police station. In Mysuru they attacked Tanveer Sait, in Bengaluru during the Covid-19 lockdown they started violence in Padarayanapura . In KG Halli again they attacked police," she said.

SR Vishwanath, political secretary to Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa, voiced similar demands.

"PFI and SDPI are both terrorist organisations. Muslim leaders must stop being silent and react to this," he told News18.

What further lends credence to the suspicion is that over 1,500 people gathered with weapons to attack a police station, within an hour.

So let's take a look at who the SDPI are.

It's a political party launched in 2009.

And how did they start?

When the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) was banned, the members disbanded and floated other groups.

One of them was the radical Indian Mujahideen in which the Bhatkal brothers were members. It was a terrorist organisation.

Other members formed more moderate organisations, in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu . For instance, in Karnataka they formed the Karnataka Forum for Dignity.

But some of the members and organisations also united under the Popular Front of India.

The political face of these organisations was the SDPI, which has presence in six states. It has fought elections in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, West Bengal, and Delhi.

Initially, it fought local-level polls like panchayat and corporation elections. Later, from 2013, it has contested selected seats in assembly and Parliament elections, too. The SDPI has not won any seats though.

Demands of its ban

In Bengaluru, a serving IPS officer says, the SDPI had its roots in KG Halli, which was the centre of violence on August 11.

"In Karnataka, the SDPI is active mostly in Mangalore, Mysore and Bengaluru. When it set up base in Bengaluru over a decade back, it was in KG Halli that its operations began," He told News18 on condition of anonymity.

So why not ban it?

If the SDPI is indulging any criminal activities, why then is the government not banning it?

Efforts have been made even during the previous Congress government in Karnataka to ban it, but either there were legal hassles that led to delay or some kind of pressure that made the government develop cold feet.

Now, with the BJP in power in the state and the Centre, what is stopping a ban?

It's not that easy, says Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai.

"SDPI is a political party. There are a set of rules and a process that goes into banning any organisation. A lot of proof has to be given to the Home Ministry at the Centre. It is a tedious process, but it is on," Bommai told News18.

There have been efforts by other states that have tried this, but the effort had been either improper or incomplete. Those states had thus failed in getting it banned, Bommai says.

Home Department sources say it may be easier to ban the Popular Front of India, an ideological organisation; but to ban SDPI as a political party would mean that the Election Commission too would have to be approached for this.

"We need strong evidence to show that the members who are active in this are the same who were active in proscribed organisations like the SIMI. We need to gather strong evidence of criminal activity, even information like how their activists have jumped bail and derailed the process of law. We will do it," a department official said.

The Congress is against the SDPI as a political force, as the latter is eating into its minority vote bank.

There were attempts to ban it even earlier but the previous Congress government, despite starting the process, was not able to complete it  perhaps legal issues, perhaps under some pressure. Why it didn't follow through is not clear.

"In every constituency, about 1,000 to 2,000 votes of the minority communities were going to the SDPI," said retired IPS officer Gopal Hosur, who has served in executive posts in coastal Karnataka and Bengaluru where the SDPI is most active.

In closely contested elections, where victory margins have been as low as 300 or 400 , these votes have mattered a lot. It perhaps hit close to home in Mysuru where the Congress's Tanveer Sait won in the Narasimharaja constituency in 2018, but the SDPI's Abdul Majeed emerged third in the race.

Sait was, last year, brutally attacked at a public event. Those arrested in the case were also allegedly linked with the SDPI.

On a political level, the BJP gains if the SDPI contests elections, because in every constituency the SDPI is able to cut Congress votes.

What may have led to recent instances of unrest and violence, it is felt, may be the fact that the controversial organisation has been unsuccessful in its campaigns against the CAA, diluting of Article 370, etc. These events may have been simmering.

The social media post was just a trigger point.
A heroic police office rescued a man whose wheelchair got stuck on train tracks in an incredibly close call.

The officer, Erika Urrea, dragged the man out of his chair with just seconds to spare. The goods train hurtled past, knocking the mans leg, before the pair collapsed on the ground.

The drama in Lodi, California, was captured by Officer Urreas body camera. It happened at 8.45pm on August 12.

The police officer in Lodi, California, rescued the 66-year-old man with only seconds to spare as the train sped past at around 8:45pm on August 12

Body camera footage show the officer running to help a man, pictured, whose wheelchair is stuck on the tracks as a train is approaching

The officer unbuckles the man from his wheelchair and pulls him to safety with milliseconds to spare

She was driving in her squad car when she saw the railroad arms coming down with the man stuck on the tracks.

Urrea dashed to the scene to help, asking can you get up? as she unbuckled the 66-year-old man from his chair.

In the footage, she can be seen shouting 'get up, get up, get up' as she tries to pull the man to safety.

The train blasts its horn as it heads towards the wheelchair, which is still on the tracks.

Officer Urrea was out on patrol when she saw the man. Lodi Police Department have called her a hero

The man's leg was hit by the passing train and he was taken to hospital but is expected to survive, police said

The officer falls to the ground as she pulls the man to safety and shouts that she needs an ambulance as the man's leg has been hit

Officer Urrea shouts 'I need an ambulance now' as she runs back to help the injured man while the train continues to speed past.

The man's leg was hit by the passing train and he was taken to hospital but is expected to survive, police said.

It is unclear how long he had been on the tracks.

The police department have called Officer Urrea a hero.

A Lodi Police Department spokesperson said: 'Officer Urrea was just in the area. She's willing to help, and what she did was very heroic.

'She prevented a tragedy and she saved a man's life. She's very humble in doing so.'

The police department also said on Facebook, 'Officer Urrea risked her own life to save another We are extremely proud of Officer Erika Urrea and her heroism.'
A 38-year-old man has left villagers in shock after he dug his own grave and then killed himself by taking an insecticide.

According to the locals, the man from Nakhayega village in Kakamega County, Kenya had quarreled with his mother after she stopped him from selling her hen.

The man, Fred Luvale who is a tout at Butali on the Webuye-Malava Road, wanted the proceeds from the sale to feed his five children.

Luvele lives with children in his parents compound but his left him to marry another man.

His mother, Ruth Wanyona, had pleaded with the son not to the hen since it would lay eggs and hatch more chicks, bringing more wealth to the family.

Upset by her decision, the tout saw no other way but to dig his grave and kill himself rather watch his children go without food.

The incident occurred on Tuesday, August 11, during the daytime.

His body was taken Webuye Hospital mortuary awaiting a postmortem.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesperson Dilip Pandey on Thursday criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led municipal corporations in the city for the water logging situation and raised concerns about alleged corruption.

The water logging situation in Delhi reflects the corruption in the BJP-led municipal corporations. The three municipal corporations of Delhi (MCDs) have failed in their responsibility of de-silting and clearing drains. Around 98% of drains in the city are under the MCDs. A proper budget is allocated for de-silting of drains but nobody knows where the money goes. The MCDs under the BJP are in the most inefficient condition and they (the BJP) shall get an answer in the next municipal elections in 2022, Pandey said in a press conference at the party office in central Delhi.

Several localities and arterial roads in the Capital were waterlogged after heavy showers lashed Delhi over the last couple of days, leading to severe traffic snarls and causing massive inconvenience to residents of the city.

Adesh Gupta, the BJPs Delhi unit president, however, blamed the PWD for not de-silting the drains under its jurisdiction and said thats what led to the water logging. He said the Delhi government had claimed to spend 100 crore on cleaning of drains but this claim was washed away in the water.

Despite having the Drainage Master Plan approved, the Delhi government has not implemented it yet, due to which Delhi gets waterlogged even with little rain. The PWD, under the Delhi government, did not complete even 50% of silt removal from the drains before the monsoon. Arvind Kejriwal talks about making Delhi London, but due to the negligence and poor policies of his government, Delhi is now flooded in rain. he said.

CORRUPTION CHARGES

In the same press conference, Durgesh Pathak, in charge of municipal corporation affairs, demanded that the building surveys by the MCDs be probed and those found guilty of corruption be given strict punishment.

The MCDs are supposed to survey buildings every year. The North MCD, under mayor Jai Prakash, had submitted its report last month which stated that around two out of 800,000 buildings surveyed are in a vulnerable state and could collapse any time. In the last 24 hours, two buildings have collapsed in the northern municipal zone. This raises concerns about the survey and suggests corruption. We demand that this be probed and those found guilty be given strict punishment, Pathak said.

A police officer died and another was injured after a building in North Delhi collapsed on Wednesday.

Responding to Pathaks allegations, Jai Prakash, mayor of the north corporation, said, Allegations levelled against me are absolutely baseless. I inspected the location where the building collapsed yesterday and have ordered a probe into the matter. I will also send a legal notice to Pathak for making false allegations and tarnishing my image.
Last updated on August 11 at 12 p.m. EST.

It took a couple months and a few tweaks in the delivery system, but by June, most eligible Americans had received a one-time stimulus check from the Treasury Department of up to $1,200 to spend or save as they wished. What the current presidential administration didn't count on  despite weeks of warnings from public-health experts  was that a summer surge of coronavirus cases across the country would lead to renewed shutdowns in the lifestyle and hospitality sectors and overwhelming need for another round of relief.

FLORIDA MILLIONAIRE MYSTERY: $100K reward for info on 'Tiger King' star's former husband

So as $600-per-week in additional unemployment benefits expire on July 31 and the Paycheck Protection Program continues to come under scrutiny for failing to serve its stated purpose (i.e. bridging true small businesses through this time), Congress has set about finalizing a new $1 trillion sequel to its initial $2 trillion CARES Act. The details are being fine-tuned as we speak, but Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin  while insisting any extension of unemployment benefits will emphasize rewards for returning to work over payments that rival or exceed an average worker's wages  has pledged that another wave of no-strings-attached, one-time stimulus checks will make their way into millions of checking accounts. But when?

On HoustonChronicle.com: See if your Houston-area neighborhood is at risk of flooding

As of now, Mnuchin foresees the cash finding its way to folks' wallets very soon. As reported by AP, Mnuchin announced this past weekend, Well get the majority of them out in August and those will help people." That is, of course, predicated on the latest CARES package passing smoothly and expeditiously prior to the Senate's upcoming August recess.

But given the precarious state of the economy and the inevitability of more modest unemployment payments, it behooves everyone to ensure their up-to-date tax filings are on record with the IRS. You can do so via this online tool, and we will keep you posted as more information is made available.

Update: After this article went to press, Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) shared the outline of his party's proposed $1 trillion HEALS Act. A key piece of it is Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley's (R-Iowa) American Workers, Employees, and Families Assistance Act, confirming a second round of checks and direct deposits  up to $1,200 for individuals and $2,400 households, with an additional $500 per eligible dependent  to American households. We will continue to update this story as specifics on delivery of payments becomes available.

Update: On August 8, President Trump signed executive orders detailing plans to extend unemployment benefits and eviction moratoriums, among other relief measures. While it remains unclear whether those orders will translate to concrete rule of law, they did not address assurances of a second round of $1,200 stimulus checks. That is because the original authorization for the first round of checks has long since expired, and entirely new legislation would need to be enacted by Congress to trigger a renewed one-time payment. Meanwhile, those anxious for clarity on the matter can at least brush up on whether they'd qualify for the $1,200 infusion.

Copyright 2020 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved



This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com
A: This is a question we get all the time with our clients. I understand, because I have two boys, ages 7 and 10, and they are messy. We use lots of indoor/outdoor materials for upholstery. We often find a pattern that we love, and then we laminate it for kitchens or playrooms. For furniture, it is all about distressed wood, which already comes broken in. For keeping clutter such as toys under control, concealed storage is the best approach. I have cabinets and chests of drawers on our first floor that the boys can use to tuck away games and toys when they are not using them.
At news conference later in the day, Trump deferred questions about annexation to David Friedman, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, who has close ties with settlement groups. Friedman said the issue should be considered moot during the time it could take to give peace every chance.
Unfortunately, I could not locate anyone who was in the downtown area when all the revelry was taking place. But a couple of old photos from the Aurora Historical Society provide us with a brief glimpse of what it must have been like as word spread the war was over. With the historic Paramount Theatre in the background, this picture perhaps more than anything has become that iconic local image of a wars end and a citys jubilation.
By Alasdair Pal

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed five members of his own family to cabinet and ministerial roles following his resounding parliamentary election win earlier this month.

Gotabaya and his older brother Mahinda Rajapaksa won an overwhelming majority in the Aug. 6 poll, giving the family the power to enact sweeping changes to the island nation's constitution.

The two-thirds majority for his Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party and its allies will allow him to restore full executive powers to the presidency, a move analysts say could push the country towards authoritarianism.

In a ceremony late on Wednesday, Gotabaya appointed Mahinda Rajapaksa - himself a former president - as minister of finance, urban development and housing, and religious and cultural affairs.

Gotabaya's elder brother Chamal Rajapaksa will serve as minister of irrigation, and a state minister for defence, while Mahinda's son, Namal Rajapaksa becomes minister for youth and sports.

Chamal's son Shashendra Rajapaksa will also serve as a state minister.

Gotabaya reappointed himself defence minister, a role he held during Sri Lanka's bloody civil war.

Long a dominant force in Sri Lankan politics, the family's popularity rose significantly among the island's majority Sinhalese population following deadly bombings carried out last year by Islamist militants that killed more than 250.

(Reporting by Alasdair Pal; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Hugh Lawson)
AmFam said that the transition is a part of Salzwedels succession plan, which he initiated together with the help of the companys board of directors two years ago.

Bill is a strategic, driven and authentic leader, said Salzwedel in a statement. He has incredible knowledge of our company and industry, combined with a forward-looking vision and interest in new opportunities, that will serve him well not only as CEO of a Fortune 300 company but also as a strong community partner.

Westrate joined AmFam in 1996 as an actuary. He then served roles of increasing responsibility within the company, including vice-president of the actuarial and personal lines divisions. After serving as executive vice-president of the personal lines and commercial farm/ranch divisions, Westrate was elected chief operating officer in 2014. He was later promoted to enterprise president in 2017.

Our foundation as a mutual company is rock-solid, Westrate said in a statement. Our strategy as a national multi-line, multi-channel insurance provider is sound. And, our people and commitment to an inclusive and diverse culture will continue to fuel our success.

The son of an AmFam agency owner, Salzwedel meanwhile, has been a member of the company since 1983  when he first joined as a claim adjuster. He would later become an agency owner himself, and would eventually serve a number of executive positions. Salzwedel was named CEO and chair in 2011.
Protests against police brutality and systemic racism returned Wednesday night to downtown Portland, the original focal point of the demonstrations that began 77 days ago.

The night brought many hallmarks of the months-long protests: calls for reform, efforts by a small group to provoke law enforcement and tear gas by police to break up the crowd. This time, it was Portland police forcing people away from the Justice Center and Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse, which stand side-by-side on Southwest Third Avenue.

It was the first time Portland police released tear gas downtown, and the second or third time anywhere in the city, since federal officers retreated from their near-nightly use of gas on crowds through much of July. State troopers assumed security of the federal courthouse from federal officers.

Under a federal judges orders, Portland police are prohibited from using tear gas unless a persons life or public safety is at risk.

Protesters set off large fireworks, blocked traffic from exiting a parking garage and threw objects and an unknown liquid toward police before officers released the gas late Wednesday.

Police said in a press release Thursday morning that the life safety issues that prompted them to resort to tear gas stemmed from actions including a large explosive and other fireworks were thrown towards officers, along with fist sized rocks, bottles, and cans of paint. Further, they said, during the dispersal, one officers hand was severely hurt and several others sustained minor injuries.

Since federal officers ceded to local law enforcement at the end of July, protesters and therefore police officials attention has primarily shifted to other parts of the city. A few hundred protesters began to gather every night since early August outside different police precincts and buildings on Portlands east side. Those demonstrations often culminated in arrests, use of force and property damage.

Those protesters shifted back downtown Wednesday, joining other demonstrators who never left. The two groups have been divided over tactics, namely whether or not to confront police. Several activists implored the crowd not to draw out police. But other people threw things, set off fireworks and gathered outside a parking garage where drivers were waiting to exit near the Justice Center.

Portland police ultimately labeled the gathering a riot, then set off tear gas on the crowd. Police made multiple advances on the crowd, once pushing the crowd for more than seven blocks. State troopers joined Portland police during at least one of the pushes.

Two people were arrested and booked into jail, according to police.

People started to gather for the demonstrations about 9 p.m. A car caravan traveled through the area. Drivers honked their horns and shouted Black lives matter! A series of people, including Edreece Phillips, addressed the growing crowd from the steps of the Justice Center.

The Justice Center, at the heart of the protests, is a high-rise building that houses a county jail and local police precinct. Several thousand people have gathered there some nights.

Phillips called for people to continue to place pressure on elected officials to make lasting change to help Black Portlanders. Phillips criticized protesters he described as opportunists who arent focused on bringing about change.

Were not about destruction, Phillips said. Were about the rebuild.

As 10 p.m. neared, around 300 people had gathered in the area, including a few dozen marchers tied to Mothers United for Black Lives Matter. Some people passed out homemade signs that displayed frequent protest chants, such as Defund police, and No justice, no peace! Other people milled about across the street from the Justice Center.

Meanwhile, the speeches continued on the buildings steps.

This is a marathon, so white people, I need you to run this marathon, said Destiny Houston, of Portland, who has spoken before at the protests. Black liberation is tied to your freedom.

Several people called for unity among the nightly protesters. But a divide remained apparent. A crowd started to grow a half-block away in Main Street and chanted as the speeches continued nearby.

The Justice Center rally wrapped up around 10:30 p.m. Phillips and other people encouraged those gathered to leave and return Thursday.

We got to be good at what we do, said Phillips, who is Black. So please, please, keep it nonviolent. Keep our people safe.

About 250 people stayed in the area. Some people in the other group started to move to a fence surrounding the front of the federal courthouse. The first firework of the night exploded around the same time. One person in the crowd pointed a light toward a peephole cut into the plywood surrounding the building.

Some demonstrators attempted to shake the fence. Police also said some people threw an unknown foreign substance toward the doors of their Central Precinct, which is inside the Justice Center.

Another small group of protesters chanted Quit your job! near the fenced-off entrance to the parking garage on the opposite side of the building.

Police remained out of sight.

Around 10:50 p.m., someone set off a large firework over the federal courthouse fence. Another firework exploded minutes later. A small fire was sparked near the stone building steps. It was unclear how it started. Someone started a second small fire in the middle of Third Avenue by setting alight a pigs head. The fires died out within several minutes.

A vehicle carrying officers in riot gear arrived to the area, but officers did not immediately engage the crowd.

The tension remained elevated past 11 p.m. Another firework flashed past the fence, and some people threw objects over the fence. One person walked among the frontline protesters and urged people to remain calm. Youre giving Trump what he wants, the person said on a megaphone.

Portland police used a loudspeaker around 11:20 p.m. to warn people for the first time. This criminal behavior must stop now, the officer said.

The crowd followed the sound of the loudspeaker and moved south from the fence to Main Street. A drummer in crowd kept the beat as they awaited a response from police. About a dozen officers wearing green pants did briefly emerge onto Second Avenue but did not engage the crowd.

The crowds attention then turned to a line of cars attempting to leave a parking garage across Second Avenue from the Justice Center. One driver navigated through the crowd and was waved through by some protesters. Other drivers were at a standstill.

As the drivers waited, Portland police labeled the gathering an unlawful assembly. The declaration came just after 11:30 p.m. Police ordered people to go either north or west.

People did not leave.

Dozens of officers in riot gear arrived from the south around 11:40 p.m. to press people away from the Justice Center and the parking garage. Officers first forced people north to Main Street, then west to Third Avenue. Police forcibly moved if they did not move fast enough.

The loudspeaker repeated demands for people to leave, get out of the street and move to the sidewalk. At times, police set off stun grenades or ran all together toward the crowd to get people to move.

The police advance lasted more than 15 minutes. By 11:55 p.m., officers were pressing the crowd past Pioneer Place Mall, four blocks away.

People threw some type of liquid toward police. Another person tossed a firework toward police, prompting officers to keep pushing the crowd and release some sort of irritant into the air. Police said rocks, bottles and cans of paint were among the things hurled toward officers.

An officer suffered a severe hand injury while dispersing protesters, according to police. Several other officers suffered minor injuries.

Just before midnight, police announced that they now considered the gathering to be a riot. Police then retreated soon after in a cloud of smoke released by officers.

Within minutes, about 100 people started to walk back to Lownsdale and Chapman squares, the city parks outside of the Justice Center and federal courthouse.

Police staged on Second Avenue and repeated demands for people to leave. The two sides faced off for several minutes until just after 12:15 a.m.

Police released tear gas and announced they were doing so. The gas hovered in the air as people walked various directions.

One police line forced people several blocks west on Main Street, past Broadway and the South Park Blocks. Police detained at least one person next to the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.

Police and protesters again faced off in the Park Blocks for several minutes. Then police moved people farther west past 10th Avenue. Police appeared to detain at least another person as they retreated around 12:35 a.m. Officers again released irritants into the air.

At least 80 people remained in the area. Many soon started to return east. When people started to arrive back near the Justice Center, police advanced. The officers forced people west on Main Street, retreating this time at Fifth Avenue.

This event is still a riot, police announced. Youre ordered to disperse.

Several live videos shared on social media after Oregonian/OregonLive journalists left the area showed a few dozen protesters remained downtown as of 1:45 a.m., gathered outside a Justice Center parking garage.

The nights events stood as a stark contrast to Tuesday, when a protest at the Penumbra Kelly Building ended peacefully with no arrests or use of crowd control munitions.

Sean Meagher, Jim Ryan, Dave Killen and Jamie Hale of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report.

-- Maxine Bernstein; mbernstein@oregonian.com; @maxoregonian

-- K. Rambo; krambo@oregonian.com; @k_rambo_

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
ELMORE, Ohio  A police officer in a small Northwest Ohio town has been arrested after being accused of sending and receiving child pornography, according to the Cleveland Division of the FBI.

Samuel Kurp, 26, has been working with the Elmore Police Department since 2017, a news release from the FBI says. Kurp made his initial court appearance Wednesday on a charge of receipt and distribution of child pornography, WTOL Channel 11 reports.

According to the FBI, police in Oregon, a suburb of Toledo, received a tip from the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force regarding Kurp on Aug. 4. The police then forwarded the tip to the FBIs Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.

Investigators say they were able to trace the IP addresses of computers used to forward and receive 26 images and videos of child pornography. Kurp is accused of using a social media messenger app to send the images. The FBI says Elmore police confirmed that some of the images were sent and received while Kurp was working.

A search warrant was issued for Kurps former residence in Oregon and for his current residence in Elmore, according to the FBI. Kurp was arrested without incident on Tuesday.

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18-month-old Euclid girl beaten to death was the light of her familys life, cousin says
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 20:52:27|Editor: huaxia

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ADDIS ABABA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Floods have displaced 53,158 Ethiopians, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said on Thursday.

"124,219 people have been affected by flooding in Ethiopia's Afar, Amhara, Oromia, Gambella, Southern and Somali regions, of whom 53,158 people were displaced," the UNOCHA said in a Humanitarian Bulletin report.

The UNOCHA said it's working with the Ethiopia National Disaster Risk Management Commission (NDRMC) and other humanitarian partners on flood preparedness and response measures.

A flood contingency plan prepared by Ethiopia National Flood Task Force estimates the impact of the ongoing rainy season could displace around 435,000 people.

The plan estimates a total of 2 million people across Ethiopia could be affected by flooding during the current flooding season.

Ethiopia is in the midst of a rainy season which started in July and is expected to last until mid-September, which occasionally causes landslides and floods in some parts of the East African country. Enditem
Tucsons two largest school districts will reopen schools Aug. 17, prioritizing students they deem the most at-risk  a move that could potentially put millions of their state funding in jeopardy.

Tucson Unified School District plans to accommodate small subsets of students the district deems the most vulnerable, including high-needs special education students, children in foster care, those experiencing homelessness and refugees.

If we actually removed the structure of the classroom, the brick-and-mortar building of school and the services of food and transportation that go along with it and the access to onsite services, who amongst the TUSD overall student body would experience such a barrier that learning would practically just stop? said TUSD Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo. We were left with these four categories of students.

Tucson Unified School District kicked off the school year with remote instruction only Aug. 10 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The state has called for Arizona schools to offer some form of in-person supervision of children for families that want it starting Aug. 17, tying the requirement to funding.

Trujillo said the district wont turn any student away but will prioritize those categories. Families with students who need a place to go during the day but who fall outside those categories can reach out to TUSD, and their situations will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Sunnyside, Tucsons second-largest school district behind TUSD, is also limiting the number and types of students who will be allowed on campus on Aug. 17.
When given the nod as President in the 7 December election, former President and Flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama has promised to continue and complete all the 200 Community Day Senior High Schools (E-blocks) he started in his first term and abandoned by the current government.

The former President explained that completion of the 200 E-blocks will ensure that the double-track system initiated by the current government will be completely scrapped.

Speaking at an event to introduce his running mate Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang to the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu and the Muslim community on Wednesday, 12 August 2020 in Accra, Mr Mahama said: One of the things we will do when we come back into office, and I know Inshallah we're coming back, is to complete the 200 community day schools we began so that we can bring a quick end the double-track system.

He explained that his running mate is the best person to support him achieve that mandate because of her active involvement as Education Minister during his first term as President.

According to Mr Mahama, she pioneered the community day schools, adding that under her watch, 45 of them had been commissioned and had children studying in them and 73 of them were ready for teaching and learning to start by the end of his four-year term.

He also emphasised his resolve to maintain the governing New Patriotic Partys Free SHS policy and improve its quality.

We will improve the free SHS so that the quality of education will become better, he added.

The National Chief Imam prayed for Mr Mahama, Prof Opoku-Agyemang and the whole country by asking for peace and unity in Ghana during the December polls and beyond.

Mr Mahama and his entourage had earlier visited the Christian Council of Ghana, some church leaders at the Assemblies of God Church and the Christian community on the same day before his call on the Chief Imam.

The President of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC), Rev Prof Paul Yaw Frimpong-Manso advised political parties to eschew the backward culture of politics of insults.

---classfmonline
The chances of an elderly resident contracting COVID-19 in an aged care home decreases substantially for every registered nurse employed, with even an additional 20 minutes a day per resident cutting deaths and cases by more than 20 per cent.

A range of international studies, including one this week by the American Medical Association, revealed higher rates of COVID-19 in for-profit aged care homes and those with fewer nurses, backing up a trend in Victoria where private facilities have experienced 40 times more cases than public homes.

On Wednesday, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said government-run nursing homes, which have about 5400 beds, had six cases of COVID-19, a rate of about 0.1 per cent.

In contrast, there had been 1923 cases in non-government homes with 44,600 beds, a rate of 4 per cent.
Indiana is on track to be one of only a few states in the country to not expand mail-in voting for the November general election.

Thats because Gov. Eric Holcomb, who allowed expanded mail-in voting for the delayed June primary, believes it will be safe for Hoosiers to go to the polls in November. Meanwhile, Indiana and other states are grappling with rising COVID-19 case totals as a result of reopening economies and getting people back to work in person.

Its that reopening Holcomb cites as the reason in-person voting will be safe.

There are a lot of people out and about, whether its working or going to the grocery or doing your lives, and theyre doing it safely. And we can vote safely in person as well, he said during his weekly COVID-19 briefing Aug. 5.

The Indiana Election Commission also split a vote, 2-2, Aug. 14 on whether to expand absentee voting, with the two Republicans voting no and two Democrats voting yes. Without a majority, voting procedures wont change.

There is a lot that could change in the three months before the election, but America has struggled to limit the spread of the new coronavirus, and voting rights advocates fear Hoosiers will be forced to sacrifice their health  and the health of anyone they interact with  to cast a ballot.

Nobody should have to risk their health to exercise their right to vote, but that is the position Indiana officials are putting Hoosiers in right now, said Julia Vaughn, policy director for Common Cause Indiana, a nonpartisan group that promotes government transparency.

The State Conference of the NAACP and Common Cause Indiana have filed a federal lawsuit that claims the states deadline to receive mail-in ballots  noon on Election Day  doesnt account for potential mail delays or a possible surge in mail-in ballots.

Holcomb has said hes waiting on that lawsuit, plus another lawsuit about polling centers staying open past 6 p.m., to be resolved before making any possible changes to the November election.

Just over half of everyone who voted in Indiana for the primary did so with an absentee ballot, including 67% of Marion County voters. Expanded voting options probably helped lead to a turnout that was 4 percentage points higher than it was in the 2018 primary statewide.

Primary voters did not have to give a reason for why they wanted to vote absentee, which is something other states have adopted for the general election. Indiana voters usually have to choose from a list of 11 reasons they cant vote in person, such as being out of the county for 12 hours on Election Day or not having transportation.

Apply for an absentee ballot by completing an application online.

The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot is Oct. 22.

Russell Hollis, deputy director of the Marion County Clerks Office, said about 9,000 people had already requested an absentee ballot in the county as of Aug. 7. There were a little more than 21,000 requests for the 2016 general election.

Marion County mailed all registered voters an absentee ballot application before the June primary, but that proved to be a slow process with delays, and many voters worried their ballot didnt make it back to the election board in time to be counted.

Marion County Clerk Myla Eldridge told Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson in a letter in late May that she feared thousands of ballots would go uncounted.

The office received more than 123,000 absentee ballot applications before the deadline, which is 20 times more than for the 2016 primary.

Other counties in Indiana may be able to implement a large-scale vote-by-mail campaign with short notice, but Marion County needs more time.

Hollis said the office doesnt have a deadline in mind and is instead focused on voter education.

Were moving forward with the way things are today, he said. We are planning to be flexible enough to where if things change, we could accommodate those changes.

If Indiana doesnt adopt no-excuse absentee voting, and if the situation with COVID-19 doesnt improve drastically, that would cause some worry about lower voter turnout in an election year that includes the presidency.

Chrystal Ratcliffe, president of the local NAACP chapter, isnt worried about lower turnout for African Americans, though, who she said will turn out no matter what.

At the end of the day, it suppresses the vote, she said of not expanding mail-in voting. Thats what theyre doing. Our mission is to still get those voters out.

Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick at 317-766-1406. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick.

People in line to voteAlessandro Biascioli
In the upcoming legislative session, the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus (IBLC) plans to focus on saving lives, holding police departments accountable and improving transparency in police departments throughout the state.

Members of the IBLC gathered outside the statehouse Aug. 13 to unveil their justice reform policy agenda during a press conference, led by Rep. Robin Shackleford.

Were trying to keep the movement going, Shackleford said. We want to galvanize the voices of the streets into legislation.

Joined by Reps. Earl Harris, Cherrish Pryor and Sen. Greg Taylor, Shackleford discussed the push to get Indiana police equipped with body and dashboard cameras, a ban on racial profiling, and to remove police officers out of Indiana schools.

Students need care, Shackleford said, not conviction.

The group also wants to see marijuana decriminalized, with Shackleford describing marijuana convictions as an example of how Indiana has failed our youth. Shackleford also called for racism to be studied as a public health crisis in the state of Indiana. In June, city-county council President Vop Osili sponsored Proposal 182, which declared racism a public health crisis in Marion County.

Harris, who spoke on the transparency section of the policy agenda, said IBLC has been working with various groups throughout the state  including police departments and youth activism groups  to advocate for changes in police culture that can lead to racial profiling and police brutality.

Such changes, including creating a whistleblower complaint process to make it easier for officers to come forward with complaints against other officers, as well as a statewide tracking of officers who have complaints or disciplinary action, will help hold police departments accountable and help foster a better relationship between them and the communities they serve, Harris said.

The group said Gov. Eric Holcomb has been polite and theyve spoken with him several times, but Shackleford said she would like to see more action from Gov. Holcomb, and immediate action.

One issue where IBLC differs from many Indianapolis activism groups, including Indy10 Black Lives Matter and the Indiana Racial Justice Alliance, however, is defunding the police.

Shackleford said IBLC has worked with groups and individuals, including families of victims of police-action shootings, to form the agenda. IBLC, she said, does not support defunding the police, but supports reimagining and restructuring the police.

The group must have policy proposals together by December, and members will be working the next few months to figure out the best course of action for the group to take.

This is a start, Pryor said. This will make Indiana safer and more accommodating.

Contact staff writer Breanna Cooper at 317-762-7848. Follow her on Twitter @BreannaNCooper.

The Indiana Black Legislative Caucus announces its justice reform policy Aug. 13 at the Statehouse. (Photo/Breanna Cooper)
Mirantis, the company that recently bought Docker's enterprise business, today announced that it has acquired Lens, a desktop application that the team describes as a Kubernetes-integrated development environment. Mirantis previously acquired the team behind the Finnish startup Kontena, the company that originally developed Lens.

Lens itself was most recently owned by Lakend Labs, though, which describes itself as "a collective of cloud native compute geeks and technologists" that is "committed to preserving and making available the open-source software and products of Kontena." Lakend open-sourced Lens a few months ago.

Image Credits: Mirantis

"The mission of Mirantis is very simple: We want to be -- for the enterprise -- the fastest way to [build] modern apps at scale," Mirantis CEO Adrian Ionel told me. "We believe that enterprises are constantly undergoing this cycle of modernizing the way they build applications from one wave to the next -- and we want to provide products to the enterprise that help them make that happen."

Right now, that means a focus on helping enterprises build cloud-native applications at scale and, almost by default, that means providing these companies with all kinds of container infrastructure services.

"But there is another piece of the story that's always been going through our minds, which is, how do we become more developer-centric and developer-focused, because, as we've all seen in the past 10 years, developers have become more and more in charge off what services and infrastructure they're actually using," Ionel explained. And that's where the Kontena and Lens acquisitions fit in. Managing Kubernetes clusters, after all, isn't trivial -- yet now developers are often tasked with managing and monitoring how their applications interact with their company's infrastructure.

"Lens makes it dramatically easier for developers to work with Kubernetes, to build and deploy their applications on Kubernetes, and it's just a huge obstacle-remover for people who are turned off by the complexity of Kubernetes to get more value," he added.

Story continues

"I'm very excited to see that we found a common vision with Adrian for how to incorporate Lens and how to make life for developers more enjoyable in this cloud-native technology landscape," Miska Kaipiainen, the former CEO of Kontena and now Mirantis' director of Engineering, told me.

He describes Lens as an IDE for Kubernetes. While you could obviously replicate Lens' functionality with existing tools, Kaipiainen argues that it would take 20 different tools to do this. "One of them could be for monitoring, another could be for logs. A third one is for command-line configuration, and so forth and so forth," he said. "What we have been trying to do with Lens is that we are bringing all these technologies [together] and provide one single, unified, easy to use interface for developers, so they can keep working on their workloads and on their clusters, without ever losing focus and the context of what they are working on."

Among other things, Lens includes a context-aware terminal, multi-cluster management capabilities that work across clouds and support for the open-source Prometheus monitoring service.

For Mirantis, Lens is a very strategic investment and the company will continue to develop the service. Indeed, Ionel said the Lens team now basically has unlimited resources.

Looking ahead, Kaipiainen said the team is looking at adding extensions to Lens through an API within the next couple of months. "Through this extension API, we are actually able to collaborate and work more closely with other technology vendors within the cloud technology landscape so they can start plugging directly into the Lens UI and visualize the data coming from their components, so that will make it very powerful."

Ionel also added that the company is working on adding more features for larger software teams to Lens, which is currently a single-user product. A lot of users are already using Lens in the context of very large development teams, after all.

While the core Lens tools will remain free and open source, Mirantis will likely charge for some new features that require a centralized service for managing them. What exactly that will look like remains to be seen, though.

If you want to give Lens a try, you can download the Windows, macOS and Linux binaries here.
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The Independent Restaurant Coalition says it represents almost 500,000 restaurants  and 85% of its members are not sure they can reopen.



By MARCY GORDON

AP Business Writer

WASHINGTON  Amanda Cohen is a leader of the Independent Restaurant Coalition, a new lobbying group of chefs and restaurants that was formed in response to the viral pandemic. Professionally, Cohen is the chef and owner of Dirt Candy, a fine-dining vegetarian restaurant in New York City.

The Associated Press spoke recently with Cohen about the coalition, whose leadership includes many other prominent chefs, including Jose Andres, Marcus Samuelsson and Thomas Keller.





. . .
The World Health Organization said Thursday there is "no evidence" the coronavirus is being transmitted through food.

Researchers in China are studying the issue, and the international agency is tracking their findings, Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO's emergencies program, said during a press conference at the agency's Geneva headquarters. But right now "there is no evidence that food or the food chain is participating in the transmission of this virus," he said.

"People should not fear food, or food packaging or processing or delivery of food. Food is very important. And I would hate to think that we would create an impression that there's a problem with our food or there's a problem with our food chain. We're under enough pressure as it is," he said.

Three cities in China have reported finding the virus on the surface of imported frozen food over the last four days, raising concerns that the virus could be passed through food and lead to new outbreaks, according to NBC News.

WHO officials said Chinese health authorities have tested a "few hundred thousand" samples of frozen food and found "very, very few" tests come back positive. The officials said they have issued guidance with the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization on how food handlers can work with food safely.

Even if the virus did transmit through food, which evidence does not suggest, it can be killed before eating it, Maria Van Kerkhove, head of the WHO's emerging diseases and zoonosis unit, said.

"If the virus is actually in food, and we have no examples of where this virus has been transmitted as a foodborne, whereas someone has consumed a food product, the viruses can be killed like other virus as well, can be killed if the meat is cooked," she said.

"People are already scared enough, fearful enough in the Covid pandemic," Ryan said. It's important that we track findings like this and it's important that we don't discount scientific evidence where we find it. But it's also important that people can go about their daily lives without fear."
Days after a 26-year-old woman from Airoli returned to India after completing her Masters degree in Australia, she was cheated of Rs5.79 lakh in a phishing attack. The Rabale police have registered a case of cheating following her complaint.

The police said that the incident took place between February and March.

The complainant, Nilakshi More, returned to the country on February 11 after completing her biotechnology course. Soon after, she updated her details on a job search portal, including her qualification and contact details.

On February 22, she received a job offer from an email ID which was made to look like the official correspondence of a Canada-based chemical company.

The fraudsters made her fill a form and a few days later, communicated through the same e-mail id to inform her that she had been selected for the job. Later, a woman who identified herself as Lynn Desautels called More on her number and asked her for more details.

She then connected the complainant to another woman who posed as an agent in New Delhi. The woman identified herself as Nora Jayden and told More that she would have to pay Rs35,800 as work visa charges. She also made the complainant pay Rs88,650 for the work permit, said the police.

Later, More paid an additional Rs2.89 lakh towards travel expenses including flight tickets. Once she transferred the large amount, the accused her asked for more money to create a new bank account for her and made her transfer Rs1.65 lakh.

However, the accused kept calling her and asked her for more money on various pretexts. Then the complainant found something amiss and after verifying some details, found that the email id on which she was sent the job interest was fake, said an officer from Rabale police station.

More recently approached the police, following which a case was registered against the two women, Desautels and Jayden on Tuesday.

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Climbing mountains and wading waters may just be one way for people to understand more about this world, and reading is another.

The 17th Shanghai Book Fair opens on August 12, 2020 at Shanghai Exhibition Center (SEC). [Photo/Xinhua]

Amid the 17th Shanghai Book Fair opening on August 12 at Shanghai Exhibition Center (SEC), a special reading-focused event will be celebrated between literary aficionados and luminaries through online and offline dialogues.

The International Literary Week (Shanghai), the annual book fair's derivative event, celebrates the 10th anniversary this year. Designed to rally the world's renowned literary figures to join in the weeklong panel discussions, the event will commence with foreign-language literature, including, English, French and Russian, and end with sci-fi writings.

"Despite the continuous spread of the pandemic, the internet has played a significant role in uniting all bookworms across the world to heed the cultural carnival running in Shanghai," said Sun Ganlu, vice chairman of the Shanghai Writers' Association and also the initiator of the event.

"Although the panelists may not be able to gather on spot as they did in previous years, we still have lots to share," he added.

To prevent the COVID-19 pandemic returning, visitors are required to book in advance before accessing SEC, where an additional area is open to public this year to increase the exhibition hall to 26,000 square meters.

According to Xu Jiong, director general of Shanghai Press and Publication Bureau, the extended area will help divide streams of people visiting the booths in a less crowded way.

The book fair will close on August 18.
The rise of Greene shines a spotlight on the GOPs internal debate over how to handle fringe groups and candidates who support Trump and whom he often supports in return. Republicans privately acknowledge that there is no future for a party that antagonizes people of color and has members who make statements or take policy positions supported by white supremacists. But they also have done little to stand up to Trump, a president who embraces such rhetoric, and candidates who make those remarks.
Joanna Krupa could not stop smiling as she brought her daughter Asha-Leigh, aged nine months, out with her husband and mother on Wednesday afternoon in Warsaw, Poland.

The 41-year-old former Real Housewives Of Miami star displayed her enviable physique in a skin-tight beige dress and a pair of matching sky-high heels.

The model, who welcomed her first child with husband Douglas Nunes in November, dressed her mini-me in an adorable white and black polka-dot dress.

Doting mom: Joanna Krupa could not stop smiling as she brought her nine-month daughter Asha-Leigh out with her husband and mother on Wednesday afternoon in Warsaw, Poland

Krupa and the president of the 451 Media Group could be seen walking closely, after the pair enjoyed lunch and a shopping session in Poland's bustling capital.

While she doted on her baby girl, the head judge of Polish Top Model looked effortlessly chic in a pair of cat-eye sunglasses and her blonde hair pulled into a low bun.

She accessorized her elegant look with a large shoulder bag, Cartier watch and her massive diamond ring.

Shopping: For her outing, the 41-year-old former Real Housewives of Miami star displayed her enviable physique in a skin-tight beige dress and a pair of matching sky-high heels

Mini-me: The model, who welcomed her first child with husband Douglas Nunes in November, dressed her mini-me in an adorable white and black polka-dot dress

Nunes opted for a more laid-back ensemble, which included a white polo shirt and a pair of jeans.

The couple got engaged on March 25, 2018, only seven months after Joanna finalized her divorce with her first husband, Romain Zago.

The Dancing With The Stars alumni tied the knot five months later in an ornate ceremony held in a Benedictine Abbey in Krakow, Poland, on August 4 of last year.

Fun-filled afternoon: Krupa and the president of the 451 Media Group could be seen walking closely, after the pair enjoyed lunch and a shopping session in Poland's capital

Catwalk queen: While she doted on her baby girl, the head judge of Polish Top Model looked effortlessly chic in a pair of cat-eye sunglasses and her blonde hair pulled into a low bun

All in the details: She accessorized her elegant look with a large shoulder bag, Cartier watch and her massive diamond ring

For their most recent sighting, Krupa's mom joined the lovebirds ceased the opportunity to hold the pair's little one.

Eventually, Krupa put her daughter, whose hair was styled into pigtails, back into her stroller.

After the model slid off her CDC-recommended face mask, she gave a good look at her natural makeup and plump pout.

Time with grandma: For their most recent sighting, Krupa's mom joined the lovebirds and was, even, spotting holding their little one

Little girl: In February, she christened her four-month-old baby, Asha, and announced sister Marta Krupa and her American racing driver husband, Marco Andretti, would be her child's godparents

Masking up: Krupa made sure to stay safe in a white face mask, which covered her nose and mouth

In February, she christened her four-month-old baby, Asha-Leigh.

At the time, she revealed that her sister Marta Krupa and her American racing driver husband, Marco Andretti, were godparents.

In the sweet snaps, Joanna and Douglas looked every inch the doting parents as they proudly carried their daughter throughout the special day.
A YOUNG man who threatened a friend with a knife after kicking in the door of his apartment will be sentenced next month.

Patrick Wynne, 24, of no fixed abode has pleaded guilty to burglary relating to an incident at Parnell Street, Limerick on May 9, 2019.

During a sentencing hearing before the summer vacation, Detective Garda Dean Landers said the offence occurred at around 4.30pm.

He said the injured party was at home when Mr Wynne and another individual forced their way inside.

He said there had been a disagreement a number of months earlier which sparked trouble between Mr Wynne and the injured party.

A seven-inch knife was produced and threats were made during the incident. Afterwards, the victim told gardai he felt the defendant was going to do him.

John OSullivan BL, prosecuting, said the intruders remained in the apartment for less than three minutes and that CCTV from the area was of critical importance.

Lilly Buckley BL, defending, said her client made no effort to disguise himself on the day and has taken full responsibility for his actions.

He lost his temper, she said adding that Mr Wynne has been homeless in the past and suffers from mental health difficulties.

Judge Tom ODonnell was told the defendant, who has a number of previous convictions had a very difficult start in life and has abused drugs and alcohol in the past.

The case was adjourned to facilitate the preparation of a number of reports.

For more Limerick news click here
MONTREAL, QC / ACCESSWIRE / August 13, 2020 / Quebec Precious Metals Corporation ("QPM" or the "Company") (TSXV:QPM)(OTCQB:CJCFF)(FSE:YXEP) is pleased to report the results of an induced polarization ("IP") geophysical survey conducted this summer to the southwest of the La Pointe Extension discovery on the 100% owned Sakami Project (the "Project") in Quebec's Eeyou Istchee James Bay territory in Quebec (see press releases of April 21 , June 18 , June 23 and July 22 , 2020).

Highlights are as follows:

moderate to strong IP anomalies over a distance of more than 2 km

(see Figures 1 and 2 );

(see ); 800 m long extension of the interpreted axis of the anomalies to the northwest; and

new anomalies located SE and NW of the La Pointe Extension area that will be tested during the drilling campaign.

These anomalies are:

new drill targets spatially correlated with strong gold and arsenic soil geochemical anomalies, high-grade mineralized outcrops and recently disclosed mineralized drillhole intersections;

sub-cropping, continuous at depth and dip steeply to the southeast; and

represented by resistivity lows and chargeability highs.

Normand Champigny, CEO of QPM, stated: "We are very excited by the continuity and the size of the anomalies that we are drilling. This re-affirms the strong exploration potential of the La Pointe Extension discovery."

The IP survey totalling 30.0 line-km and covering an area more than 1 km laterally was completed along lines varying from 850 to 1,350 m with a spacing of 100 m and was carried out by

TMC Geophysics, based in Val d'Or, Quebec. The interpretation of the results was reviewed by Inter Geophyique Inc., based in Rosemere.

A 7,000 m drilling campaign is underway to better define the exploration potential of this discovery. Assaying is pending from 4 drill holes completed at the La Pointe Extension and 6 drill holes completed at the Simon area during the winter drilling program.

The La Pointe deposit and the new La Pointe Extension discovery are part of a larger 2-kilometre-long mineralized trend on the Project striking SSW-NNE. This discovery has potential kilometre-scale extensions that have been subject to very limited surface exploration and no drilling.

The Project provides the Company with a controlling position over a 23-kilometre-long segment of a favourable geological contact and comprises of 259 claims (131.1 km2). It is located 570 km north of Val-d'Or, 120 km east of the municipality of Wemindji, 90 km from the Eleonore gold mine and 47 km northeast of the paved James Bay Road. Good infrastructure is present including major access roads, a hydro-power grid and airports. Drilling can be carried out throughout the year.

Qualified Persons

Normand Champigny, Eng., Chief Executive Officer of the Company, and Tony Brisson, P. Geo., Senior Exploration Manager, both Qualified Persons under NI 43- 101 on standards of disclosure for mineral projects, have reviewed and approved the technical content of this release.

About Quebec Precious Metals Corporation

QPM is a gold explorer with a large land position in the highly-prospective Eeyou Istchee James Bay territory, Quebec, near Newmont Corporation's Eleonore gold mine. QPM's flagship project is the Sakami project with significant grades and well-defined drill-ready targets. QPM's goal is to rapidly explore this project to advance it to the mineral resource estimate stage.

For more information please contact:
Ice cream giant Good Humor enlisted the help of Wu-Tang Clan mastermind RZA to come up with a new ice cream truck jingle to replace the long-used tune Turkey in the Straw.

Turkey in the Straw is a classic American folk song that dates back to the early 19th century, and like many songs of that era, its legacy is tied directly to blackface minstrel shows. As the originator of the ice cream truck, Good Humor was compelled to retire Turkey in the Straw and commission a new jingle amid ongoing talks over systemic and institutionalized racism throughout American culture and society.

More from Rolling Stone

Per a press release, RZAs new jingle drew inspiration from his childhood memories of chasing after ice cream trucks on Staten Island  blending traditional ice cream truck sounds with jazz and hip-hop elements. The little tune is centered around an inviting melody of chiming bells underpinned with some steady but soft kick drums and rapid-fire cymbal hits.

In a behind-the-scenes clip, the RZA spoke about his new jingle, saying, We wanted to make a melody that includes all community, thats good for every driver, thats good for every kid. And Im proud to say, for the first time in a long time, a new ice cream jingle will be made available to trucks all across the country, in perpetuity. That means forever  like Wu-Tangs forever. And I can assure you, this one is made with love.

The RZAs jingle will be available to ice cream trucks in the U.S. via music boxes produced by Nichols Electronics starting this month. Nichols Electronics, which is based in Minneapolis  where this years protests against police brutality and racial injustice started after the killing of George Floyd  also announced that it would remove Turkey in the Straw from its music boxes.

See where your favorite artists and songs rank on the Rolling Stone Charts.



Sign up for Rolling Stones Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Sumeet Bagadia

Coriander seed, better known as dhaniya, is a rabi spice sown in October-December period largely in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat. The crop harvested from February to April.

Cooler temperatures with good water content in the soil improve the yield. Prices, too, play a critical role. Higher prices are generally announced to encourage sowing of the seed which is a kitchen staple. Lower prices can lead to farmers switching to other crops such as mustard, garlic and chana.

In India, several varieties of coriander are grown. Badami, Eagle, Scooter, Single Parrot, Double Parrot and Special Ggreen are the most popular. Prices differ across varieties and determined by the quality and moisture content.

The variant that is listed on the NCDEX is the Badami, which is light brown. India is among the top producers and exporters of coriander seed. Russia, Bulgaria and Italy are the other major growers of the seed.

NCDEX coriander future price traded higher in July and August, so far, owing to easing of lockdown in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Increased buying is supporting spot and the future prices. But prices are currently sustaining at Rs 6,400-6,500 per quintal levels amid higher stocks from last year and reports of higher production for 2019-20.

On August 11, NCDEX coriander future price closed at Rs 6,586 per quintal, 4.87 percent higher compared to Rs 6,280 on June 30.

For the coming month, we are expecting coriander futures to witness uptrend as traders continue buying around Rs 65-66 per kg levels in the major mandis of Kota Ramganj (Rajasthan), Rajkot (Gujarat) and Guna and Neemuch (MadhyaPradesh).

So far, buying by masala (spice) millers has been 80-85 percent of their total capacity and could increase in the coming weeks as traders are forecast lower stocks for the year 2019-20 ahead of the sowing season.

Exports are still lagging behind amid rising coronavirus worries. India imports coriander seeds from Russia and Bulgaria in the June-August period as the seeds from these countries have a higher medicinal value. This could cap extreme bullishness in NCDEX coriander prices in the month ahead.

We are bullish on NCDEX coriander September futures and prices are expected to move towards Rs 7,200 levels in the month ahead.

(The author is Executive Director at Choice Broking.)

: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
The letter (Photo: quehuongonline.vn)

That is the content of a letter sent to the Vietnamese Embassy in Ukraine from the Ministry of Health of this country.



According to the letter, in the context of the world struggling tirelessly with the unprecedented outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the health sector needs to have courageous actions and decisive steps.

We strongly believe that with the mutual constructive efforts, the two countries will be able to cope with the major problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure quality medical assistance for patients, the letter states.

Ukraines Ministry of Health highly appreciated Vietnam's contribution to strengthening the health system development of Ukraine and the ministry believed that the establishment of the cooperation will promote development of the friendly relationship between Vietnam and Ukraine./.
Caught on camera: Advocate Dhavan smokes hookah during virtual hearing, judge issues health advisory

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Jaipur, Aug 13: Senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan got some advice on the perils of smoking from a high court judge on Thursday, as a video clip surfaced showing the lawyer apparently taking a puff from a hookah during a virtual hearing.

The clip shows Dhavan holding a sheaf of papers in front of his face and some smoke escaping from the side.

When the lawyer keeps the paper aside, what seems to be the nozzle of a hookah appears in the few seconds-long clip, purportedly from Tuesday's proceedings in the court of Justice Mahendra Kumar Goyal.

Dhavan is representing six Bahujan Samaj Party MLAs whose merger with the Congress in Rajasthan is being challenged by the BSP and a BJP MLA.

I am with Ashok Gehlot, says rebel MLA linked to deal-making audio tape

The judge's remark came Thursday when the hearing resumed.

In a lighter vein during the proceedings, Justice Goyal advised Dhavan that he should quit smoking at his age as it is injurious to health.

Smiles, handshake as Sachin Pilot & Ashok Gehlot meet after Congress truce | Oneindia News

Dhavan responded that he would so.

He also admitted that senior lawyers are not accustomed too well to video conference hearings but are trying to cope with the situation.

The lawyer assured he will try to adapt as such hearings are going to be a regular feature for some time.

In April, another lawyer had appeared in a vest during a virtual hearing in the Rajasthan High Court.

The judge then had made it clear that lawyers should appear in proper attire even when they are arguing their case online.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Thursday, August 13, 2020, 19:00 [IST]
President Donald Trump signed an executive order last weekend to give unemployed Americans up to $400 per week in extra unemployment pay. But Michigan residents shouldnt count on seeing that money right away.

The idea is the money would fill in the gap for the $600 federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act money that expired at the end of July. But this new funding requires states to make tweaks to their unemployment system  and is optional for each state, a U.S. Department of Labor spokesperson said.

When might the money be available? U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said it will be a week or two in a press briefing earlier this week. Other industry experts say its unlikely to start flowing until September, per CBS.

If Michigan does take part, the $400 per week payments would be retroactive to Aug. 1, meaning residents could get a few weeks worth of payments in one to start.

All states are currently awaiting guidance from the (USDOL) regarding implementation of the Presidents executive orders, said Jason Moon, Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity spokesman. The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency will provide further information once it is available.

Guidance was sent to states on Wednesday, per the USDOL.

Michigan hasn't announced whether it will participate in the program or not, a governor's spokesperson said. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer criticized Trump's move last weekend.

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 in a news release. 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.

Multiple governors have issues with Trumps plan. For residents to get the full $400, states must kick in $100 of that funding. States will have the option of not contributing and recipients would receive $300 in additional unemployment, a DOL spokesperson said.

There's also a question if Trump has the constitutional authority to hand out this Federal Emergency Management Agency money  which could be challenged in the courts.

Trump signed the order after Congress failed to agree on new unemployment funding. Democrats pushed a package that kept the weekly payment at $600 while Republicans wanted to lower it to $200.

Unlike the $600 payments, only unemployed people who are eligible for at least $100 in state unemployment would be eligible for the $400 federal money, the order said.

The federal money is in addition to what states already provide. In Michigan, an unemployed person can receive up to $362 per week from the state, depending on their prior earnings. So before the $600 CARES Act funding expired, residents could receive up to $962 per week, which equates to $24.05 per hour based on a 40-hour work week.

Unemployment numbers continue dropping in Michigan

More Michiganders are getting back to work, federal data released Thursday, Aug. 13 shows.

An estimated 14,462 Michigan workers filed an initial claim for unemployment last week, down more than 5,000 from the week prior.

There were still nearly 515,000 residents receiving unemployment for the week ending in July 25  the latest data available for that number. But 78,000 more people were unemployed the week prior.

In one week, the state's unemployment rate dropped from 13.8% to 12%.

Thats still higher than the U.S. unemployment rate for the same week ending in July 25, which was 10.8%, with nearly 16 million people out of work.

For the first time since March, the U.S. had fewer than 1 million new unemployment claims last week.

COVID-19 PREVENTION TIPS

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

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

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

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued executive orders requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while in public indoor and crowded outdoor spaces. See an explanation of what that means here .

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

For more data on COVID-19 in Michigan, visit https://www.mlive.com/coronavirus/data/ .

RELATED STORIES

Thursday, August 13: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan

Michigan unemployment checks will shrink as extra $600 benefit expires this weekend

Michigan cut off unemployment for thousands of eligible residents. Its not the first time.

I just need a little more time: Unemployed workers hope lawmakers find way to replace expiring $600 benefit

New Michigan tool designed to teach unemployed workers new skills
Im hoping that there will be some sort of Hail Mary to save the hospital, she said. Right now, COVID is really just pulling the veil back on the disparities in health care, especially maternal care. COVID came at a time when we were already struggling with high maternal mortality and closures of labor and delivery units, and this is kind of putting the last nail in the coffin.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 10:35:29|Editor: huaxia

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MAPUTO, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Defense and Security Forces of Mozambique (FDS) announced Wednesday that 59 terrorists were killed over the past week in the country's northern province of Cabo Delgado.

The terrorists were trying to occupy the district of Mocimboa da Praia for a week, and they infiltrated the communities before attacking local villages, said the Joint Command of the FDS in a statement.

"In the course of actions to defend populations against terrorist actions, the Defense and Security Forces have achieved various operational results, highlighting 59 human casualties from the terrorists, and the destruction of six camps and means used by terrorists," the statement said.

The FDS reiterated in the statement its commitment to restoring public order and security in the area, adding their counter-offensive operations have been carried out to neutralize those terrorists who use the population as a shield in the affected regions.

"We call for the collaboration of everyone to report the existence or strange movement (of armed men) in any part of the national territory," it said. Enditem
Minor Memorial Library in Roxbury will offer a grotesque safari walking tour through Yale University with Mathew Duman Aug. 15 at 1 p.m. A rain date of Aug. 22 is planned.

Duman, an author and photographer, presented a talk about grotesques and gargoyles last year at the library.

Space is limited and reservations and face masks are required. Attendees will meet at a designated spot to be revealed upon registration.

Yale features a variety of grotesques and gargoyles in their natural habitat, as well as an intriguing case study in Collegiate Gothic architecture.

On the tour, Duman will point out many of the grotesques and gargoyles that originally inspired him to explore this and other campuses.

Binoculars are recommended.

Duman, a graphic designer, grew up in Bethany.

He attended the gargoyle-free campus of Central Connecticut State University but while studying abroad became fascinated with the architectural detail of the cathedrals of Britain.

He has since taken photographic trips to Italy, Africa, Australia and New Zealand, and most recently has been seeking out grotesque sculpture around the United States.

For more information and RSVP, call 860-350-2181 or visit www.minormemoriallibrary.org.
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Tennessee Distillers Guild elected Alex Castle, master distiller and senior vice president at Old Dominick Distillery, as its new president. In her role, Castle will lead the charge in continuing to move the Guild and its initiatives forward.

"Alex and Old Dominick Distillery epitomize the Tennessee distilling industry, representing a heritage brand that has been revived for today," said Tennessee Distillers Guild executive director, Sara Beth Urban. "Alex's energy and leadership will be a great asset for our Guild, and I'm excited to work with her to increase interest in Tennessee spirits."

Castle and Old Dominick Distillery joined the Guild in late 2015 and have since been an integral part of its success and evolution.

"Watching this group grow and evolve has been unbelievable," said Castle. "My predecessor, Kris Tatum, did a phenomenal job leading the Guild and fighting to improve our industry in Tennessee. I'm excited for this opportunity and hope during my time as President, I can help maintain the momentum and continue to grow the Guild and the Trail, both in numbers and awareness."

Castle has already made her mark for women in the Tennessee whiskey industry as the state's first female head distiller in 2015. Now, she is making history again as the first female president to lead the Tennessee Distillers Guild since its founding in 2014.

"I can't imagine being in any other industry," she said. "I hope that my roles within Old Dominick and the Guild can serve as inspiration to other women. Just because an industry was male-dominated for years doesn't mean it can't be welcoming to women, and even promote those women to leadership roles."

Castle is a Burlington, Kentucky native with a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Kentucky. She resides in Memphis with her husband and their dog, Whiskey.

Other Tennessee Distillers Guild board appointments include Rod Benkovich of George Dickel Distillery as vice president; Tyler Crowell of Corsair Distillery as secretary; and Kent Merritt of Old Tennessee Distilling Co. as treasurer. Other board members include Heath Clark of H. Clark Distillery, Matt Cunningham of Old Glory Distilling Co., Bruce Boeko of Nashville Craft Distillery, Jeff Arnett of Jack Daniel Distillery, and Greg Eidam of Sugarlands Distilling Co.

Media Contact:

629-888-2951

[email protected]

SOURCE Tennessee Distillers Guild

Related Links

https://tndistillersguild.org


A Tampon Commercial Was Pulled From The Air (For A Ridiculous Reason)

In the UK, Tampax recently released a new television ad campaign which shows viewers how to properly insert a tampon. This ad campaign, dubbed Tampons and Tea, was launched after Tampax did research and came to the conclusion that 42 percent of tampon users were not inserting it correctly. The number jumps higher to 58 percent in the age bracket of 18- to 24-year-olds.

The ad features a fictional daytime show where the host asks the question, How many of you ever feel your tampon? After a guest raises her hand, the host says that you shouldnt feel your tampon and it might mean that its not in far enough. The ad then shows a demonstration of how to insert the tampon. The host then says, Get em up there, girls!

ADVERTISEMENT

With Tampaxs research, we know that nearly half of the tampon-using population doesnt insert their tampons correctly. This can lead to mild discomfort or severe pain. It is important that we teach young people how to wear tampons, especially when we have such a stigma around periods.

It was refreshing to see a straightforward tampon commercial where there was no beating around the bush about periods or tampons. Its also refreshing because most ads about period products usually feature girls smiling and having the best time on their periods, dancing around. Most of us know that this isn't typically the case, especially those who are severely affected by PMS. While this advertisement had a smiling woman, it didnt come off in the patronizing way that tampon advertisements usually do.

The Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ASAI) got several complaints about the advertisement. According to the complaints, the ad was disrespectful to women, had sexual innuendos, and was not suitable for children.

Many were upset with the fact that the Tampax commercial aired during the show Britains Got Talent, arguing that it shouldnt have been shown on such a family-friendly television program. One user on Twitter wrote that, The new Tampax ad is just a step too far. Get them up there, girls....The ad is digusting...no issue with the advertising the product, just the way its done. Many people also complained that there were kids watching during the show which made the ad inappropriate.

There were, in fact, others who found the advertisement to be helpful. People mostly found it helpful because it talked about periods and tampons in a candid way, despite the negative connotation surrounding them.

Unfortunately, the advertisement was pulled from Irish television. The Advertising Standards Authoritys Complaints Committee stated that the ad caused widespread offense while also taking note that it provided factual information in a manner that was neither explicit nor graphic.

The pulling of this advertisement works against everything that the advertisement was praised for: helping women know their bodies and taking the shame away from menstruation. Too often, young people in particular are too scared to ask questions about their periods and resort to practices that end up causing them more harm.

Charlotte Amrouche hosts educational workshops on menstruation and stated that the ASAIs decision was disappointing and hugely frustrating. Amrouche said that the decision suggests that vaginas, periods and period products, are all offensive. She also said that the advertisement was needed because there is misinformation and a lack of knowledge when it comes to period products in Ireland.

While Tampax did pull the ad in line with the ASAIs decision, a spokesperson for the company said, Our advert was designed to address a very common usage question and to help educate how to use the tampon correctly in a straight-talking way. ... We will continue in our efforts to normalize periods and help end period stigma.

Ending the stigma around periods is so important, and something that needs to be talked about more. The shame young women feel about something that is natural and that they cant control is absolutely ridiculous. Even if little kids were watching the advertisement, it couldve helped a young person who was too scared to ask how to use a tampon. The advertisement could also help the (apparently large number of) people that dont know how to insert a tampon correctly. We need to start talking about menstruation in a productive way, just like this advertisement did, period.

Header image via Wikimedia Commons / FastilyClone

More from BUST

Menstruators On Twitter Are Super Confused About This Period ProductAs They Should Be

This Indian Company Offers Menstrual Leave To Its Employees -- Is It Helping Or Hurting?

Kotex New Ads To Depict Period Blood As It Really Is: Red

Diana Holiner is currently a student at Emerson College where she is majoring in Visual Media Arts Production. She lives in Dover, Massachusetts and enjoys hanging out with her dog and watching television.
Sushant He Had Big Aspirations For 2020

The report also shared that the actor had an uncluttered mind based on his aspiration for the year. The list also included, building a content creator team, teaming up with FTII students, starting a production company, he also wanted to contribute to the world of education and environment.

Sister Shweta Called Him An Eternal Postiivist

Earlier, Sushant's sister Shweta Singh Kriti had tweeted pages from his diary and said he was an 'eternal positivist'. She wrote,"Somebody who had solid plans. Somebody who knew how to make his dreams into reality... somebody who was an eternal positivist! My brother I salute you!"

Supreme Court Is Yet To Rule Judgment In Who Will Investigate The Case

For the uninitiated, Sushant Singh Rajput passed away on June 14, at his Mumbai residence. The Supreme Court will soon have a hearing regarding who will investigate the late actor's death case, whether Mumbai Police or CBI.
The influence of the wife of former President Jerry John Rawlings played a significant role in the parting of ways between Rawlings and the late Prof Mills, Prof Kwamena Ahwoi has recounted in his book, Working with Rawlings.



According to him, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, Rawlings' wife also influenced greatly, her husband's falling out with his comrades and confidants who had worked closely over the years.



This, Prof Ahwoi indicated, was borne out of Nana Konadus ambition to lead the NDC and to become President of the Republic of Ghana.



Ahwoi wrote on page 262 of his book that after the appointment of Kofi Totobi-Quakyi as the National Security Minister, which brought the latter closer to JJ Rawlings, Nana Konadu called him (Kwamena Ahwoi) and told him that he should tell Totobi-Quakyi as follows: ko ka kyere wo Totobi no se onim se nea me si bree ye ansa meregye me kunu afiri Kojo Tsikata ne PV Obeng nsa mu a, anka enye se ono nso aba na orebepe se obegye no afiri me nsam bio no to wit "Go and tell that your Totobi that if he knew how I struggled to snatch back my husband from the clutches of Kojo Tsikata and PV Obeng, he would not be making the mistake of he also wanting to snatch my husband from me again".



Obviously a very jealous wife, Nana Konadu must have seen these working colleagues of her husbands as rivals who were taking too much of her husbands time as a result of which he did not have much time for her, Prof Ahwoi wrote further.



Prof Kwamena Ahwoi said that the formation of Get Atta Mills Elected (GAME) was also influenced by Nana Konadus role or deliberate effort to distance Rawlings from his comrades.



Because Rawlings had fallen out with Mills and was backing candidates opposed to Mills, the pro-Mills GAME also unconsciously became [an] anti-Rawlings vehicle and onboard this vehicle were Ato Ahwoi, PV Obeng, Kwame Peprah, Kofi Totobi-Quakyi and myself, with Captain Kojo Tsikata as one of our advisers," he added.



It was against this near-invincible NDC political vehicle that Nana Konadu pitched her band of inexperienced neophytes under the banner of Friends of Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings (FONKAR), Prof Ahwoi explained in his book.



He added that immediately Nana Konadu announced her candidature, GAME opened fire on her.



We the former pro-Rawlings loyalists who were members of GAME did not think that we were taking a stand against Rawlings," Ahwoi wrote.



On the whole, Nana Konadu played a critical role in the estrangement and falling out between Jerry Rawlings and his one-time comrades and confidantes," Ahwoi concluded.

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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Days after Chicago was rocked by looting, some small retailers have reopened but are trying to safeguard against similar incidents in the future.

Following a police incident Sunday afternoon, 200-plus big brand and designer stores faced millions of dollars worth of stolen merchandise and property damage. Lesser-known small businesses were also impacted.

More from WWD

Tanya Triche Dawood, vice president and general counsel of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, a group that represents 20,000 locations statewide, said that some stores had not yet reopened after Chicagos first round of looting in late May and early June. A lot of these folks that were hit the first time were hit again. Some had just got parts of their stores reopened and now this. Frankly, there is a lot of frustration and anger that they are exposed to unlawfulness. I am fielding a lot of calls from retailers about protecting what they built. she said. A lot of the focus has been on large retailers and it should be. Theyve been hit early and often. But a lot of the folks that got hit were small businesses.

In addition, retailers generally cannot count on insurance policies to cover all of their losses, and their insurance rates will increase due to being located in an area that is costly to insure. Small business owners are paying and theyre tired. Dawood said.

Some of IRMAs members across the city, not just in the downtown area, had windows broken and/or were looted with clothing, electronics and convenience stores being the hardest hit. Firstly, IRMA is asking impacted retailers to cooperate with the Chicago police by sharing video footage or any information about the incident. Give that to police on a proactive basis. We have to work together in order to try to stop these things from happening again. Dawood said, adding that such information could allow police officers to pursue assailants and potentially recover some of what was lost.

Story continues

On Wednesday, the Chicago Police Department set up a video portal to encourage the public to help identify some of the suspects involved with the rampant theft and property damage earlier in the week. As of Thursday afternoon, two videos had been posted and additional ones were expected to be added, a CPD spokeswoman said. She declined to estimate how many tips had been provided thus far.

While Chicago-area retailers may have already been looking into buying drop-down gates and shatterproof windows, those are of greater necessity now especially to stores located outside of the citys central business district that arent used to being targets.

After having all of the merchandise in its downtown store stolen Monday, Londo Mondo, a two-store and online business, reopened Thursday, thanks to the arrival of fall merchandise Tuesday. Still fearful that looting could happen again, co-owners Carrie and Ken Londe said small business owners have not had any reassurance from a police officer, alderman or somebody in a leadership position.

Having lost $60,000 worth of merchandise and without optimal insurance, the couple is wary of more looting. He said, We cant afford to hire a private security guard. Im not sure that anyone would do that job anyway. We cant afford gated windows. Theres not much we can do for the overnight hours, which is why I dont sleep well.

In business for nearly 35 years, Ken Londe said, It used to be that windows were all you needed.

Noting how her husband stood guard in front of their store Monday to try to deter further looting, Carrie Londe said, He had to defend our store. Trust me, he didnt want to be a hero. It was a matter of if everything was cleaned out, thats it. Thats our livelihood.

Paul Young Fine Jewelers owner Paul Cha said $100,000 is a cautious estimate of his losses. With the help of 20 people, Cha cleaned up his store Monday morning and reopened Tuesday. Even though the citys looting was disappointing, there are still many good people. Thats the whole reason Im trying to stay in business. he said.

Many customers stopped in the past few days by to pick up their repairs and to purchase diamonds and other items to support Cha. In business for 38 years, he said, Right now everybody has anger for everything. Thats a shame. Chicago is a beautiful city. All the neighbors, foreigners, visitors and tourists have been saying beautiful things about Chicago. But now bad words spread faster. Everybody is going to be scared. Thats going to make people do a U-turn and bypass Chicago. We are ruining our city ourselves.
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Linkedin Rizki Fachriansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 13, 2020 08:16 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066d9ce5e 1 National Education,education-in-Indonesia,education-inequality,Education-and-Culture-Ministry,Nadiem-Makarim,schools,teachers-in-Indonesia,students,COVID-19,pandemic Free

The Indonesian education sector  a core element of national development  has overcome numerous challenges over the years, but nothing had prepared it for the unprecedented jolt from the COVID-19 pandemic.

As is the case with many other countries around the globe, Indonesia has been scrambling since earlier this year to ensure that the education system remains functional, albeit with necessary compromises to adjust to the current situation, such as replacing conventional, face-to-face learning with online classes.

However, the practical implementation of these emergency measures has been less than ideal amid the pre-existing socioeconomic disparities among teachers and students.

As the country approaches its 75th Independence Day, the questions linger: Will the education system survive the pandemic? What is to become of the Indonesian youth and the system in the future?

Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim has said the government already devised a new education roadmap to realize President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's vision to make Indonesia a developed country in 2045 prior to the pandemic, which would entail a systemic reform that was expected to transform the widely accepted notion of a curriculum, as well as to improve the quality of teachers.

The current health crisis has forced the government to adjust its plans, but it is still determined to incorporate some of the strategies to keep progress in education on track.

The strategy for how to develop the next generation of leaders and the most productive members of society always stems from the education system, Nadiem said during the Educating the Nation webinar, which was part of The Jakarta Posts webinar series Jakpost Up Close on Wednesday.

This is the highest return on investment that a country can make to actually [improve] the quality and productivity of its labor force and economy, he said.

Teachers, he added, were an integral part of the system-wide transformation, given that the quality of education that students receive ultimately hinges on the quality of their teachers.

The next generation of teachers are not only teachers who are smart, tech-savvy and have a passion for teaching, but also those who can be potential change agents, Nadiem said.

He went on to say that the government has established a new training program that assesses leadership qualities among the existing crop of teachers, as the system requires a number of superintendents who are willing to train and therefore improve the quality of fellow educators.

Read also: Decision to reopen more schools draws ire from teachers

The ministry has also continued to push for the proper implementation of the Merdeka Belajar (Learning Independence) policy by granting teachers the freedom to focus only on the essential aspects of the present curriculum amid the COVID-19 emergency, he said.

The concept of Merdeka Belajar also gives independence to teachers to be able treat the curriculum like a menu as opposed to a set course meal, Nadiem said, adding that the policy also granted teachers the flexibility to redesign the curriculum in a way that suited the competence and interests of their students.

World Bank senior social development specialist Dewi Susanti said during the same event that, although the current circumstances might seem dire, the so-called learning crisis was not unique to Indonesia.

Read also: Kids feel lonely amid extended remote learning period

That said, the country should step up its efforts to drastically improve its education sector for its own good, she said.

Set learning as a goal and measure it periodically, Dewi said. Build on what works, and scale back what does not.

According to data from the World Bank, Indonesias investment in education has increased over the past two decades, even reaching 20 percent of the state budget in the last 10 years.

However, the increased investment does not seem to have yielded any significant results, as evidenced by the fact that Indonesia ranked 87th on the World Banks Human Capital Index in 2018, lagging behind its neighbors in East Asia Pacific, Dewi said.

Anton Mailoa, the board chairman of Sinarmas World Academy, said the current situation served as a crucial reminder of the importance of constant communication among students, their parents and teachers to properly negotiate the most suitable education method given the circumstances.

The key to success not only lies within schools, but also with everyone involved [in the education system], he said.

Shintia Revina, a researcher at the SMERU Research Institute, said the government should aim for a gradual improvement instead of a sweeping change, as the latter could potentially further alienate students and educators alike.

Critical thinking, for instance, is still too advanced a concept for many of our teachers to grasp, she said.

This is because the level of competence among teachers is relatively low, both in terms of their subject matter and pedagogical knowledge.

Federation of Indonesian Teachers Association (FSGI) deputy secretary-general, Satriwan Salim, echoed a similar sentiment, saying that there was no one-size-fits-all solution to the issues currently plaguing the sector given that teachers and students across the archipelago came from different sociocultural backgrounds.

The problems faced by teachers in Jakarta are different from those in remote areas, he said.

The real, practical problems that [teachers] encounter in their respective regions should serve as the basis of their training.
JerseyBike is pulling out of six Hudson County municipalities where it operates its bike-share system, citing financial challenges as Citi Bike enters Hoboken.

Bike docking stations, which the system began rolling out in Hoboken in 2015, are also scattered throughout Bayonne, Weehawken, West New York, North Bergen and Guttenberg. The company plans to exit Hudson County in October.

JerseyBikes announcement comes on the heels of news that Citi Bike is coming to Hoboken, creating transportation continuity with Jersey City and New York City. JerseyBike only operates in Hudson County, and its exit signals its disbandment, said Lourdes Martinez, lead sponsorship and marketing coordinator at P3 Global Management, which manages the system.

We have had to examine and accept the fact that the resources that are required to own and operate a successful shared micromobility system make it impossible to continue the program at this time, said P3 Global Management director of operations Matt Finelli.

There have been more than 74,000 registered JerseyBike riders in Hudson County throughout its tenure here, according to the company, which says existing bike passes can be used until Oct. 9.

Hoboken and Jersey City will soon both have Citi Bike after deciding to jointly pursue a new contract with the system earlier this summer. Previously, riders couldnt conveniently travel between the two cities. JerseyBike users had nowhere to dock their bikes in Jersey City, while Citi Bike riders from Jersey City had nowhere to dock in Hoboken.

JerseyBike, however, was contiguous from Hoboken up through the northern part of the county.

The end of JerseyBike in Hudson County means the five other municipalities will have to decide whether to find a new company to operate bike-shares on their streets.

Bayonne spokesman Joe Ryan said the city would look into finding a new provider.

North Bergen, meanwhile, is also looking into a replacement program and hopes to have one that residents can use in neighboring municipalities, said township public information officer Art Schwartz.

We have not yet had any discussions with neighboring municipalities about future plans, he said. Citi Bike is certainly an option that we would be interested in exploring.
The DCH deal needs approval from the regulator.

Ukrainian privately-owned conglomerate DCH told Reuters on Wednesday it had signed an agreement to buy a 25% stake in national aircraft engine maker Motor Sich from Chinese investors.

"In accordance with the agreement with Chinese partners, we will acquire more than 25% of shares of Motor Sich," DCH told Reuters in a statement, Reuters reported.

Read alsoReuters: Ukraine court rejects Chinese appeal in aerospace deal opposed by Washington

Chinese investors, represented in Ukraine by Skyrizon Aircraft Holdings Limited company, last week announced a cooperation deal with DCH but they did not give details.

Motor Sich severed ties with Russia, its biggest client, after the annexation of Crimea and uncertainty over its future ownership has held up efforts to find new markets.

The DCH deal needs approval from Ukraine's national regulator, the State Antimonopoly Committee.

Skyrizon holds around 80% of Motor Sich though several foreign companies. The remainder is held by small shareholders.

Last year, the Antimonopoly Committee started an investigation into Skyrizon's stake in Motor Sich.

The Committee spokeswoman told Reuters on Wednesday that the regulator was continuing this investigation.

DCH, owned by Ukrainian businessman Oleksandr Yaroslavsky, said the regulator had 135 days at most to make its decision on its plan to buy 25% of Motor Sich.

"We will seek fairness and protection of our investments in court by all legal means," DCH said.

Skyrizon was not immediately available for comment, Reuters said.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 13, 2020 17:07 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066dcfb24 1 National Garuda-Indonesia,aviation,kites,repair,damage Free

National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has spent thousands of dollars to repair aircraft damaged by kites flown around Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Tangerang, Banten.

"The cost we incurr for both the inspection and repair is around US$4,000," Bernard Partogi Sitorus, the airline's senior manager for incident management, said on Wednesday.

However, Bernard noted that the cost was relatively small a problem compared to the risk caused by such incidents.

Garuda Indonesia reported seven kite-related disturbances out of 59 reports on flight disruptions recorded by state-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II between May and July at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

The number of kite-related disruptions was relatively high, Bernard said, considering that flight operations were lower than during the coronavirus pandemic.

The seven incidents included one fatal one, where parts of a kite entered an airplane's engine.

Authorities found strings and bamboo sticks tangled up inside the plane's propeller, according to kompas.com.

Indonesia's 2009 Aviation Law forbids flying kites around flight operation areas, with Article 421 of the law carrying a punishment of up to three years of imprisonment and a Rp 1 billion (US$ 67,925) fine for violations.

Kites have previously been reported to have disrupted other facilities and services, leading authorities to warn the public to be more considerate when flying kites.

In Bali, for instance, police arrested a man in July who allegedly caused a five-hour blackout in three districts after his kite broke and fell onto a substation owned by state electricity firm PLN. (dpk)
Investigators believe a three-year-old left in a hot car in Franklin County may have been there for roughly 16 hours before he was discovered.

Franklin County Sheriff Shannon Oliver said yesterday that investigators determined Bentley Fowler was possibly left in the vehicle at around 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, WHNT is reporting. Fowler was declared dead in a car on Church Street in the tiny northwest Alabama town of Hodges on Sunday around 4 p.m.

Fowler is the 15th child to die in a hot car in the United States this year, according to KidsAndCars.org, a national nonprofit child safety organization.

The boys parents, Dakota Heath Fowler, 20, and Brandi Michelle Burks, 22, were arrested on manslaughter charges. The two gave statements that led investigators to determine that they may have forgotten about Bentley being in the vehicle when they arrived home from a friends house around 11:30 p.m. the night before, Oliver said.

The parents are being held in the Franklin County Jail on $500,000 bond each.
Online Education service 'The Anywhere School' launched with over 50 new features

New Delhi, Thu, 13 Aug 2020 Deepak Kumar

Search engine giant Google announced to launch its online learning application 'The Anywhere School' for all Google Enterprise for Education customers. The new application will come with over 50 new features including end meetings for all participants and disable in-meeting chat.

During Coronavirus outbreak millions of students are learning from home and Schools are using online means of education to run the virtual classes. The new initiative from Google will help Education customers to provide better tutoring through online classes to their students. The 'The Anywhere School service launched by Google comes with over 50 new features across Meet, Classroom, G Suite and other products for the benefits of Students. Hundreds and thousands of viewers in more than 250 countries will able to use Googles new service.

Avni Shah, VP of Education at Google said "Breakout rooms and attendance tracking will also be launching for all Google Enterprise for Education customers, allowing for more engaged classes and insights on participation."

Google will launch the update in September which will bring support for up to 19 people in the video-calling app Google Meet. This application will also bring an integrated Jamboard whiteboard for easy collaboration among the participants.

This feature will definitely help educational organizations to educate large number of people through online classes. New features aim to provide easy to use and very effective tools for conducting online classes.

According to the companys official statement on Tuesday, application will bring new controls that enable the moderator to always join first, end meetings for all participants and disable in-meeting chat. Application will also bring lots of other features to make collaboration much easier.

As per the Google, new feature such as custom and blurred backgrounds in meeting will be available sometime in October. These features are for adding extra privacy to the Meet.

VP of Google, Avni Shah further added "Breakout rooms and attendance tracking will also be launching for all Google Enterprise for Education customers, allowing for more engaged classes and insights on participation.

Company is also planning to roll out more features such as hand raising for all customers and Q&A and polling for G Suite Enterprise; all these features will be available for the Education customers.

Google official statement further added "Plus, well launch a new temporary recordings feature which will be available to all Education customers for free (premium recordings will still be part of G Suite Enterprise for Education)."

Google recently launched "SmartCompose" and "Auto Correct in Docs", which is helping educators and students in composing high-quality content faster. Google will release and update later this month which will help admins to disable both "SmartCompose" and "Auto Correct" if necessary.

Soon Google will allow the students to format and manage their documents directly in Docs.
ANN ARBOR, MI  University of Michigan students have until Sept. 10 to apply for tuition insurance in case they withdraw from school due to physical or mental health illness or injury.

The university has offered tuition insurance in the past, but the plan was dropped by Dewar Insurance Company four years ago because of low participation by students, UM spokesman Rick Fitzgerald said.

However, UM worked with the insurance carrier well before the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic to bring back the offer to all registered students on the Ann Arbor campus for 2020-21, Fitzgerald said. While not available to them this year, the insurance might be offered to Flint and Dearborn students in the future, he said.

The plan refunds 75% of tuition and fees  excluding required health insurance for international students  less any refund or credit due from the university if a student completely withdraws from the university due to physical or mental health illness or injury, according to a UM website. Students living in university housing can purchase the coverage for room and board as well, according to the website.

The plan offers benefits, such as providing funds that can help to pay back loans, grants and scholarships, and covers students taking classes on campus or remotely, according to the website. UMs fall semester begins Aug. 31 and will offer a blend of in-person and remote classes.

University of Michigan will offer in-person classes for fall semester

Students must have written statements from a physician saying that either a physical or psychological/emotional condition is the reason for withdrawal. A complete withdrawal from the university is required, according to the website, which means the student will not be able to complete the term and will not receive any academic credit because of injury or sickness.

Coverage does not apply if students drop classes and do not completely withdraw from the university.

According to Dewar Insurance, in-state undergraduate students will pay $109 for insurance in the 2020-21 academic year. That increases to $181 if the student pays for housing insurance as well.

Out-of-state undergraduate students pay $328 to insure their tuition and fees for the 2020-21 academic year and $400 if they include housing insurance.

More information on the costs of insurance for graduate students, law school students and students in Ross Graduate School can be found here.

READ MORE:

Everyone required to wear mask everywhere on all 3 University of Michigan campuses

8 things to know about the University of Michigans plans for in-person classes in 2020-21

University of Michigan students unsure if enhanced social distancing requirement will be effective
ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, MI  A 19-year-old man from Battle Creek is dead after the vehicle he was riding in was broadsided Thursday night, police say.

Justin Noel was a passenger in a Ford Mustang that was involved in a two-car crash near the intersection of N. Centreville and Featherstone roads in Sherman Township just before 9 p.m. Aug. 12, according to a news release from the Michigan State Police.

Noel, police said, was airlifted from the scene to Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo where he later died.

The driver of the Mustang, 19-year-old Erandi Tzitziki, also of Battle Creek, was transported to the hospital with serious injuries, police said.

Noel, according to an Aug. 12 Facebook post from Sgt. Josiah Elzy with the Army Recruiting Station in Battle Creek had just become the newest infantryman welcomed to the team earlier that day.

A second post on Aug. 13 from Elzy shared the news of Noels death.

Preliminary investigations have indicated Tzitziki failed to stop at the intersection while she and Noel were traveling north on North Centreville Road, according to the release.

The second vehicle, a Toyota Highlander, was westbound on Featherstone Road with the right of way and was unable to stop after the Mustang entered the intersection, police said.

The driver of the Highlander, a 66-year-old Centreville man, was treated for minor injuries at the scene.

Seat belts appear to have been worn by all occupants in both vehicles and it is unknown if alcohol or drugs was a factor, police said. The crash remains under investigation.

Also on MLive:

Police arrest hit-and-run suspect after trooper is dragged by vehicle on Mackinac Bridge

Muskegon woman in critical condition after colliding with building in Ottawa County crash

Naval specialist from Kalamazoo returns home after 7-months at sea due to coronavirus

Man charged with making terrorist threats against police found not guilty by reason of insanity
GENEVA  Area law enforcement agencies are warning that there may be candy for sale that is laced with THC, a psychoactive component of marijuana.

Geneva Police Department, Geneva County Sheriffs Office, and members of the Alabama Law Enforcement Drug Task Force Region B held a press conference Tuesday to make the community aware of the recent arrest of three Geneva adults  Brandi Cardwell, Zaric Cardwell, and Steven Horsby  and a 16-year-old juvenile, who face a variety of drug charges.

According to law enforcement, the laced candy looks like candy purchased from a store.

We want parents and teenagers to play close attention to candy packages purchased, Dale/Geneva County District Attorney Kirke Adams said. One of the packages I looked at clearly lists it contains THC, but some packages do not list THC on the labeling. I know these types of candies are designed to attract your people. So, please pay attention and be mindful of where or from whom you purchase candy.

The arrests follow a four-week investigation, Geneva Police Chief Tony Clemmons said.
OSLO, Aug 13 (Reuters) - The Norwegian government will extend the country's furlough scheme for workers to a maximum of 52 weeks from the current 26 weeks amid the downturn caused by the coronavirus outbreak, Prime Minister Erna Solberg told the daily VG on Thursday.

"We see that this change will be necessary during the economic situation we expect in the time ahead, at least for half a year and perhaps beyond," Solberg told VG. (Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Gwladys Fouche)
Our strong revenue growth is a testament to the value we deliver to our Members and Partners. Look for new and exciting product launches later this year to continue our mission of helping our Members preserve the diversity of the American banking system.Tom Ferries, CBANC CEO

Inc. magazine today revealed that Austins CBANC Network is No. 725 on its annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nations fastest-growing private companies. CBANC ranks number 2 on the list in the Business Services category in the Austin metro area.

Were pleased to be in great company on this years Inc 5000 list, said CBANC CEO Tom Ferries. Our strong revenue growth is a testament to the value we deliver to our Members and Partners. Look for new and exciting product launches later this year to continue our mission of helping our Members preserve the diversity of the American banking system.

Not only have the companies on the 2020 Inc. 5000 been competitive within their markets, but the 2020 list shows strong performance compared with prior lists as well. The 2020 Inc. 5000 achieved a three-year average growth of over 500 percent, and a median rate of 165 percent. The Inc. 5000s aggregate revenue was $209 billion in 2019, accounting for over 1 million jobs over the past three years.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000. The top 500 companies are also being featured in the September issue of Inc., available on newsstands August 12.

About CBANC Network

CBANC is the largest professional network of US commercial banking institutions, the people that work for them and the vendors who serve them. We connect bank and credit union professionals, provide them with software to help them streamline their businesses, and give them access to screened vendors to help them make purchase decisions.

CBANCs mission is to help small- and mid-sized US financial institutions do more, be more efficient, and compete at a higher level by leveraging the collective power of our network. Over fifty-five thousand members strong, CBANCs membership represents over 8,600 financial institutions and more than $22 trillion in total assets. CBANC is based in Austin, Texas.

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000

Methodology

The 2020 Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2016 and 2019. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2016. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2016 is $100,000; the minimum for 2019 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Companies on the Inc. 500 are featured in Inc.s September issue. They represent the top tier of the Inc. 5000, which can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000.

About Inc. Media

The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com.
In an attempt to revisit the moments he saw his son being brought home covered in blood, father of a seven-year-old victim of the grenade explosion at La Tawala beach in Accra broke down in tears.



The sight of his sons near-death experience, according to Mr Oko Adams, a single parent shook him to the core.



Narrating the incident to GhanaWeb in an exclusive interaction, Mr Adams said he was home on Tuesday August 04, 2020 when he heard a loud explosion. Shortly after that, his son together with three other children were brought home in a strangers private care drenched in blood.



Upon realizing the severity of the issue and explanations given, he rushed his son to the hospital.



I was working on Tuesday around 12:30 when we heard an explosion nearby, about 15 minutes later they rushed four children to me including my son. I saw my son bleeding so I rushed him to the Kofi Annan Centre but the doctors were unable to remove the pellets which had penetrated my son.



He continued that based on advice of the doctors we transferred my son to the Police Hospital, but they also referred us to Korle Bu. After two days of treatment here, the bleeding ceased.



Mr Adams said he spent a hefty amount of money on drugs, x-ray and others which run him low on cash, as a result, he was unable to afford hospital bills when doctors discharged them on Friday.



He also bemoaned the seeming acts of negligence on the part of health practitioners for discharging his son when he has not fully recovered.



The seven-year-old who sustained various degrees of injuries on his leg, rib and back now limps. At the time of the filing of this report he was seen throwing up with a running temperature.



His father attributed it to the impact of the explosion.



He therefore called on all Ghanaians and to come to his aid and help him foot the medical bills of his son as he does not have a sustainable job.

Source: ghanaweb.com









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In a big development amid controversy around Chinese social media giant TikTok, its owner ByteDance is in early-stage talks with Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd to financially back its India business. The popular video-sharing app, along with 58 other apps, was banned in India on June 29 over national security and data privacy concerns.

Both the companies had started discussions in July but the final decision on the deal is yet to be taken, TechCrunch reported, citing people familiar with the developments. Investment in TikTok by India's biggest oil-to-retail conglomerate could not only save its fate in one of its biggest markets but also provide the Mukesh Ambani-led RIL deeper connections with its customers.

Both the companies, however, have not come out with official statements on this so far. Before the ban in June, TikTok India had over 200 million subscribers and the company was valued at $3 billion.

Also read: TikTok ban in India causing $500,000 daily loss, job risks, says Bytedance

Experts believe the combined power of TikTok and RIL's Jio Platforms -- which has also amassed around 400 million users and has a host of big investors, including Facebook and Google, on board -- can really do wonders for Mukesh Ambani's plan to revive RIL into a technology-driven company.The deal could also address the fears of the Indian government, which banned it after serious objections were raised over the app's alleged links with the Communist government in China, though the company has vehemently denied it.

Also read: Google to invest Rs 33,737 crore in Jio Platforms

With the latest investment worth Rs 33,737 crore from Google, Reliance Industries' Jio Platforms has committed a total of Rs 1,52,056 crore in JPL since April.It's other top investors are Vista, General Atlantic, KKR, Mubadala, TPG, L Catterton, Intel Capital, Silver Lake, Qualcomm Ventures and Facebook.

ByteDance that is struggling to soothe the concerns amid anti-China sentiments in India, has assured its 2,000 employees that talks with the Indian government were on and that it had no plans to lay off staff in the country.

Also read: '$100 billion? May be not!': How TikTok ban will impact ByteDance's valuation

Apart from India, TikTok is facing major operational issues in countries like the United States, where President Donald Trump has threatened to ban the app in lines of India unless an American company buys it. In view of this, TikTok is in serious talks with global tech giant Microsoft to buy its assets in North America, Australia and New Zealand. ByteDance executives have valued all of TikTok at more than $50 billion, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, the RIL stock is today trading 0.2 per cent or Rs 4.25 up at Rs 2,131.35 compared to the previous day close of Rs 2,127.6 on the National Stock Exchange.

Also read: Microsoft aims to buy TikTok's entire global business
Sami the Sea Lion Returns to Central Oregon Coast's Florence for Hide 'n Seek

Published 08/11/20 at 5:44 AM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff





(Florence, Oregon)  A fuzzy friend has returned to the central Oregon coast town of Florence, as the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce and its members have come up with a way for shoppers to peruse the village while socially-distanced and properly-masked. Sami the Sea Lion is back as of July 31: the little pinniped is focus of the treasure hunt fun.

This time around, Sami the Sea Lion is hanging out in local shops with a COVID-19 mask and a summertime bow in her fur. The six-inch plush sea lions are provided by the events main sponsor, Sea Lion Caves.

Sami is back in time to have some summer fun, said Bettina Hannigan, president and CEO of the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce. This summer were calling it The Social Distancing Search for Sami and it is sponsored by Sea Lion Caves.

It's an idea based on last winters successful Sea Lion on A Shelf trail, where central Oregon coast visitors and shoppers can venture to any of nearly 30 participating Chamber members businesses and get their passports stamped when they spot Sami. A minimum of 15 stamps are necessary to enter for a chance to win valuable prizes.

All participating businesses are following social distancing and masking guidelines. Some businesses, due to reduced hours, will post a code word in their shop window, in lieu of a stamp, when they are closed.

From July 31 to Labor Day we will have nearly 30 Chamber members with a plush little Sami the Sea Lion hidden within in plain sight for customers to find, said Hannigan. Once they have finished the trail and received their stamps, participants can drop them off until Wednesday, September 9, to be included the drawing to be held on September 10. Prizes include one $100 certificate, two $50 gift certificates, and four $25 gift certificates redeemable at the host locations. Winners will be notified by email.

Searchers of the fuzzy masked pinniped can pick up a stamp book and map at the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce visitors center, 290 Highway 101 in Florence, or at any of these participating Chamber members business: All About Olives, Backstreet Gallery, Lovejoy's Restaurant & Tea Room, ICM Restaurant, Florence Regional Arts Alliance, The Siuslaw News, Keller Williams Realty Florence, Stitch & Sole, Chicken Coop on Maple, Wind Drift Kites, Wind Drift Gallery, Sticks & Stones Gallery, Socks To A T, Waterlily Studio Florence, Kitchen Klutter, P. S. Winkles, Periwinkle Station, The Jolly Egret, Artefacts, River Roasters, Oregon Coast Humane Society Thrift Shop, Three Rivers Casino Resort, The Mustard Seed, Lofy Construction, BeauxArts Fine Art Materials, Sand Master Park  Sandboarding, and Sea Lion Caves.

For more information on the event, to volunteer, or join the Chamber, visit FlorenceChamber.com or call 541-997-3128.

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Antiabortion forces were enraged that Roberts voted with liberals to strike down the law, which would have imposed requirements on abortion providers that they said would close all but one of the states clinics. Roberts said the law was identical to a Texas law the court had declared unconstitutional in 2016, and thus could not be upheld under the courts precedents.
Brian Cox has revealed he contracted coronavirus.

The actor, 74, said he believes he caught the deadly virus while working in London before Christmas, during an appearance on the Late Late Show on Wednesday.

Brian said he unknowingly carried the virus and only discovered he had the antibodies after visiting his doctor for a blood test due to his diabetes.

Chatting: Brian Cox, 74, said he believes he caught the deadly virus while working in London before Christmas, during an appearance on the Late Late Show on Wednesday (seen above)

Discussing his experience with host James Corden on the programme, which is back in the studio for the first time since lockdown, Brian explained his main symptom was 'sneezing fits'.

Sneezing is not currently listed as one of the symptoms of Covid-19 and patients are typically told to look out for a high fever and continuous cough.

Brian, who recently bagged an Emmy nod for his role as media mogul Logan Roy, said: 'The problem is I never felt anything.'

On-screen: Brian, who recently bagged an Emmy nod for his role as media mogul Logan Roy (pictured), said he believes he caught the deadly virus while working in London before Christmas , during an appearance on the Late Late Show on Wednesday

Talking it out: Discussing his experience with host James Corden on the programme, which is back in the studio for the first time since lockdown, Brian explained his main symptom was 'sneezing fits'

'For about four days I had these sneezing attacks, just sneezing.'

'The doctor told me that three of her patients had also these (sneezing) attacks and that is an unknown symptom of COVID.'

Brian revealed he experienced the 'unknown' symptom after returning from London, where he had been directing a play with his wife Nicole Ansari-Cox.

Check-up! Brian said he unknowingly carried the virus and only discovered he had the antibodies after visiting his doctor for a blood test due to his diabetes

He remembers also experiencing fatigue, however he revealed he put that down to the jet-lag from the trip.

Brian is among a host of celebrities who have spoken out about their experience including Tom Hanks, Idris Elba, Lena Dunham and Alyssa Milano.

The star recently detailed life in lockdown as he isolated in New York with his wife Nicole and their two sons, Orson, 18, and Torin, 15.

Marriage: Brian revealed he experienced the 'unknown' symptom after returning from London, where he had been directing a play with his wife Nicole Ansari-Cox

During a pre-recorded interview with Lorraine Kelly from his cabin in the Big Apple in May, Brian admitted he was finding homeschooling 'tough' as he's 'not at home a lot of the time'.

The screen star also said his beloved partner was 'making me stay at home' as he falls within the at risk category of those more vulnerable to COVID-19 due to his diabetes.

Brian, who was awarded the Best Actor prize at the Golden Globes, normally leads a particularly busy lifestyle, but has been forced into quarantine due to the coronavirus pandemic.

On teaching his two younger sons, the thespian confessed he was finding the process challenging.

The TV and film star said: 'They're difficult, not easy, it's tough for them. We have to do homeschooling.

'I have to get my young lad to bed as he's always up late on his video chats. I didn't expect this, a lot of the time I'm not here, so fatherhood has been thrust upon me late in life.'

'Fatherhood has been thrust upon me': Brian admitted he was finding homeschooling 'tough' as he's 'not at home a lot of the time' (pictured with his sons in 2015)

Doting: The screen star also said his partner was 'making me stay at home' as he falls within the at risk category of those more vulnerable to COVID-19 due to his diabetes (pictured in January)

Showing the presenter around his cabin by panning his laptop, Brian, who also shares daughter Margaret and actor son Alan, 49, with ex-wife Caroline Burt, insisted he was making sure he's taking extra precautions to stay safe.

He explained: 'I'm in a rural environment, my house is down by the trees. I have diabetes so I'm high-risk, my wife makes me stay at home, make sure you wash your hands!'

The Scotsman also expressed his gratitude towards the NHS, stating: 'I've been here in NY for ten weeks. Without the carers, we'd be lost. We have to make sure their stress is reduced to the minimum.'

The media personality has achieved critical acclaim for his portrayal as media magnate Logan Roy in HBO's Succession.

On whether the show's third series will go into production in the coming months, a coy Brian said: 'It's grown. The first series was great, the second was fantastic.

Coy: On whether the show's third series will go into production in the coming months, Brian said: 'Well I'd have to kill someone if I told what will happen as they always keep it top secret'

'If we get the third series... well I'd have to kill someone if I told what will happen as they always keep it top secret.

'I'm not sure if COVID will come into it, are we going to refer this period that we've got now, or are we going to recognise it? There's a paradigm shift between stuff that's live and what you can watch now.'

The father-of-four is currently starring in an online pilot episode of Little Room  a murder mystery series filmed during lockdown.

On filming the show from his home, Brian said: 'I'm locked into just doing that, I'm owned by HBO, I had no idea it was just an online pilot. I'm getting my wife to talk for me as I'm too shy haha.'

The pilot was created with the purpose of raising money for film and TV freelancers in the UK and the US.
World leaders voiced hope Friday that a historic deal between the UAE and Israel could kickstart moribund Middle East peace talks, even as the Palestinians and their supporters denounced the move to normalise ties as a betrayal of their cause.

Announced by US President Donald Trump on Thursday, it was only the third such accord Israel has struck with an Arab country, and raised the prospect of similar deals with other pro-Western Gulf states.

The deal sees Israel pledge to suspend its planned annexation of Palestinian lands, a concession welcomed by European and some pro-Western Arab governments as a boost for hopes of peace.

But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed Israel was not abandoning its plans to one day annex the Jordan Valley and Jewish settlements across the occupied West Bank.

News of the agreement was broken by US President Donald Trump, in a tweet hailing a "HUGE breakthrough".

He said leaders from the two countries would sign the deal at the White House in around three weeks, evoking memories of previous US-mediated Middle East accords.

The Palestinian leadership rejected the deal as a "betrayal" of their cause, saying they would withdraw their ambassador from the Emirates.

Following Friday prayers in Jerusalem, worshippers outside the Al-Aqsa mosque walked on pictures of UAE strongman Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.

In the West Bank city of Nablus, people set fire to pictures of Sheikh Mohamed, Netanyahu and Trump.

In Ramallah in the West Bank, office worker Jihad Hussein, said: "The Palestinian people have been stabbed in the back by the Emirates leadership."

"But neither this agreement nor anything else will undermine our will to fight for the freedom and independence," he added.

- 'Full normalisation' -

Establishing diplomatic ties between Israel and Washington's Middle East allies, including the oil-rich Gulf monarchies, has been central to Trump's regional strategy to contain Iran, also an arch-foe of Israel.

Story continues

Tehran on Friday condemned the deal as an act of "strategic stupidity" that would only strengthen the Iranian-backed "axis of resistance".

Under the deal, Israel and the UAE "agreed to the full normalisation of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates", according to a joint statement Thursday evening by Trump, Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohamed.

They added that Israel would "suspend declaring sovereignty" over occupied Palestinian West Bank areas -- an idea proposed in Trump's controversial peace plan unveiled earlier this year.

Sheikh Mohamed quickly stressed in a tweet that an agreement has been "reached to stop further Israeli annexation of Palestinian territories".

But Netanyahu insisted shortly afterwards that he had only agreed to delay, not cancel, the annexations, that the plans remained "on the table" saying he would "never give up our rights to our land".

Among other US allies in the Gulf, both Bahrain and Oman put out statements backing the normalisation deal.

The European Union said normalisation would benefit both Israel and the UAE, but foreign policy spokeswoman Nabila Massrali stressed the bloc's commitment to a two-state solution.

"We are, of course, ready to work on the resumption of the negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians," she said.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a longtime critic of Israel and frequently at odds with western powers, threatened to suspend diplomatic relations with the UAE or withdraw Ankara's ambassador.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said normalisation of ties between the two countries was "an important contribution to peace in the region".

There was no immediate word from regional heavyweight and Emirati ally Saudi Arabia.

- Annexation relief -

The controversial Trump plan, unveiled in January, had offered a path for Israel to annex the Jordan Valley and Jewish settlements across the West Bank, communities considered illegal under international law.

The Palestinians had rejected the plan outright as biased and untenable, as did Israel's Arab neighbours, and it sparked fears of further escalation in a tense region.

UN chief Antonio Guterres said he hoped Israel's suspension of annexations under the plan could help realise a two-state solution with the Palestinians.

Annexation would "effectively close the door" on negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders and "destroy the prospect" of a viable Palestinian state, he said.

The deal marks a major foreign policy achievement for Trump as he heads into a difficult campaign for re-election in November.

bur-kir/par/hkb
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Petland is honored to once again be ranked among top-ranked franchises around the world.

Entrepreneur released their rankings of the top Global Franchises, rating Petland #14, staying in the top 25 for three consecutive years and climbing 10 places over last year.

Earlier this year, Petland ranked 118 overall in the Entrepreneur Magazine's 39th Annual Franchise 500, climbing 50 spots in a ranking of North American franchises.

"The love for pets and the joy of the human-animal bond is celebrated around the world. In our global endeavors, we have found that our unique proprietary operating model is welcomed and embraced. We are honored to be recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine as a top franchise across the globe and ranked with the likes of McDonalds, RE/MAX, KFC and ACE Hardware," said Petland, Inc. President and CEO Joe Watson.

International growth at Petland has been at a record high. Petland opened its first location in the Middle East in May of 2019. The store, located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia features a complete line of great pets and pet supplies and many other unique items for the welfare of animals that have never before been available in the Middle East. The master franchise agreement for Saudi Arabia includes rights to develop stores in United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Turkey, Qatar, Lebanon, Kuwait and Bahrain. The master franchisees are currently planning another location in Jeddah and also in Riyadh.

Petland Brazil continues to focus their accelerated growth on opening new locations while also working a conversion model that includes independent pet store operators joining the Petland franchise. Locations in Brazil feature pets, pet supplies and grooming and bathing services.

Petland has also opened new stores in South Africa, Mexico, and Canada over the last year, raising the total number of international stores to 144.

Petland, Inc.'s Vice President of Business Development Steve Huggins stated "Petland Pet Counselors around the world provide an educational experience that teaches guests about pets and pet care. We continue to look for new master franchise partners to join the Petland family as we work to expand into additional countries."

In conducting its rating of franchises around the world, Entrepreneur considers numerous factors including the company's Franchise 500 ranking which determines a score based on such things as financial strength, stability, growth rate and size of the franchise system. The Franchise 500 ranking is then compared with international size and growth of the franchise to determine the global rank.

Petland, Inc. is a franchise operation with quality, full service retail pet centers across the United States, Canada, China, Mexico, South Africa, Brazil, El Salvador and Saudi Arabia.

For more than 53 years, Petland Pet Counselors have been dedicated to matching the right pet with the right customer and meeting the needs of both. To its customers who already have pets, Petland is dedicated to enhancing their knowledge and enjoyment of the human-animal bond.

Petland was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in south central Ohio. For more information on Petland, visit www.petland.com.

Contact:

Elizabeth Kunzelman

Director of Public Affairs

Petland, Inc.

740-775-2464

[email protected]

SOURCE Petland
An army of firefighters toiled Thursday to prevent a massive fire from consuming communities in the Lake Hughes area after the blaze exploded to more than 10,000 acres in just a few hours.

Officials warned that containing the Lake fire  which started in the Angeles National Forest near the 5 Freeway on Wednesday and rapidly roared through stands of pine trees  will be a lengthy and arduous process. The battle is made more difficult by rugged terrain and thick vegetation that in some areas, hasnt burned in several decades.

"This will be a major fire for several days," Angeles National Forest Fire Chief Robert Garcia said during a media briefing Thursday.

After igniting shortly after 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, the fire moved toward several small communities on the Antelope Valley floor west of Lancaster, causing officials to order evacuations. On Wednesday night, it burned rapidly to the northeast, toward Highway 138.

By sunrise Thursday, the blaze had chewed through 10,500 acres and destroyed three structures. The fire was 11,000 acres and 5% contained as of 7 p.m. More than 5,000 buildings remain threatened, according to officials with the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

L.A. County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said crews had battled the blaze throughout Wednesday night.

"We can say that many structures were saved because of the actions of the firefighters last night," he said. "They were up all night."

The weather late Wednesday and early Thursday brought a welcome reprieve, with cloud cover and even an occasional drizzle in the burn area, but high temperatures in the afternoon continued to pose a challenge for firefighters.

L.A. County Fire Department public information officer Ron Haralson said Thursday afternoon that the fire was moving mostly to the north and northeast and continues to pose a threat to the Lake Hughes and Three Points communities.

Now weve got high temperatures, and weve obviously got a lot of open flame in an area where we have fire activity, so were concerned about potential spot fires, he said.

Story continues

The National Weather Service has issued excessive heat warnings in Southern California for Friday through Monday evening.

"Today, hot air temperatures in the 90s to 100s, lower relative humidities and drying fuels will bring elevated fire weather conditions," officials wrote in an incident update for the Lake fire Thursday morning. They added that "extreme and aggressive fire behavior" was expected, exacerbated by the area's steep topography, with spot fires and rapid growth of the blaze.

That combination of thick vegetation and hot, dry and windy conditions is fueling the fire, according to Seneca Smith, a public information officer with the Angeles National Forest.

"Current objectives include keeping the fire north of Castaic Lake, south of Highway 138, east of Red Rock Mountain and west of Tule Ridge," officials wrote in the incident update.

More than 1,000 personnel, as well as several helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, have been deployed to the scene, with assistance provided by the L.A. County Fire Department, the Angeles National Forest and numerous fire departments in the area.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but Osby said that "over 90% of fires are human caused" every year, underscoring the need to be cautious and prepared.

"Its going to be a hot, dry summer," he said, "and its going to be a very, very hot, dry weekend."
General Secretary of the CPV Central Committee Le Kha Phieu in Can Tho in 1998 (Photo: VNA)



In its message of condolences sent to the CPV Central Committee, the WPK Central Committee said the late leader was a veteran revolutionist and an eminent political activist who dedicated his whole life to the cause of national development and reunification as well as the socialism building cause of Vietnam.

In a message sent to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong, President Moon Jae-in, on behalf of the RoKs government and people, extended condolences to the Vietnamese people and family of comrade Le Kha Phieu.

He said the former Party General Secretary made important contributions to the development of Vietnam as well as the RoK  Vietnam relationship.

General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Sandinista National Liberation Front Sandino, President Daniel Ortega Saavedra and Vice President of Nicaragua Rosario Murillo also sent a letter of condolences to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong.

The Central Committee of the Marxist Communist Party of India; Vice President of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela Jesus Faria; First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Youth of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela Rander Pena; Communications Secretary of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front of El Salvador Sigfrido Reyes; Vice President and International Relations Secretary of the Communist Party of Brazil Walter Sorrentino; Secretary General of the Dominican Republics United Left Movement Miguel Mejia; Secretary General of the Communist Party of Uruguay Juan Castillo; First Secretary of the Communist Party of Bolivia Ignacio Mendoza, and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Argentina also sent messages of condolences to the CPV Central Committee.

President of the Communist Party of Chile Guillermo Teillier also cabled a message of condolences to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong./.
A federal appeals court upheld the constitutionality of the male-only military draft system on Thursday, overturning a lower court ruling.

In an opinion issued Thursday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans noted that the Supreme Court upheld the male-only draft in 1981 and said the 5th Circuit is a strict stare decisis court and cannot ignore a decision from the Supreme Court, adding that only the Supreme Court may revise its precedent.

There was no dissent in Thursdays ruling from a three-judge panel.

While the U.S. government has not employed the use of a draft for military service since 1973, every young man is still required to register for the draft when he turns 18.

The National Coalition for Men and two men sued the Selective Service System, arguing that the 1981 ruling was from a time when women were largely absent from combat.

The plaintiffs could seek to challenge the ruling in a rehearing before the full court or in front of the Supreme Court.

After arguments before the 5th Circuit in March, a federal commission recommended extending the draft to include women as well.

The Commission concluded that the time is right to extend Selective Service System registration to include men and women, between the ages of 18 and 26. This is a necessary and fair step, making it possible to draw on the talent of a unified Nation in a time of national emergency, a summary to the commissions final report said.

More from National Review
"Making the Inc. 5000 list reflects our commitment and the success that we have had in deploying our networks in rural America."

Declaration Networks Group, Inc. (DNG), a leading provider of rural broadband services, announced today that it has made the annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nations fastest growing private companies. DNG has had an impressive three-year growth rate of 190% from 2016 to 2019 and joins the Inc. 5000 list, along with the most successful businesses in America, which has previously included the likes of Microsoft, Dell, Pandora, LinkedIn, and others.

The DNG team is delighted and proud to be recognized as an industry leader by being named to the Inc. 5000 list, said Bob Nichols, CEO of DNG. Our mission is to close the digital divide and drive all the positive economic, educational, healthcare and social benefits that broadband access energizes in the communities that we serve. Making the Inc. 5000 list reflects our commitment and the success that we have had in deploying our networks in rural America.

Under the NeuBeam brand, DNG provides residential and business customers affordable high-speed internet services allowing them to telework, participate in online learning, receive telehealth services, as well as providing digital transformation for rural agriculture and utility industries through increased access to advanced wireless and cloud application technologies.

DNG has successfully deployed its cooperative model in Virginia, Maryland and Washington State through private equity, public Federal awards via FCC and USDA broadband programs, as well as through a strategic relationship with Microsoft as a partner in their Airband Initiative.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000. The top 500 companies are also being featured in the September issue of Inc., available on newsstands August 12.

About Declaration Networks & NeuBeam

Declaration Networks Group is an award-winning company that designs, builds and operates local broadband networks which connect residential and business customers with its NeuBeam high-speed internet, voice, and other services.
Seismological data suggests that six blasts preceded the Beirut port explosion, the last of them a combustion of fireworks that apparently set off a warehouse full of ammonium nitrate, an Israeli analyst said on Thursday.

The six blasts were at 11-second intervals during the Aug. 4 incident, with the main explosion following the last by around 43 seconds, Boaz Hayoun of Israels Tamar Group told Reuters.

Hayoun, a former military engineering officer whose current roles include overseeing safety standards for explosives use in Israel, said his analysis was based on data from seismological sensors stationed across the region.

I cannot say categorically what caused this, but I can say these blasts were at the same location," he told Reuters.

Among the sensors cited by Hayoun was an array installed about 70 km (43 miles) off Lebanons coast by the international geological project IRIS - which cast doubt on his conclusions.

IRIS said its sensors picked up more than five small bursts" at intervals of around 11 seconds before the main Beirut explosion, a sequence that continued after the incident.

I do not believe that they are associated with the large explosion in Beirut," Jerry Carter, director of IRIS data services, told Reuters.

They could be from a seismic survey," he added, referring to geologists carrying out airgun bursts for underwater mapping.

Lebanese officials have blamed the explosion, which killed at least 172 people and left much of the capital in ruins, on a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate catching fire after being stored unsafely at the port for years.

President Michel Aoun has said investigators would also look into the possibility of external interference" such as a bomb, as well as negligence or an accident as causes.

Hayoun assessed that the Beirut incident involved underground explosions. The 43-metre (140-foot) deep crater at the port could not have been left by the explosion of the amount of ammonium nitrate reported by Lebanese authorities, he said:

It would have been shallower, maximum 25 or 30 metres."

The main explosion, of the ammonium nitrate warehouse, was preceded by a nearby fire.

Hayoun said that having seen footage of that fire he was convinced it was caused by the combustion of fireworks - and that this would have been sufficient to set off the ammonium nitrate.

Israel Defense, a leading private online journal with close ties to the Israeli military establishment and which first reported Hayouns findings, described his analysis of a possible blast sequence as consistent with munitions detonations.

Such a sequence could be consistent with weapons systems that are activated in a chain" and which might have been stored in the port and set off accidentally or deliberately, said Israel Defense.

However, it did not provide evidence to suggest sabotage.

(Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Jon Boyle and Frances Kerry)

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
The 2020 China International Fair for Investment & Trade (CIFIT) and the Belt and Road Investment Congress will kick off on Sept. 8, as scheduled, in Xiamen, east China's Fujian Province, local authorities said Wednesday.

The pavilions featuring investment and industry promotion will cover an exhibition area of around 110,000 square meters, with 16 specialized display zones, the Fujian provincial government said at a press conference.

The scale of offline activities, however, will be controlled due to epidemic prevention and control requirement.

Currently, a total of 209 merchant groups have planned to attend the exhibition, with exhibitors from 35 countries and regions, including Britain, Germany, Japan and the Republic of Korea, making clear their intention to participate in the event.

This year's fair will focus on themes including new infrastructure, digital economy, and scientific and technological innovation, said Lin Jian, deputy mayor of Xiamen.

There will be an industrial internet innovation and development conference, as well as high-tech, smart-city and fintech exhibitions to display new technologies and products, Lin said.

Meanwhile, the fair will hold a series of forums on the latest global economic development trends within the context of epidemic prevention and control.

In addition, this year's CIFIT has cooperated with Alibaba Group to set up an online platform to provide services including online display, project docking, investment negotiation, forum discussion and cloud signing. The platform will be available to more than 40 countries and regions that take part in the fair.

The CIFIT, approved by the State Council, takes place every September in Xiamen. It aims at promoting bilateral and multilateral economic and trade exchanges and partnerships.
According to the BAJ, state pressure on media intensified with the launch of the presidential election campaign on May 8, 2020, and further increased in the final stages of the elections and after the announcement of the disputed result.



At least 19 journalists were detained on election day on Sunday, August 9. The police continue to detain journalists during the follow-up protests. In total, Belarusian law enforcement officials have arrested 65 journalists since the Electiond day.



The BAJ's monitoring reveals that many local and foreign journalists have been sent to serve short terms in prison on trumped-up charges.



In addition to this, at least seven journalists have been severely beaten and injured by police.



The union also reported that the authorities ignored around 30 foreign media journalists' applications for permission to cover the elections and by not responding to them within the 20 days envisaged by the law. The BAJ claimed that the government has intentionally prevented them from working legally.



The IFJ and the EFJ launched a campaign in support of the Belarusian media workers that raised a wave of solidarity among journalists' unions around the world.



IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger, said: "We stand in solidarity with the BAJ and fully support its call on authorities to stop violating media workers' rights and end the violence against them. The government must identify those responsible for these violations and hold them accountable."
The captains kind of decided that we need to do something to get our image out there better, Falldorf said.

The patrol unit has really got some pizzaz to it and some flash, he said. Hopefully, any individual thinking about going into law enforcement will see the vehicle and say, Hey, theyre a progressive department, Falldorf said. Those people might say, Thats going to be a department I want to take a look at, he said.

Grand Island police visit job fairs pretty much all over the state, including events at the University of Nebraska at Kearney and Wayne State College, Falldorf said.

Grand Island police did well with the last group we tested, Falldorf said. Five new officers will start work soon. If they all work out, the department will be down only one officer, he said.

The new vehicle is a 2020 law enforcement variation of a Ford Explorer.

The department already was buying a new vehicle, so the high-profile unit didnt cost anything extra, Duering said. Miller Tire donated the wheels.
One hundred years ago on August 18, 1920 Abby Crawford Milton (18811991) from Chattanooga played a prominent role in the passage of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote. She was one of five Tennessee suffragettes celebrated for making Tennessee the Perfect 36. At that time, thirty- six states were required to pass an Amendment to the Constitution. There is a statue of the five women in Nashville. Abby was also the first President of the Tennessee League of Women Voters.

In doing research for Chickamauga Chapter NSDARs 125th Anniversary celebration, I found her. She is probably Chickamaugas most famous member. She is definitely the only member who has her own Historic Marker in the city, located at the intersection of Georgia Ave. and McCallie. As time and memory had passed, she had been forgotten and no one in the chapter knew who she was or that she was a Chickamauga member. Abby was lost but now shes found.

While doing that research for the 125th, the graves of all fourteen of the seventeen Charter Members buried at Forest Hills Cemetery in St. Elmo were visited. Forest Hills Cemetery Records list Mrs. George Fort Milton as buried there, and she is, but Abby is not there. The Mrs. Milton there is Caroline Carrie McCall Milton who was a Chickamauga charter member and the wife of George Fort Milton. Carrie died in 1897 of the complications of a miscarriage at the tender age of twenty-seven. Abby was Georges second wife and she was definitely not in Forest Hills. It has been printed widely and repeatedly, even on the Find a Grave Website, that Abby was there but I assure you she is not. So, the search began - Where Was Abby?

Her husband, George, died suddenly in 1924 at age fifty-five in Murfreesboro while attending a democratic campaign rally for William McAdoo. He had been the editor and owner of the Chattanooga News. Much to her credit Abby buried him next to his first wife. Abby was only forty-three at the time, but went on to help run and edit the newspaper with her stepson, George Fort Milton, Jr., the son of Carrie and George until the paper was sold in 1939. With the help of our chapter Registrar, Lynne Hill, we found that Abby had moved to Clearwater, Florida in 1950 to be near two of her three daughters transferring to the Clearwater DAR chapter. She wrote poetry books which sold well. After searching all the cemeteries in the area and having no success, I again turned to help from Lynne. Lynne has an internet site that I do not have and found the obituary for Abby who had lived to 110 years old in the Tampa-Tribune Times. Abby is buried at Sylvan Abbey Memorial Park, founded in 1853, in Clearwater between her two daughters, Frances Walker and Corinne Moore.

While in Florida on July 30th, my husband and I drove up from Longboat Key to visit Abbys grave. We were very happy to find the cemetery a beautiful, well kept place. There are no tombstones, just flat markers. The graceful old trees covered with Spanish moss were a special setting. I brought a small bouquet of yellow roses, the symbol of the suffragettes, to lay on her grave. I had a little talk with her and apologized for having lost her, but now she wouldnt need to worry because we had found her and she would be remembered for all her good and amazing accomplishments. Look for Abby on the internet she was a beautiful woman who truly put the Ten in Tennessee.

There is a stone and the Milton family monument in Forest Hills Cemetery for George Fort Milton, Jr. but he is not buried there either. He fought in World War I and when he died in 1955 at age 60, his second wife had him buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Even gravestones have errors.

-----

Marilyn M. Long

Chickamauga Chapter NSDAR Archive and 125th Anniversary Chairman
Edison, NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/13/2020 -- A new business intelligence report released by HTF MI with title "COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Travel to Beach Industry Market Report-Development Trends, Threats, Opportunities and Competitive Landscape in 2020" is designed covering micro level of analysis by manufacturers and key business segments. The COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Travel to Beach Market survey analysis offers energetic visions to conclude and study market size, market hopes, and competitive surroundings. The research is derived through primary and secondary statistics sources and it comprises both qualitative and quantitative detailing. Some of the key players profiled in the study are Penguin Travel, Euroventure, Trafalgar, Costsaver, Contiki, Topdeck Travel, Expat Explore Travel, Busabout & Tucan Travel.



What's keeping Penguin Travel, Euroventure, Trafalgar, Costsaver, Contiki, Topdeck Travel, Expat Explore Travel, Busabout & Tucan Travel Ahead in the Market? Benchmark yourself with the strategic moves and findings recently released by HTF MI

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Market Overview of COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Travel to Beach

If you are involved in the COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Travel to Beach industry or aim to be, then this study will provide you inclusive point of view. It's vital you keep your market knowledge up to date segmented by Applications [OTA (Online Travel Agency), Offline Travel Agency, Retailing Providers & Others], Product Types [, Normal Packaged Travel, Dynamic Packaged Travel, DIY Tour (Online Booking) & DIY Tour (Offline Booking)] and major players. If you have a different set of players/manufacturers according to geography or needs regional or country segmented reports we can provide customization according to your requirement.



This study mainly helps understand which market segments or Region or Country they should focus in coming years to channelize their efforts and investments to maximize growth and profitability. The report presents the market competitive landscape and a consistent in depth analysis of the major vendor/key players in the market along with impact of economic slowdown due to COVID.



Furthermore, the years considered for the study are as follows:

Historical year  2014-2019

Base year  2019

Forecast period**  2020 to 2026 [** unless otherwise stated]



**Moreover, it will also include the opportunities available in micro markets for stakeholders to invest, detailed analysis of competitive landscape and product services of key players.



The titled segments and sub-section of the market are illuminated below:

The Study Explore the Product Types of COVID-19 Outbreak- Travel to Beach Market: , Normal Packaged Travel, Dynamic Packaged Travel, DIY Tour (Online Booking) & DIY Tour (Offline Booking)



Key Applications/end-users of COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Travel to BeachMarket: OTA (Online Travel Agency), Offline Travel Agency, Retailing Providers & Others



Top Players in the Market are: Penguin Travel, Euroventure, Trafalgar, Costsaver, Contiki, Topdeck Travel, Expat Explore Travel, Busabout & Tucan Travel



Region Included are: North America (Covered in Chapter 7 and 14), United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe (Covered in Chapter 8 and 14), Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Others, Asia-Pacific (Covered in Chapter 9 and 14), China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, Southeast Asia, Others, Middle East and Africa (Covered in Chapter 10 and 14), Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Others, South America (Covered in Chapter 11 and 14), Brazil, Argentina, Columbia, Chile & Others



Enquire for customization in Report @: https://www.htfmarketreport.com/enquiry-before-buy/2771809-covid-19-outbreak-global-travel-to-beach-industry-market



Important Features that are under offering & key highlights of the report:

 Detailed overview of COVID-19 Outbreak- Travel to Beach market

 Changing market dynamics of the industry

 In-depth market segmentation by Type, Application etc

 Historical, current and projected market size in terms of volume and value

 Recent industry trends and developments

 Competitive landscape of COVID-19 Outbreak- Travel to Beach market

 Strategies of key players and product offerings

 Potential and niche segments/regions exhibiting promising growth

 A neutral perspective towards COVID-19 Outbreak- Travel to Beach market performance

 Market players information to sustain and enhance their footprint



Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/2771809-covid-19-outbreak-global-travel-to-beach-industry-market



Major Highlights of TOC:

Chapter One: COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Travel to Beach Market Industry Overview

1.1 COVID-19 Outbreak- Travel to Beach Industry

1.1.1 Overview

1.1.2 Products of Major Companies

1.2 COVID-19 Outbreak- Travel to Beach Market Segment

1.2.1 Industry Chain

1.2.2 Consumer Distribution

1.3 Price & Cost Overview



Chapter Two: COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Travel to Beach Market Demand

2.1 Segment Overview

2.1.1 APPLICATION 1

2.1.2 APPLICATION 2

2.1.3 Other

2.2 COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Travel to Beach Market Size by Demand

2.3 COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Travel to Beach Market Forecast by Demand



Chapter Three: COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Travel to Beach Market by Type

3.1 By Type

3.1.1 TYPE 1

3.1.2 TYPE 2

3.2 COVID-19 Outbreak- Travel to Beach Market Size by Type

3.3 COVID-19 Outbreak- Travel to Beach Market Forecast by Type



Chapter Four: Major Region of COVID-19 Outbreak- Travel to Beach Market

4.1 COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Travel to Beach Sales

4.2 COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Travel to Beach Revenue & market share



Chapter Five: Major Companies List



Chapter Six: Conclusion



Complete Purchase of Latest Version COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Travel to Beach Market Study with COVID-19 Impact Analysis @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/buy-now?format=1&report=2771809



Key questions answered

- What impact does COVID-19 have made on COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Travel to Beach Market Growth & Sizing?

- Who are the Leading key players and what are their Key Business plans in the COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Travel to Beach market?

- What are the key concerns of the five forces analysis of the COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Travel to Beach market?

- What are different prospects and threats faced by the dealers in the COVID-19 Outbreak-Global Travel to Beach market?

- What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?



Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.



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We want remote learning to be the best it can be. It cant replace in-person learning, but it can be better, Roberts says. Were doing our best with this and pushing CPS to provide what we need to support our students and families. A lot of our students went home (in the spring) to no internet, not great internet connection or devices. We see ourselves acting as advocates to make sure every student has equal access to remote learning and every teacher has everything they need for great remote learning. There is great inequity in our city, and its reflected in our schools, especially in lower income communities in Black and brown Chicago, which tends to be more segregated.
With the Biden-Harris ticket set, the race is on. Joe Biden idling his engine has worked fine so far. But nows the time for pedal to the metal. Youve got pole position. Lead!

Say five things.

First: Mr. Trump, make a deal on the COVID Recovery Act! Americas hurting. People are out of work. They need money to feed their kids. To pay rent. Your executive orders have been exposed. You didnt stop evictions. Employers are wary of implementing your payroll tax deferral order. The $400 promise has already shrunk to $300, and even Republican Sen. Ben Sasse called the orders unconstitutional slop. Get a deal done the constitutional way: In Congress. The Democrats will deal. Do it!

Second: Save the Post Office! Solve the problem you created. If neither snow, nor rain, nor gloom of night can slow the mail, neither should partisan politics. People are smart: Theyll know if you make them choose between their health and their vote. The Post Office is America itself, our constitutional heritage. Older Americans need their prescriptions and Social Security checks. Small businesses need to get their products and bills to customers. Mail carriers are hard-working Americans out every day serving us. They connect us to the world. Respect them and us.

Third: Sign the Moving Forward Act. You want to jump-start the economy? Infrastructure! Youll need to get Senate Leader Mitch McConnell to move on the bill. The House passed it in July. It includes $1.5 Trillion in Buy America funds to build highways, bridges and transit, including rural transportation. In 2016, you said, Americas infrastructure will be the envy of the world. Give infrastructure the green light. Youll put people to work. Youll build the economy. Youll build our kids future.

Fourth: Take charge of the pandemic. Experts say we can crush it in six weeks. Listen to them. Get fast-result tests online for everyone. We need a national strategy. With one, the economy will come around. Without one, it wont.

Last, tell Russia: Stay out of our elections. Putin is again taking active measures to interfere. Tell him: No more, or we retaliate. Only Americans get to vote in American elections.

Speak up, Joe Biden. Naming your running mate is just the beginning. Get your message out there. The race is on. Tell us your plan. Say these five things over and over.

Dennis Aftergut is a former federal prosecutor who writes on national affairs.
CAIRO - A prominent rights group Thursday accused Yemens Houthi rebels and rival Saudi border guards of killing several dozen Ethiopian migrants in an incident at the border earlier this year.

The statement from New York-based Human Rights Watch quoted Ethiopian migrants who said Houthi fighters in April rounded up thousands of them from their unofficial settlement area in al-Ghar town in the countrys northwestern Saada province. The migrants said they were forced into pickup trucks and driven to the nearby Saudi border. During the process, Houthis screamed that the migrants were coronavirus carriers and fired at anyone who tried to escape, the witnesses said.

Once the Ethiopian migrants arrived at the Saudi border, they got caught up in clashes between their Houthi escorts and Saudi border guards, the rights group said.

It was early in the morning (on April 16) and they told us to leave in two hours, said an Ethiopian woman. Most people left, but I stayed. But after two hours, they started firing bullets and rockets  I saw two people killed.

Yemens ongoing civil war pits the Houthis, who occupy the north, against a U.S-backed. and Saudi-led coalition that supports an internationally recognized government in the south.

The lethal disregard Houthi and Saudi forces have shown civilians during Yemens armed conflict was replayed in April with Ethiopian migrants at the Yemen-Saudi border, said Nadia Hardman, refugee and migrant rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. United Nations agencies need to step in to address the immediate threats to the Ethiopian migrants and press for accountability for those responsible for the killings and other abuses.

Neither Houthi nor Saudi officials could be immediately reached for comment.

Thousands of East Africans make the perilous journey from the Horn of Africa to oil-rich Saudi Arabia through war-torn Yemen every year, hoping to escape poverty and instability in their home countries. They are exposed to many forms of abuse, including abduction, trafficking and arrest and detention. In recent months, migrants have also been faced with growing xenophobia as a result of the spread of the coronavirus, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Many of the migrants interviewed by HRW in the April incident said they saw dead bodies but the exact casualty toll could not be determined. Those who managed to return to the settlement area saw their tents and shelters had been destroyed, an account that HRW was able to confirm later using satellite imagery.

Some of the migrants told HRW that Saudi border guards fired at them using mortar shells and rocket launchers. They were eventually transferred to unsanitary and abusive detention facilities in Jeddah and Jizan provinces. There some were beaten and had their money and belongings confiscated. Hundreds of others, including children, may still be stranded in the mountainous border region, the rights group said.

Hundreds if not thousands of Ethiopian migrants are now languishing in squalid detention centres in Saudi Arabia or remain stranded at the border, Hardman said. The United Nations needs to work with the Saudis and Ethiopians to assist in the voluntary return of Ethiopians in detention or still stranded at the border.

HRW urged both Houthi and Saudi authorities to investigate the killings and the abuses endured by Ethiopian migrants.

In 2014, Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebels overran Yemens northern parts and the capital Sanaa, forcing the U.N.-backed government to flee to the south, In 2015, a Saudi-led coalition launched a war on the Houthis hoping to reinstate the government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. The 5-year-old conflict in the Arab Worlds poorest country has resulted in a military stalemate and killed more than 100,000 people including thousands of civilians.

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Israel and the United Arab Emirates will open diplomatic relations, US President Donald Trump said on Thursday in a surprise announcement of a deal that would halt Israels planned annexation of Palestinian land.

This historic diplomatic breakthrough will advance peace in the Middle East region and is a testament to bold diplomacy and vision of the three leaders and the courage of the United Arab Emirates and Israel to chart a new path that will unlock the great potential of the region, said a joint statement by the US, the UAE and Israel released by the White House.

The UAE and Israel will sign an agreement at the White House some time in the future, President Trump told reporters.

The two nations will open embassies. Delegations from the two sides will meet in the coming weeks to sign bilateral agreements on areas including energy, tourism, direct flights, investment, security, communication and technology, the UAE foreign ministry said in a statement . The White House statement said Israel will suspend declaring sovereignty over areas outlined in the Presidents Vision for Peace unveiled earlier and focus its efforts now on expanding ties with other countries in the Arab and Muslim world. It said the three countries are confident that additional diplomatic breakthroughs with other nations are possible, and will work together to achieve this goal.

The UAEs minister of state for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, said the agreement to normalise relations with Israel was done to deal with the threat that further annexation of Palestinian territories posed to the two-state solution. He urged the Palestinians and Israelis to return to the negotiating table.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the deal represented a historic day for Israel, and ushered in a new era in its relations with the Arab world.

The agreement broke new ground in Israels outreach to Gulf Arab countries with a common fear of Irans regional influence.

But the Hamas militant group accused the UAE of stabbing the Palestinians in the back. This announcement is a reward for the Israeli occupations crimes, said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum. The normalisation is a stabbing in the back of our people. The Islamic militant movement seeks Israels destruction and has fought three wars against Israel since seizing control of the Gaza Strip in 2007.

A top official in the West Bank settler movement said freezing the annexation plan was a fair price for establishing relations with the UAE. Oded Revivi, a top leader in the Yesha settler council, a strong advocate of annexation, tweeted: The Israeli agreement to postpone the application of Israeli law in the Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria is a fair price. The reaction could be a sign that even Israeli hard-liners who pushed for annexation will not criticize Netanyahu for abandoning their dream.
Enterprise City Schools have sent 121 students home, with three testing positive for COVID-19.

Superintendent Greg Faught told The Dothan Eagle Wednesday that 27 students were sent home with symptoms and 91 for close contact with infected students. Two of the students who tested positive attend Enterprise High School, and the other attends Coppinville Junior High School.

Faught said the overwhelming number of students sent home are perfectly healthy.

Students were sent home after displaying two or more COVID-like symptoms due to new Alabama Department of Public Health guidelines released last week.

The symptoms included coughing, sneezing, fever, or sore throat, while the others came within six feet of someone with symptoms for more than 15 minutes. Many have since been diagnosed with allergic reactions to medications, seasonal allergies, and strep throat, among others. To return to school, the students must receive a release from a physician or be quarantined for 14 days.
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Linkedin Marco Aquino (Reuters) Lima, Peru  Thu, August 13, 2020 10:31 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066dac6d8 2 World Peru,coronavirus,coronavirus-restrictions,COVID-19,COVID-19-lockdown,social-distancing,pandemic,SARS-CoV-2,virus-corona,novel-coronavirus Free

Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra on Wednesday banned family gatherings and extended lockdowns to five more regions of the country amid a fresh spike in cases of the novel coronavirus.

Fifteen of Peru's 25 regions were already covered by rolling lockdowns. Vizcarra announced the return of a blanket Sunday curfew as figures revealed a 75% surge in infections among children and adolescents.

"Now those who are infecting us are the people we know, the relatives who come to visit us, the friends who get together to kick a ball around or enjoy a barbecue," Vizcarra said in a speech broadcast from the Government Palace in Lima. "It is a problem that together we have to solve."

In recent days, the Andean country has registered a daily average of 7,000 confirmed infections and 200 deaths, according to official data.

There have been 489,680 confirmed cases while the dead totaled 21,501 by Tuesday, the Ministry of Health said.

The first case of coronavirus appeared in Peru on March 6 and a week later the government imposed a strict quarantine, halting almost all productive activity in the world`s second-largest copper miner, whose economy is expected to contract this year by 12%, according to central bank projections.

In July, in a bid to stave off the worst economic performance in a century, the government began a staged reopening which included resumption of mining, industry and commerce, including restaurants and shops.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday said he warned his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov that there would be "an enormous price to pay" if Moscow is offering bounties to kill US soldiers or other Western troops in Afghanistan.

The New York Times in June reported that a Russian military intelligence unit secretly offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing coalition forces in Afghanistan  including American troops, citing US intelligence officials.

President Donald Trump said he was not told about the information because many US intelligence officials doubted its veracity, although several U.S. and European sources contradicted his comments.

In an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Pompeo declined to say whether he believed the intelligence was credible or if he thought Trump should have been briefed, but said Washington would not put up with such behavior.

"If the Russians are offering money to kill Americans, or for that matter other Westerns as well, there will be an enormous price to pay. That`s what I shared with foreign minister Lavrov," Pompeo said in the interview, conducted during his official visit to the Czech Republic.

"I know our military has talked to their senior leaders as well. We won`t brook that, we won`t tolerate," Pompeo said.

Last month, US and European sources familiar with intelligence reporting said that the United States had acquired fresh reporting backing up the allegations that Russia had encouraged Taliban-affiliated militants to kill US and allied soldiers in Afghanistan.

The intelligence reporting comes as the United States has been engaged in negotiating with the Taliban as well as the Afghan government to get a stalled peace agreement, struck in February for the withdrawal of US troops, moving.
Better eye treatments could be developed as a result of a new study that found birds and reptiles have tears with a similar chemical composition to humans.

Researchers from the Federal University of Bahia, Brazil, compared the makeup of bird and reptile tears as well as their structural patterns when they dry out.

Before this, scientists had only examined tears from a short list of mammals including humans, dogs, horses, camels and monkeys - but not in reptiles or birds.

Tears play a critical role in maintaining healthy eyesight across species and the team found that while tears were similar chemically, they varied in their core structure.

The team say this difference in the underlying structure could be used to uncover types of eye disease and variations between tear types to develop treatments.

Collecting tears from roadside hawk, Rupornis magnirostris. Better eye treatments could be developed as a result of a new study that found birds and reptiles have tears with a similar chemical composition to humans

Collecting tears from Broad-snouted caiman, Caiman latirostris. Researchers from the Federal University of Bahia, Brazil, compared the electrolyte composition and structural patterns of bird and reptile tears to those in humans

Professor Arianne P Oria, first author on the study, said that finding out how tears are able to maintain a stable, relatively constant internal environment under different conditions 'is crucial' to understanding how they evolved in the first place.

This understanding is also 'essential for the discovery of new molecules for ophthalmic drugs,' according to Professor Oria.

Tears are clear liquid secreted by the lacrimal glands found in eyes of land mammals.

While they play a crucial role in maintaining healthy eyesight in not just humans, but across all other species, only a handful of mammals' tears have been studied.

To understand more about the role tears play in other species, the researchers studied the liquid secretions of seven captive species of birds and reptiles.

These included macaws, hawks, owls, turquoise-fronted amazon (a type of parrot), as well as tortoises, caimans (a type of crocodile) and sea turtles.

The authors also collected tear samples from 10 healthy human volunteers.

They found all tear types contained similar amounts of electrolytes, such as sodium and chloride, although bird and reptile tears had slightly higher concentrations.

The researchers also looked at the crystals that formed when the tear fluid dried out and they saw different structures form from different species tears.

While all the species observed had a similar tear composition, the researchers found differences in arrangement of tear crystals between the wild species and humans.

Sea turtle and caiman tear crystals were particularly unique, probably as an adaptation to their aquatic environments, the researchers said.

In human tears, thicker crystals result mainly from changes induced by the increased presence of mucus or macromolecules, the team wrote.

Collecting tears from Turquoise-fronted amazon, Amazona eastiva. Before this study researchers had only studied tears from a short list of mammals including humans, dogs, horses, camels and monkeys - but not in reptiles or birds

Prof Oria said: 'Although birds and reptiles have different structures that are responsible for tear production, some components of this fluid (electrolytes) are present at similar concentrations as what is found in humans.

'But the crystal structures are organised in different ways so that they guarantee the eyes' health and an equilibrium with the various environments.'

The researchers said that further studies with a wider range of species are needed to understand more about the role of tears.

Prof Oria said: 'This knowledge helps in the understanding of the evolution and adaption of these species, as well as in their conservation.'

The research has been published in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
Down in Colombia, COVID has exploded, as we see in this report:

Colombia registered the highest number of COVID-19 deaths per capita over the past few weeks, according to the Johns Hopkins university. The South American country, which has the fourth highest number of confirmed cases in the world, registered 43.1 COVID-19 deaths per million over the past week. The country is currently experiencing the peak of the pandemic five months after the National Health Institute (INS) confirmed the first infection on March 6.

Bad news, but not really unexpected, as many Colombian friends have told me.

Colombia, like most countries, is not really testing as we are in the U.S. In other words, the good and bad news of testing is that you will find out who is or is not infected.

Down in Colombia, and I've heard the same about Mexico, many people die, but their deaths are not listed as COVID, but rather respiratory issues or pneumonia or whatever.

Also, Latin American health care systems have been overwhelmed by COVID. It's not a lack of capable doctors or medicine. It's simply that public health care systems south of the border do not have the back-up options, such as President Trump sending a hospital ship to New York or Los Angeles. Add to this the lack of ventilator production, and you've got some terrible problems.

So say a prayer for our friends in Latin America. It's really "COVID bad" down there.

PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.

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The U.S. government has now signed six deals with vaccine-makers to produce coronavirus shots, even before its clear any are effective  and with a risk the companies wont be able to ramp up production in time to deliver hundreds of millions of doses.

Some of the experimental vaccines use technology that has never before reached the market, so there is no precedent for producing hundreds of millions of doses. Other potential bottlenecks include a global sand shortage that could throttle the production of glass vials, and limited supplies of chemicals called adjuvants that are sometimes used to boost a vaccines ability to provoke an immune response.

Adding to the difficulty, several of the vaccines now in late-stage trials require two doses per person  doubling the manufacturing need.

If the approach succeeds, it could hasten the end of a pandemic that has killed more than 160,000 Americans and 730,000 people worldwide. But the strategy has never been tested at this scale, and officials are still trying to figure out how to make it work.

Vaccine-makers are scrambling to build or buy specialized manufacturing equipment to beef up their supply chains in preparation for the largest immunization campaign the world has ever seen.

The challenge is no different than putting a man on the moon, said Sean Kirk, executive vice president of manufacturing and technical operations at Emergent Biosolutions, a company that manufactures vaccines on behalf of the firms that create them.

Under normal conditions, a company developing a vaccine would not start making doses until the end of the clinical trial process  and only if late-stage trials suggested the shot was effective. Thats also the point when a vaccines properties are understood well enough to begin large-scale manufacturing. But with this pandemic, years of work is being compressed into months.

Leading the charge is the Trump administrations Operation Warp Speed, an initiative that aims to deliver 300 million doses of a safe, effective vaccine by January 2021. The program has handed out almost $10 billion to companies developing coronavirus vaccines to support animal and human testing and accelerate manufacturing.

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The smallest vaccine orders Warp Speed has put in are for 100 million doses each from Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Moderna; the largest is 300 million doses from AstraZeneca. By contrast, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that 175 million doses of flu vaccine were distributed in the U.S. during the 2019-20 flu season. (This year, the agency anticipates that the country will need 194 million to 198 million flu shots, as part of a push to prevent a collision between the flu and the pandemic.)

Some companies that have committed to making doses of their experimental vaccines on spec  including Moderna, Novavax and AstraZeneca  are turning to contract manufacturers like Emergent Biosolutions, Catalent, Texas A&M University and Lonza to help meet their production goals.

William Treat, chief manufacturing officer at the federally funded Texas A&M Center for Innovation in Advanced Development and Manufacturing, said its facilities will produce between 300 million and 500 million doses of vaccine for Novavax and other companies selected by Warp Speed. The site, which was created in the wake of the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic, was originally designed to manufacture 50 million doses of flu vaccine.

Several contract manufacturers said their facilities could potentially switch from making one vaccine to another in about a month, or three to five months if additional equipment has to be ordered. That flexibility is crucial because its unlikely that all of the candidates in late-stage trials will pan out.

But John Kokai-Kun, director of external scientific collaboration on biologics at U.S. Pharmacopeia, said that many contract manufacturers use stainless steel equipment, special welding and special pumps that are sterilized in place  so they can only reconfigure to a point.

And not all contract facilities can make all the different types of vaccine in development.

Treat said the Texas A&M site could switch relatively seamlessly between vaccine candidates from AstraZeneca, Sanofi and Novavax because they use common equipment. But the site isnt equipped to manufacture the vaccines being developed by Pfizer or Moderna, which rely on messenger RNA technology that has never been approved for wide use.

The mRNA approach is the one with the most unknown unknowns, said Richard Braatz, a chemical engineering professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

That said, manufacturing mRNA vaccines could be easier in some ways than shots based on older technologies, because mRNA vaccines dont require as lengthy a purification process, Braatz said.

But efforts to expand capacity using contract manufacturers could be hampered by shortages of raw materials and basic supplies like glass vials, stoppers and needles. Demand for the specialized borosilicate glass used for the vials has outpaced supply for several years, and stoppers are made by just a handful of companies.

The challenge isnt so much to make the vaccine itself, but to fill vials, which sounds a little bit silly, but thats the way it is. There arent enough vials in the world, AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said at a press briefing in May.

And in a whistleblower complaint released in May, former Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority Director Rick Bright said that senior government leaders were slow to act on his advice that it could take two years to obtain enough vials for U.S. vaccine needs.

Operation Warp Speed has been investigating ways to head off glass shortages. In June, it gave $204 million to Corning to help the company produce an additional 164 million glass vials each year. The administration initiative also invested $143 million in SiO2 Materials Science to help ramp up its capacity to make plastic vials, an unproven alternative to glass.

Its not clear whether those actions will be enough for the unprecedented vaccine push. The liberal think tank Center for American Progress is pushing the federal government to use its authorities under the Defense Production Act to coordinate U.S. manufacturing capacity for glass vials, syringes and needles.

Kokai-Ku worries that some companies may turn to dubious suppliers that they might not have used previously. If youre making 10 million vaccine doses per batch and one batch fails, Thats a lot of lost raw materials, he said. Itll be important to maintain that robust supply chain.

Another hurdle could be shortages of adjuvants, chemicals that are sometimes used to boost a vaccines immune response, experts said. Novavax, which has agreed to sell the U.S. government at least 100 million doses of its vaccine, reported earlier this month that its shot provoked a stronger immune response when coupled with an adjuvant in early-stage trials.

There are multiple types of adjuvants, so the risk of a shortage depends on which vaccines succeed and which of the chemicals they require, Braatz said.

A spokesperson for GlaxoSmithKline, which is developing an adjuvant for Sanofis coronavirus vaccine, said the firms do not expect any shortages.

Vaccines made with mRNA technology dont seem to need the booster chemicals, but other vaccines may  particularly those that target older people, whose immune responses to vaccines are generally weaker than those of younger people, Kokai-Kun said. A lot of current vaccines are adjuvanted with aluminum salts, and people are looking at others, but there could be limitations, he added.

The potential difficulties dont disappear once a vaccine is made. So-called fill-finish facilities, where vials are filled with the vaccines, were a chokepoint a decade ago during the H1N1 flu pandemic.

Back then, the government was literally matching bulk manufacturers with fill-finish facilities to get that flu vaccines into vials, Kokai-Kun said.

One major issue is that only so many vials can be filled at one time. That could lead some facilities to try to fill vials with multiple doses. Then you have to be careful with sterility  how long will that vial last? said Braatz. Theres going to be a lot of issues around fill-finish that will come up. BARDA, the government agency that is distributing billions of dollars to vaccine makers, is thinking about these challenges now, he added.

Moderna and Pfizer also have to deal with the extremely cold temperature  negative 94 degrees Fahrenheit  at which their vaccines must be kept. This could create logistical problems for transporting the shots and delivering doses to pharmacies or doctors offices that arent equipped to store them at such cold temperatures.

A Pfizer spokesperson said the company is working with governments to ship the frozen vials directly to the point of vaccination. Pfizer is also developing a version of its vaccine that could be distributed at warmer temperatures, but the company said it wont be ready until late 2021.

And Moderna is becoming more confident that its vaccine can be held at negative 4 degrees Fahrenheit, an easier temperature for shipping and storage, a spokesperson said. The company is also exploring ways its vaccine could be refrigerated, rather than frozen, at the point of administration, and expects to know more in a month or two, the spokesperson said.

With the administration promising a vaccine by the new year, the next few months could be crucial for this unprecedented manufacturing push.

In the end, said Treat, I think its more of an economic issue. The cost to treat this virus and ramp up manufacturing is negligible compared to the cost of those dying from this.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size The explosion that shook the port of Beirut on August 4  after a stockpile of more than 2700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate was ignited  rocked Lebanon, killing 200 people, wounding thousands more and leaving 300,000 people without safe homes. On August 10, it also claimed the Lebanese government, which resigned over the disaster. But the nation's grievances go back further than this blast, further even than the protests against the political class that made headlines last October  arguably to the nation's founding 100 years ago. Why are people so angry? How has the trouble evolved in Lebanon? And what is likely to happen next? What is Lebanon? Before anything else, Lebanon is a geography. Running down the centre of this landscape is Mount Lebanon and the mountain range named after it. To the west is the Mediterranean coast with its ports, chief among them the capital Beirut, which for centuries have traded with the Mediterranean and wider world. To the east is the rural hinterland of the Bekaa Valley, a fertile plain that ends at the Anti-Lebanon mountain range (this rather peculiar name just means it runs parallel to the Lebanon Mountains). The whole area is 10,452 square kilometres: a little larger than metropolitan Melbourne but smaller than metropolitan Sydney. In this landscape live 6.8 million people from a bewildering array of religious and ethnic groups, speaking to one another in Arabic but each with a very different understanding of what Lebanon means.

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Dining in Beirut, 1961. Credit:Getty Images What is Beirut? It used to be said in the Arab world that "Cairo writes, Beirut publishes and Baghdad reads". Beirut is Lebanon's face to the world, a cosmopolitan space in which, during the 19th century, the salon culture of French colonisers and the building of schools by American missionaries influenced and was influenced by a renaissance in Arab literary and political culture as Ottoman rule waned. The city became a place  where authors, artists, filmmakers and musicians could find an outlet for their work. The city  known as Sitt al-Dunya, or "the Lady of the World"  became a place outside the censorship and repression of other Arab regimes, where authors, artists, filmmakers and musicians could find an outlet for their work and the press flourished. A hotel swimming pool in Beirut, 1965. Credit:Getty Images Its comparative liberalism meant that in addition to tourists, it drew refugees and dissidents from other parts of the Arab world and even other Lebanese from their isolated mountain villages. In recent years it has also seen the first serious re-evaluation of gay and lesbian rights in the Arab world.

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But as the author Tarek Osman put it recently, being the place where people from across the region came "to think, to talk and to play" also made it a target and a place for settling scores through wars and assassinations  and Beirut has seen many of both. Beirut is bombed by Israeli forces during war in 1982. Credit:Getty Images Lebanon is also a frontline state in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, with Palestinian attacks on Israel launched from its territory and repeated invasions and attacks by Israel, most notably in 1978 and 1982, continuing to this day. Palestinians who fled north during the Arab-Israeli war of 1948 still live in refugee camps across the country, barred from citizenship and many professions. Many Lebanese blame the country's wars since 1970 on the presence of Palestinian militants in these refugee camps. In 1969, Egypt brokered the Cairo Agreement between Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and the Lebanese army, which allowed the Palestinian factions to govern the camps and continue their armed struggle against Israel from them, on the understanding (which later collapsed) that their militias would not contest the Lebanese state's power beyond the camps. The French high commissioner in Lebanon with Druze and Maronite religious leaders, 1939. Credit:Getty Images What do the French have to do with it? France ruled Lebanon from 1920 until 1943.

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Until World War I began in 1914, the part of the Middle East that includes Lebanon had been ruled for centuries with varying degrees of control by the Ottoman Empire from its capital in Istanbul. After the Ottomans chose the losing German side in that war, the Allies negotiated to divide its territory among themselves. Under the new League of Nations, Britain and France were awarded political "mandates" in the region, with London to run Iraq and Palestine and Paris to run Syria. In 1920, France moved to divide its mandate, proposing a state on Syria's coast for minority Alawite Muslims, a state around Mount Lebanon for Maronite Catholic Christians and a state for the Druze sect. The rest of Syria would be dominated by the Sunni Muslims who were Syria's majority. The Druze and Alawite states never took off, but French and Maronite power was sufficient to ensure that Lebanon remained separate from Syria, even after the last French troops left the country, three years after Lebanon became independent, on the last day of 1946. (French troops left Syria in 1946 too.) Some Lebanese berated Macron for sitting down with "warlords" while others begged him to save the nation. When French President Emmanuel Macron went walkabout in the ritzy and traditionally Christian district of Gemmayzeh in Beirut's east in a display of support after the port explosion, some Lebanese berated him for sitting down with "warlords" (more on them in a moment) while others begged him to save the nation. But France's influence in Lebanon is not what it was, a telling sign of which was that the president had to address his young Lebanese audience in English. Macron told them he would propose a "new political pact". French President Emmanuel Macron inspects the site of the August 4 blast in Beirut. Credit:Getty Images Is Lebanon's government secular or religious? The short answer is "neither".

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At the time of independence in 1943, its leaders drew up a National Pact which guaranteed each religious community seats in parliament according to their proportion of the population at the 1932 census, when Maronites were in the majority (but only just). The president of the republic would always be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of parliament a Shiite Muslim. Though the state is formally secular, laws on marriage, divorce and inheritance are governed by the religious leadership of each sect. (This arrangement has its origins in the Ottoman period, when each non-Muslim religious community, or "millet", had autonomy when it came to taxation and laws over personal status.) Like neighbouring Israel, Lebanon has no civil marriage, though it recognises civil marriages conducted abroad, which has made nearby Cyprus a popular wedding venue for citizens of both countries. What is the difference between Sunni and Shiite Muslims? The tensions that led to the split between Sunnis and Shiites first emerged during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad and in the aftermath of his death in AD 632. The Sunnis, who call themselves Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jamaa (the people of orthodoxy and the community), believed that any senior figure in the Muslim community could become Caliph (temporal and spiritual successor to Muhammad as leader of the Muslims). The Shiites, who call themselves Ahl al-Bayt (the people of the house, ie. the house or family of the Prophet), believed that the Prophet's son-in-law and cousin, Ali, and his descendants had a special place as successors to the Prophet, or Imams. Although Ali was briefly Caliph himself, rule passed from him to a Sunni dynasty, the Umayyads. The definitive split, which left Shiites politically marginalised and Sunnis as rulers for centuries, occurred in AD 680, when the Imam Hussein (a son of Ali) fell in battle with the forces of the Caliph Yazid I at Karbala, now in Iraq and a sacred Shiite site. Today the world's largest Shiite population lives in Iran. That oil-rich country's 1979 Islamic Revolution overthrew the monarchy and brought a Shiite theocracy to power and since then many Shiites and some other Muslims in the Middle East have drawn political inspiration and financial support from Tehran. But 85 per cent of the world's Muslims identify as Sunni. Though Lebanon's demographics have changed significantly  with the CIA estimating in 2019 that more than 60 per cent of the population are Muslim  there has not been a census since 1932. Tensions over this status quo were a major factor in the civil war between Maronite factions and their opponents that broke out in 1975 and ended in 1990 after the signing of the Taif Agreement, a Saudi-brokered renegotiation of the pact's quota system. These 'tribal chiefs'  have far more bearing on policy than the parliament and successive governments. It was during that war that thousands of Lebanese families sought refuge in countries such as Australia, where 1 per cent of the population now identifies as having Lebanese ancestry, according to the 2016 census, although other Lebanese families have been in Australia since the late 19th century. The National Pact's effect has been to entrench the power of elite families and religious figures from the country's 17 official sects. These "tribal chiefs" maintain their power through the allocation of contracts and jobs within their communities and have far more bearing on policy than the parliament and successive governments. When their differences lead to open conflict, each of these "chiefs" relies on his party members as militia.

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Miriam Smith pushes her granddaughter, Elizabeth Johnson, along her Tacony street with niece Ali Aikens (foreground), daughter Samirah Ruff, then-husband Eric Smith, his daughter Shannon Perez, and granddaughter Khylei Perez in 2016. Read more

The man who broke into Miriam Smiths New Jersey home more than 38 years ago, killing her parents and 3-year-old sister, had finally died.

She started to cry.

Why are you crying, Mommy? her 6-year-old daughter, Peyton, asked her Monday night. She held the girl close. People just cry sometimes when theyre happy, Smith said. She thought about how she was just a half-year younger than Peyton when she watched that man shoot her mom, dad, and sister Sandra.

He had stolen so much from her  her family, her innocence, her sense of safety  and saddled her with a survivors guilt that tormented her for decades, straining her family, and leading her to drugs and prostitution.

 READ MORE: What happened to the girl who survived the Pine Hill massacre? (From 2016)

Now she looks at her children and thinks about the grandparents and aunt he robbed from them, too.

Louis Giambi was a drug dealer and hired hit man who murdered the wrong victims in their Camden County home  Smiths sister and their parents, William and Catherine Stuart  in a crime that became known as the Pine Hill Massacre. Giambi, 83, died Friday.

Giambi spent most of more than 30 years of incarceration at the New Jersey State Prison, where he was serving three life sentences, but died at South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton, Matt Schuman, a spokesperson for the New Jersey Department of Corrections, confirmed. The medical examiners office in Cumberland County did not immediately respond to requests for a cause of death.

He didnt deserve to live at all, Smith, 44, said. It obviously affected me greatly for many years.

The massacre

The April 1982 murders of William, 33, and Catherine Stuart, 34  he was an insurance broker who worked from his garage and she was a typing teacher at Camden County College  and their daughter, known as Sandy, shocked their community, confounded investigators, and left the 5-year-old Miriam without a family.

After the murders, neighbors gathered around the split-level home, which was cordoned off with yellow rope, and told reporters how the Stuarts were devoted parents. Three years earlier, they had left for Peru to adopt Sandy, and while at the orphanage decided to adopt Miriam, too.

I cant imagine anyone wanting to kill him, neighbor Jack Osborne said at the time. Another neighbor, Kate Jamieson, agreed. The only thing I can figure, she told a reporter, is, somebody must have gotten the wrong house.

Investigators reached a similar conclusion. Giambi had been hired to kill a witness in a criminal case and ended up committing an infamous mistaken-identity hit.

Wearing a long wig and high on drugs, authorities said, Giambi drove to the neighborhood on April 17 and kicked open the back door of a house around the corner from his intended target.

The girls were on Sandys bed when she heard a man order her parents to get in the closet in an upstairs hallway outside their door.

Then he said, Get in the bathroom, Miriam testified at Giambis trial. He was carrying a small black gun. Turn around, he told Sandy. Youll not want to see this.

When Miriam peeked, she saw her little sister in the doorway. After Mommy, Poppy got shot, Sandy started to cry, she testified. The man then told Sandy, If you dont stop crying, Im going to shoot you.

Sandy ran to her parents, clinging to her fathers leg. Giambi shot all three with a .22-caliber pistol equipped with a silencer at point-blank range. He didnt see Miriam.

After he left, she ran across the street to a neighbors home and testified that she told them: My folks are dead.

A Superior Court jury in Camden convicted Giambi of murdering the Stuarts and he was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences plus 16 years. Capital punishment law was not allowed when he committed the crimes. Throughout the trial, he maintained his innocence.

I am here to be sentenced for a crime I was convicted of that I had nothing to do with, Giambi said before sentencing, the Associated Press reported at the time.

Miriams life

It has angered Smith that Giambi claimed he was innocent. She saw the murder of her parents and baby sister in her home, and it derailed her life.

She told The Inquirer in 2016 that she became addicted to cocaine in middle school. She had her first child at 15, spent time in jail, and ended up in prostitution, which led to an angry clients running over her with his car, almost killing her.

I felt like I was responsible for my sister, and I felt guilty for having survived, she said.

Now 11 years sober, Smith believes she is alive for a reason. She thinks back to how she wasnt supposed to be adopted on that day when her parents came to pick up Sandy, how she lived when her family died, how she survived other near-death experiences.

She works as the director of womens housing at Solution House, a nonprofit in Frankford that provides a sober space for people who are suffering from homelessness, addiction, or other issues.

I just believe there is a greater purpose for me to be here, to raise my grandkids, or just to help women who are also struggling with addiction, she said, to give them the strength that they need, that they dont think they have.

Smith has developed a routine around the anniversary of the murders. She takes off from work, and keeps the kids home from school and lets them pick out flowers. (In addition to Peyton, she lives in the Mayfair section of the city with daughter Samirah, 12, and two grandchildren; her two adult daughters live elsewhere.)

They go to Eglington Cemetery in Clarksboro, where her family is buried, and she tells the girls how her parents were selfless and kind.

She remembers how safe she felt in her parents home, and shares stories of her dad teaching her to ride a bike, the birthday party she had at a McDonalds, and the way Sandy would suck in her cheeks and give fish kisses.

She used to check online each April that Giambi was still locked up. When asked about him in 2016, she said, I hope he rots in there.

Upon hearing of his death, she said she wanted to go to the cemetery with the kids to visit her family.

I just felt like such a relief that he was finally gone, she said. There is finally some kind of closure.
The leaders of the Chattogram District Chhatra Sena submitted a Memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner with plea to take action against the uncivility of the son of a Rajakar.
Judge denies request for police action against church holding indoor services

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A judge on Tuesday denied a California countys request to order a local sheriffs office to prevent a church from holding worship services in defiance of a temporary restraining order.

Superior Court Judge Vincent O'Neill Jr. rejected Ventura County's request to direct Sheriff Bill Ayub to close Godspeak Calvary Chapel in Newbury Park after it held three indoor services despite a restraining order issued by the court last week.

ONeill reportedly argued that the county sheriffs office needs to be seen in a neutral role and that the countys residents depend on the sheriffs office to keep the peace, according to Ventura County Star.

The judge, however, granted the county's request for a contempt-of-court hearing.

Last Friday, the Ventura County Superior court granted a temporary restraining order requiring that Pastor Rob McCoy and Godspeak Calvary Chapel adhere to public health orders issued by the state and county requiring that church services be held outdoors.

Ventura County officials filed a legal complaint against McCoy and the church for holding in-person services of up to 200 people following the churchs decision to return to normal services after adhering to social distancing regulations.

McCoy announced his intentions to continue holding services despite the restraining order, set to expire on Aug. 31.

I wish it didnt have to come to this, I really do, but we will be violating the judges order, he said in a video message to his congregation. We will be open this Sunday.

McCoy told the Ventura County Star that it is impractical for the church to hold services outdoors and that banning indoor worship services violates religious freedom rights.

The pastor called ONeills ruling "measured and balanced."

Meanwhile, County Counsel Leroy Smith told the newspaper that he is pleased with the approval of a contempt-of-court hearing that has been scheduled for Aug. 21.

A hearing is scheduled for Aug. 31 to decide whether or not the order should be replaced with an injunction that could last months.

In Ventura County, there have been 8,740 cases of coronavirus and 93 reported deaths.

The churchs defense attorney, Robert Tyler, argued during the hearing that no cases of COVID-19 have been reported at Godspeak Calvary chapel.

"The lack of evidence the county is relying upon is astonishing," Tyler was quoted as saying.

In April, McCoy made headlines when he resigned from the Thousand Oaks City Council after serving on the board since 2015. His resignation came hours before he held a Palm Sunday communion with members to mark the beginning of Holy Week.

The communion came at a time in which gatherings of more than 10 people were banned in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ventura County is among several counties on the California County Monitoring List. Under an executive order issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom, indoor worship services are banned in counties on the monitoring list. Ventura County has been on the monitoring list since July 13.

Elsewhere in California, Harvest Rock Church received a cease-and-desist letter on Monday from the city of Pasadena demanding that the church halt its in-person worship services.

Harvest Rock Church and Harvest International Ministry submitted a request for an injunction last month against Newsoms order. The church, led by author and international chancellor of Wagner University Che Ahn, contends that the governors order essentially prohibits home Bible studies and fellowship.

While Gov. Newsom encourages tens of thousands of people to gather for mass protests, he bans all in-person worship and home Bible studies and fellowship, Liberty Counsel Chairman Mat Staver said in a statement.

Liberty Counsel is representing Harvest Rock Church in the legal matter.

Such repression is well-known in despotic governments, and it is shocking that even home fellowship is banned in America, Staver said. Neither history of the church nor the Constitution is on the side of the governor.

For counties not on the state monitoring list, indoor worship is permitted in limited capacities with no singing or chanting. At least three churches have filed a lawsuit against the statewide ban on singing in church.
Press Release

13 August 2020

Chicago, IL - Call them America's rising cities: Midsize areas buzzing with innovation, imagination, and opportunity.

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Maverick hotel group Aparium was the first upscale full service brand to bet on these places, having opened eight independent and authentic hotels in overlooked markets like Kansas City, MO (Crossroads Hotel), Topeka, KS (Cyrus Hotel), Detroit, MI (Detroit Foundation Hotel), Montclair, NJ (The MC Hotel), and Minneapolis, MN (Hewing Hotel).

Now, Aparium is doubling down on their future. The company today unveiled an ambitious pipeline of six new hotels to open by early-2022. It's the boldest vision for any independent brand at the most challenging time in the history of hospitality.

Aparium hotels in Des Moines, IA and Tampa, FL are set to open in 2020; openings in Birmingham, MI, Fargo, ND, and Denver, CO, are slated for 2021 and Alexandria, VA to follow in 2022.

Founded by Kevin Robinson and Mario Tricoci, Aparium's rule-breaking approach has made it a closely watched industry success story. The duo met a decade ago, when they launched the Elysian Hotel on Chicago's Gold Coast. The hotel made a huge splash, transforming Chicago's luxury market before Hilton acquired it in 2009. "We opened the Elysian in the worst days of the recession, so that prepared us for anything," Tricoci said. Aparium's audacious vision for the next two years builds on that resiliency.

When they decided to create a new kind of hotel company, Robinson and Tricoci set their sights on cities some derisively call "secondary markets" - underserved places with incredible creative capital, strong personalities, and rich histories.

While those cities are becoming newly hip, Aparium was the first independent hotel group to discover their potential. "As we traveled, we were wowed by the incredible culture and character of these places, but disappointed to see them saturated with branded hotels," Tricoci said. "We decided to turn the conventional development formula inside out. Instead of imposing a brand on a city, we'd harness a city's spirit and stories to build singular hotels with a native soul, and they in turn would form the Aparium brand."

Robinson, a former Four Seasons Hotels executive, continued. "Guests are no longer interested in generic brand experiences," he said. "Like travelers themselves, our teams explore the people, flavors, and stories that make a city surprising, and express that sense of place through our properties. Each hotel should make you curious about its home city."

Every Aparium hotel feels original and genuine - what the brand calls 'translocal hospitality.' Rather than impose identical guidelines for its hotels, the company starts each project as a blank slate. Building a hotel means exploring a city, learning its stories, and getting to know its people. As a result, every Aparium hotel feels like it belongs exactly where it is.

"Inspired by our host cities, we cultivate loyal, local followings by delivering communal experiences unique to each location," Tricoci said. "Our hotels, restaurants, and bars are authentic crossroads where travelers and locals linger in each other's company, creating a remarkable confluence of cultural color."

When Aparium enters a market, its team talks to a wildly diverse range of locals with deep connections to their city - from investors, architects, and designers to artists, makers, creatives, and influencers. A tattoo artist Robinson and Tricoci met in Kansas City ended up designing the body-art-inspired wallpaper for the Crossroads Hotel's guestrooms; Aparium tapped local interior design firm MartinPartrick3 Studio for Hewing Hotel's oversized rooftop lounge with an adjacent oversized sauna and cold plunge pool - a nod to the Scandinavian culture very much prevalent in Minneapolis.

Even Aparium hotel names tell stories. The Hewing was inspired by the act of chopping lumber and refining its appearance - a nod to the giant pine beams that abound in the interior of the hotel - logged in Minnesota and floated down to mills just down the street. In Memphis, the Hu. Hotel channels the spirit of legendary local Hugh "Hu." Lawson White Brinkley, who put Memphis on the map as a shipping hub while also being a tongue and cheek nod to the vibrant color "hues" of Memphis.

"Each hotel is born out of at least two years of detailed communication, relationships, collaborations, and inspirations," Robinson said. "Stories people have shared with us about each location encourage what we name the hotels and what we name their restaurants and bars."

Historic preservation and adaptive reuse are also key to Aparium's story. By choosing architecturally meaningful buildings with deep significance for their communities, Aparium has become a champion of urban heritage. In Kansas City, MO, Aparium transformed the landmark 1911 Pabst and Pendergast buildings into the Crossroads Hotel after a meticulous restoration; in Detroit, Aparium transformed the former Detroit Fire Department headquarters and adjacent Pontchartrain Wine Cellars building into the ultra-stylish Detroit Foundation Hotel with a wooden wall in each guestroom repurposed from wood from the former firehouse.

Equally impressive: Before the COVID-19 pandemic, food and beverage accounted for over 40% of topline revenue at each Aparium property - a striking statistic for the industry. It means bars and restaurants at Aparium hotels are as valued by locals as they are by guests - and that Aparium's locally born, carefully crafted food and beverage concepts stay relevant in each market because they're genuine.

By the end of 2021, Aparium plans to open six new hotels. It's the most ambitious pipeline of any independent brand in the industry. Each hotel embodies a city's characters, culture, and history. They include:

Hotel Haya, Tampa, FL (scheduled opening September 24, 2020)

A brilliant adaptive reuse of two distinctive buildings combined with a smart new build, Hotel Haya captures the exuberant Cuban, Italian, and Spanish influences of the famed Ybor City neighborhood. The hotel's design by Alfonso Architects Incorporated evokes the 1950s Golden Age of Havana; "mid-century Cuban" guestrooms will feature period fabrics and colors, along with locally made glass bulbs that pay homage to Ybor's famous streetlights. Exposed brick walls, a giant neon "HAYA" sign, and classic art -including four massive Goya reproductions - will complement joyous colors. Dining includes Flor Fina, with "coastal Mediterranean meets Gulf Coast" cuisine: Quiquiriqui, a smart Cuban cafe and neighborhood gathering spot that translates as "the call of the rooster." With 178 rooms, Hotel Haya will become the largest property in Aparium's portfolio. Bookings now live here.

Surety Hotel, Des Moines IA (scheduled opening October 14, 2020)

Outfitted in marble, hardwood, metals, and leather, the 138-key Surety evokes the proud heritage of banking and finance in Des Moines. Led by Slingshot Architecture and design by DLR Group, the hotel is a brilliant adaptive reuse of the circa-1914, Beaux-Arts Hippee Building - once Iowa's tallest - and boasts features like original plastered coffered ceilings and ornate mail chute down the building's entire length. Tapping the region's cool under-the-radar art scene, the Surety displays rotating exhibitions of specially commissioned work, like Julia Franklin's "dress shirt" made of waxed 1920s banking documents. In sleek, modern guest rooms, the standout piece will be an ornate armoire that recalls the bank's opulence and wealth; it'll contrast with minimalist-luxe furniture and original wood floors. Mulberry Street Tavern, Surety's unpretentious dining space, will feel like a local watering hole. Bookings now live here.

Jasper Hotel, Fargo ND (scheduled opening January 2021)

Built into a newly constructed, mid-rise, mixed-use tower in the heart of Fargo's culturally eccentric and art driven community, and designed by ESG Architecture and Design, Jasper Hotel will feature 125 rooms at the center of the burgeoning downtown market. The restaurant, Rosewild, will offer "around the hearth" plains-inspired cuisine featuring rustic Nordic dishes and ingredients for up to 54 guests, a nod to the strong Norwegian heritage of North Dakota's initial settlers who arrived in the 1800's. The bar will feature classic cocktails with Nordic-midwestern touches such as garnishes of spruce, anise flavors, and market ingredients. The property will also feature a ground floor coffee bar. As with all Aparium's properties, the hotel will act as a beacon of Fargo's community, incorporating the arts and culture that make the city special through partnerships and programming with local makers, designers, and innovators.

Dax

ton Hote

l, Birmingham, MI (scheduled opening January 2021)

Bringing a new vision of modern luxury to Birmingham - just 30 minutes from Detroit - the 151-key Daxton will be the poshest property in Aparium's portfolio. In a striking new building on the city's main drag designed by award-winning firm Simeone Deary, exquisite materials will complement minimalist-luxe designs and cutting-edge art curated by world-famous Saatchi Art. Sleek glass walls and avant-garde furniture frame public areas. Color floods spaces throughout the hotel - a chartreuse lobby, deep-burgundy guestrooms, lavender parlors. Madam, the hotel's dining space, will serve "enlightened American" fare under lush greenery hanging from high ceilings reflected in wood floors.

Aparium also plans to open The Clayton in Denver, CO's Cherry Creek neighborhood in March 2021, while the Hotel Heron in Alexandria, VA is slated for a mid-2022 opening.
A jilted lover has been fined $2,500 after threatening to publish nude photographs of a Tinder match who rejected him.

Queensland man Trent John Samuels, 27, became furious when the woman deleted him on Snapchat in December last year, just weeks after matching on the dating app.

The victim removed him from the social media platform after receiving a photograph showing him defecating on the toilet, with the caption 'Poo time'.

A jilted lover has been fined $2,500 after threatening to publish nude photographs of a Tinder match who rejected him (stock image)

Samuels then contacted the woman on Instagram to ask why he had been rejected, Maroochydore Magistrate's Court on Thursday, the Sunshine Coast Daily reported.



The woman had earlier sent several photos of herself to Samuels.

'And an intimate video of herself wearing a T-shirt without underwear in which she started touching herself,' police prosecutor Lee Allan told the court.

Samuels sent her a screenshot of one of her intimate videos then told her she should be 'careful'.

Samuels then told her to check his private Instagram story.

The victim went straight to police believing he had already published her photographs without consent.

Before removing him from social media she was disgusted to receive a photograph of him defecating on the toilet with the caption 'Poo time' (stock image)

The threatening messages were used as part of the evidence against him.

The 27-year-old pleaded guilty to revenge porn offences.

The charge of threatening to distribute a prohibited visual recording carries a maximum penalty of three years in jail.

Police prosecutors argued the offence warranted a suspended prison sentence of four to six months.

But his defence barrister Jason Todman pushed for a fine instead.

The 27-year-old pleaded guilty to revenge porn laws at the Maroochydore Magistrate's Court on Thursday on Queensland's Sunshine Coast (stock image)

Samuels' letter to the victim was heard in court and explained his retaliation came after he become 'angry and upset' by the woman's rejection.

'I was upset you removed me from Snapchat,' Samuels wrote.

'I acted out of being spiteful and childish and it was wrong of me. It should never have happened. You didn't deserve any of it.'

A conviction was recorded and Samuels was fined $2,500.

He was also ordered to pay the victim $1,000 in compensation.
The personal relationship between Trump and Kim has been a key driver of recent diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang

Kim Jong Un said his relationship with Donald Trump was like a "fantasy film", according to the publishers of a new book on the US president set to unveil 25 private letters exchanged between the two leaders.

The relationship between the pair has been a key driver of recent diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang, veering from mutual insults and threats of war to a declaration of love from Trump.

Investigative journalist Bob Woodward obtained messages between the two leaders "that have not been public before" for his upcoming book, according to Simon & Schuster.

In the letters, "Kim describes the bond between the two leaders as out of a 'fantasy film', as the two leaders engage in an extraordinary diplomatic minuet", the publisher revealed on the book's Amazon page.

The book, titled "Rage" and a follow-up to 2018's "Fear", is due out on September 15.

Trump and Kim have met three times, beginning with their landmark summit in Singapore in June 2018, but little progress has been made on efforts to denuclearise the North.

A few months after Singapore, Trump told a rally of his supporters that the two men had fallen in love.

"No, really, he wrote me beautiful letters, and they're great letters. We fell in love," he said.

Negotiations have been deadlocked since the collapse of a second summit in Hanoi in February last year.

But even with diplomacy at a standstill, Trump has frequently boasted of receiving "very beautiful" and "excellent" letters from Kim.

Woodward, a Washington Post reporter, made his name with his coverage of the Watergate scandal and the role it played in the Richard Nixon's resignation from the presidency in 1974.

Trump has sought to discredit several of the claims made in "Fear", which offered an inside glimpse into his chaotic White House and sold 1.1 million copies in its first week.

Story continues

Trump -- who was not interviewed by Woodward for "Fear" -- has called that book a "joke" and "a scam".

But in January this year, Trump said he had sat down with Woodward for the upcoming work.

"I was interviewed by a very, very good writer, reporter," Trump said on Fox News.

"I can say Bob Woodward. He said he's been doing something and this time I said, 'Maybe I'll sit down.'"

sh/slb/gle
Fox News walks back Jeanine Pirro comments on Joe Biden

Fox News is walking back Judge Jeanine Pirros comments after she claimed Joe Biden will not be on the Democratic presidential ticket in November. ...For some reason I just have this feeling that Joe Biden isnt going to be on the ticket, Pirro said on The Five Wednesday night. I have a sense that something is going to happen before the election and hes not even going to be on the ticket, so dont even ask me if hes going to make four years. Pirro did not provide any explanation for her prediction, which came less than a day after Biden named Kamala Harris his running mate. The Hill reports former White House press secretary Dana Perino could be heard saying oh man on a live microphone.

Bret Baier pushed back on Pirros comments, saying he respects her fiery passion but Biden is going to be the Democratic nominee. And next week were going to see the official nomination, youre saying that he doesnt make it all the way, Baier added. The bumper stickers are already printed. Its Biden-Harris, and hes going to be the nominee as of next week.

Some social media users accused Pirro of threatening Biden, while others suggested she was making unsubstantiated claims about Bidens health. Biden, 77, is just three years older than President Donald Trump. Look, I wish him all good health, Pirro later said. Thats not what Im talking about. Hes got the numbers. But things are so crazy right now. I dont know whats happening in the Democratic Party. And thats all Im saying. I mean, I hope he lives forever. Thats not my point. I know hes got the numbers.

"Something is going to happen before the election and he's not even going to be on the ticket" -- Jeanine Pirro predicts something horrible will happen to Joe Biden in the next 2+ months pic.twitter.com/dVQ3ImHfb3  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 12, 2020

Drake Bell denies abuse

Former Drake & Josh star Drake Bell is denying allegations of abuse from his ex-girlfriend Melissa Lingafelt, also known as Jimi Ono. It wasnt until recently that I actually realized that abuse isnt something that all women have to go through, she said in a TikTok video Wednesday, adding that she was 16 when they started dating; he was 20. She alleged verbal abuse began a year after they moved in together, followed by physical abuse: Hitting, throwing, everything. Bell, now 34, said in a statement that he never abused my ex-girlfriend or did so many of the other things Melissa falsely claimed... As our relationship endedmore than a decade agowe unfortunately, both called each other terrible names, as often happens when couples are breaking up. But that is it. Bell said Lingafelt had asked for financial support last year, and he gave it, but said hes now reviewing his legal options for her offensive and defamatory allegations.

Melissa Lingafelt said they began dating in 2006 when she was just 16 and the actor was an adult. https://t.co/MNRwo5WBKe  Entertainment Weekly (@EW) August 13, 2020

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Israel and the United Arab Emirates reached a historic deal on Thursday that will lead to a full normalization of diplomatic relations between the two Middle Eastern nations in an agreement that US President Donald Trump helped broker.

Under the agreement, Israel has agreed to suspend applying sovereignty to areas of the West Bank that it has been discussing annexing, senior White House officials told Reuters.

The deal was the product of lengthy discussions between Israel, the UAE and the United States that accelerated recently, White House officials said.

The agreement was sealed in a phone call on Thursday between Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Abu Dhabis Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed.

HUGE breakthrough today! Historic Peace Agreement between our two GREAT friends, Israel and the United Arab Emirates," Trump wrote on Twitter.

In the White House Oval Office, Trump said discussions between the two leaders had sometimes been tense. He said similar deals are being discussed with other countries in the region. A signing ceremony including delegations from Israel and the United Arab Emirates will be held at the White House in the coming weeks, Trump added.

Everybody said this would be impossible," Trump said. After 49 years, Israel and the United Arab Emirates will fully normalize their diplomatic relations. They exchange embassies and ambassadors and begin cooperation across the border."

The U.S. officials described the agreement, to be known as the Abraham Accords, as the first of its kind since Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty in 1994. It also gives Trump a foreign policy success as he seeks re-election on Nov. 3.

Netanyahu, in his first comment on the deal, said on Twitter it is a historic day for the state of Israel."

Abu Dhabis crown prince said on Twitter that an agreement had been reached and that it would halt further Israeli annexation of Palestinian territories.

During a call with President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, an agreement was reached to stop further Israeli annexation of Palestinian territories. The UAE and Israel also agreed to cooperation and setting a roadmap towards establishing a bilateral relationship," he said.

White House officials said Trump senior adviser Jared Kushner, U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and Middle East envoy Avi Berkowitz were deeply involved in negotiating the deal, as well as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and White House national security adviser Robert OBrien.

A joint statement issued by the three nations said the three leaders had agreed to the full normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates."

This historic diplomatic breakthrough will advance peace in the Middle East region and is a testament to the bold diplomacy and vision of the three leaders and the courage of the United Arab Emirates and Israel to chart a new path that will unlock the great potential in the region," the statement said.

Brian Hook, the U.S. State Departments lead official on Iran, said the agreement amounted to a nightmare" for Iran in its efforts against Israel in the region.

Trump said, This deal is a significant step towards building a more peaceful, secure and prosperous Middle East. Now that the ice has been broken, I expect more Arab and Muslim countries will follow the United Arab Emirates lead . and normalize relations with Israel."

We are already discussing this with other nations, very powerful, very good nations that want to see peace in the Middle East so you will probably see others of these," Trump added. Things are happening that I cant talk about, but theyre extremely positive."

Delegations from Israel and the United Arab Emirates will meet in the coming weeks to sign bilateral agreements regarding investment, tourism, direct flights, security, telecommunications and other issues, the statement said.

The two countries are expected soon to exchange ambassadors and embassies.

The statement said that as a result of this diplomatic breakthrough and at the request of President Trump with the support of the United Arab Emirates, Israel will suspend declaring sovereignty" over areas of the West Bank that were envisioned in the U.S. peace plan unveiled by Trump in January.

The agreement envisions giving Muslims greater access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem by allowing them to fly from Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv, White House officials said.

The joint statement said the United Arab Emirates and Israel will immediately expand and accelerate cooperation regarding the treatment of and the development of a vaccine for the novel coronavirus amid the pandemic.

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The Competitive and Inclusive Agriculture Development Program, Subprogram 1, will help the government expand economic opportunities in the farm sector by implementing trade policy and regulatory reforms, enhancing public services and finance to the sector, and expanding social protection to rural families.

ADB is supporting the Philippine government in pursuing reforms to help farmers become more productive and raise their incomes. (Source: ADB)

The Philippines has made tremendous strides in reducing the national poverty rate, but rural poverty remains high because of low productivity and limited crop diversification, said ADB Vice-President Ahmed M. Saeed. This loan will support the governments comprehensive suite of policy and regulatory reforms, resolving institutional weaknesses in land and water management, expanding agricultural financing to boost productivity, and extending the social safety net to unserved and underserved rural families.

The agriculture industry employs a quarter of the countrys labor force. But the sector lags behind counterparts in other Southeast Asian countries in productivity growth and competitiveness. Poverty rates in rural Philippines remains high, as do child malnutrition and stunting. The government has identified agriculture as a priority area for reform under its coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic economic recovery program, as it seeks to ensure food security and reduce poverty in the country.

Among the government reforms under the Competitive and Inclusive Agriculture Development Program, Subprogram 1, is the passage of the 2019 Rice Tariffication Act and the various measures it provides. The new law removed quantitative restrictions on rice imports and replaced them with a pure tariff system. Using collected duties on imported rice, the government set up the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund to strengthen the rice industry in line with the Philippine Rice Industry Roadmap. The government is also initiating additional reforms in land and water resources, including irrigation investments.

Other reforms supported by the loan include additional assistance to farmers making the transition towards higher value crops and those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. These include unconditional cash grants and the Expanded Survival and Recovery Assistance Program for Rice Farmers to provide zero-interest loans to more than 160,000 small farmers. The program also expands the governments pre-school feeding programs to families to reduce malnutrition and stunting.

The new loan will be complemented by upcoming investments to enhance flood risk management in major river basins, improve irrigation efficiency, and promote agro-enterprise development./.
Actor and filmmaker Pooja Bhatt has reacted to the trailer of her upcoming film, Sadak 2, being targeted online. She has said that she is pleased that the chatter around the films trailer has made it the number one trending video on YouTube.

Reacting to a tweet, Pooja wrote that she is not worried about the online attacks that have been launched against the film. Lovers/Haters two sides of the same coin. Gotta hand it to both for giving us their valuable time and making sure we are trending. Thank you for your wishes, she wrote.

Smart girl and absolutely true. https://t.co/Tpg5FWzwSL  Soni Razdan (@Soni_Razdan) August 13, 2020

The trailer for the film, which marks Mahesh Bhatts first collaboration with younger daughter Alia Bhatt, was released on Wednesday, and has quickly become the most-disliked video on YouTube, less than 24 hours later. The trailer has received 4.5 million dislikes on the video sharing platform, with a massively unfavourable like-dislike ratio. With more than 15 million views, only 2,55,000 people have liked the trailer. In addition to this, a musician has claimed that a song from the film, previously described as brilliant by Pooja, has been lifted from his 2011 Pakistani composition.

Alias mother, Soni Razdan, reacted to Poojas tweet and wrote, Smart girl and absolutely true. Mahesh Bhatt had earlier said in a message that he isnt bothered about the fate of the film. Today as we begin the last leg of our journey.I feel unshackled! I carry no burden, no weight. No reputation to hold on to. No mission to accomplish. Nothing to prove to anyone. If the film works it belongs to all of you. If it does not, its mine, he had shared, via Pooja.

Also read: Alia Bhatts Sadak 2 the most disliked trailer on YouTube amid nepotism debate, fans demand justice for Sushant Singh Rajput

Sadak 2, a sequel to his 1991 film starring Sanjay Dutt and Pooja, will be released on Disney+ Hotstar on August 28.

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A Salt Lake City-based bar group is suing two former employees for defamation and fraud, saying they lost them $300,000 after claiming online that they had been victims of discrimination.

Kevin Mulligan, a former manager with Bourbon House Group, and his girlfriend Kayleigh Wood (Little), who was a bartender there, were two of about 10 ex-staff members who allegedly made false claims on social media.

It was after Brandi LeCates, the wife of co-owner Jason LeCates, prompted a backlash against the brand when she wrote on Facebook that 'Black lives don't matter more than anyone else!!!'

'Always the same god dam loons! Bunch of p*****s! I'm astounded by anyone that condones any of the violence and vandalism these imbeciles are carrying out.'

Jason LeCates and Brandi LeCates, the co-owners of Bourbon House Group, are suing two former employees for defamation and fraud

Brandi LeCates had experienced a backlash when she wrote that 'black lives don't matter anymore than anyone else' on Facebook

That prompted the owners of restaurants within the Bourbon House Group to apologize and distance themselves from Brandi's comments

Brandi's social media outburst came in response to the recent round of Black Lives Matter protests this year after the killing of George Floyd.

While the owners of Whiskey Street Bar & Grill, Bourbon House and White Horse Spirits & Kitchen didn't post the offensive comments on their social media channels, the brand's connection to Brandi is believed to have had an effect on their reputation.

The bar group was also noticeably quiet about its views on social media.

Then on July 12 it made a statement distancing members from Brandi.

'We apologize for the delay on discussing the appalling Facebook threads that have been circulating online. The comments that were made are more than disrespectful. They are insulting and ignorant of black lives, history and the continual movement to fight for equal rights and treatment,' Whiskey Street posted.

'The Bourbon Group is comprised of multiple owners, who were shocked and devastated by the hurtful things that were posted online. The opinions and statements do not, in any way, shape, or form align with our establishment as a whole, however we must take responsibility due to association.

The Facebook apology prompted people to come forward with allegations of harassment and mistreatment at Bourbon House Group restaurants

'We understand why people are angry. We are angry too. A donation will not heal the damage created. We know that any hurt, pain, or disrespect that was caused in the community will not heal overnight.' They pledged to donate $10,000 to BLM and apologized for it being 'overdue'.

However it prompted people to share claims of sexual harassment and mistreatment while working there.

A month later the brand is suing two people who they say in a lawsuit knew or should have known that claims of racism and threats of exposing a hostile work environment during a time of civil unrest would negatively impact the ability of White Horse, Bourbon House and Whiskey Street to do business and would result in a loss of customers and revenue.'

The lawsuit indicates more names could be added as it states: 'Jane and John Does 1-10 are as of yet unidentified Defendants.'

The owners claim in the lawsuit that they 'have engaged in a coordinated effort to undermine the business by making false claims of racism and a hostile work environment damaging the establishments' reputations and goodwill.'

White Horse Spirits & Kitchen is one of three restaurants within the Bourbon House Group

Documents filed allege that the defendants have been 'threatening current employees to shame them in order to have them quit their jobs.'

In an argument claiming they were disgruntled before the BLM comments from Brandi and their subsequent apology, the owners note that Kevin Milligan was either fired or quit following a confrontation with Food and Beverage Director Matt Crandall.

It states Wood followed his departure and when the company donated a dinner for 12 to an auction held at Wood's home in January - where five former employees attended  'Kevin Mulligan placed a winning bid on the dinner,' using the false name of Linda Fay.

The lawsuit claims he admitted what he did to Mulligan.

Wood and Mulligan told the Salt Lake Tribune they were waiting for legal representation before commenting.
LANSING, Mich. - The state of Michigan and some private partners are taking steps toward building or assigning dedicated lanes for automated vehicles on a 40-mile (65-kilometre) stretch of highway between Detroit and Ann Arbor.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 13/8/2020 (523 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LANSING, Mich. - The state of Michigan and some private partners are taking steps toward building or assigning dedicated lanes for automated vehicles on a 40-mile (65-kilometre) stretch of highway between Detroit and Ann Arbor.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other state officials announced the project Thursday afternoon near a former railroad station that Ford is renovating to house its autonomous vehicle operations in downtown Detroit. Ford is among nine autonomous vehicle and auto companies on an advisory board for the project.

What may be the worlds most sophisticated roadway will be built here in Michigan  to help increase the safety, efficiency, resilience and operations of roadways in the not-so-distant future, Whitmer said.

Organizers say the project will begin with a two-year study to figure out whether existing lanes or shoulders could be used or new lanes need to be built, and that it is the first of its kind in the U.S.

Eventually, autonomous buses and shuttles would run along the Interstate 94 corridor, linking the University of Michigan to Detroit Metropolitan Airport and the citys downtown.

Much of the project will be bankrolled by companies funded by Google parent Alphabet Inc., which hopes to make money by duplicating the technology for other large metro areas.

The project is being led by a company called Cavnue, which will start the study by running autonomous vehicles with human backup drivers along I-94 and U.S. 12 to collect data.

Jonathan Winer, co-CEO of an Alphabet-funded company called Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners, which owns Cavnue, said at first self-driving buses would use the lanes, which would be similar to dedicated rapid transit lanes in other cities. Eventually, smaller shuttles would be added, as well as autonomous freight trucks and even qualified automated personal vehicles.

The vehicles would all be linked to a central computer system and would share data from sensors along the roadway and from other vehicles, co-ordinating their speeds and allowing them to travel faster than regular traffic, Winer said.

The project could start off running buses in regular traffic, but eventually they'll be on lanes separated from human-driven vehicles by a barrier, Winer said.

For the full-scale implementation, which is enhanced public transit and greater speed, we'll need the barrier, Winer said in an interview.

Other countries are taking similar steps. Six Chinese cities, including Beijing, have announced roads designated for tests of self-driving vehicles. In Beijing, some 206 miles (332 kilometres) of roads were formally assigned for testing in December.

Similar ventures have been proposed in the U.S., but Winer said the Michigan project would be a first.

Theres no place in the world more important for transportations past, present and future than Detroit and Michigan, said Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford. Todays announcement is proof that we dont plan to cede that future to anyone else.

The lanes would be helpful for the current state of autonomous vehicles, which still cannot operate safely with human-driven vehicles under all traffic and weather conditions, said Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor who studies vehicle automation.

But they also run contrary to another school of thought in the industry, that systems being tested are getting better and soon will be able to navigate roads with cars driven by humans, he said.

The tension is one side is saying if we build it they will come, and the other side is saying were coming. Why are you building?' Walker Smith said.

Tech and auto companies that favour running the vehicles with normal traffic seem to be winning, Walker Smith said, although that has eased as expectations for autonomous vehicles have become more realistic. The whole industry slowed down after an Uber autonomous testing vehicle ran down and killed a woman in Tempe, Arizona, in March of 2018.

A lot of companies are not yet confident that their systems would be able to perform under a wide range of unpredictable conditions, he said.

You probably need to have dedicated lanes, said Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan.

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Vehicles and autonomous driving systems used by all companies would be able to use the lanes, provided they meet standards, Winer said. The lanes would be run by the Michigan Department of Transportation, he said.

The state picked Cavnue after putting out a request for proposals. Winer said it will finance the project with private money because it could sell the technology to other cities. It would be the startups first project.

We think theres a very, very large market here if this technology is effective, he said.

The company plans to build a prototype freeway lane at the American Center for Mobility, an autonomous vehicle testing area Ypsilanti, Michigan, he said, adding that the study will consider how to handle wildlife or humans entering the dedicated lanes.

____

Associated Press writer Joe McDonald in Beijing contributed to this report. Krisher reported from Saline, Michigan.
TYLER, Texas, Aug. 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Inc. Magazine today ranked Education Advanced, Inc., creator of TestHound and Cardonex, No. 2618 on its 39th annual Inc. 5000 list of the nation's fastest-growing private companies. Education Advanced, Inc. earned this prestigious recognition for its impressive three-year revenue growth of 155 percent.

"We are honored to be recognized on the 2020 Inc. 5000 list," said Dr. Eli Crow, founder and CEO of Education Advanced. "Our driving objective has always been to provide meaningful value to education leaders and the students they serve. We are thrilled to serve hundreds of districts, thousands of schools, and millions of students across the nation. It's exciting to see the growth associated with consistently adding new clients while simultaneously maintaining an annual churn rate below 1%."

The annual Inc. 5000 ranks privately owned companies by three-year revenue growth, comparing 2016 to 2019 in this year's list. Qualifying companies must have earned a minimum of $2M in revenue in 2019. Past honorees on the Inc. 5000 include Intuit, Zappos, Under Armour, Microsoft, and many other well-known companies.

"The companies on this year's Inc. 5000 come from nearly every realm of business," says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. "From health and software to media and hospitality, the 2020 list proves that no matter the sector, incredible growth is based on the foundations of tenacity and opportunism."

Education Advanced again achieved record-breaking growth in the first half of 2020 and expects to further accelerate growth in the coming years by increasing market penetration and by launching a variety of SaaS tools to help K-12 schools and districts operate more efficiently. For more information on current products powered by Education Advanced, please visit www.educationadvanced.com.

About Education Advanced Inc. (EAI)

Education Advanced is a privately held company supporting K-12 education by providing operations tools that enable administrators to be more efficient, allowing them to spend valuable time and resources on exceeding student needs. EAI's current product offering includes TestHound, the industry's No. 1 test coordination software, and Cardonex, a patented master scheduling and staffing technology that significantly enhances student access to desired courses.

About Inc. Media

The world's most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit www.inc.com.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at www.inc.com/inc5000.

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A video of a witness telling gardai that he heard Aaron Brady admit to murdering a garda was circulated on social media, with text accusing the witness of being a tout or a rat, in what the presiding judge described as the most outrageous contempt of court he had ever seen.

After hearing from representatives of WhatsApp Mr Justice Michael White found he was "powerless to prevent its dissemination" on that platform and could make no order that would prevent it from being circulated. It was, the judge said, a deliberate attempt to intimidate the witness and others who were due to give evidence in the trial. The same video appeared on Youtube and Facebook who were able to delete it and prevent it from being put up again.

The capital murder trial took place against a background of intimidation and interference, with witnesses and their families subjected to threats and targeted using social media.

Molly Staunton, who told the trial that she heard Brady admit that he shot a cop, received a death threat on Snapchat within hours of completing her testimony.

Throughout the trial, prosecution counsel Brendan Grehan SC raised concerns about the impact of witness interference and intimidation and worried that ongoing delays caused by the Covid-19 outbreak and lengthy legal argument gave those intimidation efforts greater chance of success.

In total, five people who had given statements to gardai failed to show up in court or told the prosecution that their original statements were inaccurate. One talked of being petrified after coming into information about the shooting.

Another potential witness, a friend of Aaron Bradys, originally provided an alibi for him but later retracted it and then did not come to court. He lives in Northern Ireland and will be arrested on a bench warrant if he travels south of the border.

Another man who lives in Northern Ireland lived with Brady for a period in New York and went out with Molly Staunton. He was there along with Ms Staunton when Brady went on a rant one evening and said he wanted to be a good father but had to carry around the guilt of having shot a cop in Ireland.

This man initially gave gardai accounts of various times when he overheard Brady say incriminating things about the murder of Det. Gda Donohoe but when it came to trial he did not come forward. There is an outstanding warrant for his arrest as a result.

Most outrageous contempt of court

Besides the leaked video on social media, Brendan Grehan SC for the prosecution, told the court the same witness was the subject of widespread intimidation both personally and through his family here in Ireland.

In his statement to gardai, the man in question said he heard Aaron Brady admit to shooting Det. Gda Adrian Donohoe. He lives in New York where, due to the extent of the pandemic lockdown, it was not possible for him to be subpoenaed to give evidence.

Mr Justice White said he had no doubt the publication of the video was intended to intimidate the named witness and to have an effect on other witnesses due to give evidence. It had, he said, interfered fundamentally with the administration of justice.

Mr Grehan said the prosecution believes that the WhatsApp message was part of a campaign to disrupt the trial and prevent witnesses, including [the subject of the video] from giving their testimony in accordance with their statements.

In an update to the court on June 2, Mr Grehan told the trial that the witness and members of his immediate family, have been subjected to an ongoing campaign of intimidation and it is continuing. He said the leaked video was neither the beginning nor the end of the campaign and that it had become clear the witness was not going to give evidence.

Bradys senior defence barrister Michael OHiggins SC said that any campaign to stop witnesses giving evidence is reprehensible, beyond comprehension.

Mr Grehan noted the timing of the leaked video, coming soon after the prosecution had secured permission from the court for witnesses based in America to give evidence via video link.

After hearing evidence that there was nothing WhatsApp could do to prevent the video being circulated, Mr Justice White said: It's a sobering day for the administration of justice in Ireland.

He said it was the most outrageous contempt of court I have come across yet he was powerless to prevent it. At the time, he couldnt even make an order telling people not to share the video because he would have to make the order public through the media which would alert the jury to the existence of the video.

Another man, who also lives in New York, told gardai that he heard Brady boasting in a pub that he knew what it was like to kill someone.

According to his original statement to gardai, when Brady realised he was there he took him outside, assaulted him and warned him to keep his mouth shut. The man was left with a scar over his eye which was photographed by gardai.

During legal argument in the trial, Detective Inspector Mark Phillips (pictured) revealed that Ms Staunton had been contacted prior to giving evidence by Mr Bradys wife Danielle Healy. Picture: Collins

Some months into the trial a solicitor on behalf of this man contacted Inspector Mark Phillips of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and told him that his client would not return to Ireland to give evidence because of outstanding criminal matters in Northern Ireland.

When gardai contacted the solicitor to say his client could give evidence by video link from New York the solicitor responded that his client had no knowledge personal or otherwise of the matter into which you are inquiring. He said that his client was under immense duress when he spoke to gardai previously and wishes to put the matter behind him.

He added that his client, will not voluntarily testify. He will not cooperate with the process. Inspector Phillips told the court there was no question of duress during the taking of the witnesses statement.

During their visits to the US, gardai became aware of numerous people who had heard Brady admit to the murder. Although gardai tried to speak to them, most were unwilling to talk.

Gardai claimed privilege over numerous documents generated during their investigations on the grounds that if they were revealed to Brady there would be a risk to the life or lives of people mentioned in those documents. The claims of privilege were upheld by Mr Justice White.

Mr Grehan also referred at various times to people being terrified after coming into information about the shooting and not wanting to speak to gardai as a result.

Molly Staunton video death threat

Molly Staunton told gardai that following her appearance in front of the jury she received a video death threat from a known associate of Aaron Brady, one of the men initially expected to give evidence against Brady but who failed to show up in court.

The man, who was identified by the witness, sent her a Snapchat video in which he used his hand to form the shape of a gun and said, bang bang, youre dead. This was followed by a text message saying: You silly, silly girl with 10 crying laughing emojis.

Mr Grehan told the court that while Homeland Security was able to assure Ms Staunton that the man who sent the video was not in the US but in Northern Ireland, she was still scared for her safety and that of her family.

She had previously been in a relationship with this man and he knew where members of her family lived. She also told gardai that she had done an internet search on south Armagh and the IRA and found something stating that informants would have a life expectancy of one week.

The court also heard that members of Aaron Brady's family had contacted trial witnesses through social media.

During legal argument in the trial, Det. Inspector Phillips revealed that Ms Staunton had been contacted prior to giving evidence by Mr Bradys wife Danielle Healy who sent a friend request on Facebook to Ms Staunton and also messaged the witness. Ms Staunton ignored both.

On April 24, Mr Grehan raised concerns that Danielle and Bradys sister Sonya had contacted witnesses through social media.

He said the prosecution believed

there are people hell-bent on making life difficult for potential witnesses.

He revealed that gardai had become aware that on April 8, 2020, while the court was on its Easter vacation, various witnesses or people close to them had been contacted. A former girlfriend of one witness, whose evidence was later deemed inadmissible by the judge, received a message from Aaron Bradys sister Sonya Brady saying that her brother is on trial for murder but had no part in it.

Ms Brady claimed that gardai had given people in New York money, arranged visa green cards and left people off with crimes in return for statements. She said the Brady family believed this womans partner was one of those people who has been forced to lie about my brother.

She added that the family believed the man had visa problems and problems with a sham marriage. She added: I promise you all the Brady family wants is the truth and we won't stop until we get the truth.

"We're asking people who have any or some knowledge about this behaviour no matter how small to help.

"We have information about [THE WITNESS] but we will continue to dig for more.

"If someone is telling the truth so be it, if they are telling lies we want to know.

On April 14, Sonya Brady sent another message saying: We are reaching out to you, please, please consider talking with us. All the Brady family want is the truth.

By late June, Mr Grehan raised concerns that the delay in the trial due to ongoing legal argument was playing into the hands of those who were attempting to exert pressure on witnesses.

On June 24, as Daniel Cahill was being cross-examined, Mr Grehan said there was in the background a campaign being waged on behalf of Mr Brady, excluding his lawyers, of contacting witnesses, associates of witnesses and family members in Ireland with a view to putting pressure on people not to give evidence.

He said that as the delays continued it provides further opportunities for Mr Brady or his family or associates to do that. Daniel Cahill, he said, had been contacted before it was even disclosed to the defence that he had made a statement to gardai.

Mr Grehan said there was evidence that Brady had boots on the ground in New York who were keeping him abreast of who was speaking to gardai.

Sonya Brady had also contacted Mr Cahill prior to him giving evidence with a message saying my dad would really appreciate if you would chat to us for five minutes over the phone. I understand the problem this has created but I promise all the Brady family wants is the truth.

Chief Superintendent Christy Mangan has said that the issues around intimidation during the trial are under investigation by gardai.
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Legal Bay Lawsuit Funding reports that California utility company PG&E recently admitted negligence in the 2018 Camp Fire that killed 84 people and destroyed the entire town of Paradise. The fire devastated hundreds of lives and wreaked billions of dollars in property damage, and was the single most destructive wildfire in California's history.

After two entire years of litigation, PG&E entered a guilty plea and will pay $13.5 billion to people who lost homes and businesses from wildfires started by its equipment. Additionally, Governor Newsom recently signed into law a $20 billion fund to assist in the displaced residents' recovery. Additional lawsuits are expected to be filed.

As California enters their wildfire season once again, the Gold Fire in the rural northeastern part of the state has already burned through several hundred acres, and residents are currently being evacuated. Those who have been displaced can apply for aid through the Wildfire Assistance Program, a fund intended to help anyone who needs financial assistance with housing costs or daily living expenses while they rebuild their lives.

If you or a loved one need an immediate cash advance, you can apply HERE or call: 877.571.0405

Chris Janish, CEO of Legal-Bay, commented on the recent wildfire lawsuits, "Victims of these disasters need to rebuild their homes and their lives now, but their cases are lagging in the court system. Legal-Bay is proud to offer pre-settlement funding to plaintiffs so they can survive until their wildfire lawsuit makes it to trial."

If you have filed a wildfire lawsuit and need an immediate cash advance against your pending settlement, you can apply HERE or call: 877.571.0405

If you have not yet filed yet and need help finding a lawyer or law firm that specializes in wildfire lawsuits, Legal-Bay can offer referrals.

Legal-Bay's programs are non-recourse lawsuit cash advances, also known as case funding, which means you only repay the lawsuit cash advance money if you win your case. None of the lawsuit money programs should be considered to be a lawsuit loan, lawsuit loans, settlement loans, settlement loan, pre-settlement loans, or a pre settlement loan.

Source: Legal-Bay LLC

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A statue of Christopher Columbus in a downtown San Antonio park is gone for good.

The City Council unanimously voted Thursday to keep the statue down and return it to the Christopher Columbus Italian Society. The park will be renamed "Piazza Italia Park."

The statue was removed from the park in July after it was vandalized and protestors - both for and against the monument - gathered to demonstrate at the site.

On ExpressNews.com: Christopher Columbus is gone for good from San Antonio downtown park, but complaints continue

Columbus, an explorer long lionized as the discoverer of the "New World," has been widely reassessed as a violent colonizer who slaughtered Native Americans.

Continue scrolling to see the timeline that led to Thursday's vote.
Syracuse, N.Y.  Nearly half of the parents in the Syracuse City School District plan to keep their kids home to learn online in the fall, even as buildings reopen for limited in-person learning, according to preliminary responses from parent surveys.

Superintendent Jaime Alicea shared the information at a meeting of the city school districts Board of Education tonight.

The district has more than 20,000 students. Those in grades preK-8 will go to school two days a week and learn online at home for three days a week if they choose the hybrid model. Every family has the option of choosing complete virtual learning for their child.

Families across the region have struggled to make these choices.

Syracuses hybrid plan is similar to most other large school districts in Central New York.

The city school district also decided to give high school kids more time in school. When the district first announced its plan, all high school students were going to learn online completely until January. That, in part, was so they could help watch the younger children who would be home three days a week with no supervision, Alicea said at the time.

But tonight the superintendent said high school students and their parents both asked for more time in-person in the schools. So all high school students will get one day of in-person education a week.

The city school district also joined others today in deciding that it would delay its start date. As of now, the city school district will open for school on Sept. 14.

This would give teachers, staff and the district more time to prepare for students to come in-person, Alicea said.

Board Commissioner Tamica Barnett questioned said she thought the district was rushing to open for in-person education before teachers and staff were ready.

I dont think we should open in September, at all, she said.

The Syracuse Teachers Association, which represents more than 3,000 teachers and staff in the district, today voted to tell the district that they dont think there should be any in-person school until at least November 9. The union vote was done by building representatives, not the full union.

The Rochester teachers union asked its district to delay the start of in-person school until November.

In a statement issued later, Alicea said he understands the Syracuse teachers concerns.

The Board of Education and I are willing to continue to listen and address their concerns as we have throughout the entire planning process. Tonight, the Board approved moving the opening day for students back to September 14th providing staff an additional week to prepare for the opening of school. If we need to extend that further that is something we can discuss, Alicea said.

He said the district has been working with union leadership on safe plans for returning to school that follow the state and CDC guidelines and he acknowledged the unions concern about child-care gaps teachers will face.

We have acknowledged that there is not a plan that is going to be 100% perfect for everyone and that we are going to have to make adjustments as we move forward, Alicea said.

Marnie Eisenstadt is a reporter who writes about people and public affairs in Central New York. Have an idea or question? Contact her anytime: email | Twitter| Facebook | 315-470-2246
No one was injured, but a home was destroyed when a fire broke out Wednesday morning in Portage.

According to a release from the Portage Police Department, the fire was reported at 9:04 a.m. at 701 W. Wisconsin St. Upon arrival, officers found the front porch of a three-story home fully engulfed in flames. The fire quickly spread to the rest of the home.

Katherine Wilson said she was pulling into the driveway of her mothers home on Cass Street, two houses down from the burning home, and saw flames coming from the porch and tried to alert the homes residents.

I walked over to the porch to check on it, and it looked like other things on the porch were going up, Wilson said. I ran around and just beat on the door to let people know in the house. They started getting out.

At about 10 a.m., Brad Veith, who lives behind the burned house, said he saw firefighters enter from the second-floor entrance and the structure immediately began to weaken and collapse.
New York has been named the worst state in the U.S. for its economic outlook as New York City is reportedly seeing people fleeing the city.

The American Legislative Exchange Council released its annual ranking of Rich States, Poor States on Wednesday, ranking states based on competitiveness and economic outlook based on policy choices. The conservative nonprofit named NYS No. 50 overall for the seventh year in a row, giving it low scores in corporate and personal income tax rates property tax burdens, estate/inheritance taxes, average workers compensation costs and recently legislated tax changes.

The data outlined in the 13th edition of Rich States, Poor States shows how economically competitive states thrive and how those that dont make proactive pro-growth reforms, like Connecticut and Illinois, are left in the dust, said Reagan economist and study author Dr. Arthur B. Laffer. Sound tax policy and eliminating excessive government regulations continue to stand strong and true in improving states competitiveness, and we hope these states stories serve as a guide as we navigate the economic recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Other worst states included Vermont, New Jersey, Illinois, and California, while the five best states for economic outlook were Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Indiana and North Carolina. Utah ranked No. 1 overall due to factors like a low state minimum wage  $7.25 compared to New Yorks $11.80  and low tax burdens.

ALEC, an organization of conservative state legislators with advisors from the private sector, also ranked the Empire State last in absolute domestic migration. Nearly 200,000 people left the state each of the past three years, and this year could be worse, a new report from The New York Post suggests.

Moving companies in New York City told the Post that 90% of its customers are leaving NYC for the suburbs, Upstate New York, or other states due to the coronavirus pandemic.

People are fleeing the city in droves, Moon Salahie, owner of Elite Moving & Storing in Yonkers, told the publication.

Most are families with kids and worried about Covid-19 as the school year approaches, Salahie said. Others were frustrated with being stuck inside an apartment during the shutdown, unable to go to the park and other activities as large cities were hit hardest by the virus.

The Hartford Courant reports more than 16,000 New Yorkers moved to Connecticut from March through June, according to U.S. Postal Service data.

Overall, New Yorks population has declined over the past decade. The state has lost a net 1.4 million residents to other states since 2010, according to U.S. census data and migration patterns in IRS records.
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 8 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 CPD 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.

Both campaigns should act immediately to arrange a fourth event, in the interest of filling the gaps in this most unusual presidential campaign. Both candidates have been off the trail, with rallies and virtually all public appearances canceled. Democrats announced that Biden will not be going to the convention in Milwaukee to accept his nomination, opting to speak by video connection. Republicans will hold a modified convention in Charlotte but Trump, too, will appear via video.

At this point, nationally televised debates are all that remains of a conventional campaign.

For a nation already deprived of a traditional campaign schedule because of the COVID-19 global pandemic, Giuliani wrote, it makes no sense to also deprive so many Americans of the opportunity to see and hear the two competing visions for our countrys future before millions of votes have been cast.

Meanwhile, a mystifying op-ed by columnist Elizabeth Drew in The New York Times declared: Lets Scrap the Presidential Debates. What a strange suggestion in an election year that has already been forced to scrap just about everything else.

The chorus of liberal pundits urging Biden to skip the debates entirely is alarming. Joe Lockhart, Bill Clintons former press secretary, advises Biden: Whatever you do, dont debate Trump. According to Lockharts analysis for CNN, Its a fools errand to enter the ring with someone who cant follow the rules or the truth.

If Lockhart believes Biden cant think fast enough to counter Trumps lies, hes wrong. Moreover, if the former vice president cant handle a ruthless debate opponent then he probably cant handle the presidency.

It wasnt long ago that some of us believed Trump might duck the debates altogether, with so much of his disastrous past year ripe for interrogation. But as polls show him trailing Biden (the Real Clear Politics average gives Biden a 7 point lead), Trumps strategy is shifting.

Four presidential debates of two and a half hours each is probably all that can be squeezed in. Perhaps one could be devoted to domestic issues and one to foreign affairs. To further probe the differences between the two campaigns, a second debate for the vice presidential candidates should be added to the one planned for Oct. 7.

Before selecting Joe Biden as their nominee, Democrats had 12 official debates. The events were strained at times because there were so many candidates - but not because debating itself wasnt vitally important. Now, with Election Day drawing near, why should voters have to settle for misleading campaign ads, brief news clips and Twitter bombs to make their decision?

The CPD has opened the door for a fourth presidential debate  and presumably a second vice presidential debate - if requested by both campaigns. Trump and Biden should act quickly to make it happen.

In Pew research following the 2016 election, 63% of voters said the presidential debates were very or somewhat helpful in deciding which candidate to vote for. Certainly in the pandemic election of 2020 voters deserve all the help they can get.

Peter Funt is a writer and speaker. His column is distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate.
By PTI

LAHORE: A Pakistani court on Thursday suspended a one-year jail sentence of two senior leaders of the Jamaat-ud-Dawah and close aides of mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attack Hafiz Saeed in a terror-financing case.

The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Lahore in June handed down one-year imprisonment to Abdul Rehman Makki and Abdus Salam for terror financing.

The ATC had also imposed a fine of 50,000 Rupees on each on them, failing for which they will have to undergo another six months in prison.

The JuD leaders were convicted under the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.

Both the leaders had challenged their conviction in the Lahore High Court (LHC).

"The Lahore High Court today suspended one-year sentence each of Abdul Rehman Makki and Abdus Salam and ordered their release on bail," a court official told PTI.

A two-member bench of the LHC comprising Asjad Javed Gural and Waheed Khan held the hearing on their petition on Thursday and after hearing the arguments from both defence and prosecution, it accepted the plea of Makki and Salam and ordered the suspension of the ATC sentence.

The bench also ordered their release on bail.

Both the leaders were serving their sentence at the Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore.

According to the ATC verdict, both JuD/LeT leaders were found guilty of terrorism financing.

They had been collecting funds and unlawfully financing the proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) organisation.

The ATC had also ordered the confiscation of assets made from the funds collected through terrorism financing.

Makki, the head of JuD's political and international affairs wing and in-charge of its charity Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF), was arrested during a government crackdown against the outlawed organisations in May.

In February, Saeed was sentenced to 11 years in jail on terror finance charges by an ATC of Lahore.

The ATC sentenced Saeed and his close aide Zafar Iqbal to five-and-a-half years each in two cases.

A total of 11 years sentence will run concurrently.

Saeed is serving his term in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail.

He was arrested in July last year.

The counter-terrorism department of Punjab police had registered 23 FIRs against Saeed and his accomplices on the charges of terror financing in different cities of the province.

Saeed-led JuD is the front organisation for the LeT which is responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attack that killed 166 people, including six Americans.

The US named Saeed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, and the US, since 2012, has offered a USD 10-million reward for information that brings Saeed to justice.

He was listed as a terrorist under the UN Security Council Resolution 1267 in December 2008.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG), a self-regulatory advertising industry initiative to fight criminal activity in the digital advertising supply chain, today announced the hiring of Danielle Meah, former Global Head of Threat Intelligence for Citigroup, as TAG's first Director of Threat Intelligence.

In her new role, Meah will lead the TAG Threat Exchange and work with the industry to foster an effective threat-sharing culture. She will also direct TAG's role as the ad industry's first and only Information Sharing and Analysis Organization (ISAO), including expanding the work of the TAG Threat Exchange to rapidly identify threats to the digital advertising supply chain, share information on those threats across hundreds of companies, and work with law enforcement to investigate and prosecute the criminals involved.

"In the eternal cat-and-mouse game between good guys and criminals, TAG just hired the Bengal tiger of threat intelligence," said Mike Zaneis, CEO of TAG. "Danielle is a world-class expert on the tools and techniques used by criminals to exploit holes in the digital supply chain, and she will help TAG expand our threat intelligence and threat sharing capabilities to help the digital ad industry build a rapid reaction system that identifies, analyzes, and disseminates information on new and emerging threats."

TAG also released a new White Paper, "Changing the Criminal Calculus: Best Practices in the Fight Against Malvertising," which provides a comprehensive overview of the malvertising threat and the steps that companies should take to protect themselves and their partners. Among the best practices described in the White Paper, companies should:

Take responsibility and communicate their commitment by:

Creating and sustaining an internal focus on keeping ads free from malware.

Developing a "zero tolerance" policy for ads infected with malware.

Earning the TAG Certified Against Malware Seal to demonstrate the company has adopted the rigorous standards needed to fight malware

Choose the right partners through steps such as:

Knowing their risk tolerance and choosing partners that share and can accommodate those values.

Asking the right questions during the RFP process, for example, whether potential partners use malware scanning and real-time detection techniques.

Checking if partners have received the TAG Certified Against Malware Seal.

Work closely with partners to develop and execute their strategy by:

Designating a trained Brand Safety Officer within the company.

Documenting appropriate points of contact at partner companies.

Clearly communicating a plan to protect assets before a campaign launches.

Stay involved once campaigns are launched by ensuring proper mitigation strategies are in place to stop malvertising attacks at any point in a campaign.

See the bigger picture beyond each individual company by:

Providing partners with information about incidents of malware-infected creative, so they can be on the lookout for recurrences of those issues.

Supporting industry-wide threat sharing.

"Malware and other supply chain threats cannot be effectively addressed by a single company working in a vacuum," said Meah. "Like sentries in remote outposts, each company has only a partial view of the broader field of battle. By working together, however, our industry can scan the entire length of the supply chain in real-time, watching for emerging threats, then share that information through TAG with hundreds of other participating companies for action. I'm delighted to be joining TAG in this important role, as we expand our threat sharing efforts to build a safer medium."

Over recent months, the TAG Threat Exchange has hosted engagement between security vendors and key adtech platforms to support collaboration and threat sharing around new malvertising and fraud threats, such as ICEPick-3PC/eGobbler (discovered by The Media Trust and Confiant), Tag Barnakle (discovered by Confiant), and Hydra (discovered by Protected Media).

TAG has also hosted larger briefings open to the entire TAG Community about timely "red flag" threats. In those briefings, TAG provides detailed analysis of and guidance on how to combat such threats in coordination with the companies that discover them. Over the years, such briefings have helped the industry collectively fight attacks including Methbot, 3ve, Drainerbot, ICEPick and others.

Prior to joining TAG, Meah was Global Head of Threat Intelligence for Citigroup, leading a cross-regional team of intelligence analysts, collections management staff, and partnership and engagement specialists. In this role she was responsible for helping create an intelligence-led strategy with Citi's security leadership to bolster the organization's network defense posture.

Previously, Danielle held a variety of roles developing cyber intelligence capabilities in both the public and private sector. She was Collections Manager and Director of Operations for Booz Allen Hamilton's cyber intelligence service. She also worked as a cyber threat analyst for LookingGlass and the U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission. She began her career as a Chinese linguist and cyber policy fellow for the US federal government.

Danielle earned a Master of Science in Digital Forensics and Incident Response from George Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts from Hamilton College in Chinese and World Politics. She is a registered Private Investigator in the state of Virginia and holds a Global Certified Incident Handler (GCIH) certification.

About the Trustworthy Accountability Group

The Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) is the leading global certification program fighting criminal activity and increasing trust in the digital advertising industry. Created by leading US industry trade organizations, TAG's mission is to eliminate fraudulent traffic, combat malware, prevent Internet piracy, and promote greater transparency in digital advertising. TAG advances those initiatives by bringing companies across the digital advertising supply chain together to set the highest standards. TAG is the first and only registered Information Sharing and Analysis Organization (ISAO) for the digital advertising industry. For more information on TAG, please visit tagtoday.net.

Media contact:

Andrew Weinstein

[email protected]

202-667-4967

SOURCE Trustworthy Accountability Group

Related Links

http://tagtoday.net


A Sinn Fein MEP abstained on a European Parliament vote condemning Hong Kong's controversial new security laws - in a move that puts a fresh spotlight on the party's relationship with China.

Midlands North West MEP Chris MacManus argued the resolution did not manage to "strike a balance between recognising China's sovereignty and raising valid concerns".

In his written explanation on the June 19 vote, he said: "As a club with many former colonial powers as members, the EU should not feel it has any greater moral authority than anybody else when discussing colonial legacy issues."

Mr MacManus was one of 62 MEPs who abstained as the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly - 565 votes to 34 - in favour of bringing China before the International Court of Justice over its decision to adopt a new national security law for semi-autonomous Hong Kong. The laws stipulate certain political views and symbols - including showing support for Hong Kong, Taiwan, Xinjiang and Tibet's independence - are illegal.

They have been widely condemned, including by the British and Irish governments, but Sinn Fein has been notably circumspect. Deputy leader Michelle O'Neill reportedly endorsed them in a recent video call with the Chinese Consul General in Belfast, Madame Zhang Meifang.

Ms O'Neill, the North's Deputy First Minister, and First Minister Arlene Foster were criticised after they reportedly said they "understand and respect" the laws. This account, posted by the consulate on its website and reported by the Irish News, has been disputed by both ministers. The DUP said Ms Foster is writing to Ms Zhang to express her disappointment with how the meeting was represented. But Sinn Fein has not committed to co-signing the letter or making its own representations.

Mr MacManus's abstention over concerns about China's sovereignty, raises new questions about the party's position on the former British colony.

There has been a strong undertone of pro-British sentiment in the Hong Kong protest movement, the subject of a violent crackdown by pro-Beijing authorities. So in a case of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend", is Sinn Fein effectively backing China's communist regime as it roots out elements of British colonialism in Hong Kong?

"Nonsense," said Sinn Fein foreign affairs spokesman John Brady, adding the party believes the new laws are a "serious infringement" on human rights. He said, however, he was "mindful" Ireland has good trade relations with China. "Obviously human relations stands separate to all of that and we have serious concerns," he said. "The Chinese government needs to engage in meaningful dialogue with citizens of Hong Kong and engage with what's going on."

The Wicklow TD said he has sought a meeting with the Chinese ambassador to Ireland and wasn't aware of Mr MacManus's vote. The MEP, who is on annual leave, could not be reached for comment.

Ms O'Neill said she supports the internationally endorsed 'one country, two systems' approach. "She has also strongly refuted and dismissed the false suggestion she supports what China is doing in Hong Kong," a spokesman claimed. The evidence indicates it is not as clear-cut as that.
G hislaine Maxwell's request to delay the unsealing of potentially explosive court documents has been rejected by a New York judge.

Lawyers for the British socialite accused of sex trafficking teenage girls for Jeffrey Epstein, argued that "critical new information" had surfaced that could affect Maxwell's ability to obtain a fair trial.

But in a two-page order, US District Judge Loretta Preska said she had no reasonable basis to order their requested three-week delay on making the documents' contents known.

They come from a long-settled civil defamation case against Maxwell by Virginia Giuffre, who said Epstein kept her as a "sex slave" with Maxwell's help.

A court sketch of Ghislaine Maxwell who is being held in pre-trial detention / REUTERS

Maxwell has asked an appeals court in Manhattan to block the release of a 2016 deposition about her sex life, used in that case, also citing the threat to a fair trial.

Her criminal trial is scheduled for July 2021.

Meanwhile, US prosecutors are expected by Thursday to respond to a separate request by Maxwell's lawyers that she be moved into the general population at the Brooklyn jail where she is being held.

The lawyers said the 58-year-old has been subjected to "uniquely onerous" conditions, including 24-hour surveillance and numerous body scans.

They argue she should be treated like other pre-trial detainees.

Epstein was found hanged in his prison cell last August while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

Maxwell's lawyers called her treatment "a reaction" to her former boyfriends death by suicide.
The US government has proposed changes that would allow more water to flow through showerheads, after president Donald Trump said his hair needs to be perfect.

Since 1992, showerheads in the US have been restricted to producing a maximum of 2.5 gallons (9.5l) of water per minute, but the Trump administration proposed changes on Wednesday that would allow fixtures to include multiple nozzles each producing the same amount, according to Reuters.

The Department of Energy has proposed allowing 2.5 gallons to flow through each nozzle on a shower instead of the whole fixture, following complaints from Mr Trump earlier in the year that US showers do not produce enough water for his hair.

Speaking at the White House in July, president Trump said: So showerheads  you take a shower, the water doesnt come out. You want to wash your hands, the water doesnt come out. So what do you do?

You just stand there longer or you take a shower longer? Because my hair  I dont know about you, but it has to be perfect. Perfect.

After the Trump administration announced its plans, Andrew deLaski, the executive director of the energy conservation group Appliance Standards Awareness Project, described the proposal as silly.

He told the Associated Press that under the new plans you could have 10 (45l), 15 (68l) gallons per minute powering out of the showerhead, literally probably washing you out of the bathroom.

He added: The country faces serious problems. Weve got a pandemic, serious long-term drought throughout much of the West. Weve got global climate change. Showerheads arent one of our problems.

Mr deLaski said that water pressure and showerheads can be adjusted to individual needs and claimed that under the current rules, US residents save $500 (382) per year.

He added: If the president needs help finding a good shower, we can point him to some great consumer websites that help you identify a good showerhead that provides a dense soak and a good shower.

However, Energy Department spokeswoman Shaylyn Hynes told Sky News that the proposals would be allowing Americans not Washington bureaucrats  to choose what kind of showerheads they have in their homes.

The White House has been investigating rules around water pressure since 2019, and in December last year, Mr Trump said that environmental regulators were looking at ways to revise rules around toilets, sinks and faucets, that are in place to help conserve water and fuel in US homes.

Speaking during a meeting with business leaders at the White House, the president claimed without citing evidence that people are flushing toilets 10 times, 15 times, as opposed to once.

Reuters reported that the proposal will face court battles if the Trump administration goes ahead with it.
In the past four months, $7.5 billion has flowed back into domestic stocks, helping the benchmark indices bounce back more than 40 per cent from their 2020 lows.

Foreign portfolio investment (FPI) in domestic equities has turned positive for the year. Sustained flows over the past four months have helped erase the deficit caused by record selling in March and April.

Currently, FPI flows into equities on a year-to-date basis stand at $230 million.

Overseas flows into the debt segment, however, are still negative at $14.6 billion.

FPI investment has ebbed and flowed so far this year, which started on a positive note with over $3.5 billion coming in during the initial month and a half, helping the benchmark indices sustain near their record highs.

However, the coronavirus-induced selloff saw overseas investors take out over $10 billion in March and April.

Since then, there has been a dramatic turnaround owing to the aggressive stimulus of global central banks, leading to yields softening in the debt market.

In the past four months, $7.5 billion has flowed back into domestic stocks, helping the benchmark indices bounce back more than 40 per cent from their 2020 lows.

Currently, the indices are down only 7 per cent on a year-to-date (YTD) basis.

The acceleration in FPI flows has coincided with a dip in yield on the US 10-year Treasury.

During mid-March, the 10-year yield stood at 1.2 per cent, which slipped below 0.5 per cent earlier this month amid aggressive bond buying by the US Federal Reserve.

There is a surplus of liquidity because of quantitative easing measures in the developed world. And some of it is coming to India, said UR Bhat, director, Dalton Capital Advisors (India).

Central banks, both in the developed as well as emerging markets, have expanded their balance sheets and pledged that they would continue to do so.

Central banks are clear they will print money for the next two years.

"As they do so, the cost of capital will further reduce. Our country will receive more FPI and foreign direct investment (FDI), said Saurabh Mukherjea, founder of Marcellus Investment Managers.

A substantial part of the $7.5 billion that has come since April is on account of large share sales in companies such as Hindustan Unilever, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Bharti Airtel. Large block deals have witnessed chunky foreign investment, which reflects in the daily flows tally recorded by depositories.

The FPI tally for the year is greater if one includes qualified institutional placements (QIPs), the investments into which dont reflect in the depositories data.

Since April, the large part of the flows has come on account of block sales and follow-on issues by marquee companies.

"FPI participation in these shares sales is significant. In comparison, secondary market buying by foreign portfolio investors has been muted, Bhat said.

He said foreign portfolio investors were keen to help strengthen the balance sheets of companies they thought would thrive once the lockdown was lifted.

Foreign portfolio investors are clear about which companies will do well when things become normal.

"The weaker ones will find it challenging to protect their market share.

"The consensus is the top two sector leaders will be able to grow, said Bhat.

Market players say the positive stance taken by overseas investors has helped keep sentiment buoyant.

This has led to aggressive buying by domestic retail and wealthy investors.

However, the sharp rally has driven valuations. Several blue-chip stocks now trade at price-to-earnings multiples that are higher than pre-Covid levels.

This, despite the deterioration in earnings and downgrades to projected earnings for this and the next financial year.

The jury is out on whether global recovery will be V- or U-shaped. India is not the cheapest among emerging markets. There are a lot of risks out there, said Andrew Holland, chief executive officer, Avendus Capital Alternate Strategies.

Photograph: Marcos Brindicci/Reuters
WASHINGTON -- Five American companies owned by Ukrainian tycoons who are accused of laundering money and using the misappropriated funds to help buy U.S. assets were approved for as much as $13.3 million in loans through a federal program aimed at saving jobs during the pandemic, according to U.S. government records.

CC Metals & Alloys, Felman Production, Felman Trading Americas, Optima Management Group, and Optima 777 were among the more than 600,000 U.S. businesses approved for loans of $150,000 or more under the federal government's Paycheck Protection Program, commonly called the PPP, Treasury Department records show.

The U.S. Justice Department filed a civil complaint on August 6 that accuses Ukrainian billionaires Ihor Kolomoyskiy and Hennadiy Boholyubov of laundering hundreds of millions of dollars from a Kyiv-based bank and using the misappropriated funds to help purchase assets in the United States, including alloy and steel plants as well as real estate.

The two men control CC Metals & Alloys, Felman Production, Felman Trading Americas, Optima Management Group, and Optima 777 with their U.S. associates, Uriel Laber and Mordechai Korf, according to the Justice Departments lawsuit.

At least four of the companies are formally run by Laber and Korf from their headquarters on the penthouse floor of a Miami skyscraper.

The FBI on August 4 raided their Miami office as well as Optima Management Groups office in Cleveland, Ohio, where they own three commercial buildings. The FBI has not charged anyone with a crime; its investigation is continuing.

Kolomoyskiy denies the laundering accusation, saying the money he and his partner used to purchase the U.S. assets came from their sale of Ukrainian steel assets to a Russian company for about $2 billion. The sale was completed in 2008.

Laber and Korf, through their lawyer, also deny the charges, saying they are part of a politically motivated attack against Kolomoyskiy and Boholyubov, whose relations with then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko began to sour in 2015.



Kolomoyskiy fled Ukraine in 2017, months after PrivatBank, his main funding vehicle and the largest commercial bank in Ukraine, was nationalized over a $5.5 billion hole caused by what banking regulators said was reckless lending to entities connected to him and Boholyubov.

He returned to Ukraine in May 2019, after Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a comic and television star who ran for president with the informal backing of the tycoons media firm, beat Poroshenko in a presidential runoff election.

CC Metals & Alloys, a Kentucky-based producer of ferrosilicon alloys used in the manufacturing of iron and steel, was approved for a PPP loan on April 14 of between $2 million and $5 million to help support 145 jobs, according to the data.

CC Metals & Alloys shut down temporarily due to the coronavirus pandemic on July 1, according to a company press release.

Felman Production, a West Virginia-based producer of silicon manganese, which is also used in steel production, was approved for a loan of between $1 million and $2 million to help support nearly 100 jobs. The Ukrainian tycoons and their U.S. partners have invested tens of millions of dollars into Felman Production since purchasing it out of bankruptcy in 2006. Through their lawyer, Korf and Laber say their investments have helped revive depressed U.S. industrial assets.

Felman Trading Americas, a ferroalloys trading company that the Justice Department said was set up by Korf and Laber to hide the tycoons ownership, was approved for a loan of between $350,000 and $1 million.

Optima Management Group, which managed the tycoons' U.S. commercial real estate, was approved for a loan of between $150,000 and $300,000.

Finally, Optima 777, which owns the Westin Hotel in Cleveland, was approved for a loan of between $2 million and $5 million to support 240 jobs.

Sage Hospitality Group, a Denver-based hotel manager, owns a minority stake in the Westin, its spokeswoman Kelly Bajorek told RFE/RL. Bloomberg News in July reported that Optima 777 was approved for a PPP loan.

A spokesman for Korf and Laber declined to say how much of the $13.3 million in approved loans their companies received.

The low-interest PPP loans are designed to keep employees on the payroll during the pandemic.



The PPP program has not avoided controversy. Some well-connected or well-funded businesses were approved for loans.

Korf had hired some of his relatives at the firms he ran for the tycoons, including his nephew, Menachem Sossonko, who had been employed at Felman Trading. The spokesman for Korf declined to say whether Sossonko was still employed.

Korf and Laber are also listed as managing members of Transenergy USA, a Texas-based trucking company for the energy industry.

Transenergy was approved for a PPP loan in May of between $350,000 and $1 million to help support 200 jobs.
A senior advocate was caught smoking hookah on camera while attending a virtual hearing of the Rajasthan High Court.

The incident happened when the court was hearing a plea challenging the merger of six BSP MLAs with the Congress party.



There is no smoke without fire: #Rajasthan High Court hearing on disqualification of the 6 BSP MLAs who later merged with #Congress.

That's Sr Adv Rajeev Dhavan, using a hookah. He is also the lawyer for adv Prashant Bhushan in the latter's contempt case. pic.twitter.com/iF0FmeUuaV  Utkarsh Anand (@utkarsh_aanand) August 12, 2020

In the video that has gone viral on social media, the advocate can be seen trying to hide his face behind papers as he takes a drag from the hookah. However, the smoke he exhales clouds the screen and ruins his charade.

Senior advocate and Congress leader Kapil Sibal was arguing his case when the incident took place and it is not known if the Rajasthan High Court noticed it during the hearing or if any action was taken later.

Lawyers have reportedly been flouting basic etiquette rules since the coronavirus pandemic outbreak in the country pushed courts to conduct their sessions online. In June, one lawyer is believed to have attended a Supreme Court hearing in a t-shirt, that too, while lying on his bed.

Following the incident, the Supreme Court had urged 'minimum court etiquette' be followed during virtual hearings. The apex court had observed: This court is of the view that when counsel appears in court video hearings, they should be presentable and avoid showing images, which are not appropriate and can only be tolerable in the privacy of their homes.
Ekaterina Molchanova/iStockBy JACQUELINE LAUREAN YATES, ABC News



(SPRINGFIELD, Ill.) -- An Illinois school district is banning students from wearing pajamas during remote schooling -- a move making some parents unhappy.



The specific guidance comes from Springfield School District's 2020-2021 student and family handbook. The handbook states that pajama pants are not allowed in school and extended the policy to remote learning.



Director of school support Jason Wind told members of the Springfield Public Schools Board of Education, "We don't need students in pajamas and all those other things while on their Zoom conferences," during a recorded Zoom meeting.



"Everyone in the committee felt that was an important portion to this to make a change and state that very specifically," he said.



As fall classes are slated to begin Aug. 31, some parents have spoken out about their concerns over the dress code policy.



Emily Parkinson, a fourth grade special education teacher based in Chicago tweeted, "This makes me angry. There's a global pandemic, many parents have lost jobs, kids are doing the best they can to cope ... and they're going to be disciplined for what they wear ... in their own home? Come on, Illinois."



A woman from Arizona tweeted, "Why are schools so hell-bent on telling kids what to wear then swear up and down they can't make kids wear masks on campus?" Her tweet received over 10,000 likes and more than 500 retweets.



The district has affirmed that it does not intend to be punitive or to prescribe what students wear at home during remote learning during such uncertain times.



Hankins' statement also points out that the district is appreciative of the input and attention that has been given to their handbook, and they are open to making the guideline more supportive and inclusive.



The Springfield School District has about 14,000 students and plans to kick the school year off with a hybrid program in which students will attend in-person classes two days a week.



Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Woodstock High School has as least 14 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Google Maps

The Cherokee County School District announced Wednesday that it is closing a second high school due to a COVID-19 outbreak.

The school district, north of Atlanta, Georgia, has not required students or staff to wear masks.

"As of this morning, the number of positive cases at [Woodstock High School] had increased to a total of 14," the school district announced, "with tests for another 15 students pending."

As a result of the confirmed cases, 289 people at the school are now quarantined and, "should the pending tests prove positive, the total would significantly increase."

A day earlier, the school district announced it was closing Etowah High School, with 59 people across the district having tested positive for COVID-19.

Nearly 1,200 students and staff are now subject to mandatory two-week quarantines, NBC News reported.

When the Cherokee County School District started the school year, amid a pandemic, it did not require either students or teachers to wear a mask. Now it has shuttered its second high school in a week, with more than 1,200 pupils and staff now under quarantine.

The problems in Cherokee County, a 45-minute drive from Atlanta, Georgia, began earlier this month, when a second-grader tested positive for COVID-19 after attending their first day of school, as NBC News reported. That child, their teacher, and 20 classmates were ordered to quarantine for the next two weeks.

But the outbreak has become much worse. On Tuesday, the school district revealed that 59 people had now tested positive for COVID-19, with 925 students and staff subject to mandatory two-week quarantines. As a result, it said, Etowah High School would be closed until the end of the month.

By Wednesday, another school, Woodstock High, was shuttered, the quarantine total rising to just under 1,200, per NBC News.

"As of this morning, the number of positive cases at the school had increased to a total of 14," the school district announced, "with tests for another 15 students pending." As a result of the confirmed cases, 289 people at the school are now quarantined and, "should the pending tests prove positive, the total would significantly increase."

Story continues

In-person classes are tentatively set to resume August 31. However, "We anticipate, as we have communicated throughout this process, there will be additional quarantines and school closures as we operate during this pandemic," the district said.

Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com

Read the original article on Business Insider
By Akbar Mammadov

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has phoned Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss the transportation of military cargo from Russia to Armenia, the presidents press service reported on August 13.

During the phone call, Aliyev informed the Russian president that the intensification of the transportation of military cargo from Russia to Armenia since July 17 after the clashes on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, raises concerns and serious questions in the Azerbaijani society.

The president noted that immediately after the military clash on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, over 400 tonnes military cargo was transported from Russia to Armenia using the airspace of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran.

Aliyev emphasized that the main purpose of the phone call was to clarify this issue.

Furthermore, Aliyev informed the Russian president about the military provocation committed by Armenia in the direction of Tovuz district of the Azerbaijan-Armenia state border on 12-16 July.

The president stressed that servicemen of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces and a civilian were killed in the Armenian attacks. At the same time, Aliyev said that as a result of artillery shelling of villages and settlements along the border by the Armenian armed forces, many houses were destroyed and rendered unusable.

Aliyev pointed out that the main purpose of this Armenian military attack was to involve third parties in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

During the telephone conversation, issues related to the agenda of bilateral cooperation between the two countries were also discussed and mutual intentions were expressed to further strengthen the Azerbaijani-Russian partnership in all areas.

At the same time, Aliyev congratulated Vladimir Putin on the registration of the COVID-19 vaccine in Russia.

---

Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
When Joe Biden joined the Senate in 1972, he immediately ingratiated himself with the segregationist wing of the Democrat party. He's never disavowed those friendships, nor has he disavowed his regular racist remarks over the decades. That's why it's so disgraceful that Biden has repeatedly played the race card against Trump, as he did on Wednesday, when he again invoked the "Fine People Hoax." The Trump campaign, though, is finally hitting back hard.

Biden has been in the United States Senate since 1972. Back then, the Democrat party still had its fair share of open segregationists. And that's not a right-wing talking point. That's what NBC had to say just last year, when it wrote an article asserting that Biden was one of the leaders in the 1975 fight against nationalist desegregation through busing. The report noted that Biden has defended what he did by saying he was a junior senator who had to work with more powerful people who just happened to be race-haters, but the facts put the lie to this defense:

But political experts and education policy researchers say Biden, a supporter of civil rights in other arenas, did not simply compromise with segregationists  he also led the charge on an issue that kept black students away from the classrooms of white students. His legislative work against school integration advanced a more palatable version of the "separate but equal" doctrine and undermined the nation's short-lived effort at educational equality, legislative and education history experts say.

Biden also had a cozy relationship with those same old-school Democrat racists. Biden called Robert Byrd, a former KKK "Exalted Cyclops" and recruiter, his mentor. As recently as last year, he boasted about his good relationship with Senator James Eastland of Mississippi and Senator Herman Talmadge of Georgia, two other hardcore segregationists.

In addition to cozying up to old-fashioned racists, Biden keeps saying awful, racist things. In 1977, he said desegregation would turn schools into racial jungles. Biden also referred to lenders as "Shylocks," an utterly anti-Semitic term. He mocked East Indian accents. Then there was the time when he said it was "a storybook" that Obama was an "articulate and bright and clean" black man running for president.

At one campaign appearance, Biden said "poor kids" can be as smart as "white kids." He then made headlines when he said of blacks who don't support him, "then you ain't black." Biden built on that concept a few days ago, when he said blacks are intellectually indistinguishable from each other. And of course, it was Biden who pushed, and still applauds, his 1994 Crime Bill, which sent two generations of black men to prison.

Biden is a man obsessed with race and in all the wrong ways.

So what does Biden do, given his shabby record? He calls Trump a racist. In April 2019, when Biden announced that he was running for president, he instantly played the race card by asserting (falsely) that Trump, when speaking about a 2017 rally in Charlottesville that turned fatal, had said white supremacists were "fine people."

Biden's charge is a complete hoax. Trump never praised white supremacists. Instead, he castigated them as bad people who needed to be "condemned totally." Here's the transcript:

Despite the hoax being soundly debunked  so much so that the mainstream media have mostly dropped it  Biden made the same claim again in February. Then, on Wednesday, when he made his first campaign appearance with Kamala Harris before a tiny crowd in a gymnasium, Biden said it again! (Apropos that tiny crowd, the WaPo's Robin Givhan laughably tried to spin the empty room as an effective way for America to hear the Biden/Harris message better.) He (or his handlers) repeated the charge in a text:

Three years ago today, white supremacists descended on Charlottesville with torches in hand and hate in their hearts. Our president said they were "very fine people."



It was clear then, and it's clear now: We are in a battle for the soul of our nation, and we must win.  Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) August 12, 2020

This time, though, with the campaign season on for real, the Trump team was ready and pushed back with a powerful video setting the record straight:

The above video needs to be viewed in tandem with this video from Monday that attacks Biden's long racist history:

Bravo to the Trump team. If the Democrats want to head their ticket with a doddering old racist whose 1994 crime bill locked up two generations of black men, and a hard-left prosecutor who sent over a thousand blacks to prison on minor charges, they need to expect to be called out for the profound damage those two politicians have done to American blacks.

Image: A screenshot from the Trump campaign video about Biden's racism.
BUENOS AIRES, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Argentina and Mexico will produce the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for most of Latin America, Argentine President Alberto Fernandez said on Wednesday after a meeting with company executives involved in the project.

An agreement signed between British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and the biotechnology company mAbxience of the INSUD Group includes transfer of technology to initially produce 150 million doses of the vaccine to supply all of Latin America with the exception of Brazil, the Argentine government said.

"Latin American production will be handled in Argentina and Mexico and that will allow timely and efficient access for all countries in the region," Fernandez said.

AstraZeneca, Britain's second-largest drugmaker, has long operations in Argentina. The company signed a deal with the foundation of Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim for production of the vaccine, which is expected to be delivered in the first half of 2021, pending Phase III studies and regulatory approvals.

Fernandez said the deal "gives Argentina the peace of mind of being able to have the vaccine when required and at a reasonable price."

The South American country, which has passed 5,000 coronavirus fatalities, posted a record daily number of COVID-19 infections on Wednesday with 7,663 new cases. There were more than 200 fatalities over the previous 24-hour period.

"This will provide great relief in the future, but it is not a solution for the present," added Fernandez, pointing to the growing numbers of infections and fatalities.

(Reporting by Eliana Raszewski; Editing by Leslie Adler)
President Donald Trump on Thursday laid out the main stumbling blocks preventing the White House and senior Democrats from reaching a consensus on a fresh stimulus package after talks between the two parties broke down last week. Republicans and Democrats had aimed to reach a deal before the Senate went into recess on August 7 but negotiators from both sides failed to agree on a variety of issues including funding for states and unemployment benefits.

The impasse led Trump to sign executive orders last Saturday covering unemployment benefits, suspend evictions, student loan payments and payroll taxes, leaving the question of a second round of stimulus checks temporarily on the shelf.

Trump: "If we don't make the deal, they can't have the money"

However, speaking to Fox Business Network on Thursday, Trump suggested that the US Postal Service and his personal bugbear, mail-in voting were to blame for the stalled negotiations.

Trump said his negotiators have resisted Democrats' calls for additional money to help US election officials prepare for a presidential contest during a pandemic that has killed more than 165,000 Americans and presented severe logistical challenges to organizing large events like the November presidential elections.

"The items are the post office and the $3.5 billion for mail-in voting," Trump said, adding that Democrats want to give the post office $25 billion. "If we don't make the deal, that means they can't have the money, that means they can't have universal mail-in voting. It just can't happen."

Trump has repeatedly claimed without evidence that mail-in voting, a way to allow citizens to take part in the election without creating crowding that raises the risk of transmitting Covid-19, is likely to be rife with fraud.

Experts who study elections say there is little proof that this is the case.

Stimulus package talks stalled

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday suggested the Trump administration and Democrats could reach a coronavirus aid deal as soon as this week

However, Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows have not met with House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in six days.

Both sides remain some $2 trillion apart in their coronavirus relief funding packages. The Democrats laid out $3 trillion in funding in the HEROES Act in May with the Republicans responding with the $1 trillion HEALS Act last month.

US registers highest daily Covid-19 toll since mid-May

The Washington Post reported that the United States recorded almost 1,500 Covid-19 related fatalities on Wednesday, marking the deadliest day of the pandemic in the country since mid-May.

Live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic

You can stay up-to-date with the latest US developments in the coronavirus crisis by following our dedicated live blog.
It didnt take them a week to deface the Black Lives Matter mural on Indiana Avenue.

The organizers response to the defacement was poignant, as they pointed out that part of the purpose of putting the mural on Indiana Avenue was to both raise awareness about the loss of a historic area Black Indianapolis once had, but to also affirm a resistance to the takeover.

What strikes me about the loss of the Indiana Avenue has been our inability to make the powers that be feel responsible to any entity whatsoever in its continued plunder.

Of course this is about money.

How do you develop an area of prime real estate where gentrifiers (white and Black) arent privileged?

I know the city is concerned about gentrification and is working on this issue, but the reality is that one core function of the city is to convert properties that arent on the tax rolls to properties that are on the tax rolls.

Community interests and city interests may not always be aligned, and after redlining and the slow destruction of our neighborhoods, the Black community deserves the benefit of the doubt in development decisions.

But we collectively need to take some blame for the loss of Indiana Avenue. Did we leverage what political capital we had to make sure city budgets didnt move until our lone cultural district had the funding it needed? If we lose our cultural district, this has to be our fault  our collective lack of an imagination and focus to defend and protect a space that is basically gone now.

With plenty of blame to go around, what should we be doing?

Locally, there is a group of citizens who are challenging a development that is supposed to be headed to Indiana Avenue. The group is called Indiana Ave  Now or Never.

According to the group, Buckingham Companies intends to put 350 to 500 apartments on Indiana Avenue. The public hearing for the private development is supposed to be Sept. 10 at a Metropolitan Development Commission meeting.

We could attend that meeting and learn more about what is supposed to be happening with this project.

But more than trying to stop something, what is our plan? And Im not just thinking about Indiana Avenue.

What policies do we want in place that will empower our community to protect our neighborhoods from the plunder we are seeing occur rapidly in our community? More than protection, we have to be able to define the destiny of our neighborhoods even when community development institutions arent prepared to work with our communities yet.

Pastor David Greene has been calling for empowerment zones, which, as I understand his vision, are areas where the city and especially private developers would need to engage a group of community leaders before city processes moved forward with development.

Think the inverse of these Opportunity Zone programs where instead of capital, either philanthropic or for-profit, deciding what could happen to a neighborhood, there would be a group of citizens (as opposed to institutions) formally recognized by the city that controlled the destiny of a neighborhood.

Currently, private developers do have to engage the community as part of the process, especially if they are seeking zoning changes.

But the reality is that the power is really on the private developers side, as they get to take the initiative by stating what they want and the community often really only has the ability to say yes or no. There is really only a limited ability to appreciate the opportunity costs of selecting one project over another in this situation.

To be fair, some developers do a better job on community engagement than others. The challenge is the unevenness of the industrys approach to Black neighborhoods.

An empowerment zone would reverse the decision-making process and invite developers in based on what the community had already envisioned  which is similar to how quality-of-life plans work, but without local community development institutions.

We lost Indiana Avenue in part because it was gerrymandered out of local community development plans. In fact, Martindale-Brightwood and the far east side have never won designation as community development quality-of-life neighborhoods.

Right now, community visioning processes are led by local community development institutions that actually do this work pretty well. They might even help empowerment zone leaders develop their plans as a pretext before a neighborhood pursued some of the more competitive designations.

We need empowerment zones led by residents who can tell the developers what they want instead of vice versa. We must protect the destinies of Black neighborhoods in this city, and Black residents should be empowered to do so on their own terms and not because some said theyre ready.

What Im hearing 

Sen. Kamala Harris made history as the first Black woman to be nominated by a major party to the office of vice president. Thats a big deal and shes earned our support.

We also got an Indianapolis Commission on African American Males this week. Thank you, majority leader Maggie Lewis and Kenneth Allen. Now the work.

Marshawn Wolley is a lecturer, commentator, business owner and civic entrepreneur. Contact him at marshawnwolley@gmail.com.
New York, Aug. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Middle East and Africa Industrial Automation Market Outlook, 2020" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05948443/?utm_source=GNW





The automation market across the region is set for a paradigm shift due to digitalisation initiatives by end-user industries.Focus on portfolio consolidation through mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and partnerships will gain prominence in 2020.



This study analyses the effect of such changes on the market in detail, along with other trends that are expected to transpire over the upcoming year as organisations set to prepare for the future.Digital Transformation is reshaping the industrial market and creating new pivots of growth for automation solution providers in the Middle East.



Digitisation was the key theme across major end-user industries in the region. Automation majors have realigned their market strategies to match the opportunities offered by digitisation. We expect that there will be an increased number of M&As for companies with Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) capabilities. Established industrial automation companies have a large appetite for digitalisation and analytics capabilities, which serves as a strategy for gaining a competitive advantage in the market. While there is an appetite for automation in Africa, market price sensitivity, low skills, and a slow shift towards local value-added manufacturing have led to a slow uptake of advanced automation technologies. Businesses in South Africa have been investing steadily to prepare for the impact of the fourth industrial revolution. This study also highlights the IIoT platform offerings of major automation companies and end-user partnerships with IIoT firms.Integration of IIoT technologies will complement conventional automation systems, as end users will have better control over the systems functionality and monitoring. Though traditional automation vendors are offering IIoT-ready solutions, forging strategic partnerships with pure-play IIoT providers will add value to the existing offering and enable automation vendors to be a single point of contact for end users. The new ethos of automation vendors is in creating partnerships with start-ups that have expertise in niche technologies (Cybersecurity, Digital Twins, Blockchain, Drones) in order to generate market growth. This trend is evolving quickly in the Middle East region. This automation outlook also offers in-depth outlook on the key trends across end-user verticals that affect the Middle East and Africa automation market.

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05948443/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



__________________________
UK pub, restaurant and bar chains have said that sales halved in July compared with last summer after reopening for the first time after lockdown.

Sales in July were 50.4 per cent lower year-on-year, according to data from the latest monthly Coffer Peach Business Tracker of hospitality firms.

Bars saw sales tumble by 63.3 per cent for the month, while restaurant sales dived by 59.8 per cent.

Bars saw sales tumble by 63.3 per cent for the month, while restaurant sales dived by 59.8 per cent, according to a survey of 7,500 sites across the UK

However, Rishi Suank's Eat Out to Help Out scheme has seen sales double on days the scheme is in operation

Pubs were more resilient, with sales falling by 44.7 per cent, according to the tracker, which collates figures from 49 group-owned or managed companies that run more than 7,500 sites across the UK.

'The figures are a reflection of the fact that reopening of sites has been gradual, and not all by any means are back in business, plus those that are open are in general trading at well below normal levels,' said Karl Chessell, director of CGA, the business insight consultancy that produces the survey, with The Coffer Group and RSM.

'They also paint a mixed picture, with pubs in general opening up more strongly than restaurants, and London, which was hit earliest, still struggling to gain traction.'

It revealed that trading in London was down by 58.3 per cent in July across venues, while trading outside the M25 was down by 48.5 per cent.

The tracker also revealed that 76 per cent of sites which had been open in February were open again in July.

It said that a large proportion of pubs quickly reopened after the lockdown, with 94 per cent of pubs welcoming customers again, while 62 per cent of bars also reopened.

However, restaurants were far more cautious to reopen, with only 36 per cent of sites covered by the survey reopening in July.

Mark Sheehan, managing director of Coffer Corporate Leisure, said: 'Despite the fanfare over the July 4 reopening date for hospitality, in reality trade is recovering slowly.

Under Chancellor Rishi Sunak's scheme, bars and restaurants can offer up to 10 off a meal per person between Monday and Wednesday during August

'The restaurant sector, already under severe pressure pre-Covid, has been decimated by the lockdown.

'The pub sector has proven to be more resilient as expected and is now bouncing back strongly in many areas.

'The August numbers will be helped by more people returning to work, Eat Out to Help Out, and also habits starting to return to usual and so we will see a marked increase in certain areas.'

Paul Newman, head of leisure and hospitality at RSM, said: 'Business interruption support from Government has been critical in saving the UK eating and drinking out sector.

'Nevertheless, July's results lay bare the challenges that remain for operators.

'The return of consumer confidence is essential but this could take months.'

Food sales in British pubs and restaurants rose by nearly a third in the week that followed the launch of the government's Eat Out to Help Out subsidy scheme, data consultancy firm CGA said on Thursday.

Food sales were up by between 95 per cent and 106 per cent on the first three days of the scheme which launched on Monday, August 3, compared with the same days during the previous week.

Sales over the next four days, when the discounts did not apply, fell but left the week-on-week increase at 31 per cent, CGA said.

The government's scheme offers 50 per cent off the bill for eat-in food and drink - up to 10 per person and excluding alcohol - on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in August.
Israel and the United Arab Emirates on August 13 struck a historic deal aimed at fully normalising relations between the two Middle Eastern nations. The announcement of the deal, which the United States helped broker, was made by US President Donald Trump who took to Twitter to share a joint statement issued by the three countries.



HUGE breakthrough today! Historic Peace Agreement between our two GREAT friends, Israel and the United Arab Emirates!

 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 13, 2020

"HUGE breakthrough today! Historic Peace Agreement between our two GREAT friends, Israel and the United Arab Emirates," Trump tweeted.

Under the peace deal, Israel has agreed to suspend declaring sovereignty over the areas outlined in Trump's 'Vision for Peace'. The statement noted that further breakthroughs with other nations in the Arab and Muslim world are also a focus.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his first comment on the deal, said on Twitter it is "a historic day for the state of Israel."

To be known as the Abraham Accords, US officials have described the agreement as the first of its kind since Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty in 1994. It also gives Trump a foreign policy success as he seeks re-election on November 3.

Abu Dhabi's crown prince said on Twitter that an agreement had been reached and that it would halt further Israeli annexation of Palestinian territories.

"During a call with President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, an agreement was reached to stop further Israeli annexation of Palestinian territories. The UAE and Israel also agreed to cooperation and setting a roadmap towards establishing a bilateral relationship," he said.

The joint statement said the three leaders had "agreed to the full normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates."

"This historic diplomatic breakthrough will advance peace in the Middle East region and is a testament to the bold diplomacy and vision of the three leaders and the courage of the United Arab Emirates and Israel to chart a new path that will unlock the great potential in the region," the statement said.

The agreement also envisions giving Muslims greater access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem. The joint statement said the UAE and Israel will immediately expand and accelerate cooperation regarding the treatment of and the development of a vaccine for the novel coronavirus amid the pandemic.
Cadency 9.0 launches leading financial close automation capabilities focused on greater usability, highly configurable and transparent workflows, stronger integration and expanding AI capabilities

DALLAS, TX / ACCESSWIRE / August 13, 2020 / Trintech, a leading global provider of integrated Record to Report software solutions for the office of finance, today announced the release of Cadency 9.0. The latest update to Cadency's comprehensive System of Accounting Intelligence offers new, innovative support for transaction and account reconciliation, journal entry, systems integrations, artificial intelligence and overall usability for large enterprises.

"As our customers continue to focus on agility and sustainability during this time, the enhancements we have made in Cadency 9.0 deliver greater controls, enhanced visibility, increased efficiencies and certainty of accurate financial reporting that our large enterprise customers demand," said Michael Ross, Chief Product Officer at Trintech. "We've continued to heavily invest in Cadency's System of Accounting Intelligence to ensure these enterprises have the visibility and control to manage every aspect of the financial close from one central cloud-based platform, whether they are in the office or working remotely."

As a central part of the update, Cadency 9.0 consists of several foundational enhancements to improve the Cadency user experience; providing intuitive, easy-to-use and standardized functionality that drives greater efficiencies in your daily workflows. A new, collapsible sidebar navigation allows users to navigate to any page with a single click, reducing the overall time spent navigating between pages. In addition, the reporting experience has also been enhanced with streamlined navigation, search, edit, export, view, and run/schedule capabilities to reduce the time and effort of generating reports.

Cadency 9.0's transaction and account reconciliation enhancements are designed to enhance the speed, accuracy and transparency for what ultimately creates the foundation of a reliable financial statement. Customers will gain greater visibility into overdue journals, decreasing overall financial risk by ensuring SLA's are being enforced per policy and the journals are approved on time. In addition, the introduction of Aged Item Email Notifications will provide greater transparency and control into the management of reconciliations.

Trintech has also made extensive investments in its System of Integration with the addition of two new APIs, Cadency GL Reconciliations API and Cadency Close Task Field API. These integration and automation capabilities increase your organization's efficiency by reducing the manual period-end close activities and time spent supporting an audit, reduce your cost as fewer manual hours are spent on task management and audit preparation, and reduce the risk of a miss in an audit or key control by requiring supporting documentation on those critical tasks.

Lastly, in order to provide our customers with additional controls into computing actionable risk ratings on their journals, we have further invested in our Financial Controls AI capabilities with the addition of 3 new evaluation criteria to our Risk Rating Engine (RRE): Intra-company transactions, topside Journal Entries and period-end adjustments.

Cadency is the only System of Accounting Intelligence that combines all financial close activities into a single, seamless process, including operational matching, intercompany transaction management, balance sheet reconciliations, journal entry management, close task management, compliance and reporting.

About Trintech

Trintech Inc., a pioneer of Financial Corporate Performance Management (FCPM) software, combines unmatched technical and financial expertise to create innovative, cloud-based software solutions that deliver world-class financial operations and insights. From high volume transaction matching and streamlining daily operational reconciliations, to automating and managing balance sheet reconciliations, intercompany accounting, journal entries, disclosure reporting and bank fee analysis, to governance, risk and compliance - Trintech's portfolio of financial solutions, including Cadency Platform, Adra Suite, and targeted tools, ReconNET, T-Recs, and UPCS, help manage all aspects of the financial close process. Over 3,500 clients worldwide - including the majority of the Fortune 100 - rely on the company's cloud-based software to continuously improve the efficiency, reliability, and strategic insights of their financial operations.

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Trintech has offices located across the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, France, Ireland, the Netherlands and the Nordics, as well as strategic partners in South Africa, Latin America and Asia Pacific. To learn more about Trintech, visit www.trintech.com or connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Media Contact:

Kristina Pereira Tully

Vested

650-464-0080

trintech@fullyvested.com

SOURCE: Trintech, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/601488/Trintech-Enhances-Its-Enterprise-System-of-Accounting-Intelligence-with-Release-of-Cadency-90
KFC Australia has unveiled a never-before-seen chicken burger on its 'secret menu' featuring a cheesy mozzarella patty served between two Zinger fillets.

The epic $11.95 Zinger Mozzarella Double has hit restaurants across the country but hungry diners can only order the creation via the chain's app.

The traditional burger buns have been replaced with two thick slabs of fried chicken - complete with a Zinger-coated mozzarella patty, smoky bacon and lashings of mayonnaise and a tangy tomato sauce.

KFC Australia has unveiled a never-before-seen chicken burger on its 'secret menu' featuring a cheesy mozzarella patty served between two Zinger fillets

The epic $11.95 Zinger Mozzarella Double has hit restaurants across the country but hungry diners can only order the creation via the chain's app

The new menu item contains 702 calories (2,938 kJ). The average adult daily energy intake is 2,000 calories (8,700 kJ).

'Secret Menu? No idea what you're talking about (wink wink). For all our fans who may have this "Secret Menu" you talk about, we've gone bigger and better, taking our Zinger Mozzarella burger to the next level with the Zinger Mozzarella Double,' Kristi Woolrych, CMO at KFC, said.

'With two of our signature spicy Zinger fillets acting as the bun, they sandwich an oozing Zinger coated mozzarella patty meaning this burger is only for the cheesiest of KFC fans.

'Chuck on some crispy bacon, tangy tomato sauce and mayo, you'll get serious FOMO if you don't get your taste buds around this.

'And while we can't say what else the Colonel has up his sleeve for the coming months, you never know when he'll drop his latest creation. So, if you loved this one, keep an eye on the Secret Menu and you'll never miss out on any of our one-off items.'

The bunless chicken burger joins the ranks of the secret menu fan favourites - the $6.95 Zinger Chipster and $12.45 Triple Stacker Burger.

The bunless chicken burger joins the ranks of the secret menu fan favourites - the $6.95 Zinger Chipster (right) and $12.45 Triple Stacker Burger (left)

The Zinger Chipster features lettuce, cheese, fried chicken fillet and supercharged sauce all wrapped in a tortilla and stuffed with golden chips.

Not for the faint-hearted, the Triple Stacker Burger comes complete with three juicy Zinger fillets, smoky bacon, cheese and a fiery chilli relish and supercharged sauce.

To make the purchase you need to download the app, select your nearest store, tap 'order' and when the menu appears, drag the screen down.

As cartoon Colonel Sanders appears, hold the screen for 11 seconds until the 'Secret Menu' pops up.

'Discover unreleased treats that have never seen the light of day - until now. The menu is updated regularly so keep checking back,' the app said.

'The Colonel has more to reveal in the coming weeks, so keep your eyes peeled.'
One-by-one, 20 Huntsville residents walked to a microphone inside city hall on Wednesday night and recounted what they saw, heard and experienced at protests on June 1 and June 3.

Some called for Chief Mark McMurray and Mayor Tommy Battle to be replaced. Some wore gas masks or eye goggles and carried posters or images of protesters injured by police.

One woman, Rita Burkholder, brought a bag of rubber bullet rounds and empty tear gas canisters  items she said she collected from the downtown streets after police broke up a protest on June 3.

Huntsville woman Catherine Hereford said taxpayer money used by the police department should be reallocated for mental health treatment.

We can start by taking some of the money for tear gas out of the budget and putting it toward mental health officers, she said. Thats a start. Thats where we need to begin.

One man, who didnt attend the protests, spoke in support of the police and the chief at Wednesday nights public hearing. Bob Baccus, the former Lee High School band director, said McMurray should be commended for protecting the city.

Huntsville woman Rita Burkholder says she collected these rubber bullet rounds, tear gas canisters and other items from the downtown streets after police broke up a protest on June 3.

The Huntsville Police Citizens Advisory Council is also reviewing more than 750 comments that were submitted online, said Vicki Guerrieri, the chair of the advisory council, which listened to concerned citizens at the meeting on Wednesday.

The council, known as the HPCAC, is reviewing the actions taken by police during protests in the city between May 30 and June 5. Protests on June 1 and June 3 were broken up by police with tear gas and other crowd control gear.

But even as Huntsville residents were sharing their protest stories and calling for the HPCAC to hold police accountable for what the residents believe was excessive force, many questioned whether the advisory council is impartial or has the authority to do so.

[Read more: Rubber bullets, tear gas, pepper spray: What happened in Huntsville through the eyes of protesters]

The HPCAC, includes 10 volunteer Huntsville residents who are appointed by the police chief, mayor or city council members. The HPCAC doesnt have oversight authority over the police department but is designated to advise and serve as a liaison between police and the community.

How are we going to know that justice is actually going to be done after your review? said Ava Caldwell, a Huntsville woman who has attended many protests in the city.

Caldwell questioned whether the Huntsville Police Department and Chief Mark McMurray will hand over documents, videos and other materials the HPCAC needs to complete its review. She alluded to the police departments denial of a public records request from AL.com seeking information about the tear gas and other gear used at the protests.

All of this is very important information, Caldwell said. And if you all cant get that information from (Chief McMurray) then its a moot point. You cannot perform a review unless you know you have a full body of information.

Caldwell asked the HPCAC to be transparent with the public about its interactions with the police and whether the department provides videos and other evidence.

Guerrieri, the chair of the HPCAC, said the council wouldnt take questions or make comments to a news reporter after Wednesday nights meeting.

City officials have said the advisory council will have full access to information it needs from the police department. Liz Huntley, a Birmingham lawyer retained to assist the HPCAC, said the council has requested documents from Huntsville police and the other agencies that were involved in breaking up the protests, including the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and the Madison County Sheriffs Office.

Huntley said the HPCACs goal is to make public all of the materials it reviews, though she declined to say whether the council will commit to releasing police body camera videos and records. Materials and comments from protesters and the public will be released, according to the HPCAC.

Transparency is the key, Huntley told AL.com.

This image shows a line of Huntsville Police Department officers who cleared streets behind tear gas and scattered peaceful protesters from the city's Courthouse Square on June 3, 2020. It was the second use of tear gas in Huntsville in three days. Rubber bullets were believed fired at a group that fled into Big Spring Park. (Ian Hoppe | IHoppe@al.com)

McMurray in June gave a two-and-a-half-hour presentation to the Huntsville City Council about how his department responded to the protests. Madison County Sheriff Turner has said that he would be willing to give a similar report to the county commission, but a date hasnt been scheduled.

Citing questionable claims of antifa and the possibility of looting in the city, Chief McMurray has defended the use of force against the protesters. There was no major damage reported as a result of the protests in Huntsville. McMurray and Madison County Sheriff Kevin Turner have said its because they broke up the protests that downtown wasnt looted or burned.

But protesters say the police unfairly judged them and relied on shoddy intelligence about out-of-town agitators and violent, anti-government activists. All of the people about two dozen of them  arrested at the protests were from Madison County.

Although buildings were damaged in Birmingham, a monument was pulled down in Montgomery and a statue was vandalized in Mobile, police in those Alabama cities didnt use the wide range of force that was deployed on protesters in Huntsville.

On Wednesday, each person had five minutes to speak as the listening session stretched three hours.

Huntsville resident Russell Stanners said the local police should be held accountable for preemptively using violence against protesters who were peacefully demonstrating. He said the police escalated tensions at the protests on June 1 and June 3.

I have been at every single protest that has occurred in this city, he said. The only two that had incidents were when the local law enforcement came out with a show of force.

Shawn Estes, another local protester, said the HPCAC needs to help build trust between police and the community.

Its hard not to think of you all as an extension of the police, and Im not sure I trust you all to hold them accountable, he said.

Karen in south Huntsville does not need trust building with the police, Estes later added. Its the protesters themselves and the disenfranchised members of our community who the chief has been fighting hard to slander that we should be working hard to build trust with.

The HPCAC will hold another public hearing on Aug. 28 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Huntsville residents who want to tell the council about what happened at the protests can register to speak during the hearing at this link.

Its unclear when the HPCAC will complete its review and issue a report.

Read more:

We did the right thing: Huntsville law enforcement says tear gas, rubber bullets kept city from burning

As Huntsvilles police chief defends using tear gas, protesters call for apology

Community, leaders call for more transparency from Huntsville police

Protests, monuments, rubber bullets, arrests: The week that reshaped Alabama
BERLIN/LONDON (Reuters) - Holiday company TUI <TUIGn.DE> <TUI.L> said the German government agreed a 1.2 billion euro ($1.4 billion) aid package to help boost its finances and ensure it survives into 2021 as the pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the travel industry.

The company said the extra liquidity will help it endure the coming winter season and beyond.

With the new loans, which add to state-backed loans TUI has already received, the company will have cash and available facilities of 2.4 billion euros (2.2 billion pounds), it said in a statement on Wednesday.

The pandemic halted TUI's activities for around three months to June. It had been hoping for a recovery from July but new restrictions brought in by Britain on travel to Spain have meant more holiday cancellations and a further dent to its finances.

TUI, the world's largest tourism group, warned in May that it needed to cut 8,000 jobs and shed 30% of its costs to prepare for a smaller tourism market.

Detailing the aid package, TUI said state-owned lender KfW agreed to increase an existing credit line by 1.05 billion euros in a deal which is subject to the issuance of a convertible bond of 150 million euros to the Economic Stablisation Fund (WSF), and a waiver by bondholders of notes due next year.

It is the second time Germany has stepped in to help TUI, after KfW provided the company with a 1.8 billion euro loan in April. TUI said the additional tranche will be structured as an increase to TUI's existing revolving credit facility.

Shares in the company, which have lost 60% of their value so far this year, traded up 3% to 394 pence in London following the news.

(Reporting by Thomas Seythal and Sarah Young; Editing by Michelle Martin, Kirsten Donovan)
The African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC) is being taken to court by one of the men whose name and company has been linked to the alleged misappropriation of African Internet resources.

AFRINIC is a Regional Internet Registry, one of five organisations around the world whose task it is to keep track of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses in their respective regions.

In a notice sent to individuals and organisations that hold IP addresses in the African region, AFRINIC CEO Eddy Kayihura stated that an application for an interim injunction against AFRINIC was brought before the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court of Mauritius.

Kayihura informed AFRINIC members that the application was lodged by Afri Holdings Ltd, Netstyle A. Ltd, and Elad Cohen.

Internet investigator Ron Guilmette has linked Netstyle and Cohens e-mail address to suspicious activity in the South African IP address space.

Affected IP addresses include a block that belongs to Sasol, and blocks which appear to belong to Tredcor, Afrox, Woolworths, and SITA.

Documents obtained in August 2019 also showed that Cohen is a director and shareholder of Afri Holdings Ltd.

The Great African IP Address Heist

Over several months, MyBroadband worked with Guilmette to look into the apparent theft of, and squatting on, vast swaths of valuable African IP addresses.

One portion of the investigation uncovered how an insider misappropriated large IP address blocks from AFRINICs free pool of addresses.

This free pool is the IP address space that AFRINIC holds in trust to give out to people or organisations that legitimately qualify to receive IP address space under its rules.

At least one person inside AFRINIC helped themselves to these unassigned IP addresses and sold them on the black market.

Since publishing our report, AFRINIC has summarily dismissed the insider in question and has taken back the IP address blocks that were taken from its free pool.

Legacy South African IP address blocks linked to Netstyle

Another part of our investigation involved address assignments referred to as legacy IP address blocks.

These blocks of addresses are particularly valuable because they do not attract AFRINICs annual fees, as they were assigned to companies in the early days of the Internet before AFRINIC existed.

While combing through Africas IP address space for an unrelated investigation, Guilmette discovered that Cohens Netstyle e-mail address ([email protected]) appeared in the RADb Internet Routing Registry (IRR) records for the following IP address blocks:

196.16.0.0/14  Infoplan

168.80.0.0/15  AECI Information Services

155.237.0.0/16  Sasol

160.122.0.0/16  Tredcor

165.3.0.0/16  Wooltru

155.235.0.0/16  Afrox MIS

When queried about the Infoplan, AECI, Sasol, Tredcor, and Wooltru blocks, Cohen stated that they (Netstyle) are the owners of all of those ranges, except the Sasol block. He also said that he regrets ever buying them.

Cohen said he paid millions of US dollars for the blocks via a US-based broker but did not state which broker he used.

When asked for the legal documentation regarding the purchases, he said: The legal documents are with the USA lawyer involved, we will show them in any court.

Cohen declined to answer questions about why his e-mail address appeared in an IRR record for a block of IP addresses which Sasol has reclaimed.

Application for injunction against AFRINIC

In his notice to AFRINIC members, Kayihura said that he was unable to divulge details regarding the contents of Cohens application as the matter is sub judice.

The gist thereof concerns actions, i.e., both the reclaiming and reversal exercises, undertaken by AFRINIC so far in its endeavour to maintain the accuracy of the WHOIS database as well as preventing legacy resources appearing on its WHOIS database from being misappropriated, Kayihura stated.

Kindly note that AFRINIC still considers that we acted in good faith and in line with our mandate to provide accurate registration services. We have retained the services of legal advisers to defend the interests of AFRINIC.

Kayihura also informed members that AFRINIC will be sending a notice to the registered contacts of the affected IP addresses so that they may take such action that they deem appropriate to protect their interests.

However, through the investigation that MyBroadband and Guilmette conducted we discovered that the registered contact information of many of the affected IP address blocks had already been changed to Cohens contact details.

Cohen confirmed this in a comment to MyBroadband.

Changes of phone numbers fields to me were done after my purchases because Im the new owner, Cohen said.

When this was raised with Kayihura, he acknowledged the new information but declined to provide further comment as the matter is before the court.

MyBroadband also asked Cohen regarding his decision to take legal action against AFRINIC.

He also declined to comment and provided the following statement: You are a liar, you are spreading lies, you are part of the illegal anonymous organization The Spamhaus Project'.

MyBroadband is not affiliated in any way with Spamhaus.

Now read: Man connected to African IP address heist running for board position at European IP address organisation
Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has got no chills.Maybe because he has seen so much action.

Hes urging President Muhammadu Buhari, the grand patron of cattle breeders in Nigeria, to license every responsible Nigerian looking to get AK-47 for self defence against Fulani herders and bandits terrorising Nigeria.

And Ortom is damn serious about it, stating it emphatically in a statement on Wednesday by the governors Chief Press Secretary, Terver Akase.

The statement, entitled National Security: Gov Ortom Proposes The Way Forward, was an excerpt from a paper he presented during a virtual meeting convened by Centre for Values in Leadership, CVL, in collaboration with Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF.

Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has urged the Federal Government to grant licences to responsible citizens to carry sophisticated weapons such as AK47 to deter criminals from attacking innocent and helpless Nigerians, the statement read in part.

He said the policy should be backed with a strict legal framework to prevent illegal possession of arms by the citizenry without exception.

As far as he knows this is about the most down-to-earth solution to the insecurity problem across the nation.

Governments at all levels must come to terms with the fact that insecurity is a real threat to development of the country and be willing to sincerely tackle the menace, he said.

The US, with the most liberal gun laws on earth, is having problem as the rate of gun violence keeps going up.

But considering the solution from the viewpoint of a chief security officer of a state bedeviled with herdsmen violence, one can understand why Ortom acted the way he did.
After months of presenting and launching collections online through digital platforms amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, fashion houses are finally planning to get back to business next month. But as luxury fashion brands like Versace, Prada, Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Salvatore Ferragamo, and Fendi, among others, plan their return to the ramp in September for the Milan Fashion Week Spring-Summer 2021, much will be changed.

For one, the number of people invited to the collection previews of luxury brands will have to be downsized considerably, meaning, only the creme de la creme will be privy to the runway razzmatazz.

Also, due to the continued threat of COVID-19 spread, several protocols will have to be followed strictly, including social distancing, compulsory usage of face masks, as well as some travel restrictions.

The calendar for the Milan Fashion Week, to be held between September 23-28 this year, was released on August 12. This time, the fashion event will see around 28 fashion houses staging live shows while several others will participate digitally.

Among some notable fashion houses that have decided to give the event a miss this time are Gucci, Jil Sander, and Bottega Veneta.

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

(With inputs from AP)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday unveiled Indias first charter of taxpayers rights and duties and issued a national appeal ahead of the 74th Independence Day for introspection by citizens on the fact that only 15 million people in a population of 1.3 billion pay income tax.

Modis appeal comes in the context of Covid-19, which has entailed a Rs 20 lakh crore economic stimulus and relief package, and the 68-day lockdown starting on March 25 that closed business establishments, took public transport off the roads and suspended production in all sectors barring those considered essential, such as pharmaceuticals and food processing. With the economy taking a hit, government revenues are expected to come under pressure. According to the Controller General of Accounts, the governments actual revenue receipts in the first quarter of the current financial year were 1.5 lakh crore, which is 7.4% of the total budget estimate of around 20.21 lakh crore for 2020-21. Combined collections of corporate tax (54,212 crore) and income tax (62,123 crore) in the quarter ended June were 30.57% less than the figure in the same period last year. Collection of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the first three months of current financial year amounted to 98,888 crore, 54.32% less than in the year-ago period. Collection of customs and central excise, at 50,763 crore, dropped 33.59% from a year ago.

Taxation reforms in the last six years have been centred on three conceptsseamless, painless and faceless that have reduced complexities, cut tax rates and litigation, Modi said. He also called for introspection by citizens on the small pool of taxpayers.
The suspended chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, has again written to the Ayo Salami-led investigative panel, faulting its manner of proceedings.

Mr Magu, who wrote through his counsel, Wahab Shittu, also decried the presidential panels interpretation of its role as a Judicial Commission of Enquiry under the Tribunals of Inquiry Act (Cap T21, LFN, 2004).

President Buhari had in a letter dated July 3 approved the establishment of a judicial commission of Inquiry to investigate the embattled former EFCC boss.

The Tribunals of Inquiry Act provides for public sitting, but says a panel has in its absolute discretion, to admit or exclude the public or any member of the public or the press from any meeting of the tribunal.

In his letter on behalf of Mr Magu to the investigative committee, Mr Shittu argued that despite the powers of the inquiry to exclude members of the public, it is not for the entirety of the proceedings.

According to the letter dated August 11, the lawyer said the restriction of public hearing should be limited to a few special situations.

If you want to exclude members of the public, it has to be on selected occasions. Now, they have not allowed members of the public to the proceedings, Mr Shittu said in a phone interview with PREMIUM TIMES Wednesday evening.

The lawyer accused the panel of violating his clients constitutional right to a fair hearing, describing it as a violation of President Buharis letter and criminal.

For over a month now, Mr Magu has been appearing before the presidential panel investigating him over allegations of corruption and insubordination. He was arrested on July 6 in front of the EFCCs Wuse II office and immediately driven to the Villa where his probe has since continued.

The allegations were levelled against him by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.

It is curious and worrisome that an administrative panel of inquiry headed by your Lordship having sat and taken evidence (both oral and documentary) in the past one month has suddenly metamorphosed into a judicial commission of inquiry. How this comes within contemplation of a Commission of the Tribunal of Inquiry Act 2004 is very questionable, the letter reads.

The proceedings of this Judicial Commission of Inquiry constituted since 3rd July 2020 by Virtue of the instrument of appointment has consistently been conducted in private and most of the witnesses examined without the presence of our client who is the subject matter of inquiry until recently when our client was allowed limited access to the proceedings with his counsel who was not allowed to cross-examine the witnesses called to testify against our client.

Specifically, our client and his counsel were excluded from the proceedings of 11th, 12th,13th of July 2020 amongst others in spite of presence at the venue of the sittings. In all the days of exclusion from the proceedings of the judicial commission of inquiry, witnesses were called, testified, interrogated and documents tendered and admitted in the proceedings in the absence of our client and his counsel.

It should be emphasised that the nature of allegations against our client is criminal. Consequently, his right under the Constitution to fair hearing ought not to have been crassly violated in the circumstances so far demonstrated by the Commission.

Mr Shittu also recounted an occasion when a counsel to Mr Magu was not allowed to cross-examine a witness, but a prerogative was only given to Mr Magu who is not a trained lawyer, in spite of the presence of the counsel.

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He said: Our client has been denied the opportunity of raising objection to and challenging the composition of the commission membership, assuming he would have any.

He also said Mr Magu has not been able to access documents forming the basis of witnesses testimonies and that most of the witnesses have been examined behind the back of his client.

According to him, We observe that oaths were not administered on all the witnesses who have given evidence before this judicial commission of inquiry.
Donald Trump's son Eric has 'liked' a tweet describing Kamala Harris as being a 'wh*rendous pick' for Joe Biden's running mate.

Lori Hendry, who describes herself as a 'Digital Keyboard Warrior for @realdonaldtrump' and 'purveyor of truth' tweeted the crass commentary on Wednesday evening.

She later deleted it, and he reversed his 'like' so it no longer showed in his feed.

'May have misspelled,' she said, mockingly.

Kamala Harris, announced on Tuesday as Joe Biden's running mate, was mocked by Eric Trump

Lori Hendry's tweet, since deleted, was 'liked' by Donald Trump's son Eric

The Trump campaign has been attacking Harris with venom since Biden, 77, announced the 55-year-old California senator was his choice for the vice presidency.

The Biden campaign accused Trump of 'melting down' in the wake of Harris' addition to the Democratic ticket.

'Donald Trump's presidency is melting down after his failed, divisive, erratic leadership has cost over 160,000 American lives, tens of millions of jobs, and left the United States the hardest-hit country in the world by COVID-19,' campaign spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement.

'He's only further discrediting himself - and proving that he's dumbfounded after Joe Biden's selection of a strong running mate who he himself said not two weeks ago would be a 'fine choice,'' he added.

Eric Trump, pictured at a Trump rally in March, mocked Harris on social media

On Wednesday, Biden and Harris officially launched their candidacy, appearing together for the first time as running mates in Wilmington, Delaware.

'I have no doubt that I picked the right person to join me as the next vice president of the United States,' Biden said.

'She's smart, she's tough, she's experienced, she's a proven fighter for the backbone of this country, the middle class and all those who are struggling to get into the middle class.'

He said that Harris and her family were now 'honorary Bidens,' and welcomed her husband Douglas Emhoff to the campaign trail, saying he would be making history, too, as 'America's first second gentleman.'
A beloved The Club sous chef found murdered after hed been missing for four days is believed to have been killed Hueytown, according to newly discovered evidence.

Birmingham police this week announced that the homicide case of 25-year-old Ryan Clayton-Brown was deemed to have happened in Hueytown.

Clayton-Brown disappeared from his downtown Birmingham home on Thursday, May 14. His wife, Kristen Clayton, arrived home from work to find him and a search began.

He was last seen leaving his home with two men, according to his neighbors. His mother, Yolanda Clayton, said the family had spoken to one of those men who said he last saw Ryan about 7 p.m. that Thursday in the area of Warrior Road in Ensley.

Then later than night - about 11:40 p.m. - the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office responded to a report of a car fire in Fairfield. Ryans car was recovered in an alley near 500 53rd Street.

His body was discovered Sunday, May 17, on Walnut Avenue between 28th and 29th streets. The U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested 26-year-old Christopher DeAntwon Davis about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 10, at the Ace Motel in Brighton. The task force was searching Davis at the request of Birmingham police, and he was arrested at the motel without incident.

Authorities have not yet released a motive in the case, nor said whether Clayton-Brown and Davis knew each other.

Hueytown Sgt. Michael Shupe Wednesday said authorities were able to determine through blood and other evidence that the deadly shooting happened in Hueytown. On Saturday, May 16, the day before Clayton-Browns body was discovered, a Hueytown business owner summoned police to the 1200 block of 24th Avenue.

The owner told police he had noticed what appeared to be a blood stain outside of his business the previous day but didnt pay much attention to it. When he returned to work Saturday, however, he also spotted a spent shell casing and called police to the scene.

Shupe said they collected the blood and ballistics evidence, even though they didnt know at the time to which case it was connected. Investigators reached out to area law enforcement agencies and learned the evidence could be linked to a Birmingham case.

That evidence was sent off for analysis. The report came back late last week and indicated the blood was that of Clayton-Brown.

The case is now in the process of being transferred to the Bessemer Cutoff.
Stormont leaders have immediately differed over whether the centenary of Northern Irelands establishment is cause for celebration or a reminder of sectarianism.

Republicans will not honour the creation of a state built on religious discrimination, Sinn Feins deputy first minister Michelle ONeill said.

DUP leader and First Minister Arlene Foster said events next year could be held in an inclusive fashion which did not cause offence and recalled previous contentious anniversaries in the republican calendar.

Mrs ONeill said: When it comes to partition Northern Ireland was built on sectarianism, gerrymandering (tampering with voting districts to deliver certain results) and an inbuilt unionist majority and that is not something that I would ever celebrate.

Boris Johnson has announced the first stage of plans to commemorate Northern Irelands foundation in 1921 (Brian Lawless/PA)

The Prime Minister has announced plans to establish a centenary forum and a centenary historical advisory panel to mark 100 years since its foundation.

Sinn Feins vice-president said it was important that republicans engaged in the debate around partition and looked to the future.

There is no doubt in most peoples minds that partition has failed everyone, our people, our economy, our two islands, she said.

Northern Ireland was created in May 1921 following the partition of Ireland.

Mrs Foster said: I think it is an event for the whole of Northern Ireland, looking forward to the future, looking forward to our young people having a place in the world and that is what I want to see happening for our centenary plans.

She added: It is important that we recognise the reality that Northern Ireland is part of the UK and has been for 100 years.

We also recognise that there have been a number of anniversaries already passed by.

Those include the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising against British rule and First World War dates like the Battle of the Somme in which many Ulster soldiers died.

Story continues

Mrs Foster added: It is important that we mark these next year centenary events in a way that does not cause offence and in a way that is inclusive.

First Minister @DUPleader and deputy First Minister @moneillsf met with Prime Minister @BorisJohnson to discuss a range of issues including Brexit, NDNA and the ongoing recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic pic.twitter.com/ENAYBumiti  NI Executive (@niexecutive) August 13, 2020

The new Northern Ireland state, comprising six northern counties, had a unionist majority and went on to play a significant part in British industry and war efforts.

Irish republicans committed to a united Ireland criticised what they felt was an inequitable distribution of political and economic power north of the border.

The civil rights movement of the 1960s highlighted demands for rights like one man one vote and reform of public housing allocation.

As IRA and loyalist violence ramped up, Westminster imposed direct rule from London early in the Troubles.

Boris Johnson with Secretary of State Brandon Lewis at Hillsborough Castle (Brian Lawless/PA)

Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said: The centenary is an opportunity to celebrate the people, places and products of Northern Ireland, which has such rich sporting, cultural, entrepreneurial and academic talent.

It is an occasion to promote Northern Ireland as an attractive place to visit, invest and do business, a place where our young people choose to stay and use their talent to build.

Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin said it was important that the centenary events to mark the partition of Ireland were respectful and enlightening (Julien Behal/PA).

Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin said it was important that the centenary events were respectful and enlightening.

History for me is about enlightening the generations to come and current generations, he said.

Its not about trying to prove a point  there will be different perspectives in relation to obviously the centenary commemoration of 1920 and 1921 in respect of the island of Ireland, both in the Republic we will be doing our centenaries and likewise in the north.

During a meeting with the Prime Minister in Northern Ireland, he told him the model used to commemorate the various 1916 centenaries had proved successful.

He accepts readily that different traditions will have a different perspective on these big events, he added.

The key point is that you tell history, you teach it, you present it in as broad a way as possible, warts and all, and you invite people to make their observations, to take their own insights from an objectively presented narrative.
A new photography exhibition of portraits by Laois artist, Annie Holland will be available online for Heritage Week.

The photography exhibition will be on display in the Dunamaise Arts Centre when local public health guidelines allow, hopefully from 24th August. The work is available to view online now at https://www.heritageweek.ie/projects/children-of-the-free-state-by-annie-holland-1

Also readers can go to https://vimeo.com/user57741361 to find out more about Annie's work and the 'Children of the Free State' project.

Over the past two years, Annie has begun conversations with older people from rural Laois born before or just after 1922, taking portraits of them and having conversations about the past and the present.

Using photography and video, Annie focuses on how the process of documentation and storytelling can itself create space, physically and emotionally, for real dialogue and the narration of personal stories - past and present.

In creating this body of work she visited the homes of thirteen elderly participants, taking portraits of them and having conversations about their past and present life.

She incorporates old family photos, dating back generations into the exhibition, as a tangible bridge that connects the past with the present, and her exhibition of portraits will connect current and future generations.

Above, Nancy Phelan, Cullohill

Annie believes that the past of any human being is never permanent, but constantly being reconstructed in the present.

Speaking her conversations with older people in the county, Annie said,

I am very well placed to gain a valuable insight into the changes that have taken place in rural life over the generations as I am not an outsider and hopefully have gained the trust of my participants where they can speak openly and intimately with me.

Annie has listened to first-hand accounts of how it was for the participants to live through the peaks of emigration recorded during the 1930s, 1950s and 1980s and the decline of the Irish economy.

Their impressions of and feelings during the extremes of the Celtic Tiger and subsequent recession.

She asked questions about what it was like to go from horse and cart to motorisation, and whats it now like having to make the huge leap into the digital age.

The exhibition in a series of photographic portraits and video recordings is not just a nostalgic revisiting or a documentation of a passing way of life but attempts to explore the role of these older people and their continued relevance in rural Ireland today.

Above, Betty O'Brien, Donaghmore

The overall project encompasses and articulates the socio-cultural heritage of Laois from 1922 and the photography and video materials are being donated in perpetuity to Laois County Library Digital Archive.

It also contributes to the enquiry and perspective of A Sense of Place, the overarching theme of the Laois Culture and Creativity Strategy 2018  2022 and is supported by Creative Ireland Laois, as part of the Creative Ireland Programme 2018-2022 in partnership with Laois County Council.

Annie Holland (pictured above) is a photographic artist from Durrow.

After graduating with a Masters in Design from University of Wales in 1994, she set off on an unplanned trip around the world which saw her return to Ireland five years later.

During this time she trained as a photographer whilst living in Japan and has since made this her passion and career.

She currently works as a commercial photographer and part-time art teacher. Annie regularly exhibits her work both in Ireland and also internationally.

http://www.anniehollandart.com
Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, has announced governments support for Sewerage Systems Ghana Limited (SSGL), a subsidiary of Jospong Group of Companies, to enable the company expand and replicate its waste treatment plants across the country.



According to him, government was impressed with SSGLs operations and how it was handling both faecal matter and waste water at its two treatment plants at Korle Gonno, Accra.



Government will provide you with funds to expand and replicate your faecal and waste water treatment plants across the whole of the country. Without money you cant sustain this kind of project, he stated.



Mr Osafo-Maafo made this disclosure when he paid a familiarisation tour of SSGLs two waste treatment facilitiesLavender Hill Faecal Waste Treatment Plant and Mudor Waste Water Treatment Plant in Accra on Thursday.



Government support for this kind of project, he said, should not be a one-off thing, but must be continuous to help sustain such companies, indicating that Tema in particular was in dire need of such waste treatment facilities.



The senior minister commended the Executive Chairman of Jospong Group of Companies, Dr Joseph Siaw-Agyapong, who was present during the formers visit, for his visionary leadership.



The Managing Director (MD) of SSGL, Haidar Said, took Mr Osafo-Maafo on a tour of the two treatment plants. At the Lavender Hill faecal treatment plant, the minister familiarised himself with facilities including the Treatment Workshop, Regulating Tank, Anoxic Generating Room among others.



And while at the Mudor Waste Water treatment plant, the senior minister was briefed on how facilities such as the Sludge Thickener and the Drying bed work.



Earlier, briefing a cross-section of journalists, the General Manager (GM) of SSGL, Ing. Mrs Florence Cobbold, said her outfit was managing both the Lavender Faecal and the Mudor Waste Water Treatment Plants.



According to her, the faecal plant receives faecal matter from sceptic tanks of homes of residents in Accra.



This, she said, goes through a number of processes including screening, which by-products generate gas and charcoal which were both in the experimental stage.



On the Mudor waste water treatment plant, she explained that it receives sewerage from some homes in Accra. This also goes through a number of processes, she said.



Ing Mrs Cobbold stressed that through her outfits efforts, the foul smell that greets one at the Lavender Hill area has reduced drastically.



Additionally, she indicated that SSGL was also managing the Kotoku Faecal Treatment Plant which receives 200 trucks with faecal matter averagely on daily basis.



She, however, revealed that her company was constructing faecal plants in Kumasi, Takoradi and Tamale and both faecal and waste water treatment facilities in Tema.



For his part, the MD of SSGL, Haidar Said, revealed that as a result of his companys capability, the European Union (EU) has given them a grant of 200,000 Euros to generate liquid fertiliser.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
CEO Dara Khosrowshahi might shut down Uber operations in California in a bid to rally consumers and drivers to the company's side in the Proposition 22 campaign. (Frank Franklin II / Associated Press)

Uber and Lyft warned they might temporarily shut down their services in California in response to a court ruling forcing them to start treating drivers in the state as employees.

A brief closure might seem like a drastic move, but it's not exactly surprising. In fact, such a shutdown could prove to be a means for Uber and Lyft to appeal to voters  both riders and drivers alike  in the run-up to a crucial vote on the November ballot.

Proposition 22, a ballot measure backed by Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and other gig economy companies, aims to exempt the companies from Assembly Bill 5, a state law that took effect this year and sets stricter standards for companies that seek to treat workers as contractors.

The companies have argued that AB 5 in its current form would raise their operating costs, because treating drivers as employees would mean providing benefits such as healthcare coverage, a minimum wage and workers' compensation. They also argue it would force them to completely restructure their businesses and limit their services by requiring drivers to work specific shifts and fixed schedules.

Proponents of AB 5 and its author, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego), insist the law in no way mandates that and allows employment to be as flexible as companies want.

Vital to both sides ahead of election day: convincing voters their interpretation of the law is correct.

In threatening a California shutdown in response to San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ethan Schulman's preliminary injunction over worker classification, Uber and Lyft might have found a way to show, not simply tell, drivers and riders what they imagine the service would look like if Proposition 22 fails.

In past regulatory battles, Uber has simulated in its app what it says would be the practical effects of proposed laws or regulations. In 2015, the company rolled out a "De Blasio option" in response to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's proposal of a cap on all for-hire vehicles as part of a full-fledged campaign to defeat the proposal  a campaign that proved successful that year. The option showed riders 25-minute wait times for rides.

Story continues

Uber fought AB 5 before its passage and has continued to insist that the company is a technology platform that links passengers and drivers, not a taxi service that employs those behind the wheel. Since the law took effect, Uber has largely focused its efforts on the $110-million Proposition 22 campaign and appealing directly to drivers about their desire for flexible schedules and other perks of being a contractor.

Although a court-ordered reclassification is not exactly a welcome change, a short-term shutdown and return as a more expensive, much smaller service," as Uber Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi described it in an MSNBC interview, could mobilize consumers.

Such methods helped Uber in its early days, when the service debuted in cities without regulatory approval and won over consumers, who would later sign petitions in favor of the company and advocate for it at public hearings.

"When over 3 million Californians are without a job, our elected leaders should be focused on creating work, not trying to shut down an entire industry during an economic depression," Uber spokesman Davis White said in a statement.

Although many city and state regulators have been clear that Uber is in violation of AB 5, the law has been divisive among workers in and outside of the gig economy. Some complain they've lost access to income because some companies are no longer willing to work with contractors in California for fear of violating AB 5. Many gig workers say without AB 5 they are wrongly deprived of employee benefits such as workers compensation and a minimum wage.

The companies have until Aug. 20 to appeal before the injunction takes effect.

That means, unless Uber or Lyft succeeds in appealing the ruling or  as Instacart did in San Diego  gets the court to pause any enforcement while the company appeals, two of California's most prominent tech companies will soon need to reclassify their vast workforces in the state.

The companies say that could take some time.

Uber initially said it might take until November to restructure its workforce but later cautioned the process could stretch more than a year.

That's because both companies' business models hinge on contract labor  an approach that saves them costs. That's especially important at a time when Uber and Lyft's primary service, passenger transport, is taking a beating from the COVID-19 pandemic's widespread effects. In quarterly earnings posted Wednesday, Lyft reported a 61% drop in revenue. Uber's total revenue, bolstered in part by food delivery, fell by 29%.

In a motion Uber filed in response to Schulman's preliminary injunction Monday, the company said it will have to "fundamentally restructure its business. And that cannot be done overnight. In fact, Uber will almost certainly have no choice but to shut down the Rides platform completely in California for a minimum of several months."

"If Ubers Rides platform emerges from the restructuring, it will be a very different app," the motion continues.

But Schulman argued the company had two years to make changes after the state Supreme Court established a stricter test to determine whether a worker is a contractor or an employee.

"While they undoubtedly will incur costs in order to restructure their business, the costs are only those required in order to bring their business into compliance with California law," Schulman said in Monday's order.
A high-level warning on the coronavirus pandemic in Pakistan as it relaxes coronavirus restrictions.

Days after Pakistan lifted its partial coronavirus lockdown the health minister of Sindh province says it was too soon.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Sindh health minister, Dr Azra Pechuho said a second wave of the coronavirus could be worse for the economy than keeping restrictions and lockdown measures in place a little longer.

Al Jazeeras Zein Basravi reports from Karachi, Pakistan.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 20:15:40|Editor: huaxia

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China donates 130 ventilators to the Philippines as part of its commitment to help battle COVID-19 on Aug. 7, 2020. (Photo courtesy of Chinese Embassy in Manila)

The Chinese Embassy in Manila vowed to continue to provide support and assistance to the Philippines in combating the COVID-19.

MANILA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- China, through its Embassy in Manila, has donated 130 ventilators to the Philippines as part of its commitment to helping the country fighting the COVID-19 COVID-19 pandemic, the Chinese Embassy said on Thursday.

Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian handed over the ventilators to Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin during a ceremony at the Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs headquarters.

With the last batch of 50 ventilators, Huang said all 130 ventilators donated by the Chinese government have been turned over to the Philippines.

"The Chinese side looks forward to the early distribution of the aforesaid ventilators to various medical institutions so as to help the Philippines fight the COVID-19 pandemic," the embassy said.

Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian hands over the ventilators to Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin during a ceremony at the Department of Foreign Affairs headquarters, the Philippines, Aug. 7, 2020. (Photo courtesy of Chinese Embassy in Manila)

Noting the current pandemic situation in the Philippines, the Chinese Embassy has been donating cash and medical supplies to Philippine medical institutions to help healthcare workers and frontliners fight the pandemic.

The embassy said it will continue to donate urgently needed medical equipment such as the high flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy machine to the Philippines.

The Philippines' Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently approved the Chinese drug Lianhua Qingwen to enter the Philippine market.

"It is believed that (the drug) contributes to the fight against the spread of COVID-19 in this country and help the patients with mild and moderate symptoms recover," the embassy added.

China donates 130 ventilators to the Philippines as part of its commitment to help battle COVID-19, Aug. 7, 2020. (Photo courtesy of Chinese Embassy in Manila)

China vowed to continue to provide support and assistance to the Philippines in combating the disease.

"(China will) stand together with the Philippine government and people to jointly tackle the challenge of the pandemic," the embassy added.

Besides the Chinese government, many Chinese companies and foundations as well as individuals have also pitched in, donating medical supplies, protective equipment and COVID-19 test kits to the Philippines.

The Philippines now has 147,526 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 2,426 deaths and 70,387 recoveries.
The former K24 TV news presenter Franklin Wambugu is now a Kiambu County employee, nearly 10 months after his unceremonious sack by the Mediamax-owned station.

According to reports, the former Swahili Managing Editor revealed on Monday that he has been appointed as the new chief officer in charge of Communications and Public Relations in Kiambu County.

I am here to showcase what Kiambu County has to offer in terms of service delivery especially with it being the second-most populus county and attracts a lot of interest.

I am not going there to reinvent the wheel. I am going to work with people who are very talented, added Wambugu.

The journalist landed the job about two weeks ago, with the induction of the new appointees taking place last week.

The experienced media personality will be tasked with handling professional, administrative and operational matters relating to public communications in Kiambu County.

Other tasks include formulation, implementation and co-ordination of Information and Public Communication policies, programme strategies and design of appropriate programmes as well as advising on Information and Public Communications issues.

I have worked in the media for close to 20 years. I will bring my experience from the media sector and will work together with the officers at the County, said Wmabugu.

The journalist was among 160 Mediamax Network Limited employees who were dismissed in October 2019, in the first round of retrenchment by the media house.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 13

Trend:

Consul General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles Nasimi Aghayev met with members of the US Jewish Committee (AJC), the consulate general told Trend.

By the invitation of the Los Angeles office of the committee, which is one of the most influential Jewish organizations in the US and the world, the Consul General of Azerbaijan in LA and Dean (Chairman) of the Consular Corps in LA Nasimi Aghayev made a presentation dedicated to Azerbaijan at a videoconference with the participation of AJC leaders and representatives of ACCESS, its youth wing.

Having provided detailed information on the history of independence of Azerbaijan, Aghayev noted that in 1918, the Azerbaijani people created the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR), the first Azerbaijani republic, which went down in history as the first secular democratic state in the Muslim world and the first Muslim country that gave women the right to vote.

Talking in details about the existing traditions of interreligious harmony, tolerance and multiculturalism in Azerbaijan, the consul general noted that in the country where the majority of the population are Muslims, people of Christian, Jewish and other religions, along with Muslims, live in peace, harmony, mutual understanding and conditions of good neighborliness.

The consul general stressed that Azerbaijan is successfully cooperating with Israel, as well as with AJC in various fields, and these relations are expanding every year thanks to mutual high-level visits.

Aghayev spoke about the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, the policy of aggression and ethnic cleansing carried out by Armenia against Azerbaijan, the latest provocation of the occupying country, as well as the violence committed by radical Armenians against members of the Azerbaijani community in LA on July 21.

He emphasized that the Azerbaijani side highly appreciated the fact that AJC immediately after the events harshly condemned these atrocities and noted it as a good example of the solidarity of the Azerbaijani and Jewish peoples, which they have always shown to each other both in good and difficult time.

Following the presentation, Aghayev answered questions of the videoconference participants.
Whats New: China has relaxed entry restrictions for some European countries citizens with valid residence permits, offering a route back into the country for thousands of people displaced by border closures and cancelled flights amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Passport holders from 36 European nations, including Germany, France and the U.K., will be allowed to apply for a Chinese visa free of charge without an invitation letter, according to a notice (link in German) published Wednesday by the Chinese embassy in Berlin.

The background: As the coronavirus spread worldwide in March, China shut its borders to foreign citizens and even denied entry to those with valid work or residence permits or family living in the country, leaving thousands of people stranded.

Now that more countries have brought their Covid-19 outbreaks under control, China has signaled readiness to reopen some entry channels for Europeans. On Monday, the countrys embassy in Denmark published an English-language version of the above mentioned notice, although its significance was initially unclear.

All travelers returning to China will need to reapply for visas after Beijing voided all travel documents issued prior to the pandemic, AFP reported Thursday.

Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use.

Contact reporter Matthew Walsh (matthewwalsh@caixin.com) and editor Marcus Ryder (marcusryder@caixin.com)
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By Bill Hughes

Aug. 12, 2020 | LA CENTER

By Bill Hughes Aug. 12, 2020 | 07:04 PM | LA CENTER

The Superintendent of Ballard County Schools says the district hasn't yet decided on in-person classes, and also discussed how he is representing his colleagues in a state-wide position.



Dr. Casey Allen was elected to a one-year term as President of the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents. He said it's a professional organization, and he is basically their spokesperson on public issues.



Allen said, "You're a spokesperson for school districts across the state, and get asked to speak, in terms of advocacy, on policy decisions and things of that nature."



He said KASS members work together to create a list of legislative priorities each year, and he doesn't really have an agenda as he takes the leadership reigns.



"It's hard to speak in the role and not bring in the fact that I'm from far-western Kentucky and leave those experiences behind, but ultimately the role is to be an advocate for all Kentucky schools and all Kentucky school superintendents," Allen said.



However, he said there are some issues that become part of the conversation each year, including school funding, state revenue, and school pensions - especially in the last few years.



Allen said the Ballard County School Board has not yet decided how they will respond to Governor Beshear's recommendation that schools not hold in-person classes until September 28.



"Monday night is our board meeting, and if it hasn't happened by then, it most definitely will happen by then," Allen said.



He acknowledged that things are in flux across the state, with lots of communities that want their kids to go back to school for in-person classes. He said Wednesday was supposed to be the first day of classes, so August 26 was their second start date.



Allen said, "I think some districts are considering going ahead and trying to have in-person classes. It's what some people in our community want as well, and so our board members are elected by the community. That's why we are giving it adequate thought and trying to decide what is the right thing to do for our community, taking into account all of the information that we have, and it just so happens that some of that information is the governor and the department of public health saying they would prefer that we not do that."



He said superintendents and school boards who are dealing with the governor's recommendation may feel stuck in the middle.



Allen said board members are getting feedback from the people who elected them, with some saying kids should be sent to school.



He said, "Then we're given a recommendation from our governor - who is also elected in the role he's in and by the populace - and it's his opinion that we shouldn't go back to school. So, certainly someone is going to be in the middle on that, and it appears to be us this time."



He said he has been listening to parents and teachers, and the district has received lots of electronic communication from citizens. He said he has personally responded to every message he received.



Allen said, "Sometimes, the more input you ask for, sometimes the harder the decision you make, but I want all the stakeholders to feel like they've had an opportunity to be heard. We're listening and we're hearing a lot of different things."



On Tuesday night, Williamstown Independent School District in northern Kentucky voted to begin in-person classes on August 26. They are reportedly the first school district to defy the recommendation, and it remains to be seen if any further action will be taken by the governor or other state officials. Allen said it will be interesting to see how this situation evolves.
Manipur: Farmers concerned as farms submerged due to incessant rain

The heavy downpour which started yesterday midnight have poured cold water to the efforts of the farmers in Keirao Bitra area and Yaipharok Maring Khun area in Imphal East with their crops being submerged under water. The heavy rain caused flood like situation at Irallou Loukon (farmland) in Keirao Bitra area and Polangshabi Loukon near Yaipharok Maring Khun putting paddy cultivators, fish and poultry farmers in utmost distress.



Brojen, whose farm (fish and poultry) at Polangshabi Loukon submerge under water, told The Sangai Express that his farm covering an area of one and half pari (local land measurement unit) was safe and above the water level safe until 4 am but rapid inundation did not gave him much time and submerged his farm. He lost around 9,000 fish weighing around one and half kg each and around 3,150 out of 3,500 chickens died due to the flash flood. The flood like situation at Keirao Bitra has submerged around 15 paris of farmland damaging crops.



The flood reportedly occurred due to inundation of water drained from Nongmaiching Hill Range. When the water level of Iril river is low, the water from hill range is drained to Thongranbi Canal and runs through Langdum Khun before joining Iril River, says villagers of Keirao Bitra. If the water inundation at the Loukon is not discharged/drained within one or two days, the crops will be rotten under the water, said the villagers with deep concern. They had appealed to the Chief Minister when he visited Keirao Wangkhem earlier. But no visible work has been done so far to address the issues, they said, urging the authorities concerned and the Chief Minister to take up necessary measures at the earliest.
SARASOTA, Fla., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- INVO Bioscience, Inc. (OTCQB: INVO), a medical device company focused on creating alternative treatments for patients diagnosed with infertility and developers of INVOcell, the world's only in vivo Intravaginal Culture System, today announced financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2020.

Recent Highlights

Similar to the first quarter of 2020, revenues of $246,072 in the second quarter of 2020 continued to be impacted by COVID-19. However, with many fertility clinics reopening along with the annual minimums required under the Company's U.S. commercialization agreement, the Company expects higher revenue in the second half of 2020.

in the second quarter of 2020 continued to be impacted by COVID-19. However, with many fertility clinics reopening along with the annual minimums required under the Company's U.S. commercialization agreement, the Company expects higher revenue in the second half of 2020. The Company finished the quarter ended June 30, 2020 with a cash position of approximately $1.5 million . Subsequent to the quarter end, the Company completed its 3rd and final closing of its convertible note financing along with the receipt of its PPP loan, the combination of which added approximately $557,000 in additional cash proceeds.

with a cash position of approximately . Subsequent to the quarter end, the Company completed its 3rd and final closing of its convertible note financing along with the receipt of its PPP loan, the combination of which added approximately in additional cash proceeds. Received registration approval for INVOcell in Turkey paving the way for commercialization efforts to begin in the country.

Management Discussion

"Despite the impact that COVID-19 has had in delaying fertility treatment for many around the world, we continue to make strong progress on our key goals to create commercialization agreements for our INVOcell solution" commented Steve Shum, Chief Executive Officer of INVO Bioscience. "As we have been advancing our commercialization efforts outside the United States, industry leaders, as well as our internal team, have begun to recognize the expanded opportunity that exists through the creation of these joint ventures for developing dedicated, INVO-only centers in the U.S. and select markets around the world. The INVO center model also allows INVO Bioscience to participate in a greater share of the economics. Over the past year, we have had a number of conversations that started as standard distribution agreements that have evolved into potential joint venture agreements. We believe such partnerships, such as the one signed in India, will ultimately be mutually beneficial to achieving our goal to increase access to care and lower the cost of fertility treatment across the globe."

"Similar to the first quarter of 2020, the second quarter 2020 results were impacted by the COVID-19 virus outbreak which resulted in reduced product sales to Ferring. A majority of clinics curtailed their fertility services in connection with the lockdowns that occurred. Many of the clinics have since resumed operations, albeit at a measured pace. As a result, and along with Ferring's required annual minimums, we expect to experience stronger sales in the second half of 2020. We also believe that new guidelines that requiring limiting interactions and social distancing at most clinics could favor accelerated adoption of our technology, which allows for a more streamlined cycle approach with fewer patient visits and reduced lab requirements and resources," Mr. Shum concluded.

International Market Update

Africa and Eurasia: The Company previously executed distribution agreements in certain markets in Africa and Eurasia toward the end of 2019. Following execution of those agreements, the Company began the product registration and approval process in order to begin importing into those markets.

The Company recently received the first of the product registration approvals for Turkey in July 2020 . The Company is now working with its distribution partner in Turkey to begin commercialization. Work is continuing with the remaining countries to complete registrations, and while the timelines have been impacted by COVID-19, the Company expects several will be completed near-term.

and Eurasia: The Company previously executed distribution agreements in certain markets in and Eurasia toward the end of 2019. Following execution of those agreements, the Company began the product registration and approval process in order to begin importing into those markets. The Company recently received the first of the product registration approvals for in . The Company is now working with its distribution partner in to begin commercialization. Work is continuing with the remaining countries to complete registrations, and while the timelines have been impacted by COVID-19, the Company expects several will be completed near-term. India : INVO Biosciences' JV partnership, signed in January 2020 , remains focused on opening dedicated INVO-only clinic in the India marketplace. While those efforts were delayed due to the pandemic and the country-wide shutdown, the joint-venture is still targeting the first clinic opening before year end.

: INVO Biosciences' JV partnership, signed in , remains focused on opening dedicated INVO-only clinic in the marketplace. While those efforts were delayed due to the pandemic and the country-wide shutdown, the joint-venture is still targeting the first clinic opening before year end. New Markets: INVO Bioscience is targeting a number of additional markets outside the U.S (OUS). and has discussions underway in Mexico , Canada , Columbia , Spain , Macedonia , Indonesia , Russia , Malaysia , and China among others. The Company has set a goal of adding additional OUS markets (through distribution or partnership agreements) before year end.

Financial Results

Revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2020, was $246,072 compared to $658,638 for the same three-month period in 2019, a decrease of $412,566 or 63%.

The gross margin reported for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020 was 91% or $224,902 compared to 92% or $603,356 for the three months ended June 30, 2019. The decrease in gross margin was related to slightly higher product costs. The cost of sales recognized during the second quarter of 2019 were attributed to product shipments to Ferring.

Selling, general and administrative expenses for the three months ended June 30, 2020 were $1,252,939 as compared to $669,152 for the three months ended June 30, 2019, an increase of $583,787 or 87%. The increase in SG&A during the second quarter of 2020 compared to the second quarter of 2019 was primarily the result of an increase in wages, stock-based compensation and other corporate expenses.

The Company began to fund additional research and development ("R&D") efforts in 2020 in preparation for its upcoming clinical trial, anticipated to occur in 2020, and additional patent filings. Excluding the investment in inventory in anticipation of clinical trials beginning in 2020 and patents, R&D expenses for 2020 were $32,890. During 2019 the Company did not fund any R&D as a result of its limited resources at the time.

During the three-month period ended June 30, 2020 we incurred $259,954 in interest expense, an increase of $84,198 compared to $175,756 in the three-month period ended June 30, 2019 or approximately 48%. The increase was primarily due to higher amortization of debt discount on the 2020 Convertible Notes Payable.

For the reasons stated above, the Company had a net loss of $1,322,881 for the three months ended June 30, 2020, an increase of $1,081,329 compared to a net loss of $241,552 for the three months ended June 30, 2019, or approximately 448%. The increase in net loss is primarily attributable to the increase in operating expense, with $511,798 related to non-cash expenses.

The Company finished the quarter ended June 30, 2020 with a cash position of approximately $1.5 million. Subsequent to the quarter end, the Company completed its 3rd and final closing of its financing along with the receipt of its PPP loan, the combination of which added an approximately $557,000 in additional cash proceeds.

Virtual Investor Conference Details

INVO Bioscience is scheduled to participate in a virtual presentation at the June 2020 Lytham Partners Virtual Investor Growth Conference on Wednesday, August 19, 2020 at 2:00pm ET (11:00am PT).

A webcast of the presentation will be posted under the investor relations section of INVO Bioscience's website at www.invobioscience.com or can be accessed at https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/2162/36418. A replay of the presentation will be available following the event.

Management will also be participating in virtual one-on-one meetings on August 19-21, 2020. To arrange a meeting, please contact Robert Blum of Lytham Partners at [email protected] or visit www.lythampartners.com/virtual.

About INVO Bioscience

INVO Bioscience, Inc. ("INVO") is an innovative medical device company developing solutions for the global infertility industry. INVO's goal is to increase access to care and expand fertility treatment across the globe while seeking to lower the cost and increase the availability of care. INVO's lead commercial product, the INVOcell, is a patented Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) used in the treatment of infertility. The INVOcell device and procedure is unique as the first Intravaginal Culture (IVC) system in the world used for the natural in vivo incubation of eggs and sperm during fertilization and early embryo development. As an alternative to traditional in Vitro Fertilization (IVF), the revolutionary in vivo method of vaginal incubation offers patients a more natural and intimate experience. INVO Bioscience is headquartered in Sarasota, FL. For more information, please visit http://invobioscience.com/

Safe Harbor Statement

This release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The Company invokes the protections of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements regarding our expected future financial position, results of operations, cash flows, financing plans, business strategies, products and services, competitive positions, growth opportunities, plans and objectives of management for future operations, as well as statements that include words such as "anticipate," "if," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "could," "should," "will," and other similar expressions are forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control, which may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from anticipated results, performance, or achievements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include those set forth in our filings at www.sec.gov. We are under no obligation to (and expressly disclaim any such obligation to) update or alter our forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

INVO BIOSCIENCE, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS















June 30,

December 31,



2020

2019 ASSETS

(unaudited)



Current Assets







Cash

$ 1,503,951

$ 1,238,585 Accounts receivable, net

71,199

7,558 Inventory, net

244,108

101,387 Prepaid expenses and other current assets

221,790

195,910 Total Current Assets

2,041,048

1,543,440









Property and equipment, net

108,528

93,055









Other Assets







Capitalized patents, net

6,331

7,234 Leasehold right of use, net

90,785

101,883 Trademarks

59,069

49,867 Total other assets

156,185

158,984









Total assets

$ 2,305,761

$ 1,795,479









LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' DEFICIENCY







Current liabilities







Accounts payable and accrued liabilities, including related parties

$ 309,460

$ 371,530 Accrued compensation

575,174

393,017 Deferred revenue

714,286

714,286 Current portion of leasehold liability

22,049

21,365 Income taxes payable

-

912 Total current liabilities

1,620,969

1,501,110









Commitments and contingencies (Note 12)

-

-









Leasehold liability

70,326

81,494 Deferred revenue

3,214,286

3,571,429 Convertible notes, net of discount

997,911

325,784 Convertible notes, net of discount - related party

-

28,824 Deferred tax liabilities

433

433









Total liabilities

5,903,925

5,509,074









Stockholders' Deficiency







Preferred Stock, $.0001 par value; 100,000,000 shares authorized;







No shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2019 and







2018, respectively

-

- Common Stock, $.0001 par value; 200,000,000 shares authorized;







7,900,255 and 7,815,806 shares issued and outstanding as







of June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively

790

782 Additional paid-in capital

23,057,085

20,174,389 Accumulated deficit

(26,656,039)

(23,888,766) Total stockholders' deficiency

(3,598,164)

(3,713,595)









Total liabilities and stockholders' deficiency

$ 2,305,761

$ 1,795,479

INVO BIOSCIENCE, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS



















For the Three

For the Three

For the Six

For the Six

Months Ended

Months Ended

Months Ended

Months Ended

June 30,

June 30,

June 30,

June 30,

2020

2019

2020

2019















Revenue:













Product Revenue $ 67,500

$ 480,067

$ 147,500

$ 490,927 License Revenue 178,572

178,571

357,143

357,143















Total Revenue 246,072

658,638

504,643

848,070















Cost of Goods Sold 21,170

55,282

51,164

66,260















Gross Profit 224,902

603,356

453,479

781,810















Research and development costs 34,890

-

64,940

- Selling, general, and administrative expenses 1,252,939

669,152

2,847,985

1,196,717 Total operating expenses 1,287,829

669,152

2,912,925

1,196,717















Loss from operations (1,062,927)

(65,796)

(2,459,446)

(414,907)















Other (income) expense:













Interest (income) expense 259,954

175,756

307,827

285,215 Total other (income) expenses 259,954

175,756

307,827

285,215















Loss before income taxes (1,322,881)

(241,552)

(2,767,273)

(700,122)















Provision for income taxes -

-

-

-















Net Loss $ (1,322,881)

$ (241,552)

$ (2,767,273)

$ (700,122)















Basic net loss per weighted average shares of common stock $ (0.17)

$ (0.03)

$ (0.35)

$ (0.09)















Diluted net loss per weighted average shares of common stock $ (0.17)

$ (0.03)

$ (0.35)

$ (0.09)















Basic weighted average number of shares of common stock 7,892,707

7,763,048

7,880,751

7,743,685















Diluted weighted average number of shares of common stock 7,892,707

7,763,048

7,880,751

7,743,685

INVO BIOSCIENCE, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS











For the Six

For the Six

Months Ended

Months Ended

June 30,

June 30,

2020

2019 Cash flows from operating activities:





Net Loss $ (2,767,273)

$ (700,122) Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities:





Non-cash stock compensation issued for services 60,800

26,600 Non-cash stock compensation issued to employees 345,972

- Fair value of stock options issued to employees 596,390

- Amortization of discount on notes payable 208,071

256,703 Amortization of discount on notes payable options 15,555

- Amortization of discount on notes payable warrants 18,742

- Amortization of discount on notes payable issuance costs 20,577

- Amortization of leasehold right of use asset 11,098

3,614 Depreciation and amortization 5,958

3,465 Changes in assets and liabilities:





Accounts receivable (63,641)

(14,315) Inventories (142,721)

(32,962) Prepaid expenses and other current assets (25,880)

53,974 Accounts payable and accrued expenses (62,070)

1,280 Leasehold liability (10,484)

(3,370) Deferred revenue (357,143)

4,636,937 Accrued interest (49,610)

24,458 Accrued compensation 182,157

(1,546,030) Income taxes payable (912)

- Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities (2,014,414)

2,710,232







Cash from investing activities:





Payments to acquire property, plant, and equipment (20,528)

(64,839) Payments to acquire trademarks (9,202)

- Net cash used in investing activities (29,730)

(64,839)







Cash from financing activities:





Proceeds from sale of notes payable, net of issuance costs 2,644,510

- Principal payment on notes payable (295,000)

(131,722) Principal payment on notes payable - related parties (40,000)

(62,743) Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities 2,309,510

(194,465)







Increase in cash and cash equivalents 265,366

2,450,928







Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 1,238,585

212,243







Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $ 1,503,951

$ 2,663,171







Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:













Cash paid during the period for:













Interest $ 78,456

$ 9,823







Taxes $ 1,062

$ -







Leasehold right of use asset and leasehold liability upon adoption of ASU 2016-02, lease (Topic 842) $ -

$ 116,441







Common stock issued upon note payable and accrued interest conversion $ -

$ 238,723







Common stock issued for prepaid services $ -

$ -







Common stock issued for accrued compensation $ -

$ -







Beneficial conversion feature on convertible notes $ 182,460

$ -







Fair value of options issued with debt $ 767,160

$ -







Fair value of warrants issued with debt $ 929,922

$ -

SOURCE INVO Bioscience, Inc.

Related Links

https://invobioscience.com/


Goodwill Industries will reopen its Jacksonville retail store and donation center Friday after temporarily closing the facility because an employee tested positive for COVID-19.

The store, at 1205 W. Morton Ave., will reopen at 10 a.m. Friday, according to Land of Lincoln Goodwill Industries.
BJP MP says govt will kick out 88,000-odd BSNL employees, privatise telco

BJP MP Anant Kumar Hegde accused BSNL employees of being lazy, incompetent, who he blamed for the misfortune of the state-owned telco. He said it will be privatised and 88,000 employees will be fired.

Hegde said the only way to save the ailing state-run telco is to privatise it.

In 2019, the government said BSNL and its subsidiary MTNL won't be privatised and in October, 2019, introduced a Rs69,000-crore revival plan to improve cash flows, clear employee dues of BSNL and MTNL

Under the plan, the government introduced a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS), which allowed employees aged above 53 and half to be given 125 per cent remuneration, ie, salary, pension and gratuity, till the age of 60. As many as 78,300 reportedly opted for the scheme, which reportedly allowed BSNL to save 50 per cent of staff-related costs of Rs14,500 crore. As many as 76 per cent of MTNLs total workforce took VRS.

Hedge also stirred controversy, calling the employees of state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) traitors. He accused BSNL employees of not working hard enough to save the troubled telecom PSU and warned that 88,000 workers will be fired when it is privatised.

BSNL has a system filled with traitors. I am using accurate words to describe them, said the BJP legislator while speaking at a virtual event held on Monday at Kumta in Uttara Kannada district. He accused the BSNL employees of being lazy and incompetent and blamed them for the state telecom carriers misfortune.

"The government has given money, people require services and there is infrastructure. Yet, they (BSNL employees) don't work. PM talks of Digital India, has provided funds and technology. Yet, they are not willing to work," Hedge reportedly said adding that the only solution left with the government to fix the PSU is to privatise it and fire 88,000 employees.

Meanwhile, the telecom ministry has reworked BSNLs 4G network upgradation tender to exclude Chinese companies after Chinese armys provocation at the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh's Galwan valley, leading to a violent clash.

BSNL earlier scrapped the Rs8,697 tender which it floated in March following allegations that it had not followed public procurement norms to allow more Indian players under the 'Make in India' programme.
This obituary is part of a series about people who have died in the coronavirus pandemic. Read about others here.

BUENOS AIRES  It took David Galante 50 years to speak publicly of the horrors he witnessed at Auschwitz. But once he did, he made it his lifes calling to make sure that people did not forget the Holocaust, traveling and speaking about the crimes perpetrated by the Nazis.

The event that changed him was the release of the movie Schindlers List in 1994. The realization that people would want to hear his story, he often said, was his true liberation.

The feeling of having kept quiet for 50 years was also a type of prison, said Martin Hazan, Mr. Galantes godson, who wrote a 2007 book about Mr. Galante called Un Dia Mas De Vida (One More Day of Life).
FILE PHOTO: Pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow is arrested by the national security unit in Hong Kong

By Linda Sieg

TOKYO (Reuters) - Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow, released on bail after her arrest under the new National Security Law, has thanked Japanese people for their outpouring of support, urging them to not to forget the city amid a crackdown by Beijing.

Chow, 23, a fluent Japanese speaker dubbed the "goddess of democracy" by Japanese media, and Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai were arrested under the security law on Monday.

The arrest of Chow, who often tweeted in Japanese and appeared in Japanese media, was top news in Japan this week and the hashtag #FreeAgnes trended on Twitter.

"Thank you so much," Chow said in a brief Japanese-language segment of a Chinese-language video about 24 hours after her release on bail late Tuesday.

"I hope the people of Japan will keep paying attention to Hong Kong," she added. Parts of the video were aired on NHK public television on Thursday.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government, seeking to keep ties with Beijing on an even keel amid an intensifying confrontation between China and the United States, repeated this week that Tokyo was "deeply concerned" about the situation in Hong Kong.

A cross-party group of lawmakers, including members of Abe's Liberal Democratic Party condemned the arrests, urged the government to refuse any requests for evidence based on the security law, and to ease visa restrictions on Hong Kong residents.

Hong Kong's Beijing-backed government called the group's statement incorrect and inappropriate.

The crackdown on pro-democracy opposition in Hong Kong has drawn international criticism and raised fears for freedoms promised by Beijing under a "one country, two systems" model.

The city's government and Chinese authorities say the law is needed to restore order after sometimes violent anti-government protests last year.

Chow last posted on her Japanese-language Twitter account on June 30, saying, "As long as we live, there is hope."

(Editing by Gerry Doyle)
Dublin, Aug. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Transformer Monitoring System Market Forecast to 2027 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis by Component; Service; Application" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The transformer monitoring system market was valued at US$ 1, 842.54 million in 2019 and is projected to reach US$ 2, 806.19 million by 2027; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.5% from 2020 to 2027.



A transformer monitoring system is an assembly of components built together to analyze and monitor several parameters such as voltage, current, and temperature, and possibly the phase angle of a ground transformer, which is vital to its functionality. The systems has inbuilt battery backup that helps prevent system failure if there is power cut. The demand for the transformer monitoring systems has increased with the increasing number of power grid networks and rapid installation of the power transformers. These systems are commonly used in chemical plants, mining industry, etc.



Additionally, the transformer monitoring systems can be used in transmission and distribution facilities. The global transformer monitoring system market experiences remarkable growth due to growing number of power grid networks and rapid installation of power transformers in the world. Mounting focus on renewable electric power generation, deployment of smart grids and smart transformers, replacement of existing old power transformers are a few other factors propelling the market growth.



The global transformer monitoring system market is segmented on the basis of component, service, and application. The system market, by component, is segmented into hardware and IT solutions. Based on service, the market is segmented into bushing monitoring, oil/gas monitoring, and others. By application, the transformer monitoring system market is segmented as distribution transformers, power transformers, and others.



The key companies profiled in the transformer monitoring system market are ABB Ltd; Eaton Corporation plc; Honeywell International Inc.; Schneider Electric SE; Siemens AG; Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.; Kirloskar Electric Company; KJ Dynatech Inc.; WILSON TRANSFORMER COMPANY; Mitsubishi Electric Corporation; and Dynamic Rating; among others.



Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Transformer Monitoring System Market



In Europe, Italy is the hardest-hit country by the COVID-19 outbreak. It is suffering an economic hit due to a lack of revenue from various industries. Other member states in the European Union (EU) have implemented drastic measures and travel restrictions, including partially closing their borders. This is anticipated to impact growth of the transformer monitoring systems market in Europe. Further, the governments in various EU countries are restricting the increments in the cost of various communication services. For instance, the Spanish government banned price increases on electronic telecom networks, as subscribers were unable to switch to another provider, and discontinued all non-progressive fixed and mobile numbering operations.



Reasons to Buy

Save and reduce time carrying out entry-level research by identifying the growth, size, leading players and segments in the global transformer monitoring system market

Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies

The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the global transformer monitoring system market, thereby allowing players across the value chain to develop effective long-term strategies

Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets

Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it

Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to client products, segmentation, pricing and distribution

Key Topics Covered:



1. Introduction

1.1 Scope of The Study

1.2 Report Guidance

1.3 Market Segmentation

1.3.1 Global Transformer Monitoring System Market - By Component

1.3.2 Global Transformer Monitoring System Market - By Service

1.3.3 Global Transformer Monitoring System Market - By Application

1.3.4 Global Transformer Monitoring System Market - By Geography



2. Key Takeaways



3. Research Methodology

3.1 Coverage

3.2 Secondary Research

3.3 Primary Research



4. Transformer Monitoring System Market Landscape

4.1 Market Overview

4.2 PEST Analysis

4.2.1 North America

4.2.2 Europe

4.2.3 Asia-Pacific

4.2.4 Middle East and Africa

4.2.5 South America

4.3 Ecosystem Analysis

4.4 Expert Opinions



5. Transformer Monitoring System Market - Key Market Dynamics

5.1 Market Drivers

5.1.1 Growing Initiatives Toward Smart Grids

5.1.2 Rising Digitalization of Power Utilities

5.2 Market Restraints

5.2.1 Cost Barriers

5.3 Market Opportunities

5.3.1 Offshore Wind Farms

5.4 Future Trends

5.4.1 Emergence of Big Data Analytics

5.5 Impact Analysis of Drivers and Restraints



6. Transformer Monitoring System Market- Global Analysis

6.1 Transformer Monitoring System Global Overview

6.2 Transformer Monitoring System Market -Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million)

6.3 Market Positioning- Global Market Players Ranking



7. Transformer Monitoring System Market Analysis - By Component

7.1 Overview

7.2 Transformer Monitoring System Market, By Component (2019 and 2027)

7.3 Hardware

7.3.1 Overview

7.3.2 Hardware: Transformer Monitoring System Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million)

7.4 IT Solutions

7.4.1 Overview

7.4.2 IT Solutions: Transformer Monitoring System Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million)



8. Transformer Monitoring System Market Analysis - By Service

8.1 Overview

8.2 Transformer Monitoring System Market, By Service (2019 and 2027)

8.3 Bushing Monitoring

8.3.1 Overview

8.3.2 Bushing Monitoring: Transformer Monitoring System Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million)

8.4 Oil/Gas Monitoring

8.4.1 Overview

8.4.2 Oil/Gas Monitoring: Transformer Monitoring System Market - Revenue, and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million)

8.5 Others

8.5.1 Overview

8.5.2 Others: Transformer Monitoring System Market - Revenue, and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million)



9. Transformer Monitoring System Market Analysis - By Application

9.1 Overview

9.2 Transformer Monitoring System Market, By Application (2019 and 2027)

9.3 Distribution Transformers

9.3.1 Overview

9.3.2 Distribution Transformers: Transformer Monitoring System Market - Revenue, and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million)

9.4 Power Transformers

9.4.1 Overview

9.4.2 Power Transformers: Transformer Monitoring System Market - Revenue, and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million)

9.5 Others

9.5.1 Overview

9.5.2 Others: Transformer Monitoring System Market - Revenue, and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million)



10. Transformer Monitoring System Market - Geographic Analysis

10.1 Overview

10.2 North America: Transformer Monitoring System Market

10.3 Europe: Transformer Monitoring System Market

10.4 APAC: Transformer Monitoring System Market

10.5 MEA: Transformer Monitoring System Market

10.6 SAM: Transformer Monitoring System Market



11. Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Global Transformer Monitoring System Market

11.1 North America: Impact assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic

11.2 Europe: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic

11.3 Asia Pacific: Impact assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic

11.4 Middle East and Africa: Impact assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic

11.5 South America: Impact assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic



12. Industry Landscape

12.1 Overview

12.2 Market Initiative

12.3 Merger and Acquisition



13. Company Profile

13.1 ABB Ltd.

13.1.1 Key Facts

13.1.2 Business Description

13.1.3 Products and Services

13.1.4 Financial Overview

13.1.5 SWOT Analysis

13.1.6 Key Developments

13.2 Eaton Corporation plc

13.2.1 Key Facts

13.2.2 Business Description

13.2.3 Products and Services

13.2.4 Financial Overview

13.2.5 SWOT Analysis

13.2.6 Key Developments

13.3 Honeywell International Inc.

13.3.1 Key Facts

13.3.2 Business Description

13.3.3 Products and Services

13.3.4 Financial Overview

13.3.5 SWOT Analysis

13.3.6 Key Developments

13.4 Schneider Electric SE

13.4.1 Key Facts

13.4.2 Business Description

13.4.3 Products and Services

13.4.4 Financial Overview

13.4.5 SWOT Analysis

13.4.6 Key Developments

13.5 Siemens AG

13.5.1 Key Facts

13.5.2 Business Description

13.5.3 Products and Services

13.5.4 Financial Overview

13.5.5 SWOT Analysis

13.5.6 Key Developments

13.6 Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.

13.6.1 Key Facts

13.6.2 Business Description

13.6.3 Products and Services

13.6.4 Financial Overview

13.6.5 SWOT Analysis

13.6.6 Key Developments

13.7 Kirloskar Electric Company

13.7.1 Key Facts

13.7.2 Business Description

13.7.3 Products and Services

13.7.4 Financial Overview

13.7.5 SWOT Analysis

13.7.6 Key Developments

13.8 KJ Dynatech Inc

13.8.1 Key Facts

13.8.2 Business Description

13.8.3 Products and Services

13.8.4 Financial Overview

13.8.5 SWOT Analysis

13.8.6 Key Developments

13.9 WILSON TRANSFORMER COMPANY

13.9.1 Key Facts

13.9.2 Business Description

13.9.3 Products and Services

13.9.4 Financial Overview

13.9.5 SWOT Analysis

13.9.6 Key Developments

13.10 Mitsubishi Electric Corporation

13.10.1 Key Facts

13.10.2 Business Description

13.10.3 Products and Services

13.10.4 Financial Overview

13.10.5 SWOT Analysis

13.10.6 Key Developments

13.11 Dynamic Ratings

13.11.1 Key Facts

13.11.2 Business Description

13.11.3 Products and Services

13.11.4 Financial Overview

13.11.5 SWOT Analysis

13.11.6 Key Developments



14. Appendix

14.1 About the Publisher

14.2 Glossary of Terms



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/lz1sa7

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.
(Newser)  One name has graced the cover of Middlemarch, one of the great British novels, since its publication 150 years ago. But it isn't that of the author. George Eliot is the male pen name of Mary Ann Evans, whose work might not have been accepted without it. It's an issue now on display with the "Reclaim Her Name" book set, a collection of 25 books from female authors with male pseudonyms, released for the first time under the author's true name to mark the 25th anniversary of the Women's Prize for Fiction. "Throughout history, many female writers have used male pen names for their work to be published or taken seriously," reads a statement on the award program's website, noting the goal is to "honor their achievements and give them the credit they deserve," per CNN.

story continues below

Middlemarch is included along with A Phantom Lover by Violet Paget (Vernon Lee), Indiana by Amantine Aurore Dupin (George Sand), and Marie of the Cabin Club by Ann Petry (Arnold Petri). Each name is featured prominently on new book covers from female designers, per the BBC. The novels are also available for free as e-books via sponsor Baileys. Liz Petry, daughter of the late Ann Petry, the first African-American woman to sell more than a million copies of a book, says her mother "would be thrilled to be a part of this as it's an incredible conversation starter for such an important cause," per the Guardian. Some female authors still feel pressure to use a male name. In 2017, JK Rowling said her first publishers were "trying to disguise my gender" in advising her to use her initials, per CNN. (Read more books stories.)
Washington, Aug 13 : A US Air Force helicopter was shot while flying over the state of Virginia, injuring one of the two pilots on board and prompting an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), according to media reports.

On Wednesday, McClatchy, the news outlet that first reported the incident, said the UH-1N Huey helicopter was flying about 1,000 feet off the ground, about 10 miles northwest of Manassas Regional Airport in northern Virginia when the incident occurred, forcing the workhorse aircraft to make an emergency landing at the airport, reports Xinhua news agency.

"Initial findings are that the helicopter was struck by a bullet resulting in a minor injury to an aircrew member and damage to the aircraft," McClatchy cited the Air Force as saying in a statement.

The injured pilot "sustained a non-threatening injury, for which he was treated and subsequently released from the hospital", according to a separate statement from the FBI Washington Field Office (WFO).

The investigative body of the Air Force and the FBI were involved in an ongoing investigation into the incident.

"A UH-1N Huey helicopter assigned to the 1st Helicopter Squadron at Joint Base Andrews conducted an emergency landing at 12.43 p.m. on August 10th in Manassas, Va during a routine training mission," a statement by the US Air Force 316th wing, the host wing at Joint Base Andrews, which is also home to the presidential aircraft Air Force One, said on Wednesday.

"The Office of Special Investigations (OSI) is fully engaged with our FBI colleagues on this incident.

"OSI take threats to our Airmen and our resources very seriously. As this is an ongoing investigation, no further investigative details can be released at this time," it added.

The WFO said in its statement that it has dispatched its Special Agents and its Evidence Response Team to Manassas Regional Airport to conduct the investigation, while asking those near the scene when the incident happened to share information with the agency.
Patrick Rose, the former president of the Boston Police Patrolmens Association, has been accused of sexually assaulting a young girl over the course of several years, authorities said.

As part of the investigation, investigators say the young girl reported a series of sexual assaults mainly at Roses home in West Roxbury but also at a drive-in movie theater.

The 14-year-old girl went to a Boston Police Department station on Aug. 2 to report she had been sexually assaulted by Rose for years, according to a Massachusetts State Police criminal complaint filed in West Roxbury District Court.

In an interview with police, the child claimed that on multiple occasions, from when she was 7 to 12 years old, Rose touched her, the documents said.

Rose is now 66, according to court records.

Rose is also accused of showing pornography to the girl on multiple occasions, exposing himself to her and raping her, court records said. The criminal complaint states the alleged sexual assaults occurred between August 2012 to August 2018.

The former Boston police union president was charged with five counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of 14 as well as individual counts of child rape, dissemination of obscene matter to a minor, open and gross lewdness and enticement of a child.

He was arraigned Thursday morning in the West Roxbury Division of Boston Municipal Court, Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollinss office said in a statement.

In a statement, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said he is deeply disturbed by these horrific allegations, which must be investigated to the fullest extent of the law.

Related Content: Former Boston Police Patrolmens Association President Patrick Rose charged with indecent assault on a child
Former President John Mahama, the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has assured Ghanaians that he and his running mate, Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, will never engage in politics of insults.



My running mate, Prof Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, who I am presenting to you today, has been encouraged by the Osu Mantse to be strong and courageous in the face of, what he feared would be, a barrage of insults and attacks on her person, just because she has decided to serve her country at the highest level, help shape its destiny and ensure shared prosperity for all, former President Mahama stated, on Wednesday, in Accra, when he presented Prof Opoku-Agyemang to the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG).



Indeed, these unprovoked attacks, insults and lies have already started but I can assure you and all Ghanaians that Naana Jane and I will never engage in insults and name calling of our opponents in response, he said.



Our children are watching, listening and copying what we do and its important that we continue to serve as good role models to them.



The former President, who is a Christian, said the Bible assured him that the God who began this mission would continue it to a fruitful conclusion.



He described Prof Opoku-Agyemang as "God fearing, a woman of unquestionable integrity, hardworking, a results oriented person; who had carved a niche for herself as a distinguished scholar in Ghana and on the African continent and, indeed, across the world".



If you listen to her maiden address, you will find that she has a remarkable appreciation of our challenges as a nation and what it will take for us to attain the highest pedestal of human and physical development that we are capable of as a country.



He said among the many achievements, she chalked as Minister of Education; one that he deeply appreciated was the discipline that she brought to bear in the Education sector.

Under her stewardship, absenteeism reduced drastically from 27 per cent to 11 per cent by 2016 when they left office, he explained.



It was, therefore, no surprise that for four consecutive years Ghana took the first place in the West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Exams, a position we have lost since we left office.



He said they would work together, when elected, God willing, to execute the 10 billion dollar Big Push Infrastructural Plan, under which they would complete the 200 community day secondary schools, which they began and many other abandoned projects.



Our country needs to change course from the despicable destructive and unprincipled kind of politics we are currently witnessing, he said.



There is so much work to do and there is so much to build. We cannot succeed if we abandon projects funded with taxpayers money just because our opponent began them.



We cannot succeed if we target and destroy the businesses of people perceived to be in support of an opposition party; causing families to lose their livelihoods.



We cannot succeed when instead of uniting our people we promote tolerance and division.



The former President appealed to the leadership of the Christian Council of Ghana not to stay silent on happenings in Ghana.



Prof Opoku-Agyemang told the Christian leaders that she was there to seek their blessings and prayer support, adding that, whatever be the outcomes, they would be first and foremost pleasing to God before they were pleasing to anybody else.



The Reverend Prof Paul Yaw Frimpong-Manso, the President of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, advised politicians to refrain from trading insults in this years campaign.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
It's hard to know what's going on at the moment and equally hard to know who is in charge. Who do people listen to if they want to their information about an unprecedented pandemic spreading through our country?

Do they listen to the Taoiseach or the Tanaiste for guidance on how to tackle the coronavirus? Similarly, do they listen to the current health minister or his predecessor? Or perhaps they should listen to the medical experts? Who knows.

It's all very confusing and the public is left shouldering the burden of the Government's failure to communicate their message.

Take Stephen Donnelly, our current health minster, who last week told us the national public health emergency team (Nphet) was very worried about community transmission of the virus - meaning they could not trace the source of new cases of the virus. It's very worrying, Donnelly told us.

Around the same time he told us this, Nphet was saying community transmission figures were "stable". Donnelly's officials claimed there was no discrepancy between the minister's public utterances and the guidance of health officials despite the blatant conflict between his views and theirs.

However, yesterday the minister took to the airwaves to announce community transmission rates in the country aren't doing too bad at all. He also got confused when questioned about the rights of workers who get positive coronavirus cases.

The issue of workers hiding test results from employers was raised at a Cabinet subcommittee Donnelly attended but the minister dismissed it as an issue when asked.

The Department of Health, who at first fobbed off questions on the rights of workers, yesterday told the Irish Independent the HSE has in fact given public health doctors the power to inform employers of positive test cases amongst staff without even informing the employee first.

This comes just a few months after chief medical officer Tony Holohan said it would be a breach of privacy to do the same. Donnelly didn't seem to know this or decided not to tell listeners this when he was on air. Perhaps this will be his stance during his next interview.

Meanwhile, confusion reins over the Government and its Covid colouring book. Donnelly was pushing his new colour-coded coronavirus alert system yesterday too only to be shot down by Leo Varadkar who insisted nothing had been agreed by the Cabinet.

Meanwhile, Donnelly's predecessor Simon Harris was out giving his views on how lockdowns should work yesterday. Harris said lockdowns should be more "forensic" rather than pushing restrictions on entire counties.

I'm sure Donnelly was delighted to hear his constituency colleague's views aired publicly.

However, Harris and other ministers are frustrated with Donnelly's decision to railroad major pandemic decisions through Cabinet without proper debate. The decision to hold a Cabinet by telephone ahead of announcing a lockdown didn't sit well with many.

It may be a case of too many cooks but focused Government messaging will be more important than ever with winter fast approaching. With new cases increasing people will need to know who to listen to.
Four GOP Senators Affirm Support for Subpoenas in Crossfire Hurricane Review

Four Republican senators on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee support issuing subpoenas for Obama administration officials who were involved in investigating Donald Trumps 2016 presidential campaign.

A spokeswoman for Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said in an email on Thursday to The Epoch Times: Senator Scott supports the investigation and wants to get all the facts out about exactly what happened.

A spokeswoman for Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) told The Epoch Times that the senator also supports the efforts to get to the bottom of what happened.

She noted in an email that the committee already authorized Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) to issue subpoenas to a number of Obama-era officials, including former FBI Director James Comey and former CIA Director John Brennan.

The subpoena authorization was approved by the committee (and was supported by Senator Romney) back in June, the spokeswoman said.

A spokesperson for Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told The Epoch Times that Paul still supports the subpoena power for Johnson.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) walks through Statuary Hall to the House Chamber for President Donald Trumps State of the Union address in the Capitol in Washington on Feb. 4, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

And Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said in a statement on Wednesday: I voted FOR the investigation & subpoenas on June 4 to get the facts.

Because Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, they chair each committee and have more members on each committee.

In a party-line vote on June 4, the committee authorized Johnson to issue subpoenas for records and testimony regarding the investigation into Trumps campaign, which was codenamed Crossfire Hurricane, as well as the Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitzs review of the probe, and the unmasking of people affiliated with the campaign, transition teams, and the Trump administration.

A list (pdf) of people the committee authorized Johnson to subpoena contains 33 names, including a number of high-level Obama-era officials.

Johnson on Wednesday was pressed on why he has not issued subpoenas since gaining the authorization, except for one issued Monday for documents from the FBI.

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) speaks in Washington on Aug. 6, 2020. (Toni L. Sandys/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Before you interview people, you want the documents so you can ask some intelligent questions. Thats why I finally subpoenaed the FBI to get the documents, Johnson told radio host Hugh Hewitt. I dont do the show trials. I actually have serious lawyers ask the questions in depositions in the Senate, he added.

Before questioning a slippery character like Comey in an effective manner, Johnson emphasized, documents are required. The production of those documents has been slowed by FBI Director Christopher Wray, the existence of a criminal investigation by U.S. Attorney John Durham into the same matters, former special counsel Robert Muellers team, the impeachment of Trump, and the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the chairman.

Im doing everything I can in terms of pushing this thing forward, he said.

Johnsons office didnt respond to a request for comment, nor did the offices of Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.).

An FBI spokeswoman told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement that the bureau received the subpoena and has already been producing documents and information to the Senate Homeland Security Committee, which are directly responsive to this subpoena.
business 3 Point Analysis | Why did the US change its stand on non-immigrant visas? Moneycontrol's Sakshi Batra does a 3 Point Analysis to find out what this means for Indian H-1B and L-1 visa holders.
Touche, I suppose you could say. One awaits with interest what the Palma councillor for social justice, feminism and LGTBI, Sonia Vivas, has to say on the matter. One would have thought that she would have a view. As noted recently, it was Sonia Vivas who proposed that the Avenida Joan March in Palma be renamed after Pilar Sanchez, who was murdered by the Falange in 1936.

The Spanish Association of Christian Lawyers was founded in 2008. Its aims include the legal defence of religious freedom, of life, of the family, and of all citizens whose rights and liberties have been harmed for reasons of their faith.

The association is against euthanasia, permissive abortion policies, and destructive indoctrination of gender ideology. In terms of religious freedom, it means Christianity; its website doesnt make explicit reference to other religions. The association, I think one can say, can be defined as being conservative and right-wing. And it has every right to be conservative and right-wing.

Just as it also has every right to question ideologies and indeed the naming of streets. If the left can promote changes to street names from those associated with Francoism, e.g. Francos banker, Joan March, then the right can call for changes to street names of those associated with Republicanism at the time prior to and during the Civil War.

Administrative procedures have been initiated by the association in certain cities of Spain.

It wants street names and monuments dedicated to communists to be removed. Among these names are Dolores Ibarruri. She joined the Spanish Communist Party in 1920 when she was 25. She became famous for her slogan - They shall not pass - during the battle for Madrid in late 1936. She went into exile, only returning to Spain in 1977.

Another name is that of Francisco Largo Caballero, who succeeded Pablo Iglesias as the leader of both PSOE and the UGT union in 1925. He was to become prime minister of Spain after the Civil War started.

He fled to France, was arrested by the Nazis, held in a concentration camp and died in Paris in 1946. Abogados Cristianos cite a resolution approved by the European Parliament last year. This was on the importance of historical memory. (In Spain, the PSOE government of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero from 2004 to 2011 introduced the law of historical memory, an aspect of which was the removal of Francoist symbols, e.g. street names.) The resolution urged European Union countries to condemn the crimes of Nazism and Stalinism and it advised that the existence of public spaces which extol totalitarian regimes facilitates the distortion of historical facts.

The association is therefore arguing that symbols in public spaces, e.g. street names or monuments, which stem from Stalinist totalitarianism, should be removed, as these names were authors of religious persecution and of the rape and murder of people for the practice of their faith during the period of the Spanish Second Republic and the Civil War. Priests, nuns and other citizens were murdered for religious reasons. Why, therefore, should individuals such as Dolores Ibarruri and Francisco Largo Caballero be honoured?

This is contrary to what has been established by EU resolutions and Spains law of historical memory, which does recognise that not all sins and evils were perpetrated by Franco Nationalists alone.

I defend the associations right to challenge these symbols and accept the argument that there were atrocities on both sides, something which can seem at times to be overlooked. Arguably, and in a spirit of genuine reconciliation, symbols from both sides should be removed. But the prevailing view doesnt allow this, and I dont believe that this is a view solely confined to the left or a republican left; not by any means. The historical memory is weighed against Franco, and rightly so.

But in saying this, one highlights what can be an at times depressing reliving of the past. It is a constant theme, and one that invades current-day politics as well as society. One almost wishes that theyd let it go, but then I am not they. The Spanish past is not my historical memory; or perhaps it is, but at a distance. Having said this, and while defending the associations right to challenge these communist/republican symbols, I cant say I have any sympathy. The association regularly denounces what it disagrees with; there have been various actions against LGTBI symbols, for instance. As such, there is the sense of the politics, those of the far right, and as stated in a comment about the communist symbols (made on Ultima Horas website), the association crosses the boundary of equity and good faith in filing complaints against those who hold theses contrary to their programmatic principles.

There is still that touche though.
NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP >> In the wake of several pedestrian fatalities, the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors is moving forward with a multi-pronged plan to improve safety along Sycamore Street, the townships downtown commercial corridor. At its Jan. 13 meeting, the board voted unanimously to follow the short term and long term recommendations of its traffic engineer, Derek Kennedy, who was...
Thursday, August 13th, 2020 (10:41 am) - Score 1,796

At present many homes in the Chalke Valley (Wiltshire, England) suffer from slow fixed broadband speeds and extremely weak mobile signals, but a new Government funded community project  Ch4lke Mobile  is finally starting to change that by building their own 4G and 5G based mobile broadband network.

The project, which has taken inspiration from how B4RN built their own full fibre (FTTP) broadband ISP network in parts of remote rural England, has been in development for a few years now. But in February 2020 they secured a crucial public investment of 2,359,762 as part of the MONeH Consortium under the Governments 30m Rural Connected Communities (RCC) programme (here).

In case you wondered, MONeH stands for Multi Operator Neutral Host, which aims to demonstrate how multi-operator, neutral host cellular networks based upon small cell technology can be used to provide multiple user slices, serving different customer groups within rural areas with little or no coverage.

The project, which also makes use of Ofcoms new local access licences (here)  allowing smaller organisations to create their own mobile networks, is working to establish new mobile networks in areas such as the Chalke Valley (Wiltshire), Preston Bissett (Buckinghamshire) and Lucknam Park (near Bath).

On of the first villages to benefit from this new community-built mobile network is Bowerchalke, which is home to around 400 people. Some in the community can get reasonably good broadband speeds via ADSL2+ or FTTC, while others struggle to get much above 1-2Mbps and mobile signals are a big problem. At least they were a problem, because the new Ch4lke Mobile network is now starting to make progress.

James Body, CEO of Telet Research (Ch4lkes Technical Architect), told ISPreview.co.uk: [The] current benchmark costs for providing mobile coverage to a single house in a not-spot is around 5k per house (Mobile Infrastructure Project *and* Scottish Government 4G Infill Project). Comparative costs for the current Shared Rural Network (SRN)  assuming that all the planned coverage *is* achieved by end of 2025  will be around 3,700 per house. We are aiming to come in at less than 1k per house  with costs falling further with subsequent rollouts.

The plan is to provide a 5G non-standalone configuration with a narrow 4G waveform, optimised for area coverage, in Band 3 (1800MHz)  aggregated with a localised 5G NR (New Radio) waveform in Band n38 (2600MHz) giving higher speed broadband coverage in areas where there is demand for higher bandwidth.

In order to access this service locals will need to use SIM cards with an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) assigned based on a UK Mobile Network Code from Ofcom. The roaming element means that you can still get online and make or receive calls/texts via Three UK, Vodadone, O2 and EE (BT) when within the area.

Admittedly most communities wont have access to the same level of technical expertise as those in Bowerchalke do, but the hope is that this model can be refined and then exported for use in other parts of the UK. We should point out that the cells and masts being deployed are supplied with data via a new locally built fibre optic network. A lot of the hardware and software has also come from CellXica in Cambridge.

UPDATE 14th August 2020

Just to clarify, Ch4lke only issue their own local SIMs for fixed price Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) connectivity. All other users operate with local roaming using multi operator neutral host functionality with normal SIMs. This simplifies the settlement/revenue collection considerably and keeps the MNOs happy because Ch4lke are not stealing their customers.
DALLAS, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Jacobs (NYSE:J), in collaboration with subsidiary Simetrica-Jacobs, has released a new thought leadership paper on the role of infrastructure investments in helping to address critical societal issues, asking the question: What if infrastructure could be planned, delivered, built and operated to generate enduring social value at scale to help overcome some of the most entrenched social issues in our communities?

"The current pandemic has brought global societal challenges like wellbeing, equity and equality into stark focus," said Jacobs People & Places Solutions Executive Vice President Patrick Hill. "As governments around the world make plans to rebuild economies and livelihoods, now is the time to think about the role of infrastructure investments in building strong and vibrant communities."

The paper titled, "Before & Beyond the Build: A blueprint for creating enduring social value at scale through infrastructure investments," explores five approaches for generating social value at scale that can be incorporated into the full project life cycle with big data analytics, co-design, blended funding, social procurement and social value measurement.

"Simetrica-Jacobs is delighted to have been involved in this paper," said Simetrica-Jacobs Director Daniel Fujiwara. "Measuring and understanding the impact of interventions on people's lives is at the core of our business. Now, more than ever, we are committed to ensuring that social value measurement is deployed in ways that have meaningful and positive impacts on decision-making and investment."

Jacobs collaborates with clients and partners across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors to explore and innovate around each of the five components and to test and refine the blueprint further. Evaluating how successful these components are at generating enduring social value when embedded into infrastructure and delivered at scale  and the circumstances in which they are most successful  creates positive community outcomes that can help drive economic recovery.

About Simetrica-Jacobs

Simetrica-Jacobs is the global leader in the field of social value measurement, business ethics and the application of wellbeing and quality of life analysis to policy and project assessment. Simetrica leads work in these fields for several OECD governments and has helped international organizations and the private and not-for-profit sectors assess and demonstrate their social impact and make better policy and investment decisions.

About Jacobs

At Jacobs, we're challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world's most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good. With $13 billion in revenue and a talent force of more than 55,000, Jacobs provides a full spectrum of professional services including consulting, technical, scientific and project delivery for the government and private sector. Visit jacobs.com and connect with Jacobs on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking statements as such term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such statements are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provided by the same. Statements made in this release that are not based on historical fact are forward-looking statements. We base these forward-looking statements on management's current estimates and expectations as well as currently available competitive, financial and economic data. Forward-looking statements, however, are inherently uncertain. There are a variety of factors that could cause business results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related reaction of governments on global and regional market conditions and the company's business. For a description of some additional factors that may occur that could cause actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements, see our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 27, 2019, and in particular the discussions contained under Item 1 - Business; Item 1A - Risk Factors; Item 3 - Legal Proceedings; and Item 7 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 26, 2020, and in particular the discussions contained under Part I, Item 2 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations; Part II, Item 1 - Legal Proceedings; and Part II, Item 1A - Risk Factors, as well as the company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company is not under any duty to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release to conform to actual results, except as required by applicable law.

For press/media inquiries:

Kerrie Sparks

214.583.8433

SOURCE Jacobs

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John Steinbeck wrote Log From the Sea of Cortez in 1951, his chronicle of an expedition with marine biologist Ed Ricketts along the coast of California and Mexico. Ricketts named several of the many new marine animals they found after Steinbeck, his friend and patron of the expedition. On a similar expedition in February 2019 to Panama's Coiba National Park in the Pacific Ocean, marine biologists from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) discovered several new, undescribed animals, genera and species never seen or photographed before, nearly every day.

Matthieu Leray, post-doctoral fellow at STRI, invited two zoologists, STRI Research Associate Arthur Anker and Paulo Pachelle, to join the expedition to Coiba. Both are based in Brazil and specialize in the identification of decapod crustaceans, such as shrimps, crabs, hermit-crabs and lobsters.

Anker named one of the new genus and species of mud-shrimps in the family Laomediidae, Strianassa lerayi, to honor both the Smithsonian in Panama and his friendship with Leray. The generic name comes from the abbreviation of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the last six letters of a morphologically similar genus, Axianassa. Since "anassa" is derived from the ancient Greek word for queen, the name of the new genus literally means "Queen of STRI."

"Arthur was able to describe three new genera and one new species of shrimp based on a week of collecting in Coiba National Park," Leray said. "This is a phenomenal contribution to our knowledge of just one group of organisms. We are in the process of identifying what we found and will announce more new species soon."

The team found the only known specimen of this new mud shrimp under a rock while snorkeling in shallow waters in the archipelago.

The site of their discovery is only a few kilometers away from the newest STRI research station on Coibita Island. Anker and Pachelle also found a small clam with a highly reduced shell, a huge mantle with papillae and long extensible foot, popularly known as a "yoyo clam." These unusually mobile and active bivalve mollusks live in symbiosis with burrowing mantis shrimps. This is the first known yoyo clam from the eastern Pacific and represents a new species of the genus Divariscintilla. Amazingly, the site where they found a single specimen of the clam is the boat "parking area" of the STRI station at Coibita. The species is now being studied by a Japanese team, all specialists in this taxonomically difficult group of mollusks.

"We are thrilled by the potential of our newest research station on Coibita," said Oris Sanjur, acting director at STRI. "The tropical eastern Pacific is still largely unexplored by specialists with knowledge of these, less obvious, organisms. At our Bocas del Toro Research Station, the director, Rachel Collin, began a program called Training in Tropical Taxonomy that brings specialists from around the world to Panama. In the past 10 years, they have identified more than 75 new species, many of which are only found in Panama. We hope to foster similar programs based at the Coibita Station."

The expedition was funded by STRI and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation as part of a much larger project called The Role of Microbes in Shaping Tropical Ecosystems. The aim of that project is to better understand how microbial communities evolve by comparing the microbes on "sister species," animals that were separated when the rise of the Isthmus of Panama divided one ocean into the Atlantic and Pacific, millions of years ago. Scientists want to better understand how closely associated microbes are with their hosts and the importance of environment and other factors in determining their presence.

The researchers thank the Coiba National Park staff and Panama's Ministry of the Environment, MiAmbiente, for the collection permits that make new discoveries like this possible.

"We collected Pachelpheus pachyacanthus and a new species of clam at the beach in Coibita in a meter of water at low tide, which to me says a lot about how rich, unique and incredibly understudied the marine fauna of Coiba National Park (and the Tropical Eastern Pacific) is," Leray said.

In addition to Strianassa lerayi, other new shrimps were discovered by the STRI team working in Coiba in 2019 and described by Arthur Anker:

Pachelpheus pachyacanthus: New genus and species of burrow-dwelling alpheid shrimp discovered on Isla Racheria (Coibita) near the boat parking area; the genus was named after Anker's friend and co-collector, Pachelle. Unesconia coibensis: New genus and species of miniature, sponge-associated palaemonid shrimp; the genus was named after UNESCO, which declared Coiba as World Heritage Site.

Triacanthoneus blanca: Another new alpheid shrimp species named after Blanca Figueroa a former post-doc in staff scientist Aaron O'Dea's lab at STRI.

The researchers also add Leslibetaeus coibita, also a new genus and species, which was described by Anker and collaborators in 2005 when Anker was a post-doctoral fellow at STRI. The species name indicates that it was collected in Coibita, right in front of the station.

"New microbes are a dime a dozen," said Bill Wcislo, senior staff scientist and microbiome project leader along with Jonathon Eisen at the University of California Davis. "But several new host genera in a short time collecting in just one group of invertebrates. That is something remarkable. And a new species named for STRI and for Matt Leray is spectacular! It is just the tip of the iceberg for the Smithsonian's newest crown jewel."

###

The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, headquartered in Panama City, Panama, is a unit of the Smithsonian Institution. The Institute furthers the understanding of tropical biodiversity and its importance to human welfare, trains students to conduct research in the tropics and promotes conservation by increasing public awareness of the beauty and importance of tropical ecosystems.
MOSCOW - The University of Idaho has secured a grant of nearly $11 million from the National Institutes of Health to support continued modeling for biomedical research at U of Is Institute for Modeling Collaboration and Innovation (IMCI).

The funding comes as Phase 2 of a Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) grant received by the U of I in 2015. COBRE grants support the establishment and development of biomedical research through awards granted in three sequential phases.

During Phase 1, grant funds of $10.6 million helped U of I students, staff and faculty researchers from nearly every college incorporate modeling in their projects. Funds financed projects such as studying disease severity and transmission rates in hosts infected with multiple pathogens at the same time and the role of social influence and human perceptions of infection risk when making vaccine choices. Phase 1 money also supported major equipment purchases that help facilitate the production of quantitative data, sponsored 11 postdoctoral fellowships and assisted faculty acquire nearly $20 million for additional research in the state of Idaho.

IMCI is supporting several research projects related to COVID-19.

We are proud of our Institute for Modeling Collaboration and Innovation researchers who make important contributions to the state of Idaho and our nation, University of Idaho President Scott Green said. This team was instrumental to guiding statewide decisions in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. This biomedical research grant that is focused on cancer and the human microbiome will enable this talented team to further advance those efforts, helping our leaders and medical community save lives and improve living conditions in our country.

The Phase 2 COBRE funds will continue to bolster U of I interdisciplinary biomedical research with new research projects studying cancer genomics, cancer imaging and interpreting variation in the human microbiome. New projects will be added over the course of this five-year grant.

This funding allows us to continue what weve started and is particularly important to the campus community as we elevate our research profile, said Holly Wichman, distinguished professor, IMCI director and principal investigator on the grant. IMCI is a team-based idea generator that encourages participation across disciplines and among people who might otherwise never connect. Such collaboration fosters big ideas, and big ideas solve big problems.

Brainstorming is a focus of IMCI. The COBRE grant finances research projects for early career faculty and pilot grants to explore possible new research directions. Funding also supports IMCIs Modeling Core, a unique service center of postdoctoral researchers that offers diverse skills in various modeling approaches to principal investigators and working groups. It also supports learning opportunities for the campus community through a seminar series, workshops and hands-on data management and analysis training.

We think all researchers should use modeling, Wichman said. Modeling improves research at all stages  hypothesis formulation, experimental design, analysis and interpretation  and provides a unifying language by which exchange of ideas can highlight commonalities and uncover unforeseen connections between problems.

Modeling is especially useful when it is not feasible to experimentally explore all solutions to a problem. IMCI modeling approaches include everything from using mathematical formulas to replicate and predict real-world behavior to simulating molecule interactions to building physical and computational models of 3D objects. This funding will allow IMCI to bring new modeling expertise to the U of I research community.

This project was funded to University of Idaho by National Institutes of Health/National Institute of General Medical Sciences under award 2P20GM104420-06. The total project funding is $10,999,565.00 of which 100% is the federal share.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 13

Trend:

We are with Azerbaijan to the end in the fight against Armenia, which committed the Khojaly genocide, and occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region, Turkish Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar said, Trend reports.

Akar made the statement at a meeting with participants of the joint Azerbaijani-Turkish military exercises during his visit to Baku.

We strongly condemn the recent attack by Armenia in the direction of Azerbaijans Tovuz district of the state border, said Akar.

I would like to very openly declare that with all our means, we are till the end with Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani servicemen against Armenia, which in front of the whole world committed the genocide in Khojaly, and absolutely and illegally occupied Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan is not alone. We will continue to support Azerbaijan in its just struggle. In the struggle of Azerbaijan for the liberation of the occupied lands, we, Turkey with the population of 83 million, are next to our brothers, Akar said.
Chennai: With major national events and festivals impending, the Tamil Nadu government has announced that celebrations across the state must be low-key and subdued given the ongoing battle with COVID-19 pandemic. The state government has issued new guidelines for celebration of Independence Day and Vinayaka Chathurthi.

On August 15, public and school children have been specifically asked to stay indoors and watch the events on TV, whereas the government has asked people to celebrate Vinayaka Chathurthi, which falls on August 22 at their homes.

Regarding, Independence Day which falls on Saturday, the government has emphasized that senior citizens, school and college students must not take part in the event, owing to the unprecedented circumstances. Under, normal situations the event that takes place on the scenic Marina beach road (Kamarajar Salai) sees the participation of schools students and large number of public.

However, this year it has been clearly stated that the district officials would be visiting the freedom fighters at their homes and felicitating them, instead of it being done in Chennai, in the presence of dignitaries. The Health Minister has also ben deputed to visit homes for special children and disribute sweets, as opposed to the routine practice of allowing the kids to visit the state secretariat.

Besides hoisting the national flag at 8:45am, the Chief Minister would also be felicitating frontline COVID-19 warriors and presenting them with certificates. The government has urged the public to stay indoors and watch the events on television.

In a separate set of guidelines issued for Vinayaka Chathurthi, the government has prohibited erecting Ganesha idols, celebrations in public, carrying them around the city in processions and also immersing them in water bodies. Public have also been strictly instructed to follow physical distancing and mask-wearing norms while stepping out to buy essentials and other items for the festivals.

Given that, places of worship that earn less than Rs.10,000 per annum have been permitted to remain open across the the state, the government has stated that they can carry on with festive traditions, in accordance with the stated norms.
BURLESON, Texas, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sentry Security Solutions a leading commercial and residential security provider headquartered in Texas now offers Human Temperature Scanners. This product line is designed for quick and easy deployment at scale across school campuses, businesses, and other commercial applications. Campus and Workplace Protection during COVID 19 requires new technology like Sentry Live HT thermal imaging. The solution is currently being utilized for hospitals, corporate campuses, airports, retail stores, train stations, event centers, grocery chains, schools, universities and restaurants.

See one of Sentry's newest installations at Hennessy Public Schools in Oklahoma in the video below.

https://youtu.be/rrFx-iVwR8Y

The technology is being deployed as a key mitigation tool to help school districts and its officials keep children and employees safe. Sentry Live HT provides temperature readings in real-time without close contact. The technology immediately informs workplace planners and school officials of abnormal temperatures allowing them to initiate procedures without having contact with an individual. "We are seeing a growing number of school districts and businesses who are looking for an easy-to-implement and effective technology to help them with the challenges of COVID-19," said Nick McAmis, CEO of Sentry Security Solutions. "Today, our technology is helping enhance workforce and campus safety planning while supporting physical distancing policies. The back end data our solution provides can also assist in campus safety by utilizing our facial recognition feature."

The Benefits of Sentry Live HT are easy to see in Real-time

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Sentry Live HT is available immediately. Visit www.sentryliveht.com to request a demonstration.

About Sentry Security Solutions:

Sentry Security Solutions brings a combined 30 years of experience in the industry. Founded in 2013, Sentry specializes in commercial and residential security and understands how important it is to families and businesses alike. We promise to provide a custom solution to fit for your needs, stress-free installation and ongoing customer support. We are the security experts you can trust, and we will be with you every step of the way.

Media Contact:

Nick McAmis

Sentry Security Solutions

(817) 882-6446

[email protected]

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As the coronavirus pandemic continues but Texas stays open, some cities in the state are taking on new measures.

Austin Mayor Steve Adler has encouraged all restaurants allowing dine-in and other businesses to contact trace, or keep a log of who enters the business since May, Austin Eater reported. The "Stay Home, Work Safe" order suggests logging dates and time of service and contact information of customers.

COVID-19 UPDATES: 319 died of virus in Texas yesterday

The records, which are the property of the business, are only kept for one month and are not able to be used for law enforcement purposes.

As of Aug. 11, Travis County has reported 23,249 lab-confirmed coronavirus cases and 307 deaths, according to the Austin American-Statesman. Travis County has a population of 1,248,743.

Meanwhile, Harris County has reported 88,494 coronavirus cases total and 1,679 deaths, the most of any Texas county. Harris County has a population of 4,698,619.

CORONAVIRUS IN HOUSTON: What is contact tracing, and how does it work with COVID-19?

Contact tracing in Houston has fallen largely on contract workers hired by the state. But with Texas reopening in May, contact tracing became increasingly difficult.

If we look at the efficacy of contact tracing in other countries where that worked, that contact tracing happened when the places were generally shut down, when people were not moving around, Dr. Mark Escott, interim health director at Austin Public Health, told Travis County commissioners in June. Thats not happening here. Things are still open, and were trying to contact when were getting hundreds, perhaps more than a thousand cases a day being reported in.

Houston's businesses have not been ordered to contact trace, but ABC13 reports that health officials welcome businesses to implement the measure to help trace the coronavirus' spread. Businesses can reach out to the Harris County Health Department to receive tools to help with contact tracing.

Some businesses in Houston have already started contact tracing, including Gloss Nail Bar and the Rosie Cannonball Spritz Patio pop-up.
Connecticuts 2nd Congressional district is gripped in a Republican primary thats headed for a recount pitting one candidate who was arrested on domestic assault charges the eve of the election against an opponent who turned him in to police.

Adding to the chaos, its not clear what will happen if the arrested candidate  Thomas Gilmer, 29, of Madison  wins the primary.

Gilmer dropped out of the race the night before the election, party officials announced  but as of Thursday, had not taken the legal steps to remove himself from the ballot. He would have until Oct. 10 to do so if he were to win.

Gilmer was arrested late Monday night on charges of second degree strangulation and first degree unlawful restraint, in connection with an alleged 2017 incident. He intends to fight those charges and will plead not guilty, he said Wednesday.

As officials in 2nd District towns  covering eastern Connecticut  counted ballots Thursday, Gilmer the endorsed GOP endorsed candidate, trailed Justin Anderson of East Haddam by nine votes with 98 percent of precincts reported. That assures a recount unless Gilmer exits the ballot immediately.

Anderson said Wednesday he wants to keep peace within the state Republican party, but his handling of a video of the alleged assault has created an uproar within the GOP.

If Gilmer wins, the state Republican party could bypass Anderson and nominate a new candidate to replace him  if he agrees to step down. The state GOP, meanwhile, is actively fielding calls from Republicans hoping for the right to run against Rep. Joe Courtney, the Democrat who has held the seat since 2007.

The ordeal has many in the party scratching their heads over what it means for Connecticut Republicans at a time when well known candidates have not come forward to challenge incumbent Democrats.

I know everyone is focused on who is going to run, said former Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst, who moving to a shoreline town where he will become a voter in the 2nd Congressional District. Im more focused on how this situation went down and what its going to do to the party long term....The state central party has an obligation to determine fact from fiction and determine what went on here.

A video and a confrontation

The drama started when Anderson was contacted by a woman who was previously romantically involved with Gilmer just weeks before the state Republican convention on May 11, Anderson said. She gave him a video depicting an altercation with Gilmer.

She said, Just so you know this is who youre dealing with, Anderson said.

The alleged victim feared for her safety if the video became public or if she went to the police, but she did not want Gilmer to be elected to Congress, Anderson said. So with her agreement, Anderson discussed the video with state party chairman J.R. Romano, both Anderson and Romano confirmed.

Romano talked to Gilmer about the contents of the video. Gilmer denied the incident and declined to drop out of the race, Anderson said.

I actually at one point when this first broke out, in order for this to not be political, I told J.R., Ill drop out as long as Tommys out, Anderson said. He said, Unless this goes public I dont know what to do, but stay in the race.

Romano said when he heard about the video from Anderson, he told Anderson to turn it over to law enforcement.

I never had the evidence, Romano said Tuesday. I was being told by Mr. Anderson that the victim did not want to go to the police. He was saying the victim did not want to do that. I believe if you have evidence of a crime, you should bring it to the police.

But constrained by the alleged victims wishes not to involve police, Anderson felt trapped, he said.

Gilmer then won the endorsement of the party at the convention.

Anderson said he told a few other Republicans about the video, but was frustrated that Gilmer still was on the path to become the nominee, when he believed he had evidence of a potential crime. Rumors of the existence of the video then reached social media and even Gilmer, Anderson said.

At that point, July 22, Anderson decided with the alleged victim to hand the video over to police. Police in Wethersfield investigated because the incident took place in that town. Court records indicate the alleged assault was on May 20, 2017.

Heck of a coincidence

Gilmer was located by the Madison Police Department and arrested at 9:45 p.m. on Monday night, the Wethersfield Police Department said. Instead of campaigning on Tuesday, primary day, Gilmer had an arraignment hearing. He was released on $5,000 bond.

Gilmer will plead not guilty when he faces a judge in September, his lawyer Richard Brown said Wednesday.

Obviously hes frustrated and puzzled as to why it was that this took three years for the complainant to apparently go to the police, Brown said of his client Gilmer. One has to question the motives behind all this.

Brown suggested the timing of the arrest was fishy.

It is a heck of a coincidence that suddenly charges are brought on the eve of the election on a case that the allegations are in excess of three years ago, Brown said Wednesday. Its not like hes been hiding or anything. If anything he has been out every day working toward his campaign.

In the event Gilmer wins the primary race, he would need to notify the Secretary of the States office in writing that he is ending his campaign and does not wish to appear on the ballot in November. Once that notification is made, the state Republican party is given the authority to choose a new candidate, and the party is not obligated to choose Anderson.

Gabe Rosenberg, spokesman for the Secretary of the States office, said Gilmer has not yet been in touch with the agency.

The Connecticut Republican party announced on Tuesday on Twitter that Gilmer had ended his campain. Gilmer in a statement blamed Anderson for slinging mud.

Now I find myself in a position where I must put my family and our shared Republican values before my own interests, Gilmer wrote. I cannot in good conscience move forward in this campaign while I am simultaneously forced to clear my name. And clear my name I will.

Pick up the pieces

Romano said Wednesday he has not heard from Gilmer since Tuesday and does not know when Gilmer intends to officially notify the Secretary of the States office. Gilmers election website and Facebook have been taken down.

Romano said at least two people have reached out to the party to say they would be willing to step up if the party needs a candidate, but Romano declined to say who the potential candidates would be.

One person familiar with discussions among Republicans said those interested include Peter Lumaj, a failed Republican candidate for several offices, including governor in 2018. Lumaj, whose consulting firm Praetorian Strategy Group is managing the campaign of 4th Congressional District candidate Jonathan Riddle, did not return a request for comment Wednesday. He lives in Fairfield, but legally candidates do not need to be residents of the district they represent.

Herbst, the former Trumbull first selectman, said he has been contacted about a potential run, but he is not interested in the position. There is no way I would get into a race of any kind given the current structure of our state party, he said.

Herbst is concerned about the allegations against Gilmer and how that reflects upon the state Republican party in general. Herbst said he believes an objective outside person or group should be hired either by the state Republican party or the Republican National Committee to determine how Gilmer became the partys endorsed candidate despite apparent the apparent allegations made prior to the endorsement.

Now whats happening is irrespective of whether Gilmer wins or loses this primary, Herbst said. The party has to pick up the pieces and anoint a candidate who is starting with no money less than three months before an election. They have no chance.

Not feuding with the GOP

In a press release sent to Republican Town Committee members early this week, Andersons campaign accused Republican leaders of using the video to attack him, not Gilmer.

Instead of investigating the issues over the last three months, party leaders participated in cajoling, victim-shaming, and shunning Mr. Anderson, questioning his integrity, the release states. It was Justins goal to deal with the allegations privately among leaders to protect the victim, however party leaders brought this out publicly to discredit Mr. Anderson.

But Anderson said in an interview Wednesday his campaign distributed this language without his permission during the power outage resulting from Tropical Storm Isaias.

It seems like Im feuding with the party. Im not, said Anderson, a military veteran who served in Afganistan and worked as a government intelligence official and former corrections officer. I have put a lot of time and effort into this campaign and if we move forward and Tommy is not the nominee, I hope that they would consider me.

Gilmer has repeatedly endorsed QAnon ideas on social media. QAnon is a conspiracy theory that alleges President Donald Trump was combating deep state enemies and pedophiles. It has been linked to violence and potential domestic terrorism.

Gilmer works in industrial and commercial construction through his company Axe Management Industries LLC. He launched his campaign to challenge Courtney in April, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

emilie.munson@hearstdc.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson
President Trump said Thursday that one of the sticking points holding up a congressional deal for another round of coronavirus relief is funding for the Post Office, which he said Democrats want in order to bolster universal mail-in voting.

They want $3.5 billion dollars for something that will turn out to be fraudulent, election money basically  the mail-in votes, okay, universal mail-in ballots, Trump said on Fox Business Thursday morning.

Democratic lawmakers also want $25 billion in funding for the Post Office, Trump said.

Now, they need that money in order to have the Post Office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots, the president continued. Those are just two items, but if they dont get those two items, that means you cant have universal mail-in voting, because theyre not equipped to have it.

Asked whether the Post Office funding is the issue holding up a congressional deal on coronavirus relief, Trump responded, No, thats only one aspect of it.

Democrats have pushed to make mail-in voting universally available to protect voters from possible exposure to the coronavirus at polling places. Republicans meanwhile have cautioned that large numbers of voters using absentee ballots could result in ballots being lost in the mail, sent to those who have died, or sent to voters who no longer live at a particular address. An additional concern is the amount of time it would take to count all the mail-in ballots.

The Post Office is going to have to go to town to get these ridiculous ballots in, Trump said. You know, theres nothing wrong with getting out and voting. You get out and vote. They voted during World War I and World War II.

Trump also said states should require voters to produce identification before they can cast their vote, because the Democrats scam the system. Democrats in Congress are fighting voter ID laws tooth-and-nail because they cheat, he said.

Despite warning about widespread voting by absentee ballot as a potential breeding ground for election fraud, Trump last week encouraged Florida residents to vote by mail, assuring that the states election system is safe and secure.

Story continues

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has mounted a slew of legal challenges against attempts by Democrats to expand voting by mail, including suing Nevada over its plan to send ballots to all active voters.

Its being challenged at many different levels. We have many different lawsuits out there, Trump said. This will be the greatest fraud in history.

More from National Review
Announcement of Periodic Review: Moody's announces completion of a periodic review of ratings of HSBC Bank Middle East Limited

Global Credit Research - 13 Aug 2020

Limassol, August 13, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") has completed a periodic review of the ratings of HSBC Bank Middle East Limited and other ratings that are associated with the same analytical unit. The review was conducted through a portfolio review in which Moody's reassessed the appropriateness of the ratings in the context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. The review did not involve a rating committee. Since 1 January 2019, Moody's practice has been to issue a press release following each periodic review to announce its completion.

This publication does not announce a credit rating action and is not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is likely in the near future. Credit ratings and outlook/review status cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted by this announcement. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history.

Key rating considerations are summarized below.

HSBC Bank Middle East Limited's (HBME) A3 deposit ratings capture the bank's standalone Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA) of baa2 and two notches of uplift from parental support reflecting our assessment of a very high likelihood of support from the bank's parent, HSBC Holdings plc (A2 LT senior unsecured) in case of need.

HBME's baa2 BCA is driven by the bank's solid core profitability, strong liquidity and capital, balanced by the bank's relatively weak asset quality, high levels of concentrations and high operating costs.

This document summarizes Moody's view as of the publication date and will not be updated until the next periodic review announcement, which will incorporate material changes in credit circumstances (if any) during the intervening period.

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The principal methodology used for this review was Banks Methodology published in November 2019. Please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.

This announcement applies only to EU rated and EU endorsed ratings. Non EU rated and non EU endorsed ratings may be referenced above to the extent necessary, if they are part of the same analytical unit.

This publication does not announce a credit rating action. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history.

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Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

Agora Crisis Center, one of the countrys oldest volunteer-run crisis hotlines, is turning 50 years old. Started in 1970 by University of New Mexico students and faculty after the death of a UNM student, Agora Crisis Center has continued to be a resource for people experiencing crises.

However, you dont need to be in crisis to call the hotline.

People think you can only call in a crisis, said Molly McCoy Brack, director of Agora Crisis Center. Really, you dont have to wait until youre in a crisis. People can call us for any reason. Its anonymous. They might call if they had a bad day; they might call because theyre lonely. Crisis lines like Agora help provide a connection for people.

The crisis center has come a long way in helping the community. In November 2019, City Councilor Diane Gibson announced the launch of the Homeless Assistance Helpline in partnership with the city of Albuquerque and the Agora Crisis Center.

Weve had tremendous growth in the last 30 years that Ive been at Agora, McCoy Brack said.

The crisis center averages about 35,000 calls during a normal year, but during the COVID-19 pandemic that number has gone down, because fewer volunteers are in the building. However, McCoy Brack said, online chats are increasing and the crisis center responds to about 800 online chats a month, triple the number before the pandemic.

Agoras long history is made possible by people who care about it, such as Mia Mendoza.

Born in Stanley, a community of barely 1,000 people, Mendoza said mental health care was something that was never discussed in her hometown.

The first time I knew somebody who died by suicide, I was 12 years old, Mendoza said.

I grew up in an environment in the community where Im from and in my family where everyone was suffering, but nobody was able to put words to what that meant.

After entering UNM as a freshman in 2008, Mendoza started volunteering at Agora Crisis Center. She worked her way up the leadership ranks and continues to do guest lectures for the crisis hotline. Mendoza is now the program director for the New Mexico Childrens Grief Center and Grief Resource Center.

I wouldnt be in this position without my experience at this organization and the community that it provided me, Mendoza said. I still use the skills every single day.
NEW YORK, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Feed Yeast Market by Type (Yeast Derivatives, Probiotic Yeast, Brewer's Yeast, and Specialty Yeast), Livestock (Ruminants, Swine, Poultry, Aquatic Animals, Pets and Equine), Genus , and Region - Global Forecast to 2025", published by MarketsandMarkets, the Feed Yeast Market size is projected to reach USD 2.3 billion by 2025, which was estimated at USD 1.8 billion in 2020; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.1% from 2020. The market is driven by factors such as ban on the use of antibiotics in feed as a growth promoter and increasing use of yeast as a nutritional supplement for livestock. Also, rising concern regarding animal health and feed quality has been driving the growth of this market.

Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=108142106

The feed yeast market includes major Tier I and II suppliers like Associated British Foods Inc., Archer Daniels Midland Company, Alltech Inc., Cargill, Lesaffre, Angel Yeast Co. Ltd., and Lallemand Inc. These suppliers have their manufacturing facilities spread across various countries across Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, South America, and RoW. Though COVID-19 has impacted their businesses as well, there is no significant impact on the global operations and supply chain of their feed yeast. Multiple manufacturing facilities of players are still in operation. The international trade barriers, closure of restaurants, hotels, and live animal markets, supply chain hindrances, consumption patterns of livestock-based products were considered to be mildly significant, which has disrupted the market for feed yeast.

Browse in-depth TOC on "Feed Yeast Market"

316  Tables

50  Figures

325  Pages

However, during this pandemic situation, livestock farmers and animal breeders are facing minimal challenges in this market as yeast are found abundantly everywhere; on cereal grains, grain by-products, silages, hays and are even present in the soil and water and can be cultured rapidly and easily. So even if the processing plants or laboratories are closed, livestock farmers and animal breeders who source feed yeast from different manufacturers, can themselves practice live yeast culture. Thus, the decline in 2020 in the feed yeast market growth is mainly due to the major impact of COVID-19 pandemic. Gradually, as the restrictions of the government measures are likely to relax, the market for feed yeast would witness a slight increment in the upcoming years till 2025.

Increasing concerns about the COVID-19 spread on livestock and the rising awareness among consumers about consuming such livestock products have led manufacturers in the feed industry to opt for various natural and organic alternatives such as probiotic yeast. Feed yeast being a natural additives will witness an increase in its usage as more people are opting for organic and healthy products as compared to synthetic products. These growing concerns of consumers will require breeders to adapt natural additives, such as feed yeast.

The use of yeast derivatives for feed production is projected to be the largest market during the forecast period.

Beta-glucans, nucleotides, and mannooligosaccharides are the major yeast derivatives that exhibit efficient pathogen binding capacity, which restricts the growth of pathogens in the animal body. In addition, beta-glucans are the type of yeast derivatives that trigger the immune response in the animal body. The health benefits associated with the use of yeast derivatives as a feed additive increases its demand in the feed industry. Thus, the yeast derivatives segment is projected to witness a largest share in 2019.

The Saccharomyces spp. segment is estimated to dominate the market during the forecast period.

Saccharomyces Spp. such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces boulardii are majorly used for yeast production and is used as one of the most important ingredients in feed. With the increasing demand for natural growth promoters for animals, the preference for Saccharomyces Spp. has increased as it is considered to be one of the best sources for nutritional yeast. The Saccharomyces Spp. segment accounted for the highest share in the feed yeast market in 2019 and witnessed high demand for use in feed yeast production.

Request for Customization:

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=108142106

With the introduction of stringent regulations, Europe is estimated to be the second largest market during the forecast period.

The feed yeast market in Europe is driven by the introduction of stringent regulations pertaining to the use of antibiotics in feed. Increasing awareness about the benefits of feed yeast is projected to contribute to the market growth. The high demand for quality and nutrient-rich feed in the European countries has led to the high demand for feed yeast among farmers. Moreover, the European legislators are also concerned about food and animal safety and thus have implemented many safety laws for the same. With high concerns related to animal health, the EU government has put a ban on the use of antibiotic growth promoters in feed due to its negative impact on animal health as well as on the health of human consumers. For the replacement of those antibiotics, naturally-sourced feed ingredients that have antibiotic properties such as feed yeast were developed by manufacturers.

This report includes a study of the development strategies of leading companies. The scope of this report includes a detailed study of feed yeast manufacturers such as Associated British Foods PLC. (UK), Archer Daniels Midland Company (US), Alltech Inc. (US), Cargill (US), Lesaffre (France), Angel Yeast Co. Ltd. (China), and Lallemand Inc. (Canada)

Related Reports:

Probiotics in Animal Feed Market by Livestock (Poultry, Ruminants, Swine, Aquaculture, Pets), Source (Bacteria [Lactobacilli, Streptococcus Thermophilus, Bifidobacteria] and Yeast & Fungi), Form (Dry and Liquid), and Region - Global Forecast to 2025

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/probiotics-animal-feed-market-85832335.html

Feed Additives Market by Type (Amino Acids, Phosphates, Vitamins, Acidifiers, Carotenoids, Enzymes, Mycotoxin Detoxifiers, Flavors & Sweeteners, Minerals, Antioxidants), Livestock, Form, Source, and Region - Global Forecast to 2023

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/feed-additives-market-870.html

Browse Adjacent Reports: Feed and Animal Nutrition Market Research Reports & Consulting

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A coronavirus denier and self-described 'psychic' who slammed Daniel Andrews for his lockdown measures has cast a spell to remove him as Victorian premier.

Lizzy Rose, dubbed 'Bunnings Karen', made headlines last month when she filmed herself clashing with staff at the hardware giant over mandatory face masks.

Ms Rose, who uses her social media platform to spread dangerous conspiracy theories, shared a video of her performing a 'vaccination burn' to cast out the Victorian government, as well as mandatory jabs and face masks.

'Cast you and your agenda out. We say no to mandatory vaccinations against our will,' she said in the footage posted on Sunday.

Lizzy Rose (pictured), dubbed 'Bunnings Karen', made headlines last month when she filmed herself clashing with staff at the warehouse giant over mandatory face masks

Ms Rose, who wore a black dress during the performance, was seen bent over a large black cauldron with a lit match held over a needle

'We burn away your evil agenda. We, the awakened people, say no to mandatory vaccinations. We cast you out.'

Ms Rose, who wore a black dress during the bizarre performance, was seen bent over a large black cauldron with a lit match held over a needle.

She chanted: 'We cast out your evil agenda of cruelty, deception and control.

'You are to leave government, you are to walk away from your power and your position for we cast you out.

'Hail and farewell Daniel Andrews and blessed be.'

The anti-masker dramatically threw the match and needle into the cauldron and raised her arms into the air.

Ms Rose shared a video of her performing a 'vaccination burn' to cast out the Victorian government, as well as mandatory vaccines and face masks

Ms Rose uses her social media platform to spread dangerous conspiracy theories. She encourages her followers to stop wearing face masks

She then called for rain and 'the heavens to open and bear down on us'.

'Cleanse this government and all its ill will. Banish from state, territory, capital and the hill. Guardians of day and guardians of night,' Ms Rose continued.

'Great Mother Earth, in this cauldron of bounty, punish them, make them accountable by law, by honour. Make them hear and make them see and free our people.'

Ms Rose concluded by asking for restrictions, including mandatory masks, to be lifted and for the economy to be reopened.

The self-proclaimed 'witch' uses her social media channels to encourage Victorians to stop wearing face masks. She has also filmed herself burning disposable face masks.

From 11.59pm on August 2, all Victorians have been required to wear a face covering when leaving their homes. Those who fail to follow the rule without a medical exemption can be fined $200.

Despite stage four lockdown in Melbourne, Ms Rose has also bragged about breaking the restrictions to go for two-hour walks outside her 5km radius.

Lizzy Rose is a pagan witch who has filmed herself burning face masks in a fire pit

Ms Rose famously recorded herself inside the Bunnings store in Maribyrnong, in Melbourne's west, where she planned to buy plant pots and items for her 'Viking fire pit'.

Armed with a medical certificate exempting her from wearing the mandatory masks, she fronted confused staff members.

'I went shopping in my local Bunnings where I've spent thousands of dollars over nearly 18 years and was rudely illegally denied customer service due to not wearing a facial mask, despite the fact that I produced a legal medical certificate of exemption,' she posted after the stunt.

'Management called the police, stating to police that my exemption was 'bogus' which is completely untrue.

'This is absolutely disgusting treatment of a customer and a direct contradiction to Mr Daniel Andrews, the premier of Victoria's, instructions stating that no person with a medical exemption is to be refused service, goods or products.'

The video showed Ms Rose referring to masked customers as 'zombies' as she walked without a mask through the aisles.

'People are so very silly,' she said. 'And they're so silly and it's so very sad that they're not evolved enough to see.'

Ms Rose then argued with a checkout operator before turning the video off.
Capt. John Filip Junek, USN (Ret.), 75 of Leonardtown, MD passed away on August 6, 2020 at his home, surrounded by his loving family.



He was born on December 28, 1944 in Bethesda, MD to the late Filip Junek and Vivian (Morse) Junek.



Captain Junek is a 1967 graduate of United States Naval Academy, earning a Bachelor's degree in Naval Science. He reported to flight training at Pensacola, FL in 1967. He was designated a Naval Flight Officer in March 1968, he reported to VF-121 and F-4 training at Naval Air Station Miramar. He made two combat deployments aboard the USS Kitty Hawk followed by instruction at the Navy's "Top Gun" school, Class 10.



In March 1972, he married his high school sweetheart, Kathryn Sinclair Junek at the U.S. Naval Academy. Together they celebrated over 48 wonderful years of marriage.



After graduating U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in 1972, he served as project officer in the fighter branch of the Weapons Systems Test Division, Naval Air Test Center at Patuxent River, MD. He was also a member of the Board of Inspection and Survey for the F-14 acceptance trials.



Captain Junek returned to Pacific Fleet fighters for a tour with VF-24 in 1975 aboard USS Constellation as Personnel Officer, Maintenance Officer and Operations Officer. VF-24 won the Clifton Award, the Battle E and the MUTHA trophy twice.



He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base in 1979 while independently earning a Master's Degree in Business Administration and Financial Management from Auburn University. He then reported to OPNAV, Washington, D.C. where he served as the TACAIR Analyst for Strike Branch, Systems Analysis Division (OP-962). He is designated a Weapons Systems Acquisition Manager, a proven subspecialist in Operations Analysis, Applied Logic and Engineering Flight Test and Financial Management.



Captain Junek commanded Fighter Squadron 213 aboard the USS Enterprise. His squadron was designated most improved command by the Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet. He provided F-14 aircraft and coordinated the shipboard filming of the movie, "Top Gun."



He served as the F-14 Program Coordinator for Assistant Chief of Naval Operations, Air Warfare during the full-scale development phase of the F-14D Super Tomcat.



Captain Junek was commanding officer of the USS Roanoke (AOR 7) from 10/1989 to 4/1991. He has flown 261 combat missions, logged over 3,300 hours flight time, made 950 carrier landings in fighter aircraft, rounded Cape Horn, transited the Panama Canal and sailed six of the seven seas. He reported to SACLANT as Executive Assistance to the Chief of Staff, Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic in June 1991.



He retired after 30 years of dedicated service to his country. After retirement he worked as the Corporate Business Development Director for Naval Aviation Programs for Lockheed Martin Corporation where he was on the design and capture team for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. He spent 15 dedicated years with them. After retiring from them, he enjoyed small grain crop farming and spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren.



In addition to his beloved wife, Kathryn, John is also survived by his daughter, Karenan Smart (Ray) of Leonardtown, MD and his son, John M. Junek (Annette) of Leonardtown, MD; three grandchildren: Jane and Mac Bailey, and James Christian Junek; and many extended family and friends.



All services will be private. Interment will be held at a later date at the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD.



Condolences to the family may be made at www.brinsfieldfuneral.com.



Arrangements by the Brinsfield Funeral Home, P.A.
iPhone maker Apple and a supplier to a dozen other tech giants Foxconn's co-chairman has said that China's time as a factory to the world is over due to the United States-China trade war.

Young Liu has said that the company is gradually adding more capacity outside of China, which is presently the main base of production for gadgets from iPhones to Dell desktops and Nintendo Switches.

The proportion outside the country is now up by 5 percent from the earlier from 25 percent last June. The ratio will rise as Foxconn moves more manufacturing to Southeast Asia and other regions to avoid escalating tariffs on Chinese-made goods headed to US markets, Liu said as per a Bloomberg report.

"Doesn't matter if it is India, Southeast Asia or America, there will be a manufacturing ecosystem in each," Liu said. He, however, said that China will continue to play a crucial role in Foxconns manufacturing empire.

Track this LIVE blog for all the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic

"The countrys days as the worlds factory are done," Liu, Chairman of the company formally called Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, added.

Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on August 13, as rising telecommuting demand amid the coronavirus pandemic offset slowing smartphone sales. Foxconn reported a net profit of Taiwanese $22.9 billion ($778.54 million) for the second quarter ended June.

As per a Reuters report, Foxconn plans to invest up to $1 billion to expand a factory in southern India where the Taiwanese contract manufacturer assembles Apple iPhones. The move, the scale of which has not previously been reported, is part of a quiet and gradual production shift by Apple away from China as it navigates disruptions from a trade war between Beijing and Washington and the coronavirus crisis.

"There's a strong request from Apple to its clients to move part of the iPhone production out of China," one of the sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

US President Donald Trump recently announced a sweeping ban on US transactions with Tencent Holdings, the Chinese owner of messaging app WeChat, and Bytedance, which owns the video-sharing app TikTok, citing national security threats.

Under Trump's executive order, any transaction related to WeChat and TikTok would be banned in the United States.

The Trump administration last week also announced the expansion of the "Clean Network" initiative which aims to prevent various Chinese apps and telecom firms from accessing sensitive information on American citizens and businesses, targeting firms like Tencent, Alibaba and Huawei.

The latest blow comes as the relationship between the two powerhouses has nosedived since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
Rhodes Universitys SARChI in Marine Natural Products Research, Professor Rosemary Dorrington

Rhodes University will lead an international research collaboration that seeks to discover and accelerate the development of new antibiotics. The three-year, 1.5 million project, funded by the Newton Fund through the Antibiotic Accelerator Initiative of the United Kingdom (UK) Medical Research Council (MRC) and South African (SA) MRC, aims to discover novel compounds from natural sources that have the potential to be developed into new antimicrobial compounds to combat drug-resistant bacterial pathogens.

The project will bring together scientists from 12 higher education and research institutions in SA and five from the UK. All the universities of the Eastern Cape and the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity are part of this research consortium that seeks to establish an Antibiotic Accelerator Hub to significantly boost capacity for the discovery of new antibiotics. The focus will be on unexplored, biodiversity-rich habitats, including deep sea and polar environments, offering real potential for new natural product-derived drugs.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is widely regarded as one of the greatest threats to global public health, the impact of which is particularly severe in developing countries. In addition to the growing list of bacterial pathogens known to be resistant to treatment, there is increasing concern over sexually-transmitted infections caused by resistant Neisseria gonorrhoea. There is, clearly, an urgent need for the discovery of new antibiotic therapeutics to counter the danger posed. Moreover, alongside medical benefits, this project aims to support future growth in the bio-economies of both countries, ensuring fair and equitable sharing of the benefits of any new drugs arising from the research.

Rhodes Universitys SARChI Professor, Rosemary Dorrington, said she is hoping that the partnership will establish a regional centre for drug discovery within the Eastern Cape Province and profile Rhodes University as a drug discovery hub.

This initiative will lay the foundation for a multi-disciplinary drug discovery platform in a region known to be a terrestrial and marine biodiversity hotspot. The establishment of a Natural Products Research Network representing twelve South African partner institutions, will provide unprecedented access to the chemical diversity of our extraordinarily rich natural resources, she said.

Professor in Medical Microbiology at the University of Plymouth, Mat Upton, who is leading the project from the UK, said: We know there is an urgent global need to accelerate the discovery of new antimicrobial drugs and bring them to market, and this project brings together expertise from the UK and South Africa to create the infrastructure for that to happen. Natural products and their synthetic analogues are the basis for most antibiotics in clinical use today, and the hope is that this collaboration will go some way towards unlocking the potential resources contained in marine and terrestrial biota in South Africa, one of the worlds most biodiverse places.

Read more about the project, Harnessing natural product diversity to combat multidrug-resistant pathogens, on the UKRI Gateway to Research: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=MC_PC_MR%2FT029579%2F1.

Source: Communications

Please help us to raise funds so that we can give all our students a chance to access online teaching and learning. Covid-19 has disrupted our students' education. Don't let the digital divide put their future at risk. Visit www.ru.ac.za/rucoronavirusgateway to donate
SPRINGFIELD - Mayor Domenic Sarno announced Thursday that Roderick L. Ireland, retired chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, has agreed to advise him as the city looks to enact changes to the police department following a recent Department of Justice report that criticized Springfield police for a pattern of excessive force.

Sarno announced that Ireland, 75, will serve as a special advisor to the mayor, providing advice as the city works to implement changes in policy, training, and accountability as recommended by the Department of Justice.

The DOJs Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorneys Office of Massachusetts in July issued a scathing report on an investigation into the Springfield police Narcotics Bureau.

It detailed what was described as a pattern of the use of excessive force against suspects in drug arrests over a period of years. This pattern, the report concluded, was due to systemic deficiencies the police departments policies, training, and systems for accountability.

Sarno said he was delighted that Ireland agreed to come on board, and noted that his career and record are each impeccable.

He has unquestioned integrity and professionalism, Sarno said.

He said Irelands insight and experience will help the city as Sarno, the Law Department, and Police Commissioner Cheryl C. Clapprood work on ways to reform the department.

Ireland said in a prepared statement that he is honored to have been selected for the task.

Police reform is a critically important topic, not only in Springfield, but also nationally, and I look forward to sharing my best thinking with (Sarno), based on many years as a public defender, lawyer, judge, and student of the law, he said.

The citizens of Springfield deserve a law enforcement agency which they can trust, and which follows the rule of law and our Constitution, he said.

A Springfield native, Ireland was appointed to the bench in 1977. Twenty years later, he was selected by then-Gov. William Weld to serve on the SJC, becoming the first Black associate justice and then chief justice on the court. He retired in 2014.

The Hampden County Hall of Justice on State Street was renamed the Roderick L. Ireland Courthouse in 2017.

This is a developing story and more information will be added later.
Reading all these kid-friendly mermaid books left this adult reader wishing for juicier fare  and I slaked my thirst with two recent nonfiction titles, Carolyn Turgeons 2018 book The Mermaid Handbook: An Alluring Treasury of Literature, Lore, Art, Recipes, and Projects and the 2019 folklore anthology, The Penguin Book of Mermaids (edited by Cristina Bacchilega and Marie Alohalani Brown). Bacchilega and Browns volume brings together dozens of tales from a diverse array of cultures, including three that have never before appeared in English. The authors leave interpretation largely to the reader, but they do provide a compact overview of the genre, noting that mermaids reflect our fascination with and fear of female bodies and of water and our dread of predators or poisonous creatures that live in or near water. But such tales are also social and cultural commentaries about what it means to be human: they encapsulate our beliefs and mores, express our weaknesses and strengths, and expose our deepest fears and desires.
Boris Johnson said the UK would be 'ruthless' when it came to travel quarantine even with its 'closest and dearest friends' today - as Britons in France endured an anxious wait to find out if they would be forced to self-isolate.

The Prime Minister spoke as he visited Northern Ireland this afternoon ahead of an expected decision on which nations will be placed on the restricted travel list.

A review due to be completed today is expected to keep France on the list of countries that are exempted from the UK's 14-day isolation rules.

However, the Netherlands and Malta are at risk of being taken off the roll call of safe destinations, as they have worse rates.

'We have got to be absolutely ruthless about this, even with our closest and dearest friends and partners. I think everybody understands that,' Mr Johnson told reporters.

'We will be looking at the data a bit later on this afternoon - looking exactly where France and other countries are getting to.

'We can't be remotely complacent about our own situation. Everybody understands that in a pandemic you don't allow our population to be reinfected or the disease to come back in.

'That is why the quarantine measures are very important and we have to apply them in very strict way.'

The Prime Minister spoke as he visited Northern Ireland this afternoon ahead of an expected decision on which nations will be placed on the restricted travel list

Pictured: A graph showing the countries from which travellers arriving in the UK are currently exempt from the 14-day coronavirus quarantine, and the number of Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people in each country. Speculation is mounting that France could be removed from the list of exempt countries, but there a number of others that have higher or similar figures

Speculation has been mounting about quarantine exemptions being scrapped as infections rise across much of Europe.

Hundreds of thousands of Britons are either on holiday in France or planning to go there, but yesterday it recorded more than 2,500 cases - a record since lockdown was eased.

The country appears to be perilously close to the yardstick of 20 cases per 100,000 population in a seven-day period.

But ministers are believed to be prepared to hold off on restrictions when changes are announced today, with the situation kept under close observation.

MailOnline understands that Malta and the Netherlands, which have higher prevalence, are more likely to be returned to the quarantine list - which already includes Spain and Portugal. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not believed to have signed off on the adjustments yet.

Travellers are expected to be given around 30 hours notice of any changes coming into force, so they can make new arrangements if required.

Hundreds of thousands of Britons are either on holiday in France or planning to go there, but yesterday it recorded more than 2,500 cases - a record since lockdown was eased. Pictured, Cergy-Pontoise, north west of Paris

The Netherlands (23.1 per 100,000), Gibraltar (35.6), Monaco (38.2), Malta (46.7), San Marino (53.0), the Faroe Islands (198.5), Turks and Caicos (278.9) and Aruba (547.9) all have higher rates of new cases per 100,000 than France.

Those on the list with a slightly lower rate than France are Denmark (15.3 per 100,000), Iceland (14.7), the Czech Republic (14.0), Switzerland (13.3) and Poland (12.7).

All the above have now overtaken Portugal's rate of 12.4 new cases per 100,000 people in the last seven days, but despite this, Portugal remains on the list of countries from which all arrivals to the UK, including those returning from holiday, must quarantine for two weeks.

Downing Street reminded potential holidaymakers this week that 'there is no risk free way of travelling overseas' with Boris Johnson adding that he 'would not hesitate' to bring in travel restrictions for other countries.

The latest data on coronavirus cases on foreign soil is being analysed by the Government's Joint Biosecurity Centre (JCB), which reports to Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

Britons in France and other countries could be forced to make a dash home or risk being forced to quarantine on their return to the UK, should the government decide to remove more countries from the list.

Despite Portugal having a lower rate of new Covid-19 cases in the past seven days than a number of countries on the government's exemption list, travellers entering the UK from Portugal are required to self-isolate on their arrival in the UK. Pictured: Beachgoers crowd Praia da Duquesa, in Cascais, Portugal. on August 09, 2020 as tourism slowly returns

UK Ministers are believed to be planning new measures for a swathe of countries amid a surge in European coronavirus cases

The Netherlands is among the countries exempt from the UK's quarantine rules, but saw a rate of 23.1 new cases per 100,000 people in the last week- a higher rate than France

On Tuesday, the UK updated its travel 'green list', but did not take Portugal off the quarantine list, in a blow to the country's economy that benefits greatly from tourism from the UK.

The UK Government was warned that cases in Portugal had not fallen fast enough to be able to safely add the country to the 'green list'.

Meanwhile, France's tally of coronavirus cases rose by 2,524 in the latest update yesterday.

On Monday, France reported the first significant rise in the number of coronavirus patients in hospital since the lockdown was lifted, although it fell again on Tuesday.

France's prime minister Jean Castex (pictured at a hospital in Montpellier this week) has told his citizens to 'pull themselves together' amid a fresh surge in coronavirus cases in France

Earlier this week France's prime minister told his citizens to 'pull themselves together' amid a fresh surge in coronavirus cases.

Jean Castex said the public was becoming careless and raised the spectre of a second lockdown after a rise of more than 10,000 cases in the last week.

'If we don't act collectively, we expose ourselves to the heightened risk that the rebound in the epidemic becomes hard to control,' Castex said on a visit to an intensive care ward in the South of France.

Some parts of France have tightened their mask rules despite the summer heatwave, with police now set to ramp up checks on face coverings - while neighbouring Belgium has today made masks compulsory in all public spaces including outdoors.
The head of the Ram temple trust, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, 80, tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday and was rushed to the Medanta hospital in Gurgaon, officials said.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets Ram temple trust Mahant Nritya Gopal Das during the bhoomi pujan event in Ayodhya held on August 5, 2020. Photograph: Press Information Bureau of India

According to the officials, Das was rushed to the Gurgaon hospital on instructions from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

"A team of doctors tested him for COVID-19 after the district administration was informed in the morning that he was feeling uneasy," Mathura District Magistrate (DM) Sarvagya Ram Mishra said.

He added that the process to identify those who had come in contact with Das in the recent past has started.

Adityanath has spoken to Mishra as also to Dr Naresh Trehan, the chairman and managing director of the Medanta hospital, and requested for immediate medical attention to Das, the officials said.

Das, who is also the president of the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Nyas, was at the Sri Krishna Janmasthan in Mathura till 1.30 am.

He had performed the 'abhishek' of the deity at the Bhagwat Bhavan from 11 pm to 1 am, Gopeshwar Nath Chaturvedi, a member of the Sri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan, said, adding that till then, he had not complained about his health.

On August 5, Das shared the dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat at the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya.
A newly constructed River Oaks home that pays homage to one of Houston's best examples of midcentury architecture is among the top ten most expensive homes sold in the city last month, according to data provided by the Houston Association of Realtors.

As reported by the Houston Chronicle's Diane Cowen, the two-acre lot at 2 Tiel Way was first designed by Karl Kamrath in 1961 and was later demolished in 2017. After construction delays due to Hurricane Harvey, the newly-constructed home, which still honors its Kamrath roots, finally found new owners and became the second most expensive property sold in Houston in July.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Gone but not forgotten: River Oaks home a tribute to lost mid-century gem

Looking for the ultimate dream house inspiration? Keep scrolling for a virtual tour of Houston's priciest properties sold last month...
New Orleans  A federal appeals court in New Orleans upheld the constitutionality of the all-male military draft system Thursday, citing a 1981 U.S. Supreme Court decision.

In a decision that overturned a 2019 ruling by a Texas-based federal judge, a panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans said only the Supreme Court may revise its precedent.

The case was argued in March and was the result of a lawsuit by the National Coalition for Men and two men challenging the male-only draft. They argued that the 1981 case was decided at a time when women were largely absent from combat.

Thursdays unanimous ruling from the three-judge panel acknowledged that the factual underpinning of the controlling Supreme Court decision has changed. However, the judges noted, that does not grant a court of appeals license to disregard or overrule that precedent.

Plaintiffs in the case could seek a rehearing before the full 17-judge appeals court or go to the Supreme Court. Harry Crouch, president of the National Coalition for Men, said organization leaders will discuss their next move with attorneys. All I can tell you is we will be moving the case forward, he said.

The U.S. government stopped drafting young men into the military in 1973. But every male must still register for the draft when he turns 18.

Earlier this year  after the arguments before the 5th Circuit  a federal commission recommended including women in the military draft system.

The Commission concluded that the time is right to extend Selective Service System registration to include men and women, between the ages of 18 and 26. This is a necessary and fair step, making it possible to draw on the talent of a unified Nation in a time of national emergency, the commissions final report said.

The 2019 district court decision declaring the male-only draft unconstitutional had been appealed by the Selective Service System, the federal agency that administers the draft. The appeal was argued during a series of 5th Circuit hearings at Tulane University. The judges were Carl Stewart, Don Willett and Jacques Weiner.

Arguing for the National Coalition for men was Marc Angelucci, an attorney who was shot to death in July. Authorities later linked the killing of Angelucci in California to Roy Den Hollander, 72, who was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on July 20, the day after an ambush shooting in New Jersey that killed U.S. District Judge Esther Salas 20-year-old son and wounded her husband.
Photo: The Canadian Press

Joe Biden raised $26 million in the 24 hours after he named Kamala Harris as his running mate, doubling his previous one-day record and signalling enthusiasm among Democrats following the selection of the first Black woman on a major party's presidential ticket.

It's really palpable, the excitement, Biden said Wednesday.

The campaign hopes the haul is the beginning of a prolific fundraising push in the final stretch before Election Day. Democrats are close to matching, if not surpassing, the massive $300 million cash stockpile President Donald Trump and Republicans reported in July.

Harris is expected to play a key role in that effort. She joined Biden in Delaware on Wednesday for their first fundraiser together as running mates and talked to grassroots donors about how her parents' activism inspired her interest in politics.

This is a campaign that really fuels my hope because it is about knowing that this is fighting for something and not against something and its fighting for the best we are as a nation, Harris said. Its fighting for the best of who we can be.

With large in-person events out of the question because of the pandemic, the campaign has an aggressive schedule of online fundraisers planned for Harris. That could play to one of her political strengths and offset an area where Biden has sometimes struggled.

Harris already has a robust network of donors in her native California, a state that has long been referred to as the ATM of the Democratic Party. She can rake in cash from Wall Street. And Harris, who is also of Asian descent, has the potential to bring new money into the Democratic fold because of the historic nature of her candidacy.

To have someone on the ticket whose mother is from the south of India is a dream come true, said Swadesh Chatterjee, a businessman from North Carolina who also raises money for political candidates. You will see more fundraising from the Indian American community.

Lisa Hernandez Gioia, who was a deputy finance director for Hillary Clintons 2016 campaign, called Harris a fundraiser's dream.

"Donors already have an eagerness, she said. She adds the star power that will be like an afternoon shot of espresso to the campaigns fundraising.

Before it was clear he would win the Democratic nomination, Biden was never a particularly successful fundraiser. As a longtime senator from Delaware, a small, solidly blue state, he never had to cultivate a national network of donors. And party fundraisers have long grumbled that he lacked the same touch with donors that he has shown when working a rope line.

Bidens campaign was virtually broke the time he won the South Carolina primary, which revived his prospects and powered his way to the Democratic nomination. And while his clinching of the nomination has led to a flood of campaign contributions, some believe Harris can juice totals even higher.

Yet Harris, who dropped out of the Democratic primary last year, has had her own struggles with fundraising.

She launched her presidential bid in early 2019 and raised $15.5 million by mid-March, an impressive showing at an early stage in the race. But her campaign hemorrhaged money. And while she wowed well-heeled donors, she struggled to develop a competitive base of grassroots contributors who chip in small amounts online, a phenomenon that fueled the fundraising success of rivals Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
George Andrikokus, a band director at Hinsdale Middle School, may also be teaching band in-person this year. The vice president of IGSMA said in the past, students had shared large instruments like tubas in his bands. This had never been a cause for concern, Andrikokus said; students played on their own mouthpieces and the instruments were rotated among a small pool of players. This year, with help from the music company that supplies instruments to his band, he said instrument sharing is now off the table.
The red supergiant Betelgeuse is one of the brightest stars in the night sky and appears even more luminous because it is so close to Earth, only 650 light-years away. But the star also periodically changes in brightness, which was first noted in the 1830s by the British astronomer John Herschel. Betelgeuse experienced an unexpected dimming during December 2019 and the first quarter of 2020, reaching an historic minimum on February 7-13. This dimming has mystified astronomers, who scrambled to develop several theories for the abrupt change. Ultraviolet observations by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope suggest that the dimming was probably caused by an immense amount of superhot material ejected into space. The material cooled and formed a dust cloud that blocked the starlight coming from about a quarter of Betelgeuses surface.

With Hubble, we see the material as it left the stars visible surface and moved out through the atmosphere, before the dust formed that caused the star appear to dim, said Dr. Andrea Dupree, an astronomer at the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

We could see the effect of a dense, hot region in the southeast part of the star moving outward.

This material was two to four times more luminous than the stars normal brightness. And then, about a month later, the southern hemisphere of Betelgeuse dimmed conspicuously as the star grew fainter.

We think it is possible that a dark cloud resulted from the outflow that Hubble detected. Only Hubble gives us this evidence of what led up to the dimming.

Dr. Dupree and colleagues began using Hubble early last year to observe the red supergiant.

Their observations are part of a three-year Hubble study to monitor variations in the stars outer atmosphere.

The telescopes sensitivity to ultraviolet light allowed the astronomers to probe the layers above the stars surface, which are so hot that they emit mostly in the ultraviolet region of the spectrum and are not seen in visible light.

These layers are heated partly by the stars turbulent convection cells bubbling up to the surface.

Spatially resolving a stellar surface is only possible in favorable cases and only with the best available equipment, said Dr. Klaus Strassmeier, a researcher at the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam.

In that respect, Betelgeuse and Hubble are made for each other.

Hubble spectra, taken in early and late 2019 and in 2020, probed the stars outer atmosphere by measuring spectral lines of ionized magnesium.

From September to November 2019, the researchers measured material passing from the stars surface into its outer atmosphere.

This hot, dense material continued to travel beyond Betelgeuses visible surface, reaching millions of kilometers from the star. At that distance, the material cooled down enough to form dust.

This interpretation is consistent with Hubble ultraviolet-light observations in February 2020, which showed that the behavior of the stars outer atmosphere returned to normal, even though in visible light it was still dimming.

Although we dont know the cause of the outburst, we thinks it was aided by the stars pulsation cycle, which continued normally though the event, as recorded by visible-light observations, Dr. Dupree said.

The team also used an automated telescope called STELLar Activity (STELLA) to measure changes in the velocity of the gas on the stars surface as it rose and fell during the pulsation cycle.

STELLA was designed for observing individual objects over a very long period of time  especially magnetically active stars, Dr. Strassmeier said.

It is perfectly suited for monitoring bright stars like Betelgeuse.

STELLA had and is observing it basically every clear night since 2006.

Betelgeuse was expanding in its cycle at the same time as the convective cell was upwelling.

The pulsation rippling outward from Betelgeuse may have helped propel the outflowing plasma through the atmosphere.

We will get another chance to observe the star with Hubble in August or early September, the scientists said.

Right now, Betelgeuse is in the daytime sky, too close to the Sun for Hubble observations.

A paper on the findings was published online today in the Astrophysical Journal.

_____

Andrea K. Dupree et al. 2020. Spatially Resolved Ultraviolet Spectroscopy of the Great Dimming of Betelgeuse. ApJ 899, 68; doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/aba516
MEXICO CITY - As tensions between the United States and China rise, and as the coronavirus pandemic is forcing some U.S. companies to rethink their far-flung supply chains, Mexico has a message for the world's CEOs: Move here instead.

The Mexican government calls it a "relocation strategy" - a campaign to convince companies that they'd be safer bringing production closer to the U.S. market, to a country with a newly signed North American trade deal and a warmer relationship to the U.S. government.

"As a result of the covid, many global value chains are going to form regional chains for reasons of efficiency, profitability and also for safety," said Ernesto Acevedo, the country's deputy economy minister. "Mexico is going to take advantage of this moment."

U.S. companies were beginning to shift some production away from China before anyone had heard of covid-19. Aside from trade tensions, firms complained about intellectual property concerns, rising labor costs and political instability. In February, the consulting firm Gartner found that 33 percent of global supply-chain leaders had either shifted sourcing and manufacturing activities out of China or planned to in the next three years.

The question, then, is where those companies will relocate. Countries across Southeast Asia are attempting to attract them. Japan set aside $2.2 billion this year for the effort. President Trump made his own pitch of sorts on Twitter last year, ordering U.S. firms to "immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing your companies HOME and making your products in the USA."

Enter Mexico, with its own message.

Since the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994, Mexico's role in the U.S. supply chain has grown, evolving from an exporter of textiles to a leading automobile and aerospace manufacturer. But its growth has been nowhere near as impressive as China's. By 2015, China owned 20% of global manufacturing; Mexico's share was 2%.

Now, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador sees increasing exports as the primary way to extract the country from a deepening recession. Even before the coronavirus pandemic, the economy was stagnating. The International Monetary Fund expects the country's GDP to decline this year by 10.5%.

Lopez Obrador visited the White House last month to tout the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal, a trip his aides said was intended in part to spur investment in Mexico. In Washington, Lopez Obrador signed a declaration calling the agreement "the ideal instrument to provide economic certainty and increased confidence to our countries."

Much of that trade, his administration believes, will come from companies relocating from China. But economists say Mexico's efforts to lure firms from China are hamstrung by Lopez Obrador's own policies, which have created an uncertain investment climate. Foreign direct investment in Mexico fell by 16.1% in 2019.

Those analysts point to the closure of a $1.4 billion brewery owned by Constellation Brands in the border city of Mexicali that was nearly finished; a regulatory crackdown on private solar and wind generators, and Lopez Obrador's suggestion that he might reverse the country's energy reforms.

"Mexico in some ways is its own worst enemy," said trade consultant Eric Miller, president of Rideau Potomac Strategy Group. "On paper, it should be doing better than it is, but there's real concern about the predictability of the investment climate."

In attempting to convince firms to relocate from China, the Mexican government is emphasizing the value of its proximity to the United States. Officials are chasing some of the world's biggest companies, such as Apple, Google and Microsoft.

At a news conference last month, Economic Minister Graciela Marquez held up her cellphone.

"There's no reason why this phone has to be produced in China," she said. "There's an enormous opportunity to produce them" in Mexico.

Reached for comment, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it has a friendly and cooperative relationship with Mexico, and noted joint efforts against the coronavirus and Mexico's growing exports to China.

"China has a huge market with a population of 1.4 billion, a well-established industrial supporting system and an improving business environment," the ministry said in a statement. "We believe that smart foreign businesses will never give up the Chinese market."

"China will continue opening to the world," the ministry said, and "is willing to work together with other countries including Mexico to maintain a smooth supply chain."

Some companies have already made the move.

Over the past two years, Los Angeles-based Motorcar Parts of America has invested more than $30 million in a Tijuana production facility to remanufacture devices including alternators and starters and brake power boosters - which the company used to make in China.

"I saw a number of years ago a number of big inflationary moves in the Chinese economy and started to get a little uncomfortable with situation there," CEO Selwyn Joffe said. "I thought we should balance where we do business and our supply chain."

The company maintains a footprint in China, which Joffe says is still a cheaper place to produce.

"But stability and government relations seem to favor Mexico," he said. "Mexico is more expensive, but we weigh that with the accessibility of the marketplace."

At the outset of the pandemic, the Chinese supply chain was hit badly. In the first three months of the year, China's exports dropped 11.4% compared with the same period last year. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security claimed in May that Chinese officials "intentionally concealed the severity" of the virus so they could stock up on medical supplies.

Mexican officials hoped to distinguish themselves by keeping their supply chains with the United States open, even as cases in the country peaked. Mexico continued to export ventilator parts and medical equipment north of the border as its own hospital suffered from shortages. Labor activists said workers were pressured to stay on the job even as co-workers contracted the virus. But Mexican officials believe their supply chains proved to be reliable through the crisis.

"I would say in general terms Mexico performed relatively efficiently, and we can see that because it has continued to be a major supplier to the U.S." said Acevedo, the deputy minister

Still, in April, as Mexico's caseload increased, large corporations and the U.S. government complained that Mexican factories were being shuttered without explanation, disrupting supplies needed for aerospace equipment and medical gear. Ellen Lord, the U.S. defense undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, called Mexico's supply-chain problems "somewhat problematic for us."

Joffe said supply-chain problems during the pandemic in Mexico and China were equally disruptive to his company.

Mexico's Economy Ministry had planned a road show to meet with companies across the United States about shifting production south of the border. That has been canceled because of the pandemic. Mexican officials have instead been holding video calls with CEOs.

"The idea," Acevedo said, "is 'Consider Mexico as a place to begin or expand your businesses.' "

- - -

The Washington Post's Yuan Wang in Beijing contributed to this report.
All-Russia Peoples Front member proposes lower property tax on multi-child families

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

13:40 13/08/2020

MOSCOW, August 13 (RAPSI)  Director of the Coordination Center for Economic Revival of the All-Russia Peoples Front (ARPF), Head of Profstazhirovka 2.0 project Ilya Semin has presented his proposal to lower the property tax on families having three and more underage children.

Civic activists from the All-Russia Peoples Front remind that currently large families are eligible for property tax allowances based on the deduction of the cadaster value of 5 or 7 square meters of living space in, respectively, flats or single-family houses, multiplied by the number of children, from the property tax base; Semin proposes to increase these figures up to 18 square meters of living space per child.

Semin believes the measure, which, he says, is an element of a package of tax moves developed by the All-Russia Peoples Front, will facilitate support of families with many children as it answers the aims set in the framework of national demographics project as to human welfare.

The activist noted that the All-Russia Peoples Front had already submitted to the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Economic Development a proposal to exempt those selling low-priced real estate in 2020 from income tax.

The initiative was backed by First Deputy Chair of the Civic Chambers Commission for Examination of Legislative Initiatives Artem Kiryanov, who stressed the urgency of the measure citing loss of jobs and tight living conditions of many large families.
The United Nations' envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths met with Yemen's internationally recognized government in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Wednesday.

The visit comes as the envoy struggles to make another attempt to bring both sides of the country's civil war to some sort of peace agreement, as fighting continues unabated in the country's north amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Last month, Griffiths told the UN Security Council that UN-mediated peace negotiations between the rebels and government have failed to produce an agreement.

Airstrikes over the past month in the country's north have inflicted dozens of civilian casualties.

Griffiths warned the council the country's economy is collapsing, food prices are surging, and, to make matters worse, an abandoned oil tanker moored off Yemen's Red Sea coast loaded with more than a million barrels of crude oil is at risk of rupture or exploding.

On top of that, the country is grappling with the coronavirus with a massively depleted healthcare system.

Yemen's conflict erupted late in 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi rebels swept across much of the north and seized the capital, Sanaa, forcing the internationally recognized government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi into exile.

The following year, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states formed a coalition to fight the Houthis in what they said was an effort to stop Iran's growing sway in Yemen.

The conflict has killed more than 100,000 people and created the world's worst humanitarian disaster, with more than three million people internally displaced and two-thirds of the population relying on food aid for survival.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

The total number of people killed by the novel coronavirus around the world passed 750,000 on Thursday, with some countries toughening control measures as caseloads once again creep up.

The Latin America and the Caribbean region remains the global epicentre, accounting for almost one-third of all deaths and housing two of the worst-affected countriesMexico and Brazil.

However, fear is growing in other regions of new spikes, with countries including New Zealand and Italy tightening measures in a bid to secure hard-won gains in fighting the virus, which has now infected more than 20 million worldwide.

New Zealand, which earlier this week broke a streak of more than 100 days without a new infection, is scrambling to find the source of 17 new cases in its biggest city Aucklandwhich faces the prospect of a three-day lockdown being extended.

"As with our first outbreak, things will get worse before they get better," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a televised address.

Italy, one of the worst-hit countries in Europe, imposed mandatory coronavirus testing for all travellers arriving from some fellow EU nations and banned all visitors from Colombia.

Health officials worry that Italians returning from foreign holidays may bring home the virus and pass it on at summer events.

Less attention to control measures during the summer holidays is partly to blame for increased numbers of cases, especially among younger people, WHO epidemiologist Richard Peabody said.

"If you take... the pressure off the virus, then it will come back," he warned.

'Prioritise learning'

Elsewhere in Europe, the first case was reported in one of Greece's overcrowded island camps housing migrants and asylum seekers, and Spain's Galicia and Canary Islands regions banned public smoking where social distancing was not possible.

Finland reversed a long-held policy by recommending mask-wearing in public places.

And a smartphone app designed to help track virus transmission in Britain will undergo new trials, officials confirmed, following a failed launch in June and a switch to technology designed by Apple and Google.

In secretive North Koreawhich long insisted it had no casesofficials could be seen disinfecting underground train carriages, distributing hand sanitiser and checking temperatures of masked passengers at station entrances.

"We are stepping up propaganda activities as required by the maximum emergency system," said Jon Gyong Hui, a chief doctor at the railway station in capital Pyongyang.

There was some relief for watchers of the world's biggest economy, as new benefits claims for joblessness in the United States dipped below one million per week for the first time since March.

But around 28.3 million people were still receiving some form of government aid in the week ending July 25, far higher than the 1.7 million at the same time last year.

Europe's powerhouse Germany saw bleak news from two economic giants conglomerate Thyssenkrupp reporting second-quarter losses of 678 million euros ($800 million) and tour operator TUI losing 1.4 billion euros over the same period.

Continued woes for the aviation and transport sectors mean global oil demand is likely to remain depressed throughout this year and much of 2021, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said.

By December 2021, consumption will still be two percent lower than it was at the end of 2019, the Paris-based body said.

In a further sign of how tough it will be to safely return to normal life, the UN highlighted that 43 percent of all schools lacked basic hand-washing facilities before the pandemic.

"We must prioritise children's learning. This means making sure that schools are safe to reopen," said UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore.

Playing it safe

Pharmaceutical companies and health authorities are still locked in a race to produce a vaccine or any effective treatment for the virus.

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed earlier this week his country had developed the first inoculation offering "sustainable immunity".

But Western scientists and the World Health Organization complained that vital data were missingincluding a "Phase 3" trial with thousands of volunteers.

Moscow is pressing ahead with production and distribution and says it has pre-orders from 20 countries for one billion doses.

The Brazilian state of Parana signed a deal Wednesday to test and produce Russia's potential vaccine, though officials stressed they would have to be sure of its safety and effectiveness first.

And in a setback for the drug, Philippines' strongman president Rodrigo Duterte will not be among the first to test it, despite promising to be a guinea pig and declaring "huge trust in Moscow".

A government spokesman poured cold water on the plan, saying the "requisite tests" that would allow the president to take the drug would not be finished until May 1.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2020 AFP
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- K92 Mining Inc. (K92 or the Company) (TSX-V: KNT; OTCQX: KNTNF) is pleased to announce results from its financial statements for the three months ended June 30, 2020.

Second Quarter 2020 Highlights:

Safety

Strong safety record continues, with no lost time injuries and one of the best safety records in the Australasia region since start of operations.

Proactive and focused management of COVID-19, with no confirmed cases amongst employees. K92 continues to operate and has strong preventative and response plans.

Production

Record quarterly production of 26,847 gold equivalent (AuEq) oz, comprising 25,762 oz of gold, 531,406 lbs copper and 10,867 oz silver.

Record tonnage of 49,311 tonnes treated, a 30% increase from Q2 2019.

Cash costs of US$596/oz gold and all-in sustaining costs (AISC) of US$678/oz gold (2) .

. Long hole stoping at the K1 and K2 Veins has continued to perform to design and has provided a notable positive impact on operational flexibility.

Financials

Sold 27,149 ounces of gold, 566,084 lbs of copper and 11,729 ounces of silver. Gold concentrate inventories of 3,439 ounces as of June 30, 2020, a quarterly decrease of 1,474 ounces.

Record quarterly revenue of US$47.9 million, a 105% increase from Q2 2019.

Record operating cash flow (before working capital adjustments) of US$30.3 million or US$0.14 per share and EBITDA of US$29.7 million or US$0.14 per share.

Net income of US$16.9 million or US$0.08 per share.

Balance sheet significantly strengthened, with cash increasing by US$13.1 million to US$34.7 million and debt decreasing by US$4.2 million to US$9.1 million as at June 30, 2020.

Growth

Reported an updated mineral resource for Kora, with a Measured and Indicated Resource of 1.1 million ounces at 10.45 g/t AuEq and Inferred Resource of 3.7 million ounces at 9.01 g/t AuEq, representing a +180% and +50% increase from the October 2018 resource, respectively (see May 19, 2020 Press Release  K92 Mining Inc. Reports Significant Resource Increase at High-Grade Kora Deposit).

Surface exploration recommenced in late Q2 following lifting of the COVID-19 State of Emergency (SOE) in Papua New Guinea, targeting nine diamond drill rigs operating by the end of Q3 2020 and ten rigs by year end.

Resumed commissioning of the Stage 2 Expansion and development of the twin incline following the lifting of the SOE. Stage 2 Expansion commissioning is expected to be completed by the end of Q3 2020.

For complete details of the interim consolidated financial statements and associated managements discussion and analysis, please refer to the Companys website or profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). All amounts are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated.

John Lewins, K92 Chief Executive Officer and Director, stated, The second quarter represented another important step forward for Kainantu, achieving record gold production, mill throughput, cash flow generation and a very significant increase to mineral resources at Kora. During the quarter, our financial position strengthened considerably, with cash growing by $13.1 million to $34.7 million and debt decreasing by $4.2 million to $9.1 million as at June 30th.

Importantly, this was largely achieved during the COVID-19 State of Emergency in Papua New Guinea and was possible due to the tremendous commitment of our workforce and the quality of the Kora deposit. Strong support from all levels of Government in Papua New Guinea, especially during this COVID-19 pandemic has also been a major positive factor in all our achievements to date. The State of Emergency was lifted on June 16th.

During the second half of this year, Kainantu is expected to continue to take significant steps forward. Our Stage 3 Expansion PEA was completed last month outlining a potential Tier 1 asset with ~318,000 ounces per annum AuEq run-rate production at a life of mine average all-in sustaining cost of $362 per gold ounce net of by-product credits that is fully funded at $1,500/oz gold prices. Stage 2 Expansion commissioning and twin incline development are both underway and exploration activity has increased considerably. Currently three separate vein targets on the mining lease and one regional target is being explored, plus two additional drill rigs are arriving on site shortly.





Mine Operating Activities

Three months ended Three months ended June 30, 2020 June 30, 2019 Operating data Head grade (Au g/t) 17.6 16.7 Gold recovery (%) 92.1% 93.2% Gold ounces produced 25,762 18,980 Gold ounces equivalent produced (1) 26,847 19,652 Tonnes of copper produced 241 119 Silver ounces produced 10,867 6,894 Financial data (in thousands of dollars) Gold ounces sold 27,149 18,824 Revenues from concentrate sales US$47,857 US$23,293 Mine operating expenses US$8,027 US$4,369 Other mine expenses US$6,936 US$6,339 Depreciation and depletion US$3,408 US$1,801 Statistics (in dollars) Average realized selling price per ounce, net US$1,631 US$1,258 Cash cost per ounce US$596 US$572 All-in sustaining cost per ounce US$678 US$703



Notes:

(1) Gold equivalent for 2020 based on the following prices: gold $1,500 per ounce; silver $17.75 per ounce; and copper $2.70 per pound. Gold equivalent for 2019 based on the following metal prices: gold $1,300 per ounce; silver $16.50 per ounce; and copper $2.90 per pound. (2) The Company provides some non-international financial reporting standard measures as supplementary information that management believes may be useful to investors to explain the Companys financial results. Please refer to non-IFRS financial performance measures in the Companys managements discussion and analysis dated August 13, 2020, available on SEDAR, for reconciliation of these measures.



K92 has not based its production decisions on mineral reserve estimates or feasibility studies, and historically such projects have increased uncertainty and risk of failure. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

Conference Call Information

K92 will host a conference call and webcast to present the 2020 Q2 Financial Results at 10:00 am (EDT) on Friday, August 14, 2020.

Listeners may access the conference call by dialing toll-free to 1-800-319-4610 within North America or +1-604-638-5340 from international locations.

- The conference call will also be broadcast live (webcast) and may be accessed via the following link: http://services.choruscall.ca/links/k92mining20200814.html

Qualified Person

K92 Mine Geology Manager and Mine Exploration Manager, Mr. Andrew Kohler, PGeo, a Qualified Person under the meaning of National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release.

For further information regarding the Kainantu Gold Mine, please refer to the technical report with an effective date of April 2, 2020, and entitled, "Independent Technical Report, Mineral Resource Estimate Update and Preliminary Economic Assessment for Expansion of the Kainantu Mine to Treat 1 MTPA from the Kora Gold Deposit, Kainantu Project, Papua New Guinea," available on SEDAR.

On Behalf of the Company,

John Lewins, Chief Executive Officer and Director

For further information, please contact David Medilek, P.Eng., CFA at +1-604-687-7130.

NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release includes certain forward-looking statements under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements that address future plans, activities, events, or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur are forward-looking information, including statements regarding the realization of the preliminary economic analysis for the Kainantu Project, expectations of future cash flows, the planned plant expansion, production results, cost of sales, sales of production, potential expansion of resources and the generation of further drilling results which may or may not occur. Forward-looking statements and information contained herein are based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the market price of the Companys securities, metal prices, exchange rates, taxation, the estimation, timing and amount of future exploration and development, capital and operating costs, the availability of financing, the receipt of regulatory approvals, assumptions contained in the PEA, environmental risks, title disputes, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, accidents, labour disputes, claims and limitations on insurance coverage and other risks of the mining industry, changes in national and local government regulation of mining operations in PNG, mitigation of the Covid-19 pandemic, continuation of the lifted state of emergency, and regulations and other matters. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
The Lebanese parliament approved a state of emergency in Beirut during its first meeting after the August 4 blast, giving the military broad powers, AP reported.

The government resigned after an explosion that killed over 170 people, injured at least 6,000 people, destroyed the port and caused extensive damage to the capital. The disaster sparked public outrage towards Lebanese leaders.

Before retiring, the government declared a state of emergency that gave the military the power to impose curfews, prevent public gatherings and censor the media, and send civilians to military tribunals for alleged security violations. The measure required legislators' approval, which they granted on Thursday.

The meeting opened with a minute of silence in memory of those killed in the blast. Parliament then proceeded to discuss the resignation of nearly a dozen lawmakers last week to protest the government's actions over the blast. A large Christian bloc boycotts the session.

It is not clear whether parliament extended the government's decision on the state of emergency by 15 days or simply put it into effect on Thursday, lawyer Nizar Saghieh said.

There is incredible chaos, Nizar Saghieh added. He said the state of emergencys only justification is to extend the power of the state and security agencies and control the opposition.

We were waiting for the army to help in reconstruction, not be an extension of power, he said.
The conviction of a south Armagh man for the capital murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe paves the way for police in the Republic to put five more men involved in his killing - some from Northern Ireland - behind bars.

A jury at Dublin's Central Criminal Court found Aaron Brady (29) guilty of shooting dead Mr Donohoe during the robbery of Lordship Credit Union in Bellurgan on January 25, 2013.

The Crossmaglen man now faces a minimum 40-year prison sentence. The charge of capital murder includes an aggravating factor, such as murdering a police officer while on duty.

Read More

Garda Donohoe's widow Caroline, who was a serving garda herself at the time of the murder, spoke briefly outside court after the verdict was returned. She thanked those involved in bringing Brady to justice on behalf of herself and her two children.

"I would like to most sincerely thank the jury for sticking with this trial for so long and for my Garda colleagues and the prosecution team on behalf of Amy, Niall and myself, thank you very much," she said.

Detectives are actively pursuing further prosecutions in relation to the robbery and shocking murder.

Read More

Mr Donohoe (41) had been on duty in Co Louth when he was killed with a shotgun blast.

Five people have been formally classified as suspects in the murder investigation and these men are now the prime targets for gardai.

Speaking after Brady (29) was convicted of capital murder, Garda Deputy Commissioner John Twomey warned those involved in the credit union robbery that investigators "will be knocking on your door and make sure that you pay for the horrendous act".

Over the last seven years the massive investigation into Garda Donohoe's killing has identified 204 persons of interest, and that list has been whittled down to over 20 people who gardai believe were either involved or are harbouring the robbery gang.

Speaking after the trial yesterday, Chief Supt Christy Mangan said Brady's conviction was just the first phase and that they will continue to track down others involved as part of the international inquiry.

"They murdered Adrian, they left the scene and went into Northern Ireland and then they thought that borders would save them, but borders didn't save them. We will be continuing with our relentless pursuit of all the other people who were involved in this murder-robbery," he said.

"There are people who provided logistical support after the robbery and the murder of Adrian, so we're very interested in dealing with them as well."

The list of formal suspects includes a father and his two sons who lived close to the scene at the time of the robbery.

A notorious border criminal, suspected of orchestrating a number of high-profile ATM raids in the past two years, is also listed as a suspect. He is currently in jail facing charges over separate matters.

The fifth person, a young man at the time of the murder who comes from a major smuggling family in Armagh, is the youngest of the suspects and is being investigated for taking part in the robbery.

Suspect A was best friends with Brady at the time of the fatal shooting and is under investigation for being centrally involved in the robbery.

The man, was frequently named throughout the trial by the prosecution as Brady's accomplice but cannot be identified for legal reasons.

At the time of the murder he lived a short distance away from Lordship Credit Union and was with Brady on a daily basis in the week leading up to the robbery.

His distinctive car was linked to several key sightings during the murder, including a "scoping exercise" that afternoon and the robbery of the getaway car.

Since the murder the suspect has become a father and has married.

He currently lives between Boston and Northern Ireland, although his wife, who is facing serious charges in an unconnected case, remains in the Republic.

A prolific border criminal, Suspect B has been centrally linked to the stealing of the getaway car and is also suspected of helping to plan the raid.

He was on bail at the time of the murder and signed on at Crossmaglen police station just over two hours before the crime.

Even before the raid, he was well-known to gardai for involvement in serious crime and was arrested by Det Gda Donohoe for the previous armed robbery at Lordship Credit Union in August 2011, as well as a separate armed raid at Dundalk racecourse that same year.

During his arrest he made a sinister threat to Det Gda Donohoe, stating he knew where the detective's family home was located.

Properties linked to him and his sister were raided by police.

It can also be revealed that Suspect B is under investigation for orchestrating a number of high-profile ATM raids on both sides of the border which have netted his gang hundreds of thousands of euro and pounds.

In one incident he narrowly avoided arrest after gardai foiled an ATM raid.

However, the criminal's luck ran out weeks later when he was detained for a separate offence in Dundalk and later charged.

He is currently being held on remand, with senior officers objecting to attempts for him to secure bail.

A man from a major fuel smuggling family, Suspect C, was one of the youngest men at the time of the robbery.

He was named in Brady's notice of alibi as directing him to move fuel waste cubes at a diesel yard that night, but during the trial it emerged he is a suspect.

He fled the country less then two months after the killing, and has also been targeted in firearms searches by the PSNI.

Two other men who are suspected of assisting the gang are the Boston suspect and his father.

Both men are relatives of Suspect A and are being investigated for involvement in the car robbery and scouting on the night of the murder respectively.

Two other men are formally classified as persons of interest, although both are suspected of actively taking part in the robbery that night.
On Aug. 23, 1989, a Black teenager named Yusuf K. Hawkins was fatally shot in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, after being surrounded by a group of white youths, an incident of race-related violence that became a lightning rod in New York and beyond. In the wake of George Floyd protests, the documentary Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn could scarcely be timelier.

Part of the director MutaAlis strategy is to center Hawkinss friends and family, whose stories got lost in the political din. The Rev. Al Sharpton organized marches; for the mayoral candidates in the 1989 primary, the killing became a talking point. But the competing agendas surrounding the case would prevent anyone from making a cohesive Hawkins documentary, and Storm Over Brooklyn never settles on a satisfying point of view.
The bodies of seven Marines and one Navy sailor have arrived in Delaware two weeks after their amphibious assault vehicle sank during a training accident off the coast of Southern California.

A pallbearer group made up of Marines and sailors were seen loading each American-flag draped coffin into a US Air Force C-19 Globemaster III at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar on Wednesday.

The coffins then arrived at the Dover Air Force Base in Delaware where they were received by family members.

Eight Marines and one sailor were killed when a Marine landing craft sank in hundreds of feet of water off the coast of Southern California on July 30.

A pallbearer group made up of Marines and sailors were seen loading each American flag-draped coffin into a US Air Force C-19 Globemaster III at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar on Wednesday

The coffins then arrived at the Dover Air Force Base in Delaware where they were received by family members

The body of Pfc Bryan J. Baltierra (left), 19, of Corona, California, was flown to Delaware on Wednesday. Found at the scene was Lance Cpl Guillermo S. Perez (right), 20, of New Braunfels Texas. His body was flown to the Dover base on August 5

Other victims include Lance Cpl Marco A. Barranco (left), 21, of Montebello, California, and Pfc Jack Ryan Ostrovsky (right), 21, of Bend, Oregon

Pfc Evan A. Bath, 19, of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, was killed during the accident last month

Only one of their bodies was found on the day of the incident, despite an intense days-long search involving helicopters and boats ranging from inflatables to a Navy destroyer.

Found at the scene was Lance Cpl Guillermo S. Perez, 20, of New Braunfels Texas. His body was flown to the Dover base on August 5.

The other victims include: Pfc Bryan J. Baltierra, 19, of Corona, California; Lance Cpl Marco A. Barranco, 21, of Montebello, California; Pfc Evan A. Bath, 19, of Oak Creek, Wisconsin; and US Navy Hospitalman Christopher Gnem, 22, of Stockton, California.

Pfc Jack Ryan Ostrovsky, 21, of Bend, Oregon; Cpl Wesley A. Rodd, 23, of Harris, Texas; Lance Cpl Chase D. Sweetwood, 19, of Portland, Oregon; and Cpl Cesar A. Villanueva, 21, of Riverside, California, were also killed in the accident.

Gnem was posthumously advanced to the rank of Petty Officer Third Class and awarded his enlisted Fleet Marine Force Warfare Specialist qualification.

They were aboard an amphibious assault vehicle that was heading back to a Navy ship on July 30 after a routine training exercise when it began taking on water about a half-mile from Navy-owned San Clemente Island, off San Diego.

US Navy Hospitalman Christopher Gnem, 22, of Stockton, California, was one of the victims. Gnem was posthumously advanced to the rank of Petty Officer Third Class and awarded his enlisted Fleet Marine Force Warfare Specialist qualification

Other victims include: Pfc Evan A. Bath (center), 19, of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, Cpl Wesley A. Rodd (left), 23, of Harris, Texas, and Cpl Cesar A. Villanueva (right), 21, of Riverside, California

The vehicle ended up sinking about 385 feet.

Other assault vehicles quickly responded but couldn't stop the 26-ton, tank-like vehicle from quickly sinking, Osterman said.

'The assumption is that it went completely to the bottom' several hundred feet below, Osterman said. That was too deep for divers, and Navy and Coast Guard were discussing ways to reach the sunken vehicle to get a view inside it, Osterman said.

Seven other Marines were rescued from the water; two had to be hospitalized.

All the Marines were attached to the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, based at nearby Camp Pendleton.

They ranged in age from 19 to early 30s and all were wearing combat gear, including body armor, and flotation vests, Osterman said.

An intense days-long search involved helicopters and boats ranging from inflatables to a Navy destroyer

This image is an aerial view of the coast near San Clemente Island where the incident occurred

The vehicle, known as an AAV but nicknamed an 'amtrac,' for 'amphibious tractor' is used to take Marines and their gear from Navy ships to land.

The sunken craft, one of 13 involved in the exercise, was designed to be naturally buoyant and had three water-tight hatches and two large troop hatches, Osterman said.

The vehicles have been used since 1972, and continually refurbished. Marine Corps officials said earlier this month that they did not know the age or other details of the one that sank.

Authorities said they located the sunken amphibious assault vehicle on August 3.

The Marine Corps commandant, Gen David Berger, suspended waterborne operations of more than 800 amphibious assault vehicles across the branch until the cause of the accident is determined.

This is the third time in recent years that Camp Pendleton Marines have been injured or died in amphibious assault vehicles during training exercises.

In 2017, 14 Marines and one Navy sailor were hospitalized after their vehicle hit a natural gas line, igniting a fire that engulfed the landing craft at Camp Pendleton.

In 2011, a Marine died when an amphibious assault vehicle in a training exercise sank offshore of the camp.
A month before fall classes begin, Stanford University reversed course and told undergraduates Thursday that most would not be allowed to move into its housing for the fall and nearly all undergraduate instruction will be remote.

Stanford had previously planned to bring just freshmen and sophomores back to campus in the fall to allow for social distancing in the dorms. For the winter and spring terms, juniors and seniors would rotate in, and freshmen and sophomores would return home.

Stanford had told students that limited in-person classes would be offered for those on campus.

But the university had warned students in July that these plans might change as the pandemic worsened in California.

Now Stanford says that if possible, freshmen and sophomores can move into university housing for the winter term, starting in January, and juniors and seniors can move in for the spring, starting in March.

The public health challenges associated with bringing large numbers of undergraduates back to campus dormitory residences under current health conditions, coupled with the limited nature of the on-campus experience we would be able to offer, have led us to the conclusion we are announcing today for our undergraduates, Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne wrote in an email to the student body.

Students were not surprised.

I think the decision is disappointing but responsible from the university, said Ryan Yu, a rising sophomore at Stanford.

It was just overwhelming to find out, although everybody expected it, Anastasia Malenko, who will also be a sophomore, said. She was looking forward to moving into campus housing with her friends. We were super excited to go back and live together ... but Im kind of grateful that (Stanford) did tell us earlier rather than later so we can adjust our expectations.

Stanford joins the University of San Francisco and Santa Clara University, which already canceled their fall housing plans. Each of these schools will still offer housing to those who absolutely need it, including students who do not have internet access at home, live in dangerous situations or are homeless.

At Stanford, Ron Rocky Coloma is one of the students who gets to stay. Hes an incoming freshman from Guam, a 16-hour flight from San Francisco. Because of the time difference, he would have had to wake up at 2:30 a.m. for classes, so Stanford granted his request to live on campus.

Coloma said he is grateful to get to live on a campus with a reliable Wi-Fi connection, even though there wont be much happening. I can attest that Stanford is very accommodating to students who are in need of aid in any way, he said.

Other schools still plan to offer on-campus housing  albeit at a limited capacity and with a host of virus-related restrictions  without the special circumstances requirement.

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.

UC Berkeley will have remote instruction for the fall semester, but undergraduates still can live in campus residence halls in single occupancy rooms. St. Marys College and Sonoma and San Jose state universities also still plan to offer on-campus housing. Students who opt to live on campus at the four schools will move in in mid-August.

Stanfords decision does not affect graduate students, who still can move into university housing. Graduate students at Stanford typically live in apartment-style housing, which poses less risk than the communal dormitory-style undergraduate housing, Tessier-Lavigne wrote.

Different schools and departments at Stanford can decide whether graduate student teaching is in person, but Californias newly issued guidance for higher education puts significant limits on in-person classes, prohibiting them entirely for schools in counties on the state monitoring list for three consecutive days.

The decision follows another dramatic change to student life for college students: the postponement of Pacific-12 Conference fall sports, which Tessier-Lavigne called a difficult but necessary step.

Im very sad because this pandemic has really messed with my college experience, Yu said. I feel like people missed a lot of chances to really connect with others and share their college life together.

Danielle Echeverria is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: danielle.echeverria@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @DanielleEchev
As 2020 dawned, COVID-19 began taking the world by storm and in many cases overwhelming intensive and critical care capacities of health networks across the globe. By March, Italy had been pushed to the breaking point in its hospitals as the virus ran rampant through the small European country. As the novel coronavirus made its way into other jurisdictions, governments and health officials were forced to look closely at their abilities to provide acute care for those hit hardest by COVID-19.

Some countries were ill equipped to handle the pandemic and began scrambling to provide the necessary beds, physicians, and equipment to care for patients suffering from the virus. This led to a microscopic look at the number of beds available in various countries and which regions of the world could be rendered helpless in the wake of COVID-19.

A study found the United States had the most intesive care unit (ICU) beds per capita, at 34.7 per 100,000 citizens, with Germany not far behind with 29.2. On the other end of the spectrum, countries like China and India found themselves ill-equipped with only 3.6 and 2.3 ICU beds per 100,000 people respectively.

What Is Critical Care?

Critical care is a relatively new aspect of medical practice, developed from the acute care models established to treat wounded soldiers during the Second World War. Over the course of the next 70 to 80 years, ICUs became common in hospitals - specialized units containing sophisticated life-saving equipment, usually with a high ratio of medical staff to the number of patients. The ICU serves patients in immediate life-threatening condition.

Ordinarily, hospitals do not require extensive numbers of critical care beds. However, during epidemics and pandemics like the COVID-19 crisis, the need increases manifold. For example, during the COVID-19 crisis many countries realized that their capacities to care for growing numbers of patients in dire condition were lacking. In many cases, makeshift ICUs were set up in other wards of hospitals with any additional equipment health care authorities could possibly attain.

Which Countries Are Best Equipped?

United States (34.7 beds per 100,000 people)

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital in California prepared for COVID-19 emergency cases. Image credit: Robert V Schwemmer/Shutterstock.com

The United States has a total of 6,146 hospitals, according to statistics provided by the American Hospital Association, and more than 50,000 intensive care beds in various wards, including cardiac ICU, medical-surgical ICU, neonatal and pediatric ICU, and burn care. Even with 34.7 critical care beds per 100,000 people, authorities in the US warned citizens of the importance of following health guidelines to flatten the curve and prevent its hospitals from becoming overwhelmed with severe COVID-19 cases. Thus, it becomes clear that the country with the highest number of critical care beds per capita is also ill-equipped to handle an epidemic. The following scenario explains this more clearly:

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck the US, space to treat the number of people affected by the virus was of paramount concern, particularly as Italy was struck by the virus in March. The number of patients became too much to handle there and doctors were told to practice wartime-like triage in assessing those who needed ventilators and immediate attention. Though the United States boasts more ICU beds than European countries on average, doctors were still concerned of the country's capacity to treat the potential number of seriously affected individuals if the spread was not contained, as a mild outbreak following the patterns in Italy and China would have seen 200,000 people requiring ventilation and if numbers ran similar to the 1918 Spanish flue pandemic about 2.9 million would require ICU care, more than the number of beds available at any given time in the US.

Germany (29.2 beds per 100,000 people)

Politicians and economists in Germany have sounded the alarm for years over the country's seemingly high number of hospitals (1,400) for its population, with a study conducted by the Bertelsmann Foundation suggesting in 2019 the number be halved. However, in the eye of the COVID-19 pandemic, the previously scrutinized oversupply of beds was suddenly seen as a benefit to the country. There were 28,000 ICU beds in Germany when the virus entered its borders and hospitals acted quickly to create more intensive care beds, upping that number to 40,000 in a matter of weeks.

At the onset of the pandemic spread in Europe, Germany had more than twice the number of open ICU beds as England could count overall in its healthcare system. In addition, the country began running more COVID-19 tests per day than its neighbors and immediately increased its supply of ventilation equipment from 20,000 to 30,000 as it braced for a spike in critical patients. In doing so, Germany was able to limit its death rate in March and April to about 2%, compared to 13% in Italy and 10% in Spain. Taking preparations one step further, a makeshift hospital specifically for coronovirus patients was established in the fairgrounds in Berlin with 1,000 additionall beds.

Why The Number Of Critical Care Beds Is Not Enough For A Pandemic: Case Of Italy

Italy (12.5 beds per 100,000 people)

An ICU in a hospital in Milan, Italy. Image credit: MikeDotta/Shutterstock.com

Just three weeks into the pandemic in Italy, unused hospital wards were being transformed into ICUs to accommodate a surging number of critical COVID-19 patients requiring ventilation and intensive treatment, while tented field hospitals were erected to conduct tests for infection. The trajectory of cases matched that of China and left the country's hospitals failing as they tried to keep up with the number of people in critical condition. The public health system of Italy was overwhelmed quickly and scrambled to create bed space for its citizens in need.

Italy's critical care system had not been upgraded for years, with only 350 ICU beds being added to hospitals since 2010, but in the first two weeks of the pandemic hospitals were able to increase capacity by more than 15%. As the number of patients being admitted rose exponentially, hospitals were mandated to increase critical care by 50%. To do so, elective surgeries were put on hold and operating rooms were transformed into ICUs, semi-intensive care beds were upgraded to full intensive care, specialists in respiratory and emergency care were recruited - including those completing their third year of medical school or recently retired, patients on ventilators were weaned quickly off the machines so they could be put to use on other patients, and some hospitals were dedicated to the treatment of COVID-19 patients who did not require full ventilation support any longer. In total, nearly 500 ICU beds were created to help in the fight against the novel coronavirus.

However, the country still struggled to keep up with increasing numbers of infected individuals, forcing doctors to triage in a new way and determine who needed ventilation most - essentially deciding which patients to save and which to potentially leave to die of acute respiratory failure.

All this happened despite Italy having a relatively high number of critical care beds per capita.

Ill-equipped Countries: Good Emergency Response Can Come To The Rescue

China (3.6 beds per 100,000 people)

When the COVID-19 pandemic first arose in China with a steep spike in the number of infected patients, medical officials took on aggressive measures to contain its spread and treat those affected. These tactics included quickly building makeshift hospitals - two in Wuhan, where the virus originated - that were able to provide 2,000 additional critical care beds within two weeks. The facilities were built by crews of more than 7,000 to have them up and running within 14 days, and they were used exclusively for those with confirmed cases of COVID-19.

This fast-paced initiative was touted as the key to saving Chinese lives by the World Health Organization. However, reports on the ground claimed the number of critical care beds was still inadequate and hospitals were being overwhelmed. Chinese health officials designated 46 hospitals in the Wuhan province specifically for COVID-19 treatment and repurposed facilities like exhibition centers into temporary ICUs and triage units. Thus, despite having one of the lowest numbers of critical care beds, China's fast-paced response to the emergency situation helped to deal with the pandemic in a more effective manner.
A leaked White House poll it has revealed that more than half of the American public support the TikTok ban. As reported by USA Today 57% of all Americans agree with the Presidents move to ban the app.

This comes after President Trump banned any dealings with the Chinese owners of TikTok at the beginning of this week. The ban would come into force unless a U.S. company bought the American side of TikTok.

Microsoft quickly joined the race to acquire the app. Additionally, as Phone Arena reported Twitter is in discussions with the app for some sort of collaboration.

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TikTok themselves expressed their shock and disdain at the decision of President Trump. The story took another twist at the music video app began plans to file a lawsuit against the American administration. There was some suggestion that this ban would cause public outcry but this poll indicates the opposite.

Majority of Americans support TikTok ban

Harris Poll data demonstrates that in fact, most Americans support the ban on TikTok. Although somewhat unsurprisingly, 64% of adult TikTok users opposed the ban.

There is also some suggestion that the original poll of Americans is slightly unrepresentative. It only took into account adults and given TikToks prevalence within the teen demographics the result may have differed had it included younger demographics.

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Poll reveals Americans share security concerns about TikTok

Despite the issues surrounding the representative nature of the poll and the skewing of the data when TikTok users were involved, it is also clear that most Americans are worried about the behaviour of TikTok and its links to China.

The poll revealed that 62% of Americans thought TikTok posed a national security threat. This was due to its links to China.

In addition, 67% of Americans expressed concerns that the Chinese are using personal data collected by TikTok. Even 59% of TikTok users agreed with this sentiment.

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Leaked document reveals U.S. plans to impact TikTok operations

Added to all of this Reuters has reported that a leaked White House document reveals the plans to disrupt TikTok operations. This includes cutting it off from funding, and removing it from the app store. This would see the app disappear for many and make it impossible to purchase advertising on the app.

This would likely severely dampen the growth of the app in the U.S. The ban will take place on Sept 16. James Lewis, a cybersecurity expert, said, That kills TikTok in the U.S. He agreed that the rules would not stop downloads from foreign websites.

However, in the mainstream, this would be a huge impact on Tiktok. The company still maintains that data collected is stored on servers in the U.S. and Singapore. Therefore, it is not shared with the Chinese government. However, the American public clearly display doubts about this.

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This story is likely to run and run until the ban comes into force. TikToks main way out seems to be to sell the U.S. portion of its operations which could well happen. However, such an acquisition would take time meaning this is not a quick and easy solution.
He lost his job in April. Because of the coronavirus pandemic. Saquib Hussain, 28, was an online strategist working for a multinational company.

Even so, he is feeling very excited these days. This Friday, he has a visa-related appointment with the embassy of Ireland. If all goes well, he will be flying to Dublin for his Masters in September.

It will be my first trip outside India, says the gentleman calmly, while speaking on WhatsApp video from the isolation of his windowless basement studio in Gurugrams DLF Phase 3.

Meanwhile, Mr Hussain isnt taking the job loss personally, though he does feel bad for his team as well as for his team leaderthey were all told during a post-lunch meeting in the office that their contract wouldnt be renewed, with an assurance that they would be contacted in the future. My Masters was already planned. The firing gave me a few extra days as a break to do the things that I really like.

Such as reading and writing poetry.

Mr Hussain is fond of Mirza Ghalib, Faiz Ahmad Faiz (in fact, he is holding a copy of Faizs verses right now), Gulzar and many others including Rahat Indori, who died a few days back. Rahat Indori saab had a great stage presence, and had that magical ability to swiftly earn the wah-wahs and claps from the audience.

Mr Hussain writes poems in Urdu but pens them in English alphabets because my written Urdu is very bad. Blame his English medium background. Indeed, if it werent for Fasiha Jabin, his mother, he wouldnt have developed a taste for Urdu, and poetry, at all. Nobody else in Mr Hussains family, except perhaps for his younger sister Varisha, has a pulse for poetry but Mumma is a great poetry lover... she seems to have read almost all the poets and can recite verses by great many including Tulsidas, Kabir and Rahim. He says his mother often tends to suddenly break extempore into a verse or two, spurring him to Google immediately the poem and its author. She lives in Kolkata, where Mr Hussain grew up, with his father, a physician.

Today, Mr Hussain agrees to share one of his poems, entitled Muaafi, with us. He wrote it at a time in his life when I was emotionally into pieces due to a series of unexpected, unexplainable and untimely events, and a few months before I had finally reached out to a therapist for help. This poem, he says, keeps him going. He himself translated it into English.

Forgiveness

Forgive, and ask for forgiveness.

Forgive him, but forgive yourself first.

Forgive, for hes your own.

Bid him adieu, if you may.

Or hug him.

But first, forgive him.

Forgive him as it makes us feel humane,

And the forgiven feels fortunate.

And, if you want to be the bigger man?

If you want to be the bigger man,

forgive him, even before he asks you to.

Forgive him, for you have His light in you.

Forgive him, for he may feel a lil blessed too.

Forgive him, for anger is forbidden

and grievance is angers ally.

Forgive, for there is helplessness,

Responsibilities and humiliations for all of us.

Forgive, for you both need peace,

Forgive, for someone else may have

forgiven you.

Even if they didnt, you do.

As you are grateful for the empathy in you.

Forgive, for lately sleep is expensive and worrys quite a bargain.

Forgive, for life has become smaller than,

while we became bigger than life itself.

Forgive, for its egos cure.

Forgive, for may be, may be this legacy

lives on.

Forgive, for Ghalib once said

forgiving and asking for forgiveness makes life easier.

Forgive and ask for forgiveness.
Sharanya Manivannan By

CHENNAI: Ceres spins between Mars and Jupiter, tiny in relation to the planets but with a gravitational force that rounds out its celestial body, larger than other asteroids. For the last five years, the Dawn probe has been doing a reconnaissance in and around the dwarf planet. Heres what we know, newly: there is water there, the rumour of subsurface oceans, the prospect of sustaining life.

Ceres was named for the Roman goddess of the harvest, who was one of the deities who expressed her displeasure with a prodigium, punishing humans for their offensive behaviour. A prodigium was, binaristically speaking, the opposite of a miracle. There are other dwarf planets: Eris, named for the Greek goddess of discord, who tossed a golden apple and incited a petty feud that escalated into the Trojan War;

Haumea who shines somewhere beyond Neptunes trajectory, named after the Hawaiian goddess of childbirth; Makemake, named for the unpartnered fertility deity worshipped by Easter Islands Rapa Nui people; and of course, the formidable Pluto, which shares its name with the Roman lord of the netherworld, who holds Ceres daughter Proserpina (Persephone, in another tongue) hostage for half of each Earthly year, causing the stark variations between seasons in some parts of our planet. Unlike Pluto, who suffered the indignity of losing planet status, Ceres went from being a 19th century asteroid to becoming a dwarf planet.

Unlike all the others, Ceres is moonless. Moonless, without the company of a satellite to count the orbits of short days and long nights by, and holding reservoirs of saltwater, which seep from its fractured crust, containing the memory (or at least the implication) of an ocean once. Ceres may, still, have an underground ocean, a carefully withheld secret. We cannot see her  oh, there it is, the anthropomorphisation I was scientifically trying to resist  with the naked eye, but even on the nights when we dont think of her, which are more often than not, surely somewhere in our subterranean consciousness it helps to know she is out there.

Not all saltwater is the sea, not all saltwater is tears. But in our search for meaning in this lonely universe, there is solace to be scrounged from a metaphor, or in any shared symbol in which we sense something like ourselves. Ceres intrigues scientists because any celestial object that bears water offers, at least until proven otherwise, the possibility of habitation. By us, human beings, who have almost destroyed the bounty of our own planet and intend to colonise more.

Which brings us back to the mystery of Ceres aquatic geology. Theres another possibility, another intersection at which myth maps on fact: what if Ceres, a small planet once oceansurged, had homed a sentience that resembles us in its intellect and sentiment? Neither intellect nor sentiment have kept us from tormenting Earth and its beings, after all. Perhaps, in this interpretation, the mystical and the terrestrial met, and Ceres unleashed a prodigium on that dominant lifeform. Perhaps what that lifeform had in common with us, every other imaginable marker aside, was greed. What happens next, then, is not so much fate as it is choice.

SHARANYA MANIVANNAN

@RANYAMANIVANNAN

The Chennai-based author writes poetry, fiction & more
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 13, 2020 / Danny Kabakibo has always been passionate about being an entrepreneur in the tech industry. Since the age of 10, he has loved cultivating innovative technological solutions to the world's most pressing problems. Before he turned 14 years old, he had already established two businesses under his name. Now, he's finally ready to join the big leagues with his Artificial Intelligence Investor Warin.

How did this career begin for you at 10 years old?

My career began when my dad gifted me his old computer. I would distract myself from homework by learning the ins and outs of the operating system. Eventually, I downloaded the code for the Google search webpage from my web browser, and I reverse-engineered it to learn HTML and CSS code. I would add pictures of myself on the Google homepage and change the text to silly things a 10-year-old would find funny. This branched into a web design business, a custom video game server from which I sold perks to thousands of strangers online, various projects like building autonomous drones, and eventually, artificial intelligence.

Who inspired you or trained you as such a young age?

My first inspiration was my dad, the founder of a hardware company sold to Intel, though I was more intrigued by the versatility of creating software on my computer. Bill Gates was also one of my early inspirations. Elon Musk became one of my inspirations later in life, and as I organically developed my own understanding of the world, I realized that I align with a lot of his early life and perspectives on technology.

I've been fairly self-taught with the help of the internet. I learn best by doing, and I tend to get bored learning things I'll never need again. Most of the world sees technology through a traditional lens, as taught in school, though I've developed my own unique understanding that allows me to innovate.

Elaborate the journey of your career.

After those two businesses I mentioned, I had taken a break from building things due to personal issues. I ended up attending the Illinois Institute of Technology on a roughly full tuition scholarship, although I didn't really attend class, so I left back to the Bay Area. I ended up working for a software company when I returned, but I quickly found that I cannot thrive as a cog in the machine. Shortly after this realization, I decided to stay true to myself and started Warin.

Why has this become your passion?

Before I could even talk, I had a fondness for Legos. I always loved building things. Something about taking little pieces and building something huge out of them was always exciting to me.

Why should people trust you as an entrepreneur?

I think that in most cases, my work speaks for itself. Entrepreneurs succeed almost solely by providing value, and that's what I'll always do.

What are your future plans for your career?

I will certainly be running and investing in many companies that facilitate growth for humanity down the road. I foresee a lot of work with the integration of technology and the human body to increase our quality of life. I also like the idea of building an AI more intelligent than our species to answer questions about the nature of reality and to quickly develop cures to issues like COVID-19. That said, I still have a lot of thinking to do about navigating the ethics, privacy, and safety concerns of both.

To know more about the brilliant Danny Kabakibo and Warin, check out the official website. You can also follow Danny on Instagram or Facebook.

CONTACT:

Company: Warin

Email: info@warin.app

Phone number: (650) 206-8325

Website: Warin.app

SOURCE: Warin

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/601565/Silicon-Valley-Entrepreneur-Danny-Kabakibo-Tackles-Income-Inequality-with-Artificial-Intelligence-Investor-Warin
The spacetech startup is expected to launch the first rocket which can hurl satellites of 250-700 kg into a lower Earth orbit by end-2021.

IMAGE: Skyroot's first rocket Vikram can hurl satellites of 250-700 kg into a lower Earth orbit. Photograph: Courtesy, skyroot.in

Spacetech startup Skyroot Aerospace has successfully test-fired an upper stage rocket engine, becoming the first Indian private company to demonstrate the capability to build a homegrown rocket engine.

Meanwhile, the company is planning to raise around Rs 90 crore.

Founded by Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka, both former scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), Skyroot plans to build a family of rockets.

The first rocket, which can hurl satellites of 250-700 kg into a lower Earth orbit, is expected to be launched by end-2021. This is a major milestone for us in a path towards our first launch targeted for December 2021, said Daka, Co-Founder & COO, Skyroot Aerospace.

Chandana added two of the company's rocket stages are getting ready for test-firing in the six months. The company manufactured Indias first 3D printed cryogenic rocket engine which will run on high performance cryogenic propellants, liquid natural gas (LNG) and liquid oxygen.

The company demonstrated Indias first 100 per cent 3D-printed Bi-Propellant Liquid Rocket Engine injector. Compared to traditional manufacturing, this reduced the overall mass by 50 per cent, reduced total number of components and lead time by 80 per cent. The engine is capable of multiple restarts enabling them to insert various satellites into multiple orbits in a single mission.

We have completed multiple test-firings to qualify our solid propellant formulation. We have developed in-house software for launch vehicle guidance, navigation and control functions and testing for onboard avionics modules is in progress. We are targeting our first launch in December 2021, said Daka.

The first launch vehicle Vikram-I, which is under manufacturing and targeting a launch in December 2021, hosts an Orbit Adjustment Module (OAM) at the top which gives the final burn and inserts multiple satellites into space.

The Union Cabinet recently approved private player participation in space in June 2020 to transform the sector.

We will highly benefit from it and we now get access to ISROs testing and launch range facilities. We are already in active discussions with ISRO for testing activities, says Chandana.

He and his team has rocket engineers with a cumulative experience of 300-plus years in the rocket industry and the company has been actively developing its Vikram series of launch vehicles for the past two years.

The company till now has raised Rs 31.5 crore and is in process of raising another Rs 90 crore in the year.

The existing investors include Mukesh Bansal (founder, Myntra, CureFit), Solar Industries (Indias leading explosives manufacturer and renowned space and defence contractor), Vedanshu Investments, and a few other angel investors.
New Delhi, Aug 13 : Call it irony, but tension between Africa and China has been rising despite the latters increased investments in the continent and loan waivers. The dragons investment in the continent surged from an estimated $75 million in 2003 to $5.4 billion in 2018.

In September 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping had announced another round of investment of $60 billion in the continent, which is rich in natural resources, including critical minerals.

However, the growing economic dominance of the dragon in the region has not gone down well with most Africans, leading to a more intense anti-China sentiment. The locals have raised concerns over rising discrimination by the Chinese, abuse of labour laws and their regular interference in the internal political and economic matters.

Notably, Xi also announced writing off interest-free loans extended to African countries and that were to mature in 2020. While the African governments showed their appreciation for Beijing, the move has made the locals even more wary.

In June, three Chinese nationals, a textile warehouse owner and her two employees, were murdered in Zambia's capital city of Lusaka -- is testimony to the rising anti-China feelings. In the same month, two Zimbabwean workers were shot by their Chinese boss. However, the incident has been described by the Chinese embassy as an isolate case. The embassy also favoured a fair trial.

China has been focusing on mining activities, which account for about 30 per cent of Beijing's total foreign direct investment (FDI) in the continent. Big-ticket investments have also come from China under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

"China has been putting in money in Africa but there have been undercurrents and most Africans are unhappy and suspicious of the Chinese," a foreign policy analyst said.

India-Africa Today (IAT), a forum focusing on India-Africa relations, noted that despite huge investments by China, Africans mostly see them as exploitative and untrustworthy. The common people in Africa have not gained much through China's investments and infrastructure projects, India-Africa Today added.

"Africans have a natural inclination and attachment towards India and Indians, given the colonial past and consequent cultural linkages between India and Africa. Though Indian diaspora is present in more than 40 African countries, India-Africa relations have remained slow-paced and sluggish for several decades," Rao Narender Yadav, IAT founder said.

By investing heavily in large-scale infrastructure projects, China has managed to create huge diplomatic and political influence in several parts of Africa, Yadav pointed out. "In contrast, India's engagement remains slow-paced and confined to business interests only with no or little interference in Africa's internal issues," he added.

(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
"They cited costs, the IDA labor requirement and that they are looking at other sites," Whitney said.

Neither representatives of the developer, nor the property owners, William and Michael Huntress of Acquest Development, responded to requests for comment late Wednesday.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, who supported the project, said in a statement the company had informed his office "the fit is not right at the current time."

He pointed out Amazon's investment in smaller facilities in the towns of Tonawanda and Lancaster and added "so while the Grand Island location is now off the table, my team is prepared to work with them, if necessary, to identify another possible location for this regionally important project or any other project."

Poloncarz previously had tried but failed to interest the Amazon developer in a portion of the former Bethlehem Steel property in Lackawanna.

Grand Island Councilman Michael Madigan said the town still is awaiting confirmation of the withdrawal in writing. The developer once before abruptly put the project on pause before continuing to negotiate with town officials.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the Prime Minister of Czech Republic Andrej Babis address the media during a press conference as part of a meeting in Prague, Czech Republic, on Aug. 12, 2020. (Petr David Josek/AP Photo)

In Czech Republic, Pompeo Warns of China, Russia Authoritarianism

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Prague called upon the young democracies of Central and Eastern Europe to embrace their hard-won freedoms as they face threats from Russia and China.

He told lawmakers at the Czech Senate on Wednesday that they are right to resist Chinese attempts to assert economic and political leverage over them for supporting Taiwan, noting several recent examples.

Pompeo said that Russia threatens Czechias democracy and security through disinformation campaigns and cyberattacks. Its even trying to rewrite your history, he added.

However, the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its campaigns of coercion and control is greater, Pompeo said.

In Czechia, also known as the Czech Republic, the CCP influences politicians and security forces, steals Czech industrial data created through innovation and creativity, and stifles freedom, Pompeo said.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R) speaks during a meeting of the senate in Prague, Czech Republic, on Aug. 12, 2020. (Petr David Josek/AP Photo/ Pool)

After Prague, the Czech Republics capital, ended its sister city relationship with Beijing because of pressure by the CCP to add a one China provision to the partnership agreement one year ago, it established a sister city partnership with Taipei, reported Taiwan News.

In retaliation, the Chinese regime canceled a Prague philharmonias trip to Beijing, and Shanghai canceled its cooperation with Prague, Pompeo noted.

Beijing considers Taiwan a province of China with no right to state-to-state relations.

Pompeo also quoted the letter sent by the Chinese embassy in Prague to former Czech Senate speaker Jaroslav Kubera, which threatened that Czech enterprises with economic interests in China will have to pay if Kubera visited Taiwan.

In June, Milos Vystrcil, the speaker of the Czech Senate, officially announced his plans to travel to Taiwan with a trade mission at the end of August, despite strong opposition from Chinese communist officials and some Czech leaders.

Vistrcil will be the highest-level Czech politician to have ever visited Taiwan, according to Taiwan News.

Pompeo said that the Senate speaker will make that trip to Taiwan as he planned fulfilling the wishes of his late predecessor.

And on Aug. 11, Prague Mayor Zdenek Hrib announced on Facebook that he would join Vystricil to visit Taiwan.

Countering the CCP Threat

The [Chinese] regime has a Marxist-Leninist core no less than the Soviet Union did, and indeed, perhaps more so, Pompeo said.

Whats happening now isnt Cold War 2.0. The challenge of resisting the CCP threat is in some ways much more difficult. Thats because the CCP is already enmeshed in our economies, in our politics, in our societies in ways the Soviet Union never was. And Beijing is not likely to change course in the near future, said Pompeo.

Pompeo noted that Europe has started to recognize the CCP threat, adding that there are plenty of European leaders eager to lean into freedom. He assured Czechs that the United States will support the Czech Republic on its quest for freedom.

And remember too that today, tomorrow, and forever, America will be with you as we champion those precious human rights and freedoms, he said.

Milos Vystrcil (L), president of the Czech Senate, points to a door as he welcomes U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Prague, Czech Republic, on Aug. 12, 2020. (Petr David Josek/AP Photo)

Expanding American-Czech Economic Cooperation

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Wednesday that both countries can also cooperate in science and development as Czech scientists have world-class achievements in various fields of research.

For example, Martin Tolar, CEO of Massachusetts-based Alzheon, is one of the pioneers in researching drugs to cure Alzheimers disease, Babis said at a joint press conference after meeting with Pompeo.

Babis criticized China for not investing the way the European country had expected. Trade with China is unbalanced and the Czech Republic needs to examine why its not successful enough, he said.

On the other side, U.S. investment is enormous, noting that about 2,500 U.S. investors in the country gave jobs to more than 55,000 people here, Babis said.

Pompeo met earlier on Wednesday with a group of startup leaders, saying at the Czech Senate: their nimble enterprisesonce unthinkable under Soviet commissarsare bringing value to both the United States and the Czech economies.

Pompeo commended the Czech Republics decision to modernize its military by buying American equipment to replace Soviet-era defense equipment and reduce dependence on Russian gear.

He also warned the country that partnering with Russian and Chinese state-owned companies to build a new reactor for its Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant will, in fact, undermine the Czech Republics national sovereignty.

Americas private sector can provide for Czechs an opportunity to get energy at a reasonable price, distributed according to the Czech national interest, and based on the western business model that upholds the rule of law, property rights, and contracts are transparent, Pompeo said.

The Czech state-owned utility company CEZ will build a new unit at the Dukovany nuclear plant to replace Czechias aging coal and nuclear plants, according to Reuters.

Russian, Chinese, French, and South Korean companies, U.S. group Westinghouse, and a French-Japanese joint venture are expected to participate in a CEZ tender to build the new unit.

Pompeo also praised the nation for leading the international 5G security initiative to eliminate untrusted vendors from national 5G networks thus preventing the CCP from infiltrating them.

Last year, the Czech Republic hosted a conference where more than 30 countries developed the Prague Proposals, a set of recommendations and principles for countries to design, develop, and maintain secure 5G networks.

Babis announced that the next 5G security conference will take place in September and has invited Pompeo to attend.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size It's just all so wrong, Meron Savage says, "this never should have happened." Ms Savage has endured more than any mother should, watching the heartbreaking deterioration of her daughter Kate despite the family's best efforts to get her help. She spent several excruciating years trying to help her young daughter survive a battle with severe mental illness, her family searching for help via a health system missing the one facility Ms Savage believes could have saved Kate. There is nowhere to keep a suicidal child, Ms Savage says. There are no facilities in WA where they will take a child or young teen who is suicidal, keep them safe and treat them. And I think thats awful. Kate Savage. The familys quest to find medication or a treatment that would help Kate ended last month when, at just 13 years old, she stepped in front of a car on Perth's Albany Highway. Kate died in hospital, and Ms Savage says the family swapped one kind of hell for another. As she prepares for her daughters funeral on Saturday, Ms Savage hopes sharing her story will make people sit up and take notice, and that knowing what families like hers go through leads to changes in a health system she says failed a little girl who first showed signs of mental illness at eight.

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Its worth going through the pain of talking about it if it can help make some change along the way, she says. Because it needs to happen. And it needs to happen sooner than the two years it will take for a coronial inquest, or even the six months it will take for the psychiatrists investigation. Soon after Kate's death, Health Minister Roger Cook announced the states chief psychiatrist would review her case and deliver recommendations to form part of a broader Young People Priority Framework, to be produced by the end of the year. This would identify gaps in services and make recommendations for action. But Ms Savage doesnt want to wait that long. She fears her daughters story will become yesterdays news, and the changes she says families desperately need forgotten. Shes watching the Premier announce millions for other projects, while the deadly gap in the states mental health system remains wide open. If there were a gap in a bridge would we continue to drive cars over it while we set up a review team to see if that is a problem? Meron Savage I am happy for people to know the hell that she went through, and we went through, and I know people who are still going through that, Ms Savage says.

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For all that was hell, now were living a different kind of hell. You cant have the hope that things can get better, this can be fixed. Shes gone and nothing can ever change that. Kate Savage with her sister Bethany. Credit:Meron Savage Ms Savage tells a story where her daughter was once deemed "too depressed" to be treated with the therapy she'd been prescribed at the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, with the family at one point informed their child was not keen to participate or "buy into" the process, so they would turn her away. Ms Savage believes this is when Kate lost hope. Her parents were told at other points in their journey that Kate was behaving the way she did  at times manic, other times severely depressed  to get attention. That her suicide attempts, which by the end numbered about 10, were not serious. To help the family click here With nowhere else for Kate to go, the family turned their home into a virtual prison for the child whose intrusive thoughts told her she needed to die. Their lives became dedicated to protecting hers.

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There were stints in Perth Childrens Hospital, where she would be kept safe, but Ms Savage says Kate was not treated with medications, and would then be released back to the exhausted family. Ms Savage says many other families have contacted her to say they are encountering similar issues. Meron Savage with her daughters. Credit:Meron Savage "They need to not be able to dismiss a child whose parents are crying out for help, who is self-harming, who is openly suicidal, because that child wont speak to them. I think thats disgraceful," Ms Savage says. She says children, like her daughter, don't have the ability to see ahead like an adult does. They dont have the desire to get better, because they are too depressed. "They need to be treated regardless of whether they want to be treated or not. Adults who are suicidal get kept in hospital whether they want to be there or not, for a considerable length of time until they have been treated." Instead, children like her daughter were sent home to parents who tried to keep them alive at home on their own.

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This infuriates Ms Savage, who, as a teacher, could not refuse to teach a child because they didn't want to learn. WA Commissioner for Children Colin Pettit says the chief psychiatrist's review into Kate's case must be completed quickly and acted on immediately. We have already identified a whole range of issues that could be part of the review, but whatever comes up needs to be acted on very quickly, Mr Pettit says. Weve provided evidence though a number of reports that there are gaps, particularly for child and young people and we would like to see that improved. The speed at which the government has enacted a review in the recent week is a very positive step, but we already know much of the problem and that action can be taken as quickly as possible. Acting Mental Health Commissioner Jennifer McGrath says there are three in-patient options for teens, but gaps in services are known. "Perth Childrens Hospital provides an inpatient service for children up to the age of 16 in WA, with youth inpatient services at Fiona Stanley Hospital and Bentley providing services for young people 16 to 24," she says.

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At this point, I honestly feel bad for the movie Sadak 2 and everyone who worked on it. It has been in the news for all the wrong reasons, with people boycotting it as soon as it was announced to its trailer becoming the most disliked trailer.



As if the existing controversies weren't enough, a plagiarism claim has also been piled on top of it.

It turns out that the song Ishq Kamaal from the movie has been copied. The claim has been made by the producer of the original song.

Basically, music producer Shezan Saleem a.k.a JO-G shared a video on Twitter showing that Ishq Kamaal sounds almost exactly like Rabba Ho, a Pakistani song produced by him which was released nine years ago.

@foxstarhindi

What do we do about this. Copied from a song that I produced in Pakistan and launched in 2011.

Let's talk guys. pic.twitter.com/BtKAHzPYMI  Shezan Saleem a.k.a JO-G (@ssaleemofficial) August 12, 2020

Here's Ishq Kamaal.

And, the alleged original song.

Well, the similarity is there, but with everything else going on with the movie, I feel like this would be a little low on the priority list to resolve.

People are calling for a boycott in Pakistan as well, now.

Yes you are right bhai pakistan main bhi boycott trend kerwa do iss movie ko, in logo ko tabhi akal ayegi  shiv kakkar (@shivkakkar2) August 12, 2020

Karo karo case karo

Take a legal action

Waise bhi ab Bollywood jaaye bhaad me humko farak nahi pdta!!  Neha | SUSHANT (@Neha_1606) August 13, 2020

Hi @ssaleemofficial

Here I am spreading your wonderful composition...

I am with you https://t.co/54TUFNHOCM  Vijay Chaturvedi (@directorbaba) August 13, 2020

Everything is becoming shit in Bollywood ugh



Never watching anything again from it! https://t.co/ZTGW9Ycj9p  S. (@_wildflowersx) August 13, 2020

What is this chori? Movies chori karti hai ye aurat ab iska baap gaaney bhi chori karney laga. Send them legal notice, file copyright suit.  MGautam (@TheMGautam) August 12, 2020

@foxstarhindi kindly look into this. Is this what your company stands for?Music Plagiarism is unethical in India.



Well what more can be expected from the cast & crew of Sadak2#SCForSSR https://t.co/5W1h1ijFvp  Nidhi (@NidhiSurolia) August 13, 2020

Wow. This is crazy. How easy it is for them to carry on with a theft!? SHAME!! https://t.co/pMMSGJMkLB  Hania Haque  (@kaaliordilwali) August 13, 2020

In the time of remixes, it feels sad to see just a handful of Originals coming into light and even if they are copied then atleast proper credits/permissions should be provided and taken from original composers #Sadak2 @htTweets https://t.co/I3JoUqCQps  Kumar Vishwas (@kunbelievablev) August 13, 2020

The negativity around this movie doesn't seem to end at all https://t.co/Kct9z1iN6B   (@jaanekyabaathai) August 13, 2020

Plagiarism, Nepotism, Lack of originality...also no morality left.

Bollywood at its shittiest low right now with these kind of people.



SUE THEM with Copyright case. https://t.co/2buzAdi4SN  tUlIkA  (@x_MinPSWook_x) August 13, 2020

That's the 2020 mood, apparently.People are showing him support.Okay, then.Plagiarism is serious.Hmm.People aren't happy.Yep.That's true.That's..strong.
Appointment

13 August 2020

Raul Ramirez has been promoted to senior vice president, head of international and strategic & financial planning. Ramirez will assume leadership for all aspects of Choice's international division, including building the overall strategic direction and expansion of the company's international operations, which spans over 40 countries and territories. Prior to this promotion, Ramirez served as senior vice president of international strategic planning and global head of financial planning and analysis, where he led the finance, corporate development and business planning of the international organization. Ramirez will continue to lead the company's financial planning function and assume oversight of Choice's strategy group, where he will establish the long-range strategic and financial plans for the company. He has been a key member of Choice since 2017, when he joined as the company's vice president of strategic finance and financial planning and analysis.
Niamey, Niger (PANA) - On the sidelines of World Youth Day, the AgriProFocus Niger network, together with the Ministry of Youth Entrepreneurship on Thursday in Niamey organized the 2nd edition of the Youth Agribusiness Forum (Yafo-Niger 2020), under the theme "What support measure for youth entrepreneurship in the context of the coronavirus pandemic in Niger"
Pentagon Dismisses Talk About Military Involving Itself in Election Disputes

A spokesperson for the Department of Defense dismissed claims about the military potentially involving itself in a dispute after the November election.

We have a Constitution, and our Constitution, which all members of the military have sworn an oath to, provides no role for the U.S. military as arbiter of political or election disputes, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman told reporters on Thursday.

This issue appears to be borne of unserious thought reflecting a fundamental lack of appreciation for the history of our democracy and the civilian-military relationship established under our Constitution, he added.

Two retired military officers wrote an open letter to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, asserting that he needs to direct the military to remove President Donald Trump from office if he loses to presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden and refuses to leave.

If Donald Trump refuses to leave office at the expiration of his constitutional term, the United States military must remove him by force, and you must give that order, the former officials, John Nagl and Paul Yingling, wrote in a letter.

Yingling and Nagl drew heavy criticism online for their statements, saying that it is irresponsible for them to suggest that the military get involved. Federal law enforcement and civilian authorities would be responsible if Trump didnt accept the election results.

We write to repudiate the deeply irresponsible position taken by John Nagl and Paul Yingling in these pages yesterday. Their call for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to be ready to issue orders to the American military for forcibly removing President Trump from office is as dangerous to our republic as the problem they purport to solve, wrote Kori Schake, the Resident Scholar and Director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, and Jim Golby, a senior fellow at the Clements Center for National Security at the University of Texas at Austin.

They added: Even contemplating it is damaging to the trust between the American people and those citizens who serve in our military. Their comments denigrate the Constitution, suggesting an unelected military officer should ever occupy the sole position as its judge, jury, and executioner.

In July, President Trump was asked by Fox News about whether he would accept the results of the election.

Im not a good loser, Trump said in the interview. I dont like to lose. He also said that he will have to see after the election is completed.

In June, Trump told reporters that he would peacefully leave the White House if loses and would go on [to] do other things.
Thousands of COVID-19 cases in the early stages of the global pandemic may have gone undetected in two of the initial epicenters for the virus, according to a new study by University of Texas-Austin researchers.

The new report, published in a scientific journal Tuesday, estimated that COVID-19 was already spreading in Wuhan, China, and Seattle, Washington weeks ahead of lockdown measures in each city. The report used data from two separate studies in those cities where researchers retested throat and nasal swabs taken from patients who were suffering from flu-like symptoms during January in Wuhan and late February and early March in Seattle.

A team of researchers at UT-Austin, led by Lauren Ancel Meyers, a professor of integrative biology and statistics and data sciences, used that data to create an epidemiological model to show the extent of early COVID-19 spread in Wuhan and Seattle. Meyers and her team found that in Wuhan, there may have been more than 12,000 undetected symptomatic cases of COVID-19 prior to the citys Jan. 23 lockdown. On March 9 in Seattle, the week when schools closed due to the virus, Meyers estimates more than 9,000 people had undetected COVID-19, with children making up one-third of that total.

As the virus started spreading in cities across the United States and cities across the world, probably by the time we started detecting cases, its likely that the virus had been spreading for several weeks, if not months, Meyers said.

These new estimates reinforce how quickly and stealthily the virus spread upon reaching U.S. soil, transmitting at a rate too fast for most cities to ramp up testing capacity.

In Texas, Meyers estimates the virus started spreading in cities such as Austin as far back as mid-February, weeks before the citys first reported case on March 13. The Houston Rodeo began March 3 and shut down on March 11, after a Montgomery County man who had attended the rodeo fell ill and tested positive. As of Wednesday, Texas had surpassed 500,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, days before schools will begin to reopen across the state.

Meyers models were extrapolated directly from the retested throat and nasal swabs in Wuhan and Seattle. Her team used the ratio of swabs that tested positive for COVID-19 compared to the flu-positive swabs, along with surveillance data for the flu across China and Washington, to arrive at an estimate for how many undetected coronavirus cases there were in these cities in the weeks before they shut down.

The Wuhan study tested 26 throat swabs taken from adults over 30 who sought care for flu-like symptoms at two central city hospitals between Dec. 30 and Jan. 12. Of the retested swabs, four tested positive for COVID-19, while seven tested positive for flu.

In Seattle, researchers tested over 2,353 nasal swabs collected from 299 children under 18 and 2,054 adults who reported flu-like symptoms between Jan. 1 and March 9. Of these samples, 442 tested positive for flu, while 25 tested positive for COVID-19.

Using this data, Meyers concluded that in Wuhan, for every three cases of flu in adults there were two undetected cases of COVID-19, meaning there were almost 13,000 cases of symptomatic COVID-19 prior to the citys Jan. 23 lockdown. The virus probably started spreading in Wuhan as far back as mid-November, Meyers said.

In Seattle, the COVID-19-flu ratio was lower, with one case of undetected COVID-19 for every nine cases of detected flu in children and a one-to-seven ratio in adults. The data suggest that the virus started spreading in Seattle in early January. On March 9, Seattle had only 245 reported COVID-19 cases, but Meyers said the data indicate there could have been as many as 9,000 symptomatic cases.

If there really were 9,000 cases or so in Seattle at a time when 245 cases had been reported, that should corroborate that theres a lot of transmission that went on back then and probably still goes on today that is undetected, that is undocumented, Meyers said, surmising that part of the reason could be that people without symptoms dont bother to get tested for the virus.

Meyers noted, however, that her teams estimates do not account for COVID-19 cases where the infected person has no symptoms. Given that that asymptomatic spread of the virus has contributed heavily to the pandemic, Meyers estimated that there may have been as many as 20,000 COVID-19 cases in Wuhan when factoring in asymptomatic people, and as many as 15,000 cases in Seattle.

But the fundamental goal of the study, Meyers said, is to use available data to understand as much as they can about the virus. She hopes to eventually do similar modeling for Texas cities once the types of data used in Wuhan and Seattle becomes available.

We are using our models to do a number of different things, but one is just trying to connect the dots: to understand how the virus spreads, how it emerged, what it was doing early in the pandemic, so we can get a better handle on whats happening today and make better projections in the future.

nick.powell@chron.com
WASHINGTON - The Justice Department announced Thursday that it had seized millions of dollars' worth of cryptocurrency meant to fund terrorist groups such as al-Qaida and the Islamic State, in what law enforcement officials called an unprecedented crackdown against terrorist fundraising on social media.

In addition to seizing funds, U.S. officials said they obtained court orders to seize 300 cryptocurrency accounts, four websites and four Facebook pages used for the alleged terrorist fundraising.

"Terrorist networks have adapted to technology, conducting complex financial transactions in the digital world, including through cryptocurrencies," said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

John Demers, head of the Justice Department's national security division, said authorities had seized cryptocurrency worth about $2 million, which he called "a significant dent" that will make "a big difference in their operations."

Law enforcement officials said they had also blacklisted several million dollars more of bitcoin and other cryptocurrency tied to the terrorists' online fundraising.

The social media fundraising for terrorism was as profitable as it was public, officials said, because the people raising and donating money wrongly thought using cryptocurrency would keep them anonymous.

"They become less cautious because they think there is a cyber-enabled veneer that protects them," said one law enforcement official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. "They're not really trying to hide what they're doing; they are in fact very open."

As a result of that overconfidence, officials said, a number of people in the United States are under investigation in connection with making donations to terrorist groups.

In one of the cases announced Thursday, officials said the military wing of Hamas, al-Qassam Brigades, tweeted its call for donations and told supporters that giving bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies would be untraceable and used for violent causes.

Federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security, the Internal Revenue Service and the FBI traced the funds back and ultimately seized 150 accounts tied to the al-Qassam fundraising effort.

The agents also got a court order to seize the al-Qassam websites and operate them covertly for weeks, allowing them to receive and redirect donations meant for the group while gathering more information about their donors.

Another online fundraising network sought to help al-Qaida groups largely based in Syria, officials said. The organizations, according to the government's court filing, laundered bitcoin and solicited donations using Telegram messaging channels and social media platforms. In some cases, the appeal for donations was couched as charity work when their messages made clear they were seeking money to buy weapons, the filing said.

In another case, authorities charge that Murat Cakar worked as a "facilitator" for the Islamic State and ran a coronavirus-related scam purporting to sell protective masks online. The FBI first became interested in Cakar years ago when a man in New York sent him money to support the Islamic State, authorities said.

Officials said the mask-selling scheme aimed to generate hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars, though authorities did not say whether any U.S. companies paid money into the scam.
Houston-based Midway was preparing to launch one of the citys biggest urban redevelopment projects in recent history when the coronavirus struck.

Construction on the project  a 150-acre commercial and residential development along the banks of Buffalo Bayou east of downtown  will begin later than expected, but Midway CEO Jonathan Brinsden is optimistic that demand for space will continue and that a slight delay could work out in the companys favor.

A lot of times the best time to be developing is the trough in the cycle and delivering when youre coming out of the cycle, Brinsden said in a recent interview. You have the opportunity to benefit from potentially better construction pricing, which has been a headwind, over the last five years especially.

Brinsden, who leads a corporate office of about 150 employees, is taking on a new role this year as well. In July he was named chairman of the Americas for the Urban Land Institute, a Washington, D.C., real estate think tank, where his first order of business will be to address diversity in the industry.

Lower Westheimer revival continues: Skanska pays $27M for key Montrose corner

He spoke with the Chronicle about the challenges of operating a commercial real estate company during a pandemic and what his role at the ULI will entail.

Q: How you plan to address diversity and inequity in real estate?

A: It starts with education. How do we create interest in the industry at a much broader base at a younger age, and how do we develop that talent and bring them into the real estate industry? Then theres the more specific impact of the actual real estate and how we do things as simple as deed restrictions. If you look back in history, those have been so divisive and destructive. How do we create communities that are more inclusive and more attractive?

Q: How has the pandemic affected plans for East River, your companys big East End redevelopment project?

A: Were fortunate that all the predevelopment for phase one is complete. We need to finish our (Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone) agreement with the city and the Fifth Ward TIRZ. What were doing there is a major infrastructure project. It will effectively be 65 downtown blocks when its finished. And then in terms of starting phase one its really dependent on preleasing.

Q: Hows that going? Do you have tenants in place?

A: The tenants we had are still there, albeit some of them are dealing with their own operational issues currently. But I think everybody remains positive that there is clarity at some point about moving forward and people will start expanding again.

Thats on the retail side. On the office side its similar but were certainly seeing a trend where companies are pausing and assessing, how are we going to use our office space going forward? Do we use more space? Do we need less space? Do we want to be in a different location? So were seeing a trend of short-term renewals while people are figuring that out.

Q: What about the retailers at your other properties, such as CityCentre or GreenStreet? Have you lost any? And how have you dealt with those struggling to pay rent?

A: We have not lost any tenants to date. Its been obviously a challenging environment for them. We did a lot of lease amendments and worked with a lot of tenants and our bankers for what we thought was a period of time that would get everybody through the summer and we would emerge and be reopening. Now that picture looks a little less clear so I think its going to take more effort on everybodys part.

Q: What sorts of arrangements did you make with your tenants?

A: For the most part, weve agreed on a period of rent deferment. To the extent they were reopening generally we agreed to a percentage rent format through the end of the year.

East River: Images show vibrant scenes of waterfront development

Q: How are your lenders working ?

A: Generally the banks have been fantastic. Those are long-standing relationships so it makes the discussions that much easier. But you have other loan structures like (commercial mortgage-backed securities) where that personal relationship isnt there. Its a collateralized security and mechanically its just different to deal with. But by and large, everyones been very positive.

Q: Have you had to cancel any projects you were planning to move forward on due to the pandemic?

A: Out of all these types of situations comes opportunities. Its going to be a little while, but our sense is youre going to start to see more and more opportunities towards the end of the year and first quarter of next year. So we hope to be positioned to take advantage of those as they present themselves.

Q: Until the markets improve, how are you managing your balance sheet without rents coming in?

A: Each asset is capitalized independently, so it has its own financial capacity. Were fortunate to have great relationships with our banks and have a lot of institutional investors that take a long-term approach as we do.

To the extent investment needs to be made in projects, we, along with our partners, are going to make those investments. Relative to Midways balance sheet it really hasnt really changed that much so were fortunate to have the capacity to be looking at new opportunities.

nancy.sarnoff@chron.com

twitter.com/nsarnoff
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: The Assam government announced new measures to relax lockdown in the state on Thursday.

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"This decision was taken by the state-appointed committee to regulate the COVID-19 testing charges so that patients do not face any financial burden," the minister said.

State Health Minister Rajesh Tope said this in a statement on Wednesday. "The maximum charges for testing now stand at Rs 1,900, Rs 2,200 and Rs 2,500. No laboratory can charge above these prescribed rates," he said.

The Maharashtra government has reduced by Rs 300 the rates of COVID-19 tests conducted by laboratories, bringing them in the range of Rs 1,900 to Rs 2,500.

The total number of coronavirus cases in the state now stands at 50,672, he said.

Odisha's COVID-19 tally on Wednesday crossed the 50,000-mark with the highest single-day spike of 1,876 fresh cases, while the death toll rose to 305 as nine more patients succumbed to the disease, a health department official said.

With 1,024 cases in Pimpri Chinchwad, the COVID-19 tally there rose to 31,643.

However, 1,449 patients were also discharged from the hospitals," the official said.

"Of 2,997 cases, 1,584 are from the Pune Municipal Corporation limits, which has recorded 69,235 patients.

Pune district reported 2,997 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking its case count to 1,15,128, a health official said on Wednesday. The toll in the district reached 2,619 with 67 patients succumbing to the infection.

"Pre-qualification of any vaccine includes the rigorous review and assessment of all the required safety and efficacy data," he told reporters in Geneva at an online press briefing.

"We are in close contact with the Russian health authorities and discussions are ongoing with respect to possible WHO pre-qualification of the vaccine," said the United Nations health agency's spokesman Tarik Jasarevic.

The World Health Organization said any WHO stamp of approval on a COVID-19 vaccine candidate would require a rigorous safety data review, after Russia announced Tuesday it had approved a vaccine, reports AFP.

The Chennai Police on Wednesday had issued a circular banning public gatherings, demonstrations, human chains and meetings for 15 days from 12 August to 27 August.

"Yet, regrettably, in many instances, the pandemic did not move the parties to suspend hostilities or agree to a permanent ceasefire, Guterres said.

The UN chief told a Security Council meeting on the challenge of sustaining peace during the pandemic that his 23 March call for an immediate cease-fire in conflicts around the world to tackle the coronavirus led a number of warring parties to take steps to de-escalate and stop fighting.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday that the COVID-19 pandemic not only threatens gains in fighting global poverty and building peace but risks exacerbating existing conflicts and generating new ones.

The recovery rate of the country's financial capital is now 79 per cent, the civic body added.

At the same time, the number of recovered patients crossed the one lakh-mark and reached 1,00,070 after 923 patients were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, it said.

With the single-day rise of 1,132 COVID-19 cases, the infection tally in Mumbai rose to 1,26,371 on Wednesday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said. The death mounted to 6,940 with 50 new fatalities, it said.

The first meeting of the panel, headed by NITI Aayog member (health) VK Paul, also discussed the maintenance of a cold chain during distribution and storage to ensure vaccine viability, inventory, resource mobilisation, and ensuring equitable access.

According to a press release by the government , the National Expert Group on vaccine administration for Covid-19 on Wednesday decided the Centre would handle the procurement of the vaccines. The committee also advised all the states not to chart separate pathways of procurement, a statement by the health ministry says.

The condition of former President of India Pranab Mukherjee remains unchanged on Thursday morning, ANI reports, quoting the Army Research and Referral Hospital in Delhi. He is deeply comatose with stable vital parameters and continues to be on ventilatory support, the statement adds.

He assured the details would not be used for any other purpose and there would be no intrusion into the privacy of the patients.

COVID-19 patients' phone call detail records (CDRs) were being used by the police in Kerala as part of adopting innovative and scientific methods for effective contact tracing, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Wednesday.

India on Thursday reports a case count rises to 23,96,637 after 66,998 new cases were recorded. The toll rises by 942 to 47,033. The reported active COVID-19 cases in India now stand at 6,53,622, according to the Union Health Ministry.

With the death of 942 patients in the past 24 hours, the COVID-19 fatality count rose 47,033, the Union Health Ministry said.

India registered a recovery rate of 70.76 percent, with 16,95,982 people recovering in the country from the highly-contagious COVID-19, according to the Union health ministry on Thursday.

Of the total, there are 9,416 recoveries and 2,233 are active cases, said Maharashtra Police.

In the past 24 hours, at least 381 members of the Maharashtra Police personnel tested positive for the novel coronavirus, taking the total cases to 11,773 on Thursday. While three deaths in the police force took the COVID-19 toll to 124.

The imposition of Section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in areas under DJ halli and KG halli police station limits extended till 6 am on 15 August by the Bengaluru Commissioner of Police.

Of the total cases, there are 14,056 active cases and 41,819 recoveries.

With 608 fresh COVID-19 infections in Rajasthan, the total number of coronavirus cases rose to 56,708, said the state health department on Thursday. So far, the state registered 833 deaths.

He assured the details would not be used for any other purpose and there would be no intrusion into the privacy of the patients.

COVID-19 patients' phone call detail records (CDRs) were being used by the police in Kerala as part of adopting innovative and scientific methods for effective contact tracing, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Wednesday.

Agra's Chief Medical Officer and a team of doctors have arrived in Mathura for his treatment. Das had travelled to Mathura for organising the Krishna Janmashtami ceremonies.

Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, the chief of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, has tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday, reported News18. He complained of breathlessness following which he underwent a COVID-19 test.

Of the total cases, there are 15,808 active cases and 36,478 recoveries.

After 1,981 more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Odisha, the total number of cases rose to 52,653, said the state health department on Thursday.

Mahant Nritya Gopal Das attended the 'bhoomi pujan' ceremony of the Ram temple at Ayodhya which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Uttar Pradesh CMO has issued a statement in which it said, " Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken details of the health status on Mahant Nritya Gopal Das who has tested COVID19 positive. He has spoken to DM Mathura and to Dr Trehan of Medanta and requested for immediate medical attention for him at the hospital."

Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust chief Mahant Nritya Gopal Das has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Of the total cases, there are 22,736 active cases and 63,074 recoveries.

With 1,931 new COVID-19 positive cases in Telangana, the total increased to 86,475 on Thursday, said the state health department. Eleven more patients succumbed to contagious disease in the state, taking the COVID-19 toll to 665.

To curtail the fast-spreading coronavirus, the Tamil Nadu government advised people on Thursday to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi on 22 August at their homes. "No installation of idols in public and no rallies to immerse idols in water bodies will be allowed," said the state government.

Indias COVID-19 toll grew to the fourth largest globally as the diseases spread continues to accelerate through the worlds second most populous country. India added 942 deaths from the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, topping the UK with a total of 47,033 fatalities.

With 3,906 fresh COVID-19 infections in Bihar, the total number of coronavirus cases climbed to 33,916, said the state health department on Thursday.

The International Film Festival of India 2020 will be held as per schedule in the last week of November this year. All SOPs and guidelines issued by Union Ministry for Information and Broadcasting will be followed, said Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday.

Of the total, there are 1,257 active cases, 2,386 cured cases and 16 deaths till date, according to the health department.

After 51 more individuals tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Himachal Pradesh, the total number of cases rose to 3,687, said the state health department on Thursday.

While addressing a press conference at the party office, he said, "There used to be 3,000-3,500 COVID-19 cases when there 10,000 tests were being conducted. Now when the state is testing 75,000 samples for COVID-19 even then these numbers are restricted to 4,000. This means that the government is lying and manipulating. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is focusing on the increasing number of rapid Antigen testing to save his face."

Slamming the Bihar government, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday accused it of "lying" and "manipulating" the COVID-19 numbers in the state.

"With this number, the total recovered COVID-19 patients have touched nearly 17 lakhs (16,95,982) on Thursday, according to the latest data released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

India registered 56,383 COVID-19 recoveries in a single day, said the health ministry on Thursday, adding that the fatality rate has improved to 1.96 percent.

India posts highest-ever single day recoveries of 56,383 in a single day. With this number, the total recovered COVID-19 patients have touched nearly 17 lakhs (16,95,982) today. The case fatality rate has further improved to 1.96%: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

"According to an order passed by Assam chief secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna, inter-district movement of passenger vehicles is allowed between Monday to Friday, public transport like city buses are allowed to ply on 50 percent capacity and proper social distancing norms," The Indian Express reported.

The Assam government announced new measures to relax lockdown in the state on Thursday.

11,813 new Covid-19 cases, 9,115 recoveries and 413 deaths were reported in Maharashtra on Thursday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 5,60,126, including 1,49,798 active cases, 3,90,958 cured cases and 19,063 till date, the state health department said.

While addressing a press conference at the party office, he said, "There used to be 3,000-3,500 COVID-19 cases when there 10,000 tests were being conducted. Now when the state is testing 75,000 samples for COVID-19 even then these numbers are restricted to 4,000. This means that the government is lying and manipulating. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is focusing on the increasing number of rapid Antigen testing to save his face."

Slamming the Bihar government, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday accused it of "lying" and "manipulating" the COVID-19 numbers in the state.

"With this number, the total recovered COVID-19 patients have touched nearly 17 lakhs (16,95,982) on Thursday, according to the latest data released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

India registered 56,383 COVID-19 recoveries in a single day, said the health ministry on Thursday, adding that the fatality rate has improved to 1.96 percent.

Adityanath asked them to set up a COVID care centre in Lucknow Cancer Institute.

The chief minister directed the officials to deploy more doctors at COVID hospitals besides increasing the bed capacity in medical facilities in Kanpur Nagar, Lucknow and Varanasi.

He said contact tracing is crucial in fighting the pandemic and follow-up should be done properly as it helps in checking the spread of the infection.

In a meeting with senior officials to review the COVID-19 situation in the state, Adityanath said efforts should be made to ensure that all those living in containment zones are tested for COVID-19 to achieve the aim of setting up such zones.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday stressed on the need to increase coronavirus testing in containment zones.

India posts highest-ever single day recoveries of 56,383 in a single day. With this number, the total recovered COVID-19 patients have touched nearly 17 lakhs (16,95,982) today. The case fatality rate has further improved to 1.96%: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

"We will not allow Kerala to be converted into a Police State and health workers should take the lead in the fight against COVID-19," he said.

Speaking to reporters here, he said the opposition will raise its voice against this and demand its immediate withdrawal.

"Police collecting phone details is an infringement on the privacy of an individual, which is against the Supreme Court's latest judgment in the K S Puttaswamy case," Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly Ramesh Chennithala said.

A controversy is brewing in Kerala over the decision to allow police to access phone call detail records of COVID-19 patients for effective contact tracing with opposition Congress on Thursday slamming the Left government, saying it is an "infringement" on the privacy of citizens.

As per the advice of the doctors, he will take rest at home for one week, it added.

Siddaramaiah has been discharged after the reports of second tests also came out negative, the statement said. It said Siddaramaiah was admitted to hospital on 3 August for urinary infection and subsequently he had tested positive for the coronavirus infection.

His son and Congress MLA from Varuna, Dr Yathindra Siddaramaiah, who had also tested positive on 7 August, has also been discharged from the hospital.

Former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah who was undergoing treatment at a private hospital here for COVID-19 infection has been discharged after recovery, his office said in a statement on Thursday.

"According to an order passed by Assam chief secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna, inter-district movement of passenger vehicles is allowed between Monday to Friday, public transport like city buses are allowed to ply on 50 percent capacity and proper social distancing norms," The Indian Express reported.

The Assam government announced new measures to relax lockdown in the state on Thursday.

Both the destinations will provide connections to New York JFK and will operate on 787-9 Dreamliner, it said. The flights to the two destinations in India from London are being resumed under the air bubble pact between the UK and Indian governments, it said.

Virgin Atlantic plans to operate three flights a week from Delhi to London Heathrow from 2 September, while Mumbai services are planned to re-commence from 17 September with four flights per week, the airline said in a release.

British premier carrier Virgin Atlantic on Thursday announced the resumption of its flight services to Delhi and Mumbai from London Heathrow, under the air bubble pact, starting 2 September.

The Minister had earlier said stringent action would be taken on private hospitals allegedly charging exorbitant prices from the virus patients. The government had also issued notices to errant hospitals.

The Health Minister Rajender conveyed his gratitude to the corporate hospitals which have agreed to allot 50 percent of their bed capacity to government referred patients," the release said. The allocation of the beds to the patients would be done by a special app, it said.

Corporate hospitals in Telangana have agreed to reserve 50 percent of their beds to patients referred by the state government for COVID-19 treatment. State Health Minister E Rajender, who held a meeting with representatives of the corporate hospitals, has instructed them to meet the director of Public Health to work out the modalities, an official press release said on Thursday.

11,813 new Covid-19 cases, 9,115 recoveries and 413 deaths were reported in Maharashtra on Thursday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 5,60,126, including 1,49,798 active cases, 3,90,958 cured cases and 19,063 till date, the state health department said.

Coronavirus LATEST Updates: The Assam government announced new measures to relax lockdown in the state on Thursday.

India registered a recovery rate of 70.76 percent, with 16,95,982 people recovering from the highly-contagious COVID-19, the health ministry said.

India added 942 deaths from the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, topping the UK with a total of 47,033 fatalities.

Mahant Nritya Gopal Das attended the 'bhoomi pujan' ceremony of the Ram temple at Ayodhya which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, the chief of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, has tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday, reported News18.

Maharashtra continues to be the worst-affected state from COVID-19, followed by Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

India reports coronavirus case count rises to 23,96,637 after 66,998 cases are recorded. The toll rises by 942 to 47,033.

India's tally of COVID-19 cases rose by 60,963 on Wednesday, and the recovery rate rose to 70.38 percent with the highest single-day number of recoveries recorded, the Union health ministry said.

The total count of coronavirus cases stands at 23,29,639. Of these, 6,43,948 are active cases, and 16,39,600 patients have been cured/discharged/migrated. 56,110 recoveries were reported in the last 24 hours.

A total of 834 patients succumbed to the virus in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative toll to 46,091. The COVID-19 case fatality rate (CFR) stands at 1.98 percent, the ministry said.

The record number of recoveries "are the result of the successful implementation of effective containment strategy, aggressive and comprehensive testing coupled with standardised clinical management of the critical patients based on holistic standard of care approach", the ministry said.

The coordinated efforts of the Centre, state governments and UT governments have resulted in continuously increasing average daily recoveries, it said.

"In the first week of July, the daily average recovered cases were at 15,000 which jumped to more than 50,000 in the first week of August," the health ministry said.

"With more patients recovering and being discharged from hospitals and home isolation (in case of mild and moderate cases), the total recoveries have crossed the 16 lakh-mark and recovery rate has reached another high of 70.38 percent," it added.

There are 6,43,948 active cases of coronavirus which is "actual caseload" of COVID-19 in the country and currently comprise 27.64 percent of the total positive cases.

The health ministry added that "the testing lab network in the country is being continuously strengthened". Currently, it consists of 1,421 labs, with 944 labs in the government sector and 477 private labs.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 7,33,439 samples were tested for COVID-19 on Tuesday. This is the highest single-day figure so far.

AYUSH minister tests COVID-19 positive

Union AYUSH minister Shripad Y Naik said he has tested positive for COVID-19 and advised all those who have come in contact with him in the last few days to get tested and take required precautions.

In a tweet, Naik said the test showed he was asymptomatic and that he has opted for home isolation. He also said that his vitals were normal.

"I underwent Covid-19 test today and it has turned out asymptomatically positive. My vitals are within normal limits and I have opted for home isolation. Those who have come in contact with me in last few days are advised to get tested and take required precautions," the minister said in a tweet.

Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Dr Raman Singh's wife Veena Singh also tested positive for COVID-19. Taking to Twitter, Singh said "that he along with his family are going to be self-islolated. He has also requested those who came in their contact in last few days to get themselves tested as a precautionary measure," News18 reported.

Pranab Mukherjee is "haemodynamically stable", says son

Former president Pranab Mukherjee, who is on ventilator support after surgery to remove a clot in his brain condition is now "haemodynamically stable", his son Abhijit Mukherjee said on Wednesday. The 84-year-old has also tested positive for coronavirus.

"With All Your Prayers, my father is haemodynamically stable now. I request everyone to continue with your prayers & good wishes for his speedy recovery. Thank You," tweeted Abhijit.

In a subsequent tweet he said: "Thank You for your good wishes."

On Monday, the former president tweeted, "On a visit to the hospital for a separate procedure, I have tested positive for COVID-19 today. I request the people who came in contact with me in the last week, to please self isolate and get tested for COVID-19."

Bengal govt changes August lockdown schedule for 5th time

The West Bengal government on Wednesday pared down the number of state-wide complete lockdown by one day, making it the fifth change to the shutdown schedule this month.

The lockdown on 28 August (Friday) has been done away with, keeping in mind the interest of banking and business operations, a state government order said.

The decision drew the ire of the opposition parties, which alleged that it was taken to facilitate a function marking the foundation day programme of Trinamool Chatra Parishad, the student wing of the ruling TMC. TMC denied the charge as "completely baseless".

According to the state government order signed by chief secretary Rajiva Sinha, the decision to withdraw the complete lockdown on 28 August was taken after several communications were received citing difficulties to conduct business and banking operations because of two days' lockdown on Thursday (27 August) and Friday (28 August) in the last week of the month followed by another the following Monday (31 August).

Complete lockdowns were slated to be held on the three dates as per the earlier decision of the government.

State-wise cases and deaths

Maharashtra continues to be the worst affected state from the infection with 5,48,313 cases, which include 1,47,513 active cases and 13,408 recoveries.

The state recorded 12,712 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday while the death toll stands at 18,650, said the state health department.

Meanwhile, nine new cases were reported in Mumbai's Dharavi area, the BMC said.

The second worst-affected state, Tamil Nadu, reported 5,871 new COVID-19 cases and 119 deaths, taking the total number of cases to 3,14,520. This includes 52,929 active cases, 2,56,313 patients discharged and 5,278 deaths, said the state health department.

Delhi reported 1,113 new COVID-19 cases, 1,021 recovered/discharged/migrated cases and 14 deaths on Wednesday. The total cases are now 1,48,504, including 1,33,405 recovered/discharged/migrated, 10,946 active cases and 4153 deaths, said the Delhi government.

Andhra Pradesh reported 9,597 new COVID-19 positive cases, 6,676 recoveries and 93 deaths on Wednesday, taking the total number of cases to 2,54,146, including 90,425 active cases, 1,61,425 recovered and 2,296 deaths, as per the state health department's bulletin.

Meanwhile, Karnataka reported 7,883 new COVID-19 cases, 7,034 recoveries and 113 deaths today, taking the total number of cases to 1,96,494, including 80,343 active cases, 1,12,633 recovered cases and 3,510 deaths till date. A total of 2,802 cases were reported in Bengaluru today, said the state health department.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said that 1,212 more COVID-19 cases and five deaths were reported in the state. Of these new cases, 1,068 contracted the infection through local transmission, he said.

Rajasthan on Wednesday reported 595 new COVID-19 cases and 10 deaths till 10.30 am, the state health department said.

"595 new COVID19 positive cases and 10 deaths have been reported in Rajasthan till 10.30 am today. The total number of cases now at 55,482 including 14,103 active cases, 37,917 discharged cases and 821 deaths," it said.

Jammu and Kashmir reported 482 new COVID-19 cases (106 in Jammu & 376 in Kashmir), 544 recoveries and eight deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to 26,413 till date, including 7,392 active cases, 18,523 recovered cases and 498 deaths, stated the Jammu and Kashmir administration.

New Zealand records 4 new cases after 102 days

New Zealand recorded four new cases of coronavirus after reporting no community transmission for 102 days. The Washington Post quoted Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern as saying that Auckland will move to impose new restrictions from Wednesday afternoon through midnight Friday as officials assess the threat and asked residents to stay home and take precautions.

With the surfacing of new cases, the government has asked the citizens to wear masks while accessing essential services. The other citizens have been asked to wear face-covering in areas where social distancing is hard to practise.

The first new confirmed case is a person in their 50s who has no history of international travel, The Washington Post reported. After all members of the family were tested, three more were confirmed COVID-19 positive.

Following the confirmation of fresh cases, Ardern was quoted as saying at a press conference, "Act as if you have COVID, and as if the people around you have COVID."

With inputs from agencies
A recent paper published in The Economic Journal indicates that, in families with disabled children, the second born child is more adversely affected cognitively than the first-born child.

Brothers and sisters share a unique bond. They typically grow up in the same household, with the same parents and similar genetics, and experience life events together. Siblings have important influences on each other's lives. Siblings might teach each other directly; they might also model behaviors. But they also share limited parental resources such as time, attention, and money directed towards one child might be time, attention, and money diverted from another.

The researchers, analyzing data from Florida and Denmark, studied how adverse health shocks to one child could propagate to their siblings. Specifically, they examined the effect of having a younger sibling with a disability on test scores of older children, measured when they were in elementary and middle school.

Sibling disability is significant, as millions of families have at least one disabled child. In 2012-13, for instance, in the United States alone over 6.4 million children aged 3 to 21 (12.9% of all students) were supported under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

The Florida analysis considers disabilities requiring special accommodations in school, while the Danish analysis is based on disabilities recorded in medical registries, so the two sites estimate the effects of fundamentally different types of disabilities. In Florida, the most common early childhood disabilities considered are speech impairment (48%), developmental delay (21%), and language impairment (17%). In Denmark, for the same age range, the most common disabilities considered are congenital malformations and deformations of the musculoskeletal system (20%), congenital malformations of the circulatory system (10%), and congenital malformations of genital organs (9%).

In order to causally identify sibling spillovers resulting from a younger child's disability, the researchers considered families with three or more children where a health shock (disability) occurred in the case of the third child. Within a family, the first- and second-born children face differential exposure to the affected third sibling. This differential exposure is related to the relative ordering of the two children; earlier-born children had more time in the family without the presence of the disabled third child, and are thus less exposed. The researchers did not find differential effect of exposure on birth and early postnatal outcomes for these children, outcomes that were measured prior to the arrival of third born child, disabled or not.

Despite the differences in settings and disabilities considered across Florida and Denmark, the researchers found evidence in both places consistent with there being a sibling spillover. They found that the second-born child in a family had worse outcomes (test scores in Florida, grade point average in Denmark) than did their older sibling when the third-born sibling was disabled, relative to the case in which the third-born sibling was not disabled. The magnitude of these differences is significant; for example, in Florida it is about half of the observed relationship between an extra year of maternal education and children's test scores. These results are concentrated in cases in which the third child's disability is observed early - and therefore, presumably, more likely to affect older siblings in early childhood. Furthermore, the results are driven by physical disabilities - which are likely to be more visible early and require more parental time and attention - rather than cognitive or behavioral disabilities.

I think we all believe that individuals are affected by their siblings when they are growing up--either directly through their interactions with each other or indirectly through the allocation of parental resources such as money, time, and attention. However, it is very difficult to isolate empirically, because there are so many things simultaneously happening in the family that might also affect these children's outcomes. It is exciting that we are able to make progress on this front and document the importance of siblings." Sandra Black, paper's lead author
New Delhi:

Gold prices sheds Rs 100 to hit Rs 28,450 per 10 grams on Tuesday, hit by a subdued trend overseas and falling domestic demand due to the cash crunch sparked by demonetisation.

Silver, however, strengthened by Rs 100 to Rs 41,500 per kg on increased offtake by industrial units and coin makers. Traders said the global weakness of gold can be explained by a firming dollar ahead of the two-day US Federal Reserve meet, which kicks off on Tuesday.

There is speculation that the rate-setting panel would go for policy tightening sooner than later that would push up bond yields in US, which dented the safe haven appeal of gold. Globally, gold fell by 0.09 per cent to USD 1,160.90 anounce in Singapore.

A considerable drop in demand from jewellers and retailers in view of the existing cash crunch too hits entiment, they said.

On November 8, the government had announced its decisionto demonetise 500 and 1,000 rupee notes in a bid to flush out black money, leading to the cash drought. In the national capital, 99.9 per cent and 99.5 per cent purity gold drifted lower by Rs 100 each to Rs 28,450 and Rs 28,300 per 10 grams, respectively.

The yellow metal had gained Rs 100 on Monday. Sovereign, however, traded higher by Rs 100 to Rs 24,200 per piece of eight grams in scattered deals.

On the other hand, silver ready advanced by Rs 100 to Rs 41,500 per kg and weekly-based delivery by Rs 270 to Rs 41,490per kg. Silver coins remained unaltered at Rs 72,000 for buyingand Rs 73,000 for selling of 100 pieces.
The new academic year in Russia, both in schools and in universities, will traditionally begin on September 1, classes will be held in full-time format, but subject to all sanitary requirements, Russian Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov said today. This will bring children back to school for the first time since distance learning, which they had to switch to in March due to COVID-19. How did this forced break affect the students?

A key event that changed the lives of people around the planet was a new type of coronavirus pandemic. It reshaped the usual way of life and posed many challenges to the world, including fundamentally new ones. Only 5 months have passed since March 12, when the World Health Organization officially announced the pandemic, and only now, when the inhabitants of the planet are gradually returning - alas, not to their usual life, but still to some more stable forms of existence, one can try to understand how the COVID-19 outbreak affected the world.

From the very beginning of the spread of the disease, doctors noticed that children are least susceptible to the new type of coronavirus, and their disease usually proceeds in a milder form, although, of course, they can be carriers of it. Does this mean that the pandemic did not affect the younger generation in any way? Hardly.

According to psychologists, for a harmonious and correct development, a child needs to feel safe, which implies more or less stability: school, circles, extra classes, walks, plans for summer holidays, preparation for exams ... And suddenly changes begin to follow one another. So, in Moscow on March 14, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin introduced voluntary school attendance, and a week later all Moscow schoolchildren were transferred to distance learning. This was followed by the cancellation and postponement of exams, All-Russian test works, internal school tests ... Of course, this could not be avoided: the authorities had to act in accordance with the epidemiological situation. But were the children ready for such drastic changes?

Separately, it should be said about distance learning: there was a lot of criticism in its address, but on the other hand - was there any alternative? In a situation where school attendance turned out to be impossible, the "distance" allowed somehow not to miss the educational process. And the children, by the way, adapted to the new system much faster than their parents, and (I want to believe) the spring months were still not in vain for them.

Self-isolation became another test for the child's psyche. It was easier for those who could get out, for example, to the dacha and go out into the fresh air, without fear of meeting with a police patrol. In the city, walks on the balcony are in trend. Technologies also saved the situation: a "meeting" with classmates / friends in a video conference helped to brighten up the forced loneliness. Undoubtedly, there was a plus: in the new conditions, children communicated more with their parents, because often earlier, in the intense rhythm of their usual life, there was simply not enough time for this. Now fathers and children got a chance, paradoxical as it may sound, to get to know each other better.

If the deficit of live communication could be compensated in one way or another, then with the lack of movement everything was more complicated. Not everyone could go out of town, not every family has exercise equipment in the apartment, and the advice of nutritionists at least walking in circles around the room caused rather nervous laughter. Proper nutrition alone could hardly save the day. Doctors warned: due to the forced hypodynamia, we will face an obesity epidemic in children, which will have to be fought, and there are already such cases.

How difficult all these tests turned out to be for the psyche of schoolchildren depended largely on the behavior of the adults around them. Children are sensitive to the general emotional background of loved ones. If a mother is constantly worried and not sure whether she will cope with tomorrow, what should the child think? Of course, in the absolutely unusual situation of the pandemic, it was difficult to maintain equanimity and calmness, and adults, unwillingly, could "infect" children with suspiciousness or even panic.

Summer holidays gave some respite. The ghost of the teacher on the monitor has receded, the problem of "freezing" of the electronic diary has lost its urgency, thanks to the easing of quarantine restrictions, it is finally possible to walk on the street and - observing a social distance - communicate with friends. Moreover, the world opened from new sides for children who had been deprived of impressions for several months. After a deficit of positive emotions, even seemingly simple joys are felt more sharply. And the forced break in the routine gave the young generation an infrequent opportunity to rethink the old, familiar things, to realize themselves and their place in the world, including in the world of adults.

Indeed, in moments of serious challenges, people rally to cope with them together. The pandemic has become a test not only for adults, but also for children: in many situations they had to join forces to successfully solve the difficulties that arise almost daily. Perhaps in this way the traditional generation gap will at least to some extent be overcome, and fathers and children of our time will be able to better understand each other.

I would like to hope that these five months were not in vain for the schoolchildren, that they matured, realized that they were not "suspended" in the air, but with many threads are connected with the world and people and, to a certain extent, are also responsible for them, felt their involvement to the further destiny of humanity. And this is correct, because the young generation is the future of our Earth.
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Silvus Technologies, Inc. was recently awarded OPTION funding under a Research & Development project by the U.S. Army's C5ISR Center located at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. The contract worth over $2M is entitled "Protected Communications for Manned/Unmanned Teams" or PCM. The project is intended to develop high-throughput, secure, and low observable communications capabilities for manned/unmanned teaming operations.

In the BASE effort of the PCM contract, Silvus developed a waveform that enables enhanced LPI/LPD operation. In the current OPTION effort, Silvus is integrating many of its recently developed capabilities to operate in conjunction with the PCM waveform's LPI/LPD functions. These include:

Silvus' MANET-Interference Avoidance (MAN-IA) module that enables tactical radios to shift their operating frequency when communications are degraded by interference Silvus' new MANET-Interference Cancellation (MAN-IC) module that enables tactical radios to spatially filter out interference Silvus' new MANET-Power Control (MAN-PC) module that allows the radios to control their transmit power to enable more discreet communications

"The result of this effort," said Dr. Babak Daneshrad, Founder and CEO of Silvus Technologies, "will be a robust waveform running on Silvus' StreamCaster radios that brings together a powerful suite of anti-jam and LPI/LPD functions to enable robust, secure communications for the warfighter in congested and contested environments."

Silvus Technologies is the creator of the Mobile Networked MIMO (MN-MIMO) waveform, a mobile ad-hoc networking (MANET) capability that leverages the latest advances in MIMO technology to improve throughput and robustness. This capability is at the heart of the Silvus StreamCaster radios, a family of MIMO-enabled tactical radios. Recently, it was selected as the MANET radio solution for Phase 2 of the Next Generation Combat Vehicle Robotic Combat Vehicle (NGCV RCV) program with orders of approximately $3M thus far.

The PCM effort is expected to continue through fall 2020, and will culminate in a series of field demonstrations. Silvus will continue to mature the technology to rapidly bring these new capabilities to market.

About Silvus Technologies, Inc.

Privately held and headquartered in Los Angeles, Silvus Technologies develops advanced MIMO technologies that are reshaping broadband wireless connectivity for mission critical applications. Backed by an unmatched team of PhD scientists and design engineers, its technologies provide enhanced wireless data throughput, interference mitigation, improved range, mobility, and robustness to address the growing needs of its government and commercial customers.

CONTACT: Patrick Renegar, (919) 623-5577, [email protected]

SOURCE Silvus Technologies, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.silvustechnologies.com


WASHINGTON, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac;NYSE: AGM and AGM.A) today announced that it has agreed to issue $120 million of Tier 1 capital through the public offering of 5.250% non-cumulative perpetual Series F preferred stock, par value $25.00 per share. The preferred stock offering is expected to close on August 20, 2020, subject to customary closing conditions. Farmer Mac intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of the preferred stock for general corporate purposes and to redeem the $60 million aggregate outstanding par value and liquidation preference of Farmer Mac's 5.875% non-cumulative preferred stock, Series A. This press release shall not constitute a notice of redemption of such Series A preferred stock. Farmer Mac expects to list the new series of preferred stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "AGM PRF."

The dividend rate on the new Series F preferred stock will remain at a non-cumulative, fixed rate of 5.250% per year, when, as, and if a dividend is declared by the Board of Directors of Farmer Mac, for so long as the Series F preferred stock remains outstanding. The Series F preferred stock will have no maturity date, but Farmer Mac will have the option to redeem the preferred stock on any dividend payment date on and after October 17, 2025. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC served as Sole Book-Running Manager for this transaction. Bancroft Capital, LLC, BTIG, LLC and Sidoti & Company, LLC served as Co-Managers for this transaction.

The offering is being made pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and is being made solely by means of an offering circular. You may obtain a copy of the offering circular by contacting Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, 180 Varick Street, New York, New York 10014, Attention: Prospectus Department, or by phone at 1-866-718-1649 or email [email protected].

Forward-Looking Statements

In addition to historical information, this release includes forward-looking statements that reflect management's current expectations for the preferred stock offering, Farmer Mac's intended use of the proceeds from the offering and the closing date of the offering. You should pay particular attention to the important risk factors and cautionary statements described in the "Risk Factors" section of the offering circular that relates to the offering referenced above, as well as the risk factors discussed in Farmer Mac's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, as filed with the SEC on February 25, 2020, Farmer Mac's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, as filed with the SEC on May 11, 2020, and Farmer Mac's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, as filed with the SEC on August 10, 2020 . In light of these potential risks and uncertainties, no undue reliance should be placed on any forward-looking statements expressed in this release. The forward-looking statements contained in this release represent management's expectations as of the date of this release. Farmer Mac undertakes no obligation to release publicly the results of revisions to any forward-looking statements included in this release to reflect new information or any future events or circumstances, except as the SEC otherwise requires.

About Farmer Mac

Farmer Mac is a vital part of the agricultural credit markets and was created to increase access to and reduce the cost of capital for the benefit of American agricultural and rural communities. As the nation's secondary market for agricultural credit, we provide financial solutions to a broad spectrum of the agricultural community, including agricultural lenders, agribusinesses, and other institutions that can benefit from access to flexible, low-cost financing and risk management tools. Farmer Mac's customers benefit from our low cost of funds, low overhead costs, and high operational efficiency. Additional information about Farmer Mac is available on Farmer Mac's website at www.farmermac.com.

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PARMA, Ohio -- After considering numerous Midwest locations to grow operations, Prince & Izant Company announced last week plans to expand operations at its existing Parma facility.

Were committed to Greater Cleveland and excited about our companys future, Prince & Izant CEO Matt Brandenburg said in a news release. This was a challenging decision as we vetted multiple locations across the country.

We greatly appreciate the guidance and support of the Greater Cleveland Partnership and its partners in helping us build the business case that enabled this expansion to move forward in Northeast Ohio, he said.

The 30,000-square-foot expansion -- which has a $2.4 million price tag -- will result in the creation of 21 new jobs with $975,000 in additional payroll, as well as the retention of 104 existing positions.

We greatly appreciate Prince & Izants growth and job creation in our city, Mayor Tim DeGeeter said. We also want to thank Greater Cleveland Partnership, Team NEO, JobsOhio and Parma Economic Development Director Erik Tollerup for partnering together to make this happen.

This was very important for our city to keep the jobs here, as we generally rely on income taxes for our budget purposes. It is a win-win, DeGeeter said.

The economic development package the city and JobsOhio offered to keep Prince & Izant in Parma is expected to be announced next month.

Prince & Izant Company -- a global provider of brazing alloys and metal joining products to the automotive, cutting tools, oil and gas exploration, HVACR and electrical manufacturing industries -- will be adding manufacturing space to its current Plaza Drive facilities.

The expansion is tied to not only increasing manufacturing capacity at the campus to meet the growing demand for the companys products, but also consolidating work from the companys recently shuttered manufacturing facility in Indiana.

Greater Cleveland Partnerships Business Growth & Development Vice President Shawn DaVis said Prince & Izant Companys need for growth was tied to the success of its patented ChannelFlux technology involving aluminum and silver brazing alloys.

Obviously, manufacturing is a cornerstone for what we do in Northeast Ohio, DaVis said. This is a global company with long roots in Parma and Northeast Ohio. Its a great family-owned business, so to lose this opportunity to one of the other locations they were considering would have definitely been a loss.

It came down to cost. They had the expertise at one of their other locations for this particular product that they seek growth in, but, overall, theyre headquartered here, they wanted to grow here and it just had to make financial sense. So, between the City of Parma and JobsOhio, they were able to do that.

Read more news from the Parma Sun Post.
As businesses closed and staff were laid off as a result of COVID-19, millions of Americans were faced with a personal financial crisis. As a result, some local governments have temporarily adjusted policies that might have threatened residents ability to stay in their homes. For example, counties in Michigan suspended all 2020 property-tax foreclosures or extended repayment deadlines. Likewise, in New York, counties extended property-tax payment deadlines or provided tax-debt relief.

But governments wont continue these policies indefinitely, especially once they face the budgetary shortfalls that follow economic trouble. The history of the previous downturn tells us what will happen if policymakers and courts fail to protect property rights from some of the countrys worst tax-collection laws.

Take Michigan, for example. When housing values collapsed in Michigan as a result of the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent recession, property taxes remained high, imposing a heavy burden on many distressed homeowners. Unable to pay their tax debts, many owners lost their homes, along with all their home equity (a major source of family savings), to the government  helping to fill the government coffers in a time of low tax revenue. That abusive practice extended well beyond the recession and into the recovery: Between 2008 and 2015, property-tax foreclosures quadrupled in Michigan.

For retired engineer Uri Rafaeli, an $8.41 underpayment error was all it took to lose the full value of his Southfield, Mich., property. Rafaeli had missed a tax bill on the rental home he had purchased in 2011 for $60,000. When he tried to take care of the balance, he accidentally failed to account for some of the accumulating interest. The county government seized his house, sold it at auction for $24,500, and kept all the proceeds.

Under laws like Michigans, homeowners lose their nest egg, including years of equity, no matter how small the tax debt was. This transfer of equity from families to governments is unjust and unconstitutional. Thats why its called home-equity theft.

Story continues

Thankfully, Rafaelis case has a silver lining. He sued the county, and last month the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in his favor. The court said that counties cant take more than what they are owed from tax foreclosures. Other state supreme courts have struck down similar unconstitutional laws, and more challenges are coming.

In a dozen other states, though, governments or private investors can still steal home equity.

In Nebraska, 94-year-old Gladys Pearl Wisner, who suffered from cognitive decline, lost her farm worth $1.1 million because she failed to pay $50,000 in taxes, penalties, interest, and costs. An elderly widow in Colorado owed less than $2,000 when the county sold a lien on her home to a private investor. In exchange for paying the taxes due on the property, an investor walked away with the title to the $400,000 home. And in North Dakota, Williams County took the Glasoe familys home in to collect $7,517. The county sold the property for $187,600 and kept all the profits  a $180,083 windfall for the county.

As the economy sputters and people struggle to keep up with their property taxes, well see more of this abusive theft, unless policymakers take steps to put an end to it.

Pacific Legal Foundation launched a campaign to remove, through lawsuits or legislation, laws that use property-tax debts to steal everything from people. Though completing litigation can take years, it can help discourage home-equity theft long before a court enters a verdict. That was certainly the case in Michigan: Since Rafaeli filed his lawsuit in 2015, property seizures by Michigan county treasurers have dropped by 74 percent.

Moreover, other states are recognizing the importance of restraining officials ability to target homeowners. For example, last year, the Montana legislature passed a reform bill that protects homeowners by requiring local government to return the remaining proceeds after a home is sold to settle a tax debt. Other states should follow suit.

In the face of a sputtering economy, policymakers have understandably taken steps to help homeowners retain their homes. But when the bill comes due and counties are facing gaping budget holes, theyre likely to ramp up their attacks on homeowners, as has happened before. Now would be a good time for lawmakers to step up and ensure the end of home-equity theft once and for all.

Christina Martin is a senior attorney and Angela C. Erickson is the strategic research director at Pacific Legal Foundation.

More from National Review
Godwin Obaseki, governor of Edo state, has described John Oyegun, former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as a co...

Godwin Obaseki, governor of Edo state, has described John Oyegun, former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as a courageous leader.

In a statement to commemorate Oyeguns 81st birthday, Obaseki said the former APC national chairman has lived a life worthy of emulation.

He said Oyegun, a former governor of Edo, served the state meritoriously and had an outstanding career as a civil servant, a public servant and a politician.

I am elated to celebrate with Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, a quintessential gentleman, who continues to lead an enviable life that is worthy of emulation by all and sundry, Obaseki said in a statement which Crusoe Osagie, his spokesman, issued on his behalf.

As a Permanent Secretary in the Federal Civil Service, he was a solid administrator, pursuing germane reforms to retool Nigerias civil service for greatness.

When he served as governor, he brought panache and finesse to governance, ensuring that a solid foundation was laid for the development of the state.

As we celebrate Chief Odigie-Oyegun today, it must be reiterated that he remains a key figure in efforts to transform Edo State and position her for greatness. He has done his bit and continues to work towards engendering sustainable development and prosperity for Edo people in particular and Nigeria in general.
Decision day is looming for many Ottawa parents. Will they send their kids back to school in September or not?

Both English-language boards have said parents may be able to change their minds, but likely not until at least halfway through the fall.

"To the parents of Ottawa, I hear you," said Dr. Vera Etches, Ottawa's medical officer of health, during a virtual news conference earlier this week.

"This is a difficult decision for many parents, given so many variables and so many unknowns about the future," she said. "There's no right answer for everyone."

Here's some guidance from Etches and other experts. Their comments come from a combination of recent CBC interviews, virtual news conferences and public forums.

What key risk factors should I consider?

The key factors, according to Etches:

Your child's health conditions.

Your child's close contacts, and their health conditions.

Your family's ability to find child care.

Your family's ability to home-school.

And whether your child has development needs that require in-class learning with a trained professional.

Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press

What are the experts watching for?

Many experts agree a low rate of community transmission is key.

"If it's not in the community, it can't get into the schools," said Raywat Deonandan, an epidemiologist and associate professor at the University of Ottawa.

"In Ottawa, as of today, I think I'd be confident in opening schools."

WATCH | Why to take a city-wide look at cases

Another expert points to "the three C's."

"In epidemiology and public health, you often talk about the three C's: closed spaces, crowded places and contact. And you know, I just described every public school in Canada," said Dr. Doug Manuel, senior scientist with The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute.

Still, Manuel said he's planning to send his own kids back to school, adding he's "encouraged" by some of the measures that will be in place, such as masks and alternating schedules for high school students.

What can we learn from other countries?

Story continues

"We know there's tremendous possibility of transmission," said Manuel.

Other countries have already sent their children back to school, with mixed results. According to Manuel, we want to be more like Denmark or Finland, and less like Israel.

"In Israel, there were some problems," he said.

There, after initial success in controlling the spread of COVID-19, "they went back to school, got a big heat wave, they couldn't wear their masks  and there was a lot of transmission in communities. And they especially had some high schools that were very hard-hit."

STR/AFP/Getty Images

Denmark and Finland started sending kids back in the spring, he said, with smaller class sizes and alternating schedules. At the time, Denmark had a similar rate of community transmission to Ottawa's current rate, according to Manuel.

Since then, both Denmark and Finland have been able to maintain low community transmission and are now moving toward a full-time return to the classroom.

"We didn't see a lot of transmission in schools [in those countries]. More so in the high schools, less in the ... age 10 and under," Manuel said.

He said the jury is still out when it comes to whether kids transmit the virus at a different rate than adults.

"The scientists I speak to, there's quite a lot of uncertainty. People aren't comfortable making a call on that."

Will we see positive cases in schools?

Yes, according to every expert we've spoken to.

"There will be [COVID-19] cases," Etches said this week. "We know that. We can anticipate that."

Will that contribute to a jump in cases in Ottawa? Etches did not offer a prediction, but did say any new cases would likely originate outside the school rather than be transmitted within classrooms and corridors.

David Donnelly/CBC

Will I need to screen my child for symptoms?

Yes. Every morning. And you should err on the side of caution when deciding whether to keep your kids home.

Etches said detailed at-home screening recommendations will be provided to parents soon. Public health nurses will also be assigned to schools, where "rigorous screening" will be done.

Etches also said parents who keep their kids home because of possible symptoms can expect a follow-up phone call from Ottawa Public Health (OPH).

Experts said parents should look for more than just respiratory symptoms, since COVID-19 can also cause gastrointestinal symptoms including nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, particularly in children.

And it's time to let go of the quaint notion that good attendance equals academic success.

"Keep them at home if they have symptoms. And you know, I would even go so far as to say if people in your bubble have symptoms, to consider keeping your kids home," said epidemiologist Dara Spatz Friedman.

AFP via Getty Images

What's with these 'isolation rooms'?

School boards are trying to figure out what to do with students who display symptoms while at school. Boards said they're looking to OPH for guidance on this.

"We talk about having isolation spaces if a child should become sick, or be seen to be sick, during the school day," said Camille Williams-Taylor, director of education with the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB).

She said planning is in the initial stages, and more information will be communicated to parents in the coming weeks.

What happens if someone at school tests positive?

Etches said earlier this week that positive test results in schools will be looked at on a case-by-case basis.

She also said there will be "response teams" with officials from both OPH and the school board deployed to "make sure that the actions that need to be taken, are taken."

She defined an "outbreak" as "two cases in a school where there's a link between them," as opposed to two cases that originated separately outside the school.

The Ottawa Catholic School Board (OCSB) said it's waiting to hear from the Ministry of Education on what will happen if a single student tests positive.

"We expect that any day now, and it will have the very key logistics of who needs to be tested, how long each student or staff needs to be out of the building, what are the procedures for the return," said Tom D'Amico, director of education at the OCSB.

Does this burst the idea of bubbles?

"You might throw up your hands and say, 'Well, what's the point of a bubble if my kid is in school?'" said Friedman.

But going back to school doesn't mean it's time to stop bubbling, according to her and other experts.

"The kids in your kid's classroom are not part of your bubble, [so] there should be physical distancing," she said.

Etches also appealed to adults this week to keep their contacts to a minimum. "Adults are likely the source for children bringing it into the school," she said.

CHEO emergency room doctor Dayna Bell advised parents who are sending their kids back to school to have frank discussions with the other adults in their bubbles.

"You need to be able to say to that person, 'Hey, if my child picks up COVID at school and they give it to you, and you end up hospitalized, are we still going to be friends?" Bell suggested.

"Because if that situation isn't acceptable, then you know you can't be in a bubble together."

Is going back to school better for my child's mental health?

Dr. Catherine Horvath, a child psychologist, said she's concerned that children who suffer from anxiety, depression or learning issues will find it increasingly difficult to return to school the longer they stay home.

She said since schools closed in March, her young patients have reported a decrease in anxiety because "there's such a decrease in demands and expectations and things that make them anxious."

She said parents should broach the subject the same way they would approach a sex talk: make it age-appropriate, give only the facts and let them ask questions.

"We need to remember that a lot of that is our stress and not our children's stress  unless we make it their stress," she said.

Horvath said children who don't typically struggle with anxiety could benefit from returning to class, and said that's what she plans to do with her own kids.

Are school boards considering alternative classrooms spaces?

School boards said they're hoping to keep the learning environment as "familiar" as possible.

"There are operational challenges with moving spaces," said Williams-Taylor, adding that transporting students to locations outside the school would pose too great a challenge.

"We certainly are not looking to move to spaces that are outside of the school."

Will online learning be better than it was in the spring?

Online learning in the spring was an "emergency pivot," said Michelle Schira Hagerman, an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Education.

"I'm confident the online instructional modality will feel a little bit more predictable, a little bit more measured. There are systems now in place that weren't necessarily in place at scale when we had to pivot in March," she said.

The OCDSB said "clear schedules and clear expectations" will be in place with online learning.

"Having students understand when their tests are going to be, what the assessments are going to look like, is going to be certainly one of the other differences that we will see with online," said Camille Williams-Taylor, director of education with the OCDSB.

The Catholic board said it does not anticipate live-streaming classes.

"One of the things that our teachers unions have indicated to us in our dialogues is they do not want the classroom teacher responsible at the same time for instructing and supervising students at home and those in front of them," said Tom D'Amico with OCSB.

Can my children still see their grandparents if I'm sending them back to school?

Experts say this is an individual decision that depends on comfort levels and health status.

At least one epidemiologist we spoke with said he wouldn't be comfortable with it.

"I don't think I would at this point," said Deonandan. "Again, it all varies depending on the nature of the community load. If suddenly we're getting one or two cases per week in the community, then my confidence level goes up tremendously.

"But if we're in double digits per day, I'm confident about opening schools, but not around exposing my parents to potential lethal infection. So I'd be hesitant, but it doesn't mean that they can't visit the child, if the appropriate protections are in place, like face shields and face masks and distancing."

Is there reason to be optimistic?

Deonandan, who describes himself as an optimist, has a mantra to share.

"Don't let perfect be the enemy of good," he said. "We can deploy important strategies, and they may not work perfectly. But if enough of them work most of the time, then we have sufficient protection.

"It's like building fortifications against an invading army. You could build your castle, you could build your moat, you can build a big door, but either one of those things is not going to be perfect. But all of them in series may provide sufficient protection.

"So the mask wearing won't be perfect. Kids will fidget. That's fine. Plexiglas barriers between desks won't be perfect. Sometimes kids will look over them  but all those things, layered on top of each other, should offer sufficient protection," he said.

WATCH | Combining measures to widen protection
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle moved into their new family home in July 2020 and have "settled into the quiet privacy of their community". AFP/VNA Photo

LOS ANGELES Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have purchased and moved into a new family home in Santa Barbara, an affluent seaside city outside Los Angeles, according to US media reports.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex -- who quit frontline British royal duties this year -- were previously living in Meghan's hometown Los Angeles, where they became quickly embroiled in a legal battle with paparazzi over photos taken of their son Archie.

The pair "moved into their family home in July of this year" and have "settled into the quiet privacy of their community," a spokesperson said in a statement to AFP, without confirming the new location.

They "hope that this will be respected for their neighbors, as well as for them as a family," the spokesperson added.

According to People and Page Six, their new house is in Santa Barbara, a wealthy community 100 miles up the coast from Los Angeles which is also home to Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres.

"This is where they want to bring Archie up, where they hope he can have as normal a life as possible," an anonymous source told Page Six.

The source added: "Harry and Meghan never intended to make Los Angeles their home."

The pair filed a lawsuit last month in Los Angeles against paparazzi whom they accuse of taking pictures of their son without permission.

"The couple recently learned that someone is shopping photographs of their 14-month-old son, Archie, falsely claiming to have taken them on a 'recent' public outing 'in Malibu,'" the complaint, filed for invasion of privacy, said.

The snapshots were actually taken during "activities in the backyard of the residence, unbeknownst" to the couple, it said.

The couple were reportedly living at the Los Angeles home of media tycoon Tyler Perry at the time.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex relocated to California via Canada after announcing in January that they intended to quit royal life and "work to become financially independent."

Markle and Harry have spoken of their desire to "to do something of meaning, to do something that matters," in California, where they plan to launch a wide-ranging non-profit organization named Archewell.

In April, they worked with a charity to hand out meals to chronically ill people in Los Angeles during the coronavirus lockdown.

The couple are "intent on being of service" and seeing their new home "through the lens of philanthropy," Richard Ayoub, the charity's CEO, said at the time. AFP
Chinese yuan and U.S. dollar banknotes are seen behind an illuminated stock graph in this illustration taken Feb. 10, 2020. (Dado Ruvic/Illustration/ Reuters)

Chinese Banks Declare Compliance With US Sanctions on Hong Kong Officials

Amid the escalating standoff between the United States and China over Hong Kong, the power of U.S. sanctions is emerging. Chinese state-owned banks have announced their intent to cooperate with recent U.S. sanctions on Hong Kong officials in order to protect financing and access to overseas investments.

These banks are among the wealthiest in the world, many owned by the Chinese government.

They include the Bank of China Ltd., China Construction Bank Corp., and China Merchants Bank Co. At least one of these banks has suspended account activity with the 11 sanctioned Hong Kong officials, Bloomberg reported.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned 11 Hong Kong officials due to their roles in suppressing freedom of expression and assembly in Hong Kong. Sanctioned officials include Chief Executive Carrie Lam and Hong Kongs Police Commissioner Chris Tang. The preceding police commissioner, Stephen Lo, was also sanctioned.

The U.S. government called out Lam as directly responsible for implementing Beijings policies of suppression of freedom and democratic processes in its official sanction press release.

She responded on Facebook, denouncing the sanctions as redundant and mocking the U.S. government. By the way, my visa to the United States is valid until 2026. Since I dont want to go to this country, it seems that I can cancel it voluntarily Lam declared on her official page.

When the Chief Executive was questioned on her reaction to potential U.S. sanctions during a press conference, she responded she would merely laugh it off.

But Facebook said in a statement that it had taken steps to prevent the use of payments services for sanctioned officials. This includes using its advertising tools or any commercial activities.

Credit unions within the Hong Kong police force were found to be transferring billions of HKD in assets from foreign banks into Chinese banks to protect officers from sanctions. But even transfers to Chinese-owned banks may not save them.

Many of Chinas largest state-owned banks have announced their intention to comply with the U.S. sanctions on Hong Kong officials. Two of the four biggest state-owned commercial banks in China, Bank of China and China Construction Bank, said they will comply with U.S. sanctions, according to Bloombergs report.

Large foreign-based banks have also announced cooperation. Citigroup Inc. has actively taken steps to suspend accounts of Hong Kong clients under question amid the sanctions. HSBC, also announced its compliance to the U.S. sanctions in its company policy, despite its displays of allegiance to both the Chinese and Hong Kong government in past months.

HSBC, Citigroup, Bank of China, and China Construction Bank have not yet responded with comments.

The compliance of such influential financial institutions reveals the power of the U.S. dollar in international transactions, despite Chinas best efforts to establish the yuan as the dominant world currency through mass debt-strategies and Xis Belt and Road initiative.

Hong Kong is one of the worlds foremost financial centers, largely due to its autonomy, rule of law, and U.S. currency peg. U.S. currency dominates international finance. Aside from leading world GDP, around half of cross-border bank loans and international debt securities are denominated in U.S. dollars. Losing access to the U.S. dollar risks a large majority of any banks profit and the ability to continue as a credible international financial institution. It also risks Hong Kongs livelihood as a top international finance center.

Banks face another conundrum in their choice to comply with U.S. sanctions or Chinas National Security Law. They must comply to maintain access to U.S. currency. Yet by doing so, they break Chinas National Security Law in Hong Kong by cooperating with the United States.

The National Security Law criminalizes (pdf) any individual who aids a foreign country in imposing sanctions against Hong Kong or China. The minimum sentence is three years in prison, the maximum warrants life in prison. It remains to be seen whether banks will be targeted by the security law for abiding with U.S. sanctions against Hong Kong officials.
Michigan farmers say an emergency order requiring mandatory COVID-19 testing of farm workers violates the civil rights of the Latino community.

Individual farm employees and employers, as well as True Blue Berry Management, LLC and Smeltzer Orchards Co., LLC have filed a federal lawsuit in the Western District of Michigan.

The lawsuit states that migrant/seasonal workers and workers in the meat, poultry and egg processing industries are predominantly Latino.

The order clearly targets the Latino community, and the state has been really clear that theyve singled out this minority class, said Allison Eicher, an attorney for the Michigan Farm Bureau in a statement. No other group in the state is subject to mandatory testing for work except for nursing home workers.

Eicher went on to point out that if nursing home workers choose to not be tested, they can still work, just not around patients. But if a farmworker doesnt get tested, he or she cannot work until they provide a negative test.

Thats what is so shocking to the industry  its just a blatant targeting of migrant farmworkers, she said.

On Aug. 3, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Director Robert Gordon issued an emergency order requiring COVID-19 testing for agricultural and food processing employees.

The order requires all employers of migrant or seasonal workers with more than 20 employees on site at a time to test all workers. First, employers must test as a one-time baseline testing, then test all new workers prior to any in-person work, and finally test any worker with symptoms or exposure.

Migrant housing camps must also do a baseline test of all residents age 18 and over, test all new residents within 48 hours of arrival and quarantine new arrivals for 14 days, and test any resident with symptoms or exposure.

At the time, Gordon said in a statement, The men and women who work in our fields and food processing plants are at particular risk for COVID-19, and they need and deserve protection...Todays order will help to reduce the spread of COVID in communities across Michigan and reduce the pandemics disparate impact on Latinos.

Gordon pointed to 11 identified outbreaks in farms and food processing plants in Michigan and noted that Latinos are five percent of Michigans population, but represent 11 percent of the coronavirus cases where a persons ethnicity is known.

In a statement, Eicher said these requirements target migrants, especially Latinos.

Ordering a small group of people to be tested, especially a minority group, and not ordering any other group of people to be tested, raises serious discrimination and equal protection concerns, she said.

MDHHS called the lawsuit meritless and an unfortunate use of valuable time in a difficult period in a statement.

The purpose of requiring testing in these places is to save lives, MDHHS said.

The order applies regardless of race. The department is covering the costs of testing and offering housing and other supports to help both workers and their employers. We appreciate that many producers and processors are working with us to save lives and secure the food supply, and we urge farm industry leaders to join us, it said.

This isnt the only lawsuit against Whitmers administration by members of the agriculture industry. This week a northern Michigan orchard and market sued the administration in the Court of Claims asking that the court prevent any administrative action that would shut down its business for not following COVID-19 mitigation guidelines.

COVID-19 PREVENTION TIPS:

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

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

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

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued executive orders requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nosewhile in public indoor and crowded outdoor spaces. See an explanation of what that means here.

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

For more data on COVID-19 in Michigan, visit https://www.mlive.com/coronavirus/data/.

More From MLive:

Window closing for Senate to weigh in on Whitmers Natural Resources Commission picks

6 cougar sightings confirmed in Michigan so far this year, DNR says

How Michigan scientists are using beach testing tools to find COVID-19 infections
Mennonite regional body considering cutting ties over LGBT issues

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A regional body of Mennonite Church USA has entered into a period of discernment over possibly leaving the denomination in part over LGBT issues.

The South Central Mennonite Conference opted to begin a process, known as Discovery 20.21, which began after the regional body held its July 25-26 online annual assembly.

In an overview of the process provided to congregations, South Central leadership explained that the third part of the three-year discernment came over LGBT issues.

We are in a time of moral discernment, theological realignments and changing affiliations in Mennonite Church USA, with the result that MC USA has significantly changed in its composition of churches and its theological orientation, explained the overview, as reported by Mennonite World Review on Wednesday.

The advocacy for the sanctification of same-sex relations in Mennonite Church USA, some pastors conducting same-sex covenant services with the approval of their area conferences and a few pastors living in same-sex relationships has brought us to a tipping point.

Howard Wagler, a former pastor and conference leader who will chair the Discovery Process, told MWR that it was not just the ideological direction of the church body that fueled the process.

The pull of culture toward a progressive side of a continuum has been part of, but not all of, why we are doing this, explained Wagler.

The specific reason for this is that we can be on mission and know that we are with congregations and are part of a network or conference that holds up like kinds of values.

The largest Mennonite denomination in the United States, Mennonite Church USA allows for regional bodies to determine their stance on LGBT issues.

Inclusion and the membership status of LGTBQ individuals varies by conference and congregation across MC USA. Discernment around this has been a cause of pain and disagreement, states the church body on its FAQ page.

Yes, there are LGBTQ Mennonites and LGBTQ-affirming Mennonite congregations. There are also Mennonite congregations who discern that same-sex marriage is sinful. A congregations website will often communicate if it is welcoming and affirming for people who are LGBTQ.

If they decide to leave the denomination, the South Central Conference would not be the first Mennonite regional body to split from the church body over LGBT issues.

In 2018, the Lancaster Mennonite Conference, formerly the largest regional body of Mennonite Church USA, left the denomination following their own three-year discernment process.

In the spring, three congregations opted to leave Mennonite Church Eastern Canada after the regional body voted to allow member churches to hold different views on LGBT issues.

We announce with great sadness Kingsfield-Clinton and Kingsfield-Zurich Mennonite Church, Living Water Christian Fellowship and Maple View Mennonite Church have left the MC Eastern Canada family, announced the church conference in May.

After a healthy conversation with leadership from each congregation, we mourn their leaving, and we bless and pray Gods best for each of them in their future ministry.
Montgomery County officials are turning to technology to help continue to slow the spread of COVID-19 after a month-long spike in cases across the state.

County commissioners approved the purchase of a fixed thermal camera system that will automatically check the temperatures of those entering county facilities. Funded through the $105 million federal CARES Act, the system will not exceed $500,000.

The sheriffs office is wanting to install them in the jail and facilities as well as the courthouses downtown and the justices of the peace offices, said Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security Executive Director Jason Millsaps.

Officials with the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office presented the system with a demonstration to the countys CARES Act Committee Millsaps told commissioners during a regular meeting Tuesday.

(The system) would allow us to make contact with the individual and determine whether they need to leave the building and reschedule their appointment, Millsaps explained.

Additionally, the court approved $350,000 of CARES Act funds for the MCOEM to continue to purchase personal protection equipment, gowns and testing supplies. Millsaps said the biggest need continues to be PPE since the county makes those items available to all first responding agencies across the county.

The demand for these things has slowed down but it has become more specialized, Millsaps said noting gowns are the highest in demand and hardest to find.

Currently, Millsaps said, the county has about 250,000 masks, 30,000 N95 masks and 1,500 gowns in its warehouse.

For the first time since July 28, county health officials were able to announce no new deaths related to COVID-19. Additionally, the county saw another drop in active cases from 1,280 to 1,234.

The total number of cases is now 6,864. The number of deaths remained at 95.

Total hospitalizations of both county and non-county residents dropped from 119 to 91 with 30 of those patients in critical care beds.

Testing is continuing at the Sterling Ridge Park and Ride in The Woodlands from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Friday. A valid form of identification is needed to be tested, and registration will be done on site.

The county is still offering its voucher testing program. To get a voucher, go to mchd-tx.org or mcphd-tx.org and click on the need to be tested link. Fill out the information. A voucher will be emailed. Once you have the voucher, make an appointment at your choice of testing centers and get tested.

The MCHD/MCPHD COVID-19 call center is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Call 936-523-5040.

cdominguez@hcnonline.com
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that he warned Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov against placing bounties on the heads of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, assuring him there would be an enormous price to pay.

If the Russians are offering money to kill Americans, or for that matter other Westerns as well, there will be an enormous price to pay. Thats what I shared with foreign minister Lavrov, Pompeo said during an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

I know our military has talked to their senior leaders as well. We wont brook that, we wont tolerate, Pompeo continued.

Reports broke in June that U.S. intelligence found that at least one American soldier, as well as a number of Afghan civilians, died as a result of alleged secret bounty payments that Russia offered Taliban militants to target U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Intelligence about the alleged bounty offerings by Russia was reportedly included in the presidents daily written intelligence briefing in February, but the White House claims Trump was not verbally briefed on the matter until the New York Timess June 26 report on the issue. The Times reported that some bounties as high as $100,000 were paid for each U.S. or allied troop killed.

The Washington Post said in a similar report that several American service-members died as a result of monetary rewards that a Russian military intelligence unit offered to terrorist militants to target U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan.

Pompeos warning to the Russian foreign minister reportedly came during a July 13 phone call that was officially held to discuss a separate topic, the possibility of meeting between the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

The secretary of state expressed Washingtons intense opposition to the bounty program but did not speak about the specific intelligence indicating that Russia paid Taliban fighters and other Afghanistan militants to kill U.S. service members.

Story continues

Last month, President Trump said he has never discussed the intelligence with Russian President Vladimir Putin despite several phone calls between the two heads of state since the intelligence was made known. Trump has said he was not briefed on the intelligence because there was not a consensus about its reliability within the intelligence community.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has been entrenched in negotiations with the Taliban and the Afghan government over a peace agreement that involves the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the region.

More from National Review
A man was hospitalized after a home invasion on the West Side Thursday morning.

San Antonio police were called to the 3100 block of Commerce around 2 a.m., after the victim said a man broke into his apartment and tried to rob him.

FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox

When the victim tried to protect himself, the suspect hit him in the head with a hatchet before fleeing from the scene, police said.

The man was taken to the hospital in serious condition.

Police are still searching for the suspect.

Taylor Pettaway is a breaking news and general assignment reporter for MySA.com | taylor.pettaway@express-news.net | @TaylorPettaway
Would you prefer the next Broncos ownership group include John Elway or Peyton Manning?

You voted:
On Wednesday, a top United States commander stated that several components of the Islamic State group were rebuilding themselves in western Syria. The area is a region where the US military has very limited visibility or presence.

Rising ISIS threat

General Frank McKenzie said that the Syria-controlled region to the west of the Euphrates River had conditions that were either as bad as or much worse than they were before the Islamic State rose to power. The official said that caution should be taken about the situation to avoid disastrous consequences.

According to AP News, McKenzie noted the terrorist group has continually operated with some degree of freedom. The general pointed out that the United States and allies have little confidence that the Syrian government will attempt to control the group situated in the area.

Syria's western region had historically been under the control of Russian-supported Syrian government troops. Meanwhile, the US and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have largely settled themselves in the nation's northern and eastern parts.

United States President Donald Trump praised the country's defeat of the Islamic State as one of its most significant achievements in the history of international security. The president had ordered the withdrawal of American forces from Syria's northern border near Turkey. The order was part of the decision to remove all US troops from the country.

However, several military leaders of the United States convinced him to keep military forces in the region to cooperate with the SDF and help safeguard oil fields from attacks by the Islamic State.

Also Read: Belarus Opposition Leader Flees Country Amid Rising Tension from 'Fraud' Election Results

Getting people out

Speaking from his US Central Command Office in Tampa during an online forum, McKenzie told the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) that the slow attempts to transfer people from Syrian refugee camps safely were further made complicated and challenging because of the coronavirus pandemic.

McKenzie added the difficulties contributed to the concerns of the radicalization of people within the refugee camps. Officials are concerned the camps could be breeding ground for potential recruits of Islamic State troops.

In northern Syria, the al-Hol camp houses over 70,000 people, with the majority being women and children. The citizens were displaced because of the raging civil war in the country and the fight against the Islamic State. Many people fled their homes as last year, the SDF, with the help of US troops, cleansed the last remaining remnants of the Islamic State, as reported by US News.

The USIP director for countering violent extremism, Leanne Erdberg Steadman, stated the key for people to abandon violence and have a chance for a successful future is getting them out of the camps.

Amid the rising tensions of the Islamic State in Syria, officials have announced that al-Hol has reported its first few cases of the deadly coronavirus pandemic, giving new problems for the suffering people to deal with.

General McKenzie said the threat of the coronavirus pandemic spreading among European allies and other countries within the region has made it much more difficult to send people in the camps back to their homes.

Related Article: United States to Acquire 100 Million Doses of Coronavirus Vaccine From Moderna

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A historic feat awaits James Anderson as England hope to clinch the series against Pakistan in the second Test starting in Southampton on Thursday. Anderson, who had a lacklustre opening game of the series has a chance to wipe it off and holds the potential to do it in some style. Anderson is 10 wickets away from becoming the only fast bowler in history to claim 600 Test wickets, and overall, only the fourth to the landmark.

That said, Andersons record at the Ageas Bowl isnt that flattering. Of his 154 Tests, Anderson has played only four at the venue, picking up 16 wickets with a best of 5/53 against India in 2014. In the previous two Tests Anderson played in Southampton, the fast bowler had figures of 3/62, 2/49 and 0/42 against the West Indies not too long ago. With two Tests left in Englands home summer, Anderson has four innings to get there.

READ | Sri Lanka, UAE kept as Indias back up for 2021 World T20: Report

Despite growing speculation regarding his career, Anderson has made it clear he is not contemplating retirement anytime soon. Anderson pointed out that although he is frustrated with his performance in Manchester, the 38-year-old quick is keen to get back in rhythm ahead of the second Test against Pakistan.

No, theres not, absolutely not [if he is considering his England future], Anderson said in a video posted by Sky sports. Its been a frustrating week for me personally because I have not bowled very well. I felt out of rhythm. Probably for the first time in ten years, probably got a little bit emotional on the field. Started getting frustrated, let that get to me a little bit and probably reminded me when I first started playing, when you actively get frustrated, little bit angry, try and start bowling quicker and quicker and that doesnt help on the field.

Anderson returned figures of 1/63 and went wicketless in the second innings during the first Test. One of his spells on the opening day in Manchester, in particular, was ordinary in which Babar Azam hit him for six boundaries off 24 balls. Besides, repeated injuries have also cast a shadow of doubt over the England greats future, who is the leading Test wicket-taker among fast bowlers.

Earlier this year, Anderson had said he was looking forward to playing the 2021 Ashes in Australia, expressing his eagerness to partner Stuart Broad. Injuries may have slowed him down a bit but Anderson has stuck to his promise and is keen to tour Australia next year, which promises to be a challenging assignment.
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Linkedin (Reuters) Sydney, Australia  Thu, August 13, 2020 11:06 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066db10e9 2 News China,Hong-Kong,travel Free

Hong Kong International Airport said on Thursday that passengers from mainland China would be able to transit through Hong Kong to other destinations from Aug. 15 until Oct. 15, in a boost for its dominant carrier Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd.

Transit in the other direction, inbound to mainland China, will remain banned at a time when China's aviation regulator has severely limited the number of international flights due to concerns over the spread of coronavirus.

That has caused ticket prices for those looking to return to China to soar.

Cathay will be the main beneficiary of the new policy, which the South China Morning Post reported was aimed at helping students resume studies at overseas universities, given rival Hong Kong Airlines flies only regionally in Asia.

Read also: China eases travel restrictions for Europeans

Cathay Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Ronald Lam said on Wednesday that opening mainland transit flights would improve its passenger volumes and that it could gear up at short notice to add flights.

He said one-third of Cathay's passengers were transiting the airport at present for connecting flights, down from around 40% to 50% before the pandemic when mainland passengers were allowed to transit in both directions.

Cathay on Wednesday reported a record first-half loss of HK$9.87 billion ($1.27 billion) and warned it did not expect a meaningful recovery in passenger demand for some time.
Liberty University names acting president; alumni group asks board to 'permanently remove' Falwell

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Liberty University in Virginia announced that its board has chosen an interim president to lead the school days after Jerry Falwell Jr. was asked to take an indefinite leave of absence from his roles as president and chancellor at the request of the board of trustees.

In a news release late Monday, Liberty announced that Jerry Prevo, who has served as chairman of the universitys board of trustees since 2003, will immediately assume the role of acting president.

Prevo, who was appointed by the boards executive committee, expects to work from the Lynchburg campus starting Aug. 17 and will step aside from his position on the board for the duration of the new role, according to the news release.

He recently retired from the Anchorage Baptist Temple, one of the largest churches in Alaska, as the senior pastor, according to the university.

Please pray for us as well as the Falwell family as we embark on our academic year and so we may continue to be united in our common purpose and our faith in Christ, Prevo said in the news release.

The move comes just days after Falwell agreed to take an indefinite leave of absence from his roles as president and chancellor of Liberty University at the request of the board of trustees.

Falwell had led the private evangelical university founded by his evangelist father, the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, for 13 years. In just over 10 years, the university has become the second-largest nonprofit university in the world and the second-largest private nonprofit university in the nation.

The board's request came days after Falwell expressed regret over posting a since-deleted photo of himself at a costume party on a yacht during his family's vacation. In the photo, Falwell wore a T-shirt and jeans that were unzipped to expose his abdomen and underwear. His right hand was around the waist of his wife's assistant, who was wearing a tank top and unzipped shorts, exposing her midriff.

He said in an interview with Lynchburg radio station WLNI that his wifes assistant is pregnant and couldnt get her pants zipped, and that he was imitating her, adding the photo was taken in good fun.

Ive apologized to everybody, and Ive promised my kids  Im going to try to be a good boy from here on out, he told the interviewer.

Falwell was holding a glass filled with a dark liquid in the photo, which he said in the caption was just black watera prop only.

Cries of hypocrisy were prompt, with some pointing out that Liberty Universitys code of conduct prohibits students from consuming media that contains lewd lyrics, anti-Christian message, sexual content, nudity, pornography either on or off campus.

On Monday, a group of alumni calling themselves Save71 launched a website calling for the board to permanently remove Falwell and replace him with a responsible and virtuous Christian leader.

Liberty needs to repent of its sins before seeking redemption, the group posted on its website, adding that The Board of Trustees must acknowledge the damage President Falwell has done to Liberty and the hypocrisy and corruption that has soaked into parts of its culture.

The group clarified that their request "isn't just about one photo," citing a "pattern of behavior and toxic culture that trickled down from Libertys leadership into every area of the school."

In a statement to The Christian Post late Friday, Pastors Chris Williamson, Eric Carroll, and Maina Mwaura  the organizers of a June 1 letter to Falwell signed by 35 black pastors, ministry leaders and athletes who graduated from Liberty University and warned they'd stopped donating to the university because they disagreed with Falwell's political rhetoric and activism  applauded the board for requesting that Falwell step down.

"We believe the Board of Trustees made the right decision in asking Mr. Falwell to take a leave of absence, and we are praying for him, his immediate family, and our entire Liberty family during this season," they said. "First and foremost, it is our desire that Mr. Falwell would experience healing and restoration that only God can give. Liberty is a special place, and the God that we serve is a powerful God to lead the school into its next season. Liberty University deeply impacted us as students and we hope that its leadership can return to a focus of training 'young champions for Christ' with Biblical conviction for the Gospel and justice."
OKLAHOMA CITY, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- PANHANDLE OIL AND GAS INC., "Panhandle" or the "Company," (NYSE: PHX), today reported financial and operating results for the third quarter and nine months ended June 30, 2020.

Chad L. Stephens, President and CEO, commented, "Clearly the third quarter was challenging given the effects of the global pandemic on the economy and the energy markets. Our sales volumes were down as operators curtailed production and brought fewer wells online due to low commodity prices. While we have made significant strides in reducing costs in the quarter, it was not enough to offset lower revenue. In spite of these challenges, we managed to generate free cash flow which we used to further reduce debt. The energy sector is stabilizing as the rig count seems to have found a floor and operators are talking about bringing curtailed wells back on line and setting reasonable drilling plans going forward. The deal flow for mineral assets is also picking up, and we expect more opportunities to come to market in the second half of 2020. We will continue to focus on areas that we can control such as cost discipline, debt reduction and sourcing mineral acquisition opportunities, which we believe will create value for our shareholders in the long run."

SUMMARY OF RESULTS FOR THE PERIODS ENDED JUNE 30, 2020, AND SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

Total volumes sold decreased in the third quarter 2020 by 0.47 Bcfe, or 20%, and royalty volumes decreased by 0.16 Bcfe, or 16%, from the second quarter 2020, primarily due to timing of payments from operators as a higher number of new wells were paid in the second quarter compared to the third quarter.

Net loss in the third quarter 2020 was $3.6 million , or $0 .21 per share, as compared to net loss of $20.5 million , or $1.24 per share, in the second quarter 2020.

, or .21 per share, as compared to net loss of , or per share, in the second quarter 2020. Adjusted EBITDA (1) for the third quarter 2020 was $1.2 million , as compared to $2.4 million in the second quarter 2020, mainly due to 20% lower production volumes and 39% lower realized prices.

for the third quarter 2020 was , as compared to in the second quarter 2020, mainly due to 20% lower production volumes and 39% lower realized prices. Reduced debt from $35.4 million , as of Sept. 30, 2019 , to $30.0 million , as of June 30, 2020 . Net debt has been further reduced to approximately $26.9 million as of Aug. 11, 2020 .

, as of , to , as of . Net debt has been further reduced to approximately as of . Debt to adjusted EBITDA (TTM) ratio was 1.48x at June 30, 2020 .

. Subsequent to June 30, 2020 , the Company sold 5,925 open and non-producing net mineral acres for $793,617 with the proceeds applied toward further debt reduction.

, the Company sold 5,925 open and non-producing net mineral acres for with the proceeds applied toward further debt reduction. Total G&A decreased by $265,871 from the second quarter as a result of the Company's ongoing cost reduction efforts.

from the second quarter as a result of the Company's ongoing cost reduction efforts. Approved a payment of a one cent per share dividend payable on Sept. 11, 2020 , to stockholders of record on Aug. 27, 2020 .

(1) This is a non-GAAP measure. Refer to the Non-GAAP Reconciliation section.

OPERATING HIGHLIGHTS

























Third Quarter Ended



Third Quarter Ended



Nine Months Ended



Nine Months Ended



June 30, 2020



June 30, 2019



June 30, 2020



June 30, 2019

Mcfe Sold

1,903,752





2,618,369





6,555,378





7,804,424

Average Sales Price per Mcfe $ 1.85



$ 3.74



$ 2.80



$ 4.00

Oil Barrels Sold

55,138





96,065





214,159





253,265

Average Sales Price per Barrel $ 25.94



$ 57.50



$ 42.43



$ 55.01

Gas Mcf Sold

1,361,909





1,718,561





4,539,103





5,300,594

Average Sales Price per Mcf $ 1.36



$ 2.00



$ 1.73



$ 2.68

NGL Barrels Sold

35,169





53,903





121,887





164,040

Average Sales Price per Barrel $ 6.62



$ 15.33



$ 11.26



$ 18.88



FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS





























Third Quarter Ended



Third Quarter Ended



Nine Months Ended



Nine Months Ended





June 30, 2020



June 30, 2019



June 30, 2020



June 30, 2019

Working Interest Sales

$ 1,876,489



$ 6,659,237



$ 9,976,274



$ 20,164,713

Royalty Interest Sales

$ 1,641,072



$ 3,123,100



$ 8,352,743



$ 11,049,662

Oil, NGL and Natural Gas Sales

$ 3,517,561



$ 9,782,337



$ 18,329,017



$ 31,214,375



































Lease Bonuses and Rental Income

$ 22,996



$ 229,075



$ 572,787



$ 952,378

Total Revenue

$ 2,705,383



$ 16,342,394



$ 24,593,201



$ 50,307,601



































LOE per Mcfe

$ 0.60



$ 0.62



$ 0.59



$ 0.59

Transportation, Gathering and Marketing per Mcfe

$ 0.50



$ 0.58



$ 0.56



$ 0.59

Production Tax per Mcfe

$ 0.07



$ 0.19



$ 0.13



$ 0.20

G&A Expense per Mcfe

$ 1.00



$ 0.69



$ 0.96



$ 0.75

Interest Expense per Mcfe

$ 0.13



$ 0.20



$ 0.15



$ 0.20

DD&A per Mcfe

$ 1.29



$ 1.67



$ 1.34



$ 1.51

Total Expense per Mcfe

$ 3.59



$ 3.95



$ 3.73



$ 3.84



































Impairment

$ 358,826



$ -



$ 29,904,528



$ -

Net Income (Loss)

$ (3,555,215)



$ 4,604,236



$ (22,117,915)



$ 15,408,842

Adj. Pre-Tax Net Income (Loss) (1)

$ (1,536,925)



$ 4,024,933



$ 990,306



$ 14,039,317

Adjusted EBITDA (1)

$ 1,168,834



$ 8,934,653



$ 10,742,522



$ 27,411,853



































Cash Flow from Operations

$ 3,717,398



$ 5,271,897



$ 9,825,740



$ 14,332,951

CapEx - Drilling & Completing

$ 56,413



$ (810,043)



$ 196,168



$ 3,349,640

CapEx - Mineral Acquisitions

$ 50,000



$ 3,310,691



$ 10,304,016



$ 5,120,466



































Borrowing Base

















$ 32,000,000



$ 80,000,000

Debt

















$ 30,000,000



$ 41,500,000

Debt/Adjusted EBITDA (TTM) (1)



















1.48





1.26



































(1) This is a non-GAAP measure. Refer to the Non-GAAP Reconciliation section.

RESULTS OF THIRD QUARTER 2020 COMPARED TO THIRD QUARTER 2019

The Company recorded a third quarter 2020 net loss of $3,555,215, or $0.21 per share, as compared to net income of $4,604,236, or $0.28 per share, in the 2019 quarter. The decrease was principally the result of decreased oil, NGL and natural gas sales, loss on derivative contracts in the third quarter and decreased gain on asset sales, partially offset by a decrease in DD&A, transportation, gathering and marketing expenses, production taxes and changes in tax provision (benefit).

Oil, NGL and natural gas sales decreased $6,264,776, or 64%, for the 2020 quarter due to decreases in oil, NGL and natural gas prices of 55%, 57% and 32%, respectively, and decreases in oil, NGL and natural gas sales volumes of 43%, 35% and 21%, respectively.

Although production is down in all three product categories, it is notable that production is down for working interest volumes and slightly up for royalty interest volumes due to new royalty interest wells brought online, as compared to June 30, 2019. The primary factor for the oil production decrease is attributable to the Eagle Ford Shale working interest wells, where the natural decline on new wells brought online in March 2019 is coupled with recent delays in performing mechanical repairs due to poor economics related to low oil prices. Decreases are also attributable to the natural decline of the working interest production base. NGL production decline is attributable to curtailed production along with the natural decline of the working interest production base in liquid-rich gas areas of the STACK, SCOOP and Arkoma Stack. Natural gas volumes have decreased as a result of curtailments in response to market conditions in the STACK, SCOOP and Arkoma Stack, in addition to the natural decline of working interest production base in all the areas. New royalty interest production has increased, even though we have experienced reduced activity as a result of market conditions; this increase is primarily associated with mineral acquisitions and new wells brought online. While we cannot estimate the curtailed volumes or timing, we expect the deferred production to resume to normal rates as market conditions and prices improve.

The Company had a net loss on derivative contracts of $838,282 in the 2020 quarter as compared to a net gain of $2,313,195 in the 2019 quarter. During the 2020 quarter, oil and natural gas collars and fixed price swaps experienced an unfavorable change as NYMEX futures experienced an increase in price during the quarter in relation to their previous position to the collars and the fixed prices of the swaps at the beginning of the 2020 quarter.

The 9% decrease in total cost per Mcfe in the 2020 quarter relative to the 2019 quarter was primarily driven by a decrease in DD&A. DD&A decreased $1,918,475 or 44% in the 2020 quarter to $1.29 per Mcfe as compared to $1.67 per Mcfe in the 2019 quarter. $1,193,410 of the decrease was a result of production decreasing 27% in the 2020 quarter. Also, DD&A decreased $725,065 as a result of a $0.38 decrease in the DD&A rate per Mcfe due to impairments taken at the end of fiscal 2019 and the 2020 second quarter, which lowered the basis of the assets. The rate decrease was partially offset by lower oil, NGL and natural gas prices utilized in the reserve calculations during the 2020 quarter, as compared to the 2019 quarter, shortening the economic life of wells.

RESULTS OF NINE MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2020, COMPARED TO NINE MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2019

The Company recorded a nine-month net loss of $22,117,915, or $1.34 per share, in the 2020 period, as compared to net income of $15,408,842, or $0.92 per share, in the 2019 period. The decrease was principally the result of increased provision for impairment (non-cash), decreased oil, NGL and natural gas sales, decreased gains on derivative contacts and decreased gain on asset sales, partially offset by decreased lease operating expenses, decreased transportation, gathering and marketing expenses, decreased production taxes, decreased DD&A and changes in our tax provision (benefit).

Oil, NGL and natural gas sales decreased $12,885,358, or 41%, for the 2020 period due to decreases in oil, NGL and natural gas prices of 23%, 40% and 35%, respectively, and decreases in oil, NGL and natural gas sales volumes of 15%, 26% and 14%, respectively.

Total production decreased 16% in the 2020 period, as compared to the 2019 period. This decrease for the 2020 nine-month period, was the result of Panhandle electing not to participate with a working interest on 18 wells proposed on its mineral and leasehold acreage, as well as the factors for the third quarter 2020 results discussed above.

The 3% decrease in total cost per MCFE in the 2020 period, relative to the 2019 period, was primarily driven by a decrease in DD&A as noted above.

OPERATIONS UPDATE

During the quarter ended June 30, 2020, we converted 48 gross/0.22 net wells in progress to producing wells. Our inventory of wells in progress decreased to 85 gross wells and 0.44 net wells, as drilling has slowed down due to the current pricing environment. Permits outstanding decreased due to current economics.













Bakken/













































SCOOP/



Three



Arkoma





































STACK



Forks



Stack



Permian



Fayetteville



Other



Total

Gross Wells in Progress on PHX Acreage:























































As of 3/31/20



91





2





4





5





-





16





118

Net Change



-22





-





-3





-1













-7





-33

As of 6/30/20



69





2





1





4





-





9





85

Net Wells in Progress on PHX Acreage:























































As of 3/31/20



0.27





-





0.01





0.15





-





0.07





0.50

Net Change



-0.04













-0.01





-0.01





-





-





-0.06

As of 6/30/20



0.23





-





-





0.14





-





0.07





0.44

Gross Active Permits on PHX Acreage:























































As of 3/31/20



39





13





10





-





-





16





78

Net Change



-1





-2





-1





-













-3





-7

As of 6/30/20



38





11





9





-





-





13





71



























































As of 6/30/20:























































Rigs Present on PHX Acreage



-





-





-





-





-





-





-

Rigs Within 2.5 Miles of PHX Acreage



10





4





-





1





-





-





15



Leasing Activity

During the third quarter of fiscal 2020, Panhandle leased 120 net mineral acres for an average bonus payment of $188 per net mineral acre and an average royalty of 19%.













Bakken/













































SCOOP/



Three



Arkoma





































STACK



Forks



Stack



Permian



Fayetteville



Other



Total

During Three Months Ended 6/30/20:























































Net Mineral Acres Leased



36





-





44





-





-





40





120

Average Bonus per Net Mineral Acre

$ 125





-



$ 300





-





-



$ 25



$ 188

Average Royalty per Net Mineral Acre

22%





-



19%



-





-



13%



19%



ACQUISITION AND DIVESTITURE UPDATE

During the third quarter of fiscal 2020, Panhandle did not purchase any net mineral acres or sell any net mineral acres.

THIRD QUARTER EARNINGS CALL

Panhandle will host a conference call to discuss third quarter results at 5:00 p.m. EDT on Aug. 13, 2020. Management's discussion will be followed by a question and answer session with investors. To participate on the conference call, please dial 844-602-0380 (domestic) or 862-298-0970 (international). A replay of the call will be available for seven days after the call. The number to access the replay of the conference call is 877-481-4010 and the PIN for the replay is 35580.

FINANCIALS Statements of Operations













Three Months Ended June 30,



Nine Months Ended June 30,



2020



2019



2020



2019

Revenues:









Oil, NGL and natural gas sales $ 3,517,561



$ 9,782,337



$ 18,329,017



$ 31,214,375

Lease bonuses and rental income

22,996





229,075





572,787





952,378

Gains (losses) on derivative contracts

(838,282)





2,313,195





2,415,401





5,026,123

Gain on asset sales

3,108





4,017,787





3,275,996





13,114,725





2,705,383





16,342,394





24,593,201





50,307,601

Costs and expenses:





























Lease operating expenses

1,147,948





1,619,690





3,871,818





4,639,749

Transportation, Gathering and Marketing

956,653





1,529,270





3,696,282





4,601,959

Production taxes

134,249





488,779





835,284





1,565,038

Depreciation, depletion and amortization

2,464,568





4,383,043





8,793,787





11,820,705

Provision for impairment

358,826





-





29,904,528





-

Interest expense

241,191





526,677





958,429





1,551,831

General and administrative

1,908,790





1,809,439





6,306,479





5,881,432

Other expense (income)

(73,687)





66,260





(44,551)





82,045





7,138,538





10,423,158





54,322,056





30,142,759

Income (loss) before provision (benefit) for income taxes

(4,433,155)





5,919,236





(29,728,855)





20,164,842

































Provision (benefit) for income taxes

(877,940)





1,315,000





(7,610,940)





4,756,000

































Net income (loss) $ (3,555,215)



$ 4,604,236



$ (22,117,915)



$ 15,408,842

































































































Basic and diluted earnings (loss) per common share $ (0.21)



$ 0.28



$ (1.34)



$ 0.92

































Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding:





























Common shares

16,403,243





16,515,498





16,375,736





16,646,828

Unissued, directors' deferred compensation shares

141,799





170,066





152,500





183,206





16,545,042





16,685,564





16,528,236





16,830,034

































Dividends declared per share of





























common stock and paid in period $ 0.01



$ 0.04



$ 0.09



$ 0.12



Balance Sheets













June 30, 2020



Sept. 30, 2019

Assets













Current assets:













Cash and cash equivalents $ 2,025,081



$ 6,160,691

Oil, NGL and natural gas sales receivables (net of

2,183,216





4,377,646

allowance for uncollectable accounts)













Refundable income taxes

1,640,350





1,505,442

Derivative contracts, net

1,819,977





2,256,639

Other

490,697





177,037

Total current assets

8,159,321





14,477,455

















Net properties and equipment, based on successful efforts method of accounting

83,038,001





111,427,021

Investments

113,408





205,076

Derivative contracts, net

-





237,505

Deferred income taxes, net

181,993





-

Other, net

231,387





297,890

Total assets $ 91,724,110



$ 126,644,947

















Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity













Current liabilities:













Accounts payable $ 724,289



$ 665,160

Accrued liabilities and other

1,485,708





2,433,466

Short-term debt

2,000,000





-

Total current liabilities

4,209,997





3,098,626

















Long-term debt

28,000,000





35,425,000

Deferred income taxes

-





5,976,007

Asset retirement obligations

2,871,603





2,835,781

Derivative contracts, net

140,466





-

















Stockholders' equity:













Class A voting common stock, $0.01666 par value; 24,000,500













shares authorized; 16,897,306 issued at June 30, 2020, and













Class A voting common stock, $0.01666 par value; 24,000,000













shares authorized; 16,897,306 issued at Sept. 30, 2019

281,509





281,509

Capital in excess of par value

3,375,400





2,967,984

Deferred directors' compensation

1,829,786





2,555,781

Retained earnings

58,244,355





81,848,301





63,731,050





87,653,575

Less treasury stock, at cost; 483,588 shares at June 30,













2020, and 558,051 shares at Sept. 30, 2019

(7,229,006)





(8,344,042)

Total stockholders' equity

56,502,044





79,309,533

Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 91,724,110



$ 126,644,947



Condensed Statements of Cash Flows







Nine months ended June 30,



2020



2019

Operating Activities



Net income (loss) $ (22,117,915)



$ 15,408,842

Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided













by operating activities:













Depreciation, depletion and amortization

8,793,787





11,820,705

Impairment of producing properties

29,904,528





-

Provision for deferred income taxes

(6,158,000)





5,150,000

Gain from leasing of fee mineral acreage

(567,975)





(951,832)

Proceeds from leasing of fee mineral acreage

582,458





967,337

Net (gain) loss on sale of assets

(3,258,994)





(13,114,725)

Directors' deferred compensation expense

184,188





197,820

Total (gain) loss on derivative contracts

(2,415,401)





(5,026,123)

Cash receipts (payments) on settled derivative contracts

3,230,034





(1,099,402)

Restricted stock awards

619,812





606,232

Other

3,718





15,848

Cash provided (used) by changes in assets and liabilities:













Oil, NGL and natural gas sales receivables

2,194,430





1,597,667

Other current assets

(121,635)





(859,258)

Accounts payable

31,755





3,270

Income taxes receivable

(134,908)





(476,846)

Other non-current assets

6,544





6,949

Accrued liabilities

(950,686)





86,467

Total adjustments

31,943,655





(1,075,891)

Net cash provided by operating activities

9,825,740





14,332,951

















Investing Activities













Capital expenditures

(196,168)





(3,349,640)

Acquisition of minerals and overrides

(10,304,016)





(5,120,466)

Investments in partnerships

-





(1,648)

Proceeds from sales of assets

3,457,500





13,114,969

Net cash provided (used) by investing activities

(7,042,684)





4,643,215

















Financing Activities













Borrowings under debt agreement

6,061,725





15,053,345

Payments of loan principal

(11,486,725)





(24,553,345)

Purchase of treasury stock

(7,635)





(6,465,186)

Payments of dividends

(1,486,031)





(2,013,005)

Net cash provided (used) by financing activities

(6,918,666)





(17,978,191)

















Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

(4,135,610)





997,975

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period

6,160,691





532,502

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $ 2,025,081



$ 1,530,477

















Supplemental Schedule of Noncash Investing and Financing Activities













Additions and revisions, net, to asset retirement obligations $ 4



$ 27,782

















Gross additions to properties and equipment $ 10,335,534



$ 8,149,347

Net (increase) decrease in accounts payable for properties













and equipment additions

164,650





320,759

Capital expenditures and acquisitions $ 10,500,184



$ 8,470,106



Derivative Contracts as of Aug. 11, 2020





























Period

Product

Volume Mcf/Bbl



Swap Price



Collar Average

Floor Price



Collar Average

Ceiling Price

2020

Natural Gas



469,500











$ 2.30



$ 2.98

2020

Natural Gas



414,500



$ 2.68

















2021

Natural Gas



2,424,500











$ 2.30



$ 3.00

2021

Natural Gas



1,014,500



$ 2.69

















2022

Natural Gas



202,500











$ 2.30



$ 3.02

2022

Natural Gas



125,500



$ 2.70























































2020

Crude Oil



21,500











$ 45.19



$ 52.55

2020

Crude Oil



50,000



$ 58.02

















2021

Crude Oil



43,500











$ 36.69



$ 44.39

2021

Crude Oil



96,000



$ 37.00

















2022

Crude Oil



13,000











$ 36.81



$ 44.62



Non-GAAP Reconciliation

This news release includes certain "non-GAAP financial measures" under the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Regulation G. These non-GAAP measures are calculated using GAAP amounts in our financial statements.

Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income (loss) plus interest expense, provision for impairment, depreciation, depletion and amortization of properties and equipment, including amortization of other assets, provision (benefit) for income taxes and unrealized (gains) losses on derivative contracts. We have included a presentation of adjusted EBITDA because we recognize that certain investors consider adjusted EBITDA a useful means of measuring our ability to meet our debt service obligations and evaluating our financial performance. Adjusted EBITDA has limitations and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for net income, operating income, cash flow from operations or other consolidated income or cash flow data prepared in accordance with GAAP. Because not all companies use identical calculations, this presentation of adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to a similarly titled measure of other companies. The following table provides a reconciliation of net income (loss) to adjusted EBITDA for the periods indicated.



Third Quarter Ended



Third Quarter Ended



Nine Months Ended



Nine Months Ended



June 30, 2020



June 30, 2019



June 30, 2020



June 30, 2019

Net Income (Loss) $ (3,555,215)



$ 4,604,236



$ (22,117,915)



$ 15,408,842

Plus:





























Unrealized (gains) losses on derivatives

2,537,404





(1,894,303)





814,633





(6,125,525)

Income Tax Expense (Benefit)

(877,940)





1,315,000





(7,610,940)





4,756,000

Interest Expense

241,191





526,677





958,429





1,551,831

DD&A

2,464,568





4,383,043





8,793,787





11,820,705

Impairment

358,826





-





29,904,528





-

Adjusted EBITDA $ 1,168,834



$ 8,934,653



$ 10,742,522



$ 27,411,853



Adjusted Pre-Tax Net Income (Loss) Reconciliation

Adjusted pre-tax net income (loss) is defined as net income (loss) plus provision for impairment, provision (benefit) for income taxes and unrealized (gains) losses on derivative contracts. We have included a presentation of adjusted pre-tax net income (loss) because we recognize that certain investors consider adjusted pre-tax net income (loss) a useful means of evaluating our financial performance. Adjusted pre-tax net income (loss) has limitations and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for net income, operating income, cash flow from operations or other consolidated income or cash flow data prepared in accordance with GAAP. Because not all companies use identical calculations, this presentation of adjusted pre-tax net income (loss) may not be comparable to a similarly titled measure of other companies. The following table provides a reconciliation of net income (loss) to adjusted pre-tax net income (loss) for the periods indicated.



Third Quarter Ended



Third Quarter Ended



Nine Months Ended



Nine Months Ended



June 30, 2020



June 30, 2019



June 30, 2020



June 30, 2019

Net Income (Loss) $ (3,555,215)



$ 4,604,236



$ (22,117,915)



$ 15,408,842

Plus:





























Impairment

358,826





-





29,904,528





-

Unrealized (gains) losses on derivatives

2,537,404





(1,894,303)





814,633





(6,125,525)

Income Tax Expense (Benefit)

(877,940)





1,315,000





(7,610,940)





4,756,000

Adjusted Pre-Tax Net Income (Loss) $ (1,536,925)



$ 4,024,933



$ 990,306



$ 14,039,317



Panhandle Oil and Gas Inc. (NYSE: PHX) Oklahoma City-based, Panhandle Oil and Gas Inc. is an oil and natural gas mineral company with a strategy to proactively pursue the acquisition of additional minerals in our core areas of focus. Panhandle owns approximately 258,000 net mineral acres principally located in Oklahoma, North Dakota, Texas, New Mexico and Arkansas. Approximately 71% of this mineral count is unleased and undeveloped. Additional information on the Company can be found at www.panhandleoilandgas.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Words such as "anticipates," "plans," "estimates," "believes," "expects," "intends," "will," "should," "may" and similar expressions may be used to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not statements of historical fact and reflect Panhandle's current views about future events. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements relating to: our future financial and operating results; our ability to execute our business strategies; estimations and the respective values of oil, NGL and natural gas reserves; the level of production on our properties and the future expenses associated therewith; projections and volatility of future realized oil and natural gas prices; planned capital expenditures associated with our mineral, leasehold and non-operated working interests; statements concerning anticipated cash flow and liquidity; and our strategy and other plans and objectives for future operations. Although Panhandle believes the expectations reflected in these and other forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance they will prove to be correct. Such forward-looking statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause the results to differ materially from those expected by the Company's management. Information concerning these risks and other factors can be found in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, available on the Company's website or the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date hereof, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update the forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE PANHANDLE OIL AND GAS INC.

Related Links

http://www.panhandleoilandgas.com


In the past, we might have criticised the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for being a repository of party political hacks, but we are hardly alone in that assessment.

Now we can report some brighter news. The tribunal, which independently reviews government decisions, has sent out this missive to Melbourne-based staff: "In and amongst the doom and gloom that stage four had brought us, what could be better than a trivia afternoon for those doing it tough in the Melbourne AAT offices?"

Denis Dragovic will act as quizmaster at the AAT trivia afternoon.

Presumably that will be the easiest question to answer at the staff jolly, scheduled for Friday week, somewhat cheekily for an organisation not known for its speed, during work hours. But when has the legal profession ever been productive on a Friday afternoon?

The quiz master is honorary fellow at the University of Melbourne and commentator about town, Denis Dragovic (fee undisclosed). "Special quiz masters" for the event are AAT deputy president Stephanie Forgie and registry manager Angela DallEst.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 23:54:32|Editor: huaxia

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a speech regarding the new measures that will be taken to fight the coronavirus in Jerusalem on March 14, 2020. (Alex Kolomoisky/JINI /Handout via Xinhua)

Israel and UAE have agreed to normalize ties following U.S.-brokered talks.

JERUSALEM, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred on Thursday to reports on a peace agreement achieved between his country and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and said it's "a historic day."

Israel and the UAE have agreed to normalize ties following U.S.-brokered talks, according to local media reports.

U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter that a "historic peace agreement" was achieved between the two countries.

Netanyahu re-tweeted Trump's remarks, and wrote "A historic day," without providing further details. 
GAYLORD, MI  A former Michigan teacher will spend 10 to 15 years in prison for sexually assaulting a student in 2006.

David Wayne Beckner, 51, pled guilty to three counts of third degree criminal sexual conduct on March 2. He was sentenced in the 46th Circuit Court in Otsego County on Aug. 11.

Beckner was investigated in 2013 for a relationship with a 16-to-17-year-old female student that allegedly occurred when he was a teacher at the Grace Baptist Christian School in Gaylord from September of 2004 until June of 2007, but the Otsego County prosecutor at the time declined to issue any charges.

Beckner eventually moved to Morgantown, West Virginia. Michigan State Police resumed their investigation of Beckner after they were contacted in December 2018.

Based on the previously gained information and the continued investigation, detectives presented the case to Otsego County Prosecutor Brendan Curran, who reviewed the case and issued a felony warrant for Beckner.

Beckner must also pay fines and court costs as part of his sentence.
A boy has been rescued by authorities after spending two years in an animal shed. The victim, a 12-year-old boy in Nigeria, is starved for two years and lived off of goat feed while his cruel father and three step-mothers lived in comfort with his 17 siblings.

Starved and chained

On August 9, an unnamed source tipped off a team of human rights lawyers that led them to an animal shed, where they found the starving boy, barely able to stand, as reported by The DailyMail.

According to The Sun, the 12-year-old boy was tied to a wooden pillar and he had been reportedly living among chickens and goats for two years.

Hamza Attahiru Wala, the head of the rescue team, said that the boy's family, including his father and his three step-mothers, were found living in comfort inside the home.

Also Read: Newly-Released Body Cam Footage of 8-year-old Boy Arrested by Police in 2018 Draws Flak Online

The boy, whose mother is said to have died two years ago, was immediately rushed to a hospital in Birnin Kebbi, where he is being looked after in intensive care due to malnutrition and dehydration.

The Public Relations Officer of the rescue team, DSP Nafi'u Abubakar, said that their men have arrested the father and the three step-mothers for allegedly chaining the boy for two years.

Abubakar said that their men arrested the suspects on August 9 in the Badariya area of Birnin Kebbi Local Government, and the boy is at Sir Yahaya Memorial Hospital as the investigation is still ongoing to unravel the circumstances behind chaining the boy in animal stall for that time.

An elder brother of the boy told journalists that the victim suffered from epilepsy and the family chained him to the post to stop him from wandering around and going missing.

The brother said that the victim was only chained up in the morning, according to Sun Nigeria, insisting that he sold his house and car to fund the epilepsy treatment of his brother.

Similar case

In 2019, a circus promoter couple is accused of chaining, abusing and starving their 12-year-old son before he died in Indiana. The suspects, 33-year-old Luis Posso, and his wife, 26-year-old Dayan Median Flores, were charged with felony neglect of a child.

The charges were filed after the victim, Eduardo, died after he was rushed to a local hospital in Bloomington, according to a statement from the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.

Eduardo was Posso's son and Flores' stepson. Three other children in Posso and Flores's care, who are healthy, were placed with child protective services, according to NBC News.

Posso and Flores work as promoters for a circus that tours around the United States, and they were staying with all four children at a motel in Monroe County. After the death of Eduardo, detectives searched the motel room and that was where they found a box of restraints, including a dog collar with shocks.

Cellphone video showed Eduardo restrained in the bathtub, while the whole family, including the other children, came and went without acknowledging him. An image obtained by WTHR shows chains among the restrains used on the victim.

Posso and Flores denied starving the boy but admitted that they physically abused him because he acted up more than the other kids. Both are now in jail and are facing murder charges.

Related Article: 30-Year-Old Corpse Discovered in Basement of Abandoned Historical Mansion

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A new Department of Labor report shows 963,000 Americans filed for unemployment last week, ending a 20-week streak of jobless claims that topped 1 million as the pandemic has ravaged the economy.

The drop below 1 million, while a hopeful sign for a beleaguered economy, still represents a staggering number of newly jobless people.

On the one hand, thats good, because it means that the recovery is progressing slowly, said Daniel Zhao, a senior economist at Glassdoor, but it does serve as a stark reminder that the level of claims is still historically elevated.

Even as virus-related restrictions ease, jobs remain scarce, and those that do exist can carry significant risk. The millions still collecting unemployment dont have a lot of options, and the future of their benefits is in turmoil.

John Blanchard

A federal program to supplement state benefits with an extra $600 a week expired in July, and Congress remains at a standstill about whether and how to extend these benefits. That extra money kept both the unemployed and the larger economy afloat, as it allowed people to keep paying rent and continue spending, economists said.

President Trump signed an executive order Saturday that would add back $400 a week if states pitch in a quarter of the money, but experts arent sure this plan is even feasible.

Its completely unclear what the rules are, how you would use them, how a state would participate or who would qualify, said Jesse Rothstein, a professor of economics at UC Berkeley. Even if these questions were answered, he said, it would take several weeks or more to start getting payments out through overtaxed state systems like Californias.

The payments from the executive order would not simply be an extension of the $600 pandemic unemployment compensation, experts explained, because they wouldnt come from the same fund. States would have to set up a separate system to distribute the payments  a process that would take several weeks at best.

I dont think people realize exactly how unworkable it is, said Michele Evermore, a senior policy analyst at the left-leaning National Unemployment Law Project. She explained that guidelines for how to administer the money havent even been released yet, while the jobless are led to believe that it could be up and running just like the previous benefits were. I just think its heinously irresponsible to lie to unemployed people that way.

On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom said that California does not have the matching funds required by the executive order, which he estimated would cost the state $700 million per week.

John Blanchard

Californias new claims also dipped slightly this week, with 213,482 initial filings. But the state makes up about 22% of all new claims in the U.S., even though it has only 11% or so of the nations labor force, according to Michael Bernick, former head of Californias Employment Development Department and now a lawyer at Duane Morris in San Francisco.

When the pandemic hit in mid-March, Californias share of the nations claims was about 20%. Through April and May, that number leveled out, hovering around 12%. But since early June, its been steadily trending upward.

Bernick attributes the discrepancy to Californias restrictions on business activity and gatherings.

The issue of reopening the economy is an emotionally charged one in California  with strong opinions on both sides, he wrote in an email. But todays numbers continue to show that only some form of reopening will decrease the layoffs.

Since mid-March, California has paid out $63.9 billion in benefits, the Employment Development Department said Thursday.

In that period, more than 56 million people nationwide have filed for regular unemployment, and 15.5 million people are currently collecting it, a figure known as continued claims. The high level of job destruction could mean lasting damage to the economy, according to economists.

The continued claims number represents structural damage in the economy or job market, said Bob Eyler, a professor of economics at Sonoma State University. The more that sort of flatlines at a relatively high historic level, the less confident businesses are going to be to reopen.

Theres still a long way to go before we return to an economic normal, Zhao said.

States continue to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of unemployment claims every week, which has led to delayed or missed payments  something that Californians are acutely aware of, Evermore said.

Veronica Ronchi works  or worked  in the food service industry. After losing a job in 2019, she started working as a consultant and was booked to run corporate events for Google, Facebook and Apple scheduled from March on. With these plans in place, she stopped filing for benefits.

But when all of those events started to get canceled, she realized shed have to file for unemployment once more.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

For the first time in my whole life, I found myself depending on some institutional support, said Ronchi, who moved to the U.S. from Italy 12 years ago.

But that support has not come through. Even though her claims have been approved every week, she has yet to receive any money from the EDD. Shes been trying to contact the department to ask why, but hasnt been able to reach a real person and hasnt ever heard back. She said she called every day for 40 days, waiting on hold for two hours every morning to get nothing, she said.

It seems I have no options, she said.

For now, shes been subsisting on her savings while she looks for a new job.

Im grateful for being able to survive, but I dont know how many other hundreds of thousands of people are not surviving, she said. Shes single and lives by herself, but she said she could literally be the mom of five kids, and no one would care.

Even with the economy slowly reopening, finding a job might still be difficult for Ronchi, who lives in San Franciscos Mission District. Job openings in the central Bay Area are down 32% compared with last year, which is quite a bit worse than the rest of the country, according to Zhao.

Zhao said that this could be the result of people moving out of the expensive region. That in turn means less consumer spending, which makes it more difficult for local businesses to survive.

Unfortunately, the amount of jobs weve looked to get back have not been high enough to turn the corner and ease people off of the higher level of benefits, Eyler added. That can slow down recovering the economy.

Ronchi is worried that if her benefits never come through and she cant find a new job, shell have to return to Italy.

Having to go home because my state and new country cannot even support me for six months is just ridiculous. Its just ridiculous, she said.

Danielle Echeverria is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: danielle.echeverria@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @DanielleEchev
The graves were attacked on Monday night or early on Tuesday

A Sinn Fein MP has hit out after vandals damaged 19 war graves at Belfast City Cemetery.

The PSNI believes the gravestones were targeted some time between 7pm on Monday and 1pm on Tuesday.

The force issued an appeal for anyone with information to get in contact.

PSNI Inspector Andrew McConville said: "Damage to any grave is absolutely despicable. A graveyard is a place where people come to pay their respects.

"This behaviour and the destruction of graves will have a significant impact on individuals, families and communities.

"We have launched an investigation but need help from the community to bring those responsible before the courts."

The cemetery, at the junction of the Falls and Whiterock roads in the west of the city, is maintained by Belfast City Council.

Paul Maskey, the Sinn Fein MP for the area, condemned those behind the latest desecration of graves at the cemetery.

"This is absolutely disgusting behaviour and it's totally wrong that some people feel the need to go and damage the graves of anyone," he said.

"Graveyards are a place of sanctuary for people to go and pay respects to their loved ones.

"I'm sure those behind this wouldn't like to see this sort of damage happening to their own relatives' graves, so I would call on those responsible to stop this type of activity.

"In my view, they are absolutely pathetic and I don't know what reason or kick they get out of it."

West Belfast People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll also hit out at the vandals.

"I totally condemn the attacks on grave headstones," he said.

"Graveyards should be a place for people to mourn and express sorrow for lost loved ones.

"They also offer people the chance to learn about the history of our city and communities, as is the case with the war graves.

"These attacks are pointless and offer nothing to people in west Belfast. I would strongly appeal to those involved in the attacks to cease from doing so."

Police urged anyone who saw any suspicious activity in the City Cemetery from Monday evening through to 1pm on Tuesday, or who has information that could assist the investigation, to contact officers on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference 829 11/08/20.

Information can also be provided anonymously to the Crimestoppers charity via the telephone number 0800 555 111.

Belfast City Cemetery contains a plot with 274 Commonwealth war graves containing personnel who served in the Second World War and 296 from the First World War.

In recent years graves at the cemetery have been the target of repeated anti-social behaviour and attacks.

Last October damage was caused to 12 Commonwealth war graves in two separate attacks.

Two months later the Commonwealth War Graves Commission revealed that damage caused to 26 graves in the last year would cost almost 17,000 to repair.

In 2016 13 Jewish burial plots were also vandalised.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 05:57:39|Editor: huaxia

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"Unilateralism is a one-way train heading to a dead end," a Chinese envoy said. "We should give stronger support to the UN and better meet challenges and pursue common development through multilateral cooperation."



UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Wednesday warned against unilateralism in responses to COVID-19, branding it as "a one-way train heading to a dead end."

There is no doubt that COVID-19 has brought tremendous impact and challenges to the world, said Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations. "However, we have every reason to believe that humankind will eventually prevail and make the world a better place."

To make that happen, he said, the international community must be united and uphold multilateralism.

Countries are dependent on each other and have a shared future. No one can artificially sever the ties that connect them. Unilateralism is a one-way train heading to a dead end, Zhang told an open debate of the Security Council on pandemics and the challenges of sustaining peace.

"We should give stronger support to the UN and better meet challenges and pursue common development through multilateral cooperation."

Local people greet members of the third Chinese medical team with an elbow bump instead of handshake as the medics arrive at Milan Malpensa Airport in Milan, Italy, March 25, 2020. (Xinhua)

Zhang stressed the need to uphold justice and the rule of law.

"International law and the norms of international relations are important guarantees for international fairness and justice. All countries should honor their commitments and fulfill due responsibilities and obligations. We cannot allow the practice of power politics, bullying and exceptionalism to take the world back to an age of the jungle."

He called for respect for science and support for technological progress.

Advances in science and technology are the common pursuit of humankind. Everyone is entitled to a better life. So are those in developing countries, said Zhang.

The practice of putting up artificial barriers to hinder other countries' scientific and technological development, and to interfere with market competition for selfish gains is immoral, irresponsible, and against one's own interests, he said. "It is our sincere hope that UN members and the international community will act together, shoulder responsibilities together, share the benefits together, and jointly build a better future for all." 
Gov. Gavin Newsom said this week that California couldnt support President Trumps attempted extension of supplemental employment payments by fiat. But it didnt take a West Coast Democrat to cast a vote of no confidence on Trumps half-baked diktat.

Mike DeWine, Ohios Republican governor, was noncommital about his states ability to pay for the extended unemployment insurance Trump promised, arguing correctly that negotiations with Congress should be the administrations priority. Even Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who once professed that he could not think of a single disagreement with Trump, said the presidents proposal was not an option for us.

The bipartisan consensus reflected the sheer inadequacy of the executive orders Trump signed last weekend, which, like much the president does, amounted to a publicity stunt masquerading as policy.

In place of the $600 weekly supplement that expired last month and left tens of millions of jobless Americans in the lurch, the president proposed to reduce the payments by a third, to $400, and require the states to bear a quarter of the burden. By Wednesday, White House officials were suggesting the states wouldnt be required to contribute but that the payments would drop to half the expired supplement, $300 a week.

Governors nearly unanimous hesitation to assume a portion of the burden was foreseeable given that they, unlike the federal government, have to balance their budgets. Worse, the White Houses abdication of responsibility for the pandemic has forced states to shoulder extraordinary costs, even as the downturn decimates their revenues. Regardless of whether Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell want to do their jobs, the federal government has an unmatched capacity to get Americans through this crisis.

The presidents move to repurpose disaster relief funds for unemployment, moreover, will at best complicate and lengthen the process of distributing the money to people who need it now. Its also his latest attack on the constitutional separation of powers: Even if it makes sense to spend money Congress allocated to fire and flood relief on unemployment insurance, doing so is clearly a job for lawmakers given their authority over federal spending.

So, too, is cutting taxes. Trumps orders at least recognized that limitation on his power, calling for a payroll tax cut but settling for a directive to suspend collection of the revenue from employees making less than $104,000 through the end of the year. To the extent that deferring the tax that funds Social Security and Medicare helps anyone, it will be those fortunate enough to have jobs and therefore not in the greatest need.

Another of the Trump orders offers modest relief to those carrying federal student loan debt by canceling interest due for the rest of the year and allowing principal payments to be delayed. But the president stopped short of extending such relief to tens of millions of tenants who could lose their housing, ordering only that administration officials look into the matter. Congress moratorium on evictions by landlords with federally backed mortgages expired last month, and the California courts suspension of eviction proceedings could end as soon as this week.

Trumps executive orders are a flimsy bandage indeed for an economy that has hemorrhaged jobs and growth with no end to the underlying contagion in sight. Their chief value is to underscore the need for the administration to reach an accord with Congress on a relief package equal to the crisis at hand.

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 Delhi High Court Thursday sought response of the on a plea by the Grievance Redressal Committee, set up in connection with the ongoing online Open Book Examination (OBE) for final year courses, claiming that the varsity was not cooperating with its functioning.

Justice Prathiba M Singh issued notice to the university on the committee's application and listed the matter for further hearing on Friday.

The high court had on August 7 given its nod for conducting online OBE and reconstituted the Grievance Redressal Committee (GRC) under the aegis of retired judge, Justice Prathiba Rani.

It had said the panel will function till OBE continues and the students' complaints need to be addressed within five days.

The online OBE started from August 10 and will continue August 31.

The GRC, in its plea through one of its member and advocate Kamal Gupta, sought to inform the high court that the university has not been complying with any of the directions issued by the court which was making it difficult for the panel to fulfil the responsibilities.

It sought direction to the varsity to implement the court's direction qua GRC.

The counsel for the petitioner students, advocates Akash Sinha and Shubham Saket also supported the GRC's application and stated that the varsity has not been complying with the court's order.

has also challenged the single judge's August 7 order and it is scheduled to come up for hearing before a division bench of the high court on Friday.

The other members of GRC included Professor K S Rao, Professor Kavita Sharma, senior advocate B B Gupta and lawyer Kamal Gupta.

The GRC was directed by the court to deal with all the grievances of the students in respect of downloading of question papers, uploading of answer sheets, technical glitches, delays in uploading and any other issues faced by students during the conduct of the OBE examinations.

The varsity was also directed to handover the password for the grievance redressal email account to the Chairperson of the committee, that is, Justice Rani.

The court had directed that adequate arrangements be made by the Dean (Examinations) of the university to enable the committee to meet virtually or in his office.

(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.)
PARMA, Ohio -- For the better part of two decades, the Cuyahoga County Public Library Foundation has brought literary giants -- such as Judy Blume, John Grisham, Jennifer Egan and Margaret Atwood -- to Northeast Ohio for its William N. Skirball Writers Center Stage Series.

While the annual affair continues this year, it will be virtual -- like seemingly everything else due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In its 17th season, the Writers Center Stage Series is the signature fundraising event for the Cuyahoga County Public Library Foundation, Cuyahoga County Public Library Assistant Marketing & Communications Director Robert J. Rua said. Its always a big event for us and our library system.

In part, it was created just to kind of celebrate authors, while giving Clevelanders -- who are avid readers -- an opportunity to interact with their favorite authors, he said.

With COVID, we obviously had to rethink Writers Center Stage Series, at least for the fall. Well see what the spring holds for us. Right now, were not sure if that will be virtual or in-person.

The first half of the Writers Center Stage Series features virtual events with Madeline Miller (Circe and The Song of Achilles) on Sept. 17, Josh Malerman (Bird Box) on Oct. 15 and Susan Choi (The Foreign Student, A Person of Interest and My Education) on Nov. 19.

We think it will still be really compelling content, especially for our hardcore and long-time Writers Center Stage Series fans, Rua said. For example, I know Josh has some interesting things planned. Hes a musician, so there will be music in his event.

Things like that still bring the unique, behind-the-scenes look at the authors that you dont necessarily get from an interview you find online, he said.

While you wont be able to come to an event and buy a book, well be selling signed books that will be mailed.

Due to the pandemic shifting the series online, the decision was made to add a special opportunity for Writers Center Stage benefactors and subscribers to join an online book club with NPRs Fresh Air book critic and author Maureen Corrigan for two virtual events scheduled for Sept. 15 and Nov. 23.

Anyone who purchases a subscription will have access to every event, as well as can take part in this online book discussion were co-presenting with Maureen Corrigan, Rua said. Shes known in literary circles as one of the leading book critics out there, so its a little bit different and should be a lot of fun.

The Cuyahoga County Public Library Foundation helps raise resources in support of the library's mission of reading, lifelong learning and civic engagement, as well as elevates awareness in the community.

We hope that we can bring some enjoyment to them in these strange times, Rua said. We certainly want to keep everyone safe. This is what we felt like we could do to keep the Writers Center Stage Series alive, keep it going and to give people opportunities to have some level of interaction with the authors.

Its not quite the same as events wed host at Case Western Reserve Universitys Maltz Performing Arts Center, but there is some opportunity there.

Read more news from the Parma Sun Post.
From now through the end of September, franchisees will show their appreciation to educators in their local communities as the new school-year begins. KFC U.S. restaurants will cook and serve KFC's world-famous fried chicken in a way that best serves the school systems and educators of that community, whether through catering in-service training meetings for teachers and administrators, delivering buckets of chicken to teachers preparing their virtual curriculum, or honoring the staff working tirelessly to keep campuses clean and safe.

The Back-to-School Buckets initiative is a follow up to KFC's donation of one million pieces of chicken in March, which fed thousands of frontline workers including doctors, nurses, first responders and essential workers across the country, during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"As a working mother of three young children who had to finish out the school year virtually, I have more respect and appreciation than ever for the time, energy and dedication that teachers give to their students," said Andrea Zahumensky, KFC U.S. CMO. "As teachers prepare for a new school year, whether that's in the classroom or virtually, we wanted to help in a small way by providing the comfort and familiarity of a hot, fresh and delicious bucket meal so they can check dinner off of their to-do lists!"

KFC is also encouraging fried chicken fans across the country to show their support for the teachers they personally know and love. Beginning Thursday, August 20, fans can tweet @KFC using the hashtag #KFCback2school and #sweepstakes to nominate a teacher in their community for a chance to receive a $20 KFC gift card to go towards the purchase of a Bucket meal to enjoy with their family as a token of appreciation from KFC. After tweeting, fans will receive a link tweeted back to them directing them to the online registration form. Once complete, fans will then receive a link to send to their favorite teacher for them to fill out a form to enter for a chance to win. Entries will be taken until 11:59 pm EDT, September 1, 2020. For the full official rules, prize disclosures, and how to enter, visit https://fooji.info/KFC.*

Since 1952, KFC has been bringing families together with a bucket of world-famous fried chicken. As families begin new back-to-school routines at home or in-person, KFC bucket meals, including the $20 Fill Up and new $30 Fill Up (a meal for today and tomorrow), offer the convenience of a delicious, home-cooked meal you don't have to cook.

KFC and its franchisees operate more than 4,000 U.S. restaurants, serving all 50 states, and have continued feeding America through drive-thru, delivery, and pickup (where available). Earlier this year, KFC made the following commitments to support its people, communities and franchisees during the COVID-19 pandemic:

Continuing to keep America fed: KFC is open and ready to feed your family via drive-thru, carry-out or delivery, where available. Contactless delivery options are also available. A limited number of restaurants are also open for dine-in service.

Increased safety measures for customers and team members: KFC has increased the frequency of cleaning and sanitizing in all restaurant locations and is reinforcing the already strict sanitation, handwashing, and health and wellness policies. In addition, KFC has implemented a number of new protocols to protect the health and safety of consumers and employees across the U.S. including:

KFC has increased the frequency of cleaning and sanitizing in all restaurant locations and is reinforcing the already strict sanitation, handwashing, and health and wellness policies. In addition, KFC has implemented a number of new protocols to protect the health and safety of consumers and employees across the U.S. including: The implementation of temperature checks for every employee in every restaurant prior to their shift start using thermometers with infrared contactless temperature scanners.



Requiring face coverings and single-use, disposable gloves for restaurant team members across the U.S., and guest hand-santizing stations in the lobby of every restaurant for customers.



Installation of acrylic front counter shields and social distancing floor stickers in restaurant lobbies, providing a safety barrier between team members and guests.



Using a drive-thru extender payment pad, where available, to further limit contact between customers and employees.

Supporting our team members: KFC franchisees , many of whom are small, local business owners all over the country have been working to support and celebrate their individual teams through bonuses, hourly pay increases, meals for their employees and their families, pay continuation for employees impacted by COVID-19, and a variety of other financial incentives. In addition, they joined forces to create a Grocery Assistance Fund through the KFC Foundation to provide $500,000 worth of groceries to team members across its more than 4,000 U.S. restaurants to celebrate and support its workforce.

Feeding our communities: KFC recently donated one million pieces of chicken to provide relief to communities in need, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the donation, KFC franchisees across the country were able to provide meals to organizations of their choice in their local communities. KFC's Harvest program continues during this time of increased food insecurity, with participating restaurants donating unsold food to local food banks for those in need. To date, KFC has donated more than 1.2 million pounds of food to local food banks this year.

Supporting children in need: In March, KFC announced a $400,000 donation to its national partner, Blessings in a Backpack, to provide meals to children who may otherwise go hungry due to school closures.

Providing relief to franchisees: KFC will grant franchisees a 60-day grace period on current royalties. KFC parent company Yum! Brands (including KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell) has also deferred all 2020 capital obligations for remodels and new unit development through the end of this year.

More information about KFC's efforts to support franchisees, employees and customers during the coronavirus pandemic can be found at www.kfc.com/newsroom.

*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and D.C., age 21 or older. Void where prohibited. Odds of winning depend on number of entries received.

About KFC

KFC Corporation, based in Louisville, Ky., is the world's most popular chicken restaurant chain. KFC specializes in Original Recipe, Extra Crispy, Kentucky Grilled Chicken and Extra Crispy Tenders, Hot Wings, KFC Famous Bowls, Pot Pies, freshly hand prepared chicken sandwiches, biscuits and homestyle side items. There are more than 24,000 KFC restaurants in 145 countries and territories around the world. KFC Corporation is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., Louisville, Ky. (NYSE: YUM). For more information, visit www.kfc.com. Follow KFC on Facebook (www.facebook.com/kfc), Twitter (www.twitter.com/kfc) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/KFC).

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 22:53:28|Editor: huaxia

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TOKYO, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Japanese prosecutors on Thursday indicted two doctors for allegedly euthanizing at her request a terminally ill 51-year-old woman with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

The two doctors, Yoshikazu Okubo, 42, the operator of a medical clinic in Natori City in Miyagi Prefecture and Naoki Yamamoto, 43, a doctor working in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward were arrested in July.

They were arrested for allegedly administering a lethal dose of a barbiturate sedative to Yuri Hayashi, 51, at her home and at her request in Kyoto Prefecture last November.

Hayashi had, since 2011, been suffering from ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, a progressive, neurological degenerative disease that renders patients paralyzed.

Prior to her death, Hayashi is believed to have transferred 1.3 million yen (12,180 U.S. dollars) to Yamamoto's bank account, according to investigative sources.

Around a month before her death, Okubo is believed to have bought the barbiturate sedative medication that was found in her system after her death.

The pair are believed to have visited Hayashi at her apartment in Kyoto on Nov. 30, posing as her acquaintances.

After the two doctors left after paying her a 10-minute visit, a caretaker said he found Hayashi unconscious.

Investigators said that Okubo had begun communicating with Hayashi though direct messages on Twitter around 11 months prior to her death.

During these texts it is believed that fees and logistics for her being euthanized, a crime in Japan, were discussed.

"I don't know why I have to live with such a body," Hayashi wrote online before her death.

Due to the severity of her ALS, she had to use a device that enabled her to write using a computer by detecting her eye movements.

The Kyoto District Public Prosecutors Office on Thursday indicted the two doctors on charges of homicide with consent. Enditem
By the late 1970s, when Ronald Reagan was running for office, it was no longer almost exclusively white women benefiting from the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program, Carten said, but also some single Black mothers. On the campaign trail, Reagan regaled crowds with an anecdote about a woman in Chicago  a Black woman, many of his listeners assumed  with 80 names, 12 Social Security cards and four fake, dead husbands with veterans benefits. Before long, the deeply exaggerated story of the unnamed woman had solidified into the racist trope of the Welfare Queen.
Some 16 out of 56 Ukrainians, who were injured in the explosion in Beirut or whose houses were damaged, have already received one-time payment from Ukraine's Embassy in Lebanon.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said this at an online briefing on August 13, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

As of yesterday evening [August 12], 56 citizens of Ukraine applied to Ukraine's Embassy in Lebanon for financial assistance after their houses were damaged and they sustained bodily injuries in the explosion. The embassy has already paid a one-time financial aid to 16 Ukrainians," Kuleba said.

He promised that Ukrainian diplomats will not leave anyone in trouble and, as far as possible, will help all the victims.

Kuleba also confirmed the death of a Ukrainian in the Beirut explosion.

More than 200 people were killed and over 5,000 were injured in powerful explosions that rocked the Lebanese capital on the evening of August 4. The massive blast was caused by the detonation of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely at the port for years.

The huge blast damaged buildings in a radius of several kilometres in Beirut, leaving more than 300,000 people homeless or living in homes with no windows or doors.

The Lebanese government resigned on August 10.

ish
Pupils have said they are prepared to take to the streets in protest at this years A-level results as ministers come under fire for a system critics warn beggars belief.

The National Union of Students (NUS) backed the use of demonstrations, saying schoolchildren had been left with no choice.

Ministers are facing increasing pressure after Ofqual, the exams watchdog, said it could not clarify an eleventh hour change to allow mock grades to be considered in some cases until days after the results are released.

The U-turn by ministers had been designed to head off anger when pupils receive their grades on Thursday.

On Wednesday night education secretary Gavin Williamson also resisted calls for a full U-turn, insisting the system was fair.

Following the cancellation of this years exams because of the coronavirus crisis, teachers were told to submit predicted grades for each student.

Controversially, however, exam boards have moderated many grades to ensure that this years results are not significantly higher than in previous years.

It means students will now potentially choose between the marks they are awarded, their mock results, or  if they are not happy with either of those  they can resit the exam in the autumn.

But Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, warned the so-called triple lock contained massive inconsistencies.

The idea of introducing at the eleventh hour a system in which mock exam results trump calculated grades beggars belief, he said.

Experts warned schools use mocks in different ways, some as a confidence boost for students and others as a way to encourage pupils to study.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer described the last minute U-turn as a complete fiasco. 

Protests by school students across Scotland, here seen in Glasgow, led to the SQA scrapping its downgrading system and an apology from Nicola Sturgeon (PA)

In Scotland nearly 125,000 grades were lowered as a result of moderation.

But the system was scrapped after Scottish pupils demonstrated.

Ellie Kerr, from Exeter, who hopes to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh, told The Independent: I think if it doesnt go well for myself or my friends, I would protest in support of them because I think it is a really unfair system.

Its also an unfair system by a government I didnt even vote for. I was four months too young to vote.

Recommended Scottish pupils will now receive original predicted grades

Jake Patrick, an A-level student from Stourbridge, says he would be tempted to protest if he thought his grades were completely not what I would have got.

The 18-year-old has an offer to study economics and finance at university.

Another student, hoping to study medicine at the University of Birmingham, said they would also likely protest.

You have to be proactive and take matters into your own hands when it is your future at stake, the 18-year-old said.

In Scotland angry pupils and parents took to the streets protesting that the downgrading process had unfairly affected pupils from deprived backgrounds, or those who attended low-performing schools, simply because of geography.

The pass rate for Higher pupils living in the most deprived areas was reduced by 15.2 per cent, compared to 6.9 per cent in the most affluent parts of the country.

The downgraded results have now been returned to the original teacher estimates.

The NUS president, Larissa Kennedy, said: Given the role played by student protesters in changing the policy in Scotland, we are unsurprised students in England are looking to make their voice heard.

Pupils demonstrate outside the Scottish parliament over last weeks downgrading of exam results by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (Getty)

The UK government has refused to listen to students calls for a U-turn on the classist, racist moderation system and young people are left with no choice but to take to the streets.

She added the union supported student efforts to make sure the government heard concerns about the unfairness of the moderation system.

The acting Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: It is no wonder young people are prepared to protest when their futures are being so badly handled by a government that has clearly failed the test.



Relying on mock examinations will not be fair to many pupils who also look to be falling victim to the governments botched grading system."

In England, students will have to go through the appeals process to use their mock exam result, with their school required to submit evidence to the exam board.

The Department for Education has been approached for comment.

Additional reporting by Press Association
Brasilia: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has angrily denied the existence of fires in the Amazon rainforest, calling it a "lie", despite data produced by his own government showing that thousands of fires are surging across the region.

Bolsonaro last year similarly denied a spike in fires that provoked a global outcry, with the right-wing populist trading barbs with French President Emmanuel Macron and other world leaders.

A man pulls a cart along a dirt road in an area scorched by fires near Labrea, Amazonas state, Brazil, on Friday. Labrea has a historically high rate of fires set by those clearing the Amazon rainforest for cattle crazing and crops. Credit:AP

The President's comments on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST), come even as Reuters witnesses in the remote Amazon town of Apui observed smoke blanketing the horizon in all directions during the day and large fires setting the sky aglow at night.

Fires in the Brazilian track of the Amazon hit a nine-year high for the month of August in 2019 and this month so far looks even worse. More than 10,000 fires have been recorded in the first 10 days of August, up 17 per cent from the same period a year ago, according to data from the country's national space research agency INPE.
BURLINGTON, Vt., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- DealerPolicy, the leading auto insurance marketplace for automotive retailers, today announced the launch of FastPass, a mobile experience that delivers instant, personalized insurance quotes to car buyers that brings multiple benefits to both the customer and dealer. FastPass allows car buyers access to real-time competitive and personalized quotes from their mobile phones, allowing dealers to offer a seamless buying experience to their customers. When customers save money on their insurance, it creates real opportunities to reinvest that savings back into a dealership's products and services.

"We're absolutely thrilled to be bringing FastPass to market," says Travis Fitzgerald, CEO of DealerPolicy. "FastPass presents our customers with a plethora of real-time insurance quotes and a first-of-its-kind Amazon-like experience for personal insurance. All of this is done at the precise point in time when it matters, right before entering the F&I office, and without increasing wait times at the dealership."

FastPass can be accessed conveniently via mobile phone either at the dealership or from home and presents buyers with more comprehensive pricing and coverage options associated with their new and existing vehicles. The average DealerPolicy Insurance customer who saves money gains an average of $63 per month back into their budget, which can assist with making the new vehicle purchase more affordable. Dealers report an average increase of 34 percent in their back-end gross for deals where the customer also purchased an insurance policy through DealerPolicy Insurance.

Says Joseph Peoples, a Salesperson at a dealership in North Carolina currently in the DealerPolicy network, "FastPass just makes sense when interacting with my customers. It is very easy to understand and my customers find it easy to navigate on their own."

The FastPass application is simple and intuitive and takes just minutes to complete by leveraging DealerPolicy's proprietary one-touch questionnaire and a robust aggregation of prefill solutions from leading data providers. Customers confirm a few details and FastPass instantly pre-fills the rest, eliminating the need to complete lengthy forms. Fueled by the J.D. Power Intelligent Match platform, quotes in FastPass are delivered with a score based on each customer's personal preferences, allowing for a customized experience that factors in specific insurance needs as well as accurate price comparisons.

FastPass is available here.

About DealerPolicy

DealerPolicy is the most trusted and complete digital insurance marketplace for automotive retailers and their valued customers. The company's innovative mobile technology enables car-buyers to view multiple insurance quotes and immediately connect with licensed insurance agents to purchase insurance. With an exclusive combination of partnerships among premier automotive retailers and data providers, an industry-best insurance carrier network, and access to DealerPolicy Insurance licensed agents, DealerPolicy is recognized for its place at the forefront of Insurtech. DealerPolicy Insurance is a licensed insurance agency, with licenses to operate in the lower 48 states. For more information, visit www.dealerpolicy.com.

Media Contact:

Katie Morrow

802-316-4774

[email protected]

SOURCE DealerPolicy

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Vanderpump Rules' Brittany Cartwright gave her 1.4 million Instagram followers an update on her mother's health, after undergoing emergency surgery in June.

On Tuesday, the 31-year-old Bravo star expressed her gratitude to 'everyone who has prayed and sent best wishes' to her mother, Sherri Cartwright, who 'has made an amazing recovery and is doing so so much better.'

'For those of you who dont know her story, she went in for a bladder surgery, stayed a couple nights in the hospital and was sent home,' Brittany told her fans in a lengthy post. 'She was feeling horrible and days later she was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery. Her 45 minute surgery turned into 4 1/2 hours.'

Road to recovery: Vanderpump Rules' Brittany Cartwright gave her 1.4 million Instagram followers an update on her mother's health, after undergoing emergency surgery in June

While she ultimately flew to be by her mother's side in Kentucky, during the surgery she described feeling helpless and 'so far away in California.'

Brittany added, 'We found out after that they had tore her bowel during her bladder surgery, they didn't notice and she had gone septic. The emergency doctors were amazing and they literally saved her life. She fought on life support for a couple days and woke up days later with no idea what had happened to her.'

'I flew straight to Kentucky and stayed by her side. She is so strong and has come so far from the first days I stayed with her in the hospital. This was a very scary time but she is bouncing right back!!' she continued.

Good news: The 31-year-old Bravo star expressed her gratitude to 'everyone who has prayed and sent best wishes' to her mother, Sherri Cartwright, who 'has made an amazing recovery and is doing so so much better'

While she asked her fans to continue to pray for her mom, Brittany gave a special shoutout to her husband, Jax Taylor, who 'was amazing during this time.'

'He came right to KY and helped us through everything,' she gushed of her man. 'I love you honey! Hug the ones you love and hold them tight! You never know what could happen. I am very thankful right now.'

Her mother appeared in high spirits, as she rested her head on her daughter's in a new selfie.

'I flew straight to Kentucky and stayed by her side. She is so strong and has come so far from the first days I stayed with her in the hospital. This was a very scary time but she is bouncing right back!!' she said (seen in June 2019)

In June, Sherri was released from the ICU after suffering complications from her bladder surgery.

The family's pastor, Ryan Dotson, shared the news on his Instagram account, where he revealed Sherri was making 'daily' improvements.

At the time, Sherri's pastor confirmed she had been put in ICU and her condition was uncertain.

Making strides: In June, Sherri was released from the ICU after suffering complications from her bladder surgery

'Sheri is out of ICU and in a room and improving daily,' Dotson wrote on Instagram at the time, after a friend asked about her condition.

In an earlier update, Brittany also thanked everyone for their love as she shared a snap of her mother in the hospital.

'Thanks so much for all the love and prayers for my mom. Please continue to pray she has a long road ahead but she is so so strong and amazing!' she wrote on her Instagram stories.
There are peaceful rallies, and there are those with Russian influence.

The situation with mass protests that are currently ongoing in Belarus following the release of presidential exit polls many found dubious is similar to the Ukrainian scenario involving Crimea and Donbas.

That's according to Anna Konopatskaya, one of Belarusian presidential candidates, who spoke with 1+1 TV channel, TSN reports.

"Many understand that pro-Russian thugs attract to their illegal activity opposition-minded youths. Of course, we should separate this from peaceful protests where our citizens take to the streets. For example, women have become a symbol of these protests. They are standing up against lawlessness that we observed in Minsk on Sunday. But there are protests that are handled by pro-Russian, pro-Kremlin, oligarchic structures, and with their money," the opposition politician said.

She emphasizes that people are taking to the streets of Belarusian cities against the government, against dictatorship that has been set up.

"We have authoritarian dictatorship here, there's one person who approves all decisions. People stand up against lawlessness. But, unfortunately, there are no calls being heard for the revival of consciousness of Belarusians, restoration of statehood and independence," Kanopatskaya stressed.

Protests in Belarus: developments
Aircraft operated by Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. stand on the tarmac at Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong, China, on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020.

Singapore Airlines and Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways will "inevitably" take a longer time to recover from the coronavirus crisis, an aviation consultant told CNBC.

That's because these carriers are based in markets with no domestic demand for flights, in a time where international travel is still very limited, said Joanna Lu, Asia's head of consultancy at Cirium.

Airlines have suffered massive losses since air travel was virtually halted when most countries shut their borders earlier this year, in a bid to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Both carriers saw profits turn to loss in their latest earnings report card.

Cathay Pacific reported a loss of 9.87 billion Hong Kong dollars ($1.27 billion) for the first half of 2020, after registering a profit of 1.35 billion Hong Kong dollars a year ago. For the quarter ended June 30, Singapore Airlines reported a net loss of 1.12 billion Singapore dollars ($817.5 million), down from a net profit of 111 million Singapore dollars the previous year.

Some countries have since reopened to tourists, with Covid-19 testing and health screenings in place at airports, but many are still closed to international visitors as confirmed cases top 20.5 million globally.

Lu told CNBC's "Capital Connection" on Wednesday that travel within a domestic or regional market is likely to resume more quickly, compared to long-haul flights to international destinations.
Chili's parent Brinker International is expecting that customers will order more takeout and delivery in the months and years to come than before the coronavirus pandemic.

"I don't think that we'll ever go back to the mix we ran prior," said Brinker CEO Wyman Roberts, who credited the pandemic for pushing many consumers to try delivery through third-party apps for the first time.

Before the pandemic, only 20% of Brinker's sales came from takeout and delivery. Roberts said it's unlikely that number will ever fall that low again, thanks in part to the latest addition to Brinker's portfolio.

During the pandemic, Brinker unveiled its first virtual restaurant brand, It's Just Wings, through its partnership with Doordash. Chicken wings, fried Oreos and fries are made in Chili's and Maggiano's kitchens but are only available for delivery by Doordash. Roberts said that the virtual brand is expected to gross more than $150 million in sales in its first year.

Roberts said that about half of its sales are now coming from dine-in customers, although Chili's and its sister chain Maggiano's Little Italy still lack full dining room capacity. Some states, such as California and New Mexico, have rolled back indoor dining entirely after cases spiked.

Shares of Brinker rose nearly 7% in morning trading, a day after it reported its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings. The stock, which has a market value of $1.7 billion, has fallen 12% so far in 2020.
Its practically 40 minutes into "Down to Earth with Zac Efron" when I really lock onto the problematic-ness that is the main downfall of Efrons Netflix documentary show.

In the first episode, Iceland, Efron and co-host Darin Olien are standing at the breathtaking Gullfoss Falls. After having visited a geothermal power plant and talking with one of its resident geologists earlier in the episode and a comedic encounter with a freshly hired ranger at the waterfall, Efron reinforces some of the lessons on energy that he (or, we) ostensibly just learned.

Efrons voiceover authoritatively drops facts about Icelands waterfalls, before following it up with a dubious addendum: And one more thing: Water in motion produces negative ions, which are known to relieve stress, reduce tension, fight depression and increase energy. In short, all these negative ions are creating some very positive vibes.

Wait. What?

The moment passes quickly and is easy to gloss over, especially as Efron and Olien wrap up the scene by doing jumping, heel-kicks into the sunset, but similarly controversial bits crop up throughout the series. Suddenly, I was transported back to my time living in Los Angeles when the latest health trend was questionably helpful chlorophyll water, whose benefits remain mostly unproven, but were spread around as fact.

The lack of scientific basis for that simple voiceover felt alarming and disheartening  all I wanted was a simple, factual travel-slash-food show to binge during this pandemic. Why must I, as the viewer, do the work to filter out this shows fake science gibberish from fact while watching this? (St. Anthony Bourdain, give me strength.)

For all intents and purposes, Netflixs environmentally focused documentary series Down to Earth fills the travel void Im sure were all feeling in quarantine. Efron is front and center as the effusive host, taking viewers along on a tour of the world and addressing climate change issues alongside co-host and superfoods enthusiast/author Darin Olien. Viewers are treated to the sights and sounds of Paris in one episode, then taken through the depths of nature of Iquitos in Peru  all while ziplining, eating and taking in the local sights and culture (and OK, an occasionally shirtless Efron, if youre into that sort of thing).

If youre unfamiliar with Efron, as I mostly was, hes managed to carve out a long-running career at the age of 32, from his breakout role in three (yes, three) of Disneys High School Musical franchise movies, to the lead in the film Charlie St. Cloud. More recently hes starred in the Neighbors films with Seth Rogen, a movie version of the TV show Baywatch, and a portrayal of serial killer Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. (The last of which I mostly know him for. Sorry, Im just not in the High School Musical demographic.)

But for as much charm and headline-generating churn that comes with Efrons starpower  for instance, a side effect of a shirtless scene early on in episode one led to an alarming number of articles focusing on Efrons dad bod (whatever that means, this author writes, with an eyeroll) when the series came out  the show ultimately becomes a tangled, messy weave of pseudo-facts nestled among its most compelling moments.

The downfall of its scientific side has been well-documented on Insider, where writer Lindsay Dodgson goes point by point of each instance of scientific iffiness. Its certainly worth a read, if youre tempted to watch this show, to see where the series deviates from fact. This has left Efron on the same sketchy, pseudoscience-y side as Gwyneth Paltrows Goop empire and subsequent Netflix show, as some have noted.

Or, as Vice contributor Maggie Lange succinctly put it, Whats most frustrating about this show is not its sprinkles of bunk; the most frustrating thing about this show is that it mixes bunk with earnest reporting.

The upshot of the Paltrow connection is that Efron isnt truly selling you on anything  well, other than Oliens book (probably); expensive superfruit, which are really just normal, regular fruit (as Olien himself admits); and mounds of obvious Hilton, Visa, Samsung and TripAdvisor product placements  but at least theres no bro versions of vaginal crystals or whatever the hell, and for that, Im grateful.

Now, this isnt to say the show is horrible. Misguided, maybe. Perhaps lacking fact-checkers, too. But is the show redeemable at this point? Perhaps it is. That aforementioned earnest reporting element is what makes this a compelling show.

READ ALSO: This Netflix superhero show features the worst superpowers ever

In some ways, Efron is a Trojan horse for environmentalism, for a legion of fans who perhaps didnt give two shs about climate change in one way or another before this. From all appearances, Efron himself isnt an expert on most of the topics the show tackles, at least from when hes seen doing interviews with subjects  and thats not necessarily a bad thing. Youre learning alongside him as the cameras roll, and that spark of knowledge cant be an (entirely) bad thing, if you commit yourself to research and climate change action.

In that aspect, the show is certainly doing its job, as the documentary series has clung to a Top 10 spot on Netflix since its debut in July.

To its credit, the show does manage to get some elements right, beyond casting Efron. For each off-the-beaten-track location the show features, its easy to get lost in the charm of the places  which exactly fills that travel documentary need I mentioned earlier. Sardinia and the Puerto Rico episodes are among its strongest.

The food aspect of the show is a fun reprieve from some of the heavier environmental topics. While the shows trip to Costa Rica does bring up some of that questionable superfood to the forefront in talks with an herbalist, the culinary segments of the show do have their charm.

Netflix / Contributed photo / Courtesy of Netflix

In Sardinia, Efron learns about the area and its abundance of people who have reached the age of 100 and older, as well as their diets. Efron and Olien try their hands at making pasta and pane carasau, a type of bread baked locally for centuries. Efrons (lack of) kitchen knowledge pays off for the viewer, as the proprietors of the cooking school rib Efron for his below average kneading skills.

This isnt the prototypical food show that makes the audience feel its lack of cooking know-how. Its more approachable this way, much like how the show spoon-feeds information on environmental issues. Were not working with professional chefs, rather were seeing an actor just enjoy making pasta. I feel like I have an enhanced sense of hunger and pride, because I made it, Efron says as the cooked pasta arrives. (Im so happy that Im eating carbs again, he adds, true to his actors diet sensibilities.)

READ ALSO: Every generation gets 'The Baby-Sitters Club' it deserves

Efron, for his part, is seemingly self-aware of the role hes bringing to the table, as the actor using his celebrity to shed light on climate change and environmental issues  and he does so with a surprising amount of humility. In the Puerto Rico episode, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz urges the Baywatch star to sign the Wall of Hope  a wall of the stadium where hundreds of Puerto Ricans lived for days following the aftermath of deadly 2017 hurricanes Irma and Maria.

The wall is filled with signatures of people who have helped with the recovery efforts, and Efron noticeably hesitates, telling Cruz, A lot of these people here contributed in a major way to the effort. Are you sure you want me to sign the wall? She affirms, telling Efron, Ill tell you why: Its good to keep the word out, first of all about climate change and that it really impacts peoples lives. And secondly, about the need that we still have in Puerto Rico of some major transformation. And your voice is an important voice, so its gonna help us all over the world.

Efron and crew follow up that exchange with helping a family clear out some of the debris from their home that has lingered years after the hurricane, and its a moment like this that the charm of Efron and the show shines through past the dusting of bros and dudes that Efron and Olien drop throughout the series.

Despite its (serious) foibles, the intention and heart of the show have won me over, and I swear its not the shirtless dad bod scenes talking. If Efron and crew can commit to a more thoughtful go-around, should the show be picked up for another season  and if there is such a thing as travel and travel shows in post-quar life  Id be willing to give it a second chance. In some ways it may be shallow, but Down to Earth is just that, a low-brow journey alongside a movie star thats trying to do more than being a movie star. Id be willing to join Zac on his next Netflix adventure ... even if his bread-making skills make me roll my eyes.

Dianne de Guzman is the Food + Drink Editor at SFGATE. Email: dianne.deguzman@sfgate.com
Lima, Aug 13 : Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra has reinstated stay-at-home measures after health authorities detected a new spike in the number of coronavirus cases.

"As of this Sunday, we are going to go back to mandatory staying at home on Sundays. We want and think it is preferable to go back one step, just Sundays, to later recover the conditions that we all would like to have," Xinhua news agency quoted Vizcarra as saying on Wednesday.

He also announced localized lockdown measures in 34 provinces around the country, including parts of the capital Lima, where the most number of COVID-19 cases have been registered.

Police are set to enforce the measures after Peru began to register an increase in the number of daily cases of infection, with a record 8,466 cases reported on August 7.

Minister of Health Pilar Mazzetti blamed the spike in cases on people failing to adhere social distancing when visiting family and friends.

According to the Ministry of Health, Peru has registered a total of 489,680 cases and 21,501 deaths from COVID-19.
The Rise Central is located in a burgeoning business district less than ten miles from downtown Portland, Oregon. Featuring excellent walkability and proximity to the Central MAX light-rail station, the property has unparalleled access to nearby amenities and major employers including Nike's World Headquarters and Intel's Hillsboro campus. Additionally, the nearby Beaverton Town Square and Cedar Hills Crossing retail centers provide lifestyle amenities within walking distance.

The Walker & Dunlop team was led by Managing Director Eric McGlynn, who has extensive experience in structuring nonrecourse bridge loans and construction loans nationwide for apartments and other property types, including build-for-rent single-family projects. To complete the transaction, McGlynn worked closely with Ryan Welch and Brian Cornell of JCR Capital, an alternative investment manager and wholly owned affiliate of Walker & Dunlop, based in Denver, Colorado. The floating rate loan includes a two-year initial term plus a one-year extension option and will provide the owners with sufficient time to complete leasing the property, which was 82 percent leased at close. The loan was bifurcated into a senior loan from JCR Capital and a mezzanine loan provided by a third-party partner.

Said Mr. McGlynn, "It was a pleasure working with the JCR team to complete this complex financing for one of our largest clients, Rescore. During the pandemic, the bridge lending market has become quite fragmented. After marketing the transaction to several lenders, we found JCR to have the most competitive combination of loan proceeds and pricing. They reacted very quickly and were flexible in structuring the transaction."

The Rise Central consists of two buildings with five and six stories respectively, and contains a mix of studio, one-, and two-bedroom units averaging 754 square feet. Community amenities include a rooftop terrace, 3,000 square-foot fitness center, a penthouse lounge, bike storage, and garage parking with electric vehicle charging stations. Units feature nine-foot ceilings, premium fixtures and finishes, oversized windows, and in-unit washers and dryers. Select homes also feature private decks. The ground floor of the property includes approximately 5,800 square feet of retail, which is primarily leased to a retail tenant and restaurant.

The project is owned by Rescore Property Corp and was developed in partnership with local developer Rembold Companies. Rescore is a private REIT managed by Encore Capital Management, manager of three fund vehicles with over $3B AUM and whose principals are Art Falcone and Tony Avila. Encore, based in Boca Raton, Florida, has 20,000 residential units under ownership and/or development.

Walker & Dunlop is a top-ranked multifamily lender; the firm was the largest Fannie Mae DUS multifamily lender and the 3rd largest Freddie Mac Optigo multifamily lender by volume in 2019. For information about Walker & Dunlop's view on the apartment market, including expert perspectives on markets, leadership, and the road ahead, visit our new Driven by Insight information center.

About Walker & Dunlop

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE: WD), headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, is one of the largest commercial real estate finance companies in the United States. The company provides a comprehensive range of capital solutions for all commercial real estate asset classes, as well as investment sales brokerage services to owners of multifamily properties. Walker & Dunlop is included on the S&P SmallCap 600 Index and was ranked as one of FORTUNE Magazine's Fastest Growing Companies in 2014, 2017, and 2018. Walker & Dunlop's 900+ professionals in 40 offices across the nation have an unyielding commitment to client satisfaction.

About JCR Capital

JCR Capital is an alternative investment manager that provides capital solutions to middle market and institutional commercial real estate sponsors. JCR invests on behalf of insurance companies, public pension funds, endowments, foundations and family offices. JCR was founded in 2006 and has approximately $1.2 billion of AUM.

SOURCE Walker & Dunlop, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.walkerdunlop.com


China's top banking regulatory official said on Thursday that the country's banks have to deal with 3.4 trillion yuan (US$489.5 billion) worth of non-performing loans in 2020 - flagging a big risk for the banking system in the world's second-largest economy.

The total marks a hefty increase from 2.3 trillion yuan in 2019, and the value of bad loans could be even higher in 2021.

Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, said in an interview with the official Xinhua News Agency that the increase in non-performing loans (NPLs) - loans in default or close to default - will put huge pressure on the country's banks, especially small and regional ones.

"As many loans are rolled over [in 2020], some problems will only emerge next year," Guo was quoted by Xinhua as saying, adding that a rebound in bad loans is "inevitable" since the coronavirus shock has adversely affected so many companies.

China warned to prepare for 'big rise' in bad loans as financial system braces against coronavirus

The warning by Guo, who is also the Communist Party secretary at the People's Bank of China, came at a time when many of the country's small banks are facing a moment of reckoning after years of undisciplined balance sheet expansion, as well as instances of fraud and corruption.

Meanwhile, Guo said, Chinese banks have improved their loan structure - with more lending going toward manufacturing, infrastructure, technology and small businesses.

Guo added that Chinese banks are now being told to enhance their support of small businesses. In addition, he said he will encourage banks to invest more in corporate bonds.

According to official statistics from Guo's agency, the NPL ratio in China was among the lowest in the world. The ratio for Chinese commercial banks rose 0.03 percentage points in the second quarter to 1.94 per cent at the end of June.

But hidden bad loans, if exposed, could easily wipe out bank profits and erode capital bases. In the first half of this year, the combined profits of Chinese banks dropped for the first time in more than a decade - falling 9.4 per cent to 1 trillion yuan in the first half of the year, government data shows.

Story continues

China new bank loans fell in July, but broad credit and liquidity growth quickened

In one example, Baoshang Bank, based in Inner Mongolia's Baotou city, had not published any annual reports since 2016, and was taken over by authorities in May 2019.

After more than a year of checking, China's central bank found that the bank's financial data had been fabricated, and the bank had to file bankruptcy - marking the first bank failure in China in more than 20 years. In insider trading alone, the bank had lent 156 billion yuan (US$22.5 billion) worth of loans to its controller - the Tomorrow Group, owned by tycoon Xiao Jianhua - and all of the loans had become "non-performing", according to an article published by Zhou Xuedong, the head of the takeover team at the central bank.

The Chinese authorities also stepped in to bail out Hengfeng Bank last year.

At least four bank runs were reported in China this year - all at small regional lenders. The NPL ratio at rural commercial banks was 4.22 per cent even by China's official statistics.

Mergers of small banks, often directed by local authorities, are becoming more frequent. For instance, Panzhihua City Commercial Bank and Liangshan Prefecture Commercial Bank in Sichuan province announced in June that they would merge into a new entity.

Five local banks in northern China's Shanxi province - Jinzhong Bank, Jincheng Bank, Yangquan City Commercial Bank, Changzhi Bank and Datong Bank - are also expected to merge into one bank. The merger proposal will be discussed at a temporary shareholder's conference in late August, according to bank notices released last week. Yangquan City Commercial Bank reported a bank run in mid-June.

However, concerns remain about China's small banks.

Raymond Yeung, chief Greater China economist at ANZ Bank, said small banks, often owned by local authorities, are particularly exposed to the risks of bankrolling pet projects of local governments and state enterprises.

"A bigger size will generally help diversify risks ... But it's more important to improve asset quality through business restructuring and bad-asset disposal," Yeung said.

In the Xinhua interview, Guo vowed to replenish the registered capital of small banks, broaden the scope of capital for risk disposal, and improve corporate governance.

"The reform of small and medium-sized banks is key to improving the soundness and stability of the overall financial system," he added.

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.
New Delhi: India ranks first in the number of organic farmers and ninth in terms of area under organic farming. Sikkim became the first state in the world to become fully organic and other States including Tripura and Uttarakhand have set similar targets, according to an official statement.

North East India has traditionally been organic and the consumption of chemicals is far less than the rest of the country. Similarly, the tribal and island territories are being nurtured to continue their organic story.

With the aim of assisting farmers to adopt organic farming and improve remunerations due to premium prices, two dedicated programs namely Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North East Region (MOVCD) and Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) were launched in 2015 to encourage chemical-free farming, said Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.

With the simultaneous thrust given by the Agri-export Policy 2018, India can emerge as a major player in global organic markets. The major organic exports from India have been flax seeds, sesame, soybean, tea, medicinal plants, rice, and pulses, which were instrumental in driving an increase of nearly 50% in organic exports in 2018-19, touching Rs 5151 crore, it said.

"Modest commencement of exports from Assam, Mizoram, Manipur, and Nagaland to UK, USA, Swaziland, and Italy have proved the potential by increasing volumes and expanding to new destinations as the demand for health foods increases," it added.

According to the ministry, "About 40,000 clusters are being assisted under PKVY covering an area of about 7 lakh ha. MOVCD has brought in its fold 160 FPOs cultivating about 80,000 ha. For these clusters to become sustainable, it is important that henceforth market-led production starts in a contract farming mode, so that there is a ready market for the produce and industry also gets the desired quality and quantity when required. This is being pursued in right earnest with bulk buyers including the phtyo extracts industries."

"The commodities with the highest potential include ginger, turmeric, black rice, spices, nutri cereals, pineapples, medicinal plants, buckwheat, bamboo shoots, etc. Supplies have started from NER including for Mother Dairy from Meghalaya, Revanta Foods and Big Basket from Manipur," it added.

A number of instances of farmer groups setting up markets in RWAs and selling directly is increasingly becoming common especially in Maharashtra and Karnataka where fresh organic produce is lapped up by the urbanites and farmers get a better bargain with no intermediaries.

The ministry said that the presence of aggregators is imperative to bring about economies of scale for the small and marginal farmers, adding "the concept of market-led One district - One product is being encouraged, as also the development of more clusters in the vicinity of bigger towns where the appetite for organics will be much more."

When the pandemic struck India, access to quality food was as high on priority for the country as much as health. Advisories to States on supporting direct marketing in order to decongest mandis led to a number of states issuing orders and amending legislations, thereby opening up market options to farmers. Working within the constraints posed due to disruption in logistics, access to regular markets, decrease in demand, number of States and clusters innovated and converted this crisis into an opportunity.

The Green Caravan of Kohima created market linkages from all villages of Nagaland to urban areas for vegetables, handicrafts and handlooms (www.instamojo.com). There was online sale of fruits and vegetables by FPOs in Maharashtra and doorstep delivery in specially designed electric vans in Punjab.

Manipur Organic Agency (MoMA) mobilised all the 15 FPCs of MOVCD to collect produce and transport to two organic wholesale centers at Sanjenthong and Chingmeriong in Imphal for onward delivery to consumers.

The organic e-commerce platform www.jaivikkheti.in is being strengthened for directly linking farmers with retail as well as bulk buyers. Infusion of digital technology in a much bigger way has been a major takeaway during the pandemic period and is a welcome norm here to stay, saving in expenses on travel, logistics, etc while not compromising in any way on the quality of information sharing.

Natural farming is not a new concept in India, with farmers having tilled their land without the use of chemicals - largely relying on organic residues, cow dung, composts, etc since time immemorial.

The philosophy underlying organic farming of integration of the elements  soil, water, microbes, and waste products, forestry, and agriculture is the correct recipe for sustainable use of natural resources, which are coming under severe stress due to ever-increasing requirement of food and feedstock for agri-based industry.
(Bloomberg) -- Less than two hours after Kamala Harris was named Joe Bidens running mate, President Donald Trump had cast the California Democrat as an oil industry and fracking foe.

She is against fracking. Shes against petroleum products, Trump said at a White House news conference Tuesday. I mean, how do you do that and go into Pennsylvania or Ohio or Oklahoma or the great state of Texas? Shes against fracking. Frackings a big deal.

Its a line Trump will surely use again and again against Harris, the former California attorney general who has vowed to fight the fossil fuel industry in court, embraced the Green New Deal and last September said there was no question shed ban hydraulic fracturing. But the criticism may have limited appeal beyond Trumps political base and is likely to boost enthusiasm for the Democratic ticket among progressive voters.

Harriss positions on the issue put her to the left of Biden, who has made clear he would not seek an outright ban on fracking, which could only be imposed through congressional action. Nevertheless, Harris and Biden have both promised to curtail oil and gas development on federal lands and waters managed by the U.S. government. And a senior campaign official reiterated last month that Biden would block new fracking on federal lands.

The fracking technique is used to coax oil and gas out of some 95% of U.S. wells today, and Trump has been touting his support for the industry as he campaigns for a second term in Pennsylvania and other swing states.

Bidens energy agenda was already setting up to be the greenest in U.S. history, but adding Harris to the ticket signals the Biden administration would aggressively pursue its policy goals, ClearView Energy Partners said in a research note to clients.

Some oil industry figures already fearful of Bidens environmental agenda worry Harris would bolster his resolve to combat climate change and stifle fossil fuel development, including through regulations making them more expensive to produce. But industry advocates plan to emphasize the importance of oil and gas as an engine driving the U.S. economy and critical to its post-pandemic recovery.

The oil and gas industry represents about 8% of the American economy, and is a very important component of our recovery, American Petroleum Institute President Mike Sommers said by phone. The world looks a lot different behind the desk in the Oval Office than it does on the campaign trail, and were an industry that represents 10 million American workers and will be a key part of that recovery.

The oil and gas industry faces significant headwinds, not least from the historic drop in demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Gas companies seeking to build new pipelines have been stymied in court recently, and some economists have argued a more effective recovery plan would involve green-friendly policies.

As California attorney general, Harris filed lawsuits against Phillips 66, ConocoPhillips and other oil companies for alleged environmental violations. Her office secured criminal indictments against Plains All American Pipeline LP for a 2015 spill in Santa Barbara, California, which resulted in convictions in 2018, after Harris was elected to the Senate.

Harris also has a history of tangling with oil refiners that have operations in California -- a pugilistic approach that could add heft to Bidens threat to target fossil fuel executives and put them in jail. For instance, Harris opposed Chevron Corp.s planned expansion of a refinery in Richmond on grounds it risked accidents and would exacerbate climate change. And Harris criticized a bid by Valero Energy Corp. to receive rail shipments of crude at its Benecia refinery, emphasizing the risk for spills and explosions along an expected Northern California route.

Nevertheless, some environmental activists have complained Harris didnt do enough to pursue oil companies for misleading the public on the risks of climate change. Though Harris office was reported to have investigated Exxon Mobil Corp. on climate accusations, it never filed a suit -- an approach later pursued by other attorneys general in Massachusetts and New York. Harris has since been supportive of the efforts and last year joined other senators in an amicus brief supporting a climate lawsuit against oil companies by San Francisco and Oakland.

Her activity on climate change litigation will continue to drive away the energy industry, said Kathleen Sgamma, head of the Western Energy Alliance that represents oil producers. While most of that work is rhetoric, her accusations against an industry that provides 70% of the energy Americans use every day belies the narrative that Biden/Harris would govern in a moderate way.

Harris was one of three dozen Democratic lawmakers who in May backed an effort by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to shut down the Dakota Access crude oil pipeline, which was greenlighted by Trump in his first few days in office but has since had a major permit vacated by a federal court.

The company behind the project, billionaire Trump donor Kelcy Warrens Energy Transfer LP, is seeking to continue operating the line while a more robust review is conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers. But policy analysts have warned that the November election remains a serious overhang for Dakota Access.

Harris would bring a prosecutors zeal for confrontation to Bidens climate agenda, said Dan Eberhart, a Trump donor and chief executive of drilling services company Canary Drilling Services LLC.

She has a distorted view of capitalism that is interventionist in nature, Eberhart said by email. Thats going to result in more government interference, more regulation and more conflicts with energy producers who dont produce the right type of energy, at least according to Harris.

Analysts warned against overstating Harris influence on oil and environmental policy. If elected, Biden would face pressures to emphasize other policy proposals first and could expect resistance from moderate Democrats in the Senate. I understand why the environmentalists will be happy because shell be at the table, but its important not to draw too much from this, BloombergNEFs Ethan Zindler said in an interview. Shell be one powerful voice influencing the administration, but not the ultimate one.

2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Drivers were slapped with $83,000 worth of parking fines in just one day when penalties resumed after COVID-19 lockdown.

Brisbane City Council issued $22.3 million in parking fines in the 2019 to 2020 financial year despite pausing paid parking during the height of the pandemic.

Penalties resumed on May 18 and over $3.5million worth of fines were given in the following six weeks, equalling $82,914 a day or $3,455 per hour.

Brisbane City Council fined drivers around Brisbane's CBD (parking sign in Fortitude Valley pictured) $83,000 per day after reinstating parking penalties since the coronavirus lockdown

Parking fines issued by City of Sydney Council totalled over $14 million in the last financial year and $24,239 per day in May and June (parking ranger on Pitt St in Sydney pictured)

Brisbane City Council collected an average of $70,000 in daily parking fines prior to the hiatus and motorists were issued with a total of 182,350 penalties.

Drivers in Brisbane's CBD and nearby South Brisbane, Fortitude Valley, Spring Hill and Newstead received the most penalties.

A council spokesperson said the increased rates did not reflect a change and showed the 'natural ebbs and flows in annual parking enforcement'.

'There has been no attempt to recover revenue post the COVID relaxed enforcement period.

'Dividing a value of fines by time periods does not give an accurate reflection of Council's daily management of illegal and dangerous parking.'

'If you compare 18 May 2020 to 30 June 2020 to the same period in 2019 there were 179 less infringement notices issued,' she explained.

Stopping in a no stopping zone was the most common parking mistake and saw 18,152 drivers penalised.

Brisbane City Council handed out 9,845 fines for parking dangerously over a yellow line and 9,479 fines for parking in a taxi zone.

Drivers in Brisbane's CBD and nearby South Brisbane, Fortitude Valley, Spring Hill and Newstead received the most parking fines (parking metres pictured in Brisbane)

At least 12,103 motorists also failed pay for parking after leaving their car in a metered space.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said 'selfish parkers' harmed local businesses and those following the rules.

'Our businesses need customer turnover to thrive, and it's more important than ever as we try and rebuild or economy following the coronavirus pandemic that customers easily come and go from their local businesses.'

'This kind of behaviour is not fair to all of the people doing the right thing,' he said.

Parking fines issued by City of Sydney Council totalled over $14 million in the last financial year.

Fines decreased dramatically during the coronavirus lockdown period with 1,835 fines issued in April compared to 8,895 in May.

Sydney drivers were penalised an average of $24,239 per day in parking fines across May and June.

'Any revenue the City collects from parking fines becomes part of its general revenue, which is invested into infrastructure that benefits everyone,

'Upgrading roads, building parks, maintaining our buildings, caring for the vulnerable and supporting the city's cultural life,' a council spokesperson said.

The City of Adelaide also issued 7,203 parking fines in June compared to 414 in April.
She had a 30,000 Bioplasty buttock augmentation last month.

And Jessica Alves flaunted her post-surgery results as she arrived in Heathrow on Wednesday in a figure-hugging purple dress.

The TV star, who has landed her own dating show, caught the eye as she showed off her killer curves in the plunging ensemble.

Jessica Alves flaunted her results post-surgery as she arrived in Heathrow on Wednesday in a figure-hugging purple dress

Jessica opted for comfort on her feet after the long haul flight with fluffy sliders and toted a Gucci holdall and suitcase.

In July Jessica, who was previously known as Rodrigo, revealed she jetted to Brazil to undergo a Bioplasty buttock augmentation that involved her having nine litres of filler injected into her bottom at a cost of 30,000.

The star said she doesn't care that she still has a 'male voice' and 'male genitals' for the time being as she feels 'sexy for the first time in [her] life' with her new curves.

All eyes on her: The TV star, who has landed her own dating show, caught the eye as she showed off her killer curves in the plunging ensemble

Speaking to MailOnline about the transformation, Jessica said: 'I had a life changing aesthetic procedure as part of my transition which left me with a J-Lo butt and Kim Kardashian hips.'

'I had high amounts of Methacrylate over the period of a week [and] my body was transformed into an hourglass figure.'

Jessica's arrival in the U.K. comes after it was announced that she has landed a major dating show which will see her travel around the world in a bid to try to find love - and the father of her baby.

Busty: Earlier in the day, Jessica showed off her eye-popping cleavage as she posed by a pool in Madrid

Dreams: The TV star came out as transgender just months ago and had previously spent more than 600k on cosmetic surgery - but now dreams of becoming a mother

The TV star came out as transgender just months ago and had previously spent more than 600k on cosmetic surgery - but now dreams of becoming a mother.

The show has a working title of Love Me Gender: Everyone Deserves A Bit Of Love In Life and Jessica has said she is missing having a special someone.

She told MailOnline: 'Everyone deserves to have love in their life and I need a little help in that department. It feels different dating as a woman.

'I speak six languages and I will be travelling to different countries where I can speak the language, including the UK, Italy, Spain, Germany, France, the USA, Brazil and The Netherlands.

'Then I'll pick the best date from each country and get them all together at a big Love Island style villa, before choosing the winner.'
The UK economy shrank by more than a fifth in the second quarter of this year as a result of the pandemic, posting by far the worst performance of any major country.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) said yesterday that UK output shrank by 20.4pc in the second quarter from the first - much deeper than the 12.1pc in the eurozone - and economists warned its recovery next year would be slow thanks to Brexit, even as Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said there were some "promising signs".

The Chancellor hailed growth of 8.7pc in June, although Mr Sunak told broadcasters there was too much uncertainty to know whether the country would have a swift, V-shaped recovery.

"What we do know is that there are promising signs," he said. "There's still work to do and even as we recover many people are going to lose their jobs, already have lost their jobs, and we need to make sure that we are constantly focused on providing new opportunities for those people."

The large contraction of the UK economy primarily reflected how lockdown measures have been in place for a larger part of this period in the UK, the ONS said.

While two the two consecutive quarters of declining gross domestic product mean the UK as a whole was in recession, the situation in Northern Ireland had deteriorated even before coronavirus hit, Ulster Bank economist Richard Ramsey said.

"Quarter four was the start of our recession, and while we could be back to growth at this point, job losses are still going to be with us and we'll still be seeing employment falling by the end of next year," Mr Ramsey said.

The North will still be living with high unemployment, even when economic output starts to grow again, he said.

"So while a recession may officially be over, in a technical sense - from any kind of meaningful perspective in terms of difficulties in the labour market, and an income squeeze on households, recession is going to be with us for some time."

He said a trend for rising unemployment and job losses in Northern Ireland was likely to continue until 2022.

In London the Chancellor reiterated his opposition to extending the government's huge job retention scheme which is due to expire at the end of October.

Mr Sunak also said he expected to see more people returning to their workplace in the coming weeks after the government recently changed its guidance.

The Bank of England recently forecast it would take until the final quarter of 2021 for the economy to regain its previous size, and warned that unemployment was likely to rise sharply.

As well as taking the biggest economic hit from Covid-19, Britain has recorded the highest death toll in Europe at more than 50,000 people.
Some furious residents within Bediako in the Kpone Katamanso Municipality have threatened to frustrate the efforts of contractors constructing the Tema to Mpakadan railway line if access routes are not created for them.

According to the residents, the ongoing project has cut off the community from the Akosombo road, making it difficult for them to commute in and out of the area.

The Secretary of Landlords Association in Bediako, Moses Batsa, in a Citi News interview, narrated the ordeal they are going through now as a result of the construction works.

We have seen that there are only two access roads which lead into the community and it has been closed by the AFCON company because they are constructing the railway. But the matter is that from the beginning they told us that it is going to be level ground, with both cars and trains passing through. But last week we woke up and saw that in the night they had dug and because of that they are going to block the road, and that we couldnt use it.

Some of the frustrated residents also spoke to Citi News.

The first resident said, Every person that is under this construction should take care and make this road accessible for us. We are not going to allow anyone to block this road and we will not permit them to work on this project. They have to address us if anything. If not, from today onwards, no one is going to work here.

Another resident also said, This thing has disappointed the whole community so we want to tell them no vote from us. They have blocked the roads, hospital and everything is zero. So they should come and help us.

Another resident also said, This is the only road that leads us everywhere and this is the only road for us and we want it back. Even though it is [not] an asphalted road but we want it like that.

---citinewsroom
 Flash

Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Wednesday said China firmly opposed any official interactions between the United States and Taiwan under any pretext.

"Those who play with fire will get burnt," Zhao said, urging certain American people not to have illusions about issues concerning China's core interests.

Zhao made the remarks at a press briefing when asked to make comment on U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, who said during his visit to Taiwan that China "chose not to" warn the world about COVID-19 and betrayed the cooperative spirit needed for global health.

Zhao said China had been containing the COVID-19 epidemic in an open, transparent and responsible manner, earnestly implementing its duties and obligations under the International Health Regulations, and actively carrying out international prevention and control cooperation.

Focusing on saving American people's lives, instead of political shows, is what American health officials should do now, Zhao said.
Whats most interesting is how little these numbers have changed. Right now, where it seems like everything is getting flipped on its head on a daily basis, were really seeing some stability in where it is that folks want to live, Salviati said. If these migration patterns were some big trend that were happening at a large scale, I still expect wed be seeing some of that in our data.
Gleb and Yan Halko were sitting on a park bench in downtown Minsk, drinking a soft drink on a warm but foreboding Monday evening.

The two brothers, 16 and 17 respectively, realised the risks of being outside at night, when the Belarusian capital morphs into a militarised zone of arbitrary terror.

But had they known the full extent of horrors that awaited them  being denied food, water and their dignity  they might at the very least have tried to take on a little more liquid.

The boys say they hardly noticed the two special forces officers in balaclavas until they pounced and took them away to a detention facility on Okrestin Street.

The centre, in the east of the city, came to public notoriety this week after footage emerged showing violent abuse of detainees. Demonstrators have been crammed into overcrowded prison cells amid a brutal crackdown by security forces as Alexander Lukashenko, the president, tries to cling on to power following Sundays election, widely believed to have been rigged.

Videos filmed from houses opposite the facility show dozens of men, held face down on the floor, being kicked and assaulted by officers. In recent days, the detention centre has become a magnet for relatives worried about missing friends and relatives. Fighting tears, they shout chants of support across the walls: Derzhites! (Hang in there!)

Speaking to The Independent, Gleb Halko, who was released on Tuesday, described harrowing scenes inside the jail.

As soon as we arrived, we were met by a corridor of police with truncheons, and they beat us as we ran down, he said. Then we saw the cells, and the cellar that was covered in pools of blood. We spent the entire night on our knees. They kicked us, they punched us, and used clubs on us.

The fact the brothers were minors saw them escape an even worse fate, Gleb believes. But they could hear the anguished cries of those a few years older coming from the adult blocks opposite.

Gleb said he also saw what he believed to be torture chambers either side of a long corridor, with officers throwing water over some of the inmates. The men were either sitting down or hanging, and you could hear the screams, he said.

Nikita Telizhenko, a Russian journalist who was held for three days in another Minsk detention facility, described arriving at the jail to find people lying in pools of blood on the floor. They were like a human carpet and we were forced to walk over them, he wrote.

Tanya Lokshina, an analyst at Human Rights Watch, who spent part of the week on the ground in Minsk, said the behaviour of Belarusian law enforcement appeared punitive. The violent crackdown differed in one way from her experience of the war zones of Chechnya and eastern Ukraine, she said: This wasnt about torture to get information, it was about showing people the price of protest: You want change, heres change you m***********r and other phrases besides.

Ms Lokshina said her prisoner testimonies documented vicious treatment and severe overcrowding in prisons.

Quoting evidence from a 34-year-old woman prisoner released on Wednesday, the human rights activist said the arrested were being held in cells designed for a fraction of their number. People could only stand, there was hardly any air, and some were close to fainting Ms Lokshina said. Remember that nobody has cancelled coronavirus.

In one account reported on the independent website Tut.by, 52 people were squeezed into a four-person cell. One elderly woman began crying, the publication reported. She turned to the prison guard, and screamed: Let the gas in.

Women were subjected psychological harassment, witnesses said. They were forced to share toilets that were either buckets or stinking, overflowing bowls. Male prisoners, meanwhile, were targeted physically. According to multiple accounts, at least some of the men were forced to strip naked and kneel with their elbows on the floor. Women were then reportedly forced to watch the men being beaten with clubs.

On Thursday a social media account linked to the opposition posted pictures and a medical document on Nexta, a channel on the popular Telegram messaging app. The pictures showed people with extensive bruising, marks and welts over their bodies, while the accompanying report suggested one individual had suffered injury to the rectum.

According to Ales Bialiatski, a veteran Belarusian rights activist and head of the Spring 96 Human Rights Centre, only a tiny fraction of the 7,000 arrested have been released since Sunday. Most families still dont know the whereabouts of their loved ones, he says  and that has kept the associations seven hotlines nonstop busy 24 hours a day.

Mr Bialatski, who was jailed by Mr Lukashenko in 2011, said Belarus had seen nothing like the violence of the last few days. We have never seen these kinds of numbers, the sadist conditions in prisons, or the use of rubber bullets and live rounds, he said. Its clear that the officers have been given carte blanche to do as they like.

Amnesty International said there was mounting evidence of a campaign of widespread torture of peaceful protesters.

For days the world has watched in horror as police in Belarus fire rubber bullets and tear gas, into crowds of peaceful protesters. It is now becoming increasingly clear that the bloody scenes on the streets of Belarus are just the tip of the iceberg, said Marie Struthers, the organisations director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Police violence against protesters during street demonstrations have already resulted in at least two deaths. One protester was apparently struck by a grenade on Monday and another died on Wednesday after suffering a seizure in police detention. The Independent understands a third person is in a coma after being shot in the head with live ammunition. At least 300 are in hospital, with many more self-treating at home for fear of police reprisals.

At one point, four days of the crackdown appeared to have taken the wind out of the street protests, which were much smaller than on the first two nights.

But events appeared to tilt back in favour of the demonstrators on Thursday, with some of Belaruss most state-owned important factories answering their call for a mass walkout.

Workers at the Belarusian Truck factory, Minsk Tractor Works, Minsk Automobile Plant and Grodno Azot plant all demanded a rerun of Sundays election. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the challenger to Belaruss 26-year authoritarian leader, left Belarus on Tuesday after what appeared to be threats to her family.

You cant remove workers with truncheons, said Mr Bialatski. Its a serious situation for Lukashenko  even though his mind is still set on extreme violence.
Diego and Lisa Improta of Collingswood watch the sunset over the still water of the Cooper River on Thursday after a day of scattered downpours and flood watches. They were standing on the Cuthbert Blvd bridge right on the border between Haddon Township and Cherry Hill. Read more

Yet another round of downpours doused parts of the Philadelphia region on Thursday, and though the flood watches have expired, the National Weather Service says the region isnt quite ready for the dry cycle.

A prolonged period of unsettled weather [is] on tap, it said in its forecast discussion, with thunderstorms possible Friday and again Saturday night, and likely on Sunday and Sunday night.

The deluges on Thursday werent as widespread as they have been, but over 3 inches of rain fell near Doylestown and 2-plus issues in Cape May County.

Its been horrible, Joe Miketta, the warning coordination meteorologist at the weather service Mount Holly office, said of another wet and wild week.

On Wednesday, winds gusted to 60 mph, three or four inches of rain fell in torrents, trees and wires came down, roads were flooded and closed. In short, Wednesday was just another August day in Philadelphia in the summer of 2020.

The region remains encased in a steamy air mass and parked under a storm-agitating frontal boundary. Thats the problem, Miketta said. It just doesnt go anywhere.

Wednesdays heavy rains appeared to favor a corridor from Chester County into South Jersey, where the highest amounts were measured. Deptford Township, Gloucester County, weighed in with 4.33 inches, and Chatsworth, Burlington County, with 4.

Several water rescues were executed in Maple Shade, Burlington County, where flooding closed a portion of Route 73.

Across the river, the totals were less impressive, with the 2.53 inches measured near Rittenhouse Square the highest amount. Philadelphia was a tale of three cities, with a mere 0.01 of an inch reported at Northeast Philadelphia Airport and 1.44 inches officially at Philadelphia International Airport.

The strongest recorded wind gusts, 60 mph, were in Chester and Montgomery Counties, and the weather service reported numerous downed trees and wires on both sides of the river.

Just since Aug. 4, the day of Isaias, Philadelphia has had over seven inches of rain, and some places are in double figures.

Personally, Miketta said, he wouldnt mind a little less of it. This time of the year, the mowers usually go on vacation. But this has been a bumper month for lawn growth, particularly the leafy crabgrass harvest.

Now I cant keep up with it, he said. I have to keep cutting it.

Well see what today brings.

This story will be updated.
The rainbow balloon stickers that still doggedly adhere to seemingly every commercial vehicle in the greater Belfast area brought a much-needed splash of colour and a sizeable serving of hope to the people of Northern Ireland during the toughest days of the coronavirus lockdown.

Sam McClean, the Belfast sign-maker who has been churning them out non-stop since April, has already raised north of 100,000 for the NHS and local charities - for which I was delighted to give him a special Point of Light award earlier this year.

And while the stickers he has produced say a well-deserved "thank-you" to our amazing key workers, the way in which they rapidly spread to every part of Northern Ireland also says something about the way in which the people of this country pulled together in the fight against this awful virus.

About the way dividing lines that have existed in the past simply ceased to matter in the face of a foe that cares nothing for politics or faith.

In the kind of cross-community cooperation that the late John Hume spent his life promoting, we saw all the people of Northern Ireland coming together and looking out for one another, demonstrating quite remarkable levels of compassion, resilience and good humour.

From manufacturers of baby equipment to distillers of gin, businesses across the country turned their hands to creating handwash, face masks, ventilators and more.

And, just as Northern Ireland faced coronavirus as one people, so the four nations of the UK faced it as one Union.

Our combined strength and economic heft has allowed us to share and shoulder a burden that would have otherwise proved unbearable.

What does that look like? It looks like almost a quarter of a million people across Northern Ireland having their jobs supported by the UK Government's relief schemes.

It looks like nearly five million items of PPE committed to Northern Ireland from UK resources, and 250,000 medical-grade gowns heading from Northern Irish suppliers to front line workers in England.

Millions of pounds of support to keep Derry and Belfast airports open and vital air links running during the worst of the lockdown.

And, as the Chancellor recently announced, at least 2.2bn of additional funding for the Northern Ireland Executive this year.

This is the kind of alchemy that happens when Stormont and Westminster work together, hand-in-glove.

And I cannot overstate how important it is that this close cooperation continues as we strive to not simply rebuild in the wake of coronavirus, but to come back stronger than ever, bigger than ever, better than ever and ready to take advantage of the opportunities that lie ahead.

So when I meet with the First Minister and Deputy First Minister today I won't only be talking about the ongoing pandemic, vital though the fight against it remains. I'll be talking about the unique freedoms Northern Ireland will enjoy when the Brexit transition period comes to an end in five months from now.

About the 562m City and Growth Deal programme, bringing opportunity and prosperity not just to Belfast but every part of Northern Ireland. And about our hugely exciting plans for marking Northern Ireland's centenary - using UK Government funding from the New Decade, New Approach package to support a programme of events that will help people across the UK and around the world celebrate Northern Ireland and its integral place within the United Kingdom.

All of these are serious issues for Northern Ireland's leaders, yes.

But they are also just as important to me as what's going on in London or Liverpool or Leeds.

Because this Government has an unshakeable commitment to each and every person in each and every nation of our United Kingdom.

And, just as we continue to fight coronavirus together, so we will stand side by side as we build back better, constructing the kind of exciting, strong, prosperous Northern Ireland that we all want to see.
India, on Thursday, announced that it shall be funding the implementation of the Greater Malidivian Connectivity Project(GMCP) through a line of credit(LOC) worth $400 million and a grant of $100 million. The project shall link the capital of Male with the Gulhifalhu port and Thilafushi industrial zone along with a regular cargo ferry service between the two nations to boost trade and commerce.

"We are also starting an air travel bubble with the Maldives to sustain and promote the dynamic people to people ties between the two countries," said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in a tweet during a meeting with Maldives foreign minister Abdullah Shahid.

"India will fund the implementation of the Greater Male Connectivity Project(GMCP) through a $400 million Line of Credit(LOC) and $100 million grant. The 6.7 km bridge project connecting the capital with Gulhifalhu Port and Thilafushi industrial zone would help revitalize and transform the economy of the Maldives," added Jaishankar.

"India's total financial commitment in the Maldives covering all loan and grant projects is well over US$ 2 Billion, all of which have been announced after President Solih came to power in November 2018, " added Jaishankar and Shahid.

The project is high visibility which would be the largest ever infrastructure project to be implemented. The project was an election promise by the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party(MDP) for which the current president of Maldives had personally sought India's assistance during a meeting with S Jaishankar in September 2019.

"It is noteworthy that approvals for a project of this scale were obtained in less than a year. This is unprecedented and is testimony to the special relationships between India and Maldives," said sources.

"The GMCP involves the construction of 6.732 km bridges and causeway links between the islands of Villingilli, Gulhifahu, and Thilafushi with Male. Out of the total length, the bridge-section will be 2.08 km, 780 m causeway, and 3.87 km embankment and causeway section," further added sources.

"The project shall help in demonstrating India's overarching presence in the Maldives through a high-visibility project in the Greater Male region and showcase the expertise of India in conceptualizing and implementing a complex infrastructure project of this scale," further added Jaishankar and Shahid.

The project has got the potential to change the economic landscape of Mauritius. The project would be an infrastructure complement to the Gulhifahu commercial port, which is being done under an Indian Line Of Credit(LOC) worth US$ 800 million.

As per sources, "the current port of Male has already reached its complete capacity and the government has now shifted the port of Male to Gulhifalhu. This has given the rise to the need of considering the development of link bridges to the three islands.''

"While fishing and tourism had come to a grinding halt in March due to the COVID pandemic, the economy of the nation was under immense strain. Financial assistance had been requested personally by the president of Maldives, during his telephonic conversations, " further added the sources.

"Right from the beginning of March, India has proven that they would stand with the Maldives in any crisis. India had donated 5.5 tonnes of essential medicines, helped in the evacuation of Maldivians from Wuhan, provided 580 tonnes of food aid, and deployed a medical assistance team to help the people of Maldives, " further added sources.

Sources have mentioned that the air travel bubble shall help the people immensely and the country shall be the first in the region to get the facility.

At present, seven projects in the Maldives have been going on with the USD 800 million Line Of Credit(LOC) given by India. These include water supply and sewerage systems on 34 islands, Addu Development Project- Road development and reclamation, expansion of Maldives Industrial Fisheries Companies(MIFCO), Gulhifalhu Port project among others.


Las Cruces will seek to adopt racial bias training for police and may require officers to intervene in possible excessive force episodes following the choking death of a Latino man, according to an agreement in a lawsuit announced Thursday.

The deal between the city of Las Cruces and a lawyer for the family of Antonio Valenzuela was part of the relatives push to reform Las Cruces police following their wrongful death lawsuit in the case.

The Washington Post has reported that between 2015 and last April, Las Cruces  where nearly 60% of residents are Hispanic  recorded the highest per capita rate of police killings in the nation.

Under the agreement, Las Cruces police agreed to ban all chokeholds and fire any officer who violates the new policy  something city officials say the city already does. Police also must adopt a warning system involving officers who use excessive force and forge a policy so officers can undergo yearly mental health exams.

The proposals must be approved by Las Cruces City Council.

The city also agreed to pay compensation to Valenzuelas family, but terms were not disclosed.

We are confident that we have made it cost-prohibitive for the Las Cruces Police Department to continue wrongfully killing its citizens, said Sam Bregman, the familys attorney.

Adrian Guzman, a spokesman for the city, said some of the proposed policies are already in place. The vascular neck restraint, for example, was prohibited by a policy put forth by the former police chief, Guzman said.

For the past five years, the city engaged a police audit firm that reported internal affairs complaints and reported on the number of use of force complaints, Guzman said. He said the city will seek proposals that continue and expand such reporting.

Valenzuela, 40, had a warrant out for his arrest because of a parole violation and fought with officers who tried to detain him after he fled from a traffic stop in February.

After a chase, then-Las Cruces officer Christopher Smelser applied the chokehold. Smelser, who is white, can be heard on police video saying, Im going to (expletive) choke you out, bro.

Valenzuela died at the scene. The coroner determined he died from asphyxial injuries and that he had methamphetamine in his system which contributed to his death.

Smelser was later fired and faces a second-degree murder charge. He has not yet entered a plea.

Smelsers attorney, Amy L. Orlando, said Smelser had been trained to use the hold and the murder charge was a political move meant to grab headlines.

The charge came as Black Lives Matter protests swept the nation in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Demonstrators have put pressure on police departments to change policies involving the use of force and interactions with Black, Latino and Native American residents.

The death of Valenzuela generated protests in Las Cruces. There were renewed protests after Floyds death.
A citywide campaign in Oakland raised $12.5 million to purchase computers and Wi-Fi hotspots to equip students for distance learning, but school began on Monday and many students did not have what they needed to join in virtually.

Officials said about 7,000 of Oakland Unified's approximately 35,000 registered students lacked equipment and hotspots on the first day of school for a variety of reasons.

Those overseeing the tech distribution blame a backlog in the delivery of purchased Chromebooks and hotspots as one of the reasons why students started school without the technology that the Oakland Undivided campaign has pledged to provide to about 25,000 low-income students.

The nationwide backlog has pushed delivery of the computers to later this month.

To bridge the gap until the Oakland Undivided technology arrives, the district is distributing loaner Chromebooks and hotspots to any student who needs them for distance learning regardless of their income. But even the loaners won't all be distributed until Friday, officials said.

The loaners are district property to be used by students during the school year. The Oakland Undivided Chromebooks will be given to students to keep as their own personal property, since the devices were funded by outside contributions that are being administered by the nonprofit Oakland Public Education Fund.

Oakland Undivided was launched last spring to close the digital divide by providing a computer and internet access to every student who needs one in the city, where nearly three-fourths of them are low income. The partnership between the district, city, and the nonprofit Oakland Public Education Fund estimated that about half of the students in the city were unconnected or had a weak Wi-Fi connection.

The district and the citywide campaign chose the Chromebook because it is relatively inexpensive and meets students' needs, officials said. The project initially distributed less expensive hotspots last March when schools closed due to COVID-19 and began distance learning, but they had data limits and their signals were inadequate. The project then invested in higher quality hotspots with unlimited data.

Although officials said last week that they hoped to distribute all the technology before school started, they acknowledged Monday that that didn't happen, in part, because some students were still registering or hadn't been assigned yet to teachers.

Preston Thomas, the district administrator who is overseeing the tech distribution, told EdSource that 26,016 of the district's approximately 35,000 registered students logged into online classes or meetings on Monday, which was significantly lower than the 33,500 students who showed up in-person on the first day of school last year.

He said this was because many families were still picking up devices this week, since distribution was being staggered each day according to grade level for social distancing, and some students are having trouble connecting after they get their devices.

"Students are still getting devices and checking in online," he said. "That's going to happen through this week."

Some students, he said, have family members who have tested positive for COVID-19, so their families could not pick up the devices. The district, he said, is exploring other ways to get the devices to those students.

Student Jessica Ramos, 17, who began her senior year at Skyline High on Monday, said she received a donated computer and hotspot, but said her internet connection was spotty.

"The hotspot is kind of acting weird," she said. "The internet did not reach into my room, so I had to move to the living room."

But Thomas said Ramos and other students who need them will receive a new hotspot through the project's partnership with T-Mobile that should be much more reliable.

Both district Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said on Monday that on a scale of 1-10, they would rate the citywide effort to close the digital divide a 7 at this point.

"We have devices that are on their way," Schaaf said, giving special thanks to Twitter founder Jack Dorsey for contributing $10 million toward the original $12.5 million goal in May to purchase technology for 25,000 households that needed it. "We want to take advantage of this moment to close the digital divide for good, not just this school year."

Schaaf said the Oakland City Council is working toward a long-term goal to provide public Wi-Fi citywide, starting along International Boulevard. She and Johnson-Trammell said technology is as important to society as other infrastructure supports including electricity, running water, roads, and bridges.

Johnson-Trammell said "there's still much work to do" to continue providing computers to students in the future, along with the tech support needed to ensure that "families know how to use the tools."

Tamonie Benjamin, whose sons Ja'Mon, 7, and Ronald, 9, attend Madison Park Academy Primary School in the district, said they won't receive their loaner computers until Thursday.

In the meantime, the boys were able to log into classes on Monday and Tuesday using computers at their daycare center, but they had trouble at first, so Benjamin needed to text her son's teacher to get the correct password.

"It was frustrating for the daycare provider because she had four kids she had to get on the computers," Benjamin said. "And it was kind of hard for me because I was at work. I didn't really want to be on the phone, but I wanted to make sure they got online because education is the most important thing. I hope this is not going to be a big issue for me trying to work and make sure my kids are able to get their work done."

Benjamin's sons have also been completing assignments in workbooks. They will receive free permanent computers and will return the loaners when the new computers are available, she said.

Teachers, whose bargaining team Wednesday reached a tentative agreement with the district over how to deliver distance learning, have said they worry about students' ability to log into classes, the quality of the devices they are using, and the need many teachers have for better computers and internet connections.

In negotiations, the union asked for a delay to the start of curriculum instruction for two weeks to allow time to check in with families and make sure they have the technology and support they need. Teachers also wanted time to plan lessons before starting rigorous classwork that some students may not be able to access.

"Many families are still struggling," Bethany Meyer, a member of the Oakland Education Association teachers' union, said Tuesday evening. "I met one of my new students today. He has a device, but no hotspot, so he was using his mother's phone to access a Zoom meeting. I sent her information in Spanish on how to use her phone as a hotspot for his Chromebook. Teachers are happy to do things like this, but we do feel that if this tech support was being handled centrally, that would free us up to do more for our students."

The Oakland Undivided campaign has pledged to provide tech support to families who qualify for the free equipment. And it has already launched phase 2 of its ongoing fundraising campaign, which initially set a goal of $4 million annually to buy computers and hotspots for students new to Oakland schools each year.

In addition, the campaign is considering fundraising for computers and improved internet connectivity for teachers who don't have devices and connections that are adequate to conduct high-quality distance learning. The group would also like to purchase laptops to give to graduating high school seniors to ensure they will be able to transition to college more easily.

Thomas said the district has purchased 550 Chromebooks for teachers who need them, which have larger screens than the student Chromebooks. And for those who need better internet service, he said "teachers currently have the option to work from their classrooms, where they get access to the district high speed wireless."

Editor's Note: As a special project, EdSource is tracking developments in the Oakland Unified and West Contra Costa Unified School Districts as a way to illustrate some of the challenges facing other urban districts in California. West Contra Costa Unified includes Richmond, El Cerrito, and several other East Bay communities.

Copyright  2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
Thousands of pupils "will burst open the floodgates" with appeals over the A-level grades they receive, it has been warned.

The grim prediction, from SDLP education spokesperson Daniel McCrossan, comes amid concerns that a generation of young people will be unfairly disadvantaged by what has been labelled 'the 2020 exam results fiasco'.

Around 25,000 pupils across Northern Ireland will receive their A-level and AS marks on Thursday morning, based this year on teacher assessments and a computer generated 'standardisation' model which includes the controversial use of a school's previous results.

On Wednesday Education Minister Peter Weir assured all students in Northern Ireland that they would get fair results, corresponding to their counterparts in England and Wales.

But A-level pupil Jamie Harkin, from Omagh, told the Belfast Telegraph that he and his friends are "scared to death because of the results fiasco".

The Drumragh Integrated College head boy, who is hoping to get three A stars, said he is "completely terrified after seeing how it has been handled in Scotland".

"The whole standardisation process is scary," he said.

"The students coming through our school this year are the best in a long time.

"The schools hasn't had A stars in some subjects for a while and it really worries a number of us - who are expected to get A stars - that our teachers' marks will be downgraded because of that."

Northern Ireland's exams board (CCEA) has said it will allow mock test results to be used in appeals by those disputing the grades they have been awarded after failing to sit exams because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

But Jamie, who admitted that he and his friends had not "slept for nights through worry", said he was against the idea, adding that mocks are not an accurate reflection of academic ability.

"People don't take mocks seriously," he said.

"Teachers even say they're to give children a bit of a kick to get them into gear for the real thing.

"A lot of students have a huge issue with this. It's completely unfair to even call them a safety net. Our teachers know us best. They know what we're capable of. This downgrading system really scares me."

He added: "In an ideal world a lot of us would have liked to sit the exams. I believe the best case now is to let teachers have the ultimate say when it comes to grades."

Mr McCrossan said this year's pupils are "being used as the collateral damage" in an exam results system that is not fit for purpose and was rejected by Scotland earlier this week.

"These children have only one chance and this is it," he said.

"CCEA should have had their markers and examiners work with school teachers to award grades.

"No computer analysis and no weighing of the previous performance of the school is going to determine a fair outcome for a child."

Serious concerns have also been raised over teacher assessments not being given enough consideration when awarding final grades to pupils.

And there has been a public outcry over the sustained secrecy over the use of a school's historic results to determine grades for individual pupils.

Mr McCrossan said the current scenario presented the "very real risk of potentially damaging a whole generation of school children".

"This system hasn't been tested and there will be judicial reviews as a result of it," he continued.

"No child should be losing out through no fault of their own.

"The floodgates will be opened wide on results day and people, rightly, will be ensuring that their voice will be heard because I don't think this system is fair at all.

"There will be children from disadvantaged backgrounds who have pushed themselves on who are going to be disadvantaged as a result of the previous performance of the school."

Mr McCrossan said he had "no faith" that giving students recourse to mock exam results for appeals was a potential solution and he added that it would be much better and fairer to "trust the teachers".

"It's time for the Education Minister Peter Weir and CCEA to put the children first," he added.

"Instead, it looks like they've dug their heels in, they've forgotten they're talking about children and they've stuck to a flawed system."

On Tuesday night, after the change in Scotland, CCEA said grades in Northern Ireland would still be awarded "based on a combination of teacher professional judgment and statistical modelling, as directed by the Minister of Education".

CCEA chief executive Justin Edwards has previously said top grades at A-level would have risen in 2020 by at least 10% if data from schools alone had been used and not standardised by CCEA.

Mr Edwards also said it would allow schools to use mock exam results in appeals if it felt a pupil had been given the wrong grade.

Mr Weir, meanwhile, told the BBC: "Where there is robust evidence that a mistake has been made or someone has been undervalued in terms of their result, the appeals mechanism will adjust their mark.

"That is the same position in England, with only a slight variation on the Welsh model."
Portland State University announced Thursday that campus safety officers will no longer carry guns during patrol.

The move comes as Portland nears 80 days of continuous protests against police violence and systemic racism.

Students at Portland State have lobbied to get guns removed from campus security. It was one of the issues that caused students and supporters to shut down a governing board meeting at the school in 2016.

In 2018, Navy veteran Jason Washington was killed by a campus police officer during a melee outside of the Cheerful Tortoise. The killing of Washington, who was Black, renewed calls to take guns away from campus safety.

Willie Halliburton, the universitys new campus safety chief, told The Oregonian/OregonLive that he believes disarming the officers needed to be done.

We can do an effective job without weapons, he said. I know theyre talented to do their jobs without the use of a weapon.

PSU spokesperson Christina Williams said patrols will be unarmed by fall.

Firearms will be kept at the CPSO office for emergency situations, Williams said.

Portland State in a statement called the move an important first step of a new process to Reimagine Campus Safety.

In October, Portland State nearly doubled the number of unarmed officers and increased training in non-lethal techniques, but declined to disarm the force.

Portland State currently has six sworn officers and 7 non-sworn, unarmed, campus security officers.

Over the past few weeks we have listened to many voices across our campus, PSU President Stephen Percy wrote in an email to the Portland State community about the change.

The calls for change that we are hearing at PSU are ringing out across our nation. We must find a new way to protect the safety of our community, one that eliminates systemic racism and promotes the dignity of all who come to our urban campus.

The university made the announcement at 11 a.m. and held a virtual press conference at 2 p.m.

In the five years that police have been armed on campus, there have been less than a handful of times that officers took their guns out, Halliburton said.

The campus officers will remain certified as police officers as long as they keep their training up to date, but they will no longer respond to any calls on campus that involve weapons. Under an agreement, Portland police will respond to those calls instead.

Halliburton said it was his decision and hopes "it will bring healing to this campus."

This is uncharted territory, Halliburton said during the press conference.

I did a lot of reflecting, including my own experiences, Halliburton said. I think this decision is going to be the best for our campus.

Halliburton said the campus safety team would partner with Portland police in critical situations on calls when weapons are involved.

He said campus safety would still be responding to calls like burglary and trespassing.

Halliburton said he would do everything he can not to put his officers in vulnerable situations.

Percy cited our growing commitment to anti-racism as one of the catalysts for the timeline of the change.

We mourn the tragic loss of Jason Washington, Percy said, saying his death contributed to the university to reconsider the use of weapons.

-- Lizzy Acker and Maxine Bernstein
Czech PM "not seeing any major threat" in reply to Pompeo's anti-China rhetoric

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Wednesday that the Czech Republic is a sovereign country, and he does not see any major threat here.

He made the remarks after visiting U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed at a joint press briefing here that the United States, a country with a poor track record of respecting other nations' sovereignty, stood "prepared to support" the Czech people if the latter were bullied by others.

During his visit, Pompeo repeated his anti-China agenda while talking about cooperation with the Czech Republic on 5G security and nuclear power plant construction. He claimed that using technologies from China and Russia would pose a "danger" to the sovereignty and security of the Czech Republic.

Calling the Czech Republic "a leader in Europe" on 5G and cybersecurity, Babis said that his country is "a sovereign country and I do not see any major threat here."

On the relations with China, despite Pompeo's botched attempt to sow discord, Babis said that the Czech Republic "seeks lines with the European Union and there's no fundamental problem here."

Pompeo's groundless claims about China have aroused strong condemnation from the Chinese Embassy in the Czech Republic.

Calling Pompeo's rhetoric as "full of ideological bias and Cold War ideas," the embassy said Pompeo is attacking China without any substantiation.

"In the name of so-called 'democracy and freedom,' Pompeo is attacking China without any substantiation, tarnishing China, trying to make China scapegoat for all existing problems and deliberately fomenting discord between other countries and China," the embassy said.

Quoting a Czech proverb that says "people are often caught in their own trap," the embassy urged Pompeo to stop spreading political viruses and false information, interfering in China's internal affairs, and subverting the unity and cooperation of the international community.
Pretected noted that this trend may sound counterintuitive at first; after all, driver activity dropped considerably during the pandemic, and some believed that drivers would be less bothered with their current coverage during this period.

But it actually makes a lot of sense when we see the struggling economy as more and more people are looking for every possible way to save a couple of extra dollars, Pretected commented.

The website also took note of which US states saw the biggest increases in auto insurance quote requests. California leads the pack with the highest increases in online requests for quotes, followed by Georgia, then New York. All three states also happen to be among the top states with the most COVID-19 cases in America, Pretected pointed out.
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Linkedin Mardika Parama (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 13, 2020 15:10 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066dc365c 1 Business Gapki,palm-oil-production,export,Trade,el-nino,COVID-19 Free

Indonesia, the biggest palm oil producer in the world, saw production and exports of the commodity contract in the first half of the year due to economic impacts of the pandemic as well as rolling impacts of drought and a price crash in previous years, the industry association has stated.

The Indonesian Oil Palm Association (GAPKI) reported that half-year production of crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel oil (PKO) had declined 9.2 percent year-on-year (yoy) to 23.5 million tons.

While the COVID-19 health crisis played a role in the decline in palm oil production, said GAPKI chairman Joko Supriyono, the palm oil price crash in 2018 and last years prolonged drought due to El Nino had a major effect on overall output.

The main [cause of] the decline in production isnt really COVID-19, but rather the domino effect of the palm oil price crash, which pushed down palm oil cultivation and fertilizer sales, he said.

Along with the decline in palm oil production the first half of 2020, exports fell 11.4 percent yoy to 15.5 million tons from 17.5 million tons, according to GAPKI data.

Global demand for palm oil products has declined significantly, which has affected our export performance. [This is] because countries are in lockdown, and we dont know how long [the situation] will last, Joko said.

According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), half-year palm oil exports fell 5.49 percent yoy to US$76.41 billion.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has forecast that global trade in 2020 will contract by 13 percent at best and 32 percent at worst amid the worldwide disruption caused by the pandemic.

According to GAPKI data, palm oil exports to all major destinations had declined except for exports to India, the United States and Pakistan, which grew 23 percent, 7 percent and 1 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, domestic consumption of the commodity in the first half of 2020 posted a slight yoy increase of 2.8 percent to 8.6 million tons, mainly due to increased production of oleochemicals during the pandemic.

Oleochemicals are chemicals derived from oils and fats of both vegetable and animal origins, and are processed into soaps, shampoos and detergents, as well as other consumer and industrial products, including sanitation and pharmaceutical products.

Joko added that the market share of domestic consumption grew 37 percent compared to exports, due to high domestic demand

In June, the domestic market share for palm oil products reached an unseen level of 37 percent, as last year's figure was around 30 percent. Hopefully, we can maintain our strong domestic market and attain equilibrium, he said.

Chairman Togar Sitanggang of the Indonesian Oleochemical Manufacturers Association (Apolin) said that oleochemical exports had spiked 24 percent yoy in the first half to reach 1.8 million tons for a total value of $1.3 billion.

As demand for oleochemicals continued to rise, Apolin projected that full-year exports could reach 3.7 million tons with an estimated value of $2.6 billion, higher than last years figure of 3.2 million tons valued at around $2 billion.

Everyone has a sanitation product in their pocket [now], which has increased demand for oleochemical products and overall production. We also havent experienced any disruption thanks to the government, and no overseas orders have been cancelled, Togar said.
Donald Trump says the Democrats want to give the Post Office $25B because they want it to make it work better and be able to handle the anticipated torrent of mail-in voter ballots this fall from people who fear a trip to the voting booth could result in COVID-19.

The sweet irony: Had Trump taken the threat posed by COVID-19 seriously in the first place, there would have be no surge in mail-in voting.

While Trump always makes it about himself, alleging a massive but non-existent mail-in fraud scheme is in the works to deny him re-election, the Democrats want to give USPS money so it can continue to be one of the most respected parts of the government.

A Pew Research survey in April found that 91 percent of Americans have a favorable view of the USPS. Eight percent have an unfavorable opinion.

That topped the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (79 percent) and the Census Bureau (77 percent).

Ironically, those are the two other units of the government that the president is politicizing.

The Post Office handles 143B pieces of mail every year. That includes prescription medicines delivered every day to millions of Americans, many of them elderly and housebound. Does Trump want to deny them life-giving medicines?

The Post Office also plays an important part in the social life of rural America, often serving as the hub of the community. Those rural areas are prime Trump districts.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, mailmen & women were deemed "essential workers" and were cheered as heroes by quarantined Americans.

Those postal workers are far more essential than some of the people at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

The cancellations of the Democratic and Republican conventions are just the tip of the iceberg. The American Hotel & Lodging Association is tailoring its pitch for more federal COVID-19 relief to the axing of this month's Democratic and Republican conventions in Milwaukee and Charlotte, respectively.

Oxford Economics projects Wisconsin will take a $186.5M economic hit, while North Carolina will be down $289.2M.

Hotels, restaurants, retail, transportation and event venues are among the biggest losers.

Chip Rogers, CEO of the AH&LA, says the political conventions represent just a small example of the negative impact that COVID-19 has had on the travel and hospitality business.

He anticipates state and local governments will lose nearly $17B from the drop in travel this year and warns that the market won't recover until 2023, pushing hotels and convention markets to the brink of collapse.

"Thats why it is vital that Republicans and Democrats come together to provide additional relief for industries impacted by this unprecedented health crisis," said Rogers.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will only have one minute to speak at the Democratic National Convention next week, in what some say is a surprising snub for the high-profile, rising star.

The convention was due to be staged in Milwaukee but is being held virtually this year, owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

AOC, as she is known, will not speak live, but instead will deliver a pre-recorded message on Tuesday night - the same night as Bill Clinton.

Others, however, will be permitted to address the convention live - among them Chuck Schumer, the Senate Minority Leader, and Pete Buttigieg, former presidential contender and mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 30, will deliver a 60-second message on Tuesday night at the DNC

The four-day online convention, which begins on Monday, is held under the title Uniting America.

It will feature different themes and speakers each day during two-hour broadcasts beginning at 9pm ET.

Michelle Obama and Bernie Sanders are opening proceedings on Monday night.

On Tuesday Bill Clinton, Schumer and Jill Biden are the main speakers.

Wednesday night sees speakers including Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton and Gabrielle Giffords - the Tucson congresswoman shot in the head, who has become a dedicated campaigner for gun control.

The event concludes on Thursday night with Kamala Harris accepting the nomination for vice president, and Joe Biden making his headline, nomination-accepting address.

Supporters of the Bronx-born congresswoman were up in arms over her representation at the convention.

She supported Bernie Sanders in the race for the nomination, rather than Biden.

Some pointed out that AOC, as she is known, is yet to work her way up Democrat ranks

Others were enraged at the allocation of such a short amount of time to the Leftist leader

'What a slap to the Progressive wing,' said one supporter.

'Its a constant spite of us. They think we will cower and peter our. They are wrong. We aint going anywhere.

'With @AOC as our leader were just getting started. Now that the squad was re-elected we are ready to rumble in the halls of Congress.'

Another admirer suggested: 'Other speakers should finish early then say at the end of their that the remainder of their time is going to @AOC,' adding the hashtag #LetHerSpeak.

One fan suggested that other speakers 'donate' their allotted time to AOC to give her more

But others pointed out that Ocasio-Cortez is a first-term congresswoman, yet to rise through the ranks.

Ocasio-Cortez, 30, did not seem bitter and acknowledged the news by tweeting the poem 'Life Is Just a Minute' by Benjamin E. Mays.

'I only have a minute. Sixty seconds in it. Forced upon me, I did not choose it, But I know that I must use it. Give account if I abuse it. Suffer, if I lose it. Only a tiny little minute, But eternity is in it.'

The poem, she noted, was recited by the late Elijah Cummings, representative for Maryland.
The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing government-mandated restrictions brought a unique and unprecedented set of challenges to the small-medium enterprise (SME) sphere in Malaysia and indeed, all over the world. However, even in ordinary times, running a business is all about overcoming obstacles and coming out bigger and stronger on the other side.

Now that Malaysia has moved into its recovery phase and SMEs are geared to restarting business in the new normal, lets take a look at some of the strategies that SMEs should employ to navigate the post-Covid landscape of todays world. We also spoke to Maybanks Head of SME Banking, En. Adnan bin Sharif, to get deeper insight into the issues currently faced by SMEs and what digital and financial solutions are available for businesses to overcome them.

Prepare for the end of the moratorium

With the end of Bank Negara Malaysias mandated six-month bank loan moratorium drawing near in September, SMEs should take steps to evaluate their financial situation early on and not wait until the eleventh hour to assess their options. If businesses foresee having difficulties with resuming their payments once the moratorium ends, the key thing is to come forward and speak to the banks in advance to enquire about repayment assistance.

Repayment assistance involves modifying the loan/financings original repayment terms and conditions to provide financial relief to those impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and require extended support after the 6-month moratorium ends on 30 September 2020. Repayment assistance can help SMEs sustain their business and free up more needed cash flow to run their business, said En. Adnan. We encourage business owners to look into this for advance preparation before 30 September 2020; Maybank has a dedicated SME team who is always ready to have this conversation with you to find the best financial solution for your business.

Making use of financing facilities at hand

SMEs in need of new or additional financing to solve their cashflow issues should make full use of the various financing facilities that are available to them. The government has many ongoing SME-focused funds available, such as the Automation & Digitalisation Fund, and the Agrofood Facility  not forgetting the latest funds introduced under the PENJANA economic recovery package like the PENJANA SME Financing and PENJANA Micro Financing schemes. These funds are introduced to aid SMEs on sustaining their business in this challenging times and it is offered at very reasonable rates and SMEs should definitely look into how they can benefit from them.

Government funds are not the only financing facilities that are currently being extended to SMEs. Businesses can explore other financing options that are being offered by the banks which can meet their cash flow and liquidity needs as well. For example, Maybank offers collateral-free financing where you do not need to pledge any assets to obtain the facility  an added advantage especially during these times.

The importance of contactless payments

In a recent study conducted by Mastercard, it was found that the Covid-19 pandemic and movement restrictions had sped up the adoption of e-commerce, digital payments, and online activities in Malaysia. In fact, the study showed that Malaysians displayed a higher usage of digital payments and mobile wallet usage compared to other countries in Southeast Asia. As a result of the shift to digital and contactless payments, cash usage in Malaysia has declined by 64% since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since Malaysian consumers are seen to be shifting their preferences towards contactless and cashless payments, it is important for SMEs to evolve the way they do business and adapt to their customers needs accordingly. Having a cashless payment gateway such as Maybank QR Pay, Maybank2u Pay, and Maybank card terminal can add value to retail businesses. For instance, Maybank QR Pay allows retail business to accept payments instantly from customers via QR code; Maybank2u Pay provides a seamless journey for customers to shop and pay at their business e-commerce site. It also helps to minimise tedious operational issues of counting cash at the end of every business day and provide clear transaction records that will be reflected in your account within 24 hours.

Moving banking transactions online

Moving towards digitalisation in the new era involves more than just accepting new payment methods. With physical distancing now a priority in the new normal, it is an advantage for businesses to move processes online wherever possible. Indeed, the pandemic has brought about the strict enforcement of new standard operating procedures and health and safety measures; however, these can be easily followed with the help of the right digital tools.

One of the ways in which SMEs can digitalise some of their business processes is by obtaining a suitable digital platform for all their banking and financial transactions. SMEs should start fully utilising online banking facilities to perform their banking transactions, pay bills, pay salaries, and more importantly, to reconcile account balances on a daily basis, reiterated En. Adnan. All this can be done anywhere and anytime. There are two types of online banking platforms available in Maybank: Maybank2u Biz for small and medium companies, and Maybank2E for larger SMEs. Utilising online platforms will not only help to save time to pay bills or suppliers, it also facilitates physical distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Covering all the bases

Another case study of how Maybank has assisted SMEs to branch out in other ways include the creation of its Sama-Sama Lokal platform, where businesses can list their products for sale to spread their digital reach. Moves like these are important in current times given that consumption patterns have moved to the online medium. Maybank also helped connect these businesses with delivery services and subsidised partial delivery charges for selected local businesses in certain locations to help SMEs attract more customers and ease their operating costs.

Adapting to the present and anticipating the future

To conclude, SMEs have faced a wave of new challenges since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic  but there are many steps that can be taken to help overcome these obstacles. Whether it is solving cashflow issues, digitalising processes, or even reviewing business sustenance, SMEs have an array of tools at hand to rise above any given challenge and come out stronger than before.

From being proactive about their finances to embracing new ideas in the new normal, SME owners should take full advantage of all the options available to them in order to move forward with their business. There will always be ups and downs but businesses must preserve and look at the downtime as an opportunity to reset and innovate to come out stronger. Maybank SME strives to put together solutions to support you at every step of your journey to realise your business goals, said En. Adnan.

You can find out more about Maybank SME Repayment Assistance here and Maybanks holistic solutions for SMEs here.

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The Arecibo Observatory, located in Puerto Rico, took the latest damage in a string of many mishaps through the years. The cause of the current misfortune is still unexplained.



The Observatory's Importance

Arecibo is one of the world's most powerful telescopes. SETI, or the Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence, started here, together with the visionaries who earnestly thought that we could find alien life in the future.

The observatory has been used countless times by astronomers since 1963 when it started operations. Arecibo has since been instrumental in producing many scientific discoveries about the solar system, the galaxy, and beyond.

It has been involved in many accidents in the past. Earlier this week on August 10, around 2:45 AM. A metal cable support got snapped and had fallen on the dish. The impact created a gash 100 feet long in its aluminum. The steel cable mesh that supported the dish also broke, causing debris to fall below.

University of Central Florida (UCF) spokesperson Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala said that nothing like this happened to Arecibo in the past. UCF is one institution among many which operate Arecibo. Engineers have not determined the cause of the damage. The telescope has currently paused observation activity.



Other Disasters

As Hurricane Maria devastated the country in September 2017, power was unavailable for many months. One of Arecibo'sArecibo's antennae, 29 meters in length installation above the observatory, was destroyed and punctured a hole in the aluminum dish. The observatory was temporarily run with generators due to the storm.

Last January 2020, earthquakes also made it impossible to conduct observations. Some tremors reached up to 6.4 magnitudes, and people were barred from going to the site. In 2014, an earthquake, also with a 6.4 scale, damaged the telescope.

Arecibo also had almost been shut down in the past due to funding uncertainties.

Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic, astronomers have been prevented from using the observatory. The work continues, however, since the telescope can be remotely operated.

Last July, as Isaias ravaged Puerto Rico, astronomers wanted to observe an asteroid. As soon as it passed, Arecibo was in operation, and researchers got to study the celestial object for 2.5 hours, just managing to learn its orbit and shape.



The Cost of Damages

The latest accident occurred while the facility still had not fully recovered from Hurricane Maria's effects three years ago. The structural damage was repaired, but the dish is still undergoing recalibration to restore its past sensitivity to radio waves of high frequency. Planetary Habitability Laboratory director and astrobiologist Abel Mendez says it takes time to do so. He says the observatory is not as sensitive now, and with this latest unfortunate event, they will to restart their efforts again.

As Arecibo struggled from the effects of Hurricane Maria, it missed the opportunity to study the asteroid ''Oumuamua when it passed Earth, says Mendez.

Officials still do not know how long it will take to repair the facility fully. The problem may be debilitating for those who use it to detect asteroids near the Earth.

Even as Mendez feels frustrated, he believes the observatory is resilient enough to rebound from this latest event, as Arecibo has always done.
Shake Shack, a New York burger brand, opened its first restaurant in Beijing Wednesday.



The restaurant, located in TaiKoo Li Sanlitun, a shopping area popular among young people, is the 12th restaurant that Shake Shack has opened in China.

Despite downpours in the Chinese capital city on Wednesday, food lovers turned out for the popular burgers, snacks and cold beverages.

"I once tried Shake Shack in the Republic of Korea, and it was yummy. I heard about the opening of this new restaurant a while ago, and I've been looking forward to taking my sons for a bite," said Zhang Ziqi, 37, who drove over half an hour to the restaurant.

Shake Shack entered the Chinese market in 2018, opening its first restaurant in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), and last year, the company opened its first restaurant in Shanghai. There are now six restaurants in the Hong Kong SAR and five in Shanghai.

"We feel honored to open a restaurant in Beijing," said Randy Garutti, CEO of Shake Shack.

He said that China is one of the most important markets for Shake Shack in the world, and Beijing, as China's capital and an international metropolis, represents the new frontier of consumption.

Shake Shack is also planning to open a restaurant in Shenzhen in 2021. The company aims to have 55 Shake Shack restaurants on the Chinese mainland by 2030.
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Luckily, our household did a big shop on Tuesday so we can sit tight for a couple of days. But we hastily cancelled lunches and business meetings, contacted friends whod found the first lockdown tough and were anxious about doing it all over again, and listened in to the teenagers commiserating with their mates about the weirdness of their first year at university. Theyd only been back on campus for two weeks after studying in lockdown for most of semester one. Now theyre resigning themselves to another round of online lectures and tutorials, and checking in on their friends stuck in the halls of residence.

Jacindas be kind message passed by some people entirely as, amid much swearing and cursing, hundreds of thousands of workers rushed into their offices early Wednesday morning to gather their belongings and laptops before the noon lockdown. That resulted in traffic jams in and out of the city, compounded by the people making a dash to their holiday homes outside the Auckland area. They needed to be quick to avoid the police checkpoints which also kicked off at noon in a bid to stop further community spread of the virus.

But how effective will these measures be? At the moment, Aucklanders are in lockdown until midnight Friday while the rest of New Zealand basks in level two, and smirks at their big city compatriots. However, most people expect the lockdown to be extended, especially with the news that two of the four COVID-19 cases travelled 200 clicks down country last weekend to visit the attractions in tourism hotspot Rotorua.

On social media, some people are grumpy at the family at the centre of the outbreak, while others are urging compassion. After all, with the borders shut, Kiwis have been actively encouraged to travel domestically to fill the international gap. Do Something New, New Zealand said the Tourism NZ campaign. So loads of us did just that, not expecting wed be back in the land of COVID purgatory quite so soon.
A world without nuclear weapons. For that matter a world without war  a world grounded not in fear and distrust, but in mutual respect for the life and dignity of all.

That idyllic goal for the planet Earth and the 7.6 billion people who inhabit it was front and center in the message from Archbishop of Santa Fe John Wester last week marking the 75th anniversary of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima that ushered in an age of nuclear weapons that endures to this day.

The U.S. Conference of Bishops, he said, reminds us that the United States has a responsibility to reverse the spread of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and quotes Pope Francis as saying that money spent on such things in the name of national defense when millions live in inhumane conditions is an affront crying out to heaven.

His comments were in a program put together by peace activist Fr. John Dear, who says that unlike Pope John Paul II, Francis believes nuclear weapons can no longer be justified as a deterrent. Deterrence has nothing to do with Jesus, he said. You must love your enemy, and a nation that builds or maintains nuclear weapons is all the same pure level of evil.

While Wester acknowledges two of the nations pre-eminent nuclear weapons labs are located in New Mexico  he says the 20,000 plus employees at Sandia and Los Alamos should work on other, more morally acceptable, projects  he and Dear appear to be living in a world that sounds lovely but will never exist.

Neither Wester nor Dear appear to accept the premise there is any deterrent benefit to the nuclear arsenal  even though the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have kept a nuclear peace since 1945 even as nations like Pakistan and North Korea have developed nuclear weapons. And they dont acknowledge that use of the weapons by President Truman saved hundreds of thousands of Allied soldiers, sailors and Marines and millions of Japanese because they forced Japan to surrender rather than fight to the last man.

Horrific? Yes. Estimates of the death toll from the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki range from 120,000 to 230,000. But war is horrific. World War II claimed 60 million lives.

In an interesting juxtaposition, the archdiocese vicar general took a more balanced approach in a piece he wrote for the August edition of the People of God newsletter for Catholics in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. Many criticize the U.S. use of the atomic bomb to end WWII, but war pursued in ANY manner is a horror, the Very Rev. Glennon Jones writes. It plagues humanity regardless.

He argues firebombing in Japanese and German cities killed at least as many as the atomic bombs. And that bombing would have continued along with an invasion of Japan.

Only the shock of the immense power contained in a single bomb  and the uncertainty about how many such bombs the U.S. possessed  convinced the Japanese emperor to break the ruling councils deadlock in favor of surrender and peace. Japan today is a key U.S. ally.

As for unilateral disarmament as some propose? While other nuclear-capable nations would not likely be impressed, Jones writes, its entirely likely a worldwide nuclear free-for-all might ensue. And as for pacifistic wholesale surrender to save lives? It might do so for time but  history shows genocide becomes a real possibility when rulers weary of the powerless ruled.

So much for loving your enemy.

The ideal, Jones writes, may be No Nukes!

But until the day arrives in which such disarmament and its absolute verification is possible, the mission of the Los Alamos and Sandia labs is not only valid but essential in maintaining the (admittedly tense) nuclear restraint through the world, Jones writes. There is a vital difference, between the promotion of an ideal and being naively idealistic.

To which we would add, Amen.

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.
A bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde, A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian would hear on Thursday the PIL filed by BJP leader and lawyer Ajay Agrawal regarding Sushant Singh Rajput's death.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Thursday, 13 August, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a "unified" Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the death case of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, contending that "the entire country is shocked with the way the Mumbai Police is handling this case".

Rajput, aged 34, died by suicide in suburban Bandra in Mumbai on 14 June. Since then the Mumbai police has been probing the case, and their counterparts in Bihar have also lodged an FIR.

A bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian would hear the PIL filed by BJP leader and lawyer Ajay Agrawal on the issue.

The apex court on 30 July and 7 August had dismissed two similar PILs filed by Alka Priya and Mumbai-based law student Dwivendra Devtadeen Dubey respectively.

"Deceased's father is pursuing the case. There is no reason that he will not pursue it properly. You are a stranger in this matter and you are unnecessarily coming in this. We will not permit this," the bench had told the counsel of Dubey on 7 August.

Agrawal, who has been pursuing Bofors pay off scam case in the apex court, has filed the PIL seeking a direction to CBI to take up the investigation in the death of Sushant Singh and the events which led to the untimely death of the actor.

He filed an additional affidavit in which he contended that "the entire country is shocked by the way the Mumbai Police is handling this case. There are many loopholes in the initial stage of the investigation. Whether these are deliberate or not, this itself is a matter of probe."

In his additional affidavit, the lawyer said, a responsible person like Narayan Rane, who is a former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, is alleging that it is a clear cut case of murder.

"Media trial is going the whole day on all electronic news channels. This all should be put to rest by a unified CBI investigation of this case, which is a highly professional agency and well equipped to deal with such type of high profile and controversial case," it said.

"That on 14 June, Sushant Singh Rajput, an upcoming Bollywood film star, was found dead in mysterious circumstances. Mumbai police immediately declared it a case of suicide. But nobody could swallow this theory of suicide of a bright carrier upcoming star who played a lead role in the film of 'MS Dhoni," the plea said.

The PIL also referred to the news that Rajput's partner Rhea Chakraborty had withdrawn Rs 15 Crore from the account of Sushant Singh Rajput out of total Rs 17 Crores balance in his account.

The Bihar government has already recommended the CBI inquiry in the sensational case after actor's father made the request for it and the Centre has notified it as well.

The Maharashtra government has been opposing the transfer saying Bihar had no jurisdiction over the case.

Another bench of Justice Hrishikesh Roy has on Tuesday reserved its verdict on Chakraborty's plea seeking transfer of the FIR lodged against her by Rajput's father at Patna to Mumbai.

Rajput's father has accused Chakraborty of abetting the suicide of his actor son in the FIR lodged at Patna.

*

A collection of Suicide prevention helpline numbers are available here. Please reach out if you or anyone you know is in need of support. The All-India helpline number is: 022 2754 6669
A mother has shared the incredible story behind a photo of a surgeon meeting with her husband outside the hospital during the coronavirus pandemic.

Angie took the image of her husband Luke and their son's surgeon walking side by side outside Queensland Children's Hospital in Brisbane on Tuesday.

The family were there to hear whether nine-year-old Corbin's upcoming operation to cure his inflamed oesophagus would be able to go ahead.

When the family arrived at the hospital they were dealt a devastating blow - only one parent was allowed in the hospital due COVID-19 restrictions.

Upon hearing their dilemma, their surgeon packed up his papers and raced down stairs to hold the meeting outside, ensuring both parents could be present.

The tiny gesture left both Luke and Angie in tears.

This is a photo of a surgeon who goes above and beyond for his tiny patients and their families. On the left is Corbin's surgeon and on the right Luke, Corbin's dad

The family were there to hear whether nine-year-old Corbin's (pictured) upcoming operation to cure his inflamed oesophagus would be able to go ahead

Corbin (pictured left) with his brothers (Centre: Ace, five and Dash, six) before heading to hospital for another surgery - he's had 28 surgeries in his short life

'The fact that he went to that effort, just to have that little bit of kindness makes all the difference in the world,' Angie told Daily Mail Australia.

'We were so petrified because of what was going to be said and it was bad news but we were able to hear it together.'

What is VACTERL association? VACTERL association is a disorder that affects many body systems. It stands for vertebral defects, anal atresia, cardiac defects, tracheo-esophageal fistula, renal anomalies, and limb abnormalities. Advertisement

Corbin was born with VACTERL association, a rare and complex medical condition that affects most of his internal organs.

It stands for vertebral defects, anal atresia, cardiac defects, tracheo-esophageal fistula, renal anomalies, and limb abnormalities.

He also has epilepsy, chronic lung disease and low immunity.

He's had about 28 surgeries in his short life and is currently in need of an operation to treat his inflamed oesophagus.

But due to his complicated medical history it was very risky.

Angie and her husband had lost a lot of sleep over meeting to discuss the upcoming surgery.

'We don't have a plan B, this is the only plan. The biopsies have come back saying that his poor oesophagus won't be able to withstand the acid for much longer,' she said.

It was an anxious two-hour drive from the Sunshine Coast to Brisbane for the meeting on Tuesday.

Luke had dropped Angie and Corbin at the front of the hospital while he went and found a park. He was planning on meeting them inside the hospital.

Corbin, nine, was born with a rare complex medical condition that saw him whisked away for surgery the moment he was born

Luke was devastated when he was told he wouldn't be allowed in the meeting due to COVID-19 restrictions

Angie and Corbin were already in the consult room with the surgeon when Luke called to tell them he wasn't going to be able to join them as they were only allowing one parent or caregiver into the hospital due to COVID-19.

Luke was devastated as they had been unaware of the rule change.

'I heard his voice cracking as we have been so worried about what the outcome of this surgery would be but we knew that the rules were for the best,' Angie said.

'He just said 'not a problem, I'll just wait outside for you'.

Angie then told the surgeon her husband would be unable to join them, she said she would explain it to him later.

But within seconds the surgeon was packing up his belongings and ushering them out the door.

'He said 'let's go find him and we can have this meeting outside'.'

The family were there to hear whether nine-year-old Corbin's (pictured) upcoming operation to cure his inflamed oesophagus would be able to go ahead

Corbin (pictured left with his brothers Dash and Ace) was born with vacterl association, a rare and complex medical condition that affects most of his internal organs

The surgeon then broke the heartbreaking news that the surgery would be too risky to do.

Despite the bad news, Angie said she was grateful the surgeon had made the effort to ensure she was not alone hearing it.

'If I had to hear that by myself it would've been a lot harder to take.'

The family is now left waiting and hoping that another option presents itself to help Corbin.

'We know that the biopsies have shown we have limited time to act in order to save his oesophagus,' Angie said.

'The first thing is going to be a new set of tests that will be undertaken and then we will go from there.'

Angie said she understood and appreciated the restrictions as Corbin is in the high-risk category.

'Without everybody following the rules we wouldn't be able to see a surgeon. Corbin has no immunity so he's high risk, he's one of the ones everyone is protecting at the moment.'
The UAE and Israel on Thursday agreed to establish full diplomatic relations in a deal brokered by US President Donald Trump, a breakthrough the three nations say will advance peace in the Middle East and result in Jerusalem suspending its plans to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank. "This historic diplomatic breakthrough will advance peace in the Middle East region," according to a joint statement tweeted by Trump. "After 49 years, Israel and the United Arab Emirates will fully normalise their diplomatic relations," Trump said from the Oval ...

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Low blood pressure forced Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to briefly stop his speech to parliament, state television said today.

The 54-year-old leader was speaking to the assembly for the first time since last months parliamentary elections. He stopped for multiple sips of water, telling the audience, My blood pressure has dropped and I need to drink water.

"I need to sit for a minute if you don't mind, he told the room full of masked, distanced lawmakers, according to The Associated Press.

Assad suddenly got down from the podium and left the room for a few minutes, according to the office of the Syrian presidency, which said he suffered a slight drop in his blood pressure.

Upon returning to a cheering room, Assad joked that doctors are the worst patients and blamed the situation on going without food.

Assad, a former ophthalmologist, isnt reported as having any significant health problems. His wife, first lady Asma Assad, recovered from breast cancer last year.

During his speech, Assad blamed American sanctions for his countrys most recent economic woes, including a currency that has plunged to historic lows. Ahead of Washingtons so-called Caesar Act sanctions in June, the Syrian pound tumbled to a record 3,000 to the US dollar.

The US sanctions regime is designed to put economic pressure on Assad, who has presided over a conflict that has left hundreds of thousands dead and created the worlds worst refugee crisis.
LANSING, MI  Beaumont Health hospital said Wednesday, Aug. 12, it will reinstate visitor restrictions out of an abundance of caution following a rise in coronavirus cases among staff, patients and visitors.

Beaumont Health, Michigan's largest health care system, said the limits will begin Thursday at its Farmington Hills campus. Beaumont has cared for more COVID-19 patients than any other system in the state, the Associated Press reports.

No one will be allowed in the rooms of patients with pending or positive tests except for in end-of-life or other extreme circumstance. In cases not related to COVID-19, one person can visit under several exceptions if he or she is screened and wears personal protective equipment. CASES

Michigan reported nine additional coronavirus-related deaths and 517 more confirmed cases. That brought the death toll to 6,539 and the case count to nearly 98,700, including roughly 9,400 probable cases and 266 probable deaths.

Over the past two weeks, the seven-day case average has remained mostly constant, at around 720, according to an Associated Press analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.
A tenant was given $700 in compensation after finding two dead possums that had been rotting in her roof for months on end.

Lorraine Elizabeth Lane, was renting the home in South Australia when she noticed a hideous odour, a swarm of flies and even brown liquid oozing from the ceiling.

She reported the disgusting smell to a property agent in January, but it wasn't until April when the dead animals were finally found and removed.

Ms Lane found the scent that lingered through the house so hard to deal with that she had to avoid using the laundry and bathroom.

A South Australian tenant was given $700 in compensation after two dead possums were found in her roof that had been there for four months (file image of brushtail possum)

SA's Civil and Administrative Tribunal ruled Ms Lane's landlord must compensate her $700 of her rent.

The tribunal found that the landlord failed to 'act with reasonable diligence'.

But the home manager argued several attempts had been made to identify the smell, including sending a plumber to check the drains.

The landlord was found to be responsible for the smell as it was clear there had been openings in the ceiling for the possums to enter through.

'The work involved in removing the roof sheeting  to investigate and then deal with the problem  was work for which the landlord should be responsible,' the tribunal said.

In South Australia, landlords are required by law to ensure the home is repaired and kept clean.

They are also required to not cause any interference with the tenant's comfort or privacy.
A woman holds the former flag of Belarus during a protest against police violence Thursday in Minsk, the capital. (Sergei Gapon / AFP/Getty Images)

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, the man dubbed Europes last dictator, seems to have badly underestimated at least two serious threats to his 26-year rule.

One is a microscopic contagion, the coronavirus, which has killed hundreds of his compatriots. The other: masses of women, many of them clad in white, linking arms in a show of defiant solidarity in the streets of Minsk, the capital of the former Soviet republic.

The country, home to 9.5 million people, has been rocked by protests since Lukashenko, its longtime president, was declared by election authorities to be the landslide winner of Sundays national election.

With signs of blatant vote-rigging, human rights groups, the European Union, the United Nations and the Trump administration have all cast doubt on the election's fairness and decried the brutal treatment of peaceful protesters.

Throughout the week, a crackdown by security forces on opposition demonstrators has escalated. Nearly 7,000 people have been detained, the Interior Ministry said Thursday. Viral videos showed shockingly violent beatings of protesters; reports trickled out of horrific jail conditions and torture of detainees.

Adding a new dimension to the unrest, workers at state-run factories  a key Lukashenko constituency  were beginning Thursday to lay down their tools and stage strikes. And several well-known news anchors at state-run outlets have quit, unwilling to voice the government line.

One of the most striking sights to emerge from days of protests has been women forming solidarity chains, waving flowers or portraits of detainees, demanding an end to police brutality while passing motorists honked their support.

Women all across #Belarus are forming human chains of solidarity. In this video I took a moment ago in #Minsk, they are chanting "We are for peace!" This is also a powerful protest against police brutality. Such rallies are happening in Grodno,Lida,Baranavichy,Zhodzina pic.twitter.com/YEwiNPd4hT  Hanna Liubakova (@HannaLiubakova) August 12, 2020

People are not afraid any more here in this country, Natalia Denisova, a lawyer and election monitor, told the BBC. They want an honest election  that is all they want.

Story continues

Three of the countrys key opposition figures are women, including the main opposition candidate, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who, under pressure from law enforcement, fled to neighboring Lithuania after filing a formal complaint over the election results.

Even in a fairly traditional society where many women hew to traditional gender roles, the views of the 65-year-old Lukashenko are seen by many as retrograde; he has said the country is not ready for a woman leader.

Until taking over for her husband, a jailed blogger, Tikhanovskaya, 37, was a full-time homemaker and mother, but she proved a charismatic figure, and her backers waged an adept social-media campaign.

She was clearly severely underestimated by Lukashenko, said Nigel Gould-Davies, who was Britains ambassador to Belarus in 2008-09. The role of women in both the election campaign and the protests, he said, has been distinctive and important  I cant think of another of these sorts of events in the region with such a strong and significant gender element to it.

Belarus only Nobel literature laureate, Svetlana Alexievich, also added her voice to the protests, condemning violence and saying Lukashenko should step aside.

Leave before its too late, before you have plunged the people into a terrible abyss  into the abyss of civil war, the 72-year-old writer said Wednesday in an interview with the Belarus service of Radio Liberty, directing her remarks at the longtime leader. Alexievich was awarded the 2015 literature Nobel for her work chronicling repression and official malfeasance in former Soviet republics.

European Union foreign ministers were to meet Friday to consider imposing sanctions on Belarus. On Thursday, foreign envoys in Minsk laid flowers at the site where a demonstrator died this week. Authorities said he was carrying an explosive device that went off while he was preparing to throw it, a version of events that has been challenged by opposition activists.

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo, traveling in the region as the Belarus unrest continued to unfold, reiterated hopes for a better outcome for the people of Belarus.

Im confident that the EU and the United States fully share the same concerns about what has taken place, and what is taking place, in Belarus, he said Thursday in Slovenia. Pompeo drew criticism for failing to mention Belarus in a speech delivered a day earlier to Czech lawmakers on freedom in "the heart of Europe."

The EU is treading somewhat carefully, not wanting to drive Lukashenko into a closer embrace with Russia. Although the Belarus president has had some tensions with Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin has made clear he does not want to see the country turn toward the West and seek membership in the EU or deepen partnerships with NATO.

The Belarus leader has railed angrily against what he calls outside interference, singling out eastern European neighbors Poland and the Czech Republic, along with Britain. He has received warm congratulations on the vote from a few world leaders, mostly authoritarian-minded ones like himself, including Putin and Chinas Xi Jinping, who like him see no need for leadership turnover.

Analysts said opposition to Lukashenko, building for years as Belarus economic situation worsened, was crystallized by his dismissive response to the COVID-19 outbreak, which he termed coronapsychosis.

As the country's caseload has mounted  Belarus now has some 70,000 reported infections, and nearly 600 deaths, among the highest per capita rates in Europe  he eschewed shutdown orders and other mitigation measures, urging people to stave off contagion by taking saunas and drinking vodka.

With the outside world paying more notice as the days passed, the protests were at a tense juncture. Analysts warned that if he feels cornered, Lukashenko could declare a state of emergency, tantamount to martial law  although that would raise the risk to the president that the military might be unwilling to back him in putting down mass unrest.

It might become a milestone moment, Minsk-based analyst Artyom Shraibman said. Theres just no way to reverse the course of changes.

Times staff writer Tracy Wilkinson contributed to this report.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-14 05:35:16|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

SANAA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- At least 17 fighters were killed on Thursday in fighting between Yemeni government forces and Houthi rebels in the northeastern province of al-Jawf, a local military source said.

"A total of 15 rebels and two government soldiers were killed and dozens from both sides were wounded this morning in the battle in the front line of al-Alam," the source told Xinhua by phone on condition of anonymity.

"The government forces seized a number of military vehicles and weapons from the rebels," the source added.

The Houthi group, which controls much of the province, has made no comment.

The area of al-Alam is located a few miles to the east of Houthi-held al-Hazm city in the center of al-Jawf province.

Yemen has been mired in civil war since late 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthi group seized much of the country's north and forced the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa. Enditem
By Akbar Mammadov

Some adversaries of our country who settled down abroad, as well as persons financed by the secret services of Armenia and receiving instructions from them, are conducting a slander campaign against Azerbaijani military officials, the Defense Ministry said on its official Facebook page on August 12.

In particular, the ministry mentioned Deputy Defense Minister, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Colonel-General Ministry who is among high-ranking officials against whom the slander campaign is being carried out.

Their claims that during a recent operational meeting, the General Staffs chief allegedly 'made offensive statements in connection with the arrival of Turkish servicemen at the joint exercises' are a lie and another slander. At the meeting, no opinion was expressed on the allegations, only official issues were discussed, the ministry said.

The ministry said that such slanderous reports only serve the interests of the occupying Armenia.

We categorically reject biased statements by these individuals. We state that the dissemination of such disinformation today, in the wake of the joint Azerbaijani-Turkish tactical exercises, is part of another provocation carried out by the Armenian special services against our country, the ministry concluded.

---

Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Passenger transportation units, especially airlines and railways, had not yet recovered fully from the first COVID-19 outbreak when the second outbreak occurred and dealt another blow.

After the new Covid-19 cases were discovered in Da Nang, people rushed to cancel travel plans, reported Tien Phong.





Railway



Deputy general director of the Vietnam Railways (VNR) Tran Thien Canh on August 5 afternoon reported that passengers have canceled bookings and asked for refunds of VND25 billion over the last week.



VNR has decided to stop running trains from/to Hanoi/HCM City  Da Nang and picking up/dropping off passengers at Da Nang Station.



Fearing an escalation of new cases, many passengers have canceled their travel plans. This has forced VNR to stop the exploitation of some trains, including SE11/SE12 (Hanoi  HCM City), NA1/NA2 (Hanoi  Vinh City), SP3/SP4 (Hanoi  Lao Cai), SE21/SE22 (HCM City  Quang Nam), and SQN1/SQN2 (HCM City  Quy Nhon).



The train frequencies have been reduced for some routes, including Hanoi  Yen Bai, HCM City  Nha Trang and HCM City  Phan Thiet with trains available only on weekend.



Aviation

As for the aviation sector, the domestic air network was expanded by 10 percent, but this only existed for some days before the second epidemic outbreak. Aviation has suffered the most.

As for the aviation sector, the domestic air network was expanded by 10 percent, but this only existed for some days before the second epidemic outbreak. Aviation has suffered the most.



In the immediate time, all the flights to/from Da Nang will be suspended from July 28 to August 11.



Until the decision was made, Vietnam air carriers had been providing flights on 11 domestic routes with approximately 100 flights a day and 40,000 passengers flying to/from Da Nang.



Airlines also have to reduce the frequency of flights on routes to tourism sites such as Phu Quoc Island, Nha Trang, Hue and Quy Nhon. They reported that the number of passengers dropped by 30 percent compared with the days before the second outbreak.



Big losses



After the first epidemic outbreak was controlled, Vietjet Air opened 52 domestic air routes, provided 14,000 flights and carried 2 million passengers. However, the revenue from air transport in Q2 was VND1.97 trillion only, a sharp fall of 54 percent compared with the same period last year and it took a loss of VND1.122 trillion.



As for Vietnam Airlines, it had revenue of VND25 trillion in H1 and took a loss of VND6.5 trillion.



Bamboo Airways has not made public the business results of H1, but sources said that in Q1 alone, the air carrier incurred a loss of VND1.5 trillion.



Meanwhile, Pacific Airlines predicted that the output and revenue in the whole year of 2020 would decrease by 64 percent and it would take a loss of VND1.2 trillion.

Translated by Thanh Mai

VN Civil Aviation Authority's plans for new Quang Tri Airport face opposition The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) plans to build Quang Tri Airport in Quang Tri province, but experts disagree with the idea.
Boris Johnson's top aide Dominic Cummings has been accused of parking his tanks on the Civil Service's lawn ever since entering No10.

But the PM's shadowy backroom fixer has now gone one step further and invaded their living room as his power grab to reshape British politics goes on.

Mr Cummings and another of Mr Johnson's top advisers Munira Mirza, are to leave No10 to set up a new 'control centre' for the PM in 70 Whitehall, the current home of the Cabinet Office.

It is a move that can be measured in the tens of metres, but one that may be seen as a larger one in terms of intent.

To all intents ant purposes it will create an 'office of the prime minister' in the middle of mandarin territory, the Times reported.

Mr Cummings has made no secret of his desire to shake up the Civil Service. Last month he won an internal power fight with Sir Mark Sedwill, the Cabinet Secretary, stepped down.

Mr Cummings is to leave No10 to set up a new 'control centre' for the PM in 70 Whitehall, the current home of the Cabinet Office

It is a move that can be measured in the tens of metres, but one that may be seen as a larger one in terms of intent

Mr Cummings will be joined by Munira Mirza, the head Mr Johnson's policy unit, in the new control room

Meanwhile Mr Cummings has also come under fire for his role in a review of Britain's defence capabilities.

MPs warned that Mr Johnson's pledge to overhaul defence and foreign policy is in danger of being undermined by the failure of Government to engage with outside voices.

The Integrated Review of foreign policy, defence, security and international development was billed in last year's Queen's Speech as the deepest and most radical re-evaluation of the UK's place in the world since the Cold War ended.

However, the Commons Defence Committee warned that there must be much greater transparency if its far-reaching ambitions are to be achieved.

With Mr Cummings reportedly playing a major role, the committee urged the Government to publicly identify the key players - including who will chair the review in Mr Johnson's absence.

It said the review needs to include a thorough assessment of the economic, diplomatic and military activities and the internal political dynamics of hostile foreign states, such as Russia and China.

It also requires a coherent vision of how Britain's armed forces will fight and operate in the future, setting out the platforms, weapons and personnel that would be provided to ensure that vision was realised.

Committee chairman Tobias Ellwood said it is essential that decisions are based on 'a clear view of the world and a detailed vision for the UK's role within it' rather than 'short-term economic considerations'.

'Number 10 has described the Integrated Review as the most comprehensive policy review since the end of the Cold War; however, we are concerned that the gap between this expectation and reality is widening,' he said.

'To ensure the review takes a strategic approach, there must be broader engagement and consultation of external stakeholders, and yet so far the committee has seen little evidence that this has taken place.

'The Defence Committee, alongside colleagues in the Foreign Affairs and International Development Committees, have repeatedly called for clarity and transparency from the Government. These calls have, at times, been left unanswered.

'A number of unknowns remain, including the key players at the heart of the review. A policy review of this importance should not take place behind closed doors.'

A Government spokeswoman said: 'As part of the Integrated Review, the Government will on Thursday publish a Call for Evidence, enabling us to hear from the public and our stakeholders to inform the long-term strategic aims of our international policy and national security, rooted in our national interests

'The Integrated Review will cover all aspects of international and national security policy, such as defence, diplomacy, development and national resilience. It will also take account of the implications of COVID-19, setting a strong direction for recovery at home and overseas.'
Clarification on Federal Eviction Moratorium Extension - Last Saturday, President Trump issued an Executive Order related to evictions and providing monetary assistance to renters.

However, the Executive Order does NOT reinstate the moratorium on evictions.

It does direct various executive officials to look at ways to assist renters and curb evictions. It is likely that the President does not have the authority to reinstate the moratorium. It will take an act of Congress to do that. President Trumps actions will have the effect of making Congress move more quickly to pass some type of legislation. As a result of the Executive Order, it is likely that the existing stalemate between the parties will diminish and some compromise will be reached. This may expedite the process and legislation may be passed quickly. Whether that legislation will have any eviction moratorium or what eviction relief will look like is yet to be seen.

The CARES Act moratorium did not stop evictions in progress. It merely stopped new filings. Hopefully, whatever is passed will follow the same path. That makes it a critical decision on management to determine what cases should be filed and how quickly. It is our advice to get cases filed in advance of the possible new moratorium. That will at least give options on how to deal with past due tenants. It is also our advice to serve End of Term notices to those tenants you desire not to renew, if you have not already done so.

The currently filed cases have not progressed sufficiently for the Courts to establish what they are going to do. Hopefully, the cases will move forward as they did prior to the moratorium. If there is any indication to the contrary, information will be forwarded.

It is our advice to continue to serve appropriate notices based upon non-payment of rent and end of term.
Commerce and Industry Minister on Thursday held a meeting with various industry associations to discuss ways to reduce imports in the automobile industry and increase localisation of auto components.

The ministry is working to push local manufacturing in several other sectors, including furniture and ACs, and reduce imports from countries like China.

"Held meetings with representatives from various industry associations and chambers of commerce along with government officials. Discussed ways to reduce imports in the automobile industry and increase localisation of auto components to promote Make in India," Goyal said in a tweet.

In 2018-19 India imported auto components worth USD 17.6 billion, of which 27 per cent (USD 4.75 billion) were from China.

The major component imports from China include drive transmission and steering parts, electronic and electrical items, cooling systems, suspension and braking parts.

(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.)
A recent paper published in The Economic Journal indicates that, in families with disabled children, the second born child is more adversely affected cognitively than the first-born child.

Brothers and sisters share a unique bond. They typically grow up in the same household, with the same parents and similar genetics, and experience life events together. Siblings have important influences on each other's lives. Siblings might teach each other directly; they might also model behaviors. But they also share limited parental resources such as time, attention, and money directed towards one child might be time, attention, and money diverted from another.

The researchers, analyzing data from Florida and Denmark, studied how adverse health shocks to one child could propagate to their siblings. Specifically, they examined the effect of having a younger sibling with a disability on test scores of older children, measured when they were in elementary and middle school.

Sibling disability is significant, as millions of families have at least one disabled child. In 2012-13, for instance, in the United States alone over 6.4 million children aged 3 to 21 (12.9% of all students) were supported under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The Florida analysis considers disabilities requiring special accommodations in school, while the Danish analysis is based on disabilities recorded in medical registries, so the two sites estimate the effects of fundamentally different types of disabilities. In Florida, the most common early childhood disabilities considered are speech impairment (48%), developmental delay (21%), and language impairment (17%). In Denmark, for the same age range, the most common disabilities considered are congenital malformations and deformations of the musculoskeletal system (20%), congenital malformations of the circulatory system (10%), and congenital malformations of genital organs (9%).

In order to causally identify sibling spillovers resulting from a younger child's disability, the researchers considered families with three or more children where a health shock (disability) occurred in the case of the third child. Within a family, the first- and second-born children face differential exposure to the affected third sibling. This differential exposure is related to the relative ordering of the two children; earlier-born children had more time in the family without the presence of the disabled third child, and are thus less exposed. The researchers did not find differential effect of exposure on birth and early postnatal outcomes for these children, outcomes that were measured prior to the arrival of third born child, disabled or not.

Despite the differences in settings and disabilities considered across Florida and Denmark, the researchers found evidence in both places consistent with there being a sibling spillover. They found that the second-born child in a family had worse outcomes (test scores in Florida, grade point average in Denmark) than did their older sibling when the third-born sibling was disabled, relative to the case in which the third-born sibling was not disabled. The magnitude of these differences is significant; for example, in Florida it is about half of the observed relationship between an extra year of maternal education and children's test scores. These results are concentrated in cases in which the third child's disability is observed early - and therefore, presumably, more likely to affect older siblings in early childhood. Furthermore, the results are driven by physical disabilities - which are likely to be more visible early and require more parental time and attention - rather than cognitive or behavioral disabilities.

"I think we all believe that individuals are affected by their siblings when they are growing up--either directly through their interactions with each other or indirectly through the allocation of parental resources such as money, time, and attention. However, it is very difficult to isolate empirically, because there are so many things simultaneously happening in the family that might also affect these children's outcomes," said the paper's lead author, Sandra Black. "It is exciting that we are able to make progress on this front and document the importance of siblings."

###

The paper "Sibling Spillovers" in The Economic Journal will be available at: https://academic.oup.com/ej/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/ej/ueaa074

Direct correspondence to:

Sandra E. Black

Department of Economics, Columbia University,

1022 International Affairs Building

420 West 118th Street

New York, NY 10027

sblack@columbia.edu

To request a copy of the study, please contact:

Daniel Luzer

daniel.luzer@oup.com

Sharing on social media? Find Oxford Journals online at @OxfordJournals
The European Union should firmly respond to the recent developments in Belarus, which has been engulfed in violent protests following a presidential election, Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas said on Thursday

HELSINKI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th August, 2020) The European Union should firmly respond to the recent developments in Belarus, which has been engulfed in violent protests following a presidential election, Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas said on Thursday.

On Friday, EU foreign ministers will hold a special video conference on the situation in Belarus. The decision on the meeting was made following the request of Poland, which expressed a readiness to mediate the conflict between the Belarusian government and the opposition earlier this week.

"Tomorrow, foreign ministers of the European Union member states will meet [to discuss] the same topic. The EU's response to what is happening in Belarus must be unified, timely and tough," Ratas said at a press conference.

The prime minister added that Estonia condemned "all political repressions violence against the opposition," as well as demanded that violence against the protesters end immediately.

People have been on the streets in Belarus since Sunday evening, when the election results showed incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko secure his sixth term with over 80 percent of the vote.

The demonstrations have been harshly suppressed by the security forces, with law enforcement officers using tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters. Thousands of people were arrested and many journalists, both domestic and foreign, went missing.

According to the Belarusian Interior Ministry, a person who tried to throw an unidentified explosive device at law enforcement officers was killed during the riots. Another person is reported dead after being detained in the city of Gomel.
HOUSTON, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- GoExpedi, an innovative e-commerce, supply chain and analytics company that is reinventing procurement for industrial and energy MRO (maintenance, repair and operations), today named Anthony Thomas as Senior Vice President of Strategy. Bringing 15 years of operations, M&A advisory, venture capital and executive management experience to GoExpedi, Thomas will spearhead the company's market expansion within energy as well as explore growth opportunities in other key sectors.

SVP of Strategy

"Though we've grown exponentially in oil and gas, market dynamics continue to present more opportunities for GoExpedi's innovative e-commerce platform to provide greater operational efficiencies and supply chain management support to all facets of the industry," said Tim Neal, GoExpedi's Chief Executive Officer. "However, we're seeing a greater need beyond energy. That's why we brought in Anthony, who has experience in generating business within energy technology and other sectors, to accelerate our growth in our existing verticals as well as new ones."

Before joining GoExpedi, Thomas was a Principal at Cottonwood Venture Partners, a venture capital firm focused on investing in energy technology, where he was involved in all aspects of business from sourcing, diligence, and portfolio management. Prior to Cottonwood, he served as Vice President of Business Development for Ringers Gloves where he led the company's expansion into non-oil and gas industries and, before that, served as Vice President of Investment Banking for Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Company.

"I'm looking forward to bringing my technical, business development and operational experiences and abilities to the impressive team at GoExpedi as they continue to propel energy into a new age as well as branch out into other sectors," said Thomas. "From the executive management team to the functional groups across the company, we are relentlessly focused on engaging with new and existing customers as well as trusted vendors to not only have a deeper understanding of their needs but to also drive the strategic initiatives that will continue to set the procurement standard for oil and gas and beyond."

About GoExpedi

Launched in 2017 and based in Houston, Texas, GoExpedi provides over 200,000 critical parts and supplies with complete transparency on price, supplier choice and availability through its online e-commerce platform. The company's innovative supply chain model has created a business that delivers the right part, at the right time, overcoming a fundamental challenge for the industry. Staffed by experts with oilfield management experience and backed by innovative technology, GoExpedi is able to deliver an incredible service at a lower cost than traditional suppliers. For more information, visit www.goexpedi.com.

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A Brisbane LGBTIQ+ activist who was confronted by protesters at a library in January as he read books to children says Brisbane City Council is "morally bankrupt" for allowing the publication and later debate of anti-LGBTIQ+ petitions.

Johnny Valkyrie said the library incident earlier this year, and public fallout - which cost the life of young protester Wilson Gavin - left him "demoralised".

Entertainers Diamond Good-Rim and Johnny Valkyrie at the story event that was crashed by protesters. Credit:Diamond Good-Rim/Facebook

Valkyrie and another entertainer, Diamond Good-Rim, were participating in the Rainbow Storytime event at Brisbane Square Library when the protest occurred. The fallout was swift and vicious, and several discriminatory petitions were lodged with the council demanding it ban LGBTIQ+ events from council libraries.

On Tuesday night, Labor councillors, independent Nicole Johnston and Greens councillor Jonathan Sri expressed their concern and distress the petitions were brought through the council for debate as part of the usual petitions process.
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With boarded-up shops, abandoned businesses and restaurant chairs left to rot on the street, Melbourne resembles disaster zone.

Stark images from Australia's second biggest city lay bare the scale of destruction wrought by Daniel Andrews' stage-four lockdown.

Graffiti covers empty office blocks, for-lease signs line shop windows and a mural of Mr Andrews smirking presides over a deserted street.

Devastation: With boarded-up shops, abandoned businesses and restaurant chairs left to rot on the street, Melbourne resembles disaster zone

Empty streets: Graffiti covers empty office blocks, for lease signs line shop windows and a mural (pictured) of Mr Andrews smiling presides over a deserted street

Bleak: Stark images from Australia's second biggest city lay bare the scale of destruction wrought by Daniel Andrews' stage-four lockdown. Pictured: An empty office

Economic destruction: As up to 400,000 residents are pushed out of work, a backlash against the draconian lockdown is gaining momentum. Pictured: Empty Lygon Street in Melbourne on Thursday

A city in strife: Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp estimated that as many as 15 per cent of businesses in her city will never open again after such a long period without income. Pictured: An office covered in graffiti

As up to 400,000 residents are pushed out of work, a backlash against the draconian lockdown is gaining momentum.

Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp estimated that as many as 15 per cent of businesses in her city will never open again after such a long period without income.

Free market think tank the Institute of Public Affairs believes that stage four restrictions, which have shut all non-essential businesses and introduced an 8pm curfew for six weeks, are causing a 'humanitarian tragedy'.

Free market think tank the Institute of Public Affairs believes that stage four restrictions, which have shut all non-essential businesses and introduced an 8pm curfew for six weeks, are causing a 'humanitarian tragedy'. Pictured: A property for lease

Daniel Wild, Director of Research at the IPA, told Daily Mail Australia: 'The scourge of mass unemployment, widespread closure of small businesses, and isolation and loneliness is spreading across the state.' Pictured: Lygon Street

Federal housing minister Michael Sukkar last week warned Victoria is facing 'permanent damage'. Pictured: A cafe sends a message to its customers

Daniel Wild, Director of Research at the IPA, told Daily Mail Australia: 'The scourge of mass unemployment, widespread closure of small businesses, and isolation and loneliness is spreading across the state.'

'Many Victorians have forgotten what it is like to live and are losing hope. Work, community participation, sport, and connections with family and friends are what makes life worth living.

'The devastation of the lockdown measures will be with Victorians and Australians for generations.'

Similarly, federal housing minister Michael Sukkar last week warned Victoria is facing 'permanent damage'.

'I'm frustrated, my heart breaks for the people that I have calling my office on a daily basis explaining to me that businesses they've spent decades building up are now probably gone,' he told Sky News.

A national government survey in July, before Melbourne entered stage four restrictions, found that 10 per cent of businesses will be forced to close when support measures such as JobKeeper are withdrawn. Pictured: A closed restaurant flogs its seats

The IPA estimated 230,000 small businesses will close and 470,000 jobs will be permanently lost when support is ended. Pictured: Lygon Street in Melbourne on Thursday

Premier Andrews is facing calls to step down over the state's hotel quarantine failure. The virus escaped from quarantine in late May. Pictured: Tables packed to one side of the pavement

The Andrews government is facing heavy criticism for not enforcing quarantine with police or the army like New South Wales and Queensland. Pictured: Empty Lygon Street in Melbourne

A national government survey in July, before Melbourne entered stage four restrictions, found that 10 per cent of businesses will be forced to close when support measures such as JobKeeper are withdrawn.

The IPA estimated that would mean 230,000 small businesses will close and 470,000 jobs will be permanently lost.

It comes as calls grow for Premier Andrews to step down over the state's hotel quarantine failure.

Victoria's deadly second wave of coronavirus was sparked after guards enforcing the quarantine program caught the illness in late May.

It later emerged guards had breached social distancing rules and some were accused of allowing separate families to play cards and even having sex with returned travellers.

This image taken outside one of Melbourne's quarantine hotels appears to support the accounts of dozens of workers and returned travellers who say private security guards (pictured) failed to take the quarantine operation seriously before the virus escaped

The Andrews government is facing heavy criticism for not enforcing quarantine with police or the army like New South Wales and Queensland.

On Thursday it the Herald Sun reported that 100 ADF troops were placed on standby to help but the state government never used them.

Liberal backbencher James Newbury told Daily Mail Australia that Victorians have 'lost faith' in the premier, adding: 'Daniel Andrews has lost control and failed as Premier.'

Another Liberal MP told the AFR that voters are starting to turn against the previously popular Andrews.

'For the first time I am getting emails against him. I go down the streets and people are angry. They don't see the logic in the decisions,' the MP said.

'People who work in a factory by themselves can't go to work. Why can't a bloke who is Jim's Mowing, by himself, can't go and mow a lawn at a commercial premises where there is no one else?'
Days after Bihar Governor Phagu Chauhan gave nod to the statute for appointment of assistant professors in state universities through the Bihar State University Service Commission (BSUSC), opposition has started even from leaders of the ruling dispensation on some of the clauses that allegedly disfavour candidates from the state.

In 2015, there was massive protest over the statute framed for appointment of assistant professors through the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) and the matter went to the court. The 2015 statute had virtually debarred Ph.D degree holders from the state not conforming to the 2009 UGC guidelines, as none of the state universities had implemented it then.

Now, JD-U MLC Sanjiv Kumar Singh has written to chief minister Nitish Kumar, Governor, deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi and the department of education to intervene in the matter, saying the new statute would deprive Bihar students of the opportunity to even apply and all the posts would go applicants from other states, mostly UP, as it happened in the past.

The overall academic record has also been given a go-by, with no cognisance of matriculation and intermediate performance, with focus only on graduation and post-graduation. Many institutions awarding matric and intermediate degrees in other states are banned in Bihar and this way, candidates from even sham institutions will be able to get through at the cost of bona fide Bihar candidates. It seems to have been cunningly done to destroy the prospects of Bihar students who have been waiting for years for appointment, he said.

Prof Khagendra Kumar of the department of education, Patna University, said it was strange that those having done Ph.D between after December 31, 1999, and November 6, 2012, from any university in Bihar would not get exemption from NET, but those having qualified NET would get 30 marks for the same Ph.D. Making discrimination on the validity of a Ph.D degrees based on the date of its award is unjust, illogical and full of absurdities, as the degrees are awarded at convocations by the Chancellor himself, he said.

Former education minister Brishin Patel said it was high time the government intervened to stop the deliberate design to deprive Bihar candidates the opportunity in higher education. It is strange all vice-chancellors in Bihar have come from UP in the last 3-4 years due to obvious reasons. The statute should be developed keeping in view the Bihar situation and to boost prospects for Bihar candidates, he said.

Patna University Teachers Association (PUTA) president Randhir Kumar Singh said the statute should be amended to ensure 80% of the seats went to Bihar candidates. Besides, none of the Bihar universities offers M.Phil course. Giving weightage to M.Phil means that the seats would go to other states where M.Phil course is offered in universities. Now the new education policy has also advocated discontinuing with it, he said.

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UPDATE: Ex-Morning Call columnist wants to toss lawsuit over alleged sexual abuse

A long-time Lehigh Valley newspaper columnist is accused of repeatedly raping and sexually assaulting his daughter over nearly a decade, according to a civil lawsuit.

The suit against Paul Carpenter was filed this week in New York state, part of a wave of litigation after the state legislature opened a one-year window for sex abuse victims to sue in cases that previously fell outside the statute of limitations.

Reached Thursday at his home in Whitehall Township, Carpenter referred questions about the lawsuit to his attorney, Bill Bauer. Bauer, with the Woods Oviatt Gilman firm in Rochester, New York, declined to comment about the suit.

Carpenter worked as a bureau chief for The Morning Call and then a columnist, with weekly columns that ran from 1989 until he retired in 2014. Carpenter prided himself on writing about perceived governmental abuse of power, specifically by county children and youth agencies.

Messages left for Morning Call Editor Mike Miorelli were not returned.

The accuser says in the lawsuit that the sexual abuse began in 1972, when she was 9 or 10, and lasted until she was 19.

The daughter alleges in the suit that she was groomed into believing the contact was proper, molested, and then repeatedly raped between the ages of 13 and 19.

Carpenter is accused of using shackles or ropes to assault and sexually assault the girl, according to the lawsuit. The woman says Carpenter hit her with a belt and fists during this time, and threatened to punish her and her family if she told anyone about the abuse.

The abuse occurred in a home in New York state, as well as in Cumberland, Delaware, and York counties in Pennsylvania, according to the court papers.

The daughter, now 58 years old, said she has talked to many people about the abuse. As a child, she said, she disclosed the abuse to a teacher.

I was ridiculed, and told to stop and to not lie about such a good man like my father, said the daughter, whose name is being withheld by lehighvalleylive.com because it generally does not name accusers of sexual assault.

The abuse only ended after she tried to commit suicide, the suit says. Since then, the accuser moved away from her parents, got married and had two children, who are now adults. The woman and her husband have since divorced.

She has also received mental health treatment for the past 20 years, and the accuser said she has been diagnosed with anxiety, depression and PTSD.

By the time the sexual abuse stopped, I was pretty much in my head and it took me time to get my feet under me, the accuser, who now lives in California, said in a phone interview. I went through a lot of counseling. It took an awful lot of time.

By the time she was strong enough to stand up to Carpenter, the statute of limitations had passed.

In Pennsylvania, child sex abuse victims have until age 30 to file a civil suit and up until age 50 to seek criminal prosecution. A proposal would extend the civil litigation window until age 55, but Carpenters accuser would fall outside of that window as well.

I couldnt get justice, again, she said.

A family member told the daughter about the litigation window opening in New York state, and helped steer her toward an attorney, she said.

That is where I can finally, hopefully, get some justice, the woman said of the New York suit. Ive got some great support with a lot of members of my family now that I didnt believe I had before.

The accusers attorney, William Lorenz Jr., said he sent a letter of representation in March to Carpenter and received a response from Carpenters attorney, but there was no resolution.

The civil suit was filed Monday in Erie County, New York.

I had -- whats the right word for it?-- a plethora of feelings, the woman said of filing the lawsuit, a mix ranging from excitement and apprehension, to anxiety and hope. Theres all kinds of things that are going through my emotional spectrum.

The woman said she has confronted her father before about the abuse, but that Carpenter has never shown remorse. She said she realized she couldnt let him get away with the abuse, to let him continue to hurt her.

She likened it to the well-known quote from the movie Network, Im as mad as hell, and Im not going to take this anymore!

Im mad, Im very angry. And Im tired, the woman said. Im tired of shouldering and bearing the burden of his lies.

With the suit, I hope that he has to face what he did to me. That he has to take responsibility for it, she said. Because hes always made the excuse what he did to me was done to me out of love.

How did she feel when he said that?

Like I needed to take a shower, she said.

The New York suit is her only legal option right now. New York law used to require child victims to file civil litigation by the time they turned 23.

Last year, the state passed the Child Victims Act, which allows survivors of child sexual abuse one year to file claims against those responsible for abuse no matter when the incident took place.

Going forward, civil lawsuits can be filed until the victim is 55 years old.

I dont know what other alternative I have, the accuser said.

The deadline for the Child Victims Act was supposed to end this week, but earlier this month Gov. Andrew Cuomo extended it another year to August 2021.

The Poughkeepsie Journal reports 3,797 suits were filed as of the first week of August under the Child Victims Act.

Lorenz said it is fulfilling for him and his fellow attorneys at the HoganWillig firm to be able to assist survivors of child sexual abuse who have been denied the option to seek justice until the Child Victims Act was passed.

Lorenz said the volume of civil cases initially led to trial dates being scheduled into 2022, but those are being further delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Pennsylvania, a grand jury recommended creating a two-year window, similar to the New York law, that would allow adult victims of childhood sexual abuse to sue alleged perpetrators and institutions that may have helped cover up the abuse.

Pennsylvania Republicans with majority control of the state House and Senate blocked the two-year window measure, saying it was unconstitutional.

Lawmakers are working on a constitutional amendment to allow for the two-year litigation window, but the bill must pass the state House and Senate before going to a statewide ballot referendum.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-14 05:26:14|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday welcomed an agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), under which Israel will suspend its plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, said his spokesman on Thursday.

The joint statement by U.S. President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan suspends Israeli annexation plans over parts of the occupied West Bank, something the secretary-general has consistently called for, said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman, in a statement.

"The secretary-general welcomes this agreement, hoping it will create an opportunity for Israeli and Palestinian leaders to re-engage in meaningful negotiations that will realize a two-state solution in line with relevant UN resolutions, international law and bilateral agreements," it said.

Annexation would effectively close the door for a renewal of negotiations and destroy the prospect of a viable Palestinian state and the two-state solution, it noted.

Peace in the Middle East is more important than ever as the region confronts the grave threats of COVID-19 and radicalization. The secretary-general will continue to work with all sides to open further possibilities for dialogue, peace and stability, said the statement.

Trump and Netanyahu announced separately on Thursday that Israel and the UAE have agreed to establish diplomatic ties. The agreement is in return for Israel's suspension of its annexation plans indefinitely.

The agreement would make the UAE the first Gulf state to normalize relations with Israel. Enditem
Edward (Robert Pattinson) and Bella (Kristen Stewart) share a tender moment in the film Twilight. In Midnight Sun there is as much actual sex as in Jane Austen's Mansfield Park. Credit:

They were not always seen as erotic: Nosferatu is ugly and convincingly monstrous. Bram Stoker's Dracula presents as a repellently imperious middle-aged aristocrat  his predatoriness does not make him any more desirable than a rapist. The women who fall under his spell are victims of enforced enthrallment by an obvious monster.

Why are we so fascinated by vampires? Are they just an intensification of what we fear in humans? Vampires were always about death; but now are usually seen to embody death's nexus with sex. But when did being consumed become sexy?

'Tis not a year or two shows us a man: They are all but stomachs and we all but food; They eat us hungerly, and when they are full, They belch us  Emilia, Othello, Act III sc.iv

Yet for at least a generation we have had a well-established culture of smoulderingly handsome immortal killers, and the books, comics, TV series and films keep on selling  True Blood, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Vampire Diaries and, of course, the Twilight series, of which Midnight Sun is the latest, a retelling of the first book, Twilight, from the point of view of the vampire, Edward Cullen, eternally 17, supernaturally handsome and dangerous.

Stephenie Meyer started writing Midnight Sun 12 years ago but held back from publishing it. Credit:

Stephenie Meyer began writing Midnight Sun 12 years ago, at the height of her Twilight series' popularity. She shelved it after the first draft was leaked and also when Fifty Shades of Grey came out as a fervid fan-fic homage to Edward. Unsatisfied with the chastity of the Twilight pair who abstain until married, E.L. James took the mystical-romance/dangerous-love concept and turned it into prosaic bossy-billionaire-bonking.

But Twilight appealed to something else, a need that seems more acute a decade later as young women are pornified, commodified and objectified more than ever. For although the series never approaches the feminism or ironic cultural literacy of Buffy, it speaks to a need for an ordinary girl to be given respect, protection and close attention from powerful, ethical males.

Indeed, Bella is the opposite of the super-strong Buffy: intensely vulnerable, physically fragile and clumsy, she is in constant need of rescue and this elicits Edward's protectiveness. Her strongest characteristic is an obstinate refusal to contemplate life without him.
Sofia Richie was a fashionista Wednesday as she made her way to dinner at the celeb hot spot Nobu Malibu with her friends.

The model, 21, wore a $3,000 Louis Vuitton logo PJ top over a cropped vest, teamedwith jeans that were blue on one side and black on the other.

The socialite observed California statues donning a face mask on the outing in an effort to quell the spread of COVID-19.

Out on the town: Sofia Richie, 21, was a fashionista Wednesday as she made her way to dinner at the celeb hot spot Nobu Malibu with her friends

The daughter of music icon Lionel Richie and fashion designer Diane Alexander had her brown locks tightly pulled back and parted as she toted a black leather purse and wore sandals as she left the tony establishment.

Sofia was at the restaurant, a favorite haunt for the Kardashian family, and many other famous faces, on a night that Tekashi was also there with an extensive security team.

The stunning star appears to be taking a break from on-again, off-again beau Scott Disick, 37.

A source told Us Weekly earlier this month that the celeb couple 'have simmered down a little' amid the challenges 2020 has brought.

Fashionista: The model wore a $3,000 Louis Vuitton logo PJ top over a cropped vest, teamedwith jeans that were blue on one side and black on the other

Sleek: The daughter of music icon Lionel Richie and fashion designer Diane Alexander had her brown locks tightly pulled back and parted

The stunning star appears to be taking a break from on-again, off-again beau Scott Disick, 37

'Scott has been making a big effort to refocus on himself and his family,' the source told the magazine. Disick and ex Kourtney Kardashian, 41, share three children: Mason, 10, Penelope, eight, and Reign, five.

It's been an up-and-down year for the duo, who had time apart earlier this year amid a trip to rehab he took amid problems stemming from the deaths of his parents.

Accessorizing: She toted a black leather purse and wore sandals as she left the tony establishment

Focused: The daughter of music icon Lionel Richie and fashion designer Diane Alexander left the beach eatery with her friends

They who were spotted hanging out on July 4 amid speculation things were going better between them.

An insider told the outlet last month that 'Scott has been much more calm and responsive to people outside of his family over the last month or so.

'Whatever issues that were bubbling up between Sofia and Scott at the start of the pandemic have simmered down and Scott has returned to a place where Sofia feels comfortable being around him and being in his life again.'
President Donald Trump is lagging badly in the polls. His promises of keeping America great have been shredded by the pandemic. And hes now confronting a female political rival whos uniquely hard to attack.

Trump is in a slump, and his messaging shows it.

While the president has never been known for discipline when it comes to his communications strategy, he unleashed on Thursday especially sharp and sexist criticisms of several female political rivals  including newly minted Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is proving unrelenting in stimulus negotiations.

The rhetoric appeared at odds with his own recent attempts to court the suburban female voters who are turning away from him in large numbers.

Trump also flashed his tendency to say the quiet parts out loud, explicitly stating that he is trying to block funding for the United States Postal Service in order to stop universal mail-in voting during Novembers election.

Those comments were later amplified by White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow, who labeled voting rights funding a really liberal left wish list item, while slamming congressional Democrats for their coronavirus relief package demands.

The unbridled nature of the remarks from the president and his senior aide suggested a new sense of frenzy among Trumps reelection team, which is entering the final months of the 2020 campaign significantly trailing Joe Biden and facing deadlocked negotiations over another round of stimulus.

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks at the Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit, Friday, March 1, 2019, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Trumps opening salvo on Thursday targeted Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski, whom he described in a tweet as the ditzy airhead wife of the MSNBC talk shows other presenter, Joe Scarborough.

In an interview with Fox Business networks Maria Bartiromo less than an hour later, he went on to sling insults at Harris, Bidens running mate.

As he did earlier this week, Trump invoked the California senators prosecutorial questioning of his second Supreme Court appointment, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, during contentious Senate confirmation hearings in 2018.

Story continues

Now you have a  sort of a mad woman, I call her, because she was so angry and such hatred with Justice Kavanaugh, Trump said. I mean, Ive never seen anything like it. She was the angriest of the group. But they were all angry.

That broadside came after Harris delivered a personal blow to Trump during her debut appearance with Biden on Wednesday.

He inherited the longest economic expansion in history from Barack Obama and Joe Biden. And then, like everything else he inherited, he ran it straight into the ground, she said at a campaign event in Wilmington, Del.

The president on Thursday next spoke dismissively of New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, pillorying the progressive congresswomans policy proposals and seeming to claim she was a poor student in college.

I mean, I wont say where she went to school. It doesnt matter, he said. This is not even a smart person, other than shes got a good line of stuff. I mean, she goes out and she  she yaps.

Ocasio-Cortez graduated cum laude from Boston University.

Finally, Trump homed in on perhaps his most frequent governing foil, Pelosi. He predicted Republicans would win back the House from Democrats in the November election and called the highest-ranking woman in American political history stone-cold crazy.

The president also revealed that his resistance to certain provisions in the stimulus proposal put forth by Pelosi  such as Postal Service funding and election security grants  is rooted in his distrust of mail-in voting amid the pandemic.

[Democrats] want 3 billion dollars for something that will turn out to be fraudulent. Thats election money, basically. They want 3 billion dollars for the mail-in votes, OK? Universal mail-in ballots. They want 25 billion dollars  billion  for the Post Office, Trump said.

Now, they need that money in order to have the Post Office work, so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots, he added. By the way, those are just two items. But if they dont get those two items, that means you cant have universal mail-in voting.

Trump has argued that mail-in voting doesnt work out well for Republicans, and has repeatedly claimed that the ballot-casting practice results in widespread incidents of voter fraud.

A recent study found that voting by mail does not benefit one party over another, and cases of election fraud in the U.S. are exceedingly rare. Experts acknowledge there are some slightly higher fraud risks associated with mail-in balloting, but only when proper security measures are not in place.

Despite the presidents erratic messaging on Thursday, top White House aides have become increasingly assured about their response to the pandemic  ostensibly the most important factor influencing the elections outcome.

But Trump and Kudlows latest comments on voting-related stimulus provisions are likely to offer further fodder to congressional Democrats eager to cast the administrations negotiating priorities as nakedly political.

Meanwhile, the presidents attacks on Brzezinski, Harris, Ocasio-Cortez and Pelosi undermined his efforts to persuade female voters less than three months from Election Day  appeals that have been criticized as outdated, potentially sexist and rife with racial undercurrents.

Last month, Trump implored the Suburban Housewives of America in a tweet to read an op-ed in The New York Post panning Joe Bidens disastrous plans for Americas suburbs.

The president also boasted last month about pushing low-income housing out of suburban enclaves, tweeting: 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.

And on Wednesday, Trump tweeted that the suburban housewife will be voting for me in November, insisting they are thrilled that I ended the long running program where low income housing would invade their neighborhood. Biden would reinstall it, in a bigger form, with Corey Booker in charge!

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, the Black lawmaker whose name Trump misspelled in his message, responded online: Donaled, your racism is showing.
Some customers of defunct First Allied Savings and Loans Limited on Monday besieged the Kojo Thomson Road branch of the Receivers payment center to demand payment of their locked-up funds.



President Nana Akufo-Addo had recently claimed that 98% of the depositors of the microfinance and savings and loans companies have received their monies.



But some customers of the defunct First Allied Savings and Loans Limited say they are yet to receive their monies after undergoing a validation process.



One of such customers, Frank Aboagye, who expressed his frustration over the development said he has personally gone through all the validation processes but is yet to receive his money.



No amount has been given to me, and Im not the only one. We have a number of customers of First Allied who have never received a penny and yet the receiver is sending out an impression that he has paid a sizeable number of customers, it is wrong, he added.



Another customer, Halimatu Salifu, lamented how the situation has caused untoward hardship to her family.



Its been hard, in fact this is my mat. I came here today to sleep here until I get my money. I have been ejected from my room; I cannot feed my family. Im suffering she said.



Meanwhile, the Receiver of the defunct microfinance and savings and loans companies says there were some constraints in acquiring the data of customers of defunct First Allied Savings and Loans Limited.



PRO for the Receiver, Philomina Kuzoe, explained that the challenge has delayed the validation process of a few customers of some defunct companies.



In the case of First Allied, when we started, they really submitted their claims etc. When it was time to validate those claims, one of them had a court injunction and so we cannot even enter the building to take the data and validate their claims, so there was a kind of hold up Madam Kuzoe said.



The deadline for us to submit our claims was on October 18th. We had gathered over 660,000 claims and that is what we forwarded to our principals. So, it means for all those who were not validated within that period, it falls under late submission. Now, we have paid over 360,000 claims. Weve paid almost 98%; we have about 2% to go and then we start paying the late submissions she added.



Background



The Bank of Ghana (BoG), in 2019, embarked on a clean-up of the financial sector and revoked the licences of some banks, microfinance and savings and loans companies.



Although government says it has settled as many as 98 percent of customers, there are still pockets of agitations from across the country.

Source: citinewsroom.com









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(Adds Abbas comment, Iranian reaction)

* Trump, facing re-election Nov. 3, helps broker accord

* Palestinian leaders call deal a "stab in the back"

* Israel, UAE expected to exchange ambassadors and embassies

By Maha El Dahan, Jeffrey Heller and Steve Holland

DUBAI/JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced on Thursday that they will normalise diplomatic ties and forge a broad new relationship, a move that reshapes the order of Middle East politics from the Palestinian issue to the fight against Iran.

Under the accord, which U.S. President Donald Trump helped broker, Israel agreed to suspend its planned annexation of areas of the occupied West Bank. It also firms up opposition to regional power Iran, which the UAE, Israel and the United States view as the main threat in the conflict-riven Middle East.

Israel had signed peace agreements with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994. But the UAE, along with most other Arab nations, did not recognise Israel and had no formal diplomatic or economic relations with it until now. It becomes the first Gulf Arab country to reach such a deal with the Jewish state.

Officials from the three countries called the accord "historic" and a breakthrough toward peace. But Palestinian leaders, apparently taken by surprise, denounced it as a "stab in the back" to their cause.

A joint statement said Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed had "agreed to the full normalisation of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates".

The accord will allow the two countries "to chart a new path that will unlock the great potential in the region," it said.

Israel and the UAE are expected soon to exchange ambassadors and embassies. A signing ceremony is due to be held at the White House.

"As a result of this diplomatic breakthrough and at the request of President Trump with the support of the United Arab Emirates, Israel will suspend declaring sovereignty" over areas of the West Bank as envisioned in a U.S. plan announced by Trump in January, it said.

The agreement, to be known as the Abraham Accord, also gives Trump a foreign policy accomplishment as he seeks re-election on Nov. 3. Speaking in the White House Oval Office, Trump said similar deals are being discussed with other countries in the region.

Story continues

Trump said the agreement unites "two of America's closest and most capable partners in the region" and represents "a significant step towards building a more peaceful, secure and prosperous Middle East."

The UAE said it would remain a strong supporter of the Palestinian people, who hope to create an independent state in the occupied West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, and that the agreement maintained the viability of a two-state solution to the longstanding Israel-Palestinian conflict.

The accord could also be a personal boost to Netanyahu, who is on trial for alleged corruption and whose domestic popularity has dropped over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

In a televised address, Netanyahu said the deal would lead to "full and formal peace" with the UAE and voiced hope that other countries in the region would follow its example. It also entailed acceding to a request from Trump to "temporarily wait" on implementing his annexation pledge, Netanyahu said.

"It's an incomparably exciting moment, a historic moment for peace in the Middle East," Netanyahu added.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, however, rejected the accord. Spokesman Abu Rudeineh, reading from a statement outside Abbas's headquarters in Ramallah in the West Bank, said it was a "betrayal of Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa (mosque, Islam's third-holiest shrine) and the Palestinian cause".

Asked if the Palestinian leadership had been aware the deal was coming, veteran negotiator Hanan Ashrawi told Reuters: "No. We were blindsided. ... It is a complete sell-out."

In Gaza, Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for the armed Islamist group Hamas, said: "Normalisation is a stab in the back of the Palestinian cause and it serves only the Israeli occupation."

The UAE's Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed said the agreement would stop further Israeli annexation of Palestinian territories, for which Israel had been awaiting a green light from Washington.

Senior UAE official Anwar Gargash said the deal had helped defuse what he called a ticking time-bomb. Gargash urged the Israelis and Palestinians to return to the negotiating table.

'NIGHTMARE' FOR IRAN

Trump's special envoy Brian Hook called the agreement a "nightmare" for Iran. An Iranian official said the agreement would not secure peace in the region.

Railing against "criminal Israel", Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, a special adviser to Iran's parliamentary speaker, said in a tweet: "Abu Dhabi's behaviour has no justification, turning back on the Palestine cause. W/ that strategic mistake, #UAE will be engulfed in Zionism fire."

Iran and Israel are arch foes. Israel is particularly concerned about suspected Iranian efforts to develop nuclear weapons, which Tehran denies. Iran is also involved in proxy wars from Syria to Yemen, where the UAE has been a leading member of the Saudi-led coalition opposing Iran-aligned forces there.

With a population of less than 10 million but the Arab world's second-largest economy thanks to oil, the UAE has exerted growing commercial and military clout in the Gulf and the wider region over the past two decades, much of it aimed at confronting Islamist militants and the influence of Iran.

Delegations from Israel and the United Arab Emirates will meet in the coming weeks to sign agreements regarding investment, tourism, direct flights, security, telecommunications and other issues, the joint statement said.

"Everybody said this would be impossible," Trump said.

"Now that the ice has been broken, I expect more Arab and Muslim countries will follow the United Arab Emirates' lead," Trump added.

This was already being discussed with other states, he said.

(Reporting By Maha El Dahan, Lisa Barrington and Parisa Hafezi, Steve Holland in Washington; Jeff Heller in Jerusalem, Writing by Angus MacSwan; Editing by Will Dunham)




SOME MDC Alliance bigwigs are said to be making a determined push to have the coalitions firebrand deputy national chairperson, Job Wiwa Sikhala, expelled for his radical political activities and dogged opposition to Zanu PF and its government.





So bad is the situation said to have become for Sikhala, that sources told the Daily News last night, that some of his comrades were even hoping that authorities would manage to fish him out from his current hideout.





Sikhala has been in hiding ever since authorities started cracking down on the leaders of last months failed mass demonstrations.





The sources who spoke to the Daily News said senior Alliance officials had recently discussed Sikhalas jettisoning in the partys standing committee (SC) WhatsApp group  of which the combative Zengeza West MP is a member.





Contacted for comment, Sikhala would neither deny nor confirm the move to expel him  saying if there were such moves he would respond to them after he had dealt with his current travails with authorities.





All this comes as the government has come under intense local, regional and international pressure over allegations of human rights violations by security forces following the foiled July 31 mass protests  which Sikhala was part of the organisers.





It also comes after South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa recently dispatched a team of envoys to meet with President Emmerson Mnangagwa over his administrations handling of its critics.

Sources told the Daily News that among the MDC Alliance bigwigs who allegedly wanted to see the back of Sikhala were secretary-general Chalton Hwende  who apparently features in the referenced SC WhatsApp group messages.





Wiwa is in trouble with the powers that be in the party. This is why no one is making a real effort within to fight for him with regards to his current victimisation by the government. Some even want him to be arrested.





Some of (Nelson) Chamisas closest allies such as Hwende are also accusing Sikhala of using confrontational means to force Mnangagwa into dialogue.





They view his role in the July 31 movement as a sign that the likes of him and other hardliners in the party no longer see dialogue as an option, which the party is open to





Sikhala is aware of the moves, but he maintains that the July 31 movement is a peoples initiative and above political parties as it even has the support of some Zanu PF bigwigs, one of the sources told the Daily News.





Another source said Sikhala was being viewed as a threat to Chamisa because of his audacious call for the removal of Mnangagwa and his government from power via mass protests.





The feeling among many is that Chamisa is afraid to lead from the front, and his close lieutenants are aware of hard questions that have once again been asked of him regarding the July 31 protests.





The more Sikhala and the likes of Tendai Biti continue to take an aggressive approach against Mnangagwa and Zanu PF, the more question marks on Chamisas leadership  hence their push for Sikhalas expulsion, another source told the Daily News.





This is not the first time that Sikhala has crossed swords with some MDC Alliance bigwigs.

Two months ago, Chamisa barred Sikhala and some of his other most loyal associates  including his vice presidents Tendai Biti and Lynette Karenyi-Kore  from speaking to the media. Two months ago, Chamisa barred Sikhala and some of his other most loyal associates  including his vice presidents Tendai Biti and Lynette Karenyi-Kore  from speaking to the media.

Then, the gag order came after Biti and Sikhala had featured prominently in the independent press, especially the Daily News  at a time that Chamisa was looking increasingly out of his depth in terms of giving direction to the embattled Alliance in its fight with Thokozani Khupes group.





At the time, Hwende said the gag order was consistent with the MDC Alliances constitution.





Regarding communication, the correct position is that we are coming up with a social media protocol for the party because we cannot regulate individuals social media accounts.

We can only manage the partys and the constitution is clear that only the president, the secretary-general, his deputy and the spokesperson speak on behalf of the party, Hwende told the Daily News then.





Yesterday, Sikhala said if there were moves to expel him from the Alliance, he would deal with them once he had finished mobilising further mass action.





I am currently worried about our people who are being attacked left, right and centre, including myself, and who are living in bushes  running away from persecution.

If ever anything like that is happening (moves to expel him), I will see to that when I come out.

I accepted the role to be with others in the quest for a corruption-free and looting-free society when people sharing the same vision with me invited me, Sikhala told the Daily News.





When I accept that I will stand with you, I dont betray you later. I promised my colleagues  who are also under siege like me that we shall stand together with the people of Zimbabwe and I dont betray what I promised.





The demonstrations were basically citizen driven and I agreed to be one of their spokespersons. I could have been at my Law Chambers making money, but peoples interests supersede my personal interests, Sikhala said further.





In a statement that he issued earlier, Sikhala had appeared to hint about the divisions in the MDC Alliance over his role in the protests.





The 31st July Movement is a Convergence Initiative of Citizens on critical and urgent issues of national concern affecting the lives and livelihoods of ordinary Zimbabweans.

The 31st July Movement has broad based constituencies of all citizens, across the political divide, including those in Zanu PF who are not happy with the deplorable state of affairs pervading our country.





It is wrong and crass for anyone to associate my position in the MDC Alliance with my role in this all-inclusive and broad based movement of citizens, Sikhala said.





I am not playing my role on the instructions of my party position but the role allocated to me by the stakeholders driving the 31st July Movement. Therefore when I speak, I am speaking on behalf of the broad citizens not on behalf of any political party.





This is because citizen interests cut across the political divide. That is the objective of the 31st July Movement: to unite all our citizens.

Zimbabwe needs unity today beyond political colour than at any given time, he added.









All this comes as the government has been accused of launching a brutal crackdown against the organisers of last months flopped mass protests.





Rights groups have said dozens of opposition figures and activists have been tortured and assaulted in a retributive exercise by suspected security agents.




CANTON, Ga.  The first letter went out Aug. 4, one day after students in the Cherokee County School District returned to their classrooms for the first time since the eruption of the coronavirus pandemic.

Dear Parents, wrote Dr. Ashley Kennerly, the principal of Sixes Elementary School. I am writing this letter in order to communicate that a student in 2nd grade has tested positive for COVID-19.

By the time the last bell rang Friday afternoon, principals at 10 other schools had sent similar letters to families in Cherokee County, a bucolic and politically conservative stretch of suburbs north of Atlanta. This week, more letters went out.

Altogether, more than 900 students and staff members in the district have already been ordered to quarantine. On Tuesday, one high school closed its doors until at least Aug. 31.

While many of the nations largest school systems have opted in recent weeks to start the academic year online, other districts have forged ahead with reopening. In Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Indiana and elsewhere, some schools, mainly in suburban and rural areas, have been open for almost two weeks.

Their experience reveals the perils of returning to classrooms in places where the coronavirus has hardly been tamed. Students and teachers have immediately tested positive, sending others into two-week quarantines and creating whiplash for schools that were eager to open, only to consider closing again right away.

All of this has only further divided communities where parents and teachers have passionately disagreed over the safety of reopening.

Depending on whom you ask, the string of positive tests and isolation orders in Cherokee County either proved the districts folly for opening schools during the worst American public health crisis in decades, or demonstrated a courageous effort to return to normal.

This is exactly what we expected to happen, said Allison Webb, 44, who quit her job as a Spanish and French teacher in the district because of her concerns about reopening schools, and who put her daughter, a senior, in the districts remote-learning program. Its not safe to return to the classrooms now, Webb said.

But to Jenny Beth Martin, who wanted schools to reopen  even appealing directly to President Donald Trump in a visit to the White House  the districts return has been a rousing success.

I think that the opening plan is working, said Martin, a district parent and co-founder of the national Tea Party Patriots, a conservative political group. Theyre checking, theyre making sure when people have tested positive that theyre watching the exposure and spread.

Controversy emerged on day one, as schools opened in Cherokee and nearby Paulding County on Aug. 3. At North Paulding High School, at least one student was suspended, then unsuspended, for sharing photos of crowded hallways on social media, sparking a national uproar. Her school closed for at least three days this week after nine positive cases emerged.

Cherokee County had its own firestorm. A photo taken outside Etowah High School on the first day back showed scores of students crowded shoulder to shoulder, smiling and unmasked. A similar photo from Sequoyah High School was also posted to social media. Beneath the photo, a commenter wrote, Most of these kids are gonna be sick in the next few days  was it really worth it to appease the anti-mask parents? At what cost?

The countys reopening plan was unanimously approved by the school board on July 9. Families could choose online or in-person, five-days-a-week instruction, and masks would be encouraged, but not required, for the districts 42,500 students.

Opposition began to coalesce almost immediately. Webb, the foreign language teacher, organized a group on Facebook called Educators for Common Sense and Safety. The group started an online petition asking for, among other things, a mask mandate for students and a delayed start to allow time to rework schedules, classrooms and the curriculum to be safe and engaging for our students. It attracted more than 1,100 signatures.

In mid-July, the group, which Webb said counts hundreds of members, picketed outside a board meeting. A former English teacher, Miranda Wicker, 38, became its spokesperson  a necessity, she said, because current teachers lacked union protection and feared retaliation if they spoke out.

Theyre terrified, Wicker said. Theyre being asked, literally, to risk their lives.

But proponents of reopening, including Martin, cheered the district on. Two days before the school board vote in July, she had appeared in a round-table discussion with Trump at the White House. Parents needed to go to their jobs, she told him. Students needed to be with their teachers.

America is not meant to shut down, she said.

Late last month, Martin was an organizer of a Washington news conference featuring people who identified themselves as doctors and who made misleading statements about the coronavirus, including unsupported claims that the drug hydroxychloroquine was an effective treatment. Trump tweeted a video of the event, which was later removed from major social media platforms on the ground that it was spreading misinformation.

In early July, when the school board approved reopening, case tallies in Cherokee County, with about 260,000 people, had only begun to rise after remaining flat and relatively low  an average of about 10 new confirmed cases a day  for most of June. Since then, though, the numbers have climbed steadily, mirroring the state as a whole, with the county averaging more than 90 new confirmed cases daily over the past week. Sixty-four people in the county have died of COVID-19, including eight in the past week.

As the first day of school approached, Webb asked if she could erect a Plexiglas barrier in her classroom. The districts risk management director, Melissa Whatley, told Webb in an email that she could not make modifications to a classroom beyond the scope of the approved CCSD Reopening of Schools Plan. Webb then resigned from teaching and took a job at a law firm.

Wicker pulled her two children out and decided to home-school them. But the vast majority of families in the county  77%  signed up for in-person learning.

On the first day of classes, a second grader came to school at Sixes Elementary, then stayed home the next day after testing positive for the coronavirus. Officials sent the other 20 students in the childs class home for two weeks, along with their teacher. The class is now meeting remotely.

As the week wore on, the letters from principals kept coming. An eighth grader tested positive at Dean Rusk Middle School. A first grader at William G. Hasty Sr. Elementary Fine Arts Academy. Two students at Cherokee High School. And more.

Among the children sent home to quarantine was Georgia Hancock, 5, from R.M. Moore Elementary STEM Academy.

Georgias 68-year-old grandfather, Phillip White, posted the news on Facebook. In a phone interview, White said he suffered from heart and lung ailments, and had strictly isolated himself from March until June, when he and his wife began caring for Georgia and two other young grandchildren at their home.

White said his son-in-law chose to send Georgia to school. When the school sent her home to quarantine, White found himself worrying that Georgia might have infected him. Lord, we pray for you to place your beautiful hedges around us and keep us safe, he wrote on Facebook.

On Thursday, grandfather and granddaughter both tested negative. But White said he remained angry with the district, which he believes should have started the school year online.

It was a terrible idea to reopen, he said. The teachers should not have had to go out and be at risk.

As the first week drew to a close, Wicker, with the educators group, took to Facebook to update her followers on the number of illnesses and students quarantined: 260 after five days of classes.

I hope with everything within my being that no one who gets sick right now dies, she wrote, adding, This did not have to happen. This was entirely avoidable.

The schools superintendent, Brian V. Hightower, who did not respond to requests for comment for this article, also posted an update. He said the district was being transparent about the situation, and defended the group photos of unmasked high school students on the first day of school, saying that the district had learned, upon investigation, that many of those students wore masks routinely.

Today is the fifth day of school, Hightower wrote, and, this year, that is an amazing milestone.

By Tuesday, the number of quarantined students and staff members in the district had more than tripled, to 925, with 59 positive cases. Etowah High School, where nearly 300 people had been ordered to isolate after at least 14 positive cases, switched to online classes for the rest of the month. And Hightower pleaded for more routine mask use.

We know all parents do not believe the scientific research that indicates masks are beneficial, he said, but I believe it, and see masks as an important measure to help us keep schools open.

His sentiment wasnt shared by some in a group of about 40 parents who showed up at the districts offices before the school day started Tuesday, carrying balloons and signs declaring their support for the reopening policy. They cheered as officials pulled into the parking lot.

Dont worry about the basement Bobbys or negative Nancys, read the sign held by Morgan Morrison, 28, the mother of a second grader who lost her mask on the second day.

Morrison said she and her husband do not wear masks either. I feel like before were even born, God has a plan for when hes going to take us to heaven, she said. Theres nothing we can do to stop it.

Erica Reece, 33, has five children between the ages of 7 and 11 back in school. She and her husband both work full time, she said, so trying to oversee at-home learning in the spring was a nearly impossible task.

Just one of her children regularly wears a mask in class, she said, out of respect for a teacher with a health condition.

Leaving such decisions in the hands of families was what she appreciated about the districts policy.

Free will, she said. Choices.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Mali: la contestation rejette une rencontre avec le president Keita proposee par la Cedeao - abamako.com

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News Politique Article Politique Mali: la contestation rejette une rencontre avec le president Keita proposee par la Cedeao Publie le jeudi 13 aout 2020 | AFP

 aBamako.com par AS

Le President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita rencontre le M5-RFP

Bamako, le 05 Juillet 2020. Dans le cadre de la recherche de solution a la crise sociopolitique, le President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita a rencontre des membres du M5-RFP. Dr Choguel Kokala Maiga s`est prete aux questions des journalistes au sortir de cette rencontre Tweet

Le mouvement de contestation au Mali qui reclame le depart du president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita a annonce jeudi avoir rejete une proposition du mediateur des Etats ouest-africains, l'ex-president nigerian Goodluck Jonathan, pour qu'il rencontre le chef de l'Etat malien. La contestation "ne pouvait que reserver une fin de non-recevoir a la proposition du president Goodluck Jonathan d'organiser une rencontre avec M. Ibrahim Boubacar Keita avant la fin de son sejour prevue le (jeudi) 13 aout", a-t-elle affirme dans un communique.M. Jonathan, envoye special de la Communaute economique des Etats d'Afrique de l'Ouest (Cedeao) au Mali, doit quitter jeudi ce pays ou il etait arrive lundi, selon des sources concordantes.La contestation "ne saurait rentrer dans une logique de discussions avec M. Ibrahim Boubacar Keita aussi longtemps que ses militants font l'objet de chasse a l'homme par les forces de repression du regime et de condamnations expeditives", a souligne le Mouvement du 5 juin-Rassemblement des Forces patriotiques du Mali (M5-RFP).Cette coalition heteroclite de chefs religieux, de la societe civile et d'hommes politiques, reclame depuis plus de deux mois la demission du president Keita, elu en 2013 puis reelu en 2018 pour cinq ans.Le weekend du 10 juillet, une manifestation a l'appel du mouvement dit du 5 juin a degenere en trois jours de troubles meurtriers.Le M5 evoque un bilan de 23 morts et plus de 150 blesses. Le Premier ministre, Boubou Cisse, a parle de 11 morts et l'ONU de 14 manifestants tues.M. Jonathan est au Mali pour une nouvelle mission de conciliation de la Cedeao, mediatrice dans la crise politique au Mali.Il a depuis son arrivee rencontre notamment l'imam Mahmoud Dicko, la figure de prouve de la contestation et le cherif de Nioro (nord-ouest) Bouye Haidara, mentor de l'imam Mahmoud Dicko. Il a egalement rencontre des responsables du M5 et, selon un journaliste de l'AFP, une delegation de la majorite presidentielle.En pleine crise politique, le Mali est en outre confronte depuis 2012 a des attaques jihadistes auxquelles se sont meles des heurts intercommunautaires. Ces violences, parties du Nord, se sont propagees dans le centre du pays puis au Niger et au Burkina voisins.
Travellers wearing face masks as a precautionary measure to protect against the outbreak of coronavirus, at Hong Kong International Airport, on Jan. 23, 2020. (Vivek Prakash/AFP via Getty Images)

Hong Kong to Allow Transit Passengers from Mainland China

Passengers from mainland China will be allowed to travel through Hong Kong International Airport from Saturday, according to new rules.

Hong Kong airport announced on Thursday that passengers from mainland China will soon be able to transfer or transit through Hong Kong to other destinations from Aug. 15 until Oct. 15.

However, transit in the other direction, inbound to mainland China, will remain banned as Chinas aviation regulator continues to severely limit the number of international flights citing concerns over the spread of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus.

Dr. Ho Pak-leung of the University of Hong Kong told local broadcaster RTHK that he was concerned by the governments decision to allow transit or transfer passengers from China given that places like Xinjiang and Liaoning were still reporting clusters of infections. Many Hongkongers also do not trust the CCPs official infection and death data.

Students to Travel as EU Lifts Restrictions for China

Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. will be a beneficiary of the new policy, enabling Chinese students to resume studies at overseas universities, given rival Hong Kong Airlines fly only regionally in Asia, the South China Morning Post reported.

Students from China are expected to be able to fly to countries in the European Union after Chinas foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian indicated on Aug. 10 that Beijing would reciprocate the European Councils June 30 proposal to lift travel restrictions. The EU said it would open up travel to China if Beijing reciprocated the gesture.

China is relaxing in an orderly and gradual manner visa restrictions for foreigners entering China to resume economic activities and for other essential purposes, Zhao said. Over the following two days, Chinese embassies across Europe all posted that eligible foreign nationals with residence permits could now apply for new Chinese visas in 36 European countries.

This is the first significant action taken by China to reverse its late March travel ban, except for its agreement with the United States mid-June to allow four flights a week between the two countries.

Read More China, US to Each Allow 4 Weekly Flights for Airlines

Hong Kong airport had started allowing transit passengers not from mainland China through the airport on June 1 for a maximum of eight hours.

The Thursday announcement has extended the layover time to within 24 hours. Passengers should also confirm in advance that they are able to enter the final destination, the airport said in a press release.

The airport authority told The Epoch Times in an email that it has implemented a host of enhanced health measures at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) to prepare for the gradual resumption of transfer/transit services.

Ticket prices for flights into China continue to be extremely expensive because of the CAACs [Civil Aviation Administration of China] policy of limiting international flights, Wang Guanran, who organizes charter flights for Chinese wanting to return home, told The South China Morning Post.

This issue is exacerbated by brokers and airline insiders selling tickets at a mark-up.

Hong Kong reported 69 new CCP virus cases on Thursday, of which 4 were from returning international travelers. This was slightly down from early-August when cases were closer to 100.

Authorities cautioned the global financial hub still faced a critical period to control the virus, which has seen a resurgence since early July.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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The Coverup of the Century | ZOOMING IN SPECIAL
An engineer who left a father-to-be for dead in a hit-and-run crash after drinking lager and whisky with friends has been spared jail after he offered to pay the victim 10,000 damages.

Stephen Andrews, 41, caused taxi driver Inam Ulhaq such severe injuries in the horrific head-on impact that he was unable to cradle his newborn child, a court heard.

Andrews  who mentors British Aerospace recruits  had drunk three pints of lager and lemonade plus whisky before ploughing into Mr Ulhaqs VW Passat while overtaking at up to 50mph.

He then hid at a friends house before contacting police 12 hours later. He handed himself in four days after the smash  thereby avoiding a breath test. The father-of-two  who had a previous conviction for drink-driving  admitted drinking in the run-up to the crash.

Engineer Stephen Andrews crashed into taxi driver Inam Ulhaq at 50mph whil drink driving, causing him severe injuries. Pictured: Andrews outside Bolton Crown court where he appeared for causing serious injury by dangerous driving

Andrews, who admitted to being a coward for fleeing the scene in a state of complete panic, faced up to five years in jail after he admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving and failing to stop at Bolton Crown Court.

But he was given a 16-month sentence, suspended for two years, after Judge Graeme Smith said he posed no risk to the public. Mr Ulhaq, who is in his 40s, had to be cut free from the wreckage in Standish, near Wigan, at 12.20am on December 15 last year.

He suffered a broken back, fractured pelvis, dislocated right hip and a broken right knee and had to undergo several operations.

He told police: I can only walk around ten to 15 steps before the pain is too much for me. Due to this mans reckless and dangerous driving I truly feel my life has been ruined.

Pictured: the wreckage of Inman Ulhaq's taxi after Andrews crashed into it last year. Mr Ulhaq had to be cut from the wreckage, and suffered such severe injuries he was unable to cradle his newborn child

On June 4, my wife gave birth and it should have been a happy time but it upsets me that I couldnt hold the baby properly and carry him and cuddle him and do general playful things with him as any father could do. My injuries prevent me from my normal daily life.

Andrews suffered minor injuries in the crash.

Defence counsel Saul Brody said his client had a written a letter of apology to the victim, blaming a catastrophic error of judgment in deciding to attempt to overtake two vehicles in one manoeuvre.

Mr Brody said: His conduct is entirely out of character and it has left him a broken man. He will never behave in this way again.

Andrews, of Standish, was also banned from driving for two years, ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work and told to pay the 10,000 compensation within six months.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 22:57:56|Editor: huaxia

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HANGZHOU, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Even from a pretty close distance, the very fine needle in Lou Shuqi's hand is barely visible, giving the impression that she was using an invisible thread to restore the antique quilt.

The 290-cm-long and 275-cm-wide yellow Dharani Sutra Quilt was unearthed from the tomb of the Empress Dowager Cixi, a legendary female politician who had the reins of power for decades in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Apart from the quilt, some 20 mortuary objects belonging to Cixi and an imperial concubine of Emperor Qianlong are on display at the China National Silk Museum in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province. The exhibition, starting Aug. 8, will last for three months.

Restoration work of the antiques took repairmen eight years.

"Restoring textile heritage needs not only a calm mind but also physical strength," said Lou. In her past 20 years of work, she had to change her reading glasses almost every year.

Lou, a senior restorer and the chief instructor of the restoration project, said the precious textile relics were excavated from the eastern royal tombs of the Qing Dynasty in Zunhua, north China's Hebei Province, some 120 km from Beijing.

The Dharani Sutra Quilt, made in present-day Nanjing, was woven with many patterns and some 25,000 characters, including a pagoda, Diamond Sutra and Heart Sutra.

"The design was so delicate and complicated that it was never possible to create such a large quilt without the support of advanced loom technology," said Zhou Yang, director of the museum's technology department, adding that the quilt is of high scientific research value.

Zhou said it was this quilt that wrapped Cixi when she was buried and it is the first time that the precious item is being shown to the public after restoration.

"The quilt of a golden color embellished with 820 pearls must have been splendidly shinning at that time. Unfortunately, the pearls were all stolen," she said.

Wang Shujuan, deputy director of the department, said the restorers left all the thread residues that were used to tie pearls to the quilt, hoping visitors could imagine how magnificent and gorgeous it was with the pearls on.

According to Wang, the finest thread the repairmen used for restoring the silk fabric was even thinner than one-ninth of a hair.

"The viewers can hardly notice the traces of restoration," she said.

Apart from the quilt, a restored imperial robe of Cixi bearing all the 12 symbols of sovereignty is also on display.

The symbols, a series of ornaments such as the dragon and the sun, showed the emperors' distinguished status and were usually embroidered on the robes of royal family members and officials. In the Qing Dynasty, only emperors could have them all on their robes.

However, Cixi was dressed in such a robe decorated with all the 12 symbols after death.

The robe was also embroidered with 31 characters of Fo, meaning Buddha in Chinese, using gold thread and decorated with pearls, which showed the exalted status of the dowager, said Zhou.

The China National Silk Museum was opened to the public in 1992 and it is the biggest research museum in the world that integrates antique collection, research, inheritance and display of textile clothing, said Zhao Feng, curator of the museum.

Zhou said the museum is like a "hospital" for textile fabrics where the repairmen perform "surgeries" on the textile heritage on the principle of repairing the old as the old.

"As a fabric restorer, it is our duty to save the 'sick' relics," she said. Enditem
Saudi coalition says it shot down Houthi drone: The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iranian-aligned Houthi movement in Yemen said it shot down an explosives-laden drone heading toward the kingdom, a statement published by the Saudi Press Agency said. The drone had been launched from Hodeida governorate on Yemen's Red Sea coast, the coalition said. It did not say where the drone was intercepted. Cross-border attacks by Houthi forces have escalated since late May, when a truce prompted by the coronavirus pandemic expired. The conflict in Yemen has killed more than 100,000 people since the Saudi-led alliance intervened in March 2015 shortly after the Houthis ousted the Saudi-backed government from the capital.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

Irrigation in northern and central New Mexico operates on a run of the river system. When the Rio Grande is flowing high, there is ample supply for regional farmers. But the river is on life support this year.

The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District is considering shortening this years irrigation season and delaying the 2021 season to avoid a massive water debt to southern New Mexico and Texas under the Rio Grande Compact.

New Mexico received permission from Texas and Colorado last month to use up to 36,000 acre-feet, or more than 11 billion gallons, of water stored in El Vado Reservoir.

Normally, that water would be delivered to Elephant Butte Reservoir after the irrigation season to satisfy New Mexicos water debt. Using the water now means the district faces a 100,000 acre-foot water debt to downstream users.

I think it is really in our best interest to get this taken care of as quickly as possible, said district water operations manager David Gensler. As our debt gets larger and larger, were going to be required to keep larger and larger volumes stored in El Vado, so we essentially give up our storage space for normal operations.

Gensler recommended that the board end the irrigation season on Oct. 1, and start next years season on April 1. That would allow for two extra months of water deliveries to Elephant Butte.

Earl Gleason, an 83-year-old farmer who grows grass hay on 30 acres in Belen, said this is one of the worst water years hes ever seen.

Back in July, the ditch riders were telling me that it might be 40 days in between watering, Gleason said. But Ive had crops die in 20 days without water. We have a sick river sucking up more water than ever.

Faced with a dwindling water supply, Gleason signed up for an MRGCD program that pays farmers to not water in August, September and October. He has scrapped plans to plant alfalfa this fall.

A short irrigation season could mean more difficult choices for farmers. But MRGCD board member Stephanie Russo Baca said the change could prevent the district from having to shut systems off and on next year.

Rio Grande flows remain low even with the water from El Vado. On Wednesday, flows in Albuquerque hovered just above 100 cubic feet per second. Last year at this time, flows were about 1,000 cubic feet per second. In mid-August 2018, the Rio Grande through Albuquerque was flowing at about 450 cfs.

Under the compact, New Mexicos water debt can grow as large as 200,000 acre-feet, after which the district would face severe restrictions.

We definitely dont want to get to that point, and were starting to go there pretty quickly, Gensler said.

The MRGCD board will decide whether to alter the irrigation season at the Sept. 14 meeting.

Theresa Davis is a Report for America corps member covering water and the environment for the Albuquerque Journal.
2012 & 2016 Independent Presidential Candidate and a founding member of Ghana First Platform, Mr. Jacob Osei Yeboah has commissioned, the Volta and Oti Regional Executives of United 1 Ghana (U1G) and United Movement of Change (UMC) in Accra, under the umbrella of Ghana First Platform (GFP) for election 2020.

Ghana First Platform (GFP) is a non Partisan, NGO made up of civil society groups (CSO's), Independent Thinkers and Independent Presidential & Parliamentary Aspirants created to promoting a selected One Independent Presidential Aspirant and Parliamentary Aspirants nation wide for all constituencies.

Speaking at the occasion , Mr. Yeboah tasked the newly commissioned executives to work in the interest of Ghana and also engage in healthy politics devoid of insults, so at the end they will work to ensure that, an Independent President is elected to lead this country.

Mr. Yeboah further said Ghana First Platform is not about him, but is about patriotism and commitment to the plight of the people and that should he, be elected to lead the GFP he will together with the other aspirants work to ensure victory for all patriots. He added should another candidate be elected, he will encourage others to join him so they can fully support the winning candidate to free Ghana from partisan bondage.

He charged U1G and UMC that their counterparts National Interest Movement (NIM) also a member of GFP with reform agenda are prosecuting the same agenda for elections 2020.

Mr. JOY charged the team to let Ghanaians know that *three sleepless problems confronting Ghanaians that needs Tsunami Change* is not more about NPP and NDC as parties but mostly;

1. Presidents Nana Addo and Fmr. President Mahama wanting re-election in 2020 is a taboo,

2. Corruption and Filtiness destroying moral fiber and the environment in Ghana, presided over both is a threat to national security

3. 1992 Constitution of the 4th Republic.

In response, the Volta and Oti Regional chief coordinator Mr. Worlanyo Anani Amegashie expressed gratitude to Mr. Yeboah and the entire executives of U1G and UMC to be part of the credible alternative agenda of Ghana First Platform. He further noted that, he and the newly commissioned team will work hard to bring an Independent Candidate to power come 2020 elections.

Meanwhile other regional executives will soon be commissioned in the coming days.

However in attendance were, some executives of some branches of GFP which were JOY2020, United One Ghana and United Movement For Change.
Productivity plunged at the fastest pace on record during lockdown as millions of people were placed on furlough and the economy shrank by a fifth.

Social distancing on building sites and production lines and complications with working from home meant that output dived between April and June.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the three-month period was the largest fall in productivity on record, including when the three-day week was temporarily introduced by Ted Heath in 1974 to save electricity during the oil crisis.

The ONS said the period between April and June saw the largest fall in productivity on record, including when the three-day working week was introduced by Ted Heath's government

The amount produced by each worker fell by almost a fifth over the three-month period when compared with January to March, (ONS) data yesterday showed.

This slump was driven by the fact that lots of people still had jobs but were on furlough or had come to another arrangement with their employers, which meant that the total number of hours worked fell dramatically.

The ONS reckons around 27 per cent of the workforce  some 7.5m people  were either registered on the Government's coronavirus job-retention scheme or had temporarily stepped away from their job without receiving any pay.

But even looking at the output from those who were working throughout lockdown, the amount they produced per hour dropped by 2.5 per cent.

This was also the biggest slump since records began in 1991, and outpaced a 1.3 per cent slide between January and March, which encompassed the very beginning of the UK's coronavirus restrictions.

Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG UK, said the drop could be down to manufacturing plants and construction sites having to socially distance staff and bring in different shift patterns, which would make it more difficult to produce the same amount.

She added: 'There could also have been temporary teething pains, for example with setting up technology, at the beginning when the focus was on pivoting to working from home.'

Paul Dales, chief UK economist at Capital Economics, said: 'I suspect what's happened is that there are a lot of people who are working but might still have had their hours wound down, but weren't put on furlough.

'Perhaps they weren't sacked but their companies said 'we don't need you to work as hard as you did before'.

'Or maybe it's due to the issues of working from home, such as working parents who have had the joys of home schooling.'

He added: 'We shouldn't read too much into productivity numbers now, it's not that people are slacking off or working too hard, there are a lot of funny short-term effects going on here.'

The figures from the ONS also showed business investment sank during the most recent quarter  by a staggering 31.4 per cent.

Many companies reined in spending because they were not sure how the pandemic and lockdown would hit their business, causing them to take prudent measures such as cutting dividends and putting any unnecessary spending on ice.
At the start of her 2008 field season at El Parque El Pinalito in the Misiones province in northeastern Argentina, Ilaria Agostini knew something was terribly wrong. Agostini has studied Misiones' two howler monkey species since 2005--brown (Alouatta guariba clamitans) and black and gold (A. caraya) howlers.

Both lived at relatively low densities in the park, but still existed in one of the most continuous, well-preserved remnants of habitat known as the Atlantic Forest. She knows them better than anyone in the world.

But the treetops were silent, void of the booming chorus for which the howler monkeys are named.

"At the beginning, I found one dead monkey. Then in two hours, another one. In all my team and I found 14 dead howlers," said Agostini, a biologist at the Instituto de Biologia Subtropical of Argentina. "That first day, we started to suspect it was yellow fever."

From 2007 to 2009, a devastating yellow fever virus outbreak nearly decimated El Pinalito's howler monkey populations. The brown and black and gold howlers are extremely susceptible to the disease that enslavers introduced to the Americas.

In the last few years, logging activity has progressively affected the howlers' habitat and brought humans closer to wildlife, increasing the risk of virus transmission from the loggers to the howlers. When laboratory analyses confirmed that the monkey's died from yellow fever, health authorities vaccinated human populations to prevent further transmission. By then, the damage was done.

"Our howler groups just disappeared from the park. We found almost no signs of a presence until 2014--six years after the outbreak," Agostini said.

A recent United Nations report predicts that more diseases that spread from animals to humans, such as COVID-19, will emerge due to habitat destruction. The flip-side--human disease spreading to animals--is also true. How will increased virus transmission affect wild animal populations? The yellow virus outbreak in El Parque El Pinalito provided a natural laboratory to investigate.

In a study led by the University of Utah, an international research team tested whether howler monkeys who survived the yellow virus outbreak had any genetic variations that may have kept them alive. The article was published online on June 25, 2020 in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.

In 2017, Nicole Torosi, postdoctoral researcher at Rutgers University and then a doctoral student at the University of Utah, joined Agostini in El Pinalito to search for any living brown or black and gold howlers. They eventually counted nine brown howlers and two black and gold howlers. Torosin sequenced the genomes of liver samples that Agostini's team had collected from monkeys who died before the outbreak, right after the outbreak, and she extracted DNA from the poop of those who had survived.

"We saw many more dead black and gold howler monkeys than brown howlers after the outbreak," said Torosin, postdoctoral researcher at Rutgers University. "We wondered if there were genetic differences that may have helped the brown howlers survive somehow."

The scientists focused on two immune genes that detect the type of single-stranded RNA viruses to which yellow fever virus belongs. The genes, toll-like receptor (TLR) 7 and TLR 8, recognize and destroy the invading viruses in both humans and non-human primates.

The team found no genetic variants present at higher rates in the surviving monkeys than in the deceased ones. However, in comparing the two species, they found three mutations in the DNA sequence of the brown howler individuals. Two of these mutations result in amino acid changes in the part of the protein that detects the disease. In a companion study published in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Torosin found that the changes were positively selected in the brown howler population.

If the amino acid sequence is different, then the protein is different, and that could affect the entire downstream response to dealing with the virus, Maybe that's why more brown howlers survived." Nicole Torosin, Study Corresponding Author and Postdoctoral Researcher, Rutgers University

The researchers hypothesize that the brown howlers were exposed to a different virus in the past that selected for the mutations and may have helped them deal with yellow fever virus. Torosin's next steps are to do an immune test for the two species by exposing cells to the virus to see what the responses are in a controlled environment

"With COVID-19, we've seen how a virus that originated in China can spread across the world. Here, humans brought a virus to primates that have evolved without exposure to it for tens of millions of years and it nearly wiped them out," said co-author Timothy Webster, anthropologist at the U. "We're interacting with species in new ways that are creating new immune challenges, both for humans and for other species."

Rebuilding the chorus

There are still howler monkeys in the park, but they need time to recover and reorganize into groups--if they're not wiped by another outbreak, which is a real possibility, Agostini said.

In order to document their progress, Agostini and her team of Proyecto Caraya Rojo, together with the NGO Asociacion Civil Centro de Investigaciones del Bosque Atlantico (CeIBA), came up with a new way of tracking--by recording their calls using wildlife acoustic recorders.

"Just looking for them in the forest isn't efficient. They're so elusive, and live at such low densities, you can go days without finding them," she said. "Recording their vocalizations could be very useful for howlers. They give these very loud calls."
South Africa: 240 healthcare workers die of COVID-19

The Health Department says 240 healthcare professionals have succumbed to COVID-19 in South Africa, with the public sector being the hardest hit.

We salute these fallen soldiers and pay tribute to them for their commitment to serving the people of South Africa right until the very end. We extend our condolences to all the family, friends and colleagues of these valuable members of society, the Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, said on Wednesday.

According to the reported deaths, 37 are from the private sector, while 203 are from the public sector.

Meanwhile, 27 360 healthcare workers have contracted COVID-19 as of 4 August, Mkhize said.

According to the breakdown, 6 027 (22%) of these health professionals are from the private sector, while 21 333 (78%) are from the public sector.

Meanwhile, nursing is the worst-hit profession, recording 14 143 infections, while 1 644 are doctors.

Also, 11 545 are from other categories of clinicians, while 28 are port healthcare workers.

The overall infection rate among healthcare workers, compared to the total number of cases identified nationally, is 5%, which is well below the global average of 10%, Mkhize explained, adding that the recovery rate is 58%.

The Eastern Cape recorded the highest number of deaths with 85 fatalities, Gauteng 43, Western Cape 38, KwaZulu-Natal 30, Free State 21 and North West 16.

Meanwhile, four healthcare workers died in the Northern Cape and three are from Mpumalanga.

Limpopo is the only province that has zero fatalities reported.

As of 7 August 2020, there were 7 500 active cases, 751 (10%) of which were hospitalised, 6 557 (87%) were in self-isolation and 192 (3%) were being isolated in a facility.

We wish all healthcare workers currently battling COVID-19 a speedy recovery and look forward to welcoming them back to the workforce when they are fully recovered, Mkhize said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-08-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
A baby boy born on an airplane that was taking mom to a hospital in Anchorage was named 'Sky' by mom.

Chrystal Hicks was 35 weeks pregnant when she gave birth to Sky Airon Hicks on August 5 around 1 AM after mom boarded a plane to take her from the small community of Glennallen, Alaska to an Anchorage hospital, KTUU-TV reported.

"It was shocking, it was really weird at first, I didn't know what to think," Hicks told a reporter. "But everybody kept talking about the baby on the plane."

Hicks and her son made it safely to the hospital. Sky was placed on a breathing machine when he arrived because he was born a month premature. The baby is expected to be discharged from the hospital next week. Hicks said filing out the birth certificate information was difficult because they were about 18,000 feet (5,500 meters) in the air. "I just put Anchorage," Hicks said. "I didn't want to put on a plane or in the sky." Hicks has three other children  ages 3, 9 and 11.

Read more at KTUU-TV.
Director Shaun Mathis talks about new documentary Miles in the Life: The Story of a BMF Drug Trafficker

In director Shaun Mathis documentary Miles in the Life: The Story of a BMF Drug Trafficker you get the feeling that the life of Jabari Hayes, was set in motion by God to be an example, a cautionary tale, if you will, of choosing the wrong path.

Dont get me wrong. There are worse places to grow up than the crack-era Brooklyn during the 1980s epidemic. For example, there are hard-and-fast war zones where bombs explode regularly, and being rounded up and executed in plain sight are a daily occurrence. So  Brooklyn in the 80s is not as graphic but the impact is just as devastating because it is a war and there are direct casualties and significant collateral damage.

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For Jabari Hayes, his mothers crippling addiction to crack and the submersion into the drug culture was the backdrop for his life. In his own words, in Miles in the Life: The Story of a BMF Drug Trafficker he explains to the viewer he never knew who would be living inside his mothers apartment and who she was loyal to, and in case you were wondering, her allegiance was always to the crack cocaine.

So Hayes learned the drug game without ever remembering being asked or expressing a need to be taught. Eventually, he was moved to St. Louis, Missouri to live with his father, where he became a star student-athlete at Morehouse College where he graduated summa cum laude, But something happened there that began in Brooklyn. Something that was lodged inside his brain and that was the inside knowledge of how to make money in the dark and thats when he stepped into the drug game.

Those that knew him as he was growing up, consistently used the words intelligent and bright to describe Hayes. To that end, he used his entrepreneurial skills to establish a limousine company, where he was introduced to the Black Mafia Family, the then-largest African-American drug organization in the southeast, and his life was forever changed.

He had an idea: To use all of his knowledge to get everything he thought he wanted in life. Admittedly he knew the risks that are involved in organized crime but it didnt phase him in the least. On the contrary, by his admission, it fueled him more.

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Resourceful, Hayes armed with only a fleet of limos, trafficked large quantities of cocaine across the country, making a lot of money, but putting his life in constant danger. And according to his words, he was cool as a cucumber, it was just business. A dangerous business but a business none the less.

The risk was part of the thrill but he cited that one of the most compelling reasons for Hayes to continue was to be a part of the brotherhood giving him a feeling of invincibility. Much like crack cocaine, the lifestyle was destructive and addictive.

100 men, that are ready to die for you? Hayes remarks in the film, Its intoxicating. But it couldnt last forever. The fallout from his notorious lifestyle, coupled with Hayes redemption to rebuild his life outside of illegal enterprises, form the cornerstone for Miles in the Life.

Here is what director Shaun Mathis had to say about Miles in the Life and the life of drug trafficker Jabari Hayes,

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL: What inspired you to make this documentary?

SHAUN MATHIS: The inspiration came from meeting Jabari and seeing that he was a changed man after he returned home from prison. That is the side of these types of stories we never hear about. Most time the stories are told from the perspective of the DA, FBI, or law enforcement. But we were inspired to make this documentary to show people the other side. To give them the why behind why it happened and to show that everyone does deserve a second chance.

LAS: What is the biggest challenge that you encountered when making this doc?

SM: The biggest challenge was trying to figure out what to take out of the doc and what to leave in. The first edit was 2.5 hours long. So after going through nearly 60 hours of footage, we had to go back in, view the doc with a fine-tooth comb, and scale the length down while keeping the integrity of the story intact.

LAS: What do you want people to take away from this story?

SM: What we want people to take away from the story is that everyone who has done anything wrong, no matter the scale, should be given an opportunity at redemption. That a person should be judged by the character they are today and not whom they were in the past.

LAS: What do you like about being a storyteller?

SM: What I like about being a storyteller is that I have the unique opportunity to shape and change the narrative. Through my storytelling, I can extract a particular type of emotion that stays with a viewer for a very long time, if not forever. I can create from thin air but leave a lasting impression on someones life. Its amazing.

LAS: What is next for you?

SM: Next, there is a lot. Laconic Productions is currently working on our next feature film, Unicorns. We also have a docu-series, How to Stay Free and a reality show, Black & Poly, that we are currently developing. In the midst of all that, we are releasing new short films on our youtube channel, LaconicTV, each month as well as conducting my writing class via zoom each Thursday night.

To learn more about director Shaun Mathis MILES IN THE LIFE  go to

www.laconicproductions.com
N.J. school union leaders talk about reopening this fall Parents and students all over New Jersey are confused about how their schools will reopen this fall, so weve brought together N.J. educational union leaders to answer your questions. Richard Bozza, executive director of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators; Patricia Wright, executive director of the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association; and Marie Blistan, president of the New Jersey Education Association will talk about school reopening with reporter Brent Johnson. Posted by NJ.com on Thursday, August 13, 2020

A day after Gov. Phil Murphy amended New Jerseys plans for schools to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic, leaders of the states largest teacher union and groups representing school administrators sat down for a live chat Thursday on NJ.coms Facebook page to discuss the latest changes.

Richard Bozza, executive director of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators; Patricia Wright, executive director of the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association; and Marie Blistan, president of the New Jersey Education Association were part of the discussion.

With the academic year set to start in a few weeks, Murphy announced Wednesday that school districts that cant meet the states reopening guidelines can ask to begin the year with all students learning remotely. Previously, the state was requiring the states nearly 600 districts to have at least some form of in-person learning.

State officials insisted the goal is still to have as much in-person learning as possible, and that a vast majority of districts would start the year with a hybrid of in-person and remote classes. But Murphy said this provides flexibility for districts facing challenges meeting all the requirements.

We recognize that for some districts, there are legitimate and documentable reasons why some of these core health and safety standards cant be met on day one, he said.

Murphy also said he reserves the right to further change plans if COVID-19 cases surge.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

This comes amid a national debate over whether schools should physically reopen during the pandemic. Proponents of reopening schools say remote learning isnt as strong and parents in two-income households often cant stay home with their children because they have to work. Opponents say reopening is still too dangerous, arguing children could pass the virus to older teachers and staff who are more vulnerable.

Numerous parents, educators, local officials, and union leaders have been pressuring Murphy to keep schools closed in recent days. On Tuesday, Bozza, Wright, and Blistan  the leaders taking part in the live chat  called on Murphy to have all schools to remotely in the fall.

For months, New Jersey educators and administrators have been working tirelessly to find a way to safely bring students back into school buildings in September, they said in a statement. Now, with less than a month remaining before schools are scheduled to reopen, it is time to reluctantly acknowledge that goal is simply not achievable.

Head to Facebook.com/NJ.com to discuss the latest on school reopenings.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01.
A Wear OS update rolling out this fall will bring improved performance and a new weather app. Today, Google announced that the next update will allow faster access to info and apps, more intuitive controls for managing watch modes and workouts, as well as a simplified pairing process.

These changes are thanks, in part, to CPU core improvements, which could allow your apps to open up to 20 percent faster. The updated Wear OS will also support Qualcomms new Snapdragon Wear 4100 and 4100+ chips. According to 9to5Google, Mobvoi will release the first running watch with this chipset later this year.

Aside from speed and more intuitive controls, Wear OS users will notice a new weather interface.

Google

It aims to be easier to read while on the go, with an hourly breakdown of todays weather to help you plan ahead and provide information about important weather alerts in your area, Google wrote on its Android Developers blog.
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Linkedin News Desk (Reuters) Madrid, Spain  Thu, August 13, 2020 10:21 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066dab41d 2 World Spain,coronavirus,COVID-19,COVID-19-infection,pandemic,SARS-CoV-2,virus-corona,novel-coronavirus Free

Coronavirus cases in Spain jumped by nearly 1,700 on Wednesday, part of a surge that has prompted the construction of a military field hospital in the hard-hit Aragon region and led authorities in Galicia to practically ban smoking in public places.

Health ministry data showed 1,690 new coronavirus cases were diagnosed in the 24 hours to Wednesday, up from the 1,418 reported on Tuesday and bringing the cumulative total to 329,784. The new daily number excluded Madrid, which did not provide fresh data due to technical difficulties.

Since lifting its strict lockdown around six weeks ago Spain has struggled to keep a lid on new infections, with average daily cases rising from less than 150 in June to more than 1,500 in the first 12 days of August.

In scenes reminiscent of the epidemic's March-April peak, TV footage showed air force personnel setting up dark green tents to serve as a field hospital in Zaragoza, Aragon's regional capital in northeastern Spain.

Set to open on Friday, the facility attached to Zaragoza's University Clinic hospital will be used as a triage center and temporary ward, the air force said in a statement.

With 571 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, Aragon has the highest prevalence of the virus in Spain. Navarre, with the second-highest rate, has just 159 cases per 100,000 people.

Despite having some of the lowest levels of the virus, northwestern Galicia issued a blanket ban on smoking on the street and on restaurant terraces when social-distancing cannot be guaranteed.

Under Spain's decentralized government, each region is largely in charge of its own response to the virus, leading to a patchwork of different restrictions and preventative measures.

Wealthy northeastern Catalonia is set to expand a mass-testing program in the coming days to include several neighborhoods of its capital, Barcelona.
"While there is no evidence that the virus can be transmitted through breast milk, there is always a theoretical risk," said study lead author Greg Walker from the University of New South Wales in Australia.

Sydney, Aug 12 (IANS) New research adds to the growing body of evidence that pasteurising human milk inactivates the virus that causes Covid-19.

According to the study published in the 'Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health', there are five human milk banks in Australia. As the Covid-19 pandemic evolves, these milk banks continue to provide donated breast milk to pre-term babies who lack access to their mother's own milk.

Donors are screened for diseases and the milk is tested and pasteurised to ensure that it is safe for medically fragile babies.

"We've seen in previous pandemics that pasteurised donor human milk (PDHM) supplies may be interrupted because of safety considerations so that's why we wanted to show that PDHM remains safe," Walker said.

For this study, the team worked in the Kirby Institute's PC-3 lab to experimentally infect small amounts of frozen and freshly expressed breast milk from healthy Lifeblood Milk donors. They then heated the milk samples -- now infected with SARS-CoV-2 to 63 degree Celsius for 30 minutes to simulate the pasteurisation process that occurs in milk banks. The study found that after this process, they did not contain any infectious, live virus.

"Our findings demonstrate that the SARS-CoV-2 virus can be effectively inactivated by pasteurisation."

The researchers say their experiments simulated a theoretical worst-case scenario.

"The amount of virus we use in the lab is a lot higher than what would be found in breast milk from women who have Covid-19 -- so we can be really confident of these findings," Walker said.

The researchers also tested if storing SARS-CoV-2 in human milk at four degrees Celsius or 30 degree Celsius would inactivate the virus -- the first time a study has assessed the stability of experimentally-infected coronavirus in human milk under common storage conditions.

"We found that cold storage did not significantly impact infectious viral load over a 48-hour period," the study authors wrote.

"While freezing the milk resulted in a slight reduction in the virus present, we still recovered viable virus after 48 hours of storage," they noted.

Earlier in July, a Canadian study published in the journal CMAJ found that pasteurising breast milk using a common technique inactivated the Covid-19 virus.

--IANS

bu/khz/bg


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A new class-action lawsuit filed against Facebook accuses the company's photo and video-sharing app Instagram of illegally collecting biometric data of as many as 100 million users without their consent, according to reports.



The lawsuit filed in a state court in California, alleges that Instagram uses its photo-tagging technology to create a database of users' facial features.



It accuses Instagram and Facebook of violating an Illinois state law that bans companies from harvesting the biometric data of people without their knowledge or consent.



Facebook has been accused of collecting, storing and also profiting from the biometric data of the Instagram users without their consent.



The lawsuit is seeking damages for up to 100 million Instagram users. Under Illinois law, Facebook could be forced to pay $1000 to $5000 for each violation. The social media giant could end up paying up to $500 billion in full damages if found liable.



However, a Facebook spokesperson was quoted as saying that the lawsuit is baseless as Instagram does not use Face Recognition technology.



In July, Facebook is said to have offered to pay $650 million to settle a similar lawsuit that accused the company of illegally collecting biometric data through a photo-tagging tool for Facebook users.



In July 2019, the Federal Trade Commission or FTC imposed a $5 billion penalty on Facebook for violating consumers' privacy. The fine was imposed after the FTC investigated Facebook regarding allegations that UK-based political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica accessed the data of 87 million Facebook users without authorization.



Meanwhile, facial recognition technology, which can be used by governments to spy on anyone, has also been under scrutiny for years now.



Privacy activists such as American Civil Liberties Union or ACLU have been demanding stricter regulation of the technology for years over concerns that the tool is being used for racial discrimination.



In June, tech giant Google's employees signed an internal petition demanding that the company stop selling its technology to police departments. The Google employees' dissent came after Amazon and Microsoft said they will not sell their facial recognition technology to police agencies.



Amazon has announced a one-year moratorium on police use of its facial recognition technology, Rekognition, to give ample time to the governments to implement stronger regulations for racial equality and justice.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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The tech sector is beginning to feel some of the negative hiring impact of the prolonged COVID-19 shutdown, but the overall job field remains a lot healthier than other sectors. That's according to CompTIA's review of the newest Employment Situation Summary from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The BLS report covers all sectors, but CompTIA focused on two areas: technology sector employment, which relates to jobs in the tech industry as a whole (people employed by Google, Microsoft, Dell, etc.) and includes both technical and non-technical roles; and IT employment, which covers IT jobs across all sectors of the economy (travel, retail, health care, etc.).



Up until July, tech sector employment had increased by almost 200,000 jobs this year despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The nation's technology sector trimmed an estimated 17,300 positions in both technical and non-technical roles last month. That marks the second month of decline. In June, the tech sector shed 33,800 jobs.

IT occupations in all sectors of the economy declined by an estimated 134,000 jobs, according to CompTIA's analysis.

Even with the July job losses, net IT employment is up by more than 203,000 positions since the outbreak of COVID-19. The unemployment rate for IT occupations is 4.4%, compared to the national unemployment rate of 10.2%.
Road, rail, airport and port improvements that have supported a trebling of exports in the decade to 2020, and a 60% increase in foreign direct investment;

Backing the government's major healthcare reform with four new hospitals, a five-fold increase in hospital beds, a world-leading research center and upgrades to 27 healthcare facilities country wide;

Supporting the government's goal for universal access to education with 17 new schools, more than 600 classrooms serving an additional 15,000 children, and in 2020, the launch of a plan to deliver 400 additional classrooms;

Expanding digital participation and inclusion with the installation of the Africa Coast to Europe submarine optical fiber and a network of over 2,000km cables  more than three quarters of Gabon's population are now accessing broadband internet;

submarine optical fiber and a network of over 2,000km cables  more than three quarters of population are now accessing broadband internet; Providing reliable, clean energy for 64,000 additional homes, from a new hydro-electric dam and gas-powered facility, with plans in place for five further power facilities by 2025;

Dozens of social impact projects  housing, solar lighting, flood mitigation, and providing clean drinking water  to communities around the country.

Landmark projects have included the infrastructure needed to host the 2012 and 2017 Africa Cup of Nations; the Schweitzer medical center with world-class research in tropical and other diseases; and an innovative urban planning tool to tackle the pressures of urbanization.

Bogdan Sgarcitu, Bechtel's project director in Gabon from 2016 to 2020 said:

"The Government of Gabon shares our passion for sustainable infrastructure that has a transformational impact on people's lives and livelihoods. From the very start, we planned to employ and procure locally and build in a way that protects resources and biodiversity. Where there were skills gaps, we supported local people and supply chains to develop home-grown content. We are incredibly proud to handover the infrastructure masterplan to a new generation of talented Gabonese engineers, project managers and construction professionals."

The partnership began when Bechtel was invited to support a national infrastructure master plan for Gabon's infrastructure priorities and the country's first public-works agency l'Agence Nationale des Grands Travaux d'Infrastructures (ANGTI) to deliver a pipeline of priority infrastructure projects to serve the nation's approximately 2.1 million people. Key to the long-term success of the plan was enhancing the Gabonese skill base in construction standards of safety, quality, and project implementation  over the ten-year period, the proportion of ANGTI staff working across housing, education, transport and energy, rose from just over 55% to more than 90%.

Gabon's Minister for Infrastructure, Leon Armel BOUNDA BALONZI said:

"We are tremendously proud of our 10-year partnership with Bechtel that has made a profound contribution to the construction and development of Gabon.

"The highest authorities of Gabon, the President of the Republic, Head of State, His Excellency Ali Bongo Ondimba, have been impressed by Bechtel's undivided attention to implementing the masterplan, which has delivered great benefits for the people of Gabon. These include strengthening the capacity of the Gabonese project workers; helping us accelerate and deliver our Head of State's priority large infrastructure projects; improving the culture of ethics and standards in the management of projects; and helping us find funding for projects that would return an immediate and considerable economic, social, cultural and environmental impact.

"On behalf of the Gabonese Government and myself, I would like to offer our warmest appreciation for and pay tribute to the remarkable work done and for Bechtel's forthright collaboration and look forward to continuing to drive the plan forward."

For the duration of the partnership, the team has volunteered with respected NGO Engineers without Borders in Gabon, with a focus on flood prevention projects and emergency engineering support. Bechtel also expanded its international partnership with Junior Achievement to include a new entrepreneurship in business skills training program for hundreds of young people living in Gabon.

About Bechtel:

Bechtel is a trusted engineering, construction and project management partner to industry and government. Differentiated by the quality of our people and our relentless drive to deliver the most successful outcomes, we align our capabilities to our customers' objectives to create a lasting positive impact. Since 1898, we have helped customers complete more than 25,000 projects in 160 countries on all seven continents that have created jobs, grown economies, improved the resiliency of the world's infrastructure, increased access to energy, resources, and vital services, and made the world a safer, cleaner place.

Bechtel serves the Infrastructure; Nuclear, Security & Environmental; Oil, Gas & Chemicals; and Mining & Metals markets. Our services span from initial planning and investment, through start-up and operations. www.bechtel.com

Media contact:



Juliet Whitcombe

[email protected]

+44 (0)7917 722 304

SOURCE Bechtel

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Rupnagar Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Ropar, claims to have developed a room disinfectant based on ultraviolet rays, called Ultra Violet Germicidal Radiations and has named it as UVSAFE. This indigenous device harnesses the germicidal effects of UV-C radiations to inactivate all bacteria and viruses, including coronavirus.

Tested for its efficacy in New Delhi, the device has been conceptualised and designed at IIT-Ropar by Khushboo Rakha, assistant professor, department of metallurgical and materials engineering; Naresh Rakha, senior scientific officer with technical support from Shahriar Reza (design consultant). The design has been patented.
DUBAI The United Arab Emirates became the first Gulf Arab country to reach a deal on normalising relations with Israel on Thursday, securing an Israeli commitment to halt further annexations of Palestinian territories.

The agreement caps years of discreet contacts between the two countries in commerce and technology and may help the Gulf monarchy, increasingly assertive in regional hotspots, craft an image as a force for stability in a turbulent Middle East.

Senior official Anwar Gargash said the deal had helped defuse what he called the ticking time-bomb of Israels planned annexation of settlements in the occupied West Bank that was threatening a two-state solution to the IsraeliPalestinian conflict.

Gargash, minister of state for foreign affairs, said the agreement was a bold but necessary step to take in the region.

The region is very polarised. You will hear the usual noise but I think it is important to move forward," he told reporters in a briefing.

Israel has had no diplomatic relations with Arab countries in the Gulf, but common concerns with the UAE about Irans regional influence and activities had led to a limited thaw in relations in recent years.

A joint statement by Israel, the UAE and the United States issued in Washington hailed the accord as a historic diplomatic breakthrough" that would advance peace in the Middle East.

Asked by Reuters whether a UAE embassy could potentially be based in Jerusalem, Gargash said it was premature to discuss the issue.

We will definitely not locate anything in Jerusalem. West or East. Unless there is a final agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians."

Gargash urged the Israelis and Palestinians to return to the negotiating table but said that the issue was not in the hands of the UAE.

Delegations from Israel and the UAE, a regional business and investment hub, will meet in coming weeks to sign bilateral agreements on investment, tourism, direct flights, security, telecommunications and other issues, the statement said.

In Washington, senior White house officials said that under the deal, Israel had agreed to suspend applying sovereignty to areas of the West Bank that it had been discussing annexing.

The UAE has adopted a more assertive foreign policy in recent years, flexing its muscles to counter what it sees as an Islamist threat in countries like Sudan and Libya, and working with Washington to confront the influence of adversary Iran.

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
Acting Police Commissioner McDonald Jacob has been given notice by leader of The First Wave Movement, Umar Abdullah, that there will be two more peaceful marches this month.

It comes on the heels of Abdullah being charged on Monday for leading a march around the Queens Park Savannah without permission from the acting police commissioner.
The Medford High School Commencement Ceremony that had been rescheduled to Aug. 15 was canceled after several of the schools seniors scheduled to participate in the ceremony tested positive for COVID-19.

Local health officials notified the Superintendent that in addition to these multiple positive tests, there is significant evidence that individuals who tested positive have failed to comply with the public health guidance regarding isolation and quarantining, the school said in a statement. For these reasons, and for the safety of all community members, the graduation ceremony has been cancelled.

Instead, the statement said, the school will notify families and students in the coming days of how it plans to distribute diplomas.

We are devastated not to have the opportunity to congratulate and commend our seniors upon the completion of their high school careers, said Superintendent Marice Edouard-Vincent, Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn and Director of the Medford Board of Health, MaryAnn OConnor in the statement. The failure to comply with the restrictions and advice of public health officials is simply unacceptable. It is critically important that all community members, including the students of the Medford Public Schools, adhere to public health guidance. The safety and well-being of all community members will continue to be our highest priority.

Graduations, which were allowed to be held starting July 19, have been a difficult event to host for many schools over the past month.

Easthampton High School also canceled its graduation yesterday because of the uptick in health metrics and the recent changes on phases from Governor Bakers office, assistant principal Susan Welson told MassLive.

Earlier this month, Cohasset High Schools graduation was canceled due to a prom-like party with high schoolers and parents. Maynard High School had to cancel its graduation ceremony that was set to take place July 24 after someone tested positive for COVID-19. Falmouth High School also canceled its in-person graduation and a parent who attended the Quincy High School graduation on July 25 tested positive for coronavirus, Interim Superintendent of Schools Kevin Mulvey said.

This week Gov. Charlie Baker added new restrictions to Phase 3, which impacted indoor and outdoor gatherings. He also spoke out against continuing to host graduations during a press conference.

Speaking as a parent of three, Baker said he knows the importance of celebrating such moments as graduation but said too many people are letting their guard down. He urged residents, Dont spread this virus to your family.

State education officials also issued new guidance on back-to-school reopening plans along with the color coded map tracking COVID-19 cases.

Corresponding to the metrics on the map, districts coded red should use remote learning; districts coded yellow should utilize a hybrid model, or remote if extenuating circumstances; and districts shaded green or white should return to school full-time in-person or hybrid if extenuating circumstances, according to the guidance.

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SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)

In an effort to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, the San Francisco Police Department on Wednesday unveiled posters that will be displayed at every police station throughout the city, reaffirming the department's commitment to end systematic racism.

The 27-by-54-inch poster explains why the department's principle of "safety and respect for all" aligns with the movement, in an effort to remind police officers of those values.

Since protests have swept the nation starting back in May after the death of George Floyd in the custody of Minneapolis police, city leaders have moved toward creating policies to show the city's commitment to Black Lives Matter.

In that spirit, last month San Francisco Police Commission Vice President Damali Taylor and Commissioner Dion-Jay Brookter authored a resolution requiring Black Lives Matter posters to be placed inside each city police station.

According to Police Chief Bill Scott, creating the posters was a collaborative process throughout the department that resulted in thoughtful discussions about police values.

"This was a really, really rewarding experience for me and to get everybody's input across the department. For the Police Commission to take leadership on this issue, particularly in today's times and in terms of what our nation is facing now with these issues, it was really important," Scott said.

He added, "We have a set of values in the posters that you can see today that we can all be proud of, because it reflects the values of the Police Department, including the Police Commission. And it reflects the values of our city."

According to Brookter, the idea of Black Lives Matter posters inside police stations came from the city's Black residents.

"First and foremost, this resolution came from the Black community," he said. "They said, 'We would like to see Black Lives Matter posters at every one of our police stations here in San Francisco.' As we look at the sanctity of life, as we look at, as the chief noted, what's going on in the nation, the Black community felt that we wanted to see that symbol."

He added, "As we continue to push forward with (police) reforms, this does not exclude the reforms and all the work that needs to be done. This is merely a symbol, as we know symbols really matter, saying to our Black community here in San Francisco that we value you and we value your life."

Taylor said, "There are a lot of people who feel afraid when they see the police, when they think of the police. And that symbol, which may seem so small to some, is meaningful to know that if I walking into a district station that my life is important too and I am not a throwaway. My humanity is not a throwaway to SFPD. I just think it's so powerful and it is a small gesture, but it's an important gesture and it's an important part of the path forward to reform and to healing."

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Firebrand lawmaker Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has hit back at an alleged snub by the Democratic party after being given just 60 seconds to deliver a speech a next weeks convention.

AOC responded on Twitter by posting the poem I have only just a minute, written by the late Dr Benjamin E. Mays, an American Baptist minister and civil rights leader.

I only have a minute, the poem reads. Forced upon me, I did not choose it, But I know that I must use it.

AOCs message appears to be that she intends to make full use of her convention speech  regardless of long she has been given.

Give account if I abuse it. Suffer if I lose it. Only a tiny little minute, But eternity is in it.

Dr Mays poem was also recited by the late Rep. Elijah Cummings, when he first entered the House in 1996, having won election to Marylands 7th congressional district in 1996.

AOCs pre-recorded one minute clip is set to be aired on Tuesday. This years Democratic convention was scheduled to take place in Milwaukee but will be held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Other Democrats have been asked to address the convention live via video link, leading to accusations that the Democrat party hierarchy is attempting to stifle the New Yorker.

Chuck Schumer, the Senate Minority Leader, and Pete Buttigieg, former presidential contender and mayor of South Bend, Indiana, have been asked to speak live.

I only have a minute.

Sixty seconds in it.

Forced upon me, I did not choose it,

But I know that I must use it.

Give account if I abuse it.

Suffer, if I lose it.



Only a tiny little minute,

But eternity is in it.



- Dr. Benjamin E. Mays

(and recited by Elijah Cummings)  https://t.co/ul9CE7NriV  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 12, 2020

The four-day online convention will begin on Monday and include speeches by former president Bill Clinton, Michelle Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Hilary Clinton among others.

Story continues

What a slap to the progressive wing, one Twitter user wrote. Its a constant spite of us [sic]. They think we will cower and peter [out]. They are wrong.

We aint going anywhere. With @AOC as our leader were just getting started. Now that the squad was re-elected we are ready to rumble in the halls of Congress.

AOC backed Bernie Sanders over Joe Biden in the Democratic nomination race for president.

Read more

AOC slams New York Governor Cuomo over reopening schools in fall
When the internet came to India on the eve of independence day in 1995, it promised mass connectivity. With connectivity, citizens in cities, towns and villages alike would be able to connect to worlds beyond their immediate vicinity; information and services, hitherto the monopoly of the rich and powerful would become accessible to all.

As an 11-year old growing up in Kolkata, I too was gripped by the heady prospect of having the world at my fingertips. My mother took me to the British Council Library where I set up a Yahoo account and spent hours digging up random trivia sourced from Encarta 95. Over time, I had a dial-up modem installed at home using which I checked examination marks online, did some extra research for school and became a truly digital citizen.

What was available to me in the 90s in a middle class Kolkata home has today permeated large sections of the country. But the quest to get the country online has not even reached the halfway mark. According to a report by the Internet & Mobile Association of India and Nielsen in 2019, 451 million users aged above 5 were active online in India, less than 50% of the population. Female users accounted for half of the total male users. Rural internet penetration was abysmally low at 27%. Even for those who are online, the quality of service requires significant improvement. It ought to be a matter of some regret to governments, internet evangelists and civil society that 25 years on, fundamental, first-order problems of internet access and quality remain.

A dominant reason for this state of affairs is a misguided contemporary narrative around the internet that focuses primarily on privacy and state surveillance. Needless to say, privacy on the internet is an issue that affects every user, rich or poor. But the prioritisation of privacy and state surveillance in the narrative over fundamental questions of access and quality has meant that public and governmental focus has leapfrogged fundamental issues to second-generation ones.

What this has unwittingly done is to decelerate the spread of internet in the country. The BharatNet project of the government, designed to connect all Gram Panchayats, has missed multiple targets to very little public criticism. As of January 2020, only 7.45% of the 150,000 Gram Panchayats meant to be connected in Phase 2 are service-ready. Jio has stepped into this breach promising to connect every village. Private telecom operators may indeed be the countrys best chance to get online. Its a pity though that in the process, ensuring access to the internet is no longer treated as a duty of the state; it has become contingent on the choices made by private corporations.

Apart from benefiting Indian corporations, the state surveillance-centric narrative has also let large foreign corporations off the hook. Vast amounts of data of Indians has already been collected without the concomitant payment of taxes in India. Of course, like the East India Company, which started building railroads to connect the country, Indians have benefited from foreign corporations as well.The promise of free internet at railway stations, the ability to post videos or have a service that curates a timeline of photos, do make lives better. But these short-term gains have come at the cost of our long-term sovereignty as these corporations are ultimately their own masters.

If August 15,1995 was Indias tryst with internet destiny, August 15,2020 is the time for the internet ecosystem in India to redeem its pledge. A pledge to dedicate itself to the service of the people of India, the unconnected, the digitally illiterate, the poor, and to the still larger cause of humanity. The internet that will emerge from these efforts will undoubtedly be very different from what we see todaymore local, less in English, fairer in terms of empowering individuals to control their digital lives, and freer, without individual and community data being colonised by states and private corporations.

But each of these can only happen if we make getting every Indian online our first priorityto give millions of 11-year olds in cities, towns and villages the joy of having the world at their fingertips. So as the internet turns 25 in India, here is a thought to set the ball rolling on the next 25Parliament should introduce Article 21B of the Constitution, making the right to access the internet a fundamental right of all citizens. Happy internet independence day to all.

(Arghya Sengupta is Research Director, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. With inputs from Sumeysh Srivastava. Views are personal.)
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The Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has brought fear, chaos, grief and isolation into our lives in a way many of us have never experienced. Every day, I hear about strained marriages, lonely seniors, anxious students, despairing business owners and grieving families whove lost someone to the virus.

Many people are experiencing intense depression and anxiety right now, including Christians. I believe there are three things we should do when depression and anxiety threaten to overwhelm us.

1. Be honest with God.

Although it may come as a surprise, many people in the Bible struggled with depression. Moses, Elijah and Jonah  to name a few  all experienced disappointment, disillusionment and despair.

In Numbers 11, we read how Moses, feeling hopeless and overwhelmed in the wilderness, prayed that God would end his life. Elijah did the same in 1 Kings 19:4 as he ran from Queen Jezebel. Jeremiah, the author of Lamentations, mourned his own birth (Jeremiah 20:14-18). In their darkest moments, they cried out to God in agonizing honesty.

Scripture teaches us that these men were just like you and me. The apostle James writes that Elijah was a man with a nature like ours (James 5:17). If these men who walked so closely with God  all of whom were prophets  so powerfully struggled with their mental and emotional health, then I think God understands when we do, too.

If you are experiencing depression, anxiety or other mental or emotional health struggles right now, you are not alone. Dont believe the lie that you arent fit to be Gods child. Hear and respond to the life-giving, soul-healing truth of Gods Word. He heard the cries of Moses, Elijah and Jeremiah, and he hears yours.

2. Participate in community.

In Genesis 1:26, God says, Let us make man in our image, in our likeness. (NIV). From these words, we infer that God exists in unity and community. After he creates the first man, God says that it is not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2:18) and then he creates the first woman. Division and isolation came into our world as a result of the fall.

According to a 2019 report by Pew Research Center, ...in the U.S. and many other countries around the world, regular participation in a religious community clearly is linked with higher levels of happiness and civic engagement (specifically, voting in elections and joining community groups or other voluntary organizations).

Of course, Covid-19 has changed how we participate in community. While churches are finally slowly beginning to gather, many people are still not able to meet in person because of valid health concerns. But the wonderful thing is that the virus has not canceled community, because the church is not a building. Jesus said, For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them (Matthew 18:20). We can stay connected through phone calls, text messaging, video chatting, letter writing and socially distanced visits. It only takes two to make a church gathering.

3. Ask for help when you need it.

While prayer and community are certainly helpful, there is no shame in seeking professional help for depression and anxiety. Sometimes, our brains and bodies simply dont work like wed want them to. Sometimes, circumstances really can be too much to bear.

Talking to a doctor or counselor can be immensely helpful in understanding and managing mental health issues. I know  I have battled depression. Some days are harder than others. And thats okay. Depression and anxiety are a real part of life in this broken world.

God has promised each of us that we can find wholeness, peace and security in him no matter what trials we are facing. So in these challenging times, lets be honest with him, participate in community and ask for help when we need it.
.

A fabulous cast will sing some of the greatest musical theater songs ever written including those from South Pacific, Oklahoma!, Carousel, The King and I, The Sound of Music and more! Presented in a tent outdoors at the parking lot of the Polish Community Club, at the intersection of Linden and Center streets, from August 19-29.

Beginning on Wednesday, Aug. 19, the Berkshire Hills will be alive with the sounds of Rodgers and Hammerstein at
Australia's largest miner, BHP, is facing a landmark shareholder push to put a moratorium on all mining activities that threaten to disturb or destroy culturally significant Aboriginal sites.

The resolution, which has won the backing of leaders of key Indigenous land councils and native-title groups, comes after widespread community and investor condemnation of miner Rio Tinto's destruction of 46,000-year-old rock shelters in Western Australia.

Rio Tinto is facing a Senate inquiry over the destruction of ancient caves that has left the land's traditional owners devastated. Credit:Michele Mossop

BHP investors will vote on the motion at the company's upcoming shareholder meetings in October. The motion seeks an immediate pause on mining activities that would "disturb, destroy or desecrate" culturally significant Indigenous sites until reviews of state heritage legislation have been completed. If supported by the company it could have a significant impact on its growth plans in the Pilbara.

The motion would also compel the company to remove clauses from its land-use agreements with Indigenous owner groups that prevent them from publicly objecting to development works on their ancestral lands.
Pamela Williams, 83, was said to have fallen down steep drive

A pensioner, 83, died after being run over by her husband in a 'truly tragic accident' when he reversed on a steep drive not knowing she had fallen behind their car, an inquest heard.

Pamela Williams and her husband Edwin were said to have just pulled up on their drive at their home in Glossop, Derbyshire, when she got out of the car and fell down the steep drive.

Matthew Kewley, assistant coroner at Chesterfield Coroner's Court, said Mr Williams reversed the Honda, not knowing that his wife was lying behind it.

The car was then pulled forward and Mrs Williams, of Simmondley, was 'dragged along the driveway'.

Highview, Glossop, where the incident took place last year. Pamela Williams, 83, got out of the car after arriving home and fell down the steep drive, an inquest heard

The coroner closed a documentary inquest yesterday into the incident in Highview on December 13 last year.

Mrs Williams, a retired social worker who was born in London, sadly died in hospital two days later after her injuries were 'unsurvivable'.

A report by the police serious collision investigation unit said officers attended the scene.

PC Gary Wilson said CCTV footage which captured the incident showed Mr Williams, who has had his licence for more than 60 years, pulling into the driveway of his home address.

He said: 'Mrs Williams is seen to get out of the passenger door and after closing the door behind her, she begins to stumble backwards alongside the car and down the driveway.

'She was lying directly behind the Honda and Mr Williams was still in the vehicle. Mrs Williams would not have been visible to the driver.

'The CCTV footage shows Mr Williams then began to reverse the car down the driveway where she was lying.

'Mrs Williams was pushed a short distance by the vehicle and became wedged by the rear wheels.

The coroner closed a documentary inquest yesterday at Chesterfield Coroner's Court into the incident in Highview, pictured above, on December 13 last year

'A few seconds later the vehicle has completely overrun Mrs Williams, she had gone underneath the vehicle. As the driver moved the vehicle forward she was dragged along the driveway.'

He said Mr Williams is then seen to get out of the car and immediately call an ambulance.

PC Wilson said Mrs Williams had passed underneath the axle of the car twice.

He added: 'The position she was lying in meant that in all probability, she wouldn't have been visible to her husband from the driver's seat of the Honda.

'He had no reason to think she would be lying directly behind the vehicle, he had not seen her stumble.

'She was wholly obscured from his view.'

Valerie Cochrane, community specialist paramedic in Glossop, said she was contacted by the control centre asking her to attend a road traffic collision at 15.27pm on December 13.

She said the control centre told her it sounded like the gentleman had run over his wife.

Ms Cochrane said: 'The lady had significant facial and head injuries and I contacted control for urgent assistance.

Matthew Kewley, assistant coroner at Chesterfield Coroner's Court, said Edwin Williams reversed the Honda, not knowing that his wife was lying behind it (pictured: Highview)

'Mr Williams told me she had stumbled and he hadn't seen her. I spoke to Pamela who was conscious. It was raining heavily.

'The ambulance crew arrived and we took her to Manchester Royal Infirmary with her son.'

A post-mortem report by forensic pathologist Professor Guy Rutty found that Mrs Williams, who had pre-existing heart disease, suffered 'significant skeletal trauma to the chest and pelvic areas'.

Concluding, Mr Kewley said Mrs Williams died on December 15 at Manchester Royal Infirmary as a consequence of multi-organ failure due to chest and pelvic injuries after being run over by a motor vehicle.

He said: 'Her injuries were unsurvivable and medical support was withdrawn. On 13 December she exited the passenger seat of a vehicle which was stationary at the top of a driveway at her home.

'For reasons unknown, she fell and landed behind the vehicle. She was not visible to the driver.

'The vehicle reversed over her causing injuries which lead to multi-organ failure. The conclusion is one of accident. I offer sincere condolences to Mrs Williams' family.

'It involves a truly, truly, tragic accident for which nobody was to blame.'
During one recorded conversation, the senator told Arroyo he was in the twilight of his career and was looking for something to bolster his income, according to the criminal complaint filed against Arroyo in October. Arroyo said he would make sure that youre rewarded for what you do, for what were gonna do moving forward, the complaint alleged.
The Palestinian Authority on Thursday announced the "immediate" recall of its ambassador to the United Arab Emirates in protest over the country's deal to normalise ties with Israel.

"At the request of President Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian foreign ministry has decided to immediately recall its ambassador to the United Arab Emirates," Palestinian foreign minister Riyad Al-Maliki said it a statement sent to AFP.

The Israel-UAE deal was also rejected by Hamas, the Islamist group that controls the Gaza strip and is a rival of Abbas's Fatah party.

But Abbas and Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh spoke following the deal's announcements, despite tensions between the two camps, a Hamas source told AFP.

"All Palestinian factions are united to reject normalisation (with Israel)," the source said.

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Hundreds of protesters in Bend, Oregon, clashed with ICE agents during a tense 10-hour standoff on Wednesday after they detained two undocumented immigrants in the sanctuary city.

Crowds of people gathered in the city's Old Mill district on Wednesday afternoon to block two unmarked white buses transporting two men who were taken into custody earlier that morning.

One of the men had been located at a gas station and the other had been pulled over in his car, immigration attorney Micaela Guthrie, who is working with the two detainees, told OPB.

ICE officials on Thursday said they had been operating on a mission to 'arrest criminal aliens presenting a danger to public safety and take them off the street.'

The two men had a history of criminal violent behavior, according to authorities.

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Protesters clashes with federal agents during an hours-long standoff on Wednesday after they tried to block ICE officials from detaining two undocumented immigrants in Bend, Oregon

Crowds of people gathered at the parking lot of Crane Shed Common on Wednesday afternoon to block two unmarked white buses transporting two men who had been arrested earlier that morning

Protesters stood their ground for hours, demanding authorities release the detainees or provide an arrest warrant

'While ICE respects the people to voice their opinion peacefully, that does not include illegally interfering with their federal enforcement duties,' the agency said in a statement.

'ICE will take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of its officers and detainees, and will vigorously pursue prosecution against anyone who puts them in harm's way.'

Both of the detainees were described as 'long term residents' of Oregon.

A family member said word of their arrests had spread in the area after one of the detained men, identified only as Marcos, called his wife.

Members of the community banded together after locating the two buses in the parking lot of Crane Shed Commons, where an hours-long protest ensued.

Dramatic video footage of the scene showed protesters swarming the vehicles and blocking their path for hours as they demanded officials release the men or produce an arrest warrant.

The standoff continued late into the night until a team of Border Patrol agents in tactical gear arrived to disperse crowds with pepper spray, KTVZ reported.

Protesters cleared the area by midnight after federal agents emptied the buses and took the two men away, according to OPB.

Bend, located three hours southwest of Portland, is set in Deschutes County, a sanctuary county where local authorities do not enforce immigration law.

Mayor Sally Russell said on Twitter that the arrests were not an immigration sweep and that she had been informed the men had warrants out for their arrest.

As night fell, protesters continued to rally against the ICE operation in the sanctuary city

The clash continued into the late hours of the night, when authorities dispersed crowds with pepper spray

Protesters gathered at a parking lot to block the path of two white buses carrying two undocumented immigrants

'To be clear, in no way do I support ICE. Nor can our Bend Police Force, because Oregon is a sanctuary state and it is illegal. I am very worried for everyone in our community, and especially our Latinx community,' Russell said in a tweet.

'This is a very tough moment. ICE is a Federal agency and frustratingly we have no power over the Executive Branch of our country.'

Spontaneous protest to stop ICE from detaining two longtime residents of Bend is in its 6th hour. pic.twitter.com/UeHvvxfGUd  Emily Cureton (@emilycureton) August 13, 2020

Guthrie said the two men had lived in central Oregon for almost a decade. Details of their alleged crimes were not released.

Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said officers had responded to a call from a federal official seeking help with the people blocking their path earlier that afternoon.

One woman was seen cleaning off one of the buses after it was vandalized by one of the participants

Immigration attorney Micaela Guthrie, who is working with the two detainees, said the men were long term residents of Oregon

The Bend Police Department confirmed they had been called to the scene to help control crowds, but were not involved in the ICE operation

ICE officials said the two men had warrants out for their arrest and had a history of 'criminal violent behavior'

In a statement posted on Twitter around midnight, Krantz confirmed officers arrived to help keep the peace but were not involved in the ICE operation.

'We do not use funds or personnel or equipment to enforce federal immigration laws or to detain people based on immigration status. This is consistent with Oregon Law and Department policies,' Krantz said.

'We are on scene to allow free speech and a peaceful area to assemble and to provide life safety support. We are not there in an assisting role with ICE.'

Portland-based nonprofit Innovation Law Lab has asked a federal court to keep ICE from taking the men out of central Oregon, the ACLU announced Wednesday night.
A prized BBC documentary on the Murdoch empire was on Nines wish-list before ABC secured the rights.

The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty, a three part doco which screened in the UK in July, examines Rupert Murdochs influence on world events and the dramatic personal battle for power. It has been described as Succession with phone hacking and foam pies.

ABC has secured the rights in Australia. But Nine sources confirmed to TV Tonight, if ABC had not exercised their option on the series, it would have swooped.

No airdate has yet been announced by ABC.

Updated.
Uganda on Thursday was hit by a nationwide power outage whose cause is not yet known, the state-run power generation company said.

The Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) said in a statement that investigations are underway to determine the cause of the power blackout.

We are experiencing a nationwide total blackout. Investigations are ongoing to determine the cause and restore as fast as possible, said the statement.

Umeme Limited, the countrys main electricity distribution company, said it is working with other stakeholders to restore power supply in the east African country.

We are working with UETCL and all stakeholders to have power restored as soon as possible. All inconveniences caused are regretted, it said in a tweet.

The country has lately been experiencing nationwide power outages, with the recent being on June 21.

The country on May 9 was also hit by a power blackout whose cause was not known, according to the UETCL.

The country on April 14 experienced a nationwide power blackout after floating weeds, measuring about 12 acres (4.86 hectares), affected the Nalubale power plant in the eastern district of Jinja.

(Xinhua/NAN)
BEIJING, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- China has launched a campaign to select and honor role models among the country's military veterans, praising their contributions to society and highlighting the sense of responsibility of the vast number of veterans who maintain their military qualities in times of national crisis.

The campaign will select 20 individuals and groups from among the nation's former military personnel, naming them "the most beautiful veterans" for this year, according to a circular jointly issued by the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs and the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission.

The circular said that special attention should be paid to those who have demonstrated outstanding devotion in fighting the COVID-19 epidemic and in combating the floods in the country.

It also called for efforts to publicize their deeds and spirit, encouraging the public to learn from them, and to show respect and care for such personnel.
One of the two women rescued in Galway Bay wave as they taken off the Coast Guard helicopter at UCHG. Photograph by Aengus McMahon

JOHNNY Glynn raised his arms to heaven and wailed "They're alive".

Racing along the beach to his wife and young daughter, Glynn dropped momentarily to his knees in killing relief.

The ecstatic father of a teenage girl Ellen Glynn (17) who with her cousin Sara Feeney (23) was found alive after being swept 17 miles out to sea in brutal conditions said he would "be forever grateful".

Expand Close Johnny and Deirdre Glynn after their daughter Ellen and her cousin Sara were rescued after 15 hours stranded at sea Photo: Hany Marzouk / Facebook

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Whatsapp Johnny and Deirdre Glynn after their daughter Ellen and her cousin Sara were rescued after 15 hours stranded at sea Photo: Hany Marzouk

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"I'm so happy. I had given up. How could they be in the water from 9.30?

"I wasn't expecting to find them alive at this stage. We're so happy. We're forever grateful."

A widescale search by the coastguard and the RNLI failed to find any trace of the girls or their paddleboards.

From first light family members and friends of the girls gathered together on Furbo beach.

Expand Close The Glynn and the Feeney families delighted to see their daughters Ellen (17) and Sara (23) landing safely at the helipad at the Galway University Hospital Photo: Hany Marzouk / Facebook

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Whatsapp The Glynn and the Feeney families delighted to see their daughters Ellen (17) and Sara (23) landing safely at the helipad at the Galway University Hospital Photo: Hany Marzouk

As the hours ticked by hopes began to fade, and silence gripped the assembled crowd, all staring unblinking at the grey seascape.

Shortly after noon, texts started to trigger panic with false news that two bodies had been recovered.

Just as hopes were fading a call came through to Johnny Glynn, shortly after 12.30pm that both girls were alive and found three miles off Inis Oirr.

Desperation and fear gave way to unbridled joy.

Expand Close One of the women who was rescued of the Aran islands being brought to Galway University Hospital. Ray Ryan. / Facebook

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Whatsapp One of the women who was rescued of the Aran islands being brought to Galway University Hospital. Ray Ryan.

Family members, friends, volunteers and strangers began cheering, weeping and clapping.

Johnny and his wife Deirdre swept their young daughter Alice (12) into their arms.

The girl's aunt Breda Feeney, who had stood at the shore, all night wept with joy.

"It has just been an unbelievable night. We have never been so afraid in all of our lives.

Expand Close One of the two women rescued in Galway Bay as they are taken off the Coast Guard helicopter at UCHG. Photograph by Aengus McMahon / Facebook

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Whatsapp One of the two women rescued in Galway Bay as they are taken off the Coast Guard helicopter at UCHG. Photograph by Aengus McMahon

"All of us worried and at the same time hopeful. But knowing the two girls, they are very strong and resilient.

"They hung on, and we just can't believe it," she said.

Breda recalls the moment she heard her nieces were missing.

Expand Close 13/08/2020 Searching was call off after the 2 missing girls were found south of Inis Oir off the shore of Co. Galway after being missing while out OSUPOing . Photo:Andrew Downes / Facebook

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Whatsapp 13/08/2020 Searching was call off after the 2 missing girls were found south of Inis Oir off the shore of Co. Galway after being missing while out OSUPOing . Photo:Andrew Downes

"Ellen's dad rang me to say they were missing, and they were gone about an hour at that stage.

"We came down here to the beach (Furbo), and we watched the Coastguard helicopter and then the boats all night.

"It was about 3am when the first helicopter left to refuel and the second helicopter from Sligo came for a few hours.

"The weather got really bad. It started raining very heavily, and I suppose we kept thinking they were going to be found any minute. It was hard.

"Then it got light around 5.30 am. There were loads of people already combing, searching the coast. People in Clare and Galway out searching they were amazing.

"We are forever indebted," said Breda.

Minutes before it was confirmed the girls were alive Breda was told two bodies had been recovered in the search for the girls.

"At first somebody said there were two bodies recovered, and it sounded very bad, but we were still calm and saying we didn't believe it.

"And then a guy from the RNLI heard on his radio that they had been found alive.

"Then we could see Ellen's dad coming through the beach jumping for joy.

"Ellen and Sara were both alive and going to be fine.

"We are just overjoyed. We don't know how we are - it's all unreal," she said.

The girls were discovered in the water clinging to lobster pots.

Both girls are receiving emergency treatment and have been transferred to University Hospital Galway.

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The women were wearing buoyancy aids but they had no wetsuits on and sea conditions were calm at the time.

Local fisherman Patrick Oliver, also a shoremember of the Galway Lifeboat Station in Galway City, pulled the two women off the lobster pot.

According to Barry Heskin of the RNLI, speaking on RTE News at One, the two women were found about 27km (17 miles) from where they set off paddleboarding last night.

He said there were jumps for joy once the news came in that the two women had been found.

"Jumping around the station here, I can tell ya. There was a few tears shed and a few yahoops going on," he said.

"We'll be celebrating for the rest of the day, that's for certain."

He said that the two inflatable paddleboarders were at sea for 15 hours.

"They endured the dark night and it was very dark here in Galway. I'm sure they were very scared.

"[The search] commenced at 10 o'clock last night and we're still in the station. It started off with ourselves being launched initially, because they presumed that the people had gone off the shore and would be found fairly quickly, but more resources were tasked into the scene.

"And then we brought in the Coastguards, the Civil Defences and the helicopter services. Once light broke early this morning, we brought in An Garda Siochana, the Civil Defence, the local flying club and then there was a big resource from all the volunteers locally who had boats."

He said that it is a credit to the community that rallied to help find the women.

"The amount of people in the water and the amount of phone calls we got since 6am is absolutely phenomenal and it's testament to the people in north Clare and Galway that we ended up with this result.

"Once we had so much people, on the water, we could allocate them to different locations and then we could spread our more resources further afield to locations we might not have got to."

John Draper, Divisional Controller from the Valencia Coastguard also told RTE that they were very lucky to survive in the water for so long without wetsuits and only wearing swimsuits.

"They were able to keep afloat on the paddleboards overnight, and that was certainly a factor. Challenging though, the conditions were reasonably warm, the sea water was about 15 degrees but if they had been submersed in the water, that would have been possibly a different story."

"The fact that possibly the force three in the north easterly [wind] would have brought them in that direction but over a very long period of time, they obviously if they had communications or or if they had a flashlight or anything to attract attention, certainly would have narrowed down the search."

"I think the fact that they were above on the surboard certainly helped a lot, cold water emerging over that period of time, if you're just in your swimming togs, with a life preserver on, the survival charts would say, 13 to 14 hours, maybe 12 to 14 hours and then you may double that your search efforts in that time, 24 hours. You'll be very lucky if someone was to last that long in their swimming togs, even at that temperature."

He said that the two women are shook and very cold, but believes they will be okay.

"We're very lucky to keep the search going throughout the whole night.

"It was a great search effort all around."
Russia launches world's first Covid-19 vaccine; Putin's daughter gets first jab

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday launched the countrys first coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine, 'Sputnik V', touted as the worlds first to be registered as a vaccine against the novel coronavirus.

Russia has emerged the first country in the world to launch the first-ever vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, which, Putin called a 'very important step for the world'.

This morning, for the first time in the world, a vaccine against the new coronavirus was registered, The Moscow Times quoted Putin as saying in a televised cabinet session broadcast. I know that its effective and forms sustainable immunity, he said.

One of Putins daughters has been among those to first receive the vaccine shots.

The vaccine, a viral vector vaccine against Covid-19, has been developed by the state-run Gamaleya Microbiology Research Centre.

The vaccine entered clinical studies on 18 June and moved into phase 3 trials last week. The Phase 3 clinical trials will be held in many countries, including India, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Brazil and the Philippines. This will be followed by mass production in other countries in partnership with local financing companies.

The countries identified include India besides South Korea, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Cuba, said CEO of Russia Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev.

The plan is to ramp up the vaccine production to 200 million doses by the end of 2020, excluding 300 million doses in Russia, said Dmitriev whose fund was performing a critical function of bankrolling the research.

India was among the first lot of 20 countries that had expressed interest in obtaining the Sputnik V, he said.

Russias health ministry, last week, announced plans to begin mass production of the vaccine in September and launch a mass vaccination drive in October.

Nikolay Briko, the Russian health ministry's chief epidemiologist, told Sputnik that there is no need to delay the registration of the Gamaleya Microbiology Research Centres Covid-19 vaccine as the technology used to make the jab was earlier practiced while making vaccines for other diseases such as Ebola and the Middle East respiratory syndrome.

A Bloomberg report, meanwhile, said Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has accepted Russias offer of its Covid-19 vaccine, volunteering to be the first person to get the shot.

With almost 900,000 coronavirus infections, Russia is reported to have the worlds fourth-highest COVID-19 caseload.
Move comes as Greece-Turkey tensions rise after Ankara sends ship to prospect for oil and gas in disputed waters.

France will boost its military presence in the eastern Mediterranean amid an escalating standoff between Greece and Turkey over oil and gas exploration in disputed waters.

France will send two Rafale fighter jets and the naval frigate Lafayette to the region as part of plans to increase its military presence, the armed forces ministry said on Thursday.

French President Emmanuel Macron called the situation in the eastern Mediterranean worrying, and urged Turkey to stop its unilateral prospecting and allow a peaceful dialogue between the neighbouring NATO members.

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I have decided to temporarily reinforce the French military presence in the eastern Mediterranean in the coming days, in cooperation with European partners, including Greece, Macron said on Twitter on Wednesday.

On Thursday, the French military conducted training exercises with Greek forces off the southern island of Crete, Greek defence sources told Reuters news agency, as the first manifestation of Macrons support.

Emmanuel Macron is a true friend of Greece and a fervent defender of European values and international law, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis tweeted, in French, after a call with the French president.

The dispute

Turkey and Greece, NATO allies, vehemently disagree over overlapping claims to hydrocarbon resources in the region based on conflicting views on the extent of their continental shelves in waters dotted with mostly Greek islands. The gas-rich waters of the region are also a frequent source of dispute between Turkey, Cyprus and Israel.

The Ankara-Athens dispute escalated this week when Turkey dispatched the research ship Oruc Reis accompanied by Turkish naval vessels off the Greek island of Kastellorizo.

Greece also deployed warships to monitor the vessel, which is currently sailing west of Cyprus.

Macrons office, in a statement, said Frances increased military presence in the region was aimed at monitoring the situation and marked Paris determination to uphold international law.





Last month, the French leader called for EU sanctions against Turkey for what he described as violations of Greek and Cypriot sovereignty over their territorial waters. Relations between Paris and Ankara have also frayed over the conflict in Libya.

Risk of an accident

Mitsotakis in a statement urged Turkey to show sense and warned the showdown in the eastern Mediterranean could lead to a military accident.

We are vigilantly looking forward to sense prevailing, at last, in our neighbouring country so that dialogue may be re-initiated in good faith, the prime minister said. The risk of an accident lurks when so many military assets are gathered in such a contained area.

Athens would not seek to escalate the situation, he said, but added: No provocation will though go unanswered.

Hulusi Akar, the Turkish defence minister, echoed the sentiment in an interview with the Reuters news agency.

We want to reach political solutions through peaceful means in line with international laws, he said, but warned Turkey would continue to defend its rights, ties and interests in coastal waters.

Turkey says it has the longest coastline in the eastern Mediterranean but it is penned into a narrow strip of waters due to the extension of Greeces continental shelf, based on the presence of many Greek islands near its shore.

Turkish seismic research vessel Oruc Reis is escorted by Turkish Navy ships as it sets sail in the Mediterranean Sea, off Antalya, Turkey, August 10, 2020 [Turkish defence ministry handout via Reuters]

The island of Kastellorizo, which is about 2km off Turkeys southern coast and 570km from the Greek mainland, is a particular source of Turkish frustration.

Greeces demand for a 40,000 square kilometre maritime jurisdiction zone because of the 10km square Meis island [Kastellorizo]  cannot be reconciled with any logic, he said.

Greeces claim to the waters around Kastellorizo is based on a UN maritime convention endorsed by many countries, but not Turkey.

Ankara said it would issue new exploration and drilling licences in the eastern Mediterranean, while Athens has demanded the immediate withdrawal of the Oruc Reis from the area.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias was due to fly to Israel on Thursday for talks, his office said, and will also address the issue with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Vienna on Friday.

EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrell said the blocs foreign ministers will hold an extraordinary meeting on Friday to discuss the eastern Mediterranean, Lebanon and Belarus.

Charles Kupchan, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said NATO members were increasingly worried about the potential for a confrontation between Greece and Turkey.

Nobody wants to go to war. Nobody wants to see two NATO members mix it up, he told Al Jazeera. On the other hand, when you have this many naval vessels, when tensions are this high  things are in a dangerous place.

Noting the diplomatic scramble to defuse tensions, Kupchan said: In some ways, you are seeing an all hands on deck diplomatic response  And I think the French are trying to say hold on, we are going to try to cool the temperature here before things get out of hand.

A similar crisis last month was averted after Turkey pulled the Oruc Reis back to hold talks with Greece and rotating EU chair Germany.

But the mood soured last week after Greece and Egypt signed an agreement to set up an exclusive economic zone in the region. The Turkish foreign ministry has said the Greece-Egypt agreement was null and void.

Egypt, Cyprus and Greece have likewise denounced a contentious deal, including a security agreement, signed last year between Ankara and the UN-recognised government in Libya.
Allentown, PA (18103)

Today

Turning out mostly cloudy and not as cold. There might be a rain or snow shower late..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy with some rain and snow showers. Any rain will be early in the night.
The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to stay a September 2019 decision by Rajasthan assembly speaker CP Joshi allowing the merger of six MLAs elected on the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket with the Congress party. The move should come as a shot in the arm of the states Congress government, which is still recovering from an internal revolt that is on the way to being resolved and which faces a no-confidence motion by the opposition when the assembly session starts on Friday.

A three-judge bench headed by justice Arun Mishra said that the issue regarding the validity of the speakers decision is pending before a single-judge bench of Rajasthan high court, and declined to grant interim relief to the petitioner, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Madan Dilawar, who sought disqualification of the six BSP MLAs for defection.

We are not inclined to grant any interim relief, said the bench, which also comprised justices BR Gavai and Krishna Murari.

The top court adjourned the case until Monday after senior counsel Kapil Sibal, appearing on behalf of the speaker, said the agenda for the Rajasthan assembly session will be decided at 10 am on Friday, and also submitted that the opposition is free to move a no-confidence motion.

They have not moved a no-confidence motion. They can do that anytime, he said.

The decision on the no-confidence motion had not been taken at the time of the hearing.

Senior counsel Harish Salve, appearing for Dilawar, sought a stay on the speakers decision, stating that if a no- confidence motion ensues, then the BSP and Congress party will issue whips and there will be uncertainty on whose whip will hold good with respect to the six MLAs.

If the speakers decision is later struck down by the high court, then the six MLAs, in order to escape disqualification, can claim that the speakers decision was in force at the time when they voted (against the BSP party whip), Salve said.

Court cannot pass orders based on what may or may not happen in the house, Sibal responded.

Dilawar moved the Rajasthan high court on July 28, seeking disqualification of the six former BSP legislators on grounds of defection under 10th schedule of the Constitution.

The six MLAs -- Lakhan Singh, Rajender Singh Guda, Deepchand, Joginder Singh Avana, Sandeep Kumar and Vajib Ali -- were elected to the Rajasthan assembly in December 2018 on a BSP ticket. They later submitted a joint application to the assembly speaker on their unanimous decision to merge with the Congress party on September 16, 2019. The request was approved by the speaker on September 18, 2019.

This was challenged by Dilawar, who filed a plea before speaker in March 2020 for disqualification of the six MLAs for defection.

The 10th Schedule of the Constitution of India contains provisions relating to disqualification of lawmakers for defection. One of the grounds for disqualification, as per paragraph 2 of the 10th schedule, is voluntarily giving up membership of the political party on whose ticket the lawmaker is elected.

The speaker rejected Dilawars plea on July 22 after which the latter approached the high court challenging the speakers decision. A single-judge bench of the high court issued notice to the speaker on July 30, but declined to stay the decision. A division bench of the high court also declined to grant a stay and requested the single-judge bench to hear and dispose of the matter within one day.

Dilawar then approached Supreme Court seeking a stay on speakers order.

When the Rajasthan high court is hearing the matter, how can we pass an order?  justice Mishra asked Salve.

Archana Sharma, the Rajasthan Congress spokesperson, said the merger of BSP MLAs with the Congress was legally valid and there was no ambiguity on that. We welcome the SC direction, she said.

The hearing of the case will continue before the Rajasthan high court on Friday.

Petitioner Dilawars lawyer Ashish Sharma said they would wait for the Rajasthan high courts verdict, expected on Friday, to decide on the next course of action. The arguments are expected to the completed on Friday and our next course of action will depend on the courts order, he said.
georgia

School district halts in-person instruction

ATLANTA  A suburban Atlanta school district temporarily stopped in-person instruction at a second of its six high schools on Wednesday, saying an increasing number of COVID-19 cases was forcing large numbers of Cherokee County students and teachers into quarantine.

Meanwhile, Georgias largest school district struggled to launch online learning for its 180,000 students, as parents complained that their students repeatedly tried and failed to log into Gwinnett Countys online system.

Cherokee County is the largest school district in Georgia thats currently offering face-to-face classes. But a rising number of infections is forcing large numbers of students and employees into quarantine. The district announced it would close Woodstock High School until Aug. 31, a day after it made the same announcement at Etowah High School. Each has about 2,500 students.

belarus

Thousands continue to protest election result

MINSK, Belarus  Thousands of protesters rallied in Belarus capital and other cities for a fourth straight night Wednesday, decrying an election they say was rigged to extend the 26-year rule of the countrys authoritarian leader and the crackdown on subsequent demonstrations.

In several parts of Minsk, groups of hundreds of people formed human chains. Motorists blared horns in support and, in some areas, slowed to a crawl to block police vehicles. On one avenue, people stood on balconies, clapping in an expression of support. Riot police fired rubber bullets at them.

Similar protests were held in at least five other cities, according to the Viasna rights group, to contest the official election results, which show President Alexander Lukashenko won a sixth term with 80% of Sundays vote and the main opposition challenger garnered 10%.

SCOTLAND

3 dead, 6 hospitalized after train derailment

LONDON  Three people were killed and six others injured Wednesday when a passenger train derailed in northeast Scotland after heavy rain and flooding hit the area.

The train driver was believed to be among the dead, British Transport Police said. The Rail, Maritime and Transport union said that the train conductor was also believed killed. Formal identification has yet to take place. Six people were hospitalized, but their injuries are not considered serious.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said a police investigation was underway.

florida

Sheriff: Man kills ex during daughters class

INDIANTOWN, Fla.  A Florida man stormed into a house and fatally shot his ex-girlfriend as her 10-year-old daughter took an online class, with the girls teacher and other students hearing part of the commotion before the slaying, authorities said.

The school years first day of instruction had just begun when a Warfield Elementary School teacher heard some kind of domestic disturbance from the girls video chat Tuesday morning, Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said during a news conference.

Donald Williams, 27, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Maribel Rosado Morales, 32. Investigators said Williams shot the woman twice in the chest at her Indiantown home in front of her four children and their two cousins. The children in the house were not injured.
A more recent publication of this set of statistics is available. Latest publication: Turnover of trade 2021, November

Published: 13 August 2020

Turnover and sales volume in trade fell in June from one year back but grew from the month before

According to Statistics Finland, turnover in total trade adjusted for working days fell in June by 2.7 per cent from June 2019. Over the same period, the working day adjusted volume of sales, from which the impact of prices has been eliminated, decreased by one per cent. The development in both turnover and sales volume was boosted in June by the positive development in all retail trade industries. Turnover and sales volume in wholesale trade and motor vehicle trade were still falling in June. The exceptional situation caused by coronavirus had an effect on the development of trade industries.

Annual change in working day adjusted turnover and sales volume in total trade (G), %

In June 2020, turnover in wholesale trade adjusted for working days fell by 7.1 per cent from June of the previous year, while at the same time, sales volume declined by 3.6 per cent. Adjusted for working days, turnover in motor vehicle trade also fell by 7.1 per cent and sales volume declined by slightly more than in June 2019, by 8.0 per cent. In retail trade, working day adjusted turnover grew in June by 6.6 per cent and sales volume by 7.1 per cent. In addition to growth in daily consumer goods trade, the positive development of retail trade was accelerated by the picking up of department store and specialised store trade. In daily consumer goods trade, working day adjusted turnover grew in June by 8.4 per cent and sales volume by 6.5 per cent. Growth in working day adjusted turnover in department store trade strengthened in June, being as much as 13.1 per cent and sales volume 11.8 per cent. Specialised store trade made an upturn in June as working day adjusted turnover grew by 1.8 per cent year-on-year. Sales volume in specialised store trade increased at same time by 4.0 per cent from June 2019.

Annual change in working day adjusted turnover and sales volume in industries of trade, June 2020, % (TOL 2008)

Turnover and sales volume grew further month-on-month

Seasonally adjusted turnover in total trade grew by 3.7 per cent in June compared to May. Sales volume grew by one per cent over the same period. In May, turnover rose by 2.5 per cent and sales volume by 1.2 per cent from the month before.

Change in seasonally adjusted turnover and sales volume in total trade (G) from the previous month, %

Trend of turnover and sales volume in total trade

The calculation of indices of turnover of trade is based on the Tax Administrations data on self-assessed taxes, which are supplemented with Statistics Finlands sales inquiry. The volume index of sales is calculated by removing the effect of price changes from the value index series.

The factors caused by the variation in the number of weekdays are taken into account in adjustment for working days. This means taking into consideration the lengths of months, different weekdays and holidays. In addition, seasonal variation is eliminated from seasonally adjusted series, on account of which it makes sense to compare observations of two successive months as well.

The data for the latest month are preliminary and they may become significantly revised particularly on more detailed industry levels in coming months.

Source: Turnover of trade, Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Reetta-Maria Salokannel 029 551 3657, palvelut.suhdanne@stat.fi

Director in charge: Mari Yla-Jarkko

Publication in pdf-format (293.9 kB)

Updated 13.08.2020

Referencing instructions: Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Turnover of trade [e-publication].

ISSN=1799-0939. June 2020. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 19.1.2022].

Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/klv/2020/06/klv_2020_06_2020-08-13_tie_002_en.html
BURLINGTON, Ontario, Aug. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rapid Dose Therapeutics Corp. trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) under the symbol DOSE (RDT or the Company) announces the appointment of Mr. Peter Thilo Hasler to the board of directors.

Mark Upsdell, CEO of RDT said, We are excited to welcome Peter to our board of directors and assuming an important role as a independent member of the audit committee. He brings decades of leadership in key financial areas, an in-depth understanding of the European investment community, and a broad network of German institutional equity and bond investors, family offices, and asset managers.

RDTs announcement yesterday of its credit facility financing provides RDT with the resources to exploit opportunities in the European market for its nutraceutical products, cannabis, and pharmaceutical lines. Haslers appointment to the board provides RDT with European market access to financial and business relationships to facilitate and support RDTs entry into the European market.

Peter Thilo Hasler is the founder and financial analyst of Sphene Capital, a bank-independent research house specializing in the analysis of undervalued small and mid-cap companies, both listed and private. Hasler has a comprehensive knowledge of business analysis and company valuation and was responsible for numerous IPO transactions. Since the foundation of sphaia advisory GmbH in 2015, Hasler offers corporate finance, listing, and communications advice to European SMEs too.

Peter Thilo Hasler is CEFA analyst and member of the board of the German Association for Financial Analysis and Asset Management (DVFA). In addition, Hasler is lecturer at the DVFA and at several private universities, where he teaches company valuation and capital markets theory. Hasler is author of numerous articles and books on business valuation as well as corporate bonds and writes regular columns in the financial press. Peter Thilo Hasler is married and has two sons.

About Rapid Dose Therapeutics

Rapid Dose Therapeutics Corp. is a publicly traded Canadian life sciences company that provides innovative, proprietary drug delivery technologies designed to improve outcomes and quality of lives. RDT offers Quick, Convenient, Precise and Discreet choices to consumers. RDT is focused and committed to clinical research and product development for the healthcare manufacturing industry, including nutraceutical, pharmaceutical and cannabis industries. Within the cannabis sector, RDT provides a turn-key business solution which enables RDTs QuickStrip proprietary drug delivery technology to be licensed by select partners. RDTs service-based annuity contracts drive recurring revenue which enables rapid expansion into emerging markets  generating value for consumers and shareholders. RDT is committed to continually create innovative solutions aimed at multiple consumer segments and future market needs  including humans, animals, and plants.

For more information, please visit: www.rapid-dose.com

For further inquiries please contact:

Mark Upsdell

President and Chief Executive Officer

mupsdell@rapid-dose.com

+1 416-477-1052

Social Media

RapidDoseTherapeutics.linkedin

RapidDoseTherapeutics.twitter

RapidDoseTherapeutics.facebook

QuickStrip.instagram

This news release contains forward-looking information. All information, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that RDT believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the completion and filing of its financial statements. This forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties beyond RDTs ability to control or predict and which may cause actual events or results to differ materially from those described in such forward-looking information. Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, RDT disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although RDT believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking information are reasonable, forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and, accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on this forward-looking information due to the inherent uncertainty thereof.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release.
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What shops around that are not filled will likely fill up. The hotel will create jobs and, of course, taxes. The building is not much of anything now other than just deteriorating. They will polish it up. The chamber board, a public hearing or two, and the Downtown Redevelopment Authority will all have to be involved in this.

The new ownership has a New Orleans architectural firm evaluating the site to see if the existing building can be utilized. There are plans to raze the buildings in back by the Piggly Wiggly parking lot, including the former Dollar Store and ABC store.

We have a program for the building, Patel said. All along, we wanted to re-launch the project and make it not just a hotel. There will be more, including a coffee house and possibly a sit-down restaurant with a bar. It will be a culinary inspired menu. It will be more than a one-night stay and will also be for local individuals.

We are envisioning an experience whether people are just coming there for coffee or special groups staying there. Whatever their experience may be, it will be an inspiration by the architect. The architecture will be meticulously planned. They will take something that has been there a long time and modernize it but not lose its feel.
Cellulose Acetate Market Research Report by Type (Fiber and Plastic), by Application (Cigarette Filters, Photographic Films, Tapes & Labels, and Textiles & Apparel) - Global Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19

New York, Aug. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Cellulose Acetate Market Research Report by Type, by Application - Global Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05913787/?utm_source=GNW



The Global Cellulose Acetate Market is expected to grow from USD 4,078.75 Million in 2019 to USD 5,673.82 Million by the end of 2025 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.65%.



Market Segmentation & Coverage:

This research report categorizes the Cellulose Acetate to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets:



Based on Type, the Cellulose Acetate Market studied across Fiber and Plastic.



Based on Application, the Cellulose Acetate Market studied across Cigarette Filters, Photographic Films, Tapes & Labels, and Textiles & Apparel.



Based on Geography, the Cellulose Acetate Market studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas region surveyed across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The Asia-Pacific region surveyed across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa region surveyed across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom.



Company Usability Profiles:

The report deeply explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global Cellulose Acetate Market including Acordis Cellulostic Fibers, Celanese Corporation, China National Tobacco Corporation, Daicel Corporation, Eastman Chemical Company, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation, Rayonier Advanced Materials, Sappi, Sichuan Push Acetati Co., Ltd., and Solvay.



FPNV Positioning Matrix:

The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Cellulose Acetate Market on the basis of Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape.



Competitive Strategic Window:

The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies. The Competitive Strategic Window helps the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. During a forecast period, it defines the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth.



Cumulative Impact of COVID-19:

COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, so for and, the long-term effects projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlaying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report is delivering insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecast, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market.



The report provides insights on the following pointers:

1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on the market offered by the key players

2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyzes the markets

3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments

4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players

5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and new product developments



The report answers questions such as:

1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Cellulose Acetate Market?

2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Cellulose Acetate Market during the forecast period?

3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Cellulose Acetate Market?

4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Cellulose Acetate Market?

5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Cellulose Acetate Market?

6. What are the modes and strategic moves considered suitable for entering the Global Cellulose Acetate Market?

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05913787/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



__________________________

Story continues

CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001




BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 13

Trend:

Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 40 times, Trend reports referring to Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Our Spongers XI

by | 22/07/2020

I've watched us this season, as ever, with increasing disappointment. We are rarely lifted out of our seat by creativity because more often it's anger/frustration that causes such a reaction.

And then, as fans down the years have done, comes the finger-pointing at players who visibly seem to not even try to win a match for us.

I therefore reflect on the huge number of uncommitted spongers we've fielded since the start of the Premier League.

Alex Nyarko is skipper, obviously.

In goal I have Stekelenburg. Okay, he's nearing the end of a moderate career but, ever since he got here, he's never impressed me as a trier.

Right-back is Marc Hottiger and left-back is Alessandro Pistone, perpetually injured until his contract was nearing its end whereupon he looked useful.

Centre backs; Slaven Bilic, who was brilliant for Croatia but rarely fit for us, he said, has to be partnered with Per Kroldrup, a player who achieved modest credibility as a top-league player either side of us signing him, where he was useless. (A centre-back not knowing how to head a ball, we were told, as if!)

In midfield, we have our skipper Nyarko, accompanied by Claus Thomsen for starters. On the wings, I'd have Shandy van der Meyde and Aiden McGeady.

Up front, given their proven abilities before signing for us and their abject failure to measure up for us as and when they didn't claim to be relentlessly injured or deservedly suspended, I have James Beattie and Duncan Ferguson.

Beattie because he seemed on arrival in an already dwindling career to realise that this was his last big contract, so why give a fuck?

And Ferguson because, when he rarely felt like it, he would terrorize any defence, provided he hadn't previously identified something in his personal life that meant more to him than putting a full shift in for us. Whereupon, he engineered a (regular) red card or reported a difficult-to-verify injury (he did this throughout his entire bog-standard career, except for his very rare brilliant matches, almost always against top opposition mind you, if anyone wants to check, hence my disdain of him as a man).

Admittedly choosing a manager for this shower would be difficult had we not had Walker, Smith, Martinez, Koeman, Allardyce and Silva to choose from.

Pick one from six, folks!

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- Yasin Juma was among several other individuals who were captured at the residence of Oromo leader Jawar Mohammed in July

- An Ethiopian court ordered he be released after police failed to present evidence to prove the Kenyan had committed a crime

- His lawyer Kedir Bullo confirmed samples taken from him showed he had contracted the virus

A Kenyan journalist who is being detained in Ethiopia has reportedly tested positive for coronavirus.

A lawyer representing the scribe, Yassin Juma, confirmed the former NTV Kenya news reporter was positive for the global infection.

READ ALSO: Ahmednasir Abdullahi sues woman over Twitter post

Yasin was arrested in July over his alleged links with the opposition politicians. Photo: Yasin Juma.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Opinion: Were it not for Oginga family, Moses Kuria could be working at quarry site

Citizen TV reported advocate Kedir Bullo said on Thursday, August 11, that samples taken from his client showed he had contracted the virus.

Yasin was arrested in July over his alleged links with the opposition politicians.

Reports suggested he was among several other individuals who were captured at the residence of Oromo leader, government critic and media mogul Jawar Mohammed.

READ ALSO: Woman who divorced hubby after 6 months cautions women against hacking partners' phones

READ ALSO: Five huge changes set to take place in the Premier League for 2020/2021 season

"He was arrested by Ethiopian military junta at Oromoo people leader Jawar Mohammed residence. It's my sincere prayer that Almighty God Allah, will have mercy on our friend and brother Yassin during this trying time,"his friend Mariamm Abeidi said.

It was alleged the arrest was informed by suspicions that the journalist was part of Jawar's PR team as he had been associated with his Oromia Media Network.

An Ethiopian court ordered he be released after police failed to present evidence to prove Yassin and four other individuals had committed a crime.

The authorities, however, were yet to set him free despite the court order.

Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news.

My husband's family took everything from me after he died and called my children garbage | Tuko TV.

Source: TUKO.co.ke
With theaters closed around the country, some companies are making their productions available online. Below, you'll find our weekly update of productions, videos, and other theater-related streaming content from across the US and elsewhere. Some streams are free, while others may charge a fee or request a donation. Either way, you're sure to find something to scratch your theater itch. Theaters may be dark, but the shows go on.

This Weekend



* The biweekly Great American Songbook Concert Series continues Thursday, April 13 at 7pm, and will feature Tony winner Jenn Colella. The show is free to watch. To learn more and to donate, check out the trailer below:





* PBS's Great Performances is now streaming an encore presentation of In the Heights: Chasing Broadway Dreams through September 4. The program showcases the 2008 musical that launched Lin-Manuel Miranda's rise to stardom. To watch the full episode, click here.

* Roundabout Youth Ensemble presents a virtual play written and produced by New York's youth. Hidden Truths, inspired by Shakespeare's Othello, brings to light injustices the black community faces. The show will be available on YouTube August 14-28 with a live launch event on August 14, 5-7pm. Written by Jaden Tench, Nicaulis Mercedes, and Xavier Chavez and directed by Tyia Boteng, the play addresses issues faced in 2020 with a post-pandemic twist. For more information, click here.

* Virtual event venue Looped is hosting the final installment of #Ham4Change, a fundraiser organized by the original cast of Hamilton to benefit organizations that are working to end systemic racism. The event, featuring members of the original Hamilton cast, will take place on Saturday, August 15, at 7pm ET. #Ham4Change benefits Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective, Law Enforcement Accountability Project, and When We All Vote. Tickets and special VIP experiences can be purchased here.





Broadway On Demand will exclusively stream the final New York City concert of Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley at Feinstein's/54 Below, Marin Mazzie & Jason Danieley: Broadway & Beyond, a celebration of Marin and Jason's life together through music and theater. The stream will take place on Friday, August 14, at 8pm ET, and will include a free pre-show event featuring Brian Stokes Mitchell, beginning at 7:30pm ET. Broadway & Beyond marks the couple's final New York City performance together before Marin's passing. All proceeds will be donated to the Cancer Support Community (CSC), Tina's Wish, and The Actors Fund through Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. For tickets and more information, click here.

Jason Danieley and Marin Mazzie

( David Gordon)

Upcoming

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater will present a benefit concert of Soldiergirls, a new two-person musical with book and lyrics by Em Weinstein and music by Emily Johnson-Erday. The show uses real letters and a collage of found and original text to look at love, liberation, and lesbianism in the Women's Army Corps in World War II. This free online benefit will raise money for SPART*A (Service Members, Partners, Allies for Respect and Tolerance for All) and will take place on Monday, August 31, at 7pm ET. To reserve your spot and donate, click here.

* Great Performances: Romeo and Juliet will premiere on Friday, September 11, at 9pm ET on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org/gperf, and the PBS Video app. This film adaptation of Shakespeare's masterpiece takes legendary Royal Ballet choreographer Kenneth MacMillan's 1965 ballet out of the theater and into the streets of a cinematic Verona, offering a passionate reimagining of this timeless love story set to Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev's original score.

* MCC Theater has announced that its annual gala, Miscast20, will take place on MCC Theater's YouTube Channel on Sunday, September 13, at 8pm ET. Performers will include Beanie Feldstein'';, Tony winner Heather Headley, Tony nominee Joshua Henry, Tony nominee Rob McClure, Nicolette Robinson, Tony nominee Phillipa Soo, and Tony nominee Adrienne Warren. The evening will also include appearances from Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics Circle Award winner Jocelyn Bioh, Tony nominee Raul Esparza, and two-time Emmy and two-time Tony winner Judith Light'''. Watch the gala here.

Streaming Channels

* The documentary We Are Freestyle Love Supreme is currently streaming on Hulu. To subscribe to Hulu and Disney Plus, click here.

* Lin-Manuel Miranda's blockbuster musical Hamilton streams on Disney Plus, featuring the original cast, led by Miranda as Hamilton, Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr, Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson, Renee Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler, Christopher Jackson as George Washington, Jonathan Groff as King George, Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton, Jasmine Cephas Jones as Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds, Okieriete Onaodowan as Hercules Mulligan/James Madison, and Anthony Ramos as John Laurens/Philip Hamilton. To find out how to watch, click here.

* In Dominique Morisseau's play Pipeline, a public school teacher (Karen Pittman) must face the trauma of her son (Namir Smallwood) as a young black man when an incident threatens to get him expelled from a prep school. Pipeline streams on BroadwayHD. Read our critic's review here.

Namir Smallwood and Karen Pittman in Pipeline.

( Jeremy Daniel)





* Spike Lee directs a filmed version Antoinette Nwandu's provocative play Pass Over, which tells the story of two young black men (Jon Michael Hill and Julian Parker) dreaming of escape from a racist world. A startling and disturbing riff on Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, Pass Over now streams on Prime Video. Read our critic's review here.

* Tony and Pulitzer Prize nominee Anna Deavere Smith wrote and stars in Notes From the Field, her solo play in which she probes the lives of students, parents, and teachers caught in the school-to-prison pipeline. The show streams on HBO.

Available for a Limited Time



* PBS's Great Performances is streaming the Public Theater's 2019 Shakespeare in the Park production of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. This bold interpretation of Shakespeare's comedic masterpiece features Danielle Brooks and Grantham Coleman as the sparring lovers Beatrice and Benedick. Tony Award winner Kenny Leon directs, with choreography by Tony Award nominee Camille A. Brown. Available through September 11. To watch, click here.

Grantham Coleman and Danielle Brooks star in Shakespeare in the Park's 2019 production of Much Ado About Nothing.

( Joan Marcus)





* Transport Group's filmed performance of its world premiere musical Broadbend, Arkansas began streaming Monday, July 20 for four weeks. An original cast recording will be released by Broadway Records in July. Audiences can view the stream, hosted by Tony Award winner Chuck Cooper, free of charge here. In lieu of a ticket fee, the company encourages contributions be made to the Black Theatre Network. Available through August 16.

Danyel Fulton in Broadbend, Arkansas.

( Carol Rosegg)





* Bette Davis Ain't for Sissies streams through September 24. Written and performed by Jessica Sherr, this new 80-minute live streaming version is directed for the small screen by Karen Carpenter. Tickets are $19.50 each and are available here.

* PBS streams of Anna Deavere Smith's drama Twilight: Los Angeles through August 7. Filmed by Marc Levin in 2001, Smith stars in a solo show that explores the aftermath of the 1992 Rodney King riots in Los Angeles. To watch, click here.

* Geffen Playhouse has extended The Present, its world-premiere live, virtual, and interactive theatrical experience written and performed by master illusionist, storyteller, and Geffen alum Helder Guimaraes. The show will now run through October 10. A mystery package will be sent to you inside a USPS Priority Mail box before the show, so you must purchase tickets at least seven days in advance. To purchase tickets, click here.

* The world premiere of The Gifts You Gave to the Dark, written by Darren Murphy specifically for digital media in reaction to the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis, premiered on Wednesday, May 27 at 6pm ET and will remain online through October 2020. For more information, click here.
MBABANE - What was meant to be a day of prayer for the end of COVID-19, turned into a clash between police officers and about 50 congregants.

The clash was so intense such that the law enforcers had to fire teargas to disperse the congregants. This incident took place last Saturday morning at Mphundle in Siteki, where the congregants from various churches around the area had gathered to pray.

Information gathered from Pastor Aaron Ngwenya, who was leading the service, was to the effect that on the day they encountered the unfortunate incident, the community of Mphundle had gathered to pray for the end of COVID-19.

However, police are disputing that the prayer was for COVID-19.

Converged

Ngwenya mentioned that they had converged at a neighbourhood care point where they were preparing to pray for peace and Gods intervention to end the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

According to the pastor, the place where the prayer was supposed to take place was an open ground and when they were allegedly attacked by the police, they had not exceeded 100 people as per the COVID-19 regulations on gatherings.

This, he said, was because some of the congregants were still on their way to the service and according to him, even after their arrival; they would have not exceeded the required number of people allowed in gatherings. Ngwenya was quick to mention that all the congregants were wearing face masks and they had assigned an individual to sanitise everyone attending the service.

Ngwenya said while they waited for more people to come, a group of about 10 police officers, who were armed with batons and other weapons, appeared and questioned them about their gathering.

He said as the congregants attempted to respond, the police ordered them to leave the premises but as they attempted to plead with them, the law enforcers allegedly started kicking a faction of the congregants in an attempt to drive them out of the neighbourhood care point premises. He claimed that other congregants were assaulted with batons.

This resulted in commotion and that is when the police are said to have thrown teargas canisters to disperse the crowd.

Teargas

According to Ngwenya, his eyes and that of the other congregants were badly affected by the teargas, to a point that he still had difficulty seeing properly.

The police officers claimed that they were sent by higher authorities to disperse the gathering, something which shocked us as we know that the countrys leaders had requested the nation to pray for the coronavirus pandemic to come to an end, which is exactly what we were doing, he said.

He pointed out that they tried, but in vain, to reason with the police officers to furnish them with a court order authorising them to stop the service, given the fact that according to the COVID-19 regulations on the operation of churches, they were allowed to conduct church services. Ngwenya said instead of producing the court order, the police informed them that the only court order they could grant them was the word they received from their authorities.

Mthengu Maziya, one of the residents who also claimed to have been assaulted by the police, said she was still struggling to understand why the police could assault them for praying.

She echoed Ngwenyas words as she mentioned that they had adhered to the COVID-19 regulations as they were wearing their face masks while maintaining a distance of two metres apart.

We also assigned a person to sanitise everyone who would come to the service and further maintained the permissible number of people per gathering, which is why we are still in the dark as to why the police decided to act violently, she said.

Scuffle

Knowledge Maziya, who also claimed that he was assaulted by the police during the scuffle, said he couldnt believe that the altercation would escalate to a point where teargas canisters had to be thrown their direction. It was more like a movie scene, he claimed. Knowledge claimed that he also sustained minor injuries during the attack. It is worth noting that weddings, funerals and community meetings have been regulated to a maximum of 100 people per gathering.

This is contained in a variation of gatherings directive of 2020 as part of the COVID-19 regulations. The regulations were released by the Ministry of Home Affairs during a training session of different stakeholders and religious bodies on gatherings under COVID-19 regulations.

The regulations came after an announcement by the Prime Minister, Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini, on the relaxation of the number of people allowed in gatherings.

The regulations read; The maximum number of people who may be present at a place of worship on the day of worship shall be the equivalent of 30 per cent of the total holding capacity of the relevant place of worship.
New Delhi: To boost self-reliance in the defence manufacturing sector, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched a Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) on Thursday.

The naval organisation will put in place dedicated structures for the end-users to interact with the academia and the industry to foster innovation and indigenisation for self-reliance in defence, in keeping with the vision of `Aatmanirbhar Bharat`.

During the launch event, the Indian Navy signed memorandums of understanding with the Uttar Pradesh Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), the Raksha Shakti University (RSU) in Gujarat, the Maker Village in Kochi and the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM).

The NIIO is a three-tiered organisation. The Naval Technology Acceleration Council (N-TAC) will bring together the twin aspects of innovation and indigenisation and provide apex level directives.

A working group under the N-TAC will implement the projects. A Technology Development Acceleration Cell (TDAC) has also been created for the induction of emerging disruptive technology in an accelerated time frame.

The Draft Defence Acquisition Policy 2020 (DAP 20) envisages the service headquarters establishing an Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation with the existing resources.

The Indian Navy already has a functional Directorate of Indigenisation and the new structures will build upon the ongoing indigenisation initiatives, as well as focus on innovation.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 13, 2020 | 04:53 PM | FRANKFORT

Additionally, Commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health Dr. Steven Stack encouraged schools across the state to start the school year off virtually.





Stack says beginning the school year virtually would give districts more time to prepare for a safe reopening later in the fall, while public health officials learn more about preventing the spread of COVID-19 in classrooms, cafeterias, and school buses.





"Some schools have had to quarantine many students within days of kicking off the school year. I very much support the decision that the Governor made. I respect it's a very difficult decision, but our disease burden for COVID-19 is at its all-time high," said Dr. Stack. "We need to get kids back to school but we need to get kids back to school safely."





Stack then encouraged all Kentuckians to protect themselves and their communities by getting the annual flu vaccine.





"Get your flu shot. We need everyone to do this. We have to keep influenza as suppressed as we possibly can," said Dr. Stack. "In a bad year with influenza, our hospitals are strained just keeping up with flu patients."

On Thursday, Governor Andy Beshear provided the latest COVID-19 information from across the state.Beshear reported 785 new cases of the virus across the state, bringing the total number of cases to 36,686. According to Beshear, twenty-five of the new cases are from children 5 and younger.Six new deaths were reported, bringing the total number of deaths to 796. At least 8,965 Kentuckians have recovered.Kentucky's positivity rate currently stands at 5.67 percent."We had more than 100,000 kids test positive nationwide just in the last couple weeks of July. We are seeing an explosion of positive tests among our young people," said Gov. Beshear. "We cannot experiment with the health of our children."Beshear and the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary Eric Friedlander announced that many nonprofits will now have free access to the state's new volunteer recruitment and management website, Volunteer Kentucky.The website, which is offered through Serve Kentucky, will aim to provide a more efficient volunteer recruitment and management system for those in need. The site will help to better track volunteerism in the state."Kentuckians are generous people and are always stepping up to give back and help one another in a safe way during these unprecedented times," Gov. Beshear said. "Through this new platform, more of our nonprofits have the ability to recruit new volunteers to help support many worthy causes."You can see Beshear's full update below.
New Delhi: A total of 21.07 lakh people travelled by air domestically in July this year, which is 82.3 per cent lower than the corresponding period last year, civil aviation regulator DGCA said on Thursday. Moreover, the occupancy rate or load factor for five out of six major Indian airlines was between 50 and 60 per cent in June, it stated.

"The passenger load factor in the month of July 2020 has shown a sharp decline due to limited air operations because of the COVID-19 outbreak," said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

The occupancy rate in SpiceJet was 70 per cent in July this year. However, the occupancy rate for other major airlines IndiGo, GoAir, Vistara, AirAsia India and Air India in July stood at 60.2 per cent, 50.5 per cent, 53.1 per cent, 56.2 per cent and 45.5 per cent, respectively, according to the DGCA.

India resumed domestic passenger flights on May 25 after a gap of two months amid the coronavirus pandemic. Indian airlines are allowed to operate a maximum of 45 per cent of their pre-COVID domestic flights.

A total of 19.84 lakh passengers travelled domestically in June this year. Between May 25 and May 31, 2.81 lakh air passengers had travelled domestically, the DGCA noted.

DGCA data mentioned that AirAsia India had the best on-time performance at four metro airports - Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai - at 98.1 per cent in July.

IndiGo and Vistara were at number two and three at these four airports with 97.6 per cent and 95.9 per cent on-time performance, respectively, the regulator said.

Sunil Bhaskaran, MD & CEO, AirAsia India in a statement said, "Despite the challenging environment, we are excited to again take the No. 1 spot and set a new record for On Time Performance among domestic airlines in India. This reflects our ability to evolve and leverage technology to drive efficiencies in the new norms of flying."

In July, IndiGo carried 12.72 lakh domestic passengers, which is 60.4 per cent share of the total domestic market, the DGCA data noted. At number two, SpiceJet carried 3.31 lakh domestic passengers in June, indicating a 15.7 per cent share of the total market.

Air India, AirAsia India, Vistara and GoAir carried 1.91 lakh, 1.3 lakh, 88,000 and 79,000 domestic passengers, respectively in July, the DGCA noted.

The aviation sector has been significantly impacted due to the travel restrictions imposed in India and other countries in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

All airlines in India have taken cost-cutting measures such as pay cuts, leave without pay and firings of employees in order to conserve cash flow.
Franklin Graham states our nation is in trouble.

Regarding the pandemic and all other disasters that have been happening to the world, Franklin Graham reached out to believers for a prayer march in Washington D.C. Praying for leaders, the world, divided nation, healing, and all other prayer requests, Graham looks forward to seeing many faces for the prayer march on a memorial day.

On September 26th, around noon, it will be hosted from the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol building rounded up to 1.8 miles of the prayer march.

"America is in trouble its in distress. But we do have hope. We need to pray now than more than ever we prayed before. Praying is the most important thing. Our communities are hurting, people are divided, there is fear, and uncertain air all around us."

Franklin Graham shared on the below website for more information and sign up:

https://lp.billygraham.org/prayer-march-2020/?utm_source=redirect&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=prayer+march&utm_content=dc+prayer+march&SOURCE=BA209YDCV
The scene in Clontarf this morning.

Gardai are investigating after a man (20s) died at a stabbing incident in Clontarf, Dublin 3, this morning.

He was pronounced dead at the scene at a house in the St. Lawrence Road area of Clontarf, Dublin 3, at approximately 7.15am this morning.

The emergency call went first to Dublin Fire Brigade. They found a man in his 20s suffering from a stab wound, or stab wounds, to the chest.

His injuries were to prove fatal.

A short time later a man in his 20s, who is believed to be known to the victim, presented himself at Clontarf garda station nearby.

He is understood to have suffered injuries to his hand and was arrested and treatment was sought for his injuries.

Members of the garda technical bureau arrived just before 11am to begin a forensic examination of the area.

Gardai are concentrating their investigation in an outdoor passageway that runs down beside the facility that fronts onto St Lawrence Road, and connects it to another building behind it.

The scene is currently preserved for a technical examination.

"Garda are appealing for anyone with information in relation to this incident to contact them at Clontarf Garda Station on 01 666 4800 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111," said a garda spokesperson.



"Investigations are ongoing."

More to follow...
Communities of color across Pennsylvania have struggled more than others during the coronavirus pandemic with higher rates of infection, mortality and unemployment, and less access to housing and education.

Those broadly are some of the findings of the Wolf Administrations COVID-19 Response Task Force for Health Disparity, which were outlined Thursday during a press conference in York.

Wolf said focusing on the disparities is crucial to helping not just certain communities respond to the virus effectively  but everyone.

We have a lot of work to do, Gov. Tom Wolf said. I think the pandemic, in terms of health disparities, brought out one more ... that we are not playing on a level playing field.

The governor along with Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, Second Lady Gisele Fetterman and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine highlighted some of the findings on Thursday at a press conference at the York County YMCA.

The reports findings go beyond health and the coronavirus, underscoring deep racial disparities across the board, including access to housing, food, employment, transportation and criminal justice equity.

We all need to work really hard to make sure that our society is as fair as it can be, Wolf said. It is my intention to use the information gathered in this report as a basis for making lasting change. This cannot be a plan that ends up being shelved and we trot it out every once in a while. We have to actually do something and I think the time is right to do that.

Fetterman stressed the need to reform broadband infrastructure to correct what the task force found is a wide disparity in internet access for communities of color.

We need to ensure that all students start with an equal learning opportunity by standardizing remote learning and access to technology, said Fetterman, who was appointed in April by the governor to lead the task force and investigate issues with how the pandemic is affecting the states minority and vulnerable populations.

The Pennsylvania findings align with much of the nationwide data, which has revealed that hot spots for the virus are located in predominantly low-income African-American neighborhoods. These communities typically struggle with housing, education, transportation and access to health care.

Nationally, COVID-19 death rates among African-American are nearly two times greater than would be expected based on their share of the population. In four states, the rate is three or more times greater.

In a majority of states, Latinos account for a greater share of confirmed cases than their share of the population.

Levine said progress had been made in terms of the reporting and collecting of racial and ethnic data on infection and mortality, but that more work needed to be done.

Fetterman thanked the governor for enacting a moratorium on housing evictions, but warned that it would likely take families of color months if not years to recover from the pandemic-induced economic downturn.

He said the Commonwealth must continue to prioritize the program particularly for families who have applied for unemployment compensation.

Eviction filing can follow a family around for their whole life creating hardship and uncertainty, Fetterman.

He also called on bipartisan legislative support to expand a Drivers License Amnesty Program. While the legislature voted to end license suspensions for non-driving-related offenses, the move was not retroactive.

Fetterman said the ability to drive impacts health.

Not having a valid license can lead to poor health outcomes because it restricts the ability to travel to and from doctors visits, he said.

Levine noted that the Wolf administration continues to work with the Black COVID-19 Equity Coalition in Pittsburgh to develop a statewide effort to address racial disparities in the impact of the pandemic.

The Department of Health on Thursday reported 991 new cases, raising the statewide total to 122,121.

That tally marks the highest number of new cases in August and the biggest number since July 28, when the state had 1,120 new cases. The number of new cases has generally dropped in August, after climbing steadily in late June and throughout July. The state has averaged 800 new cases each day over the past week.

Our actions as a community can lessen or worsen the impact COVID-19 has on fellow Pennsylvanians, Levine said. You answer the call to stop the spread when you wear a mask. You answer the call to stop the spread when you avoid large public gatherings and you answer the call to stop the spread when you use hand sanitizer or wash your hands frequently.

Gisele Fetterman addressed the media gathering first in Spanish then English, urging Pennsylvanians to adhere to strict medical and hygiene guidance to stave off the spread of the deadly virus.

There are things we can and need to do to keep ourselves and loved ones safe, she said. Please make sure you wear a mask anytime you leave your home. Masks help prevent you from unknowingly spreading COVID-19 to people around you. Masks provide us with some protection but they do not eliminate the risk of spreading COVID-19 and are not a replacement for social distancing. We need to continue to cut down on exposure opportunities. We especially need to avoid crowds and we need to continue to be weary of carrying COVID-19 to our vulnerable loved ones.

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The US secretary of state is to make the case for high-speed wireless networks that bar Chinese companies like Huawei.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has visited Slovenia to make a case for high-speed wireless networks that bar Chinese companies like Huawei.

On the second leg of a four-nation tour of central and Eastern Europe, Pompeo was meeting Slovenian officials in the mountain lake town of Bled on Thursday.

He is to sign a joint declaration on 5G Clean Network Security that aims to keep untrusted telecoms vendors out.

Pompeo has led a US campaign across Europe and elsewhere against Huawei and other Chinese companies that the Trump administration accuses of sharing data with Chinas security apparatus.

The declaration will commit to protecting the privacy and individual liberties of the citizens of the United States and Slovenia.

Slovenia, a NATO ally, has been a willing partner in the effort and last month signed and rolled out a nationwide commercial 5G network with Swedish telecoms giant Ericsson.

Besides the 5G declaration, Pompeo will be discussing energy security with Slovenias president and prime minister.

Coercion and control

Pompeo arrived in Slovenia from the Czech Republic, where he had called upon the young democracies in the region to embrace hard-won freedoms and counter threats from Russia and particularly China, which he said was in many ways more dangerous than the former Soviet Union.

The CCP is already enmeshed in our economies, in our politics, in our societies, in ways the Soviet Union never was, he told Czech lawmakers, referring to the Chinese Communist Party and its campaigns of coercion and control.

In your country alone, he said, we see influence campaigns against your politicians and security forces, the theft of industrial data that you have created through your innovation and creativity, and weve seen the use of economic leverage to stifle freedom itself.

Pompeo told the lawmakers they should continue to resist Chinese attempts to assert economic and political leverage over their country.

He noted several recent developments in which China has threatened Czech officials with retaliation for showing support for Taiwan, Tibet and Hong Kong.
Organization also extending its Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) Certified Sustainable sourcing to include Quarter Pounders

TORONTO, Aug. 13, 2020 /CNW/ - McDonald's Canada will return to sourcing 100 per cent Canadian beef in September 2020, ending the temporary sourcing adjustments announced in late April due to industry constraints. Since that time, McDonald's Canada has been sourcing as much Canadian beef as possible, maintaining over 80 per cent of supply from Canadian sources on average and supplementing with imported beef from pre-approved McDonald's suppliers.

McDonald's Canada is also continuing its beef sustainability journey by offering Quarter Pounder patties, from which a portion of the beef (minimum 30 per cent), will be sourced from CRSB certified sustainable Canadian farms and ranches by September 2020.

McDonald's Canada has used 100 per cent Canadian beef since 2003. The company has also been a long-time proponent and advocate of sustainable practices in the Canadian beef industry. The organization and its franchisees will continue to advocate for progress on sustainability, which contributes to the humane treatment of animals, and delivers positive outcomes for farmers, ranchers, communities and the planet.

McDonald's Canada remains one of the largest purchasers of Canadian beef and a proud supporter of the Canadian beef industry. At the height of the pandemic, the organization made a $100,000 contribution to the Canadian Cattlemen's Foundation to support educational efforts and the development of future leaders through the Cattlemen's Young Leaders program.

"For nearly two decades, we've maintained a strong commitment to sourcing Canadian beef  we are incredibly proud of the role we've played in supporting local ranchers and farmers," said Nicole Zeni, Senior Manager, Supply Chain, McDonald's Canada. "In these challenging times, our ability to return to sourcing 100 per cent of our beef from Canadian sources is a true testament to the resiliency of the industry."

As a founding member of the CRSB, established in 2014, McDonald's Canada was a driving force in developing Canadian standards for beef sustainability. The CRSB consists of a diverse group of stakeholders representing academia, government, food and agricultural businesses, producer associations, processors, retail and foodservice, as well as NGOs like Ducks Unlimited Canada, World Wildlife Fund and Nature Conservancy of Canada.

"The stabilized supply of Canadian beef is important in allowing us to continue to progress our sustainability efforts," said Jeffrey Fitzpatrick-Stilwell, Sustainability and Agriculture Lead, McDonald's Canada. "Offering Quarter Pounder patties made with beef from CRSB-certified farms and ranches is another meaningful step forward on our journey to delivering socially responsible, economically viable and environmentally sound food to our guests."

FACTS:

McDonald's Canada sources 100 per cent of the beef for its hamburger patties from Canadian ranches and farms, primarily in Alberta and Saskatchewan .

sources 100 per cent of the beef for its hamburger patties from Canadian ranches and farms, primarily in and . McDonald's beef patties contain no artificial additives, flavours and preservatives and are 100 per cent produced in Canada .

. In September 2020 , a portion of the beef (minimum 30 per cent) used in our Quarter Pounder patties will be sourced from CRSB Certified Sustainable farms and ranches.

, a portion of the beef (minimum 30 per cent) used in our Quarter Pounder patties will be sourced from CRSB Certified Sustainable farms and ranches. McDonald's use of the CRSB certification mark for beef sustainability is designated based on an internationally recognized system, where a minimum of 30 per cent of the supply chain's beef originates from CRSB certified farms and ranches, and is tracked at every point in the certified supply chain.

In 2018, McDonald's Canada became the first organization to begin using the CRSB certification mark on its Angus packaging and, in addition, the global McDonald's organization announced a new global beef antibiotic policy.

became the first organization to begin using the CRSB certification mark on its Angus packaging and, in addition, the global McDonald's organization announced a new global beef antibiotic policy. During the temporary period of importing beef in 2020, McDonald's Canada sourced beef from USA , Australia , New Zealand , UK and Ireland to supplement the Canadian beef supply.

About McDonald's Canada

In 1967, Canadians welcomed the first McDonald's restaurant to Richmond, British Columbia. Today, McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Limited has become part of the Canadian fabric, serving close to three million guests every day. Together with our franchisees, we proudly employ nearly 100,000 people from coast-to-coast, and more than 90 per cent of McDonald's 1,400 Canadian restaurants are locally owned and operated by independent entrepreneurs. Of the almost $1 billion spent on food, more than 85 per cent is purchased from suppliers in Canada. For more information on McDonald's Canada visit McDonalds.ca.

SOURCE McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Ltd.

For further information: please contact: [email protected]
For the US, China has deprived the city of its traditional freedoms. London views the security law as a pretext to silence the democratic opposition. Criticism comes from the EU and the UN. Bipartisan condemnation greets the arrests in Taiwan, whilst Beijing welcomes them.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews)  International outrage is mounting over the arrest of pro-democracy magnate and Apple Daily newspaper owner Jimmy Lai.

The businessman was arrested yesterday along with nine other people, including two of his children, under the new security law imposed by Beijing.

Lai and the others are accused of collusion with foreign forces" and "conspiracy to defraud.

For US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Jimmy Lai's arrest shows that China has stripped Hong Kong of its traditional freedoms and undermined the rights of its citizens.

US Vice President Mike Pence spoke of a real affront to all those who love freedom.

Republican Senator Marco Rubio, a well-known critic of Beijing, has asked for a response from the whole "free world" against Chinese repression.

Last Friday, the Trump administration imposed economic sanctions against Carrie Lam, Hong Kong's chief executive, and ten other senior officials from Hong Kong and China, implicated in implementing Beijing's repressive policies to suppress freedom and the democratic process in the former British colony.

Beijing responded with counter-sanctions against 11 US citizens, including some members of Congress.

The British government also condemned Lai's arrest. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the security law was a pretext to silence the opposition.

London reminded Hong Kong authorities that the Sino-British Declaration of 1984, the Basic Law and the security legislation itself guarantee freedom of the media.

The UK has already announced that it will suspend the extradition treaty with Hong Kong and facilitate the acquisition of citizenship by many residents of its former colony.

Siding with the UK and the US, the European Union criticised Lais arrest, underlining that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is a cornerstone of the "one country, two systems" principle, on which Hong Kongs broad autonomy is based.

Unlike the United States and Great Britain, the EU has not yet adopted punitive measures against China and the government of the semi-autonomous city.

The United Nations has also expressed concern over the detention of the city's pro-democracy leaders. The office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has asked Hong Kong authorities not to use security provisions to violate human rights.

In Taiwan both ruling and opposition parties slammed Beijing's repressive move, seen as a violation of Hong Kong's freedoms.

The Taiwanese government called the arrests "arbitrary". Taiwans main opposition party, the pro-China nationalist Kuomintang, noted that the detention of pro-democracy activists undermines popular support for the Hong Kong government, reiterating its support for democracy and the rule of law in the city.

Beijings response to international criticism has been to praise the arrest of Lai and other pro-democracy figures.

The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office said that all those who collude with foreign forces and endanger national security "must be severely punished". For Chinese leaders, Lais arrest shows that justice may be late but eventually takes its course.
The problems with federal courts enjoining valid state laws on the eve of elections do not go away just because some state defendants like the injunction, wrote Thomas R. McCarthy, a lawyer for the Republicans. A federal court has no power to enter a consent judgment that enjoins a state law unless that law is likely unconstitutional.
By Raymond Lesniak

Joe Bidens selection of Kamala Harris as his vice presidential running mate is more than transformative. Its exhilarating.

Nearly 12 years ago, on election night, I was having dinner with New Jerseys DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson, an African American woman, and watching the election returns at Benitos Restaurant, a hangout for many politicians. When the first network declared Barack Obama the winner, Lisa burst out in tears as we hugged and celebrated.

I get the same feeling now that Kamala Harris will be the Democratic candidate for vice president. Ethnic and racial pride is a gratifying part of the human experience. Add to that gender pride.

When I first ran for political office more than 40 years ago, my mother, Stephanie Lesniak, a Democratic Committeewoman, advised me that all I needed to wage a successful campaign was a handful of women, not men, because women will get things done while men will sit around and tell me what needs to get done. For too long men have captured the prize while women have sat on the sidelines.

There have always been women leaders and currently, more than 30 female presidents and prime ministers lead nations. America now has an opportunity to elect a female a heartbeat away from being president. An African American female.

I can only imagine the pride going through the African American community today. I experienced that pride when Cardinal Wojtyla was selected to be the first Polish Pope, Pope John Paul II. Not quite as experiencing the election of the first African American President, but nevertheless it made me feel good, as no doubt many African American women and men feel now with Kamala Harris Vice Presidential candidacy. .

I recognize I will be criticized for supporting tribalism. I understand. But thats a very shallow and not productive way to describe the voting patterns of people who simply want to make sure that their interests and values are represented.

And I understand I have to justify, as I should, that Kamala Harris selection is based on her credentials, which are superb. But there is an added element of joy I appreciate that accompanies her selection. Joy is good. And being able to experience others joy is also good.

The bottom line, putting race and gender aside, is Kamala Harriss qualifications to be vice president and president, if needed. For me, her service as an aggressive law enforcement Attorney General and as a progressive United States Senator fit the bill. Much better qualifications than a real estate developer with numerous bankruptcies on his record.

The fact that Kamala Harris is an African American female is icing on the cake. Big heaps of icing. Congratulations to Joe Biden on making the most important decision for his presidential campaign. He chose wisely.

Raymond (Ray) Lesniak served in the State Senate from 1983 to 2018 and in the General Assembly from 1978 to 1983.

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NEW YORK, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of financial markets for 11,000 U.S. and global securities, today announced KORE Mining Ltd. (TSX-V: KORE; OTCQX: KOREF), a company with gold projects in California and British Columbia, has qualified to trade on the OTCQX Best Market. KORE Mining Ltd. upgraded to OTCQX from the OTCQB Venture Market.

KORE Mining Ltd. begins trading today on OTCQX under the symbol "KOREF." U.S. investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the company on www.otcmarkets.com.

The OTCQX Market is designed for established, investor-focused U.S. and international companies. To qualify for OTCQX, companies must meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance, and demonstrate compliance with applicable securities laws. Graduating to the OTCQX Market from the OTCQB Market marks an important milestone for companies, enabling them to demonstrate their qualifications and build visibility among U.S. investors.

KORE Mining Ltd. CEO Scott Trebilcock commented, "With two advanced U.S. gold projects and funding from strategic investments by Mr. Eric Sprott, KORE is well positioned to attract U.S. investors. KORE looks forward broadening our U.S. investor base with the upgrade to the OTCQX Market."

About KORE Mining Ltd.

KORE Mining Ltd. has four 100% owned gold projects in California (Imperial and Long Valley) and British Columbia (FG Gold and Gold Creek). KORE recently released a positive preliminary economic assessment at its Imperial gold project and is exploring to grow its already large gold resource base at FG Gold, Long Valley and Imperial. KORE has attracted strategic investors Macquarie Bank and Eric Sprott. KORE's management and Board are aligned with shareholders, owning 38% of the basic shares outstanding.

About OTC Markets Group Inc.

OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates the OTCQX Best Market, the OTCQB Venture Market and the Pink Open Market for 11,000 U.S. and global securities. Through OTC Link ATS and OTC Link ECN, we connect a diverse network of broker-dealers that provide liquidity and execution services. We enable investors to easily trade through the broker of their choice and empower companies to improve the quality of information available for investors.

To learn more about how we create better informed and more efficient markets, visit www.otcmarkets.com.

OTC Link ATS and OTC Link ECN are SEC regulated ATSs, operated by OTC Link LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.

Subscribe to the OTC Markets RSS Feed

Media Contact:

OTC Markets Group Inc., +1 (212) 896-4428, [email protected]

SOURCE OTC Markets Group Inc.

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The removal of 32 wooden pews from a 700-year-old village church is underway following an unholy row between the ecclesiastical authorities and parishioners.

Church officials have controversially decided to rip out the traditional seating in Grade II listed St Andrew's in Okeford Fitzpaine, Dorset.

They cited various reasons for doing away with the pews, including health and safety fears, improving disabled access, making room for a toilet and avoiding potential embarrassment for obese couples who may struggle to walk down the narrow aisle.

A fierce row over the removal of the traditional Victorian pews at St Andrew's church in Okeford Fitzpaine has come to an end as replacement work gets underway

Parishioners of the 700-year-old church clashed with Reverend Lydia Cook over the decision to remove the wooden seating and replace it with Ikea-type chairs

The Victorian pews will be replaced with dozens of Ikea-type chairs that can be removed to create an open space in the nave so the church can hold other events.

All of the pews have been snapped up for 200 each.

Customers have been arriving at the church to collect their reserved seating which has been seen being carried through the graveyard into the back of waiting vans.

Some have been bought by resigned parishioners wanting to stop the pews from leaving the picturesque village.

The landlady of the Royal Oak pub has bought one for her customers to use while another local resident will put one in her entrance hallway marked with a plaque acknowledging its provenance.

The ugly row led to claims that the Reverend had locked parishioners out of the church as a result of their protests

Villagers wrote to the Archbishop of Canterbury and held a demonstration where they held banners reading 'Save the pews from the devil within'

Villager Louise Udell said: 'When it became apparent that we could not stop the process I made arrangements to buy a pew, I hope that I am saving a piece of village heritage.

'I would've paid more to have it remain where it currently sits though.'

Helen Sherwood Clinkard, a spokeswoman for the Save St Andrew's Pews group, said over 500 people had signed a petition urging the church to halt their plans.

But their letters and appeals have been in vain.

Their efforts were in vain and the pews went up for sale in the parish magazine and on Facebook and were all sold for 200 each

Buyers have been seen arriving at the church this week to collect the 32 wooden Victorian pews

Some have been bought by the parishioners wanting to stop the pews from leaving the picturesque village - including the village shop and the village pub, the Royal Oak

She said: 'We have been trying to communicate with the Church of England over this but it has been impossible.

'I have written to the Archbishop of Canterbury, to four different bishops, the Archdeacon of Salisbury and the Parochial Church Council and not one of them acknowledged my appeal.

'We have pointed out the the church had supposedly leafleted the village in 2016 explaining what they were planning to do but the 500 people who have signed a petition have said they did not know about the pews being ripped out.

'We had asked for a halt on the pews being removed but we have been ignored.

'The church has managed to alienate almost the entire village of this. Plenty of people will no longer be putting any money into that church again.'

In a statement, the Diocese of Salisbury said that all of the correct processes and procedures had been carried out by the church ahead of the work.

The Bishop of Salisbury, the Right Reverend Nicholas Holtam, said: 'The changes have come after a very wide consultation and ample opportunity over a long period to comment on the proposals.

The controversial decision to remove the pews was made because of health and safety fears, to improve disabled access and to avoid potential embarrassment for obese couples who may struggle to walk down the narrow aisle. Pictured: The Dorset village of Okeford Fitzpaine

One parishioner said: 'The church has managed to alienate almost the entire village'

'I am fully supportive of their plans which are designed to enable the church building to continue to be a valuable asset to the community into the future.'

Dilys Gartside, a member of the Parochial Church Council who has overseen the sale of the pews, said having chairs will mean more people will be able to attend services while Covid-19 social distancing restrictions remain.

She said: 'The majority of the pews will be staying in the village, such as in the pub and the village shop.

'We have worked to make sure that every local person who wanted one has got one.

'The money received will go towards the cost of reordering the church.

'Churches across the country have been removing pews for years.

'By doing this we now have the opportunity to have a more flexible space and make the building accessible to everyone.'
Youth, including those from a minority community, decided to protect a temple when a mob was going on a rampage in Bengaluru after being irked over a social media post on an allegedly communally sensitive issue.

A video of the youth quickly forming the human chain to protect the Hanuman temple on Shampura Main Road has gone viral, even as the mob was indulging in arson.

The human chain was formed on Tuesday night as a result of some quick thinking while violence sent shock waves across DJ Halli, KG Halli and neighbouring areas of Pulakeshinagar.

"We saw the rioters coming in groups towards the temple and their intention seemed to damage it. Then we decided to form a human chain to protect it," a youth who wished not to be named, said.

He expressed fear that any damage to the temple could have complicated things further.

WATCH: Amid violence, Muslims protect temple

On Tuesday night, a mob had gone on the rampage at Pulakeshinagar irked over the social media post allegedly put out by a Congress legislator's relative, with the government terming the violence as a well-planned act.

Three persons were killed when police opened fire to quell the mob and scores of others, including over 50 police personnel, sutained injuries in the violence that stretched till the wee hours of Wednesday.

The mob had set on fire the DJ Halli Police Station, besides damaging Pulakeshinagar Congress MLA Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy's property for his nephew Naveen had allegedly posted some objectionable content in the social media about a week ago.

State revenue minister R Ashoka had dubbed the violence pre-planned with an intention to spread it in other parts of the city.

Naveen has also been arrested.
South Africa: President meets with Presidential Economic Advisory Council

President Cyril Ramaphosa has held a virtual meeting with members of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council to discuss the countrys economic recovery in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic.

The Council is a non-statutory and independent body chaired by the President and brings together prominent economists and technical experts drawn from academia, the private sector, labour, community, think tanks and other constituencies.

The Council was appointed in October 2019 for a three-year term.

President Ramaphosa had invited the Council to make a contribution on the work currently underway in government to finalise an economic reconstruction and recovery plan.

The Council on Wednesday emphasised the need for a focused and action-oriented programme with a few central priorities to lift the country out of the current crisis.

The Council supported governments emphasis on employment as the key priority for the country as it emerges from Coronavirus and called for all policy interventions to be directed towards protecting existing jobs and creating new ones on a significant scale.

The President was accompanied by several Ministers from Cabinets economic cluster, who will use the contributions of the Council to strengthen governments plan.

President Ramaphosa will today chair the first meeting of the NEDLAC Forum for Economic Recovery.

This forum is expected to bring together government, organised labour, business and the community constituency to forge a common national plan to drive reconstruction and recovery.

The devastation caused by Coronavirus means that we cannot continue in the same manner as before. There is broad agreement on where we must focus our efforts.

The task now is to work more closely together to implement those actions that will have the greatest effect on the jobs and livelihoods of South Africans, President Ramaphosa said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-08-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
By ANI

NEW DELHI: India's External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Thursday discussed with his German counterpart Heiko Maas, the COVID-19 situation and vaccine cooperation.

"Good conversation with FM @HeikoMaas of Germany. Discussed the #COVID19 situation and vaccine cooperation. Reviewed the developments in Europe and Asia. Reaffirmed our multilateral partnership, including in the UN," the EAM said in a tweet.

The first COVID-19 vaccine had been registered in Russia on Tuesday, Sputnik had reported earlier.

According to the latest global update by the Johns Hopkins University, a total number of 20,643,028 people have been tested positive of coronavirus and 749,764 deaths have been reported so far.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) had declared the outbreak of the new coronavirus a pandemic on March 11.
Judith Kerrs Desert Island Discs, from February 2004 | BBC Radio 4 [08 September 2019] Judith Kerr, interviewed by Sue Lawley

A writer and illustrator known to generations of children both for her charming Mog picture-books and for her careful rendering of the life of a Jewish child fleeing Nazi Germany. Judith Kerr escaped with her family on the day the Nazis were elected. The following day, police turned up at the doorstep in a belated attempt to confiscate their passports. The Kerr family moved across Europe, trying to support themselves and escape from the nearing threat, until they eventually settled in England in 1936. The family stayed in London throughout the war; surviving the Blitz and in fear of invasion. Judith Kerr wrote an autobiographical trilogy about her experiences and the books - in particular When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit - have been used ever since as a way of explaining to children the horrors of the Nazi threat. Today, they are set texts in many German schools.

She was always a keen painter but had never thought it could be a career; it was only when she had two children who enjoyed the tales she told that she decided to try her hand at picture books. Her first book, The Tiger Who Came to Tea, was instantly successful when it was published in 1968 and has never been out of print. But it is probably her series of books about Mog the Cat that have won her most affection with children - over the past 30 years they have sold more than three million copies.
Noise complaints about low-flying jets have increased seven-fold in some suburbs since Brisbane Airport's new parallel runway opened last month.

Overall, there were 117 noise complaints in July as the new runway came into operation.

Noise complaints have risen dramatically since the new runway opened at Brisbane Airport. Credit:Gaynor Sipolis/Supplied

In June, just 24 complaints were registered with federal government oversight body Airservices Australia.

There were 26 complaints in May and 32 in April. Last month's figure was only two off the entire July-September 2019 quarter, which registered 119 complaints about aircraft noise associated with Brisbane Airport.
US Says Iran Briefly Seizes Oil Tanker Near Strait of Hormuz

DUBAI, United Arab EmiratesThe Iranian navy boarded and briefly seized a Liberian-flagged oil tanker near the strategic Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions between Tehran and the U.S., a U.S. military official said Thursday.

The U.S. militarys Central Command published a black-and-white video showing what appeared to be special forces fast-roping down from a helicopter onto the MT Wila, whose last position appeared to be off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates near the city of Khorfakkan.

The Iranian navy held the vessel for some five hours before releasing it Wednesday, said a U.S. military official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public. The Wila made no distress calls before, during and after the seizure, the official said.

The Iranian helicopter involved appeared to be a Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King, which only Irans navy operates. The Iranian navy also handles all operations in the Gulf of Oman on the eastern side of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of all oil traded passes. Two other Iranian naval vessels took part in the seizure, Central Command said.

In this image made from video released by the U.S. militarys Central Command, Iranian commandos fast-rope down from a helicopter onto the MV Wila oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman off the coast of the United Arab Emirates on Aug. 12, 2020. (U.S. militarys Central Command via AP)

The U.S. military officials did not offer any reason for Iran seizing the vessel. Iranian state media and officials did not immediately acknowledge the seizure or offer a reason for it.

Officials in the UAE, a U.S.-allied federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula, did not respond to a request for comment.

The Wilas registered owner is a Liberian firm called Bandit Shipping Co., managed by Greek firm IMS SA, according to United Nations records. Neither firm could be immediately reached.

The Wila had been off Khor Al Zubair, Iraq, in early July before traveling to near Dubai and later Khorfakkan, where its been for around a month, according to data firm Refinitiv. It wasnt immediately clear what cargo it carried.

Private maritime intelligence firm Dryad Global said it suspected two other ships had been harassed by Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in the Persian Gulf over the last week as well, based on the ships behavior.

As tensions between Iran and the U.S. heated up last year over Americas unilateral withdraw from its 2015 nuclear deal, tankers plying the waters of the Mideast became targets, particularly near the strait, the Persian Gulfs narrow mouth. Suspected limpet mine attacks the U.S. blamed on Iran targeted several tankers. Iran denied being involved, though it did seize several tankers.

In July, a U.S.-sought oil tanker was hijacked off the coast of the United Arab Emirates after allegedly smuggling Iranian crude oil. The vessel later ended up back in Iranian waters, suggesting Iran itself seized the vessel.

By Jon Gambrell
Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is all set to move a no-confidence motion against Ashok Gehlot-led Rajasthan government in the Assembly session starting August 14, PRS Legislative has reported that the confidence motion is not listed in tomorrow's business.

Instead, eight ordinances are set to be tabled and a discussion on COVID-19 is planned.

Earlier, after a Congress Legislative Party (CLP) meeting in which rebel party leader and former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot was present, Gehlot had said that they would be moving a confidence motion.

"We could have proved the majority even without these 19 MLAs (Pilot and 18 MLAs who were supporting him), but it would not have given us happiness. We will bring a Vote of Confidence," Gehlot had said.

While stating that the party would be moving a no-confidence motion, leader of opposition Gulab Chand Kataria had said that coronavirus cases in the state are on rise and "law and order situation is badly deteriorating."

He had said that even though the political crisis in the Congress has been resolved, all is still not good in that party as "one is going to east and the other west".

BJP state president Satish Poonai, meanwhile, had said the motion will be moved on August 14.

The Congress has 107 MLAs in the 200-member assembly, and the BJP 72.
Its first series was met with rave reviews from critics and audiences.

And fans will be delighted with the news that The Witcher has resumed production for its second series.

Filming on the Netflix fantasy drama, starring Henry Cavill, had to be put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Underway: The second series of the acclaimed Netflix drama The Witcher has resumed production

But Stephen Surjik, who directed two episodes in its first season, told fans on Wednesday the show was up and running again.

Sharing a snap on Instagram, he said: 'Its T minus 3 min to ignition and lift off for our second run at Witcher S2. Everyone is being cautious but spirits are high.'

He said the cast and crew are having to maintain social distance on set amid the new restrictions.

Hiatus: Filming on the Netflix fantasy drama, starring Henry Cavill, had to be put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic

The show's resumption is even earlier than Netflix had indicated back in June.

The Witcher's Twitter account said the cast and crew would reunite on August 17 as they announced the news in the form of a Jaskier poem.

They said: 'I'm dusting off my lute and quill/I have some news, some mead to spill. After all the months we've been apart/It's time for production to restart. The Witcher and his bard - who's flawless/Will reunite on set 17 August.'

Excited: Stephen Surjik, who directed two episodes in its first season, told fans on Wednesday the show was up and running again

The release date for the highly-anticipated second series is not yet known.

It was commissioned by Netflix before the first series had even aired last year as the streaming site predicted its popularity.

An incredible 76 million households watched the show, a record for a first season on Netflix.

It comes after Netflix announced last month they were making a prequel series to The Witcher, called Blood Origin.

The limited six-part live action series will be set in the Elven world around 1,200 years before the Netflix original and is based on The Witcher fiction books created by Andrzej Sapkowski.

Where it all began: Netflix announced last month their plans to release The Witcher: Blood Origin, a prequel series to their acclaimed TV drama

The first series was shot in Budapest and was released in December 2019, whereas Blood Origin will begin shooting in the UK and no official release date has been announced.

The original Netflix show followed the journey of the Witcher, Geralt of Rivia [Cavill] a mutated monster hunter who travels across the mythical land on his quest to slay monstrous beasts.

Geralt is one of the few remaining Witchers on the continent and he struggles to find his way in the wicked world as he is often misunderstood by others.

Blood Origin will unearth the origins of the very first Witcher in a time before the Elven civilisation came to an end.

It will recount the pivotal moments that lead up to the 'conjunction of spheres' where the worlds of monsters, elves and men collided.

Declan de Barra, the show's executive producer can't wait to get his teeth stuck into the new limited series and believes fans will gain a new insight into the fantasy world.

The Witcher: The original Witcher show follows the story of the protagonist Geralt of Rivia who possess super natural abilities to conquer an array of deadly beasts and monsters

He said: 'As a lifelong fan of fantasy, I am beyond excited to tell the story The Witcher: Blood Origin.

'A question has been burning in my mind ever since I first read The Witcher books - What was the Elven world really like before the cataclysmic arrival of the humans?

'I've always been fascinated by the rise and fall of civilizations, how science, discovery, and culture flourish right before that fall.'
Sen. Kamala Harris steps into her new role as Joe Biden's vice presidential nominee on a relative high note. Harris receives strong marks as the pick and Biden receives credit for choosing the California senator, as she is the only contender across both presidential tickets who enjoys a net positive favorability rating, according to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll released Thursday.

Two in three Americans in the new survey, which was conducted using Ipsos' KnowledgePanel, are familiar enough with her to form an opinion, and among those who do, she's viewed slightly more positively than negatively -- a significant accomplishment at a moment of deep political divide and animosity towards the nation's leaders.

Harris, who is less well-known than the three men, has a favorability rating of 35%, while 31% view her unfavorably. Her favorability soars to 71% among Democrats.

That number among Black Americans, a core constituency of the party's base, stands at 52% but a large portion, roughly 40%, doesn't know enough about her to rate her or had no opinion of her.

Just over one-third of Americans have a favorable opinion of President Donald Trump, while a clear majority -- 58% -- have an unfavorable view of the president. Nearly one-third view Vice President Mike Pence favorably, while 45% have an unfavorable impression of him.

Net favorability of presidential and vice presidential nominees (ABC News/Ipsos Poll)

For Biden, a slightly higher 40% of Americans view him favorably, compared to 43% who have an unfavorable perception of the former vice president.

Biden also earns positive marks for his decision to place Harris on the ticket, with an equal 40% of Americans both approving of the decision and viewing his decision-making favorably for it. Only 23% disapprove of the move and 26% see the choice as a negative reflection of his ability to make important decisions.

MORE: Joe Biden picks Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate

He acknowledged the gravity of his decision when he announced his pick, which 44% of Americans consider to be excellent or good in the new poll, compared to only 28% who rate his choice of Harris as not so good or poor.

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"You make a lot of important decisions as president. But the first one is who you select to be your Vice President. I've decided that Kamala Harris is the best person to help me take this fight to Donald Trump and Mike Pence," Biden wrote in an email to supporters.

Biden announced on Tuesday that he asked Harris to be his running mate -- a historic choice that culminated a months-long process that largely took place in secret. She is the first Black woman, the first person of Indian descent and the third woman in history to be selected to be a vice presidential running mate.

MORE: Biden has made his decision, is calling VP contenders who didn't get the job: Sources

Throughout the vice presidential search, Biden repeatedly insisted he was looking for someone who would be "simpatico" with him in their vision of leadership and agenda, and would be ready to step into the role of president "on day one."

The new poll finds that Americans are more likely to believe that Harris is qualified for the nation's highest office than not.

Four in 10 Americans, and 43% of registered voters, believe that the former California attorney general, who was first elected to the Senate in 2016, is qualified to assume the role of president if necessary -- a potentially more salient reality for the Biden-Harris ticket because if Biden is elected in November, he will be the oldest first inaugurated president in the country's history at the age of 78. Only 32% of Americans and 33% of registered voters don't think she would be qualified to serve as president.

Do you approve or disapproe of Joe Biden's choice of Kamala harris as his vice presidential running mate? (ABC News/Ipsos Poll)

Before Harris was selected, there was some angst among those on the left about her tough-on-crime record in law enforcement, despite Harris describing herself as a "progressive prosecutor." She was the San Francisco district attorney from 2004 to 2011, before becoming California's attorney general, a position she held from 2011 to 2017. Aspects of her career were under intense scrutiny throughout the primary, particularly among her more liberal opponents, who believed her progressive posture on the campaign trail did not reflect in her prosecutorial record.

After the campaign where she was cast as too far to the right on criminal justice issues, 9% of Americans, and 8% of registered voters, view Harris as too conservative.

That number ticks up to 13% among Democrats, to 15% among Black Americans and to 18% among Hispanics.

Harris and Biden's relationship was tenuous at times throughout the primary, after she criticized him on his record on race at the early debates. But he embraced his one-time rival -- who was seen as more middle-of-the-road in the primary and has already been a difficult target for the president and his campaign to define.

MORE: 'Liberal?' 'Phony?' 'Nasty?': Trump, GOP struggle with how to attack Harris

As the GOP ticket adjusts to their new rival, Harris' marks in the new poll also show more public confidence in her than her Republican counterpart.

By an eight-percentage-point margin, Americans are more likely to believe in Harris' ability to step into the role of president, compared to a two-percentage-point margin for Pence.

Harris is also considered far more inspiring among Americans than Pence, 40% to 28%. Historically, too, she is more well-known at this stage of the cycle than recent vice presidential picks, boasting higher national recognition than Pence and Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., according to a 2016 ABC News/Washington Post poll.

Pence is consistently viewed in a more negative light across every quality polled, including sharing their values: 35%-46%, caring about people like them: 35%-45% and being honest and trustworthy: 38%-42%. Meanwhile, net attitudes about Harris are more positive, with more people than not believing she shares their values: 36%-35%, cares about people like them: 38%-33% and is honest and trustworthy: 39%-30%.

With less than three months until Election Day, the focus on the electorate will likely shift to potentially moveable voters who could tilt the scales of the election. In 2016, one key voting bloc was those who opposed both candidates and more of that group ultimately swung toward Trump over Hillary Clinton. This year, among this group, which makes up 10% of the population in this poll, Harris is also more well-received than Pence.

This ABC News/Ipsos poll was conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs' KnowledgePanel August 11-12, 2020, in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 1,044 adults. Results have a margin of sampling error of 3.3 points, including the design effect. See the poll's topline results and details on the methodology here.

This report was featured in the Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020, episode of Start Here, ABC News daily news podcast.

"Start Here" offers a straightforward look at the day's top stories in 20 minutes. Listen for free every weekday on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, the ABC News app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Kamala Harris receives strong marks as Joe Biden's VP: POLL originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
A Queensland accountant accused of embezzling more than $10million from a family-owned construction company has failed to have his identity suppressed by the courts.

Paul John Montgomery, 55, was granted bail by a Brisbane court after being charged with stealing $10,276,045.18.

Court documents allege Montgomery stole the money from Logan-based construction firm the RDS Group over 10 years from 2007 to 2017.

A Queensland accountant accused of embezzling more than $10million from a family-owned construction company has failed to have his identity suppressed by the courts (file picture)

The company specialises in civil infrastructure and land development works.

Lawyer Leigh Rollason's application to have Montgomery's identity suppressed was denied by magistrate Anthony Gett who also granted the accountant bail.

Outside court, Montgomery refused to answer questions about the allegations.

Detective Acting Inspector Adam Bennett told reporters the arrest of the man from Thornlands, southeast of Brisbane, came after a 'challenging and complex 18-month investigation'.

Police will allege Montgomery spent the money on gambling, property and lifestyle products including holidays and beauty treatments.

He came from an accounting background, but had progressed to a senior management position in the family-owned business.

Acting Inspector Bennett said police would allege the man exploited his senior position and knowledge of the company's financial processes to facilitate and conceal a 'highly sophisticated and elaborate crime'.

Police allege he set up a series of accounts to siphon the money from the company in what appeared to be legitimate purchases.

The case was adjourned until September 7.
Sahaya Novinston Lobo By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu was the only state with five women police officers bagging the Union Home Ministers medal for Excellence in investigation along with Inspector of Police. Four of them were awarded the medal for convicting the accused with the maximum sentence for molesting minor girls. Of the 21 female police officers, five were from Tamil Nadu.

Read about the officers and how they solved cases that led to the medal below.

C Chandrakala: The information of receiving a national medal came as a sweet surprise for Chandrakala who had just returned to duty after the treatment for COVID-19. Hailing from Namakkal district, she worked as a physical education teacher before joining the police force in 2004.

Chandrakala was the Inspector of Police at Jayankondam All Women Police Station (AWPS) in 2017, when a 7-year-old girl was raped and impregnated by a man. "The girl was mentally unstable and was raped when she was alone at her house. Eventually we secured the accused and after 2.5 years of trial, the accused was awarded life sentence," said Chandrakala.

It is for this case that she has been awarded the Union Home Ministers medal. Speaking about an unforgettable case that she handled, Chandrakala remembers a POCSO case, of a man impregnating her own daughter in 2018.

"I had just conceived my second child then and had met with an accident a few days before the complaint was filed. A inebriated man had raped his own daughter. I had taken maternity leave but I decided to stay on the case until the accused was nabbed. We nabbed him while he was on the run and detained him under Goondas Act. Only then I left for maternity leave," said Chandrakala.

A Ponnammal: This August 15, Ponnammal will recieve the medal for excellence for a case she investigated exactly three years ago.

On Independence Day, three years ago, a case was brought to her in Coonoor AWPS, little did she know, it would bring her a national medal. "A man had raped the daughter of a woman he was in an illicit relationship with. In 2017, the 16-year-old girl fainted during Independence day celebrations at school. We arrested the man and later, in February, 2020 the accused was awarded life sentence," says Ponnammal.

A 2004 batch officer, hailing from Tiruppur, Ponnammal, describes an unforgettable experience when her team had to nab three prison escapees. When three accused escaped from a sub-jail in the district, Ponnammal and team surrounded them in a forest within an hour.

M Kavitha: In 2019, M Kavitha, as an Inspector of Keeranur AWPS, played a key role in the conviction of criminals in four POCSO Act cases which included rape and sexual assault on minor girls.

In two of the cases, the accused received life sentences and in another, the accused were granted ten years life in prison.

A 2004 batch officer, Kavitha, says that the case she is handling right now will be her unforgettable one. "A 16-year-old boy was raped and brutally murdered by a man from Gujarat. The case is under trial but we are confident that the accused will be awarded life sentence if not death sentence," says M Kavitha.

A Kala: Kala, worked as a Social Science teacher in a Government School in Ariyalur before joining the police force.

A 2004 batch officer hailing from Ariyalur played an important role in the arrest and conviction of a man for attempting to rape a Class 9 girl. The accused who molested the minor girl had threatened the girls family with influence and money, to not register a case.

The incident that happened in 2018 eventually led to the conviction of the man.

G Janci Rani: A 2004 batch police officer, solved a murder case which was initially claimed to be a suicide and got death sentence for two people. In 2018, a woman and her lover killed the womans husband and burnt him.

They had staged it as a suicide but after post mortem, we found it was a murder and arrested them. In 2020, the duo were awarded life sentences, said Janci Rani.

T Vinoth Kumar: The month of August brought double dhamaka for Vinoth Kumar -- a promotion as Inspector of Police and a Union Home Ministers medal.

A 2008 batch officer hailing from Chennai, Vinoth Kumar is a Biotechnology graduate. As part of the Cyber Crime branch of the Central Crime Branch, Chennai, Vinoth Kumar played a key role in nabbing several online scams.

He was awarded the medal for excellence in investigation for using innovative methods, filing prompt charge sheets, and applying the use of scientific aid and forensic tools in solving criminal cases.

We arrested four Nigerians for creating an online lottery scam, where they would send a phishing email or message people and swindle lakhs of rupees. After the arrest of those four men, the complaints of online lottery scam reduced drastically, said Vinoth Kumar.
A dozen foreign-born criminals locked up in Australia have been punted back to Italy and the UK aboard a charter flight.

Despite restrictions on global travel during the coronavirus pandemic, they were kicked out of the country on Wednesday afternoon.

Kiwi crooks were also sent packing back to New Zealand.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said the flights were expensive but argued it was money well spent

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said the flights were expensive but argued it was money well spent.

'I honestly believe our country is safer for them not being here,' he told 2GB radio on Thursday.

'We'll continue to send people to their countries of origin, wherever they were born.'

Hundreds more foreign criminals facing deportation are being shipped off to detention on Christmas Island.

Australia's onshore immigration detention centres are struggling to cope with 'unlawful non-citizens' who can't be expelled.

There are now 1550 people in immigration detention on the mainland, down from a record 10,200 in 2013.

About 250 of the most serious crims are being sent to Christmas Island to free up some space

More than 70 per cent of detainees have committed crimes and will be deported as a result.

About 250 of the most serious criminals were being sent to Christmas Island to free up some space.

Christmas Island has previously housed asylum seekers and, more recently, people returning from the Chinese city of Wuhan in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.

The centre is also holding a Tamil family fighting deportation to Sri Lanka after being taken from the Queensland town of Biloela.
Demonstrators at a march for immigrants rights in downtown Los Angeles, May 2011. The youngest Latinos are most likely to use the term 'Latinx' to self-identify. Foreground: Maria Tellez, 74. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

The term "Latinx" has been embraced by 3% of Latinos in the United States, according to the first major poll on the topic by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center, which closely tracks "Hispanic/Latino" demographic and social trends. The study, released Tuesday, also found that roughly three out of four Latinos in the U.S. hadnt even heard of the term.

The Pew findings suggest that Latinx has a significant way to go before it enters fully generalized usage in the United States, despite its enthusiastic embrace at colleges and universities, in liberal corporate discourse, some news media outlets, Hollywood and among recent presidential primary candidates such as Elizabeth Warren and Julian Castro.

Among those who had heard of Latinx, 33% said it should be used to describe the Hispanic or Latino population, while 65% said it should not be used. Researchers also found that people in the United States still prefer to self-identify as Hispanic (61%) followed by Latino (29%) or their country of origin.

Pew interviewed 3,030 U.S. Hispanic or Latino adults, ages 18 to 65 and older, in December 2019. The survey was conducted bilingually and was nationally representative, Pew said.

Latinx, which emerged online and in academia in the early 2000s, is the most recent attempt to rectify a perceived long-standing problem in Spanish-rooted words that appear in American English: the gendering of nouns that end in o (masculine) or a (feminine). Accepting Latino as the default term for a mixed-gender group of people reinforces patriarchy, Latinx proponents say, and excludes people who are transgender or gender-nonconforming.

Previously, academics experimented with the textual use of Latin@ in an attempt to resolve the problem, which was pronounced as Latino/Latina. (Latinx is pronounced as Latin-ex.) Still others have advocated Latine as another gender-neutral alternative.

Identity terms come and go. Hispanic is from the 70s, Latino is from the 90s, and Latinx is a more recent term, and its possible that its use could rise, said Mark Hugo Lopez, one of the authors of the study. But one thing that is happening worldwide is a growing number of conversations around gender-neutral language, and we see similar movements here.

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Latinx grew in relative popularity only recently. A Google Trends analysis found searches about Latinx rose after the 2016 Pulse shooting in Orlando , Fla., where 49 people were killed in an attack targeting an LGBTQ Latin nightclub. Nonetheless, searches of Latinx still trail considerably behind Latina, Latino and Hispanic, Pew found.

Young Hispanics (ages 18-29) were the most likely to have heard of Latinx, at 42%, the study found. Other subsets with more awareness of the term included the college-educated, those who are English-dominant and Democratic or Democratic-leaning respondents. The lowest levels of awareness were found among the Spanish-dominant, those who are foreign-born, respondents who identify as Republicans and those with a high school diploma or less.

In interviews with respondents, Pew found that some felt Latinx is an unnecessary anglicism of the Spanish language, or not representative of the larger Latino community. Critics point out that there are contradictory exceptions throughout modern Spanish in which masculine or feminine nouns are inverted when paired with their definite articles (the radio is la radio in Spanish not el radio, for example; the water is el agua).

Awareness of Latinx does not necessarily translate to usage, Lopez said. While the youngest Latinos were most likely to be aware of Latinx, only 7% of respondents in that age group actively use it, Pew found.

So while its rising in use, it is still relatively not well known, Lopez said. Certainly the Hispanic population is very young. Half the population is under the age of 30, so this is a young population, and it is young people who are most aware of Latinx and are most likely to use it.
Prosecutors have asked a judge to try four fired Minneapolis police officers jointly in George Floyd's death, in a bid to spare the families and witnesses from repeat trauma.

Keith Ellison, the attorney general for Minnesota, filed a memo arguing that evidence against the four is similar, and that a single trial would be more humane for those testifying.

Holding one trial also would allow the community and the nation to absorb the impact of the verdicts for the four officers at once, instead of piecemeal, Ellison argued.

'Forcing the community to endure four separate trials, with four separate verdicts at four different times, is likely to compound and prolong the trauma to the community,' wrote Ellison, whose office is leading the prosecution.

Keith Ellison, the attorney general for Minnesota, has asked for all four to be tried at once

Former officers, from left: Derek Chauvin, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao

George Floyd is pictured talking to Thomas Lane shortly before he was killed

Floyd, a black man, was handcuffed and lying face-down when Officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against Floyd's neck for nearly eight minutes on May 25.

Floyd repeatedly said he could not breathe and called out for his mother before passing out.

He was pronounced dead at a hospital that evening, and his death sparked protests around the world.

Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter.

The other three officers, Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao, are charged with aiding and abetting both second-degree murder and manslaughter.

All four officers were fired and are scheduled for trial in March.

Attorneys for Chauvin and Kueng declined comment on the prosecution's motion to hold a joint trial.

Defense attorneys for Lane and Thao did not immediately reply to requests from The Associated Press for comment Wednesday.

Thomas Lane (L) and Tou Thao pass in Hennepin County Government Center on July 21

J. Alexander Keung arrives for a court hearing on July 21 in Minneapolis

In his memo, Ellison notes the charges against the four officers are similar, and that all of the charges stem from the same incident.

Evidence also shows the four 'worked together to commit the crime,' Ellison said, with Chauvin pressing his knee into Floyd's neck, Kueng and Lane holding Floyd down and Thao preventing bystanders from intervening.

A single trial also would spare witnesses and Floyd's family members from having to relive his death at multiple trials, Ellison argued.

'Eyewitnesses who take the stand will be asked to recount the harrowing details of Floyd's death,' Ellison wrote.

The attorney general also cited the travel costs and lost wages of witnesses testifying at four separate trials, the risk of testifying in person during the coronavirus pandemic and the fact that several eyewitnesses are minors, including a 17-year-old girl who videotaped Floyd's death.

The next court hearing for the four is scheduled for Sept. 11.
As Donald Trump insulted Kamala Harris on Tuesday, he peppered his usual misogynistic nasty trope with more name-calling, referring to her as the meanest, most horrible, most disrespectful member of the US Senate

Washington: In the hours since Senator Kamala Harris joined the Democratic presidential ticket, President Donald Trump has responded by sorting women into two categories: The good suburban housewife he believes will vote for him, and nasty women who have not shown him or his political allies a sufficient amount of respect.

After Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, announced Tuesday that Harris would be his running mate, Trump wasted no time sorting her into the nasty camp, a category occupied by the last woman to run against him on a Democratic ticket.

She was extraordinarily nasty to Brett Kavanaugh  Judge Kavanaugh then, now Justice Kavanaugh, Trump said of Harris, using nasty or some version of the word no fewer than four times as he referred to Senate confirmation hearings held in 2018. At the time, Kavanaugh, angrily seeking to rebut emotional testimony from Christine Blasey Ford, a professor who accused him of sexually assaulting her at a party in 1982, found himself on the receiving end of questions from Harris, a former prosecutor.

At one point, Harris asked the Supreme Court nominee whether he could think of any existing laws that govern the male body. Kavanaugh could not.

She was nasty to a level that was just a horrible thing, Trump said Tuesday. And I wont forget that soon.

Attacks soon followed. On Wednesday morning, after his allies on Fox News had spent the evening comparing Harris, who is of Jamaican and Indian descent, to unethical timeshare salesmen and payday lenders, Trump crowed that the American suburban housewife  a label used by the president to play into white racist fears about neighbourhood integration efforts  would be on his side in November.

They want safety, Trump wrote on Twitter, adding that they are thrilled that I ended the long running program where low income housing would invade their neighbourhood, referring to a Barack Obama-era effort that encouraged diversification of US communities.

On matters of race and gender, Trump has always believed that indulging his instincts has elevated his political brand. But just as public attitudes on racism have shifted, threatening to turn Trump and his embrace of the Confederacy into a living relic, his views on American women  particularly the suburban ones  are similarly anachronistic.

According to data compiled by Lyman Stone, a research fellow at the Institute for Family Studies who studies population, suburban stay-at-home wives make up only about four percent of the US population.

In a more detailed look at the data, the Bureau of Labour reported in 2019 that the labour force participation rate for women with children under the age of six was 66 percent. For mothers with children ages six to 17, the labour force participation rate was 77 percent.

Pollsters, referring to the presidents problem with alienating some supporters with his comments on race and gender, have long said that Trump cant afford to lose the crucial group of largely White and largely suburban women who helped him win the presidency in 2016. But in June, an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll showed that 66 percent of suburban women disapproved of the job Trump was doing.

Celinda Lake, a veteran Democratic pollster, said in an interview Wednesday that the picture had darkened even further for the president among white suburban women as the coronavirus pandemic dragged on, throwing more of them into uncertainty over the economy and forcing them to choose between sending children back to school or keeping them home.

If hes relying on that group to save him, he better get a life jacket, Lake said of white suburban women. They like safety, they like security, but they think that Trumps lack of a plan, poor leadership, of not listening to experts have made things more dangerous for their families.

She added that even the White non-college-educated suburban women are turning against him, and these are some of the women who are put under the most pressure when it comes to his mishandling of the coronavirus response.

As Trump insulted Harris on Tuesday, he peppered his usual misogynistic nasty trope with more name-calling, referring to her as the meanest, most horrible, most disrespectful member of the US Senate.

With that, Harris joins a group of women Trump feels have not been adequately compliant.

He used the nasty insult most infamously with his former Democratic rival for the presidency, Hillary Clinton: Such a nasty woman, he muttered from across the stage as the two were engaged in a presidential debate in 2016. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a former Democratic presidential hopeful and vocal critic, was deemed to have a nasty mouth. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi? Shes a nasty, vindictive, horrible person.

Even Meghan Markle, the American-born Duchess of Sussex, was deemed nasty for not supporting his 2016 candidacy.

What can I say? Trump told a British tabloid last year, just before a visit to England, where he was hosted by the royal family. I didnt know that she was nasty.

That time, in an Orwellian twist, Trump tried to walk back those comments, which were caught on tape, by telling the public not to believe what they had just heard.

I never called Meghan Markle nasty, the president tweeted. Made up by the Fake News Media, and they got caught cold!

Trumps attacks on Harris have been mild compared with the name-calling and insults he has used against other opponents, including Clinton and Warren. Trump has instead at times treated the junior senator as a newcomer, even praising Harris ability to draw large crowds.

Too bad. We will miss you Kamala! Trump tweeted in December after she ended her own presidential campaign.

Dont worry, Mr President, Ill see you at your trial, Harris retorted.

When Harris role was announced Tuesday, both the president and his campaign seemed uncoordinated and unclear about how best to attack her record effectively. But uglier insults made by Trumps closest allies may foreshadow what is to come: Last year, Trumps son Donald Trump Jr questioned on Twitter whether Harris was Black enough to be addressing issues faced by Black Americans. He eventually deleted the tweet.

On Wednesday in Delaware, as Biden held his first joint event with Harris, Biden referred to the nature of racist and sexist attacks he said would be headed for his vice-presidential choice as the campaign progressed. But he also seemed to chuckle to himself as he recounted the president calling Harris nasty and mean to Trumps nominees.

Whining is what Donald Trump does best, Biden said. Is anyone surprised that Donald Trump has a problem with a strong woman, or strong women across the board?

Harris, for her part, did not address the insults, using her time to target the president for his handling of the pandemic and the economy instead.

Like everything else he inherited, Harris said, he ran it straight into the ground.

Later at the White House, Trump claimed to not have watched much of Harris appearance but then gave a monologue about her bluntly critical handling of Biden during the Democratic presidential primary debates, calling her angry and insulting to the former vice-president.

She said horrible things, horrible things, Trump said. And she mocked him  openly mocked him. Thats why I thought that was a very risky pick because Im sure thatll be played back  not necessarily by me, but others. Itll be played back.

Katie Rogers c.2020 The New York Times Company
Education Minister Peter Weir is facing calls to scrap this year's controversial A-level results - or reconsider his position - following a backlash from principals and pupils

Education Minister Peter Weir is facing calls to scrap this year's controversial A-level results - or reconsider his position - following a backlash from principals and pupils.

With the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) failing to uphold over a third of teachers' estimated grades, political opponents are urging the DUP man to ditch the results.

Because pupils didn't sit exams due to the Covid-19 pandemic, teachers were asked by CCEA to give a predicted grade for their pupils and then rank them in order within their class.

The exams body then used other data to standardise the results.

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For A-levels, the CCEA model used pupils' AS-level results, making adjustments for those who had applied to take resits.

For AS results, the pupils' GCSE results were used, as was the performance by their school over the previous three years.

Expand Close Justin Edwards defended process Photopress / Facebook

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It meant many grades were lower than those predicted by teachers.

Alan Hutchinson, principal of Glastry College in Kircubbin, said students arrived to collect results "full of hope for their future", but instead were "graced with what, at best, can be described as a farce and at worst systemic discrimination".

"We have had teachers dealing with children who have had their dreams and aspirations taken away from them by an algorithm," he added.

In a blistering attack on Mr Weir and the CCEA, SDLP education spokesman Daniel McCrossan said they had "failed young people" and urged them to ditch the results and revert to the grades predicted by teachers instead.

The call came after hundreds of children - and some teachers - were reduced to tears by disappointing results, with doctors reporting that several "suicidal" young people had been in touch. Mr Weir, who defends CCEA's system in Friday's Belfast Telegraph, is expected to get a rough ride at Stormont education committee, with rival parties calling for a U-turn similar to that of Scotland's earlier this week.

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Mr McCrossan told this newspaper he was calling for urgent action because schools "are crying out for leadership".

"Minister Weir needs to step up urgently. I am calling on him to scrap this disastrous process that has failed our young people and to revert to the approach taken in Scotland, when they realised that system was flawed as well," he said.

"And if the minister is unwilling to accept that this is wrong and that the system has been a disaster and is unwilling to step up in his position as Minister of Education and right the wrongs that are there, then his position needs to come under question.

"If he's not willing to budge on this then his position will become untenable."

Ulster Unionist education spokesman Robbie Butler called on Mr Weir and his department to sort the situation out as a matter of urgency.

"Regrettably, this A-levels results day has been a nightmare for some," he said.

"Whilst many students will be happy with their results, some have been left devastated.

"What we need now is for the Education Minister to provide a roadmap to a solution within 24 hours."

Opposition to Thursday's announced grades was unprecedented, with just over 5% of pupils getting better results than their teachers' recommendations, and thousands left with marks that won't get them access to their preferred universities.

Read More

The exams body is now bracing itself for an overwhelming number of challenges and appeals, with some parents even threatening legal action.

CCEA boss Justin Edwards argued that if it went by teacher assessments, the number of pupils achieving A or A* grades would have risen by nearly 12% - which would not have allowed for "confidence in the value of the qualification we were issuing".

Royal Belfast Academical Institution principal Janet Williamson said that a fifth of its grades were down, adding there had been "a steady stream of appeals" since 8am.

"About 20% of our grades have been lowered," she said, adding that she was, however, "very happy" that 95% of pupils got three A* to Cs.

"But some pupils haven't been given their university place. One boy who needed three Bs has been downgraded to a B and 2Cs and the university has already rejected him."

Ms Williamson said the 2020 results could have been based on teacher predictions.

"For one year, if the grades had been slightly higher than normal, it wouldn't be something to worry about," she said.

"People should have trusted the professional judgment of teachers, based on rigorous assessments."

Meanwhile Gary Kelly, principal of St Kevin's College in Lisnaskea told how his devastated pupils were saying: "You know me Sir or Miss, I am much better than these grades. Look at my exams in school, my coursework, my GCSE results."
ROME (Reuters) - Prosecutors have investigated Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and six members of his government over how they handled the coronavirus crisis, but have recommended the case be dropped, Conte's office said on Thursday.

Judicial sources confirmed the prosecutors had investigated the ministers following lawsuits filed in recent months in various cities on accusations including manslaughter, creating a pandemic and curbing Italians' political rights.

The Rome-based prosecutors concluded that the accusations were groundless and the case should be dropped, the premier's office said in a statement.

Under a standard procedure, the prosecutors sent the files to the Ministers Tribunal, a special court which is called to rule on cases involving the prime minister and other ministers and which could still order Conte and his ministers to face trial. However this is considered unlikely following the prosecutors' recommendation.

The ministers involved along with Conte are Health Minister Roberto Speranza, Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri, Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, Defence Minister Lorenzo Guerini and Justice Minister Alfonso Bonafede.

Italy was the first European country to be hit hard by the coronavirus and has recorded more than 35,000 deaths since its outbreak came to light on Feb. 21.

Conte said on Facebook on Thursday, "We always took responsibility for (our) decisions. Very demanding ones, at times painful, taken without having a manual, guidelines, or protocols".

"We always acted (supported by) science and with conscience, without claiming to be infallible, and aware that we must make as few mistakes as possible," he said, adding that the government's actions were always "cautious and transparent".

In June Conte, Lamorgese and Speranza were questioned by prosecutors about the country's response to the epidemic.

At the time Conte said he would tell prosecutors everything he knew and was not worried by the possibility he could be personally investigated.

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Conte's office said on Thursday that he and the ministers would fully cooperate with magistrates.

(This story corrects first name of Health Minister Roberto Speranza in fifth paragraph)

(Reporting by Domenico Lusi and Giulia Segreti; Editing by Gavin Jones and Frances Kerry)
President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen on Thursday released the foreword of his upcoming book on working for the president, which says it will detail scandalous actions that include a back channel to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, "golden showers" at a Vegas sex club and lying to Trump's wife Melania about his sexual infidelities.

Cohen in the foreword says that "Trump had colluded with the Russians, but not in the sophisticated ways imagined by his detractors" and "cheated in the election, with Russian connivance, as you will discover in these pages, because doing anything  and I mean anything  to 'win' has always been his business model and way of life."

The fallen lawyer in his book, "Disloyal, A Memoir," also calls Trump a "cheat, a liar, a fraud, a bully, a racist, a predator, a con man" whom he loyally served for years before Cohen turned on him after falling under federal criminal investigation.

"One last thing I can say with great confidence, as you turn the page and meet the real real Donald Trump for the first time: This is a book the President of the United States does not want you to read," Cohen writes in the foreword, which was posted online.

"When Trump wanted to reach Russian President Vladimir Putin, via a secret back channel, I was tasked with making the connection in my Keystone Kop fashion," Cohen writes.

"I stiffed contractors on his behalf, ripped off his business partners, lied to his wife Melania to hide his sexual infidelities, and bullied and screamed at anyone who threatened Trump's path to power," Cohen wrote.

"From golden showers in a sex club in Vegas, to tax fraud, to deals with corrupt officials from the former Soviet Union, to catch and kill conspiracies to silence Trump's clandestine lovers, I wasn't just a witness to the president's rise  I was an active and eager participant."

Tweet

Cohen also writes that, "Trump had also continued to pursue a major real estate deal in Moscow during the campaign."

"He attempted to insinuate himself into the world of President Vladimir Putin and his coterie of corrupt billionaire oligarchs," Cohen wrote.

"I know because I personally ran that deal and kept Trump and his children closely informed of all updates, even as the candidate blatantly lied to the American people saying, 'there's no Russian collusion, I have no dealings with Russia  there's no Russia.'"

A website set up for the book contains a link for pre-ordering it. The book is selling for $32.50, but buyers who want a copy signed by Cohen can get one for $40.

Cohen earlier on Thursday tweeted out a photo of the cover of the book with, along with the message: "Coming Soon."

Cohen book Tweet

The tweet came weeks after Cohen, a Manhattan resident, was rereleased from a prison after a legal dispute over federal probation officials' efforts to bar him from publishing a book, speaking to reporters or posting on social media while serving the remainder of a three-year criminal sentence under home confinement.

Cohen declined to comment to CNBC on the book.

Cohen has indicated he plans to publish the book before the November presidential election, when Trump will face presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

Trump has considered Cohen disloyal to him because the former fixer cooperated with federal and state prosecutors in investigations of the president. One of those probes is by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, which could be eyeing Trump and his company for possible bank and insurance fraud.

Trump said that Cohen was "lying to reduce his jail time."

But Cohen, who since last year has publicly condemned the president in heated terms, considers Trump disloyal to his oath of office, among other infractions.

In testimony to Congress before he entered prison in early 2019, Cohen called Trump a "racist" and a "con man."

The White House slammed Cohen's book as "fan fiction."

Spokesman Brian Morgenstern said Cohen "readily admits to lying routinely but expects people to believe him now so that he can make money from book sales. It's unfortunate that the media is exploiting this sad and desperate man to attack President Trump."

The book comes on the heels of damning books about Trump by the president's niece, Mary Trump, and by his former national security advisor John Bolton.

Legal efforts by Trump's brother, Robert, to block Mary Trump's book and by the Justice Department to stop Bolton's book failed.

In May, Charles Harder, a lawyer for the Trump Organization, sent Cohen a letter warning him that he would be at legal risk if he wrote a book about his time working for Trump.

The letter came nearly two weeks after The Daily Beast reported that Cohen had been "writing an explosive tell-all book about his stint" as Trump's lawyer "and plans on releasing it before the election."

The actor Tom Arnold, who had been in contact with Cohen while he was in prison, told The Daily Beast that "the book would pull no punches."
Emory Faculty Speak: On This Time (Summer 2020) and This Place (ATL) Monday, Aug. 17

4 p.m.

Online Register here.

Faculty will come together on Monday, Aug. 17, to discuss our current historic moment; the convergence of social and health inequities and the need for advocacy; the importance of Atlanta, such as its history, social currency, vibrant communities of activism, and artists colonies; and the ways students can productively process and engage with these issues with an inquisitiveness that will promote cultural literacy, perspective-taking and social and personal responsibility for engagement.

The virtual discussion, titled Emory Faculty Speak: On This Time (Summer 2020) and This Place (ATL) takes place at 4 p.m. It is part of orientation for new students, and is free and open to all members of the Emory community. Register online here.

Andra Gillespie, associate professor of political science in Emory College and director of the James Weldon Johnson Institute, will host.

Panelists include:

Pearl Dowe, Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Political Science and African American Studies, Emory College of Arts and Sciences and Oxford College

Gregory Ellison, associate professor of pastoral care and counseling, Candler School of Theology

Tayari Jones, Charles Howard Candler Professor of English and Creative Writing, Emory College

Carl Suddler, assistant professor, Department of History, Emory College.

The event is a partnership between Campus Life, the Office of Undergraduate Education, New Student Programs, the Office of Undergraduate Affairs and the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Those requiring accommodations for a disability to participate should contact New Student Programs at ec.orientation@emory.edu for assistance.
Dubai (AFP) - Yemen's Huthi rebels have given UN inspectors the green light to inspect a decaying oil tanker abandoned off the coast with 1.1 million barrels of crude on board which experts say could rupture at any time.

A breach of the vessel would have disastrous results for Red Sea marine life and tens of thousands of impoverished people who depend on fishing for their livelihood.

The 45-year-old FSO Safer is anchored off the port of Hodeida under the control of the Iran-backed Huthis, who have previously blocked efforts to send inspectors to assess its condition.

The UN Security Council will hold a special meeting on July 15 to discuss the crisis, after water entered the vessel's engine room "which could have led to disaster", UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Friday.

Dujarric said prospects had been revived for an inspection team to conduct light repairs and determine the next steps, and a UN source said Sunday that the Huthis had agreed to the visit.

"They officially approved the visit of the UN assessment and repair team to the tanker," the source told AFP on Sunday.

Effectively a floating storage platform, the Safer has had virtually no maintenance for five years since war broke out in the country where the Huthis have seized much of the north from the internationally recognised government.

The Yemen government has warned the Safer could explode and cause "the largest environmental disaster regionally and globally".

Top Huthi leader Mohammed Ali al-Huthi said on Twitter last month that the rebels want guarantees the vessel will be repaired and that the value of the oil on board is used to pay salaries of their employees.

The market value of the oil is now estimated at $40 million, half what it was before crude prices crashed, although experts say poor quality could push it even lower.

Like other economic and aid issues in Yemen, the plight of the tanker has become a bargaining chip, with the Huthis accused of using the threat of disaster to secure control of the value of the cargo.

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Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed on Thursday said the money for the oil should be spent on health and humanitarian projects.

- 'Ticking time bomb'

Apart from corrosion to the ageing vessel, essential work on reducing explosive gases in the storage tanks has been neglected for years. Experts said the latest problem emerged in May with a leak in a cooling pipe.

"The pipe burst, sending water into the engine room and creating a really dangerous situation," said Ian Ralby, CEO of IR Consilium, a global maritime consultancy which follows the vessel closely.

A team from Yemen's Safer Exploration and Production Operations, a public oil company partly controlled by the Huthis, sent divers in to fix the leak, narrowly avoiding the ship sinking, Ralby said.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned last week that if the tanker ruptures "it will devastate the Red Sea ecosystem" and disrupt key shipping lanes.

"The Huthis must grant access before this ticking time bomb explodes," he said.

Hodeida port is a lifeline for northern Yemen with 90 percent of all supplies coming through it. Any disruption would inflict further hardship on a country which is again on the brink of famine after long years of conflict.

If the vessel ruptures "you're going to have two catastrophes", said Lise Grande, the UN's humanitarian coordinator for Yemen.

"There's going to be an environmental catastrophe that's bigger than almost any other similar kind ... and it's going to be a humanitarian catastrophe because that oil will make the port of Hodeida unusable," she told AFP.

Independent Yemen-based environmental group Holm Akhdar -- Arabic for "Green Dream" -- warned an oil spill could stretch out from the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and into the Arabian Sea.

The region's ecology would need over 30 years to recover from an oil spillage of that size, it said in a recent report, adding that about 115 of Yemen's Red Sea islands would lose their biodiversity and natural habitats.

In a country where the majority of people already rely on aid to survive, an estimated 126,000 fishermen, including 68,000 in Hodeida, would lose their only source of income.

IR Consilium said any salvage operation after an oil spill would be greatly hampered by the coronavirus crisis.

"In the midst of a global pandemic and on the edge of a conflict zone, the chances of an early and adequate response are vanishingly small," it said in a report.

Doug Weir, research and policy director at the UK-based Conflict and Environment Observatory, said that without an independent assessment "it is impossible to determine when an incident might occur, or its form and severity".

"However the risks are clear, and the longer the dispute continues, the greater they become, and the more complex and expensive any salvage operation will be."
The future is in good hands

Catherine Grenier

Nature Conservancy of Canada

Nature Conservancy of Canada

TORONTO, Aug. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Board of Directors of the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is pleased to announce it has unanimously chosen Catherine Grenier as the organizations next President and CEO. The announcement caps a national search for an exceptional leader to guide the non-profit conservation group towards an exciting future.



An award-winning leader, Grenier has held executive positions with some of Canadas foremost nature conservation organizations. Currently, as vice president for national parks operations with Sepaq, she is responsible for the management and development of 27 Quebec parks and resorts. In the past four years, she has mobilized the Sepaq team to generate an increase of more than 40 per cent in visits to the provinces parks network.

Prior to joining Sepaq, Grenier held senior roles with Parks Canada where among her achievements, she led the process to create Canadas first national urban park, in Torontos Rouge Valley.

We are delighted to welcome Catherine to the Nature Conservancy of Canada, says Elana Rosenfeld, Chair of NCCs Board of Directors. Catherines deep understanding of conservation, community engagement and non-profit management is essential as we embark on a new strategic plan to implement our vision for the future of conservation in Canada. She is a community builder and an innovation champion, and our donors and partners can be assured the future of NCC is in good hands.

Grenier holds a bachelors degree in public administration from Carleton University and a masters degree in business administration from the University of Ottawa. She received the 2016 Award of Excellence from the Canadian Parks Council in recognition of her community leadership. Her work in protected areas has been recognized with several awards including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.

Grenier says she is thrilled to be joining the Nature Conservancy of Canada. I am honoured to have been selected to lead a team which is shaping the future of conservation in Canada, she says. This is such a unique opportunity to accelerate the scope and scale of conservation in our country, to connect with Canadians, and to build lasting support for nature. I cant wait to get started.

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Greniers appointment is effective on September 28, 2020. She takes over the position from John Lounds who has led the organization through 24 years of exceptional growth and success. Consistent with a previously announced transition plan, Lounds will serve as a senior advisor to NCC until his planned retirement in the spring of 2021.

About

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is the nations leading not-for-profit, private land conservation organization, working to protect our most important natural areas and the species they sustain. Since 1962, NCC and its partners have helped to protect 14 million hectares (35 million acres), coast to coast to coast. To learn more, visit natureconservancy.ca.

Images

Find a profile image of Catherine Grenier, and examples of NCCs conservation areas across the country here.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/080adf3e-7e26-4808-8c96-dc626989c0b4




A paramilitary police officer stands guard in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, on March 11, 2018. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images)

China Influences Europe Through Friendship Groups: Report

The Chinese regime is exerting influence in Europe via so-called friendship groups, which serve as the Communist Partys front organizations, a think tank has revealed.

China friendship groups are civic organizations set up ostensibly to foster ties with China but are in fact part of the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) united front apparatus, promoting the regimes power and influence overseas, a report by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA), a Washington-based think tank, said.

These groups are often disguised as homegrown organizations run by the host countries own citizensoften elites drawn from Europes political class and business community, including former and active politicians, CSBA said.

But, the report said, they are actually CCP front organizations, tied to the Party via both direct and indirect channels, and they act as mouthpieces and intermediaries for advancing Chinas domestic priorities and foreign policy goals.

Chinese ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming speaks to the gathered crowd in Trafalgar Square as people celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year in central London on Feb. 18, 2018. (Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images)

These groups that on the surface might appear to be organically formed by Europeans are actually ones that have been receiving direction in some way by Beijing-based actors, Jack Bianchi, a CSBA research fellow who co-authored the report, told NTD, an affiliate of The Epoch Times.

The friendship groups are linked to institutions within China from which the groups obtain access, visibility, resources, and possibly direction, according to the report. These institutions may fall under the formal united front system, or work outside of it.

For example, the Chinese Peoples Association For Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), a Beijing-based united front organ, appears to be linked with many of these friendship groups, CSBA said.

In February, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called out the CPAFFC as the public face of the Chinese Communist Partys official foreign influence agency, the United Front Work Department.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks to reporters during a media briefing at the State Department in Washington on May 6, 2020. (Kevin Lamarque/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The Chinese regime relies on the lure of prestige, access, and resources to groom and co-opt foreign proxies, exerting a corrupting influence on leading citizens of Europe, the CSBA researchers found.

These co-opted foreign elites parrot the Partys talking points, deflect narratives harmful to Beijings image, host public events that showcase the Partys virtues, promote trade and investment, encourage technology transfers, and voice support for policies favorable to China.

These friendship groups also seek to divide and conquer by sowing division in their host countries and in the European Union.

Part of the work of these friendship groups is to sow division among political and business elites, in these foreign countries, in these regional blocks, so that they are not able to form a coherent voice on China policy, Bianchi said.

The report urged European policymakers to put these groups under greater scrutiny and set measures to increase transparency and accountability.

Europe should cooperate with democratic governments around the world that face similar challenges from the CCP, the report said.

Jane Werrell of NTD, an affiliate of The Epoch Times, contributed to this report.
Cannabix is developing Marijuana Breathalyzer devices to give law enforcement and employers a tool to enhance public safety

Cannabix Technologies Inc.

Cannabix Technologies Inc. THC Breath Analyzer Ver 2.0 Subject Testing

Cannabix Technologies Inc. THC Breath Analyzer Ver 2.0 Subject Testing

Cannabix Technologies Inc.

Cannabix Technologies Inc. THC Breath Analyzer Ver 2.0 Subject Testing

Cannabix Technologies Inc. THC Breath Analyzer Ver 2.0 Subject Testing

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cannabix Technologies Inc. (CSE: BLO) (OTC PINK: BLOZF) (the Company or Cannabix) developer of the Cannabix Marijuana Breathalyzer for law enforcement and the workplace, is pleased to report that it has been performing user testing with human subjects in Vancouver, BC with its version 2.0 THC Breath Analyzer (THCBA). The THCBA device currently provides results in under five minutes. Cannabix has been testing the THCBA device with positive and negative cannabis breath samples with the objective of further training the devices machine learning database and optimizing components for its upcoming (more robust) version 3.0 device. In recent weeks, Company engineers have also been focusing on device scalability, reducing device production costs, and have tested new thermoplastic soft molded components that would allow for higher durability, and reproducibility. Additional sensors are being incorporated into the device that will integrate more breath sample meta-data and will allow for device usage under a wider range of environmental conditions. Engineers have also developed a technique for sanitization of the device between users, and the GUI for the device has been simplified for administrators. Many of these improvements have been incorporated into the current device and other improvements are scheduled to be included into a version 3.0 device that will undergo more widespread pilot use. Recent pictures of user testing activity with the THCBA version 2.0 are included in this press release and available on the Companys website at www.cannabixtechnologies.com.



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The user testing procedure includes a baseline breath sample prior to the subject smoking cannabis followed by samples taken after smoking cannabis at multiple time points up to a minimum of 2 hours. Newly available images show how a subject interacts with the device at various stages of use. The testing process includes a sampling stage, an analysis stage, and the results stage - showing when THC is detected (a positive result) and when THC is not detected (a negative result).

The THCBA incorporates microfluidic sensor technology for the detection of THC from breath. The Company has been developing the THCBA with Dr. Mina Hoorfar at University of British Columbia Okanagan campus (UBC) and has an exclusive technology license agreement with UBC. Cannabix Technologies is on the forefront in research and development to create point-of-care breath testing technologies for the detection of 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) - the psychoactive component of marijuana that causes impairment.

About Cannabix Technologies Inc.

Cannabix Technologies Inc. is a leader in marijuana breathalyzer development for law enforcement and the workplace. Cannabix has established breath testing technologies in the pursuit of bringing accurate, durable, portable tools to market to enable detection of marijuana-impaired driving offences on roads at a time when marijuana is becoming legal in many global jurisdictions. Cannabix is working to develop drug-testing devices that will detect THC- the psychoactive component of marijuana that causes intoxication- using breath samples. In particular, Cannabix is focused on developing breath testing devices for detection of recent use of THC, in contrast to urine testing for THC metabolite that requires an invasive collection and reflects usage, days or even weeks earlier. The devices will also be useful for other practical applications such as testing employees in the workplace where impairment by THC can be hazardous.

We seek Safe Harbor.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Rav Mlait

CEO

Cannabix Technologies Inc.

For further information, contact the Company at info@cannabixtechnologies.com

The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements



This press release contains forward-looking information that involves various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. Such forward-looking information can include without limitation statements based on current expectations involving a number of risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance of the Company, such as final development of a commercial or prototype product(s), successful trial or pilot of company technologies, no assurance that commercial sales of any kind actually materialize; no assurance the Company will have sufficient funds to complete product development. There are numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and the Companys plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information, including: (i) adverse market conditions; (ii) risks regarding protection of proprietary technology; (iii) the ability of the Company to complete financings; (iv) the ability of the Company to develop and market its future product; and (v) risks regarding government regulation, managing and maintaining growth, the effect of adverse publicity, litigation, competition and other factors which may be identified from time to time in the Company's public announcements and filings. There is no assurance that the marijuana breathalyzer business will provide any benefit to the Company, and no assurance that any proposed new products will be built or proceed. There is no assurance that existing patent pending technologies licensed by the Company will receive patent status by regulatory authorities. The Company is not currently selling commercial breathalyzers. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. These and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking information are based on estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ebc13a7e-1dc7-4b41-9a5c-4e34a406ebd2

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/eb3a4104-7987-43d6-a7e2-2fed8328f6c7




To the outside world, Genghis Khan, the fearsome Mongolian warrior who conquered half the known world in the 13th century, is remembered for his brutalities and destruction that he brought upon the conquered regions resulting in the death of forty million people. But to Mongolians, he is a national hero, a larger-than-life figure and the symbol of Mongolian culture, and for good reasons. Genghis Khan founded the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history, revived the Silk Road, uniting warring tribes and was responsible for cementing the position of Mongols in the worlds map.

After Mongolia overthrew communist rule more than 20 years ago, there appeared a slew of monuments and products celebrating the famous personage known locally as Chinggis Khaan. Mongolia's main international airport in Ulaanbaatar is named Chinggis Khaan International Airport, students attend Chinggis Khaan University and tourists can stay at the Chinggis Khaan Hotel. His face can be found on everyday commodities, from liquor bottles to candy products, and on bank notes.

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In 2008, a gigantic statue of Genghis Khan riding on horseback was erected on the bank of the Tuul River at Tsonjin Boldog, 54 km east of the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar, where according to legend, he found a golden whip. The statue is 40 meters tall and wrapped in 250 tons of gleaming stainless steel. It stands on top of the Genghis Khan Statue Complex, a visitor center that itself is 10 meters tall, with 36 columns representing the 36 khans from Genghis to Ligdan Khan. The statue is symbolically pointed east towards his birthplace.

Inside the two-story base of the statue, visitors can see a replica of Genghis Khans legendary golden whip, sample traditional cuisine of horse meat and potatoes, or play billiards. Visitors can ascend to the exhibition hall using an elevator at the back of the horse and then walk to the horses head passing through its chest and the back of its neck from where they can have an excellent panoramic view over the complex area and the scenery beyond.

The Chinggis Khan Statue is currently the biggest equestrian statue in the world.

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Photo credit

Photo credit

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Sources: NYTimes, Wikipedia
Its not Cam-el-uh. Not Kuh-mahl-uh, either. Or Karmel-uh. Its Kamala. Kamala Harris.

This is from an ad Harris, now 55, ran in 2016 when she was running for the US senate from California. It was meant for Californians to whom Harris was not exactly a stranger. She had been in public life for years in the state by then and was then serving the second of her two four-year terms as the states top law enforcement officer, the attorney general.

On Tuesday night, four years after those ads and Harriss successful senate run, Tucker Carlson, host of Americas highest-rated prime-time cable news show, lost it when a guest insisted on air that Carlson correctly pronounce the name of the person Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, picked to be his running mate.

So it begins; youre not allowed to criticize Ka-MAL-a Harris, or KAM-a-la Harris...or whatever? Carlson said in exasperation, before conceding, Ok look, I unintentionally mispronounced her name.

The Biden-Harris campaign might want to send Carlson a link to her senate race ad  which featured a bunch of children explaining how to get the name right  or just air it again.

Born on October 20, 1964, Harris was named Kamala Devi by her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, who was from Chennai. Our classical Indian names harked back to our Indian heritage and we were raised with a strong awareness of and appreciation for India culture, Harris wrote in The Truth We hold: An American journey, her autobiography. Her only sibling  a younger sister  is named Maya Harris. Their last names are from their father Jonathan Harris, who is from Jamaica.

The parents separated when Harris was seven, and five years later, the family moved to Montreal, Canada, where her mother had accepted a research position at a university.

After graduating from Howard University, a predominantly Black university in Washington DC years later, Harris went on to study law at Hastings, University of Californian, in San Francisco. She became a lawyer in 1990.

Harris returned to her hometown Oakland, and joined the Alameda county district attorneys office as a deputy in 1991, to begin shortly a career that would set her on path to the vice-presidential nomination on Tuesday, as the first Indian-American, first South Asian-American and the first Asian-American male or female to ever make it onto a presidential ticket. Thats from her mothers side. On her fathers side, she is the first African- American male or female to run for vice-president on a major partys ticket.

And, another series of firsts awaits her on November 3, election night, if the Biden-Harris ticket prevails.

In 2003, Harris was elected district attorney in San Francisco. That would be the start of the firsts. Her election made her the first woman district attorney of the city, the first Black woman and the first South Asian woman in the state to hold that job and, of course, the first Indian-American, of any gender.

That election also handed her one of her lifes most enduring controversies. On the first year on the job, a San Francisco police officer was killed on duty by a man using an automatic rifle. Harris, who had run for office as an opponent of the death penalty, did not seek capital punishment for the accused, which earned her the hostility of the police force in the city and the state. And it is an issue that is cited in almost every profile of her written since.

The Trump campaign will not pass it up as an opportunity to portray the Biden-Harris ticket as weak on law enforcement, as a contrast to the presidents strong stand on the issue in the backdrop of the ongoing anti-racism protests and demand from certain quarters for defunding the police. It started Tuesday night, in fact. She is now trying to bury her egregious record as a prosecutor in order to appease the anti-police extremists that are now controlling the radicalized Democrat Party, said Katrina Pierson, a senior Trump 2020 adviser. Kamala is in this for political convenience, it is clearly her primary motivator.

The Trump campaign and Republicans by and large understood well how formidable Harris can be. President Trump himself had conceded recently she would be a fine choice for Biden. Now, however, its different. I thought she was the meanest, the most horrible, most disrespectful of anybody in the US senate, Trump said to reporters, referring to senator Harriss grilling of Brett Kavanaugh, the presidents nominee for the Supreme Court at a bruising confirmation hearing.

Harris has built over the years a formidable reputation as, among other things, a tough and tenacious interrogator. From her seat on the senate judicial committee, she could nail squirming witnesses with a steady, unrelenting gaze and unwavering questioning,which invariably went viral.

Mike Pence, the vice-president, might find himself in that seat next.
A father-of-six is warning his felon girlfriend to curtail her drinking because he's worried she will break the law and lose the $50,000 parole bond he posted for her.

Shawn, 45, from Las Vegas, Nevada, fell for his new love Destinie online when she was still in prison. Less than 24 hours after her release, he is raising concerns about her drinking after their first night together, but she just wants to have fun.

In a preview clip from Friday night's episode of the We TV reality series Love After Lockup, Shawn is sitting in bed with Destinie as he broaches the topic of her drinking, saying it made things 'a little bit worse' on their first day together.

Scroll down for video

Laying down the law: Shawn tells Destinie he doesn't want her to drink in a preview clip from Friday's episode of Love After Lockup

Worries: Shawn admits he is worried she will break the law or miss her court date and cost him the $50,000 parole bond he posted for her, but she says she wants to have 'fun'

It wasn't until the day she got out of jail that Shawn admitted that he had been lying to her. Not only is he 10 years older than she is, but he also has more kids than she realized.

Shawn awkwardly tries to say that she 'overreacted' to some things that happened, but she is not letting him off the hook.

'The lies you mean?' she asks.

He switches gears and brings the focus back to her drinking ahead of her upcoming court date. When he posted her bond, he was warned that she has skipped a court date before and was considered a flight risk. Now it seems that reality is finally sinking it.

Red flag: Shawn says in his testimonial that he needs to 'be a lot more controlling' of her actions in the next 17 days leading up to her court date

No thanks: Destinie insists she isn't going to do anything to jeopardize her freedom now that she is out of prison, but she refuses to stop drinking

'The only concerns I have about your drinking is you going out and doing something stupid, and, especially, before your court date,' he says.

'I just need to make sure that you stay out of trouble and everything because of that bond, you know, 'cause $50,000 is a lot of money to have on the line.'

Destinie insists she isn't going to do anything to jeopardize her freedom now that she is out of prison.

'I'm not ever going back, but if I want to drink sometimes, I'm going to drink,' she says. 'I want to have fun.'

Shawn says in his testimonial that he needs to 'be a lot more controlling' of her actions in the next 17 days leading up to her court date.

Take that: 'I'm not ever going back [to prison], but if I want to drink sometimes, I'm going to drink,' she tells Shawn

Let me be: In her testimonial, Destinie points out that she had already told Shawn she is a 'party girl,' saying this is what she wants to do now that she is out of prison

'I'm hoping that this would be the first time she doesn't run and that she actually stands up for her responsibilities,' he adds. 'You know, if she missed court, that'd be almost a $100,000 I've spent on Destinie. That's a lot of money.'

Destinie warns Shawn not to 'suffocate' her or try to 'control' her now that she is out of prison because it won't work.

'We're gonna go have fun. Like, we're gonna be in Vegas like this,' she tells him. 'We're not gonna be squares.'

In her testimonial, she gripes that they haven't even been together for 24 hours, and he is already trying to tell her she can't drink.

'I already had told him, like, I'm a f*****g party girl. This is what I want to do,' she says. 'Like, I want to have fun. I want to drink. It's legal. Like, it's very frustrating to me.'
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Regular Press Conference on August 13, 2020

2020/08/13

Yonhap News: Reports say that Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi is going to visit South Korea next week. Can you confirm that?

Zhao Lijian: China and the ROK are important close neighbors and cooperation partners, and the two sides maintain close communication on exchanges and cooperation in various fields, including at higher levels. We will release information in a timely manner once we have it.

China Review News: The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has announced on August 12 that it issued notices to the German Consulate General Hong Kong and the Consulate General of France in Hong Kong and Macau respectively to suspend the implementation of the Agreement between the Government of the HKSAR of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany for the Surrender of Fugitive Offenders (SFO) and to shelve the Agreement between the Government of the HKSAR of the PRC and the Government of the French Republic Concerning Surrender of Accused or Convicted Persons which is pending entry into force. Is this a countermeasure to the suspension of extradition treaties with Hong Kong by Germany and France?

Zhao Lijian: Germany unilaterally announced suspension of the agreement on the surrender of fugitive offenders with Hong Kong and France halted the ratification of the relevant agreement with Hong Kong. Germany and France have politicized judicial cooperation, interfered in China's internal affairs, and violated international law and basic norms governing international relations. The Chinese side firmly opposes such moves.

Under the framework of the agreement on the surrender of fugitive offenders, the HKSAR, with the Central Government's assistance and mandate and in accordance with the Basic Law, has offered assistance to the German side, and it has ratified the agreement on the surrender of fugitive offenders with France. Germany and France, by wrongfully politicizing judicial cooperation with Hong Kong, have damaged the foundation for such cooperation and deviated from its purpose of upholding justice and rule of law. Therefore, China has decided that the HKSAR will suspend the implementation of the SFO agreement between the HKSAR and Germany and shelve the SFO agreement between the HKSAR and France.

CRI: According to USCBC 2020 Member Survey released on August 11, nearly 70 percent of the American companies surveyed are optimistic about the five-year commercial prospects of the Chinese market. As a result of their long-term confidence in the China market, 87 percent of the respondents reported no plans to shift production out of China. Do you have a comment?

Zhao Lijian: We noted the USCBC 2020 Member Survey. The results attest to global confidence in the Chinese market, business environment and economic prospects for foreign businesses.

Amid the huge economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, China's economy withstood the test and demonstrated strong resilience and growth potential. We brought the epidemic under control with timely and effective measures and then went all out with resumption of economic activities to restore life and work back to normalcy. As a result, economic growth turned positive in the second quarter and major indicators resumed growth, bringing the economy steadily onto the path of recovery. China became the first major economy to resume positive growth.

Meanwhile we pressed ahead with opening-up and international trade cooperation, boosting global demand and promoting international trade. During the first half of the year, many foreign companies further expanded their investment in China, with 320 major projects drawing more than $100 million input each. Leading international institutions are optimistic about China's economic prospects, seeing China as a source of confidence and positive energy for world economic recovery.

China boasts a huge market with its 1.4 billion population and full-fledged industrial supporting systems. We will remain committed to opening-up and build an open platform with a better business environment. We believe China's development will provide more opportunities for foreign companies, and our win-win cooperation is bound to deliver greater benefits.

Xinhua News Agency: China and Nepal held the 13th round of China-Nepal diplomatic consultation yesterday. Do you have more details on that? What expectations does China have for China-Nepal relations ahead?

Zhao Lijian: Yesterday the foreign ministries of China and Nepal held the 13th round of China-Nepal diplomatic consultation via video to exchange views on bilateral relations and regional and international issues of mutual interest. A press release has been issued and you may refer to that.

China and Nepal are friendly neighbors linked by mountains and rivers. The heads of state of our two countries exchanged successful visits last year and elevated bilateral relations to new heights. This year marks the 65th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between the two sides, and the leaders of China and Nepal sent congratulatory messages to each other on this occasion. The two countries have also stood together and lent mutual assistance to each other during the fight against COVID-19, which further enhanced our mutual trust and friendship.

China stands ready to work with Nepal to implement the consensus of the two leaders, continue to strengthen anti-epidemic cooperation, pursue quality BRI cooperation, deepen cooperation on economy, trade and investment, inter-connectivity, development assistance, defense and law enforcement security and people-to-people exchanges and work for greater progress in bilateral relations.

Shenzhen TV: US Secretary of State Pompeo said in a speech during his visit to the Czech Republic that compared with Russia, "an even greater threat is the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party and its campaigns of coercion and control", and that "Americans now recognize that the CCP...threatens their values and their way of life". He also criticized China's COVID-19 response and its domestic and foreign policy including on Hong Kong, Xinjiang and the South China Sea. Does China have any comment on this?

Zhao Lijian: Driven by a Cold War mentality and selfish gains, Pompeo has been wantonly criticizing the CPC and China's domestic and foreign policy. China has stated its solemn position on this repeatedly.

Wherever Pompeo goes, he brings political viruses and disinformation with him. The Chinese embassy in the Czech Republic has just published a press release for "disinfection". We don't want to waste more time on refuting Pompeo's lies. Perhaps some of you can do me a favor and ask if he can sleep soundly at night after repeating shameless lies against China like a feverish man day after day?

Pompeo and his like attempt to hijack the international community onto their anti-communism and anti-China chariot and use other countries as their pawns. However, the world can see through this and won't fall for it. Peace-loving people will not allow it. And China will not let it disrupt its pace. The futile attempt of Pompeo and his like is doomed to fail.

I'll end on a Czech saying to the effect that "He who digs a pit for others will fall into it himself".
She recently returned from a romantic getaway to Dubai with her boyfriend Tom Brazier.

And Laura Anderson was feeling reflective on Thursday as she shared a sizzling throwback snap to Instagram from her getaway.

In the snap, the Love Island babe, 31, displayed her toned frame in a tiny red underwear set.

Red hot! Laura Anderson displayed her toned frame in a tiny red thong underwear set for a new sizzling Instagram snap on Thursday

Laura opted for a comfy sports-bra style top and high-rise thong bottoms as she sultrily posed on a bed.

The Scottish reality star styled her caramel locks into a relaxed loose hairdo and added a slick of glamorous make-up.

She knew how to work her best angles as she sultrily posed on her hotel bed for the sizzling snap.

Laura captioned the photo with: 'Not a fan of normal bras,' followed by two strawberry emojis.

Baywatch: The Love Island babe, 31, has been sharing a slew of snaps from her recent getaway to Dubai with boyfriend Tom Brazier

The reality star has been sharing a slew of snaps from her recent getaway to Dubai with boyfriend Tom Brazier.

The couple appear to be going from strength-to-strength, and have been marking off multiple trips abroad since the lockdown restrictions relaxed.

On Sunday, the brunette beauty posted a picture looking effortlessly stylish in an angular printed black, nude, and cream bikini and her hair in a relaxed top knot bun.

Laura appeared in much better spirits compared to her trip last month, where she and her boyfriend were left left extremely shaken after they were targeted by a thief as they enjoyed a late-night walk in Barcelona.

Happy couple: The couple appear to be going from strength-to-strength, and have been marking off multiple trips abroad since the lockdown restrictions relaxed

Taking to her Instagram stories, the emotional star urged her followers to be safe as she recounted the terrifying incident.

She said: 'So last night was horrible. Me and Tom decided to walk for a bit, try and get a photo and basically got mugged

'Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. You just get this gut feeling these two guys were watching us. Tom kept saying, "It's fine, it's fine", and we hailed a cab to go home.

'Tom opened the door for me and was like "in you go" and I was like "it's fine, I'll go round to the side" which I'm glad I did because when Tom went to get in, the guy came from nowhere and pushed him.'
To the Editor:

Like New York City (news article, Aug. 5), in Cook County, Illinois, we have seen a rise in shootings. Our efforts at bail reform, which have been progressing for years along with a corresponding drop in shootings, were suddenly blamed for the rise. The data we have clearly show that reform has had no impact on rates of re-arrest in general or re-arrest for violent offenses.

In Chicago and its suburbs, only 1 percent of those arrested on gun felonies in early 2020 have been arrested on similar charges recently, according to data from the Cook County States Attorneys office.

The tendency for law enforcement to shift the blame to courts, which are simply following the law and best practices, is not productive. The recent rise in shootings during the Covid-19 pandemic has more readily traceable causes: rampant access to guns coupled with the economic crisis of a lifetime.

Moreover, there is the longstanding lack of economic opportunity and investment in these communities. These are not wholly or even mainly law enforcements problems to solve but rather all of ours. We will not police our way out of this crisis.
Farmers are being encouraged to become Make it ambassadors and play a leading role in promoting Scotch PGI meat.

The ambassadors will take on a new role in driving recipe inspiration and key positive messages about Scottish meat production.

It kicks off with Scotch Lamb in the lead up to Love Lamb Week on 1  7 September 2020.

Chair of Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), Kate Rowell said the aim was to help upskill those within the industry to drive messages about sustainability, high-welfare and nutrition.

Farmers will increase consumer awareness with recipe inspiration, hints and tips to encourage shoppers to buy Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb and Specially Selected Pork.

Through our Make it ambassador programme we also hope to showcase the diversity of people who work hard to produce and supply world-class, quality assured Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb and Specially Selected Pork," she said.

The programme will include a series of toolkits, issued by QMS, which will include key messages on the benefits of eating red meat.

Graphics and videos will also be made available for ambassadors to share on an ongoing basis.

2019 Scotch Lamb ambassador, Michelle Stephen encouraged anyone in the Scottish red meat industry to get involved.

Being a Lambassador was a rewarding experience and the resources provided gave me the tools to confidently connect with consumers and showcase the field to fork journey."
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- With much of U.S. higher education online only this semester, and its more long-term future deeply uncertain, now is a time to dream big. My own fantasy is based on the Indian governments recent plan to encourage the top 100 universities in the world to operate in India.

Consider how the next 30 years might look if India were to allow the creation of a Princeton Mumbai, a Harvard Hyderabad or an Oxford Kolkata.

At first, most top U.S. universities would be reluctant to proceed boldly. Ventures abroad exist, such as the Yale-NUS College in Singapore, but they are usually smaller and less important relative to the home university. Top universities jealously guard their positions as exclusive institutions, and it would not be easy for Harvard (even pre-Covid-19) to hire faculty of comparable quality in India in most areas of academic study.

Still, some schools in the top 100 would start operations in India. Even if Harvard hesitated, schools such as University of Texas at Austin, Georgia Institute of Technology or perhaps one of the nearby Singaporean schools would not.

In my fantasy, the schools that are open to expanding their India operations will rise considerably in reputation. India, and South Asia more generally, is in the midst of a phenomenal explosion of talent in diverse fields. Sundar Pichai runs Alphabet and Google, and Satya Nadella runs Microsoft. Abhijit Banerjee recently won a Nobel Prize in economics. Vishy Anand is one of the worlds top chess players. Indian writers are famous around the world. And so on.

The universities that open significant branches in India thus would become among the very best in the world  not the top 100, but the top 50. India could find itself in a situation much like that of the U.S. in 1900, when most American universities and scholars lagged behind those of Europe but were within decades of overtaking them. Competitive pressures would kick in, and the very top schools that initially were reluctant to enter India would find themselves drawn in.

Story continues

You might wonder whether India actually needs all of these foreign branches, when it has some superb schools of its own, for instance the various Indian Institutes of Technology. In my fantasy, some Indian institutions of higher education will improve and force some competitors  shall we say UC Berkeley?  to leave the country. Yet many talented Indians will find attending a branch of Harvard or Yale to be an appealing option. Furthermore, the top foreign schools may form alliances with Indian institutions (as Yale has done in Singapore), giving students the best of both worlds.

This future gets better yet. Over time, the population of Indian alumni of prestigious U.S. universities will increase, relative to those who studied and graduated in America. Americas top schools thus will become engines of opportunity. It might also become obvious that the students attending in the U.S. are underperforming their Indian counterparts. What better way to light a competitive fire under the current dominant institutions?

And maybe some of the keenest and most ambitious American students will prefer to study in India rather than in America. (Perhaps a canceled American student could be sent to Brown Uttar Pradesh?) Wouldnt you want to study with the very best of your peers, knowing you might be sitting next to the next generations Einstein, von Neumann or, of course Ramanujan?

Best of all, Americas top schools would learn they could open their doors to many more students, while boosting the reach and prestige of their institutions overall. The success of Princeton Mumbai would lead to a much larger Princeton in New Jersey. After all, if they can admit more qualified students from Kerala, doesnt it follow that they can also accept more high-achieving kids from suburban Maryland? Or even, say, Detroit?

As I said, this is all a fantasy. Indian bureaucracy can be frustrating, Indian politics can be forbidding, and many talented faculty still seek to leave India rather than to move there, among other problems. Still, especially considering the implications of a rising India, this future no longer sounds crazy. An Indian expansion could be the best thing to happen to American and British higher education in this century.

Next stop: MIT Lagos!

(Corrects the description of Yale-NUS College in the third paragraph to show that it is a venture, not a branch campus.)

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Tyler Cowen is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is a professor of economics at George Mason University and writes for the blog Marginal Revolution. His books include "Big Business: A Love Letter to an American Anti-Hero."

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

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

2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Leimert Park Jazz Festival 2020: The Virtual Experience

Anyone who knows Attorney Diane Robertson will not be surprised that a global pandemic cant keep her signature event, the Leimert Park Jazz Festival, from taking place this year. Robertson is a force of nature when it comes to organizing, advocacy and building community. And, while gathering in the heart of Los Angeles Black community wont be possible this year, she has decided that the show must go on  online.

The Leimert Park Jazz Festival: The Virtual Experience will premiere Saturday, August 29 at 12 p.m. on Facebook Live. Robertson, the festivals founder and executive producer, is keeping it true to its mission. It will be a celebration of jazz, community, and the cultural heritage of Leimert Park  albeit virtually.

The festival began in 2015 as a simple block party called the Sutro Avenue Summer Soiree. Since then, it has grown in size and scope every year.

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Our first year, it rained on the morning of the event, and people were calling and texting me, asking What are you going to do? Are you going to cancel? I said, If Im the only one out there with an umbrella, this show is going on!, Robertson recalled. She fondly remembers the kind gesture from Lynetta McElroy, president of a nearby block club, who brought a green juice to her that morning to keep her energy up. Fortunately, the community came out, umbrellas in tow, and the event was a success.

The second year, Robertson added more community resources, activities such as chair yoga, and sponsors. By year three, the once small Sutro block party was drawing several hundred people over the course of the afternoon. The T.H.E. Clinic provided health screenings, Renee Fishers S.H.I.N.E. Mawusi Womens African Drum Circle kicked things off with a musical blessing, and one of the surprise hits of the event was a local square-dancing troupe.

In 2018, Robertson approached the Executive Director of The World Stage, Dwight Trible, and asked him to co-curate a jazz stage at the event. He agreed and it was enthusiastically received by attendees. The rest is history in the making.

Leimert Park did not have a core, eponymous jazz festival, and I thought that was a missed opportunity, Robertson said. I see the possibility of this becoming one of the premier jazz festivals in Los Angeles  certainly in South L.A. The Central Avenue corridor has much the same history, and that festival has been going on for almost two decades. Thats my vision for the Leimert Park Jazz Festival.

Since the festivals beginning, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and Los Angeles City Council President Emeritus Herb Wesson have been great supporters and sponsors.

Kudos to Diane for keeping this tradition going and creating a virtual experience where we all can still gather, said Supervisor Ridley-Thomas. I havent missed a year and Ill be there again on the 29th.

The great thing about having the festival move online is that now even more people will be able to enjoy the event, Wesson said. This is the perfect opportunity for people to pull up a chair and have the Leimert Park music experience right from their living rooms or backyards.

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The total run time for the show is about one and a half hours, instead of the usual seven, and each act will perform for about 15 minutes. There will also be a new component of the event this year  an art competition showcase.

In the run-up to the festival, local artists were invited to submit a piece of art that was visually expressive of the Leimert park community and its jazz legacy. The winning entry, by artist Wendel Wiggins, is featured on this years inaugural poster.

On the virtual stage, Trible is back as part of a lineup that includes Michael ONeill & Friends, Munyungo Jacksons Jungle Jazz Quartet, Sy Smith ft. The Myron McKinley Trio, and Mfuo. LeRoy Downs, the popular host numerous festivals and concerns, as well asof KKJZs Just Jazz program, returns as this years emcee.

Trible says performing live in an online jazz festival is now just part of the new normal for many working musicians.

Im starting to really embrace this new concept because you actually get to reach more people, Trible said.

What hasnt changed, whether it is performed live, in person, or in an online event, is the power of music to teach, soothe and heal, he said.

Robertson is hopeful live events will be back next year but, until then, shes thankful for the opportunity to present the festival virtually and showcase Leimert Parks rich history as the central hub of African American music, art and culture in South Los Angeles.

Tune in to watch the Leimert Park Jazz Festival on Facebook Live @leimertparkjazzfestival, Saturday, August 29 at 12pm. For more information, check out the festivals website at leimertparkjazzfestival.com.
The European Commission has announced that 23 projects were short-listed for funding with a total of 128.2 million involving 347 research teams from 40 countries in Europe under the emergency funding action issued in May. Nine Irish researchers and companies were awarded over 2.9m under the funding action.

Projects were funded in the areas of rapid repurposing of manufacturing for vital medical supplies and equipment (22.1m), behavioural, social and economic impacts of the outbreak responses (28 million), pan-European Covid-19 cohorts (19.9m) and collaboration of existing EU and international cohorts of relevance to Covid-19 (3m) and medical technologies, digital tools and artificial intelligence analytics to improve surveillance and care at High Technology Readiness Levels (55.2m).

Irish applicants did particularly well in the area of medical technologies, digital tools and artificial Intelligence analytics.

To date, Irish companies and researchers have been awarded and contracted in excess of 987m in funding under Horizon 2020 with more to come. Enterprise Ireland say there continues to be many opportunities for Irish enterprises and researchers under the Horizon 2020 Programme, including calls for proposals under the European Green Deal, worth circa 1bn that will be issued in the autumn.

Enterprise Ireland is encouraging all Irish researchers and innovators to look at the remaining opportunities under the Programme and to contact their National Contact Points in Enterprise Ireland and across the Horizon 2020 national support network for information, guidance and expert support in evaluating opportunities and making applications.

Speaking following the announcement, National Director for Horizon 2020 at Enterprise Ireland, Garrett Murray said, "This announcement is a great success for Ireland and is testament to the capability and talent within the Irish research and innovation system particularly in areas relevant to the challenges posed by Covid-19. As citizens we rely on our innovators and researchers to help us overcome some our greatest societal challenges and as drivers of economic growth."

Source: www.businessworld.ie
ImmunoScape, a Singapore-based biotech firm enabling insights into the human immune system, raised USD $11m (SGD $14.8m) in equity financing.

US-based venture firm Anzu Partners led the round, joined by University of Tokyo Edge Capital (UTEC) in Japan, and NPR Holdings in Indonesia.

Led by co-founder and CEO Choon Peng Ng, formerly a senior executive at A*STAR, and co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Dr. Alessandra Nardin, ImmunoScape specializes in deep profiling of immune cells and identification of antigen specific T cells. The company enables pharmaceutical and biotechnologies companies to gain insights from clinical trial patient data and to develop more effective immunotherapies. Its immune profiling platform is already engaged in COVID-19 related programs in global collaborations with Massachusetts General Hospital, University of Parma (Italy), and Duke-NUS. ImmunoScape also has established collaborations with several vaccine development companies, including the San Diego-based Arcturus which is running clinical trials in Singapore.

The technology was based on work begun at Stanford University, and continued at A*STAR of Singapore, where the company was established in 2017.

FinSMEs

12/08/2020
BOSTON, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Inc. magazine today revealed that BioPoint Inc. is No. 2867 on its annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies. The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economy's most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses. Intuit, Zappos, Under Armour, Microsoft, Patagonia, and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000.

"Our growth is a testament to the dedication of our amazing colleagues, our network of best-in-class life science consultants, and our customers that continue to place their trust in us to help deliver life changing treatments to patients around the world...including medicines targeting the Covid-19 virus," said Tony Pasquarosa, Vice President of Delivery Services.

"We've chosen to remain specialized in the Pharmaceutical and Biotech industries where we are always refining our services. This focused approach coupled with our high-touch engagement model allows us to 'stand in our client's shoes' and ultimately provide timely, high-quality consulting and workforce solutions. This ranking is further validation of the core principles and methodologies that have guided us over the past ten years," said Reginald Colas, Director of Delivery Services.

"It is so rewarding to see the majority of our growth come from referrals and to be considered a best-in-class organization by our Life Science partners."

Not only have the companies on the 2020 Inc. 5000 been very competitive within their markets, but the list as a whole shows staggering growth compared with prior lists as well. The 2020 Inc. 5000 achieved an incredible three-year average growth of over 500 percent, and a median rate of 165 percent. The Inc. 5000's aggregate revenue was $209 billion in 2019, accounting for over 1 million jobs over the past three years.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at www.inc.com/inc5000. The top 500 companies are also being featured in the September issue of Inc., available on newsstands August 18.

"The companies on this year's Inc. 5000 come from nearly every realm of business," says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. "From health and software to media and hospitality, the 2020 list proves that no matter the sector, incredible growth is based on the foundations of tenacity and opportunism."

Headquartered in Wakefield, Massachusetts, BioPoint is a life sciences consulting company focused on accelerating all aspects of drug development and ensuring compliance at a global level. Areas of expertise are pharmacovigilance, drug safety and risk management, regulatory affairs, market access, and clinical operations and biometrics.

CONTACT:

Hunter Shontz

[email protected]

781.218.3790

SOURCE BioPoint Inc.


DUESSELDORF (dpa-AFX) - Ceconomy AG (MTAGF.PK,MTTRY.PK), the former Metro branch that owns electronics chains Media Markt and Saturn, said that it may reduce up to 3,500 full-time jobs in the next 24 to 36 months, primarily in foreign European countries, due to implementation of new operating model.



Details are being discussed with the employee representatives, which are expected to begin shortly.



As of 30 June 2020, the company had around 45,000 full-time employees throughout Europe.



MediaMarktSaturn is also reviewing the store portfolio throughout Europe, due to drop in customer frequencies as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.



The group has already decided to close 14 loss-making stores permanently. In addition, the number of European stores may decline slightly further in the coming months.



The restructuring will cost about 180 million euros, of which a significant portion is expected in the current financial year 2019/20. But, the company expects the restructuring measures will save 100 million euros per year, the majority of which are to take effect from financial year 2022/23.



Ceconomy said that the Kellerhals family, represented by Convergenta Invest GmbH, who holds around 22% of MediaMarktSaturn, also supports the new operating model.



The German consumer electronics retailer stated that the new Operating Model focuses on harmonized management structures and standardized, efficient processes and procedures across all countries.



The new target organization is intended to simplify the standardization of processes and increase efficiency in the country organizations. In addition, regional country clusters will be formed, and certain countries will be merged organizationally.



MediaMarktSaturn will also harmonize management structures in the stores throughout Europe. In each of the currently around 1,000 stores, a standard organization will be introduced that is headed by a Chief Customer Officer. The stores will also be relieved of administrative tasks in order to focus their capacities even more strongly on customers.



The company said it will provide employees with additional digital tools to further improve service quality and efficiency and make many activities easier for them. These include the employee app, which contains information on product availability and competitor prices, as well as coupons and video product information.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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TORONTO, Aug. 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eloro Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: ELO; FSE: P2Q) (Eloro, or the Company) is pleased to announce that its Bolivian subsidiary Minera Tupiza S.R.L. has completed the three (3) underground drill bays in the Huayra Kasa Mine required for the planned 3,500m underground diamond drilling program on its optioned Iska Iska Polymetallic Project in Potosi Department, southern Bolivia. The Company and contractor Empresa Minera Villegas S.R.L. have implemented safeguards to protect personnel from COVID-19. Minera Tupiza S.R.L. has received clearance from the Government of Bolivia for travel to Tupiza. Drilling will be carried out by Leduc Drilling S.R.L. and is expected to commence in early September. All workings will be systematically geologically mapped and channel sampled prior to commencement of the drill program.

Table 1 below identifies the initial 20 planned underground drill holes totalling 2,225 metres at Huayra Kasa Mine and Figure 1 is a plan map showing the location of the planned holes in relation to the mineral domains defined by the synchrotron study (see press release June 25, 2020). The study concluded that synchrotron mineral cluster analysis identified four mineralogical domains that cover the entire sampling area suggesting they are related and represent a single, large mineralizing system. Furthermore, the mineralogy of the domains is consistent with minerals identified in hand specimens and are likely related to a telescoped porphyry/epithermal style of mineralization. The remaining 1,275m of drilling in the program will be allocated depending on results from the initial drilling.

Tom Larsen, President & CEO of Eloro commented: The results from the synchrotron study support the concept of outlining potential bulk mineable silver-polymetallic mineralization at Iska Iska as concluded by Micon International Limited (Micon). The planned drill program follows the outline presented in the NI 43-101 Technical Report by Micon (see press release April 29, 2020), This program will be the first drilling to ever be carried out on the property and is designed to test the full extent of the mineralized system in and around the Huayra Kasa underground workings. The mineralized/altered zone is exposed in the underground workings over a width of 100m but is likely much more extensive. Drilling will be over a strike length of approximately 300m to a depth of 100m in the vicinity of the mine workings (Figure 1). Iska Iska is situated in the highly prolific Southern Bolivian Silver belt and has excellent potential to host a significant silver-polymetallic mineral deposit.

Qualified Person

Dr. Osvaldo Arce, P. Geo., an expert on Bolivian geology and a Qualified Person in the context of National Instrument 43-101 has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release. Dr. Bill Pearson, P.Geo., Chief Technical Advisor for Eloro, and who has more than 45 years of worldwide mining exploration experience including extensive work in South America, will provide technical oversight to the program in consultation with Eloros Technical Advisory Committee and Micon International. Drill samples will be prepared in SGSs preparation facility in Oruro, Bolivia with pulps sent to their main laboratory in Lima, Peru for analysis by fire assay for gold and silver as well as 31 element ICP. Eloro will employ an industry standard QA/QC program with standards, blanks and duplicates

About Iska Iska

Iska Iska polymetallic project is a road accessible, royalty-free property, wholly-controlled by the Title Holder, Empresa Minera Villegas S.R.L. and is located 48 km north of Tupiza city, in the Sud Chichas Province of the Department of Potosi. The property can be classified as a polymetallic (Ag, Zn, Pb, Au, Cu, Bi, Sn, In) epithermal-porphyry complex. This is an important mineral deposit type in Bolivia. Eloros Bolivian subsidiary, Minera Tupiza S.R.L., has an option to acquire a 99% interest in Iska Iska.

Geological mapping on the property by Eloro has revealed the spatial and temporal zonation of alteration and vein minerals in an area of about 5 square kilometres. The polymetallic mineralization occurs mainly as veins, subsidiary vein swarms, veinlets, stockworks, and disseminations, forming a subvertical vein system in both the stock and the volcanic and sedimentary rocks. Preliminary evaluation work including 42 channel samples in underground and on surface workings at Iska Iska returned significant results as summarized below. All of the channel samples included altered wall rock with widths ranging between 1.20 to 5.55 m, averaging 2.90 m (see press release of October 8, 2019 for further details).

Silver. Anomalous silver values range between 35.5-694 g/t Ag (46% of channel samples).

Anomalous silver values range between 35.5-694 g/t Ag (46% of channel samples). Gold. Anomalous gold values range between 0.31-28.6 g/t Au (42% of channel samples).

Anomalous gold values range between 0.31-28.6 g/t Au (42% of channel samples). Zinc. Anomalous zinc values range between 1.05-16.95% Zn (37% of channel samples).

Anomalous zinc values range between 1.05-16.95% Zn (37% of channel samples). Lead. Anomalous lead values range between 0.41- 16.95% Pb (49% of channel samples).

Anomalous lead values range between 0.41- 16.95% Pb (49% of channel samples). Copper. Anomalous copper values range between 0.1->1% (22% of channel samples).

Anomalous copper values range between 0.1->1% (22% of channel samples). Bismuth. Anomalous bismuth values range between 967-7,380 g/t Bi (22% of channel samples).

Anomalous bismuth values range between 967-7,380 g/t Bi (22% of channel samples). Indium. Anomalous indium values range between 10.35->500 g/t In (34% of channel samples).

The synchrotron study concluded that the mineral cluster analysis identified four mineralogical domains that cover the entire sampling area suggesting they are related and represent a single, large mineralizing system. Furthermore, the mineralogy of the domains is consistent with minerals identified in hand specimen and are likely related to a telescoped porphyry/epithermal style of mineralization. Domain 1 (Figure 1) is the most pervasive while Domains 2, 3 and 4 are more localized.

Dr, Osvaldo Arce, P.Geo., Project Manager in Bolivia, commented: The results from this study support the concept of outlining potential bulk mineable silver-polymetallic mineralization at Iska Iska as concluded by Micon. Domain 1 is very widespread with mineralization and alteration occurring in all rock types including granodiorite, dacite and sandstone. Some samples returned grades comparable to those samples in the more restricted domains. Domain 2 contains high silver, zinc, lead and indium values while Domain 3 has high gold and bismuth values. Domain 4 returned the highest gold value with high silver and bismuth. It is likely that the mineralization in Domains 2 to 4 is a precious metal-rich epithermal style that occurs along structures cutting the widespread Domain 1 mineralization that is of disseminated porphyry style. It should be emphasized that this is a preliminary study the conclusions of which will be refined with additional surface/underground geological mapping and diamond drilling (see press release June 25, 2020 for further details).

About Eloro Resources Ltd.

Eloro is an exploration and mine development company with a portfolio of gold and base-metal properties in Bolivia, Peru and Quebec. Eloro has an option to acquire a 99% interest in the highly prospective Iska Iska Property, which can be classified as a polymetallic epithermal-porphyry complex, a significant mineral deposit type in the Potosi Department, in southern Bolivia. Eloro recently commissioned a NI 43-101 Technical Report on Iska Iska, which was completed by Micon International Limited and is available on Eloros website and under its filings on SEDAR. Iska Iska is a road-accessible, royalty-free property. Eloro also owns an 82% interest in the La Victoria Gold/Silver Project, located in the North-Central Mineral Belt of Peru some 50 km south of Barricks Lagunas Norte Gold Mine and Pan American Silvers La Arena Gold Mine. La Victoria consists of eight mining concessions and eight mining claims encompassing approximately 89 square kilometres. La Victoria has good infrastructure with access to road, water and electricity and is located at an altitude that ranges from 3,150 m to 4,400 m above sea level.

CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

Information in this news release may contain forward-looking information. Statements containing forward looking information express, as at the date of this news release, the Companys plans, estimates, forecasts, projections, expectations, or beliefs as to future events or results and are believed to be reasonable based on information currently available to the Company. There can be no assurance that statements of forward-looking information will prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Thomas G. Larsen (President & CEO) Jorge Estepa (Vice-President) tlarsen@elororesources.com jestepa@elororesources.com ELORO RESOURCES LTD 20 Adelaide Street East, Suite 200 PHONE (416) 868-9168 | FAX (416) 361-1333 Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5C 2T6 www.elororesources.com

Table 1: Summary of Initial Planned Underground Diamond Drill Holes, Huayra Kasa Mine.



DDH No. DRILL BAY No. SECTION EASTING UTM NORTHING UTM ELEV. (masl) AZIMUTH DIP PLANNED LENGTH (m) DHK-01 1 A-A' 205616 7656385 4155 180 -10 100 DHK-02 1 A-A' 205616 7656385 4155 180 -50 100 DHK-03 1 B-B' 205616 7656385 4155 90 00 75 DHK-04 1 B-B' 205616 7656385 4155 90 -45 100 DHK-05 1 A-A' 205616 7656385 4155 N00 -50 100 DHK-06 1 B-B' 205616 7656385 4155 270 00 150 DHK-07 1 B-B' 205616 7656385 4155 270 -45 150 DHK-08 2 C-C' 205540 7656367 4155 150 -10 100 DHK-09 2 C-C' 205540 7656367 4155 150 -45 150 DHK-10 2 D-D' 205540 7656367 4155 30 -50 150 DHK-11 2 C-C' 205540 7656367 4155 330 00 100 DHK-12 2 C-C' 205540 7656367 4155 330 -45 100 DHK-13 2 D-D' 205540 7656367 4155 210 00 100 DHK-14 2 D-D' 205540 7656367 4155 210 -45 100 DHK-15 3 E-E' 205490 7656368 4155 315 00 100 DHK-16 3 E-E' 205490 7656368 4155 315 -45 150 DHK-17 3 F-F' 205490 7656368 4155 270 00 100 DHK-18 3 F-F' 205490 7656368 4155 270 -45 150 DHK-19 3 G-G' 205490 7656368 4155 225 00 100 DHK-20 3 G-G' 205490 7656368 4155 225 -45 150 TOTAL 2,225

Note: Final drill hole coordinates and depths may vary from planned.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/12b060eb-d0b5-409e-a676-066877b0f194
An oil executive flew into a rage and battered his wife because she had a glass of wine before lunchtime.

Quentin Livingston-Taylor, 54, has been ordered to fly back from Saudi Arabia to be sentenced by a Scottish sheriff.

Perth Sheriff Court heard today how Livingston-Taylor lashed out at his wife after suspecting she had been drinking while he was out in the morning.

Fiscal depute Matthew Kerr told the court: 'The complainer and the accused have been in a relationship for six years and have been married for three years.

Quentin Livingston-Taylor, 54, (right) accused his wife (left) of being drunk and lying about it at their Perthshire home, sparking a row which resulted in him punching and kicking his wife

'At about 1pm the accused returned and and there was an argument with the complainer.

'There was information in the police report that earlier in the day the complainer had a glass of wine.

'The argument stemmed from the accused accusing the complainer of being drunk and lying to him about it.

'They were in the living room when the accused punched the complainer to the head. As she bent over the accused kicked her to the backside, knocking her to the ground.

'The accused continued to punch and kick the complainer as she was curled up on the ground to try and protect herself. The complainer dialled 999.'

When the police arrived, Livingston-Taylor was standing in his driveway while his visibly upset wife was inside their Perthshire home with a burst lip.

Livingston-Taylor was taken into custody and told officers: 'It was a domestic argument only. I did not assault my wife.'

But when the case called in his absence yesterday, he admitted punching, kicking and injuring Anne-Sophie Taylor, 47, on Newmiln Estate, Guildtown, on 15 April.

Sherriff court building in Perth where Livingston-Taylor, 54, was found guilty in his absence

Solicitor Pauline Cullerton, defending, said her client had been attending anger management classes prior to departing for Saudi Arabia to undertake a work project.

She said: 'He is a first offender and is very sorry and remorseful for his actions. He is taking steps to dealing with his anger management issues.

'Both parties are hopeful the relationship can be reconciled. At the moment he doesn't know how long he is going to be in Saudi Arabia for.

'There are no foreseeable flights back to the UK. There has been an outbreak of Covid19 on the oil rig he was working on. He has indicated he may struggle to get back.'

Sheriff Keith O'Mahoney said: 'This appears a fairly sustained assault, punching and kicking her while she was on the ground.

'I will defer for eight weeks in the hope the accused will be able to return to this country in time to have that done. He is required to appear on that date.'

Livingston-Taylor was ordered to appear for sentence on 8 October.
In this photo provided by the Turkish Defense Ministry, Turkey's research vessel, Oruc Reis, in red and white, is surrounded by Turkish navy vessels as it was heading in the west of Antalya on the Mediterranean, Turkey on Aug 10, 2020. (Turkish Defense Ministry via AP, Pool)

Turkish Ship Starts Energy Search; Greece Issues Warnings

ANKARA, TurkeyA Turkish research vessel has begun surveying for energy resources in contested areas of the eastern Mediterranean, Turkeys energy minister said on Aug. 12, amid escalating tensions between NATO allies and regional rivals Greece and Turkey over offshore oil and gas exploration rights.

The Oruc Reis was conducting seismic research in an area Greece says is over its continental shelf, and Athens has demanded the ships withdrawal. Both countries have warships shadowing the vessel.

Our country never threatens but will not suffer blackmail either. This is why it does not succumb to threats or tolerate provocative acts, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a televised statement on the evening of Aug. 12.

Mitsotakis said Greece had deployed naval vessels to the area and placed its military on alert in response to the Turkish deployment of its own fleet.

Let it be known: The risk of an accident lurks when so many military assets are gathered in such a contained area, Mitsotakis said. In such a case, the responsibility lies upon the one who gives rise to these circumstances.

The prime minister said Greece does not fear even the toughest dialogue, as it has faith in its positions, but that dialogue becomes irrelevant in a climate of tension and provocation.

We will never be the ones to escalate the situation. Yet self-restraint is only one aspect of our power, Mitsotakis said. No provocation will  go unanswered. We have demonstrated that we will respond, if necessary. And we will do so again if it is required.

Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Donmez said on Twitter that the Oruc Reis was taking the x-ray of our seas. He said the vessel had also lowered 1,750 kilometers (1,087 miles) of seismic cables into the Mediterranean.

Greece has called on Turkey to withdraw vessels from the area. Turkey said on Aug. 11 it would not back away from its search activities, adding that it plans to issue new exploration licenses for the area despite the escalating dispute with Greece over drilling rights.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias is scheduled to see U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Aug. 14 in Vienna, with the meeting to focus on Turkeys actions and developments in the eastern Mediterranean, and was to travel to Israel for talks on Aug. 13.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell wrote on Twitter on Aug. 12 that he was calling an extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council meeting for Aug. 14, to discuss the situation in the eastern Mediterranean, as well as the presidential elections in Belarus and developments in Lebanon after a massive deadly explosion there.

Greece had called for the emergency meeting over what it termed the growing Turkish provocation and delinquency, and Dendias will be participating via video link from Vienna.

Turkey announced that the Oruc Reis would be operating in the Mediterranean Sea between Cyprus and Greece until Aug. 23. The vessel arrived in the area on the morning of Aug. 10, escorted by Turkish warships. Greek warships were sent to the area.

Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides described Turkeys move as a serious escalation to its unlawful actions in the eastern Mediterranean a few days after another of its survey ships, the Barbaros, began hydrocarbons search in Cyprus exclusive economic zone southeast of the island nation.

Unfortunately, once again Turkey has chosen the route of unilateral unlawful actions, provocatively turning its back on the prospect of dialogue based on international law and good neighborly relations, Christodoulides told state-run Cyprus News Agency.

He said Turkeys actions against two EU member states should be taken into account in the countrys relations with the bloc.

Relations between Greece and Turkey have traditionally been terse, and the neighbors have long been at loggerheads over a slew of disputes. The two have come to the brink of war three times since the mid-1970s, including once over drilling exploration rights in the Aegean Sea, which separates the two countries. Recent discoveries of natural gas and drilling plans across the eastern Mediterranean have led to renewed tension.

Ankara was angered by a deal Greece signed with Egypt on Aug. 6 delineating their bilateral maritime boundaries and exclusive economic zones for rights to the exploitation of resources. Turkish officials said the deal came as Turkey and Greece were making progress in informal talks brokered by Berlin.

In 2019, Turkey signed a similar deal with the U.N.-backed government in strife-torn Libya, sparking outrage in Greece, Egypt, and Cyprus, which said the agreement infringed on their economic rights in the Mediterranean. The EU said the deal was a violation of international law that threatened regional stability.

At the heart of the issue is how a countrys continental shelf is calculated and whether islands should be included in the calculation. Turkey argues they should not, a position that Greece says violates international law.

By Suzan Fraser & Elena Becatoros
Bharatiya Janata Party's Lok Sabha lawmaker Feroze Varun Gandhi plans to table a private member's bill in Parliament to make it compulsory for all adults to be registered as organ donors, in a bid to promote cadaver organ donation, though people will be free to opt out.

India has a shortage of organ donors and there is a huge gap that persists between demand and supply of organs. There is a need of 2,00,000 kidneys, 50,000 hearts and 50,000 livers for transplantation every year. Lack of strong policies to make organ donation compulsory leads to the death of over five lakh people every year in India, experts say.

It has been observed that organ donation in India is largely from living donors and the rate of organ donation from deceased persons is very low at 0.8 per million population as compared to more than 30% in other countries.

According to the Organ Retrieval Banking Organisation, only 22,500 people have registered for organ donation after death since 2010. As per the data from National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation, the total number of transplants for all organs by living donors was 27,259 whereas cadaver was 1,448. Lack of family consent and lack of educational awareness of the importance of the donation of organs can be attributed to the low cadaver donation rate in India. Therefore, healthcare experts say, there is a need for a policy to promote cadaver organ donation.

The bill speaks of a need for a policy shift from the current opt-in system to an opt-out system where every individual shall become a donor by default under the law and this will ensure that there is an increase in the rate of cadaver donations and reduction in the number of deaths due to non-availability of organs.

The bill proposes to make it compulsory for a citizen turning above 18 years of age to be registered as an organ donor unless otherwise an objection notice is filed by the person. All persons would need to register using their Aadhaar or any other ID for documentation.

This in line with the system followed in at least 44 other countries.

The Pilibhit MP told CNN-News18, "Even if in a population of 130 crore like in India, just 5 per cent agree to register for organ donation, the number of organs available for those who need it medically will go up by 15 per cent."

Talking about the urgency of the issue, Varun said, "This is for serious consideration as we are looking at saving about 3 to 4 million lives annually of those who die due to the lack of availability of organs."

Earlier, Varun had brought a private member's bill in the Lok Sabha with the proposal that MPs shouldn't be allowed to vote for their own salary increase. This later became law. Finance minister Arun Jaitley included this in his budget speech and that a statutory body further dealt with such salary hike.

Another private member's bill moved by Gandhi was for the right to recall an MP in case of a grievous criminal record.

Varun will be trying to table the Organ Donation Bill in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament.
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The city will place certified nurses in every New York City public school, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday.

The citys Health and Hospitals system will supply schools with certified nurses and the mayor said he was confident they could be placed in all schools by the start of the year.

Were taking every precaution, but theres tremendous value to having a health professional present, de Blasio told reporters during a press conference Thursday.

Were working with the Health and Hospitals team to put this together, they did an amazing job at the height of the crisis bringing in additional medical personnel, healthcare heroes, theyre going to do it again, make sure we have enough nurses for every single public school building, he said.

De Blasio said the Health and Hospitals network brought nurses into city hospitals at the height of the coronavirus pandemic and said he was confident it would be able to staff the citys schools with the nurses it needed by the start of school.

However, he did not say exactly how many nurses would be needed for all of the citys schools in the fall.

[H+H] hired thousands of nurses at the height of the pandemic in April and were talking about hundreds needed here, and again were a month out so no question in my mind  well have them, well have them for the whole school year, he said.

Obviously the goal here is to get to a vaccine, get everyone vaccinated and go back to normal, but the plan of course is to be ready to handle the whole school year, he said.

The mayors latest announcement comes as the unions that represent teachers, school supervisors and administrators have called on the city to delay the reopening of schools in the fall.

But de Blasio indicated Thursday that the city would press forward with its Sept. 10 reopening date.

I really believe that our schools are crucial for our kids, there is nothing that replaces in-person learning, our schools coming back is part of how our whole city comes back, de Blasio said when asked whether he would consider delaying the reopening schools.

Weve been planning for months to start the day we were already planning on as we would have normally, so well keep discussing the concerns and trying to address them but we have a whole month till school begins to address these concerns further, he said.

FOLLOW SYDNEY KASHIWAGI ON TWITTER.
by Shafique Khokhar

On the eve of Pakistans Minorities Day, the leaders of religious and civil society groups expressed concern over the governments position towards minorities. Quotas are useless if enforcement rules are not implemented. An impartial education can foster social cohesion and harmony. Great efforts are needed to turn minority representation into participation.

Faisalabad (AsiaNews)  A conference on Collective efforts for advancing diversities was held yesterday, eve of Pakistans Minorities Day.

A number of speakers representing religious and civil society groups addressed the gathering. One of them was Bishop Indrias Rehmat of Faisalabad who said that disparities of rights in policies and laws can never ensure equality of status and treatment,

For the prelate and the other participants, the government has failed to take seriously the problems minorities face, noting that quotas for minorities are a futile attempt to ensure political, religious, social and economic equality if they do not have proper enforcement mechanisms.

According to various sources, Ahmadis, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and Shias are the most discriminated in Pakistan, a country of 212 million inhabitants, in which ethnic Punjabis and Sunni Muslims are the largest groups.

Catholics and Protestants number around 2 million each (just under 1 per cent of the population respectively).

Rizwan Ullah Kokab, who teaches history at the Government College University, points out that Pakistan is a land of many religions and different cultures. For this reason, the authorities "ethnocentric" approach is not useful to the cause of national unity.

In his view, social cohesion and harmony can be fostered through education if it is designed with impartiality.

Hamid Yaseen, assistant general secretary of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, noted that education policy must incorporate the concept of human rights, social justice, peaceful coexistence and non-discrimination.

In fact, minorities in Pakistan are still struggling to protect their identity and find too little space in society, explained Father Kahid Rasheed Asi. More efforts are needed to reverse discrimination and convert the representation of minorities into participation.

Former lawmaker Najma Afazl pointed the finger at decision-makers, who have failed to take practical steps to show their respect for diversity.
Nikita Sharma By

Express News Service

Every winter, Delhi- NCR is covered in a thick blanket of smog and the Environmental Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority has to declare a public health emergency. After AQI levels escalated following the annual episode of stubbleburning last year, the Supreme Court instructed the Delhi government and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to erect smog towers.

The Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) got onboard, by submitting a proposal to the CPCB. By April, smog towers under testing mode were to be installed at Anand Vihar and Connaught Place. But due to the subsequent lockdowns, the deadline was flouted. On July 29, IIT-B backed out of the project, but came back onboard after the court threatened contempt action.

However, experts are unsure of the effectiveness of solitary smog towers spread few and far inbetween Delhi-NCR. This is pseudoscience the Supreme Court believes in. There is no scientific evidence that says smog towers actually help. If smog towers are the solution, we will need lakhs and lakhs of smog towers. The judiciary should base its decision on evidence and experts comments, instead of notions and intuitions, says Activist and Swechha Founder Vimlendu Jha, adding, In January, Gautam Gambhir put up a smog tower at Lajpat Nagar. Did anybody do a survey to figure out whether it had any impact? No. Polash Mukerjee, Air Quality & Climate Resilience, NRDC India, quips, If we go by the Lajpat Nagar tower, we will need 2.5 million more towers to tackle the problem just in Delhi.



India took the decision of installing smog towers following Chinas footsteps, but experts say China is implementing strong pollution control rules across sectors, which India hasnt. Beijing fixed its problem of high pollution levels by also looking at industries, public transport and pushing bicycles. Visually, the tower looks appealing, that it will engulf all the pollutants, but that is not the reality, adds Jha.



Environmentalist Jai Dhar Gupta observes that Smog towers have failed everywhere in the world. There is no reason it will work here. They (SC) are pretending to put forth a solution that is not even a solution. Smog towers can solve problems very small areas around them, but not the whole city, says Sumit Sharma, Director, Earth Science and Climate Change Division, TERI. It will only act upon the air in its vicinity of a few 100 metres.

How do smog towers work?



Jyoti Pande Lavakare, Co- Founder, Care for Air, says, There are different technologies used to clean the air. One uses HEPA filters, (used in indoor air purifiers), which filters PM 2.5 particles. Another uses electrostatic precipitators that attract PM 2.5 particles and collect them at the base of the tower. Both would work in closed spaces, but are ineffective in open spaces. We dont know what technology the IIT-Bombay or University of Minnesota is using because that hasnt been shared in public. One smog tower costs around Rs 7-8 lakh, so you can do the math. Even worse, if we use filters to clean the air, who is going to dispose of them once they get clogged?

What is the solution?



The only way to reduce air pollution is to reduce emissions at the sources, explains Gupta. Our problem is so severe and we have no option but to move away from fossil fuels. We know what percentage of emission comes from which source. Be it industrial, biomass burning, paddy burning or vehicular pollution. When we know the sources, why are we continuing with these hogwash things? adds Gupta. He shares that we can also incentivise good behaviour and penalise bad behaviour.

For instance, people driving electric cars can be given benefits, and those driving diesel cars can be penalised. In a month, paddy burning will start in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Punjab, and the whole area from Pakistan to Bangladesh will turn into a hellhole. The SC has imposed a ban on stubble burning, but it is not being enforced properly, shares Gupta. Instead of controlling the pollution when it has dispersed in the air, we should try to control it at the source, adds Sharma.

Lavakare says, There is a technology called flu gas desulphurisation  it is like putting a sieve on the chimney outlets of coal fired power plants. All thermal power plants must have these Those who dont should be penalized. If public money is being spent, and the Court is fixated on smog towers, she suggests they should be placed in enclosed spaces with high footfalls, like hospitals, underground metro stations and indoor stadiums. Meanwhile, Sri Harsha Kota, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT-Delhi, informed that IIT-Delhis role is just to evaluate the tower after it is operational.
AIM and Media Release

13 August 2020

BASE RESOURCES LIMITED

2020 Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves Statement

Key Points

Maiden Ranobe Ore Reserves estimate for the Toliara Project announced on 6 December 2019 of 586Mt at an average HM grade of 6.5% containing 38Mt of in-situ HM.

of 586Mt at an average HM grade of 6.5% containing 38Mt of in-situ HM. Kwale South Dune Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves estimates were reduced by mining depletion in the year to 30 June 2020 , as well as by a 5% reduction in the estimated material bulk density, sterilisation of sub-economic material and a reduction in the size of the prospecting licence omitting some low-grade material, with the total effect of: Reducing the South Dune Mineral Resources by 38Mt containing 1.1Mt of in situ HM. Reducing the South Dune Ore Reserves by 22Mt containing 0.9Mt of in situ HM.

, as well as by a 5% reduction in the estimated material bulk density, sterilisation of sub-economic material and a reduction in the size of the prospecting licence omitting some low-grade material, with the total effect of:

The 2020 Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves estimates for Base Resources Limited (ASX & AIM: BSE) (Base Resources or the Company) are summarised in the table below together with the 2019 Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves estimates for comparison.

2020

as at 30 June 2020 2019

as at 30 June 2019 Deposit Tonnes HM HM SL OS HM Assemblage Tonnes HM HM SL OS HM Assemblage ILM RUT LEUC ZIR ILM RUT ZIR (Mt) (Mt) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (Mt) (Mt) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) Mineral Resources (Measured + Indicated + Inferred, inclusive of Ore Reserves) Kwale 246 4.9 2.0 34 2 51 13 - 5 285 6.0 2.1 33 2 52 13 6 Ranobe 1,293 66 5.1 6 0 72 2* - 6 1,293 66 5.1 6 0 72 2 6 Ore Reserves (Proved + Probable) Kwale 40 1.4 3.4 26 1.7 57 13 - 6 62 2.3 3.8 27 3 57 13 6 Ranobe 586 38 6.5 3.9 0.1 74 1.1 0.9^ 5.9 - - - - - - - -

Table subject to rounding differences. *Rutile reported is rutile + leucoxene mineral species. ^ Recovered Leucoxene will be split between Rutile and Chloride Ilmenite products depending on product specification requirements.

Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves estimates in this statement are reported in accordance with the JORC Code (2012 edition). Accordingly, this statement should be read in conjunction with the respective explanatory Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves information included in the following announcements1:

Deposit Announcement Title Estimate Date Release Date Kwale South Dune Mineral Resources & Ore Reserves Updated Kwale South Dune Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves estimate 31 March 2020 27 July 2020 Kwale North Dune Mineral Resources Mineral Resource for Kwale North Dune deposit 1 May 2019 1 May 2019 Ranobe Ore Reserves Maiden Ranobe Ore Reserves Estimate 27 November 2019 6 December 2019 Ranobe Mineral Resources Updated Ranobe Deposit Mineral Resources (corrected) 23 January 2019 23 January 2019 2019 Comparatives Mineral Resources & Ore Reserves 2019 Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves Statement 30 June 2019 21 August 2019

[Note (1): ASX announcements are available at https://baseresources.com.au/investors/announcements/.]

Kwale Deposits

The Company's 100% owned Kwale Mineral Sands Operations (Kwale Operations) in Kenya is located approximately 50 kilometres south of Mombasa and 10 kilometres inland from the Kenyan coast. The Company's wholly owned subsidiary, Base Titanium Limited, holds Prospecting Licence 2018/0119 (PL119) which hosts the Kwale South Dune and North Dune deposits. The majority of the Kwale South Dune deposit resides within Special Mining Lease No. 23 (SML23), which sits within PL119 and is currently being mined. A pre-feasibility study is currently underway to assess the potential to mine the North Dune deposit.

Base Resources is the operator of Kwale Operations and has a net attributable interest of 100% in the 2020 Kwale Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves estimates.

Mineral Resources

The 2020 Kwale Mineral Resources, as at 30 June 2020, are estimated to be 246 million tonnes (Mt) at an average heavy mineral (HM) grade of 2.0% for 4.9Mt of contained HM, at a 1% HM cut-off grade.

Table 2: 2020 Kwale Mineral Resources estimate compared with the 2019 estimate at a 1% HM cut-off grade.

2020

as at 30 June 2020 2019

as at 30 June 2019 Category Tonnes HM HM SL OS HM Assemblage Tonnes HM HM SL OS HM Assemblage ILM RUT ZIR ILM RUT ZIR (Mt) (Mt) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (Mt) (Mt) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) Kwale South Dune Measured 55 1.8 3.2 24 1 58 14 6 81 2.6 3.2 25 1 59 14 6 Indicated 20 0.6 2.9 26 7 52 12 6 33 0.8 2.5 26 7 52 12 6 Total 76 2.3 3.1 25 3 57 13 6 114 3.5 3.0 25 3 56 13 6 Kwale North Dune Indicated 136 2.1 1.5 38 2 45 12 5 136 2.1 1.5 38 2 45 12 5 Inferred 34 0.5 1.4 36 3 46 13 6 34 0.5 1.4 36 3 46 13 6 Total 171 2.6 1.5 38 2 45 12 5 171 2.6 1.5 38 2 45 12 5 Total Kwale Mineral Resources Measured 55 1.8 3.2 24 1 58 14 6 81 2.6 3.2 25 1 59 14 6 Indicated 157 2.7 1.7 37 2 47 12 5 169 2.9 1.7 36 3 47 12 5 Inferred 34 0.5 1.4 36 3 46 13 6 34 0.5 1.4 36 3 46 13 6 Total 246 4.9 2.0 34 2 51 13 5 285 6.0 2.1 33 2 52 13 6

Table subject to rounding differences. Mineral Resources are inclusive of Kwale South Dune Ore Reserves.

The 2020 Kwale Mineral Resources estimate represents a decrease of 13.5% in material tonnes and 18.5% in contained HM tonnes when compared with the 2019 Kwale Mineral Resources estimate.

The decrease was solely to the Kwale South Dune Mineral Resources which are estimated to be 76Mt at an average HM grade of 3.1% for 2.3Mt of contained HM as at 30 June 2020, a decrease of 38Mt containing 1.1Mt of HM to the 2019 estimate. The decrease was due to:

Mining depletion, decreasing material by 18.5Mt containing 0.67Mt of HM.

Mining sterilisation of 12.0Mt of material and 0.25Mt of contained HM comprising material that was not mined as it was not considered economic to do so.

A 5% reduction in the estimated material bulk density, decreasing material by 5.7Mt containing 0.17Mt of HM compared to the 2019 estimate.As announced on 27 July 2020 2 , the reduction in estimated material bulk density was the result of routine reconciliations undertaken between the resource model predictions and run-of-mine operating data gained for ore mined since mining commenced on the Kwale South Dune in July 2019 .

, the reduction in estimated material bulk density was the result of routine reconciliations undertaken between the resource model predictions and run-of-mine operating data gained for ore mined since mining commenced on the Kwale South Dune in . A prospecting licence area reduction, decreasing material by 2.2Mt containing 0.03Mt of HM. The previous prospecting tenure instrument, Special Prospecting Licence 173, which was granted under the previous Kenyan Mining Act, was converted to PL119 in May 2018 , which was granted under the 2016 Kenyan Mining Act, requiring a 50% reduction in size. Material excluded by the reduction was not considered economic.

The Kwale North Dune Mineral Resources as at 30 June 2020 are unchanged from the 2019 estimate.

[Note (2): Refer to Base Resources' market announcement "Updated Kwale South Dune Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves estimate" released on 27 July 2020, which is available at https://baseresources.com.au/investors/announcements/.]

Ore Reserves

Contained within the Kwale South Dune Mineral Resources are the Kwale Ore Reserves, estimated as at 30 June 2020 to be 40Mt at an average HM grade of 3.4% for 1.4Mt of contained HM.

Table 3: The 2020 Kwale Ore Reserves estimate compared with the 2019 estimate.

2020

as at 30 June 2020 2019

as at 30 June 2019 Category Tonnes HM HM SL OS HM Assemblage Tonnes HM HM SL OS HM Assemblage ILM RUT ZIR ILM RUT ZIR (Mt) (Mt) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (Mt) (Mt) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) Kwale South Dune Proved 35 1.2 3.5 26 0.8 58 14 6 39 1.6 4.0 27 1 59 14 6 Probable 5 0.2 2.9 27 7 51 12 5 23 0.8 3.3 26 5 53 13 6 Total 40 1.4 3.4 26 1.7 57 13 6 62 2.3 3.8 27 3 57 13 6

Table subject to rounding differences.

The 2020 Kwale Ore Reserves estimate represents a decrease of 35% in total ore tonnes and 41% in contained HM tonnes compared to the 2019 Kwale Ore Reserves estimate. This decrease was due to:

Mining depletion, decreasing ore by 18.3Mt containing 0.68Mt of HM.

A 5% reduction in the estimated material bulk density of the resource model, decreasing ore by 3.1Mt containing 0.11Mt of HM.

Other minor changes, including updates to the resource model (other than for material bulk density), altering the mine design to reflect the switch from dozer mining to hydraulic mining and sterilisation of ore, resulting in total reduction in ore of 0.16Mt containing 0.16Mt of HM.

The estimated material and contained HM tonnes for the 2020 Kwale South Dune Mineral Resources are significantly higher than the 2020 Kwale South Dune Ore Reserves estimate because the Ore Reserves are constrained within SML23, whereas the Mineral Resources are constrained within the much larger PL119. Mining tenure arrangements are being progressed with the Kenyan Ministry of Petroleum and Mining to extend the SML23 boundary to incorporate some of these additional Mineral Resources as a precursor to an anticipated updated Ore Reserves estimate.

No Ore Reserves estimate has been completed for the Kwale North Dune deposit.

Ranobe Deposit

The Company's 100% owned Toliara Project is based on the Ranobe deposit, located approximately 45 kilometres north of the town of Toliara and 15km inland from the coast in south west Madagascar. The Ranobe deposit sits within Permis d'Exploitation 37242, which is a mining lease under Malagasy law. The Company is currently progressing the project towards development, with a definitive feasibility study completed in December 20193.

Base Resources is the operator of the Toliara Project and has a net attributable interest of 100% in the 2020 Ranobe Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves estimates.

[Note (3): Refer to Base Resources' market announcement "DFS reinforces Toliara Project's status as a world class mineral sands development"released on 12 December 2019, which is available at https://baseresources.com.au/investors/announcements/.]

Mineral Resources

The 2020 Ranobe Mineral Resources are estimated to be 1,293Mt at an average HM grade of 5.1% for 66Mt of contained HM, based on a 1.5% HM cut-off grade. The Ranobe Mineral Resources at 30 June 2020 are unchanged from the 2019 estimate.

Table 4: The 2020 Ranobe Mineral Resources estimate, compared with the 2019 estimate, at a 1.5% HM cut-off grade.

2020

as at 30 June 2020 2019

as at 30 June 2019 Category Material In Situ HM HM SL OS HM Assemblage Material In Situ HM HM SL OS HM Assemblage ILM RUT* ZIR ILM RUT* ZIR (Mt) (Mt) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (Mt) (Mt) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) Ranobe Mineral Resources Measured 419 28 6.6 4 0 75 2 6 419 28 6.6 4 0 75 2 6 Indicated 375 18 4.9 8 1 72 2 6 375 18 4.9 8 1 72 2 6 Inferred 499 20 3.9 7 1 70 2 5 499 20 3.9 7 1 70 2 5 Total 1,293 66 5.1 6 0 72 2 6 1,293 66 5.1 6 0 72 2 6

Table subject to rounding differences. Mineral Resources are inclusive of Ranobe Ore Reserves. * Rutile reported in the table is rutile + leucoxene mineral species.

Ore Reserves

Contained within the Ranobe Mineral Resources are the Ranobe Ore Reserves, estimated as at 30 June 2020 to be 586Mt at an average HM grade of 6.5% for 38Mt of contained HM. The Ranobe Ore Reserves estimate as at 30 June 2020 are unchanged from the maiden estimate announced on 6 December 20194.

Table 5: The 2020 Ranobe Ore Reserves estimate.

2020

as at 30 June 2020 2019

as at 30 June 2020 Deposit Tonnes HM HM SL OS HM Assemblage Tonnes HM HM SL OS HM Assemblage ILM RUT LEUC ZIR ILM RUT LEUC ZIR (Mt) (Mt) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (Mt) (Mt) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) Ranobe Ore Reserves Proved 347 24 7.0 3.8 0.1 75 1.0 1.0 5.9 N/A Probable 239 14 5.8 4.2 0.2 73 1.3 0.8 5.7 N/A Total 586 38 6.5 3.9 0.1 74 1.1 0.9^ 5.9 N/A

Table subject to rounding differences. ^ Recovered Leucoxene will be split between Rutile and Chloride Ilmenite products depending on product specification requirements.

[Note (4): Refer to Base Resources' market announcement "Maiden Ranobe Ore Reserves Estimate" released on 6 December 2019, which is available at https://baseresources.com.au/investors/announcements/.]

Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves Governance

A summary of the governance, internal controls and estimation process applicable to Base Resources' Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves estimates are as follows:

Mineral Resources

Review and validation of drilling and sampling methodology and data spacing, geological logging, data collection and storage, sampling and analytical quality control.

Geological interpretation - review of known and interpreted structure, lithology and weathering controls.

Estimation methodology - relevant to mineralisation style and proposed mining methodology.

Comparison of estimation results with previous mineral resources models, and with results using alternate modelling methodologies.

Visual validation of block model against raw composite data.

Use of external competent persons to assist in preparation of Mineral Resources estimate updates.

Ore Reserves

Review of potential mining methodology to suit deposit and mineralisation characteristics.

Review of potential Modifying Factors, including cost assumptions and commodity prices to be utilised in mining evaluation.

Ore Reserves estimate updates initiated with material changes in the above assumptions.

Optimisation using appropriate software packages for open pit evaluation.

Design based on optimisation results.

Use of external competent persons to assist in preparation of Ore Reserves estimates.

Competent Persons' Statements

The 2020 Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves Statement has been approved by the following competent persons on the basis detailed below:

Mineral Resources - South Dune Deposit

The information in this announcement that relates to the Kwale South Dune Mineral Resources estimate is based on, and fairly represents, information and supporting documentation prepared by Mr. Scott Carruthers. Mr. Carruthers is a Member of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr. Carruthers is employed by Base Resources, he holds equity securities in Base Resources, and is entitled to participate in Base Resources' long-term incentive plan and receive equity securities under that plan. Details about that plan are included in Base Resources' 2019 Annual Report. Mr. Carruthers has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposits under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the JORC Code and as a qualified person for the purposes of the AIM Rules for Companies. Mr. Carruthers has reviewed this announcement and consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the Kwale South Dune Mineral Resources estimate and supporting information in the form and context in which the relevant information appears.

Mineral Resources - North Dune Deposit

The information in this announcement that relates to Kwale North Dune Mineral Resources estimate is based on, and fairly represents, information and supporting documentation prepared by Mr. Greg Jones, who acts as a Consultant Geologist for Base Resources and is employed by IHC Robbins. Mr. Jones is a Member of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposits under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the JORC Code and as a qualified person for the purposes of the AIM Rules for Companies. Mr. Jones has reviewed this announcement and consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the Kwale North Dune Mineral Resources estimate and supporting information in the form and context in which it appears.

Ore Reserves - South Dune Deposit

The information in this announcement that relates to the Kwale South Dune Ore Reserves estimate is based on, and fairly represents, information and supporting documentation prepared by Mr. Per Scrimshaw and Mr. Scott Carruthers. Mr. Scrimshaw and Mr. Carruthers are both Members of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr. Scrimshaw is employed by Entech, a mining consultancy engaged by Base Resources. Mr. Carruthers is employed by Base Resources, he holds equity securities in Base Resources, and is entitled to participate in Base Resources' long-term incentive plan and receive equity securities under that plan. Details about that plan are included in the Company's 2019 Annual Report. Mr. Scrimshaw and Mr. Carruthers each have sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposits under consideration and to the activity which they are each undertaking to qualify as Competent Persons as defined in the JORC Code and as qualified persons for the purposes of the AIM Rules for Companies. Mr. Scrimshaw and Mr. Carruthers have each reviewed this announcement and consent to the inclusion in this announcement of the South Dune Ore Reserves estimate and supporting information in the form and context in which it appears.

Mineral Resources - Ranobe Deposit

The information in this announcement that relates to the Ranobe Mineral Resources estimate is based on, and fairly represents, information and supporting documentation prepared by Mr. Greg Jones, who acts as Consultant Geologist for Base Resources and is employed by IHC Robbins. Mr. Jones is a Member of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposits under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the JORC Code and as a qualified person for the purposes of the AIM Rules for Companies. Mr. Jones has reviewed this announcement and consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the Ranobe Mineral Resources estimate and supporting information in the form and context in which it appears.

Ore Reserves - Ranobe Deposit

The information in this announcement that relates to Ranobe Ore Reserves estimate is based on, and fairly represents, information and supporting documentation prepared by Mr. Chris Sykes and Mr. Scott Carruthers. Mr. Sykes and Mr. Carruthers are both members of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr. Sykes acts as a Consultant Mining Engineer for Base Resources. Mr. Carruthers is employed by Base Resources, he holds equity securities in Base Resources, and is entitled to participate in Base Resources' long-term incentive plan and receive equity securities under that plan. Details about that plan are included in the Company's 2019 Annual Report. Both Mr. Sykes and Mr. Carruthers have sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposits under consideration and to the activity which they are each undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the JORC Code and as qualified persons for the purposes of the AIM Rules for Companies. Mr. Sykes and Mr. Carruthers have each reviewed this announcement and consent to the inclusion in this announcement of the Ranobe Ore Reserves estimate and the supporting information in the form and context in which the relevant information appears.

Glossary

Assemblage The relative proportion of valuable heavy mineral components of ilmenite, rutile, zircon and, where applicable, leucoxene. Competent Person The JORC Code requires that a Competent Person must be a Member or Fellow of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, or of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists, or of a 'Recognised Professional Organisation'. A Competent Person must have a minimum of five years' experience working with the style of mineralisation or type of deposit under consideration and relevant to the activity which that person is undertaking. Cut-off grade The lowest grade of mineralised material that is thought to be economically mineable and available. Typically used by Base Resources to define which material is reported in a Mineral Resource estimate. Grade A physical or chemical measurement of the characteristics of the material of interest. In this context, the grade is always a percentage and the characteristics are heavy mineral, oversize, slime and the various product minerals (ilmenite, rutile etc). Heavy mineral In mineral sands, minerals with a specific gravity greater than 2.85 t/m3. ILM Ilmenite, a valuable heavy mineral. Indicated Resource An Indicated Mineral Resource is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity, grade (or quality), densities, shape and physical characteristics are estimated with sufficient confidence to allow the application of Modifying Factors in sufficient detail to support mine planning and evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit. Inferred Resource An Inferred Mineral Resource is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity and grade (or quality) are estimated on the basis of limited geological evidence and sampling. Geological evidence is sufficient to imply but not verify geological and grade (or quality) continuity. It is based on exploration, sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes. JORC Code The 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves, as published by the Joint Ore Reserves Committee of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Australian Institute of Geoscientists and Minerals Council of Australia. LEUC Leucoxene, a valuable heavy mineral. Measured Resources A Measured Mineral Resource is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity, grade (or quality), densities, shape, and physical characteristics are estimated with confidence sufficient to allow the application of Modifying Factors to support detailed mine planning and final evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit. Modifying Factors Modifying Factors are considerations used to convert Mineral Resources to Ore Reserves. These include, but are not restricted to, mining, processing, metallurgical, infrastructure, economic, marketing, legal, environmental, social and governmental factors. Mineral Resources Mineral Resources are a concentration or occurrence of solid material of economic interest in or on the Earth's crust in such form, grade (or quality), and quantity that there are reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. The location, quantity, grade (or quality), continuity and other geological characteristics of a Mineral Resource are known, estimated or interpreted from specific geological evidence and knowledge, including sampling. Mineral Resources are sub-divided, in order of increasing geological confidence, into Inferred, Indicated and Measured categories. Ore Reserves Ore Reserves are those portions of Mineral Resources that, after the application of all Modifying Factors, result in an estimated tonnage and grade which, in the opinion of the Competent Person making the estimates, can be the basis of a technically and economically viable project, after taking account of material relevant Modifying Factors. OS Oversize material. Probable Reserve A Probable Ore Reserve is the economically mineable part of an Indicated, and in some circumstances, a Measured Mineral Resource. The confidence in the Modifying Factors applying to a Probable Ore Reserve is lower than that applying to a Proved Ore Reserve. Proved Reserve A Proved Ore Reserve is the economically mineable part of a Measured Mineral Resource. A Proved Ore Reserve implies a high degree of confidence in the Modifying Factors. RUT Rutile, a valuable heavy mineral. SL Slimes, being a waste product from the processing of mineral sands. ZIR Zircon, a valuable heavy mineral.

ENDS.

For further information contact:

James Fuller, Manager Communications and Investor Relations UK Media Relations Base Resources Tavistock Communications Tel: +61 (8) 9413 7426 Jos Simson and Barnaby Hayward Mobile: +61 (0) 488 093 763 Tel: +44 (0) 207 920 3150 Email: jfuller@baseresources.com.au

About Base Resources

Base Resources is an Australian based, African focused, mineral sands producer and developer with a track record of project delivery and operational performance. The company operates the established Kwale Operations in Kenya and is developing the Toliara Project in Madagascar. Base Resources is an ASX and AIM listed company. Further details about Base Resources are available at www.baseresources.com.au

PRINCIPAL & REGISTERED OFFICE

Level 1, 50 Kings Park Road

West Perth, Western Australia, 6005

Email: info@baseresources.com.au

Phone: +61 (0)8 9413 7400

Fax: +61 (0)8 9322 8912

NOMINATED ADVISOR

RFC Ambrian Limited

Stephen Allen

Phone: +61 (0)8 9480 2500

BROKER

Berenberg

Matthew Armitt / Detlir Elezi

Phone: +44 20 3207 7800


"Saved by the Bell" fans, want a slice of Bayside High delivered right to your home?

Now you can get it! And, OK, it's not a locker or a letter jacket or even Mark-Paul Gosselaar, who played Zack Morris on the series, which ran from 1989 to 1993. Instead, it's meals that include everything from burgers to salads to coffee to desserts and a Class of 2020 swag gift  plus more.

Saved by the Bell (NBC)

From Aug. 20 ("Saved by the Bell's" original premiere date) to Aug. 25, the folks behind Saved by the Max, the traveling pop-up restaurant based on the TV series, will be sending preordered Bayside Preppy Packs to those who sign up starting Friday. Alas, the locations for delivery are limited: Chicago, New York and Los Angeles only.

"We've all seen the hospitality industry turned upside down these past months," said pop-up co-creator Derek Berry in a statement. "And with fans still yearning for more we saw the opportunity to bring back the Bayside spirit. We've loved expanding our pop-up success into working with other nostalgic properties ("Good Burger," "The Peach Pit," "The Breaking Bad Experience," "Mooby's") and in our hearts we knew there was no better time to bring back a taste of 'Saved by the Bell.'"

Burger and tots! What more could you ask for? (Courtesy Saved by the Max)

"Bell" is having something of a renaissance in recent years; not only is Gosselaar finally watching it for the first time, but there's a reboot all lined up to air on the Peacock streaming service. (Peacock is part of our parent company, NBCUniversal.)

Saved by the Max was a temporary pop-up diner that perfectly re-created "Bell" hangout the Max in 2016, and spawned a number of other themed re-creations. But since most restaurants, including temporary ones, are on partial or full lockdown due to the coronavirus quarantine, a delivery or in-person pickup experience is the next best thing.

Fans in cities where the delivery is operating will have to pre-order their options beginning Friday, Aug. 14 at 10 a.m. PST. The Preppy Packs will include a full burger or beyond meat meal with "Home of the Tigers tater totz" or Kapowski Fries, or a salad and dessert. Other options include the At Home Detention carryout kit and the I'm So Excited coffee experience; there's also an Attic 21+ beverage menu that includes Mr. Dewey's build-it-at-home cocktail kit, a See Ya Slater to-go cocktail pouch, and the signature Lisa Turtle.

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Maybe a little dessert? (Courtesy Saved by the Max)

All pre-purchased experiences will be delivered via the service Tock, or can be picked up at locations in Chicago (Dorians: 1941 North Avenue); New York (Planet Hollywood: 1540 Broadway) and Los Angeles (the former Saved by the Max space: 7100 Santa Monica Boulevard). Each carryout will be arranged for a set pickup time, with social distancing enforced; facial coverings will be enforced.

More details can be found at the Saved by the Max website, or on Twitter @SavedByTheMax.
Glamma Beijing, a group of four women who met during a modelling training course after retiring 20 years ago, became an internet sensation in China last year

Four famous amateur model grandmothers took off their masks during a saunter down the streets of Beijing on Thursday to demonstrate life returning to normal as the COVID-19 pandemic eases.

Glamma Beijing, a group of four women who met during a modelling training course after retiring 20 years ago, became an internet sensation in China last year.

A 15-second video of them walking in Sanlitun, one of Beijing's busiest shopping districts, wearing traditional qipao dresses and over-sized dangling fringe earrings, was viewed more than 50 million times in a day, according to local media.

Since then, Lin Wei, Wang Xinghuo, Sun Yang and Wang Nianwen, all aged over 60, have enjoyed dressing up and performing in videos on short-video platform Douyin for likes.

"Your life is grey if you are always afraid of ageing and death," said Lin Wei, 64, explaining her philosophy on growing older and enthusiasm for donning stylish clothes and makeup.

"You are old, you have wrinkles, you don't have too much energy, or your figure becomes baggy. But this is something you can't go against, so you need to face it with positivity."

During the COVID-19 pandemic, when the group had to stay indoors, they reverted to creating videos about their lifestyle. They now have more than a million followers on Douyin.

On Thursday, the stylish grannies, as they call themselves in Mandarin, turned heads as they walked in figure-hugging qipaos down a street like a catwalk, in Beijing's central business district of Guomao.

"Beauty is in all ages," said Liu Jing, a passer-by. "You can be young and stylish, or feminine. And you can also be elegant just like these grannies."

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The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are partnering on a research effort focused on central bank digital currencies (CBDC).

Federal Reserve governor Lael Brainard spoke about the initiative during an appearance Thursday. In her remarks, Brainard touched on a variety of points around the subject of CBDC and then highlighted the work between the Boston Fed and MIT. Notably, Brainard said that any code developed as part of the initiative would be made public "for anyone to use for experimentation."

Brainard remarked:

"To enhance the Federal Reserve's understanding of digital currencies, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston is collaborating with researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in a multiyear effort to build and test a hypothetical digital currency oriented to central bank uses. The research project will explore the use of existing and new technologies as needed. Lessons from this collaboration will be published, and any codebase that is developed through this effort will be offered as open-source software for anyone to use for experimentation."

"The objectives of our research and experimentation across the Federal Reserve System are to assess the safety and efficiency of digital currency systems, to inform our understanding of private-sector arrangements, and to give us hands-on experience to understand the opportunities and limitations of possible technologies for digital forms of central bank money," she continued. "These efforts are intended to ensure that we fully understand the potential as well as the associated risks and possible unintended consequences that new technologies present in the payments arena."

Brainard also detailed some of the work being conducted within the Federal Reserve system.

"We have been conducting in-house experiments for the last few years, through means that include the Board's Technology Lab, which has been building and testing a range of distributed ledger platforms to understand their potential opportunity and risk," she explained. "This multidisciplinary team, with application developers from the Federal Reserve Banks of Cleveland, Dallas, and New York, supports a policy team at the Board that is studying the implications of digital currencies on the payments ecosystem, monetary policy, financial stability, banking and finance, and consumer protection."

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During her remarks, Brainard stressed that the Fed has not made any final determination as to whether it would launch its own digital currency.

"It is important to understand how the existing provisions of the Federal Reserve Act with regard to currency issuance apply to a CBDC and whether a CBDC would have legal tender status, depending on the design," said Brainard. "The Federal Reserve has not made a decision whether to undertake such a significant policy process, as we are taking the time and effort to understand the significant implications of digital currencies and CBDCs around the globe."

Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell has previously spoken about the Fed's work in the area of CBDC. He told members of Congress in February: "Were working hard on it, we have a lot of projects going on, lot of efforts going on on that right now."





 2020 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
Delighted nurses at one of Britains top hospitals stepped out into the sunshine this week to unload the latest van full of life-saving Mail Force PPE.

And the 20,000 masks and 60 visors presented to Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge were for the first time manufactured entirely in Britain.

The Mail Force charity  set up by this newspaper and our partners and backed by generous readers  collected the vital home-grown kit from a factory just 125 miles up the road in Yorkshire, where two printing companies have rapidly transformed themselves to meet the demands of the crisis.

Addenbrookes head of nursing Helen Balson said the delivery will mean a huge amount to the hospital trusts 11,000 staff, who have been battling coronavirus for six months.

Delighted nurses at one of Britains top hospitals stepped out into the sunshine this week to unload the latest van full of life-saving Mail Force PPE

We also need more masks for visitors as they start coming back to the hospital to see family and friends so it will help with that too, she said.

Id like to say thank you to all the Mail readers. It means so much that people give their money to help the NHS.

Every single piece of the PPE delivered to Addenbrookes  which was founded in 1766 and is now one of the countrys major teaching hospitals  is precious. The hospital gets through more than 10,000 masks a day, as well as 20,000 aprons and 1,500 specialist FFP3 masks.

While there are currently just seven patients in the hospital with coronavirus and none in intensive care, during the peak of the crisis it had 135 Covid-19 patients on its wards.

20,000 masks and 60 visors presented to Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge were for the first time manufactured entirely in Britain

Thanks to donations from generous Mail readers, the Mail Force charity has raised an astonishing 11million, amounting to 30million pieces of PPE for frontline workers

Sally Stokes, senior procurement manager at Addenbrookes, said it was incredible to see peoples generosity.

It has been very, very stressful the last few months, she said. The biggest challenge has been the demand of trying to get PPE. The whole world wants PPE.

'Were very proud because we never ran out of anything, even at the peak. But we were probably very close  within hours of running out.

She said doctors and nurses working gruelling shifts in the heat were boosted by such fantastic examples of public support.

The medical staff on Covid wards have to wear visors for 12-hour shifts and, because theyve got to be so tight, it gives them bruises.

HERE'S HOW TO DONATE Mail Force Charity has been launched with one aim to help support NHS staff, volunteers and care workers fight back against Covid-19 in the UK. Mail Force is a separate charity established and supported by the Daily Mail and General Trust. The money raised will fund essential equipment required by the NHS and care workers. This equipment is vital in protecting the heroic staff whilst they perform their fantastic work in helping the UK overcome this pandemic. If we raise more money than is needed for vital Covid-19 equipment, we will apply all funds to support the work of the NHS in other ways. Click the button below to make a donation: DONATE NOW If the button is not visible, click here Advertisement

Then in this heat it is so hard for the clinical people, she said. This is another fantastic example of the support we have received from members of the public during the outbreak.

Personal protective equipment has been a vital weapon in the fight against Covid-19.

The trusts Rachel Thaxter, lead nurse for infection prevention and control, said it was a comfort to staff to know that stocks of PPE were replenished after the dangerous days at the peak of the pandemic.

It was a very anxious time for all the doctors and nurses. We were very short of visors at one stage, she said.

The delivery to Addenbrookes represents just a fraction of the more than 30 million items of PPE that have now been supplied to the coronavirus frontline thanks to the astonishing 11million that Mail readers and supporters have donated so far.

While Mail Force will continue to deliver PPE from all over the world, depending on availability, more than half of the essential kit the charity hands out is now being produced on these shores.

The masks the Addenbrookes nurses received were made at Bluetree, a fast-growing printing company based near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, with which the Government is also placing an order.

And the face shields came from the order for half a million which Mail Force has placed with Doncaster-based Kingsbury Press, another printing firm which is retraining staff to provide quality equipment for healthcare workers.

Like every piece of Mail Force PPE, they have been approved and pre-tested by Department of Health inspectors.
A Wisconsin government agency has told its employees to wear masks during Zoom calls - even if they are at home.

The Department of Natural Resources wants its workers to 'set a safety example' which 'shows you care about the safety and health of others', according to the Journal-Sentinel in Madison.

However, a University of Wisconsin expert has questioned the move and a Republican state legislator mocked it as 'just putting on an appearance of helping'.

Wisconsin's governor last month imposed a face-mask order for enclosed spaces - but it does not apply to private residences.

Wisconsin governor Tony Evers (pictured) has made masks compulsory in indoor spaces - but the rule does not apply to private residences

The Zoom instruction was sent out in a July 31 email by natural resources secretary Preston Cole which said masks were compulsory at DNR facilities.

'Also, wear your mask, even if you are home, to participate in a virtual meeting that involves being seen  such as on Zoom or another video-conferencing platform  by non-DNR staff,' Cole said.

'Set the safety example which shows you as a DNR public service employee care about the safety and health of others.'

Nasia Safdar, an infection control expert at the University of Wisconsin, said masks at home were only necessary in very limited cirumstances.

These might include another person in the house having Covid-19 - but otherwise there is no reason to wear a mask at home, she said.

In other cases, there is no reason to wear a mask at home, she said.

GOP state lawmaker Joe Sanfelippo said he agreed with wearing masks in public but ridiculed the masks-at-home initiative.

'I'm more inclined to support things that actually do help as opposed to just putting on an appearance of helping,' he said.

Wisconsin has suffered 62,263 cases of coronavirus and 1,011 deaths, according to the state's health department (its daily cases are shown on this chart)

Wisconsin governor Tony Evers, a Democrat, signed an emergency order on July 30 making masks compulsory in indoor spaces.

The rule applies when 'the individual is indoors or in an enclosed space, other than at a private residence'.

Face coverings are also recommended outdoors 'when it is not possible to maintain physical distancing', but not compulsory.

Breaking the rules could lead to a $200 fine, although there are exceptions for young children and people with other medical conditions.

Wisconsin has suffered 62,263 cases of coronavirus and 1,011 deaths, according to the state's health department.

Health officials say they have carried out more than a million tests in Wisconsin since the epidemic began.

The state is averaging 760 new cases per day with some days seeing spikes of more than 1,000 new infections.

Last Saturday saw a new record of 1,165 new cases in Wisconsin and the proportion of tests that come back positive has risen since mid-July.
Police in Belarus detained 6,000 people in a third night of violent protests over the countrys disputed presidential election which occurred on August 9, in which incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko retained his position with a landslide win. Reportedly, more footage has surfaced featuring police beating and violently arresting the protesters.

As per several international reports, leaders of the opposition have been arrested and driven out of the nation in a crackdown following the disputed elections. Among those leaders is the main opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who left for Lithuania after an apparent threat to her children. Opposition leader have called out the police for attacking protesters.

Videos have shown police authorities shooting onlookers with rubber bullets and beating protests with truncheons after their detention. According to reports, western governments have criticized the clampdown and the European Union has said that the bloc's foreign ministers would discuss Belarus at a meeting on August 14. Reportedly, in the countrys south-west region, Brest, law enforcement stated that they have used live ammunition to fire at demonstrators, injuring one.

The interior ministry stated that the protesters had attacked them with steel bars. However, the ministry later removed the reference to live ammunition from its statement.Families gathered outside the detention centre on the outskirts of Minsk in hope of receiving some information about their relatives who have been missing after the demonstrations. A few people also bought food and essential supplies to hand them to those inside.

Read: EU Warns Of Possible Action Against Belarus

Read: Over 1,000 Detained In Latest Belarus Election Protests

Current situation in Belarus

In a rally near a market in Minsk on August 12, hundreds of women donning white clothes and holding flowers formed a human chain to protest against police brutality and arrests. A theatre group called Belarus Free Theatre claimed that two of its members had been detained and added that they were being held in desperate conditions. The Belarusian interior ministry reported a total of 3,000 arrests after protests on August 10, 2,000 on August 11, and another 1,000 on August 12.

Lukashenko, who won a sixth term in the elections with 80.23 percent of the vote, has dismissed the protests. Speaking of the ongoing protests, he reportedly said that most of these demonstrators are people with a criminal past and currently unemployed. Earlier, the opposition had claimed that the results were rigged.

Central electoral commission chief Lidia Yermoshina stated that Tikhanovskaya won 9.9 percent of the vote. However, Tikhanovskaya rejected the results and demanded the authorities to transfer power to the opposition. She also criticised the authorities for the clashes, saying police had used disproportionate measures against protesters.

(Image credit: AP)

Read: Belarus: 3000 Detained, Dozens Injured As Protests Rock Country After Presidential Polls

Read: Belarus Women Rally In Solidarity With Protesters
- All 65 MCAs from the Jubilee Party are expected to attend the Thursday meeting at party headquarters in Pangani

- Among other issues expected to be discussed include disciplinary action among rogue members and election of new Speaker

- The new Speaker is set to be elected on Friday following Beatrice Elachi's exit from the post

The Jubilee Party has summoned all it's Nairobi county ward representatives for an urgent consultative meeting ahead of Fridays vote for new Speaker to replace Beatrice Elachi.

The party Secretary-General Raphael Tuju instructed majority whip Paul Kados to whip all the 65 MCAs to attend the meeting to be held at the party headquarters in Pangani on Thursday, August 13.

READ ALSO: Karanja Kibicho amjibu Ruto kuhusu uchaguzi wa 2022

The MCAs were summoned to Jubilee Party headquarters in Pangani through a letter written by Secretary-General Raphael Tuju. Photo: Jubilee Party

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: The revenue divide: Senators Kilonzo, Ledama and Sakaja vow to stand for Kenya

"In light of the current developments at the Nairobi County Assembly, you are required to attend a consultative meeting of all Jubilee elected and nominated at Jubilee Headquarters in Pangani at 12 noon on Thursday, August 13, 2020 without fail," said Tuju in a letter to the assembly.

The ruling party has a total of 65 MCAs, both elected and nominated, after MCA Habiba Hussein lost her seat after missing sittings for two years.

The meeting comes barely two days after Elachi resigned from her position as the Speaker citing frustrations and threats to her life and that of her family.

Deputy Speaker John Kamangu who is also Ruai MCA took over as acting Speaker.

Acting Speaker for Nairobi County Assembly John Kamangu when he was addressing the press after Elachi's exit. Photo: Screenshot from Citizen TV

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Willis Raburu denies dating Rwandese lady

The seat has since been declared vacant and voting is set to take place on Friday for a new Speaker.

Disciplinary action

Coincidentally, the meeting comes at a time when hearing for eight MCAs who had been summoned by the party is set to take place.

They were summoned by the President Uhuru Kenyatta-led party to appear before its disciplinary committee on Thursday over misconduct following chaos that took place at the assembly.

The eight are Kamangu, who is now acting Speaker, Ziwani/Kariokor MCA Millicent Mugadi, Kayole Central MCA Jeremiah Karani, Dandora Area 3 MCA Charles Thuo Wakarindi and nominated MCAs June Ndegwa, Joyce Kamau, Susan Makungu and Margaret Mbote.

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

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Vietnam confirmed its 18th coronavirus-related death on Thursday morning, according to Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son.

The deceased patient, a 52-year-old woman from Cam Le District in the central city of Da Nang, had end-stage chronic renal failure, hypertension, and type-2 diabetes.

The patient received treatment at the urology ward of Da Nang Hospital from July 15 to 31, during which she tested positive for the novel coronavirus and was confirmed as Vietnams COVID-19 patient No. 485.

The patient was transferred to Da Nang Hospital for Lung Diseases on July 31 and subsequently diagnosed with pneumonia. Doctors also noted she had several underlying conditions including end-stage chronic renal failure, hypertension, and type-2 diabetes.

On August 1, she suffered respiratory failure and shortness of breath and was transferred to the department of tropical medicine at Da Nang Hospital.

On August 4, the patient was sent to Hoa Vang Medical Center for further treatment. She was in a coma with high fever and required support from a ventilator.

The patient passed away at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, with her death attributed to severe pneumonia caused by COVID-19 and a history of end-stage chronic renal failure, hypertension, and type-2 diabetes.

Among Vietnams 18 virus-related deaths, three were below 50 years of age, four between 50 and 60 years old, and the rest over 60. Most of them had severe pre-existing conditions.

The countrys COVID-19 tally stood at 883, with 409 having recovered as of Thursday morning, according to Ministry of Health statistics.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
A childhood polio survivor and world-record-holding senior Olympian. A Hearst Connecticut sports columnist. A leader of a local NAACP chapter. We're honoring those who have died this year in Connecticut, including community leaders, iconic figures and everyday heroes.

Below is a list of notable people to have passed.
FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan talks to media after attending Friday prayers at Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul

ANKARA (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that any attack on a Turkish ship exploring for oil and gas in disputed Mediterranean waters would incur a "high price" and suggested Turkey had already acted on that warning.

Tensions in the eastern Mediterranean have risen sharply this week after Turkey sent a survey vessel to the region, escorted by warships, in a move Greece decried as illegal.

"We said that if you attack our Oruc Reis you will pay a high price, and they got their first answer today," Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara without giving details.

The Oruc Reis set out on Monday with its military escort to survey waters between Crete and Cyprus.

In response, President Emmanuel Macron said France would increase its military presence in the region and called on Ankara to stop its exploration work. French and Greek forces held military training exercises off Crete on Thursday.

European Union foreign ministers, who have already imposed sanctions on two Turkish energy executives over Turkey's operations in the eastern Mediterranean, will discuss the situation on Friday.

Greece's foreign ministry said Minister Nikos Dendias will brief EU counterparts "about the real facts of the recent days regarding operations in the region" at the emergency meeting.

Erdogan spoke by phone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and EU Council President Charles Michel on Thursday. He "reiterated his commitment to defend Turkey's rights against attempts to disregard them", Erdogan's office said of the call with Michel.

Both Turkey and Greece said this week that they were willing to resolve the dispute over their overlapping maritime claims, but vowed to protect their interests and blamed the other side for the stand-off.

"If we act with common sense and reason, we can find a win-win solution that meets everyone's interests," Erdogan said earlier on Thursday. "We are not chasing any unnecessary adventures or seeking tensions."

In apparent reference to France, Erdogan also said Greece was being pushed into taking "wrong steps" in the region by "a country that doesn't even have a coast in the eastern Mediterranean".

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu, Ali Kucukgocmen and Daren Butler in Turkey and Angeliki Koutantou in Greece; Writing by Dominic Evans; Editing by Giles Elgood and Grant McCool)
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Los Angeles, United States  Thu, August 13, 2020 13:08 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066db9486 2 People Prince-Harry,Meghan-Markle Free

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have purchased and moved into a new family home in Santa Barbara, an affluent seaside city outside Los Angeles, according to US media reports.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex -- who quit frontline British royal duties this year -- were previously living in Meghan's hometown Los Angeles, where they became quickly embroiled in a legal battle with paparazzi over photos taken of their son Archie.

The pair "moved into their family home in July of this year" and have "settled into the quiet privacy of their community," a spokesperson said in a statement to AFP, without confirming the new location.

They "hope that this will be respected for their neighbors, as well as for them as a family," the spokesperson added.

According to People and Page Six, their new house is in Santa Barbara, a wealthy community 100 miles up the coast from Los Angeles which is also home to Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres.

"This is where they want to bring Archie up, where they hope he can have as normal a life as possible," an anonymous source told Page Six.

The source added: "Harry and Meghan never intended to make Los Angeles their home."

The pair filed a lawsuit last month in Los Angeles against paparazzi whom they accuse of taking pictures of their son without permission.

"The couple recently learned that someone is shopping photographs of their 14-month-old son, Archie, falsely claiming to have taken them on a 'recent' public outing 'in Malibu,'" the complaint, filed for invasion of privacy, said.

The snapshots were actually taken during "activities in the backyard of the residence, unbeknownst" to the couple, it said.

The couple were reportedly living at the Los Angeles home of media tycoon Tyler Perry at the time.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex relocated to California via Canada after announcing in January that they intended to quit royal life and "work to become financially independent."

Markle and Harry have spoken of their desire to "to do something of meaning, to do something that matters," in California, where they plan to launch a wide-ranging non-profit organization named Archewell.

In April, they worked with a charity to hand out meals to chronically ill people in Los Angeles during the coronavirus lockdown.

The couple are "intent on being of service" and seeing their new home "through the lens of philanthropy," Richard Ayoub, the charity's CEO, told AFP at the time.
They're starting to go down like dominoes.

First, they vowed to keep the schools closed through the rest of the year, all for the teachers' unions sake...and then they started to reverse.

It started with New York's Mayor Bill de Blasio, and then New York's Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Now, New Jersey's governor, Phil Murphy, has joined, opting to reopen, too  except he's getting a lot of pushback from the foremost opponents of in-person learning, the state's teachers' unions.

According to Politico:

TRENTON  New Jersey schools can begin the academic year remotely, Gov Phil Murphy announced Wednesday, but in order to access the online option, districts will have to prove to the state they cannot reopen safely for in-person learning. "There has to be a rationale associated with not opening at least in hybrid," Murphy said at his regular coronavirus briefing. "There's got to be a reason for it."

Local website NJ.com notes:

It comes less than 24 hours after leaders of the state's largest teacher union and groups representing school administrators issued a joint statement Tuesday night calling on Murphy and the state Department of Education to have all New Jersey schools open remotely in the fall over health concerns because of the virus.

Little two-step there. Murphy says schools that really don't want to open and can meet some criteria for that can get an all-remote exception. But the burden of proof is on them to prove they need it.

That's about right, though don't put it past the unions to manipulate matters to ensure they can meet those vaunted criteria. In New Jersey, things are so unioned up they can probably claim they can't get a custodian to open the windows for optimal air circulation because it's just too dangerous.

Yet the teachers' unions are getting heat, too, falsely claiming they're all in for reopening schools, too, under their own criteria:

"We fully support and share the governor's goal of moving to in-person instruction as soon as the science and data say we can do so responsibly and when the resources are available in our school buildings to do it safely," the union leaders added.

Science, these days, to paraphrase Samuel Johnson, is the last refuge of the scoundrel.

A huge definitive new study done via science from the U.K. has just show that the prospect of teachers catching COVID from kids is virtually nil. Ten thousand students from 200 institutions opened in the wake of the coronavirus showed....virtually no transmissions. Yes, indeed, there's some science there, and all it's showing is that the teachers' union is superstitious.

These clowns don't have science on their side.

They don't even have empirical examples. Over in Georgia, where Gov. Brian Kemp was an early champion of reopening schools, and went ahead and did it, it all "went real well," as The Hill reported. Europe, Asia, and pretty much the entire rest of the world has re-opened all schools safely, leaving just the unioned-up states  clustered in solid blue states  to dump their kids in the name of enacting easy-street teaching for teachers. And yes, little kids don't take hours and hours of daily online learning well; actually, no one does. So as students in Iowa and Georgia and Texas get ahead (a good chart here shows who's open and who's not), students in solid blue shutdown states are left behind. Kids in Israel and South Korea are doing great, too.

This intransigence is also driving enrollment into private schools, which are reopening, as well as home-schooling, which has shot up in popularity. Parents are also moving away from these leftist districts that are basically just dumping the students for online learning in the name of an easy ride for teachers. Grocery workers and medical workers and postal workers have dealt with COVID for months exposed to the general public, but somehow teachers are special. Yet the risk from little kids is far lower than it is from the general public. That's killing off public support for public schools by leaps and bounds.

NJ.com reports that a solid majority of parents want schools to reopen  46-42, a four-point differential that would be called a landslide in an election. The Federalist notes that Democrats are caving left and right after New York has caved. A last reason for the intransigence is to Get Trump, who wants schools reopened and normalcy restored. That may be the biggest reason of all for the refusal to reopen, but the forces are amassing against them now as one Democratic governor after another peels away from them.

Image credit: Pixabay public domain picture, enhanced with FotoSketcher.
Israel attacked targets of Islamist group Hamas in Gaza and halted fuel supplies to the enclave Thursday in the latest retaliation against fire bombs suspended from balloons that have been released from the Palestinian territory.

Israeli warplanes and tanks struck overnight in the fourth military attack over the past week, causing no reported casualties Thursday but leaving one unexploded missile inside a UN-run school's compound in Gaza's Shati refugee camp.

A Palestinian security official in Gaza said "an unexploded missile fired by an Israeli plane" had impacted inside the school area and that "explosives engineering teams are working to disarm it".

Adnan Abu Hasna, spokesman for UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinians, also told AFP the missile had come down in one of its schools, where children had just returned Sunday after a five-month suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We closed the school and are awaiting an investigation to the determine the facts and extent of damage," he said.

An Israeli army spokeswoman told AFP that the military was looking into the claim.

Israel's defence ministry said the fuel sanctions came "in light of the continued launching of incendiary balloons from the Strip toward the territory of the State of Israel and of the undermining of security stability".

- Anti-balloon lasers -

The latest round of hostilities has seen firebombs attached to bunches of balloons floating into Israel, setting agricultural fields and scrubland ablaze. Sometimes kites are used in the makeshift attacks.

Israeli fire services in the south of the country reported 60 fires caused by balloons on Tuesday, and 24 on Wednesday, without recording any casualties.

Police sappers have also been dismantling bombs attached to balloons that landed in southern Israel since August 6.

In response, Israel has closed its cargo crossing with Gaza and also reduced the territory's permitted coastal fishing zone.

Story continues

Hamas on Thursday condemned Israel's attacks on Gaza and its sanctions as "dangerous and aggressive behaviour", warning in a statement of "consequences" the Jewish state will bear.

Hamas and Israel have fought three wars since 2008.

Despite a truce last year backed by the UN, Egypt and Qatar, the two sides clash sporadically with rockets, mortar fire or incendiary balloons.

The Gaza Strip has a population of two million, more than half of whom live in poverty, according to the World Bank.

Palestinian analysts say fire from Gaza often aims to pressure Israel to give the green light for the transfer of Qatari financial aid into the strip.

On Monday, Hamas fired several rockets into the sea as a warning "message" to Israel, a source close to the Islamist movement told AFP.

While Israel's Iron Dome defence system was capable of intercepting projectiles fired from Gaza, balloons and kites rigged with explosives have proved a different challenge.

The Israeli army said it was testing a "new laser anti-balloon system".

az-jjm/scw/fz
Businesses have avoided a potential multibillion-dollar wage bill increase, with the High Court overturning a decision that granted shift workers and part-time employees more sick leave.

In the case between the manufacturing union and confectionary maker Cadbury, four High Court judges ruled workers who did 12-hour shifts were not automatically entitled to more sick leave than those who worked more normal 9am to 5pm hours.

Workers making Cherry Ripes at a Cadbury factory. Credit:Paul Jeffers

The decision means many shift workers will receive fewer than the 10 days legislated in the Fair Work Act but preserves equality between workers on different rosters, with permanent employees accruing sick leave for the hours they work at the same rate.

Unions called on the Morrison government to amend the act, saying workers needed more sick leave as COVID-19 continued to spread, but acting Industrial Relations Minister Mathias Cormann said the ruling had restored certainty for business.
By Akbar Mammadov

President Ilham Aliyev has said that the large-scale joint military drills being held between Azerbaijani and Turkish troops are another manifestation of the Turkish-Azerbaijani unity and brotherhood.

He also said that these exercises are a common occurrence and their intensity will increase in the future.

Aliyev made the remarks on August 13 while receiving the Turkish military delegation headed by the National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar who is on a visit in Azerbaijan to observe the Turkey-Azerbaijan Joint Large-Scale Military Exercises.

Today is the last day of the Turkish-Azerbaijani joint military exercises. The first stage of military exercises is coming to an end. This is a very significant event that once again demonstrates our unity and brotherhood. Exercises have been held in various cities of our country for several days. These exercises are of great importance from the point of view of military cooperation. At the same time, they are very important and useful for the strengthening of relations between our people and brotherhood between nations, the president said, addressing the Turkish military officials.

Aliyev pointed out that over 10 joint exercises are held in both Azerbaijan and Turkey every year.

These exercises have become a common occurrence. There is no need to look for any extraordinary circumstances here. We are also seeing that these exercises have caused some concern in certain countries. But there is no reason for this. This is another manifestation of Turkish-Azerbaijani unity and brotherhood, he said.

The president stressed that as in all areas, the cooperation and collaboration in the military and military-technical spheres are developing rapidly between the two countries.

It is no secret that Turkey currently possesses a strong military-industrial potential and we are benefiting from this potential. We are very delighted that Turkey produces the most sophisticated weaponry and military equipment today. Of course, we want to continue to benefit from these opportunities, as we have done to this day. I am confident that as is the case in all other areas, Turkey will be our number one partner in the area of military-technical cooperation in the near future, Aliyev said.

I believe that the intensity of these exercises will be increased from now on. Naturally, there is a need for this. I am sure that our brothers, the personnel of the Turkish Armed Forces visiting Azerbaijan these days, saw that they are perfectly at home here. I am convinced that after returning to Turkey, they will keep these memories in their hearts, the president concluded.

Aliyev also thanked Turkey for unequivocally supporting Azerbaijan amid Armenias military provocation on the border a month ago that resulted in the death of Azerbaijani servicemen and civilian.

This [support] further encourages us and once again shows how close we are to each other, Aliyev said.

Aliyev described the Turkish-Azerbaijani relations in the political, economic and other spheres as an example for all countries, saying that there are no countries in the world today that would be as close and attached to each other as Turkey and Azerbaijan.

This is a fact based on both historical and ethnic roots. At the same time, we as two brotherly countries are further strengthening this unity through our policies, Aliyev stressed.

In turn, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar reiterated his countrys support for Azerbaijan over Armenian provocation on the border, saying that from the first day, all our 83 million people led by Mr. President angrily condemned the latest attack in Tovuz.

We see that these provocations represent a large-scale attack and contradict international law, that this is a continuation of criminal actions since the time of the Khojaly genocide and the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh. You are aware of our position on this. Azerbaijan is our brother. We are like two sons of one mother. We do feel perfectly at home here, he stressed.

Akar emphasized that the cooperation between the Turkish and Azerbaijan armed forces have been developing since Azerbaijan gained independence and there is framework military agreements and agreements on cooperation in the field of military education.

We are cooperating in the field of the defense industry. As a logical result of all this, we have a strategic cooperation agreement signed in 2010. Thus, within the framework of these agreements, our trips, contacts and joint presence at exercises are quite natural activities. So far, we have done everything necessary for the sovereignty, independence and security of our countries, and we will continue to do so, Akar noted.

Akar said that exercises are like a laboratory where theory is turned into practice.

We have seen the continuation of our cooperation, not just the completion of these exercises today, but only one stage, Akar noted.

The Republic of Turkey and our 83 million people led by Mr. President are indeed watching this activity here with great love and enthusiasm. As Ataturk said, the joy of Azerbaijan is our joy and its sorrow is our sorrow too. This is truly a natural result of being one nation, Akar continued.

We stand for peace and stability. We are supporters of peace and tranquility not only in the sense of security and tranquility of our countries, we stand for peace and tranquility in the entire Caucasus, in the entire region. On the other hand, we want everyone to know that we will not allow our rights and interests to be violated, and will do everything necessary to protect them, he stressed.

It should be noted that Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces General Yashar Guler, Commander of the Land Forces, General Umit Dundar, Commander of the Air Force of the Turkish Armed Forces General Hakan Kucukakyuzu, Commander of the Turkish Naval Forces, Admiral Adnan Ozbal and other military officials were also received by the president.

Turkish Ambassador Erkan Ozoral and Azerbaijani Defence Minister, Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov also participated in the meeting.

The Turkish military delegation arrived in Azerbaijan on August 12 evening to observe the joint large-scale military drills held between the two countries' troops, Azerbaijans Defence Ministry reported today.

The military delegation observed the final episode of the first stage of Live-Fire Joint Large-Scale Tactical and Flight-Tactical Exercises of the Land Forces and the Air Force of Azerbaijan and Turkey. The observation of the final episode took place within the framework of the Distinguished Visitors Day of the exercises.

The Turkish military officials visit follows Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramovs and Defence Minister Zakir Hasanovs visit to Turkey on August 11 where they were both received by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

It should be noted that The Land and Air forces of the two countries participated in the military exercises held in line with the agreement on military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkey, in accordance with the annual plan.

According to the plan, exercises involving the Land Forces were held from August 1 to 5 in Baku and Nakhchivan, while exercises involving the Air Forces were conducted from July 29 to August 10  in Baku, Nakhchivan, Ganja, Kurdamir and Yevlakh. The personnel, armoured vehicles, artillery and mortars, combat and transport helicopters of the Air Forces, as well as air defence and anti-aircraft missile divisions of the two armies, were involved in the drills.

---

Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
A man who smuggled cocaine into prison has narrowly avoided going back to Maghaberry.

Imposing an 18-month jail sentence on John Moorhead at Craigavon Crown Court, Judge Patrick Lynch QC told the 44-year-old it was with "considerable hesitation" he was suspending that sentence for three years.

He said he was taking the exceptional step due to Moorhead's guilty pleas, efforts at rehabilitating himself and the "excessive delays" in bringing the case to a conclusion - but warned him that "you know what will happen" if he reoffends.

At an earlier hearing Moorhead, from Portlee Walk in Antrim, had entered guilty pleas to conveying 11gms of cocaine into Maghaberry prison and possessing the class A drug with intent to supply on August 28 2018.

Yesterday, prosecuting lawyer Joseph Murphy outlined how Moorhead was on remand for a similar offence when he was granted compassionate bail to attend a funeral.

When he returned to the maximum security prison, staff suspected that he might have drugs so he was placed into a dry cell said the lawyer. He said it was when guards were about to conduct a "full body search" that Moorhead confessed that he had secreted drugs on his person.

"He was allowed some privacy and when officers returned he handed them two packets of cocaine," said Mr Murphy who told the court they amounted to a total of 10.94 grams.

During interviews Moorhead said he had been "approached by criminals" and told to smuggle the drugs into prison.

Mr Murphy said it was an aggravating factor that Moorhead was on bail for possessing cocaine with intent to supply at the time of the offence. He said that offence related to him having 2.2kgs of cocaine in his car and home.

Solicitor advocate Ciaran Shiels said Moorhead is still on licence for that offence but since his release in July last year, he had not breached any conditions, there were no pending cases and he had been doing his best to "get his life back on track".

Sentencing Moorhead, Judge Lynch said the case is "exacerbated by the aggravating factor" that he was on remand for a drug offence when he smuggled the cocaine into prison. He added that he had "positive reports" before him so "on the basis that you will not be back here before the court and that your attempts at rehabilitation are sincere," he was suspending the jail sentence.
A project involving landowners, including pastoral farmers and orchardists, which could result in both an abundance of whitebait for locals and recovery of fish numbers is planned for waterways in the Northern Tauranga Harbour region.

Lawrie Donald, Chair of Uretara Estuary Managers and Project Parore member says the proposal is to remove migration barriers to indigenous fish species in all the streams in the area.

This follows successful work carried out last year on the Te Mania, Te Rereatukahia, Uretara and Tahawai streams.

The biggest threat to our indigenous fish species is not from the whitebait fishers, but from man-made barriers which prevent them migrating up stream.

The objective of this new proposal is to extend the project to include all the streams that enter the Tauranga Harbour north of the Matahui Peninsula.

The proposal is for a joint project between the community, Western Bay of Plenty District Council, Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Department of Conservation, Uretara Estuary Managers and Project Parore.

Last year the Uretara Estuary Managers, as part of its Hills to Ocean project, requested the regional council carry out a study of fish migration in the four streams which discharge into the estuary near Katikati.

A fish ladder in place in a culvert to enable the tiny fish to climb or swim through the culvert, upstream to breed.

Lawrie says following that study a contractor carried out remediation work on 43 impediments in the four streams, with almost immediate results.

In one case, mussel ropes were installed at a ford which appeared to be a complete barrier to migratory fish. The work was finished by 3pm. After dark at about 8pm we inspected the ropes to find fish already climbing up and heading upstream. It was a great, instantaneous success.

Often called fish ladders, the systems installed to enable fish to navigate man-made barriers are designed around the particular obstacle and may include ropes from mussel farms, ramps or baffles.

The idea is to enable the tiny fish to climb or swim around a barrier and then rest in quiet water before making the next dash up stream.

Whitebait are the juveniles of six species of fish. Five of these are migratory galaxiids: inanga, banded kokopu, giant kokopu, koaro and shortjaw kokopu. The sixth species is common smelt.

Within hours of these fish ladders being installed, fish were seen climbing up and heading upstream, passed what had previously been a barrier to their migration.

Inanga begin life as eggs laid in vegetation beside streams in late summer and autumn. When the eggs hatch, they are carried downstream as larvae and spend the next six months at sea. In the spring they migrate upstream as whitebait and grow into adult fish.

Thats why, says Lawrie, removing barriers to their upstream migration, and ensuring there is habitat for them when they get there, is vital to restoring viable population numbers.

Helping more white bait migrate up stream also helps another stream inhabitant  the fresh water mussel or kakahi, which uses fish to transport larvae upstream.

When male kakahi release sperm into the water in summer, females inhale this, and the fertilised larvae (glochidia) are ejected. Using long sensory filaments, the larvae latch on to the gills and fins of fish, usually the koaro, which take them upstream, where they drop off to bury into the sediment. At that stage they are less than 0.5mm but over a 50-year time span, can reach 10cm long.

Installing a fish ladder inside a culvert to provide access upstream for whitebait.

Lawrie says the objective of the project is to ensure that any migrating fish (whitebait) that enters through the Bowentown entrance can reach any stream and find a home.

There is a need to educate landowners, the community about what a barrier to native fish looks like. Training will also be made available to contractors who may be installing stream crossings for subdivision purposes. Advice and demonstrations to this group will hopefully avoid future barriers being constructed within streams in the local area.

To find out more go to: https://www.uem.org.nz/projectparore

Fish ladders, designed around a particular obstacle, may include ropes from mussel farms, ramps or baffles.
Joseph R Biden Jr and Senator Kamala Harris made their debut as running mates in a high school gymnasium on Wednesday, pledging to lead the country out of the coronavirus crisis amid an onslaught of attacks from US President Trump as the two national tickets went head-to-head for the first time, less than three months before Election Day. The first full day for the newly announced Democratic presidential ticket offered a glimpse of how two once-bitter rivals from opposite coasts and different generations will try to unite Americans around their platform. Projecting warmth toward ...
T he number of students studying A-level general studies has dropped from 46,000 to zero in the last ten years.

The subject had been in decline before it became formally unavailable as an A-level in 2017, though last year there were still 41 entries.

A decade ago, there were 46,770 entries for the subject. This year, the subject was not taken up by any students.

Two other subjects have also bowed out  communication studies and critical thinking. Both had around 2,000 entries 10 years ago.

Last year Spanish overtook French to become the most popular language at A-level.

This year the gap has widened, with Spanish entries up 0.9 per cent while French dropped by 1.1 per cent.

German suffered an even bigger decline, falling 6.2 per cent per cent and dipping below 3,000 entries for the first time.

A Level Results 2020 - In pictures 1 /48 A Level Results 2020 - In pictures Students from Harris Westminster Sixth Form pick up their A-level result Lucy Young Emily Wallace reacts as students at Norwich School, Norwich, receive their A-Level results PA Students from Harris Westminster Sixth Form pick up their A-level result Lucy Young Sophie Lofthouse (left) and Hannah Walton-Hughes react as students at The Mount School, York, receive their A-Level result PA Students from Harris Westminster Sixth Form pick up their A-level result Lucy Young Students from Harris Westminster Sixth Form pick up their A-level result Lucy Young Students from Harris Westminster Sixth Form pick up their A-level result Lucy Young Students from Harris Westminster Sixth Form pick up their A-level result LUCY YOUNG Ben Millett reacts with his father (back to the camera) as students at Norwich School, Norwich, receive their A-Level result PA Brenda Irabor, who achieved three A stars, reacts as students at Ark Globe Academy in Brixton PA Emily Wallace (left) uses hand sanitiser as students at Norwich School in Norfolk receive their A-Level results PA Students from Harris Westminster Sixth Form pick up their A-level result Lucy Young Twins Rosy (left) and Teddy Valentine react as students at Norwich School, Norwich, receive their A-Level result PA Students from Harris Westminster Sixth Form pick up their A-level result Lucy Young Emily Wallace reacts as students at Norwich School, Norwich, receive their A-Level results PA Students from Harris Westminster Sixth Form pick up their A-level result Lucy Young Sophie Lofthouse (right) and Hannah Walton-Hughes react as students at The Mount School, York, receive their A-Level result PA Benita Stipp (centre) and Mimi Ferguson (left) react as students at Norwich School, Norwich, receive their A-Level results PA Olivia Gaskin (centre, white top) reacts as students at Norwich School, Norwich PA A sixth form student looks at her A-Level results at The Crossley Heath Grammar School, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Halifa REUTERS Mimi Ferguson (left) and Benita Stipp react as students at Norwich School, Norwich, receive their A-Level results PA Sophie Lofthouse reacts as students at The Mount School, York, receive their A-Level result PA Students from Harris Westminster Sixth Form pick up their A-level result Lucy Young Students from Harris Westminster Sixth Form pick up their A-level result Lucy Young Helen Lee (left) and Sophia-Ellis Shipp bump elbows at Peter Symonds College, Winchester, as they receive their A-Level results PA Sixth form students are seen after receiving their A-Level results at The Crossley Heath Grammar Schoo REUTERS Lucy Young A sixth form student wearing a protective mask reacts after receiving her A-Level results at The Crossley Heath Grammar School REUTERS Students from Harris Westminster Sixth Form pick up their A-level result Lucy Young Daniellle Joseph at Peter Symonds College, Winchester, receives her A-Level results PA A sixth form student looks at his A-Level results at The Crossley Heath Grammar Schoo REUTERS Students from Harris Westminster Sixth Form pick up their A-level result Lucy Young Students from Harris Westminster Sixth Form pick up their A-level result Lucy Young Students from Harris Westminster Sixth Form pick up their A-level result Lucy Young A sixth form student is embraced after receiving her A-Level results at The Crossley Heath Grammar Schoo REUTERS Twins Teddy (left) and Rosy Valentine react as students at Norwich School, Norwich, receive their A-Level results PA

Meanwhile, entries for music have fallen 43 per cent since 2010, while drama is down 42 per cent.

Both have spent most of the past decade in decline. Drama dropped by 6 per cent between 2019 and 2020, while music fell 3 per cent.

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For the second year in a row, there were more female entries than male entries in the sciences.

When combining the figures for biology, chemistry and physics, girls accounted for 80,854 entries and boys 78,122.

Though physics remains dominated by boys making up 77 per cent of entries, girls made up the majority of entries for both biology (64 per cent) and chemistry (54 per cent).

The most popular subject taken this year was maths with 94,168 entries, as has been the case for the last few years.

But there was a change in second place, with psychology overtaking biology.

Sir Keir Starmer: Government approach to exam results has failed

Psychology has gone up by around 10,000 entries since 2014.

It comes as headteachers across the country scrambled to launch thousands of appeals against this year's "unfair" results.

Controversy over the exam system, using computerised "standardisation" in the wake of the pandemic, spiralled when ministers bolted on an appeal route using mock results.

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Despite anger among students, parents and teachers, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson insisted he would not follow the Scottish administration in doing a U-turn and allowing more students to get results based on assessments from their school.
By Online Desk

KOLKATA: A 60-year-old woman suffering from COVID-19 died in an ambulance outside a city private hospital as she was allegedly made to wait by its authorities, who reportedly demanded that Rs three lakh be first paid for admission, her family members said on Wednesday.

The hospital authorities have refuted the charge and said that the woman's family was given an estimate for treatment but not pressurised for making payments.

The incident triggered a political storm with the opposition parties claiming that the incident has exposed the dismal condition of the state health care services.

According to a Kolkata Police official the woman hails from Tamluk in East Midnapore district and the alleged incident took place on Monday night when she was brought to the hospital from a nursing home in the city after she tested positive and reported severe health problems.

A police complaint was lodged by her son Nazeem Khan against the hospital at Anandapur police station, he said.

The alleged incident took place a day after the West Bengal Clinical Establishment Commission allowed hospitals to charge patient parties for admission an advance of no more than Rs 50,000 or 20 per cent of the estimated treatment cost, whichever was lower but not refuse admission or treatment if the payment was not made immediately.

"The hospital authorities asked us to deposit Rs three lakh. We managed to pay Rs 80,000 and requested them to start my mother's treatment assuring them to get the remaining amount in the meantime."

"But the hospital told us that treatment will not be started unless the full payment was made," Khan said.

Later, Rs two lakh more was transferred to a bank account of the hospital by the woman's elder son Latif Khan from Abu Dhabi, he said.

ALSO READ | Defying government directives, Bengal school restarts classes

"But by then my mother had passed away in the ambulance. We repeatedly requested the hospital to send a doctor to her, but its authorities insisted that unless they see a proof that the money was transferred to them, nobody from it would attend to my mother," he said.

"If they (hospital authorities) had attended to my mother on time she could have been saved," a sobbing Khan said.

Refuting the charge, a senior official of the hospital said, The patient was brought in a very serious condition.

Doctors had tried CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) in the ambulance but could not revive her.

Police said a probe into the incident is on and the hospital has been asked to provide the CCTV footage.

Meanwhile, the West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission for the first time started a suo moto case against the hospital in connection with the incident, a senior member of the body said.

"This is a very sad incident. An inhuman one. We have decided to start a suo moto case in this matter. This is for the first time that the Commission has done so. We will talk to the authorities of the nursing home and the hospital and try to hear the case on the next date itself," he said.

Criticising the government, BJP MP Locket Chatterjee said, "The situation has exposed the dismal condition of the state health care services.

The state government is lying that everybody is getting free treatment.

"The lies of the state government has been exposed," BJP MP Locket Chatterjee said.

Echoing Chatterjee, CPI(M) legislative party leader Sujan Chakraborty said the state government has completely failed to tackle the crisis and provide minimum health care services during the pandemic.

The ruling TMC dubbed the allegations as "politically motivated" and said the state government has taken enough steps to provide affordable and free health services to the patients.

The COVID-19 death toll in Bengal rose to 2,203 on Wednesday after 54 people succumbed to the disease, the health department said.

The state's coronavirus count has gone up to 1,04,326 after 2,936 new cases of infection were reported, a bulletin released by the department said.

The number of active patients is 26,003 in the state, it said.

Since Tuesday, 2,725 COVID-19 patients have been discharged from different hospitals of West Bengal and the state's discharge rate is 72.96 per cent.

So far, 76,120 people have recovered from the disease, the bulletin added.

Of the 54, deaths, 50 were due to the comorbidities where COVID-19 was incidental.

Nineteen of these fatalities were reported from Kolkata, 13 from North Parganas and three each from Howrah, Purba Medinipur, Nadia and Jalpaiguri districts.

The remaining 10 deaths were recorded in seven other districts.

Among the fresh infections, the metropolis registered 619, followed by 589 in North 24 Parganas, 272 in Howrah, 255 in South 24 Parganas, 113 in Hooghly, 109 in Murshidabad and 100 in Purba Medinipur, the bulletin said.

The remaining 879 cases were reported from 16 other districts.

In the last 24 hours, 27,712 samples have been tested, while 11,86,923 such tests were conducted so far in the state, the bulletin said.

(With PTI Inputs)
A woman in her 80s has died from coronavirus in New South Wales, taking the national death toll to 361.

The woman from western Sydney died in intensive care in hospital on Wednesday, taking the NSW death toll from COVID-19 to 53.

Her case is linked to the Our Lady of Lebanon church cluster, and is the first in the state for nearly two weeks after an 83-year-old man linked to the Crossroads Hotel cluster in Casula died on August 1.

Health officials reported 12 new cases of coronavirus in the state on Thursday, after 24,621 tests.

Three of the 12 new cases are from an unknown source, with five from returned overseas travellers and four linked to known outbreaks.

A medical worker is seen testing a woman on Wednesday at a pop-up clinic in Sydney (pictured) hours before another victim died from coronavirus in New South Wales

NSW'S CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK: AT A GLANCE NSW recorded 12 new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday. Of the 12, three are from an unknown source, five are from returned overseas travellers and four are linked to known outbreaks. Westfield Liverpool and 5th Avenue Beauty Bar in Wetherill Park have been put on high alert after a COVID-19 case attended both venues. Sydneysiders should look out for symptoms if they visited the shopping centre between 10.30am and 11am and 12.30pm-1pm on August 7 or the beauty bar on August 8 from 2pm-3pm. Advertisement

The woman's death comes as an outbreak at the Tangara School for Girls in Cherrybrook in Sydney's north-west reached 19 cases.

The source of the outbreak is still unknown.

NSW Health are treating 135 coronavirus cases across the state, with seven patients in intensive care and six on ventilators.

Westfield Liverpool has been put on high alert after a person with coronavirus attended the shopping centre on August 7.

The infected person was in the centre between 10.30am and 11am and 12.30pm-1pm, before also attending 5th Avenue Beauty Bar in Wetherill Park on August 8 from 2pm-3pm.

NSW Health have advised anyone considered to be casual contacts of the case during the time periods to monitor for COVID-19 symptoms and if symptoms develop self-isolate and seek testing.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Wednesday warned the state's relative control of the virus 'couldn't be assured' after 18 new cases were recorded.

She also re-issued a plea for people to wear masks in public and for businesses to comply with COVID-19 regulations to stem the spread of the disease.

Nurses test patients for COVID-19 at the Bondi Beach pop-up drive-through facility on Wednesday

Coronavirus is rapidly spreading through popular shopping centres, including IKEA and Westfield, a terrifying new hotspot map has illustrated

The consistent number of new and unsourced infections had stoked fears New South Wales was teetering on the brink of a Victoria-style coronavirus crisis as infections rapidly spread through popular shopping destinations including IKEA and Westfield.

An alarming new map illustrates how widespread cases in Sydney have become, although the number of confirmed infections pale in comparison to those in Victoria.

Only one of NSW 18 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday was linked to an overseas traveller in mandatory hotel quarantine, with two more arriving in the state from coronavirus-riddled Victoria prior to testing positive.

But the other 15 cases are either under investigation or linked to previously identified clusters, which are as far reaching as the state's south coast and Newcastle in the north.

Ms Berejiklian warned harsher restrictions were on the cards if locals did not comply with COVID-19 safety measures.

'Whether it's school extracurricular activity, which shouldn't occur, whether it's the recommendation for people to wear masks when they can't guarantee social distancing on public transport or in supermarkets, or it's the way in which we've asked businesses to approach a COVID-safe environment, compliance is absolutely critical,' she said.

Warnings were issued on Wednesday for Castle Towers Shopping Centre, Westfield Parramatta and IKEA in Rhodes after people with confirmed COVID cases passed through the venues.
OTTAWA - The federal government is offering $31 million to help communities find ways to adapt to the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 13/8/2020 (524 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The federal government is offering up $31 million in funding for communities seeking to find ways to adapt to the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic. Minister of Infrastructure and Communities Catherine McKenna speaks during an event at the Tomlinson Family Foundation Clubhouse in Ottawa on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA - The federal government is offering $31 million to help communities find ways to adapt to the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The money could be used for everything from pop-up bike paths to art installations to apps to support local markets  efforts to improve quality of life as people live through the pandemic, said Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna.

"Canadians want to be able to work and play and learn in safe, vibrant and inclusive communities," she said in announcing the program.

"That's really what that's all about."

Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

The new program, the Canada Healthy Communities Initiative, is aimed at non-governmental organizations that will work with municipalities and other groups to identify projects over the next two years.

Infrastructure and Communities Minister Catherine McKenna and Velo Canada Bikes Executive Director Brian Pincott ride bicycle's to a news conference along the Rideau canal, in Ottawa, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

The government says it is taking the $31 million from $170 million left in the Smart Cities Challenge program. That program has been used to encourage cities to find new ways to use data and technology to help residents.

McKenna said information on how groups can apply to the new program will be announced soon, and she looks forward to the ideas people bring forward.

"The trauma of this pandemic will eventually pass but in its wake the world will be a different place and Canada will be too," she said.

"We have a chance right now to think carefully about the Canada we need and the Canada we all want in the future."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 13, 2020.
A Burlington County man on Wednesday pleaded guilty to a criminal charge related to a years-long scheme which resulted in hundreds of thousands of gallons of septic waste being dumped unchecked into a public sewer system.

Rodman Lucas, a 62-year-old Pemberton Township resident, pleaded guilty in Superior Court of Burlington County to third-degree conspiracy to tamper with public records, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced Wednesday.

As part of the plea, the state will recommend that Lucas be sentenced to 364 days in county jail and probation, and hell be barred from public office and employment. His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 30, 2020.

Robert Perry, Lucass attorney, had no comment when reached by NJ Advance Media.

Lucas, who owns the septic disposal company Aqua Clean Toilet Systems, began working as the plant operator and operations manager for the Wrightstown Municipal Utility Authority (WMUA) in October 2012.

Within months of taking the WMUA job, Lucas began dumping septic waste collected by his private company directly into the public sewer system through an unfiltered manhole, authorities say.

At the time of the dumping, the WMUA had not accepted privately collected septic waste for years. When the WMUA did accept such waste, the AGs office said, it would do so with proper testing and documentation. The WMUA would take-in such waste through a special filtration line or channel, not through a manhole as Lucas had done.

Lucass dumping continued for about five years, until a complaint was raised in September 2017 at a WMUA board meeting. The dumping stopped a few months later. Eventually, state investigations determined that from early 2013 through early 2018, Lucas dumped 600,000 gallons of septic waste in the WMUA system.

According to the AGs office, the specific public records tampering charge that Lucas is charged with stems from residual transfer reports that wastewater systems like the WMUA must file monthly to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. These reports show the amount of waste that goes from sewer plants and other wastewater management facilities.

All of the reports filed by the WMUA during Lucass tenure as plant operator showed only outgoing waste, but no incoming waste.

The investigation into the WMUA scheme began with the state comptrollers office, which published a report on the situation last September. That report detailed an arrangement between Lucas and Wrightstown Mayor Thomas Harper, who also serves as WMUA chairman, that facilitated the illegal dumping.

Harper declined to comment when reached by NJ Advance Media.

The scheme allowed Lucas to avoid paying $21,000 in disposal fees for the septic waste, as of the comptroller reports publication. In exchange, the WMUA was allowed to use a backhoe and other tools owned by Lucas, according to responses provided by the two parties to the state comptroller.

In his response to the state comptroller, Lucas claimed the WMUA saved $61,400 by using his personal backhoe and tools, rather than renting comparable equipment. The comptrollers office disputes this figure in the report, and notes that the WMUA apparently paid Lucas $30,000 to purchase the backhoe in 2014.

The comptroller report notes that Harper acted unilaterally to enter into this arrangement, without notifying other members of the WMUA board.

It was a public complaint raised by Timothy Harper  Mayor Harpers brother  at a WMUA meeting in September 2017 that brought public attention to the scheme and drew the state comptrollers attention.

Listen, its not a secret, Lucas said at that 2017 meeting, according to the comptrollers report. Im not going to sneak in the middle of the night and dump it off so nobody sees me. Tom knows I dump it off.

Investigators from the comptrollers office determined that Aqua Cleans handling of the septic waste did not meet the DEPs recommendations, or align with best practices used by other septage treatment facilities. The septic waste was never tested or analyzed to determine possible environmental effects.

The actions by the WMUA Operations Manager and Board Chairman uncovered by OSC investigators are alarming, former state comptroller Phil Degnan said at the time. The residents of Wrightstown deserve to know that the WMUA is properly equipped to treat everything in its system, and is being fairly paid for what it receives.

The comptroller then passed the matter to the AGs Office of Public Integrity and Accountability for the criminal investigation.

This case was referred to OPIA after an initial investigation by the Office of the State Comptroller, which began when local residents complained about what they saw happening at the Wrightstown Municipal Utilities Authority, Grewal said. We urge members of the public to contact our corruption tipline  844-OPIA-TIPS  if they have reason to suspect that a public official is abusing his or her position and authority.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Michael Sol Warren may be reached at mwarren@njadvancemedia.com.
Individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) who receive medical marijuana to treat pain may require fewer visits to the hospital, according to a new study in Blood Advances. Adults with SCD who requested and obtained medical marijuana were admitted to the hospital less frequently than those who did not obtain it.

SCD is the most common inherited red blood cell disorder in the United States, affecting an estimated 100,000 people. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, SCD affects one out of every 365 Black or African American births and one out of every 16,300 Hispanic American births. SCD is characterized by abnormal, sickle-shaped red blood cells that can adhere to and block blood vessels, preventing oxygen from reaching the tissues. When this occurs, individuals living with SCD experience severe pain events which may drive them to seek emergency care. It is estimated that there are more than 100,000 SCD-related hospital stays in the United States each year.

There is a need for other options for management of pain so that individuals with SCD do not have to go through the time, hardship, and expense of hospitalization and can manage their symptoms at home. Previous studies have shown that cannabis and cannabinoid products can effectively treat chronic pain associated other conditions such as cancer. More controlled studies of marijuana for the treatment of pain in SCD are still needed.

"When we offered medical marijuana as an option to our patients with sickle cell disease, we found the majority of people who were interested were already using illicit marijuana to treat pain," said the study's lead author Susanna Curtis, MD, of the Yale School of Medicine and Yale Cancer Center. "Illicit marijuana is not regulated, so its quality and contents are not standardized. And particularly for people with sickle cell disease, many of whom identify as Black, we know that while Black and white people use marijuana at similar rates, Black people are four times more likely to be arrested for possession. We didn't want our patients using unsafe products or being arrested for trying to control the pain of their condition."

Dr. Curtis and her team examined data from 50 individuals with SCD at the Adult Sickle Cell Program at Yale New Haven Hospital who were certified for medical marijuana use. Of those certified, 29 obtained medical marijuana and 21 did not. Those who obtained medical marijuana visited the hospital less frequently on average over the following six months. Several patients even reduced their hospital admission rates by three, four, or five visits. Receiving medical marijuana was not associated with a change in emergency room or infusion center visits, total health care utilization, or opioid use. Researchers did not observe any change to hospitalization rates in individuals who did not obtain medical marijuana.

Dr. Curtis suggested a possible reason for the reduced hospitalization rates could be that medical marijuana helps individuals better tolerate their pain at home.

The researchers also sought to understand why many patients were unable to access medical marijuana, and why some continued to occasionally use illicit cannabis despite obtaining medical marijuana. In a survey, individuals who obtained medical marijuana reported that they felt it was safer than illicit marijuana and they felt it was effective at controlling their pain; however, they did also report barriers such as greater expense and difficulty of access.

Race and socioeconomic status may also be barriers for patients with SCD. "About 80% of our clinic population identifies as Black, and another 15% as Latinx, and unfortunately people of color who visit the hospital with pain are often not believed or accused of being drug-seeking. Medical marijuana is associated with significant stigma, and stigma is already a big part of the life of a person with sickle cell," said Dr. Curtis.

Cannabis and cannabinoid products also present legal and medical challenges. While 33 states have medical marijuana laws, only five of those states list SCD as a qualifying condition. Medical marijuana products vary greatly in their chemical content and forms of administration. In the study, patients who obtained medical marijuana were more likely to use edible products as opposed to inhaled products. Previous research suggests the pain-relieving effect of edible products has a slower onset but a longer duration than that of inhaled products. This variability between different products can cause difficulty for patients trying to manage their symptoms.

Dr. Curtis highlighted the need for further research to understand the efficacy, side effects, and drug interactions of various cannabis products on SCD treatment. "My patients are living with a very difficult disease that causes them a lot of pain. We need controlled trials to look at each product, and the effects of how it is taken, so that we can offer regulated, pharmaceutical-grade treatment options."

###
HONG KONG  Soon after one of Hong Kongs best-known democracy activists was arrested this week under the national security law imposed on the city by the Chinese government, supporters turned her into a Mulan meme.

The social media storm around the activist, Agnes Chow, coincided with Disneys online campaign for its upcoming movie Mulan, about the Chinese folk heroine who disguises herself as a man to stand in for her ailing father in the army. Disneys slogan: The legend arrives.

Supporters on Twitter quickly anointed Ms. Chow, 23, the real Mulan. One meme featured three images, each accompanied by text: the Mulan star Liu Yifei (I want the real Mulan); the cartoon version of Mulan from Disneys animated 1998 film (I said the real Mulan); and Ms. Chow (Perfection).
A Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Fiscal Studies, IFS, Dr. Said Boakye, has reiterated the need for more political commitment to ensure fiscal discipline amidst the novel Coronavirus pandemic.



According to him, with Ghanas debt servicing taking 72 per cent of government revenue, the countys fiscal position is likely to get worse if government does not take some tough measures in reducing expenditure while it increases revenue.



Speaking to Citi Business News, Dr. Said Boakye also stated that government must tread cautiously as most of its social intervention programs amidst the pandemic were poorly executed and lack fiscal prudence.



The suspension of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, to a large extent, was unavoidable because the situation was bad and the pandemic- related expenditures were real. So, we are not much bothered about the suspension, but you cannot hide behind that and continue to be populist and provide expenditures because you are good. Why should we be borrowing and dashing it out? That is what we are talking about, he said.



He added that Our study of economic history of this country reveals that fiscal populism is the cause of the countrys recurring fiscal distress. This can be seen from the 70s through to the 90s and in current times when the HIPC was employed to relieve the country, but we still engage in populism. Of course, it is no secret that there is competition in terms of who can promise. If we do not stop it we cannot fix this country. We need to take certain bitter decisions now, if we are interested in fixing the economy.



The Covid-19 pandemic and its unforeseen economic effects, has created uncertainty and weakened economic growth, resulting in an expected deficit of 11.7 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).



This resulted in increased government and external financing needs as policy interventions were drawn to sustain household incomes and business activities.



It has also resulted in a revenue shortfall of GH13.6 billion and unanticipated but necessary expenditures of approximately GH11.7 billion.



Background



Earlier this month, Parliament approved governments request to suspend the Fiscal Responsibility rules which forbids the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, not to exceed a budget deficit of 5 percent of the previous years GDP.



The Finance Minister explained that the suspension was needed to mitigate against the negative impact of COVID 19.



In the 2020 Mid-Year Budget, he revised the budget deficit for 2020 from 4.7 per cent of GDP to 11.4 per cent of GDP due to revisions in the countrys total revenue and expenditure.



The revisions in the Total Revenue and Grants and Total Expenditures resulted in a fiscal deficit (on cash basis) of GH44.1 billion (11.4% of GDP) for 2020, up from the original 2020 Budget target of GH18.9 billion (4.7 per cent of GDP).

Source: citinewsroom.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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Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE: UBER) made it clear to the public Wednesday that it wouldn't hesitate to shut down its operations in California if the state proceeds with a new law mandating that the ride-hailing company treat drivers as employees.

What Happened: Uber has 10 days to appeal a California court decision requiring the company to classify its drivers as employees.

If such a decision isn't overturned, Uber may be left with no choice but to temporarily shut down its app in California, company CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told MSNBC in an interview.

It is "hard to believe" Uber even has the capability to reclassify thousands of people as employees, adding that Uber might "shut down for a while" in the state.

The company will comply with all laws and remains committed to serving Californians over the long-term, the CEO said.

Uber's vision over the last 10 years makes it impossible to adjust overnight to a new law, he said.

Why It's Important: The vast majority of drivers on Uber's platform want the flexibility that comes with being an independent contractor, as they can work as little or as much as they want, Khosrowshahi said.

Uber presented an alternative "third way" option that would allow drivers to access a special fund that would be tapped for paid time off or health care benefits, the CEO said, describing it as a "best of both worlds" option.

What's Next: California Attorney General Xavier Becerra isn't a fan of either option. He told CNBC in a Tuesday interview that Uber is free to leave the state unless it goes with the employee classification model.

"Any business model that relies on shortchanging workers in order to make it probably shouldn't be anywhere, whether California or otherwise," he said.

UBER Price Action: Uber shares were trading down 1.06% at $30.87 at the time of publication Wednesday.

Related Links:

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Should Investors Continue Riding With Uber? The Street Weighs In

Photo courtesy of Uber.

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 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
New Delhi: Vinay Tiwari, Superintendent of Police (SP), who reached Mumbai on August 2 with advance intimation to Mumbai Police, was virtually "detained" in the name of "quarantine", Bihar Police told the Supreme Court on Thursday.

Bihar Police gave a reply in the apex court today in connection with the petition filed by actor Rhea Chakraborty seeking a direction to transfer the FIR in the Sushant Singh Rajput case from Patna to Mumbai.

Tiwari had reached Mumbai to investigate the FIR registered in Patna by Rajput`s father KK Singh against Rhea Chakraborty under sections including abetment to suicide.

In its reply to the Apex Court, the police also alleged that the 4-member SIT of Bihar Police officers, which reached Mumbai on July 27, was not allowed to discharge its duty for the conduct of the investigation.

"The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Bihar had requested Mumbai authorities for removal of quarantine of Vinay Tiwari, IPS, however, the same had been unfortunately disregarded by them," read the reply by Bihar Police.

In its reply, the Bihar Government claimed that Bihar Police has the jurisdiction to probe the Sushant Singh Rajput case. The Bihar Police stated that it is mandatory for the police officer to register the FIR and proceed with the investigation.

"It is only after completion of the investigation, the police officer shall forward the report to the concerned Court of competent jurisdiction," read the reply.

"The Station House Officer (SHO) is obliged to register the FIR and carry out the investigation expeditiously. At the stage of the investigation, it cannot be said that the SHO does not have territorial jurisdiction to investigate the case," the Bihar Government stated in the affidavit, a copy of which was accessed by ANI.

"Any contention that the Investigating Officer (IO) did not have jurisdiction to do so on the face of it deserves to be rejected. Section 156(2) contains an embargo that no proceeding of a police officer shall be challenged on the ground that he has no territorial power to investigate," the Bihar police claimed.

Earlier, the Maharashtra Police told the top court in its affidavit that the Bihar Police did not have jurisdiction to investigate into the FIR or examine witnesses related to Rajput`s case. Actor Rhea Chakraborty also filed her written submissions before the apex court in the case.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against Rhea Chakraborty, Indrajit Chakraborty, Sandhya Chakraborty, Showik Chakraborty, Samuel Miranda, Shruti Modi, and others in connection with the actor`s death. Rajput was found dead at his Mumbai residence on June 14.
A screen capture from a Kentucky Democratic Party blog shows a picture of Senate Majority Leader in front of a Confederate battle flag. The picture, taken decades ago, is often shared on social media by McConnell critics.

The photo has circulated for years, shared on Twitter feeds and political sites when issues of racism and discrimination dominate the news: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, much younger than he is now, smiling beside another white man in front of a Confederate battle flag.

The Kentucky Democratic Party, for example, uses the picture periodically and featured it again in a pair of blog posts criticizing the Louisville Republican this summer.

The photo got a wave of attention last year after a racist picture from Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam's medical school yearbook turned up and Northam admitted to once wearing shoe polish on his face for a Michael Jackson costume.

And it has popped up lately on social media as people protest against racism and police brutality.

"I think he owes the public an explanation," Kentucky Democratic Party spokeswoman Marisa McNee said of the photo. "If he wouldnt stand in front of a Confederate flag today, he needs to be able to say, 'I shouldnt have done that.'"

Related: Confederate monuments taken down all around the world

From apartheid to affirmative action: Sen. Mitch McConnell's complicated history on race

The history behind the photo of McConnell, now 78, is somewhat obscure.

The photo is believed to have originated in the early 1990s at a Big Spring Country Club event held by the Louisville-based John Hunt Morgan Camp 1342 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, an organization of men who are descendants of Confederate soldiers.

Adjutant Bill Hayes of John Hunt Morgan Camp 1342 told The Courier Journal their camp has very few members left who were around in the early '90s. He once asked an older member about the photo, who told him it was taken at one of their events where McConnell was invited to speak.

McConnell himself, in an interview with The Courier Journal, said he thinks the photograph was taken during his first term in the Senate, which spanned from 1984 to 1990, at a Sons of Confederate Veterans meeting in Louisville.

Story continues

"My recollection of that is skimpy," he said of the photograph. "But the reason I was invited to come speak to them is because I am indeed the ancestor of a Confederate soldier, and I had looked up some information on him. And my recollection was that thats what I talked about."

Looking back on it now, he said: "I don't regret going to speak to a group which at the time was not being considered, you know, a pariah in our society. I, over the years, have probably been to plenty of groups and shaken hands with a whole lot of people who didnt agree with me."

Confederate iconography, including the battle flag, has long been controversial because of the Confederacy's well-documented history of racism and support for slavery.

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McConnell  who grew up in the South when segregation was still legal and has described how his parents instilled him with a belief in civil rights  stressed that the fact that he appeared at the Sons of Confederate Veterans event is "not nearly as important" as the actions he took back then as a public official.

As an example, he pointed to his tenure as Jefferson County judge-executive in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when he said he agreed to a consent decree in a federal court case concerning racial discrimination in the police department. Under that decree, he said the county government instituted affirmative action policies for hiring Black people.

"As you might imagine, this didn't go over very well with the Fraternal Order of Police," he said, and the union opposed him in his reelection campaign and "almost took me out."

Then, during his first couple of years as a senator in the mid '80s, he supported legislation to put economic sanctions on the South African government's racist apartheid regime even though Republican President Ronald Reagan opposed it.

Referring back to the photo, he said: "I was there to talk about my ancestor, which I did. And everything else I was doing ... I think underscored that I was a vigorous opponent of racial discrimination. I showed it in county government. I almost (lost) a reelection over it because the FOP hated what I did, and I overrode President Reagans veto of the anti-apartheid act."

Debates over Confederate symbols have emerged again and again over the decades.

In 1993, then-Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, the first Black woman ever elected to the Senate, urged her colleagues to refuse to renew a longstanding patent the United Daughters of the Confederacy had for an emblem featuring the Confederate flag.

"The issue is whether or not Americans such as myself who believe in the promise of this country ... will have to suffer the indignity of being reminded time and time again that at one point in this country's history we were human chattel," she said at the time.

'Battle for the soul of the nation': Before they were running mates, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris both used slogan

McConnell supported renewing the patent, citing his "reverence for my ancestors," but a majority of the Senate voted with Braun.

McConnell's great-great-grandfathers, James McConnell and Richard Daley, owned slaves.

He hasn't disputed that, although he didn't mention it in his memoir, "The Long Game."

He did write that his great-grandfather enlisted as a Confederate soldier in 1863 at age 17.

In that book, he also talked about growing up in the South in the early 1950s and how he and many other boys back then "had great-grandparents who fought under Robert E. Lee, whose grandmothers belonged to the United Daughters of the Confederacy ..."

In a thread of recent postings on Twitter, Kentucky native and documentary filmmaker David Schankula connected the Moseley-Braun debate and McConnell's contrary stance to his appearance at a Sons of Confederate Veterans meeting where the photo of him may have been taken.

Schankula includes a snippet from a 1994 issue of Confederate Veteran magazine that notes McConnell spoke on behalf of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and says the senator was honored by the John Hunt Morgan Camp at their meeting on Oct. 23.

The 1994 issue of "Confederate Veteran" magazine notes McConnell was one of the only Senators to speak against Mosley Braun's "infamous speech." He was honored on October 23rd by the Sons of the Confederacy, John Hunt Morgan Camp 1342 in Louisville. https://t.co/BuZSD4dyOA

 David M.F. Schankula  (@davidschankula) June 21, 2020

In recent years, the public pressure on McConnell and other government officials to denounce and remove Confederate flags, monuments and names from places of honor has intensified. And since at least 2015, McConnell has expressed support for their removal in some instances.

UAE-Israel deal: Trump announces Israel and United Arab Emirates will reestablish diplomatic ties in potentially historic deal

After a white supremacist killed nine Black churchgoers attending a Bible study in Charleston, South Carolina, in June 2015, he agreed with then-South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley that the Confederate battle flag should no longer be displayed at that state's (or any other state's) Capitol.

"The Confederate Battle Flag means different things to different people, but the fact that it continues to be a painful reminder of racial oppression to many suggests to me at least that it's time to move beyond it, and that the time for a state to fly it has long since passed," he said then.

That same summer, McConnell indicated he was OK with removing the statue of Confederate president Jefferson Davis from the Rotunda in the Kentucky Capitol, where a statue of former President Abraham Lincoln also stands.

"I don't think we ought to airbrush history. The Civil War did happen," McConnell said in an interview with WDRB News. "It just seems to me that Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln are not equal in stature, which is not to say that Jefferson Davis wasn't an important person in American history. He was. But I think there's a way to remember history in a quite less prominent fashion."

Five years later, in June 2020, the statue of Davis was finally removed from the Rotunda.

Another statue of Jefferson Davis stands on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., where McConnell and other congressional lawmakers work.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently proposed that Confederate statues like that should be removed from the Capitol. McConnell, on the other hand, said that decision is up to the individual states, which have the ability to choose which statues they want displayed.

Crypto seizure: Feds seize millions of dollars in cryptocurrency raised by major terrorist groups, DOJ says

"But what I do think is clearly a bridge too far is this nonsense that we need to airbrush the Capitol and scrub out everybody from years ago who had any connection to slavery," he told reporters in June. "Look, as far as the statues are concerned, every state gets two. Any state can trade out ... if they choose to, and some actually are choosing to for one reason or another."

He did, however, indicate that he's fine with renaming military bases that bear the monikers of Confederate military officers  something President Donald Trump opposes.

If its appropriate to take another look at these names, Im personally OK with that, McConnell said. Whatever is ultimately decided, I dont have a problem with.

Reach reporter Morgan Watkins at mwatkins@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @morganwatkins26.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Sen. Mitch McConnell photo with Confederate flag lives on
It can be hard for civilians to relate to the military experience.

For most daily interactions, it's no big deal. For combat veterans seeking employment, however, it can be difficult for businesses to understand their experience.

It can be even more difficult for those veterans to relate their own experiences to the job they're applying for, and the results can be devastating. But if employers could understand those veterans, it could go a long way toward bridging the divide between them.

Casey McEuin is building that bridge -- by taking corporate executives into real military operations with real U.S. Army soldiers.

After all, he was one of those combat veterans. He was an infantry platoon sergeant from 1997 until 2014. He left the Army as a 34-year-old sergeant 1st class, after being wounded in Afghanistan. He had to undergo multiple surgeries for those wounds.

Project RELO President during his time in Afghanistan. (Courtesy of Casey McEuin)

When he finally got out and was ready to tackle the job market, he found that a lot of "veteran friendly" companies were proclaiming that more for social media's sake than really wanting to help. He had a tough time translating his military skills to the civilian world, found the job market incredibly competitive, and was generally unprepared. He found himself living in his car for a time.

"Once I learned that I was going to be medically chaptered, I was out of the Army in 91 days," McEuin says. "I didn't really have enough time to really do any type of transition."

He got it all under control, going to every networking event he could until he found a new career. He eventually found himself in the nonprofit world, and that's where he realized that there are many nonprofits geared toward veterans (approximately 44,0000), but their missions are mostly transactional.

McEuin wanted to be part of something that helped veterans in a meaningful, long-term way.

By the time he took the reins of Project RELO, his mission became making sure no other veteran goes through the struggles he went through during his transition. So he set out to teach companies what he couldn't in his first days as a civilian, to show corporate executives firsthand what veterans young and old are capable of.

"We want companies to hire veterans, not only because it's a social good, but because it's actually good for business," McEuin says. "So the idea behind Project RELO was to change the mindset of corporate America"

Executives from companies that have the capacity to hire thousands of veterans are partnered with a vet and taken to Camp Grayling, a Michigan National Guard base. There, from the veterans and National Guardsmen, they will learn combat communications, convoy operations counter-IED training and weapons training. They then go and perform the operations they learned just as the military would, with all the safety and radio checks.

Then, they learn how to clear a building. Armed with airsoft rifles, they take on an opposing force with the guys who just taught them communications. That's where the stuff hits the fan -- and the moment hits the executives.

"You start seeing the anxiety on their faces, you start seeing the sweat and you start seeing everything sink in because they don't know what's behind the doors," says McEuin. "They realize this veteran has to wear multiple hats. Not only are they IT specialists, but they're also able to clear a room."

At the end of the first day, there's an after-action review. The executives discuss what they learned about the military and its veterans. The next day, there's more training and another force-on-force exercise. This time, the CEO is leading the operation. There's another after-action report.

Project RELO's corporate training includes convoy operations. (Project RELO)

The exercises give execs a real-world perception of what military life is about. After teaming them up with veterans who are in need of a job in their industries, they end up hiring many of them. More importantly, the experience changes the perceptions of veterans throughout the given company.

And the effort is working.

"We've helped over 250 companies," says McEuin. "And with these 250 companies, they have in turn hired now over 4,500 veterans. That's what we're about. We want to be that force multiplier. We just want to change the narratives at the top of these companies."

Any executive interested in going on missions with veterans and members of the U.S. Army to understand more about the skills and history of American troops should visit Project RELO.org.

-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook.

Want to Know More About Veteran Jobs?

Be sure to get the latest news about post-military careers, as well as critical info about veteran jobs and all the benefits of service. Subscribe to Military.com and receive customized updates delivered straight to your inbox.
Dead C. on Yelp

Pim Techamuanvivit, chef-owner behind Thai restaurant Nari and Michelin-starred restaurant Kin Khao, has her eyes set on San Franciscos Dogpatch neighborhood as the site for her latest project.

The restaurateur plans for a fast-casual version of Kin Khao to debut in the neighborhood that will take over the Noon All Day restaurant space at 690 Indiana St., Tablehopper reports.
Sushant Singh Rajput Death Anniversary: A Timeline of the of events that have transpired so far

At least 6 members of Sushant Singh Rajputs family killed in road accident in Bihar

Sushant Singh Rajput death case: CBI files submission in SC, says no question of transfer to Mumbai

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Aug 13: In fresh developments in the Sushant Singh Rajput case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday filed its submissions before the Supreme Court and said that the top court should let CBI and ED continue their investigation in connection with late actor's death.

CBI said the Court that since there is no case is pending in Mumbai, so there is no question of transfer there and that the apex court should let CBI & ED continue its investigation.

Sushant Singh Rajput's MLA cousin slaps Sanjay Raut with legal notice

Meanwhile, Sushant Singh Rajput's father urged the Supreme Court to "confirm" the transfer his son's suicide case to the CBI and direct the Mumbai police to "render all assistance" to the central probe agency.

Mumbai Police was "not investigating the matter properly", Krishna Kishore Singh alleged in his written submission to the apex court.

Rajput's father K K Singh had on July 25 lodged a complaint with the Bihar police against his son's rumoured girlfriend and actress Rhea Chakraborty and her family members accusing them of abetting the late actor's suicide.

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The CBI recently took over investigation into the case and re-registered the Patna police FIR related to alleged criminal conspiracy and abetment to suicide against Chakraborty and her family members.

Sushant Singh Rajput case: Please ensure when CBI goes to Maharashtra, officers are not quarantined

On August 11, the Bihar government had the Supreme Court that "political clout" has not allowed Mumbai Police to even register an FIR in the Sushant Singh Rajput''s suicide case, even as the Maharashtra government maintained Bihar completely lacks jurisdiction in the matter.

The FIR in Patna has been registered against Chakraborty and others for alleged offences under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 306 (abetment of suicide), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 380 (theft in dwelling house), 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust) and 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property).
The American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine (the AmCham) is concerned about the biased and unfair treatment of foreign investors in Ukraine, which may lead to the consideration of the dispute in the framework of international arbitration.

"The Chamber member companies, international manufacturers, that have created thousands of jobs and make a significant contribution to the State Budget, consider unreasonable the imposition by the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (the AMCU) of fines for allegedly anti-competitive concerted actions of international companies (the AMCU decision No.697-r dated 10.10.2019) on international companies British American Tobacco Ukraine / B.A.T. - Prylucky Tobacco Company, JTI Ukraine, Imperial Tobacco Ukraine, Philip Morris Ukraine, and their distribution affiliated companies," a statement by American Chamber of Commerce posted on its website on Thursday says.

Currently, the Chamber member companies are appealing this decision in the court. The Chamber emphasizes on the necessity of transparent and fair consideration of the disputes, as the companies are concerned that they did not have full access to the evidence on which the AMCU based their allegations, and that during the trial hearing insufficient attention was given to the arguments of the companies' representatives.

At the same time, according to companies, Ukraine does not initiate negotiations to resolve this issue, and the state authorities do not take measures in accordance with the law after receiving a claim from a foreign investor.

"Companies have already suffered significant losses - both financial and reputational. Currently, two groups of international tobacco companies have already submitted notifications to Ukraine to defend their rights as foreign investors in arbitration. Another two companies are considering submitting such notifications in the nearest future," the Chamber said.

In the absence of a prompt solution to this issue through negotiations with Ukraine's state authorities, these disputes will be considered by international bodies for resolving investment disputes, and the party to the dispute will no longer be the AMCU, but Ukraine, the message reads.

"Such resonant disputes usually gain international publicity and can have an extremely negative impact on Ukraines image among foreign investors," American Chamber of Commerce explained.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine urges Ukraine's Government to respond appropriately to the notice of the investment dispute with the state of Ukraine initiated by international investors from the USA, Great Britain, Switzerland and the Netherlands regarding the AMCU decision and to impartially consider the issue in compliance with Ukrainian legislation and international agreements.

"A quick, transparent, and fair resolution of the situation will help to maintain business relations between strategic investors and the state, not to damage Ukraines image and investment climate, and avoid losses to the state budget," it said.

As reported, the AMC (Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine) imposed a fine of UAH 6.5 billion for anti-competitive concerted actions on four cigarette manufacturers and Tedis Ukraine distributor.
Moscow, Aug 13 : Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron held a phone conversation, discussing the situation in Lebanon, Ukraine and Belarus, the Kremlin said in a statement.

"Putin and Macron discussed in detail the situation in the Republic of Lebanon, focusing on the steps taken by Russia and France to provide humanitarian assistance to the people in Lebanon after the explosion in the port of Beirut on August 4," the statement released on Wednesday said, Xinhua news agency reported.

Macron shared the impressions of his recent visit to Lebanon, as well as the results of a videoconference organised by France on August 9 to rally international aid for that country.

"During the exchange of views on internal political developments in Lebanon, the Russian side reaffirmed its position in support of the republic's national unity and sovereignty," said the statement.

The need to resolve any controversy via a process consisting of and led by the Lebanese, based on constructive dialogue and without external interference, was also underscored, it added.

The presidents also considered various aspects of the situation in Ukraine. They praised the additional ceasefire measures that were approved at the Minsk contact group meeting on July 22.

Putin reiterated the importance of strict fulfillment by Ukraine of its obligations concerning the political aspects of the Minsk Agreements. It was agreed to continue this joint work within the Normandy format.

The current situation in Belarus was also touched on, according to the statement.
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World Health Organization officials are holding a press conference on Thursday to update the public on the coronavirus outbreak that has infected more than 20 million people across the globe.

The U.S., which has identified more than 5 million Covid-19 cases so far, saw its deadliest day since May on Wednesday with 1,500 coronavirus deaths. The U.S., Brazil and Mexico lead the globe in the number of reported coronavirus fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

Carissa Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization regional director for the Americas, said during a news briefing Tuesday that the numbers "make it clear" that the Americas remain "under the grip of Covid-19." WHO officials, however, have said that there are "green shoots of hope" in the fight against the coronavirus.

"I know many of you are grieving and that this is a difficult moment for the world," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a press conference on Monday. "But I want to be clear, there are green shoots of hope, and no matter where a country, a region, a city or a town is, it's never too late to turn the Covid-19 outbreak around."

Read CNBC's live updates to see the latest news on the Covid-19 outbreak.
As things turn around, we hope this survey provides content marketers with the information they need to negotiate pay raises, consider better ways of doing their jobs or find new jobs that better suit their interests and skills.

Women may dominate content marketing, but they arent earning the biggest paychecks, new research by Managing Editor magazine suggests, with the men surveyed earning roughly $10,000 more than the women.

Content marketers wear a lot of hats, and we know that they do so much more than write or edit. They make complex business decisions tied directly to business goals. They have many different titles  writer, editor, director of content, social media manager  with a wide range of duties. Thats why we decided to launch our first-ever content marketing salary survey, said Mary Ellen Slayter, publisher of Managing Editor. We suspected that pay might not be entirely commensurate to the value many of these professionals bring to their organizations.

The survey asked basic questions about the content marketers role at work, the tools they use to manage projects, their career experiences and ambitions, and their pay and bonuses. In total, 164 content marketers participated in the survey, including people working in B2C, B2B nonprofit and government roles. The vast majority of respondents live in the U.S. and Canada.

Survey Highlights

*Survey respondents were highly educated and mostly women. They were also overwhelmingly white, consistent with the general perception of the field not being very diverse.

*Writing, editing and strategy were respondents favorite job duties. People reported being a lot less excited about budgeting, social media and vendor management.

*More than half of respondents were eligible for a bonus. The median bonus reported was $6,000 for 2019.

*Respondents are running lean teams. A majority of respondents manage groups of five people or less, whether its freelancers or staffers.

*Responses point to a significant gender pay gap  and an even bigger pay differential between B2B content marketers and their B2C peers.

The surveys release comes with the caveat that it represents data collected before the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, Managing Editor chose to close out the survey early to protect the integrity of the data; as a result, the survey has a smaller sample size than initially expected.

This is not the compensation report we wanted to publish, said Tom Anderson, managing editor of Managing Editor (meta, right?). The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically reshaped the economic landscape for content marketing along with everything else in our lives. We know that the data collected in the before times could be meaningless to your career a few months from now.

The best way to view this survey is as a snapshot in time, Anderson added. Heres what content marketing careers looked like before the most significant economic challenge since the Great Depression. As things turn around, we hope this survey provides content marketers with the information they need to negotiate pay raises, consider better ways of doing their jobs or find new jobs that better suit their interests and skills.

Download the full report.

About Managing Editor

Managing Editor celebrates and supports the community of content marketing professionals with a digital magazine, weekly email newsletter and popular content marketing podcast, Margins. Frequent topics include career advice, content marketing strategy, marketing technology reviews, and more.

The community is nurtured and loved by the team at Rep Cap, a content marketing agency specializing in helping B2B companies create and execute their thought leadership and brand publishing strategies.
Federal Judge Denies States Bid to Block New Title IX Sexual Assault Rules

A federal judge denied an attempt by a coalition of states to block new Education Department regulations under Title IX that provides guidance on handling allegations of sexual assault and harassment on college campuses and K12 schools.

Judge Carl John Nichols of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Aug. 12 denied a request by 18 attorneys general to stop the rule from going into effect on Aug, 14, while the court considers whether to strike down the rule.

The new Title IX rule was issued in May and aims to protect survivors of sexual misconduct while providing a framework for a more reliable adjudication process to respond to claims of sexual assault incidents.

The rule will hold schools accountable for failure to respond equitably and promptly to sexual misconduct incidents and provide an adjudication process, backed by the force of law, to ensure that all parties are treated fairly and equally, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said.

It aims to also address the ongoing issue of schools and colleges either protecting survivors, while ignoring due process, or protecting the accused, while disregarding sexual misconduct.

Following the rules issuance, 17 states and the District of Columbia, led by Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, challenged the rule, alleging that it weakens protections for victims of sexual misconduct and creates inequitable disciplinary proceedings.

They say the Education Department exceeded its authority when promulgating the rule, claiming that it unlawfully [narrows] Title IXs reach, making it harder for students to report, and for schools to respond, to sexual harassment.

We cannot turn classrooms into courtrooms, and we cannot allow our country to take such a backward step in the fight for justice. We are asking the court to stop this rule from going into effect and take this unlawful burden off the shoulders of schools across the nation, Shapiro said in a statement at the time.

The judge, Nichols, denied the states request, saying that the attorneys general failed to establish a likelihood of success on their claims and show that they would likely suffer substantial irreparable harm pending the courts review of the case.

This comes after a federal judge in New York in a separate case on Aug. 9 declined to block the same rule from going into effect in New York while the case plays out. In that case, the judge said New York officials failed to show that they are likely to prevail on their argument that the Trump administration was acting arbitrarily and capriciously when issuing the rule.

DeVos welcomed Nichols ruling in a statement on Aug. 12, touting the ruling as a victory for students that reaffirms students rights under Title IX go hand in hand with basic American principles of fairness and due process.

With yet another failed attempt to block our historic Title IX Rule, we can now look forward to it taking effect this Friday, requiring schools to act in meaningful ways to support survivors of sexual misconduct without sacrificing important safeguards to protect free speech and provide all students with a transparent, reliable process, she said.

We can and must continue to fight sexual misconduct in our nations schools, and todays ruling will help ensure that happens.
"We now believe, cautiously, that we have early signs of the flattening of the curve in Victoria," Mr Hunt said in a video press conference from his self-isolation accommodation in Canberra on Thursday. NSW recorded 12 new cases in the 24 hours to 8pm on Wednesday. Four cases were locally acquired and linked to previously reported cases and three were locally acquired from an unknown source. The NSW government is urging people to wear masks in public places. Credit:Rhett Wyman Five cases were returned overseas travellers in hotel quarantine. A COVID-19 case linked to Our Lady of Mercy College attended two venues in south-western Sydney while infectious.

Loading The student visited Westfield Liverpool on Friday, August 7, from 10.30am to 11am and 12.30pm to 1pm. She also visited 5th Avenue Beauty Bar at Wetherill Park on Saturday, August 8, from 2pm to 3pm. Anyone at these venues during these times are considered casual contacts and should monitor for symptoms. If symptoms present they should immediately self-isolate and get tested. NSW Police are examining whether Tangara School for Girls breached COVID-19 protocols after a coronavirus cluster associated with the school expanded to 20 cases on Thursday. One case linked to the Tangara cluster was reported among the 12 new cases.

In the latest 24-hour reporting period, 24,621 tests were carried out. Loading In addition, a second case has been confirmed in a person who worked at the Dooleys Catholic Club at Lidcombe, which closed for cleaning on Wednesday. NSW Health said that anyone who attended the club, which has more than 80,000 members, during the following times is now considered a close contact who must self-isolate for 14 days, get tested for COVID-19 and monitor their health: From 5pm on August 7 to 6.30am on August 8.

From 4.30pm to 11.30pm on August 8.

From 1pm to 9pm on August 9.

From noon to 9.30pm on August 10.

Blunt warning issued to wear masks NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance said that, if people dont start wearing masks on public transport it will become mandatory, and not wearing one could attract a fine. "We need everyone to put them on so we dont have a Melbourne-style lockdown," Mr Constance said. "My preference is not to fine people, but if weve got to move to that mandatory requirement, thats what well potentially need to go to. "If everyone can start wearing them, thats the best thing we can get everyone to do and be guided by [Chief Medical Officer] Kerry Chant in terms of the mandating of them."

Federal Deputy Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd has offered a blunt warning to NSW residents as pictures and reports emerge of people continuing to not social distance when out and about. "People only have to look across the border into Victoria to see what happens when people don't adhere to the physical distancing restrictions and just don't follow what they're supposed to be doing," Professor Kidd told ABC News Breakfast on Thursday morning. "Everyone in NSW, look at the figures which are happening  At the moment we are still seeing this [stable] level of community transmission occurring in NSW, [but] at any time that could dramatically increase and we could have, in NSW, the same sort of consequences that we're seeing in Victoria. We have to all be doing everything we can to prevent that from taking place." The worst pub seen so far NSW Liquor and Gaming says the Garry Owen Hotel in Rozelle is the worst pub for COVID-19 breaches it has seen so far. Credit:Rhett Wyman

On Wednesday it was announced that the Garry Owen Hotel in Sydney's Rozelle was fined $10,000 for what NSW Liquor and Gaming said was a "litany of COVID safety breaches", slamming the venue as "the worst pub seen so far". Over the weekend, the Riverview Hotel and the Dry Dock Hotel, both in Balmain, Padstow Park Hotel, Padstow Bowling Club, Marrickville Ritz, the Royal Hotel in Randwick and Yai Thai Kitchen in Gosford were also fined for breaches. Loading New Zealand reported 13 new cases on Thursday, leaving health officials scrambling to trace the source of the infections. Australia's Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham has warned that state and territory leaders would need to rely on their own budgets to prop up businesses reliant on interstate travel should they keep borders closed for longer than necessary.

Senator Birmingham told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that state and territory governments should not expect federal assistance for their tourism industries if they were affected by unnecessary state government decisions to limit travel between non-affected areas. How NSW fares against Victoria in latest outbreaks NSW has not had the significant jump in community transmission of COVID-19 that was recorded at the same time for Victoria one month after the states each recorded new case numbers in the double digits. NSW has had an average of 11 new cases of community transmission every day since July 13, when new cases first rose to double digits.

In comparison, at this point in Victoria's spike in locally acquired cases, the state had been recording between 115 and 280 new cases every day for 10 days. Victoria recorded 278 new cases on Thursday, 60 days after community transmission reached double digits on June 15. While NSW has avoided Victoria's trajectory so far, experts have warned against complacency and said that NSW is battling a very different type of spread to that linked to breaches in hotel quarantine in Victoria. "It's good fortune that [NSW] hasn't had an outbreak in a highly connected group, it's all about the ability of contact tracers to get to each [potentially infected] person within three days to ensure they can get isolated and stay in isolation," Mary-Louise McLaws, a professor of epidemiology at UNSW and an adviser to the World Health Organisation on COVID-19 infection prevention and control, said.
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As the world waits for a COVID-19 vaccine, health officials worry that social media continues to be awash in misleading information about the virus and the safety of vaccines in general. A new study led by a Virginia Commonwealth University researcher may hold clues that could help public health officials in their efforts to combat false and potentially deadly information on social media.

The study, "(S)pin the Flu Vaccine: Recipes for Concern," published in the journal Vaccine, is the first to analyze the content of Pinterest posts focused on the flu vaccine and was led by Jeanine Guidry, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture in the College of Humanities and Sciences and director of the Media+Health Lab at VCU.

The World Health Organization estimates that influenza is connected to 290,000 to 650,000 deaths each year. Guidry and her collaborators decided to investigate how information about the virus is shared on Pinterest because of the platform's primarily female user base and the central role women often play in their families' health care decisions.

"Pinterest has a history of alarming proportions of vaccine misinformation, and this study actually showed that for flu vaccine focused posts, there was a somewhat more balanced presencestill a lot of misinformation and vaccine hesitancy posts, but more correct posts about this vaccine as well," Guidry said. "That was an encouraging finding, although of course the presence of many vaccine hesitant posts is still an area of concern."

The results may have been more mixed, Guidry said, because the flu vaccine is different than typical childhood vaccines, such as the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine or the HPV vaccine.

The study found that negative Pinterest posts about the flu vaccinefor example, discussing side effects, fear-provoking images, or self-efficacy to decline the vaccinetended to produce higher engagement.

"[An] area of concern about these results is that pins associated with higher engagement appeared to be primarily associated with anti-vaccine variables and constructs: for example, pins that refer to perceived deadly consequences of the flu vaccine," Guidry said.

And it found that posts with positive elements about the flu vaccinesuch as health care professionals promoting the vaccine, the benefits of it, or cues to action to get the flu vaccinetended to result in less engagement. Certain fear-provoking visuals (such as an image of a needle) also tended to increase engagement.

Meanwhile, perceived benefits of the flu vaccine and perceived barriers to it were found in roughly one-quarter of all vaccine related posts. And posts originating with Pinterest influencerswhich may be more likely to be shared on the platformwere more likely to be pro-flu vaccine.

The study involved an analysis of 500 flu vaccine related Pinterest posts collected on Oct. 9, 2018. Since the sample was collected, Pinterest has taken action to reduce the amount of misinformation about vaccines, first by blocking searches for vaccine related pins in 2019 and later by announcing it would curate reliable posts about vaccines by organizations such as the WHO and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Currently, we are studying Pinterest posts about a broad set of vaccine related search terms, to see what search results under the new Pinterest policies look like," Guidry said.

The majority of the "pinners" in the sample were individuals, while only 5% of all posts were confirmed to either originate with official medical accounts (such as hospitals or health nonprofits) and government accounts such as the CDC. This was concerning, the researchers wrote, "since it appears to suggest that the public health voiceoften likely to be one to provide trustworthy and reliable informationmay be largely absent on this platform."

The researchers applied a theory called the Health Belief Model to some of their analyses. The theory posits, in this case, a person's belief in a personal threat of the flu together with a belief in the effectiveness of the vaccine will predict the likelihood the person will actually get the flu shot, Guidry said.

"A concern related to the study's results is that the construct of perceived threat (how serious the flu is perceived to be, and how susceptible people think they themselves are) was barely present, meaning that even correct posts about the flu in this sample may not have made a Pinterest user more likely to decide to get the flu shot," she said. "In addition, close to half of the visuals in this study included potentially fear-inducing components such as a huge needle or a visual of perceived horrific adverse effects of the flu vaccine."

The study's findings have implications for how information about COVID-19 and its potential vaccine in the future can be most effectively communicated.

"One of the things we are seeing on social media right now is a steady increase of anti-future COVID-19 vaccine posts," Guidry said. "That is particularly concerning since the COVID-19 vaccine does not exist yetalthough more than 150 versions are under development worldwide. One of my main concerns is that by the time that, hopefully, a safe and effective vaccine will be available, a certain percentage of people will not be willing to get the vaccine because they are convinced it is not safe."

Although social media platforms are increasingly taking steps to correct or block false information and to promote reliable information, Guidry said these measures alone likely will not be enough.

"Once misinformation has taken hold, it is notoriously hard to correct," she said. "We need more research in how to communicate about these issues on social media, and how to truly address fears and concerns people may have, as well as continue to build trust in, particularly, the future COVID-19 vaccine."

More information: Jeanine P.D. Guidry et al. (S)pin the flu vaccine: Recipes for concern, Vaccine (2020). Journal information: Vaccine Jeanine P.D. Guidry et al. (S)pin the flu vaccine: Recipes for concern,(2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.06.012
Williamstown Police Sergeant's Lawsuit Alleges Racism, Sexual Harassment

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  A lawsuit filed in federal court Wednesday by a Williamstown Police sergeant paints a picture of a department plagued by racism and gender discrimination.

Sgt. Scott McGowan, a full-time police officer in the town since 2002, has named Chief Kyle Johnson, Town Manager Jason Hoch and the town as defendants in a suit alleging discrimination and retaliation against a whistle-blower.

McGowan, who is represented by Boston law firm Zalkind, Duncan and Bernstein, is seeking compensatory and punitive damages in amounts not specified in the 22-page complaint filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court.

Hoch on Wednesday afternoon said the town does not comment on pending litigation.

He did confirm that McGowan is an active duty officer in the Police Department.

The town, which is represented in the matter by Robinson Donovan in Springfield, carries insurance for actions like the ones brought by McGowan, Hoch said.

McGowan is alleging the defendants violated Massachusetts General Law and the federal Civil Rights Act by retaliating against him after he engaged the protected activity of "reporting and

opposing sexual harassment and other sex discrimination, race discrimination, racial harassment, and disability discrimination" and encouraging others to enjoy "their rights to be free of unlawful discrimination."

He also alleges three counts of discrimination against him under Mass General Law, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the federal Rehabilitation Act.

The discrimination allegations stem from an incident in January 2019.

On New Year's Eve, 2018, Johnson sent an email to the department's three sergeants "criticizing them for the limited amount of activity on certain metrics (including parking tickets)," the complaint reads. On Jan. 4, McGowan sent Johnson a reply via email defending his job performance and indicating desire to discuss, " 'physical, emotional and medical setbacks' he experienced because of 'the enormous stress I live through as the result of my biased treatment.' "

The complaint indicates the Jan. 4 email by McGowan referred to "silent punishment from [Johnson] based on my outspoken critiques." The complaint indicates the critiques referenced were "sexual harassment" and "race discrimination," about which McGowan had complained in the past, though the complaint also notes that the critiques were not spelled out in the Jan. 4 email.

More than a week later, after McGowan had worked several shifts without incident, Johnson and McGowan met and McGowan confirmed the content of his Jan. 4 email, saying, "his increased stress was a result of Johnson's retaliation against him," the complaint reads. The complaint alleges Johnson responded by demanding McGowan's badge and gun, placing him on paid administrative leave and ultimately ordering McGowan to see his primary care physician and obtain a referral for a clinical psychologist for a psychological evaluation.

Johnson also sent an email to the department that stated, "Sgt. McGowan will be out for an undetermined length of time on paid Administrative Leave. This is health & wellness related  ," the complaint reads.

Ultimately, McGowan was "immediately cleared for duty" after a psychological evaluation in Wakefield at the town's expense, the complaint reads.

The complaint says the defendants told the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination that "their decision to relieve McGowan of duty was motivated in part by the 'accusatory language' in his January 4, 2019, email.' "

On Wednesday afternoon, McGowan's attorney, David A. Russcol, declined a request from iBerkshires.com for a transcript or other record of that testimony to the MCAD.

"Unfortunately, I am not able to provide evidence at this time beyond what has been filed with the court," Russcol wrote in reply to an email seeking the documents.

Hoch said he had not had time to evaluate the complaint thoroughly enough to comment on the accuracy of material quoted in the court filing.

The complaint alleges that since the defendants "regarded [McGowan] as having a mental health issue or other medical impairment," he was a qualified handicapped person under Mass General Law and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Therefore, the defendants' actions relieving him of duty and announcing the move in a way to "damage Plaintiff's reputation," violated those laws.

The first two counts of the complaint allege retaliation against a whistle-blower. McGowan is alleging that based on his "protected activity, Defendants engaged in materially adverse actions with respect to McGowan."

The most significant "adverse action" in the filing came in August 2019, when McGowan was "passed over" for promotion to the newly created position of lieutenant in the Williamstown Police Department, the complaint reads.

The complaint describes a "sham" hiring process that began when Chief Johnson told McGowan as early as June 2018 that "if a Lieutenant position was created, Johnson would promote Michael Ziemba, a patrol officer, to that position." The complaint says Ziemba, unlike McGowan, a sergeant, had no "managerial experience as a superior officer."

On June 14, 2019, McGowan sent a letter to town counsel "protesting a pattern of discrimination and retaliation by the town (including relieving McGowan of duty in January 2019)," the complaint reads. The letter indicated McGowan was "addressing these matters through a union grievance process," according to the court filing.

Twelve days later, the lieutenant position was posted.

McGowan and Ziemba were the only two applicants for the position, and third-party testing showed that Ziemba edged McGowan in five areas "by between 0.6 and 1.8 points out of 100," the complaint reads.

The complaint alleges that the assessment process did not follow the requirements of a collective bargaining agreement, and the measurements were subjective. It further claims McGowan's performance on the assessments "was in fact higher than that of Ziemba."

"If not for the retaliation and discrimination described above, McGowan would have gotten the promotion," the complaint reads.

The "retaliation" referred to in the complaint allegedly was carried out against McGowan because he opposed sexual harassment and a "racially hostile environment in the department," the filing reads.

For more than six pages, the complaint lays out disturbing and frequently salacious actions by Johnson that McGowan says he spoke up against going back to 2007.

The earliest incident came in the summer of 2007. The complaint alleges Johnson assaulted McGowan on four different occasions by rubbing "his clothed penis up against McGowan's body."

The complaint says McGowan called out his superior officer each time, but "Johnson laughed and dared McGowan to write him up."

McGowan's filing says Johnson denied the sexual assault to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination but said in a sworn statement to the commission that " '[f]or a period of time early in his tenure as Chief, Johnson and others in the Department  engaged in what Chief Johnson now recognizes was unprofessional and juvenile locker room behavior.' "

Again, iBerkshires.com is unable to independently verify either the substance or context of the material quoted in McGowan's filing.

McGowan alleges in his complaint that a male dispatcher in the WPD wrote a letter to Johnson complaining of a similar assault with a "clothed penis."

"Only after Dispatcher A's letter did Johnson's sexual harassment of both McGowan and Dispatcher A cease," the complaint reads.

As for racial discrimination, the complaint alleges that Johnson harassed an officer of Black ancestry identified as "Officer C."

"On many other occasions in Officer C's presence, when Johnson saw a person of color entering the police station, [Johnson] would rub his eyes, look back and forth between Officer C and the other person of color, and appear confused as if Officer C were in two places at once," the complaint reads.

The complaint alleges that "Officer C" was passed over for promotion in favor of "white men even though [Officer C] scored higher on the promotional exam."

In 2014, the complaint alleges, an unnamed WPD employee "shouted a racial slur (the N-word)," in the presence of Officer C and a Black Williams College student who was receiving a tour of the police station from Officer C.

The offending employee, identified in the filing at Dispatcher D, admitted to Johnson that he used the word, according to the complaint.

"McGowan recommended that Dispatcher D be terminated for his offensive and racist behavior, but Johnson took no official disciplinary action," the complaint reads. "Dispatcher D was removed froma few scheduled shifts and returned to work."

Officer C sought a transfer to a different police force in 2016, the complaint reads, but Johnson and Hoch "held up the transfer." McGowan, then president of the local police union, argued on Officer C's behalf, pointing out racist incidents and the presence of a photo of Adolf Hitler in the locker of another unnamed officer.

"In response, Johnson denied the allegations and threatened to terminate Officer C for untruthfulness," the complaint reads.

The complaint alleges that Johnson and Hoch were "concerned about possible media coverage" and OK'd Officer C's transfer.

McGowan is seeking compensation for lost wages and/or benefits, damage to reputation and earning capacity and "other damages."

Hoch, the town manager, said Williamstown has not received a notice of any union grievance related to the activities cited in the complaint.

Russcol, McGowan's attorney, confirmed in his email that McGowan does not have any union grievances pending at this time.
Authorities in Quang Nam Province, located in central Vietnam, on Wednesday decided to continue temporarily closing non-essential businesses, crowded activities and inter-provincial commercial transportation routes amid the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in the country.

The decision took effect in the entire province from 0:00 am Thursday, prolonging a previous similar order that had come into force from July 29.

Accordingly, bars, pubs, Internet shops, karaoke and massage parlors, beauty salons, cinemas, theaters, and discos in Quang Nam, home to Hoi An Ancient Town, must be shut down.

The province also banned lottery street vending as well as all commercial transportation, contracted passenger services, taxis, and public bus routes between the province, Da Nang  the countrys biggest COVID-19 hotbed at the moment  and the neighboring province of Quang Ngai, except in special cases for public services.

Public transportation within Quang Nam is permitted to continue normal operations as long as all safety measures are ensured.

Driving schools in Quang Nam will also be closed, as well as tours bringing visitors from and to Da Nang and other areas affected by COVID-19.

Accommodation facilities in the province must not welcome guests from Da Nang and COVID-19-affacted areas.

Festivals, religious ceremonies, and other cultural events, as well as tourism sites cannot host more than 20 people at a time.

In addition, a new point in Wednesdays order compared to the previous one is that tutoring centers are suspended as well.

The suspension will last until further announcement from local authorities.

Organizations or individuals failing to comply with the order will be handled as per regulations.

Quang Nam has logged 79 COVID-19 cases and five fatalities since July 25, when the detection of a 57-year-old male patient in Da Nang ended Vietnams streak of 99 days without transmission in the community.

In Da Nang, 296 people have since caught the viral disease while 12 patients have died.

The central city has been implementing social distancing regulations since July 28 in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Vietnams infection tally now sits at 883 cases, with 421 recoveries, and 18 deaths.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Government employees across the nation are risking their lives and the lives of their families each day that they go to work jobs that cannot be done remotely, and they are paying the price.A recent report from the Department of Labor revealed that, as of August 4, 2020, there could be as many as 6,000 federal employees who have contracted COVID-19 while on the job. As of June 16, there had been 48 federal employees that had died due to COVID-19, which they contracted on the job. And yet, these high-risk, essential workers are not receiving hazardous duty pay, even though it is required by federal law.

"We're risking our lives not just to put food on the table for our families but also to protect society, Kareen Troy Troitino, a correctional officer at FCI Miami and the president of his local union that represents correctional officers, told. And it seems like no one, no one cares."

And the issue is not just federal. Workers across the nation are filing workers compensation claims for contracting COVID-19, but some are finding that they do not qualify for the extra payment.

Michigans premium pay gave 14,000 state workers in high-risk jobs an extra $750 biweekly, but those payments ended on June 27, amounting to only 12 weeks of hazard pay. Kurt Weiss, a spokesperson for Michigans Office of State Employer, told the Lansing State Journal that the premium pay was designed to correspond to the peak of the pandemic, even though many states, like California Hawaii and Tennessee , have since seen an increase in case numbers after they began reopening.

The states corrections system has been hit especially hard. Of the 14,000 employees who received premium pay, about 10,000 work in corrections. Thereported that there have been more than 4,000 coronavirus cases in Michigans prisons

Andy Potter, Michigan Corrections Organization executive director, explained to thethat hazardous duty pay is more than just extra money: "We view premium pay as an acknowledgement of not just the hard work and the dangerous work, but the sacrifice of being away from their families, being self-quarantined away from their families.
A trip to KFC has left a year 12 student fighting for life after the vehicle she was a passenger in crashed into a power pole.

Alyssa Postle, 17, was riding in a white Subaru with another classmate who was driving when the car careered off the road at an intersection near Old North and Lavarack roads at Bray Park in Brisbane's north at around 7pm on Tuesday.

A witness who was on the scene at the horror single car smash said it was a 'horrible accident.'

Alyssa Postle, 17, was riding in a white Subaru with another classmate who was driving when the car careered off the road

The year 12 student from Brisbane is fighting for life in hospital following the horror crash

Ms Postle was rushed to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital in a critical condition

'We went out there and my husband and one of our friends... we saw one girl, stuck in the front,' Witness Jamuna Sitaula told the Courier Mail.

'We saw so many people come, police come and ambulances come. She didn't move.'

The devastating incident has left students, parents and teachers at Genesis Christian College in shock.

The school is now providing support to families and staff.

A trip to KFC has left a year 12 student fighting for life after the vehicle she was a passenger in crashed into a power pole. Pictured: A police forensic crash unit arrives on the scene

A witness who was on the scene at the horror single car smash said it was a 'horrible accident.' Pictured: KFC in Warner

'Our thoughts and prayers are with the families at this challenging time,' Genesis Christian College principal Paul Sterling told News Corp.

'Our primary concern is the emotional wellbeing of our students and we acknowledge the impact of this situation on our entire community.

'Lives have been affected and our role is to be as supportive as possible and take appropriate steps to assist students, families and staff.'

Ms Postle was rushed to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital in a critical condition.

The driver of the vehicle, who is also 17, escaped with minor injuries.
Following a scorching summer, Canadians can expect the sweaty summer to drag its feet before conceding to the cool weather of autumn in the coming months.

After a season that dealt numerous major cities a sweltering month of July--Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal each had their warmest month on record--calm relief will eventually be in store for the more densely populated areas of the country.

But can the same be said for other areas of the country, where threats such as drought and wildfires are always lingering around the corner?

AccuWeather meteorologists, led by AccuWeather veteran meteorologist and Canada weather expert Brett Anderson, this week released their annual Canada autumn forecast that answers that and much more in the regional breakdown below.:

An increase in cloudy days and rainier-than-normal conditions may sound like a downer, but for western Canada this time of the year, they will bring relief.

"The main storm track is expected to be focused into southern British Columbia and the United States Pacific Northwest," Anderson said. "This will lead to more cloudier and wetter days, which will also bring some drought relief."

Anderson, a forecaster with AccuWeather for 31 years, has been running the company's Canadian weather blog for more than a decade. He added that the wetter-than-usual autumn will benefit other areas of Canada as well, as a cloudier and rainier fall is also anticipated from Ontario through western Quebec.

In that region, where more than 11 million people collectively reside in three of the country's largest cities (Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa), that cloud coverage may be a welcomed relief for many after a record-warm summer.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

According to The Weather Network, each city had its warmest July on record in 2020. Recordings at Toronto Pearson Airport averaged 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit) for its monthly mean. Ottawa recorded the highest max temperature, reaching 36.9 C (98.4 F).

Story continues

On the opposite coast, weaker La Nina conditions, a pattern characterized by cooler-than-normal ocean water in the equatorial Pacific, are expected to develop during the fall, Anderson said. The weak climate pattern will help enhance rainfall across British Columbia from October through November.

A historically busy Atlantic hurricane season isn't expected to slow down its torrid pace anytime soon, and Anderson said the risk for systems impacting Canada this autumn is higher than usual.

Along with the factors over the open Atlantic that have fueled the record-breaking pace so far, warmer waters reaching farther north in the basin will also influence the kinds of impacts Canadians can expect.

According to Anderson, the highest risks from any tropical storm this fall would come in Nova Scotia, although he added that some increased rainfall may not be a bad thing due to the abnormally dry summer the region has experienced recently.

"The risk for a tropical storm impacting the region is slightly higher than normal," he said. "On average, one hurricane impacts Atlantic Canada every three years."

"The risk for a tropical storm is elevated this fall due to the expected high number of named storms in the Atlantic and the presence of abnormally warm water in the western North Atlantic," he said.

AccuWeather experts are projecting a total of 28 named tropical systems this season, with nine to 13 of those becoming hurricanes. AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski said he expects a couple of those storms could threaten the United States' northeastern states. If so, those impacts could spread to Canada as well.

In this photo taken on Monday, June 29, 2015, provided by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure, forest fires throw flames above a tree-line along highway 969 in southern Saskatchewan, Canada. Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall says the province's firefighting budget has been depleted, but crews will keep working in the north, where flames and smoke have forced at least 3,000 people from their homes. (Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure via The Canadian Press via AP)

Autumn is a widely beloved season for many because of the beauty that comes with the changing of leaf colors. According to Anderson, that beauty may arrive one week later than usual, on average across the country, but will be close to the normal time of year in the west.

On the flip side, autumn can also be a particularly scary time for many Canadian residents who deal with the threat of wildfires. In 2019, the Alberta wildfires consumed 883,414 hectares (2,182,960 acres) of land, the seventh-most in the country's history.

Thus far in 2020, that has not be in the case, and Anderson expects it to stay that way.

"So far, the fire season across Canada has been well below average," he said. "As of early August, there have been just over 2,500 fires. The 10-year average through early August is about 4,000 fires. Total acreage burned so far this season is only 10% of the 10-year average. Fire activity is expected to remain below normal through early fall for Canada as a whole."

As for the harvest, Anderson said there is a low risk for an early freeze, which should be good news for farmers. However, he added that the exact timing of a first frost can be tricky to pinpoint this far out.

"The latest signals favor most regions having a low risk of an abnormally early-season freeze," Anderson added. "This would likely extend the growing season."

In the Canadian Rockies of eastern British Columbia, Anderson said there is the potential for an earlier-than-usual snowfall based on the projected pattern. Ski areas even in this region typically will not open up before mid-November at the earliest, he said.

Across the farming areas of the Canadian Prairies, the weather pattern should favor a fairly normal harvest, a welcome relief after last year's "Harvest from hell,'" as farmer John Guelly put it in an interview with Reuters at the time. Heavy November snow and steady rain in the Prairies cut the canola farming season short, burying several million acres of farmland.

This year, however, Anderson said a similar disaster would be unlikely as the coldest shots of air and the bulk of storms will be too far to the northwest.

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
The blizzard of attacks against Harris from the political right illustrated the urgency Republicans feel to demonize her as a way for Trump to recover some of the ground he lost this spring and summer over his handling of the novel coronavirus. The scattershot nature of the intersecting lines of attack also underscored the lack of consensus within the GOP about how best to take on Harris.
Beijing, Aug 13 : The Chinese mainland has reported 19 new COVID-19 cases, including 11 imported cases, health authorities said on Thursday.

Of the new cases, eight were locally-transmitted and reported in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the National Health Commission said.

Four new imported cases were reported in Shandong, two each in Shanghai, Guangdong and Sichuan, and one in Hebei, reports Xinhua news agency.

One new suspected COVID-19 case, which was imported from outside the mainland, was reported in Shanghai.

No deaths related to the disease were reported Wednesday.

A total of 56 COVID-19 patients were newly discharged from hospitals after recovery, the commission said.

By the end of Wednesday, a total of 2,227 imported cases had been reported on the mainland.

Of them, 2,065 had been discharged from hospitals after recovery, and 162 remained hospitalized, with one in serious condition. No deaths from the imported cases had been reported.

As of Thursday, the overall confirmed COVID-19 cases on the mainland had reached 84,756, including 724 patients who were still being treated, with 41 in severe condition.

Altogether 79,398 people had been discharged after recovery, and 4,634 had died of the disease on the mainland, the commission said.

There were still four suspected COVID-19 cases, it added.

According to the commission, 22,498 close contacts were still under medical observation after 1,284 were discharged on Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, 20 new asymptomatic cases, including 15 from outside the mainland, were reported, and no asymptomatic cases were re-categorized as confirmed ones.

The commission said 295 asymptomatic cases, including 150 from outside the mainland, were still under medical observation.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
NEW YORK, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of HDFC Bank Limited ("HDFC" or the "Company") (NYSE: HDB). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980.

The investigation concerns whether HDFC 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 July 13, 2020, The Economic Times reported that HDFC Bank had "conducted a probe into allegations of improper lending practices and conflicts of interests in its vehicle-financing operations involving the unit's former head." On this news, HDFC Bank's American depositary receipt price fell $1.37 per share, or 2.83%, to close at $47.02 per share on July 13, 2020.

On July 19, 2020, HDFC Bank reported its financial results for the first quarter of the Bank's 2021 fiscal year, missing analyst estimates with respect to net profit and reporting a deterioration in its asset quality.

Then, on August 6, 2020, the publication The Print reported that in July 2020, Experian Plc's Indian unit had informed the Reserve Bank of India that "HDFC Bank has been late in providing details of its loans, including the repayment status of its millions of retail borrowers" and that "[s]uch tardiness has been an issue for about two years."

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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A war veteran has slammed police for failing to charge protester who tried to burn a Union Jack flag on the Cenotaph during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in London.

Trevor Coult, who won the Military Cross for shooting three suicide bombers in an ambush on his patrol in Iraq in 2005, described the lack of a charge over the incident as a 'disgusting insult to veterans of all creed and colour'.

He spoke after it emerged that the unnamed 20-year-old suspect, who was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, had been rebailed following the alleged incident on June 7.

The suspect was bailed until July and was then rebailed last month, but the Metropolitan Police did not say until when.

This perceived lack of action has been blasted by Mr Coult, 45, who said that it is 'reeks of double standards' after a man who urinated next to a murdered police officer's mural was jailed within days.

Trevor Coult, who won the Military Cross for shooting three suicide bombers in an ambush on his patrol in Iraq in 2005, described the lack of a charge over the incident as a 'disgusting insult to veterans of all creed and colour'. Pictured: A protester appears to be attempting to burn the Union Jack during a Black Lives Matter Protest in London in June

He spoke after it emerged that the unnamed 20-year-old suspect, who was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, had been rebailed following the alleged incident on June 7

Andrew Banks, 28, of Stansted, Essex, was jailed for 14 days for urinating next to Pc Keith Palmer's memorial during a counter-BLM protest.

This was despite him having no previous convictions and the judge who sentenced him agreeing that he 'didn't know' where he was urinating.

Mr Coult, an ex-Royal Irish Regiment soldier of Woodbridge in Suffolk, said the 'gaping difference' in how both cases have been dealt with was appalling.

He said: 'The flag burner knew what they were doing but nothing has happened. That street is one of the most watched streets in the world.

'There are cameras everywhere. They were photographed and filmed by dozens of people on the day. How there can't be any charges is beyond me.

'It sends out a message first of all that they're not taking it seriously. That anyone can come out and do what they want to our national monuments.

'It sends out a message that we don't care. We need to bring in laws stronger that specifically protect those monuments.

Mr Coult (pictured left), an ex-Royal Irish Regiment soldier of Woodbridge in Suffolk, pointed to the contrast in the way a protester who urinated on a memorial to a murdered police officer was handled. Mr Coult (pictured right in Iraq) said the 'gaping difference' in how both cases have been dealt with was appalling

Andrew Banks, 28, of Stansted, Essex, was jailed for 14 days for urinating next to Pc Keith Palmer's memorial during a counter-BLM protest

'And there are already laws in place. Whoever did this should go to jail.

'The fact that they haven't been dealt with yet leaves a sour taste in my mouth and the mouths of every other veteran in the country.

'The Cenotaph doesn't just represent white people. Lots of black people died fighting for this country and that monument represents their sacrifice.

'This is taking the mickey out of them which is disgusting and will only divide people.

'The fact this hasn't been dealt with when that other guy (Banks) was jailed for two weeks is going to upset people - especially veterans of all creeds and colours.'

A Met Police spokesman said there were 'no charges at this point  I believe that they remain on bail.'

They said they didn't yet know when they had been rebailed until.

Their previous statement said: 'A 20-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage in connection with an incident at the Cenotaph on Sunday, 7 June.

'She has since been bailed to a later date in July.'
The first shot sounded like a transformer exploding.

Narcedalia Padron Arizpe was at city hall Nov. 30 in Villa Union, the small Mexican border town where she serves as mayor.

Then bullets began hitting the building, ripping chunks of stucco from the walls. They slammed through glass, smashed through computers and left fist-sized holes in windows.

She dove for cover. Outside, a convoy of armored pickups emblazoned with CDN rumbled through the streets. Cartel gunmen, many who looked to be teens, spent hours shooting up the town with high-powered rifles  with an arsenal later connected to a home just south of Houston.

The whole pueblo convulsed, Arizpe said. Everything was perforated.

State security forces responded hours later. Battles over two days claimed the lives of 17 cartel gunmen, four police officers and two unarmed residents of Villa Union. The attack by the Cartel del Noreste left residents traumatized and fearing for their lives, Arizpe said.

Investigators recovered 27 large-caliber weapons, including six .50-caliber Barrett rifles, 22 vehicles, and bulletproof helmets and vests.

Law enforcement in the two countries began investigating how American arms ended up fueling a violent gun battle in a town 43 miles across the border. U.S. agents tracked arms connected to the shootout. So far, prosecutors have charged 15 people in Texas in purchases of more than 100 guns suspected of having been trafficked to Mexico.

But experts in Mexico and the U.S. say law enforcement is fighting a losing battle, armed with low-grade charges that are little deterrent against trafficking rings motivated by a lucrative $125 million shadow industry.

Gerardo Sanchez, STR / Associated Press

Two investigations

Five days after the Villa Union shootout, police in Brownsville responded to reports of a business getting shot up, and arrested a man named Victor Camacho. During the arrest, they found four assault-style rifles wrapped in blue painters tape, a Glock pistol and a stockpile of high-powered ammunition, including ammo fit for military-grade submachine guns.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents traced the weapons back to Zeroed-in-Armory, a Pearland gun shop owned by 32-year-old man named Khalid Abdulaziz. He ran the business out of a house on Roy Road in Brazoria County, about 13 miles southeast of downtown Houston.

The stop of Camacho led to two investigations: one into the ZIA gun shop and one into how the guns moved across the border.

Mexico has struggled for decades to control drug smuggling, human trafficking and cartel violence. The country has strict gun laws, bans the sale of assault weapons, and has only one store where citizens can legally buy guns.

You have a largely unregulated market for guns north of the border, and a severely restricted market for guns in Mexico, said David Shirk, a political science professor at the University of San Diego.

The pipeline of weapons flowing from the U.S. to Mexico arms enables violent cartels and contributes to the nations soaring homicide rate.

Citing a 2016 U.S. Government Accountability Office report on efforts to combat firearms trafficking, Alicia Kerber Palma, Mexicos Consul General in Houston said about 41 percent of firearms seized in Mexico from 2009-2014 and traced back to the U.S. came from Texas. Many of those weapons are purchased to be used in crimes just across the border, she said, adding that efforts to stop organized crime or drug trafficking would be hobbled without addressing gun smuggling.

Houston Chronicle

Houston sees high numbers of gun trafficking cases, said Fred Milanowski, Special Agent-in-Charge of ATFs Houston Field Division. Investigators began seeing a spike in trafficking in the Houston region about three years ago, prompting ATF to put a new team together to focus on the problem, Milanowski said.

Last year, members of ATF Houstons crime gun strike force arrested 143 people and identified more than 1,100 weapons they suspect were trafficked, according to internal numbers provided to the Chronicle.

Traffickers smuggle the weapons in small shipments, which makes stopping the flow of guns more difficult.

Its just not difficult to buy firearms in the U.S. and drive across the border pretty much undetected, said J.J. Ballesteros, a retired ATF agent.

Alexandre Meneghini, STF / AP

The gun shop

Court records say traffickers bought scores of weapons from the ZIA gunshop.

Israel Chapa Jr. of Houston was a purchaser, and ATF agents said he bought 156 weapons over a six-month period starting in July. One of those  a belt-fed .50 caliber rifle bought by Chapa on Nov. 19  was later found among Cartel del Noreste weapons by Mexican security forces after the Villa Union shootout.

When investigators found Chapa on Dec. 13, he said hed sold all of the weapons purchased at ZIA to a man named Jose. He later changed his statement to say the majority of the weapons were sold to Camacho, the man police stopped in Brownsville.

ATF agents said Chapa used straw purchasers for some of his gun buys. One woman bought 19 weapons from ZIA between Nov. 7 and Dec. 18.

She told investigators, according to a federal criminal complaint, that Chapa would give her large sums of cash, and when she went to ZIA she would either say she was there to pick up a shipment or shed say whats up man.

A ZIA employee would have the weapons ready even though she hadnt ordered in advance, and she would drive the weapons to north Houston, dropping them off with a man in a dark Cadillac Escalade, she told investigators.

Investigators later used this information to charge Chapa with making a straw purchase.

Firearms traffickers frequently recruit straw purchasers  typically people who dont have criminal records that would make it illegal for them to buy weapons  to make large buys. Smugglers give straw purchasers money to buy guns  and pay them $100 for each gun they obtain  and then sell them in Mexico for twice or three times what they originally paid.

JULIO CESAR AGUILAR, Contributor / AFP via Getty Images

After the ATF learned of the local link to the Villa Union shootout, agents spent months building a case against people they say were involved in a gun-running ring that bought and transported hundreds of guns into Mexico. They used confidential informants to make purchases at the ZIA gun shop.

One of the informants was a convicted felon and thus prohibited from buying firearms. The other was not a felon and therefore could pass the FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check.

On March 27 the two informants went to ZIA. The felon discussed purchases with Abdulaziz, according to a federal criminal complaint filed in the case. When Abdulaziz asked for a drivers license in order to do a background check the informant said he had a criminal background. Abdulaziz suggested that the person with him could make the purchase; he put the sale through under the name of the second informant and then handed the weapons to the person he understood to be a felon, investigators said.

At a subsequent visit to the store in April, the felon informant made clear his intention to take the weapons to Mexico.

If you come in here buying this gun and you already know you are going to go flip it, thats illegal, Abdulaziz said, according to the complaint. Its all about your intention. . . . If you are buying it because you want it, and then you decide you want to sell it later, well thats up to you. You can sell anything you want. Just a heads up.

Before finalizing the sale he asked the straw buyer (the informant without a record) to affirm that it was not being bought for anyone else. You are allowed to buy a thousand of them if you want. You just cant buy for anyone else.

Paper violations

Former federal law enforcement officials and other experts say lack of U.S. laws that explicitly target firearms trafficking or ban sales of assault weapons leave them outgunned, forced to cobble together cases with other charges.

And after investigations such as the ZIA case, agents often can only charge the lower rungs of the operations. And the charges available to them are for paper violations with weaker penalties, such as lying on paperwork connected to gun sales.

Those technically are paper violations, but those are the violations that we have to charge because of the lack of a firearms trafficking statute, Milanowski said.

Though weapons have been smuggled into Mexico for decades, the problem intensified after the U.S. assault weapons ban was lifted in 2004, said Eugenio Weigend, who studies gun violence and firearms trafficking at the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank based in Washington, D.C.

In the years since, Mexican police armed themselves with increasingly powerful American guns. Federal agents say theyve seen cartels respond in kind, obtaining weapons more commonly used by military forces, such as .50-caliber belt-fed rifles  which are powerful enough to down helicopters.

The NRA and other lobbying organizations have blocked efforts to strengthen restrictions on arms purchases or pass laws to crack down on trafficking.

We have a major problem with gun violence, said David Chipman, a retired ATF Special Agent who now works for Giffords, a nonprofit aimed at reducing gun violence. Dealing guns should be a significant federal violation.

Ken Magidson, the regions U.S. Attorney until 2017, said federal agents and prosecutors use a variety of tools to combat cartel violence. That includes undercover infiltration of groups, filing organized crime or racketeering charges, or prosecuting drug cases or specific acts of violence  as well as filing similar charges to those brought in the ZIA case.

But prosecuting the violations is hard, former agents say, because the people traffickers recruit usually have no criminal record, meaning they are unlikely to receive any significant prison time if convicted and have little incentive to cooperate with investigators.

That makes the case less attractive for federal prosecutors to pursue, said Chipman.

What they have to charge someone with is lying on a form, or dealing without a license, he said. It lacks jury appeal. Its a more difficult case to make.

Gerardo Sanchez, STR / Associated Press

Gun seller, gun buyers

Agents began to identify people who made straw purchases at ZIA, records show. They traced the pistol Brownsville police had found in Camachos car to one of the Houston straw puchasers. Documents filed in federal court show the operation bought more than 150 weapons suspected of being trafficked to Mexico.

In the end, grand jurors issued indictments for aiding and abetting a false statement on background check forms. Investigators brought cases against at least 15 people linked to the case.

Camacho, who was found with guns as well empty gun boxes linked to arms that ended up in Mexico, was charged with possessing a Barrett .50 caliber rifle without a legitimate serial number that had been transported in interstate or foreign commerce and with making false statements on ATF forms.

Abdulaziz faces 13 charges, including selling a firearm to a prohibited person and making false statements on ATF forms.

Abdulaziz and the other defendants cases have not yet been set for trial.

Christian Navarro, the attorney representing Chapa, said that his client has pleaded not guilty. Mr. Chapa will continue to plea his innocence as we learn more about the government's charges against him. As far as I'm concerned, Mr. Chapa is innocent of the government's charges."

The gunshop owners attorney, Cordt Akers, said Abdulaziz is innocent and didnt intentionally sell to traffickers.

He found out about the shootings the same way we all did. He found out about it on CNN, Akers said.

Akers acknowledged that many of the guns sold ended up in Mexico but said investigators criminal complaint shows Abdulaziz warned buyers if they were engaging in illegal activity he wouldnt sell them weapons.

He said federal agents had no proof Abdulaziz committed crimes.That proof doesnt exist because that's not the truth, he said.

Villa Union

That is little comfort to Arizpe, the Villa Union mayor.

Eight months after the attack, the memories are no less vivid.

She had a stroke afterward, and spent five days in the hospital. She refused to resign and has since recovered. She felt responsible for the town and her friends, she said.

The states governor ordered bodyguards to accompany her everywhere after the attack; she couldnt see her family  she was worried they might be killed in retaliation. She found herself looking over her shoulder every time she left her house.

It seems very unjust a little boy could get a gun and kill someone, she said. They brought fear and killed innocents.

st.john.smith@chron.com
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Matt Damon was in full dad mode during a beach day in Malibu with his family on Wednesday.

The Oscar-winning actor, 49, hit the sand with a purpose, carrying a surfboard while wife Luciana Barroso and their daughters, Isabella, 14, and Gia, 11, followed.

Matt and the girls were eager to get into the ocean and enjoy some family time while surfing, even though they weren't accompanied by youngest sister Stella, nine.

Fun in the sun: Matt Damon was looking forward to the ocean as he visited the beach in Malibu with family on Wednesday

Waves: Damon hopped into the ocean with daughters Isabella, 14, and Gia, 11 (above)

The Bourne Identity talent showed off his muscular trunk while wearing his wetsuit on bottom only. But when it was time to hop into the water, he suited up and was ready to go.

Gia looked like quite the mini-me, sporting a red and black Roxy wetsuit. Meanwhile, eldest sister Isabella was dressed in an all black Ripcurl unit.

The trio paddled out into the placid waters with the other surfers. Unfortunately there was little wave action, so they simply floated on their boards and enjoyed nature.

When they returned to shore, Matt seemed quite proud of his Gia, seen ruffling her wet tresses and smiling. Mom Lucia also hyped up her little girl, waving while welcoming her back to the beach.

Boarding now! Matt was eager to get into the ocean for some quality time with his girls

Ready to go: The Bourne Identity actor

Daddy's girl: Gia looked like quite the mini-me, sporting a red and black Roxy wetsuit

Float along: The trio paddled out into the placid waters with the other surfers. Unfortunately there was little wave action, so they simply floated on their boards and enjoyed nature

Isabella, 14, however was ready to enjoy the sun, first wrapping herself in a blanker before sinking her feet in the warm sand.

While Matt and the girls went into the water, mom Lucia spent time soaking in the warm weather with a friend. Like any mom, she was prepared with a full bag of supplies.

The Argentine beauty was casual and cute wearing a pair of linen overalls on top of a rust-hued swimsuit. Making sure to protect her skin from harmful UV rays, Lucia topped her look off with a wide straw hat.



Proud papa: When they returned to shore, Matt seemed quite proud of his Gia, seen ruffling her wet tresses and smiling

You go girl! Mom Lucia also hyped up her little girl, waving while welcoming her back to the beach

Making a splash: Damon looked like he had a great day as he hopped out of the water soaking from head to toe

While things were all about family time on Wednesday, Matt and Lucia recently enjoyed a grown-up beach outing with his longtime friend Ben Affleck and his new girlfriend Ana de Armas.

Despite it being a friendly group outing, Ben, 47, struggled to keep his hands off his 32-year-old Cuban-Spanish girlfriend, as they passionately kissed in the sand in full view of their friends.

Meanwhile, Matt and Luciana - who have been married since 2005 - were able to keep their composure as they stood beside each other.

Mom time: While Matt and the girls went into the water, mom Lucia spent time soaking in the warm weather with a friend

So cute: The Argentine beauty was casual and cute wearing a pair of linen overalls on top of a rust-hued swimsuit. Making sure to protect her skin from harmful UV rays, Lucia topped her look off with a wide straw hat

While Ana seems to have Ben's BFF Matt's approval, she's also forging a bond with Affleck's three kids with ex Jennifer Garner.

In June, Ana was seen hanging out with his kids Samuel, eight, and daughter Seraphina, 11, and later was also pictured with his 14-year-old daughter Violet.

Ben and the Knives Out actress have been inseparable since they were first linked in early May.

The pair are said to have first met on the Deep River film set in late 2019, but didn't get spotted together until they were seen enjoying a vacation in Cuba.
Livestock traders in Akwa Ibom State have called on the state government to reopen the livestock market in the state after a four-month ban on the movement of livestock from other states to Akwa Ibom.

The closure of the market at the peak of the COVID-19 lockdown crashed livestock business in the state.

Speaking in Uyo on Tuesday at a meeting with the Secretary to the State Government, Emmanuel Ekuwem, the leader of the livestock sellers in Akwa Ibom State, Hassan Sadauki, appealed to the government to reconsider its decision.

Governor Udom Emmanuel on May 11 placed a ban on cattle, goats and rams from being moved into the state from other states.

The ban on the movement of livestock from other states to Akwa Ibom was placed as part of the measures to curb the spread of coronavirus in the state, according to the government.

Akwa Ibom recorded its first confirmed case of the virus in April. It has so far recorded 253 confirmed cases of the virus with about eight deaths.

The state reopened other markets last week for full operations and daily activities after about three months of partial activities in the market, due to the impact of the disease.

Mr Sadauki, who is also the leader of the Hausa community in the state, said the closure of the livestock market for the long period has brought untold hardship to the farmers as this business remains the major source of livelihood to all of them.

The unfortunate closure of the livestock market has brought untold hardship to the dealers on livestock in the State; hence, we are appealing to the state government to give consideration to re-opening of the market, he said.

Most of us are solely dependent on the business for the upkeep of our families, and will do everything to protect their source of income by adhering strictly to the Government guidelines.

Mr Sadauki said the livestock sellers are ready to abide by all the guidelines given by the government to this effect.

Responding, Mr Ekuwem, who is also the chairman of the Akwa Ibom COVID-19 Management Committee, said the reopening of the livestock market in the state will be considered.

He, however, warned against those that will violate the guidelines once the state decides to reopen the market.

There is a notion peddled by some individuals that COVID-19 is not real. To me, such belief by people is dangerous to the society. The disease has gotten to a stage that if not properly managed, new cases can break out immediately through Community spreading, Mr Ekuwem said.

He said the incident management team will review the decision for further action.

Mr Ekuwem said the state government may consider total closure of the market if any breach of protocols is identified by the government after the reopening of the market.
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United Arab Emirates and Israel have agreed to establish full diplomatic ties as part of a deal to halt the annexation of occupied land sought by the Palestinians for their future state.

The announcement makes the UAE the first Gulf Arab state to do so and only the third Arab nation to have active diplomatic ties to Israel.

Trump tweeted a statement from the countries, acknowledging the deal. He then told reporters in the Oval Office that it was a truly historic moment.

HUGE breakthrough today! Historic Peace Agreement between our two GREAT friends, Israel and the United Arab Emirates!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 13, 2020

Now that the ice has been broken I expect more Arab and Muslim countries will follow the United Arab Emirates, he said.

Joint Statement of the United States, the State of Israel, and the United Arab Emirates pic.twitter.com/oVyjLxf0jd  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 13, 2020

The recognition grants a rare diplomatic win to Trump ahead of the November election as his efforts to see an end to the war in Afghanistan have yet to come to fruition while efforts to bring peace between Israel and the Palestinians have made no headway.

For Israel, the announcement comes after years of boasting by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that his government enjoys closer ties to Arab nations than publicly acknowledged. Netanyahu has sought to build settlements on lands sought by the Palestinians and embraced a Trump proposal that would allow him to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank while granting Palestinians limited autonomy in other areas.

For the UAE, home to skyscraper-studded Dubai and the rolling, oil-rich sand dunes of Abu Dhabi, it further burnishes its international campaign to be seen as a beacon of tolerance in the Middle East despite being governed by autocratic rulers. It also puts the UAE out first in a regional recognition race among neighboring Gulf Arab states.

And for the Palestinians, who long have relied on Arab backing in their struggle for independence, the announcement marked both a win and setback. While Thursdays deal halts Israeli annexation plans, the Palestinians have repeatedly urged Arab governments not to normalize relations with Israel until a peace agreement establishing an independent Palestinian state is reached.

A joint statement from the U.S., the UAE and Israel was issued immediately after Trumps tweet. It said delegations would meet in the coming weeks to sign deals on direct flights, security, telecommunications, energy, tourism and health care. The two countries also will partner on fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

Opening direct ties between two of the Middle Easts most dynamic societies and advanced economics will transform the region by spurring economic growth, enhancing technological innovation and forging closer people-to-people relations, said the statement by Trump, Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the day-to-day ruler of the UAE. It said the leaders had a three-way call discussing the deal.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised the deal.

This is a remarkable achievement for two of the worlds most forward leaning, technologically advanced states, and reflects their shared regional vision of an economically integrated region, he said in a statement. It also illustrates their commitment to confronting common threats, as small  but strong  nations.

He added: Blessed are the peacemakers. Mabruk and Mazal Tov.

Among Arab nations, only Egypt and Jordan have active diplomatic ties with Israel. Egypt made a peace deal with Israel in 1979, followed by Jordan in 1994. Mauritania recognized Israel in 1999, but later ended relations in 2009 over the Israels war in Gaza at the time.

In addition to Trump, the main U.S. mediators for agreement were the presidents senior advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner, special Mideast envoy Avi Berkowitz and David Friedman, the U.S. ambassador to Israel.

The UAE is a U.S.-allied federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula. Formed in 1971, the country like other Arab nations at the time did not recognize Israel over its occupation of land home to the Palestinians.

Arab oil is not dearer than Arab blood, the UAEs founding ruler, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, once pronounced when agreeing to an oil boycott over U.S. military support to Israel in the 1973 Mideast war.

The UAE relied on white-collar Palestinians in creating its nation. Over time, it maintained its stance that Israel allow the creation of a Palestinian state on land it seized in the 1967 war.

But in recent years, ties between Gulf Arab nations and Israel have quietly grown, in part over their shared enmity of Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Prince Mohammed also shares Israels distrust of Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and the militant group Hamas that holds the Gaza Strip.

It remains unclear what prompted Israel and the UAE to make the announcement now. In June, the United Arab Emirates ambassador to the U.S. warned in an Israeli newspaper op-ed that Israels planned annexing the Jordan Valley and other parts of the occupied West Bank would upend Israels efforts to improve ties with Arab nations.

The agreement gives Netanyahu a domestic boost at a time when Israels shaky coalition government is plagued by infighting and facing the possibility of early elections in the coming months. Netanyahu has seen his popularity plummet as the country grapples with a renewed coronavirus outbreak and skyrocketing unemployment as the result of earlier lockdown measures.

Netanyahu also delivered a valuable diplomatic achievement to his good friend, Trump, ahead of U.S. elections.

Still, by dropping the annexation plan Netanyahu may be hedging his bets ahead of a possible change in the White House. Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, has made clear that he would oppose any moves by Israel to unilaterally redraw the Mideast map and annex lands sought by the Palestinians.

Netanyahu also risked criticism inside his own hard-line Likud Party, whose members strongly supported annexation. Netanyahu appears to be betting that Likud members  and the small, but influential settler movement  will agree the peace agreement delivers more benefits than unilateral annexation. Opinion polls have shown that annexation is not a high priority for the vast majority of the Israeli public.

Abandoning its annexation plan changes little on the ground. Israel already holds overall control of the West Bank and continues to expand its settlements there, while granting the Palestinians autonomy in a series of disconnected enclaves. Some 500,000 Israelis now live in the rapidly expanding West Bank settlements.

Next year, Israel will take part in the UAEs delayed Expo 2020, the worlds fair being hosted by Dubai. A secret synagogue also draws practicing Jews in Dubai. The UAE also has announced plans to build the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi, which will house a mosque, a church and a synagogue.

Israelis traveling with Western passports routinely enter the UAE without a problem, though one still cant make a phone call between the two countries. Israelis also work in Dubais gold and diamond trade as well.

Emirati officials also have allowed Israeli officials to visit and the Israeli national anthem was played after an athlete won gold in an Abu Dhabi judo tournament. Israel also has a small mission representing its interests at the International Renewable Energy Agency in Abu Dhabi.
The youngest deputy to be hired by the Bexar County Sheriff's Office and his fiancee died after the pickup truck they were driving in was hit by an 18-wheeler Wednesday night in San Patricio County.

The deputy has been identified as 20-year-old Noah Calderon. He was traveling with with his fiancee and younger brother to Corpus Christi when they were involved in an accident with a tanker truck near Texas 188 and FM 796. The tanker truck may have run a red light, San Patricio Sheriff Oscar Rivera said.

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Calderon's fiancee, Samantha Grace Handy, was killed immediately and the deputy died later at the scene, Rivera said. Calderon's younger brother Luke Calderon was transported by helicopter to University Hospital in San Antonio in critical condition.

In a statement shared by Sheriff Javier Salazar, Calderon's family asked for prayers and said, "We are deeply torn apart and still face a miracle for my 13-year-old Luke to fully recover. Hes in ICU and needs several surgeries."

Calderon was one of the youngest people hired by the department in recent years, graduating from BCSO's Blue Shirt Program at only 18 years old in 2018. He was working in the detention bureau and was planning on attending the Basic Peace Officer's Academy to obtain his Texas peace officer's license.

"Our community lost a young man that was absolutely going to run this agency one of these days," Salazar said.

Just a year ago, BCSO posted on Facebook expressing their admiration for the young deputy, saying he made the department proud.

We want to congratulate our very ownDeputy Noah Calderonon making a huge stride by closing on his brand new home... Posted by Bexar County Sheriff's Office on Sunday, March 31, 2019

Calderon's father Edward is a sergeant with BCSO. The young deputy was one of four children.

BCSO is making arrangements to transport Calderon's remains back to San Antonio with an honor escort Friday.

The Texas Department of Public Safety is investigating the crash. It is unclear if the driver of the 18-wheeler will face charges.

"We absolutely have to be careful out there on those highways because theres more at risk than just ourselves," Salazar said.

Taylor Pettaway is a breaking news and general assignment reporter for MySA.com | taylor.pettaway@express-news.net | @TaylorPettaway
Women dressed in white clothes protest against police violence during recent rallies of opposition supporters, who accuse strongman Alexander Lukashenko of falsifying the polls in the presidential election, in Minsk on Aug. 12, 2020. (Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images)

Hundreds in Belarus Protest Election Results, Police Crackdown

MINSK, BelarusHundreds of women rallied across Belaruss capital on Aug. 12 to protest a brutal police crackdown that has left hundreds injured and thousands detained while challenging election results extending the 26-year rule of the countrys authoritarian leader.

In several parts of Minsk, groups of women formed human chains, chanting Shame! and calling for an end to the crackdown in a bid to soften the ruthless official response to peaceful protests. Hesitant to use force against all-women rallies, police dispersed them without violence.

Protesters are contesting the official count showing President Alexander Lukashenko winning a sixth term with 80 percent of the Aug. 9 vote and the main opposition challenger with 10 percent. Crowds have taken to the streets every night since to demand a recount.

Authorities have responded with a crackdown that was unusually brutal even for Lukashenkos authoritarian rule. Police have dispersed protesters with tear gas, stun grenades, water cannons, and rubber bullets and severely beat them with truncheons. Black-uniformed officers chased protesters into residential buildings and deliberately targeted journalists, beating many and breaking their cameras.

We stand for a peaceful protest, said Ksenia Ilyashevich, a 23-year-old IT specialist who joined other women at a Minsk protest on Aug. 12. We worked up the courage and came out to rally. We stand here for all.

Another demonstrator, 29-year-old Lyudmila Arutyunova, said: We need to support each other when the authorities beat us.

In three nights of protests, at least 6,000 people have been detained and hundreds injured, according to the official count, but even that high toll appeared to downplay the crackdowns scope. Anguished relatives were besieging prisons across Belarus trying to find their missing relatives.

Even those who were loyal saw the real face of this government during the past three days, said 63-year-old Galina Vitushko, who stood outside a jail in Minsk, trying to find her son, a 43-year old doctor. She said that she desperately needs to give him insulin since he has diabetes.

Its real harassment, how can you treat your own people like that? she asked, breaking into tears. The real winners dont behave like that.

The 65-year-old Lukashenko has led the former Soviet state of 9.5 million people with an iron fist since 1994, relentlessly stifling dissent and winning the nickname of Europes last dictator in the West.

This year, the economic damage caused by the coronavirus and the presidents swaggering response to the pandemic, which he airily dismissed as psychosis, has fueled broad anger, helping swell the opposition ranks  but that has only elicited a more forceful crackdown from the Belarusian leader.

Lukashenko has derided the political opposition as sheep, manipulated by foreign masters, and vowed to continue clamping down on demonstrations.

The core of these so-called protesters are people with a criminal past and (those who are) currently unemployed, Lukashenko said during an Aug. 12 meeting with security officials.

His top challenger, a 37-year-old former teacher and political novice Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya managed to unite fractured opposition groups and draw tens of thousands to her campaign rallies after two top potential challengers were barred from the race. She entered the race to replace her husband, an opposition blogger who aspired to run but has been in jail since his arrest in May.

But she left for neighboring Lithuania on Aug. 11 in an abrupt about-face, hours after submitting a formal request for a recount. In a video recorded before departure that her associates said was filmed under pressure from law enforcement officials, she urged her supporters to end protests.

Protesters have not heeded her call, and Maria Kolesnikova, a top figure in Tsikhanouskayas campaign, urged the government on Aug. 12 to stop waging a war against its own people and begin a dialogue.

The Interior Ministry acknowledged that police used firearms on Aug. 11 in the city of Brest, on the border with Poland, to stop protesters who attacked them with metal rods, leaving one person with a gunshot wound. One demonstrator died on Aug. 10 in Minsk, when an explosive device he attempted to throw at police exploded in his hands, according to the ministry.

On Aug. 11 in Minsk, reporters from several Belarusian and international outlets were beaten up. Officers seized memory cards from a group of photographers, including one for the AP, as they took shots of the police crackdown.

A deliberate hunt for journalists with independent Belarusian and foreign media has begun, said Boris Goretsky, vice president of the Belarusian Association of Journalists. He said 25 reporters are currently in custody, awaiting their turn in court, and three more have already been sentenced to 10 to 15 days in jail.

A prominent editor at a popular Belarusian newspaper disappeared on the night of Aug. 10. Yegor Martinovich, editor-in-chief of Nasha Niva, managed to send his colleagues an SOS message in the evening of Aug. 10, and no one has heard from him since.

Belarusian human rights group Viasna said many injured protesters were afraid to seek medical help, fearing prosecution for participating in the rallies.

Eduard Kukhterin, a 56-year-old publisher, was injured with two rubber bullets overnight as he was entering his apartment building but decided not to go to a hospital.

Paramedics warned me that if I go to the hospital, I will end up behind bars as a protester. Medical workers report such injuries to the law enforcement, he told the AP.

The crackdown has drawn harsh criticism from the European Union and the United States.

Speaking during a trip to the Czech Republic on Aug. 12, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Belarusian vote was neither free nor fair and warned Lukashenkos government against harming non-violent protesters.

We want the people of Belarus to have the freedoms that theyre demanding, he said.

The European Union foreign ministers scheduled a meeting on Aug. 14 to discuss the crackdown.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called the meeting a day after saying that the 27-nation bloc could impose sanctions against those responsible for the observed violence, unjustified arrests, and falsification of election results.

In 2016, the European Union lifted most of the sanctions it slapped on Belarus in 2004, after Lukashenko freed political prisoners and allowed protests.

By Yuras Karmanau
There may not be a current cure for the coronavirus, but there is a remedy of sorts for the doldrums of quarantined life. The average home has all the components for the healing formula, says local designer Mischelle Thiels. Its called rearranging furniture. But psychologists have another name for it: self-care.

With Thiels and her husband both working at home and their teenage daughter going to school virtually, Thiels knows that confinement within the same four walls calls for a change of scenery. Not only has she faced this challenge of transforming external spaces for internal peace in her own life these past months, but its what she does for a living as an interior decorator, an organizer and a real estate stager.

For her own family, Thiels had to reinvent the way they inhabit the 1,500 square feet of space in their mid-1800s French Quarter townhouse. Bea, 15, a sophomore at Lusher Charter High School, moved her desk into a wide hallway. Thiels husband, Paul (a financial planner), moved his home office to the living room, and Thiels turned part of the kitchen into her workspace.

With the changes in function came a rearrangement of furniture and accessories. Psychologist Scott Glassman talked about the added benefit of such changes.

Stress is associated with what you see every day, especially if your home has become your office. Changing up how things look opens the door to new, more positive thoughts, feelings and choices, said Glassman, creator of A Happier You course at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine that kicked into high gear with the arrival of Covid-19. Coping with many restrictions from the pandemic, we can easily lose a feeling of control. Changing your environment around, even in small ways, can restore it.

The process

Thiels knows the connection between visual surroundings and a positive outlook from a decorating standpoint. A single room can go from a colorful bohemian theme to sophisticated minimalism to cozy-chic comfort to urban Zen. And with each look comes a state of mind.

She says a room's transformation can come at little or no cost. You simply shop in your own house, borrowing from bedrooms for the living room or from the dining room for an in-home office. The process is not just about moving furniture around, but also moving art and rugs and lamps as well. Dig deeper, and you may find buried treasure in your attic or storage.

How to start? Thiels has it down to a science, but her advice includes lots of room for using your imagination. Here's how she described the process of re-creating a space.

DEFINE FUNCTION: Start by deciding the function of the room you're revamping. What do you need it to be? An office? Another living area? Dont be locked into the original purpose of the room, Thiels said.

Ironically, the pandemic gives you more indoor freedom. Since following CDC guidelines restricts visitors in the home, you can turn your living room into a bedroom if the mood strikes you. Turn that upstairs bedroom into a study, where you can be away from distractions. Or simply change the living room up periodically for a change of scenery.

It can be boring to be home all the time," said Bea, "but when things are changed around, I feel as if I have gone on vacation. I dont feel as trapped. She assists her mother as mover and collaborator when the urge for change arises.

EVALUATE ACCESSORIES: Open your mind to the possibilities, Mischelle Thiels said. Look around your kitchen for distinctive platters and bowls. Take a visual inventory of all the patterned and textured throws and rugs in other rooms or tucked away in closets.

And what about books with beautiful covers that have been gathering dust on a shelf?

Dig out those treasures and evaluate what you have, said Thiels. Her own sentimental favorites include the wooden Mexican folk art cat her husband purchased for her 26 years ago and the bright painting she purchased for $50 from a favorite B&B that was closing.

A NOD TO NATURE: Plants add nature elements to a room. Thiels prefers cuttings from the yard, whether its a single large leaf or greenery mixed with blooms. Outdoor furniture can sometimes double as indoor decor. There are reasons that indoor-outdoor rugs have gained popularity  price, versatility, vivid colors and high-traffic durability because they are synthetic.

Decision time

Once you've gathered your treasures, make some simple decisions.

THE FLOOR: Maybe you love the hardwood floors or painted concrete just the way it is, but if you have decided on floor coverings, put those down first. Thiels sometimes uses a large throw rug, then layers it with a smaller, brighter rug for a mix of color and texture.

THE ANCHOR: Start with the biggest piece of furniture. In Thiels' home, it is a contemporary modern sofa in aubergine velvet. Position it where you want it in the room. You have to be able to change your mind because the way you envision it may not work, Thiels said.

ACCENT FURNITURE: Next, bring in the smaller pieces like side tables and chairs. Thiels brought in glass-top side tables she purchased at a garage sale for $50. The see-through element adds a sense of more space. For another look, she brought in an upholstered bench to place in front of the sofa, serving as either an ottoman or coffee table.

LIGHTING: With the furniture in place, think about lighting. Thiels isn't a fan of overhead fixtures -- she likes lamps. Determine where a light should go, and then choose the table that works best with it. Lamps, available in a variety of designs and prices and typically scattered throughout a home, are easy to interchange.

Think about the mood of the lighting. Should it be subtle or dramatic? Thiels has a stock of lamps, each with a story. There's the eye-catching midcentury modern lamp her mother-in-law found at a lamp factory that inspired a family trip to view it. And two green-glazed ceramic lamps Thiels describes as male and female, one squared off and the other curved. One pair cost $6 at a Florida flea market.

ART: Switching out art among rooms is an easy way to refresh the look of a home. Art, says Thiels, should not be intimidating. Art is anything that is personal, she said. A menu can be art, as can a garage sale purchase that caught your eye. Childrens art is often genius in that they use bright colors, and it is abstract. Curate your own home. Slowly buy things you like and connect to. Take a walk around your home and look in cabinets and closets and attics. Then make a pile of possibilities from which to choose.

One of Thiels treasures is a colorful abstract painting she purchased at a garage sale because she liked the colors. With no artist signature, Thiels turns it horizontally or vertically, depending on the wall space she fills.

PHOTO OP: Take a smartphone photo of your freshly designed room. You can tell much more from a photograph. You can see if anything needs to be shifted, or if something looks too busy, Thiels said.

REASSESS: Go back to what you wanted the key function of the room to be. Was it to be a place to be calm and centered? Was it to be vibrant where family activities take place? Does the room reflect your goal? Then you've succeeded.

Both Bea and her mother see creating living space as a family collaboration. The possibilities are many, proving that Glassmans theory that A Happier You is not a solo act.

Revamping your living space can be a change to strengthen the relationships with those you live with. It can be fun to do it together, making it an opportunity to share creative ideas and support one another," Glassman said.

+3 4 super-simple ways to freshen up your living area, inside and out While staycationing at home this summer (sigh, sob), I have consoled myself by looking for ways to perk up my days and my house without draini
The Bharatiya Janata Party in Rajasthan will move a motion of no confidence against the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in the state assembly, leader of opposition Gulab Chand Kataria said.

IMAGE: Former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje with senior BJP leader Murlidhar Rao during the party MLAs meeting at BJP office in Jaipur. Photograph: PTI Photo

The decision was taken in a BJP legislature party meeting held in Jaipur on Thursday.

After the meeting, Kataria told reporters that the motion of no confidence will be moved in the assembly session beginning Friday. He said the proposal was being finalised.

Coronavirus cases are on the rise and the law and order situation is badly deteriorating. Attempts were made to link those, who were arrested by the SOG (Special Operations Group) over allegations of conspiring to topple the government, with BJP but the government failed in this. We will mention all these issues in the proposal, Kataria said.

He said even though the political crisis in the Congress has been resolved, all is still not good in that party as "one is going to east and the other to west".

BJP state president Satish Poonai said the motion will be moved on Friday.

He said the BJP and its ally Rashtriya Loktantrik Party have a total of 75 MLAs and of them, 74 were present in Thursday's legislature party meeting held at the BJP's office.

He said Union agriculture minister Narendra Tomar was also present in the meeting and talked about agriculture-related issues.

Poonia aleged that the Ashok Gehlot-led state government is a "government of contradictions".

BJP MLA Madan Dilawar, who has challenged in the high court the merger of six Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLAs with Congress, said the Rajasthan government has gone into a "state of coma" and therefore the opposition party has to move the no-confidence motion.

This government is unstable and the works of people are not being done. We already had our preparations for the motion but it was finalised today in the meeting after taking the MLAs in confidence, he said.

Dilawar also said all 75 BJP and RLP MLAs will support the motion.

BJP national vice president and former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, national vice president and state in charge Avinash Khanna and other senior leaders were present in the meeting.

The opposition party's decision comes days after an "amicable resolution" of the nearly month-long political cisis in Rajasthan.

Congress leader Sachin Pilot had openly rebelled against chief minister Gehlot last month along with 18 other party MLAs.

He was then sacked as deputy chief minister and the party's Rajasthan chief.

The Congress on Monday had said the crisis in Rajasthan was a "closed chapter" and all legislators supporting its government will work towards strengthening the state government and fighting COVID-19 and economic calamities.
That release could not be found.
TANZANIA, Tanzania - The U.N. Security Council started voting Thursday evening on a U.S. resolution that would indefinitely extend the U.N. arms embargo on Iran, a measure that faces strong opposition from Russia and China and is almost certain to be defeated.

The results of the email voting because of the COVID-19 pandemic are expected to be announced on Friday evening, and it is likely the resolution will not get the minimum nine yes votes in the 15-member Security Council for Russia and China to use their vetoes.

The Trump administration called for the vote hours after U.S. Ambassador Kelly Craft urged European nations that support the nuclear deal with Iran to put in writing their ideas to extend the expiring arms embargo on the Islamic Republic, indicating that the the United States may be willing to compromise on its demand for an indefinite extension.

Craft said in an interview with The Associated Press that the United States was keeping the space open for talks with the United Kingdom, France and Germany, as well as Russia and China. The five veto-wielding members of the U.N. Security Council still support the 2015 agreement with Iran aimed at preventing the country from acquiring nuclear weapons, which U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of in 2018.

Asked about reports the Europeans have talked about a six-month extension of the arms embargo, Craft replied: They mentioned six months. They mentioned a one-year (extension). They mentioned other elements. Theyve mentioned a code of conduct, and I havent seen anything in writing.

Craft did not appear to know at the time of Thursdays AP interview that the U.S. would be calling for the vote so soon. Her comments indicate that the U.S. might be hoping for the three European nations known as the E3  the UK, France and Germany  to come up with their own resolution with a shorter extension of the arms embargo after Fridays results are announced.

The Trump administration has said repeatedly it will not allow the arms embargo provision in the Security Council resolution endorsing the nuclear deal to expire as required on Oct. 18  a commitment reiterated by Craft.

The U.S. initially circulated a resolution to the 15-member council to indefinitely extend the arms embargo which was seven pages long and had 35 paragraphs. This week, following discussions with council members who voiced objections to a number of provisions, it circulated a revised draft that stripped the resolution to just four paragraphs calling for an indefinite extension.

The foreign ministers of Russia and China, in separate letters to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council last month, were sharply critical of the U.S. effort to indefinitely extend the arms embargo. They gave every indication they would veto any such resolution if necessary.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the Trump administration of waging a politically motivated campaign against Iran and called for universal condemnation of the U.S. attempt to impose a permanent arms embargo on the Islamic Republic. He said Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement and now has no legal right to try to use the U.N. resolution endorsing the deal to indefinitely continue the embargo.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the arms embargo should be lifted Oct. 18. He also argued that since the U.S. is no longer a party to the nuclear deal it has no right to demand the Security Council to activate the rapid reinstatement of sanctions through the snap back provision.

Diplomats from several countries that remain committed to the nuclear deal have expressed serious concern that extending the arms embargo would lead to Irans exit from the agreement, and its speeded-up pursuit of nuclear weapons.

If the resolution is defeated, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suggested the U.S. would invoke the snap back mechanism in the 2015 nuclear deal that would restore all U.N. sanctions on Iran. Snap back was envisioned in the event Iran was proven to be in violation of the accord, under which it received billions of dollars in sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.

Obviously we will use the most important tool, whatever it is, whether its `snap back, whether it is hopefully just going into the council and extending this renewal, we will not take no for an answer, Craft said.

She said the U.S. has circulated to council members a six-page memo from U.S. State Department legal advisers outlining why the United States remains part of the 2015 Security Council resolution and still has the right to use the `snap back provision.

Craft said council members face a choice between sponsoring terrorism or promoting international peace and security.

We have a moral responsibility to make certain that this murderous regime does not have access any longer to exporting and to arming its proxies, Craft said.

She said before the U.S. called for the vote that the best option for the the UK, France and Germany would be to engage on the U.S. draft resolution, put something in writing, and resolve differences in the Security Council.

And if they think for one second that `snap back is hollow they need to think twice, Craft said.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said India cannot depend on foreign governments and overseas suppliers to meet its requirement of military platforms, and self-reliance in the defence sector is far more crucial than any other field.

Singh made the comments after launching a number of new products brought out by several defence public sector undertakings and the Ordinance Factory Board. "Security is its first priority for the development of any nation. It is known to all of us that the nations, which are able to protect themselves, they have been able to build their ...
FORT WORTH, TX / ACCESSWIRE / August 13, 2020 / Sanara MedTech Inc.

Based in Fort Worth, Texas, Sanara MedTech Inc. ("Sanara" or the "Company") (OTCQB:SMTI), a provider of wound and skincare products dedicated to improving patient outcomes, announced today its strategic, operational and financial results for the quarter and six-months ended June 30, 2020.

Ron Nixon, Sanara's Executive Chairman stated, "Sanara's second quarter 2020 results reflect both the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company and our team's steps to mitigate this impact while continuing to develop new opportunities and execute on our strategy. Although April and May saw a significant slowdown in sales, June reversed that revenue trend with record sales for the month. We expect to continue to build on the success we had in June moving forward."

Second Quarter 2020 Strategic and Operational Highlights

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company significantly reduced costs in areas such as payroll, consulting, business travel, and other discretionary spending. Additionally, the Company expanded the use of virtual technologies to reach customers for both sales opportunities and training.

In May 2020, the Company executed a new license agreement with Rochal Industries, LLC for an autolytic debrider wound dressing currently under development.

The Company worked with the World Reference Center for Emerging Viruses and Arboviruses at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston to determine if BIAKOS has the ability to inactivate SARS-CoV-2 in solution. Testing indicated a 99.96% reduction (below the limit of detection) of SARS-CoV-2 within 30 seconds in the presence of BIAKOS.



An additional recent study conducted by Analytical Lab Group, an industry leader in specialty contract lab testing, determined that BIAKOS is also effective against human coronavirus in solution by achieving a 99.96% reduction in viral load. According to the study director, "there was no evidence of viral infectivity so we would say the virus was completely inactivated."



Previous testing has shown that BIAKOS ANTIMICROBIAL SKIN & WOUND CLEANSER achieves over a 99.9999% kill in solution within 30 seconds and a complete kill within 1 minute against MRSA and VRE, indicating that BIAKOS is a wound and skin cleanser that remains effective even when these microorganisms are present.



An additional recent study conducted by Analytical Lab Group, an industry leader in specialty contract lab testing, determined that BIAKOS is also effective against human coronavirus in solution by achieving a 99.96% reduction in viral load. According to the study director, "there was no evidence of viral infectivity so we would say the virus was completely inactivated." Previous testing has shown that BIAKOS ANTIMICROBIAL SKIN & WOUND CLEANSER achieves over a 99.9999% kill in solution within 30 seconds and a complete kill within 1 minute against MRSA and VRE, indicating that BIAKOS is a wound and skin cleanser that remains effective even when these microorganisms are present. The Company has significantly invested in corporate infrastructure in 2020 with the hiring of a Chief Commercialization and Regulatory Officer, Dan Walsh. In early 2020, Sanara retained a Compliance Officer, Bill Fitzgerald, to oversee the Company's ongoing compliance program focusing on policy development, training and compliance with the Company's Code of Ethics.



Sanara's current sales team includes 16 surgical regional sales managers (RSMs) and 5 wound care RSMs.

Commentary on Future Products

The Company expects to launch its BIAKOS ANTIMICROBIAL WOUND GEL this year to complement its BIAKOS ANTIMICROBIAL SKIN & WOUND CLEANSER. Both products are effective against planktonic microbes as well as immature and mature biofilms. When used in conjunction, the cleanser can be used initially to clean a wound and disrupt biofilms (removing 99% in 10 minutes). The gel can then be applied and will remain in the wound for up to 72 hours, eliminating biofilms between normal dressing changes.

Third Quarter 2019 Consolidated Financial Results

Revenues. The Company generated revenue of $2,967,183 for the three months ended June 30, 2020, compared to revenue of $3,017,489 for the three months ended June 30, 2019, representing a 2% decrease in revenue from the prior year. The lower second quarter revenue was due to the suspension of elective surgeries and restricted access to patient facilities throughout most parts of the United States as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.



For the six months ended June 30, 2020, revenue totaled $6,491,514, compared to revenue of $5,504,385 for the six months ended June 30, 2019, an 18% increase from the prior year period. The higher revenue in 2020 was primarily due to strong revenues growth during the first quarter as well as the month of June resulting from the execution of the Company's strategy to expand its sales force and independent distribution network in both new and existing U.S. markets.



The Company generated revenue of $2,967,183 for the three months ended June 30, 2020, compared to revenue of $3,017,489 for the three months ended June 30, 2019, representing a 2% decrease in revenue from the prior year. The lower second quarter revenue was due to the suspension of elective surgeries and restricted access to patient facilities throughout most parts of the United States as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the six months ended June 30, 2020, revenue totaled $6,491,514, compared to revenue of $5,504,385 for the six months ended June 30, 2019, an 18% increase from the prior year period. The higher revenue in 2020 was primarily due to strong revenues growth during the first quarter as well as the month of June resulting from the execution of the Company's strategy to expand its sales force and independent distribution network in both new and existing U.S. markets. Cost of goods sold. Cost of goods sold for the three months ended June 30, 2020, was $348,675, compared to costs of goods sold of $334,829 for the three months ended June 30, 2019. Cost of goods sold for the six months ended June 30, 2020, was $678,863, compared to costs of goods sold of $624,169 for the six months ended June 30, 2019. The increase over prior year was primarily due to higher sales volume.



Cost of goods sold for the three months ended June 30, 2020, was $348,675, compared to costs of goods sold of $334,829 for the three months ended June 30, 2019. Cost of goods sold for the six months ended June 30, 2020, was $678,863, compared to costs of goods sold of $624,169 for the six months ended June 30, 2019. The increase over prior year was primarily due to higher sales volume. Selling, general and administrative expenses ("SG&A"). SG&A expenses for the three months ended June 30, 2020, were $3,624,027, as compared to $2,983,248 for the three months ended June 30, 2019. SG&A expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2020, were $8,530,565, as compared to $5,333,611 for the six months ended June 30, 2019.



The higher SG&A expenses in YTD 2020 were primarily due to increased payroll costs resulting from sales force expansion and operational support, and higher sales commission expense as a result of higher product sales. Direct selling costs represented the vast majority of the increase in total SG&A costs as we increased the size of our field sales organization from nine in June 2019 to twenty-one in June of 2020.



The higher SG&A expenses are consistent with the Company's strategy of building out a larger sales force and independent distribution network. New sales representatives generally take six to twelve months to begin generating significant revenue. The Company expects SG&A expenses to decline as a percentage of revenue in the next two years as revenue generated by new sales representatives begins to offset the cost of the sales force expansion.



SG&A expenses for the three months ended June 30, 2020, were $3,624,027, as compared to $2,983,248 for the three months ended June 30, 2019. SG&A expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2020, were $8,530,565, as compared to $5,333,611 for the six months ended June 30, 2019. The higher SG&A expenses in YTD 2020 were primarily due to increased payroll costs resulting from sales force expansion and operational support, and higher sales commission expense as a result of higher product sales. Direct selling costs represented the vast majority of the increase in total SG&A costs as we increased the size of our field sales organization from nine in June 2019 to twenty-one in June of 2020. The higher SG&A expenses are consistent with the Company's strategy of building out a larger sales force and independent distribution network. New sales representatives generally take six to twelve months to begin generating significant revenue. The Company expects SG&A expenses to decline as a percentage of revenue in the next two years as revenue generated by new sales representatives begins to offset the cost of the sales force expansion. Net income / loss. The Company had a net loss of $1,129,557 for the three months ended June 30, 2020, compared to net loss of $352,471 for the three months ended June 30, 2019. The Company had a net loss of $2,970,569 for the six months ended June 30, 2020, compared to net loss of $515,043 for the six months ended June 30, 2019.



The net loss was due to higher SG&A costs described above, which were driven by the Company's strategy to grow top-line revenue through significant investments in sales force expansion and related sales support infrastructure. The Company expects SG&A expenses to decline as a percentage of revenue in the next two years as the revenue generated by its new sales force begins to offset the sales force expansion expense.

About Sanara MedTech Inc.

With a focus on improving patient outcomes through evidence-based healing solutions, Sanara MedTech Inc. markets and distributes wound and skincare products to physicians, hospitals, clinics, and all post-acute care settings. We are constantly seeking long-term strategic partnerships with a focus on products that produce efficacious outcomes at a lower overall cost. Our products are primarily sold in the North American advanced wound care and surgical tissue repair markets. Sanara MedTech markets and distributes CellerateRX Surgical Activated Collagen to the surgical markets as well as the following products to the wound care market: BIAKOS Antimicrobial Skin and Wound Cleanser, HYCOL Hydrolyzed Collagen, and PULSAR II Advanced Wound Irrigation (AWI). In addition, Sanara is actively seeking to expand within its six focus areas of wound and skincare for the acute, post-acute, and surgical markets. The focus areas are debridement, biofilm removal, hydrolyzed collagen, advanced biologics, negative pressure wound therapy adjunct products, and the oxygen delivery system segment of the healthcare industry. For more information, visit SanaraMedTech.com.

Information about Forward-Looking Statements

The statements in the press release that relate to the Company's expectations with regard to the future impact on the Company's results from new products in development and any other statements not constituting historical facts are "forward-looking statements," within the meaning of and subject to the safe harbor created by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Since this information may contain statements that involve risk and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time, the Company's actual results may differ materially from expected results. This document may contain forward-looking statements concerning the Company's operations, current and future performance and financial condition. These items involve risks, contingencies and uncertainties such as product demand, market and customer acceptance, the effect of economic conditions, competition, pricing, the ability to consummate and integrate acquisitions, and other risks, contingencies and uncertainties detailed in the Company's SEC filings, which could cause the Company's actual operating results, performance or business plans or prospects to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by these statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise any of these statements to reflect the future circumstances or the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Investor Contact:

Callon Nichols, Director of Investor Relations

713-826-0524

CNichols@sanaramedtech.com

SOURCE: Sanara MedTech Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/601543/Sanara-MedTech-Inc-Announces-Second-Quarter-2020-Results
Paul Falvey of business advisory firm BDO

Paul Falvey is tax partner at accountancy and business advisory firm BDO.

Government finances are widely expected to come under severe pressure over the next few years to finance the huge public spending to support businesses and family incomes through Covid-19.

We need to strike a new financial settlement as the usual incremental approach is unlikely to be sufficient.

Covid-19 has provided a plethora of challenges to individuals and businesses, but has also allowed HMRC to demonstrate that they can make radical changes such as launching the furlough scheme whilst a substantial number of their staff were working from home.

What could be next?

Rethinking our tax system, which has its roots in the 19th century, through simplification and digitisation would be a great next step and there are early signs that a rethink is underway in several key areas.

Making Tax Digital

The move to Making Tax Digital (MTD) has resumed with an announcement that all landlords and the self-employed must file quarterly returns from 2023, with companies not far behind it seems.

This may not qualify as a rethink but, if the government is finally going to make the major investment in HMRC's systems and practices that it promises, it would be pretty radical.

MTD won't be pain-free but it should be more efficient if the government invests properly in HMRC's systems: it will also enable HMRC to squash down on the tax gap again by pushing the 'unofficial' economy to the margins.

Making tax digital will enable HMRC to squash down on the tax gap again by pushing the 'unofficial' economy to the margins, says Paul Falvey

Business rates

At Budget 2020 the government proposed a major reform of business rates. It has recently launched a formal call for evidence that seeks to improve the effectiveness of the current business rate system.

Part of the document seeks views on possible replacement taxes, considering taxes such as a capital values tax paid by the property owner or an online sales tax (in addition to VAT).

In a recent survey we carried out of over 1,000 businesses, 84 per cent supported the idea of replacing business rates with an online sales tax, showing that now might be the time to rethink business rates.

Employment

The Chancellor's Summer Economic Statement on 8 July was billed as a 'Plan for jobs' and while there were many spending commitments there was little real change. Rethinking the labour market for the post-Covid-19 economy demands more.

The whole pattern of employment is changing with more of us working from home with far less practical difference between employees and contractors than previously. To preserve mass employment, he may now need to remove employer's NIC  or the 'jobs tax' as some call it.

A merger of income tax and NIC is the sort of radical simplification that many Chancellors have considered but none delivered. It would make tax filing simpler and more transparent: but, inevitably, headline rates of tax would be higher: that may be politically acceptable post-COVID-19.

'A merger of income tax and NIC would make tax filing simpler and more transparent'

Capital Gains Tax

After cutting back on CGT Entrepreneurs' relief in the spring Budget, the Chancellor has tasked the Office of Tax Simplification with a root and branch review of the tax.

The scope of the review is wide-ranging covering the rates of CGT and the many reliefs now available. The OTS call for evidence seeks comments on the principles of CGT by 10 August - hinting that a major rethink of CGT could be on the way in the autumn Budget.

I would not be surprised, indeed I'd hope to see, this go hand in hand with a rethink of inheritance tax so that all our taxes could operate coherently going forward.

Pensions

A recent Public Accounts Committee report has highlighted that government can't prove that the 38billion annual cost (2018/19) of pensions tax relief is value of money.

A rethink here, perhaps focusing reliefs on younger taxpayers, could cut costs for the government. While there may be grumbling from some taxpayers if up front tax relief is cut, it is unlikely that it would have an immediate impact on the consumer.

All these topics may seem like old chestnuts and they have been too hot for past governments to handle properly.

Following Covid-19 and with the reality of Brexit on the horizon, people are expecting change, so this, along with the government having the political mandate, has given increased impetus for a widespread rethink of UK taxes. It's certainly long overdue.

Paul Falvey is tax partner at accountants and business advisors BDO, who works with a wide range of individuals and businesses across a number of sectors.
A doctor and some nurses of a state-run designated Covid-19 hospital at Murshidabad in south Bengal were allegedly heckled by supporters of the ruling Trinamool Congress when the hospital authorities refused to admit a block-level TMC leader in the hospital who had tested negative for Covid-19.

It is a Covid-19 designated hospital. The TMC leader had tested negative even though he was suffering from Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI). The doctors refused to admit him without an examination. He died later in the night, said a senior doctor of the hospital.

Hospital authorities alleged that dozens of TMC supporters came to the hospital to admit Mafijuddin Mondal, the partys block president from Khargram. As the doctors and nurses were attending other critical patients, the TMC supporters entered the Covid-19 ward and started looking for a bed where Mondal could be admitted.

When a doctor objected, the TMC supporters started heckling him and tore his shirt. Later, some nurses and other hospital staff were also heckled when they tried to intervene, said a hospital staff.

A senior police officer said that four people had been detained on the basis of a complaint lodged by the hospital authorities.

Khalilur Rahaman, the ruling partys member of parliament from Jangipur was also present. It is not desirable from an MP. Mondal was referred to the hospital as a SARI patient which means he was Covid-19 negative. But his supporters demanded an ICU bed, said Sharmila Mallik, Superintendent of the Matri Sadan hospital in Berhampore.

Rahaman, however, refused to comment: I dont want to comment on this.

Till Thursday, at least 13 people have died in Murshidabad from the Covid-19 infection and eight other people of the district have died outside Murshidabad from the disease.

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The situation in Belarus is currently difficult, and its authorities need to open a dialogue with society, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday, advising Ukrainian citizens to refrain from traveling to Belarus until the situation there stabilizes.

"We are currently discussing this with the Foreign Ministry, and they contacted the Belarusian side already yesterday: three of our Ukrainian citizens, I currently don't have any other figures, have been detained there. Negotiations are now in progress. We resolutely want them to return our citizens to Ukraine," Zelensky said.

The head of state said: "I would like no deaths, no injuries to occur there. I would like the authorities to genuinely engage in dialogue with all people, with their society. We see that the situation there is difficult, unstable, and serious," Zelensky said at a press briefing in Boryspil on Thursday.

"Due to the fact that our people have been detained there, I would like to advise Ukrainians to refrain from traveling to Belarus until the situation there more or less stabilizes," he said.

Zelensky also said he does not know whether the ongoing protests in Belarus will affect the meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) on settling the situation in eastern Ukraine scheduled for August 18.
NEW YORK, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- BlueVoyant, a global expert-driven cybersecurity services company, today announced its rapid growth and development fueled by further series of funding, impressive sales growth, recognition for its strong technology offerings and expanding market presence. The company's first half year momentum speaks to the significant demand for expert-driven cybersecurity services.

"Our continuous growth is the result of our focus on delivering excellence in client services," said Jim Rosenthal, co-founder, and CEO of BlueVoyant. "Over the past six months, we have invested heavily in our key lines of business to ensure our customers have access to comprehensive services and technology to enhance their current solutions. As a result, we are viewed as an essential partner for customers."

So far in 2020, BlueVoyant has achieved several milestones including:

Closed Third Round of Funding: Secured $68 million in funding led by Temasek, a global investment company headquartered in Singapore. The funding will accelerate growth plans across three key lines of business: Managed Security Services, for 24/7 detection and response inside customer networks; Third-Party Cyber Risk Services, providing supply chain and investment portfolio defense; and Cyber Defense Services, providing Incident Response, Defense Assessment, Brand Protection and Threat Intelligence.

Market Recognition: BlueVoyant continues to expand its recognition by being recognized as a 'Strong Performer' in The Forrester Wave: Midsize Managed Security Services Providers, Q3 2020 report. According to the report: "As legacy MSSP approaches become outdated and less effective, improved threat intelligence and integrations will dictate which midsize MSSPs will lead the pack." BlueVoyant tied for the top score in the automation and reporting capabilities criteria. BlueVoyant also tied for the top score in the talent management criterion, which is a key Unique Selling Point of BlueVoyant's cyber security services. Lastly, Forrester found BlueVoyant's approach is unique as an MSSP, emphasizing cloud platforms for service delivery and also stated: "Companies seeking an MSSP with a cloud-led approach, transparent portal, and extensive financial services expertise should consider BlueVoyant."

Acknowledged Industry Ecosystem Provider: BlueVoyant joined the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA) , an ecosystem of independent software vendors and managed security service providers who have integrated solutions to help customers better predict, detect, and respond to security threats faster. MISA membership is by invitation only, with Microsoft reaching out to a select core group of managed security service providers from across the cybersecurity industry.

Exceptional Business Performance: BlueVoyant recorded impressive sales growth of 210 percent in the first half of 2020 and has increased its customer base to more than 300 clients across four continents in 16 different industries. BlueVoyant also secured key partnerships with market-leading organizations including TELMEX Scitum, a leading company in IT security and has further developed its relationship with Fiserv, global provider of financial services technology.

Mark Turnage, CEO from DarkOwl and BlueVoyant Customer sums up why customers select BlueVoyant: "We were looking for best-in-class managed Endpoint Security and Threat/Compromise Detection and Response capabilities and found them in BlueVoyant. We see their services as remarkably robust and industry leading, and it made sense for DarkOwl to go with the best in the business."

About BlueVoyant

BlueVoyant is an expert-driven cybersecurity services company whose mission is to proactively defend organizations of all sizes against today's constant, sophisticated attackers and advanced threats. Led by CEO Jim Rosenthal, BlueVoyant's highly skilled team includes former government cyber officials with extensive frontline experience in responding to advanced cyber threats on behalf of the National Security Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Unit 8200 and GCHQ, together with private sector experts. BlueVoyant services utilize large real-time datasets with industry leading analytics and technologies.

Founded in 2017 by Fortune 500 executives and former Government cyber officials and headquartered in New York City, BlueVoyant has offices in Maryland, Tel Aviv, San Francisco, London and Latin America.

BlueVoyant Press Contacts

Danielle Ostrovsky

C8 Consulting (USA)

T: 001 410-302-9459

E: [email protected]

Jim Pople

C8 Consulting (EMEA)

T: +44 7955 030191

E: [email protected]

SOURCE BlueVoyant
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) sent eight trucks with humanitarian aid for the residents of the temporarily occupied district of Donbas on Thursday, according to the press service of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.

"Four trucks from the UNHCR were registered at the Stanytsia Luhanska checkpoint and admitted to the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine," it said.

The agency sent 21.5 tonnes of pumping and electric equipment, pipes and cables to residents of Luhansk region.

In addition, four trucks with the humanitarian cargo from the ICRC crossed the Novotroyitske checkpoint on their way from Kyiv to Donetsk.

"This time the cargo contained more than 80 tonnes of food packages," the state service said.
New York:

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif might like to attend US President-elect Donald Trumps inauguration with his government voicing optimism the new administration in Washington will provide it with a fresh opportunity to burnish its credentials with the US, a media report said.

The Pakistani government had sent a special emissary Tariq Fatemi to Washington last week where he hinted broadly that Sharif might like to attend Trumps inauguration, said The Washington Post.

Fatemi said he believed the incoming Trump administration would provide Pakistan with a fresh opportunity to burnish its credentials with the United States, the report said.

It added that senior Pakistani officials said they take the long view of their countrys relationship with the US, which has been dominated by military and intelligence ties.

Our relationship with the United States is almost as old as Pakistan itself. There have been ups and downs, but overall we have remained very close, Sartaj Aziz, Pakistans top foreign policy chief, said in an interview. Through both Republican and Democratic administrations, there has been a broad continuity in policy, and we fully expect our relations will continue on an uphill trajectory.

Following Trumps conversation with Sharif, in which the US president-elect had said Pakistan is a fantastic country and hinted casually that he would be willing to help Pakistan solve its historic differences with India, Pakistani officials are now scrambling to prepare for an unpredictable new phase in its wary but enduring partnership with Washington.

Vice president-elect Mike Pence too had said several days ago that the new US administration planned to be fully engaged in both nations and was prepared to play a pivotal role in resolving the key dispute over Kashmir.

The key issue for the US is that escalation could spark a conflict between two nuclear powers, Awais Leghari, who is chairman of the foreign affairs committee in Pakistans Parliament, said in the report. We cannot resolve these issues without superpower help, and it needs someone who is out of the box, someone radical enough to put an international hand into a sincere effort.

Pakistani officials said they also want to reassure the incoming administration that their relations with other countries are not a zero sum game and are independent of their policies toward the US. They insisted that their deepening economic trade and plans for a major transportation corridor to China do not represent a pivot away from their longtime economic and military links with Washington.

Aziz added that Pakistan, like the US, wants to see Afghanistan become peaceful and stable. He said Pakistan has been frustrated that its efforts to arrange peace talks with the Taliban have failed, and that rising attacks in Afghanistan have been partly the result of Pakistans military raids to drive the insurgents out of the tribal border areas. To blame everything on Pakistani sanctuaries is simplistic, he said.

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The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Thursday a PIL seeking a "unified" CBI probe into the death case of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, contending that "the entire country is shocked with the way the Mumbai Police is handling this case". Rajput, aged 34, was found hanging from the ceiling of his apartment in suburban Bandra in Mumbai on June 14 and since then the Mumbai police has been probing the case and their counterparts in Bihar have also lodged an FIR.

A bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian would hear on Thursday the PIL filed by BJP leader and lawyer Ajay Agrawal on the issue. The apex court on July 30 and August 7 had dismissed two similar public interest litigations (PILs) filed by Alka Priya and Mumbai-based law student Dwivendra Devtadeen Dubey respectively.

"Deceased's father is pursuing the case. There is no reason that he will not pursue it properly. You are an stranger in this matter and you are unnecessarily coming in this. We will not permit this," the bench had told to the counsel of Dubey on August 7. Agrawal, who has been pursuing Bofors pay off scam case in the apex court, has filed the PIL seeking a direction to CBI to take up the investigation in the death of Sushant Singh and the events which led to the untimely death of the actor.

He filed an additional affidavit in which he contended that "the entire country is shocked with the way the Mumbai Police is handling this case. There are many loopholes in the initial stage of the investigation. Whether these are deliberate or not, this itself is a matter of probe." In his additional affidavit, the lawyer said, a responsible person like Narayan Rane who is a former Chief Minister of Maharashtra is alleging that it is a clear cut case of Murder.

"Media trial is going the whole day on all electronic news channels. This all should be put to rest by a unified CBI investigation of this case, which is a highly professional agency and well equipped to deal with such type of high profile and controversial case," it said. "That on June 14, Sushant Singh Rajput, an upcoming Bollywood film star, was found dead in mysterious circumstances. Mumbai police immediately declared it a case of suicide. But nobody could swallow this theory of suicide of a bright carrier upcoming star who played a lead role in the film of 'M.S. Dhoni , the plea said.

The PIL also referred to the news that Rajput's live-in partner Rhea Chakraborty had withdrawn Rs 15 Crore from the account of Sushant Singh Rajput out of total Rs. 17 Crores balance in his account. The Bihar government has already recommended the CBI inquiry in the sensational case after actor's father made the request for it and the Centre has notified it as well.

The Maharashtra government has been opposing the transfer saying Bihar had no jurisdiction over the case. Another bench of Justice Hrishikesh Roy has on Tuesday reserved its verdict on Bollywood actress Rhea Chakraborty's plea seeking transfer of the FIR lodged against her by Rajput's father at Patna to Mumbai.

Rajput's father has accused Rhea of abetting suicide of his actor son in the FIR lodged at Patna.

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Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has challenged Donald Trump to release his college transcript to compare grades, saying she would do the same.

The New York freshman congresswoman issued her challenge to the president after he said on Fox News on Thursday that she was "not even a smart person" and was "a poor student" during her time at Boston University.

It is, of course, doubtful he would know anything about her academic standing at the school since her transcript is private. But Ms Ocasio-Cortez signalled on Thursday she would be willing to share her college grade sheet if the president is willing to share his.

"Lets make a deal, Mr. President: You release your college transcript, Ill release mine, and well see who was the better student. Loser has to fund the Post Office," she tweeted, taking a dig at Mr Trump's attempts to undermine the US Postal Service before a November presidential election that is expected to be conducted with millions more mail-in ballots than usual.

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BRIDGEPORT  City police are investigating after a person was shot Wednesday afternoon.

The police department was notified around 2:30 p.m. that a person was driven to Bridgeport Hospital with a gunshot wound, according to Scott Appleby, the citys director of emergency communications and emergency management.

Appleby said the victim suffered a wound to the shoulder. He said it was not immediately clear where the shooting occurred. He said there was no further information immediately available.

This story will be updated as officials release additional details.
The New England Center for Children Celebrates 45th Anniversary "When we founded NECC 45 years ago, our vision was a world where autism is not a barrier to happiness, growth and independence, said Vincent Strully, founder and CEO of NECC. From humble beginnings, NECC has grown into the pre-eminent institution for autism education, research and training.

The New England Center for Children (NECC), a global leader in education and research for children with autism, announced today its 45th anniversary and the kick-off of a year celebrating the breadth and depth of its impact. Founded in 1975, NECC has served more than 13,500 children with autism and their families.

When we founded NECC 45 years ago, our vision was a world where autism is not a barrier to happiness, growth and independence, said Vincent Strully, Founder and CEO of The New England Center for Children. From humble beginnings, NECC has grown into the pre-eminent institution for autism education, research and training. We have created a global network of educators, researchers and innovative technology that transforms the lives of children with autism.

Throughout NECCs long history, their community of teachers, parents and researchers have worked with each child with extraordinary focus and sophistication to foster his or her independence and maximize skills. All teaching is based on the proven scientific principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), which identifies how children learn and what motivates their behavior.

The New England Center for Children provides the highest caliber of services in the nation to children with autism, said Michael Dukakis, NECC Board Member and former Governor of Massachusetts. NECCs standards are high because their challenge is monumental. They are committed to excellence in everything they do  because those living with autism deserve nothing less.

In 1975, Governor Dukakis provided a $30,000 state grant to NECC. From this seed has grown an international leader in autism education where the lives of children from 18 months to 22 years of age are improved through education, research and technology.

Celebrating the Past, Preparing for the Future

To celebrate the 45th anniversary, NECC announced the annual Children of Promise gala, which last year raised a record $1 million for the Center, will be held virtually on Nov. 20. The COVID-19 pandemic will force the signature fundraising event to be live broadcast in 2020. The funds will support NECCs comprehensive autism education programs, teacher professional development, research, instructional technology, and vocational programming.

The New England Center for Children is a special place whose mission of autism education and research is critically important, said John Kim, NECC Board Chair, former President of New York Life, and lead donor for the John and Diane Kim Autism Institute. From day one, 45 years ago, to today, the builders and keepers of NECC remain the teachers and staff whose work dramatically impacts and improves the lives of thousands of children. From small steps to giant leaps, NECC marches forward to empower people living with autism.

NECCs focus on education, technology, and ABA research drives their success in helping transform the lives of children with autism and their families. NECC research is conducted at the school and the results form a continuous feedback of best practice curriculum refinement. The research is also integrated into the Autism Curriculum Encyclopedia, or ACE ABA Software System, a cloud-based teaching system that includes more than 2,185 customizable lesson plans. The ACE ABA Software System is currently used by more than 7,555 students and teachers across the United States and in 19 countries.

Critical to NECCs success is the staff, nearly 1,300 highly committed and compassionate professionals. These include 184 Board Certified Behavior Analysts, 305 masters level educators, and 19 Ph.Ds. Since 1987, more than 1,550 employees have completed a masters degree onsite at NECC, at no charge, with partner colleges Western New England University and Simmons University. NECC staff have published 286 studies and given more than 2,440 research presentations at professional conferences around the world.

About The New England Center for Children

The New England Center for Children (NECC) is an award-winning autism education center and research institute. Our diverse community of teachers, researchers, and clinicians have transformed the lives of thousands of children with autism worldwide through education, research, and technology. The Center provides comprehensive services to maximize independence: home-based, day, and residential programs, partner classrooms in public school systems, consulting services, the ACE ABA Software System (http://www.acenecc.org), teacher professional development, and research on educational best practices.

NECC is committed to staff professional development, partnering with local colleges to provide on-site graduate training and degrees at little to no cost to the NECC teacher. The result is a growing pool of exceptional teachers trained in best-in-class methodologies, whether they continue their careers at NECC or move on to public schools or private agencies. The New England Center for Children is based in Southborough, MA, and operates a center in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Learn more at http://www.necc.org.


UPPER THUMB  A proposal for Huron and Sanilac counties to merge their probate court districts will not move forward after the Sanilac County Board of Commissioners voted against it.

The vote took place during their Aug. 4 meeting, which ended up 3-2 against the measure.

Bob Conely, Sanilac County chairman and one of the three who voted against it, said that they felt Huron County was waiting until Sanilac County made a decision before they acted, and were wondering why Huron County did not do anything about this before.

Were getting a new judge in November, so were waiting to see what his stance is, Conely added.

There were also concerns about Huron County having more probate court cases than Sanilac County.

Daniel Dean, another Sanilac County commissioner who voted against the proposal, said another reason for the vote was uncertainty about revenue sharing with the state due to the coronavirus pandemic. Sanilac County is suspected to take some hits.

"This is not an appropriate time to add a new position with overhead costs," Dean said.

Dean added that a year from now, when they will have the county's finances in order and are more certain of the state's revenue sharing plans, they could revisit the matter and see if it could be on the 2022 ballot for voter approval.

The idea of having a merged probate district had the support of Huron County Probate Judge David Clabuesch, the Huron County Board of Commissioners, and state representatives Phil Green and Shane Hernandez.

Sanilac County's approval was necessary for it to be voted on by both Huron and Sanilac county residents in the November election.

Sanilac County has had two judges since 2012 and has bought in judges either from out of town or ones who had retired to help with the caseload.

The six other probate districts in the state of Michigan are in Houghton and Keweenaw counties, Schoolcraft and Alger counties, Clare and Gladwin counties, Mackinac and Luce counties, Mecosta and Osceola counties, and Emmet and Charlevoix counites.

A probate court deals with issues such as estates and trusts, appointing guardians and conservators, and ordering treatment for the mentally ill.
Chinas banking regulator inspected over 1,800 rural banks, 80% of the total, from 2018 to 2020, and took measures to prevent and punish shareholder misconduct, a senior official at the watchdog said recently.

The three-year campaign aimed at rural lenders was launched as the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) sought to defuse mounting risks at smaller banks and better regulate shareholder behavior in the wake of a crop of corruption and embezzlement scandals.

(The CBIRC) restricted the voting rights of more than 2,000 shareholders and ordered (some of them to) transfer 3.34 billion shares, Deputy Chairman Zhu Shumin said in a Tuesday article published on its website (link in Chinese).

After investigating 47,000 shareholders who held at least 1% of a rural banks shares and nearly 100,000 people connected to them, the CBIRC found that some had illegally taken control over banks operations or benefited from related-party transactions, Zhu wrote.

A few shareholders even illegally embezzled bank funds, turning banks into their own ATMs, Zhu said.

In recent years, risks in Chinas small and midsize banks have become a growing concern for policymakers, as rapid credit expansion has led to a large increase in nonperforming loans on their books amid the ongoing economic slowdown.

April central bank data showed that of Chinas 4,005 small and midsize banks, 15% did not meet the minimum required capital adequacy ratio of 10.5%, and 532 were at rather high risk, mostly rural lenders.

Some banks poor risk management and shareholder recklessness have also amped up the risk. In North Chinas Shanxi province, tens of billions of yuan were lost due to embezzlement and other illegal activities at the Shanxi Rural Credit Union. Some of its former leaders have been placed under investigation by the local anti-graft watchdog.

Senior officials at several rural banks in the eastern province of Anhui have also been placed under investigation over the past few months.

Read more

In Depth: The Billion-Dollar Plan to Replenish Smaller Chinese Banks Capital

Zhu said that some institutions had expanded without caution through interbank businesses and risky investments which deviated from their core business of issuing credit and serving farmers and small businesses.

Zhu called for greater oversight over rural banks shareholders and connected-party transactions, and a crackdown on embezzlement. He said that shareholders who break the rules will be subject to a range of punishments, including restrictions on their voting rights, confiscation of their ill-gotten gains and forced equity transfers.

Rural banks were also told to focus on their core business and pay more attention to risk prevention.

Last month, China allowed 18 provincial-level governments to replenish the capital of some small and midsize banks via government bond sales, in a bid to defuse their risks and allow them to offer more credit to small businesses. Smaller enterprises have been especially hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, raising concerns about unemployment. The recapitalization program involves 200 billion yuan ($28.8 billion).

Contact reporter Guo Yingzhe (yingzheguo@caixin.com) and editor Joshua Dummer (joshuadummer@caixin.com)

Download our app to receive breaking news alerts and read the news on the go.
An IZ race has kicked off in the last 30 years, where local authorities have rushed to set up as many IZs as possible, not considering the possible occupancy rate and economic efficiency, reported Tien Phong.

Thai Nguyen is well known as a province with many IZs and many have been left idle. Ironically, some of the IZs have become places for drug addicts to gather.





Facing Highway No 3 in Thuan Thanh commune is the factory of Vinaxuki, 20 hectares, which has been left idle for years. To reach the entrance gate, reporters had to skirt a path flooded with weeds and garbage. There was a signboard which said littering was prohibited, but this did not prevent people from dumping.



Nguyen Thi Phuong, who lives next to the entrance way to the factory, pointed to the places where drug addicts usually gather in the evening.



Phuong said the life of local people has been upset since the factory's vacancy 10 years ago. There were many injection needles with blood stains lying on the ground.



When developing the IZ project, the investor promised to use many local workers. However, locals cannot get jobs at the local factory, while their cultivation land has been taken by the state. As a result, their lives have become miserable.

When developing the IZ project, the investor promised to use many local workers. However, locals cannot get jobs at the local factory, while their cultivation land has been taken by the state. As a result, their lives have become miserable.

Nam Pho Yen IZ, 200 hectares, was registered in 2007 by a joint venture between a Taiwanese company and Vietnamese Vinaxuki Thai Nguyen.

Chair of Thuan Thanh commune Nguyen Trong Dam confirmed that local people are facing difficulties as they no longer have means of production.



Trung Thanh IZ is in the same situation. Unfinished buildings were seen from the entrance door to the IZ and a large area was used for people to graze oxen.



According to a security guard at Trung Thanh IZ, the foreign investor of the IZ left for their home country and authorized a Vietnamese man to represent him. However, reporters failed to contact the representative at the phone number given in the signboard.



In Ha Tinh province, Dai Kim IZ, 33 hectares, established in 2007, has a modest occupancy rate of 30 percent.



MONRE (the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment), after discovering the problems in IZ, has proposed that the Prime Minister narrow the land area reserved for IZs in 15 cities/provinces by 18,228 hectares, including 4,327 hectares in Thanh Hoa, 2,020 hectares in Quang Binh, 4,175 hectares in Nghe An, 566 hectares in Khanh Hoa and 1,242 hectares in Binh Dinh.



At the same time, the ministry has proposed to increase the land area for IZs in nine localities, to help localities attract foreign investors who are leaving China.

Translated by Le Ha

Reality and vision for industrial zones The media have recently featured industrial properties, especially industrial land, as a potential area to attract investment.
Mir Suhail speaks to Al Jazeera one year after India revoked regions limited autonomy and imposed security lockdown.

Last August, India stripped Kashmir of its special status and imposed a communication blackout cutting off the Muslim-majority region from the outside world, but a young Kashmiri artist has continued to amplify the voices of Kashmiris through his provocative cartoons.

Around the first anniversary of abrogation of Article 370, which granted a measure of autonomy to the Himalayan region of nearly 12 million people, Mir Suhail  a Kashmiri cartoonist based in New York  was preoccupied with thoughts about his native place.

He sketched a cartoon depicting an Indian soldier shooting saffron-coloured bullets at the feet of a Kashmiri man, forcing him to celebrate the August 5 decision by Indias Hindu nationalist government.

There is an air of despondency as last year saw tourism and trade devastated, school and college classes washed out with tens of thousands of troops guarding every corner of Kashmir. The outbreak of coronavirus further added to the economic woes of the people.

Before there was some hope, that something might work out for our people, the 31-year-old Kashmiri cartoonist told Al Jazeera from New York City  but after August 5 last year, he said Kashmiris were in maatam [mourning].

Mir Suhail

As like other artists from the region, Suhails provocative and hard-hitting cartoons and illustrations on Indian rule has earned him online accolades, as well as a flurry of abuse.

His large body of work, done both on paper and digitally, includes depicting the torture of Kashmiris by security forces; satirising Indian Prime Minister Modi and other Indian media personalities and lampooning Kashmirs pro-India leadership.

For over a decade now, his work has been published widely in both Kashmiri and Indian media outlets.

While his animations are praised by fellow Kashmiris, they have received trenchant criticism and abuse online mostly from supporters of Indias Hindu nationalist government.

Having people insult my mother and sister online is a daily occurrence, Suhail said.

Some of the most vicious online campaigns against Suhail were in the wake of a sketch he posted satirising Indian medias portrayal of a July incident in Kashmirs Sapore district  where security forces killed a civilian while he was travelling with his grandchild.

Images of the three-year-old boy sitting and crying on top of his grandfathers lifeless body, brought worldwide condemnation, including from the United Nations.

[Mir Suhail]

The cartoon mocks the media for only showing its viewers an Indian soldier carrying the kid in his arms to safety while ignoring the dead grandfather, who was caring for the child in the first place.

The cartoon went viral with more than 11,000 likes on Instagram and shared thousands of times on Twitter.

But he was accused of being a Pakistani and a  Muslim fake journalist among other insults by supporters of the Indian government.

Several of his cartoons in the past 12 months have been censored by Instagram after his posts were reported by online users for alleged inappropriate content.

His sketches at times also landed him into trouble at previous news outlets in Indian-administered Kashmir, where he worked between 2006 and 2016 before moving to Indias capital New Delhi.

His former bosses often expressed discomfort with his depictions of life back home  many times persuading him not to draw on political matters and pick other less-charged topics.

In the wake of Pulwama attacks in February 2019, in which 40 Indian soldiers were killed, his then-editor asked him to remove a cartoon that caused outrage online.

One of Suhails satirical cartoon removed by Instagram for hate speech [Mir Suhail]

In that cartoon, he had drawn a Kashmiri boy inserting a rose into the gun of an Indian soldier, as the thorns of the flower pierce his body and weapon.

Suhail said he scaled back on his cartoon work concerning Kashmir, and largely stayed off social media  until he had left for the US in December last year.

However, for many Kashmiris, his work is a true representation of the hardships the people in the region face on a daily basis.

Mir Suhails work brings you face-to-face with the stark reality of Kashmirs brutal military occupation, Kashmiri poet and professor at the University of Northern Colorado Greeley Ather Zia told Al Jazeera.

He leaves nothing to the imagination  his honest takes on minute-by-minute events happening in Kashmir, acts of violence that occur on Kashmiri body all ooze out from the images he offers the world, if only the world pays attention, Zia added.

They will build settlements

Indias revocation of Article 370 has been the main focus of Suhails caricatures in the past one year.

In one sketch, he depicts Indian military boots topped with houses marching into Kashmir, in a pool of blood  illustrating the new domicile laws announced in April, which will now allow Indian citizens to buy land in the Muslim-majority region.

They will start building settlements there soon  they will colonise us just like Palestine, Suhail said.

Earlier, Indians from other states were not allowed to buy land in Kashmir to safeguard the regions demography.

Mir Suhail

Suhails sketches also depict the internet blackout across the region, and its subsequent, yet unsatisfactory, restoration in the form of 2G services.

In todays world, many people travel and live elsewhere away from their families and friends  communication is very important, he said, noting this was not the first time internet and telephone services were suspended in the Kashmir Valley.

In 2016, internet services were suspended for more than four months after the killing of popular Kashmiri resistance fighter Burhan Wani.

Suhail, who was living and working for a Kashmiri publication at the time, said the whole experience was very suffocating.

Mir Suhail

It felt like someone had cut off your tongue, arms and legs and all you could do was watch what was happening around you without the ability to respond.

He has particularly highlighted the Indian medias coverage of Kashmir.

When I came back to New Delhi on August 11 after my wedding, it was like nothing had happened  people [at work] were acting like normal, Suhail lamented.

Prime Minister Modis decision was well received in Indias journalist circles  with primetime anchors like Arnab Goswami, saying: for every Indian, there is an overwhelming, unbelievable sense of pride at the integration of Jammu and Kashmir.

Mir Suhail

Modi government has said that removal of Kashmirs special status was meant to integrate the region with the rest of the country and bring development.

They (the Indian media) did not care to show our (Kashmiris) suffering. I could not stand it any more there.

In November last year, Suhail decided to resign from his post as senior art director at a New Delhi-based media organisation and a month later moved to New York to join his wife  a recent law graduate.

Never felt peaceful

Suhail said he has been sketching cartoons and illustrations as a teenager.

Almost every day since I was like maybe 14, I have been drawing cartoons, he said, noting that his parents had always encouraged his passion.

My grandfather on my mothers side was a musician  and so my family has always been supportive of my work, especially my mother, he added.

Raised in a working-class family in Srinagar, Suhail experienced first-hand the decades-long violence and militarisation of the region.

Mir Suhail

At the age of eight or nine, Suhail witnessed his childhood friend, a disabled kid, lying dead on the floor  a memory that gives him nightmares today.

I dont think there was one day in Kashmir that ever felt peaceful, Suhail said, recalling the times his mother would come to school crying, forcibly take him out of school and rushing home after a major crackdown in the valley.

You can just imagine the psychological effect that has on a kid, soldiers with guns everywhere.

India has deployed more than half a million troops in the region. New Delhi has said that its military is fighting rebels, most of whom want independence or merger with Pakistan.

Pakistan and India both claim Kashmir in full since the partition of the region in 1947 but control parts of it.

Suhail says there is no elaborate thought-process behind his sketches depicting the political upheaval that has come to define the region in the past three decades.

There is no need for me to imagine, it just flashes in front of my eyes, he said

Much of what is happening today, I have seen it all before.

Will always draw for Kashmir

Since moving to the US, Suhail has been unrelenting in his critique of the Modi-led government.

Now free from any institutional pressure, and working as a freelancer, the cartoonist has pledged to continue drawing his sketches as he deems fit.

In New York, there is certainly more freedom to do as I please, he said.

However, Suhails increasing popularity through his work means he is unsure when he is likely to go back to Srinagar, saying it is getting less safe for him.

I feel like that door is closing for me, he said, adding it was becoming more difficult for Kashmiri journalists to express their opinions on the political situation in the Himalayan region.

During the past few months, at least four local journalists in Kashmir had investigations opened on, detained or arrested, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Qazi Shibli, a journalist based in Srinagar was detained in July 2019, and later arrested for nine months by Indian security forces without trial, for his tweets.

Last month, Shibli was arrested again by Indian security forces on unknown charges.

Photojournalist and Srinagar resident Masrat Zahra was detained in April by police under anti-terror laws for posting a photo online of a Kashmiri protester with a banner displaying the now-deceased fighter Wani.

Suhail, however, remains undeterred.

No matter where I live in the world, I will always draw for Kashmir. That is my place.
One of the shortcomings of Kamala Harris presidential campaign  that she couldnt pick a lane in the crowded Democratic field  could oddly become a strength as Joe Bidens running mate.

Thats because Republicans are finding it hard to define her and her positions, and to pick a coherent line of attack.

In the 24 hours after Biden announced that the California senator would be his vice presidential nominee, the GOP attacked Harris as a prosecutor who is against everything that Black Americans are screaming about today  and showed her marching in a Black Lives Matter protest.

A senior campaign adviser to President Trump, Mercedes Schlapp, called her a puppet of the far left just moments after another senior adviser, Katrina Pierson, said the former San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general would have to hide her prosecutor past because she put a lot of people in jail.

It is making for a mixed message at a critical time.

Your best opportunity to define someone is when they are the least well known, said Ken Goldstein, a professor of politics at the University of San Francisco and an expert on political advertising. Even though voters are somewhat familiar with Harris because of her presidential run, he said, for every minute thats passed after she was introduced ... it becomes harder to define her.

Olivier Douliery / AFP via Getty Images

It is typical for campaigns to use different messages to appeal to different voters, Goldstein said. The Trump campaign could portray Harris as a radical in messages aimed at suburban women and a prosecutor in ads aimed at younger people of color as a way of discouraging them from voting.

Still, Goldstein said, Since day one, the Trump campaign has had a scattershot approach. They tend to throw a lot of stuff at the wall and see what sticks.

Here is a look at some of the early GOP attacks on Harris and a fact check on their accuracy:

She backs Bernie Sanders socialized takeover of health care: This line from a Trump campaign online ad is partly true, at least insofar as Harris initially endorsed the Vermont senators Medicare for All plan before sending a variety of different messages.

In January 2019, she told CNN that she supported Sanders bill that would eliminate private health insurance in favor of a government-administered system.

Lets eliminate all of that, Harris said. Lets move on.

She later backed off her answer, saying it had been misinterpreted.

It was in the context of saying, lets get rid of all the bureaucracy. Lets get all of the waste, Harris said.

At a candidates debate in June 2019, a reporter asked who on the stage would abolish private health insurance in favor of a government-run plan. Only two  Sanders and Harris  raised their hands.

Ultimately, Harris proposed a version of a Medicare for All plan that would include a role for private health insurance, which is closer to what Biden has proposed. It would phase in Medicare for All over 10 years, compared with the four-year rollout Sanders supports.

Harris called Joe Biden a racist: This line, from Trump Communications Director Tim Murtaugh, refers to the June 2019 debate when Harris attacked Biden for opposing mandatory busing to integrate public schools in the 1970s and for favorable comments he made about working in those years with senators who had favored segregation.

She thought he was a racist, was convinced of it, she sold T-shirts to that effect, made a big show in one of the debates calling him a racist, Murtaugh said.

Its inaccurate to say Harris called Biden a racist.

In a 1975 interview, Biden called busing an asinine concept, the utility of which has never been proven to me. Harris, who grew up in Berkeley, said in the June debate that at the time, Here was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools and she was bused to school every day. And that little girl was me. Her campaign was prepared to take advantage of the well-rehearsed attack, tweeting out photos of Harris as a girl and even selling T-shirts with the little girl line.

OLIVIER DOULIERY / AFP via Getty Images

But Harris prefaced her remarks by telling Biden, I do not believe you are a racist, and I agree with you when you commit yourself to the importance of finding common ground.

Harris is a puppet of the far left: This quote from Schlapp is based on Harris Senate voting record. It is indeed far to the left, according to the nonpartisan GovTrack, which scored her as the most liberal of the 100 members of the Senate in 2019.

The top House Republican, Rep. Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield, tweeted that Kamala Harris wants to turn the entire United States into San Francisco. Her radical agenda has been terrible for Californians, and it would be terrible for the rest of America too.

Goldstein said this attack is aimed at scaring suburban women, who supported Trump in 2016 but have been leaving him over the past four years. Many are swing voters who could be put off by a candidate who leans too far in one direction.

Trump has tried to woo suburban voters in recent weeks by saying Biden would threaten the security of surburbia by passing policies that would allow more low-income housing there. He tweeted Wednesday that the suburban housewife will be voting for me.

Now Playing: Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden has named California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate. The Oakland native is the first Black woman and first person of South Asian American descent to be nominated for national office by a major party. See highlights from her barrier-breaking career. Video: San Francisco Chronicle

She put a lot of people in jail: This attack, by Pierson, is aimed at depressing turnout among voters of color. And as a district attorney, Harris did indeed put a lot of people in jail.

This woman of color goes against everything that Black Americans are screaming about today, said Pierson, who is Black. She participated in the mass incarceration of young Black men. She participated in all these things that you see Black Lives Matters complaining about.

Even progressives have been critical of some of Harris actions in San Francisco. In particular, they point to her offices prosecution of marijuana-related crimes and her opposition to a statewide ballot measure to legalize recreational use of marijuana in 2010, when she was running for state attorney general. She called the idea flawed public policy.

She finally endorsed legalizing marijuana in 2018, two years after California voters did so in a ballot initiative.

But Republicans must reconcile this line of attack with Harris record in the Senate. After George Floyds killing in Minneapolis police custody in May, Harris was one of the lead authors of congressional Democrats police reform legislation and became one of the partys leading voices on racial justice.

The bills measures include banning choke holds and carotid holds by police, overhauling rules that protect police officers from being held liable in civil court by victims of abuse, and changing the law to make police misconduct a crime if it is reckless, and not just if it is willful, as the law now requires.

She does have one of the most progressive voting records, in line with Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, said Aimee Allison, founder of She the People, an organization aimed at supporting women of color in politics.

Its true that shes evolved over time in response to the movements that influenced her, Allison said. I dont think you can squarely put her in a box.

Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli
The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 991 new cases Thursday, raising the statewide total to 122,121.

This marks the highest number of new cases in August and the biggest number since July 28, when the state had 1,120 new cases. The number of new cases has generally dropped in August, after climbing steadily in late June and throughout July. The state has averaged 800 new cases each day over the past week.

At the peak in the spring, the health department regularly reported 1,000 or more new cases a day, and Pennsylvania hit that level several times in July.

There were 25,714 test results reported to the health department through 10 p.m. Wednesday. Between August 6 and August 12, the state has administered 162,548 COVID-19 tests. Gov. Tom Wolf has hailed the states improved testing capacity, though he said there remains room for improvement, particularly in getting results in a shorter time.

Across Pennsylvania, 7,409 deaths have been tied to COVID-19, including 24 newly reported fatalities Thursday. More than 5,000 of those deaths - about two-thirds - have occurred in long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes.

The health department remains concerned about the growing number of young adults contracting the coronavirus. More cases are being reported among those between the ages of 19 and 24, particularly in eastern Pennsylvania.

The governor and Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine continue to tout the importance of social distancing and wearing masks to curb the spread of the virus. Wolf has said its important to keep the virus under control in order for schools to open their doors later this month.

Heres a look at the trend in new cases over the past six weeks.

July 3-9: 4,793 new cases, an average of 684 per day

July 10-16: 5,579 new cases, an average of 797 per day

July 17-23: 5,912 new cases, an average of 844 per day

July 24-30: 6,720 new cases, an average of 960 per day

July 31-Aug. 6: 5,443 new cases, an average of 777 per day

Aug. 7-13: 5,600 new cases, an average of 800 per day

The health department estimates 78 percent of those who have been infected with the coronavirus have recovered. The department considers patients to have recovered when they are 30 days past the onset of symptoms or the point of infection.

Most who are infected suffer only mild symptoms, but the virus poses greater risks for seniors and those with health issues.

Statewide, 5,037 coronavirus deaths have occurred in long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes and personal care homes, according to the health department.

The department said 20,244 residents in long-term care facilities have contracted COVID-19, along with 4,192 employees. A total of 24,436 people have been infected in those facilities.

Cases have been found at 888 long-term care facilities in 61 counties.

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EDMONTONAll teachers and school staff in Alberta should get tested for COVID-19 before students return to classrooms in September, the provinces chief medical officer of heath recommended.

In addition to the most critical testing of anyone with symptoms, I am recommending that all teachers and school-based staff should get tested once before school begins in September, and regularly throughout the year, Dr. Deena Hinshaw said Wednesday at her COVID-19 briefing.

This is entirely voluntary. However, asymptomatic testing of staff in school settings will help us with a baseline understanding for school re-entry and ultimately help us even more closely monitor the virus in the coming year.

Hinshaw also encouraged other Albertans who do not have coronavirus symptoms and have not been in contact with anyone diagnosed with the virus to postpone testing until Sept. 1. She said that will allow teachers and school staff to receive their test results sooner.

Educators and school staff should arrange testing proactively and not wait until the day before they return to school, Hinshaw said.

My recommendation today comes with a caveat, she said. There are about 90,000 school staff and teachers across Alberta. Our testing capacity has expanded greatly, but no province can collect and process that many tests all at once.

She recommended that children be tested if they have symptoms or pre-existing medical conditions that have symptoms similar to coronavirus.

This is because, in students, our priority is to make testing available to all those with ongoing mild symptoms that may mimic COVID-19, such as allergies, she said.

Parents should book all tests through Alberta Health Services, not pharmacies, because those tests are for those with no symptoms and no exposure, Hinshaw added.

Also Wednesday, Hinshaw reported one more COVID-19 death and 121 new cases of the illness.

The most recent death was a resident at Edmontons Good Samaritan Southgate Care Centre, bringing the total fatalities there to 29.

There are 1,044 active cases, bringing the total confirmed COVID-19 cases in the province to 11,893.

As of Wednesday, 217 people had died and 10,632 had recovered.

Read more about:
Photo: (Photo : Photo by Ed Massery)

The coronavirus pandemic has created a new normal. People are expected to wear face masks in public. Hugging a friend even has become a thing of the past.

As health safety becomes a top priority for families nowadays, planning makes a living space safe, says GMH Capital Partners general manager, Brad Mawhinney. Such protection is something an apartment community can offer to residents during this coronavirus pandemic.

In an exclusive interview with Parent Herald, Mawhinney says, "A 300-unit apartment community with a solid plan for maintaining resident health can be a safer option than a single-family home that doesn't take cleaning and disinfecting as seriously."

He reiterates that the execution of preventive measures is the key to ensure that a living space is safe.

Why is renting a better option during and after the coronavirus pandemic?

Renting, according to Mawhinney, has been an attractive housing choice for families. He says that this fact does not change even during the coronavirus pandemic. Even more, renting became more appealing to some families.

Being a landlord can be challenging when you are doing it by yourself but having a property manager will improve all the processes of renting your property. The Rental Property Manager at Mynd offers several benefits and is serving all of Temecula today

Here are some of the reasons why:

There are a lot of amenities that come with renting.

Instead of going to other places to enjoy luxury amenities like a pool, home gym, outdoor theater, game room, or a pet wash station, these already come readily available in an apartment community.

Home repairs are free.

Part of the perks of renting is that repairs do not come with a price. Property managers are the ones who shoulder the expenses of these things.

Aside from the home repairs, yard work or property taxes are not the worries of renters as well.

There is freedom and flexibility in renting.

Moving to another place is no longer a problem when renting. Renters are allowed to stay for as long (or as short) as they want in an apartment community.

During the coronavirus pandemic, some workers are displaced and laid off from work. If in case they would need to transfer to another home, maintaining two residences would also mean too many expenses. Mawhinney says, "If a new job takes them to another city or out of state and they're unable to sell their home."

However, this is not the case for renters at GMH Capital Partners.

"Renters can usually transfer quickly to another community within their property management company's portfolio for little to no extra cost, or rent month-to-month at the conclusion of their current lease term."

Because of this, a family's decision to move to a place with better opportunities is not tied down to the location of their home.

Someone will be there to address your concerns.

Mawhinney says that every property manager feels it is their responsibility to keep their residents healthy and safe, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. He added, "Our property has spent tens of thousands of dollars to this end and researched every available option to make our community a place where families can live without worry."

Staffs are always available to handle any concern.
An Ocean County couple was arrested this week after police discovered they were running an apparent drug operation from their home after federal authorities seized a package containing hallucinogenic drugs addressed to them, the Ocean County Prosecutors Office announced Wednesday.

Patrick Fasano, 31, and Maria Fasano, 27, both of Brick Township, were charged with operating a narcotics production facility, maintaining and occupying a fortified structure, possession of a firearm while in the course of committing a controlled dangerous substance offense and various other drug-related offenses, the office said in a statement.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security alerted the Ocean County Prosecutors Office Narcotics Strike Force that a parcel had been intercepted entering the United States from the Netherlands, which was addressed to Patrick Fasanos home, authorities said.

The package contained about 920 grams of dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a narcotic known to produce hallucinogenic effects, the office said.

An undercover Ocean County detective delivered the package to the couples home and Maria Fasano accepted it, prompting detectives to execute a search warrant there on Tuesday, according to the statement.

In the home, investigators found and seized DMT, psilocybin mushrooms, marijuana, guns and ammo, and about $1,900 in cash, the office said.

Detectives also discovered a surveillance camera system mounted on the outside of the home indicative of a warning mechanism to alert residents of someone approaching, authorities said.

The pair was taken to the Ocean County Jail pending detention hearings.

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
Russell Kirsch, whose research going back to the '50s underlies the entire field of digital imaging, died earlier this week at the age of 91. It's hard to overstate the impact of his work, which led to the first digitally scanned photo and the creation of what we now think of as pixels.

Born to Russian and Hungarian immigrant parents in 1929, Kirsch attended NYU, Harvard and MIT, eventually landing a job at the National Bureau of Standards (later the National Institutes of Science and Technology) that he would keep for the rest of his working life.

Although he researched, coded and theorized for 50 years and even after his retirement, his most famous accomplishment is no doubt the first scanned digital image  decades before the first digital camera.

The research was being undertaken from the perspective that computers  then of course still room-sized things  could eventually simulate the human mind and perception. Of course, we're still working on that, but one major step was simulating vision, which Kirsch accomplished in 1957.

An archival image of a computer scientist in 1957 working on the first scanned image.

Kirsch's colleague R.B. Thomas uses the scanner. Image Credits: NIST

His research group used "a rotating drum and a photomultiplier to sense reflections from a small image mounted on the drum." In lieu of grid-based sampling of the image, a mask was placed on it pierced at intervals to create what amounted to pixels, though that term would not be used for years to come.

By measuring the reflectivity of the part of the image the machine could see and recording the result in a digital register (run by SEAC, among the country's first programmable computers), the system was effectively viewing the world  and by combining several scans at different settings they were able to store and show a grayscale image.

Touchingly, that image was of Kirsch's three-month-old son Walden. It was 179 by 179 pixels originally and really doesn't look bad more than 60 years later. Here's a better version, a high-resolution image of how it would have been displayed:

Story continues

Image Credits: NIST

This foundational work led directly to the creation of methods, algorithms and storage techniques for digital images that would inform decades of computer science. Kirsch continued his work on early AI right up until retirement, and even then continued tinkering with his idea of adaptive pixels that would enable much clearer images at lower resolutions. The idea has merit, naturally, though memory and bandwidth aren't quite the bottlenecks they once were.

Throughout his life Kirsch and his wife, who survives him with their children, were also travelers, climbers and artists. No doubt his rich life contributed to his important work and vice versa.

Kirsch's official obituary and guest book are here.
Several foreign and private lenders have questioned the definition of loan exposure in the Reserve Bank of Indias (RBI) recent circular that bars corporate borrowers from operating multiple current accounts.

While public sector banks (PSBs) stand to benefit the most from the changed regulations on current accounts announced by RBI last Thursday, foreign and private sector banks said more clarity is warranted on what constitutes a loan exposure.

How do you define exposure? Whether it is funded or non-funded? What happens to your draft limit which is given for settlement transactions? What about forex settlement risk, whether that is defined as exposure? asked a senior banker with a foreign bank.

RBIs August 6 circular says borrowers with more than Rs 50 crore exposure to the banking system need to have an escrow mechanism and only banks managing such escrow can open current accounts. Companies with less than Rs 50 crore exposure to the banking system will have fewer restriction in opening such accounts. Senior bankers said PSBs, which collectively are the biggest lenders of working capital and term loans to corporates, tend to lose out to private peers both in domestic and foreign cash management business.

However, with RBI barring corporate borrowers from maintaining multiple current accounts, especially in banks with which they have little or negligible loan exposure, industry experts say PSBs will see a surge in cash management business, which in turn will also give PSBs access to cheaper funds.

But many lenders ask how settlements will happen in the case of opening a letter of credit or bank guarantee or a foreign exchange contract and how end-use monitoring will take place. They are also questioning whether PSBs will be able to provide the services attached to external commercial borrowing or export credit agency loans that foreign banks have been able to.

According to the new guidelines, RBI has asked banks to comply with new norms for existing current and overdraft accounts within three months. Most banks said that it would be a challenging task to realign all the accounts and relationships, and close current accounts in three months.
Professor Thomas Borody (pictured) has claimed the answer to the COVID-19 crisis is already here, but is being ignored by Australian health authorities

A highly respected Australian doctor has claimed the answer to the COVID-19 crisis is already here, but is being ignored by Australian health authorities.

Professor Thomas Borody, from the Centre for Digestive Diseases in Sydney, told Daily Mail Australia that the drug Ivermectin - once used for treating head lice - can be used in combination with zinc and the antibiotic Doxycycline to kill COVID-19.

But other medical experts have warned against 'false hope' and say the $2 tablet treatment is not a miracle cure.

'Viruses cannot multiply on their own, they need us - the host,' Prof Borody said.

'So we can kill viruses by inhibiting their multiplication within our own cells and this drug just happens to do that and so does Doxycycline.'

This combination, along with a dose of zinc to change the body's pH levels, was shown in a joint study by Monash University and the Doherty Institute to effectively reduce COVID-19.

However the April 3 study was not a human trial and the test tube dose used to kill the virus was up to 50 times higher than ever tested on a patient.

But Prof Borody says if the dose was lowered to a level compatible with human use, it could still eliminate coronavirus with little to no side effects.

The drug which is widely used to treat scabies and other parasites is already approved by Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration and listed as an essential medicine by the World Health Organisation.

Prof Borody said the drug Ivermectin can be used in combination with zinc and the antibiotic Doxycycline to kill COVID-19

Prof Borody, who is a world-leading gastroenterologist credited for saving millions of lives after developing a cure for peptic ulcers, says the treatment should be in use across Australia as it is overseas in 32 countries.

'We had a trial of 60 patients in Bangladesh and we got 60 out of 60 cured,' he said.

'Another two trials (in the US and China) have also shown results of 100 percent.'

With Victoria under strict lockdown following a surge in infections, Prof Borody said authorities need to take a serious look at treating front line workers and patients in aged care facilities.

'I don't have an answer for why we are not using it,' he said.

'We write to the government but it doesn't get to the top, they have too much to do. It goes to their advisors and they probably do not have the experience in reading medical papers.'

White House health records revealed that US President Donald Trump uses Ivermectin cream to treat the skin condition rosacea

Ivermectin was once used to treat head lice, now it's most commonly used for treating scabies

But because other 'miracle drugs' such as hydroxychloroquine have initially shown promise against coronavirus had failed to win the approval of the scientific community, other Australia experts are warning that all theorised medicines should be 'taken with a grain of salt'.

'No, (Ivermectin) it's not a cure for COVID-19,' Dr Ian Musgrave, a molecular pharmacologist from the University of Adelaide told News Corp.

'It works in test-tube experiments, but is unlikely to work clinically as it is hard to achieve effective plasma concentrations.

'No clinical trials data are available yet and in the absence of any public data, claims of the high efficacy are to be taken with a grain of salt.'

Professor Mark Sullivan and Dr Craig Rayner, who examined the initial Monash University study into Ivermectin have also urged caution in an interview with The Age.

'We cannot give false hope,' Dr Rayner said.

'You will hit safety problems far sooner than you will hit efficacy,' Prof Sullivan said.
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Tuman Zhumabaev, one of Russias most prominent contemporary artists, passed away on August 7 at the age of 58, according to an announcement made on the Facebook account of his eponymous art gallery.

Zhumabaev was a well-known landscape and portrait artist, as well as a leading figure in Russias Impressionist art community.

Though his oeuvre has been compared to Rembrandts, his fans in Vietnam most appreciate his devotion to their countrys landscapes and people.

Born in a small Kyrgyz village, Zhumabaev later attended the Serov Art College and eventually the Repin Institute of Painting in St. Petersburg, Russia.

A portrait of late Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh painted by Tuman Zhumabaev is presented as a gift to Vietnams then-incumbent State President Tran Dai Quang (left) by Russian government representatives in this photo captured in 2017 and provided by Lilac Gallery.

His first solo exhibition was held in 1996 in Austria. He has since held over 30 solo exhibitions in cities throughout Russia, China, Poland, Hungary, France, Japan, Iran, Vietnam, and Australia.

Topping his resume are two grand prize awards at the international art competition Poppy Prairie held annually in Paris, France.

Zhumabaevs collections can now be found in galleries all over the world, including the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg and the Lilac Gallery, a showroom dedicated to Russian painters in Hanoi.

Russian artist Tuman Zhumabaev (right) and Vo Van Thuong, head of the Central Party Committee's propaganda and education board, stand in front of one of Zhumabaevs paintings depicting late Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh, which was presented as a gift to the delegation of Vietnamese leaders during their visit to Russia in this photo captured on February 20, 2019 and provided by Lilac Gallery.

Zhumabaevs death was a heavy hit to the Vietnamese art community, many members of which held him in high esteem thanks to his dedication to showcasing Vietnams scenery and its people.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the two owners of the Lilac Gallery  now a married couple  were studying in Russia when they befriended Zhumabaev and were immediately charmed by his compassionate, ineffable affection for Vietnam.

Over the last 20 years, the Russian artist took annual trips to Vietnam to explore every nook and cranny of the Southeast Asian country.

He was particularly drawn to the lives of the nations working class and showed considerable affection for Hoan Kiem Lake and the Old Quarter in Hanoi.

A close-up of Tuman Zhumabaev posted to his Facebook account

I only realized much later that his meander throughout Vietnam was a means of recharging his creative energy and emotions to inspire his works. He painted over 70 pieces depicting Vietnams landscapes and people and held several Vietnam-themed exhibits in Russia. He is known in Russia as an artist with a prolific collection on Vietnam, the owner of Lilac said.

Zhumabaev also put on a handful of exhibits in Vietnam, though they were not extensively promoted to the public.

Writer Le Thanh Minh, a long-time friend and former classmate of Zhumabaev, shared, Among my classmates in the last standing years of the Soviet Union, he was the biggest Vietnam admirer that I knew of. He yearned to be able to talk with me in Vietnamese and to one day read books that I wrote.

A self-portrait by Russian artist Tuman Zhuamabaev posted to his Facebook account

Below are some photos by Russian artist Tuman Zhuamabaev depicting Vietnamese people and landscapes.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Saudi Arabia has pulled support to Pakistan after the latter slammed Riyadh for its stand on the Kashmir dispute.

Pakistans army chief will visit Saudi Arabia this weekend, officials said, seeking to calm diplomatic strains over Kashmir as financial support for Islamabad hangs in the balance.

The two countries are traditionally close and Saudi Arabia in 2018 gave Pakistan a $3bn loan and $3.2bn oil credit facility to help its balance of payments crisis.

But Riyadh is irked by criticism from Pakistan that Saudi Arabia has been lukewarm on the Kashmir territorial dispute, two senior military officials told the Reuters news agency, motivating General Qamar Javed Bajwas planned fence-building visit on Sunday.

Yes he is travelling, Pakistan army spokesman Major General Babar Iftikhar told Reuters, though the official line was that the visit was preplanned and primarily military affairs oriented.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars over the divided Himalayan region of Kashmir, which both claim in full.

Pakistan has long pressed the Saudi-led Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) to convene a high-level meeting to highlight alleged Indian violations in the part it controls.

But the OIC has only held low-level meetings so far.

If you cannot convene it, then Ill 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 and support the oppressed Kashmiris, Pakistans Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told local media last week.

Money at stake

Last year, Islamabad had pulled out of a Muslim nations forum at the last minute on insistence by Riyadh, which saw the gathering as an attempt to challenge its leadership of the OIC.

Qureshis remarks have revived Riyadhs anger, one of the Pakistani military officials and a government adviser said.

Saudia Arabia had already made Pakistan pay back $1bn two weeks ago, forcing it to borrow from another close ally, China, and Riyadh is yet to respond to Pakistans request to extend the oil credit facility.

The first year (of the oil credit facility) completed on 9th July 2020. Our request for an extension in the arrangement is under consideration with the Saudi side, a Pakistani finance ministry official told Reuters.

Saudi Arabia is also asking for another $1bn back, officials at Pakistans finance ministry and one of the military officers said. The Saudi government media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Pakistanis account for more than a quarter of the 10 million expatriates working in Saudi Arabia.

Pakistani leader Khan is also seeking to mediate between Saudi Arabia and Iran, after attacks on Gulf oil interests that Washington blamed on Tehran, though he said recently that was progressing slowly.
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)

A man killed in a shooting in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood on Wednesday afternoon has been identified by the city medical examiner's office as 21-year-old Frank Beltran.

Police have not released many details about the shooting, which was reported at 3:22 p.m. in the area of Fourth and Mission streets.

Beltran was taken to a hospital and was pronounced dead.

No arrest has been made in the case, police said Thursday morning.

Copyright  2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
Late last year, Mexico made a few changes to its tax laws to combat profit shifting arrangements. It focuses on avoidance issues and digital purchases by individuals. There weren't any changes made to the rates but rather a shift in how the laws are implemented.

It may sound complicated, but we've broken down the key points you should know as a business owner.

Tax Avoidance

In the past, this has been a serious issue, especially when it comes to business tax avoidance. If your company information isn't up to date, we suggest you get it sorted by consulting local taxation experts. They'll advise you of what your business should do to be compliant and not risk getting penalties for tax avoidance.

The Mexican government has implemented the following measures to try to stop this illegal practice:

Authorities now have the power to reclassify any acts that a business performs that isn't beneficial to the company economically and is only used to provide a tax benefit.

Any person in charge of a legal entity's management will be liable for any taxes levied or not withheld by the company during their time in charge. It includes shareholders or partners, limited to the amount of their interests in the business.

A new obligation is placed on companies to disclose tax structures and planning schemes. It's to help authorities get information on identified risk areas so that they know who's advising on these schemes and who is on the receiving side of such advice.

Digital Trade

There aren't any additional tax rates in the new legislation, but there are new measures to facilitate compliance. The definition of VAT has been expanded to include digital services performed in Mexico through a digital platform. Currently, these are subject to a 16% VAT rate.

In addition, foreign digital providers now have to register in Mexico. They will fall under the category of withholding agents and need to comply with the government's digital invoicing laws.

These new value-added tax rules apply to local and international entities and come into effect on 1st June 2020. There are no exceptions, even for small sellers. A single download to a Mexican client is now within the scope, regardless of the transaction amount.

Permanent Establishment Amendments

The definition of what is a permanent establishment (PE) has been expanded. The most notable changes are on activities carried out by non-residents and prevention of the fragmenting of a business into minor parts to avoid having PE status. Some of the details listed in the amendments are as follows:

Commissionaire arrangements - A non-Mexican resident, working through a person in Mexico, other than an independent agent will now be seen to have a PE in the country.

Closely related party presumption - If a person is acting exclusively or almost exclusively on behalf of non-residents, it's presumed they aren't an independent agent.

Anti-fragmentation rule - To prevent avoidance by foreigners, the law is imposed on the fragmentation of activities that, on their own, could be seen as having an auxiliary nature. However, when considered in its entirety, they aren't preparatory and would hence be a PE and subject to tax.

Final Thoughts

Mexico is a country that's trying hard to boost an economy that has, for many years, been struggling. One of the key goals is to combat avoidance by businesses that would increase revenue.

The government has given authorities more freedom to single out transactions for tax benefits and reclassify these to be taxable. It's enforcing the registration of digital service providers and taxing all sales regardless of the value.

Finally, it expanded its definition of a PE to patch loopholes used by non-Mexican residents to avoid tax. Hopefully, this new legislation will clamp down on non-compliance and bring much-needed income to stimulate economic growth.
New Delhi, Aug 13 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched the 'transparent taxation' platform, which brings into effect faceless assessment of taxpayers, and the Rights' Charter for the taxpayers.

With the 'Transparent Taxation Honouring the Honest' that is aimed at carrying forward the journey of direct tax reforms, the taxpayers would not be harassed and treated with suspicion here on.

Speaking at the launch, the Prime Minister said that India is among few countries giving such rights and dignity to the taxpayers.

He said that the charter has been introduced with defined rights and responsibilities. From here on the Income Tax Department cannot doubt anyone without a basis, he said.

Modi is of the view that the structural reforms will add a new dimension along with the transparent taxation platform. He also noted that reform should be policy driven and holistic.

Speaking of the recent measures, he said that nearly 3 lakh cases were resolved under the "Vivaad Se Vishwas" scheme.

He also appealed to the citizens and said that those who are capable of paying taxes but not in the tax net should lso voluntarily pay taxes.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Lotteria / Korea Times file



A new cluster infection traced to a meeting of managers at fast-food franchise Lotteria has sparked fresh concerns over the new coronavirus further spreading in Seoul and surrounding areas.



At least 11 employees who attended a meeting at a Lotteria franchise in the eastern Seoul ward of Gwangjin on Aug. 6 have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Wednesday evening. Eight of them were Seoul residents.



The meeting of 19 employees took place at the fast-food franchise's Gunja Station branch before participants had dinner at two restaurants in the area.



"We have tested 53 people who have so far been identified as having been in contact (with the infected patients), with 22 testing negative and others undergoing screening," Park Yu-mi, who leads the Seoul city government's public health unit, said in a press conference on Thursday morning.





Schools under rising COVID-19 threat as more students catch virus New virus cases above 50 for 2nd day Lotteria hit by coronavirus infections among employees Park said that since the attendees were manager-level employees, some of them did not directly interact with customers, adding that no additional infection has been identified at branches where the manager tested positive.



Eight Lotteria branches, including those near Jonggak, Seoul Station and Lotte Department Store in central Seoul, have been affected by the latest infections, according to the city government.



The fact that the infection broke out among employees working at fast-food branches, where customers usually take off their masks and sit close together, has heightened concerns over additional infections among employees and visitors.



On Wednesday, an official at the Central Disease Control Headquarters also said that the attendees did not wear masks, though they met for a long time, fanning concerns over the virus spreading.



Park said health authorities have sent text messages to those who visited the affected venues to be tested when showing symptoms.



On Thursday, South Korea identified 56 new virus cases, including 47 local infections, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).



The figure, which excludes infections that were identified after midnight, marked the second straight day in which daily cases hovered above 50 following 54 cases on Wednesday.




There have been no further Covid-related deaths in Northern Ireland's hospitals in the past 24 hours, however eight more cases of the virus have been diagnosed.

The death toll in the region remains at 557. An additional 2,179 tests have been carried out on 1,280 people since Wednesday morning.

Some 179 new cases have been confirmed in the last seven days.

There are currently eight Covid patients in hospital, with three in intensive care.

Read More

The news comes after it emerged that more than a third of grades given by teachers to A-level and AS level students in Northern Ireland have been lowered.

Around 25,000 pupils across Northern Ireland are receiving their grades this morning - despite all exams being cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Grades have instead been calculated through teacher assessments and a computer-generated 'standardisation' model used by Northern Ireland's exams board CCEA, however the body has recognised that there will be "anomalies" in the results.

In an email to principals on Wednesday, CCEA said it would "work through the anomalies as quickly as possible so that you can reassure students tomorrow that any queries regarding their results will be resolved as quickly as possible", the BBC reported.

Overall, some 37% of estimated grades were lowered and 5.3% were raised.

Read More

A-level and AS students achieved higher outcomes across all grades this year when compared to 2019.

CCEA has said 9.8% of students achieved an A* grade, an increase of one percentage point from last year, while 33.2% received an A grade, a year-on-year increase of 2.3 percentage points.

Provisional outcomes at AS-level also increased across all grades. Controversially, prior school and college achievement has been used in the standardisation model for AS-level results, alongside students' prior GCSE performance.

CCEA chief executive Justin Edwards said: All of us at CCEA, working closely with the education community, have strived to ensure that students are able to progress this year. As a result of this collaborative work, we have delivered grades to students which we predict they would have achieved had they sat the examinations and which carry the same value as in previous years."

Follow our live blog below for all the latest coronavirus developments:
On Aug 15, Modi will become longest serving non-Congress PM

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Aug 13: In yet another career milestone, Narendra Modi on Thursday became the longest-serving Prime Minister in Indian history of non-Congress origin, surpassing Atal Bihari Vajpayee's tenure of 2268 days, in all his three terms combined.

Currently, Modi is also fourth longest-serving Prime Minister of India, after Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Dr Manmohan Singh.

'Transparent Taxation  Honoring the Honest': PM Modi unveils 'fundamental reforms' for taxpayers

Narendra Modi took oath as the 14th Prime Minister of the country on May 26, 2014. He started with his second innings as the PM again on May 30, 2019.

India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru remains the longest-serving prime minister of India so far. His tenure lasted for around 17 years, followed by his daughter Indira Gandhi who served two terms of little more 11 years and nearly five years respectively.

Smiles, handshake as Sachin Pilot & Ashok Gehlot meet after Congress truce | Oneindia News

India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who served at the post for 17 years after Independence, remains the longest-serving premier of India so far. His daughter Indira Gandhi served for nearly 16 years. Both Nehru and Indira Gandhi died while in office.

Modi congratulates Lankas Rajapaksas on poll win, expresses confidence on strengthening ties

Dr Manmohan Singh served two consecutive terms of five years each. Before today, Atal Bihari Vajpayee held the distinction of fourth longest-serving prime minister.

Vajpayee occupied the office thrice - first for 13 days from May 16, 1996 till May 28, 1996, followed by his 408-day second tenure from March 19, 1998 till April 17, 1999 and his third and only full term of 1,847 days from October 13, 1999 till May 22, 2004 - bringing the total to 2,268 days.
The Santa Susana Field Laboratory site in Ventura County. (Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)

The site of America's first nuclear meltdown  and subsequent cover-up  in the picturesque hills of Ventura County may soon join Hearst Castle, the cable cars of San Francisco, and the Santa Barbara Mission as an official landmark in the National Register of Historic Places.

In what some have described as a cynical attempt by a U.S. government agency to avoid a long-promised cleanup of toxic and radioactive contaminants, NASA has nominated the Santa Susana Field Laboratory for official listing as a traditional cultural property.

The nomination is expected to be taken up by the state Historic Resources Commission on Friday. The listing, according to the space agency, would protect Native American archaeological relics and cultural resources within the contaminated 2,850-acre research facility in the hills overlooking the west San Fernando Valley.

The proposal, announced in June, shocked area residents who had spent years demanding a cleanup. Nothing at the site should be considered for the registry, they say, until after nuclear and other contaminants have been removed, as required under a 2010 agreement signed by NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy.

NASAs proposal is beyond audacious, said Denise Duffield, associate director of Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles. There is no mention of the 1959 partial nuclear meltdown in its nomination application.

In an interview, Peter Zorba, NASAs Santa Susana Field Lab project director, said that adding the facility to the National Register would not alter NASAs cleanup responsibilities at the site.

Today, the sprawling field lab stands as a poisoned reminder of another age, an era when the United States believed in the promise of atomic fuel, and the nation sought preeminence by landing on the moon and by building an arsenal of ballistic missiles.

Holly Huff, left, and Dawn Kowalski, of the Rocketdyne Cleanup Coalition, stand on a ridgeline overlooking the Santa Susana Field Laboratory site. (Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)

Hidden within the chaparral and rocky peaks of the Simi Hills, the Santa Susana Field Lab conducted research that was critical to the nations Cold War ambitions, yet toxic to the Earth. The partial meltdown released radioactive gasses that the public was never warned about, and spent rocket fuel, heavy metals and other toxins contaminated the soil and groundwater.

Story continues

More recently, it was the ignition point for the 2018 Woolsey fire, which caused devastation in both Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

Despite the pleas of area residents, who say theyve suffered cancer and other ailments as a result of the labs activities, cleanup efforts have stalled for decades.

Now, NASA and a coalition of Native American groups have proposed the area be designated a traditional cultural district. The move has been opposed by critics, who fear that strict laws protecting Native American artifacts, combined with terms of the 2010 agreement, could make it difficult to clean up contamination.

The agreement, which applies to all the facility property controlled by its owners  NASA, the Department of Energy and Boeing  exempts officially recognized archaeological artifacts and sacred sites from its otherwise stringent cleanup requirements. That includes a natural cave festooned with prehistoric rock art and portions of the property still visited by Native Americans for religious purposes.

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors in July recommended that the state commission reject NASAs nomination. The board, it said, remains committed to preserving Native American historical and cultural resources to the extent doing so is consistent with protecting public health.

The state commission's ultimate decision will be forwarded to the U.S. National Park Service for review.

NASA also will have to contend with reality-TV stars Kourtney Kardashian and Kim Kardashian West, who have publicized the frustration of lab neighbors on their cable show and on Twitter.

They also reached out to the Trump administration for action.

Almost overnight, the Kardashians moved this issue into a national spotlight, said William Preston Bowling, founder of the Aerospace Contamination Museum of Education in Chatsworth. These are also women who can pick up the phone and talk to President Trump, who seems to listen to celebrities.

Whether they can hasten an end to decades of foot dragging, misleading claims, shaky agreements and lawsuits remains to be seen.

In May, the U.S. Department of Energy and the state Department of Toxic Substances Control signed a consent order to tear down 10 of the most radioactive buildings at the facility.

The action, which is underway, was heralded as part of an effort to reduce the risk of another wildfire roaring through the area and exposing surrounding communities and habitat to contaminated smoke and ash, as well as toxic runoff flowing into the headwaters of the Los Angeles River.

Gov. Gavin Newsom described it as decisive action that represents a new and important chapter toward full cleanup. But area residents quickly complained that the cleanup agreement failed to address 14 other buildings at the site.

Removing parts of these 10 buildings will eliminate only about 0.001% of the contamination at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, Duffield said, the vast majority of which is in the soil.

Mike Nartker, a spokesman for the Department of Energys Office of Environmental Management agreed  up to a point.

There is a greater urgency to demolish these buildings first, he said, citing the contamination they could unleash in a wildfire or flooding.

The demolition work was expected to take about six months to complete, officials said.

They anticipate removing about 4,123 cubic yards of low-level radioactive waste and about 67 cubic yards of waste containing both low-level radioactive materials and toxic chemicals.

If all goes according to plan, the debris will be hauled to licensed commercial low-level-waste disposal facilities as far away as Utah, officials said.

In the meantime, officials responsible for cleaning up the site cant agree on how clean the soil must be to be able to say with confidence that it does not pose a risk to human health or the environment.

Separately, Boeing, which owns much of the facility, halted demolition of its remaining five buildings at the site in 2013 pending resolution of a lawsuit filed by Physicians for Social Responsibility and the nonprofit antinuclear group Committee to Bridge the Gap.

That lawsuit hinges on Boeings refusal to dispose of debris in a licensed waste facility, according to court documents.

Little of this has set well with community activists, including Kardashian West.

The Department of Energy's decision to remove 10 buildings in the nuclear area of the Santa Susana Field Lab is a positive but small step forward in the cleanup," she told the L.A. Times. "In order to protect the community, we are asking the DOE to comply with the agreement it signed in 2010 and fully clean up the soil, which is an even greater risk to health.

"If NASA and Boeing can then follow that lead," she added, "families near Santa Susana like mine could finally have peace of mind we're no longer at risk of exposure to its contaminants."

It would also end what community activist Marie Mason described as an absurd and vicious cycle for us: sitting in courtrooms forever and ever with nothing to show for it."

The 1959 partial meltdown occurred when a reactor at the facility spewed colorless and odorless radioactive gasses into the atmosphere.

Five weeks later, the Atomic Energy Commission published a news release indicating that a parted fuel element had been observed but that there was no evidence of radioactive releases or unsafe operating conditions at the facility, which employed several thousand people.

Details of the incident were not disclosed until 1979, when a group of UCLA students discovered documents and photographs that referred to a problem at the site involving a melted blob.

Radioactive emissions from the accident could have resulted in 260 to 1,800 cases of cancer within 62 miles of the site over a period of many decades, according to a study released in 2006.

NASA and Boeing disputed the studys findings, saying it was based on miscalculations and faulty information.

Theres no end to this saga, Bowling said with a sigh. And the agencies and companies involved seem to think that we'll eventually lose steam and back off.
A 12-year-old boy crashed a stolen car into a utility pole in Atlantic City on Monday, but was not seriously injured, authorities said.

Police got a call at 9:50 a.m. about the boy speeding through the city in the vehicle, Atlantic City police said Wednesday. Officers tried to get the boy to pull over, but he kept driving, finally crashing on the 600 block of Connecticut Avenue.

He was taken to a local hospital to be checked before being charged with receiving stolen property, eluding and multiple motor vehicle summons. Police released him to his mother.

The car had been reported stolen earlier that morning.

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Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
ByteDance in Talks with Indian Conglomerate Over TikTok Amid Layoff Fears

By Ding Yi / Aug 13, 2020 01:21 PM / World

ByteDance has approached Mumbai-headquartered Reliance Industries Ltd. for potential investment in TikToks operations in India, where the Chinese tech giant is struggling to retain key employees following a ban on the hugely popular short video app, according to a report by U.S. tech news provider TechCrunch.

The news comes as ByteDance is pressed by the Trump administration to sell TikToks U.S. business for a chance to continue to operate there, with software giant Microsoft and social media platform Twitter being potential purchasers.

ByteDance and Reliance began conversations late last month and have yet to reach a deal, two unnamed sources told TechCrunch, adding that TikToks Indian business is being valued at more than $3 billion.

ByteDance has been in talks with the Indian government to address its concerns since New Delhi imposed a ban in late June on TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps citing national security grounds. The ban has led to the departure of several high-level executives and employees from ByteDances Indian branch and raised fears over large-scale layoffs there. Prior to the ban, India had accounted for a third of TikToks global downloads, with 200 million TikTok users.

TechCrunch analyzed that any deal with Reliance could help ByteDance build mutual trust with New Delhi because the Indian conglomerates billionaire owner, Mukesh Ambani, is an ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

On Wednesday, Indian news outlet the Economic Times reported that ByteDance has frozen hiring and reassigned some senior management roles in India amid efforts to reassure employees through internal communications. ByteDance has some 2,000 employees in India.

Contact reporter Ding Yi (yiding@caixin.com)

Related: Twitter Joins Microsoft as Another Possible Purchaser of TikToks U.S. Business: Report
The legal panel on multidistrict litigation (MDL) has denied a proposal to consolidate cases brought by multiple businesses against various insurers for coronavirus-related business losses.

The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation rejected the proposals brought by plaintiffs in 15 lawsuits from Pennsylvania and Illinois to either consolidate all cases into one proceeding or create regional and state-based MDLs. The panel decides if multiple legal cases on a topic can or should be transferred to be heard by one court and has been used in certain opioid and medical device cases.

Put simply, the MDL that movants request entails very few common questions of fact, which are outweighed by the substantial convenience and efficiency challenges posed by managing a litigation involving the entire insurance industry. The proponents arguments that these problems can be overcome are not persuasive. We therefore deny the motions for centralization, the panel said in its ruling.

COVID Business Interruption Suits Top 700. Yep, Thats A Lot. Also how an MDL differs from a class action.

It concluded that the requested centralization will not serve the convenience of the parties and witnesses or further the just and efficient conduct of this litigation.

However, the panel did leave open the possibility of consolidation of cases by insurer and instructed further pursuit of this idea, which came up later in the deliberations without insurers being given an opportunity to respond. Of the insurer-specific proposal, the panel said:

The actions are more likely to involve insurance policies utilizing the same language, endorsements, and exclusions. Thus, there is a significant possibility that the actions will share common discovery and pretrial motion practice. Moreover, centralization of these actions could eliminate inconsistent pretrial rulings with respect to the overlapping nationwide class claims that most of the insurers face.

Instead of approving an insurer-specific consolidation, the MDL panel directed that four insurer groups Certain Underwriters at Lloyds, London; Cincinnati Insurance Co.; multiple Hartford insurers (including Hartford Fire, Sentinel and Twin City); and Society Insurance be given an opportunity to show cause why those actions should not be centralized.

Plaintiff attorney Richard Golomb, of the firm Golomb & Honik, Philadelphia, who filed the Pennsylvania petition, welcomed the insurer-specific consolidation and said there are other efforts at consolidation underway.

We have reviewed the order from the JPML panel and are optimistic that with further briefing they will centralize the cases against the four major carriers listed, Golomb told Insurance Journal in an email. As for the cases against the balance of the carriers, we have been coordinating with many firms along the way in the event of such a ruling and are satisfied that whether through 1404 coordination, or by other less formal means, these cases will be litigated and resolved in the best interest of our clients.

Plaintiff attorney Adam Levitt, of DiCello Levitt in Chicago, offered a similar assessment. He said that while his clients are disappointed the MDL panel did not see the efficiencies of consolidation, his firms efforts in to achieve efficiency will continue and they will eventually hold the insurance industry accountable for shirking its responsibilities to its customers.

The MDL panel has given insurers until Aug. 26 and plaintiffs until Sept. 3 to weigh-in on the insurer-specific proposal. The panel will hear arguments on its next scheduled date for hearings, Sept. 24.

The plaintiffs in the cases allege that their policies provide coverage for business interruption losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the related government orders suspending, or severely curtailing, operations of non-essential businesses. Insurers have mostly denied such claims largely on the basis that there is no physical damages as required under policies and that many policies specifically exclude viruses.

In addition to the actions on the original motions, the panel said it has received notice of 263 related actions. Collectively, these actions are pending in 48 districts and name more than a hundred insurers.

In addition to the four major defendant insurers, others being sued in various districts include Admiral, Aspen, Auto-Owners, Oregon Mutual and Topa.

In rejecting the motions for industry-wide or regional consolidation, the panel found several reasons to object.

The proponents of centralization identified three core common questions: (1) do the various government closure orders trigger coverage under the policies; (2) what constitutes physical loss or damage to the property; and (3) do any exclusions (particularly those related to viruses) apply.

The panel countered that the plaintiffs questions share only a superficial commonality. For one, there is no common defendant in these actions and thus there is little potential for common discovery across the litigation. Furthermore, the cases involve different insurance policies with different coverages, conditions, exclusions, and policy language, purchased by different businesses in different industries located in different states. These differences will overwhelm any common factual questions, the panel said.

The panel also found the argument that the insurers use standardized forms unpersuasive because there are many such standardized forms and they will have been modified by insurers. While the policy language for business income and civil authority coverages may be very similar among the policies, seemingly minor differences in policy language could have significant impact on the scope of coverage, the opinion stated.

Finally, the panel said the proposed MDL raises significant managerial and efficiency concerns because a court would have to establish a pretrial structure to manage the hundreds of plaintiffs and more than one hundred insurers, a process that would take considerable time. While recognizing that time is of the essence because many plaintiffs are on the brink of bankruptcy, it concluded that an industry-wide MDL in this instance will not promote a quick resolution of these matters.

The panel found that proposals for regional and state-based MDLs raised suffer from many of the same problems as the industry-wide motions.

According to the panel, plaintiffs in more than 175 actions responded to the motions, with many supporting centralization in one of the two proposed districts  Eastern Pennsylvania or Northern Illinois proposed by movants. Other plaintiffs suggested the Northern District of California, Southern District of Florida, the Western District of Missouri, the District of New Jersey, and the Western District of Washington as potential transferee districts for this litigation. Still other plaintiffs oppose centralization or ask to be excluded from any MDL.

The ruling was submitted by Ellen Segal Huvelle, acting chair, and members David Proctor, Catherine D. Perry, Nathaniel M. Gorton and Matthew F. Kennelly. They held a July 30 conference on the matter.

Topics Lawsuits Carriers COVID-19 Profit Loss Pennsylvania
Considering how unconventional Margielas disassembly of fashion was, this documentary by Reiner Holzemer is decidedly less playful. In part, its a greatest-hits celebration of one of the last great fashion radicals, whose choices, decades later, still have the sting of the fresh. More intriguingly, though, it is a poem about the ways in which the speed and ubiquity demanded by the internet have squeezed certain creative wells dry, perhaps irreparably.

As a child, Margiela customized his Barbie dolls clothes to mirror designs by Pierre Cardin and Courreges. He kept these, as well as his sketchbooks, and also the fake pass he made from a yogurt top to sneak into one of Jean Paul Gaultiers shows in the 80s. (He went on to work for Gaultier.)

These details, sprinkled throughout the film, humanize the apparition. But the film never quite conveys the full, unsettling grandness of Margielas vision. Mostly it chugs through his jolting collections, ideas arriving like one tiny, quirkily shaped light bulb after the next: in one show, models floating down a runway wear jewelry concocted from colored ice, melting under the lights, dyeing their outfits in real time.
In a lab on San Antonios West Side, a group of scientists and engineers are building two suitcase-size devices that may help humanity find space life and an alternate place to live in our solar system.

The Ultraviolet Spectrograph and the Mass Spectrometer for Planetary Exploration, in development at the Southwest Research Institute, are two of nine scientific instruments set to travel to one of Jupiters moons, Europa, in 2024 aboard NASAs Europa Clipper space probe.

The 390 million-mile journey to the ice-covered moon, thought to have an ocean twice the size of Earths, may take the helicopter-size probe six years to reach and cost taxpayers $4.25 billion, but the payoff could be priceless.

/Courtesy SwRI

Whats in Europas oceans? Is it habitable? Can it sustain life? asked Kurt Retherford, Ph.D., principal investigator on the Ultraviolet Spectrometer and staff scientist at the Southwest Research Institute. We need to send more missions to go investigate these things.

SwRI, a nonprofit applied-science research organization, is the linchpin of San Antonios little-recognized space economy.

Related: San Antonio in hunt to land U.S. Space Command

Over the past five years, NASA has awarded more than $1.3 billion in grants and contracts  208 in all  to SwRI and 23 other San Antonio companies, universities and organizations. Another two area companies are part of the space agencys $20 billion contract to provide information technology support across the federal government.

Add to that contracts and subcontracts with dozens of companies in the space sector such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, United Launch Alliance, SpaceX and others, and the financial impact to San Antonio and South Texas is much greater.

Thats work thats already underway. Its likely to increase along with the number of commercial space endeavors and ambitious NASA missions, including the possibility of manned space flight to the moon and Mars.

We are in an extremely exciting time for human space flight, said Walt Ugalde, NASAs intellectual property licensing manager. Believe it or not, theres a lot of commercialized space technology out there if you just stop and look. We always tell folks theres more space in your place than you care to realize.

Ugalde, a Leon Valley native and John Marshall High School graduate, said the opportunities for doing business with NASA are boundless.

Jerry Lara, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

Related: S.A. was military air hub, from early flight to space

Get real curious  engage intentionally, he said. Really take the time to see what kind of opportunities there are for corporations, small businesses and startups.

Across the region, many are hard at work doing everything from designing spacecraft and sensors, developing the worlds largest telescopes, building space robots, testing the survivability of lunar habitats, maintaining NASAs ground equipment, helping resupply the International Space Station, providing computer tech support to astronauts and more.

The citys space history

San Antonios space history looms large in Americas journey to the heavens. Scientists here outfitted monkeys for space, learned how human bodies react to extreme altitudes and screened the first astronauts. They also invented freeze-dried ice cream and tested day-glo-orange Tang.

Astronaut Ed White, the first American to walk in space, was born here. Frances Northcutt, the first woman to work in Mission Control, grew up in Luling. Astronaut David Scott, the seventh person to set foot on the moon and first to drive a four-wheeled vehicle there, was born on Randolph AFB and attended the San Antonio Academy from 1943-45. Astronaut Bernard Harris, graduate of Sam Houston High School, logged more than 438 hours and became the first African American to walk in space in 1995. Longtime resident Dr. Lawrence Lamb led development of NASAs medical exams and evaluated all those who went to the moon. Dr. Tom Tredici, an ophthalmologist who helped design the gold visors on the Apollo astronauts spacesuits, still works at Brooks on the Southeast Side at age 97. The list goes on.

Scientists at the Air Forces School of Aviation Medicine at Randolph, which later became the School of Aerospace Medicine at now-decommissioned Brooks AFB, laid the foundation for understanding how space impacts the human body. In 1958, Airman 1st Class Donald Farrell spent seven days in a pressurized chamber at Randolph in an experiment that mimicked the space capsule environment.

Jerry Lara, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

Related: Space exploration began at Brooks  on the ground

Randolphs and Brooks scientists trained and studied Sam, a rhesus monkey and one of the first primate astronauts. Sam flew to an altitude of 55 miles aboard a Mercury spacecraft in 1959. Brooks engineers fabricated his biopack survival capsule, and one of the doctors wives fashioned a prototype monkey spacesuit out of a silver ironing board cover. Sam retired at the San Antonio Zoo.

Countless astronauts endured physicals and centrifuge training at Brooks over the years, including 30 candidates vying to join the Mercury program in 1962. John Glenn visited again in 1998 before his shuttle mission at age 77.

Center of space universe

In San Antonios space business universe, Southwest Research Institute is a supergiant star. Operating on a 1,500-acre campus, the institute performs the most work for NASA in San Antonio, with 129 contracts worth more than $945 million. Last week, SwRI announced that the institute will be listed in NASAs Rapid Spacecraft Development catalog that the U.S. government uses to procure proven spacecraft.

We beat out Dallas and Houston by a factor of 10 in our area of space research, said James Burch, Ph.D., SwRIs vice president of space science and engineering. He started the organizations space program in 1977 and grew it from just himself to its current 470 people. You look at space research and building satellites in Texas, its San Antonio  nothing comes close.

While most of SwRIs space business  worth $150 million annually  is with NASA, its scientists and engineers also work with aerospace companies, the Department of Defense, universities and the European Space Agency.

Courtesy SwRI

Related: That time when San Antonio turned a monkey into an astronaut

Burchs team has led missions that sent dozens of spacecraft across the solar system, and he rattles the details off with ease.

Image was the first to analyze Earths magnetosphere. New Horizons flew to Pluto and gazed the Kuiper belt. Juno, the first polar orbiter of Jupiter, uses microwaves to peer inside the planet. Magnetospheric Multiscale isnt a catchy name, but the billion-dollar mission, launched five years ago, has sent four spacecraft to understand the interactions between the suns and Earths magnetic fields. Punch will stare at material coming off the sun and track it all the way to Earth. The eight CYGNSS satellites are revolutionizing hurricane tracking and analysis. In 2021, Lucy will head into the abyss toward the Trojan asteroids.

In space science, nobody matches us, said Burch, an Army veteran of the Vietnam war, whose program holds more space mission primary investigator positions than any other organization in the country. A lot of people are jealous, but too bad. Were super overloaded right now with work.

And SwRI is hiring.

We like to hire young engineers and young scientists and let them sink or swim with us  thats the way we do it, he said. People that are willing to work hard and work fast are successful.

According to Burch, the real challenge is attracting the scientific and engineering talent to San Antonio, due largely to the fact that there arent a lot of aerospace companies in the area.

Youve got to convince them to come to a place they havent thought of being before, and theres a certain amount of culture shock, he said. Once they get here, they dont want to leave, and thats another problem because you do want to have a certain amount of turnover.

Southwest Research Institute

Related: At 97, scientist is last of the old breed at San Antonios former Brooks AFB

Burch attributes much of SwRIs success to its well-funded research and development program.

Ive never proposed anything that I havent already built a prototype and proved that it works, he said. A lot of our competitors dont have that and so theyre proposing ideas  you know, drawings  and Ive got a prototype. That gives you a real edge.

SwRI scientists get one shot at ensuring their spacecraft is ready for flight.

Thats the exciting part of it because youre working on something and you know you cant fix it, he said. So, it launches, and its got to work for five or 10 years, and you cant fix it except whatever you can do with software, but not that much.

Burch is currently lead investigator on the Magnetospheric Multiscale project, which will help scientists understand magnetic reconnection, the process that leads to solar flares and explosions of solar material that can wreak havoc on Earth. Hes also leading Europa Clippers Mass Spectrometer mission that may find life-forming compounds erupting from Europas ocean vents.

You want to find if space life exists elsewhere, any kind of life, whether its a cell or a critter, right? he said. While its very cold on Europa, and a similar moon of Saturn, in their oceans down deep its habitable for cells, maybe fish.

Who knows? You got to take the first steps.

Hes confident his instruments can find building blocks of life if theyre present on Europa.

Kurt Retherford and his core team of 20 people at SwRI, as well as hundreds of others around the country, have worked on their Ultraviolet Spectrometer for more than five years.

What really excites me about studying Europa is the potential for finding a new place in the solar system where life could originate, he said. That would set us up to do a subsequent mission where maybe we land on the surface and find more solid evidence for life that has existed there or may be ongoing today. That kind of discovery  life in the solar system  we havent done that yet, and this would really change our perception of who we are as humanity.

Small business, big impact

A low-key 60s-era building on the citys East Side serves as home base for the Rothe family of companies  Rothe Development, Rothe Enterprises and Rothe San Antonio Calibration. Founded by Wilhelm Bill Rothe, a member of Werner von Brauns Operation Paperclip team of rocket scientists, Rothe Development opened in 1967 and has collaborated with NASA since 1973.

Jerry Lara, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

Today, the company oversees 15 NASA contracts worth nearly $300 million that employ 125 people around the country. Rothe also works as a subcontractor on another seven space contracts.

SA Inc.: Get the best of business news sent directly to your inbox

In a wood-paneled conference room, company Vice President Dale Patenaude and his son, Eric, director of business development, both University of Texas-Austin engineering graduates, laugh and banter as they recount their businesss contributions to space exploration.

In the early days, Rothe ran various engineering projects at Brooks where it maintained centrifuges, tested equipment and, at one point, designed a small treadmill for dogs. Later, Rothe took over the machine shop and services contract at Johnson Space Center and performed machining, painting and precision cleaning.

Jerry Lara, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

Cleanliness is an important part of space flight, and for years Rothe was responsible for removing all germs and hydrocarbons from items going to space.

The last place any kind of hardware that would go up on a space shuttle was our cleaning rooms, said Eric, who worked at Johnson Space Center before returning to the family business.

The company also made the cables that went on the gantry for the shuttle, said Dale, whos been with the company since 1971.

In the first space shuttle launch, they didnt think they needed them so they didnt put covers over the cables, OK, and the first launch burnt up all the cables, he said, and we got an immediate reorder  Hurry up and redo us all these cables!

Jerry Lara, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

Over the years, the company designed and produced the shuttles joystick controllers, upgraded simulator software for the shuttles arm and redesigned interior instrument panels. Rothe engineers even designed and built a model of the space station that Christa McAuliffe was planning to use as a teaching aide during the doomed Challenger mission.

Related: Texas Power Brokers: Scientist aims to find secrets of solar systems past

Managing the NASA machine shop was often a hectic endeavor.

Dale recalls one satellite that didnt start  it was a dud for some reason  and so they suddenly had a hurry-up program to make a satellite capture device for the shuttle.

The problem: The satellite wasnt designed to be captured, nor was the shuttles arm designed to grab a satellite.

We were busy making iteration one while theyre designing iteration two and iteration three, he said.

Eric said, When youre a service provider in the machine shop at a place like NASA, youre constantly asking, whats this new thing were doing?

After the Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003, Rothe machined a replica shuttle wing of aluminum and carbon fiber for testing at SwRI. The problem was that the specific type of aluminum needed wasnt available anymore.

So we had to go to the aluminum mill and make a special order of this alloy of aluminum, Dale said. And we had to use the same kind of tooling that (the original builder) used, so we had to look through all the diagrams and everything and figure out exactly how they put these wings together.

Rothe had about 100 projects going at any one time while operating the Johnson Space Center machine shop.

The biggest hassle is not making the stuff, its accounting for all of it, Dale said.

Related: Revenue jumps to a record at Southwest Research Institute

The company has supported NASAs neutral buoyancy lab  basically a 40-foot deep swimming pool used for training astronauts  since 2003. And the biggest thing its working on now for NASA is running information technology for flight operations, which includes direct support for astronauts and the flight directors.

We do the help desk for the astronauts, Dale said. It doesnt matter what time of day. Theyre VIPs.

Rothe also supports cargo missions to space, packaging materials in custom foam cutouts and Kevlar bags, and escorting the cargo to the launch pad.

The type of cargo you send up is everything from food for the astronauts to clothing and science experiments and hardware you use to fix stuff on the space station, Eric said. All sorts of stuff.

And then there are contracts for ground support equipment, laboratories, calibration, radar, space launch weather instruments, welding and sheet metal work.

So theres all sorts of big jobs and all sorts of little jobs, Eric said.

Dale said hes seen the contracts ebb and flow over the years.

NASA has this habit of taking small business contracts and making them part of a big contract, and then they go for a number of years, he said. And then they make it back to small business again, and it goes back and forth between small business and big business.

Related: Retail therapy for the COVID-19 era: Anxious San Antonians snapping up sage, weighted blankets, candles, crystals, CBD oil

Eric said many contractors in the NASA sphere form teams.

Its a process by which you can use your capabilities with someone elses capabilities to have a team that covers all the capabilities necessary for any kind of contract, he said. So, on any given contract where youre a prime and a company is a subcontractor to you on this project, youll be the other way around on another contract.

Dale said Rothe will likely do more information technology work for NASA, and keep an eye on the agencys budget.

Its a matter of priorities, he said. How much priority do you put on space?

Both are optimistic for the future.

Im excited to see that NASA has been given the opportunity to let the private companies take care of some of the small stuff so they can think about the big stuff, Eric said. I think NASA should be in the mode of dreaming big and doing the hard projects and letting the contractors fill in underneath.

Looking to the stars

Both the University of Texas at San Antonio and UT Health San Antonio hold contracts with NASA. But those arent the only efforts at local universities to advance space exploration. One UTSA professor is leading an international project to usher in the next generation of massive telescopes to better understand the universe.

Chris Packham, physics and astronomy professor at UTSA, studies exoplanets. These planets orbit stars other than our sun, and they could unlock knowledge about life in space and the development of the universe. The nearest exoplanet is more than four light years away, and there currently are no telescopes or technology to study them from Earth.

To move things forward, we need to think about the next-generation telescopes, Packham said. One example is a 30-meter telescope in planning for construction in Hawaii or La Palma, one of the Canary Islands.

Im leading part of a group to build an advanced infrared instrument for the 30-meter telescope, he said. And part of the key drive there is to understand exoplanets, understand their atmospheres and deep-probe the formation of these exoplanets.

Related: UTSA partnering with Japan to build powerful telescope

He said scientists could also use the proposed instrument to peer into the centers of galaxies far away from our own galaxy and understand the effects of the always-present supermassive black hole.

Collaboration between UTSA and SwRI, as well as experts in California, Hawaii, Japan, Canada, India and China, is the only way such a complicated instrument can be built, he said. The project could take decades and cost many millions of dollars.

Its thrilling to think that we can go out and command this kind of exciting exoplanet scientific venture, but its also really nice to think that this brings these worldwide collaborators here to San Antonio, he said. Its a real thrill for me for San Antonio to be kind of the home base for this proposed next-generation instrument.

At the crossroads

Sam Ximenes, founder and CEO XArc Exploration Architecture Corp. and board chair of the WEX Foundation, has a vision of San Antonio being a space hub. In 2013, he saw Houston redeveloping an airport into a spaceport and SpaceX scouting locations at Boca Chica and McGregor, and realized San Antonio was in a good position to develop into a major space player.

He believes San Antonio can become a space construction and habitation leader.

Related: Budding space explorers will learn how to build a moon base

The expertise and abilities for terrestrial application in road construction or even companies that do refurbishment of aircraft, he said, are examples of the kinds of companies that could transfer their knowledge for space applications.

Whatever you do in your profession, passion or avocation, you can apply that in space, he said. For any profession, I can give you a place where you can fit into the space community.

Ximenes sees San Antonios diverse culture, military ties and proximity to Houston as important factors in attracting talent, and hes helping children learn about space and pursue space careers via the WEX foundation.

Whatever is put up there is going to have a benefit down here, he said. Nobody thinks about San Antonio being part of the space program.

On Aug. 6, the San Antonio industry group Tech Bloc hosted a Facebook Live event that brought together a panel of space experts  including Packham, Retherford, Ugalde and two other NASA scientists  to discuss S.A.s growing role in off-planet exploration.

At least 90 people watched the event, and the recorded broadcast has more than 3,000 views, according to Ileana Gonzales, Tech Blocs operations and community engagement manager.

The goal was to use some of the San Antonio space research as a distraction and a way to think about things other than the COVID situation, Packham said.

Ugalde sees a bright space future for the community.

Ive been trying to embed myself back into the San Antonio market so that NASA can begin to leverage the expertise of industry and innovators in the region. We are reaching out to businesses interested in participating in the technology development aspect of commercial space particularly for the moon and Mars, he said. Theres a way for people in San Antonio industry and businesses to become an active participant in their space program.

He said San Antonios biomedical, cybersecurity, engineering, tourism and art industries are ripe for business with NASA.

We do know one of the cool things about San Antonio is its thriving arts community, he said. Weve always found that folks that can apply a little bit of artistic, abstract thinking to engineering challenges usually come up with novel solutions to complex problems.

Brandon Lingle writes for the Express-News through Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. ReportforAmerica.org.

brandon.lingle@express-news.net
The Ralston Public Schools reopened to students Tuesday with slightly less than half of students in attendance. The district is in the yellow level of its reopening plan, which means students will attend school part of the time and have independent learning from home part of the time.

Ralston students are divided into two groups attending school on alternate days.

Knight said that person was only in attendance for one of the days, and the district has been in communication with families considered to have close contact with the person.

The Douglas County Health Department defines close contact as someone within six feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes or longer, Knight wrote. These individuals who had close contact are at a high-risk for exposure and are being asked to self-quarantine.

Because of privacy laws, Knight said more details could not be shared. The classroom is being deep-cleaned.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission (WSCC) will commemorate 100 years of women's constitutional right to vote with National Women's Suffrage Month by acknowledging and celebrating Tennessee's ratification of the 19th Amendment with an entire day of free virtual events.

On August 18, 1920, Tennessee became the 36th and final state needed to ratify the 19th Amendment into the U.S. Constitution. 100 years later, the WSCC is celebrating this critical milestone of American democracy with a full day of the following virtual events and commemorations in honor of the state that brought the 19th Amendment across the finish line:

8 a.m. CT / 9 a.m. ET : U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) will deliver a welcome message to kick-off the day-long virtual celebration. Access the livestream for the full day of events at http://bit.ly/WSCCTennessee.

U.S. Sen. (R-TN) will deliver a welcome message to kick-off the day-long virtual celebration. Access the livestream for the full day of events at http://bit.ly/WSCCTennessee. 8:45 a.m. CT / 9:45 a.m. ET : WSCC hosts Herstory Time & Suffrage Tea with author Mary Morgan Ketchel , who will read Camilla Can Vote : Celebrating the Centennial of Women's Right to Vote , which she co-authored with her mother, Sen. Marsha Blackburn . Sen. Blackburn and Ketchel will then discuss the inspiration behind the book over tea, to bring the history of women's fight for the vote to families. Tune in at http://bit.ly/WSCCTennessee.

WSCC hosts Herstory Time & Suffrage Tea with author , who will read , which she co-authored with her mother, Sen. . Sen. Blackburn and Ketchel will then discuss the inspiration behind the book over tea, to bring the history of women's fight for the vote to families. Tune in at http://bit.ly/WSCCTennessee. 9:30 a.m. CT / 10:30 a.m. ET : The Tennessee State Capitol will livestream a reenactment of Tennessee's final vote for ratification at TNWoman100.com and at http://bit.ly/WSCCTennessee.

: The Tennessee State Capitol will livestream a reenactment of final vote for ratification at TNWoman100.com and at http://bit.ly/WSCCTennessee. 10:00 a.m. CT / 11:00 a.m. ET : WSCC partners with the Highlight Pro Skydiving Team to bring viewers an 11-person, all-female virtual skydiving display, with brightly colored smoke, streamers, and flags in the historic suffrage colors of purple and gold. The virtual event will be live via the Highlight Pro Skydiving Team Facebook Page and at http://bit.ly/WSCCTennessee.

WSCC partners with the Highlight Pro Skydiving Team to bring viewers an 11-person, all-female virtual skydiving display, with brightly colored smoke, streamers, and flags in the historic suffrage colors of purple and gold. The virtual event will be live via the Highlight Pro Skydiving Team Facebook Page and at http://bit.ly/WSCCTennessee. 11 a.m. CT / 12 p.m. ET : WSCC Executive Director Anna Laymon will interview Sen. Marsha Blackburn about Tennessee's role in the history of the suffrage movement and the importance of the centennial. Enjoy the discussion at http://bit.ly/WSCCTennessee.

Along with our line-up of events for August 18, WSCC is hosting a weekly concert series, livestreamed from the Listening Room Cafe in Nashville, with Song Suffragettes every Monday at 6 p.m. CT / 7 p.m. ET. The Song Suffragettes will kick off our Tennessee Ratification Celebration the night before on August 17 with special guest Ashley McBryde. Catch the show at www.youtube.com/songsuffragettes.

The WSCC was created by Congress to coordinate the nationwide commemoration during the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which was officially signed into the U.S. Constitution on Aug. 26, 1920. The amendment prohibits the United States or any state from denying the right to vote based on sex, protecting women's access to the ballot in the Constitution. The WSCC and the U.S. Congress have designated August 2020 as National Women's Suffrage Month, a month-long celebration honoring the history of women's fight for the vote. Learn more about the WSCC and upcoming National Women's Suffrage Month events at www.womensvote100.org/suffragemonth.

Contact: Kelsey Millay

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission

Related Links

https://www.womensvote100.org


In Evanston, Republican Julie Cho runs for State Rep, eventually without the backing of her own party. Shes a red dot in Evanstons blue sea. Meanwhile, in Granville, Ohio, theres a township trustee to be elected. Bryn Bard, a farmer, moved back with her husband and children to Granville to be closer to her mother, who is living with cancer. She has a natural knack for politics. She also sells food at the Granville farmers market to people who wont much like it if she wins.
Gaza: Israel strikes back over Hamas 'balloon terror' and rocket offensive

I want to say to all of Irans forces, including in Gaza, there will be a very heavy price for the balloon terror, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today, as Israel attacked what it says were Hamas military sites in Gaza with helicopters and tanks.

Meanwhile, both Israeli and Hamas leaders have reached out to Qatar to renew humanitarian aid to Gaza  and perhaps to help de-escalate tensions.

Balloon terror: Hamas launched a series of incendiary attacks from Gaza into southern Israel, starting fires in the Ashkelon area near the Gaza border. Hamas started using incendiary explosives tied to balloons and kites in 2018, but a shaky truce was reached in the fall of that year. In this latest round, Hamas blames Israel for stifling economic and development projects and border agreements. In a further show of force, Hamas test fired eight medium-range missiles into the sea of the Gaza Strip on Aug. 10.

An unwelcome southern front: Hamas actions, and Israels reaction, occur as Israeli leaders and the Israeli Defense Forces have been focused on Lebanon. Israel deployed tanks to its border with Lebanon on Monday. The line from Jerusalem is that Hezbollah is taking advantage of the current instability following the explosion in Beirut last week, with Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi going as far to say on Aug.11 that political instability within Lebanon has allowed Hezbollah to essentially take over the entire country politically, militarily and economically, all at Irans command.

Road to Doha: Both Israel and Hamas may be on the same page in seeking a continuation of Qatars humanitarian aid to Gaza. Ismail Haniyeh, head of Hamas political bureau, is reportedly in Doha also in a bid to renew a $50 million Qatari grant for another six months. The Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, provided $50 million in assistance to Gaza in March; that aid runs out in September. Meanwhile, Israeli media reports that Mossad chief Yossi Cohen may have been directly in touch with Qatari officials about the aid. Mohammed al-Emadi, chairman of Qatars Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza, said Tuesday that Qatars aid was humanitarian and would continue, and that contacts with Israeli occupation authorities on aid to Gaza are not new.

Our take: Hamas may be lighting up the Gaza border to remind Israel and the region that it too can play the role of disrupter and spoiler, including while Israel is rocked by anti-government demonstrations because of its handling of the coronavirus. Hamas has no governance wins to champion with its people, who continue to suffer under the siege, so conflict can divert their attention. Qatar plays a vital role not just in its steady humanitarian assistance to Gaza, but as a potential mediator to de-escalate conflict. Hamas will likely flash the Iran card at some point as well; Tehran was likely consulted before Hamas unleashed the recent balloons and rockets.

Read more: Ahmad Abu Amer has the take here from Gaza; Rina Bassist has more on Mossad chief Cohens alleged contacts with Qatari officials.

Turkey: Why Turkey is wooing Malta in the Eastern Med

Turkey has been cozying up to Malta, the smallest country in the European Union, another sign of the increased risk of escalation in the eastern Mediterranean stemming from friction between Ankara and Cairo.

Entangled alliances: Turkey and Egypt are on opposite sides of the hot war in Libya. Turkey is allied with the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA); Egypt and its allies, including the UAE, France, Saudi Arabia and, to a certain extent, Russia, all back insurgent fighter Khalifa Hifter, whose power base is in the east, near some of the countrys oil fields.

Gas conflict flares up: The conflict in Libya has spilled into a conflict in the eastern Mediterranean over gas rights. Turkey and the GNA reached an agreement on offshore gas exploration in November 2019 that was rejected by Egypt, Cyprus, Greece and Israel (backed by the EU) as an infringement on their exploration and development rights. Egypt and Greece agreed on a demarcation zone on Aug. 6, which Turkey considered a further escalation, prompting Ankara to announce licenses for seismic research in areas overlapping with the Egyptian-Greek zone, as Diego Cupolo reports here.

Why Malta?: Turkey, Libya and Malta have strengthened cooperation in recent weeks. These discussions dont yet have a military dimension, but that seems to be Turkeys ultimate intent. Turkey is at a disadvantage relative to Egyptian naval and air power, and Malta could provide Turkey with a base for power projection into Libya.

Our take: Turkeys alliance with Malta is a flare for the risk of escalation in Libya and the eastern Mediterranean, which are increasingly intertwined because of the conflict between Cairo and Ankara. Until now, however, Malta, a member of the EU, has not committed to a military agreement with Turkey. And Greece has not signed onto a military pact with Egypt. The trend lines nonetheless are in the direction of increased risk of escalation. The Trump administration is seeking to defuse the conflict through what it calls 360-degree diplomacy, which we explain here.

Read more: Fehim Tastekin breaks down the implications of the Turkey-Malta alliance here, and Metin Gurcan assesses the militarization and risks of conflict in the eastern Mediterranean here.

Lebanon: Will international donors 'throw good money after bad'?

Hadley Gamble, CNBC news anchor and international correspondent, said that international donors and creditors complain privately they have been pouring money down a hole in Lebanon for decades and look where its gotten us  nowhere.  Until we see a government thats not so aligned with Hezbollah, we really dont see any reason to throw good money after bad.

More: Listen to my full podcast interview with Hadley here.

In Case You Missed It: A poem honoring Beirut's resilience

Lebanons unusual and inspirational mix of beauty, tragedy and resilience are often captured more poignantly in more artistic expressions such as poetry and the arts. Here is a passage from a poem by Daria Daniel titled To You:

Sweet Soteria, Beirut -

Storms, stones and thunderbolts do not bring you to your knees.

You are a kind and peculiar coastal sanctuary, of ochre light,

Of daily deliverance,

Your custodians, your refugees, your lovers  keep vigil over them.

Because Beirut, you are their beating, (bleeding), mighty heart.

You can read the full poem here.

Al-Monitor welcomes submissions of poetry and other forms of creative expression regarding events and trends in the region.
China has extended an anti-dumping tariff on optical fibre made in India, the ministry of commerce said in a notice published on its website on Thursday.

The duties will be renewed from Friday and remain in place for five years.

In the announcement, the MOFCOM decided to continue to impose anti-dumping duties on imported single-mode optical fibers originating in India from August 14 on the basis of the final review of the investigation results. The implementation period is 5 years.

Several Indian companies were named in the announcement.

The ministry defined single-mode fibre as a fibre that transmits only a single-mode optical signal within a certain wavelength range.

The punitive tariff on single-mode optical fibre takes effect from August 14 and lasts for five years, with tariffs ranging between 7.4 percent and 30.6 percent depending on the specific Indian manufacturers, the ministry said.

The extension of the anti-dumping duties comes in the backdrop of the ongoing Sino-India border tension at Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh and the cooling of bilateral economic ties.

The decision came after MOFCOM evaluated the possible damage to Chinese industries if anti-dumping measures are terminated, at the request of the domestic single-mode optical fiber industry on 13 August, 2019, state media reported.

The Ministry of Commerce began to implement anti-dumping measures on imports of single-mode optical fibers from India in August 2014.

In June 2019, the MOFCOM initiated the final review investigation in response to a domestic industry application, the announcement said.

The Chinese ministry ruled if the anti-dumping measures were terminated, the dumping of imported single-mode optical fibers originating in India to China may continue or recur, and the damage to Chinas domestic industries may continue or recur.

The Chinese order comes three days after India sought to impose provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of black toner in powder form originating in or exported from China, Malaysia and Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) for six months, a government order issued on Monday said.

The duty on a tonne of black toner would range from $196 for imports from Chinese Taipie, $1,686 for imports from Malaysia and $834 for those originating in or exported from China, it said.

On June 23, New Delhi had slapped anti-dumping duty on certain steel products imported from China, South Korea and Vietnam after an investigation found that these items caused injury to domestic producers.

India-China bilateral trade in the year 2019 decreased by 2.93 percent year on year to reach $92.89 billion.

Indias exports to China decreased by 4.55 percent year-on-year to $17.97 billion, and Indias imports from China also witnessed a drop by 2.54 percent to $74.92 billion, according to data from Chinas customs department

Indias trade deficit with China stood at US$ 56.95 billion, a minor year-on-year decline of 1.88 percent.
ALBANY - The state Department of Transportation and the Department of Motor Vehicles have been fighting attempts by the family of one of the victims in the 2018 Schoharie limo crash to gain access to agency documents concerning the horrific tragedy.

But in an appeal of a state Supreme Court decision ordering that the documents be released to the family of victim, Erin McGowan, the state Attorney General's office, which is handling the case for the DOT and DMV, admitted that it may make some of the documents public once a federal investigation and a criminal prosecution of the limo company's manager, Nauman Hussain, are complete.

Based on recent events, that could be in the next month or so potentially.

The state originally denied a Freedom of Information Law request by Paul Danvenport, an attorney for McGowan's family, requesting a trove of documents from DOT and DMV that related to the crash and the enforcement efforts of the two agencies to get the stretch Ford Excursion limo involved in the crash off the road.

Twenty people died after the limo could not stop at the base of a steep hill. The limo hit two bystanders in the Apple Barrel parking lot before crashing into a dirt embankment. Family members and journalists have pushed for the release of government documents after State Police concluded the limo's brakes failed and poor brake condition was previously noted in state inspections.

Davenport filed a lawsuit against the two agencies and in April, state Supreme Court Justice Peter Lynch ordered the state to turn over the records.

The AG office's appeal of that decision to the state Appellate Division's Third Department in Albany earlier this week argued that the Supreme Court erred in ordering the release of the documents, which the state agencies have argued isn't allowed during a pending criminal case. The state has also argued that some of the documents requested were given to the National Transportation Safety Board as part of its investigation into the crash.

"Given the obvious relevance of the records at issue to the prosecution, respondents reasonably decided to withhold them to avoid tipping the DAs hand or tainting the jury pool in the Hussain prosecution," the state's appeal states.

The state also argued that some of the remaining documents requested were communications between executive branch agencies and the DOT and DMV, which can be withheld under an exemption under the state's Freedom of Information Law.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

However, the appeal filing admits that the state will be obligated to release many of the documents at some point.

"While the supreme court erred in ordering respondents to produce documents compiled for the Schoharie County DA, this does not mean that the documents may be permanently withheld. Once the criminal prosecution has ended and the NTSB has released its final report, the documents requested by petitioner will be available, with the exception of the inter-agency documents," the filing states.

That could be sooner than later. The NTSB is set to issue its final report on the crash at the end of September, and Hussain's attorneys and the Schoharie County DA are in plea negotiations that could end the need for a trial. The two sides are meeting later in the month with the judge overseeing the case to discuss the proposal. The trial was postponed earlier this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, and no new trial date has been set.
Memphis, Tenn. (August 13, 2020) - Ansley Grimes Stanfill, PhD, RN, associate dean of Research for the UTHSC College of Nursing, has been selected for the American Academy of Nursing's 2020 Class of Fellows. Dr. Stanfill is also an alumna of UTHSC, earning her PhD in Nursing Science at the university in 2014.

The newest Fellows represent 39 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. territory of Guam and 13 other countries. The Academy comprises more than 2,700 nursing leaders, who are experts in policy, research, administration, practice, and academia. Among the three nurses from Tennessee selected for this honor in 2020, two are alumnae of the UTHSC College of Nursing.

"It is a tremendous honor to join this esteemed organization," Dr. Stanfill said. "The membership of the American Academy of Nursing is truly changing the face of nursing in the areas of practice, research, and policy. I look forward to building new connections with other Fellows, and to using these collaborations to better advocate for my patients."

The application process to become a Fellow is rigorous. A committee of elected Fellows reviews hundreds of applications and selects new Fellows based on their contributions to advancing the health of the public. The inductees will be recognized for their contributions to health care at the Academy's annual Transforming Health, Driving Policy Conference, taking place virtually on October 29-31, 2020.

Induction into the Academy is a major milestone in a nursing career. Dr. Stanfill's induction will bring the number of Fellows of the Academy on the UTHSC College of Nursing faculty to seven. Also being inducted this year is Belinda Mandrell, PhD, RN, director of the Nursing Research Division of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Dr. Mandrell is a 2008 graduate of the UTHSC PhD program in Nursing Science, serves as a volunteer faculty member for the College of Nursing, and is a member of the college's Alumni Board of Directors.

Dr. Stanfill joined the UTHSC College of Nursing faculty in 2016. She received a BS in neuroscience from Vanderbilt University in 2003 and worked as a research assistant in genetics and neuroimaging research before receiving her BSN in 2007 from Saint Louis University. She has clinical experience in neurology and neurosurgery, endoscopy, and critical care. She received her PhD in 2014 from UTHSC for her dissertation titled "Dopaminergic genetic contributions to obesity in kidney transplant recipients." She was awarded an NIH/NINR F31 training grant for this project.

Prior to assuming her faculty role, Dr. Stanfill also completed postdoctoral training in omics research at the University of Pittsburgh, supported by the NIH/NINR T32 "Targeted Research and Academic Training of Nurses in Genomics." She is currently PI of a $1.1million NIH/NINR R01 titled "A multivariate predictive model for long-term disability post subarachnoid hemorrhage in Caucasian and African American populations." She received a supplemental award for this project to investigate genotype and gene expression interactions using the GTEx database. She also serves as a co-investigator on an NIH/NIA funded grant investigating the potential of miR-21 as a biomarker for vascular dementia. Although her primary appointment is in the College of Nursing, Dr. Stanfill holds a joint appointment as an associate professor in the College of Medicine's Department of Genetics, Genomics, and Informatics, and an appointment in the UTHSC Neuroscience Institute.

In addition to her NIH support, Dr. Stanfill has received grants from Sigma Theta Tau, the International Society of Nurses in Genetics, and the Southern Nursing Research Society. She has been published many times in basic science and nursing research journals and regularly presents her work at local, regional, national, and international conferences.

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As Tennessee's only public, statewide, academic health system, the mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is to bring the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health through education, research, clinical care, and public service, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region. The main campus in Memphis includes six colleges: Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy. UTHSC also educates and trains medicine, pharmacy, and/or health professions students, as well as medical residents and fellows, at major sites in Knoxville, Chattanooga and Nashville. For more information, visit http://www.uthsc.edu. Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/uthsc, on Twitter: twitter.com/uthsc and on Instagram: instagram.com/uthsc.
By Ayya Lmahamad

The volume of Azerbaijans foreign trade turnover amounted to $11.7 billion in the first six months of 2020, State Statistics Committee reported on August 13.

According to the statement, the value of exported goods amounted to 57.5 percent or $5.6 billion from the trade turnover, while the value of imported goods amounted to 42.5 percent or $4.9 billion, resulting in the surplus of $1.7 billion.

Foreign trade turnover decreased by 30.3 percent in actual prices and by 20.5 percent in real terms, compared to the same period last year. In addition, imports decreased by 42.8 percent, while export by 4.6 percent.

During the reporting period, legal entities and individual entrepreneurs carried out trade operations with partners in 167 countries. Goods were exported to 100 countries and imported from 155 countries.

Moreover, in the first six months of the year, export of non-oil and gas goods decreased by 6.9 percent in actual prices and by 14 percent in real terms compared to the same period last year, amounting to $911.9 million.

Italy topped the list of countries importing Azerbaijani goods with the value of exports to this country amounting to $2.4 billion in 2020.

Top five countries exporting Azerbaijani products were Italy, with 32 percent of exports, Turkey, with 19.2 percent, Russia with 5 percent, Israel with 4.2 percent and India with 3.7 percent. Georgia accounts for 1 percent of Azerbaijans total export volumes.

In terms of export of non-oil and gas goods the most export volume accounts to Russia, with 40.6 percent, Turkey with 19.4 percent, Switzerland with 10.5 percent, Georgia with 8.4 percent and Ukraine with 2.4 percent. Italy accounts for 2.1 percent of the total volume of export of non-oil and gas goods.

Leading counties in terms of imported goods are Russia with 18.3 percent of the total value of imported goods, Turkey with 14.8 percent, China with 13.3 percent, U.S. with 8.1 percent and Germany with 5.3 percent.

In January-June 2020, exports of fresh vegetables increased by 4.3 percent, potatoes by 32 percent, fruit and vegetable juices by 3.8 percent, vegetable oils by 1.8 times, tea by 0.5 percent, margarine and other food mixtures by 52.1 percent, polyethylene by 39.8 percent, ferrous metal pipes by 1.8 times, bentonite clay by 5.2 percent, fresh fruit export by 24.5 percent, sugar by 25.9 percent, tobacco by 25.9 percent, canned vegetables by 0.8 percent, natural grape wines and grape juice by 52.2 percent, cotton fiber by 18.4 percent, cotton yarn by 22 percent and untreated aluminium by 5.8 percent.

Additionally, compared to January-June 2019, imports of fresh fruits in first six months of current year decreased by 15 percent, vegetable oils by 10.1 percent, raw sugar by 11 percent, butter, cream and other dairy oils by 34.5 percent, tea by 10 percent, beef by 29.4 percent, poultry and its by-products by 2.1 percent, fresh vegetables by 26.4 percent, cars by 29.2 percent, medicines by 1.7 times, rolled steel by 10.5 percent, ferrous metal bars by 1.7 times, computers, blocks and devices by 23.1 percent, household refrigerators by 39.2 percent, wheat by 37.8 percent, potatoes by 0.8 percent, cigarettes by 80.1 percent, ferrous metal tubes by 13.5 percent, mineral fertilizers by 3.4 percent, rubber tyres by 14.4 percent, household air conditioners by 24.7 percent, furniture by 23.2 percent, trucks by 15.6 percent, polyethylene by 14.8 percent, washing machines by 4.8 percent, ferrous metal corners by 7 percent, buses by 24.8 percent, cement and cement clinker by 92.1 percent.

It should be noted that the volume of cargo transportation in the Azerbaijani section of the Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA) amounted to 21.6 million tons in January-June this year.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
SAN FRANCISCO  In June, Laura Voisin George, a graduate student, was writing a scholarly article about a series of W.P.A. frescoes at the University of California, San Francisco.

The ten panels of History of Medicine in California, completed in 1938 by Bernard Zakheim, a Polish-born muralist, show such scenes as Native Americans offering herbs to doctors and a trapper inoculating someone with the smallpox vaccine.

Ms. Voisin George recognized a central figure in one of the vivid social realist tableaus: Biddy Mason, a Black nurse, is depicted alongside a white doctor, as they treat a malaria patient. Mason, an enslaved woman born in 1818, went on to become a midwife, a nurse, a philanthropist and a founder of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles.

Ms. Voisin George, who studies history at the University of California, Santa Barbara, learned that the frescoes were about to be destroyed while she was researching. The Jewish News of Northern California reported the news. Her reaction, she said, was What? How could this be?
She recently revealed how going through the menopause 'pushed her sanity to the brink'.

And Zoe Hardman appeared to be in good spirits following her candid discussion, as she was seen smiling when she made her way to Heart Radio studios in London with a friend on Thursday.

The TV presenter, 37, put on a stylish display as she teamed a blush pink jacket with matching shorts to combat the current British heatwave.

Fashionista: Zoe Hardman put on a stylish display in a blush pink blazer and shorts as she headed to Heart Radio studios in London on Thursday

Zoe tucked in a chic white shirt into her loose-fitting shorts, and stepped out in a pair of beige heeled sandals.

Her golden locks were styled into loose waves that cascaded over her shoulders, and she wore a light palette of make-up for the occasion.

Adding a glittering touch to her look, Zoe shielded her eyes with a pair of circular shades and large hoop earrings.

Style maven: Zoe tucked in a chic white shirt into her loose-fitting shorts, and stepped out in a pair of beige heeled sandals

Her outing comes after the doting mum recently told how going through the menopause aged 37 trapped her in a severe depression and caused her sex drive to slump.

In a candid chat with The Sun, Zoe said: 'Some very dark, uncontrollable thoughts were going through my head and I thought that I wasn't going to make it through this. I felt so low that without any help I didn't know how I'd get past it.'

She said she began experiencing menopausal symptoms towards the end of last year after developing the hereditary condition, which her sister, mother and grandmother have also faced.

Zoe revealed that the confusing experience left her in constant 'waves of tears', as she credits her husband Paul Doran-Jones, 35, for 'picking her up off the floor', when she was struggling with the condition.

Candid: Her outing comes after the doting mum recently told how going through the menopause aged 37 trapped her in a severe depression

She told the publication: 'We think of menopause as happening to 50-year-old women, so when it happens early, it hits you like a train.

'My skin became very dry and I had dandruff for the first time in my life. I was having hot flushes and suffering from hair loss and vaginal dryness. The pain during sex wasn't going away and I was getting severe aching in my right ovary.'

Zoe, who is mum to Luna, three, and Kit, two, started her Heart career in June 2015 and has been a firm favourite ever since.

She moved from presenting the late night show from 10pm-1am to her regular slot now just on the weekends.

Zoe is a regular on THE airwaves presenting her Feel Good Weekend show on Saturday 12pm-4pm and on Sunday morning 9am-12pm.

Apart from radio, Zoe previously presented Quiznation, Take Me Out: The Gossip alongside former TOWIE star Mark Wright, 33, and on the This Morning Hub.
Pip the dachshund has finally made it home to Sydney, Australia. It's been a worldwide, monthslong trip around the world made possible by the kindness of strangers.

Pip's family -- the Eilbecks -- are a sailing family: Zoe, Guy and their two children. They were in Key West back in March, Zoe Eilbeck told "Good Morning America," when Key West made the decision that all visitors must depart within 48 hours. They took five days and sailed up the east coast to Hilton Head, South Carolina. Then, Australia closed its borders, and the family knew they needed to get home immediately.

It was then they were separated from Pip and the start of her long journey home.

PHOTO: Lynn Williams was the first person to give Pip a place to stay when her family had to fly to Australia without her. (Ellen Steinberg )

MORE: Underwater art museum finally opens after COVID-19 delay

While Guy prepared the boat for storing, Zoe drove Pip to a friend's house in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and handed her over to Lynn Williams in a car park while the family tried to make arrangements to fly home. "They were canceling flights as fast as we were booking them," Zoe Eilbeck said.

To transport a dog to Australia by plane, Guy said, takes about six months because of the documentation involved. Pets also must fly cargo into Australia and quarantine upon arrival. Because of the speed at which flights had to be booked and decisions made -- plus the very long trip to Australia for tiny Pip in cargo -- the family thought Pip would be better off in the safety of their friend. The family drove to Atlanta, flew to Los Angeles, and got on the last flight to Australia before the borders closed.

PHOTO: Ellen Steinberg and Pip. Ellen was the 'captain' of the relay team that got Pip home. (Ellen Steinberg)

"At this point we thought we were leaving her for 4 to 6 weeks and this whole thing would blow over," Zoe Eilbeck said. "But given the kids, we thought we should get home and then we would come back to get Pip."

Story continues

But soon the family realized things were about to get much more complicated.

Williams posted on NextDoor and became connected with Ellen Steinberg. Steinberg volunteers at a local animal shelter and when it became clear she would be staying home for a few months, decided to foster a dog.

PHOTO: Stacey Green and Pip. (Ellen Steinberg )

MORE: Bermuda, Barbados hope to lure travelers to work and live for a year

"She's adorable, tiny, cuddly and sweet," Steinberg said of Pip. "But she had several [behavior] things that she didn't have before as a result of being abandoned so quickly." Steinberg said she thought constantly, "this dog has no idea how hard her family is working to get her back."

PHOTO: Nicole Reed was the vet who took care of Pip in North Carolina. (Ellen Steinberg )

But it would take far more than what the Eilbecks could do to make it happen. After Williams, came Steinberg. Next, a woman named Stacey Green, who took Pip for a few weeks when Steinberg had to travel. There was the vet, Nicole Reed from the Hillsborough Vet Clinic. "Nicole poked, prodded and paperwork-ed all things Pip for months," Steinberg said, readying her to make the journey back to her home in Sydney.

Finally, with the paperwork and medical clearance complete in July -- 18 steps in total -- Pip began her journey home.

PHOTO: Melissa Young flew with Pip to Los Angeles. (Ellen Steinberg )

The first part of her trip was getting Pip to Los Angeles. To minimize her time in cargo, Steinberg went on a search for someone willing to fly with her in the cabin. "Who is going to fly across the country at this time?" she said. But that's where Melissa Young, who is on the board of a dachshund rescue group and has three dachshund mixes of her own, stepped in.

"To me she was so brave [to take the risk] during COVID to fly," Zoe Eilbeck said. Young, she said, was a volunteer. She spent the night in LA after her flight and so did Pip. "She lived it up," Eilbeck said.

PHOTO: Melissa Young and Pip flew to Los Angeles. (Melissa Young )

Then began the hardest part of the trip. "We were extremely worried about her," Eilbeck said. Pip would need to take an 18-hour flight to Auckland with no food or water and be zip-tied in her crate. She stayed in Auckland for a night, then went on to Melbourne, where she would quarantine for ten days before being allowed to board a flight home to Sydney.

Pip spent the night in a hotel room in Los Angeles. PHOTO: (Melissa Young )

Pip was released to Zoe Eilbeck's brother, who lives in Melbourne with his family, on Aug. 3. Because of COVID travel restrictions, the Eilbecks couldn't go to Melbourne to get her. The plan was for Zoe's brother to get Pip and then put her on a flight to Sydney.

PHOTO: A Virgin crew member waits with Pip. (Ellen Steinberg)

But Pip's flight was canceled and then canceled again. And again. All the while, she waited with her extended family.

And then finally, on Tuesday, after almost five long months, Pip and her family were reunited at Sydney airport.

PHOTO: Pip reunites with her family. (Ellen Steinberg )

"Every time I tell Pip's story to people, their jaws are hanging open," Steinberg, who Pip's family called the "captain of the relay team." "It required all kinds of people to raise their hand and say 'I'll do it.'"

How a worldwide 'relay team' reunited a dog separated from owners by COVID originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com
The Nebraska legislature on Thursday passed a ban on dismemberment abortions in the state, except in emergency situations.

The bill, LB814, passed 33-8 and allows for professional injunctions and civil action against any abortion provider who violates the ban, besides in the case of a medical emergency.

The definition of dilation and evacuation (D&E) abortions in the bill does not apply to an abortion in which only suction is used to dismember a fetus or to the removal of a fetus that is already dead. The bill specifically bans the use of clamps, forceps or similar instruments in abortion procedures.

Life has won today in Nebraska. By ending dismemberment abortion, our state has demonstrated and reaffirmed its deep respect for the human dignity of preborn children and their mothers, said Marion Miner, Associate Director for Pro-Life and Family at the Nebraska Catholic Conference, the Catholic News Agency reported.

Passing LB814 will again establish Nebraska as a national leader in the cause for life. We are committed to affirming the humanity of every single life and making every form of abortion unthinkable.

The bill now awaits approval from governor Pete Ricketts, who has expressed support for the ban, to be signed into law.

The legislation may be challenged in court by pro-abortion advocates who claim the ban is unconstitutional under Roe v. Wade. A federal judge blocked Indianas D&E ban from taking effect last year, ruling that the ban was likely to burden a womans right to access an abortion.

However, Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson recently said the bill is likely constitutional because it does not appear that it will impose a substantial obstacle on abortion access in Nebraska.

More from National Review
The Volta Regional Police Command has mounted a chase for three persons suspected to have been involved in the robbing and killing of a businessman at Juapong in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region.

The manhunt comes 24 hours after Samuel Nyamador was murdered last Tuesday, August 11, 2020 at about 10:30 pm while he was in the company of his wife.

Samuel who owns a shop in Juapong had closed and was heading home (about 500 meters away) with his wife, when three men in masks attacked them.

The Public Relations Officer of the Volta Regional Police, Cpl Prince Dogbatse who hinted of the manhunt assured that the Police in Juapong with the support of the regional command will do all they can to bring the culprits to book.

He appealed to the youth who had blocked the Juapong portion of Ho-Accra highway on Wednesday in protest of Samuels death to instead, volunteer prompt and credible information to assist the Police.

Preliminary investigation suggests that Samuel, popularly known as Sonny was shot in the back and strangled to death after a bag containing an unspecified amount of money, phones and other personal effect were collected. The arm of the wife was also hit with the butt of a gun.

The Police moved in and conveyed the corpse to the Akosmobo Hospital morgue that same night.

Some residents had blamed the Police for not responding timeously. However, the Police said they were informed after the incident had taken place. Nonetheless, they will do all they can to bring the culprits to book.

Meanwhile, calm have returned to Juapong after some protests erupted last Wednesday morning. The youth in registering their displeasure blocked the portion of the Ho-Accra highway which traversed their town with vehicle tires. They set the tires ablaze preventing vehicles on either side of the road from moving for over an hour before the Police were able to stabilise the situation.

Daily Guide
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The global thermoplastic vulcanizates market is growing with the instantaneous pace; mainly due to the burgeoning automotive industries. According to a recent study report published by the Market Research Future, the global market of thermoplastic vulcanizates is prospering and expected to gain strong influence over the forecast period. The market is estimated to demonstrate a remarkable growth by 2023, surpassing its previous growth records in terms of value with a striking CAGR during the forecasted period (2017 - 2023).

Globally, the market for thermoplastic vulcanizates is driven by the region North America, owing to enactment of government based initiative such as Corporate Average Fuel economy to substitute metals with plastics in end-use industries. These materials are utilized in non-load bearing parts such as battery frames, car bumpers, and others. Additionally, the lightweight materials are also consumed in the medical applications such as gaskets, stoppers, and others due to advantages such as reliable, durable, and cost-effective nature offered by the product.

Increasing demand for the product in applications such as air ducts, tubing, moulded seals, grommets, and others signifies the growth of automotive industries. Moreover, growing consumption of product due to unique features offered by the product such as efficient, superior performance provide a boost to the thermoplastic vulcanizates market growth.

Get a Free Sample Now@ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/4704

On the other hand, extensive use of reduced weight materials than metals in major industries is projected to propel the market growth during the forecast period.

Thermoplastic vulcanizates are used in various end-use industries such as automotive, construction & buildings, marine, aerospace, energy, and others. They are also utilized in major sectors due to their ease of application, recyclable, and versatile nature. The growing demand of these polymers has prompted the manufacturers and investors to shift their focus from heavy substances to lightweight materials in end-use applications. Additionally, the growing research & development activities and innovations of the product in the established companies have resulted into a remarkable growth in the market during the forecast period.

Thermoplastic Vulcanizates Market - Regional Analysis:

Geographically, North America is leading the global thermoplastic vulcanizates market. The U.S. holds the major portion owing to rising infrastructure developments coupled with technological advancement in the major sector. Increasing consumption of thermoplastic vulcanizates in automotive, fluid handling, consumer goods, medical and others has boosted the market demand in Canada, and Mexico. Asia Pacific has witnessed a significant growth in the market owing to rapid consumption of thermoplastic polymers in end-use industries. A notable growth has been received by the European region due to implementation of strict rules and regulations to adopt eco-friendly products instead of heavy metals in major sectors. Additionally, the market is growing significantly in the Middle East & Africa and Latin America regions, due to rising adoption of polymers in end-use industries.

Thermoplastic Vulcanizates Market- Competitive Landscape:

The thermoplastic vulcanizates market appears to be competitive with the presence of several large and small players operating in manufacturing and development of product. These key players compete with each others on the basis of quality, price, production and innovation. Thermoplastic vulcanizates market is set to grow at a significant rate which is likely to attract many entrants to the market resulting into healthy competition in the future. Manufacturers operating in the thermoplastic vulcanizates market are striving their level best to respond to an increase in demand for the product from automotive, construction & buildings, aerospace, and other sectors attributed to growing production capacity in major sectors. They ensure to deliver the best quality products based on innovative technologies, solutions and best practices.

Industry / Innovation / Related News:

October 24, 2017 - Exxon Mobil Corporation (US), one of the leading producers of thermoplastic vulcanizates, declared that the company has decided to launch two grades of santoprene-brand thermoplastic vulcanizates by the end of 2017. These products have excellent friction performance, bonding strength with EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer (M-class) rubber). One of the sources of the company also announced that these products were developed to impart lightweight and cost-effective nature to the final product. Therefore, these factors are expected to drive the market over the assessment period.

July 20, 2016 - Exxon Mobil Corporation (US), one of the prominent manufacturers of thermoplastic vulcanizates, declared that the company has decided to expand the production capacity of specialty elastomers plant by 25% in Newport, Wales. This process was initiated due to soaring demand for the product in various applications such as health care device, automotive seals, and others. Therefore, these factors are expected to drive the market over the assessment period.

Access Complete Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/thermoplastic-vulcanizates-market-4704

NOTE: Our team of researchers are studying Covid19 and its impact on various industry verticals and wherever required we will be considering covid19 footprints for a better analysis of markets and industries. Cordially get in touch for more details.

COVID-19 Study in Detail:

Impact of COVID-19 on Iso-Propyl Alcohol Market

Impact of COVID-19 on Steel Extruded Products Market

Coronavirus Outbreak and Plastic Films Market
Woodwards first book about the Trump presidency, Fear, was published in 2018 and went to No. 1 on The New York Times nonfiction bestseller list. Simon & Schuster was the publisher of two books this year that were harshly critical of Trump: The Room Where It Happened, by former national security adviser John Bolton, and Too Much and Never Enough, by Trumps niece Mary Trump.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 21:21:21|Editor: huaxia

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LUSAKA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Zambian government said on Thursday that it was keen to pursue research aimed at finding a vaccine for the treatment of the dreaded COVID-19.

The country has since embarked on engagements with other partners such as the Center for Disease Control to participate in trials for the vaccine.

"The world is moving steadily towards finding a vaccine. Zambia is not lagging behind and we are engaging with other partners to participate in trials," he told reporters during a daily COVID-19 update.

He noted that finding the vaccine was the only sustainable way of dealing with the pandemic, adding that other measures currently in place were just meant to suppress it.

He further urged researchers in the country to accelerate efforts in finding a vaccine for the pandemic which was causing global public health challenges.

Zambia, he said, was alert to any evidence that may be adduced in any part of the world for the vaccine.

Meanwhile, Zambia recorded 162 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours from 1,017 tests conducted. This brings the cumulative cases to 8,663. Enditem
Cairo:

A bedbound Egyptian woman, believed to the world's heaviest at about 500kg, will soon visit India for a weight-reduction surgery after a top surgeon offered her help, her sister said on Tuesday.

Eman Ahmed Abd El Aty, 36, is preparing herself to be flown to Mumbai in the next 10 days, her sister Shaymaa told PTI.

Eman's story had gone viral on the social media and many news outlets published about her condition.

She has barely left her bedroom in nearly 25 years, according to her family.

"There are very few facilities for a case like Eman's in Egypt. I've got many promises, but all of them were not true. There is no even one well-equipped bed in a hospital which she can lay on," Shaymaa said.

After knowing about her condition, Mumbai-based bariatric surgeon Muffazal Lakdawala reached her and offered his help. He even set up a fundraiser to fly Eman to India.

Lakdawala reached Eman's family through his Egyptian friend and doctor Diaa el-Behairy.

"I had put up several posts about Eman on social media and attached my mobile number for anyone who wanted to help. That's how Dr Diaa succeeded in reaching us," said Shaymaa. She said desperate pleas to the Egyptian presidency, armed forces, and the governor of Alexandria, where she lives, did not yield satisfactory results.

"They sent me a number of doctors," Shaymaa said adding that the doctors said they can't operate as Eman won't be able to bear the surgery.

Eman suffers from thyroid condition since childhood. She weighed about 5 kg at birth, and by 11 she had stopped going to school due to her weight, her sister said.

"As she gained weight, Eman began to crawl on her knees. But her situation has worsened in past 25 years," she said.

Eman suffers from thrombosis - the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system - and she can't even speak.

Eman is cared for by her mother and sister. Shaymaa, a fine art engineer who had to give up her job because of her sister's health condition, said the family's life has been badly hit as they had to take care of Eman "like a child".

"We have to do everything for her," said Shaymaa. "We are three sisters, only the youngest is married. I can't live a normal life as I have to devote all my time to help Eman."

Shaymaa thanks Lakdawala for helping the family. "Eman's case needs a huge amount of money," she said. "I'm very grateful to Dr Muffazal for offering to fly Eman to India on a private medical plane," she said.

The procedural roadblocks for her treatment were cleared after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's intervention.

"Dr Muffazal had urged minister Swaraj on twitter to facilitate Eman's visa procedures, and she helped us," Shaymaa said. Eman is expected to return home after a year of treatment. "I don't know when we'll return. May be after a year or so," said Shaymaa, who will travel with her to India.

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LUBBOCK, Texas Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Thursday sought to reassure parents he is doing all he can to keep students safe as most schools in the state prepare to reopen next week.

But a top adviser to Democratic presidential contender Joe Bidens campaign in Texas blasted Abbott, a Republican, for what he called a lack of planning and funding for safely reopening schools, especially with the statewide coronavirus positivity rate hitting a record 24.5% this week.

What we learned from the reopening of the Texas economy is that if you dont do it right, people are going to die," said Mike Collier, senior adviser to the Biden campaign in Texas. Parents and teachers are being forced to make life and death decisions."

Polls show Biden in a dead heat with President Donald Trump in Texas, long a Republican stronghold but where the Democratic Party made significant gains in the 2018 midterm election. How Abbott handles the pandemic and the reopening of schools could have a big impact on how voters cast ballots in November.

Abbott defended his mandate giving local school boards the right to determine if and when schools reopen, curbing the power of local health officials to intervene and order schools closed if COVID-19 outbreaks occur.

The Texas governor said schools are ready and argued that in-person classes would not be a significant spreader of the virus if schools follow basic safety precautions.

The ways that COVID-19 will most likely spread in the school setting is in gatherings after school is over," Abbott told a press conference after meeting with local authorities in Lubbock.

Abbott said a clear pattern has emerged across Texas in recent weeks, with people spreading the virus in smaller, informal gatherings with friends and family. He encouraged parents and teachers to curtail such gatherings of students and ensure they and their children wear masks.

Texas, like other states in the U.S. South, avoided severe outbreaks of coronavirus early on in the pandemic, but became hotspots in the second half of June after reopening their economies shortly after Memorial Day weekend.

Abbott urged all Texans to remain vigilant on safety precautions as Labor Day weekend approaches. Its important people dont let their guard down like they did during Memorial Day weekend," which he said was a big spreading" event in the state.

LEAVE IT TO LOCALS

While Texas moves ahead with in-person classes, a group of parents and Republican political operatives in California have gone to court to try and force Governor Gavin Newsom to reverse his order that schools in counties on the states coronavirus watch list" - which encompasses 90% of the states population - stay shuttered this fall.

What were seeking in the lawsuit is that the governor get out of the way and let local parents, local school boards and small schools make these decisions themselves," Harmeet Dhillon, Republican National Committee member from California and lawyer who brought the lawsuit, said during a virtual press conference on Thursday.

Marianne Bema, a plaintiff in the lawsuit who lives in Los Angeles with her three school-aged sons, said at the press conference that online learning this past spring was disastrous for her children, and she does not make enough money to afford daycare if her children are not in school.

Another plaintiff, Christine Ruiz of Santa Clarita, who also has three school-aged kids, said she was pleased with a hybrid model mixing in-person and online instruction that their school originally had planned to roll out.

Now that choice has been taken away from us," Ruiz 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
SAS Who Dares Wins star Ollie Ollerton has revealed his 'shock and disappointment' at being axed from the survival reality show after five years.

The military veteran, 48, admitted that after 'threatening his security' as a former member of the Special Forces, he expected 'loyalty' from the programme in return.

Ollie told the Sun he was dropped from the show in an apparent 'diversity drive' and will be replaced in the next series, which he had already carved out time for.

Having his say: SAS Who Dares Wins star Ollie Ollerton has revealed his 'shock and disappointment' at being axed from the survival reality show after five years

He said: 'Five years ago we put our heads above the parapet for the first time ever  threatening our security as former members of the Special Forces  to bring that show to fruition. I expected that loyalty to be reciprocated. It clearly wasn't.

He has been a stalwart on the show alongside DS Ant Middleton, Jason 'Foxy' Fox and Mark 'Billy' Billingham since its inception in 2015.

As a team they pushed civilians and celebrities to their mental and physical limits with a series of military tests over the course of a week.

Ollie admitted that it would have been easier to get the push for doing something wrong, rather than the circumstances he left under.

Strong feelings: The military veteran, 48, admitted that after 'threatening his security' as a former member of the Special Forces, he expected 'loyalty' from the programme in return

Gutted: He has been a stalwart on the show alongside DS Ant Middleton, Jason 'Foxy' Fox and Mark 'Billy' Billingham since its inception in 2015

A Channel 4 spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Ollie continues to be associated with the SAS: Who Dares Wins Brand as a DS for SAS: Who Dares Wins Australia.

'Ollie has made an exceptional contribution to SAS: Who Dares Wins and the expertise and experience he brought to the Directing Staff team has been much valued. We wish him great success with his future projects.'

It was previously reported that SAS Who Dares Wins sacked Ollie in a bid to make the show more diverse.

Ollie insisted this would be hard to achieve, and said: 'There's a low amount of ethnic minorities who apply to get in the military, then the number of people who get through Special Forces selection is low.

Celebrity guest: As a team they pushed civilians and celebrities to their mental and physical limits with a series of military tests over the course of a week (pictured with Jamie Laing)

'Then you've another issue, getting people who want to be on TV, because a lot of Special Forces out there will not do that show. Never. Not a chance.'

Ollie said that other instructors on the show threatened to follow him out of the door, however he claimed he persuaded them to stay on without him.

The TV personality, who is currently filming SAS: Who Dares Wins Australia, joined the Marines at 18 and toured Northern Ireland and Iraq before he joined the Special Boat Services.

Elsewhere, former Special Forces trooper Ant is facing the sack as Chief Cadet of the Royal Navy  but top brass have yet to pluck up the courage to tell him.

Support: Ollie said that other instructors on the show threatened to follow him out of the door, however he claimed he persuaded them to stay on without him

Navy chiefs have hatched a plot to remove the SAS: Who Dares Wins frontman after he called Black Lives Matter campaigners 'absolute scum' and urged the public to ignore official advice over coronavirus.

Admiralty bosses hope to persuade Mr Middleton  who has apologised for his remarks  to resign from the honorary position to avoid a public row. But if he refuses to step down, he will be formally dismissed.

And perhaps with their personal safety in mind, the defence chiefs intend to telephone Mr Middleton rather than speak face to face with the 39-year-old TV hardman.

The manoeuvring, revealed in defence policy documents seen by The Mail on Sunday, comes just nine months after Mr Middleton's appointment as Chief Cadet.

Under threat: Elsewhere, former Special Forces trooper Ant is facing the sack as Chief Cadet of the Royal Navy  but top brass have yet to pluck up the courage to tell him

In November last year, the TV star and author announced he was honoured to take up the role, explaining how he intended to inspire hundreds of cadets aged from nine to 17.

His appointment was seen as a boost to the profile of the Volunteer Cadet Corps (VCC). Since then he has joined cadets on challenging military exercises and passed on knowledge gleaned from 15 years of service in elite frontline units, including the Royal Marines and the Special Boat Service.

But privately senior officers have grown increasingly concerned by his controversial comments on social media.

Only last month, Mr Middleton provoked a backlash with a now-deleted tweet criticising Black Lives Matter. And in April, he was forced to apologise after an online rant about Government advice to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

As countries around the world ordered lockdowns, Mr Middleton insisted he was too strong to be affected by Covid-19.

He urged his fans to 'get out there' and promised to continue cuddling strangers at airports and shaking hands. Now, Navy chiefs have decided he is not the right person to lead the VCC's 650 boys and girls.

They plan to give him their ultimatum  resign or be sacked  this week. The policy document says: 'The views he has expressed are not in keeping with the values that the VCC aspire to.'

Mr Middleton's life in Civvy Street has been marked by controversy. The ex-SBS man received a 14-month jail term after he assaulted police officers outside an Essex nightclub in 2013.

Last night the Ministry of Defence said: 'We are not prepared to comment as this is a private matter between Ant Middleton and the Volunteer Cadet Corps.'

Mr Middleton did not respond to a request for comment.
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Researchers at Oregon State University have made a key advance in the green chemistry pursuit of converting the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into reusable forms of carbon via electrochemical reduction.

Published in Nature Energy, the study led by Zhenxing Feng of the OSU College of Engineering and colleagues at Southern University of Science and Technology in China and Stanford University describes a new type of electrocatalyst.

The catalyst can selectively promote a CO2 reduction reaction resulting in a desired product - carbon monoxide was the choice in this research. A catalyst is anything that speeds the rate of a chemical reaction without being consumed by the reaction.

"The reduction of carbon dioxide is beneficial for a clean environment and sustainable development," said Feng, assistant professor of chemical engineering. "In contrast to traditional CO2 reduction that uses chemical methods at high temperatures with a high demand of extra energy, electrochemical CO2 reduction reactions can be performed at room temperature using liquid solution. And the electricity required for electrochemical CO2 reduction can be obtained from renewable energy sources such as solar power, thus enabling completely green processes."

A reduction reaction means one of the atoms involved gains one or more electrons. In the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide, metal nanocatalysts have shown the potential to selectively reduce CO2 to a particular carbon product. Controlling the nanostructure is critical for understanding the reaction mechanism and for optimizing the performance of the nanocatalyst in the pursuit of specific products, such as carbon monoxide, formic acid or methane, that are important for other chemical processes and products.

"However, due to many possible reaction pathways for different products, carbon dioxide reduction reactions have historically had low selectivity and efficiency," Feng said. "The electrocatalysts need to promote the reaction with high selectivity to get one certain product, carbon monoxide in our case. Despite many efforts in this field, there had been little progress."

Feng and his research co-leaders tried a new strategy. They made nickel phthalocyanine as a molecularly engineered electrocatalyst and found it showed superior efficiency at high current densities for converting CO2 to carbon monoxide in a gas-diffusion electrode device, with stable operation for 40 hours.

"To understand the reaction mechanism of our catalyst, my group at OSU used X-ray absorption spectroscopy to monitor the catalyst's change during the reaction processes, confirming the role of the catalyst in the reaction," Feng said. "This collaborative work demonstrates a high-performance catalyst for green processes of electrochemical CO2 reduction reactions. It also sheds light on the reaction mechanism of our catalyst, which can guide the future development of energy conversion devices as we work toward a negative-carbon economy."

###

The National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Catalysis, Oregon State University, the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory for Photonic-Thermal-Electrical Energy Materials and Devices supported this research.

Maoyu Wang and Marcos Lucero of OSU were among the collaborators, who also included scientists from Yale University, Northwestern University and the Argonne National Laboratory.

Along with Feng, Yang-Gang Wang and Yongye Liang of the Southern University of Science and Technology are the study's co-corresponding authors.
New status sought for Thai soup

THAILAND: The Ministry of Culture is applying to have Thailands world-famous hot and sour prawn soup, Tom Yum Gung, registered with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) as an Intangible Cultural Heritage.

culture

By Bangkok Post

Thursday 13 August 2020, 08:49AM

Tom Yum Gung soup. Photo: Bangkok Post

Minister Itthiphol Kunplome said officials at the ministry were preparing documents and gathering information from around the country before submitting the proposal.

Mr Itthiphol pointed out the cultural similarities of each country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), with friendships endured since the founding of the regional bloc 53 years ago. He said that the government and ministry intended to create a role for Thailand in Asean by promoting its cultural uniqueness in the furtherance of international relations.

Recent Asean Day celebrations presented iconic food from each member country to highlight the variety of its regional food.

These included Nom Banh Chok from Cambodia, a rice noodle dish with curry similar to Thailands Kanom Chin, and Indonesias Lumpia Semarang, which are spring rolls akin to the kingdoms Po Piah.
New Delhi, Aug 13 (UNI) After offending its once key ally Saudi Arabia on Kashmir, Pakistan in a damage control exercise, is rushing Army Chief General Qamar Bajwa to Riyadh on August 16 to explain Islamabads position.

The Army Chief will visit Saudi Arabia "this weekend" seeking to calm diplomatic strains over Kashmir as financial support for Islamabad "hangs in balance", The Dawn said.

Although Pakistan government has not so far officially announced the date for the visit, sources said it would be on August 16.

Gen Bajwa had also met the Saudi Ambassador in Islamabad to clarify Pakistans position.

Differences between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan deepened over Islamabads hardline stance on Kashmir with Saudi Arabia ending a loan and oil supply after Pakistan threatened to split the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation(OIC).

The differences surfaced when Saudi Arabia, irked over Pakistans remarks, asked it to pay back USD one billion. Pakistan has also not received the oil on deferred payments from Saudi Arabia since May under an agreement between the two former allies for provision of USD 3.2 billion worth the fuel.

Pakistan has been pressuring Saudi Arabia to convene a meeting of Foreign Ministers of the 57-member OIC on Kashmir. However, Saudi Arabia has rejected the demand.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had asked Saudi Arabia to convene a meeting of Foreign Ministers of the block of Islamic countries after abrogation of Article 370. Mr Qureshi had threatened that if Saudi Arabia did not support Pakistan, Islamabad would call a meeting of those Islamic countries who stand with us on Kashmir. This amounted to splitting the 57 member block of Islamic countries.

'I am once again respectfully telling OIC that a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers is our expectation. If you cannot convene it, then I will be compelled to ask Prime Minister Imran Khan to call a meeting of the Islamic countries that stand with us,' Mr Qureshi had said.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan also expressed disappointment over Saudi Arabias refusal to hold a meeting on Kashmir and said Islamic countries were divided and could not come together for a meeting on Kashmir.

Pakistan Foreign Ministry later in a damage control exercise, described Mr Qureshis remarks as off the cuff and not against diplomatic norms.

However, the explanation did not cut much ice with Saudi Arabia. Mr Qureshi also tried to hold a press conference but cancelled it and instead Islamabad decided to rush the Army Chief to Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan had signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) worth USD 20 billion during Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salmans visit to Pakistan in February 2019.

According to the MOUs, the agreement of USD 3 billion cash support and USD 3.2 billion oil facility per annum had the provision of renewal for two more years.

The UAE had also announced a USD 6.2 billion package for Pakistan in December 2018, including a USD 3.2 billion oil facility.

Pakistan has already returned USD one billion Saudi loan-four months ahead of its repayment schedule. Pakistan has said it could also return the remaining USD 2 billion cash loan subject to availability of a similar facility from China.

UNI RB PS 1521
Gov. Tom Wolf outlined the findings of a task force examining disparities in health care outcomes for minority groups during the coronavirus pandemic.

The reports findings go beyond health and go beyond the coronavirus, Wolf said at a news conference in York Thursday. Wolf said the hope is that the report, which covers issues including housing and food insecurity, will lead to lasting change to improve the lives of members of minority groups.

Many of the recommendations are looking at a much broader set of disparities that exist throughout our commonwealth and our country for a long, long time, Wolf said.

Wolf and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman discussed the key findings at Thursdays press conference. Wolf noted the death rate is higher in the Black community.

The pandemic highlighted and exacerbated inequalities in the state, Wolf said. Were not playing on a level playing field, Wolf said.

The task force was created in April. The report provided recommendations focusing on six areas.

Housing: The task force called for barring evictions for those who applied for unemployment during the pandemic, so residents arent left without a home through no fault of their own.

Criminal Justice: The report urged the development of a Drivers License Amnesty Program, an area Fetterman discussed. While the legislature voted to end license suspensions for non-driving-related offenses, the move was not retroactive, Fetterman said. If more people can drive, they can get better access to health care, he said. It also means fewer people using mass transit, which can spread the virus, the task force said.

Food Insecurity: The task force recommended a higher income threshold for food assistance, so more people are eligible for help in buying groceries.

Health Disparity: The report calls for continuing the Alternative Payment Arrangement that helps residents in need to access services. The report also calls for training seniors to access telemedicine services.

Education: The report highlighted the need to standardize remote learning and improve technology to help all students. Some kids dont have access to the devices they need. Broadband access is another critical issue. Our broadband infrastructure is in dire need of reform, Fetterman said.

Economic Opportunities: The report urges directing expedited assistance to Black-and-Brown-owned businesses. This will reduce the closure of businesses due to the coronavirus.

More than 122,000 Pennsylvania residents have been infected with the coronavirus and more than 7,400 have died, according to the state Department of Health.

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JERUSALEM  Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced Thursday they are establishing full diplomatic relations in a U.S.-brokered deal that required Israel to halt its contentious plan to annex occupied West Bank land sought by the Palestinians.

The historic deal delivered a key foreign policy victory to President Donald Trump as he seeks re-election and reflected a changing Middle East in which shared concerns about archenemy Iran have largely overtaken traditional Arab support for the Palestinians.

A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the deal amounts to treason, and should be reversed.

The agreement makes the UAE the third Arab country, after Egypt and Jordan, to have full diplomatic ties with Israel. They announced it in a joint statement, saying deals between Israel and the UAE were expected in the coming weeks in such areas as tourism, direct flights and embassies.

Trump called the deal a truly historic moment.

Now that the ice has been broken I expect more Arab and Muslim countries will follow the United Arab Emirates, he told reporters in the Oval Office.

In a nationally televised news conference, Netanyahu echoed Trumps remarks.

Today we usher in a new era of peace between Israel and the Arab world, he said. There is a good chance we will soon see more Arab countries joining this expanding circle of peace.

But Netanyahu said the annexation plan was on temporary hold, appearing to contradict statements from Emirati officials who said it was off the table.

Emirati officials described the deal in pragmatic terms. Anwar Gargash, a top Emirati official, said they had dealt a death blow to an aggressive Israeli move and hoped to help reshape the region.

Is it perfect? Nothing is perfect in a very difficult region, Gargash added. But I think we used our political chips right.

Omar Ghobash, assistant minister for culture and public diplomacy, told The Associated Press: I dont think anything was written in stone. We are opening a door. We are hoping the Israelis will see the benefits to this step.

I would assume that this is political maneuvering within a very complex political society, he added.

Israel and the UAE do not share a border and have never fought a war. But the UAE, like most of the Arab world, long rejected diplomatic ties with Israel in the absence of a peace deal establishing a Palestinian state on lands captured by Israel in 1967.

That steadfast support for the Palestinians, however, has begun to weaken in recent years, in large part because of the shared enmity toward Iran and Iranian proxies in the region. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the day-to-day ruler of the UAE, also shares Israels distrust of Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and the Gaza Strips ruling Hamas militant group.

Netanyahu has long boasted about fostering closer behind-the-scenes ties with Arab countries than publicly acknowledged. The UAE has made little secret of those budding ties, allowing Israeli businessmen to enter the country on foreign passports and welcoming Israeli officials and sporting figures. Next year, Israel will take part in the UAEs delayed Expo 2020, the worlds fair being hosted by Dubai. A secret synagogue also draws practicing Jews in Dubai.

Still, the timing of the deal was unexpected, and perhaps tied to the upcoming U.S. election.

For Trump, it gave an important boost to a president trailing in opinion polls and facing heavy criticism for his handling of the coronavirus crisis. It was also a rare achievement for his Mideast team, led by adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, whose Mideast plan has made little headway since it was unveiled early this year.

Israel and the UAE are among Trumps few close international allies, and Thursdays deal may have been seen as an election gift.

U.S.-Israeli author Joel Rosenberg, who met with the crown prince in 2018 alongside fellow evangelical Christians, said the announcement could influence religious voters who may struggle to decide between Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

Thursdays agreement offers a feel that this is historic and a change for Trump to have a series of big moments in the months ahead.

In a statement, Biden praised Israel for freezing the annexation plan.

The United Arab Emirates and Israel have pointed a path toward a more peaceful, stable Middle East, he said, adding that a Biden presidency will seek to build on this progress.

Netanyahu chalked up a diplomatic victory at a time when his shaky coalition government has been plagued by infighting and faces the possibility of early elections. He also faces a corruption trial over charges stemming from a series of scandals.

But even his rivals praised the deal.

Netanyahu has seen his popularity plummet as the country grapples with a renewed coronavirus outbreak, mass street protests and skyrocketing unemployment as the result of earlier lockdown measures.

For the UAE, home to skyscraper-studded Dubai and the rolling, oil-rich sand dunes of Abu Dhabi, it further burnishes its international campaign to be seen as a beacon of tolerance in the Middle East despite being governed by autocratic rulers. It also removes the stigma of recognizing Israel and could open the door for neighboring countries to follow suit.

The Gulf state of Bahrain welcomed the deal.

All in all, Netanyahu paid a relatively minor price. Although the hoped-for annexation plan is on hold, a half-century status quo remains in place in which Israel maintains its occupation of the West Bank and continues to expand its scores of settlements while Palestinians live in small autonomous enclaves. Those settlements are now home to some 500,000 Israelis.

The Palestinians claim all of the West Bank, captured in the 1967 Mideast war, as the heartland of a future state. The Trump Mideast plan envisions granting Israel permanent control over 30% of that territory, while offering the Palestinians limited autonomy in the remainder. After embracing the plan, Netanyahu backed away from moving forward with annexation last month in the face of fierce international opposition and misgivings by White House officials.

The Palestinians have rejected Trumps Mideast plan out of hand.

Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, convened a meeting of his top leadership Thursday night, and afterward his spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeneh, said the agreement amounted to treason. He added that the UAE must reverse the decision and urged other Arab countries not to follow suit at the expense of Palestinian rights.

The official Palestinian news agency WAFA said the Palestinian ambassador to the UAE was being recalled.

In Gaza, Hamas called the deal a stabbing in the back of our people.

Moving to head off the Palestinian criticism, UAE officials said the deal had prevented the annexation and kept hopes alive for Palestinian statehood.

The UAE is using its gravitas and promise of a relationship to unscrew a time bomb that is threatening a two-state solution, Gargash said.

Israeli hard-liners accused Netanyahu of missing an opportunity to annex parts of the biblical land of Israel. Naftali Bennett, a pro-settler lawmaker, welcomed the agreement but said it was tragic that Netanyahu did not seize the moment.

Netanyahu insisted there was no change to his annexation plans. He said Israel would wait temporarily at the request of Trump.

Still, Netanyahu may be hedging his bets ahead of a possible change in the White House. Biden has made clear that he would oppose any annexation.

Yoel Guzansky, a senior researcher at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies, said the deal would solidify Netanyahus legacy among Israels greatest leaders.

Theres Rabin with Jordan, Begin with Egypt, he said, referring to the prime ministers who reached Israels other peace deals. Now theres Benjamin Netanyahu. Hes going to be in the history books.

___

Lee reported from Bled, Slovenia, and Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Tia Goldenberg in Jerusalem, Elana Schor and Aamer Madhani in Washington, and Aya Batrawy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed.
Darius Sessoms of North Carolina was arrested and charged with the murder of Cannon Hinnant, a 5-year-old boy. (Wilson Police Department)

Man Charged With First-Degree Murder in Killing of 5-Year-Old Boy on Bicycle

Funeral, vigil planned

A 25-year-old North Carolina man was charged with first-degree murder on Wednesday for the killing of 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant in front of his home in Wilson.

Cannon was found suffering from a gunshot wound on Archers Road on Sunday night and lifesaving efforts failed.

Police officers identified Darius Sessoms as the suspect and issued an arrest warrant.

Sessoms was arrested on Monday after a joint operation involving the Wilson Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service, and other law enforcement agencies. He was found inside a house in Goldsboro.

Sessoms was charged with first-degree murder on Wednesday, a day before Cannons funeral, the police department announced. The suspect is being held without bond.

According to witnesses, Sessoms walked up to Cannon while the boy was riding his bicycle and shot him.

I just dont understand why he did it. How can you walk up to a little boy, point blank, and put a gun to his head and just shoot him? How could anyone do that? Charlene Walburn, a neighbor, told ABC 11.

For a second, I thought, That couldnt happen. People dont run across the street and kill kids, Doris Lybrand, another neighbor, told WRAL.

Sessoms lives next door to Austin Hinnant, Cannons father.

Cannon Hinnant in an undated photograph. (#JusticeForCannon/GoFundMe)

Cannons two sisters, aged 7 and 8, reportedly saw the shooting.

Christina Prezioso identified herself as a cousin of Austin Hinnant.

In a GoFundMe fundraiser launched for the family, Prezioso called the shooting a senseless act.

One minute he is enjoying his life, the next it all ends because he rode into his neighbors yard, she wrote.

The cousin described Sessoms as a coward and said she hoped justice would be done.

It wasnt clear whether Sessoms had an attorney. During a court hearing Tuesday, he told the court he planned on hiring his own lawyer and rejected efforts to appoint one, WRAL reported.

A funeral is being held on Sunday at the Shingleton Funeral Home. Rev. Darrell High will hold the funeral.

In an obituary, family members said Cannon leaves behind his parents, three grandparents, several great-grandparents, sisters, and brothers.

People writing on the website said they hope for justice.

May God hold this family in his loving hands as I know he is sweet Cannon. And comfort their broken hearts as only he can. And bring justice to the evil demon that did this, one wrote.

The sadness I feel for this little man and his rights to life being taken away are just awful and disturbing. For the life of me why would anyone want to do this to an innocent little boy just trying to have some fun outdoors with his sibling. There are some sick people in this world that are so evil they should not be allowed to even exist, another said.

A candlelight vigil outside the Wilson courthouse is planned for Friday night.
If they dont go to the places and carry out inspections, we will be in all sorts of a mess," said Irish Congress of Trade Unions leader Patricia King. Photo: Damien Eagers

Workforce representation does not exist in meat plants, and when a worker contracts Covid-19 the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) is not notified, the Dail coronavirus committee has heard.

All the indicators to me are that they (the HSA) dont want to be notified, claimed Congress of Trade Unions leader Patricia King. They dont want this task. I am blue in the face writing out this.

If they dont go to the places and carry out inspections, we will be in all sorts of a mess.

Read More

Greg Ennis of Siptu declared: I believe we need Covid compliance inspectors. If we have to beef it up (the HSA), then beef it up  no pun intended.

The trade unions warn that Covid could prevail for possibly years to come, but meat would always remain an essential foodstuff for the population.

Therefore there was little choice but to shine a light like never before on this industry and address (it) once and for all, Mr Ennis said.

The meat industry had become the perfect storm for the transmission and predicted resurgence of Covid-19 in Ireland.

Nora Loba of the Independent Workers Union said the pace of output in plants had never slowed down, despite outbreaks.

When some workers got ill, others had to do more work, she said.

Worker representatives, where they existed, had never been consulted about any protocols. The key problem was that workers were in substandard employment, on minimum wage with no sick pay, and had overcrowded living conditions.

The Covid crisis in meat plants was the inevitable consequence of the long-term disregard of staff. On minimum wage with no overtime, they had to work extremely long hours  with no time to go to the doctor or to learn English to communicate any problems.

James Lawless of Kildare North, a Fianna Fail TD and former branch secretary of the trade union Unit, said the three locked-down counties had been psychologically damaged.

Three counties are paying the price for three of four plants, he said. Restricted residents were having to cancel their own staycations.

Siptu said the early experiences of meat processing plants and abattoirs in the US, Canada and across the European Union should have given notice of what was on the way for Ireland

.

Expand Close Siptu's Greg Ennis said there is a need for Covid compliance inspectors.. Photo: Colin O'Riordan / Facebook

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Whatsapp Siptu's Greg Ennis said there is a need for Covid compliance inspectors.. Photo: Colin O'Riordan

Siptu publicly called for mandatory temperature testing to be put in place for workers within the meat industry, Mr Ennis said, and the union had complained in April to the HSA, while requesting inspections at a particular facility.

In May the union wrote to Meat Industry Ireland seeking a meeting, but was refused. It repeated its calls for speedy blanket testing of workers.

It is now beyond doubt that the meat processing industry contains unrivalled vectors for the transmission of Covid-19, which had previously caused 1,115 meat plant workers to be infected in 20 clusters, as of early July, Mr Ennis said.

The risk factors include close-proximity working, bottlenecks in canteens and toilets, and noise pollution causing workers to shout to communicate - creating droplets, with these circulated through the industrial air-cooling systems.

Workers were also forced by low wages to carpool, share accommodation and in many cases share rooms.

Nine in 10 do not get sick pay, forcing vulnerable workers to go to work - even if they are feeling unwell with possible Covid symptoms - he added.

Covid infection is not a notifiable disease, nor is it deemed a workplace injury, with Ms King claiming that the HSA was obstructive on the issue. She also said she had her own views on whether high levels of meat plant workers were asymptomatic, as claimed by meat plants.

There are now 1,450 meat plant workers with confirmed Covid cases in Ireland, or 10 per cent of the workforce. These are clusters of more than 100 cases in five separate meat plants, following the recent resurgence in the Midlands.

Read More

Sinn Fein TD Louise OReilly said a woman she had met while out canvassing had thrown her eyes up to heaven and asked if there was anything to be said for another Beef Tribunal.

Siptu said its research showed that Irish meat plant staff work an average 4.7 weeks a year more than their EU counterparts and rank bottom of the list on actual hourly wages received.

Mr Ennis said one meat plant worker had already died.

He said: I am reliably advised that upwards of 40 migrant workers are sharing rooms in a certain town in Offaly. If we are truly serious about defeating Covid in the meat industry, this hot bedding of workers has to stop.

He added that one worker had gone back to Eastern Europe to visit family and on return had tried to self-isolate, as required. He was told, If you self-isolate, there wont be a job for you in two weeks.

He added: When one looks at the reimposed lockdown in Laois, Kildare and Offaly, surely it is now costing that Midlands economy more to deal with this crisis than it would to ensure that employers and State agencies be equipped to fulfil their obligations.

Ms King said the two leading operators in Ireland had a turnover of 2.3 billion and 2.2 billion last year.

You are talking about big money being made. The model is to work people as fast as they can, for as little as they can, for as long as they can.

Independent TD Matt Shanahan said there were high capital costs in the industry, but farmers were being paid less than the cost of production and the price of meat cuts now was lower than it was 30 years ago.

Ms Loba said if meat plant workers were paid the average industrial wage, it would increase the cost of a finished chicken by only eight cent for the consumer.

Carol Nolan, a Laois-Offaly Independent, said Laois, Kildare and Offaly have been unfairly punished because of the meat factories.

We are a region that is already on its knees, with Bord na Mona workers losing their jobs and more to go before Christmas.

She said businesses in the three counties were now threatened for their survival as a result of the restrictions imposed in the wake of the meat plant outbreaks.

A blind eye has been turned for far too long. It just has to stop, she said.

Siptu representative Greg Ennis agreed, telling the committee: This in a catastrophe. The three counties are paying the price for us taking our eyes off the ball.
Firefighters at the house that had a car crashed into it and set alight

A house seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) from gang boss Liam Byrne, which was about to be put on sale, has been gutted in an arson attack.

Associates of Byrne (39) are the chief suspects for the arson attack that happened shortly after midnight yesterday at Grangeview Road, Clondalkin.

It is understood a petrol bomb was used in the attack on the house.

Gardai said a car was reversed into the property and then set alight causing huge damage to the house, which was bought by the criminal in 2006 for 230,000.

Its value before the arson attack is understood to have been around 320,000.

Destroyed

"This was a targeted attack and it has destroyed the property just as it was ready to go on the market," a source told the Herald last night.

It is understood the arson attack terrified innocent people living with children in the estate and the case is being investigated by Clondalkin gardai, who have made no arrests so far.

"It does not take much of a guess to establish who the chief suspects for this are. Liam Byrne is not in the country, but his cronies are suspected of doing this out of complete spite and malice," a source said.

Gardai carried out a full technical examination at the scene yesterday and are studying CCTV in a bid to identify the culprits.

In February 2019 a receiver was appointed over the Clondalkin property and a Crumlin house belonging to major associates of the Kinahan cartel.

The CAB applied for the homes, in Grangeview Road, Clondalkin, and Kildare Road, Crumlin, which was once owned by Sean McGovern, to be vacated within three weeks to allow for a receiver to be appointed.

At the time, a cousin of Simoan McEnroe, the partner of Liam Byrne, was residing at the Clondalkin premises.

The court heard he had 17 previous convictions, including two under Section 15 of the Misuse of Drugs Act.

The property at Grangeview Road, Clondalkin, was previously vandalised last year before it came into the possession of the CAB.

In March of last year the CAB asked the High Court to order Maria Byrne, a sister of Liam Byrne, to promise a house she was due to hand over to the Bureau would be intact.

It followed separate incidents of vandalism to two houses, including the Clondalkin property that belonged to Byrne and his associate Sean McGovern, hours before they were also due to be handed over.

When a CAB officer attended the Clondalkin house he found substantial damage, counsel said. Local gardai had received a call that day that two males were observed kicking in the door.

Smashed

Extensive damage was done, including smashed windows, fixtures and fittings removed or smashed, along with flooding caused by the removal of water pipes and sanitary ware, the High Court heard.

In the Crumlin property which was owned by McGovern, who is now based in Dubai, officers found all fixtures and fittings had been removed.
BERLIN, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Carnival Corp's AIDA cruise operator is among a list of companies seeking state aid from the German government, the Business Insider website reported on Thursday.

AIDA is seeking about half a billion euros ($591 million) in state aid, Business Insider said, citing a government list of companies seeking support, which also includes shipbuilder MV Werften and steel producer Georgsmarienhuette.

The finance ministry declined to comment and the companies named were not immediately available to comment.

Germany is examining requests from at least 14 companies for state aid that could see the government take on more stakes in privately held firms due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an economy ministry document seen by Reuters showed on Tuesday.

The cruise industry has been among the worst hit by the coronavirus, with ships in Japan, Australia and California making headlines for cases of the illness spread onboard.

AIDA said on Monday it was planning to resume cruise operations from German ports at the beginning of September.

The German government has already bailed out national airline Lufthansa and travel company TUI. ($1 = 0.8455 euros)

(Reporting by Christian Kraemer and Jan Schwartz, writing by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
New Delhi: Indian Air Force (IAF) chief RKS Bhadauria on Thursday (August 13) visited frontline airbase in Western Air Command to review the operational preparedness amid tension along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China in Eastern Ladakh.

"The IAF chief flew a MiG-21 Bison fighter aircraft during the visit where he interacted with the aircrew and reviewed the operational preparedness," IAF officials told ANI.

The flying by the IAF Chief in a MiG-21 indicates the high operational readiness of the force amid the tension with China over territorial issues, officials added.

In a tweet, IAF said, "The #CAS ACM RKS Bhadauria is on a visit to a frontline airbase in Western Air Command (WAC). During the day-long visit, the CAS will review operational preparedness of the base and interact with the #airwarriors serving on the frontlines."

The #CAS ACM RKS Bhadauria is on a visit to a frontline air base in Western Air Command (WAC). During the day long visit, the CAS will review operational preparedness of the base and interact with the #airwarriors serving on the frontlines.#IndianAirForce pic.twitter.com/mv65gl4S99  Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) August 13, 2020

In another tweet, it added, "The #CAS will meet with aircrew and combat crew from the Squadrons and units stationed at the base. Earlier in the day, the CAS flew the Mig-21 Bison with the resident fighter squadron."

The #CAS will meet with aircrew and combat crew from the Squadrons and units stationed at the base. Earlier in the day, the CAS flew the Mig-21 Bison with the resident fighter squadron.#LeadingFromFront#IndianAirForce pic.twitter.com/YGmYZQLMz2  Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) August 13, 2020

The IAF chief also met the aircrew, combat crew from the squadrons and units stationed at the frontline base.

Bhadauria, a test pilot, has flown the under-development HTT-40 basic trainer aircraft and the LCA Tejas after taking over to show his support for indigenous defence hardware and has backed several important DRDO projects also.

Last month, Bhadauria went to Ambala to receive the batch of the first five Rafale combat aircraft arriving from France.
She recently sparked speculation she is faking a trip to Ibiza and has instead secretly joined her ex boyfriend Sam Gowland in Dubai.

And Chloe Ferry ensured all eyes were on her as she showcased her famous curves in a sultry Instagram clip on Thursday.

The Geordie Shore star, 24, displayed her washboard abs as she posed in a tiny black Louis Vuitton bikini.

Wow: Chloe Ferry, 24, showcased her famous curves in a sultry Instagram clip on Thursday amid claims she is faking her Ibiza trip to join ex Sam Gowland in Dubai

Letting her blonde locks fall loose down her shoulders, Chloe showed off her modelling chops as she posed in a bathroom mirror.

The reality star flaunted her assets as she also donned a pair of sheer black tights as she blew a kiss at the camera.

Also wearing a small gold necklace, Chloe completed her look with a pair of sunglasses.

It comes after Chloe put on a busty display in a designer orange swimsuit in an Instagram snap shared earlier on Thursday.

Eye-popping: The Geordie Shore star displayed her washboard abs as she posed in a tiny black Louis Vuitton bikini

Stunner: The reality star flaunted her assets as she also donned a pair of sheer black tights as she blew a kiss at the camera

Radiant: The reality star flaunted her assets as she also donned a pair of sheer black tights as she blew a kiss at the camera

The social media star also flaunted her eye-popping assets in another sizzling picture, which showcased her pert derriere in a thong bikini.

Chloe posed up a storm as she modelled the slinky swimwear, slipping into a bright orange one-piece with a Burberry trim for her latest Instagram offering.

The blonde beauty tipped her stylish sunglasses forward as she posed in the pool and kept her locks out of the water.

She also put on a sultry display while looking over one shoulder to best highlight her incredible curves in an animal print thong bikini.

Chloe wore her tresses in a messy plait for the sun-soaked snap and made sure all eyes were on her pert derriere.

Poser: Chloe put on a very busty display as she relaxed in a pool on Thursday in an orange swimsuit

Work it: The Geordie Shore star made sure all eyes were on her pert derriere as she posed up a storm in another sizzling swimwear snap from the getaway

It comes after Chloe ignored speculation she is faking a trip to Ibiza and has instead secretly joined her ex boyfriend Sam Gowland, 25, in Dubai.

The star is reportedly back together with her co-star ex Sam - despite being in the throes of filming Celebs Go Dating.

A source has told The Sun the former-couple are 'reconnecting'; but fans have also connected the dots.

The pair are both on holiday currently, with Sam in Dubai, and Chloe claiming to be in Ibiza.

Sun kissed: The blonde beauty donned stylish sunglasses and a gold cross necklace as she reclined in the pool

Wow! Chloe showed off the results of her recent two stone weight loss as she displayed her curves in an animal print bikini

Savvy social media fans of the reality stars have spotted very similar backdrops in each of their Instagram posts, deducing they're on a secret getaway together.

Clues suggesting they're both in Dubai, and that Chloe is in fact not in Ibiza, include matching door-frames and swimming pools in the backdrop of their separate snaps.

In addition, Chloe made the mistake of filming herself talking about a delivery service only available in Dubai.

Peachy: She exuded confidence as she worked all of her angles for the camera

Throwback: Despite recently losing 2 stone, Chloe shared a short video while on her holiday saying she couldn't 'wait to be back like this' (pictured)

Adding to this, a source said: 'Chloe's taking it really slowly and she's keen to keep it quiet as her friends will all be furious after all the drama. It's a chance for them to reconnect.'

MailOnline has approached reps for Chloe and Celebs Go Dating for comment.

It's thought Chloe could have initially flown to Ibiza, where she was supposedly shooting images for her swimwear line.

Rumbled! Savvy social media fans of the reality stars have spotted very similar backdrops in each of their Instagram posts, deducing that they're on a secret getaway together

Plot holes: Chloe made the mistake of filming herself talking about a delivery service only available in Dubai

On Tuesday morning, she posted,'Be back never!' and tagged herself at Ibiza locations. But fans have tried to call her out as they noticed holes in her story.

One follower commented on her latest Instagram post: 'Actually rooting for you and Sam but don't get why you lie to your followers? You're in the same pool as Sam and it's in your stories, same furniture in the background.

'Just no need to lie to us... amazing if you're back with Sam but no need to lie to us and tag somewhere you're clearly not!' [sic]

Snap! She also posed in front of a black door with a silver handle. The same door design cropped up in one of Sam's videos

Another added: 'She's not in Ibiza... why is she saying that? She just could had said nothing, then she have had her private life!' [sic]

The present season of Celebs Go Dating signed Chloe up amid what appeared to be the complete end to her and Sam's romance.

The couple - who have been on/off for years and had a turbulent relationship since first getting together in 2017 - were believed to split for good in February, prompting her to sign up for the virtual version of the celebrity dating show.
Chicago's Ronald McDonald House had its doors smashed during rioting and looting that took place on Monday night while children were inside the home.

The facility provides a shelter and resources to families while a child receives treatment at local hospitals.

The Chicago location is close to Lurie Children's Hospital.

'We were very concerned there was a lot of activity right in front of the house, people making choices that could put them at risk and put our families at risk so the staff was frightened,' said Lisa Mitchell, of Ronald McDonald House Charities to ABC11.

The Ronald McDonald House in Chicago was vandalized during looting early Monday morning

The doors to the building were completely smashed but nothing inside was damaged

The charity provides a home for sick children and their families while their child receives medical treatment at nearby Lurie Childrens Hospital. Pictured, how the building is normally

More than 30 families together with their sick children were inside along with the staff as they watched completely helplessly as everything unfolded outside.

'They are already in a really, really difficult spot, and having this kind of additional stress and worry about getting to and from the hospital even though we are 5 blocks away because of safety concerns is just doubling the strain,' Mitchell said.

Apart from the front doors, which had to be boarded up, no damage was caused to the inside of the house and no one was injured as residents inside the facility were placed on lockdown.

Chicago police are now looking to track down those responsible as the cleanup got underway on Tuesday.

Families and their sick children were on lockdown and forced to remain inside

More than 30 families and kids were sleeping inside when looters who had taken over downtown, ransacked stores and vandalized properties

Bridges and expressways in downtown Chicago reopened on Tuesday after business owners and emergency workers headed back to the area after a night of violence and looting

Workers clean up broken glass at an Orvis store after violence broke out on Monday night

Workers at Rossi's clean up after a night of unrest & looting in downtown Chicago

On Monday night, looters were caught on camera shoving shopping bags full of stolen goods and equipment into their cars.

Some ATM machines were also damaged and broken into, along with cash registers that were stolen. At least one bank had also been broken into.

Videos of the vandalism showed huge crowds of people smashing their way into businesses and streaming out of the broken windows and doors with clothes and other merchandise. They loaded up vehicles, some moving slowly and deliberately, apparently not worried about being caught by police or being recorded by scores of cellphone cameras.

Vehicles drove away slowly, some leaving behind boxes of rocks that they had apparently brought to shatter the windows.

Workers clean up the inside of the Saint Laurent store after it was looted on August 10

Hundreds overran the city's upscale Magnificent Mile shopping district and surrounding areas with vandalism and violence

Bridges and expressways in downtown Chicago reopened on Tuesday after business owners and emergency workers headed back to the area after a night of violence and looting.

More than 100 people were arrested after vandals damaged businesses in the area which led to the entire neighborhood being placed on lockdown, even for those who live in the area.

Most of the trouble happened along the upscale Magnificent Mile section of the city, which is one of the most popular areas that tourists like to visit.

Stores miles from downtown were also ransacked, their parking lots littered with glass and boxes that once contained television sets and other electronics.

The civil unrest comes at the worst possible time as businesses struggle to get back on their feet after months of lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic followed by more looting earlier this summer during anti-racism and police brutality protests.

Staff board up Louis Vuitton on Magnificent Mile in Chicago on Monday afternoon
Amravati : , Aug 13 (IANS) The condition of Amravati MP, Navneet Kaur-Rana - who tested Covid-19 positive last week - has worsened and she is being rushed to Mumbai, her husband and Independent legislator Ravi Rana said on Thursday.

After initial treatment in Amravati, she was taken to a private hospital in Nagpur where she developed serious breathing problems, Rana - who is also being treated for Covid-19, said.

Accordingly, it was decided to shift her for treatment to Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital and the couple left for Mumbai by road on Thursday evening.

Last week, Navneet had announced that the couple, as well as a dozen family members, including their children, and aides had tested positive.

"Both my daughter and son, and other family (members) have become corona infected, it was my first duty to take care of them as a mother. I am also infected with corona while taking care of children and other family members," she said in a tweet.

She had called upon all those who come in contact with her to get their Covid tests done.

All the family members are currently under isolation and treatment, a medical official said.

While Rana is an independent legislator from Badnera assembly segment, his wife is the independent MP from Amravati Lok Sabha (SC) constituency - both within the Amravati district of eastern Maharashtra.
A British holidaymaker has tested positive for coronavirus while staying at a luxury TUI hotel in Greece.

The tourist, whose identity has not been revealed, was tested after landing in Corfu on August 3 as part of the country's randomised screening measures.

But despite Foreign Office advice saying coronavirus results are expected within 24 hours, the result only came back four days later.

It means the Briton - who allegedly showed no symptoms - could have unwittingly passed the virus onto other tourists and staff staying at the resort.

Travel provider TUI has since contacted the 140 guests enjoying their summer break at the hotel, as well as all guests expected in the near future

When the positive result was given on August 7 the holidaymaker and their entire group were made to isolate in their room at the five-star Blue Atlantica Grand Mediterraneo Resort.

They were then moved from the hotel into a special isolation hotel where they must spend the next 14 days, The Mirror reported.

Travel provider TUI has since contacted the 140 guests enjoying their summer break at the hotel, as well as all guests expected in the near future.

Those who flew on the same plane as the infected holidaymaker have also been contacted, and Greek authorities could order them to self-isolate for 14 days.

The website for the Atlantica Grand Mediterraneo Resort boasts of 'a truly luxurious retreat' that offers 'panoramic views over the Ionian Sea'.

The adult-only hotel has 270 rooms, and a seven night all-inclusive stay this month would cost around 2,374 for two people.

TUI confirmed the positive coronavirus result but said that no other guests or employees have reported any signs of illness.

A spokesperson told The Mirror: 'We are in regular contact with the customer who is showing no symptoms and continues to stay in a designated quarantine hotel.

'As soon as our team in Corfu became aware of this case, the customer remained isolated in their room until they were able to be moved to the specialist isolation unit.'

'The hotel has carried out extensive cleaning procedures in line with government advice and guests can continue to enjoy their holidays while maintaining the hygiene precautions we have in place.'

When the positive result was given on August 7 the holidaymaker and their entire group were made to isolate in their room at the five-star Blue Atlantica Grand Mediterraneo Resort

TUI confirmed the positive coronavirus result but said that no other guests or employees have reported any signs of illness

Greece has so far confirmed 5,623 cases of coronavirus, of which there have been 212 deaths.

Although trips to Greece are permitted, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office is advising Britons against 'all but essential international travel'.

Current travel corridor rules mean those returning from Greece do not have to self-isolate upon arriving back in the country - unlike those coming home from Spain.

In recent weeks the UK government has come under fire for changing travel advice which required people who return from Spain to quarantine for two weeks, devastating tourists looking forward to their summer holiday.

In recent days fears have escalated that the same could happen to those holidaying in France, but holidaymakers may now be spared quarantine despite a surge in coronavirus cases.

A review due to be completed today is expected to keep France on the list of countries that are exempted from the UK's 14-day isolation rules.

TUI said 'The hotel has carried out extensive cleaning procedures in line with government advice and guests can continue to enjoy their holidays while maintaining the hygiene precautions we have in place'

The adult-only hotel has 270 rooms, and a seven night all-inclusive stay this month would cost around 2,374 for two people

Hundreds of thousands of Britons are either on holiday in France or planning to go there, but yesterday it recorded more than 2,500 cases - a record since lockdown was eased.

And analysis has found that fourteen other countries also on the list have higher or similar coronavirus figures.

The UK updated its travel 'green list' on Tuesday, but did not take Portugal off the quarantine list.

In a blow to the Portuguese economy that benefits greatly from tourism from the UK, the UK Government was warned that cases in Portugal had not fallen fast enough to be able to safely add the country to the 'green list'.

Portugal registered 120 new cases yesterday, down from 290 last Friday, but in the last 14 days, the cumulative number of cases per 100,000 rose to 24.6, its first increase in weeks, according to The Daily Telegraph.
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without that persons consent.

Ghanaian female rapper, Freda Rhymz has shared her rape experience to the public and further advised ladies to be vigilant.

Speaking with Sammy flex on the showbiz agenda show, Freda Rhymz replied in the affirmative when asked if she has been raped before.

She said,  I was with a guy who was sponsoring me but in my head we were not dating but the guy thought we were, I visited him one day and he started making advances of which I refused and he begged to just insert the tip of his penis and i still refused.

Freda Rhymz advised ladies to be clear with the relationship they have with men to avoid leading them on.

Watch full video below

---odarteyghnews.com
Ram temple in Ayodhya to be ready by 2025, open for 'darshan' to devotees by 2023 end

Foundation works for Ram Mandir to be ready by October, 'garbhagriha' by Dec 2023: VHP

Ram temple trust head tests positive for COVID-19

India

oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P

New Delhi, Aug 13: In a shocking incident, Ram Janmbhoomi Trust chairperson Mahant Nritya Gopaldas has tested positive for coronavirus disease.

Ram Temple trust head tests Covid positive, shared stage with PM Modi in Ayodhya | Oneindia News

The Uttar Pradesh government, in a statement said that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken details of Mahant Gopaldas' health status. CM Adityanath has also spoken to the district magistrate of Mathura and to Dr Trehan of Medanta and requested for immediate medical attention for Mahantji at the hospital.

Adityanath has directed the district magistrate to provide all possible support for providing best possible medical attention.

Covid-19: Zydus launches India's cheapest version of Remdesivir at Rs 2,800

Mahant Nritya Gopaldas was present at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on August 5.

PM Modi laid the first brick for a Ram Temple at Ayodhya at the mega ceremony last Wednesday. He returned to the holy city after 29 years to participate in the "Bhoomi Pujan" or the groundbreaking ceremony for the temple, which meets a core promise of the ruling BJP.

The BJP has for years pushed for a Ram temple at the site where the 16th century Babri mosque once stood before it was razed in 1992 by activists who believed it was built on the ruins of a temple marking the birthplace of Lord Ram. The 2.77 acre site was claimed by both Hindus and Muslim until the Supreme Court last year handed it over for a Ram temple.

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Story first published: Thursday, August 13, 2020, 12:42 [IST]
A meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) in Minsk is scheduled for August 18.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said this to reporters during his visit to the Boryspil Multidisciplinary Intensive Care Hospital on Thursday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

As for the meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group, I am sure that the process will not stop [because of the recent developments in Belarus]. The meeting is scheduled for August 18. The meeting will be in a new format, chaired by Leonid Kravchuk," Zelensky said.

According to him, among the main issues to be discussed at the meeting are the continuation of the ceasefire in Donbas and the exchange of detainees.

As Ukrinform reported, on July 30, President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed by decree the second president of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma, from the position of head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group and appointed the first president of Ukraine, Leonid Kravchuk, to this post.

On July 6, President Zelensky confirmed that 1st Prime Minister of Ukraine (1990-1992) Vitold Fokin, Vice Prime Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, and First Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Ruslan Demchenko will work in the Trilateral Contact Group.

ish
L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, left, at King Taco with Joe Biden during the Democratic presidential primary campaign, later helped vet Biden's potential running mates. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The vetting Kamala Harris endured to earn her spot on Joe Biden's presidential ticket was like none other in recent history.

It was at once a public audition and highly secretive. It took sharp turns as the nation struggled with a pandemic and erupted in protest following the killing of George Floyd. In the era of Trump, the process even included considering what derogatory nickname the president might give her.

Biden's vetting committee asked Harris for her guess, but sources familiar with the process wouldn't say how close she got to Phony Kamala  the moniker President Trump quickly bestowed.

Harris emerged from a long list of candidates winnowed over dozens of hours of meetings by a small committee of Biden's trusted allies, including Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, former Connecticut Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and former Biden counsel Cynthia C. Hogan.

With the pandemic making travel and in-person meetings unsafe, the group resorted to convening over video links, which stoked concerns about hacks and leaks. According to a senior campaign official, the group resolved not to write anything down. It was all done orally, the official said.

As the legal team sifted through candidates' records for potential liabilities, the vetting team focused on getting to know the essence of who they are," the official said. Biden's vetters "understood what kind of people he works well with. They were looking to find out how the people on this list learn, how they think.

After the protests broke out nationwide, the mix of candidates changed: Black women gained prominence. Earlier contenders who'd made the cut were called back to discuss racial justice.

Harris was always a front-runner. She was ready on Day One, tested in the rigors of a national campaign, a skilled orator. The major hurdle was repairing her relationship with Biden after a bruising primary campaign in which she demanded on the debate stage that he apologize for working years earlier as a senator to limit school integration.

Story continues

They had the right heart-to-hearts, the senior official said. They came back to a place they always had, of affinity for one another, even a love.

Meanwhile, media speculation intensified, some of it wildly off-base. Under the radar, two relatively obscure governors made it farther than was known.

Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico drew intense focus after a union leader close to Biden made a big pitch for her. During one online discussion, a committee member held up a Venn diagram showing that she checked more boxes than any of the other candidates. Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo's appeal was a background that matched Biden's  raised in a working-class Catholic household, saw her father lose his job, and became a political power in a tiny Eastern state.

Los Angeles Rep. Karen Bass entered the fray amid the Floyd protests. That put Garcetti in the awkward spot of judging two California politicians with whom he has worked closely. Some Harris allies complained that he and Dodd promoted Bass over Harris, but those involved disputed that and said the group didn't rank candidates.

He didnt put his thumb on the scale for anyone, said a Garcetti confidant.

The lobbying was intense, particularly for Harris. Among her advocates were prominent Californians such as Oakland Rep. Barbara Lee and Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalaki. Perhaps most effective was Ben Crump, the civil rights attorney who represented the Floyd family and others opposing police violence. An adulatory op-ed Crump wrote helped diffuse the campaigns concern about Harris prosecutorial past, a source familiar with the vetting said.

Biden, having been through this process himself 12 years ago, was concerned about the runners-up. He was very clear there is not going to be one winner and a group of losers, the campaign official said. Biden personally called each one before his decision became known; some may yet find a prominent place in a Biden administration, should he be elected.

Not everyone escaped unscathed. Bass, a relatively low-profile, uncontroversial lawmaker, found herself under intense media scrutiny after video surfaced of a speech in which she praised Scientologists. Her past affinity for Cuba and its late dictator, Fidel Castro, drew condemnation in Florida, a crucial swing state.

By late July, Harris and Biden were meeting in person. She was one of four who made the trip, dodging media stakeouts and reporters tracking flights in and out of Delaware's few airports. Others had one-on-one meetings over Zoom with Biden.

His public assurances that there were four Black women in contention, and that he would decide by Aug. 1, confused some of the people involved. The vetters were still sorting through an immense amount of material, including from party activists and interest groups.

Sometimes people said, You better choose this person or else, the official said. Yet Biden chose the same person he would have chosen whether or not we were in this pandemic, or whether or not we were in the midst of this movement for racial justice.

Times staff writers Melanie Mason and Janet Hook contributed to this report.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Contrary to common sense, wealth has played a smaller role in determining a country's ability to manage the pandemic. Some developing or newly industrialized countries in Asia and Africa are experiencing only one percent or less of the amount of COVID-19 deaths per million population seen in the United States despite having much smaller per capita incomes.

Leaders in contact tracing, rapid testing, and isolation protocols have emerged from countries with economies that are much smaller than that of the U.S. Ravi Ramamurti, university distinguished professor of international business, says the U.S. should take note of them.

This phenomenonwealthy countries looking toward less affluent countries for solutionsis called reverse innovation.

"In the last few centuries, we've had most innovations travel from developed to developing parts of the world," says Ramamurti, who is also director of the Center for Emerging Markets at Northeastern. "Now we're seeing more innovation diffusing in the opposite direction."

With the help of fifth-year behavioral neuroscience student Jorja Kahn and Northeastern graduates Hugh Shirley and Jamie McGloin, Ramamurti recently launched a website that outlines effective strategies developed around the world that countries could emulate in the fight against COVID-19.

The website is "a place to organize, present and consolidate information," says Kahn.

"We're trying to reach out to public health organizations and local leaders and add communication links so we can pool ideas from the sources themselves," she says.

The website offers the best practices in overall strategy, prevention, testing, contact tracing, isolation and quarantining, treatment and vaccines, and reopening.

Rapid, accurate testing, a strategy public health officials say is necessary to overcome COVID-19, was mastered early on in the pandemic by South Korea where the per capita income is only slightly more than half of the per capita income in the U.S.

As of Tuesday, South Korea had recorded 305 COVID-19 deaths.

The country is credited with pioneering two innovations that have been widely adopted worldwide: drive-in testing and testing booths.

"Drive-in testing is safer because it's outside, people don't have to get out of their cars, and it reduces the amount of people in hospitals," Ramamurti says. "It's a good way to test a lot of people quickly and cheaply."

Drive-in testing systems were first put in place in South Korea during the outbreak of MERS, a different respiratory coronavirus, in 2015, says Ramamurti.

Part of the reason some developing countries have handled COVID-19 more successfully is because "they've been dealing with epidemics off and on for the last couple years," says Ramamurti.

To manage testing during COVID-19, South Korea invented a new type of portable facility for dense areas where drive-in testing isn't possiblea pressurized plastic or glass testing booth that eliminates contact between clinician and patient.

The patient and clinician are separated by a window with openings for two rubber sleeves that extend to the patient's side allowing the clinician to extract a sample from the patient without sharing the same air or coming in contact.

This type of booth has already been adopted by Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, which, Ramamurti says, "proves that reverse innovation isn't just theoretical."

As for innovations in contact tracing, Ramamurti says Vietnam has a unique and extremely effective technique that traces infected individuals, their contacts and contacts of those contacts, plus isolation protocols to make the tracing worthwhile.

Anyone in Vietnam who tests positive and anyone in contact with someone who tests positive is isolated for two weeks in government facilities, free of charge, and contacts of contacts are required to isolate at home.

Per capita income in the U.S. is nearly 26 times that of Vietnam, and as of Tuesday, Vietnam had recorded 16 COVID-19 deaths.

"I'm hesitant to say which country has the best contact tracing method because of the privacy issues," says Shirley, one of the Northeastern graduates. "While Vietnam's effective, it's very totalitarian."

Ramamurti says that people have questioned whether these successes can merely be chalked up to different political systems. "But what about South Korea? It's a democracy," he says.

Shirely agrees that "while a lot of countries we looked at are communist, a lot of them are democracies, which shows that it isn't impossible to achieve this in the U.S. with this style of government."

But if government style isn't a factor necessarily in determining which emerging markets will have effective COVID-19 procedures, what is?

In addition to the fact that many of these countries have dealt with epidemics in the past, Ramamurti says, "Prevention is much cheaper than curing a disease. These countries have strong public health systems, but they might not have the resources to treat people who are seriously sick, so they have to nip the outbreak in the bud."

"In the U.S., we start with the assumption that people are going to get sick. We think we have enough doctors and equipment, so we think if people get sick we can fix it," he says.

But, as McGloin points out, "We're running thin on that luxury in the U.S."

As the world prepares for a potential second wave of COVID-19 this fall, will the U.S., still unable to control its initial outbreak, look toward other nations for much-needed solutions?

"Let me put it this way: if we get another outbreak on our shores in the future, the U.S. needs to handle it very differently," Ramamurti says. "The U.S. should look to countries where it doesn't normally look to and learn from them."
Well get to the caveats in a minute, but its fair to describe todays normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emiratesannounced via a tweet from U.S. President Donald Trumpas a historic milestone. The state of Israel has never had diplomatic relations with the Gulf Arab countries, and this type of normalization has long been sought by both the Israeli and U.S. governments. Other Sunni Arab governments may soon follow: The UAE is a regional leader and close ally of Saudi Arabia. While the exact role of the U.S. in facilitating this deal is still unclear, it does appear to be a rare diplomatic win for the Trump administration, and one that may have been made possible by the administrations close ties to both governments.

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Now, those caveats. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described todays announcement as a significant step forward for peace in the Middle East. It would be more accurate to say its a step in the solidification of the regions fault lines. Iran was not mentioned in todays statement, but its very much the backdrop of all of this. As analyst Karim Sadjadpour quipped, Congratulations to Iran for helping to midwife the normalization of relations between the UAE and Israel.

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Given that the Trump administrations strategy toward Iran is regime change in all but name, the fact that its getting all its allies in line behind that strategy is, I suppose, a diplomatic achievement. Rather than a step forward for peace, it could make armed conflict more likely, not less, particularly if Trump returns to office next year.

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The announcement more or less just makes official whats been obvious for some time now: The Sunni Arab monarchies may condemn Israel in public, but they are tacitly allied in a regional conflict with Iran. The governments view that conflict as a bigger priority than Israels occupation of the Palestinian territories, though theyve been reluctant to say it publicly and risk backlash. A leaked 2017 Israeli diplomatic cable revealed that the Israeli government was instructing its diplomats to support Saudi Arabias criticism of Iran and its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah. A video clip posted by the Israeli government last year showed the foreign ministers of three Arab countries defending Israel and criticizing Iran at a conference in Poland. We grew up talking about the Israel-Palestine issue as the most important issue.  But then, at a later stage, we saw a bigger challenge, we saw a more toxic onein fact the more toxic one in our historythat came from the Islamic Republic, said the Bahraini foreign minister. (The clip was quickly taken down.)

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Having a common enemy is one thing. Admitting that youre friends is another. This distinction was clear in June when Israel announced a partnership with the UAE to combat the coronavirus, which Emirati officials quickly doused with cold water.

Arab governments may not care all that much about the plight of the Palestinians anymore, but their citizens do, and todays announcement would not have happened if the Israeli government had gone ahead with plans to annex large portions of the West Bank on July 1. In June, the UAEs influential ambassador to the U.S., Yousef al-Otaiba, took the unusual step of publishing an op-ed in Hebrew in an Israeli newspaper warning that annexation would be a setback in efforts to improve relations between the two countries. Todays announcement notes that at the request of President Trump  Israel will suspend declaring sovereignty over areas outlined in the Presidents Vision for Peace.

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One group that will not be happy about this is the Israeli far-right, which cares about the settlements far more than relations with the UAE. Some officials are already emphasizing that the annexation announcement has only been suspended rather than abandoned.

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For Palestinians, this probably wont change all that much, other than underlining the already known fact that many of their regional allies are growing weary of the Palestinian issue. It will also be another blow to the already rickety two-state solution framework for Middle East peace if the Arab governments that have supported it move on.

For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this is a much-needed win at a time when hes facing large public protests over corruption allegations, the state of the economy, and his handling of the coronavirus. While not as symbolically important for his supporters as annexation, its also a lot less risky and controversial. This may have been the best possible outcome for him, politically.

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As for Trump, the deal may not actually do that much to shore up his pro-Israel bona fidesright-wing American Jews and Christian Zionists probably would have preferred annexationbut hell no doubt use it to tout himself as a deal-maker and peacemaker. Just in case you thought they might underplay this one, national security adviser Robert OBrien noted in a press conference on Thursday that Trump, after all, wrote The Art of the Deal, and suggested he would eventually be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

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West Wing ego-stroking aside, its true that suspending annexation is a concession from Israel, but the only reason annexation has been on the table at all is because there was some reason to believe Trump might support it, including the Vision for Peace, the Jared Kushnermasterminded peace plan that would have eviscerated Palestinian sovereignty in the West Bank. Its another example of the approach to international diplomacy previously seen in Syria and North Korea: His rhetoric contributed to a crisispotential annexationand hes now taking credit after things return to the status quo.

Viewed in a vacuum, todays announcement is a significant development. Viewed as the main, perhaps sole, outcome of Trump and Kushners efforts to reach the ultimate deal for Middle East peace, it looks pretty paltry.

For more of Slates news coverage, subscribe to What Next on Apple Podcasts or listen below.
From freshly baked croissants in Paris to getting pick-pocketed in Madrid, some travel experiences are as iconic as they are stereotypical. In recent years, this has led some travellers to eschew the worlds great cities in favour of their little brothers and sisters (think: Rome for Milan, Biarritz for Paris, etc.).

This phenomenon recently became a trending topic on Reddit, with the thread Your favourite second cities (and beyond!) yesterday amassing 419 comments in 24 hours in the r/solotravel community.

While some choices were cliche, others were intriguing. And even the obvious options often came with insightful advice.

To give you some context, the poster of the thread threw the question out there in the following spirit: We see a lot of first-timers planning big capital-hopping trips, especially in Europe. But second cities and other regional hubs often have a charm of their own: still urban in spirit, but a bit more modest and closer to their national/regional culture than the cosmopolitan capitals.

What are your favourite second cities and regional hubs? Has a second city ever changed the opinion you formed of a country after visiting its capital?

Perhaps the most surprising choice for a great second city came in the top comment: Ghent. Ghent is a municipality in the Flemish region of Belgium, and the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province. Its also not very well known to travellers.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jaime Enrique (@jaime.esn) on Aug 12, 2020 at 6:05pm PDT

One Reddit commenter, however, loved it: Ghent 100%. Brussels wasnt someplace I wanted to revisit. Antwerp felt as if I was intruding and Bruges while worth a visit felt overhyped and over-touristed. Ghent on the other hand felt fresh and full of charm.

Two other Reddit user agreed: Ghent is great! Bruges is charming but small and not too much too see. Brussels, I agree, Im not dying to go back to!

With Ghent I got the feeling that I was in a real university town, and in a stunningly beautiful place that hadnt yet been overrun by crowds of international tourists. A local Belgian I befriended in Bruges also told me that ;the best nightlife in Bruges is in Ghent. It was definitely something special.

It wasnt just Belgium travellers had recommendations for.

One recommended Salzburg as Austrias second city. Why? Salzburg is beautiful, full of history, and also a great hub for exploring the Alps, the user wrote. I also found it to be a lot of fun going out at night.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by FRANCES VERWEIJ  (@francesverweij) on Aug 12, 2020 at 7:47am PDT

The same user recommended Galway as an alternative to Dublin: [It] is just the perfect size city in my opinion. Extremely walk-able with tons of places to shop, eat, and stop for a pint and some live music.

In a third flourish, the user gave Nice the green light as one of Frances many second cities: aesthetically pleasing and has the added benefit of great weather. It is also very walk-able, and is a really great spot to relax for a few days in the midst of a busy sightseeing trip. Its also very centrally located to other locations in the South of France  my favorite being The Verdon Gorge.

The Verdon Gorge, one of the must-see natural wonders of central Provence, is perfect for a few days drive (or more) and offers spectacular views and cuisine all along the way.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by @mely.pics on Jul 30, 2020 at 11:01am PDT

Floating over to more frigid waters, users also recommended Bergen over Oslo if youre going to Norway: Oslo is a great city, but Bergen is right by the water and has a much more Nordic feel. Plus its much closer to the fjords, and lets face it, thats why youre in Norway to begin with.

Another user said they enjoyed Glasgow more than Edinburgh because it felt like a real, gritty city, not one giant tourist attraction.

The people of Glasgow are some of the most friendly and outrageously funny folks Ive met. Also a gorgeous city in its own gritty way. Lovely architecture, brilliant music scene, top notch pubs and public parks/attractions, its truly got it all.

In a similar way, other users said they enjoyed Spains lower-key cities, in ones words, not [because] Madrid is bad, just Sevilla and Granada felt more rustic and laid-back compared to the more modern capital.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Mr. Traveler (@themrtraveler) on Aug 12, 2020 at 6:31pm PDT

Likewise, users expressed a great love for the Galapagos Islands quaint Isla Isabela over the more populous islands of San Cristobal and Santa Cruz.

Isabela is less populated, less touristy, more natural, and has much more interesting terrains and tours than the more populous islands.

In another geographical quickstep, travellers also raved about some of the lesser-visited parts of the USAs Texas: Although Dallas and Houston have most of Texass population, I strongly prefer Austin/San Antonio/Hill Country for traveling, one wrote.

Dallas and Houston are flat corporate megacities while Austin and San Antonio are better representations of Texas history, food, and culture. Did I mention they have hills?

Apparently the concept holds true in Japan too: Osaka is honestly still pretty big and a massive tourism hub. Most peoples first trip to Japan hits Osaka/Kyoto/Tokyo in one go, one user wrote.

I would recommend Sapporo for something thats actually a bit less popular but still has a lot to offer.

Id take Sapporo or Kyoto. I can just stay in Kyoto without going to Osaka or Tokyo. I love how certain areas make you feel like youre in feudal Japan. Sapporo is a dream and is very pretty in the winter. So easy to navigate with their grid plan. And its near Niseko.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Aline Bonn (@alinebonn) on Aug 11, 2020 at 5:42pm PDT

This is but a sample of the 419 responses. To read the rest, check out the full thread here.

Read Next
Meat Industry Ireland has said it does not know if it can get results of Covid tests within 24 hours, but warned that delays in test results could impact prices.

Speaking at the Special Oireachatas Committee on Covid-19 in the meat plants, Meat Industry Ireland (MII) Director Cormac Healy said he did not know if it was possible for Covid tests to be returned within 24 hours.

He said there are proposals to do serial testing in meat plants and that was public health guidance. "We will work to that," he said, but that it should be underpinned by fast results.

However, he also said that if a delay in results impacts production there could be an impact on meat prices.

MII also said that significant progress has been made since they last appeared before the committee, with only one active Covid-19 cluster at a primary processing plant compared to 22 active clusters in early July.

It also said that it welcomed unannounced inspections of plants from the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) or any other relevant State Agency.

Our members remain fully committed to public health guidelines, and we are working to ensure that any necessary additional protocols are clear, and tests capable of being turned around in under 24 hours. The industry has worked diligently to protect employees throughout the course of this pandemic and continues to do so. Vigilance remains the priority, but the fact that there is only one active cluster in a primary meat processing plant indicates the significant progress we are making.

Earlier this week MII met with representatives of SIPTU, where there was agreement on the objectives of supporting working safety and business continuity in the implementation of increased Covid-19 testing.
"The Talk" host Leah Remini spilled the tea to prove that Tom Cruise is not a nice guy.

According to the 50-year-old media personality, Cruise has a hidden agenda for his daughter.

The former Scientology member-turned-outspoken critic claimed that the "Mission: Impossible" star is waiting for the 14-year-old Suri to grow older to lure her into joining the religious movement.

Tom Cruise's Master Plan for Daughter Suri

"Scientology considers Katie a suppressive person which is an enemy and therefore Tom believes, like all Scientologists, that he can't be connected to Suri," Remini told the New York Post. "I'm sure his master plan is to wait until Suri gets older so that he can lure her into Scientology and away from her mother."

Furthermore, "The King of Queens" actress was also surprised that Holmes unexpectedly left the "Top Gun" actor.

"I knew Katie when she was in [Scientology] and she seemed very indoctrinated into Tom's world, but as time went on, and I understood why she did what she did to protect her daughter ... I'm only assuming that there's some type of agreement to protect her daughter," she furthered.

Back in 2012, Cruise and Holmes were caught up in a whirlwind drama after the "Dawson's Creek" star filed for a divorce.

Holmes received the primary custody of her then 6-year-old daughter, while her ex-husband was granted visitation rights.

Multiple reports cited that Scientology is one of the driving forces behind their marriage fallout and that the Ohio-born actress believed that Cruise might abduct their daughter.

The three-time Golden Globe actor denied the allegations and pointed out that neither he nor the church is tailing Holmes and Suri.

Tom Cruise Is "Not a Good Person," Says Remini

Furthermore, Remini dissed Cruise and claimed that he is "not a good person." She also previously revealed that what Scientology is doing is all but PR, noting that their policy is "to create good public relations in the world and make those 'good actions' known."

Remini also pointed out that although the "Jack the Reacher" star has gotten away with being the nice guy, his actions are not consistent.

Leah Remini Accuses the Church of Scientology of Being Corrupt

The outspoken critic was raised as a Scientologist after her mother joined the church.

After 30 years, she abruptly left the organization in July 2013, questioning the religion's treatment of followers and the leadership of Scientology head David Miscavige.

According to Page Six, the "Old School" actress expressed her belief that that the organization is corrupt, as no organization "should tear apart a family or abuse someone under the umbrella of religion."

Following her departure from Scientology, Remini published her 2015 memoir "Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology." She also had a docuseries "Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath" in which she spoke about her experiences since leaving the group.

READ MORE: Daughter of New York Giants Co-Owner Dead at 36 -- Tragic Cause of Death Revealed
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 11:29:11|Editor: huaxia

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GENEVA, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- China is expected to play the role of a "locomotive" for powering global recovery in the post-pandemic era, a Swiss economist has said.

"The Chinese market has become an important growth driver because of its size and its continuing expansion," Rudolf Minsch, chief economist at Swiss national business federation Economiesuisse, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Moreover, it is "absolutely crucial that China is opposing any tendency to reverse globalization," Minsch said, adding China has been keeping up the effort to "establish a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment."

"The most important part of Chinese economic policy today, in my view, is the commitment of the government to widening the door to the world, despite the difficulty arising from the coronavirus crisis," Minsch said.

"Open markets are key to the long-term growth of China and are so to the rest of the world," he added.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Switzerland and China. Since 2010, China has been Switzerland's biggest trading partner in Asia and its third largest globally after the European Union and the United States. A free trade agreement between the two countries was signed in 2013 and entered into force on July 1, 2014.

"There are so many Swiss companies in China, collaborating with Chinese firms as customers, as suppliers or as research and development partners," Minsch noted.

While those companies face "tough competition" in the Chinese market, they also have huge opportunities "to benefit from the very efficient and speedy way of Chinese enterprises to develop new products and services," he said.

"In most cases, the products and services of the two countries are complementary. In parallel with the higher income of the Chinese population, the demand for Swiss products and services will rise," he added. Enditem
The nervous wait for results is finally over for Stratford Districts A-level students as they begun finding out their grades this morning.

The pandemic has led to a results day like no other, with grades having to be estimated following the cancellation of exams earlier in the year.

Nationally controversy has surrounded this years process, with some headteachers unhappy with the use of mock exam grades.

Well be updating this page with the latest news on results day as we get it:

Kineton High School

Kineton High School saw significant increases in the number of A*and A grades and a 17% increase in the number of A*-B grades with an improved pass rate up from 94% to 97.5%.

More than 90 per cent of students secured a place at their preferred university or destination.

Among the schools high achievers was William Harrison (A*A*AB) , Miles Leonard (A*AA), Megan Chowdhury (Distinction *AAB) and Ellie Moll (A*A*A), who secured her place at the University of Bristol to study Veterinary Medicine.

Sibford School

Sibford School Head Toby Spence

Sibford School achieved its best A-level results on record with 56% of Sibford students overall gaining A* - B grades in their A Level and BTEC exams, with pupils achieving a 100% pass rate across all subjects.

The majority of pupils achieved places to study at their first and second choice higher education destination.

Sibford Head Toby Spence said: This is a remarkable achievement for our pupils who have worked so hard during this most unusual time. All of the staff are delighted that the efforts of the pupils have been rewarded with some exceptional results and fabulous onward destinations for our pupils.

It has been pleasing to see that the majority of grades awarded were a fair reflection upon the efforts of the student with nearly 40% of results awarded as A*/A or an equivalent BTEC Distinction. Whilst there are anomalies that the school will appeal we are thrilled with the overall outcome for our students.

We are very proud of the wide range of destinations and pathways that our students are pursuing  from those who are heading to Russell Group universities such as York and Sheffield to those who are furthering their careers in a wide range of vocations such as fashion, sport, media and theatre. This reflects the diverse and thriving community that is found at Sibford School.

Cate Mallalieu-Needle, Head of Sixth Form added: Our pupils have responded so well to the individual care and attention we offer as they pursue such a diverse range of pathways. We closely support each pupil whether they are applying via UCAS or following a different career path. We wish all students every success.

Chipping Campden School

Chipping Campden School Principal, Mr John Sanderson

John Sanderson, principal at Chipping Campden School, said: "As with every other year, students at Chipping Campden School have been able to celebrate a strong set of A Level grades enabling most to access their first choice university. With students securing places on courses ranging from Medicine to Policing and everything in between.

"While it has been a long wait, we have welcomed the opportunity to see our students again and have the opportunity to personally wish them every success in the next stage of their learning journey. Staff have also been on hand to offer advice and guidance on how to navigate any revisions to the university admissions system that have been put in place for this year.

"Overall, the schools headline measures of A* - A and A* - C grades have gone up again, having previously been significantly above the national average. However, the application of a statistical standardisation algorithm to individual students carefully considered and evidenced based centre assessed grades has, for a small number of students, generated standardised grades which do not accurately reflect or reward their effort and ability. Understandably, we will be appealing these grades once it is made clear on what basis we are able to do this.

"In the meantime, I should like to acknowledge all the hard work and ongoing resilience of students and staff, and thank parents and carers for their continued support. While the journey to this point has been a challenging one, we are delighted to see so many who have both the grades and the grit to embrace the future with a greater sense of optimism."

Alcester Grammar School

Alcester Grammar high achiever Caitlin Lilley gained an A* in both Biology and Economics and an A in Psychology

Principal Clive Sentance said: Alcester Grammar School would like to congratulate the class of 2020 on completing their 13 years of education. The last few months has been an extraordinary time for all of us and this group of students are to be congratulated on their achievements and on their resilience.

In the midst of all the current challenges, and in particular the last week, our students have shown tenacity, character, patience and kindness. They are our future, and society must not ignore their talent and potential.

Whatever they do next, we send them our very best wishes. Id like to thank the parents and staff as well for their contribution to the success of this cohort.

Mr Sentence said 11 per cent of entries were graded A*, with 36% graded A*-A, 67% of graded A*- B and 89% graded A*

-C, while 44 students achieved at least three A grades. The majority of students have achieved what they need for their next steps as they had broadly been given the grades they deserved.

He added: Our overall grade distribution is close to what we expected, but we acknowledge this is not the position for all schools. It was always going to be impossible to fairly replicate across the country the outcomes of an exam system, without actually doing exams. There are a relatively small number of students in particular subjects where justice to their abilities, efforts and achievements has not been done because of flaws in the statistical model used by exam boards to calculate the grades. We are supporting these students and are awaiting further details of the appeals process to inform our options.

There are a number of concerns emerging from other schools about the fairness and accuracy of the algorithms, and in particular whether the proven historical ability of a school to add value has been taken sufficiently into account. AGS shares those concerns.

Stratford Girls Grammar School

Jacqui Cornell Headteacher said: "We are immensely proud of our Year 13 students as they have shown incredible resilience over the course of the last few months. Stratford Girl's Grammar prides itself on its pastoral support and helping our students to fulfil their ambitions. Seeing the students today has allowed us to provide a sense of normality when everything, I am sure, feels quite bizarre.

"We have celebrated lots of success stories here today, as well as being able to offer face to face support where needed. We are truly delighted for the very many who have secured their destination of choice. This is testament to full breadth of opportunities we offer and the options for personal development and growth. Well done to all of our students and we wish them all the best as they progress to the next stage of their education or employment.

Stratford-upon-Avon School

Stratford School

Neil Wallace, Headteacher for Stratford upon Avon School said: We are delighted with the results our students have achieved, even if the circumstances were not of our choosing. It has been frustrating not being able to share the successes of our students in person as their beaming faces on Results Day are one of the highlights of the year.

"Nevertheless, students should feel just as proud as those receiving results in any other academic year. We wish every one of our students the very best as they move onto a wide range of University courses, apprenticeships and other routes into employment.

"Im sure they will leave Stratford School with the knowledge, skills and cultural capital they need to succeed in life, as well as positive experiences and memories that last a lifetime.

"There has been considerable hysteria in some sections of the media and a lot of fuss made over the process for awarding grades. The exam boards have used a standardisation process to ensure that this years grades are roughly in line with those of previous years, and this is important in terms of fairness to students over time. It is a shame that the government panicked and made another chaotic announcement a couple of days before the results were released, when they have had months to consider a range of options for how the system should work.

"Nevertheless, from our point of view, the process was managed rigorously and the outcomes are broadly in line with our expectations. Any discussion of the process for awarding grades should not detract from the fact that these results are the culmination of an immense amount of hard work over the last two years by students and staff.

Mr Wallace added that high achievers included Vitor Alcalde (A*A*A*AA), Millie Reynolds (A*A*A), Madeleine Thomas (A*AAA), Toni Kenewell (A*AA), Maria Radu (A*ABB) and Misha Allen (A*ABC)

King Edward VI School

Bennett Carr, headteacher of Kind Edward VI School

Bennet Carr, Headmaster, said One of the immediate impacts of the Coronavirus outbreak was the sudden cancellation of the public examinations and, understandably, our students and their teachers, were left frustrated at not having the opportunity to demonstrate their capabilities after all their hard work.

"However, whatever our thoughts on the governments controversial approach, today we must focus on the positives and celebrate the wonderful achievements of a very fine year group. A great deal of what they have accomplished here cannot be measured. Their contribution to extra-curricular activities, to teams and societies, their leadership, mentoring and care of the younger members of the School.

"Those things wont be on their A level certificates, but they are achievements of equal value that they will take away from K.E.S. and that we shall remember them for, and for which we are grateful. We wish them all every success as they move onto the next chapters of their lives.

Warwickshire County Council Labour Group

Politics is never far from the world of education and the opposition Labour Group at Warwickshire County Council have today criticised the Governments handling of this years A-level results.

Cllr Helen Adkins, leader of the opposition Labour Group at Warwickshire County Council: having taught A Levels for 13 years at Warwickshire College, mock results are NOT a good reflection of how students are performing. Mock exams can be taken under varying conditions, depending on the school or college. For example, some schools and colleges may have given their students a previously seen paper, or may have given a particularly hard paper, to prepare students for the worst.

All these factors lead to various results which should not then be used to base real results on. What has happened also shows the weaknesses in the new A Level system  module examinations would have meant that students would have already taken  of their exams over two years by the point at which the UK was locked down. However, the biggest issue this highlights however, is that this government do not respect or value the teaching profession. This is typical of a Tory Government. We must trust the judgement of our teachers moving forward.

Kingsley School

Alicia Craven, who was awarded an A and two Distinction* grades

The Kingsley School sixth formers have achieved a 100% pass rate, with 35% of grades A*-A, 71% of grades A*-B.

Head of Sixth Form, Dawn Morgan, said: At Kingsley, we strive to encourage a strong work ethic with students adopting good study practices from the outset and these fantastic results reflect our girls and staff teams hard work throughout their courses. All girls have adapted to very difficult circumstances and we wish to congratulate each of them warmly on these well-deserved achievements. They have, without exception, conducted themselves with grace and courage and we are immensely proud of them.
An Indian couple who won a major UK court appeal recently that prevented their children from losing their Indian are now appealing for authorities in to allow their two minor children in foster care in to be reunited with their family to live in India.

The parents, who cannot be named for legal reasons, are originally from Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu and moved to the UK in 2004. They lost all contact with their children a son aged 11 and daughter aged 9 in August 2015 when they were taken into the care of the local childcare authorities in Birmingham.

Their case has been going through the family courts in and last week, a UK Court of Appeal judgment concluded that the Birmingham Children's Trust must seek the court's approval before any attempt to apply for British for the children in the face of parental opposition.

"I am an Indian national. The children are Indian nationals too. We would love to go to India. We don't want British for the children. We have made this clear, said the 52-year-old father, a civil engineer struggling to make ends meet in Birmingham.

"The Indian High Commission supported the return of my children in the court proceedings, he said.

The Consulate General of India (CGI) in Birmingham said it has been providing consular and legal assistance to the parents in their four-year-long legal battle.

"We had submitted in the honourable Family Court in Birmingham that the Indian Consulate wishes to provide assistance for the children's welfare needs and provide the necessary arrangements to provide the Indian passports for the children and will fund the costs of the flights and transportation to India and overseeing their care arrangements, the CGI in Birmingham noted in a statement.

The CGI said that it continues to offer support and monitor the progress in the case and had also assisted the parents to procure a home study report from the Child Welfare Committee, District Nagapattinam, regarding prospective custodians of the children in Tamil Nadu.

"We must understand that the case is sub-judice and any comments on this case may not be appropriate, the Indian consulate noted.

The case was described by the UK Court of Appeal as a challenging one for everyone, with the Tamil-speaking parents requiring interpreters.

In the latest appeal, the father was represented by prominent Indian lawyer Harish Salve, who argued that a change of citizenship marks a fundamental change and matter of great moment, which may or may not be in the children's interests.

The reasons behind the children's removal from their parents' care were not revealed in court but a previous ruling in December last year determined that the minor boy and girl must remain in long-term foster care for the remainder of their childhoods.

"My sole purpose of staying back here [in Birmingham] is to get my children released from the UK authorities and have them returned to India, whether with or to approved relatives The children will lead a peaceful life with safety and security in India, said the father, speaking in Tamil.

His wife, a 45-year-old Indian national also from Tamil Nadu, is now living in Singapore with her mother and the couple's four-and-a-half-year-old daughter, born after she left the UK while pregnant over fears of losing her third child to foster care as well.

"Don't I care for my third child well now? Their accusations are just false. They separated my children from me I was not able to comprehend what was happening and I was just stunned. I asked for an interpreter since I could not understand English much," said the tearful mother from Singapore, also speaking in Tamil.

In court, she was assisted by Delhi-based advocate Nandita Rao, described as a legally qualified McKenzie friend or someone who assists a litigant in UK court proceedings by giving advice.

"In my personal capacity, as a person interested in child rights, I would suggest that the Birmingham authority ought to assess its capacity to preserve the nationality of children (who are not citizens of the UK) in the foster care system, said Rao.

"Nationality has a de jure part (i.e. identity in law) and a de facto part (cultural identity). The latter includes preserving the language, food habits, social and family contacts of the child. If the authority is not in a position to ensure the cultural identity of a child is preserved the local authority should explore foster care for the child in his home country, unless the child is an asylum seeker or has a risk of persecution in its home country, she said.

The local authority, the Birmingham Children's Trust, said it was considering the implications of the judgment handed down by the UK Court of Appeal on August 6.

"We have received the judgement and we will be considering the outcome and implications in our future practice, said a spokesperson for the Birmingham Children's Trust.

Last week's ruling had acknowledged that changing a child's citizenship was a momentous step and not a routine matter.

"Changing a child's citizenship is a momentous step with profound and enduring consequences that requires the most careful consideration The local authority should now indicate whether it wishes to progress the matter, in which case we will give appropriate directions, it noted.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The United States would consider the possibility of introducing sanctions against Belarus due to the current events in the republic, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.

"Oh, Im sure well look at each of these things, and the important thing to note is the criteria. What is it that we believe that we can do, not just the United States unilaterally, but in a multilateral way to deliver good outcomes for the Belarusian people, whether that turns out to be sanctions or turns out to be making decisions about product deliveries? Those are all things that are yet to be determined," Pompeo said in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty published on the U.S. State Departments website.



"Were going to have to work through that," the US secretary of state said in response to the question on the possible changes made to the U.S.-Belarus relations, namely in relation to the deliveries of U.S. oil to Belarus and the dispatching the U.S. ambassador to Minsk.

"As you said, we were incredibly troubled by the election and deeply disappointed that it wasnt more free and more fair. Weve seen this behavior before, and we regret that this is how its transpired. Then weve watched the violence and the aftermath, peaceful protesters being treated in ways that are inconsistent with how they should be treated," he said.



"We havent settled out what the appropriate response is, but I can tell you this: Well work with our European friends, our freedom-loving friends here who are equally concerned about what took place. We want good outcomes for the Belarusian people and well take actions consistent with that," Pompeo concluded.



Belarus held a presidential election on August 9. According to the preliminary results provided by the Belarusian Central Election Committee, incumbent President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko got 80.08% of the vote. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who was considered his main opponent, came in second with 10.09%. She stated that she didnt recognize these results, considering herself the elected head of state, and filed a complaint with the Central Election Committee. After exit poll results were announced in the evening of August 9, protests erupted in downtown Minsk and other regions of the country, leading to clashes between protesters and law enforcement forces. The protests continued on August 10 and 11. As a result, several thousand people were detained, dozens of police officers and protesters were injured, TASS recalls.
By Laman Ismayilova

Art lovers have a chance to take part in a master class of national artist Jalal Aghayev as part of Caspian Waves International Watercolor Festival.

The first virtual master class is scheduled for August 14. Art lovers can also follow the master class through the social media accounts of the Azerbaijan State Art Gallery.

Jalal expresses his visions through vibrant colors and his unique spiraling technique.

The artist has successfully exhibited his art works in Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia and Ukraine.

The master class can be watched and registered via "Zoom" program by contacting Khatai Art Center. For more details, please visit the following link.

Caspian Waves International Watercolor Festival aims to promote watercolor painting, showing the country's rich culture, historical monuments and nature through the watercolor art works.

The project is co-organized by the Cultural Ministry, Azerbaijan Artists Union, the State Painting Gallery, IWS Azerbaijan (local branch of the International Watercolor Society  IWS Globe) and Khatai Art Gallery.

The event is co-organized by the Cultural Ministry, Azerbaijan Artists Union, the State Painting Gallery, IWS Azerbaijan (local branch of the International Watercolor Society  IWS Globe) and Khatai Art Gallery as part of the "Year of Volunteers".

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
The Four Seasons Hotel and Carlingford Adventure Centre in Co Louth recently received their Failte Ireland Covid-19 Safety Charter certificate.

Failte Ireland's Covid-19 Safety Charter acts as a clear visual indicator to drive confidence among holidaymakers to take a safe break in Ireland.

As the country continues to progress along the Governments Roadmap for reopening society and business, intention to take a break in Ireland among Irish consumers is growing. Failte Irelands latest consumer sentiment research 60% of Irish people are now planning a short trip in Ireland in the next six months.

However, safety is a significant concern for people.

Responding to these insights and the potential growth in the domestic market in 2020, Failte Ireland has introduced the COVID-19 Safety Charter to provide reassurance for consumers that they can book their domestic holiday with confidence.

To be eligible to sign up to the COVID-19 Safety Charter, businesses must agree to the Terms and Conditions of the Charter, to adhere to the official guidelines for re-opening relevant to your sector and to ensure that all your employees undertake requisite COVID-19 safety & hygiene control training.

As the National Tourism Development Authority, Failte Irelands role is to support the long-term sustainable growth in the economic, social, cultural and environmental contribution of tourism to Ireland. Tourism is of critical importance to the national economy and to regional development and employment.

Pre-coronavirus, the sector generated revenue of 7.5billion annually and supported 260,000 jobs nationwide while contributing 1.7billion to the Exchequer.

We work in partnership with Government, State agencies, Local Authorities, representative bodies and industry, to develop tourism across Ireland by creating destination development plans and networks, investing in infrastructure, activities, visitor attractions and festivals.

Failte Ireland also provides consumer and buyer insights, mentoring, business supports and training programmes and buyer platforms to help tourism businesses innovate and grow.

In addition, Failte Ireland supports Business Tourism, managing the bidding for and securing of larger conferences, meetings and events to be hosted in Ireland.
Ronnie Delaune, a 46-year-old father of two from New Orleans, Louisiana, was once a homeless felon running from the law. After hitting rock bottom, he decided the only way to move past the pain was to get sober.

He then turned his attention to the people around him and changed his life completely.

Forty-six-year-old Ronnie Delaune from New Orleans, Louisiana. (Courtesy of Ronnie Delaune)

Wanting to pay it forward, Ronnie put his family back together before putting himself through seven years of school and qualifying as a licensed addiction counselor. His message is simple: Never give up, because recovery is possible for anyone who wants it.

I grew up as an athlete, Ronnie told The Epoch Times via email. I grew up in a loving and nurturing home, where both parents played a huge part in my development as a person, although I strayed.

Ronnie worked as a charter fishing guide offshore from 1996 until Hurricane Katrina hit the United States in 2005. Drug use and abuse became a part of my life, starting at about the age of 18, he reflected. I have been to some incredibly dark places, both physically and psychologically.

Not long after, Ronnie began to sell drugs, and that became his lifestyle.

Recalling being shot at twice, stabbed with a screwdriver, kidnapped at gunpoint, left for dead in the woods, and beaten up by the police, Ronnie described his lowest moments as the deepest depths of despair. However, the hardest times were fuel, he said, for his eventual rise from the ashes.

Ronnie with his wife on their wedding day in 2002. (Courtesy of Ronnie Delaune)

Ronnie met his wife in 1996 and married her six years later. Describing her as a wonderful woman, Ronnie admitted that she should have left him when his substance abuse got out of hand.

Unfortunately, my life from the age of 23 to 32 is a blur, he explained. I think back, and it is like remembering scenes from a movie.

Ronnie was arrested in 2004 for possession of heroin but dodged parole. Ronnies wife, for her own protection and sanity of the family, refused to let her husband back inside their home; Ronnie thus became homeless, moving between FEMA trailers, vacant cars, and garages until U.S. Marshals came looking for him.

Ronnie was once found by police dogs in possession of a large number of illegal substances and eventually surrendered. With that arrest in September of 2006 came a few new charges, Ronnie recalled. At this point, I had 18 months remaining on my initial three years of probation.

To Ronnies immense shock, his judge showed mercy, offering him a choice between jail or long-term rehab. Ronnie chose rehab.

Getting clean and sober was a long, rough road for me and my family that began in 2002, long before the arrest in 2006, Ronnie said, looking back. I hoped and prayed that it would be different this time.

Ronnie then went to interview with the Odyssey House of Louisiana on Nov. 12, 2006, which is a long drug rehab known for its strict rules, hard work demands, and behavioral-modification techniques. He remembers Nan Hucker, his interviewer, for her friendly, understanding, and empathetic face. Although Ronnie did fit the criteria, he was told by the interviewer that they would call him once a bed was available.

Determined to complete the program and to prove the other inmates who were with him wrong, he stopped his drug use on that day.

On Dec. 20, 2006, Ronnie arrived at the Odyssey House and found that the treatment was a bit of a cultural shock; however, he really did want recovery, as by that time, he was tired of running, tired of letting his family down, and tired of his diminished reserves of self-worth and self-esteem.

The dedicated former addict graduated from Odyssey House on Dec. 13, 2007. I saw people come and go with regularity, he recalled. People wanted out of there so badly that they would walk out, even facing prison if they left [] It was not uncommon for us to hear whispers of the guy or girl who left that is now dead from an overdose.

Ronnie with his two children after completing his masters degree and passing his licensure exam in December 2019. (Courtesy of Ronnie Delaune)

Ronnie, however, prioritized his recovery, moving into a sober living house and attending support groups every day, building a deep pool of sober peer support. He also took a job at an outpatient clinic, where the CEO took a shine to his story and encouraged him to pursue further education.

I took so much from so many people, it was time for me to give back, Ronnie reflected. I know the pain and suffering that comes along with addiction, not only for the addict but for our families and those that love us. I knew that if I could help one person escape the prison cell in their mind, I would be happy.

The dad of two enrolled as a brand-new, 38-year-old freshman in college in 2012, while also working full-time and setting up a carpentry business. He earned an associates and a bachelors degree in Addictive Behavioral Counseling and Prevention from Southern University at New Orleans in 2017. For someone who had barely completed high school, a determined Ronnie spent four years on the deans list, graduated Magna Cum Laude, and was the top of his class.

He then went on to earn a masters degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling in December 2019.

Recovery is possible for anyone who wants it, he reflected, and if I can do it, anyone can.

On turning his life around completely, a proud Ronnie said: I feel blessed that I was able to turn things around and show my parents that they did not fail me as parents and mentors, he continued. I feel honored to be able to show my wife that her sticking with me through the rough times and supporting me through rehabs, jail time, detox centers, and ultimately through my education was not in vain.

Today, Ronnie and his wife share two sons, aged 4 and 6. Ronnie is a licensed substance abuse counselor in private practice, also supervising an outpatient substance abuse program in downtown New Orleans.

Ronnie with his family. (Courtesy of Ronnie Delaune)

Among referrals from federal and state services, detox centers, inpatient treatment centers, and other mental health institutions, the judge that showed Ronnie mercy back in 2006 now refers clients to him for substance abuse counseling.

On July 8, 2020, Ronnie shared a side-by-side photo comparison with the Facebook group The Addicts Diary in tribute to his extraordinary progress. The first photo was a mugshot from Ronnies 2004 arrest for heroin possession; the second was his graduation photo from December 2019, in which he kneels proudly beside his boys with his certificate in hand.

A comparison photo of Ronnie from 2006 and 2019. (Courtesy of Ronnie Delaune)

I feel proud of who I am and where I have come from, Ronnie shared with The Epoch Times, and I will tell anyone, anytime, and anywhere who and what I am.

Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Epoch Inspired Newsletter here: TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter
By Express News Service

THOOTHUKUDI: Despite being an alliance partner of the ruling AIADMK, the BJP is trying the 2011 DMDK strategy to become a prominent opposition party, said Information and Publicity Minister Kadambur C Raju.

The minister was participating in a government function at Therku Vandhanam near Kovilpatti for distribution of potable water on behalf of the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD).

Asked for his reaction to BJP functionary VP Duraisamy's statement that the 2021 assembly elections would be a direct fight between the DMK and BJP, Raju told reporters that the two parties could fight for the second place as the AIADMK will emerge successful again.

In the 2011 assembly elections, the DMDK headed by actor Vijayakanth was allied with the AIADMK, but later went on to become the leading opposition party in the state assembly.

The BJP despite being in the alliance of the AIADMK may have thought of the same strategy, he said. "Duraisamy might have hinted at the BJP's strategy in the 2021 assembly elections under the AIADMK alliance to grab the prominent opposition party status, which is the second place, by defeating the DMK," the minister said.

The minister went on to criticise the opposition DMK, saying nepotism and family politics are taking stronger root inside the Dravidian party. "Family politics in the DMK is even worse than in the times of former Chief Minister Kalaignar Karunanidhi," the minister said.

Raju added that DMK president MK Stalin is worried over the elevation of his sister and Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi as she is not in a position to accept his leadership. Fearing Kanimozhi's politics, Stalin has brought in his son Udhayanidhi Stalin into politics, he alleged. Thus the DMK's senior leaders like Duraisamy, the former deputy speaker, switched allegiance to the BJP, Raju said.

As repeatedly mentioned by Stalin's elder brother Azhagiri, DMK functionaries are agonised over the bitter family politics in the party, he added.
DVCShop.com's Instagram Account Reaches 1000 Followers At DVCShop.com were all Disney fans, so we have a lot of fun sharing these beautifully curated photos and informative DVC content with our followers. Additionally, Instagram is another platform where we can host contests and giveaways to help someones Disney vacation dreams come true.

DVCShop.com, a licensed resale broker who specializes in Disney Vacation Club timeshare resale and rentals, has reached 1,000 followers on their Instagram account, @dvcshopofficial.

The company, who recently celebrated its 1 year anniversary in June, works with buyers and sellers to facilitate the resale and rental of DVC points. To ensure the quick sale of these contracts, DVC Shop uses multiple marketing strategies, including co-broking with a network of brokers, cross-marketing of listings, and sharing useful Disney-focused content on DVCShop.com, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Since opening their doors, the company has been committed to continually releasing DVC-specific resources in order to help educate potential buyers, sellers and renters about all things DVC. DVCShop.com has posted over 200 helpful articles on their website in the last year showing a commitment to sharing the insights their team has amassed over years of DVC ownership and vacation planning.

The companys Instagram account is another platform DVC Shop uses to inform guests about DVC and get followers excited to travel to the Disney theme parks and resorts. In addition to photos of the resorts and parks, helpful articles and DVC Shop specials, followers can also participate in promotions, giveaways and contests through the @dvcshopoffical Instagram account.

Anyone looking for more information on DVC or who would like to participate in the various contests and giveaways held throughout the year can follow the DVC Shop Instagram account at https://www.instagram.com/dvcshopofficial/.

Disney influencers, travel bloggers or media groups interested in sponsorship opportunities with DVCShop.com can contact the company at info@dvcshop.com for more information.

Katherine Rand, Head of Communications at DVC Shop, was quoted saying, Weve noticed that people are engaging with us more everyday on Instagram and we love it! At DVCShop.com were all Disney fans, so we have a lot of fun sharing these beautifully curated photos and informative DVC content with our followers. Additionally, Instagram is another platform where we can host contests and giveaways to help someones Disney vacation dreams come true.

About DVC Shop

DVCShop.Com is one of the few Disney Vacation Club resale companies that not only does their own direct-to-consumer marketing campaigns, but also utilizes a substantial network of co-brokers. This allows owners to gain more exposure for their listing, as well as affords DVC buyers access to as many listings as possible.
T his article was originally published in August 2020. On July 22 2021, the MP was ejected from the House of Commons for saying that the Prime Minister had lied and misled the country over Coronavirus. Under Commons rules it is forbidden for MPs to accuse each other of deliberate deceit.

Before I speak to Dawn Butler, her assistant sends me a few choice examples of the messages the MP for Brent Central has received since Sunday when she tweeted about police pulling over her and her friend, who is also black, as they drove to lunch. In luridly violent language, people have called her a liar, told her she is promoting racist hatred and they hope she gets Covid, that she is undermining the justice system by criticising the police and far, far worse.

Twitter has been alight with hate and conspiracy theories about her, questioning her account, but despite being publicly torn apart Butler doesnt regret speaking out. In fact, she is feeling optimistic. After our call she has a meeting with the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick about how to improve policing, focusing on stop and search.

This is what we have been trying to do for years, says Butler, 50, who has previously called for Dame Cressida to resign over a lack of progress on tackling structural racism. We police by consent in this country and theres a growing unease around stop and search. Its not actually a very successful tool, it only has a 15 per cent success rate and creates a lot of animosity.

She isnt against the police  the man who stopped us was polite and pleasant and of course we need police officers, this is very different to the US where they are arguing about defunding the police. What she wants is a system that works, so that we can get rid of the crime that we see in our streets. With Dame Cressida, she plans to discuss recommendations from the Macpherson report into Stephen Lawrences death.

The officer who stopped her apologised and the Met has said it was a mistake  they thought it was another car. But it has gone beyond this one incident; the backlash Butler faced for mentioning it, with people saying she had lied about the cars driver and he was actually white, has made her realise we need to go deeper and ask why we were stopped in the first place.

It comes after other incidents of black people questioning how the police treat them. Last month the sprinter Bianca Williams shared footage of a stop, accusing the police of racial profiling.

The challenge is that for many people, stop and search is one way to address the rising rate of violent crime. The parents of 17-year-old Jeremy Meneses-Chalarca, who was fatally attacked near Oxford Street on Saturday, have called for greater use of stop and search, for example. Butler doesnt think this in itself will reduce murders. Unless you stop everyone walking down Oxford Street, how are you doing it fairly? I want us to get to a point where we have a system that can successfully identify people who carry knives and guns.

Thats fair enough, but what does she suggest instead, with crime spiralling? There were 14 stabbings in London last weekend. Butler doesnt elaborate on solutions, but lists organisations that have been working on this: StopWatch, Liberty and more. If we can replace stop and search that would be phenomenal.

A s she told the officer who stopped her on Sunday, Butler has been researching stop and search. The officer asked if she wanted to complain to the IPCC [the complaints body], but my only thought was how to change the system so it works better; to use my platform for good. Her friend agreed. He doesnt want to be the centre of attention but he has been stopped before and he carries his driving licence with him, sometimes his passport.

We police by consent in this country and theres a growing unease around stop and search

When she first saw people accusing her of lying about his skin colour on Twitter she thought it was hilarious. Why would I lie about that? Anyone with any modicum of intelligence would know that would be the most ridiculous thing to lie about, especially as I filmed it.

She cant begin to think why someone would accuse her of lying, other than to try to disprove my lived experience to say racial profiling doesnt happen. Imagine if I didnt have video evidence. People also said I was driving around for four hours just trying to get stopped. Why would I do that? I am tired, I want to enjoy my Sunday. This is not what I do to enjoy myself.

Growing up in Forest Gate, Butlers brothers told her not to trust the police. They sat me down and gave me the talk when I was 12, she says. They said if I was ever in trouble I should call them, not the police. I felt it was sound advice. When I started driving they told me if a police car follows me I should only stop if there were lots of other people around.

Shes lost count of how many times she has been stopped, but a few occasions stand out. When she was 27 and driving to work the early shift at a bakery, the police stopped her and assumed I was a man because I was wearing lots of clothes, I dont like the cold.

Another time she was giving her intern a lift back from Parliament, and I tried to ensure the stop was as good as possible because I didnt want the intern to be scared. The police said they had stopped me because I looked angry.

Does she regret not raising it sooner? Once I was stopped and in such a hurry because I had to get to PMQs and I had just been cut up by an articulated lorry, who they didnt stop.

Butler is used to defending herself. In 2005 she became the third black woman to become a British MP, and has found that black politicians are judged more harshly than our white counterparts. Thats just fact, she states. When Sack Dawn Butler was trending on Twitter nobody was asking for the MP released on bail for a rape charge to be sacked, or the MP who sent inappropriate messages to his interns to be sacked. Some MPs are judged differently.

Butler came to politics through working as an officer in the GMB trade union. Her politics is broadly to the left of the party  she rose fast under Gordon Brown, becoming assistant whip in 2008 and a youth minister. In 2010 she lost her seat after boundary changes. She spent five years designing learning programmes for companies and looking after her father before he died. He worked on the railways (her mother worked for the NHS and they are both from Jamaica). In 2015 she returned to Parliament, and has said she was surprised at how much her party had moved to the right.

At first, racism in Parliament was a shock. I was quite green when I entered Parliament. I was excited to have been elected and thought Id make all these changes, only to have people constantly undermine me and ask me to explain why I was there. That was soul-destroying. I wish Id known what it would be like.

I got into a lift and a couple of MPs told me the lift wasnt for cleaners. I questioned them  theres nothing wrong with cleaners, but why did they think I was one?

She doesnt want to list every single incident of racism because its exhausting but she does bring up the MP who told her, this place is going to rack and ruin, they are letting anyone in these days. She vowed that by the time she left Parliament there would be more black female MPs, and there are now.

Trolling and threats have made her more mindful, considering where she goes, how she gets there and not revealing whether she has a partner. Last month I closed my constituency office after racist threats and a member of my team bought a stab vest to wear to surgeries, she says. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer texted Butler after she reported the stop.

Butler was close to Jeremy Corbyn and when Sir Keir was elected, Butler left the Shadow Cabinet. She had stood for deputy leader, losing to Angela Rayner, and has said that Labours leadership election system is too expensive and needs reform.

A file photo of Jeremy Corbyn who accused the Labour party of making a 'political' decision regarding the seven whistleblowers / PA

But what does she make of the new leader? How do you mean? she says, momentarily cagey. Hes doing well in the polls. Theres a lot we have to hold this Government to account on. We had two elections that should not have taken place where everything that shouldnt have happened. This is the year we should have been preparing for an election.

Labours identity is in flux, but Butler boils it down to Labour is always the force for good and change, that instils hope and confidence in this country. She condemns anti-Semitism: Labour is an anti-racist party but we have to earn that again, on all levels, anti-Semitism, anti-black racism. We have a lot of work to do.

Keir Starmer is urging Boris Johnson to get a grip on testing / Getty Images

Her views on gender are controversial, that babies are born without a sex. Marsha de Cordova is dealing with this issue, she says, referring to her successor as shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities. The party is having round-table discussions. We shouldnt roll back anyones rights.

Butler laughs that she didnt really want to go into politics in the first place. She was asked to stand in an all-women shortlist. Then I realised I could make a change.

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Thats what shes doing this week, not shying away from conflict. We need to have these uncomfortable conversations to make society better. So many people have contacted me to say they didnt realise the extent to which racism happened in our society. That means progress is being made.
13.08.2020 LISTEN

Her mind was as free as a nimble bird, and she insisted that her students think outside the box on all occasions. But she was also positively bullish, and innately resistant to behaviors that represented oppression, or subjugation of the mind or the spirit. Any time she confronted such negative behaviors, the lion in her would roar!

I spoke to Doris a little over a week before she breathed her last. I had not been in touch with her in a while so I texted her in my usual expressive, boyish manner, hoping she would pamper me again as was the tradition of our exchanges.

But when I received no response from her, I texted her again, for it was not in her nature to ignore my notifications. I was positively stubborn in my dealings with her, for she was like a doting mother to me, a spoilt, old child. I ran to her each time I was in need of any form of reassurance or upliftment of mind or spirit. And this was precisely the subject of my communication, which turned out to be our last encounter.

This time she responded, again and again, insinuating how unwell she had been, how relentlessly she had been battling breast cancer, and hoping to overcome this demon again like she did a couple of years ago, when this enemy of God first manifested against her body in ferocity and violence.

The tables were now turned, and I became the giver of hope, for I encouraged her to keep her trust in God, trust in his healing balm and await deliverance from Mount Zion. For I was confident she would soon leave her sick bed. If anyone had the grit and spirit to overcome this affliction, it got to be Doris.

But like many others before her, Doris succumbed to the disease, and now nothing but tears fill my eyes upon the remembrance of one of the closest professional friends and mentors I ever had.

I met Doris Yaa Dartey during my student days at the University of Ghanas School of Communication Studies. She had returned to Ghana from the United States where she sojourned for many years. Her determination to give something back to this country inspired her return to the land of her birth to take up a teaching appointment at the School.

It was clear Doris was a unique breed of the female specie, for she presented her lessons in an interactive, free-for all, all inclusive, exuberantly buoyant style that was not only quite breathtaking, but represented her personality and doctrine of life.

Her mind was as free as a nimble bird, and she insisted that her students think outside the box on all occasions. But she was also positively bullish, and innately resistant to behaviors that represented oppression, or subjugation of the mind or body in any form. Any time she confronted such negative behaviors, the lion in her would roar!

Doris was a bubble of life, determination, spirit, fight, and all that is admirable in resilient, expressive, confident, self-made women. It was impossible to notice in her the very quintessential academic and professional, who not only accommodated and over-indulged her students, but treated them as equals and friends.

Doris and I teamed up to do a few projects together  the student and his mentor sharing a common professional platform as co-equals! Such extravagances of illogicality exist only in the liberal world of the late Dr. Doris Yaa Dartey!

Irreplaceable, thats who you are! Your addition to the company of heaven should bring no small titillation to that company.
A struggling Sydney barista who lost almost all his customers overnight has been inundated with support after one customer's heartwarming gesture.

Rob Mayer, owner of Coffee Express at Bondi Junction Railway Station, recently had his foot traffic cut down to almost nothing when the escalators leading up to his shop were shut down for maintenance.

The changes mean almost all of Rob's customers stopped walking by his shop and stopped buying coffees.

Rob Mayer's (pictured) coffee shop at Bondi Junction Railway station lost almost all its foot traffic overnight when a set of escalators leading up to his shop closed overnight

Dylan Ross told Daily Mail Australia he was preparing to catch the train on Wednesday when he stopped by Rob's shop and found the barista dishearten and the area a 'ghost town'.

Mr Ross decided share Rob's story on a local Facebook page, Bondi Local Loop, and asked the community to get behind the struggling small business.

'Rob has been dealt some pretty s****y cards in an already tough time with the train station closing down the escalator next to his stand for five weeks,' he wrote.

'(This) effectively drives all commuters up the other end of the platform, removing pretty much 100 per cent of his incidental foot traffic sales.'

'If you catch the train at Bondi Junction in the morning and drink coffee or juice or anything else, consider walking 30 seconds back up the platform to see him.'

The escalators near his shop have closed for maintenance for five weeks (pictured right) and have left his store a 'ghost town'

Customer Dylan Ross decided to put a call out to his local community to support the small business

Dylan Ross (pictured) said he couldn't believe the amount of attention the post had received and hope it would turn into coffee sales

Rob has put in signs diverting people towards his shop (pictured) after the closure of an escalator essentially cut off all foot traffic to his shop

The post was met with support with dozens of people promising to help his business on their next train ride.

'Will grab a coffee from you tomorrow on my way to work,' a woman said.

'What a thoughtful thing to post - I will definitely be visiting Rob next time I'm at the station,' said one man.

'I buy my coffee from there everyday and its so delicious,' said another local.

Rob has also fitted cheeky signs reading: 'Eat and drink coffee here or you will starve and we will too' to divert some foot traffic towards his shop.

The post received thousands of likes and comments with dozens of people promising to pick up a coffee from the coffee shop on their next train ride

Mr Ross said he was blown away by the reaction and hoping the thousands of likes and comments would now turn into coffee sales.

'He's a pretty cheery bloke and could see he was trying to stay positive about it,' he said.

Mr Ross said the sudden change in emotion was what inspired him to share Rob's story and was glad it had left such an impact.
TDT | Manama

The National Taskforce for Combatting the Coronavirus (COVID-19) warned yesterday that a failure to comply with precautionary measures will accelerate the spread of the virus and therefore require a roll-back in Bahrains ongoing phased re-opening.

This was said by Ministry of Health undersecretary Dr Waleed Khalifa Al Manea during the national taskforces Press conference held at the Crown Prince Centre for Training and Medical Research at the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) Hospital, where they highlighted measures taken to mitigate COVID-19.

Dr Al Manea was joined by fellow-national taskforce members BDF Infectious Disease Consultant and Microbiologist Lt. Col. Dr Manaf Al Qahtani and Salmaniya Medical Complex Infectious and Internal Diseases consultant Dr Jameela Al Salman. Dr Al Manea said that the national taskforce is closely monitoring all COVID-19 cases with the re-opening of certain sectors.

He added that they are paying particular attention to the percentage of positive cases, total active cases, hospital occupancy rate, and the number of cases requiring medical care as they continually assess the situation in the Kingdom amidst the gradual lifting of a number of restrictions.

Dr Al Manea said that regional and international research collaboration and information exchange helps to bolster the progress in COVID-19 treatment. In this regard, he noted that the Health Ministry has announced the initiation of a phase three clinical trial for a COVID-19 inactivated vaccine, in collaboration with UAE-based artificial intelligence company G42 Healthcare.

With regards to patient outcome, Dr Al Manea explained that the recovery rate is currently at 92.6 per cent in Bahrain with a 0.4 per cent death rate. Isolation centre capacity also stood at 21 per cent, with 1,752 out of 8,357 beds occupied, and 1,383 asymptotic cases being under optional home self-isolation after meeting the set criteria.

Speaking on the vaccine trials, Dr Al Qahtani emphasised that the inactivated vaccine does not cause infection, but triggers an immune response producing antibodies to fight the virus. The effectiveness of the produced antibodies will then be assessed as a measure of the success of the vaccine.

Dr Al Qahtani added that the clinical trials follow the successful completion of the first two phases in China, which have reported good success rates. The first trial proved the effectiveness of the vaccine while the second tested the immunogenicity of the vaccine on a limited number of volunteers.

Dr Al Qahtani revealed that the trial will enlist up to 6,000 volunteers who have not previously contracted COVID-19, are over the age of 18, and are willing to undergo a health assessment, in accordance with the set health requirements.

He also reassured all interested volunteers that everything has been done and all steps have been followedat the highest levels to make sure that the trials are as safe as can be to volunteers. On her part, Dr Al Salman noted that Bahrain has safeguarded freedom of movement for citizens and resident while restricting gatherings to minimise the spread of the virusa process that has set precedents for the re-opening of selected sectors at each stage of the phased plan, whilst avoiding roll-backs.

Dr Al Salman added that the Health Ministry is continuously expanding COVID-19 testing capacity to identify, isolate, and break chains of infection; and random community-based testing sites have helped identify asymptomatic cases.

She went on to recognise the importance of continuing to adhere to preventative measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and allow for the next phases of reopening, as emphasised by the World Health Organisations recent conference and call to do it all when complying with preventative measures. Dr Al Salman underlined that these preventative measures have now been adopted by the majority of the community since the discovery of the first case in Bahrain five months ago.
Gov. Ned Lamonts administration has fined five more individuals  including four Stamford residents  $1,000 each for violating his travel restrictions and coronavirus quarantine policy.

The latest penalties brings the total number of people fined since Lamont issued the executive order on July 21 to seven. The governor announced the first two fines Monday.

Coronavirus in Connecticut CT's travel advisory list remains the same

The travel advisory is serious and Governor Lamont is trying to take every step possible in order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 to protect as many Connecticut residents as possible, said Max Reiss, the governors communications director.

Four Stamford residents who visited North Carolina and an Old Lyme resident who visited Texas each were fined $1,000 for failing to submit a travel advisory form to the Department of Public Health.

The administration did not release the names of the individuals who were fined.

Lamonts executive order mandates that any individual visiting Connecticut from a state with high coronavirus infection rates must file a form in advance of their arrival here. This applies both to visiting residents of other states as well as to Connecticut residents returning here after travel to COVID-19 hot spots.

Those entering Connecticut from one of these states also are directed to quarantine for 14 days. Medical and public safety personnel, government staff and certain other essential workers may be exempted from this quarantine requirement, provided they obtain a negative coronavirus test result three days prior to their return to Connecticut.

The restriction applies to visitors from any state where 10 percent or more of all coronavirus tests are positive, on average, over the previous seven days.
The French military conducted training exercises with Greek forces off the southern island of Crete on Thursday, defence sources said, as tension persisted with Turkey over disputed waters in the eastern Mediterranean, Reuters reports.

Thursdays exercise was the first manifestation of French President Emmanuel Macrons commitment to temporarily reinforce his countrys presence in the eastern Mediterranean. France has called on Turkey to halt oil and gas exploration in disputed waters.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis discussed the situation in the region with Macron by telephone on Wednesday.

On Thursday, the French armed forces ministry said it was sending two Rafale fighter jets and the naval frigate Lafayette to the eastern Mediterranean.

The frigate and the jets had arrived in Crete earlier on Thursday and carried out joint manoeuvres with Greek forces, the Greek defence sources said.

Emmanuel Macron is a true friend of Greece and a fervent defender of European values and international law, Mitsotakis tweeted, in French, after the call with Macron.
A recent agreement between the World Health Organization (WHO) and the German pharmaceutical company Bayer promises hope of expanding access to essential medicines for the treatment of people exposed to or infected by the pork tapeworm Taenia solium.

Infection with the parasite T. solium is estimated to cause 30% of all epilepsy cases in countries where it is endemic, affecting mostly the poorest people and the most marginalized communities.

Donated praziquantel and niclosamide as part of expanded collaboration

In a five-year agreement signed last year, Bayer agreed to support WHO's global programme in combating taeniasis and neurocysticercosis through donated praziquantel and niclosamide and to provide funding to sustain control and prevention activities.

For more than 15 years, Bayer has donated medicines to WHO to support the control of human African trypanosomiasis and Chagas disease. This latest collaboration for the control and treatment of T. solium infection is opportune as WHO prepares to launch its new road map for neglected tropical diseases for 20212030.

How to request the medicines

Both praziquantel and niclosamide are now available through WHO.

To request a donation, a set of forms should be completed to facilitate application, review and reporting. These are also expected to improve coordination and integration among different programmes. The three forms are:

Request for selected PC medicines (RSM)  to assist countries in quantifying the number of tablets of the relevant medicines required to reach the planned target population and districts during the year for which medicines are requested.

 to assist countries in quantifying the number of tablets of the relevant medicines required to reach the planned target population and districts during the year for which medicines are requested. Reporting form (RF)  to assist countries in reporting annual progress on integrated and coordinated distribution of medicines across diseases in the reporting year in a standardized format.

 to assist countries in reporting annual progress on integrated and coordinated distribution of medicines across diseases in the reporting year in a standardized format. PC epidemiological data reporting form (EPIRF)  to standardize national reporting of epidemiological data on taeniasis/cysticercosis. National authorities are encouraged to complete this form and submit it to WHO every year, together with the RF.

All donations are subject to review and/or availability of medicines. In addition, use of donated medicines must be adequately reported to WHO upon completion of treatment activities.

Submission

The reports generated in the RSM and in the RF (SUMMARY worksheets) must be printed and signed by the NTD coordinator or a Ministry of Health representative to formally endorse the country's request for these medicines and the reported annual progress of the national programme(s). The date of signature must also be included.

Once signatures have been obtained, the scanned copies of the two worksheets, together with the full Excel versions of the RSM, the RF and the EPIRF, can be jointly submitted to WHO. All three duly completed forms should be submitted to the WHO Country office and copies emailed to:

The forms should also be copied to the NTD focal point in the respective WHO Regional Office.

The turnaround time (from submission of forms to WHO country office to the delivery of the preventive chemotherapy medicines to the national warehouse of the respective countries) may take up to 68 months. This lead time is required for review and approval of the request that includes order placement, production of medicine and shipment.

Data reporting and collection at community and district levels

Recording and collecting reliable information on the use of medicines (i.e. coverage) at peripheral and district levels and compiling such information at the national level is essential for completion of the RF.

Breaking the cycle of transmission

Efforts to control neurocysticercosis are mainly aimed at breaking the cycle of active transmission of the parasite. An important component of this strategy is treating patients who harbour the T. solium tapeworm. This is done through largescale treatment (also known as preventive chemotherapy) of eligible populations. The most effective medicines at a single dose are praziquantel or niclosamide.

Over the past few years, many endemic countries affected by cysticercosis have requested WHO to facilitate access to qualityassured medicines. The current agreement, under the umbrella of universal health coverage, allows Bayer to donate praziquantel ("Biltricide") and niclosamide ("Yomesan") tablets.

The disease

Taeniasis is an intestinal infection caused by three species of tapeworm: Taenia solium (pork tapeworm), Taenia saginata (beef tapeworm) and Taenia asiatica. Humans can become infected with T. saginata or T. asiatica when they consume infected beef meat or pig liver tissue, respectively, which has not been adequately cooked, but taeniasis due to T. saginata or T. asiatica has no major impact on human health.

Infection with the T. solium tapeworm occurs when a person eats raw or undercooked, infected pork. People infected with T. solium can develop two distinct conditions: taeniasis and cysticercosis.

While the adult tapeworm in the human intestine (taeniasis) does not have major health impact, humans can develop cysticercosis with tapeworm larvae (cysticerci) in the muscles, skin and eyes. When cysts develop in the brain  a condition known as neurocysticercosis  they can cause severe headache, blindness, convulsions and epileptic seizures. The latter can also be fatal.

Epilepsy is a public health problem in these endemic communities, where the association with neurocysticercosis can be up to 70% in some areas. In settings where the disease is present, epilepsy is difficult to diagnose and treat. It also causes major stigmatization, particularly among girls and women (where it is commonly associated to witchcraft).
Announcement of Periodic Review: Moody's announces completion of a periodic review of ratings of Kuwait Finance House K.S.C.P.

Global Credit Research - 13 Aug 2020

Limassol, August 13, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") has completed a periodic review of the ratings of Kuwait Finance House K.S.C.P. and other ratings that are associated with the same analytical unit. The review was conducted through a portfolio review in which Moody's reassessed the appropriateness of the ratings in the context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. The review did not involve a rating committee. Since 1 January 2019, Moody's practice has been to issue a press release following each periodic review to announce its completion.

This publication does not announce a credit rating action and is not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is likely in the near future. Credit ratings and outlook/review status cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted by this announcement. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history.

Key rating considerations are summarized below.

Kuwait Finance House's (KFH) A1 long term deposit rating is driven by the bank's standalone baseline credit assessment (BCA) of baa3 and five notches of government support. Moody's assumes very high likelihood of government support from Kuwait (rated Aa2). KFH's long-term ratings and assessments were placed under review for possible downgrade on April 1st 2020, for details see Moody's press release issued on that date.

The bank's baa3 BCA captures its solid asset risk and strong capitalization. It also reflects the bank's strong and diversified Islamic franchise, which supports its robust profitability. It also takes into account the bank's significant international exposures in countries where we expect operating conditions to weaken and high sector concentration.

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This document summarizes Moody's view as of the publication date and will not be updated until the next periodic review announcement, which will incorporate material changes in credit circumstances (if any) during the intervening period.

The principal methodology used for this review was Banks Methodology published in November 2019. Please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.

This announcement applies only to EU rated and EU endorsed ratings. Non EU rated and non EU endorsed ratings may be referenced above to the extent necessary, if they are part of the same analytical unit.

This publication does not announce a credit rating action. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history.

Alexios Philippides Vice President - Senior Analyst Financial Institutions Group Moody's Investors Service Cyprus Ltd. Porto Bello Building 1, Siafi Street, 3042 Limassol PO Box 53205 Limassol CY 3301 Cyprus JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454 Sean Marion MD - Financial Institutions Financial Institutions Group JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454 Releasing Office: Moody's Investors Service Cyprus Ltd. Porto Bello Building 1, Siafi Street, 3042 Limassol PO Box 53205 Limassol CY 3301 Cyprus JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454

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US demands that Pakistan seize an Iranian oil tanker

The Government has seized an Iranian ship at the request of the United States for the transfer of oil at the port of Karachi, a Pakistani senator said.

Rahman Malik, secretary of Pakistan's Senate Internal Affairs Committee, warned of Irans oil transfer to The Fars News Agency, according to the International Economic Saif news agency, and said it was a major international issue and could ultimately lead to pressure against Pakistan. Referring to the seizure of an Iranian ship in the port of Karachi for the so-called Iranian oil smuggling to Pakistan, he said, "Given that such measures are a violation of sanctions against Iran and have no legal basis in Pakistan, it is an important international issue that could put Pakistan under pressure." The Iranian ship was seized by a U.S. organization who then informed the Pakistani government to seize it, the Pakistani official said in a warning to Pakistans interior ministry. The U.S. agency has asked the Pakistani government to take legal action against the import, export and refining of Iranian oil. Malik called on the Federal Investigation Agency of Pakistan to put an investigation into the parties involved in importing crude and gasoline from Iran to Pakistan on the agenda. He also called for investigations into similar measures in the past and the distribution of imported fuel from the site of the action in the country's fuel distribution network. He says the information about the ship's cargo was incorrect.




DUBAI, United Arab Emirates  President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that the United Arab Emirates and Israel agreed to establish normal diplomatic relations in a development that will put on pause Israel's efforts to annex parts of the West Bank claimed by Palestinians.

The president released a joint statement from the two countries and the United States on Twitter announcing the move. Leaders of the three countries spoke earlier in the day, according to the statement.

The news comes amid years of warming ties between the UAE and Israel, which until now have not had official diplomatic or trade relations.

The UAE, as with many Arab countries, has had an economic boycott against Israel since its founding and does not formally recognize it. But cooperation between the two on issues like security and the increasing frequency of unofficial meetings by leaders, often aided by Washington, have been widely reported for some time.

The deal makes the UAE the first Persian Gulf state to normalize ties with Israel and only the third Arab country, after Egypt and Jordan, to have open diplomatic ties to the country.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: India's most valuable company Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is reportedly the latest bidder for the Bytedance-owned TikTok in India.

The Mukesh Ambani-led firm had begun talks last month with the Chinese firm to acquire its operations in India. The deal is said to be valued at $5 billion.

India is the largest market for the short video app outside China with more than 611 million downloads generated till date, according to data sourced from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower. However, when it comes to monetization, China, US and UK accounted for 90% of the total TikTok revenues.

Although, Reliance and Bytedance both denied any information on the reported deal, industry analysts predict that Reliance's acquisition of TikTok is the most likely scenario especially after the Chinese app was banned by the Indian government in June on the grounds of threats to national security and data privacy.

Interestingly, Facebook, which is the largest minority stakeholder in Reliance's Jio platforms, has also recently launched Instagram Reels in India, where the users can make a short video, embedded in the photo-sharing platform.

ALSO READ | Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries breaks into top 100 global companies

Sanchit Vir Gogia, CEO, Greyhound Research wrote in his note that in the present circumstances, Bytedance's deal with Reliance Jio could be a viable option to clear the regulatory hurdles in India while also helping leverage the nearly 400 million users base of Jio.

ALSO WATCH:

"Although Instagram Reels is being described as a clone of TikTok, the fact is that the similarity of the features may act as an advantage and help the Facebook backed photo-sharing app onboard millions of users in India who were earlier using TikTok. Facebook still has a larger user base than TikTok in India and over the course of time, Instagram Reels can leverage the massive network Facebook has in India. Reels was first smartly tested in low-risk markets and then rolled out in India for scale and mass content - while it may not come across as integrated with other products, it may be too early to judge. Leverage with a broader FB network makes Instagram Reels more compelling than TikTok," Gogia added.

Tech giant Microsoft had earlier said that it is planning to purchase TikTok in the US and other key markets.

US President Donald Trump's latest executive order last week serving a 45-day deadline for the TikTok sale may likely lead to fastracking the potential sale. Microsoft had confirmed that it is in talks with Bytedance to acquire TikTok and that the discussions will be concluded by September 15.


Rating Action: Moody's affirms Coca-Cola European Partners' A3/P-2 ratings; stable outlook

Global Credit Research - 13 Aug 2020

Milan, August 13, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service, ("Moody's") has today affirmed the A3 long term issuer rating and the senior unsecured rating of Coca-Cola European Partners plc ("CCEP" or "the company"), the largest independent bottler by revenue in the Coke system. Concurrently, Moody's has affirmed the company's Prime-2 (P-2) short-term rating. The outlook is stable.

"The affirmation takes into account CCEP's strong business profile and the resilient fundamentals of the beverage industry in times of economic stress, which are the key mitigating factors to the expected decline in profits in 2020," says Ernesto Bisagno, a Moody's Vice President -- Senior Credit Officer and lead analyst for CCEP.

"The rating affirmation also reflects Moody's expectation that the company will maintain a financial policy that balances creditor protection and shareholder remuneration in the current uncertain environment, and that market conditions and CCEP's performance will recover in 2021," adds Mr. Bisagno.

A full list of affected ratings is provided at the end of this press release.

RATINGS RATIONALE

CCEP's A3 rating benefits from a one-notch rating uplift, reflecting the implied support from Coca-Cola Company (The) ("TCCC", A1 stable).

CCEP's standalone credit profile reflects the company's strong business profile and the resilient fundamentals of the beverage industry in times of economic stress, the key mitigating factors for the expected decline in profit in 2020 and the expected weakening of CCEP's credit metrics.

Despite the expected deterioration in profit in 2020, the A3 rating is supported by (1) CCEP's strong brand portfolio and market shares as the largest independent bottler in the Coke system; (2) steady profit growth and strong cash flow generation; and (3) balanced financial policy, with a medium-term targeted leverage of 2.5x-3.0x (company's definition of net debt to adjusted EBITDA). CCEP's rating is constrained by (1) its exposure to the low-growth environment across Europe, and (2) track record of significant shareholder distributions, although the company has recently suspended its share buyback until visibility recovers.

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In 2019, CCEP reported a 4.5% (3.5% excluding incremental soft drinks taxes) revenue increase excluding forex movements and a 6% increase in comparable operating profit to E1.7 billion, driven by a combination of increased volumes, higher pricing and better mix.

In March 2020, the company withdrew its original guidance for 2020 whereby operating profit was expected to grow in the mid-single-digit range. This was because of the weakened economic outlook due to the widening spread of the coronavirus outbreak in CCEP's key markets. As a result, in the first half of 2020, CCEP reported net revenue and comparable operating profit down 16.5% and 48.5%, due to a sharp decline in volumes in the away-from-home channel, a more modest decline in home consumption, and increased cost of sales per unit case due to the relatively high amount of fixed costs in its cost structure. This was partially offset by a reduction in operating costs. However, since the full lock down measures were lifted, the decline in volumes have started to ease, with the company indicating that July volumes were in line with June.

Assuming that the efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus are successful and there are no further widespread lockdowns, Moody's expects additional sequential improvement in trading performance in the second half. Despite the sequential improvement in H2, Moody's expects CCEP to report a 25%-30% decline in 2020 Moody's adjusted EBITDA.

However, Moody's anticipates free cash flow (FCF) after interest and dividends paid to remain broadly neutral in 2020, or marginally positive, supported by E200 million - E250 million of discretionary cost savings and a E200 million reduction in capex. Pressures on 2020 credit metrics will also be offset by the company's decision to suspend its E1 billion share buyback programme.

Return to profit growth in 2021 will be driven by a significant improvement in volumes from what will be a low base in 2020 and by CCEP's continued focus on higher-margin premium products.

Based on that, the rating agency expects CCEP's Moody's-adjusted debt/EBITDA to increase towards 4.0x, higher than the 3.0x threshold for the current A3 rating, and to return towards 3.0x by 2022.

The biggest risks to Moody's expectations includes a material increase of cases which could trigger new lockdowns, as well as a prolonged economic contraction or a weak recovery, resulting in a shift to buying cheaper products with lower margins. Profit recovery would also be at risk if there were a permanent shift in consumption, resulting in permanently lower sales volumes.

LIQUIDITY

CCEP's liquidity is excellent, underpinned by existing cash and cash equivalents of E893 million at June 2020; neutral-to-marginally positive FCF after interest and dividends paid over 2020-21; and access to a E1.5 billion revolving credit facility (fully undrawn as of December 2019) maturing in August 2025 and not subject to any financial covenants or material adverse changes at drawings.

The company has a manageable debt maturity schedule, with around E338 million equivalent bond due in September 2020, and E744 million equivalent of bonds maturing in 2021.

Consistent with higher summer demand, CCEP's second and third quarters typically contribute over 60% of annual earnings and operating cash flow. Working capital also exhibits moderate seasonality, with a buildup in the first half of the year.

RATIONALE FOR STABLE OUTLOOK

Despite the expected decline in earnings, the stable outlook reflects Moody's expectation that CCEP will continue to generate neutral to marginally positive free cash flow over 2020-21, and that the company may use additional levers at its disposal to protect its credit metrics in case operating performance deteriorates further. However, the rating agency expects CCEP Moody's adjusted leverage to remain above the level required for the rating in the next 12-18 months and only return towards 3.0x by 2022.

FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS

Given the relatively high leverage, an upgrade of CCEP's ratings is unlikely in the next 12-18 months. However, upward rating pressure could develop if operating momentum is strong and the company commits to sustaining debt/EBITDA closer to 2x.

CCEP's rating could be strained if its operating performance does not show signs of improvement in 2021 and Debt/EBITDA does not return towards 3.0x by 2022.

LIST OF AFFECTED RATINGS

..Issuer: Coca-Cola European Partners plc

Affirmations:

....Long-term Issuer Rating, Affirmed A3

....Commercial Paper, Affirmed P-2

....Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture, Affirmed A3

....Backed Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture, Affirmed A3

Outlook Action: ....Outlook, Remains Stable PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Global Soft Beverage Industry published in January 2017 and available at https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1053179. Alternatively, please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.

COMPANY PROFILE

CCEP was formed in May 2016 through the merger of three bottlers: Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc., a producer, distributor and marketer of non-alcoholic beverages in Belgium, continental France, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden; Coca-Cola Iberian Partners, the Coca-Cola bottler for Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Iceland; and Coca-Cola Erfrischungsgetranke AG, which bottles, sells and distributes Coca-Cola branded products in Germany. In 2019, the company reported sales and EBITDA of E12.0 billion and E2.2 billion, respectively. The Coca-Cola Company has a 19% interest in CCEP, principals of the former Coca-Cola Iberian Partners own 36% and the rest is publicly traded.

REGULATORY DISCLOSURES

For further specification of Moody's key rating assumptions and sensitivity analysis, see the sections Methodology Assumptions and Sensitivity to Assumptions in the disclosure form. Moody's Rating Symbols and Definitions can be found at: https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_79004.

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Ernesto Bisagno, CFA VP - Senior Credit Officer Corporate Finance Group Moody's Italia S.r.l Corso di Porta Romana 68 Milan 20122 Italy JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454 Ivan Palacios Associate Managing Director Corporate Finance Group JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454 Releasing Office: Moody's Italia S.r.l Corso di Porta Romana 68 Milan 20122 Italy JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454

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The ITBx Fingerprint Crypto Wallet provides a simple and secure way to protect anyones high-value assets against theft. We noticed at ITBiometrics that there are plenty of people who are victims of hacking but could not find a product that will give them the protection they need.

ITBiometrics, a biometrics company that specializes in security for online financial transactions and biometric identity authentication, announced today that it will be hosting a hacking contest. By encouraging professional and amateur hackers alike to hack into the ITBx Fingerprint Crypto Wallet, they hope to show the benefits of biometric security for cryptocurrency wallets.

ITBiometrics is offering a $10,000 prize to the first person that can hack their ultra-secure, Fingerprint Crypto Walleta device that not only uses your fingerprint, but also scans your pulse for authentication. These features ultimately defend against hackers who could use lifted fingerprints to break into sensitive devices.

By entering the hacking contest, hackers will have the chance to put the product to the test, ultimately showcasing the advances in biometric technology for crypto assets. The Hacker Contest lets us prove our advanced biometric technology that we believe can have a big impact on anyones peace of mind, said ITBiometrics Chairman, Howard Prager.

To ITBiometrics' customers, a cold wallet fingerprint and pulse authentication may be preferred over traditional hot wallets for its increased security. Cold storage devices are inherently more secure than hot wallets since they are not connected to the internet, but additional fingerprint and pulse identification prevents hackers from stealing passwords and lifting prints that would otherwise compromise holdings. As an example, ITBiometrics proved that even cold wallets stored in your phone are not safe. Watch this short video of Andy Finch, ITBiometrics CEO, hack an iPhone with a Gummy Bear: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dko-AzWmh6Q

In addition to hack-proof fingerprint with pulse authentication, consumers can rest well knowing that the ITBx Fingerprint Crypto Wallet also includes multi-signature authentication, open-source storage, and ephemeral key wrappingadditional challenges to hacking.

The ITBx Fingerprint Crypto Wallet provides a simple and secure way to protect anyones high-value assets against theft," said Prager. We noticed at ITBiometrics that there are plenty of people who are victims of hacking but could not find a product that will give them the protection they need. ITBiometrics solves this problem with the ITBx Fingerprint Crypto Walleta device we believe is unhackable, which is why were encouraging hackers to prove us wrong.

The launch of ITBiometrics ITBx Fingerprint Crypto Wallet hacking contest is a big milestone for the company and biometric industry. Anyone who hacks the product will gain notoriety in the hacking community, with the added benefit of $10,000 given by ITBiometrics.

Signups for early access are available on the ITBiometrics website today.

Sales Contact:

Kory Kane

korykkane(at)gmail(dot)com

1 (972) 684-4432

Media Contact:

Gene Massey

gene(at)mediashares(dot)com

1 (310) 871-3668

About ITBiometrics

ITBiometrics, Inc. is a USA corporation specializing in security for online financial transactions using biometric identity authentication. ITBiometrics manufactures OEM hardware products with leading biometric technology integration for use by businesses, governments, and individuals in high-security use cases. For more information visit https://ITBiometrics.com or follow us on Facebook @ITBiometrics or Twitter @ITBiometrics.
By Laman Ismayilova

Embassy of Hungary in Azerbaijan invites you to join an art contest for children.

The event is timed to the 100th anniversary of the death of the Hungarian painter Gyula Benczur.

The contest is open for young talents aged between 6 and 17 years.

The main goal of the project is to focus the interest and creativity of young generation on fine art. In this difficult period of pandemics, the organizers intend to motivate the Azerbaijani children with a safe and beneficial activity as well as to find talented followers to Gyula Benczur among young Azerbaijanis.

Those wishing to take part in the competition should present their Hungary-themed paintings that feature its historical buildings, native animals, geographical places, prominent figures or fairy tales.

The artwork can be done in any traditional genre of painting. Photographs, sculptures, and digitally-created artworks are not eligible for entry. The painting must be your own original work, with a short description how it connects to Hungary.

The jury includes Ambassador of Hungary Viktor Szederkenyi, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Hungary Vilayat Guliyev, Honored Artist Asmar Narimanbayova, founder of Nargiz Studio Nargiz Guliyeva and Member of the Art Found of Hungarian Republic and the Association of Hungarian Fine and Applied Artists Ms. Eszter Kneisz.

The best 5 artworks will be rated in the following age categories: 14-17 years, 10-13 years, children under 10 years. Artworks should be submitted via the participant's parent or a legal representative.

All winners will receive certificate from the Embassy of Hungary and prizes from the organizers. They will also take part in the exhibition, to be held by the Embassy of Hungary in Azerbaijan and the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Budapest after the pandemic.

The art competition will last until 5th of September. Participants should send 3 photos about their artwork (minimum size 1200*800) to the following e-mail address: [email protected]

The winners will be announced till 13 of September on the embassy's official Facebook page. After announcing the winners, they should send the originals of their works to the Embassy of Hungary until 25th of September.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
These are the elite of the infection control personnel from hospitals all over the country, said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University, who is not affiliated with the group. Another expert, Michael T. Osterholm of the University of Minnesota, said the letter should be taken very seriously.

At the outset of the pandemic, the C.D.C. expanded its National Healthcare Safety Network, which for several decades has collected information on hospital infections, to begin collecting hospital data related to the virus. Hospitals around the country are familiar with the network, which the authors of the letter described as a robust surveillance system. The C.D.C. published estimates of hospital bed capacity, based on the information it collected.

But officials at the health and human services agency felt the C.D.C. was not moving quickly enough. This year, they set up their own data tracking system  H.H.S. Protect  and hired TeleTracking Technologies, a Pittsburgh firm, to take over the C.D.C.s duties. Mr. Azar made the switch official in a notice to hospitals issued on July 10, and on July 14, the C.D.C. stopped publishing its estimates.

The C.D.C. referred questions about the letter to the Department of Health and Human Services, where officials say the new system was necessary to streamline and improve data collection. A spokesman for Mr. Azar, Michael R. Caputo, said that the C.D.C.s health care network was unable to keep up with the fast-paced data collection demands of the Covid-19 pandemic and that the C.D.C. still had access to the data.

If the writers of that letter want the C.D.C. to be more involved in the hospital data, they should tell the C.D.C., because the C.D.C. has refused to be involved in something that they dont control, Mr. Caputo said. When the shift occurred, he added, they had a tantrum.

After critics raised concerns about access to the data under the new system, the health and human services agency created a new website, the H.H.S. Protect Public Data Hub, to make its analyses of the data public. The website also includes a link to the underlying data, which is far less user friendly than the analyses.

While health department officials say the underlying data is updated daily, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that outside experts who are tracking the pandemic say there has been a lag of a week or more in reporting key indicators that flow from the analyses, such as estimates of the share of inpatient beds occupied by Covid-19 patients.
Indian Ambassador to Vietnam Pranay Verma sends a message to celebrate the 74th Independence Day of India which falls on August 15.

It was on this day in 1947 that the people of India won independence from colonial subjugation and embarked on a journey of development, progress and global integration.

The My Son temple complex in Quang Nam province restored by the Archaeological Survey of India stands as a glorious symbol of millennia-old civilisational ties between Indian and Vietnam. - Photo courtesy of the embassy

In 73 years since then, India as a nation has experienced a remarkable journey. We are now among the five largest economies in the world. The transformation to a 'New India' envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not limited to just economic growth. It places equal emphasis on good governance, peoples empowerment  through the use of technology and participation, and an inclusive and sustainable development model. The scale of this transformation is going to create capabilities and generate demands that will offer great opportunities for our partners, including Vietnam.

The year 2020 has recast the landscape of human interaction by bringing an unprecedented crisis to the humankind in the form of COVID-19 pandemic. At this difficult time, India has been working closely with the global community to help in containing and controlling the pandemic. As the 'pharmacy of the world', Indias priority is to make available all supportive pharmaceutical products that can aid effective pandemic management efforts. India is also at the forefront of global efforts to develop a vaccine for the benefit of all of humanity.

Ambassador Pranay Verma sends a message to celebrate the 74th Independence Day.

In shaping the global response to COVID-19, Prime Minister Modi has underlined the concept of 'human-centric globalisation' that seeks economic revival based on care and compassion. He has also envisioned a 'self-reliant India'  Aatma Nirbhar Bhaarat as it is called in Hindi  which is self-sustaining and resilient, not by isolating India, but by building capacities at home so that India can integrate better with the global value chains. We believe that given its size, capacities and ambitions, India has to be a major factor in the post-pandemic global revival. And the steps India is taking are not incremental; they are transformative.

With Vietnam, our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership today spans a wide range of collaboration  from political engagement to economic and development partnership, defence and security co-operation, energy co-operation, cultural exchanges and people-to-people contacts. Despite the disruptions caused by COVID-19, our multifaceted engagement with Vietnam has moved forward, including at the highest levels. The longstanding tradition of exchange of high-level visits continued with the visit of Vice President Madam Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh to India in February this year. In April, Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc spoke on the telephone not only to exchange views on COVID-19 but also to lay down guidelines for our bilateral relations in 2020.

Our businesses are re-engaging after initial disruptions due to the pandemic, with industry chambers on both sides coming together through online platforms. Last year, India ranked as the seventh-largest trading partner of Vietnam with bilateral trade of about US$12 billion. This is still not commensurate with the levels of our economic development and the fact that we both are among the fastest-growing economies in the world today. New opportunities are presenting themselves as COVID-19 has pushed us into rethinking the old ways of engaging with each other. We are today exploring new supply chains and new partnerships with each other.

Our development partnership with Vietnam has also moved forward. In addition to capacity building exchanges for managing COVID-19, our partnership has entered new domains including science and technology, space applications, information and communications technology, physical and digital connectivity, civil nuclear energy, water resources development and so on. Our quick impact projects in many provinces of Vietnam are bringing speedy and tangible socio-economic benefits to common people.

As a special focus of our development partnership, Indian archaeological experts have continued their heritage conservation project in My Son in Quang Nam Province. In the course of conservation work over the last several months, they have found some magnificent icons of our civilisational interaction, including a ninth-century-old monolithic Shiva Linga.

The growing popularity of yoga in Vietnam, showcased by celebrations in a number of provinces on the International Day of Yoga, continues to highlight our cultural and people-to-people ties.

Our defence partnership has moved forward along several dimensions, including military exchanges, training, joint exercises, peacekeeping and ship visits, to name a few. Defence industrial co-operation is a new focus of our engagement, with defence lines of credit worth US$600 million towards strengthening Vietnams domestic defence manufacturing.

In the wider global and regional context, we consider Vietnam a key pillar of Indias Act East Policy and an important partner in Indias Indo-Pacific Vision, based on our shared values and interests in promoting peace, stability and prosperity of our region. We are happy that ASEAN countries, including Vietnam, have come up with their own outlook on the Indo-Pacific, which is broadly similar to Indias Indo-Pacific Vision. Together, they provide a useful roadmap to promote regional integration through connectivity and partnerships. With Vietnam successfully steering the ASEAN chairmanship despite the disruptions of COVID-19, Indias engagements with Vietnam and ASEAN have been strengthened.

Both India and Vietnam are contributing to regional and global peace and development through UN peacekeeping, as well as through committed actions towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals and addressing climate change. India is going to join Vietnam as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council on January 1, 2021. With their voices of moderation and inclusivity, respect for international law and commitment to reformed multilateralism, the concurrent presence of India and Vietnam in the Security Council provides a renewed basis for more robust co-operation between them on global issues.

As India celebrates its Independence Day today, we recommit ourselves to working together with Vietnam  one of our closest friends and most trusted partners  to take our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to newer heights aligned with our national development priorities. VNS

Foreign media spotlight Ho Chi Minhs ideas, revolutionary career Foreign media have highlighted the morality and intelligence of Vietnamese late leader Ho Chi Minh as well as his invaluable ideas, on the occasion of his 130th birthday on May 19.
Cambodians are outraged by Daejeon High Court's not-guilty ruling on a murder charge for a man who had been indicted for killing his Cambodian wife in a disguised car accident. / Korea Times File



By Lee Hyo-jin



Cambodian residents here are furious over a recent court ruling that acquitted a Korean man of charges of killing his Cambodian wife in a "disguised" car accident in order to receive insurance benefits.



A Cambodian woman in her 30s, married to a Korean living in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, said, "We are all talking about the news in our chat rooms. I cannot believe the husband was released to live on insurance benefits. Now I have grown a little suspicious that my husband asked me recently to buy life insurance."



Another Cambodian immigrant in her 30s said, "I was furious and disappointed when I heard the news. We (married immigrants) are already facing hardships due to social discrimination, and this ruling shows we are not even legally protected."



On Monday, the Daejeon High Court found the man in his 50s, surnamed Lee, not guilty of murdering his wife for insurance money in August 2014.



The Daejeon District Court had earlier dismissed the charge against Lee. But the high court later sentenced him to life in prison. Then in May 2017, the Supreme Court ruled in his favor.



Lee was arrested for intentionally causing a car accident in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province. He rammed into a cargo truck parked on a side road of the Gyeongbu Highway near an interchange in Cheonan area, around 3:40 a.m., Aug. 23. His seven-month-pregnant Cambodian wife in the passenger seat died in the accident.



It was later revealed that Lee had bought 25 insurance policies for his wife since their marriage in 2008, through which he would receive 9.5 billion won ($8,020,256) upon her death.



The Daejeon High Court found him not guilty on charges of murder and insurance fraud. It only found him guilty of violating the Act on Traffic Accidents, and sentenced him to two years. The court ruled that tiredness was the cause of the car accident.



Judge Huh Yong-seok stated, "There is not enough evidence to prove clear motivation for murder. As Lee was not going through economic hardships at that time, insurance claims are not seen as a motivation."



The Embassy of Cambodia in Seoul said it plans to report the case to its headquarters back home.



"We have been monitoring this case thoroughly. As this is a sensitive case which has effected both Cambodian and Korean public opinion, we have been discussing it closely with civil organizations and lawyers," an embassy official told The Korea Times.


The Covid-19 testing centre, run by the National Ambulance Service, in Newbridge, Co Kildare

Health and safety inspectors have found a "high level of compliance" with measures to combat Covid-19 at meat plants during the pandemic.

Health and Safety Authority inspectors have carried out 34 inspections at meat and poultry processing plans since May 18.

A spokesperson revealed it sometimes gives employers advance notice of inspections.

The State watchdog's findings come following recent outbreaks at meat processing plants in the midlands.

They raise questions about how the virus spread at plants and the effectiveness of inspections in helping prevent outbreaks.

Siptu officials have called for unannounced inspections and mandatory testing of workers to combat Covid-19.

Manufacturing division organiser Greg Ennis said there are unacceptably high rates of infection of workers, which is running at approximately 10pc.

Satisfactory

The authority said in a statement that it did not issue any enforcement notices to meat processing employers because it found the level of compliance was satisfactory.

It said it was involved in reviewing matters relating to meat processing facilities as a member of a National Outbreak Control Team, which is chaired by the HSE.

"Further to its involvement in the National Outbreak Control Team, the authority undertook some 34 inspections which covered each of those meat processing facilities connected with a Covid-19 outbreak, along with a number of other meat processing facilities," it said.

It said a number of these inspections included follow-up visits.

"These inspections checked compliance against the interim guidance on Covid-19 outbreaks in meat processing plants in Ireland published by the National Outbreak Control Team, the Return to Work Safely Protocol and general health and safety requirements.

"The authority has received a high level of cooperation from management, staff and contractors in plants inspected and has noted an overall responsiveness to guidance and advice issued both onsite and subsequently," it added.

The authority identified a generally high level of compliance with the recommended measures to limit the spread of Covid-19 in workplaces.

It said in the main authority inspections are unannounced, but in certain circumstances "limited advance notification may be required".

"For example, where it is essential for inspectors to meet with specific individuals at the place of work or to ensure a particular work activity is being undertaken so as to allow inspectors to observe," it said.

It said a limited number of inspections may also require the "coordination of resources" from State agencies or government departments.

This scenario could also lead to the employer being notified shortly before the inspection is due to take place, according to the authority.

Since the first phase of the Government's reopening plan to the end of last week, the authority has undertaken 3,820 inspections and investigations of workplaces across the economy.

Of these, a total of 2,844 inspections "addressed Covid-19".

A spokesperson for the authority declined to comment on whether complaints were received from workers at specific plants.

Meanwhile, the president of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association, Edmond Phelan, has called for supermarkets and food retailers "to face up to the fact that cheap food policies and continuous discounting of basic food staples such as meat, dairy, bread, fruit and veg is unacceptable and unsustainable".

Pressure

"The current Covid crisis in meat and food processing plants is another example of how pressure for lower prices is being facilitated by processors on the back of appalling exploitation of farmers and workers," he claimed.

"Last year's beef factory protests and this year's focus on poor conditions of employment for meat plant workers are two sides of the same coin.

"People need to stop supporting supermarkets who regularly boast about cheaper food, but who have no problem charging 32 for a few replacement shaving blades."
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) brought the world to a standstill as it actively spread across 188 countries and territories. The viral infection has now infected more than 20.55 million people and has taken the lives of over 748,000. As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, getting a flu shot is more important this fall than ever, public health experts say.

Health experts from the National Public Health Organization, the Andreas Sygros Hospital, and the Kapodistrian University in Greece say that influenza shots to reduce the risk of flu are crucial, particularly this coming fall or winter when the flu season usually kick starts. Their work is published in the journal Vaccine.

A bad flu season with a high number of hospitalizations, combined with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, could overburden hospitals across the country, and even in other nations. If the flu season becomes severe this year, it could mean more hospitalizations and even deaths.

Image Credit: Image Point Fr / Shutterstock

Flu and COVID-19

In late 2019, a flu-like and pneumonia-like illness was reported in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, in China. Now, eight months later, the absence of an effective vaccine or drug for the illness, the global infection case toll has skyrocketed. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of COVID-19 disease, has now affected almost all countries across the globe, with the United States topping the case toll board. The country has reported more than 5.19 million infections and more than 165,000 deaths.

Other countries with high numbers of infections include Brazil, with more than 3.16 million infections, India, with more than 2.32 million cases, Russia, with more than 900,000 cases, and South Africa, with more than 568,000 infections, among others.

Before the virus has hit the United States and Europe, the flu season was almost over. Yet, this year is another story. With the fall and winter season fast approaching, and SARS-CoV-2 still actively spreading, there is expected to be a sharp increase in hospitalizations and deaths.

Also, the demand for healthcare systems this year is projected to far exceed that of medical care demands during the flu seasons alone. This is associated with three factors  human-to-human transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is more prevalent compared to influenza, a large proportion of the population remains susceptible, and the case fatality rate of COVID-19 is much higher.

COVID-19 deaths are 9.544.1-times greater than those recorded during the peak week of influenza deaths during the past seven influenza seasons in the United States, with a 20.5-fold increased mean, the authors wrote in the article, adding that the demand could be worse for nations where there is a limited circulation of the coronavirus during the first wave of the outbreak, such as Greece.

Immunizing healthcare personnel

Seasonal flu is a significant cause of illness, death, and the use of healthcare services worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that up to 650,000 deaths are tied to seasonal influenza respiratory infections each year. Further, it was found out that healthcare personnel (HCP) has been traced as sources of infection with flu for high-risk patients.

Hence, healthcare personnel such as doctors and nurses should be immunized not only to protect them from infection but also to protect their patients. Also, HCPs with comorbidities should be immunized to prevent the risk of developing severe illness, both due to flu and COVID-19.

Mandatory vaccination

The authors call for public health officials across the globe to raise influenza vaccine uptake rates, focusing on high-risk groups and healthcare personnel. Flu shots should be mandatory in these groups since the upcoming winter season could spell a disaster if the number of flu cases will skyrocket alongside cases of COVID-19.

Flu and COVID-19 can present with similar symptoms and there is a chance of co-infection, wherein severe cases could lead to complications and even fatal outcomes. COVID-19 and flu also target the same high-risk groups, such as the elderly, those with underlying medical conditions, obese people, and those living in long-term care facilities.

In another study published in Mathematical Biosciences, a novel mathematical model was developed to determine the effect of mass influenza immunization on the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses in the case of an overlapping epidemic with the flu season. The study revealed that mass flu vaccination is effective in mitigating the COVID-19 outbreak.

Furthermore, in the case of co-circulation of influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2, high influenza vaccine uptake rates in a well-matched season between the circulating influenza strains and the vaccine influenza strains could reduce the epidemiological noise of influenza during the COVID-19 epidemic, the researchers wrote in the paper.

They also emphasized the importance of other vaccines for high-risk populations, such as the pneumococcal vaccines for the elderly and patients with chronic conditions, and pertussis immunization for pregnant women.

Lastly, the team reiterated that the flu vaccine should be an integral part of COVID-19 preparedness, prioritizing vaccination of pregnant women, people with comorbidities, older adults, and residents living in long-term care facilities.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-12 23:02:08|Editor: huaxia

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People visit an exhibition of Palestinian artist Kholoud al-Dasooqi in Gaza City, on Aug. 11, 2020. Kholoud al-Dasooqi, a Palestinian artist from the Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, has opened her two-day exhibition to reveal the violence against women through dozens of paintings. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)



by Sanaa Kamal

GAZA, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Kholoud al-Dasooqi, a Palestinian artist from the Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, has opened her two-day exhibition to reveal the violence against women through dozens of paintings.

Called "Schizophrenia Gaza," it is the first solo exhibition for al-Dasooqi, who graduated from the Department of Art with Al-Aqsa University.

The 20-year-old artist told Xinhua that she was also subject to domestic violence when she was married, and she chose to express her emotions and feelings through drawing.

"This project reflects my own experience and an unfortunate marriage. It talks about the details of my life," she said, adding that her artwork has been influenced by the Palestinian reality, especially that of women.

Using colored-cosmetics and oil colors, the young woman created dozens of tragic paintings showing the sadness of women.

"In our community, there is a high rate of domestic violence against women," the young artist said, adding that she wants the visitors to realize the severe conditions of Gaza's abused women.

According to a 2019 report issued by the Palestinian Central Statistics, 29 percent of Palestinian women who are currently married or have previously been married have experienced psychological, sexual, physical, social, or economic violence.

Out of the total number, 24 percent of them come from the West Bank, while 38 percent are based in the blockaded Gaza Strip.

The same report found that 18 percent of women in Palestine have experienced physical violence from their husbands, and nine percent of the women were subject to sexual violence by their husbands.

"It is normal to feel anxiety and fear about the abuse, but I choose to stay positive and convey my story through paintings to encourage others," Kholoud al-Dasooqi said.

Basel al-Aklouk, a visitor of the exhibition, told Xinhua that "the young artist managed to convey stories and experiences of women through paintings. She draws attention to one of the most acute problems in the Gaza Strip."

The 42-year-old father of three said that the unprecedented deterioration of the economic, social, and political conditions caused by the tight Israeli blockade and the internal Palestinian division have contributed to the increase of violence against women.

Besides, the coronavirus lockdown imposed by the Palestinian government to prevent the spread of the virus has further pushed that violence up.

Palestinian officials and human rights activists say the lockdown has made women more vulnerable to domestic violence and abuse. Many of them were confined to their homes with no outside support.

The Palestinian Ministry of Social Development said it provided hundreds of counseling and psychological services to thousands of abused women in the Palestinian territories. Enditem
Seasoned diplomat Vikram Doraiswami has been appointed as India's next envoy to Bangladesh.



Doraiswami, a 1992 batch Indian Foreign Service officer, is currently serving as additional secretary in-charge of international organisations and summits at the headquarters of the external affairs ministry in Delhi.



"He is expected to take up the assignment shortly," the external affairs ministry said in a press release.



Doraiswami succeeds Riva Ganguly Das in Dhaka.

(Image Credits - ANI File)
The Management of the University of Lagos, UNILAG, has appointed a new Vice-Chancellor, Professor Theophilus Omololu Soyombo.

Soyombos appointment is coming a day after the removal of Former VC, Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, over allegations of Corruption. Ogundipe was sacked by the governing council of the University in Abuja on Wednesday.

Reacting to his removal, Ogundipe issued a statement on Wednesday evening stating that he remain the Vice-Chancellor of the University.

However, the university management in a statement sent to POLITICS NIGERIA on Thursday morning, signed by the Registrar and secretary to the council, Oladejo Azeez, urged the general public to ignore Ogundipe.

My attention has been drawn to a document circulating under the hand and signature of the former Vice Chancellor of University of Lagos, Professor Oluwatoyin T. Ogundipe, FAS. The letter purports to deny his removal by the Governing Council of University at its Emergency Meeting of Wednesday, August 12, 2020.

For the avoidance of doubt, I am in my capacity as Registrar and Secretary to Council the only custodian of the minutes of Council and the authorizing officer on behalf of Council to issue official statements pertaining to all Council Affairs.

Members of the public are hereby advised to totally disregard the statement attributed to the said former Vice Chancellor. The position remains that he was lawfully removed by the Governing Council at a meeting fully attended by all Council members.

I also wish to use the opportunity to inform members of the public that Council at the said meeting duly appointed Professor Theophilus Omololu Soyombo of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Lagos as Vice Chancellor of the University in an Acting Capacity.
(Newser)  He was once seen as a top exec at a wildly successful tech firm in Germany. Now, though, Jan Marsalek is on Interpol's most wanted list, reports Bloomberg. Authorities in Germany also are appealing to the public for help in tracking down the 40-year-old Austrian, who may or may not have fled the country when evidence of massive fraud turned up at his now-bankrupt company, Wirecard. "Fraud in the billions," reads the large print on wanted posters now in wide distribution. They show a clean-shaven Marsalek along with a photo of him in a full beard, notes the AP.

story continues below

Marsalek has been on the lam since the payment services company went down the tubes in June, after auditors concluded that $2 billion on the ledgers likely never existed in the first place. ExecsMarsalek was chief operating officerare accused of cooking the books to make the company look far more profitable than it actually was, explains the Wall Street Journal. That paved the way for Wirecard to raise nearly $4 billion in loans, and all those funds are believed to be lost. (Former CEO Markus Braun has been arrested.)
The Constitution spells out who is eligible for the presidency in Clause 5 of Article 2: 'No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.'

And the 12th Amendment extends those qualifications to the vice-president.

Left unexplained is what 'natural born citizen' means - and the phrase is defined in no other piece of legislation.

But the 14th Amendment of 1868 is also in the Constitution - and defines who is a citizen.

It says: 'All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.'

In 1873 the Supreme Court ruled that the phrase 'subject to its jurisdiction' was intended to exclude children of non-citizen immigrants.

But that decision was in an arcane question - about whether the 14th Amendment only guaranteed rights to people who were U.S. citizens, and didn't cover anyone who was only granted 'citizenship of the state' by an individual U.S. state - in other words, were free to live and work there.

The majority opinion includes a note that 'the phrase "subject to its jurisdiction" was intended to 'exclude from its operation children of ministers, consuls, and citizens or subjects of foreign States born within the United States.'

Two years later the high court ruled that immigrants can only have automatic citizenship for their children when they  the adults  owe 'allegiance' to the U.S. and not to a foreign nation.

The concept of allegiance means little today but most people at the time were born in monarchies with limited rights and were subjects, not citizens - and until you became an American citizen, you were still owing allegiance to that monarch, it was argued. 'Allegiance' to a foreign monarch and being subject to American 'jurisdiction' were not compatible, the justices ruled.

But then in 1898 the Supreme Court ruled that a specific Chinese immigrant's child was a citizen of the United States, citing the 14th Amendment's text.

In the case, about Wing Kim Arg, the justices ruled that 'a child born in the United States, of parents of Chinese descent, who, at the time of his birth, are subjects of the Emperor of China, but have a permanent domicile and residence in the United States, and are there carrying on business, and are not employed in any diplomatic or official capacity under the Emperor of China' was automatically a citizen.

That ruling has been the bedrock of birthright citizenship - known as jus soli - and has led to the other opinions about the amendment being seen as being superseded - although they have never formally been overturned.

The dissenters - or in cruder terms, the losers - said the 14th Amendment and those who passed it intended citizenship to be only for those not claimed by any foreign power in any form, so natural-born citizenship was hereditary - a concept known as jus sanguinis.

Since then the Supreme Court has ruled that a woman born in New York to one U.S. citizen father but brought up abroad was eligible to run for president - she did not - but has never explicitly ruled on whether someone born to one or two non-citizens can.

The fact that scores of millions of Americans have been considered citizens by the federal government in exactly those circumstances would seem to suggest how the justices would rule.

But it leaves Kamala Harris 'birthers' a very narrow opportunity to argue that the Supreme Court has never ruled clearly that being born in the U.S. to non-citizen parents makes you 'natural born' - as opposed to simply a citizen.

One - in a Newsweek op-ed - claimed that because Mexican guest-workers' American-born children had been deported in the 1920s, 1940s, and 1950s - the idea of 'birthright citizenship' for all really dates from after Harris' birth.

He also claimed that it was unclear exactly what Harris' parents' legal status was and that if they did not have green cards, that might disqualify her too.

Harris, however, is not the first candidate to face questions over eligibility thanks to her parents.

Obama - as well as the bogus claim he was not born in the United States - faced ultra-fringe birther questions because his father was a Kenyan; and the oldest example was Chester Arthur, whose mother alone was American and who also faced questions over a rumor he was born in Canada, not Vermont.

Unhelpfully for birthers, none of those who faced these questions were successfully disqualified by any court - in fact, no challenge of the kind has ever succeeded.

Perhaps even more unhelpfully, the Newsweek op-ed writer, law professor John Eastman, previously campaigned for Ted Cruz, who was born in Canada to one U.S. citizen parent and a Cuban father, suggesting his claim that Harris might not be eligible was more politically expedient that constitutionally sound.

And the 'academic institution' which he is affiliated with - the Claremont Institute - has previously awarded a fellowship to Jack Posobiec, the alt-right tweeter who originated the bogus Pizzagate conspiracy theory.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 13

By Eldar Janashvili - Trend:

The Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) held a foreign exchange auction with the participation of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ), during which Azerbaijani banks acquired $59.3 million, Trend reports citing CBA.

According to CBA, demand from the banks at the auction rose by 3.4 percent or by $200,000 compared to the previous auction.

Considering the number of days remaining before the next scheduled auction, as well as with the aim of ensuring uninterrupted currency trading by the banks, the demand of banks at the auction will be fully provided during weekends.

The first foreign exchange auction in a long time was held with the participation of SOFAZ on March 10, 2020, during which Azerbaijani banks acquired $323.2 million.

The CBA began to hold foreign exchange auctions through unilateral sale of foreign currency in competitive conditions since mid-January 2017.

In March 2020, it was decided to hold extraordinary foreign exchange auctions in connection with the increased demand of the population for foreign currency amid the failed OPEC+ deal, which entailed a sharp decline in oil prices.

(1 USD = 1.7 AZN on Aug. 13)
Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai said his arrest on Monday took him by surprise and that he has been overwhelmed by residents' subsequent support despite the threat from China's new national security law.

"I didn't expect an arrest as quick as this because I thought that China, with such a strong response from the international community, knew that the implementation of the national security law was a blunder," he said in a live-streamed conversation hosted by his flagship Apple Daily newspaper on Thursday.

"I thought they would keep a low profile to make sure that the international community is comfortable with it, the investors, the businessmen -- to tell the world that the national security law actually now has calmed everything down," he said.

Lai said he was touched by Hong Kong residents who have supported freedom of the press by this week buying up both copies of the popular pro-democracy newspaper and shares of his media company, Next Digital, which helped boost the stock price by as much as 1,100%.

"I was really overwhelmed by the emotion of the city -- people were obviously very angry about my arrest and came out in different ways to support us," he said. "The oxygen is getting thin and we are all choking. But when we're choking, we're still taking care of each other, and keep resisting and keep fighting for our rule of law and freedom."

Lai's arrest is the highest-profile in Hong Kong under the national security legislation, imposed on the city by China in June. It so far has been used to arrest 21 people.

Some 200 police officers on Monday raided the headquarters of the Apple Daily, which supported Hong Kong's historic protest movement last year. Scenes of officers walking through the newsroom shocked a city where freedom of the press has long been guaranteed, and which is home to many global media organizations.

Lai, Next Digital and several of its executives, Apple Daily and other related companies filed writs in the Hong Kong High Court Thursday afternoon demanding the police return journalists' materials, information with legal professional privilege and all other material not covered by the search warrant, RTHK and HK01 reported Thursday.

The arrest stands to exacerbate already-fraught U.S.-China tensions. The Trump administration this month slapped sanctions on Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam and moved to ban China's popular WeChat and TikTok apps from the U.S.

Beijing retaliated with sanctions on some U.S. officials and human rights activists. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, speaking to U.S. outlet Newsmax TV this week, promised to hit back over Lai's arrest.

Lai said Thursday that the police who arrested him all seemed to be local Hong Kong officers and that, for the moment, he wasn't afraid of being spirited away to the mainland for a trial in courts controlled by the Communist Party. He said that could change if Beijing was convinced he had seriously endangered national security.

But he also made conciliatory remarks, arguing that the world should be friendly toward China. He said the West's confrontation with Beijing was a result of Chinese leaders pursuing an agenda that was in conflict with global norms, and the world wouldn't have peace until China realized that and changed its behavior.

"The world doesn't want to confront China because they're so big -- confrontation every time with China will have such a negative impact on the world," Lai said.

"The world just wants to change China's behavior, and attitude toward the international community, because they're using the kind of values which are in conflict with the world's civilized values," he added. "If we don't change them, the world will not have peace. And that's why today people are talking about the 'new Cold War.'"
BeachLife Festival returns to Redondo Beach in May with Sheryl Crow, 311, Black Pumas, Vance Joy, Cold War Kids, Lord Huron and more.
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Linkedin Editorial Board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 13, 2020 08:56 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066d9faf9 3 Editorial pandemic,testing-capacity,disparity,COVID-19-in-Indonesia,COVID-19 Free

The ongoing trial of a vaccine developed by Chinese biopharmaceutical firm Sinovac Biotech and state-owned pharmaceutical company PT Bio Farma on more than 1,600 volunteers has been good news for the country amid its battle against the pandemic.

Other than that, however, things have been slowly getting worse, with little impact seen in the efforts to prevent the contagion from escalating.

Jakarta has once again become the major epicenter of the outbreak, with more than 26,000 infections. Reopening the economy and massive testing may have contributed to the high number of cases. The World Health Organization said the capital remained the only province in the country that met its standard of a minimum testing rate of 1 test per 1,000 inhabitants per week. In fact, Jakartas testing rate is four times the WHO standard.

Read also: Testing disparity looms over Greater Jakartas efforts to break chain of transmission

While vigorous testing is a good sign of improving efforts, it also raises alarm in the capital citys satellites such as Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi  also known as Greater Jakarta, that, with intercity mobility increasing after the reopening, the risk of infection may also be high. Jakarta is home to 11 million people, but during the day the figure reaches 14.5 million as a result of people commuting to the capital city.

The high mobility is particularly dangerous since other cities and regencies around Jakarta have not tested as much as Jakarta. In West Java, which includes Bogor, Depok and Bekasi, the provincial administration has only carried out 180,731 PCR tests out of a population of 50 million.

There should also be a rapid escalation of testing in Greater Jakarta and other regions located near virus hot spots. While the capacity of government and local administrations is limited, it should consider cooperating with private labs that are quite common in the cities.

A partnership to hold more widespread PCR tests would be better at directing the private labs and healthcare providers that currently offer the less effective rapid tests. This is also where the coronavirus relief fund should be disbursed and accelerated. The government can offer to purchase services at the labs to help intensify testing in many regions.

Read also: Drenched in sweat, stigma, frontline nurse shares struggle treating COVID-19 patients

While pushing for vaccine availability is one great step in overcoming the pandemic, what is more critical is to conduct massive testing and isolate cases to prevent wider transmission. What is also important is that the government and local administrations should not hesitate to return to large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) should the infection rate increase dramatically.

Basic commitment to health protocols is what is still lacking in the government. President Joko Jokowi Widodo said he preferred people to wear masks, wash hands and keep distance than to return to the PSBB, also known as a partial lockdown. In fact, testing, contact tracing and isolating cases are all part of the health protocol that a region should comply with to stop the virus transmission.

With signs of economic recession blinking, the President may be more and more compromising with the health protocols. But for sure, the virus knows no compromise or hesitation.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
The Daggubati family has denied rumours about Abhiram Daggubati being involved in a major accident and escaping without any injury. After reports emerged on Thursday that Rana Daggubatis younger brother Abhiram was involved in a road accident, a statement was released by the Daggubati family to clarify the matter.

As per a report by Times of India, the family denied rumours of Abhiram escaping a major accident at Manikonda, Hyderabad. The family clarified that the car doesnt even belong to anyone in their family and have urged people to not believe in rumours.

Abhiram is all set for his acting debut soon. Apparently, he is all set to be launched by his father and popular producer D Suresh Babu. However, it hasnt been officially announced yet about who will direct him.

Also read: Alia Bhatts Sadak 2 the most disliked trailer on YouTube amid nepotism debate, fans demand justice for Sushant Singh Rajput

Rana Daggubati, on the other hand, got married to Miheeka Bajaj last week in a close-knit ceremony. The couple got engaged in May. The wedding was initially planned to take place in December; however, it was eventually advanced to August.

On the career front, Rana has two projects ready for release. His immediate release will be forest-based thriller Haathi Mere Saathi, which will be released in Tamil and Telugu as Kaadan and Aaranya, respectively.

In Prabhu Solomon directed Haathi Mere Saathi, Rana plays a character inspired by environmental activist Jadav Payeng, popularly called the Forest Man of India.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop
BANGALORE, India, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) is an autonomous, computer-controlled mobile transport vehicle used in a wide range of industries for material handling and transport. An AGV is a vehicle powered by a battery or an electric motor and capable of conducting tasks without human control or operation.

In 2019, the global Automated Guided Vehicle market size was USD 3.3 Billion and it is expected to reach USD 9.5 Billion by the end of 2026, with a CAGR of 19.9% during 2021-2026.

Major factors responsible for the growth of Automated Guided Vehicle market size are rising demand for automation in material handling across sectors, changing demand from mass manufacturing to mass customization, increasing e-commerce penetration, and improved occupational safety standards.

COVID-19 is the expected cause of slump in the growth of the AGV market size. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has a major effect on sectors such as aviation, transportation, mining, and food & beverages. One of the main sectors incurring major losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic scenario is the automotive industry. Demand for vehicles has been hampered internationally due to lockdowns introduced in numerous countries around the world and suspended production activities.

Get Detailed Analysis of COVID-19 Impact Automated Guided Vehicle Market: https://reports.valuates.com/request/sample/QYRE-Auto-2H3498/Global_Automated_Guided_Vehicle

TRENDS INFLUENCING THE AUTOMATED GUIDED VEHICLE MARKET SIZE

Industrial development in developing markets, the intralogistics sector 's presence in Southeast Asia, and the growing adoption of industrial automation by SMEs are expected to accelerate the growth of Automated Guided Vehicle Market size during the forecast period.

The growth of the e-commerce industry is, in turn, expected to increase the Automated Guided Vehicle Market size. Deploying AGVs in warehouses helps e-commerce businesses automate the tasks of intralogistics, such as sorting, selection, and palletizing, thus increasing efficiency. The adoption of AGVs by the e-commerce industry is increasing substantially as industry incumbents try to roll out a reliable storage process and enhance efficiency.

Retail and commerce firms are adopting integrated robots in their warehouses. This, in turn, is expected to increase the market size during the forecast period.

The increasing need for automation in material handling processes across industries is expected to increase the Automated Guided Vehicle Market size during the forecast period. Industrial plant automation by AGV will help meet material handling capability requirements, along with reducing processing time, decreasing the likelihood of human mistakes, maintaining high output volumes, and increasing efficiency and repeatability.

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AUTOMATED GUIDED VEHICLE MARKET SHARE ANALYSIS

In 2019, the European region held the largest Automated Guided Vehicle market share. This dominance is attributed to the increasing demand for material handling equipment by the incumbents of the manufacturing industry.

North America is expected to witness stable growth as the region has a well-established manufacturing sector, and businesses are rapidly implementing automation technologies to automate their warehousing operation.

The Asia Pacific region is predicted to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. This rapid growth can be attributed to the growing e-commerce industries in this region.

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TOP COMPANIES IN THE AUTOMATED GUIDED VEHICLE MARKET

The Automated Guided Vehicle market is highly fragmented, with many regional and global players trying to capture a major market share. Retailing and other logistics based companies are collaborating and partnering with tech leaders to change the material handling industry.

Some of the top companies in the Automated Guided Vehicle Market are,

Dematic

Daifuku

Siasun

Meidensha

Toyota

Swisslog

CSG

Yonegy

Rocla

JBT

DS Automotion

Aichikikai

CSIC

Ek Automation

MIR

Aethon

Atab

Seegrid

AGVE Group

Others.

Segment by Type, the Automated Guided Vehicle market is segmented into

Tugger Type

Pallet Truck

Unit Load Carrier

Others.

Segment by Application, the Automated Guided Vehicle market is segmented into

Manufacturing Sector

Wholesale and Distribution Sector.

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SIMILAR REPORTS :

Tugger Automated Guided Vehicle Market Report

Tugger automated guided vehicles were introduced as one of the first forms of AGVs, and are still popular. Those AGVs can pull a multitude of trailer types and non-driven carts, either automatically or manually.

Tugger AGVs with reliable and consistent workflows improve operating efficiencies. By increasing the safety of staff, goods, and equipment with precise and regulated movements, Tugger AGVs minimize the usual operating costs and concerns of conventional forklift trucks. Delivery and timing of the goods can be monitored so that goods are where they should be, and when they should be. These factors are expected to increase the Tugger Automated Guided Vehicle Market size during the forecast period.

View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-19R2242/global-tugger-automated-guided-vehicle

Forklift Automated Guided Vehicles Market Report

The Forklift Automated Guided Vehicles Market report includes a country-wise and region-wise market size for the period 2015-2026. It also includes market size and forecast by Type and by Application segment in terms of production capacity, price, and revenue for the period 2015-2026.

View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-35Z2122/global-forklift-automated-guided-vehicles

Clamp Automated Guided Vehicles Market Report

View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-5U2378/global-clamp-automated-guided-vehicles

COVID-19 Impact on Global Hospital Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) Market Report

Hospital AGV works in areas shared with pedestrians or in dedicated service lifts & paths, more efficiently. A fleet of these vehicles will provide 24-hour shift service to a hospital in poor lighting, but with improved protection and minimizing costs.

Typical hospital AGV models are flexible to meet the specific needs and conditions of each hospital with different navigation, interfacing, and load handling technologies. These factors are expected to increase the growth of the Global Hospital Automated Guided Vehicle market size during the forecast period.

View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-33M1803/global-hospital-automated-guided-vehicle-agv

Unit load Automated Guided Vehicles Market Report

Unit Load AGVs are used for pallet distribution, wide bins, or roll handling. Unit Load AGV 'functions best in wide areas where plenty of space for maneuverability is available.

Using Unit Load AGVs can minimize damage to the commodity, aisle traffic, and provide efficient scheduling capabilities. These advantages offered by Unitload AGV are, in turn, expected to increase the Unitload Automated Guided Vehicles Market size.

View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-13R2381/global-unitload-automated-guided-vehicles

Custom Automated Guided Vehicles Market Report

View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-31S2061/global-custom-automated-guided-vehicles

Self-Guided Vehicles Market Report

View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-13T2108/global-self-guided-vehicles

COVID-19 Impact on Rail Guided Vehicle System Market Report

View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-14L2795/covid-19-impact-on-rail-guided-vehicle-system

COVID-19 Impact on Global Autonomous Pallet Trucks Market Report

View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-2M2884/covid-19-impact-on-global-autonomous-pallet-trucks

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McCain has announced a 25m investment in the British potato industry to help farmers fight the impacts of climate change and Covid-19.

The firm, the UKs largest manufacturer of frozen potato products, said the investment would also strengthen its partnership with farmers.

It said the last two years were two of the worst potato crops the UK had seen in 40 years.

The company's Potato Farmer Pledge has been worked on following feedback from its 250 farmer suppliers and is split into three elements.

Funding will be delivered through grower contracts with McCain, grant funding and multi-year incentive offers.

Multi-year Incentives - a 3-5-year loyalty scheme - will reward farmers who continue to supply for the company.

Grower Grant Funding is a fund to which growers can apply for grants to invest in harvesting capacity.

It also aims to help farmers improve sustainable growing through irrigation infrastructure and new technology such as self-propelled harvesters. There have been 85 applications to date.

Lastly, Sustainable Contracts will see McCain optimise its contracts. The firm said it would improve prices on early season varieties so farmers get fair prices.

According to McCain, the investment would help British farmers manage the increasingly erratic weather caused by climate change as well as the impact of Covid.

British potato farmers have been hit immensely hard in recent years, said Howard Snape, regional president at McCain GB.

Having faced a major drought and one of the wettest harvests on record, theyve experienced two of the worst crops in 40 years.

"Added to that, without us honouring our contracts with growers and finding alternative outlets, they would have been left with a huge surplus of wasted potatoes due to Covid-19 shutting down the hospitality industry."

NFU president Minette Batters welcomed the 'much-needed' investment amid climate change and the coronavirus pandemic.

Following two seasons of extreme weather impact followed by Covid-19 market disruption, growers need all the support they can get to have the confidence to grow into the future."
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 18:23:12|Editor: huaxia

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KAMPALA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Uganda on Thursday was hit by a nationwide power outage whose cause is not yet known, the state-run power generation company said.

The Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) said in a statement that investigations are underway to determine the cause of the power blackout.

"We are experiencing a nationwide total blackout. Investigations are ongoing to determine the cause and restore as fast as possible," said the statement.

Umeme Limited, the country's main electricity distribution company, said it is working with other stakeholders to restore power supply in the east African country.

"We are working with UETCL and all stakeholders to have power restored as soon as possible. All inconveniences caused are regretted," it said in a tweet.

The country has lately been experiencing nationwide power outages, with the recent being on June 21.

The country on May 9 was also hit by a power blackout whose cause was not known, according to the UETCL.

The country on April 14 experienced a nationwide power blackout after floating weeds, measuring about 12 acres (4.86 hectares), affected the Nalubale power plant in the eastern district of Jinja. Enditem
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills enjoyed a Roman getaway this week.

And during the episode, star Lisa Rinna spoke openly about the reason for her husband Harry Hamlin's affinity for the Italian capital's architecture as the reality TV star explored the city.

'He was with Ursula Andress at the time and they had a child, she lived here,' the 57-year-old told co-stars Denise Richards, Sutton Stracke and Garcelle Beauvais.

European vacation: The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills enjoyed a Roman getaway this week. Seen here far left with [L-R] Garcelle Beauvais, Sutton Stracke and Denise Richards

'I think this is why our house looks a little bit like this,' said Rinna. 'Because Harry lived here for three years and he loves this.'

The Mad Men actor and the Bond girl met in 1980 while shooting Clash of the Titans together.

Lisa continued, 'Ursula is the movie star that you would imagine. He said she called him and said, "Harry, come to my room."'

'And so he did, at 28 years old, he went in and she got pregnant that night. And that was that, at 44. First time.'

Sightseeing and tea-spilling: Rinna spoke openly about the reason for her husband Harry Hamlin's affinity for the Italian capital's architecture as the reality TV star explored the city

Past love: Rinna told her castmates about her husband Harry Hamlin's historic romance with Bond girl Ursula Andress. The former lovers seen here in 2006 with their son, Dimitri

Bond girl: Lisa explained, 'Ursula is the movie star that you would imagine. He said she called him and said, "Harry, come to my room."' Andress here here in 1962's Dr. No

Bonding time: Harry and Dimitri seen here in Los Angeles in 2019

The romance produced son Dimitri, who is now 40 years old. Andress is now 84 years old.

Dr. No star Andress and Hamlin were together from 1980 until their split in 1983.

At the time of the breakup, the Swiss actress told People, 'I want to be with him, but he wants to go out. Love affairs and husbands can end, but a child is forever. Dimitri is my love now.'

Dimitri Alexander Hamlin was born in Los Angeles in 1980, and graduated from Princeton with a degree in Philosophy.

Dimitri's half sisters: Harry Hamlin is also father to 19-year-old Amelia Gray [R] and 22-year-old Delilah Belle, both of whom he shares with Rinna. Seen here in February 2020

The 6ft1in hunk has modeled for such fashion houses as Abercrombie & Fitch and is known to DJ in some European clubs.

He's also an actor, having appeared in four episode of the Italian series My Daughters in 2005.

Harry spoke about his relationship with his son in a 2019 interview with the Daily Beast.

'I didnt grow up with my son, Dimitri,' said the actor. His eldest child was largely raised in Rome, by his mother.

'Any son who doesnt grow up with his father has issues. You cant grow up without having a dad and not have that affect your life.'

Modern family: The romance produced son Dimitri, who is now 40 years old. He's seen here in 2006 with Lisa and his father

Hamlin is also father to 19-year-old Amelia Gray and 22-year-old Delilah Belle, both of whom he shares with Rinna.

The pair have been married since 1997.

Apart from his relationship with Andress, to whom he was never wed, Hamlin has been married three times: to Laura Johnson, Nicollette Sheridan and Rinna.

The L.A. Law actor boasted to the Daily Beast of having a 'divorce lawyer on speed dial'.

'I have had three opportunities to use him; once with Ursula, and two of my ex-wives. Its the same guy every time. We send Christmas cards to each other every year.'
Sammi Awuku, the National Organiser of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has taken a swipe at former President John Dramani Mahama who is seeking re-election in the upcoming December 7 elections.

The NPP's grassroots mobiliser said the former President lacked the balls to face the daunting challenges of the economy when he became President for eight years.

"This year's election is going to be a battle between the NPP and NDC. It is a battle between the kingdom of God and Kingdom of Darkness," he stated.

According to him, it took the braveness and economic prowess of President Akufo-Addo and the NPP to patch the economy and put it back on the wheels of progress and development.

He urges Ghanaians never to entrust their future in the hands of Mr. Mahama who has been tried and tested as the most incompetent president in the political history of Ghana.

Sammi Awuku indicated that Mr Mahama cannot be remembered with nostalgia except running the country in hand to the IMF when the economy was begging to survive under his administration.

Sammi Awuku is currently addressing the media at Alisa Hostel on who is a Ghanaian.
The principal of an Islamic school at the centre of Melbourne's second horror coronavirus outbreak has issued a desperate plea in the wake of online racist attacks.

Al-Taqwa College in the city's western outskirts is linked to one of Australia's biggest outbreaks of the pandemic with 185 cases.

Founder and principal Omar Hallak says repeated references to the college as the 'Al-Taqwa cluster' by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, government officials and the media have been detrimental to the school's reputation and sparked online attacks from racist trolls.

He claims very few cases linked to the cluster were transmitted inside school grounds.

Around 185 coronavirus cases have been linked to Al-Taqwa College in Melbourne's west

'Sadly, some people with extreme views have sent ugly messages to the college and posted on social media. Our families see these things and it gives them pain,' Mr Hallak told the Age.

'When there are government statements and media reporting of a cluster at Al-Taqwa College, it gives the false impression that all the cases in the cluster were contracted on-site. That is simply untrue and needlessly feeds prejudices where they exist.'

A teacher at the school was first diagnosed with COVID-19 on June 27.

Mr Hallak publicly assured at the time the college had been taking every precaution with daily temperature checks for all staff, students and school visitors where anyone presenting even minor symptoms was turned away.

In just over a week, an outbreak linked to the college grew to more than 100 cases as all 300 staff and 2,000 students were ordered to self-isolate.

Victoria's second wave of the virus continues with 278 new cases and eight deaths reported on Thursday. Pictured are a medical staff and health commander at a Melbourne aged care facility

The school has since been slammed by local GP Dr Hanna El-Khoury, who claimed not enough was done as the outbreak spread.

He claimed some cases from the college were traced to a senior school teacher who taught while suffering cold and flu symptoms.

Victorian Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton told reporters at the time it was possible some infections could have occurred before authorities knew of the first case at the school.

'They tend to have more transmission that's akin to adults, if they're not doing physical distancing appropriately, so that's been a big cluster in terms of schools,' he told reporters on July 6.

Mr Hallak has hit back at the claims, insisting that 'many, if not most infections' linked to the college were contracted in the school holidays and that grade six teacher first infected had 'limited' interactions with senior college staff.

College principal Omar Hallak (bottom right) spoke to local MPs in a Zoom call last week about the school being the target of online racist abuse

He added some students live in the virus-riddled North Melbourne and Flemington housing commission towers linked to more than 300 cases.

He also said that no one in the Victorian government has criticised the college regarding its COVID-19 precautions and protocols.

There has been no classroom learning at the school since the end of term two and aren't expected to resume until October at the earliest.

Policy advisor Terry Barnes has also been helping also Al-Taqwa College respond to the virus crisis.

Mr Hallak raised concerns about the racism targeting the college during a video conference with local MPs last week, where minister Ros Spence reiterated the government's support for the school.

The principal said few cases linked were transmitted on school grounds and that students live in the virus-riddled public housing towers in Flemington and North Melbourne (pictured)

'Sadly, Principal Hallak told us that their community is experiencing an increase in Islamophobic and racist messages,' Ms Spence wrote afterwards.

'I assured Principal Hallak, as I do to all Victorians, that racism and discrimination have no place in Victoria.

'We need to stay united against any forms of prejudice during these challenging times, and at all times. Coronavirus does not discriminate.'
ALBANY  Lukee Forbes, a prominent local Black Lives Matter activist, was charged earlier this month with obstruction of governmental administration after police allege he confronted and interfered with officers who were arresting a man during a traffic stop following a brief chase.

Racial justice advocates characterized the misdemeanor charge as an act of intimidation against Forbes.

The incident, which involved Albany police officers and Albany County sheriff's deputies, began on the afternoon of July 14 near the corner of Quail and Sherman streets after police pulled over a man that an officer had observed allegedly running two stop signals, according to law enforcement officials.

The 41-year-old, who is Black, got out of his vehicle after he was pulled over. He did not have identification and officers ran his name through a law enforcement database that indicated he had a pending bench warrant in the town of Brunswick. That information, however, later proved to be inaccurate as those charges had been resolved.

Forbes approached the scene on foot and began videotaping his confrontation with the officers in a 20-minute-long video that he later posted online. His video, and body-cam footage from the officers, showed two officers attempting to put the man they had pulled over into the back of a police cruiser.

Whats going on though?" Forbes says on the video. Why yall using all that force though? What is he being arrested for?

The man being arrested tells the officers, Get your (expletive) hands off me. Im not getting nowhere.

Officers tell Forbes to relax, then pick up the man being arrested by the legs to force him into the police vehicle. Forbes said, This is not proper.

I started seeing it on someones live (feed) that officers were getting a little too aggressive, Forbes told the Times Union this week.  ... My first thought was I have to get over there and at least try to see why arent they trying any de-escalation?

Forbes continued recording the scene, walking up to the officers and repeatedly asking for their names and badge numbers and demanding to know why the man was being arrested. When officers told him they were conducting an investigation, Forbes responded, Thats not how you investigate  he should not be cuffed, that is unlawful detainment.

A police report said Forbes "approached and came into close physical proximity of the complainant (officer) and began yelling. The defendant continued to remain close to officers causing a uniformed Albany County sheriff sergeant to push the defendant away so that the complainant could continue his official function and investigate the aforementioned unclassified misdemeanor."

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Albany police spokesman Steve Smith said the man in the cruiser was detained because he had gotten out of his car during the traffic stop and also did not have identification on him, so officers were checking whether he had any active warrants. The man, who told police he was homeless, was charged with misdemeanor criminal mischief for allegedly kicking the rear door of the police vehicle and causing more than $250 in damage, according to an arrest report. He was also ticketed for driving an unregistered vehicle without a license.

Forbes, who was mailed an appearance ticket with the misdemeanor charge two weeks after the incident, contends that his actions did not obstruct governmental administration.

All I was doing was recording, I had no intention of stopping what he was doing, Forbes said. Im making sure youre not being overly aggressive with him. Im making sure youre not detaining him for no reason. Im making sure youre not going to kill him.

In a statement, Smith said, We stand by our decision to charge Mr. Forbes with obstruction of governmental administration ... for his actions during a traffic stop last month and look forward to the adjudication process.

New York penal law defines obstruction of governmental administration as an intentional act through intimidation, physical force, or interference with an officials work.

Racial justice advocates contend such misdemeanor charges have historically been used by police to intimidate and keep tabs on protesters. Forbes is one of eight people in Albany to be charged with the same misdemeanor since May 1, Smith said. Of those eight, one was a white man, one was a Black woman and six were Black men.

Throughout the years, the police have had trouble trying to deal with people who speak out in different kinds of ways, said Alice Green, executive director of the Albany-based Center for Law and Justice. Im afraid that because he is demonstrating in a way they might not find acceptable, that theyll find ways to try to quiet him.
By Express News Service

VIJAYAWADA: TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh has accused the State government of duping women from weaker sections by not giving them the benefits promised under the YSR Cheyuta scheme.

He said Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had promised to give Rs 3,000 as monthly pension to women above the age of 45 years from SC, ST, BC and minority communities, and this works out to Rs 36,000 per year, or Rs 1.8 lakh in five years.

However, the government is now trying to give them just Rs 75,000 for five years, causing them a loss of Rs 1.05 lakh, Lokesh said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

The women beneficiaries will suffer a loss of Rs 17,250 per year, and Rs 69,000 over the next four years, he added. Lokesh alleged that Jagan has resorted to his own style of reverse tendering to deny benefits in the name of Cheyuta.

The TDP MLC recalled that during his partys tenure, the government gave Pasupu Kumkuma benefits to over 1 crore women, but the present YSRC government is giving welfare benefits to just 23 lakh women, creating differences between different sections of society. Many poor and illiterate women are not getting these benefits because their ages were wrongly recorded in their Aadhaar cards, and the government must give them a chance to make the needed changes and receive their due, he said.

Recalling that Jagans father YS Rajasekhara Reddy had said DWCRA women members would be made Lakshadhikaris (Lakhpathis) en masse, but gave just Rs 268 crore towards the pavala vaddi (25 paise interest) scheme, the TDP leader said that now, Jagan promised to give Rs 3,000 in his election speeches, but the amount was eventually reduced to Rs 1,500 per month. The first year has already passed without the beneficiaries receiving their due, he added.
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- There are some weird things going on in the coronavirus data. Its curious that cases dropped so fast, and have stayed pretty low, in the spring hot zones  New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. And why did cases remain so low in Idaho and Hawaii until recently?

The mainstream narrative is that its all about good behavior when cases go down  mask wearing and giving up our social lives for the greater good. And conversely, bad behavior must be what makes them go up. We talk about certain regions having the virus under control, as if falling cases are purely a matter of will-power. A sort of moral reasoning is filling in for evidence.

But why, then, have cases plummeted in Sweden, where mask wearing is a rarity?

This is the time to use scientific methods to understand whats happening. The pandemic has gone on long enough to reveal patterns in the way it spreads. If its all about behavior, thats a testable hypothesis. If, as a few speculate, dramatic drops in some places have something to do with growing immunity in the population, we can also turn that into a testable hypothesis.

The issue with data is one can manipulate it to show anything you want if you have an agenda, says YouYang Gu, an independent data scientist. Cherry picking is easy  prediction is much harder, and Gu is getting some attention for the fact that models hes been creating since April actually forecast whats happened with the spread of the disease in the U.S.

He recently took to Twitter to urge public health officials to apply scientific thinking. He pointed to data on Louisiana, where cases were rising earlier in the summer and seemed to level off after various counties issued mask mandates.

But breaking the data down by county, he says, revealed a different story. Mask mandates varied in their timing, but places that implemented them late saw no more cases or deaths than those that did so early. I dont think theres currently enough evidence to support the fact that recent policy interventions (mask mandates, bar closures) were the main drivers behind the recent decrease in cases, he wrote.

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Thats not to say that individual behavior doesnt matter a lot  and the cancellation of big gatherings and other potential super-spreading events is more important than ever  but there may be more factors than we know driving the bigger picture.

A few scientists are examining the possibility that previously hard-hit areas are now being affected by a buildup of immunity, even if it flies in the face of the widespread understanding that the disease has to run through at least 60% of the population to achieve so-called herd immunity. (So far, antibody tests show only some 10-20% of the U.S. population has had the disease.)

The term herd immunity is a little vague in this context. It was created to characterize the impact of immunization. It refers to the percentage of the population that must get immunized in order for a pathogen to die out  a quantity that depends on the nature of the virus, the efficacy of the vaccine and the behavior of the hosts. If natural immunity is starting to help in some places, that would suggest herd immunity is a reasonable and worthy goal of an immunization program.

But scientists have little experience applying herd immunity to a natural infection, and what understanding they have is changing. Scientists have started to investigate the possibility that theres another critical factor here  heterogeneity in the way humans interact, and in our inherent, biological susceptibility to this disease.

In a Science paper published in June, University of Stockholm mathematician Tom Britton and colleagues calculated that herd immunity might be reached after as few as 43% of a very heterogenous population becomes infected. People mix unevenly in a way that could lead to little pockets of immunity, slowing the spread of the virus long before the world achieves herd immunity.

We may also be heterogeneous in our biology. A recent paper in Science suggests that many people whove never been infected with SARS-CoV-2 carry a kind of immune cell, called a T-cell, which recognizes this novel virus and may partially mitigate an infection. These cells may be left over from infections with related viruses  the coronaviruses that cause the common cold.

While scientists who authored the paper warn that it doesnt imply that people with pre-existing T-cells cant get infected, they leave open the possibility that it might account for some of the vast variability in symptoms.

Whatever the source of this heterogeneity, we know it exists. Most people on the contaminated cruise ship Diamond Princess remained uninfected, while others got asymptomatic infections and still others got severely ill.

Those differences can inform disease models, says statistics professor Gabriela Gomes of the University of Strathclyde in Scotland. What we see is that infections do not occur at random, but that people who are most susceptible to infection get exposed first, she says, leaving a pool of ever-less susceptible people behind.

So far, her predictions of the spread in the U.K., Belgium, Spain and Portugal have aligned well with reality. Her models showed small, shallow second peaks that would concentrate away from the places where the pandemic was most rampant last spring. For example, in Spain, the first outbreak was around Madrid, and now a smaller outbreak is happening around Catalonia.

She says her models keep predicting declines after the infection reached between 10% and 35% of the population. That doesnt mean the virus has gone away  only that by her models, it wont explode in those same places again. Gus models, too, predict no big second waves in New York City or Stockholm, but leave open the possibility of new outbreaks in relatively unaffected areas, just as Hawaii is now fighting outbreaks and New Zealand has imposed a new, short lockdown.

She says she didnt expect to come up against resistance to her models in the scientific community. While shes starting to get some attention in the media, she said journal editors told her that her modeling ideas, in preprint, posed the danger of making people feel entitled to relax their vigilance. Maybe the opposite is true, she suggests. Maybe censoring all but the most pessimistic views could discourage action by making the problem seem endless.

The controversy mirrors one that took place a few years ago when renowned cancer researcher Bert Vogelstein dared to suggest that the very nature of cancer had a random element and therefore some people who did everything right would get cancer through bad luck. He was pilloried for the view, not because it was untrue, but because it was deemed a dangerous invitation for people to be bad.

Public health in the United States has a tendency toward moralizing against indulgences. We were told obesity was caused by indulgence in high-fat food even though the evidence pointed elsewhere, and it took years to recognize that opioid addiction is a disease and not a sin. That attitude may be ingrained in the culture, but it shouldnt get in the way of the search for the truth.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Faye Flam is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. She has written for the Economist, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Psychology Today, Science and other publications. She has a degree in geophysics from the California Institute of Technology.

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

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2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Sr. Paula was a teacher in the Sacred Heart Primary School in Portlaoise for over forty years.

Not only that but she was in charge of a very singular class in the school, the Junior Infants.

In that capacity she was the teacher who met each little pupil on their very first day in school and she gradually got them accustomed to the disciplines of school life.

A naturally kind and loving person with a bubbling personality, she is dearly remembered for her kindness and forbearance by all who passed through her gentle hands.

Pictured above: Teddy Fennelly has always kept in touch with his first teacher and lifelong friend, Sr. Paula. This picture was taken in 2015.

That was the legacy that Sr. Paula left behind when she left Portlaoise in 1983 to take up a new appointment with the Presentation Sisters in Shantalla in Galway in 1983.

Incredibly that was 37 years ago and this year several generations of Portlaoise people will join with me in extending the good wishes of the community to this remarkable woman on celebrating her 100th birthday on Monday next, 17 August.

Ask any teacher about the difficulties and strain involved in such a responsibility as having a big bunch of four and five years olds in your care five days for most weeks of the year and one can readily appreciate the extraordinary talents and patience needed to do the job well at all times.

Pictured above: Sr. Paula pictured with Fr. Brophy, P.P., Portlaoise and Sr. Paschal. Sr. Paula and Sr. Paschal had taught in the Sacred Heart School for a combined total of 85 years when they both retired from the teaching staff there in 1983. Sr. Paschal, who began her teaching career in Portlaoise in 1939, was fifteen years Principal of Sacred Heart School.

Then consider the numbers of new pupils, from very diverse backgrounds, involved in any given year in a growing county town with only one such class for both boys and girls.

Then multiply that by 40+ years and with classes of mostly over 50 and the number soars to something in the region of 2,000 first day pupils.

Then think of their mammies and daddies of every make and temperament and still manage to keep them all happy. Well that was Sr. Paula.

Sr. Paula ODwyer hails from a rural background in County Limerick.

She had one brother and one sister in her family, both of whom are now deceased.

Having spent two years in teachers training at Carysford College, her first appointment was Portlaoise in 1942.

After a few months teaching 4th Class, she was put in charge of the Junior Infants, or as they were known then, and for many years later, the Hapenny Babies.

It must be remembered that the 1940s and 50s was a different Ireland and a different world than the one in which we live today.

Pictured above: Wille Aird, Leader of the Blacksheep Foroige group in Portlaoise presents their Person of the Year Award to Sr. Paula in the 1980s in the company of other Award winners and Blacksheep members.

When Sr. Paula arrived in Portlaoise, World War Two was at its height and this country, though not involved directly in the war, was in a state of national emergency. People lived frugal lives during those years and in the post-war period.

It is difficult for later generations to understand or appreciate such a difficult time when food was rationed, money was scarce, disease was rampant and there was no such thing as running water or flush toilets in most homes. Radio was relatively new, the content was sparse and the reception was often erratic but it was the main means of keeping people informed of what was happening in the outside world.

The Presentation nuns were an enclosed Order in those days and the sisters were not allowed to leave the confines of their convent. That was one of the rigorous rules under which Sr. Paula and her confreres functioned until the regulations were relaxed in 1967.

Just a year before the change, in 1966, she got word that her mother was not well and was housebound.

She remembers writing a letter to the Bishop of the Limerick Diocese, explaining the plight of her mother and her wish to go see her.

She was granted special permission to make her visit home and has always since cherished the memory of being there, sitting in a chair and being so happy to be home with my dear mother and family again.

She felt it was an unbelievable experience.

She continued to teach in Portlaoise until 1983 when she was transferred to Galway for a number of years. But she always felt that her heart was in Portlaoise and she returned to the town and lived with other nuns in OMoore Place.

Here she was happy amongst dear and helpful neighbours. She found that living in a lay community was something that she really enjoyed, meeting and helping people and praying with them in their darkest moments as well as joining with them in their joyous occasions.

Pictured above: Sr. Consolata, Carmel Fennelly, Mary Fennelly, Sr. Paula (standing), Sr. Justin and Sr. Francesca pictured at the Shalom Nursing Home for retired Sisters of the Presentation Order in Kilcock, County Kildare, in 2015. All the sisters spent many years teaching in Portlaoise.

For the past number of years Sr. Paula has been living happily in retirement in Shalom, a nursing home for retired nuns in Kilcock, County Kildare. She always held her time in Portlaoise as very special and retained close friendships with her numerous acquaintances and admirers in the town, and looks forward to, and enjoys the company of, her many visitors.

She retains her bright and cheerful disposition and, up to recent times, had a remarkable memory of the families and events in the town of Portlaoise over all those years and of names and personalities of her thousands of little admirers who invariably remember with fondness their first day in school and the ray of sunshine in the smile of their first teacher.

If ever there was a person who deserves the accolades of her friends, she is certainly one, after her lifetime of devoted and unstinting service to the people of the town and the lifelong happy memories she left with all the young people who started their school days in her happy class.

How do I know all these things?

Well, I was one of Sr. Paulas young starters in Hapenny Babies and she always was, and still is, my favourite person, outside my family, on this earth!

Happy 100th birthday, Sr. Paula.

Pictured above: Sr. Paula pictured last week at Shalom Nursing Home, Kilcock, where she is now resident.
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- For President Donald Trumps critics and supporters of Palestinian nationalism, there will be a temptation to spin todays historic normalization agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates as a setback for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Following the announcement of Trumps Middle East peace plan earlier this year, Netanyahu began the process of annexing parts of the West Bank, a process he said the plan authorized. The White House urged him to reconsider. He pressed on.

Now it is revealed that, as part of the agreement with the UAE, Israel has agreed to suspend declaring sovereignty over areas outlined in Trumps January plan. Netanyahu later said he remains committed to annexation, but the joint statement about todays agreement says that Israel will focus its efforts now on expanding ties with other countries in the Arab and Muslim world.

In a sense, this is a concession to both the White House and to Americas Arab allies, which saw annexation as Israels way of setting the borders of a future Palestinian state and dooming a two-state solution. But in a more important sense, this concession is a fig leaf.

For the Gulf States in particular, normalization of ties with Israel has historically been tied to the full withdrawal of forces to the pre-1967 lines and recognition of a Palestinian State. These principles were affirmed almost two decades ago through something known as the Arab Peace Initiative. The UAE had previously endorsed that initiative. Now the UAE and Israel have agreed to sign agreements to establish reciprocal embassies in their countries without any agreement for Israel to remove its forces from the West Bank.

The UAE is not the first Arab country to formally recognize Israel. Egypt signed the Camp David Accords in 1979 in return for the Sinai, while Jordan signed its agreement in 1994 at the height of the Oslo Peace Process. Its notable that the UAE has signed its agreement with Israel when there are no peace negotiations whatsoever.

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And that is the most striking element of the normalization agreement. It reflects two realities of todays Middle East: First, Israel and most Gulf states have been quietly cooperating for the past 20 years. The Israelis and the Emiratis in particular have shared intelligence and private diplomatic initiatives to roll back Iranian influence in the region.

The other important reality is that no one in the Middle East can say with a straight face that Israel is the source of the regions instability. Experience is a cruel teacher. Israel had nothing to do with the collapse of the U.N.-recognized government in Yemen  the Iranian-supported Houthis did. Israel had nothing to do with the collapse of Syria  that was the fault of the countrys dictator, Bashar al-Assad. And Israel had nothing to do with the rise of Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. In all of these cases, the regimes and groups most vocally opposed to Israel also served as the regions chief arsonists.

This is something Arab leaders in the region understand better than many advocates for Palestinian sovereignty in the West. As Osama bin Laden once observed, When people see a strong horse and a weak horse, by nature they will like the strong horse. In assessing the region, the UAEs leaders have seen one state thrive as its neighbors burned. They have chosen the strong horse.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Eli Lake is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. He was the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast and covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun and UPI.

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

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2020 Bloomberg L.P.
For most of us growing up in the 90s, the first experience of the internet came from cyber cafes. While the concept would seem alien in todays world, cyber cafes were practically the only way to access internet, for those who did not have the limited range of dial-up broadband internet connectivity at home. From gaming to occasional video chats and surfing the internet for educational projects, cyber cafes were impromptu community hubs that offered a unique influx of people. The story of Indias internet really took off in these computer and internet hubs, which kept expanding beyond metropolitan regions, until recent times when it still remained in business.

The latest rise in mobile connectivity, coupled with super affordable prices of data connectivity, means that today most users already have internet right at their fingertips at all time. While the younger generation will find cyber cafes to be an alien concept, we still remember very clearly the bulging CRT monitors and pixelated webpages loading in the thinly partitioned cyber cafe bays. Heres a neat glimpse at how life was, before the internet connectivity boom spread all across the country.

A waiter serves coffee to college students surfing the internet at a cafe in Bangalore in this April 6, 2000 file photo.

A man sends a text message from his mobile phone inside an Internet cafe in Kolkata, August 23, 2005.

Sangeeta Dutta and small daughter Anushna sit at a high-speed broadband internet cafe by run by Reliance Infocomm in Kolkata, May 11, 2004.

Children play computer games at a high-speed broadband internet cafe by run by Reliance Infocomm in Kolkata.

Editors note: This article is part of News18s 25 Years of Internet In India series, where we capture how the state of mobile services, home broadband, internet services and content have evolved, particularly in the past few years. We try to understand what the internet means for us, be it for the new reality of work from home, for entertainment of the habit of binge watching, music streaming, online gaming and more.
Richmond Mayor Calls City Unrest Hijacking of Black Lives Matter Cause; 4 Charged

The mayor of Richmond, Virginia, is denouncing riots that rocked his city as a clear hijacking of the Black Lives Matter cause, while police made four arrests in connection with the unrest.

Levar Stoney, who is black, made the remarks during a COVID-19 briefing on Aug. 12.

After detaining an undisclosed number of individuals just before midnight, Richmond police charged four of them, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Among the items recovered from the suspects were a hammer and a metal crowbar, officials said.

Stoney detailed some of the damage and condemned the actions of those responsible.

Last night, a group by the name of Richmond Strike led a rash of property damage and vandalism to public and private buildings in our city, he said.

The Epoch Times reached out to Richmond Strike, which calls itself an autonomous decentralized network for direct action in the colony called Richmond, for comment but didnt immediately receive a response.

Damage included dozens of broken windows, including 22 at the John Marshall Courthouse in downtown Richmond, forcing the buildings closure. Repairs to the building could cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, said Stoney, who rejected as unacceptable the violence and vandalism.

Its wrong and it undermines any sort of mission behind the cause of Black Lives Matter, he said.

Stoney lamented that money from city coffers that could be going to improve peoples lives will instead be spent on fixing windows.

So it is in conflict of what these people say that they are standing for. And I will say thisthere are folks who are hijacking what  this initially began about a racial reckoning in the city and in this country, a clear hijacking of that cause.

Last night was not about a cause. That was about violence. That was about paralysis. People want to paralyze the city of Richmond. Unacceptable, he said.

If you are involved in any riotous behavior, violence during any protest, we will charge you with all applicable offenses.

In a tweet, Stoney said: Those working peacefully for change are welcome here. Those intent on creating chaos and confrontation, who riot and commit violence against our community, will go to jail. Period.

Colette McEachin, a prosecutor, echoed the mayors view that the actions of the rioters were misguided, in remarks to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. She said the closure of the John Marshall Courthouse forced the postponement of the sentencing hearing in the case of a man convicted in the second-degree murder of a 9-year-old girl.

Talk about justice delayed, McEachin said. Markiya Dicksons parents arent getting justice today. Anyone seeking eviction assistance from the Legal Aid attorney on the second floor isnt getting the help they need today.

The reform-minded protests that followed the May 25 police-custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis have in many cases morphed into bouts of vandalism, looting, and violence. In some cities, federal authorities have been deployed to assist local law enforcement, sparking pushback from some local lawmakers.
Over the past few months, Google has been working towards adding features to their video conferencing tool, Meet, and their education tool, Classroom. Today they announced a lot of new updates coming to these two platforms that is releasing over the next few months including Attendance tracking, improved plagiarism check, better controls for moderators and more.

By September, moderators in Meet will have additional controls like the ability to prohibit participants to join meeting after being ejected, end meetings for all, manage join requests, lock meetings till moderators, etc. Over the next few months, Meet will introduce larger tiled view in a 77 grid, the ability to blur/replace backgrounds, attendance tracking, breakout rooms, hand raising and more.

Coming to the new features in Classroom, Google is adding a to-do widget for students and a to-review widget for teachers, so that both teachers and students can keep track of their work.

The Originality Reports feature is getting expanded with the ability to not only run originality reports on Google Slides and Google Docs, educators will also have the ability to run plagiarism checks between students at their school.

There new tools for admins who want to troubleshoot Classroom issues and Classroom is adding support for 10 more languages including Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, and Urdu. Google also hinted a few features that they are working like Student engagement metrics, better offline capabilities and tools to easily create and manage courses at scale.

Source
New Delhi: After 48 hours, it is gradually becoming clear that the Bengaluru riots did not happen suddenly but were triggered in a planned way. The role of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) is coming into the light for playing a key role behind mob violence in parts of the city that claimed atleast three lives and scores were injured.

The four FIRs lodged against the rioters clearly indicated that the controversial Facebook post was just an excuse, while the script and actors of these riots were already prepared. The DNA report will explain as to how these riots were planned as part of a larger conspiracy, as it has the copies of these FIRs in its possession.

The first important fact stated is that the rioters had planned to attack the two police stations and kill the policemen. Notably, gangster Vikas Dubey's gang in Bikaru village of Kanpur had killed just 8 cops, but in Bengaluru, 800 armed rioters gheraoed the police station and appeared ready to kill the cops had they been able to catch them.

Over 60 policemen were injured in the riots on Tuesday night. The rioters were shouting slogans against them and they were also hurling abuses on them, while those who were leading the mob were asking people to kill the cops. The rioters wanted the police to hand them over the man accused of making the controversial post on Facebook.

The police had arrested the nephew of Congress MLA Akhand Srinivas Murthy for allegedly making objectionable comments against Prophet Mohammad Saheb on Facebook, but it refused to hand him over to the rioters, who therefore set the police stations, KG Halli and DG Halli, on fire and attacked the policemen.

The FIR stated that these rioters had come with complete preparation to target the police stations. They had also attacked the Congress MLA's house and set his house on fire. The rioters were stated to be in five groups of 200 to 300 people carrying sharp-edged weapons, brick-stones, bottles, iron rods, and petrol bombs.

They adopted guerrilla warfare tactics to attack the police and dispersed in the narrow lanes of that area in Bengaluru. Not once, but five times the violent mob launched its attack, and each time the number was greater than earlier. The rioters had also blocked the road so that the police of other areas could not reach there. The fire brigade vehicles deployed to extinguish the fire were also blocked and the employees were beaten up by the mob.

Surprisingly, the irate mob gathered within an hour of the controversial post on social media showing that the riots were already planned. Although the FIR is written in Kannada, we have understood the whole incident of Tuesday night. Accordingly, at 8 pm on Tuesday night, the police arrested the Congress MLA's nephew, who posted the controversial post on Facebook, but within 45 minutes, five persons named Muzammil Pasha, Syed Masood, Afnan, Ayaz and Allah Baksh surrounded the police station, along with a mob of around 200 to 300 people.

Since the motive of the crowd was to attack the accused who made controversial remarks, they started pelting stones at the policemen, injuring many. The policemen present at the police station informed their senior officers to immediately send additional police force. MLA Akhand Srinivas Murthy also tried to pacify the mob but the irate crowd did not listen to him and set on fire the vehicles parked outside the police station.

When additional police force reached the spot and asked the crowd to vacate the area immediately, but the crowd did not budge an inch despite aerial firing. The police then used tear gas and fired several rounds, killing three of the rioters. The whole incident indicates that like every riot, violence in Bengaluru did not happen on its own but was well-planned, and the Facebook post was just a trigger.

First Delhi, and now Bengaluru--the city has changed but the pattern of riots remains the same. The masterminds of the riots have tried to tarnish Bengaluru's image the way they did in Delhi. Among those who led the violent mob was Muzammil Pasha, a local leader of the SDPI, which is the political outfit of the Islamic fundamentalist organization People's Front of India (PFI) which is also accused of funding the Delhi riots.

According to the Intelligence Unit of Jharkhand Police, the PFI wants to make some cities in India like Syria. Like the Bengaluru riots, the PFI triggered violence in Pakur, Sahibganj, and Jamtara districts of Jharkhand. Similar violence has also been witnessed in West Bengal.

In 2016, the PFI reportedly organised a rally in support of Zakir Naik, in which slogans of Pakistan Zindabad and Hindustan Murdabad were raised. The outfit has been accused of spreading violence through the communal frenzy, social division, and on the basis of bigotry and anti-national sentiments.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF EU REGULATION 596/2014.



NOT FOR PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR RELEASE, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN AND SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE SUCH PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR RELEASE WOULD BE UNLAWFUL OR REQUIRE REGISTRATION OR OTHER MEASURES.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS AN ADVERTISEMENT AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A PROSPECTUS OR PROSPECTUS EQUIVALENT DOCUMENT. NEITHER THIS ANNOUNCEMENT NOT ANYTHING CONTAINED HEREIN SHALL FORM THE BASIS OF, OR BE RELIED UPON IN CONNECTION WITH, ANY OFFER OR COMMITMENT WHATSOEVER IN ANY JURISDICTION. ANY DECISION TO PURCHASE, SUBSCRIBE FOR, OTHERWISE ACQUIRE, SELL OR OTHERWISE DISPOSE OF ANY SECURITIES REFERRED TO IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT MUST BE MADE SOLELY ON THE BASIS OF THE INFORMATION THAT IS CONTAINED IN THE PROSPECTUS TO BE PUBLISHED BY THE COMPANY IN DUE COURSE.





Acacia Pharma Group plc

Proposed Capital Raising by way of a Placing of New Ordinary Shares





Cambridge, UK and Indianapolis, US  13 August 2020: Acacia Pharma Group plc ("Acacia Pharma" or the "Company") (EURONEXT: ACPH), a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing novel products to improve the care of patients undergoing serious medical treatments such as surgery, invasive procedures, or chemotherapy, intends to issue new ordinary shares of a nominal value of 0.02 (the "New Ordinary Shares") raising gross proceeds of approximately EUR 25m ($30m), by means of an accelerated bookbuild offering (the "Placing").

The price at which the New Ordinary Shares will be issued (the "Placing Price") and the total number of New Ordinary Shares to be issued in the Placing will be determined by way of an accelerated bookbuild process (the "Bookbuild"). The Company believes that using the flexibility provided by a non-pre-emptive placing is the most appropriate structure for the Company at this time, allowing it to raise capital in a timely and cost-effective manner and to diversify the shareholder base.

Jefferies International Limited ("Jefferies") and Guggenheim Securities, LLC ("Guggenheim Securities") are acting as Joint Global Coordinators and Joint Bookrunners and Bank Degroof Petercam SA/NV ("Degroof Petercam") is acting as Joint Bookrunner and Listing Agent (Jefferies, Guggenheim Securities and Degroof Petercam together, the Joint Bookrunners or the "Banks") in connection with the Placing.

The Bookbuild will start immediately following this announcement. Pricing and allocation of the New Ordinary Shares in the Placing is expected to take place before beginning of trading on Euronext Brussels at 09:00 CEST on 14 August 2020. The exact timing of closing of the Bookbuild, pricing and allocation is at the discretion of the Company and the Joint Global Coordinators and Joint Bookrunners. The Company will announce the outcome of the Placing after closing of the Bookbuild in a subsequent announcement.

The Company has requested the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority ("Belgian FSMA") to suspend trading in Acacia Pharmas shares on Euronext Brussels during the Bookbuild. Trading in the shares is expected to resume following the publication of the results of the Placing.

The Company has separately announced today its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2020 (the Interim Results Announcement). This announcement should be read in conjunction with the Interim Results Announcement.

The net proceeds of the Placing are intended to be used for:

(i) the recruitment of an initial sales force of approximately 30, with an additional ten support staff;

(ii) payment of marketing costs relating to BARHEMSYS and BYFAVO including brand development and engagement with key opinion leaders, healthcare professionals and medical conference and speaker programmes;

(iii) the implementation of post-approval research and development commitments including paediatric studies for BARHEMSYS and BYFAVO and a renal study for BARHEMSYS;

(iv) satisfaction of interest and capital payments under existing loan agreements; and

(v) general corporate purposes relating to ongoing commercial activities as well as supplementing existing stock of both BARHEMSYS and BYFAVO.

In connection with the Placing, the Company has agreed, pursuant to a lock-up undertaking, not to issue additional shares for a period of 90 days following settlement of the Placing. In addition, in connection with the Placing, senior managers and directors of the Company as well as Cosmo Technologies Limited, a substantial shareholder in the Company, have agreed not to sell any shares in Acacia Pharma for a period of 90 days following the settlement of the Placing, subject to customary exceptions.

Your attention is drawn to the detailed terms and conditions of the Placing described in Appendix I to this announcement (which form part of this announcement). The attention of investors is drawn in particular to the "Conditions of the Placing and Termination of the Placing Agreement" section of Appendix I (including the condition that no Material Adverse Change can have occurred immediately prior to the Closing Date and, in respect of termination of the Placing Agreement, the various applicable force majeure events set out therein).

Capitalised terms used but not otherwise defined in the text of this announcement are defined in Appendix II of this announcement.

Contacts

Acacia Pharma Group plc

Mike Bolinder, CEO

Gary Gemignani, CFO

+44 1223 919760 / +1 317 505 1280

IR@acaciapharma.com

Citigate Dewe Rogerson (Financial PR)

Mark Swallow, Frazer Hall, David Dible

+44 20 7638 9571

acaciapharma@citigatedewerogerson.com

About Acacia Pharma

Acacia Pharma is a hospital pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of new products aimed at improving the care of patients undergoing significant treatments such as surgery, other invasive procedures, or cancer chemotherapy. The Company has identified important and commercially attractive unmet needs in these areas that its product portfolio aims to address.

Acacia Pharma's first product, BARHEMSYS (amisulpride injection) for postoperative nausea & vomiting (PONV), has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, with US launch planned for 2H 2020.

BYFAVO (remimazolam) for injection, a rapid onset/offset IV benzodiazepine sedative is approved in the US for use during invasive medical procedures in adults lasting 30 minutes or less, such as colonoscopy and bronchoscopy. Acacia Pharmas rights to further develop and commercialise BYFAVO are in-licensed from Paion UK Limited for the US market, and US launch is planned for 2H 2020.

APD403 (intravenous and oral amisulpride), a selective dopamine antagonist for chemotherapy induced nausea & vomiting (CINV) has successfully completed one proof-of-concept and one Phase 2 dose-ranging study in patients receiving highly emetogenic chemotherapy.

Acacia Pharma is based in Cambridge, UK and its US operations are centred in Indianapolis, IN. The Company is listed on the Euronext Brussels exchange under the ISIN code GB00BYWF9Y76 and ticker symbol ACPH.

www.acaciapharma.com

Important Information

The release or distribution of this announcement may, in certain jurisdictions, be subject to restrictions. The recipients of this announcement in jurisdictions where this announcement has been published or distributed shall inform themselves of and follow such restrictions. This announcement does not constitute an offer, or a solicitation of any offer, to buy or subscribe for any securities in Acacia Pharma in any jurisdiction, neither from Acacia Pharma nor from someone else.

Any investment decision in connection with the Placing must be made on the basis of the information contained in the prospectus to be published by the Company in connection with the Placing. The information contained in this announcement is for background purposes only and does not purport to be full or complete. No reliance may or should be placed by any person for any purpose whatsoever on the information contained in this announcement or its accuracy or completeness. The information in this announcement is subject to change.

The New Ordinary Shares have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States of America absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration under the Securities Act and applicable state securities law. The securities have not been registered, and there is no intention to register any securities referred to herein in the United States or to make any public offering of securities of the Company in the United States.

This announcement is an advertisement and not a prospectus for the purposes of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017 (the "Prospectus Regulation") and has not been approved by any regulatory authority in any jurisdiction. A copy of the prospectus will, following publication, be available from the Company on its website at www.acaciapharma.com provided that the prospectus will not, subject to certain exceptions, be available (whether through the website or otherwise) to shareholders in the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, and South Africa, or any other jurisdiction where the announcement, publication or distribution of the information would not comply with applicable laws and regulations or where such actions are subject to legal restrictions or would require additional registration or other measures than what is required under English law.

In relation to each member state of the EEA and the United Kingdom (each a Relevant State) no New Ordinary Shares have been offered or will be offered pursuant to the Placing to the public in that Relevant State prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the New Ordinary Shares which has been approved by the competent authority in that Relevant State or, where appropriate, approved in another Relevant State and notified to the competent authority in that Relevant State, all in accordance with the Prospectus Regulation, except that an offer to the public in that Relevant State of any New Ordinary Shares may be made at any time under the following exemptions under the Prospectus Regulation:

to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined under the Prospectus Regulation;

to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Regulation); or

in any other circumstances falling within Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation, provided that no such offer of New Ordinary Shares shall require the Company or any Bank to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Regulation or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the Prospectus Regulation.

Jefferies is authorised and regulated by the FCA in the United Kingdom. Degroof Petercam is authorised by and under the supervision of the National Bank of Belgium and under the supervision on investor and consumer protection of the Belgian FSMA. You should note that, in connection with the Placing, each of the Banks is acting exclusively for the Company and for no one else in connection with the Placing and will not be responsible to anyone (whether or not a recipient of this document) other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to clients of the Banks or for affording advice in relation to the Placing, the contents of this document or any matters referred to herein. The Banks are not responsible for, and have not approved, the contents of or any part of this document and will not be responsible for or approve any eventual final form prospectus that may be approved by the FCA. This does not exclude any responsibilities which the Banks may have under FSMA, or which are imposed by the FCA, the National Bank of Belgium or the Belgian FSMA or the regulatory regimes established thereunder (as applicable).

Apart from the liabilities and responsibilities (if any) which may be imposed on the Banks by either FSMA, the FCA, the National Bank of Belgium or the Belgian FSMA or the regulatory regimes established thereunder, the Banks do not make any representations, express or implied, or accept any responsibility whatsoever for the contents of this document nor for any other statement made or purported to be made by the Banks or on their behalf in connection with the Company and the Placing. The Banks, any of their respective directors, officers, employees, agents, affiliates or advisers accordingly disclaim all and any liability whether arising in tort or contract or otherwise which they might otherwise have in respect of this document or any such statement.

Information to distributors

Solely for the purposes of the product governance requirements contained within: (a) EU Directive 2014/65/EU on markets in financial instruments, as amended ("MiFID II"); (b) Articles 9 and 10 of Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2017/593 supplementing MiFID II; and (c) local implementing measures (together, the "MiFID II Product Governance Requirements"), and disclaiming all and any liability, whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise, which any "manufacturer" (for the purposes of the MiFID II Product Governance Requirements) may otherwise have with respect thereto, the New Ordinary Shares have been subject to a product approval process, which has determined that the New Ordinary Shares are: (i) compatible with an end target market of retail investors and investors who meet the criteria of professional clients and eligible counterparties, each as defined in MiFID II; and (ii) eligible for distribution through all distribution channels as are permitted by MiFID II (the "Target Market Assessment"). Notwithstanding the Target Market Assessment, distributors should note that: the price of the New Ordinary Shares may decline and investors could lose all or part of their investment; the New Ordinary Shares offer no guaranteed income and no capital protection; and an investment in the New Ordinary Shares is compatible only with investors who do not need a guaranteed income or capital protection, who (either alone or in conjunction with an appropriate financial or other adviser) are capable of evaluating the merits and risks of such an investment and who have sufficient resources to be able to bear any losses that may result therefrom. The Target Market Assessment is without prejudice to the requirements of any contractual, legal or regulatory selling restrictions in relation to the Placing. Furthermore, it is noted that, notwithstanding the Target Market Assessment, subject to certain limited exceptions, the Joint Global Coordinators and Joint Bookrunners will only procure investors who meet the criteria of professional clients and eligible counterparties.

For the avoidance of doubt, the Target Market Assessment does not constitute: (a) an assessment of suitability or appropriateness for the purposes of MiFID II; or (b) a recommendation to any investor or group of investors to invest in, or purchase, or take any other action whatsoever with respect to the New Ordinary Shares.

Each distributor is responsible for undertaking its own target market assessment in respect of the New Ordinary Shares and determining appropriate distribution channels.





Forward looking statements

This announcement may include certain forward-looking statements, which are based on current expectations and projections about future events. These statements may include, without limitation, any statements preceded by, followed by or including words such as "believe", "expect", "intend", "may", "plan", "will", "should", "could" and other words and terms of similar meaning or the negative thereof. Forward-looking statements may and often do differ materially from actual results. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions about the Company and its subsidiaries and investments, including, among other things, the development of its business, trends in its operating industry, and future capital expenditures and acquisitions. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances. Any forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current view with respect to future events and are subject to risks relating to future events and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to the Group's business, results of operations, financial position, prospectus, growth or strategies and the industry in which it operates. Save as required by law or applicable regulation, the Company and its affiliates expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update, review or revise any forward-looking statement contained in this announcement whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made.





APPENDIX I

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE PLACING

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON THE PLACING FOR INVITED PLACEES ONLY.

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO TAKE PART IN THE PLACING (SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITED EXCEPTIONS). THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET OUT HEREIN ARE FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND ARE ONLY DIRECTED AT, AND BEING DISTRIBUTED TO, PERSONS WHOSE ORDINARY ACTIVITIES INVOLVE THEM IN ACQUIRING, HOLDING, MANAGING AND DISPOSING OF INVESTMENTS (AS PRINCIPAL OR AGENT) FOR THE PURPOSES OF THEIR BUSINESS AND WHO HAVE PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE IN MATTERS RELATING TO INVESTMENTS AND ARE: (A) IF IN A MEMBER STATE OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA (THE EEA), PERSONS WHO ARE QUALIFIED INVESTORS WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 2(E) OF THE PROSPECTUS REGULATION ("QUALIFIED INVESTORS"); (B) IF IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, PERSONS WHO ARE QUALIFIED INVESTORS WHO (I) FALL WITHIN THE DEFINITION OF "INVESTMENT PROFESSIONALS" IN ARTICLE 19(5) OF THE ORDER, OR (II) ARE PERSONS FALLING WITHIN ARTICLE 49(2) OF THE ORDER, OR (III) ANY OTHER PERSON TO WHOM IT MAY OTHERWISE LAWFULLY BE COMMUNICATED AND, IN EACH CASE, WHO HAVE BEEN INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PLACING BY THE JOINT BOOKRUNNERS (ALL SUCH PERSONS REFERRED TO IN (A) AND (B) ABOVE TOGETHER BEING REFERRED TO AS "RELEVANT PERSONS").

SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITED EXCEPTIONS, THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET OUT HEREIN MUST NOT BE ACTED ON OR RELIED ON BY PERSONS WHO ARE NOT RELEVANT PERSONS. ANY PERSON WHO HAS RECEIVED OR IS DISTRIBUTING THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS MUST SATISFY THEMSELVES THAT IT IS LAWFUL TO DO SO. ANY INVESTMENT OR INVESTMENT ACTIVITY TO WHICH THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS RELATE IS AVAILABLE ONLY TO RELEVANT PERSONS AND WILL BE ENGAGED IN ONLY WITH RELEVANT PERSONS. THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS DO NOT THEMSELVES CONSTITUTE AN OFFER FOR SALE OR SUBSCRIPTION OF ANY SECURITIES IN THE COMPANY.

THE SECURITIES HAVE NOT BEEN AND WILL NOT BE REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OR THE SECURITIES LAWS OF ANY STATE OR OTHER JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE SECURITIES MAY NOT BE OFFERED, SOLD, TRANSFERRED OR DELIVERED, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY IN, INTO OR WITHIN THE UNITED STATES, EXCEPT PURSUANT TO AN EXEMPTION FROM, OR IN A TRANSACTION NOT SUBJECT TO, THE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE SECURITIES ACT AND APPLICABLE STATE SECURITIES LAWS. THERE WILL BE NO PUBLIC OFFERING OF THE SECURITIES IN THE UNITED STATES.

THE SECURITIES ARE BEING OFFERED AND SOLD: (1)WITHIN THE UNITED STATES IN RELIANCE ON RULE 144A UNDER THE US SECURITIES ACT (RULE 144A) ONLY TO PERSONS THAT ARE QUALIFIED INSTITUTIONAL BUYERS (EACH A QIB) WITHIN THE MEANING OF RULE 144A ACTING ON THEIR OWN ACCOUNT OR FOR THE ACCOUNT OF ANOTHER QIB; AND (2)OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES TO PERSONS OTHER THAN US PERSONS (AS DEFINED IN REGULATION S UNDER THE US SECURITIES ACT) IN AN OFFSHORE TRANSACTION IN RELIANCE ON REGULATION S.

EACH PLACEE SHOULD CONSULT WITH ITS OWN ADVISERS AS TO LEGAL, TAX, BUSINESS AND RELATED ASPECTS OF AN ACQUISITION OF PLACING SHARES.

Unless otherwise defined in these terms and conditions, capitalised terms used in these terms and conditions shall have the meaning given to them in this announcement.

If a person indicates to the Joint Bookrunners that it wishes to participate in the Placing by making an oral or written offer to acquire Placing Shares pursuant to the Placing it will be deemed to have read and understood these terms and conditions and the announcement of which it forms part and the Placing Proof in their entirety and to be making such offer on the terms and conditions, and to be providing the representations, warranties, indemnities, agreements and acknowledgements, contained in these terms and conditions. In particular, each such Placee represents, warrants and acknowledges that:

it is a Relevant Person and undertakes that it will acquire, hold, manage and dispose of any of the Placing Shares that are allocated to it for the purposes of its business only;

in the case of a Relevant Person in the United Kingdom who acquires any Placing Shares pursuant to the Placing, it is a person who has professional experience in matters relating to investments and who falls within the definition of "investment professionals" in Article 19(5) of the Order or who falls within Article 49(2) of the Order and it is a "Qualified Investor";

in the case of a Relevant Person in a member state of the EEA who acquires any Placing Shares pursuant to the Placing, it is a Qualified Investor;

it is acquiring the Placing Shares for its own account or is acquiring the Placing Shares for an account with respect to which it exercises sole investment discretion and has the authority to make and does make the representations, warranties, indemnities, agreements and acknowledgements, contained in these terms and conditions;

it understands (or, if acting for the account of another person, such person understands) the resale and transfer restrictions set out in this appendix; and

it is (and the person it represents (if any) is) and, at the time the Placing Shares are acquired, will be either (1) within the United States and a QIB or (2) outside the United States and acquiring the Placing Shares in an offshore transaction in accordance with Rule 903 and Rule 904 of Regulation S for its own account or purchasing the Placing Shares for an account with respect to which it exercises sole investment discretion.

These terms and conditions do not constitute an offer to sell or issue or the invitation or solicitation of an offer to buy or acquire Placing Shares in the United States or any other jurisdiction where to do so may be unlawful, including, without limitation, Australia, Canada, Japan, and South Africa.

These terms and conditions and the information contained herein are not for release, publication or distribution, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, to persons in Australia, Canada, Japan, South Africa, the United States or any other jurisdiction where to do so may be unlawful.

In particular, the Placing Shares referred to in these terms and conditions have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act or the securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States and the Placing Shares may not be offered or sold directly or indirectly in, into or within the United States, except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. Accordingly, the Placing Shares will only be offered and sold to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A under the Securities Act, and to non-US persons in offshore transactions pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act. In connection with the Placing, prospective investors are hereby notified that the Company and the Joint Bookrunners may be relying on the exemption from the provision of Section 5 of the Securities Act provided by Rule 144A. There will be no public offering of the Placing Shares in the United States. The Placing Shares have not been approved or disapproved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, or state securities commission in the United States or any other regulatory authority in the United States, nor have any of the foregoing authorities passed upon or endorsed the merits of the Placing or the accuracy or adequacy of these terms and conditions. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offence in the United States.

The distribution of these terms and conditions and the offer and/or placing of Placing Shares in certain other jurisdictions may be restricted by law. No action has been taken by the Joint Bookrunners or the Company that would permit an offer of the Placing Shares or possession or distribution of these terms and conditions or any other offering or publicity material relating to the Placing Shares in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, save as mentioned above. Persons into whose possession these terms and conditions come are required by the Joint Bookrunners and the Company to inform themselves about and to observe any such restrictions.

Each Placee's commitments will be made solely on the basis of the information set out in this announcement and the Placing Proof. Each Placee, by participating in the Placing, agrees that it has neither received nor relied on any other information, representation, warranty or statement made by or on behalf of any of the Joint Bookrunners or the Company and none of the Joint Bookrunners, the Company, or any person acting on such person's behalf nor any of their respective affiliates has or shall have liability for any Placee's decision to participate in the Placing based on any other information, representation, warranty or statement. Each Placee acknowledges and agrees that it has relied on its own investigation of the business, financial or other position of the Company in accepting a participation in the Placing. Nothing in this paragraph shall exclude the liability of any person for fraudulent misrepresentation.

No undertaking, representation, warranty or any other assurance, express or implied, is made or given by or on behalf of any Joint Bookrunner or any of its affiliates, their respective directors, officers, employees, agents, advisers, or any other person, as to the accuracy, completeness, correctness or fairness of the information or opinions contained in the Placing Proof and the Prospectus (when published), this announcement or for any other statement made or purported to be made by any of them, or on behalf of them, in connection with the Company or the Placing and no such person shall have any responsibility or liability for any such information or opinions or for any errors or omissions. Accordingly, save to the extent permitted by law, no liability whatsoever is accepted by any Joint Bookrunner or any of their respective directors, officers, employees or affiliates or any other person for any loss howsoever arising, directly or indirectly, from any use of this announcement or such information or opinions contained herein or otherwise arising in connection with the Placing Proof and the Prospectus (when published).

These terms and conditions do not constitute or form part of, and should not be construed as, any offer or invitation to sell or issue, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase or subscribe for, any Placing Shares or any other securities or an inducement to enter into investment activity, nor shall these terms and conditions (or any part of them), nor the fact of their distribution, form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any investment activity. No statement in this announcement is intended to be nor may be construed as a profit forecast and nor should any such statement be interpreted to mean that the Company's profits or earnings per share for any future period will necessarily match or exceed historical published profits or earnings per share of the Company.

Proposed Placing of Placing Shares

Placees are referred to these terms and conditions, this announcement and the Placing Proof containing details of, inter alia, the Placing. These terms and conditions, this announcement and the Placing Proof have been prepared and issued by the Company, and each of these documents is the sole responsibility of the Company and its directors.

Applications will be made to Euronext Brussels for admission of the Placing Shares to trading on on the regulated market of Euronext Brussels.

Placing

The Joint Bookrunners have severally agreed, pursuant to the Placing Agreement, to use reasonable endeavours to place, as agents for the Company, the Placing Shares at the Placing Price with Placees. With effect from the completion of the institutional Bookbuild, to the extent that any Placee fails to subscribe for any or all of the Placing Shares which have been allocated to it or which it has agreed to take up at the Placing Price, the Joint Bookrunners have severally agreed, on the terms and subject to the conditions in the Placing Agreement, to subscribe for the Placing Shares at the Placing Price. In such circumstances, each Joint Bookrunner shall be required to subscribe for such Placing Shares at the Placing Price only in respect of the Placees it has procured.

Subject to the conditions below being satisfied, it is expected that Admission will become effective on 18 August 2020 and that dealings for normal settlement in the Placing Shares will commence at 8.00 a.m. on the same day. The Placing Shares, when issued and fully paid, will be identical to, and rank pari passu with, the Existing Ordinary Shares, including the right to receive all dividends and other distributions declared, made or paid on the Existing Ordinary Shares by reference to a record date on or after Admission.

The Placing is conditional, inter alia, upon:

(i) Admission becoming effective by not later than 8.00 a.m. on 18 August 2020 (or such later time and/or date as the Company and the Banks may agree); and

(ii) the Placing Agreement having become unconditional in all respects.

The Prospectus to be issued by the Company in connection with the Placing will be submitted for approval by the FCA under section 87A of the FSMA and, once approved, will be made available to the public in accordance with Rule 3.2 of the Prospectus Regulation Rules made under Part VI of the FSMA. The Belgian FSMA will be notified of the passporting of the Prospectus in accordance with Article 25 of the Prospectus Regulation.

Bookbuild of the Placing

Commencing today, the Joint Bookrunners will be conducting the Bookbuild to determine demand for participation in the Placing. The Joint Bookrunners will seek to procure Placees as agents for the Company as part of this Bookbuild. These terms and conditions give details of the terms and conditions of, and the mechanics of participation in, the Placing.

The Joint Bookrunners and the Company shall be entitled to effect the Placing by such alternative method to the Bookbuild as they may agree between them.

Principal terms of the Bookbuild

(a) By participating in the Placing, Placees will be deemed to have read and understood this announcement, these terms and conditions and the Placing Proof in their entirety and to be participating and making an offer for any Placing Shares on these terms and conditions, and to be providing the representations, warranties, indemnities, agreements, acknowledgements and undertakings, contained in these terms and conditions.

(b) The Joint Bookrunners are arranging the Placing severally, and not jointly, nor jointly and severally, as agents of the Company.

(c) Participation in the Placing will only be available to persons who are Relevant Persons and who may lawfully be and are invited to participate by any of the Joint Bookrunners. The Joint Bookrunners and their respective affiliates are entitled to enter bids as principal in the Bookbuild.

(d) To bid in the Bookbuild, Placees should communicate their bid by telephone or in writing to their usual sales contact at any Joint Bookrunner. Each bid should state the aggregate number of Placing Shares which the Placee wishes to acquire or the total monetary amount which it wishes to commit to acquire Placing Shares at the Placing Price. Bids may be scaled down by the Joint Bookrunners on the basis referred to in paragraphs (g) and (k) below.

(e) The Bookbuild is expected to close no later than 11.00 p.m. CEST on 13 August 2020 but may close earlier or later, at the discretion of the Joint Bookrunners and the Company. The timing of the closing of the books and allocations will be agreed between the Joint Bookrunners and the Company following completion of the Bookbuild. The Joint Bookrunners may, in agreement with the Company, accept offers to acquire Placing Shares that are received after the Bookbuild has closed.

(f) An offer to acquire Placing Shares in the Bookbuild will be made on the basis of these terms and conditions (which shall be deemed to be incorporated in such offer) and the Placing Proof and will be legally binding on the Placee by which, or on behalf of which, it is made and will not be capable of variation or revocation.

(g) Subject to paragraph (e) above, the Joint Bookrunners reserve the right not to accept an offer to acquire Placing Shares, either in whole or in part, on the basis of allocations agreed with the Company and may scale down any offer to acquire Placing Shares for this purpose.

(h) If successful, each Placee's allocation will be confirmed to it by the Joint Bookrunners following the close of the Bookbuild. Oral or written confirmation (at the Joint Bookrunners' discretion) from the Joint Bookrunners to such Placee confirming its allocation will constitute a legally binding commitment upon such Placee (who at that point will become a Placee), in favour of the Joint Bookrunners and the Company to acquire the number of Placing Shares allocated to it (and in the respective numbers of Placing Shares so allocated) on the terms and conditions set out herein (which shall be deemed to be incorporated in such legally binding commitment). Each Placee will have an immediate, separate, irrevocable and binding obligation, owed to the Joint Bookrunners, to pay to the Joint Bookrunners (or as the Joint Bookrunners may direct) as agent for the Company in cleared funds an amount equal to the product of the Placing Price and the sum of the number of Placing Shares, which such Placee has agreed to acquire.

(i) Each Placee's allocation and commitment together with settlement arrangements will be confirmed by an electronic contract note and/or electronic trade confirmation issued to such Placee by one of the Joint Bookrunners in due course.

(j) The Company will make a further announcement detailing the number of Placing Shares to be issued. It is expected that the Placing Results Announcement will be made as soon as practicable after the close of the Bookbuild.

(k) Subject to paragraphs (g) and (h) above, the Joint Bookrunners reserve the right not to accept bids or to accept bids, either in whole or in part, on the basis of allocations determined at the Joint Bookrunners' discretion and may scale down any bids as the Joint Bookrunners may determine, subject to agreement with the Company. The acceptance of bids shall be at the Joint Bookrunners' absolute discretion, subject to agreement with the Company.

(l) Irrespective of the time at which a Placee's allocation(s) pursuant to the Placing is/are confirmed, settlement for all Placing Shares to be acquired pursuant to the Placing will be required to be made at the time specified and all Placing Shares to be acquired pursuant to the Placing will be required to be made at the later time specified, on the basis explained below under the paragraph entitled "Registration and Settlement".

(m) No commissions are payable to Placees in respect of the Placing.

(n) By participating in the Bookbuild, each Placee agrees that its rights and obligations in respect of the Placing will terminate only in the circumstances described below and will not be capable of rescission or termination by the Placee. All obligations under the Placing will be subject to the fulfilment of the conditions referred to below under the paragraph entitled "Conditions of the Placing and Termination of the Placing Agreement".

(o) To the fullest extent permissible by law, no Joint Bookrunner nor any of its affiliates nor any of its or their respective affiliates' agents, directors, officers or employees, respectively, shall have any liability to Placees (or to any other person whether acting on behalf of a Placee or otherwise). In particular, no Joint Bookrunner nor any of its affiliates nor any of its or their respective affiliates' agents, directors, officers or employees, respectively, shall have any liability (including, to the extent permissible by law, any fiduciary duties) to Placees (or to any person whether acting on behalf of a Placee or otherwise) in respect of the Joint Bookrunners' conduct of the Bookbuild or of such alternative method of effecting the Placing as the Joint Bookrunners and the Company may agree.

Conditions of the Placing and Termination of the Placing Agreement

Placees will only be called on to acquire Placing Shares if the obligations of the Banks under the Placing Agreement have become unconditional in all respects and the Banks have not terminated the Placing Agreement prior to Admission. The Banks respective obligations under the Placing Agreement are subject to certain conditions, including:

(a) Admission occurring not later than 8.00 a.m. on 18 August 2020 (or such later time or date as the Banks may agree with the Company);

(b) the Company having complied with its obligations under the Placing Agreement or under the terms or conditions of the Placing which fall to be performed on or prior to the Closing Date, save where, in the good faith opinion of the Banks, such non-compliance is not material in the context of the Placing, the underwriting of settlement for the Placing Shares or Admission (and provided, if applicable, that any consents required pursuant to the Companys articles of association or the Companies Act 2006 are obtained from the relevant persons);

(c) the warranties given by the Company to the Banks as contained in the Placing Agreement being true, accurate and not misleading on and as of (i) the date of the Placing Agreement, (ii) 7.00 a.m. on the Business Day following the date of the Placing Agreement (or such other time as may be agreed by the Company and the Banks), (iii) the date of any supplementary prospectus, the date of the Prospectus, and (iv) the Closing Date, in each case as though they had been given and made on such date by reference to the facts and circumstances then subsisting, and no matter having arisen prior to the time of Admission which might reasonably be expected to give rise to a claim in accordance with the Placing Agreement;

(d) the Terms of Subscription having been executed by the Company and the Banks;

(e) the publication by the Company of the Placing Results Announcement as soon as reasonably practicable after the execution of the Terms of Subscription and in any event by 7.00 am on the Business Day following the date of the Placing Agreement (or such later time or date as the Company and the Banks may agree);

(f) the Company allotting and issuing, subject only to Admission, the Placing Shares in accordance with the Placing Agreement;

(g) the Prospectus being approved pursuant to the Prospectus Regulation Rules by the FCA and passported to the Belgian FSMA;

(h) the Prospectus being published and made available in the manner specified in the Prospectus Regulation Rules (or in such other manner as the Banks may agree in writing with the Company) by not later than 5.00 p.m. on the Business Day after the date of the Placing Agreement (or such later time and/or date as the Banks may agree in writing with the Company);

(i) any supplementary prospectus which may be required pursuant to Article 23(1) of the Prospectus Regulation and/or Article 18 of Regulation (EU) 2019/979 or any supplementary prospectus being approved by the FCA and being filed, published and made available prior to Admission; and

(j) in the good faith opinion of the Banks, immediately prior to the Closing Date there not having been a Material Adverse Change since the date of the Placing Agreement (whether or not foreseeable at the date of the Placing Agreement).

The Placing Agreement can be terminated at any time before Admission by the Banks by giving notice to the Company in certain circumstances, including (but not limited to):

(a) where the Company fails to comply with any of its obligations under the Placing Agreement which fall to be performed prior to Admission, where such failure is considered (in the good faith opinion of the Banks) to be material in the context of the Placing, the underwriting of the Placing Shares or Admission;

(b) where there has been a breach by the Company of any warranty in the Placing Agreement or an event occurs or is likely to occur which, if those warranties were repeated immediately after that event, would make any of those warranties untrue or incorrect in any material respect or misleading;

(c) in the good faith opinion of a Bank, there being or there having been a Material Adverse Change (whether or not foreseeable at the date of the Placing Agreement); or

(d) in the opinion of the Banks (acting in good faith) there has occurred or it is likely that there will occur (i) any change, or development involving a prospective change, whether or not foreseeable at the date of the Placing Agreement, in financial, political (including an outbreak or escalation of hostilities or act of terrorism, declaration of emergency or martial law), economic or market conditions or currency exchange rates or exchange controls in the United Kingdom, the United States, any member state of the European Economic Area, or elsewhere, or (ii) any change, or development involving a prospective change, in taxation adversely affecting the Company or the Group (taken as a whole), the Placing Shares or the transfer of shares, or (iii) any other outbreak or material escalation of a calamity or crisis (whether or not foreseeable at the date of this Agreement), in each case as would, in the good faith opinion of the Banks make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the Placing; or

(e) if the Companys application for the admission of the Placing Shares to trading on the regulated market of Euronext Brussels has been refused by Euronext Brussels and the Belgian FSMA.

If any of the conditions contained in the Placing Agreement (save for certain excluded condition(s) as specified in the Placing Agreement), including those described above, has not been satisfied or (where applicable) waived in writing by the Banks by the relevant time and/or date specified in the Placing Agreement, the Placing Agreement shall cease to have any effect at such time and all obligations under these terms and conditions will automatically terminate.

By participating in the Placing, each Placee agrees that its rights and obligations hereunder are conditional upon the Placing Agreement becoming unconditional in all respects in respect of the Placing (in respect of Placing Shares acquired under the Placing) and that its rights and obligations will terminate only in the circumstances described above and will not be capable of rescission or termination by it after oral or written confirmation by the Joint Bookrunners (at the Joint Bookrunners' discretion) following the close of the Bookbuild.

The Banks may in their discretion in writing waive compliance with the whole or any part of any of the conditions in the Placing Agreement, save that the condition relating to Admission taking place may not be waived. Any such waiver will not affect Placees' commitments as set out in these terms and conditions.

By participating in the Placing each Placee agrees that the exercise by the Company or any Bank of any right or other discretion under the Placing Agreement shall be within the absolute discretion of the Company and each Bank (as the case may be) and that neither the Company nor any Bank need make any reference to such Placee (or to any other person whether acting on behalf of any Placee or otherwise) and that neither the Company nor any Bank shall have any liability to such Placee (or to any other person whether acting on behalf of any Placee or otherwise) whatsoever in connection with any such exercise.

Neither the Company nor any Bank shall have any liability to any Placee (or to any other person whether acting on behalf of a Placee or otherwise) in respect of any decision made by the Banks as to whether or not to waive or to extend the time and/or date for the fulfilment of any condition in the Placing Agreement and/or whether or not to exercise any such termination right.

Withdrawal Rights

Placees acknowledge that their acceptance of any of the Placing Shares is by way of a collateral contract and as such Article 23 of the Prospectus Regulation does not entitle Placees to withdraw in the event that the Company publishes a supplementary prospectus in connection with the Placing and/or Admission. If, however, a Placee is entitled to withdraw, by accepting the offer of a placing participation, the Placee agrees to confirm their acceptance of the offer on the same terms immediately after such right of withdrawal arises.

Placing Procedure

Placees shall acquire the Placing Shares to be issued pursuant to the Placing and any allocation of the Placing Shares to be issued pursuant to the Placing will be notified to them on or around 14 August 2020 (or such other time and/or date as the Company and the Joint Bookrunners may agree).

Payment in full for any Placing Shares so allocated in respect of the Placing at the Placing Price must be made by no later than 14 August 2020 (or such other date as shall be notified to each Placee by the relevant Joint Bookrunner) on the closing date for the Placing (or such other time and/or date as the Company and the Joint Bookrunners may agree). The Joint Bookrunners will notify Placees if any of the dates in these terms and conditions should change, including as a result of delay in the posting of the Prospectus, or the production of a supplementary prospectus or otherwise.

Registration and Settlement

Settlement of transactions in the Placing Shares following Admission will take place within the Euroclear Belgium clearance system, subject to certain exceptions. The Joint Bookrunners and the Company reserve the right to require settlement for, and delivery of, the Placing Shares to Placees by such other means that they deem necessary if delivery or settlement is not possible within the Euroclear Belgium clearance system within the timetable set out in the Placing Proof and/or Prospectus or would not be consistent with the regulatory requirements in the Placee's jurisdiction. Each Placee will be deemed to agree that it will do all things necessary to ensure that delivery and payment is completed in accordance with either the Euroclear Belgium or certificated settlement instructions which they have in place with the relevant Joint Bookrunner.

Settlement for the Placing will be on a T+2 and delivery versus payment basis and settlement is expected to take place on or around 18 August 2020. Each Placee is deemed to agree that if it does not comply with these obligations, the Joint Bookrunners may sell any or all of the Placing Shares allocated to it on its behalf and retain from the proceeds, for its own account and benefit, an amount equal to the aggregate amount owed by the Placee. By communicating a bid for Placing Shares, each Placee confers on the Joint Bookrunners all such authorities and powers necessary to carry out any such sale and agrees to ratify and confirm all actions which the Joint Bookrunners lawfully take in pursuance of such sale. The relevant Placee will, however, remain liable for any shortfall below the aggregate amount owed by it and may be required to bear any stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax which may arise upon any transaction in the Placing Shares on such Placee's behalf.

Acceptance

By participating in the Placing, a Placee (and any person acting on such Placee's behalf) irrevocably acknowledges, confirms, undertakes, represents, warrants and agrees (as the case may be) with the Banks and the Company, the following:

in consideration of its allocation of a placing participation, to acquire at the Placing Price for any Placing Shares comprised in its allocation for which it is required to acquire pursuant to these terms and conditions;

it has read and understood this announcement (including these terms and conditions) and the Placing Proof in their entirety and that it has neither received nor relied on any information given or any investigations, representations, warranties or statements made at any time by any person in connection with Admission, the Placing, the Company, the Placing Shares, or otherwise, other than the information contained in this announcement (including these terms and conditions) and the Placing Proof and that in accepting the offer of its placing participation it will be relying solely on the information contained in this announcement (including these terms and conditions) and the Placing Proof, receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, and undertakes not to redistribute or duplicate such documents;

its oral or written commitment will be made solely on the basis of the information set out in this announcement, the Placing Proof and the information publicly announced by or on behalf of the Company on or prior to the date of this announcement, such information being all that such Placee deems necessary or appropriate and sufficient to make an investment decision in respect of the Placing Shares and that it has neither received nor relied on any other information given, or representations or warranties or statements made, by any Bank or the Company nor any of their respective affiliates and no Bank nor the Company will be liable for any Placee's decision to participate in the Placing and/or the Placing based on any other information, representation, warranty or statement;

the content of this announcement, these terms and conditions and the Placing Proof are exclusively the responsibility of the Company and agrees that no Bank nor any of its affiliates nor any person acting on behalf of any of such persons will be responsible for or shall have liability for any information, representation or statements contained therein or any information previously published by or on behalf of the Company, and no Bank nor the Company nor any of their respective affiliates or any person acting on behalf of any such person will be responsible or liable for a Placee's decision to accept its placing participation;

(i) it has not relied on, and will not rely on, any information relating to the Company contained or which may be contained in any research report or investor presentation prepared or which may be prepared by any Bank or any of its affiliates; (ii) no Bank nor any of its affiliates nor any person acting on behalf of any of such persons has or shall have any responsibility or liability for public information relating to the Company; (iii) no Bank nor any of its affiliates nor any person acting on behalf of any of such persons has or shall have any responsibility or liability for any additional information that has otherwise been made available to it, whether at the date of publication of such information, the date of these terms and conditions or otherwise; and that (iv) no Bank nor any of its affiliates nor any person acting on behalf of any of such persons makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the truth, accuracy or completeness of any such information referred to in (i) to (iii) above, whether at the date of publication of such information, the date of this announcement or otherwise;

it has made its own assessment of the Company and has relied on its own investigation of the business, financial or other position of the Company in deciding to participate in the Placing, and has satisfied itself concerning the relevant tax, legal, currency and other economic considerations relevant to its decision to participate in the Placing;

it is acting as principal only in respect of the Placing or, if it is acting for any other person: (i) it is duly authorised to do so and has full power to make the acknowledgments, representations and agreements herein on behalf of each such person; (ii) it is and will remain liable to the Company and the Joint Bookrunners for the performance of all its obligations as a Placee in respect of the Placing (regardless of the fact that it is acting for another person); (iii) if it is in the United Kingdom, it is a person who has professional experience in matters relating to investments and who falls within the definition of "investment professionals" in Article 19(5) of the Order or who falls within Article 49(2) of the Order and it is a "qualified investor" within the meaning of Article 2(e) of the Prospectus Regulation; (iv) if it is in a member state of the EEA, it is Qualified Investor; and (v) if it is a financial intermediary, as that term is used in Article 2(d) of the Prospectus Regulation, the Placing Shares acquired by it in the Placing are not being acquired on a non-discretionary basis for, or on behalf of, nor will they be acquired with a view to their offer or resale to persons in a member state of the EEA or to which the Prospectus Regulation otherwise applies in circumstances which may give rise to an offer of shares to the public, other than their offer or resale to qualified investors or in circumstances in which the prior consent of the Joint Bookrunners has been given to the offer or resale;

it is (and the person it represents (if any) is) and, at the time the Placing Shares are acquired, will be either (1) within the United States and a QIB or (2) outside the United States and acquiring the Placing Shares in an offshore transaction in accordance with Rule 903 and Rule 904 of Regulation S for its own account or purchasing the Placing Shares for an account with respect to which it exercises sole investment discretion;

if it has received any "inside information" (as defined in the Market Abuse Regulation No. 596/2014) about the Company in advance of the Placing, it has not (i) dealt in the securities of the Company; (ii) encouraged or required another person to deal in the securities of the Company; or (iii) disclosed such information to any person, prior to the information being made generally available;

it has complied with its obligations in connection with money laundering and terrorist financing under the Regulations and, if it is making payment on behalf of a third party, it has obtained and recorded satisfactory evidence to verify the identity of the third party as may be required by the Regulations;

it has only communicated or caused to be communicated and will only communicate or cause to be communicated any invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of section 21 of FSMA) relating to the Placing Shares in circumstances in which section 21(1) of FSMA does not require approval of the communication by an authorised person;

it is not acting in concert (within the meaning given in the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers) with any other Placee or any other person in relation to the Company;

it has complied and will comply with all applicable provisions of the FSMA with respect to anything done by it in relation to the Placing Shares in, from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom;

it and any person acting on its behalf is entitled to acquire the Placing Shares under the laws of all relevant jurisdictions and that it has all necessary capacity and has obtained all necessary consents and authorities to enable it to commit to this participation in the Placing and to perform its obligations in relation thereto (including, without limitation, in the case of any person on whose behalf it is acting, all necessary consents and authorities to agree to the terms set out or referred to in these terms and conditions);

unless otherwise agreed by the Company (after agreement with the Joint Bookrunners) and subject to paragraph 8 above, it is not, and at the time the Placing Shares are acquired will not be, subscribing for and on behalf of a resident of Australia, Canada, Japan, South Africa, the United States or any other jurisdiction where to do so may be unlawful and further acknowledges that the Placing Shares have not been and will not be registered under the securities legislation of any Restricted Jurisdiction and, subject to certain exceptions, may not be offered, sold, transferred, delivered or distributed, directly or indirectly, in or into those jurisdictions;

none of the Placing Shares have been or will be registered under the Securities Act or with any securities regulatory authority of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States and may not be offered, sold or otherwise transferred by the Placee except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of Section 5 of the Securities Act;

it understands that the Placing Shares are restricted securities within the meaning of Rule 144(a)(3) under the Securities Act and, to the extent they are in certificated form, for so long as such Placing Shares are restricted securities they will bear a restrictive legend as set forth in the Placing Proof and the Prospectus (when published), unless otherwise determined by the Company in accordance with applicable law;

it does not expect the Banks to have any duties or responsibilities towards it for providing protections afforded to clients under the Rules or advising it with regard to the Placing Shares and that it is not, and will not be, a client of any of the Banks as defined by the Rules. Likewise, any payment by it will not be treated as client money governed by the Rules;

any exercise by a Bank of any right to terminate the Placing Agreement or of other rights or discretions under the Placing Agreement or the Placing shall be within that Bank's absolute discretion and no Bank shall have any liability to it whatsoever in relation to any decision to exercise or not to exercise any such right or the timing thereof;

neither it, nor the person specified by it for registration as a holder of Placing Shares is, or is acting as nominee(s) or agent(s) for, and the Placing Shares will not be allotted to, a person/person(s) whose business either is or includes issuing depository receipts or the provision of clearance services and therefore the issue to the Placee, or the person specified by the Placee for registration as holder, of the Placing Shares will not give rise to a liability under any of sections 67, 70, 93 and 96 of the Finance Act 1986 (depositary receipts and clearance services) and the Placing Shares are not being acquired in connection with arrangements to issue depository receipts or to issue or transfer Placing Shares into a clearance system;

it has the funds available to pay for, and will make payment to the Joint Bookrunners (as the Joint Bookrunners may direct) for, the Placing Shares allocated to it in accordance with the terms and conditions of this announcement on the due times and dates set out in this announcement, failing which the relevant Placing Shares may be sold to or placed with other persons on such terms as the Joint Bookrunners determine in their absolute discretion without liability to the Placee and on the basis that such Placee will remain liable for any shortfall below the net proceeds of such sale and the placing proceeds of such Placing Shares and may be required to bear any stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax (together with any interest or penalties due pursuant to the terms set out or referred to in this announcement) which may arise upon the sale of such Placee's Placing Shares on its behalf;

the person who it specifies for registration as holder of the Placing Shares will be (i) itself or (ii) its nominee, as the case may be, and acknowledges that the Banks and the Company will not be responsible for any liability to pay stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax (together with interest and penalties) resulting from a failure to observe this requirement; and each Placee and any person acting on behalf of such Placee agrees to participate in the Placing on the basis that the Placing Shares will be allotted to a Euroclear stock account of Degroof Petercam (CREST participant ID: 56XKJ) who will hold them as nominee on behalf of the Placee until settlement in accordance with its standing settlement instructions with it;

where it is acquiring Placing Shares for one or more managed accounts, it is authorised in writing by each managed account to acquire Placing Shares for that managed account;

if it is a pension fund or investment company, its acquisition of any Placing Shares is in full compliance with applicable laws and regulations;

it has not offered or sold and will not offer or sell any Placing Shares to persons in the United Kingdom, except to persons whose ordinary activities involve them in acquiring, holding, managing or disposing of investments (as principal or agent) for the purposes of their business or otherwise in circumstances which have not resulted and which will not result in an offer to the public in the United Kingdom within the meaning of section 85(1) of the FSMA;

it has not offered or sold and will not offer or sell any Placing Shares to persons in any member state of the EEA prior to Admission except to persons whose ordinary activities involve them acquiring, holding, managing or disposing of investments (as principal or agent) for the purpose of their business or otherwise in circumstances which have not resulted and will not result in an offer to the public in any member state of the EEA within the meaning of the Prospectus Regulation;

participation in the Placing is on the basis that, for the purposes of the Placing, it is not and will not be a client of any Bank and that no Bank has any duties or responsibilities to it for providing the protections afforded to such Bank's clients nor for providing advice in relation to the Placing nor in respect of any representations, warranties, undertakings or indemnities contained in the Placing Agreement or the contents of these terms and conditions;

to provide the Banks with such relevant documents as they may reasonably request to comply with requests or requirements that either they or the Company may receive from relevant regulators in relation to the Placing, subject to its legal, regulatory and compliance requirements and restrictions;

any agreements entered into by it pursuant to these terms and conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales and it submits (on its behalf and on behalf of any Placee on whose behalf it is acting) to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts as regards any claim, dispute or matter arising out of any such contract, except that enforcement proceedings in respect of the obligation to make payment for the Placing Shares (together with any interest chargeable thereon) may be taken by the Banks in any jurisdiction in which the relevant Placee is incorporated or in which any of its securities have a quotation on a recognised stock exchange;

to fully and effectively indemnify and hold harmless the Company and the Banks and each of their respective Indemnified Persons from and against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities and expenses (including legal fees and expenses) (i) arising from any breach by such Placee of any of the provisions of these terms and conditions and (ii) incurred by any Indemnified Person arising from the performance of the Placee's obligations as set out in these terms and conditions;

in making any decision to acquire Placing Shares: (i) it has knowledge and experience in financial, business and international investment matters as is required to evaluate the merits and risks of acquiring the Placing Shares; (ii) it is experienced in investing in securities of this nature and is aware that it may be required to bear, and is able to bear, the economic risk of, and is able to sustain a complete loss in connection with, the Placing; (iii) it has relied on its own examination, due diligence and analysis of the Company and its affiliates taken as a whole (including the markets in which the Group operates) and the terms of the Placing (including the merits and risks involved); (iv) it has had sufficient time to consider and conduct its own investigation with respect to the offer and purchase of the Placing Shares, including the legal, regulatory, tax, business, currency and other economic and financial considerations relevant to such investment; and (v) will not look to the Banks, any of their respective affiliates or any person acting on their behalf for all or part of any such loss or losses it or they may suffer;

the Banks and the Company and their respective affiliates and others will rely upon the truth and accuracy of the foregoing representations, warranties, acknowledgments and undertakings which are irrevocable;

to the fullest extent permitted by law, it acknowledges and agrees to the disclaimers contained in the announcement, including this appendix; and

its commitment to acquire Placing Shares will continue notwithstanding any amendment that may in future be made to the terms and conditions of the Placing, and that Placees will have no right to be consulted or require that their consent be obtained with respect to the Company's or the Joint Bookrunners' conduct of the Placing.

Please also note that the agreement to allot and issue Placing Shares to Placees (or the persons for whom Placees are contracting as agent) free of stamp duty and stamp duty reserve tax in the UK relates only to their allotment and issue to Placees, or such persons as they nominate as their agents, direct from the Company for the Placing Shares in question. Such agreement assumes that such Placing Shares are not being acquired in connection with arrangements to issue depositary receipts or to transfer such Placing Shares into a clearance service. If there were any such arrangements, or the settlement related to other dealing in such Placing Shares, UK stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax may be payable, for which neither the Company nor the Banks would be responsible and Placees shall indemnify the Company and the Banks on an after-tax basis for any stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax payable by them in respect of any such arrangements or dealings. Furthermore, each Placee agrees to indemnify on an after-tax basis and hold each of the Banks and/or the Company and their respective affiliates harmless from any and all interest, fines and/or penalties in relation to stamp duty, stamp duty reserve tax and all other similar duties or taxes to the extent that such interest, fines and/or penalties arise from the unreasonable default or delay of that Placee or its agent. If this is the case, it would be sensible for Placees to take their own advice and they should notify the relevant Bank accordingly. In addition, Placees should note that they will be liable for any capital duty, stamp duty and all other stamp, issue, securities, transfer, registration, documentary or other duties or taxes (including any interest, fines and/or penalties relating thereto) payable outside the UK by them or any other person on the acquisition or subsequent transfer by them of any Placing Shares or the agreement by them to acquire or subsequently transfer any Placing Shares.

Selling Restrictions

By participating in the Placing, a Placee (and any person acting on such Placee's behalf) irrevocably acknowledges, confirms, undertakes, represents, warrants and agrees (as the case may be) with the Banks and the Company, the following:

it is not a person who has a registered address in, or is a resident, citizen or national of, a country or countries, in which it is unlawful to make or accept an offer to acquire Placing Shares;

it has fully observed and will fully observe the applicable laws of any relevant territory, including complying with the selling restrictions set out herein and obtaining any requisite governmental or other consents and it has fully observed and will fully observe any other requisite formalities and pay any issue, transfer or other taxes due in such territories;

if it is in the United Kingdom, it is a person who has professional experience in matters relating to investments and who falls within the definition of "investment professionals" in Article 19(5) of the Order or who falls within Article 49(2) of the Order and it is a Qualified Investor;

if it is in a member state of the EEA, it is a "Qualified Investor;

it is a person whose ordinary activities involve it (as principal or agent) in acquiring, holding, managing or disposing of investments for the purpose of its business and it undertakes that it will (as principal or agent) acquire, hold, manage or dispose of any Placing Shares that are allocated to it for the purposes of its business;

if it is within the United States it and the person it represents (if any) is a QIB or, if it is outside the United States it is a non-US person (as defined in Regulation S) and at the time the Placing Shares are purchased, it will be outside the United States, purchasing in an offshore transaction pursuant to Regulation S; and

it (on its behalf and on behalf of any Placee on whose behalf it is acting) has (a) fully observed the laws of all relevant jurisdictions which apply to it; (b) obtained all governmental and other consents which may be required; (c) fully observed any other requisite formalities; (d) paid or will pay any issue, transfer or other taxes; (e) not taken any action which will or may result in the Company or the Banks (or any of them) being in breach of a legal or regulatory requirement of any territory in connection with the Placing; (f) obtained all other necessary consents and authorities required to enable it to give its commitment to acquire the relevant Placing Shares; and (g) the power and capacity to, and will, perform its obligations under the terms contained in these terms and conditions.

Miscellaneous

The Company reserves the right to treat as invalid any application or purported application for Placing Shares that appears to the Company or its agents to have been executed, effected or dispatched from the any Restricted Jurisdiction or in a manner that may involve a breach of the laws or regulations of any jurisdiction or if the Company or its agents believe that the same may violate applicable legal or regulatory requirements or if it provides an address for delivery of the share certificates of Placing Shares in, to a CREST member whose registered address would be in any Restricted Jurisdiction or any other jurisdiction outside the United Kingdom in which it would be unlawful to deliver such share certificates or make such a credit.

When a Placee or person acting on behalf of the Placee is dealing with any of the Joint Bookrunners, any money held in an account with any of the Joint Bookrunners on behalf of the Placee and/or any person acting on behalf of the Placee will not be treated as client money within the meaning of the rules and regulations of the FCA made under the FSMA and/or the Belgian FSMA. The Placee acknowledges that the money will not be subject to the protections conferred by the client money rules; as a consequence, this money will not be segregated from the Joint Bookrunners' money in accordance with the client money rules and will be used by each Joint Bookrunner in the course of its own business; and the Placee will rank only as a general creditor of the relevant Joint Bookrunner.

Times

Unless the context otherwise requires, all references to time are to Belgium time. All times and dates in these terms and conditions may be subject to amendment. The Joint Bookrunners will notify Placees and any persons acting on behalf of the Placees of any changes.

ENDS





APPENDIX II

DEFINITIONS

The following definitions apply throughout this announcement unless the context otherwise requires:

Admission means the admission of the Placing Shares to trading on the regulated market of Euronext Brussels; Banks means Jefferies, Guggenheim Securities and Degroof Petercam; Belgian FSMA means the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority; Bookbuild means the accelerated bookbuild by which the Placing is being conducted;



Business Day means a day (other than a Saturday or Sunday or a public holiday in England or Belgium) on which banks generally are open for business in London and Brussels;



Closing Date means the day on which the Placing will be settled; Company or Acacia means Acacia Pharma Group plc, a company incorporated in England and Wales with registered number 09759376; CREST means the relevant system (as defined in the CREST Regulations) in respect of which Euroclear is the operator (as defined in the CREST Regulations); CREST member means a person who has been admitted by Euroclear as a system-member (as defined in the Uncertificated Securities Regulations);



CREST Regulations means the relevant system (as defined in the Uncertificated Securities Regulations 2001 (SI 2001 No. 3755)) as amended from time to time; Degroof Petercam means Bank Degroof Petercam SA/NV; EEA means the European Economic Area; Euroclear means Euroclear UK & Ireland Limited; Euroclear Belgium means Euroclear Belgium, the Belgian central securities depository, Koning Albert II laan 1, 1210 Brussels, Belgium; Existing Ordinary Shares means the Ordinary Shares in issue as at the date of this announcement FCA or Financial Conduct Authority means the UK Financial Conduct Authority; FCA Handbook means the FCA's Handbook of Rules and Guidance, as amended from time to time; FSMA means the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended); Group means the Company and its subsidiary undertakings; Guggenheim Securities means Guggenheim Securities, LLC; Indemnified Person means, in relation to any person, its affiliates (as defined in Rule 501(b) under the Securities Act) and each person, if any, who controls such person within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the US Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and any such persons respective affiliates, subsidiaries, branches, associates and holding companies, and in each case their respective directors, employees, officers and agents; Interim Results Announcement means the announcement published by the Company confirming its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2020; Jefferies means Jefferies International Limited; Joint Bookrunners means Jefferies, Guggenheim Securities and Degroof Petercam; Joint Global Coordinators means Jefferies and Guggenheim Securities; Material Adverse Change means any material adverse change in the condition (financial, operational, legal or otherwise), or in the earnings, management, business affairs, solvency, credit rating or prospects of the Company or the Group, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business and whether or not covered by insurance, or any development as a result of which it is reasonably likely that such a material adverse change will occur; MiFID II means EU Directive 2014/65/EU on markets in financial instruments, as amended; MiFID II Product Governance Requirements means MiFID II, Articles 9 and 10 of the Delegated Directive and local implementing measures; New Ordinary Shares means the Ordinary Shares to be issued by the Company pursuant to the Placing; the Order means the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended; Ordinary Share means an ordinary share of 0.02 each in the capital of the Company; Placee means any person (including individuals, funds or otherwise) by whom or on whose behalf a commitment to acquire Placing Shares has been given; Placing means the conditional placing by the Joint Bookrunners, as agents of and on behalf of the Company, of the Placing Shares on the terms and subject to the conditions contained in the Placing Agreement; Placing Agreement means the placing agreement dated 13 August 2020 between the Company, Jefferies, Guggenheim Securities and Degroof Petercam; Placing Price means the price per Ordinary Share at which the Placing Shares are placed; Placing Proof means for the purposes of the Placing, the draft prospectus dated 13 August 2020 prepared by, and relating to, the Company; Placing Results Announcement means the announcement published by the Company confirming the results of the Placing immediately following the execution of the Terms of Subscription; Placing Shares means the New Ordinary Shares which are to be issued pursuant to the Placing; Prospectus means the prospectus (when published), relating to the Company for the purpose of the Placing and Admission; Prospectus Regulation means the Prospectus Regulation (EU) 2017/1129; Prospectus Regulation Rules means the prospectus regulation rules made by the FCA pursuant to Part VI of FSMA (as set out in the FCA Handbook), as amended; QIB means qualified institutional buyers as defined under Rule 144A of the Securities Act; Relevant State means each member state of the EEA and the United Kingdom; Regulations means the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No.596/2014 and in connection with money laundering and terrorist financing under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (as amended), the Terrorism Act 2000, the Terrorism Act 2006 and the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017, the Money Laundering Sourcebook of the FCA and the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing) Act 2010 and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any government agency having jurisdiction in respect thereof; Regulation S means Regulation S promulgated under the Securities Act; Restricted Jurisdiction means the United States, Australia, Canada, South Africa or Japan; Rules means the rules of the FCA Handbook; Securities Act means the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended; subsidiary has the meaning given to that term in the Companies Act 2006; subsidiary undertaking has the meaning given to that term in the Companies Act 2006; Target Market Assessment means the product approval process that the Placing Shares have been subject, which has determined that such Placing Shares are: (i) compatible with an end target market of retail investors and investors who meet the criteria of professional clients and eligible counterparties, each as defined in MiFID II; and (ii) eligible for distribution through all eligible distribution channels for dissemination of the Placing Shares, each as set out in this announcement, as are permitted by MiFID II; Terms of Subscription means the terms of subscription in respect of the Placing, setting out the Placing Price, the final number of Placing Shares and the Placing Shares allotted to the Banks respective placees; Uncertificated Securities Regulations means the Uncertified Securities Regulations (2001) S.I. 2001/3755; uncertificated or in uncertificated form means in respect of a share or other security, where that share or other security is recorded on the relevant register of the share or security concerned as being held in uncertificated form in CREST and title to which may be transferred by means of CREST; United Kingdom or UK means the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; and United States or US means the United States of America, its territories and possessions, any state of the United States of America, the District of Columbia and all other areas subject to its jurisdiction and any political sub-division thereof.

Unless otherwise indicated in this announcement, all references to  or EUR are to the single currency introduced at the start of the third stage of the European Economic and Monetary Union, pursuant to the Treaty Establishing the European Community as amended, all references to , pence and p are to the lawful currency of the United Kingdom, and all references to $ are to the lawful currency of the United States of America.
Algernon Gray himself appears through the musty lens of history to have been conflicted on the subject. The Dictionary of Virginia Biography says that he was a slaveholder who may have emancipated some of the family slaves and during the Civil War lived for part of the time in Baltimore, which suggests that he was not an ardent Confederate.

Historically, its important to remember that there was a considerable amount of Unionist sentiment west of the Blue Ridge, which makes it curious that those are some of the communities where the Confederate flag is most prevalent today.

The Dictionary of Virginia Biography also tells us that the family was prosperous and well-educated family with liberal views, which set them apart in many ways. Young Orra was sent to Hollins Institute  today Hollins University, then one of the few opportunities in Virginia for women to receive a higher education. While Algernon Gray moved (fled?) to Baltimore during the war, his daughter remained in Harrisonburg, caring for sick and wounded soldiers. In 1871  at what then was considered the spinsterly age of 30  she married a blind businessman from Lynchburg to become Orra Henderson Moore Gray Langhorne, or, as she became better known, Orra Langhorne.
Adrian Donohoe didn't stand a chance when he stepped out of his squad car at the Lordship Credit Union on that fateful night in January 2013 as he was about to be ambushed by a gang of armed robbers.

Cold-blooded killer Aaron Brady had no intention of giving him a chance: Brady had no qualms about taking the detective's life, pure and simple.

The conviction of the 29-year-old thug for the capital murder of the much-loved garda is to be warmly welcomed and the State should ensure that he does his time.

This was a good day for justice.

Not only is it justice for Adrian's family, his colleagues in the Garda family and the community he served both as a police officer and a decent human being; it is also justice for every law-abiding citizen in this country.

For such a brutal, unprovoked killing of a brave garda is an attack on all of us.

By finding Brady guilty of capital murder - the most serious offence on the statute books - the jury spoke for every one of us.

After the longest trial in Irish criminal history they saw through the killer's litany of lies and found that, yes, he deliberately shot Adrian Donohoe with a shotgun at close range in the full knowledge that he was a garda.

The conviction also stands as a tribute to the sheer determination and dedication of the detective's colleagues who painstakingly built their case over several years.

The raw feelings of the Donohoe family and the investigation team could be heard in the voice of Chief Superintendent Christy Mangan as it crackled with emotion when he spoke to the media following the landmark conviction.

But as he said yesterday, this case is far from over. Brady was accompanied by four other gang members who will also hopefully be brought to justice in the near future.

The murder of Det Gda Donohoe has also focused attention on the deep-rooted, insidious subculture of lawlessness that pervades the rural landscape of south Armagh.

A Mafia-style code of omerta and contempt for the law has been instilled and this has no place in society.

Throughout the long-running trial there was several glimpses of a culture where "touting" - doing one's duty as a citizen to co-operate with murder investigation - was utterly unacceptable in this lawless swathe of the Border.

It was little wonder then that this rural enclave produced virulent, highly dangerous criminals like Brady.

The gang he was involved with terrorised people along the Border, robbing with apparent impunity before slipping across the border where they knew they were safely out of the reach of the law.

It spoke volumes when Brady used his criminal activity as a diesel launderer as his alibi.

Witnesses in this case were subjected to intimidation and harassment in a flagrant show of disrespect for the judicial process.

But yesterday has shown the godfathers of "bandit country" the rule of law and respect for the police exists south of that invisible, contentious line in the map called the Border.
The COVID-19 pandemic has grounded hundreds of thousands of Americans who were set to jet off on international vacations this summer.

And while most are hoping to reschedule as soon as possible, a number of would-be-travelers are making sure they still get a taste of their cancelled trips.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal , people across the country have been ordering airline food in order to replicate one part of the journey they are now missing out on.

Meals served up on long-haul flights are usually the bane of a tourist's existence, with the pre-packaging offerings often described as bland and tasteless.

But they have been of surprising comfort to Michigan woman America Edwards and her parents, who were forced to cancel a vacation to Australia.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, people across the country have been ordering airline food in order to replicate holidays they have been forced to cancel amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Michigan woman America Edwards ordered several JetBlue snack packs for her and her parents so they could replicated the experience of flying Down Under.

Edwards, 23, ordered several JetBlue snack packs for her and her parents so they could replicate the experience of flying Down Under.

'I thought it would be really fun to snag a couple and surprise my parents so that one day we could have cocktails, have the snack packs and kind of pretend that we were in Australia,' she stated.

The trio tucked in to the pre-packaged cheese and crackers as they sat on their couch at home in Kalamazoo.

'We were all talking about how we missed airports and airplanes.

'Just bringing some of it into the house made us a little less stir crazy,' Edwards stated.

But her family aren't the only ones ordering JetBlue snack packs.

According to The Wall Street Journal 40,000 snack packs that were originally supposed to be supplied to JetBlue have now been sold by the company Imperfect Foods.

International airline travel has dropped dramatically since the World Health Organization declared the spread of COVID-19 a pandemic back in March

In Australia - where citizens are currently prohibited from leaving the country on vacation - those with wanderlust are turning to Gate Gourmet for a plane food fix. One of the meals is pictured

While some are enjoying the experience of pretending they're on a long-haul flight, others say they are simply easy prepared meals they can put into the microwave and serve up for a quick lunch. A Gate Gourmet meal is pictured

Vermont-based Isaac Krasny, 31, says he bought some of the JetBlue snack packs for their 'novelty value'.

He also claimed he flew frequently with the airline when he was younger, and that nostalgia was a part of their appeal.

Meanwhile, it's not just American travelers that have been indulging in the quirky culinary activity.

In Australia - where citizens are currently prohibited from leaving the country on vacation - those with wanderlust are turning to Gate Gourmet for a plane food fix.

Gate Gourmet is one of the world's biggest airline catering companies and has been supplying meals to international airlines flying to and from Australia since 2002.

But the supplier has opened its doors to the public in the midst of COVID-19, with customers now able to order an assortment of economy class meals, including vegetarian and non-vegetarian options.

While some are enjoying the experience of pretending they're on a long-haul flight, others say they are simply easy prepared meals they can put into the microwave and serve up for a quick lunch.

'It's a fantastic offer - I've bought 20 meals for $50AUD ($35 USD). Great to keep in the freezer for a quick lunch or alternative to a takeout dinner. And helps support the tourism industry,' one woman said in a Facebook group.
The California Labor Commissioner has reached a $2.6 million settlement with the owners of Kome Japanese Seafood & Buffet in Daly City, securing compensation for 133 workers for unpaid minimum wage, overtime and split shift premiums that were uncovered in a 2018 wage theft investigation.

The settlement will also compensate workers for WARN Act (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act) violations, which occurred when the restaurant closed without notice.

The commissioners office in June 2018 issued wage assessments and penalties of $5.16 million to Kome Japanese Seafood & Buffet in Daly City including $4,381,461 for unpaid back wages and $780,400 for penalties. The wage theft violations and civil penalties included failure to pay minimum wage, overtime and split shift premiums. In 2019, the civil penalties were adjusted to $754,950 and the unpaid wages were adjusted to $3,575,433 based on evidence presented prior to hearing.

Notification has been delivered to the current and former restaurant workers of their expected settlement payments and workers began receiving checks this month. The workers are receiving settlement payments ranging from $20 to $47,253 with an average of $14,217 per worker. The settlement also includes $55,000 in civil penalties payable to the state.

The commissioners office launched its investigation into Kome Japanese Seafood & Buffet after receiving complaints from workers who reported wage theft. The office worked with Asian Americans Advancing Justice  Asian Law Caucus and the Chinese Progressive Association, which represented many of the workers who cooperated in the investigation.

Topics California
Jobless rate reaches 7.5% as 15,700 more Australians out of work. Source: Getty

Around 15,700 more Australians found themselves out of work in July, with coronavirus restrictions pushing the unemployment rate up to 7.5 per cent, the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force data has revealed.

While its a modest rise from 7.4 per cent the previous month, it is still a 22-year-high, with more than 1 million Australians out of work since April.

Head of labour statistics at the ABS, Bjorn Jarvis, said the July figures indicated that employment had recovered by 343,000 people and hours worked had also recovered 5.5 per cent since May.

"The number of unemployed people rose by nearly 16,000 between June and July. For the first time there were more than one million people out of work, available to work and actively looking for work, he said.

Employment remained over half a million people lower than seen in March, while hours worked remained 5.5 per cent lower.

Hours worked increased 1.3 per cent in July, and increased more for females (2.3 per cent) than males (0.6 per cent).

The underemployment rate decreased by 0.5 percentage points to 11.2 per cent, but is still 2.4 percentage points above its March rate.

The higher unemployment rate follows news that Australian wages grew at their slowest pace on record during the second quarter, as household spending, consumer confidence and business conditions plummeted.

The official wage price index rose just 0.2 per cent in the three months to the end of June, according to ABS data, from 0.5 per cent in the first quarter. Annual wage growth slowed to 1.8 per cent.

But while this is the official unemployment rate, which reflects Australians out of the workforce and looking for work, the effective unemployment rate, which reflects Australians working zero hours or who have left the workforce entirely, is much higher.

That figure is likely at 11.3 per cent already, and will continue to rise throughout the course of the year, according to the Federal Treasurer.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has called for decisive action to create jobs, saying the new figure shows Australias economy is in a deep crisis.

Story continues

Even with a national wage subsidy scheme which unions fought for, more than a million people are now looking for work, ACTU president Michele ONeil said.

These figures show that Australia is on track  as predicted by the Governments own department  to reach 10 per cent by the end of the year.

ONeil said the rate reflects Australia prior to Victorias second lockdown, which saw hundreds of thousands of workers stood down.

We know that the real rate of unemployment is much higher, there are millions of workers who are currently only in a job thanks to JobKeeper and others who have stopped looking for work, she said.

We cannot return to the levels of insecure work that we saw before the pandemic which have led to so many people losing their jobs.

640,000 more could lose their jobs

The modest rise may not be indicative that Australias economy is recovering, however.

New data from McKinsey & Co has found that, should international borders remain closed, around 640,000 more Australians could lose their jobs between June this year and March 2021.

But not all industries will be hit equally: tourism and the arts will be hardest hit, while construction and technical services might start to recover once the immediate effects of the lockdown start to fade.

Some industries, like retail, will be changed forever.

As sales shift online, the employment profile of Australias retail industry is expected to change permanently, as fewer customer assistants will be required to deliver each dollar of revenue, the report found.

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Arrested Portland protesters will not be prosecuted, says Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt on Tuesday.

The protesters were arrested in the past 80 days of demonstrations. The new policy applies to non-violent misdemeanors done during the protests taking place in Oregon's largest city.

Schmid told Fox News that the protesters are angry and deeply frustrated with what they see as a structural inequity in the society. He added that this frustration could result in levels that violate the law.

Schmidt added that the new policy considers those centuries of unequal treatment between the black and brown communities, which have left a deep wound and that the healing process will not be easy or quick.

The new policy revokes charges against people who were arrested for interfering with a peace officer or parole and probation officer. This also includes disorderly conduct, criminal trespass, harassment, escape, and riot.

These are qualified unless they were accompanied by some other physical violence or property damage.

Hundred of people who have been arrested will not face criminal prosecution, according to Schmidt's office.

In The Guardian report, Schmidt added that people who will be arrested in similar charges would not be criminally prosecuted in future demonstrations.

However, Portland's police chief Chuck Lovell, said that the new policy did not change Oregon law and held accountable people who committed violent acts or intentionally damaged property.

Lovell said that committing a crime is far from protesting.

"The arrests we make often come after hours of damage to private property, disruption of public transit and traffic on public streets, thefts from small businesses, arson, burglary, attacks on members of the community, and attacks against police officers." Lovell was quoted in The Guardian report.

Portland Demonstrations

Protests and demonstrations are still taking over in Portland, Oregon, for over two months now.

The protests began at the end of May, which started after the recorded video police killing 46-year-old George Floyd in Minneapolis began circulating.

The Portland demonstrations took the United States' attention when Trump administration deployed federal officials to the city, which caused more tensions between law enforcement and protesters.

The deployment includes a team of authorities from Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration, and the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Protective Service.

This also includes the Coast Guard, according to an Insider report.

Gov. Kate Brown said the deployment was an apparent abuse of power, and the state's attorney general is suing the Department of Homeland Security.

A criminal investigation has also ensued after a protester was injured.

Federal officers were reported to have used tear gas, smoke bombs, stun grenades, and sometimes brutal force to break up demonstrations.

Around 550 protest-related cases have been brought to Schmidt's office since May 29. Out of 559 cases, only 133 were considered to be felonies.

More than 350 were misdemeanors or violations that do not include physical violence.

Schmidt said his office is experiencing a backlog due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Check these out:

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Some women in Bauchi State access the governments Child Birth Spacing (CBS) services in the night to outsmart their un-cooperating husbands, an official has said.

Aisha Abdulkarim, a Child Birth Spacing (CBS) coordinator in the state said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Toro Local Government Area of the state, on Thursday.

She, however, said that others comply and visit CBS unit with their wives to access the commodities.

Mrs Abdulkarim said the Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) recorded no fewer than 100 clients monthly in 72 makeover clinic.

NAN reports that the 72 makeovers are PHC that provided CBS among other services 24 hours.

Women having issues with their husbands, not allowing them to access CBS services, prefer to come in the evening between 7.00 p.m. and 8.00 p.m., said Mrs Abdulkarim, the CBS coordinator at Gumau PHC,

Their reasons are that it is dark and their spouses are in a particular place unlike in morning or afternoon when they (women) may be engaged in other activities.

High number of our reproductive-age women access CBS because people are becoming aware of issues of maternal and infant health.

Women in Gumau and villages around access CBS.

There was a month that we had over 200 women for CBS services, she said.

The coordinator said that CBS commodities were made available to the PHC as at when due.

Mrs Abdulkarim said that other health personnel in the PHC had been sensitised and better equipped with information from CBS to ensure that public awareness was created.

Although some husbands deny their wives of the services, others allow and even come along with them.

Our staffers are also educated on various methods because some couples come through them, she said.

The coordinator commended the Ward Development Committee (WDC) and women leaders in the community for continuous public enlightenment campaigns on CBS. (NAN)
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.
There were 492 active cases in regional Victoria on Thursday, which is under stage three lockdown, compared to 7155 active cases in metropolitan Melbourne. Regional Victoria faces stage four lockdown The prospect that regional areas of Victoria will move from stage three to stage four restrictions is a "day-by-day proposition", the state's Deputy Chief Health Officer Allen Cheng said. "We're looking at that very closely. It's sort of a day-by-day proposition and we really encourage the community to come forward to get tested ... and hopefully obviate the need for stage four," Professor Cheng said.

Loading Over the past 14 days, 176 new cases of COVID-19 have been detected in Geelong, many of which are connected to outbreaks "which are coming under control", he said. "But there are certainly some outbreaks and some cases where we don't know where they've come from," the Professor said. In Ballarat, 23 new cases have emerged in the past two weeks due to three unrelated outbreaks, while Bendigo has recorded 51 cases over the same period. Professor Cheng said he expected the cluster in Bendigo would "probably play out a bit more like Colac," where at least 47 cases were linked to an outbreak at the Australian Lamb Company.

Victoria 'flattening the curve' Deakin University epidemiologist Catherine Bennett believes Victoria is beginning to flatten the curve. "It really looks like we are past the peak now," she told Nine's Today show on Thursday. She noted active cases of COVID-19 in Victoria dropped on Wednesday for the first time.

"So hopefully this pipeline, if you like, of people being exposed then becoming ill and possibly also triggering workplace outbreaks is now shifting so that we are starting to close down those existing outbreaks," Professor Bennett said. "We should see the numbers really drop quite rapidly once these outbreaks are contained." Government takes control of three nursing homes However, the state government has assumed control of three aged care facilities in Melbourne's west. Hospital staff are now operating Glenlyn Aged Care, Florence Aged Care and Klyna Aged Care.

"We've essentially assumed responsibility, taken over those facilities, for the purposes of the highest-quality care and to deal with challenging circumstances in each of those three," Mr Andrews said. Loading He said aged care residents would not be transferred en masse to hospitals, despite requests from some operators, including one which had ordered 100 ambulances. "We did ... have early on in this aged care crisis, a particular provider who rang and ordered 100 ambulances, as if that was something that would be in any way feasible," he said. "We don't have a system that is designed to deliver the easiest outcome for the private operator. We have a system that is designed to provide the best care for the resident."

107 new 'mystery cases' in Melbourne Health authorities have identified 107 additional mystery cases in the metropolitan Melbourne area, bringing the total number of active cases without a known source to 3068. There are 664 Victorians battling the virus in hospital, including 37 fighting for their lives in intensive care, 25 of whom are on a ventilator. One woman in her 50s, two men in their 70s, two women and two men in their 80s and one man in his 90s died in the past day. Four of the latest deaths are connected to aged care outbreaks.

The number of healthcare workers currently infected with COVID-19 has increased to 1140, while there are 2018 active cases linked to outbreaks across 125 aged care facilities. There are a total of 7856 active cases across Victoria. Professor Cheng said Victorian authorities were looking at the possibility that COVID-19 could be transmitted via refrigerated freight, following a fresh virus outbreak in New Zealand. Officials in New Zealand have said they are focussing on whether the virus could have been imported by freight. "We're looking into that [but] we're not aware of any links at this stage," Professor Cheng said. Premier Daniel Andrews at Thursday's press conference. Credit:Darrian Traynor Andrews refuses to comment on claims 'without names'
Nicola Sturgeon is being given credit by Scottish voters for Westminster policies on propping up the economy during the coronavirus crisis, according to a a poll today.

YouGov research found the SNP leader and her ministers are widely praised for support packages for jobs and businesses - even though they have largely been provided by the Treasury.

The results will fuel alarm in Downing Street at Ms Sturgeon's soaring ratings and increasing backing for independence.

In the poll for The Times, 49 per cent of Scots said the government north of the border had performed well in protecting jobs, with 29 per cent saying it had done badly.

Half were positive about work done by the executive to protect the economy compared with 31 per cent who had a negative view.

However, while Ms Sturgeon's administration does have powers to vary business rates and income tax, key decisions on VAT, National Insurance and tax allowances are still reserved for Westminster.

YouGov research found Nicola Sturgeon and her ministers are widely praised for support packages for jobs and businesses - even though they have largely been provided by the Treasury

The massive furlough scheme - which has subsidised the wages of 155,000 Scots - was designed and implemented by Chancellor Rishi Sunak and the Treasury.

The findings emerged after YouGov found this week that backing for independence is growing in Scotland.

Excluding 'don't knows', 53 per cent north of the border supported splitting from the UK, compared to 47 per cent who wanted to keep the union.

That was a two point rise from January, and the highest level the firm has ever recorded.

Meanwhile, some 57 per cent plan to vote for the SNP in Scottish parliament elections next spring - which will be critical for Ms Sturgeon's claim to have a mandate for a new referendum.

A series of other surveys have confirmed a groundswell in favour of independence, with Ms Sturgeon seeing her popularity rise sharply over her handling of the coronavirus crisis.

She had a net rating of plus 50 in the latest YouGov study, up from plus 5 a year ago.

By contrast Boris Johnsons rating is minus 50, having slumped by 16 points over the past 12 months.

Among senior Tories, only Ruth Davidson, who has temporarily returned as leader of the Scottish party at Holyrood until Douglas Ross takes over, has a positive rating on plus 15.

The poll found support for the SNP was up three points since April to 57 per cent, which would give them 74 members of the Scottish parliament - 11 more than currently.

Mr Sunak was dispatched to Scotland last week to stress the scale of the financial support allocated by Westminster.

And Boris Johnson is planning to spend his 'staycation' north of the border with fiancee Carrie Symonds and their baby Wilfred.

In the 2014 referendum - billed as a once-in-a-generation decision - Scots voted by a convincing margin of 55-45 per cent to stay in the UK.

Ms Sturgeon says she has put aside the independence issue during coronavirus chaos, with planning for a fresh vote 'paused', but has faced accusations of trying to use the situation for political advantage.

:: YouGov polled 1,142 Scottish adults aged 16 or older between August 6 and 10

A YouGov poll found that, excluding 'don't knows', 53 per cent north of the border supported splitting from the UK, compared to 47 per cent who wanted to keep the union
The packaging of frozen shrimp imported from Ecuador tested positive for coronavirus a second time in Wuhu, Anhui province, disease control authorities announced on Wednesday.

The local disease control center was alerted by a positive sample taken from the packaging of a shrimp product on Monday.

The shrimp, frozen and imported from Ecuador, was found in an urban restaurant in Wuhu, according to the center, which conducted another test of the sample on Tuesday and got the same result.

After arriving at the restaurant, the shrimp was stored in refrigerators, the announcement said.

Restaurant employees and those at companies related to the same batch of products have all tested negative for the virus. The restaurant and its dormitories for employees had been disinfected by Wednesday, it said.

People who touched the sample have been placed under medical observation.
BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - China is scheduled to release a raft of data on Friday, headlining a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. On tap are July numbers for industrial production, retail sales, fixed asset investment, unemployment and house prices. Industrial production is expected to rise 5.1 percent on year after gaining 4.8 percent in June. Retail sales are called higher by an annual 0.1 percent after sinking 1.8 percent in the previous month. FAI is tipped to fall 1.6 percent on year after losing 3.1 percent a month earlier. In June, house prices climbed 4.9 percent on year and the jobless rate was 5.7 percent. New Zealand will see July results for the economic PMI from BusinessNZ; in June, the index score was 56.3. Japan will provide June figures for its tertiary industry index; in May, the index sank 2.1 percent on month. Hong Kong will release Q2 numbers for gross domestic product, with forecasts suggesting a decline of 0.1 percent on quarter and 9.0 percent on year. That follows the 5.3 percent quarterly decline and the 9.1 percent yearly drop in the three months prior. Taiwan will see Q2 figures for gross domestic product, with forecasts calling for a decline of 0.73 percent on year after the 1.59 percent gain in the previous three months. 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.
Vick Hope attends the "Friends Festive" VIP launch party at The Truman Brewery on November 28, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)

Vick Hope is joining BBC Radio 1 to present its Life Hacks show after leaving Capital Breakfast earlier in the year.

She's replacing Cel Spellman, who is looking to focus on other work although will remain "part of the Radio 1 family", according to the station.

Hope, 30, said of the new gig: "Joining the BBC Radio 1 family is an absolute dream come true.

Read more: Roman Kemp pays emotional tribute to late colleague

"I grew up listening to Radio 1 religiously, and am honoured to present Life Hacks, a show that is so important to me and so many listeners."

Roman Kemp pictured in the studio with Vick Hope and Sonny Jay, and pet dog Luna, on his first day back at Capital Breakfast, after coming third in 'I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!' (Photo by Matt Crossick/PA Images via Getty Images)

Kate Thistleton also hosts the programme that discusses issues young people face, including mental health and careers.

As she shared the news on Instagram, Hope addressed the passing of Capital Breakfast producer Joe Lyons who died suddenly last week.

Describing it as an "extremely tough time" she divulged: "I took a step away from social media last week, and when the Radio 1 schedule was announced it just didnt feel right to be sharing news of any sort. But as Ro said in his tribute on Monday, the show must go on."

The former Strictly Come Dancing contestant quit Capital Breakfast earlier in 2020 after three years on the show.

She tweeted at the time: "All good things come to an end and after 3 amazing years co-hosting Capital Breakfast with Roman Kemp, alongside Sonny [Jay], I've made the decision that it is time to move onto pastures new.

"It has been a great privilege to present alongside two of my best friends in the world: Roman and Sonny have been like brothers to me and I think you are both so incredibly talented."
A Sydney school at the centre of a coronavirus outbreak has been accused of ignoring social distancing and even holding choirs by one worried parent.

Tangara School for Girls in Cherrybrook has been linked to 19 cases of the deadly virus, including 12 senior students and one teacher.

A parent of one student told 2GB's Ben Fordham the school was not following health guidelines and was still offering communion along with compulsory mass.

Tangara School for Girls in Cherrybrook (pictured) has been linked to 19 cases of the deadly virus including 12 senior students and one teacher

'According to this parent, the school has not been practicing COVID-safe measures,' Fordham said on Thursday.

'They say the primary school has been doing weekly choir, they've continued compulsory mass, students are still taking communion by the hand and teachers have been taking it by the tongue.

'Last Wednesday there was a primary school food stall run by the high school students.'

But the girls school which closed for deep cleaning last Friday, has strongly denied the parent's claims.

'We absolutely refute the claims made regarding our COVID-safe practices,' the spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.

'There has been no breach of the rules in regard to any school activities including assemblies, Mass, choirs, and guidance around food items.'

'We have always observed the NSW Government rules and guidelines for schools, leading up to, during, and post-lockdown.

'In term 3, in accordance with NSW Government schools guidelines, this has included following the 4sqm rule for assemblies and Mass, no choirs or singing in any form, and a food stall that observed COVID-safe practices including students following appropriate social distancing.'

Deep cleaning continued at Tangara School for Girls in Cherrybrook (pictured) on Tuesday

The school closed last weekend and will remain shut until August 24 to undergo deep cleaning

Health authorities are still working to identify the source of the cluster of cases at the Cherrybrook school.

'We have some hypotheses but that person is not linked to a known cluster,' NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said.

It comes as an overnight religious retreat reportedly took place shortly before the first Tangara case was diagnosed.

An investigation is underway into reports several students attended an overnight religious retreat in Bargo, 90km south-west of Sydney, before they tested positive, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The school insists it had nothing to do with the retreat and that it was organised by the nearby Eremeran study centre with the Catholic organisation Opus Dei.

'The school has not held any camps or retreats for its students since March 2020, when the COVID-19 restrictions for schools came into place,' a school statement read.

The Tangara School for Girls secondary campus will remain closed until at least August 24.

Health authorities are still working to identify the source of the cluster of cases at the Cherrybrook school (pictured security guards at pop up testing clinic in Castle Hill in Sydney on Wednesday)

All students, staff and support staff at the secondary campus have been ordered to get tested for and self-isolate at home for two weeks, even if a negative test result is returned.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said any extra-curricular activities should not be going on in the midst of the outbreak of cases.

'Extracurricular activities, those excursions, overnight things which you would ordinary do are not acceptable during the pandemic,' Ms Berejiklian said on Tuesday.

'I'm absolutely paranoid about what I do myself, the worst thing to be would be unintentionally give it to others.'

NSW recorded 12 new coronavirus infections on Thursday and one death.
San Francisco police will soon display a splash of new and historic artwork on department properties, with Black lives matter posters set to be placed at headquarters and in stations throughout the city.

Police Chief Bill Scott and police Commissioners Damali Taylor and Dion-Jay Brookter unveiled the new design Wednesday, nearly a month after commissioners on July 15 unanimously voted to require such banners on station walls.

Brookter, who sponsored the resolution, said the gesture was driven by the citys Black community, which data show has been disproportionately impacted by police violence in San Francisco and nationwide.

Given light of everything that was going on, with Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, they said here in San Francisco, we want a sign, Brookter said in a Zoom news conference Wednesday afternoon. We want a symbol, that our Police Department stands with us as Black individuals here in San Francisco.

The police killings this year of Taylor in Louisville, Ky., and Floyd in Minneapolis, have added a new urgency to the nationwide discussion on systemic racism against Black people. Waves of protesters have taken to the city streets for months to demand an end to police brutality. The reckoning has additionally turned up the heat on city leaders, who are under increasing pressure to defund police forces and reinvest in Black communities.

Chief Scott, who is Black and has publicly supported defunding measures, said the department embraced the poster idea from the start, noting that it was a chance to put the officers values on display.

The oat-colored poster features the phrase Black lives matter emblazoned in the largest font, while adding that they specifically matter to the San Francisco Police Department. The posters say Black lives matter, without a capital L or M, which is commonly associated with a decentralized movement calling for political change.

The sign further states a reaffirmation of our values and personal statements from the departments bureaus and stations. Over the past 30 days, Scott said, every corner of the Police Department was asked to submit a statement about why the words Black lives matter to them.

There has been systematic oppression for so long that it is time for a change, the Richmond District Station wrote. Equality is required by all and for all.

The officers of the Bayview Station, which serves San Franciscos largest Black community, wrote that they choose to be so assigned to serve a community that has been historically underserved and discriminated against. Black lives have always mattered to us, and we will continue to guard Bayview residents in partnership and with pride.

Scott called the project a really, really rewarding experience.

Now Playing: Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, local artists and community members paint over boarded-up storefronts in Downtown Oakland. The grassroots project responds to the civil unrest over police violence and systemic racism, sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Video: Caron Creighton

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.

Taylor, vice president of the Police Commission, said the posters serve as a small but powerful symbol.

Its so meaningful to know that, walking into a district station, my life is important ... my humanity is not a throwaway to SFPD, she said. Its a small gesture, but its an important gesture, and its important on the path forward to reform and to healing.

The San Francisco Police Officers Association last month sent the commission a letter saying the union supported the notion that Black and brown lives matter, but a directive to install the posters establishes a new precedent that raises concerns about introducing political agendas and wedge issues into the safe harbor of police stations.

On Wednesday, union President Tony Montoya said the city should now begin focusing on the root causes of unsafe neighborhoods, including the dearth of affordable housing, lack of employment and educational opportunities, and inadequate health care services.

Statements on posters wont create a single job, put a single family in an affordable home, or provide a top-flight education for San Franciscos children, Montoya said. We are prepared to roll up our sleeves and do more to uplift neighborhoods in a meaningful way beyond words, no matter how important those words may be."

Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidy
Former Vice President Joe Bidens selection of Senator Kamala Harris as running mate marked two historic firsts on Tuesday, Aug. 11. Harris became the first Black and South Asian American woman to run on a major political partys presidential ticket. Emorys election experts weigh in on Bidens vice-presidential pick.

Alan Abramowitz

Alben W. Barkley Professor of Political Science

In Kamala Harris, Joe Biden has chosen a running mate who meets several criteria that he had indicated were important to his decision. First and foremost, as a former presidential candidate with extensive experience in state and national government, he hopes she will be seen as a credible potential president should she have to step into that role. The Biden campaign is probably also hoping that a relatively young, African-American woman will generate enthusiasm among younger and nonwhite voters who may not be excited about Biden himself. Finally, she is probably seen as a strong debater who can go toe to toe with Mike Pence in a vice-presidential debate.

Bernard Fraga

Associate Professor of Political Science

By selecting Kamala Harris, the assumption is that the Biden campaign is seeking to increase turnout among African-American voters. Based on my research, disparities in voter turnout between racial/ethnic groups are a product of differences in mobilization and engagement on the part of parties, campaigns, and organizations. To shrink the gap in turnout between Black and white voters it will take a concerted effort to engage the African-American community, and selecting an African-American candidate is a symbolic step in that direction. However, if the Biden campaign truly seeks to boost voter turnout, it must also partner with organizations that have already done the hard work of registering Black voters, young voters, and other key parts of the Democratic Partys base.

Ed Lee

Senior Director of the Alben W. Barkley Forum for Debate, Deliberation, and Dialogue

The United States now has a vice-presidential candidate who can credibly weigh in on the Tupac vs. Biggie debate. We now have a vice-presidential candidate who is interested in transforming the United States into "one nation under a groove." That commitment garnered Senator Kamala Harris the endorsement of Bootsy Collins, member of the Parliament-Funkadelic, when she was running to be Democratic nominee. What does Senator Harris bring to the Democratic ticket as Joe Biden's choice to be the Vice President? She is a politician whose lived experience, educational opportunities, and political awareness have equipped her with the ability to craft compelling and influential messages tailored to her audience's needs and composition. Harris upgrades the ticket's capacity to consistently communicate a message that energizes and resonates with their audience.

Senator Harris is a brilliant communicator who will deftly blend cultural references with cogent policy analysis. She is eager to have a conversation that seamlessly transitions from political philosophy to music preferences and the interplay of the two. Harris now becomes the chief communicator of the Biden campaign. From a public communication perspective, Kamala Harris seems destined to become the principal messenger for the Biden campaign that appears to have embraced the meme that Biden is trying to win the presidency from his basement. If you are Biden, you don't pick Kamala Harris if you expect your vice president to join you in that proverbial basement. He is smart enough to realize how that would waste her talents and, potentially, garner significant blowback.

Some came to reference Dick Cheney as George W. Bush's "brain" because of Cheney's role in shaping the presidential campaign and formulating the administration's policies. Senator Harris' superior communication skills and inspiring biography will inevitably make her the "mouth" of the Biden campaign.

The Biden campaign is now dancing to a different beat. You can find the playlist on Spotify by searching for "Kamala Harris."
More than 1,200 Amazon delivery drivers have been laid off and some facilities have been forced to close, after the company cut ties with several of its smaller delivery service partners.

At least seven delivery firms have reported hundreds of job cuts over the last month after Amazon ended their contracts with its Delivery Service Partner program (DSP), CNBC reported on Thursday.

According to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications (WARN) filed across New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut, the companies announced 1,205 drivers will be let go, while some centers will be shutting down completely.

Amazon cut ties with several of its delivery service partners, resulting in 1,200 layoffs for drivers across the country

At least seven delivery firms have announced job cuts or site closures after Amazon ended their contracts with the company's Delivery Service Partner program

Delivery service company Prime EFS announced 388 of its employees will be laid off in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and Courier Distribution Systems said 273 drivers in its Pennsylvania and Wisconsin locations will be let go.

Systemize Logistics, based in Massachusetts, also announced it was closing its facilities in New York and Connecticut, which will result in 121 job losses.

AMAZON CUTS TIES WITH SEVEN DELIVERY SERVICE PARTNERS Courier Distribution Systems

Systemize Logistics

TL Transportation

Prime EFS

JST Transportation

Deliverol Global

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Sheffield Express said it was closing its facility in Connecticut and would lay off 95 employees.

While details on why the company severed ties with the contractors were not released, Amazon told CNBC it regularly evaluates its carrier partnerships.

'We have ended relationships with some partners and Amazon is working closely with all impacted drivers to ensure they find opportunities to deliver Amazon packages with other local Delivery Service Partners with little to no disruption to pay,' a spokesperson said in a statement.

Amazon launched the delivery service program in 2018 which allows smaller companies or budding entrepreneurs to team up with the e-commerce giant to deliver orders to customers' doorsteps.

In a blog post published earlier this month, Amazon celebrated the success of the program, revealing it now has 1,300 DSPs operating in five countries and has created more than 85,000 jobs.

The company is among the very few businesses that have benefited from the coronavirus pandemic, which forced many consumers unable to visit physical stores to shop online more.

In March, it was even forced to hire thousands of temporary employees to meet a surge in consumer demand.

CEO Jeff Bezos last month told lawmakers the company had hired 175,000 employees during the pandemic, including many who were laid off from other jobs.

It later announced it would offer permanent jobs to about 70 per cent of the short-term U.S. workforce it hired.

CEO Jeff Bezos last month told lawmakers the company had hired 175,000 employees during the pandemic, including many who were laid off from other jobs

Despite its success, the company had come under fire during the health crisis after it was accused of putting employees' health at risk by keeping nearly all its warehouses operational.

In May, an Amazon employee told Reuters at least 800 US-based workers had tested positive for Covid-19.

The following month the company was sued for allegedly fostering the spread of the coronavirus by mandating unsafe working conditions, after one employee died.
Golden eagles have reared a chick for the first time in 40 years as part of a 'rewilding' program at an estate in the Scottish Highlands using an artificial nest.

The chick marks the first known return of the birds of prey to breed at Dundreggan rewilding estate in Glenmoriston, according to conservation group Trees for Life.

Five years ago an eagle nest was set up by the conservation charity and renowned conservationist, Roy Dennis, in a bid to entice the birds back to the estate.

There was no certainty the project would work, as golden eagles build their own nests in remote and inaccessible places, and are highly sensitive to disturbance.

Conservationists at the Trees for Life charity are celebrating after the chick flew the nest for the first time last week - marking the start of a succesful rewilding.

The chick marks the first known return of the birds of prey to breed at Dundreggan rewilding estate in Glenmoriston, according to organisers Trees for Life.

'This is a rewilding success story beyond our wildest dreams,' explained Trees for Life's Dundreggan Manager, Doug Gilbert.

'I've been checking the eyrie regularly since we built it in 2015, hoping to see evidence that the eagles had returned - and now they have.'

Golden eagles may use the same nesting sites for generations, which has led to the team suspecting the birds will be coming back over a long period of time.

'Four decades without golden eagles breeding or establishing themselves in this part of our wild and beautiful Highland glen have been four decades too long,' he said.

'When we built the artificial nest, we knew it was in a good location for eagles because we found the remains of an old nest at the site.

'We've been keeping our fingers crossed for the past five years, and it's wonderful that our efforts have paid off like this.'

Golden eagles are regularly seen over Dundreggan, but until now there has been no sign of them nesting or setting up a territory at the site.

Golden eagle expert Stuart Benn said the success was 'terrific news' and the first time golden eagles have 'definitely bred' at Dundreggan since 1980.

'Eagles are undergoing a marked expansion in the Highlands just now, recolonising ground they haven't been on for many years and colonising some new areas.'

The golden eagle is the UK's second-largest bird of prey, after the white-tailed eagle.

It is native to Britain, but centuries of persecution saw it driven into extinction in England and Wales by the mid-1800s.

The bird has been making a slow recovery in Scotland but continues to be threatened by illegal persecution, with reports of them being shot or poisoned.

Conservationists at the Trees for Life charity are celebrating after the chick flew the nest for the first time last week - marking the start of a succesful rewilding

A golden eagle survey, published in 2016, showed Scotland's population of the birds had increased to 508 pairs, a rise of 15 per cent since the previous survey in 2003.

Trees for Life has been rewilding Dundreggan since it purchased the 10,000-acre former deer stalking estate in 2008.

Dundreggan is home to over 4,000 plant and animal species - including some never recorded in the UK before or once feared extinct in Scotland.

In June, Trees for Life lodged a planning application with Highland Council for the world's first rewilding centre at Dundreggan, which it plans to open in 2022.

The charity expects to welcome over 50,000 visitors annually - allowing people to explore the wild landscape and learn about the region's unique wildlife.
Undoubtedly, a number of Russian companies have largely underperformed in Africa, which experts described as primarily due to multiple reasons. Most often, Russian investors strike important investment niches that still require long-term strategies and adequate country study. Grappling with reality, there are many investment challenges including official bureaucracy and technical hitches in Africa.

Lukoil, the largest Russia's oil company, has had a long history, going forth and back with declaration of business intentions or mere interests in tapping into oil and gas resources in Africa. In the past, Lukoil have said in separate reports about its business deals in a number of African countries including Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. These are coastal countries on the Gulf of Guinea (Atlantic Ocean) in West Africa.

Besides technical and geographical hitches, Lukoil noted explicitly in its official reports that "the African leadership and government policies always pose serious problems to operations in the region." It said that the company has been ready to observe strictly all of its obligations as a foreign investor in Africa.

Lukoil has moved to Senegal. Predominantly rural and with limited natural resources, Senegal is classified as a heavily indebted poor country, with a relatively low Human Development Index. Most of the population is on the coast and works in agriculture or other food industries. Other major industries include mining, tourism and services.

Energy is produced by private operators and sold to the Senelec Energy Corporation. According to a 2020 report by the International Energy Agency, Senegal had nearly 70% of the country connected to the national grid. Current government strategies for electrification include investments in off-grid solar and connection to the grid. Senegal has a population of approximately 15.9 million.

In spite of that, business is business. Quite recently, Lukoil, one of the largest Russia's oil companies, publicly declared that it finally concluded an agreement with Cairn Energy PLC to acquire a 40% interest in RSSD (Rufisque, Sangomar and Sangomar Deep) project in the Republic of Senegal for $300 million in cash.

The agreement provides for potential bonus payment to Cairn Energy PLC of up to $100 million after the commencement of production. The transaction is subject to customary conditions, including the approval by the Government of the Republic of Senegal.

The blocks of the project covering 2,212 sq. km are located on the deepwater shelf of the Republic of Senegal 80 km from the shore with the sea depth of 800-2,175 meters. The blocks include two discovered fields: Sangomar and FAN.

The Final Investment Decision (FID) on the Sangomar field was taken early 2020 and the field development has begun. According to the Company's estimates, the recoverable hydrocarbon reserves of the Sangomar field total approximately 500 million. The field is planned to be launched in 2023, with designed production level of 5 million tons of crude oil per year.

The RSSD project is currently implemented under a production sharing agreement. Woodside is the project's operator with 35% stake. Other participants are FAR (15%) and state-owned company Petrosen (10%).

"Entering the project with already explored reserves at early stage of their development is fully in line with our strategy and allows us reinforcing our presence in West Africa. Joining the project with qualified international partners will allow us to gain additional experience in development of offshore fields in the region," said Vagit Alekperov, President of PJSC Lukoil.

Early this year, precisely on January 28, during his briefing with President Vladimir Putin on the 2019 performance and activities of the Lukoil holding, Vagit Alekperov noted the unique window of opportunity that opened up after the summit held with African countries late October 2019 in Sochi.

"In fact, we are beginning to work actively in West Africa: we have started working in three countries and another four have offered to launch joint work. This is unprecedented. This summit gave an impetus to Russian companies to work in one of the most promising markets: West Africa," he told Putin in the Kremlin.

After Putin noted that it was surprising African colleagues had asked only for collaboration and nothing else, Alekperov reassured that "today, it is not just a declaration but these are real projects: in the Republic of the Congo, in Ghana, we are now looking at a number of other countries, and Cameroon."

Its media release shows that Lukoil's portfolio is quite extensive. It works in 32 countries worldwide, conduct geological exploration both in the West and in Africa.

For now in Africa, it has one success story. For the past ten years, Lukoil company's operations in the Republic of Ghana where it focuses on upstream exploration. The reserves evaluated on the blocks proves to be sufficient for their industrial development.

On the opposite side, Russian news agencies reported that Lukoil exited projects in Cote d'Ivoire, where it had led exploration in the deep offshore. The company confirmed the information about leaving the projects to TASS News Agency.

In August 2015, Lukoil also pulled out of the oil and gas exploration and drilling project that it had began in Sierra Leone. According to Interfax, a local Russian News Agency, the company did not currently have any projects and has backed away due to poor exploration results in Sierra Leone.

It reported that drilling in West Africa, including Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone, did not bring Lukoil the expected results, as preliminary technical results did not demonstrated commercial hydrocarbon reserves. According to official reports, Lukoil has been active in a number of countries with a high level of political and economic risks that could significantly complicate the work of the company in a particular region, and even lead to its termination.

Russia's Lukoil is one of the world's biggest vertically integrated companies for production of crude oil and gas, and their refining into petroleum products and petrochemicals. The company is a leader on Russian and international markets in its core business and its key mission is to harness natural energy resources for human benefit and supports long-term economic growth, social stability, prosperity and progress in the regions where it operates.
SEOUL, South Korea  South Korea is reporting 103 new coronavirus cases. It is one of the countrys biggest daily jumps in months, and officials are expressing concern that infections are getting out of control in the capital of Seoul and other major cities as Koreans increasingly venture out in public.

The figures released by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday brought the national caseload to 14,873 cases, including 305 deaths.

Eighty-three of the new cases were in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area, where authorities have struggled to stem transmissions. Infections were also reported in other major cities such as Busan, Gwangju and Ulsan.

Fridays jump was driven by local transmissions, which health authorities said could worsen because of the increase in travelers during the summer vacation season.

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HERES WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

 NYC mayor plans to reopen nation's largest public school system on time

 WHO says Russian vaccine not in advanced test stages

 Second man dies of virus in federal immigration custody in Georgia

 Talks by U.S. leaders on emergency coronavirus aid are stalling out, with both sides playing the blame game rather than make any serious moves to try to break their stalemate.

 Number of U.S. laid-off workers applying for unemployment aid fell below 1 million last week for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic intensified five months ago, yet still remains at a high level.

 Artist creates origami crane memorial for COVID-19 victims

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Follow APs pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

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HERES WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

FRESNO, Calif.  A private school in California has been ordered to close after it reopened classrooms in violation of a state health order aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.

Fresno County issued a health order Thursday against Immanuel Schools in Reedley. The K-12 school was told to close its classrooms until the county is removed from a state monitoring list for two weeks.

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The school has about 600 students and it allowed students into classes Thursday without masks or social distancing. The schools trustees and superintendent say they believe students development will suffer if they cant be taught on campus.

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BEIJING  China has reported another eight cases of locally transmitted coronavirus infections, all in the northwestern region of Xinjiang where the countrys last major outbreak has been largely contained.

Officials said Friday that 22 other new cases were brought from outside the country by Chinese travelers returning home. China has reported a total of 4,634 deaths from COVID-19 among 84,786 cases.

Hong Kong reported 69 new confirmed cases and three deaths over the past 24 hours. The semi-autonomous Chinese city has required masks be worn in all public settings, restricted indoor dining and enacted other social distancing measures to bring down transmissions that now total 4,312 with 66 deaths.

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MEXICO CITY  Mexico has passed the half-million mark in confirmed coronavirus cases.

The Health Department reported 7,371 newly confirmed cases Thursday, bringing the countrys total for the pandemic to 505,751. The department reported 627 more confirmed COVID-19 deaths, giving Mexico a total of 55,293.

Experts agree that due to Mexicos extremely low testing rates, those numbers are undercounts and that the real figures may be two to three times higher. With only about 1.15 million tests conducted to date in a country of almost 130 million people, less than 1% of Mexicans have been tested.

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AUSTIN, Texas  Texas is reporting fewer than 7,000 hospitalized coronavirus patients for the first time in six weeks.

That encouraging sign Thursday was clouded by questions over testing as students return to school and college football teams push ahead with playing this fall. Testing has dropped off in Texas, a trend seen across the U.S as health experts worry that patients without symptoms arent bothering because of long lines and waiting days to get results.

Numbers from Texas health officials this week offer a hazy picture of how much testing has fallen. At one point this week, the infection rate in Texas was as high as 24%, only to suddenly drop Thursday to 16%.

Officials have not offered explanations about the wild swing in infection rates.

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SACRAMENTO, Calif.  California will resume eviction and foreclosure proceedings Sept. 2, stoking fears of a wave of evictions during the coronavirus pandemic unless the governor and state Legislature can agree on a proposal to extend protections.

The Judicial Council of California voted 19-1 Thursday to end the temporary rules blocking such proceedings that had been in place since April 6.

Since the pandemic began in March, more than 9.7 million people have filed for unemployment benefits in California. A survey from the U.S. Census shows more than 1.7 million renters in the state could not pay their rent on time last month.

California Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye has been reluctant to let the rules stay in place much longer, saying it is the job of the judicial branch to interpret the laws, not make them.

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LONDON  Britain will require all people arriving from France to isolate for 14 days -- an announcement that throws the plans of tens of thousands of holidaymakers into chaos.

The government said late Thursday that France is being removed from the list of nations exempted from quarantine requirements because of a rising number of coronavirus infections, which have surged by 66% in the past week. The Netherlands, Malta, Monaco and the Caribbean islands of Aruba and Turks & Caicos also were added to the quarantine list.

France is one of the top holiday destinations for British travelers, who now have until 4 a.m. Saturday to get home if they want to avoid two weeks in isolation.

The number of new infections in Britain is also rising.

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JACKSON, MISS.  The governor of Mississippi says new cases of the coronavirus are steadily declining in most of the states 82 counties.

Gov. Tate Reeves attributed the decrease to residents commitment to wearing masks and social distancing, but he also urges people not to become complacent.

Reeves says the state is seeing steady decreases in more than 70 counties. However, he says theres more work to do in six counties  Forrest, Jones, Lee, Union, Bolivar and Panola, where officials are still seeing a considerable number of infections.

The Mississippi State Department of Health reported 612 new confirmed cases and 22 deaths Thursday, raising the states total cases to 2,011.

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ATLANTA  Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp says hes dropping a lawsuit against the city of Atlanta in a dispute over the citys requirement to wear masks in public and other restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Republican governor sued Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and the City Council in July to block them from implementing restrictions at the local level, even as case counts and hospitalizations in the state soared.

Kemp argued that local governments cant impose measures that are more or less restrictive than those in his statewide executive orders, which have strongly urged people to wear masks but not required them.

He has sought to block local governments from issuing orders requiring that masks be worn, but several cities, including Atlanta, have done it anyway.

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RENO, Nev.  Nevadas biggest daily jump in coronavirus fatalities to date has pushed the states COVID-19 death toll past 1,000.

Gov. Steve Sisolak said Thursday that the grim milestone should reinforce the seriousness of the pandemic and the need for individuals to do more to help slow its spread.

On Thursday, Nevada recorded 602 new cases of the virus to bring the total to 58,650. The death toll grew 34 to 1,030, surpassing the previous single-day record of 29 deaths reported on July 31 and equaled Aug. 7.

The states cumulative positivity rate remained virtually unchanged at 10.5%. Its generally been rising since it hit a low of 5.2% on June 17.

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ATHENS, Greece  Greek authorities have quarantined the countrys third-largest migrant camp on the eastern Aegean Sea island of Chios after an asylum-seeker and a staff member were diagnosed with COVID-19.

The quarantine, in force until Aug. 25, includes a ban on anybody entering or exiting the facility, and the suspension of all programs in the camp by charity groups as well as the asylum application process.

The camp is home to more than 3,800 people  almost four times above capacity. Its the first time a COVID-19 outbreak has been registered at any of the island camps, where a total 25,000 people live in very cramped conditions after arriving in smuggling boats from the nearby Turkish coast.

The migration ministry said Thursday that a 35-year old asylum-seeker from Yemen was diagnosed with COVID-19 and was taken to hospital with mild symptoms and a fever. The other case was a staff member at the camp. No details were provided on her condition.

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MILAN  Italian Health Ministry data shows that the number of new confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country has risen above 500 for the first time this week.

According to the data released on Thursday, the 523 new positives brings to 252,235 the total number in Italy since the virus was first detected locally in late February.

The northern regions of Veneto, Lombardy and Liguria all recorded boosts in the high double-digits, while only Valle dAosta, which shares an Alpine border with France, recorded none.

Six people died in the last 24 hours, compared with 10 a day earlier, bringing the epidemic total to 35,225. A weekly report shows that the situation in Italy risks worsening with 1,000 active outbreaks, with new cases recorded in every region of the country, often imported from abroad.

Italy is imposing mandatory testing on anyone arriving from Greece, Spain, Malta and Croatia as the numbers continue to nudge up, but the head of the scientific committee helping to guide the coronavirus response said that a new national lockdown was "improbable.

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NEW YORK  New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio held firm to plans to reopen the nations largest public school system within a month, despite pleas from teachers and principals to delay the return of students to classrooms.

The city is aiming for a hybrid reopening Sept. 10, with most of the 1.1 million students spending two or three days a week in physical classrooms and learning remotely the rest of the time. Parents were given the option of requesting full-time remote learning for their children.

The Democratic mayor conceded there were challenges with the plan as the city recovers from a pandemic. But he says the city has managed to lower the rate of positive cases to around 1%.

The union representing school administrators sent a letter to de Blasio and Chancellor Richard Carranza on Wednesday, saying school leaders still had questions about various issues, including staffing, personal protective equipment and ventilation system repairs

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MEXICO CITY  A potential COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University will be produced in Mexico if its advanced trials are successful and it receives regulatory approval, the government said Thursday.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the agreement with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, which also provides for production in Argentina, should result in a vaccine that the government would provide free starting in the first quarter of 2021.

Production of the vaccine in Mexico and Argentina would allow for distribution throughout Latin America, except for Brazil, which had already reached its own agreement with the drug maker.

Sylvia Varela, AstraZenecas president in Mexico said the cost of a dose would be around $4, but Lopez Obrador said the government would cover that expense.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said the foundation of Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim would effectively guarantee production starts on time. He said results from the Phase III clinical trials are expected in November.

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MADRID  Spains daily number of new coronavirus cases reached nearly 3,000 Thursday, up significantly from 1,690 the previous day.

Thats the highest daily number of new infections since April, as countries around Europe are concerned about a second wave of the coronavirus.

Emergency health response chief Fernando Simon says part of the increase was due to the Madrid region reporting the numbers for two days, after missing the deadline Wednesday.

Cases in Spain have been steadily increasing since the country ended a more than three-month lockdown on June 21. Simons says there is no pressure on the health system, with coronavirus patients occupying only 3% of hospital beds.

Spain is conducting around 340,000 nasal swab tests a week, he says. More than 50% of cases are asymptomatic, and the average age of infected people is 42 for women and 39 for men.

The Health Ministry says Spain has officially recorded more than 337,00 total infections and more than 28,000 deaths.
Announcement of Periodic Review: Moody's announces completion of a periodic review of ratings of National Bank of Kuwait S.A.K.P.

Global Credit Research - 13 Aug 2020

Limassol, August 13, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") has completed a periodic review of the ratings of National Bank of Kuwait S.A.K.P. and other ratings that are associated with the same analytical unit. The review was conducted through a portfolio review in which Moody's reassessed the appropriateness of the ratings in the context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. The review did not involve a rating committee. Since 1 January 2019, Moody's practice has been to issue a press release following each periodic review to announce its completion.

This publication does not announce a credit rating action and is not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is likely in the near future. Credit ratings and outlook/review status cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted by this announcement. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history.

Key rating considerations are summarized below.

National Bank of Kuwait's (NBK) Aa3 long term deposit rating is driven by the bank's a3 Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA) and three notches of government support uplift. Moody's assumes a very high likelihood of support from the Government of Kuwait (rated Aa2). NBK's long-term ratings and assessments along with the senior unsecured ratings on NBK's funding vehicles were placed under review for possible downgrade on April 1st 2020, for details see Moody's press release issued on that date.

The bank's a3 BCA reflects it strong asset quality and resilient profitability supported by its franchise in Kuwait. The bank's standalone profile also captures its robust capital and liquidity buffers. However, these strengths are moderated by high balance sheet concentration.

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This document summarizes Moody's view as of the publication date and will not be updated until the next periodic review announcement, which will incorporate material changes in credit circumstances (if any) during the intervening period.

The principal methodology used for this review was Banks Methodology published in November 2019. Please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.

This announcement applies only to EU rated and EU endorsed ratings. Non EU rated and non EU endorsed ratings may be referenced above to the extent necessary, if they are part of the same analytical unit.

This publication does not announce a credit rating action. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history.

Alexios Philippides Vice President - Senior Analyst Financial Institutions Group Moody's Investors Service Cyprus Ltd. Porto Bello Building 1, Siafi Street, 3042 Limassol PO Box 53205 Limassol CY 3301 Cyprus JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454 Sean Marion MD - Financial Institutions Financial Institutions Group JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454 Releasing Office: Moody's Investors Service Cyprus Ltd. Porto Bello Building 1, Siafi Street, 3042 Limassol PO Box 53205 Limassol CY 3301 Cyprus JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454

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Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has named Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate  the first black woman and Asian American in the role.

Once a rival for the top job, the California senator of Indian-Jamaican heritage had long been considered the front-runner for the number two slot.

The former California attorney general has been urging police reform amid nationwide anti-racism protests.

Mr Biden will face President Donald Trump in the election on 3 November.

At a White House news conference on Tuesday, Mr Trump, a Republican, described Ms Harris as my number one draft pick.

Ms Harris will debate Mr Trumps running mate, Vice-President Mike Pence, on 7 October in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
The third phase of international clinical trials is underway for a recombinant COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese researchers, CCTV reported on Wednesday.

Developed by a team led by Major General Chen Wei, academician at the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Academy of Military Medical Sciences, the vaccine was one of the first to enter the first and then the second phase of clinical trials domestically and internationally.

On January 26, Chen led a team to Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province to fight the epidemic on the frontline. After arriving in Wuhan, Chen's team started building a portable testing lab, which started operation on January 30. The lab soon achieved the testing capability of 1,000 people per day.

On March 16, the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chen and her team became the first to be approved by China for clinical trials.

Chen Wei (R) in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, May 12, 2020. /CFP

The vaccine entered the second phase of clinical trials on April 12. It is the first COVID-19 vaccine in the world that entered the second phase of clinical trials, according to the World Health Organization.

"A large amount of research needs to be done before we start clinical trials so as to minimize risks," Chen told CCTV in an interview on Wednesday.

Chen and her team took a step-wise approach in clinical trials, starting with the minimum dose and number of volunteers.

"What you see is that we have one vaccine undergoing clinical trials, but behind that we have about 30 candidates," she said.

Chen, who has made major achievements in COVID-19-related basic research and development of vaccine and protective medicine, received the national honorary title of "People's Hero" in the fight against COVID-19 on Tuesday.
Dublin City Council is under increasing pressure to reverse its decision to end free parking for healthcare workers outside hospitals.

In March the authority had asked clampers to exercise their discretion on streets surrounding hospitals due to the Covid-19 crisis.

Now the council is proposing to end the concession at the end of this month. It said residents who live near hospitals and have parking permits had been having difficulties parking near their homes.

The decision has upset hospital staff and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO). Health Minister Stephen Donnelly is being urged to act.

Sinn Fein health spokesperson David Cullinane told the Herald he is "deeply disappointed" at the council's decision.

"There's a lot of reasons free parking was made available and we believe it should be in place for the duration of the emergency and until they have managed the Covid-19 situation," he said.

"I'm very disappointed at the decision. I would have imagined that the Health Minister would have intervened and made sure this was kept in place.

"We met the INMO a number of times in the last number of months. They're telling us nurses are at breaking point. Many are suffering from mental health difficulties arising from dealing with Covid. Some need counselling supports."

He said frontline staff should not be losing the supports they have as they head into a "very difficult winter season".

"We're going to see reduced capacity in hospitals because of infection control and social distancing guidelines and the winter flu is coming," he claimed.

"They're in a very difficult position and the last thing that they need is supports that were put in place taken away from them. I think this is the wrong move by the Government and it should be reversed."

In a letter to Mr Cullinane, council chief executive Owen Keegan said the decision was not made on revenue grounds.

"The concession will end on August 31, after which a full parking enforcement service will operate in the vicinity of hospitals," Mr Keegan writes.

It is understood a number of issues were raised by residents surrounding hospitals that free parking was being utilised not just by frontline workers and that space shortages were becoming an issue.

As some residents surrounding hospitals do not have driveways to park their cars in, they would rely on parking at the hospital. However, they were unable to do so due to non-frontline workers also leaving their cars there as it was free of charge.

Helen Whitty from the Irish Association of Healthcare Assistants (IAHA) said members needed free parking.

Difficult

She said: "It's like saying to healthcare assistants, nursing staff and other health professionals that we value you, we clap for you, we'll say you're amazing while there's a crisis. But the minute that the crisis begins to ebb, you go back to being a regular utility worker.

"The parking issue just highlights how difficult it is for healthcare workers who are on a much lower end of the pay scale."

She said that healthcare workers were at the forefront of the pandemic.

"It's almost like they're at the mercy of the crisis. This is really an opportunity for the Government to say what is a fair wage, taking into account things like their travel costs and other expenses."

She said there were differences in salaries of healthcare assistants who work privately and those who work at the HSE.
Ellen DeGeneres continues to receive backlash from the left and right accusations thrown by the former employees of her namesake show. Just recently, another ex-staff described how it feels like working for "The Ellen De Generes Show" and compared it to a famous movie with a demanding boss.

Ellen DeGeneres as Miranda Priestly?

Speaking to the Brisbane radio show "Stav, Abby & Matt," a former camera assistant who requested to keep his identity revealed what it's like working for the daytime talk show.

The ex-staff said that the workplace has an overall "The Devil Wears Prada" vibe as the 62-year-old host seems untouchable to all employees below her.

"I worked there for a little over a year. It's kind of like The Devil Wears Prada. Everyone is trying to make it to the [end of a] year," the former camera assistant said.

"It's just a badge of honor to have that and have it on your resume," he added.

The hit 2006 film starring Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep is based on the novel with the same title. The story focuses on an average college graduate, Andrea Sachs, who landed a job at a domineering fashion magazine in New York, with a bossy and demanding editor, Miranda Priestly, played by Streep.

To compare a legitimate workplace to the fictional work environment from "The Devil Wears Prada" means having tense workplace and stressed workforce trying to avoid a demanding "devil-ish" type of boss.

The ex-employee also revealed how staff and crew are not allowed to be around the show's big star.

"I wasn't even allowed in the same room as her. Most people are told, 'When Ellen enters the room, you and your entire crew need to leave,'" he narrated.

"Sometimes her bodyguards come forward first, and you kind of see them, and you know to leave and that's it," he added.

Own the Brand

The new revelation came after radio and TV personality Howard Stern gave Ellen DeGeneres advice on how to deal with the recent controversies thrown at her.

Stern and Ellen have been good friends for many years now. He even had a marriage ceremony at Ellen's show in 2019, where he remarried his wife for 11 years.

Speaking on his radio show at SiriusXM on Monday, Howard said that instead of trying to clear her name and act as a victim, the award-winning TV host should embrace her new brand and persona.

"You know what I'd do if I was Ellen? I would change my whole image. I'd go on the air and be a son of a bitch," Stern said.

The 66-year-old radio show host revealed that he is also known for being a headache on his show, but explained that he is a nice guy in real life.

"People would come on and (I would) go, 'F-k you' [and] just be a pr-ck," Stern said.

"So you think I'm a pr-ck? I'm going to show you exactly... I'm known on the air as a pr-ck, but off the air, I'm known as a great guy, you know, for the most part.," he added.

READ MORE: Blackpink Sends Fans Into a Major Frenzy With Selena Gomez Bombshell
The Trump administration has filed a motion asking a court to dismiss a lawsuit against the president's executive order targeting social media companies, calling it a "profound misunderstanding," according to a copy of the motion seen by Reuters. The lawsuit was brought in June by the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), a Washington-based tech group funded by Facebook Inc , Alphabet Inc's Google and Twitter Inc. It marked the first major legal test of President Donald Trump's directive. Trump issued an executive order in May against social ...
Minsk: Thousands of factory workers at key industrial plants on Thursday abandoned their posts to rally against the disputed re-election of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, raising the prospect that widespread strikes could finally end his 26-year rule.

At prominent factories, bosses anxiously sought to deny reports of workers downing tools and walking out in protest at Sunday's result and the violent police crackdown that has ensued.

People wave flowers as they gather to protest against the results of the country's presidential election during sunset in Minsk, Belarus. Credit:AP

Four days after Lukashenko, a former Soviet collective farm boss often referred to as Europe's last dictator, announced a landslide victory, the protests that began with Minsk's middle class are coursing through working class neighbourhoods and the factory floors that form the country's engine.

Anger at reports of widespread vote rigging, and the jailing or banning of most of his rivals, has turned to rage over police violence against protesters.
Dublin, Aug. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global 4D Printing Market 2019-2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The global 4D printing market is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 26.04% over the projected period 2019-2028.



The growing demand for the ongoing industrial revolution, called Industry 4.0, is promoting the adoption of additive manufacturing, also called 3D printing. Also, industry 5.0 aims to offer personalized objects production with minimal cost and energy consumption. This is likely to promote the growth of the global 4D printing market.



Also, the low manufacturing and processing costs are favoring the market growth. The growing trend towards the growing sustainable environment is creating opportunities for the 4D printing market. However, the increasing development costs, coupled with insufficient skilled personnel, are restraining the market growth. Besides, the complicated coding procedures are also a hindrance to the market growth.



REGIONAL OUTLOOK



The global market report covers the countries from North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East and Africa.



North America is expected to be the fastest-growing region for the 4D printing market in the coming years. The region is also likely to be the largest market contributing the highest to the revenue in the world during the projected period. This growth is attributed to the presence of several 3D printing pioneers in the country. There is an increased awareness regarding technological advancements like 3D printing in North America. Besides, a considerable increase in the investments towards the development of 4D printing technology is witnessed in the region. This is likely to favor the regional market growth.



COMPETITIVE OUTLOOK



The major companies in the 4D printing market are Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stratasys Ltd, Autodesk Inc, Arc Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES), CT CoreTechnologie Group, HP Development Company LP, Organovo Holdings Inc, ExOne and EnvisionTEC Inc.



Stratasys is a global company providing applied additive technology solutions for different industries, including automotive, aerospace, healthcare and education. The company provides 3D printing systems based on proprietary FDM (fused deposition modeling) and inkjet-based PolyJet technologies.



It also offers an extensive range of consumables, systems and services for 3D printing, such as FDM & inkjet-based 3D printers, advanced materials, application-based services, software with voxel level control and on-demand parts. MakerBot Replicator 2X is a product provided by the company that is used in the 3D printing of three-dimensional objects. The company has business operations in the Middle East and Africa, Europe, Latin America, North America and the Asia-Pacific.



Key Topics Covered:



1. Global 4D Printing Market - Summary



2. Industry Outlook

2.1. Market Definition

2.2. Key Insights

2.2.1. North America Dominates the Regional Market

2.2.2. United States is Leading in Terms of 4D Printing

2.2.3. Developments in 4D Printing

2.3. Porter's Five Force Analysis

2.3.1. Threat of New Entrants

2.3.2. Threat of Substitute

2.3.3. Bargaining Power of Suppliers

2.3.4. Bargaining Power of Buyers

2.3.5. Threat of Competitive Rivalry

2.4. Market Attractiveness Index

2.5. Vendor Scorecard

2.6. Impact of Covid-19 on 4D Printing

2.7. Market Drivers

2.7.1. Increase in the Demand for Industry 4.0 and Emergence of Industry 5.0

2.7.2. Reduction in Cost of Manufacturing and Processing

2.8. Market Restraints

2.8.1. Surge in Preliminary Cost of 4D Printing

2.8.2. Easy Prototyping and Testing Technique

2.9. Market Opportunities

2.9.1. Positive Steps Towards Sustainable Environment

2.10. Market Challenges

2.10.1. Complicated Coding Procedures



3. Global 4D Printing Market Outlook - by Material

3.1. Programmable Carbon Fiber

3.2. Programmable Wood

3.3. Programmable Textiles

3.4. Other Material



4. Global 4D Printing Market Outlook - by Industry Vertical

4.1. Military & Defense

4.2. Aerospace

4.3. Automotive

4.4. Textile

4.5. Healthcare

4.6. Others



5. Global 4D Printing Market - Regional Outlook

5.1. North America

5.1.1. Market by Material

5.1.2. Market by Industry Vertical

5.1.3. Country Analysis

5.1.3.1. United States

5.1.3.2. Canada

5.2. Europe

5.2.1. Market by Material

5.2.2. Market by Industry Vertical

5.2.3. Country Analysis

5.2.3.1. United Kingdom

5.2.3.2. Germany

5.2.3.3. France

5.2.3.4. Spain

5.2.3.5. Italy

5.2.3.6. Russia

5.2.3.7. Rest of Europe

5.3. Asia-Pacific

5.3.1. Market by Material

5.3.2. Market by Industry Vertical

5.3.3. Country Analysis

5.3.3.1. China

5.3.3.2. Japan

5.3.3.3. India

5.3.3.4. South Korea

5.3.3.5. Asean Countries

5.3.3.6. Australia & New Zealand

5.3.3.7. Rest of Asia-Pacific

5.4. Latin America

5.4.1. Market by Material

5.4.2. Market by Industry Vertical

5.4.3. Country Analysis

5.4.3.1. Brazil

5.4.3.2. Mexico

5.4.3.3. Rest of Latin America

5.5. Middle East and Africa

5.5.1. Market by Material

5.5.2. Market by Industry Vertical

5.5.3. Country Analysis

5.5.3.1. United Arab Emirates

5.5.3.2. Turkey

5.5.3.3. Saudi Arabia

5.5.3.4. South Africa

5.5.3.5. Rest of Middle East & Africa



6. Competitive Landscape

6.1. Stratasys Ltd

6.2. Autodesk Inc

6.3. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP

6.4. CT Coretechnologie Group

6.5. Envisiontec Inc

6.6. Exone

6.7. Organovo Holdings Inc

6.8. Arc Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (Aces)

6.9. Massachusetts Institute of Technology



7. Methodology & Scope



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/kgwad8

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CONTACT: CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900




BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug.12

Trend:

Some adversaries of our country who settled down abroad, as well as persons financed by the secret services of Armenia and receiving instructions from them, are conducting a slandering campaign against Azerbaijani military officials, the press service Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry told Trend.

According to the press service, the campaign is conducted to discredit First Deputy Defense Minister - Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Colonel General Najmaddin Sadigov, who have served for many years in the Azerbaijani army, and other high-ranked officers.

The press service said that the main goal of the campaigners is to make fabrications to undermine the growing image of Azerbaijani army.

"Their claims that during a recent operational meeting the General Staffs chief allegedly 'made offensive statements in connection with the arrival of Turkish servicemen at the joint exercises' [with Azerbaijani armed forces] are a lie and another fake," the press service said. "At the meeting, only official issues were discussed."

"The main intention of those who, by such despicable methods, act against the Azerbaijani army and our servicemen and publish biased articles, is to meet the interests of the Armenia, the occupying country. But these treacherous circles and the elements they put forward must know that they will never be able to fulfill their ill intentions," the press service stressed.

"We categorically reject them biased judgements of these people. We inform you that the spread of such misinformation today, in the course of Azerbaijani-Turkish Joint [Military] Tactical Exercises, is part of another provocation of the Armenian secret services against our country," added the ministry.
A year ago, the California Department of Education released a draft of guidelines for implementing ethnic studies in public high schools.

It unleashed a torrent of controversy  for good reason.

The 303-page document was ersatz Marxist agitprop that, if adopted, would have drummed into young minds the notion that in America, anyone not a white male is virtually enslaved.

At its core, the draft declared, the field of ethnic studies is the interdisciplinary study of race, ethnicity, and indigeneity with an emphasis on experiences of people of color in the United States. The field critically grapples with the various power structures and forms of oppression, including, but not limited to, white supremacy, race and racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, islamophobia, transphobia, and xenophobia, that continue to impact the social, emotional, cultural, economic, and political experiences of Native People(s) and people of color.

Dan Walters: Should California borrow more or tax more? The California Capitol's dominant Democrats are facing a prolonged fiscal crisis and are debating whether to borrow heavily or tax the rich to generate more spendable dollars, columnist Dan Walters says.

In critiquing systems of power, it advised, These are structures that have the capacity to control circumstances within economic, political, and/or social-cultural contexts. These systems are often controlled by those in power and go on to determine how society is organized and functions, adding, some examples of systems of power are: white supremacy, capitalism, and patriarchy.

Some of most pointed criticism came from Jewish legislators who said in a letter, We cannot support a curriculum that erases the American Jewish experience, fails to discuss anti-semitism, reinforces negative stereotypes about Jews, singles out Israel for criticism and would institutionalize the teaching of anti-semitic stereotypes in our public schools.

Hurriedly, state education officials, including Superintendent Tony Thurmond, promised a makeover. The new version is definitely toned down  less a call for social revolution and more a conventional academic outline.

Theres some irony in that transformation. The new draft was released as the fundamental change advocated in the first version was gaining currency in response to the suffocation death of a Black man, George Floyd, with the knee of a Minneapolis policeman on his neck.

Dan Walters: California economy faces tough slog In just a few weeks, California's economy went from boom to bust, leaving Californians wondering what the future holds, columnist Dan Walters says.

Nevertheless, the new draft still contains echoes of the previous proposal, to wit:

Ethnic studies should help students become more engaged locally and develop into effective civic participants and stronger social justice advocates, better able to contribute to constructive social change. It can also help students connect current resistance movements to those of the past, and to imagine new possibilities for a true democracy.

Theres another bit of irony in the declaration that ethnic studies can help students learn to present their ideas in strong, compelling, jargon-free language.

The draft itself is loaded with undecipherable jargon, such as saying ethnic studies help students conceptualize, imagine, and build new possibilities for post-imperial life that promotes collective narratives of transformative resistance, critical hope, and radical healing. Can anyone translate that?

Dan Walters: Two mayors seek more authority The mayors of two large California cities, Sacramento and San Jose, want to become "strong mayors" with executive authority, columnist Dan Walters says, but are learning that it's politically difficult.

When the Legislature required an ethnic studies curriculum to be created, its expressed rationale was that since Californians are a complex matrix of ethnicities and cultures, students should become more aware of who we are and how we got here.

No argument there. And theres absolutely nothing wrong with taking a warts-and-all approach, including slavery, genocidal treatment of native peoples and immigration patterns. Facts are facts, and we shouldnt shy away from them.

But ideological indoctrination, which the first draft clearly embraced and still colors the second, is not knowledge. The histories of America and California are not only tales of conflict, including a very bloody civil war, but also narratives of overcoming adversity and achievement, and well-balanced ethnic studies should include them as well.

The Legislature is weighing whether to make ethnic studies mandatory. If so, wed better get it right.

Watch Now: Meet homeless Californians trying to survive a pandemic

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how Californias state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary.

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Man with BB gun fatally shot by police WOOD RIVER  Illinois State Police are investigating an officer-involved shooting early Tuesday...

State GOP offer voter empowerment amendments SPRINGFIELD  Republicans in the Illinois Senate have again introduced a package of proposed...
- Kericho Senator Aaron Cheruiyot said the "system" froze bank accounts of senators who defied the revenue formula

- Cheruiyot said Kenyans had to win the war against impunity in the country

- This came hours after the Senate went for a recess a day after failing to agree on the allocation formula

Kericho Senator Aaron Cheruiyot has claimed the government has frozen bank accounts of MPs who opposed its stand on the revenue sharing formula.

Cheruiyot said senators who supported Senator Mithika Linturi's formula woke up to frozen bank accounts and "fictitious tax demands" from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).

READ ALSO: Nurse carries patient's baby on her back while she gets treated, photos go viral

The senator said Kenya had to win the war against impunity. Photo: Aaron Cheruiyot.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Woman who divorced hubby after 6 months cautions women against hacking partners' phones

Taking to Twitter, the Tanga Tanga lawmaker said the war against impunity had to be won at all costs.

"A number of senators who voted in support of Senator Linturi's amendment to the revenue formula report wake up to frozen bank accounts and fictitious tax demands from KRA," he said.

READ ALSO: Man catches girlfriend with another man after she took money from him to visit her sick brother

This came after Majority Whip Irungu Kang'ata said party members who defied the ruling party's position on the contentious formula would face consequences.

"There were some senators who are in positions of leadership in the party who decided on their own motion to go against the official position of the government. We expect some remedial action to be taken against them," he said.

Cheruiyot's sentiments came a day after the Upper House went on recess without solving the impasse.

READ ALSO: Chinese engineer who denied CAS Wavinya Ndeti access to Likoni footbridge project forced out

The lawmakers failed for the eighth time to approve the revenue sharing formula during the noisy Tuesday, August 11, sitting.

With the surprise notice of recess, Kenyans will have to wait for one more month to know the fate of the proposed formula.

Senators under the banner of Team Kenya supported Linturi's proposal which proposed that all the 47 counties share KSh 270 billion equally, down from the total KSh 316.5 billion proposed by Sakaja.

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

Source: TUKO.co.ke
By PSCU

President Uhuru Kenyatta has assured the country that he will not be derailed by politics in delivering his campaign pledges to Kenyans.

I will deliver on my pledge. I will deliver on my promise, the President said in reference to service delivery in Nairobi.

The President spoke on Wednesday at KICC in Nairobi when he presided over the issuance of 2,100 title deeds to landowners in Nairobi County.

The land ownership documents were issued to residents of Kayole, Dandora, Mathare and Kariobangi estates among other neighbourhoods in the citys Eastlands area.

A further 28,000 title deeds will be issued in the next two weeks to members of Embakasi Ranching in the ongoing national titling exercise that has seen the Government issue over 5 million title deeds since 2013.

The President urged recipients of the title deeds not to be duped into disposing off their land and instead utilise the documents to improve their wellbeing.

When you get your title deed, please be careful not to be cheated by little money to sell your land which youve fought for, for all these years. Keep it (title deed) and use it to help yourself, your children and your grand children, the President told the majority of elderly recipients.

On Nairobi politics, the President asked Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko to work with the Nairobi Metropolitan Service (NMS) in service delivery.

He said NMS is rolling out a comprehensive service delivery program that has seen it drill over 200 boreholes to provide free water, kick start the construction of 21 new hospitals and upgrading of access roads across the city in recent months.

Nairobi Governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko thanked the President for the development projects being implemented in Nairobi County by the national government through NMS.

The Nairobi Governor pledged to continue working with NMS to ensure seamless service delivery in the city.

NMS Director General Maj Gen. Mohamed Abdalla Badi said his agency is committed to continue implementing the mandate given to it by the Government.

He said the title deeds being issued to landowners in Nairobi will help unlock the citys business and investment potential.

The event was attended by Lands PS Dr Nicholas Muraguri and Nairobi Regional Coordinator Kangethe Thuku among other senior Government officials.
New Delhi, Aug 14 : A wanted criminal was shot in the leg and overpowered by a team of Delhi Police's Special Cell after a brief exchange of fire, police said on Thursday.

The gunfight with Ajay, wanted in a murder case of Aman Vihar and a proclaimed offender, took place in Sector 37 of Rohini area on Wednesday night.

According to police, the team tried to stop Ajay, who was on a motorcycle, but he accelerated and tried to flee. However, when he was intercepted after a brief chase, he abandoned his vehicle and tried to escape on foot after firing at his pursuers.

"He whipped out his pistol and fired two rounds at constable Atul. One of the bullets hit the bullet-proof jacket worn by the constable. In retaliation, SI Maninder fired at Ajay from his service pistol and hit his left leg. He was then overpowered by the police party. A pistol of .32 bore, with two live cartridges, was recovered from him. He was immediately rushed to the hospital," DCP, Special Cell, Sanjeev Kumar Yadav, said.

In 2013, Ajay, along with his associate Kalu, went to Rohini court where their associate Radhey Shyam was to be produced and tried to free him from custody after attacking the constable who was guarding him. However, they failed as Radhey Shyam was apprehended with the help of other police personnel.
The Silicon Valley data-mining firm Palantir Technologies is planning to go public in September via a direct listing rather than a traditional initial public offering, according to new reports.

The California-based company, founded in 2004 by investors including Peter Thiel, last month filed confidentially to go public, but details released this week shed more light on when and how.

Sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg of Palantir's plans for a direct listing, noting that nothing was finalized and the company could still change its plans.

A Palantir spokesperson did not immediately respond to an inquiry from DailyMail.com on Thursday morning.

Data-mining firm Palantir Technologies confidentially filed to go public, setting up what could be the biggest stock offering from a technology company since Uber's debut last year. Co founder Peter Thiel, pictured during the Republican National Convention in 2016

Palantir is in the process of raising $961 million, $550 million of which it has already secured, according to a July filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. That includes a $500 million investment from Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Holdings Inc. and $50 million from Fujitsu Ltd.

The new funding would make the direct listing route feasible, by securing capital from investors rather than IPO subscriptions.

A direct listing would allow the company's current shareholders, including investors and employees, to sell stock on the first day of trading, without the lockup period of an IPO.

Unlike an IPO, however, the company would not issue new shares for the offering -- but the method avoids the hefty fees charged by underwriters in an IPO.

The plans set up what could be the biggest stock offering from a technology company since Uber's debut last year.

Palantir works with governments, law enforcement agencies and the defense establishment to organize and analyze huge volumes of data.

The technology can be used to disrupt terrorist networks or battle human trafficking. Most recently, it was used by the White House to track coronavirus infections. Last year, Palantir won Army contracts potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

But the company has stirred controversy for upgrading Immigration and Customs Enforcement software used to track subjects for deportation. That led to on-campus campaigns to discourage recruitment and the picketing of CEO Alex Karps home.

The company has stirred controversy for upgrading ICE software that has been used in the Trump administration's deportation crackdown. That led to on-campus campaigns to discourage recruitment and the picketing of CEO Alex Karp's, pictured, home

Palantir's clients also include major banks and the UN's World Food Program.

The Palo Alto company has attracted venture capital from investors including In-Q-Tel, the Central Intelligence Agencys investment arm.

It has been weighing going public for years, with reluctance coming from the added scrutiny to the secretive nature of much of its business.

In March, Palantir won an $80million contract to build a logistics management system for the US Navy's warships and aircraft, according to The Washington Post.

In February, Palantir won an $823million contract to provide software to the Pentagon.

The firm has longstanding ties to some of the country's most feared intelligence and law enforcement agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Palantir has been weighing going public for years, with reluctance coming from the added scrutiny to the secretive nature of much of its business

In a prepared release last month, Palantir said it had submitted its filing to the Security and Exchange Commission for confidential review and that a public stock listing is expected afterward 'subject to market and other conditions.'

Despite the massive disruptions caused by the pandemic, a number of tech companies have gone public this year including Vroom, which sells used vehicles online, and Lemonade, an insurance start up.

Thiel, once President Donald Trump's most prominent supporter in Silicon Valley, is also said to be distancing himself from this year's presidential campaign because he feels re-election is unlikely.

The venture capitalist who made his fortune as co-founder of PayPal, was one of the few tech leaders to publicly back Trump in 2016.

He donated $1.25million to his campaign and described him as the man who could rebuild America during the Republican National Convention.
There was a time when the region was frowned on in Arabic political discourse. Although the word does not immediately signify a political entity or political boundaries, there was always a concern that it might be used to circumvent Arab nation, which was closer and dearer to the pan-Arab spirit, or to dilute Arab identity into a larger region such as the Middle East or Greater Middle East, which would come along later. However, region eventually acquired some acceptance, at least outside the Arab nationalist framework. In the 1980s, for example, we began to speak of the Arab Gulf region as epitomised by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). There followed similar councils such as the Arab Cooperation Council and the Maghreb Nations Cooperation Council. Some of these councils faded away or lost their efficacy, but they all stood for distinct regions characterised by territorial contiguity and good neighbourly relations.

Other parts of the world, from East to West Africa and from South to Southeast Asia, have seen the rise of similar regions. Benelux and the Nordic Council are concrete examples in Europe, and Mercosur is another example in South America. Cooperative regions have also formed among countries in the same river basin, such as the Danube, Amazon and Mekong. The Eastern Mediterranean Region is a newcomer and a new type of region. Rather than organising cooperation in a navigational zone, its purpose is to strengthen cooperation in the production of natural wealth; in this case, oil and gas. To lay the cornerstones of a maritime region, it was necessary to demarcate maritime borders. This took place in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) which, since its conclusion in 1982, has become one of the main instruments of international law for delineating the boundaries of maritime regions and the economic zones of their constituent states.

If the maritime border agreement signed between Egypt and Saudi Arabia on 8 April 2016 laid the foundations for a Red Sea economic cooperation region between the two countries and, perhaps, a security cooperation zone between them and other Red Sea countries, the maritime economic zone border agreement that Egypt and Cyprus signed on 17 February 2003 made it possible to invite other Eastern Mediterranean nations to cooperate in the extraction, processing and marketing of oil and gas. Efforts towards this end culminated in the creation of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) in 2019, bringing together Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Israel, Cyprus, Greece and Italy. Then followed the Greek-Italian maritime boundary agreement concluded in June this year and the Egyptian-Greek maritime boundary agreement signed 6 August. In addition, Egypt and Cyprus signed an agreement to pump Cypriot gas to Egypt for liquefaction and reexport while another agreement was signed between Egypts Malfins firm and the US-based Noble Energy firm, which operates the Israeli gas fields, to pump gas to Egypt for the same purposes.

The foregoing political and legal transactions were set into motion by the discoveries of large underwater gas fields, such as the Israeli Tamar and Leviathan fields, Cypruss Aphrodite and Egypts Zohr field. The United States Geological Survey recently estimated that the Eastern Mediterranean basin contains natural gas worth from $700 billion to $3 trillion.

But the Eastern Mediterranean region is not just about geo-economics connected with the sources, utilisation and distribution of wealth and the realisation of prosperity for participant nations. It also says quite a bit about geopolitics, because it is a region adjacent to areas teeming with historical conflicts, conflicting interests and arms races, such as the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Greek-Turkish conflict. Although Egypt and Jordan have signed peace agreements with Israel and cooperation agreements in various fields, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is still seething even if both the Palestinian Authority and Israel are part of the EMGF. In addition, the climate between Israel and Syria and Lebanon is still volatile because of Iranian interventions in the latter two countries. Although the US tried to intervene to help delineate the maritime border between Israel and Lebanon, the negotiations failed to produce an agreement.

The EMGF region also abuts on the Syrian crisis with its nearly decade-long civil war that has invited Russian, Turkish and Iranian intervention which, in turn, triggered other crises and disputes.

But perhaps more importantly, it borders on Turkey which has begun to threaten the entire region. This is less because it also has a shore overlooking the Eastern Mediterranean than because of a host of complexities starting with its disputes with Greece over maritime borders and passing through that long-lasting dispute over Cyprus, which is divided between the predominantly Greek Republic of Cyprus, which is a member of the EU, and the Turkish-occupied Turkish Republic of Cyprus, which no one recognises apart from Turkey.

More ominously, Turkey has taken its historical contradictions and complexes deep into the Mediterranean and all the way across to Libya where it signed an agreement with the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) to demarcate a maritime border where no one could logically exist. Such actions have triggered a major crisis in the entire Mediterranean. If, on the surface, it appears to centre on who controls Libya (and, by extension, access to Libyan oil), it essentially involves a Turkish bid to secure a big enough seat for itself on Middle East tables to force others to recognise a de facto state that no one has recognised to date, thinking that this will legitimise Turkish warships harassment of Egypt, Greece and others in the Mediterranean while its drill ships dig for gas and oil in others economic waters. In the meantime, Turkey continues to make war in Iraq and Syria and to transfer its mercenaries to Libya.

The Eastern Mediterranean region is manifested in a form of regional cooperation that offers member states the opportunities for development, progress, mutual dependency and even peace among disputants. Unfortunately, Turkey has a leadership that sees itself as a latter-day Ottoman conqueror. It is in the process of escalating a southern expansionist drive, taking advantage of balances of powers that are skewed in its favour, especially in light of the sapped strength and resources of both Syria and Iraq. Iran is no countervailing force because of Ankaras relations with Tehran, directly or via Syria and Lebanon. Nor does Israel stand in its way, due to Ankaras eagerness to play Israeli ally when it suits it and to play advocate for Palestinian rights when expedient.

In order to confront the Turkish threat to the Middle East, the Arabs will need to reverse the balance of powers between them and Turkey, and they will need to devise a vision for managing strategic alliances opposed to Ankaras dangerous ambitions.

The writer is chairman of the board, CEO and director of the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 13 August, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Teens sue Ariz. Medicaid program, claiming discrimination for not funding trans surgeries

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Two teenagers in Arizona have sued the state's Medicaid program, arguing that the state was violating their civil rights by declining to pay for gender transition surgeries.

Reportsindicate that approximately 100 residents of the Grand Canyon state may be affected by this lawsuit, which is aiming to create a class action for Medicaid recipients under the age of 21 wishing to have their breasts amputated, euphemistically referred to as "chest reconstruction." Presently, Arizona's Medicaid agency bans such surgical procedures.

This particular class is defined in the lawsuit as "individuals who have been unable and will be unable" to acquire coverage through the state's Health Care Cost Containment System "for medically necessary male chest reconstruction surgery because of the [prohibition], and as a result, have faced or will face delayed or denied access to these medically necessary treatments."

Under the banner of anti-discrimination provisions in the Affordable Care Act, the claimants argue that a 1982 state ban on using Medicaid funds is an affront to their civil rights.

The lawsuit goes on to argue that two biological females who came out as transgender a few years ago experienced challenges as puberty started changing their bodies and that they had to rely on breast binders and heavy hoodies, which is not easy in the Arizona summer heat, in order to appear more masculine.



Categorically excluding surgical treatment for gender dysphoria impermissibly discriminates against transgender people, said Asaf Orr, director of the Transgender Youth Project at the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

There is no legitimate justification for Arizonas refusal to provide this critical care to transgender Medicaid recipients. Instead, excluding that care creates unnecessary barriers that prevent transgender young people from thriving in every aspect of their lives and can cause lifelong harms.

Presently, 22 states and Washington, D.C., cover transgender medical practices through government agencies. Eighteen states have no explicit policy and 10 states prohibit it.

The lawsuit comes amid fluctuating laws, policies and regulations pertaining to transgender-identifying people.

In June, the Health and Human Services Department returned to its previous policy definition of "sex" as solely biological, male and female. The Obama-era HHS had added "gender identity" as part of its definition of sex.

Days later, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized "transgender status" as a legitimate category as it relates to sex discrimination employment law in Bostock v. Clayton County. The decision consolidated three cases, two of which centered around gay employees being fired and one transgender-identified male who presented as a woman being fired. How the interpretation in Bostock will be extended and applied in other areas of law remains to be seen.

Last month, several Democratic state attorneys general filed a suit against the Trump administration in an effort to stop the revision of the HHS policy returning agency language and standards to the biological definition of sex.

Transgender activists have long claimed that experimental gender-transition medical practices and procedures such as cross-sex hormones and surgeries are necessary medical care for their mental health and well-being.

Earlier this month, the American Journal of Psychiatry published a correction to a study that was released last year claiming that gender-transition surgeries proved beneficial to the mental health of patients who had undergone such procedures.

Upon further review of the data, the study demonstrated no advantage of surgery in relation to subsequent mood or anxiety disorder-related health care visits or prescriptions or hospitalizations following suicide attempts," the correction note from the authors read.
Israel and the United Arab Emirates reached a historic peace deal on Thursday that will lead to a full normalisation of diplomatic relations between the two Middle Eastern nations in an agreement that US President Donald Trump helped broker.



The announcement makes the UAE the first Gulf Arab state to do so and only the third Arab nation to have active diplomatic ties to Israel.

Trump tweeted a statement from the countries, acknowledging the deal. He then told reporters in the Oval Office that it was a truly historic moment".

Now that the ice has been broken I expect more Arab and Muslim countries will follow the United Arab Emirates, he said.

Trump said the leaders of Israel and the United Arab Emirates would sign their historic peace accord in the White House in around three weeks.

The deal grants a rare diplomatic win to Trump ahead of the November election as his efforts to see an end to the war in Afghanistan have yet to come to fruition while efforts to bring peace between Israel and the Palestinians have made no headway.

Netanyahu hails new era

For Israel, the announcement comes after years of boasting by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that his government enjoys closer ties to Arab nations than publicly acknowledged. Netanyahu has sought to build settlements on lands sought by the Palestinians and embraced a Trump proposal that would allow him to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank while granting Palestinians limited autonomy in other areas.

Netanyahu said it was a "historic day" that launched a "new era" for the Arab world and Israel.

For the UAE, home to skyscraper-studded Dubai and the rolling, oil-rich sand dunes of Abu Dhabi, it further burnishes its international campaign to be seen as a beacon of tolerance in the Middle East despite being governed by autocratic rulers. It also puts the UAE out first in a regional recognition race among neighbouring Gulf Arab states.

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The UAE's leader Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan quickly stressed in a tweet that "during a call with President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, an agreement was reached to stop further Israeli annexation of Palestinian territories".

However, Netanyahu then said in a national television address that he had only agreed to delay annexations in the occupied West Bank, that the plans remained "on the table" and that he would "never give up our rights to our land".

For the Palestinians, who long have relied on Arab backing in their struggle for independence, the announcement marked both a win and setback. While Thursday's deal halts Israeli annexation plans, the Palestinians have repeatedly urged Arab governments not to normalise relations with Israel until a peace agreement establishing an independent Palestinian state is reached.

President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas voiced his "strong rejection and condemnation" of the deal called for an emergency meeting of the Arab League.

In a statement, Abbas called the deal an "aggression" against the Palestinian people and a "betrayal" of their cause, including their claim to Jerusalem as a capital of their future state.

Hamas, the Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip, rejected the Israel-UAE pact as "a reward for the Israeli occupation and crimes" and said it "does not serve the Palestinian people".

A joint statement from the US, the UAE and Israel was issued immediately after Trump's tweet. It said delegations would meet in the coming weeks to sign deals on direct flights, security, telecommunications, energy, tourism and healthcare. The two countries also will partner on fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

Opening direct ties between two of the Middle East's most dynamic societies and advanced economics will transform the region by spurring economic growth, enhancing technological innovation and forging closer people-to-people relations, said the statement by Trump, Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the day-to-day ruler of the UAE. It said the leaders had a three-way call discussing the deal.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised the deal.

This is a remarkable achievement for two of the worlds most forward leaning, technologically advanced states, and reflects their shared regional vision of an economically integrated region, he said in a statement. It also illustrates their commitment to confronting common threats, as small  but strong  nations.

He added: "Blessed are the peacemakers. Mabruk and Mazal Tov.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also offered warm words. "The UAE and Israels decision to normalise relations is hugely good news," he wrote on Twitter.

"It was my profound hope that annexation did not go ahead in the West Bank and todays agreement to suspend those plans is a welcome step on the road to a more peaceful Middle East," Johnson continued.

For his part, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said hoped the Israel-UAE deal can help realise a two-state solution with the Palestinians for peace in the Middle East.

Guterres said annexation would "effectively close the door" on negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders and "destroy the prospect" of a viable Palestinian state under a two-state solution.

Among Arab nations, only Egypt and Jordan have active diplomatic ties with Israel. Egypt made a peace deal with Israel in 1979, followed by Jordan in 1994. Mauritania recognised Israel in 1999, but later ended relations in 2009 over the Israels war in Gaza at the time.

In addition to Trump, the main US mediators for agreement were the presidents senior advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner, special Mideast envoy Avi Berkowitz and David Friedman, the US ambassador to Israel.

The UAE is a US-allied federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula. Formed in 1971, the country like other Arab nations at the time did not recognise Israel over its occupation of land home to the Palestinians.

Arab oil is not dearer than Arab blood, the UAEs founding ruler, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, once pronounced when agreeing to an oil boycott over US military support to Israel in the 1973 Mideast war.

Domestic boost for Netanyahu

The UAE relied on white-collar Palestinians in creating its nation. Over time, it maintained its stance that Israel allow the creation of a Palestinian state on land it seized in the 1967 war.

But in recent years, ties between Gulf Arab nations and Israel have quietly grown, in part over their shared enmity of Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Prince Mohammed also shares Israels distrust of Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and the militant group Hamas that holds the Gaza Strip.

Iran's Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated to the country's elite Revolutionary Guards, denounced Thursday's deal between Israel and the UAE on as "shameful".

It remains unclear what prompted Israel and the UAE to make the announcement now. In June, the United Arab Emirates ambassador to the US warned in an Israeli newspaper op-ed that Israels planned annexing the Jordan Valley and other parts of the occupied West Bank would upend Israels efforts to improve ties with Arab nations.

The agreement gives Netanyahu a domestic boost at a time when Israels shaky coalition government is plagued by infighting and facing the possibility of early elections in the coming months. Netanyahu has seen his popularity plummet as the country grapples with a renewed coronavirus outbreak and skyrocketing unemployment as the result of earlier lockdown measures.

Netanyahu also delivered a valuable diplomatic achievement to his good friend, Trump, ahead of US elections.

Still, by dropping the annexation plan Netanyahu may be hedging his bets ahead of a possible change in the White House. Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, has made clear that he would oppose any moves by Israel to unilaterally redraw the Mideast map and annex lands sought by the Palestinians.

Netanyahu also risked criticism inside his own hard-line Likud Party, whose members strongly supported annexation. Netanyahu appears to be betting that Likud members  and the small, but influential settler movement  will agree the peace agreement delivers more benefits than unilateral annexation. Opinion polls have shown that annexation is not a high priority for the vast majority of the Israeli public.

Abandoning its annexation plan changes little on the ground. Israel already holds overall control of the West Bank and continues to expand its settlements there, while granting the Palestinians autonomy in a series of disconnected enclaves. Some 500,000 Israelis now live in the rapidly expanding West Bank settlements.

Next year, Israel will take part in the UAEs delayed Expo 2020, the worlds fair being hosted by Dubai. A secret synagogue also draws practising Jews in Dubai. The UAE also has announced plans to build the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi, which will house a mosque, a church and a synagogue.

Israelis traveling with Western passports routinely enter the UAE without a problem, though one still cant make a phone call between the two countries. Israelis also work in Dubais gold and diamond trade as well.

Emirati officials also have allowed Israeli officials to visit and the Israeli national anthem was played after an athlete won gold in an Abu Dhabi judo tournament. Israel also has a small mission representing its interests at the International Renewable Energy Agency in Abu Dhabi.

(FRANCE 24 with AP and REUTERS)
The retailer apologised over its colour description. (Getty Images)

Marks & Spencer has apologised after a customer described her online shopping experience as hurtful, due to a racist name given to a bra in a darker skin tone.

Kusi Kimani, 29, noted that the colours of the 12 skin-toned bras all had different names.

The lighter colours were named after sweet treats, from fudge to cinnamon, whereas the darkest colour available on the website was called tobacco.

Why not call it cocoa, caramel or chocolate  sweet dessert items? But they used tobacco. I was shocked when I saw it, Kimani told The Mirror.

The 'tobacco' bra colour has since been removed from the website. (M&S)

Its hurtful to me and my friends. If a young girl who is already uncomfortable with the colour of her skin (sees it) she will be feeling even more alienated.

Kimani added that tobacco is unhealthy and that seeing it used to describe a skin tone could make young women feel unwanted by society.

Read more: M&S popular anti-chafing shorts now come in longer length

The bra is no longer listed on the M&S website as coming in the tobacco shade, the colour options are now fudge, deep auburn and cinnamon.

Speaking about Kimanis experience, Marks & Spencer issued an apology.

In June we shared our commitments to being a truly inclusive place to shop and work and were honest that we have more to do and more to learn, the statement read.

As part of this, we are reviewing our ranges, supported by our BAME network, to ensure we have lingerie items that are flattering and suitable for all customers.

All of our product colour names have been taken from a design colour palette used across the industry, but we agree with Kusi. We are changing the name of the bra colour and are writing to Kusi to confirm that, and let her know that were sorry for not moving faster.

Read more: Ruth Langsford channels the Duchess of Cambridge in this M&S dress

This isnt the first time that M&S has made a change after customer backlash.

Last year it renamed its Pornstar Martini after people accused the retailer of normalising porn. The drinks name was changed to Passion Star Martini to fall in line with guidance from an independent complaints panel.

Story continues

Early last year, the retailer was also accused of cultural appropriation after the launch of its vegan biriyani wrap. One chef said that the wrap didnt contain the right ingredients to be called a classic biriyani, a sentiment that many people on social media shared.
Here's a reality: as Joe Biden's vice-presidential pick, Kamala Harris is certain to face sexism during this campaign. And based on what we know from research about women in politics, it will manifest in some subtle and not-so-subtle ways - from her opponents, yes, but also from voters who may not realise the gender-specific expectations they put on female candidates. Such as:

- Whether voters like her will be a major factor in how they perceive her. Research, from the non-partisan group Barbara Lee Family Foundation, shows that women have to prove they're likeable before they receive a person's vote. By contrast, voters will cast a ballot for a man they agree with but don't necessarily like.

- She'll have to be tough, but not too tough. Harris, like all vice-presidential candidates, must show she has the leadership skills to be commander in chief, if necessary. "But," warned Amanda Hunter of the Barbara Lee Family Foundation, "if she appears too tough, then she could jeopardise her likeability, and that's a non-negotiable for women".

We got a glimpse of how toughness comes across on Harris during the 2020 presidential primary when she was running for president. In a debate, she attacked Biden for his record on civil rights and contrasted his hesitation on mandatory busing to how she benefited from a policy integrating schools.

Biden's wife, Jill, described it as "like a punch to the gut".

Harris later chalked it up to politics. Harris was recently accused by people in Biden's orbit of not being apologetic enough for her attacks. (Biden has indicated that he holds no grudges against her for it.)

Still, a tough debate performance in her one vice-presidential debate against Mike Pence might be a smart move for Harris. Hunter said research found that a strong debate was an indicator to voters that this woman is "strong enough" to lead.

:: She'll have to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that she's qualified for executive office.

Women are under-represented in government and politics, but especially in executive offices, like governor's mansions and, of course, presidential tickets. Voters don't seem to inherently trust that a woman is qualified to be the final decision-maker.

Last year, I wrote that it was no coincidence that many of the women running for president put a premium on coming up with detailed policy proposals. ("She has a plan for that," was Senator Elizabeth Warren's unofficial slogan.)

And when she was running for president earlier this year, Senator Amy Klobuchar talked about the CV of fellow candidate Pete Buttigieg, a small-town mayor, and wondered whether voters would give talented women with such CVs a chance.

Fair or not, this gender-specific qualification has particular resonance for the Biden-Harris ticket. He's 77, and it's possible he may not run for a second term, meaning Harris could have a head start on running for president in four years. All vice-presidential picks face that scrutiny, but Harris will probably face more than most.

"There is still an entrenched stereotype in this country of what a successful vice-presidential candidate looks like," Ms Hunter said, "because for hundreds of years, it was a straight white man."

- She'll have to work as hard as Biden to show that she can handle a crisis. And the US is in a few of those. The Barbara Lee Family Foundation found voters say this is their top priority in a female candidate. So Harris probably can't rest on Biden's experience alone in her campaigning.

- She'll have to be confident, but not appear arrogant. "Voters will not like Harris if she does not seem confident," Ms Hunter said. And voters use several factors to size that up - a woman's clothing, her demeanour and her tone of voice. It's one reason women are often accused of shouting. You're hard-pressed to find a male politician being criticised for his voice volume.

"I haven't been shouting," Hillary Clinton said deliberately calmly at a 2016 presidential debate. "But sometimes when a woman speaks out, people think it's shouting."

- She'll have to work doubly hard at all of this as a woman of colour. Ms Hunter said there is "basically no room for mistakes" for both female politicians, but especially women of colour, who have to work harder than anyone else to show their qualifications.

But Ms Hunter also said Harris has a unique chance to redefine how women campaign at the highest levels of politics. It's just so rare to have a vice-presidential nominee of a major party be a woman, and Harris will be the first black and Asian American woman to run for the No 2 job.

Maybe there's a way for Harris to break some of the "rules" of women in politics and still be well received. That would be a glass ceiling of its own being shattered.
Even if Joe Biden never gets elected president, he has already managed to bring both sides together on a key issue:

Both Democrats and Republicans like his choice of Kamala Harris to be his running mate.

My Democratic friends are of the opinion this is a move that will vault their man  and woman - into the White House.

Typical was Ray Lesniak, the retired long-time state senator from Union County who has some considerable skills in the art of political analysis.

This seals the election, Lesniak told me. First of all, it solidifies the African-American vote, for sure. And it pulls the rug out of Trumps argument that a Biden presidency would bring lawlessness to the country when he just selected a tough, no-nonsense former prosecutor to be his vice-presidential candidate.

Meanwhile Republicans are happy to have Harris as a target in the 82 days remaining before the Nov. 3 election.

Polls show this is a race that will be decided much the same way the 2016 race was decided  in a number of swing states, many of which are in the Midwest.

California is already solidly in Bidens corner. So is the African-American vote.

So just what does Biden gain by nominating an African-American from California?

Not much, said Larry Bathgate, an Ocean County resident who served as finance chairman of George H.W. Bushs successful 1988 campaign.

You cant look at a national poll. That has nothing to do with electability, Bathgate said. The Electoral College is winner-take-all.

Those million-plus margins the Dems run up in states like California and New York may make for a nice popular-vote total. But in the last cycle Trump realized the importance of winning the swing states in what is commonly known as the Rust Belt. He chose as his running-mate a soft-spoken governor from Indiana named Mike Pence.

Pence also enhanced Trumps appeal to evangelical voters, Bathgate said, adding that Pence and his wife Karen are church-goers and wear their Christianity on their cuffs.

The Pence choice helped Trump gain acceptance for the ticket in states like Michigan and Wisconsin. Meanwhile Pences solid and sober behavior left Trump free to be Trump.

So even if you dislike Trump, you cant fault his pick for vice president - at least from a tactical perspective.

As for the Democratic ticket, my friends dont want my advice. But I would have told them to pick a different ex-prosecutor who was in the running for president. Thats Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar. She acquitted herself admirably in the primary debates earlier in the year.

Then theres Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Either of those two match-ups would create more problems for the Republicans, Bathgate said. But Biden made a mistake back in March, he said.

Joe screwed himself up by saying he wanted a woman as his running-mate, said Bathgate.

Biden would have been wiser to simply state he would pick the most qualified candidate and later announcing that the most qualified just happened to be whatever woman he picked.

But once he put himself in that corner, Biden found himself in another one. After the racial strife following the George Floyd killing, Biden was pressured to name an African-American woman as his running mate. Earlier this week, a group of about 100 prominent Black leaders signed an open letter calling on him to nominate a woman.

As someone who has said throughout the campaign that VP Joe Biden needs to choose a Black woman VP, the urgency for that pick has gone from something that SHOULD happen to something that HAS to happen, the letter said.

Now that its happened, Biden has a new problem. His pick for the No. 2 spot is more charismatic and energetic than he is.

Bathgate recalled meeting with Biden as recently as six years ago, when the then-vice president named him to an advisory board.

Hes a likable guy, Bathgate said. But the guy I knew in 2014 is not the guy Im watching on television in 2020.

It was evident during the primary campaign that Bidens best days were behind him. But the party was forced to unite on a candidate who could ward off Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

I suspect that if the Democrats had a do-over, they wouldnt pick this ticket. The race is likely to be decided in whats known as flyover country, yet they have two candidates from coastal states.

The Democrats argue that having Harris on the ticket will help bring out the Black vote in those swing states. But Blacks already vote Democratic by large margins, so I doubt that will be a winning formula.

My Democratic friends and I will have to agree to disagree - until Nov. 3.

Then well find the answer to this geography quiz.
And the third would be "omnichannel isnt a dirty word. Online sales can be higher margin if you get it right".

The second would be "how to best capitalise on the financial assistance the government has to offer and still pay a dividend".

His first lecture would be titled "playing hardball - the art of taking no prisoners".

Billionaire rag trader Solomon Lew has just provided the retail industry with lessons on how to win during the COVID pandemic. And it isnt about changing the product from frocks to face masks or from suits to hand sanitisers.

Lew could follow that up with a special tutorial for retail landlords on "why we dont need to be in your mall anymore - unless you give us a big rent reduction".

So lets unpack how these insights have played into how Lews Premier Retail has managed to turn a second half COVID-19- induced 18 per cent drop in sales into a gain in earnings before interest and tax of up to 11.7 per cent - a record breaking $59.7 million.

Premier's take no prisoners approach began when in March virtually all of its Australian and international stores were closed. Lew immediately enacted a moratorium on rent for the period over which the company was receiving no bricks and mortar store revenue.

Given rent is one of the largest costs incurred in retail, this mitigates a decent proportion of the groups cash burn.

Then there was Jobkeeper. It was a game-changer that allowed Premiers 9000 stood down staff to be retained and paid by the government while not working. The bonus kicker for companies that receive Jobkeeper is that even when staff are working again their salaries are subsidised to the tune of $1500 a fortnight by the government - and this will continue until September. And there are plenty of Premiers staff back behind the shop counters because most outlets (other than in Melbourne) are open again.
AA Ecolog Deutschland performs COVID-19 tests at Bavaria's three largest airports for travelers returning back to Germany AA The test program is designed to provide German returnees with the opportunity to conduct COVID-19 RT-PCR tests to ensure early detection and help break the infection cycle AA Contract was awarded expeditiously following a public tender DASSELDORF, Germany, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ecolog Deutschland, part of the Ecolog International Group, a leading global provider of integrated services, rapid response and mobile infrastructure, technology, environmental solutions, logistics, screening and diagnostics, has been awarded the contract by the Bavarian State Office for Health and Food Safety (LGL) to perform COVID-19 tests at the three largest airports in Bavaria for travelers returning back to Germany.A A Following the announcement of Germany's Health Ministry to provide COVID-19 tests for travelers returning back from certain countries to Germany and the State of Bavaria's timely decision to roll-out a largeascale testing project through setting-up testing facilities across the State in an effort to prevent surge in COVID-19 cases, the Bavarian State Office for Health and Food Safety has decided to establish COVID-19 test stations for travelers arriving at international airports in Munich, NArnberg and Memmingen. Ecolog Deutschland has been tasked to establish and operate the testing stations across the three Bavarian airports and to manage and integrate the pre-analytics, logistics and analytics for the complete testing cycle. The project a one of the first in Germany a has a very demanding timeline. Upon receiving the contract award, Ecolog started the preparations on July 30th and put the required infrastructure in place, while the takeover was conducted on July 31st at the airport in Memmingen, followed by Munich and NArnberg on August 3rd. Until today, thousands of tests have been performed. As part of its economic sustainability philosophy, Ecolog has made efforts to integrate the local and regional companies as subcontractors in various aspects. The COVID-19 RT-PCR tests are free of charge and mandatory for travelers arriving from high-risk origins as per the Robert Koch Institute listing, while returnees from non-high-risk countries are provided with the opportunity to conduct a test at one of the three airports to enhance public safety and minimize the risk and impact of a potential second wave, with the aim to avoid further economic impact and restrictions. The project is not the first time Ecolog has been entrusted to support public sector with large-scale testing. Ecolog's Screening & Diagnostics Solution was successfully deployed in Luxembourg a few months back, enabling the pioneering nation-wide COVID-19 testing project by the country. The project has offered a capacity of up to 20,000 tests per day. Commenting on the contract award, Ali Vezvaei Group CEO of Ecolog said: "We are pleased to have been selected for this project and are more so committed to ensure reliability and quality of services. Our team is working around the clock to ensure a smooth transition and we are grateful to all stakeholders for their close collaboration so that we can jointly make this project a success for all involved." Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1228305/Ecolog_Deutschland.jpg Contact: Ecolog Deutschland Thomas Hueser

Phone.: +49 (0) A 173A 578 54 63

thomas.hueser@ecolog-international.com

www.ecolog-international.com A A
The Government of Ghana through the Ministry of Communications and its implementing agency, National Information Technology Agency (NITA), is deploying its Smart Workplace solution to all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs).



The piloting of the Smart Workplace solution commenced in 2018. However, the Government, accelerated its deployment amongst public agencies in the wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic. This is to enable public sector workers work remotely and virtually in order to reduce personal contacts, curb the spread COVID-19 and ensure that public sector workers are safe.



The rollout of the Smart Workplace is being carried out by NITA in collaboration with eSolutions Consulting, the firm contracted to design and implement the Smart Workplace platform. So far, almost 300 government agencies including the Ghana Health Service have been connected to the solution, trained on its usage and are working with it.



The Smart Workplace solution has over 19 features and several benefits. It provides Staff with a highly efficient work environment by providing a single access point to all resources employees will need for their daily tasks. These include; Enterprise Email, Calendar, Microsoft Teams (video conferencing), Document Management, Correspondence Management, Electronic Memos, Corporate News/Announcements, Enterprise Search, Task Management, Knowledge Management, and Workflow Automation. The rest are Business Intelligence and Analytics, Timesheet, Project Monitoring, Business Application Access, Notifications, Survey, Media Gallery and Mobile Access.



Smart Workplace also helps to automate manual business processes such as Leave, Vehicle and Payment requests, as well as Stores Requisitions.



The Acting Director General, Mr. Richard Okyere-Fosu said, the Smart Workplace is the government-endorsed secured platform for MDAs and MMDAs, and it is mandatory for all of them to be onboarded.



He continued by saying, as we are all aware, we are now in what we call the new-normal and the greater majority of employees all over the country and other parts of the world including government employees need to work from different locations. The best way to promote efficiency and safety is to arm them with tools and resources which will enable them work remotely and digitally.



Mr. Okyere-Fosu said, NITA has the expertise and resources required to connect and provide the necessary training for government agencies on the use of the Smart Workplace. All government agencies which have not yet been onboarded to the Smart Workplace should therefore follow the processes put in place to enable them get onboarded.



Sharing her thoughts about the new platform, the Honourable Minister for Communications, Mrs. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, said, the Smart Workplace is a useful tool for all users, but to derive maximum benefit from it, constant practice is required. She said, we need these virtual assistants now more than ever in this pandemic for they allow us to work remotely and safely, without sacrificing speed and efficiency.



She urged all public workers to get conversant with the new normal and the new way of working in order to increase productivity. The Honourable Minister, continued by saying, changing our way of doing things is not easy but with practice, we will become more comfortable using these digital tools. Smart Workplace will help with the transition. She again urged all user agencies to give NITA the necessary feedback and support to ensure a successful implementation of the project.



NITA has already sent forms to agencies for them to fill. The forms are also available at NITAs website on www.nita.gov.gh.



NITA is the Government of Ghanas agency established under the Ministry of Communications by an Act of Parliament (Act 771), and mandated with the primary objective to regulate the provision of Information Communications Technology (ICT), ensure the provision of quality information communications technology, promote standards of efficiency and to ensure high quality of service.



NITA is fully committed to providing the highest quality of service to its clients and create safe systems for them to work.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Indian-origin Senator Kamala Harris, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's running mate in the 2020 presidential election, is now a household name in India. Why? Because of her Indian roots. Kamala, who is the first Asian-American woman and the first woman of colour to be selected as the vice-presidential nominee on the Democratic ticket, is half Indian and half Jamaican.

Seen as a woman from Indian soil, Kamala's extended family in India is excited about her nomination. "I miss my elder sister. She was the one who brought the children up so well. She brought them up with good values and views," Dr Sarala Gopalan, Kamala's aunt, told India Today.

Hailing from a Brahmin household in Tamil Nadu, Kamala had a liberal upbringing. In fact, in her biography, she wrote about the influence that her grandfather, PV Gopalan, who was an Indian diplomat, had in shaping the lives of both her mother and Kamala.

Remembering Kamala as a caring, progressive and outgoing person, Dr. Sarala says, "We have seen her as a child, as a teenager, and we have seen her as this grown-up woman. She is considerate and kind, talks to everybody and she is a courageous woman."

She also recalled Kamala's visits to India and stated that "Whenever she comes to India, she always visits us though it has been a few years since she last came here." Dr. Sarala attended Kamala's swearing-in ceremony as a senator and fondly says that "right from her childhood she (Kamala) knew what she wanted."

Meanwhile, her maternal uncle Dr. G. Balachandran told the news website, "I spoke to her when I was in the States and I communicate through my daughter. In these times when there is a possibility of hacking emails etc, I like to keep away so nobody can say she is influenced by her family in India. I keep in touch through my daughter who is in Washington. They are very close. I did send her a congratulatory message this morning."

Her sister, Maya Harris, also took to Twitter to express her happiness. "You can't know who @KamalaHarris is without knowing who our mother was. Missing her terribly, but know she and the ancestors are smiling today," Maya tweeted.

You cant know who @KamalaHarris is without knowing who our mother was. Missing her terribly, but know she and the ancestors are smiling today. #BidenHarris2020 pic.twitter.com/nmWVj90pkA Maya Harris (@mayaharris_) August 12, 2020

Kamala's father is from Jamaica and her late mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, was an Indian who hailed from Tamil Nadu, Chennai. A cancer researcher by profession, Shyamala Gopalan Harris moved to the United States (US) at the age of 19 in 1960 and settled there. She pursued a doctorate in endocrinology at the University of California, Berkeley.

She met Jamaican national Donald Harris at university who was studying economics there and eventually married him.

Screengrab from video shared by Kamala Harris's sister Maya Harris on Twitter

Kamala was born in Oakland, California on October 20, 1964. Her younger sister Maya was born on January 30, 1967, and is a lawyer, public policy advocate, and television commentator. She also worked in Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

Although Kamala always considered herself black, she often talked about her Indian roots, which included her visits to Chennai, when she was young, to spend summers with her grandfather who was a civil servant in the government.

Kamala's parents separated when she and her sister Maya were young.

Shyamala passed away in 2009, while Donald Harris teaches at Stanford University.

Former American President Barack Obama praised Harris and said, "I've known Senator @KamalaHarris for a long time. She is more than prepared for the job. She's spent her career defending our constitution and fighting for folks who need a fair shake. This is a good day for our country. Now let's go win this thing."
Aaron Brady showed no emotion when the guilty verdict was read out to him in Court 19 of the Criminal Courts of Justice.

However, for the family of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe, it was like a pressure valve being released, and after the strain of six-and-a-half years their tears flowed freely.

They have now turned their attention to seeing justice is served on the five other criminals involved in the Lordship credit union raid that night.

The family thanked everyone who had done the job of securing a conviction of capital murder, before vowing to bring the rest of the raiders before the courts.

Det Gda Donohoe's widow Caroline thanked the jury, her garda colleagues and the prosecution team on behalf of herself and her children Amy and Niall.

Then Det Gda Donohoe's brother Colm himself a det- ective garda, stood square in front of the nation's media flanked by his brother Martin and sister Mary.

Humbling

He thanked the prosecution team, the judge, the staff of the DPP's office and the jury of 15 who were sworn in at the end of January.

"Their lives have been put on hold for the last six months, and the commitment they have shown through these challenging times has been humbling," he said.

"We would like to acknow- ledge each and every witness who gave evidence for the prosecution of this case.

"It is not an easy thing to come to court, and we do not underestimate the stress that this causes people.

"We would like to express immense gratitude to Adrian's colleagues in Dundalk who investigated this while trying to grieve for the loss of a coll- eague."

He pointed out that it had been one of the most comprehensive investigations in the history of the State, saying: "The professionalism and the quality of this investigation has been borne out by the fact that it has been able to withstand the most robust and forensic examination by the defence in this case.

"It is a huge credit to each and every person involved in the investigation that we stand here today."

The investigation into the robbery and the murder of Det Gda Donohoe was a transatlantic one because Brady had fled to the US after the killing.

Mr Donohoe acknowledged and thanked the "extraordinary help given to the investigation by law enforcement agencies around the world".

At this point in his statement on behalf of the family, he paused, steeled himself, and with a strong voice said: "Aaron Brady was not alone in Lordship on the 25th of January 2013.

"The quest for justice for Adrian will continue, and we appeal to anyone, near or far, who has any information and who may assist in this investigation, to come forward and do the right thing to bring those involved to justice.

"While justice has been done today, nothing will bring back Adrian to his wife, his two kids, his parents, his family, his coll- eagues and his friends.

"Adrian was a good man and the very least he deserves is that justice be served."

In the Garda depot in the Phoenix Park, senior management issued a direct statement to the raiders who were with Aaron Brady when they committed the robbery in which Det Gda Donohoe was murdered.

At a press briefing, Deputy Commissioner John Twomey issued the stern warning.

"There were other people involved in this horrific crime, and you will be brought to justice and we will make every effort and leave no stone unturned," he said. "I want to make an appeal to the people who committed the crime that we will be knocking on your door and we will make sure that you pay for this horrendous act.

"Our thoughts and our prayers are with the family of Adrian, with his wife Caroline and the extended family, and I want to take the opportunity here to thank the investigation team, the management standing behind me and the wider investigation team who are still working away, and I have a clear message that the investigation continues.

"We as a law enforcement agency will do everything we can to work with the community to bring the perpetrators to justice."

Quest

His views were echoed by Chief Superintendent Christy Mangan, from the Louth division, who said the conviction is a "step towards ensuring that all persons who were involved in the murder of Adrian, and the subsequent provision of assistance of those involved in it, will be brought to justice".

"We will never cease in our quest to bring accountability to those who have murdered Adrian. We owe that to Adrian's memory," he said.

Justice Minister Helen McEntee commended the gardai for their "determined, persistent and painstaking investigation", noting also that there had been "crucial" cooperation from their colleagues in the PSNI and law enforcement partners in the United States.

The effort to apprehend those responsible had also been greatly supported by the local community in Co Louth.

"My hope is that this can bring some element of comfort to Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe's wife and family, his many friends and loyal colleagues," the minister said.

"The investigation will continue relentlessly so that others responsible for the dreadful events that night may also be brought to justice."
Photo: (Photo : Photo from Kenbian Ng Facebook Page)

On Monday, a Florida dad put an end to his life after killing his daughter. It turns out that the daughter is terminally ill.

The Florida dad was identified as Kenbian Ng, and his daughter's name is Angela.

The mom of the 11-year-old girl was making breakfast when she heard gunshots fired. It was the mom who saw her daughter dead. According to reports, the mom is still distraught with what happened to her family. Angela is the couple's only daughter.

READ ALSO: Mom Kills Kids and Their Grandma, Then Died by Suicide in San Antonio

11-year-old daughter's health condition

Family members shared with the Sun-Sentinel that the 11-year-old daughter had cancer in her femur (the bone within the human thigh). She had been undergoing chemotherapy.

Angela was scheduled for amputation on August 28. Incidentally, that day is the couple's 27th wedding anniversary.

Despite the scheduled amputation, relatives said that there was very little hope for the 11-year-old daughter to survive.

A relative of the family said that a few months ago when they contacted the family, the Florida dad was very emotional and could barely speak. The relative said, "He just cried."

READ ALSO: 3 Family Members Found Dead Near Edmonton: A Possible Murder-Suicide Case

Police reports

The Davie Police Department investigated the incident. According to the police spokesperson, Lt. Mark Leone, investigation disclosed that the 11-year-old daughter was not getting any better.

Leone describes the murder-suicide as devastating. He said, "It's a lose-lose situation."

READ ALSO: Family in Texas Found Dead in Their Garage, Police Says It is Not An Accident

Florida dad's Facebook page

On the Facebook page, the Florida dad has posted multiple photos of his 11-year-old daughter. He shared one where Angela is wearing a martial arts uniform.

They also have photos where the entire family was happily posing together.

According to reports, the father had held executive positions in different refrigeration, heating, and air-conditioning companies.

READ ALSO: Son calls dad for help after being beaten and shot with two best friends

Murder-suicide cases explained by a psychologist.

In the Sun-Sentinel report, a psychologist named Scott Eliason mentioned that a caregiver's murder-suicide is usually rare.

The psychologist explained that it is possible that the caregiver (in this case, the Florida dad) is worn out and got depressed.

He said that this could be called caregiver burnout. When this happens, the person who takes care of the terminally ill loved one feels worried about abandoning them. That is when the murder happens.

READ ALSO: 2 brothers and girlfriend, arrested in the death of 3 best friends in Florida
michael barbaro

From The New York Times, Im Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily.

[music]

So far, the debate over school reopenings has been dominated by a president who is determined to send students back into classrooms 

archived recording (donald trump) We want to reopen the schools. Everybody wants it. The moms want it. The dads want it. The kids want it. Its time to do it.

michael barbaro

 and by local school officials, who are answering that call.

archived recording (donald trump) So were very much going to put pressure on governors and everybody else to open the schools.

michael barbaro

Today: My colleague Dana Goldstein on why teachers and their unions are defying those plans. Its Thursday, August 13.

archived recording (ron desantis) Good evening. I stand here tonight not only as governor of Florida, but as a husband, a father, a son and a friend to have a conversation about how we as Floridians approach these challenging times. As a parent of three, I know that my fellow parents here in Florida want nothing more than to provide a bright future for their children. And heres the hard truth. While the risks to students from in-person learning are low, the cost of keeping schools closed are enormous.

michael barbaro

Dana, tell me about this situation with schools in Florida.

dana goldstein

In early July, just as the Trump administration from Washington was pushing schools to reopen their physical campuses across the country, Florida was the state that really leaned heavily in that same direction under their Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.

archived recording (ron desantis) The important thing is that our parents have a meaningful choice when it comes to in-person education. Lets not let fear get the best of us and harm our children in the process.

dana goldstein

The state issued this executive order.

archived recording The state is announcing its requiring all schools to reopen for in-person classes next month, August.

dana goldstein

Telling schools that they had to reopen five days a week.

archived recording 1 So that announcement coming today, given where Florida is. Your analysis. archived recording 2 I mean my analysis is that that is insane

dana goldstein

And this was shocking to superintendents and school boards. You know, they had spent the months of May, June, into July mostly planning for a hybrid model of education. Kids would go to school two or three, or maybe even just one day a week in person, and be home learning online the rest of the time. School districts all of a sudden were being told you have to offer parents and families the option of five days a week in the building.

archived recording So we are not ready to open schools in four weeks. We need to slow down and take a pause and get this right around the state first.

michael barbaro

And what would happen if schools didnt physically reopen five days a week?

dana goldstein

You know, I think the kind of underlying threat was that you would lose state dollars if you dont provide families with this option for in-person learning. And this threat to them was quite scary. Because state funding for education is the main funding that funds our school system in the United States.

michael barbaro

And what was the state of the pandemic when the state of Florida makes this demand?

dana goldstein

So these numbers were so shocking to us when we did reporting on this that we actually fact checked them many, many times to make sure they were correct.

archived recording Florida shattering its daily record, recording more than 15,000 cases, accounting for a quarter of the total new daily cases in the United States.

dana goldstein

In some south Florida counties in the month of July 

archived recording South Floridas Miami-Dade has seen a staggering daily positivity rate of 33 percent.

dana goldstein

 between 20 and 30 percent of coronavirus tests were coming back positive. And the World Health Organization, the state of California, the state of New York have tended to use a range of about 5 percent to 10 percent test positivity rates as something to look at when deciding whether or not to open schools. So here you might see, you know, four times that number in a city like Miami.

archived recording Here in Miami-Dade, according to county data released yesterday, the goal for the county is not to exceed 10 percent. They have exceeded that for the past 14 days.

dana goldstein

A strong indication that the virus is completely unchecked in that region. In fact, it was one of the most dangerous cities for the virus in the United States.

michael barbaro

Right. So what was the reaction across Florida to this executive order?

dana goldstein

Anger.

archived recording If the governor wants to open schools publicly, how about we invite him to come and teach in the classroom? [CHEERING]

dana goldstein

A lot of teachers and educators were angry.

archived recording If he wants to open schools, how about he provide teachers with hazard pay? Because thats exactly what youre doing. Youre on the frontlines of a pandemic that you didnt start, you didnt call for and we dont have control for. [CHEERING]

dana goldstein

Because they felt that their safety and, in some respects, safety of the entire community from a public health perspective was nowhere in this conversation.

archived recording I teach my students the history of America, how this government has run, how it works. This is a democracy. Our voices need to be heard.

dana goldstein

And my inbox and social media were filled with messages from teachers.

archived recording So I want everyone to hear my voice that if I die from catching Covid-19 from being forced back into Pinellas County Schools, you can drop my dead body right here! Leave my body right here! [CHEERING]

[music]

dana goldstein

And it was just this sense that the question of whether we should go back did not pay enough attention to teachers health risks.

archived recording 1 Do you feel ready to return to your classroom? archived recording 2 I do not. I personally have lost sleep over it. Ive cried over it. I cry over it a lot. Its very, very scary. And the one thing Im going to say, I will say online learning is not ideal. But it will keep our children safe. archived recording Im a teacher. Ive been with Duval County for 23 years. I have a mother at home that is sick. And if I am to get the coronavirus, I dont want to bring it back to her.

dana goldstein

Yes, its really important that kids get educated. Its really important that parents be able to work during the day and children have the basic childcare that schools provide. However 

archived recording 1 We teachers love our students. And we agree that the best place for students is in school. But thats only if theyre safe. If going to school is more dangerous for students or for their families, then we should hold off and do some sort of distance learning or a hybrid model until its safe for them. archived recording 2 I think theres no way to social distance in our already crowded classrooms. There is not enough money to provide for the extra staff that we would need and the extra P.P.E. that we would need. I dont think that its worth the risk.

dana goldstein

We are used to going into schools that sometimes dont have soap in the bathrooms, that sometimes have broken windows that prevent us from circulating fresh air, that have dated heating and ventilation systems. And where is our health in this equation?

archived recording This is not how I want to go back. And I want to go back so bad. Because I love teaching. I miss my classroom. I miss my kids.

michael barbaro

So what did teachers in Florida do?

archived recording The largest teachers union in Florida is suing the state over its executive order mandating that schools reopen next month with in-person instruction.

dana goldstein

So a bunch of the local and national union groups that represent teachers came together and they sued the state of Florida.

archived recording In the lawsuit, the union says the state is unconstitutionally forcing millions of students and teachers into unsafe schools.

dana goldstein

Saying that this executive order requiring schools to reopen five days a week in person actually violated Floridas own state law that also calls for schools to be safe.

archived recording The suit says children are at risk of contracting and spreading the virus and of developing severe illness, resulting in death. And the state mandate to open schools is impossible to comply with C.D.C. guidelines on physical distancing, hygiene and sanitation if schools are operating at full capacity.

dana goldstein

Its really very simple what they were arguing, that going back five days a week is not safe and therefore, cannot be legal.

michael barbaro

Huh. I have to think that its a pretty unusual act, you know, teachers suing to stop their own schools from reopening.

dana goldstein

Yes. Its definitely unusual and notable. And interestingly, it paved the way for similar threats to sue across the country, including in northern cities like Chicago and New York. And shortly after this Florida suit came down 

archived recording The American Federation of Teachers has told its 1.7 million members that if they choose to strike, the union will have their back.

dana goldstein

The American Federation of Teachers, which is one of the two national unions, authorized any of their locals across the country to plan a strike in the event that safety precautions are not being met to reopen schools.

michael barbaro

Wow. So a national teachers union is saying, a grounds for striking  which traditionally weve always thought of as wages, health care, those kinds of issues  theyre now saying you may decide to strike over unsafe school conditions in the middle of this pandemic?

dana goldstein

Exactly. The threat to strike is very powerful and pragmatic. Because once teachers threaten to strike over the safety measures and questions of funding, it really puts pressure on the local school districts to give them a big seat at the table. And just the core decision, which is, are we even going to try to have in-person school this fall?

michael barbaro

Well be right back. So Dana, as teachers are seeking a place at the table and threatening to strike if they dont feel like schools are safe, what exactly are they asking for in order to feel ready to return to the classroom?

dana goldstein

Were seeing a very broad range of demands from teachers. And it runs the spectrum from very specific and achievable requests, to ones that are hugely ambitious, time consuming, expensive, or maybe even impossible to achieve while were still experiencing any transmission of Covid-19.

michael barbaro

What do you mean?

dana goldstein

So for example in Orlando, when I spoke to teachers there in July, the requests were really quite reasonable. They wanted face masks to be required. They wanted temperature checks in all school district buildings. And then, the American Federation of Teachers, the national union that authorized strikes, had a very specific set of demands that they were looking for nationally. They wanted to see test positivity rates for the virus below 5 percent, transmission rates below 1 percent, effective contact tracing for the entire region, the school to require masks, update ventilation systems, and put in place procedures to maintain six feet of distance.

michael barbaro

Wow.

dana goldstein

So very much sort of in line with C.D.C. guidelines for being as safe as possible.

michael barbaro

So the union is making demands of an entire community, and level of infection and transmission and contact tracing beyond the school?

dana goldstein

Exactly. Theyre expecting those things to work in the whole region before you sort of even get to the question of what sort of P.P.E. is available to teachers or something like that.

michael barbaro

What about less practical requests from teachers?

dana goldstein

So there you see this big movement bubbling up on social media under the hashtag #14daysnonewcases. And this is really quite a radical demand for schools not to reopen physically until there are no new cases in a region for 14 days. Now many nations have been able to reopen their schools safely without achieving that standard. And when Ive spoken to public health experts about this, what they say is, you know, 14 days no new cases is not just a controlled pandemic, its essentially the end of the pandemic in that region. And it might require a vaccine to get to that standard. Not just a vaccine that exists and works, but that has actually been deployed widely. When will that occur? Will that occur six months from now, 12 months from now, two years from now? We just dont know the answer to that. And those start to be very big numbers when youre thinking about children being out of school.

michael barbaro

I wonder what these demands from teachers look like to parents in this moment. I mean, Im mindful that many parents want their kids to return to school for a variety of very understandable reasons.

dana goldstein

Thats right. I mean, I think the really hard thing is that there is no consensus or even strong majority opinion among parents. One recent national poll found about 60 percent of parents at this moment believe its smarter to delay reopening physical schools until the virus subsides somewhat and there are more safety measures in place. But in some big cities, where the virus has been relatively well-controlled, like New York and Chicago, polls have found that a majority of families do have some willingness to send their kids back to school. And to add another layer of complication, it tends to be parents of color and low income parents that are the most scared of the health threats to their children of congregating in school buildings. But those families are also the most concerned about their kids falling back socially and academically because schools are closed. So there is just no consensus among parents as to what they feel is safe. It would in some ways be easier if American parents all agreed with each other about what was right here.

michael barbaro

Mhm. And of course in the absence of physically returning to schools, were left with online learning. And we have covered on the show the problems with how teachers and school districts are approaching that.

dana goldstein

Yeah. So in the spring, only a small segment of American school districts actually required teachers to teach live lessons over something like Zoom video. And here I think there is actually more risk of tension between parents and teachers. Because were starting to see from polls what parents are asking for in a situation of continued remote learning. They were not happy that in the spring, many of their kids did not see teachers live over video. Many teachers were interacting with their students primarily over email at sort of random times per day. And thats not what parents want. They want their students to log on at very specific times and be in something like an online class, where they would have small group breakout sessions and discussions and have the opportunity to ask the teacher questions and get individualized feedback. And teachers unions are still, in some cases, resisting some of these practices, including even showing their faces on live video.

michael barbaro

And Dana, why would that be? I guess Im confused. If teachers are deeply reluctant to return to schools for very understandable reasons that you just outlined, and they dont feel school districts are meeting them halfway, why would they simultaneously be resisting a more enriched online remote teaching experience?

dana goldstein

Well, some of them make the argument that its not fair to provide too much live instruction, because students who dont have an adult to supervise their online learning at home, say, at exactly 10:00 a.m., might just miss out on the live lesson. So they think that that mode of education is not effective. But Ive also heard some arguments much simpler than that, that they dont want their homes to be shown. Theyre not comfortable in that medium. And they believe its a violation of their own privacy to be shown from home in that way. So its a range of different arguments there.

michael barbaro

That would seem to raise a real crisis. I mean, teachers both not wanting to be in classrooms, but also not wanting to teach online the way parents want them to.

dana goldstein

Well, this has been the sort of crux of these very tense latest negotiations across the country between teachers and school district leaders.

michael barbaro

Dana, I know a bunch of school districts around the country have actually started classes in schools. And I wonder how that has played out.

dana goldstein

Well, there have been some horror stories, unfortunately.

archived recording In Georgia, this photo of a crowded hallway, no mask in sight, from North Paulding High School went viral after the school opened for in-person learning on August 3.

dana goldstein

You know, for one of the first school districts to reopen, which was in Georgia, hundreds of staff were told to stay home because of potential exposure to the virus.

archived recording Today the school remain closed, a week after that reopening.

dana goldstein

In Indiana 

archived recording One student at Greenfield Central Junior High tested positive on the very first day of school.

dana goldstein

 right away this junior high school was having to call teachers and call students families and ask them to stay home for two weeks.

archived recording Students at Elwood Junior Senior High now have to go remote after staff members there tested positive for Covid-19.

dana goldstein

Now thats extremely alarming. But I want to say that nobody whos a public health or education expert believes that were going to reopen schools without students and teachers showing up from time to time positive for Covid-19. Thats not a realistic expectation. But what we do need is procedures in place to deal with that when it happens. I mean, it needs to be clear who is getting told to stay home for two weeks. And, is their access to testing for anyone who came in contact with that positive individual? So in many ways, I think these anecdotes that were hearing of kind of first-day-back crises in towns and cities that are trying to reopen physically do show that many of the concerns that teachers have brought to the table here are quite legitimate.

michael barbaro

So those are a small number of districts that have already reopened. But of course, many of the nations largest school districts  Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., among others, are now firmly saying that they will not physically reopen schools at least initially. And that represents millions of students. So do teachers unions and teachers see that as a kind of victory?

dana goldstein

They do see it as a victory, absolutely. They believe that its not only whats necessary to protect their health but to prevent schools emerging as potential hot spots for spreading Covid-19. But I think within that victory, there is also a real tragedy for American children and actually for our country. Because to be in a place where the needs of public health and safety are really juxtaposed against our ability to fully educate our kids, is to be in a place that very few other developed nations are in right now. And it is because of our failure to control the pandemic itself. We are looking at the real likelihood that millions or tens of millions of children do not attend school for an entire year. A full year of no school. And we just know that its going to lead to big problems. Its going to make kids less likely to learn to read. Its going to probably lead to higher high school dropout rates. Its going to lead to students who dont have enough to eat, because school is where they are fed. And to students that dont have access to the mental health counseling and the special education services that they get at schools. So the fact that were having to choose between everything crucial that the physical school provides and public health, its stunning. Its stunning to me as a 15-year veteran on the education beat and just also as a parent. You know, my daughter is going to come through this pandemic just fine. She has access to a great childcare and we have a lot of resources in our home and family to bring her through this. But still, its really sad for our family that shes missing the preschool experience that we really wanted her to have. Its been months since she was with teachers and socializing with a group of students. And shes started even to become more timid around other kids, weve noticed when we do take those walks out to the playground. And you know, its sad for our family. And its just a tiny microcosm of how sad it is for our country.

michael barbaro

Dana, thank you very much.

dana goldstein

Thank you so much, Michael.

michael barbaro

Starting this week, several Florida school districts began holding in-person classes, even as the lawsuit filed by the states teachers union moves ahead. A court hearing in that case is scheduled for later today. Meanwhile, in New York City on Wednesday, the influential unions representing principals and teachers called on the city to delay starting in-person instruction by several weeks. In a statement, one of the unions leaders said that the city had failed to address teachers safety concerns and had failed to give them enough time to implement complicated safety protocols. Well be right back. Heres what else you need to know today.

archived recording (joe biden) Good afternoon, everyone. To me and to Kamala, this is an exciting day. Its a great day for our campaign and its a great day for America, in my view.

michael barbaro

During their first joint appearance as a ticket on Wednesday, Joe Biden praised Kamala Harris for her record as the attorney general of California and as a United States senator, calling her an unapologetic advocate for justice.

archived recording (kamala harris) Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. As I said, Joe, when you called me, I am incredibly honored by this responsibility. And Im ready to get to work. I am ready to get to work.

michael barbaro

In her remarks, Harris immediately delivered a stinging indictment of President Trump as a self-absorbed leader who has repeatedly failed America, above all, during the pandemic.

archived recording (kamala harris) America is crying out for leadership. Yet we have a president who cares more about himself than the people who elected him. A president who is making every challenge we face even more difficult to solve. But heres the good news. We dont have to accept the failed government of Donald Trump and Mike Pence. In just 83 days, we have a chance to choose a better future.

michael barbaro

And 

archived recording (dr. anthony fauci) I hope that the Russians have actually definitively proven that the vaccine is safe and effective. I seriously doubt that theyve done that.

michael barbaro

The Trump administrations top adviser on the pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci, expressed deep doubts about Russias rushed plan to distribute a vaccine for the coronavirus. The vaccine, called Sputnik V, was approved by Russias government without evidence that the largest and most important phase of human testing had ever occurred.

archived recording (anthony fauci) So if we wanted to take the chance of hurting a lot of people or giving them something that doesnt work, we could start doing this, you know, next week if we wanted to. But thats not the way it works.

michael barbaro
The Philippines plans to launch clinical trials for a Russian coronavirus vaccine in October, with President Rodrigo Duterte expected to be inoculated as early as May next year, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said.



Roque made the announcement a day after Philippine scientists met with representatives of the vaccine developer, research facility Gamaleya, to discuss trials and information about the inoculation.



Russia on Tuesday became the worlds first country to grant regulatory approval for a COVID-19 vaccine, to be named Sputnik V in homage to the Soviet Unions launch of the worlds first satellite.



Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that all clinical trials would need to go through the regulatory process, Reuters reported.



Phase three clinical trials in the Philippines are due to run from October to March 2021, after a panel of vaccine experts completes its review on Russias phase one and two trials in September, Roque told a media briefing.



Duterte is keen to access a vaccine and in July made a plea to China to make the Philippines a priority if it develops one.



The president has pledged that the Philippines, which suffered its biggest economic contraction in nearly three decades, would be back to normal by December even as it has been reporting record numbers of daily coronavirus infections since July.



The novel coronavirus has infected more than 143,000 people and killed 2,404 in the Philippines. A strict coronavirus lockdown recently reintroduced in and around the capital Manila is unlikely to be extended beyond August 18, the presidential spokesman said.
The Ford Motor Company Fund recently announced Ford employees, and others contributed $1,133,447 million to COVID-19 related relief efforts around the world, surpassing its goal.

The COVID-19 Donation Match Program was established in April to provide Ford employees, their families and friends a way to help fight the growing pandemic that kept them at home and unable to volunteer in traditional ways.

Giving back is one of Fords key values and that is most exemplified in our employees, said Bill Ford, executive chairman, Ford Motor Company. We received so many requests from employees asking how they could help in the early days of the pandemic. The donation match program provided a meaningful way for employees to join the fight against COVID-19  even at a time they could not physically be there to pitch in and help make a difference.

Through the match program, 47 nonprofits and community groups in 20 countries and 14 U.S. states received funds donated by Ford employees and others that were then matched by $500,000 from the Ford Fund and personal contributions from Ford Motor Company Executive Chairman Bill Ford.

The donation match supported community projects in markets with significant coronavirus-related needs and a substantial number of Ford employees. Nearly one-third  29%  of the funds went to hunger relief efforts. The next highest share, 24%, was earmarked for projects that met a blend of basic human needs  food, shelter and clothing. Educational efforts received 19% of the funds. Remaining donations supported health-related projects, along with efforts to keep arts programs alive virtually and preserve jobs at institutions that provide historical and cultural education.

This pandemic has impacted every aspect of our daily life and put many nonprofit organizations at risk of being unable to serve their communities, said Mary Culler, president, Ford Motor Company Fund. Thanks to the generosity of our employees and others, we were able to support a wide range of projects around the world and continue the critically important work these nonprofits are doing.

The program was administered by GlobalGiving, Fords longtime disaster relief and global grant-making partner.

Below is a sample of how nonprofits around the world used donations to make an impact in their own communities.

In Brazil, Obras Sociais Irma Dulce fed nearly 1,200 families for a month and delivered nearly 20,000 lunches to homeless citizens.

In Ontario, Canada, the David McAntony Gibson Foundation distributed 35,000 hygiene kits; 150,000 kg (330,700 lbs) of dried food; as well as 26,000 thank you gifts to frontline workers who are caring for the most vulnerable in their communities.

In England, St. Mungos supported the transition of more than 2,700 homeless individuals off the streets or out of emergency shelters into individual hotel rooms. Their trained outreach teams also provided a full assessment of each individual, and delivered food and other essential supplies based on specific needs.

In Tamilnadu, India, the Indian Association for the Blind provided financial support to more than 250 families with visually challenged members to help pay for groceries, medications and rent.

In Italy, Mission Bambini helped more than 600 low-income families transition their young children to online learning during strict quarantine orders. The donations helped provide electronic devices, technological training and emotional support.

In Mexico City, Fondo Unido Mexico collaborated with multiple nonprofits on more than 33 community projects that delivered food, personal hygiene kits, medical supplies and emergency kits to people in need. Additional projects addressed education-related needs, mental health and emergency relief assistance.

In Craiova, Romania, Asociatia Club Rotary Craiova Probitas partnered with Ion Tiriac Foundation to purchase virus testing equipment and increase daily tests by 10-fold at the community hospital.

In Madrid, Spain, Apadrina La Ciencia provided financial support to laboratories making COVID-19 tests specifically for the elderly in nursing homes, resulting in the administration of more than 1,000 additional tests.

In South Africa, the Waqful Waqifin Foundation (Gift of the Givers) distributed food and cleaning supplies to low-income residents while testing people in triage tents erected at key hospitals. In total, more than 180 hospitals and clinics were served, and 120,000 food boxes were delivered to families across the country.

In Taiwan, Teach for Taiwan purchased electronic tablets for school children maintaining their classes online.

In Istanbul, Turkey, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty Foundation provided masks, ventilators and lifesaving medical supplies for its COVID-19 intensive care units. They also provided essential supplies to healthcare workers in one of the countrys oldest and largest teaching hospitals supporting 3,500 medical students.

In Vietnam, Centre of Live and Learn for Environment and Community provided meals and face masks to 80 classrooms of visually impaired students in Ha Noi. In Hoan Kiem, 120 families in were given food baskets, face masks and supermarket gift cards. In addition, four tons of rice were donated to Ho Chi Minh residents, and 150 students of Ho Chi Minh University of Technology were given 2,250 meals and SIM cards.

Source: Ford Motor Co.
KALAMAZOO, MI  The criminal case against a man who sent 292 threatening messages to police is over.

Brandon James Owen, 30, of Kalamazoo, was charged last September with one count of making terrorist threats and one count of using a computer to commit a crime.

He had a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity accepted on June 11 by Kalamazoo County Circuit Judge Paul Bridenstine.

Owens case was officially closed Aug. 7 after he stipulated to a finding by the Michigan Center for Forensic Psychiatry that he is a person requiring treatment. Owen was ordered to remain hospitalized following the stipulation and his records are now sealed.

The 30-year-old  who allegedly made threats to the Michigan State Police Facebook account such as I am just going to shoot up the police station, I am going to kill some of you and Im probably gonna really kill a bunch of you  was initially found incompetent to stand trial at a pair of hearings in Kalamazoo County District Court in November and December.

By definition, being incompetent to stand trial means the accused is unable to understand the proceedings against them or assist in their defense in a rational manner, according to state law.

Those deemed incompetent to stand trial have 15 months to rehabilitate to a competent level or the prosecution could file paperwork to have the individual committed to a psychiatric hospital, at which time the case would be dismissed.

Owen was eventually ruled competent to stand trial in March, by Kalamazoo County District Judge Tiffany Ankley.

At that point, according to court records, he waived his right for a preliminary hearing and was bound over to Kalamazoo County Circuit Court, where he entered his not guilty by reason of insanity plea.

Owen has a long history of mental illness and has been diagnosed with schizoaffective and bipolar disorders, according to testimony presented at his June 11 hearing. He told doctors after his arrest that he had been off his medications for at least three months, telling one it had been two years since he took any medication.

Owen told Dr. Michelle Hill with the Michigan Center for Forensic Psychiatry, according to her report, he believed he was being stalked by an interpersonal cult and that he reported it to police on several occasions and was ignored.

During an interview with Michigan State Police Sgt. Scott Ernst, Owen said he didnt really want to shoot up the police station, but that he wanted the police to come down there and listen to him. He said the threats were just an effort to get help.

Hill submitted in her report to the court that she believed Owen was legally insane at the time of the incident and his judgement, behavior, capacity to recognize realty and ability to cope with the ordinary demands of life were all significantly impaired.

The Facebook messages Owen allegedly sent on Sept. 24 included videos depicting violent acts such as limbs being cut off, striking someone with a pickax and execution-style killing, according to the police report. Owen also sent photos of the weapons which were recovered, the report stated.

When police arrested Owen the following day, they recovered 31 airsoft replica guns, three ballistic body armor vests and carriers, one 9 mm handgun and multiple boxes of firearm ammunition, according to the MSP file.

As his criminal case has now been officially closed, Owen will remain committed until such a time the state determines he is no longer in need of continuing treatment, in accordance to state law.

Also on MLive:

Man ruled unfit to stand trial after sending 292 threatening Facebook messages to police

Naval specialist from Kalamazoo returns home after 7-months at sea due to coronavirus

In must-win Michigan, Trump campaign takes fight door to door as polls show Biden with strong lead

Is the coronavirus surge elsewhere a vindication of Michigans go-slow approach to reopening?
A crowd of activists surrounded two buses outside Crane Shed Commons about noon Wednesday in Bend, angry that federal immigration officials had detained two men.

An armed officer with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in a flack vest said he would not comment on the actions as he hid his badge. But City of Bend spokesperson Anne Aurand confirmed the presence of the federal officers.

About 200 people  faith leaders, supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement and bystanders  gathered to keep the buses from leaving with the men. Luke Richter, founder of Central Oregon Peacekeepers, stood in front of a bus and refused to move. Two women with the Central Oregon Diversity Project were also there.

The only resolution that were accepting is that they show us documentation that the men were allowed to be detained, and theres nothing we can do legally, or the ACLU files an emergency motion that gets them off, Richter told The Bulletin.

Richter, who said his group is willing to spend the night if necessary, yelled at protesters who were banging on a bus window.

As long as we dont slash any tires or mess with anybody, they will not take us, he told the crowd. If anybody does anything like that, from here on out, they are going to be dealing with me, and I am 100 times scarier than those police over there.

He said police told him as long as they dont break the law, police will not sweep out the protesters.

The Innovation Law Lab filed a complaint in federal court Wednesday night seeking an emergency order to stop federal immigration officials from transporting detainees outside of the state, confirmed Nadia Dahab, an attorney for Innovation Law Lab.

Bend City Councilor Barb Campbell joined the protesters by parking her car in front of one of the buses.

Gus Juarez, an activist who addressed the crowd with a microphone, said one of the men was picked up at work and the second while returning home from work. Juarez said both men are longtime Bend residents.

Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz, the former Portland Police Bureau officer who started as the top cop in Bend on Monday, did not respond to multiple phone calls for comment.

Bend Mayor Sally Russell said Bend Police Department sources told her the actions were not part of an immigration sweep.

Ive been told that the men they are after are two criminals who have warrants out for their arrest, she told The Bulletin.

Bend Police were at the scene because of volatile crowd, Russell said.

The city does not use funds or personnel or equipment to enforce federal immigration laws or to detain people based on immigration status, the mayor said.

Russell hoped the activists would leave peacefully, she said.

I understand their concerns, she said. I feel fortunate that Oregon is a sanctuary state. I feel fortunate that we have a passionate and good police department. This is not what it looks like.

Late in the afternoon, a protest organizer stood with a bullhorn and asked Where is our mayor? She then gave the protesters Russells phone number and urged all of them to call the mayor.

Baltazar Chavez, owner of Baltazars restaurant, employs one of the men being detained and was alerted Wednesday morning that the man had not arrived at another job he held. So Chavez called the mans wife, who told him her husband had been detained.

The activists heckled media and yelled at a photographer who took a photo of them attempting to flatten a tire on one of the buses.

A line of activists stood in front of the families of the detainees so their photos couldnt be taken.

Hispanics lives matter, one protester sign read.

It aint right, read another.

Throughout the afternoon, the crowd joined in chants led by various organizers.

No justice, no peace, a common refrain of the recent Black Lives Matter protests, spread through the parking lot.

Get them food, became the call as the day wore on.

Inside the buses, the drivers sat quietly, looking between the protesters and their phones as activists held signs in front of their windshields and tried to catch their attention.

If youd just open the door, this would all be over, one person shouted.

Pizzas arrived around 4:30 p.m. and spread through the crowd. By that point, organizers had set up piles of donated water bottles, snacks and beverages for protesters.

A drone flew overhead the whole time, observing the scene, and more supporters continued to file in under the hot sun  retirees, students, Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel and other community leaders.

I dont know what happened, Hummel said. I want to figure out whats going on.

The Oregonian staff contributed to this report.
Sphera's solutions allow companies to submit notifications fully compliant with Annex VIII to CLP regulation and ECHA guidelines

CHICAGO, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sphera, the leading provider of Integrated Risk Management (IRM) software, data and consulting services, announces the launch of new product features for European Union (EU) Poison Centre Notification (PCN) requirements.

Annex VIII Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 requires companies, before placing hazardous mixtures on the EU market, to submit notifications to Poison Centres in a prescribed format. Countries may also decide to submit notifications via a portal designed by European Chemical Agency (ECHA). The first deadline for submission is January 1, 2021 and it applies to products with consumer and/or professional uses.

To help support customers with the upcoming EU PCN requirements, Sphera has added new product features to its chemical compliance solutions: Intelligent Authoring and Compliance Engine for EH&S.

With Sphera's solution for PCN, companies can:

Define and manage the specific market placement of their products to identify all notifications required

Meet new notification and product label data requirements

Automatically create submissions for one or multiple mixtures and target one or multiple markets and legal entities

Additionally, for SAP customers, Sphera has partnered with opesus to provide the best possible end-to-end PCN solution. This solution integrates Sphera's Compliance Engine for EH&S with opesus' EHS Product Notification (EPN). The integrated solution enables the creation of PCN dossiers that are compliant with the ECHA harmonized requirements for submission to EU Poison Centres. The software offers extended capabilities including data validity checks, system-to-system connectivity to ECHA, and automated submissions through integration into existing processes.

"Sphera's EU PCN solution helps organizations protect their bottom-line," said Sphera President & CEO Paul Marushka. "Our technology reduces the resource burden of the very labor-intensive dossier creation and submission process. It also ensures perfect harmonization of information between the different required documents, SDSs, Labels and PCN dossiers. This results in fewer questions and fewer business risks caused by inconsistent information."

To learn more about how Sphera is helping organizations with PCN requirements, view our EU PCN Resource page.

For further information, please contact:

Ellen Bremseth, Manager, Marketing Comms, Sphera, ebremseth@sphera.com

About Sphera

Sphera creates a safer, more sustainable and productive world. Our innovative cloud-based risk management platform connects an unprecedented amount of information that leads to deeper insights across an enterprise. We operationalize, scale and optimize Integrated Risk Management strategies to help customers identify, manage, and mitigate risk in the areas of Environment, Health, Safety & Sustainability (EHS&S), Operational Risk Management and Product Stewardship.

Aboutopesus

opesus specializes in the area of SAP Environment, Health, and Safety Management and provides SAP-based consulting and software solutions that allow companies to run a sustainable business. Our flagship product, opesus EHS Product Notification (EPN), is the market-leading solution among SAP customers, helping them to fulfill their legal obligations. The solution supports various formats including PCN and SCIP. It is currently used by over 60 customers, including 8 of the top 10 largest chemical companies in Germany.

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ATHENS (Reuters) - The French military conducted training exercises with Greek forces off the southern island of Crete on Thursday, defence sources said, as tension persisted with Turkey over disputed waters in the eastern Mediterranean.

Thursday's exercise was the first manifestation of French President Emmanuel Macron's commitment to temporarily reinforce his country's presence in the eastern Mediterranean. France has called on Turkey to halt oil and gas exploration in disputed waters.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis discussed the situation in the region with Macron by telephone on Wednesday.

On Thursday, the French armed forces ministry said it was sending two Rafale fighter jets and the naval frigate Lafayette to the eastern Mediterranean.

The frigate and the jets had arrived in Crete earlier on Thursday and carried out joint manoeuvres with Greek forces, the Greek defence sources said.

"Emmanuel Macron is a true friend of Greece and a fervent defender of European values and international law," Mitsotakis tweeted, in French, after the call with Macron.

Tensions have simmered between NATO allies Greece and Turkey in recent days over overlapping claims to hydrocarbon resources in Mediterranean waters.

A Turkish seismic vessel, the Oruc Reis, has been sailing between Crete and Cyprus since Monday, despatched by Ankara days after Greece signed a maritime deal with Egypt designating an exclusive economic zone between the two nations.

Turkey says it plans to open up some of the area for potential hydrocarbon exploration, and a precursor to that is collecting seismic data it can process and sell to potential bidders. Both countries lay claim to the area.

(Reporting By Michele Kambas; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Whenever migrants cross the English Channel in considerable numbers, as is happening at the moment, government politicians tend to employ two reach-me-down arguments.

One is to blame the French, who are declared shifty and generally unhelpful. If only they would keep their eye on the ball, it is said, fewer migrants would leave their shores for Britain.

The second response is to lay into the people smugglers, who provide rickety, often lethally vulnerable, boats at an extortionate cost to desperate people.

Target these evil merchants in human misery, and the problem will start to go away.

There is, of course, some truth in both points of view. The French authorities can be tricky and obstructive.

Group of young children, women, and a man, sat on the coast at Dungeness, Kent, last week

They were so yesterday, with Natacha Bouchart, mayor of Calais, absurdly describing British plans to blockade the Channel as a declaration of maritime war.

No less ridiculous was Labours suggestion that Home Secretary Priti Patel is devoid of compassion for coming up with such proposals. Why cant it produce come constructive ideas instead of carping?

And its also the case that people smugglers are indeed wicked, though no one has yet found a way to get rid of them.

Besides, some of the migrants crossing the Channel appear to be making their own arrangements.

What our politicians seldom do is to ask whether a large part of the problem might be of our own making.

There are idiotic inconsistencies in our policy so that migrants are encouraged to come here while being told to stay away.

Over 4,000 are estimated to have crossed the Channel so far this year.

Consider this. Its said that only around one in 40 migrants who come to Britain illegally is being sent back at present.

One in 40! Isnt this a strong incentive for such people to chance their arm?

If I were a young man from Iran or Syria sitting in a godforsaken camp near Calais, I would undoubtedly run the risk of crossing the Channel, in the knowledge that if I were intercepted by the authorities I would almost certainly be allowed to stay in Britain.

Last August, when migrants were already coming across the Channel in significant numbers  though they had not then reached the record of 235 in one day notched up a week ago today  Boris Johnson told anyone hoping to enter Britain: We will send you back.

Migrants know this is nearly the exact opposite of the truth. They almost certainly wont be sent back.

According to the Home Office, at least 1,900 people arrived in small boats across the Channel last year, while about 125 were returned to European countries.

Thats approximately one in 15 being deported rather than the one in 40 I have seen quoted, but the odds are nonetheless very heavily in favour of being allowed to stay in the UK.

Group of migrants arrived on a vessel and picked up by Border Force patrols at Dover, Kent

And not only stay. An adult arriving in this country receives 37.75 a week, a place to live and free NHS and hospital care.

Granted, most of us would struggle in such circumstances, but they are probably a lot more propitious than those in the often benighted countries the migrants have left behind.

Better, too, than France, where rules for access to healthcare for asylum seekers were tightened in January.

They now get free healthcare only if they have been resident for three months and have successfully applied for a Puma health card by establishing their right to be in the country.

So why not take the risk and come here? Moreover, although migrants are usually not supposed to work while their cases are being considered, some do so in our vibrant black economy.

This is much more difficult to achieve in France, where the authorities insist on correct paperwork.

Though it pains me to agree with a French politician, Philippe Mignonet, deputy Mayor of Calais, is bang on the money when he accuses the Government of hypocrisy, though inconsistency might be fairer.

Our position is to tell migrants they must on no account come here because their passage across the Channel is illegal, as well as dangerous. But if they show up in a boat a few miles from Dover, why, we will do our very best to house, and look after, them.

No doubt if the French authorities tried a bit harder  and it seems the Government is going to give them the 30 million they have demanded  they could limit the numbers of migrants, and perhaps arrest an occasional people smuggler.

But the problem would remain  which is that, despite huffing and puffing about illegality, the British Government is effectively hanging a banner over the White Cliffs of Dover which proclaims: Migrants welcome here.

May I suggest a solution? If the Government believes there are many bona fide asylum seekers in Calais  as it evidently does because it grants asylum to such a high proportion of them once they arrive on British soil  it should consider their applications in a calm and ordered way. In France.

This is indeed the recent proposal of Tony Smith, a former director-general of the UK Border Force. Only those approved in advance would be allowed to enter Britain and remain.

Id go further. The Government should penalise those who ignore the proper procedures and attempt to come into the country illegally. In the circumstances I envisage, arriving as a migrant, having failed to apply for asylum via the official route, would be an automatic disqualification for admission.

Migrants can be seen being brought to Dover harbour by Border Force officials this morning

Some lawyers might howl in rage, and claim that such an arrangement contravenes our obligations under the UNs 1951 Refugee Convention, to which Britain is a signatory.

The Government could legitimately respond that, by setting up an application process in France, it was doing everything possible to consider the claims of legitimate asylum seekers.

One advantage of such an approach is that migrants wouldnt be a drain on the British taxpayer while their applications were being considered. Nor could they disappear into the black economy.

The benefits of such a scheme would not just be practical, though. It would also be humane. Fewer migrants would attempt the dangerous Channel crossing if they believed their claims were being fairly considered in Calais  and if they knew that turning up in Dover would lead to their being instantly sent back to France.

Of course, the French government would have to agree to these new arrangements, and its not certain it would.

What would happen to migrants not granted asylum in the UK? Would France deport them?

But an imaginative new policy is overdue. Earlier this week, Boris Johnson called for a fresh look at laws which make it very, very difficult to return migrants who have come to Britain blatantly illegally.

He appears to have realised that his undertaking of a year ago to send them back cant be delivered.

We can go on criticising the French, and pointing out the evil of people smugglers. We can call out the Navy.

We can continue to offer a home to almost all migrants who turn up on our shores.

Or, as a country whose Government has boasted that it is now in charge of our borders post-Brexit, we could try to apply good sense to a problem that will otherwise keep on coming back.
MCKINNEY, Texas - A Texas couple have been charged with evidence tampering and abuse of a corpse after authorities found their infant son dead in a bucket of tar.

Sheriffs deputies arrested Donna and Roland Grabowski late Saturday in the Dallas suburb of McKinney. A Collin County Sheriffs Office spokesman said in a Wednesday statement that they had refused to co-operate with investigators looking into a report of the 1-week-old boys death.

After their arrest, deputies searched the couples home in Princeton, a small city about 40 miles (64 kilometres) northeast of downtown Dallas. In a shed behind the house they found a bucket of tar, with Micah Grabowskis tiny form submerged in it, Capt. Nick Bristow said.

Bristow said the Grabowskis told deputies that they awoke on July 29 to find their son dead in their bed, but they never reported it. Sheriff Jim Skinner said the couple repeatedly lied about what happened to Micah.

Its tragic and its sad enough any time we have the death of an infant, Skinner told WFAA-TV. But its absolute reprehensible when you lie and deceive investigators as to the location of the body.

Investigators are awaiting an autopsy to determine how the boy died.

Donna Grabowski, 41, is being held in jail on a more than $1 million bond for four felony charges including tampering with evidence, abuse of a corpse and child endangerment. Her lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Roland Grabowski, 42, faces three similar charges and is being held on a $925,000 bond. Jail records do not list an attorney for him.

Roland is registered as a sex offender in Texas for 2008 sexual assaults on two girls, ages 14 and 12.
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Lisle, Ill. (August 13) -- Central America is one of the most diverse floristic regions in the world, but a lack of comprehensive plant records and knowledge of its endangered, endemic tree species impedes conservation work.

In a new research paper published in Forest Ecosystems, The Morton Arboretum Center for Tree Science Research Fellow Richard Condit, PhD, provided the first comprehensive checklist to include geographic ranges by using an innovative, repeatable method for assessing extinction risk of trees in poorly studied areas. The method involves synthesizing field data with available online records to form a fully vetted list of the trees of Panama and their estimated geographic ranges. These range sizes provide a quantitative basis for assessing extinction risk of poorly studied tropical tree species, and offer a starting point for researchers to plan conservation efforts.

"A fundamental question in species conservation is, how many are left?" said Condit, who has studied the trees of Panama for 35 years. "Full geographic ranges of individual species are seldom known, and we found that the forest inventory plots being studied in the country lacked a global geographic perspective. Now that we have estimated range sizes, we can compare Panama's ecosystem to the rest of the world, as well as plan and allocate conservation resources more effectively."

The authors estimate that 16.2% of Panama's 3,043 tree species had ranges less than 20,000 km2, a range that often signals a status of endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) standards. This percentage of narrow endemics is proportionate to that of North America. Researchers also noted that the country's tree census plots excluded rare endemic species, noting that the network of 66 tree plots captured 27% of total tree flora in Panama, but only 7.5% of narrow endemics.

The Morton Arboretum conducted the research as part of its efforts to prevent global tree extinctions and secure threatened species in Central America and beyond.

"This was the first comprehensive effort to pull together global databases, rigorously vet all the data, and create a comprehensive distribution of species in an understudied country like Panama," said Chuck Cannon, PhD, director of the Center for Tree Science at The Morton Arboretum. "Richard and his team have given us a strategy for finding where to go, what trees to study, and how to be more effective in the Arboretum's efforts to conserve rare tree species around the world."

The next step for Condit and his team is to estimate population sizes and make demographic assessments of extinction risk, starting with the potential red-listed trees located on tree census plots.

###

About The Morton Arboretum

The Morton Arboretum is an internationally recognized outdoor tree museum and tree research center in Lisle, Illinois. Its 1,700 acres include 16 miles of hiking trails, a Children's Garden, educational exhibits, a Visitor Center and specialty tree and plant collections. The nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization serves 1.2 million visitors annually. Information about exhibitions, events, and admission is available at mortonarb.org.
The Victorias Secret and PINK stores in Shrewsbury have permanently closed, a leasing representative for The Grove at Shrewsbury told NJ Advance Media.

The stores were located at The Grove at Shrewsbury at 577 Route 35. They closed on July 30, the leasing representative said.

There are currently 37 Victorias Secret stores in New Jersey, while PINK, the Victorias Secret brand targeted toward teenagers, has 10.

Its unknown if any other locations in the state will close. A Victorias Secret spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Victorias Secrets parent company, L Brands, announced in May that about 250 stores in the U.S. and Canada would permanently close this year. There are more than 1,000 Victorias Secret stores in the U.S., according to the companys website.

L Brands said it is closely evaluating all locations, especially more vulnerable centers for risk of closure, according to the companys quarterly earnings commentary.

Last year, Victorias Secret shuttered dozens of stores nationwide, although none in New Jersey were affected.

Although not a liquidation sale, Victorias Secret has plenty of items on clearance online as well as face masks for $9.50.

L Brands also previously announced that 51 Bath & Body Works stores in the U.S. and Canada will shutter this year.

New York & Company, Walmart, Brooks Brothers, JCPenney, Nordstrom and Sur La Table are among the many retail companies that have recently announced store closures.

RELATED STORIES ABOUT RETAIL AND SHOPPING:

Amazons Big Summer Sale, offers discounts on electronics, kitchen items, home goods, face masks

What you can buy right now to prepare for the next major storm

Amazon wants to turn shuttered JCPenney and Sears stores into fulfillment centers, report says

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Nicolette Accardi can be reached at naccardi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter: @N_Accardi. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tip
West Basin Joins California African American Water Education Foundation

On July 27, the West Basin Board of Directors voted to become a member of the California African American Water Education Foundation (CAAWEF).

Founded in 2019, CAAWEF is a statewide, non-profit water education organization. The mission of the organization is to help inform and educate African Americans about local, regional and state water issues. The CAAWEF outreach programs focus on water quality, water rates and affordability, water equity, and climate change. The organization is focused on teaching communities how to become more resilient to climate change.

Two of West Basins board members currently serve on the CAAWEF Board of Directors. Gloria D. Gray (West Basin President) and Harold C. Williams (West Basin Vice President) both serve as founding members on the nine-person board.

ADVERTISEMENT

It is an honor to serve on the Board of an organization that was created to fulfill such an important mission in our state, said President Gray.

I am excited to join a dedicated group of leaders on the CAAWEF Board of Directors, added Vice President Williams.

CAAWEF is funded by urban water agencies and individual donations. Through these funding measures, CAAWEF has been able to develop community outreach initiatives that engage and educate diverse groups of stakeholders in California.

West Basin is one of the founding members of the organization.
Two soldiers were killed and three others injured in a pair of roadside bombings Thursday in Thailands insurgency-stricken Deep South as they escorted teachers and students to schools for the start of the academic year, authorities said.

Officials blamed separatist rebels for the attacks in Pattani and Narathiwat provinces, the first deadly bombings in the southern border region since a soldier died in an explosion in mid-July. And although insurgents in the past have targeted schools or security details escorting teachers and students to class, the twin incidents on Thursday were the first such attacks since schools in the Deep South reopened for in-person instruction after the COVID-19 outbreak.

The chief of the Duyong police station in Pattani said the first attack took place shortly after 8 a.m. as a dozen soldiers assigned to Company 4305 were patrolling a road leading to Pakaluesong primary school.

They had spaced themselves 10 yards from each other. The assailants used a radio signal to trigger an IED [improvised explosive device], killing M-lukeman Haji-samae, police Col. Wasan Rakchartpanich, chief of Duyong police station, told reporters. He blamed insurgents for the attack.

About 30 minutes later, a squad assigned Company 4508, in Ra-ngae, a district in Narathiwat, came under a similar attack.

Soldiers patrolling a road to Kaliza primary school were struck by a bomb as they were approaching a bridge, said police Lt. Col. Worapol Sukkaew, an investigator at Ra-ngae police station.

The homemade bomb hidden in fertilizer sack planted near the bridge was detonated by a radio signal, said Worapol, adding that one soldier was killed and three others were injured.

The attacks appeared to be coordinated to explode simultaneously, Police Lt. Gen. Ronasilp Poosara, the commander of Region 9 Police Bureau, told reporters.

The attacks in Pattani and Narathiwat are linked with an effort to make them happen at the same time, different cells but they were set off by insurgents who wanted to disrupt the peace, Ronasilp said.

Another official, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to reporters, said the attackers were led by Arong Due-rapo and Aria Jehteh, two local insurgent leaders.

On July 14 and 15, back-to-back blasts in Pattani killed a soldier and injured at least six others, along with four members of a family.

Attacks by insurgents on schools in the region have also long been a threat.

In September 2019, assailants shot and killed a village chief in Pattani province on the same day that gunmen fired at a school building in Yala province. In February 2019, an explosion in Yala province killed a soldier who was providing security for a small school.

After the attacks on Thursday, Lt. Gen. Pornsak Poonsawat, the armys regional commander, told reporters that he had ordered tactical teams to step up pressure on insurgents.

We anticipated attacks on the first school day. School defense squads are vulnerable, he said. From now on we will be more proactive with tactical mobile teams by striking against insurgent jungle hideouts or at the homes of their supporters.

Since the National Revolutionary Front (BRN), the largest of the armed separatist groups in the Deep South, declared a unilateral ceasefire in early April to allow officials to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, at least 33 attacks have occurred in the border region. These have resulted in the deaths of at least 19 people, including five insurgents. As many as 52 people have been injured in those incidents, according to information compiled by BenarNews from police reports.

In 2004, Malay-speaking rebels in the Muslim-majority provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and four districts in Songkhla province reignited an insurgency against Thai security forces and soft targets over their demand for an independent state. More than 7,000 people have been killed since then, according to Deep South Watch, a local think-tank.
(Natural News) The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has increased in recent years. Besides ancient techniques that promote natural healing, such as acupuncture, CAM also promotes the use of natural products like essential oils.

Essential oils are concentrated extracts that can be derived from different parts of a certain plant. This is usually done through steam distillation. The oils obtained from this process contain a mixture of aromatic compounds that contribute to a plants unique scent and flavor. These compounds also possess beneficial properties that make essential oils such potent natural remedies.

Today, essential oils are widely used in aromatherapy. This type of CAM is popular with patients whose symptoms adversely affect their mental health. Essential oils are also used for massage therapy and as a topical treatment for infections and skin conditions like eczema. Because of their wide range of medicinal applications, essential oils and their plant sources are topics of great interest for scientists.

In a recent study, researchers at the State Research Institute Center for Physical Sciences and Technology in Lithuania analyzed the chemical composition of essential oils obtained from the inflorescences and leaves of a local plant called dwarf everlast (Helichrysum arenarium). They also compared the chemical profile of these essential oils with that of oils from dwarf everlasts that grow in other countries.

The researchers reported their findings in an article published in the Journal of Essential Oil Research.

Factors that influence the phytochemical composition of essential oils

For more than a decade, scientists have been studying essential oils, specifically their applications and their phytochemical components. Theyve found that these natural products are generally complex mixtures of volatile terpenes and phenyl propanes, although some also contain hydrocarbons or sulfur compounds.

When it comes to the chemical variations between essential oils derived from the same plant species, researchers have identified several factors that influence these. These factors include genetic variability, plant parts, developmental stage and environment. In particular, season, time of harvest and geographical location all play a part in determining the chemical composition of essential oils.

For instance, one study reported that the availability of light in a particular location influenced the concentration of monoterpenes and phenyl proanes in sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) essential oils. Meanwhile, low water availability was found to increase the concentration of monoterpenes in pebrella, or wild mountain thyme (Thymus piperella) essential oils.

Other environmental factors that were found to influence the chemical composition of essential oils include altitude, latitude and soil-related factors, such as nutrients and pH.

For their study, Lithuanian researchers used gas chromatography and mass spectrometry to determine the chemical constituents of locally grown dwarf everlasts. They identified a total of 56 different compounds in dwarf everlast essential oils that made up 80.1 to 98.8 percent of the total oil content.

The researchers noted that the main fractions were composed of sesquiterpenes (29 to 70.1 percent), aliphatic hydrocarbons (7.7 to 45.5 percent) and oxygenated monoterpenes (2 to 13.9 percent). Among the terpenoids, the main constituents of dwarf everlast essential oils were:

1,8-cineole, 8.9 percent

B-caryophyllene, 5.8 to 36.2 percent

y-Cadinene, 5.8 percent

d-Cadinene, 9 percent

The essential oils also contained appreciable amounts of aliphatic hydrocarbons, mainly octadecane and heneicosane. These likely came from the wax that covered the outer surface of the cuticle of the dwarf everlasts. The oils octadecane content was found to be 7.1 to 22.3 percent, while heneicosane content varied from 7.9 to 20 percent, depending on which part of the plant they were extracted (i.e., flowers or leaves).

The researchers said that the essential oils of Lithuanian dwarf everlasts greatly differed from the essential oils of dwarf everlasts grown in other countries. For instance, a recent study by an Iranian researcher reported only 38 chemical constituents for dwarf everlast essential oil. The main fractions were identified as a-pinene (32 percent), 1,8-cineole (16 percent), a-humulene (15 percent) and B-caryophyllene (8 percent).

The huge difference between the chemical profiles of these essential oils demonstrates the huge impact of environmental factors, including geographical location, on their phytochemical content.

Sources include:

AlternativeMedicine.news

Healthline.com

Journals.SagePub.com [PDF]

ScienceDirect.com 1

ScienceDirect.com 2

TAndFOnline.com

Emerald.com
Please consider this letter as your official notification about these guidelines, he wrote, since a warning will not be given for a first offense for more significant violations.

Bisese offered a stern warning about potentially egregious violations, saying that such behavior could have significant implications for a students tenure at UR. If you live off campus and host a gathering that violates our safety protocols, you risk automatic suspension from the University for at least one semester, he wrote.

If you live on campus and host a gathering that violates our safety protocols, you will be evicted for the rest of the year.

Bisese wrote that students who attend such gatherings, on campus or off, also risk significant disciplinary action, and that violations of guidelines related to things like physical distancing and contact tracing could result in a student being put on probation.

Further, he warned that since these behaviors involve an immediate risk to the entire campus community, the university might impose interim actions, such as quarantine, isolation, or revocation of campus privileges.
An itinerary Pastor known as Joyce Oyedele, who was spotted preaching without nose mask protection at the Central Business District has appeared before an Accra Circuit Court.

Joyce who is being held for refusal to wear nose mask, pleaded not guilty.

But Yaw Dankwah who acted as a friend of the court raised objection over who was legally mandated to prosecute the accused.

Mr Dankwah contended that the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) had not been mandated to prosecute cases of breach of the COVID-19 protocols.

He said that the Executive Instrument (EI) 64 Section 1 and 4 (1) (2), 2020 did not give the AMA mandate to prosecute.

According to him, prosecution should be done by the Police, adding that the EI gave the Police the power to conduct instant search and that the AMA is not the same as the Police.

Thus his argument led to the adjournment of the matter to Thursday August 13. Joyce was however remanded by the court.

The Prosecution led by Linda Kunbuno, from AMA said on August 10, this year, Joyce was seen not wearing nose mask on two different occasions and was advised to wear one.

She said on August 11, this year, Joyce was again seen preaching at the ECG office in Accra Central and was using her handkerchief as a nose mask.

Prosecution said even though someone offered to buy one for her, she declined to take it, saying she was safe in using her handkerchief.

She said Joyce was later arrested by the COVID-19 Safety Task Force after she declined to wear the mask purchased for her.

Currently the COVID-19 Safety Task Force is made up of personnel the Military, Police, AMA, and Zoomlion.

They are to enforce the Directives on wearing of nose mask to contain the spread of COVID-19

---GNA
A Lancaster mans claim that his attorney ineffectively represented him while he stood trial for shooting a man in the back of the head wasnt enough to convince an appeals court he should be re-tried, prosecutors said Thursday.

Its been five years since authorities said Victor M. Tirado, 55, shot 21-year-old Rahdir Maxton in the back of his head in a parking lot on the 200 block of East Fulton Street. Tirado was convicted of the killing in 2018 and given life in prison.

But Tirado argued he deserved a new trial because his trial attorney did not ask the judge to provide jurors with instructions on two witnesses he said were accomplices, according to a news release from the Lancaster County District Attorneys Office.

The Pennsylvania Superior Court denied Tirados appeal this week and said a corrupt-source instruction was not necessary in his case.

The witnesses testified about what they heard Tirado say while they were in a car with him before and after the shooting, prosecutors said. Tirado said their testimony alone was not enough to put him in prison, but prosecutors said there was more than enough evidence placing him at the scene of the crime.

Prosecutors said Tirados distinct gait, or limp, was caught on surveillance cameras in the area of the shooting. Maxtons fiancee told investigators he was going to meet Tirado, who had called him and asked to buy 20 ounces of crack cocaine.

Tirado previously said a new trial was necessary due to the tainted jury as a result of media coverage of this case. That claim was also denied.

The 55-year-old was in prison on unrelated drug charges when he was arrested for Maxtons murder in February 2017.

READ MORE:

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Military helicopter makes emergency landing after someone shoots at it, injuring crew member
Vietnam reports three more COVID-19 cases on August 13 morning (Photo: VNA)



The new patients, aged from 40 to 83, include one returning from Saudi Arabia, and two linked to the Da Nang Hospital hotspot.

These brought the number of cases connected to the outbreak in Da Nang to 421.

Among the patients confirmed in the country, 322 were imported cases and quarantined upon arrival.

The Steering Committees Treatment Sub-committee said that 409 patients or 46.3 percent of the total have fully recovered so far.

Among the remaining active patients, 35 have tested negative for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 at least once, and 51 others at least twice.

A total of 133,340 people who had close contact with patients or returned from pandemic-hit areas are being quarantined nationwide, including 5,361 at hospitals, 25,043 at concentrated quarantine establishments and 102,936 at home./.
Viral footage has captured the touching moment a stray mother dog raced into an overflowing river to save its puppy trapped by devastating floods in China.

The dog and its five puppies were initially left stranded after their temporary shelter was swallowed by the rising tides, reports said.

A local resident only managed to rescue the mother canine and four of the puppies as the floodwaters continued to surge.

After noticing the other baby missing, the brave mother dog is seen immediately sprinting back into the swollen river to fetch the puppy.

Viral footage has captured the touching moment a stray mother dog raced into an overflowing river to save its puppy trapped by floodwaters in China's south-western province Sichuan

A local resident only managed to rescue the mother canine and four of the puppies as the floodwaters continued to surge. After noticing the other baby missing, the brave mother dog is seen immediately sprinting back into the swollen river as onlookers cheered and applauded

The trending clip has moved millions of Chinese web users who praised it as the extraordinary power of a mothers love.

The incident occurred on Wednesday in Meishan city of south-western Chinese province Sichuan, according to state media Peoples Daily.

The stray dog and its five puppies were left stranded in the middle of the swollen Min River after their shelter was inundated due to torrential rain.

Local residents gathered and called police after spotting the animal family struggling to return to land.

One of the onlookers swam across the floodwaters and managed to rescue the mother canine and four of its puppies.

He was then stopped from saving the last baby dog by a police officer who thought it was too dangerous for the man to return to the river.

The police officer tried to stop the stray canine but the animal ran and jumped into the floodwaters, seemingly determined to save its baby as the picture shows the dog in the river

Residents are heard cheering and clapping as they watch the pair of dog returning to land

After noticing that one of its babies was missing, the mother dog is seen turning around and sprinting back to the riverbank.

The police officer tried to stop the stray canine but the animal ran and jumped into the floodwaters, seemingly determined to save its baby.

Another clip sees the small dog eagerly swimming towards the puppy stuck between tree branches before carrying the baby back with its mouth.

Residents are heard cheering and clapping as they watch the pair safely returning to land.

All the dogs are said to have been adopted by local residents following the event, according to Chinese media.

All the dogs are said to have been adopted by local residents following the event, according to Chinese media. The picture shows the stray dog with its puppies after the incident in China

The video has quickly amassed millions of likes after being shared across Chinese social media on Thursday.

Web users have been touched by the mother dogs brave act, praising it as the power of mothers love.

One commenter wrote: This is truly the power of a mothers love. No matter how dangerous it is, she always wants to protect her children.

Another one said: Such a tiny body and such incredible strength!

A third netizen replied: A mothers love is extraordinary, no matter if you are humans or animals! So much respect for the mother dog!
Press Release

13 August 2020

London, UK - The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has urgently called on the UK government for strong leadership and unprecedented international collaboration, to save the struggling Travel & Tourism sector and recover the millions of jobs already impacted.

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Over 100 of the world's major travel and global business leaders, from major airlines, airports, hotels, tour operators and travel companies, have backed the unprecedented move.

The industry leaders signed and sent the letter, which called for urgent coordinated action, to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and six other Heads of State of the G7* group of countries, as well as Australia, South Korea and Spain, the world's major source markets.

The letter called on the UK's leadership during these critical times and was also sent to Keir Starmer and other such international opposition leaders, highlighting the non-partisan nature of the crisis.

WTTC, which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector, says political leaders of these major powers must step forward to save the global economy, and support the recovery of the hundreds of millions of jobs already impacted.

If the global leaders fail to come together, WTTC anticipates irreversible damage to the Travel & Tourism sector. Furthermore, as the crippling travel restrictions remain in place, the number of jobs losses around the world will continue to increase.

According to WTTC's 2020 Economic Impact Report, during 2019, Travel & Tourism was responsible for one in 10 jobs (330 million total), making a 10.3% contribution to global GDP and generating one in four of all new jobs. Moreover, it is one of the most diverse sectors, employing people from all socio-economic backgrounds regardless of age, gender or ethnicity, and includes 53% women and 30% youth employed across the sector.

Despite Travel & Tourism's crucial importance to the local and global economies, WTTC is gravely concerned there is no clear or internationally coordinated effort to protect this uniquely exposed sector.

Gloria Guevara, WTTC President & CEO, said: "As the Travel & Tourism sector buckles under mounting pressure, and the global economy struggles to survive, we have to ask - who is in charge of getting us out of this crisis and will lead the world to save the jobs and secure the futures of the many millions of people globally?"

"We have reached a stage where critical action is urgently needed. While we recognise each country must protect their own citizens and the priority to date has been domestic matters, any measures taken in silos moving forward will only worsen the plight of millions of ordinary people."

"We need to transcend politics and put the millions of livelihoods, which have been affected by COVID-19, front and centre. From cabin crew to hotel staff, travel agents to call centre agents, waiters to housekeepers, receptionists to drivers, hotel managers to chefs, and the many more unsung heroes who depend on a thriving Travel & Tourism sector."

"The voices of ordinary people must be heard, and we are calling on them to let world leaders know, in no uncertain terms, that the time for action is now."

"This is not a binary solution or a choice between health on the one hand, and jobs, the economy and travel on the other. We can make strong progress on all these fronts if we follow the expert advice from science and learn from the past and positive experiences of others."

"WTTC and the other signatories of the letter, sent to the leaders of the world, are committed to working together to help resolve the worst crisis of our generation, and bring back the millions of jobs impacted. However, the private sector cannot do this alone."

"History teaches us the road the recovery can be either long and painful, or shorter and less devastating. During the 2008 financial crisis, strong global leadership, and public-private collaboration, enabled us to recover in shorter timeframe. We cannot see the same collaboration amongst today's leaders. We must restore the confidence to travel and put our people back to work to rebuild the global economy."

"It is vital that the leaders of these countries come together and prioritise rescuing the world from this unprecedented crisis, by acting in an effective and coordinated way to bring back more than 120 million jobs and livelihoods affected."

Among those backing the WTTC call were the business leaders of major airlines, such as British Airways, Emirates, Etihad, Jet2, WestJet and Virgin Atlantic.

Business leaders from top international hotel groups, such as Accor, Best Western, Hilton, Hyatt, InterContinental, Mandarin Oriental, Marriott, Melia Hotels and Radisson have also supported the initiative.

Endorsement has also come from major tour operators and travel companies, such as Abercrombie & Kent, American Express, Carlson Wagonlit, Expedia, Travelport, TUI and Uber.

In this letter, WTTC has identified four measures which need concerted international framework and leadership to combat the coronavirus:

1. Wearing a mask: This should be mandatory on all modes of transport throughout the entire traveller journey, as well as when visiting any interior venue and in locations where there is restricted movement which results in close personal contact and required physical distancing cannot be maintained. According to medical evidence, such measures can reduce the risk of the spread by up to 92%.

2. Testing and contact tracing: We need governments to invest and agree on extensive, rapid, and reliable testing, ideally with results available in as quick as 90 minutes, and at a low cost, before departure and/ or after arrival (symptomatic and asymptomatic would-be travellers), supported by effective and agreed contact tracing tools. The application of one or multiple tests, with the second after five days, will help to isolate infected people.

3. Quarantine for positive tests only: Quarantine for healthy travellers, which only serves to damage the economy, should not be necessary if testing is in place before departure and/or on arrival, and effective containment measures are taken five days later. This can replace blanket quarantine in a more targeted and effective way significantly reducing the negative impact on jobs and the economy.

4. Reinforcing global protocols and standardise measures: The adoption of global health and safety protocols will help rebuild traveller confidence and ensure a consistent, coordinated and aligned approach of the travel experience in addition to significantly reducing the risk of infection. We also support the Public Health Corridor Concept which promotes a clean and safe end-to-end journey.

WTTC research has shown that even a modest resumption of travelling can have massive economic benefits and bring thousands of desperately needed jobs back; providing a critical boost for the struggling Travel & Tourism sector and generating desperately needed GDP for economies left floundering after being struck by the pandemic.

WTTC has been at the forefront of leading the private sector in the drive to rebuild global consumer confidence and encourage the return of Safe Travels.

WTTC's Safe Travels Protocols were developed for businesses across the global Travel & Tourism sector which provided a comprehensive range of measures, with strict health and hygiene regimes to enable them to reopen for business.

*G7 group of countries are Germany, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, UK, U.S
A fresh outbreak of coronavirus in New Zealand is due to a quarantine breach, the countrys deputy prime minister has suggested.

Coronavirus cases in Auckland have grown to 17, while officials said the number is likely to increase following more than 100 days without any cases of local transmission.

Speaking on ABC 24 News, Winston Peters said the quarantine theory was put to him via a very reliable New Zealand journalist.

New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters , pictured in a file photo from October last year, has suggested the recent coronavirus outbreak is due to a quarantine breach. Source: AP/File

I think, when that comes out very shortly, in a matter of maybe less than a day, well find out that was the case, he said.

I think, as an experienced politician and as a lawyer, that the moment I found out that this strain is not unique to my country, it had to go to a point of entry either by sea, by air, or in quarantine facilities.

And the quarantine facility is the one I think is the most likely.

Investigation into workplace of COVID infected man

While Peters suggested the outbreak was down to a quarantine breach, health officials also raised the possibility that the virus had arrived in New Zealand via freight, given one of the infected people works at Americold food cold-storage facility in Auckland.

The facility is now being swabbed to check if it was a possible source of the infections.

Director-general of health Ashley Bloomfield said tests have proved coronavirus can survive for longer on cold surfaces.

We do know from studies overseas that actually, the virus can survive in some refrigerated environments for quite some time.

A police officer stands guard outside an isolation hotel for people returning to New Zealand at Cathedral Square. Source: AAP

Bloomfield said he expected that, sooner or later, the new cases would be linked to somebody who had arrived in the country with an infection or a worker at a quarantine facility, airport or maritime port.

At the moment we haven't established a direct connection. But as we find each case and do that thorough interview and investigation, that will help, he said.

Government considering lockdown extension

A lockdown in Auckland, designed to extinguish the outbreak, could be extended well beyond an initial three days.

Story continues

Auckland was moved to alert level 3 on Wednesday, meaning that non-essential workers are required to stay home and bars, restaurants and most businesses are shut.

Winston Peters pictured with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in May. Source: AAP

The rest of the country has moved to level 2, requiring social distancing.

The government is due to make a decision on Friday on whether to extend Auckland's lockdown, which seems increasingly likely given the new cases.

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.
"Unapologetic" provides an intimate peek into the personal and political battles that transform the Chicago. The film is part of the 2020 BlackStar Film Festival. Read more

Two summers ago, Tayler Montague packed a bag and hopped on a Megabus from New York to Philadelphia to attend her first BlackStar Film Festival. This year, Montague is returning to BlackStar with the world premiere of her debut film, In Sudden Darkness.

But like BlackStar participants and viewers everywhere, shell be attending from home. The ninth annual edition of the Philly-based festival, what Ebony has called the Black Sundance, will be completely online in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Since its inception in 2012, the magic of the festival has largely been about the connections that people make in person, says Maori Holmes, BlackStars CEO and artistic director  and newly named curator-at-large for film at the University of Pennsylvanias Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.

But were doing our best to adapt, as everybody is around the world, Holmes says, and leaning into the benefits of what an online festival means: People will be able to see it, everywhere.

This years BlackStar festival runs a full week, from Aug. 20 to 26, and features more than 80 films, from major releases like Channing Godfrey Peoples Miss Juneteenth, about a beauty pageant, to Black Boy Joy, a short film about a Black family raising a young son with autism, to The Inquirers Legendary: 30 Years of Philly Ballroom, a documentary about Philadelphias LGBTQ+ ballroom culture.

The festival will begin every day with a morning show, BlackStar Live!, with hosts including Holmes, the actor and DJ Rich Medina, and the Roots Tariq Black Thought Trotter. On opening night, DJ Jazzy Jeff will host a live show, which will stream on BlackStars website and Twitch channel.

Single-day passes to the scheduled screenings are $5. Full-access passes are $100 and include a donation to BlackStar. Tickets are available on the BlackStars website. Instead of allowing on-demand access, each screening has its own specified time slot. Were really doing that for the filmmakers so that they can create events around their screening, Holmes said.

These are four of the festivals most-anticipated world premieres. The full schedule and other details can be found on the BlackStar website.

Daughters Of

This film examines the importance of self-care and healing for Black women. Philly-based author and filmmaker Shantrelle P. Lewis, who directed and produced it in collaboration with the public health nonprofit organization GirlTrek, drew inspiration from a 2017 TedTalk by T. Morgan Dixon and Vanessa Garrison.

Part of the films mission, Lewis says, is to help drive Black women towards not only reclaiming the stories of our mothers and their mothers but their self-care strategies and their healing techniques that have been passed on through the generations. Daughters Of is Lewis directing debut.

Premieres Aug. 23 at 11:30 a.m.

Unapologetic

This world premiere dives deep into the Movement for Black Lives in Chicago, chronicling personal and political battles and pivotal moments of activism, including the 2015 protest following the police murder of Laquan McDonald, the 2012 police murder of Rekia Boyd, and the election of Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

Director Ashley OShay says the film is much bigger than one moment, showing the organizing work thats been happening in Chicago since 2015. It now premieres at a time when another uprising is happening throughout the country, OShay says. A lot of the same conversations are resurfacing.

The films organizers will be hosting a Twitter chat 30 minutes before the premiere, moderated by Philadelphia activist and writer Feminista Jones.

Premieres Aug. 20 at 7:30 p.m.

In Sudden Darkness

Montagues film follows a young Bronx girl and her working-class family as they navigate the Northeast blackout of 2003, trying to stay safe and maintain the values of their family. She developed the idea amid an existential crisis after graduating in 2019 from SUNY Purchase with a bachelors degree in communications.

I was really reflecting on my childhood, she says, which served as her inspiration. What if there was a movie about the blackout, and what if it was told through the eyes of a young girl? Montague thought to herself. One year later, In Sudden Darkness was complete.

Montague will host an Instagram live chat with Be Reel Black Cinema Club at 8 p.m. Aug. 19. Visit Be Reel Black Cinema (@bereelblackcinemaclub) on Instagram for more information.

Premieres Aug. 20 at 5:30 p.m.

You Hide Me

In this short documentary from 1970, Ghanaian filmmaker Nii Kwate Owoo examines the colonization of African art in Londons British Museum, having gained unprecedented access to the museums secret underground vaults.

Owoos film provides historical analysis and context to the argument of why the African artworks should be returned to their place of origin. Because of its perceived controversy, the film was banned in many areas of the world, and BlackStar is presenting it as a world premiere.

Premieres Aug. 24 at 7:30 p.m.
By Praveen Menon

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand was scrambling to trace the source of its first coronavirus outbreak in more than three months, reporting 13 new community infections on Thursday, after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had sought to eradicate the virus with a hard lockdown.

The resurgence of COVID-19 comes just weeks before a scheduled general election, increasing pressure on Ardern to get the outbreak under control amid growing criticism.

Ardern swiftly reimposed tight movement restrictions in Auckland and social distancing measures across the rest of the country after the discovery this week of four infected family members in the city.

"Once again we are reminded of how tricky this virus is and how easily it can spread," she said during a televised news conference on Thursday. "Going hard and early is still the best course of action."

Officials reported 13 new cases in the community on Thursday, and one overseas arrival who had not left quarantine since arriving in the country, bringing the total number of active cases to 36.

Ardern said it was a positive sign that all 13 new community cases were linked back to one infected family, either via work or broader family connections, and that all were being transferred into quarantine facilities.

She said that experience showed "things will get worse before they get better", and more cases were likely to be reported in coming days.

SEARCHING FOR PATIENT ZERO

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said that he suspected the cause of the outbreak came from quarantine, and that confirmation should come soon.

"I think there's been a breach inside our quarantine system, and I think, when that comes out very shortly, in a matter of maybe less than a day, we'll find out that was the case," Peters told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Peters said he had been informed of the details by a New Zealand journalist.

Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said health officials were getting "closer every hour" to finding the patient zero of the outbreak.

Story continues

Bloomfield had raised the possibility earlier on Wednesday that the virus had arrived in New Zealand via freight, given one of the initially infected family members works in a cool store that takes imported frozen goods from overseas.

Ten of the new cases were either cool store staff or their family members. The cool store is operated by the New Zealand unit of U.S.-based Americold Realty Trust.

On Thursday, Bloomfield said that importing the virus via freight was considered "a low possibility" as the infection source, but officials wanted to formally rule it out. China has reported the virus on frozen food packaged in South America.

Some prominent local health experts suggested it was more likely the virus had been quietly spreading in Auckland for weeks, despite Ardern's efforts to eradicate it with an initial five week hard lockdown.

This possibility has allowed the major opposition National Party to seize on potential flaws in Ardern's approach ahead of the Sept. 19 election, which she described as a "COVID election" when launching her campaign.

Ardern is on track to easily win the election, according to recent polls, but the National Party is pressuring her to delay the vote until at least November, arguing their inability to campaign gives Ardern an unfair advantage.

Ardern said she will announce a decision on the election date after she reveals on Friday whether lockdown measures will be extended. The election must be held by Nov 21.

Critics are also highlighting the economic impact of an extended shutdown. Reserve Bank of New Zealand Deputy Governor Geoff Bascand told Reuters the resurgence posed "a major risk" to the bank's outlook, given its baseline scenario has an assumption that the virus is contained in the country.

AUCKLAND LOCKDOWN

In Auckland, home to around 1.7 million people, residents were given just hours to prepare for the return to level 3 restrictions on Wednesday, requiring people to stay at home unless for essential trips.

Police set up checkpoints at the city's borders as scores of people attempted to leave to avoid a sustained lockdown, as Ardern warned they would be turned back.

Long queues of people formed at pop-up clinics, with some waiting hours to be tested for the virus, and there was a rush to supermarkets to stock up on essentials.

There was also growing anger at revelations that members of the infected family had visited several tourist sites in the town of Rotorua and an aged care home in the Waikato district, both south of Auckland.

"We can see the seriousness of the situation we are in," Ardern said. "It's being dealt with in an urgent but calm and methodical way."

With 1,238 confirmed cases and 22 deaths, New Zealand's exposure to the virus remains well below many other developed nations.

(Reporting by Praveen Menon in Wellington, Jane Wardell and Colin Packham in Sydney; Additional reporting by Melanie Burton in Melbourne Editing by Michael Perry)
The Real Housewives of New York City (Bravo at 9) Luann and Leah pick up two men while strolling on the beach and bring them back to the villa where they have a fancy dinner.
Fans have been following Ashley Iaconetti and Jared Haibons love story since they met on the 2015 season of Bachelor in Paradise. Fast forward to five years later, the two reality stars are now celebrating their one-year wedding anniversary, and fans couldnt be more thrilled for the happy couple.

Ashley Iaconetti and Jared Haibon | Harrison/Getty Images)

Ashley Iaconetti and Jared Haibons wedding was a huge Bachelor Nation event

After meeting on Season 2 of Bachelor in Paradise, Iaconetti and Haibon remained friends despite their romantic connection. But in May 2018, the couple announced that they were dating, and posted a video about their relationship journey.

In August 2019, Iaconetti and Haibon wed in a lavish ceremony in Rhode Island. Bachelor producer Elan Gale officiated the wedding, and numerous series alumni attended the nuptials, including Carly Wadell, Evan Bass, and Kaitlyn Bristowe. The couples co-stars and close friends Nick Viall, Ben Higgins, and Dean Unglert served as groomsman.

RELATED: Why Ashley Iaconetti and Jared Haibon Are Excited for Clare Crawleys Bachelorette Season Despite Fan Criticism

Theyve talked about starting a family

Just months into their marriage, Iaconetti and Haibon revealed that they were thinking of starting a family. In a December 2019 interview with ET, the couple admitted that they talk about having kids a lot.

We both want kids, but I think were going to wait until next year, Haibon said. So there will be no new tradition this year, but next Christmas, knock on wood, hopefully, there will be a new tradition in sight.

The Bachelor alums are celebrating their one-year wedding anniversary

Iaconetti, who is known as one of the biggest careers in Bachelor history, took to Instagram to commemorate her one-year wedding anniversary, and she noted that its been one of the most tear-free years of her life.

Ive never cried less than I have this year, Iaconetti wrote in her post. I dont think personally life can get any better than it is now for us and Im grateful for it every day. I love being in our comforting, supportive, playful, loving marriage. Happy anniversary my forever love, @jaredhaibon.

Haibon also took to social media to celebrate their big day. In a heartfelt post, he called Iaconetti the best thing to ever happen to him.

Happy one year anniversary my love, Haibon wrote in an Instagram post. You are undoubtedly the best thing to ever happen to me. I am forever grateful you are the person I get to share my life with. Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make this the best weekend of my life. I will forever be grateful.

Bachelor producer Elan Gale also joined in to congratulate the couple. A year ago today I had the overwhelming honor of officiating the magnificent wedding of two close friends, he shared in an Instagram post.

Two people whose entire lives had somehow collided in such a dramatic, unusual, and beautiful way, Gale added. As they exchanged vows I could almost see their hearts leap out of their chests in an effort to somehow be even nearer to each other. It f***ing devastated me in the best way. Love is weird and hard and always worth it. And if that isnt the lesson of the life of Ashley I and Jared H, I dont know what is.
"Sea Ltd also experienced a similar dynamic of both rapid revenue growth and expanding multiples. But how it achieved this was a bit different.

When we invested in late 2018, I could see that Garena (the gaming business) was a phenomenal business, but I had trouble underwriting the newly self-developed (and less than a year old at the time) game Free Fire 9 . Additionally, Garena was providing all the cash flow for Sea Ltd to invest in its Shopee e-commerce platform.

If Garena stumbled (which I thought unlikely given the robustness of its core republishing model), then the cash stream to invest in Shopee would stop, and it would put the entire firm in a precarious position, have to raise far more outside capital, and during that time risk losing the momentum it had to reach its marketplace tipping point before competitors (see our Q1 2019 letter for our initial Sea Ltd thesis + more discussion on the marketplace / network effect tipping point concept; LINK).

It was really a bet the farm moment for Sea Ltd  but one that I thought was the correct decision given the sheer size of the prize if it worked, and the ability to retrench and still salvage value on the Garena side if it didnt. I had indications that Shopees marketplace was performing far better than the competition, which was confirmed in the following months when Sea released the divisions KPIs 10. Plus, the market was actually punishing the company for this move at the time, so we were getting paid for taking the optionality. In short, I saw a massive opportunity, while the market saw a gaming company burning cash on an ecommerce business it had no right to be in. This allowed us to buy the shares at a very low entry multiple.

In the past two years, Garenas Free Fire has become one of the Top 3 downloaded mobile games worldwide (LINK). These profits have in turn have fueled Shopees rise to be the #1 ecommerce marketplace across Southeast Asia, and most importantly, profitability (read: self-sustainability) in its two largest markets. As a result, these two drivers have resulted in a 5.1x increase in revenues.

But unlike Amazon, the multiple expansion wasnt because Sea Ltd pivoted into higher margin business lines  gaming and retail marketplaces both have roughly the same 40 - 60% margin profiles at maturity 11. The company simply executed on its strategic plan that was well-known at our initial investment  its just other investors didnt believe they could pull it off.

The multiple expansion came from Shopee gradually proving itself in the last two years, and investors having more confidence that the 40% operating margins that marketplaces tend to enjoy will eventually reach investors pockets. The fact that Shopee Taiwan already enjoys 20%+ margins and Indonesia is at break-even levels, only provides further confidence of this pathway.

As a result, the multiples have simply expanded from extremely pessimistic to fair. Considering I expect Shopee to continue growing 70 - 90% per year over the next couple years, while Garena shows no signs of stopping with Free Fire still helping to add gamers at +50% y/y and revenues 20 - 30% y/y, and Shopees new e-wallet business executing aggressively, I can imagine Sea Ltd will be a core part of our portfolio for many years. Sea Ltd management teams execution continues to exceed even our loftiest initial expectations."
NEW YORK, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- American Jewish Committee (AJC) welcomes today's historic announcement of a peace deal between United Arab Emirates and Israel, made possible with the active engagement of the United States.

The accord, expected to be formalized and signed in the coming weeks, envisions full diplomatic relations, direct flights, and robust people-to-people exchanges.

"This is an electrifying moment," said AJC CEO David Harris. "Its importance for the entire region cannot be overstated. First, the potential for UAE-Israel cooperation in many spheres is vast. Second, it adds to the architecture of peace, following the 1979 treaty with Egypt and the 1994 treaty with Jordan. Third, it sends a powerful, uplifting message to others in the area of what the future of the Middle East can look like. And fourth, it is a welcome reminder of America's unique capacity to facilitate such outcomes."

"Indeed, special recognition goes to the United States," Harris added. "President Trump and his dedicated team made this a high priority and were critical to achieving the outcome. We express our heartfelt admiration and appreciation."

"And I would add," Harris concluded, "for AJC, this is a special moment as well. For the past nearly 30 years, led by my AJC staff colleague, Jason Isaacson, we have traveled to the UAE, brought dozens of delegations there, and highlighted UAE leaders in our programming, including, most recently, at our 2020 Virtual Global Forum. We have been struck over the years by the visionary courage of the UAE in increasingly engaging with Israel and opening its doors to a deepening dialogue of the Jewish people. Today's announcement, of course, takes the relationship to an entirely new level, one we hope will be emulated by other nations that wish to chart a promising new direction for the region."

SOURCE American Jewish Committee

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VILNIUS, Lithuania - Lithuania on Thursday designated the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group as a terrorist organization and issued a 10-year ban on all individuals related to the Iran-backed group from entering the Baltic nations territory.

After receiving valuable information from our foreign partners, we can assume that Hezbollah is functioning on the principles of terrorist organization, Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius said.

Linkevicius added, without elaborating, that some persons with the Iran-backed organization also pose threat to Lithuanias national security.

Hezbollah emerged as a ragtag guerrilla group in the 1980s, funded by Iran to battle Israeli troops occupying southern Lebanon. A protracted guerrilla war, characterized by roadside bombs and sniper attacks, eventually forced Israel to withdraw in May 2000. With the exception of an inconclusive, monthlong war in 2006, the volatile frontier has largely remained calm.

The U.S. and Israel, along with Britain, Germany, the Arab League and Gulf Arab states have also designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. The European Union has only designated the groups military wing as terrorist, in the aftermath of an attack on a tourist bus in Bulgaria in 2012.
Pharmaceutical companies are now racing to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus and now there are several legal questions emerging. Could the government force people to get the vaccine and will there be a corresponding jail time of the public refuses it?

Can you be jailed for refusing vaccine?

According to Dov Fox, a law professor and the director of the Center for Health Law Policy and Bioethics at the University of San Diego, the answer is yes.

Fox said in an interview with Complex that states can compel vaccinations in more or less intrusive ways. States can limit access to schools or services or jobs if someone does not get vaccinated. The government can impose fines or even arrest those who will refuse to get the vaccine.

Fox also stated that authorities in the United States have never attempted to jail people for refusing to vaccinate, but countries like France have practiced the aggressive tactic to make sure people gets vaccinated.

Also Read: Dr. Fauci Dubious That Russian Vaccine Is Ready for Widespread Use

The legal precedent dates back to 1905 in a U.S Supreme Court case, Jacobson v. Massachusetts wherein the court ruled Massachusetts had the authority to fine those who refused vaccinations for smallpox.

The case was the reason behind the formation of vaccine requirements at schools and its legal basis, it has also been upheld in subsequent decisions. Fox stated that courts have found that when medical necessity requires it, the public health ultimately outweighs the rights of an individual.

In 2019, New York City passed an ordinance that fined those who refused vaccination for measles. Fox said that the recent protests over masks show that there could be massive backlash to a vaccine mandate. He added that just because states have the power to do it, it does not mean it is the best public policy.

Even though states would have the authority to mandate vaccinations, there is more doubt about whether Congress could enact a federal requirement.

The most likely federal vaccination requirement would come in the form of a tax penalty, however Fox said that given the current composition of the Supreme Court, a federal vaccine requirement would likely be found unconstitutional.

Religious and philosophical grounds

Opponents could cite the 2012 decision of the Supreme Court on the Affordable Care Act. In that case, the justices rules that Congress could not use its powers to regulate interstate commerce to require people to purchase health insurance even though the ACA's individual mandate was upheld on separate grounds.

This means that America may not be united when it comes to vaccine requirements as it will depend on each state. Fox said that states that explore a vaccine requirement should only do so if the vaccine is available.

States need to allow exemptions for those with legitimate medical risks, like those who are pregnant, but not exemptions on philosophical grounds and religious grounds.

Meanwhile in the workplace, private employers would have the flexibility to require vaccinations and fire employees who refused them for anything but medical concerns.

Fox said that as long as employers show that there are significant costs linked with having employees that are not vaccinated, they would not need to offer religious and philosophical exemptions to employees.

Employers are not required to accommodate religious employees if doing so would be more costly, according to the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Related Article: Russia's COVID-19 Vaccine Could Cause Harm, May Open a Pandora's Box

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Hammersmith Bridge was closed to the public with little warning today after safety inspectors found cracks in the 133-year-old structure had worsened amid the recent heatwave.

The suspension bridge in west London was closed 'indefinitely' to motorists in April last year after 'critical faults' were detected in the ironwork.

Hammersmith and Fulham Council made the decision to shut the crossing to pedestrians and cyclists from 5pm today after a 'sudden deterioration in key parts of the structure.'

Boats will also not be permitted to cross underneath the bridge until engineers are confident it is safe to reopen the Grade-II listed structure.

Walkways underneath the bridge near the River Thames are also closed.

Hammersmith Bridge was closed to the public with little warning today after safety inspectors found cracks in the 133-year-old structure had worsened amid the recent heatwave

The suspension bridge in west London (pictured) was closed 'indefinitely' to motorists last April after 'critical faults' were detected in the ironwork

A statement from Hammersmith and Fulham Council said: 'Hammersmith Bridge is closed to pedestrians and river traffic from 5pm today (13 August) because of an increased risk to public safety due to a sudden deterioration in key parts of the suspension structure.

'Specialist engineers have been undertaking 24/7 monitoring of the structural integrity of the bridge throughout using an extensive network of sensors on the 19th century structure.

'The deterioration in the structure was exacerbated by the recent heatwave which caused cracks to significantly increase  despite measures taken to mitigate the heat.

The expansion of a crack in the ironwork is seen in April (left) and after the August heatwave (right)

Boats will also not be permitted to cross underneath the bridge until engineers are confident is is safe to reopen the Grade-II listed structure

The closure, which came into effect with little warning, means the nearest river crossing is almost two miles away at Barnes Bridge

How Hammersmith Bridge survived two IRA bombings before it cracked under the heat Hammersmith Bridge has been targeted twice by the IRA as the paramilitary group tried to blow it up. Terrorists from the Provisional IRA struck on April 24, 1996, as did the so-called Real IRA on June 1, 2000, but failed to destroy the landmark. Yet the batterings caused significant damage to the west London site and left it weaker and with a reduced weight limit to this day. Two powerful bombs were put beneath the bridge during the 1996 attack, but they failed to detonate properly. There were two small explosions, but the main bomb - made up of 30 lb of Semtex which could have felled the entire bridge and was the largest Semtex bomb ever found in Britain - never came. The IRA gave a two telephone warnings, as it often did, and police found the bomb before it detonated. Armed officers raided homes in Fulham and Essex and made arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. The IRA later released a statement saying: 'The substantial explosive device, which unfortunately failed to detonate, at Hammersmith Bridge in London, was placed by one of our active service units.' The 133-year-old bridge was shut for three years to undergo 3.5million in repairs, but had to be halted when it turned out the wrong steel was being used. In 2000 terrorists from the splinter group the Real IRA - formed after the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998 - bombed the bridge at 4.30am. But it again failed to cause significant damage and no one was injured or killed. Adrian Larkman, who lived near the bridge, was the first to call the emergency services. He told the Guardian at the time: 'I work nights and I was cooking when there was a loud bang. The windows of my house shook. I dialled 999 and I was apparently the first person to call. 'I put my boots on and went outside five minutes later and there were already policemen there. 'I asked what was going on and they said there had been an explosion on the south side of the bridge and they were checking whether there could be a second device.' The current bridge was opened in 1887 after being designed by civil engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette, who also masterminded central London's sewer network. The Prince of Wales, who later became Edward VII, oversaw its grand reopening. The original bridge, opened in 1827, was the first suspension bridge across the Thames and designed by William Tierney Clark. But after 50 years it was no longer strong enough to support the flow of traffic crossing the river and had to be replaced. Advertisement

'The bridge will remain closed until the engineers are confident that it is safe to re-open to pedestrians and river traffic.

'It means that pedestrians and cyclists must now cross the river elsewhere, while all river traffic under the bridge will also be stopped  including the pedestrian walkways under Hammersmith Bridge  while engineers examine the extent of the damage.'

The closure, which came into effect with little warning, means the nearest river crossing is almost two miles away at Barnes Bridge, the Evening Standard reports.

Councillor Stephen Cowan said: 'Safety is the number one priority. I'm absolutely sure that we averted a catastrophe by closing this 19th century suspension bridge to motor vehicles last year.

'We have some of the best engineers in the world working on this scheme. They advise we now face a similar dilemma.

'I appreciate how inconvenient this will be to thousands of people on both sides of the river and I am sorry about that, but we must follow the engineers' advice which is why the bridge will be closed with immediate effect today.

'We will update everyone as soon as engineers have investigated the scale of the recent damage. I have instructed them to find a plan to safely reopen it as quickly as they can.'

Hammersmith Bridge, designed by civil engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette and opened in 1887, is made from cast iron and is one of two of its kind in the world.

Micro-fractures were discovered in the structure in 2014 when the council leader commissioned a structural integrity review of all aspects of the bridge's suspension structure, which began in 2015.

'The bridge had been badly maintained for many years. The structural integrity review quickly began to find decades of unchecked corrosion riddled throughout,' Cllr Cowan said.

'It found that important mechanisms on the bridge had seized up years earlier causing the suspension structure to cease to operate as it had been designed to - causing other problems elsewhere in the machinery.

'Last year, using the latest technology, it discovered dangerous micro-fractures in the cast iron pedestals that hold the suspension structure in place.'

'These unchecked structural failures compromised the flexibility of the suspension chains over previous years and caused the micro fractures.'

The suspension bridge was closed indefinitely to motorists in April last year after 'critical faults' were detected in the ironwork.

Hammersmith Bridge had been about to undergo a full refurbishment, which engineers estimated would cost 120million and take three years to complete.

Transport for London then provided 25 million for preparatory repair work.

The council said in February there had been 'good progress' on the refurbishments.

But this weekend, when temperatures soared as high as 96F (35.7C) in London, the suspension chains were affected by the heat and cracks in the ironwork expanded.
By Zoe Fruchter

fruchter@grinnell.edu

New Title IX regulations from the U.S. Department of Education went into effect last week for schools across the country. Despite the changes, which Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos claims will balance the scales of justice in sexual assault and harassment cases, Grinnell Colleges process for Title IX will remain relatively consistent with procedures under previous guidelines.

I think they sound more scary than they are, said Title IX coordinator Bailey Asberry of the new regulations. A large section of the regulatory changes were about due process, and I think that if you were doing this right in the first place that was always an important piece.

As of publication, the College has not issued a formal announcement of changes to current Title IX policies.

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.  Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972

These new rules come as the latest salvo in a decade-long battle over campus sexual assault and harassment regulations dating back to the 2011 Office of Civil Rights Dear Colleague letter. In the letter, Obama-administration Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Russlynn Ali urged schools to aggressively confront the issue of sexual assault and harassment on their campuses. The DeVos regulations reduce schools obligation to address cases of sexual misconduct.

A major change for the Title IX process at Grinnell is the requirement of in-person live hearings and cross examination of both parties. Advocates for survivors of sexual assault have said that required live questioning could significantly re-traumatize survivors, opening them up to unnecessary interrogation of their character and testimony.

Thats the most concerning piece for me, said Asberry. How do we put people through an already contentious process and require this live element?

Although Asberry only sees a handful of conduct cases a year with regard to Title IX, she said that equitable representation is her priority in addressing the cross-examination requirement.

There are times when one party would have an expensive attorney and one party has their friend with them, said Asberry. And that feels like a huge power differential, especially if youre going into a situation where you have to be questioned by that person.

Grinnell will make a pool of attorneys available for both the complainant and respondent for the live questioning phase at no cost to either party. Both the parties can, however, opt to choose their own representatives.

There are times when one party would have an expensive attorney and one party has their friend with them. And that feels like a huge power differential, especially if youre going into a situation where you have to be questioned by that person.  Bailey Asberry, Grinnell College Title IX Coordinator.

The cross-examination debate characterizes many of the DeVos changes. The new regulations generally require formalized methods which draw more similarities to legal court proceedings than educational conflict resolution.

Yet some of the regulations allow leeway for institutions such as Grinnell to shape their own processes.

One example is the standard of evidence needed to prove responsibility for sexual misconduct. Previous guidelines encouraged schools to use a preponderance standard of evidence, meaning that an investigator must prove only that there is a greater than 50% chance a claim is true. The 2020 regulations will allow for Title IX officials at colleges to use a clear and convincing standard of evidence, a higher burden of proof for the complainant.

However, Asberry said that Grinnell will continue to use a preponderance standard as encouraged by previous guidelines.

Another change is a narrower definition of harassment on the basis of sex and gender.

While the Obama Office of Civil Rights pushed schools to address harassment before it became severe or pervasive, now harassment must be severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive in order to trigger Title IX proceedings. This change places sex- and gender-based harassment under a more narrow definition than other forms of harassment, such as on the basis of race and ability, which qualify for formal proceedings if they are severe, pervasive or objectively offensive.

While this narrower definition cuts off options for complainants through the Title IX office, complainants have the option to process any form of unwanted sexual behavior under the student code of conduct.

We absolutely still have options there, said Asberry.

Despite the 2,000-plus pages of federal documents that Asberry has sifted through over the past months, she said that while some process changes will occur, complainants and respondents will be dealing with the same personnel as before.

Grinnell follows a hybrid model for Title IX cases, involving three different parties. The College engages Kansas City law firm Husch Blackwell to help conduct investigations and a retired judge to make recommendations on the case, most recently former Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Marsha Ternus. The Dean of Students, currently Ben Newhouse, then decides on the outcome of the complaint.

Most of the time, however, Asberry said that what complainants want are supportive measures: for her to reach out to professors, help them get access to medical testing, facilitate residence hall changes or connect them with counselors. And while DeVoss changes may have grabbed national headlines, Asberry is looking towards a larger shift in the coming school year: the changes necessitated by COVID-19.

I consider my job to be one of those jobs that you really need to do in person to do it well, said Asberry. Remote conversations about really sensitive and difficult stuff are just so hard. But were doing the best we can.

If you have questions or concerns to bring to the Title IX office, please contact Bailey Asberry at titleix@grinnell.edu.

This article has been corrected to reflect the fact that the College engages Husch Blackwell to investigate formal Title IX cases, not Bailey Asberry.
NEW YORK, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP ("Scott+Scott"), an international securities and consumer rights litigation firm, is investigating certain directors and officers of Pinterest, Inc. ("Pinterest") (NYSE: PINS) for breaching their fiduciary duties to Pinterest and its shareholders. If you are a Pinterest shareholder, you may contact attorney Joe Pettigrew for additional information toll-free at 844-818-6982 or [email protected].

Scott+Scott is investigating whether Pinterest's board of directors or senior management failed to manage Pinterest in an acceptable manner, in breach of their fiduciary duties to Pinterest, and whether Pinterest has suffered damages as a result.

On June 16, 2020, two former Pinterest employees went public with claims of racial discrimination and retaliation during their time at Pinterest.

On August 11, 2020, news reports emerged that Pinterest's former Chief Operating Officer was suing Pinterest due to sexual harassment and a hostile work environment.

What You Can Do

If you are a Pinterest shareholder, you may have legal claims against Pinterest's directors and officers. If you wish to discuss this investigation, or have questions about this notice or your legal rights, please contact attorney Joe Pettigrew toll-free at 844-818-6982 or [email protected].

About Scott+Scott

Scott+Scott has significant experience in prosecuting major securities, antitrust, and consumer rights actions throughout the United States. The firm represents pension funds, foundations, individuals, and other entities worldwide with offices in New York, London, Amsterdam, Connecticut, California, Virginia, and Ohio.

Attorney Advertising

CONTACT:

Joe Pettigrew

Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP

230 Park Avenue, 17th Floor, New York, NY 10169

844-818-6982

[email protected]

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Bengaluru violence: SDPI comes under the scanner yet again

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Aug 13: The Bengaluru police is probing the role of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) in the violence that broke out on Tuesday in which three persons were killed and scores injured over a Facebook post.

Bengaluru violence over Facebook post | Stone pelting & arson in city | Oneindia News

The SDPI which is not banned has been flagged by the National Investigation Agency in the past. In the instant case, a delegation from the SDPI had visited the police station on late Tuesday evening to lodge a complaint over the post. The police is said to have delayed filing the complaint following which a crowd started to gather outside.

There were also rumours that the police was holding the suspect inside the police station.

Bengaluru violence: Karnataka govt orders magisterial probe

The crowd demanded that the suspect be handed over. Suddenly the situation went out of hand. Officials say that they have video evidence of the SDPI's involvement in the case.

The police also detained for questioning an SDPI leader, Muzzamil Pasha. The police also questioned another SDPI activist, Jaffar Pasha. He however told the police that he had no role to play in the incident.

Keshav Murthy, D J Halli inspector said that they had registered a case based on the complaint against Naveen. We are also investigating the role of the SDPI, he also said.

The role of the SDPI had cropped up in the probe into the murder of RSS activist, Rudresh in 2018. The NIA had said that this was a clear act of terror and in its chargesheet filed before the Special NIA court in Bengaluru, the agency said that five accused members of the PFI and its affiliated political organisation the SDPI planned to target two RSS workers in uniform.

The chargesheet by the NIA also said that the indoctrination of the members was done to make them believe that the act of killing RSS members was part of Jihad by eliminating kafirs and also establishing the Islamic Caliphate in India.

In August 2019, the NIA had filed a chargesheet in connection with the Ramalingam murder case in Tamil Nadu. The agency had named the PFI and SDPI for allegedly killing the activist. Ramalingam, a native of Tamil Nadu''s Thanjavur district, was killed on February 5 by the activists of the Popular Front of India (PFI) and the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) "for interfering in their religious propagation activity" at Pakku Vinayagam Thopu village in Thiruvidaimarudur town of Thanjavur, the NIA said in its chargesheet.

Bengaluru violence: An attempt to polarise, cops dig further

The SDPI has however distanced itself from the Bengaluru violence. In a video message, the president of the SDPI Karnataka, Elyas Mohammad Tumbe said that the people had approached the police to file a complaint against Naveen who has been repeatedly making offensive comments against the Prophet and the religion. But the police neither booked a case nor arrested him until late night. The crowd turned aggressive, he also said.

He further said that he condemns the incident and it should not have happened in the first place. The SDPI is being targeted unfairly. He further said that Pasha was in fact helping the police calm the crowd. The police are now shifting the blame on the SDPI, he also said.
Eight criminal charges have been filed against a Lancaster County funeral home director whose license was suspended earlier this year for allegedly mishandling bodies and lying on death certificates, local and state authorities said this week.

Andrew T. Scheid, 49, was charged this week with four felony counts of tampering with public records and four misdemeanor counts of abuse of a corpse stemming from incidents at two funeral homes he ran in Manor Township and Lancaster.

Scheid was barred from acting as director of the Andrew T. Scheid Funeral Homes in January after the Pennsylvania Department of State accused him of keeping an un-embalmed body unrefrigerated for three days and not returning cremated remains to families.

The new criminal charges against Scheid are related to these alleged actions, which authorities said took place between December 2019 and January 2020 on the 300 block of Blue Rock Road.

Scheid also used a $7,500 check to buy a burial vault in December, knowing he didnt have enough money to make the purchase, investigators said. Hes facing a misdemeanor count of bad checks as a result.

Investigators said four bodies were discovered Jan. 14 at the funeral home. Although they had been there for several days, none were embalmed, sealed or refrigerated as required by law. The bodies were starting to decompose as a result, authorities said.

Services for the mishandled remains were carried out by other funeral homes, according to authorities.

Authorities said Scheid took the mishandling a step further by falsifying death records about when remains were embalmed or cremated.

During this investigation we examined dozens of complaints that revealed deficient business practices and poor business etiquette that understandably caused the decedents families frustration and further grief, said District Attorney Heather Adams in a news release, noting that not all of the complaints against him merited criminal charges.

However, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced the filing of a civil lawsuit Thursday which seeks to permanently shut down Scheids funeral home and obtain restitution for the families who gave him business.

Andrew Scheid treated recently deceased Pennsylvanians with no care, and betrayed dozens of families who put their trust in him and his business, Shapiro said in a news release. Working with our partners in Lancaster County, who are pursuing criminal charges against Mr. Scheid, my office will work to recover consumers money and prevent Mr. Scheid from putting any other families through a tragedy like this ever again.

This is far from the first time Scheids actions as a funeral home director have been put under a microscope.

Ten instances of misconduct were filed in in support of Scheids suspension in a 51-page submitted in December to the State Board of Funeral Directors.

His license is suspended for no less than three years, according to an order from the Department of States Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs. He also had to surrender his wall certificates, biennial renewal certificates and wallet cards.

A number of state agencies played a role in the criminal investigation against Scheid, including Pennsylvania Department of State, Pennsylvania Department of Health, Pennsylvania Bureau of Vital Statistics and the Consumer Protection Division for the Pennsylvania Attorney Generals Office.

Scheid was arraigned this week and bail was set at $250,000, court records show.

READ MORE:

Pa. university dean kept pressuring me to join her in three-way sex, ex-student claims in federal lawsuit

Cold-blooded killer serving life in prison for shooting death of 21-year-old in Lancaster denied new trial: prosecutors

Strip club manager cited with coronavirus violation for having 300+ people inside: police
The nation's peak business lobby group wants the Morrison government to pick up to 10 industry "winners" to lead the country out of the coronavirus recession as figures show a record 1 million Australians are looking for work.

Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott said it would not "cut the mustard" for the government to take a holding position. She urged it to abandon its traditional hands-off approach to industrial development and deliberately nurture those sectors in which Australia could lead the world.

Business Council of Australia chief Jennifer Westacott says the country will have to pick industry winners and nurture them to get out of the coronavirus recession. Credit:Louie Douvis

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures on Thursday showed the jobless rate in July hit a 22-year high of 7.5 per cent despite the creation of 115,000 jobs.

The figures, compiled from a survey before the advent of Victoria's stage four lockdowns to stop the spread of the coronavirus, showed 1.01 million people formally out of work. It is the first time more than 1 million people have been on the national unemployment queue.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., condemned QAnon on Wednesday, saying it has "no place in Congress" on the heels of several Republican candidates who espouse the theory winning congressional primaries.

"Qanon is a fabrication," Kinzinger wrote on Twitter, a day after QAnon supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene won a Republican primary runoff election in Georgia.

"This 'insider' has predicted so much incorrectly (but people dont remember PAST predictions) so now has switched to vague generalities," he said. "Could be Russian propaganda or a basement dweller. Regardless, no place in Congress for these conspiracies."

Qanon is a fabrication. This insider has predicted so much incorrectly (but people dont remember PAST predictions) so now has switched to vague generalities. Could be Russian propaganda or a basement dweller. Regardless, no place in Congress for these conspiracies.  Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) August 12, 2020

QAnon is a baseless conspiracy theory that alleges that there is a "deep state" run by political elites, business leaders and Hollywood celebrities with ties to a child sex trafficking ring. In addition to claiming that "deep state" members are pedophiles, the theory insists that they are actively working against President Donald Trump.

The online movement started in the fall of 2017 on internet message boards, with posts from a self-proclaimed government insider who calls himself Q, presumably who Kinzinger was referring to.

Roughly 7,000 Twitter accounts tied to QAnon were removed from Twitter in July.

Trump tweeted his support for Greene on Twitter, calling her "a real WINNER!" on Wednesday.

Congratulations to future Republican Star Marjorie Taylor Greene on a big Congressional primary win in Georgia against a very tough and smart opponent. Marjorie is strong on everything and never gives up - a real WINNER!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 12, 2020

Republican Jeff Flake, a former senator from Arizona, also came out against QAnon on Thursday, saying that the future of the Republican Party depended on disassociating itself from the movement.

Story continues

"If the GOP wants to be a relevant political force in the future, it cannot endorse those who embrace QAnon and other conspiracy theories," he wrote on Twitter.

The Trump campaign criticized Kinzinger for coming out against QAnon candidates, questioning why he would bring up QAnon falsehoods instead of ones "pushed by Democrats."

"When will @RepKinzinger condemn the Steele Dossier fabrications and conspiracy theories pushed by Democrats?" tweeted Matt Wolking, deputy director of communications for the Trump campaign. "That actually WAS Russian propaganda."

When will @RepKinzinger condemn the Steele Dossier fabrications and conspiracy theories pushed by Democrats? That actually WAS Russian propaganda. https://t.co/NzVjbkkk8l  Matt Wolking (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@MattWolking) August 12, 2020

Wolking was referring to the salacious dossier written by Christopher Steele, who was hired to investigate Trump's ties to Russia during the 2016 campaign.

Trump employed a similar redirect against former President George W. Bush in May.

Trump called the investigation into his alleged ties with Russia a "hoax" after Bush asked Americans to unite during the coronavirus pandemic, criticizing the 43rd president for not coming to his defense.

"He was nowhere to be found in speaking up against the greatest Hoax in American history!" Trump wrote on Twitter.

.@PeteHegseth Oh bye the way, I appreciate the message from former President Bush, but where was he during Impeachment calling for putting partisanship aside. @foxandfriends He was nowhere to be found in speaking up against the greatest Hoax in American history!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2020

Trump hasn't directly addressed the QAnon theory or its supporters, but he has retweeted accounts that promote the QAnon conspiracy theory at least 185 times, according to Media Matters for America, a progressive watchdog group.

According to the group, Trump family members, including Donald Trump Jr., have amplified QAnon accounts on social media, too.

The Washington Post reported this month that the Trump campaign has been courting QAnon followers more explicitly.

The Post reported that the campaign's director of press communications went on a QAnon program, urging listeners to "sign up and attend a Trump Victory Leadership Initiative training," and that QAnon iconography has been featured in official campaign advertisements in battleground states.

Contributing: Ryan W. Miller, Deirdre Shesgreen

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: GOP lawmaker calls out QAnon, Trump team fires back
Thousands of foodies took to social media to debate whether or not sugar should be added to spaghetti bolognese.

The surprisingly divisive discussion was sparked after a woman from Texas shared a picture of spaghetti bolognese topped with a pile of sugar to Facebook and challenged people 'argue' whether the ingredient belonged in the recipe.

People were quick to jumped to army veteran Trina Ward's defense while others could not contain their disgust at her suggestion.

The controversial post, which has gained more than 6,000 comments and 53,000 shares since it was shared earlier this summer, soon made it onto foodie Facebook pages where more keen cooks shared their side of the debate.

Trina Ward shared a picture of her bolognese on Facebook and the post went viral as people rallied in support of her use of sugar or expressed their disgust

Several Facebook users acknowledged the use of sugar in the recipe, including Amber Nate Howell who replied: 'A dash in the sauce only to cut the acidity of the tomato.'

While others agreed the sweet substance should be added, they expressed horror at just how much sugar was pictured on Ms Ward's meal.

Emma Nicole Vacca said: 'Only a pinch to take the acidity away. That much is grim.'

Echoing her sentiment, Steve Pittarese said: ''First of all what kind of f****** pasta sauce is that? Anybody using jarred sauce could f*** all the way off.

'Secondly anybody that knows how to make sauce will tell you YES you can use a PINCH of sugar in the SAUCE ALONE while cooking it to cut the acidity but this is all kinds of different levels of gross and wrong.

The reaction to Ms Ward's post was mixed, with some people acknowledging sugar can be used to cut the acidity

'You might as well replace the sauce with ketchup because that's what you're making with all that sugar.

'As an Italian from Brooklyn this offends me and hurts my insides.'

Similar to those who commented on Ms Ward's original post, Italian Sara Groscot said people from her country put some sugar in their bolognese to 'offset the acid from the tomatoes'.

Others agreed with Ms Groscot, such as Francis Rodriguez who said the recipe only needs a teaspoon sugar to 'take off the acid f the tomato'.

Some people comically drew comparisons between the image and popular Christmas character Buddy the Elf, who pours a bottle of maple syrup over a bowl of spaghetti - much to his new found family's bewilderment.

In the foodie Facebook groups, people drew comparisons between Ms Ward's meal and that of much loved Christmas film character Buddy the Elf who pours maple syrup on spaghetti

A few others suggested Ms Ward's recipe may be more similar to Filipino spaghetti which is sweet in taste.

Frankie Empeno said: 'As a Filipino, I can assure that this is a thing in the Philippines and in Filipino families.'

Typically the recipe diverts from the usual bolognese and features diced hot dogs and sugar or evaporated milk.

Professional chefs agree with Ms Ward's claim that sugar should be added to tomato-based pasta sauces, however at most, recipes that call for the sweet substance to be added suggest a teaspoon or two at most.

Famed chef Wolfgang Puck includes sugar in his own bolognese recipe, but notes that you only really need a single teaspoon - and that this is optional.

'To heighten the tomato flavor, stir in the sugar, if desired,' he advises.
Khyati Dharamsi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 13 launched the 'Transparent Taxation' platform while announcing multiple reforms to improve tax compliance, faceless assessment and ease of filing returns. As part of the rehaul, the government has also proposed to reduce the threshold of various transactions for tax disclosure. This is aimed at widening the income tax base and checking tax evasion.

The list will now include white good purchases, property tax payment, medical and life insurance premium and even hotel payments.

So, the next time you pay a hotel bill or medical insurance premium of more than Rs 20,000, incur an expenditure exceeding Rs 50,000 on life insurance or over Rs 1 lakh for school fee, purchase white goods, jewellery, marble or paintings (see image below), be mindful that the entity you have made the payment to will be informing the government of your transaction.

Even payments made to the government such as property tax and electricity bills would be reported if they exceed Rs 20,000 and Rs 1 lakh, respectively. Business-class airline travel, whether domestic or foreign, would be reported, as per communication from the Ministry of Finance. These would be reflected in an individual's tax account statement called Form 26 AS.

Earlier, a majority of the high-value transactions were linked to the financial sector such as banks, demat accounts, but now this move aims to bring everyone under the lens. So, even normal payments for school fees and white goods or painting purchases above Rs 1 lakh would be reported and even bank account deposits would be checked, said Mehul Sheth, a chartered accountant.

Also Read: Faceless tax assessment: A good step towards transparency, but implementation holds the key

Some of these had already been announced earlier during the Union Budget or are being captured through income tax returns. But a formal implementation has been announced. Under the existing scenario, property purchase above Rs 30 lakh, Rs 10 lakh invested in shares, mutual funds, demat, credit card and fixed deposit transactions above Rs 10 lakh were reported.

The limit for cash deposits in banks has been enhanced from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 25 lakh for savings account and Rs 50 lakh for current account. But, if you have bank transactions exceeding Rs 30 lakh then you would have to file a tax return, whether your transaction has been reported or not.

Government has introduced new sections and is making reporting of certain transactions mandatory to unearth black money. This is because the number of people subjected to scrutiny is being reduced. The tax department wants to say have faith that taxpayers wont be harassed as they are relying on data analytics, said Ameet Patel, partner at Manohar Chowdhry & Associates.

While it remains to be seen how this would be implemented and whether individual taxpayers would be burdened with additional compliance. But since June 2020, many notices have been issued to taxpayers to verify whether they have incurred certain high-value transactions.

Notices to confirm transactions reported under the taxpayers' PAN have already been issued based on the information reported to the government. The taxpayer simply needs to log-in to confirm whether the transactions belong to him or her, says Patel. Once you verify or decline the transaction, the tax department would cross verify with your income tax returns if any.

The options for an individual include, whether the information is correct, wrong or duplicate. If you decline the information then they would verify with the company that supplied the information. If you are proved wrong then you would have to revise your income tax return, says Shah.

Another case in point is whether the threshold limits for certain transactions have been set low to include everyone under the tax net. A big group of diners at the restaurant would exceed Rs 20,000 in hotel bill, school payments have been exceeding the Rs 1 lakh mark for many, while Mediclaim premium would be beyond Rs 20,000 for a family for four.

The threshold may seem low if we take into account bigger cities like Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi, but they are reasonable from the government standpoint, which would take into consideration smaller towns, says Patel.
NEW YORK, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Unite Us , a technology company building coordinated health and social care networks throughout the country, was today named to CB Insights ' second annual Digital Health 150 ranking, which showcases the 150 most promising private digital health companies in the world. This is the second year in a row that Unite Us has been recognized by CB Insights for its excellence and innovation in the health care providers and services industry.

The 2020 Digital Health 150 cohort highlights startups that are reimagining the lines of the traditional healthcare experience across 12 categories, from Virtual Care Delivery and Clinical Trials, to Drug Discovery and Specialty Care. Countries represented this year include Canada, China, Israel, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, among others.

"This year's Digital Health 150 is our most global ever, covering the best private healthcare companies from 17 countries. Beyond geographic diversity, these companies are innovating across the entire healthcare value chain, spanning technologies that benefit pharma & biotech companies, to payers, hospitals, insurers, and more," said CB Insights CEO Anand Sanwal. "Last year's Digital Health 150 winners saw numerous exits and went on to raise nearly $5 billion in investor financing after being recognized. We look forward to seeing the success of this year's class of the best in digital health."

"The Unite Us team is thrilled to once again be recognized by CB Insights as one of the most innovative digital health startups for our outcome-focused technology that powers coordinated care networks across the country to bridge the gap between health and social care," said Dan Brillman, Unite Us CEO. "We look forward to continuing our rapid growth across the country, expanding access to health and social care and building healthier communities alongside local partners. I look forward to seeing the impact our networks have in 2021."

Through an evidence-based approach, the CB Insights research team selected the Digital Health 150 from hundreds of applications based on several factors including patent activity, investor quality, news sentiment analysis, proprietary Mosaic scores, market potential, partnerships, competitive landscape, team strength, and tech novelty. The Mosaic Score , based on CB Insights' algorithm, measures the overall health and growth potential of private companies to help predict a company's momentum.

Founded in 2013, Unite Us standardizes how health and social care providers communicate and track outcomes together, aligning all stakeholders from healthcare, government, and the community around a shared goal to improve health. The company's technological infrastructure enables real-time, actionable metrics on individuals, outcomes, and provider performance, enabling partners to proactively address the complex needs of the most vulnerable populations across the country. Unite Us' intuitive platform supports meaningful collaboration, community-wide care coordination, and secure, bidirectional data sharing. Unite Us customers and partners include Kaiser Permanente, Lyft, CVS Health, the state of North Carolina and more.

Since March, when the coronavirus pandemic was declared a national emergency in the U.S., Unite Us has accelerated several new partnerships, such as Nebraska Health Information Initiative (NEHII). In addition, Unite Us expanded and launched new networks in direct response to COVID-19, including Unite NYC , a network in collaboration with community-based partners focused on connecting New Yorkers with local health and social care providers. In North Carolina, NCCARE360 , the first-ever statewide health and social care network, grew to over 1,000 organizations in all 100 counties six months ahead of schedule, so people could get the care they need.

Quick facts on the 2020 Digital Health 150:

The 2020 Digital Health 150 startups have raised over $20B in funding across 600+ deals from 900+ unique investors.

in funding across 600+ deals from 900+ unique investors. The list includes 12 unicorns (companies that have reached a valuation of $1B+) focused on a diverse range of digital health solutions, including telehealth, insurance, and robotic surgical systems.

Many have formed partnerships with key industry players like the American Heart Association, Cigna, and Mount Sinai Health System.

About CB Insights

At CB Insights, we believe the most complex strategic business questions are best answered with facts. We are a machine intelligence company that synthesizes, analyzes and visualizes millions of documents to give our clients fast, fact-based insights. Serving the majority of the Fortune 100, we give companies the power to make better decisions, take control of their own future, and capitalize on change.

About Unite Us:

Unite Us is a technology company that builds coordinated care networks of health and social service providers. With Unite Us, providers across sectors can send and receive secure electronic referrals, track every person's total health journey, and report on tangible outcomes across a full range of services in a centralized, cohesive, and collaborative ecosystem. Unite Us' dedicated team builds authentic, lasting partnerships with local organizations to ensure their networks have a solid foundation, launch successfully, and continue to grow and thrive. This social infrastructure helps communities transform their ability to work together and measure impact at scale. Follow Unite Us on LinkedIn , Facebook , Instagram , and Twitter .

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An exhibition on the work of various media institutions in Laos on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of Lao Media and Publication Day, August 13, 2015

Laos state media celebrated their 70th anniversary on Thursday, but ordinary citizens say they tune out the slow and censored voice of the Communist Party, the State and the People of Laos in favor of social media and foreign broadcasts.

Domestic news in Laos suffers from a lack of current content, extensive censorship and a heavy pro-government bias, citizens in several parts of Laos told RFA in interviews for the 70th Lao Media and Publication Day.

Most of us follow news on YouTube, Facebook and Thai TV, a resident of Pakse city in Champassak province, in the countrys southwest, told RFAs Lao Service Tuesday.

Media in neighboring Thailand, an authoritarian country that remains more free than one-party Laos, have a wide audience in Laos, in part because the countries languages are closely related and mutually intelligible to most speakers.

Thai broadcasts are more popular than Laos because they are more detailed, present a variety of viewpoints, more interesting to watch, and easily accessible online, said the source, who requested anonymity for security reasons.

Another Lao citizen, who declined to be named, echoed this sentiment, telling RFA, We have Lao TV but we dont watch it. We watch Thai TV.

A resident of the capital Vientiane, who requested anonymity for legal reasons, told RFA that it is state medias inability to report news quickly that makes alternatives popular.

Lao state media is slow and not up to date. I hear news from other people first before I hear it from the official media, the Vientiane resident said.

Furthermore, reports from state media are censored. If those in the upper ranks do not agree with the content, the report will not be published, the resident added.

Decree No. 327

The Lao constitution guarantees freedom of the press, but in practice the government controls nearly all print and broadcast news, and in 2014 the country enacted a draconian law banning on-line criticism of the state.

Decree No. 327 imposes criminal charges for publishing "untrue information" about policies of the ruling Lao People's Revolutionary Party or the Lao government for the purpose of "undermining ... the country."

Rights groups have criticized the law, with Amnesty International saying in a 2019 report that it is inconsistent with the right to freedom of expression.

In 2017, three Lao workers were given prison terms ranging from 12 to 20 years in a secret trial for criticizing their government in Facebook postings while working in Thailand.

A Lao government spokesman defended the law to state media last week, saying that social media sites like YouTube often publish fake news that slanders the government. Official media have a responsibility to publish the truth to the public, Chaleun Yerpaoher, the minister of the Prime Ministers office, said.

A resident of the city of Luang Prabang, who requested anonymity to speak freely, told RFA, Stories on Facebook are sometimes fake and are often unclear, so I watch Lao Star TV, which broadcasts more accurate news.

Lao Star TV refers to itself as the countrys first private channel, but a 2019 BBC media profile of Laos classified it as commercial, state-owned.

One-sided coverage

Traditional state-controlled media outlets are now using social media to get their message out, according to the senior editor of Lao National TVs news service.

We are adjusting the way we work to fit into the new era, the editor, who requested anonymity for professional reasons, told RFA Wednesday.

Before, the way we worked was of course was not modern, but now we have come to realize that not many people watch TV because it is so slow, the editor added.

So, we have turned to social media sites like Facebook and YouTube to publish our news and information. Many people have smart phones now. However, we still [broadcast on] TV because TV is the most reliable source of news and stories, the editor said.

Even if traditional media modernize, freedom of the press is nonexistent in Laos, according to Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director at New York-based Human Rights Watch.

The Lao government is authoritarian and has for a long time severely violated human rights. It has never honored democracy nor has it ever respected freedom of the press, including television, newspapers and radio, and it has never respected the opinions of its people, Robertson told RFA.

The one-sided nature of Lao state media is standing in the way of quality programming, according to a professor at Luang Prabang citys Souphanouvong University.

Lao people are afraid to freely express themselves, the professor, who requested anonymity for security reasons, told RFA.

State media shouldnt publish only the views and the orders of the government. It should present differing opinions in various forms, the professor said.

The media should be the voice of the people, and the people should have rights and freedoms. This is the way to make Lao media more interesting, the professor added.

In an annual survey of press freedom released in April, Laos was ranked 172 out of 180 countries by Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which said the ruling Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party exercises total control over the media.



Reported by RFAs Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
Google has brought in some tools and features that will come in handy for teachers and students using Google Meet and Google Classroom. With uncertainty looming large over the COVID-19 pandemic, and schools still not reopening, institutes have resorted to Google Classroom, Google Meet, and other alternatives.

Google announced the virtual approach of going back to school with The Anywhere School bringing in 50 new features over Google Meet, Classroom, GSuite and other products.

Google highlighted new tools to help out students and teachers who use Google Classroom. These include:

To-do widget: To help instructors and students better discover and track their work in Classroom, the Classes page will soon have a to-do widget for students and a to-review widget for teachers.

Link-sharing: Formerly, it was only possible to share codes on Google classroom. With the link-sharing feature, teachers and moderators can share a link anywhere for students to join.

Originality reports checking plagiarism: Google has brought in originality reports to Classrooms and Meet to check for plagiarism in student's assignments or homework. It has increased the number to five reports and unlimited reports for Enterprise users.

10 additional Indian languages: Google Classroom will soon be available in 10 additional Indian languages. Google Classroom will support over 54 languages globally with even more coming in the future.

Connectivity: Google noted that it will work for Classroom mobile apps to work in intermittent connectivity.

Student interaction data: Admins or teachers will be able to keep track of how much a student is interacting on Google classroom through student engagement metrics.

Google announced enhanced features that will roll out as early as September or October to assist students and teachers for Google Meet. Starting September, Google will bring in more control for moderators of Education meetings for managing their virtual classes on Google Meet. These controls include:

--Bringing in a setting that allows a teacher to join first.

--Prohibiting participants from joining a meeting if they have been ejected from a meeting or after they have been denied entry twice. The feature will launch later this month.

--End meetings for all participants when class is finished.

--Join requests can be accepted or rejected in bulk.

--Disable in-meeting chat and set restrictions on who can present during a meeting.

Moreover Google Meet will get new features for the interaction of students and teachers. In September features like larger tiled views with a 7x7 grid to fit 49 students on a screen at once, a collaborative whiteboard for students to share ideas are slated to come.

Google will also bring blur backgrounds, attendance recording, and breakout rooms in October. Other features aimed at coming later this year are hand-raising and Q and A features.
New Delhi, Aug 14 : Ahead of the Independence Day celebrations on August 15, security has been beefed up in Delhi-NCR with multi-layered arrangements and strict vigil at the border areas. Apart from this, agencies like NSG, SPG and ITBP have been put on high alert.

"All the agencies will work in close coordination with each other to cater to all kinds of threat inputs. SWAT teams and Parakram vans have been strategically stationed," said a senior police officer.

Policemen in civil dress would be deployed at strategic locations across the capital with extra focus on in and around the Red Fort.

"We have also set up facial recognition systems at vantage points for suspect identification. This would help the security forces screen the suspects around the celebration area," the officer said.

Over 45,000 security personnel will be guarding the city on Independence Day besides over 2,000 snipers deputed at specific locations on high-rises in around 5 km periphery of the Red Fort.

Apart from securing the main venue at Red Fort, adequate security arrangements have been made for the function at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

"All the necessary guidelines in view of the Covid-19 pandemic will be enforced," said a senior police officer, adding that there will be elaborate traffic arrangements with optimal deployment of staff, signages for public convenience measures.

At Least 20 teams of dog squad of the Crime Branch and several others from every district have been deployed to sniff out any trouble in the capital on Independence Day. Bomb disposal squads have also been put on alert and would be strategically placed in and around the Red Fort.

In Delhi, at least 350 police personnel who will be part of the guard of honour at the Red Fort have been quarantined ahead of the ceremony at the police colony in the Delhi Cantonment.

The Delhi Police have also advised people who have Covid-19 symptoms to avoid attending the event.

"In the case of any invitee experiencing or having a history of any symptoms of Covid-19 in the two weeks preceeding the Independence Day event, the invitee may consider refraining from attending the event," said a senior police officer.

In Ghaziabad, security has been beefed up and special search operations are being carried out for checking hotels, lodges, roadside eateries, bus stands and railway stations.

SSP Ghaziabad Kalanidhi Naithani said that two Quick Response Teams (QRTs) comprising sniffer dogs and bomb disposal squads have been constituted. One of the two teams would be headed by the Crime Branch SP and the other by the Police Lines SP.

Latest updates on Independence Day 2020

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Asked about Trump's remark that he didn't want to provide more funding to the Postal Service in order to prevent universal mail-in voting, Reed said: "I am aware of those comments and obviously I disagree with that commentary. I believe the Postal Service deserves and needs to receive the necessary funding, and that it needs to be stabilized, and that it needs to be in a position to function, especially during this crisis."

Reed highlighted his concerns about the Postal Service in a news release and conference call with reporters.

Rep. Chris Jacobs, an Orchard Park Republican, responded to a request for comment with a statement that said: "Our Postal Service is integral to our society, especially at a time when many Americans are staying home and relying on deliveries for critical products, such as food items and medications. I am aware of many of the issues regarding Postal Service funding and pending insolvency and we need to look at reforms that ensure this service has a balanced and funded budget, and make sure service is efficient and high quality.
Indian Ambassador to China Vikram Misri met Liu Jianchao, a senior official of the Chinese Communist Party, and briefed him on India's stance on the borders in Eastern Ladakh and the overall bilateral relations.

The meeting took place on Wednesday.

"Ambassador Vikram Misri met Liu Jianchao, Deputy Director of the Office of CPC Central Committee Foreign Affairs Commission and briefed him on India's stance vis-a-vis the situation on the borders in eastern Ladakh UT and overall bilateral relations," the Indian embassy in Beijing said in a tweet.

Earlier this month, India and China held Major General-level talks at Daulat Beg Oldi area to discuss disengagement by the Chinese side along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh sector, said Indian Army sources.

The Chinese are sitting near the Finger 5 and Gogra post in Eastern Ladakh and are refusing to disengage completely from there. India has demanded complete disengagement of the Chinese troops at the earliest.

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 two countries have been engaged in a standoff in the Eastern Ladakh sector for the past few weeks.

(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.)
Prasanta Mazumdar By

Express News Service

GUWAHATI: The African swine fever (ASF), which killed over 17,000 domesticated pigs in Assam in recent months, has now been detected in parts of Meghalaya.

Samples tested at the Guwahati-based North Eastern Regional Disease Diagnostics Laboratory (NERDDL) confirmed the outbreak of the disease in Meghalaya. The samples were collected from the states Ri Bhoi, East Khasi Hills and West Jaintia Hills districts after the sudden deaths of some pigs.

Nine samples tested in our laboratory were found to be positive for ASF during screening. We sent those to the National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal on Tuesday for retests, Dr Pradip Gogoi, who is the deputy director (in-charge) of Animal Health Centre of the NERDDL, said.

The Lamin village in West Jaintia Hills had accounted for around 15 pig deaths in the first week of August. Similar deaths were reported also from two other districts. The sudden deaths had made the authorities to collect the samples and send them to the NERDDL for laboratory tests.

Meghalaya is the third state in the country to see the outbreak of ASF. The two other affected states are Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The deaths of pigs due to ASF were first recorded in Assam. Since its outbreak in February, it has killed over 17,000 pigs in the state.

In Arunachal, the disease had spread to the wild. A few months ago, the forest officials in the state had retrieved the carcasses of six wild boars in East Siang district. Several other wild boars were reported to have also died in Upper Siang district.

The ASF is a highly contagious haemorrhagic viral disease of domestic and wild pigs caused by a large DNA virus of the Asfarviridae family, which also infects ticks of the genus Ornithodoros. The disease was first detected in 1921 in Kenya. No vaccines or medicines have been discovered so far.
Democratic vice presidential running mate, US Senator Kamala Harris, speaks during the first press conference with Joe Biden in Wilmington, Delaware. (AFP)

Chicago: Two words summed up Tamani Jayasinghes exuberance for the first Indian American and Black woman to run for vice president: Kamala Aunty.

That title of respect that goes beyond family in Asian circles immediately came to mind when Joe Biden announced Kamala Harris as his running mate. So the 27-year-old with Sri Lankan roots tweeted it as a wink to others who understood the significance of the term.

The fact that she is both Black and brown is what makes this so exciting. The Asian American experience is one that is complicated and nuanced and robust, said Jayasinghe, who works in financial communications in New York. I feel connected to that.

Harris, the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, often focuses on her identity as a Black woman. At times during her political career, as she ran for California attorney general and senator, some didnt realize she was of Indian descent. In her first remarks as Bidens running mate on Wednesday, she spoke of her mothers roots but described herself as the first Black woman to be nominated for the vice presidency on a major party ticket.

Still, the possibility she would be the U.S. vice president, which has already triggered sexist and racist commentary, created instantaneous glee among South Asians worldwide and put the spotlight on her as the first person of Asian descent on a major party presidential ticket.

Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group of eligible voters. More than 11 million Asian Americans will be able to vote in November, according to a May report by the Pew Research Center.

The choice  Biden and Harris made their debut Wednesday  inspired social media musings of celebrating the Hindu festival Diwali at the White House and drawing room talks about the U.S. senators mothers journey from Chennai to California. Indian government officials of all parties noted the choice as historic, while actress Mindy Kaling  she once made masala dosa with Harris  deemed it thrilling.

She is one of us, said Aleyamma Keny, a retired nurse in suburban Chicago.

The 74-year-old woman, who immigrated from southern India to the U.S. in the 1970s, said Harris joining the ticket felt like a family member had accomplished something. Like many others, Keny saw her own immigration story in the candidates mother.

Harris has called her late mother, Shyamala Gopalan, her biggest influence and frequently invoked stories about the cancer researcher and civil rights activist who died in 2009. Gopalan first came to America in 1958. She attended the University of California at Berkeley, where she met and married Jamaican immigrant Donald Harris and had Kamala and her sister before the couple divorced.

Gopalan took the sisters to India to visit relatives and gave both, Kamala Devi Harris and Maya Lakshmi Harris, names rooted in Indian culture.

Harris mother came to the U.S. at a time when Indians were scarce and raised her biracial daughters with the understanding that the larger American society would see them as Black. She took them to civil rights protests, and wanted them to become confident, proud Black women, Harris wrote in her 2019 book, The Truths We Hold: An American Journey.

A graduate of Howard University, Harris has made clear that she is both confident and proud of her Black identity. In a March 2019 radio interview, she answered a question about her identity by saying: Im Black, and Im proud of being Black. I was born Black. I will die Black, and Im not going to make excuses for anybody because they dont understand.

She did take steps during her presidential campaign, before she dropped out in December, to talk about her Indian heritage. Without much fanfare, she released a video via social media featuring photos of her Indian grandfather and talked of her visits as a child to see him.

In her speech Wednesday, Harris noted her parents heritages but ended with saying Biden is the only person whos served alongside the first Black president and has chosen the first Black woman as his running mate.

President Donald Trump struggled Wednesday to define her candidacy, repeatedly calling her nasty. Shes already been the subject of the false notion that shes ineligible to run because her parents were not born in America.

Harris was elected to the Senate in 2016, the same year three other Indian Americans won their first House terms including Pramila Jayapal of Washington. The first Indian American congresswoman, she and Asians also celebrated Harris as a Black woman.

It isnt just that we want her to be an Asian American sister for us. She really is representative, this biracial piece is representative of the experiences that so many immigrant communities have had, learning from the leadership of Black communities, she said. So we want her to claim all of us and we will all claim her.

Madhuri Patel, who immigrated from Gujrat, India, at the age of 6 and grew up in predominantly white Iowa, said Harris multi-layered identity would make her a more effective leader. She hoped Harris could unify the country.

For me, its always been really important that you have someone who understands the experience of being marginalized within our communities, said the 45-year-old Chicago attorney.

Zafar Bokhari, a Chicago State University professor who immigrated from Pakistan in the 1980s, said Harris was a role model for his children.

Despite skepticism about her foreign policy if elected, he said seeing a woman from the Indian subcontinent as a possible vice president was inspiring.

This is quite an achievement and I really admire the way she has presented herself, he said. She has earned this position and I respect that.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia  The pandemic is deceptive. You know its here, all around you, but you cant see it or hear or feel it. You cruise down near-empty streets that once were filled with commuter traffic, you go into restaurants that have only two or three customers or maybe none, and you see a majority of people wearing face masks.

Thats a majority, not most. A lot of people dont wear them for all the usual reasons. Theyre inconvenient, theyre not needed. A young woman who works at the counter of a clothing store tells of one customer who had a fit and walked out when told she had to wear one. At hotels you cant enter the lobby without having a mask on.

Thats still not stopping people from flocking to the beaches of this coastal city at the height of the tourist season. Business isnt as good as in previous years but crowds still gather in alarming numbers, oblivious to fears of a virus they say affects only a few, surely not us. And then there are the protesters flooding the downtown areas of some cities with agendas ranging from reform to revolution. They, too, think they are immune.

Confusingly, President Donald Trump has gone from saying the virus will go away to warning that it may get worse before it gets better; from praising Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief government immunologist who by now is probably Americas most famous medicine man, to criticizing him. Trump may not like all Faucis assessments but he cant get rid of him as if he were some disposable Cabinet secretary, for fear of a chorus of derision from all his critics.

It may be a little early to say the polls are right, Trump is behind and hes sure to lose the election in November, but if he does lose, the reason will not be the political protests or his ambivalent foreign policy but his failure to come up with a national response to COVID-19. Hes not saying people are stupid to be crowding the beaches, and hes not criticizing governors for opening and then shutting schools in an atmosphere of uncertainty.

Beneath the bluff and bluster, Trump has no idea what to do. He has no notion exercising the strong leadership needed to guide the United States through the pandemic, of sticking with a clear national program. Hes only recently donned a face mask for the first time, and he doesnt appear too happy to have had to make that concession. He obviously did so on the strong advice of the people closest to him, including his daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner.

If hes had to change course, hes still not willing to come across as a decisive leader with the will to confront realistically what may be the biggest crisis of his presidency.

Instead, Trump prefers to juggle figures, engaging in voodoo mathematics and semantics to buttress his claim that actually the United States, the nation hardest hit by the pandemic, has had the best record in dealing with it. He would not want to acknowledge it, but its almost a cliche by now to compare the U.S. response to those in South Korea and Germany, both of which have been quite rigorous in containing the disease.

The United States no doubt is a hard country to govern. State and local governments, private groups, interests and individuals assert their rights. You see that happening on a clear day in this sprawling city where talk of the pandemic vies for air time with news of a storm, wreaking havoc for a few hours before blowing northward, leaving the beaches to the fun-loving crowds.

For Trump, the best news would be for Dr. Fauci to announce a vaccine, a miracle cure that really worked. Incredibly, Peter Navarro, responsible for Trumps hard line on trade issues, especially with China, has been on U.S. networks talking up hydroxychloroquine, as Trump was doing months ago.

Dr. Fauci, not to mention the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, have long since said this drug is not only ineffective but may be dangerous. Perhaps the United States would be better off, as long as Navarro is usurping the job of medicine man, if Fauci would take on Navarros role as trade adviser. Or maybe Fauci should be telling him, you stick to trade, let me worry about the virus.

Donald Kirk is the author of 10 books on Korea, Okinawa, the Philippines and the Vietnam War. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.

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The idyllic car-free Channel Island of Sark is now trying to double its falling population which now stands at just 492.

German entrepreneur Swen Lorenz, who has been based on the island of Sark since 2004, has now launched Sark Society in a bid to rescue the island's dwindling population, which stood at around 650 ten years ago, and raise it by another 500.

The island, which is nestled in between Guernsey and Jersey, is famous as one of the few remaining places in the world where cars are banned from roads and only tractors and horse-drawn vehicles are allowed.

However its diminishing population has now left its properties empty and seen its businesses struggling to survive.

The Channel Island of Sark is now trying to rescue its dwindling population of 492 and raise it by another 500

The island, which is the smallest independent state of the British Commonwealth, has banned cars from the roads

Only tractors and horse-drawn vehicles are allowed on the island which has been independently governed as a 'Crown dependency' since 1565

The new scheme has got the backing of Seigneur Christopher Beaumont, who holds the hereditary title of head of the island.

Mr Lorenz said Sark, which he describes as 'a secret European microstate', had experienced a drop in population over the last ten years.

In a statement, Mr Lorenz said: 'Be one of just 500 people to create a new lifestyle for yourself.

'Repopulate a 'secret' European microstate where properties are standing empty. A life-changing, limited-time opportunity.'

Mr Lorenz listed the benefits of island life as including no income tax, no capital gains tax, no inheritance tax, no VAT, no employment law and no bookkeeping requirements for individuals or companies.

He said so far more than 20 high-net-worth individuals have signed up, including one couple who had already relocated.

He also described it as 'possibly Western Europe's best jurisdiction to live in.'

He added: 'Sark is the small island I call home. Every year, the island attracts over 60,000 tourists. It is mostly untouched and famous for stunning scenery and a gentle pace of life.

'As remote working becomes more common, remote islands like Sark might become more attractive.

'Indeed, if you wanted to get away from the troubles of the world (without having to leave Western Europe), Sark is probably one of THE best places to consider right now.

'Sark has also remained COVID-19-free.

The island of Sark, which is nestled between Guernsey and Jersey, forms a part of the Channel Islands and sits off the coast of Normandy, France

The Sark Society is now trying to raise the population of the island by another 500. Pictured: A traditional house on the island of Sark

German entrepreneur Swen Lorenz said the perks of living on the island include no income tax, no capital gains tax, no inheritance tax, no VAT, no employment law and no bookkeeping requirements for individuals or companies

'The government is debt-free, violent crime is unheard of, and social unrest is almost inconceivable.

'I travel to many places from Sark and I always enjoy coming back.'

Other things Mr Lorenz said would appeal include fast Internet and 4G, easy access to Guernsey, and low set up costs with apartments costing around 900 per month.

He added: 'Sark is suddenly becoming obvious as the kind of safe haven that many people are now looking for.

'Your tax return takes one minute to file, and you are done with the government for the rest of the year.

'You can buy an entire lifestyle by moving to Sark. Sea, nature, and scenic views. A real community, where neighbours help each other.

'The opportunity to rid your life of career politicians, power-crazed bureaucrats, and silly laws that rob you of your freedoms. All of Sark's members of parliament are volunteers and there is no bureaucratic apparatus.

'Sark offers a combination that suddenly many more people find almost too good to be true. Only that it is true.'

Two pioneer settlers have now moved there from London to be 'guinea pigs' for the relocation scheme.

The island is only 5.5 square kilometres and has no street lights to pollute the skies. Pictured: Hikers walk through the island

Andrew and Claudine Boast are two professionals and Internet entrepreneurs in their late 30s who Mr Lorenz said he has known for more than a decade.

He added: 'Claudine and Andrew were my guinea pigs (and they don't mind me calling them that). I figured that if they settle in well, others will follow.

'Indeed, there are now several friends and colleagues who will shortly move to Sark.

The tiny island of Sark where cars are banned and only tractors and horse-drawn vehicles are allowed The island of Sark forms a part of the Channel Islands and sits off the coast of Normandy, France. It is the smallest independent state of the British Commonwealth. The island has been independently governed as a 'Crown dependency' since 1565. It has a democratic government that is run by a local parliament and the hereditary head of state is called the Seigneur. The island, which sets its own laws based on Norman legal traditions, is only 5.5 square kilometres. In 2015, the official population count of the island was 492. The island has no street lights to pollute the skies and became the World's First Dark Sky Island in 2011. Cars are banned from roads and only tractors and horse-drawn vehicles are allowed. Advertisement

'Sark probably needs to double its current population size to reach critical mass and long-term sustainability.

'And they should. There is local support for repopulating Sark, including from the island's Seigneur who would like to see the population increase to 800 or maybe 1,000.

'There is no official law or decree for increasing the population, but as the holder of the feudal title to the island, the Seigneur's leadership couldn't be any clearer.

'Just for the avoidance of doubt, Sark will never be able to accommodate too many people. Everyone on Sark loves that the place is stuck in an era long gone by.

'But even Sark cannot escape economic and financial reality. The island is currently teetering on edge, because the population is now too small to sustain businesses, such as the local supermarket.

'Sark probably needs to double its current population size to reach critical mass and long-term sustainability.'

'COVID-19 is a game changer for Sark - and the Seigneur WANTS to see new people come

'It has never seen the kind of over-development that you can find on neighbouring Guernsey, or in places like Spain. You can fix up or even replace an existing building, but adding an entirely new building is restricted to residents who have been there for at least 15 years.

'Even during the boom of the mid-2000s, when tens of millions of pounds of tourism-related investment poured into Sark, the island only had 650 residents.

'The population has since gradually sunk to its current level. Jobs fell away, and the local government didn't make an effort to bring in new residents. With the shrinking population came an alarming ageing of the community. The average age of Sark's population is now over 60, compared to 42 in the UK.'

Mr Lorenz has launched the website and said he will do everything to help people relocate.

He added: 'As a resident I am greatly concerned that we are reaching a point where the community is simply not viable anymore.

'I have just decided to step forward and put myself out there and set up a website and a service where people can get help if they want to move to Sark.'

Seigneur Beaumont said he had been in discussions with Mr Lorenz 'for a long time' about the idea.

He added: 'If it becomes successful then we'll find more people wanting to come to Sark than we've got space for.

'And I would prefer to be in that situation than in a situation where we have piles of empty properties and nobody knowing that there's a place to live.'

The islands government, the Chief Pleas, has been approached for comment.
(Alliance News) - A previously misfiring smartphone app to help track transmission of the coronavirus will be trialled again in parts of England following two months of troubleshooting, the government said on Thursday.

The updated version of the tracing app will undergo renewed trials on the Isle of Wight, off the southern English coast, and among health volunteers nationwide, ahead of further tests in an east London district.

The UK government halted the rollout of the app in June and switched to technology developed by Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google in an embarrassing U-turn after it encountered major problems with its own approach.

Critics argued it should have embraced the US technology much earlier instead of trying to persevere with its own more centralised data collection system despite warnings it would be less effective.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Thursday that officials had collaborated widely, including with countries around the world, such as Germany, adopting similar tools to develop a "state-of-the-art" app.

"We've worked with tech companies, international partners, privacy and medical experts to develop an app that is simple to use, secure and will help keep the country safe," he added in a statement.

Hancock first suggested the tool would be available in mid-May, but the project was beset by problems and no target date has been set for its introduction.

The reworked version uses an Apple and Google-developed system, already adopted in several countries, which handles data in a more privacy-friendly way than the government's own earlier effort.

It utilises Bluetooth technology to keep an anonymous log of close contact between users and can alert them if they need to self-isolate.

The English app can also let users know the level of coronavirus risk in their districts, as well as allowing people to use check-in codes at venues and locations.

Health officials hope successful trials will allow them to integrate the tool into a broader testing and tracing scheme launched earlier in the summer.

It has reached more than 250,000 people since then, the Department of Health said Thursday, but critics argue it is still failing to contact too many potential cases.

The UK has been the worst-hit country in Europe by COVID-19, recording more than 41,000 deaths according to government statistics, which were revised on Wednesday and cut the toll by around 5,000.

source: AFP

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Kallpod, a leading hospitality tech provider that facilitates real-time engagement between guests, service staff, and internal teams, has announced today that Kontactless is now available at select Hyatt, Courtyard Marriott, and Hilton locations, among others. Using QR code technology, Kontactless allows customers to place orders for food, beverages, and merchandise, which can be delivered to where the customer is sitting. Kontactless does not require customers to download an app, and once orders are placed, guests can make payments, track progress, and leave feedback  all from the comfort of their mobile device.

"Kontactless represents an amazing step forward for the hospitality industry, and we are proud to work with such exceptional brands to bring this solution to the marketplace," noted Gabriel Weisz, CEO, and founder of Kontactless. "We began work on Kontactless in 2019 to meet growing guest preferences for a more efficient experience when dining out and attending events. Having built a significant footprint in the hospitality industry over the last decade, we were well-positioned to address customer concerns while at the same time increasing efficiency and productivity for operators."

To use Kontactless at a restaurant, bar, hotel, or event venue, guests simply scan the unique QR code at their table or seat. This automatically brings them to a custom responsive webpage where they can place orders, make payments, track progress, and leave feedback. Additionally, QR codes can also be featured outside and in parking spaces, so customers can order from multiple locations in their immediate vicinity. Orders can also be placed in advance and customers can alert the venue once they've arrived. Kontactless can be seamlessly integrated into many POS systems, and the company provides customized design and printing of QR codes on behalf of operators.

While Kontactless wasn't created for the COVID-19 pandemic, renewed awareness around increasing hygiene, reducing non-essential human contact, and limiting use of commonly touched surfaces makes this solution particularly relevant now. Just as importantly, Kontactless offers guests the opportunity to leave honest feedback about the overall experience and remain in full control of when orders are placed.

To sign up for a demo, visit www.kontactless.io or email [email protected].

About Kontactless and Kallpod

Kontactless is a subsidiary of Kallpod, LLC, a Los Angeles-based hospitality tech provider founded in 2014 by Gabriel Weisz and Steven Barrow Barlow. The company was founded to fill a gap in communication between hospitality service staff and the customer. Kallpod's proprietary and customizable platform improves labor costs and increases sales through streamlined, real-time communication between guests, service staff and internal teams. Since launch, Kallpod has partnered with many of the hospitality industry's leading names including Live Nation, Marriott, the San Francisco 49ers, and Aramark, among many others.

Media Contact

Ryan J. Walker

R. J. Walker & Co.

860 930 3611

[email protected]

SOURCE Kallpod
Sky News

Boris Johnson's former chief adviser has said the prime minister knew in advance about a Downing Street drinks party during the first coronavirus lockdown and agreed that it could go ahead, claims that have been confirmed to Sky News by a second source. In an updated post on his Substack page, Dominic Cummings said he raised his concerns about the event in the Number 10 garden in May 2020 directly with the PM and would "swear under oath this is what happened". Mr Johnson's principal private secretary Martin Reynolds emailed officials with an invite to the event on 20 May, suggesting attendees "BYOB" (bring your own bottle, or booze).
All her life Venus Tucker has enjoyed traveling, reading, going to church and meeting people.

The longtime Roanoke resident calls it a blessing from the Lord.

And now, as she turned 106 on Thursday, shes being pampered and has become a celebrity who enjoys talking about growing up in the country and the good life shes had.

She has more than 2,000 birthday cards to prove her popularity.

Tuckers name and face recently has been featured in local and national media  CNN, Good Morning America, the Washington Post and Facebook  since the Our Lady of the Valley Retirement Community started soliciting birthday cards for her.

Originally the facility sought 106 cards, one for each year of Tuckers life, but after that was exceeded, the staff raised the number of cards to 1,006.

Two days before Tuckers birthday, nearly 1,300 cards from all across the United States plus Costa Rica, in addition to flowers, had arrived at the retirement community where Tucker has lived just over three years.

On Wednesday, she was surprised with a meal of fried chicken and Dr Pepper, her favorites, from a few of her fellow members of the Maple Street Baptist Church.

Tucker is the oldest of the approximately 130 residents at the facility, said Administrator Jackie Holton, who added that two other residents recently became centenarians.

Holton said the staff thought it would be fun to solicit cards since the COVID-19 pandemic limits having a big party for Tucker. They never expected the more than 2,000 cards that filled a wagon the evening before Tuckers birthday.

Mrs. Tucker is a joy to everyone who meets her, and we are thankful she lives here, Holton said.

During a small patio outing with some residents and staff Thursday, Tucker received the cards and a letter from Congress.

Earlier in the week, she read a few cards, saying she was so thankful others were sharing with her. If it werent for the pandemic, Tucker said, she would be celebrating her birthday by visiting younger, sicker residents at the senior community in the Gainsboro neighborhood of Roanoke.

She cant recall having any serious illnesses, only remembering my mama said I had the pneumonia when I was about 3.

Wearing a face mask, she admits to missing the closeness of others. She likes to read and follow the news and plans to vote in the November election.

Ive had a beautiful life, Tucker said, crediting it to her faith in God and being obedient.

Im just thankful, the Roanoke, Alabama, native said. I feel proud, but I dont feel uppity. I am grateful for all of what people have done for me.

Tucker moved to Roanoke when her late husband, Wesley, came with the railroad. She was 20 at the time and is now amazed that shes reached 106.

Im old, she matter-of-factly said during an interview on the patio at Our Lady of the Valley where she uses a wheelchair to maneuver.

Her father was 98 when he died, and she doesnt know of any other family members to outlive him. Her only surviving sibling, Dorothy Moore, is 96 and lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, and they stay in contact by telephone.

Obedience and respect for others, Tucker suspects, have been the key to her long life. She talks about obeying her parents and other adults as she picked cotton and beans or plowed fields in Alabama.

One of her fondest memories is daily delivering butter and a cooler of milk to elderly neighbors.

I was little and could barely drag the cooler above the ground.

But, she recalls, the neighbors were always glad to see her.

She talks about helping others and being faithful to God by praying and serving in the church, especially during the years she worked various jobs, including at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant and as an insurance agent before working at the Virginia Employment Commission, where she got to know a lot of people and spoke her mind.

The Lords just been good to me, Tucker said, adding shes been fortunate to travel and her favorite place is the Virgin Islands.

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ELIZABETHTOWN, N.Y. - The 911 call from a white, off-duty police officer around the height of the George Floyd protests in early June sounded ominous: A group of Black youths had menaced him outside his upstate New York getaway, he said, sparking an exchange of gunfire between the officer and a member of the group.

What responding State Police troopers discovered caused the officers story to start unraveling. First, he was reportedly found asleep inside the camp home in Elizabethtown, located in the largely white Adirondacks region, after a night of heavy drinking. And, though he had indeed fired his weapon, there was no evidence anyone had fired at him.

Weeks later, what authorities think actually happened in the case of Cohoes Police Officer Sean McKown is still shrouded in secrecy.

State Police have refused to disclose any information about the incident, except to say that their investigation is closed. Nor has the agency explained why it didnt seek charges against McKown, even as Gov. Andrew Cuomo was in the midst of approving legislation that would punish false 911 calls based on race.

Meanwhile, McKowns police department is allowing him to retire from the force rather than face potential disciplinary measures that could cost him his pension.

Amid pressure from activists and community leaders, Essex County District Attorney Kristy Sprague has asked state police for the case file on McKown, though she also wont discuss the case. A letter with more than 700 signatures was delivered to Spragues office last week, demanding a more aggressive response to the incident.

It feels as though someone is trying to sweep this thing under the rug, said Nicole Hylton-Patterson, director of the Adirondack Diversity Initiative. If its true that he made a false report that put the lives of these youths at risk, he should be charged and prosecuted.

McKown, a 20-year veteran of the Cohoes Police Department and nephew of former Police Chief William Heslin, called 911 after midnight on June 6.

A group of eight to 10 black males came around his property and words were exchanged after he questioned why they were on his property, a dispatcher wrote in an internal Albany County sheriffs office email obtained by The Times Union, of Albany, through a public records request. They told him off. They then returned for round two, more words were exchanged to which at that point gunfire was exchanged between both parties. Sean is uninjured, however is waiting for State Police response as they are on another call.

The Times Union, citing anonymous sources reported that when troopers arrived, a highly intoxicated McKown said he told the youths to leave before grabbing his service gun from his vehicle. He said a Black male lifted his shirt and displayed a silver gun in his waistband. McKown said after hearing what he thought was a gunshot, he fired four rounds and ditched his gun while retreating.

McKown later called police and acknowledged the story was a lie, the Times Union reported. This time he said that out of fear, he fired shots into a tree stump to scare off whoever had made the noise.

After viewing a neighbours security video, troopers also told McKown their investigation showed his weapon had been deliberately set down, not tossed away. As their questioning continued, McKown allegedly asked the troopers why they were trying to jam him up, the Times Union reported.

Matthew Melewski, an attorney in nearby Westport supporting the efforts, said at a news conference: This is not a trivial matter. This is not a child pulling a fire alarm and falsely reporting a fire.

In response to inquiries by The Associated Press, the State Police would only say the incident was reported and investigated but no charges were filed. It refused to immediately disclose written reports related to the incident, telling the AP it would need to apply for the records under the states open records law, a bureaucratic hurdle that could delay the release of the documents for months.

Sprague told the AP via email that she had made a formal written request for the investigation file before the outcry. But added, I will not comment on any facts, potential witnesses or potential evidence.

McKown, 46, has been allowed to take sick time until his retirement takes effect this month, Cohoes Mayor Bill Keeler said in an interview.

The conduct, if true, is in my opinion unbecoming of a police officer, Keeler said. However, letting the officer retire was the cleanest, easiest, fastest and most certain of an outcome, he added.

In 2018, McKown was suspended without pay after pleading guilty to reckless driving after being charged with driving under the influence of alcohol in rural Illinois.

A message was left at a cellphone number believed to be McKowns. Efforts to reach him through a police union were unsuccessful.

Melewski said it appears that charges of falsely reporting an incident are warranted, and possibly more serious charges.

Its hard to know exactly why this investigation was stopped, Melewski said in an interview. Its very disturbing that somebody decided to bury it.
Issuing a perennial  and increasingly empty-seeming  threat, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has recently suggested he could revoke the franchises of electric utilities in downstate New York following power outages. The slow return of electricity from Con Edison and PSEG Long Island to tropical storm Isaias elicited the governors ire, as hundreds of thousands of people lost power and tens of thousands remained without it a week later. And this time, Cuomo said he was serious as a heart attack.

This latest electric service debacle has also revived discussion of the municipalization of utilities and kicking out private companies like ConEd all together. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio floated the possibility this week, suggesting that power delivery and grid operation could instead be handled by a public entity that would hopefully be more responsive to the public. Some progressives in the state Legislature, including state Sen. Julia Salazar and Assembly Member Robert Carroll are also calling for a municipal takeover, alongside left-wing groups such as the Democratic Socialists of America and Housing Justice for All, who recently held a rally on the issue.

The state Legislature will likely examine this and more at a hearing scheduled for Aug. 20 on utilities response to the recent storm. In the meantime, heres what you should know about the new and old attacks on private utilities.

Can the state revoke Con Edisons franchise?

The short answer is technically, yes, but its unlikely.

Con Edison holds a license to operate as an electric utility issued by the state Department of Public Services Public Service Commission, which also regulates utilities. Among the penalties the Public Service Commission can levy against the company is revocation of that license, although such extreme action has not been taken before against a utility in New York. The state came close to taking similar action when the commission voted to kick out Charter Communications, but the cable company eventually worked out a deal that allowed it to stay. It would also likely take years, as ConEd would surely challenge the decision in court. If that were to happen, a new utility company could bid for the license and buy Con Edisons infrastructure, which would stay in place after it leaves. However, given the size and complexity of the grid in New York City, which includes underground operations, the number of other companies that could actually operate it are limited. National Grid, a gas and electric company, is likely the only other utility already operating in the state capable of taking over the grid, although large electrical utilities that operate other parts of the country could place bids as well.

However, the state may decide to fine ConEd for its failures, like a 2007 $18 million penalty for a large 2006 power outage. Despite threats from Cuomo, the utility still hasnt faced repercussions from last year, when a swath of Manhattan went dark for reasons initially unknown to ConEd.

Is that the same for PSEG Long Island?

The state actually has less authority over what happens to PSEG Long Island. The grid on Long Island is technically owned by the Long Island Power Authority, or LIPA, which is a subdivision of the state. However, LIPA has a contract that lasts through 2025 with PSEG to operate the grid for it, rather than the private utility holding a franchise agreement with the state. As such, its also not regulated by the Public Service Commission. So there is no franchise to revoke, despite Cuomos threats. LIPA is not directly regulated by the Public Service Commission either, thanks to a 2013 law. All decision making falls to the nine-person board of trustees, five of whom Cuomo appoints. The board has the power to end the contract agreement for a variety of reasons, although PSEG is permitted to dispute the reasons given for the termination.

What is this talk of a government takeover? Can that happen?

It theoretically could. Advocates have argued that a public utility company would be far more transparent, more open to converting to clean and alternative energy and more responsive to customer needs. They point to the New York Power Authority, a public-benefit corporation that creates low-cost energy distributed by Con Edison, as a natural successor to take over the grid. But such a switch would be challenging. There are several ways the state could take control of the grid, but they all require a ballot referendum under current state law. That itself would take multiple years to get passed, not including the likely years of planning and fighting leading up to a referendum.

LIPA is an example of a public takeover gone poorly. It took over for the islands original and long-time electric and gas utility the Long Island Lighting Company (LILCO), which was notorious for its high rates and was attempting to open a controversial nuclear power plant. The public authority was created by the state Legislature in 1986, although it did not actually take over operations until over a decade later in 1998, saddled with LILCOs debt. LIPA became the islands primary electric distributor as a state-run utility, but it contracts out to private companies to help operate the grid. Until 2014, LIPA operated under its own name. But even then, National Grid, and before that KeyStone Energy, contracted with LIPA to handle a lot of the day-to-day management of LIPAs system. National Grid, which merged with KeyStone in 2007, generates the electricity that LIPA, and now PSEG, was in charge of distributing.

Having a public authority did reduce rates initially, although today, Long Islanders pay among the highest electric rates in the Northeast. But it did not necessarily improve storm responsiveness, the issue at hand now. LIPA faced intense backlash for how it handled Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and highlighted the utilitys many failures prior to the storm. It led to the 2013 LIPA Reform Act, which officially privatized the operation of the utility, handed over almost all management to PSEG and reduced LIPA to a holding company. LIPA rebranded as PSEG Long Island, a company that Cuomo said in a press release would help Long Islanders with its award winning record of performance during disasters  which is ironic given Cuomos recent statements about Isaias.

When de Blasio recently suggested a government takeover of Con Edison, he offered no details about how it would be run.

So what is actually happening right now?

Cuomo announced an investigation into Con Edison, PSEG Long Island and Orange & Rockland Utilities, a ConEd subsidiary, and Central Hudson Gas & Electric, looking at their storm preparedness and the reasons for the long delays in returning power. The end of the investigation could result in penalties against the companies. The state Legislature will also hold a hearing on the storm and the utilities response on Aug. 20. Meanwhile, some lawmakers have introduced legislation to address some of the issues that arose from this most recent storm power outage. State Sen. David Carlucci, for example, introduced a bill that would require utilities to reimburse customers for spoiled food and medicine if power isnt restored within 72 hours. Older bills that would attempt to make headway in shifting utilities into public hands introduced prior to this storm also sit in the Legislature The most significant would create the Down State Power Authority, which would take over private downstate gas and electric utilities, excluding Long Island. It would be run by an elected board of trustees.
On Aug. 14, 1945, millions of Americans rejoiced over news that Japanese forces had surrendered, ending World War II. From New York to Hawaii, people gathered, raised flags and paraded down city streets to mark the momentous occasion. Japan had never surrendered to a foreign power before.



Although most countries recognize Aug. 15 as Victory Over Japan (VJ) Day  due to time-zone differences it was already Aug. 15 in Japan when Emperor Hirohito broadcast the surrender in a radio message  in the U.S. it is widely acknowledged on Sept. 2. That's the date of the formal surrender aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

Seventy-five years later, here's a look back at the VJ Day celebrations that occurred to mark the end of the deadliest war in human history.
(Photo : REUTERS/Joe Skipper) A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken lifts off during NASA's SpaceX Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., May 30, 2020. (Photo : REUTERS/Al Drago) The Pentagon logo is seen behind the podium in the briefing room at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., January 8, 2020.

Elon Musk's SpaceX and NASA partnership has successfully launched the first American space mission with all-American astronauts using an American rocket. It has been part of history since then. Now, the tech billionaire is coming towards The Pentagon. Reports said that SpaceX received the U.S. Air Force Contract, beating Amazon's other tech billionaire Jeff Bezos. What will they do?

What will The Pentagon and SpaceX do?

On Monday, Aug. 10, Forbes reported that Musk's SpaceX won the multibillion-worth contract between the U.S. Air Force.

The contract is for the upcoming National Security Space Launch Phase 2 Launch Service Procurement. This event will announce the company that will replace the Russian RD-180 engines normally needed for space missions.

"Maintaining a competitive launch market, servicing both government and commercial customers, is how we encourage continued innovation on assured access to space. Today's awards mark a new epoch of space launch that will finally transition the Department of Russian RD-180 engines," said Dr. William Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology, and logistics.

Technically, this means that SpaceX will be working alongside The Pentagon. Beginning in 2022, the company's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets will launch the government security space missions.

As per The Sun U.K., it was not yet clear what would be the main objective of the 5-year contract between The Pentagon and SpaceX. We all know, however, is that SpaceX will be joined by another U.S. aerospace firm United Launch Alliance (ULA).

The report said that the Air Force allocated an amount of $653million for the contract. Both SpaceX and ULA will divide the amount; $337 million to ULA, while SpaceX is getting $316 million.

Elon Musk just beat Amazon's Jeff Bezos on conquering the world

The contract, of course, was not just exclusively given to Elon Musk nor ULA. The National Security Space missions 5-year contract invited other private companies such as Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman.

Blue Origin is founded by Jeff Bezos. Unexpectedly, they did not win the contract. Back in 2019, $2.3 billion was awarded in rocket development contracts last year to competitors Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman, and United Launch Alliance, according to CNBC.

Blue Origin said it was "disappointed" in the decision to reject its bid, which had "unprecedented private investment of more than $2.5 billion."

Not surprisingly, Blue Origins had been saddened about the grant, which raised the battle between Musk and Bezos.

However, U.S. Air Force admitted they made an 'extremely tough decision.' Saying that they appreciate the space companies in order to secure the space security.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Jamie Pancho

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu BJP president L Murugan on Wednesday sought to downplay the remarks of his partys vice president VP Duraisamy that the BJP would head the alliance for the 2021 Assembly elections in the State.

He said Duraisamy had highlighted the growth of the BJP in Tamil Nadu and that was all. Responding to a query, Murugan said, There is no change in the NDA alliance in Tamil Nadu; the existing alliance continues. Murugan made these remarks in Perambalur after chairing a meeting of the party office bearers.

Earlier in the day, addressing a press meet, VP Duraisamy said Till last week, the situation in the State was DMK versus AIADMK. But after Ku Ka Selvam development, now the situation has been transformed as BJP versus DMK.

We deem it our growth. BJP is growing fast in Tamil Nadu. When a scribe asked since the BJP was growing fast, whether the alliance for Assembly elections would be headed by the BJP or the AIADMK, Duraisamy said, Whichever party is friendly to us, we will have an alliance with that party and that party would form the government. When reporters reiterated the question as to who would lead the alliance, Duraisamy asserted that being a national party, the BJP would lead the alliance. Meanwhile, in Chennai, when asked about Duraisamys remark that BJP would lead the alliance in Tamil Nadu, Jayakumar said, Let State president L Murugan say this and we will respond.
13.08.2020 LISTEN

The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) is calling for swift action to bring the soldier who brutalized journalists of TV3 on Wednesday, August 12, 2020, to book.

While in the line of duty yesterday at the Tema Station in Accra Central to cover a story on the state of sanitation, a TV3 journalist, Stanley Nii Blewu, and his colleague Joseph Armstrong had an unpleasant encounter with military personnel.

According to the reports, the soldier asked a police officer to arrest the TV3 crew for taking shots of a clean-up exercise. The policeman reportedly declined and told the soldier that the cameraman had not committed any crime for filming the clean-up in a public space.

This infuriated the soldier who then instructed other security personnel and city guards to surround the cameraman for refusing to surrender his phone and camera.

The bizarre scenes that followed saw Stanley Nii Blewu leaving the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) office with a swollen arm and excruciating pains all over his body.

In a statement from the umbrella body of journalists, it called for swift justice for the reporter.

, The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has received with utter shock and intractable concern reports of brutalities meted out by a soldier to a TV3 cameraman, Stanley Nii Blewu, a statement from the GJA signed by its President Affail Monney has said.

As the December 7 elections inexorably approach, GJA says the international community in general and human rights groups, in particular, have understandably sharpened their focus on Ghana.

Hence, they insist the most decisive and effectual move to salvage the countrys luminous image is for the military authorities to launch an immediate investigation into the unrestrained attacks on the TV3 cameraman and deal with the soldier squarely if he is found guilty.

Read the full statement from the GJA below:
Visits to some care homes have been stopped amid concerns cases of Covid-19 are on the rise in Northern Ireland, prompting the Health Minister to warn we are at "one of the most dangerous phases" of the pandemic.

The development was reported last night by BBCNI Newsline as a further 29 positive cases of coronavirus were recorded by the Department of Health yesterday.

It brings the total tally here to 6,217 - with 204 cases confirmed in the past seven days alone.

According to official figures, no further deaths have been recorded, leaving the death toll yesterday at 557.

Read More

It also emerged that out of the nearly 560 deaths, 140 of them took place at 11 premises, UTV reported.

Meanwhile in the Republic, Covid-related deaths increased by one to 1,774, while another 40 cases were also confirmed.

As of yesterday, nine people have been hospitalised with Covid-19 in Northern Ireland, two of them being treated in intensive care units.

A week ago, four people were admitted to hospital with Covid-19.

Mr Swann said the number of people hospitalised is one of the key factors his department is now looking at to gauge the spread of the virus.

"When we start to see an increase in hospitalisations, that's when alarm bells start to ring," he said.

The Health Minister said he feared that some people had stopped following even the most basic guidance.

"We're probably now at one of the most dangerous, if not riskiest, points in time of this pandemic," he told BBC NI's Talkback.

"If we get this wrong now, if we don't keep our controls in place, if we don't see the people of Northern Ireland actually have respect for the guidance and regulations, we could see a further increase of Covid outbreaks, more hospitalisations, more people going into ICU and unfortunately more deaths."

Read More

Mr Swann said he was concerned that complacency was setting in.

"We're starting to see people taking a step back even from some of the basic guidance that we were putting out - watch your distance, washing your hands and now face coverings as well," he said.

"I'm asking for people in Northern Ireland just to re-engage with the guidance that was put there, so we can prevent a serious increase in the number of cases in the coming weeks and months."

Mr Swann stressed that health authorities had expected to see an increase in cases at some point, but the "significant increase that we saw over the weekend and especially yesterday" was worrying.

He also appeared to back plans by some schools to make face coverings compulsory in the classroom for secondary pupils.

On Monday, it became mandatory for shoppers to wear face coverings in shops and other enclosed public spaces in Northern Ireland.

A day later, Belfast Royal Academy became the first school in Northern Ireland to make face coverings mandatory.

Mr Swann said that while he did not want to pre-empt guidance due to be issued by the Department of Education, his department did see the benefits of face coverings in locations where social distancing cannot be put in place.
San Francisco Federal Credit Union Hires Chief Information Officer

Carrie Pedraza, Chief Information Officer, San Francisco Federal Credit Union

Carrie Pedraza, Chief Information Officer, San Francisco Federal Credit Union

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- San Francisco Federal Credit Union (SFFedCU) announced the hire of Carrie Pedraza as Chief Information Officer. This announcement was made by Jonathan Oliver, President and Chief Executive Officer.



Carrie has had a long-established career in IT and is a great addition to the team, said Oliver. As the Credit Union continues to focus more resources to improve technology and our digital channel, Carries experience will be invaluable.

Pedraza joins San Francisco Federal Credit Union with over 30 years of experience in technology. She most recently served as Chief Information Officer for Phoenix American Financial Services, based in San Rafael. Prior to that, she was Vice President, IT Technology and Services for San Francisco-based Digital Realty, LLC and spent eight years as Director, IT at Charles Schwab. She holds a Bachelor of Information Science and Technology from Pennsylvania State University.

About San Francisco Federal Credit Union

San Francisco Federal Credit Union has been serving San Francisco since 1954 and is not-for-profit and member-owned. Anyone who lives, works, worships or attends school in San Francisco or San Mateo Counties is eligible for membership. San Francisco Federal Credit Union is federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration and is an Equal Housing Lender. We provide banking, lending and investment services to more than 47,000 members and have assets of $1.2 billion. For more information, visit SanFranciscoFCU.com

For More Information:

Rob A. Seide

415-615-7012

Rob_Seide@SanFranciscoFCU.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8bf4efdd-6b1c-4f46-ba0f-47a92d27fc1d




Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 13)  The Metro Manila Development Authority has yet to identify the driver and any passenger of a government-marked vehicle that blocked an ambulance along EDSA-Cubao on Wednesday.

A video that is circulating in social media shows an MMDA officer guiding a hospital service vehicle, which obviously had a flat tire, out of the bus lane to give way to other vehicles.

A witness said an ambulance that was on its way to a hospital in Metro Manila was blocked on the busway by a number of private cars and a government vehicle.

The incident happed on the northbound busway on EDSA near Cubao, in Quezon City.

Our traffic constables are very focused on giving way to the ambulance so they were not able to issue a ticket to that government vehicle, MMDA Spokesperson Celine Pialago told CNN Philippines Traffic Center on Thursday. Our command center is now reviewing the plate number to issue a non-contact violation.

Pialago added that a traffic violation receipt was already issued to the hospital service vehicle since it used the busway intended only for city buses and government emergency vehicles. She did not mention if the other private vehicles were also issued TVRs.

She reminded motorists that the busway is only for its intended users even during modified enhanced community quarantine. Violators face a fine of 1,150 for disregarding traffic signs, and violation of EDSA bus lane.
A BNSF Railways train derailment in western Oklahoma on Aug. 10 was likely caused by wind gusts of up to 70 mph (113 kph), National Weather Service meteorologist Phillip Ware said.

The strong winds and the derailment both occurred at approximately 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 10, Ware said.

It appears very likely that they were related, Ware said.

The train was traveling from Amarillo, Texas, to northwestern Ohio when 16 cars derailed, according to BNSF spokesperson Courtney Wallace.

There are no injuries to the crew and none of the derailed cars contain hazmat. We have crews on site working to restore both main tracks. The current time for reopening is undetermined, Wallace said in a statement.

Ware said the Oklahoma storm was not part of the derecho that swept across the Midwest on Aug. 10 with 100 mph (160 kph) winds and power similar to an inland hurricane, blowing over trees, flipping vehicles and causing widespread property damage from Chicago into Indiana and Michigan.

The storms we had (Monday) night originated over Kansas and the western Texas Panhandle and just congealed over our area, Ware said.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Oklahoma




MAIN opposition MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa plans a charm offensive against President Emmerson Mnangagwa to pressure the region and the international community to force national dialogue to resolve the country's deepening political and economic crisis.





The move comes after the MDC Alliance accused Mnangagwa of blocking special envoys dispatched by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the weekend from meeting the opposition's leader .





The South African envoys Baleka Mbete, Ngoako Ramatlhodi and Sydney Mufamadi flew out of Harare on Tuesday without meeting the MDC Alliance leader despite scheduling an appointment.





They had also promised to meet civic society leaders but left the country after meeting Mnangagwa only.





In an interview with NewsDay yesterday, Gladys Hlatswayo, the MDC Alliance secretary for foreign relations said mediation can only happen if Chamisa explains the situation obtaining in the country to the outside world.





"The MDC Alliance was not snubbed by the envoys because they had contacted us to schedule a meeting on Monday, August 10," Hlatswayo said.





"What we know is Zanu-PF is not keen on admitting that there is a crisis in Zimbabwe and subsequently working towards a solution to that crisis."





"I make reference to the first statement by Zanu-PF's Chinamasa that was full of tantrums and insulted ANC [African National Congress] for taking a principled position in support of the battered and suffering masses of Zimbabwe.





"We, therefore, know that the meetings were stopped by Mr Mnangagwa."





Last week Zanu-PF reacted angrily to African National Congress secretary general Ace Magashule's television interview, in which he said South Africa's ruling party was engaging Mnangagwa over reports of massive human rights abuses in Zimbabwe.





Mnangagwa's spokesperson George Charamba was yesterday unavailable for comment.





Hlatswayo insisted that following the aborted meeting with the South African envoys, MDC Alliance will now maintain diplomatic pressure to make President Mnangagwa bow down to calls for crisis dialogue.





"We shall continue to build pressure both in and outside our borders to have a credible national dialogue that is mediated in order to achieve comprehensive reforms, including a new social contract, ending the economic and humanitarian crisis, electoral reforms, media reforms, ending international isolation and addressing past human rights violations," Hlatswayo said.




By ANI

NEW DELHI: Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut has shared a video demanding CBI probe into the death of Sushant Singh Rajput. The video was published on social media on Thursday, ahead of the Supreme Court hearing on the petition by Rhea Chakraborty, seeking transfer of the FIR lodged by the family of the late actor from Patna to Mumbai.

"We want CBI for Sushant Singh Rajput. We deserve to know the truth," says the actress in a video published by her verified Twitter team, which goes by the name of Team Kangana Ranaut.

Mumbai police wants to rush the probe, Sanjay Raut saying they are almost done with the investigation, we deserve to know the truth #CBIForSSR @republic #justiceforSushanthSinghRajput @shwetasinghkirt @anky1912 pic.twitter.com/2SV1AwaFx7  Team Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) August 13, 2020

Earlier in the day, Kangana's Twitter team took a dig at filmmaker R. Balki who, during an interview last month, had told a reputed publication: "Find me a better actor than Alia (Bhatt) or Ranbir (Kapoor), and we'll argue."

On Thursday, Kangana's Twitter team reacted to a negative review of the trailer of Alia Bhatt's forthcoming film "Sadak 2" given by a netizen, and wrote: "Somebody need to find R Balki he is hiding, he said there are no better actors than Ranbir and Alia. Sharm karlo, thodi sharm karlo, brainwashing ki bhi limit hoti hai, (please have shame, a little shame, brainwashing has a limit) both pappus are below average glorified by mafia media, their friends and fake awards, their time is up."
Apple spent years building China into a $US44 billion ($61.4 billion) growth driver. Then the US president last week cast all that in doubt.

IPhone loyalists across China are now reconsidering their attachment to the device after Donald Trump issued an executive order last week barring US companies from doing business with WeChat, the super-app that has become integral to everyday life in the country. Scheduled to come into effect in roughly five weeks, the ban threatens to turn iPhones into expensive "electronic trash," said Hong Kong resident Kenny Ou, who sees WeChat as one of the most essential pieces of software on his handset.

IPhone loyalists across China are now reconsidering their attachment to the device after Donald Trump issued an executive order last week barring US companies from doing business with WeChat. Credit:AP

On Wednesday (China time), Tencent executives on a post-earnings conference call stressed they believed the ban applied only to WeChat in the US and shouldn't affect its Chinese cousin, known as Weixin. But they added that they themselves were still seeking clarity, and the sweeping language of Trump's order means it could still spell trouble for Apple.

The US company has just come off a strong quarter in China, its most important international market and where it is facing intensifying competition from local Android rivals like Huawei which, unlike Apple and its locked-down app stores, are free to either offer WeChat directly or allow their users access to download it themselves. The Cupertino company's strategy of tapping first-time buyers and wooing back consumers with cheaper devices like the iPhone SE could be entirely derailed if it can't offer WeChat and US-China trade tensions continue to worsen.
Home Search ICH Putin and Russia are facing a very serious crisis in Belarus By The Saker August 12, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - Some of my longtime readers might have noticed that I rarely (if ever!) wrote about Belarus or President Lukashenko. As always with the blog, there always is a reason for why I do mention something and no less a reason why I do not mention something. In the case of Belarus or Lukashenko, my reason for not writing about them was the exact same why I never wrote about the Ukraine before 2013: I was both uninspired and mostly disgusted with what I saw taking place there. And I did not feel strongly enough to write about it. That changed for the Ukraine with the Euromaidan. Now the events in Belarus force me to address this very unpleasant topic: Belarus is facing a complex and dangerous crisis which might well result in a major crisis inside Belarus and even a loss of sovereignty. But first, before we look into what just happened, let me begin by a quick mini-primer about Belarus. Here is what I think everybody ought to know about this country: Belarus is a completely artificial creation, even more artificial than the Ukraine. At least in the Ukraine there were westerners (Galicians) who truly were not Russians at all (you can think of them as the real Ukrainians if you want) and whose hatred for everything Russian was every bit as rabid as the one of the Interahamwe of Rwanda. There is no meaningful equivalent to the Banderites in Belarus.

Lukashnko was no more pro-Russian than Ianukovich. This is crucial. Lukashenko was always pro-Lukashenko, not pro-Russia. Both the West and Lukashenko like to say that Belarus is the only real Russian ally. This is false. Technically, Russia and Belarus are supranational union states. However, it is true that Lukashenko tried to use the historical identity between the Russian and Belarusian people to demand that Russia help him out over and over and over again. And until recently, Russia did.

As a country, Belarus is a quasi perfect police state with an extremely competent and feared KGB (yes, in Belarus they kept the name) which controls everything and everybody. This is also crucial for reasons I will explain below.

As for the Kremlin, it always wanted to foster a reunification with Belarus but this process was never fully completed due to regular problems, and even crises, between Moscow and Minsk. Russia poured immense sums of money to keep the Belarusian society from crashing.

Finally, Belarus is really a poor country with very limited resources. For Russia, however, Belarus is a crucial military ally, one which plays a central role in Russian defense plans. If the US and NATO will be successful in taking control of the country, this will be a major strategic threat for the Russian security. These are just a few pointers to compare and contrast Belarus with the Ukraine. Now let me summarize what just happened. The Belarusian authorities have declared that hundreds of men (supposedly Russians) have been sent to Belarus with nefarious intentions. Lukashenko has since officially confirmed that he got this info from the Ukrainian SBU. The men themselves were described as terrorists, insurgents, members of the Wagner PMC, subversives, etc. and their goals were described as killing Lukashenko, triggering a new maidan in Belarus, create chaos, etc. Frankly, the Belarusian authorities never got their story straight and, frankly again, this really makes no difference at all. Here are two things which I consider as indisputable: Russia would never even consider using force or illegal covert operations against Lukashenko and/or Belarus The Belarusian KGB knows everything of any importance taking place in Belarus I would even argue that argument #2 very much supports argument #1. Whatever may be the case, it appeared that a group of Russian security guards had been recruited by a Belarusian firm to provide security in various countries (Sudan and Venezuela is often named). They traveled to Belarus and planned to fly out of Minsk for their final destinations. They were delayed, apparently deliberately, then they missed their flight and were told to go and rest at a hotel which happened to be located not far from the residence of Lukashenko. In the middle of the night, a KGB swat team moved in with flash-bang grenades and guns drawn and brutally arrested everybody in spite of the fact that none of the sleepy Russians offered any kind of resistance. No weapons of any kind were found, no evidence of any covert plans either, but the authorities declared that since these men were not drinking or harassing waitresses and since they kept to themselves, this was a clear proof that they were on a secret mission (I am not joking!). All of the above is absolute and utter nonsense and we should not get distracted by the minutia of this clearly fabricated pretext. Here is what really happened. It now appears that the Ukrainian secret service SBU (which does nothing without Uncle Sams approval) mounted a complex covert operation to try to get Belarus and Russia into a confrontation. The entire operation, including recruitment, purchase of airline tickets, etc was, in fact, run from the Ukraine. This was also the biggest mistake the Ukies did: they did not hide their actions well enough and it took the Russians special services less than 24 hours to figure out the entire plan and leak it to the media (in Russian). The fine details are still being ascertained, but the bottom line is this: the Ukrainians pretended to be a security firm looking for men with proven combat experience, especially those who fought in the Donbass against the Ukronazi forces. Once recruited for some pretty typical guard duties, these men were to be flown to Minsk where they would miss their plane and be left waiting for the next opportunity to leave Belarus. At this point, the SBU seems to have contacted the Belarusian KGB and warned them about Russian mercenaries sent by Russia to kill Lukashenko or, at least, overthrow him. It is also obvious now that the SBU specially wanted Russians which had combat experience in the Donbass to then ask Belarus to hand them over to Kiev. Such a demand was made almost immediately for most of the men in this group. So far so good (not really, but you know what I mean), but here is when the Belarusians and Lukashenko himself started to act really strangely. The first logical step for the Belarusian authorities should have been Lukashenko calling Putin and asking for an explanation. Alternatively, the head of the Belarusian KGB could have called the head of the FSB and ask him for clarifications. But, instead of doing that, the Belarusian KGB organized this ridiculous seizure of the Russian mercenaries while the latter were asleep in their hotel and had no idea whatsoever what was going on. Next, instead of working with the Russians, Lukashenko just gave a long interview to one of the most talented and most morally repugnant Ukie journalist, Dmitrii Gordon (who proudly proclaims that he is an SBU agent). But then it only got worse. Lukashenko pounced on the opportunity to, yet again, engage in his typically long-winded rants against Russia. He even went as far as to suggest that Belarus might extradite some of these Russian men to the Ukraine (which, as we now know, had provided a list of wanted men to the Belarusian KGB). From these actions it became immediately clear to the Russians that Lukashenko was playing some kind of dirty game in the last days before the Presidential election which took place on Sunday. So what could explain the outright bizarre behavior of the Belarusians? Reason one: Simply put  Lukashenkos popularity is declining as fast as the disposable income of the Belarusians. Reason two: The US is clearly engaged in major strategic PSYOP to seize control of Belarus. Reason three: The Belarusian state in its current condition is simply not viable and never was. Lets take these one by one. While nobody doubts the outcome of any election in Belarus, it is also pretty uncontroversial that most Belarusians do support Lukashenko. The point is not whether Lukashenko would win, but only by how much he would win? The elections yesterday yielded the lowest possible and acceptable result for Lukashenko: 80%. This figure is really meaningless, all it shows is how good the Lukashenko regime is at winning elections. This time, however, there appear to be more protests than in the past and, unlike what happened in the past, the protests are not limited to Minsk and they have now spread to other cities. So while Lukashenko was never at risk of officially losing the election, a maidan-like protest remains a clear concern for him. But there is much more to this story. Following a meeting between Lukashenko and Pompeo, the US will now open a (very big) embassy in Minsk. For years the West has been calling Lukashenko all sorts of names, and now it is suddenly all smiles. Is that really a coincidence? I very much doubt it. But it even gets much worse than that: the US is sending one of its most capable and dangerous officials to subvert Belarus: I am referring to Jeffrey Giauque, a State Department intelligence official with a long track of successive destabilization missions. Listen to him introduce himself to the Belarusian people: In fact, it is now pretty obvious that the entire provocation with the Russian terrorists was carefully crafted and implemented by a joint US-Ukrainian. Had the Ukie SBU not been so sloppy with how they organized it all (it took the FSB less than 24 hours to get a full and accurate picture of what had happened) this plan might have succeeded. In fact, it still might. But blaming it all on the US, the SBU and Lukashenko really does not tell the full story. The truth is that Belarus is a completely artificial state, much more artificial even than the Ukraine, and it is a state which simply cannot survive by itself. Neither can it hope to survive forever on Russian aid. And while looking at the roots of Ukrainian nationalism is important and interesting, such an exercise is useless in the case of Belarus since Belarusian nationalism is something truly a-historical and artificial and which really has no foundation outside western ideological dogmas. While the Soviet Unions Marxist and generally russophobic ideology regime always fostered the emergence of local nationalisms (and even created previously non-existing nationalities), Belarusian nationalism was something which never got much traction, which is hardly surprising since any distinction between a Russian and a Belarusian is much smaller than the differences amongst Russians who now live in a very diverse and truly multi-ethnic society. Still, from the point of view of the Party Nomenklatura and their western curators, not splitting away Belarus from Russia while such countries as the Ukraine or Kazakhstan declared their independence was unthinkable, thus a kind of weird compromise was reached which was supposed to reassure both the people of Russia and those of Belarus. Some agreements were made, others were endlessly negotiated about (especially any energy deals!) and what eventually resulted from this all is this weird and artificial statelet of only 10 million people. As for its leader, he declared that Belarus will follow a multi-vector foreign policy which I would summarize as follows: pump as much money out of Russia as possible, while at the same time seeking support from the AngloZionist Empire. [Sidebar: yes, I know, Lukashenko is called the last dictator of Europe and he is not popular in the West. My point is that his lack of popularity is to be credited to the West, and not to him. Over and over again, Lukashenko tried to get support (meaning money) from the West and now Pompeo & Co. have apparently decided to make their son of a bitch our son of a bitch. What I mean by that Lukashenko was the textbook case of the our son of a bitch phenomenon, but not for the West  for Russia. I furthermore believe that like all sons of bitches (including theirs and ours)  Lukashenko has now turned into a liability for Russia.] There is another very worrisome development taking place now: in this entire business the Belarusian KGB was either hopelessly incompetent (which it aint!) or penetrated by western agents. I find the second explanation much more likely. If we now assume that the Belarusian KGB has been penetrated and compromised, then this is very bad news for Lukashenko who might find himself in the same situation as, say, Nicolae Ceausescu, who was betrayed by his own secret services (we can also remember how many US/Israeli agents were in high position around Bashar Assad until the war in Syria forced them to pick a side). Frankly, while the CIA and the rest of them are not very good at some things, they are truly world-class masters in the art of corrupting officials and this might have already happened in Belarus. Right now, there are riots in Minsk and in other cities and while in the capital the riot police has things mostly under control, there have already been cases of riot cops running for their lives to avoid being lynched by the mob. As of the time of writing this (Monday 21:50 UTC) the Belarusian KGB has declared that they are hunting down the worst agitators and rioters, but considering how easy it has been for the Ukrainian SBU to trick (or, worse, infiltrate) the Belarusian KGB, I am not feeling very reassured by this verbiage: special services are here to take care of dangerous problems, not to make big statements. Right now, the latest we hear from the Belarusian KGB is that they prevented the assassination of the main opposition figure Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. Heck, this might even be true, considering that the (clueless) Tikhanovskaya would make a perfect sacrificial lamb (and an terrible politician, should she ever be elected). But this also looks like some interests inside the Belarusian KGB are courting Tikhanovskaya. Both versions are equally bad, I think. How serious is all this? Very! There are already (false) rumors spread by Polish media about Lukashenko having fled Belarus in his aircraft. This rumor is clearly designed to create the (wrong) impression that Lukashenko is the next Ianukovich: while I equally dislike both of these men, Lukashenko is a much tougher man than Ianukovich ever was. Furthermore, the kind of media-campaign waged now by the western, Polish and Ukie media is unprecedented in its magnitude and it will be very hard for the regime to regain control of the country. As for Lukashenko, he now seems to have reversed his tune somehow: after accusing Russia of treating Belarus not as a brother, but as a partner, now he says that he spoke to Putin and got a 5 page document explaining it all, and now he says that Russia and Belarus will be brothers after all. Not very convincing, to say the least. Quite logically, Lukashenkos popularity in Russia, which was never that high to begin with, is now rapidly degrading and many analysts who, in the past, praised Lukashenko for his (supposedly) firm policy towards the West are now openly voicing their disgust. An increasing number of Russians are now openly wondering with this entire supranational union state concept. As for Lukashenkos much vaunted multi-vector policies they look like a banal case of trying to sit between two chairs. It now appears pretty obvious that the leaders of the Empire stopped hating Lukashenko only long enough to give a short lived and semi-credible appearance of benevolence; now they are already talking about reintroducing sanctions on Belarus and on Lukashenko personally. This is all extremely dangerous for Russia for the following reasons: Lukashenko is an absolutely terrible our son of a bitch (they always are!) to back and his latest antics have shown the Kremlin that Lukashenko is very much part of the problem, not of the solution. If Lukashenko remains in power, it will be only thanks to his (mostly very effective) repressive apparatus which might be enough to silence the opposition, but not enough to make Lukashenko truly popular. Lukashenko himself is clearly both dishonest and unprincipled. He does not care one bit about Russia (or Belarus for that matter), he cares only about himself. In other words, as long as he remains in power, Belarus will be a major concern for Russia. If Lukashenko is overthrown, be it by a KGB plot or a Maidan-like violent insurrection, we can be pretty darn sure that whoever comes to power will be 1) vetted by the USA and 2) rabidly anti-Russian. Belarus does not have much of an economic significance for Russia, but for security and, even more so, military reasons Belarus is absolutely vital to the Russian security This last point needs to be further clarified. Not only is Belarus located in a strategically crucial location, the Belarussian armed forces are very well trained and equipped (no comparison to the Ukie forces) and they represent a major military asset for the Kremlin. There are also Russian forces deployed in Belarus. Finally, the contacts between the Belarusian and Russian military are very friendly and very deep. To have NATO take over Belarus would truly be a major problem for Russia (one that she can deal with, but it would require a major re-thinking of the threat from the West). So where do we go from here? It seems to me that if Putin does more of the same Russia risks seriously losing Belarus which, at a time when the Ukrainian Banderastan is falling apart, would really be a crying shame. Right now, Russia needs to contain the Ukrainian infection while, at the same time, preparing an after-Lukashenko (before it is too late). Obviously, Lukashenko will not gracefully resign, so Russia needs to find a tool in her toolkit to force him to do so. Personally, I have always believed that fully reincorporating Belarus into Russia would not only solve the Belarusian problem but that it would also solve the Lukashenko problem. I am confident that Russia has more than enough influence and resources in Belarus to force a change. Yes, that would be both difficult and dangerous, but not doing so could result in a much worse outcome. Russia needs to act. Quickly and resolutely. The Saker - [this analysis was written for the Unz review] No Advertising - No Government Grants - This Is Independent Media Get Our Free Newsletter The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House. Post your comment below See also The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House. Search Information Clearing House === The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House. Click Here To Support Information Clearing House Your support has kept ICH free on the Web since 2002. Click for Spanish , German , Dutch , Danish , French , translation- Note- Translation may take a moment to load.
[August 13, 2020] BrightPlan Triples Customer Base for its Total Financial Wellness Solution Amid Pandemic

SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- BrightPlan , a leader in Total Financial Wellness, today announced that it has tripled both its number of customers and customer pipeline since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company has also doubled employee enrollment in its Total Financial Wellness solution since the start of the pandemic, revealing surging interest in the market's first financial wellness solution certified for fiduciary excellence. BrightPlan provides a comprehensive and personalized real-time finance solution for all employees, by tying financial wellness to corporate benefits. The growth was fueled by a series of deployments with large enterprises including Synopsys and Ellucian. According to a recent PwC report, 54% of employees said financial matters are the top cause of employee stress in the workplace. Financial wellness solutions are making a substantial impact on corporate America, with more than two-thirds (71%) of employees reporting they have used their company's financial wellness solution (2019 Bank of America Workplace Benefits Report). However, most financial wellness solutions focus only on one aspect of an employee's financial goals (retirement) and d not analyze their complete financial picture or provide guidance to help them achieve financial security and success.



"In these uncertain times, we're seeing an outpouring of demand for benefits that really matter," said Marthin De Beer, founder and CEO of BrightPlan. "We designed BrightPlan's Total Financial Wellness solution to provide the most complete personal finance solution on the market and take aim at employee financial stress at every stage of life. Surging interest in BrightPlan's solution reinforces that employers are embracing smart personal finance tools to not only attract and retain talent, but also to engage today's workers with benefits that fit their specific needs." BrightPlan's Total Financial Wellness solution guides employees through four key pillars to achieve financial success: learn, plan, invest and manage. Today, the company is launching a suite of new features to enhance BrightPlan Smart Budget, an automated budgeting solution that's a key component of its "manage" pillar. New capabilities include presenting total spending overviews, reporting year over year budget trends, generating savings budgets which assess long-term progress, and transaction rules to better categorize spending. These innovations further extend BrightPlan's technology lead to better engage employees at every stage of life.

Global Silicon to Software leader Synopsys has seen significant results since implementing the BrightPlan solution several months ago, including attracting up to 75% of enrolled employees to attend financial education sessions. "Our partnership with BrightPlan is paying off," said Kerstin Aiello, director of North American benefits at Synopsys. "Employees' Financial Wellness Scores tripled in just six months, and our HR team loves the way BrightPlan lets us track success week to week." BrightPlan also recently named seasoned technology veteran Mike Mills as Chief Legal and Compliance Officer. Mike has led legal teams for over 20 years at multiple public and private SaaS, enterprise software and product organizations, including as General Counsel of Poly, a global unified communications company. About BrightPlan

BrightPlan is a leader in Total Financial Wellness. The company is the first financial wellness solution certified for fiduciary excellence. BrightPlan provides a comprehensive personal finance solution for all employees that is real-time, personalized and integrated with employer benefits. Its unique combination of digital platform and human advisors supports employee personal financial goals at every stage of life, helping enterprises to better attract, retain and engage talent. For more, visit brightplan.com. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/brightplan-triples-customer-base-for-its-total-financial-wellness-solution-amid-pandemic-301111830.html SOURCE BrightPlan

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DEARBORN (dpa-AFX) - Ford Motor Co. (F) is recalling nearly half a million vehicles in the U.S. to fix an issue with brakes. The recalled vehicles have front brake jounce hoses that could rupture. A ruptured front brake jounce hose will cause a progressive brake fluid leak. If the brake fluid reservoir is depleted below a certain level, the brake fluid warning indicator light will illuminate. The driver may experience an increase in brake pedal travel, together with a reduction in the rate of deceleration, increasing the risk of a crash. The company are recalling 2015-2018 Ford Edge vehicles that were built at their Oakville Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada from June 25, 2014 to December 21, 2017, as well as 2016-2018 Lincoln MKX vehicles built at the same location between November 11, 2014 and December 21, 2017. Ford said it is not aware of any reports of accident or injury related to this condition. This action affects 488,594 vehicles in the U.S. and federal territories, 62,876 in Canada and 7,140 in Mexico. Dealers will replace the front brake jounce hoses with new hoses that have a revised braid material. 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.
La Crosse, Vernon and Monroe counties in southwest Wisconsin are home to a quarter of the large (PL-566) flood control dams in the State of Wisconsin. Built mostly in the 1960s, the dams are now aging infrastructure in need of repair, replacement, relocation or removal.

The study being undertaken by USDA-NRCS and the three counties will help to determine the future of the five dams that breached in the August 2018 rain event. It will also lend insight into all the other similar dams in those counties which share certain structural and age-related challenges, although they are not breached.

The dams in this area are 60-years-old, and the federal interest in them has been completed (meaning theyve exceeded the project life used in the original economic evaluation), USDA-NRCS Wisconsin State Conservation Engineer Steve Becker told a group of county and town officials, agency staff and representatives of the engineering firms contracted to complete the study. The group gathered in the Cashton Community Hall on Tuesday, August 4 for a project kick-off meeting.

The dam failures resulted from 11 inches of rain in about six hours on August 27-28, 2018, and a vulnerability in the highly jointed sandstone abutments on each end of the dams, Becker told the group. There are similar vulnerabilities in the dams that did not breach in 2018, as well as normal aging of materials used in construction of the dams.

The study will be focused on the Coon Creek and Upper West Fork Kickapoo Watersheds, where the five dams breached. According to Becker, the purpose of this study is flood prevention and flood damage reduction.

Becker explained that the funding for this project became available because there is bipartisan recognition that U.S. public infrastructure needs an infusion  this resulted in the 2019 Consolidated Appropriations Act, as a source of funding for this watershed planning effort.

The planning effort will result in a Project Plan for each watershed, as well as an Environmental Impact Statement  which are in-tended to help decision-makers weigh the environmental, economic, and social impacts or consequences of the Project Plan. The planning effort is estimated to be complete on December 31, 2021.

Historically, when the dams were first built, similar studies were undertaken in the two watersheds. Those studies resulted in project plans, and ultimately in construction of the dams. The project will soon have a website up, and interested citizens can view the original project plans at that site. To find the website go to www.wfkandccwatershed.com. The site is currently still in development, but should be available soon.

Public scoping meetingsOne of the key things called for in the study is to obtain citizen input on the problems with flooding, and eventually, on the proposed solutions put forth. This will be part of the process of developing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project. There will be two sets of public scoping meetings in each water-shed.

The first scoping meetings will be in September to identify problems, concerns, and potential alter-natives to address valley flooding, Sundance-EA Senior Project Manager Keri Hill told the group, The second meeting will be in December or January to review the preliminary results of floodplain modeling and the environmental and economic impacts. The meeting will also focus future efforts on certain alternatives.

Wisconsin 96th Assembly Representative Loren Oldenburg attended the meeting. He suggested that before you have the meetings, you should make a list of questions to prompt for ideas and concerns, so you are sure to come out of the meetings with the information you need.

Those meetings will take place at the Cashton Community Hall for the Upper West Fork Kickapoo Watershed, and at the Coon Valley Village Hall for the Coon Creek Watershed. Due to COVID-19, and the need to maintain social distancing, in-person attendance will be limited, but a live virtual meeting will also be available to those unable to secure a seat for the live meeting.

The Upper West Fork Kickapoo Watershed meetings at the Cashton Community Hall will take place on Wednesday, September 16  one at 1 p.m., and one at 6:30 p.m.

The Coon Creek Watershed meetings in Coon Valley will take place at the Coon Valley Legion Hall on Thursday, September 17  one at 10 a.m., and one at 6:30 p.m.

Because in-person attendance will be limited, it is encouraged that only one member from a family attend the in-person meetings. Seats at the meetings will be available first come, first serve. The link and instructions to use the free live streaming platform of Microsoft Teams will be available on the project website, and distributed through the three county Facebook pages.

Engineering firms

For the study, USDA-NRCS has contracted with M&E Consultants. They have also sub-contracted with Sundance Consulting and EA Engineering Science and Technology, Forest Econ, Inc., and Cornerstone Restoration.

M&E Consultants was formed by two retired NRCS State Conservation Engineers in Texas in 2001. M&E currently employees 40 retired federal employees with more than 1,000 years of experience when employed by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), formally the Soil Conservation Service (SCS). Their experience is in planning, design, construction oversight, conservation practices, program administration, and engineering management. During the past 29 years, M&E Consultants LLC has provided planning, design, survey, geotechnical, and/or construction inspection services on 315 project dams located within the U.S. Central Region.

Steve Becker addressed the question, Why are we contracting with an engineering firm from outside of Wisconsin?

USDA-NRCS has a high level of confidence this team will be able to handle all aspects of the project, Becker explained. With this team, when we send the final report off to Washington D.C., the report will have the technical evaluations and administrative format to qualify the selected alternatives for the next phase of federal funding.

In addition, M&E Consultants has sub-contracted for some of the study work with two other firms.

The Sundance-EA Partners, LLC, Joint Venture, is a Native American-Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB) that brings together Sundance Consulting, Inc., (Sundance) and EA Engineering, Science, and Technology, Inc., as a full-service consulting firm to provide environmental, compliance, natural resources, cultural resources, and remediation services to clients across the United States and abroad. Together, Sundance and EA employ more than 500 professionals and maintain a network of 30 offices nationwide.

Forest Econ, Inc., is an independent forest and natural resources economics analysis firm located in Moscow, Idaho. One of their two project groups that will work on this study is the natural resources economics team. This team provides resource valuation, project cost-benefit analysis, investments, forecasting, and management.

Cornerstone Restoration specializes in infrastructure restoration. Their team will crawl through the principal spillway pipes of the dams to evaluate the competency of the pipe joints and concrete surfaces.

Field work

EA-Partners Robb Lutz and team will lead the floodplain modeling, and will estimate the remaining life expectancy of the structures. In the course of doing this, they will conduct interviews with impacted landowners in the valleys to correlate economic damages with various flood stages, and discern their interest in land use changes, easements, and zoning.

Our study will identify the differences in the flood inundation area with each scenario  repair, replace, relocate or re-move, EA-Engineerings Robb Lutz told the meeting participants. It will provide the benefit-cost analysis for each scenario.

Lutz said his team is looking at conducting landowner interviews tentatively in October. He said that those interviews will establish economic damages from flooding, level of interest in land use changes, and hydro-logic information about high water marks, etc.

Vernon County Conservationist Ben Wojahn expressed concern that the study discuss not just the dams but also the land use in the watersheds above them that allows them to function.

Historically, Ive heard that landowners were paid to install conservation land use practices  if we do this again, it needs to include a deed restriction so the practices cant be removed by the next generation, La Crosse County Town of Washington Board Chairman Dan Korn said. Its all just corn and bean fields now on the ridge top fields.

Korn said that without the dam in the Bohemian Valley tributary of Coon Creek, residents have noticed that the water draining off from rain events is more violent.

Tim Hundt from Congresssman Ron Kinds office noted that the original watershed plans required that 50 percent of the landowners in the watershed signed cooperative agreements to install conservation land use measures.

In the study, we will look at upper watershed land use for the last five years  we will look at crop rotations and investigate the impact of those rotations on flooding out-comes, Becker said. As far as evaluating new rainfall trends, we will use Atlas 14 data for the general scope of modeling. From the project funds, we also devoted $10,000 for a UW-Madison study that captured and quantified rainfall trends in the last 15 years. This trend of more frequent and intense rainfall will be applied in the economic evaluations of valley flooding.

Becker pointed out that the focus areas in the Coon Creek and West Fork Kickapoo Water-sheds are large68,762 acres and 63,761 acres, respectively. He said that in the early part of the planning effort, they will not be able to evaluate detailed land use changes within the upper water-shed.

We could make some gross estimations, for instance, we could add grass buffers around the perimeter of all of the ravines in the watershed, calculate the acres of grass, plug that into the model, and see if installing that would move the needle with regard to flooding we could also evaluate substantial land use changes on all areas of highly erodible land.

He said that in the later part of the planning effort, they will be able to look at the effect of detailed land use changes and conservation practices in smaller sub-watersheds that contribute runoff and sediment to individual dams, such as farm ponds, terraces, grassed waterways, cover crops, or specific rotations.

As part of Cornerstone Restorations evaluation of the principal spillway pipes on the dams, county staff will need to address spring baseflow that feeds water into the system on a perennial basis to allow their staff safe access.

Inspections of the principal spillway pipe and drains will help the planning team estimate the remaining life of the 23 dams in the two water-sheds, and anticipate the cost of any needed repairs, Becker said. Replacement of the principal spillway pipe is synonymous with the expiration of the dam. The excavation and material costs required to replace the pipe often exceed the value of the dam.

Becker explained that the study will also investigate hydraulic capacity of the 68 road crossings in both watersheds, split about 50/50 between the two. This will include roads and bridges, and the study team will require county records about damages, maintenance and repairs.

Economic analysis

Another key aspect of the study will be a detailed evaluation of the benefit-cost ratio of the dams. When the project plans for the dams were originally made, the benefits and costs of having them in place involved a lot of estimation.

Now, 60 years later, we have the benefit of being able to look back and to see what those benefits and costs actually were, Becker said. Originally, it was estimated that the benefit cost ratio of building the dams would be 1.2:1  now well be able to test those estimations and use the results of the economic analysis to re-fine our recommendations going forward.

Becker said that USDA-NRCS, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wisconsin DNR, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service all have regulatory interests in the dams. In order to perform our economic analysis, we will need cooperation from all these agencies, as well as the three counties.

We will need dam operation and maintenance costs from the three counties since 1958  this information will need to come from NRCS, DNR and the counties, Becker said. Well need numbers for average yearly maintenance and operation, and for major repairs, and this can include annual staff salaries and dedicated equipment.

Becker said that the economic analysis team will also want zoning information and property value information to be able to calculate the impact on property values if dams are constructed or abandoned, and the value of property rights lost due to floodplain and hydraulic shadow zoning as those rights have a value.

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Ex-mayor of Russias Orenburg sentenced to 4.5 years in jail for corruption

 TASS, Sergey Arapov

12:26 13/08/2020

MOSCOW, August 13 (RAPSI)  A court of Russias Orenburg has passed a 4.5-year high-security penal colony sentence on the former city mayor Yevgeny Arapov for corruption crimes, RAPSI has learnt from the Investigative Committees press service.

Additionally, the defendant has been fined 15 million rubles. The court has also banned him from holding authority posts for 5 years.

According to the court ruling, in 2012, Arapov acting as Orenburg mayor created a firm through a figurehead to run rental property business. In 2018, he received a 400,000-ruble ($5,400) bribe from one of his deputies for connivance.

Moreover, one businessman gave Arapov a one-room apartment worth 1.3 million rubles ($18,000) registered to a figurehead.




LOS ANGELESIf you had posed the scenario to him as a hypothetical a few months ago  Your company will be hemorrhaging cash, and youll turn to Uncle Sam for emergency funds  Jim Brady wouldve confidently dismissed it.

Never, he said, did I think I would need government help.

Brady, 69, started AToN Center, a luxury rehab facility in the hills of Encinitas, with his wife, Patricia, more than a decade ago and built it into a booming enterprise with nearly 70 full-time employees and a five-home campus with a saltwater pool, a sauna and 600-thread-count bedsheets.

But this spring, as the coronavirus charted its deadly path across the country, Brady decided to temporarily stop accepting clients from Washington state and the New York City area  two early hot spots  and capped client capacity at 12, instead of 30, so patients didnt have to share bathrooms.

I went backwards about a half a million dollars in two months, he said. Although his payroll was sinking him, he felt deeply loyal to his staff and desperately wanted to avoid cuts or furloughs.

Instead, he applied for a forgivable loan through the Paycheck Protection Program, part of the governments initiative to help small businesses survive the pandemic, and received just over $800,000, which he used to cover two months of payroll.

That decision  asking for and then accepting federal funds  has prompted some reflection on his views about government aid, said Brady, who describes himself as basically Republican, but doesnt always agree with the party leadership. For years, he felt frustrated by all the money skimmed from his take-home salary  it felt, he said, as if other people were sitting around and benefiting off of his earnings.

Im in the top tax bracket, he said. I didnt like that money going away.

But now that hes watched the positive ripple effect of having received the loan  how it helped him, his family, his employees and their families  his views of government assistance have started to evolve.

I have a very different eye to that now. ... Ive now dipped into the pie.

As the pandemic presses into its six month and an expanding cohort of Americans personally benefit from their slice of the governments $2.2 trillion (U.S.) stimulus bill, some political scientists, historians and experts believe that the COVID-19-era could shift the national discourse about the role Americans want government to play in their lives and ultimately lead to an expanded social safety net that more closely resembles those in other affluent nations.

COVID is such a potentially transformational experience, said Martin Gilens, chair of the Department of Public Policy at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. If there is a broader reckoning with the failures of our government, then maybe that will extend to how we deal with inequality and poverty, and well be entertaining something that looks a little more like a European welfare state.

While such a drastic widening of the safety net may sound far-fetched  and the scope and lasting power of any expansion remain to be seen  the health, economic and inequality crises currently plaguing the U.S. could well prove the most consequential since two previous eras of deep transformation in the U.S.  the 1930s and the 1960s.

As cities shut down and the economy began its devastating decline in March, President Donald Trump signed into law a temporary relief package that increased funds for Medicaid, expanded eligibility for food stamps and mandated paid leave for some Americans who needed to take time off due to the virus.

Later that month, he signed a much larger emergency stimulus bill, known as the CARES Act, which created the small-business loan program, approved no-strings-attached checks of up to $1,200 for millions of Americans and added a temporary $600-per-week bump in federal unemployment benefits.

Still, unemployment soared and the nations gross domestic product cratered to a level not seen since the Great Depression. Then, late last month, the $600-a-week subsidy lapsed; Washington is still haggling over whether to restore it.

Evidence suggests that a broad swath of Americans are happy with the governments beefed-up role in their lives.

A recent survey found that a vast majority of adults supported the stay-at-home orders, and four out of five respondents to a recent poll said they approved of the emergency stimulus bill. A majority of respondents also said that the next emergency bill should prioritize getting money to individuals and families over businesses or local governments.

But views on the topic will no doubt shift again when the economy improves, cautioned Gilens, who wrote Why Americans Hate Welfare: Race, Media, and the Politics of Antipoverty Policy.

During hard times, he said, the public always becomes more sympathetic toward spending to help the poor.

Over the last century, the size of the American social safety net, like those in many nations, has evolved drastically. When the flu pandemic of 1918 killed hundreds of thousands of Americans, the U.S. didnt have a modern federal safety net and relied instead on a patchwork of local programs and churches to feed and house people in need.

As part of New Deal reforms during the Great Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act of 1935, which created old-age benefits for retired workers, established unemployment insurance and created the program eventually renamed Aid to Families with Dependent Children.

But, as it was crafted, the law excluded farm and domestic work  some of the main jobs held by Black people at the time.

Discrimination has always permeated social welfare in the United States, said retired NYU associate professor Alma Carten, who has written extensively about how racism toward Black people shaped the framework of the American social safety net and still shapes perceptions of it today.

Public assistance in the U.S. is broken into two tiers, Carten said. There are the social-insurance programs, such as unemployment and Social Security, which workers or their employers pay into, and means-tested programs, such as food stamps. And the latter category, Carten said, is more stigmatized and considered the dole  a distinction rooted, she says, in racism and in our nations work-hard-achieve-anything capitalist ethos.

Americans like to work for their money, she said. They dont like to feel like theyre getting something for nothing.

But parsing out what is fair, and who deserves what, is subjective. And that very wiggle room helped lay the ground work for entrenched, racially stereotyped and often inaccurate views of who benefits most from government aid  a view that took hold in the 1960s, Gilens said, as news organizations coverage of poverty shifted from white people in rural Appalachia to Black people in inner cities.

By the late 1970s, when Ronald Reagan was running for office, it was no longer almost exclusively white women benefiting from the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program, Carten said, but also some single Black mothers. On the campaign trail, Reagan regaled crowds with an anecdote about a woman in Chicago  a Black woman, many of his listeners assumed  with 80 names, 12 Social Security cards and four fake, dead husbands with veterans benefits. Before long, the deeply exaggerated story of the unnamed woman had solidified into the racist trope of the Welfare Queen.

During his second term, Reagan signed a law that tightened eligibility requirements for the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program. But it was President Bill Clinton, vowing to end welfare as we know it, who got rid of the program altogether in 1996 and replaced it with a much more restrictive program that put a five-year lifetime cap on such benefits.

Fourteen years later, President Barack Obama signed into law the Affordable Care Act  the broadest expansion of subsidized health coverage in decades, which, although deeply polarizing at the time, has since garnered the support of a majority of Americans.

American social welfare policy is complicated, Carten said. We make a distinction between people who are worthy and who are unworthy.

Under Trump  a loud advocate for welfare reform  federal officials last year announced a plan to tighten eligibility for food stamps for adults without dependants, a move that was expected to cut benefits to nearly 700,000 Americans. Initially the administration intended to push ahead with the plan even during the pandemic, but eventually decided to hold off after losing a court challenge in mid-March.

Two weeks later, with the economy in free fall, Trump signed the CARES Act, which included the $600-a-week unemployment subsidy.

That provision became a lifeline for Michail Sklansky.

Before the pandemic, Sklansky was making $22 an hour working in the editorial department at the L.A. Philharmonic. It was part-time work, which meant no medical coverage, but he felt grateful to have found fulfilling work compiling program books for shows at Disney Hall and the Hollywood Bowl after the record company he worked at for years was bought out.

But in April, with shows on hiatus, he got laid off.

Sklansky speaks a half-dozen languages and has a broad skill set, but at 62 hes learned what it feels like to be passed over for jobs hes qualified for  and that was before the pandemic. So he signed up for unemployment and continued his job search. He updated his resume and LinkedIn profile, researched interview tips and submitted dozens of applications for administrative jobs, as well as some in film and TV licensing.

When you apply online, he noticed, you can sometimes see how many other people have already submitted applications for the same job. In one instance, it was more than 500 people. So far, he hasnt gotten a single follow-up call.

On a recent afternoon  the day the $600 federal subsidy lapsed  Sklansky was listening to the news religiously, hoping to hear about a funding extension. If one didnt come through soon, he said, he planned to start making deliveries for Ralphs or Instacart.

Its nail-biting.

In California alone, more than $68 billion in loans have been handed out to some 580,000 companies  a no-industry-spared list that includes limousine corporations, two-dozen companies with luxury in their name and more than 1,000 dentists offices. Somewhere in the middle of the list, in the section of companies that got at least $350,000 but less than $1 million, youll spot a Santa Ana-based think tank: the Ayn Rand Institute.

In a video message posted on the nonprofits website, the president of the institute, which advocates ending the welfare state, defended the decision to accept the federal loan by comparing it to a robbery victim accepting a restitution payment.

If the government offers to return some of the money taken from us by force, the president said, each of us is entitled to reclaim some of what was taken.

Another chunk of loans went to Californias agricultural industry.

Early in the pandemic, Matthew Efird, a fifth-generation farmer who grows almonds, peaches, raisins and pistachios on a farm south of Fresno, carefully monitored his slipping profits. The slowdown in sales to shuttered restaurants and the continued impact of retaliatory trade tariffs China has imposed on many goods from the U.S., including almonds, created what Efird called a perfect storm.

His companies, Double E Farms and Efird Ag Enterprises, both applied for and received loans in the smallest category, less than $150,000, Efird said, adding that although he and his wife both got stimulus checks, theyd decided to donate them to nonprofits.

In the past, Efird said, he has gotten state and federal grants through agricultural equipment-replacement and irrigation-efficiency programs, neither of which, Efird noted, he viewed as a handout.

I think thats completely different than traditional welfare, he said. We pay into these programs with our tax dollars.

The way the CARES Act was written, not everybody will benefit from it, at least not equally, said UCI law professor Mehrsa Baradaran, who recently wrote a piece for the Atlantic arguing that America has a longtime obsession with keeping aid from people viewed as undeserving.

For example, she said, the government included restrictions intended to bar strip club owners and some people with felony records from receiving small-business loans. (Neither restriction has proved fully enforceable, however, after business owners and civil rights groups sued the government.)

The exemptions are hypocritical, Baradaran said, especially when compared with bailouts of corporations, such as Boeing, or big banks, in spite of past wrongdoing.

I mean, talk about felonies, right? she said. The banks have committed crimes of moral turpitude and they hardly get cut off from profit.

Back at AToN, Bradys facility in Encinitas, life has slowly returned to something a little closer to pre-pandemic normalcy.

Because the rehab facility now gets COVID-19 test results back in two or three days, it can confidently admit new clients knowing they dont have the virus. Theyre still not at their usual capacity, Brady said, but on a recent weekday they were back up to 18 clients.

At one point during the worst of it, he said, they were down to two clients, and his staff of psychologists, counsellors and round-the-clock registered nurses started sorting out cabinets to stay occupied.

Brady was desperate to keep his core clinical team, some of whom had worked for him for eight years. In an industry that sometimes attracts bad actors, it can be hard to find trained, ethical employees, said Brady, who is on the board of the Addiction Treatment Advocacy Coalition.

God, I cant let people go, Brady thought.

He feels deeply fortunate that he didnt have to, even if it meant asking the government for help.

I never thought I would need it, he said, pausing for a few seconds, but I really did.

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Before the U.S. sends a high-level entourage for talk, China sends a combat air patrol to remind Taiwan and the US that Beijing is watching. But on the offside, the protocol broken by the Trump administration has made it more difficult for the CCP in Beijing to impose its one-China policy.

In the Taiwan Strait, Beijing flew several formations of Chengdu J-10 and Shenyang J-11 fighters earlier into the airspace that can be transited without the Taiwanese Air Force scrambling its jets. This median line is the only air corridor that can be crossed for a short time.

The Chinese flight came after Alex Azar, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary, went to Taiwan as one of the first high-level visits. Such a visit signifies further unofficial U.S. recognition that China considers a breach of their One-China policy, according to The Drive.

The event of sending the jets into the corridor was timed just right before the U.S official began his sit down with the Taiwanese President, Tsai Ing-wen. In the meeting, he assured Taiwan of unequivocal support and friendship that is pledged by Washington.

Sending flights of jets was not unnoticed by the Taiwanese leadership. Later on, they started the deployment of People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) fighters. It was called an unwanted intrusion into the Strait and it has undermined stability and security.

The Chinese J-10 and J-11 fighter jets intentionally violated Taiwanese airspace of the rather narrow strait at exactly 9:00 a.m. (01.00 GMT). While in-flight, the jets were in the sight of anti-aircraft batteries on the island, according to the Ministry of Defense. Soon after, Taiwanese planes were dispatched to drive away from the intruders. But for now, Beijing is silent about the PLAAF intrusion into airspace that is not theirs.

Also read: PLA Conducts Practice Assault Drills, Preparing for Possible Taiwan Invasion?

Azar's visit to Taiwan is one of the most important state visits that Taiwan has experienced, and that comes when the U.S. and China are at odds with each other. Beijing has made its opposition as the U.S. is increasingly against Chinese activities in the South China Sea.

Another is the shift of U.S. foreign policy in the Trump administration. Beijing is hinting that the recent diplomatic mission is not without consequence, cited Japan Times.

Before the People's Liberation Army Navy held exercises in the South China Sea, the Taiwanese military had something in store for the PLAN. Taiwan flew F-16s with armed AGM Harpoon anti-ship missiles that were ready to fire on any Chinee vessel. In other areas in the Indo-Pacific, the U.S. poked China with observation operations in the SCS. Next were joint exercises with Japan and Australia that stoked the flames a bit more, according to Yahoo.

The People's Republic of China (PRC) considers Taiwan as part of the maindland, with the Taiwanese government not giving in to communist pressure that has made Beijing mad. Xi Jinping prefers a Taiwan that cannot stop the Chinese military, but Trump is giving the Taiwanese advanced arms. Another sore point to U.S. and China squabbles is the blame of the pandemic.

Related article: Chinese Air Support Weakened by Only Three Aerial Tankers Compared to US in Taiwan Invasion

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A man was stabbed in New Brighton Wednesday night, police said.

Police responded to a report of a man stabbed in the vicinity of Westervelt Avenue and St. Peters Place at 6 p.m., an NYPD spokesman said.

The man was transported to Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton and his condition did not appear to be life threatening, the spokesman said.

Further information about the age of the man and what caused the event was not immediately available on Wednesday night.

Initially, police received a call for a man shot, but a further investigation determined it was a stabbing.

No arrests have been made and the investigation remains ongoing.
In this April 13 photo, Lay Guzman stands behind a partial protective plastic screen and wears a mask and gloves as she works as a cashier at the Presidente Supermarket in Miami Read more

This spring, for the first time, Angel Manners found purpose and pride at the supermarket where she has worked the last decade. Customers praised her as a hero for putting herself at risk during the pandemic. Bosses boosted her hourly pay by $2. Suddenly, her job was essential.

Nearly five months in, and it is all gone.

In the last month, weve lost our hazard pay, and people are quitting every day, said Manners, 43, who processes vendor deliveries at a Meijer store in northern Kentucky. Those of us who are left are really stretched thin  working so much harder for $11.50 an hour.

Grocery workers across the country say morale is crushingly low as the pandemic wears on with no end in sight. Overwhelmed employees are quitting mid-shift. Those who remain say they are overworked, taking on extra hours, enforcing mask requirements, and dealing with hostile customers. Most retailers have done away with hazard pay even as workers remain vulnerable to infection, or worse. Employees who took sick leave at the beginning of the pandemic say they cannot afford to take unpaid time off now, even if they feel unwell.

The mounting despair is heightened by the lack of other job options: Supermarkets are among the few bright spots in an industry that has been ravaged by COVID-related store closures and a sharp drop-off in consumer spending. The retail sector has shed 913,000 jobs and chalked up more than a dozen bankruptcies during the pandemic.

At the beginning, they valorized what was deemed a dead-end job, but four months later, they dont even treat us like humans anymore, said Fox Wingate, 24, who works at a Safeway in Maryland.

Workers renewed sense of expendability comes after four straight months of double-digit unemployment. With more than 32 million Americans collecting unemployment benefits, labor experts and economists say there is an ever-growing pool of desperate people willing to face hazardous conditions and low pay to put food on the table. The nations 2.7 million grocery workers make, on average, $13.20 an hour, or about $27,000 a year, Commerce Department data show.

These are jobs that already dont pay enough for people to support themselves and their families, said Janice Fine, a professor of labor studies at Rutgers University. Now with a recession and unemployment being so high, it means that employers have even more of an upper hand  especially in an industry where a disproportionate number of workers are women and people of color.

At least 130 U.S. grocery workers have died, and more than 8,200 have tested positive for COVID-19 since late March, according to data from workers groups and media reports. Grocery stores are generally not required to inform shoppers about coronavirus cases or report them to local health departments, which can make it difficult to get an accurate count.

Manners, who has been at Meijer since 2010, says she has never felt so demoralized. At least a dozen colleagues in her department have quit in the last month alone, she says, while those who have stayed are struggling with the workload and the crush of impatient shoppers.

Some customers were appreciative in the beginning, but now theyre just rude, she said.

A handful of coworkers have tested positive for COVID-19, Manners said, but anyone who decides to self-quarantine is typically directed to take unpaid leave. And workers who try to call in sick often are being coaxed to come in, she said.

Managers are making decisions on their own, saying, You have a cough, but youll be OK, said Manners, who is a union steward at her store. You dont want to say no because youll lose your job.

 READ MORE: Coronavirus infection may be common in maternity health professionals, study finds

Frank Guglielmi, a spokesman for Meijer, said employees undergo temperature checks and other health screenings before each shift. Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 or is considered high risk can apply for as much as four weeks of paid leave, he said.

For the record, we are seeing reduced turnover among our store team members, he said. The turnover rate for U.S. retail workers has generally risen during the pandemic, Commerce Department data show.

Adding to the stress, many workers say, are new responsibilities, including disinfecting store fixtures and enforcing social distancing and mask requirements.

Almost every major retailer, including Walmart, Home Depot, and Target, is now asking shoppers to wear masks, although employees say enforcement is spotty and often fraught. Grocery workers have been demeaned, screamed at, and even assaulted for reminding shoppers of the new protocols, with some of the most egregious incidents captured on video and shared online. Illinois this week made it a felony to assault workers who are enforcing mask requirements.

The pressure is wearing away at us in great chunks, said a midlevel manager at a Kroger store in Kentucky, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he feared losing his job. Were getting it from both ends: customers and corporate.

Company representatives, he said, are exerting more pressure to ensure shelves and displays are full, even though stores are at the mercy of broader slowdowns in the supply chain. Its little things like, why isnt the yogurt display perfect? the manager said. They tear management to shreds and leave everybody on eggshells.

Kristal Howard, a spokeswoman for Kroger, said the company has provided paid emergency leave and financial support for child care during the pandemic. It also gave employees an extra $2 an hour  which it called a hero bonus  for two months ending in late May and gave them a onetime bonus that topped out at $400.

Our most urgent priority throughout this pandemic has been to provide a safe environment for our associates and customers while meeting our societal obligation to provide open stores, Howard said.

 READ MORE: Students at Penn State forced to sign COVID-19 liability waiver to participate in fall semester

In Jacksonville, Fla., the Publix store where Tonyalee Henderson works is trying to restore normalcy: It has reopened its salad and olive bars and stopped enforcing occupancy limits. But the reality for workers is far from normal, Henderson says. She is working fewer hours than she used to  about 20 a week instead of more than 40  but is taking on extra responsibilities and often contending with irate customers for her $13.50 an hour.

"At first it was like, 'You are so great for risking your life,' " she said. "Now the atmosphere is completely different."

The company, she said, raised her pay by 50 cents an hour and gave her four Publix gift cards totaling about $200 after taxes.

In early April, managers gave each worker a disposable mask and a handout instructing them to clean it between uses by holding it over a pot of steaming water. Henderson began buying her own masks so she could change them after every shift. The company now provides Publix-branded cloth masks for its employees.

"So many of us are on the verge of quitting," she said. "We're having to do the work of three people while risking our health."

A spokeswoman for Publix did not respond to requests for comment.

In Manhattan, a Trader Joe's employee in her late 50s who asked not to be identified says she has wondered whether to quit. She has not been feeling well but used up her paid sick time early in the pandemic and has twice tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies.

"The unknowns are the worst part of it," she said. "I do notice I'm out of breath more often but I don't know what that is. It's this constant fear for your physical health  not just from coronavirus but also from people who don't want to follow the rules."

Kenya Friend-Daniel, a spokeswoman for Trader Joes, said the company asks employees to stay home if they are unwell and has provided as much as two weeks of paid time off to those who feel sick or are awaiting COVID-19 test results. It also is offering an extra $2 an hour in thank you pay through the end of the year.

"Anyone who is concerned about working may take an unpaid leave without question," she said, adding that employees who received health benefits from the company before the pandemic will continue to receive insurance through the end of the year, regardless of how many hours they work.

The worker says she loves her job and does not want to quit. She has worked in retail for more than 35 years, but says she is tired of being treated like a second-class citizen.

Its my career even though it may not be a well-respected one, she said. Im not feeling great today, so Im sitting here debating: Do I go in? Do I not? If I take time off for feeling sick, Im treated like Im guilty until I prove otherwise. Its a terrible position to be in.
Mrs Mary Awelana Addah, the Programmes Manager of Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), said monitoring and documentation of abuse of incumbency for publication by an independent body would ensure legitimate use of public resources.



She said incumbent public office holders abused their incumbency mostly because of their parochial interest to retain power at the detriment of national resources.



That phenomenon created an inherent incentive for them to abuse public resources, even to the extent of influencing the outcome of elections.



Mrs Addah said this at the closing ceremony of a two-day training workshop for 32 media practitioners in Accra sponsored by Global Affairs Canada.



The project seeks to enhance the skills of the participants to facilitate the GIIs national monitoring exercise on Abuse of Incumbency and Electoral Corruption before and during the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections.



The exercise will track potential incumbent abuse of state resources and monitor the extent and variety of corruption in the 2020 elections.



It would also help promote the creation of a level playing field as a result of the monitoring and publicity exercises and contribute to achieving fairness and clean elections, Mrs Addah said.



Even though Ghana had witnessed seven elections with three successful transfers of power from one political party to the other, issues of abuse of power and corruption among public officers still existed hence the importance of the exercise to make office holders accountable, she said.



Mrs Addah said the role of an independent observer was key in enhancing transparency and increasing public confidence in the electoral process.



Article 55 (11) of the 1992 Constitution provides that the state makes the effort to ensure that all political parties have equal access to state media to present their plans and programmes to the populace.



Mr Francis Ameyibor, Executive Director, Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult, entreated journalists not to allow their personal opinions and preferences to influence their reportage during elections.



He said journalists must avoid wearing distinctive signs to indicate either a party or candidate affiliation.



Mr Ameyibor said journalists had a role to play in monitoring elections to ensure transparency in the voting process and, therefore, implored them to respect the electoral laws, rules and regulations whilst monitoring electoral activities.



He urged them to refrain from publishing information that encouraged division and aggressive discussions to incite violence and endanger social cohesion.



Mr Michael Boadi, the Fund Raising Manager, GII, advised journalists to be professional in the discharge of their duties in the impending elections.



He was optimistic that the participants were equipped with the necessary skills to collate and document corruption and incidences of abuse of incumbency.



Participants were taken through the General Overview of Ghanas Election and Impact; Overview of Monitoring Abuse of Incumbency and Electoral Corruption; and Legal Framework for Elections and Abuse of Incumbency, among other topics.

Source: GNA









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Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland of the ruling Liberal Party announced last Friday that the Canadian government will impose C$3.6 billion in tariffs on US metal products in retaliation for President Donald Trumps placing of a 10 percent tariff on Canadian non-alloyed, unwrought aluminum. Trump, in a continuation of his reactionary America First agenda, cited unsubstantiated national security concerns to resurrect a metals trade war with Canada that he boasted will save American jobs. The Trump tariff will take effect on August 16.

Freeland branded the Trump administration as the most protectionist in US history and called Trumps national security rationale ludicrous and absurd. However, she was careful to couch her governments criticism as a defence of the Canadian ruling elites long-standing military-strategic partnership with US imperialism. Canadian aluminum does not undermine US national security. Canadian aluminum strengthens US national security and has done so for decades through unparalleled co-operation between our two countries, stated Freeland.

With approximately three-quarters of all Canadas exports going to the US and Canadas global position dependent on its military-security partnership with Washington, Canadian big business and its political representatives view their alliance with the US as pivotal to upholding their own imperialist interests.

Le president Donald J. Trump lors dune reunion bilaterale avec le premier ministre canadien Justin Trudeau. (Photo officielle de la Maison-Blanche par Shealah Craighead)

Canadas response, said Freeland, would be designed therefore to be perfectly reciprocal, so as not to escalate the trade dispute further. The federal Liberal government will now take the next 30 days to determine what specific US metal products will be targeted, dollar for dollar, by the Canadian tariffs. It is expected that the government will select industries in the United States that are located in electoral swing states that are crucial to Trumps flagging re-election bid.

The current dispute is a resurrection of earlier trade frictions between the two countries. In 2018, Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on Canadian steel and a 10 percent aluminum tax. The Canadian government then responded in kind. Those tariffs were lifted in May 2019 in order to ease the way for the subsequent passage through Congress and the Canadian parliament of the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada continental free trade agreement (USMCA). The central purpose of the USMCA is to consolidate North America as a US-dominated trade bloc capable of confronting the global rivals of North Americas two imperialist powers, above all China and Russia.

The Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been striving to accommodate Trump and sustain a close working relationship with his administration since his election in November 2016, both to protect the vast corporate profits dependent on exports to the United States and to enable Canadian corporations to continue to scour the globe in search of new markets on the coat-tails of US imperialism.

The exacerbation of Canada-US trade tensionsat a time when the COVID-19 pandemic, the global crisis of capitalism and the concomitant growth of working class resistance has threatened the very foundations of bourgeois rulehas angered business organizations on both sides of the border.

In the first half of this year, Canada provided about 75 percent of all aluminum shipped to the US. American manufacturers have no ready outlet to purchase aluminum from other sources and thus will be forced to buy the metal from Canada at the increased price, thereby driving up consumer prices. At the same time, the proposed Canadian tariffs on US metal products will put a downward pressure on American jobs in selected industries.

The US Chamber of Commerce, other American trade organizations and think tanks as well as many manufacturers denounced Trumps new tariffs. Tom Dobbins, president of the US Aluminum Association called the move an ill-advised action on a key trading partnerat a time when U.S. businesses and consumers can least afford it. The Wall Street Journal editorial board opined, Mr. Trump at his policy worst.

As was the case in 2018 when all Canadas political parties came together to demand swift retaliation against Trumps steel and aluminum tariffs, the Conservatives, NDP, business groups and the trade unions united with the Liberals to denounce Trump. Hard-right Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who has spent his two years in power gutting public spending, attacking teachers, and preparing to privatize large swathes of the public sector, asserted, I had a good conversation with the deputy prime minister this morning regarding this and I just have to say how disappointed I am with President Trump right now. He added that Canada was in a battle and must hit em where it hurts.

A statement by the Canadian director of the United Steelworkers (USW) struck a similarly reactionary nationalist chord. The Trump administration is flouting the May 2019 agreement between the US and Canada which removed baseless Section 232 national security tariffs on Canadian exports at that time, declared USW Canada director Ken Neumann. The re-imposition today of these bogus US tariffs on Canadian aluminum is now threatening thousands of Canadian jobs. The Canadian government must respond with retaliatory tariffs on a wide range of U.S. exports.

The USWs full-throated endorsement of protectionism and trade war measures is a logical continuation of its pro-corporate, pro-imperialist line that has seen it endorse USMCA and the emergence of a North American trade bloc. The last time Trump imposed steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada, the USW campaigned against them by reminding lawmakers in Washington that Canadian steel and aluminum have been used for decades to supply the US war machine with tanks, guns, and aircraft.

Among Canadian union bureaucrats, USW and Unifor have been first among equals in promoting a nationalist orientationcalling on big business governments to defend Canadian jobs and enact protectionist measures to support Canadian companies. This pro-capitalist perspective serves to block any united action on the part of workers in North America and around the world against the transnational giants that are relentlessly seeking to intensify the exploitation of all workers, irrespective of their nationality.

Moreover, the unions nationalism has failed to protect a single job. Unifor, which began talks with the Detroit Three automakers on a new contract yesterday, has waved the Maple Leaf in the faces of autoworkers since the 1980s, while it (and its predecessor the Canadian Auto WorkersCAW) imposed round after round of wage rollbacks and other concessions, and presided over the destruction of tens of thousands of jobs at Fiat-Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors.

In addition to trade war, the conflict between the ever-more integrated global economy and the division of the world into competing capitalist nation-states is paving the way for wars of aggression, including military clashes between the imperialist powers themselves. As Trudeau, Trump, and the European and Chinese leaders recklessly implement tariffs and counter-tariffs, they are all arming their respective militaries to the teeth.

The global capitalist crisis has undermined the Canadian bourgeoisies long-standing strategy of advancing its own imperialist interests in close alliance with US imperialism, while at the same time relying on multilateral international institutions to offset the power imbalance that has always prevailed between Ottawa and Washington. As tensions between the American and European imperialists, and China mount, Canadas ruling elite is being thrust ever more forcefully into the maelstrom of imperialist conflict.

Workers must reject with contempt the unions nationalist propaganda and the attempt by the entire political establishment to posture as defenders of workers interests. In opposition to the nationalist, pro-capitalist policy of lending support to Canadas retaliatory tariffs, Canadian workers must link their struggles to the growing upsurge of the American and international working class.

It is impossible to advance the interests of Canadian workers in alliance with big business and its political representatives. Instead, Canadian workers must join forces with their class brothers and sisters in the US, Mexico, and around the world in a counter-offensive against the austerity, militarism, and nationalism promoted by the ruling elite in every country. In opposition to the imposition of tariffs and counter-tariffs, and the descent of the global capitalist system into trade war and military conflict, workers must make socialist internationalism the axis of their struggles.
The Maharashtra government on Thursday announced a toll waiver for private vehicles plying towards Konkan for Ganesh Chaturthi.

Eknath Shinde, the cabinet minister for public works department (public undertakings and Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation) announced that the waiver will be implemented two days prior to the 10-day festival  which falls on August 22  and two days after it.

Shinde held a meeting via video-conferencing with Shambhuraj Desai, the minister of state for home, and other officials to finalise the toll waiver. To avail the waiver, motorists will have to go to their local police station and register their details, including their name, address, vehicle owners name, vehicle registration number and the date of journey, in a bid to avail the toll waiver, that will be granted by the issuance of a sticker.

After the meeting, Shinde in a series of tweets said that like every year, the state government has decided to waive the toll this year too.

In the light of the coronavirus outbreak, those travelling to Konkan will need to have a [negative] corona test and an e-pass to travel, one of his tweets read.

Each year, thousands of people  hailing from Konkan  visit their villages and towns in Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts of Konkan region for the festival. They either take the Mumbai-Goa highway (National Highway-66) or travel via the Mumbai-Pune expressway or Kolhapur-Bengaluru highway (to travel from Pune to Kolhapur), where tolls are collected. The total toll amount from Mumbai to Konkan costs around 500-600, depending on the type of vehicle.

The government has also deployed more Maharashtra State Transport Road Corporation (MSRDC) buses to ferry people to the Konkan region during the festival. Those who wish to travel by the state transport buses will not need an e-pass, but have to undergo a Covid-19 test 48 hours prior to the journey. According to the state government guidelines, only those who are tested negative will be allowed to travel.

Meanwhile, a miscommunication between the state and railways resulted in the delay in operations of special outstation trains for Ganesh Chaturthi. While transport minister Anil Parab said they gave permission for trains to operate, the railways said the state asked to keep the operations on hold.

Confusion is being created by the railways by blaming us [state government]. We have asked for 200 trains and directed the railway authorities to depart the trains once they get the bookings. It is not true that we have asked them to keep the proposal on hold. Nothing was given in writing and no oral orders are obeyed in government communication. They should immediately start the trains running, said Parab.

According to officials from the chief ministers office, the proposal to run special trains has been put on hold and may be given a go-ahead only a week ahead of Ganesh Charturthi (August 22).

Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg have no capacity or health infrastructure to take extra load. The district administrations have requested to not give permissions to people coming from Mumbai, Pune and other cities. The railways may be given permission to ply trains early next week, the official said.

However, the minister confirmed that Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg district administrations have been asking the state to not allow people from outside the districts to flock in during the festival.

Even if we decide to run the trains, there is no response from the people. We have kept 3,000 ST (state transport) buses ready to ply more than 60,000 passengers but have received booking only for 12,000 passengers so far, he said.

Meanwhile, the Central Railway in a press release stated that they are ready to operate trains but waiting for approval from the state. Railways is ready to run the specials subject to all the norms including social distancing, etc. Senior officials of the state government of Maharashtra informed on telephone on Saturday, August 8, at night to keep on hold the schedule of the running of special trains, as the matter is under reconsideration of the Maharashtra government and said that they would advise the outcome. Since then, the railway administration, both at the board level and the zonal level, are in continuous touch with Maharashtra government officials and have been waiting to go ahead, the press release read.

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One issue stands out for St. Catharines as contract talks get underway between Unifor and the Detroit Three automakers, says Local 199 plant chair Tim McKinnon.

He wants assurances new work will be brought to General Motors Glendale Avenue plant in three years when a discontinuation of some models elsewhere could affect local operations.

Im looking down the road to make sure I secure something, at least a commitment, well in advance, McKinnon said Wednesday.

The union and automakers  GM, Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles  opened negotiations in Toronto, with existing agreements due to expire Sept. 21.

Speaking to reporters, Unifor national president Jerry Diaz said the unions goal is to protect jobs by getting the companies to commit to invest in Canada.

He predicted the automakers will use the temporary market downturn caused COVID-19 to plead poverty and avoid increasing salaries and investments, but insisted Im not going to take any concessions.

This industry has been printing money to the tune of billions of dollars of profitability (for years)  our overall costs are much cheaper in Canada than they are in the U.S.

Diaz is expected to wait until Labour Day, on Sept. 8, to choose one of the big three to negotiate with before settling and moving onto talks with the other two automakers.

He didnt provide any hints Wednesday as to which he will target.

General Motors released its written statement midday.

Matt Hough, general director for human resources and labour relations, said our focus is to reach a new fair, flexible four-year agreement for the roughly 1,600 unionized workers in St. Catharines, the Oshawa OEM stamped products and service operation, and Woodstock parts distribution centre.

Diaz said the automakers need to make Canadian investments in production and development of electric vehicles going forward.

Currently, he said, EVs account for about three per cent of the world market but that will likely grow to 50 per cent within 20 years.

Three-hundred billion dollars has been announced by the global (original equipment manufacturers) to date for electric vehicles, he said.

Not one nickel, not one, has been allocated to Canada. Thats something that needs to change.

At the Glendale propulsion plant in St. Catharines, up to half the workforce of about 1,250 could be eliminated in about three years if new work isnt moved there, due to discontinuation of some models.

There is some time, we have a few years, said McKinnon. But at the end of that, and prior to going into bargaining again, we need product.

In addition to job security, he said another important local issue is to close the wage gap between newer and more senior workers.

In St. Catharines its different than most other places, we went 22 years without hiring at one point, he said.

So we have a substantial young workforce and a substantial seniority workforce. For St. Catharines its funny, were almost negotiating two separate contracts.

At the Glendale plant, workers were sent home for a time after COVID-19 struck but things have largely returned to normal, McKinnon said.

Actually were so far ahead now that  we actually had summer students in this year.

He expects to return to Toronto Aug. 24 for more national business.

In the meantime, local side agreements are being negotiated at plants across Canada on site-specific issues.

Were doing well, McKinnon said of the local talks, which began about two weeks ago. Were not being unreasonable, the company isnt being unreasonable.

I think the local talks are going reasonably well, were getting through some of the tougher stuff.
It turns out its very easy to get people to believe they are viewing irrefutable evidence of Chinese abuses. All you have to do is show them video footage of one thing and tell them its something else, and as long as theyre already predisposed toward believing anti-China narratives, theyll believe you.

Over the last few weeks Ive seen three different verifiably fake videos depicting Chinese abuses which people have been frantically spamming around eager to show evidence of Beijings malfeasance, just in my own personal meanderings through social media. Like this one:

HERE IS A SECOND GENOCIDE VIDEO:



DAY 4 of my silent hunger strike protesting CCP genocide against Uigur Muslims in China



Brits, we need 100K signs on petition in my tweet below to secure a Magnitsky debate in Parliament. Sign & RT



THIS IS NOT A DRILL



pic.twitter.com/tr1PFvQRK5  Maajid   (@MaajidNawaz) July 18, 2020

After this wildly viral video surfaced, my Twitter mentions were saturated with brainwashed Chinagaters tagging me insisting that I retract my position of rigorous skepticism toward western narratives about whats happening in Xinjiang. They were certain they finally had me. There it is, video evidence as plain as day. Who could deny such a thing?

Only problem? Thats not Xinjiang, and those arent Uyghur Muslims.

https://twitter.com/Garou_Hidalgo/status/1285994495239245831

My favorite was this one shared by the account Uyghur Genocide on Twitter, captioned #China has been keeping a world record in techniques to torture prisoners & detainees, such as those 5+ million #Uyghur adults and children currently being held in Chinas #ConcentrationCamps, prisons & slave-labor factories. This is one:

#China has been keeping a world record in techniques to torture prisoners & detainees, such as those 5+ million #Uyghur adults and children currently being held in Chinas #ConcentrationCamps, prisons & slave-labor factories. This is one:#America #Canada #Australia #GerogeFloyd pic.twitter.com/TVOw0m9lHG  Uyghur Genocide (@auighur) June 15, 2020

Except in reality it is not one. Thats not China, and thats not a Uyghur Muslim. Its a BDSM fetish video from Taiwan, those are consenting adults at a private location, and the allegation has long been discredited.

The following are screenshots from a machine translation of a fact check piece from a Taiwanese website:

Obviously none of this in and of itself proves that Uyghur Muslims arent being mistreated in Xinjiang. What it proves is that theres a lot of disinfo about whats happening in Xinjiang, and that theres a very large market of herd-minded dupes who are eager to swallow that disinfo with zero critical gag reflex.

Western power structures have a very extensive and extremely well-documented history of lying about just this sort of thing, so theres no excuse for credulously believing what youre told about any US-targeted government absent mountains of hard proof.

Refusing to believe western narratives put out against US-targeted governments doesnt mean you automatically believe the opposite of those narratives or believe any Chinese narratives, it just means you remain agnostic until presented with proof that rises to the level required in a post-Iraq invasion world.

Theres a lot of geostrategic ambition riding on Xinjiang, since it plays a pivotal role in Chinas Belt and Road Initiative which will upset unipolar US planetary dominance unless thwarted. Which of course means the west has a vested interest in disrupting Chinas goals in that region, since US hegemony depends on keeping other nations down. Propaganda is being used to facilitate that agenda.

Ultimately this is all a part of the slow-motion third world war between the US-centralized power alliance and nations like China which have refused to be absorbed into that alliance. This slow-motion third world war is largely facilitated by dominance of international mainstream narratives about unabsorbed nations.

I Dont Always Believe CIA Narratives. But When I Do, I Believe Them About China.



"China is such a curious anomaly in the narrative matrix. Many who are normally skeptical of claims by western governments immediately swallow anything said about China."https://t.co/1EtQOPOFee  Caitlin Johnstone  (@caitoz) July 22, 2020

The above videos are a good illustration of the power of narrative. People believe theyre seeing undeniable video footage of an atrocity being perpetrated by a specific government, solely because the bit of text over the video told them thats what theyre seeing. They literally see what theyre told to see. The narrative overrides the actual raw data that they are taking in with their own eyes.

The only sane response to a situation that is swamped with propaganda and disinformation is to hold tight to skepticism and agnosticism until presented with hard proof. Get comfortable with not knowing, and dont forget that the power structures presenting you with these narratives have lied to you in the past.

Stay skeptical. Stay critical. Demand hard, verifiable proof about any claim about any US-targeted nation, and if it isnt given to you, dont swallow it. This is how you keep your head clear of the propaganda.

Caitlin's articles are entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, liking her on Facebook, following her antics on Twitter, checking out her podcast, throwing some money into her hat on Patreon or Paypal, or buying her book Woke: A Field Guide for Utopia Preppers. https://caitlinjohnstone.com

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.

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The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.
A corrupt supervisor who rorted more than $160,000 from the Victorian government's $1.6billion skyrail project has been jailed for nine months.

Kory Oxley used the wages of workers on the level crossing removal project in Melbourne's southeast to buy himself a caravan and boat.

The Lendlease foreman, on $185,000 a year, repeatedly paid tradies for days they never worked over 10 months in 2018.

A corrupt supervisor who rorted more than $160,000 from the Victorian government's $1.6billion skyrail project (pictured) has been jailed for nine months

In return for what he called 'cheese days', Oxley demanded the workers hand over up to half of each leave day's pay.

'You're either gonna be part of the ship or you're gonna be thrown off,' Oxley told them.

The 37-year-old was jailed by County Court Judge Kevin Doyle on Thursday for nine months, after pleading guilty to obtaining a financial advantage by deception.

He must complete a 15-month community correction order after getting out of jail.

'You were managing these workers and you had power over them. And you roped them into your criminal conduct,' Judge Doyle said.

'Some of those people were reluctant to become involved and were effectively bullied into participating.'

Oxley rorted $90,328. He spent $24,000 on a caravan and $11,500 on a boat.

He also admitted paying 25 skyrail workers a combined $71,715 to do work on the private property of his own supervisor, Steven Winter, over two days in August.

Winter was earlier ordered to perform 200 hours of unpaid work for his role in the rort.

Another man also convicted over the scam, Hayden Tarawa, was handed a six-month jail term and two-year community correction order. A fourth, Perry Diaz, was fined $2000.
Earlier this week, several Alabama counties saw large one or two-day increases in coronavirus cases.

But, as the Alabama Department of Public Health explained, the large swings  as much as 570 cases in Mobile County  had to do with catching up on backlogged data from labs as opposed to a rush of new cases.

ADPH receives reports of COVID-19 tests results from commercial and clinical labs as well as its own Bureau of Clinical Laboratories. And while ADPH has what it described as long-term reporting relationships with many outside labs, the introduction of new testing facilities created the recent issues.

ADPH was not aware of some of these labs, and these labs were not familiar with mandatory reporting of notifiable diseases. When ADPH becomes aware of a new lab performing (COVID-19) testing, ADPH educates the labs regarding uploading data in a timely, accurate electronic format, ADPH said in a series of tweets. As these labs were not reporting to ADPH until they understood the requirement, their data contains older reports which increases case numbers.

ADPH said it continues to identify new labs and bring them in to the electronic reporting process. Labs are required to report both positive and negative coronavirus test results.

Alabama has tested 791,786 people for coronavirus, with 169,788 of those coming in the past two weeks. The state has 100,801 confirmed cases as of Thursday morning.
Facebook Inc and Snapchat owner Snap Inc held talks to buy Dubsmash, The Information reported Wednesday.

Reports from someone familiar with the matter said that Facebook and Snap approached Dubsmash about a deal in recent weeks.

The progress of the talks also reportedly went far enough to have a price tag worth hundreds of millions of dollars. But reports also added that both Facebook and Snap are no longer in the deal talks.

A Snap spokesman said they admire the Dubsmash team, but they aren't in active talks to buy the app, the Reuters reported.

Facebook, on the other hand, declined to comment on the matter. The officials said they wouldn't be commenting on "rumor or speculation."

They also did confirm that they weren't in "active discussions" with Dubsmash, as reported by the Business Insider. Dubsmash was not immediately available for response.

Facebook, Snap Boost Efforts to Compete with TikTok

Dubsmash is a lip-syncing video app that has surged in popularity as other video sharing apps like TikTok. It has been around since 2013 and is considered a rival of TikTok.

It was one of the early apps to adopt the audio-based, video-splicing format that later became well-liked with TikTok. The New York Times reported that most of the internet's most viral dances came from Dubsmash before it came to TikTok.

Facebook and Snap have been looking for ways to make video sharing apps similar to TikTok's popular format.

Earlier this month, Facebook launched Instagram Reels while Snap started to put music overlay features for videos.

Privacy Issues with TikTok

News on Dubsmash's purchase came days after President Donald Trump threatened to ban TikTok and dealings from its parent company ByteDance.

TikTok has 45 days to divest itself and reach a deal with negotiations frontrunner Microsoft Corp. So far, both companies are still working out a deal.

The company was rushed to get its U.S. operations bought out because Trump believed that the social media app poses a threat to the country's national security. Many politicians also believed that the app is sharing information with the Chinese government.

Trump issued an order to explain this as well, stating that there are "vast swaths" of data that the app gathers from its users. These could include network activity and location.

The two companies have until September 15 to come up with a deal. It is expected that Microsoft will protect personal data from Americans stored in the app.

TikTok had already defended itself and said they never shared information with the Chinese government.

Facebook is also facing antitrust issues and has face Congress recently for it. The subject covers Facebook's purchase of former competitors like photo-sharing app Instagram and messaging app WhatsApp.

Dubsmash Sees Boost in Downloads

Dubsmash and other video-sharing apps have seen boosts in downloads in recent times. It has also seen more users as TikTok's 100 million monthly users in the U.S. are preparing for a future without the viral app.

While a nationwide ban will likely not happen, the threat to TikTok was enough to scare users into a panic. They are not sure where to make their content and find their favorite creators.

Want to read more? Check these out!

Foreign Tech Company ByteDance Accuses Facebook of 'Plagiarism and Smear'

Trump Issues an Executive Order Banning the Chinese App TikTok in the US

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BALTIMORE, Md., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sage Growth Partners (SGP), a Baltimore-based healthcare research, strategy, and marketing firm, has announced its appointment as Rhythm Management Group's marketing agency of record. A provider of remote cardiac and patient monitoring services, Rhythm has engaged SGP for strategic marketing communications, including messaging and positioning, content development, lead nurturing, and public relations. SGP will help Rhythm elevate its visibility in the marketplace, and advance its reputation as a leader in the remote monitoring space.

Founded by clinicians, Rhythm's comprehensive monitoring services and software allow physicians to track the status of their patients around the clock. With decades of experience offering remote monitoring for patients with implanted cardiac devices such as pacemakers and defibrillators, Rhythm has recently expanded their services to include remote vital sign monitoring, such as weight and blood pressure. Through an alert system that can be tailored for each patient, abnormal readings are elevated to the physician so that problems can be addressed without delay. Remote monitoring ensures that healthcare providers are always connected to their patients, preventing emergency department admissions and optimizing health outcomes for some of the most at-risk patientsthose with cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions.

"With COVID-19 making the delivery of non-emergency in-person care something of a health risk, remote monitoring has emerged as an ideal solution to help keep people at home," said Andrea Clark, Rhythm's VP of Sales and Marketing. "With almost 20 years of experience doing remote cardiac monitoring, we launched our remote patient monitoring service to help reach beyond patients with cardiac implants, monitoring vital signs and helping optimize health outcomes for any patient with a chronic condition. SGP helped us launch that service line and navigate our marketing strategy as the pandemic broke out. In just a brief time, their outstanding team has already advanced our brand, messaging, and reputation. We're looking forward to our continued work together."

"COVID-19 has elevated remote monitoring to a critical healthcare tool,'" said Boh Hatter, SGP's CMO and General Manager, Marketing. "Rhythm is extremely well-positioned to help give chronic care patients across the country peace of mind about their health, without needing to step into a doctor's office unless it's absolutely necessary. Our multidisciplinary marketing team looks forward to helping Rhythm expand its market to help more patients and practices during these challenging times."

About Rhythm Management Group

Rhythm Management Group provides high-touch solutions for remote cardiac and other monitoring services, typically doubling patient enrollment as well as ensuring connectivity and enhancing quality outcomes. Founded in 2011, Rhythm manages almost 40,000 patients with cardiac remote monitoring devices, including pacemakers, defibrillators, heart failure monitors, and implantable loop monitors. Rhythm provides its software platform and comprehensive services to cardiology practices and health systems nationwide.

About Sage Growth Partners

Sage Growth Partners accelerates commercial success for B2B, B2B2C, and B2C healthcare organizations through a singular focus on growth. The company helps its clients thrive amid the complexities of a rapidly changing marketplace with deep domain expertise and an integrated application of research, strategy, and marketing.

Founded in 2005, Sage Growth Partners is located in Baltimore, MD and serves clients such as Philips Healthcare, Quest Diagnostics, Inspirata, Livongo, Ingenious Med, and North Jersey Brain and Spine. Visit us online at www.sage-growth.com .

Media Contact

Vanessa Ulrich

(410) 534.1161

[email protected]

SOURCE Sage Growth Partners

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He made the statement during his reception for Cambodian Ambassador to Vietnam Chay Navuth on August 12.

At the reception (Photo: HNMO)

According to Secretary Vuong Dinh Hue, although Hanoi was seriously affected by COVID-19 in the first wave, it had not reported any fatalities. In July alone, Hanoi welcomed nearly 100,000 citizens from infected areas before testing them and isolating all the cases, he said. The pandemic has been controlled well in Hanoi as the whole political system enters the fight to protect the health and life of the capital citys residents, international organizations and foreign representative agencies in Hanoi.

He noted that besides the fight against COVID-19, Hanoi was focusing on economic resumption and development. In the first half of this year, Hanoi economic growth was double compared to the national average.

Hanoi is also preparing for the city 17th Party Congress, he added. Up to now, the city has successfully organized the grassroots Party Congresses and 84% of the above grassroots Party Congresses."

He suggested that Ambassador Chay Navuth and the Cambodian Embassy in Vietnam should continue to promote economic, trade, investment and tourism cooperation between the two sides, and expressed the desire that trade exchanges would soon return to normal and continue to be strengthened once the pandemic is under control.

He went on to say he hoped that Cambodia would create favourable conditions for Hanoi's businesses in particular and Vietnamese businesses in general to invest in Cambodia, contributing to the development of relations between the two countries. He also affirmed that Hanoi was willing to facilitate the operation of the Cambodian Embassy.

For his part, Ambassador Chay Navuth highly appreciated the efforts to prevent and control the COVID-19 pandemic in Hanoi, expressing his thanks for always facilitating the embassys operation.

The Ambassador also expressed his respect for the support of medical equipment from the Party, the Government and the people of Vietnam to Cambodia in the past time, saying that it significantly contributed to the efforts to prevent and fight COVID-19 in Cambodia.

Agreeing that he wishes to soon resume trade between the two countries, Ambassador Chay Navuth said he hoped to have the opportunity to meet with investors from Vietnam and Hanoi city in Cambodia to listen to their aspirations and investment plans./.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry is actively working to quickly identify and ensure the release all Ukrainian citizens detained in that country.

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak says Ukraine will ask the authorities of the Republic of Belarus to release as soon as possible Ukrainian human rights activists and journalists Kostiantyn Reutski and Yevhen Vasylyev, who were illegally detained in Minsk.

According to the official, Ukrainian citizens Kostiantyn Reutski and Yevhen Vasylyev were detained by Belarusian law enforcement officers without any legal grounds, the President's Office said.

Read alsoUkraine's MFA: No information yet about whereabouts of Ukrainians detained in Belarus

"According to the Ukrainian side, they did not violate any laws of the Republic of Belarus, did not take part in any riots or mass rallies, and did not have prohibited items or materials. The human rights activists visited Belarus solely to obtain reliable information about what was happening there and to comment on the recent events in Minsk for the Ukrainian media. Freedom of speech and freedom of movement are basic democratic principles that are respected throughout the world. Their violation is inadmissible," Yermak said.

Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is actively working through the Ukrainian diplomatic mission to quickly identify and ensure the release all Ukrainian citizens detained during the recent events.

He also said that Ukraine highly values good neighborly relations with the Republic of Belarus. "We are much more than just neighbors. We have always been good friends and partners," Yermak said.

Detention of Ukrainians in Belarus: What is known
Renowned Hunterdon County community leader and founder of the annual Clinton Christmas Parade Frank C. Hooper passed away on Aug. 6 at the age of 90.

Hooper was a prominent figure throughout the Clinton area, serving as the grand marshal of the Christmas Parade since its establishment 33 years ago. He spent over 30 years serving as the president of Shive Wright and Exton Insurance Agency in Clinton, throughout which time he was honored by the Clinton Town Council as Citizen of the Year and presented with a key to the town.

Dan Torrone, well-known in Hunterdon County as Dr. D, a personal friend to Hooper who assisted him with the parade since its inception 33 years ago, wrote his obituary.

Frank would leave gigantic footprints in Hunterdon County as one of its most enduring, humble and devoted community leaders and volunteers, he wrote. Frank was involved in so many aspects of community life it would be impossible to mention them all.

Hoopers memory is intertwined with his 1947 White Mack Fire Truck, which made appearances in a countless number of Hunterdon County events throughout the years. The car was often seen outside of schools in Califon, Clinton, and Hampton on Kindergarten students last day of school, and was annually used to collect hundreds of Christmas trees for Clintons yearly Yuletide Bonfire.

A member of the advisory board of the Hunterdon Developmental Center in Clinton for many years, Hooper also loved giving rides in his car to those who attended the organizations annual picnic.

Clinton Mayor Janice Kovach credited Hooper to leaving Clinton with an amazing legacy.

He and his wife both were committed to this community. Everything they did was about Clinton, Kovach said. Hell be remembered always. Every time the parade happens, every time we see a white fire truck, well always remember Frank Hooper.

Beyond his recognition as Citizen of the Year, Hooper was named the Volunteer of the Year by the United Way of Hunterdon County and the Citizen of the Year by the Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce, for which he served on the board of directors.

My personal involvement with Mr. Hooper was always just a phenomenal experience, said Chris Phelan, president and CEO of the Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce. The man was so giving, so personable  and especially for the town of Clinton. He just loved the community, and did so much for the business community.

Hooper received a Paul Harris Fellowship from the North Hunterdon Rotary Club and served as the chairman of the first Great Bloomsbury Hot Air Balloon Races. These races would grow to become the New Jersey Festival of Ballooning held in Readington Township, an annual event currently billed as the largest summertime hot air balloon and music festival in North America.

Hooper and his late wife, Joan, were founding members of the Church of the Holy Spirit in Lebanon, which was first established in September 1966 within the Clinton Community Center.

Hooper was born on Sept. 13, 1929 in Massena, New York, and spent his childhood years on a farm property on the banks of the St. Lawrence River on the Canadian border. He attended college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he would become a member of the monogram club, receiving his letter for Track.

Hooper also served as the president of Class of 1951, although his formal graduation ceremony was delayed after he initiated a prank in which he and a group of other students locked up 50 North Carolina State Troopers in their barracks.

Upon graduating from college, Hooper joined the Army and completed his training at the Infantry Leadership School in Fort Jackson, South Carolina and Officer Candidate School at Fort Bliss, Texas. He served as a Battalion staff officer and Artillery Battery Commander during the Korean War.

After he was discharged, Hooper worked at Sinclair Oil in Augusta, Georgia until he was transferred to the home office at Rockefeller Center in New York City. There, he met his wife-to-be, Joan, at Christmastime in 1956. They married in 1958 and were devoted to each other. She passed away in January 2019.

An avid outdoorsman, Frank and his family vacationed at the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York every summer. Amongst other activities, he and his late son, William, enjoyed backpacking in the Tetons of Wyoming and the High Sierras in California as well as canoeing across the Yukon River in Canada and the Missouri River in Montana.

In his obituary, Hoopers friend Ron Subber described him as a giant among us without being physically big.

He was the definition of generous. He was everyones role model for living a life fully, Subber said. If you had Frank Hooper as your friend you were indeed lucky.

In an interview with NJ Advance Media, Subber further emphasized how beloved Hooper was throughout the Clinton community and beyond.

I knew Frank for forty years, and I never very heard anybody say one bad thing about him, Subber said. If the world were made up of Frank Hoopers, it would be a better place.

Martha Wood, Subbers wife, labeled Hooper Mr. Clinton, stating he was the heart and soul of a small town.

He got us to do all kinds of great things. He got me to be the first Big Bird in the Christmas parade. And he had this really wild idea to have camels in the Christmas parade and have Ron and I ride on them, Wood said.

He needed somebody to pay for it, Subber laughed.

Frank is survived by his niece Betty Hooper Wroblewski; her husband, Andrew; his nephews Carter and David Hooper; and 10 great-nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents William and Primrose; his wife Joan; his daughter Amelia; his son William; and his brothers Laurence and Billy Hooper.

Because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, a public celebration of Hoopers life will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the William Randolph Hooper Foundation Inc. at 15 West Main St. in Clinton in care of the Clinton Christmas Parade.

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Caroline Fassett may be reached at cfassett@njadvancemedia.com.
They've been living it up on their fabulous getaway to Cancun, Mexico in the most recent episodes of Real Housewives of New York.

Now in an exclusive new teaser, obtained by DailyMail.com, the girls' trip appears to get even more promising, as Luann de Lessps and Leah McSweeney stumble upon two eligible bachelors roaming around the beach, and decide to shamelessly invite them back to their villa.

As they see the two hunks from a distance, Luann, 55, and Leah, 37, discuss whether or not they're a gay couple or two potentially single straight men. 'Those are not gay men shorts, they're straight-men shorts,' Luann offers, critiquing their boardshorts.

In their sights: Bikini-clad Luann de Lessops and Leah McSweeney pick up two single guys on the beach for 'horny and insatiable' Ramona and Sonja in the latest RHONY clip

Luann then gets straight in there with a conversation opener asking them where they're both off to, and whether or not it's somewhere that is for more 'couples or singles.'

'I didn't think you guys were a couple, and I don't see wedding rings either,' Luann adds boldly, with the two men confirming that they're eligible bachelors.

The former 'countess' then persuades the strapping gents to take a tour of the house they're staying in, which they willingly oblige to.

They like what they see! Luann and Leah spot these two handsome chaps on a walk by the beach and decide to strike up a conversation

Be cool! The girls figure out their best approach to determine whether or not the two guys are single

Science behind it: Luann says she knows the men are heterosexual because of the boardshorts they're wearing

Pick-up lines: Luann decides to go for it and shamelessly ask where the two lads are headed

The girl has got game! Luann wasted no time in chatting to the men, while Leah appeared to be the shy one and did not immediately engage

Looking for a good time? The men reveal that they are single and ready to mingle

'These men, should enter at their own risk, because inside the villa, there are very horny, insatiable women,' Leah says over a voiceover, as the men prepare to meet their fate.

The camera then pans to Sonja Morgan, 56, trying on a pair of earrings as she sits on her bed.

Leah adds that she's referring to "pretty much Ramona and Sonja... but Luann too.'

What's going? The men seemed to be unsure about what was happening as they were lured up to the girls' villa

Hey good-looking: The guys also seemed to be quite taken with the girls

Hunks in trunks: The two men certainly caught the eye of Luann and Leah

Exchanging details: The group got to know each other a little better

Spicing things up: Luann was hell-bent on getting the gents to join the fun

Double act: The pair showed off their impressive bikini bods while meeting the men

This way! Luann makes a not so subtle gesture inviting the boys to their villa

It's not yet clear what Sonja or Ramona, 63, thought of the two men that the ladies brought back from them, or if they made it out of the villa in one piece.

Judging by the recent episodes from the show, if alcohol is involved, then anything might happen.

The Real Housewives of New York airs Thursdays at 8pm ET on Bravo.

Smooth talker: Luann did most of the flirting while Leah watched on

Closing the deal: The pretty persuasive pair get two guys along for the ride

What are they getting themselves in for? The two men deliberate taking Luann up on her offer

Here we go! The boys enter the villa where the RHONY ladies are staying

Outfit change: Once inside, the girls rushed for a wardrobe change to impress their guests

Horny and insatiable? We'll see what Ramona has to say about Leah's comments
With the coronavirus accelerating worldwide, passing 20 million infections this week, according to a Johns Hopkins University case tracker, several countries have once again started imposing lockdown measures over worries of a second wave of infections.

Egyptians are no less worried even though a sense of complacency in recent weeks set in after the daily toll of coronavirus cases fell below 150 individuals a day for four consecutive days last week, marking the lowest single-day record  112 cases on Tuesday  since April.

The daily figures throughout this week witnessed a slight rebound as they once again crossed the 150-patient mark.

Egypt detected 178 coronavirus cases on Sunday, bringing the total number of confirmed infections nationwide to more than 95,000 since the detection of the first case in the country in mid-February.

The Health Ministry said that it had recorded 26 new deaths on Monday 10 August, bringing the total number of fatalities from the respiratory virus to 5,035.

Despite being a tenuous increase, the feeling of anxiety among the public was recently amplified due to the health ministers call for the necessity of adhering to preventive measures in anticipation of a spike in coronavirus cases, and the ministrys decision to re-open dozens of isolation hospitals nationwide that had been closed earlier as a result of the decline in numbers.

Health Minister Hala Zayed urged the public on Sunday to adhere to the preventive and precautionary measures during the current cautionary period in anticipation of an increase in the number of coronavirus infections, especially following the increased gatherings that took place during last weeks Eid Al-Adha holiday.

Also on Sunday, Mohamed Taleb, head of Al-Nagila Hospital, Egypts first makeshift isolation hospital, told DMC TV that there is an expectation of a second wave that will be more aggressive than the first one, forcing the minister to order isolation hospitals to operate again.

Hossam Hosni, head of the Health Ministrys Scientific Committee to Combat Coronavirus, on Monday ruled out that Egypt had entered a second wave. In a TV interview he warned citizens that the epidemic still exists and that the recent increase in infections is due to the lack of caution taken by citizens.

Two months ago, in the wake of Eid Al-Fitr, the Islamic religious feast at the end of Ramadan and which is usually marked by family gatherings, coronavirus infection rates increased noticeably in Egypt. Officials at the time said the hike could have been attributed to reckless behaviour and a disregard of protective measures in place.

Furthermore, in Eid Al-Adha, which came a month after Egypt gradually began lifting its coronavirus restrictions, there were no restrictions placed on movement in the form of a suspension of transport or a travel ban between governorates as was the case in Eid Al-Fitr. Given the lenient procedures and the decreasing number of infections, both of which reassured the public, Egyptians took the opportunity of the five-day Eid Al-Adha holiday to again congregate and celebrate while others headed to summer resorts to spend their holiday.

Islam Anan, a pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacoeconomics lecturer at Misr International University, said that there was a false sense of security among the public that led to a lack of awareness and non-compliance with the preventative measures, including a reduction in the wearing of masks.

As long as there are people infected with the coronavirus, even a small number, there will be room for infections to occur, said Anan. He said the global forecasts and reports warn about a second wave in the fall or winter.

It is likely to be a rebound of the first wave since it is a slight incremental increase in numbers and hopefully it will not surge to become a second wave, Anan told Al-Ahram Weekly, predicting that any rebound will be felt strongly and not in the epicentre of the outbreak  Cairo and Giza  that saw the highest infection rates during the peak of the first wave.

A rebound usually witnesses a 20 per cent increase in infections due to the exhaustion of susceptible individuals, he argued.

The Weekly visited Al-Abbasiya Fever Hospital, Egypts first major frontline facility in combating coronavirus, and found the rise in infection rates reflected on the ground.

The number of infections began to increase again following the Eid Al-Adha holiday, an emergency doctor at the hospital said on Sunday. Though the doctor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, refused to give the exact numbers, he said the number of patients has significantly increased and we are currently working much more compared to the period before the Eid holiday.

Inside Al-Abbasiya Fever Hospitals Virus Lab, an analysis doctor echoed a similar fact, citing the number of daily positive PCR test results. During the low-number phase prior to the Eid holiday we used to have from three to seven positive PCR results daily, but currently we get from 13 to 15 positive swabs, the doctor said.

Such PCR results are considered relative evidence of increasing infections given that the main dependence now in diagnosis is CT scans, not PCR tests, the analysis doctor said.

In June, the Health Ministry started using clinical examination results, CT scans, and laboratory analyses to identify suspected cases of coronavirus in parallel with PCR tests.

Only the critical cases, which are the minority, are diagnosed through PCR tests while the majority of cases are diagnosed through CT scans. However, the ministrys daily toll is only linked to the PCR positive tests regardless of the number of positive cases diagnosed by CT scans, the fever hospitals analysis doctor told the Weekly.

Anan confirmed the same fact by saying that the ministrys daily toll is merely related to the PCR tests which are currently performed only on patients suffering from severe respiratory symptoms who represent from five to seven per cent of the total number of patients.

Hence, we should consider the ministrys daily toll a sample size of the universe, he said.

Higher Education and Scientific Research Minister Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar said on 21 May that the true number of coronavirus infections in Egypt could be over 71,000, even though the Health Ministry had only recorded 14,229 confirmed infections at the time. Those numbers, according to Abdel-Ghaffar, were based on a hypothetical model that assumes that the official recorded cases are fivefold lower than the actual numbers.

Because so little is known about the novel coronavirus, Anan says, all explanations remain hypotheses.

He said in order to identify whether it was a rebound of the first wave or second wave, it could be determined and tested using several ways.

One way is to apply a different health policy by moving from reactive testing to proactive testing which has been implemented in the UAE, Germany and the United States. Proactive testing means conducting random swabs of citizens on the street through which the percentage of increase can be evaluated, and a warning signal can be received early.

It [the proactive testing] is the ideal solution, however, reality says that it cannot be done in Egypt, he stated.

In order to boost accuracy and get closer to the actual numbers, Anan says, there is a need for every hospital to register the number of patients who have been diagnosed by CT scans in an electronic record for the ministry even if these numbers are not announced.

There is no such electronic registry so far in Egypt compiling all the cases. Home isolation patients who receive coronavirus medication at home should have such electronic records to register themselves online, said Anan.

Because symptoms that are being presented are weaker than before, some families currently prefer to treat infected members at home. Earlier in June, under Egypts treatment protocol at that time, mild Covid-19 patients were treated at home or in university hostels in an attempt to free up beds for critical cases in overwhelmed state-run isolation hospitals.

With the relaxing of lockdown measures, Anan believes that what matters the most now is to adapt to the new normal by remaining committed to all preventive measures and to remember that even one sick individual can start a new wave of infections like what happened in Chinas Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus.

The government said in late July that it may resort to adopting the strict preventative measures that it had imposed earlier to fight the coronavirus, including shutting down activities, if the infection rate rises again.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 13 August, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- An 80-year-old Lakewood man is dead, and the man accused of killing him is in police custody after a five-hour standoff with Lakewood police.

Craig Cullen-Terzano died about 11:15 p.m. Wednesday in an ambulance outside of the home on Clifton Boulevard just south of Lakewood Park, Lakewood police Acting-Chief Leslie Wilkens said.

An unknown person called police and requested a welfare check to that home.

Police found Cullen-Terzano lying outside of the home. He was pronounced dead inside of an ambulance a short time later, police said.

Lakewood police and the Westshore Enforcement Bureau SWAT and negotiators took a suspect into custody early Thursday after a five-hour standoff.

Police have not released the cause of Cullen-Terzanos death nor if there were any physical signs of injury.

Wilkens said the department will release additional details about the incident later Thursday.

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Northwest Ohio police officer arrested on child-pornography charges

Boy, 2, dies in shooting in Columbus, reports say

FBI, Cleveland police search for suspects who stole safe from CVS during downtown unrest

Suspect in Richmond Heights shooting arrested in Cleveland

Prosecutor reviewing probes into Cleveland officer who hit man with baton, pepper sprayed peaceful protester
Yemen: SAFER oil tanker

Briefing highlights from the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The tragedy in Beirut last week highlights the urgency of resolving the ongoing threat posed by the SAFER oil tanker off the coast of Yemen. This aging vessel is carrying more than 1 million barrels of oil and has had almost no maintenance since 2015. Two months ago, seawater began leaking into the engine room, which could have destabilized and sunk the entire vessel, potentially releasing all the oil into the sea. A temporary fix was applied, but it is unclear how long this might last. A major spill would be catastrophic for the environment and would destroy the livelihoods of coastal communities in Yemen. Most of the oil would likely wash up on Yemens west coast in areas controlled by the Houthi authorities. A spill would also likely force Hudaydah port to close for weeks or months, which would cripple Yemens largest port. Because Yemen imports nearly all its food and everything else, this would have devastating consequences for millions of people  including communities located far from the coast. On 14 July, the UN submitted an official request to the Houthi authorities to undertake an assessment and initial repair mission to the SAFER. The UN is in contact with the authorities on this and urges them to expedite the necessary procedures so this work can begin. The main purpose of the mission will be to conduct a technical assessment and undertake whatever initial repairs might be feasible. Because the SAFER has gone so long without maintenance, its current status is not clear. The technical assessment will provide the scientific evidence we need to determine how best to resolve this challenge in the safest way possible. The UN is eager to work with the Houthi authorities and all relevant stakeholders to achieve this.




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Linkedin Rendy Adhisurya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 13, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly disrupted businesses in Indonesia. Several businesses will need continued government support to successfully navigate this period.

Currently, capital expenditure and information technology (IT) spending are being reevaluated. While the road to full recovery is going to be long and arduous, various financial stimulus initiatives announced by the government can help the economy and businesses outlive this pandemic.

In spite of the current macroeconomic challenges, Making Indonesia 4.0, the much-lauded industry road map, still presents the greatest opportunity for Indonesia to land within the top 10 of the biggest global economies by 2030. To reach this, one needs to ensure that business processes are well-integrated to accelerate economic recovery, capability building and scalability across Indonesias key sectors.

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Linkedin Djemi Amnifu (The Jakarta Post) Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara  Thu, August 13, 2020 15:16 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066dc38dc 1 National SK-Trimurti-Award,feminism,women-rights,AJI,gender-equality,gender-mainstreaming,ViolenceAgainstChildren,violence-against-children,violence-against-women Free

For Gadrida Rosdiana Djukana, the editor-in-chief of East Nusa Tenggara-based daily publication KURSOR, dedicating herself to gender mainstreaming and advocating for abused women and children are at the core of her journalism work and for which she never expected to be applauded, let alone be bestowed with high accolades.

So, when the Alliance of Independent Journalist (AJI) awarded her this year's SK Trimurti Award, which recognizes efforts in fighting for gender equality, Anna, as she is known, said the award had, in fact, reminded her that the struggle to eliminate violence and injustice against the vulnerable still had a long way to go.

"I dedicated this award to women and children who suffer from injustice; [they] are the very reason why I started writing and become a journalist," Anna told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

"This award serves as [a reminder] for me to continue fighting for women and children who are victims of abuse in Indonesia."

Throughout her long career, Anna is known for her dedication to peace journalism as well as advocating for human rights and gender issues.

In KURSOR, she integrates gender perspectives in newsroom policies, which are reflected through its news products, editorials and headlines, giving the daily a reputations as a pioneer of gender mainstreaming in the East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) provincial capital of Kupang.

Read also: See much progress in women's equality? Depends who you ask

The 52-year-old has also worked with local organizations and has been very active in writing and raising awareness about the injustices faced by vulnerable and marginalized groups.

Anna noted that cases of violence against women and children were still rampant in the province and hoped that the award would be a driving force for her and other activists in the campaign for gender equality and elimination of violence in NTT.

"I feel very grateful that our struggles have been recognized. At the same time, this award has also become motivation for us to continue working selflessly," she said.

The AJI established the SK Trimurti Award to commemorate the late Soerastri Karma Trimurti, a renowned activist and female journalist who took part in the Indonesian independence movement.

The group's decision to bestow Anna with the prestigious award has been praised by various parties who acknowledged her outstanding achievements throughout her career.

Merry Kolimon, the chairwoman of the Masehi Injili Sinode Church in Timor (GMIT), applauded Anna for her achievement, saying that the award could also become an inspiration for the youths in NTT for the advocacy of democracy and gender equality through journalism.

"[Anna] is a senior journalist in NTT, a teacher and a friend of many young women," Merry said.

Meanwhile, AJI Kupang chairman Marthen Bana said the award was "the best gift" for them on the organization's 26th anniversary.

Anna was nominated by AJI Kupang to receive this year's SK Trimurti Award after thorough consideration, Marthen said, adding that they were very proud that Anna had won the prize.

He said Anna had proven her dedication and compassion over the past 20 years.

"For us, Anna deserves this award because as a journalist and a women activist, she has been consistently advocating for gender equality, human rights and marginalized groups in NTT. (dpk)
ST. LOUIS - A suburban St. Louis police detective with a series of past misconduct allegations was charged with kicking a defenceless person during a 2019 arrest, federal prosecutors said.

Ellis Brown III, head of the St. Ann police detective bureau, pleaded not guilty Thursday to a federal charge of violating a persons rights during an April 9, 2019, arrest, He is accused of using unreasonable force by repeatedly kicking a person who was compliant and not posing a threat. The person involved was not identified in the criminal affidavit.

Brown was released on bond but ordered to surrender all firearms.

The St. Ann Police Department posted a statement Thursday saying Brown was not longer working there.

During his employment with the St. Ann Police Department, we received no complaints regarding this officers professionalism, the statement said.

Brown was one of two officers who shot and killed 25-year-old Kajieme Powell in St. Louis in 2014 while investigating reports that Powell stole an energy drink and snacks from a market. Local prosecutors later declined to charge the officers, who said Powell approached them with a knife. A lawsuit from Powells family against the officers and the city continues, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

St. Ann police hired Brown in February 2017, a month after he left the St. Louis police force during a state disciplinary investigation. He and his partner were following a vehicle that crashed into a light pole and burned. They were accused of not reporting the crash or helping the driver, and later lying about how they spent their time that night.

Brown denied the misconduct, but state officials placed his police license on probation.

Several criminal cases involving Brown in St. Louis were later thrown out when lawyers found he submitted nearly identical language in 19 search warrant applications.

Browns defence attorney did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday, the Post-Dispatch reported.
State aid, the increasingly common practice of governments doling out support to key manufacturers or industries. In 2004 the U.S. lodged a WTO legal case against the EU for its member state support to Airbus. In 2011 the WTO ruled that the EU provided Airbus with billions of dollars of illegal subsidized financing that enabled Airbus to launch its widebodied and short-haul planes. The EU opened a parallel case against the U.S. that argued Boeing benefited from state subsidies as well as space and military contracts, which defrayed the cost of civilian aircraft development. In 2012 the WTO determined Boeing had received at least $5.3 billion in illegal U.S. aid. The cases continued to wind their way through the WTO dispute process until 2019, when the WTO authorized the U.S. to retaliate with tariffs against $7.5 billion worth of EU exports. Due to a timing lag, the WTO wont issue a retaliation award in the EUs complaint about Boeing until sometime this fall.
GARDAI are appealing to cyclists to ensure their bikes and accessories are secure and safe at all times.

A number of bicycles, which were either unlocked or unattended, were stolen at locations across Limerick over the past week.

One option which bike owners should consider is registering them with An Garda Siochana.

You can register your bike for free at Henry Street garda station. Take a picture of your bike and make a note of the serial number and you can obtain the form to register the bike at Henry Street garda station, said Garda Nathan Crehan.

Cyclsts are also being advised to invest in a lock for their bikes.

Lock both wheel and the frame to a bike stand or a strong immovable object. Lock it tight so your bike is difficult to manoeuvre when parked. Secure your lock so it doesnt touch the ground. Invest in a good quality lock that cannot be easily tampered with, said Garda Crehan.

For more Limerick news click here
Even before they were married and stepped down as senior members of the royal family, Prince Harry was always supportive of Meghan Markles career, according to a new book on the couple.

Called Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family, the biography features never-before-heard stories about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, including details about the time Harry went to visit Markle while she was at work.

Per the biography, written by royal reporters Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, during his visit to Canada for the 2017 Invictus Games, the 35-year-old royal made sure to stop by and see the actress on the Toronto set of her hit show, Suits.

A production staff member told the book, He [Harry] came in quietly, and a lot of people didn't even know he came until after the visit. He kept saying how proud he was of Meghan, but he also just seemed curious to see how it all works. He wanted to see the props department, and Meghan was more than happy to take him on a little tour with some of her close friends from the show.

Another crew member also opened up about Markles early relationship with the prince and how it affected the shows production. "It did make things awkward at the beginning, and there was certainly a little jealousy from some people when she suddenly became the jewel in the crown of the show... But to most of us she was still the same old Meghan, who would bring fun snacks to set to share or hang around after filming to chat with fans outside the studio.

Its important to note that neither the duke nor the duchess had anything to do with the tell-all book. A spokesperson released a statement on behalf of Prince Harry and Markle which read, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not interviewed and did not contribute to Finding Freedom. This book is based on the authors own experiences as members of the royal press corps and their own independent reporting.

Way to be supportive, Harry.

RELATED: We Finally Have the Details on Meghan Markle & Prince Harrys Wedding Song
Police authorities dismissed actor Shin Hyun Joon's controversy over a past drug use case.

Kim Gwang Seob is the former manager of the Shin Hyun Joon, who accused him of not paying his salary and then presented numerous text messages between the two. Then, on July 13, Kim went to the Seoul Gangnam Police station and filed a written accusation. Kim Gwang Seob requested the authorities to reinvestigate Shin's illegal use of medication propofol in 2010.

The written accusation stated, "Back in 2010, Shin Hyun Joon got a drug overdose while receiving treatment at a dermatologist in Gangnam district. In accordance with the complaint, the Seoul Central District then made a thorough check of Shin's involvement in such claims".

The Seoul Gangnam Police station on August 12 confirmed to have rejected the grievances filed by Kim Gwang Seob. The police district examined the case and then released an assessment on July 27. As determined, the actor didn't illegally administer the drug for two major reasons.

According to the police, during the year 2010 wherein Kim Gwang Seob submitted the claim that Shin used the medication, was the year prior Propofol was set as a drug which was in February 2011. Therefore, the 7-year statute of limitations for illegal drug use isn't for medical purposes then doesn't apply in Shin's case. It has been more than seven years.

The actor had been in disagreement with his former manager since last month. After his interview, Kim Gwang Seob went public and expressed his sentiments being mistreated by the actor for 13 years. As a result, Shin and his agency HJ Film then announced denying all alleged claims.

Following Kim's accusation, on July 27, Shin and his legal representatives lodged a complaint against Kim Gwang Seob for spreading false information and defamation.

According to Shin Hyun Joon, he met Kim Gwang Seob in 1991 and became friends and worked together. But due to Kim's troublesome, causing inconvenience to his work, the actor cut ties with Kim years ago. The manager disappeared for several years, and now Kim is back making a disturbance and giving out false claims towards the actor.

In addition, Shin and his two sons step down in appearing further episodes in KBS "The Return of Superman." The actor and his family appeared only on one episode as scheduled amidst the controversy. Shin shared a post on his Instagram account back in July, saying he could rely on God during hard times.

Shin Hyun Joon is known best for his character in "Barefoot Ki-bong" and "Stairway to Heaven."
Appliance maker and retailer Breville says its range of products is well-suited to the 'new normal' of homebound living brought on by COVID-19, with the company seeing its sales jump close to the $1 billion mark as people stocked up on coffee machines and sandwich makers.

Revenue climbed 25.3 per cent to $952.2 million in the 12 months to June 30, the Sydney-based company said in a statement to the ASX on Thursday. Yet while its operating profit increased by double digits, net profit fell 1.8 per cent to $66.2 million due to a number of one-off expenses and cost savings associated with the pandemic.

Breville's full-year result has been boosted by more people working and cooking from home. Credit:Louie Douvis

These included a $13.6 million increase in doubtful debts and a $9.6 million writedown of the company's Internet of Things platform on the expenses side, versus $7.7 million in reduced executive base salaries and compensation, and a $3.3 million cut in marketing spending on the savings side. Without these one-offs, Breville's profit grew 11.2 per cent to $75 million.

"In [financial year 2020] we faced a cluster of headwinds in the form of Brexit uncertainty, exchange rates, US tariffs and COVID-19 and equally we had our share of good fortune in terms of our inventory levels and the relevance of our products to the new normal," chief executive Jim Clayton said.
Mental health is the perennial elephant in the room. We wait for Time to erase deep-rooted scars; we expect hobbies to erase the loss of people. Amid the pandemic, as anxiety builds, the elephant has become harder to shove under the carpet. More people are turning to psychoanalysis, the talking therapy, most of them via video chat.

And this is bringing with it a set of problems analysts dont yet know how to solve.

Earlier, the analyst and analysand occupied the same physical space of the clinic. If someone was speaking softly, you didnt say speak louder; if there was a pause, you took it as a sign of how the person was feeling. Now youre forced to intrude and say, are you there, says psychoanalyst Ashok Nagpal.

Non-verbal clues are missed, as the screen only shows a person waist-up. The way a person walks in or sits down are all clues. Also, earlier you were also separated from each other by a distance of 4 to 5 ft with a table in between. Now you meet across an 18-inch screen, you are too much in each others faces. Still, both sides have to manage, says Nagpal.

The good news is people are reaching out, often for the first time, seeking help with issues that would have otherwise been ignoredlike strained interpersonal relationships within the family. BMC-Mpower 1 on 1, a mental health helpline (1800-120-820-050) set up in April by the Maharashtra government in collaboration with BMC and Mpower Foundation to address distress calls, received around 45,000 calls between April and May with 52% of calls related to anxiety about the post-lockdown scenario. Most of the calls were about work-life balance, family and friends.

Chander Sharma, 58, a school teacher in Delhi, for example, was assailed by guilt having sent her mother back to her home. Mother and I are close but there are unresolved issues. The lockdown forced us to be together. I sent her back to stay with my brothers and then couldnt handle the guilt, she says. Sharmas online and telephone sessions with her analyst have her daughters backing but not her husbands (To him, an analyst is an outsider  why should she share personal problems with him?). The problem is her husband is right at home when her sessions are on. Sometimes, I feel inhibited, she says.

A Delhi-based activist, Deepti, 33, who goes by only one name, says she would earlier use the Metro ride to structure what she would say when she met her analyst. In the first five minutes of an online session, I now dont know what to say, she says. For online, there may be an unconscious pressure on the analysand to be on at the prescribed hour. As psychoanalyst Arunava Banerjee of Kolkata says, there is a difference between being present and being certain about what one wants to say.

Deepti, also says its sometimes disconcerting that when she is looking at her Skype screen, the analyst is looking elsewhere. The Internet has helped in overcoming barriers of distance and time, says Banerjee, but at a cost to the quality of the encounter. A psychoanalytic treatment, however, is not a dogma locked up in a library, it listens and responds to the actualities of its time.

Trust in the analyst goes a long way but some ground rules need to be set. In case of a bad Internet connection, we decided we would switch to audio or the telephone, says Deepti. The doorbell as a disturbing element is not a factor. Ive never been alone when my session is on. In case it rings, my partner answers it. The problems of online sessions are not insurmountable, she says, but she does miss the couch.

Dipti Kharude, 36, a freelance writer in Mumbai, says there are positives of undergoing analysis on Zoom: she does not have to travel for her sessions, especially in the rainy season. (Courtesy Rony DCosta)

The Freudian Couch, once central to psychoanalysis, was actually a Victorian day-bed, a gift by a patient to the good doctor. In 19th-century Vienna, Sigmund Freud, who fathered the discipline, discovered its uses in getting the analysands defences down as s/he talked while horizontal.

Many analysands now vouch for The Chair. Before and during the lockdown, that is a piece of furniture easily arranged. Dibyokamal Mitra, 26, a researcher in Kolkata, says he talks to the analyst by placing the chair at a slant so as not to look at him directly during the virtual session. Not looking helps. Were not doing a dialogue. Its one person talking and the other listening and punctuating your speech. Sometimes, the analyst may stress or repeat a word or a sentence you have used; an imaginary identification is encouraged, he says.

Virtual sessions have also impacted session frequency. Earlier, sessions were usually twice a week. Now, its on demand. Patients let you know when they would be free, says Nagpal. As most people are working from home and their partners are as well, the schedule is often worked around a time convenient for both in case work and session areas are the same.

Adds Nagpal: In psychoanalysis, you keep striving for the virtual, you need to get immersed to reach a space and it is the trust between both that makes the analysand cross over and reach an area of thought even with the distraction of looking straight at the analysts face. Online communication can, in fact, be an ally in psychoanalysis, he says. This might just be the new normal.

Dipti Kharude, 36, a freelance writer in Mumbai, says there are positives of undergoing analysis on Zoom: she does not have to travel for her sessions, especially in the rainy season. Due to Zoom meetings, she has an option of continuing the analysis. I need to be okay in the pandemic, some old past anxieties are resurfacing, she says. Online sessions are not a seamless experience; face-to-face is always better. A loss of connection or a freezing of the screen feels traumatic. But overall, Im thankful for this option. Both me and the analyst understand the limitation of this platform and work around it.

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Bengaluru, Aug 13 : Dozens of youth protected a temple in Bengaluru at the same time when frenzied mobs were on the rampage in the vicinity, torching and destroying an MLA's home, two police stations and other buildings.

A video of the youth protecting the temple went viral around the same time the riots were happening on Tuesday night, after Pulikeshinagar Congress MLA Akhanda Srinivas Murthy's nephew, Naveen, posted a derogatory message on social media.

In an effort to prevent any miscreant from attacking the temple, some quick thinking youth immediately formed a human chain and protected it.

The temple was identified as one dedicated to Lord Hanuman in DJ Halli, where a part of the local police station was burnt by the rioting mobs.

Reportedly, it was found that many of the youth who protected the temple were also from other religious communities.

However, a local police official and a senior official said they were not aware of this incident.

"I am not aware of this incident," a police off told IANS, when asked if they had found this video also during their analysis of cctv footage to identify the mobsters.

On Tuesday night, hundreds of people ran amok after Murthy's nephew Naveen posted a derogatory message on social media.

The mobs pelted stones, injured 60 policemen, and committed acts of vandalism and arson in DJ Halli, KG Halli, Pulikeshinagar and Kaval Byrasandra areas, leaving the affected places resembling a warzone.
Banks weigh up options through exchange shake-up. Photo: cafef.vn

The Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) recently approved for around 308 million of shares of Saigon Bank for Industry and Trade (Saigonbank) to be traded on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM).

The banks ticker will be SGB, and the total shares will be equivalent to VND3.08 trillion ($134 million). Its latest agreement with consultancy McKinsey&Company is envisaged to help the bank diversify its funding sources from overseas expertise.

Saigonbank is the second domestic lender to be permitted to trade on the UPCoM this year, after 317.1 million of shares from Viet Capital Bank caught investors attention last month.

In the same boat, LienVietPostBank also showed intentions of switching from the UPCoM to the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HSX) and raising its foreign ownership limit from 5 to 9.99 per cent to tap into overseas cash.

Privately-held lender ACB, which is currently listed on the Hanoi bourse, signalled its ambition of listing on the HSX in November or December.

The lender is looking to complete 30 per cent of stock dividends next month before moving to the main board.

The shift should allow ACB to be included in several indices, including the VN30 (at about 4 per cent weighting according to management); VNDiamond (10 per cent estimated weighting); VNFIN Select (12 per cent estimated weighting), and VNFIN Lead (12 per cent estimated weighting).

Meanwhile, SHB and VIB may also follow suit, saying they would place their focus from the capital citys exchange to its southern counterpart.

The upcoming move is slated to put ACB, SHB, and VIB on the radar of more high-profile investors, as the HSX is set to attract more deep-pocketed and larger institutional investors.

On the other hand, some lenders have been caught between a rock and a hard place when deciding whether they should go public or not, as market turbulence has pushed traders away from risky assets.

Vietnamese banks like us have fallen victim to pandemic-induced uncertainties. It would not be a wise move if we file for an initial public offering (IPO) at the moment, an MSB representative explained at its shareholders meeting.

OCB and Nam A Bank have worked hard towards public listing goals for years, but their dreams have not come true yet. Nam A Bank, after qualifying for Basel II criteria, now seems eager to push the listing button.

Trinh Van Tuan, chairman of OCB, mentioned that 2017 and 2018 were a prime time for the bank to file for an IPO, but strategic French partner BNP Paribas offloaded its entire 18.68 per cent after a decade-long cooperation. Hence, OCB was urged to seek other alliances for capital accretion momentum.

Fortunately, earlier this year, the bank sold 15 per cent of its stakes to Japanese Aozora Bank in a deal roughly estimated at $139 million  an essential step towards the listing target.

Plunging stocks at the moment make the market inhospitable for IPOs. Thus, we are waiting for better listing conditions to ensure investors interest to be protected and maximised, said Tuan.

Currently, there are 19 listed banks with 10 listed on the HSX, three on the HNX, and six on the UpCOM.

According to the Vietnam Stock Exchange plan, the HSX will be in charge of the stock market while the HNX will be responsible for the bond and derivatives markets. This urged banks to expedite their move from the HNX and the UPCoM to the HSX this year.

According to Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen, financial analyst at KB Securities, under the restructuring plan of the stock market and the insurance market until 2020, all commercial banks must be listed and registered for transactions on the official market.

This regulation limits the implementation time to the end of 2020, forcing many banks such as Nam A Bank, OCB, and MSB to execute an IPO procedure this year. Going public also enhances transparency and integrity in banks results and supports governance and enforcement of regulations to ensure system security, said Huyen.

Plus, IPO timing should be taken into careful consideration in order to create added value for shareholders. The chances are the price per share could easily fall below the expected level if the bank makes a bad timing.

On the other hand, there are still roadblocks hampering the rosy outlook of IPOs, especially banks financial health being eroded by the ongoing coronavirus crisis. Lacklustre business performance, a high ratio of non-performing loans, and issues related to complying with regulations on disclosure responsibilities are also adding fuel to the fire.

In the case of state-owned lender Agribank, its efforts might come up against a brick wall as the bank remains bogged down with its divestment target and is disqualified from attaining Basel II standards.

According to the Ministry of Finance (MoF), the biggest problem is Agribanks large scale in terms of network with over 2,300 branches and transaction offices, including a number of housing facilities that have not been approved by the MoF, Huyen told VIR.

Besides that, there are still shortcomings in equitisation regulations regarding state-owned enterprises, such as the comparative inventory of individual customer deposits and handover of settled debts, and large quantity of risks for the Vietnam Debt and Asset Trading Corporation.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Indians need some spice in their life. A change of pace. A change of just about anything.

Right now theyre stuck in a loop. When they pitch well and dont hit, they lose by a little. When they pitch so-so and dont hit, they lose by a lot.

The Cubs completed a two-game sweep of the Indians on Wednesday night with a 7-2 victory at Progressive Field. The Cubs outscored the Indians, 14-3, in the sweep.

The Indians have have scored two or fewer runs in 12 of their 19 games this season. They are 3-9 in those games.

The last four spots in the lineup entered Wednesdays game hitting .122 (28-for-230). The top four are better, but not by much. The one Indians player swinging a hot bat is Franmil Reyes, who had three hits Wednesday and went 5-for-7 in the series.

We do have guys with good track record and theyre healthy and theyre going to hit, said Indians manager Terry Francona. Ive said this for eight years. Guys will get to their level. That will be fun to watch and it will really help us. I hope it starts Friday in Detroit.

Chicago veterans Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks (3-1, 3.08) sliced through the Indians lineup in their two days in Cleveland. They were a combined 2-0, allowing two runs on 10 hits in 12 innings.

Carlos Carrasco (2-2, 3.22) had trouble finding the plate, walking five and throwing 103 pitches in 4 1/3 innings. Carrasco, in his first career start against the Cubs, allowed three runs on four hits. The Rockies, Dodgers and Padres are the only other clubs Carrasco hasnt faced.

I was an on-and-off tonight, said Carrasco. I couldnt find my stuff. The fastball was a little off. My curveball was in the dirt. Ive learned when you have a night like that, you have to fight your way through.

Anthony Rizzo gave Chicago a 1-0 lead with a leadoff homer in the second. He hit a line drive just over the right field wall. Carrasco pitched into an out of trouble in the fourth when he walked Jason Heyward and David Bote to start the inning and then retired three straight.

There was no escape in the fifth when Rizzo and Javier Baez singled to start the inning. Carrasco struck out Willson Contreras, who was ejected by plate umpire Tim Timmons for expressing his displeasure over the strikeout. Oliver Perez relieved and intentionally walked Ian Happ to load the bases and face Heyward. He sent a fly ball to right and Tyler Naquin tried to get Rizzo at the plate, but his throw was offline as Baez and Happ advanced.

Bote followed with a two-run single to right for a 4-0 lead.

Carlos was in the fourth inning and his strikes and balls were about even, said Francona. There were a lot of walks. He was pitching out of danger the entire time.

The Indians made it 4-1 in the fifth of Jose Ramirezs sacrifice fly off Hendricks. Naquin and Sandy Leon started the inning with a single. Leons single ended an 0-for-24 skid for the switch-hitting catcher. Following a Bradley Zimmer strikeout, Cesar Hernandez reached on a bloop single to left. It was originally called an out on a fine diving effort by Kris Bryant, but the Indians challenged the call and it was overturned after 3 minute and 15 second review.

Ramirez, with the bases loaded, delivered Naquin with a sac-fly to left. Lindor ended the inning by grounding out to first.

Bryant extended the Cubs lead to 5-2 with a 430-foot homer to the bleachers in left center field off Adam Cimbers 0-1 pitch. Perez started the inning with two outs and Cimber came on to face Bryant.

The Indians inched closer in the seventh. Lindor, with runners on first and second and two out, scored Hernandez with a single to center off Rowan Wick. Carlos Santana, the next batter, grounded out to first on Wicks first pitch. Lindor is hitting .250 (5-for-20) with runners in scoring position, but just .227 (17-for-75) overall.

Until the Cubs hit town the bullpen had done a nice job. The Cubs, however, shook it like a dog shakes a chew toy. They scored seven earned runs in 9 2/3 innings against the pen.

Chicago made it 6-2 in the eighth against James Karinchak. Jason Kipnis, with runners on first and second, hit a ground-rule double into the right field corner to score Heyward. A fan outside the Home Run Porch in left field could be heard bellowing, We still love you, Kip.

The Cubs added another run in the ninth off Nick Wittgren on a Heyward double to right. Heyward drove in six runs in the series.

A variety of Cleveland Indians face masks available online today. (Fanatics.com)

New Indians face masks for sale: Heres where you can buy Cleveland Indians-themed face coverings for coronavirus protection, including a single mask ($14.99) and a 3-pack ($24.99). All MLB proceeds donated to charity.

Buy Indians gear: Fanatics, Nike, Amazon, Lids

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Prosecutors in Alabama said during a bond hearing that a Mobile neurosurgeon was possibly driving at speeds topping 130mph before a crash that killed a medical student who was a passenger in his car.

Dr Jonathan Nakhla, 36, has been charged with manslaughter stemming from the accident that took place on the I-65 Service Road in Mobile in the early hours of August 1.

According to police, Nakhla was behind the wheel of his high-performance Audi convertible while 24-year-old medical student Samantha Alison Thomas was riding in the car as a passenger.

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Dr Jonathan Nakhla, 36 (left), from Mobile, Alabama, has been charged with manslaughter in a crash that killed Samantha Thomas, 24 (right)

Nakhla was allegedly driving at speeds topping 130mph on the morning of August 1 when he swerved to avoid hitting another vehicle

Nakhla's high-performance Audi rolled over and landed in a ditch near this Econo Lodge

During Nakhla's bond hearing on Wednesday, prosecutors said that the neurosurgeon had been going 138mph in a 45mph zone before swerving to avoid another vehicle, which caused his car flip over and land in a ditch near the Econo Lodge Hotel, reported Al.com.

Nakhla is a married father-of-two and a neurosurgeon working at Mobile Infirmary

Thomas was pronounced dead at the scene from her injuries.

Nakhla was taken to a hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries. He was booked into the Mobile County Metro Jail on Monday.

Dennis Knizley, one of Nakhla's attorneys, pushed back against the prosecution's narrative that his client had been speeding, arguing that because his Audi had rolled over, data taken from the vehicle's 'black box' was unreliable.

'Event data recorders record the speed of the tire going around and as they said in court today, the car flipped,' Knizley told Fox 10 TV. 'Once the tire is no longer in contact with the surface, it no longer indicates the speed of the car but it indicates the tire...so you know how fast the tire is going.'

Nakhla's lawyer said he was driving an Audio R8 Spyder (similar to one pictured), which can go from 0 to 60mph in under 4 seconds

Police have said that Nakhla was driving under the influence and had blood alcohol level above Alabama's 0.08 legal limit, but so far he has not been charged with a DUI.

Prosecutors with the Mobile County DAs Office said they are awaiting the final toxicology results, according to WKRG.

Nakhla's lawyer said he believes the neurosurgeon, who works at Mobile Infirmary, was driving an Audi R8 Spyder, a luxury car that can go from 0 to 60mph in under 4 seconds. Spyder models from 2020 start at more than $182,000.

Knizley described Thomas, a third-year student at University of South Alabama Medical School, as a family friend of the surgeon, who is a married father of two.

At the time of the accident, Nakhla was reportedly living in the same building as Thomas.

His wife was present during Wednesday's hearing and was seen crying in the courtroom.

Thomas was a third-year medical student at University of South Alabama (pictured left with her sister, Jennifer)

Nakhla's lawyer said Thomas, 24, was a family friend was the married doctor

A judge set Nakhla's bond at $200,000, ordered him to surrender his passport and barred him from going out of state without permission.

Nakhla posted bond in the afternoon and was released from jail. He is due back in court on September 2.

If convicted of the manslaughter charge, the 36-year-old doctor could face up to 20 years in prison. He has been suspended from the hospital.

Thomas is survived by her parents and sister, Jennifer. The family are planning to start a scholarship in her name in conjunction with the the University of South Alabama.
Joe Biden has fulfilled his promise to choose a woman as his running mate. Let's turn our attention to another promise he made: to name a Black woman to the Supreme Court.

A number of women with different kinds of legal experience have been suggested by NGOs and journalists. But to legal insiders, Biden's options narrow down very quickly to two names: Justice Leondra Kruger of the California Supreme Court, and Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of the federal district court in Washington, D.C.

Both are extremely accomplished, with gold-plated resumes that are reminiscent of the justices picked by President Barack Obama, and for that matter by President Donald Trump. Both are also super-smart and well-liked. And realistically, they are the only two Black women who are young enough to serve for the long haul and have the relevant judicial experience to make their confirmation straightforward, even boring - which is just what a nominating president wants.

To be clear, there are many more than two Black women qualified to sit on the court. They include legal activists, law professors, judges and government officials with experience at all levels. And in prior decades, it wasn't unheard of for justices to come from the Senate, the cabinet, or even private corporate law firms. They didn't all have fancy educational backgrounds, either.

But that's changed in recent years, partly as a product of bruising confirmation battles and partly as an effect of elite consensus on what a nominee's record should look like. Today's nominees tend to have attended an Ivy League law school; clerked for a Supreme Court justice themselves; and served as a high-level judge by a relatively young age. That's one reason the possible Biden nominees are, in reality, so few. There are just not that many Black women who both fit that incredibly narrow mold.

With a Democratic Senate - likely the only way Biden could get any nominee confirmed - Biden could try to change the norms and push through someone with a different resume. Yet that sort of risk-taking seems unlikely from Biden, who has just made his VP pick according to the most conventional of conventional wisdom.

By pure insider resume standards, Kruger has a slight edge over Jackson. She went to Harvard College and Yale Law School, was editor in chief of the Yale Law Journal, and clerked for Justice John Paul Stevens. She spent six years in the office of the solicitor general, arguing 12 cases before the Supreme Court and rising to acting principal deputy solicitor general, the number two position in the office. She then served in the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department, which, like the SG's office, is a breeding-ground for judges. All that was before she was 40, and she's only 44 now. (Yes, you should be feeling bad about your career accomplishments at this point. I know I am.)

Had Kruger been successfully appointed to the federal appellate bench by Obama, she would basically be the presumptive Supreme Court nominee. But by the time she was even plausibly old enough to be considered for such a spot, back in 2014, Republicans controlled the Senate. Mitch McConnell wasn't likely to let her nomination go through - because he knew perfectly well it would be a decisive step toward getting her on the Supreme Court.

So Gov. Jerry Brown of California put her on the state Supreme Court. (That court has become a kind of waiting room for brilliant potential Democratic Supreme Court nominees, including Kruger's colleagues Justice Goodwin Liu, whom Obama did try to get on the federal bench, only to be blocked by McConnell, and Justice Tino Cuellar).

And there hasn't been a Supreme Court nominee from a state court since Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who was on an Arizona appellate court.

As for Jackson, she also went to Harvard College. (Disclosure: We lived in the same freshman dorm and were friends; she was and is a totally lovely, fun, and brilliant person.) She attended Harvard Law School, was on the Harvard Law Review, and clerked for two distinguished federal judges, Patti Saris and Bruce Selya, before clerking for Justice Stephen Breyer. She worked at the U.S. Sentencing Commission and later became its vice chair. She found time along the way to serve as a public defender in Washington, D.C., and as an appellate lawyer at a prestigious D.C. law firm.

Jackson became a federal judge in 2013. There was no major fight over her nomination, probably because it was for a district court position, which is not the traditional path to the Supreme Court. (Of the current justices, only Justice Sonia Sotomayor was a district court judge, and she followed that with a long stint on the court of appeals.) She's now just shy of her 50th birthday.

Jackson's national profile rose significantly in 2019 when she presided over a case in which the House Judiciary Committee sought to enforce its subpoena against Donald McGahn, the former White House counsel. Jackson's opinion rejected the Trump administration's claim of absolute immunity and insisted that "presidents are not kings." No comparably high-profile case has come before Kruger.

If Biden stays conventional, he will nominate one of these two women. Either would be a stellar choice. Provided the Senate goes Democratic, one will become the first Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court.

- - -

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Feldman is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and host of the podcast "Deep Background." He is a professor of law at Harvard University and was a clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter.
India tested in excess of 800,000 samples for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on Wednesday, inching closer to its target of conducting a million tests a day even as infections of the viral disease have continued to mount steadily.

In total, India has performed 26.8 million tests since January 22 when Covid-19 testing started with one lab at the Indian Council of Medical Researchs National Institute of Virology in Pune. As of Thursday, testing is being done in 1,433 labs across the country  947 in the public sector and 486 private ones.

Experts say that to control the outbreak, aggressive testing is crucial. In this case, the number of Covid-19 cases diagnosed in the country is likely to see an increase before it starts seeing a dip, indicating that the spread is slowing. Until Thursday, India recorded 2,459,275 cases and 48,140 deaths.

India has conducted 20,140 tests per million residents  much lower than other countries that have comparable caseloads. In comparison, the United States and Brazil, the only two nations with more cases than India, have conducted 204,130 and 62,197 tests for every million residents.

The countrys target of conducting a million tests a day would mean that it would be conducting 750 tests per million per day  significantly higher than the World Health Organization (WHO)s recommendation of 140 tests per million residents a day. To be sure, India is still testing much above the WHO advisory  in the last week, the country has tested an average of 503 people per million every day.

For the week ending August 12, Indias daily tests have increased by 2.8% every day on average. This number was the same the week before that. If this rate of increase in daily testing remains constant, then the country may touch the 1 million-daily-test mark in 12 days, according to HTs projections.

The four highest single-day tests conducted across the country have all been reported in the past five days  830,391 daily tests on August 12; 733,449 on August 11; 719,364 on August 8 and 698,290 on August 9  highlighting the recent increase. On August 9 (Sunday) 477,023 samples were tested. To be sure, Sundays are historically days when daily testing drops as many labs function with low staff and few people step out. Indias test, track and treat strategy has helped us bring down the fatality rate from its peak of 3.36% on June 17 to 1.96% within two months... We have been ahead of all our testing targets. The target of 100,000 tests was May 31; we crossed it on May 10. In July-end, I said in an interview that the target was to reach a million tests in 12 weeks, we are geared to reach it in two to three weeks, Union health minister Harash Vardhan said on Thursday. A July 7 column in this newspaper suggested a target of a million tests a day.

We are trying our best to meet the target (by August-end), said ICMR director general Dr Balram Bhargava.

The recent increase in testing has also brought down the weekly average positivity rate  the fraction of tests that come back positive  in the country from 12.5% (the highest recorded so far) on July 25 to 9.4% on Thursday. Overall, 8.9% of all tests in the country have come back positive.

According to WHO recommendations, the positivity rate from a region that has a comprehensive testing programme should be at or below 5% for at least 14 days before it can be assumed that an outbreak is under control and lockdowns can be relaxed.

THE ROLE OF ANTIGEN TESTS

Much of the recent increase in testing can be attributed to the growing role of antigen tests in the states. Antigen, or rapid, tests usually provide results within hours and are relatively cheap. These kits are designed to detect antigens (substances in our bodies that stimulate an immune response) and can be performed in mobile stations and dont necessarily need labs. The downside is that they have a far higher chance of returning false negatives (showing infected people as uninfected), and thus can let cases slide under the radar.

The real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test, on the other hand, is the gold-standard for Covid-19 testing and is the most definitive test available. It is used for the detection of nucleic acid from Sars-CoV-2 and is based on PCR, a process that duplicates and amplifies genetic fragments of the virus, so that it becomes easily detectable. The downside is that the process, from samples collection to results, for these can generally take 24-48 hours and needs dedicated machines.

During the weekly Covid-19 press briefing on August 5, Union health ministry officials had said that antigen tests accounted for at least a quarter of all tests conducted in the country until then.

ICMR has also said the proportion of antigen tests is increasing. When we started, antigen tests comprised only 5-6% of the total tests, but this proportion is consistently rising. Today, total antigen tests are nearly between 25-30% tests of the total number of Covid-19 tests done so far, Dr Bhargava said on August 5.

Only four states  Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka and West Bengal  give a breakup of testing numbers based on antigen and RT-PCR/other nucleic tests. Among them, of the 1,034,537 samples tested in the last week, a majority (50.3%) have been antigen tests.

HT has repeatedly pointed out that antigen tests are best used when time is a constraint and results are needed quickly -- in a containment zone or a hot spot, for instance.

In terms of states, the wide disparity in testing rates remains as higher-than-average testing states have continued to fuel the nationwide boost to testing numbers in the past weeks. Among the 20 major states, Assam has conducted the highest number of tests in the country for the week ending on August 12  10,649 tests per million. Andhra Pradesh features on the second spot with 7,930 tests per million in the last week, followed by Delhi, with 7,210 tests per million. To be sure, these states all have a testing rate that is higher than the national average.

At the lowest end of tests in the last week, are Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh with 1,360, 1,384 and 1,702 tests per million. And much like the top, these states have overall lower-than-national-average testing rates. Bihar, the state with the lowest overall testing rate, appears to have improved its testing in the last week  the state tested 4,467 samples per million in the last week against the national average of 3,523.

For a small state like Assam we have been crossing several milestones in testing. On July 30, we conducted 50,000 tests on a day and on August 4 we did more than 75,000 tests. On August 12, we had kept our target as 100,000 tests, but when we tallied the figures at the end of the day, we found we conducted more than 1.43 lakh tests. We were quite surprised, said Assams principal secretary (health) Samir Kumar Sinha. This has required lot of mobilisation, lot of people on the ground, large number of test kits. Nearly 90% of the tests that we are doing these days are rapid antigen tests and the rest RT-PCR, Sinha said.

Andhra Pradesh commissioner of health Katamaneni Bhaskar said only around 40% of the tests being done are rapid antigen tests. Out of 55,692 tests done on Thursday, only 26,000 tests were antigen tests. We have been doing antigen tests only as per ICMR guidelines. And they are also reliable. If a person tests positive in antigen tests, he is positive for Covid-19, Bhaskar said.

Officials in Bihar said they have been working on increasing their testing rate. We are increasing our testing every day. During the last 24 hours, 104,452 people were tested and so far 137,742 tests have been conducted in the state, the states principal secretary, health, Pratyaya Amrit said.

Experts, however, said that other than ramping up the number of tests, the pricing needs to be controlled as well. There is a need to increase testing for Covid-19 across the country as our testing per million still continues to be low. For this, we need not only trained staff but the cost of the testing has to be brought down further. An RT-PCR test costs about 2,400, it needs to be brought down to about 1,000. It can be done through bulk procurement by one agency for the entire country and scaling up manufacturing, said Dr SK Sarin, director, Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, New Delhi.

(With inputs from Utpal Parashar in Guwahati, Srinivasa Rao Apparasu in Hyderabad and Vijay Swaroop in Patna)
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP)

Release detained fisherfolk to mark independence meaningfully

Lahore, 13 August. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) calls on the Pakistani and Indian governments to renew their commitment to bilateral peace as they celebrate their national independence, by securing the release of over 300 fisherfolk languishing in each otheras jails.

In both cases, fisherfolk tend to hail from poor, marginalized coastal communities and, too often, are simply forgotten if arrested by their neighboring country for having strayed inadvertently into the otheras territorial waters. Their right to consular access and nationality verification is consistently violated, as a result of which repatriation is delayed for years. This leaves them at the mercy of overcrowded jails, their plight compounded as foreigners. Meanwhile, their families at home are left one earner short, driving many further into poverty over and above the anguish of a missing family member.

The release of imprisoned fisherfolk who eke out a living in what the International Labour Organization already classifies as a ahazardousa occupation, is as much about their civil liberty as it is about their economic rights. HRCP also urges both governments to implement a better mechanism by which fisherfolk are turned back when they cross the maritime boundary rather than being arrested and detained.

On behalf of Dr Mehdi Hasan

Chairperson
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For the third straight year, Moodys Analytics has won the Risk Technology Awards for Credit Data Provider of the Year and Wholesale Credit Modelling Software of the Year. These are two of our seven 2020 Risk Technology Awards spanning finance, accounting, regulatory, and credit functions.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200812005119/en/

Our clients rely on Moodys Analytics for a fast and comprehensive view of their credit risk exposure, said Nihil Patel, Managing Director at Moodys Analytics. The pandemic has accelerated their need to consider multiple forward-looking signals to assess credit risk. We continue to investin more asset class coverage, in alternative data sources, in machine learning that produces new analytics and insightsto ensure that our clients have all the information they need to address their most pressing business needs.

Extensive credit data and modeling capabilities feature in a number of Moodys Analytics solutions that contributed to these two wins:

Data Alliance is one of the worlds largest and most comprehensive data consortia. Its members share data across many asset classes and receive benchmarking metrics in return.

Orbis, from Bureau van Dijk, a Moodys Analytics company, provides information on more than 375 million private companies and other entities.

The RiskCalc credit scoring platform combines fundamental and financial market information into a predictive risk score for private firms.

The CreditEdge tool helps users assess the daily credit risk of public firms and sovereigns with a leading probability of default model and advanced analytics that cover more than 60,000 publicly-traded entities.

Our CAP model lifecycle management platform allows customers to combine Moodys Analytics credit data and tools with their own for analytics that are customized to the unique portfolio characteristics of their firm.



The Risk Technology Awards recognize outstanding vendors helping the industry in the fields of ALM, credit, operational risk, and enterprise risk management.

These wins extend our growing list of awards and industry accolades.

About Moodys Analytics

Moodys Analytics provides financial intelligence and analytical tools to help business leaders make better, faster decisions. Our deep risk expertise, expansive information resources, and innovative application of technology help our clients confidently navigate an evolving marketplace. We are known for our industry-leading and award-winning solutions, made up of research, data, software, and professional services, assembled to deliver a seamless customer experience. We create confidence in thousands of organizations worldwide, with our commitment to excellence, open mindset approach, and focus on meeting customer needs. For more information about Moodys Analytics, visit our website or connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Moody's Analytics, Inc. is a subsidiary of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO). Moodys Corporation reported revenue of $4.8 billion in 2019, employs approximately 11,200 people worldwide and maintains a presence in 40 countries.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200812005119/en/
It started out with one woman standing in front of an unmarked white bus. Then a couple dozen people joined the blockade around noon. By nightfall on Wednesday, hundreds in Bend, Ore. had surrounded the Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicles in a hotel parking lot, refusing to let the buses leave until the two Mexican immigrants inside were released.

Around 11 p.m., though, the protest scattered when about 50 more federal agents arrived, firing tear gas and less-than-lethal munitions into the crowd, shoving some protesters to the ground and then escorting the men off the bus to detain them for good.

"I can't put into words the fear and the terror in their families' eyes," Janet Sarai Llerandi, founder of the local advocacy group Mecca Bend, told The Washington Post. "It feels like a loss, because ultimately, they hauled them away, and we don't know where they are now."

ICE did not immediately respond to questions about why the agents detained the men, identified by activists as longtime Central Oregon residents Josue Arturo Cruz Sanchez and Marco Zeferino. In a statement, Ken Cuccinelli, the acting deputy secretary of Homeland Security, said the arrests were part of ICE's "mission to arrest criminal aliens presenting a danger to public safety" and said the pair had "a history of criminal violent behavior."

"While ICE respects the right of people to voice their opinion peacefully, that does not include illegally interfering with federal law enforcement duties," Cuccinelli said.

Cuccinelli added that ICE would take "all necessary measures to ensure the safety of its officers and detainees," including prosecuting "anyone who puts them in harm's way."

Immigration protesters in recent years have repeatedly sought to foil ICE agents as they try to detain local residents. Groups in North Carolina and Tennessee have formed human chains around ICE vehicles and prevented federal agents from transporting immigrants to detention centers.

Yet the response by ICE agents on Wednesday also evokes the controversial scenes that played out last month in Portland, where DHS repeatedly tear-gassed demonstrators outside a federal courthouse.

Cruz and Zeferino were driving to work separately Wednesday morning when they were stopped and taken into custody at a gas station. Cruz, a painter, and Zeferino, who works at a restaurant, have both lived in Bend for about 15 years, and both have several young U.S.-born children.

Although Cuccinelli said both men had violent records, Llerandi said neither was presented with a warrant before being arrested.

When she first heard about their situation, Llerandi rushed out in her Jeep to find them being held in buses at a SpringHill Suites. By early afternoon, a handful of protesters with the activist group Central Oregon Peacekeepers joined her in front of the buses, as had the men's families.

Two men wearing uniforms identifying themselves as "transportation agents" entered the buses and attempted to drive off, but the demonstrators stood in their way. As Cruz and Zeferino's wives and children attempted to communicate with them through the bus windows, others formed a circle around them.

"We are simply trying to provide for our families, but because of the color of our skin and our country of origin, that is not what has happened here today," the two men's families said in a statement Llerandi read on Facebook Live. "We are human beings trying to survive."

By early afternoon, Llerandi said, two vans filed with police officers in riot gear were on the scene.

Mike Krantz, the city's newly appointed police chief, said in a statement that Bend police had been dispatched "to allow free speech and a peaceful area to assemble and to provide life safety support," he added.

Although his officers had been alerted that ICE would be coming to Bend, police were not involved with any immigration enforcement activities.

At approximately 10 p.m., Krantz showed up with a warning.

"There will be federal agents coming here," he told protesters through a megaphone. "They will ensure the safety of their employees and the people here."

Just before the city's noise ordinance went into effect at 10 p.m., protesters sat down quietly in face masks, according to a video of the scene, and waited for DHS to arrive.

As one group of the federal agents in riot gear reached the back of the crowd, facing off with protesters, another went straight for the door of the bus. They picked people up by their clothes and shoved the men's families to the ground, Llerandi said, including one young girl. Tear gas was released with no warning, the activist said.

Moments later, agents marched the men out of the bus, taking them to another vehicle that was waiting behind a set of bushes.

After the standoff ended, Llerandi said she was at a loss for words about both the ICE arrest, and about being tear-gassed by federal agents.

"This stuff doesn't happen here," she said. "We're supposedly this safe, liberal, progressive town... There was no way in hell I was going leave once we saw this happen right in front of our eyes."
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that remote learning for students 'is not the answer' for when schools begin to reopen in the coming weeks.

Trump was speaking at the White House when he touted schools reopening, despite schools across the country seeing alarming rates of coronavirus surges amongst students, faculty and other staff.

'It is interesting because one thing we've learned during this horror show of the China plague is that virtual is not as good as being there  virtual is just not the same thing,' Trump said, the New York Post reports.

Trump was speaking at the White House on Wednesday when he touted schools reopening, asserting remote learning 'is not the answer'

Last month, the Trump administration recommended for schools to try a series of practices - including the 'cohorting' of students - in order to stop the spread of COVID-19.

While officials claimed children were less susceptible to the virus, Trump did urge for elderly teachers to stay at home.

'For a long time we've been hearing how great it would be,' Trump said of distance learning. 'Well, we've had the ultimate sample right, namely the whole country, practically, and it's not as good.'

Cherokee County (pictured) is the largest school district in Georgia that's currently offering face-to-face classes. But a rising number of infections is forcing large numbers of students and employees into quarantine

'We've also learned that tele health is very good. Telehealth is up 3,500%,' Trump said.

Also during Wednesday's remarks, Trump boasted about providing various school districts with up to 125million reusable masks.

Included at the White House event was Richard Corcoran, commissioner of the Florida Department of Education.

He claimed that when districts opened this week, there was 'almost 100 per cent teacher participation.' Corcoran added that there was 70 per cent of in-person participation among students.

Trump's condemnation comes as a suburban Atlanta school district temporarily stopped in-person instruction at a second of its six high schools on Wednesday, saying an increasing number of COVID-19 cases was forcing large numbers of Cherokee County students and teachers into quarantine.

Trump said that various school districts would also be provided with masks. The administration hopes to have 125million masks out

Meanwhile, Georgia's largest school district struggled to launch online learning for its 180,000 students, as parents complained that their students repeatedly tried and failed to log into Gwinnett County's online system.

Cherokee County is the largest school district in Georgia that's currently offering face-to-face classes. But a rising number of infections is forcing large numbers of students and employees into quarantine. The district announced it would close Woodstock High School until Aug. 31, a day after it made the same announcement at Etowah High School. Each school has about 2,500 students.

'As of this morning, the number of positive cases at the school had increased to a total of 14 with tests for another 15 student pending; and, as a result of the confirmed cases, 289 students and staff are under quarantine and, should the pending tests prove positive, the total would significantly increase,' Cherokee County Superintendent Brian Hightower wrote in a message to parents.

It's unclear whether any students or employees were infected at school.
Washington, Aug 13 : US President Donald Trump has announced that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel have agreed to normalise relations.

A joint statement issued by Trump, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed Al Nahyan said they hoped the "historic breakthrough will advance peace in the Middle East".

As a result, they added, Israel would suspend its controversial plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, the BBC reported.

Until now Israel has had no diplomatic relations with the Gulf Arab countries.

However, shared concerns over Iran's regional influence have led to unofficial contacts between them, the BBC reported.

In response to President Trump's announcement, Netanyahu tweeted: "Historic day." The UAE's Ambassador to the US, Yousef Al Otaiba, said it was "a win for diplomacy and for the region".

"It is a significant advance in Arab-Israeli relations that lowers tensions and creates new energy for positive change," he added.

However, a senior Palestinian official, Hanan Ashrawi, condemned the deal, saying the UAE had "come out in the open on its secret dealings/normalization with Israel" and telling Prince Mohammed: "May you never be sold out by your 'friends'", the BBC reported.

It marks only the third Israel-Arab peace deal since Israel's declaration of independence in 1948. Egypt had signed one in 1979, while Jordan signed one in 1994.

According to the joint statement, Israel will "focus its efforts now on expanding ties with other countries in the Arab and Muslim world", and that the US and UAE will work to achieve that goal, the BBC reported.
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Sumi Sukanya dutta By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Russia has claimed that phase 3 clinical trials of the Covid-19 vaccine, which it launched on Tuesday, will also be conducted in India, among other countries, but officials in the Union Health Ministry dismissed it saying there was no talk on any such collaboration yet.

The controversial vaccine  Sputnik V  has been approved by Russia even amid major concerns on its safety and efficacy as it has not completed human trials yet and has been tested on less than 100 individuals. The first clinical trials of the vaccine had begun only on June 17.

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the approval of the vaccine for use, claiming it as a world first, amid continued concern and unanswered questions over its safety and effectiveness.

WATCH:

The Russian government has announced that its mass production will start next month and it will be available for public use by October. The vaccine has been developed by Gamaleya Research Institute and the Russian Defence Ministry, and has been created using inanimate particles developed based on adenovirus, a class of virus that causes the common cold.

ALSO READ: Amid arrival of Sputnik V, expert panel asks states not to procure COVID-19 vaccine separately

The Russian Direct Investment Fund, a government body, which is financing the production of Sputnik V, on its official website declared that it sees strong global interest in the vaccine and plans to conduct phase 3 clinical trials in different countries, including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Brazil, India and the Philippines, and start mass production in other countries in partnership with local sovereign wealth funds, including India, South Korea and Brazil, as well as, in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Cuba.

At least 20 countries had expressed interest in obtaining the Sputnik V, including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Philippines, Brazil, Mexico and India, the RDIF also said in a statement. Official sources said the launching of phase 3 trials for any vaccine requires appropriate regulatory approvals by the Drug Controller General of India.

And as far as our information is concerned, there is no movement on that front yet, said a senior official.

Besides, there is also no data from phase 1 and 2 trial of the Russian vaccine yet, the official added.

Another official in the ministry indicated that its also possible that some states would have approached Russia with queries on the vaccine.

A senior official in the Indian Council of Medical Research denied any information on the matter, while Dr V K Paul, a member (health) Niti Aayog who has been made chief of an expert group on Covid-19 vaccine administration, could not be reached for his comments despite repeated attempts.

Sources, meanwhile, said Russia has also approached Bharat Biotech, a Hyderabad-based vaccine manufacturer, to produce its vaccine in large quantities, but the firm is yet to respond.
Gov. Phil Murphy is beginning to face reality, by giving districts the option to do remote learning only this fall.

But he is still leaving a state of confusion as the first day of school arrives, by failing to take the final step and require all districts to start remotely. Thats what Assemblywoman Mila Jasey has called for, for reasons of equity, unity and safety.

Shes right. No school should open in person right now. From the moment a child steps on a bus, its too dangerous.

Its not practical to keep safe distances without sufficient space in classrooms, many of which are poorly ventilated. Nurses offices often dont have space to isolate a sick child. And while outbreaks are inevitable, we still lack the capacity to detect and contain them quickly with tests and contact tracing.

Even now, with opening day a few weeks off, some districts dont know how theyll respond when someone shows up sick. Murphys promise to come up with a plan for that, at this late stage, has a whiff of desperation to it.

And its unfair to teachers, to be required to show up in some districts and not others. People on local school boards and superintendents, theyre not epidemiologists. They did not get elected or take these jobs with the idea they would be making literal, life-or-death decisions, as Adam Sheridan, a 7th grade English teacher told NJ Advance Media.

At least Murphys recognizing what hes being told by a growing number of responsible voices, from principals to superintendents to mayors: We are not ready.

We can do a certain amount to mitigate these risks, but as the governor himself put it on Wednesday, The pandemic dictates the terms, not us mere mortals.

Experts like Perry Halkitis, Dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health, warn that without better preparation, we will be opening schools only to close them again.

If I were a parent, Id rather be told, Hold onto your kids until November, instead of getting a call in the middle of my day to go get my child, he said.

Kids are often asymptomatic, and we are seeing incredibly low cooperation with contact tracers right now. Only 55 percent of infected people in New Jersey are willing to play along. Some schools dont even have a full-time nurse to do this extra work.

And who will ensure that no one forgets to change the filter in the air conditioning system, or open the windows, so a classroom isnt just circulating virus?

Schools in Georgia and Mississippi are already reporting infected students. Kids do carry this virus, at least over the age of 10, and seem to transmit it pretty easily, the latest research finds. Many live with people who are vulnerable, like a grandparent, or come into contact with them elsewhere.

Israel saw widespread community transmission when it opened schools. And we saw what happened when states like Florida and Georgia didnt pay attention to what was going on in New York and New Jersey, reopened too quickly and invited huge outbreaks. Lets not repeat their mistakes.

Theres so much we dont know about this virus, including how often kids suffer lung damage or other lifelong effects. Delaying the start of in-person schooling is the easy part.

Now districts need to use the few remaining weeks before school starts to focus on ensuring that kids in all districts can get a decent education remotely.

As many as 230,000 students dont have the needed device or Internet at home, the state finds, and could see big learning loss. Districts like Paterson say they can no longer expect to receive the Chromebooks they desperately need by September, due to delivery delays. Thats extremely concerning.

But COVID affects minority communities disproportionately, too  which is why many parents are afraid to send their kids back. Its a difficult call, says Paterson Superintendent Eileen Shafer, of delaying in-person school. But its going to be even more difficult when you inform someone, We lost a life. That is probably my biggest fear.

And if we wait, well have the benefit of lessons learned. Let other states go first. This is obviously a matter of great uncertainty and could be disastrous. Why be among the first to jump in that pool?

The thing that a couple months does is buy you the opportunity to watch those 10,000 experiments throughout the country and see what works, and learn from that, says Ryan Hill, who runs a network of high-performing charter schools in Newark and Camden.

Schools all over New Jersey would be wise to do the same.

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What comes to mind when you think of Miami? South Beach, LIV, a sweaty party city that should be annexed from Florida and apparently doesnt know how to handle COVID-19? I mean, same, but more importantly, I think of home: of Calle Ocho, pastelitos from Versailles, being immediately greeted in Spanish, and a childhood filled with questionable tankinis and salty hair. Sailing during phys ed was normal (private school normal), ecology class meant boating around Biscayne Bay, and drives home from school were drowned out by the mesmerizing limestone walls swallowing Coconut Grove.

Courtesy of Gabriela Ulloa

Its true: You never really know what you have until its gone. And while my eyes will probably get stuck from how hard I just rolled them, this sentiment resonates. I felt it when I went off to college in D.C. in 2014 and once again after my move to New York City two years ago. Now, after coming back home six months ago due to the virus, this bumper sticker of a saying felt louderwhat was once an aw sort of moment quickly turned into an oh, shit reality. The city that raised me (and left my Spanglish impeccable) would soon be underwater.

Here to help me take a hard look at the facts is journalist and author of Disposable City: Miamis Future on the Shores of Climate Catastrophe, Mario Alejandro Ariza. He reminds me that if the ocean rises three to four feetwhich a lot of projections have it going even higher by the end of the century200,000 people in Southeast Florida will be physically displaced. Yep, two hundred thousand. And that number is excluding all of the other tragedies that will happen, like our drinking water and sewage plants being compromised and storms becoming a lot stronger, all due to global warming.

To put it simply, carbon acts like a sweater around the atmosphere, Mario tells me. Because of the amount of carbon humans put out into the atmosphere each year, around 3638 gigatons, the energy that comes into the earth from the sun doesnt get radiated as much out into space. So what does this mean and why does it impact rising sea levels? Basically, because were changing how much heat and energy radiates into space, were trapping more of that energy here on earth. In turn, ice caps melt, expanding the ocean, which also increases the intensity of rain. By the end of the century, Mario explains, the thermal expansion of the ocean, the intensity of rains and storms, and increased heat, make the survival of a complex urban civilization on the southeast tip of the peninsula an open question.

Story continues

Courtesy of Gabriela Ulloa

So, what does it feel like to be living in a city that will soon feel the impacts of climate change? Bleak. But not all hope is lost. We can help, but first, we must take responsibility. Mario reminds us to, reduce [our] individual carbon output, strap those solar panels on that roof, get that electric vehicle, eat as little meat as possible, and live as carbon-free of a lifestyle as [we] responsibly and ethically can. Unfortunately, our individual efforts are only part of this politicized polarizing equation. Seventy percent of our cities in Florida are still being powered by natural gas. We need to pressure politicians and advocate for positive change because the future of this city and several other cities similar to Miami depend on it. Vote, reduce your carbon footprint, spread awareness, and educate yourself and those around you because all of the other things we need to fix in this world wont matter if we dont have a planet to live on.

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
Summary South Korea Wound Care Management Procedures Outlook to 2025 is a comprehensive databook report, covering key procedures data on the South Korea Wound Care Management Procedures.

New York, Aug. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "South Korea Wound Care Management Procedures Outlook to 2025 -Ostomy Procedures, Tissue Engineered - Skin Substitute Procedures and Wound Debridement Procedures" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05190841/?utm_source=GNW

The databook report provides procedure volumes within segments - Ostomy, Tissue Engineered - Skin Substitute and Wound Debridement.



The South Korea Wound Care Management Procedures report provides key information and data on -

- Procedure volume data for Wound Care Management Procedures related to the country. Data is provided from 2015 to 2025.



Scope

South Korea Wound Care Management Procedures is segmented as follows -

- Ostomy Procedures

- Tissue Engineered - Skin Substitute Procedures

- Wound Debridement Procedures



Reasons to Buy

The South Korea Wound Care Management Procedures report helps you to develop -

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- Develop investment strategies by identifying the key segments expected to register strong growth in the near future.

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05190841/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



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Passengers were evacuated from a train in Kent today after it got stuck in mud which washed onto the track during torrential rain - just a day after a derailment killed three in Scotland.

The Southeastern service got caught on the line near to West Malling following reports of a landslide due to heavy thunderstorms and rain across Britain this week.

A total of 18 passengers were evacuated safely and a geotechnical expert has been called to the scene to assess the landslide, Kent Live reported.

Network Rail later revealed it will be working overnight to clear mud which had been washed onto the line near West Malling.

It added: 'It's looking good but theres a chance it could take longer so we're advising passengers check before you travel tomorrow morning.

'We turned the power on to move the train and the water and muck started steaming - we'll have to turn it off again before the mud gets cleared...'

The incident caused rail disruptions between Swanley and Maidstone East, which are expected to remain in place until the end of the day.

Southeastern explained 'a train has struck an obstruction on the line near West Malling, meaning trains can't run in either direction between Otford and Maidstone East.'

The Southeastern service became unable to move on the track near to West Malling following reports of a landslide due to heavy thunderstorms and rain across Britain

It added that emergency response staff are currently at the scene and are working to clear the obstruction to allow the train to move forward.

They will then assess the extent of any damage to the line, a statement added.

Kent Fire and Rescue were reportedly at the scene alongside British Transport Police, Network Rail and Southeastern.

It comes a day after a ScotRail train derailed and crashed on a 'flood-hit' line near Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire yesterday, killing three.

Chris Stuchbury, 62, died alongside train driver Brett McCullough, 45, and conductor Donald Dinnie, 58, when a service slipped from the tracks close to Carmont Railway station yesterday.

Six others were rushed to hospital following the crash, while four firefighters were injured while helping in the aftermath of the derailment.

The train slipped from the tracks after hitting a landslip in the area, which had recently been hit by major flooding.

A total of 18 passengers were evacuated safely by police and a geotechnical expert has been called to the scene to assess the landslide

The incident caused rail disruptions between Swanley and Maidstone East, which are expected to remain in place until the end of the day

Today, track operator Network Rail announced that engineers will carry out detailed inspections of dozens of high-risk trackside slopes with similar characteristics to the site of the Aberdeenshire crash.

Meanwhile, in a visit to the site, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps claimed it was 'far too soon' to say whether cutbacks to Network Rail contributed to derailment.

His comments come as it was revealed National Rail had been warned about the network's resilience to severe weather just four weeks before yesterday's horror derailment.

Southeastern explained 'a train has struck an obstruction on the line near West Malling, meaning trains can't run in either direction between Otford and Maidstone East'

Investigators are today probing a horror derailment which killed three people after a train slipped from a 'flood-hit' line in Scotland - just four weeks after track operators were warned of a spike in dangerous landslips

Flames are pictured coming out of one of the carriages following the accident near Stonehaven yesterday morning

An annual health and safety report by rail safety watchdog, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), said there were six times more flooding events on Britain's railways in 2019-20 than during the previous 12 months.

It also noted a spike in landslips, demonstrating the 'vulnerability' of the network, and criticised Network Rail's plans to address climate change and extreme weather, which it said were 'not keeping up with the frequency and severity of these events'.

Network Rail has been contacted for comment.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 05:57:39|Editor: huaxia

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Video: Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the UN, calls for efforts to build and sustain peace amid COVID-19 through a people-centered approach on Aug. 12, 2020. (Xinhua)



Zhang stresses the need to strengthen political leadership and social inclusion in peacebuilding and sustaining peace.



UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- A Chinse envoy on Wednesday called for efforts to build and sustain peace amid COVID-19 through a people-centered approach.

"Experience of many countries shows that as long as we put people and life first, we can develop a set of effective methods to fight the pandemic. In peacebuilding, we should also put people's interests front and center, respect the ownership of people of the host countries, and promote an inclusive peace process," said Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations.

He also called for sustaining peace through development.

Gains in peacebuilding processes in conflict-affected countries can be easily lost due to the countries' weak socio-economic foundation. Development is the master key to solve all problems, he told an open debate of the Security Council on pandemics and the challenges of sustaining peace.

The international community should attach great importance to the impact of COVID-19 on the socio-economic situation of conflict-affected countries, help them improve the capacity for sustainable development, strengthen public health systems, and preserve and advance peacebuilding gains to build a solid foundation for lasting peace, he said.

Zhang stressed the need to strengthen political leadership and social inclusion in peacebuilding and sustaining peace.

In many countries, strong political leadership and social cohesion have made possible early detection, isolation, diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 cases. Political consensus, mutual trust, and social cohesion also provide an important buttress for national reconstruction. There is a need to support the strengthening of the authority of legitimate governments of conflict-affected countries so that they can lead the entire society in safeguarding hard-won gains of peacebuilding and achieving long-term security and stability, said Zhang. 
Pet project: Mary Cooke brings her dog Arthur for a spin as she cycles home from a trip to the beach in Garretstown, Co Cork, yesterday. Photo: Denis Boyle

Warm and humid weather is set to stay with us for the coming days despite a mixed bag of sun and showers, according to Met Eireann.

A low pressure system that is bringing warm tropical air up from continental Europe is responsible for the extremely humid and warm conditions that will prevail for the next few days, according to forecaster Liz Walsh.

However, the same conditions could bring thunderstorms and lightning to the south later on this afternoon and evening.

"There are massive thunderstorms in the UK and the same system will be over us, with the potential for some very severe thunderstorms," she told the Irish Independent.

While the warm conditions will remain until early next week, "there's no prolonged settled spell on the cards and we're leaning towards unsettled weather", she said.

After a warm and muggy night in which overnight temperatures ranged from 16C to 18C in the south and southeast and 12C to 14C in the west and north, today will get off to a murky start. Mist and clouds will blanket much of the country this morning with showers and heavy or thundery bursts in the south. However, it will brighten up as the day progresses with the best of the sunshine developing in north Leinster and Ulster.

However, the south and southwest can expect showers during the afternoon and evening which could turn heavy and thundery.

But it will stay very warm, with highs of between 20C and 25C in most areas, although it will be slightly cooler and fresh on coasts due to light to moderate northeasterly breezes.

Friday will start off the same as today with a murky and cloudy start with the risk of showers and more prolonged periods of rain in Munster, south Leinster and Connacht.

However, the rest of the country can expect a mostly dry day with warm temperatures of between 19C and 23C during the day and staying warm at night, with overnight temperatures of between 14C and 17C. The warm and humid conditions will continue through the weekend with daytime highs of between 18C and 23C on both days. However, low cloud and mist and fog will continue to blanket much of the country on Saturday morning. Sunny spells will develop by the afternoon although there will be scattered heavy showers developing by late afternoon with light breezes.

There will be another muggy night overnight on Saturday, when temperatures will climb to between 18C and 23C on Sunday with sunny spells and showers developing later.
Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center is recruiting participants for its portion of a high-profile national clinical trial for a potential COVID-19 vaccine.

The health care system and Javara, a clinical-research company, both based in Winston-Salem, have joined the study being sponsored by Moderna, a biotechnology company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that already involves UNC Hospitals in the Triangle. The study is projected to last 25 months and involve up to 89 clinical trial sites.

The initial Phase Three clinical trials began July 27. The vaccine doesnt feature any live virus.

The clinical trials will evaluate if the mRNA-1273 vaccine boosts the immune system to produce enough antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, so it does not cause illness in case of infection.

This is one of the most important and impactful clinical research studies in our lifetime, said Dr. John Sanders, Wake Forest Baptists chief of infectious diseases and principal study investigator. We encourage individuals across the Winston-Salem area to consider participating in this trial, which could bring the world one step closer to ending this global health crisis.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-14 01:06:47|Editor: huaxia

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KAMPALA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Thursday appointed a committee to enforce the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions as infections and deaths surge in the east African country.

Ruth Aceng, minister of health, in a televised address, said the committee chaired by a senior military officer will support the enforcement of all presidential directives and health ministry Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

"The president and chair of the national taskforce, having observed the poor compliance to his directives and ministry of health SOPs meant to guide us and help prevent infections has appointed a multi-sectoral technical taskforce to coordinate all sectors, institutions and organizations," said Aceng, noting that the committee is headed by Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Muheesi.

The committee is composed of members from the ministry of health, universities, police and military.

The minister said the team will among others support nationwide distribution of face masks and enforce their proper usage in the community.

"This taskforce will not duplicate efforts and interventions done by the ministry of health," said Aceng.

The appointment of the committee comes at a time when the country is registering an increasing number of COVID-19 cases. The country as of Aug. 13, has registered 1,353 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 1,141 recoveries and 11 deaths since March 21 when the index cases was recorded, according to ministry of health figures.

President Museveni has several times warned that the country will register a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases if the public does not take precautionary measures.

He said people who doubted that COVID-19 does not kill, the country has now started registering deaths.

Government made wearing of face masks mandatory when in public but according to the ministry of health, many people are not wearing them.

Social distancing is also a challenge as crowds still gather especially in the shopping areas in the capital Kampala.

Minister Aceng said as the country starts a political season in preparations for next year's general elections, politicians should exercise caution and not gather crowds.

Aceng said some politicians continue to flout health ministry guidelines by gathering large crowds.

Government has also urged the public to exercise patience on the reopening of schools and places of worship.

Museveni on Thursday said an advisory committee on the coronavirus is making final studies on the situation and a decision would be taken soon.

"The opening of schools and churches is being examined by scientists. They will advise and we will take a decision," said Museveni in an address to update the country on the progress in the fight against COVID-19 from the eastern district of Jinja.

The president in July said government would make a final decision on whether to reopen schools or not in September.

He said as the government continues to study the situation, alternative and distance learning through radio and television are being considered, with the government releasing funds to purchase a radio set for each of the 9 million families in the country.

The Ugandan government in March closed schools, tertiary institutions, universities and places of worship in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19. Enditem
Why was the school system scrambling at the last minute to get things in line when theyve been out of school for right at five months? See Tucker McClendons Facebook post looking for 90 employees to sanitize schools.

Ive seen these poor teachers scrambling this week with last minute preparations all over Facebook. Some were complaining that the school system was 35 school bus drivers, at approximately 135 routes short. Now that theyre done being political activists for the election, maybe they can get some work done. In District 1 and 2, there were approximately five teachers at every polling location. The administration just didnt do a good job in preparation, which also explains the last minute notice about the split scheduling as well. Got an email from the outgoing admin, Hensley, the night before school starts at 8:50 p.m. that if you didnt receive a phone call, you didnt have child care. No we shouldnt rely on HCDE for child care, but in reality for most working families its a fact of life. Emailing somebody at 8:50 at night the day before school is insanity. Again, theyve had five months to prepare.

If Hamilton United and most of the Central Office admin werent so preoccupied with the August election, this could have been handled much better. Its no secret that they went all out working the election, anyone that says any different is a bold faced liar. Wheres my, as well as 45,000 parents tax refund for the three days per week this month we have to hire educators, not babysitters, educators?

We put a man on the moon 50+ years ago, and we couldnt figure out a solution in five months? Why you might ask, because half of the Central Office, aka the the C Suite and Hamilton United, were too busy focusing on the school board races. How do we have any faith in current HCDE leadership when theyve had so much time to create plans and strategies to only fall short?

Its time for Dr. Johnson to evaluate and replace several members of his command staff. Or the school board should do the same for him.

James Berry

Husband, father, and multiple hat wearer
New Delhi: "I love you, mumma," wrote Janhvi Kapoor on Instagram as she remembered her actress-mother Sridevi on her birth anniversary. The monochrome picture features Janhvi holding Sridevi and the duo smile for the camera.

Sridevi died in February 2018 in Dubai, where she was attending a family wedding. She would have been 57 today.

Sridevi was India's first female superstar. She debuted in the film industry at the tender age of four and her first role as an actress happened when she was all of 13. Sridevi was one of the finest actresses of Indian cinema who worked in 300 films across all languages and, there can be no one like her.

Janhvi, who is also an actress in Sridevi and filmmaker Boney Kapoor's elder daughter. She has a sister named Khushi, who studies in the US.

Janhvi is three-film-old in the industry. She debuted in 2018 with 'Dhadak' and followed it up with two Netflix films - 'Ghost Stories' and 'Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl', which released on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Sridevi's last film was 2017's 'MOM', for which she was posthumously honoured with the National Film Award for the Best Actress in 2018.
Bernard Okalia Bilai Archives

Bernard Okalia Bilai, Governor of Cameroons South West Region says appropriate measures have been taken to track down and try armed separatists who murdered a lady in Muyuka on Tuesday.

Speaking at an emergency crisis meeting in Buea yesterday, the Governor said those behind the hideous crime will answer before the competent jurisdictions of law.

On this sad occasion, the Governor of the South West Region conveys his sincere condolences and those of the Administration to the family of the bereaved that is in deep pain and reassures them that appropriate measures have been taken to identify and track down the authors of this hideous crime in order that they answer for their acts before the competent jurisdictions of law, a release from the Governors office read in part.

The communique furthers that: In the last couple of hours, public opinion has been petrified by a video that has gone viral on social media virtually carrying out publicity for the savage and brutal assassination and beheading of a young lady by separatist terrorists in the locality of Muyuka, Fako Division. As each and every one must have observed, the video portrays scenes of extreme barbarism and violence perpetrated against a defenceless and helpless youth until the ultimate moment of her death.

Indeed, visibly pushed by incomprehensible instincts and acting without remorse, her assassins decided to take her life using cruel methods void of any humanism.

Reacting to this unacceptable situation, the Governor convened a crisis meeting that witnessed the participation of major stakeholders, most especially administrative authorities, locally elected officials, traditional rulers, civil society and human rights defence organizations, defence and security forces, the media etc, which registered the unanimous condemnation of this unbelievable act of cruelty.

While vehemently condemning this odious crime, characterised by unimaginable bestiality, the Governor of the South West Region once more exhorts Political, Religious and Traditional leaders as well as opinion leaders of all leanings to step up and intensify efforts to bring out the elements of these armed groups from their hideouts from where they continue to perpetrate inhuman acts like the one we are deploring today namely the brutal murder of defenceless fellow Cameroonian.

On behalf of the Government of our country, the Governor reiterates the determination of the State to guarantee the protection and security of the population and their property and appeals to all living forces of the region to collaborate in the search for and return to peace with the collaboration of the humanitarian agencies.

In this regard, the Governor observes that during the crisis meeting, all representatives of Human Rights Defence Organisations or bodies known to be active in this domain condemned these criminal acts perpetrated by separatist groups against innocent and unarmed citizens.
Maurice Hill, who is accused of shooting six police officers during an hours-long standoff Wednesday, is led out of the Philadelphia Police Department 1st District station in South Philadelphia after being arraigned on Saturday, Aug. 17, 2019. Hill surrendered after allegedly barricading himself in a North Philadelphia home for hours and repeatedly firing on officers. Read more

Bullets were flying into parked cars, police vehicles, and an armored truck. Windows were shattering, shots were ricocheting off the sidewalk, and the flashes of gunfire were so intense inside one home on the block, it looked as if the residence was on fire.

That was the scene 15 Philadelphia police officers recalled Thursday in describing what happened on the 3700 block of North 15th Street last August, when Maurice Hill allegedly initiated a shootout with Philadelphia police, firing guns, including an assault rifle, during a botched drug raid that became a 7-hour standoff.

The incident left six officers wounded  the most in a single incident in modern city history  and traumatized nearby residents. Each of the officers recovered from injuries that included a graze wound to the head and shots to the arms, legs, or hands.

Almost exactly a year later, Hill returned to court Thursday to face his third preliminary hearing in the case. Municipal Court Judge Karen Y. Simmons again ordered him held for trial, this time on charges related to gunshots fired at officers who were not hit during the gun battle.

Some counts were dropped for lack of evidence due to officers inability to testify, and Simmons dismissed some counts of attempted murder, ruling that Hill would be held instead on reckless endangerment. Still, the proceeding added scores of crimes to the laundry list of charges he already faces at a trial currently scheduled for next year. Hill has been held without bail since he surrendered last August.

Police have said the incident began as a drug raid on a nearby house, but devolved into chaos when officers went into a neighboring house to investigate possible narcotics crimes, at which point Hill, who was in the kitchen, began firing bullets through the walls.

None of the officers who testified Thursday witnessed the events that precipitated the gunfire. Under questioning by Assistant District Attorney Danielle Burkavage, most said they arrived to the block after the shootout started. Several said they leapfrogged behind parked cars to avoid getting shot, or tried to help officers who were injured.

It was just overwhelming, Sgt. Edward McLaughlin said of the gunfire. It just wouldnt stop.

I could feel the bullets buzzing over my head, said Officer Jordan Culbreath.

The virtual hearing was held over Zoom, with the officers testifying from a North Philadelphia courtroom. Hill, donning a mask, watched from a courtroom at the Stout Center for Criminal Justice. His attorney, Edward Meehan, sat several feet away at a table in the same room.

The setting provided some logistical challenges, including for officers seeking to identify Hill as the man they saw at the scene. When one officer was preparing to do so, Hill briefly turned the camera away from his face, laughing beneath his mask as Burkavage expressed frustration.

Hill is due to be arraigned Aug. 27 on the new charges, Simmons said.
People enjoy themselves at a lakeside beach in Stockholm, capital of Sweden, on Aug. 9, 2020. Xinhua News Agency | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images

Critics of Sweden's controversial coronavirus strategy have called on the country's health officials to put measures in place to prepare for, and prevent, a potential second wave of the virus in the fall. Writing in Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter on Tuesday, Goran K. Hansson, the general-secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and Economist Lars Calmfors called for a change in the country's strategy of no lockdown and few restrictions. "It is now time to review the corona strategy," Hansson and Calmfors wrote. "The beginning of autumn may be crucial for the corona pandemic's continued development in the country. A real retake is needed for the continued infection control strategy so that the spread of infection is kept down while waiting for both better treatment methods and vaccines," they said. "Covid-19 has meant a national disaster for Sweden. Slow and insufficient action has probably contributed to this. And medics feel that the Swedish Public Health Agency does not reconsider (its strategy) when new information is available." Sweden went its own way as the coronavirus pandemic hit Europe in spring, deciding against a lockdown in favor of largely voluntary measures and social distancing. Most areas of public life  from bars and restaurants, to schools for the under-16s  remained open.

People enjoy the sunny weather at the lake Malaren as a social distancing sign hangs on a fence, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Stockholm, Sweden July 31, 2020. TT News Agency | via REUTERS

The controversial strategy earned Sweden the unenviable position of having the highest coronavirus death rate per capita in Europe in mid-May. The country's Chief Epidemiologist Anders Tegnell remained largely unrepentant about the strategy, telling CNBC in May that there were few things he would have done differently, although he conceded that lessons had been learned. Sweden was accused by some of putting its economic health before that of its people, and critics, including a number of other Swedish epidemiologists, accused Tegnell and the Public Health Agency of playing Russian roulette with people's lives, because of the lack of lockdown. Tegnell said in May that he regretted the high number of deaths in Sweden's care homes and said that he wanted the country to be better prepared in terms of tracking and tracing coronavirus cases. He also called for an improvement in hygiene standards and practices in the care home sector, in order to better control the virus and reduce the number of fatalities. To date, Sweden has recorded 83,455 cases of the virus and 5,774 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. These figures are far higher than its Scandinavian neighbors Denmark (which has reported 621 deaths) and Norway, which has seen 256 deaths so far. Neighboring Finland has also seen a far lower death toll, with 333 deaths to date. Although it should be noted that Sweden has roughly twice the number of inhabitants than its neighbors, with around 10 million people.
The police have busted an inter-state drug-peddling racket, seized brown sugar worth 1.46 crore, recovered an automatic pistol, two magazines from an employee of the Lokayukta office in Chhattisgarhs Mahasamund district, who has been arrested, the officials said on Thursday.

The arms and ammunition were recovered from the arrested accuseds possession, they added.

The arrested accused, identified as Shankar Lal Vaishnav, is a Group-D employee, who was posted at Lokayukta office in Raipur. He was arrested from Ghodari chowk on NH (national highway)-53 on Wednesday evening, said Prafull Thakur, superintendent of police (SP), Mahasamund.

Vaishnav, a native of Jodhpur in Rajasthan, stays at Kashiram Nagar, Raipur, the police said.

He has been booked under the relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and the Arms Act, 1959, the police said,

Vaishnav was allegedly looking for customers to sell the contraband drugs in Mahasamund, when the police arrested him.

Vaishnav was found to be carrying 730 grams of brown sugar on him, when he was arrested, the SP said.

The brown sugar is suspected to be smuggled from Pakistan via Rajasthan. Another person is likely to be involved in the drug-smuggling racket. Vaishnav, too, has confessed to his Pakistan links, the SP added.

Chhattisgarh Police authorities, who are interrogating Vaishnav, will hand him over to the states Anti-terrorist Squad (ATS) for further investigation in the case.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ritesh Mishra State Correspondent for Chhattisgarh. Reports Maoism, Politics, Mining and important developments from the state. Covered all sorts of extremism in Central India. Reported from Madhya Pradesh for eight years. ...view detail
Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) - Congolese businessmen, grouped within the Collective of Congo's Operators (COPECO), on Wednesday asked the government to start paying the domestic commercial debt for the recovery of the national economy
By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijans Labor and Social Protection of Population Minister Sahil Babayev and the United Arab Emirates Ambassador Mohamed Ahmed Hamil Al Qubaisi have discussed cooperation in the areas of labor, employment and social protection in a video conference held on August 13, the ministrys press service has reported.

Addressing the meeting, Babayev said that Azerbaijan attaches great importance to development of relations with Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates, which are historically connected with religious and cultural roots, as well as expansion of cooperation in various spheres.

Babayev talked of achievements of Azerbaijans socio-economic policies, noting that the main direction of the countrys policy is to ensure the welfare of citizens.

He noted the steps taken to strengthen social protection, economic and social support measures implemented in the country during the pandemic, reforms in the field of labor, employment and social protection in recent years.

Moreover, the minister stated the positive results achieved in improving public social services by applying innovative solutions and building them according to the principle of citizens satisfaction.

Touching upon Armenias policy of aggression against Azerbaijan, Babayev thanked the United Arab Emirates for supporting Bakus fair position on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in line with the international law. In addition, he expressed gratitude to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for banning its citizens from visiting Azerbaijans occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region for political reasons as of June 2018.

In turn, Ambassador Qubaisi noted that the United Arab Emirates fully supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. He expressed the United Arab Emirates interest in developing and expanding bilateral relations with Azerbaijan, especially in the field of labor and social protection.

High on the agenda of the meeting was also the International Labor Centre in Baku that will house the headquarters of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

The sides discussed the creation of legal base for the development of bilateral relations in field of labor and social protection, strengthening efforts in this direction and future cooperation.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Dublin, Aug. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Incontinence and Ostomy Care Global Market - Forecast to 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

An increase in an aging population, increased utilization of the various incontinence and ostomy care products for the management or treatment of different types of incontinence and ostomy surgeries among patients, a growing inclination towards technologically advanced incontinence and ostomy care products with better therapeutic outcomes and also increasing awareness about the disease and the availability of the wide varieties of products to manage or treat the disease conditions are fuellng growth in the incontinence and ostomy care global market.

The global incontinence and ostomy care global market is expected to reach $24,577.9 million by 2026 growing at a mid single digit from 2019 to 2026, due to an increase in the population prone to aging related medical conditions, a growing prevalence of medical conditions such as women's health related conditions (e.g. childbirth, menopause), inflammatory bowel diseases (crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis), neurological diseases (multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease), oncology (colorectal and prostate cancer) and others diseases.



In addition, increasing awareness & acceptance of the condition of incontinence & ostomy, growing economies and increasing demand for better healthcare facilities in emerging markets is driving the market forward.



The incontinence and ostomy market is segmented by product, utility, application, end-user and geography.



Based on product type, the incontinence and ostomy care global market is segmented into incontinence and ostomy care. The incontinence care segment is the largest and fastest growing product segment and is expected to grow at a mid single digit CAGR from 2019 to 2026.

Based on disease type, the incontinence care market is classified into urinary incontinence and fecal incontinence. Urinary incontinence accounted for the largest and fastest growing segment and is expected to grow at a mid single digit CAGR from 2019 to 2026.

Based on product type, the incontinence care market is segment into disposables and implantable device. Among these segments, the disposables segment accounted for the largest revenue in 2019 and it is expected to grow at a mid single digit CAGR from 2019 to 2026. Implant devices are the fastest growing segment at a high single digit CAGR from 2019 to 2026.

In the disposable global market by type, the adult diapers segment holds the highest revenue in 2019 and it is expected to grow at a mid single digit from 2019 to 2026. Incontinence Catheter is the fastest growing segment at a mid single digit CAGR from 2019 to 2026. Among the overall adult diaper market by type, the underwear & briefs segment holds the highest revenue in 2019 and it is expected to grow at a mid single digit CAGR from 2019 to 2026. Pads & Guards is the fastest growing segment at a mid single digit CAGR from 2019 to 2026.

In the implant devices by product type, the Sacral Nerve Stimulation (SNS) segment holds the highest revenue in 2019 and it is expected to grow at a mid single digit CAGR from 2019 to 2026.

Based on utility, the incontinence and ostomy care global market is segmented into security & leakage control, protection & cleansing, odor control and irrigation products. The Security & Leakage control segment is the largest and fastest growing segment and expected to grow at mid single digit CAGR from 2019 to 2026, due to increasing use of security and leakage control devices for incontinence and stoma management and increasing technological advancement in these devices to increase efficiency.

Based on application, the incontinence and ostomy global market is segmented into women's health related, neurological conditions, oncology, urinogenital diseases, GI Tract diseases and others. The women's health related segment accounted for the largest revenue in 2019 and is expected to grow at mid single digit CAGR from 2019 to 2026. The oncology segment is the fastest growing segment and is projected to grow at mid single digit CAGR from 2019 to 2026 due to increases in the prevalence of prostate, colorectal and bladder cancers.

Based on end-users, the market has been segmented into hospitals, home care, and others that consist of clinics and research institutes. Homecare accounted for the largest revenue in 2019 and it expected to grow at mid single digit CAGR from 2019 to 2026 due to the availability of better and technologically advanced personalized incontinence and stoma management products. Hospitals is the fastest growing segment and is projected to grow at a mid single digit CAGR from 2019 to 2026 due to increasing availability of various advanced minimally invasive treatments.

Based on region, the market is segmented into North America (U.S. and Rest of North America), Europe (Germany, France, U.K and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (Japan, China, India, and Rest of APAC) and Rest of the world (Brazil, Rest of Latin America and Middle East & Africa). Europe accounted for the largest revenue in 2019 and is expected to growing at a low single digit CAGR from 2019 to 2026 due to the increasing prevalence of targeted disease in the region, a growing geriatric population, increasing penetration and adoption of advanced products and increasing R&D spending for developing innovative and technologically advanced products.

Asia-Pacific is the fastest growing region and is expected to grow at a high single digit CAGR from 2019 to 2026 due to an increasing geriatric population, increasing demand for better healthcare facilities, increasing penetration of reimbursement schemes in developing countries, growing demand for better healthcare facilities from the population in the region and growing economies of the region, availability of various kinds of incontinence and ostomy management products and increasing medical tourism prospects in the region.

Some of the major players in the incontinence and ostomy care market include Essity AB (Sweden), Coloplast A/S (Denmark), Kimberly-Clark Corporation (U.S.), Unicharm Corporation (Japan), ConvaTec Group plc (U.K.), B. Braun Melsungen AG (Germany), Medtronic plc (Ireland), Ontex (Belgium), Paul Hartmann AG (Germany), Procter & Gamble Company (U.S.), Hollister Incorporated (U.S.), Salts Healthcare (U.K.), First Quality Enterprises, Inc. (U.S.), Abena A/S (Denmark), Becton, Dickinson and Company (U.S.), Medline Industries, Inc., (U.S.), Domtar Corporation (U.S.) and others.

Key Topics Covered

1 Executive Summary

2 Introduction

3 Market Analysis

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Market Segmentation

3.3 Factors Influencing Market

3.3.1 Drivers and Opportunities

3.3.1.1 Increase in Aging Population

3.3.1.2 Development of Innovative and Personalized Products

3.3.1.3 Increase in Awareness and Acceptance

3.3.1.4 Increase in Prevalence of Chronic Diseases

3.3.2 Restraints and Threats

3.3.2.1 Environment and Disposal Concerns

3.3.2.2 Low Cost Manufactures

3.3.2.3 Alternative Medical Treatment

3.3.2.4 Limited Reimbursement

3.4 Regulatory Affairs

3.4.1.1 ISO 9001: 2015 Quality Management System

3.4.1.2 ISO 13485 Medical Devices

3.4.1.3 ISO 10993 Biological Evaluation of Medical Devices

3.4.1.4 ISO 14971 Risk Management of Medical Devices

3.4.1.5 IEC 60601-1 Medical Electrical Equipment Standard

3.4.1.6 IEC 60601-1-11 Home Care Safety

3.4.2 U.S.

3.4.3 Europe

3.4.4 Japan

3.4.5 China

3.4.6 India

3.5 Patent Analysis

3.6 Technological Advancements

3.6.1 Smart Diapers

3.6.2 Smart Bags

3.6.3 Wearble Diaper Free Devices (Dfree)

3.6.4 Wearble Pelvic Floor Muscle Stimulation Devices

3.6.5 Advancements in Biomaterials

3.6.6 Increased Absorbence and Antibacterial Solutions

3.6.7 Moldable Technology

3.6.8 Next Generation Ostomy Implants

3.7 Porter's Five Force Analysis

3.8 Supply Chain Analysis

3.9 Reimbursement Scenario

3.10 Pipeline Analysis

3.11 Incontinence and Ostomy Care Market Penetration, Prevalence and Opportunity

3.11.1 Adult Diapers Market Penetration, Prevalence and Opportunity

3.11.2 Ostomy Market Penetration, Prevalence and Opportunity

3.12 Market Share Analysis by Major Players

3.12.1 Incontinence and Ostomy Care Global Market Share Analysis

3.12.2 Incontinence Care Global Market Share Analysis

3.12.3 Ostomy Care Global Market Share Analysis

3.12.4 Adult Diapers Global Market Share Analysis

3.12.4.1 North America Adult Diapers Market Share Analysis

3.12.4.2 Europe Adult Diapers Market Share Analysis

3.12.4.3 Asia-Pacific Adult Diapers Market Share Analysis

3.12.4.4 Rest of the World Adult Diapers Market Share Analysis

3.13 Incontinence and Ostomy Care Company Comparison Table by Product Type, Product Name and Application

4 Incontinence and Ostomy Care Global Market, By Product

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Incontinence Care

4.3 Ostomy Care

5 Incontinence and Ostomy Care Global Market, By Utility

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Security and Leakage Control

5.3 Odor Control

5.4 Protection and Cleansing

5.5 Irrigation Products

6 Incontinence and Ostomy Care Global Market, By Application

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Women Health Related

6.3 GI Tract Diseases

6.4 Oncology

6.5 Neurological Conditions

6.6 Urinogenital Diseases

6.7 Other Diseases

7 Incontinence and Ostomy Care Global Market, By End-User

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Hospitals

7.3 Homecare

7.4 Other End-User

8 Regional Analysis

8.1 Introduction

8.2 North America

8.3 Europe

8.4 APAC

8.5 RoW

9 Competitive Landscape

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Acquisitions and Partnerships

9.3 Product Launches

9.4 Product Approvals

9.5 Others

10 Major Companies Profiled

10.1 Coloplast A/S

10.1.1 Overview

10.1.2 Financials

10.1.3 Product Portfolio

10.1.4 Key Developments

10.1.5 Business Strategy

10.1.6 Swot Analysis

10.2 Convatec Group PLC

10.3 Domtar Corporation

10.4 Essity Aktiebolag

10.5 Hollister Incorporated

10.6 Kimberly-Clark Corporation

10.7 Medtronic PLC

10.8 Ontex

10.9 Paul Hartmann AG

10.10 Unicharm Corporation

Companies Mentioned

3M

11 Health and Technologies Limited

A.M.I. GmbH

Abena AS

Adapta Medical, Inc.

Affluent Medical SA

ALBAAD Massuot Yitzhak LTD

ALCARE Co., LTD

AmeriDerm Laboratories, LTD

Axonics Modulation Technologies, Inc.

B. Braun Melsungen Ag

Becton, Dickinson And Company

Betatech Medical

Birchwood Laboratories LLC

Bluewind Medical

Boston Scientific

Bray Group LTD

Caldera Medical Inc.

Care Corporation

Changzhou Medical Appliances General Factory co., LTD

Chiaus (Fujian) Industrial Development Co., LTD

CL Medical

Coloplas A/S

ConvaTec Group Plc

Cousin Biotech

Cymed Ostomy Co

Cardinal Health, Inc.

Cymed Ostomy Co

Daio Paper Corporation

Dipro Medical Devices S.R.L.

Domtar Corporation

Drylock Technologies

Elidah, Inc.

Essity AB

Eurofil Srl

Femeda LTD

First Quality Enterprises, Inc.

Flat-D Innovations Inc.

Flexicare Medical LTD

Flexiprobe LTD.

GT Urological LLC

Helioscopie

Hengan International

Hollister Incorporated

Hunter Urology

InControl Medical, LLC

Implantica Trading Ag

Johnson & Johnson (Ethicon)

Kamal healthcare products private limited

Kimberly-Clark Corporation

LABORIE Medical Technologies

MacGregor Healthcare LTD

Marlen Manufacturing & Development Co.

MedGyn Products Inc.

Mediplus LTD.

Medtronic, Plc

Mega disposables S.A.

Nobel Hygiene Limited

Nu-Hope Labs

OakMed LTD

Ontex

Ostofresh

Ostomy Essentials

Oxmed International

Ostoform LTD.

Ostomycure AS

Paul Hartmann AG

Perfect Choice Medical Technologies

Principle Business Enterprises

Procter & Gamble Company

Resilia Medical Solutions

SAEHAN Co., LTD.

Safe N Simple LLC

Salts Healthcare

Securi-T

Simavita Limited

Sterimed Medical Devices Pvt. LTD

TG Eakin Limited

THT Bio-science group

Tilla Care LTD.

Torbot Group Inc.

TG Eakin Limited

THT Bio-science group

Na'Scent

Trio Healthcare LTD.

Triple W

TZMO SA

Unicharm Corporation

Unique Wellness

Uriclak

Urocare Products Inc

Welland Medical LTD

Wiesner Healthcare Innovation LLC

Zephyr Surgical Implants

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/fe9dbu

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Just one year shy of New Orleans tercentennial, in 2017 then-Mayor Mitch Landrieu delivered a poignant speech explaining the reasoning behind the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee. The likeness was the last of four Confederate monuments taken down after multiple lawsuits and heated protests.

The Confederate iconography fell as the Big Easy was grappling with how it wanted to define itself in the aftermath of a series of heavy blows, both natural and financial, including the devastating Hurricane Katrina, the BP oil spill and the Great Recession.

Amid the rebuilding process, New Orleans had the opportunity to confront its racist past and decide how it would look over the next 300 years.

It was time for choosing, Landrieu said, to actually make this the city we always should have been, had we gotten it right in the first place. We should stop for a moment and ask ourselves, at this point in our history  if presented with the opportunity to build monuments that told our story or to curate these particular spaces, would these monuments be what we want the world to see? Is this really our story? No, it wasnt for New Orleans. And it shouldnt be for Richmond.

Nearly all of Richmonds public monuments paying tribute to the heroes of the Lost Cause no longer stand, removed by the city or forcibly toppled since protests erupted after the Memorial Day brutal killing of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis.

What message does Richmond want to impart through its public spaces, especially as it approaches its 300th anniversary in 2037?

While the four years Richmond served as the capital of the Confederacy undeniably are part of its history, they shouldnt define the city.

Across the state and nation, these divisive symbols  whether in the form of bronze, building signage or street names  now are being shelved 155 years after Lee surrendered to Union forces at Appomattox Court House.

After years of emotional debate, the Hanover County School Board finally listened and dropped the contentious names of Lee-Davis High School and Stonewall Jackson Middle School. Recently, at the order of House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax, a statue of Lee and busts portraying Rebel leaders  including Confederate President Jefferson Davis  were removed from the old House chamber inside the Virginia State Capitol.

How does Richmond, looking ahead into the 21st century, want to tell its story?

Was the violent toppling of statues the best way to remove them? No.

Is it time for the community to come together and create a unifying vision for the citys public spaces, tapping into the deep creativity of Richmonds vibrant cultural and educational institutions? Yes.

Symbols carry powerful messages. This isnt just about re-envisioning one grand boulevard in the city. This isnt about erasing history. Its about providing a full narrative of the capital citys storied past and how it wants to be perceived. What does Richmond want to be?

The removal of these symbols of pain and oppression hasnt resolved the citys many daunting challenges, chief among them schools, affordable housing and public safety. How will the city use this opportunity to create unity and focus on these pressing problems?

As Landrieu presciently said three years ago, If we take these statues down and dont change to become a more open and inclusive society, this would have all been in vain.

We agree, and hope Richmond and the community step up and create meaningful change for the better.

Richmond Times-Dispatch
MAPUTO : Islamist militants occupied a key port in gas-rich northern Mozambique on Wednesday following days of attacks claimed by an Islamic State-affiliated group, a military source and local media said.

"The port of Mocimboa da Praia was captured by the terrorists at dawn," the Moz24Horas website reported, while a military source told AFP that the small town and its port had "fallen".

The assault is the latest in an intensifying insurgency in the country's north since 2017 which has killed more than 1,000 people and complicated plans to develop its offshore gas reserves.

Mozambique's defence forces (FDS) confirmed that "terrorists" had launched "sequenced attacks" on several villages surrounding the port over the past week in an attempt to occupy the town.

"At the moment, there are ongoing actions to neutralise the terrorists that are using populations in the affected areas as shields," the FDS said in a statement.

Mocimboa da Praia lies less than 80 kilometres (50 miles) south of Afungi peninsula where a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, one of Africa's biggest single investment projects, is located.

The port is currently a major traffic hub for the gas project.

The military source said that during Wednesday's assault a rocket-propelled grenade sank a boat owned by former president Armando Guebuza.

"The situation is complicated," the source said.

Under Guebuza, Mozambique secretly borrowed about $2 billion from Credit Suisse and Russia's VTB Bank to finance maritime surveillance and buy military and tuna fishing vessels from Privinvest in 2013 and 2014.

But the government only disclosed the debt in 2016 -- a development that plunged the poor, donor-dependent southern African country into its worst-ever financial crisis.

Attacks in the northern region have already killed at least 1,300 people, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED).

Displaced people number more than 250,000, according to aid organisations working locally.

In its latest weekly report released on Wednesday, ACLED said "insurgents and government security forces have been in more or less constant running battles in the area" for the past week.

The attacks started in 2017 in Mocimboa da Praia and have since spread to massive swathes of Cabo Delgado province.

The latest attack -- the third on the town this year -- was claimed by the Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP).

The IS-affiliated group has the stated goal of establishing a caliphate in the region.

ISCAP has claimed several attacks since June 2019 via social media, often posting images of slain soldiers and seized weapons.

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JERUSALEM - Israels agreement to establish diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates marks a watershed moment in its relations with Arab countries, but the Palestinians say it puts a just resolution of the Middle East conflict even farther out of reach.

The UAE presented its decision to upgrade longstanding ties to Israel as a way of encouraging peace efforts by taking Israels planned annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank off the table, something Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu swiftly rebuffed by insisting the pause was temporary.

From the Palestinian perspective, the UAE not only failed to stop annexation, which would dash any remaining hopes of establishing a viable, independent state. It also undermined an Arab consensus that recognition of Israel only come in return for concessions in peace talks  a rare source of leverage for the Palestinians.

I never expected this poison dagger to come from an Arab country, Saeb Erekat, a senior Palestinian official and veteran negotiator said Friday. You are rewarding aggression. ... You have destroyed, with this move, any possibility of peace between Palestinians and Israelis.

President Donald Trump has presented the U.S.-brokered agreement as a major diplomatic achievement and said he expects more Arab and Muslim countries to follow suit. Israel has quietly cultivated ties with the UAE and other Gulf countries for several years as they have confronted a shared enemy in Iran.

In Israel, the agreement has renewed long-standing hopes for normal relations with its Arab neighbours. Netanyahu has long insisted, contrary to generations of failed peace negotiators, that Israel can enjoy such ties without resolving its conflict with the Palestinians. For now, he seems to have been proven right.

Its hard to claim right now that the 53-year-old occupation is unsustainable when Netanyahu has just proved that not only is it sustainable, but Israel can improve its ties with the Arab world, openly, with the occupation still going, wrote Anshel Pfeffer, a columnist for Israels Haaretz newspaper.

But the Middle East conflict was never between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, which have fought no wars and share no borders. And the nature of the agreement will likely force the Palestinians to harden their stance and redouble their efforts to isolate Israel.

The Palestinian Authority issued a scathing statement in response to the move, calling it a betrayal of Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Palestinian cause, language clearly aimed at inflaming Arab and Muslim sentiment worldwide.

The Palestinians have called for an urgent meeting of the Arab League and the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation to condemn the move. But in those forums they will be pitted against the oil-rich UAE, which has deep pockets, allies across the region and even more influence in Washington following the agreement with Israel.

The international campaign is meant to isolate the Emiratis so that other countries will not take the same step, said Ibrahim Dalalsha, a Palestinian analyst. Whether it will succeed in this or not, it remains to be seen.

Iran and Turkey lashed out at the UAE, a regional rival, accusing it of betraying the Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims.

But the agreement, and the decision to pause annexation, was welcomed by much of the international community, including Egypt and the Gulf Arab nations of Bahrain and Oman. Many countries expressed hope it would revive the peace process.

The Palestinians want an independent state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza, areas seized by Israel in the 1967 war. Trumps plan would allow Israel to keep nearly all of east Jerusalem, including holy sites sacred to Christians, Jews and Muslims, and annex up to a third of the West Bank. The Palestinians have angrily rejected the proposal.

Germanys Foreign Minister Heiko Maas reiterated his countrys support for a two-state solution when he called to congratulate Israel on the historic agreement with the UAE.

We stand by our position that only a negotiated two-state solution can bring lasting peace to the Middle East, Maas said in a statement. Together with our European partners and the region we have campaigned intensively in past months against an annexation and for the resumption of direct negotiations. France and Italy issued similar statements.

That strikes many Palestinians as a return to a similarly unbearable status quo, in which Israel rules the West Bank and expands Jewish settlements while the international community calls for peace talks that never materialize.

Any serious negotiations, or lasting solution to the conflict, will require the Palestinians, who feel they have been brushed aside.

Were now in a situation where everybody is talking about us and no one is talking to us, said Diana Buttu, a former legal adviser to the Palestinian Authority. Its a colonial approach, she said, as though we are just some problem that needs to be addressed without ever speaking to us.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas suspended all contacts with the U.S. after it recognized disputed Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in 2017. In May, the Palestinians cut all ties with Israel, including security co-ordination, in response to the threat of annexation, and said they would no longer abide by any past agreements with Israel or the United States.

In recent weeks, as the threat of annexation faded amid internal political disputes in Israel, some had speculated the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority would quietly back down, if only to restore the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes collected by Israel.

Now, in the wake of the UAE agreement, many say thats out of the question.

This is not a way for them to climb down from the tree, Buttu said. Its quite the opposite, I think it keeps them there.

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KYODO NEWS - Aug 13, 2020 - 13:11 | All, Japan

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that the United States views the threat posed by China as "much more difficult" to counter than that presented by the Soviet Union during the Cold War, citing Beijing's economic clout among other factors.

Pompeo made the remarks in Prague, where he again called on like-minded countries to join U.S. efforts to confront the Chinese Communist Party, which he says is leveraging "economic power to coerce countries," denying freedom to the people of Hong Kong and attempting to dominate the South China Sea.

But while the increasing U.S.-China rivalry has raised concerns about the emergence of a new Cold War, Pompeo said the current situation "isn't Cold War 2.0."

"The challenge of resisting the CCP threat is in some ways much more difficult. That's because the CCP is already enmeshed in our economies, in our politics, in our societies in ways the Soviet Union never was," he added, using the acronym of the Chinese Communist Party.

"And Beijing is not likely to change course in the near future, although one lives in hope."

Last month, Pompeo made a major speech on China policy and declared an end to what he called his country's decades-old "blind engagement" with Beijing.

Pompeo also called on other countries to work together to counter the threat of a "new tyranny" from the Communist country.

Related coverage:

Trump intensifies offensive against China, threatening major apps ban

China to penalize U.S. lawmakers over Hong Kong as retaliation

U.S. health chief slams China, praises Taiwan during historic visit
Ex On The Beach contestants haven't held back in previous series as they got to know each on a very intimate level while being filmed for national television.

However for the upcoming series bosses have apparently banned any form of physical contact in accordance with new social distancing guidelines.

The popular dating show with a twist has previously been filmed in exotic locations such as Bali and Cancun, however this year it will reportedly be shot in London.

Passionate: Ex On The Beach bosses have apparently banned any form of physical contact in accordance with new social distancing guidelines

Although sex and snogging are commonplace on the show, they have now had to be banned in order for filming to go ahead amid the coronavirus pandemic.

A source told The Sun: 'MTV had to work out what a socially distanced EOTB would look like, so it's now a 'table of terror' style dating show - where the cast go on dates but their ex can show up at any time and interrupt the date.

'It's filming in London and any kind of fluid swapping will be discouraged for distancing reasons.

'It's going to be different but still as dramatic as the previous series.'

Playing it safe! Although sex and snogging are commonplace on the show, they have now had to be banned in order for filming to go ahead amid the coronavirus pandemic

While the contestants may not be able to get physical, viewers at home will soon see the return of kissing on-screen following the release of Covid-safe guidelines.

Television viewers will see the return of kissing and sex scenes on screen following the release of legislation last month.

The latest guidance published by broadcasters allows touching and sees the introduction of swab testing stars and taking temperatures on set in a bid to avoid spreading the virus.

As the pandemic struck across the country, several programmes such as Peaky Blinders and Line of Duty were forced to halt their filming and the future of soap operas was in jeopardy.

Sun-soaked: The popular dating show with a twist has previously been filmed in exotic locations such as Bali and Cancun, however this year it will reportedly be shot in London

In order to continue production, Coronation Street, which is filmed six to eight weeks in advance, placed a ban on kissing scenes between the cast and scenes involving them were rewritten before production was completely stopped in March as a result of the nation-wide lockdown.

But now programmes can return to a form of normality as new guidance released by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and other broadcasters allows cast members to be in close proximity for scenes if all other options have been exhausted.

Those who work on screen together will be placed in 'close contact cohorts' to limit contact.

A source told The Sun : 'MTV had to work out what a socially distanced EOTB would look like, so it's now a 'table of terror' style dating show'

They will be asked to do a swab test before filming begins and must remain a safe social distance apart while they wait for their results.

Those whose tests come back negative for coronavirus will be then be allowed on set to film, with their temperatures being taken every day.

To maintain control of a possible spread, the cast members will be retested at least once a week for the virus and will be categorised with coloured wristbands.

If anyone shows any signs of the virus the whole cast will be required to self-isolate and get a test.

As a reported in the Telegraph, a BBC spokesperson said: 'Getting TV production back up and running safely is our priority. The BBC has already produced popular shows during lockdown following social distancing - from Have I Got News For You to Talking Heads.

Snogging: 'It's filming in London and any kind of fluid swapping will be discouraged for distancing reasons'

'But if we are to get back to producing the range and quality of programmes that the public love which reflect real life interactions, we are going to need to film scenes and shows where people are closer than two metres apart.'

The broadcasting guidelines may also be applied to other programmes including Strictly Come Dancing, which will be a shorter series this year.

Some soap operas, including Eastenders and Coronation Street, returned to filming last month but were still required to maintain a two-metre distance.

The latest guidance does not involve programmes produced in Wales which has its own guidance.

Since the beginning of the pandemic several actors, including Hollywood stars, have expressed their concerns about filming scenes involving kissing or intimacy in future projects once social distancing was lifted.
The Maharashtra government on Thursday announced a toll-tax waiver, akin to previous years, for the public heading towards the Konkan region during the annual Ganesh Utsav in their private vehicles.

Minister for Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) Eknath Shinde announced that the toll-tax waiver would kick in two days prior to the Ganesh Utsav, which would be celebrated from August 22, and the relief would be in place two days after the 10-day festival ends.

Shinde held a meeting via video-conference  owing to the raging coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak  with the minister of state for home Shambhuraj Desai and other state officials to finalise the toll-tax waiver.

Motorists will have to go to their local police station and register their details, including name, address, vehicle owners name, vehicle registration number, and the date of journey in a bid to avail of the toll-tax waiver that will be granted by the issuance of a sticker.

Every year, thousands of people, who belong to Maharashtras Konkan region, visit their villages and towns in Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts for the Ganpati festival.

People heading to Konkan either use the Mumbai-Goa highway (National Highway-66) or go via the Mumbai Pune Expressway, or Pune-Kolhapur highway, which is a toll stretch.

The total toll tax from Mumbai to Konkan is estimated to be between 500 and 600, depending on the type of vehicle.

Shinde tweeted after the meeting that like previous years the state government has decided to waive off the toll tax.

In light of the Covid-19 outbreak, those travelling to Konkan will need to produce a Covid-19 negative report and an e-pass to travel, he tweeted.

The state government has also pressed into service more Maharashtra State Transport Road Corporation (MRSTC) buses to ferry people to Konkan during the festival.

Passengers travelling via MRSTC buses will not need an e-pass, but will mandatorily need to undergo a Covid-19 test 48 hours prior to their journey.

Only those whose Covid-19 test results come negative will be allowed to travel, as per the guidelines of the state government.

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BERLIN (Reuters) - Daimler has reached an agreement to settle U.S. proceedings relating to investigations into software to cheat diesel emissions tests that will result in costs of about $1.5 billion, the German carmaker said on Thursday.

The maker of Mercedes-Benz cars said it expects an impact on its free cash flow over the next three years as a result, with the main impact within the next 12 months.

"With the proposed settlements, the company takes an

important step towards legal certainty with respect to various diesel proceedings in the United States," it said in a statement.

German carmakers, among the global leaders in diesel technology, have been caught in the crosshairs of courts and regulators after Volkswagen admitted in 2015 to using engine control devices to cheat U.S. diesel emission tests.

The scandal triggered a global backlash against diesel vehicles that so far has cost VW 30 billion euros ($35.45 billion) in fines, penalties, vehicle buyback costs and other settlements.

In January, Daimler warned it faced further charges of up to 1.5 billion euros related to diesel pollution.

On Thursday, the company said it has made sufficient provisions for the expected cost of the settlements.

It expects to pay about $700 million to settle a class action lawsuit, including the court's anticipated award of attorney's fees and costs. It also expects a mid three-digit-million amount in euros for the settlements.

Investors in Germany are also suing Daimler for $1 billion, accusing it of concealing the use of emissions cheating software. Daimler denies the allegations.

(Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Susan Fenton and David Evans)
18th Covid-19 patient dies, dozens in critical condition

An 18th Covid-19 related death was recorded in Vietnam on Thursday morning, while dozens of other patients are in critical condition according to the Ministry of Health.



On Wednesday afternoon, the Sub-committee on Treatment at the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 held an online consultation on Covid-19 patients being on the edge of fatality. There were 15 patients in critical cases as of Wednesday afternoon, all with serious underlying issues.





The online consultation held on Wednesday afternoon.



These people often have 3-4 underlying diseases such as heart problems, diabetes and renal failure. They all have to use ventilators and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).



Five among them are staying at Hue Central Hospital, two at Danang Lung and Respiratory Diseases Hospital, five at Hoa Vang Medical Central in Thua Thien-Hue Province and two at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi.



At the consultation, experts discussed the best treatment regimens for the patients.



Danang Hospital has been asked to take measures to ensure hygiene for the working environment to avoid cross-infection.



According to the experts, around 10% of medical staff globally have been infected by Covid-19. However, to date in Vietnam, only some 20 medical staff have contracted the virus.



The hospital also needs to make preparations to receive patients again when being allowed.



Dr Luong Ngoc Khue, head of Department for Medical Examination and Treatment, said that hospitals should send their staff to hospitals which have good infection control to learn from experience.



On Thursday morning, the Ministry of Health announced the 18th death connected to Covid-19, a 52-year-old woman in Danang Citys Cam Le District. She also suffered from kidney failure, diabetes and high blood pressure.



Earlier, she stayed at Danang Hospital and then tested positive for the virus. On August 4, she was moved to Hoa Vang Districts Medical Centre in the state of faint and high fever. Since then, her condition got much worse and she died at 7 pm on Wednesday.
As the possibility of government regulation of large digital platforms picks up steam, the debate has begun to coalesce around a complex question: Is Big Tech fair?

The question, usually in response to accusations that digital platforms suppress conservative viewpoints, dominated last months House Judiciary Committee hearing featuring the CEOs of Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Google. It is the social-media version of the debate now dominating journalism, centering on objectivity and whether reporters have an obligation to surface opposing views, even if they are false or objectionable.

As last weeks hearing kicked off, President Trump tweeted, If Congress doesnt bring fairness to Big Tech . . . Ill do it myself with Executive Orders. Indeed, in late May, the White House issued an executive order proposing to regulate social media platforms; in advance of that order, Trump tweeted his promise to bring FAIRNESS (the caps are his) to social media.

NEW AT CJR: The campaign begins (again)

The presidents repeated demands for fairness bring to mind a long gone, but not forgotten, regulation  the Fairness Doctrine. First introduced by the Federal Communications Commission in 1949, the Fairness Doctrine required broadcasters to cover controversial issues of public importanceand, in so doing, provide contrasting views on those issues. The Fairness Doctrine reflected policymakers concerns about the influence potential of broadcasting given its capacity for widespread and immediate reach, which extended well beyond the capacity of other media at the time. Within this context, policymakers were particularly concerned that the medium expose listeners and viewers to a diversity of viewpoints. These concerns echo in todays environment of digital platforms with massive audience reach. The doctrine required that broadcasters provide fair and balanced presentation of all public issues. (This is where Fox News got the phrase.) Individuals or organizations could file Fairness Doctrine complaints that broadcasters would then need to address in their newscasts.

The mechanics of applying the Fairness Doctrine to newscasts are obviously very different from applying them to social media platforms with millions of users. Everyones news feed is essentially its own newscast, with the platforms curation algorithms (and, in some cases, actual humans) making decisions about what doesand what does notshow up in your feed, and in what order. The differences in scale and scope for implementing a Fairness Doctrine for social media platforms are monumental.

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It is also important to remember that the Fairness Doctrine applied only to radio and television broadcasters. Subsequent arguments that the Fairness Doctrine should also apply to newspapers were rejected by the Supreme Court as a violation of publishers First Amendment rights. The reason that the Supreme Court considered the Fairness Doctrine constitutional in the broadcast context, but not in the context of other media, has to do with the fact that broadcasters are licensees of a scarce public resourcethe broadcast spectrum. Broadcasters privileged access to this public resource essentially means that they are public trustees who must, as a quid pro quo for access to the spectrum, abide by some public interest obligations. These public interest obligations have, in addition to the Fairness Doctrine, included requirements such as providing minimum levels of educational childrens programming and providing equal time to political candidates.

Obviously, social media platforms dont utilize the broadcast spectrum. So wheres the quid pro quo? Ive argued elsewhere that one approach to justifying content-based regulation of social media platforms is to treat aggregate user data as a publicly held resource, collectively owned in the same way that the public owns the airwaves. This rationale, however, requires a wholesale reconsideration of how we think about property rights in user dataa conversation that does not appear to be going anywhere in this country. Absent that kind of radical rethink of how we treat user data, any efforts by the government to move forward on the executive order and impose any mandates related to fairness and balance are destined to suffer the same fate as efforts to apply the Fairness Doctrine to newspapers.

Its also worth understanding why the FCC decided to eliminate the Fairness Doctrine in 1987. The FCC argued that the doctrine was no longer necessary given the growth in the number of media outlets availablean argument that echoes today amid millions of online voices. This growth facilitated access to a diversity of perspectives in a less heavy-handed way than the Fairness Doctrine. The FCC also argued that the doctrine had unintended, counterproductive consequences. Here, the commission relied on testimonials from broadcasters who stated that the doctrine had a chilling effect on their speech, compelling them to avoid coverage of controversial issues rather than endure the process of responding to the Fairness Doctrine complaints that such coverage generated. From this perspective, the end result of the Fairness Doctrine was less coverage of controversial issues, something that the FCC did not see as in the public interest.

This reasoning has relevance to the executive order and the Congressional investigation at hand. Specifically, the administration is seeking to modify the scope Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects services such as social media platforms from liability for third-party content that they host, while at the same time allowing them to engage in the kind of editorial discretion and content moderation that might otherwise trigger such liability.

Revising or eliminating social media platforms Section 230 immunity could affect platforms in a way that is similar to how the Fairness Doctrine purportedly affected broadcasters. Specifically, these platforms might respond to the alteration or elimination of their immunity by abandoning their content filtering and moderation practices altogether. They may revert to pure common carriers so that they wouldnt be liable for any of the content that they host, in a response similar to how broadcasters abandoned their responsibility to cover controversial issues in order to avoid Fairness Doctrine obligations.

But the biggest problem with the Fairness Doctrine is what it does to our conception of journalism and to the notion of how responsible gatekeeping works. Over the past few years, there has been a substantial amount of criticism heaped upon the news media for engaging in false equivalencegiving equal attention to competing claims on different sides of the political or ideological spectrum, regardless of the objective validity of the competing claims.

Social media platforms have exhibited a similar tendency to take the position of passive conduits throughout much of their history, though they now seem to be shifting their approach. Many of them are taking more aggressive action against particular categories of misinformation, such as those related to the coronavirus and the 2020 census. And, of course, the May executive order was motivated by Twitters unprecedented action of placing a fact-check alongside President Trumps verifiably false tweet about mail-in ballots and election fraud. Plus, while Mark Zuckerberg appears committed to Facebook remaining a largely laissez faire conduit for political misinformation, the recent protests from Facebooks employees suggest that this position is becoming increasingly unpopular in the tech sector.

But this kind of passivity in the face of falsity is at the heart of the Fairness Doctrine. It literally allowed tobacco companies to counter news reports of research demonstrating that cigarettes caused cancer with the alternativeand falseperspective that there was no meaningful link between smoking and cancer. It also provided a tool for presidential administrations to try to influence news coverage about them. The Johnson and Nixon administrations were particularly fond of using the Fairness Doctrine to try to counteract bad press.

This sort of uncritical, non-evaluative approach to journalismand to online gatekeeping more broadlysimply is not the right path to cultivating an informed citizenry. Institutionalizing such a model puts gatekeepers in the position of legitimizing falsity by presenting it alongside truth. It creates a system where demands of fairness and balance neuter journalists and other gatekeepers abilities (and responsibility) to differentiate fact from fiction. This critical gatekeeping function is more valuable than ever in todays vast and complex information ecosystem, where distinguishing legitimate sources of news and information from illegitimate sources is more challenging for the end user than it has ever been; where efforts by bad actors to manipulate social media platforms have become commonplace and increasingly sophisticated; and where our traditional assumption that a free-flowing marketplace of ideas is the best way of ensuring that truth will win out over falsity may not hold up as well as it once did. Social media platforms are not the passive bulletin boards that the executive order demands them to be; nor should they be. For this reason, more than any other, borrowing from a regulatory intervention developed for the media environment of 1949 seems particularly dangerous today.

RECENTLY: Consolidations come at a cost

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Philip M. Napoli Philip M. Napoli is the James R. Shepley Professor of Public Policy at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. He is the author of Social Media and the Public Interest: Media Regulation in the Disinformation Age.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his running mate, Senator Kamala Harris, made their first appearance as a ticket in Wilmington, Delaware. Here are some pictures from the campaign...Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his running mate Senator Kamala Harris arrive to speak at a news conference at Alexis Dupont High School in Wilmington. (Image: AP)
She made a big enough impression on Locklan 'Locky' Gilbert to receive a rose, despite missing the first ceremony on Wednesday night's premiere of The Bachelor.

But it appears that stunning redhead Zoe-Clare McDonald won't be the lucky lady walking away with the hunky adventure guide's heart- and she may have already moved on with another star of the hit franchise.

The 23-year-old beauty stepped out for an intimate date night on Friday with Bachelor in Paradise's 'stage five clinger' Jamie Doran, 40.

Moving on from Locky already? On Friday, Bachelor star Zoe-Clare McDonald headed out for a cosy date night with Bachelor in Paradise's Jamie Doran (Jamie and Zoe-Clare pictured)

The pair looked cosy as they snuggled up close to each other at Mr Percival's bar and restaurant in Brisbane.

Zoe-Clare looked sensational in a racy fitted see-through black knit dress which showed off a hint of her corset underneath.

The sexy outfit included suspenders which peeked out and attached to her stockings, which finished just above her knee flashing a hint of skin.

Hot! The ravishing redhead looked sensational in a racy fitted see-through black knit dress, which showed off a hint of her corset underneath

Zoe-Clare wore her long luscious red locks out in loose curls which she tucked behind her ears and glamorous makeup with a full coverage foundation, smokey eye and soft pink lip.

Fireman Jamie beamed as he accompanied the ravishing reality star out in a smart casual ensemble, including dark jeans, a navy patterned button-up shirt and a denim jacket.

During Wednesday night's premiere, Zoe-Clare was sent into a rage after Areeba Emmanuel, 25, interrupted her discussion with Locky.

Drama: On Wednesday night's premiere of The Bachelor, Zoe-Clare had a meltdown over being 'the only redhead' in the mansion before getting into a fight and mysteriously falling ill

'To me, it's disrespectful. If she wants to act the child, that's fine,' she told producers.

She continued:'I'm the only redhead in the whole entire house... The only colours are blonde or brunette, and then there's me. I think that's exactly why Areeba is targeting me. It's the red hair. It's just...it's not appropriate.'

'What's wrong with a ranga? Yeah. Do you want me to dye my hair every 10 seconds because you don't like my colour? I'm so sorry, but this is natural, guys. It's not going anywhere.'

Intense: Zoe-Clare was sent into a rage after Areeba interrupted her discussion with Locky and later decided to confront her competition (Zoe pictured with Areeba)

Zoe-Clare later fell ill, forcing her to skip the ceremony but Locky had a rose put aside for her.

Last month, Jamie Doran announced his intention to sue Channel 10 over his negative portrayal on Bachelor In Paradise.

The Bachelor continues Thursday at 7.30pm on Channel Ten.
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As of Tuesday, MoU have already been agreed with Albania, Georgia, Jordan, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Ukraine, the Commission said in a press release. Four of them, namely Kosovo, Moldova, North Macedonia and Ukraine, have formally signed the documents.

The money for each partner is linked to specific actions, such as strengthening public finance and the resilience of the financial sector, improving governance and fighting corruption, enhancing social protection and addressing youth unemployment.

The Commission said the agreements were part of a package worth EUR3 billion (US$3.52 billion), which is available to ten enlargement and neighborhood partners. Negotiations of MoU with the remaining two partners, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Tunisia are underway.

"Supporting our neighbors is essential during this time of crisis to keep the entire region stable," said Valdis Dombrovskis, the Commission's executive vice president.

On April 22, when the EU member states were still fighting with the epidemic peaks, the Commission adopted a proposal for a EUR3 billion macro-financial assistance package to the ten partners. The funds will be made available in the form of loans on highly favorable terms to help the partners cover their immediate, urgent financing needs.
As of Tuesday, MoU have already been agreed with Albania, Georgia, Jordan, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Ukraine, the Commission said in a press release. Four of them, namely Kosovo, Moldova, North Macedonia and Ukraine, have formally signed the documents, Xinhua news agency reported.

Brussels, Aug 12 (IANS) The European Union (EU) has agreed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with eight non-EU partners to help their businesses limit the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, the European Commission said.

The money for each partner is linked to specific actions, such as strengthening public finance and the resilience of the financial sector, improving governance and fighting corruption, enhancing social protection and addressing youth unemployment.

The Commission said the agreements were part of a package worth three billion euros (US $3.52 billion), which is available to ten enlargement and neighbourhood partners. Negotiations of MoU with the remaining two partners, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Tunisia are underway.

"Supporting our neighbours is essential during this time of crisis to keep the entire region stable," said Valdis Dombrovskis, the Commission's executive vice president.

On April 22, when the EU member states were still fighting with the epidemic peaks, the Commission adopted a proposal for a three billion-euro macro-financial assistance package to the ten partners. The funds will be made available in the form of loans on highly favourable terms to help the partners cover their immediate, urgent financing needs.

--IANS

rt/
The ex-wife of jailed former Liberian president Charles Taylor, has denounced charges of torture she had faced in the UK as "misinformation and lies" upon her return to Monrovia. Agnes Reeves-Taylor told journalists she had been treated like a "terrorist" while held in London to face the charges, which were dismissed in December last year.

Reeves-Taylor called the press-conference on Monday to set the record straight over the accusations of crimes during the Liberian Civil War which she says she did not commit.

The international war crimes group Civitas Maxima, which provided information that led to the charges, condemned Reeves-Taylor's comments. It said the misinformation and lies of which she spoke included evidence from direct victims and witnesses of her alleged crimes, which in the UK was considered prima facie (legally sufficient) to charge her.

In 2017, Reeves-Taylor was arrested in London based on allegations by the Swiss-based organisation and its Liberian subsidiary Global Justice & Research Project of crimes against humanity during the Liberian conflicts of the 1990s.

She was accused of personally committing seven counts of torture and one count of conspiracy to commit torture during the First Liberian Civil War in 1990 that lead to the death of over 25,000 people.

'Mother and a humanitarian'

I had no military role ever and at no point have I ever engaged in battle, she told the press conference, adding that being Charles Taylor's wife did not automatically make her a war criminal.

I set up a charity called the National Emergency Relief Organization that delivered rice, medical supplies and subsequently coordinated the affairs of the NGOs that came in the country at the time, Reeves-Taylor said.

She said she was disappointed that the London case did not go to trial on grounds that there were over 50 witnesses that were willing to testify on her behalf to expose those who conspired against her.

Story continues

Quest to establish war crimes court

Reeves-Taylor says the decision to establish a war and economic crimes court should have been left with Liberians to decide between retributive and restorative justice.

"Charles Taylor sent me a message when I got out of prison to ask about our two daughters," she said, explaining that his calls were monitored constantly and things could have been misconstrued, so it was best he didnt maintain contact while she was in the UK.

Reeves-Taylor has promised to remain in Liberia and help the government with the country's reconstruction drive. She claims to have a cordial relationship with Jewel Howard-Taylor, another ex-wife of Taylor who doubles as Liberia's Vice-President and standard-bearer of Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Party.

Tamba Forkpah J Johnson, head of the He For She Crusaders, an advocacy group pushing for the war and economic crimes court for Liberia, says Reeves-Taylor is provoking the war victims.

How can her husband be killing Liberians and then serving as a humanitarian? She needs to rethink and ask herself, 'Am I sincere of what I am saying to the world and the Liberian people?'" he told RFI.

'Justice must be served'

Emmon Korlu, now 60, was 36-years-old when a missile landed at her home in central Monrovia, leaving her amputated.

A supporter of the George Weah-led government, she wants a war crimes court established to prosecute warlords and their financiers.

"The scars of war remain fresh on my mind every day when I see my amputated hand. I am not living a normal life. I think those responsible for this must pay the price, she told RFI.
- The government banned the importation of second-hand clothes in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19

- After the government lifted the containment measures, traders asked to be allowed to resume the second-hand clothes business

- Cate Waruguru said the government should give protocols to be followed by mitumba importers

- She argued that the ban had affected many families which were relying on the business

Laikipia Woman Representative Cate Waruguru has called on President Uhuru Kenyatta to review the governments ban on importation of second-hand clothes popularly known as mitumba.

The legislator said the halted importation, which was adopted as part of the COVID-19 containment measures, has hurt many businesses and subsequently households depending on the trade.

READ ALSO: Decomposing body of Suna West MP's brother found in his rental house

Laikipia Woman Representative Cate Waruguru during a past public event. Waruguru wants Uhuru to lift ban on importation of second-hand clothes. Photo: John Papanoo

Source: Original

READ ALSO: Ugandan teenager declares interest to unseat Museveni in presidential race

Hurting hardworking Kenyans

In an interview with TUKO.co.ke, Waruguru appealed to Uhuru to put in place protocols that will see the importation of mitumba clothes which are worn by a large portion of Kenyans is revived.

To revive the economy, the mitumba sector must be considered, supported and allowed to run smoothly. Majority small businesses engage in sale of second-hand clothes. The halted importation is, therefore, hurting this group of hardworking Kenyans, she said.

The government, through the Ministry of Trade temporarily banned the importation of second-hand clothes citing a risk of transmitting COVID-19 from other countries among other issues, a position that was disputed by the traders.

Mitumba sellers are mature and responsible. They need guidelines to contain COVId-19 like other sectors and they will be able to follow them and do business well. Maintaining the ban is punishing thousands of traders, Waruguru stated.

Cate Waruguru said she personally preferred wearing mitumba jeans for her fieldwork. Photo: John Papanoo

Source: Original

READ ALSO: 'Deep State' ndio ilikuokoa kutoka ICC, Atwoli amwambia DP Ruto

Waruguru prefers second-hand jeans

She argued that people wash second-hand clothes before wearing them and that was among key measures of countering COVID-19 spread.

The Ministry of Health should impose the mandatory washing of these clothes as part of the protocols to allow importation and sale of mitumba apparels and footwear. With such guidelines we will be able to have the traders back on their feet at the same time ensuring the people are safe from new infections, added the legislator.

The Woman Rep said she personally prefers second-hand jeans and a continued ban would limit her options as far as upgrading her wardrobe.

I personally like mitumba jeans because they are of good quality and would not like to see them out of the market due to this ban. They are what I wear when I am on the ground meeting my people and doing projects, she lightly stated.

Bundles of second-hand clothes ready for reselling. Photo: The Star

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Mike Sonko to withdraw all court cases against NMS after Uhuru's lecture

Two million livelihoods affected by mitumba ban

Her sentiments came after dealers in second-hand clothes made a similar appeal to the president.

The Mitumba Association of Kenya Chairperson Teresia Njenga in a statement issued a week ago said close to two million livelihoods had been affected by the ban.

"According to the Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey 2015-2016, 51% of Kenyan households bought second-hand clothes and footwear every quarterly. It is estimated from that an average of 6.2 million households bought second hand clothes every quarter in 2019, Njenga said.

Trade Cabinet Secretary Betty Maina recently directed the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) to assess the possibility of lifting the ban without running the risk of importing the disease that has claimed hundreds of Kenyan lives.

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

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Greeces prime minister warmly thanked France for its decision to boost its military presence in the eastern Mediterranean (Greek National Defence/AP)

Greeces prime minister has warmly thanked France for boosting its military presence in the eastern Mediterranean.

It comes as Greek and Turkish warships are closely shadowing each other over a Turkish energy exploration bid in waters Athens claims as its own.

Meanwhile, Turkey accused Greece and the island nation of Cyprus of encroaching on its rights in the Mediterranean.

It has vowed to defend its interests in the region but also called for dialogue to resolve the dispute.

Expand Close French President Emmanuel Macron has been hailed as a true friend of Greece (Daniel Cole/AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp French President Emmanuel Macron has been hailed as a true friend of Greece (Daniel Cole/AP)

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis tweeted that French President Emmanuel Macron is a true friend of Greece and also a fervent protector of European values and international law.

The mounting territorial tension follows Turkeys move to send a seismic research vessel, escorted by warships, into waters between the Greek island of Crete and Cyprus to look for potential offshore gas and oil reserves, following similar discoveries in other parts of the region.

Greece claims part of the area is over its own continental shelf and has demanded the Turkish ships withdraw.

Turkey has countered that it is entitled to conduct research in the area.

Greece placed its military on alert and sent warships to the area off Turkeys southern coast.

Expand Close Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Greece of behaving maliciously (Turkish Presidency/AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Greece of behaving maliciously (Turkish Presidency/AP)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated a call for dialogue and said he would hold talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Council President Charles Michel later on Thursday to discuss the standoff.

The path for a solution in the eastern Mediterranean is dialogue and negotiation, he said during an address to his ruling partys officials.

A formula based on a win-win solution that protects the rights of all can be found if we act with common sense and reason.

Mr Erdogan said Greeces attitude in the Aegean and the Mediterranean is malicious, adding that the Greek island on which Athens bases its continental shelf claim is located just 1.25 miles from the Turkish coast and 369 miles from the Greek mainland.

He said: We dont have designs on anyones rights, but we wont let any country take away our rights.

The Turkish leader also accused France of provoking Greece and Cyprus into taking wrongful steps.

Mr Erdogan later spoke on the phone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has previously interceded to ease similar tensions between Turkey and Greece, and with EU Council President Charles Michel.

Ms Merkel also spoke on the phone with Mr Mitsotakis.

Expand Close A French Tonnerre helicopter carrier is escorted by Greek and French military vessels during a maritime exercise in the eastern Mediterranean (Greek National Defence/AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp A French Tonnerre helicopter carrier is escorted by Greek and French military vessels during a maritime exercise in the eastern Mediterranean (Greek National Defence/AP)

The Greek Defence Ministry said the French frigate Lafayette and the helicopter carrier Tonnerre held joint exercises with four Greek frigates Thursday in the eastern Mediterranean, including in areas Turkey is exploring.

Two French Rafale fighter jets are making a stop at Souda airbase in Crete on Thursday after being previously deployed in Cyprus for an exercise.

The French Defence Ministry said its presence is aiming at reinforcing Frances autonomous assessment of the situation and affirms the countrys attachment to free movement, maritime safety and respect for international law in the Mediterranean Sea.

Mr Macron announced after a phone call with Mr Mitsotakis late Wednesday that he decided to temporarily reinforce the French military presence in the eastern Mediterranean in the coming days, in co-operation with European partners including Greece.
Lebanon's army could use wide powers under a proposed emergency law to crush anti-government protests, activists fear - AFP

Lebanons parliament met on Thursday to debate a state of emergency law that would grant the military sweeping powers to quell unrest following a deadly explosion in Beirut that has reignited angry anti-government protests.

Exceptional powers under the law could be used to end renewed protests demanding the overthrow of a political elite widely blamed for the catastrophic explosion, a human rights group said.

The August 4 blast killed at least 171 people, according to the health ministry, and destroyed an estimated 6,000 buildings in Beirut, further enraging Lebanese already struggling amid a collapsing economy and worsening coronavirus pandemic.

Lebanese security forces deployed heavily in Beirut on Thursday, blocking roads to prevent protesters from reaching a conference centre on the outskirts of the capital where members of parliament met for the first time since last Tuesdays blast.

The government declared a state of emergency the day after the explosion but the measure must be endorsed by parliament to last longer than a week, according to Lebanese law monitor The Legal Agenda.

The state of emergency would allow authorities to crack down on a nationwide street protest movement that re-emerged in the wake of the blast, it said.

Nationwide anti-governments calling for the overthrow of the countrys political elite and sectarian power-sharing system began last October but street protesters had halted due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The law would allow security forces to ban gatherings and allow military courts to prosecute civilians over threats to national security. The military could also raid homes and impose house arrests on anyone suspected of harming security, the monitor said.

Angry protesters have marched nightly in Beirut since Saturday, with security forces firing tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds near the parliament building in downtown.

Many Lebanese blame government incompetence and negligence for the explosion of 2,750 of ammonium nitrate that was stored in a port warehouse for six years, despite repeated warnings to the highest level of government of the danger it posed to Beirut.

Story continues

Prime Minister Hassan Diab and his cabinet resigned on Monday but agreed to stay on in a caretaker capacity during negotiations among political powers to form a new government.

Thursday's parliament session comes as French Defence Minister Florence Parly is due to arrive in Lebanon for a two-day visit.

Senior US official David Hale is also expected in Beirut on Thursday. He will press the countrys political leaders to accept financial and governance reforms to end corruption and increase accountability, the US Embassy said.
A man charged with killing a Red Deer doctor at a walk-in clinic told a judge Wednesday he is ill and doesn't recall details about the attack.

Deng Mabiour spoke to the court by telephone from his cell at the Red Deer Remand Centre, where he is being held in quarantine due to the pandemic.

The court clerk read the charges and Judge W. Albert Skinner asked Mabiour if he understood them.

"I don't remember everything in detail," he said. "When I get healthy, I will remember everything."

Pressed by the judge, Mabiour said, "I didn't remember everything because I'm sick. I need a doctor."

He then laughed.

The matter was adjourned briefly to allow a defence lawyer to speak to Mabiour.

When Mabiour was back on the phone, the judge told him, "You have to understand what you are charged with."

Again the man repeated that he didn't understand because he is sick.

Skinner advised him to contact legal aid to obtain a lawyer before his next court appearance on Sept. 9.

Walter Reynolds, 45, was attacked with a hammer and a machete on Monday morning inside the Village Mall Walk-in Clinic. He died later in hospital.

Mabiour, 54, was arrested at the scene and has been charged with first-degree murder, assault with a weapon and assaulting a police officer.

He has no known criminal record.

Targeted and premeditated attack

RCMP have described the attack as targeted and premeditated.

Mabiour and Reynolds knew each other through the clinic, Supt. Gerald Grobmeier, commander of the Red Deer RCMP detachment, said during a news conference Tuesday.

"The individual went in with a goal, and so it wasn't a random attack," Grobmeier said. "The individual went into the clinic for that purpose.

"In 27 years of policing, I've never seen a doctor attacked like that."

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Deng Wil Luol Deng, who lives in South Sudan but knows Mabiour from the South Sudanese community in Red Deer, said he is shocked by the allegations.

Story continues

"I am very sorry and very sad about what happened," he said in a Facebook message to The Canadian Press.

"We still don't know why."

'The best colleague I ever had'

The doctor is being remembered as a kind practitioner, a devoted dad and a jokester.

Reynolds was "the best colleague I ever had," Dr. Edward Ohanjanians said Tuesday.

Ohanjanians said Reynolds was a founder of the Village Mall Walk-in Clinic where they both worked. Reynolds took care of all the clinic's shopping and scheduling.

The clinic, sandwiched in between a hair salon and a dollar store, remained cordoned off with yellow police tape.

Ohanjanians said he was at the clinic when Reynolds was attacked Monday morning. He was unable to talk about what happened.

"I witnessed the tragic death of my colleague and friend," he said. "It's a difficult time."

He was just a wonderful doctor who was so good to us. - Cecillia Ferris

There was a growing display of flowers and cards outside the clinic Tuesday. A medical face mask was tied to a lamp post among the bouquets.

Kristen York placed a smiling photo of Reynolds at the site. She said she snapped the picture before leaving her job at the clinic about a month ago.

"I took pictures of all the doctors and it was just to put on our TV screen so everybody could see which doctor was which," York said while brushing away tears.

"He was the most kind, loving person ever. He was a jokester. We always joked around. He was just very, very kind."

Travis McEwan/CBC

Cecilia Ferris and her husband John had been his patients for nearly 15 years and paid their respects at the makeshift memorial.

The doctor spoke often of his family and cared deeply about his patients, she said.

"He was just a wonderful doctor who was so good to us," she said.

"It's going to be a loss and I just can't believe, I can't believe the traumatic way he passed away."

Dr. Peter Bouch, who works at another Red Deer clinic, said he and Reynolds were both part of a tight-knit community of doctors in the city who are originally from South Africa.

"He was always talking about his daughters," Bouch said. "He's always been very proud of his family and also proud of his medical practice and his patients."

Bouch said he has been in Canada for 26 years, Reynolds for less than that.

On its website, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta lists Reynolds as being registered to work in the province starting in 2006.

"Hearing about the loss of an Alberta physician under such shocking circumstances is devastating," the college's registrar, Dr. Scott McLeod, said in a statement.

"It's difficult to understand how or why such a tragedy could occur, especially in a care space and to someone who dedicated their life to helping others."
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 19:09:04|Editor: huaxia

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AMMAN, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Jordan on Thursday sent an airplane loaded with humanitarian assistance to Lebanon, following the massive explosions at the Port of Beirut last week.

The humanitarian assistance, including food supplies, medical equipment, electricity generators and LED lights, was dispatched by the Jordan Armed Forces in cooperation with the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization (JHCO), according to Ayman Mifleh, secretary-general of JHCO.

Jordan will provide more assistance to Lebanon, he added.

After Beirut's explosions, Jordan has sent a military field hospital to the Lebanese capital to help in the relief efforts.

Two huge explosions rocked Port of Beirut on Aug. 4, shaking buildings all over Lebanon's capital, while killing 171 people and wounding 6,000 at least. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 19:33:52|Editor: huaxia

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MANILA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- China, through its Embassy in Manila, has donated 130 ventilators to the Philippines as part of its commitment to helping the country fighting the COVID-19 COVID-19 pandemic, the Chinese Embassy said on Thursday.

Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian handed over the ventilators to Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin during a ceremony at the Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs headquarters.

With the last batch of 50 ventilators, Huang said all 130 ventilators donated by the Chinese government have been turned over to the Philippines.

"The Chinese side looks forward to the early distribution of the aforesaid ventilators to various medical institutions so as to help the Philippines fight the COVID-19 pandemic," the embassy said.

Noting the current pandemic situation in the Philippines, the Chinese Embassy has been donating cash and medical supplies to Philippine medical institutions to help healthcare workers and frontliners fight the pandemic.

The embassy said it will continue to donate urgently needed medical equipment such as the high flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy machine to the Philippines.

The Philippines' Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently approved the Chinese drug Lianhua Qingwen to enter the Philippine market.

"It is believed that (the drug) contributes to the fight against the spread of COVID-19 in this country and help the patients with mild and moderate symptoms recover," the embassy added.

China vowed to continue to provide support and assistance to the Philippines in combating the disease.

"(China will) stand together with the Philippine government and people to jointly tackle the challenge of the pandemic," the embassy added.

Besides the Chinese government, many Chinese companies and foundations as well as individuals have also pitched in, donating medical supplies, protective equipment and COVID-19 test kits to the Philippines.

The Philippines now has 147,526 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 2,426 deaths and 70,387 recoveries. Enditem
Protesters against the Moon Jae-in administration in February are gathered for a rally at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul's Jongno-gu District, despite national concerns that public assemblies can trigger COVID-19's cluster infection. Korea Times file



The government of Seoul said Thursday it issued no-assembly orders for massive Liberation Day rallies planned by various civic groups in central parts of the capital, citing fears of coronavirus transmission.



The Seoul metropolitan government said it has officially banned 26 civic groups from holding rallies throughout central Seoul on Saturday, which coincides with the annual Liberation Day, a national holiday to celebrate the end of Japan's 36-year colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula in 1945.



The municipal government said its decision is aimed at halting the spread of the coronavirus, as the Saturday rallies are expected to draw some 220,000 participants to the bustling downtown areas.



"Recently, clusters of virus infections have broken out at the Namdaemun Market, some religious facilities and other places, heightening public concern about the spread of COVID-19. Citizens are also concerned about possible virus transmission from the massive Aug. 15 rallies," the municipal government said.



The government said it has sent written requests for the cancellation of rallies to all of the concerned civic groups, but seven of them have refused to comply.



The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has been asked to cooperate in enforcing the no-assembly administrative orders, it said, noting violators will face punishments and rally organizers will be asked to pay compensation if any transmission occurs among rally participants.



Authorities already banned gatherings in public squares in the city center, including Seoul Plaza and Gwanghwamun Square, in February as part of coronavirus measures, but they have imposed few restrictions on rallies held elsewhere. Aware of the ban, the 26 civic groups, mostly conservatives critical of the Moon Jae-in administration and its policies, have declared their plans to hold rallies outside the no-assembly zones. (Yonhap)


Shares of Ashok Leyland continued to surge on Friday on the benchmark BSE. On Thursday, the stock was up 13 per cent and on Friday it rose by 3.44 per cent to Rs 63.15, before ending at Rs 61.55.

The development comes after the company said it expects the third quarter (Q3) and Q4 of 2020-21 (FY21) to be better, margins are expected to rise and Ashok Leyland will be much stronger when the market opens up, which analysts have also echoed. The company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 388.82 crore for the first quarter ended June 30 (Q1) as against a net profit of Rs 274.96 ...
The details of the telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev were reported by Azerbaijani media.

The head of [Azerbaijani] state brought to the Russian Presidents attention the fact that the intensity of delivery of military cargo from Russia to Armenia after the end of the clashes on the Armenia-Azerbaijan borderfrom July 17 to the present timeraises concern and serious questions of the Azerbaijani public.

President Ilham Aliyev said the volume of the military cargo transported from Russia to Armenia via the air space of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran immediately after the military clashes on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border to the present time exceeded 400 tons, emphasizing that the main purpose of the phone call was to clarify this issue, the Azerbaijani media wrote citing Aliyev's press service.

Earlier, the Kremlin press service reported that, The two leaders [Putin and Aliyev] exchanged views on regional matters in the context of the July escalation on the state border between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Russia stressed the importance of preventing any actions that could ratchet up tensions.
AUSTIN  A coalition of Black Texas lawmakers unveiled the George Floyd Act on Thursday, calling for unprecedented checks on when police can use force, a ban on chokeholds and expanded legal liability for officers sued for violating constitutional rights.

They were joined by family members of George Floyd, the 46-year-old former Houston resident who died in the custody of Minneapolis police after being restrained by an officer who held his knee on Floyds neck for nearly nine minutes.

This act means so much to us all  cousins, sisters, brothers  and it means so much to us as Black people, said his brother, Rodney Floyd. This act has so many great things that are way overdue. Way overdue.

The bill proposed by the Texas Legislative Black Caucus contains provisions that also appeared in the Sandra Bland Act of 2017 but were stripped from that law after contentious political battles with law enforcement groups and the Republican majority.

But the lawmakers say this time will be different.

More Information The George Floyd Act Main components include: Qualified Immunity - Victims and families of victims of police violence can sue law enforcement for any violation of a person's rights, defying a national judicial precedent that largely limits that ability. Duties of peace officers - Officers must intervene if another officer is abusing his or her power and must render aid to those harmed, even if an injury came as a result of an officer's actions. Limits on use of force - Officers cannot use chokeholds and must attempt to de-escalate in all situations. The bill also sets a stricter standard for when lethal force can be used. Limit on arrests - A person cannot be arrested for minor offenses that are punishable only by a fine, a piece of the Sandra Bland Act that never made it into law. Corroboration for undercover testimony - Undercover officers' testimony needs to be corroborated, just as informants' would. Officer accountability - Each Texas police department must create a disciplinary matrix that sets out punishment for officer violations of policy and law. Source: Texas Legislative Black Caucus See More Collapse

One of the things George Floyd has done is I think hes opened the door to the conscience of people all around the world, said Houston state Rep. Harold Dutton, who chairs the caucus. The Legislature is not exempt from that.

I think we have a chance, based on the fact that they now have seen this happen, theyve seen it with their own eyes. I think we stand on fertile ground, better ground now than we ever have before.

Groups including the Texas NAACP, Mothers Against Police Brutality, ACLU of Texas, Texas Coalition of Black Democrats, Black Lives Matter Houston and Texas Organizing Project have already thrown their support behind the bill.

Gov. Greg Abbott has publicly condemned Floyds death and promised to work with state legislators to pass reforms, though he did not discuss specifics. State Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, and state Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, who plan to carry the legislation, said Thursday they had not yet spoken with Abbott about it.

JOURNALISTIC IMPACT: For first time, independent experts to analyze racial profiling data from 2,000 Texas police agencies

It would be a great signal if he made this an emergency item and that we pass this in the first 90 days of the Legislature, West said. Hopefully he will partner with us on this legislation.

The 19-member caucus that introduced the bill Thursday includes a single Republican, Rep. James White of Hillister.

While some local police and sheriffs departments have implemented some tenets of the bill, such as requirements for officers to attempt de-escalation before using force, none of provisions is required for all 2,000 police agencies in Texas.

Further, the bill would require officers to demonstrate that they use lethal force only when in imminent threat of serious bodily injury or death or when no other lesser level of force could have worked and their actions present no risk to bystanders, according to a draft of the law that the caucus released Thursday. The use of force must stop as soon as the threat diminishes.

The bill states that all force must be proportionate to the circumstance and the seriousness of the offense  and must be accompanied by (an) attempt to de-escalate.

It is long past time to put statutory limits on the use of lethal force, and more clearly set out expectations for all use-of-force by peace officers, said state Rep. Jarvis Johnson, D-Houston. These provisions go a long way toward reducing the harms to the Black community currently associated with policing.

Police unions have argued that similar limits on use of force endanger officers who need to make split-second decisions to stay safe.

It also would put an end in Texas to qualified immunity, the legal principle that shields officers from civil suits over alleged abuses, and would obligate police to intervene when a fellow officer is using force inappropriately and render aid to those harmed.

In the case of Floyds death, three other officers on the scene failed to step in when the arresting officer knelt on Floyds neck, even as he gasped I cant breathe nearly two dozen times. All three have been charged with aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter.

Charley Wilkison, the executive director of CLEAT, one of the largest law enforcement unions in the state, said his organization is open to many of the concepts in the proposed bill, including banning chokeholds and ending arrests for fine-only offenses.

Other areas may require a more nuanced conversation, such as qualified immunity, as Wilkison said he believes it allows enough latitude  Its qualified; its not blanket  under current law for citizens to sue officers for misconduct. Wilkison said he agrees with setting a statewide use-of-force policy, as long as officers retain discretion.

If were allowed to be in the chain of communication, well share and do our due diligence to take honest action in the Legislature, Wilkison said.

LEGISLATURE REACTS: How George Floyds death has inspired efforts to strengthen Texass Sandra Bland Act

Additionally, the bill would build on Texas 2017 Sandra Bland Act by ending arrests for nonjailable, fine-only violations, a provision that was stripped from the law that year and faced steep opposition in 2019 when lawmakers tried to revive it. Bland was originally pulled over for failing to use her turn signal. Floyd was suspected of passing a counterfeit $20 bill.

Houston State Rep. Garnet Coleman, a Democratic caucus member who sponsored the Bland Act, said the proposed legislation picks up the last key item of reform.

Another provision of the bill is apparently a response to accusations that narcotics detectives in the Houston Police Department falsified reports, leading prosecutors to believe more than 150 convictions may need to be overturned. Among them is the 2004 arrest of Floyd by former Houston police officer Gerald Goines. The George Floyd Act would require the testimony of undercover police officers in narcotics cases to be corroborated, just as is required for informants.

What you see today is the first of a series of legislation that is going to address policing and criminal justice reform, said state Rep. Nicole Collier, D-Fort Worth, chair of the Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee.We wont back down until there are serious police reforms here in Texas.

taylor.goldenstein@chron.com
The Supreme Court is yet to approve Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe in Sushant Singh Rajputs death case.

Agencies

After Bihar Police and Rhea Chakraborty submitted their statements to Supreme Court, Sushants father too has filed his appeal to SC stating he has absolutely no faith in Mumbai police probe



Questioning the investigation conducted by Mumbai Police KK Singh said in his statement that the Patna Police has questioned around 10 people after registering an FIR back in July while Mumbai Police are yet to file an FIR in the case.

Agencies

On the issue of registration of the FIR, it has been reportedly said that the issue of the jurisdiction of police does not arise in the initial time of the investigation while differing to this KK Singh clarified he has absolutely no faith in the Mumbai Police investigation.

Agencies

Clearly there has been lots of questions raised against Mumbai police by Sushants family and Bihar Police. In fact, the IPS Vinay Tiwari who had come to Mumbai for the investigation in this case had alleged that the investigation was obstructed by the Mumbai Police as he was quarantined by the BMC official sunder COVID-19 pandemic and was released on the condition to leave the city.
STOCKHOLM, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- NuvoAir, a leading digital therapeutics company in respiratory health, is excited to announce that its respiratory platform has been certified as a Class Im Medical Device. The NuvoAir Home platform (previously known as Aria) includes Air Next, a certified Bluetooth spirometer, a connected patient app and a healthcare portal.

"This clearance is an important stepping stone in our journey to become the respiratory platform of choice for patients and physicians," says Lorenzo Consoli, CEO of NuvoAir. "By having the full platform cleared, NuvoAir can now expand its offering considerably to include other clinically relevant digital biomarkers, increasing our ability to understand when patients' respiratory health is deteriorating."

The platform brings objectivity into the healthcare provider's decision-making process. Patients can self-monitor their respiratory health and share clinically relevant data with their care teams, who can view these data remotely via a healthcare portal. NuvoAir analytics help to assess changes in the respiratory status of each patient, enabling clinical teams to optimize the follow-up and care of their patients. NuvoAir Home has been shown to support effective virtual healthcare consultations. The results of a recent survey conducted by the Cystic Fibrosis Center at Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust showed that using NuvoAir Home combined with virtual consultations reduced the number of hospital visits over a six month period. This could potentially lead to significant cost savings for both the patients and hospital and reduce the infection risk for this vulnerable population during the COVID-19 pandemic.

About NuvoAir

NuvoAir is an established, fast-growing Swedish company with offices in Stockholm, Sweden, and Boston, USA. In addition to NuvoAir Home, NuvoAir has a clinical trial platform to support clinical studies and a platform for diagnostic support. NuvoAir is currently working with over 30 hospitals and thousands of patients worldwide with cystic fibrosis (CF), severe asthma, interstitial pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and muscular dystrophy. NuvoAir's aim is to enable timely and informed clinical decision-making amongst respiratory health professionals and support improved clinical outcomes for patients with respiratory conditions.

Contact

Meera Montan

Community Engagement Director

meera.montan@nuvoair.com

+46 76 628 67 60
Australian actor Russell Crowe has surprised the organisers behind a GoFundMe campaign on Thursday after he donated $5,000 to a Beirut Relief Fund.

The Oscar winning film star quietly pledged the amount to help provide financial assistance to reconstruct the damaged popular restaurant, Le Chef, following last week's port explosions.

However, it wasn't until a co-creator of the fundraising drive spotted the Australian actor's donation on the web page that his selfless deed was revealed.

That's nice! Australian actor Russell Crowe, 56, surprised the organisers behind a GoFundMe campaign after he donated $5,000 to a Beirut Relief Fund on Thursday

'Someone called Russell Crowe made a very generous donation to our Le Chef fundraiser. But not sure if it's *the* @russellcrowe,' Richard explained.

Russell replied and explained it was in honour of late American chef, Anthony Bourdain.

'On behalf of Anthony Bourdain. I thought that he would have probably done so if he was still around,' he wrote.

However, it wasn't until co-creator of the fundraising drive spotted the Australian actor's donation on the web page that his selfless dead was revealed

Tribute: Anthony is believed to have visited Le Chef at least twice before his death in 2018 and praised its 'simple, straightforward, home-style classics

'I wish you and LeChef the best and hope things can be put back together soon,' he added.

Anthony is believed to have visited Le Chef at least twice before his death in 2018 and praised its 'simple, straightforward, home-style classics.'

Le Chef, established in the mid-1960s, was known for its Lebanese 'grandma' plates.

Disaster: Last week's two explosions, in Beirut, Lebanon, left an estimated 220 people dead and 6,000 people injured

The explosions leveled the areas near the city's port, where the explosions occurred and is said to have left 300,000 people homeless

Last week's two explosions, in Beirut, Lebanon, left an estimated 220 people dead and 6,000 people injured.

The explosions leveled the areas near the city's port, where the explosions occurred and is said to have left 300,000 people homeless.

It comes after Russell generously raised $200,000 for the NSW Royal Fire Service by auctioning a battered Rabbitohs cap back in November last year.
Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

A former top official at the United States Postal Service (USPS) has warned that recent changes at the agency, now led by a Trump ally, could disenfranchise voters as they are implemented just months ahead of an election in which a record number of Americans are expected to vote by mail.

Amid reports of significant mail delays, Ronald Stroman, who stepped down earlier this year as the second in command at USPS, said he was concerned about the speed and timing of changes that appeared to be implemented after Louis DeJoy, the new postmaster general, took office in June. USPS faces a financial crisis and every postmaster general is interested in cost savings and efficiency, Stroman said, but the question was how to balance those changes with the publics needs.

Related: US Postal Service announces cost-saving changes amid vote-by-mail fears

The concern is not only that youre doing this in a pandemic, but a couple of months before an election with enormous consequences, said Stroman, now a senior fellow at the Democracy Fund. If you cant right the ship, if you cant correct these fast enough, the consequence is not just, OK, people dont get their mail, its that you disenfranchise people.

Making these changes this close to an election is a high-risk proposition, he added.

Some delays this year have been because USPS workers have been unable to work during the Covid-19 pandemic. But fears increased after DeJoy, a major Trump donor with no prior USPS experience, took over the agency. Shortly after he started at the postal service, the Washington Post and other news organizations obtained internal documents saying the agency was prohibiting overtime and that postal workers should leave mail behind at processing plants if it would cause them to leave late.

Mark Jamison, a former postmaster in North Carolina who retired from the agency in 2012, said the idea of leaving first-class mail  which includes letters with a regular stamp  was anathema to the culture of USPS. The rule has always been you clear every piece of first-class mail out of a plant every day, period, he said. There has never been, never, in the 30 years I worked for the post office, there has never been a time when you curtail first-class mail.

Story continues

Philadelphia residents have reported going upwards of three weeks without mail and postal workers told the Philadelphia Inquirer mail was piling up in local offices. Veterans and employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs have reported mail delays in fulfilling prescriptions. In Minneapolis, USPS temporarily stopped mail delivery to a high-rise building, home to many low-income and immigrant residents, over concern of Covid-19 spread. In April, some Wisconsin residents reported never receiving ballots they requested for a statewide election. Democrats in Congress have opened an investigation into the delays and asked the USPS inspector general to investigate the matter as well.

I mean come on, weve got a pandemic, youre social distancing, people are calling in sick, youre going to cut out overtime now? That just makes no sense, Jamison said. Its unconscionable what theyre doing.

David Partenheimer, a USPS spokesman, said there was no blanket ban on overtime. The agency declined to say whether employees were being instructed to leave mail behind.

There is concern the delays could last into November and disenfranchise many Americans. The majority of US states require absentee ballots to arrive by election day, regardless of when the voter puts them in the mail, in order to be counted. USPS has long advised voters to put their ballots in the mail a week ahead of election day to ensure they arrive in time to be counted (some states continue to allow voters to request a ballot up until days before the election). At least 65,000 ballots were rejected in primaries this year because they arrived too late, according to NPR.

USPS denies it is slowing down the mail and DeJoy said the agency had ample capacity to deliver mail ballots on time. While I certainly have a good relationship with the president of the United States, the notion that I would ever make decisions concerning the Postal Service at the direction of the president, or anyone else in the administration, is wholly off-base, he said on Friday at a meeting of the USPS board of governors.

There is also some concern about the cost different states will have to pay to send ballots. Some states send ballots as marketing mail, which is less expensive than first-class mail and has an expected delivery time of three to 10 days (first-class mail is typically delivered faster). In the past, USPS has quickly moved official election mail regardless of the class of service, but in recent weeks the agency has signaled it will not expedite election mail and election officials will get the service they pay for.

Some Democrats have suggested this amounts to a USPS threat to raise postage on mail-in ballots, a characterization USPS strongly disputes.

There are currently no pending changes to the rates and classes of mail impacting ballots, Martha Johnson, a USPS spokeswoman said in a statement. The baseless assertion that we intend to raise prices in advance of the upcoming presidential election in order to restrict voting by mail is wholly without merit, and frivolous. The Postmaster General and the organization he leads is fully committed to fulfilling our role in the electoral process.

Poll workers help a voter put their mail-in ballot in an official Miami-Dade county ballot drop box on Tuesday in Miami. Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

While Stroman agreed the agency had capacity to handle the volume of mail-in ballots, he said DeJoy should make it unequivocally clear that mail-in ballots need to be delivered consistent with USPS delivery standards and be transparent about how the agency was going to address apparent delays ahead of the November election.

I would like him to say to the employees, This is a priority to me, and I expect 100% of the ballots that we have be processed and delivered consistent with our service standards, he said. Just making that statement, I think, would be important to send a signal to the workforce [that] that is your expectation and that youre going to put the resources in to make sure that happens.

Art Sackler, manager of the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service, an industry group that represents heavy mailers including Amazon and eBay, said he had heard a mixed bag from businesses over the last few weeks, some of which have reported delays. He questioned why the agency was moving ahead with the changes now.

If theres a takeaway from the business side of this it would be that the timing of this is problematic, he said. In the teeth of a national emergency, voting is coming up in November, well sooner, their peak season comes up after that. A lot of folks are saying: why not do this in January?
In related news, Peoples Committee in the Southern Province of Dong Nai yesterday announced preventative measures against the coronavirus pandemic. It has assigned the health sector and police force to receive people from foreign countries.



Authorities in districts in Dong Nai will impose fines on those who dont wear facemasks in public places and throw facemasks in wrong places. Local police officers must check households and hotels in their jurisdictions to detect foreigners who have not declared their health condition and not isolated 14 days according to the regulations.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc yesterday said at an online conference with local administrators that the next 10 days would be critical in the Southeast Asian country's fight against a new coronavirus outbreak.

Vietnam was lauded for suppressing an earlier contagion through aggressive testing, contact-tracing and quarantining, but it is now racing to control infections in multiple locations linked to the Central City of Da Nang.

People hailed the government and local administrations determination in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic with flexible measures especially in big cities avoiding mess in society and production.

Mr. Phuc said people are now more self-controlled than previous time and there was no speculation.

By SGGP staff writers - Translated by Anh Quan
It has been reported that a settlement has been reached between a Standardbred handicapper and former connections of Tag Up And Go.

Tag Up And Go triggered the eventual lawsuit in 2016 when he won a race at the Meadowlands Racetrack on January 15. It was later found that Tag Up And Go produced a positive EPO test, which led to a subsequent lawsuit from the handicapper in 2018.

In his lawsuit, the handicapper in question, Jeffrey Tretter, from Illinois, had been seeking more than $31,000 from Tag Up And Go's trainer at the time, Robert Bresnahan Jr., and Tag Up And Go's owner at the time, J.L. Sadowsky.

Tag Up And Go won the January 15, 2016 race at odds of 11-1. Tretters lawsuit stated that he had correctly selected the horses that finished second through fifth in the race. According to the suit, Tretters wagers would have earned him $31,835 if Tag Up And Go had been disqualified.

Tretters suit alleged that Bresnahan and the horses ownership group at the time committed fraud and were guilty of violations under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

A report on ESPN.com explains that a settlement in the case was reached last month (July 2020) but was just made public today (Wednesday, August 11). The report states that the three parties negotiated that Tretter receive a $20,000 settlement. Tretter will be donating $7,500 from the settlement monies to a racehorse adoption program.

According to the settlement, the agreement does not constitute an admission of liability from Bresnahan and Sadowsky. Additionally, the settlement stipulates that there will be no future claims relating to the matter.

Tretter's lawsuit was financed by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

(With files from ESPN.com)
A man in Bangladeshs Gaibandha district, 165 miles (265 km) north of Dhaka, drives his boat in the Teesta River during monsoon season, July 20, 2019.

Bangladesh is to receive a loan of nearly U.S. $1 billion from China for a project to maintain levels in the Teesta River during the drought season after efforts to approve a water-sharing deal with India failed, government officials said.

In May the Ministry of Finance asked for $853 million to implement the Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration project in the greater Rangpur region. The Chinese loan marks the first time that China, Indias regional rival, will be involved in a river management project in Bangladesh.

A massive project funded by China has been adopted for the management of the Teesta River and China has agreed to fund it. Hopefully, we can start the project by December, Jyoti Prosad Ghosh, an additional chief engineer at the Water Development Board, which falls under the Ministry of Water Resources, told BenarNews.

The Teesta project, which is estimated to cost $983 million, is one of nine projects where officials in Dhaka have sought $6 billion from China on top of a previous $22 billion in loans from the superpower, as Beijing expands its footprint in the South Asian nation largely through the construction of infrastructure works.

The Teesta Rivers width varies between one kilometer and five kilometers at different places. So, we will narrow the width of the river to one kilometer all along and enhance the depth of the river to at least 10 meters so it can hold more water, Ghosh said.

While the river floods during the monsoon season, it runs nearly dry between November and February each year.

Hopefully, the project would bring benefits, he said.

Ghosh did not release details about whether Bangladeshi or Chinese companies would be responsible for the project or a timeline for its completion. Chinese Embassy officials in Dhaka did not immediately respond to a request from BenarNews seeking confirmation on the loan for the river scheme.

Source in India

The Teesta is one of the 54 rivers that enter Bangladesh from upstream India before flowing into the Bay of Bengal.

The flood plains of the Teesta, which originates in the Indian state of Sikkim, span 2,750 square km (1,061 square miles) in Bangladesh.

A report by the Asia Foundation on the political economy of the Teesta referred to it as the fourth largest transboundary river in Bangladesh. It flows through the five northern districts of Gaibandha, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, and Rangpur.

The study said at least 21 million people in Bangladesh were directly or indirectly dependent on the river for their livelihoods including through fishing.

Bangladeshi officials have complained that water levels along the river have fallen dramatically over the years because of Indias failure to implement its side of a water-sharing deal despite decades of negotiations and partly because of dams built on the Indian side.

An environmentalist raised concerns about the river restoration project that will be financed with Chinese money.

The Teesta carries a huge volume of silt from upstream. During the rainy season, the bulk water would carry huge amounts, so within three years, the river would be silted up and cause flooding again, Ainun Nishat told BenarNews.

The way the Water Development Board is going to reduce the width of the river would cause harm to the river and its fishing resources, said Nishat, a water resource and climate change specialist who is a professor emeritus at Bangladeshs BRAC University.

If the river depth is made 10 meters or more, ground water would flow into the river during dry season, making the nearby farmland unusable, he said.

Nishat also expressed concern for fish and wildlife linked to the river.

The Teesta River provides a sardine-type sweet piyali fish. What would happen to the fish if the depth is increased through dredging? What would happen to the turtles and other aquatic species, he asked.

Dredging machines cut riverbeds and shoals and pump out sand, a process that could destroy habitats for fish, turtles and other species.

Villagers cross the Teesta River during the dry season in Rangpur district, 214 miles (345 km) north of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, Oct. 15, 2005. [Reuters]

Decades of negotiations

The Teesta issue has long been a thorn in Indo-Bangladeshi relations.

Nishat said India and what was then East Pakistan started negotiations in 1951 to share water from the river. Nearly seven decades later, the deal has not been signed even as officials have continued with negotiations.

Discussions were expedited after Sheikh Hasina came to power in 2009 when negotiators worked out a sharing formula with India getting 42.5 percent water while Bangladesh would get 37.5 percent. The remaining 20 percent would be kept for maintaining the health of the river.

The deal was supposed to be signed during the Bangladesh visit of then-Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2011, but Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, blocked it.

The Teesta forms the border between West Bengal and Sikkim, and Banerjee protested, saying the treaty would render parts of her state dry.

Under the Indian constitution, the central government cannot make any decisions on water issues without the consent of state governments affected by such decisions.

During Hasinas visit to New Delhi last year, she urged the Indian government to sign the Teesta deal finalized in 2011.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Hasina that his government had been working on the deal with all stakeholders, according to the joint statement of issued during the visit.

At this moment, there is no progress on signing the Teesta deal, Mahmudur Rahman, the lone member of the Bangladesh-India Joint Rivers Commission, told BenarNews.

A Bangladesh official said the nation should have access to the river.

According to international law, Bangladesh as a lower riparian country must get its due share of water from the Teesta. We recognize that India also needs the water, Faruk Khan, chairman of Bangladeshs Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, told BenarNews. So, we need to sign the deal which would be win-win for both the countries.

He said technical negotiators from the two countries had finalized a deal on the sharing the rivers waters, but it was not signed.

Now, the experts of the countries should work out another sharing formula, Khan said.

Signing of the Teesta water-sharing treaty mainly goes to India. The friendly bilateral relations between Bangladesh and India came under question for not signing the agreement. So, we hope the Indian government would sign the deal as soon as possible, valuing the friendly ties between the two countries, he said.

On Thursday, Banerjee along with other West Bengal officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment from BenarNews.

In July, Shariar Kader Siddiky, the joint secretary in-charge of the finance ministrys Economic Relations Division, said Chinese funding was needed for the Teesta and the eight other projects, calling them necessary.

If we can implement the projects in time, we will not fall into a debt trap, he told BenarNews when asked about a May 21 letter from the division outlining a proposal for the projects.

Paritosh Kanti Paul in Kolkata, India, contributed to this report.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged the Kyrgyz authorities not to extradite detained Uzbek journalist Bobomurod Abdullaev to Uzbekistan after he was arrested in Bishkek at Tashkent's request.

In an August 12 statement, the U.S.-based international human rights group demanded that Bishkek release the journalist.

"Given the risk of torture Abdullaev faces in Uzbekistan if he is sent back, Kyrgyzstan's prosecutor-general should refuse the Uzbek authorities' request," Hugh Williamson, HRW's Europe and Central Asia director said.

"Kyrgyz authorities know that under international law, they are barred from returning anyone to a place where they would likely be tortured or persecuted for their political beliefs or exercise of their basic rights."

Kyrgyz authorities say Abdullaev was detained in Bishkek on August 9 and will remain at a detention center until September 8 while Uzbekistan's extradition request is considered.

Abdullaev's lawyer, Timur Karabaev, said earlier that Abdullaev had been in Kyrgyzstan since February.

Abdullaev studied for four months at Bishkek's American University of Central Asia and has been stuck in Kyrgyzstan due to coronavirus travel restrictions, Karabaev said.

Karabaev also said that he had not been allowed to meet with Abdullaev since he was taken into custody.

He said the reason given by theauthorities for refusing any visits was that Abdullaev had been placed in a two-week quarantine.

Kyrgyz authorities have not specified the reasons behind Uzbekistan's extradition request for Abdullaev.

Media reports in Uzbekistan suggest Abdullaev is being sought in connection with social-media posts critical of Uzbeki President Shavkat Mirziyoev that were written under the pen name Qora Mergan (Black Shooter).

Abdullaev has denied that he has any connection to any writing by Qora Mergan.

Abdullaev's treatment has previously been the focus of rights groups after he and three other men were arrested in 2017 in Tashkent. They were charged with calling for a change to Uzbekistan's constitutional order by force.

Those charges stemmed from a series of articles under the byline Usman Haqnazarov, which was apparently used by more than one person.

Abdullaev also denied guilt then, saying he was doing his job as a journalist.

In May 2018, Abdullaev was convicted on charges of producing "anti-government propaganda." But he was cleared of the more serious charge of conspiracy against the state -- and was then released.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service
Helicopters are parked at U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. / Yonhap



By Kang Seung-woo



North Korea has been unusually mute about the ongoing joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States.



Pyongyang watchers believe recent floods there as well as the rescaled drill have made the country shift away from warlike rhetoric against the exercise that it denounces as a rehearsal for an invasion of the North.



The allies began a four-day crisis management staff training exercise, Tuesday, which serves as a warm-up to their annual joint exercise that will be carried out from Sunday to Aug. 28. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the two sides have decided to scale it down and it will be based on a computer-simulated command post exercise, rather than outdoor drills.



Whenever the joint exercise was staged in the past, the North raised tensions on the Korean Peninsula with military threats and fiery rhetoric. Last year, it fired a newly developed tactical guided weapon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent U.S. President Donald Trump a letter of complaint.






In July, we officially welcomed a distinguished group of 60 educators to The New York Times Teaching Project. Chosen from hundreds of applicants and representing 29 states, these teachers are passionate about bringing the mission of The Times  helping people understand the world through on-the-ground, expert and deeply reported independent journalism  to their school communities.

When it became clear that our original plans to meet in person at The Timess headquarters in Manhattan had to become, instead, a three-day virtual institute, we realized that though the format would change, our goals would not. Across several time zones, and over Zoom, Google Classroom, FlipGrid and Padlet, we connected all 60 educators to The Times, to our staff and to one another; invited them to share their own experiences and expertise; and helped them begin to develop curriculum projects that will be meaningful to their communities this school year.

Here are just a few of the things we did together:
The old Taconic High School declared it was the home of the Braves. The School Committee voted on Wednesday that the new Taconic will seek a new more culturally acceptable mascot.

Pittsfield School Committee Votes to Change Taconic Mascot



The School Committee debates a change in team mascots for the two Pittsfield high schools. PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Taconic High School will no longer be the Braves' House.

The School Committee on Wednesday voted to change 50-year-old team mascot and begin the process of determining a new, more culturally acceptable identity for the vocational school.

"I think this is going to be very divisive and very upsetting for this school," Chairwoman Katherine Yon said. "It is just a very difficult decision to come to and it feels like all of the decisions during this time are difficult."

The issue has come up during public comment over the past few months with callers asking the School Committee to change the name of the Taconic Braves and the Pittsfield High School Generals.

Callers believed there were racist implications to the Taconic mascot and saw the PHS mascot as symbol of violence.

Last month, the committee committed to taking up the discussion in a public forum.

Committee member William Cameron first made the motion to change the name of the Braves to something to be determined at a later date.

Cameron said he did not think any harm or racism was meant or when the school adopted the Braves in the 1960s. But he thought they should revisit the mascot with a more contemporary context and awareness of how Native Americans have been treated throughout history.

He added that he did not think eliminating the mascot was erasing history and or that any Native Americans gave consent to have an entire population represent Taconic High School.

"I dont know if it is racist. I am not a Native American but it looks disrespectful to me," Cameron said. "I believe at the time ... that Native Americans were not ever involved in the selection of the mascot at Taconic high school and this was a decision that I dare say, was made by a white School Committee."

It was students attending the newly built high school named for the local Taconic tribe who suggested a mascot related to Native Americans and voted for "Braves" back in 1969. Then Principal Paul Johann told The Berkshire Eagle that the nickname went with "the history and geography of the area and certainly the spirit of the school." At the time, team uniforms used a tomahawk insignia; later, the oversized gym at the old school boasted in large letters, "Whose House? Braves House" and "Home of the Braves."

Taconic is one of only about 29 high schools in the state (down from 40) still using Native American logos, and one of just two in the Berkshires. Over the years, many schools and colleges have switched to new logos because of concerns that those logos and mascots are derogatory to Native Americans. The committee had broached the idea of changing the mascot -- depicted as a male Native American in a head dress -- back in 2017 with the opening of the new Taconic but it apparently didn't go far.

Committee member Dennis Powell read the definition of a mascot: a person or thing that is supposed to bring good luck or that is used to symbolize a particular event or organization.

"How does wiping out a race of people bring someone good luck? What happened to the indigenous people we know through our history was horrible," Powell said. "... I don't think the indigenous people would be bringing people good luck based on how they were treated."

Committee member Daniel Elias was the sole vote in the negative and was hesitant to erase the mascot. He felt as long as it was presented in a respectful and honorable way he felt the Braves mascot could be seen as keeping the memory of a culture alive.

"We have not learned and we should never forget and as long as it is done in an honorable and respectful fashion," he said. "I think the name should stay."

Yon said the decision was difficult and saw the possible change as a stepping stone to further discussions on racism in the schools.

"These Taconic students have been taught to be brave, to be a real brave," she said. "That is what makes this one so hard. If we take it away from them we need them to understand the deeper reason why something like this can be interpreted as racist and demeaning toward a culture"

She did meditate on the word "brave" as an adjective and felt there may be an opportunity to repurpose the name but this was for a later discussion.

This was the next subject: who will name the new mascot?

Committee member Mark Brazeau suggested first sending out a survey to students to see if they wanted to change the mascot and what they would want to change it to.

The bulk of the committee did not want to solely leave the decision to the student body but felt their opinions needed to be considered. They preferred to inform their decision by some of their own research and Elias suggested they perhaps tap the local Native American community

Cameron then motioned to eliminate the Generals but added that this mascot, in his opinion, did not carry the same negative implications and in fact changing it could be considered disrespectful.

"I have to say leadership in war is not necessarily militarism ... many numbers of military figures who were generals were not fighting in unjust causes," he said. "Certainly in some of the those there would have been a disastrous outcome if no resistance had been put up."

The motioned failed unanimously but committee member Alison McGee suggested that they should at least review the mascot. She said they could consider changing it and possibly aligning it with the new Taconic mascot but if they decide to make no changes, they at least have solid information to back up their decision.

She made a motion to start this process and it passed unanimously with a 4-2 vote. Yon and Elias voted no.

The committee then agreed to table the issue until a future meeting.

The committee did hear from the public before diving into its own deliberation.

James Massery called in to the remote meeting and said he thought the School Committee named the mascot to honor Native Americans. He said it was always seen this way among students. In fact, he thought nixing the name would erase a bit of Native American awareness.

"Let's honor the School Committee's decision from 1968 and I hope that you would agree that we dont need to make the name the Braves go away," Massery said.



The more modern stylized version of the Braves' mascot. Resident Terry Carlo echoed some of Massery's points.

"We can't erase the past. We were very proud to be Braves when we were students at Taconic and no one ever saw anything wrong with it or thought it was a disparaging image," Carlo said. "We just don't want it erased."

The only voice in favor of changing the mascots was teacher Kelly Cusson, who thought they reinforce stereotypical thoughts and did not equate with the committee's stance against racism and violence.

"I am pleading with you to change the racist mascot," she said. "The leadership of this district publicly denounced racism and violence ... so I ask you to make a clean sweep and erase both mascots."

She thought it would be a good student project to come up with new mascots.

The committee also heard from student William Garrity, who called with a compromise suggesting they change the name to the Taconic Bravehearts. He felt this would solve some of the racist undertones many think the mascot carries while also not completely erasing the history and tradition of the Braves.
An industry leader in Intelligent Process Automation including Intelligent Document Classification and Advanced Data Capture ....our customers are looking for ways to automate their processes, do more with less, minimize human touch points and provide solutions making it easy for their employees to work from home, said Nick Bova, VP of Sales & Marketing at ancora Software.

ancora Software, Inc. an industry leader in Intelligent Process Automation including Intelligent Document Classification and Advanced Data Capture partnered with CoreIntegrator Enterprise advanced AP workflow solution would like to welcome Newark Housing authority to its rapidly growing list of ancoraDocs customers.

The Newark Housing Authority oversees over 12,000 units throughout the City of Newark and it is the largest housing authority in the State of New Jersey. The agency was created under the Federal Housing Act of 1938 to address blighted conditions and a shortage of affordable housing.

The Newark Housing Authority wanted to find a solution that would help them automate a paper driven process, help minimize and eliminate human touch points and provide a way for their employees to easily process invoices from home during the current pandemic. The combined solution of ancora Software and CoreIntegrator Enterprise provided them exactly what they needed.

The combined solution of ancoraDocs and CoreIntegrator will provide a complete end to end procure to pay solution. The complete solution includes procurement and budget workflow, document separation and data extraction, invoice approval workflow and the final release of the data into Newarks accounting system.

ancoraDocs is available either on premise or as a true multi-tenant cloud service hosted by ancora on Microsoft Azure. It can also be deployed as a hybrid solution, utilizing zero footprint browser-based clients. ancoraDocs is designed to bring simplicity to a market where applications have historically been complex and overpriced, as well as difficult to configure, install, use, and maintain, said Noel Flynn, CEO at ancora Software. Using our patented machine learning algorithms requiring no templates or prolonged setup ancoraDocs can be deployed in a matter of hours or days, not the weeks or months you often see with traditional capture. The software learns based on the user interaction with the product. This helps users start realizing their benefits sooner and produces a faster time to ROI. In addition, it opens the market to SMB organizations, which have historically not been able to take advantage of automated document capture due to the significant costs of getting started.

CoreIntegrator Enterprise is a powerful business automation solution that can be tailored to automate any business process. With over 20 years of experience, they have a library of pre-built solutions including AP automation, procurement automation and HR automation. CoreIntegrator Enterprise is completely customizable to clients specific business process. So instead of making clients change their business process to automate it, CoreIntegrator will custom tailor automation to their specific process.

In these crazy times of the Covid-19 pandemic with the uncertainty of work environments our customers are looking for ways to automate their processes, do more with less, minimize human touch points and provide solutions making it easy for their employees to work from home, said Nick Bova, VP of Sales & Marketing at ancora Software. Our solutions provide that, and we are very happy to help The Newark Housing Authority achieve their goals around this functionality, added Bova.

About ancora Software

ancora Software, Inc. is an innovative provider of Intelligent Process Automation solutions including Intelligent Document Classification and Data Capture. ancoraDocs, our flagship product, was developed to bring simplicity to a technology that historically has been complex, over-priced, and difficult to configure, install, use, and maintain. Our Business Process Automation solutions with patented artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies help companies eliminate costly manual steps in their business processes such as document classification, document analysis, manual data entry, manual filing, etc. Businesses using ancora Software achieve faster and less expensive business process automation and better controls over valuable critical information. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, ancora Software maintains sales and support operations throughout North America and the UK.

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Since the late 1990s, CoreIntegrator Workflow Solutions have been an industry leading software platform for the Accounts Payable Procure to Pay market. The versatility and ability to Automate Virtually Any Business Process has allowed CoreIntegrator Workflow Solutions to be adopted globally by thousands of users in both large and small organizations in almost every industry.

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Public Interest Research and Advocacy Network (PIRAN-Ghana) is appealing to the state security to oversee the retraining of the special police and military men to prepare them adequately for the 2020 General Elections.

With less than four months to this years general elections, a lot of stakeholders have raised security concerns even though government thinks otherwise.

Taking into account the violence that characterized the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency bye-election and the recent voters' registration exercise, PIRAN-Ghana says there is the need to have discipline and professional police and military who can guard the December 7 polls without any form of biases.

....We wish to make a passionate appeal to the state security to up their game by shunning all forms of biases during and after the election to guarantee peace and security, a press release from the group signed by its leader Felix Djan Foh has said.

PIRAN-Ghana says the IGP should be bold to halt MPs and party officials from visiting the polling stations in the company of armed gangs.

In addition, the group insist that the government should not issue questionable transfers to officers trying to insist on the right thing to uphold justice and orderliness as happened to cape coast regional command and Banda district commander.

Find the full press release from PIRAN-Ghana below:

RETRAIN SPECIAL POLICE AND MILITARY FOR ELECTION 2020. PIRAN-GHANA

As we prepare for election 2020 come December 7th, with the heightened tension and violent witness in Ayawaso west Wougon by-election and recent voters registration requires enough discipline and professional police and military men and women who can guard the polls without any form of biases.

We have been voting since 1992 till date with manageable disturbances and violence, coming events cast their shadow, the signs of the above gives us a cause to worry as many have expressed fears about the outcome, it is in this light that we call for a by partisan military and police who can be professional, .discipline and tactical to ward off any form of disturbances during and after the election.

Another disturbing case is that several efforts by past and present government to curb electoral violence has not been successful and in most cases, the government party with the use of state security are seen advancing the cause of the ruling party, a situation that has led to the formation of thugs and vigilantes among the parties with government unwillingness to halt this practice.

The governments, most a time play lip service about confronting this menace, Government response to Emile short commission as biased and refusing to act on the commissions recommendations on Double, Mohammed, and former deputy interior minister shows a government unwilling to punish his own.

If government cannot live by example under situations as in Banda, Kasoa, and other places gives a wrong signal to the voters as they cannot vouch for their safety in the face of rampaging party militia.

It is in this light that we wish to make passionate appeal to the state security to up their game by shunning all forms of biases during and after the election to guarantee peace and security.

The IGP should be bold to halt MPs and party officials from visiting the pooling stations with armed gangs following them and government should not issue questionable transfer to officers trying to insist on the right thing to uphold justice and orderliness as happened to cape coast regional command and Banda district commander.

Yours faithfully

Signed

Felix Djan Foh

Leader and President.
Sometimes the past explodes into the present. Such was the case when I reread a book my brother and I wrote two years ago about our ancestor, Matthew Lyon, a revolutionary war hero.

Lyon, a Vermont congressman and an early Republican leader was tossed into jail for criticizing then-President John Adams under the 1798 Alien and Sedition Act. He accused Adams of an unbounded thirst for ridiculous pomp  An Irish immigrant, Lyon was fearful of Adams assuming too much power, turning the presidency into what the revolution had fought again  a king.

As we neared completion of the manuscript, we wondered what Lyon might say to us today, over two hundred years in the future. Here are a few excerpts from the last chapter of our book: Resisting Tyranny, The Story of Matthew Lyon, Early American Patriot. Resource Publications, 2018. The book is available on Amazon or from the publisher.

Fellow Citizens:

I realize I am but an immigrant from Ireland brought here on a ship as an indentured servant, not knowing anyone and having been sold to a wealthy businessman to work off my indebtedness.

I was saddened and shocked to find that in 1798 the Congress passed the Alien and Sedition Act, part was which was directed toward limiting immigration into your country. That act added to the residency requirement so that the requirement for citizenship was increased from five to fourteen years and to make matters more ominous it established a federal registrar of all aliens, thus centralizing power at the federal level. The Alien Friends Act then gave the president to depart aliens he suspected of being dangerous, but only in times of war. This act was not invoked.

As a newspaper publisher myself I was afraid the President might limit the first amendment and seek to squelch free speech. So, I spoke loudly and clearly against Adams and went to jail for that reason. He wanted to stifle free speech, especially any words directed against him. You were created to think and act for yourselves, not be puppets for some supposedly small, elite group who prided themselves in putting you down and themselves up.

I took the oath of office to defend the constitution, I didnt think I would have to do so against the presidents desire to bypass it by leading the way in passing laws to control our criticisms of him. He might appear strong, but he was thin-skinned and egotistical, thinking he was more important than the people and constitution he had pledged to support. Thats when they become tyrants trying to get by force what they couldnt get by persuasion.

What would I advise you fellow citizens of the future?

First and foremost, protect and defend your first amendment. It is the very source of your freedom, and anyone who seeks to diminish the protections there is not a patriot. I remember what my friend and political ally Thomas Jefferson wrote: When the speech condemns a free press, you are listening to a tyrant.

Second, beware when too much power is invested in too few people. Too much power in too few hands can lead to tyranny and often to its abuse.

Third, beware of foreign alliances. How well I remember the words warning us against foreign alliances by our departing President George Washington. He didnt say we shouldnt have them; he just cautioned against finding our country taken over by another, as he might well have thought after fighting the British. Of course, in that same address, he warned against the divisions caused by political parties.

Fourth, protect and defend your republic, whether from without or within. I believe that the worst threats come from within, from those who would subvert the values we uphold such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Here are some easy to read thoughts about protecting your republic;

Take being a citizen seriously.

Organize for good causes.

Work for leaders who support all the people not just a few of them.

Vote as if your life depended on it, because it does.

Speak out against oppression of all kinds.

Keep leaders under watch; the best form of leadership in a democracy is that of citizen patriots, not permanent office holders.

Seek truth.

Challenge lies.

And when the government seems is, it is your patriotic duty to change those who lead it as Jefferson told us.

This my sincere prayer for you.

M. LYON

(John C. Morgan is a writer and teacher. Quotes from the book are used by permission of Wipf and Stock Publishers, www.wipfandstock.com)
Passengers board on the TUI bus at Palma de Mallorca airport on June 18, 2020 in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

TUI, the world's largest tourism company, sunk to a 1.1 billion euro ($1.3 billion) loss in its third quarter as the pandemic stopped holidays, and said it was making progress with cost cuts needed to help it withstand the crisis.

The company, which resumed holidays again in mid-June and said demand had returned, secured a second credit line from the German government on Wednesday, helping bolster its strained finances after COVID-19 wiped out revenues for three months.

Liquidity now stood at 2.4 billion euros, TUI said, which gave it confidence it could make it through to 2021 as the pandemic continues to hurt travel, and as it approaches the quieter winter season when holiday companies are loss-making.

TUI's underlying EBIT loss of 1.1 billion euros for the three months to June 30 compared to the 102.3 million euros it made in the same period last year.

The group said it could not provide a forecast for the year as the pandemic continues to wreak havoc. Hopes for a strong summer recovery were dashed by new restrictions brought in by

Britain on travel to Spain, meaning more holiday cancellations.

Preparing for a smaller tourism market, TUI said it needed to cut its cost base by more than 300 million euros per year and that it had made progress by planning to downsize the fleet at its German airline TUI fly, restructuring its French business and closing 166 shops in Britain.

Looking to 2021, TUI said that the summer period looked promising with bookings up 145%.
The government in the 1950s dispatched missions to major former battlegrounds for the token collection of random remains; most were unidentified and never returned to families. After collecting the remains of about 10,000 war dead, the welfare ministry in 1962 tried to end the project but was forced to continue the effort following repeated requests by veterans and bereaved families.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Texas, the states death toll from all causes has soared by thousands above historical averages  a sobering spike that experts say reveals the true toll of the disease.

Between the beginning of the local pandemic and the end of July, 95,000 deaths were reported in Texas, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control data. Based on historical mortality records and predictive modeling, government epidemiologists would have expected to see about 82,500 deaths during that time.

The CDC attributed more than 7,100 deaths to COVID-19, but that leaves roughly 5,500 more than expected and with no identified tie to the pandemic. The CDCs chief of mortality, Dr. Bob Anderson, said these excess deaths are likely from a range of pandemic-related problems, including misclassifications because doctors did not initially understand the many ways that COVID-19 affects the circulatory system and results in a stroke or a heart attack.

It can cause all sorts of havoc in the body, he said.

The CDC data offers an opaque but important estimate of how deadly the virus has been in Texas, which suffered from testing shortages for weeks as COVID-19 case counts climbed.

It has shocked me to see people think that theres overcounts of the COVID deaths, because I cant even imagine that thatd be the case, said Mark Hayward, a professor at the University of Texas who studies mortality trends. The undercount is so dramatic.

And there is a clear racial disparity in the undercounts. Between March and the end of July, Texas recorded more than 21,000 deaths of Latinos  more than 5,000 higher than epidemiologists predicted. Of those, about 2,100 were attributed to COVID-19. That leaves more than 3,000 deaths in excess of the expected number, many of them in border counties that lack resources for testing.

Latinos are especially vulnerable to COVID-19 because they are more likely than their white counterparts to be exposed to the virus at jobs where working from home is impossible. They also have a higher prevalence of conditions including obesity and diabetes, which heighten the risk of serious illness for COVID-19 patients.

In Starr County, Chuy Alvarez said he and his fellow justices of the peace  who are charged with investigating potential COVID-19 deaths  do not test bodies because of cost issues. The Rio Grande Valley county has yet to record a single at-home coronavirus fatality, he said, though its confirmed virus deaths of 8.8 per 10,000 residents is more than 2.5 times higher than Harris Countys, according to state health department figures.

Among the dead in Houston is Raul Lopez, a 46-year-old nursing home maintenance director who died of a heart attack July 25 in Houston while hospitalized for the virus. His wife, Maribel Gutierrez, said she is concerned his death certificate will not list COVID-19 as the underlying cause of death.

I still hear a lot of people dont believe this, Gutierrez said. I still hear of people not wanting to wear masks, and I dont want more of this  more deaths.

Family members stand socially distant while attending the funeral of Trancito Rangel Diaz, 46, a construction worker who died of COVID-19, at Forest Lawn Cemetery on Aug. 4 in Houston. Family members stand socially distant while attending the funeral of Trancito Rangel Diaz, 46, a construction worker who died of COVID-19, at Forest Lawn Cemetery on Aug. 4 in Houston. Photo: Godofredo A. Vasquez/Staff Photographer Photo: Godofredo A. Vasquez/Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 12 Caption Close COVID's true toll in Texas is even higher than reported, federal data shows 1 / 12 Back to Gallery

A telling gap

As the coronavirus started spreading rapidly in the spring and case counts grew day after day, so, too, did the gap between two critical and telling figures: the number of people expected to die within a year in Texas and the number who actually did.

Scientific modeling can usually predict, with a high degree of certainty, the number of deaths to expect in a geographic area for natural causes such as the flu, pneumonia, heart disease and cancer by using decades of death certificate data. What Texas has experienced since this spring, experts say, is a wave of excess deaths with no modern parallel that confirmed COVID-19 fatalities only partially explain.

Texas decentralized death certification system, in which only a handful of the states 254 counties have medical examiners, shifts some of the burden to determine cause of death to justices of the peace.

These elected officials, who often are not medical professionals and whose typical duties are dominated by dockets of traffic tickets, may lack the resources and expertise to track what can be a mysterious killer, Hayward said.

Then there are the deaths that public officials and medical professionals say must be acknowledged as caused by the pandemic, even if a patient was never infected with COVID-19. Houston Fire Chief Sam Pena said his department has seen heightened number of people that are expiring at home, which he and others attribute to people waiting too long to call 911 for fear of exposing themselves to the virus at a hospital.

The patients who died before first responders could transport them to the hospital increased by a third between February and April in the Houston area.

The Texas State Department of Health Services has not done a comprehensive analysis of excess deaths, spokesman Chris Van Deusen said in an email.

We have done a quick comparison of deaths this year with previous years and didnt find a large excess number of deaths that werent explained by COVID, he said.

A somber summer

The responsibility for certifying a death in Texas depends on where it occurs. In hospitals, most death certificates are filled out by an attending physician. Anderson from the CDC said he was concerned some doctors may fail to list COVID-19 as the underlying cause of death when someone also suffers a heart attack or has pneumonia because of a lack of training or experience certifying deaths.

In Harris County deaths, when someone dies at home or outside a doctors care, or unexpectedly, such as in a vehicle crash or by homicide, the medical examiner determines the cause of death.

Dr. Dwayne Wolf, deputy chief medical examiner for Harris County, said investigators look for possible evidence of COVID-19 infections and conduct autopsies if necessary.

Do I think there are COVID deaths missed at home? No, absolutely not, Wolf said.

Wolf cautioned, however, that other counties may lack the same trained staff, large public health departments, testing capability and willingness to do autopsies as Harris. Most do not have their own morgue and rely on justices of the peace to certify deaths that would fall to a medical examiner.

Hayward, the UT researcher, said that while justices of the peace are trained in death certification, the education is not extensive. Limited testing across the state  some estimates peg the actual number of cases 10 times higher than health officials tally  may leave JPs with few clues a death was caused by the virus.

These officials, whose duties include hearing landlord-tenant disputes and other civil cases, take their death certification role seriously, said Justices of the Peace and Constable Association President Rick Hill. He said he is confident in justices ability to catch COVID deaths, though he conceded some may be missed.

It may have happened, but you can pretty much determine whats been going on in someones life, said Hill, a JP in Brazos County. You see the medicines on the nightstand. You can talk to caregivers. Were they complaining about certain symptoms of things?

Hill said in cases where the cause of death is inconclusive, justices can send bodies to a county with a medical examiner for an autopsy. These procedures can be expensive, however, totaling more than $5,000 when transportation costs are factored in.

Dr. Stephen Pustilnik, the Fort Bend County medical examiner, said he is concerned about misclassified COVID-19 deaths at home because nasal swab tests have been hard for his office to come by.

Pustilnik said the most reliable measure of the pandemics toll is the number of excess deaths. Since Texas remains one of the fastest-growing states, Pustilnik said hed expect a commensurate increase in deaths  a factor the CDC estimates take into account. Yet the states rise in death still exceeds the agencys projections, even while accounting for known COVID-19 deaths.

The population is growing at a steady rate, he said. All the sudden you see a spike in death. It has to do with this overwhelming health crisis that were in.

And the data available now does not capture what some experts fear will also lead to higher-than-normal mortality rates: a reluctance to go to the doctor. According to research by the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science, cancer screenings decreased by 90 percent in April compared to Februarys numbers, likely leading to tens of thousands of missed diagnosis.

National Cancer Institute Director Dr. Ned Sharpless warned in June that ignoring life-threatening non-COVID-19 conditions such as cancer for too long may turn one public health crisis into many others.

A predictable outcome

The states increase in overall deaths began in the spring as the Northeast and West Coast struggled to contain the spread of the virus. The week of April 11 was the first in more than two years that Texas crossed the excess death threshold set by the CDC. That means that more deaths were reported that week than epidemiologists had modeled based on historical data, counting for population growth and other factors. The state has exceeded the expected death count every week since then.

From the start, deaths among Latino residents made up a disproportionate share of the increase, though not an overwhelming one. That held constant through early in May, with Latino deaths up 25 percent compared to 23 percent for Black residents and 7 percent for whites.

By mid-July, Latino deaths had exploded to 134 percent above average, compared to 45 percent for Black residents and 38 percent for whites.

The whiteboard at Compean Funeral Home in southeast Houston is filled with Hispanic surnames. Eleven of 15 are marked with a small C, denoting a COVID death. They include Francisco Javier, 55, a mechanic. Mery Josefina Morales, 59, a teacher. Trancito Rangel Diaz, 46, a construction worker.

Lopez, whose wife worried he would not be counted as a COVID-19 death, was memorialized in a service there on Monday evening.

The funeral home normally handles 35 clients a month, said general manager Rosa Soto. Since June, it has averaged double that. About 80 percent are COVID deaths.

The funeral home upended its operation to accommodate the increase. Morticians store some embalmed bodies on stretchers, which are normally used only for transport, as a way to save space. A refrigerated trailer under construction behind the building will provide more capacity.

We buried two people today, but four more families called, Soto said. I dont know when this is going to end.

The facility has two chapels and is limiting services to 50 people, with every other pew vacant. Staff take the temperature of everyone at the door. Owner Greg Campeon recalled a woman who was angry she was refused entry for a high fever. He urged her to get tested for the virus.

I said, maam, Id rather have you leave here upset at me than to be back here as a client, Campeon said.

Mortician Jeff Sonka and his assistant Manuel Santos spent the morning Wednesday embalming a 74-year-old pastor who succumbed to the virus.

Sonka speaks little Spanish and Santos, a former Mexican police officer, speaks a comparable amount of English. Yet after a decade together they have developed an efficient cadence to their work, anticipating each others movements. An embalming can take several hours, depending on the size and condition of the artery through which the preservative fluids are pumped.

They began the day at 8 a.m. and planned to process four bodies, double the usual workload, to clear a backlog driven by COVID deaths. It proved a Sisyphean task.

Around noon, the phone rang. Baylor St. Lukes in Pearland had another COVID body but no morgue in which to store it.

Sonka and Santos slipped off their latex gloves, removed their long green aprons and headed for the door.

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Godofredo Vasquez and Currie Engel contributed to this report.

Zach Despart covers Harris County for the Chronicle, including Commissioners Court and flood control. He came to Houston from the Burlington Free Press in Vermont and was also the managing editor of the Houston Press. In 2017 he won the Best Feature award from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia for his feature on Venezuelan corruption in Houston and Miami. He is a New York native and graduate of the University of Vermont. Follow him on Twitter or email him at zach.despart@chron.com.

Stephanie Lamm is a data journalist for the Houston Chronicle. She looks for stories in datasets and public records. She also creates interactive graphics for online stories. Stephanie previously worked for the Dallas Morning News and attended The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Follow her on Twitter or email her at stephanie.lamm@chron.com.

Godofredo A. Vasquez is a staff photographer for the Houston Chronicle, primarily covering breaking news. Vasquez was born in El Salvador but grew up in the Bay Area, where he attended San Francisco State University and graduated with a B.A. in Photojournalism. Follow him on Twitter or email him at Godofredo.Vasquez@chron.com.

Design by Jasmine Goldband

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Almost 1.4 billion people around the world speak Chinese while more and more want to learn it. Photo: VCG



US President Donald Trump ratcheted up his war of words with Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in recent days. Shortly after Trump claimed if Biden were president China would "own" the US on Friday night, he doubled down his claims Tuesday, telling conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt if he lost the race to Biden, Americans would have to "learn to speak Chinese." Slamming Trump's remarks, the Biden campaign called Trump "the weakest president in American history with respect to China."

The latest punch Trump landed on Biden was too weak. When he said Americans would have to learn to speak Chinese under a Biden presidency, he might have forgotten that his granddaughter, Arabella Kushner, the eldest daughter of Ivanka Trump, has been learning Putonghua since she was a toddler, and that he was proud of her language skills. "What's wrong with learning Chinese?" US netizens ridiculed Trump on social media platforms, with some claiming it's awesome to learn a second language.

Trump was implying learning Chinese is a terrible thing. For the Trump administration, everything related to China could be called a "threat." Chinese companies, technologies, and trade relations with China have all been regarded toxic by the US. But how can learning Putonghua be bad for the US?

Young generation of Chinese start learning English since kindergarten. Nobody worry it will be bad for China. While an estimated 300 to 400 million Chinese students are studying English, only about 200,000 US students are currently studying some form of Chinese. In fact, more Americans should be encouraged to learn Chinese.

Learning a country's language helps understand the country better. To truly understand a culture, one has to learn its language. If more Americans learn Chinese, they will be able to have a better understanding of China instead of being fooled by the twisted and negative narrative about China by some American politicians and media that harbor ideological bias against China.

Learning to speak Chinese is not a bad thing at all. Should more Americans speak Chinese, they will understand China's development philosophy, foreign policy. To say the least, Americans could have better prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic since they can learn first-hand epidemic preventive and control measures from Chinese media outlets rather than being misguided by US politicians and wasting time.

What the Americans need to worry about is not whether they have to learn to speak Chinese, but that the US doesn't have enough Americans who really understand China. China-US relations that grew from decades of engagement have been kidnapped by some US politicians' hostility to the rising China, and an attempt to decouple the two countries. Let more Americans learn Chinese, then they will be able to tell right from wrong, and grasp the real picture of China that is completely different from the demonization in the election campaign.



Global Times
The number of hydraulic fracturing crews returning to work inched upward in July with the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico accounting for most of the growth.

The number of active frac crews in the United States remains just below 100 but grew by 6.8 percent in July, according to a new report from the Houston investment bank Tudor Pickering Holt & Co.

The Permian Basin accounted 10 of the crews returning to work. The West Texas shale play now accounts for 43 percent of all active frac crews in the United States, according to the report.

The natural gas-rich Marcellus Shale of Pennsylvania accounts for 26 percent while the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas accounts for 9 percent and the Haynesville Shale of East Texas and northern Louisiana accounts for 8 percent, according to the report.

Downturn: COVID job losses approaching 100,000 in U.S. oil patch

There were more than 300 active frac crews number deployed in July 2019 but that number dropped dramatically in February and March as an oil and natural gas industry downturn caused the coronavirus pandemic and a price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia cut demand.

The downturn reached the bottom in May when out of the roughly 450 available hydraulic fracturing fleets in the United States and Canada, there were only 70 are deployed in the field, Tudor Pickering Holt & Co. said.

With crude oil prices in the mostly unprofitable $42 per barrel range, it will be a slow recovery for the industry. The July gains in frac crews were less than half of the 13 percent increase in June, the investment bank reported.

George O'Leary, an analyst with Tudor Pickering Holt & Co, believes that the number of active U.S. frac crews will peak between 130 and 150 next year.

"We firmly expect the Permian will drive the majority of the incremental frac demand through the end of 2020," O'Leary said.

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The general election in November is presenting us with new sets of challenges.

It is distressingly clear that not only our Elections Department but we, as individual voters, will need to be fully prepared to participate safely in this election, which will take place under unprecedented circumstances if the pandemic persists.

If unprepared, we may be left with an even bigger setback  political chaos and an erosion of public confidence in elections. The adage Failing to plan is planning to fail is what we all need to keep in mind as we march forward with less than nine weeks to the polls.

Extending early voting to allow voters to cast their ballots from Oct. 13 through Oct. 30 was a welcome announcement by Gov. Greg Abbott. Spreading the voting over a longer stretch of time will help voters avoid long lines and ease social distancing. However, it will require enlisting and training additional election workers. Considering the average age of election judges and clerks in Bexar County is 72 and a majority of them are older than 65, they are more susceptible to COVID-19 and perhaps less eager to play this role as evidenced during the runoff election.

To avoid glitches, it is imperative to create a reservoir of trained election workers. Those interested and in a safe position to do so should contact the Bexar County Elections Department for training.

What is troublesome is Abbott exempting polling sites from the mask mandate. Short of reversing this decision, we can make a responsible choice as individuals by wearing a mask to reduce the collective risk of in-person voting.

This exemption will add to the burden of recruiting election workers if we cant ensure their safety. It will also deter voters. Voters should not have to choose between their health and their right to vote. The rationale put forward to not deny somebody the ability to vote simply because they dont have a mask could be easily addressed by making masks available at the polling places.

With in-person voting a legitimate health risk for seniors, it would be prudent for Bexar County to send an application for a ballot by mail to all registered voters 65 or older. There should be a concerted effort to encourage them to choose this option. It will keep our elderly population safe and keep Election Day voting and in-person voting to the minimum.

To avoid an influx of last-minute requests, all registered voters 65 or older should request their application for ballot by mail now by calling the Bexar County Elections Department, 210-335-VOTE (8683), or printing out the online application.

For in-person voting, being prepared with your voting choices will minimize the time spent at the polling booth. The ballot will be long since it will include municipal races that were postponed from May. Also, voters will not be able to vote a straight ticket for the first time. Down-ballot candidates are often unfamiliar to voters and finding information is difficult. The League of Women Voters nonpartisan Voters Guide, found at www.vote411.org, will be available before early voting begins so voters can make informed choices.

We can hope we are over the pandemic before November. However, we are better off being fully prepared to address anticipated and not-so-anticipated challenges. Our prime goal should be making voting equitable, efficient, feasible, easy and safe for all. Our elections should not act as a catalyst in further spreading the coronavirus.

Madhu Sridhar is the president of the nonpartisan League of Women Voters of the San Antonio Area. Email her at madhusridhar2012@gmail.com.
Josh O'Connor plays Prince Charles in seasons three and four of The Crown. (Getty Images)

Prince Charles has no purpose until the Queen dies, according to the actor who plays the young Prince of Wales in Netflixs The Crown.

Josh OConnor took on the role of Charles through his university years in season three of the Netflix show and is set to reprise his role for the fourth season.

He said it was just bizarre for Charless life to only have meaning when the Queen dies and he accedes to the throne as king.

He told Esquire UK: For me, thats the juicy stuff.

The question of having to wait for your mum to die in order for your life to have meaning, and what that means for a young man. Its just bizarre.

Charles doesnt necessarily want power, but until she dies, what the hell is he doing? What is his existence? He has no purpose.

Read more: Prince Charles to let tenants off rent on royal land amid coronavirus crisis

Josh O'Connor, here in March 2020, plays a young Prince Charles in Netflix's The Crown. (WireImage)

Charles, 71, is the longest-serving Prince of Wales, and during his tenure, has worked on dozens of projects and alongside hundreds of charities.

During the coronavirus lockdown, he quickly adapted to technology, shifting his meetings to video calls and recording messages for, and on behalf of, his charities.

Read more: Jonathan Pryce will be Prince Philip in final two series of 'The Crown'

The Prince of Wales Trust has supported thousands of young people in work and education over the years and he has been a champion of the environment for five decades.

OConnor, 30, also compared the Royal Family to the fictional gangster family the Sopranos, as he confessed he didnt know anything about them.

Charles, here meeting key workers in London in July 2020, carries out hundreds of engagements a year. (Getty Images)

Emma Corrin plays Diana alongside Josh O'Connor's Charles. (WireImage)

Read more: Nine things we learned about Prince Harry and Meghan as Finding Freedom is released

OConnor said he was playing a character based on Charles rather than the man himself, adding: Like all great television shows, in my opinion its about family, and the politics of family. And thats whats interesting.

But ultimately, at its heart, it is Succession, its The Sopranos, its about family, the nastiness and competitiveness and the love and insecurity, and all the things that we love to see play out. Thats what makes it successful.

Story continues

The actor, who has previously expressed republican views, also spoke about the advantage of his lack of knowledge of royal affairs, saying: Its quite useful, because if anyone tries to trick you into saying anything about the real royal family, I cant, because I dont know anything.

When we went over to the Golden Globes, people were asking us about Harry and Meghan and I had to say, I dont know what youre talking about. Because I really dont.

The Crown season four airs on Netflix later this year. Esquire UK September/October issue is out now.
A minister has given the biggest indication yet that Australia's most iconic New Year's Eve celebrations could go ahead after a 's***y and crap' 2020.

But Sydney's world famous fireworks will be like no other, affected by strict restrictions in the wake of the deadly coronavirus pandemic that has this year one everyone would rather forget.

New South Wales tourism minister Stuart Ayres has gave his blessing for the fireworks display on Thursday, a day after event organisers City of Sydney indicated it was working with the state government.

The minister said it was ultimately the council's decision on whether the annual celebration watched by a billion people worldwide went ahead but gave his view in colourful terms.

Sydney's iconic New Year's Eve celebrations could still go ahead, despite the pandemic. Pictured is the colourful display ringing in the year 2020 on January 1

'I would love to see fireworks on the Harbour Bridge to celebrate 2021,' Mr Ayres told reporters on Thursday.

'I think everyone's just had a pretty s****y 2020 and having a fantastic celebration of starting a new year is probably going to out a smile on people's faces.'

He warned it won't be a traditional New Year's Eve celebration and will be without the one million revellers that pack city's harbour foreshore.

'But if we get an opportunity to celebrate a new year, put 2020 behind us and do so on the world stage, that's got to be a good thing, doesn't it?,' Mr Ayres said.

'It's been a crap 2020. We all know what's in been like. Bring on 2021. Let's have some fireworks to celebrate the end of this year and the start of a new one.'

The fireworks would likely go ahead with crowd restrictions. Pictured are German tourists enjoying last year's New Year's Eve celebrations on the harbour foreshore

City of Sydney Council is working with the government to assess the impact of COVID-19 on all major events, including New Years Eve.

'These events are subject to the NSW Governments public health orders, which are continuously amended to address the local impact of the pandemic,' a spokesman told Daily Mail Australia.

Where events are deemed safe enough to occur, we will prepare and enact COVID safe plans and physical distancing guidelines to safeguard the health and safety of our community, staff and contractors.'

It will the first time in 32 years if Sydney's famous fireworks display is cancelled.

With just four months to go, some don't believe the fireworks should go ahead as the battle to control a second wave of fresh infections continues.

'It sends a message we're out of the woods, when we're not,' University of NSW Professor Mary-Louise McLaws told Nine News.

Bayside Council Mayor Joe Awada added: 'How can you possible comply with health order and restrictions with 1.5 metres with 70,000 people? It would be impossible to control.

Last year's New Year's Eve celebrations in Sydney were marred by controversy after widespread last-ditch calls for the event to be cancelled due to the horror bushfire crisis along Australia's east coast at the time.

New South Wales tourism minister Stuart Ayres have given his blessing for the famous fireworks (pictured) to go ahead after a 's****y 2020'

More than 300,000 Australians signed a Change.org petition, calling for the event to be cancelled and give the money to drought-stricken farmers and tireless firefighters as the bushfire crisis hits frightening levels across the east coast.

Dozens of homes and properties were destroyed on December 31 last year as horrific fire tore through NSW south coast and Victoria's far-east

A number of councils in Sydney and across NSW cancelled their celebrations, including Parramatta, Wollongong, Campbelltown, Huskisson, Armidale, Maitland and Canberra.

Sydney's Bayside Council has already announced its celebrations have been scrapped for a second consecutive year.
Ertugrul, a five-season dizi (thats Turkish for telenovela-crossed-with-historical-epic) about the father of the founder of the Ottoman Empire, is now so popular that it has been dubbed into six languages and broadcast in 72 countries. On YouTube alone, Ertugrul has surpassed 1.5bn views.  The Guardian
A massive stockpile of ammonium nitrate fueled the blast in Beirut that killed 150 people and injured 50,000 more.

Thats the same chemical that exploded in West, Texas, in 2013, shattering the quiet community north of Waco and killing 15 people. And it was the same chemical that exploded in Texas City in 1947, killing almost 600.

From 1947 to 2013 to 2020, despite the well-documented history, not nearly enough has changed in Texas to prevent chemical disasters like these, Elena Craft, senior director for climate and health with Environmental Defense Fund, told the Associated Press last week. It gets to be accepted business.

It doesnt have to be. The disasters can be prevented. But they keep happening, and when they do, theyre displacing, sickening, maiming and killing Texans. The state has a history of protecting industry before people and issuing penalties for environmental violations that simply arent harsh enough to deter big companies. In Texas, it costs $25,000 to spew too much cancer-causing benzene in the air, but a billion-dollar company takes in $25,000 about every 13 minutes.

The outcome? Last year in the region, from northwest Houston to Port Neches, six chemical explosions collectively resulted in four deaths, countless injuries, the forced evacuation of 50,000 people at Thanksgiving, pollution that closed the Ship Channel for three days and cost $1 billion in economic losses and a sinister plume of dark smoke that inflamed airways, rattled nerves and altered weather patterns. Right now, Arkema executives are on trial for their decision not to move a stockpile of another chemical, which exploded during Hurricane Harvey, hospitalizing at least 23 people and creating lingering health impacts for first responders and neighbors.

Rep. Erin Zwiener, a fifth-generation Texan with a degree in natural resource management, wants the state to get tougher on reckless industry. The Democrat from Driftwood introduced a bill in the 2019 legislative session calling for Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) penalties to be at least equal to the value of the economic benefit gained by violators.

Right now, in Texas, it can cost less to be caught polluting than to continue to pollute. And industry is banking on that.

If it is cheaper for folks to violate the law than it is for them to follow it, Zwiener, a member of the House Environmental Regulation Committee, says, bad actors are going to take advantage.

Why doesnt TCEQ penalize bad actors more? Under current state law, the maximum fine the agency can levy against industry for violating their air, hazardous waste and water permits is just $25,000 per day, per violation. (In contrast, the federal Clean Air Act allows the Environmental Protection Agency to levy nearly $100,000 fines per day.) In Texas, the math of these low penalties  often negotiated even further down with TCEQ, which tends to treat incidents that violate dozens of permits as a single violation  equals just pennies on the pound for spewing pollution that robs Texans of quality of life and causes serious health problems, from asthma to lung disease to cancer to premature death.

All told, by refusing to assess a fine for each permit violation, TCEQ could be leaving as much as $2.3 billion in fines on the table, as it did in 2017 while its budget is being cut by state lawmakers.

Zwieners bill  HB 3035  fared a little better than most aimed at reining in the abuses of industry. Most such legislation goes nowhere, and Zwiener actually got a committee hearing. But her bill never received a floor debate or vote. She vows to revise it and try again in the 2021 Legislature.

Its been like this in this state for too long. Luke Metzger, executive director of Environment Texas, has tracked TCEQs ineffectual approach to enforcement for more than two decades. He says the agency can seem less interested in going after those billion-dollar companies than small operators, such as gas station owners.

They have more political and legal power  the big operators already have lawyers on retainer, while the little gas station cant afford to hire an attorney to represent them, he said.

A Texas Observer investigation found that from 2009 to 2017, TCEQ collected $24 million from little gas stations and other tank operators, many of them independently run, for minor recordkeeping errors, while collecting a mere $30 million from the thousands of major refineries, concrete batch plants and other industrial behemoths that violated their permits. Thats when the agency takes action, at least. Environment Texas also found that between 2011 and 2016, TCEQ has enforced no more than 3 percent of the total number of emissions events, and the volume of emissions doubled between 2017 and 2018.

Everyday Texans are paying the biggest price.

Every Texan deserves access to clean air and clean water, and to have that we need a proactive industry that is determined to avoid violations, Zwiener says. The best way to ensure that and the best way to build that culture is for TCEQ to step up its enforcement and raise its penalties.

Coleman is the communications strategist for Public Citizens Texas office.
An angler from Corpus Christi caught a 53-pound Warsaw grouper during a nine-hour trip in Port Aransas on Tuesday, according to the Dolphin Docks Deep Sea Fishing boat captain Michael Matthew.

Warsaw groupers are critically endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also listed the fish as a species of concern.

The fish can weigh up to 440 pounds are typically found in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the NOAA. As a way to help conserve its population, there is a one fish per vessel restriction on Warsaw groupers for the Gulf of Mexico, according to the NOAA website.

READ ALSO: 'It was epic': Anglers reel in 737-pound blue marlin last weekend at Port Aransas tournament

Matthew, who's been with the boating company for 11 years, said grouper catches aren't as plentiful as they used to be, so when one comes along, he said it's always an "exciting time." Matthew added the biggest grouper they've had was a 370-pounder.

Patrick Eden of Corpus Christi reeled in the 53-pounder and was about 30 miles offshore when he hooked the fish, Matthew said. It was no more than a 10-minute fight, he added.

The meat from the grouper was harvested and given to the angler, Matthew said.

Dolphin Dock Deep Sea Fishing is a boating company in Port Aransas that offers a variety of fishing trips. Fishermen usually show off their catches once they dock.

On Wednesday, the company uploaded a picture of Tuesday's catch on its Facebook page.

Priscilla Aguirre is a general assignment reporter for MySA.com | priscilla.aguirre@express-news.net | @CillaAguirre
LONDON, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --

Britishvolt gigaplant, potentially sited in South Wales , is one of the UK's largest-ever industrial investments and will power future electrified transport

Automotive plant specialist, Ray Macera , appointed Britishvolt's

Project Director to lead gigaplant construction

NG Bailey, UK's largest independent construction business, to lead build, with automotive manufacturing engineering expert Rolton Group Ltd partnering to provide engineering design

Ridge and Partners LLP providing project management of architecture and Savills leading on infrastructure, property and planning consultancy

Britishvolt, the UK's foremost investor in battery technologies, has announced the appointment of Ray Macera as Project Director for the construction and implementation of Britain's first battery gigaplant.

Macera, who is reporting directly to Britishvolt CEO, Orral Nadjari, leads one of the largest industrial investments in British history. The gigaplant will produce world-leading lithium-ion battery technology for the automotive and renewable energy sectors. He joins Britishvolt as a veteran of leading large-scale automotive projects, most recently, the Gestamp pressing facility that supplies Jaguar Land Rover's Nitra plant in Slovakia.

Key partners have also been contracted to help deliver the vital project. NG Bailey, the UK's largest independent engineering construction business, will lead the gigaplant's build. Ridge and Partners will be providing project management of the architecture. Both businesses have recently helped deliver the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UK BIC) in Coventry. which has been funded by the government backed Faraday Battery Challenge.

Additionally, automotive manufacturing experts, Rolton Group Ltd, have been selected to undertake all engineering design. While property company, Savills, are undertaking infrastructure and planning services.

Britishvolt CEO, Orral Nadjari said: "Our mission is for the gigaplant to begin supplying the automotive and energy industries with world-class batteries, powering the electric revolution. So, it's essential that we hire world-class talent and forge leading partnerships to help us achieve our goal.

"With these highly experienced new partners leading the construction phase, we have the expertise to build and equip a gigaplant that will be transformative for UK car-making, the renewable energy industry and the entire British economy.

"We already have momentum, working and deploying capital expenditure early in the process so that we can accurately assess, the level of UK government support that will be required to enable us to move the project forwards.

"We're also working with agility and speed. Thanks to previous experience with the UK BIC plant, we have achieved more progress in the past five weeks than similar projects have done in six months."

Britishvolt Project Director, Ray Macera, said: "It's exciting to be involved in such a strategically important project for Britain's industrial future. Building a gigaplant in Wales is a giant task, but with such a focused mission and such strength in depth with the pedigree of Britishvolt's appointed partners, we are already off to a strong start."

The new gigaplant is being designed by leading Italian design experts, Pininfarina. It is set to be sited on a former RAF base in Bro Tathan, South Wales and will house Britishvolt's manufacturing and R and D facilities.



About Britishvolt

Britishvolt is Britain's foremost investor in battery technologies. It is dedicated to supporting the future of electrified transportation and sustainable energy storage, producing world-leading lithium-ion battery technologies.

Britishvolt's aim is to establish the UK as the leading force in battery technology. It is working with leading partners and suppliers to achieve this because it is of paramount importance to the future of the UK automotive industry and the overall economic and industrial health of the UK.

The company believes that the UK is the right place for its investments because of the strength of its automotive and energy industry, its expertise and history of industrial and academic battery research and development.

2023 has been targeted as the start of production in Britain's first gigaplant in Wales, following the signing of a MOU with the Welsh Government. The gigaplant is one of the largest-ever UK industrial investments is situated in 80+ hectares of green industrial park, a 200MW solar park, with a production capacity of up to 30 GWh.

SOURCE Britishvolt
Essam el-Erian had complained of medical negligence in detention after being sentenced to several life sentences.

A senior leader of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood movement has died of a heart attack in the notorious Tora Prison in Cairo, Egyptian security sources have said.

Essam el-Erian, who was sentenced to several life sentences following the military coup against Egypts first democratically elected president Mohamed Morsi, died at the age of 66.

El-Erian had been moved to a prison hospital after suffering a heart attack and died during treatment, two prison sources told Reuters news agency.

We were informed of his death by prison authorities  they told us the death was natural, a lawyer representing the Muslim Brotherhood, Abdel Moneim Abdel-Maqsoud, said in a statement to local media.

He said he received a call on Wednesday from the prison authority informing him of el-Erians death.

I dont know whether he died in prison or in hospital, he told Anadolu news agency. I informed his family of his death to start the funeral procedures.

According to Abdul-Maqsoud, he and el-Erians family have not been able to see him for about six months after the authorities suspended visits to prisons, claiming a precautionary measure to combat the coronavirus.

El-Erian had complained in previous court sessions of being prevented from treatment and being subjected to medical negligence. Egypts public prosecutor had no immediate comment.

Relatives of other high-profile Islamist prisoners at Tora had previously raised concerns about their health, saying they were being held in poor conditions without adequate healthcare. Egyptian authorities have denied mistreating prisoners or neglecting their health.





The Brotherhood leader also said in previous statements he had contracted Hepatitis C inside the prison, and the National Security Agency had objected to his treatment.

He was arrested after then-defence minister Abdel Fattah el-Sisi overthrew the late president Morsi in July 2013.

He was later sentenced to several life sentences for being part of demonstrations against the decision to overthrow Morsi, who also died in prison.

Prominent leader

The late leader had said in previous statements he contracted Hepatitis C inside Tora Prison and was refused treatment [File: Maher Iskander/AFP]

El-Erian, a doctor and politician, was born on April 28, 1954, and became one of the most prominent leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

During his years at medical school and until his graduation in 1977, he became the head of the Islamic Group at Cairo University, then a coordinator of the Shura Council of the General Union of Islamic Associations and Groups.

Upon joining the Muslim Brotherhood in 1974, he contributed to the formation of the first Muslim Brotherhood families in the Giza governorate. He was also elected to the Cairo University Student Union and served as president of the General Union of Egyptian Students. He was the secretariat of the Cultural Committee of the Cairo Medical Students Union from 1972 to 1977.

El-Erian was not satisfied with studying medicine, so he obtained a law degree from Cairo University, a history degree, and pursued Islamic law studies at the al-Azhar University for his postgraduate degree.





As a trade unionist, he was elected a member of the board of directors of the Egyptian Medical Syndicate since 1986 and held the position of assistant secretary-general for several years. He formed a popular organisation with the aim of standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people, called the Forum of Professional Gatherings to Advocate the Palestinian Cause.

Moderate approach

As a parliamentarian, he was elected as a member of the Peoples Assembly in the legislative season for the years 1987-1990 from Imbaba district, and he was the youngest member at the time.

El-Erian wrote for several local, Arab and international newspapers, magazines and periodicals on various topics.

Before the establishment of the Muslim Brotherhoods political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, where el-Erian assumed the position of secretary-general and vice president, he was a member of the groups guidance bureau.

El-Erian was known for his moderate approach and was considered as an advocate of internal reforms of the Muslim Brotherhood.
FRANKFORT, MI - Want to plant your feet on a sandy beach and try your hand at unfurling a kite along the Lake Michigan shoreline? One of Northern Michigans prettiest beach towns is inviting visitors to do just that later this month with Frankforts Lets Go Fly a Kite event.

The free gathering will take place Saturday Aug. 22 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the citys downtown beach. Its being sponsored by the Frankfort Elberta Chamber of Commerce and the Istnick family. There will be 100 pre-assembled kites waiting for people to pick up and fly. You can also bring your own kite to the beach and send it soaring.

Hopefully we will have a beautiful windy day to enjoy flying a kite, chamber staff said.

Event sponsors Bob and Ginny Istnick suggested this fun beach activity to give the kids another chance to run on the beach and enjoy the joys of the winds of Frankfort. Ginny and Bob are sponsoring the event with the chamber to purchase Kites for Kids - and adults dont need to be shy. They will have 100 kites for both young and old.

Greg Schmid, an avid kite flyer, will be on hand to assist and provide kite flying demonstrations.

Donations will be accepted toward future events. Tourism officials also ask that participants follow social distancing rules and bring a mask.

The rain date will be Sunday, Aug. 23.

Want to map out more things to do while youre in Frankfort for the day? Here are a few things to get you started:

Explore Town: Bigger brewery, beachfront treks make Frankfort a great escape

Head Next Door to Elberta: Why this Michigan resort-town restaurant used to be crammed full of cabbages

Paddle or Boat over a Shipwreck: Mystery surrounds old Lake Michigan shipwreck, woman left tied to the mast

Sample a Brew: Michigans Best Beer of the Week: Its a rainmaker!
Hundreds of residents were evacuated and two injured when flames ripped through almost 100 homes in Bangkok, Thailand, in the evening of August 12. The inferno - believed to have started from an electrical fault in a plug extension cable - began in a wooden townhouse property in the Thon Buri district of the capital city at around 7pm local time. Fire spread throughout the two-storey home as residents ran into the street. It then jumped to neighbouring buildings affecting at least 90 homes . Rescue efforts were hampered by the narrow streets. Fire crews managed to bring the blaze under control by 9pm but many structures were still smouldering. The glowing orange fire could be seen from several miles away sending plumes of smoke and flames into the night sky. Officials said that two residents were injured and taken to hospital. The full number of casualties is not yet known. ''The fire started in a wooden home and spread very quickly as all the properties are close together,'' one fireman told local television news. ''So far there have been two people taken to hospital with injuries. The initial theory about the cause of the the fire is that started from an electricity cable. ''We have estimated that there are 90 homes that have been damaged or destroyed.'' Police and fire investigators are at the scene to establish the exact cause of the blaze.
NEW YORK, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Inc. magazine today revealed that Syndicate Claim Services, Inc. is No. 2852 on its annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies. The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economy's most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses. Intuit, Zappos, Under Armour, Microsoft, Patagonia, and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000.

Syndicate Claim Services, Inc.

"Dream big, think differently, work hard, stay focused and surround yourself with great talentgrowth and success are a fortunate by product."

-Josh Morgan, President/CEO

Not only have the companies on the 2020 Inc. 5000 been very competitive within their markets, but the list as a whole shows staggering growth compared with prior lists as well. The 2020 Inc. 5000 achieved an incredible three-year average growth of over 500 percent, and a median rate of 165 percent. The Inc. 5000's aggregate revenue was $209 billion in 2019, accounting for over 1 million jobs over the past three years.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at www.inc.com/inc5000. The top 500 companies are also being featured in the September issue of Inc., available on newsstands August 12.

"The companies on this year's Inc. 5000 come from nearly every realm of business," says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. "From health and software to media and hospitality, the 2020 list proves that no matter the sector, incredible growth is based on the foundations of tenacity and opportunism."

The annual Inc. 5000 event honoring the companies on the list will be held virtually from October 23 to 27, 2020. As always, speakers will include some of the greatest innovators and business leaders of our generation.

About Syndicate Claim Services, Inc.

Syndicate is one of the nation's fastest-growing independent adjusting companies and an industry-leading, national claims insurance solutions service provider. Syndicate is improving the IA industry by offering innovative, people-focused solutions for insurance carriers, brokers, third party administrators, and self-insured entities.

CONTACT:

Cara Gilliam, Marketing/PR

888-391-8230

[email protected]

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000

Methodology

The 2020 Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2016 and 2019. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2016. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2016 is $100,000; the minimum for 2019 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Companies on the Inc. 500 are featured in Inc.'s September issue. They represent the top tier of the Inc. 5000, which can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000.

About Inc. Media

The world's most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit www.inc.com.

For more information on the Inc. 5000 Conference, visit http://conference.inc.com/.

SOURCE Syndicate Claim Services, Inc.
Israel and the United Arab Emirates have announced they are establishing full diplomatic relations in a US-brokered deal that requires Israel to halt its plan to annex occupied West Bank land sought by the Palestinians.

The historic deal reflects a changing Middle East in which shared concerns about Iran have largely overtaken traditional Arab support for the Palestinians.

A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the deal amounts to treason and should be reversed. The official Palestinian news agency WAFA said the Palestinian ambassador to the UAE was also being recalled.

The agreement makes the UAE the third Arab country, after Egypt and Jordan, to have full diplomatic ties with Israel. They announced it in a joint statement, saying deals between Israel and the UAE were expected in the coming weeks in such areas as tourism, direct flights and embassies.

US President Donald Trump called the deal a truly historic moment.

Now that the ice has been broken I expect more Arab and Muslim countries will follow the United Arab Emirates, he told reporters in the Oval Office.

In a nationally televised news conference, Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed Mr Trumps remarks.

He said: Today we usher in a new era of peace between Israel and the Arab world. There is a good chance we will soon see more Arab countries joining this expanding circle of peace.

But Mr Netanyahu said the annexation plan was on temporary hold, appearing to contradict statements from Emirati officials who said it was off the table.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke today by telephone with US President Donald Trump and UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed. pic.twitter.com/hjxwciV0j3  Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) August 13, 2020

Emirati officials described the deal in pragmatic terms. Anwar Gargash, a top Emirati official, said they had dealt a death blow to an aggressive Israeli move and hoped to help reshape the region.

Is it perfect? Nothing is perfect in a very difficult region, Mr Gargash added. But I think we used our political chips right.

Omar Ghobash, assistant minister for culture and public diplomacy, told The Associated Press: I dont think anything was written in stone. We are opening a door. We are hoping the Israelis will see the benefits to this step.

I would assume that this is political manoeuvring within a very complex political society, he added.

Israel and the UAE do not share a border and have never fought a war. But the UAE, like most of the Arab world, long rejected diplomatic ties with Israel in the absence of a peace deal establishing a Palestinian state on lands captured by Israel in 1967.

That steadfast support for the Palestinians, however, has begun to weaken in recent years, in large part because of the shared enmity towards Iran and Iranian proxies in the region. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the day-to-day ruler of the UAE, also shares Israels distrust of Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and the Gaza Strips ruling Hamas militant group.

Mr Netanyahu has long boasted about fostering closer behind-the-scenes ties with Arab countries than publicly acknowledged. The UAE has made little secret of those budding ties, allowing Israeli businessmen to enter the country on foreign passports and welcoming Israeli officials and sporting figures. Next year, Israel will take part in the UAEs delayed Expo 2020, the worlds fair being hosted by Dubai. A secret synagogue also attracts practising Jews in Dubai.
The Thai monarchy has celebrated the Queen mother's 88th birthday as mass protests criticizing the playboy king continue to escalate.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn - known as Rama X - was pictured clutching Queen Mother Sirikit's hand during a ceremony, as candlelit celebrations for the national holiday were held across the country.

Queen Mother Sirikit was dressed in a floral outfit complete with a pearl necklace while she posed for photos with her son and his wife, Queen Suthida.

But this year's celebrations come as protesters risk arrest and 15 years in prison by voicing rare public criticism of the country's normally unassailable monarchy.

The Thai King was seen clutching his mother's hand as he led her 88th birthday celebrations

King Maha Vajiralongkorn was photographed talking to Queen Mother Sirikit alongside his wife, Queen Suthida, during a ceremony

Around 4,000 protesters listened in Bangkok this week as organisers read out a list of demands for the royal family, including reform of the 'lese majeste' law which protects the King from criticism.

Activists also called for frank discussion about the super-rich King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who has taken personal control of royal assets and has spent much of his time in Germany.

Protesters have previously made veiled references to the King, asking about the weather in Germany and holding up pictures of Harry Potter villain Lord Voldemort, also known as He Who Must Not Be Named.

But the latest protests have featured more direct criticism - prompting a rebuke from prime minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha who said the demonstrators had gone too far.

And now Thailand has threatened to take legal action over social media posts criticizing the monarchy, Bloomberg reported.

Buddhipongse Punnakanta, the country's digital economy minister, has allegedly ordered authorities to identify 'inappropriate' posts across Facebook, Twitter and Youtube that may be in breach of the Computer Crimes Act.

The King poured tea for his mother while they were flanked by staff wearing face masks

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha (centre left) next his wife Naraporn (centre right) and officials light the candle in front of a large picture of Thai Queen Sirikit (centre) during a celebration ceremony of the Thai Queen Sirikit's 88th birthday at Sanam Luang in Bangkok, Thailand

Protesters call for the dissolution of the military government of Thailand's Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha and the release of activists Anon Numpa and Panupong Jadnok, who had been arrested on various charges the day before, during a flash mob in Bangkok

Thai protesters are risking arrest and 15 years in prison by voicing rare public criticism of the country's normally unassailable monarchy. King Maha Vajiralongkorn is pictured with Queen Suthida at a ceremony to celebrate the birthday of Thai Queen Sirikit, the Queen Mother, near the Grand Palace in Bangkok

Reports in Germany earlier this year claimed the King was staying at a four-star hotel with a 'harem' of women who were assigned military titles

Palace officials declined to comment on the student protests or on any criticism of the monarchy. The King is pictured with his wife

Protesters attend an anti-government rally at Thammasat University in Thailand on Monday night, where some demonstrators made demands to reform the monarchy

A pro-democracy protester dressed as a wizard holds up a picture of Lord Voldemort, the Harry Potter villain also known as He Who Must Not Be Named, at a protest last week

Protesters salute during a pro-democracy rally at Thammasat University in Pathum Thani, north of Bangkok on August 10

Thailand's strict 'lese majeste' law protecting the monarchy from criticism Thailand's royal defamation law is among the toughest in the world, setting jail terms of three to 15 years for anyone who 'defames, insults or threatens' the King, Queen, heir apparent or regent. The law is written in Section 112 of the country's Penal Code and is widely known as the 'lese majeste' law, meaning 'to do wrong to majesty' in French. The law against royal insults has been present in Thai criminal codes since early 1900s, when Thailand was known as Siam, and has been strengthened over the years by successive military rulers. The prison term was raised to 15 years after 1976 student protests at Thammasat University were crushed. The King is described in Thailand's constitution as 'enthroned in a position of revered worship'. Thai royalist traditionalists see the monarchy as a sacred institution. Past convictions have included of a Swiss man jailed for 10 years for defacing pictures of the King, and a French businessman arrested for insulting the monarchy during a Thai Airways flight from London with two Thai royals on board. However, there were only occasional prosecutions before 2014, when current Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha took power in a coup, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights. Many of those convicted at the time were pardoned by the current king's late father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who was widely revered during a 70-year reign until his death in 2016. But between the 2014 coup and early 2018, at least 98 lese majeste charges were filed, according to a legal database by Thai watchdog iLaw. Advertisement

Queen Mother Sirikit was born in Bangkok in 1932 and spent her early years between Thailand, England, Denmark and France.

She married King Rama's father, known as Rama IX, in 1950, and the pair remained together until his death in 2016.

Queen Sirikit acted as regent when he undertook the tradition period as a Buddhist monk in 1956.

She was hailed for her duties and officially named the Regent of Thailand the second Siamese queen regent in Thai history.

Famed for her glamorous appearance and flamboyant wardrobe, in recent years she has kept out of the public eye following a stroke in 2012.

Her birthday celebrations this year, though, have been overshadowed this year by widespread demonstrations.

Thousands of protesters chanted 'long live democracy' during a protest on a Bangkok university campus on Monday night.

Protesters from a student pro-democracy group made a 10-point call for monarchy reform while others called for the PM's resignation.

The students' demands included the reversal of a 2019 order that transferred two army units to the King's personal command, and a 2017 law that gave him full control of the crown's extensive property holdings.

Estimates of Vajiralongkorn's personal wealth start at $30billion and he has spent much of his time in Europe, including during the coronavirus lockdown.

Reports in Germany earlier this year claimed the King was staying at a four-star hotel with a 'harem' of women who were assigned military titles.

Palace officials declined to comment on the student protests or on any criticism of the monarchy.

Prayuth, a former chief of the armed forces, told reporters he had watched the protests and was very concerned.

'There are a lot of people in trouble waiting for their problems to get fixed, not just the young people. So is doing all of this appropriate?'

'It really went too far,' Prayuth said, without directly commenting on the demands on for royal reform.

Monday's protest prompted a public statement by Thammasat University apologising for the event.

It said that while the university supported free expression, it did not condone 'some references on the monarchy that impact people's feelings'.

Students have previously staged Harry Potter-themed protests and mentioned He Who Must Not Be Named in a veiled reference to the King.

Last week, human rights lawyer Anon Nampa took the stage at Bangkok's Democracy Monument and openly called for the palace's powers to be curbed.

A couple walks next to a floral display created to mark Thailand's Queen Mother Sirikit's 88th birthday in a shopping mall in Bangkok on August 11

An office staff member installs a portrait of Thailand's Queen Siriki, temporarily replacing a portrait of King Maha Vajiralongkorn (R), for the Queen's 88th birthday

Well-wishers wearing facemasks hold candles during a ceremony to celebrate the 88th birthday of Thailand's Queen Sirikit in Narathiwat

'No other democratic countries allow the king to have this much power over the military,' he told about 200 protesters, with police standing by as he spoke.

'This increases the risk that a monarchy in a democracy could become an absolute monarchy.'

Anon was not arrested under the lese majeste law, but was detained and charged with sedition and breaking coronavirus rules by taking part in the protest.

However, he was released on bail and took part in another pro-democracy protest at the weekend.

Some Thai activits have called for frank discussion about the super-rich King Maha Vajiralongkorn (pictured at his wedding to Queen Suthida in 2019)

Approximately 3,000 anti-government protesters attended a rally in Bangkok on Monday night, the latest in a string of daily protests started by students in late July

Some protesters have worn face masks emblazoned with messages calling for the end of Section 112, the part of the Thai penal code which protects the monarchy from criticism.

While the country has been roiled by decades of political turmoil, the constitution says the monarchy must be held 'in a position of revered worship.'

Any form of challenge to the monarchy was extremely rare under Vajiralongkorn's father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died in 2016 after 70 years on the throne.

The monarchy is also backed by the arch-royalist military, which has staged more than a dozen coups since the end of absolutism in 1932.

Protesters are also calling for a rewrite of the constitution and the dissolution of parliament.

'We're partly inspired by the Hong Kong protests,' said activist Tattep Ruangprapaikitseree, referring to the months-long unrest in the Chinese-run city.

'We have no real leaders or organisers - people just come out by themselves.'

The coronavirus pandemic sent Thailand's economy into freefall, focusing already simmering discontent against the government's handling of the crisis.

Pro-democracy protesters dressed as wizards attend a Harry Potter-themed protest demanding the resignation of Thailand's Prime Minister

Many protesters support the opposition Future Forward Party, whose leaders were banned in February from politics for a decade over electoral breaches.

FFP's mainly young supporters saw this as more evidence that the system was stacked against them.

Royalists have held counter-rallies, though with smaller numbers.

Even though King Vajiralongkorn spends much of his time in Germany, his image is pervasive in Thailan, where gold-framed royal portraits look down on city streets.

Cinemas play a royal anthem at which audiences are traditionally expected to stand, and conservatives say the monarchy is a guarantee of stability.

Some analysts say the military uses its close association with the monarchy to justify its prominent role in Thai politics.

Meanwhile, the king has strengthened his constitutional powers since he took the throne in 2016.

So far, only a handful of the dozens of student protest groups have openly criticised the monarchy, but they are united in demanding change to Thai politics.
Press Release

August 13, 2020 Pacquaio tells admin supporters: Lacson is not the enemy, it's the corrupt PhilHealth officials Instead of attacking Sen. Panfilo Lacson, administration supporters should even be thankful for his unrelenting crusade against corruption because he is an active partner of President Duterte in the fight to clean the government of irregularities. Pacquiao said that Lacson and President Duterte have the same enemy and these are the scalawags and misfits in government who continue to cause untold misery to all Filipinos. The fighting Senator made this call after Lacson was put at the receiving end of vicious troll attacks for revealing the sordid details of the multi-billion modus of some Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) officials and their cohorts. Instead of attacking Lacson, administration supporters should support him because he is providing President Duterte the unadulterated facts about what is really going on among some government offices such as PhilHealth. Pacquaio said that Lacson had obviously conducted a meticulous research and investigation on the P15-Billion PhilHealth anomaly and his revelations should not be taken as an attack against the president but a generous gesture to help him fulfill his promise to wipe out corruption in his administration. "Huwag naman sanang masamain itong mga ginagawang pagbubuyag ni Senator Lacson. He is just doing his job. Kami sa Senate, we are just exercising our oversight powers to protect our people from thieves posing as government officials," Pacquaio said. Pacquaio said that dishonest government officials are expected to feed the president with the wrong information to save their skin and Senators such as Lacson are duty-bound to show the hard facts to prompt appropriate government action. "The Senate is investigating this PhilHealth anomaly in aid of legislation and can only recommend appropriate government action based on its findings. We are presenting the facts through witnesses and material evidence that may be presented and can recommend the filing of charges if needed. But in the end, it is the President who has the sole power to fire erring officials in his administration," Pacquaio said. "It is up to the President to appreciate the recommendations of the Senate and we would not take it as an offense if in the end he sees things differently. Basta kami sa Senate gagawin namin ang trabaho naming protektahan ang milyon-milyong miyembro ng PhilHealth," Pacquaio said.
Germany has recorded its biggest daily increase in coronavirus cases in more than three months, as countries across the region struggle to contain a surge in infections.



The latest official figures showed a rise of more than 1,200 cases in Germany in the past 24 hours.



Health Minister Jens Spahn said the increase was due, in part, to people returning from holidays.



It came as Germany warned against non-essential trips to parts of Spain.



The foreign ministry said it had added a partial travel warning to the Spanish capital Madrid and the Basque region on Tuesday amid rising infections there. Warnings were already in place for the regions of Aragon, Catalonia and Navarra.



Germany has recorded more than 9,000 coronavirus-related deaths since the pandemic began.



Spain is facing the worst coronavirus infection rate in Western Europe. It recorded 1,418 new infections in its latest daily count on Tuesday and said there were 675 active outbreaks in the country.



Salvador Macip, an expert in health sciences at Catalonias Open University, told AFP news agency the country was at a critical moment.



We are right at a point where things can get better or worse. This means we have to pull out all the stops to curb outbreaks before they become more serious, he said.



In total, Spain has recorded more than 326,000 cases  the highest number in Western Europe and the 11th highest in the world.



Wearing a face mask became compulsory in all public areas in Brussels on Wednesday amid a rise in cases.



The order applies to those aged 12 and above. People were previously only required to wear masks in crowded public spaces and enclosed areas of the Belgian capital, such as shopping centres.



Authorities said the enhanced rules were introduced because of a rise in infections, with Brussels recording an average of 50 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants per day over the past week.



Police checks are being ramped up to ensure that people follow the new rules.



The mask-wearing regulation is one of the strictest currently in place in Europe.



Belgium has recorded more than 75,000 cases of coronavirus and more than 9,800 deaths, according to data collated by Johns Hopkins University.

Source: The Ghanaian Times









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Without CGI, how did they even do that -- did the whole thing involve props and clever editing? Was the bird sedated? The answer is no. Michelle Pfeiffer just swallowed a live bird.

Basically, what you see on screen is precisely what happened -- she held it in her mouth for about five or six seconds and then opened it for it to fly out. It was all done in one take, too (that part might not be so surprising, as we wonder what the process of forcing a bird into somebody's mouth two dozen times would look like). And she didn't even stop to think about what could happen.

Warner Bros. Pictures Really, what could go wrong?

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Looking back today, she wonders what she was thinking -- and, yeah, the more you think about it, the dumber it seems. The bird could have, say, gotten scared and pooped in her mouth, or it could have started pecking at her tongue and cheeks, or it could have gotten stuck and flapped around while trying to get out, accidentally biting her, or-- well, you get the idea. It's a spectacularly ridiculous thing to even try.

This is probably why Tim Burton says that he doesn't think he's "ever been so impressed" as he was by that. It's just one of the funny physical things she did that helped make the role great, he says -- just like, say, how her eyes nearly flutter in the scene where she comes back to life. All that might be a nice way to dress up what's basically elaborate trolling, though -- Pfeiffer says she thinks Tim likes to torture her a bit, like a mischievous little brother. One with all the resources of a film studio at his disposal, apparently.
Physical activity destinations more than 500 meters from home may encourage older people to engage in physical activity. Outdoor mobility facilitating parks, walking trails, and public services at greater distances increased physical activity, according to a study conducted at the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences of the University of Jyvaskyla.

Older people reporting attractive destinations more than 500 meters away were more physically active than those who did not report any destination or reported such destinations only closer to home." Erja Portegijs, Senior Researcher

Physical activity is important for maintaining health and function in old age. A home neighborhood offering attractive destinations may thus help older people to maintain an active life. Research commonly assumes that only the near-home environment is meaningful for older adults' mobility and physical activity.

Nearly 200 men and women from Central Finland between the ages of 79 and 94 participated in this study. On an internet-based map, participants noted any outdoor mobility facilitating destinations they perceived.

With this new method, we obtained unique information about older adults' spatial mobility. Such a method has not been used in populations of this advanced age before.

Similar map-based data are increasingly used in city planning. However, older adults are typically underrepresented in such internet surveys.

"Research in representative samples of older populations is therefore important," Portegijs explains. "In our study, we provided technical assistance to enable the participation of those with limited IT skills as well."

Senior researcher Portegijs was also involved in a European-wide study among older adults of six European countries (Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom). The results show that it is useful to have multiple destinations such as public services, places to sit, and parks in the neighbourhood. Reporting many of these types of destinations was associated with higher physical activity.

"These results support the idea that diversity and quality aspects of neighborhood destinations are important to support older adults' physical activity," Portegijs says.
The UAE and Israel on Thursday agreed to establish full diplomatic relations in a deal brokered by US President Donald Trump, a breakthrough the three nations say will advance peace in the Middle East and result in Jerusalem suspending its plans to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank. "This historic diplomatic breakthrough will advance peace in the Middle East region," according to a joint statement tweeted by Trump. "After 49 years, Israel and the United Arab Emirates will fully normalise their diplomatic relations," Trump said from the Oval Office. ...

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Digital Editor
Upcoming political events in the Bay Area. Events take place online unless otherwise noted:

TUESDAY

Dr. Anthony Fauci: Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in conversation with Gloria Duffy, president and CEO of the Commonwealth Club. 11 a.m. More information is here.

Local elections: The power of local elections  a discussion with AShanti Gholar, president of Emerge, and Eitan Hersh, associate professor of political science at Tufts University. Hosted by sf.citi. 5 p.m. More information is here.

WEDNESDAY

Social media and digital democracy: Alex Stamos, director of the Stanford Internet Observatory and former chief security officer of Facebook, on the rapid shift in media consumption and how it affects elections and other elements of democracy. Hosted by the Commonwealth Club. 6:30 p.m. More information is here.

Unbreaking government: Can the U.S. fix its political and economic systems? A discussion with the authors of Presidents, Populism, and the Crisis of Democracy, University of Chicago political science department chair William Howell and Terry Moe, Stanford University political science professor and Hoover Institution fellow. Hosted by Keplers Books. 7 p.m. More information is here.

THURSDAY

Gen Z: How to ensure Generation Z is engaged in civic life during political upheaval and the pandemic. Speakers include Sara Guillermo, chief program officer of IGNITE National; Amanda Little, executive director of Kidizenship; Generation Citizen CEO Scott Warren; and Amber Coleman-Mortley, social engagement director at iCivics. Hosted by the Commonwealth Club. 10 a.m. More information is here.

S.F. D1 candidates: Candidates for San Francisco supervisor in District One  Andrew Majalya, Connie Chan, David Lee, Marjan Philhour and Veronica Shinzato  in a debate hosted by sf.citi. 5 p.m. More information is here.

AUG. 21

March for the Dead, Fight for the Living: A protest and march across the Golden Gate Bridge honoring people who have died in the coronavirus pandemic and calling for systemic reform to further social and economic justice. Organized by Vigil for Democracy and Wall of Many Bay Area. 5:30 p.m. Meet at Crissy Field Warming Hut, 983 Marine Drive, San Francisco. More information is here.

Shirley Chisholm documentary: A screening and discussion of Rep. Shirley Chisholms 1972 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, Chisholm 72: Unbought and Unbossed. Hosted by the Mechanics Institute. 6 p.m. More information is here.

AUG. 22

Pandemic response: A look at how the nations economic response to the coronavirus pandemic has skewed toward maximizing profits. Speakers include St. Marys College economics Professor Jack Rasmus. Hosted by Speak Out Now. 4 p.m. More information is here.

AUG. 25

Reagans legacy: Rick Perlstein, author of Reaganland, on how Ronald Reagan won the presidency and why the conservative strategy for gaining power works to this day. Hosted by the Commonwealth Club. Noon. More information is here.

Corruption in America: Sarah Chayes, former Paris reporter for NPR and author of On Corruption In America And What Is at Stake, in a conversation hosted by the Commonwealth Club. 3:30 p.m. More information is here.

AUG. 26

Race and equity: A discussion on systemic racism and ways to create a more just and equitable community. Panelists include William Armaline of the SJSU Human Rights Collaborative; LaToya Fernandez of YouthHype; Chava Bustamante of Latinos Unidos for a New America; and Zahra Billoo of the Council on American Islamic Relations. Hosted by San Jose Spotlight. 4 p.m. More information is here.

Womens suffrage centennial: Perspectives on how women can lead the country and further democratic values. Speakers include Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, Alameda County Supervisor Wilma Chan, She the People founder Aimee Allison, League of Women Voters of San Francisco president Alison Goh, suffrage historian Jennifer Helton and journalists Marisa Lagos of KQED and Elaine Elinson. Hosted by the League of Women Voters. 5 p.m. More information is here.

Katie Hill: Former congresswoman and author of the new book She Will Rise: Becoming a Warrior in the Battle for True Equality, on her story. Hosted by the Commonwealth Club. 6 p.m. More information is here.

AUG. 27

S.F.s first suffrage march: The story of the first known San Francisco march for womens right to vote, and the women who led it. Presented by Evelyn Rose, director of the Glen Park Neighborhoods History Project. Hosted by the San Francisco Public Library. 6 p.m. More information is here.

AUG. 29

Silicon Valley Pride: Day One of a virtual Pride celebration, beginning at 9 a.m. More information and events are here.

AUG. 30

Silicon Valley Pride: Day Two of a virtual Pride celebration, beginning at 10 a.m. More information and events are here.

SEPT. 9

S.F. D7 candidates: Candidates for San Francisco supervisor in District Seven  Emily Murase, Joel Engardio, Myrna Melgar and Vilaska Nguyen  in a debate hosted by sf.citi. 5 p.m. More information is here.

To list an event, please email Chronicle politics editor Trapper Byrne at tbyrne@sfchronicle.com
(Newser)  Andrew Lloyd Webber is anxious to get audiences back to the theater, which is why he's now taking part in a coronavirus vaccine trial from Oxford University and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. "I am excited that tomorrow I am going to be vaccinated for the Oxford Covid 19 trial," the composer said in a Tuesday tweet, per CNN. "I'll do anything to prove that theatres can re-open safely." He already held "a socially distanced safety pilot" at his London Palladium theater in July, reports the Evening Standard. The venue was chemically cleaned before audience members were admitted. They underwent temperature checks, sat at least two seats away from other audience members, and wore face coverings throughout an hourlong performance by Beverley Knight.

story continues below

Cameron Mackintosh, who owns several West End theaters, said the pilot "brilliantly exposed the artistic and commercial bankruptcy of trying to apply social distancing to indoor mainstream theater." Mackintosh, the stage producer responsible for shows like Hamilton and the Phantom of the Opera, has had to lay off most of his staff. "I'm still hopeful that by Easter next year most of my productions and some of our theaters can reopen," he says, per the Evening Standard. It's unclear when the British government might allow theaters to reopen. Broadway shows won't resume until at least January 2021. Still, actors applaud Lloyd Webber's move. "It's so amazing how you're leading from the front," says Jeremy Secomb. "You Sir are giving us the help and hope we so need, adds Jennie Dale. (Read more Andrew Lloyd Webber stories.)
The Deputy General Secretary of the NDC, Kwaku Boahen has described President Nana Akufo-Addo as a wicked President.



According to him hardship and corruption under President Akufo-Addos administration is unprecedented.



God always cries when the wicked leads a nation.



Speaking on UTVs Adekye Nsroma, Kwaku Boahen said the economic mismanagement by the NPP administration has brought untold hardship on Ghanaians.



We pray that God will protect us from this wicked President...we pray to God for protection and guidance because the good ones are more than the wicked NPP government. So, God should keep and protect us from the hands of the wicked.



He expressed strong optimism for the NDC victory in 2020 to deliver Ghanaians from their hardships.





Source: Josephine Acheampomaa/[email protected]









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Indian Ambassador to China, Vikram Misri on Wednesday held talks with a senior official of the countrys ruling Communist Party here and discussed the situation at the border in eastern Ladakh and overall bilateral relations.

Misris meeting with Liu Jianchao, Deputy Director of the Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee Foreign Affairs Commission came amidst diplomatic and military-level talks between India and China on disengagment of troops from all friction points in eastern Ladakh.

Ambassador @VikramMisri today met H.E. Liu Jianchao, Deputy Director of the Office of the CPC Central Committee Foreign Affairs Commission and briefed him on Indias stance vis-a-vis the situation on the borders in eastern Ladakh UT and overall bilateral relations, the Indian Embassy tweeted.

No further details of the meeting were available.

Misris meeting with Liu comes against the backdrop of reports that the disengagement process between the troops of the two countries has not moved forward as expected along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

At the latest round of military talks, the Indian side insisted forcefully on complete disengagement of Chinese troops at the earliest, and immediate restoration of status quo ante in all areas of eastern Ladakh prior to May 5 when the standoff began following a clash between the two armies in Pangong Tso.

The Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) has pulled back from Galwan Valley and certain other friction points but the withdrawal of its troops has not moved forward from the Finger areas in Pangong Tso, Gogra and Depsang as demanded by India, according to sources in New Delhi.

India has been insisting that China must withdraw its forces from areas between Finger Four and Eight. The mountain spurs in the area are referred to as Fingers.

The formal process of disengagement of troops began on July 6, a day after a nearly two-hour telephonic conversation between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on ways to bring down tensions in the area. PTI KJV AKJ GSN AKJ
The meeting took place in Colorado, where Mr. Kushner was traveling with his wife, Ivanka Trump, those familiar with the meeting said. Mr. West had been camping in Colorado with his family, and afterward flew to Telluride to meet with Mr. Kushner and Ms. Trump, but was not accompanied by his wife, Kim Kardashian West, those with knowledge of the meeting said, the newspaper reported. Read the rest here.
The plight of local business was raised in a video call between Laois Chamber and representatives of Kildare, Tullamore and Edenderry Chambers of Commerce with Tanaiste Leo Varadkar on Monday afternoon.

The Tanaiste listened to our concerns and answered where we could, said Bernie Everard, chief executive of Laois Chamber.

We highlighted the reputational damage that had been done to the three counties.We stressed to the Tanaiste that this is not a lockdown, shops and retailers are still open, said Bernie Everard.

However, there has been reputational damage because people think this will go beyond the two weeks and are not making any bookings for the three counties for September either.

We requested that the temporary wage subsidy scheme be extended beyond August and that there is compensation for the hospitality sector.

It was productive. We view this as the start of an engagement with the Department.

Bernie Everard also stressed that the term lockdown has been misused in terms of the present restrictions.

"This is not a lockdown. Businesses are still open and all shops are open.
The next meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group is scheduled for August 18.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine has submitted a prisoner swap list with about 100 names on it to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

"We have already submitted a new list [of persons for the exchange] to the OSCE. The OSCE has confirmed our swap list. It includes about 100 people. Now we are waiting for the other side, they will provide their agreed list, and then the OSCE must decide in the Ukraine-Russia-OSCE format in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) when the swap may technically take place," he told journalists in the town of Boryspil on Thursday, August 13, according to the president's press service.

Read alsoUkraine sends Russia list of illegally detained Crimean Tatars for next swap

Zelensky said the next TCG meeting would be held on August 18, despite the recent developments in Belarus, and it would address important issues.

"I am confident the [Minsk talks] process will not stop. The next meeting is scheduled for August 18. The meeting will be in a new format under Leonid Kravchuk's chairmanship," he said.

According to the president, the ongoing ceasefire and the prisoner swap are among the main issues that will be considered at the next meeting.

Background
A Tax Analyst, Timore Francis Boi, has kicked against suggestions that the Value Added Tax (VAT) of 12.5 percent should be reduced for players in the hospitality, tourism, and aviation sectors due to the severe impact of COVID-19 on those sectors.



His call comes after global auditing giant, Deloitte, in its post-Mid-year Budget analysis report, proposed among other measures, the implementation of a COVID-19 tax amnesty for six months, to provide waivers for interest and penalties; reduction of Corporate Income Tax (CIT) rate to 20 percent for 2-3 years for most-affected industries  i.e. hospitality, tourism, aviation, private schools; and target sectors for growth such as the pharmaceutical industry.



Speaking to Citi Business News, Mr. Boi stated that there is no assurance that such a reduction will reflect in price changes and boost demand.



I think some of the are laudable. But I disagree with the reduction in the VAT. We have seen instances where Custom duties have been reduced, for example on spare parts but we didnt see any significant reduction in prices. So, we may reduce indirect taxes, thinking that it will result in reduction in prices which will eventually lead to an increase in demand. But at this moment we cant guarantee that because in this country, it doesnt happen like that. Prices continue to remain the same despite the reduction, he said.



He further urged government to rather restructure the tax system to improve collection from areas that have been neglected for long. He also appealed to government to enhance the distribution of its stimulus packages.



I think the government should continue enhancing the stimulus packages for companies that have been affected by the pandemic. By doing that, we will be able to bring those who have not been paying taxes into the tax net, he added.



Tax collection has always been the largest source of revenue to government. But following the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus, many countries including Ghana, have been forced to find other sources of revenue mobilisation.



In Ghana, one source of revenue generation is through Indirect Taxes, which are collected by entities in the supply chain and paid to the government. This tax is mostly passed on to the consumer as part of the purchase price of goods or services.



This includes excise duties on fuel and liquor, customs, excise and preventive services, as well as consumption taxes such as the Value Added Tax.



The standard VAT rate is 12.5 percent calculated on the value of the taxable supply of goods or services or the value of import.



During the presentation of the 2020 Mid-year budget review, the Finance Minister announced new measures such as reduction in the Communication Service tax from 9 to 6 percent and the extension of free water supply to Ghanaians for the next three months and free electricity supply to lifeline consumers for the rest of the year.



But, some stakeholders in government have expressed concern about governments silence on taxation, and how it intends to fund its various programmes amidst the COVD-19 pandemic without adequate domestic taxes.



Currently, the countrys total expenditures (including arrears clearance) amounted to GH46,352 million or 12.0 percent of GDP, compared with the programme target of GH41,554 million or 10.8 percent of GDP.



Parliament has also approved governments request for a supplementary budget of 11. 8 billion Ghana cedis, to support governments expenditure for the rest of the year towards the implementation of various initiatives to strengthen the economy.

Source: citinewsroom.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
SANTA FE  Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said Thursday the coronavirus pandemic is far from whipped, despite a recent drop in new virus cases statewide that prompted the governor to say New Mexico was beating all of our neighbors.

With the states COVID-19 test positivity rate having recently dropped well below 3%  the lowest in the southwest region  the governor said some business restrictions could be gradually relaxed in the coming month, though she did not offer any guarantees.

She also announced the state has applied for the $300-a-week federal expansion of unemployment benefits authorized by President Donald Trump in an executive order, though its unclear when the state might see those funds.

When it comes to public schools, the governor said her administration would be cautious in deciding whether students can resume in-person learning after Labor Day. Some districts have already announced plans to use a distance learning model even beyond that date.

Were going to go really slow because I know, based on the data, we cant guarantee that (the coronavirus) doesnt get in, Lujan Grisham said, referring to virus outbreaks in school settings in Georgia, Indiana, Alabama and several other states.

The governors Thursday news conference at the Roundhouse, which was broadcast online, came as New Mexico moves closer to meeting the criteria established by the Lujan Grisham administration to determine when its safe to reopen more of the economy.

New Mexico now meets every standard but one  the average number of new virus cases each day.

The state added that requirement earlier this summer but didnt set a specific numerical target until Thursday  of 168 cases a day.

The state is closing in on that figure: The seven-day rolling average now stands at 174 new cases a day, according to a Journal analysis. The average has plunged 47% over the past two weeks.

Lujan Grisham described the trend as good news but said the states reopening criteria must be sustained over time.

We want to keep lowering those cases, she said.

The governor also announced two more people had died in the virus outbreak  one in Rio Arriba County and one in McKinley County  that has now caused 697 total fatalities in the state since March. But the states death rate is down significantly from its mid-May peak.

Human Services Secretary David Scrase said every region of the state is showing improvement in reducing cases of COVID-19, though southeastern New Mexico has emerged as an area of concern in recent weeks.

Were doing well  great progress, Scrase said.

But he urged people to continue to wear masks and practice social distancing even if the state reaches its new daily case goal, which he said could happen in the next week or so.

If people think this is the finish line  its not the finish line, Scrase said.

National attention

Lujan Grisham has received national attention for her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also a fair share of local pushback.

Some New Mexico county sheriffs have refused to enforce the states face mask mandate for public settings, prompting criticism from Lujan Grisham and other Democratic officials. Attorney General Hector Balderas has filed court motions seeking to make some local officials  including Lea County Sheriff Corey Helton  comply with the states public health orders.

The governor has also faced multiple lawsuits challenging her use of emergency powers under state law.

While the governor has prevailed in such cases so far, the Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing this month on the New Mexico Restaurant Associations lawsuit targeting the Lujan Grisham administrations decision to ban indoor restaurant dining.

The first-term Democratic governor acknowledged Thursday that many New Mexicans are tired of coronavirus-related restrictions, saying, The entire globe is COVID-fatigued.

In addition to requiring mask use, the current public health order in effect through Aug. 28 prohibits gatherings of more than five people, bans indoor dining at restaurants and limits the operation of retail stores, salons and many other businesses to 25% of capacity.

Meanwhile, Scrase said new research suggests bandannas and neck gaiters arent as good at blocking the virus as multi-layer cloth masks.

He also said that roughly 65% to 70% of New Mexicans have been wearing face coverings in public settings, but said he wanted to see that figure rise to around 90% or so.

Census plea

During the news conference, Lujan Grisham also expressed frustration with Congress and the White House for failing to reach a deal on additional relief funding for states.

New Mexico, she said, was the first state to apply to the federal government this week for the expanded $300 in weekly unemployment benefits. While that amount would be only be half of what New Mexicans receiving jobless benefits had been getting under a previous federal provision that recently expired, the governor said it would be better than the alternative.

I want every New Mexican to get as much as they are entitled to, Lujan Grisham said.

She also said she had spoken this week with Mark Meadows, Trumps chief of staff, about the possibility of New Mexico obtaining a waiver for a state match thats required under the presidents order.

State Rep. David Gallegos, R-Eunice, blasted the governor in a statement, arguing she should have offered the state match to help ensure unemployed workers get extra benefits.

The governor also urged New Mexicans to respond to the once-per-decade U.S census, wearing an I count NM mask as she began the Thursday briefing.

With less than two months to go until counting ends, New Mexicos self-response rate has been dismal, ranking behind every state but Alaska so far.

Just 54% of New Mexico households have responded to the census, about 10 percentage points lower than the national average, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The population count  completed every 10 years  is particularly critical in a state that relies heavily on federal funding. New Mexico could lose $780 million over the next 10 years for each percentage point its population is undercounted, state officials said earlier this year.

The Census helps determine federal funding for Medicaid, highways, education and a host of other services.
Fears robots will take workers' jobs may have been premature, with new research raising concerns about business investment in technology.

The Australia Institute's Centre For Future Work has released a report suggesting the pace of automation is lagging behind other industrial nations.

The report, called The Robots are NOT coming, found business investment in new machinery to be weaker than at any point in Australia's post-war history.

Fears robots will take workers' jobs may have been premature, with new research raising concerns about business investment in technology

'The slowdown and reversal in labour productivity growth strongly refutes the notion that labour is being replaced by machines in any aggregate sense,' author Jim Stanford wrote.

But hopes this may be good news for job security could be misplaced.

'The failure of business investment means that even more jobs will be located in low-productivity, low-tech, low-wage industries - with terrible implications for wages and job quality,' Dr Stanford said.

Business spending on new research and technology has also been falling, with Australia now well behind other industrial countries.

The average amount of machinery and equipment used by the typical Australian worker has fallen six per cent since 2014.

The report blames less automation and innovation on decreasing productivity, which has fallen for three consecutive years - another post-war low.

Economist Dr Stanford, who is the centre's director, said Australian businesses were not investing enough in new technology.

'Business leaders love to complain that Australia's productivity problems are due to red tape, taxes, and unions,' he said.

'The evidence is clear that their own failure to invest in new capital and new technology explains the stagnation in productivity.

'Instead of blaming others for this outcome, business leaders need to look in the mirror.'

The report found YouTube videos and social media memes fuelled fears about robots taking over by showcasing incredible potential in lab settings.
Seventy percent of the section of the Mu Us Desert in Ordos, north Chinas Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, has been turned into green land thanks to local peoples efforts over the past 60 years.

Located in the hinterland of the desert, Uxin Banner covers an area of more than 1,600 square kilometers, of which 54 percent was shifting sand dunes and only 33.3 percent of grassland was available for grazing.

Local farmers and herdsmen began planting tall salix mongolica on one side of the dunes and Artemisia desertorum with well-developed roots on the windward side. In three or four years, the Artemisia desertorum gradually grew on the top of the dunes.

After years of efforts, Uxinzhao township in Uxin Banner has been covered by more green plants, which has boosted local peoples confidence in the sand control measures.

Baoriledai, now 83 years old, is a local pioneer in afforestation. After seeing the saplings grow denser, everyone began to believe that the desert could be controlled, she said, adding that local people can now improve their living environment through their own efforts.

In 1979, China started to implement the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, which consisted of forestation measures in northwest, north and northeast China.

Using special funds for ecological improvement and the introduction of advanced sand control technology, afforestation and grass planting through large-scale aerial seeding has been carried out in the desert. After more than 40 years of hard work, the vegetation coverage of the state forestry farm in Ulan Tolgoi township has increased from 27 percent when it was established to over 95 percent now.

The aim of sand control is to yield economic benefits, so that farmers and herdsmen plagued by shifting sand for generations can lead a happy and prosperous life.

Underpinned by Chinas western development strategy and major forestry projects, grazing on certain areas of grassland was banned or temporarily suspended, and rotational paddock grazing was introduced in the desert from 2001 to 2010, leading to standardized management.

The desert is about to disappear from the map of China and is becoming a green land full of hope.

In the past, I had about 6.7 hectares of pasture. Now I have planted salix mongolica and trees on more than 400 hectares of pasture, said Ulandalai, a herdsman in Uxinzhao township, adding that he is a direct beneficiary of this ecological improvement.

Ulanshibatai village in Tuke township has built a plant to process salix mongolica granules, with over 3 million yuan in funds provided by organizations and local enterprises. The low-emission, eco-friendly and smoke-free products are highly sought after by several chemical companies in cities including Yinchuan, Ordos and Hohhot.

The profit from this years output of more than 3,000 tons of salix mongolica granules could exceed 600,000 yuan, said village official Gong Shuanming, adding that each farmer in the village is entitled to a subsidy of 30 yuan per 0.06 hectares each year.
Indian efforts to get China to negotiate a more permanent settlement of border disputes are not working. This is again demonstrated as India tries to get negotiations going over the new dispute on the shore of Pangong Lake. The Chinese issue vague press releases but will not negotiate. Even when they negotiate a deal the Chinese tend to see these permanent agreements are temporary ceasefires.

Today marks day 100 of the current clash in Indian Ladakh along the shore of Pangong Lake. China has shown no interest in negotiating anything. China seems to believe they will prevail and push Indian forces out of area

Earlier this year China revived its border war with India over Pangong Lake, which is largely in Tibet and connected to Chinese claims on Kashmir territory. This is the longest lake in Asia and part of the 134-kilometer long lake extends 45 kilometers into the Indian Ladakh region. China is using its usual sneak, grab and stay tactics to slowly move the border into territory long occupied by India. The portion of the lake shore in dispute has no native population. The only people who visit the area are soldiers from India or China.

Feral Afghanistan

Pakistan feels it is close to victory in Afghanistan as the Afghan government and the Taliban agreed to begin peace negotiations. There will be no peace and any Pakistanis with knowledge of what has gone on in Afghanistan since the 1970s can see how this will end. Worst case if all foreign troops leave and foreign aid is withdrawn (because of the corruption) is that Afghanistan returns to its traditional condition over the last few thousand years. That means the country/region we call Afghanistan gets picked apart by more powerful neighboring states. Traditionally this has meant Persians and Indians. Now its Iranians and Pakistanis (who are basically Indian Moslems who demanded their own Moslem state). Pakistan is broke and economically dependent on China. The Chinese dont want their numerous investments in Pakistan attacked by Islamic terrorists, tribal separatists or anyone else. Pakistan justifies (to China) the expense of meddling in Afghanistan as necessary to control the Pushtun minority in Pakistan. There are twice as many Pushtun in Pakistan as in Afghanistan, but Pakistan has a much larger non-Tribal (Punjabi and Sindi) population so the Pushtuns are only 15 percent of all Pakistanis. The Baluchi tribes account for another four percent. That makes about 19 percent of Pakistanis tribal and not particularly happy with the Chinese presence or the brutal treatment of tribal people in Pakistan.

Iran, which historically controlled, when it was profitable to do so, much of western Afghanistan did so just as the northern Indians controlled eastern Afghanistan and Kabul. This foreign occupation was expensive because the tribes were constantly fighting the foreigners. When the once lucrative Silk Road trade route between China and the Middle East/Europe fell out of use because of cheaper travel via new European ship designs armed with cannon the Chinese, Iranians or Indians lacked, Afghanistan went back to being a region without a unifying government. That changed in the 18th century when the various tribes agreed to declare a kingdom of Afghanistan mainly to keep the foreigners out. A Pushtun king in Kabul kept his job by negotiating with foreigners and providing a neutral space for quarreling tribes to send leaders to try and negotiate ends the many mutually destructive tribal feuds. Taliban leaders say they want to unite Afghanistan as a caliphate (Islamic religious dictatorship). That fact that caliphates have never worked well or maintained any unity for long is seen as irrelevant. It is Gods Will that Afghanistan become a caliphate. Its one of those non-negotiable things that kaffirs (non-Moslems) simply cannot comprehend.

Neither Pakistan nor Iran see any profit in annexing adjacent portions of Afghanistan. While Pakistan, or at least the Pakistani military, is content to tax Afghan drug operations that need access to Pakistan, the Iranians, like most civilians in the region, see the opium and heroin coming out if Afghanistan as something evil that much be fought. That means the Afghan/Iran border has long been a combat zone between Iranian security forces and armed Afghan drug smugglers.

Viral Reactions

India and Pakistan are eliminating the several months of covid19 related quarantines they imposed in some areas to slow the spread of the virus. There was growing popular resistance to that policy. The quarantine shut down many businesses and that led to unemployment rates between 20 and 30 percent. For many workers in both nations being out of work means going hungry, and too long without work means starvation. Less quarantine is bad for the senior politicians, who tend to be much older and the group that most frequently die from covid19. Most Indians and Pakistanis have little access to medical care. Politicians and the wealthy do and have more to fear from the virus. Popular resistance to quarantine grew quickly so both governments had to relent and allow the economy to revive. It simply a matter that for most people unemployment is a greater risk the covid19. The quarantines are ending.

Both nations saw their economic growth decline or even go negative. There was some GDP contraction in both countries. In Pakistan GDP growth was near zero but is expected to be over five percent in 2021. The Pakistani government is unable to collect enough taxes to meet its budget and Pakistan received its last financial bailout earlier in the year just before covid19 arrived. There are no more financial bailouts for Pakistan because Pakistan has failed to comply with the terms of too many past bailouts.

India has a much larger, more robust and faster growing economy than Pakistan. Indian GDP shrank by at least five percent in 2020 and that might double or triple before the end of the year. Despite that it is expected that India will quickly (2021 or 2022) return to pre-covid19 GDP growth rates of 8 percent a year.

So far India has 1,737 covid19 cases per million people and 34 deaths per million. For Pakistan its 1,300 cases per million and 28 dead. Elsewhere in the region Bangladesh has 1,616 covid19 cases per million and 21 deaths per million. In Burma its seven cases per million people and 0.1 deaths. Afghanistan is 859 cases and 35 dead. Burma and Afghanistan dont really know how many have died from covid19 because so many deaths are reported with little explanation.

August 11, 2020: In southern India (Bangalore) there was an outbreak of Moslem violence because of a Facebook comment by a local Hindu that was deemed disrespectful of Islam. Large protest riots followed. Three people were killed and 60 injured before the angry mobs could be dispersed. Bangalore is known mainly as a tech hub, sort of a Silicon Valley for south India. Fourteen percent of eight million city residents are Moslem and that has produced some support for Islamic terrorism, which is largely gone. It is still easy for local Moslem clerics and politicians to generate a deadly mob of local Moslems seeking vengeance for some insult to their religion. This often leads to Moslems and non-Moslems getting killed as well as considerable property damage. In this case the man who made the offensive post was arrested after a Moslem mob attacked and set fire to the home of his uncle, a local Hindu politician.

August 10, 2020: In southwest Pakistan ( Baluchistan) a bomb went off in the border town of Chaman. The explosives, hidden in a motorcycle, were apparently intended for a vehicle belonging to the anti-drug taskforce. The bomb went off at the wrong time and killed six and wounded ten civilians. No one took responsibility for the attack. Chaman is a major transit hub as is the second busiest border crossing into Afghanistan. The Chaman crossing is on the main road between Quetta (capital of Baluchistan) and the capital of Kandahar province in Afghanistan. This road carries vital supplies for the Afghan drug gangs, including chemicals necessary for converting opium into heroin. These are smuggled in by truck, often with the cooperation of bribes for border guards in both countries. Also smuggled in is ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer that can also be used as an explosive. Ammonium nitrate is banned in Afghanistan because of its widespread use for Islamic terrorist bombs. Ammonium nitrate is still legal in Pakistan.

August 9, 2020: In eastern India (Chhattisgarh State) and other areas where Maoists (communist rebels) are still active the pressure of the paramilitary police battalions continues to reduce the number of Maoists active and the territory they exercise any effective control. It is increasingly the case that civilians in Maoist infested areas provide police with information about where wanted Maoist leaders are or report the activities of groups of armed Maoists in rural areas. Information about informants is kept secret because Maoists will seek to retaliate by murdering those who collect such rewards. The Maoists continue to decline as they have been doing for over a decade. Many Indian communists were slow to understand why all those East European communist governments, including Russia, collapsed between 1989 and 1991. Despite that many Indians still support communism, but not the violent, ineffective and increasingly unpopular Maoists.

August 7, 2020: Pakistan is publicizing a proposal that Pakistan, with the help of China, take control of all of Kashmir (unlikely) and create another direct land-link with China. That is unlikely to happen unless China backed Pakistan wins a war to push India out of Kashmir. That might cause India to use its nuclear armed ballistic missiles against China. The geopolitics of all this is that Pakistan is the only military ally China has and most countries that border China have border disputes with China. Most of these disputes are dormant now, but as China has demonstrated in the South China Sea, northeaster and northwestern India, the claims are there for the exploiting.

Pakistan has become even more dependent on China because Saudi Arabia has withdrawn considerable its financial support. This was triggered by Pakistan openly criticizing Saudi Arabia and the Saudi-led OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) for not supporting increased violence against India over Kashmir. In addition to halting further cash assistance the Saudis called in a billion-dollar Pakistani loan and halted deliveries of cut-rate oil. The Saudis were also angry at Pakistani efforts to be an ally of Iran, even while Iran is at war with the Arab oil states. The Saudi also want to maintain good relations with India. This is an Arabian tradition going back thousands of years. During all that time Iran was always a threat while India was a trading partner. Islam has always been hostile to Hinduism but the Indians have treated their Moslem minority (which is larger than the entire population of Pakistan) well. In short India is more dependable and less threatening than Iran. Pakistan has chosen its friends poorly.

August 6, 2020: In northwest Pakistan, Pakistani Taliban gunmen based just across the border in the Binshahi region, which borders the Afghan province of Kunar fired mortars and machine-guns at six border posts, killing one Pakistani border guard and wounding three others. It is far more common to have Pakistani troops firing mortar and artillery shells into Kunar province.

This border violence has been going on since 2014, when a Pakistani army offensive into North Waziristan forced the Pakistani Taliban to move their headquarters across the border into Afghanistan. At the same time there was a civil war within the Pakistani Taliban over the selection of a new leader, a new strategy and how much Pakistani interference in the operations of the Afghan Taliban should be tolerated. One thing the Afghan and Pakistan Taliban agree on is that Pakistani influence in Afghanistan is bad for the Pushtun people, who are 40 percent of Afghans. There are twice as many Pushtuns in Pakistan and most of them back more autonomy for Pakistani Pushtuns and less Pakistani backed terror in Afghanistan, which often kills Pushtun civilians.

Pakistan is building a border fence along portions of its 2,600 Afghan border that are most often used by Pakistan Taliban and smugglers. These fence sections are supposed to be completed in late 2021. The new fence will slow down the illegal crossers but wont stop them.

August 5, 2020: In northwest India (Kashmir) Pakistan violated the recent ceasefire by having its troops fire into India, killing several civilians and soldiers. Its been a year since India revoked the special autonomy granted to Kashmir 70 years ago as part of an effort to encourage Moslem Kashmiris to side with India in the dispute between India and Kashmir over which country Kashmir should be a part of. The partition agreement that turned colonial India into two nations (India and Pakistan) made Kashmir part of India. Pakistan would not accept that and still does not. India prepared for the expected violence reaction of Pakistan by ordering all tourists out of Kashmir and shut down all phone and Internet service. The new status of Kashmir is as just another part of India. This enraged Pakistan and the Pakistan supplied Islamic terrorists in Kashmir were ordered to concentrate on making the new political status of Kashmir painful for everyone. That meant a lot of threats against any local political activists. If threats did not work, assassinations were used. These murders made the Islamic terrorists even more unpopular. The three decades of Pakistan sponsored Islamic terrorism in Kashmir, especially the Moslem majority northern part of Indian Kashmir, has destroyed the economy and created a generation of Kashmiris who blame everyone for their plight and see no way out. The Pakistani military uses the chaos it has created in Kashmir to justify growing border violence. This means opening fire on Indian border guards and any civilians who might be nearby and using this to justify demands for a larger military budget. More money is needed to defend against the Indian threat and some of that money is spent for more violence in Kashmir and along the border to sustain the illusion of the Indian Threat.

July 31, 2020: In northwest Pakistan Afghanistan accused Pakistan of firing nine rockets into Afghanistan and killing nine civilians and wounding fifty others near the town of Spin Boldak in Kandahar province. Nearby Kandahar City is the original "home town" of the Taliban. Pakistan claims the Afghans fired first.

A lot of this border violence is caused by the Afghan-Pakistani border also being called the Durand Line. This was an impromptu, 1893 era invention of British colonial authorities and was always considered temporary, or at least negotiable, by locals. The need for renegotiation was mainly about how the line often went right through Pushtun tribal territories. However, the Afghans are more inclined to demand adjustments to the Durand Line, and fight to obtain what they want. Recent Pakistani efforts to build more fences and other structures on their side of the border was an attempt to make the Durand line permanent and no longer negotiable.

July 30, 2020: In southwest Pakistan ( Baluchistan) Pakistan reopened the Chaman border crossing, which had been shut for most of this year because of covid19 and violence on both sides of the border against Pakistani soldiers and police. Recently the crossing was being opened for a few hours each day so that Pakistanis and Afghans could cross to be with their families for a major Moslem religious celebration. This time the violence began on the Pakistani side as civilians, angry at Pakistani soldiers, began attacking some of them. The Pakistani troops opened fire on the civilians and Afghan troops opened fire on the Pakistani troops, who then fired in both directions. Before the shooting could be halted there were about a hundred casualties, with fifteen of them fatal.

July 29, 2020: India received the first five French Rafale jet fighters. In 2016 India finally signed a contract for 36 Rafale fighter jets with an option to buy 18 more in three years. This deal has been pending since 2012 when Rafale won a competition to provide the new India medium fighter aircraft.

In northeast India an army patrol was attacked by tribal rebels using a roadside bomb and gunfire. Three soldiers died and four were wounded. The attack took place near the Burma border.

July 28, 2020: In the southwest (Tibet border with India) China and India are not withdrawing their forces before the six-month deep freeze descends on the region. Both sides are providing cold-weather shelter for their troops and stockpiling food, fuel and other supplies. Earlier in 2020 China revived the border war over Pangong Lake, which is largely in Tibet and patrolled by a small Chinese naval force. Commercial satellite photos (something China has not managed to censor yet) showed what was really going on. Throughout July China spread out its forces on the lake coast and did not withdrawn any of them as they had assured India they would.

Satellite photos show a floating dock that had been towed to one location, making it easier for China to being in supplies and more troops. By September the cold weather will begin freezing over the lake surface. This freeze usually lasts from October to March or April. For at least three months the ice is thick enough for light vehicles (SUV and pickup truck size) to move across the ice.

By the end of June Chinese troops have occupied about eight kilometers of Indian territory along the north coast of Pangong Lake. Chinese troops have erected large signs on the shoreline indicating the newly occupied area is now Chinese territory. China has moved another 20,000 troops, including light tanks and other armored vehicles to the Ladakh sector. Another 10,000 troops are kept about a thousand kilometers away, in Chinese lowland territory where altitude sickness is less of a problem. China has most of the high ground and that limits the number of combat capable troops it can bring to its side of the border. Both sides have moved more warplanes and helicopters to nearby airbases and these aircraft are regularly flying over Pangong Lake.

July 25, 2020: Major investors in China, like Japan, Taiwan and the United States, are encouraging manufacturing operations to either return home or move to another country in Asia. Apple is moving iPhone manufacturing to India. Japan is spending over a billion dollars to help Japanese firms move their operations out of China. Taiwan is doing the same. China is seen as an increasingly hostile and unpredictable place to do business and the move out of China, which began a few years ago, is accelerating.

July 21, 2020: In Pakistan (the capital Islamabad) Matiullah Jan, a local journalist critical of the military and the way it corrupts anyone it works with, was kidnapped early in the day. Jan was scheduled to defend his criticism of military corruption in court. Jan had dropped his wife off at the school where she teaches and that was caught on video. Once it was clear Jan had been taken the school video was released and all Pakistanis were asked to identify where Jan was. Other video was found that showed five men, two in black uniforms, stopping Jans car and pulling him out. Twelve hours later Jans brother received a phone call and the unidentified called gave directions to where Jan could be picked up, alive,

July 20, 2020: Indian Navy ships trained together with a U.S. Navy carrier task force in the Indian Ocean between India and Iran.

July 19, 2020: In northwest Pakistan troops fired dozens of rockets and mortar shells at targets inside Afghanistan (Kunar province) over the last week. There were some casualties. The national government contacted Pakistan and the Pakistan apologized and said they would halt the attacks. Back in early 2019 the Afghan government sent the UN a letter complaining about nearly a decade of similar Pakistani border violence. The Afghan letter detailed incidents from 2012 to early 2019 in which Pakistani troops fired 28,849 rockets, mortar or artillery shells into eastern Afghanistan . Much of this firepower is directed at Kunar province and has been going on since 2010 in an effort to hit real or suspected Pakistani Taliban bases there. These incidents increased to the point where the Afghans began keeping track of them in 2012. Since then this violence has killed or wounded nearly 300 people that the Afghan government knows about. The shelling occurs against rural areas that are often unpopulated so it is unclear if the Pakistanis have hit many Pakistani Taliban. The Pakistani government propaganda insists that these Taliban Islamic terrorists are based in eastern Afghanistan and regularly cross into Pakistan to carry out attacks. The letter details how the situation is getting worse and that since in the previous year alone there had been 161 of these incidents that involved at least 6,025 Pakistani projectiles landing in Afghanistan. The letter pointed out that several elected Pakistani leaders have pledged to halt these border violations but those pledges are ignored by the Pakistani military. There was a large scale (neatly 200 shells and rockets) Pakistani attack in late 2019 but since the UN was notified and the Pakistani habit of cross border attacks became news, there have been fewer of these Pakistani attacks.

July 18, 2020: Bad news for Pakistan; Nigeria has been officially declared polio free. This comes after three years with no new cases of polio. That means all of Africa is now free of polio, along with Europe, the Americas and most of Asia. Only Afghanistan and Pakistan still suffer from polio. In those two nations the same Moslem intolerance and paranoia that delayed Nigeria becoming polio-free are still in play. Another complaint was that the organization mainly responsible for the polio free movement, Rotary International, is an American fraternal organization/charity whose members are largely responsible for the $5 billion effort to eradicate polio by vaccinating enough children so that the polio virus no longer has a human host and, like smallpox, becomes extinct. This polio free effort began in the 1980s and a decade ago ran into problems with conservative Islamic clergy who spread the rumor that the polio vaccine was actually a plot to poison Moslem children. This has delayed eradication of polio in Nigeria for nearly a decade and still delays it in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

July 17, 2020: The UN has declared Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud, the head of the Pakistani Taliban, an international terrorist and subject to arrest if he shows up in an area where that is possible. Otherwise Mehsud is subject sanctions and any other restrictions that can be imposed on him.

July 16, 2020: India ordered more (number unspecified) Israeli SPICE (Stand-Off Precision Guidance Munition) 2000 smart bombs, for about $420,000 each. The new batch of SPICE bombs was ordered, like the similar 2019 order, using the EPP (Emergency Purchasing Powers) of the Defense Ministry. These emergency powers enable to Defense Ministry to order $67 million worth of weapons or equipment without parliamentary approval. The $67 million limit is for each purchase. The 2019 SPICE 2000 purchase cost $42 million. Parliament allowed EPP to save itself a lot of political problems with buying essential military equipment that the troops definitely needed. Such purchases, especially if the item had to be imported, created a lot of political opposition and delay. Imported items are the most difficult because that causes many politicians to insist that the item be procured in India, even it if that would take years and even then, the Indian manufacturer would probably deliver an inferior to the foreign alternative.

July 15, 2020: In southwest Pakistan (Baluchistan) tribal separatists carried out an attack on soldiers near Gichak Valley. Three soldiers were killed and eight wounded. This took place where the borders of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran meet.

July 12, 2020: In northwest Pakistan (North Waziristan) near the Afghanistan Pakistan troops surrounded an Islamic terrorist hideout and when he four men inside would not surrender, killed all four. Four soldiers were also killed in the gun battle.

July 9, 2020: China has become the ultimate fiscal lifeline for Pakistan. Decades of deficits, growing corruption, excessive defense spending and military domination have left Pakistan broke and few willing to give or lend enough cash to keep Pakistan solvent. A recent example of how this works was seen when despite economic recession and a public debt crisis (no one will lend to Pakistan anymore), the Pakistani defense budget was increased twelve percent for 2020, with annual spending now $7.85 billion. Spending on dealing with covid19 has averaged about $100 million a month and by the end of the year military spending will be at least five times what was spent on covid19. The India defense budget is also up (13.6 percent more) in 2020 to $66 billion.

The only economic relief available to Pakistan is China and CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic corridor). CPEC is a vast Chinese investment and construction effort that depends on vigorous support of the Pakistani military to succeed. China needs the Pakistani military to keep Islamic terrorists and tribal separatists from attacking the Chinese construction projects. Pakistan also helps China by keeping Indian forces occupied in Kashmir and the northwest Indian portion of the Pakistani border.

July 8, 2020: In the first half of 2020 India reported that there were over 1,200 Pakistani border (and ceasefire) violations in the northwest (Kashmir). This is part of a trend because these ceasefire violations had doubled in 2018 (c0mpared to 2017) and were the highest in the last ten years and are continuing to increase in 2019. The 2018 Pakistani violence on the LoC that serves as the border left 38 Kashmiri civilians and 257 Islamic terrorist (infiltrators from Pakistan) dead as a result of 614 incidents. Most of the violence did not involve casualties. On the LoC there were 2,140 ceasefire violations on the LoC in 2018, up from 971 in 2017 and 449 in 2016. The 2018 violations led to 30 Indian civilians killed along with 20 military personnel. Pakistan has urged young Kashmiri Moslems to carry out violent (often just throwing rocks) attacks against Indian security forces in Kashmir. There were 664 of these attacks in 2018 compared to 342 in 2017 and 222 in 2014. So far this year, and for most of the last two years, the violence in Kashmir has caused the most terrorism related deaths in India.

July 7, 2020: In Iran a draft of a 25-year economic/political/military agreement with China was leaked. Some details of the agreement are still being worked on, but the draft document indicated Iran was willing to make a lot of concessions to become a close economic partner of China. That would mean China would have an incentive to protect Iran diplomatically and militarily. The document makes Iran the major supplier of petroleum to China and China the major source of foreign investment as well as becoming Irans largest trading partner. It also included Iran reducing economic cooperation with India. In effect China is willing to finance the creation of China-Iran-Pakistan alliance that could cause all sorts of problems in the Middle East and South Asia as the Grim Alliance.
A CM-11 Brave Tiger tank fires during the live fire Han Kuang military exercise, which simulates China's People's Liberation Army invading the island, in Pingtung, Taiwan, on May 30, 2019. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

Taiwan Unveils Raise in Defense Spending as China Details Combat Drills Near Island

TAIPEITaiwan unveiled a T$42.1 billion ($1.4 billion) increase for next years planned defense spending on Thursday, as China announced details of its latest combat drills near the democratic island.

China has stepped up its military activity near Taiwan, which it regards as a breakaway province.

On Monday, Taiwan said Chinese fighters briefly crossed the sensitive median line of the Taiwan Strait, the same day U.S. health chief Alex Azar met President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei. China had denounced Azars trip.

Tsais Cabinet is proposing T$453.4 billion ($15.4 billion) in military spending for the year starting in January, versus T$411.3 billion ($13.8 billion) budgeted for this year, up 10.2 percent, according to Reuters calculations.

The steady increase in the defense budget will facilitate the implementation of various military-building and war-preparation tasks  and ensure national security and regional peace and stability, Taiwans Defense Ministry said.

About 3 hours after the budget announcement, Chinas Peoples Liberation Armys Eastern Theater Command said its forces had in recent days carried out combat drills in the Taiwan Strait and to the north and south of the island, implying they were aimed at Azars trip.

Chinese Peoples Liberation Army personnel attending the opening ceremony of Chinas new military base in Djibouti on Aug. 1, 2017. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Recently, a certain large country has continued to make negative moves on Taiwan-related issues, sending serious wrong signals to Taiwan independence forces, and seriously threatening the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait, it said.

The theater commands organizing of patrols and exercises are necessary actions taken in response to the current security situation across the Taiwan Strait and to safeguard national sovereignty, the statement added.

Taiwans Defense Ministry said the situation was normal and people should not worry.

Tsai has made modernizing Taiwans armed forces and increasing defense spending a priority.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen delivers her inaugural address at the Taipei Guest House in Taipei on May 20, 2020. (Wang Yu Ching/Taiwan Presidential Office/Handout via Reuters/File Photo)

The budget must be approved by lawmakers, though Tsais Democratic Progressive Party has a large majority in the legislature, making it unlikely to be blocked.

China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, and has denounced the United States for arms sales to the island. Washington is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.

Taiwan is in discussions with the United States to acquire sea mines to deter amphibious landings, as well as cruise missiles for coastal defense, Taiwans de facto ambassador to United States said on Wednesday.

Last year, the U.S. State Department approved arms sales worth $10 billion for Taiwan.

Taiwans military is well-armed but dwarfed by that of China.

Taiwan authorities are spending their taxpayers money on defense, but no matter how much they spend on defense, Taiwan is still a small place. Confronting the mainland is like an ant trying to shake a tree, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters in Beijing.

By Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard
American Airlines is preparing to cut service to some 30 small and mid-sized cities after minimum-service mandates imposed by Congress expire on September 30, in the latest sign that the airline industry could be headed off a cliff in the fall without further federal aid.

A source familiar with the airline's plans confirmed them to DailyMail.com on Thursday. The reduced service could be reflected in American's fall schedule as soon as next week.

Since March, airlines have pledged to avoid layoffs and maintain minimum levels of service in exchange for a $25 billion federal aid package - but the deal is set to expire at the end of September, and Congress remains deadlocked on passing new assistance.

American Airlines was granted $5.8 billion in support under the original program, which was part of the CARES Act.

American Airlines is preparing to cut service to some 30 small and mid-sized cities. Pictured: American planes are seen at Reagan National Airport last month

Air travel remains down about 75% from last year, TSA screening data shows

News of American's impending route reductions was first reported by CNBC. It was not immediately clear which routes would be affected, and the airline's plans have yet to be finalized.

The impending expiration of the federal aid package has airlines scrambling to contain costs, with air travel in the U.S. remaining down about 75 percent from last year's level, according to TSA screening data.

American Airlines told employees on Tuesday the company is extending the window to apply for voluntary exit packages or long-term voluntary leave of absences through August 17.

American said it would 'keep the application window open until we have more clarity about how Congress and the administration intend to proceed.'

American Airlines CEO Doug Parker is seen in a file photo.

Southwest Airlines Co-CEO Gary Kelly said on Wednesday he does not expect the airline will be profitable in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic, snapping a 47-year streak of posting consecutive full-year profits.

'As long as the case counts are high, I think that we have to expect that travel will be relatively modest,' Kelly said at a Texas Tribune event.

'Were continuing to see traffic and revenues down 75 percent versus a year ago today and to think that would recover to the point we would be profitable I just think is unrealistic.'

The company last month posted a $915 million loss for the second quarter. Kelly said it is still burning through about $20 million a day.

'We're still losing cash every single day,' he said. 'We've got a long way to go before we can feel like we are out of intensive care.'
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Linkedin Lev Sergeev and Peter Scott (Reuters) Moscow, Russia  Thu, August 13, 2020 09:13 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066da408a 2 World Russia,coronavirus,COVID-19,COVID-19-vaccines,pandemic,SARS-CoV-2,virus-corona,novel-coronavirus Free

Russia said on Wednesday the first batch of the world's first COVID-19 vaccine would be rolled out within two weeks and rejected as "groundless" safety concerns aired by some experts over Moscow's rapid approval of the drug.

The vaccine, called "Sputnik V" in homage to the world's first satellite launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, has yet to complete its final trials and some scientists said they feared Moscow may be putting national prestige before safety.

"It seems our foreign colleagues are sensing the specific competitive advantages of the Russian drug and are trying to express opinions that in our opinion are completely groundless," Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said the day after President Vladimir Putin announced it had won regulatory approval.

On the streets of Moscow, some Russians said they would be too scared to try the vaccine, while others agreed with their government that skepticism expressed by foreign experts was driven by jealousy.

"I don't trust Russian vaccines in general, I definitely won't get vaccinated," said Ekaterina Sabadash, 36, speaking outside Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre.

Alexander, a photographer, was also wary. "Until it goes through (final) clinical trials and we get some confirmed results, I would be scared to get it done," he said.

Others said they understood why Russia was in a hurry to get a new vaccine and trusted it, but doubted they would really have a say in whether to have it.

"I'm a teacher and they'll recommend we get it," said Irina Fashchevskaya, a Moscow resident. "We'll be forced to do it."

Officials have said that the vaccine, developed by Moscow's Gamaleya Institute, would be administered to people, including doctors, on a voluntary basis in the final trial. Mass roll-out in Russia is expected to start in October.

Scientists from Germany the United States and Britain have queried the wisdom of approving the vaccine before testing is complete, saying it was risky from a safety point of view.

Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia's RDIF sovereign wealth fund, has spoken of an information war against his country, an assertion that finds sympathy with Russians weary of what they regard as years of Western condescension.

Mikhail Mechyov, a 42-year-old Moscow resident, said he saw jealousy behind Western warnings.

"It's natural to be cautious, but they are aimed at belittling the achievement of our country," he said. "I think a lot has been done and it's great there is a vaccine."

Russian warning

The Moscow-based Association of Clinical Trials Organizations (ACTO), a trade body representing the world's top drugmakers in Russia, had urged the health ministry to postpone the vaccine's approval until the final trial had been completed.

"It's the ambition, the desire to be first in a field in which, unfortunately, Russia cannot vie for a top spot," executive director Svetlana Zavidova told Reuters.

"Our task is now to warn the population because we so far don't understand how they (the authorities) are going to carry out mass vaccination."

Final trials, normally carried out on thousands of participants, are considered essential in determining safety and efficacy. Only about 10% of clinical trials are successful.

The Philippines and Kazakhstan have expressed interest in the vaccine, while a senior World Health Organization says it has not received enough information to evaluate it.

Roman, a taxi driver in the Vladimir region, invoked a conspiracy theory to explain why he would be avoiding it.

"It's all about a global plan to put microchips into people being pushed by Bill Gates. I have zero trust," he said.

Heidi Larson, who leads the Vaccine Confidence Project (VCP), a global surveillance program on vaccine trust, said she feared Russia's rush could further dent public trust.

A survey in 19 countries, carried out by VCP and Business Partners to CONVINCE, a U.S./UK initiative that is partly government funded, is set to show that Russians were the least trusting of vaccines.

Putin, who said the vaccine had already been administered to one of his daughters without any problems, and a string of other officials have insisted it is safe.
China Renaissance Served As Joint Underwriter

HONG KONG, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- China Renaissance Holdings Limited ("China Renaissance", stock code: 1911.HK) today congratulated KE Holdings Inc. ("Beike" or the "Company") (NYSE: BEKE), China's largest online and offline housing transactions and services platform, on its successful initial public offering ("IPO") on the New York Stock Exchange. Beike priced its IPO at US$20.00 per American depositary share ("ADS"), which was above its US$17.00 to US$19.00 price range. The offering raised approximately US$2.44 billion, that includes the over-allotment option, giving Beike a total market value of US$23.3 billion. China Renaissance acted as a joint underwriter for this transaction.

According to Beike's IPO prospectus, the Company generated a gross transaction value ("GTV") of RMB2,128 billion (US$301 billion) on its platform in 2019, making it China's largest housing transactions and services platform, and the second largest commerce platform across all industries. As of 30 June 2020, Beike's platform had over 260 real estate brokerage brands, over 42,000 community-centric stores and over 456,000 agents across 103 economically vibrant cities in China.

Fan Bao, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of China Renaissance and Founding Partner of Huaxing Growth Capital said: "Today is undoubtedly a historic day for Beike, and China Renaissance is pleased to have played an important role in Beike's success. Beike has successfully transformed China's housing transactions and services industry by creating an unparalleled platform that offers online and offline services. China Renaissance is honored to serve as the exclusive financial institution that has supported Beike throughout the different stages of its financial lifecycle  from investment to IPO underwriting. As a Beike investor, I am confident that under the continued leadership of Zuo Hui and his visionary management team, Beike's greatest chapters lie ahead as it achieves new business milestones, and make the impossible possible. As Beike's long-time partner, we look forward to continuing to work with Beike and other great companies to do the right thing even in difficult times, and to deliver lasting value."

China Renaissance has a long-term partnership with Beike and supported the Company throughout its development. China Renaissance's Huaxing Growth Capital invested RMB6 billion in Beike's Series B and B+ financing rounds in 2016, before making subsequent investments in the Company's Series C and D financing rounds. Acting as one of the lead underwriters for Beike's IPO, China Renaissance brought in a large number of high-quality long-term investors and hedge funds for the Company, contributing significantly to Beike's successful listing. China Renaissance has provided full support to Beike throughout its IPO by offering its in-depth industry know-how, high-quality execution capabilities, diversified product matrix and comprehensive coverage of global investors.

SOURCE China Renaissance Holdings Limited
BANGALORE, India, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Quantum cryptography is a technique for producing cryptographic keys by using photons, which are then transmitted to a receiver using a suitable channel of communication. The main advantage of quantum cryptography lies in the fact that instead of using mathematical algorithms or computational technology, it creates safe communication by offering protection based on fundamental laws of physics.

In 2019, the global Quantum Cryptography market size was USD 2253.8 Million, and it is expected to reach USD 13450 Million by the end of 2026, with a CAGR of 28.8% during 2021-2026.

Major factors that are expected to increase the Quantum Cryptography Market Size are growing incidents of cyber-attacks, growing cybersecurity funding, the demand for next-generation security solutions for cloud and IoT technologies, and emerging wireless network technologies.

The report provides a detailed overview and reliable playhttps://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1082232/Valuates_Reports_Logo.jpg er revenue estimates for the 2015-2020 period. It also provides comprehensive analysis backed by accurate sales and revenue statistics by companies for the 2015-2020 period. The Quantum Cryptography Market

The report includes details such as company history, the launch of Quantum Cryptography product, recent advances, sales of Quantum Cryptography by region, type, application, and channel of distribution.

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TRENDS INFLUENCING THE QUANTUM CRYPTOGRAPHY MARKET SIZE

There is a spike in demand for quantum cryptography with an increase in demand for digitalization. The rising number of connected devices is generating challenges in cyber risk management as well as unintended cyber incidents across the globe. As a result, cyber-attacks happen more often and threaten companies and governments. Companies are buying quantum cryptography solutions because of the rise in cyber-attacks. This, in turn, is expected to increase the Quantum Cryptography Market size.

Furthermore, the rise in the usage of cloud-based applications across different industries has also fuelled the growth of quantum cryptography market size.

Higher adoption of quantum cryptography from the BFSI vertical of both private and government organizations is expected to increase the quantum cryptography market size during the forecast period. Financial institutions are providing their customers with the facility for online banking and electronic transactions. Quantum cryptography is, therefore, necessary for the security of those transactions. This also helps protect the government's mission-critical data and offers high-performance layer encryption.

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QUANTUM CRYPTOGRAPHY MARKET SHARE ANALYSIS

North America is expected to hold the largest quantum cryptography market share during the forecast period. This dominance is attributed to the early adoption of advanced technologies such as cloud and IoT, high IT capabilities, and higher IT investments.

Asia-Pacific is expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period. The high growth rate in this region is due to the rapid increase in the economy and the rise in the number of BFSI and IT industries.

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Segment by Type, the Quantum Cryptography market is segmented into

Table Pros

Table Cons.

Segment by Application, the Quantum Cryptography market is segmented into

Financial

Government

Military & Defense

Others.

The major companies include:

ID Quantique

SeQureNet

Quintessence Labs

MagiQ Technologies

Toshiba

QuantumCTek

Qasky

Others.

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SIMILAR REPORTS :

COVID-19 Impact on Global Quantum Cryptography Services Market Report

The use of a computer network for business transactions and correspondence consisting of sensitive information has resulted in an increase in the need for encryption strategies. The need to secure data and counter the widespread concerns about cybersecurity is a major factor increasing Quantum Cryptography Services Market size growth.

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COVID-19 Impact on Global Quantum Cryptography Solutions Market Report

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Network Security Market Report

Continuous network transformation has resulted in rapid customer base growth as well as challenges to network vendors. This increase in demand for better and smarter security is fuelling the growth of network security market size. The network security market manages both active and passive assaults to ensure network reliability and protection.

This Network Security Market report offers comprehensive analysis of industry dynamics, prospects, drivers and constraints, future scope, and challenges.

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Application Security Market Report

In 2017, the global Application Security market size was 1570 Million USD, and it is expected to reach 5280 Million USD by the end of 2025, with a CAGR of 16.4% during 2018-2025.

The Application Security market report focuses on the status, future forecast, growth opportunity, key market, and key players. The study objectives are to present the Application Security development in the United States, Europe, and China.

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Gloria Capitan couldnt have imagined her fate. Her cause felt just, and her community was behind her. Besides, who would kill a 57-year-old grandmother?

It had been a long two years. Since 2014, a coal stockpile down the road had been polluting her town, Lucanin, sickening her family and covering the coastline in ash. Capitan, like a Philippine Erin Brockovich, was campaigning for its closure when a mysterious man began visiting her at home and making vague threats of violence.

It happened on July 1, 2016, around 8 p.m. Capitan was in her small karaoke bar, a one-minute walk from her house, singing a saccharine pop ballad with her 8-year-old grandson, Jerson. Two men on a motorcycle pulled up outside. One entered, a yellow handkerchief covering his face. He shot Capitan three times  once in the arm, twice in the neck  then he fled. Jerson looked on, screaming.

Everybody cried when they saw Gloria, Jerson said later, as his parents nodded, their eyes downcast. Then we left the place. We went down to the house. But no police came.

Deceased environmental activist Gloria Capitan's grandson Jerson, 8, plays on a motorbike at the family's home. Jonathan Kaiman / Los Angeles Times

The world is experiencing an epidemic of environmental killings, and its getting worse.

In 2016, 200 environmental defenders  anti-mining activists, indigenous protesters, workers for nongovernmental organizations  were killed worldwide, according to the London-based nonprofit Global Witness, more than any year since the organization began collecting data in 2002. This year, an estimated 150 had been killed by October, meaning the toll could be higher.

In Asia, the Philippines topped the list. At least 28 Philippine environmental defenders were killed in 2016, most of them anti-mining activists. This year, the death toll has reached 18, according to Global Witness.

Los Angeles Times

In January, Mario Contaoi, a radio reporter, university lecturer, and outspoken environmentalist, was shot while riding his motorcycle. In February, Renato Anglao, an indigenous activist on the southern island of Mindanao, was killed while fighting efforts to establish a plantation on his ancestral land. In March, Ramon Dagaas Pesadilla, an anti-mining activist, also on Mindanao, was shot to death at home with his wife.

ENVIRONMENTAL WARRIORS: Defending the environment has become a suicide mission in many parts of the world 

Billy Kyte, a Global Witness campaigner, said the rise in killings may have been inspired by President Rodrigo Duterte, who has promised to rid the country of illegal drugs  and in the process, has encouraged a rash of extrajudicial killings. The president has also targeted human rights activists. One of these days, you human rights groups, I will also investigate you, Duterte said in August. If they are obstructing justice, you shoot them.

In the 18 deaths this year, no perpetrators have been identified.

Bataan province, population 760,000, is a swath of emerald hills and fishing villages not far from the Philippine capital, Manila. Internationally, its best known as the staging ground of the Bataan Death March, in which Japanese troops forced defiant American and Filipino soldiers inland during World War II. At home, its also known as a hub for power generation.

The Philippines is one of Asias fastest-growing economies, and its government is exploiting cheap, convenient fossil fuels  especially coal  to fuel that growth. The country has 32 coal-fired power plants, and its planning an additional 25 by 2030.

Los Angeles TImes

Bataan is home to three coal-fired power plants and one oil refinery, which together generate more than 2,000 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 1.3 million American homes (and many more Philippine ones). Theyre owned by both local and international companies; one plant is owned by the domestic San Miguel Corp.

With new projects planned in coming years, the provinces energy output is expected to more than double, but as with coal plants around the world, the extra power comes at the cost of unhealthy air emissions and a sprinkling of soot. Power plant owners said they were working to hold down emissions, but even the cleanest plants mean more pollution  and Bataan now has plenty of them.

The power plants here, they're like mushrooms after rain, said Alvin Pura, 37, a landscaper in the town of Limay.

The power plants here, they're like mushrooms after rain. Alvin Pura

Capitan was a hard worker with a simple life. Her 60-year-old husband, Efren, suffered a stroke in 2013, leaving her with outsize responsibilities in supporting her five children and 18 grandchildren. She cooked, cleaned, collected firewood, took care of Efren, and bred pigs. In 2014, she opened a roadside convenience store, a two-minute walk from her home, where she sold sodas and French fries for additional income.

Thats where the conflict with the energy companies started. A thin patina of black coal dust, almost certainly from a nearby stockpile, had begun covering the countertops and floor of her store. Capitan would clean it, but the toxic dust would always return. That May, the Mariveles sanitation department inspected her shop and ordered it closed.

The inspector was sympathetic. He advised her to lodge a complaint against Seafront Shipyard and Port Terminal Services, a Philippine company that helps supply nearby power plants with coal and cement imported from Indonesia. That year, Seafront had opened the coal stockpile a short drive from Capitans home  a long pier covered in heaps of the fossil fuel.

Capitan decided to act. She circulated a petition calling for the stockpiles closure, and about 1,000 people signed it. Yet the company didnt respond, so in January 2015, she formed a loose-knit advocacy group  the United Citizens of Lucanin Assn. About 30 neighbors joined.

There were so many people that she heard complaining about the same problem, said Capitans daughter Jovelyn, 30. She thought, Why dont we put ourselves together, and maybe we can find our strength?

A masked environmental activist wags mock dollars bills during a protest outside the JP Morgan Chase & Co. office to urge the multi-national company to stop its funding of a coal-fired power plant in the country. Bullit Marquez / Associated Press

Meanwhile, the pollution seemed to be getting worse. Her grandchildren suffered constant asthma attacks, chest colds and skin rashes. Her mango and coconut trees withered, their leaves thick with dust. When it rained, black sludge dripped from the rooftops and formed puddles in her courtyard.

Capitan threw herself into her cause. She petitioned, protested, deluged the company with calls. She continued to run the family business, converting her shop into a karaoke bar, which didnt require such strict health certification from the city.

In November 2015, she participated in a climate change advocacy march in Manila, where activists talked about how burning fossil fuels wasnt just causing local pollution  it was contributing to a dangerous increase in average temperatures. She was crying beside me in the march  weeping, said Derek Cabe, coordinator of the Coal-Free Bataan Movement, another NGO. She said she didn't know this thing was so big, so huge, compared to [her] problem, which is so little. She was inspired.

Capitans advocacy had some impact, at least while she was still alive. In May 2015, in response to Capitans petitioning, Mariveles sanitary inspector ordered Seafront to cover its coal stockpile, and the company installed a large, warehouse-style structure on the pier, reducing atmospheric dust.

Yet problems remained. To this day, coal-hauling trucks still kick up dust, said Ermin Hatol, 71, a neighbor of Capitan. Occasionally, the company burns coal and chemicals at the stockpile, creating a foul, rotten-egg stench, after which many people report stomach problems and migraines, said Cabe. (Seafront did not respond to repeated requests for comment.)

Mercy Tihim, who works at a clinic not far from the GNPower Mariveles coal-fired power plant, said reports of pneumonia, coughs, skin rashes and tuberculosis skyrocketed after the plant began operations in 2014. Last year, she said, at least nine cases of child tuberculosis were recorded. In the first half of 2017, there were four. Before, we had incidences, but it was very few, she said. Now things are different.

Officials from the power plant declined to comment on the health reports.

A short drive away, in Limay municipality, locals complained that a 600-megawatt expansion at the San Miguel-built coal-fired power plant had destroyed several vegetable farms, and about 2,000 trees, due to soot pollution. In December 2016, the Philippines Environmental Management Bureau sent a notice of violation to the plant, ordering it to halt emissions while activists claims of environmental pollution were investigated.

In January, the company deployed doctors to aid nearby residents, the Philippine Inquirer newspaper reported; in February, it said that its emissions registered as way below World Bank and government standards. Company President Ramon Ang denied that pollution from the plant was causing health problems. There is no smoke, no pollution there, he told the newspaper. Were committed to help the environment.

Yet months later, residents were still complaining about pollution. I worked in the plant for a month, and I think I got sick seriously because of the plant, whispered Gerald Respicio, a deathly thin 26-year-old, as he lay in his home near the plant, recovering from tuberculosis. He said he has received no compensation. His direct employer at the time, the contractor SM Blooming Phils, could not be reached for comment; its one publicly listed number is disconnected. Respicio and a Philippine corporate records website said the company has since closed.

In April 2016, a man who would not fully identify himself visited Capitan at her home, according to her son, Mar, 35, who was present during the encounter. The man gave his name only as Alex, and refused to say who had sent him. He vowed to give Capitans husband, Efren, a $300 medical allowance for top-notch treatment in Manila  but only if she stopped her anti-coal organizing activities. I care about all of you, Mar heard him say. Id hate to see any of you buried under a mound of earth.

Her answer was a big no, Mar recalled. The man came to the house three or four times altogether, Mar said, but each time, Capitan rebuffed him.

In May, Carlo Ignacio, Seafronts vice president for operations, called Capitan to his office. Several members of Capitans association  including Nanding Fernando, 65  waited outside as they met, Fernando said. Afterward, she recalled, Capitan told the group that Ignacio had urged her to halt her groups demonstrations.

He was slamming the table. He told her you should stop, you should stop because you're not making things better for yourself or your village, Fernando said. Gloria told us she was basically  she felt threatened.

Children swim near the Seafront coal stockpile down the road from Capitan's home. Jonathan Kaiman / Los Angeles Times

It is not possible to verify firsthand what happened in that meeting  Ignacio did not respond to repeated attempts to contact him. Four public numbers for Seafront were disconnected, and a Los Angeles Times reporter was turned away at the companys guarded compound in Mariveles. One Seafront employee, reached via intercom, said that only Ignacio could comment on the case  but Ignacio was not available.

In a July 2015 article in the Manila Bulletin, Ignacio criticized an unnamed family  most likely Capitans  for launching a petition against the coal stockpile operated by Seafront. It is not us who will suffer severely but it is the public (due to power shortage) if the shipment of coal is stopped just because of the whims and caprices of this couple, he told the newspaper.

In the Philippine press, the company has defended its record on community involvement, while sidestepping allegations of pollution. Seafront donated two fishing boats to two groups of fishermen, complete with fishing gears and gadgets, the newspaper Punto! Central Luzon reported in 2015.

That year, the Manila Bulletin newspaper reported that Seafront had constructed churches in Bataan worth millions of pesos, sponsored charity healthcare projects and donated food to malnourished children. The article did not address citizens complaints about pollution, but reported that Seafront had been providing direct and indirect employment to 1,500 locals.

Heaven knows what weve been doing, Ignacio told the newspaper.

A small fishing village in Mariveles, Bataan, not far from the Mariveles coal-fired plant. Jes Aznar / Getty Images

It seemed clear that someone was targeting Capitan. On the day after Dutertes inauguration, Efren and Mar were sitting at home in the evening when they heard three gunshots. Mar ran to the bar and saw his mothers head tilted back, blood pouring from wounds in her neck. He and his brother Jerson jumped on motorbikes and chased the killers, but soon lost sight of them. Then they went to the police.

The police, Efren said, seemed reluctant to investigate. There was speculation around the community that maybe she was killed because of drugs or a land dispute, he recalled. They didn't want to admit it was because of the environment. He said police didnt even investigate the crime scene; family members retrieved the bullets themselves.

Loyd Opena, chief investigator for the Mariveles police, denied that account. He said detectives are building a case, and have identified a suspect; a warrant of arrest, he said, will be served soon. He suggested that the force considers Capitans case sensitive. "The victim is a leader of a pro-environment group, that's why the community is aware of the case, he said.

He said the police never received a formal complaint from the family, and had to open one themselves in order to launch their investigation.

Mar said the family had little confidence that filing a complaint with the police would lead to an arrest  and confronting the authorities might cause the family more trouble, he said. Efrens medical condition hasnt improved, and we don't want another parent to die because of stress and pressure, Mar said.

We think Gloria is already at peace now, and we're scared for our children, he said.

Soon after Capitans death, the local citizens advocacy group disbanded. Of course if you know Gloria, Mar said, she'd be very, very sad.

This story was reported with a grant from the United Nations Foundation.

Special correspondent Yas Coles contributed to this report.

jonathan.kaiman@latimes.com

For more news from Asia, follow @JRKaiman on Twitter.

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Most Bay Area students are starting off the school year learning from home because of coronavirus restrictions, but that could soon begin to change.

Four counties have launched the waiver application process for elementary schools to reopen for classroom-based learning, with a return as early as Labor Day week called possible for some.

Santa Clara and Sonoma counties put their waiver processes online the first week of August. Marin County began distributing applications to elementary schools last Friday. Starting Wednesday, Contra Costa County elementary schools can start applying for waivers.

Classrooms across the Bay Area have been shuttered since mid-March because of the pandemic, but California health officials recently released guidelines for elementary schools to request waivers to reopen under strict safety protocols. Middle schools and high schools are not eligible for waivers.

The waivers would be granted by county health officers in consultation with the California Department of Public Health. State officials said the guidelines combine the benefits of stay-at-home orders with the educational and social advantages children gain in an in-person classroom. They also said scientific data suggest young children are less likely to transmit the coronavirus.

The state template application form requires schools to submit proof that they have consulted with parents, labor unions and community groups. Each schools reopening plan must be published online, demonstrating how it follows state and local public health guidelines.

Santa Clara said it has received applications from about 50 schools so far. Sonoma County said its health officer will begin reviewing applications when the states recent coronavirus data discrepancies are sorted out, with a timeline still pending.

Marin County health officer Matt Willis said his office is finalizing the application to be distributed to every K-6 school in the county on Friday. Interested schools can fill out the applications, which will be reviewed starting Aug. 21. Applications that are accepted will advance to the state for final approval. Willis said that under the timeline, the soonest any elementary school could reopen is Sept. 8.

Simply submitting a waiver application does not guarantee a school will reopen, he said.

Jessica Christian / The Chronicle

Willis said more private schools than public schools have been interested in applying so far. He said that might be because the labor voice for public schools is much stronger than in private schools, and public school staff has generally been more resistant to returning to campuses.

The California Teachers Association sent a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom, legislative leaders and the state schools superintendent in July expressing concern about preparedness for in-person instruction during the pandemic and declaring that California cannot reopen schools unless they are safe.

Willis said Marin County is looking for ways to ensure educational equity, including granting priority access to schools that offer scholarships for low-income students.

Detailed site-specific protection plans are required, and will be crucial when considering what schools may be allowed to reopen, Willis said.

The decision to consider an application is different than the decision to open, Willis said. I think its an important step in our preparedness, to go through the process of the 30-point plan and articulate exactly how to meet those standards.

All of the Bay Areas counties are on the states coronavirus watch list, which under current restrictions means that schools cannot reopen for in-person learning. But waivers grant an exception for elementary schools in counties with a case rate of fewer than 200 per population of 100,000 for the previous two weeks, which is double the watch list threshold.

COVID Resources Coronavirus Map Tracking COVID-19 cases across the Bay Area and California.

Last week, all Bay Area counties were below that threshold. But the recent major state data lag has resulted in the removal of all numbers on the states county monitoring chart, and any movement of counties on or off the list is on hold.

Heres where other Bay Area counties currently stand on the elementary school waiver process:

Alameda County: Health officials said last week that while the county remains on the state watch list, it will not allow schools to physically reopen for in-person instruction. The county does not yet have a timeline for accepting waiver applications.

Napa County: County officials say they have not yet started the elementary school waiver process.

San Francisco County: The Department of Public Health said that several elementary schools have inquired about waivers, and officials are reviewing the guidelines before implementing an application process.

San Mateo County: County officials say efforts to develop the waiver request process are ongoing.

Solano County: County health officials say they are working on a waiver application in cooperation with the county Office of Education and should be able to provide it to local schools soon.

Kellie Hwang is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kellie.hwang@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @KellieHwang
I-T raids on Chinese entities unearth Rs1,000-cr hawala racket

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Tuesday said search operations by the Income Tax Department has unearthed incriminating documents on hawala transactions and evidence of money laundering by some Chinese entities and their Indian associates.

The I-T Department raided at least two dozen premises in Delhi, Gurgaon and Ghaziabad, including premises of Chinese, their Indian associates and bank officials, the CBDT said in a statement issued late on Tuesday.

CBDT said these entities have created more than 40 bank accounts totaling over Rs1,000 crore in various dummy accounts, entering into credits of over the period as part of the money-laundering operation.

"Incriminating documents of hawala transactions and money laundering with active involvement of bank employees and chartered accountants have been found as a result of the search action," it said.

Evidence of foreign hawala transactions involving Hong Kong and US dollars have also been unearthed, the CBDT said.

The searches were conducted on the basis of information that few Chinese individuals and their Indian associates were involved in money laundering and hawala transactions through series of shell entities. Searches were mounted at various premises of these Chinese entities, their close associates and bank employees, CBDT said.

Search action revealed that at the behest of Chinese individuals, more than 40 bank accounts were created in various dummy entities, entering into credits of more than Rs 1,000 crore over the period, the statement from CBDT added.

The Income Tax Department said a subsidiary of Chinese company and its related concerns have taken over Rs100 crore bogus advances from shell entities for opening businesses of retail showrooms in India.

Further, incriminating documents in respect of hawala transactions and laundering of money with the active involvement of bank employees and chartered accountants have been found as a result of search action. Evidence of foreign hawala transactions involving Hong Kong and US dollars have also been unearthed. Further investigations are under progress, the I-T department said.

The development comes in the wake of hawala racket being operated by Gulf-based operatives from Kerala, following the seizure of gold smuggled into the country in the garb of diplomatic baggage.

A Chinese man, who allegedly holds a fake Indian passport, is alleged to be the kingpin of the racket apart from few other nationals of that country.
Press Release





Recruitment on track with 164 patients already treated





Gosselies, Belgium, 13 August 2020, 7am CEST  BONE THERAPEUTICS (Euronext Brussels and Paris: BOTHE), the cell therapy company addressing high unmet medical needs in orthopedics and bone diseases, today announces it has been granted EUR 1.0 million in non-dilutive funding from the Directorate-General for Economy, Employment and Research of the Walloon Region, Belgium. This funding will provide further financial support to Bone Therapeutics, in addition to recent financing, to advance its current pivotal phase III clinical study with the enriched protein solution, JTA-004.

The JTA-004 phase III study is a controlled, randomized, double-blind trial. It is evaluating the potential of a single, intra-articular injection of JTA-004 to reduce osteoarthritic pain in the knee compared to placebo or Hylan G-F 20, the leading current osteoarthritis treatment on the market. The study is being conducted in six European countries as well as Hong Kong SAR. Since the initiation of the trial in mid-May 2020, 164 patients have already been treated, roughly 20% of the targeted assessable patients. At the current recruitment rate, Bone Therapeutics expects to complete patient enrolment before year-end and anticipates reporting topline results on the 3-month primary endpoint and 6-month follow-up period in the second half of 2021.

The continued support of Bone Therapeutics by the Directorate-General for the Economy, Employment and Research of the Walloon Region, and especially the Department SPW-Research, has been very important to advancing our program of orthopedics and bone disease therapies, said Miguel Forte, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Bone Therapeutics. This specific financial support will provide additional assistance in further advancing our phase III trial in knee osteoarthritis and will add extra momentum to discussions with potential business partners. The successful completion of this study aims at confirming the safety and efficacy of JTA-004 towards commercialization as a potential new and much-needed treatment option for this large patient population.

Story continues

The non-dilutive funding is granted under the form of avances recuperables to support specific research and development programs and is subject to suspensive conditions. Under the applicable conditions, the funding is reimbursable over the economic life of the project (25 years). Thirty per cent is refundable based on a fixed reimbursement schedule, while the balance is refunded under the form of royalties over the same period.





About JTA-004

JTA-004 is Bone Therapeutics next generation of intra-articular injectables for the treatment of osteoarthritic pain in the knee. Consisting of a unique mix of plasma proteins, hyaluronic acid - a natural component of knee synovial fluid, and a fast-acting analgesic, JTA-004 intends to provide added lubrication and protection to the cartilage of the arthritic joint and to alleviate osteoarthritic pain. In a phase II study involving 164 patients, JTA-004 showed an improved pain relief at 3 and 6 months compared to Hylan G-F 20, the global market leader in osteoarthritis treatment.

About Knee Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA), also known as degenerative joint disease, is the most common chronic joint condition in which the protective cartilage in the joints progressively break down resulting in joint pain, swelling, stiffness and limited range of motion. The knee is one of the joints that are mostly affected by osteoarthritis, with an estimated 250 million cases worldwide.

The prevalence of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is expected to increase in the coming years due to increasingly aging and obese population. Currently, there is no cure for KOA and treatments focus on relieving and controlling pain and symptoms, preventing disease progression, minimizing disability, and improving quality of life. Most drugs prescribed to KOA patients are topical or oral analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs. Ultimately, severe KOA lead to highly invasive surgical interventions such as total knee replacement.

About Bone Therapeutics

Bone Therapeutics is a leading biotech company focused on the development of innovative products to address high unmet needs in orthopedics and bone diseases. The Company has a broad, diversified portfolio of bone cell therapies and an innovative biological product in later-stage clinical development, which target markets with large unmet medical needs and limited innovation.

Bone Therapeutics is developing an off-the-shelf protein solution, JTA-004, which is currently in phase III development for the treatment of pain in knee osteoarthritis. Consisting of a unique mix of plasma proteins, hyaluronic acid - a natural component of knee synovial fluid, and a fast-acting analgesic, JTA-004 intends to provide added lubrication and protection to the cartilage of the arthritic joint and to alleviate osteoarthritic pain. Positive phase IIb efficacy results in patients with knee osteoarthritis showed a statistically significant improvement in pain relief compared to a leading viscosupplement.

Bone Therapeutics other core technology is based on its cutting-edge allogeneic cell therapy platform (ALLOB) which can be stored at the point of use in the hospital, and uses a unique, proprietary approach to bone regeneration, which turns undifferentiated stromal cells from healthy donors into bone-forming cells. These cells are produced via a proprietary, scalable cutting-edge manufacturing process. Following the CTA approval by regulatory authorities in Europe, the Company is ready to start the phase IIb clinical trial with ALLOB in patients with difficult tibial fractures, using its optimized production process.

The ALLOB platform technology has multiple applications and will continue to be evaluated in other indications including spinal fusion, osteotomy, maxillofacial and dental applications.

Bone Therapeutics cell therapy products are manufactured to the highest GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) standards and are protected by a broad IP (Intellectual Property) portfolio covering ten patent families as well as knowhow. The Company is based in the BioPark in Gosselies, Belgium. Further information is available at www.bonetherapeutics.com.





For further information, please contact:

Bone Therapeutics SA

Miguel Forte, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer

Jean-Luc Vandebroek, Chief Financial Officer

Tel: +32 (0) 71 12 10 00

investorrelations@bonetherapeutics.com

International Media Enquiries:

Image Box Communications

Neil Hunter / Michelle Boxall

Tel: +44 (0)20 8943 4685

neil@ibcomms.agency / michelle@ibcomms.agency

For French Media and Investor Enquiries:

NewCap Investor Relations & Financial Communications

Pierre Laurent, Louis-Victor Delouvrier and Arthur Rouille

Tel: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94

bone@newcap.eu

Certain statements, beliefs and opinions in this press release are forward-looking, which reflect the Company or, as appropriate, the Company directors` current expectations and projections about future events. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions could adversely affect the outcome and financial effects of the plans and events described herein. A multitude of factors including, but not limited to, changes in demand, competition and technology, can cause actual events, performance or results to differ significantly from any anticipated development. Forward looking statements contained in this press release regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. As a result, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release any update or revisions to any forward-looking statements in this press release as a result of any change in expectations or any change in events, conditions, assumptions or circumstances on which these forward-looking statements are based. Neither the Company nor its advisers or representatives nor any of its subsidiary undertakings or any such person`s officers or employees guarantees that the assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are free from errors nor does either accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release or the actual occurrence of the forecasted developments. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.




PHILIPSBURG:--- The Police Force of Sint Maarten (KPSM) made two separate arrests on Tuesday, August 12th, 2020, in connection with a case of domestic violence and aggravated assault.

In an ongoing investigation into a serious assault that had taken place in a nightclub on the airport road on July 12th, 2020, the detective arrested the man with the initials J.G. on Tuesday morning. According to the information gathered, an argument ensued between the suspect J.G and the victim F.F. that ended in a physical altercation.

During the altercation that had taken place inside the establishment, the victim was severely injured with an ashtray. The victim suffered serious lacerations to his face and his neck. He was taken to the Sint Maarten Medical center where he was immediately operated on. An arrest warrant was later issued by the prosecutor office for the suspect who is a French residence. The officers were able to locate and arrest him on Tuesday. After being interrogated he is being been held at the police station in Philipsburg pending further investigation.

On Tuesday the police patrol arrested the man with the initials K.S.A.S. for ill-treating his girlfriend and threatening to kill her. Earlier on Tuesday morning, the victim made an official complaint at the detective department against her boyfriend. According to the victim, this was not the first time the suspect had abused or threatened her life. The suspect was incarcerated pending further investigation. Domestic violence and abuse can happen to anyone; it does not discriminate; abuse happens within all relationships. The bottom line is that abusive behavior is never acceptable, and wont be tolerated whether from a man or woman.

KPSM Press Release.
Two women talk with a riot police officer as police block a part of a street in the capital of Minsk, Belarus. (AP)

Minsk: Protesters formed human chains and marched through the streets of Belarus carrying flowers on Wednesday in anger at a crackdown by strongman President Alexander Lukashenko that has prompted the European Union to consider new sanctions against Minsk.

Security forces have clashed with protesters for three consecutive nights after Lukashenko claimed a landslide re-election victory in a vote on Sunday that his opponents say was rigged. Police have detained around 6,000 people.

Lukashenko has sought better relations with the West amid strained relations with traditional ally Russia. Brussels lifted sanctions, imposed over Lukashenkos human rights record, in 2016, but will weigh new measures this week.

Lithuania, Poland and Latvia jointly offered to mediate between Lukashenko and the protesters, and threatened sanctions at a European or national level if the offer was declined.

A former Soviet collective farm manager, the 65-year-old Lukashenko has ruled Belarus for more than a quarter of a century but faces increasing anger over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, a sluggish economy and human rights.

Women dressed in white formed a human chain outside a covered food market in the capital Minsk, holding flowers in the air and chanting slogans, while a crowd also gathered outside a prison where protesters were being kept.

I cannot leave my children at night but I can come during the daytime and say my piece, said Minsk resident Yelena. They have stolen not just my vote but 26 years of my life. Yes, I think so, and this regime must go away.

CLASHES

The Belarusian interior ministry said 51 protesters and 14 police officers had been injured in clashes on Tuesday night.

In Brest, a city in southwestern Belarus on the Polish border, police fired live rounds after some protesters it said were armed with metal bars ignored warning shots fired in the air, the ministry said. One person was injured.

Lukashenko has accused the protesters of being in cahoots with foreign backers from Russia and elsewhere to topple his government, and compared them to criminal gangs.

The core of all these so-called protesters today comprises people with a criminal history and the unemployed, he said at a government meeting on Wednesday.

Belarusian authorities earlier tied opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskayas husband to a plot by suspected Russian mercenaries to destabilise the country ahead of the election. She denied the allegation in an interview with Reuters.

In Tuesday nights clashes, security forces beat some of the protesters, sometimes dragging people out of cars before attacking them.

United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet condemned the detention of 6,000 people, including bystanders, as well as minors, suggesting a trend of massive arrests in clear violation of international human rights standards.

Some of the detainees were lined up in a row on state television this week, looking subdued and promising not to engage in revolutionary activities.

State media also broadcast footage of a van in Minsk with Russian number plates saying it was packed with ammunition and tents.

Tracked down by Reuters, Valdemar Grubov, the vans owner, said he was a film producer and that the vehicle contained only his own personal effects.

He said he had been unable to retrieve the van due to COVID-19 restrictions and was not involved in any alleged foreign plot.

Tsikhanouskaya, a 37-year-old former English teacher who took on Lukashenko in the vote, has fled to neighbouring Lithuania to join her children there. She urged her compatriots not to oppose the police and to avoid putting their lives in danger.

But the protests continued into the evening on Wednesday as thousands took to the streets of the capital.

We are scared but what else can we do? We are not being aggressive. We are women standing here who also have a voice, said Minsk resident Zhenya. We are scared of being arrested but we want to be heard.
<p>US President Donald Trump announced the deal on Thursday after successfully getting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan to agree normalising relations between their two countries.</p><p>The deal, to be signed in the coming weeks, will see Israel backing down from "unilateral annexation" of areas of the occupied West Bank - land sought by the Palestinians for their future state, Israeli foreign minister Gabi Ashkenazi said.</p><p>It also firms up opposition to regional power Iran, which the UAE, Israel and the US view as the main threat in the region.</p><p>Israel signed peace agreements with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994 but the UAE, along with most other Arab nations, did not recognise Israel and had no formal diplomatic or economic relations with the Jewish nation - until now.</p><p>A joint statement tweeted out by Mr Trump said delegations from Israel and the UAE will meet to sign bilateral agreements on "investment, tourism, direct flights, security, telecommunications, technology, energy, healthcare, culture, the environment, the establishment of reciprocal embassies and other areas of mutual benefit".</p><p>It added that both leaders had expressed their "deep appreciation" to Mr Trump "for his dedication to peace in the region and to the pragmatic and unique approach he has taken to achieve it".</p><p>Israeli MPs have welcomed the deal, with defence minister Benny Gantz saying it expressed an "alliance" between countries in the region who aim for stability and prosperity, adding that it would have "many positive implications" on the region.</p><p>The Hamas militant group, which wants to destroy Israel, accused the UAE of stabbing the Palestinians in the back.</p> <p>"This announcement is a reward for the Israeli occupation's crimes," said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum.</p><p>"The normalisation is a stabbing in the back of our people."</p><p>UAE foreign minister Anwar Gargash called the deal "a bold step".</p><p>"The UAE is using its gravitas and promise of a relationship to unscrew a time bomb that is threatening a two-state solution," he added.</p><p>He said embassies in both countries would open soon, adding that "this is for real" but admitted "nothing is perfect in a very difficult region".</p><p>British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the deal was "hugely good news", while Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the UK welcomed the "historic step".</p><p>He said: "We welcome both the decision by the UAE to normalise relations with Israel, as well as the suspension of plans for annexation - a move the UK has opposed as it would have been counterproductive to securing peace in the region.</p><p>"Ultimately, there is no substitute for direct talks between the Palestinians and Israel, which is the only way to a reach a two-state solution and a lasting peace."</p> <p><strong>Analysis: A big win for Trump and Israel - but the Palestinians have been left out in the cold</strong></p><p><strong>By Mark Stone, Middle East correspondent</strong></p><p><em>It's more than 25 years since an Arab country normalised ties with Israel. </em></p><p><em>No wonder President Trump calls it "a truly historic moment". He isn't wrong. </em></p><p><em>Until now there had only been two countries in the Arab world with relatively normal relations with the Jewish State of Israel - Egypt and Jordan. </em></p><p><em>Today's announcement at the White House was a rabbit-out-of-hat moment in the sense that it was not billed and not expected now. </em></p><p><em>Yes - it's true that for some time, quietly in the background the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel have warmed their relations. </em></p><p><em>But the formal announcement of the normalisation of relations with a key Arab nation combined with a commitment by Israel to suspend its heavily trailed plans to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank - this is big, important news. </em></p> <p><em>The deal has been named the Abraham accord. Abraham was the father of all three great faiths at the core of the struggle for Middle East peace. </em></p><p><em>The three signatures of this deal believe it could pave the way for dramatic changes in the region.</em></p><p><em>The expectation is that other Arab states could now follow the UAE. The deal, says Donald Trump, will be an "ice breaker" for countries like Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and others to normalise their relations with the Jewish State. </em></p><p><em>For commerce, for tourism, for aviation, for geopolitics, this is certainly a crucial juncture in the long road to Middle East peace. </em></p><p><em>Iran is the common enemy of Israel and much of the Arab world. This accord strengthens the anti-Iran axis but also potentially strengthens efforts for dialogue there. The UAE and Iran have dialogue that can now, indirectly, be extended to Israel. </em></p><p><em>But in all this, one key player has been left out: the Palestinians. </em></p> <p><em>The rumour is that they were not consulted at all in this deal. While it is positive for Palestinians that the annexation plans are - it seems - off, there is a deep sense of betrayal. </em></p><p><em>Just look at how Hanan Ashrawi, one of the most senior and seasoned Palestinian diplomats, replied to the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince's tweet.</em></p><p><em>"May you never experience the agony of having your country stolen; may you never feel the pain of living in captivity under occupation; may you never witness the demolition of your home or murder of your loved ones. May you never be sold out by your 'friends'," she wrote. </em></p><p><em>This is a big win for Donald Trump. It is a big win for Israel (though more for pragmatists than hard-line settlers). But for the Palestinians what does it mean? </em></p><p><em>Well - for decades the price Arabs have asked from Israel for the normalisation of relations has been a Palestinian State. But no longer. </em></p><p><em>Is this the clearest sign yet that Arab sympathy for Palestinians is waning? Trade, commerce and an axis against Iran trumps the Palestinian cause? Maybe. </em></p><p><em>A Palestinian state still far off. For Palestinians, the Abraham Accord has staved off annexation but the status quo of occupation will rumble on.</em></p>
PHOENIX, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- COVID-19 has affected the way Americans live, work, and learn. This fall, thousands of children will return to schools in online learning environments. While expected to be temporary, assistance for students to have the technology they need to learn is a top priority.

The V Encuentro Education and Evangelization Task Force was established by Bishop Olmsted in the fall of 2019 with a goal to support Catholic schools. In July 2020, The Catholic Schools Office Interim Superintendent, Domonic Salce, asked the members of this Task Force to assist by obtaining technology for families in need in Phoenix's Catholic diocesan schools.

"It is essential to start the school year strong and our schools are challenged to ensure all students have access to adequate technology to connect to their teachers and classmates. Technology such as laptops, Chromebooks and, in many cases, hotspots for Internet access, are needed. Appropriate technology in students' hands levels the playing field, making education attainable for all Catholic school children," stated Salce.

Catholic Education Arizona is Arizona's #1 ranked school tuition organization and has supported the Catholic schools in the Diocese of Phoenix through tax credit tuition scholarships for 23 years. Ms. Padberg shared, "We are grateful that, by working together, we can change lives and transform culture through our technology donation."

Contributing organizations include:

Catholic Education Arizona

Catholic Community Foundation

TeamLogic IT

Six confidential benefactors

The Catholic Community Foundation, a financial institution whose mission is to build the future of the Faith by providing sustainable support for those who serve our community, was the first sister company to step up to help. Deacon James Carabajal, CEO of the Foundation, is thrilled to partner with CEA to help meet some of the needs in our community.

"There is no doubt that our students and faculty will experience a start to the school year, unlike any other. It is the Foundation's mission to help support our community through sound, long-term investing practices, and educating others on the importance of saving for the rainy day. Last year, the Foundation was blessed to report an operating surplus because of our prudent investing practices. As a result, we were able to respond to the call for help." To learn more about the Catholic Community Foundation, visit www.ccfphx.org.

Catholic school's boast:

99% graduation rate

97% matriculate to higher education or military service

1000s of hours of community service annually

Catholic Education Arizona is the largest provider of scholarships to underserved families attending private schools. Last year $16.4 million in tax credit contributions was made to assist nearly half of Arizona's Catholic school students. Since 1998, over $268 million in tuition scholarships has been awarded to 138,000 students. Learn more about how CEA is Changing Lives One Scholarship at a Time at www.ceaz.org or call 602-218-6542.

Contact: Debra Preach, Chief Development Officer

Catholic Education Arizona

[email protected]

(602) 218-6542

SOURCE Catholic Education Arizona

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Reading the accounts of those killed during the Troubles can be a distressing experience, not only because of the nature of the crimes which were committed on all sides during the conflict, but because of the number of victims who've been forgotten.

For their families, each death meant a lifetime of trauma. For everyone else, it was all too often a passing headline on the news, soon replaced in the mind as some abhorrent fresh atrocity took its place. It's important to keep remembering the names and faces of the people who died, and the unforgivable circumstances in which they lost their lives, if only to combat the efforts of those who tirelessly seek to whitewash the past.

A few days ago it was the 46th anniversary of the murder of Ann Ogilby, a 32-year-old single mother-of-four, who was beaten to death with bricks and sticks in a disused building in Sandy Row in July 1974, before her body was dumped near the M1.

A motive was never established conclusively, but most theories suggest her main "crime" was having an affair with a married UDA commander.

That dreadful date may have passed without remembrance too, if it hadn't been for victims' advocates on Facebook making sure to mark its passing.

It's not hard to appreciate why they felt this young mother's death needed to be memorialised.

Even by the depraved standards of the Troubles, the so-called "romper room" murders committed by loyalists were especially brutal; but what makes this one more notorious still is that it was ordered and carried out by members of the local women's unit of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), an organisation which, incredibly, remained legal until 1992.

The involvement of women in such a callous murder seems to run counter to all our inherent ideas that they should be more caring, nurturing, and compassionate than men.

How could women act this way towards a fellow human being, not least one of their own sex?

The awful truth is that it was more common than we like to imagine. Even among those who weren't "involved" directly, the nature of society at that time turned too many female hearts to stone.

There is footage of mothers in the 1970s saying they'd gladly hand their own daughters over to be tarred and feathered if they cavorted with British soldiers, and, whilst the vast majority of active terrorists in Northern Ireland may have been men, there were many notable exceptions.

On the republican side, the Price sisters and Donna Maguire (once described as Europe's most dangerous woman for her role in a continental bombing campaign) were every bit as ruthless as their male counterparts.

Jean McConville was taken from her home at gunpoint by four women, and never seen alive again. Dolours Price admitted driving the Protestant mother-of-ten across the border to her death.

Mary McArdle, later a Sinn Fein special adviser at Stormont, was likewise convicted over her role in the 1984 murder of teacher Mary Travers, a young woman like herself.

Outside of politically-motivated violence, there have been plenty of female murderers, including some serial killers. Peterborough woman Joanna Dennehy was convicted in 2013 of stabbing three men to death and dumping their bodies in ditches.

She was given a whole life sentence, one of only three women in the UK ever to be locked up without hope of release. The other two are Myra Hindley (now dead) and Rose West.

Some like to delude themselves that women who commit murder only do so because they are under the influence of evil men - what you might call the Myra Hindley defence - but the killing of Ann Ogilby exposes that as a fiction.

Her death was conceived and carried out entirely by other women, and the leader of the female loyalist unit made no bones about the fact it was "not a UDA operation", saying it was "just a move between a lot of women, a personal thing".

Even Joanne Dennehy, who was deemed at her trial to have no normal human emotions, told acquaintances during her own killing spree that she did not want to kill other women, especially not women with children. Those considerations clearly did not cross the mind of those who abducted Ann Ogilby and her young daughter back in 1974.

It's worth stressing that violent crime has, throughout history, overwhelmingly been a male occupation, and there may well be convincing evolutionary reasons for that, in terms of the different roles men and women played going back to the time of the hunter-gatherers.

Whatever the reason, most crime, including violent offences, is still carried out by men, and they make up by far the largest proportion of prisoners.

There are currently 78,000 men behind bars in the UK right now; that's 94.9 per cent of prisoners.

Just over 3,000 are women, and more than 80 per cent of them are in for non-violent offences.

When women do kill, their crimes tend to fall into specific patterns.

One way in which Ann Ogilby's murder fits the pattern is that women are much less likely to target strangers. They kill closer to home, for personal reasons. How it differs is in the level of violence used. Women generally use less brutal means to end life, such as poison and suffocation.

That's what makes this case so disturbing.

What's equally unsettling is that the two teenagers convicted of her murder - who were just 18 and 17 at the time of their conviction six months later, when they too were said to be "without feeling or remorse" - probably went on to live quite ordinary lives on their release after nine years in prison.

What darkness possessed them we may never understand, because the psychology of female killers remains far less studied than that of their male counterparts.

We explain them away as aberrations from the norm, because that's easier than admitting the uncomfortable possibility that they may be just as capable of sadistic barbarity as men, and it's merely a thin veil of socialisation which stops them giving in to their most evil urges more regularly.
South Africa: N Cape Education MEC passes away

North West Premier, Professor Job Mokgoro, has extended his heartfelt condolences to Northern Cape Premier, Zamani Saul, and the entire executive council on the passing of Education MEC, Ntsikelelo MacCollen Jack.

We are deeply saddened after learning of the passing away of MEC Jack in the Northern Cape [on Wednesday]. Their loss inevitably is our loss due to the deep-rooted historical ties between our two provinces.

We therefore would like to take this time to comfort Premier Zamani Saul, the late MEC Jacks family and EXCO colleagues, the governing African National Congress and the people of the Northern Cape during this difficult period, Mokgoro said.

Jack passed away on Wednesday evening in hospital.

Jack had been admitted last week and was always in good spirits and confident of a full recovery. Unfortunately, he took a bad turn and was declared deceased earlier [on Wednesday evening]," said Saul.

Jack was elected as a member of the executive council responsible for education in the Northern Cape last year.

Before that, he served as the MEC for Transport, Safety and Liaison in 2013, Health in 2014, Finance, Economic Development and Tourism in 2016.

Saul said the provincial executive, the ANC and its alliance partners will meet with the family on Thursday and then announce further details afterward.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-08-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 21:26:30|Editor: huaxia

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ISTANBUL, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police detained a suspected member of the Islamic State (IS) in northwestern Turkey with plans to carry out a suicide bombing.

During the operation at the address of the suspect in the Bursa province, police also seized three explosive devices, the TRT broadcaster said on its website on Thursday.

The suspect confessed that he was preparing to commit a suicide attack at the nearest police station, TRT added.

Counter-terrorism units have recently intensified their operations against the suspected IS members in the country. At least 46 suspects have been detained in operations conducted in Istanbul in July, according to press reports.

The IS was blamed for a spate of deadly attacks over years in Turkey, in which more than 300 people were killed. Enditem
14 years after launching her career on the G4 network's flagship series Attack of the Show, Olivia Munn is reportedly returning home.

The 40-year-old brunette beauty who would go from being a popular host and interviewer on Attack of the Show to launch a successful acting career, is in final talks to return to G4 in a multi-year deal, according to The Wrap.

G4 had cryptically teased at San Diego Comic-Con last month that the network, which launched in 2002 and went off the air in 2014, will return, and now it seems their biggest star is returning to the network as well.

Home: 14 years after launching her career on the G4 network's flagship series Attack of the Show, Olivia Munn is reportedly returning home

G4 returns: G4 had cryptically teased at San Diego Comic-Con last month that the network, which launched in 2002 and went off the air in 2014, will return, and now it seems their biggest star is returning to the network as well

Munn's agreement reportedly includes a development deal for her to develop new shows for the network, along with on-air hosting duties.

Reps for G4 would not comment on the report, and there is still no official word yet when the network will re-launch.

Munn has not responded to the reports on social media quite yet, and there is no word on when anything official about G4's return will be announced.

Development deal: Munn's agreement reportedly includes a development deal for her to develop new shows for the network, along with on-air hosting duties

The G4 Network was launched in April 2002 as a network aimed towards young male viewers, with an original focus on video game content.

The network's first few years featured video game content, but the network re-branded in 2005, leading to their most popular series, Attack of the Show.

Attack of the Show aired five days a week, covering technology, pop culture, movies, television, video games and more.

Gamers: The G4 Network was launched in April 2002 as a network aimed towards young male viewers, with an original focus on video game content

Attack: Attack of the Show aired five days a week, covering technology, pop culture, movies, television, video games and more

The show featured a number of hosts such as Munn, Kevin Pereira, Alison Haislip, Chris Gore, Blair Herter and more.

The show aired for seven years before it was canceled in October 2012, with the final episode airing in January 2013.

The cryptic announcement that G4 is returning did not mention Attack of the Show, but it seems possible that Munn's return could be for this program, and more.

Return: The cryptic announcement that G4 is returning did not mention Attack of the Show, but it seems possible that Munn's return could be for this program, and more

Munn left Attack of the Show in December 2010 to further her acting career in movies like Date Night, Iron Man 2 and Magic Mike.

She went on to star in HBO's The Newsroom and big-budget superhero films like X-Men: Apocalypse.

She recently starred in Love Wedding Repeat, and has films such as Violet and The Gateway in post-production.
Donald Trump attacked Democrats Wednesday for wanting to 'sabotage the Post Office' by pushing for more money to fund universal mail-in voting measures in November.

'The Democrats are sabotaging the Post Office because they're not approving $25 billion that was requesting,' the president said during a press briefing, likely referencing Democrats blocking the GOP proposed coronavirus relief package last month.

'So they're sabotaging the Post Office and then not allowing the Post Office to function properly. And they're certainly not allowing mail-in votes when they do that,' Trump confusingly argued since it is Democrats who are pushing for remote voting measures.

Trump also said during his White HOuse press briefing Wednesday evening that Democrats are wanting $25 billion in funding for the Post Office in the next coronavirus relief package is 'politically' motivated because it will bolster the USPS ahead of mass amounts of ballots flooding their offices.

'They also want $25 billion additional for the Post Office so the Post Office can handle this vast amount of ballots that are being sent at random all over the place,' the president lamented of Democrats.

'They have no idea where they're going,' he continued.

'Now they want to take it countrywide  mail-in voting,' Trump said after railing against recent failures with mail-in voting leading to confusion over who actually won.

Donald Trump decried Democrats on Wednesday, confusingly claiming they are 'sabotaging the Post Office' by asking for more money to bolster the USPS for mail-in voting

'They're sabotaging the Post Office and then not allowing the Post Office to function properly. And they're certainly not allowing mail-in votes when they do that,' Trump said

Trump often rails against desires widespread mail-in voting, claiming it will increase chances of fraud and disproportionately benefit Democrats

'It's going to be the greatest fraud in the history of elections,' he continued, pointing to Democrats as the biggest threat rather than foreign entities trying to interfere in the elections.

'When you always talk about Russia, Russia, Russia, China, Iran on voting. Your biggest problem is going to be with the Democrats not with China, Russia and Iran,' he said, reiterating: 'Your biggest problem is going to be with the Democrats.'

During his briefing, the president claimed that it would be impossible for Democrats to force nationwide mail-in ballots if they don't get the money for it through another piece of sweeping stimulus legislation.

Trump has long expressed his displeasure with the proposal that all American voters cast their ballots by mail in November in light of the prevailing coronavirus pandemic.

Trump also issued praise for new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who took his post in June 2020 and has come under fire from Democrats for shakeups at the USPS

The president has claimed moving the country to those fully-remote measures would increase the likelihood of fraud and disproportionately benefit Democrats.

He suggested Wednesday that he would not sign off on a relief bill that allocates billions going towards mail-in voting.

'They turned down this bill because they want radical left agenda items that nobody in their right mind would approve,' Trump said of Democrats refusing to agree to the GOP bill proposed at the end of last month.

'The bill's not going to happen because they don't even want to talk about it because we can't give them the kind of ridiculous things that they want that have nothing to do with the China virus,' he said, again referencing mail-in voting and money for the Post Office.

'So therefore, they don't have the money to do the universal mail-in voting, so therefore they can't do it, I guess, right?' he proposed. 'Are they going to do it even though they don't have the money?'

Trump listed measures Democrats have demanded be part of the next bill, even as negotiations collapsed on Capitol Hill last week.

'So they want $25 billion and they want  think of this  they want $3.5 billion, would you say that's enough to cover it? I think we could do it or less,' he said.

Democrats are demanding $25 billion for USPS to bolster its staff and capabilities  and the party also wants $3.5 billion specifically allocated toward mail-in voting so the Post Office can handle a higher-than-usual volume of critical mail.

'I think we could do it for less,' Trump insisted. 'But they want $35 billion for the Post Office because of this.'

He also put his trust in new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who just took lead at the USPS in mid-June of this year.

'And remember, the new man who is a great person, a great businessman  just got there a little while ago,' Trump said of DeJoy, claiming the Post Office was previously 'run poorly for many, many decades.'
Billions of dollars in cancelled aircraft orders by Irish lessors for Boeing's Max jets look set to skew Ireland's US trade balance further in this country's favour.

Just two Irish-headquartered lessors - AerCap and Avolon - have between them cancelled about $14.3bn (12.1bn) worth of Max orders so far this year according to calculations by the Irish Independent based on publicly available data.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) data shows a drop of almost 50pc in the value of aircraft imports between January and the start of June - to 3.88bn this year from 7.92bn in 2019.

The US and France are the main exporters of planes to Ireland, through Boeing and Airbus respectively.

The cancellation of orders for Boeing will further skew Irish-US trade figures in Ireland's favour with potential political implications, according to Dan O'Brien, chief economist at the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA).

"The drop in aircraft purchases, traditionally Ireland's biggest import from the US, will widen further the Republic's already large trade surplus with that country. As US president Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised such imbalances, Ireland could attract more unwanted attention from Washington DC, particularly if the incumbent were to win re-election in November's presidential election," he said.

Boeing said this week that 43 orders for its 737 Max aircraft were cancelled in July by buyers around the world. That included 15 Max cancellations by AerCap during the month.

The Max jets have been grounded since March last year, following two deadly crashes that claimed 346 lives. Its return to service has taken longer than anticipated and has involved Boeing being forced to make a number of alterations to the aircraft's systems and controls.

AerCap placed an order in 2015 for 100 Max 8 variants, which each have a list price of almost $122m (103m). The true size of sales is opaque because bigger orders traditionally attract chunky discounts from Boeing.

The lessor, headed by CEO Gus Kelly, is one of the world's biggest and has retained the balance of its Max order.

The cancellations last month brought the total number of orders for the Max that have been shelved to 416 this year. Some cancellations have involved buyers converting orders to a different Boeing jet model.

Avolon, whose CEO is Domhnal Slattery, cancelled 75 Max orders in April and another 27 in July.

Its also one of the worlds major aircraft lessors and placed an order for 75 Max 8 aircraft in 2017. That was Avolons single largest order with the US plane maker.

Those 102 cancelled jets have a combined list price of about $12.4bn.

Ryanair is also one of the biggest buyers of the Max.

The airline has stood by the plane maker, with orders for up to 210 Max jets. A Ryanair filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) showed firm orders for the Max worth 5.1bn over five years from March 2020.

Those planes are still on order but deliveries are delayed which will skew trade data further.

Investment banking company Jefferies said in an equity research note yesterday that Boeing now has a backlog of 4,129 Max orders.

It has predicted that deliveries will restart in the first quarter of 2021.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 18:33:39|Editor: huaxia

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BEIRUT, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri urged on Thursday the formation of a secular state and adoption of a new electoral law to save the country from further collapse, the National News Agency reported.

"We need a new electoral law that does not take into account any religions or sects, as well as an ascending tax system, a proper social security system and the formation of a government ... that focuses on the fight against corruption," Berri said during a parliamentary meeting held at the UNESCO Palace.

Two huge explosions rocked Port of Beirut on Aug. 4 at around 6:10 p.m. local time (1510 GMT), killing 171 and wounding at least 6,000 others.

This led to the resignation of the cabinet as media reports show some cabinet members were aware of the 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been stored at Port of Beirut and may have caused the explosions.

People took to the streets in protest of the government, demanding early parliamentary elections and the overhaul of the ruling class.

The explosions pose a great challenge to Lebanon especially when the country is facing its worst economic crisis in its history. Enditem
ARLINGTON, Va., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Association of Dental Support Organizations (ADSO) joins the growing number of voices in the dental industry and community respectfully, but strongly, disagreeing with the recent recommendation by the World Health Organization (WHO) that patients should delay routine dental care due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ADSO's President, Emmet Scott stated, "The World Health Organization's very own remarks cited the 'unknown' nature of their dangerous claim. Dental clinics must remain open for both routine and emergent care throughout this pandemic. Recent studies suggest that oral health is not only critical at early detection and prevention of diseases, but also greatly increases a patient's chances of surviving COVID-19."

"I understand that the WHO speaks to a global audience; in the US, we have zero confirmed cases of COVID-19 transmissions between a patient and clinical staff during a dental procedure. Dentists are trained at infection control. This is not new in this country," stated Dr. Jack Dillenberg, Dean Emeritus of A.T. Stills University, Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health.

Dr. Dillenberg continued, "The link between oral health and systemic health is clear, to imply that oral care is routine and unnecessary ignores decades of scientific research and is a disservice to patients."

"Dental professionals across the country have increased the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) during this pandemic to keep patients safe," stated ADSO President Emmet Scott. "After an unjustifiable period when dental clinics were closed for months, it is important that practices remain open to provide essential oral health care." The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has acknowledged that dental care is an essential part of a patient's overall health.

The ADSO will continue working with its members and the dental industry to ensure that dental clinics can remain open to provide the essential care needed to ensure overall health and wellbeing.

About the ADSO

The Association of Dental Support Organizations (ADSO) is a non-profit organization committed to providing support to its members, allowing them to focus on patients, expand access to quality dental care and improve the oral health of their communities. Comprising more than 50 DSO member companies, several association partners, and more than 180 industry partners, the ADSO represents Dental Support Organizations (DSOs) before the public, policymakers and the media. Its members operate in 44 states and provide the highest level of non-clinical support to more than 10,000 dentists across the country as well as in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

SOURCE Association of Dental Support Organizations (ADSO)

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WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump and Republican leaders' embrace of a House candidate who has made racist statements and espoused the QAnon conspiracy theory is again highlighting the party's willingness to tolerate extreme and bigoted positions.

Trump on Wednesday tweeted that Marjorie Taylor Greene, who won her Georgia primary Tuesday evening, was a "future Republican Star," who was "strong on everything and never gives up - a real WINNER!" The office of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. - who ignored pleas from his members to wade into the primary to stop Greene - has said that he will seat her on congressional committees.

The decision has left many House Republicans privately griping about irresponsible leadership, even as they do little publicly to challenge the party's position or to state their opposition to Greene's joining their conference if she is elected in November, as is expected, in a reliably Republican district.

Greene promotes the QAnon conspiracy theory, whose followers believe Trump is battling a cabal of "deep state" saboteurs of his administration who worship Satan and traffic children for sex. She has also made racist, anti-Semitic and Islamophobic comments, asserting that Black people are "held slaves to the Democratic Party," likening the election of the first two Muslim women to Congress to an "Islamic invasion of our government" and calling George Soros, the liberal Jewish donor and Holocaust survivor, a "Nazi himself trying to continue what was not finished."

Some retiring members spoke out against the party's accepting Greene into its ranks, but those seeking reelection were reluctant to do so.

"How can we warmly receive someone that's publicly stated some of the things she stated in her videos?" asked retiring Rep. Paul Mitchell, R-Mich. "You can't dismiss people because of their religious beliefs and their ethnicity. You can't. . . . It's just wrong."

The rise of Greene shines a spotlight on the GOP's internal debate over how to handle fringe groups and candidates who support Trump and whom he often supports in return. Republicans privately acknowledge that there is no future for a party that antagonizes people of color and has members who make statements or take policy positions supported by white supremacists. But they also have done little to stand up to Trump, a president who embraces such rhetoric, and candidates who make those remarks.

Greene's emergence comes during a summer of protests that have sharpened questions about how to address racial discrimination after the death of another Black man, George Floyd, in police custody. Democrats have embraced the calls for greater racial justice, and on Tuesday, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden announced his selection of Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., to be his running mate. She is the first Black woman and first Asian American to run on a major-party presidential ticket.

McCarthy's decision to welcome Greene into the Republican conference also comes after party leaders last year stripped Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, of his committee assignments after he publicly wondered how white nationalism and white supremacy had become "offensive." The move followed years of pressure for the party to disown King, who lost a primary this year. Some House Republicans have been left scratching their heads over the quick acceptance of Greene.

"We're going to look like hypocrites," said one senior House Republican, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution from party leaders.

Greene, who owns a construction company, was originally a Republican contender in suburban Atlanta, challenging Democratic Rep. Lucy McBath in the 6th Congressional District, but Greene relocated and switched races when Republican Rep. Tom Graves announced his retirement at the end of last year.

She has amplified her controversial comments over the course of her campaign, offering a preview of the sort of oratory she might bring to Washington. On Wednesday, Greene used the Republicans' online fundraising tool WinRed to solicit donations off using a vulgar and sexist expletive to describe House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

"Nancy Pelosi impeached @realDonaldTrump. She put our country through hell with the Russian collusion conspiracy," Greene wrote. "She's anti American & we're going to kick that b---- out of Congress. RT & donate below to help make this happen."

Those remarks are in line with the type of rhetoric Greene has used on the campaign trail. One ad depicted her racking the slide on a semiautomatic rifle while warning antifa, a loose collection of activists who oppose fascism and have sometimes embraced property damage and violent protest in recent years, to "stay the hell out of northwest Georgia."

Facebook removed the material from its website, citing policy violations. She also rejected the notion that inequalities exist.

"Guess what? Slavery is over. . . . Black people have equal rights," she said in another video, first reported by Politico.

In response to the controversy over her comments, Greene defended herself in June and criticized House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., and House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., both of whom condemned her remarks.

"Every Republican, every Christian Conservative is going to be called a racist and a bigot by the Fake News Media, as have Steve Scalise and Liz Cheney," she said in a statement. "I'm sorry my future colleagues are unable to stand up to the pressure and fight back."

Greene's campaign did not respond to several requests for comment for this article. In a tweet Tuesday night, the candidate put reporters on notice that she would not be responding to inquiries, echoing Trump in calling the media "truly the enemy of the people."

The division among Republicans over how to handle Greene's runoff victory was apparent in Georgia on Wednesday. Some Republicans took to social media to congratulate her. Among them were Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., and her primary challenger Rep. Douglas Collins, R-Ga., who are locked in a heated special election matchup.

Others, such as Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., withheld praise, reflecting the distinct political pressures at work in the state. Unlike Loeffler and Collins, who are competing for support in Georgia's Republican strongholds, Perdue is fending off a challenge from Democrat Jon Ossoff.

Greene's ascension could cause headaches for McCarthy, who faces growing discord within his ranks. More than a half-dozen members implored McCarthy to personally involve himself in the race. His own No. 2, Scalise, donated to and hosted a fundraiser for Greene's primary opponent, John Cowan, a neurosurgeon, in hopes of stopping Greene.

Yet McCarthy - after initially distancing himself from Greene - decided to stay neutral. According to the candidate, he recently phoned her and signaled his support; McCarthy's office did not comment in response to questions about the encounter.

"We look forward to Georgians Andrew Clyde and Marjorie Taylor Greene - and all of our Republican candidates across the country - winning in November so that we can enact policies to renew the American dream, restore our way of life, and rebuild the greatest economy in the world," McCarthy's office said in a statement. "It's clear that the Democrat Party does not share those goals." (Clyde is a Republican candidate in Georgia's 9th Congressional District.)

Greene's embrace of QAnon elevates within the party what many see as a dangerous conspiracy theory identified by the FBI as a potential domestic terrorism threat. But many of the president's supporters have embraced parts or all of the theory, as has his campaign, to some degree.

Hours after Trump tweeted praise for Greene, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., who served in the U.S. Air Force in Iraq and Afghanistan, said on Twitter that there is "no place" for such beliefs in Congress and mocked Q, the supposed person working within the bureaucracy to protect Trump from the "deep state."

"Qanon is a fabrication," he wrote on Twitter. "This 'insider' has predicted so much incorrectly (but people don't remember PAST predictions) so now has switched to vague generalities. Could be Russian propaganda or a basement dweller. Regardless, no place in Congress for these conspiracies."

That observation, which mentioned neither Greene nor the president by name, drew a swift and critical response from the Trump campaign.

"When will @RepKinzinger condemn the Steele Dossier fabrications and conspiracy theories pushed by Democrats? That actually WAS Russian propaganda," a campaign spokesman, Matt Wolking, wrote on Twitter.

Although Greene's association with QAnon has trained a national spotlight on her district, many Republicans said they are more concerned about her racist comments tainting their ranks at a time when the party and Trump are already unpopular with communities of color.

That's one of the reasons retiring Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., decided to help Greene's primary opponent, working alongside members of the Georgia delegation to defeat her. Walker, a former pastor, has spoken to GOP leadership multiple times about doing more to welcome minorities into the party, not repel them.

Now, he said, the voters have spoken - and he's hoping Greene decides to change her ways.

"She has been duly elected at this point," Walker said Wednesday. "My take on this now is: I hope that she will grow and learn, but I still can't deal with the fact that some of the comments are . . ." He trailed off. "They're problematic to say the least, offensive."

Greene is among numerous pro-Trump congressional candidates who have seemed to signal support for QAnon. More than a dozen of them will appear on the ballot in November. Unlike Greene, however, most stand little chance of being elected because their districts vote dependably for Democrats.

Some Republicans have justified the move to embrace Greene as the lesser of two evils. Sue Everhart, a former chairman of the Georgia GOP, said she disapproves of some of the candidate's statements - especially the talk of Satan common to the QAnon worldview. But she said she prefers Greene to a Democrat, arguing that no candidate is perfect and expressing optimism that Greene will change her ways upon arriving in Washington.

"She is a Republican, and I'm glad she got it, but let's just say I wasn't close to her," she said. "I wish her all the luck in the world. . . . I don't speak ill of other Republicans."
The popular energy challenger Bulb has been ordered to pay 1.76million to customers after it overcharged thousands and blocked switches.

The supplier - which has taken a lot of business from the Big Six energy firms in recent years - was told by Ofgem to pay out after it found around 61,000 customers were affected by three separate failures between 2017 and 2020.

The energy watchdog revealed that Bulb overcharged some households, blocked consumers from switching and had issues with the Priority Services Register for vulnerable customers.

It said Bulb has since made changes to improve its processes and has paid a 1.76million package of redress, refunds and goodwill payments to those affected.

Energy firm, Bulb, has been ordered to pay 1.76m to customers after overcharging thousands

Most of the payment is made up of compensation and refunds as well as a 157,350 payment into the energy industry voluntary redress fund to support vulnerable customers.

Jonathan Brearley, Ofgem chief executive, said: 'Bulb overcharged some customers and risked leaving vulnerable customers without access to essential network services, when it failed to comply with Ofgem's rules.

'Our rules are designed to protect consumers, and suppliers must make sure they have the processes in place to comply with them if they are going to give their customers good service.

'Bulb has since put things right with affected customers and put processes in place to make sure it can meet Ofgem's rules.'

The regulator also found that around 3,800 consumers on Restricted Meter Infrastructure (RMI), where there is more than one meter at a property, were prevented from switching to Bulb as the firm failed to submit the correct numbers of meters to their existing suppliers.

The challenger supplier, which is one of the main rivals to the Big Six, has since paid 155,500 to consumers affected by this.

Around 11,400 RMI customers were also overcharged 699,000 after wrongly having to pay multiple standing charges.

They have since been refunded and received goodwill payments on top, totalling 675,000.

A large number of customers were also blocked from switching by Bulb in a further error

In a further failure by Bulb, Ofgem said about 46,500 vulnerable customers were removed from their network operators' Priority Service Register between March 2019 and January 2020 due to a data error.

This meant some of these customers missed out on essential priority services, such as being given advance notice of a planned power outage.

Ofgem said Bulb self-reported this issue in February and has paid 70,000 to the 933 customers who were removed from the register and suffered a power outage.

Bulb said in a post on its website: 'We pride ourselves on the quality of our systems and technology, but in these instances we needed to improve.

'To do so, we've strengthened the relevant teams, introduced new processes and training and introduced more checking and verification. We're sorry. We will do better.'

Bulb has around 1.7million customers and last year began expanding into France, Spain and Texas.

Richard Neudegg, head of regulation at Uswitch, said: 'Bulb has been a positive growth story in the energy industry in recent years, with many of its customers reporting high levels of satisfaction.

'It is positive to see that Bulb has rectified the situation and since improved its processes, paying a 1.76million package of redress, refunds and goodwill payments.

'However, consumers do expect all suppliers to get the basics right - and the system failures leading to overcharging of 11,400 customers an average of 61 will cause concern for some households.

'Too many families under financial pressure are still paying over the odds for their energy, and switching suppliers is a great way to save money, so it's important this is a service they can have access to.

'Any customers who think they may have also been affected by similar issues and haven't yet had the situation resolved should complain to their supplier directly.'

Bulb launched in 2015 and is best known for offering just one tariff made up of 100 per cent renewable electricity.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak declared on Wednesday that hard times are here after official figures showed that the UK had fallen into deep recession - the GDP is down by 20.4% - as the coronavirus pandemic takes a heavy toll on lives, lifestyles and jobs.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the GDP fell in the April-June second quarter of 2020 by 20.4% compared with the previous three months - the biggest quarterly decline since comparable records began in 1955. It is the worst figure for any G7 nation in the three months to June.

Sunak, who has been borrowing heavily to pay most of the wage bills of the private sector and the self-employed since March, said, Ive said before that hard times were ahead and todays figures confirm that hard times are here. Hundreds of thousands of people have already lost their jobs and, sadly, in the coming months, many more will. But while there are difficult choices to be made ahead, we will get through this and I can assure people that nobody will be left without hope or opportunity.

German government asked citizens to follow guidelines as health authorities reported 1,226 new infections. This is the highest number of infections since early May.

Worried that the aftermath of last weeks blast will lead to Covid infections, the World Health Organization appealed for $76m in aid for Lebanon. The explosion in capital Beirut had severely damaged or destroyed hospitals, clinics and medical supplies.

Australia recorded its deadliest day on Wednesday. The state of Victoria reported 21 deaths and 410 new cases in 24 hours.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she was weighing a delay in New Zealands September 19 election, as experts investigated whether the virus could have re-entered the country through freight shipments
By Mark Finkelstein

It was on June 26 that Gov. Phil Murphy announced the states guidance plan to help local school districts prepare for reopening in the fall.

The document, called The Road Back: Restart and Recovery Plan for Education, served as a general roadmap to plan for in-person instruction when school resumes in just three short weeks. The plan urges the local school districts to figure out the details, with each school district expected to develop, in collaboration with community stakeholders, a plan to reopen schools in the fall that best fits the districts local needs.

School districts are now grappling with accomplishing such a feat, trying to anticipate the nitty-gritty detail that is not included in any manual, anywhere. School districts are writing their own policies and procedures, as administrators struggle to develop a plan that can provide a safe, in-school educational environment during this lingering pandemic.

As Gov. Murphy announced Wednesday morning that remote learning is now allowed, we should not expect any 11th-hour directives from the state when we welcome back our students on Sept. 4. But we do know the obvious common themes: ensuring adequate levels of PPE in every classroom, encouraging policies of social distancing, and promoting testing and temperature checks as much as realistically possible.

All school officials certainly have their challenges as the school year fast approaches. Specialized school districts have their own issues to address, as well. Our students have severe disabilities, both emotional and developmental, making it extremely difficult, if not impossible for them to succeed in a traditional classroom setting. We welcome these students with open arms, as we provide the specific care and experience to maximize their potential through age 21.

As we develop our own plan, we have quickly learned there are no easy answers. For example, if a student with autism is unable to wear a mask, how do we protect the rest of the school community? If a student is diagnosed with COVID-19, how long do we quarantine them? And do we also quarantine all the other students in their class? Or should we just close the entire school for 14 days?

The state leaves those answers to us.

Our student population may have specific needs, but it is a large demographic that cannot be ignored. Of the 1.4 million children enrolled in public schools in New Jersey, an estimated 250,000 receive specialized services. The vast majority of those children likely have difficulty social distancing, wearing a mask even for short periods of time, learning remotely or understanding the ramifications of their actions, in terms of keeping others safe.

How we deal with the specialized population  or the general education population for that matter  is not adequately addressed in the states 104-page re-entry plan. It is certainly understandable that this is all new territory, but school districts statewide need to play with the same rule book, using standard policies and procedures that are recognized at the state and local levels.

Without a universal plan, here is what weve already experienced: For summer recess, the state announced that school districts could have onsite extended school programs for students with special needs. But the state did not develop guidelines. Rather, the state urged school districts to simply follow summer camp guidelines. We can all agree that an educational, in-school setting is not comparable to day camp.

At the same time, the state had decreed that students in general education could not return to school this summer because it was not safe. Yet, it was perfectly fine for students with special needs to return to the classroom  if they just followed those summer camp rules.

We also saw a lack of clarity when it came to honoring the Class of 2020. First, there were live graduations, then there were no live graduations, then there were live graduations, as long as it occurred after July 5. We all rolled with the uncertainty, while also wondering why we cannot just agree to a plan and stick to it.

These are tough times; this coronavirus has created problems that do not pose easy solutions. The lines are blurred between what is deemed right and what is wrong, evident in all those debates that we read every day on social media.

Meanwhile, we hope the state can ultimately develop degrees of uniformity for all school districts, finally putting us all on the same playing field.

Mark Finkelstein is the superintendent of the Educational Services Commission of New Jersey.

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Former First National Vice-chairperson of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Anita Desoso has described the timing of the release of Prof Kwamena Ahwois book, titled "Working With Rawlings", as problematic.



She believes though the contents of the book as heard in the news will not have any effect on the NDCs 2020 campaign, she maintained "what he [Ahwoi] has done is painful.



Madam Anita is hopeful that their flagbearer, John Mahamas good leadership will pull a surprise in the December 7, presidential polls.



Speaking on NEAT FMs morning show Ghana Montie, the outspoken NDC activist said she "will not purchase" the much talk about book despite the recommendation.



The book, authored by the former Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, has generated a lot of controversies and shaken the rank and file of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).



Prof Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, the running mate to former President John Mahama, has been entangled in a web of controversy after authoring the forward of the book.



Some critics assume her foreword is an endorsement of the contents of the book.





Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Coralogix expands its India operations with a new AWS Mumbai region to help companies comply with the upcoming security law in 2021

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Coralogix , provider of leading ML-powered log analytics and monitoring solution, today announced a strategic expansion into India to provide its customers with local Amazon Web Services (AWS) regional server support and data storage capabilities. By localizing data, Coralogix will help customers meet compliance requirements for India's new data privacy laws and dramatically improve service performance. Coralogix is also rolling out an onsite team to provide comprehensive sales and customer success support to India-based companies.

"With today's strategic move, we are proactively addressing new Indian data privacy laws scheduled to take effect in 2021 by providing Coralogix customers with a solution well ahead of most of our competitors," said Ariel Assaraf, CEO and co-Founder, Coralogix. "When the new laws are enacted, we anticipate a profound sense of urgency for companies who fall under domestic compliance rules to store their data locally and avoid being penalized for non-compliance."

Cloud and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) technology companies that collect user data will be most notably affected by these new laws and stand to benefit from today's expansion announcement. Several regional brands operating within these industries have already signed on as Coralogix customers including Postman, Jupiter Money, BookMyShow and more.

"Coralogix gives us a highly customizable SIEM solution that addresses the very specific needs of our FinTech environment," said Jayesh Sidhwani, Vice President of Engineering, Jupiter Money.

"Our lives got easier - within minutes we started seeing results on the dashboard," said Pranav Kapoor, DevOps Lead, BookMyShow. "We've integrated the Coralogix webhooks with our Kubernetes deployments to automatically tag new versions as they're deployed. I love that I can archive logs to an S3 bucket for later retrieval."

"We grew to 10 million users and Coralogix has grown along with us," said Shamsis Bhattacharya, Chief Software Architect, Postman. "We've worked closely together to get the workflows we need as an organization to ensure that the product we deliver meets the quality and value requirements."

Coralogix's team worked closely with their counterparts at Amazon when launching the expansion.

ABOUT CORALOGIX

Coralogix is a log analytics platform that empowers DevOps teams to autonomously manage and analyze log data in cloud applications. The platform's machine learning engine enables users to reach faster time to market, avoid customer attrition and accelerate their version delivery without compromising quality or stability. Over 1000 global-leading companies including Payoneer, BookMyShow, and PayU use Coralogix to power their businesses. For more information, please visit https://coralogix.com/

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 13

By Ilkin Seyfaddini - Trend:

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Uzbekistan increased by 622 to 32,837, Trend reports with reference to the statistics of the Uzbek Ministry of Health.

To date, 25,659 (plus 1,569) patients have fully recovered in the country, while 213 have died.

Under the instructions of President of Uzbekistan, unlimited movement of vehicles as well as local air and rail traffic in Uzbekistan will resume from August 15, 2020.

Moreover, from August 20, 2020, clothing and building material markets, large shops, gyms, fitness clubs and swimming pools will resume operations.

The outbreak in the Chinese Wuhan city - which is an international transport hub - began at a fish market in late December 2019.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11 declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019.

The first case of coronavirus infection in Uzbekistan was detected on March 15 in the laboratory of the Research Institute of Virology; it was an Uzbek woman who returned from France. The Ministry of Health later announced that her son, daughter, husband and grandson also tested positive for coronavirus.

---

Follow author on Twitter: @seyfaddini
Actor Jaime Callica has a plan to retire his mother and live his life, to the fullest

Let me tell you about Jaimes voice. I didnt expect his voice to be smooth, and calming. Not based on his picture. Callica is a handsome man by anyones standards and to my mind, hes lived his life in the body of a pretty boy  meaning things came easy for him. Well, as I stepped into his space, he made it very clear that struggle and sacrifice is a large and significant part of his story. No matter how glossy and glamorous your public relations team might paint the picture, the reality is starkly different.

Heres what his PR team got right. He was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, and despite them shining him up and calling him the hottest thing out of Canada since the two Ryans (Gosling & Reynolds)  again  his journey to becoming a working actor isnt paved with gold or diamonds and that road isnt on or even adjacent to easy street he is, of course, still a man of color and Hollywood has never been kind to them at all.

At the time of filing this story, Callica was waiting to hear if Tyler Perrys new drama for BET+, Ruthless (a spin-off of, The Oval), would be renewed for a second season. He couldnt confirm or deny a second season but it is Tyler Perry, so you know, I have a good feeling, Callica confessed. I agree.

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The one-hour drama, Ruthless, follows Ruth Truesdale (Melissa L. Williams) as shes forced to play along with a scandalous religious cult thats consumed with power and sex. Surrounded by sex-crazed fanatics, Ruths sole focus is to free herself and her daughter. Callica plays Agent Brian Rollins a driven, dedicated worker that loves his wife, and loves his job. When he receives a call to action, he knows he has to step in.

What started our conversation was his role in the new Disney Channel original movie Upside-Down Magic which is based on The New York Times bestselling fantasy fiction childrens books of the same name. In this series, he plays the father of ten-year-old Nory Horace who discovers that she has magical powers and can turn into animals but cant quite get it right. To help her grow into her powers, Nory attends a school for other kids with upside-down magic, where she, and her father, must struggle to keep her powers a secret.

Heres what I learned in our hour-long conversation. Callica was born and raised in Toronto and raised by a strong and encouraging, single, Trinidadian mother of mixed Chinese, Indian and Spanish ancestry. Much of his sturdy work ethnics come from watching his mother, whom he hopes to retire in a couple of years. In the beginning, acting didnt fill his heart despite being a natural performer. Like many young men, he was inspired by the pop stars he saw on screen and decided to take dance classes, specializing in tap and jazz.

Filled with kinetic energy he poured himself into martial arts, becoming a black belt at 13 which is extraordinary at that age. He had to wait until he was 16 to receive his official belt.

He kept moving forward, stepping into the Academic world where he studied criminology, in Vancouver, before eventually transitioning into business. A natural businessman with a head for numbers, Calica began purchasing real estate, condos, townhouses, and businesses learning along the way the value of strategy.

Somewhere in this journey, the idea to step into acting began to gnaw at his soul, deeply and within a year, he sold his businesses, started taking acting classes, doing background work and whatever he could, to learn the craft. Then he packed up his belongings and made the official move to Los Angeles. Three years later, with over 30 credits, hes never looked back. Some of those aforementioned credits include UnREAL, Lucifer, Wayward Pines, Spike Lees Tales of Hood, and most recently Merry Liddle Christmas starring Kelly Rowland.

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Here is what businessman turned actor Jaime Callica had to share about the price of fame and his desire to retire his hard-working mother.

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL: Jaime you are a busy, busy man. Congratulations.

JAMIE CALLICA: Thank you.

LAS: Ive not seen the new Disney series UPSIDE DOWN MAGIC but I am a fan of that type of series. Magical and all.

JC: When you do see it, you will love it. Its adorable.

LAS: I do know that you play the father of a little girl, with magic.

JC: I do. I play a dad, the dad to ten-year-old Nory Horace who discovers that she has magical powers and can turn into animals but cant quite get it right.

LAS: Cute.

JC: It is. There are a lot of great scenes between father and daughter, where they discuss her magical abilities. He reveals that her mother, his wife, also had the same magic inside of her.

LAS: Oh, so hes a single father?

JC: Yes. He is a single father in the show. Her mother passed away when she was young and I am raising her all on my own.

LAS: Are you a father in real life?

JC: No. Not yet but I cant wait to become a father. Its the one thing in my life that I really, really look forward to.

LAS: I noticed that you have a black belt in martial arts. Jaime Callica not only is that cool, but it also speaks to the level of discipline you had at such a young age.

JC: Thank you. At the age of 16, I was able to get my actual black belt. They had to create what was called a jr. black belt for me because I earned that status at 13. It was a black belt with a white stripe, down the middle, to let others know around you that you were a black belt.

LAS: So you do your Katas.

JC: (laughing) Yes. I was a Canadian national champion, several years in a row, in Kata.

LAS: For those that dont know. Kata is a Japanese word that literally means form. Hold on. Let me Google. Ok. Kata is a detailed choreographed pattern of martial arts movements made to be practiced alone, and also within groups and in unison when training. It is practiced in Japanese martial arts as a way to memorize and perfect the movements being executed.

JC: Exactly. To this day, Katas are my favorite. Every belt you learn a new set of them.

LAS: Do you think that learning martial arts has helped you in other parts of your life?

JC: Absolutely. One thing that my sensei [teacher] Kwong Yong would say, was about my speed. I was a fast runner but what he said, was there is no pride about running and remaining safe, and standing there and maybe getting ambushed by more than one person. Another thing that you are taught at the start of [learning] martial arts is to recognize the fight or flight mechanism that we all have in our bodies and its here, that you realize that you will only remember only 10% of what you know.

LAS: Gotcha. How did you start in the real estate business?

JC: Thats a great question. Someone suggested that I read the following books: Rich Dad Poor Dad (1997) written by Robert Kiyosaki. Multiple Streams of Income by Robert G. Allen and the third book is The E-Myth by Michael E. Gerber.

LAS: Do you have a daily affirmation? Im curious.

JC: I do. To retire my mother.

LAS: Wow. Thats beautiful. Ill echo that back into the universe with you.

JC: Thank you. Yes. I want my mother to retire. Shes spent so much time taking care of me and taking care of my grandmother, and she gave up a lot to ensure that I never went without. She loves working and shes stubborn but its one of the things that I ask God for, and that is to be successful enough and financially secure enough to retire my mother.

LAS: Amen. Jaime Callica you are a good son.

JC: Thank you.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
From gate to seat, air travel is undergoing a touch-free transformation, yet the one place flyers are probably most loathe to touch  the airplane bathroom  has received little attention of late. That's about to change, say companies that are producing "touchless tech" to transform bathrooms into hands-free zones.

Which bathroom features are going touchless

In contrast to automated bathrooms in many airports, airplane bathrooms typically have no less than seven touch points per visit. From the door to the sink to the toilet itself, bodily contact is needed to operate most hardware. While major carriers are stepping up bathroom cleaning routines  Delta Air Lines is now sanitizing lavatories with electrostatic sprayers after every flight, for example  aviation companies are creating infrared and sensor-based technology to decrease germ transmission between passengers. Aircraft engineering company, Haeco Americas, developed a foot-powered toilet flush prior to the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, it has added an automated wastebasket lid and a combination hand sanitizer and liquid soap dispenser to its product lineup.

A foot-controlled flush designed by Haeco Americas. Courtesy of Haeco

The company, which is headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, is currently developing a touch-free way to open the bathroom door too.

Passengers can open the bathroom door by waving their hand in front of a sensor like this. Courtesy of Haeco

"We don't see any reason the entire lavatory couldn't become touchless," said Doug Rasmussen, Haeco's president and group director. "We are even working on an idea for the toilet lid and seat." An automatic toilet seat that raises and lowers on its own is part of the new "Lavatory Touchless Suite" being developed by Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies Corp that produces commercial aviation products. The range includes a touchless faucet and toilet flush in addition to a hands-free soap dispenser and waste flap. "We're researching how we can incorporate antibacterial materials across the interior of an aircraft, including lavatories, and how we can incorporate touchless technology to ensure the highest level of cleanliness throughout the air travel experience," Troy Brunk, Collins Aerospace's president of interiors, told CNBC via email.

Collins Aerospace's new bathroom products include a touchless faucet (1), soap dispenser (2), waste flap (3), toilet lid/seat lift (4), and flush (5). Courtesy of Collins Aerospace

A device that eliminates the stomach-churning "toilet plume"

Collins Aerospace is also tackling the problem of the toilet itself. An article in The New York Times struck fear in public toilet users everywhere when it warned that flushing can produce a 3-feet-tall aerosol plume that could carry Covid-19 infection risks should particles be inhaled or touched via nearby surfaces. Although lab tests show the risk of infection from toilets is less than if an infected person coughs near you, a redesigned toilet from Collins Aerospace could provide peace of mind on the issue.

Collins Aerospace used a plexiglass cover during testing to show particles did not travel upward after flushing the Agile toilet. Courtesy of Collin Aerospace

Its new Agile toilet with patented "Splash Guard" technology has a mechanism inside the toilet that is designed to prevent aerosols, odor and water droplets from escaping back up through the bowl after flushing. Collins Aerospace says this makes the toilet more hygienic and reduces the risk of disease transmission.

Bathrooms outfitted with germ-killing lights

Some new touchless tech will likely go unnoticed, even by the most seasoned of flyers. In February, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC's Squawk Box that the airline had partnered with Vital Vio, a health tech company that makes antimicrobial LED lighting. "While aircrafts, including bathrooms, are thoroughly scrubbed and disinfected after every flight, this antimicrobial light works in between those cleanings to continuously prevent the build-up of bacteria, mold and mildew," said Vital Vio's CEO Colleen Costello.

Antimicrobial LED lighting by Vital Vio is currently being tested in Delta's airplane bathrooms. Courtesy of Vital Vio

The antimicrobial lights have not been proven to kill the virus that causes Covid-19, though Costello notes no technology has been proven to do so safely, effectively and on a continuous basis in a public space. Singapore Airlines is exploring cleaning trials using UV lighting (which is different from LED lighting) in airplane bathrooms, galleys and cockpits.

When can passengers expect to see these changes?

You may encounter a new touchless tech bathroom feature now, if you're lucky enough to get on the right test flight. Vital Vio's germ-killing LED lights, which replace traditional lighting, are currently being tested in Delta aircraft bathrooms. Haeco Americas' toilet foot flush is being tested in a major international airline that operates trans-oceanic flights, and hands-free door testing is scheduled to start in commercial airplanes this month. The rest of the products "either already exist or will be deliverable in the next few months," said Rasmussen. "All of these can be installed on existing hardware and will not interfere with the original operation of the devices," he said. "So if a passenger prefers to touch the surfaces instead of using the touch-free option, that will still work."

Motion sensors allow passengers to flush the toilet as well as raise and lower the toilet seat. Courtesy of Collins Aerospace
But Mr Andrews said the accuracy of modelling for that timeline would depend on the "millions of decisions" made by individual Victorians each day. The coronavirus death toll rose by 21 to 267 on Wednesday, and Victoria recorded another 410 new cases. The number of active COVID-19 cases dropped by three, bringing the total number to 7877 across the state. The last time active cases decreased in Victoria was on June 14, when the number reached 40, down from 47 the previous day. Every day since then the total number of active infections has risen.

Loading Regional Victoria returned to stage three lockdown rules last week as cases continued to rise. Health Department figures showed Greater Geelong had 179 active cases on Wednesday, with 53 in Bendigo and 22 in Ballarat. One week ago there were 132 active cases in Greater Geelong, 29 in Bendigo and 13 in Ballarat. Victorian Nationals leader Peter Walsh said too many Melburnians were still making unnecessary trips to regional Victoria. "There needs to be more done to stop the disaster that's happening in Melbourne from spreading into the regions," he said.

Mr Walsh said travellers on public transport were getting into regional Victoria too easily and were not facing the same checks as motorists. Bendigo Health set up a contact tracing hub to cover the Loddon Mallee region last week. The 12 contact tracers were notified of 42 cases within the team's first week, five of which were confirmed this Monday. The health unit was investigating 45 cases in the region on Wednesday. Bendigo Health chief executive Peter Faulkner said the hub was taking over from the states public health unit to trace close contacts in the region.

Loading "Information on how the positive cases acquired the illness and where it may have been passed on was work that was previously done by the state  now we will do this work for the Loddon Mallee region," Mr Faulkner said. The team has been following outbreaks at the St Josephs Primary School in Quarry Hill and at Hazeldenes Chicken Farm in Lockwood, which has now been connected to 21 cases according to figures from the Health Department. On Wednesday, the department also identified an outbreak at the Corio Village shopping centre, north of Geelong. A second resident has died this week at the Opal South Valley aged care home in Geelong, bringing the total death toll to three.

A long-term worker at the Golden Farms chicken abattoir who tested positive to coronavirus died on the weekend. Infections at the Bupa nursing home in Traralgon also increased to 16, with six residents, seven employees, two agency staff and a visiting health worker testing positive. There have been 957 cases identified in regional Victoria since the pandemic began. Mr Andrews said on Wednesday that he was increasingly concerned by case numbers in Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo.

Loading "They're very low numbers, but coming off such a low base, any additional cases are of a concern to us," he said. "The point I would simply make to people right across regional Victoria, you've done a great job in following these rules right throughout the pandemic. But it's really important that each and every regional Victorian stays the course with this. "I know it's tough, I know it's challenging, I know that we would prefer to be in a different set of circumstances. But even at low numbers we've just got to have that vigilance across the board so we can keep them low, and indeed, drive them down even further." Late on Wednesday, the West Wimmera Advocate said its next edition would be its last as a result of the ongoing pandemic.

"After months of 'soldiering on' for the community with constantly changing restrictions and more and more rules in order to do business, the announcement by the SA government to impose a hard border is the final straw," the newspaper announced on its Facebook page. The paper covers communities between Goroke, Edenhope, Apsley, Harrow and the South Australian border. Of the 410 new cases reported on Wednesday, 72 cases have been linked to outbreaks, while 338 are under investigation. The number of "mystery cases" increased by 58, taking the number of community transmission cases to 2961. Sixteen of the 21 deaths reported on Wednesday have been linked to aged care, which recorded another 94 cases, bringing the total number of COVID-19 infections in the sector to 1932.
The womans mother said she has not been able to visit her daughter in the hospital because of concerns with Covid-19. She said she saw her daughter by video, and she was able to make a couple of moves with her arm. She was not able to speak.
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Linkedin Adrian Wail Akhlas (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 13, 2020 14:20 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066dbda1d 1 Business digital-transformation,e-government,Suahasil-Nazara,COVID-19,PSBB,work-from-home Free

The government is pushing for digital transformation in a bid to boost efficiency and cut operational costs as it lags behind other countries in implementing digital regulations and services.

The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the countrys digital transformation, according to Deputy Finance Minister Suahasil Nazara, who said that the government should make digital transformation its central agenda to reform the countrys governance.

The pandemic has presented us with the opportunity to speed up digital transformation by working virtually, Suahasil said on Wednesday. This will make the state budget more efficient and will reduce government spending for physical meetings or business trips.

The deputy finance minister said the government should work on several issues to embrace the digital era, including improving technological capabilities and creating new regulations to ensure sustainability and privacy.

We need new standard operational procedures to ensure privacy and sustainability, he went on to say. The budget cuts due to virtual work should be able to increase effectiveness.

Indonesia began lifting pandemic restrictions in early June to rescue the virus-battered economy after implementing large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) for more than three months to curb the coronavirus spread. During the PSBB period, the government required citizens to work, study and pray from home.

However, the restrictions delivered a crushing blow to the countrys economy, which shrank by 5.32 percent in the second quarter this year, as many businesses were unprepared to conduct their businesses virtually.

Indonesia is lagging compared to other countries in implementing digital services, according to the E-Government Development Index (EGDI) survey by the United Nations.

Indonesia ranked 88 of 193 countries across the globe and ranked seventh among its Southeast Asia peers, highlighting a lack of digital services provided by the government.

While e-government rankings tend to correlate with the income level of a country, financial resources are not the only critical factor in advancing digital government, United Nations undersecretary-general for economic and social affairs Liu Zhenmin said recently.

A countrys political will, strategic leadership and commitment to advance digital services, can improve its comparative ranking, he went on to say.

Indonesia is making progress toward digital transformation, according to the UN, as the country implemented digital social registry systems to serve as gateways for social protection programs, with cash transfers and emergency assistance delivered straight to the intended households in need.

However, the UN highlighted gaps in regulatory and policy frameworks in Asia, including Indonesia, on rules regarding electronic transactions, data protection and cybercrime prevention.

The data protection bill, which aims to create a comprehensive regulatory framework to ensure the safety of private data, is currently under deliberation at the House of Representatives and is expected to be passed into law by October this year.

Critics of the bill, however, warn of the potential for abuse of power as the bill includes several problematic articles such as increasing the possibility of criminalization through the formulation of criminal sanctions.
Mike Timani, president of the Moncton Lebanese Association, said hes sure some families in the Moncton Lebanese community will be affected by the rising injury and death toll caused by a massive explosion in Beirut on Aug. 4.

Videos are currently circulating the internet from Beirut showing a giant explosion accompanied by images of destroyed building interiors. The UN Refugee Agency reports more than 200 fatalities and missing cases, with thousands injured.

More than 30 Lebanese Red Cross teams are responding, according to the Lebanese Red Cross Twitter account. Theyve also said there is an urgent need for all blood types.

Timani said families are big in Lebanon, with members counting in the hundreds and thousands, and many still have connections back home, whether it be family or friends.

This is definitely heartbreaking and my heart is with the family whove lost their loved ones.

He said some of his cousins were a 10-minute drive from where the explosion happened. He hasnt heard from them yet, but doesnt want to jump to any conclusions.

According to 2016 census data, there are 390 immigrants from Lebanon living in New Brunswick, and more New Brunswickers with Lebanese heritage.

Georges Nammour, in Dieppe, learned of the explosion on social media, but it has since triggered a flurry of messages between Lebanese-Canadians and between their family and friends back in Lebanon, he said.

Some of his fellow Lebanese-Canadians have been able to connect with friends and family, but others havent, he said.

Everyone is wondering what happened. It might be firecrackers, it might be an explosion, in Lebanon it could be anything, he said.

This situation is further complicated by pre-existing infrastructure issues and the time difference. A lot of the time in Lebanon there is no power, with blackouts 15 to 16 hours a day, said Nammour.

It will probably be tonight that the flurry of communications will heighten, he said.

Most Lebanese people in Moncton have people they are close with back in Lebanon, said Nammour, noting he knows a couple who are temporarily divided between both countries.

Everyone is worried, he said.

Fredericton resident George Youssef said he has an aunt who lives about 20 kilometres from Beirut. He said she and the rest of his family are all OK but friends of his relatives werent so fortunate and are in the hospital because of the blast.

Youssef said his aunt thought it was an earthquake because the ground shook.

Luckily her windows were open and the patio doors were open so her glass didnt break, Youssef said. It (the tremor) went that far of a distance  20 kilometres. There are windows anywhere from a 10-20 (kilometre) radius that were all busted. It was like a nuclear bomb.

Alex Haram, the owner of Lets Hummus in Saint John, said his wife was on the phone with her sister when the loud blast shook the building. Thankfully her sister was OK, said Haram.

He said his wifes mother was in the mountains and could still see the explosion.

It keeps us worried whenever we hear something like that. Its ridiculous. It will never be stable.

He said its hard to know whats happening in Lebanon because theres corruption.

You never know the truth.

Nadia Khoury, a Fredericton resident, said she has family who do business in Beirut but dont live there. She said as far as she knows her relatives are all OK.

I will be in touch with my family there, she said. Were quite concerned. I am planning to call them.

Tony Saad, also of Fredericton, said he has one member of his family who works in the city, but suspects he is fine.

I havent heard anything, Saad said.

Ill find out.

The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

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The project encompasses a 44-page print special section in this weekends paper; a nonfiction book for young adult readers (Finish the Fight!: The Brave and Revolutionary Women Who Fought for the Right to Vote) that will be available Aug. 18, the 100th anniversary of the amendments ratification; a series of online discussions on the continuing battle for womens rights; a virtual play adapted from the book that premieres on Aug. 18; numerous articles by Times reporters and historians; and additions to The Timess Overlooked obituary series.

Dozens of editors, writers, designers and photographers from inside and outside The Times spent the past year researching women of diverse backgrounds who were largely unknown but whose achievements deserved to be emphasized along with Anthonys and Stantons.

Among them is Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, a Chinese-American woman who as a teenager helped the womens movement in New York City coordinate one of the biggest suffrage parades in U.S. history. And Mary Church Terrell, a founder of the National Association of Colored Women. The notables also included Maria W. Stewart, who in 1832 was one of the first American women to speak publicly about politics to audiences of mixed races and genders, and Jovita Idar, a teacher and writer who promoted the rights of Mexican-Americans.

There are so many names we dont know that we should, Ms. Chambers said.

The project, conceived last fall as a way to call attention to some of the lesser-known crusaders, draws on the expertise of about 15 historians and writers who were asked to make suggestions. Seven of the women convened last December for a round table led by Ms. Chambers and Jessica Bennett, The Timess gender editor at large, to discuss, among other topics, the biggest misconceptions about the suffrage movement and the women who were often left out of coverage.

Jennifer Schuessler, a Culture writer and an author of Finish the Fight! with Ms. Chambers and their fellow Times journalists Jennifer Harlan, Sandra E. Garcia, Amisha Padnani and Vivian Wang, said she jumped at the chance to participate in a discussion with women she calls living legends. The heroes of the suffrage story arent just the women who fought for the right to vote, Ms. Schuessler said. Theyre also the historians who have busted their butts to get this history told.
No new confirmed, asymptomatic or suspected cases of COVID-19 were reported in central China's Hubei Province Wednesday, the provincial health commission said Thursday.

By Wednesday, Hubei still had four confirmed cases who arrived from overseas, as well as one asymptomatic case in the city of Yichang.

There were 311 close contacts still under medical observation in Hubei by Wednesday.

Hubei has reported a total of 68,139 confirmed COVID-19 cases, and 63,623 cases have been cured and discharged from hospital. The disease has claimed 4,512 lives in the province.
Belarus is not a party to the peace negotiations.

Head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) and first president of independent Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk says Minsk peace talks on Donbas may move to another location over the situation in Belarus.

"I think the Belarusian people will resolve this issue without us. We cannot interfere in their internal affairs. Belarus does not take part in the TCG. If there is no such opportunity to hold meetings there, we will look for another place. It wasn't Minsk where the first agreements were concluded. It was Geneva. We can ask a completely neutral state, for example Sweden. We can ask them. This is possible," he told UA: Ukrainian Radio in an interview.

Read alsoUkraine to ask Belarus authorities to free Ukrainian activists

Speaking about ongoing protests in Belarus, Kravchuk explained he could not give assessments since he was an official.

According to him, Ukrainians should not interfere in such issues.

"If they need help, it will be handled through requests, and Ukraine should provide it. There have been no such requests so far. Ukraine should accept any president, any council created in another state. Ukraine did not take part in this and respects any choice, respects the people [of Belarus]," Kravchuk added.

Protests in Belarus: What is happening?
The Chattanooga Airport will welcome nonstop United Express flights, operated by SkyWest Airlines, to Houston beginning Thursday, Oct. 1. The creation of Chattanooga's second direct flight to Texas will establish a gateway to hundreds of domestic and international destinations offered at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, officials said.

In addition to the Houston flight, the Chattanooga Airport will resume two daily United flights to Chicago O'Hare Airport beginning Oct.

1.

"We look forward to offering Chattanooga travelers convenient access to Houston and numerous connecting destinations, such as Denver or San Francisco," said Terry Hart, president and CEO of the Chattanooga Airport. "The addition of a Houston flight adds a new layer of convenience for business travelers and excitement for our leisure travelers. We very much appreciate this opportunity to strengthen our partnership with United and SkyWest."



"The Chattanooga Airport has been a great partner and we are looking forward to the start of our new United Express flights this fall," said Greg Atkin, SkyWests managing director of Market Development. "Our passengers can fly with confidence thanks to the additional measures being taken on every flight, including enhanced cleaning, mandatory face coverings and customer self-assessments with check-in."



From George Bush Intercontinental Airport, United offers 506 daily flights to cities across the United States and more than 50 international destinations, allowing foreign-owned area businesses and manufacturers to travel to and from Chattanooga with ease.

"The Chattanooga Airport brings tremendous value to our region by offering convenient travel for businesses considering relocation or expansion opportunities," said Charles Wood, Vice President of Economic Development, Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce. "We very much appreciate the Chattanooga Airport's critical role in supporting our new business recruitment and expansion efforts."





The daily incoming flight from Houston will arrive in Chattanooga at 5:18 p.m. The departure time is 5:48 p.m.

A full list of destinations departing from IAH may be viewed here.
In its daily report yesterday, the Ministry of Health and Child Care said the patients died in the community and on admission to the casualty ward at Parirenyatwa Hospital and other hospitals. Almost all the deaths  10 men and six women  were in Harare with one man each from Manicaland and Midlands. Mutare and Gweru have been seen as the epicentres of the pandemic in these two provinces.
Rome, Aug 13 : Italy will begin COVID-19 testing for people returning from Greece, Spain, Malta, and Croatia, officials said.

The decision was announced late Wednesday after an emergency meeting between Italy's ministers of Health and of Regional Affairs and the governors of the country's 20 regions, reports Xinhua news agency.

The urgent talks were called after several cases of people returning from the above-mentioned European countries and developing the infection were confirmed.

"I signed a decree providing for a DNA test or antigen swab test on those returning from Croatia, Greece, Malta, and Spain," Health Minister Roberto Speranza wrote on Twitter.

Speranza explained there could be three options for such testing, including subjecting holidaymakers to antigen test in the place of arrival (airport, port, or train station) or imposing a swab test within 48 hours after arrival, the Italian Adn-Kronos news agency quoted the Minister as saying.

The third option would be to ask holidaymakers to show a negative certificate of COVID-19 test carried out within 72 hours before their arrival in Italy.

"We have asked regions to make the public health system's local services able to ensure the necessary swab tests on those returning from abroad, and I hope we will agree with the regions on the method to adopt," Regional Affairs Minister Francesco Boccia was also cited as saying after the meeting.

Though the pandemic trend remained stable in the country, according to official data, concerns about new 'imported' cases were fed by a series of new clusters across the country in the latest weeks.

The latest case on Wednesday was related to 10 young people in the Lombardy region, who tested positive for the coronavirus after spending their holiday in Croatia, according to local health authorities.

In the northwest Liguria region, seven people developed the infection after visiting Croatia, and two other holidaymakers were tested positive after returning from the Greece island of Corfu, governor Giovanni Toti told local media.

Similar cases included 10 Italian students who recently returned to the southern Apulia region after traveling to Greece and nine people in the Lazio region who tested positive after returning from Spain (2), Malta (2), Ukraine (2), Pakistan (2), and Romania.

An agreement between the central government and regional governors will now be needed in order to implement the mandatory testing with the same procedure across the whole country, and this will take at least some days.

In the immediate aftermath of the emergency meeting, the government's proposal met with positive reactions by governors of Lombardy, Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia, and Emilia Romagna.

Sicily agreed with the need of fast tests on returning holidaymakers, but would rather act for now through a two-week-long quarantine and swab tests on those coming back from Malta, Greece, and Spain from Aug. 14 on, according to a decree issued by the governor on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, some 481 new coronavirus cases were registered in the country in the last 24 hours, according to the latest bulletin by the Health Ministry.

The country's overall number of cases totalled 251,713, with 35,225 deaths.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Mayor Ron Nirenbergs proposal to use $154 million in sales tax revenue to pay for San Antonios post-pandemic economic recovery is now in the hands of voters.

By a 9-2 vote Thursday morning, the City Council decided to put the matter on the November ballot amid concern over the fate of two programs now funded by the sales tax, including one aimed at protecting the citys source of drinking water.

Voters will be asked to approve a 1/8-cent sales tax to fund job training and college degrees for San Antonians who lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The money also would help participants pay rent and other living expenses while they complete those programs.

The sales tax revenue would be dedicated to those purposes for four years.

After that, the tax would go to VIA Metropolitan Transit for new buses and expanded services, if the voters approve a separate proposition that the VIA board decided, also Thursday, to add to the November ballot.

On ExpressNews.com: For Nirenberg, plan to use sales tax for San Antonios economic recovery is familiar and risky

City estimates show Nirenbergs initiative could help 40,000 people get credentials needed for higher-paying jobs in medicine, bioscience, information technology and construction  at a cost of $154 million.

Nirenberg believes the measure is necessary to try to alleviate the citys entrenched poverty and dependence on low-paying jobs. More than a third of the 154,000 people laid off because of the pandemic had jobs in the relatively low-wage retail, hospitality, restaurant and health care industries.

Weve had the plans, the reports and the ideas, Nirenberg said. We can relitigate the past until were blue in the face. But over 150,000 San Antonio residents, our neighbors, have filed for unemployment in the wake of this pandemic. A quarter of those jobs wont be available ever again. We need action now.

The measure drew opposition from District 1 Councilman Roberto Trevino and District 10 Councilman Clayton Perry, who cast the two no votes. Both men noted that the city already has pumped $75 million from city and federal funds into job training programs that start next month. They said immediate help is whats needed.

For Perry, that means giving more grants to small businesses. He said the $38.1 million that the council put into small-business relief over the summer was too little.

Im all for workforce development, dont get me wrong, Perry said. But our business community is hurting right now.

Trevino wants the city to put more money into its main housing assistance program to help residents struggling to make rent and mortgage payments. Hes skeptical that money included in the recovery plan intended to help participants with rent and other living costs would be enough to tide them over while they complete training and degree programs.

Choking up, Trevino told a story about how his mother opted not to attend Pan American University, now the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, because she couldnt afford to raise him and his brother while going to school.

A person with fewer barriers to entry who didnt need to rely on those services as much would have been selected over her, Trevino said. Its a reality for many.

But District 4 Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia said the program would likely have helped members of her family who have died from COVID-19 by enabling them to land higher-paying jobs with health care coverage when they were younger.

With those advantages, she asserted, they would not have developed the underlying health conditions that the virus exploited. Six of Garcias cousins have died of COVID-19.

They often ate what was readily available and cheap, many times a meal constituting of sugar-packed alternatives and empty calories  which is what they could afford, Garcia said, tears in her eyes. When they got sick, they kept working because they could not afford not to.

Council members have complained about a lack of detail in Nirenbergs economic recovery plan, though the broad outlines are known.

Officials plan to target those with high school diplomas or with some college credits but no degree who make less than $21,000 a year. They want at least 80 percent of participants to complete job training or obtain degrees  and they want at least 90 percent of them to make more than they did before entering the program.

Should voters approve the tax in November, city staff would draw up specific guidelines to implement the program. It would go before the council in April.

The city should focus on recruiting residents in poorer parts of town, District 7 Councilwoman Ana Sandoval said. She noted that COVID-19 deaths are concentrated on the West and South Sides, which are overwhelmingly Hispanic and have high poverty rates.

We cant simply let the program sit back to invite applicants in, Sandoval said. We must be extremely deliberate in the people that we choose to help so we can make a difference so we no longer see these types of tragic clusters in Districts 3, 4 and 5.

In a deal worked out between the city and VIA, the city would keep the sales tax revenue for Nirenbergs plan through Dec. 31, 2025.

The revenue from that 1/8-cent sales tax at issue currently funds two programs: one that buys land to protect the Edwards Aquifer and another that pays to create linear parks and creekways.

Supporters of both efforts expressed frustration that the future of the two programs is in limbo. Voters have approved the sales tax that funds those programs four times since 2000, but they wont get a chance to vote on whether to renew the programs this November.

We recognize that our community has many competing needs, Annalisa Peace, executive director of the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance, told council members Thursday. Yet we feel that the proposals to meet these various needs have been put together in kind of a slapdash manner without fully examining how we might best work together to make our city both sustainable and equitable.

On ExpressNews.com: As mayor and VIA press forward on sales tax proposals, fate of aquifer protection still unsettled

City officials tried to assure advocates of the aquifer and linear parks programs, including some council members, that the programs would continue in some form.

The City Council is expected to vote on a proposal to continue the aquifer protection program with money the city already receives from the San Antonio Water System.

City Manager Erik Walsh said he and Nirenberg are negotiating with Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff and County Manager David Smith about whether the county will take on construction of linear parks and creekways.

The sales tax that funds those programs is expected to expire in April, when its projected to have exhausted the $100 million in spending authorized by voters.

Nirenberg must now convince voters that approving the sales tax is worthwhile. Hes expected to announce shortly who will lead the campaign in support of his program.

Some political strategists say the Nirenberg-VIA deal could be confusing to voters.

And although the proposal would not raise existing taxes, residents may prove hesitant to back any new tax initiative in these tight economic times, they say.

But local higher education leaders, business executives and grassroots organizers already have come out in favor of the economic recovery plan  and its sales tax funding mechanism.

Today, San Antonians need this investment more than ever, Virginia Mata, a leader of the grassroots coalition COPS/Metro told council members Thursday. It is not only the right thing to do but also the right investment. The seeds that you plant today will have a lasting effect and will help San Antonians rise from the shadows to the light.

Earlier this week, executives of four major San Antonio-area companies  Craig Boyan of H-E-B, Kevin Jones of Rackspace Technology, Wayne Peacock of USAA and Kevin Voelkel of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas  pledged to gives priority to graduates of the proposed programs when filling job openings.

We hope that this plan helps us address our communitys long-standing issue of poverty by investing in our residents economic mobility, bolstering their ability to weather any future crises that may come their way, the executives wrote in a joint letter.

Joshua Fechter is a staff writer covering San Antonio government and politics. To read more from Joshua, become a subscriber. jfechter@express-news.net | Twitter: @JFreports
WAYNE, NJ  To say things weren't looking good for Luis Martinez would be an understatement. A massive understatement.

Martinez, a 62-year-old Elizabeth man, was admitted to the Lakeview Rehabilitation & Care Center on May 26, according to a statement from the facility.

He couldn't eat, he couldn't talk, he couldn't even move, let alone breathe on his own. Martinez was one of 185,938 New Jersey residents to contract the coronavirus.

When he arrived at Lakeview, Martinez had a tracheostomy tube, was ventilator-dependent, and had a gastrostomy tube, according to a representative for the facility.

"He was in a very compromised state when he arrived, said Lakeview Administrator James Gardner.

That compromised state often doesn't lead to a cheery result. According to a May study published by the Society of Critical Care Medicine, over 30 percent of patients placed on ventilators have died.

However, Luis Martinez did not find himself in that group.

In what staffers at the facility are calling a "miracle," Martinez recovered from the coronavirus and left the facility last week after months of intensive care.

From the day he came through our doors, Luis received comprehensive and integrated treatment from our respiratory and nursing professionals as well as from members of our physical, occupational and speech therapy teams," Gardner said.



Through physical and respiratory therapy, as well as "aggressive nursing care," Martinez was eventually weaned off the ventilator, and had the tracheostomy and gastrostomy tube removed.

When he came to the facility, Martinez was unable to walk. Last week, he left the facility under his own power, aided only by a walker.

"This is one example of a ventilator-dependent patient who, because of the combined efforts of Lakeviews comprehensive team, the patient walked out of the door without assistance," said Gardner.

Recoveries like these can serve as not only a reminder of what is possible, but can also provide at least a brief moment of joy for employees of the facility, who have been faced with immense grief during the months long pandemic.

Story continues

"Against a backdrop of the overwhelming sadness associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, seeing Luis leave our facility the way he did was a welcome sight for all of Lakeviews front-line heroes who have given so selflessly for the past several months," Gardner said.



Lakeview has posted video of Martinez leaving the facility, immediately greeted by family and cheering staff members.

Watch below:





This article originally appeared on the Wayne Patch
The Maharashtra government has refused to reopen places of worship  closed owing to the Covid-19 pandemic  the Bombay high court (HC) was informed on Thursday.

Government pleader Purnima Kantharia informed the bench of justice SJ Kathawalla and justice Madhav Jamdar that Kishore Nimbalkar, the secretary of the disaster management department, has rejected the representations of two petitioners  Bhandup resident Ankit Vora and a Jain temple trust  who had requested the court to direct the state over the reopening of Jain temples on the occasion of the communitys nine-day Paryushan festival, which starts on Sunday. The two petitioners had also sought permissions for allowing members of the Shwetamber Murtipujak Jain community to perform religious functions and worship during the nine-day festive period in Jain temples.

Vora contended that the central government had permitted the opening up of places of worship  by ensuring physical distancing norms are followed and therefore, the state government should also allow religious shrines in Maharashtra to open up and come out with the necessary guidelines for the purpose.

Additional solicitor general Anil Singh had then supported Voras claim by pointing out that the central government had permitted the opening of places of worship outside containment zones and had issued separate guidelines on July 29.

Acting on the petitions by Vora and the trust, the bench had on Tuesday directed the secretary to consider their representations, with restrictions and conditions as may be imposed by the government.

Nimbalkar has, however, said that the request cannot be acceded to in view of the prevailing situation in Maharashtra, which is the worst-affected state owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. In support of his claim, he has cited that until Tuesday, Maharashtra had recorded a total of 5.35 lakh Covid-19 cases, including 18,306 deaths.

The secretary has also claimed that the administrative machinery has already been stressed and overburdened, and it will be impossible to monitor strict compliance of the conditions to curtail the spread of the virus, which will result in the irreversible spread of Covid-19.

After his decision was communicated to the court, the lawyers for both the petitioners requested the court to consider allowing Jains to visit their temples only on the last day  considered to be the most auspicious of the nine days of Paryushan.

The bench refused to consider the request. This is a very sensitive issue. We will have to be very careful, said the bench.

The judges clarified that they had ensured that the petitioners had the opportunity to make a representation and get the state authorities decided on it. The bench said that it cannot accede to the request of the petitioners even for the limited relief, as it will open floodgates of petitions seeking similar relief.
On August 15, 1995, Indians woke up to the tariff plan of a new sort of communication service they could purchase: dial-up internet. At Rs 15,000 a year, it was not quite something the average Indian could afford then. The subscription would run out if someone connected for more than 250 hours over the year. The speed, breathtaking by the standards then, was 9.6 kilobytes per second.

Today, internet connectivity is at least 4,000 times as fast, and costs a fraction of what it did 25 years ago. It had in 1995 all of 23,500 websites (compared to 1.8 billion now, according to Internet Live States). The most novel use at the time was sending and receiving e-mails. Today, its the backbone on which tomorrows self-driving cars, autonomous robots and immersive virtual reality are being built. In India, it is now where conversations in the smallest of towns take place.

But, like most agents of epochal change, Indias internet journey began with slight trepidation, heaps of excitement, and the collective efforts of a small but a driven group of people.

In the years before 1995, there were a few institutions or groups that were experimenting with access to internet. One was the academic network, called ERNET and the other was the Internet Users Club of India which was led by none other than Shammi Kapoor, said Brijendra Kumar Syngal, the then managing director of Videsh Sanchal Nigam Limited (VSNL) and the man largely credited with bringing commercial data connectivity to the country.

VSNLs service, called the Gateway Internet Access Service (GIAS), was available first in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai. The company held a virtual monopoly till 1998 when Satyam Infoway began internet service operations. The launch was the result of a great camaraderie between all those people, the enthusiasts, the scientists  no one at any point tried to pull anyone down, added Syngal.

To understand what the launch of dial-up connections meant, it is important to look at the state of the internet in India prior to that. Surfing the World Wide Web, at the time a collection of mostly text-based web pages, and email were possibly the only applications that most people used the internet for. A large proportion of these were scientists, researchers and professors in seven of the countrys top colleges who became part of ERNET (Education and Research Network) that began in 1986, sharing insights about their respective fields.

But this was still time when telecommunications in India was too rudimentary to sustain data links over phone lines. With telecom lines being very unreliable IIT Kanpur started an F-Mail where every week all e-mails would be copied onto a floppy and couriered to NCST Bombay that would send out the mails and copy back the incoming mails and courier the floppy back to IIT Kanpur, wrote professors S Sadagopan, the director of IIIT-Bangalore, and N Mohanram, the former Director General of ERNET India, in an op-ed piece for telecommunications website Voice&Data.

If this was the beginning of the cocoon phase for Indias internet story, the metamorphosis to when it finally took wings happened roughly around 1995 and 1996. While VSNLs service was active, it suffered from teething troubles. I will admit, we made mistakes in the beginning. We did not anticipate demand and the infrastructure was extremely inadequate, said Syngal, adding: if you ask me, everything that could go wrong went wrong.

The VSNL team was criticised by the media as well as the administration, as people kept reporting dropped connections.

At the same time, however, the fledgling software industry and the enthusiasts clubs, particularly led by the techno evangelism of Bollywood star Shammi Kapoor succeeded to sell the vision of an internet boom to the labyrinthine bureaucracy. At one point, we tried to make what was the closest to a video call between the then telecom minister and his family members in Bihar. It was not like todays video calls, it was more of a one-time video message, sent purely to demonstrate the potential of the technology, said Harish Mehta, one of the founders of Information Technology collective NASSCOM and among the people who was part of the early internet advocacy groups.

Among these people was Dewang Mehta, who went on to become one of the most prominent faces of the Indian software lobby group. Dewang came up with the slogan -- roti, kapda, makaan aur bandwidth -- and a minister we met at the time had no idea what bandwidth was. This is how new it was to explain connectivity to the powers in Delhi even though the world was becoming aware, said Mehta, adding that the slogan was one of the starting points from where the close coordination with the government began.

Dewang Mehta died in 2001 at the age of 38, but left a significant legacy in Indias IT industry: He was named by Computerworld Magazine as Software Evangelist of the Year three years in a row. In late 2000, the Geneva-based World Economic Forum selected him as one of the 100 Global Leaders of Tomorrow.

Harish Mehta, at present the executive chairman of Onward Technologies Ltd, was also among people who started the Bombay Computer Club, which would grow into the Internet Users Club of India and draft Kapoor as the one of its star advocates. In services sector, we use a concept of selling something that is not visible  its a solution. In marketing, we would bank on something called evidence-based marketing where we would cite our past record. We asked Shammi ji to use the same model to sell the internet vision in India, because it was still not a concept anyone knew, he said. And after all, Kapoor was, as a wag pointed out at the time, the original Yahoo.

Shammi ji was a great orator. We took him to Bombay, Delhi, Bangalore, everywhere. We took him to Syngals office, the ministry and we talked about why internet was necessary, he said, adding that one particular event in 1996 at NASSCOMs Nehru Centre was a key turning point. On that day, when Kapoor told his story about the internet, hundreds of people turned up. All that excitement culminated into nudging the government to allow more private companies to offer internet services, Mehta added.This phase sowed the momentum for an inflexion point that was marked by a dramatic drop in costs.

After 1997, with proper internet infrastructure now erected across India, the cost of telecommunication services plummeted. We used to budget somewhere around 4-5% of our topline as our communication spend. It became close to 0 all of a sudden, Mehta said. The infrastructure referred to by Mehta was the setting up of nodes and servers across multiple locations  which increased capacity. But more than the gains from lower costs, it was the increase in productivity that being online brought to every company, he said.

By 1998, cyber cafes began mushrooming across India-- at first in the metro cities, before they became profuse in tier II cities by the turn of the millennium. Till late 2004, internet bandwidth grew steadily as ISDN networks complemented home dial-up connections, which became cheaper by the way. In 2004, the government announced the Broadband Policy, defining 256kbps download speed and an always-on feature as crucial conditions for a service to be classified as broadband. This set off a home broadband revolution, which powered an over 1,300% rise in internet subscribers in the country between 2005 and 2015.

Today, most people in India access the internet on their mobile phones.

The communications revolutions, now when I look back at this two decade journey, was integral to the India Inc story. It helped us arrive in Silicon Valley, take our products global, Mehta said.

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Toronto police are seeking the publics help locating a man wanted for attempted murder.

In the early morning of July 23, police received a call about a stabbing in the Weston Road and Jane Street area. They found a man with life-threatening stab wounds. He was rushed to hospital, where he has since recovered.

Dallas Richards, 32, of no fixed address, is wanted for attempted murder and two counts of failing to comply with his probation. There is a warrant out for his arrest.

Police say Richards is about 56 and 160 pounds. He has brown hair, brown eyes, a beard, and a tattoo of a scroll on his left forearm.

Police say he may be violent and dangerous. If spotted, do not approach him. Call 911 immediately.
By The Associated Press Aug. 13, 2020 | 07:36 AM | OAKLAND

Beginning Thursday, U.S. Facebook users who post about voting may start seeing an addendum to their messages -- labels directing readers to authoritative information about the upcoming presidential election.

It's the social network's latest step to to combat election-related misinformation on its platform as the Nov. 3 election nears  one in which many voters may be submitting ballots by mail for the first time. Facebook began adding similar links to posts about in-person and mail-in balloting by federal politicians, including President Donald Trump, in July.

These labels will link to a new voter information hub similar to one about COVID-19 that Facebook says has been seen by billions of users around the world. The labels will read, Visit the Voting Information Center for election resources and official updates.

Despite such efforts, Facebook continues to face widespread criticism around how it handles misinformation around elections and other matters. The company has generally refused to fact-check ads by politicians, for instance, and a two-year audit of its civil rights practices faulted the company for leaving U.S. elections exposed to interference by the President and others who seek to use misinformation to sow confusion and suppress voting.

The effectiveness of such labels will depend on how well Facebooks artificial intelligence system identifies the posts that really need them, said Ethan Zuckerman, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technologys Center for Civic Media. If every post containing the word vote or voting gets an informational link, he said, people will start ignoring those links.

Facebook expects the voter hub to reach at least 160 million people in the U.S., said Emily Dalton Smith, who serves as head of social impact at the company. The primary focus is registering people to vote, she said, but the information people see will evolve throughout the election season.

This is a unique election and a unique election season," she said. Certainly we have never gone through an election during a global pandemic."

Other tech companies, Twitter and Google, which owns YouTube, have undertaken similar efforts around the November election. Twitter said it is working on expanding its policies to address new and unique challenges related to this years elections, including misinformation around mail-in voting.

Looking ahead to November, Facebook said it is actively speaking with election officials about the potential of misinformation around election results as an emerging threat."

The company did not give details on the potential threats, but said that a prolonged ballot process where results are not immediately clear has the potential to be exploited in order to sow distrust in the election outcome."

One way we plan to fight this is by using the Voting Information Center and the US Elections digest in Facebook News to make sure people have easy access to the latest, authoritative information and news on and after Election Night," Naomi Gleit, vice president of product management and social impact, wrote in a blog post.
The owner of Brown Thomas and Arnotts has told staff today that they will cut 150 jobs because of Covid-19 trading losses.

The cuts mean that more than one in eight employees in the 1,050-member workforce are expected to lose their jobs by mid-October.

Both retail brands are owned by the Weston family-controlled Selfridges Group.

Managing director Donald McDonald, who delivered the news to staff, called it the toughest decision I have had to take. He said talks would begin immediately seeking voluntary redundancies following a review of every function in the business.

Brown Thomas Arnotts said it would consider applications from employees for career breaks, shorter working hours and early retirement.

The retail industry is being severely impacted by unprecedented circumstances related to Covid-19 and Brown Thomas Arnotts is no exception. Like many others, we are feeling the effects with sales expected to be significantly down, making 2020 the toughest year we have experienced in recent times, Mr McDonald said.

And as we face continued uncertainty, with retail unlikely to return to normal for the foreseeable future  we need to ensure our cost base is in line with the level of business we realistically can expect, he said.

The Selfridges Group last month said it would cut 450 jobs in Britain because of Covid-19 disruption to trade.

Brown Thomas operates stores on Dublin's Grafton Street and in Cork, Galway and Limerick. They and the Arnotts store on Dublin's Henry Street all reopened in the first half of June following several weeks' closure amid wider Covid-19 lockdown. The stores all reported stronger online sales that failed to compensate for larger losses of in-store trade.
A white woman has been caught on camera admitting she called a black man the n-word after he used her parking spot when he went to collect his kids from a relative.

The incident, which occurred outside an apartment complex in San Bernadino, California last week, was recorded by Instagram user 'Mr Carter', who was the subject of the elderly woman's abuse.

Carter, 34, had parked his car in the woman's spot while he went to pick up his two children who had been spending the day at his aunt's apartment, located in the complex.

Carter's actions attracted the woman's ire, and he says she reportedly deployed the racial epithet after confronting him.

He starts recording the ten-minute clip begins after she alleged, but she does not deny using it when confronted.

A white woman has been caught on camera admitting she called a black man the n-word after he 'stole her parking space' outside an apartment complex in San Bernardino, California. The man, known only as 'Mr Carter' is pictured left. The unidentified woman is seen right

'You're still stealing from me,' the woman states, accusing Carter of parking at the complex to 'get a piece of a**.'

'You called me a n*****,' Carter replies.

'So? I've got a constitutional right to free speech. I'm an American and proud of it. I don't have to leave America to go to Africa, like you guys have to leave Africa to come to America,' she responds.

The irate woman continues pacing around the parking lot, before another elderly resident yells out from an apartment balcony, telling Carter that the woman had also lodged complaints against her.

A police officer then appears on the scene, seemingly summoned by the angry woman.

Carter tells the cop that the woman had called him a 'f*****g n*****' for parking in her spot.

'I've got a constitutional right to free speech. I'm an American and proud of it. I don't have to leave America to go to Africa, like you guys have to leave Africa to come to America': The woman seemingly admits that she called the man the n-word

A police officer then appears on the scene, seemingly summoned by the angry woman

He tells the officer he acted respectfully towards the woman, even as she became 'hostile' .

Carter explains to the cop: 'One: I'm gonna respect you 'cause you're my elder. Two: I'm gonna respect you 'cause my aunt lives here and I don't want any problems. Three: I'm gonna respect you just 'cause you probably have an idea of us [black men] that we're supposed to get ignorant.'

The officer appears in disbelief at the woman's actions.

Carter then turns towards the woman and states: 'We don't need hatred. I know you're older, and I'm a young man and I probably cant get through to you. But if i can get through to one person, you might tell ten people "Hey, stop hating, just love. It's easier to love".

The woman continues telling Carter he stole her parking space.

'I accept that,' he says, before adding: 'I don't want to accept all the animosity and hate you have in your heart'.

He then leaves the scene and gets into his car with his children.

Carter has been praised for the 'graceful' way he handled the situation.

'Congratulations on managing this ignorant hateful situation with class, grace and love and showing your children a fantastic example,' one Instagram user wrote beneath the video.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 13

Trend:

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov received Georgian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Teimuraz Sharashenidze on August 13, Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Trend.

During the meeting, Bayramov noted that relations between Azerbaijan and Georgia are based on historical friendship, good-neighborly relations and strategic partnership between the two countries.

The minister highlighted the development of cooperation between the two countries in the economic, trade, energy, transport, humanitarian, cultural, scientific and educational spheres.

The parties expressed satisfaction with the support by both countries of the norms and principles of international law and, in particular, the principle of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, and with the unequivocal expression of this position in the international arena.

The parties also exchanged views on the further expansion of cooperation in trilateral and multilateral formats, as well as within the framework of international organizations, including the UN.

Sharashenidze sincerely congratulated Bayramov on his appointment as foreign minister, and conveyed greetings from Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani to him.

The ambassador noted the availability of opportunities for further expanding the existing cooperation between the two countries at the highest level.

Other issues of mutual interest of the parties were also discussed at the meeting.
SWEET SORROW by David Nicholls (Hodder 8.99, 416 pp)

SWEET SORROW

by David Nicholls (Hodder 8.99, 416 pp)

It is 1997 and Charlie Lewis has just finished his GCSEs. The high point of a dull school disco is Debbie Warwick projectile vomiting.

Then it is all over, and Charlie is facing a long, empty summer of sharing a house in a dreary Sussex suburb with his depressed, unemployed dad  his mum has moved out, taking Charlies younger sister.

Joining the cast of an amateur production of Shakespeares Romeo And Juliet at a stately home doesnt seem appealing, but an accidental meeting with sultry Fran Fisher, who is playing Juliet, is enough to change Charlies mind.

David Nicholls is the bestselling author of One Day and Us, and his latest novel is a masterly evocation of the bittersweet headiness of teenage first love.

FOOTNOTES by Peter Fiennes (Oneworld 10.99, 336 pp)

FOOTNOTES

by Peter Fiennes (Oneworld 10.99, 336 pp)

Enid Blyton, Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens, Gerald of Wales, Samuel Johnson, J.B. Priestley and Beryl Bainbridge  over the course of 800 years these very different writers have summed up the essence of our island home, and in his travels around Britain, Peter Fiennes finds each of them a cheerful and illuminating companion.

In the preface to his engaging account of a literary journey, Fiennes writes that he planned to organise his route chronologically, from 12th century cleric Gerald of Wales to writer Beryl Bainbridge, whose 1983 TV documentary, English Journey, is set out in J.B. Priestleys eponymous book.

But Fienness literary companions are opinionated types, and his delightful book finds him spending as much time exploring their idiosyncratic characters as the places to which they journeyed.

The result is a funny and reassuring snapshot of our national identity.

WHAT WERE TOLD NOT TO TALK ABOUT by Nimko Ali (Penguin 9.99, 272 pp)

WHAT WERE TOLD NOT TO TALK ABOUT

by Nimko Ali (Penguin 9.99, 272 pp)

What do these have in common: Bingo, Jaffa Cakes, herbal tea and kangeroo meat?

All are zero VAT-rated, while sanitary products, regarded as non-essential or luxury items, carry VAT at five per cent.

The Chancellor has pledged to zero-rate them from January 2021, but period poverty is only one issue related to the female body that Ali tackles in her fiercely readable book.

A Somali-born activist who was awarded the OBE in 2019, Ali takes an intimate look at womens experience of sex, pregnancy and menopause, drawing on first-person testimony that is moving, thought-provoking and often shocking.

Its a shame the Duchess of Cambridges experience of hyperemesis (severe nausea) in pregnancy gets a snarky mention in an otherwise warm-hearted book.
Kurt Luedtke, a former newspaper executive who forged a successful second career writing Hollywood screenplays, notably for Absence of Malice and the Oscar-winning Out of Africa, died on Sunday at a hospital in Royal Oak, Mich. He was 80.

His wife, Eleanor Luedtke, said the cause was multiple organ failure.

Mr. Luedtke (pronounced LUD-key) was an accomplished reporter who rose to executive editor of The Detroit Free Press before throwing over his newspaper career and taking a stab at screenwriting.

He had no experience writing screenplays and was on the verge of giving it up when he pitched an idea that he had originally had for a novel  about a reporter who allows herself to be used by a prosecutor in implicating an innocent businessman in a murder. Her actions nearly ruin the businessman and prompt someone else to commit suicide.

That idea became Absence of Malice (1981), a damning look at journalistic ethics, starring Paul Newman and Sally Field. The title is a paraphrase of an expression at the heart of the 1964 landmark Supreme Court case New York Times v. Sullivan, in which the court held that the First Amendment protects a publication from libel suits by public officials even when it prints false statements, as long as the publication did not act with actual malice.
American International Group announced that David McElroy, currently president and chief executive officer of the North American operations of General Insurance, has been promoted to chief executive officer, General Insurance, and executive vice president, AIG, effective immediately.

McElroy will lead the General Insurance Executive Leadership Team and join the AIG Executive Leadership Team, reporting to Peter S. Zaffino, AIGs president and global chief operating officer. Zaffino, who has been serving as CEO of General Insurance, AIGs property/casualty business, began taking on more enterprise-wide responsibilities as president and global chief operating officer in January.

McElroy joined AIG as president and chief executive officer of surplus lines writer Lexington Insurance Co. in October 2018 and was promoted to president and chief executive officer of North America, General Insurance in June 2019. Before joining AIG, McElroy held numerous leadership roles within the insurance industry, including executive chairman of Arch Insurance Group and vice chairman of Arch Worldwide Insurance Group.

Zaffino credited McElroy with playing an instrumental role in the turnaround of the General Insurance business and the positioning of AIG as a market leader.
By Express News Service

COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore Chief Judicial Magistrate on Wednesday granted three days of police custody to the three suspects in the Sri Lankan kingpin Angoda Lokka's alleged death case.



CB-CID police, who are investigating the case, asked to produce the three suspects -- Lokka's girlfriend Amani Dhanji, Madurai-based advocate Sivakami Sundari, and her associate Thiyaneshwaran -- before the court on August 15 at 2 pm after completing the custodial investigation. The three suspects were produced before the court on Wednesday for hearing the petition.

During the investigation, though the defendant for Amani Dhanji and Thiyaneswaran did not object to the custodial investigation, the advocate Sivakami Sundari objected. After three-hour investigation on the petition submitted on July 7, the Chief Judicial Magistrate P Srikumar granted three days of custody to CB-CID. It may be noted that the CB-CID police had asked the court to grant five-day custody of the suspects.

Sources said that the suspects were permitted to contact their advocates only over phone calls for these three days as the pandemic situation is continuing in the country.

The background

It should be noted that Maddumage Chandana Lasantha Perera alias Angoda Lokka (35) from Kotikawatta, Colombo in Sri Lanka posed himself as Pradeep Singh was residing at Cheran Maanagar in Coimbatore.

He was suspected to have died due to cardiac arrest on July 3. However, his girlfriend Amani Dhanji, Madurai-based advocate Sivakami Sundari, and her associate Thiyaneshwaran allegedly received the body from hospital after producing forged documents and cremated the body at Madurai.

The CB-CID police have registered two cases -- one on the death of Angoda Lokka and another for fabricating documents.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 22:23:49|Editor: huaxia

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TOKYO, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Japan's wholesale prices fell 0.9 percent in July from a year earlier owing to demand being hit by the global pandemic, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) said in a report Thursday.

According to the BOJ, the price of goods traded between companies fell for a fifth straight month although a rise in cruse oil prices slowed the decline from June's 1.6 percent drop.

Japan's central bank also said that prices for oil and coal products declined 19.3 percent from the previous year, while those for chemical products fell 5.0 percent.

Scrap and waste prices, meanwhile, retreated 8.0 percent amid waning demand, the BOJ said.

As China's economic activity rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, the BOJ said rising prices for commodities drove those for nonferrous metal products 2.7 percent higher, while those for metal products climbed 2.4 percent in the recording period.

When excluding the impact of a consumption tax hike to 10 percent from 8 percent on Oct. 1 last year, the BOJ said wholesale prices dropped 2.4 percent in the recording period, with the pace slowing from a 3.1 percent retreat logged a month earlier.

"A pickup in crude oil prices somewhat underpinned overall wholesale prices, but the virus pandemic continues to weigh on domestic demand," a BOJ official was quoted as saying.

In yen terms, meanwhile, import prices decreased 12.6 percent, while export prices fell 3.2 percent from a year earlier, the central bank's figures also showed. Enditem
AMC to offer 15-cent tickets for reopening

NEW YORK  AMC Theatres, the nations largest movie theater chain, will reopen in the U.S. on Aug. 20 with retro ticket prices of 15 cents per movie.

AMC Entertainment, which owns the chain, said Thursday that it expects to open the doors to more than 100 cinemas  or about a sixth of its nationwide locations  on Aug. 20 with throwback pricing for a day.

The chain touted the reopening as Movies in 2020 at 1920 Prices.

After several false starts due to a summer rise in coronavirus cases throughout much of the U.S., widespread moviegoing is currently set to resume in late August. Regal Cinemas, the second largest chain, is to reopen some U.S. locations on Aug. 21.

AMC confirmed that Disneys much-delayed New Mutants will debut in theaters Aug. 28, with Christopher Nolans Tenet to follow Sept. 3.

AMC and other chains have said they will operate at reduced capacity to facilitate social distancing, along with increased theater cleaning and required mask wearing.

More Twilight books planned

NEW YORK  There is still plenty of life in Stephenie Meyers Twilight Saga.

Meyer is planning at least two more books in her mega-selling vampire series, she said during a recent promotional event. Meanwhile, the authors long-awaited Midnight Sun sold more than 1 million copies in its first week, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers announced Thursday.

While such previous novels as New Moon and Eclipse were narrated by high school student Bella Swan, Midnight Sun is told from the point of view of Bellas lover, the vampire Edward Cullen.

Meyers new novel came out Aug. 4.

Meyer once vowed never to write another Twilight book, but on Monday she revealed during an online event held by the chain store Books-A-Million that she is far from done with Edward and Bella.

There are two more books I think in the world that I want to write, she said. I have got them outlined and a chapter written I think of the first one, so I know its there. I am not ready to do that right now. I want to do something brand new.

Chris Evans hopes to shield democracy with website

LOS ANGELES  Chris Evans became the most politically prickly Avenger a few years back with withering tweets about President Donald Trump and his Republican supporters.

But the Captain America actor is staying relatively quiet during this presidential campaign. He wants to amplify the voices of elected officials instead.

Last month, Evans launched a civic engagement app and website called A Starting Point, featuring short videos from both Republican and Democratic members of Congress and other U.S. politicians sharing perspectives on policy issues.

With regular visits to Capitol Hill, Evans built the site over the course of two years alongside actor-producer Mark Kassen, a longtime friend. They hope to keep it going long after the November election.

This was born out of the same reason I do what I do on Twitter. You want to try and help. You want to try and use the platform that youve been given the right way, Evans said.

Woodwards new book, Rage, due out next month

WASHINGTON  Veteran Washington Post reporter Bob Woodwards new book about President Donald Trump is titled Rage and will be released Sept. 15, less than two months before Election Day, according to a listing on Amazon.com.

Publisher Simon & Schuster says the forthcoming book follows Trumps moves as he faces a global pandemic, economic disaster and racial unrest. It says Woodward conducted a series of exclusive interviews with the president.

The Amazon listing also notes that Woodward obtained 25 personal letters between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, including one in which Kim describes their bond as something out of a fantasy film.

Woodwards first book about the Trump presidency, Fear, was published in 2018 and went to No. 1 on The New York Times nonfiction bestseller list.

Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Paramedics bringing a patient to Jackson Health Center in Miami. Reuters

A Florida father and his son  both doctors  died within weeks of each other after they were hospitalized with the coronavirus on Father's Day, the Miami Herald reported on Tuesday.

The son, Dr. Carlos Vallejo, had been caring for nearly 80 COVID-19 patients  many at a nursing home  before he fell ill with the virus in June. He spent 42 days in an intensive-care unit before his death on August 1.

His father, Dr. Jorge Vallejo, who died less than a week after he was hospitalized, was a retired OB-GYN who fled Cuba with his family in the 1960s.

As of Wednesday, Florida had at least 550,901 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 8,765 deaths, according to the Florida Department of Health.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

A father and son in Hialeah, Florida, died within weeks of each other after they were both hospitalized with COVID-19 in June, the Miami Herald reported on Tuesday.

Dr. Jorge A. Vallejo died on June 27. The 89-year-old retired obstetrician and gynecologist had been hospitalized with COVID-19 at Palmetto General Hospital since Father's Day on June 21, the Herald reported.

His son, Dr. Carlos Vallejo, 57, died five weeks later, on August 1, after spending 42 days in the intensive-care unit at the Cleveland Clinic Florida. Before he fell ill, he had been caring for nearly 80 coronavirus patients, including many at nursing homes, his family told the Herald.

"He really was a hero to so many people. I didn't even want him to go to the nursing home and the hospitals because I was terrified," Gisselle Vallejo, Carlos' daughter, told the Herald. "He wanted to be loyal. It was like he was available for them 24/7. He really was the true definition of a hero. I knew that when COVID started, that he was going to be a hero."

His family told the newspaper that he took all the necessary precautions in treating his patients to avoid contracting the coronavirus.

"He was just my role model. I could talk to him every day for hours," Kevin Vallejo, Carlos' son, told the Herald. "He was such a giving doctor that if his patients were going through a hard time ... he would see them for free and tell them not to worry about it."

Story continues

Jessica Vallejo, Carlos' niece and Jorge's granddaughter, told the Herald that she felt she had lost "both of our anchors of our whole entire family." Jessica, a reporter at a Miami CBS affiliate, described her grandfather, who fled Cuba with his wife and first two sons in 1965, the "American Dream."

Jorge worked as an OB-GYN until his wife, Gisela, died in 2005, the Herald said. The couple had three sons. In 1992, Jorge made headlines for delivering a baby who tied the record for the smallest baby born in the US, the Herald reported.

Carlos was a board director at Palmetto General Hospital and led medical teams at three nursing homes in Florida, his wife told the newspaper, adding that Carlos was close with his father and cared for him.

The Vallejo family told the Herald that five members of their family were infected with COVID-19.

As of Wednesday, Florida had at least 550,901 confirmed COVID-19 cases and at least 8,765 deaths, according to data from the Florida Department of Health.

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Creamy burrata and a bright, herby green saucewhich does double duty as a marinadetake this simple feast to new heights

We are in the heart of summer, folks! For my family in Carmel Valley, California, that means long afternoons in the swimming pool, lots of popsicles, and cooking as much of our food as possible on the grill.

I hope you are able to enjoy as many of the activities that make these months feel distinctly like summertime as possible, even during this bizarre summer.

I am finding that the current health precautions and restrictions are giving my family the opportunity to spend lots of time together, enjoying our home and each other, versus constantly being on the move. Its so easy to over-schedule your life, and this time period has been a great reminder to me and my husband to just slow down.

When we do gather with friends, we typically meet up in one of Monterey Countys beautiful and spacious public parks or beaches, or we have them over to grill out in our backyard. I havent thrown a full-blown dinner party in months, but have loved hosting potlucks this summer.

Potlucks are basically the lazy mans dinner partythe host is typically responsible for the main event of the night, and guests are asked to bring complementary dishes such as appetizers, salads, sides, and drinks.

My go-to dish this summer has been grilled chicken and summer vegetables served with a bright, herby, citrus-y green sauce and lots of burrata cheese. Burrata is the creamier, more luscious cousin of mozzarella, with a delicious, oozing center of soft curds and cream.

I like to serve the grilled goods, burrata, and green sauce all together on one big platter with arugula or spinach. The greens get a bit wilted by the heat of the chicken and vegetables, the burrata gets slightly warmed up when its placed on top, and everything comes together perfectly into an unexpected, simple but beautiful summery feast.

Breaking It Down

I love making dishes that look fancy but really couldnt be easier to make, and this recipe fits that description perfectly.

First, we marinate the chicken and vegetables in the same green sauce that we later serve with everything. Its great to marinate your meat for up to 24 hours, but if you dont have time, 30 minutes at room temperature will do the trick.

When its time to cook, the grilling only takes about 15 minutes, since we are using boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs, and the sauce is already made, since it serves double duty as the marinade. Then, all thats left to do is pile everything onto a platter!

Oh! And the bread. Grilled bread, to be exact. If youve never drizzled a slice of really good bread with olive oil, and then seared it on a hot grill, youve been missing out. Throw some grilled bread onto the side of your platter and use it to scoop up burrata into the perfect little bites.

Whether Im making a grilled chicken and veggie platter for a group of friends or just for me and my husband, I like to make at least four servings, because its the perfect way to prep ahead and have lunch ready for the next day. If we have any leftovers, George likes to throw his over rice or couscous, whereas I like to make a big chopped salad by tossing the grilled chicken and veggies, romaine lettuce, some feta cheese, and some almonds into a big bowl and hacking away at it all with a chefs knife until everything is cut into very small pieces.

For both of our leftover creations, a generous dousing of green sauce adds the finishing touch.

Grilled Vegetable and Chicken Platter With Burrata and Herby Green Sauce

Serves 4

For the Green Marinade/Sauce

1 cup packed cilantro leaves and stems

1 cup packed parsley leaves

4 scallions, cut into 3-inch pieces

2 garlic cloves

1/3 cup olive oil

Juice of 1 lime

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Chicken and Vegetables

Slice your summer vegetables into grill-ready planks. (Photo by Caroline Chambers)

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 large zucchini, sliced lengthwise into 1/4-inch thick planks

1 large yellow squash, sliced lengthwise into 1/4-inch thick planks

1 large red bell pepper, cut lengthwise into quarters

1/2 of a loaf of country or Italian bread

Olive oil

To Assemble

4 ounces burrata cheese

2 cups baby arugula

To make the green marinade/sauce, add the cilantro, parsley, scallions, garlic, olive oil, lime juice, lemon juice, and salt to a blender and blend until smooth.

Place the chicken, zucchini, yellow squash, and red bell pepper into a large flat baking dish or gallon Ziploc bag and cover with half of the green sauce. Reserve the second half of the sauce for serving.

Toss the chicken and vegetables to coat. Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours, flipping occasionally, or marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes, flipping once.

Marinate the chicken and vegetables for up to 24 hours in the fridge, or for 15 minutes at room temperature in a pinch. (Photo by Caroline Chambers)

Preheat the grill to medium-high heat.

Shake off as much of the marinade from the chicken and vegetables as possible as you add them to the grill, to prevent flare-ups. Grill the chicken thighs and peppers for 5 minutes per side, breasts for 4 minutes per side, and squash and zucchini for 34 minutes per side, or until charred and tender. Transfer everything to a large platter as it finishes.

Garnish the platter with the arugula and burrata, torn into 2 or 3 pieces, and drizzle it all with the reserved green sauce. Serve the remaining green sauce in a bowl on the side. Enjoy hot or at room temperature.

Grill until charred and tender. (Photo by Caroline Chambers)

Recipe Notes

Whenever I grill, I like to grill a couple of extra pieces of chicken or a few extra veggies, to have leftovers for salads throughout the week. I often make this recipe for just my husband and me, so that we can have lunch for the next day already handled.

Burrata can be tricky to find. If you cant find it, use feta or regular mozzarella.

No cilantro? Use all parsley! No parsley? Use all cilantro! This recipe is very versatile.

Caroline Chambers is a recipe developer, food writer, and author of Just Married: A Cookbook for Newlyweds. She currently lives in Carmel Valley, Calif., with her husband George, and son, Mattis. Follow her on Instagram for cooking tips and snippets from her life in Northern California. @carochambers
Australian Education Minister Dan Tehan speaks at the National Press Club in Canberra, on Aug. 28, 2019. (Rohan Thomson/AAP Images via AP)

Failing University Students to Lose Financial Help: Australian Education Minister

University students who flunk half of their first-year courses could lose financial support under a federal government proposal to curb soaring HELP debts.

The government has its sight set on students who amass debts by over-enrolling in subjects, sometimes at multiple institutions.

Universities will have to make greater efforts to assess academic suitability for selected courses and monitor students ongoing progress.

These measures will ensure students cant take on a study load they wont complete, leaving them without a qualification but a large debt, Education Minister Dan Tehan said on Aug 13.

The lack of transparency of a students enrolment has allowed some non-genuine students to enrol and re-enrol at multiple providers at the same time.

Under the proposal a student who fails half of their first eight subjects in a degree would lose access to a government-subsidised place and HELP loans.

However, higher education providers would have discretion if a students performance was affected by exceptional circumstances.

Low completion rates wont be transferred if a student changes course.

Grattan Institute research found nearly six percent of students failed every subject in their first year at university.

The government reportedly held $66.6 billion worth of HELP debt in 2018/19 and more than 15 percent of that amount was not expected to be repaid.

Canberra
Pranab Mukherjee's doctor who treated him in 2007, says he suffered head injury in mishap

India

oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P

Kolkata, Aug 13: As the condition of former President Pranab Mukherjee is still critical after brain surgery, a doctor in West Bengal's Nadia district, who had treated him 13 years ago following a car accident, remembered him as a "calm and composed" patient even in the face of immense pain.

Pranab Mukherjee critical | Former President's death rumours are false | Oneindia News

Dr Basudeb Mondal, a gynaecologist and the owner of a nursing home at Krishnagar, recalled the night of April 7, 2007. "On that day, while returning to Kolkata from Murshidabad district, Mukherjee's car met with an accident near Nakashipara in Nadia district," he said.

COVID-19: May God do whatever is best for him, says Pranab Mukherjee's daughter

A truck collided with the car of Mukherjee, then the external affairs minister, and he received deep head injuries. He was first taken to a local health centre where he got stitches on his scalp and then was shifted to a government hospital at Krishnagar.

"But as the hospital didn't have CT scan and X-ray facilities, I got a call from district administration officials. They asked me to get all the facilities ready as Mukherjee would be shifted to my nursing home," Mondal told media over the phone from Kirshnagar. The then Union minister was shifted to the nursing home under the supervision of a few doctors who came from the SSKM Hospital, a premier state-run facility in Kolkata.

Govt panel on Covid-19 vaccine protocol discusses delivery mechanism

"Although Mukherjee was suffering from pain, he was very calm and composed. He was also very humble. We got the tests done and found, fortunately, that there was no internal injury. Later, he was taken to Kolkata that night," he said.

The 84-year-old, who had also tested positive for COVID-19 prior to the surgery, is on ventilator support at the Army's Research and Referral Hospital in New Delhi.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a lasting impression on almost all the industries around the world. Nothing is left untouched, everything has felt the pandemic's bite.

Reuters

A recent proof of this comes in the form of a smartphone shipment report from China, a country where the market was anticipated to have recovered post the pandemic. The sales, however, have apparently remained dismal despite the bounce back.

Smartphone shipments in China dropped by as much as 35 percent in July in comparison with a year earlier, a new report by Reuters cites the data released by Chinese government on Tuesday.

The dismal numbers are a clear indication of a still struggling smartphone market in the country. Demand for smartphones is still not at par with what it used to be before the pandemic, showing a massive setback that the industry has faced since the outbreak of the virus.

China smartphone numbers

(Representative Image: Reuters)

As for the specific numbers, smartphone makers were able to ship 21.3 million handsets from China in July. This number has dropped down from a total of 33 million smartphones shipped a year earlier, as per the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT).



Surprisingly, the drop in smartphone shipments in China this past July is even more than the decline observed in May and June, with the shipments going down by 10 percent and 16 percent in the months respectively year-on-year.

An interesting peak was observed in April, when CAICT reported an unexpected growth in smartphone shipment by 17 percent annually. The months prior to April suffered from a decline in demand as the outbreak was first being observed in China.

(Representative Image: Reuters)

April, hence, marked a ray of hope for the smartphone industry in the country, as the market showed signs of bouncing back from the drop earlier. However, the story since then has been one of dismay as the shipments have only gone further down as compared to the shipments in these months a year before.



Since retail outlets have re-opened almost completely in China, it was expected that the countrys smartphone industry would have a revival from the pandemic by now. Since that is not the case, OEMs are now trying to figure out ways to bring their sales at par with the numbers of 2019.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A central Florida sheriff says his deputies wont be allowed to wear face masks except under some conditions, and neither will visitors to the sheriffs office.

Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said in an email to staff that he had weighed both sides of the issue amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Now, I can already hear the whining and just so you know I did not make this decision easily and I have weighed it out for the past 2 weeks, Woods said in the message earlier this week.

He added, We can debate and argue all day of why and why not. The fact is, the amount of professionals that give the reason why we should, I can find the exact same amount of professionals that say why we shouldnt.

In July, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked Americans to wear masks against the virus. There is increasing evidence that cloth face coverings help prevent people who have COVID-19 from spreading the virus to others, the CDC had said.

On Wednesday, Florida reported 213 new coronavirus deaths. That brought its overall fatality total to 8,898 and its average daily deaths over the past week to 164. Thats down from the states peak rate of daily deaths of 185 a week ago. The peak rate for New York  a state of comparable population  was more than 760 in mid-April.

Also Wednesday, there were more than 8,100 new infections reported in Florida, for a total of 550,000 known cases in the state since the start of the pandemic.

The number of people treated in Florida hospitals for the virus continued a three-week downward trend, standing at 6,538 by late morning Wednesday  down from highs of more than 9,500.

Woods, the Marion County sheriff, said exceptions to his mask prohibition will be made for deputies at jails, schools, courthouses, hospitals, nursing homes and when dealing with someone who is elderly or has COVID-19. In these situations, the mask should be removed when giving orders or commands to comply, the sheriff said.

At the sheriffs office, masks wont be allowed so that visitors can be easily identified and there is clear communication, the sheriff said.

The sheriffs decision came as the countys largest city, Ocala, about 80 miles (130 kilometres) northwest of Orlando, was debating implementing a face mask mandate. The Ocala City Council passed an emergency ordinance last week requiring facial coverings inside businesses, but the mayor vetoed it. The council is considering a possible override of the veto.

Also Wednesday, a day after Martin County schools reopened for in-person learning, one class at SeaWind Elementary School was sent home after a student exhibited symptoms commonly associated with COVID-19, Treasure Coast Newspapers reported. The nine students who were in the classroom will be required to quarantine for 14 days, district spokesperson Jennifer DeShazo told the newspaper. Other students who were already enrolled in remote learning will continue doing so.

Meanwhile in South Florida, a Miami Beach spokeswoman said the city has issued 288 violations citywide for lack of facial coverings since July 23. Violators have 30 days to pay the $50 fine and the civil citation cannot be appealed, spokeswoman Melissa Berthier said. ___

Schneider reported from Orlando.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has shifted the commencement of 2020 admissions into tertiary institutions to September.

To this end, the board said post- Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (Post-UTME) screening for the 2020 admission processes will now begin not earlier than 7 September 2020 in universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in the country.

The Board said the shift in the date of the admission process from the earlier announced 21 August, is to accommodate candidates who will be taking part in this years school-based Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE).

Registrar of JAMB, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, made this known on Monday after a consultative virtual meeting with vice-chancellors, rectors, and provosts of tertiary education institutions.

The view of JAMB is that while we go on consulting at a point when it becomes necessary for decision, we should all come together and take decision. Presently as you are aware, WAEC starts the Senior School Certificate Examination on 17 August, it will go on till 7th of September.

Similarly, on the 21 of September or thereabout, NABTEB will commence its own examination that will go on till on the 15 of October, and immediately after that, NECO starts on the 5th and will hold till 18 of November.

Rather than making candidates run, particularly, when they will have to write their school certificate exam in different towns and rush to university elsewhere for post-UTME, like somebody rushing from Sokoto to Ibadan t for post-UTME, we believe as a custodian of the highest sector of the education system, we should avoid that, Oloyede said.

The JAMB boss said institutions whose post-UTME screening is mandatory for candidates would have to spread such exercise in two phases.

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Democratic vice presidential running mate, US Senator Kamala Harris, speaks during the first press conference with Joe Biden

Kamala Harris's boundary-breaking run at the US vice presidency has inspired hope and dreams in her father's native Jamaica, where locals claimed her as their own.

She might have been born in California to an Indian mother, but it was her Jamaican roots and historic candidacy that got people in Kingston excited on Wednesday.

"My heart is soaring for all the kids out there who see themselves in her and will dream bigger because of this," said Felicia Mills, a 36-year-old executive secretary.

"This means a lot for every little girl who has ever dreamed an impossible dream," she said, describing Harris as an "honorary Jamaican".

Harris was the first black attorney general of California and the first woman to hold that post, while she was also the first woman of South Asian heritage elected to the US Senate.

The 55-year-old made history on Tuesday when Democratic presidential challenger Joe Biden tapped her to be his running mate, making her the first woman of color on a major party's presidential ticket.

Her father, Donald Harris, served as an economics professor at prestigious Stanford University in California, where he taught and carried out research.

According to his biography on Stanford's website, he is a naturalized US citizen but "had a continuing engagement with work on the economy of Jamaica, his native country."

He served as a consultant to Jamaica's government and its prime ministers, the website said.

Her father and mother, breast cancer researcher Shyamala Gopalan, separated when Harris was about five years old and she and her sister Maya were raised by her mother, who died in 2009.

- 'Historic selection' -

Popular Jamaican political commentator Kevin O'Brien Chang said Harris's candidacy shined a positive light on the island.

"She has spoken positive about Jamaica in the past, she is aware of her heritage and proud of it," he said.

Story continues

"It shows greatness, and it translates well, that the daughter of two immigrants born in the United States could aspire to the second most powerful job in America," Chang added.

Even Jamaica's top levels of government weighed in on the nomination, with the nation's foreign affairs minister Kamina Johnson Smith tweeting "Congratulations to Senator @kamalaharris on her historic selection!!"

With under three months to go until election day in the United States, people in Jamaica were already casting Harris's nod as a masterful step.

"Based on the reactions I'm seeing so far, it's a genius move," said University of the West Indies politics student Francine James.

"Any attempts by the Republicans at being nasty towards her... will likely backfire," James said.

Biden and Harris came out swinging on Wednesday, launching their ticket with a call-to-arms against President Donald Trump.

"America is crying out for leadership, yet we have a president who cares more about himself than the people who elected him," said Harris.

str/jm/caw/
At least three died in police firing during protest against a Facebook post that allegedly insulted Prophet Muhammad.

Baton-wielding police have patrolled barricaded and deserted streets in parts of the southern Indian tech hub of Bengaluru, after three people were killed in Tuesday night clashes triggered by a Facebook post offensive to Muslims.

A police official said an emergency law prohibiting gatherings had been imposed in Bengaluru, a city of 12 million people known as Indias Silicon Valley.

The violence began late on Tuesday, with mobs pelting stones, burning vehicles and setting a police station on fire, and lasted until the early hours of Wednesday. Dozens of people were wounded.

Seeing that much fire, smoke and the violence was really scary. I was really frightened. Weve only seen such things on TV, said Ahan Khan, a college student who lives near the police station in northeast Bengaluru.

Police said the person responsible for the offensive post, which has since been deleted, had been arrested. A spokesman for Facebook said it was investigating, adding its standards prohibit hate speech and incitement to violence.





The state government headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday ordered an investigation into the worst violence in the city in more than 20 years.

Gatherings prohibited

Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant said his officers had initially tried to hold back around 1,000 protesters using batons and tear gas, but then opened fire.

The police had no escape and they had to resort to firing and three people died, Pant said, adding that 110 people had been arrested for alleged vandalism and attacking the police.

The three victims were Muslim men aged between 19 and 21, said Rizwan Arshad, a Congress party legislator in Bengaluru, who reached the police station amid the violence on Tuesday night to appeal for calm.

A medical officer at the government-run Bowring hospital said they had treated at least 27 injured policemen and 12 protesters, including three who had suffered gunshot wounds.

Police said the person responsible for the offensive post has been arrested [Sachin Ravikumar/Reuters]

Police gave the first name of the accused man as Naveen, and said he was the nephew of a Congress politician, whose house was attacked and burned in the violence.

The politician, R Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy, appealed for calm in a video message carried by media.

Were all brothers. Whatever crime has been committed, let the law teach them a lesson, Murthy said. I appeal to our Muslim brothers and everyone else to maintain peace.

Television channels on Tuesday night showed a group of people gathered outside a police station, clashing with officers and burning several police vehicles.

On Wednesday afternoon, charred remains of several cars and motorcycles were strewn across the basement car park of DJ Halli police station, the facade of which was also scarred by fire.

Nearby streets were lined with burned vehicles, with all shops shuttered along the nearly two kilometre-stretch where the police station is located.

We are investigating the issue and will make use of the CCTV footage to see who is behind these violent acts, and will take stringent actions, said Basavraj Bommai, home minister of Karnataka state, where Bengaluru is located.
Former Bachelor Tim Robards has announced he is leaving Neighbours, just two years after joining the show.

Tim, who plays wealthy businessman Pierce Greyson in the soap, was originally scheduled to film his final scenes in September - news that hadn't been announced until Wednesday.

However, due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, the 37-year-old will wrap up four weeks early so he can return to Sydney for the arrival of his first child with wife Anna Heinrich.

Saying goodbye to Ramsay Street: Former Bachelor Tim Robards (pictured) has announced he is leaving Neighbours, just two years after joining the show

After spending most of Anna's pregnancy in Melbourne, where Neighbours is filmed, Tim said on Wednesday he had finally been forced to choose between his career and his responsibilities as an expectant father.

'I made the gut-wrenching decision to depart Neighbours early as my responsibilities as a husband and father have to take precedence,' he said.

'If I've learnt anything in this pandemic it's that the health and wellbeing of my family has to come first.'

'I made the gut wrenching decision': After spending most of Anna's (right) pregnancy in Melbourne, where Neighbours is filmed, Tim said on Wednesday he had finally been forced to choose between his career and his responsibilities as an expectant father

Tim joined the cast of Neighbours in July 2018, and his filming requirements forced him and Bondi-based lawyer Anna into a long-distance relationship.

For two years, he spent his weeks in Melbourne and returned to Sydney on weekends to be with his wife.

However, recent travel restrictions made this commute impossible and he found himself with no choice but to move back to NSW permanently.

New chapter: Due to strict COVID-19 lockdown travel restrictions, Tim will wrap up four weeks early so he can return to Sydney for the arrival of his first child with Anna

Pierce has been recast for the character's final scenes, with lookalike actor Don Hany, 44, stepping in to replace Tim.

Known for his roles in acclaimed dramas Offspring, White Collar Blue and East West 101, Don will likely have no trouble filling reality star Tim's shoes.

Interestingly, Don's wife, actress Alin Sumarwata, previously appeared on Neighbours between 2011 and 2013 as Vanessa Vilante.

Same name, new face: Meanwhile, the role of Pierce has been recast for the character's final scenes, with lookalike actor Don Hany (pictured) stepping in to replace Tim

Lookalikes: Known for his roles in acclaimed dramas Offspring, White Collar Blue and East West 101, Don (right) will likely have no trouble filling Tim's (left) shoes

Neighbours' executive producer Jason Herbison said on Wednesday: 'With COVID-19 restrictions continuing to limit movement and with the risk of Tim potentially not being able to travel, we all felt that in these astonishing times, Tim should return home to Sydney to be with his wife, Anna, ahead of the birth of their first child.

'We thank Tim for his passion for Neighbours and wish him and Anna every happiness as they embark on parenthood.'

Tim's final episode on Ramsay Street will air on Monday, October 19.
Kamala Harris joins presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on the campaign trail for the second time in two days on Thursday in an appearance that will focus on hammering President Donald Trumps his response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden and Harris will receive a briefing on COVID-19 from public health experts and then deliver speeches in Bidens hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.

The remarks will illustrate the campaigns role for Harris, the first Black woman and Asian-American on a major-party U.S. presidential ticket.

Rather than being tied to any specific target demographic groups, Harris will have three roles to play as a campaign spokeswoman: energizing people to vote and volunteer, outlining Bidens policy vision and prosecuting the case against Trump, according to a person familiar with the strategy.

Trump long played down the risks of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 165,000 Americans - the highest death toll in the world - and thrown tens of millions out of work.

The former prosecutor is expected to focus on Trumps response to the crisis, which has been an effective political argument against Trump for Biden so far.

Biden, after introducing Harris personal story on Wednesday in their first joint appearance since picking his running mate, quickly moved to talking about the urgency of the moment.

Trump, for his part, on Twitter Thursday accused the news media of giving Harris a free pass despite her Radical Left failures and very poor run in the Democrat Primary."

Harris made her debut as Bidens running mate on Wednesday in Delaware, delivering a rebuke of Trumps leadership and highlighting the historic significance of her new role, while helping the campaign collect $26 million in its best day of fundraising yet.

In the coming weeks, Harris will do events in person and virtually, including several jointly with Biden, much like some of the socially distanced campaign stops and speeches Biden has given in recent weeks in Delaware and Pennsylvania.

The campaign is still unsure of whether they will be able to campaign as normal, saying they intend to follow local public health guidance that continues to discourage large gatherings as the virus has killed more than 160,000 Americans and negotiations stalled over a government package to manage the economic fallout.

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
Washington:

NASAs OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is set to search for elusive Trojan asteroids which are constant companions to Earth as it orbits the Sun.

NASAs first mission to return a sample of an asteroid to Earth will be multitasking during its two-year outbound cruise to the asteroid Bennu.

The OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security Regolith Explorer) spacecraft will activate its onboard camera suite and commence a search for elusive Trojan asteroids.

Also Read: John Glenn, trailblazing astronaut who became the first American to orbit earth dies at 95

Trojans are asteroids that are constant companions to planets in our solar system as they orbit the Sun, remaining near a stable point 60 degrees in front of or behind the planet.

Since they constantly lead or follow in the same orbit, they will never collide with their companion planet.

There are six planets in our solar system with known Trojan asteroids - Jupiter, Neptune, Mars, Venus, Uranus and Earth.

The Earth Trojan is elusive; to date, scientists have only discovered one Earth trojan asteroid - 2010 TK7.

Yet there are more than 6,000 known Trojans that are co-orbiting the Sun with the gas giant Jupiter.

Scientists predict that there should be more Trojans sharing Earths orbit, but these asteroids are difficult to detect from Earth because they appear close to the Sun from Earths point of view.

In mid-February next year, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will be positioned in an ideal spot to undertake a survey.

Over 12 days from February 9, the OSIRIS-REx Earth-Trojan asteroid search will employ the spacecrafts MapCam imager to methodically scan the space where Earth Trojans are expected to exist.

Many of these observations will closely resemble MapCams planned activities during its upcoming search for satellites of asteroid Bennu, so the Trojan asteroid search serves as an early rehearsal for the missions primary science operations.

The Earth-Trojan asteroid search provides a substantial advantage to the OSIRIS-REx mission, said Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona.

Not only do we have the opportunity to discover new members of an asteroid class, but more importantly, we are practicing critical mission operations in advance of our arrival at Bennu, which ultimately reduces mission risk, said

Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx Principal Investigator. The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is currently on a seven-year journey to rendezvous with, study and bring a sample of Bennu to Earth.

This sample of a primitive asteroid will help scientists understand the formation of our solar system more than 4.5 billion years ago.

For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has committed USD 25 million to expand Unified Champion Schools (UCS) project to six countries including India, Special Olympics Bharat announced on Wednesday. The other five countries that have been included in the UCS are India, Argentina, Egypt, Pakistan, Romania and Rwanda.

The four-year project is said to play an important role in making the Indian education system more inclusive by creating 120 Unified Champion Schools across 12 states.

The initiative encourages activation and empowerment of the youth with and without intellectual disabilities to create lasting social change through inclusion in education. The initiative is aligned to the theme of the International Youth Day 2020, "Youth Engagement for Global Action".

This comes in light of statistics as per reports that nearly half of the 65-million primary-school-age children who are out of school across the world have disabilities.

READ | UAE Eases Restrictions Amid Pandemic As It Allows Entry Of Foreign Residents

READ | Indian Citizens With Valid Visas Can Now Travel To UAE: Ambassador Pavan Kapoor

"UAE as the beacon of diversity and tolerance has emerged as one of the leading countries to support the creation of a just and equitable society for people with special needs or 'people of determination'. Recently, under the directives of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, the UAE pledged USD 25 million to help fund the global expansion of the inclusive education project; Unified Champion Schools (UCS), an initiative undertaken by the Special Olympics that will root the values of tolerance and inclusion in educational systems around the world," the Ambassador of UAE, said in a statement.

The first Special Olympics World Games hosted in the Middle East and North Africa region, and have a lasting, positive impact on UAE society.

"The Special Olympics movement is being led by young leaders with and without intellectual disabilities who are emerging as the world's greatest teachers of empathy, dignity, courage, and inclusion," said Dr Timothy Shriver, Chairman of Special Olympics International.

"As we search for a more just and joyful future, we are trusting our hopes to young inclusive leaders who see beyond division and fear and show us how to heal and unite. I am deeply grateful that Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has made an extraordinary commitment to our athletes and their Unified partners in Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools. His vision and generosity will empower young people around the world to break down barriers caused by injustice and intolerance, end discrimination against people with intellectual disabilities, and establish inclusive cultures where every human being is respected, valued and welcomed," he added.

The announcement of the grant was made at a virtual event, in the presence of the Ambassador of the UAE to India Dr Ahmed Abdul Rahman Albanna along with other dignitaries including President and Managing Director of Special Olympics Asia Pacific Region Dipak Natali, Founder and CEO of Special Olympics Bharat Air Marshal Keelor, Chairman of Special Olympics Bharat Satish Pillai, Chairperson of Special Olympics Pakistan Raunak Lakhani, Dean of Physical Education Department of Amity University Dr Kalpana Sharma and General Secretary of Special Olympics Bharat Dr Amitav Mishra.

(With ANI inputs. Representative photo, credits: PTI)

READ | 114 Stranded Indians Brought Back From UAE In AI Flight

READ | IPL 2020: Tournament In UAE Likely To See THESE Firsts As Per BCCI's SOPs
Microsoft has revealed that its first smartphone for four years, the foldable Surface Duo, will be released in the US on September 10 for a colossal $1,399 (1,072).

The mobile device, first announced last year, unfolds to reveal two displays which can be used individually or together as a single 8.1-inch screen.

However, the Surface Duo doesn't sport a truly foldable screen like that of Samsung's Galaxy Fold, as it has a hinge down the middle of the two displays, allowing it to close like a book.

The device, which was unveiled by Microsoft in October, also does not have 5G connectivity.

Microsoft has begun taking orders for the dual-screen Android device in the US, although a release date for the UK and the rest of the world has not been confirmed.

The Surface Duo will be a new rival in the foldable phone category, going up against the devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X.

Scroll down for video

Microsoft Surface Duo is displayed in New York. Microsoft is back to selling smartphones for the first time since it abandoned its mobile business more than four years ago

Microsoft calls its Surface Duo  its first phone since it abandoned its mobile business in 2016  the perfect balance of productivity and mobility.

'It's thin, it's sleek, it's probably one of the sexiest devices we've built,' said Panos Panay, Microsoft's chief product officer, during an online briefing this week.

'I'm not trying to reinvent the phone, but I do believe this is a better way to get things done.'

The Surface Duo  which was captured on video being used on public transport earlier this year  consists of two 5.6-inch screens that rotate around a central 360-degree hinge for use in a range of positions.

Microsoft Corp's Surface Duo phone. The device is powered by Google's Android operating system and starts at $1,399

The two screens provide two separate displays or can form one complete 8.1-inch display like any tablet  albeit with a gap in the middle due to the hinge.

The idea is that users can enjoy a tablet-sized screen for work and multitasking while being able to fit the device in their pocket.

Surface Duo is supposed to be a tool for getting work done with its productivity apps, similar to how many business users employ dual-monitor setups with PCs.

CEO Satya Nadella, for instance, uses one screen to take notes and the other to read a book on Amazon's Kindle app.

In Microsoft's Teams chat app, a video chat occupies one screen while the other screen displays chats.

And in Microsoft's Outlook email app, clicking a link in the body of an email opens the link on the opposite screen, so the user can continue reading or responding to the email.

Users can also lie one screen flat and use an attachable Bluetooth keyboard to resemble a conventional laptop.

Microsoft is pitching the Surface Duo as a more useful tool than a conventional smartphone

When opened like a book, the Surface Duo is a slim 4.8 millimeters thick, making it what the company says is the thinnest device on the market.

With two screen connected by a revolutionary 360-degree hinge, Surface Duo brings together the best of Microsoft and Android to re-imagine productivity on the go, the company states on its website.

Microsoft maintains that the Surface Duo is not a phone, despite the fact it makes phone calls, but part of its Surface range of 'two-in-one' laptops.

Make no mistake, this is a Surface device, said Panay at the Surface Duos launch event back in October.

We know scientifically you'll be more productive on two screens  but it has to be elegant. It has to fit in your pocket.

Microsoft has previously had success with its Surface devices, which come with detachable touchscreens allowing the device to double as a tablet.

Microsoft has not released a mobile phone since 2016, when it appeared to give up on the category amid intense pressure from Apple and the wide range of phones running Google's Android operating system.

The company began taking orders Wednesday for the Surface Duo, a new dual-screen Android device that costs $1,399 and begins shipping in September

The last Microsoft-made phone was the Lumia 650, revealed in February 2016, which ran the now defunct Windows 10 operating system.

Microsoft is now pitching the Duo as a more useful tool than a conventional smartphone, since it enables users to multitask with two separate apps or web pages at a time.

Microsoft also revealed the Surface Neo last October, which is similar to the Surface Duo but has a larger screen, although it doesn't have a release date.

The Surface Neo has two screens connected with a 360-degree hinge for seamless opening and closing of the device. And the notepad may have two separate screen, but Microsoft has designed it to let users to spread a single screen across for a larger view

The Surface Neo has two 9-inch screens that unfold to form a substantial 13-inch display.

It's equipped with a pen that attaches and charges magnetically on the back and a magnetically attached keyboard that folds over onto one screen creating a laptop-like device, just like the Surface Duo.

Microsoft hopes the lack of a novelty bendy screen wont hold back the Surface Duo and Surface Neo when they are released into what is becoming a crowded foldable device market.

Following the release of its 1,800 Galaxy Fold last September, Samsung released the smaller Galaxy Z Flip, which has a screen that folds up like the clamshell phones of the 1990s and 2000s.

Instead of adopting a single folding screen, as Samsung does, Microsoft chose to connect two displays on a hinge because it allows for sturdier glass.

It's likely Microsoft has not mastered the same screen-bending technology as its competitors, however.

Pictured, the Huawei Mate X smartphone. Unlike the Surface Duo, the Mate X has foldable glass down the centre

Pictured, Samsung's foldable smartphones. Left, the Galaxy Fold and right, the Galaxy Z Flip

Other foldable phones on the market include Huawei's Mate X, which features an 8-inch screen.

While the Galaxy Fold and Mate X both fold down a vertical crease, the Galaxy Fold's display is on the inside of the device when folded, while the Mate X display becomes the exterior covering.

Motorolas Razr, meanwhile, is an update of its pocket-sized flip phone from the noughties of the same name, which folds down a horizontal crease in the middle.
Louisianas more than 400,000 laid-off workers will be able to tap into an extra $300-a-week unemployment benefit, state officials said Thursday, after new federal guidance made it easier for the state to pay its portion of the costs by using existing benefit payments.

Still, it is not clear when jobless workers will start receiving payments, which are less than the $400 initially touted by the Trump administration. For about 200,000 of them, the state will need to reconfigure its computer systems, which led to maddening delays early in the pandemic. And the state hasnt received the money yet.

When the payments do arrive, they will be retroactive to August 1, Edwards said. But he also cautioned the benefits would run out in a matter of weeks unless Congress delivers a new aid bill.

Claims Louisiana is inflating its coronavirus numbers are unfounded, auditor says The Louisiana Legislative Auditor has issued a report debunking a theory that the state Health Department is inflating its coronavirus numbers

The announcement by Gov. John Bel Edwards means workers could soon get relief after losing an extra $600 weekly benefit that expired in July, followed by fruitless negotiations in Congress over a new aid package that would replenish the payments.

It also comes days after state officials expressed concern that 200,000 Louisiana workers would not qualify for the extra $300. Thats because the state needs to foot 25% of the bill, and doesnt have extra money to pay $100 a week. Instead, at the advice of the feds, the state is classifying existing state benefit payments as its portion of the costs, lowering the benefit workers will see to $300.

Edwards said new guidance from the Trump administration that came down late Wednesday said all the states benefits would qualify as part of that cost share. That guidance represents a reversal from the White Houses previous statements that only people who receive more than $100 in unemployment benefits already would qualify. About 200,000 workers in Louisiana receive less than $100 in state benefits.

Im fully aware the $300 benefit is half the enhanced benefit that was being paid but Ill remind you the state benefit will continue to come with that, Edwards said. Louisiana has among the lowest state benefits in the country, maxing out at $247 a week.

Edwards office said gig workers and the self-employed who normally arent eligible for unemployment but who are receiving benefits through a special pandemic program will qualify for the new funds. In all, 454,000 workers will qualify, he said.

The boosted payments stem from an executive order by President Donald Trump issued Saturday that takes money from a pot of disaster relief funds and sends it to states for unemployment checks. Critics have questioned whether the move is legal.

Edwards said Thursday hes not concerned with the legality of the move.

+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 

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But the governor said its going to take some time to change the states computers to deliver the $300 payments to people currently receiving less than $100, though he said he expects that to happen before payments start to go out.

The Louisiana Workforce Commission, which administers unemployment benefits, struggled early in the pandemic to deliver payments to laid-off workers in Louisiana as unemployment soared to unprecedented levels.

Wendy Manard, a New Orleans attorney who runs a Facebook group for nearly 8,000 people to receive advice and share tips on navigating the unemployment system, said it took awhile for people to begin receiving the $600 payments to begin with this spring.

Manard said she is advising people to contact their local state legislator if they have difficulties getting a claim processed, saying many of the people who have done so saw their issues resolved more quickly.

Louisiana revokes permit of defiant BBQ restaurant for refusing to require masks Louisiana has taken its first serious enforcement action on a restaurant for violating Gov. John Bel Edwards' coronavirus rules regarding mask

With historic levels of unemployment and schools reopening on a piecemeal basis, many laid-off workers with children arent able to go back to work. And Manard noted many of them have never filed for unemployment before, making the prospect of navigating the bureaucratic red tape daunting.

There are jobs out there but there arent as many jobs out there as there were before. Its a big challenge to a lot of people, Manard said. Most people want to go back to work. They want their life to go back to normal. Its not only a financial benefit, it makes people feel better about themselves if they earn money and are working.

As the $600 benefit went away, the governor also reimposed a requirement that people certify each week that they are searching for jobs in order to continue receiving benefits. That decision rankled workers advocates and labor unions, and several organizations delivered a petition Thursday to Edwards administration asking him to end the mandate.

Louisianas unemployed workers want to work, but the pandemic is keeping them from their jobs. Adding more paperwork to the unemployment claims process wont bring those jobs back, the petition read.

Louisiana health department accuses some rural parishes of misusing coronavirus lists, violating HIPAA Early in the pandemic, the Louisiana Department of Health started sending out lists of patients who tested positive for the coronavirus to loc

Several advocacy groups and labor unions  Step Up Louisiana, the Louisiana Budget Project, the Workplace Justice Project, the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice, LiUNO Local 99 and UNITE HERE Local 23  launched the petition last week. The organizations say most of the signatures were from unemployed workers.

Edwards said he would review the petition, but said with the states unemployment trust fund set to run out of money in the coming months, its absolutely essential to reconnect workers with work wherever they can do that.

With Congress still deadlocked on a new aid package, the governor has pleaded with lawmakers to come to an agreement on a new deal, pointing specifically to the fact that the states unemployment trust fund is set to run out. If that happens, the state will have to borrow money from the feds and add a surcharge on employers to pay for it, he said.
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The 2020 China International Fair for Investment & Trade (CIFIT) and the Belt and Road Investment Congress will kick off on Sept. 8, as scheduled, in Xiamen, east China's Fujian Province, local authorities said Wednesday.



The pavilions featuring investment and industry promotion will cover an exhibition area of around 110,000 square meters, with 16 specialized display zones, the Fujian provincial government said at a press conference.

The scale of offline activities, however, will be controlled due to epidemic prevention and control requirement.

Currently, a total of 209 merchant groups have planned to attend the exhibition, with exhibitors from 35 countries and regions, including Britain, Germany, Japan and the Republic of Korea, making clear their intention to participate in the event.

This year's fair will focus on themes including new infrastructure, digital economy, and scientific and technological innovation, said Lin Jian, deputy mayor of Xiamen.

There will be an industrial internet innovation and development conference, as well as high-tech, smart-city and fintech exhibitions to display new technologies and products, Lin said.

Meanwhile, the fair will hold a series of forums on the latest global economic development trends within the context of epidemic prevention and control.

In addition, this year's CIFIT has cooperated with Alibaba Group to set up an online platform to provide services including online display, project docking, investment negotiation, forum discussion and cloud signing. The platform will be available to more than 40 countries and regions that take part in the fair.

The CIFIT, approved by the State Council, takes place every September in Xiamen. It aims at promoting bilateral and multilateral economic and trade exchanges and partnerships.
Adam: You make a good point about her training in Congress. You could see that. She doesnt lapse into mind-numbing Congress-speak, right? (Please say yes.)

Shane: Yes  I mean, people forget, with the speed of news cycles these days, but she hasnt been in D.C. that long! Her opening line in the debate sequence was just devastating. One of the more cutting buts in the English language is the one that comes after I do not believe you are a racist.

Adam: And the split-screen didnt help; everyone was watching Mr. Biden. But I have a question for you: If it showed her as such a good debater, why did her campaign collapse? Did she come across as insincere or as the calculating politician to regular people who dont make a profession out of watching debates?

Shane: Oh, go for the simple questions, Adam.

Adam: Hey, thats my reward for going first! Take it up with the editors.

Shane: The shortest version is that for all of the peaks she generated  her big announcement rally, the debate moment  Ms. Harris did not find a sustainable lane in a primary where Mr. Biden occupied the political center and Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren locked down the left. Oh, her campaign was troubled by intense infighting and she ran out of cash. Also: She dropped out early, when she could have limped along longer. Her vice-presidential selection shows why: Exiting gracefully gave her a bump that stumbling out of Iowa in fourth place would not have.
MIAMI - A last-minute battle is unfolding over the fate of a former paramilitary warlord who the Colombian government wants returned following a long drug sentence in U.S. prison.

Salvatore Mancuso, the top commander of a since-disbanded group of right-wing militias, completed a 12-year cocaine trafficking sentence in March.

He remains in U.S. custody as Colombia  where courts have judged him responsible for more than 1,500 acts of murder or forced disappearance  fights a U.S. order that would send him to Italy, where he also has citizenship.

Mancusos lawyers contend he would be killed if he returns to a South American country that has struggled to heal from decades of bloody conflict. They argue he has already fulfilled his obligations under a 2003 peace deal he negotiated, which caps prison terms at eight years for paramilitary bosses who confess their crimes.

The many victims Mancuso left behind say at stake is the justice that has long been denied them. Colombian officials also complain that denying their request that Mancusco be deported back home would be a high-profile snub to a staunch ally that suffered a decades-long civil conflict that left 260,000 dead and millions more displaced. The carnage was made worse by U.S. demand for Colombian cocaine, which funded illegal armed groups including Mancusos United Defence Forces of Colombia, known as AUC.

Successive conservative governments have sent several thousand Colombians to face drug trafficking charges in the U.S. Mancuso is among the highest profile, having directed the manufacture and shipment of more than 138,000 kilograms of cocaine, according to his U.S. plea agreement.

Removing him to Italy would be a repugnant betrayal for victims said Jose Miguel Vivanco, the Americas director for Human Rights Watch. If the Colombian government is honestly committed to justice for atrocity crimes, it should exhaust all legal avenues to take Mancuso back to Colombia, hold him to account and prevent this humiliation to victims.

The fight underscores the unfinished business of the paramilitary peace process, known as Justice and Peace, that led to the demobilization of 30,000 right-wing fighters but fell way short of its ambitious goal of truth telling and reconciliation.

Those wounds resurfaced this month when Colombias Supreme Court ordered the arrest of former President Alvaro Uribe as it investigates whether he helped bribe witnesses to keep a lid on suspicions that have long swirled about his own relationship with paramilitary groups.

In 2008, the far-right Uribe stealthily extradited Mancuso and 13 other warlords to face drug charges in the U.S. His critics say the shock move, an apparent peace accord violation, was an attempt to silence the men just as they began to reveal secrets about their crimes and politician collaborators  including Uribe, who as a governor in the 1990s backed the creation of legal, armed groups to protect ranchers land from leftist guerrilla fighters.

With me they extradited the truth, Mancuso told Colombian media shortly after his arrival in the U.S. in 2008.

On April 16, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security ordered Mancusos removal to Italy, according to two people close to Mancuso who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private administrative proceeding.

But that deportation didnt happen. In June, U.S prosecutors requested on behalf of their Colombian counterparts that the 55-year-old Mancuso be extradited to Colombia to serve a 27-year sentence for the 1997 kidnappings of two relatives of a top leftist rebel commander, according to U.S. court records. Armed AUC fighters dressed as Colombian police carried out one abduction at a flower shop while, at the same time in a separate operation, commandos posing as prospective home buyers raided the residence of the other victim.

Mancuso, who according to the extradition request was in phone contact with one of the captors right after the raids, later took responsibility for the kidnappings during the peace process. Both captives were later killed.

Colombia withdrew its extradition request last month and the U.S. case was closed. While the government gave no reason for its sudden reversal, it appears that Mancusos Miami-based attorney, Joaquin Perez, outmanoeuvred prosecutors.

Last year, a judge in the capital, Bogota, granted Mancuso probation in Colombia. The judge said Mancusos years in U.S. prison satisfied the requirements of the Justice and Peace law, which allows alternative sentences of up to eight years to be served abroad. She cancelled the arrest orders on July 15; Colombia withdrew its extradition request five days later.

But the countrys president still says he wants Mancuso returned and prosecutors still seek his arrest for other crimes, though they arent recognized as offences under U.S. law because they stem from his position atop AUCs chain of command  not specific orders he gave.

The Colombian chief prosecutors office said Tuesday that it continues working to seek Mancusos extradition. In a statement, it said a second extradition request depended on a judge handling a case in which Mancuso is suspected of money laundering that occurred after his demobilization. In 2018, the judge suspended proceedings in the case.

Mancusos apparently solid legal standing hasnt stopped Colombian officials from demanding his arrest. And in a country with a notoriously weak, corrupt and maze-like judiciary, it doesnt take much for a freelancing judge to issue an arrest order.

Colombian President Ivan Duque has said the time Mancuso served in the U.S. for drug trafficking cannot be credited against his sentences for crimes against humanity back home.

The second he steps on Italian soil, I will personally make a request to the International Criminal Court that he be tried for these crimes, Duque said in a recent interview with Bogotas Semana magazine.

Some critics believe Duques government may just be going through the motions.

Opposition Sen. Ivan Cepeda said Duque  whose political mentor is Uribe and whose supporters include politicians who were jailed for ties to the AUC  has little to gain from the warlords return.

You have to be really naive to believe that an involuntary bureaucratic mistake is what is blocking the return of the person who knows the most about the history of the paramilitaries, said Cepeda, who has travelled to the U.S. to meet Mancuso on behalf of victims.

The leftist Cepeda, who is Uribes top accuser and whose father was killed by soldiers in co-ordination with paramilitaries, pledges to hold congressional hearings about how in his view Colombia bungled the extradition request.

Formed as self-defence forces by wealthy ranchers in the 1980s to counter leftist rebel extortion and kidnapping, the militias seized control of much of Colombias Caribbean coast in the late 1990s, killing thousands and stealing millions of acres of land while wresting control of lucrative drug routes. In 2001, the U.S. designated the AUC a foreign terror organization.

Mancuso has expressed more remorse than other paramilitary leaders and an eagerness to make amends with his former battlefield enemies  the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC  who signed their own peace agreement with the government in 2016.

His sophistication  he studied English at the University of Pittsburgh  has always distinguished him from the other rural warlords. Robert Spelke, a retired federal narcotics prosecutor who led proceedings against the warlords, described Mancuso as very bright, very personable and a co-operative witness who was committed to telling the truth. Spelke spent over 200 hours interviewing Mancuso and recalled once when the Colombian tearfully broke down as he recounted a paramilitary massacre of civilians.

I know what these guys did, said Spelke. But when you put yourself in their shoes  It was a nasty war. Id like to think Id do things differently, but if the FARC was killing my family, stealing my cattle...

Mancusos eagerness to talk has already shaken Colombias politics.

His boast in 2005 that a third of Colombias congress was elected with paramilitary support triggered a wave of judicial investigations that ended with dozens of elected officials behind bars, including Uribes senator cousin.

His co-operation with the Justice and Peace process continued after he reached the U.S., where he did more than 300 video conferences with Colombian investigators and victims.

In a symbolic gesture that shocked many Colombians, Mancuso spoke by phone last month with the FARCs former top commander, Rodrigo Londono. The one-time adversaries united in pledging their support for peace, reconciliation and support for millions of victims.

That candour is what got Mancuso extradited to the U.S. in the first place  and endangers his life should he be returned, said Jaime Paeres, his Colombia-based attorney. Several family members have already received threats and last month Paeres filed a complaint with Colombias chief prosecutor alleging he was the intended target of an attack by 35 armed men who raided a ranch adjacent to where he was staying.

Mancuso wants to return to Colombia. But its us, his lawyers and friends, and even some authorities, who have told him not to come back, Paeres told The Associated Press. I have no doubt they will kill him if he comes.

With the U.S. order that he be sent to his fathers native Italy, Colombian officials have launched a last-ditch lobbying effort.

Colombias Ambassador in Washington, Francisco Santos, in recent weeks has met with U.S. officials in the White House as well as the State and Justice Departments to try and block his transfer to Italy, according to a senior Colombian official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private talks.

The State Department and White House wouldnt comment. A spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement that the agency took custody of Mancuso, who it referred to only as a Colombian national, from federal marshals on July 21 and that hes now awaiting removal. ICE declined to provide details, citing operational security.

While extradition of Colombian drug lords has helped relieve pressure on the countrys investigators, its far rarer for Colombia to seek arrests beyond its borders.

But Mancusos value is unique. If the famously voluble warlord returns, hed surely divulge uncomfortable truths that many Colombians havent wanted to hear, said Cepeda, the leftist lawmaker.

A lot of the truth is already known, Cepeda said. But theres a lot more to come.

___

Contact APs global investigative team at Investigative@ap.org.

___

Joshua Goodman on Twitter: @APJoshGoodman
By Andrei Makhovsky and Vasily Fedosenko

MINSK (Reuters) - The Belarusian leadership began releasing thousands of detainees and issued a rare public apology on Thursday in a bid to quell nationwide street protests that pose the biggest challenge to strongman President Alexander Lukashenko's 26-year rule.

Hundreds of friends and relatives, many of them in tears, stood outside a detention centre in Minsk waiting to give food, water and blankets to people emerging from inside in the early hours of Friday.

Some of the protesters had bruises and described being tightly packed inside cells and complained of mistreatment. Deputy Interior Minister Alexander Barsukov denied the prisoners were abused and said all detainees would be freed by morning.

At least two protesters have died and around 6,700 were detained this week in a crackdown following Lukashenko's contested re-election that has prompted the West to consider new sanctions on Minsk.

The detainees' release and the emollient tone used by two top state officials underscored the vulnerability of Lukashenko's hold over a country seen by neighbouring Russia as a strategic buffer against NATO and the European Union.

"I take responsibility and apologise for injuries of random people at the protests who got it in the neck," said Minister of Internal Affairs Yuri Karayev.

Tens of thousands of protesters on Thursday were joined by workers from some state-run industries that are the pride of Lukashenko's Soviet-style economic model, including the Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ) that makes trucks and buses.

Footage showed them chanting "elections" and "go away". Local media also reported protests at the state-run haulage and earthmoving equipment manufacturer BelAZ in a town northeast of Minsk, and at the Grodno Azot chemical plant.

Protesters formed human chains and marched in the capital, backed by at least 10 television presenters and reporters from the tightly controlled state media who resigned in solidarity.

Story continues

The protesters accuse Lukashenko of rigging last Sunday's presidential election to win a sixth term. The president, alleging a foreign-backed plot to destabilise the country, has dismissed the demonstrators as criminals and unemployed.

But another presidential ally, the head of a national state council Natalya Kochanova, said on Thursday that Lukashenko had ordered an urgent review of the detentions.

"We don't fight, we don't need war," she said.

RUSSIA ALLEGES MEDDLING

In Minsk, ambassadors from EU countries laid flowers at the site where one protester died, as a crowd cheered and chanted.

"We are here to mourn the loss of life and also to show solidarity with the victims of the violence and abuse that has taken place over many Belarusian towns and cities over the last few days," EU envoy Dirk Schuebel told reporters afterwards.

Lukashenko has sought better relations with the West amid strained ties with traditional ally Russia.

The EU partially lifted sanctions, imposed over Lukashenko's human rights record, in 2016, but could introduce new measures as early as this month. Germany called on the EU to put pressure on Lukashenko.

Russia, which has nudged Lukashenko into accepting closer political and economic ties, expressed concern over what it depicted as attempts by external forces to destabilise Belarus.

A former Soviet collective farm manager, the 65-year-old Lukashenko has faced increasing anger over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic - which he dismissed as a "psychosis" - a sluggish economy and human rights.

Sergei, one of the freed detainees, said there had been 28 people in a cell that would normally contain five. Prisoners took turns to sleep, he said, and were given a single loaf of bread to share out over two days.

Reuters could not independently verify his account.

"They did not beat me in the cell, they took me out of the cell and beat me there," said Sergei, who declined to give his last name.

(Reporting by Andrei Makhovsky and Vasily Fedosenko in Minsk; Additional reporting by Anton Zverev and Andrey Ostroukh in Moscow and Gabriela Baczynska in Brussels; Writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Alex Richardson, Giles Elgood, Grant McCool and Michael Perry)
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Aug. 12, 2020 | CLINTON

By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 12, 2020 | 08:56 PM | CLINTON

The Hickman County School District has announced their first day of school will have kids in classrooms.



On Facebook, Director of Pupil Personnel Perry Collins posted that the board of education chose to keep their most recent plan in place, with in-person classes starting August 24.



Anyone who feels uncomfortable is welcome to participate in distance learning, Collins said.



The school board's decision defies a recommendation by Governor Andy Beshear on Monday, when he urged schools to delay in-person classes until September 28.



The Purchase District Health Department reports that Hickman County has 29 current COVID-19 cases, with a total of 54 cases and no deaths since the pandemic began. There have been almost 37,000 cases of the virus in Kentucky, and 591 in the Purchase District Health Department, which also includes McCracken, Ballard, Carlisle and Fulton Counties.



The district's original date for the first day of school was Wednesday, but it was moved after a previous recommendation by Governor Beshear last month.



The school system recently transitioned into use of Google Classroom, which will allow more efficiency for teachers and students who are using distance learning.



On Tuesday night, Williamstown Independent School District in northern Kentucky voted to begin in-person classes on August 26. They are reportedly the first public school district to defy the recommendation, and it remains to be seen if any further action will be taken by the governor or other state officials.



In our area, Community Christian Academy and St. Mary Schools, which are private schools, are hosting in-person classes or will when they open.






The Tripura government on Thursday ordered a departmental inquiry into the death of a three-day old baby boy at a hospital who died soon allegedly after his swab was taken for Covid-19 test.

The inquiry order came a day after the babys parents accused doctors of being responsible for the death claiming that the baby was healthy till collection of swab samples for Covid-19 test. The baby underwent the test as his mother is also Covid-19 positive.

The baby was born at state-run Govind Ballabh Pant (GBP) Hospital on August 10 and he died on Wednesday allegedly after his swab samples were collected.

A three-member team has been formed to inquire into the death of the baby. The team will submit its report in the next three days. We will know the details about the case after getting their report, said director of Health Department Dr. Subhasish Debbarma.

He added that he was not aware of the babys Covid-19 test reports but said that his mother had tested positive.

According to the babys mother and other relatives, the baby started bleeding from the nose after swab samples were collected from his nose. They claimed that the doctors on duty assured them that he would be alright but he died after sometime.

Additional chief secretary SK Rakesh told reporters that the babys death was not related to collection of swab samples. But authorities were waiting for the autopsy report to know the cause of death.

Earlier on August 2, a two-day old baby girl, also a Covid-19 positive, had died. Till now, 44 Covid-19 patients have died in Tripura while two died by suicide.
AUSTIN, TX  Bar owners from across the state have scheduled a protest on Friday to decry government-ordered closure of their establishments as a means to blunt spread of the coronavirus.

In true Texas fashion, organizers are calling the planned event a "showdown" to take place in front of the North Austin offices of the Texas Alcoholic and Beverage Commission regulatory agency.

Our businesses are doomed, co-owner Chris Polone of the Fort Worth bar The Rail Club Live said in a prepared statement. Like I said before, we have nothing to lose. We can either fight this thing, or we can starve ourselves out.



Gov. Greg Abbott on June 26 ordered bars across the state to close for a second time following an illness uptick after reopening businesses at limited occupancy staring on May 1. In later media interviews, Abbott expressed regret at having allowed the reopening of bars given such establishments are not conducive to the tactics of social distancing.

Bar owners have taken a financial hit amid closures, sharing their experiences in a Facebook page called "Texas Bars Fight Back!" Just this week, protest organizers noted in an advisory, the cancer-stricken owner of a Friendswood, Texas, bar named "Friends Pub" detailed a showdown with police as she attempted to partially open.

The states health department has simply refused to provide any evidence justifying this devastating discrimination against Texas bars, Wayne Dolcefino, president of the Houston investigative media firm Dolcefino Consulting, said in a prepared statement. Small businesses across the state are being destroyed while restaurant bars are packed.



Organizers said the planned protest follows a discovery by Dolcefino Consulting that currently, state health department officials "...arent even able to tie the spread of COVID-19 to Texas bars," officials wrote.

With the outbreak spreading as quickly and widely as it has been over the past six weeks or so, its often difficult to pinpoint exactly where someone contracted a case because there has been so much transmission going on," the group quoted Chris Van Deusen, spokesman for the Texas Department of State Health Services as having said on Aug. 4. "We dont yet have that level of detail from the big metro health departments and others that continue to do their own case investigations."

Story continues

Dolcefino asked: What are we doing? Why are we targeting bars and forcing them to close down when we cant even pinpoint where someone contracted a case of COVID-19?

In Pflugerville, Uncle Garys bar owner Gary Devito didn't mince words in expressing frustration: If Abbott wants to f*** up Texas he has done a good job." Added the planned protest organizers: "It is that kind of anger that sets up the showdown Friday."

The demonstration is scheduled outside the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission headquarters at 5806 Mesa Dr. starting at noon on Friday.

This article originally appeared on the Austin Patch
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - At least 17 people have been killed in southern Ethiopia during protests that followed the weekend arrests of local officials, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission confirmed Thursday. The dead include children.

Security forces met the protests with force after the arrests of Wolaita zone officials, the rights commission said. It expressed deep concern over persistent violence and use of excessive force against protesters.

Local activists told The Associated Press they believed the death toll was even higher, with at least 34 people killed and more than 100 injured, almost all with gunshot wounds.

This is the latest unrest to challenge the political reforms of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed as various communities seek greater autonomy in a country with more than 80 ethnic groups.

There were also mass arrests of youths who tried to protest following the arrests of local officials and the killing of civilians. Sodo and Boditi towns have witnessed some of the worst violence in years, said one activist who spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing for his safety.

Wolaita zone officials have long sought regional statehood, a proposal which they say has not been entertained properly by regional officials. They have said they would unilaterally declare the formation of a new regional state if their request was not addressed.

Officials have accused them of attempting to destabilize the region by chaotic and unlawful means.

The officials are now suspected of attempting to derail the constitutional order of the country.

On Thursday afternoon, a court granted bail for the arrested officials, and several thousand jubilant people went into the streets to express their joy.
Da Nang authorities on Tuesday found 11 people gathering at a private house for a bash, breaking the citys social distancing measures to curb the current COVID-19 outbreak.

Police officers in Man Thai Ward, Son Tra District, Da Nang inspected a house on Vu Tong Phan Street early in the morning and identified 11 adults partying with alcohol and nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas.

Identity checks on the group members found them to be from several different localities, including Quang Nam, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Phu Yen, and Da Nang.

They all admitted that they had bought three balloons containing recreational nitrous oxide, better known as funky balls, online.

Nitrous oxide is a colorless gas that creates a feeling of intoxication when inhaled, according to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation.

A further investigation into the case is underway.

This is not the first time police have caught young people ignoring social distancing regulations in Da Nang.

Municipal police officers on Monday prevented a group of eight young people from gathering on Thuan Phuoc Bridge.

Earlier that same day, police officers in Khue My Ward of Ngu Hanh Son District discovered six unregistered guests at a local villa.

The individuals confessed to having leased the villa in order to live together and use drugs. They later tested positive for synthetic narcotics.

On Sunday, police from Hoa Ninh Commune in the suburban district of Hoa Vang found seven people drinking alcohol near Hoa Trung Lake.

As of Thursday morning, Vietnam had reported a total of 883 COVID-19 cases, including 322 imported patients who were quarantined upon arrival since the pandemic first hit the Southeast Asian country in January.

Four-hundred and twenty-one local infections have been confirmed since July 25, when Da Nang recorded Vietnams first community-based COVID-19 case after the country had gone 99 days without any local transmission.

So far, 409 COVID-19 patients have been cleared of the virus while 18 COVID-19-related deaths have been recorded.

Enhanced social distancing guidelines were previously implemented in Da Nang City from July 28 until August 11 to curb the spread of the virus. The period was extended on Wednesday due to continued community transmission.

Residents are required to stay at home, only go out for essential needs like buying food, medicine, or work.

Public gatherings outside of schools, offices, and hospitals are limited to two people and a minimum distance of two meters between one another must be maintained.

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An aging oil tanker moored off Yemens western coast has the United Nations and environmentalists warning that time is running out to prevent a humanitarian and environmental catastrophe in the Red Sea in what could be a parallel disaster to last weeks deadly explosion in Beirut.

The FSO Safer, a dilapidated ship stranded about 37 miles north of Yemen's port city of Hodeidah, contains 1.14 million barrels of light crude oil and holds the potential to unleash four times as much oil into the sea than was spilled from the Exxon Valdez tanker in 1989, the United Nations says. An oil spill on that scale would cause lasting damage to both Yemens economy as well as what the UN calls one of most important repositories of biodiversity on the planet.

The Houthis, a rebel group fighting the internationally recognized, US-backed government, seized the vessel from the government in 2015. No maintenance has been performed since, and despite repeated warnings of a looming disaster, the Iran-aligned rebels have obstructed attempts by the United Nations to send inspectors.

We are running out of time for the slow, deliberate, step-by-step approach the UN has repeatedly attempted, said Ian Ralby, CEO of I.R. Consilium, a global consultancy on maritime and resource security.

The priority must be extraction of the oil, Ralby said, calling the cargo a threat that needs to be neutralized as quickly and safely as possible. After the cargo is off-loaded, the vessel will need to be salvaged and the submarine pipeline that fed the ship drained of additional oil, he said.

None of this can occur without Houthi cooperation. Yemeni Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani accused the rebels of using the supertanker as a tool for blackmail and bargaining," tweeting that the floating oil tanker could cause a catastrophe 100x [that] of Beirut.

Experts say its not a matter of if the Safer ruptures, but when. Seawater leaked into the vessels engine room in May, risking an explosion. A team of divers was able to patch the leak, but without an independent assessment, the UN says its impossible to know what caused it. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently referred to the ship as a "ticking time bomb."

The United Nations estimates that in a worst-case scenario, a spill would force a six-month closure of the Houthi-controlled Hodeidah port and cause a 200% spike in fuel costs. The cost of food, 90% of which Yemen imports, would double. In the event of a fire on board the ship, millions of Yemenis could be exposed to toxic fumes.

Holm Akhdar, an independent Yemen-based environmental group whose name means Green Dream, said the Safer risks the loss of the biodiversity and natural habitats on more than 115 Yemeni islands.

The group estimates 300 species of coral reefs would disappear from Yemeni waters because the thick film of oil would prevent oxygen and sunlight from reaching them. A spill would also put at risk roughly 1.5 million migratory birds who cross Yemens Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Africa each year.

Mohammed al-Hakimi, a researcher at Holm Akhdar, sees obvious parallels between the Safer and the missed warnings that led to the Beirut blast, which Lebanese officials blamed on explosive material that authorities stored improperly for years.

The difference is that the FSO Safer will be much larger than Beirut. The humanitarian cost will be much greater, Hakimi said.

Spilled oil would wreak havoc on a country already experiencing what the United Nations describes as the worlds worst humanitarian crisis. More than five years of war between the Houthis and the Saudi-led military coalition has left some 24 million people  80% of the population  reliant on humanitarian aid.

The threat of famine looms over all of Yemen. A spill would sever a lifeline for UN food deliveries as the port of Hodeidah, through which most arrive, would likely close for months.

It would deal a massive blow to Yemens fishing industry, the country's second-largest export. Holm Akhdar estimates some 67,800 fishermen in Hodeidah alone would lose their entire livelihoods if the Safer leaks.

It will become a global problem, al-Hakimi said, noting the potential to disrupt globally important shipping routes in the Red Sea through which millions of barrels of oil flow each day.

In addition to impacting some 20,000 ships that pass through the waterway every year, the United Nations warns other Red Sea countries, including Djibouti, Eritrea and Saudi Arabia, would experience the fallout from a spill.

As experts sound the alarm, the rebels continue to demand assurances they could share in the revenue from the 45-year-old vessels oil. The cargo, they claim, is worth $40 million.

David Soud, head of research and analysis at I.R. Consilium, calls that figure a fantasy. Having sat in hot, corroded tankers for years, he says the "degraded cargo will be a very tough sell.

Even if Houthi estimates are correct, Soud points out the cost of any salvage operation would exceed the oils value.

Is that amount of money worth risking a disaster that could kill millions? ... Is it worth long-term damage to the Red Sea?" Soud asked. He wondered whether Beirut "will help the Houthis to answer these questions.
CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - AMP Ltd. (AMLTF.PK, AMP.AX) reported that its underlying profit for the first-half of 2020 declined to A$149 million from last year's A$256 million, reflecting COVID-19 impacts. Net profit attributable to shareholders was A$203 million, compared to a loss of A$2.29 billion in the previous year. Total operating earnings decreased to A$135 million from A$257 million last year. The company has announced a series of capital management initiatives to return up to A$544 million to shareholders. They included A$344 million via a special dividend of 10 cents per share, fully franked and up to A$200 million via an on-market share buy-back during the course of the next 12 months. The ex-dividend date for the 2020 special dividend is 18 September 2020. Following payment of the special dividend the Board does not expect to declare a final fiscal year 2020 dividend. The company said it is on track for target of A$300 million annual run-rate savings by fiscal year 2022. AMP said it reached a binding agreement to repurchase Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corp.'s or MUTB 15 per cent shareholding in AMP Capital. The amount payable under the purchase agreement is a total cash consideration of A$460 million. The transaction is expected to complete in third-quarter 2020. The existing business and capital alliances between MUTB, AMP Limited and AMP Capital will end, following completion of the transaction. MUTB will no longer have a representative on the AMP Capital Board, AMP said. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
The statement from New York-based Human Rights Watch quoted Ethiopian migrants who said Houthi fighters in April rounded up thousands of them from their unofficial settlement area in al-Ghar town in the countrys northwestern Saada province. The migrants said they were forced into pickup trucks and driven to the nearby Saudi border. During the process, Houthis screamed that the migrants were coronavirus carriers and fired at anyone who tried to escape, the witnesses said.
13.08.2020 LISTEN

In line with its resolve to strictly enforce Covid-19 safety protocols on campus, management of Sunyani Technical University (STU) has imposed sanctions on four final year students of the institution for being recalcitrant in complying with the protocols.

The four final-year students have each been fined Ghc100.00.

Management of the university took the decision to serve as a deterrent to both students and staff, and reinforce the need for everyone to strictly comply with covid-19 safety precautions on campus.

On the whole, it has been good but we have had a few students who flouted the directive of wearing the nose masks. They were summoned to appear before the disciplinary committee and were sanctioned accordingly, Mrs Cynthia Gyamfi Adu-Gyamfi, Chairperson of STU COVID-19 Committee said in an interview.

She said members of the COVID-19 Committee have been tasked to closely monitor all the required safety protocols on campus.

Journey so far

According to Mrs. Adu-Gyamfi, each final year student of the university has been provided with three pieces of re-useable nose-masks and a bottle of 200ml hand-sanitizer.

Besides, she added, several veronica buckets, tissue papers and soap have been made available at vantage points in the University for Use by students, staff and visitors while infra-red thermometers (thermometer guns) have been provided at all the major entry points to the university to check the temperature of people entering the campus.

Our lives are in our own hands, lets stay safe by observing all the COVID-19 protocols, she advised.

Presidents recognition

It would be recalled that during his 12th update to Ghanaians on the pandemic, President Akufo-Addo specifically commended the management of the Sunyani Technical University for the proactiveness in the fight against the disease.

I thank, in particular, the Vice Chancellors and other heads of our tertiary institutions for the support and co-operation offered Government towards its success. Indeed, decisions, like those being taken by the leadership of Sunyani Technical University, in the Bono Region, to sanction students, lecturers and non-teaching staff, who flout the COVID-19 protocols, reinforce the collective determination of the majority of Ghanaians to defeat the virus, the President stated.
The Iranian navy held the vessel for some five hours before releasing it Wednesday, said a U.S. military official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public. The Wila made no distress calls before, during and after the seizure, the official said.
Twiggy has revealed she turned down none other than Hollywood heartthrob Steve McQueen at a party in Los Angeles when he asked her to dance.

The legendary supermodel, 70, recalled how she was at a party thrown for her by Sonny and Cher when Steve, who died in 1980 aged 50, arrived on a motorbike.

Speaking on the Table Manners podcast, Twiggy admitted that although she found the actor, nicknamed the King of Cool, 'gorgeous', she said no to his offer.

Memories: Twiggy, 70, has revealed she turned down none other than Hollywood heartthrob Steve McQueen at a party in Los Angeles when he asked her to dance (pictured in 1967)

She recalled: 'I was flying around the world and being given parties where Clint Eastwood was there and Barbra Streisand. It was mad... Sonny and Cher threw me a party.

'One of the biggest film stars was Steve McQueen  he was gorgeous.

'I was 17 and I was with my boyfriend and Steve McQueen turned up on his motorbike. We got introduced and he asked me to dance  and I said no.'

It has been claimed that Twiggy was 'too shy' to dance with the actor, who was the highest paid movie star in the world in 1974.

Party: The legendary supermodel recalled how she was at a party thrown for her by Sonny and Cher when Steve, who died in 1980 aged 50, arrived on a motorbike (pictured in 1963)

She said: 'I was 17 and I was with my boyfriend and Steve McQueen turned up on his motorbike. We got introduced and he asked me to dance  and I said no' (pictured in 1968)

Interview: However, Twiggy, whose real name is Lesley Lawson, insisted that turning Steve down was not a big regret (pictured in 1966)

However, Twiggy, whose real name is Lesley Lawson, insisted that turning Steve down was not a big regret.

Twiggy, who became a British cultural icon during the 60s, went on to marry American actor Michael Witney in 1977 until his his death in 1983 aged 52.

She has been married to the actor Leigh Lawson, 75, since 1988.

Twiggy became known for her slender frame in the early days of her career, which earned her her nickname, as well as her androgynous appearance.

She later enjoyed a successful acting career and also became a judge on America's Next Top Model from 2005 to 2007.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 11:11:39|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese health authority said Thursday that it received reports of 19 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland Wednesday, including 11 imported cases and eight locally-transmitted ones.

All of the new locally-transmitted cases were reported in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the National Health Commission said in its daily report.

Four new imported cases were reported in Shandong, two each in Shanghai, Guangdong and Sichuan, and one in Hebei, the commission said.

One new suspected COVID-19 case, which was imported from outside the mainland, was reported in Shanghai Municipality.

No deaths related to the disease were reported Wednesday.

A total of 56 COVID-19 patients were newly discharged from hospitals after recovery, the commission said.

By the end of Wednesday, a total of 2,227 imported cases had been reported on the mainland. Of them, 2,065 had been discharged from hospitals after recovery, and 162 remained hospitalized, with one in serious condition. No deaths from the imported cases had been reported.

As of Wednesday, the overall confirmed COVID-19 cases on the mainland had reached 84,756, including 724 patients who were still being treated, with 41 in severe condition.

Altogether 79,398 people had been discharged after recovery, and 4,634 had died of the disease on the mainland, the commission said.

There were still four suspected COVID-19 cases, it added.

According to the commission, 22,498 close contacts were still under medical observation after 1,284 were discharged on Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, 20 new asymptomatic cases, including 15 from outside the mainland, were reported, and no asymptomatic cases were re-categorized as confirmed ones.

The commission said 295 asymptomatic cases, including 150 from outside the mainland, were still under medical observation.

By Wednesday, 4,243 confirmed cases, including 63 deaths, had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), while 46 confirmed cases had been reported in the Macao SAR, and 481, including seven deaths, in Taiwan.

A total of 3,189 COVID-19 patients in the Hong Kong SAR, 46 in the Macao SAR, and 450 in Taiwan had been discharged from hospitals after recovery. Enditem
You wont be able to see the Giants play in person at MetLife Stadium this season, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But if you feel like traveling to Dallas, it looks like you can see Daniel Jones and Co. there:

#Cowboys owner Jerry Jones tells reporters that the plan is to play all their home games with fans this season.  NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) August 12, 2020

Jerry Jones is much more optimistic about having fans at @dallascowboys games this season than any other team weve heard from thus far this summer. https://t.co/n6dqaQmIX8  Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) August 12, 2020

It remains to be seen if local and state authorities will go along with Jones plan to play all Cowboys home games with fans during a pandemic. Thats obviously a big factor here.

New Jersey has already determined that fans wont be able to attend Jets and Giants home games at MetLife Stadium. Things remain less clear in Texas.

CHECK OUT THESE AIRBNB PLACES TO STAY NEAR AT&T STADIUM

Of course, youd have to get on a plane  or make a long drive  in order to see the Giants play at the Cowboys. And its not like youd be able to see more than one game that way. The Giants play at Dallas in Week 5, on Oct. 11.

The rematch game is in Week 17  Jan. 3 at MetLife Stadium. Thatll be the final chance for fans to attend a Giants regular-season home game this season. And while it technically could happen  if pandemic trends shift drastically  dont bank on it.

Darryl Slater may be reached at dslater@njadvancemedia.com.
NORTON SHORES, MI  A resolution supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and racial equality at Mona Shores Public Schools sparked heated debate among residents about if it incorrectly labels the city as systemically racist.

Dozens of residents voiced their opinions both for and against the resolution for over two hours during public comment at the Monday, Aug. 10 board meeting.

Mona Shores school board president Stan Miller told MLive that despite some public pushback, the board plans to keep and implement the resolution.

The resolution that promises the district will foster dialogue on issues related to the Black Lives Matter movement was approved unanimously June 29.

However, it only created an uproar in the community about a week ago after controversy surrounding Trustee Wesley Wilson, who wrote and spearheaded the resolution.

The resolution affirms the districts commitment to the emotional and physical safety of Black students, acknowledging that Mona Shores must address institutionalized racism in the school and greater community. Read the full statement here.

The Black Lives Matter movement has gained traction since the death of George Floyd triggered protests against systemic racism and police brutality across the country and globe. Floyd, a Black man, died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

Proclaiming that Black Lives Matter does not negate our commitment to all of our students, the resolution states.

In fact, we believe that challenging all of our students and colleagues to recognize the innate value of Black lives will help all of our students grow because all lives cannot matter until Black lives do.

The resolution also claims the school district has remained predominantly white because of systemic racism in Norton Shores.

Of the 3,937 students enrolled in the district last school year, about 75% are white, 11% Black, and 5.9% Hispanic/Latino, according to state data. Many students come to the district from other cities through schools of choice.

Mona Shores growth as a primarily white school district occurred as a result of endemic racist housing policies, restrictive covenants, and intentional urban planning that prevented people of color from even entering white spaces, let alone establishing themselves in the city in any permanent way, the resolution claims.

For some Norton Shores residents, the resolution is viewed as an opportunity for growth in the predominantly white city.

Norton Shores is 91 percent white and 2.8 percent Black, according to recent census data. Other residents said the resolution has created more division in the district than existed before.

Norton Shores resident Frank Michels, who spoke in favor of the resolution at the meeting, told MLive he believes it is obvious Norton Shores is a predominantly white, segregated community.

Ive read the full resolution and do not believe it is an attack on the taxpayers of the district, but rather is a recognition of the impact of longterm systemic racism and it is well documented, he said.

Michels also praised a portion of the resolution that calls on the board to expand the districts Culture and Diversity Committee, tasked with creating curriculum and policy related to the Black Lives Matter movement.

The diversity committee can explore ways to enhance all students knowledge and sensitivity to people of color, which will be enriching for the entire community, he said.

Norton Shores resident Mary Valentine told MLive she felt the resolution opened up an important conversation about race  one felt has been largely ignored, and an issue that has mainly been swept under the rug.

There is no doubt that the Black Lives Matter resolution is needed in Mona Shores; reasonable people understand that, Valentine told MLive.

The shocking thing about the board meeting of Aug. 10 was that there were white people that actually stated there was no racism in Shores, no problems at all -- until the resolution passed.

For the life of me, I cannot figure out how any white person would know if Black students, teachers and staff are facing racism.

Nancy Stier, another Norton Shores resident who spoke at Mondays meeting, also felt there is racism present at Mona Shores, a problem she felt would be addressed by the Black Lives Matter resolution.

Both of my adopted children experienced racism in the Mona Shores schools they attended from kindergarten through high school graduation, she told MLive.

Most racist incidents stemmed from white students lack of understanding and exposure to cultural differences.

Although mostly adult residents of Norton Shores spoke at Mondays meeting, at least two Mona Shores students gave remarks.

One student spoke in favor of the resolution, saying she has seen racism at the school and within her peers, while the other said he does not believe racism is a problem within the district.

Some of those who spoke against the resolution agreed that Mona Shores should have zero tolerance for racism. But some residents said they felt it wasnt appropriate for the school board to publicly align itself with the Black Lives Matter movement.

BLM is a political organization, said Norton Shores resident Michael Poland. I feel it is wrong to bring such politics into the board. I agree that schools should practice equality, and that Mona Shores should be committed to the emotional and physical safety of all students.

Poland told MLive he disagreed with the resolutions statements about the city of Norton Shores. As a Mona Shores alumnus, Poland said he has seen the community come together in recent decades and feels the city should build on that.

I do not believe that Norton Shores is systematically racist, he said. I also reject the notion that someones opinion of why Norton Shores was formed 80 years ago has any relevance in Norton Shores today. We should focus less on skin color and more on family values and respecting all people.

Kourosh Khatir, who is running for a seat on the Mona Shores school board in the November election, said during Mondays public comment that the resolution has served only to divide this community.

Khatir called the resolution a self-inflicted wound for the district and argued the school board should remain nonpartisan.

I believe there are many sentiments within the resolution that we can get behind, Khatir said. However, backing a certain political organization, which is what (the Black Lives Matter) organization has become, I think moves this body in a direction that doesnt serve the best interests of the district or the students.

The resolution was not on Mondays agenda. The debate appeared to be prompted by an item on the agenda addressing a complaint against Trustee Wilson.

The school board censured Wilson and called for his resignation over over a 2018 felony charge for larceny by false pretense. He eventually pleaded no contest to misdemeanor larceny.

The trustee reportedly did not notify the board of the charges against him.

RELATED: Mona Shores school board censures, calls for resignation of trustee over felony charge

Wilsons charges were brought to the publics attention after Norton Shores City Council member Dan Olson raised concerns about Wilson during public comment at the school boards Aug. 5 meeting.

Olson later told MLive he brought the charges to light to hold Wilson and the board accountable for their actions.

(Wilson) should have either resigned voluntarily from the board, or the board should have petitioned the governor to remove him (when the board found out about the accusations against Wilson), Olson told MLive last week. Instead, they did nothing and swept it under the rug.

Olson said that his calls for Wilsons resignation did not have anything to do with the Black Lives Matter resolution that was spearheaded by Wilson.

Im not harassing him over BLM. This has nothing to do with that. No matter your politics, what happened here should make anyone upset, Olson said, referring to Wilsons charges.

But many residents who spoke about the resolution on Monday also brought up the accusations against Wilson  those who were in favor of the resolution said they felt Wilson should remain on the board, while those against the resolution called for his resignation.

Stier told MLive she felt citizens were just looking for an excuse to get Wilson off the board.

No one would have bothered to dig up that evidence if Wilson hadnt supplied the BLM resolution passed by the board last June, she said.

More on MLive:

Mona Shores back-to-school plan includes in-person, virtual learning options

Mona Shores school board censures, calls for resignation of trustee over felony charge

Grand Rapids school board approves online-only learning to start year

What do Michigan teachers fear most about in-person learning? The students sitting in their classrooms
LONDON, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Davidson Kempner is pleased that the majority of investors have rejected the wholly inadequate offer made by Thermo Fisher Scientific. The low acceptance level of 47.02% is a clear signal that there is widespread confidence in the long-term prospects of Qiagen N.V. ("the Company").

As the Company's second largest investor, we are committed to realizing the significant underlying value that we see in the Company. In particular, we will look to:

Improve the quality of engagement between the Company and its investors and rebuild trust with all of its stakeholders;

Refocus the strategy towards a high growth business with a disciplined capital allocation framework; and

Fully capitalise on the exciting opportunities available to the Company, including the tailwinds of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We look forward to presenting our thoughts on all the above topics in the near future.

For media enquiries:

Greenbrook

Andrew Honnor, Rob White, Fanni Bodri

Email: davidsonkempner@greenbrookpr.com

Tel.: +44 (0)20 7952 2000
The rainforests of Southeast Asia are among the fastest declining tropical ecosystems worldwide. Researchers from 13 institutions studied an area of tropical forest in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo that had suffered heavy logging in the 1980s but was subsequently protected from further deforestation or conversion to agricultural land.

This long-term study paid special attention to the forest's capacity to rebuild biomass. The researchers found that areas left to regenerate naturally recovered by as much as 2.9 tonnes of aboveground carbon per hectare per year. "This quantitatively confirms that if degraded forests get effective protection, they can recover well naturally", says Christopher Philipson, Senior Scientist at ETH Zurich's Chair of Ecosystem Management.

More importantly, the research team found that areas of forest that underwent active restoration recovered 50% faster, from 2.9 to 4.4 tonnes of aboveground carbon per hectare per year.

The research, published today in Science, has its origins in work that Professor Mark Cutler from University of Dundee carried out in Borneo almost 25 years ago. Cutler led the project with Professor David Burslem at the University of Aberdeen, and ETH Zurich's Christopher Philipson, first author of the paper, who carried out the research at ETH Zurich and Dundee.

Fostering damaged forest

Commercial, selective logging in Sabah has been going on for decades, and has severely degraded large areas of the forest estate. While Sabah retains over 50% natural forest cover (with almost half of this area being fully protected), relatively little of this forest is in pristine condition. Restoration - particularly in heavily logged lowland forests - is considered essential to maintain biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and other ecosystem services.

"This active restoration encourages naturally diverse forest, and is therefore much more beneficial for biodiversity than monocultures or plantation forests", stresses Philipson. The approach involves cutting lianas (climbing plants that thrive in degraded forests, competing with trees and reducing seedling survival and growth) as well as weeding, and 'enrichment planting' of seedlings. The latter seeks to increase the valuable, native tree species in degraded forests that have been reduced through commercial logging. "In this way, restoration helps previously over-?used forests not only to recover carbon, but also to become ecologically sound and diverse again", Philipson says. Carbon price doesn't cover the cost

Now, for the first time, a long time-?series dataset has demonstrated that active restoration helps forests to regenerate after disturbances. However, the current price of carbon doesn't cover the cost of restoration, and this limits the impact that restoring forests could have as a means of mitigating climate change.

"The increase in forest regrowth from restoration coupled with average global restoration costs suggests carbon prices need to be much higher. If they were around US$40-80 per tonne CO2 in accordance with the 2016 Paris climate agreement, this would be an incentive to invest in restoration," argues Dundee's Professor Cutler. He sees protecting previously logged tropical forests from further degradation or even clearance as vitally important for reducing carbon emissions and conserving biodiversity. "We must find sustainable mechanisms for funding."

Collaborative partnership on the ground

According to David Burslem, last author and Professor at the University of Aberdeen, scientists have known for some while that tropical forests can regenerate from logging if left undisturbed for long enough. But the extent of the reduction in recovery time achieved by simple low-?tech restoration techniques certainly was a surprise. "We gained this insight through a sustained investment in research by a multi-?national team over more than 20 years", Burslem says.

For this study, Philipson ventured to remote areas of forest to measure the growth and biomass accumulation of trees. His work and indeed the entire study actively involved many local staff, scientists and organisations, while the Sabah government guaranteed effective protection of the forest. "The people and community of Sabah made this project successful; I'm looking forward to seeing more endeavours like this that promote the protection and restoration of tropical forests," he says.

###

Reference

Philipson CD, Cutler MEJ, Brodrich PG, et al. Active restoration accelerates the carbon recovery of human-?modified tropical forests. Science, published online Aug 13th 2020, doi: 10.1126/science.aay4490
(Natural News) A recent unscientific poll by Poll King, which emails one political question a day to tens of thousands of subscribers, addresses the question of Is George Soros behind the recent protests and riots?

(Article by Susan Duclos republished from AllNewsPipeline.com)

While we rarely take stock in exact numbers and use polling to find trends and patterns, the results of this one were just too astounding to go unreported.

So far, just hours into the polling, 78.3% of respondents said yes, while 21.7% said no.

The most interesting part of the poll, the pattern, is the breakdown between political affiliation where even 89.5% of Republicans answered yes, while a whopping 76.5% of Independents agreed that George Soros is behind these riots, and even 37.9% of Democrats see Soros hand behind the strings controlling groups like Antifa and a certain violent faction of Black Lives Matter.

Another interesting aspect is that men and women appear to be on the same page in regards to Soros being the puppet Master and the money man behind these coordinated protests.

The reason I find this poll so fascinating is that just a few short years ago, many Americans knew nothing about George Soros, nor his interference in multiple countries, causing riots, and revolutions and destabilizing the entire nation he has chosen to destroy.

Now, many, many more are awakened. Perhaps not enough, but seeing people wake up from their MSM induced zombiism is rewarding in and of itself.

SOROS KNOWN FOR HIS COLOR REVOLUTIONS

The clearest description of a color revolution was found at the American Sun, by R. Landry, stating that according to foreign sources, a color revolutions are externally fueled acts with a clear goal to influence the internal affairs that destabilize the economy,[2] conflict with the law and represent a new form of warfare.

Cutting through the verbiage, protests that begin over an event, which start entirely peaceful, immediately get hijacked by groups backed and funded by George Soros, which introduces the violence and rioting in order to attempt to force political change in the country being attacked by Soros puppets (in this case, Antifa and BLM).

In 2015, a piece over at SOTT, by Activist Post did a good job laying out examples across the globe of Soros handiwork and destabilization campaigns:

Soros is most well-known for playing a major role in the funding and facilitating of the Bulldozer Revolution in Serbia that overthrew Slobodan Milosevic in 2000, Georgias Rose Revolution of 2003, the 2006 push to move Turkey toward a more Islamist governing structure, and even the Occupy movement in the United States among a great many others  none of which brought anything other than greater misery, impoverishment, and police state mechanisms to bear on the general public. The Occupy movement, being the only exception, still brought nothing to its participants except the opportunity to burn off excess anger and energy along with a few cracked protester skulls. It was otherwise an incredible waste of time.



Regardless, the methods being used by the Soros machine in terms of the #blacklivesmatter and other related campaigns across the country are much the same as those used in Europe to usher in greater austerity, police states, and fascism through government-coup and social protest  i.e. a coordinated media campaign to provide the general public with a false perception of events as well as a false narrative, the use of social media and slogans, and the deployment of swarming adolescents in the streets.

Sounds familiar, yes?

Read more at: AllNewsPipeline.com
He Knows No Fear caused the biggest upset in British and Irish racing history when springing a record 300-1 shock at Leopardstown.

The Betfair starting price for the colt - trained by Luke Comer - was an eye-watering 1000-1, but his industry SP of 300-1 meant he usurped the victory of 250-1 shot Equinoctial, successful at Kelso in 1990, to become the biggest-priced winner either side of the Irish Sea.

He Knows No Fear caused one of the biggest shocks in racing history at Leopardstown

William Hill took 86 bets on the winner, the biggest of which returned 5,400. Ridden by Chris Hayes, the outsider finished with a terrific rattle to overhaul favourite Agitare late on in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden and create history.

Coral's John Hill said 'The previous record came over jumps. This was on the Flat, which makes it even more surprising.'
As unemployment skyrocketed and consumer spending plunged, Spring resident Akilah Scott-Amos braced for a big hit to her small business, the organic skincare and apothecary shop Kissed by a Bee Organics. Instead, healing balms, body oils and aromatics started flying off the shelves  so fast that she had to hire a new worker to keep up with the orders.

Sales at her shop have tripled from pre-pandemic levels, and Scott-Amos credits the surge to the campaign to support Black-owned businesses that followed the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in May. Two months later, the economic impact of the campaign has spread beyond the walls of shops and restaurants as Black-owned businesses hire workers, increase orders from suppliers, and expand  as Scott-Amos did  into bigger and better locations.

I hope that people actually found small businesses they didnt know about and continue to support them, Scott-Amos said. Because people like me are hiring people that rely on us. Were helping the economy.

The support comes as Black-owned businesses in the United States are getting hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic. The number of operating Black-owned businesses, concentrated in restaurants, retail and other sectors vulnerable to social-distancing measures, has fallen 19 percent nationally from pre-pandemic levels compared to an 8 percent decline in all businesses, according to an analysis of census data by Robert W. Fairlie, an economics professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

As of June, there were roughly 873,000 Black-owned businesses in the United States.

But the stories of Black business owners that have scaled up their operations and contributed to the financial security of their workers and suppliers demonstrate the power of buyer activism  as well as the tough decisions they would face if the movement loses momentum.

Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Rippling out

Shannen Tune, owner of the restaurant Craft Burger at Finn Hall downtown, saw business shift the night George Floyd died.

Literally that night, people started calling and looking to support Black businesses, he said. Its been a steady increase since then.

He has had so many customers that hes upped orders of the never-frozen, locally sourced meats his burgers are known for. Deliveries now arrive four times a week  before, once was enough. Hes increased worker hours, which had been reduced when the pandemic struck.

One of his employees, Tea Garmon, described the influx of customers as a weight off my shoulders. When Finn Hall temporarily shut down in March as COVID-19 caused widespread closures, she had ended her apartment lease and moved back in with family in Tennessee. Now shes back in Houston at a job she says she loves  as are all the employees who lost hours during the start of the pandemic, according to Tune.

But Tune has yet to hire any new workers. Im cautious about hiring, he said. Hed rather pay overtime than bring someone on whom he may have to lay off.

I take the responsibility of employing people very seriously. If I want to say Im hiring you for 35 hours a week, I want to make sure I have 35 hours for you.

Scott-Amos also feels anxiety about whether the increase in business is here to stay. But she decided to take the leap, moving into a brick-and-mortar location in Spring and hiring another assistant, Iesha Leonard, a U.S. Air Force veteran. As support for the movement rose in May, Leonard began to help Scott-Amos and her other assistant, Kortney Milliff, produce body scrubs and label and package items for online orders.

The extra cash Leonard makes from Kissed by a Bee is going into her savings to buy a home. Nonstop business has kept her busy and on Scott-Amos payroll.

When describing the impact Floyds death and the resulting activism has had on her life, Leonard sounded amazed.

Its a surreal feeling just to be a part of everything going on  with George Floyd, to all these events happening  and know Im supporting a business to flourish throughout this time, she said.

Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Benefits moving up the supply chain

The boon to Black businesses has also rippled out to the other businesses that work with them. While Scott-Amos grows many of her own ingredients, such as jasmine and aloe vera, in her backyard and warehouse, she also has relied on outside suppliers such as Chrys Rocha, a Florida-based distributor of products from the Brazilian rainforest. Rocha, who started her company Rainforest Chica in 2017, imports resins, clay powders and oils from sustainable sources working with indigenous people who live along the banks of the Amazon River.

Rocha said her company would not have flourished if it werent for Black women introducing those ingredients to the beauty industry. About half of her customers, which include both consumers and small businesses, are people of color. Most of that subset is Black.

My business would not have grown to the business it is now, Rocha said, if it werent for the explosion of Black-owned businesses.

Scott-Amos and other customers have kept her busy. With fewer people going out for beauty services during the pandemic, and the #BuyBlack movement, her sales grew exponentially from March through July. She usually sells about $200,000 of product a year; by the end of June this year, she had already hit that mark.

Keeping the momentum

Whether the influx of customers continues is on the minds of employees, business owners and suppliers.

I cant say for sure that (this increase) will continue, Tune said. But I hope it will.

Karen De Amat, founder of social media marketing firm Social Behavior Agency, also said foot traffic and social engagement for the Black-owned businesses with which she works have plateaued but remain well above what they were in May. Social engagement, on average, has more than doubled  meaning more people are sharing and commenting on those clients posts and clicking through on links to view their products.

That amounts to a marketing push that many mom-and-pop businesses dont have the budget for, Tune said. He has been doing his best to make sure the people this movement brings through his door have an experience that makes them want to return.

At least one Yelp reviewer says it has. My family and I were looking through Black Restaurant Weeks list and chose this place, she wrote. Amazing burgers!  Definitely want to go back and try some (more)!

If the traffic fades, business owners may face the difficult prospects of reducing worker hours and eliminating jobs, said Carol Guess, president of the Greater Houston Black Chamber of Commerce, which has roughly 1,600 members.

Its hard to tell if this is a one-time bump or if its going to be something that keeps on going for a while, Guess said.

Scott-Amos, who has seen sales in July level out, hopes that the worst doesnt happen.

I just really hope people keep it going  not just because theyre Black businesses, but (because) you found out about them now and youre just in love, she said.

rebecca.schuetz@chron.com

gwendolyn.wu@chron.com
Ahead of the reopening of religious places on August 16 in Jammu and Kashmir, the administration in Srinagar, the worst affected district by Covid-19, has sensitised over 3,000 religious leaders including Imams to about adherence to standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place to contain the spread of the pandemic.

Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Shahid Chaudhary said that they had a meeting with around 3,000 religious heads of different institutions and the imams of mosques to discuss the SOP with them.

Last week there was good interaction with them and the state government has already notified SOPs what needs to be done. I hope our religious leaders will lead the people as per the expectations and take a message to the people, besides following the SOPs for religious institutions, he said.

The Jammu and Kashmir administration had re-imposed lockdown restrictions in Srinagar from July 13 and rest of the valley from July 27 following a surge in Covid-19 cases.

On August 4, the government announced that all religious places and places of worship would reopen from August 16 but detailed Covid-19 SOPs will have to be followed that includes no large gatherings and no touching of statues.

We had already removed lockdown completely from June 13 following which there was a sharp spike in cases from 400 to 4,500 cases in a month or so which prompted us to go for a 10-day lockdown, said Chaudhary.

Srinagar is the worst affected district with a tally of 6,577 cases and 163 deaths. The active cases in the district fel to 2,036 after 311 recovered Thursday.

The recovered cases in Srinagar are double than active cases which is a positive development. Experts are saying that the positive cases will keep on getting reported. It wont show a quick downfall, the DC said but asked people to take precautions.

People need to adopt precautions like masks, hand hygiene and social distancing. Regarding the compact gatherings at religious institutions, the way religious institutions are prepared I am hopeful that they will adopt SOPs, he said.

He said that they have also discussed the SOPs with the trade and business community about the opening after August 16.

The SOPs like opening 50 per cent shops should be adhered to. If there is no crowding like last time then I think there is no need to go for another lockdown, he said.
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Nova Scotia food hampers will provide more than 360,000 local meals to support increased demand at food banks



Rogers employees in Nova Scotia volunteer to help organize, fill and distribute hampers

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, Aug. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stepping up to help address food insecurity facing many Canadian families, Rogers Communications Step Up to the Plate initiative with Food Banks Canada has arrived in Nova Scotia, delivering food hampers that will provide more than 360,000 meals for local food banks. These hampers will help fill the plates of more than 17,000 Nova Scotians across the province.

The Step Up to the Plate initiative started in June at Rogers Centre in Toronto, with Rogers employee volunteers and their families filling food hampers with non-perishable food items that provide an individual with a weeks worth of meals. Now, trucks loaded with hampers and pallets of food are on the move, destined for communities across Canada, where an unprecedented 8 million meals will be provided to Canadians when the initiative is completed this summer. On arrival in Nova Scotia, local Rogers employee volunteers are working with Feed Nova Scotia to organize and continue stuffing thousands of food hampers for distribution to local food banks to help those who need it most.

We are proud Nova Scotians. This is where we live, where we work, and where we raise our families. Nova Scotians are part of our extended family at Rogers, and when our family needs help, its our responsibility to step up and pitch in, through food donations, volunteering, and more, said Matt MacLellan, President of Atlantic, Rogers Communications. Rogers has a long legacy of supporting our communities and giving back. This is our 60th year as a company  certainly a year like no other  and we are here to roll up our sleeves and get to work so we can come through this together.

As the country begins to reopen, the economic impact of the pandemic continues to be significant, affecting food insecurity and demand at food banks. According to Food Banks Canada, which supports over 3,000 food banks and community agencies from coast-to-coast-to-coast - including Feed Nova Scotia  many local food banks have been severely impacted by COVID-19, from decreased volunteers and donations to having to adapt their operations, making it more challenging to meet their clients needs.

"In a pandemic, barriers to food security are even bigger, and the support of food banks is especially critical," said Nick Jennery, Executive Director, Feed Nova Scotia. "Since a state of emergency was first declared in Nova Scotia, we've not only remained fully operational; weve also been able to distribute more food than ever, thanks to the incredible support of donors like Rogers."

We know that vulnerable populations, especially individuals facing food insecurity are disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our government, along with Canada's food banks, and community organizations are providing much needed support," said Darren Fisher, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and Member of Parliament for DartmouthCole Harbour. Canadians are compassionate and generousespecially in times of crisis. Huge thanks to the wonderful volunteers and organizations across the country who have come together to 'Step Up to the Plate'!

Step Up to the Plate is part of The 60 Project , a year-long initiative to mark Rogers 60th anniversary by giving back and building a stronger Canada  from donations of time, money and fundraising support, to investing in Canada and the networks that keep our customers connected. We are bringing this commitment to life by partnering with community organizations like Food Banks Canada, Womens Shelters Canada, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Pflag; providing Ted Rogers Community Grants to support organizations that help youth succeed inside and outside the classroom; investing in a 100% Canadian-based Customer Service team and in our networks to help Canadas economy thrive and grow; and connecting the next generation to education and the support they need to build a bright future. The 60 Project is about making hope possible, right here, in the Canadian communities we call home.

And with Step Up to the Plate and other initiatives this year, our Rogers family  all 25,000 strong, including here in Nova Scotia  will come together to give back an unprecedented 60,000 volunteer hours. With action, we will stand together with those who need us most, to ensure that all Canadians have an opportunity to move forward to discover a new normal that is better than the one that came before.

About Rogers

Rogers is a proud Canadian company dedicated to making more possible for Canadians each and every day. Our founder, Ted Rogers, purchased his first radio station, CHFI, in 1960. We have grown to become a leading technology and media company that strives to provide the very best in wireless, residential, sports, and media to Canadians and Canadian businesses. Our shares are publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RCI.A and RCI.B) and on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: RCI). If you want to find out more about us, visit about.rogers.com .

About Food Banks Canada

Food Banks Canada provides national leadership to relieve hunger today and prevent hunger tomorrow in collaboration with the food bank network from coast-to-coast-to-coast. For 40 years, food banks have been dedicated to helping Canadians living with food insecurity. Over 3,000 food banks and community agencies come together to serve our most vulnerable neighbours who  last year  made 1.1 million visits to these organizations in one month alone, according to our HungerCount report. Over the past 10 years, as a system weve sourced and shared over 1.4 billion pounds of food and Food Banks Canada shared nearly $70 million in funding to help maximize collective impact and strengthen local capacity  while advocating for reducing the need for food banks. Our vision is clear: create a Canada where no one goes hungry. Visit www.foodbankscanada.ca to learn more.

For more information:

Rogers  media@rci.rogers.com , 647-747-5118

Feed Nova Scotia  Nick Jennery, Executive Director, njennery@feednovascotia.ca , 902-298-1998

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/47390db3-3686-4881-a2dd-bea2fdf2ce3b
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VANCOUVER (AP)  A former Washington state mayor and executive director of a local economic association has been charged with first-degree theft on accusations of using association funds for personal expenses, prosecutors say.

Paul Dennis, 51, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to the accusations of stealing roughly $15,000 over a seven-year period from the Camas-Washougal Economic Development Association, which he ran, according to court documents compiled by The Vancouver Columbian.





. . .
A former Local Government Minister and Member of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Professor Kwamena Ahwoi has revealed that former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings had an unbridled quest for power.

He said she even wanted to succeed her husband, Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, as President when he (Mr. Rawlings) was exiting power in 2000 after 19 years.

In his book 'Working with Rawlings' which has opened a can of worms and is threatening cohesion in the NDC, Prof. Ahwoi said on page 191 of the book that Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings had been harbouring presidential ambitions and in 2000 had believed that she would be the one her husband, Jerry Rawlings, would hand over to.

He stated, 'Madam had serious ambitions and was angling to take over from Jerry and so when Jerry made it clear in the Swedru Declaration that his preferred successor was Professor Mills, Nana Konadu felt that the Professor (Mills) had stolen something that belonged to her', a one-time close ally of Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings told me.

Mills Good, Konadu Bad

Prof. Ahwoi appeared to portray Mrs. Rawlings a 'bitter' person in the book and said she even rejected goodwill gestures from Prof. Mills.

President Mills on his part tried many times to reach out to Mrs. Rawlings, but she would not budge. He is even alleged to have offered her the position of Foreign Minister in his government, following the lead that President Obama had shown in dealing with Mrs. Hilary Clinton, but Nana Konadu is alleged to have refused

the position, he claimed.

Contest Decision

Before the NDC Sunyani Congress of 2011, no incumbent President in the Fourth Republic had been challenged in his party' s presidential primaries for a second term bid. No incumbent President has since been challenged for a second term bid. In 2011, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, wife of NDC Founder, Jerry John Rawlings, decided to challenge incumbent President John Evans Atta Mills in his bid for a second term for the NDC flagbearership position in the 2012 presidential elections, Prof. Ahwoi pointed out.

President Mills still had hopes of building bridges to Mrs. Rawlings.

I was informed by one of the people I spoke to in the course of writing this book that it was Herbert Mensah who acted as the liaison between the Rawlings household and the Mills Presidency, but still things did not work out.

It came as no surprise therefore when Nana Konadu announced her intention to challenge President Mills as the NDC presidential candidate for the 2012 presidential election, he added.

FONKAR, GAME

The party announced the programme for its presidential primaries which were scheduled for July 2011. She proceeded to create her campaign machinery, 'Friends of Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings' or FONKAR, for short. FONKAR was a very effective machinery that was deployed to do maximum damage to the personality of President Mills.

Spearheaded by Kofi Adams, the then Deputy General Secretary of the NDC, and made up of a group of young, acerbic-tongued NDC political neophytes who had no really deep roots in the NDC, FONKAR lost no opportunity to vilify President Mills and heap insults on him with joyous abandon.

To counter FONKAR, GAME, or 'Get Atta Mills Elected', the internal campaign machinery for President Mills, was resurrected with full force. It activated all its old structures, cells and networks and created new ones and criss-crossed the country with the message that a Nana Konadu presidential candidacy would be sacrificing a

2012 NDC presidential victory to the NPP on a silver platter, he disclosed in his book.

Congress Day

Prof. Ahwoi said, On the Congress Day itself, the overwhelming victory in the offing for President Mills was evident when his entry into the Sunyani Coronation Park was greeted with rapturous, thunderous, tumultuous and deafening applause, while Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings and President Rawlings entered almost unnoticed, adding, The strength of the NDC and the assertion of its independence from the control of Jerry Rawlings and his wife manifested itself very clearly at the 2011 Sunyani Coronation Park Congress.

At the end of the voting, President Mills won with a landslide margin of 96.9%, leaving Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings with a paltry 3.1%, he added.

Konadu Propaganda

He said after her defeat, Mrs. Rawlings started a propaganda that the congress was bought by the Mills group.

Feeling humiliated by her embarrassing showing, Nana Konadu moved her FONKAR machinery into action with the fiction that President Mills doled out large sums of money to buy votes from the delegates. FONKAR also alleged that the election was rigged in favour of President Mills, he stated.

Some claim to know it for a fact that Jerry Rawlings in very private conversations confessed that he was not in support of his wife's attempt to contest President Mills but was unable to make it public in order to maintain marital harmony. Others claim to have witnessed a public exchange of words between the couple at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Kumasi on their way from the Sunyani Congress. I was unable to confirm or deny these claims.

Hopelessly defeated and in the knowledge that she and her husband had lost their hold on the NDC, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings and her FONKAR supporters broke away from the NDC and moved to register a new political party, the National Democratic Party (NDP), he added.

---Daily Guide
By ANI

NEW DELHI: A day after announcing about her second pregnancy, actor Kareena Kapoor Khan on Thursday treated her fans with a glowing shoot-time selfie.

The 'Veere Di Wedding' actor took to Instagram to share the picture where she is seen slaying the minimal make-up look wearing just the eyeliner.

"Another day, another shoot and well... another of my favourite selfies," she wrote in the caption.

The 39-year-old actor is seen donning a pink and white coloured comfy kurta in the picture.

ALSO READ | Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan expecting their second child

Earlier on Wednesday, Kareena and her star husband had announced that they are expecting their second child together.
At the end of July, US Rep. Mike Conaway descended the stairs of Air Force One behind President Donald Trump as the president became the first sitting president to visit Midland since 2006.

What a great trip, Conaway said during the weekly Oilfield Strong webinar presented by OTI Compression/OTI Environmental and the Permian Basin Petroleum Association.

It actually had a big impact, he continued, telling PBPA Executive Vice President Stephen Robertson that area oil-and-gas operators had the opportunity to tell the president that $40 oil was not sufficient to help the industry return to its record-setting production levels.

It was a good trip, it was good for him to come, it was impactful in that he came away with a new perspective on $40 oil, Conaway said.

He obviously is aware of the rig count dropping from over 900 to 200 is impactful. I was hoping to get him on the rig floor but that didnt happen. The Secret Service is nervous about a president being on a rig floor, he continued.

The industry has a good story to tell, but Im preaching to the choir sometimes. My Democratic colleagues dont seem to want to listen, Conaway added.

RELATED: Trump emphasizes support for energy industry

He said the industry has been living the wreck that is the one-two punch of COVID-19 and also the Saudi Arabia-Russia battle over oil market control. COVID took the world economy down, oil demand collapsed, and in the face of overproduction from the Saudis and Russia, prices collapsed. The Permian Basin experienced both sides. For the first time we had to fight a pandemic at the exact same time as a price collapse. Part of the problem in Washington, D.C., is that because these overlapped, it was hard to help folks understand that during the pandemic, while all the US suffered, the oil fields also had a separate, independent wreck. It was hard to distinguish the impacts so getting things done was difficult.

Conaway pointed to efforts to ease the impact of demand destruction by buying oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which he said was opposed by his Democratic colleagues, so there were efforts to reach an agreement to allow producers to store their oil in the reserve instead.

Under the proposed Green New Deal, he said, theyre working to do away with fossil fuels by 2035. Fifteen years from now, well be on horses or walking. Theres nothing to replace fossil fuels. While gasoline and diesel are important, theyre not all the industry does. Its plastics and lipstick, for goodness sake. They dont understand the application of the industry. The left hates the oil-and-gas business. There may be a utopia several centuries out where oil and gas are no longer used. They are finite resources. But its a long way off and utopians ignore that altogether. They dont appreciate that America, its manufacturers have an advantage because of low energy prices. From our Great New Deal standpoint, we can produce gas in Texas, ship it to the Gulf Coast, then ship it to Estonia and reduce their carbon footprint to far less than the Russian footprint. The way we do things here are better from an ecological standpoint than the Russians. Theyre so misguided on every level, I dont see much change in that narrative on the Democratic side. Those who understand are drowned out and wont be heard, particularly during the campaign.

Conaway said there is too much focus on the total number of COVID-19 cases, which will never go down.

RELATED: Supporters line up to catch glimpse of Air Force One

We have 5 million cases, people who got sick in March, April, May, June who got well or passed away, he said. For you and me, day to day, thats a negative. We need to focus on the active cases, the hospitalizations. Those are the markers we should focus on. The number of active cases in my district is 3,500; that plateaued the last few weeks. My districts hospitalizations are down. The total number of cases is discouraging at every level; the focus should be on how many are sick today and thats whats important today.

Said Conaway, these are hard times and weve been through hard times before. We have to figure how to deal with COVID without destroying all we know. We have to come to realize we have to power through; protect the most vulnerable. As were starting schools, reopening businesses, wear masks, wash our hands, sanitize, dont be around sick people; have the discipline to stay home when youre sick or if youre around family members who are sick.

We have to take risks, smart risks, calculated risks and get back at it, he said. Be smart. If you have issues, stay away from crowds, dont get the disease; it is unyielding, especially if you have diabetes or conditions like that. People who are healthy should get back at it. Ill get in the car later, thats a risk. Getting on an airplane is a risk. Were tougher than that. We settled this land in the face of incredible odds and made it work. Thats our ancestry, our heritage. The health-care system is much better; we have good results on testing of vaccines; there may be some therapeutics. Do smart things and get back at it and quit cowering.
El-Erian suffered the heart attack after a quarrel with another jailed Brotherhood leading member over the future of the terrorist-designated group

Muslim Brotherhood leading member Essam El-Erian, who was serving various jail terms in prison, has died from heart attack following a quarrel with another detained brotherhood member over the current situation of the terrorist-designated group, informed sources said on Thursday.

"El-Erian was conducting a discussion with one of the leading members of the Brotherhood about the current situation of the group and its future plans before a quarrel erupted between the two which caused him to suffer from a heart attack, leading to his death," the sources added.

El-Erian had been sentenced to life imprisonment, along with 10 others, in a terrorism-related case over storming the country's eastern borders.

He was also given another 20 years in prison over violence that took place outside Ittihadia presidential palace in December 2012.

He was sentenced to death over violence-related offences during the dispersal of the Rabea sit-in in August 2013, a verdict that was appealed by his defense.





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By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) - A California judge on Thursday refused to give Uber Technologies Inc <UBER.N> and Lyft Inc <LYFT.O> more time to appeal his decision forcing them to classify drivers in that state as employees, which they have said would necessitate restructuring their businesses.

At a hearing in San Francisco Superior Court, Judge Ethan Schulman said he found no reason to extend his Aug. 20 deadline for the ride-hailing companies to appeal the preliminary injunction he issued on Monday before it could take effect.

"I am unconvinced that any extension of the 10-day stay is required," Schulman said. "Both applications are denied."

Uber and Lyft have said they will appeal.

In late afternoon trading, Uber shares were down 0.8% while Lyft fell 4.9%. Lyft had reported quarterly results after U.S. markets closed on Wednesday.

The injunction came in a lawsuit where California and the cities of Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco accused Uber and Lyft of violating Assembly Bill 5, a new state law making it harder to treat "gig" workers as independent contractors.

Uber and Lyft prefer using that classification for drivers, because treating them as employees would require benefits such as minimum wage, paid sick and family leave, unemployment insurance and workers' compensation insurance.

The hearing came one day after the companies threatened to temporarily stop serving California, arguing that treating drivers as employees would undermine their business models.

Neither company is profitable, and both have suffered steep ridership declines during the coronavirus pandemic. They have also said drivers prefer remaining independent.

Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart and Postmates are spending more than $110 million to support Proposition 22, a November ballot measure in California to keep drivers as contractors, but with some benefits.

In ordering an injunction, Schulman assailed what he called Uber's and Lyft's "prolonged and brazen refusal" to comply with state law.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
Representative image

No, Russia isn't having a Sputnik moment.

The announcement Tuesday by Russian President Vladimir Putin that his country was the first to approve a coronavirus vaccine did not provoke the awe and wonder of the Soviet Unions launch of the first satellite into orbit in 1957. Instead, it was met by doubts about the science and safety.

But the claim underscored how, like the space race, the competition to have the first vaccine is about international rivalries as well as science. The first nation to develop a way to defeat the novel coronavirus will achieve a kind of moonshot victory and the global status that goes along with it.

That's valuable to Putin, whose popularity at home has declined amid a stagnant economy and the ravages of the virus outbreak.

To be the first one out of the block with a coronavirus vaccine would be a real  pardon the pun  shot in the arm for the Kremlin," said Timothy Frye, a political science professor at Columbia University who specializes in post-Soviet politics.

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

Russia is not alone in viewing a vaccine in this light. China, where the virus first emerged, has also raced to make progress on a vaccine. A state-owned Chinese company is boasting that its employees, including top executives, received experimental shots even before the government approved testing in people.

President Donald Trump, whose handling of the coronavirus pandemic has put his political fate in grave jeopardy, is hoping to get credit for his administrations aggressive push for a vaccine, ideally one that arrives before Election Day in November.

It's far from clear at this point whether Putin has beaten Trump to this medical milestone.

Putin said the Health Ministry gave its approval after the vaccine, named Sputnik V," underwent the necessary tests. He said one of his two adult daughters had been inoculated. We should be grateful to those who have taken this first step, which is very important for our country and the whole world, he said.

No proof was offered and scientists in Russia warned that more testing would be necessary to establish it is safe and effective. Nonetheless, officials said vaccination of doctors could start as early as this month and mass vaccination may begin as early as October.

Scientists around the world have been cautioning that even if vaccine candidates are proven to work, it will take even more time to tell how long the protection will last.

Its a too early stage to truly assess whether its going to be effective, whether its going to work or not, said Dr. Michael Head, senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton.

It was also too soon to dismiss the Russian claim out of hand.

The country, though economically dependent on the export of natural resources, does have a history of achievement in science, medicine and aerospace  including becoming the first to put a person into space, in 1961.

It is possible that they concentrated and could do this, said Daniel Fried, a retired senior US diplomat. "Im not scoffing at it, but it doesnt mean that the Russian economy is advanced.

A vaccine would be the kind of significant achievement that would elevate Putin at home and in the international community.

They would love to be able to claim credit because the first country to develop the vaccine will gain enormous prestige, said Fried, a former assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs who is now a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council.

Its also possible Russia had help. The US, Britain and Canada l ast month accused hackers working for Russian intelligence of trying to steal information about a coronavirus vaccine from academic and pharmaceutical research institutions.

In any case, the public is eager for a vaccine as global deaths from the virus surpass 730,000. Some say they would even welcome one from Russia, provided it passes muster with the Food and Drug Administration, which approves vaccines used in the US, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends who should receive them.

I cant take it anymore. Im getting crazy, said Fernanda Henderson, as she strapped her infant into a car seat at a park in the Maryland suburbs of Washington for a break from quarantining at home. I dont think the CDC or the FDA would approve something that is not going to work."

But to Vesna Jezic, a 79-year-old native of Croatia and immunologist who was taking her grandchildren to the same park, the suspiciously fast progress on the vaccine announced by Putin was reason to be doubtful. You can imagine we dont trust anything that comes from Russia, she said.

The Russian president may face similar doubts at home. Frye noted a 2018 Gallup Poll that showed the former Soviet countries have some of the highest rates of anti-vaccination sentiment in the world.

If it turns out not to work, it would be a real black eye, he said.
Even as the Telangana government has scaled up testing for Covid-19 in the recent past, there has been a steady decline in the number of positive cases within Greater Hyderabad limits while the rural areas have been reporting a spike in the number of cases.

Official figures released by the Telangana medical and health department indicate that there has been more or less a consistent fall in the number of positive cases in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation limits.

The city, which reported 535 out of the total number of 2,092 positive cases for Covid-19 across Telangana on August 5, has registered only 298 positive cases out of the total number of 1931 cases in the state on August 12.

Except on Tuesday, when the figure went up to 479, during the entire week, there had been a steady fall in the number of positive cases in the city.

According to director of state medical and health G Srinivasa Rao, there has been a gradual fall in the number of positive cases in Greater Hyderabad due to effective containment measures. We are hoping that the disease will be contained to a large extent in the city, he said.

However, Rao admitted that there was an increase in the number of positive cases in the districts surrounding Hyderabad like Medchal and Ranga Reddy, and also other parts of Telangana. We are analysing the factors for this growth and shall take effective control measures, he said.

The officials suspect that the increase in the number of cases in the rural areas could be due to migration of workers from Hyderabad back to their rural areas in the last few weeks. Moreover, testing facilities for Covid-19 in the districts have also been stepped up. Earlier, people used to come to Hyderabad for testing. Hence, more cases were reported in Hyderabad earlier and now, districts are reporting an increase in the number, another official of the health department said.

On an average, around 23,000 tests are being conducted in the state every day. Yet, the number of positive cases is not very high compared to many other states. The recovery rate in Telangana is 72.93 per cent, as against the national average of 70.37 per cent, the official said.

As of Wednesday night, Telangana had recorded a cumulative number of 86,475 positive cases, of which only 22,736 are active cases and the overall number of recoveries is 63,074. So far, 665 people died of Covid-19, with the overall mortality rate being 0.76 per cent while the countrywide figure is 1.97 per cent.

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Back to school is imminent for Ontario students, but important elements of exactly how that will look during the COVID-19 pandemic remain up in the air.

Many questions remain about the province's $309 million plan to reopen K-12 schools this fall, with new protocols to be implemented and scores of new staff including teachers, school nurses and custodians who need to be brought on board, trained and deployed.

One notable part of the plan is a $50-million commitment to hire up to 500 school-focused public health nurses. But midway into August, that process is still in the "call-out" stage, Premier Doug Ford admitted on Wednesday.

"We have a call-out right now for nurses. We want to make sure we fulfil the 500 positions without draining from the system," Ford said during his daily news conference.

"Let's get them in the classrooms as soon as possible  even if it takes a couple extra weeks  as long as the 500 nurses are coming."

Details around school nurses still to be ironed out

Details about who is hiring these nurses and where they will be embedded need ironing out, according to Doris Grinspun, CEO of the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario.

Grinspun, who is among those consulting the province about this part of the plan, welcomes the initiative as a whole, calling the new hires a public health necessity for schools given the complex health concerns that are facing students and teachers going forward.

Carl Court/Getty Images

"We need to be prepared for an outbreak in a school. We need to be prepared for preventing an outbreak," she said.

These nurses, who Grinspun notes would ideally be registered nurses with baccalaureate degrees, would have the expertise to tackle a wide range of issues.

Not only would they adapt to potentially changing COVID-19 conditions this fall and winter, as well as liaise with local public health authorities, but would also tackle flu season and address concerns such as bullying, addiction, anxiety and depression  conditions that may already be exacerbated by the pandemic, Grinspun added.

Story continues

"This is not only about donning and doffing [masks]  This is about much more than that," she said. "Solving problems [on an ongoing basis], in the context of reopening of schools, it's not simple at all."

Tying this new wave of school nurses to local public health units across the province is also vital, Grinspun said, "to fit the teams on those units and  blend with the rest of the programs" already underway for specific communities.

Amy Dodge/CBC

Custodial staffing levels an ongoing issue, unions say

Another major component of Ontario's plan is $75 million for hiring more than 900 additional custodians and buying cleaning supplies.

But it doesn't go far enough, according to Laura Walton, president of Ontario School Board Council of Unions (OSBCU), which represents 55,000 education workers including custodians and cleaning staff.

"Nine-hundred custodians seems like a lot of people. But you're talking about 4,800 [public elementary and secondary] schools across the province," she said.

Charlie Neibergall/The Associated Press

"That's not enough for the amount of cleaning that we need to do for our students," Walton said, adding that the issue of too few staffers to clean and maintain Ontario public schools has been a perennial issue and was raised during contract negotiations last year.

Walton said she has heard from OSBCU locals about custodial job postings going up in various regions.

She also predicts that, as a first measure, school boards likely will tap their existing casual supply lists to offer those workers permanent employment.

"These are decent paying jobs and so hopefully we will have folks come forward interested," she said. "There is going to be a lot of work."

CBC

'Trying to put a puzzle together'

Boards have been working on reopening scenarios for months.

"We've been at this since really, the beginning of May," noted Peter Sovran, associate director of learning services for the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) and chair of its back-to-school planning group.

His team has been planning how to reopen following the latest pandemic guidelines as well as the board's standard budget allocation from the province.

Sovran says they've been guided by a number of key principles, including student and staff safety, minimizing disruption to regular school routines and flexibility between conventional, adaptive or remote learning if COVID conditions change quickly.

WATCH l Epidemiologist answers questions about heading back to school:

They've also looked at the financial support needed for scenarios such as reducing class sizes.

Since the province announced its decision to keep elementary class sizes at pre-COVID levels, various health officials, parents and educators have reiterated the call for a drastic reduction to facilitate in-class physical distancing.

However, with just weeks to go before school starts, a major reduction to class sizes across HWDSB elementary schools alone would be a complex endeavour, Sovran explained.

Derek Hooper/CBC

According to an updated HWDSB report released Monday, 15-student classes would require about 900 additional teachers at the cost of approximately $76 million. The province has thus far pledged $30 million for the hiring of additional teachers across all of Ontario.

Funding for new teachers aside, Sovran said other logistical considerations if class sizes were reduced include identifying additional classroom spaces, implementing health and safety requirements for those locations and putting necessary resources into them, as well as figuring out which students will be reassigned to what schools and how to get them there.

While HWDSB has already learned of some additional provincial funding headed its way  $1.2 million to hire more custodians, for instance  officials are still awaiting many more details.

"It's trying to put a puzzle together and sometimes all the pieces aren't there or partway through, the pieces of the puzzle change. Trying to fit them together sometimes is a real challenge," Sovran said.

"Has it been stressful? Probably like no other time in any of our careers."

No perfect solution, Ford says

Amid ongoing criticism of Ontario's back-to-school plan, Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Education Stephen Lecce have repeatedly cited the need for flexibility to remain "responsive" to COVID conditions across the province.

CBC News

"We have to be flexible when it comes to education  it doesn't mean that everything will be perfect," Ford noted on Wednesday.

An announcement regarding "improvements" to the back-to-school plan is forthcoming, Ford said, adding there would be no significant changes.

"We're just going to continue working at the process and always improving it. I've never believed in just saying 'OK, that's it. Here, it's done.' "
Lochem, 13 August 2020

ForFarmers 2020 first-half results

Solid recovery, supported by efficiency measures - despite challenging markets.



Highlights for first-half of 20201:

Total Feed 2 volume: -5.6% to 4.8 million tonnes;

of which compound feed: -4.9% to 3.4 million tonnes;

volume: -5.6% to 4.8 million tonnes; of which compound feed: -4.9% to 3.4 million tonnes; Gross profit: +2.5% to 219.5 million; compared to depressed H1 2019 (purchasing position) and due to improved product mix with focus on specialties;

Underlying EBITDA 3 : +34.6% to 48.2 million; rise in gross profit and cost savings due to efficiency measures taken;

: +34.6% to 48.2 million; rise in gross profit and cost savings due to efficiency measures taken; Underlying profit: +80.7% to 21.5 million;

Working capital: (year-on-year) improved by 14.9 million to 76.5 million;

Net cash flow from operating activities: almost tripled to 14.2 million.

[1] Results for the first half of 2020 are compared to the results for the same period of 2019

[2] 'Total Feed' covers the entire ForFarmers product portfolio and consists of compound feed, specialties, co-products (including DML products), seeds and other products (such as forage)

[3] Operating profit excluding depreciation, amortisation and incidental items



Outlook for 2020

Despite expectations of a protracted impact from COVID-19 ForFarmers forecasts that underlying EBITDA and net profit in 2020 will comfortably exceed the weak result in 2019, partly as a result of the efficiency measures taken.

Commenting on the 2020 first-half results ForFarmers CEO Yoram Knoop said:

"Both for many of our customers and for us, the first half of 2020 was dominated by the global outbreak of the coronavirus and the nitrogen debate in the Netherlands. We are proud that our employees have managed to continue producing and transporting feed without any complications for our customers, despite the COVID-19 measures imposed. The closure of the out-of-home sector impacted on our customers' sales, in particular in the second quarter. This was reflected in our volume development, especially in the United Kingdom and Poland.

In addition our customers are facing increased pressure to reduce the environmental impact of their business, with this being translated into various measures in the countries where we operate. Particularly in the Netherlands, where the agricultural sector is a global leader in terms of developing sustainable concepts, the discussion surrounding future government measures to reduce nitrogen emissions, is causing turmoil and uncertainty in the sector. In this light there is a growing need for data-backed advice; this is at the heart of our Total Feed approach.

The COVID situation has forced us to accelerate the implementation of our efficiency plans, meaning that our target of 10 million in cost savings has almost been reached already. Also as a result of this, we achieved a strong increase in underlying EBITDA despite the difficult market conditions, albeit in comparison to a weaker first half in 2019. This gives us confidence for the future. In addition we are working on next steps to make the organisation more efficient. We will announce the relating plans later this year.

There was a further increase in safety awareness at work, resulting in a 21% reduction in lost time incidents (LTIs). The knowledge, experience and dedication of staff is crucial to the successful rollout of any strategy. On 15 September we will publish our strategy for 2020-2025. With our employees, focus and Total Feed approach, we meet the key requirements to be successful in the challenging markets in which we operate," said ForFarmers CEO Yoram Knoop.

Please find attached the pdf for the full press release or read it on our website.

Note to the editor / For additional information:

Caroline Vogelzang

Director Investor Relations

T: 0031 573 288 194 M: 0031 6 10 94 91 61

E: caroline.vogelzang@forfarmers.eu

Company profile

ForFarmers N.V. is an international organisation that offers complete and innovative feed solutions for livestock farming. With its 'For the Future of Farming' mission ForFarmers is committed to the continuity of farming and to further increasing the sustainability of the agricultural sector.

ForFarmers is the market leader in Europe with annual sales of 10.1 million tonnes of animal feed. The organisation operates in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Poland and the United Kingdom. ForFarmers has approximately 2,600 employees. In 2019 revenue amounted to approximately 2.5 billion.

ForFarmers N.V. is listed on Euronext Amsterdam.

ForFarmers will publish its Third Quarter 2020 Trading Update on 30 October 2020.

ForFarmers N.V., Postbus 91, 7240 AB Lochem, T: +31 (0)573 28 88 00, F: +31 (0)573 28 88 99

info@forfarmers.eu/en/ , www.forfarmersgroup.eu/en/

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements, for example relating to ForFarmers' legal obligations in terms of capital and liquidity positions in certain specified scenarios. In addition forward-looking statements may, without limitation, include phrases such as "intends to", "expects", "takes into account", "is aimed at", 'plans to", "estimates" and words of a similar meaning. These statements pertain to or may affect matters in the future, such as ForFarmers' future financial results, business plans and current strategies. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, which may lead to material differences between the actual results and performance and the expected future results or performance as implicitly or explicitly contained in the forward-looking statements. Factors that may result in, or contribute to, deviations from the current expectations include, but are not limited to: developments in legislation, technology, jurisprudence and regulations, share price fluctuations, legal procedures, investigations by regulatory bodies, the competitive landscape and general economic conditions. These and other factors, risks and uncertainties that may affect any forward-looking statements or the actual results of ForFarmers are discussed in the last published annual report. The forward-looking statements in this press release relate solely to I statements as of the date of this document and ForFarmers accepts no obligation or responsibility whatsoever to update the forward-looking statements contained in this release, regardless of whether these pertain to new information, future events or otherwise, unless ForFarmers is legally obliged to do so.

Attachment
The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) conducted multiple searches at premises of a major cement manufacturer in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh over the last seven days and detected GST evasion of Rs 17.2 crore, a release said on Wednesday.

The DGGI, the enforcement arm of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC), has arrested a director of the company from Satna in Madhya Pradesh this connection, it said. The DGGI also seized Rs 52.39 lakh in cash during the searches conducted in two states from August 5 to August 11.

"DGGI has conducted multiple searches in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh from August 5 to August 11 at various premises belonging to a major cement manufacturer located at Maihar and Satna besides their registered dealers and distributors," the DGGI, Bhopal, said in a release.

The release, issued by Additional Director General, DGGI, did not mention names of the manufacturer and the director. The company evaded GST worth Rs 17.2 crore. A sum of Rs 52.39 lakh has also been seized in cash, it said.

The searches have indicated substantial quantities of cement and clinker have been supplied clandestinely without payment of Goods & Service Tax (GST) in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, the DGGI said.

The DGGI had conducted 28 searches at Maihar, Satna, Allahabad, Kushinagar, Agra, Kanpur and in New Delhi during the week-long operation.

Also read: Chinese Hawala scam: Accused used Indian name to secure Aadhaar, PAN card, passport
A former employee of George Morlan Plumbing & Appliance Co. alleges in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that the president, a vice president and his manager subjected him to repeated racist slurs and discrimination while he worked for the company on and off between 2000 and 2019.

Victor Sanabria, 43, seeks $750,000 in damages. The civil suit, filed in Multnomah County Court, names the company, which grew out of a small shop in Southeast Portland in the mid-1930s and now has several shops across Oregon.

Sanabria, who is from El Salvador and now lives in Beaverton, was hired as a warehouse worker before stepping into a sales position and then a store leader in Tigard.

The suit says he reported to Rick Kramien, the president of the company, Andy Hilger, vice president of operations, and Alex Kramien, chief operating officer. Alex Kramien is the son of Rick Kramien.

We deny Mr. Sanabrias allegations unequivocally. We look forward to defending ourselves in court, Alex Kramien said in an email.

The elder Kramien lambasted Sanabria, claiming he was an expletive Mexican who could barely speak the language, repeatedly chided him for his broken English and told him to go back to his (expletive) country, the suit alleges.

The president also told him that Hispanic people dont deserve to be called human, were expensive to the company and replaceable, the suit says.

Despite bringing in profits, Sanabria received a significantly lower salary than his white counterparts, and his pay wasnt increased when he was promoted to serve as a store leader, the suit alleges.

Hilger is accused of reprimanding Sanabria when he heard him speaking Spanish to a co-worker, telling him, You work at George (Expletive) Morlan you speak only English when you are on the clock, according to the suit.

Sanabria complained to the companys human resources office, but no complaints were investigated, the suit contends.

He was fired on Aug. 6, 2019, when the senior Kramien told him, In Oregon I dont need a reason to (expletive) fire you, attorney Ashley Bannon Moore wrote in the suit.

Sanabria is seeking $150,000 in economic damages and $600,000 for emotional distress stemming from the alleged hostile work environment. The suit also seeks a court injunction barring the plumbing company from violating discrimination laws.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian

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Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
MINSK An ally of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko issued a rare public apology on Thursday in a bid to quell nationwide street protests that pose the biggest challenge to the strongman leaders 26-year rule.

At least two protesters have died and thousands have been detained this week in a crackdown following Lukashenkos contested re-election that has prompted the West to consider new sanctions on Minsk.

The emollient tone used in statements by two top state officials underscored the vulnerability of Lukashenkos hold over a country seen by neighbouring Russia as a strategic buffer against NATO and the European Union.

The authorities also began releasing protesters, some of whom had bruises and described being tightly packed inside cells. They complained of mistreatment, including beatings.

I take responsibility and apologise for injuries of random people at the protests who got it in the neck," said Minister of Internal Affairs Yuri Karayev.

Tens of thousands of protesters on Thursday were joined by workers from some state-run industries that are the pride of Lukashenkos Soviet-style economic model, including the Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ) that makes ?trucks? and ?buses.

Footage showed them chanting elections" and go away". Local media also reported protests at the state-run haulage and earthmoving equipment manufacturer BelAZ in a town northeast of Minsk, and at the Grodno Azot chemical plant.

Protesters formed human chains and marched in the capital, backed by at least 10 television presenters and reporters from the tightly controlled state media who resigned in solidarity.

The protesters accuse Lukashenko of rigging last Sundays presidential election to win a sixth term. The president, alleging a foreign-backed plot to destabilise the country, has dismissed the demonstrators as criminals and unemployed.

But another presidential ally, the head of a national state council Natalya Kochanova, said on Thursday that Lukashenko had ordered an urgent review of the detentions.

We dont fight, we dont need war," she said. By this evening more than a thousand people have been freed under an obligation of not taking part in unsanctioned events."

RUSSIA ALLEGES MEDDLING

In Minsk, ambassadors from EU countries laid flowers at the site where one protester died, as a crowd cheered and chanted.

We are here to mourn the loss of life and also to show solidarity with the victims of the violence and abuse that has taken place over many Belarusian towns and cities over the last few days," EU envoy Dirk Schuebel told reporters afterwards.

Lukashenko has sought better relations with the West amid strained ties with traditional ally Russia.

The EU partially lifted sanctions, imposed over Lukashenkos human rights record, in 2016, but could introduce new measures as early as this month. Germany called on the EU to put pressure on Lukashenko.

Russia, which has nudged Lukashenko into accepting closer political and economic ties, expressed concern over what it depicted as attempts by external forces to destabilise Belarus.

A former Soviet collective farm manager, the 65-year-old Lukashenko has faced increasing anger over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic - which he dismissed as a psychosis" - a sluggish economy and human rights.

On Thursday morning people outside the Okrestina detention centre in Minsk, some in tears, waited in the hope of gleaning news of friends and relatives inside. Police and soldiers with machine guns drove them away when they got too close.

Sergei, one of the freed detainees, said there had been 28 people in a cell that would normally contain five. Prisoners took turns to sleep, he said, and were given a single loaf of bread to share out over two days.

They did not beat me in the cell, they took me out of the cell and beat me there," said Sergei, who declined to give his last name.

Reuters could not independently verify his account. A spokeswoman for the interior ministry declined comment.

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
The United Arab Emirates has normalised relations with Israel in a historic US-brokered deal that suspends Israeli annexation of occupied land sought by the Palestinians for their future state.

The surprise agreement, initially announced by the US president, Donald Trump, makes the UAE the first Gulf country and only the third Arab nation in the world to have active diplomatic ties with Israel, joining Egypt and Jordan.

But it was met with fury by Palestinian leaders: Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, called it a stab in the back. Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said the deal amounts to a "betrayal" and Palestinian official news agency Wafa reported the Palestinian envoy to the Emirates had been recalled.

Mr Trump heralded the historic breakthrough, saying the move will advance peace in the Middle East.

In a statement posted on Twitter, he added that the UAE will immediately expand and accelerate cooperation with Israel.

Now that the ice has been broken, I expect more Arab and Muslim countries will follow the United Arab Emirates, he said.

The Emirati leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed also confirmed the news.

During a call with President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, an agreement was reached to stop further Israeli annexation of Palestinian territories, he wrote on Twitter.

The UAE and Israel also agreed to cooperation and setting a roadmap towards establishing a bilateral relationship, he wrote.

A joint statement from the US, the UAE and Israel said delegations will meet in the coming weeks to sign deals on direct flights, security, telecommunications, energy, tourism and healthcare.

They are expected soon to exchange ambassadors and embassies and a signing ceremony is due to be held at the White House.

The two countries will also partner on fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

The recognition of Israel by a Gulf state awards Trump a rare and potentially powerful diplomatic triumph ahead of the November election.

It comes after his efforts to broker a peace deal between the Israelis and the Palestinians had shuddered to a halt, with the Palestinian leadership effectively cutting ties with Washington.

Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the agreement, writing on Twitter that it was a historic day. He later said that West Bank annexation plans are for now on hold, but may still go ahead at some point with US coordination.

In a televised address, he said the full and official peace with the UAE would lead to cooperation in many spheres and a wonderful future for citizens of both countries.

The deal may bolster support for the Israeli leader, who has long boasted of the increasingly close ties his government has enjoyed behind the scenes with Gulf nations.

He will, however, have to answer to his hard-right supporters who have piled pressure on the Israeli premier to annex swathes of occupied Palestinian land despite the fact it is illegal under international law to do so.

Ahead of recent Israeli elections, Mr Netanyahu had promised to imminently push ahead with annexation and welcomed a Trump deal that would allow him to declare sovereignty over a third of the occupied West Bank  territory that, alongside east Jerusalem and Gaza, the Palestinians hoped would make up their future state.

Furious, the Palestinian leadership severed ties with Mr Trump and at one point halted security cooperation with Israel.

On Thursday, leaders from both rival Palestinian factions panned the new deal brokered by Mr Trump. PA Spokesman Abu Rudeineh, reading from a statement, said it was a "betrayal of Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa (mosque, Islam's third-holiest shrine) and the Palestinian cause".

Senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi said the Palestinian leadership had not been informed and were "blindsided" by the news.

Israel got rewarded for not declaring openly what its been doing to Palestine illegally & persistently since the beginning of the occupation," she wrote on Twitter.

Ms Ashrawi also said the UAE has come forward with its secret dealings/normalisation with Israel.

The militant group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, called the deal by the Emiratis a stabbing in the back of our people. Irans Tasnim agency, which is affiliated to the countrys elite Revolutionary Guards one of Israel's arch enemies, called Thursdays deal shameful.

Opening direct ties ... will transform the region by spurring economic growth, enhancing technological innovation and forging closer people-to-people relations, the joint statement read.

Yousef al-Otaiba, the Emirati ambassador to Washington, said it was a significant advance for the region and bolsters the stability of Jordan.

It immediately stops annexation and the potential of violent escalation. It maintains the viability of a two-state solution as endorsed by the Arab League and international community, he said.

The announcement was welcomed by several world figures.

Prime Minister Netanyahu said the deal would lead to a wonderful future for Israeli and Emirati citizen (AFP/Getty Images)

The Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, said he followed with interest the agreement, adding: I value the efforts of those in charge of the deal to achieve prosperity and stability for our region.

The United Nations secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, said he welcomed any initiative that can promote peace and security in the Middle East region, according to a spokesperson.

The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, also praised the deal, calling it a remarkable achievement.

It also illustrates their commitment to confronting common threats, as small  but strong  nations, he added.

Only Egypt and Jordan have active diplomatic ties with Israel.

Egypt made a peace deal with Israel in 1979, followed by Jordan in 1994.

Mauritania recognised Israel in 1999 but later ended relations in 2009 over Israels war in Gaza.

Israel has occupied the West Bank and east Jerusalem since the 1967 Middle East war  territories that the Palestinians hope to be part of their future state.

However, Israelis see these lands as theirs, and so has built hundreds of settlements and outposts over the past few decades.

With additional reporting from agencies
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- The long-running trade dispute between Boeing Co. and Airbus SE has been a source of political grandstanding for years, but with the U.S.s aggression reaching new levels of hypocrisy, the time may finally be right for a settlement.

The U.S. Trade Representatives office announced late Wednesday that it was leaving tariffs on $7.5 billion of imports because the European Union had not yet taken enough action to comply with a World Trade Organization ruling on illegal subsidies for Airbus. The U.S. is taking certain products from Greece and the U.K. off the list of items subject to the duties and adding an equal amount of goods from France and Germany, apparently to focus the pressure for a deal on those two countries. But the U.S. refrained from making good on a threat to impose tariffs on $3.1 billion of additional goods like olives and gin and increase existing duties on aircraft, wine and cheese. The U.S. is committed to obtaining a long-term resolution to this dispute, Robert Lighthizer, the trade representative, said in a statement, which called the tariff adjustments modest. Washingtons decision to hold off on increasing tariffs may help avoid the kind of escalation of tensions that would derail further talks. A European Commission post on Twitter called for both sides to build on this decision and intensify their efforts to find a negotiated solution.

Lets hope so. Its unclear what justification the U.S. has for keeping the the tariffs in place at all. The question of who gave what aid many years ago feels a little silly when the pandemic has crippled air travel and forced governments on both sides to bend over backward to protect their aerospace industries from collapse. The crux of the U.S. trade complaint against Airbus was that the company depended on low-interest government loans to launch its A350 wide-body jet and the now-discontinued A380 superjumbo plane. Airbus said last month that it would amend the terms of the aid to comply with the WTOs rulings, but Lighthizer has indicated he also wants the EU to somehow pay back the subsidy. Its a curious stand to take considering that an unprecedented Federal Reserve bond-buying program is all that kept Boeing from having to give the government a direct equity stake in exchange for a lifeline. The planemaker has been clear that a $25 billion debt sale in April wouldnt have happened without the Feds support of the credit markets and the willingness of Congress and the Treasury Department to extend $88 billion in aid to airlines, contractors, airports and aerospace suppliers. We believe that government support will be critical to ensuring our industrys access to liquidity, Boeing Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun said in late April. The continuation of the tariffs may be the U.S.s way of clinging to whatever negotiating chips it still has, but it feels as if the White House has misjudged this situation. A counterclaim from the EU over U.S. aid to Boeing is still before the WTO, with a ruling expected as early as September on allowable retaliatory tariffs. Airbus said in a statement that it profoundly regrets the U.S. decision to maintain tariffs on aircraft and that it trusts that Europe will respond appropriately to defend its interests. Historically, criticism of the Boeing-Airbus dispute has centered on the risk of mutually assured destruction. But the reality now is that Boeing is much closer to the brink than Airbus.

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Boeing in February lent its support to legislation that would roll back the Washington State tax breaks ruled illegal by the WTO in an apparent realization that any EU tariffs would come at an inopportune time. If it only knew what lay in store. The grounding of the companys marquee 737 Max jet in the wake of two fatal crashes is now coming up on a year and a half. That has loosened the restrictions on cancellations, making the plane a much easier cut for struggling airlines than comparable Airbus orders. Customers have now canceled or swapped orders for 416 Max jets so far this year, Boeing said this week. The company cant afford to give customers yet another reason to back out in the form of tariffs. Not to mention the EU has yet to say when the Max will be allowed to return to its skies at all, giving it significant leverage over Boeings future cash-flow prospects. At best, approval from EU regulators is likely to come several months after the Federal Aviation Administration signs off, and any additional delay would further complicate the planes attractiveness in international markets.

Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of 13 senators this week urged the U.S to roll back the tariffs on European food and beverages, warning of the hit to U.S. restaurants, grocers and consumers from higher prices and potential knock-on effects for agricultural exporters. The U.S.s tough stance may backfire in more ways than one.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Brooke Sutherland is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering deals and industrial companies. She previously wrote an M&A column for Bloomberg News.

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Heavy monsoon rains since May across South Asia, including in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan have caused floods and landslides leaving 1,300 dead or missing and displacing over 18.5 million. The governments failure to take adequate relief measures amid the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified flood victims suffering. They are also contracting water-borne diseases.

In India, over 13 million people are affected, and 900 deaths have been reported from the states of Bihar, Assam, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Maharashtra and Kerala.

In the southern state of Kerala, heavy rains in recent days triggered floods and landslides in Rajamala in the Idukki district, killing 52. In impoverished Bihar state, about 24 died and 7.5 million have been affected. In Assam, 136 deaths and over 5.7 million victims have been reported. Five persons have died in Mumbai. Media reports indicate 239 deaths and tens of thousands of flood victims in West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Rescuers work at the site of a mudslide triggered by heavy monsoon rain and flooding killed at least 15 people and buried 20 homes of tea plantation workers in southern India on Friday, police said. (AP Photo)

In Bangladesh, which is seeing its worst flooding in two decades, districts in the northern and central parts of the country, including the capital, Dhaka, were worst hit. The deaths stand at 145, and over 5.5 million have been affected.

In Nepal, floods and landslides have left 200 dead and 108 missing since May. In Pakistan 58 have died and in Afghanistan, at least 16.

Floods have damaged river embankments, bridges, culverts and roads, and houses, crops, livestock, domestic animals and poultry have been devastated. Victims lack drinking water and food. Social conditions are worsened by cuts to jobs and wages due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The governments of South Asian countries have responded to the crisis with contempt and hypocrisy, refusing to provide adequate relief materials, rescue equipment, medicine, trained manpower and infrastructure.

Hundreds of people in Bihar staged protests, demanding basic needs such as drinking water and food. They blocked a bridge in Muzaffarpur on July 27, accusing the government of neglect.

After the protest, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ordered a pittance of Rs 6,000 ($US80) paid to the accounts of flood-affected families, to dissipate social anger.

Victims in Assam complained they did not receive aid. Nilima Khatun, a villager in Assam, said: Our villages and all nearby villages have been under chest-deep water for about a week now.  We are passing days in misery with no relief coming our way from the government.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has declared that she advised state officials to ensure adequate facilities for those affected. However, flood victims are starving since relief supplies are insufficient. On August 10, the Daily Star reported: People whose houses have been damaged by floods are passing their days in extreme hardship amid insufficient government relief and support for their rehabilitation.

Arif Hossain from Munshiganj District in central Bangladesh, who lived by transporting people on his small boat, told Interpress Service: Many people in the areas left the villages  those who have no place to go, like me, are staying here in homes that are already [flooded]  Were staying in a room submerged in knee-deep water. He added, I havent received any kind of aid.

While governments claim they are providing enough relief supplies, Dr Abhishek Rimal, Regional Emergency Health Coordinator of Asia Pacific for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said on August 6: Millions of people are also gathered in confined spaces or sleeping in temporary shelters with limited access to food, safe water and protection from mosquitoes, creating the perfect storm for the spread of mosquito and water-borne diseases. These include malaria, dengue, diarrhea, and skin diseases.

At least 10,000 people have fallen ill, with children among the worst affected by rising malnutrition. According to UNICEF estimates, around 1.3 million Bangladeshi children will be affected by flooding this year.

Flood victims also face the devastating COVID-19 pandemic in crowded makeshift camps. India has become the third-worst impacted country in the world, with 2.3 million cases and over 46,000 deaths. Bangladesh is now the 15th-worst impacted country, with over 260,000 infections and over 3,500 deaths. Nepal has surpassed 23,000 cases with 83 deaths, and Afghanistan 37,000 cases with 1,354 deaths.

At a meeting on Monday with chief ministers of six statesAssam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and KeralaIndias Hindu-supremacist prime minister, Narendra Modi, declared that his government will install a permanent system for forecasting of floods. Such promises have frequently been made but not implemented in the past.

In a nationalistic attack on Nepal, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said Indian authorities are not receiving full cooperation from Nepal for the past few years.

Flooding is an ecologically natural and sometimes essential process in any landscape with rivers and streams. In India, where the monsoonal climate brings concentrated rainfall in two to three months each year, massive river flooding is a yearly event across much of the country.

Today, however, it is not just a natural, but a man-made disaster. The landscapes near rivers have been ravaged by unplanned development, haphazard urbanization by respective governments and corporations.

Hundreds of thousands of families have been forced to settle in flood prone areas, with no early warning or evacuation systems. Large river basins such as Ganga-Brahmaputra basin are segmented by arbitrary national boundaries, where rival nation-states policies undermine common watershed planning.

Even the meagre funding allocated for flood management goes into hard infrastructure projects, such as dams or embankment raising, which can become problems rather than solutions in the long run. For example, in the state of Odisha, nine of the 14 major floods reported in the last decade were due to the sudden release of water from the Hirakud dam. One hundred and fifty people died in the worst flood in three decades in Gujarat in 2006, when the Ukai dam had to release large amounts of water.

Such failures become more disastrous with time as these static structures cannot accommodate the extremes in rainfall due to global climate change.

In the past few decades, a global consensus has emerged among experts and engineers on the need for Integrated Flood Management (IFM). The Associated Program for Flood Management (APFM) defines this as a process of integrated land and water resources development, with a view to maximizing the efficient use of flood plains and minimizing loss of life and property.

Such an approach requires a massive reallocation of funding to thoroughly study and monitor the watershed ecosystems, relocate communities if necessary, restore degraded ecosystems, and build multi-purpose engineering systems to manage water without harming ecological processes.

Recent developments in communication technology, remote sensing, and computer modeling, and rapidly advancing skill levels of the working class, have laid a strong foundation to realize IFM. The main barrier remains the capitalist nation-state system, based on private profit rather than human needs. Protection from floods and effective utilization and sharing of waters from these rivers requires socialist planning by establishing a Union of Socialist Republics of South Asia as part of a world socialist federation.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), the regulatory body in charge of the investigation into the worst air disaster in India in a decade that has claimed 18 lives including two pilots, on Thursday appointed a team of five investigators to lead the probe.

The director general of regulatory body AAIB has appointed Capt SS Chahar, former designated examiner on B737NG, as the Investigator- in-Charge, according to an order issued by AAIB on Thursday. HT has reviewed a copy of the order.

The Investigator-in-Charge will complete the inquiry and submit the report to AAIB preferably within five months from the date of issue of this order, it stated.

He will be assisted by Operations Expert Ved Prakash; Senior Aircraft Maintenance Engineer -B737 Mukul Bhardwaj; Gp. Capt. (Dr.) Y S Dahiya, Aviation Medicine Expert and Jasbir Singh Larhga, Deputy Director AAB.

The Investigator-in-Charge may take the assistance of other experts/agencies whenever required. The headquarters of the investigation will be at New Delhi, the order said.

Whereas Boeing 737-800 aircraft VT-AXH, of M/s Air India Express Ltd, while operating a scheduled flight from Dubai International Airport, UAE, met with an accident on August 7, 2020 during landing at Kozhikode International Airport. And, whereas the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), India desires as per its mandate to investigate and determine the probable causes) and contributory factor(s) leading to the accident and make recommendations to avoid recurrence of such accident in future, the order said.

Now, in exercise of the powers conferred by the Rule 11 (1) of the Aircraft (Accident and Incidents Investigation) Rules 2017, the Director General-AAIB, India hereby orders an investigation into the said accident to find out the probable causes.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had announced last week that the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder were recovered from the crash site. The cockpit voice recorder keeps a recording of all the conversations taking place in a planes cockpit and along with the flight data recorder, which logs data such as airspeed, altitude and fuel flow, it can help in determining the cause of the crash.

The Boeing 737 jet, on a Vande Bharat mission as flight AIX 1344 from Dubai that was bringing in Indians who were stranded abroad due to the Covid-19 pandemic, met with an accident while landing at the Kozhikode airport in treacherous conditions on August 7, breaking into two  making it one of the deadliest commercial aviation disasters in the country in nearly 10 years.

The crash occurred around 7.40pm and bore striking similarity to the 2010 Mangalore airport crash when a plane, also an Air India Express Boeing 737, overshot a table-top runway and crashed nose-first.

The aviation regulator has also banned the use of wide-body aircraft during the monsoon at Keralas Calicut airport and decided to divert them to neighbouring airports during the monsoon season. The aviation regulator is also planning to conduct safety audits across airports in regions that receive high rainfall, he added.

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Whats better than one National Museum of Industry History? Two National Museums of Industry History!

Well, there wont be two museums. But the current NMIH is going to be doubling in size this fall. The South Bethlehem museum sent out a press release on Thursday announcing that it has broken ground on constructing an outdoor park that will nearly double the size of the museums space  twice the fun, twice the education, twice the industry.

The project, which costs about $275,000, will reimagine space that the museum already owned. The 17,000 square feet of space will be turned into an area displaying the process and progress of, well, the history of industry, utilizing working machines  some of which are from Bethlehem Steel.

Construction is expected to last two months. Much of that construction will involve installing a plethora of machinery. Lehigh University is donating former Bethlehem Steel equipment that includes an electric arc furnace, a miniature basic oxygen furnace, a 10-ton ladle, and a rare ingot mold.

In addition to the new exhibits, the park will be the new home of the Steelworkers Veterans Memorial, which currently stands at the Third and Polk streets parking lot.

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Connor Lagore may be reached at clagore@njadvancemedia.com.
Christopher Columbus was not responsible for bringing syphilis to Europe, a new study suggests.

The explorer and his crew have long been blamed for bringing the sexually transmitted disease back to the continent after travelling to the Americas.

However, analysis of six skeletons in Finland, two in Estonia and one from the Netherlands yielded four positive samples for the syphilis bacteria, Treponema pallidum.

This shows the sexually transmitted disease was spreading across Europe in the early 1400s.

Given Columbus did not set sail until August 3, 1492, scientists from the University of Zurich say the explorer and his escapades are not the root cause of the syphilis outbreak which lasted for three centuries.

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Analysis of six skeletons in Finland, two in Estonia and one from the Netherlands yielded four positive samples for the syphilis bacteria, Treponema pallidum. They show that the syphilis bacteria was in Europeans in early 1400s

Columbus and his crew have long been blamed for bringing the sexually transmitted disease back to the continent after travelling to the Americas. Pictured, lesions in the skull of a Finnish individual with signs of treponemal infection: damage to the facial area and lesions in the cranium

The study tracked the history of the Treponema pallidum bacteria and its related species, to find out when it was first circulating and to try and track down its origin.

While they are unable to explain what caused the outbreak that wreaked havoc in Europe from the late 15th to the 18th century, the researchers did learn more detail about the syphilis family tree.

Lurking inside a skeleton found in the Netherlands was a previously unknown relative of the syphilis virus.

This lineage evolved in parallel to syphilis and the related disease yaws, but is no longer present as a modern-day disease.

First author Dr Kerttu Majander said: 'This unforeseen discovery is particularly exciting for us.

'This lineage is genetically similar to all present treponemal subspecies, but also has unique qualities that differ from them.'

The study also suggests syphilis and related pathogens first evolved around 2,500 years ago.

But for venereal syphilis in particular, the latest common ancestor was around between the 12th and 16th century.

Researchers used state molecular and traditional radiocarbon dating techniques to track the bacterial genomes back to the start of the 15th century.

Lurking inside a skeleton found in the Netherlands was a previously unknown relative of the syphilis virus. This lineage evolved in parallel to syphilis and yaws but is no longer present as a modern-day disease

Christopher Columbus (pictured) is not responsible for bringing syphilis to Europe, a new study suggests. Study shows the STi was prevalent in Europe in early-15th century, while he did not set sail for the New World until 1492

Co-author Professor Verena Schunemann, a palaeogenetist at the University of Zurich, said: 'It seems the first known syphilis breakout cannot be solely attributed to Columbus' voyages to America.

'The results indicate the genomes dated back to between the early 15th and 18th century.'

One in five 18th century Londoners caught syphilis London in the 18th century was riddled with syphilis, according to a study that found one in five people living in the capital had the sexually transmitted disease. Georgian Londoners were also 25 times more likely than those living in rural Cheshire and north-east Wales to contract the disease, researchers found. A major study by researchers from the University of Cambridge involved painstakingly scouring archives from the period including hospital admissions to calculate the rate of syphilis infection for men and women up to the age of 35. One-fifth is a 'reliable minimum' estimate for just how prevalent the disease was in the capital, with authors suggesting syphilis was just the tip of the iceberg. 'A far greater number would have contracted gonorrhea or chlamydia than contracted syphilis in this period,' according to the historians behind the study. In fact it is very likely that the vast majority of people living in the capital contracted an STI of one type or another while they were young, the team confirmed. Advertisement

This disspells the long-held theory that the syphilis outbreak was sparked by the returning sailors using Native American Indian women for sex.

Before this study, the first recorded case was among French mercenary troops in 1495, only a handful of years after Columbus returned to Europe after discovering the 'New World'.

It then also occurred in Naples, following a French invasion during the Italian War of 1494-98, which is why it is sometimes dubbed the 'French disease.'

There are other types of T. pallidum, such as yaws, which is transmitted through skin-to-skin or oral contact, but not intercourse.

Yaws was identified in the remains of one of the individuals. Today, the disease is only found in tropical and subtropical regions.

The chronic infection is rarely passed on through sex. It affects the skin, bone and cartilage and is still found in poor communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Professor Schunemann said: 'Our data indicates yaws was spread through all of Europe. It was not limited to the tropics, as it is today.'

The findings are today published in the journal Current Biology.

Syphilis can be fatal if left to run rampant but its severity is often dismissed due to the availability of antibiotics. it is now also spreading at an alarming rate.

Cases in England increased by 20 per cent between 2016 and 2017, and reached the highest number reported since 1949, official data shows.

It is the fastest growing STI in the UK and experts blame the rising popularity of dating apps.

Over the last decades, more than 10 million people around the world have been infected.

In 2018, more than 7,137 cases were diagnosed - up from 2,874 in 2008. Syphilis is spread by unprotected sex. If left untreated it can cause serious health problems.
Ram Gopal Varma is not in a mood to rest during the Coronavirus crisis. The filmmaker has been constantly producing adult-themed web films on his OTT platform. Apart from that, RGV also makes the headlines for his controversial statements on social media. Recently, the filmmaker caught everyone's attention by announcing his next, Dangerous, starring Apsara Rani and Naina Ganguly in the lead roles. The film is an intense lesbian love story.

While announcing the film, RGV revealed in a tweet, "DANGEROUS is a crime drama at the centre of which is a highly tragic and extremely intense love story between Naina Ganguly and Apsara Rani."Amidst all, the latest update about Dangerous has left RGV fans surprised. Despite being a citizen of Hyderabad, Ram Gopal Varma is reportedly planning to shoot outdoor scene of Dangerous in Goa. A report published in a leading portal suggests that some scenes require outdoor shoots. Due to the spike in numbers of COVID-19 positive cases in Hyderabad, it's impossible to shoot those scenes in the city. Hence, RGV is thinking of shooting outdoor scenes in Goa where the Coronavirus outbreak is under control. Moreover, the report also states that RGV has planned to shoot three other movies in Goa. However, there is no official confirmation about the same.

Also Read : Ram Gopal Varma Makes Sensuous Comment On Actress Apsara Rani; Netizens Troll Him

On a related note, Ram Gopal Varma has earlier worked with Apsara Rani for an erotic film, Thriller. He recently released the trailer of Thriller on social media. RGV is also making a film on renowned Journalist Arnab Goswami and has titled it as ARNAB: The News Prostitute. Recently, the filmmaker even shared the first look of the film on Twitter.

Also Read : Ram Gopal Varma: I Am Shocked With These Attacking Jokers Claiming To Be A Part Of OU-JAC
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Import and export prices in the U.S. both increased by more than expected in the month of July, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday. The report said import prices climbed by 0.7 percent in July after surging up by 1.4 percent in June. Economists had expected import prices to rise by 0.4 percent. The bigger than expected increase in export prices came as prices for fuel imports soared by 6.9 percent in July after skyrocketing by 21.9 percent in June. The Labor Department said Export prices also advanced by 0.8 percent in July following a 1.2 percent jump in June. Economists had expected export prices to climb by 0.6 percent compared to the 1.4 percent spike originally reported for the previous month. 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.
Undocumented immigrants and agricultural workers in Washington, who lost their income because of the coronavirus pandemic and were passed over for federal assistance, will finally receive relief funds from the state.

Undocumented immigrants and the agricultural workers are just two of the groups heavily impacted by the global pandemic.

When the CARES Act was signed into law, undocumented immigrants did not receive federal aid due to their immigration status. Many agricultural workers did not receive federal aid as well.

On Monday, Washington Governor Jay Inslee announced that he was setting up a $40 million fund for the states' undocumented immigrants and agricultural workers, who were not able to access the federal aid. This is to ensure that they will have the aid they need amid the economic fallout.

It will make Washington one of the states to use government funds to help undocumented immigrants and agricultural workers like California and Oregon.

Undocumented immigrants and agrarian workers played vital roles during the pandemic's wake because of their essential roles. Most of the undocumented immigrants worked as house helpers, grocery store assistant, and farmers.

While most Americans are in their home because of the stay-at-home order, many of them continue to work to ensure that the country's food chain is sustained.

According to a published article on the governor's website, an amount of $3 million will be allocated for Food Protection Paid Leave as a source of financial resources for food production workers, who remain home when getting ill and infected by the virus.

To make sure that this fund will reach the heavily impacted undocumented immigrants, Inslee and his staff are working closely with a coalition representing 430 immigrant rights, social services organizations, and labor advocacy leaders.

"We have to ensure that no one in our state is left behind as we fight this pandemic," Inslee said.

"COVID-19 doesn't care what your immigration status is. We must support every family affected by the virus, especially those who lack the necessary means to quarantine or isolate and prevent further spread," he added.

Inslee further noted that this is the right thing to do for the well-being of individuals, their colleagues' health, and the safety of communities regardless of immigrant status.

The global pandemic has shown a gap between the rich and poor and the legal and illegal immigrants in terms of the benefits they received through the CARES Act.

The Washington State Department of Social and Health Services has already requested to partner with a nonprofit group to administer the Immigrant Relief Fund. The organization will then partner with community groups to manage the awards of $1,000 for every eligible individual. The initial distribution is expected to be made later in the fall.

Rich Stolz, executive director of the immigrant rights group OneAmerica, said: "a coalition of immigrant organizations came together to develop this fund that recognizes the dignity of our undocumented community members and works to get some relief to their families during this difficult time."

Inslee has been very aggressive in supporting the immigrants and refugees in the country throughout his time as the state governor. Now, he is showing his support again to the undocumented immigrants by setting up a fund for them.

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NEW DELHI : Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot indicated that the Congress has put its house in order a day before the crucial floor test in the assembly by shaking hands before the start of the legislative party meeting on Thursday evening.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to bring a no-confidence motion if Gehlot does not move a trust vote in the assembly on Friday after the chief minister and Pilot, who had earlier allegedly refused to work with Gehlot, buried the hatchet.

We are bringing a no-confidence motion tomorrow in the assembly along with our allies," said senior BJP leader Gulab Chand Kataria, the leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan assembly.

Senior party leaders argued that there were a lot of differences in the government and it was important for the people of the state to know that instead of working for the people, the chief minister and former deputy chief minister were fighting against each other at a time covid was ravaging the country.

The way they have struggled, there are chances that they might bring a vote of confidence in the assembly. However, we are also ready to bring a no-confidence motion," said Satish Punia, BJPs Rajasthan president.

The meeting between Gehlot and Pilot, which took place at the formers official residence, came hours after the Congress revoked the suspension of MLAs Bhanwarlal Sharma and Vishvendra Singh. The revocation paved the way for all MLAs who had rebelled against the government to attend Thursdays legislative party meeting.

Gehlot reiterated the need to bury differences and move on, even as MLAs supporting him questioned the return of rebels. Whatever misunderstanding occurred in the party in last one month, we need to forgive and forget in the interest of the country, state, people and in the interest of democracy," Gehlot said on Twitter.

The Congress is in a comfortable position in the assembly with 107 MLAs, apart from the support of smaller parties and independents.

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Rishi Sunak has set out his 'three Rs' plan for a post-lockdown Britain: 'Relight' the economy, 'Return' to work, and 'Re-open' schools.

The Chancellor's new programme is intended to save Britain from economic disaster amid the 'worst ever' recession brought about during the coronavirus crisis.

Mr Sunak said that Britons should 'safely' return to work, along with shops and restaurants, adding that now is the time for 'everyone to rally round and really fire up the economy together'.

He told the Sun: 'Whether it's going back to school or work in the office again, going to your local restaurant or pub for a meal or visiting your local shops for a bit of retail therapy, if we all play our part we can relight our economic firepower together.

'I know that businesses around the country have taken extraordinary steps to make sure everyone can do so confidently and safely.'

Mr Sunak said Britain had seen adversity before and emerged stronger, and this time would be 'no different'.

'As people get back to going shopping or going out for a meal or indeed getting back to their office they will see that it's a new normal . . . a safe normal,' he said, adding that Britons should not be 'too nervous' about Covid.

Rishi Sunak said that Britons should 'safely' return to work, along with shops and restaurants, adding that now is the time for 'everyone to rally round and really fire up the economy together'

The Office for National Statistics said the UK had been harder hit in the first half of the year than any other G7 economy - with only Spain enduring a worse downturn

The Institute of Economic Affairs claims that lifting the lockdown and reopening of schools will be important steps in rebuilding the economy (pictured: A pupil at a school in Glasgow on Wednesday)

The Institute of Economic Affairs claims that lifting the lockdown and reopening of schools will be important steps in rebuilding the economy.

The Chancellor's plan comes amid news that Britain has suffered the deepest recession among the world's top economies this year, shrinking by a fifth in the second quarter alone when much of the economy was mothballed as part of efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

The 20.4% quarterly drop is the worst since records began in 1955, the Office for National Statistics said, and means the country is officially in recession following two consecutive quarters of a declining economy.

Rishi Sunak refuses to rule out delaying Budget if coronavirus outbreak spikes again Rishi Sunak today refused to rule out delaying his crucial Budget this Autumn if there is a second wave of coronavirus. The Chancellor is believed to be ready to shelve the financial package - billed as the defining moment of the government - if the situation escalates again. In an interview this morning, Mr Sunak did not dismiss the idea of rescheduling, but insisted the Treasury was 'very much working towards the goal' of having the Budget as expected. The contingency planning underlines the anxiety in government about the recent rise in cases across Europe. A delay would likely be until the spring of next year, and Mr Sunak could instead choose to deliver a 'mini-spending review' before Christmas to update departmental budgets. One ally of Mr Sunak told the Financial Times: 'While it's very likely to happen, there is an element of uncertainty. 'If we have a series of local lockdowns and a second spike, it's not clear that would be the right time for a Budget.' Speaking to Sky News today, the Chancellor said: 'We've said that we plan to have a fiscal event in the autumn and we're very much working towards that goal.' Advertisement

While many of the lockdown restrictions have since been eased, the country faces a tough time in coming months, with unemployment likely to spike as the government phases out a support program that has effectively kept nearly 10 million workers on company payrolls.

Britain's recession is deeper than those recorded by comparable economies in Europe, notably Germany, France and Italy, or by the United States. Canada and Japan, the remaining members of the Group of Seven leading industrial nations, have yet to publish their second-quarter numbers.

Kallum Pickering, senior economist at Berenberg Bank, said the main reason why the British economy has fared worse is that the lockdown was introduced at 'a later stage' in the virus outbreak, particularly when compared with others in Europe.

By the time Prime Minister Boris Johnson introduced the lockdown on March 23, the UK had 'a bigger first wave' than could have otherwise been the case, meaning restrictions had to go on for longer.

Shops in Germany, for example, reopened on May 6 compared with June 15 in England.

The UK has the highest official coronavirus death toll in Europe with 46,611 deaths. The actual toll is believed to be higher as the official dataset only incorporates those who have tested positive for COVID-19.

There is some hope that the economy is healing as lockdown restrictions are eased.

'The economy began to bounce back in June with shops reopening, factories beginning to ramp up production and house-building continuing to recover,' said statistician Jonathan Athow.

The British government hopes the economy will be helped by further measures such as the reopening of pubs and restaurants and a recommendation for office workers to return to their workplaces provided they are deemed COVID-safe.

However, Samuel Tombs, senior UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, thinks the British economy will likely 'lag' others because of 'structural disadvantages,' notably the fact that the economy is so dependent on consumer-facing businesses, where clearly human interactions are more important than in manufacturing or construction.

And it's almost inevitable that unemployment will sky-rocket, potentially more than doubling to the 3 million mark last seen in the 1980s.

'Whether it's going back to school or work in the office again, going to your local restaurant or pub for a meal or visiting your local shops for a bit of retail therapy, if we all play our part we can relight our economic firepower together,' the Chancellor said (pictured: Pupils at a Glasgow school, August 12)

The UK has the highest official coronavirus death toll in Europe with 46,611 deaths. The actual toll is believed to be higher as the official dataset only incorporates those who have tested positive for COVID-19

'I've said before that hard times were ahead, and today's figures confirm that hard times are here,' said Treasury chief Rishi Sunak. 'Hundreds of thousands of people have already lost their jobs, and sadly in the coming months many more will.'

So far, the British government has kept a lid on the official unemployment numbers through its Job Retention Scheme, which has given hard-pressed firms the opportunity to retain workers rather than fire them.

Under the scheme, it has been paying a large chunk of the salaries of workers retained. Some 1.2 million employers have taken advantage of the program to furlough 9.6 million people at a cost to the government of 33.8 billion pounds ($44 billion).

Sunak is ending the program in October but insists 'nobody will be left without hope or opportunity.'

Many, including unions and opposition lawmakers, are urging him to extend the program to sectors still suffering from restrictions.

'The best way to get our economy back on its feet is to keep people in work,' said Frances O'Grady, general secretary at the umbrella Trades Union Congress.

The British economy faces other headwinds besides the pandemic, notably uncertainty over its future trading relationship with the European Union following the U.K.'s departure from the bloc in January.

The UK is currently in a transition period whereby it remains part of the EU's tariff-free arrangements until the end of the year.

The future economic relationship has yet to be agreed upon, meaning tariffs could be imposed on traded goods between the two sides come the start of next year - a development that most economists think would further hobble an economy struggling to recover from the pandemic.
WATTS HEALING

While a compelling case can be made for a significant expansion of the Los Angeles City Council, a more modest and immediately doable approach to demonstrating our concern with minority rights in these turbulent times would be to free Watts from Council District 15 and join it with Council District 9.

As it stands, Council District 15 includes Watts and San Pedro. Watts is overwhelmed by San Pedros much larger population and the vital importance of the Port of Los Angeles as a principal economic engine for Los Angeles. In comparison to San Pedro, Watts has often been an afterthought at best at City Hall. Moreover, the minority populations of Watts have almost nothing in common with the people of San Pedro.

The pandemic and the social unrest from the murder of George Floyd has highlighted the unfairness with which Watts and all of South-Central Los Angeles has been treated. The root cause is a concentration of political power in too few hands. The time is ripe for meaningful change.

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Just as the medical pandemic was inevitable, its social and economic impact was inevitable and has been of pandemic proportions. The cause of the medical pandemic is a virus. The cause of the social and economic pandemic is an unequal sharing of political power. The unfair sharing of power has led to an unfair distribution of public resources and abandonment of inner-city communities, especially Black and Brown communities, leaving them vulnerable and susceptible to adversity. The unfair power structure, from which so much inequity arises, underlies the lack of trust Black and Brown communities have for governmental institutions. While it may be a shock to city officials and their more affluent neighbors, it is no surprise to poor people in South Los Angeles that they have been the ones to suffer more during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hopelessness and demoralizing neglect are no strangers to South Los Angeles neighborhoods like Watts.

Los Angeles County is divided into eight Service Planning Areas (SPAs). The area called South Central within the City of Los Angeles is in County SPA 6 and official county statistics show that in SPA 6, as many as 42% of residents have not completed high school, only 48% are employed, only 8.6% have post-graduate degrees, 34% are below the federal poverty limit, 10% are homeless, 35% have HIV/AIDS, and there is a 30% homicide rate for those 15-34 years old. If you are born in South Central, your life expectancy is about 12 years less than if you were born on the Westside.

Of those employed in SPA 6, a very significant amount of their income goes to paying for housing. An extraordinary percentage of young Black men are incarcerated (40% of inmates are Black, while Blacks are only 13% of the population). Incarceration is often taken for granted by families and is as common as going to college in other parts of Los Angeles. Only about half of residents have a strong feeling of belonging to their community. It is a population full of pain and sorrow. It is an area least able to absorb blows from a pandemic or anything else. Approximately, 60% of residents of SPA 6 believe their neighborhood is unsafe.

A drive down Central Avenue in Watts and surrounding streets illuminates the neglected condition of the neighborhoods. One notices at once the filth of the poor roads, buildings with broken windows, people lingering about with nothing to do, the tents and sleeping bags of the homeless, and parks built adjacent to mountains of contaminated soil. The visual neglect of South-Central neighborhoods sends the message that no one in power cares. This is the well-described broken-window phenomenon: no one cares enough to fix broken windows, so who cares about the rest of the building. Have you ever heard of a brushes up policy? Thats the policy that allows street sweepers to neglect entire corridors by simply driving by with the brushes up. This way, they still collect the fees for service.

A high percentage of the residents, fortunate enough to have housing, live with many family members crowded together in a few rooms. It doesnt take a medical genius to know that a highly contagious virus will spread easily in such a setting and cause sickness and death far greater than elsewhere. The important question is how did South Los Angeles communities, like Watts, end up this way? How did these communities evolve such a perfect culture for the twin pandemics of deepening poverty and highly infectious virus?

A fundamental cause of the distressed condition of inner-city communities like Watts has been a longstanding monopoly of power in Los Angeles. Watts has lacked sufficient political power to elect local politicians, let alone pass legislation that brings resources back to its community of great need. Poorly shared political power has caused city resources to be disproportionately directed to the wealthier parts of the district. If we are honest, we must admit that Watts and other South Los Angeles communities like it, have been at the very bottom rung of the quality of life ladder of distress. Its like the saying goes, if you dont have a seat at the table, then youre on the menu.

We need to expand the distribution of political power, starting by giving the Watts area of South Los Angeles a stronger voice in City Hall. Watts has been like the lamb depicted in the famous definition of democracy as two wolves and a lamb voting on dinner. Watts has been on the menu. Not much will change unless Watts enlarges its political profile by joining its natural neighbor to the north in CD9 or its less likely neighbor to the west in CD8.

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We need to take this historic convergence of twin pandemics to culminate the current rhetoric of aspiration and change into corrective reality. We need to transform the sad events of international grief about systemic racism in America and the terrible global virus into a pivotal moment in the history of Los Angeles. We need to treat the cause rather than the symptoms of these twin diseases. Sure, we can make ourselves feel better by continuing to throw money at various social programs but that is like treating the symptoms than its cause. Instead, we need to confront and cure the structural injustice in our body politic.

Placing Watts in CD 9 is a modest, reasonable and necessary modification of city government. It will go a long way toward creating a more democratic and responsive city government that will enjoy greater legitimacy. It will enhance city governments ability to work for the welfare of all the people.

Enlarging the area encompassed by CD 9 will begin what could become nothing short of an Urban Marshall Plan capable of transforming many broken communities. A greater voice in the halls of power will contribute to the reduction of racial tyranny and humiliation. We all want the sounds of gunfire exchanged for the sounds of bulldozers, welders, riveters, and carpenters. Enlarging CD 9 will help reduce political disparity and level the playing field.

We cannot shrink from the political struggle that this may entail. It is simply one more mountain to climb on the journey to freedom. We must climb it together so that everyone has an equal chance for upward mobility, an equal chance in the struggle for self-sufficiency and most importantly, self-determination. We are committed and determined to confront with confidence the political battle which may be necessary to achieve our goals. Political battles are, after all, the lifeblood of democracy.

Respectfully

Tim Watkins, Chief Executive Officer Attorney  Los Angeles Watts Labor Community Action Committee

Mark Ravis, M.D., J.D., M.P.A. President, Attorney  Los Angeles, Law Office of Mark Ravis & Associates
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 23:58:19|Editor: huaxia

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BANGKOK, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Schools across Thailand on Thursday resumed full operation as the COVID-19 pandemic situation improves in the country, with the Ministry of Education keeping a close watch should a second wave of infections flare up.

The ministry also instructed all schools to keep an eye on students and their whereabouts after school.

"The whereabout of schools students after class, is part of the compulsory measure against COVID-19," said Education Minister Nataphol Teepsuwan.

"The ministry and all schools are still learning how to best deal with the pandemic and if a second wave of infections occur, then schools can always return to virtual learning," said the minister.

However, it is important that students learn from social and peer groups, hence the resumption of full schedule classes, said the minister.

"If a second COVID-19 wave struck, classes with infected students would be closed first and the duration of the closures would be determined by local education ministry offices," said Nataphol.

The Ministry of Education has also prepared quarantine facilities at the borders for children from Myanmar and Laos who regularly cross into Thailand to study.

Many of those students live with their relatives in Thailand during the week and cross back over the border to return to their families at the weekend, said Nataphol. Enditem
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Exasperated residents of Manhattan's Chelsea district say they are tired of complaining to the authorities about a sprawling homeless camp that has taken root in their midst.

Around 20 people are believed to be living along West 24th Street, on the corner with Sixth Avenue, The New York Post reported. The camp is one block from the landmark Flatiron Building and Madison Square Park.

Bill de Blasio, mayor of New York, promised three weeks ago to resolve the depressing scene but nothing has been done, and locals told the paper that they were fed up.

On July 23 he said he would do 'whatever it takes' to 'have it addressed right away', but the camp has only grown.

It comes as more than 13,000 homeless people settle into hotels across the city after being removed from homeless shelters to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks.

Now, they are living in some luxury hotels in the Garment District and Upper West Side and are terrifying residents. De Blasio says they'll stay there until there's a vaccine which could be another six months.

There are also fewer police on the streets since de Blasio and the city council cut the NYPD's budget by $1billion in response to pressure from BLM activists last month. Many wealthy residents have fled their homes in fear, taking their disposable income and tax dollars with them. De Blasio waved them off, calling them 'fair weather friends' who will be replaced.

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The block, running along West 24th Street on the corner with Sixth Avenue, has become a dumping ground for trash

The camp has sprung up in the heart of Manhattan, one block from the Flatiron Building in Chelsea

Homeless people have moved in to the street, making use of the furniture thrown out by fleeing New Yorkers

'We call 311 so many times and they don't come,' said Sam Fernando, a worker at 725 Video.

'They block the door. I ask them nicely to move and they want to fight,' he told the paper. They harass the customers. How can you do business in an environment like this?'

Some have constructing makeshift shelters out of flower pots, plastic gates or shopping carts. Others have claimed doorways to sleep in as their own.

With an estimated 500,000 people having left the city since the pandemic begun, abandoned furniture abounds, and homeless people have crafted their own shelters.

Richard Charlton, owner of Sixth Avenue's A+ Access Locksmith, agreed that it was harming his business.

'I have a lot of customers that complain,' he told the paper.

'They don't want to come down this block.'

He said the homeless people begun arriving when the area was shuttered due to the pandemic, and 'never left'.

'They just kept on coming,' he said.

A homeless encampment continues to thrive on 6th Ave and 24th street as a police cruise sits by and does nothing while the store owners in the neighborhood complain about the ongoing issue.

A homeless encampment continues to thrive on 6th Ave and 24th street as a police cruise sits by and does nothing while the store owners in the neighborhood complain about the ongoing issue

A homeless encampment continues to thrive on 6th Ave and 24th street as a police cruise sits by and does nothing while the store owners in the neighborhood complain about the ongoing issue

A homeless encampment that has taken hold on 6th ave and 24th in Manhattan on Aug 12 2020

Members of the NYPD walked along Sixth Avenue on Wednesday, but did not take any action about the chaos

The officers left without doing anything to improve the situation, which is unsanitary and unsafe for all concerned

A homeless encampment that has taken hold on 6th Ave and 24th in Manhattan. The camp is seen above on Tuesday

Charlton, whose store was closed between March and June, said it was disheartening to weather one storm only to return to another.

De Blasio, pictured on August 11 eating in Chinatown at Wo Hop, vowed to do something about the camp but hasn't yet

'I was almost at the brink of shutting down,' he said. 'It's overwhelming to be shut down for so long  business is slow  and to come back to this? It's discouraging.'

The owner of The Corner Cafe said he has called the police 'almost 20 to 30 times' over the past two months for various issues with the encampment.

When the police would respond at all, the homeless simply moved away until the police left, then circled back, he said.

A spokesman for the Department of Social Services, which includes the Department of Homeless Services, said that city agencies have conducted a 'full clean-up' at the location twice since de Blasio's July 23 press briefing.

A third clean-up is being scheduled, the spokesman added, noting that individuals at the encampment have previously declined services.

So far, nine hotels have been identified as housing homeless. 139 of the 700 hotels in the city are being used

The homeless were seen queuing outside the Double Tree hotel on West 36th. De Blasio has said that the scheme will carry on until there is a vaccine, which may be another six months from now, and that then he will be looking to buy buildings that he can turn into affordable housing

Fairfield Springhill Suites on 36th Street, another of the hotels in the Garment District, is being used

Large numbers of homeless men have been moved into three hotels in New York City's Upper West Side, much to the dismay of local residents, who have complained of drug use, public urination and cat calling. Pictured: A group of men loiter at Broadway and 79th Street

In the last five years the number of shootings fell to a low of 754 in 2018, but is now rising

The NYPD's Homeless Outreach Unit was disbanded last month, with its approximately 85 officers reassigned to combat rising shootings.

A Sanitation Department car visited the intersection on Wednesday, the New York Post reported, with a worker taking photos of the scene.

'We clean up and they come back every day,' said the worker.

He said his bosses wanted to see the images. 'They just want us to take pictures every day.'

The Chelsea homeless camp is far from the only one troubling Manhattan at the moment.

In the East Village, homeless people sheltering under scaffolding near St Mark's Place have been repeatedly cleared away, only to return.

And in the Upper West Side, a homeless camp near 79th Street and Broadway is causing misery for locals.
The Tennessee Legislature in special session on Wednesday passed a bill that makes it a felony to stay overnight on state property.

The punishment for the Class E felony would be up to six years in prison.

Those who are arrested under the new law would have to spend at least 12 hours in jail without bond.

Camping is defined as laying down a blanket, sleeping bag or other bedding material. It includes putting up a tent or canopy.

Legislators also voted enhanced punishment for attacks on law enforcement.

A section that would have allowed the state attorney general to prosecute if local DAs do not was stricken from the final version.

Governor Bill Lee is expected to pass the measure.

He said, We need to protect the peaceful assembly that it is allowed through the First Amendment. But, at the same time, protect against lawlessness and the destruction of property.

A few dozen protesters have been spending the night outside the state Capitol.

The protesters repeated blocked access of legislators trying to exit their office building.

The special session called by the governor lasted three days.
Right, so we all know who Normal People star Paul Mescal is at this stage. We're also quite familiar with The Young Offenders duo of Alex Murphy and Chris Walley.

What happens when you throw them in a room together and get Mescal to quiz them on their friendship? Craic - as you'd expect.

Kildare's goldenboy Paul Mescal has shot to fame since BBC Three's adaption of Sally Rooney's best-selling novel Normal People hit our screens during lockdown, and it's fair to say the Emmy nominated actor has become somewhat of a global superstar since.

He even joined Irish artist Dermot Kennedy for an intimate gig as part of the Some Summer Night series in London's Natural History Museum recently, reciting poetry between songs and wowing with his singing abilities along the way.

The Young Offenders debuted back in 2018 and have since served up three series and a movie following the adventures of the lovable rogues from Cork, Conor MacSweeney (Alex Murphy) and Jock O'Keeffe (Chris Walley).

What do all three have in common? They seem fairly sound, ripping each along the away in this seven-minute BBC Three collaboration. It's sure to brighten up your day, and you'll even learn some interesting, and pointless, quirky facts about three of Ireland's rising stars.

Watch below:
A 29-year-old woman was hurt and she was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where she was treated for injuries that were not considered life-threatening, according to police. Preliminary information suggested two people were hurt, but officers later said the woman in the vehicle that was hit was the only person injured. Bartoli said the crash report was not yet finalized but the latest information she had was that only the woman was hurt.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) authorities on Thursday withdrew their order regarding the removal of Dr. Deepa Kane from the post of professor and the head of the cardiac anaesthesia department of Seth GS Medical College, which is affiliated to Mumbais KEM Hospital following a severe rap from the Bombay high court (HC).

Senior advocate Anil Sakhare, who represented the civic body, on Wednesday informed the two-member HC bench, comprising Justices SJ Kathawalla and Madhav Jamdar, that the order would be withdrawn and a fresh decision would be taken by the additional municipal commissioner, BMC, after hearing the plea of Dr. Kane and Dr. Sanjeeta Umbarkar, on whose complaint the former was removed from her post.

Dr. Hemant Deshmukh, the dean of KEM Hospital, had issued the removal order on July 27.

Dr. Kane was appointed to the post on December 3, 2019.

The action was taken on the basis of a complaint lodged by Dr. Umbarkar, an associate professor in the department, alleging that Dr. Kane lacked necessary educational qualifications and experience in the cardiac anaesthesia department.

However, when Dr. Kane moved HC, BMC took a stand that she was removed from the post because the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) had withdrawn the approval to her appointment.

Advocate Rajshekhar Govilkar, who is the counsel for MUHS, pointed out that the approval was withdrawn on the basis of two communications received from the BMC authorities, in January and February, respectively, informing the university about the purported shortcoming in Dr. Kanes qualifications and experience.

Govilkar cited that it was not an independent decision of the university and was based on the BMCs communications.

HC was irked to note that Dr. Umbarkar had filed three complaints and representations with the dean, KEM Hospital, the additional municipal commissioner and the MUHS, and though several communications had been exchanged among them, at no point of time was Dr. Kane informed about the complaints against her.

On the contrary, Dr. Kanes lawyer advocate Rohaan Cama pointed out that even after repeatedly approaching the authorities to know the specific reasons for her removal, she was still kept in the dark.

This is complete malafide ... This is not the way to deal with doctors and professors, the bench had said earlier after it was pointed out that all the steps were taken behind the back of Dr. Kane in breach of the principles of natural justice.

The judges were also annoyed to note that Dr. Deshmukh had signed the experience certificate of Dr. Kane as the then HoD, but later he had questioned the same document.

The court has allowed the civic body to take a fresh decision on the issue after granting opportunity of hearing to both the sides, but it has clarified that until then Dr. Kane would hold the post.

HC also ordered that the fresh decision of the additional municipal commissioner, BMC, would not be implemented for two weeks, if it is found to be adverse to Dr. Kane.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio  The FBI and police are searching for suspects who stole a safe from a CVS drug store during riots in downtown Cleveland in May.

Surveillance photos from the CVS shows the suspects rip a safe off the wall behind the pharmacy counter at the CVS at 840 Euclid Ave. on May 30. The store was one of several businesses that were damaged after riots erupted following protests over the death of George Floyd, who died while being arrested by police in Minneapolis.

Suspects are seen stealing a safe from a CVS in downtown Cleveland on May 30, 2020. (FBI)

The FBI says the stolen safe contained controlled substances, which makes it a violation of federal law. The suspects carried the safe out of CVS and into a nearby parking garage. They managed to open it there and steal prescription drugs.

Anyone with information on the suspects can contact the Cleveland Division of the FBI at 216-622-6842, the Cleveland Division of Police, or Crime Stoppers. Tips can remain anonymous. Reward money is available for information leading to the successful identification and prosecution of the suspects.

Ten Northeast Ohioans were indicted Wednesday on aggravated rioting and other charges that accuse them of destroying property during the May 30 unrest. Six of the 10 people charged are Cleveland residents, according to court records. The others are from Bedford Heights, Wickliffe, Strongsville and Elyria, records say. They range in age from 18 to 38 years old.

The FBI and Cleveland police are searching for the suspects in the theft of a safe from a downtown CVS on May 30. (FBI)

More related content from cleveland.com:

Peaceful protester pepper sprayed during Cleveland protests comes forward, is preparing lawsuit

Body camera video shows Cleveland police officer pepper sprayed peaceful protester in the face

Cleveland police officer accused of using excessive force at May 30 protest faces second lawsuit

Video from Clevelands George Floyd protest contains no mention of protesters throwing rocks before police used pepper spray, tear gas on crowd

Justice Center security video shows police fired pepper spray, tear gas before bulk of violence at Clevelands George Floyd protests

Video, photo show Cleveland police pepper spraying, shooting projectiles at legal observers during George Floyd protests

Video shows police shot downtown Cleveland resident in head, back with pepper balls as he tried to enter his apartment: they just lit me up

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Video shows Cuyahoga County sheriffs deputy holding bean bag shotgun at Justice Center on day of Cleveland riot
A campaign of intimidation against key prosecution witnesses was a constant feature throughout the Adrian Donohoe murder trial which resulted in a number of people with crucial testimony refusing to come to court.

Before he was even arrested for murder, Aaron Brady was identifying people who could have potentially incriminating evidence against him, which came to light after gardai listened back through more than 500 recorded phone calls he made while in prison serving a separate sentence in early 2018.

Serious concerns were repeatedly raised throughout the trial about witness interference, but the jury never knew about this, or the extent of it.

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Seven people were expected to give evidence about admissions Aaron Brady had made about the murder, but following the widespread campaign across two continents only Molly Staunton and Daniel Cahill appeared before the Central Criminal Court.

Today the Irish Independent can reveal that:

*Video interviews of a crucial prosecution witness were leaked online calling the man a rat and a tout.

*Detectives are investigating if the intimidation of some witnesses was outsourced to Dublin criminals.

*The jail cell of violent thug and aggravated burglar Dean Byrne has been raided as part of the intimidation probe.

*Key witness Molly Staunton received a death threat from Aaron Brady's friend after giving her evidence.

While the murder trial has concluded, detectives are continuing a major investigation into the intimidation of witnesses connected to the case spanning across three different countries.

The ongoing inquiry is being led by a Detective Superintendent from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI) after sensitive material was leaked online and death threats were made to witnesses.

One senior officer, who has been involved in several high-profile investigations, described it as the dirtiest trial he had ever come across due to the campaign of intimidation. In some cases, people who overstayed their visas in the US, but had built lives over there, were threatened that their residency status would be exposed.

Criminal charges are also being considered against individuals suspected of direct involvement in the witness coercion in Ireland.

The most serious example of intimidation came to light in early May when the statement of a key prosecution witness, which was video recorded, was leaked across several social media platforms. It came at a critical time during the trial when witnesses living in the US were due to start giving evidence.

The key witness, an Armagh man who lived with Brady in the Bronx, recalled to detectives how the murder suspect told him: I shot him, so what. His statements also included information on three other robbery suspects. During the interview, carried out on October 25, 2017 in the 47th police precinct in New York, he also said that Brady would regularly talk about the killing when he was drunk.

In early May four excerpts of these statements along with a message labelling the man a tout began circulating on the Whatsapp messaging service. The videos were recorded from a laptop using another device. It showed the witness sitting in an interrogation room giving a statement to three detectives. The text message accompanying the videos also made claims that he had received a green card for his cooperation and also had criminal charges dropped.

During an in-camera hearing on May 8, Det Insp Mark Phillips said there was no doubt that the aim of the posts was not only to intimidate this particular witness but also any other person who had considered giving evidence in the Adrian Donohoe murder trial.

The incident was described by Mr Justice Michael White, a judge for over 20 years, as the most outrageous contempt of court he had ever come across and that it was a sobering day for the administration of criminal justice in Ireland. The court heard that the various social media company's had cooperated fully with the court.

The video interviews were also shared and later removed from Facebook and YouTube, with one message also calling the witness a rat.

It wasn't the first attempt to intimidate this witness. Even before Brady was arrested for murder, the intimidation had started.

Prosecutor Brendan Grehan SC told the trial in early June, in the absence of the jury, that witnesses and their families in Ireland were subject to an ongoing campaign of intimidation. By this stage it was accepted that several would not cooperate with the trial as a result of the continued threats.

As the NBCIs investigation into the widespread intimidation progressed, further information was coming to light about the methods Bradys associates were employing to intimidate witnesses.

On July 15 detectives, backed up by heavily armed gardai, carried out a series of raids on halting sites across Dublin as part of the inquiry.

Properties linked to traveller criminals in Finglas, Blanchardstown, Balbriggan and Coolock were searched and a number of items seized.

Detectives also carried out a search in Mountjoy prison that same day as part of the investigation. The cell of Dean Byrne (25), a violent criminal with over 120 previous convictions who is currently serving a lengthy sentence for aggravated burglary, was raided on foot of intelligence received by gardai.

Byrne was one of seven men who stormed the Tipperary home of the Corcoran family in 2013 in a crime that shocked the nation. Mark Corcoran was badly beaten while the gang threatened to kill his young children.

The callous seven-man burglar team made national headlines when they appeared in court sniggering, laughing and blowing kisses to cameramen as they were handed down lengthy sentences. Dean Byrne is currently serving a 14-year prison term for aggravated burglary after successfully appealing the severity of the initial 16-year sentence handed down to him.

As the halting site raids took place, detectives raided his cell in search of a phone they believed was linked to the ongoing intimidation.

No mobile was located but a piece of paper with several phone numbers scrawled on it was seized and analysed. At this stage gardai are investigating if the intimidation of witnesses who remained in Ireland was outsourced to traveller criminals. It's also being probed if this was organised through Byrne, who a source described as a gillie for anyone who will give him drugs, after he met Brady in prison.

Although gardai are satisfied that Aaron Brady had no specific paramilitary links, the natural fears instilled in people talking to the police along the Border region was evident.

Prior to and during the trial a large amount of material was disclosed to the defence, but the prosecution claimed privilege over 50 witness statements due to there being a genuine threat to life if the information contained was released.

Since January 2018 gardai had compiled dozens of detailed confidential reports outlining the extent of the threats, intimidation and harassment directed at witnesses.

But even after witnesses had given evidence, the threats against them continued.

American woman Molly Staunton testified via video-link in June that she heard Aaron Brady admit to shooting a cop while she was in his New York apartment with two other men.

Her evidence was interrupted by a male, who was later identified as her friend, who told her to put a stop to it and no more testimony before shutting down the laptop she was using. Ironically the terrifying incident, which left the courtroom and the overflow court next door stunned in silence, had no links to the accused.

That evening, after her evidence had finished, Ms Staunton was contacted by a former roommate of Aaron Brady.

It was revealed during a sitting in the absence of the jury that the Armagh man made a death threat to the American woman via social media.

In one video sent on the Snapchat app, he shaped his fingers to imitate a gun while saying bang, bang, youre dead.

He later sent her another message which read, You silly, silly girl along with a number of crying laughing-face emojis. Screenshots of the messages were later shown to the court which had left the young American woman terrified.

Det Insp Phillips told the court that he spoke to Ms Staunton who was audibly upset and said she was scared after receiving the video. She had also conducted internet searches about the IRA, south Armagh and the life expectancy of informants.

The senior detective said he assured her that the man was not in the US and that they had no immediate concerns for her welfare.

Bizarrely, the Northern Irish man had given a statement to gardai saying Aaron Brady made admissions to him and was expected to give evidence. However, he refused to attend court and an arrest warrant was issued for him. He remains in the North after being deported from the US.

There were also less-threatening attempts to interfere with witnesses using social media.

In early June, lead prosecution counsel Brendan Grehan said that a number of witnesses, if not all, had been contacted in various guises by Aaron Brady's relatives and associates. He said they were aware precisely of what was happening in the US as part of the investigation. One name in particular was being repeated as providing assistance and information on witnesses.

The man had known Aaron Brady back in Ireland before moving over to New York, where he remains, and is heavily involved in GAA.

Gardai received information from a number of people that they had been approached by him in the Bronx asking if they had spoken to Irish detectives.

Mr Grehan also said that the longer the trial went on, the more opportunities it gave Aaron Brady, or his family and associates, to contact witnesses to put pressure on them not to testify.

On April 17 Ms Staunton was contacted by Brady's wife, Danielle Healy, asking if she would speak to their lawyer.

The ex-girlfriend of another witness, who didn't give evidence, was contacted by his sister Sonya Brady on April 8.

In the message she said her brother had no involvement in the murder and that gardai had given people in New York money, arranged visa green cards, left people off with crimes and criminal records and that the woman's ex-boyfriend was one of these people forced to lie.

She also said that the Brady family won't stop until they get the truth.

It also emerged that key prosecution witness Daniel Cahill moved away from the Bronx because of pressure being put on him by Aaron Brady's friends living there. He continued to be the subject of serious threats at the time of giving evidence.

While the criminal trial has concluded, the investigation into the intimidation of witnesses is continuing.

Aspects of the probe are hampered because many of the alleged incidents didn't take place in this jurisdiction, such as the Molly Staunton death threat in which a message was sent from Northern Ireland to the US.

However, detectives are hopeful that files will be submitted to the DPP in relation to some of the intimidation carried out in Ireland which will result in prosecutions.
BharatPe, Indias largest merchant payment and lending network company, has further fortified its leadership team by appointing Mr. Suhail Sameer as Group President. Suhail along with CEO & Co-Founder Ashneer Grover will have overall responsibility for building the organization, merchant network, business, and revenue.

An IIM Lucknow and DCE alumnus, Suhail is the first Group President at BharatPe and will have all the CXOs report into him. Winner of Economic Times Most Promising Leader of Asia Award, Suhail has extensive experience of working with companies from the Consumer (FMCG, retail) and consumer technology sectors, and with Institutional investors. He has built businesses from scratch, as well as helped turn around and grow existing companies.

Featured as Business World 40 under 40 in the year 2019, Suhail at RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, launched and scaled the multi-brand FMCG business for the Group. He also set-up and led their consumer VC fund, RPSG Ventures. Additionally, he drove growth and portfolio decisions across many group companies. Suhail is also the Managing Partner at OTP Venture Partners, which invests in early-stage companies across consumer, consumer tech, and SaaS spaces.

In his early career, Suhail led McKinseys clean-tech practice for South Asia and the Power practice for India.

Mr. Ashneer Grover, Co-Founder & CEO, BharatPe, said, I am super excited to welcome Suhail Sameer in his new role as the Group President. Suhail is a top-class professional operator and has remarkable track record of delivering  whether it is building businesses ground up or managing conglomerates. The Founders and the Board are extremely excited to entrust Suhail with building the business and revenue on back of BharatPes brand and network, that has been created over last 2 years. Look forward to him leading us to 10X growth from here on.

Mr. Suhail Sameer, Group President, BharatPe, said, There is hardly another startup better positioned to solve merchants capital and payment requirements in the country than BharatPe. I have been in touch with Ashneer and the team for over a year now, and I have immense conviction in the mission of the company. BharatPe has emerged even stronger from the current COVID scenario, doubling its market share, which is truly remarkable.

I am excited to work with BharatPe team and Ashneer to build a category leading business with best in class economics., Suhail added.
'Catastrophic' tornadoes ravage US south, 280 dead

Shocked Americans struggled Thursday to grasp the magnitude of the worst US tornadoes in decades, which carved a trail of destruction across the south, leaving 280 people dead and some communities virtually wiped off the map.

In the aftermath of a severe tornado, Kelly Giddens (R) helps University of Alabama law student Daniel Hinton remove belongings from his destroyed home in the Cedar Crest neighborhood in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Disbelief and despair were written on the faces of residents of cities and towns in seven states crippled by the ferocious spring storms as they picked through the remains of destroyed homes, businesses and schools, in surreal scenes of devastation more common to war zones and massive earthquakes.

The severe weather killed at least 184 people and injured several hundred more on Wednesday in Alabama alone, authorities told AFP, and President Barack Obama said he would travel to the state Friday for a first-hand look at the devastation.

"The loss of life has been heartbreaking, especially in Alabama," Obama said Thursday at the White House, calling the destruction "nothing short of catastrophic" as he vowed to rush federal assistance to the Gulf Coast state battered by one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks in US history.

The storms "took mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, friends and neighbors -- even entire communities," he said.

States of emergency were declared from the central state of Oklahoma to Georgia on the eastern seaboard, and governors called out the National Guard -- including 2,000 troops in hardest hit Alabama -- to help with rescue and cleanup operations.

"We had a major catastrophic event here in Alabama with the outbreak of numerous long-track tornadoes," said Governor Robert Bentley, who declared a major disaster for the state and estimated that up to a million people were without power.

Emergency responders were combing communities in a sprawling rescue and recovery effort, and experts said it would take days to get a true picture of the devastation.

Thousands of residents will spend the night in shelters, officials said.

By all accounts the destruction was severe, and John De Block, a National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist in Birmingham, Alabama, warned people to brace for nearly unprecedented damage.

"There were direct hits on two towns, Hackleburg and Dadeville," De Block told AFP, saying colleagues surveying the area reported that Hackleburg, population 1,500, was "90 percent destroyed."

Most of the homes there were built on slab foundations, and "the slabs have been swept clean in several locations," he said.

Across the region officials reported at least 284 deaths, but as the residents and emergency workers began to mop up and assess the damage the toll was likely to rise.

"In fact, we\'re sure it will," Bentley said, echoing concerns of officials across several states in what meteorologists described as the deadliest US tornadoes since 310 people were killed on April 3, 1974.

The NWS had preliminary reports of more than 300 tornadoes since storms began Friday, including more than 130 on Wednesday alone.

In the city of Tuscaloosa, Mayor Walter Maddox told CNN the tornado had "obliterated blocks and blocks" of his city, leaving 36 people dead there -- 21 more than officially reported by Alabama\'s government -- more than 600 wounded and several more missing.

"Infrastructure has been absolutely devastated," he said. "When you look at this path of destruction, likely five to seven miles (eight to 11 kilometers) long and half a mile to a mile wide, I don\'t know how anyone survived.

"There are parts of this city I don\'t recognize," he added.

It was also a dark day for Birmingham, Alabama\'s largest city with more than a million residents.

Mayor William Bell spoke of "whole neighborhoods of housing, just completely gone. Churches, gone. Businesses, gone."

The area, he told National Public Radio, "seems like a bomb has been dropped on it.

"Incredulous Birmingham residents assessing the damage were counting their blessings at having survived, while others were distraught over the loss of their loved ones or homes."

There were two-by-fours (wooden beams) falling out of the sky," convenience store manager Jack Welch said, adding "there were well over 30 homes destroyed" just behind his store.

State officials reported at least 33 dead in Tennessee, while in Mississippi storms killed 32 people.

Fourteen died in Georgia, 11 in Arkansas, eight in Virginia, and another two killed in severe flooding in Missouri, state officials said.

"Oh my God, our town is in pieces," said Tim Holt, a clerk at a local hotel in Ringgold, Georgia. "We saw the funnel cloud coming and I ran into the bathroom with my wife and daughter."



"It\'s an 80 percent loss in our town," he added.



The storms come after a wet spring and a winter of heavy snowfall which has left the ground saturated and rivers running high.

Several eastern states were on tornado and severe thunderstorm alert Thursday, while another major storm system is forecast to bring heavy rain and high winds on Saturday.
A federal court on Wednesday rejected two separate petitions to consolidate lawsuits filed by policyholders against insurers that denied COVID-19 business-interruption claims under a single judge, but said it might approve consolidation of other actions that make similar claims against the same insurer.

The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation dismissed a petition to centralize 11 lawsuits in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and another petition to centralize those same lawsuits and five others in the Northern District of Illinois. One plaintiff had dismissed its petition to consolidate, leaving 15 lawsuits remaining in those pleadings.

The panel, in an order written by Acting Chair Ellen Segal Huvelle, said it would be an understatement to call consolidation of the cases a complicated task.

A transferee court would have to establish a pretrial structure to manage the hundreds of plaintiffsmany with disparate views of the litigationand more than one hundred insurers, Huvelle wrote. The court also would have to identify common policies with identical or sufficiently similar policy language and oversee discovery that likely will differ insurer-to-insurer.

The panel denied petitions filed by plaintiffs that included Big Onion Tavern Group, Wagner Shoes and Bridal Expressions who filed lawsuits in federal courts in Alabama, Florida, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin. The proponents of consolidation identified three common questions that they said should be resolved by a single court:

Do the various government closure orders trigger coverage under the policies? What constitutes physical loss or damage to the property? Do any exclusions (particularly those related to viruses) apply?

The five judges who signed panels order said the plaintiffs lawsuits entail very few common questions of fact. The judge assigned to the case would have to manage hundreds of plaintiffs, many with disparate views on the litigation, involving more than 100 insurers. Even though the plaintiffs argued that the insurers use common policy forms, the multidistrict panel said those forms are often modified by carriers and minor differences in policy language can have a significant impact on the scope of coverage.

Managing such a litigation would be an ambitious undertaking for any jurist, and implementing a pretrial structure that yields efficiencies will take time, the order states. As counsel emphasized during oral argument, however, time is of the essence in this litigation.

The order says that 263 other actions remain pending, in addition to 15 lawsuits included in the two petitions that were dismissed.

The panel also rejected proposals from several plaintiffs to consolidate cases by region or state because each would require the assigned court to deal with multiple defendants and different policies, coverages and exclusions. The court didnt dismiss those petitions outright, but ordered attorneys to file arguments as to why their petitions should not be dismissed  an action known as an order to show cause.

On the other hand, the multidistrict panel said consolidating COVID-19 business-interruption claims against a single insurer or group of insurer might make sense.

The actions are more likely to involve insurance policies utilizing the same language, endorsements, and exclusions, the order says. Thus, there is a significant possibility that the actions will share common discovery and pretrial motion practice.

The panel said consolidation may be appropriate for lawsuits against four of the insurers that face COVID-19 lawsuits because of denied COVID-19 claims: Certain Underwriters at Lloyds of London, Cincinnati Insurance Co., the Hartford insurers and Society Insurance. The panel owed those carriers to submit arguments explaining why the lawsuits against them should not be consolidated.

The panel requires a better understanding of the factual commonalities and differences among these actions, as well as the efficiencies that may or may not be gained through centralization, before creating an insurer-specific MDL, the order states.

Plaintiff attorney Richard Golomb, of the firm Golomb & Honik, Philadelphia, who filed the Pennsylvania petition, welcomed the insurer-specific consolidation and said there are other efforts at consolidation underway.

We have reviewed the order from the JPML panel and are optimistic that with further briefing they will centralize the cases against the four major carriers listed, Golomb said in an email. As for the cases against the balance of the carriers, we have been coordinating with many firms along the way in the event of such a ruling and are satisfied that whether through 1404 coordination, or by other less formal means, these cases will be litigated and resolved in the best interest of our clients.

Plaintiff attorney Adam Levitt, of DiCello Levitt in Chicago, offered a similar assessment. He said that while his clients are disappointed the MDL panel did not see the efficiencies of consolidation, his firms efforts to achieve efficiency will continue and they will eventually hold the insurance industry accountable for shirking its responsibilities to its customers.

The MDL panel has given insurers until Aug. 26 and plaintiffs until Sept. 3 to weigh-in on the insurer-specific proposal. The panel will hear arguments on its next scheduled date for hearings, Sept. 24.

About the photo: The Caribe Restaurant chain, which operates six restaurants in the Miami area, was one of the plaintiffs whose petition to consolidate business-interruption lawsuits against insurers was dismissed Wednesday.
Syria has organised a plane for secure the return of Syrians who are stuck in Qatar reports Al-Masdar.

The Syrian Ministry of Transport announced that it is preparing arrangements for a flight from Qatar, and called on the Syrians stranded there to communicate with it.

The ministry addressed the Syrians who wish to return to Syria and are stranded in the State of Qatar to request immediate communication with the Syrian Airlines office in Doha, or the Syrian Embassy in Muscat  Sultanate of Oman, on Wednesday or Thursday, for arrangements for the return trip.

The ministry said that this comes, as part of the governmental efforts for the return of Syrians stranded abroad.

The last flight carrying Syrians stranded abroad arrived at Damascus International Airport on Jul. 27, 2020, from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, with 261 Syrians on board.

While there are still Syrians in a number of countries, such as in Saudi Arabia, for example, they are calling for a solution to the problem of their return to their country.

Qatar currently has no diplomatic relations with Syria, so the coordination was likely mediated by a third party, likely Oman, Iran, or Russia.

This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Sub-Platform 4 (SDG4), a civil society organization, has commended the Ghana Education Service (GES) for the timely sanctions against the marauding students writing the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).



In a statement signed by the convener of the platform Mrs Joyce Larnyoh and copied the Ghana News Agency, it indicated that even though President Akufo-Addo had intervened for clemency, the swift action taken by GES would undoubtedly serve as a deterrent to many others.



The statement took exception to the fact that the children cited strict invigilation and disallowance to cheat during the examination, describing it as disheartening and the height of indiscipline and irresponsibility that had eaten into the fabric of society, particularly the education sector and condemned it in no uncertain terms.



The SDG4 platform noted the destruction of school properties, assault on invigilators and even a journalist and the insults heaped on the President was an indication of the breakdown of discipline among the youth and must be an issue of concerned to all stakeholders especially parents and leaders in the society who are regarded as role models with some level of influence on the youth to step up their responsibilities.



The convener called on the public to desist from politicizing issues especially those that bothered on responsibility and discipline to ensure that measures and interventions to sanction people who indulged in unscrupulous acts were dealt with to deter others as well as enforce discipline in society as a norm and not an exception.



The statement commended highly the intervention by the President for the 14 dismissed students to be allowed to take the examination and the fact that all other punishment such as the dismissal and surcharging of the students for the properties destroyed, remained standing.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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When we fact-checked their big clash on debate night, we found that Sen. Kamala Harris was mostly right about former vice president Joe Biden's record on school busing.

But Harris, D-Calif., described her own record selectively at other points in her campaign, usually by leaving out the unflattering parts. Harris also got Pinocchios for misleading claims about Republican tax cuts and other issues.

Readers may be interested in those fact checks now that Harris, a former prosecutor who was attorney general of California, is Biden's running mate on the Democratic presidential ticket.

Here's a roundup of what Harris said and what we found during her presidential run in 2019. (Months before announcing her candidacy, Harris earned Four Pinocchios for tweeting a deceptively edited video of Brett Kavanaugh's remarks about abortion.)

- - -

Mandatory busing

"You also worked . . . to oppose busing. And, you know, there was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools, and she was bused to school every day. And that little girl was me."

- Harris, at a Democratic presidential candidate debate, Miami, June 28, 2019

"I did not oppose busing in America. What I opposed is busing ordered by the Department of Education. That's what I opposed."

- Biden

In the first debate of the Democratic primary, Harris and Biden clashed over the government's use of mandatory busing to integrate schools in the 1970s.

Biden was in his early days as a senator representing Delaware when he opposed forced busing, calling it a racist and "asinine concept" that would "insure mediocrity." In his 2007 autobiography, "Promises to Keep," Biden called busing "a liberal train wreck."

"The new integration plans being offered are really just quota systems to assure a certain number of blacks, Chicanos, or whatever in each school. That, to me, is the most racist concept you can come up with," Biden said in a 1975 interview with a Newark, Del., publication known as the People Paper that was entered into the congressional record. "What it says is, 'In order for your child with curly black hair, brown eyes, and dark skin to be able to learn anything, he needs to sit next to my blond-haired, blue-eyed son.' That's racist!"

Harris was a young girl in California in the 1970s. The daughter of immigrants - a Black father and an Indian mother - she was bused to school in an affluent and predominantly White area. At the debate, Harris challenged Biden to say he was wrong to oppose busing. The Supreme Court in 1954 ruled to desegregate public schools in Brown v. Board of Education, but segregated schools were still a fact of life in the 1970s, Harris said. The government had to step in, and sometimes that meant forced busing, she said.

"I do not believe you are a racist," Harris said to Biden at the debate. But then, she said Biden had worked with White segregationist senators to oppose busing measures. "And, you know, there was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools, and she was bused to school every day. And that little girl was me," she said.

Harris enrolled in the Berkeley public school system in 1969 and was part of the second class of students to participate in a busing program to integrate Thousand Oaks Elementary School.

The Berkeley Unified School District had enrolled Black students as early as 1963, a year before Harris was born. That year, the 15 "Negro" students at Thousand Oaks represented 2.5% of the school population, whereas "Caucasian" students made up 95%, according to CNN.

By 1969, when Harris enrolled, the racial composition had changed dramatically. "Negro" students were 40% of the total at Thousand Oaks, while the share of "Caucasian" students had declined to 53%, according to CNN.

Biden defended himself from Harris's attack by saying he had supported some kinds of busing and opposed others. "I did not oppose busing in America," Biden said. "What I opposed is busing ordered by the Department of Education. That's what I opposed."

But his statements in the 1970s, and decades later, were not so carefully hedged. His criticism of busing to integrate schools was broad and unqualified.

- - -

Police use of lethal force

"I did not oppose the bill."

- Harris, in a CNN town hall event in Des Moines, Jan. 28, 2019

Harris was California's attorney general, the top law enforcement officer in the state, from 2011 to 2017. The Black Lives Matter movement emerged during this time, just as police shootings of unarmed African Americans across the country, and the disproportionate use of force against minorities, became major issues receiving widespread coverage.

At a town hall event that drew nearly 2 million viewers, CNN host Jake Tapper asked why Harris had "opposed" a bill to ensure independent investigations when police use fatal force. Several states say such investigations are a best practice, and a task force established by President Barack Obama in 2015 recommended policies that "mandate the use of external and independent prosecutors in cases of police use of force resulting in death, officer-involved shootings resulting in injury or death, or in-custody deaths."

In response, Harris told Tapper that she never took a position on any bill or ballot initiative, because of her duties as attorney general. But that wasn't accurate. A Harris aide told The Washington Post that she misheard Tapper's question and misspoke in response.

In fact, Harris took positions on a range of pending bills and at least one proposed ballot initiative, according to archived news releases from her time as attorney general. (We found more than a dozen examples.)

At issue here was a bill to require an independent investigation after any use of fatal force by police in California, which would have relieved local district attorneys of handling such cases. State legislator Kevin McCarty, a Sacramento Democrat, introduced the bill in January 2015 and said in an interview that he asked Harris to support it at the time. Instead, she signaled concerns in public remarks while her office technically remained neutral on the bill.

The concern McCarty had was that district attorneys work closely with the same local police officers who could come under scrutiny. "There are flaws and perceived conflicts of interest," McCarty said. After amendments, his 2015 bill would have required the attorney general to appoint a special prosecutor in cases when police use of force results in death.

The bill eventually expired in the legislature. Some law enforcement groups opposed to it were supporters of Harris's campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2016, according to the Los Angeles Times.

For our fact check, a Harris adviser told us that Harris did not take a position on McCarty's bill, because "she was concerned about taking away authority from locally elected DAs (of which she is a former one) who are held accountable by their constituents." That answer was consistent with Harris's contemporaneous comments.

"I don't think it would be good public policy to take the discretion from elected district attorneys," Harris told the San Francisco Chronicle in late 2014. "I don't think there's an inherent conflict. . . . Where there are abuses, we have designed the system to address them."

But McCarty said he was "very pleased" that Harris, who won praise for establishing a police use-of-force database and requiring implicit-bias training as attorney general, later came around to his thinking. "The next year . . . she actually came out with a recommendation on this," McCarty said. He described it as three teams covering California "that would be able to step in and assist with independent investigations."

In September 2016, Harris's office said she had "advocated to the governor, the speaker of the Assembly, and the Senate president pro tem for the necessary resources to create new teams within the attorney general's office to conduct criminal investigations of officer-involved shootings."

- - -

Michael Brown

"Michael Brown's murder forever changed Ferguson and America. His tragic death sparked a desperately needed conversation and a nationwide movement. We must fight for stronger accountability and racial equity in our justice system."

- Harris, in a tweet, Aug. 9, 2019

In 2014, a White police officer in Ferguson, Mo., Darren Wilson, fatally shot Michael Brown, who was Black, unarmed and 18 years old.

The legal definition of murder varies according to jurisdiction, but generally it means killing someone with malice aforethought. In November 2014, a grand jury decided not to indict Wilson after finding that witness reports did not match with evidence. On March 4, 2015, the Obama administration's Justice Department issued an 86-page investigative report on the shooting, based on testimony from 40 witnesses and a review of forensic evidence, that concluded "there is no credible evidence that Wilson willfully shot Brown as he was attempting to surrender or was otherwise not posing a threat."

The same day, the Justice Department also published the results of its investigation of the Ferguson Police Department, which highlighted systemic exploitation and racial profiling of Black residents in Ferguson, including racial disparities in traffic stops even though Black drivers were less likely to be found with contraband.

Harris and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who was also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination at the time, both tweeted on the fifth anniversary of Brown's death and called it murder. They appeared to accept the results of one report and not the other. The Justice Department found that the popular narrative was wrong about Brown's death, citing witnesses deemed to be credible, some of whom testified reluctantly because of fear of reprisal. The senators earned Four Pinocchios.

Two other presidential contenders, Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said Brown was "killed" in their anniversary tweets. The definition of murder goes beyond that because it implies malice, ill intent or premeditation.

- - -

Jailing parents whose children skipped school

"When I did it, I knew I was going to take a political hit. And the people around me said, 'Don't do it, because you are going to pay a price for this in terms of whatever future you want in politics.' And I said: 'Look, I'm prepared to play the bad guy on this. I do not intend to put any parent in jail.' And no parent went to jail. But the school district, society, this community, everyone, including our business community, others, have got to take seriously the education of these children and give the parents the resources that they deserve and need. And that's what ended up happening. We improved attendance by over 30% and not a parent went to jail."

- Harris, in an interview with the Root, March 29, 2019

When she was the San Francisco district attorney, Harris took it upon herself to boost school attendance rates. She did this by threatening to prosecute parents whose children missed too many school days without good reason.

"I believe a child going without an education is tantamount to a crime, so I decided I was going to start prosecuting parents for truancy," Harris said in a 2010 speech.

On the presidential campaign trail last year, Harris struck a softer tone when she was asked about her "anti-truancy" initiative. She noted that school attendance rates improved and that no parents were jailed in San Francisco, where she was district attorney from 2004 to 2011.

"As a result of our initiative, which never resulted in any parent going to jail - never - because that was never the goal, we improved attendance by over 30%," Harris told NPR and other outlets, such as the Root.

But that's only part of the story. After San Francisco, Harris went on to be the state attorney general. She took her anti-truancy initiative statewide. Some parents were jailed as a result (though not in San Francisco).

Harris would send yearly letters to all parents in the San Francisco school district, warning that having regular unexcused absences was against the law. Prosecutors from her office would hold mediation sessions with parents and truant students. If that failed, Harris's office would prosecute parents in a specialized truancy court. It was an extreme measure, Harris indicated, and penalties included a fine of up to $2,500 or up to one year in jail.

No parents have been jailed through this program in San Francisco, which is still running. "We definitely have not jailed any parents for truancy in San Francisco," said Katherine Weinstein Miller, who worked as a prosecutor under Harris and is now chief of alternative programs and initiatives for the San Francisco district attorney's office. "I can't speak for other counties, but I can confirm that for my jurisdiction."

When she was running for state attorney general, Harris championed a bill to take her anti-truancy program statewide. State lawmakers and then-Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger approved the proposal, and the new law took effect in 2011, just as Harris took office.

The California law's harshest penalties allow for jailing parents up to one year if their children have unexcused absences for at least 10% of school days, along with fines up to $2,000.

Six parents were booked at the Orange County jail in 2013 under California's truancy law, KPCC radio reported. In Kings County, a mother was sentenced to 180 days in jail in 2012 after "pleading guilty to allowing her kids to miss more than 10% of the school year," KMPH-TV reported. Another Kings County mother was arrested in 2011 for child truancy issues, among other cases.

We gave Two Pinocchios to Harris for her assertion that "no parents were jailed" as a result of her policy. She later said she regretted that some parents had been jailed by some district attorneys outside San Francisco.

- - -

Tax cuts and refunds

"The average tax refund is down about $170 compared to last year. Let's call the President's tax cut what it is: a middle-class tax hike to line the pockets of already wealthy corporations and the 1%."

- Harris, in a tweet, Feb. 11, 2019

This was a case of mixing apples and oranges; the size of a refund tells you nothing about a person's tax bill.

"Change in refunds does not equate to change in tax liability, since withholding amounts were adjusted" by the Republican tax cuts in late 2017, said Joseph Rosenberg, senior research associate at the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.

When both the Joint Committee on Taxation and the Tax Policy Center looked at the impact of the tax bill, they concluded that in 2018, most people would see an overall reduction in taxes. The Tax Policy Center found that 80.4% of all taxpayers would see a reduction on their bill, compared with about 5 percent experiencing a tax increase.

A Harris spokesman said the senator was referring to the "long-term effect" of the tax cut. That wasn't clear in her tweet, which received Four Pinocchios.

- - -

The Fact Checker is a verified signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network code of principles
(Natural News) Communist China is facing a food crisis like perhaps never before, thanks to a barrage of natural disasters that just will not relent.

While some areas of the country are being drenched with rain, others are dealing with extreme drought conditions. Then there are the locusts and armyworms, which are destroying what remains.

The situation appears so extreme that Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua recently asked the governors of every Chinese province to ensure that their agricultural crops survive at all costs.

During a recent food security meeting, Hu threatened punishment against governors who fail to uphold an oath they were forced to swear that basically says they will not allow crop yields to in any way be reduced this year.

But this would seem to be an impossibility based on what China is facing. If rice crops are being destroyed by too much water and wheat crops are shriveling up and dying due to dehydration, there is not much that any human can do other than cry out to God for help.

However, since communist China does now allow anyone to even acknowledge the existence of God, let alone worship him, the Chinese are on their own to simply hope for the best  and to import as much food from elsewhere as they can possibly get their hands on.

According to reports, China is planning to import a total of six metric tons of wheat between June 2020 and May 2021, a seven-year record. China also recently pulled in literal boatloads of corn from the United States, as its own crops are being destroyed by various combinations of drought, flooding and pestilence.

Is Chinas suffering a biblical event?

That China is currently facing three serious threats to its food supply all at the same time suggests some type of supernatural event taking place. Having both extreme drought and flood conditions even without the pests is ominous all on its own, and a true rarity.

The extent of what this all means for China remains to be seen, as the nation is still working to salvage whatever it can from the crops it still has. Every major grain, however, is seeing record declines in output due to this triage of disaster that continues unabated.

The early rice in our province was ruined before harvest, stated a man by the name of Mr. Li to The Epoch Times. Rice is planted at three different times in China, and all three crop cycles have been ruined by the unprecedented flooding that has occurred in Chinas rice-growing regions.

The mid-season rice was destroyed by the floods. Now its too late to plant the late rice.

In Chinas wheat-producing regions, a persistent lack of rain has caused many wheat crops to simply dry up and die. Not only is the quality of wheat this year substandard compared to last, but reports indicate that China is already facing an up to 30 percent loss in this years crops.

More than 50 percent of Inner Mongolias agricultural land has suffered heavy droughts so far this year. This region grows not just wheat but also soybeans and corn.

Im 50 years old, one farmer from Yuzhong city, Gansu, told Chinas state-run media outlet Xinhua. I had never seen a drought like this year.

A circulating video that was posted by a wheat farmer in China showed crops so damaged that they already appeared to have been harvested. In reality, these crops had actually died due to lack of water.

You think this yellow color is harvested [wheat]? the farmer is seen asking in Chinese. They all died. Our farmers have no harvest at all this year.

More related news about the collapse of Chinese agriculture is available at Collapse.news.

Sources for this article include:

TheEpochTimes.com

NaturalNews.com
That prompted a group of senators, known as the super seven, to ditch the state aid changes and instead opt for a state income tax credit against a portion of what someone pays in property taxes. That credit will be claimed on yearly income tax filings.

The owner of a $200,000 home in the Omaha school district would be looking at a $142 income tax credit under the measure.

State Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha led a last-minute effort to defeat LB 1107, saying it handcuffed the state in dealing with future economic struggles caused by COVID-19, which he predicted will not be clear until September or October.

Omaha Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh said that the tax break shell get from LB 1107 amounts to only $150 and that it was morally wrong to prioritize property tax relief over funding for schools and helping those who lost paychecks because of the pandemic.

I would be devastated if our public education system will suffer so I can get $150 more. Its not worth it, Cavanaugh said.
REGINAThe Saskatchewan governments request to have an Indigenous mans teepee removed from the lawn at the legislature has been put over and will be heard in court a few days before he plans to end his protest.

Provincial lawyers have filed an application to the Court of Queens Bench seeking a court order to have Tristen Durochers camp forced out of Wascana Park.

The 24-year-old walked more than 600 kilometres to Regina from a community in northern Saskatchewan to call for legislative action to address high suicide rates among First Nations people.

Durochers lawyer told court by phone that she plans to file materials for a constitutional question.

Eleanore Sunchild says her client plans to leave the legislature grounds on Sept. 13.

The hearing was put over to Sept. 4

A lawyer for the province requested the hearing happen as soon as possible, because it could become moot. The lawyer also said Durocher is in violation of a 2018 court order stemming from another protest.

That year, a group set up on the same section of lawn what it called the Justice For Our Stolen Children camp. That protest came after acquittals in the high-profile deaths of two Indigenous young people, Colten Boushie in Saskatchewan and Tina Fontaine in Manitoba.

Protesters spent months there calling attention to racial injustice and the high number of Indigenous children in care, until a judge ordered the camp dismantled.
(Reuters) - A major election-monitoring group in Myanmar says it has been barred from observing polls set for November, raising questions about the credibility of a vote seen as a crucial test of democratic reforms in the country.

Peoples Alliance for Credible Elections (PACE), an independent group of election monitors in the country, said on Thursday the election commission had denied it accreditation on the basis that it had received foreign funding.

The chairman of the election commission did not answer Reuters' calls for comment, and a spokesman could not immediately be reached.

PACE said it had planned to deploy more than 2,900 observers to watch the voting.

Foreign observer missions, which have been permitted, are likely to be limited given travel restrictions and quarantine requirements during the coronavirus pandemic, the group said.

"Therefore, to safeguard the transparency and accountability of the electoral processes, domestic election observers' role is of crucial importance, PACE said in a statement.

Myanmar has only reported 361 cases of the virus but has banned international flights and imposes 21-day quarantines for visitors with special permission to enter.

The nation goes to the polls on Nov. 8 in what analysts see as a test of the transition away from direct military rule, but preparations have been complicated by the pandemic and escalating ethnic conflict.

Longtime opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyis National League for Democracy party took power in 2016 after a landslide election win that ended half a century of army rule, although the military retains significant powers.

Richard Horsey, a Myanmar-based political analyst with the International Crisis Group, said PACE had significant experience of observing previous elections and was able to deploy large numbers of people.

"As Myanmar starts to consolidate a system of electoral democracy after so many decades of authoritarianism, observers play a key role in giving the elections credibility," he said.

"Firmly establishing that practice now can also serve Myanmar well in future years, when its electoral integrity might face difficult tests," he said.

(London editing desk)
BAMAKO Police in Mali fired tear gas and water cannon at daybreak on Wednesday to disperse hundreds of protesters who had occupied and spent the night in a square in the capital Bamako, demanding the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

Thousands of people had gathered at Independence Square in Bamako on Tuesday after the opposition resumed protests as talks mediated by West African regional leaders to resolve the crisis stalled. [nL8N2FD5YQ]

Rokia Diarra, a resident of the neighbourhood, told Reuters that clashes started around 0600 GMT after the police arrived and fired several rounds of tear gas.

There was panic. The demonstrators scrambled for safety. Some were trampled," Diarra said.

Photos on social media showed the square hazy with gas. A spokesman for the government was not available for comment.

The protests led by an opposition coalition called M5-RFP have gained momentum in the West African country since June following a contested legislative election in March. Protesters also accuse the government of corruption and incompetence.

The demonstrations have sometimes led to violence. Human Rights Watch said in a report on Wednesday that Malis security forces have used excessive force against protesters.

HRW said at least 14 people were killed and over 300 wounded, including demonstrators, bystanders, and security force members during three days of unrest in July. [nL5N2EO3G3]

Mali has struggled to regain stability since a 2012 uprising by Tuaregs in the north was hijacked by al Qaeda-linked Islamist militants.

Despite being dispersed by a France-led intervention, and the presence of thousands of peacekeepers, the Islamists, including those linked to Islamic State, have continued to carry out attacks and spread to neighbouring countries.

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
Dublin, Aug. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Self-Heating Food Packaging - Global Market Outlook (2019-2027)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The Global Self-Heating Food Packaging market accounted for $60.35 million in 2019 and is expected to reach $89.16 million by 2027 growing at a CAGR of 5.0% during the forecast period. Rising need for instant heated food and expansion of food & beverages industry in Europe are propelling market growth. However, the high cost of these food packages is hampering the growth of the market.



Self-heating food packaging is a type of packaging which can heat food contained without external heating sources or power. Packets normally utilize an exothermic chemical reaction. These packages are regularly used to prepare main courses such as meat dishes, which are more palatable when hot.



Based on the end-user, the beverages segment is going to have a lucrative growth during the forecast period as end-users choose cans and bottles for the packaging of liquid products such as soups, tea, and coffee. By geography, Asia Pacific is going to have a lucrative growth during the forecast period due to the rising trend of convenient foods among consumers coupled with the rise in the disposable income of the population in the region.



Some of the key players profiled in the Self-Heating Food Packaging Market include The 42 Degrees Company, Tempra Technology Inc, ScaldoPack, Luxfer Magtech Inc., HeatGen, LLC, and Heat Food & Drink Ltd.



Packaging Types Covered:

Pouches

Packs

Containers

Cans

Bottles

Bags

Distribution Channels Covered:

Wholesalers

Supermarkets & Hypermarkets

Retail Stores

Online Channels

End Users Covered:

Food

Beverages

Regions Covered:



North America

US

Canada

Mexico

Europe

Germany

UK

Italy

France

Spain

Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific

Japan

China

India

Australia

New Zealand

South Korea

Rest of Asia Pacific

South America

Argentina

Brazil

Chile

Rest of South America

Middle East & Africa

Story continues

Saudi Arabia

UAE

Qatar

South Africa

Rest of Middle East & Africa

What the report offers:

Market share assessments for the regional and country-level segments

Strategic recommendations for the new entrants

Covers Market data for the years 2018, 2019, 2020, 2024 and 2027

Market Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations)

Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations

Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends

Company Profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments

Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancements

Key Topics Covered:



1 Executive Summary



2 Preface

2.1 Abstract

2.2 Stake Holders

2.3 Research Scope

2.4 Research Methodology

2.4.1 Data Mining

2.4.2 Data Analysis

2.4.3 Data Validation

2.4.4 Research Approach

2.5 Research Sources

2.5.1 Primary Research Sources

2.5.2 Secondary Research Sources

2.5.3 Assumptions



3 Market Trend Analysis

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Drivers

3.3 Restraints

3.4 Opportunities

3.5 Threats

3.6 End User Analysis

3.7 Emerging Markets

3.8 Impact of Covid-19



4 Porters Five Force Analysis

4.1 Bargaining power of suppliers

4.2 Bargaining power of buyers

4.3 Threat of substitutes

4.4 Threat of new entrants

4.5 Competitive rivalry



5 Global Self-Heating Food Packaging Market, By Packaging Type

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Pouches

5.3 Packs

5.4 Containers

5.5 Cans

5.6 Bottles

5.7 Bags



6 Global Self-Heating Food Packaging Market, By Distribution Channel

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Wholesalers

6.3 Supermarkets & Hypermarkets

6.4 Retail Stores

6.5 Online Channels



7 Global Self-Heating Food Packaging Market, By End User

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Food

7.2.1 Ready-to-eat food

7.2.2 On-the-go

7.2.3 Noodles

7.2.4 Meat

7.2.5 Confectionery

7.2.6 Baby Food

7.3 Beverages

7.3.1 Tea & Coffee

7.3.2 Soups



8 Global Self-Heating Food Packaging Market, By Geography

8.1 Introduction

8.2 North America

8.2.1 US

8.2.2 Canada

8.2.3 Mexico

8.3 Europe

8.3.1 Germany

8.3.2 UK

8.3.3 Italy

8.3.4 France

8.3.5 Spain

8.3.6 Rest of Europe

8.4 Asia Pacific

8.4.1 Japan

8.4.2 China

8.4.3 India

8.4.4 Australia

8.4.5 New Zealand

8.4.6 South Korea

8.4.7 Rest of Asia Pacific

8.5 South America

8.5.1 Argentina

8.5.2 Brazil

8.5.3 Chile

8.5.4 Rest of South America

8.6 Middle East & Africa

8.6.1 Saudi Arabia

8.6.2 UAE

8.6.3 Qatar

8.6.4 South Africa

8.6.5 Rest of Middle East & Africa



9 Key Developments

9.1 Agreements, Partnerships, Collaborations and Joint Ventures

9.2 Acquisitions & Mergers

9.3 New Product Launch

9.4 Expansions

9.5 Other Key Strategies



10 Company Profiling

10.1 The 42 Degrees Company

10.2 Tempra Technology Inc

10.3 ScaldoPack

10.4 Luxfer Magtech Inc.

10.5 HeatGen, LLC

10.6 Heat Food & Drink Ltd



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/kuoxp9

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

CONTACT: CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900




The private trains project of the Indian Railways has been able to generate the desired level of interest among private entities, according to experts.

They feel it won't be a surprise if the companies get into a bidding war for some premium routes."The response has been very good. If there are 23 bidders and the high-yielding routes like Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah, there is a possibility of a bidding war," Vinayak Chatterjee, Chairman, Feedback Infra, told Moneycontrol.

But Chatterjee said the private companies would also like to get more clarity on a few aspects related to the arrangement that has been proposed by the Railways.

"The nature and constitution of an independent regulator, designated speed of 160 km/hr, full cooperation in equitable use of track and signalling are some of the factors which would be playing on the minds of the private operators," he said.

The Delhi-Mumbai route will be a sought after route for private train operations, feels Rajaji Meshram, Partner, EY India.

"The paying capacity of citizens in chosen origin-destination cities will be a key consideration for private train operators. Routes where the DFCs will free up rail line capacity will be attractive. A 35-year concession period is long enough to earn good returns provided there is predictability of charges that will be levied in that period by Indian Railways," he told Moneycontrol.

Meshram said that India being the largest market in the world in terms of the railway passenger traffic, private operators might consider that ridership will not be an issue.

"The private companies who have evinced interest know that India is an attractive market. They will obviously make their assessments and would seek changes to relevant clauses so that the risk-reward sharing is appropriate between government and private sectors. Active participation and deliberations in the pre bid process will lead to a more robust and sustainable business model for both sides," said Meshram.

As many as 23 companies participated in the second pre-bid meeting held on August 12. The list of participants included big names like Alstom, Siemens, Bombardier, GMR, L&T Infrastructure, Titagarh Wagons, CAF India, Sterlite Power, BHEL, BEML and IRCTC.

The private train project is expected to boost the revenues of Indian Railways, which has been trying to look at ways to reduce losses in the segment.

Follow our coverage of the coronavirus crisis
The Estonian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday summoned Belarusian Ambassador Vyacheslav Kachanov regarding the ongoing protests in the country in the wake of the presidential election

HELSINKI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th August, 2020) The Estonian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday summoned Belarusian Ambassador Vyacheslav Kachanov regarding the ongoing protests in the country in the wake of the presidential election.

"Today, 11 August the Ministry of Foreign Affairs called Belarusian ambassador Vyacheslav Kachanov to account in regard to the violent suppression of protests following his country's presidential elections. Estonia calls upon the Belarusian authorities to halt all use of force and repressions against peaceful protesters.

Estonia is closely monitoring events in Belarus and we express our hope that democratic processes will be able to take place in the country," the ministry said in a statement.

On Sunday, Belarus held its presidential election, which resulted in incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko winning 80.08 percent of the vote. The runner-up candidate, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, won 10.9 percent. The results have triggered widespread protests in the country, resulting in 3,000 arrests. The civil unrest continued on Monday.
With the prevailing ban on TikTok in India, the short-video platform is reportedly trying to have an Indian investor for its operations in the country.

Reuters

For the same, TikTok has been reported to have approached Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries Limited (RIL).

The anticipated business model is to follow on the lines of TikToks US operations, where the Chinese parent firm of TikTok, called ByteDance, had to exit the equation completely following an order by the US President Donald Trump. TikTok is now in talks with Microsoft for controlling its operations in the US.

A similar approach has now been made by the firm to Reliance Industries (RIL). A new report indicates that TikTok chief executive officer (CEO) Kevin Mayer has approached senior RIL executives to analyse if RIL is interested in a stake in the apps India division.

ALSO READ: After TikTok Ban, Instagram Testing Reels In India

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries (Image: Reuters)

RIL and Jios corporate development, strategy and M&A teams are now examining whether any investment or acquisition is worthwhile at this stage, a recent report by ET cites people with knowledge of the matter.



Reliance buying TikTok India?

As of now, RIL has declined to comment on the development and has dismissed them as speculation and rumours.

Our company evaluates various opportunities on an ongoing basis. We have made and will continue to make necessary disclosures in compliance with our obligations under Sebi rules and our agreements with the stock exchanges, the RIL spokesperson told the publication.

As per sources mentioned in the report, the discussions for a US-like acquisition are at an early stage. The report also mentions that the transaction is unlikely to materialise because of many obstacles.

ALSO READ: Indian Government Bans More 47 Chinese Apps From App Stores In India

(Representative Image: Reuters)

India banned TikTok and 59 other Chinese apps citing security concerns from the apps amid escalating tensions between the two nations. With India once the biggest market for TikTok, it is likely that the app will push for a re-entry into the countrys market through such a deal.



For now though, RIL is likely to strategically decide to go on with the deal based on the valuation of the company in the coming days.
Fewer guests at the rampart, photojournalists tested for Covid-19,police personnel quarantined for 14 days before the event and those frisking guests at the gates donning PPE kits  the Independence Day celebrations at Red Fort on Friday will see many firsts, as the occasion reconciles itself with the needs of the Covid-19 era.

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the nation, he will be surrounded by a fifth of the guests he was at last years celebrations, senior officials in the home ministry privy to the preparations said. The 140-odd guests will include cabinet ministers, senior bureaucrats and Supreme Court judges. No spouses have been invited, and a majority of the guests will be seated below the ramparts.

Last year, there were around 800-900 guests at the rampart, primarily because a lot of VVIP guests had come with their spouses. The number is much lower this year to ensure social distancing. Most guests will be seated below the rampart. Some may not come because of concerns about their health, a senior home department officer said.

HT had on August 5 reported that the guest list for the At Home function on August 15 evening in the Rashtrapati Bhawan complex had been kept at a maximum of 90  down from the normal gathering of 1,500 dignitaries. As per the protocol for the ceremony this year, there will be no spouses, no live food counters, no freedom fighters will be present, and no free interaction with VIPs.

Even the number of photographers who will be at the ramparts has been capped, with just 10 to be in attendance, as against 80-90 last year. Further, on Wednesday, the government conducted RT-PCR Covid-19 tests for around 10 photojournalists who will be at the rampart in close proximity with the Prime Minister as he delivers his speech.

A photojournalist from a foreign press agency, who asked not to be identified, said, For some of us who will be at the rampart, we were told it was mandatory to take the test. But for our colleagues who will be positioned elsewhere within the Red Fort complex, it was not compulsory to take the test. I have taken the test and am told the results were negative.

The tests were conducted at Ram Manohar Lohia hospital.

Around 350 police personnel, of which around 100, who will form the guard of honour that Modi will inspect, are already in 14-day-quarantine at a police complex in Delhi, since August 1.

Until Friday evening, the national capital had 10,975 active Covid-19 cases. Till date, the city has reported 149,460 cases. Of them, 4167 persons have died, while 134,318 have recovered from the disease.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 22:56:54|Editor: huaxia

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A woman has her hands disinfected at the entrance to a shopping center in Baghdad, Iraq, Aug. 13, 2020. The Iraqi Health Ministry on Thursday recorded 3,841 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily increase since the outbreak of the disease, as the health officials warned of a higher number of infections in the coming days. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

BAGHDAD, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi Health Ministry on Thursday recorded 3,841 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily increase since the outbreak of the disease, as the health officials warned of a higher number of infections in the coming days.

The 3,841 cases brought the total nationwide infections to 164,277, as the ministry's health teams and institutions have used 21,026 testing kits across the country during the day, raising the total testing kits used to 1,224,909, the statement said.

It also reported 53 fatalities during the day, raising the death toll from the virus to 5,641, while 2,667 more patients recovered in the day, bringing the total number of recoveries to 117,208.

Meanwhile, Riyadh al-Masoudi, a member of the parliamentary committee, said in a press release that "the coming days will witness a significant increase in the number of daily infections with the coronavirus, due to the failure to implement the preventive measures and the health instructions."

"The curfew is only applied to the employees in state institutions and the students, and it does not exist in the street," he said.

He warned that the continuing increase in daily infections with the coronavirus would make the health ministry paralyzed in front of greater numbers of infections.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, Iraq has been taking measures to contain the pandemic.

China has been helping Iraq fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

From March 7 to April 26, a Chinese team of seven medical experts spent 50 days in Iraq to help contain the disease, during which they helped build a PCR lab and install an advanced CT scanner in Iraq's capital Baghdad.

Since March 7, China has also sent three batches of medical aid to Iraq.
Eighty-eight people have died on Irish roads so far this year. (stock photo)

Deaths on Irish roads are now almost 10pc higher than in 2019 despite the three month Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.

Road safety chiefs warned that, when the 70pc reduction in national traffic volumes between March and June are taken into account, Ireland is effectively facing a near 20pc hike in traffic fatalities so far this year.

Gardai issued a special August safety plea amid as Irish roads witnessed major traffic volumes as tens of thousands of families opt for 'staycations' because of the pandemic.

The plea came as 88 people have died on Irish roads so far this year.

Four have died on Irish roads in August alone. That is six more than in 2019 - an increase of almost 8pc.

However, the increase dropped back from 10pc last week.

The hike does not take into account the fact traffic volumes were slashed by 70pc during the national lockdown with a resultant decrease in serious accidents.

Of the 88 people who died on Irish roads this year, 34 were drivers, 21 were pedestrians, 18 were passengers, 11 were motorcyclists and four were pedal cyclists.

The Road Safety Authority has expressed particular concern over the number of pedestrians, motorcyclists and pedal cyclists dying in collisions.

RSA statistics revealed there has been a significant increase of almost 15pc in the total number of serious collisions this year compared to 2019.

There was a 4pc year-on-year increase between 2018 and 2019 - with 2018 ranking as the safest year on Irish roads since records began in the 1950s.

Assistant Commissioner Paula Hilman - who is charged with roads policing - urged motorists to heed the safety advice.

"Any road death is one too many and we will continue to work together with our partners in road safety to reduce road deaths," she said.

Assistant Commissioner Hilman said it was obvious that, in some cases, motorists had blatantly ignored the rules of the road in respect of speed and the use of drink and drugs.

"The level of endangerment we encountered over the (August) weekend is not acceptable. Despite our best efforts to proactively engage and educate drivers, too many are still taking chances and putting peoples lives at risk."

In Tipperary, one motorist was found to be driving while under the influence of both cannabis and cocaine.

In Cavan and Monaghan, nine people were arrested over just the August bank holiday weekend alone for driving while intoxicated.

A motorist in Louth was stopped while driving at 203kmh - an alarming 83km over the speed limit.

"There is simply no place on our roads for people who do not comply with legislation," she warned.

"Every driver must be responsible, and not just think about their own safety, but the safety of their families and loved ones, and the safety of all road users.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 05:00:20|Editor: huaxia

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Russian jet fighters Su-27 of the Russian Knights aerobatic team perform during an air show in Kubinka, Russia, May 21, 2016. (Xinhua/Pavel Bednyakov)

The crew of the fighter jet identified the aerial objects as U.S. Air Force strategic reconnaissance aircraft RC-135 and U.S. Navy patrol aircraft P-8A Poseidon.



MOSCOW, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- A Russian Su-27 fighter jet was scrambled over the Black Sea on Wednesday to intercept two U.S. reconnaissance planes, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"On August 12, Russian airspace control systems have detected two air targets approaching the Russian state border over the neutral waters of the Black Sea," the ministry's Zvezda broadcasting service said.

A Su-27 fighter of the Southern Military District was scrambled to intercept the targets, it said.

The crew of the fighter jet identified the aerial objects as U.S. Air Force strategic reconnaissance aircraft RC-135 and U.S. Navy patrol aircraft P-8A Poseidon, it added.

After the U.S. planes flew away from the Russian state border, the Russian jet safely returned to its airfield, Zvezda said.

In the last few weeks, Russian fighter jets were scrambled regularly to intercept U.S. reconnaissance planes over the Black Sea. 
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The condition of former President Pranab Mukherjee remains unchanged and he is deeply comatose, the Army's Research and Referral hospital said on Thursday.

Doctors attending on him said Mukherjee has stable vital parameters and he continues to be on ventilator support.

The former president was admitted to the hospital on August 10 and was operated upon for removal of a clot in the brain.

He also tested positive for COVID-19.

"The condition of Shri Pranab Mukherjee remains unchanged this morning, He is deeply comatose with stable vital parameters and he continues to be on ventilatory support," a statement from the hospital said.

With rumours doing the rounds, his son and former MP Abhijit Mukherjee said, "My father Shri Pranab Mukherjee is still alive and haemodynamically stable."

"Speculations and fake news being circulated by reputed Journalists on social media clearly reflects that media in India has become a factory of fake news," he said on Twitter.

The former president's daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee tweeted, "Rumours about my father are false. Request, especially to the media, not to call me as I need to keep my phone free for any updates from the hospital."

Pranab Mukherjee was the President of India from 2012 to 2017.
Rexdale-born and raised artist Quentin VerCetty has won a city design competition to honour Joshua Glover, who escaped slavery to live for decades in what is now Etobicoke.

Mayor John Tory announced VerCettys design  a striding, suit-wearing Glover, a cyborg-style arm with dangling shackles behind him  will become a statue in the new Joshua Glover Park

VerCettys vision was chosen unanimously by a review panel of art and history experts. The announcement says VerCetty applied an Afrofuturist vision to the design and drew on life events of Glover, who found freedom in Canada in 1854.

Glover gazes confidently into the future while throwing away the crushing chains of slavery with his mutilated cyborg arm, the announcement says.

He clutches his books close to his chest knowing that it is knowledge that will set him free and provide the power and spiritual endurance to overcome the indignities and sufferings of the past.

Glover escaped a Missouri slavemaster in 1852, finding work at a Wisconsin sawmill until he was recaptured. Slavery opponents broke into the jail and freed Glover who got to Upper Canada where slavery had been abolished.

He worked as a labourer for inn owner Thomas Montgomery and rented a house near what is now Dundas Street W. and Kingsway Crescent, according to the 2007 book Finding Freedom: The Untold Story of Joshua Glover, Runaway Slave.

Records dont mention racism specifically against Glover but it was rife and systemic in Upper Canada. Theres no reason to think a former slave in a mixed marriage would be spared such hate, despite his employers regard for him.

At Thursdays ceremony at the Montgomery Inn museum, the winning artist, an OCAD university grad, activist and musician, said he tried to include a bit of his own origin story in the statue.

I felt like I was limited to my circumstances, growing up, VerCetty told reporters. Joshua Glover made me realize you dont have to allow your circumstances to define you.

Glover escaped a place where black Africans were seen as non-human, he added, so the statue shows him going from machine, this robot of society, to then regaining his humanity, as a participant in society.

The statue and park will be in the Kingsway by the River development near Royal York Road and Dundas Street West.

VerCettys design shows Glover from the waist up. When asked if the statute will show his full body, the artist said hes talking to the city but hopes the tribute can be larger than life. Tory committed to ensuring that happens.

The work will be unveiled in 2021 which Tory has proclaimed ArtworxTO: Torontos Year of Public Art.

The mayor praised VerCettys design, saying he hopes the Glover tribute will spark discussions about the contributions of Black Torontonians and the anti-Black racism they still face today.
By PTI

DANTEWADA: Sixteen Naxals, including four women and some carrying cash rewards on their heads, on Thursday surrendered in Chhattisgarhs Dantewada district, citing disillusionment with the Maoist ideology, a senior official said.

A rehabilitation campaign for Naxals being run by the police also helped the rebels in deciding to shun the armed movement and join the national mainstream, he said.

All the 16 cadres, three of them carrying cash rewards on their heads, turned themselves in before police and CRPF officials in Dantewada town, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava said.

Of these, Rajesh Bhaskar (26), Saade Parsik alias Sahdev (30) and Bheema Telam were active as janmilitia commanders of Maoists, he said, adding they were carrying reward of Rs 1 lakh each on their heads.

The three were allegedly involved in several Naxal- related incidents, including attacks on police teams and damaging government properties, Pallava said.

The remaining 13 cadres, including four women, were active as janmilitia members of Maoists and mainly tasked with spreading propaganda, putting up Naxal banners and posters, supplying commodities of daily use and ration to their senior colleagues, the police officer said.

All the 16 ultras, in their statements, said they were disappointed with the "hollow" Maoist ideology, and at the same time impressed by 'Lon Varratu' (a term coined in local Gondi dialect which means 'return to your village') campaign being run by the police in Dantewada, Pallava said.

They will be provided facilities and assistance as per the state government's surrender and rehabilitation policy, he said.

Under the 'Lon Varratu' initiative launched in June, the police have been putting up posters and banners in native villages of Naxals carrying cash rewards on their heads.

The posters mention the names of rebels and appeal to them to join the mainstream, the police official said.

So far, 99 Naxals have surrendered under the drive, he added.
Things are slowly starting to open up again in the GTA and, while Ive been enjoying patio visits with friends, Im also having the same conversation everywhere I go: Are you sending your kids back to school? Will you be returning to the classroom in September? Whats going on?

These conversations fill me with anxiety. Im not talking about the usual pre-September anxiety that all teachers face before the start of a new school year. This year, my anxiety has taken a darker turn, as Ontario prepares to open schools for the first time since COVID-19 forced the unprecedented closing of, well, everything, nearly six months ago. Stories like the one reported by Global TVs Travis Dhanraj offering education workers free will and health-care powers of attorney documents for the month of August dont help.

Ontarios Conservative Ford government has revealed its plans for a #SafeSeptember, to widespread criticism. While masking will be mandatory for Grade 4 and above, and there will be cleaning protocols and cohorting in every school, there are stark differences between grade levels. Elementary school kids will head back to unreduced classes, with full days of in-person learning. High school students will have a completely revamped schedule: in-person schooling for only 2.5 hours on alternate days, with 15 students per class. Most learning will still happen online.

Under this plan, my 15-year-old son will spend most of his time learning at home, while my 12-year-old son will be expected to trudge back to class with his new mask collection and a gallon of hand sanitizer the only concessions to our collective changed reality.

Ive been a teacher for more than 16 years  teaching high school English and science  and one of the requirements for this career is being able to think on your feet and adapt to change quickly. Yet this situation has me feeling overwhelmed. My usual first-day-of-school worries have been replaced by a gnawing anxiety, one shared by my education colleagues.

In most discussions about reopening schools, teachers, support staff and administrators are rarely mentioned. Instead, the focus is on students and the chance of kids getting sick. Yet when schools first shut down, the reasoning was that schools were vectors for community transmission. The number of new COVID-19 cases are under control in Canada right now, thanks to our collective vigilance, but reopening schools is the next big step that we as a society are taking  its basically Stage 4 without the fanfare  and the risks will largely be carried by the adults in each school.

At this point in the summer, three weeks before schools are scheduled to reopen and two weeks before teachers are expected to report for mandatory, in-person PD days, I still have no idea how or when I will be teaching. There are simply too many unknowns, each with an uncertain and possibly dangerous outcome. Which means that instead of thinking about normal teacher things, such as lesson plans or what my classes will be like, Im wondering how I will be able to teach effectively, while also keeping myself and my family safe.

These questions should have been answered much earlier in the summer. As a teacher, I will be expected to implement whatever the government, and by extension the school boards, decide. So it is hard to believe that the confusing sample schedules posted on board websites, along with plans for reopening, remain at the tentative phase in mid-August. Worse, different school boards have devised vastly different plans, with seemingly little consultation with each other, as they scramble to implement what the Ford government has demanded. All of which has left me feeling powerless, and deeply disappointed with how the reopening of schools has been managed so far.

As someone who will be on the front lines in a few short weeks, Im left to wait and see what happens next. This has been an exercise in frustration and has led me to wonder what my life outside of school will look like.

Will I be able to safely visit my parents once Ive returned to work? Could my children catch this deadly virus and pass it on to immune-compromised family members without even realizing? Should I update my will? Maybe, possibly, definitely.

And yet, I do want schools to open. Kids need structure; parents need a break. We all want things to return to the way they were, before we ever heard of COVID-19. Schools play an intrinsic role in our society; they represent a sense of normal. Except things arent back to normal, not quite yet.

In the meantime, and for the sake of my own mental health, Ive decided to make the most of each day. While Im bracing for the uncertainty of the upcoming school year, Im also going on bike rides with my kids, visiting my parents, catching up with friends, relishing the summer heat and trying to make the most of this exceptionally peculiar summer while I still can.
ROME -- Italy ruled on Wednesday that people travelling from Croatia, Greece, Malta and Spain must be tested for the coronavirus on arrival, as new infections increase in the four countries which are popular holiday destinations for Italians.

Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Facebook he had signed the new order, adding that anyone travelling from or through Colombia would not be allowed in Italy.

We have to continue with a prudent approach to defend the results weve achieved thanks to the sacrifice we have all made in recent months, Speranza said.

Italy was the first country outside China to be badly hit by the disease, and has recorded more than 35,000 deaths since its outbreak came to light on Feb. 21.

The daily tally of new cases in Italy has accelerated over the last month, though less steeply than in numerous other European countries.

Some 481 new infections were registered on Wednesday, and 10 deaths, the Civil Protection Agency reported.
The Ashanti Regional Secretary of the National Democratic Congress, Mr. Kwame Zu has disclosed that the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) is gradually losing grips of its stronghold, the Ashanti region.



And it is a good indication that the NDC is winning the region come 2020 general elections.



"With the figures changing through the voter registration exercise, it looks like the Ashanti region will cease to be the world bank of the New Patriotic Party and it is a clear indication that the party is losing the general election," he said.



Breaking down the figures in an interview on Okay FM's Ade Akye Abia program, he explained that a total of 3,360,000 was recorded during the voter registration exercise as against 3,670,000 in 2016.



The Suame constituency also had its share of the drop in figures with only 92,000 registering compared to its previous 107, 000 last year.



"If these numbers are anything to go by then I can tell you that the NDC will win 2020 general elections," he added.



Watch Video Below





The voter registration exercise ended with 16,963,306 persons registered to vote.These provisional figures were announced today [Wednesday] by the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensa, pending processes of deduplication and adjudication.It includes the 30,814 persons registered during the two-day mop-up registration exercise over the weekend.She expects the figure to drop after these processes.The process of deduplication and adjudication, which are currently going will flag multiple registrations in the system, she said.Additionally, the challenge system put in place during the registration and exhibition exercise will further flag unqualified voters on the register, Jean Mensa noted further.The EC chairperson is confident that the upcoming processes will contribute to the cleaning of the register and ensure its integrity and credibility ahead of the 2020 election.The Greater Accra Region had the most registered voters with 3,509,805 persons.The Ashanti Region followed with 3,013,856 persons, Eastern Region with 1,628,108 persons and the Central Region with 1,566,061 persons.

Source: Isaac Kwame Owusu/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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Dubai/Jerusalem/Washington: In a major diplomatic breakthrough, the UAE on Thursday became the first Gulf country and the third in the Arab world to establish diplomatic relations with Israel as part of a deal to halt the controversial annexation of parts of the West Bank that Palestinians see as a part of their future state.

US President Donald Trump took to Twitter to break the news saying, Huge breakthrough today. Historic Peace Agreement between our two GREAT friends, Israel and the United Arab Emirates!.

A White House announcement said that the leaders of the US, Israel and the UAE spoke today and agreed to the full normalisation of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has often boasted about Israel's close relations with states in the Arab world under his leadership, even without normalised ties, tweeted minutes later simply saying, "Yom Histori" (Historic Day) in Hebrew.

UAE's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, was a bit guarded in his Twitter message saying The UAE and Israel also agreed to cooperation and setting a roadmap towards establishing a bilateral relationship, highlighting that "an agreement was reached to stop further Israeli annexation of Palestinian territories".

A joint statement from the United States, Israel and the UAE said that "this historic diplomatic breakthrough will advance peace in the Middle East region and is a testament to the bold diplomacy and vision of the three leaders and the courage of the United Arab Emirates and Israel to chart a new path that will unlock the great potential in the region".

Close neighbours, Jordan and Egypt, are the only two other Arab states to have diplomatic ties with Israel under peace agreements that have weathered several storms over the decades to hold firm.

Many believe that the big diplomatic breakthrough is going to politically boost Trump's electoral prospects and also strengthen Netanyahu as he battles regular protests calling for his resignation due to the corruption trial against him and failure in the proper handling of the coronavirus crisis.

Netanyahu had earlier today abruptly left a meeting of the so-called coronavirus cabinet declaring, You will find out why afterwards.

According to the joint statement, delegations from Israel and the UAE will meet in the coming weeks to sign bilateral agreements regarding investment, tourism, direct flights, security, telecommunications, technology, energy, healthcare, culture, the environment, the establishment of reciprocal embassies, and other areas of mutual benefit.

Opening direct ties between two of the Middle East's most dynamic societies and advanced economies will transform the region by spurring economic growth, enhancing technological innovation, and forging closer people-to-people relations, the statement said.

The statement also said that, as a result of this diplomatic breakthrough and at the request of President Trump with the support of the UAE, Israel will suspend declaring sovereignty over areas outlined in the President's Vision for Peace and focus its efforts now on expanding ties with other countries in the Arab and Muslim world.

Netanyahu had previously planned to annex parts of the Israeli occupied West Bank, viewing the White House's plan released in January as an opportunity to extend Israeli sovereignty to parts of the disputed territory.

In recent months, UAE officials have been vocal in warning Netanyahu against plans to annex much of the West Bank and Jordan valley.

UN, Arab and European officials warned that the move would effectively end any hope of a two-state solution with an independent Palestine that has East Jerusalem as its capital.

Under the deal, the UAE and Israel will also immediately expand cooperation on the treatment of and the development of a vaccine for the coronavirus.

Working together, these efforts will help save Muslim, Jewish, and Christian lives throughout the region.

There has been speculation about the normalisation of ties since the UAE attended the January 28, 2020, White House reception during which President Trump presented his Vision for Peace, and expressed appreciation for the UAE's related supportive statements.

The parties will continue their efforts in this regard to achieve a just, comprehensive and enduring resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the statement said.

"As set forth in the Vision for Peace, all Muslims who come in peace may visit and pray at the Al Aqsa Mosque, and Jerusalem's other holy sites should remain open for peaceful worshippers of all faiths, said the statement.

Opening direct ties between two of the Middle East's most dynamic societies and advanced economies will transform the region by spurring economic growth, enhancing technological innovation, and forging closer people-to-people relations, it said. Describing it as a historic day, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that it is a significant step forward for peace in the Middle East.

This is a remarkable achievement for two of the world's most forward-leaning, technologically advanced states, and reflects their shared regional vision of an economically integrated region. It also illustrates their commitment to confronting common threats, as small  but strong  nations, he said. The US hopes that this brave step will be the first in a series of agreements that ends 72 years of hostilities in the region, Pompeo said.
Property is structurally complex with three events of folding (F1, F2 and F3) and three periods of deformation (D1, D2 and D3)

VICTORIA, BC / ACCESSWIRE / August 13, 2020 / GoldON Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:GLD) ("GoldON" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an overview of the geological data compilation and reinterpretation study completed on its 100% owned Slate Falls gold-silver property (the "Property") by Orix Geoscience. The 5,656-hectare Property is located in the Patricia Mining Division of northwestern Ontario and lies within the southwestern extension of the Meen-Dempster Greenstone Belt between the Red Lake and Pickle Lake gold camps (see Figure 1).

Figure 1 - The Uchi Subprovince is host to several multi-million-ounce gold deposits (click on image to enlarge)

The Property has seen sporadic exploration starting in the 1920s after the gold discoveries at Red Lake and Pickle Lake. To date, GoldON has focused its exploration efforts on a few of the Property's historical high-grade gold and silver showings. Highlights of the latest work include mapping and sampling that returned up to 331.76 grams per tonne (g/t) Au and 3,025 g/t Ag from grab sampling of the shear-hosted polymetallic quartz veins at the Trail and Sanderson Zones (see news release of June 25, 2019). This was followed by an eight-hole diamond drilling program to further investigate the Au-Ag mineralization at the Trail and Sanderson Zones where the best result was a narrow interval of 78.5 g/t Au and 73.7 g/t Ag over 0.24 metres at Sanderson East (see news release of February 25, 2020).

Subsequent to the drilling program, it was decided to take a broader more detailed look at the entire Property to gain a better understanding of the intricate structure, folding, shearing and faulting that has been mapped. Prospectair Geosurveys was hired to complete a new high-resolution heliborne magnetic survey, and Orix Geoscience has now completed a structural study incorporating the 2020 MAG survey data with all known lithological and mineralogical information and structural measurements. The result of the Orix study is a far better understanding of the geological and structural framework of the Property that is acutely demonstrated in the comparison of maps from the Dinel & Pettigrew study of 2008 and the Orix study (see Figure 2).

Figure 2 - Comparison of Slate Falls property geology interpretation in 2008 (left) versus 2020 (right)

Results of the data compilation and reinterpretation study are as follows:

A vastly improved geological map that has turned a 'sea of green' into a concise stratigraphic and folded layering of various volcanic, ultra-mafic and felsic intrusive lithologies. Extension of the greenstone belt into previously interpreted bounding felsic intrusive plutons. Three deformational events (D1, D2 and D3). Late syn- to post D3 structures. Increased knowledge in the relationship between structure and known mineralization.

Many important mineralized zones are in/or proximal to either major early D2 generally dextral east-west shear zones or splays. Similarly, the intersection of late D3 north northeast striking structures with early D2 east-west structures appears to control the mineralized zones structurally by creating or enhancing dilatational sites. Areas along the strike of the major shear zones as well as fault intersections are key potential target areas for future exploration.

The results of the Orix study are being incorporated into an independent Technical Report that is being prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101").

"Integrating the structural complexities with the known occurrences is key to understanding the mineralizing controls at Slate Falls and vital to our discovery success," said Mike Romanik President of GoldON. "This new interpretation will enhance our exploration strategies and aid greatly in vectoring our efforts to those areas of highest merit."

Mike Kilbourne, P. Geo, an independent qualified person as defined in National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this news release on behalf of the Company.

About GoldON Resources Ltd.

GoldON is an exploration company focused on discovery-stage properties located in the prolific gold mining belts of northwestern Ontario, Canada. Our current project portfolio includes four properties in the Red Lake Mining Division (West Madsen, Pipestone Bay, McDonough and Bruce Lake) and a fifth property in the Patricia Mining Division (Slate Falls). If you are an investor looking for exposure to the rising gold price, then GoldON is an explorer worthy of a closer look: tight share structure with a $10 million market cap, discovery-stage projects all in good standing, experienced management and advisors, and no debt with capital devoted to exploration not excessive salaries.

For additional information: please visit our website at https://goldonresources.com, you can download our latest presentation by clicking here and you can follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GoldONResources.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Signed "Michael Romanik"

Michael Romanik, President

Direct line: (204) 724-0613

Email: romanikm@mymts.net

###

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: GoldON Resources Ltd.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/601409/GoldON-Receives-Geological-and-Structural-Study-on-100-Owned-Slate-Falls-Gold-Silver-Property
Anglo-Dutch Unilever is among Britain's most 'woke' companies. It was no accident that in 2018, former chief executive Paul Polman was at the United Nations working on food security in Africa when he should have been in London lobbying UK shareholders on the proposal to shift domicile to Rotterdam.

Arguably, the lack of attention to his backyard cost Polman his job, in spite of the hard work he had put in to make the food-to-care products giant an exemplar of the fashionable environmental, social and governance (ESG) agenda.

It is paradoxical that Unilever now finds itself under fire on two ESG fronts.

Unilever's ice cream offshoot Ben & Jerry's is being criticised for attacking Home Secretary Priti Patel over her proposal to use the Royal Navy to cut off channel-crossing migrants

Its hipster ice cream offshoot Ben & Jerry's is being criticised for using Twitter to attack Home Secretary Priti Patel over her proposal to use Royal Navy vessels to cut off migrants fleeing war, poverty and climate change in the Middle East.

Ben & Jerry's virtue-signalling staff would have been better advised not to have weighed into politics and worked with refugee groups to make sure that those who do safely arrive on these shores are properly cared for, housed and find a pathway to work.

The whole schtick of the US-founded ice cream firm is immersed in the right-on culture of several decades ago.

Indeed, when Unilever bought Ben & Jerry's 20 years ago, a condition of sale was that it would have an independent board and would be allowed to embrace issues it cared about.

As B&J has scaled up, it had embarrassing run-ins with activists, in particular over the treatment of migrant workers in Vermont.

Arguably, it has learned a lesson from that experience which is maybe why its UK arm is sensitive to what has been going on in the Channel in these steamy, still days of summer.

More serious for chief executive Alan Jope is the building political opposition in the Netherlands to Unilever's welcome decision to unify its dual headquarters structure in London.

Jope is optimistic that the groundwork with Dutch big battalion investors and the authorities is done, and the company will not run into the same flak in Holland as it did in the City when it tried to move in the other direction.

The minority Green Left party, which ought to love Unilever for its climate change credentials, has other ideas.

It wants to slap on a dividend tax to compensate for future loss of revenues. This would amount to an 11billion exit fee. Quite a sum given that the divorce bill for the whole of the UK leaving the EU is 37billion.

The Green Left plan looks flawed since it would require abrogating a treaty between the Hague and London which prevents double taxation. But it is a straw in the wind which Jope cannot afford to ignore.

Cash call

When 178-year-old travel group Thomas Cook collapsed in September 2019, its main rival, Anglo-German Tui, looked in great shape to take advantage.

However, Covid-19 has delivered a catastrophic blow to Tui operations. It ran up losses of 2.1billion in the first nine months of year with the bulk of the red ink in the last quarter.

Making up the shortfall in income, with occupation levels in hotels at 20 per cent and flights still disrupted by local lockdowns, is impossible.

Tui finds itself in dire straits. Its survival through the current trauma is largely attributable to the German government which has pumped in a new loan of 945million, in addition to a 1.6billion credit granted in April.

One suspects that if it had relied on the UK for a handout it might still be waiting. The plus for Tui is that bookings for 2021 are 145 per cent up on 2019.

The number is inflated by re-bookings of some of this year's cancellations. Survival is going to require a big equity injection.

Britain's much vaunted, liquid stock market will need to rise to the occasion.

Safe haven

My only non-food shopping trip since lockdown is to the posh royal jeweller Mappin & Webb in Kingston-upon-Thames, part of the Watches of Switzerland group.

We were there to replace family items lost in a burglary under a scheme operated by insurer Aviva. It was fascinating to see a succession of clients viewing and buying expensive timepieces.

Perhaps Swiss watches will become the new gold  a hedge against debauched pandemic currency.
Riverdale star Madeline Petsch marks her 26th birthday on August 18.

And for an early birthday celebration her good friend and costar Camila Mendes surprised her with a plush RV road trip up the coast of California.

The ladies both shared the same photo from their trip to Instagram on Wednesday, climbing on the decked out Outdoorsy camper they used for the trip.

Celebration: Camila Mendes surprised her Riverdale costar Madelaine with an RV road trip up the coast of California, ahead of her 26th birthday on August 18

'Put on my overalls and surprised @madelame with an early bday getaway,' Camila, 26, wrote in the caption.

In the outdoor snap, the actress who plays Veronica Lodge on the hit CW show, wore a pair of black denim overall over a plain white tee while standing behind the Revel van.

She added a pair of pink Converse sneakers, dark sunglasses and gold hoop earrings to her look.

It was the same outfit she was spotted in on Tuesday, while carrying supplies with Madeline, seemingly for their trip.

Lots of space: The van had plenty of space for a long trip, as it was a full sized 2020 Winnebago Mercedez Benz Sprinter van coming in at 19 feet long, and included a queen bed

Decked out: The RV also had a microwave, sunk, fridge and shower

The birthday girl climbed on the van's back ladder, in a beige crop top, black jeans and Doc Marten boots and cat eye sunglasses with a white accent wing.

Their road trip van was a part of their partnership with Outdoorsy RV rentals. The brand has become a favorite among celebrities as the service is the number one RV rental site in the world.

A-listers like Bella Thorne, Rosario Dawson and Zoey Deutch have all used it recently to enjoy getaways amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Camila and Madeline started their adventure heading to Escondido Falls in Malibu before heading up the coast in Big Sur and the California redwoods.

Partners: Their road trip van was a part of their partnership with Outdoorsy RV rentals

The luxury van had plenty of space for a long trip, as it was a full sized 2020 Winnebago Mercedez Benz Sprinter van coming in at 19 feet long.

It included a queen sized bed leading out the back door, for easy sightseeing and comfort.

And if they got hungry the van also had a microwave, refrigerator and a sink and a shower to wash off.

The actresses have been on a long hiatus from Riverdale, since production shut down in March, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

On hold: The actresses have been on a long hiatus from Riverdale, since production shut down in March, amid the COVID-19 pandemic (Petsch (center), Mendes (right) with Vanessa Morgan in 2018)

Coming back soon: Petsch told Yahoo : 'I imagine well probably go back soonish to start shooting. Hopefully soon. Its all so up in the air.I think people are really going to enjoy it, because were really going to focus on the relationships this year (with Luke Perry, Cole Sprouse, KJ Apa and Lili Reinhart in 2016)

Though they're preparing to go back to work on the show, as Hollywood continues to get back to business with new safety measures.

Petsch told Yahoo: 'I imagine well probably go back soonish to start shooting. Hopefully soon. Its all so up in the air.I think people are really going to enjoy it, because were really going to focus on the relationships this year.

'Theres going to be a lot of twists and turns and some things people may not like as much, but thats the whole point of the show  to keep people on their toes and entertain them.'
A resident of a city in southern Vietnams Mekong Delta region attempted suicide this week the night before he was set to begin a nine-month jail term for destroying a warehouse built on land taken from his family, state media reports said on Thursday.

Nguyen Hoang Trung Kien, 30, drank pesticide on Wednesday evening, and is now recovering under medical care at Can Tho City Hospital, according to an Aug. 13 report by the Tuoi Tre online news service.

Government requisitioning of land for development projects, and disputes over compensation and often abusive eviction methods, are major sources of tension throughout Southeast Asia.

Authorities in Can Tho Citys Tho Lai district had offered Nguyens family compensation last year for a 3,000-meter plot of family land for which a new urban development area was planned, and when the family rejected the offer, authorities gave the land to CADIF Investment Corporation, the company doing the work, and the family was evicted.

Nguyen then used a bulldozer to destroy a warehouse that had been built on the site, state media said, leading to his conviction on a charge of destroying others property and to a rejection on July 27 of his appeal for a reduced sentence.

No details were given in state media for the dates of Nguyens first trial and conviction.

'Abusing democratic rights'

Prosecutors in central Vietnams Nghe An province meanwhile indicted blogger Nguyen Quang Vinh for posting online discussions of a clash in January between land protesters and police in the capital Hanois Dong Tam commune in which a village elder and three police officers were killed, state media said.

Nguyen, a resident of Nghe Ans Vinh City, was charged on July 27 with abusing democratic rights to infringe on the interests of the state in the politically-sensitive case which has seen at least five other people jailed for spreading information about it online.



Media accounts did not say whether Nguyen was arrested or is still being sought.



Dong Tam village elder Le Dinh Kinh, 84, was shot and killed on Jan. 9 by police who attacked his home in an early morning assault that involved about 3,000 security officers. It was the latest flare-up of a long-running dispute over construction of a military airport on land claimed by the commune about 25 miles south of Hanoi.



Official reports said that villagers had assaulted police with grenades and petrol bombs, but a report drawn from witness accounts and released by journalists and activists seven days later said that police had attacked first during the deadly clash that also claimed the lives of three police officers.



Police blocked off pathways and alleys during the attack and beat villagers indiscriminately, including women and old people, the report said, calling the assault possibly the bloodiest land dispute in Vietnam in the last ten years.



While all land in Vietnam is ultimately held by the state, land confiscations have become a flashpoint as residents accuse the government of pushing small landholders aside in favor of lucrative real estate projects, and of paying too little in compensation to those whose land is taken.



Reported by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Huy Le. Written in English by Richard Finney.
A six-year-old boy came close to drowning in a lake after he ended up getting tangled in a rope swing that left him hanging upside down.

The youngster was enjoying himself at Patapsco Valley State Park in Maryland, west of Baltimore, when he somehow flipped 180 degrees leaving him dangling with his head in the water.

Just a few more inches and the boy would have been submerged and unable to breathe.

A young boy was on a rope swing at Patapsco Valley State Park in Maryland

He ended up getting into difficulties after becoming tangled upside down. The youngster's head ended up partially in the water but not completely submerged

Crews from the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Service were called to rescue the boy at around 3:45pm.

By the time fire crews arrived to assist, another member of the public was on site and helping to keep the boy's head above the water.

Fire officials were able to save the boy quickly after arriving on scene.

He was not injured and there was no need for him to be taken to a hospital.

'He has a story to tell his friends,' the rescue service wrote on Twitter alongside a picture of the rescue.

The Fire & EMS crew tweeted about the rescue together with a picture of of the boy

The rope swing is a popular attraction at a watering hole at Patapsco Valley State Park in Marriottsville, Maryland
AssuredPartners President and COO Tom Riley said, The operations complement our existing footprint throughout our growing presence in California and we are thrilled to have such a focus in Bakersfield.

AssuredPartners, Inc. is pleased to announce the acquisition of Wilson Paves & Associates Insurance Agency, Inc. of Bakersfield, CA. The talented team of 12 will be under the operational leadership of Bakersfield Branch Manager Shaun Kelly.

John Ansolabehere of Wilson Paves & Associates Insurance Agency, Inc. said, Our goal has always centered around our need to educate and service the Bakersfield, California community and throughout the state of California. Through our service model, we strive to educate the community on the best options for their insurance needs.

The union between Wilson Paves and AssuredPartners will only continue our commitment to our community. This partnership will allow us to offer the greatest access to carefully selected carriers in order to provide the best level of service, price and coverage, stated Gary Somers of Wilson Paves.

We are looking forward to our future with AssuredPartners and the ability to focus and partner with our agency partners that demonstrate a dedication to growth and value building lasting relationships, said Mike Wilson of Wilson Paves.

AssuredPartners President and COO Tom Riley said, We are pleased to partner with Wilson Paves & Associates. The operations complement our existing footprint throughout our growing presence in California and we are thrilled to have such a focus in Bakersfield. The common core values both organizations share will be exemplified as we continue to partner together.

For more information on Wilson Paves & Associates, please visit: http://www.wilsonpaves.com.

ABOUT ASSUREDPARTNERS, INC

Headquartered in Lake Mary, Florida and led by Jim Henderson and Tom Riley, AssuredPartners, Inc. acquires and invests in insurance brokerage businesses (property and casualty, employee benefits, surety and MGUs) across the United States and in England. From its founding in March of 2011, AssuredPartners has grown to over $1.5 billion in annualized revenue and continues to be one of the fastest growing insurance brokerage firms in the United States with over 190 offices in 30 states and England. For more information, please contact Dean Curtis, CFO, at 407.708.0031 or dean.curtis@assuredpartners.com, or visit http://www.assuredpartners.com.
Senator Elizabeth Warren speaks at a campaign rally at the Seattle Center Armory in Seattle, Washington, February 22, 2020.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Thursday demanded that the U.S. Postal Service's internal ethics watchdog investigate what she suggested was "corruption" in the purchase of Amazon stock options by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy after his appointment to that job.

The Massachusetts Democrat Warren, in a tweet, wrote that DeJoy's "investments in @USPS competitors were already deeply problematic."

"But his purchase of @Amazon stock options after his appointment is inexcusable," she added.

"The @OIGUSPS must investigate this corruption," Warren wrote, using the Twitter address of the Postal Service's Office of Inspector General.

Tweet

A spokesperson for the OIG in an email to CNBC wrote, "Inspector General Tammy L. Whitcomb received a congressional request last week and our office is reviewing it for appropriate response. We cannot comment on details of any ongoing work."

A USPS spokesman, when asked for comment about Warren's tweet, in an email reply pointed to a statement issued by DeJoy last week.

"I take my ethical obligations seriously, and I have done what is necessary to ensure that I am and will remain in compliance with those obligations," DeJoy said in that statement.

Warren's tweet linked to a CNN report on Wednesday, which said that DeJoy continues to hold at least at least $30 million in holdings in his former company XPO Logistics, which is a United States Postal Service contractor.

CNN reported that those holdings likely created "a major conflict of interest, according to newly obtained financial disclosures and ethics experts," who the news site said "were shocked that ethics officials at the postal service approved this arrangement."

CNN, citing government financial disclosures, also reported that on the same day in June that "DeJoy divested large amounts of Amazon shares, he purchased stock options giving him the right to buy new shares of Amazon at a price much lower than their current market price."

"This could lead to a separate conflict, given President Donald Trump's disdain for Amazon, and his reported effort in 2018 to pressure DeJoy's predecessor to raise prices on Amazon and other firms, while complaining about its founder Jeff Bezos," CNN noted.

DeJoy, who previously worked as chairman and CEO of New Breed Logistics, a company that had contracted with the U.S. Postal Service, was selected as Postmaster General in May by the USPS's board of governors. DeJoy before his selection also had been a major Republican Party fundraiser.

In June, The Washington Post had reported that "DeJoy and his wife, Aldona Wos, the ambassador-nominee to Canada, have between $30.1 million and $75.3 million in assets in USPS competitors or contractors, according to Wos's financial disclosure paperwork filed with the Office of Government Ethics."

The Post noted that the "vast majority" of those holdings were in XPO Logistics, which acquired New Breed Logistics in 2014.

But the couple's "combined stake in competitors UPS and trucking company J.B. Hunt is roughly $265,000."

CNN's article on Wednesday said that records show that "DeJoy owned between $265,000 and $550,000 in UPS stock, but divested them after becoming postmaster general."
The announcement makes the UAE the first Gulf Arab state to do so and only the third Arab nation to have active diplomatic ties to Israel

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United Arab Emirates and Israel have agreed to establish full diplomatic ties as part of a deal to halt the annexation of occupied land sought by the Palestinians for their future state.

The announcement makes the UAE the first Gulf Arab state to do so and only the third Arab nation to have active diplomatic ties to Israel.

President Donald Trump tweeted a statement from the countries, acknowledging the deal.

The recognition grants a rare diplomatic win to Trump ahead of the November election as his efforts to see an end to the war in Afghanistan have yet to come to fruition while efforts to bring peace between Israel and the Palestinians have made no headway.

For Israel, the announcement comes after years of boasting by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that his government enjoys closer ties to Arab nations than publicly acknowledged.

Netanyahu has sought to build settlements on lands sought by the Palestinians and embraced a Trump proposal that would allow him to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank while granting Palestinians limited autonomy in other areas.

For the UAE, home to skyscraper-studded Dubai and the rolling, oil-rich sand dunes of Abu Dhabi, it further burnishes its international campaign to be seen as a beacon of tolerance in the Middle East. It also puts the UAE out first in a regional recognition race among neighboring Gulf Arab states.

And for the Palestinians, who long have relied on Arab backing in their struggle for independence, the announcement marked both a win and setback. While Thursday's deal halts Israeli annexation plans, the Palestinians have repeatedly urged Arab governments not to normalize relations with Israel until a peace agreement establishing an independent Palestinian state is reached.

A joint statement from the U.S., the UAE and Israel was issued immediately after Trump's tweet. It said delegations would meet in the coming weeks to sign deals on direct flights, security, telecommunications, energy, tourism and health care. The two countries also will partner on fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

"Opening direct ties between two of the Middle East's most dynamic societies and advanced economics will transform the region by spurring economic growth, enhancing technological innovation and forging closer people-to-people relations,'' said the statement by Trump, Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the day-to-day ruler of the UAE. It said the leaders had a three-way call discussing the deal.

Among Arab nations, only Egypt and Jordan have active diplomatic ties with Israel. Egypt made a peace deal with Israel in 1979, followed by Jordan in 1994. Mauritania recognized Israel in 1999, but later ended relations in 2009 over the Israel's war in Gaza at the time.

In addition to Trump, the main U.S. mediators for agreement were the president's senior advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner, special Mideast envoy Avi Berkowitz and David Friedman, the U.S. ambassador to Israel.

The UAE is a U.S.-allied federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula. Formed in 1971, the country like other Arab nations at the time did not recognize Israel over its occupation of land home to the Palestinians.

"Arab oil is not dearer than Arab blood,'' the UAE's founding ruler, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, once pronounced when agreeing to an oil boycott over U.S. military support to Israel in the 1973 Mideast war.

The UAE relied on white-collar Palestinians in creating its nation. Over time, it maintained its stance that Israel allow the creation of a Palestinian state on land it seized in the 1967 war.

But in recent years, ties between Gulf Arab nations and Israel have quietly grown, in part over their shared enmity of Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Prince Mohammed also shares Israel's distrust of Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and the militant group Hamas that holds the Gaza Strip.

It remains unclear what prompted Israel and the UAE to make the announcement now. In June, the United Arab Emirates' ambassador to the U.S. warned in an Israeli newspaper op-ed that Israel's planned annexing the Jordan Valley and other parts of the occupied West Bank would "upend'' Israel's efforts to improve ties with Arab nations.

The agreement gives Netanyahu a domestic boost at a time when Israel's shaky coalition government is plagued by infighting and facing the possibility of early elections in the coming months. Netanyahu has seen his popularity plummet as the country grapples with a renewed coronavirus outbreak and skyrocketing unemployment as the result of earlier lockdown measures.

Netanyahu also delivered a valuable diplomatic achievement to his good friend, Trump, ahead of US elections.

Still, by dropping the annexation plan Netanyahu may be hedging his bets ahead of a possible change in the White House. Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, has made clear that he would oppose any moves by Israel to unilaterally redraw the Mideast map and annex lands sought by the Palestinians.

Netanyahu also risked criticism inside his own hard-line Likud Party, whose members strongly supported annexation. Netanyahu appears to be betting that Likud members _ and the small, but influential settler movement _ will agree the peace agreement delivers more benefits than unilateral annexation. Opinion polls have shown that annexation is not a high priority for the vast majority of the Israeli public.

Abandoning its annexation plan changes little on the ground. Israel already holds overall control of the West Bank and continues to expand its settlements there, while granting the Palestinians autonomy in a series of disconnected enclaves.

Next year, Israel will take part in the UAE's delayed Expo 2020, the world's fair being hosted by Dubai. A secret synagogue also draws practicing Jews in Dubai. The UAE also has announced plans to build the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi, which will house a mosque, a church and a synagogue.

Israelis traveling with Western passports routinely enter the UAE without a problem, though one still can't make a phone call between the two countries. Israelis also work in Dubai's gold and diamond trade as well.

Emirati officials also have allowed Israeli officials to visit and the Israeli national anthem was played after an athlete won gold in an Abu Dhabi judo tournament. Israel also has a small mission representing its interests at the International Renewable Energy Agency in Abu Dhabi.

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President Trump said Thursday that he would block a funding boost for the U.S. Postal Service to handle an expected flood of mail-in ballots in coming weeks, admitting it's part of a White House effort to limit Americans voting by mail and raising the chances of chaos surrounding the election in November.

Democrats have pushed to provide up to $25 billion in emergency funding for the cash-strapped Postal Service, which was under immense strain long before the coronavirus crisis spurred numerous states to expand access to mail-in balloting to reduce the risk of infection at crowded polling stations.

Trump claims voting by mail will hurt his reelection chances, arguing that Democrats are more likely to stay home while his supporters vote in person. Two polls this week show he may be right, including a Pew survey Thursday showing 58% of Democrat-leaning voters prefer to cast ballots by mail, compared with just 20% of those likely to support Trump.

He also charges that mail-in ballots lead to rampant fraud, although no evidence supports that. States use signature databases and other verification measures to assure the authenticity of ballots.

But severe bottlenecks in delivering the mail, and then in verifying and counting the ballots, led to lengthy delays in close elections in several states this year, highlighting the potential danger of political and legal bedlam if reforms aren't put in place before Nov. 3.

By choking off fresh funding, Trump appeared intent on sabotaging the process and making his warnings a self-fulfilling prophecy.

During an interview Thursday on Fox Business Network, Trump said he would reject $3.5 billion in supplemental funding to help local election officials increase staffing for the vote, and a broader $25-billion boost for the USPS, that Democrats sought in the now-stalled negotiations to help Americans in the current recession.

"They want $3.5 billion for the mail-in votes. Universal mail-in ballots. They want $25 billion, billion, for the Post Office. Now they need that money in order to make the Post Office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots," Trump said, repeating his false claims that mail-in voting would be "fraudulent."

Story continues

"But if they don't get those two items that means you can't have universal mail-in voting because they're not equipped to have it," Trump added.

Much as he has urged businesses and schools to reopen  and has largely ignored the resulting spike in deaths and infections  Trump insisted it was safe for voters to line up and cast ballots inside schools, churches, town halls and other polling places.

Theres nothing wrong with getting out and voting.... They voted during World War I and World War II, said Trump, who votes by mail in Florida.

Speaking to reporters later Thursday in the White House briefing room, Trump decried mail "ballots that come out of the sky from nowhere" but appeared to ease his opposition on funding, saying he was open to approving federal aid for the Postal Service as long as it wasn't tied to $1 trillion for local governments that Democrats have sought in negotiations.

Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, told reporters that the president's effort to undermine the Postal Service was "pure Trump." Biden added: "He doesnt want an election."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) also pushed back, noting that the agency's bipartisan Board of Governors, which was appointed by Trump, had recommended the $25-billion boost. The money would be used not just to process mail ballots but to ensure that health precautions are in place to protect both voters and poll workers.

"It's a health issue," Pelosi told reporters on Capitol Hill. "You shouldn't have to choose between your health and your ability to cast your vote."

Democrats in Congress have called for an investigation of Louis DeJoy, a mega-donor to the president before Trump named him postmaster general in May.

DeJoy has purged a number of experienced officials from the agency's executive ranks and instituted sweeping changes  including reductions of overtime availability, restrictions on extra mail delivery trips, testing of new mail sorting and delivery policies at hundreds of post offices, and cutbacks in the number and use of mail processing equipment  that are widely blamed for an increase in delayed and undelivered mail, including ballots in states where primaries have taken place.

In a letter, Pelosi and 174 other House Democrats urged DeJoy to halt the changes. They said timely deliveries of medicine, paychecks and tax refunds are especially critical during the pandemic and expressed concerns that reduced service and a recent move to stop classifying all election mail as first class may affect voting in the fall.

"If implemented now, as the election approaches, this policy will cause further delays to election mail that will disenfranchise voters and put significant financial pressure on election jurisdictions," the Democrats wrote.

Senate Democrats sent a similar letter to DeJoy, expressing frustration with changes that seem broadly aimed at slowing mail delivery.

"Under normal circumstances, delayed mail is a major problem  during a pandemic in the middle of a presidential election, it is catastrophic, they wrote.

Trump has claimed, perplexingly, that "absentee" voting is fine while mail-in voting is not, even though they are the same thing. He also has expressed confidence in just one state  Florida, where he is an official resident and votes by mail  and its ability to process mail ballots, if only because a political ally is in charge.

"Floridas got a great Republican governor," Trump said recently. "Florida's different from other states."

Trump's vow to block fresh funding for the Postal Service comes as Trump's campaign and the Republican National Committee have filed legal challenges to several states that have expanded access to mail ballots and early voting.

After Nevada approved universal mail-in ballot legislation, Trump called the vote by the state legislature "an illegal late night coup" and tweeted "See you in Court!" Nevada is one of the states where Republicans have filed lawsuits.

Republican leaders. who were quick to reject the president's suggestion to delay the balloting, have been largely silent about his efforts to curtail mail-in voting, much to the chagrin of election watchdogs.

Trump is deliberately "throwing the election into chaos," said Wendy Weiser, a vice president at NYU's Brennan Center for Justice and founder of the Voting Rights and Elections Project.

"This is beyond inappropriate  it is an attack on our entire constitutional system," she added. "The ball is now in Congress' court not to be complicit."

Negotiations between the White House and Democrats on another coronavirus relief package remain at a standstill, with Trump objecting to the $2 trillion in aid that Democrats have suggested as a compromise. No resolution appears imminent, and the Senate recessed on Thursday until after Labor Day, Sept. 7.

Trump's opposition to aiding the Postal Service  even after his negotiators, Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows reportedly agreed in principle to $10 billion  was a bigger sticking point than previously known, possibly even the primary reason talks broke down over measures to extend unemployment benefits and eviction protections and provide local governments with much needed funding.

Trump first made his motivations explicit during a news briefing Wednesday at the White House, stating outright that he would not approve $25 billion in emergency funding for the Postal Service, or $3.5 billion in supplemental funding for election resources, arguing that it costs too much.

"The bill is not going to happen ... because we can't give them the kind of ridiculous things that they want that have nothing to do with the China virus," Trump said. "So, therefore, they dont have the money to do the universal mail-in voting. So, therefore they can't do it, I guess. Right?"

Times staff writers Sarah D. Wire and Jennifer Haberkorn contributed to this report.
Stephen Collum Vineyard Concepts Founder View Photo

San Andreas, CA  The Calaveras wine industry has lost one of its greatest mentors, boosters, and creative collaborators.

Stephen Collum, 64, the founder of Murphys-based Vineyard Concepts consulting and management company, passed suddenly on Tuesday at St. Josephs Hospital in Stockton.

It was a surprise even for many who knew him well as he was a private man and did not share that he had been diagnosed in recent months with liver cancer. Passionate about his work, he pressed on until the day he entered the hospital last week.

Calaveras Wine-grape Alliance (CWA) Executive Director Sandra Hess states, Steve was a huge part of the Calaveras County wine community not only as a vineyard manager but as a friend to many and loyal supporter of the CWA. Besides helping establish the group and serving as a long-time board director, he chaired the Education Committee, focusing on sustainable practices and regularly connected top-notch speakers and educators from across California with local growers and winery operators.

Newsome-Harlow Wines co-owner/winemaker Scott Klann comments, This has been really hard. This wine community has lost three giants in the last few years, and it feels a bit disproportionalnot that I would wish this on anywhere else, butBarden Stevenot, Chuck Hovey, and now Stephen Collum all of a sudden  it leaves a large hole in the wine industry.

He adds, People say he was the heart and center of this industry, and I dont think there is any truer statement that could be made about him. For me personally, he was a dear friend and mentor.

Expertise, A Helping Hand, Kind Heart

Prospect 772 co-owner/winemaker Ron Pieretti, states, Steve elevated the whole growing and wine industrynot only by his expertise that he brought here but being active with the CWA and being a helping hand to many startup wineries and vineyardshe is going to be truly missed by many people, not just in the growing community but as a citizen and for his easy laugh, and smile and his kind-heartedness.

Collum majored in biology and viticulture at Fresno State, spending summers fighting fires in Yosemite National Park before heading to Sonoma with his wife Cindy in search of a vineyard management job. He became associated with St. Francis Vineyards and then moved to Kendall Jackson during a time the company was expanding internationally. In Tuscany, while assisting in developing a property in southeast Chianti, he became inspired to search for a place in California with similar terroir so he could plant his own Sangiovese.

That location turned out to be a property in Calaveras County near San Andreas that he and Cindy purchased in 1988 and established a vineyard. Three years later, he set up Vineyard Concepts, where his widely regarded focus was collaborating with owners and winemakers to make quality wines from vine to bottle. The company currently has its hands in operating about 200 acres of vineyards.

Freshly processing their loss, his employees are now scrambling to address the harvest season ahead, sharing that the wine-grape community is coming together to help get through grape transport operations. Describing him as like a Dad, best friend, and teacher, Elissa Reisbeck, his administrative assistant, shares, Steve was a one-of-a-kind guy, and if you knew him you were touched forever by his presence, and he is going to forever be missed.

Calaveras County Fair CEO Laurie Giannini recalls Collums service as a key volunteer in the wine exhibit building where he led educational demonstrations every year, adding, We will miss his passion. She confides he had the vision to build a demonstration vineyard at the Fairgrounds and hopes the organization might work towards fulfilling that dream.

CWA plans to host a memorial, probably in January or February, so that industry members across California can come together to honor him. For those interested, there is a Go Fund Me campaign set up by his Vineyard Concepts team as an immediate financial need is to cover medical bills. To access the page, click here.
Independent presidential candidate Kanye West furtively met with the United States President Donald Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner last weekend.

The music artist had been with his family including wife Kim Kardashian-West and their four children as they camped in Colorado. He then flew out to Telluride to meet Kushner and presidential daughter and his wife Ivanka Trump.

This was after initiating a bid for US presidency that West has openly indicated was aimed to draw votes from Joe Biden.

The rapper previously declared a presidential campaign this year that has faced remarkable legal battles in the midst of news of seemingly-identical signatures on petitions which Kardashian's husband created for his name to be indicated on state ballots in the upcoming November presidential election.

Responding to inquiries regarding the private meeting, West wrote on Twitter that he would conduct a "live interview" with the Times about it. He added that he and the Kushner pair talked about the book "PowerNomics" by Dr. Claud Anderson.

According to West, "I'm willing to do a live interview with the New York Times about my meeting with Jared where we discussed Dr. Claude Anderson's book 'Powernomics,'" reported Law & Crime.

West disputed the connotation that the meeting was about his improbable presidential campaign which has Republican ties, reported People.

Kanye West's wife was not present during the meeting with Jared Kushner.

Also Read: Kanye West Running for President? Rapper Declares Interest for US Top Position in Twitter

West seemingly indicated that his bid for the presidency was partly driven by a motivation to dent Biden's chances. "I'm not denying it; I just told you," he said, reported Forbes.

West is geared towards meeting requirements to get on the ballot in numerous states. However, because of missed deadlines, it is mathematically impossible for him to win enough votes in the Electoral College which are 270.

This week, the billionaire released a campaign platform and website as he moves to get on the ballot while people surrounding him are increasingly concerned regarding his mental health. multiple sources, White House senior advisor Jared Kushner has been speaking with West regularly since his July 4 tweet declaring that he was running for president. Multiple sources indicate that the White House senior advisor Kushner has been in talks with West regularly since his 4th of July tweet announcement of his bid for the presidency.

West did not provide further details on his recent meeting with Kushner but, instead, expressed anger regarding Black women's abortion rates and stated that he did not support Democrats.

He initiated a last-minute presidential bid six weeks ago with the help of a number of Republican operatives.

West's wife Kardashian developed a close association with Kushner and Ivanka Trump with her work with the Trump government on criminal justice reform. Also, she has dined at the senior advisers' Washington DC home.

West stated after meeting with Jared Kushner that that he "didn't reflexively support Democrats," reported New York Post.

President Trump denied connection to West's efforts. He said during a White House press briefing, "I like him. He's always been very nice to me."

Related Article: Kanye West Says He Contracted COVID-19 Amidst Declaring Interest to Run as US President

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A total of 175 stranded Nigerians on Thursday arrived the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at about 1.05 p.m. from Uganda via Galistair.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the arrival of the 175 repatriated Nigerians was reported in the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM)s Twitter handle, @nidcom_gov.

A total of 175 stranded Nigerians arrived Nnamdi Azikiwe Intl Airport, Abuja at about 1305hrs from Uganda, today, Thursday, the 13th of August, 2020 via Galistair, NiDCOM stated.

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The commission said they all tested negative to COVID-19 before they departed Uganda, but would proceed on 14-day self-isolation.

It stated that the mandatory self-isolation was as directed by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 and the Federal Ministry of Health.

(NAN)
A Niagara Falls man escaped unharmed from a two-vehicle crash in Vaughan that sent two people to hospital with serious injuries.

York Regional Police report a van and truck collided on a roadway near a Highway 400 ramp on Aug. 11, around 6 p.m.

The driver of the van, a 51-year-old man from Vaughan, and his passenger, a 52-year-old woman also from Vaughan, suffered serious injuries. They were both transported to hospital for treatment.

The driver of the truck, a 57-year-old Niagara Falls man, was not injured.

The York police major collision investigation unit continues to look into the incident.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 12) -- Half of the classrooms in all public schools in Metro Manila will be converted to quarantine facilities as distance learning is implemented by the education department this school year, the Palace said Wednesday.

The Palace confirms that 50% of public-school classrooms in the National Capital Region will be used as temporary quarantine facilities as negotiated and agreed by both the Department of Health and Department of Education, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.

The government plans to track at least 10 people that had close contact with a COVID-19 patient. They would then be brought to these converted school facilities which would remain open until December 31.

Based on data from DepEd, there are 516 public elementary schools and 456 public junior and senior high schools in Metro Manila.

Face-to-face classes are prohibited this school year due to the ongoing pandemic. Classes in public schools begin on August 24 through a mix of online distance learning, use of modules, as well as radio and television.

Resumption of face-to-face classes is set in January 2021, if and when a vaccine and/or medicinal drug is expected to be produced, Roque said.
He could have gone into hiding - instead he's going out on the town.

Tekashi 6ix9ine beamed Wednesday evening as he went to the high-profile celeb restaurant Nobu Malibu with a massive security team, making a visit to the West Coast since his home arrest expired last month.

The Stoopid artist donned a white top with designer pants and his hair braided as he looked to be enjoying his freedom with a cross-county trip, with a team of guards acting as a buffer between he and the public.

The good life: Tekashi 6ix9ine, 24, beamed Wednesday evening as he went to the high-profile celeb restaurant Nobu Malibu with a massive security team, making a visit to the West Coast since his home arrest expired last month

Tekashi's well-being has been an issue on social media following his testimony against one-time associates last year in his criminal trial over his past gang affiliation and exploits. TMZ reported last fall that the rapper preferred to hire security than enter the witness protection program.

The 24-year-old rap artist took to Instagram on Wednesday with a pair of clips documenting his coast-to-coast travel as he arrived in the City of Angels on a private plane.

'LOS ANGELES IM HERE  YA LOVE ME RIGHT?????' Tekashi, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, wrote in the caption.

The Bushwick, New York native appeared to be with a female companion as he exited the private aircraft, and was later seen attracting dozens of fans as he walked through Santa Monica.

Protection: The Fefe artist was flanked on each side by large guards donning face masks per California mandate

In danger? Tekashi's well-being has been an issue on social media following his testimony against one-time associates in his criminal trial, over his past gang affiliation and exploits

Despite his legal team saying the rapper was concerned how COVID-19 could impact his asthma, Tekashi was not personally photographed wearing a mask amid his time in La La Land

Happy: The musical artist beamed as he opened the door of the SUV he was in

The Fefe artist was flanked on each side by large guards donning face masks per California mandate, but was not personally photographed wearing a mask amid his time in La La Land.

He wrote, 'OUTSIDE IN LOS ANGELES JUST LIVIN LIFE IN SANDALS'

6ix9ine last year was convicted in connection with racketeering, drug trafficking and weapons charges, and got a lesser sentence - he faced as many as 47 years in custody - for his testimony against one-time associates.

He was sentenced to two years in prison this past December, and released from prison into home arrest in April after citing concerns about coronavirus, with his home arrest drawing to a close July 31.

Tekashi was released from prison into home arrest in April after citing concerns about coronavirus, with his home arrest drawing to a close July 31

Playing it safe: The rapper's muscle took precautions wearing face masks out in LA

Tip money: The rapper had stacks of cash under his arm as he got off of a private aircraft

The rap artist had a cast on after he told TMZ Tuesday that he tripped over his French Bulldog Poppy early Tuesday, hurting his arm as he attempted to brace himself.

He said he suffered a broken wrist and will be in a cast for three-to-five weeks.

He took to Instagram with a pair of posts documenting his time in the Big Apple Tuesday, as he visited a doctor to undergo treatment, then showed off his ability to draw a large crowd in a department store.

Beauty: The rapper was joined on the flight by a friend on the mid-August day

The latest: Tekashi 6ix9ine, 24, visited a doctor to undergo treatment, then showed off his ability to draw a large crowd in NYC Tuesday

Awaiting his public: The Stoopid artist later in the day entered a New York department store, showing dozens of people congregating as he made his way through the retail establishment

Fans: The recording artist proclaimed himself the King of New York
Belarus says police detained more than 1,000 protesters overnight Women take part in a demonstration against police violence in Minsk

MINSK (Reuters) - Belarusian police detained more than 1,000 protesters on the third night of protests on Tuesday that broke out over a contested election handing a new term to President Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.

The ministry said 51 protesters and 14 police officers were hurt during the protests overnight.

(Reporting by Andrei Makhovsky; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Maria Kiselyova)
Gregory Conley, president of the industry-funded American Vaping Association, noted that the study found no significant association between COVID and current users who vaped in the past 30 days, which he said undercuts the argument that occasional use in the distant past may play a role. He also cited a recent study in the British Medical Journal of 8 million patients that found that those who smoked were, surprisingly, less likely to get COVID-19.
Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden's running mate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) speaks during an event at the Alexis Dupont High School in Wilmington, Del. on Aug. 12, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

BidenHarris Too Weak to Resist Socialist Wing of Their Party

Commentary

Joe Biden is no Henry Wallacethe 1948 Progressive Party candidate for president who many thought was the first actual communist (or close) to run for the U.S. presidency.

Indeed, Biden is pretty much of a political cipher, his views waffling back and forth with the political winds over his long career. His more-important-than-usual running mate, Kamala Harris, is much the same way, though of shorter duration.

Nevertheless, Election 2020 is going to be the first time in a long time, or possibly ever, that a U.S. presidential election is going to be about that ideological ultimatumcapitalism vs. socialism. (Wallace was, after all, a third-party candidate.)

The old saw about the most important election ever suddenly isnt such a tired cliche.

This is due to the BidenHarris duo being, in essence, held hostage by the growing socialist wing of the Democratic Party, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (officially an independent who is accepted as a member of the partys Senate leadership) and The Squad, two of whose most extreme membersReps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaibjust won their primaries handily, despite determined competition. These far-left-wingers are far more popular with their constituency than the nominees are with any constituency.

Biden and Harris couldnt win in November without these putatively democratic socialists, even if they wanted toand its not faintly clear at this point that they want to.

In fact, indications are quite the opposite. Despite the efforts of The New York Times and others to mollify the electorate by characterizing Biden as a moderate, hes made no attempt as yet to justify that.

No Sister Soljah moment appears to be on the horizon. He barely even discusses the violence in our streets. He hasnt gone as far as the eye-rolling Jerry Nadler to say that Antifa is a myth, but he might as well have.

Part of the explanation for this is that Biden is a fearful, cautious person by nature. He was, it will be remembered, afraid to go after Bin Laden lest the attempt misfire. At this moment, he rarely comes out of his basement. Better to not screw up.

By remaining silent, he gives his assent to that violence in the streets that no doubt would increase under his administration, a new form of revolution based on race and gender rather than economicstribalism really.

Meanwhile, Tucker Carlson has opined there are timeshare salespeople more trustworthy than running mate Harris, a ruthless comment with an uncomfortable ring of truth.

A more polite way of looking at Harris might be to reference Groucho Marx when, as Rufus T. Firefly, president of Freedonia in the film Duck Soup, he opined, These are my principles. And if you dont like them, well  Ive got others.

Of course, Bernie and The Squad dont have others. They know what their principles aretheyre very much sticking to themand they arent the principles of a capitalist state.

I think its fair to say Biden and Harris dont really have principles, less even than Groucho, not any that they deeply care about, anyway, which makes them easy prey for those who do.

Gradually, or perhaps immediately, the left would get their way in Biden and Harriss administration, should they be elected. Its hard to see another scenario. And then it will keep going further  and further  as such things do.

Which makes Election 2020 that most important ever, the last bastion of capitalism if you happen to think, as I do, that its vastly superior to socialism.

I wont bore us all to death by pointing out the obvious, all the failures of socialism and communism, economic and otherwise, from Venezuela to the Great Leap Forward, how tens of millions have died for that particular cause.

Nor will I belabor, as Friedrich Hayek explained almost a century ago now, that socialism leads inexorably to totalitarian communism. We have had a world full of examples since then.

What it comes to is this: Whether we like him or not, whether we see him as ironic or heroic or both, Donald Trump is now the defender of Adam Smith over Karl Marx. Hes our last, best hope.

Sitting this one out or being a NeverTrumper, at this point, is a luxury none of us can afford.

Roger L. Simon is an award-winning author, Oscar-nominated screenwriter, co-founder of PJ Media, and now a columnist for The Epoch Times. Find him on Twitter and Parler @rogerlsimon. Buy his books on Amazon.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Draft EIA notification seeks to do away with environment protection: critics

The draft Environmental Impact Assessment Notification 2020, released by the ministry of environment, forest and climate change, has met with massive opposition from environmental activists, political parties and the general public as the ministrys proposal tries to perpetuate the faults and weaknesses of the EIA Notification 2006 by further diluting it.

Instead of overhauling the environmental clearance system, the ministry proposes to leave environment protection to be decided by the needs of industrial and infrastructural projects.

Critics point out that the draft EIA notification fails to acknowledge the grave ecological crises that the country is facing and is legally untenable as it does not conform to the Environment (Protection) Act 1986.

While the parent Act requires the centre to take measures to protect and improve the environment, the draft EIA notification tries to undermine the Act by reducing the scope of the scrutiny of impact assessment, which will prove detrimental to the environment, they say.

The proposed mechanism to deal with violations is more worrying as it allows the government to grant an ex post facto environmental clearance to projects that have commenced illegally without a clearance by imposing a fine.

The draft completely overlooks climate change and related considerations.

It also overlooks the rights of project affected by doing away with the public consultation process, which is already weak and unsatisfactory, and even reduces access to relevant information for project-affected persons.

There is no prescribed standards to ensure some semblance of ensuring proper decision making, particularly by the expert appraisal committees which perform the critical function of independent evaluation of projects.

Meanwhile, several users have complained that as the deadline for comments and feedback on the draft of Environmental Impact Assessment 2020 (EIA 2020) neared, their emails are returning due to an invalid recipient address. The emails sent to the official address provided by the union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MOEFCC) eia2020-moefcc@gov.in are bouncing back to the senders, forcing many users to switch to social media.

The draft of the EIA 2020, which proposed numerous changes to the existing EIA rules, was notified in March. The deadline to send in comments and feedback was extended to 11 August 2020 following a Delhi High Court order to provide enough time for the general public to respond.

Environment minister Prakash Javadekar said on Monday that there was no point in raising objections to the draft as it is not a final notification. He also noted that it was kept for public consultation for 150 days because of Covid-19. Otherwise it is only 60 days as per rules.

Javadekar said the environment ministry has received thousands of suggestions which it will consider before coming out with the final draft.

We have received thousands of suggestions which we welcome. We will consider those suggestions. Then take a call and come out with the final draft. So people jumping just on the draft is not fair practice. Those who want to now protest, took many of the big decisions without consultations during their regime. It is unnecessary and premature. I have mentioned it in my letter to (Congress leader and former Union minister) Jairam Ramesh, he said.

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh who heads the Parliamentary standing committee on science and technology, environment, forests and climate change, technology has been one of the strongest critics of the draft EIA.
Before she gave birth in Perus largest maternity hospital, Maria Alvarez closed her eyes and made one request through her face mask.

Wheres my husband? she said. I want my husband to come.

But the babys father, Marco Martinez, had died a month before from the novel coronavirus.

Maria, who had an asymptomatic case of the virus, was giving birth to her first child, a daughter, at 24 in a special ward for mothers with COVID-19.

Lima: Maria Alvarez, 24, center, sits with other mothers who are infected with the new coronavirus, as they wait to be handed their babies before being discharged at the National Perinatal and Maternal Institute in Lima, Peru, Thursday, July 30, 2020. (AP)

Perus National Perinatal and Maternal Institute has dedicated about half its facilities to care for infected pregnant women. Between April and the start of August, more than 2,000 infected patients gave birth there, with 120 newborns testing positive.

One in four people in Perus capital of 10 million people could be infected with the coronavirus, according to a study published by health authorities in July, with more than 483,000 confirmed infected across the country of 32 million and more than 21,000 dead.

Despite wearing personal protective equipment and taking other measures to avoid infection, 400 of the 2,000 workers in the institute have also been infected, said its director, Enrique Guevara.

Doctors and nurses attend to births, but the institute has barred partners or other relatives, and pregnant women are moved through the hospital in wheeled beds protected by transparent covers to block the virus from spreading.

A neonatologist examines a newborn baby at the National Maternal Perinatal Institute in an isolated area reserved for mothers infected with COVID-19, in Lima, Peru, Wednesday, July 29, 2020. The 24-year-old first-time mother wept during her labour not just from pain, but because the baby would be born without her father. The baby's father died from the new coronavirus in June. (AP)

Martinez returned to Peru in November after five years working in an electronics store in Chile.

Alvarez became pregnant, and after the coronavirus hit Peru, both went to work for a friend sewing face masks.

Martinez became ill and died in June. Alvarez took a test that came back positive, but never experienced symptoms.

She felt contractions on July 29, and rushed to the hospital with a set of blue clothing for the boy that doctors had said was coming. To her surprise, she gave birth to a girl.

Days after giving birth, as she recovered in her isolated bed, she said she had still not decided what to name her daughter.

What I know, she said. Is that I dont want her to suffer like her mother and father.

(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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NASA's Aqua satellite obtained visible imagery of Hurricane Elida in the Eastern Pacific as it continued to weaken. Imagery revealed that Elida's eye had become covered as the storm embarks on a weakening trend over cooler waters.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured a visible image of Hurricane Elida on Aug. 11 at 4:30 p.m. EDT and the eye had become obscured by high clouds. The image also revealed that the storm looked more elongated, another sign a storm is weakening. Satellite imagery was created using NASA's Worldview product at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

Elida has moved into cooler waters, causing the storm to weaken. The hurricane have moved over waters of 23 to 24 degrees Celsius (73.4 to 75.2 degrees Fahrenheit). A hurricane needs sea surface temperatures of at least 26.6 degrees Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit) to maintain intensity.

Elida's Status on Aug. 12

At 5 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC) on Aug. 12, the center of Hurricane Elida was located near latitude 23.0 degrees north and longitude 117.7 degrees west. That's about 495 miles (800 km) west of the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico. Elida is moving toward the west-northwest near 13 mph (20 kph). A turn to the northwest along with some decrease in forward speed is expected to occur tonight. Maximum sustained winds are near 75 mph (120 kph) with higher gusts. The estimated minimum central pressure is 988 millibars.

Satellite imagery on Aug. 12 show that Elida's remaining deep convection, located northeast of the center of circulation, continues to shrink in coverage and wane in intensity.

Elida Still Causing Ocean Swells

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said, "Swells generated by Elida are expected to affect portions of the coast of west-central Mexico and the southern Baja California peninsula during the next day or two. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions."

Elida's Forecast Calls for Quick Demise

NHC noted that Elida is expected to weaken quickly. "Rapid weakening is expected during the next day or so as Elida moves over colder water, and the cyclone is forecast to weaken to a tropical storm today and degenerate to a remnant low [pressure area] on Thursday."

About NASA's Worldview and Aqua Satellite

NASA's Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) Worldview application provides the capability to interactively browse over 700 global, full-resolution satellite imagery layers and then download the underlying data. Many of the available imagery layers are updated within three hours of observation, essentially showing the entire Earth as it looks "right now."

NASA's Aqua satellite is one in a fleet of NASA satellites that provide data for hurricane research.

Tropical cyclones/hurricanes are the most powerful weather events on Earth. NASA's expertise in space and scientific exploration contributes to essential services provided to the American people by other federal agencies, such as hurricane weather forecasting.



Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.
Analysis of worker hours shows sharp drop in Ontario, British Columbia minimally affected

Toronto, Ont., Aug. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- New data shows how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected construction activity in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario, with worker hours dropping in March and recovering in late spring and the summer. The Construction Activity Index is an effort by Procore to support the construction industry through the current pandemic by providing insights from construction activity data within the Procore platform. The index tracks weekly changes in worker hours from a baseline the week of March 16 through the week of July 27, 2020.

Across the provinces for which data is available, worker hours dropped through March to a low of 41 per cent below baseline the week of April 6. All the provinces were all above the baseline as of the week of July 27.

The provinces have had different COVID-19 caseloads, timelines and policies, including protocols addressing construction activity. Insights from data within Procore indicate that Ontario saw the sharpest decline, dropping 57 per cent below the baseline the week of April 6. Worker hours in Ontario then climbed before levelling off in June. Albertas decline was not as dramatic as seen in Ontario, but lasted longer, with construction activity dropping below the baseline in 12 of the 19 weeks covered in the data. In contrast, British Columbia has seen worker hours remain above the baseline except for a drop of seven per cent the week of April 6.

The pandemic has challenged all of us, personally and professionally, said Jas Saraw, Vice President, Canada, at Procore. Our position in the industry enables us to provide insights that would otherwise be unavailable. This information helps construction organizations and economists better understand trends and consider ways forward as the industry navigates the pandemic and recession together.

Provincial and federal data is available for download here:

Story continues

https://mkt-cdn.procore.com/downloads/pressrelease/ProcoreCanadaCovid_19ConstructionReportAugust_2020.pdf

Results are available for Alberta, British Columbia andOntario. The data and charts are for public use. Procore previously shared similar data on how the U.S. construction industry has been affected in a separate report:

https://www.procore.com/covid-insights

Procore Technologies, Inc. has offices in Toronto and Vancouver, and provides construction management software to construction companies of all sizes across Canada.

About Procore

Procore is a leading provider of construction management software. Over 1 million projects and more than $1 trillion USD in construction volume have run on Procores platform. Our platform connects every project stakeholder to solutions we've built specifically for the construction industryfor the owner, the general contractor, and the specialty contractor. Procores App Marketplace has a multitude of partner solutions that integrate seamlessly with our platform, giving construction professionals the freedom to connect with what works best for them. Headquartered in Carpinteria, California, Procore has offices in Canada around the globe.

CONTACT: Steve Gold / Anita Wong Procore 416-961-5595 ProcorePR@stratamp.com




San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin on Wednesday added new firepower to the lawsuit he filed in June against the restaurant delivery service DoorDash over its classification of couriers as independent contractors instead of employees.

Boudin has filed a motion seeking a preliminary injunction to immediately reclassify DoorDash workers as employees, before the case goes to trial.

We are seeking an immediate end to DoorDashs illegal behavior of failing to provide delivery workers with basic workplace protections, Boudin said in a statement. All three branches of Californias government have already made clear that these workers are employees under California law and entitled to these important safeguards. The failure to provide these workers basic protections puts them at risk, particularly during the COVID pandemic.

DoorDash replied that the effort is ill-timed. Demand for its delivery services, as well as for the ability to earn money making deliveries, has soared during the pandemic and shelter-at-home orders.

In the midst of one of the deepest economic recessions in our nations history, todays action by the District Attorney threatens billions of dollars in earnings for California Dashers and revenue for restaurants that rely upon sales from delivery to keep their businesses open, DoorDash said in a statement, using the companys term for meal couriers.

Seeking immediate reclassification is the same strategy employed by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the city attorneys of San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego in their misclassification lawsuit against Uber and Lyft, which they filed in June. California and the cities want ride-hailing drivers immediately reclassified  and on Monday won a preliminary injunction from San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ethan Schulman.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

However, Schulman stayed the injunction for 10 days, giving the companies time to appeal, which both plan to do. On Wednesday, Uber and Lyft said that if they do not win a longer stay of the injunction, they will both temporarily cease operations in California, pointing to the huge undertaking of hiring tens of thousands of workers within a few days.

The Uber, Lyft and DoorDash lawsuits stem from AB5, which took effect Jan. 1 and makes it harder for companies to claim that workers are independent contractors. The misclassification lawsuits allege that the companies are depriving workers of critical workplace protections and benefits by keeping them as freelancers, and are gaining an unfair marketplace advantage by ducking the costs of employment.

The gig-work companies say that they and their workers prefer the flexibility of the freelance model. All would shoulder considerable extra expenses if workers were employees. DoorDash, Uber and Lyft have each put up $30 million to promote Proposition 22, a November ballot measure that would keep their workers independent but give them some earnings guarantees and some benefits.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid
LIVE updates of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decisions

Nitin Jain

The real estate sector has been one of the key contributors of Indias success story. Being the second largest source of employment, it routinely contributes to over 6 percent of Indias GDP and has been a cornerstone of the countrys growth and prosperity.

The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been widespread, particularly for the real estate sector. The sector which was already suffering from the triple impact of changing regulation, muted demand and liquidity concerns is further burdened due to change in consumer preference, labour shortages.

Over the last few years, the central government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have announced various initiatives to address some of the key concerns of the stakeholders.

Some of these came in the form of introduction of Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) to rekindle consumer confidence announcement of a special window Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) like Special Window for Affordable and Mid Income Housing (SWAMIH) investment fund, and extension of date for Commencement of Commercial Operations (DCCO) for the non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) by a year.

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 RBI circular adds to the body of work already undertaken. The RBI has taken a special notice of the debilitating impact that the pandemic has had on the long-term viability of firms, including on those with excellent financial performance in the past. As such, it has decided to extend an olive branch by not labelling the loan as sub-standard on account of financial relief extended by the lenders.

Due to the onset of the pandemic, there have been numerous commercial and physical disruptions which no lender or promoter could have foreseen at the time of sanctioning of loans.

Such events, colloquially termed as Black Swan events, have been recognized by the regulator as inherently unpredictable in nature, implicitly by accommodating potential moratorium(s) on servicing the outstanding debt while keeping the account as standard. This may go a long way to re-instill investor confidence in the beleaguered sector.

Further, assistance in the form of access to additional sources of funding to the borrower has been recognized and may address some of the impending liquidity issues faced by the sector. The latest circular and other measures (enumerated earlier) have the potential to offer a comprehensive set of tools for the lenders to address the problems faced by the sector.

The RBI burdens the lender to ensure only genuine corporates are supported and expects application of commercial wisdom and haste while designing the best solutions for the borrower. To ensure the same, the circular carries enough penal provisions and allows for assistance from independent credit rating agencies and recommendations of the expert committee to provide necessary checks and balances.

However, lenders would ideally benefit from an early identification and addressal of financial stress, while also incentivising regular monitoring and supervision for weaker credit profiles which can help prevent further deterioration of asset quality. Most importantly, they have been saved from a nightmarish situation of being saddled with a whole host of under-performing assets which would otherwise have to be put up for a fire sale.

One must understand that the real estate sector, especially home and small commercial properties, owing to the large upfront capital outlay, are disproportionately financed by retail loans. Recognizing the severe adverse financial impact on the purchasing power of the retail customers on account of the pandemic, the circular addresses the need to restructure personal loans but does not go as far as to address the whole body of home loans which would have provided much needed relief to the homebuyers.

The RBIs scheme on Resolution Framework for COVID-19 related stress has demonstrated that the regulator has moved from palliative to intensive care of the economy to ensure early recovery. However, there are many questions which remain unanswered. What view(s) are the rating agencies taking on the attempts by companies or individuals to restructure the loans under this circular.

Given the nature of the pandemic, a once in a century event, would the same allowance be made while addressing the future credit worthiness of the company or individual?

Would a highly-rated corporate or individual undertake such an exercise and potentially loose its hard-earned rating forever? The lack of clarity on the impact on credit rating and exclusion of certain types of loans and corporates has diluted the initial cheer with which the scheme was welcomed by the real estate market. The initiative is a great first step in the right direction, however, there is a need for further clarifications and actions from the regulator to address the sectors root cause of problems.
Tehran, Aug 13 : Senior Iranian officials have said that the US' bid to renew a UN arms embargo against Tehran lacked a "legal" basis.

In a phone call with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that the US has "no right" to use mechanisms of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), for its objectives, reports Xinhua news agency.

Rouhani was referring to the withdrawal of Washington from the deal in May 2018.

Iran has insisted that the US was no longer a party to the accord and cannot use its mechanisms for any dispute.

However, the US administration has recently urged the UN Security Council for the renewal of the UN arms embargo against Iran which is set to expire on October.

Rouhani told Macron that the remaining parties to the deal should oppose the US drive for the extension of UN ban.

He also said on Wednesday that the US has put forward the anti-Iran resolution at the UN Security Council in order to deal a blow to the JCPOA and the Resolution 2231.

"Under Resolution 2231 and the Iran nuclear deal, the arms embargo on Iran will be lifted in October. All resolutions banning weapons trade for Iran will, in practice, be null and void," he said.

Rouhani stressed that after the termination of the UN ban on Iran in October, the Islamic Republic will be able to sell and buy weapons.

"The US will be defeated and face isolation" in its attempt to extend the arms ban, Rouhani said at a cabinet meeting, according to state TV.

Also, any attempt to endorse the US-initiated proposal would be a clear violation of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 and the Iranian 2015 multilateral nuclear deal, he said, adding that the parties behind the ploy should accept the consequences.

Rouhani also dismissed the claims by the US President Donald Trump that he would be looking for peace with Iran immediately after re-election.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Wednesday that the US cannot use a "snapback" mechanism to renew a UN arms embargo against Iran.

"Snapback" refers to the reimposition of all UN sanctions against Iran.

"The US draft resolution pertaining to the UN arms embargo is illegal, and the Americans will not receive enough votes for their proposal on Iran in the UN Security Council's upcoming meeting," Zarif was quoted as saying.

This will result in further isolation of the US administration, he added.
The U.S. economic recovery will be slow until the coronavirus is under control, and Americans will have to manage life with the virus for at least the next several months, three Federal Reserve policymakers said on Wednesday.

After rebounding strongly in May and June, economic activity began to trail off in July, when an increase in infections led to new restrictions in some states and contributed to a slowdown in spending. Employment growth also slowed considerably last month, and the expiration of enhanced unemployment benefits has raised concerns that jobless Americans could start to fall behind on rent and other expenses.

Consumer spending will probably remain weak as people avoid activities that require high levels of social interaction for health reasons, Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said during an online event organized by the South Shore Chamber of Commerce in Massachusetts.

The San Francisco Fed president, Mary Daly, warned about the impact of the expiration of the supplemental $600 weekly jobless benefit.

It creates the potential for a hole, a little bit of a hole, in consumer demand and consumer spending, Daly said. We have evidence that suggests they were spending those resources to pay rent or to buy food or to buy other consumer goods.

Despite concerns from some employers that the benefits were discouraging people from returning to work, Daly, in a webcast discussion with the Economic Club of Las Vegas, said there was little evidence to support that claim.

INCONSISTENT EFFORTS

Both Rosengren and Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan warned that Americans will need to find ways to adapt to the risks of the virus, until a vaccine becomes available.

Kaplan, in a webcast event with the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce in Texas, said Americans need to learn to live with the virus, using safety measures such as masks so the economy can remain open.

Daly said she expects the economic rebound will be slow and gradual, depending on the virus, and she does not expect a V-shaped recovery.

Rosengren said the United States had done a poor job of containing the virus when compared to parts of Europe, and that the blunders were affecting the recovery. He pointed to states that saw only a short-lived increase in economic activity after lifting restrictions too quickly while states that imposed longer shutdowns earlier are now benefiting from better health outcomes and more robust spending.

Limited or inconsistent efforts by states to control the virus based on public health guidance are not only placing citizens at unnecessary risk of severe illness and possible death  but are also likely to prolong the economic downturn, Rosengren said.

Kaplan said he expects the U.S. unemployment rate to remain elevated at 9% at the end of the year, but said it could be lower if businesses and consumers take steps to control the spread of the virus. The unemployment rate in July was 10.2%.

If we dont follow that, while people may feel freer, the economy will grow slower, Kaplan said.

Both Daly and Rosengren said that participation in the Feds Main Street Lending Program, which is meant to carry small and medium-sized businesses through the crisis, could grow.

Rosengren said low early use of the program was not a sign of failure, and more businesses may turn to the facility in the fall if the economy worsens.

Asked about the rise in U.S. government debt, Rosengren said he supports strong fiscal stimulus, but said it must be paired with efforts to contain the virus.

If you want to actually make sure that the debt doesnt explode, you have to make sure that we get the pandemic under control, he said.

(Reporting by Jonnelle Marte Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Leslie Adler)

Topics COVID-19 USA
An A-level student has raised more than 25,000 for a homeless man after a video of his polite reaction to being heckled on the street went viral.

The man, identified as Akwasi, 29, was filmed reacting calmly to passers-by, who have not been identified, after they tried to make fun of him and said he was 'Stormzy' as he 'begged' outside London's Liverpool Station before tossing him 5p.

The video, which was filmed by an unknown person, was shared on Twitter by London-based student Najma Abdilahi, who said she was impressed by how he had remained 'very calm' and 'very polite' in the face of 'disrespect'.

The clip has since been viewed more than 2.3million times and the GoFundMe campaign launched by Najma has received more than 25,000 in donations in just 24 hours.

Stormzy's manager has also been in touch with Najma, although she did not discuss the details of their exchange.

The man, identified as Akwasi, 29, was filmed calmly telling passers-by, who have not been identified, that he 'is not Stormzy' after they tried to taunt him outside Liverpool Station before tossing him 5p (left). Right, Akwasi in a video thanking well-wishers for their generous support

The video, which was filmed by an unknown person, was shared on Twitter by London-based student Najma Abdilahi, who said she was impressed by how he had remained 'very calm' and 'very polite' in the face of 'disrespect'. Najma, pictured, launched a fundraising campaign

The homeless man who was compared to Stomrzy has since had more than 24,000 raised for him. Stormzy is pictured at KISS FM in December 2019. His manager has contacted Najma

In the original clip, which was first posted to TikTok, a man behind the camera tell Akwasi: 'Brother, I listen to all your songs'.

Akwasi quickly clarifies he's not Stormzy, ' 'I just look like him, I'm from the same country, everyone calls me Stromzy, but I'm not, I swear on my mum's life. I'm out here begging.' The man filming then gives Akwasi 5p.

Writing on her GoFundMe, Najma explained she was moved by Akwasi's polite and composed reaction to his treatment.

She wrote: 'As some you may have seen the video of Stormzy lookalike as it has sparked some outrage.

'I will be raising money to go and donate to him. This money will go towards finding him a stable place and will help him with any financial problems he may have. The man very humble and very polite to the disrespect that was shown to him.

'May he be blessed with the money that he receives. Hes homeless so this money is going towards helping him get back on his feet and hopefully be the kickstart he needs for the future. Hes located at Liverpool Street Station. If you see him please be kind and generous.'

The clip has since been viewed more than 2.3million times and the GoFundMe campaign launched by Najma has received more than 25,000 in donations in just 24 hours, pictured

The fundraiser was shared on Twitter and received celebrity backing, with reality TV star Lateysha Grace and Love Island winner Amber Rose Gill throwing their support behind the cause.

FEMAIL has contacted Najma and GoFundMe for comment.

Najma later shared an update, saying: 'I just wanna say thank you for all the help and support and all the positive messages.'

In a video posted by Najma after raising the money, Akwasi introduces himself and thanks people for their generous donations.

Najma, who set up the fundraiser, has since taken to Twitter to thank everyone for raising the money

'I really appreciate all the help and support that I'm getting. Thanks a lot, I hope to see you guys soon, respect and god bless.'

As well as money, people offered Akwasi shelter, jobs and clothes.

Hundreds of people have thrown their support behind the campaign, and praised Najma for her efforts.

'Im a mental health support worker and I would gladly talk to him about what we can do to tackle his obstacles and try to find housing, apply for benefits, get him back on his feet etc. Please feel free to reach out to me!' offered one.

The fundraiser has got celebrity backing, with reality TV star Lateysha Grace and Love Island winner Amber Rose Gill throwing their support behind the cause

'I was gutted to see he was put on social media, was homeless, so lovely and polite but only got given 5p. I rarely carry cash, I get it but that broke me. Well done for doing this,' said another.

'Youre an absolute angel for this! May God bless you with so much purely for this act of kindness,' commented a third.

'The power of twitter from having 5p to almost 20k. Just shows we could do a lot together instead of bringing each other down,' tweeted another.

'Honestly amazing!! Well done my friend, you changed this man's life in the matter of hours, we need more like you,' one said.

Rapper Stormzy, 27 - real name, Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr - was born in London to a Ghanaian mother.

He has won multiple awards for his critically acclaimed albums Gang Signs and Prayer and Heavy is the Head.
As schools get ready to finalize plans on how to teach students in the midst of a global pandemic, William Burkhead, the superintendent of the Scituate Public Schools, feels that superintendents and school committees have been thrown in shark-infested waters.

Each declaration by Gov. Charlie Baker that restricts the advancement through the states four-phased reopening plan or contradicts the governors directive to open schools is akin to throwing chum in the water, Burkhead has written in an open letter addressed to the governor as well as state education officials.

The lack of a state-wide prescriptive plan laid out by Baker and supported by Massachusetts Commissioner of Education Jeffrey Riley has put everyone in a lose-lose situation, the superintendent wrote.

Burkhead wrote that he penned the letter, addressed to Baker, Massachusetts School Superintendents, Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents and Massachusetts Association of School Committees and copied to the education commissioner, while in his office on a Sunday, responding to more than 500 emails and correspondence sent to him and the school committee regarding residents opinions on reopening plans.

Massachusetts school districts have been tasked with creating three plans for the upcoming school year during the coronavirus pandemic that will either bring all students back into school buildings, offer a hybrid model of in-person and online learning, or have students start the new year fully remote. Plans for the year are due to the state on Friday. Some districts, like Springfield, have decided to start the year with online classes.

I believe we are working harder not smarter, Burkhead wrote, sharing his frustration with officials.

Responses to our fall school reopening plans (insert x, y, z it doesnt really matter the plan) have been - if you dont bring kids back they will continue to experience trauma, social emotional deprivation, loss of social interaction with peers and continue to widen achievement gaps, and its our fault. If you bring our teachers back and one gets sick or dies, well that is on you too, the letter reads. So, either way your decisions are harming the people you are hired to protect.

Lawyers have responded to the question of are superintendents liable if someone gets sick, dies? by saying as long as you arent negligent, Burkhead wrote.

Will Governor Bakers name be on the right side of the v. (defendant) when we are sued? You dont have to be a fan of Boston Legal to answer that one. My former resource officer used to call it plausible deniability, the superintendent continued.

Burkhead wondered why Baker hasnt developed a reopening plan for schools, mirroring the statewide plan for businesses. He offered questions: Why hasnt the governor shared his state-wide school entry data/science metric for reopening or closing schools like he has for the current state plan? Why is it left up to individual boards of health? Where is our state plan by the governor that determines if teachers are essential workers?

The superintendent wrote that he wonders why communities and school committees arent pushing Baker to answer such questions.

I read in the link to the article on the governors presser on Aug. 7 - Safety Standards and Checklists: Restaurants' and thought wow, this is an impressive and detailed document with clearly defined expectations, Burkhead wrote, wouldnt it be great if the governors team had such a detailed and well-thought out plan for our schools? Are they not as important?

With just weeks before teachers return to school buildings, Burkhead wrote he feels it would be a good time for the governor and education commissioner to have weekly, or daily, updates on education.

Burkheads plea is for the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents in unison with its members, the Massachusetts Association of School Committees and communities to hold Baker accountable with questions including:

Are teachers and support staff essential? And what are your policies around them returning to work?

What are you doing for our educators who will return to school without daycare?

When you make decisions restricting phase implementation have you thought about the impact and contradictory message it is sending superintendents currently in negotiations to follow your lead to open schools?

When you reduce outdoor gatherings from 100 to 50 have you thought of the impact that has on our plans to have outdoor learning?

When you only allow gatherings of 25 indoors how can you expect to fill schools with 100s?

What is your scientific metric for when we should open or close schools?

Read the full letter here:

Related Content:
Aug. 12AZTEC  A repository for mine waste is needed in Colorados Bonita Peak Mining District and the impoundments at Mayflower Mill could be a good location, according to comments the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency received during a virtual meeting on Aug. 11 regarding the proposed depository.

But members of the public also thought the EPA should take steps to mitigate impacts to tourism and recreation and to prevent possible failures that would contaminate the Animas River watershed.

Participants said they were concerned that operations could impact tours of the Mayflower Mill and noise could disturb recreation in a nearby non-motorized area used by hikers who enjoy quiet spaces. Some Silverton, Colorado, residents also expressed concern about possible impacts to drinking water or potential contamination to the river.

The Gold King Mine spill of 2015 brought the possibility of mine waste entering the river system into an international spotlight as heavy metal-laden water filled Cement Creek and stained the Animas River a mustard yellow.

The water from inside the mine, which contains high levels of heavy metals, continues to spill out of the mine. That water is directed into an interim treatment facility at Gladstone, Colorado. But the EPA needs a permanent place to put the sludge removed from the water during the treatment process. And the Gold King is only one of dozens of mines in the district that need attention.

The Bonita Peak Mining District consists of 48 mines located in the Mineral Creek, Cement Creek and Upper Animas River drainages in San Juan County, Colorado. And the Gold King is not the only one that has been leaking. Last year, the Silver Wing Mine released waste into the Animas River watershed.

EPA Project Manager Robert Parker presented the details about the proposed repository during the Aug. 11 meeting.

Parker said the Mayflower site is ideal because of its high and dry location. It is also centrally located in the district and has previous contamination.

The total project cost is more than $17 million but it will be completed in phases.

There are four impoundments at the Mayflower site and three of those impoundments are proposed for use. The site could serve as a repository for more than a century.

Parker said the operations will primarily take place in the summer and fall.

Its not going to be a year-round operation, he said.

During the winter, temporary covers will be used to prevent the repository from filling up with precipitation.

Comments are still being accepted on the plan through Aug. 27. More information about the proposed repository can be found at epa.gov/superfund/bonita-peak.

Hannah Grover covers government for The Daily Times. She can be reached at 505-564-4652 or via email at hgrover@daily-times.com.

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Reams of red ink and a recession.

The COVID-19 pandemic has plunged Ontario into an economic recession, forcing Premier Doug Fords Progressive Conservatives to almost double the budget deficit to a record $38.5 billion.

At a news conference in Toronto, Rod Phillips, Ontarios minister of finance, provides a fiscal update outlining the provinces first quarter finances and the economic impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease) pandemic.

Finance Minister Rod Phillips  who had projected a $20.5-billion shortfall in March, up from last years $9.2-billion deficit  revealed Wednesday the toll that the coronavirus is taking on the provincial treasury as he unveiled first quarterly results.

Underlying this economic crisis is the health crisis, Phillips said of an outbreak that has killed more than 2,800 Ontarians and cost nearly 1.2-million jobs after most businesses were forced to close due a state of emergency that extended from March 17 until July 24.

We are in a recession today in Ontario and, I would argue, across Canada, the grim-faced finance minister told reporters in a Queens Park teleconference.

Warning that we are in for a difficult economic time, Phillips, who had pledged $17 billion last spring for COVID-19 relief, said that new expenditures have ballooned to $30 billion.

The treasurer stressed while the current level of government spending and deficits are not sustainable over the long run, they are necessary today to steer Ontario through the storm.

That includes $7.7 billion for additional health-care funding, up from the $3.3 billion announced on March 25, as well as about $4 billion in increased financial aid for municipalities and public transit.

Bracing for a second wave of COVID-19, the government has earmarked $9.6 billion in a contingency fund.

Weve learned something from what we did last time, said Phillips of the governments decision to effectively shut down most of the economy starting in mid-March to prevent the virus from overwhelming hospitals.

In contrast to other jurisdictions, such as the United States, where things opened up too quickly, Ontarios strategy appears to be working.

Daily new case counts are relatively low and people are wearing masks indoors in public spaces, such as shops, and maintaining a safe physical distance to stem the spread of coronavirus.

The treasurer, who will table a full budget in November, noted the government has spent $610 million for personal protective equipment for front-line workers.

But with schools reopening in September, there are mounting concerns about a second wave as students and teachers descend on classrooms for the first time since March.

Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca said parents know firsthand that the only way we can get Ontarios economy back on track is to get our kids safely back to school and blasted the premier for not having an adequate blueprint for that.

Doug Fords fiscal update makes it clear that he has dropped the ball badly and has no credible plan to get our kids back in classrooms safely come September, said Del Duca.

Without a new plan, moms and dads across Ontario will not have the peace of mind they need to get back to work and ensure that our economic recovery is successful. Now parents are being unfairly forced to make a choice between their kids and their careers.

NDP MPP Sandy Shaw (Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas) said the Tories are pinching pennies on the backs of our children and that choice is so risky for our childrens health and well-being.

We should be spending what it takes to get all kids into smaller, safer classes  to keep them safe, and to protect our progress in the fight against COVID-19, said Shaw.

Ford, for his part, said his government is prepared to spend what is needed to keep people safe.

When this first started ... I said, Im not going to spare a penny, and I proved it, the premier said.

Along with Ottawa, Queens Park has given 375,000 front-line workers a temporary $4-an-hour pandemic pay hike to reward them for their efforts dealing with COVID-19. That $1.55-billion program includes $424 million in provincial cash.

Last month, federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau said Ottawas deficit could be a record $343.2 billion.

Ontarios real gross domestic product rate declined by two per cent in the first quarter with the provinces economy expected to shrink by 6.7 per cent by the end of the year.

By definition, a recession occurs when real GDP falls in two consecutive quarters.

Provincial officials are optimistic that real GDP will grow by 5.5 per cent next year.

In March, Phillips forecast overall spending would be $174.3 billion this year. That has now climbed to $186.7 billion, by far the largest budget in Ontario history. The Tories are spending 18 per cent more than the previous Liberal governments 2018-19 budget.

The 2020-21 deficit has skyrocketed by $18 billion in just a few short months.

Revenues for this year had been expected to be $156.3 billion; that figure has been revised to $150.6 billion, a $5.7 billion hit to the treasury.

While there was an increase in federal transfers of $6.2 billion, corporate tax revenue projections dropped by $5.2 billion and expected sales tax revenue declined by $4.2 billion.

Queens Park was also hurt by reduced revenues from personal income taxes, gasoline taxes and employer health taxes.

Ontarios net debt-to-GDP ratio, which in March was anticipated to be 41.7 per cent, is now expected to be 47.1 per cent this year  a 5.4 percentage-point change.

In May, the provinces independent financial accountability office had warned that the deficit could balloon to $41 billion due to a combination of increased spending and decreased tax revenues because of the pandemic.

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Sinduja Jane By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: The State reported 5,871 fresh cases and 119 deaths on Wednesday, taking the tally to 3,14,520 and toll to 5,278. Of the fresh cases, 993 were in the city. The neighbouring districts reported a spurt in cases  Chengalpet reported 439, Kancheepuram 371 and Tiruvallur 407 new positive persons.

Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu branch of IMA confirmed that it had submitted documents confirming only the death of 22 doctors due to Covid. When asked, Dr CN Raja, State President, TNSB told Express, We submitted documents only for 22 doctors to the government.

Since, its a continuous process and we have been collecting documents, now we estimate that total will come to 30 or so. We havent completed our process yet. The IMA, TNSB had differences with the National Indian Medical Associations report which in its letter to the Prime Minister said 43 doctors in Tamil Nadu succumbed to the infection.

The issue became political after Udhayanidhi Stalin, DMK Youth Wing Secretary, had last week tweeted, A report reveals that TN tops in Covid-19 deaths of doctors. Its a disgrace caused by the AIADMK government.

The slave government, which has underreported Covid-19 deaths of citizens, should clarify the condition of doctors treating infected patients and give them proper protection. After the tweet State Health Minister C Vijayabaskar had condemned it and said legal action would be taken against people spreading false and unverified news on social media in the time of the global pandemic.
Iskan Oman Investment Company has joined hands with the Special Economic Zone Authority at Duqm (Sezad) to develop an integrated academic city over a one million sq m area featuring higher education colleges.

Iskan Oman Investment Company is one of the leading companies in the sultanate with interests in key sectors such as education, real estate and infrastructure, and also has a diversified base of shareholders from Oman and Kuwait.

The masterplanning of the area, which will also include commercial, residential and hospitality zones, was completed by Iskan Investment and approved by Sezad.

As part of the first phase of the development, Iskan has entered into a sub-usufruct agreement with Middle East Education Venture (MEEV) to develop a portion of land for setting up a higher education college in Sezad area.

The new college will be the core of the university city project that Iskan Oman is planning to establish in a phased manner in the Special Economic Zone at Duqm. It will launch its first programme in the academic year 2021-2022.

The higher education college is the second investment for Iskan Investment at SEZD as it developed previously a healthcare facility that has been operational since 2017.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Sultan Al Yaqoubi, Vice Chairman of Iskan Investment Board of Directors, dubbed it as one of the company's priorities, and said it was a perfect example for Iskan's 'responsible investment.'

Iskan Investment was formed in 2008 with pension funds and corporations from Oman and Kuwait shareholders. Since its inauguration, Iskan Investment invested in establishing and developing a number of schools, real estate and healthcare facilities.

Dr Abdullah AL Sabahi, Chairman of MEEV, envisages working closely with the Ministry of higher Education, the Special Economic Zone Authority at Duqm (Sezad), and Iskan Investment to implement the proposed college in line with Omans 2040 Vision strategy.

"We are keen on establishing centres for competence, a centre for marine science and a centre for logistics and renewable energy," he stated.

"The purpose of these centres is to promote research commercialization, build capacity and bring solutions to the social and industrial requirements," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The Arnos Vale cemetery in Bristol as a review concludes into funeral costs. Photo: PA

A UK watchdog has shelved plans to cap the cost of UK funeral and cremation services, saying price controls were not feasible as firms struggle to get through the coronavirus crisis.

The Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) is instead likely to force firms to be clearer on prices, ban payments to care providers for passing on customers, and actively monitor companies sales for signs of harmful behaviour.

It will also urge central government to launch an independent inspection regime for funeral directors in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland already has such a regime. But it did not rule out price caps in future.

The CMA launched an investigation into Britains funeral market in 2018, amid controversy over rising costs in the sector.

READ MORE: One in eight families in funeral poverty

Its latest provisional decision report published on Thursday said the market was not functioning well, and highlighted a persistent level of excess profits. Average funeral costs have risen 5% annually over the past 13 years, while cremation costs have risen 6% over the past decade.

The regulator believes customers are overpaying by an average of at least 400 for funerals, around 175 for local authority cremations and around 215 for private cremations.

It identified several issues limiting or distorting competition. A major issue is that paying for funerals is intrinsically challenging, with customers dealing not only with grief but also typically limited knowledge of what funeral organisation involves and social pressures to do the right thing for loved ones.

The CMA said such challenges meant many customers followed personal recommendations or stuck with directors used by family before, and chose a crematorium based on location or familiarity.

But the watchdog said these issues were made harder by a lack of easily available, clearly comparable information on directors services, including prices and quality, and a low number of crematoriums available.

Story continues

READ MORE: Top tips on making a will and protecting yourself

It found barriers to entry for potential new firms offering cremation are high, including planning issues and high fixed costs of opening and running.

The CMA said it would have been likely to impose price controls if COVID-19 had not hit, which would have marked a radical intervention in the market. But it said high death rates and the particularly distressing and unusual nature of funerals during the pandemic had put extreme pressure on funeral directors and other stakeholders such as councils.

It said government-imposed restrictions, including on funeral attendee numbers and social distancing measures, had dramatically altered the economics of the industry. Funeral and cremation providers average costs and revenues had been affected, with an increased prevalence of simpler funerals.

The pandemic also limited the CMAs ability to carry out its investigation.

The CMA sent a clear signal that price controls could be on the cards later down the line, however. It proposed holding open the door to price controls once the industry has reached a steady state, acknowledging it may not be the same as before COVID-19 hit.
 Flash

Senior Iranian officials on Wednesday said that the U.S. bid to renew a UN arms embargo against Iran lacks a "legal" basis.

In a telephone conversation with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said that the United States has "no right" to use mechanisms of the landmark Iranian 2015 nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), for its objectives.

Rouhani was referring to the withdrawal of Washington from the deal in May 2018. Iran has insisted that the United States is no longer a party to the accord and cannot use its mechanisms for any dispute.

However, the U.S. administration has recently urged the UN Security Council for the renewal of the UN arms embargo against Iran, subject to the 2015 landmark Iranian nuclear deal, which is set to expire on Oct. 18, 2020.

Rouhani told Macron that the remaining parties to the deal should oppose the U.S. drive for the extension of UN ban.

The Iranian president also said on Wednesday that the United States has put forward the anti-Iran resolution at the UN Security Council in order to deal a blow to the JCPOA and the Resolution 2231.

"Under Resolution 2231 and the Iran nuclear deal, the arms embargo on Iran will be lifted in October. All resolutions banning weapons trade for Iran will, in practice, be null and void," he said.

Rouhani stressed that after the termination of the UN ban on Iran in October, the Islamic republic will be able to sell and buy weapons.

"The United States will be defeated and face isolation" in its attempt to extend the arms ban, Rouhani said at a cabinet meeting, according to state TV.

Also, any attempt to endorse the U.S.-initiated proposal would be a clear violation of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 and the Iranian 2015 multilateral nuclear deal, he said, adding that the parties behind the ploy should accept the consequences.

Rouhani also dismissed the claims by the U.S. President Donald Trump that he would be looking for peace with Iran immediately after re-election.

"If you are sincere and seek peace, which you have never been after, why do you take such actions (sanction pressures) against the Iranian nation?" he was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Wednesday that the United States cannot use a "snapback" mechanism to renew a UN arms embargo against Iran.

"Since the United States have left the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, the three European allies of the United States have made it clear that Washington cannot trigger the dispute resolution mechanism that could lead to the restoration of UN ban on Iran," said Zarif, according to official IRNA news agency.

"Snapback" refers to the reimposition of all UN sanctions against Iran.

"The U.S. draft resolution pertaining to the UN arms embargo is illegal, and the Americans will not receive enough votes for their proposal on Iran in the UN Security Council's upcoming meeting," Zarif was quoted as saying.

This will result in further isolation of the U.S. administration, he added.
A Perth woman accused of sneaking into Western Australia inside a truck to avoid 14 days hotel quarantine will instead spend the next fortnight in jail.

Asher Van Der Sanden. Credit:Facebook

Asher Van Der Sanden, 28, appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Thursday via video link from Bandyup Women's Prison.

She is being kept in isolation and was wearing a mask and gloves during the proceedings.

Her lawyer requested the matter be adjourned to August 25, when Ms Van Der Sanden is due to complete her quarantine period. She did not make an application for bail.
Vietnams Ministry of National Defense is working with Cuban experts regarding the production of COVID-19 vaccines, Deputy Minister Tran Don said at a teleconference on COVID-19 prevention and control chaired by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Wednesday.

According to Deputy Minister Don, three Cuban experts have come to Vietnam to prepare for the transfer of vaccine production technology and several types of medicine needed in the fight against the epidemic.

The defense ministry is working with these experts and will submit a detailed report to the prime minister in the coming time.

Four groups of researchers are currently in the process of developing COVID-19 vaccines in Vietnam, according to Nguyen Ngo Quang, an official from the Ministry of Health.

Among them, the Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals (IVAC) is planning to conduct human trials of its COVID-19 vaccine between October and December this year.

The vaccine is anticipated to be distributed to the local market in October 2021.

Another group of scientists from VABIOTECH, a state-owned firm managed by the Ministry of Health, is also expected to conduct human trials of their vaccine in early 2021.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia had become the first country to grant regulatory approval to a COVID-19 vaccine, after less than two months of human testing.

Speaking at Wednesdays teleconference, Deputy Minister Don suggested that the government focuses on dealing with the complicated COVID-19 situation in Vietnam and limit the number of flights that bring home citizens from other countries.

These flights should only be arranged to repatriate sick people or those in difficult circumstances.

The ministry requested that local authorities closely coordinate with military forces to assertively deal with illegal entry.

Those who do not comply with regulations on epidemic prevention and control must be sternly punished, Don stressed.

The government should have specific and long-term measures to fight crime and illegal immigration in border areas to ensure the long-term result of epidemic prevention and control, he added.

The defense ministry has coordinated with relevant agencies to conduct COVID-19 tests on over 2,000 people in the military and more than 3,000 residents.

Six of Vietnams active COVID-19 patients are in the military, the deputy minister said. They are being quarantined and treated as per regulations.

All of them have families in the central city of Da Nang and the south-central province of Khanh Hoa.

The Ministry of National Defense has directed competent authorities to thoroughly track all military personnel who had close contact with them to prevent the spread of the disease.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
The train line near to the scene in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, where the 06.38 Aberdeen to Stonehaven ScotRail train derailed. Photo: Ian Rutherford/PA Wire

An investigation was under way last night to establish the cause of a rail crash near Aberdeen in Scotland which left three people dead.

The ScotRail service to Glasgow Central is thought to have encountered two landslides on the track following a night of torrential rain.

When the driver saw the first landslide it is believed he managed to stop in time to avoid a collision.

It was when he was returning to Aberdeen after finding the track blocked that he hit a second "at speed", a rail industry source said. The driver and a conductor are among the dead.

The train service from Aberdeen was allowed to depart as planned yesterday morning despite widespread cancellations to rail services across Scotland. Whether this was a breach of health-and-safety laws will form a key line of inquiry in what will be a lengthy investigation process.

Aerial pictures showed a scene of devastation. Three carriages had completely derailed, with one completely burned out. One had careered down a steep embankment.

British Transport Police said their officers were called to the scene at 9.43am, with the train derailing only 20 miles south of Aberdeen, the city from which it had originally left three hours earlier.

Network Rail warned of disruption to services across Scotland yesterday. At 9.49am, minutes after police were dispatched to the site, it tweeted from its official account a video of tracks submerged in water at Carmont, close to the site of the accident, and said there had been "reports of a landslip".

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called for a probe into the impact of "substantial rainfall on vulnerable infrastructure".

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
FALLS VILLAGE  Music Mountain will present performances by artists from overseas on three Sundays in August, to continue to share music and conversation while we remain physically distanced, and to contribute to the larger ongoing conversation regarding how to safely get back to in-person concerts in the U.S., according to a statement.

Live From Music Mountain presents the New Zealand String Quartet as they return from their first in-person national tour of concerts, at 5 p.m. Aug. 16.

The program will include works by Debussy and New Zealand composers. Music Mountain will take questions from the public for the New Zealand String Quartet; questions can be submitted in advance via email to info@musicmountain.org, as well as in real time via email to info@musicmountain.org, and via the chats on YouTube and on Facebook Live.

Live From Music Mountain presents a special master class at 1 p.m. Aug. 23 by English conductor Benjamin Zander, music director of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, and author of the US National Bestseller, The Art of Possibility.

The master class will feature cellist Elena Ariza, alumna of the Music Mountain Academy, who will join live from San Francisco to perform Haydn Cello Concerto No 2 in D Major, Hob VIIb:2 (I. Allegro moderato). Questions can be submitted in advance via email to info@musicmountain.org, as well as in real time via email to info@musicmountain.org, and via the chats on YouTube and on Facebook Live.

At 8 p.m. Aug. 30, presents the Cassatt String Quartet performs works by Andy Teirstein, Daniel Godfrey and Mozart.

Michiko Oshima, former violist of the Cassatt String Quartet, will join the program from Japan to discuss how artists are getting back to in-person concerts there and, together with the current members of the Cassatt String Quartet, will take questions from the public in real time. Email info@musicmountain.org, as well as in real time via email to info@musicmountain.org, and via the chats on YouTube and on Facebook Live.
The Los Angeles Mexican consulate has opened a new coronavirus testing center on Wednesday to serve California's Latino community better.

The Mexican consulate has noted that Latinos have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

Using state and federal funding from the CARES Act, the new coronavirus testing site was set up by L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis at the MacArthur Park area. It was launched alongside the Honduran, Guatemalan, Salvadoran and Mexican consulates, reported Los Angeles Times.

Appointments and walk-ins for coronavirus testing will be made Wednesday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. It started on Wednesday at 10 a.m.

The site is expected to run 1,500 free tests in a week, according to CBS Los Angeles.

Officials found that Latinos in L.A. were found to be at-risk communities in the county, so they are encouraged to come to the site. To make an appointment, call (888) 634-1123.

Which communities can the site help?

The testing site can help those who speak Spanish, Zapotec, Quiche or other Mayan languages, said a KTLA report.

In a Wednesday morning news conference, Solis recognized the need for more testing. "I know there are a lot of needs here. The numbers don't lie."

Another testing center also started at San Diego County Wednesday at the U.S. - Mexico Border. It is believed to be one of a kind, as reported by Associated Press.

There is no need to set appointments at the San Ysidro Port of Entry PedEast site. Testing is also free and will focus on testing essential workers who cross the international border every day.

It is open from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Monday through Friday, and it's expected to test around 200 people daily.

Officials said no one would be asked about their immigration status on both testing sites.

Mexican Consul General Marcela Celorio also stressed that, with or without health insurance, the community could be given the free testing at the location.

"Having COVID-19 isn't something to be ashamed of," Celorio said.

She told those who are hesitant to come forward that the virus can happen to anyone, so if it strikes them, they have to ask for help.

"It doesn't matter if you're documented or undocumented," Celorio added.

Solis is hoping the new MacArthur Park site will keep operating through December, or as long as there are funds to be used for it. She also announced new testing sites that will open in other at-risk areas such as Huntington Park and Azusa.

Demand for COVID-19 Testing

The pandemic has had more severe effects on people of color, particularly Latinos who make up much of the essential workers in restaurants and farms, Gov. Gavin Newsom said.

Solis also noted this, adding that Latinos and other essential workers have limited access to health care. This is the reason why her office is "committed to opening more COVID-19 testing sites."

A recent poll also found that Latinos are more worried about the health crisis than other residents in California.

As reported by healthcare facility Clinica Romero, which serves some Latino communities, 30% to 40% of those who come in to get tested are COVID-19 positive.

Want to read more? Check these out!

California's Top Public Health Official Resigns, Errors in Test Results Could be the Reason

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- Technological advancements in diagnostic procedures is one of the significant factors influencing the market growth

- Market Size - USD 3.12 Billion in 2019, Market Growth - CAGR of 6.1%, Market Trends - Growing prevalence of cancer

NEW YORK, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Tissue Diagnostic Market is expected to reach USD 5.02 Billion by 2027, according to a new report by Reports and Data. Tissue diagnostics is the process of removing the tissues and staining it for the diagnosis of diseases, particularly cancer. Recently, there have been novel technological advancements in the network-based medicine, which allows for detection, visualization, and monitoring of conditions in a more effective way, which would result in better treatment of the diseases.

Request free sample of this research report at:https://www.reportsanddata.com/sample-enquiry-form/3411

The growing prevalence of cancer is a significant factor in driving the market growth. Cancer has a significant impact on global society, including the U.S. Detection of cancer at an early stage significantly increases the chances 0f survival. Creating awareness to encourage early diagnosis and screening are the crucial steps responsible for early detection of cancer. Identifying likely warning symptoms of cancer and taking rapid measures is necessary for early diagnosis. Greater awareness of probable symptoms of cancer amongst physicians, nurses, and other healthcare providers, in addition to the general public, would positively impact the survival rate and hence would be instrumental in increasing the market demand.

COVID-19 Impact Analysis

As economies across the globe are experiencing the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, organizations are suffering losses, among various other challenges. Nevertheless, firms in the pharmaceutical industry are of immense importance in combatting the pandemic and are witnessing positive growth in the contagious disease landscape with the race for treatment approval therapy gaining momentum. Tissue diagnostics finds usage in detecting the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the tissues of patients and hence is gaining significant traction in the market.

To identify the key trends in the industry, click on the link below:

https://www.reportsanddata.com/report-detail/tissue-diagnostics-market

Further key findings from the report suggest

By type, diagnostics kits held a substantial market share in 2019, owing to the offering of ease and convenience of use. There are various diagnostic kits available in the market, some of which provide an instant result, whereas others as collection devices for tissue specimens, which need to be sent to laboratories for further processing.

By technology, in situ hybridization held the second-largest market share in 2019. There are many advantages of in situ hybridization comprising the application to frozen tissues, as well as its usage in combination with immunohistochemistry for the identification protein, along with mRNA.

By application, prostate cancer is likely to grow at a rate of 5.9% in the forecast period. According to the American Cancer Society, men aged 65 years or older have around 66.0% higher risk of suffering from the disease. Also, prostate cancer holds the second spot among the cancer diseases responsible for the death of men in America.

By end-user, the pharmaceutical organization is likely to grow at a rate of 6.5% in the forecast period 2019, owing to an extensive application of tissue diagnostic in the process of drug development and several other analytical procedures.

The market in the Asia Pacific region is expected to grow at the fastest rate of 7.3% in the forecast period. The high growth of the APAC region is attributed to the growing prevalence of target conditions, growth of the pharmaceutical industry, and a surge in R&D activities the diagnostic procedures, among others.

region is expected to grow at the fastest rate of 7.3% in the forecast period. The high growth of the APAC region is attributed to the growing prevalence of target conditions, growth of the pharmaceutical industry, and a surge in R&D activities the diagnostic procedures, among others. Key participants include Thermo Fisher Scientific, Danaher, Becton, Dickinson, and Company, Agilent Technologies, Abbott, Roche, Merck KGaA, Biogenex, Hologic Inc., and Abcam, among others.

In May 2020 , Agilent Technologies Inc. Visiopharm made an announcement about the signing of a co-agreement for end-to-end standardization and quality of tissue diagnostics and cater to the growing requirements of pathology labs globally.

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For the purpose of this report, Reports and Data has segmented the global tissue diagnostics market on the basis of type, technology, application, end-user, and region:

Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2017-2027)

Diagnostic Kits

Antibodies

Slide Training System

Tissue Processing System

Technology Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2017-2027)

Immunohistochemistry

In Situ Hybridization

Digital Pathology & Workflow

Primary & Special Training

Anatomic Pathology

Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2017-2027)

Breast Cancer

Lymphoma

Prostate Cancer

Non-Small Lung Cancer

Others

End-User Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2017-2027)

Hospitals

Research Laboratories

Pharmaceutical Organizations

Contract Research Organizations

Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2017-2027)

North America

U.S.



Canada

Europe

Germany



U.K.



France



Benelux



Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific

China



India



Japan



South Korea



Rest of Asia Pacific

Latin America

Brazil



Rest of LATAM

Middle East and Africa

and Saudi Arabia



UAE



Rest of MEA

Browse more similar reports on Diagnostics category by Reports And Data

In-Vitro Toxicology/Toxicity Testing Market: https://www.reportsanddata.com/report-detail/in-vitro-toxicology-toxicity-testing-market



https://www.reportsanddata.com/report-detail/in-vitro-toxicology-toxicity-testing-market Cervical Cancer Diagnostic Market: https://www.reportsanddata.com/report-detail/cervical-cancer-diagnostic-market



https://www.reportsanddata.com/report-detail/cervical-cancer-diagnostic-market Paper Diagnostics Market: https://www.reportsanddata.com/report-detail/paper-diagnostics-market

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Coronavirus: Spain's Galicia bans smoking outdoors 'Increases risk of transmission'

(ANSAmed) - ROME, AUGUST 13 - Smoking outside when less than two meters away from others has been banned in Spain's Galicia region. Other autonomous communities are assessing the possibility of imposing the same ban, El Pais reported on Thursday. Smoking in the far northwestern part of Spain, where yesterday alone saw 87 new infections out of a total of 827, has thus been placed off-limits in the streets, parks, sea, and all open-air public areas including hotel terraces, cafes and restaurants where it is not possible to maintain social distancing. The measure was recommended by experts from the clinical committee for COVID-19 prevention, who say that smoking increases the risk of transmission of the virus in part because it requires taking off masks and in part because smokers emit drops of saliva che they exhale. Other autonomous communities of the country are assessing whether to do the same, including Andalusia, Castilla-La Mancha and Castilla y Leon.(ANSAmed).



(ANSA).




Launched by the Cultural Development Fund of Egypt and The Princes School of Traditional Arts in London, the Jameel House of Traditional Arts programme operates in Cairos Fustat district

Egypts Cultural Development Fund is to resume the two-year Jameel House of Traditional Arts programme in Cairos Fustat district.



The programme was launched in 2009,by the Cultural Development Fund of Egypt and The Princes School of Traditional Arts in London, as a centre for the study of traditional arts and the preservation of heritage.



Due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the programme has rescheduled its course in order to preserve public health.

The new schedule includes dividing the students into two groups during the practical sessions, with each group attending the classes for three days per week. The sessions will also be held in open areas, while taking all the preventive measures against the coronavirus.

Theoretical lectures will be recorded and presented to the students in limited groups, while the graduation projects are expected to be evaluated at the end of September.The Princes School of Traditional Arts, which boasts some of the most famous professors of design and heritage arts, is one of the most important programs worldwide for supporting traditional crafts and heritage arts.The Art Jameel programme includes the study of drawing skills and colour harmony, ceramics, glass and crafts, in addition to veneer woodworking and metalwork.Art Jameels focuses on preserving cultural heritage in Egypt, including traditional arts, and aims to develop the students abilities to apply the foundational skills they learn during the programme to both contemporary design and restoration.Its current initiatives include running heritage institutes and restoration programmes, in addition to a broad range of arts and educational initiatives for all ages. The organisations programmes foster the role of the arts in building open, connected communities.

For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture

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Seneca Falls, N.Y.  When the National Womens Hall of Fame was considering where to move its cramped quarters on Fall Street, the large, crumbling former wool mill across the Cayuga-Seneca Canal made so much sense.

It was built in 1844, four years before the first womens rights convention was held in Seneca Falls. Workers at the Seneca Knitting Mill attended the convention. Two of the Mills trustees, Charles Hoskins and Jacob Chamberlain, were among the 32 men to sign the Declaration of Sentiments that year. The Declaration crystalized the everyday rights women sought and debated at that now-celebrated convention.

The building, too, held sentimental and historical significance as one of the few remaining mills along the statewide canal system.

Neither Kate Bennett, board president of the National Womens Hall of Fame, nor Jeanne Giovannini, the chair of the mill project, had been present when the old mill was purchased in 2007. But theyd heard stories about its condition.

What the new National Women's Hall of Fame looks like in Seneca Falls. The view is from across the Cayuga-Seneca Canal. August 2020

When we bought it, we knew it would be a tremendous project to rehabilitate the building to make it possible to occupy it, Bennett said. It took us the best part of 10 years to get to the point where we could see that we really had the building in a stable condition with a new roof, new windows and ready to put exhibits into.

To get to the point where we had a first-floor certificate of occupancy, Giovaninni said, where we have four floors of fire protection and theres heat all the way up and the first floor is completely done  it was about $10 million to get to that point.

The new Womens Hall of Fame, located in that rejuvenated mill, will open to the public Tuesday, Aug. 25. Visitors can tour the first floor only, where introductory exhibits were assembled to provide a taste of whats on the Halls horizon.

The Hall is currently fundraising to open the second floor and fill it with exhibits. Giovannini and Bennett said theyve targeted 2023 for the second floor unveiling, though Giovannini underlined that the first fundraising campaign was derailed by a national financial crisis. The initial $10 million came from individual and corporate donors, the Town of Seneca Falls, state and federal grants and historic tax credit investors, Giovannini said.

A list of some of the women who have been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls. August 2020

Close-up look at how the inductees' names are displayed in the new National Women's Hall of Fame. August 2020

Visitors now walk into a large modern space dominated by tall windows that allow natural light to flood the floor. The most prominent feature resides to the right, where gigantic white scrolls bearing the names of every inductee illuminate the space. The Hall has inducted 287 women to date. Their names and a brief description of their areas of expertise are displayed on those scrolls.

There are testaments in the Hall to the women and men of Seneca Falls who organized around the cause of suffrage and universal rights for women. There are tales of the women who worked in the knitting mill, an industry that predominately hired women workers in its waning years. Some women wrote their names on a preserved pillar on the day the mill closed for good in 1999.

They only milled wool. Since they were abolitionists, they were not interested in slave cotton, Bennett said. The (wood) floors are just seeped with lanolin. Theyre beautiful floors. There was so much lanolin on the floor from the wool.

There are a couple interactive elements to the first floor, where a small gift shop will be located. Bennett and Giovannini emphasized the temporary or introductory nature of what people will see when they visit. Exhibits are mobile enough to be moved to new spaces or to different locations.

Some of the exhibits available to view in the new National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls. August 2020

An interactive exhibit in the new National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls. August 2020

They give you an idea of what were going to have on all four floors when its finished, Bennett said. But none of them are as fleshed out as they will be when we do have the real first floor and second floor exhibits. We will have so much more about our inductees. We will have many more stories to tell about what happened in the mill and what happened in Seneca Falls in 1848 and about the confluence of ideas that came together in Seneca Falls among the Quakers and the industrialists and the abolitionists and Native Americans. All these people came together and it was a rich mix of ideas that propelled us forward.

The Hall hired a woman-owned design firm (Frame, formerly Portico) out of Seattle, Washington to create the interiors of the building. Bennett and Giovannini were part of a group of about six people who conceptualized the storytelling that would materialize inside the museum.

Giovannini said the property will turn its attention next to restoring a smokestack and designing and installing an elevator to allow access to the upstairs floors. Eventually, the Hall campus will encompass a welcome center, a gift shop and probably a cafe.

All of that, Giovannini said is farther down the road.

Its been a long and sometimes winding road of delays. But the opening of the museums first floor signifies the public start of a project Giovannini called a labor of love.

The people in Seneca Falls said more than 50 years ago that we really need to build a celebration of American women in this place, Bennett said. We are just some of the people who have stood on the shoulders of all the other people who have worked diligently to create this.

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Donna Ditota is a reporter for the Syracuse Post-Standard and Syracuse.com. Got a comment or idea for a story? Reach her at dditota@syracuse.com.
This is deception, plain and simple, and it is also a betrayal of homeless animals in need. Fortunately, Ald. Brian Hopkins, 2nd, is standing up for the good with an ordinance that would amend the current law so that pet stores cannot sell dogs, cats or rabbits at all, regardless of source. To meet the humanitarian need that drove the original legislation, pet stores across the city will be permitted to partner with legitimate rescues and shelters to host adoption events.
As Covid-19 cases surge across the United States, SPI has moved its October trade show from Las Vegas to the virtual world.From pv magazine USA. Solar Power International (SPI), one of the largest clean energy industry trade shows in the United States, has canceled its Oct. 21-22 live expo in Las Vegas. The event will instead be entirely virtual. The rebooted expo will include a free virtual trade show where attendees can book appointments for meetings and "booth chats" with company representatives, according to an announcement by organizer Solar Energy Trade Shows (SETS). A series of "microconferences" ...

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.
TDT | Manama

Information Affairs Minister Ali bin Mohammed Al Romaihi affirmed yesterday that His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, believes in the importance of involving citizens in the decision-making process under various circumstances.

This is reflected in HRH the Crown Princes directives to leave the choice of in-person or remote learning for students to their parents, in the midst of the exceptional circumstances the world is facing as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, he said.

The minister made the statement while participating in the seventh Arab Media Leaders Forum, organised by the Arab League secretariat-general in cooperation with the Arab Media Forum in Kuwait. The Arab League secretary-general, along with the Egyptian, Jordanian and Omani information ministers, in addition to a number of Arab officials, took part in the virtual meeting.

Al Romaihi stressed that the mutual trust between state institutions and society contributes to achieving common goals and aspirations, and confirms the readiness of the state to deal with all urgent changes, especially in light of the current circumstances, which have proven the importance of adopting a moderate and transparent media discourse that reflects reality without intimidation or underestimation.

Al Romaihi pointed out that social media has become accessible to all, which reinforces the need to spread the culture of the proper use and management of these means, in a manner that would achieve desired goals.

The Information Minister said that Bahrain had submitted a proposal to the Arab Leagues Arab Information Ministers meeting on teaching media education in schools to prepare a generation that is educated, responsible, and able to use these means.

On the role of the media in confronting COVID-19, the minister stressed that the exceptional circumstances the world is going through have proven the vital role played by the media, in its various platforms, to face all challenges.

The Information Minister extended sincere thanks and appreciation to all the affiliates of the press and media for the tremendous efforts they are exerting during this period, noting that media personnel are at the frontlines of the fight against the pandemic, alongside health and security workers.
Group revenue up by almost 7% year-on-year to US$13.3 billion

Pre-tax income (PTI) of US$332 million, up 38% year-on-year

Net income up 31% year-on-year to US$213 million

Software and services revenue* grew 38% year-on-year, to more than US$1 billion  now accounting for around 7.6% of Group revenue



Lenovo Group (HKSE: 992) PINK SHEETS: LNVGY) today announced Group revenue in the first quarter of US$13.3 billion, up almost 7% year-on-year (up 10% year-on-year excluding currency impact). Pre-tax income grew 38% compared to the same quarter a year earlier, to US$332 million, while net income also increased by 31% year-on-year to US$213 million. Basic earnings per share for the first quarter were 1.80 US cents or 13.95 HK cents.

Our outstanding performance last quarter proves that Lenovo has quickly regained momentum from the impact of the pandemic and is capturing the new opportunities emerging from remote working, education and accelerated digitalization, said Yang Yuanqing, Lenovo Chairman and CEO. While the world continues to face challenges, Lenovo is focused on delivering sustainable growth through our core businesses as well as the new services and solutions opportunities presented by our service-led intelligent transformation.

Global economic factors

The last quarter has presented multiple industry-wide business challenges, including ongoing geo-political uncertainties and the COVID-19 pandemic. To chart a path through these challenges, Lenovo continues to leverage its core competencies of operational excellence and a global sourcing, local delivery approach. Looking to the geo-political landscape, Lenovo continues to believe that cooperation in trade, technology and culture provides significant economic benefits to all markets and will ensure that technology can benefit and empower everyone in society.

Business Group Overview

Lenovos Intelligent Devices Group (IDG) continues to lead the companys strong performance. The PC and Smart Devices Group (PCSD), one of the two IDG business units, grew revenue by double digits year-on-year to US$10.6 billion. Pre-tax income reached US$670 million, up nearly 28% year-on-year, while industry-leading profitability improved by almost 1 point to a new record of 6.3%. The PC market significantly outperformed the industry forecast of a market decline, with Lenovo retaining its #1 leadership position in the worldwide PC Devices market (PC and Tablets). Similarly, there was strong year-on-year growth (45%) in Consumer business revenue worldwide. Driven by these successes, revenue grew 30% in EMEA and 18% in China. Volume in high-growth and premium categories such as Gaming, Thin & Light, Visuals, and Chromebooks all continued to grow at high double-digits. The worldwide e-Commerce business was a notably stellar performer, with revenue growth over 50% year-on-year.

Looking to the future, the company expects this strong PC demand will be a long-term trend. As a result, Lenovo will focus on innovative products that adapt to the new global environment, further strengthen its global supply chain to meet the fast-growing demand, continue to develop its e-Commerce platform and focus on high-growth segments to drive premium-to-market growth with leading profitability.

IDGs second business unit, the Mobile Business Group (MBG), while still impacted by COVID-19 and challenging currency exchange rates, has improved momentum with revenue increasing by 33% over the last quarter. Although revenue declined year-on-year, volume outgrew the market year-on-year in key markets like Latin America, North America and Europe, with record high market share in both Latin America and North America. Looking forward Lenovo will continue to leverage its strong product portfolio, innovative technology, particularly in 5G, and expand carrier ranging to resume profitable growth.

The Data Center Group (DCG) resumed hypergrowth, with revenue growing almost 20% to US$1.6 billion and profitability improving year-on-year. Notable successes included Cloud Service Provider business (previously called hyperscale), which grew more than 30% year-on-year, setting a new revenue record by capturing strong public cloud infrastructure demand driven by increased digital consumption due to COVID-19 lockdowns. Meanwhile, the customer base continues to grow thanks to customized in-house design and manufacturing capabilities and an expanded cloud services provider salesforce. Enterprise and SMB business (previously called non-hyperscale) delivered year-on-year revenue growth, led by double-digit revenue growth in high-growth segments such as Software Defined Infrastructure and Services, as well as High-Performance Computing. Looking ahead, we expect long-term growth in the Cloud Service Provider segment and will leverage the teams existing strength in public and private cloud to expand the Edge computing business.

Lenovos Intelligent Transformation continues to show strong progress as a result of determined execution of the 3S strategy. Overall Software and Services revenue* grew 38% year-on-year to over US$1 billion, now accounting for around 7.6% of Group revenue. Smart IoT revenue* grew 39% year-on-year, Smart Infrastructure was up 16% and Smart Verticals* up 65%, driven by Smart City solutions in China and Smart Healthcare solutions in North America. Attached Service* grew 32% year-on-year, Managed Service* (including fast growing Device as a Service) grew 48% year-on-year and Solutions* grew 54% year-on-year.

* invoiced revenue

About Lenovo

Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a US$50 billion Fortune Global 500 company, with 63,000 employees and operating in 180 markets around the world. Focused on a bold vision to deliver smarter technology for all, we are developing world-changing technologies that create a more inclusive, trustworthy and sustainable digital society. By designing, engineering and building the worlds most complete portfolio of smart devices and infrastructure, we are also leading an Intelligent Transformation  to create better experiences and opportunities for millions of customers around the world. To find out more visit https://www.lenovo.com, follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Weibo and read about the latest news via our StoryHub.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200812005775/en/
Actor Tom Hollands audition tape for the role of Spider-Man is doing the rounds online. Holland was cast as the Marvel superhero ahead of 2016s Captain America: Civil War.

The two-minute video, shared on social media, shows the actor performing various scenes, including a screen test with Chris Evans.

Any time youre going to cast a role as big as Spider-Man, theres a huge search involved, Spider-Man: Homecoming executive producer Eric Carroll can be heard saying in the video. Sarah Finn and her team watched more than 7,500 tapes. Marvel and Sony met more than 1,500 actors and then narrowed it down to six actors -- Holland, Asa Butterfield, Judah Lewis, Matthew Lintz, Charlie Plummer and Charlie Rowe. The video also features several other crew members, speaking highly of the actor. Even Robert Downey Jr chimes in, and talks about how he did a screen test with Holland towards the end of the process.

In a 2017 appearance on Ellen DeGeneres show, Holland spoke about how he learned that he had got the part. I basically had been auditioning for about five months and after my final audition they said, Youll find out tomorrow. Fast forward six weeks I was still waiting, still waiting, then one day Marvel just posted on their Instagram, Go to our website to find out who the new Spider-Man is. And thats it, I just found out online! They didnt call me up or anything, he said

Also read: Asa Butterfield reflects on losing out Spider-Man role to Tom Holland

He continued, I ran downstairs, I was going ballistic. My poor dog Tessa was terrified. And my brother Harry, whos pretty savvy with technology and stuff, was like, Dude, theyve probably been hacked, bro. They would call you. They would let you know. So I called my agents and they were like, This is amazing. And then [Marvel Studios president] Kevin Feige finally rang me and said, Ive got some great news, youre gonna be Spider-Man. And I was like, I know, Kevin. You put it on Instagram. Like, Im 20, do you really think Im not going to find it?

Holland has appeared as Spider-Man in five films, and will return in a third solo Spider-Man movie soon.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, who now faces the arduous task to welcoming his sacked deputy Sachin Pilot, channelled the forget and forgive spirit on Thursday - for the second time in as many days - adding it is time to move forward and put a lid on the unsavoury rebellion in the state unit that threatened the survival of his government.

Sachin Pilot, who secured a truce deal with Congress high command that also promised a panel to look into his grievances, is expected to meet CM Gehlot at a Congress Legislature Party meeting scheduled later today.

The struggle of Congress party is to SaveDemocracy under leadership of Smt SoniaGandhi ji & RahulGandhi ji. Whatever misunderstanding occurred in the party in last one month, we need to forgive & forget in the interest of country, state, ppl & in the interest of democracy. We have to put all our energies in this fight to save democracy with the spirit of forgive & forget and move forward, tweeted CM Gehlot today.

The tweet does indicate a softening of stance, as the CM had used particularly harsh words against his deputy, calling Pilot nikkamma, nakkara as the feud between the two intensified over the period of one month.

On the other hand, Sachin Pilot only raised questions on the CMs working style, and never got personal. Directly accused by the CM of being hand-in-glove with the BJP to topple his government, Pilot underscored that he is with the Congress and such statements are being made to tarnish his image.

Pilot, who returned to Jaipur on Tuesday after ending his month-long rebellion, said he has not demanded any post from the party.

Asked to comment on the jibes used by the CM, Pilot, in an interview to HT, said he was deeply hurt by some of the language used against me. On his meeting with CM, the 42-year-old leader said has nothing but only kind words to offer, adding there is no animosity, no ill-will, no negative sentiment towards CM Gehlot.

On Wednesday, Gehlot said the resentment among the Congress lawmakers is natural about the rehabilitation of the 19 dissident party legislators, but he managed to placate the legislators as he explained to them that it was a bid to save democracy in the desert state. He asked them to forgive, forget and move on.

Gehlot impressed upon the legislators that sometimes politicians have to take the rough with the smooth in the interests of the public and democracy.

Forget and forgive and move on in the interest of the country, the state, the people of the state and democracy. Democracy in under threat. This was a fight to save democracy, in which our MLAS gave their support, Gehlot had said.
Cronkite News

PHOENIX  Before COVID-19, Joshuaa Allison-Burbank spent his days traversing the Navajo Nation, stopping at homes, libraries and schools to provide speech therapy and reading support for children with developmental disabilities.

Now he sits at a computer in Waterflow, New Mexico, grappling with how to keep helping kids whose families may have no internet or laptops or iPhones  or, if they do, are coping with far more than a telehealth appointment that may or may not go off as planned.

Back when we were seeing people face to face, it was a matter of, Ill be at your house or youll be at this place at a certain time. Now its: We need to set up this meeting between everything else thats happening in your life  and how are we going to do this? said Allison-Burbank, who is Navajo and Acoma and runs his own private therapy group, Little Moccasins Education Services

So its a whole new normal when it comes to delivery of clinical therapy services, he said. And its tough.

This new normal has also become a lifeline.

As the coronavirus pandemic wears on, medical providers across the U.S. are moving to telehealth  prompting calls for more funding for infrastructure and technology in Indian Country to remedy disparities that can make long-distance care impossible.

Stacy Bohlen, CEO of the National Indian Health Board, said COVID-19 has accelerated the expansion of telehealth in American Indian and Alaska Native communities, allowing those in more remote areas to receive much-needed medical and behavioral health care.

Since the Indian Health Service expanded its telehealth system in April, the agency has averaged over 750 videoconference visits per week, which is 10 times more visits than before the rollout.

Bohlen notes, however, that Native American communities have not had the luxury of the years of evolving into a highly functional system with the capability of providing such services on a widespread scale.

We have many, many households in many communities that are not wired. They dont have fiber optics. They dont have broadband. Some dont have the internet at all, and those that do, especially in the more remote areas, it is often very unreliable, she said.

This is part of another, I would say, pandemic as far as Indian Country is concerned  which is the chronic underfunding of our infrastructures.

A vast digital divide

Tribal lands remain some of the least-connected areas in the U.S. to internet service.

A 2019 assessment conducted by Arizona State Universitys American Indian Policy Institute found that 18% of tribal reservation residents had no internet access at home, while 31% said their connection was spotty or nonexistent.

That research echoes other studies that for years have pointed to a digital divide between Indian Country and the rest of the U.S.

A 2019 Federal Communications Commission report found that while just 6% of the overall population lacked high-speed internet, 26% of those in rural areas and 32% of those living on tribal lands lacked such connectivity.

In Arizona, more than 160,000 people living on tribal lands have either unserved or underserved telecommunication infrastructure needs and often must use schools, libraries or other community entities to access the internet, according to a 2018 state report on broadband.

In Alaska, home to 229 of the nations 574 federally recognized tribes, there are regions in the state that still have no broadband service or are serviced by only one provider, and sometimes even that isnt good enough. The village of Stebbins, in western Alaska, recently experienced a weeklong internet outage, according to the Alaska Native Health Board.

The board said that in many ways Alaska has paved the way in telehealth out of sheer necessity, but a lack of providers and technology in some areas is stunting that progress.

The Valdez Native Tribe is one that doesnt have the ability to offer telehealth services to members from its tribal building. William Smith, a tribal board member, had to travel over 300 miles to Anchorage, Alaska, to a hospital just to be seen by his doctor in Idaho through telehealth. Photo courtesy Valdez Native Tribe

With over 80% of Alaskas communities accessible only by plane or boat, the ability to meet with a medical provider through telehealth could greatly improve early detection of medical conditions and help eliminate long-standing health disparities.

William Smith is the acting chairperson of the National Indian Health Board and a board member of the Valdez Native Tribe in Valdez, Alaska, a fishing village of about 4,000 people, including about 750 tribal members.

Although the town is accessible by road and has reliable electricity, the Valdez Tribe still does not have the capability to offer telehealth services to members at its tribal building because it lacks the necessary equipment and personnel, Smith said.

Smith himself had to travel over 300 miles to Anchorage to a Veterans Affairs hospital just to be seen by his doctor in Idaho through telehealth. The physical exam was administered by a nurse practitioner on-site, and Smith said, I was able to see more parts of my body than Ive ever seen before through scans his doctor analyzed from afar.

Telehealth for behavioral health and mental health, and a secured system for telehealth, would really enhance and help whats going on  especially with COVID, because not everybody can make the trip up to Anchorage, Smith said.

In this screenshot, William Smith, of the Valdez Native Tribe in Alaska, testifies before the U.S. House subcommittees on health and technology modernization about the need for more telehealth to help fight COVID-19. Smith has been working to draw attention to the lack of infrastructure in Indian Country during the pandemic. Image courtesy of the National Indian Health Board

In an attempt to remedy gaps in coverage during COVID, the FCC is dispersing $200 million to health care providers to buy technology needed for telehealth visits and improve broadband connectivity. In May , the Navajo Nation received nearly $1 million to fund home care and remote monitoring services for low-income, elderly and high-risk patients.

No providers in Alaska received funds from that program, but more than $800,000 went to the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium under a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services effort to increase funding to telehealth resource centers during COVID. The consortium provides care for some 180,000 Alaska Natives and American Indians in the state.

Smith has been testifying on these issues in hopes of drawing attention to the needs of his people and those across Indian Country.

On July 17, he addressed the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, urging the federal government to provide at least $1 billion in emergency funding to the Indian Health Service to fund infrastructure and health advancements.

The U.S. must recast the approach to tribal nations and break new ground to truly honor the trust and treaty obligations, Smith testified. We can do better. We must. This pandemic is far from over, and the opportunities to find new ways forward are greeting us.

Connecting through care and culture

Colby Hagen is Oglala Lakota and Crow Creek Sioux and grew up on South Dakotas Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Living now in Lawrence, Kansas, shes a speech pathologist who serves Native children in communities across the country.

Even before the pandemic, she saw some of her 65 young patients via telehealth. Her overall caseload has dwindled to about 20 children since COVID-19 struck.

Its been very hard to reach students and families, she said. A lot of them are already in survival mode, and this pandemic has really just put a lot of stress and a lot of burden on families.

Because so many of the families she works with dont have access to a computer or reliable Wi-Fi at home, shes sent home learning packets so that parents can work on skills with their children before her check-in calls.

For those she does see via telehealth, one bonus is more direct communication with caregivers, be they parents, grandparents or siblings.

Its really helped to build a connection in general, she said. Im Lakota, and thats not the community I serve. I serve other tribal communities, so being able to listen to whats important to them or their tribal stories is helpful for me in my practice.

Hagen and Allison-Burbank said speech pathology is an especially challenging specialty to translate over to telehealth, given that therapeutic exercises require tactile modeling and demonstrations.

Joshuaa Allison-Burbank, who is Navajo and Acoma, runs his own private speech therapy group. He used to spend his days traveling across the Navajo reservation providing care. Now hes using telehealth. Its a whole new normal when it comes to delivery of clinical therapy services. Photo courtesy of Little Moccasins Education Services

Allison-Burbank has sought to work around that by sending books to his patients ahead of time so they can read together virtually, by using electronic books to help with interaction, or by sharing documents so he and his patients can follow along at the same time.

It requires a lot more work and a lot more creativity, but theres ways to get around that, he said. You do what you can with what you have.

Allison-Burbank has been raising funds to send books that focus on Dine concepts to families across the Navajo reservation. He said helping his kids read and comprehend these culturally relevant materials while at home provides a language rich environment.

By being at home and remembering that home is a safe place, is a place of learning, we as educators and health care professionals can build on some of those things now, and even maybe this shifts how we teach Native children in the future, he said.

For now, Hagen plans on continuing telepractice into the fall to respect tribes that have asked to limit travel on and off reservations. When she eventually returns to in-person appointments, she said she would consider wearing a clear mask so the children can see her mouth, although its hardly a perfect solution.

Allison-Burbank is still working with his families remotely, too, but is considering what sort of protective equipment would be required for home visits or whether meeting patients in a place where social distancing is possible, like a parking lot, would be better.

Despite the many challenges and strides that still need to be made, telehealth, he said, has provided an important bridge to those who would otherwise be even more isolated and without help.

There have been many cases where being able to see someone familiar, face to face, is just good, he said. Its good medicine to be able to connect with someone, even if it is remotely and through a video screen.

Note: This story originally appeared on Cronkite News . It is published via a Creative Commons license . Cronkite News is produced by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University

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(Newser)  As protests over Sunday's disputed presidential election continue to sweep Belarus, police have admitted using live fire on protesters. Police say officers used firearms Tuesday night to protect themselves from a "group of aggressive citizens with metal rods in their hands," the BBC reports. At least one person was injured. Two others have been killed during a harsh crackdown on protests, including a 25-year-old man who died after been arrested and placed in a police van in Gomel. His mother says he was beaten to death and police have refused to allow her to see the body. Authorities say almost 7,000 people have been detained this week amid the biggest protests since President Alexander Lukashenko came to power in 1994, the Guardian reports.

story continues below

Protesters accuse Lukashenko, known as "Europe's last dictator," of rigging the election. Opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya fled the country after filing an official complaint about results that showed her receiving 10% of the vote, compared to 80% for Lukashenko. Hundreds of protesters were on the streets of the capital, Minsk, on Thursday, with groups of women forming "lines of solidarity," the AP reports. Some carried photos of detained loved ones. "Belarusians have seen the villainous face of this government. I argued with my husband and voted for Lukashenko. And this is what I got in the endI can't find my relatives in prisons, says Valentina Chailytko, 49, who hasn't been able to find her husband and son since they were detained Sunday. (Read more Belarus stories.)
Well financed activist groups descended in a car caravan on the crime-ridden Englewood neighborhood (42 deaths this year and counting), intending to demonstrate in front of the local police station. Englewood is where a 20-year-old was shot after allegedly pulling a gun on police, which was used as the excuse for systematic looting of stores on the city's Magnificent Mile shopping district.

But the activists did not get the reaction they must have been expecting.

William Lee reports in the Chicago Tribune:

A planned protest outside the Englewood police station Tuesday evening over a recent police-involved shooting devolved into shouting matches among demonstrators, with threats and insults hurled back and forth, after a group of older residents derided the event as "a party" and demanded that outsiders leave. Eventually tempers cooled somewhat after several small confrontations, and people started talking. In the end, a much smaller group of demonstrators marched through Englewood while a large number of protesters headed home.

Nobody has suffered more from the activities of Black Lives Matter and associated groups than inner-city black residents. When stores are looted and burned, they have nowhere nearby to obtain daily necessities. And when police back off or use excessive caution, it is inner-city blacks who bear the brunt of the resulting upsurge in crime.

The Victory Girls blog has extensive coverage of the local groups' outrage, including some interesting videos.

On Tuesday evening, activist groups came to Englewood via car caravan to protest a South Side police station. These included demonstrators from Black Lives Matter Chicago, Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation, and Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. When you have groups that include the words "Liberation" and "Racist and Political Repression" in their names you know that they're not planning to discuss issues over coffee. They wouldn't mind stirring up some trouble. So what do these groups want? Oh, the usual: defund police, remove police from schools, and more money for social services. (snip) One man, 42-year-old Duane Kidd, accused BLM of "throwing a party." "This is propped up. They're throwing a party." Then, added Kidd, the protesters will go home and "they'll be sipping sangria." Kidd also fumed that agitators shut down the main street, making movement difficult for elderly residents of Englewood: "They got the streets shut down. What about the elders that have to get up and down 63rd Street? Now they got to take the side routes." Did the BLM groups bother to think about their elders? Or anyone else in that neighborhood? (snip) Darryl Smith, Englewood resident and president of a local political task force, argued that agitators upset a fragile balance in the neighborhood. "When they leave, the police are going to be pulling us over. The police are going to be pulling our kids out of cars for no reason. Because the police are bitter now. You come and shut down 63rd Street, all this extra manpower, they're mad." Smith raged at the outsiders, asking them where they were when nine Englewood children were shot. He tore into both the "white n******" and "black "n******" and "bozos" who came unannounced into his neighborhood. It wasn't eloquent or safe for work, but it sure was some glorious shade.



YouTube screen grab (cropped).

There's a lot of raw language and outrage in this 3-minute video of the locals reacting:

Local TV, to its credit, covered the views of the anti-agitators:



YouTube screen grab.

One of the groups protesting, GoodKidsMadCity, spoke to the media as well, showing off their custom-made, logo-embossed face masks and t-shirts.

Tonight we didnt participate in the rally/protest because aggressive agitators were being disruptive & tried to provoke us into a violent confrontation. We live in #Englewood & we welcome @CAARPRNow @BLMChi @SOULInChicago & others working to #DefundCPD & make our hoods safe! pic.twitter.com/5UUHq7DQDV  GoodKidsMadCity (@GKMC18) August 12, 2020

Their first spokeswoman was Miracle Boyd, who garnered a lot of media attention after getting some of her front teeth knocked out during the violent demonstration attempting to pull down the statue of Columbus in Grant Park, during which dozens of police officers were injured by objects thrown at them.

Tonight we didnt participate in the rally/protest because aggressive agitators were being disruptive & tried to provoke us into a violent confrontation. We live in #Englewood & we welcome @CAARPRNow @BLMChi @SOULInChicago & others working to #DefundCPD & make our hoods safe! pic.twitter.com/5UUHq7DQDV  GoodKidsMadCity (@GKMC18) August 12, 2020

As you can see, she's managed to have some first-class dentistry (which is not cheap) in the last four weeks.



Twitter video screen grab.

The Biden campaign and the Democrats have foolishly signed onto the anti-police movement. Black crime victims who understand their need for police protection are a prime opportunity for the Trump campaign and Republicans to shatter the 90% level of support that blacks traditionally have given to the donkeys.
"In transitioning to a virtual meeting format, we have spread our content over nine days with a well-designed schedule to allow attendees to participate in more sessions and workshops than usual while keeping up with their normal work and home life," said Bradley R. Wolf, MD, FISHRS, program chair. "The ISHRS World Congress has a strong tradition of hosting the best education from the top minds in the field of hair restoration surgery, and this virtual meeting is no exception."

One of the meeting highlights will be a hair regenerative symposium featuring several renowned hair researchers. Guest speakers include geneticist Prof. Angela Christiano  recently elected to the National Academy of Sciences  on Hair Follicle Bioengineering using 3D Printing Technology, and Dr. Maksim Plikus from the University of California Irvine Stem Cell Research Center on Cell Coordination and Organ Regeneration. Dr. Alexey Terskikh , Associate Professor of Neuroscience at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, La Jolla, Calif., will speak on Hair Regeneration using induced pluripotent stem cells derived from dermal papilla cells with a 3D biodegradable scaffold.

Another meeting highlight will focus on the humanistic side of medicine, as the doctor-patient relationship is vital to proper clinical care and better outcomes. Dr. Danielle Ofri of New York University School of Medicine will share her thoughts on "What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear." A physician and author, Dr. Ofri has given TED talks on this topic.

The robust congress includes eight live general sessions, nine live focused sessions with follow-up "Fireside Chats," over 60 on-demand presentations on a variety of cases, studies and innovations plus live discussion groups to allow conversations with the authors of these presentations. New this year are several industry thought leader symposia whereby knowledge experts from various companies servicing the hair transplantation field can share their wisdom and science behind their products. There will be an exhibit hall, awards ceremony, as well as several surprises for attendees.

"This will not be a typical Zoom meeting. We are building an experience to remember," said Victoria Ceh, MPA, ISHRS Executive Director. "This pandemic has affected all of our lives, but we are not letting it stop us from connecting and learning from each other as we always do. On the positive side, we are thrilled that our congress is more accessible this year to even more physicians on a global scale."

Three ancillary courses are being offered around the Congress, including the ISHRS Basics Course in Hair Restoration Surgery for physicians new to the field, the ISHRS Advanced/Board Review Course aimed at physicians who plan to take the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery (ABHRS) exams, and the ISHRS Surgical Assistants Program.

The gold standard organization in the field of hair transplantation, the ISHRS recently achieved the prestigious re-accreditation by the U.S. Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). This rigorous process assures that ISHRS develops education for physicians with the highest standards. In addition, the ISHRS participates in both the CEN (European Committee of Standardization) as a liaison organization in the aesthetic medicine group, as well as in the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates (HOD), which is considered the "house of medicine" in the United States.

About the ISHRS

The International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) is a global non-profit medical association and the leading authority on hair loss treatment and restoration with 1,000 members throughout 70 countries worldwide. Above all, the ISHRS is dedicated to achieving excellence in patient outcomes by promoting the highest standards of medical practice, medical ethics, and research in the medical hair restoration industry. The ISHRS also provides continuing medical education to physicians specializing in hair transplant surgery and is committed to delivering the latest information on medical and surgical treatments to consumers suffering from hair loss, and most commonly from androgenetic alopecia  male pattern baldness and female pattern hair loss. It was founded in 1993 as the first international society to promote continuing quality improvement and education for professionals in the field of hair restoration surgery. For more information and to locate a physician, visit www.ishrs.org.

SOURCE International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery

Related Links

http://www.ishrs.org


Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 17:59:35|Editor: huaxia

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MAIMANA, Afghanistan, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- A Taliban mine maker was killed as his mine went off prematurely in Pashtunkot district of the northern Faryab province in Afghanistan on Thursday, army spokesman in the northern region Mohammad Hanif Rezai said.

The mine maker was busy in making mine early Thursday to plant on a road to target security forces convoy, but the device exploded prematurely, killing himself on the spot and injuring another.

Taliban militants haven't commented.

In a similar incident a day earlier on Wednesday three more militants were killed as their explosive device went off accidentally in Balkh province. Enditem
The latest research from the international rental marketplace, Spotahome, has revealed that just six European capitals have seen the cost of renting fall over the last year. Spotahome analysed monthly rental data across each capital city in the EU, as well as London, and found that the cost of renting

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In a sense, Lazy Bear looks more like a typical restaurant now than it ever did.

For most of its life, Lazy Bear has been known for its distinct, dinner party-style experience and its unusual path to fame  growing into one of San Franciscos most influential restaurants and one of the most coveted meals in town. Selling tickets instead of taking reservations, having chefs rather than servers run food to tables and seating diners all at once was shocking to the industry at first, yet became fairly common features.

But now, the chefs serve takeout cold-brew coffee, pastries and sandwiches  like hot Wagyu pastrami on sourdough  that they hope taste worthy of a two Michelin-starred restaurant.

Behind the scenes, owner David Barzelay is doing things differently too, just as he has since he launched Lazy Bear as an illegal pop-up a decade ago after losing his attorney job during the Great Recession. Hes turned his kitchen into an informal incubator, continued to pay workers high salaries and offered unlimited paid time off to employees too nervous to come to work because of the coronavirus.

Still, for the first time in Lazy Bears existence, Barzelay fears the restaurants popularity wont be enough to keep it in business. His Paycheck Protection Program loan has been keeping the restaurant alive and will likely run out in October.

If nothing changes before November, its going to be really hard to stay open at all, he said, adding he'd have to make major cuts or potentially close for an extended period.

Lazy Bear

Barzelay first got ambitious with feeding people when his wife, Jeanette, auctioned off a home-cooked meal for 10 at their San Francisco apartment in the spring of 2009. Someone paid $1,500.

It seemed like an enormous amount of money for someone to pay for me to cook them dinner, Barzelay said, feeling the need to go all out. The result was a 12-course meal and the realization that he could pull it off.

A couple of months later, laid off from his job as an attorney, Barzelay decided to see what it would be like to work in a professional kitchen and staged at Nopa and Mission Street Food. At the time, the fine dining world was obsessed with El Bulli, the temple for molecular gastronomy in Spain, and Noma, the Denmark restaurant famous for foraging ingredients. The glitziest new restaurant openings were starting to grow more casual, and Barzelay was inspired by Chicagos Alinea for dismantling fine dining tropes like using white tablecloths just because thats how they were done.

Upon his return, someone suggested Barzelay start charging people to eat at his apartment  a way to subsidize the elaborate kitchen experiments he wanted to embark on anyway. Jeanette, noting how her husband was being lazy about applying for new lawyer gigs, realized the letters of his last name could be rearranged to form Lazy Bear.

Sept. 19, 2009, marked the first Lazy Bear dinner, announced on Barzelays food blog: $50, eight seats, 12 courses. He butchered two whole goats, storing carcasses on ice in the bathtub, for a goat rack sous vide with pomegranate, pistachio and farro fried in goat fat.

Sarah Rice / Special to The Chronicle 2014

Initially, Barzelay ramped up Lazy Bear in his apartment, bringing in an extra card table, pushing his couches against the walls and buying a second fridge. Within eight months, he was doing it two nights a month and his neighbors started complaining. An events space in Bernal Heights followed, and word spread about his wildly fun, semisecret and definitely illegal dinners.

Dinners sold out within minutes. His mailing list ballooned to 20,000 people, with 2,500 people competing each week for 240 seats. It was time to turn Lazy Bear into an above-board, brick-and-mortar restaurant. Three years later, Barzelay found a space in the Mission.

Lazy Bear opened Sept. 25, 2014. Navigating a now-ubiquitous but then little-known ticketing system called Tock, diners snatched up time slots immediately to try Barzelays playful, nostalgic and hyper-local take on Bay Area cuisine. Even before its first service, Lazy Bear was easily the hottest restaurant in San Francisco that didnt exist yet.

But among chefs, it was a restaurant that would surely flop.

Whenever we were in the underground days and talking about this restaurant and doing two banquet seatings a night, I thought, Whoa, this is the worst idea Ive ever heard, said Val Cantu, chef-owner of Californios, who worked at Lazy Bear for a few months when it was a pop-up. Cooks hate banquets. Im a bit of a shyer person, so the idea of eating communally is not my cup of tea. I didnt know if it would be for the general public either.

John Storey/Special to the Chronicle

Some of the employees, too, struggled with Barzelays style. Though the restaurant positioned itself as a fine dining restaurant, Barzelay didnt want the hierarchies and militaristic environment of other kitchens in that category, according to the chef and several staffers. He didnt want it to be stuffy or this place where you cant be yourself, said Claudia Lara, a captain who has worked at Lazy Bear for five years.

While Lara appreciated this more relaxed attitude, some workers craved the typical French structure they experienced at other Michelin-starred restaurants. Lara observed these colleagues unlearn their prior training  or leave. Barzelay said he had to issue more warnings  and in some cases, terminations  than he wanted in the early days because certain cooks constantly used homophobic slurs in the kitchen.

If Im going to be here 16 hours a day, I dont want it to be this shitty culture where everybody is afraid of everyone else and working silently and calling each other names, Barzelay said. That was a big thing that was hard for people to accept.

The diner experience, too, was more casual than other fine dining restaurants in the city, with communal dining. If he was going to force a three-hour meal with strangers on people, he thought, he didnt want them to be bored. He offered lots of extras  including pencils inscribed with different messages like Freedom lies in the wilderness that arrived with notebook-like menus  that some may not even have noticed.

Meanwhile, Barzelay felt like other fine dining chefs were waiting for him to fail because he never paid his dues.

But in 2015, Lazy Bear won a Michelin star. And one year later, despite complaints from staffers, it earned a second one.

I think thats what finally proved even to our staff that what we were doing was valid, Barzelay said of the first star.

Lazy Bear

The other aspect of work culture that mattered to Barzelay: competitive salaries. Some line cooks earn $85,000 in a city where many make minimum wage. They also got a 401(k) and loads of vacation, such as a full week off for Thanksgiving, which he says he has been able to pay for because service charges were built in from the beginning. This makes Lazy Bear an anomaly at a time when people in the restaurant industry nationwide are talking about labor and how to give employees livable wages.

Alice Kim, who worked as a Lazy Bear pastry chef for about a year in 2019, remembers getting her first paycheck and feeling blown away. A lot of restaurants say theyre going to pay their employees fair wages and thats not the case at all, said Kim, who previously worked at Bay Area fine dining destinations the Restaurant at Meadowood and Coi. She said Lazy Bear is probably the only fine dining restaurant in America that pays their back of house staff a fair wage.

The success of Lazy Bear had a ripple effect throughout the Bay Area. It validated other pop-ups with serious fine dining aspirations, like Pacific Heights Italian spot Sorrel, and ushered in more casual, social and personal restaurants like Maum in Palo Alto and Merchant Roots in San Francisco. It also opened the gates for other chefs who had nontraditional routes into food.

Inspired by Barzelay, Sam Butarbutar, who cooked at Lazy Bear when he couldnt find a job related to his environmental toxicology studies, decided to explore his Indonesian roots through baking. The result was Third Culture Bakery, the extraordinarily popular home to mochi muffins in Berkeley.

Seeing Lazy Bear, it solidified what I needed to have to have a successful business, and its not these normal markers you need to hit, Butarbutar said. Lazy Bear changed peoples mindsets about what is good food and what is fine dining. It created room for people experimenting, trying different styles and different settings.

Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle

But many of the things that made Lazy Bear a success are no longer possible. The first major threat arrived March 16, when Bay Area counties announced the first shelter-in-place order and forced restaurants to close their dining rooms.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

While many fine dining restaurants hunkered down, Lazy Bear employees brainstormed ways to reopen. They landed on breakfast, sandwiches and pantry supplies, reopening just one week later. Instead of spending $195 for a full-blown experience, customers could pay $15 for a meatball sandwich or $9 for a bottle of house-made Fresno chile hot sauce. Long lines quickly formed.

Some of our employees were hemming and hawing about whether doing takeout would undermine the idea of Lazy Bear weve worked hard to establish over the last 10 years, Barzelay said. I think some of our peoples ideas of what Lazy Bear is and can be is not expansive enough.

After all, Lazy Bear started in an apartment without the watchful gaze of Michelin inspectors. A few early dinners went as casual as burgers, fries and sweetbread nuggets packaged in McDonalds-esque boxes.

Lazy Bear 2010

Over the past few months, Lazy Bear returned to some of its fanciness. A side of carrots looked elegantly arranged with tweezers in its plastic container; the spears cured, grilled over oak and glazed with carrot juice that had been reduced into a caramel. Meal kits arrived, at one point including house-made gnocchi and a chunk of truffle for at-home shaving. Employees created mystery wine boxes and led live blind tastings on Instagram. Barzelay and his team posted videos of themselves telling the stories behind everything since they could no longer do so in person.

While Barzelay is proud to have avoided layoffs, the team has shrunk to about two-thirds its former size. Some employees left San Francisco altogether, others resigned. The Paycheck Protection Program loan helps cover full salaries, health insurance and even an extension on unlimited paid time off to workers who dont feel comfortable coming into the restaurant. A few employees have taken Barzelay up on the latter, he said.

Since theres been less work to do, the chefs are working on their own dream restaurant concepts and dishes on Lazy Bears time, effectively turning the restaurant into an incubator. Its a surprising good thing to come out of the pandemic, said Lazy Bear sous chef Taylor Zoller.

Youre on the clock but you can cook whatever you want and try things youve never been able to do before, she said, adding that the extra time allows chefs to teach each other skills that are normally specialized, like butchery. Now, anyone can learn it. Its another skill youll have for the rest of your career.

Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle

That has also led to a more collaborative take on menu development for Lazy Bears eventual return to indoor service. Before Mayor London Breed indefinitely postponed indoor dining, Barzelay had a new version of Lazy Bear all worked out: Hed put the long banquet tables in storage and essentially offer a normal style of service: parties at different tables, arriving at different times. No more chefs shouting over conversations.

He was excited by the prospect of cooking dishes that normally wouldnt work logistically when serving 40 people at once, like seared fish or quick breads. He imagined shorter tasting menus to turn tables faster, but where each course would come with different items for a new kind of complexity.

But a fear remains: Will the economy plunge into a deep recession? Will people even want fine dining anymore? Lazy Bear was part of the movement to make Michelin-starred dining more casual, but in the last 10 years, fine dining has gradually faded from the national spotlight as more diverse and affordable restaurants capture excitement. Other Bay Area tasting menu spots are turning to burgers and fried chicken. Whats right for the future of Lazy Bear is a question the entire team is working through.

Is it appropriate to have these extra special things like having a sommelier help you pick out a really nice bottle of wine during this time? said Lazy Bear captain Lara. But its our craft so we love doing it.

Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle

No matter how game-changing Lazy Bear was as a restaurant, its still a restaurant. If neither indoor dining nor more aid for restaurants arrives soon, Barzelay will have to make deep cuts to the salaries and benefits that have helped make Lazy Bear a place where people actually like to work.

Weve probably done as well as anybody has done during the forced closures, Barzelay said. When our PPP money runs out, were facing huge losses, and if were not able to start doing dine-in by that point, were probably not going to be able to stay open.

This story has been updated to clarify a quote from David Barzelay about potentially closing.

Janelle Bitker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: janelle.bitker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @janellebitker
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Libya has recorded 309 new coronavirus infections, no deaths and 38 recoveries in the past 24 hours, the National Centre for Disease Control announced In a statement issued on Thursday, the Centre said it had received 2,672 samples to test, of which 2,363 were negative and 309 positive
A notorious criminal was shot at by Delhi Police Special Cell during an encounter in Rohini area of Delhi on Thursday (August 13) morning. The criminal identified as Ajay alias Bobby was admitted to hospital after he received bullet injury.

Talking to Zee News, DCP Special Cell Sanjeev Yadav said that Ajay was wanted in a murder case in Aman Vihar area of Delhi. Delhi Police Special Cell had received a tipoff that Ajay was planning to visit Rohini Sectotr 32 and a trap was laid to nab him.

Ajay was returning after finalising a plan to kill his rival gang member Sandeep when Special Cell officers intercepted him and he was injured in the encounter. Ajay has 13 cases of murder, attempt to murder and kidnapping registered against him.
Although left-handers make up about ten percent of the population, left-handed gaming mice are rare. Razer, however, has committed to lefties, and introduced a left-handed version of its wired Razer Naga mouse in time for Left-Handers Day.

The Razer Naga Left-Handed Edition is not an ambidextrous mouse, which can be used by both hands. Its specifically designed for lefties, with an array of twelve function buttons on the right of the mouse thats accessible by a left-handers thumb. Razer envisions that those functions will typically used to control an array of spells and other actions that MMO players typically perform, but they could be used in other applications, too. There are 20 programmable buttons on the mouse in total.

Left-handed mice represent a difficult investment for the company, Razer admits, requiring retooling the machinery and additional QA checks. The company said in 2019 that it would be bringing back the left-handed version of the Naga, but apparently the demand was still low.

Planning for a left-handed mouse has been a difficult journey, as it is a project that has drawn large costs at low demand, Razer said. Adding to that challenge is the insufficient demand that was assessed over the course of multiple efforts, a notable one being the Kickstarter that we ran back in 2018.

Underneath the lefty Naga mouse is the companys Focus+ sensor, specified at 99.6 percent resolution accuracy, and 20,000 dpi. Razer says that the sensor includes technologies such as smart tracking, which auto-calibrates the mouse to a new surface, and asymmetric cut-off to set the landing distance when the mouse comes back into contact with the mousing surface.

Like most other gaming mice Razer provides, the Naga uses a 7-foot USB Speedflex cable to connect to a PC.

The other innovation the Naga offers is onboard memory, so you wont have to store your preferences in an app or in the cloud. Instead, up to five profile settings are stored directly in the mouse itself.

The Razer Naga Left-Handed EditionRemove non-product link is available for order for $99.99.
Because of drought, xeriscaping, and the aging and dying of established trees, Albuquerques tree canopy has been thinning steadily, according to city councilors who have endorsed a program to re-tree neighborhoods.

Councilors Pat Davis, Isaac Benton and Trudy Jones, and members of Tree New Mexico met on a tree-lined street in the Wells Park neighborhood Wednesday to announce that the next fall planting of trees as part of the NeighborWoods program will occur in the North Campus and Parkland Hills neighborhoods. A second planting will take place in the Oso Grande neighborhood.

The setting on Los Tomases NW was selected for the announcement because Wells Park was the first neighborhood to participate in the program and now has many healthy young trees lining its streets, Benton said.

The NeighborWoods program sprang out of a 2015 meeting Benton had with the founding director of Tree New Mexico, Suzanne Probart, to talk about what can we do to help restore this canopy and get people involved, because the city cant do it by itself, Benton said.

The first NeighborWoods plantings occurred in 2017. Each neighborhood tree-planting project costs about $30,000, paid for out of set-aside funds that city councilors have for their respective districts. That purchases about 100 larger trees for planting in or adjacent to city rights of way, Benton said.

Tree New Mexico works with neighbors to teach them about selecting, planting and maintaining trees. The neighborhood must commit to providing volunteers for neighborhood outreach, attend tree education classes, and plant, water and maintain the trees.

With each NeighborWoods project, Tree New Mexico also makes available at no cost 100 smaller trees to people in the neighborhood, who can plant them anywhere on their property.

Bette Eisenberg, program manager for Tree New Mexico, said in the three years since NeighborWoods began, about 3,000 trees have been planted. Were upping our game and this fall we will plant 1,000 trees, she said.

Neighborhood volunteers go door to door, and that builds community. We dont just plop down a tree wherever theres a need for one. Neighbors meet each other, and we do a lot of education about different types of trees and the right tree for the right spot. We see that the neighborhoods become more cohesive and tight, Eisenberg said.

Tree New Mexico makes about a dozen varieties of large trees available as part of the NeighborWoods program. These include drought-resistant, shade and flowering trees. Among them are desert willow, vita, New Mexico olive, frontier elm and Chinese pistache.

The trees are selected for specific sites, with attention to making sure that roots wont lift sidewalks or get into and damage drains and plumbing, Eisenberg said.

Davis said trees not only increase property values, but, more importantly, especially in neighborhoods like the International District, its generating a culture of taking care of our community, of taking care of our land, of learning skills that not many people have any more.

Other neighborhoods that have had trees planted as part of the NeighborWoods program include South Broadway, Santa Barbara Martineztown, Sawmill, South San Pedro, Trumbull Village, Elder Homestead, University Heights, Victory Hills and John B. Robert.

Neighborhoods that want to participate in the NeighborWoods program should contact their city councilor.
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Linkedin Norman Harsono (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 13, 2020 17:15 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066dd0caa 1 Business coal,electric-car,solar-power-plant,China,electric-vehicles Free

Energy company PT Sumber Energi Sukses Makmur (SESM) has signed deals with two Chinese companies to develop a mid-sized solar power plant and an electric car factory in Indonesia.

SESM, whose core business is coal trading, signed on Wednesday a deal with Hefei-based solar multinational Sungrow Power Supply Co. Ltd to develop a 10.5 megawatt (MW) solar power plant (PLTS) in South Sumatra, one of the countrys coal heartlands.

To date, Indonesias largest solar plant in operation is the 15 MW Likupang plant in North Sulawesi and the largest under development is the 150 MW Cirata plant in West Java.

SESM and Sungrow will begin plant construction in September 2020 and we plan to have it operational by January 2021, said SESM president director Zulfian Mirza in a joint statement on Wednesday.

Read also: Coal miner builds solar power plants to provide electricity in remote areas

This is an opportunity for Sungrow to continually grow, seeing the other potential in Indonesia, going forward, said Sungrow Indonesia head Baggio Teng.

Sungrow estimated it could develop up to 1.5 GW worth of solar farm projects on water reservoirs and abandoned mining pits around Indonesia, he added.

SESM also signed on Wednesday a deal with Zhejiang-based automaker Today Sunshine New Energy Vehicle Industry Co. Ltd to develop a factory in Batam, Riau Islands, which is an industrial zone and free trade area. The automaker's most iconic product is a small, two-seat, low-speed electric car.

Developers plan for the factory to produce 10,000 five-seater electric vehicles each year. From its founding in 2014 until present, Today Sunshine has produced 50,000 vehicles.

Read also: 6,500MW power plants, mostly coal, set for delay amid pandemic

The two companies aim to begin constructing the Indonesian factory next year.

We will follow the deal up by processing the permits related to local-content requirements and other principle permits, said SESM renewables director M. Hamzah.

Indonesia passed in August last year a presidential regulation that lays down several fiscal incentives to develop a domestic electric vehicle and car battery industry.

The government targets to export 1 million vehicles by 2025, of which 20 percent will be electric.

Editor's note: This article has been updated to accommodate a clarification that PT Exploitasi Energi Indonesia is not a subsidiary, but a partner of SESM.
Let's Talk Cattle & Sheep Webinar - Sheep Flock Health

Event Time 6:30pm

Venue Online



Timely, relevant and practical advice to allow you make better management decisions on your beef and sheep farm.

This webinar on Wednesday, 19 August will focus on:

Sheep Flock Health

and is part of a series of fortnightly webinars for Irish beef and sheep farmers which will be hosted by Teagasc.

Speakers

Hosted by the Teagasc Sheep Specialist Team

Guest Speaker: Sarah Campbell, MSD Veterinary Adviser

Moderated by Ciaran Lynch, Teagasc Sheep Specialist

Topics to be covered

Ovine abortions

Reducing the risk through vaccination

Vaccination handling, storage and administration

Make sure to join on Wednesday evening at 6.30pm for timely, relevant and practical advice to allow you make better management decisions on your beef and sheep farm.

Be prepared to get involved in the discussion  there will be an opportunity for you to pose your questions to the presenters.

Click here for a full list of upcoming webinars by Teagasc
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Mayor Bill de Blasio never ceases to amaze you.

Particularly if you live on Staten Island, which really has become a forgotten borough on this mayors watch.
The cost of renting Lake Genevas iconic Riviera for a wedding reception could jump $1,600  about 40 percent  to help the city pay for renovations to the building.

Members of the Riviera Restoration Ad Hoc Committee have recommended boosting the rental fee for non-residents, but some Lake Geneva aldermen already are calling the increase excessive.

Just last year, the city raised the rental fee by as much as $900 for wedding receptions in the popular lakefront venue.

Aldermen voiced opposition to the new increase Aug. 4 during a meeting of the city councils finance, licensing & regulation committee.

I dont have a problem raising it 5 percent or 15 percent, Alderman Richard Hedlund said. But I think a 40-percent increase is getting a little crazy.

After borrowing money to pay for about $2 million in repairs to the Riviera, city officials are looking for ways of financing perhaps about $4 million in upgrades on the historic lakefront tourism and event center.

Under the ad hoc groups proposal, wedding rental rates for non-residents would increase from $3,900 to $5,500 for Saturday receptions; from $3,400 to $4,750 for Friday and Sunday; and from $1,250 from $1,750 for Monday through Thursday.

Rates for Lake Geneva residents would remain $1,950 for Saturdays, $1,700 for Fridays and Sundays, and $625 Monday through Thursday.

The ad hoc committee was created at Mayor Charlene Kleins request to make recommendations to the Lake Geneva City Council on the long-discussed restoration project of the city-owned Riviera.

Fred Gahl, a member member of the committee, said increasing the wedding reception rental rates for non-residents would be a good way to raise money for Riviera improvements.

Gahl said the Rivieras current rental rates are too low compared with other venues. He said it costs between $4,500 to $7,500 for people to rent other spots in the region for wedding events.

Were selling now at a discounted rate, he said.

Officials could not provide projections of how much the rental increase would generate for the Riviera project.

Klein, who also serves on the ad hoc group, said because officials do not know how many non-residents will be booking weddings at the Riviera the next couple of years, it is difficult to predict how much the city could raise from a 40-percent rate increase.

We dont know, with the pandemic, what will happen going forward in 2022, Klein said. It could be substantial, if everything is back to normal by then, and the facility is booked every weekend like it used to be.

The coronavirus pandemic caused many Riviera wedding parties to be postponed or canceled this year.

Stephanie Copsey, the citys marketing director for the Riviera, said most weddings that were booked for 2020 have been rescheduled until 2021.

There is a lot of rescheduling and a lot of detailed planning and booking for 2021, Copsey said.

If the city approved the rental rate increase for the Riviera, it would apply only to new bookings.

Some aldermen voiced support for boosting the rates again, but not by as much as 40 percent.

Alderman John Halverson said a 40-percent increase would be too much. Halverson said officials should consider the issue further before adjusting the Riviera rates.

I dont think we should pass it until the research has been done, Halverson said.

Hedlund argued that non-residents bring additional revenue to the city when they hold wedding receptions at the Riviera, because they have guests who stay at the citys hotels and dine at the restaurants.

Klein said she has calculated that, even with the proposed rate increases, it still would cost non-residents only about $20 per person, on average, to hold their receptions at the Riviera.

I dont know of any place that you can rent for less than $20 per person, she said.

Klein is president of the board that manages Horticultural Hall, a privately owned downtown facility that rents out space for weddings and receptions.

Copsey said city officials should consider a rate increase at the Riviera, but she agreed with aldermen that the ad hoc groups proposal for a 40-percent hike might discourage out-of-towners from booking the Riviera.

It might be poorly received with potential clients that are coming in to book a wedding, Copsey said.

The city last year increased Riviera rental rates from $3,000 to $3,900 for Saturday rentals, from $3,000 to $3,400 for Fridays and Sundays, and from $500 to $1,250 on Monday through Thursday.

The city council finance committee agreed to continue discussing the issue at the next meeting, scheduled for Aug. 18.

Any change in Riviera rental fees would require approval from the full city council.

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We so-called slackers are the ones engaged in state and local governments, long the domain of busybody retirees. As Governing, a government advocacy publication, wrote in a report about Gen X: It shouldnt be surprising that this generation, which long ago shook off its disengaged-slacker stereotype to become known for its entrepreneurialism, DIY ethic, skepticism about bureaucracy and comfort with collaborating over far-flung networks, would now be pressing local government to think in new ways about the work of democracy.
The UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation has declared Sunday August 23, an official paid holiday for all private sector employees in the UAE to celebrate the Islamic New Year, Al Hijri 1442, a Wam news agency report said.
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A multidisciplinary faculty collaboration has led Auburn University to become one of only five sites in the U.S. to receive a new Tosca 400 Atomic Force Microscope, or AFM, on loan from the Austria-based scientific instrument manufacturer, Anton Paar.

Assistant Professor Maria Soledad Peresin of the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences led the effort to qualify for the AFM loan, teaming with Virginia Davis, the Alumni Professor in Chemical Engineering in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, along with Michael E. Miller, the director of the Auburn University Research Instrumentation Facility and an assistant research professor in Biological Sciences in the College of Sciences and Mathematics.

The Tosca 400s capabilities are cutting-edge, combining premium technology with time-efficient operation. To get technical: The AFM uses a surface-scanning technique that has sub-nanometer scale resolutionmeaning that the tool can measure materials so infinitesimal that their resolution or dimensions are less than one-billionth of a meter. The AFM is widely used to collect data on mechanical, functional and electrical properties at the nanoscale, in addition to topography and surface roughness studies.

The equipment loan is part of Anton Paars AFM Influencers Program, which selects influential scientists and universities to receive a long-term loan of the Tosca 400, which is then installed in their laboratories. The Tosca 400 system now resides in the Auburn University Research Instrumentation Facility, where five principal investigators and dozens of graduate students have been formally trained to use it.

These partnerships were established to build recognition for the companys rapid, easy-to-use systems, said Kristi Folden, who oversees Anton Paars Surface Mechanical Properties line in the Southeast.

Drs. Peresin and Davis were chosen due to their enthusiasm for this opportunity, the need for access to this technique to further their labs research, their heavily applied outreach to industry in the region and the rapid growth plan Auburn has for research in the coming years, Folden said.

Peresin said the high-end laboratory instrument will significantly contribute to research and teaching.

The AFM Influencer program at Auburn allows for easy access to this technique to advance and enhance the quality of our research efforts, said Peresin, who considers the AFM essential to her nanocellulose research. It will also enhance the service to our industrial partners while opening up the potential for my team to increase collaborative efforts with other Auburn units and other universities in the region.

In October 2019, Anton Paar released five new modes for the Tosca AFM that support electrical and magnetic surface characterizationa major innovative upgrade. The upgrades include Magnetic Force Microscopy Mode, Electrostatic Force Microscopy Mode, Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy Mode, Conductive Atomic Force Microscopy Mode and Current Control Conductive Atomic Force Microscopy Mode.

With the companys backing, Auburn was able to receive the AFM with the new modes included.

That advantage was the result of Peresins research and persistence, Folden said.

Dr. Peresin was instrumental in providing the necessary justification to make the upgrade possible, bringing additional capabilities to campus that will garner faculty and student use, as well as attract industrial partners, Folden said.

The aim is to make modern, easy-to-use AFM capabilities available for students and faculty campus-wide. Data from the system is included in several high-quality manuscripts currently under review in addition to multiple poster and oral presentations.

School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences Dean Janaki Alavalapati said the companys selection of Auburn as one of a handful of partnerships underscores the advanced and continuous scope of study within the school.

This kind of initiative reflects the quality and diversity of our research, Alavalapati said. The ability to utilize the innovative capabilities of the Tosca AFM will most definitely provide a notable advantage to research being performed, both here on campus and in other facilities within the region.

The Tosca 400s placement will offer significant advantages to companies and other universities in the area, benefiting investigators in the Auburn research community and beyond.
Berlin

Daimler AG, the maker of Mercedes-Benz cars, says it has reached agreements in principle to settle U.S. claims over emissions from its diesel vehicles for over $2.2 billion.

The Stuttgart, Germany-based automaker said Thursday the agreements with various U.S. authorities concern civil and environmental claims involving about 250,000 diesel cars and vans.

The company said the civil cases related to a consumer class action lawsuit pending before the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

Daimler AG said in a statement that the settlement with governments will result in costs of about $1.5 billion, while the civil settlement will bring a one-off charge of about $700 million. It estimated that "further expenses of a mid three-digit-million" euros would be required to fulfill requirements of the settlements.

The deal with the U.S. governments apparently will settle probes by the Justice Department, Environmental Protection Agency, Customs and Border Protection and the California attorney general and Air Resources Board. The government agreement will be detailed in consent decrees, which will be filed with a U.S. District Court in the coming weeks, Daimler's statement said.

The EPA deferred comment to the Justice Department, where a message was left Thursday. The California Air Resources Board said it can't give more details until the consent decrees are filed in mid-September.

"With the proposed settlements, the company takes an important step toward legal certainty with respect to various diesel proceedings in the United States," Daimler's statement said.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Daimler said its board of management and the supervisory boards of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG approved the proposed settlements, but noted that they are subject to final approval by the authorities and courts.

Last month, Daimler disclosed that it had set aside money to pay for its diesel emissions troubles. The company's pollution practices are under investigation in the U.S. and Germany, and civil lawsuits claim the vehicles emitted more pollutants than advertised.

The company was asked by the U.S. Justice Department in April of 2016 to conduct an internal probe into its exhaust emissions certification process. The request came shortly after the U.S. government discovered that Volkswagen had been cheating on diesel emissions tests for years. The company programmed its vehicles to turn on pollution controls during lab tests but turn them off while on real roads.

Steve Berman, a Seattle attorney who sued Daimler over Mercedes diesel pollution, said in 2016 his firm hired a company to test Mercedes diesels on real roads, finding that they spewed out too much nitrogen oxide almost all the time. Berman accused Mercedes of having software called a "defeat device" that was similar to VWs.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Sam Randazzo, the powerful chairman of the state commission that oversees utility regulation and rate-setting, is the target of a new campaign tying him to FirstEnergy through his previous work as a lobbyist and attorney.

The Ohio Consumers Power Alliance, which describes itself as an advocacy group pushing for more renewables that it believes will ultimately lower electricity rates, is making a case for Randazzos removal through a new website: https://SamRandazzo.com/.

In early 2019, Randazzo became chair of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, which regulates utilities and sets rates. As PUCO chair, Randazzo also chairs the Ohio Power Siting Board, which can influence statewide energy development by approving, rejecting or setting limits on large utility and wind generation projects.

The Ohio Consumers Power Alliance argues that Randazzo holds the same views with the PUCO that he held in his previous career, lobbying and as an attorney for the Industrial Energy Users -- Ohio, a group representing some of the states largest industries, when he fought renewable standards. For years, he was out front in the opposition to the renewable energy and energy efficiency standards.

Its really obvious during the time that hes been the chair that hes not doing what he said he would do a year ago (at his confirmation hearing,) which was to represent Ohio and Ohioans, said Rachel Belz, director of the Ohio Consumers Power Alliance, which is a project of the left-leaning grassroots Ohio Citizen Action. Instead, theyve been picking winners and losers.

Randazzo, through a spokesman, declined to comment on the effort to remove him.

A spokesman for Gov. Mike DeWine said Thursday that the Republican continues to stand by Randazzo.

DeWine nominated Randazzo in February 2019 in a process that first requires applicants to be vetted by a nominating council and winnowed down to four to be presented to the governor.

FirstEnergy

When FirstEnergy subsidiary FirstEnergy Solutions declared bankruptcy in 2018, two companies that Randazzo owned were listed as creditors, as first reported by Eye on Ohio and the Energy News Network.

FirstEnergy is described as Company A in what federal authorities have described as a $60 million bribery scheme engineered by ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder related to the passage of House Bill 6, which bailed out FirstEnergy Solutions (now Energy Harbor) two nuclear power plants. No one from FirstEnergy has been charged in connection with the alleged bribery.

Randazzo has not been implicated, either.

But the Ohio Consumers Power Alliance is building pressure against Randazzo in part by using FirstEnergys current public and Wall Street unpopularity -- its stock has plummeted from $47.53 a share at the beginning of the year to $29.87 at the end of trading Wednesday.

Its great timing, said Belz, the alliances director. But we were planning this before the Householder scandal broke. We firmly believe Sam Randazzo should leave the PUCO and also the power siting board. We believe in being tough on the problem, not the person. In this case, the problem is the person. Wed like to see him step down.

Wind project in Lake Erie

Belz said the alliance started working on SamRandazzo.com shortly after the Ohio Siting Power Board added a poison pill to the planned $126 million Icebreaker wind project in Lake Erie -- conditions that could make it economically unfeasible.

The Icebreaker project proposes six turbines in the lake, eight miles north of Cleveland. The turbines would create 20.7 megawatts of electricity, and transmit it to Cleveland Public Power via a 12-mile long submerged cable.

It could possibly be the first freshwater offshore wind farm in North America.

But in May, the Ohio Power Siting Board placed 33 conditions on the project -- including prohibiting turbines from running at night between March 1 and Nov. 1. Project developer Lake Erie Energy Development Corp. says the restrictions may kill the demonstration project.

In its written order, the siting board said that since the ultimate goal of the Icebreaker project is to assess whether larger-scale wind projects are viable in Lake Erie and other Great Lakes, it is prudent to proceed with necessary caution.

One issue of concern for the siting board was the collision of bats, water fowl and migrating birds into the turbines.

It is expected that most birds, when migrating south in the fall and north in the spring, will fly above the rotorswept zone of the turbines, the order states, referring to the total area through which turbine blades spin. Those birds flying through the rotorswept zone will experience collision, attraction, and avoidance associated with the turbines.

Environmental groups and a labor union are among those appealing the boards decision.

The Ohio Siting Power Board under Randazzo was criticized for delaying solar projects in Hardin County and near Cincinnati. In April, issues Randazzo had with the solar projects were resolved and both were given the OK to go forward.

House Bill 6

In addition to bailing out the two Ohio nuclear plants, HB 6 gutted a 2008 law requiring renewable energy and energy efficiency standards the legislature passed over a decade ago.

Senate Bill 221, which became law in 2008, required that 25% of electricity in 2025 be generated from alternative energy sources. It also required utilities to implement energy efficiency programs to reduce energy use from 2009 to 2025.

As PUCO chair, Randazzo didnt take a position on House Bill 6. But he testified on the legislation as an interested party that would be affected by the legislation.

He criticized 2008s SB 221 as not reflecting todays energy reality, with fracking providing abundant sources of natural gas, and that compliance to the standards were costing Ohio energy consumers.

This cost began to hit electric bills as Ohio citizens were dealing with the financial stress which started with the collapse of the housing market and continued through the Great Recession, he said in prepared remarks.

Randazzo didnt mention the environmental concerns that drove the state to pass the standards in the first place.

Belz, the Ohio Consumers Power Alliance director, said that with Randazzo as head of PUCO and the siting board, it will be impossible for Ohioans to have a conversation about energy and what sources it should come from.

We need to have a large conversation about energy policy in the state, she said.

SamRandazzo.com includes a form that sends a message to DeWines office, which says in part: You claim youre for an all-of-the-above energy policy for Ohio, but clearly Sam Randazzo is NOT in agreement... He is biased against clean energy and his bias is costing Ohio jobs, tax revenue and a healthier future for Ohio children.

Ohioans are demanding a fresh start, text on the site reads. Its time to clean house! Sam Randazzo is standing in the way of a better Ohio. He must be replaced.

More coverage:

Why isnt FirstEnergy charged (yet) in the Ohio nuclear bailout bribery case?

Lake Erie wind turbines approved -- but cant operate at night, which could sink project

Governor DeWine appoints utility lawyer Sam Randazzo to chair PUCO
A former student of Saint Marys Hall, a well-regarded private school on the Northeast Side, has sued the nonprofit corporation that operates the coed institution, claiming numerous other pupils bullied and sexually harassed her there.

The young woman, identified in court papers only as Jane Doe, also claims she was sexually assaulted, but her suit provided no details of that allegation.

The lawsuit, which also names former head of school Jonathan Eades as a defendant, accuses Saint Marys Hall of not investigating her complaints. It also accuses the college prep school and Eades of failing to properly protect and supervise her.

The former student attended during her middle and high school years, said her attorney, Jason Itkin. She is seeking more than $1 million in damages and asking for a jury trial.

Itkin said the alleged incidents occurred within the past decade during a period of time lasting more than five years, but less than 10 years.

The lawsuit was filed in Houston on Tuesday in state district court.

Eades, who left Saint Marys Hall on June 30 to lead the private Kinkaid School in Houston, said he worked hard to provide a safe school environment during his time in San Antonio.

He was at Saint Marys Hall for 14 years, serving as its head of school for nine of those years.

I care deeply about Saint Marys Hall students, past and present, Eades said Wednesday in an email. During my time at Saint Marys Hall, I worked diligently to foster a culture of trust, respect and accountability. Beyond that, because this is now a legal matter, it would not be appropriate to comment further.

Courtesy photo / Saint Marys Hall

The private school has almost 900 students and educates children of all ages, ranging from 3-year-olds in prekindergarten up to seniors in high school. More than 200 faculty members and staffers work there.

In a letter to the community late Wednesday, current school leader Len Miller said Saint Marys Hall was tremendously saddened by the accusations but added that the school hasnt been provided any information on the plaintiffs identity and has a policy of not discussing pending litigation.

We take very seriously all reports by students or any other member of the Saint Marys Hall community, Millers letter stated. Saint Marys Hall has robust policies and procedures in place for responding to reports of student or employee misconduct, bullying, social aggression, intolerance and sexual assault toward members of the SMH community.

The school has formed an equity task force and is making changes through policy review, additional training for faculty and staff and continuing conversations with the community, he added.

Jane Does lawsuit claims Eades knew what she experienced, but accuses him of doing nothing to address those problems and alleges he didnt make any changes to prevent future occurrences.

On ExpressNews.com: University of Texas at San Antonio releases new sex assault allegations

The school never conducted a formal inquiry or investigation into the behavior of the students or faculty in their behavior towards Jane Doe before or after gaining knowledge of the egregious incidents, the lawsuit states. In fact, (the) defendants blatantly continued to allow Jane Doe to endure both verbal and sexual harassment during her time as an SMH student even after her numerous complaints to SMHs administrators.

According to the lawsuit, she missed class because of the bullying and harassment. Her mental health also suffered and she continues to seek professional help, the petition alleges.

The lawsuit pointed to an Instagram page devoted to anonymous complaints about the experiences of female students at the school. One commentator described a weekly ritual known as slap ass Friday that she said occurred when she attended middle school. Another claimed a staff member touched girls inappropriately.

Peggy OHare covers demographics, the census and occasionally crime and general assignment stories in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Peggy, become a subscriber. pohare@express-news.net | Twitter: @Peggy_OHare
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 13:44:23|Editor: huaxia

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WELLINGTON, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand reported 14 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, including one in managed isolation and quarantine facilities, and 13 cases of community transmission were related to Tuesday's four cases from an Auckland family.

The case in managed isolation was a woman in her 30s who arrived in New Zealand from the Philippines on Aug. 8. She has been in managed isolation at the Distinction Hotel and tested positive around day 3 of her stay, Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield told a press conference.

The 13 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the community were all in Auckland and are all linked to the four people from the same family in Auckland previously reported, Bloomfield said.

The 14 cases have brought the total number of active cases in New Zealand to 36, 17 of which are linked to the recent outbreak, he said.

The country's total number of confirmed cases reached 1,238, which is the number reported to the World Health Organization.

Auckland resumed COVID-19 Alert Level 3 at noon on Wednesday for three days, with the rest of the country going to Level 2, after 102 days without community transmission in the country.

The government will make decisions and inform people in advance of lockdown finishing at Friday midnight, said Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Enditem
Employees in scrubs talk next to the ambulance entrance at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Washington state, on Jan. 21, 2020. (Lindsey Wasson/Reuters)

Around 3 Percent of COVID-19 Deaths Involve Factors Like Poisoning, Car Accidents: CDC

Thousands of Americans who died due to COVID-19 had a range of adverse events listed on death certificates that seem far-removed from the disease like contact with venomous animals and plants and air and space transport accidents, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The agencys most recent provisional death count figures, updated on Aug. 12 and covering from Aug. 8 all the way back to the first known cases of the CCP virus in the United States, show a total of 145,378 COVID-19 deaths.

With respect to 6 percent of these fatalities, COVID-19 is the only cause mentioned. The CDC bases its classification on information contained in death certificates.

For deaths with conditions or causes in addition to COVID-19, on average, there were 2.6 additional conditions or causes per death, the agency said in an explanatory note.

In its report, the CDC also provides a list of health conditions and contributing causes mentioned on death certificates in conjunction with deaths involving COVID-19. Also known as comorbidities, the contributing factors or conditions include a category called intentional and unintentional injury, poisoning and other adverse events. They were cited in 4,401 cases, or around 3 percent, of the total COVID-19 deaths.

The agency uses International Classification of Diseases codes to specify comorbidities, which include code X72, Intentional self-harm by handgun discharge, code T63, Toxic effect of contact with venomous animals, and code V95, Helicopter accident injuring occupant.

From looking at some of these records, it seems that these are largely cases where someone hospitalized with a non-fatal injury has contracted COVID19 while in the hospital and subsequently died, Jeff Lancashire, a spokesman for the CDCs National Center for Health Statistics, told Just the News.

A CDC-endorsed instructional document (pdf) guides medical professionals on how to determine whether a factor in a COVID-19 death should go in Part I of the certificate, which is the direct cause of death, or in Part II, which calls for other significant conditions contributing to death but not resulting in the underlying cause. The underlying cause of death, or UCOD, is defined as the disease or injury that initiated the events resulting in death.

If COVID19 played a role in the death, this condition should be specified on the death certificate, the guidance states. In many cases, it is likely that it will be the UCOD, as it can lead to various life-threatening conditions, such as pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

The guidance states that, In cases where a definite diagnosis of COVID19 cannot be made, but it is suspected or likely (e.g., the circumstances are compelling within a reasonable degree of certainty), it is acceptable to report COVID19 on a death certificate as probable or presumed. In these instances, certifiers should use their best clinical judgement in determining if a COVID19 infection was likely.

Some have argued that the death counts may be inflated because of a generous definition of a COVID-19 fatality.

In April, White House Coronavirus Task Force Member Dr. Deborah Birx told a press conference that in the United States, weve taken a very liberal approach to mortality, adding, There are other countries that if you had a pre-existing condition, and lets say the virus caused you to go to the I.C.U., and then have a heart or kidney problemsome countries are recording that as a heart issue or a kidney issue and not a COVID-19 death.

Some public health experts insist Americas true COVID-19 death toll is undercounted because statistics dont capture people dying at their houses or in nursing homes without ever being tested.

Dr. Alicia Skarimbas, a physician in New Jersey who has treated numerous COVID-19 patients, told the New York Times in May that, especially in the early days of the pandemic, some of her colleagues might list the cause of death as respiratory failure in patients believed to be sick with COVID-19 but who were not tested for the virus.

I have yet to have anyone infected with COVID die from anything else, she said in a separate interview, arguing that it is ludicrous to try and separate out the cause of death in COVID-19 patients.

A recent pre-print study not yet peer-reviewed, published in MedRxiv, examined the role of comorbidities in COVID-19 positive patients and found that causes of death were directly related to COVID-19 in the majority of decedents, while they appear not to be an immediate result of preexisting health conditions and comorbidities. These findings speak in support of COVID-19 as a decisive factor in the death of people with pre-existing chronic health conditions.

Meanwhile, the United States on Wednesday reported its highest single-day COVID-19 death toll since May, with nearly 1,500 COVID-19 deaths across the nation.

Wednesdays announcement pushed the countrys total death toll since the start of the pandemic to 166,027.
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) is focusing on mitigating the cocoa swollen shoot disease in its research activities, Food and Agriculture Minister, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto announced on Wednesday.



Additionally, it is also developing hybrid seedlings with relatively high resistance to the disease.



The measures are part of a pilot rehabilitation project by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to ensure production of high yielding cocoa seedlings.



The Minister announced the measures in response to an urgent question on the floor of the House, asked by Alhaji A B A Fuseini, MP for Sagnarigu, on the measures the Ministry is putting in place to ensure the production of high yielding cocoa seedlings for the cocoa industry, having regard to the fluctuation in the levels of cocoa production over the past five years.



Cocoa has been the mainstay of Ghanas economy until the discovery of oil in recent times.



However, there has been a systematic decline in the countrys production in the last five years, and the Minister admitted that available data indicate that the decline started ten years ago.



Dr Akoto said the cocoa swollen shoot disease (CSSVD) is a prominent factor that has contributed to the decline in production levels.



He spoke of numerous activities being undertaken jointly by the Cocoa Health and Extension Division and the Seed Production Division of the Ghana COCOBOD to revive cocoa plantations, which include the replanting of swollen shoot treated farms and rehabilitation of overaged and moribund farms.



Burnt farms are also being replanted; new farms being established and the capacity of underutilized farms are being maximized.



From 2014 to date, a total of more than 247.66 million cocoa seedlings have been produced and distributed to farmers.



However, nationally 315,886 hectares out of a total of 1.9 million hectares of cocoa was lost to CCSVD, and production was seriously affected, especially in the Western Region, which is a major cocoa producing area.



After some interventions, between 2017 and 2019, more than 144.421 million seedlings were produced and distributed to farmers, of which a significant portion was utilised in the Western North and Eastern Regions for the pilot rehabilitation programme financed by COCOBOD.



Dr Akoto said the government subsequently secured US$600 million from the African Development Bank to scale up the pilot programme, of which US$140 million is devoted to the treatment of CSSVD.



Under the administration of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the Minister said the Government had taken some initiatives to modernize and transform the agricultural sector, with the cocoa sector as a major priority.



Some of the initiatives are the modernization of the production of healthy cocoa seedlings for the field with the adoption of the use of galvanized poles and treated lumber for nursery structures instead of bamboo.



There is the replacement of disposable single-use polybags with more durable and environmentally ultra-violet protected receptacles as well as reducing costs by using cocopeat (soil-less) instead of topsoil; and provision of on-farm water sources through the sinking of boreholes and other irrigation facilities in water-deprived areas.



Also, Mr Speaker, recommended agronomic practices are being followed to ensure the survival of seedlings in the field. These practices are already yielding good results with the ongoing pilot rehabilitation programme



They will be strictly followed as we commence the National Rehabilitation Programme, the Minister said.

Source: GNA









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Chennai, Aug 12 (IANS) Two postal parcels from Belgium and Netherlands containing narcotics were detained by Customs, said Commissioner of Customs, Chennai International Airport on Wednesday.

In a statement issued here the Customs said two postal parcels from Belgium and Netherlands containing a total of 5,210 ecstasy pills, 100 grams of MDMA crystals and one gram of methaqualone valued at Rs 1.65 crore.
The Supreme Court, on Thursday, declined to stay a September 2019 decision by Rajasthan assembly Speaker, CP Joshi allowing merger of six MLAs elected on Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket with the Congress party.

A three-judge bench headed by justice Arun Mishra said that the issue regarding the validity of the Speakers decision is pending before a single-judge bench of Rajasthan high court and declined to grant interim relief to petitioner BJP MLA Madan Dilawar who sought disqualification of the six BSP MLAs for defection.

We are not inclined to grant any interim relief, the bench which also comprised justices BR Gavai and Krishna Murari said.

The top court adjourned the case for Monday after senior counsel Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Speaker said that the agenda for the Rajasthan assembly will be decided at 10 am on Friday and also submitted that the opposition is free to move a no confidence motion.

They have not moved a no-confidence motion. They can do that anytime, he said.

Senior counsel Harish Salve, appearing for Dilawar, asked for a stay on the Speakers decision stating that if a no confidence emotion ensues, then BSP and Congress party will issue whips and there will be uncertainty on whose whip will hold good with respect to the six MLAs.

If the Speakers decision is later struck down by high court, then the six MLAs, in order to escape disqualification, can claim that the Speakers decision was in force at the time when they voted (against the BSP party whip), Salve said.

Court cannot pass orders based on what may or may not happen in the house, Sibal responded.

Madan Dilawar had moved the Rajasthan high court on July 28 seeking disqualification of the six former BSP MLAS on the ground of defection under 10th Schedule of the Constitution.

The six MLAs, Lakhan Singh, Rajender Singh Guda, Deepchand, Joginder Singh Avana, Sandeep Kumar and Wajib Ali were elected to the Rajasthan assembly in December 2018 on BSP ticket. They later submitted a joint application to the Speaker intimating him of their unanimous decision to merge with the Congress party on September 16, 2019. The request was approved by the Speaker on September 18, 2019.

This was challenged by Dilawar who filed a plea before Speaker in March 2020 for disqualification of the six MLAs on the ground of defection.

The 10th Schedule of the Constitution of India contains provisions relating to disqualification of lawmakers for defection. One of the grounds for disqualification as per paragraph 2 of the 10th Schedule is voluntarily giving up membership of the political party on whose ticket the lawmaker was elected.

The Speaker rejected Dilawars plea on July 22 after which he approached the high court challenging the decision. A single-judge bench of the high court issued notice to the Speaker on July 30 but declined to stay the decision. A division bench of the high court also declined to grant stay instead requesting the single judge bench to hear and dispose of the matter within one day.

Dilawar then approached Supreme Court seeking a stay on the Speakers order.

When the Rajasthan high court is hearing the matter, how can we pass an order, justice Mishra asked Salve.

The hearing of the case will continue before the Rajasthan high court on Friday.
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Srishti Agnihotri

The recent judgment of the Supreme Court on the property rights of women in Vineeta Sharma vs Rakesh Sharma and Ors, has understandably caused a stir. The judgment, which has been referred to as landmark does settle an important legal question, which has long been in need of settling. However, effusive praise of the judgment as a victory for womens right to equality, may have to be tempered with an understanding of how and whether the court engages with questions of equality, and what the court ultimately holds.

The apex court while interpreting Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, as amended in 2005, held that the Section confers the status of a coparcener on a daughter born before or after the amendment, in the same manner as a son, with the same rights and liabilities. It also held that a daughter born earlier than September 9, 2005, may claim these rights, with effect from the date of the amendment, and it did not matter if the father was alive on such date. The court gives the provision, what it calls, a retroactive status. That is, the provision operates in future, however, its operation is based upon the character or status that arose earlier.

Matters where any alienation, testamentary disposition (or a disposition of property by a will), or partition had already taken place before December 20, 2004, are to be left untouched, as per the provisions of the Section itself.

Ratna Kapur (in Subversive Sites: Feminist Engagements with law in India), talks of how rules of inheritance are shaped by patrilineal assumptions of property descending through the male line. The Hindu Succession Act, 1956, as originally enacted went some way towards correcting the injustices in Hindu law and gave women the status of absolute ownership of their property. Women were also given equal rights to their fathers self-acquired property,

There remained a disparity as far as ancestral/ coparcenary property was concerned. The Hindu Succession Act, 1956, as originally enacted, did not recognise women as coparceners. The amendment Act of 2005 in its statement of objects and reasons, stated that the law contributed to gender discrimination, oppression, and negation of the daughters constitutional right to equality. It was with this in mind that Section 6 was amended to state that on and from the commencement of the amendment Act, the daughter of a coparcener shall (a) by birth become a coparcener in her own right in the same manner as the son, and have the same rights and liabilities in the property as that of a son.

In October 2015, the Supreme Court in Prakash vs Phulvati, held that the provision was prospective, in that the right conferred on a daughter of a coparcener is on and from the commencement of Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005. The court did not accept the argument that the amendment was a beneficial legislation and rooted its interpretation in the text and plain meaning of the statute.

In Danamma vs Aman (2018), the Supreme Court made observations that were in conflict with Prakash v. Phulvati. This led to a reference to a three-judge bench, and ultimately the Vineeta Sharma judgment.

The Vineeta Sharma judgment deals largely with the historical background of Hindu law, the meaning of a joint family or a coparcenary property, and the objectives behind the 2005 amendment. It roots its decision in two factors: One, the rights of daughters, and, two, that the status of a coparcener begins at birth.

According to the apex court, whether the father or any other coparcener died before the 2005 amendment is immaterial, because coparcenary rights accrue from birth. The court finds that this aspect was not brought before it in Prakash v. Phulvati, and uses this as a basis to overrule it.

On the question of the rights of daughters, the judgment does speak of the objective of the amendment Act, and of goal of gender justice as constitutionally envisaged, however, there is no meaningful engagement with the idea of equality. In the very next line, the court quotes a judgment which says A son is a son until he gets a wife. A daughter is a daughter throughout her life. This rhetoric, while employed for laudable reasons, is not the anthem of equality we are hailing it to be.
The federal government should continue to fully fund the national guard, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a letter to President Donald Trump sent Wednesday.

The presidents recent executive order extended the deployment of National Guard troops to help respond to the coronavirus crisis, but took federal funding in most states from 100% down to 75%, leaving states to pick up the rest of the tab starting Aug. 21 and going through the end of the year.

Michigan is among the states that will need to start chipping in 25% at the same time the state is staring down a budget shortfall caused by decreased revenues due to the pandemic.

States across the country are already struggling with balancing their budgets to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic while continuing to provide essential services to their citizens. Michigan needs the president to fully fund the use of the Michigan National Guard so our guardsmen and women can continue to provide crucial parts of our emergency response, like conducting testing and screening, distributing personal protective equipment, and assisting at food banks across the state, Whitmer said in a press release.

The presidents decision to grant full federal funding would directly impact our states ability to re-engage our economy while continuing to keep our communities, seniors, and vulnerable populations safe.

Michigans congressional delegation has also asked for full funding in a letter to U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Homeland Security Acting Secretary Chad Wolf.

Michigan relies on the National Guard for vital assistance, from coordinating PPE deliveries to enhancing testing capabilities, the letter reads.

The federal cost sharing reduction from 100% to 75% could have a detrimental impact on Michigans ability to respond to any emerging coronavirus threats, as our state has relied heavily on the National Guard to fight COVID-19.

In recent months the Michigan Army National Guard has operated mobile COVID-19 testing sites, especially in areas of the state where more testing is needed.
New Delhi, Aug 13 : A committee of seven Supreme Court judges is inclined to begin physical hearings in at least two or three of its 15 benches as early as next week, said sources familiar with the development. The top court could also begin hearings with some additional safety measures.

According to Shivaji M. Jadhav, president of Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association (SCAORA), the committee of seven judges, constituted by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde, met the Bar leaders on Tuesday and "is seriously considering to start at least 2-3 physical courts from the next week". Since March 25, the top court has been taking up matters through video conferencing and even after the restrictions were relaxed, it has decided to continue to take up cases virtually.

The seven-judge committee headed by Justice N.V. Ramana, in the last week of July, had told the Bar leaders that it is not inclined to resume open court hearing for the time being, and told them the committee will meet again after two weeks to examine the matter.

"I may also add that the physical courts are in addition to virtual courts and people would have the option to do virtual hearing as well. Matters from the final hearing list published before the lockdown would be listed before the physical courts. A final decision would be taken by the Hon'ble Judges committee in a day or two", said Jadhav. He added that in the meantime the Registry would take necessary steps to prepare the courts for physical functioning.

The judges' committee met Bar leaders such as Bar Council Chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra, Supreme Court Bar Association President Dushyant Dave and Shivaji Jadhav to discuss the process to resume physical hearings in the apex court. In June and July, the judges' committee did not agree to the demands of various lawyers' associations to resume regular courtroom hearings, and instead said that it will review it later.

Justices Ramana, Arun Mishra, Rohinton Nariman, U.U. Lalit, A.M. Khanwilkar, D.Y. Chandrachud and L.N. Rao are on the committee set up by the Chief Justice to examine the issues connected with the resumption of physical hearings.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 14:46:18|Editor: huaxia

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TALUQAN, Afghanistan, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Unknown armed men set ablaze a school in Taluqan city, the capital of northern Takhar province on Thursday, said a local official on the condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, provincial police spokesman Abdul Khalil Asir confirmed the incident to Xinhua, said "the second floor of Abu Osman Taluqani school was completely burned due to unknown reason at 03:30 a.m. local time today."

Asir also said that investigation had been initiated to determine the reason for the incident.

Three other schools have been set on fire in Takhar province over the past couple of years. The locals and officials have blamed Taliban militants for burning the schools.

The armed group, which outlawed schools for girls and modern education for boys during its six-year reign, collapsed in 2001. It has rejected its involvement in the school burning. Enditem
Porter Ranch gas leak. A massive well of natural gas continues to leak at the Southern California Gas Company's Alison Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility in the hills above the community of Porter Ranch. The gas has caused numerous health concerns including headaches, nausea, and dizziness.

The Trump administration on Thursday weakened Obama-era regulations designed to reduce climate-warming methane gas emissions from oil and gas fields.

The Environmental Protection Agency's new rule, which has been in progress for over a year, would eliminate federal requirements for oil and gas companies to monitor and repair methane leaks from pipelines, storage facilities and wells.

EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced the rollback to the 2016 rule at an event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, home to the country's booming natural gas reservoirs and a key battleground state for the November presidential election.

"EPA has been working hard to fulfill President Trump's promise to cut burdensome and ineffective regulations for our domestic energy industry," Wheeler said. "Regulatory burdens put into place by the Obama-Biden Administration fell heavily on small and medium-sized energy businesses."

Environmental groups and lawmakers swiftly condemned the administration's ruling and the Natural Resources Defense Council said Thursday that it will put up a legal fight.

"The Trump EPA is giving the oil and gas industry a green light to keep leaking enormous amounts of climate pollution into the air," said David Doniger, head of climate policy at the NRDC. "We will see EPA in court."

The methane pollution reversal is latest move by the administration to weaken a slew of environmental regulations, a longtime effort that has not been hindered by the coronavirus pandemic.

In July, the administration finalized a rollback to the country's landmark environmental law, the National Environmental Policy Act, in order to speed approval for federal projects like pipelines, highways and power plants. The administration has weakened more than 100 environmental rules and regulations since 2016.

Scientists say that rising levels of methane, a greenhouse gas that is 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide, is a main driver of climate change. Methane accounts for 10% of the country's greenhouse gas emissions. Globally, 60% of methane emissions are from human activity.

"As with Covid-19, the Trump administration is ignoring science to gut oil and gas methane pollution safeguards," said Lauren Pagel, policy director at Earthworks, which tracks methane leaks at oil and gas sites. "But as with Americans dying from the Covid crisis, optical gas imaging shows the oil and gas methane pollution that is fueling the climate crisis."

The sustained increase in methane, combined with other greenhouse gases, could heat up the atmosphere by 3 to 4 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, well above the Paris climate accord goal to keep global warming below 2 degrees.

"The Trump administration's rush to wreck even modest methane regulations is a transparent political move, a favor for some of his biggest political backers," said Charlie Cray, a researcher at Greenpeace U.S.A., an environmental non-profit.

"We need a president willing to stand up to fossil fuel companies, not a depraved climate denier and industry toady intent on rolling back restrictions on one of the primary drivers of climate change," Cray added.

The EPA will still require leak monitoring but not directly for methane gas. The agency will continue to require oil and gas companies monitor and reduce smog-forming compounds at some well sites and during processing, but not pipelines.

Mark W. Menezes, deputy U.S. energy secretary, said in a statement that the administration's ruling provide relief to energy corporations by "reducing the massive cost of complying with unnecessary overregulation" and allow those companies to spend money on creating jobs.

The oil and gas industry is responsible for almost 30% of the country's methane emissions, according to the EPA.

The relaxed regulation is a victory for the oil and gas industry, which has seen a major drop in prices and demand amid an economic downturn, though some big oil and gas companies oppose the rollback measure. Proponents of the rule include smaller oil and gas companies and fossil fuel lobbyists that argue the regulations are too expensive.

Frank Macchiarola, a senior vice president for the American Petroleum Institute, a major fossil fuel lobby, said the company supports the EPA's methane revision: "Our industry continues to drive down methane emissions from operations while meeting America's energy needs every day," he said in a statement.

Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance in Denver, said in a statement that the alliance fully supports the EPA's rule and argued that the changes will still allow for oil and natural gas wells to capture methane emissions.

Some of the larger industry players, including Exxon, BP and Shell, have publicly opposed the rule, citing their own corporate pledges to curb methane leaks and the industry's contribution to climate change.

President Donald Trump's new rule on methane pollution, along with other environmental regulatory rollbacks in the second half of 2020, could be swiftly reversed if former Vice President Joe Biden wins the November presidential election and Democrats win control of the Senate. Biden has vowed to require "aggressive" methane pollution regulations for oil and gas companies.

"To avoid climate catastrophe, we must stop permitting oil and gas production as part of a managed decline of all fossil fuels," Pagel said. "Until then, Trump's rollback increases pressure on both states to act individually, and any future president to take more drastic national measures."

More than 25% of the global warming over the past few decades has been driven by methane gas, with shale gas development in North America causing about one third of the total surge in global methane emissions in the past year, according to Robert Howarth, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Cornell University.

"Unfortunately, methane emissions are increasing rapidly and the oil and gas industry is clearly part of the problem," Howarth said.

"The decision by the Trump administration to rescind regulations on methane emissions is dangerously reckless," he added.
French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed concern about the situation in Belarus in a phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Macron condemned violence against protesters after one man was confirmed dead Wednesday during clashes over Sunday's disputed presidential poll.

Macron told Putin he was "very worried about the situation in Belarus and the violence that citizens have faced during the elections," the Elysee said in a statement.

"He emphasized the need to find again the path of dialogue."

The ex-Soviet state has been wracked by nights of protests since strongman President Alexander Lukashenko was declared the winner of Sunday's disputed election in a landslide victory.

His opponents accuse him of rigging the election against his main rival, massively popular opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who has since fled the country for her safety.

The EU and US have strongly condemned the ensuing crackdown that has seen hundreds detained in often brutal circumstances.

Listen to the people

The Belarusian Investigative Committee said in a statement that a 25-year-old man died after he was detained on Sunday for taking part in illegal protests in the southeastern city of Gomel and sentenced to 10 days in prison.

The United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet on Wednesday added her voice to the growing calls for calm, urging police to refrain from excessive force.

"I remind the Belarusian authorities that the use of force during protests should always be exceptional and a measure of last resort" Bachelet said in a statement, while adding that people's complaints must be heard.

Her comments came as hundreds of women marched in the capital, Minsk, to condemn the violence, holding flowers in the air and chanting slogans.

Russian, Chinese backing

Putin, along with Chinese President Xi Jinping, was one of the few key world leaders to congratulate Lukashenko after the poll.

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Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, dismissed the demonstrators as "people with a criminal past who are now unemployed" and told them to get jobs.

The protest movement arose in support of Tikhanovskaya, a 37-year-old political novice who ran for president after potential opposition candidates, including her husband were jailed.

EU foreign ministers are set to discuss Belarus at an extraordinary meeting on Friday.
This session it is apparent we have a moment again, and that moment is, its time to pass legislative packages that are going to deal with the culture in Springfield, said state Sen. Melinda Bush of Grayslake, who noted how the passage in recent years of ethics laws related to workplace sexual harassment and discrimination grew out of the #MeToo movement. Bush has also previously said Madigan should quit both roles.
South Africa's COVID-19 recovery rate has reached 75.9 percent, with the number of recoveries currently standing at 432,029, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Wednesday.

The minister said earlier in the day that with fewer and fewer daily confirmed cases reported, the country's COVID-19 infection rate appears to be stable.

South Africa recorded a cumulative number of 568,919 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday, the minister said in his daily update.

Of these cases, 2,810 were reported in the past 24 hours, Mkhize said.

For two days, the daily confirmed cases in the country have hovered around 2,000, compared with about 10,000 a week ago.

"Regrettably we report 259 new COVID-19 related deaths: 46 from Eastern Cape, 108 from Gauteng, 74 from KwaZulu Natal, 31 from Western Cape," Mkhize said.

This brought the cumulative total of reported COVID-19 related deaths to 11,010, he said.

The minister cautioned against drawing any conclusions from the significant decline in the daily COVID-19 infection rate.

He urged South Africans to continue observing health regulations such as wearing masks.

South Africa remains the COVID-19 epicenter in Africa, with more than half of the total cases in the continent.

Worldwide, the country ranks the fifth in terms of confirmed cases, after the United States, Brazil, India and Russia.
If theres a more authentically American story than the one of Sen. Kamala Harris, youd have to make it up.

On Tuesday, the California Democrat, the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, became the first woman of color in American history to be named to a presidential ticket. Across the United States, Black women, who saw themselves reflected in Harris eyes, rejoiced.

Im so excited I can hardly talk, former Philadelphia City Council member Marian B. Tasco told The Philadelphia Inquirer. For us to have an African American woman be a candidate for vice president, that is just so exciting for me, having worked so long in the political arena.

Its long past absurd that America stands nearly alone in the industrial world for never having put a woman in the Oval Office  and yes, Clintonistas, I hear you; the popular vote in 2016 said it all. That does not mean Harris joining the 2020 ticket is any less epochal.

Harris, who enjoyed a close relationship with Democratic presidential candidate Joe Bidens late son, Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, survived a culling process that sometimes threatened to be reduced to a mere popularity contest as various contenders waxed and waned.
While he was out of jail on $75,000 bond awaiting trial, Kucharski checked into an addiction treatment center and was residing in a sober living facility. In May 2019, his bond was increased by $25,000 after prosecutors learned that despite a judges mandate that he have no contact with the Dunlap family, a friend of Kucharski reached out to them on his behalf to express his remorse, court records said.
Repeatedly refusing to wear a face mask could lead to a fine of up to 3,200, Boris Johnson announced last night.

At present those who do not cover their faces in shops or on public transport can be ordered to pay a penalty of 100  or 50 if they pay within a fortnight.

But the Prime Minister said those caught without a mask for a second time will now face a fine of 200, with the amount doubling on every repeat offence to a maximum of 3,200.

As part of stricter rules brought in to prevent a second wave of coronavirus, organisers of illegal raves will face fines of up to 10,000. The tough fines will apply to anyone organising unlawful gatherings of more than 30 people.

At the same time, however, the Prime Minister said bowling alleys, skating rinks and casinos would be allowed to open and beauty salons, tattoo studios, spas and barbers can offer close contact services.

Wedding receptions for up to 30 people will resume and indoor performances with socially distanced audiences will recommence.

The Prime Minister said those caught without a mask for a second time will now face a fine of 200, with the amount doubling on every repeat offence to a maximum of 3,200

Mr Johnson said: 'Most people in this country are following the rules and doing their bit to control the virus, but we must remain focused and we cannot be complacent.

'That is why we are strengthening the enforcement powers available to use against those who repeatedly flout the rules.

'At every stage I have said our plan to reopen society and the economy is conditional and that it relies on continued progress against the virus. Today, we are able to announce some further changes which will allow more people to return to work and the public to get back to more of the things they have missed.

'However, as I have always said, we will not hesitate to put on the brakes if required, or to continue to implement local measures to help to control the spread of the virus.' Masks were made compulsory on public transport on June 15 and in shop on June 24.

But it emerged at the weekend that just 33 fines have been issued since June 15. This was despite the fact that police had stopped almost 30,000 people to warn them for not covering their faces.

At present those who do not cover their faces in shops or on public transport can be ordered to pay a penalty of 100  or 50 if they pay within a fortnight (pictured: Yorkshire, August 13)

At present those who do not cover their faces in shops or on public transport can be ordered to pay a penalty of 100  or 50 if they pay within a fortnight (pictured: A commuter on The Underground)

Masks are not compulsory for children under 11, people with breathing difficulties, people with any disability that makes it difficult for them to wear or remove a face covering and those travelling with or assisting somebody who relies on lip reading.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: 'We introduced mandatory face coverings on public transport to protect people and stop coronavirus spreading. I'm grateful to all those who have complied, and of course many people have legitimate reasons not to wear face coverings  but for those who aren't exempt, there is no excuse. That's why we must get tougher on repeat offenders.

3.4m 'have antibodies' More than 3million people in England have had coronavirus  12 times higher than the number of confirmed cases, according to major study. A mass home testing programme, led by Imperial College London, found that just under 6 per cent of the country's population  around 3.4million  had antibodies to Covid-19 by mid-July. This is compared to the Government figure of just over 270,000, who have been officially tested for the virus during the pandemic. Those living in London, working in care homes and healthcare, living in large households and those from minority ethnic groups were most likely to have contracted the virus. More than 100,000 volunteers took part in what was the world's largest home testing programme. It uses a drop of blood to check for antibodies. Advertisement

'This new system will look to ensure everybody who is not exempt wears a face covering on public transport, continuing the public's excellent efforts in helping this country recover.'

Police forces across England and Wales have already stepped up patrols to prevent illegal gatherings in areas of concern  such as Leicester and Greater Manchester  where deployments have sometimes been larger than on New Year's Eve.

Last weekend, West Midlands Police shut down 125 parties and raves and closed a pub as part of action to stop illegal gatherings and anti-social behaviour. Home Secretary Priti Patel said: 'Coronavirus remains a real and present threat to all of us and the majority of the British public are doing the right thing. I will not stand by and see these sacrifices undermined by a small minority of senseless individuals.

'These measures send a clear message  if you don't cooperate with the police and if you put our health at risk, action will follow.'

n Wearing face coverings in public could help cut the number of Covid-19 deaths by 5 per cent, researchers have revealed.

Those who use even a simple cloth to shield their nose and mouth can help significantly reduce the number of deaths.

Scientists say if this was combined with handing out surgical masks to the elderly and those with symptoms, the effect could be doubled.

The study, by scientists from the Broad Institute in Massachusetts and the National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan, concluded the adoption of universal face coverings provided a 'considerable reduction' in total deaths. Surgical masks are thought to be three times more effective than homemade masks.

NHS waiting times hit a record high Coronavirus has taken a wrecking ball to NHS waiting times with record numbers facing delays for routine treatments, figures show. The number of people waiting longer than 18 weeks for planned operations and treatments was more than 1.85million in June, the highest since records began in December 2007. More than 50,000 have been waiting for more than a year, compared to 1,613 in February. Cancer referrals are also down by a fifth on last year. Only 48 people were treated on time in England compared to more than a thousand a month last year, NHS England figures reveal. Hospitals have been urged to try to catch up on the backlog during the summer when virus cases are lower. Professor Neil Mortensen, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said: Covid has taken a wrecking ball to waiting time targets. Each of these numbers represents another patient waiting in need, potentially in pain. This week Boris Johnson announced NHS trusts in England will get 300million to upgrade facilities ahead of the winter to help maintain essential services and reduce the risk of Covid-19 infection. Advertisement

France air bridge axed from SUNDAY: Holiday chaos for 400,000 Brits as they are told they will have to quarantine for two weeks amid surge of Covid cases  with visitors to Holland, Malta and parts of the Caribbean also affected

UK Government has placed quarantine on France set to come in at 4am Sunday

A review of the UK's quarantine rules expected to be completed later today

France expected to be kept on the exemption list despite mounting Covid cases

Netherlands and Malta are considered more at risk of being subject to the rules

France was added to the UK's quarantine list today in a savage blow to tens of thousands of British holidaymakers.

After a week of speculation ministers acted on a worsening coronavirus situation across the Channel, ministers ordered travellers returning from the popular destination to isolate for 14 days.

The quarantine is set to come in at 4am on Sunday  and with an estimated British 500,000 holidaymakers in France, a weekend of chaos looms.

France recorded 2,669 new cases of coronavirus today, up from 2,524 on Wednesday. It is a record figure for the nation since it came out of lockdown.

The move came after Boris Johnson said the UK would be 'ruthless' when it came to travel quarantine even with its 'closest and dearest friends'.

'We have got to be absolutely ruthless about this, even with our closest and dearest friends and partners. I think everybody understands that,' Mr Johnson told reporters as he visited Northern Ireland today.

'We will be looking at the data a bit later on this afternoon - looking exactly where France and other countries are getting to.

'We can't be remotely complacent about our own situation. Everybody understands that in a pandemic you don't allow our population to be reinfected or the disease to come back in.

'That is why the quarantine measures are very important and we have to apply them in very strict way.'

The review of the rules today saw the Netherlands, Monaco and Malta added to the quarantine list - and Portugal remains on it, along with Spain.

The Turks and Caicos Islands and Aruba in the Caribbean have also lost their places.

The Prime Minister spoke as he visited Northern Ireland this afternoon ahead of an expected decision on which nations will be placed on the restricted travel list

Pictured: A graph showing the countries from which travellers arriving in the UK are currently exempt from the 14-day coronavirus quarantine, and the number of Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people in each country. Speculation is mounting that France could be removed from the list of exempt countries, but there a number of others that have higher or similar figures

Speculation has been mounting about quarantine exemptions being scrapped as infections rise across much of Europe.

Hundreds of thousands of Britons are either on holiday in France or planning to go there, but yesterday it recorded more than 2,500 cases - a record since lockdown was eased.

The country appears to be perilously close to the yardstick of 20 cases per 100,000 population in a seven-day period.

But ministers are believed to be prepared to hold off on restrictions when changes are announced today, with the situation kept under close observation.

The quarantine list already includes Spain and Portugal. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not believed to have signed off on the adjustments yet.

Travellers are expected to be given around 30 hours notice of any changes coming into force, so they can make new arrangements if required.

Hundreds of thousands of Britons are either on holiday in France or planning to go there, but yesterday it recorded more than 2,500 cases - a record since lockdown was eased. Pictured, Cergy-Pontoise, north west of Paris

The Netherlands (23.1 per 100,000), Gibraltar (35.6), Monaco (38.2), Malta (46.7), San Marino (53.0), the Faroe Islands (198.5), Turks and Caicos (278.9) and Aruba (547.9) all have higher rates of new cases per 100,000 than France.

Those on the list with a slightly lower rate than France are Denmark (15.3 per 100,000), Iceland (14.7), the Czech Republic (14.0), Switzerland (13.3) and Poland (12.7).

All the above have now overtaken Portugal's rate of 12.4 new cases per 100,000 people in the last seven days, but despite this, Portugal remains on the list of countries from which all arrivals to the UK, including those returning from holiday, must quarantine for two weeks.

Downing Street reminded potential holidaymakers this week that 'there is no risk free way of travelling overseas' with Boris Johnson adding that he 'would not hesitate' to bring in travel restrictions for other countries.

The latest data on coronavirus cases on foreign soil is being analysed by the Government's Joint Biosecurity Centre (JCB), which reports to Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

Britons in France and other countries could be forced to make a dash home or risk being forced to quarantine on their return to the UK, should the government decide to remove more countries from the list.

Despite Portugal having a lower rate of new Covid-19 cases in the past seven days than a number of countries on the government's exemption list, travellers entering the UK from Portugal are required to self-isolate on their arrival in the UK. Pictured: Beachgoers crowd Praia da Duquesa, in Cascais, Portugal. on August 09, 2020 as tourism slowly returns

UK Ministers are believed to be planning new measures for a swathe of countries amid a surge in European coronavirus cases

The Netherlands is among the countries exempt from the UK's quarantine rules, but saw a rate of 23.1 new cases per 100,000 people in the last week- a higher rate than France

On Tuesday, the UK updated its travel 'green list', but did not take Portugal off the quarantine list, in a blow to the country's economy that benefits greatly from tourism from the UK.

The UK Government was warned that cases in Portugal had not fallen fast enough to be able to safely add the country to the 'green list'.

On Monday, France reported the first significant rise in the number of coronavirus patients in hospital since the lockdown was lifted, although it fell again on Tuesday before rising two days on the bounce.

France's prime minister Jean Castex (pictured at a hospital in Montpellier this week) has told his citizens to 'pull themselves together' amid a fresh surge in coronavirus cases in France

Earlier this week France's prime minister told his citizens to 'pull themselves together' amid a fresh surge in coronavirus cases.

Jean Castex said the public was becoming careless and raised the spectre of a second lockdown after a rise of more than 10,000 cases in the last week.

'If we don't act collectively, we expose ourselves to the heightened risk that the rebound in the epidemic becomes hard to control,' Castex said on a visit to an intensive care ward in the South of France.

Some parts of France have tightened their mask rules despite the summer heatwave, with police now set to ramp up checks on face coverings - while neighbouring Belgium has today made masks compulsory in all public spaces including outdoors.
Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, is among hundreds of prisoners calling for early release due to coronavirus: REUTERS

Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's former personal attorney, has released a foreword to his new book in which he calls the president "a fraud, a bully, a racist, a predator, a con man," and again accuses him of cheating in the 2016 presidential election.

Cohen also makes reference to "golden showers in a sex club in Vegas," without specifically stating that the Mr Trump took part in such acts, and "catch and kill conspiracies to silence Trump's clandestine lovers."

"Apart from his wife and children, I knew Trump better than anyone else did," Cohen writes in the foreword to the book 'Disloyal,' which was teased online on Thursday.

"In some ways, I knew him better than even his family did because I bore witness to the real man, in strip clubs, shady business meetings, and in the unguarded moments when he revealed who he really was: a cheat, a liar, a fraud, a bully, a racist, a predator, a con man," he adds.

The Independent contacted Donald Trump's campaign for comment.

While the book itself has not yet been released, the foreword contains several damning allegations against the president. Mr Cohen claims that his former boss "had colluded with the Russians, but not in the sophisticated ways imagined by his detractors."

"Trump had cheated in the election, with Russian connivance, as you will discover in these pages, because doing anything  and I mean anything  to 'win' has always been his business model and way of life," he wrote.

"Trump had also continued to pursue a major real estate deal in Moscow during the campaign. He attempted to insinuate himself into the world of President Vladimir Putin and his coterie of corrupt billionaire oligarchs. I know because I personally ran that deal and kept Trump and his children closely informed of all updates," he wrote.

Cohen also references sex acts in the release but does not say whether Mr Trump took part.

Story continues

"From golden showers in a sex club in Vegas, to tax fraud, to deals with corrupt officials from the former Soviet Union, to catch and kill conspiracies to silence Trumps clandestine lovers, I wasnt just a witness to the presidents riseI was an active and eager participant."

Cohen, who previously described himself as Mr Trumps personal fixer, was handed a three-year prison sentence for lying to Congress and campaign finance violations involving hush money to women who have claimed to have had affairs with the president. He was released from jail in May this year to serve the rest of his sentence at home as part of measures designed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

He was briefly sent back to jail for allegedly violating the terms of his release by writing a tell-all book, before a judge ruled that was "retaliatory" and therefore illegal.

Trump's attorneys had tried to block the release of the book, claiming Cohen had signed a non-disclosure agreement that prohibited him from talking about his work with the now-president.

While he was behind bars, Cohen  while seeking home detention  wrote that he was an enabler for the Trump Organisation, lured by its magnetic, charismatic and powerful figurehead.

In a six-page sworn affirmation filed in a US District Court in December, Cohen said that everything he thought was important and valuable has been painfully revealed as derived from a Faustian bargain in which he cast the president as the Devil, to whom Cohen sold his soul and foolishly frittered away his integrity on behalf of the president.

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Trump made racist remarks about Obama and Mandela, book claims
In the South, her amazing, very American story, could find some resistance from those who look askance at it, even if they never verbalize it. The southern states, with the notable exceptions of Texas and Florida, have the fewest immigrants and their residents are the most opposed to interracial marriage.

Most southern states arent swing states, but it seems to me that while voting matters most within states, the amorphous feelings people get about a candidate, positive or negative, transcend states and wash over the whole country.

As with many mixed-race people in America, Harris has made identity choices that link her to particular parts of herself, finding a way to make a oneness of twoness.

Harris chose to attend a historically black university and enter a prominent and powerful Black sorority. This positioning should place her in good stead with many Black people, particularly women. But that must be weighed against the fact that some other Black people, particularly Black men, still have real reservations over her record as a prosecutor.

This is something to keep an eye on. Although Black people as a group consistently vote overwhelmingly for Democratic presidential candidates, a gap between Black men and Black women has been growing in recent elections. According to exit polls in 2008, that gap was just one percentage point. In 2012, it was nine percentage points. In 2016 it was 12 percentage points.

Over that period, Black womens support of the Democratic candidate held relatively steady, from 96 to 94 percent. It was the support of Black men that fell appreciably.

Harriss record in the Senate has been exemplary, including on the issue of social justice. If she were just being judged by this chapter of her life and not the previous, this would all be a nonissue. But, of course we know, that will not be the case.
Nokia 2.4 is expected to launch sometime in September as the new budget phone in the companys lineup taking over the reins from Nokia 2.3

The Nokia 2.4 is expected to launch sometime in September as the new budget phone in the companys lineup, taking over the reins from Nokia 2.3. As per a new report, the HMD Global backed company is looking to announce the Nokia 2.3 in two storage variants and in three colours to choose from. Apart from this entry-level phone, Nokia 6.3, Nokia 7.3. and Nokia 9.3 PureView is also expected to be announced in the coming months.

According to a report by NokiaPowerUser, HMD Global is planning to introduce two variants of the Nokia 2.4-- one with 2GB RAM and 32GB storage and the other with 3GB RAM and 64GB storage. Notably, the only other phone in the Nokia 2 series that got a 3GB RAM variant was the Nokia 2.2 and all subsequent phones only came with 2GB RAM option. Moreover, the company will offer the Nokia 2.4 in three colours-- blue, purple and grey to choose from.

Nokia 2.4 leaked specifications

Nokia 2.4 has been leaked to feature a 6.5-inch HD+ (1520 x 720 pixels) resolution with a waterdrop notch on top, giving it a 19:9 aspect ratio. The phone has a plastic built with a textured back panel that offers more grip.

It is powered by MediaTek Helio P22 chipset with an octa-core CPU and is paired with upto 3GB RAM and 64GB storage to choose from. Theres an option to expand the storage further by adding a microSD card of upto 512GB. It runs on stock Android 10 out-of-the-box.

The Nokia 2.4 comes with a dual rear camera that consists of a primary 13MP camera along with a 2MP depth sensor. On the front, theres a 5MP camera tucked away in the waterdrop notch cutout.

It is rumoured to be equipped with a 4,500mAh battery and comes with the basic set of connectivity features.

Nokia 2.4 is expected to be priced around $129 which roughly translates to Rs 9,000 by direct conversion. Considering the Nokia 2.3 launched at Rs 8,199, we expect the company to price it aggressively as well.
A campaign of intimidation against key prosecution witnesses was a constant feature throughout the Adrian Donohoe murder trial.

Before he was even arrested for murder, Aaron Brady was identifying people who could have potentially incriminating evidence against him.

Serious concerns were raised throughout the trial about witness interference, but the jury never knew about this.

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Seven people were expected to give evidence about admissions Brady had made, but ultimately only Molly Staunton and Daniel Cahill appeared before the court.

Today it can be revealed that:

Video interviews of a crucial prosecution witness were leaked online calling the man a rat and a tout.

Detectives are investigating if the intimidation of some witnesses was outsourced to Dublin criminals.

The jail cell of a violent thug and aggravated burglar has been raided as part of the intimidation probe.

Key witness Molly Staunton received a death threat from Bradys pal after giving evidence.

While the murder trial has concluded, detectives are continuing a major investigation into witness intimidation across three countries. The inquiry is being led by a Detective Superintendent from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI).

One senior officer described it as the dirtiest trial he had ever come across. In some cases, people who overstayed their visas were threatened that their residency status would be exposed.

The most serious example of intimidation came to light in May when the statement of a key prosecution witness, which was video recorded, was leaked on social media. It came at a critical time as witnesses living in the US were due to start giving evidence.

The key witness, an Armagh man who lived with Brady in the Bronx, recalled to detectives how the murder suspect told him: I shot him, so what.

His statements also included information on three other robbery suspects. During the interview, carried out on October 25, 2017 in the 47th police precinct in New York, he also said Brady would regularly talk about the killing when drunk.

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In early May, four excerpts of these statements along with a message labelling this man a tout began circulating on Whatsapp. The videos showed the witness sitting in an interrogation room giving a statement to three detectives.

The accompanying text message made claims that he had received a green card for his cooperation and also had criminal charges dropped.

During an in-camera hearing on May 8, Detective Inspector Mark Phillips said the aim of the posts was to intimidate this witness and also any other potential witnesses.

The incident was described by Mr Justice Michael White, a judge for over 20 years, as the most outrageous contempt of court he had ever come across and a sobering day for the administration of criminal justice in Ireland.

Even before Brady was arrested for murder, the intimidation had started. Prosecutor Brendan Grehan SC told the trial in early June, in the absence of the jury, that witnesses and their families in Ireland were subject to intimidation. By this stage it was accepted that several would not cooperate with the trial.

On July 15 detectives, backed up by heavily armed gardai, carried out a series of raids on Traveller halting sites across Dublin.

Detectives searched the Mountjoy cell of a violent criminal with over 120 previous convictions who is currently serving a lengthy sentence for aggravated burglary.

No mobile phone was located but a piece of paper with several phone numbers scrawled on it was seized. Gardai are investigating if the intimidation of certain witnesses was outsourced.

Separately, American woman Molly Staunton testified via video-link in June that she heard Brady admit to shooting a cop while she was in his New York apartment with two other men.

Her evidence was interrupted by a male, later identified as her friend, who told her to put a stop to it and no more testimony before shutting down her laptop. Ironically the terrifying incident, which left the courtroom and the overflow court next door stunned in silence, had no links to the accused.

But that evening, after her evidence had finished, Ms Staunton was contacted by Bradys former roommate. It was revealed during a sitting in the absence of the jury that an Armagh man made a death threat to her via social media. In one video sent via Snapchat, he shaped his fingers to imitate a gun while saying bang, bang, youre dead. He later sent her another message which read, You silly, silly girl along with a number of crying laughing-face emojis.

Bizarrely, the Northern Irish man had given a statement to gardai saying Brady made admissions to him and was expected to give evidence but he refused to attend court and an arrest warrant was issued for him. He remains in Northern Ireland after being deported from the US.

There were other less threatening attempts to interfere with witnesses via social media. In early June, lead prosecution counsel Brendan Grehan said that a number of witnesses, if not all, had been contacted in various guises by Bradys relatives and associates. One name in particular was being repeated.

The man had known Brady back in Ireland before moving to New York, where he remains, and is heavily involved in GAA.

Prosecution witness Daniel Cahill moved from the Bronx because of pressure from Bradys friends. He continued to be the subject of serious threats at the time of giving evidence.

While the criminal trial has concluded, the investigation into the intimidation of witnesses is continuing.
The death has occurred of Albert Harrigan

Celbridge, Kildare / Leixlip, Kildare



HARRIGAN (Celbridge, Co. Kildare and formerly of Green Lane, Leixlip, Co. Kildare) August 12th 2020 (peacefully) at Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown. Albert, beloved husband of Mary and dear father of Sandra, Nuala, Anthony, Alan, Helen, Michael and the late Derek R.I.P.

Sadly missed by his wife, sons, daughters, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, brother, sisters, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, cousins, nieces, nephews, relatives and dear friends.

May he rest in peace.

Due to Government advice and restrictions regarding public gatherings and to protect our most vulnerable family members and our friends, a private family funeral will take place. The family would ask that you adhere to current HSE guidelines and restrictions at all times.

Alberts Requiem Mass can be viewed by the following link below on Monday (August 17th) at 10.00am.

http://oln.ie/site/live-webcam/

Those who would have liked to attend the funeral; but due to current restrictions cannot, please leave your personal message by selecting Condolences below or alternatively leaving a message at www.cunninghamsfunerals.com. Family flowers only please. Donations, if desired, to the Irish Cancer Society.

Ar dheis De go raibh a anam dilis

The death has occurred of Anne Healy (nee Byrne)

Greenfield, Kanturk, Cork / Castledermot, Kildare



Peacefully in the presence of her loving family at her residence beloved wife of the late Frank and dear mother of Elizabeth Kerrigan, Norma Dineen, Marie Burke, Gerarda Healy, Timothy, Noelle Mannix, James and Frank and sister of the late Maureen OConnell, Nenagh. Sadly missed by her loving family, grandchildren, great grandchildren, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, brother-in-law Conor and his wife Noreen, sister-in-law Noreen and Sheila, nephews, nieces, relatives and her many friends.

Requiescat in pace

In accordance with HSE and Government Guidelines Annes Funeral cortege will arrive to the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Kanturk on Friday at 2.30 pm for private family Funeral Mass at 3pm which will be live-streamed on www.churchservices.tv/Kanturk. Burial afterwards in St Patricks Cemetery, Kanturk. Condolences may be added on the link below. Thank you.

The death has occurred of Thomas (Tommy) Core

Mullingar, Westmeath / Castledermot, Kildare



Thomas (Tommy) Core, Market Point, Mullingar and formerly of Castledermot, Co. Kildare, 11th August 2020, peacefully in the care of the Nurses and Staff at Roselodge Nursing Home, Killucan, predeceased by his daughter Collette, his brother Sean, Christopher and Frank, his sisters Sheila, May, Bridie, Katie and Collette. Deeply regretted by his wife Teresa, his daughter Stella and son Alan, sisters Chrissie, Helen (Kildare), Peggy (UK), Sadie (Australia), brother Paddy, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandchildren, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.

May Thomas Rest in Peace

In keeping with current Government guidelines regarding public gatherings Thomas Funeral Mass will take place this Friday (14th August) at 11am in St. Marys Church, Kinnegad followed by burial in Clonard Cemetery.

Condolences may be expressed by using the condolences tab below. Thank you for your consideration at this time.

Family flowers only, donations, if desired, to Irish Cancer Association.

The death has occurred of James (Jack) Coughlan

Laragh, Maynooth, Kildare



Peacefully, after a short illness.

Jack, son of the late Theresa and James and brother of the late Theresa. Fondly remembered by his brother Kevin, step-sister Ann, step-brother Pat and extended family, friends and neighbours.

May He Rest In Peace

With regret a private funeral will take place, due to government advice regarding public gatherings. Those who would have liked to attend the funeral, but due to current restrictions cannot, please leave a personal message for Jack's family in the Condolences section below.

Funeral Mass at 12:30pm on Friday in St. Coca's Church Kilcock for Jack, can be viewed on https://www. kilcockandnewtownparish.ie/ church/st-cocas-kilcock/

followed by burial in St. Joseph's Cemetery.



Family flowers only please.

The death has occurred of Michael John Coyne

Jenkinstown, Kilcock, Meath / Cornamona, Galway / Kilcock, Kildare



Michael John, beloved husband, father and grandfather. Suddenly, after a short illness in Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown.

Michael was born in Corr Na Mona, Co. Galway in 1945. His father (Tomas Coyne) brought him along with his brothers and sister (Patsy, Tomas, Rory and Mary) to Jenkinstown, Co. Meath in the 1950s as part of the land commission, where they then grew up and worked on their dairy farm. Michael emigrated to the United States at the age of 16, where he worked with his cousin in Chicago. He was then drafted in to the United States Army and served his time in Vietnam with the D Company in the 11th Armored Cavalry from 1967 to 1968. He was awarded 5 Purple Hearts for injuries sustained while serving and he was also awarded two Bronze Stars with V Device for Bravery including one for (Saving his fellow soldiers while under fire from three damaged tanks on the middle of a minefield).

Michael will be very sadly missed by his loving wife and soul mate Elizabeth, his sons, Tomas and Michael, daughter, Vanessa, his grandchildren, Michael Jnr, Luiceah, Martin Jnr and Sophie, extended family and the many associations and trusts he was involved with. (American Legion, Irish Veterans and the Tipperary Remembrance Trust).

May Michael Rest In Peace.

The death has occurred of Albert Harrigan

Celbridge, Kildare / Leixlip, Kildare



HARRIGAN (Celbridge, Co. Kildare and formerly of Green Lane, Leixlip, Co. Kildare) August 12th 2020 (peacefully) at Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown. Albert, beloved husband of Mary and dear father of Sandra, Nuala, Anthony, Alan, Helen, Michael and the late Derek R.I.P.

Sadly missed by his wife, sons, daughters, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, brother, sisters, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, cousins, nieces, nephews, relatives and dear friends.

May he rest in peace.

Due to Government advice and restrictions regarding public gatherings and to protect our most vulnerable family members and our friends, a private family funeral will take place. The family would ask that you adhere to current HSE guidelines and restrictions at all times.

Alberts Requiem Mass can be viewed by the following link below on Monday (August 17th) at 10.00am.

http://oln.ie/site/live-webcam/

Those who would have liked to attend the funeral; but due to current restrictions cannot, please leave your personal message by selecting Condolences below or alternatively leaving a message at www.cunninghamsfunerals.com. Family flowers only please. Donations, if desired, to the Irish Cancer Society.

Ar dheis De go raibh a anam dilis

The death has occurred of Ruby (Josephine) Kane (nee Blanchfield)

1 Avondale Drive, Athy, Kildare



Wife of the Late Paddy and mother of the Late Ger and Siobhan. Deeply regretted by her loving sons Padraig and Adrian, sister Maura, daughters-in-law Heather and Attracta, son-in-law Sean, grandchildren, extended family and friends.

Rest in Peace

A private family funeral will take place due to Government advice regarding public gatherings. It will be livestreamed from St. Michael's Parish Church, Athy at 11am on Friday morning, see www.parishofathy.ie. Private burial afterwards in St. Michael's New Cemetery, Athy. Those who would have liked to attend the funeral but cannot due to current restrictions may leave a personal message in the section marked 'Condolences' below.

The death has occurred of Paul McNamee

Celbridge, Kildare



McNAMEE, Paul (Celbridge, Co. Kildare) August 11th 2020 (peacefully) in the loving care of the staff at Tearmann Mhuire (St. Raphaels), Celbridge. Beloved son of the late William (Billy) and Maureen and dear brother of Liam, Marie, Padraig, Brendan, Nuala, Geraldine, Martin and the late Seamus. Sadly missed by his loving brothers, sisters, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, uncles, aunts, cousins, relatives and friends.

May he rest in peace

For those who wish to pay their respect, Pauls funeral cortege will leave St. Patricks Park on Friday morning at 9.40am en route to St. Patricks Church, Celbridge. The family would ask that you adhere to current HSE guidelines and restrictions at all times. Pauls Requiem Mass can be viewed by following the link below on Friday (August 14th) at 10.00am.

https://www.celstra.ie/live-feed/

Those who would have liked to attend the funeral, but due to current restrictions cannot, can leave your personal messages for the family below Condolences or on www.cunninghamsfunerals.com/

Family flowers only please. Donations, if desired, to St. Raphaels Parents and Friends Association.

The death has occurred of Michael (Mick) Mills

Rathernan, Kilmeague, Kildare



Peacefully in Naas Hospital after a short illness.Husband of the late Betty, Son of the late Tomas and Annie. Brother of the late Peg, Larry, John, Jimmy, Joe and Tom Jnr. Sadly missed by his loving brother Tom, sister Jenny, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, relatives, neighbours and friends.

May Mick Rest In Peace

In line with Government advice regarding public gatherings, a funeral Mass for a maximum of 25 people will take place. Removal on Friday to arrive at The Church of the Holy Trinity, Allen for 11am Requiem Mass. Burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery. Those who would have liked to attend the funeral, but due to current restrictions cannot, please feel free to leave a message in the condolence page below.

The death has occurred of Una Ryan (nee Kelly)

Tallaght, Dublin / Kilcock, Kildare



Ryan (nee Kelly), Una (Kilcock, Co. Kildare and late of Tallaght, Dublin 24), August 12th, 2020 peacefully at Tallaght Hospital after a short illness. Beloved wife of James. Una will be sadly missed by her loving family, son Stephen and his partner Jayne, daughter Jean and her partner Paul, daughter Katherine, granddaughter Bethany, sister Maureen, brother Liam, relatives and friends.

Rest in Peace.

A private family funeral will take place due to Government advice regarding public gatherings. Those who would have liked to attend the funeral, but due to current restrictions cannot, please leave your personal message in the section below Condolences. No flowers please. All enquiries to Fanagans Funeral Directors, Tallaght Village  01 451 6701.

The death has occurred of Mary Shiel

College Wood Park, Clane, Kildare / Athy, Kildare



Deeply regretted by her loving siblings Willie, Breda, Carmel and Jim, sisters-in-law Mary & Terri, brothers-in-law Toni & Rob, nephew Thierry, nieces Karen, Pamela, Adeline, Laura, Lisa and Joy and extended family in Ireland and France.

A private family funeral will take place due to Government advice regarding public gatherings. It will be live streamed from St. Michael's Parish Church, Athy at 2pm on Thursday afternoon, see www.parishofathy.ie. Private burial afterwards in St. Michael's New Cemetery, Athy.

he death has occurred of Carmel Clarke (nee Hayden)

Fontstown, Athy, Kildare



Peacefully, surrounded by her loving family, Carmel died at Naas General Hospital. Deeply regretted by her husband Charlie, daughters Sandra, Ann Marie and her partner Declan, son Brendan and his partner Fionnuala, her sister and brothers, grandchildren Sophie, Lisa-Marie, C.J. and Carmel-Ann, neighbours, relatives and a large circle of friends.

May Carmel rest in peace.

In compliance with Government guidelines, the funeral will take place on Thursday morning at 11 am in St. Ita's Church, Kilmead, restricted to family and close friends (maximum 25 people). If you are unable to attend the funeral due to current restrictions, you may leave a personal message in the 'Condolence' section below. Burial immediately afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.

The death has occurred of Michael Gamble

Celbridge, Kildare / Dublin



Our darling boy Michael died in his sleep on August 9th 2020. Beloved son of Caroline and Mick and adored brother of Clodagh and Sinead. Much loved boyfriend of Lucy. Cherished eldest grandson of Kevin and Kay Flynn (The Grove, Celbridge) and Mickey and the late Kathleen Gamble (Castlefin, Donegal). Sadly missed by his loving parents, sisters, grandparents, girlfriend, aunts and uncles Olga and James, AibhIn and Chris, Anne and Stephen, John and Anita, Kieran and Carmel and Eugene, cousins, relatives, his beloved dog Woody and his many, many friends.

Rest in Peace

Due to Government advice and restrictions regarding public gatherings and to protect our most vulnerable family members and our friends, a private family funeral will take place.

Michaels cortege will leave his residence on Thursday morning (13th August) at 10.30am and travel via Maynooth Road and down Main Street, Celbridge en route to St. Patricks Church, Celbridge arriving for a Private Funeral Mass at 11am. The Funeral Mass may be viewed by following the link below; https://www.celstra.ie/live-feed/. Burial afterwards in Donacomper Cemetery, Celbridge.

Michael was the life and soul of the party and made lifelong friends everywhere he went. The family would greatly appreciate if any of his friends would like to send a card sharing with us memories or photos of Michael.

Those who would have liked to attend the funeral; but due to current restrictions cannot, may also leave your personal message by selecting Condolences below or alternatively leaving a message at www.cunninghamsfunerals.com.

When the current circumstances have passed we look forward to celebrating Michaels life with friends and extended family at a later date.

The death has occurred of Nancy HORAN

Moanteen, Golden, Tipperary / Maynooth, Kildare



Horan, Leinster Cottages, Maynooth, Co. Kildare and formerly of Moanteen, Golden, Co. Tipperary, August 11th 2020, peacefully, in the loving care of the Staff at Maynooth Community Care Unit. Nancy, beloved sister of the late Denis, Tom and Pakie. Deeply regretted by her brother Jim, sister-in-law Maura, nephews, nieces, relatives and friends.

May She Rest In Peace

Due to Government restrictions on Covid-19 family only Funeral Mass takes place in the Church of the Blessed Sacrament, Golden, on Thursday at 11.30am and can be viewed on https://www.twitch.tv/goldenparishlivestream followed by burial in the adjoining cemetery. If you would like to leave a message of condolence for the family please click on the link below.
Symbiosis SLAT Result 2020: Those who have appeared for the exam will have to visit the official website and enter their SET ID and password to check their score

Symbiosis SLAT Result 2020: Symbiosis International (Deemed) University will announce the Symbiosis Law Admission Test (SLAT) result on Thursday after 8 pm. Once declared, candidates can check their score on the official website  set-test.org.

The university on its website said, SLAT result will be available today (August 13) after 8 pm.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, SLAT 2020 was conducted from 26 to 28 July. Candidates who clear the law admission test will be eligible to take admission in Symbiosis Institutes in Pune, Hyderabad, Noida and Nagpur in various programmes.

Those who have appeared for the exam will have to visit the website and enter their SET ID and password to check their score.

A report by The Times of India said that based on the score in the entrance examination, candidates will be shortlisted for Personal Interview-Written Ability Test (PI-WAT) rounds. Candidates can check the website of the institutes for information and dates for the next level rounds.

Steps to check SLAT 2020 result:

Step 1: Go to the official website - set-test.org.

Step 2: Click on the link that reads SLAT 2020 result.

Step 3: Enter your SET ID and password and press submit button.

Step 4: Your result indicating your marks in SLAT 2020 will appear on the screen. Download and take a printout.

Symbiosis International (Deemed) University offers 5-year integrated Undergraduate Programmes including Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws, Bachelor of Business Administration and Bachelor of Laws, BA./ BBA. LL.B, 3-year LL.B and One-year LL.M programme.
When companies need reliable and verified consumer data, they turn to BDEX, and this ranking proves the value-add that our platform delivers to businesses across America.

BDEX, the first and largest data exchange platform in the U.S., was recently recognized on the annual Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Companies List, the most prestigious ranking of the nations fastest-growing privately-owned companies. BDEX ranked at #524 on the coveted list, accomplishing a staggering 3-year growth of 881 percent.

BDEX also ranked #17 on Inc. 5000 Floridas 2020 Fastest-Growing Companies, a regional list that represents the most successful companies within the Florida independent small businesses segment.

Renowned for its unparalleled consumer insights for marketers, BDEX was co-founded in 2014 by serial entrepreneurs David Finkelstein, who serves as the companys CEO, and Michael Aronov  current CDO of BDEX. Over the past several years, the platform has established itself as the preferred source of high-quality, verified third-party consumer data for companies who want to reach their desired audiences and achieve meaningful connections with potential consumers.

We are beyond honored to be recognized among the most successful U.S. companies across every sector, said Finkelstein. When companies need reliable and verified consumer data, they turn to BDEX, and this ranking proves the value-add that our platform delivers to businesses across America. I would like to thank our innovative and collaborative team for their hard work, and I am looking forward to BDEXs continued growth and success in the industry.

Not only have the companies on the 2020 Inc. 5000 been very competitive within their markets, but the list as a whole shows impressive growth compared with prior lists as well. The 2020 Inc. 5000 achieved an incredible three-year average growth of over 500 percent, and a median rate of 165 percent. The Inc. 5000s aggregate revenue was $209 billion in 2019, accounting for over 1 million jobs over the past three years.

BDEXs CEO David Finkelstein will be formally honored at the virtual Inc. 5000 Conference on October 23 to 27, 2020.

To learn more about BDEX and its placement in the Inc. 5000, please visit: https://www.inc.com/profile/bdex.

About BDEX

Established in 2014, BDEX is the first ever Data Exchange Platform (DXP). Combining the functionality, data, and reach of a traditional data management platform in a true marketplace environment with the most powerful identity graph in the US, BDEX empowers B2C companies to use the power of data to understand consumer behaviors and intents helping them reach the right people at the right time. Find out more at https://www.bdex.com.

About Inc. Media

The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com. For more information on the Inc. 5000 Conference, visit http://conference.inc.com/.
E-hailing apps, after a period of focusing on their core business field of carrying passengers, have begun seeking other business opportunities, Thoi Bao Kinh Te Sai Gon reported. Most of them are offering an e-payment service.

On August 5, the Gojek app became officially operational in Vietnam, which also marked the end of the mission of GoViet brand in Vietnam after two years of presence in the market.





On this occasion, CEO of Gojek Vietnam Phung Duc Tuan revealed that Gojek would focus on three major services in the time to come  passenger transport, goods delivery and payment. Of this, online payment (integrating e-wallet into the app), which is still lacking in Gojeks ecosystem, will be the center of development.



Grab, the biggest rival of Gojek, began integrating the payment function into its app  Moca e-wallet  in late 2018.

In the home market of Indonesia, Gojek provides more than 20 services on the same app platform. However, the integration of services into GoViet was relatively slow, which made it difficult to compete with rivals.

Gojek, which was one step behind Grab, decided to speed up the process by joining hands with PayPal to provide services instead of developing an e-wallet itself.



Analysts say that this is a key strategy for foreign e-hailing brands such as Gojek and Grab, and domestic brands such as Be and FastGo to consolidate their service ecosystems.



In the home market of Indonesia, Gojek provides more than 20 services on the same app platform. However, the integration of services into GoViet was relatively slow, which made it difficult to compete with rivals.



However, after receiving investments from a series of big companies, including Facebook, Paypal, Tencent and Google, Gojek decided that integrating payment service must be done after the restructuring in Vietnam.



Gojeks major rivals in the e-hailing sector in Vietnam such as Grab, Be and Fastgo all have integrated e-wallet into their services.



Two years ago, Grab began its payment method via Moca e-wallet which quickly helped the brand to be among six e-wallets with largest market share in Vietnam.



Earlier this year, Be joined forces with SmartPay e-wallet, while FastGo began giving support in non-cash payment via Vimo. Meanwhile, food ordering apps such as Baemin and Now offer other non-cash payment options.



A report from Standard Chartered Bank on cash digitization in ASEAN published in 2019 says that the Southeast Asian market has ideal conditions to deploy e-payment services. The average cash use rate in the region, not including Singapore, was 47-65 percent before Covid-19.



A report from Adsota released last February also pointed out that Southeast Asia has two countries listed among the worlds biggest smartphone markets  Vietnam and Indonesia. This helps Southeast Asia become busier with investments in fintech in general and digital payment in particular.

Translated by Mai Lan

Merger could tip scales in ride-hailing The two local ride-hailing platforms be and FastGo could negotiate a merger to break the dominance of Grab in Vietnam.
Balance of risk: Acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn says it is inevitable that some children will contract the virus when they return to school. Photo: Gareth Chaney, Collins

Counties outside Kildare, Laois and Offaly should take heed of public health advice following a rise in cases outside the locked-down counties, acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn has said.

Dr Glynn said that the increasing number of Covid-19 cases reported over recent days as well as those that are linked to community transmission is a "concern".

Yesterday, the Department of Health reported 40 additional confirmed Covid-19 cases in Ireland, and one more death.

There are now a total of 26,838 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland and 1,774 coronavirus-related deaths.

Read More

Of the cases notified, 12 are in Dublin, 11 in Kildare, seven are in Offaly, and the rest of the cases are in counties Clare, Donegal, Limerick, Meath, Roscommon, Tipperary and Wicklow.

Nineteen are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks, or are close contacts of a confirmed case and 13 cases have been identified as community transmission.

At a Covid-19 briefing last night, Dr Glynn said: "It is a concern that we have community transmission.

"The overall proportion has stayed relatively stable or in fact perhaps even decreased a little, given the intensive work that's ongoing around following up cases linked to the clusters that we know about.

"The absolute number of cases, which have been defined as community transmission has gone up as part of the overall rise in cases over the past couple of weeks. We are keeping it under review. What's of at least as much concern is the increase in the number of cases.

"We're seeing a number of other counties where we are seeing an increase in cases and so, very understandably, the message is centred around Kildare, Laois and Offaly, but really, we need to reiterate to people across the country to follow the advice."

Speaking about schools reopening at the end of August, Dr Glynn said schoolchildren contracting Covid-19 when they return to the classroom was "inevitable", but symptoms are likely to be mild.

Dr Glynn said schools are not a zero-risk environment but the risk of outbreaks occurring in classrooms has to be balanced against the need for children to receive an education.

"I hope there aren't clusters but as I have said here previously, I think there will be clusters, there will be cases.

"It's virtually inevitable because this is an infectious disease that spreads when people congregate, but everything is a balance of risk."

When asked if he has any words to reassure parents who are concerned about sending their children back to school, Dr Glynn said some children will get the virus but that many children suffer mild symptoms or none at all.

"There will be a proportion of children who are diagnosed with Covid as there has been to date," he said.

"The first piece of reassurance I'd give parents is the vast majority of children who are diagnosed with this disease suffer at most very mild symptoms.

"In fact we believe that many children who contract Covid in fact have no symptoms at all.

"The second thing I'd say is that we're not powerless, parents aren't powerless, children aren't powerless against this.

"There are many things we can do to reduce the risk of transmission and we need to really focus on that over the coming weeks."

He said that some schools might need to shut if an outbreak occurs. "There won't be a blanket approach that says close every school once there's a case," Dr Glynn said.

"There may be schools that need to close. The hope is if you do have a case in a class, hopefully, in terms of close contracts it will only be the other children, for example, that might be defined as close contacts and will have to restrict their movements."
Comapnies prepare plans to navigate their workforce through the crisis while maintaining business performance

330 human resources (HR) specialists shared COVID-19 contingency plans with Adecco Vietnam in its latest survey in May. Most respondents were at manager or director level, working at multinational companies in Vietnam, 77 per cent of whom filled out the questionnaires completely.

According to the survey, 93 per cent of companies financial performance has been affected by COVID-19. Among those, 43 per cent were severely impacted businesses seeing revenue declining by 21-40 per cent. The top three industries with revenue negatively struck by COVID-19 are food and beverage (47 per cent), real estate (56 per cent), and manufacturing (44 per cent).

Alongside declining revenue and business activities, many companies face tough decisions on their labour force, including employee layoffs or salary reduction. 30 per cent of businesses reduce the number of employees by 1-20 per cent and 16 per cent of businesses must cut headcount by 21-40 per cent.

The media sector encounters a severe setback on employees with 46 per cent businesses reducing up to 20 per cent of their employees. More seriously, 7.69 per cent even terminated the contracts of over 60 per cent of their labour force. Also struggling with paying salaries, 38 per cent of media companies reduced wages by 21-40 per cent.

On a brighter note, while there are no positive signs regarding revenue in supply chain and logistics, up to 62 per cent of companies in this sector maintain their workforce and only 7.69 per cent of companies suffer 21-40 per cent layoffs. Other sectors where most companies did not let go of employees are IT (55 per cent) and finance and insurance (54 per cent).

For further risk mitigation, 58 per cent of companies choose to freeze hiring, especially large enterprises (75 per cent) rather than SMEs (50-56 per cent roughly). Other labour cost reduction initiatives include postponing salary, incentive and performance review (37 per cent), cancelling internship programmes (28 per cent), reducing working hours (26 per cent), requiring temporary unpaid leave (16.5 per cent), suspending permanent contract extensions (12.46 per cent). When making those decisions, 69 per cent of companies collaborated or negotiated with their employees in advance rather than acted unilaterally.

In estimation, 31 per cent of businesses expect to recover within the next 3 months, and the rebound period will take longer from 3-6 months for the other 29 per cent. 8 per cent of companies will not get back to normal until next year.

This urges companies to be responsive, resilient, and resourceful under such unique circumstances. During this time, the behaviours being most important from the manager role are collaboration, problem-solving, and adaptability. Following are empathy and supportive attitude and keeping staff engaged with company values and culture.

Andree Mangels, general director of Adecco Vietnam stated that, "Given the recent unfortunate increase of COVID-19 cases in Vietnam, leading some cities to return to social distancing and remote working, its a unique opportunity for managers to re-think their leadership approach. High EQ is now the gold standard for leaders through this potentially stressful period. We recommend to invest time into deep listening combined with the ability to minimise quick judgment and refraining from providing only advice. Promoting a culture of compassion and caring will help keep your people motivated, engaged, and productive.

In addition, companies are increasingly going digital. In terms of employees expectations, 46 per cent of survey respondents prefer companies to provide constant updates on business performance and upcoming plan. 39 per cent of them also want their company to work on solutions for similar crises in the future. IT investment and digital working are also highlighted in the survey to facilitate the digital future of work.

Last but not least, the pandemic raises the need for acquiring new skills and flexible working. Approximately seven in 10 HR leaders said problem-solving and self-discipline are two new skills HR leaders are looking for in future candidates. Moreover, big corporates also highly appreciate talent with resilience and the ability to lead through digital transformation.

In Vietnam, HR professionals are staying ahead of the curve with 56 per cent confirming that reskilling or upskilling employees on new ways of working are their top priority in the next three months. They also focus on boosting employee engagement (54 per cent) and accelerating remote working policies (36 per cent).
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En espanol | As the pandemic began walloping the world in mid-March, Michael Brooks, a missionary from Tuscumbia, Alabama, and his wife, Brenda, found themselves outside Dhaka, Bangladesh, racing to get home. He contacted his travel adviser, Susan McDougal of Suzqz Travels in Huntsville, Alabama, who spent 48 mostly sleepless hours trying to get them tickets back to the U.S. as borders started to close and flights were being canceled.

Tickets were finally secured less than 15 minutes before the plane doors shut, Brooks says: We were the last travelers to board the flight.

But they made it.

Brooks, an inveterate traveler who, by his count, has taken more than 55 major international trips since 1988, swears by travel advisers (often now the preferred term over travel agent).

"I could not have acquired tickets without the help of a capable and committed agent, he says.

The spread of COVID-19 around the globe threw the travel industry into a tailspin, and left millions of travelers trying to get home safely, cancel future tours, cruises, flights and hotels and seek refunds on deposits and prepayments. For many, like Brooks, having a travel professional in their corner made a difference.

Experts are working hard to prove their worth

Since the dawn of the internet  which spawned online travel agencies like Expedia and Travelocity and DIY hotel and flight bookings  travel advisers have been fighting for their legitimacy. Many of them, and their clients, now say the pandemic proved their worth.

"When you work with a travel adviser, you have an advocate who's watching everything for you and can move the pieces of an itinerary around as necessary, says Erika Richter, a spokeswoman for the American Society of Travel Advisors, an industry association. It's about protecting their investment. Think about your travel portfolio like a financial portfolio. Don't you want to work with an expert to advise you?"

Between flights, accommodations and tours, Pamela J. Konkol of Chicago had about $3,000 in travel expenses at risk on a planned spring trip to Lisbon to speak at an academic conference. When she needed to cancel the trip, her travel adviser, Thomas Carpenter of Huckleberry Travel in Brooklyn, N.Y., counseled patience rather than taking partial refunds or vouchers, which were being offered immediately.
When Aaron Brady was living in New York he could not help boasting: Im the most feared gangster in Ireland. I shot a cop.

Today as the 29-year-old faces into a sentence of at least 40 years for the capital murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe, his fellow officers will continue their campaign to bring anyone who was complicit in the brutal killing to justice.

"We will be knocking on your door and we will make sure that you pay for this horrendous act," was Deputy Garda Commissioner John Twomey's warning to those who have still evaded justice.

After over 20 hours of deliberation, the jury at Dublin's Criminal Courts of Justice returned a majority verdict of 11-1 finding Brady guilty of capital murder in what was the longest murder trial in the history of the state.

Brady had denied capital murder and said he had no involvement in the robbery at Lordship Credit Union on January 25, 2013 that resulted in the 41 year-old detective's death.

The 29-year-old of New Road, Crossmaglen, Co Armagh, had already been found guilty of the robbery of approximately 7,000 in cash and cheques outside the credit union.

Brendan Grehan SC for the prosecution told Mr Justice Michael White that he is obliged to impose a life sentence for murder and as the jury found him guilty of capital murder he must specify that Brady serve not less than 40 years.

Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe

With the verdict returned the trial judge lifted an embargo on what he had called "the most outrageous" contempt of court he had seen in his career. It emerged during the trial that a video of one witness giving a statement about Aaron Brady to gardai was circulated on social media with text calling the witness a "rat" and accusing him of "touting" on his friends.

The witness in question did not come forward to give evidence. He was one of five witnesses who did not give evidence in a trial during which there were repeated claims that witnesses were suffering interference and intimidation.

Garda Adrian Donohoe's sister and two brothers sat patiently at the back of the court yesterday. His wife, Caroline Donohoe, sat alone in the body of the court, two rows in front of her relatives.

Brady, who was wearing a grey suit and red tie, sat in the dock staring straight ahead.

As the guilty verdict was announced, Brady hung his head and stared into the distance. He closed his eyes for a moment but made no reaction as the judge thanked the jury for their dedication to the case.

The brothers and sister of the late detective became emotional and wept silently.

When the jurors left the courtroom, Mr Justice Michael White said the court would rise for 15 minutes. Within seconds, Brady left the dock and walked to the cell area without engaging with his father or sister, who have both been with him throughout the trial.

As the courtroom began to empty out, Caroline Donohoe embraced the two solicitors for the State. She looked relieved as she touched fists with Detective Inspector Martin Beggy. One of the brothers of the late detective wiped away tears as he spoke to gardai within the confines of the court and the prosecution barristers.

Aaron Brady

Mr Justice White will preside over a sentence hearing on October 14 when he will hear evidence relating to the robbery conviction and capital murder. The maximum sentence for robbery is life while the minimum for capital murder is 40 years.

Adrian Donohoe's widow Caroline, who was a serving garda herself at the time of her husband's murder, spoke briefly outside court to thank those involved in bringing Brady to justice on behalf of herself and her two children.

"I would like to most sincerely thank the jury for sticking with this trial for so long and for my garda colleagues and the prosecution team on behalf of Amy, Niall, and myself, thank you very much," she said.

The murdered detective's brother Colm said the commitment of the jury during a trial that spanned the coronavirus emergency was "humbling".

Mr Donohoe, himself a serving member of the garda, praised the US Department of Homeland Security for taking on the investigation "like Adrian was one of their own".

"Aaron Brady was not alone in Lordship on the 25th of January 2013," he said.

"The quest for justice for Adrian will continue and we appeal to anyone near or far who has any information that may assist in this investigation to come forward and do the right thing and bring those involved to justice."
Black and Asian people may be more likely to die of Covid-19 in England and Wales because many of them live in polluted areas, according to an official report.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) today said it found a seven per cent increase in the risk of dying of coronavirus in England's most polluted areas.

But this increase disappeared when experts took into account the fact that people from minority backgrounds are more likely to live in polluted cities, prompting the government agency to admit the link was 'inconclusive'.

But the ONS warned toxic air is not necessarily worsening the severity of the virus because London and other pollution-plagued areas have suffered bigger outbreaks, meaning death rates would inevitably be higher.

However, the ONS today acknowledged air pollution is one of many factors that may be driving disproportionate outcomes for black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people. And scientists today said it was 'very plausible that higher exposure to air pollution will be a contributory factor'.

But separate experts today criticised the methodology of the study, meaning it could not prove or disprove the hypothesis that living in heavily polluted areas worsens the severity of Covid-19.

Numerous reports have found that BAME people in Britain face a higher risk than white people of dying if they catch coronavirus.

The reasons for this remain unclear but may include the fact minority ethnic people are more likely to be poorer and therefore in worse health, and more likely to work in public-facing jobs where they are more likely to catch the illness.

The ONS report said 35 per cent of people who died of Covid-19 up to June had a lung or heart disease  which can be caused by pollution  before they caught the virus.

As the virus spread further outside of polluted cities and around the country - it began in London, which has had the most total deaths - the link between pollution and deaths became weaker (illustrated as graph lines flattened)

Geraint Davies MP, chair of the all-party parliamentary group on air pollution, told The Guardian: 'The study neither proves nor disproves the hypothesis air pollution worsens outcomes in Covid-19.'

Professor Matthew Cole, of the University of Birmingham, told the newspaper: 'The ONS study uses a very unconventional way of grouping the data.

'This is a real shame as it means we cant be sure if the estimated results are driven by this unconventional method.'

The report, the first of its kind published by the ONS, said the effect of pollution on risk of coronavirus death appeared to be smaller than previous research had suggested.

The statistical analysis grouped areas across the country according to levels of deprivation, population density and average exposure to PM2.5 over five years to account for regional differences in infection rates.

It included 46,471 deaths of people in England between March 7 and June 12, using a model that also took into account factors such as pre-existing health conditions and smoking rates. It also looked at ethnicity.

It estimated that there was a seven per cent increase in Covid-19 death risk for people who inhaled an extra one microgram per cubic metre of particulate matter over 10 years.

Particulate matter is pollution made up on tiny particles that are produced by car exhausts, friction between tyres and roads, and construction work.

The World Health Organization said no amount of PM2.5 - the smallest type of particulate matter - is considered safe, but said countries should try to keep levels below 10 micrograms per cubic metre.

Currently, the UK follows EU guidelines which are looser and suggest pollution be limited to 25ug/m3. In London the average was between 12 and 20ug/m3 in 2016.

PM2.5 infiltrates the blood stream and lungs, irritating cells and disrupting DNA, and cause serious damage to the body if absorbed regularly over long periods of time.

The ONS report found that at the peak of Britain's epidemic, death rates were higher in more polluted areas, typically inner London and Birmingham.

But this was also because of other factors, such as numbers of confirmed cases and the number of people living in poverty.

As the outbreak spread further outside of cities, the link between pollution and deaths became weaker, the report showed.

AIR POLLUTION MAY RAISE RISK OF CATCHING VIRUS People are more likely to catch Covid-19 in areas with bad air pollution because particles can 'carry' the virus, scientists have claimed. Data shows that London, Birmingham, New York, LA, Mexico city, Delhi all have high levels of pollution and have been battered by Covid-19. Now, international researchers led by Taipei Medical University in Taiwan have claimed pollution plays a 'direct role' in the spread of the disease. Viruses may be absorbed by particulate matter - produced mostly by car fumes and construction work - and then travel or linger in the air for hours or even days before being inhaled by someone, they said. This would suggest the coronavirus is airborne, meaning people can inhale it from tiny particles in the air. Moreover, evidence suggests particulate matter may make the cells in the lungs more susceptible to the coronavirus, increasing the risk of someone becoming badly affected. Advertisement

As the more polluted  and more populated  areas had higher deaths, so too did the black, Asian and ethnic minority community.

Greater proportions of non-white people live in polluted inner city areas than white people, who are more likely to live outside of town and city centres.

The ONS report noted that pollution may contribute to the deaths of BAME people, or that BAME people may be at risk of dying because of other reasons, which made deaths higher in the polluted areas they happened to live in.

'A range of structural differences are resulting in higher Covid-19 death rates among people of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnicity (BAME),' the report said.

'Air pollution exposure could be a contributing factor if it causes Covid-19 deaths, with the BAME population more likely than those of White ethnicity to live in inner city areas (that are more polluted).

'Ultimately, our analysis is inconclusive.

'Without controlling for ethnicity, we find long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) could increase the risk of contracting and dying from Covid-19 by up to 7 per cent.

'However, when controlling for ethnicity, air pollution exposure has no statistically significant impact on Covid-19 deaths.

'As air pollution is just one of many factors that could be driving disproportionate outcomes for minority ethnic groups, the increased risk of dying from Covid-19 (found when ethnicity is not controlled for) is likely to be an overestimate of the true effect.'

Professor Alastair Lewis, an atmospheric chemistry expert at the University of York, said: 'The study shows that some of the early associations made between exposure to air pollution and an increased risk of Covid-19 mortality were artificially enhanced because the disease initially spread in large cities.

'As Covid-19 became more evenly distributed through the UK over time the effect of air pollution on mortality became less pronounced.

'The ONS analysis shows that long-term exposure to air pollution does still potentially increase the risk of mortality from Covid-19'.

He added: 'Ethnic minority communities have been some of the most affected by Covid-19 and it is very plausible that higher exposure to air pollution will be a contributory factor.'

The ONS report comes after a paper published by Public Health England in June found that BAME Brits had a noticeably higher risk of dying if they caught Covid-19.

The PHE report revealed Britons of Bangladeshi ethnicity have around twice the risk of white Brits of dying with the coronavirus.

And it showed black people, as well as those of Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, other Asian, or Caribbean backgrounds had between a 10 and 50 per cent higher risk of death. The analysis did not take into account higher rates of long-term health conditions among these people, which experts say probably account for some of the differences.

SAGE STUDY CLAIMS ILLNESS AND DEPRIVATION ACCOUNT FOR HIGHER DEATH RATE AMONG BAME BRITONS Black, Asian and minority ethnic people are no more likely to die from coronavirus than white people, a study given to government scientists has found. Research presented to Number 10's SAGE panel found there was no greater risk of death for Brits of BAME backgrounds when all factors were taken into account. It showed that 'comorbidities' - long-term health problems - appeared to account for higher rates of hospitalisation and intensive care among ethnic minority people. Risk among BAME communities has been a sensitive topic during Britain's outbreak and even given rise to calls for extra protection for non-white NHS staff. Statistics show BAME people in Britain are dying of COVID-19 at disproportionate rates, but scientists have struggled to explain why. The research - done by scientists from the universities of Edinburgh and Liverpool - was one of around a dozen secret papers published last night by the government. It did, however, claim BAME people did seem to be more likely to end up in intensive care in the first place. The SAGE paper was met with scepticism, however, with one intensive care doctor saying the data it contained did not line up with what the scientists claimed. Oxford University's Professor Duncan Young said: 'Im not sure why they thought black patients were more at risk of ICU care. 'The take-home message is that BAME patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are no more likely to end up in ICU nor are they more likely to die.' Advertisement

Evidence compiled in the report also revealed that age is the single biggest risk factor that determines how likely people are to die with the virus - those over the age of 80 are 70 times more likely to be killed than under-40s.

And health conditions which appeared often on people's death certificates were heart disease, diabetes - understood to be type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and dementia. More than one in five victims had diabetes, the data showed, which was a significantly higher rate than in people who died of other causes.

Poorer, more deprived people faced a higher risk of dying and men working in lower-paid jobs - such as security guards, bus drivers and construction workers - also had worse chances of survival if they contracted the virus.

Health chiefs launched a probe to investigate the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on BAME Brits in April, prompted by a wave of evidence that showed white people were less likely to die from the disease.

Mr Hancock admitted that the report has 'exposed huge disparities in the health of our nation' and his counterpart in the Labour Party, Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth, noted: 'Covid thrives on inequalities'.

Doctors still don't know exactly what is increasing non-white people's risk of death, but PHE's report adds to a growing body of evidence proving the link exists.

One paper presented to government advisers in SAGE suggested that higher-than-average rates of type 2 diabetes among black and south Asian people may be to blame - the condition is known to increase risk of Covid-19 death.

The highest diagnosis rates per 100,000 population were in black people (486 females and 649 males), the PHE review found. The lowest were in white people (220 in females and 224 in males).

Compared to previous years, death from all causes was almost four times higher than expected among black males, almost three times higher in Asian males and almost two times higher in white males.

Among females, deaths were almost three times higher in this period in black, mixed and other females, and 2.4 times higher in Asian females compared with 1.6 times in white females.

The highest death rates of confirmed cases per 100,000 population were among people in 'other' ethnic groups (234 females and 427 males) followed by people of black ethnic groups (119 females and 257 males) and Asian ethnic groups (78 females and 163 males).

In comparison, the death rates of confirmed cases in white people was 36 per 100,000 females and 70 per 100,000 males.
Three Russian officials in HCM City were awarded the insignias For Peace, Friendship among Nations by the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) during a ceremony on August 12,

for their contributions to fostering the traditional friendship between the two countries people.

At the ceremony

The recipients were Russian Consul General Aleksei Vladimirovich Popov, Counsellor at the Russian Consulate General Maria Georgieva Mizonova, and Director of the Russia Centre in HCM City Natalia Borisovna Zolkina.

Speaking at the ceremony, Chairman of the Vietnam - Russia Friendship Association of HCM City Hoang Minh Nhan lauded the honourees for working closely with the Ho Chi Minh Union of Friendship Organisations and the Vietnam - Russia Friendship Association of HCM City to effectively hold cultural and arts activities and exchange delegations, which have contributed to raising mutual understanding between the people of the two nations.

Popov, for his part, spoke highly of people-to-people exchanges held by VUFO and its chapters, which deepen bilateral ties at all levels.

A range of important external activities between Vietnam and Russia have been held in HCM City in recent years, including visits by Russian Prime Minister A. Medvedev in April 2015 and Foreign Minister S.V. Lavrov in January 2019, the 20th meeting of the Vietnam - Russia Inter-Governmental Committee on Economic and Scientific-Technological Cooperation, and working trips by the governors of Saint Petersburg and Moscow./.VNA
Report: Black Women Face More Challenges in Workplace Than Other Groups

With this year ushering in a renewed focus on inequalities in the workplace, a new report suggests Black women face a less friendly work environment than other groups.

LeanIn.org, an organization that advocates for women in the workplace, took an extensive look at the experiences of Black women in corporate environments and the biggest obstacles they face. With that information, they produced a report titled The State of Black Women in Corporate America.

Not only are Black women underrepresented in the leadership ranks of the nations companies, but they have less support at all stages of the corporate ladder.

Fewer opportunities, less pay

Its no secret that women in general face a gender pay gap, but for Black women, that gap is particularly wide. The State of Black Women report was released August 13 on Black Womens Equal Pay Day in a move to highlight the fact that on average, Black women earn 38% less than white men and 21% less than white women.

When it comes to positions of leadership, Black women are few and far between, the report shows. Despite the fact that Black women make up 7.4% of the U.S. population, they hold a mere 1.4% of positions in the C-Suite, a term used to describe the most senior executive positions in a company. In contrast, white men make up approximately 35% of the U.S. population and represent 68% of C-Suite jobs.

One reason Black women may have so little representation at the top could be because they are less likely to be promoted at lower levels. In fact, for every 100 men who received a promotion to a management position, only 58 Black women were promoted, though Black women were just as likely to ask for promotions as men.

Black women feel less supported

Having a supportive manager who believes your contributions are valued can be a motivating force in the workplace. Yet, only 29% of Black women believe their manager advocates for new opportunities for them, compared to 37% of white women, 35% of Latinas and 35% of Asian women.

Story continues

Building relationships with decision makers in a company can also improve ones odds of being recognized for their accomplishments and possibly promoted. However, Black women are less likely to interact with senior leaders informally than other groups. More than half  59%  said they have never had an informal interaction with a senior leader, compared to 49% of all women who have never interacted with a senior manager.

Black women are also more likely to feel that they have been disrespected or had their abilities questioned in the workplace:

40% of Black women said they have had to provide more evidence of their competence, compared to 30% of all women

20% of Black women said they have been mistaken for someone at a much lower level compared to 18% of all women

26% of Black women said they have heard others express surprise at their language skills or other abilities compared to 14% of all women

A survey conducted by LeanIn.Org in June looked at whether white men and women viewed themselves as allies of people of color at work. While 42% of white women and 43% of white men believed Black women had strong allies in their workplace, only 26% of Black women agreed with that statement. An earlier survey reinforces the idea that many workers acknowledge racism but dont see it in their own companies.

Methodology: Much of the data from The State of Black Women in Corporate America report comes from LeanIn.orgs and McKinsey & Companys annual Women in the Workplace study, which has collected data from more than 590 companies and a quarter of a million employees since 2015. The report also included findings from a survey of 7,400 adults conducted by LeanIn.Org and Survey Monkey between June 19, 2020 and June 25, 2020.
By Trend

Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 40 times, Trend reports referring to Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A Brooklyn man will spend up to three years in an upstate prison for committing crimes on Staten Island.

Daniel Garcia, 33, of the 1300 block of Bedford Avenue, reached a plea agreements with prosecutors on Tuesday to resolve several cases.

The defendants troubles with the law began on July 14, 2019.

Garcia entered a commercial building at 60 Bay St. in St. George and swiped a cell phone, phone charger and office supplies, an indictment alleged.

He also made off with an umbrella, said the indictment.

The defendant was charged with burglary, petit larceny and stolen-property possession.

The burglary charge accused him of remaining in a building unlawfully with the intent to commit a crime.

Garcia pleaded guilty to attempted third-degree burglary, a felony, to resolve the case.

The defendant also pleaded guilty to felony criminal contempt to satisfy charges in an unrelated matter.

Those charges stemmed from an arrest on Feb. 28, said online state court records.

In addition, Garcia pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of criminal possession of a controlled substance.

He was busted on July 16, 2019, and accused of illegally possessing cocaine, online state court records show.

In exchange for his felony pleas, Garcia will be sentenced on Aug. 31 in state Supreme Court, St. George, to 18 months to three years behind bars on each case. The sentences will run concurrently.

Hell also receive a concurrent six-month sentence for the drug conviction.

It was a pretty good offer that he couldnt refuse, said defense lawyer Thomas Reilly.
DESTIN, FL / ACCESSWIRE / August 13, 2020 / Florida based Beachworx is pleased to announce that it has been tapped to join Startup Okaloosa, the virtual incubator launched by the Economic Development Council (EDC) of Okaloosa County. Based in Destin, Florida Beachworx provides coworking space primarily to local businesses as well as visitors to the area requiring a professional environment to conduct mission-critical work while traveling.

The company offers innovative and practical office space, ranging from private offices and coworking/shared offices, to conference rooms for many local businesses, and they proudly assert that many would find it worth becoming a member today. The office spaces are state-of-the-art and are well equipped to handle even social distancing requirements.

Beachworx always aims to provide the best service to their clientele. As a forum for networking, mentorship is a key component to Beachworx members successes and is another reason that the company was asked to join Startup Okaloosa. The Economic Development Council of Okaloosa County created this new, on-line resource in order to assist aspiring entrepreneurs, startups, and small business owners.

This virtual incubator takes the form of an information portal, and the site links to traditional and non-traditional funding partners, key advisory organizations, real estate options (including local coworking spaces), and educational resources. "Incubators are a means to success for today's entrepreneurs; they help create and retain jobs," says EDC President Larry Sassano.

Beachworx strengthens this endeavor by providing coworking and office spaces in concert with an array of business services in order to further develop local businesses that are in their developmental and trial stages. To find out more about Beachworx, anyone can view the Facebook page.

For instance, William Blanken states in a 5-Star Google review that they, "Have been utilizing Beachworx for a couple of years now. The office space is exactly what I need for my business. Professional space for getting the job done. The staff and fellow businesses are a pleasure." The company boasts many more 5-Star ratings of this nature as well, many of which can be found on their Google page.

As the community's lead economic development organization, the EDC is committed to building economic diversification through innovative strategies and initiatives. Executive Director of the EDC Nathan Sparks notes, "With 66% of our businesses having between one and four employees, entrepreneurs and small business owners are truly the backbone of our local economy. We felt it important - especially in light of the economic downturn we've experienced as a result of COVID-19 - to develop a resource to aid individuals who are either beginning or restarting their entrepreneurial journey."

EDC FY 2020 Chair Katie Sharon adds to this, stating that, "We intend for Startup Okaloosa to be a community resource, not just another EDC program. To that end, the site will feature relevant content from our partners. We encourage organizations like the Chambers of Commerce and the SBDC to share items they feel will provide value to the startups and small businesses we are seeking to serve."

Business incubators are programs designed to facilitate the successful development of entrepreneurial companies through various business support resources and services offered both within the incubator and through its network of contacts. Beachworx is now featured on the Startup Okaloosa website and is ready to provide the local community with an invaluable resource.

Steven Franco, founder of Beachworx, first identified a need for short term coworking space and private offices for individuals, small businesses, and corporations some time ago. His vision was to establish a cutting-edge workplace, innovative, and always adapting, to provide the very best office environment.

To find out more about Beachworx and Startup Okaloosa, visit their websites and social media platforms.

###

For more information about Beachworx, contact the company here:



Beachworx

Lea Maraman

850-974-3435

info@thebeachworx.com

34990 Emerald Coast Pkwy, Suite 300, Destin, FL 32541

SOURCE: Beachworx

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/601704/Beachworx-Joins-Startup-Okaloosa
Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Bob Woodward's new book about President Trump now has a name: Rage.

Rage is scheduled for release on Sept. 15, and people familiar with the book's contents told CNN it goes into detail about how Trump makes decisions and his thoughts on the coronavirus pandemic, national security, and the Black Lives Matter protests.

Rage will be published by Simon & Schuster, the same company behind recent tell-alls by former National Security Adviser John Bolton and the president's niece, Mary Trump. CEO Jonathan Karp told CNN Rage is "the most important book Simon & Schuster will publish this year. Every voter should read it before Nov. 3."

In January, Trump announced that he sat down with Woodward for the book; he ignored earlier interview requests from Woodward when the author was working on his 2018 tome, Fear, and criticized the book after it was published. CNN reports that Woodward recorded hundreds of hours of interviews with Trump and other people close to him and the White House, and also obtained "notes, emails, diaries, calendars, and confidential documents," including 25 personal letters between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

A person familiar with the letters called them "extraordinary," and Simon & Schuster revealed that in one of them, "Kim describes the bond between the two leaders as out of a 'fantasy film.'"

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Actor-turned-author Twinkle Khanna has weighed in on the recent debate on social media about 'period leave'. The food delivery giant, Zomato recently announced that all its women employees, including transgender people, will be allowed to avail up to 10 days of period leaves in a year. Netizens are divided on the news while some praised the company for acknowledging women's needs, others called it an insult to women fighting for equality.

Backing the move, Bollywood actress Twinkle Khanna emphasised on the hashtag #EqualNotIdentical and wrote on Instagram, "Are we really saying we can't give women leave or the prospect of working from home for that one day? My opinion of gritting our teeth and bearing it, fighting our biology so we can say we are as good as men has changed over time. We are equal, not identical #EqualNotIdentical."

Several fans flooded Twinkle's post with support. One user wrote, "So true," while another wrote, "Well said." Many also left heart emojis in the comment section.

Earlier this month on August 8, Zomato announced up to 10 days of 'period leave' per year for its female and transgender employees. Their official statement read, "A small step for corporates, a giant leap for womankind! Period leaves are not a common phenomenon in India but little victories like these are still a cause for celebration for women everywhere!"

Meanwhile, Twinkle Khanna recently travelled to the UK with her family, including husband Akshay Kumar who is shooting for his upcoming film, Bell Bottom.

Twinkle Khanna On Sharing Household Duties With Akshay Kumar: He And Aarav Cook, I Organize

Twinkle Khanna Predicted Her Future 25 Years Ago And Here's The Proof!
Aryzta is best known here for the Cuisine de France brand. Photo: Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland.

Troubled Swiss-Irish food group Aryzta has nominated Andreas Schmid to succeed Gary McGann as chairman of the company at its extraordinary general meeting next month.

Mr McGann has previously said he will stand down if a deal to sell the company has not been lined up by the EGM.

Mr Schmid previously served as CEO (1998 - 2002), chairman (1998 - 2005) and later vice chairman (2005 - 2014) of Barry Callebaut, a leading manufacturer of chocolate and cocoa products.

As well as a number of other board roles, he has also served as chairman of the listed Airport Zurich since 2000.

I am aware of the headwinds the company is currently facing, but I look forward to working with Aryzta CEO Kevin Toland, his management team and the board of directors to overcome these challenges, MrSchmid said.

Should I be elected by the Extraordinary General Meeting, I would step down from certain mandates I currently hold in order to fully support the business as it continues to manage through these difficult times, he added.

Aryzta is trying to appease disgruntled shareholders, who last month warned they would take legal action if the company's extraordinary general meeting does not take place on September 16 as planned.

The activist group owns more than 20pc of Aryzta and is led by Swiss asset management company Veraison. It had requested an EGM take place on May 20.

In July it was reported that Canadian bakery giant George Weston was exploring a potential deal to buy Aryzta.

George Weston is part of a business group with a focus on food and clothing - including the Penneys and Brown Thomas brands.

Earlier in July, Aryzta said a number of third parties had made unsolicited takeover approaches for the company.

The company hired investment bank Rothschild in April for a strategic review.

Commenting on the nomination of Mr Schmid to the role of chairman, Veraison said is "not in the best interest of the bakery group."

"After discussions and further engagement attempts during the last weeks, his election is clearly rejected by the shareholder group," Veraison said in a statement.
CALGARY, Alberta, Aug. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Prairie Provident Resources Inc. ("Prairie Provident", "PPR" or the "Company") today announces our financial and operating results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020. PPRs unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 (Interim Financial Statements) and related Managements Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 are available on our website at www.ppr.ca and filed on SEDAR.



PPRs second-quarter financial results reflect the significant decline in global energy demand and resultant impact on crude oil pricing caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. While the health and safety of our employees, partners and communities remains a priority, the Company has proactively taken steps to maintain our liquidity and financial resilience during this unprecedented time. Initiatives undertaken include suspending the capital program; identifying immediate and targeted operating cost reductions; reducing compensation across the organization; and reaching an agreement with our lenders to defer the Company's borrowing base re-determination and to suspend cash interest payments on our 15% subordinated unsecured notes due October 31, 2021 ("Senior Notes"). As a result of these initiatives, the Company expects to realize adjusted funds flow1 savings of approximately $8.0 million - $10.0 million for 2020. In addition, PPR has WTI hedges on over 80% of our 2020 forecast base oil production (net of royalties), which protect our operating cash flows and provide further resiliency amid continued volatility. At June 30, 2020, our hedges were fair valued at over $8.6 million.

Q2 2020 HIGHLIGHTS

Due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and OPEC+ supply issues, oil prices experienced significant downturns during the second quarter of 2020. PPR's Q2 2020 cash flows were partially mitigated by our hedging program, which brought in $8.1 million of realized gains for the quarter.





Production averaged 4,879 boe/d (68% liquids) in the second quarter of 2020, a 24% decrease from the same period in 2019, primarily driven by natural declines and gas production shut-in, partially offset by production from our 2019/2020 drilling program. Furthermore, in light of weak oil prices, during the second quarter of 2020 PPR permanently shut-in approximately 130 boe/d of uneconomic oil production. Workover activities were also suspended resulting in approximately 150 bbl/d of temporary lost production across the quarter. As oil prices have partially recovered, PPR has resumed workover activities in the third quarter of 2020 on selected projects that meet our current economic thresholds of less than one-year payout.





Combined with shutting in uneconomic production and reducing workover activities, PPR implemented various other cost reduction initiatives, which resulted in over $1.0 million of operating expense savings for the second quarter of 2020. Together with lower production, operating expense decreased by $3.8 million compared to the second quarter of 2019.





Operating netback1 after the impact of realized gains on derivatives was $7.4 million ($16.56/boe) for the second quarter of 2020, reflecting a decrease of $3.6 million or 33% from the same period in 2019. Our hedging program provided $8.1 million of realized gains in the second quarter of 2020 which partially mitigated a 66% drop in realized oil prices from the corresponding period in 2019.

The Michichi well drilled and completed in late March 2020 produced 220 boe/d (79% liquids) during the first 30 days and averaged 172 boe/d (79% liquids) for the second quarter of 2020. Net capital expenditures 1 during the second quarter of 2020 were $0.4 million, primarily directed to the Michichi water injection facility.





during the second quarter of 2020 were $0.4 million, primarily directed to the Michichi water injection facility. Effective April 2020, annual salaries for all executives and non-executives have been reduced. Certain employee benefit programs have also been suspended. Collectively, these measures are expected to result in $2.0 million of gross G&A reductions for 2020.





Adjusted funds flow (AFF) 1, excluding $0.7 million of decommissioning settlements, was $5.2 million ($0.03 per basic and diluted share) for the second quarter of 2020, a 21% or $1.4 million decrease from the same quarter in 2019. Primary contributors to the decrease were lower production volumes and realized commodity prices, which were partially offset by a reduction in operating expenses, royalties, G&A expenses and cash interest expenses.





excluding $0.7 million of decommissioning settlements, was $5.2 million ($0.03 per basic and diluted share) for the second quarter of 2020, a 21% or $1.4 million decrease from the same quarter in 2019. Primary contributors to the decrease were lower production volumes and realized commodity prices, which were partially offset by a reduction in operating expenses, royalties, G&A expenses and cash interest expenses. Net loss totaled $17.6 million in the second quarter of 2020 compared to net earnings of $3.2 million in the same period last year, driven primarily by a non-cash unrealized loss on derivative instruments of $15.0 million. The unrealized loss on derivative instruments was due to a decrease in derivative asset value between March 31, 2020 and June 30, 2020. The decrease in derivative asset value was partially due to realizing $8.1 million of gains from contracts settled during the second quarter of 2020. In addition, as the forward commodity prices at June 30, 2020 improved from March 31, 2020, the marked-to-market value of the open hedges decreased accordingly.





Net debt 1 at June 30, 2020 totaled $119.8 million, up $8.4 million from December 31, 2019. The increase from year end was attributed to an unrealized foreign exchange loss of $3.5 million which, was driven by a weaker Canadian dollar relative to the US dollar on the Company's US-dollar denominated debt, an increase of $3.3 million related to deferred interest on the Company's bank debt, in addition to the combination of capital expenditures and lease payments exceeding AFF during the first half of 2020.





at June 30, 2020 totaled $119.8 million, up $8.4 million from December 31, 2019. The increase from year end was attributed to an unrealized foreign exchange loss of $3.5 million which, was driven by a weaker Canadian dollar relative to the US dollar on the Company's US-dollar denominated debt, an increase of $3.3 million related to deferred interest on the Company's bank debt, in addition to the combination of capital expenditures and lease payments exceeding AFF during the first half of 2020. During the second quarter of 2020, a lender redetermination of the borrowing base on our senior secured revolving note facility (Revolving Facility), originally scheduled for the spring of 2020, was temporarily deferred. The Company agreed to direct excess funds, after payment of all operating, G&A and other costs of conducting our business, to the repayment of borrowings on the Revolving Facility and to not make further advances under that facility. PPR also agreed to a 200 basis point payment-in-kind margin increase on outstanding advances. The lenders under both the Revolving Facility and the Senior Notes agreed to waive application of all financial covenants for June 30, 2020.



In addition, the holders of our outstanding USD$28,500,000 original principal amount of Senior Notes agreed to in-kind quarterly interest payments, rather than a portion payable in cash as had been done previously, for the payment date of April 30, 2020 and thereafter.



The maturity date of the Revolving Facility is April 30, 2021. As the maturity date is within 12 months from June 30, 2020, the total outstanding amount under the Revolving Facility has been reclassified to current liabilities as at June 30, 2020. The Company and its lenders continue to work towards a longterm solution on the credit facilities.



At June 30, 2020, PPR had US$57.0 million of borrowings drawn against the US$60.0 million Revolving Facility, comprised of US$30.2 million (C$40.5 million equivalent using the exchange rate at the time of borrowing, plus C$0.2 million equivalent of deferred interest, using the June 30, 2020 exchange rate of $1.00 USD to $1.36 CAD) of CAD-denominated borrowing and US$26.9 million of USD-denominated borrowing (C$$36.5 million, plus C$0.2 million of deferred interest equivalent using the June 30, 2020 exchange rate). In addition, US$33.0 million (C$38.6 million, plus C$6.3 million of deferred interest equivalent using the June 30, 2020 exchange rate) of Senior Notes were outstanding at June 30, 2020, for total borrowings of US$90.0 million (C$122.3 million using the June 30, 2020 exchange rate).

1 Non-IFRS measure  see below under Non-IFRS Measures





FINANCIAL AND OPERATING SUMMARY

Three Months Ended

June 30, Six Months Ended

June 30, ($000s except per unit amounts) 2020

2019 2020

2019 Production Volumes Crude oil (bbl/d) 3,179 4,230 3,318 4,062 Natural gas (Mcf/d) 9,351 11,709 9,768 11,639 Natural gas liquids (bbl/d) 141 204 134 173 Total (boe/d) 4,879 6,386 5,080 6,175 % Liquids 68 % 69 % 68 % 69 % Average Realized Prices Crude oil ($/bbl) 22.45 66.44 32.29 61.80 Natural gas ($/Mcf) 1.93 1.15 2.02 1.79 Natural gas liquids ($/bbl) 15.35 28.60 21.12 32.73 Total ($/boe) 18.77 47.03 25.53 44.94 Operating Netback ($/boe)1 Realized price 18.77 47.03 25.53 44.94 Royalties (2.33) (5.42) (2.51) (4.43) Operating costs (18.09) (20.36) (20.35) (21.85) Operating netback (1.65) 21.25 2.67 18.66 Realized gains (losses) on derivatives 18.21 (2.46) 10.90 (1.39) Operating netback, after realized gains (losses) on

derivatives 16.56 18.79 13.57 17.27

1 Operating netback is a Non-IFRS measure (see Non-IFRS Measures below).





Capital Structure

($000s) June 30, 2020 December 31, 2019 Working capital1 0.3 2.2 Bank debt2 (120.1 ) (113.6 ) Total net debt3 (119.8 ) (111.4 ) Common shares outstanding (in millions) 172.1 171.4

1 Working capital (deficit) is a Non-IFRS measure (see "Non-IFRS Measures" below) calculated as current assets less current portion of derivative instruments, minus accounts payable and accrued liabilities.

2 Bank debt includes the Revolving Facility and the Senior Notes.

3 Net debt is a Non-IFRS measure (see "Non-IFRS Measures" below), calculated by adding working capital (deficit) and bank debt.





Three Months Ended

June 30, Six Months Ended

June 30, Drilling Activity 2020 2019 2020 2019 Gross wells 0.0 0.0 1.0 1.0 Net (working interest) wells n/a n/a 1.0 1.0 Success rate, net wells (%)1 n/a n/a 100% 100%

1 For the six months ended June 30, 2020, the Company drilled one development well with a 100% success rate.

OUTLOOK

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a sharp decline in global economic activity, and consequently, a significant drop in energy demand. Although a number of countries around the world have started to ease physical distancing requirements and reopen their economies, there is a recent resurgence of COVID-19 cases in certain areas and the timing and extent of economic recovery remains highly uncertain.

The downturn in oil prices has adversely affected PPR's operating results and financial position, although the impact has been somewhat muted given that 80% of our 2020 forecast base oil production (net of royalties) is protected by hedges. Our hedges have shielded the Company against the severe price deterioration that has occurred during these unprecedented times, underpinning the importance of maintaining liquidity and financial resilience. After completing the Michichi well in March 2020, PPR has suspended our capital program to preserve liquidity and protect development economics.

Operationally, PPR has conducted a bottom-up review of all of our operating expenses and has identified immediate reduction opportunities totaling $2.9 million for 2020. Cost reductions are expected to be realized through rate negotiations, workforce optimizations, shutting-in uneconomic production and the deferral of activities.

In addition, effective April 2020, annual salaries for all executives and non-executives have been reduced, while the Board of Directors' annual remuneration has also been adjusted. Certain employee benefit programs have also been suspended. These measures are expected to result in approximately $2.0 million of gross G&A reductions for 2020.

PPR continues to actively pursue various COVID-19 relief programs announced by the Government of Canada and the Government of Alberta, including the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, the Business Credit Availability Program administered through Export Development Canada and the Business Development Bank of Canada, and the Site Rehabilitation Program (SRP) for funding abandonment and reclamation work. With respect to the SRP, PPR will assess the cost and benefits of directing spending towards decommissioning activities, with our participation decision dependent upon the incentives available and capital requirements from PPR.

As a result of the impacts caused by COVID-19, the Company expects the remainder of 2020 to be a challenging time for our industry and for the global economy in general. While PPR cannot control or influence the macro environment, we are committed to maintaining our balance sheet and liquidity through active cost reduction efforts and will continue to work closely with our lenders.

ABOUT PRAIRIE PROVIDENT

Prairie Provident is a Calgary-based company engaged in the exploration and development of oil and natural gas properties in Alberta. The Company's strategy is to grow organically in combination with accretive acquisitions of conventional oil prospects, which can be efficiently developed. Prairie Provident's operations are primarily focused at the Michichi and Princess areas in Southern Alberta targeting the Banff, the Ellerslie and the Lithic Glauconite formations, along with an established and proven waterflood project at our Evi area in the Peace River Arch. Prairie Provident protects its balance sheet through an active hedging program and manages risk by allocating capital to opportunities offering maximum shareholder returns.

For further information, please contact:

Prairie Provident Resources Inc.

Tim Granger President and Chief Executive Officer

Tel: (403) 292-8110

Email: tgranger@ppr.ca

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains certain statements ("forward-looking statements") that constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to future performance, events or circumstances, are based upon internal assumptions, plans, intentions, expectations and beliefs, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated or suggested therein. All statements other than statements of current or historical fact constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are typically, but not always, identified by words such as anticipate, believe, expect, intend, plan, budget, forecast, target, estimate, propose, potential, project, continue, may, will, should or similar words suggesting future outcomes or events or statements regarding an outlook.

Without limiting the foregoing, this news release contains forward-looking statements pertaining to: the Company's liquidity and financial resilience going-forward; cost reduction opportunities (including anticipated amounts) and the Company's ability to achieve them; and future improvements in economic activity and energy demand.

Forward-looking statements are based on a number of material factors, expectations or assumptions of Prairie Provident which have been used to develop such statements but which may prove to be incorrect. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements, which are inherently uncertain and depend upon the accuracy of such expectations and assumptions. Prairie Provident can give no assurance that the forward-looking statements contained herein will prove to be correct or that the expectations and assumptions upon which they are based will occur or be realized. Actual results or events will differ, and the differences may be material and adverse to the Company. In addition to other factors and assumptions which may be identified herein, assumptions have been made regarding, among other things: future commodity prices and currency exchange rates, including consistency of future prices with current price forecasts; the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the adverse effect on global energy demand, and the oversupply of oil production; results from development activities, and their consistency with past operations; the quality of the reservoirs in which Prairie Provident operates and continued performance from existing wells, including production profile, decline rate and product mix; the accuracy of the estimates of Prairie Provident's reserves volumes; operating and other costs, including the ability to achieve and maintain cost improvements; continued availability of external financing and cash flow to fund Prairie Provident's current and future plans and expenditures, with external financing on acceptable terms; the impact of competition; the general stability of the economic and political environment in which Prairie Provident operates; the general continuance of current industry conditions; the timely receipt of any required regulatory approvals; the ability of Prairie Provident to obtain qualified staff, equipment and services in a timely and cost efficient manner; drilling results; the ability of the operator of the projects in which Prairie Provident has an interest in to operate the field in a safe, efficient and effective manner; field production rates and decline rates; the ability to replace and expand oil and natural gas reserves through acquisition, development and exploration; the timing and cost of pipeline, storage and facility construction and expansion and the ability of Prairie Provident to secure adequate product transportation; regulatory framework regarding royalties, taxes and environmental matters in the jurisdictions in which Prairie Provident operates; and the ability of Prairie Provident to successfully market its oil and natural gas products.

Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or promises of future outcomes, and should not be relied upon. Such statements, including the assumptions made in respect thereof, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements including, without limitation: changes in realized commodity prices; changes in the demand for or supply of Prairie Provident's products; the early stage of development of some of the evaluated areas and zones; the potential for variation in the quality of the geologic formations targeted by Prairie Providents operations; unanticipated operating results or production declines; changes in tax or environmental laws, royalty rates or other regulatory matters; changes in development plans of Prairie Provident or by third party operators; increased debt levels or debt service requirements; inaccurate estimation of Prairie Provident's oil and gas reserves volumes; limited, unfavourable or a lack of access to capital markets; increased costs; a lack of adequate insurance coverage; the impact of competitors; and such other risks as may be detailed from time-to-time in Prairie Provident's public disclosure documents, (including, without limitation, those risks identified in this news release and Prairie Provident's current Annual Information Form).

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release speak only as of the date of this news release, and Prairie Provident assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, or otherwise, except as may be required pursuant to applicable laws. All forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

Barrels of Oil Equivalent

The oil and gas industry commonly expresses production volumes and reserves on a barrel of oil equivalent basis (boe) whereby natural gas volumes are converted at the ratio of six thousand cubic feet to one barrel of oil. The intention is to sum oil and natural gas measurement units into one basis for improved analysis of results and comparisons with other industry participants. A boe conversion ratio of six thousand cubic feet to one barrel of oil is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip. It does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead nor at the plant gate, which is where Prairie Provident sells its production volumes. Boes may therefore be a misleading measure, particularly if used in isolation. Given that the value ratio based on the current price of crude oil as compared to natural gas is significantly different from the energy equivalency ratio of 6:1, utilizing a 6:1 conversion ratio may be misleading as an indication of value.

Initial Production Rates

The initial 30-day production rate for our Michichi development well may not be indicative of stabilized on-stream production rates, future product types, long-term well or reservoir performance, or ultimate recovery. Actual future results will differ from those realized during an initial short-term production period, and the difference may be material.

Non-IFRS Measures

The Company uses certain terms in this news release and within the MD&A that do not have a standardized or prescribed meaning under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), and, accordingly these measurements may not be comparable with the calculation of similar measurements used by other companies. For a reconciliation of each non-IFRS measure to its nearest IFRS measure, please refer to the Non-IFRS Measures section in the MD&A. Non-IFRS measures are provided as supplementary information by which readers may wish to consider the Company's performance but should not be relied upon for comparative or investment purposes. The non-IFRS measures used in this news release are summarized as follows:



Working Capital  Working capital (deficit) is calculated as current assets excluding the current portion of derivative instruments, less accounts payable and accrued liabilities. This measure is used to assist management and investors in understanding liquidity at a specific point in time. The current portion of derivatives instruments is excluded as management intends to hold derivative contracts through to maturity rather than realizing the value at a point in time through liquidation. The current portion of bank debt is excluded from working capital calculation as it relates to financing activities and is included in net debt calculation. The current portion of decommissioning expenditures is excluded as these costs are discretionary and the current portion of flow-through share premium and warrant liabilities are excluded as it is a non-monetary liability. Lease liabilities have historically been excluded as they were not recorded on the balance sheet until the adoption of IFRS 16  Leases on January 1, 2019.

Net Debt  Net debt is defined as bank debt plus working capital surplus or deficit. Net debt is commonly used in the oil and gas industry for assessing the liquidity of a company.

Operating Netback  Operating netback is a non-IFRS measure commonly used in the oil and gas industry. This measurement assists management and investors to evaluate the specific operating performance at the oil and gas lease level. Operating netbacks included in this news release were determined by taking (oil and gas revenues less royalties less operating costs). Operating netback may be expressed in absolute dollar basis or per unit basis. Per unit amounts are determined by dividing the absolute value by gross working interest production. Operating netback, including realized commodity (loss) and gain, adjusts the operating netback for only realized gains and losses on derivative instruments.

Adjusted Funds Flow  Adjusted funds flow is calculated based on cash flow from operating activities before changes in non-cash working capital, transaction costs, restructuring costs, and other non-recurring items. Management believes that such a measure provides an insightful assessment of PPRs operational performance on a continuing basis by eliminating certain non-cash charges and charges that are non-recurring or discretionary and utilizes the measure to assess its ability to finance capital expenditures and debt repayments. Adjusted funds flow as presented is not intended to represent cash flow from operating activities, net earnings or other measures of financial performance calculated in accordance with IFRS. Adjusted funds flow per share is calculated based on the weighted average number of common shares outstanding consistent with the calculation of earnings per share.
The Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication informed a committee, on Thursday, that Pakistan has plans to start the manufacture of smartphones soon. The Senate Standing Committee on IT and Telecommunication recommended a reduction in phone registration fees and import duty on handheld devices like laptops and mobile phones. The Minister, Syed Amin Ul Haq, then informed the committee of Pakistans plans to start the manufacture of smartphones, which would 
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Warnings about the dangers of fake information about COVID-19 could be falling on deaf ears, according to new research.

In a working paper studying the impact of online misinformation, Dr. Ciara Greene from the UCD School of Psychology found there was little evidence that warnings about fake news had any effect on a person's belief in fake news or on associated behavioral changes.

Some 3740 participants were recruited for the study, and each were shown public health and misinformation warning posters which copied the format and style of awareness campaigns relating to COVID-19 in Ireland.

They were also shown four fake stories and four real stories, and were not told that some of the stories were fake.

Among the fake stories was a claim that the HSE's contact tracing app was developed by a group previously involved with Cambridge Analytica.

The study also looked at false memories, with participants asked if they remembered seeing some of the news storiesthe real stories and two randomly selected fake onespreviously being reported.

Dr. Greene, and her co-author Dr. Gillian Murphy from University College Cork, found that "exposure to misinformation was associated with small but significant changes" in two of the four behaviors being assessed.

Those who had viewed the fake story about the contact tracing app were less willing to download it for example, while some of the participants who falsely remembered having seen the story also reported an unwillingness to engage with it.

"It's not just that people believed the story, they remembered it," Dr. Greene told the Times. "A lot of them thought this story was true and about a quarter had a false memory about it."

Dr. Murphy added: "I suspect the contact-tracing story felt familiar as there was so much discussion about privacy and data protection in the weeks before we ran the study. Familiarity can increase false memories."

Examining whether providing a warning about fake news might reduce susceptibility to misinformation, the results of the study suggests that if fake news does affect behavior generic warnings such as those used by governments and social media companies, and shown to the participants in the research, were unlikely to be effective.

"Viewing a warning about misinformation did not affect behavioral intentions, regardless of framing, and warning condition did not moderate the effects of fake news exposure," the paper notes.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
A 'self-absorbed' fitness blogger has apologised for breaching Melbourne's lockdown and posting it online after being 'inundated with threats and abuse'.

Beck Lomas, 25, boasted about doing 'a couple of extra laps' around the lake on Saturday while waiting for her boyfriend Josh Klein to set up her birthday surprise.

The Melburnian shared her activity online, telling her 166,000 Instagram followers on her story she was going to run for 'as long as I feel like' after having already exercised in the morning.

Lomas was aiming to beat Klein in the Fitbit Couples Challenge, where participants try to outdo each other for the 'most active minutes' within six days.

Beck Lomas (pictured), 25, boasted about doing 'a couple of extra laps' around the lake on Saturday while waiting for her boyfriend, Josh Klein, to set up her birthday surprise

Lomas (pictured) was aiming to beat Klein in the Fitbit Couples Challenge, where participants try to outdo each other for the 'most active minutes' within six days

Videos and screenshots, which have now been deleted, showed her posing outside in activewear without a face mask.

Lomas was then slammed on social media on Tuesday after leaving her Prahran home for exercise more than once.

She also completed a two-and-a-half hour walk on Monday, despite Melburnains only being allowed to exercise for an hour under Stage 4 restrictions.

'I kind of feel like going for a really big run  so I think I'm just going to set out and go for as long as I feel like to get my active minutes up,' the Adidas and YoPro yoghurt ambassador said on Tuesday.

Lomas (pictured) was then slammed on social media on Tuesday after leaving her Prahran home for exercise more than once

Under the city's Stage 4 coronavirus restrictions, Melburnians are required to stay within a 5km radius of their homes, and anyone who breaks these directions could issued a $1,652 fine from police.

They are also only allowed to leave their homes for work or study, to get essential supplies, medical or care-giving reasons, or on compassionate grounds.

'I'd like to express how sorry I am for what I've done,' Lomas wrote in a grovelling public apology, which she posted on Instagram late on Tuesday.

'I'm not going to make excuses for it or try to spin the situation to make it sound better than it was. I'm a human and I made a mistake.

'I meant absolutely no harm to anyone however can now see the seriousness of the situation.'



Fitness blogger Beck Lomas, 25, issued a grovelling public apology online (pictured) after copping a wave of criticism for breaching Melbourne's COVID-19 Stage 4 restrictions

Lomas (pictured) was labelled 'self absorbed' and 'disrespectful' after flagrantly breaching the city's lockdown laws

Fitbit reacted swiftly to Lomas' breach.

'Regrettably, a participant breached Victorian COVID-19 restrictions by exercising outside of their home for longer than one hour,' a Fitbit spokesperson told Pedestrian.

'This was done at their own discretion and was not a directive from Fitbit. As a result, we have cancelled the challenge and terminated our working relationship with the participant.'

In her apology, Lomas said she had been 'inundated with threats and abuse' in the days following her 'mistake'.

'If youre feeling anger towards me, please all I ask is that you think twice before commenting or messaging me, Im being inundated with threats and abuse,' she said.

'I know that what I did was wrong and I have learnt from it. I take full responsibility and I will absolutely never do it again.'

Fitbit has since cancelled the challenge and terminated its working relationship with Lomas (pictured) due to her breaching Melbourne's Stage 4 restrictions

Lomas (pictured) has publicly apologised for breaching the city's lockdown after being 'inundated with threats and abuse'

Lomas faced criticism including Instagram users calling her 'privileged' and 'shameless', and telling her 'people behaving like you are the reason I can't see my grandmother, friends and family'.

'As a Melburnian you are breaking the rules and you should not be promoting such behaviour  walk around your home if you want to increase your steps,' one follower wrote.

Another said: 'Your privilege and self absorption is showing, the fact they even think it's OK to publicly admit to such blatant disrespect of the rules shows who you really are.'
The current COVID-19 pandemic is a primarily respiratory illness, manifesting with severe hypoxia and often progressing to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and death. However, it is also known to be linked to a wide range of cardiovascular (CV) manifestations that are associated with a very poor prognosis.

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in August 2020 discusses some of the more severe CV disorders seen in patients with COVID-19 over the past few months of the pandemic. Admittedly, the current understanding of this spectrum is limited, but it is known that COVID-19 patients may also suffer from fulminant myocarditis, cardiogenic shock, thromboembolism, and sudden cardiac death.

Cardiovascular Manifestations and Outcomes in the Setting of COVID-19 Disease

Mechanism of CV Involvement in COVID-19

Most investigators consider that the CV manifestations in this syndrome are due to direct viral infection of the myocardium, coupled with systemic inflammation. Both cardiac injury and inflammation are known to be common in this condition and may be the result of the infection of the myocardial cells.

Most scientists think that the most important route of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) into the host cells is through the angiotensinconverting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors, which are profusely expressed in the heart and lung tissue. Another often-presented theory is that the systemic secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines leads to indirect cardiac injury. These include interleukin-1 (IL-1), beta interferon-gamma (IFN-), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-, and interleukin-6 (IL-6).

The role of systemic inflammation in causing cardiac injury is supported by an autopsy report of a COVID-19 patient showing that myocardial tissue was probably injured by systemic cytokine release.

Myocarditis in COVID-19

Myocarditis can occur in all age groups of COVID-19 patients at an incidence of 19% to 28%, even when the patient has no previous history of cardiovascular disease, making it essential to identify the condition early. The diagnosis is based on abnormalities in the ECG findings, high troponin I values, or in Troponin T levels.

Patients who recovered from COVID-19 sometimes developed symptoms of cardiac injury.

Prognosis in COVID-19 With Cardiac Manifestations

Patients with COVID-19 who develop cardiac injury and inflammation typically have a poorer outcome, and experience complications during the course of their hospital stay. Cardiac injury increases the risk of mechanical ventilation, at 46%, well over tenfold the risk in patients with an intact heart. The incidence of ARDS is also higher, at almost 59% vs. 15% in patients without cardiac injury.

Acute kidney injury, electrolyte imbalance, and clotting disorders are all significantly higher in COVID-19 patients with a concomitant cardiac injury. Kidney injury is observed in over 8% in this subset vs. 0.3% of those without cardiac injury. Electrolyte imbalance is seen in 16% and clotting abnormalities in over 7%, compared to 5% and less than 2%, respectively.

Cardiac Arrhythmias

Patients with COVID-19 who developed cardiac injury also had a higher risk of dangerous arrhythmias, including ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ventricular fibrillation (VF), at 17% vs. 2%. The mortality rate is far higher, at over 50%, compared to less than 10%, among patients with and without cardiac injury.

Overall, arrhythmias were observed to occur in 17% to 44% of COVID-19 patients in various studies. Patients with higher TnT levels had a higher risk of malignant arrhythmias like VT and VF.

Biomarkers like CRP and D-dimer were elevated in patients with atrial tachyarrhythmias. Some drugs used for treating COVID-19, such as hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, are known to cause VT or VF to occur by prolonging the QT interval. Thus, such drugs, especially hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, are not to be administered in patients with a QT over 500 msec. All patients on these drugs should be monitored for daily QTc; potassium and magnesium levels should be kept above 4 and 2 mEq/L, respectively.

Prognosis

Patients with cardiac injury secondary to COVID-19 have a poor prognosis. Some prior research suggests that an increase in cardiac biomarkers like TnT, C-reactive protein (CRP), creatinine kinase myocardial band (CK-MB), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and creatinine kinase (CK).

Again, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic extends beyond the direct or indirect cardiac injury. One study reported that patients with myocardial infarction received delayed care because of the extra precautions in procedures as routine as a 12-lead ECG, the overwhelm of emergency medical teams, delay on the part of patients in presenting for medical care due to the fear of contracting COVID-19 and having to test for the infection before necessary medical interventions. As a result, the course of the infarction tended to be more complicated, and the outcome worse.

Cardiac Arrest

Many studies have shown the occurrence of cardiac arrest among young adults with COVID-19. In the majority of cases, the event was secondary to hypoxia. The patient developed cardiac asystole in almost 90% of cases, with VT or VF in only 6%. Pulseless electrical activity (PEA) was seen in only 4% of patients. Only 13% of patients spontaneously resumed circulation. Of these, a meager four were still alive at 30 days, and only one retained functional neurological status at this time. The outcomes were better after VF or VT.

Coagulation Disorders

In a series of over 2,000 successive COVID-19 patients, 100 had signs of clinical decompensation. A quarter of them had a pulmonary embolism (PE). This figure was confirmed in another study. ICU patients with COVID-19 have twice the risk of PE compared to those in the ICU for other reasons.

The presence of PE increased the odds of requiring mechanical ventilation and ICU admission, of developing ARDS, disseminated intravascular coagulation, right ventricular failure, and cytokine storm. This latter refers to the severe systemic inflammation resulting from COVID-19 in some cases. It is thought to cause coagulation abnormalities via the action of interleukins and TNF-. These cytokines are released from damaged endothelium and activated macrophages because of the hypoxia created by the lung injury.

The researchers say, The conglomerate of an inflammatory storm, venous stasis from immobilization during hospitalization, and the hypercoagulability caused by treatment with glucocorticoids and immunoglobulins act in synergy to promote clot formation. Moreover, clotting is promoted by the interleukins and complement proteins, causing vascular damage.

Markers of Coagulation Abnormalities

Some studies show that a high D-dimer level is linked to an elevated risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). Moreover, both D-dimer and thrombocytopenia indicate a high platelet count and a poor prognosis. Several expert societies suggest that the presence of these markers should indicate the need for hospitalization due to the presence of high thrombin levels.

Such patients should receive thromboprophylaxis to improve the outcome. Monitoring of coagulation activity and treatment with anticoagulants is required. It is noted in some studies that even with standard anticoagulation, a fifth of critically ill patients went on to develop VTE, while a quarter had a hemorrhagic episode.

Patients who received both antivirals and direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) had a marked rise in DOAC levels, leading to the withholding of antivirals from these COVID-19 patients until the antiviral was no longer being administered. If the antiviral was found essential, parenteral anticoagulants were to be used. However, the rates of hemorrhage and invasive mechanical ventilation were higher in patients on anticoagulation at standard doses vs. others in one study, but with no difference in mortality.

Stroke

COVID-19 patients with any of the following factors have a higher chance of developing a stroke, namely, older age, severe disease, hypertension, diabetes, and a marked elevation of inflammatory markers like CRP or D-dimer. The expression of the viral receptor ACE2 on the endothelium of the blood vessels, coupled with the binding of SARS-CoV-2 might increase the blood pressure. When this is operative along with the procoagulant status already described, and the presence of pro-inflammatory cytokines, the risk of a cerebrovascular event is high.

Again, impaired ACE3 function on the nerve cells along with reduced platelet counts and abnormal coagulation might disrupt normal autoregulatory mechanisms and cause hemorrhagic stroke.

The researchers point out, Future studies are required to understand on a more mechanistic level the effect of COVID-19 on the myocardium and thus provide avenues to improve mortality and morbidity.

*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.
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya had won supporters hungry for change in Belarus and seemed ready to take on an authoritarian leader who has ruled the former Soviet state for 26 years.

But as Sunday's election finished with the declaration of another massive victory for Alexander Lukashenko, the 37-year-old former teacher and mother of two faced a stark choice: Stay and fight the disputed ballot or become the latest of the president's opponents to seek refuge abroad.

As riot police crushed protests across the country, Tikhanovskaya was detained for about seven hours on Monday as she went to submit a formal challenge against the official election results. A day later, she was in neighboring Lithuania after making what she called a "difficult decision." She made the comments in a video posted on YouTube that officials in Baltic state said was filmed under duress while she was in detention.

The outcome took on a familiar pattern in Belarus, a country that Human Rights Watch has castigated for its brutal treatment of opposition activists. With her husband, a political blogger, in jail and her kids already dispatched to Lithuania, the stakes were clear. And what also became apparent is that Belarus is suddenly an urgent issue for Europe as calls mount across the continent for renewed sanctions.

The European Union is convening an extraordinary meeting of foreign ministers to discuss Belarus on Friday. The EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said Sunday's election was "neither free nor fair" and that the crushing of demonstrations was "unacceptable." Lukashenko took 80% of the votes, according to official results.

A second person died on Wednesday as police clashed with demonstrators in the city of Brest, with the United Nations condemning the use of violence by the government. The Interior Ministry said officers used live bullets when they came under attack from protesters.

Tikhanovskaya entered the election race in May after her husband, pro-democracy activist Sergei Tikhanovsky, was barred from standing and incarcerated.

Lukashenko said the Belarusian constitution isn't designed to have a woman run the country and that only people who served in the military could do so. Tikhanovskaya spoke of intimidation such as a phone call in which her children's lives were threatened.

"She's recovering after this difficult time," Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Wednesday. "It's very important she's free and she's united with her children. One choice was to flee the country, and another choice was not good for her."

Tikhanovskaya joins a lengthening list of Lukashenko opponents now in exile, including Andrei Sannikov, a former diplomat who ran for the presidency in 2010. He was jailed for inciting protests against the election result before being released and seeking asylum in the U.K. Veronika Tsepkalo, the wife of another opposition candidate and a Tikhanovskaya ally, has fled to Russia.

Lithuania, meanwhile, has accepted dozens of opposition activists who left Belarus. It now also is a home to an EU-funded Belarusian university in exile that was shut down by Lukashenko in 2004. The Baltic country, also a former Soviet republic, on Wednesday eased coronavirus-related border controls as it gears up for a potential surge in asylum seekers from Belarus.

Police have cracked down on protesters since Sunday, with at least 6,000 detained during the clashes. Tikhanovskaya's election allies said they will continue the fight to have the results annulled, but urged supporters and the authorities to use peaceful means.

Lukashenko, 65, has discredited the protests, saying they were being staged by ex-criminals who are now unemployed.

Tikhanovskaya had galvanized opposition to Lukashenko, notoriously referred to in the U.S. and Western Europe as "Europe's last dictator," particularly among women.

Indeed, they remain a visible phalanx in the protests, often dressed in white, marching and forming human chains against violence. More than 600 women of all ages lined down the street near the main Komarovka market in the capital, Minsk, on Wednesday, chanting "we are for peace." Dressed in white, they waved flowers at nearby cars.

"We are for a peaceful protest," said 29-year-old Dana, who works in tourism. "We don't want our men, our boys to be beaten up anymore."

Ahead of the election, authorities were deliberately targeting women involved in politics or female family members of political activists, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International's Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director, said in a report last month.

Before leaving her country, Tikhanovskaya recorded a video in which she called on her fellow citizens to end protests. She was visibly scared and reading from a script. The video was leaked to Belarusian state media.

"God forbid you face the choice that I did, so people, take care of yourselves," Tikhanovskaya said in the post. "No life is worth what's happening now. Children are the most important thing in our lives."

But Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said her comments were the result of coercion. His country, along with Germany, is leading the push for sanctions.

"No sensible person can believe that the statements in the Tikhanovskaya videos were made of free will," Nauseda said on Facebook. "This is further evidence of the kinds of methods the regime uses to break the people's and the nation's spirit."
Indiantown, FL - Logged in to Zoom for the first day of her online classes, a 10-year-old elementary school student was on her virtual lesson when her mother was shot to death by her mother's ex-boyfriend according to the police.

Sheriff's Office of the Martin County shared that the suspect was Donald J. Williams, 27, who shot and killed Maribel Rosado-Morales, his ex-girlfriend.

According to Daily Mail, the brutal incident happened in front of Rosado-Morales' six children inside their home at Indiantown around 8 am on Tuesday.

One of Rosado-Morales' daughters, who is a student at the Warfield Elementary, had been on her Zoom call with her classmates for their virtual class that morning when they heard yelling and profanity in the background of her connection.

The commotion in the background prompted the teacher of the girl to mute the audio of the call, as she realized that there will be a bad incident that is about to unfold.

Read also: Pizza T-Shirt Design Got Falsely Associate With Pedophilia

After the teacher muted the virtual class, William Snyder, the Martin County Sheriff revealed during the press conference that the teacher then witnessed the girl putting her hands up to her ears.

According to Snyder, the shooting was not visible to the teacher or to the other students who were part of the virtual class but it was at that time that Williams opened fire inside Rosado-Morales' home, NY Daily News reported.

The screen of the computer that the 10-year-old girl uses went black suddenly after one of the bullets struck it directly on its screen.

Rosado-Morales' six children whose ages were at the range of 10-17 were in front of her, horrified when the shooting incident happened.

Based on the initial reports, the two children present at the incident were cousins of Rosado-Morales' kids but a family friend shared that all of those present at the scene were all children of the victim.

Despite the outrage of the suspect, luckily none among Rosado-Morales' kids were hurt.

Based on the report of the Detectives, Williams escaped the home of Rosado-Morales where the shooting incident using a bicycle before he boarded in a Martin County Public Transit bus and asked the driver to take him to Stuart.

But as the ride continues, the driver grew suspicious about Williams' behavior and dialed 911.

After the call, a SWAT team responded and took Williams into custody just 40 minutes after he shot the mother of six kids.

A handgun was retrieved when they search the bag of Williams. Authorities shared that the weapon Williams' used was a gun that was reported stolen from a car way back 2015.

Despite the efforts of airlifting Rosado-Morales to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center, after arrival at the medical facility, she was pronounced dead.

Snyder shared that Williams confessed to the investigators and will be facing charges of first-degree murder, armed home invasion, and armed burglary.

Snyder also mentioned that Williams was just recently released from prison after facing charges of domestic violence.

He also mentioned that the fatal incident reportedly started after Williams went to Rosado-Morales' home to confront her about a video and the unspecified argument and the shooting started.



Related article: 12-Year-Old Boy in Nigeria was Starved and Chained by his Father for Two Years

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By Azernews





By Akbar Mammadov

A military delegation from Turkey headed by Defence Minister Hulusi Akar has arrived in Azerbaijan to observe the joint large-scale military drills between the two countries' troops, the Defense Ministry reported on August 13.

The military delegation will observe the final episode of the first stage of Live-Fire Joint Large-Scale Tactical and Flight-Tactical Exercises of the Land Forces and the Air Force of Azerbaijan and Turkey.

The Turkish delegation represented by Chief of the General Staff, Army General Yashar Guler, commanders of the branches of the Armed Forces, and other high-ranking officers arrived in the country of August 12 evening.

Following the arrival, the Turkish delegation along with Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov, and the First Deputy Defense Minister, Chief of the General Staff, Najmeddin Sadikov, visited the Alley of Honor, the Alley of Martyrs and the monument erected in honour of the Turkish soldiers killed in 1918 in Baku.

The observation of the final episode will take place within the framework of the Distinguished Visitors Day of the exercises.

The Turkish military officials visit follows Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramovs and Defence Minister Zakir Hasanovs visit to Turkey on August 11 where they were both received by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

It should be noted that The Land and Air forces of the two countries are participating in the military exercises held in line with the agreement on military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkey, in accordance with the annual plan.

According to the plan, exercises involving the Land Forces were held from August 1 to 5 in Baku and Nakhchivan, while exercises involving the Air Forces were conducted from July 29 to August 10  in Baku, Nakhchivan, Ganja, Kurdamir and Yevlakh.

The personnel, armoured vehicles, artillery and mortars, combat and transport helicopters of the Air Forces, as well as air defence and anti-aircraft missile divisions of the two armies, will be involved in the military exercises.








After the devastating blast at Beirut Port, Russia has announced that the Port of Tartous will be available to receive commercial ships writes SY 24.

The Russian Stroytransgas company, which invested in and operates the Syrian Port of Tartous, announced its full readiness to receive commercial ships and to provide all necessary services with speed and efficiency, after the great losses suffered at the port of the Lebanese capital Beirut.

The Russian company tried to entice the Lebanese and international parties to start using the Port of Tartous, noting that the port is known for its proximity to Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon, its area of 3 million square meters, and its 22 berths, in addition to the container terminal which occupies an area of 25 hectares and has a storage capacity of up to 12,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), and which is equipped to accommodate 300 TEU of refrigerated containers.

Commenting on this, Russian affairs expert, Abdel Fattah Tahoun, said to SY 24, The matter has several implications, the most important of which is the absence of the role of the Syrian state and its lack of initiative. On the other hand, an Arab alternative is absent for the moment, which means the Port of Beirut has to rely on the port of Sidon or Tripoli. This reality has presented the Russians with an opportunity.

He added that, the most dangerous indications is the complete exit of all Arab initiatives from the Levantine coasts. The Israeli-occupied Haifa Port is intended to be a door for the Arabian Peninsula to the west, specifically for the Gulf states. As for the Port of Tartous, it is intended to be a door to the countries of the northern Arabian Peninsula, including Iraq and Iran, controlled by Russia.

He continued, Russian hegemony is in perfect harmony with the Israeli occupation. There is no competition or conflict of interests between them, especially with the complete absence of Arab regimes and their governments. This in of itself is explained by the irrelevance of what was reached within the framework of the Sykes-Picot Agreement and the expiration date on Arab independence projects. It also predicts the grim days awaiting the region in the upcoming days.

Russia acquired the Port of Tartous through the Stroytransgas in October 2019, based on a 49-year investment contract that they signed with the Syrian regime.

The Russian company has also been investing in the factories of the General Fertilizers Company.

In March 2018, the regimes parliament approved a contract by Stroytransgas with the General Establishment of Geology and Mineral Resources (GEGMR), owned by the regime, to invest and extract phosphate ores from mines in al-Sharqiyah in Palmyra.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
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Linkedin Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard (Reuters) Taipei, Taiwan  Thu, August 13, 2020 14:45 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066dc0bd7 2 World Taiwan,China,military-spending,military-drill Free

Taiwan unveiled a T$42.1 billion ($1.4 billion) increase for next year's planned defense spending on Thursday, as China announced details of its latest combat drills near the democratic island.

China has stepped up its military activity near Taiwan. On Monday Taiwan, said Chinese fighters briefly crossed the sensitive median line of the Taiwan Strait, the same day US health chief Alex Azar met President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei. China had denounced Azar's trip.

Tsai's Cabinet is proposing T$453.4 billion in military spending for the year starting in January, versus T$411.3 billion budgeted for this year, up 10.2%, according to Reuters calculations.

About three hours after the budget announcement, China's People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theatre Command said its forces had in recent days carried out combat drills in the Taiwan Strait and to the north and south of the island, implying they were aimed at Azar's trip.

"Recently, a certain large country has continued to make negative moves on Taiwan-related issues, sending serious wrong signals to 'Taiwan independence' forces, and seriously threatening the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait," it said.

"The theatre command's organizing of patrols and exercises are necessary actions taken in response to the current security situation across the Taiwan Strait and to safeguard national sovereignty," the statement added.

Tsai has made modernizing Taiwan's armed forces and increasing defense spending a priority.

The budget must be approved by lawmakers, though Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party has a large majority in the legislature, making it unlikely to be blocked.

China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, and has denounced the United States for arms sales to the island. Washington is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.

Taiwan is in discussions with the United States to acquire sea mines to deter amphibious landings as well as cruise missiles for coastal defense, Taiwan's de facto ambassador to United States said on Wednesday.

Last year, the US State Department approved arms sales worth US$10 billion for Taiwan, including 106 M1A2 Abrams tanks and 66 F-16V fighter jets.

Taiwan's military is well armed, but dwarfed by that of China's, which is adding advanced equipment like stealthy fighter jets and aircraft carriers.
When people drink too much, they tend to do things they normally wouldn't: Blabber to a friend, go wild on a busy street or climb on top of a shrine naked. At least that is what one drunk tourist did.

The video of the same tourist, stripping off and climbing on to a Buddhist shrine chanting, ranting and swearing with a can of beer in hand is going viral.

Viral Press

28-year-old Farah Haque was caught on camera as she scaled the religious site in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. She reportedly hurled abuses at passerby before police escorted her to the nearby Suan Prung Psychiatric Hospital to sober up before being assessed by doctors.

In the video, Haque can be see stark naked, perched on a handrail while wildly waving her arms in the air and drinking beer from a can.

Apart from other things she was heard chanting Allahu Akbar. Farah is reportedly originally from Bangladesh.

Also Read: Naked Man Chases After Wild Boar That Ran Away With His Laptop

According to officers, Haque had initially arrived as a tourist but had been working as an English teacher since April. Police Lieutenant Colonel Somkit Phusod from Chaing Mai police station said Ms Haque had been staying at a hostel in the city.

We suspected that she was quite drunk, she could not control herself and she was causing a terrible scene. The first thing we did was take her to the hospital to rest. When she is sober the doctors will check her psychological state, Mail Online quoted him as saying.

Also Read: Naked Man Walking In The Middle Of Busy Road & Blocking Traffic Gets A Hard Punch From Car Driver



Viral Press

Reportedly, Haque was also seen roaming around drunk a night before. Officers said Ms Haque had also been seen stumbling around while drunk the night before.

Lt Col Somkit also said, The correct procedure is for psychological reports to be produced which will help us when considering any charges or fines. We are informing her embassy and acquaintances in Thailand.

As far as the shrine is concerned, Buddhist locals spent a day cleaning it.





Also Read: Half-Naked Woman Walks Into Frame On Spanish Journalist's Broadcast, She Was Not His Girlfriend
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 13:39:16|Editor: huaxia

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Workers check a production line at Lianyungang Economic and Technological Development Area in Lianyungang, east China's Jiangsu Province, July 16, 2020. (Photo by Geng Yuhe/Xinhua)

"The most important part of Chinese economic policy today, in my view, is the commitment of the government to widening the door to the world, despite the difficulty arising from the coronavirus crisis," said the economist.

GENEVA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- China is expected to play the role of a "locomotive" for powering global recovery in the post-pandemic era, a Swiss economist has said.

"The Chinese market has become an important growth driver because of its size and its continuing expansion," Rudolf Minsch, chief economist at Swiss national business federation Economiesuisse, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Moreover, it is "absolutely crucial that China is opposing any tendency to reverse globalization," Minsch said, adding China has been keeping up the effort to "establish a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment."

A China-Europe freight train carrying medical supplies bound for Madrid of Spain departs from the city of Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, June 5, 2020. (Photo by Lyu Bin/Xinhua)

"The most important part of Chinese economic policy today, in my view, is the commitment of the government to widening the door to the world, despite the difficulty arising from the coronavirus crisis," Minsch said.

"Open markets are key to the long-term growth of China and are so to the rest of the world," he added.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Switzerland and China. Since 2010, China has been Switzerland's biggest trading partner in Asia and its third largest globally after the European Union and the United States. A free trade agreement between the two countries was signed in 2013 and entered into force on July 1, 2014.

Workers weld at a workshop of an automobile manufacturing enterprise in Qingzhou City, east China's Shandong Province, June 30, 2020. (Photo by Wang Jilin/Xinhua)

"There are so many Swiss companies in China, collaborating with Chinese firms as customers, as suppliers or as research and development partners," Minsch noted.

While those companies face "tough competition" in the Chinese market, they also have huge opportunities "to benefit from the very efficient and speedy way of Chinese enterprises to develop new products and services," he said.

"In most cases, the products and services of the two countries are complementary. In parallel with the higher income of the Chinese population, the demand for Swiss products and services will rise," he added. 
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: A 14-year-old girl who was raped for several months in Maruthi Home, an NGO for child care, and then physically assaulted by her uncle, died at Niloufer Hospital on Wednesday. The girl had been taken in by Maruthi Home in 2015 where she was given sedatives and raped repeatedly by the NGO home members. A case was booked in Bowenpally police station under sections 376(3), 342, 323, 328, 506 and 109 of the IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act for rape, wrongful confinement, causing hurt with poison etc. During the lockdown, the girl was sent back to her uncles place.

As Maruthi Home asked for a Covid-19 test on all children before they came back, the girls uncle was angry. He beat her up brutally which left her limping and with several injury marks. She was admitted to Niloufer Hospital about a week back, after she told a relative about the assault. Her condition deteriorated while in hospital and she died. We have constituted a high-powered committee with independent agencies like SCPCR and Womens Commission to investigate her case and recommend future course of action, said WCD Commissioner D Divya.
Donald Trump appeared flat during a Wednesday evening coronavirus briefing as he delivered a rambling and repetitive open statement in a monotone cadence. Before he hit the one-hour mark, even friendly Fox News decided it had seen enough as it cut to coverage of his Democratic rivals campaign debut.

The president opened the briefing with prepared remarks, though he ad-libbed at times, and charts. He repeated his canned lines about coronavirus testing and downplayed the status of the still-spreading virus.

Repeatedly, he complained about congressional Democrats and mocked his general election foes, former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris. When served up by a reporter a chance to respond to Ms Harris sharp words painting him as a failed leader during her first appearance as the Democratic VP candidate, Me Trump essentially whiffed.

He confusingly vowed to terminate the payroll tax if he wins a second term, ignoring forecasts from Republican and Democratic political analysts who agree Democrats almost inevitably will retain control of the House. Tax and spending authorities lie with Congress, though presidents have the constitutional power to implement those laws.

But Mr Trump never said why he has apparently concluded he could simply get rid of it, and he did not lay out a strategy for convincing House and Senate Democrats  and many congressional Republicans  to vote to do so.

He presented misleading charts on economic data, and seemed to be looking at them for the first time.

Part of his focus was on the level of US stock markets, showing a graph that put American indexes collective value higher than those of Europe and other countries, including China and Japan.

But economists and Democratic lawmakers counter that by contending the stock market is a poor indicator of broader economic trends and data. For instance, they say unemployment remains high and income inequality is still wide.

A reporter for the conservative One America News Network asked a relative softball about whether Mr Biden and Ms Harris should call for the Antifa group to be dubbed a terrorist organisation  something the president has vowed to do but has yet to act on.

But, in a surreal moment, all he could muster was: The Democrats act like, Gee, I dont know what that is.

Mr Trump and his surrogates for years have boasted that he is a political street fighter who will always fight back.

Yet, asked if he watched the Biden-Harris event and for his reaction, Mr Trump lacked any kind of forceful reaction.

I didnt watch. I saw a moment of him speaking. I saw a moment of her speaking, he said. That was enough.

About the most animated the street fighter in chief got during a briefing that last more than 60 minutes after his Democratic rivals made their debut was to call Ms Harris an unusual pick because she said such ... horrible things about him  she mocked him, openly mocked him.

But Fox News viewers, composed of his core supporters, had long returned to regular programming by then. Trailing Mr Biden nationally and in almost every key swing state, and leading by slim margins in several longtime GOP strongholds, Mr Trump essentially allowed his general election opponents to win the day  and control the news cycle, something he redefined and mastered earlier in his term.
DUBLIN, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Calibration Services Markets Strategies and Trends With Forecasts By Type Of Calibration, By Industry and By Country 2020 to 2024" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This industry standard report provides valuable information and insight. The report doesn't just look at market size, it examines key operational principles and industry best practices provided by industry veterans. The report looks at acquisition and divestiture opportunities. Revise pricing and service terms are included. The report helps readers to develop new service packaging and offerings and consider integrated marketing programs.



29 companies are profiled in this report. This latest version of the report includes a Major Metropolitan Market Size Table 2019.



All the important facts are here. Industry growth rates. Geographic, instrumentation and industry breakdowns of market size. Explore the potential of the industry and gain an appreciation of the big picture for a relatively new industry that is expanding onto a global stage.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Introduction and Market Definition

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Market Definition



2. Market Overview

2.1 Manufacturer Practices

2.1.1 Difference Between Manufacturer and other Vendors

2.1.2 Difference Between Electronic and Mechanical Segments

2.3 Accreditation

2.4 Segments and Capability

2.5 Industry Structure and Participants

2.6 Geographic Influences



3. Market Trends

3.1 Factors Driving Growth

3.2 Factors Inhibiting Growth

3.3 The Changing Role of the Manufacturer

3.4 Services Packaging

3.5 Technology Development



4. Pricing and Business Development

4.1 Calibration Service Pricing and Plans

4.2 Promotion

4.3 Customer Service

4.4 Merger and Acquisition

4.5 Competition



5. Industry Segmentation Analysis

5.1 Aerospace/Defense

5.2 Agriculture and Food Production

5.3 Automotive

5.4 Biomedical/Pharmaceutical

5.5 Communication

5.6 General Manufacturing

5.7 High Technology

5.8 Material Production

5.9 Other



6. Recent Market Activity

Recent Developments - Importance and How to Use This Section

Importance of These Developments

How to Use This Section

Transcat acquires Infinite Integral Solutions Inc.

Endress+Hauser builds new Calibration Laboratory

Keysight opens a new calibration facility

Transcat Acquires Gauge Repair Service

Trescal Announces 3 Acquisitions

Newbow Aerospace Expands Calibration Laboratory

Instron's Calibration Laboratory goes global

Trescal Acquires QTI and QTI Validaciones

Trescal Announces 2 Acquisitions

Cross Company Acquires J. A. King

Trescal Acquires Diamond Technical and Acteam

Boonton Electronics and Noisecom Receive ISO 17025: 2017 Accreditation

Transcat Acquires Angel's Instrumentation Inc.

Trescal and Stahlwille UK sign partnership agreement

Laboratory Testing Inc. Acquires TAC Technical Instrument

Trescal Acquires Metriccontrol

Keysight Technologies Acquires Thales Calibration Services

Transcat Acquires NBS Calibrations

7. Key Players

8. The Global Market for Calibration Services

8.1 Calibration - Global Market Overview by Country

8.2 Calibration - Global Market Overview by Type



9. Global Calibration Markets - By Type of Calibration

9.1 Electrical Calibration

9.2 Dimensional Calibration

9.3 Mechanical Calibration

9.4 Thermal Calibration

9.5 Other Calibration



10. Global Calibration Markets - By Industry

10.1 Calibration Market Aerospace & Defence

10.2 Calibration Market Agro & Biomedical

10.3 Calibration Market Electronic & Communications

10.4 Calibration Market Industry & Manufacturing

10.5 Calibration Market Other Industry



11. Market Sizes and Forecasts World Metropolitan Areas

11.1 World Metropolitan Areas Datatable. 2019 Market Size Forecasts

Companies Mentioned

ABB

Acteam

Ametek

Angel's Instrumentation Inc.

Beamex

Boonton Electronics

Bruel & Kjaer

Consumers Energy

Cross Company

Diamond Technical

e2b calibration

Emerson

Endress & Hauser

ESSCO Calibration Laboratory

Fluke

Gauge Repair Service

GE Kaye

Infinite Integral Solutions Inc.

Innocal ( Cole Parmer )

) Instron

J. A. King

Keysight Technologies

Laboratory Testing Inc.

Lockheed Martin

Metriccontrol

Mettler-Toledo/Troemner

Micro Precision Calibration

NBS Calibrations

Newbow Aerospace

Noisecom

Optical Test and Calibration

QTI

QTI Validaciones

Rhode & Schwarz

SGS

Siemens

Simco

Stahlwille UK

TAC Technical Instrument

Technical Maintenance Inc.

Tektronix

Teseq

Thales Calibration Services

Tradinco Instruments

Transcat

Trescal

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/y1av14

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Burma Police Captain Shot Dead as Targeted Attacks Continue in Western Myanmar

Kyauktaw Township. / Zaw Zaw / The Irrawaddy

SITTWE, Rakhine StateThe head of Rakhine States Kyauktaw Township Police Station, Police Captain Tun Naing Oo, was shot and killed in front of his police station on Wednesday evening.

The police captain was sitting together with a police sub-lieutenant at a shop some 30 m from the front of the police station around 7 p.m. when four unknown men came and shot the police captain twice in the head from short range.

He died of gun wounds yesterday. We are still identifying the suspects, Rakhine State Police Force spokesperson Police Lieutenant Colonel Maung Maung Soe told The Irrawaddy on Thursday.

We heard gunshots from the police station yesterday. We dont know what happened because no one dared to go out of their house, a resident of Kyauktaw told The Irrawaddy on condition of anonymity on Thursday. We heard this morning that the Kyauktaw Township Police Station chief has died.

Myanmar military troops arrived in urban Kyauktaw on Thursday morning and were taking security measures while many shops had closed out of fear following the shooting.

In June, a police lieutenant on the Kyauktaw Township Police Force was stabbed to death in broad daylight in downtown Kyauktaw by two motorcycle riders.

In August last year, Kyauktaw Township police chief Police Major Saw Than Lwin was wounded in a knife attack at the township jetty. In another incident in September, a police sergeant responsible for jetty security was killed in a knife attack.

Murders and attacks on police and village administration officials have become frequent in Rakhine in recent years, with some being killed at their homes and shops. None of the cases have been solved.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

You may also like these stories:

Three Activists Charged for Unlawful Assembly Over Karen Martyrs Day Event in Myanmar

Myanmar Police Detain Three for Holding 70th Karen Martyrs Day Event in Yangon

Rakhine Man Dies in Myanmar Military Custody, Critics Suspect Execution
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug.13

Trend:

On August 12, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev made a phone call to President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.

President Ilham Aliyev informed President Vladimir Putin about the provocation committed by Armenia in the direction of Tovuz district of the Armenian-Azerbaijani state border on July 12-16. The head of state emphasized that another act of aggression by Armenia resulted in the killing of servicemen of the Azerbaijani army and a civilian. President Ilham Aliyev said that many houses were destroyed and rendered unusable as a result of the artillery shelling by the Armenian armed forces of villages and settlements along the border.

President Ilham Aliyev noted that the key purpose of Armenia's military attack was to involve third parties in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.

The head of state brought to the Russian President's attention the fact that the intensity of delivery of military cargo from Russia to Armenia after the end of the clashes on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border  from July 17 to the present time  raises concern and serious questions of the Azerbaijani public.

President Ilham Aliyev said the volume of the military cargo transported from Russia to Armenia via the airspace of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran immediately after the military clashes on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border to the present time exceeded 400 tons, emphasizing that the main purpose of the phone call was to clarify this issue.

During the phone conversation, the presidents discussed the issues of the bilateral cooperation agenda between the two countries and expressed mutual intention to further strengthen Azerbaijan-Russia partnership in all areas.

President Ilham Aliyev congratulated President Vladimir Putin on the registration of vaccine against COVID-19 in Russia.
Nikki's Drive In, a landmark just below the tunnel in North Chattanooga, has been sold for $1,580,000.

The sale of the iconic restaurant that featured burgers, onion rings, fried Gulf shrimp and an authentic jukebox, was to a townhome developer.

It was sold to to 895 Cherokee Townhomes Llc by James E. Jones, son of Charlie and June Jones. They were longtime operators of the restaurant. Charlie Jones died in 2009.

The restaurant has been closed since late March.

Earlier, developers had sketched out plans for townhomes or apartments at the site with a view toward the river and downtown.
A Melbourne asthmatic student terrified she had coronavirus ended up in tears after struggling to find somewhere to get tested for two days.

Mya Orr Deas was almost certain she had the deadly virus after her room mate, Catherine, tested positive while the pair lived together in Brunswick in the city's north.

The student tried two testing clinics within a 15 minute walk from her apartment as she doesn't own a car and didn't want to catch public transport to put others at risk.

But when she arrived she found both sites were closed before being told by a health worker on the coronavirus hotline to catch a cab to another clinic.

Mya Orr Deas was almost certain she had the deadly virus after her room mate, Catherine, tested positive while the pair lived together in Brunswick in the city's north

The student who is unemployed due to the pandemic was initially told the nearest testing sites were at the Gillon Oval or at RMIT University.

But upon arrival she found nobody was at the oval and the university clinic was closed despite a sign reading it was open seven days a week.

The student then rang the health hotline which told her the next clinic available for testing was an hour away.

Ms Orr Deas was horrified to hear the health expert suggesting she catch a tram or Uber to the facility.

'Public transport is one of the highest contagious spaces and probably the worst place to be if you think you have coronavirus,' she told Nine News.

The student decided to wait until the following day and head back towards the clinics at Gillon Oval and RMIT University - but they were empty once more.

'I started having a panic attack,' she said adding her mask was becoming 'soggy' due to her tears.

She then frantically called almost a dozen GPs trying to find somewhere that was offering tests eventually to find one nearby that would cost her $75.

The student spent two gruelling days trying to find somewhere open to get tested and ended up having to pay $75 to see a GP

She was able to receive $40 back but believed it was wrong to have to pay for a test.

Her results were negative but she admitted if she knew it was going to be so much trouble it would've been easier to 'not bother'.

'Victoria is currently seeing the highest number of positive coronavirus cases since the beginning of this pandemic, yet it has taken me two days, $75, almost 10 phone calls and a great level of inconvenience to access a test,' Ms Orr Deas said.

A spokesperson for the Victorian government said the testing clinic at Gillon Oval was only temporary while the RMIT site was used for testing in public housing towers.

It comes as Victoria recorded 278 new COVID-19 infections and eight deaths on Thursday.

Premier Daniel Andrews has urged all Victorians to get tested if they are connected to any cases or experience symptoms.

There are various testing clinics set up around Melbourne that offer assessments for free.
At the end of the day, this is about celebrating the kids, said Chris Caprio, president of Ashley HomeStore  Jacksonville.

Even Covid-19 couldnt stop Ashely HomeStore from celebrating Hope to Dream Day and donating more than 100 complete bed sets this week to children on the First Coast. Since 2016, August 8th has been dedicated as Hope to Dream Day by Mayor Lenny Curry and is a day of celebration that is typically Ashley HomeStores biggest annual event and largest delivery of free bed sets to local children. In lieu of a group event, recipients were invited into one of five Ashley HomeStore locations to pick up backpacks filled with school supplies, bedding sets and lots of treats, while maintaining safety and social distancing protocols.

At the end of the day, this is about celebrating the kids, said Chris Caprio, president of Ashley HomeStore  Jacksonville. We are not going to let the pandemic get in the way of making these kids feel special and preparing them for school with the gift of a good nights sleep. Its too important to them and to our team.

Hope to Dream is Ashley HomeStores community program that gives free beds to children in need by allocating a portion of each mattress sale to the program. Since the start of Hope to Dream in Jacksonville in 2010, over 100,000 beds nationally and over 3,000 beds locally have been donated. This year, it is Ashley HomeStores goal to donate 400 beds by the end of 2020. On Hope to Dream Day an additional mattress is donated to a local child for every mattress purchase made that day.

I am grateful for the continued generosity of Ashley HomeStore as we celebrate another Hope to Dream Day in Jacksonville, said Mayor Lenny Curry. This year, Ashley HomeStore has selected families served by the Northwest Community Development Corporation and Noahs Ark to receive beds, bedding, and backpacks. These community partners are leading Cure Violence in their communities and know that the gift of a good nights sleep is an important contributor to our childrens development and academic success.

In addition to helping families in the Cure Violence coalition, Hope to Dream recipients come from child-serving organizations throughout the First Coast including MaliVai Washington Youth Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, The Boys and Girls Club, Childrens Home Society, The Jacksonville Jaguars Foundation, The Salvation Army and many others, as well as from applications received in Ashley HomeStore locations and at http://www.ahopetodream.com.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, sleep problems and disorders are prevalent between the ages of 6-13. Poor or inadequate sleep can lead to mood swings, behavioral problems such as ADHD and cognitive problems that impact on their ability to learn in school.

A portion of the proceeds from every mattress purchase at Ashley HomeStore benefits local children in need. Families in need of beds for children 3-17 should complete an application in any local Ashley HomeStore showroom or online at http://www.ahopetodream.com.

Ashley HomeStore is the #1 furniture and mattress retailer in America and the #1 selling furniture store brand in the World. Ashley HomeStores has five locations in Jacksonville, Florida (St. Johns Town Center, River City Marketplace, Orange Park @ I-295, Glynn Isles Market (Brunswick GA)) and the recent Ashley HomeStore Outlet at Southside and Atlantic Blvds. The retailer is an exclusive provider of furniture from Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc., the largest furniture manufacturer in North America. For more information on Ashley HomeStore and its products, visit their website at http://www.AshleyHomeStore.com.


Al Nofi's CIC

Issue #477, Jul 20th, 2019 This Issue... Infinite Wisdom

la Triviata

Short Rounds

"Your Sister is Married"



Bashing Braxton Bragg

Infinite Wisdom "To maintain in peace a needlessly elaborate military establishment entails economic waste." -- Douglas MacArthur



La Triviata Although in American and British submarines the navigator was an officer, in a German U-Boot this critical duty was usually performed by the Obersteuermann (Upper Steersman), the equivalent of a chief petty officer or warrant officer.

(Upper Steersman), the equivalent of a chief petty officer or warrant officer. One day in 45 or 44 BC, Cicero found that his friend the Laodicean philosopher and diplomat Andron had come to Rome to ask Caesar, then in his Dictatorship, to grant freedom to his city, whereupon the great orator said If you are successful, put in a word for us too.

An early eighteenth century Norwegian artillery manual provides guidance for incendiary shells designed to generate poison gas by adding certain ingredients, including sulfur and mercury.

In June of 1861, the Pillow Guards of Memphis, a unit organized to protect Maj. Gen. Gideon Pillow (who commanded Tennessee state troops) offered to have it out at any time, at any place, in any number with the Prentiss Guards, which had been formed to provide security for the Unions Maj. Gen. Benjamin Prentiss at Cairo, Illinois; but the latter were not amused, and replied, If we ever meet, you shall suffer the fate of traitors,

During the Second World War, during almost exactly 72 months of hostilities, Britains Royal Navy lost 50,788 men killed, 14,633 wounded, 7,401 captured, and 820 missing in action.

At the peak of his career, the great military entrepreneur and mercenary Albrecht von Wallenstein (1583-1634) had entire villages on his vast estates in Germany and Bohemia populated with weavers, tailors, cobblers, blacksmiths, and other artisans, to produce the uniforms, weapons, and other equipment needed for his troops, who at one point numbered some 100,000 men.

Although the producers ultimately settled on George C. Scott for the lead in the 1970 film Patton, early candidates for the role included Burt Lancaster, William Holden, Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck, and even John Wayne.

Between 1912 and 1928, there were more than 1,300 warlords in China, each dominating a particular region with an army, ranging from local toughs with a few hundred square miles and a few thousand men to Chang Tso-lin (Zhang Zuolin), The Old Marshal, who controlled Manchuria, nearly half a million square miles, with over 300,000 troops, until assassinated by Japanese agents. More...


August 13, 2020





Approximately 3.5 billion people own smartphones worldwide. Smartphones are essential in peoples everyday lives. However, despite our mass dependence on smartphones, many users do not know that their smartphones have a built-in feature that continuously emits harmful radio frequency (RF) radiation. It also is draining mobile phones battery life unnecessarily.







In 2019, the Chicago Tribune tested the RF radiation emitted by 11 popular cellphone models from four manufacturers. The results did not line up with the scores reported by the same manufacturers. The findings have prompted the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to launch independent tests. Questions on the accuracy in testing the radiation emitted remained cited, especially the distancing from devices being placed on or at least 2 centimeters away from a body.

Tara Chand is a scientist, an engineer, a non-practicing attorney, and the founder and CEO of Internet Promise Group Inc., an innovation enterprise active across seven market verticals, including human health.

He invented GPS Smart technology, calling it a small footprint firmware feature in smartphones that stops up to 80 percent of unnecessary RF radiation by enabling a smartphones radiated RF energy to adjust automatically according to an owners physical movements. This means that when a smartphone remains in one place, it does not need to radiate (ping) registration signals to cell towers when stationary or not in use.

I had my eureka moment when I realized that our smartphones do not need to ping signal cell towers when sitting on a desk or a nightstand, said Tara Chand. Using a small footprint firmware achieving this feature, the GPS Smart has maximized smartphone efficiency; the battery life and data transmission are improved, and potentially harmful RF radiation is eliminated too.

The GPS Smart reduces exposure to harmful manmade RF radiation. Reducing radio frequency (RF) radiation exposure eliminates environmental and health risks potentially caused by RF radiation. It also extends a smartphones battery-life and improves the efficiency of wireless networks by conserving precious bandwidth resources.

Man-made or generated radiation sources include cell phones, and cell phone towers, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth devices. The heating of body tissues is a potential health risk that stems from using these devices. Millimeter-wave scanners, a type of full-body scanner used for security screening, are also a significant man-made producer of RF radiation.

People are exposed to significantly lower levels of manmade RF radiation every day due to the consistent presence of RF signals in the environment. RF radiation comes from radio and television broadcasts, and other sources.

Cell phones and cell phone towers

Cell phones and cell phone towers (base stations) use RF radiation to transmit and receive signals. Some concerns have been raised that these signals might increase cancer risk, and research in these areas continues.

Per studies done in the lab

RF waves do not have enough energy to damage DNA directly. Because of this, it is not clear how RF radiation could cause cancer. Some studies have found possible increased rates of certain types of tumors in lab animals exposed to RF radiation, but overall, the results of these types of studies have not provided clear answers to date. While a few studies have reported evidence of biological effects that could be linked to cancer, this is still an area of research.

Per studies of people

Studies of people who may have been exposed to RF radiation at their jobs  such as people who work around or with radar equipment, those who service communication antennae, and radio operators  have found no apparent increase in cancer risk.

For many reasons, it is hard to study if there might be a link between cell phones and cancer, including the relatively short time that cell phones have been in widespread use, changes in the technology over time, and difficulty in estimating each persons exposure.

What do expert agencies say?

The American Cancer Society (ACS (News - Alert)) does not have any official position or statement on whether radiofrequency radiation from cell phones, cell phone towers, or other sources is a cause of cancer. The ACS generally looks to other expert organizations to determine if something causes cancer (if it is a carcinogen), including:

According to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC (News - Alert)):

[C]urrently no scientific evidence establishes a causal link between wireless device use and cancer or other illnesses. Those evaluating the potential risks of using wireless devices agree that more and longer-term studies should explore whether there is a better basis for RF safety standards than is currently used.

GPS Smart

The GPS Smart technology seeks to contribute to the beginning of a new eco-friendly smartphone. The technology eliminates numerous location transmissions when a phone is stationary  It only sends location transmissions to cell towers only if it is moved 100 feet or more.

With technology, smartphones could eliminate unnecessary RF radiation instead of causing more of it. According to Chand, it would improve phones battery life and enable a higher level of safe usage for smartphone users.

Chand is urging European, U.S., Canadian, Indian, and Chinese governments to facilitate the implementation of GPS Smart technology to preserve human health and work toward a radiation-free ecological environment. Additionally, he is reaching out to handset manufacturers and wireless telecommunication providers to partner with his Internet Promise Group to assist with the implementation of GPS Smart technology firmware worldwide.

GPS Smart is a pioneering technology of the eco-friendly smartphone era. Chand is urging people to get involved by contacting their elected government officials and their wireless carriers and smartphone manufacturers to demand that the enhanced-safety features of the GPS Smart technology are included in wireless networks and smartphones around the world.
"Over the past several months I've become increasingly convinced that the Democratic platform is moving more and more to the left. It's driven many people, both moderates and conservatives, away from the Democratic party," Snedecor said.
Social inequalities, specifically racism and classism, are impacting the biodiversity, evolutionary shifts and ecological health of plants and animals in our cities.

That's the main finding of a review paper led by the University of Washington, with co-authors at the University of California, Berkeley, and University of Michigan, which examined more than 170 published studies and analyzed the influence of systemic inequalities on ecology and evolution. Published Aug. 13 in Science, it calls on the scientific community to focus on environmental justice and anti-racism practices to transform biological research and conservation.

"Racism is destroying our planet, and how we treat each other is essentially structural violence against our natural world," said lead author Christopher Schell, an assistant professor of urban ecology at the University of Washington Tacoma. "Rather than just changing the conversation about how we treat each other, this paper will hopefully change the conversation about how we treat the natural world."

The paper cites other studies that have found racism and other inequalities are reducing biodiversity, increasing urban heat island effects and augmenting impacts of climate crises across the United States.

For example, several studies the authors included found fewer trees in low-income and racially minoritized neighborhoods in major cities across the U.S. Less tree cover means hotter temperatures and fewer plant and animal species. Additionally, these areas tend to be closer to industrial waste or dumping sites than wealthier, predominantly white areas -- a reality that was put in place intentionally through policies like redlining, the authors explain.

Fewer trees, over decades, has led to pockets of neighborhoods that are hotter, more polluted, and have more disease-carrying pests such as rodents and mosquitoes that can survive in harsh environments. These ecological differences inevitably affect human health and well-being, the authors said.

The main purpose of the paper is to show the scientific community that fundamental practices in science are based on systems that support white supremacy and perpetuate systemic racism, the authors said. They hope their colleagues in science fields will begin to dig into the history of the various laws and practices that built present-day inequalities -- such as redlining and Jim Crow laws -- and then start to reevaluate how they run their labs and conduct their research.

"I hope this paper will shine the light and create a paradigm shift in science," Schell said. "That means fundamentally changing how researchers do their science, which questions they ask, and realizing that their usual set of questions might be incomplete."

For example, Schell said he has seen numerous papers comparing biodiversity in urban and rural areas. However, organisms in cities were often only measured in wealthier areas, negating the possibility for differences among urban neighborhoods of different income levels. That type of science, even if done unknowingly, is negligent, he said.

The authors also hope this paper paves the way for younger scientists entering the field, especially people of color, to have legitimacy in pushing for science that is centered around anti-racism and environmental justice.

"I hope many of my senior colleagues would start to rethink how they do their science," Schell said. "And for those scientists coming up, that this gives them the platform to say: 'No, this is a legitimate question: How do we reduce, minimize, abolish racism in America?'"

Ultimately, the authors said, environmental issues should be recast to encompass societal issues, which departs from what traditional, mostly white environmentalists advocate.

For example, creating affordable housing should be on every environmentalist's agenda, they explained. More secure housing, with less turnover and fewer vacant lots or construction areas, promotes ecological stability for people, animals and plants. Additionally, more equitable access to parks and greenways within cities also promotes more animal and plant biodiversity. And better public transportation to and from well-paid jobs cuts carbon emissions and reduces animal-vehicle collisions.

Notably, each of these actions benefits humans as well as plants and animals -- and all are not included in traditional definitions of environmentalism.

Schell also led a recent paper, in Nature Ecology and Evolution, that lays out tangible actions scientists can take to fight racism and white supremacy. For Schell, this includes paying everyone who works in his lab, making sure people of color are treated equitably, and advocating for women of color to hold leadership positions in professional societies and organizations. He encourages colleagues to do the same.

"I'm hopeful things are going to happen, because I have to be," he said. "We have the power to be activists in our own ways, in our own sectors, and we have the ability to motivate others to do the same."

###

Co-authors are Karen Dyson, Tracy Fuentes and Simone Des Roches of the UW College of Built Environments; Cleo Woelfle-Erskine of the UW School of Marine and Environmental Affairs; Nyeema Harris of the University of Michigan; Danica Miller of UW Tacoma; and Max Lambert of University of California, Berkeley.

This research was funded by the University of Washington, the University of California, Berkeley, the David H. Smith Fellows program and the National Science Foundation.
Fundraiser launched for Wrexham war veteran who has fallen on hard times

This article is old - Published: Thursday, Aug 13th, 2020

A fundraiser has been launched for a Wrexham veteran who has fallen on hard times after a local councillor decided to come to his aid.

The man, who has been named only as Joe, served two tours in Iraq with the Royal Engineers in 2004 and 2006.

He returned home to Wrexham in 2008 to start a business and raise his three young children.

In the last year, he has encountered a number of personal issues, including the breakdown of his marriage and the collapse of his business.

Cllr Marc Jones, who represents the Grosvenor ward, said Joe had also suffered with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

He decided to step in after his problems grew worse during the coronavirus pandemic.

Cllr Jones, who heads up the Plaid Cymru group on Wrexham Council, said: His house was re-possessed by the bank last month and, after some worrying times, hes just found a new home for himself and the three children, who he has custody of.

Trying to get them to school across town is now a challenge  especially after his cars head gasket blew.

He needs cash to fix the car to help get him back on his feet.

This is not something he wants to do and hes asked me not to name him, but I want to help him get back on his feet. Thats the purpose of this Crowdfunder.

If you can help in any way, please donate.

Cllr Jones said he was aware many people were facing financial difficulties because of the Covid-19 crisis, but has appealed to anyone who can afford to help.

If you want to donate to Joes fund, you can do so by visiting: https://www.gofundme.com/f/9sx67-help-joe

By Liam Randall  BBC Local Democracy Reporter
Deputy Information Minister, Pius Enam Hadzide, has dismissed report by the Daily Post newspaper that President Akufo-Addo has unleashed him on former President John Agyekum Kufuor.

A news report by Daily Post on Thursday, August 13, 2020, claimed Akufo-Addo unleashes Pius Hadzide on J.A. Kufuor to denigrate the ex-Presidents legacy.

But Mr. Hadzide in a rejoinder, stated that I wish to state for the record that the said publication is false. It is only a further attempt by a discredited newspaper to soil the good image of the President, H.E. Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo and I and to cause enmity between the two venerable statesmen; John Agyekum Kufuor and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

At no point has there been any attempt to bring to disrepute the legacy of the former President J.A. Kufuor nor has the President directed me on any such agenda. Indeed it is the desire of the current administration to improve upon and safeguard the legacy of the high performing J.A. Kufour administration in which Nana Akufo Addo served with distinction. It can not and will never be that I or anyone within the Danquah-Busia-Dombo tradition will seek to belittle the legacy of the former President, he stated.

This publication is clearly motivated by hatred and ill-will and I call on the public to disregard it. It is only a deranged person who will seek to belittle the contribution of former President J.A. Kuffuor to the development of this country.

Indeed, the New Patriotic Party(NPP) has proven through Ex-president Kufour and President Akufo-Addo that it is the only party truly committed to and capable of delivering development to Ghana through the many policies it has implemented.

I advice the writer, the newspaper, their paymasters and sponsors from within the National Democratic Congress to rather apply themselves and expend their resources on discussing and resolving the obvious cracks, bickering and divisions within their ranks as evidenced by the publication of a book by one of the advisors-in-chief to their Flagbearer John Mahama denigrating their Founder.

Again, I call on the good people of Ghana to treat the said publication and its content with the greatest contempt it deserves. It is everything journalism is not, he stated.

Daily Guide
The Special Economic Zone Authority at Duqm (Sezad) has set up the first higher education college in the Special Economic Zone at Duqm, in partnership with Iskan Oman Investment Company and Middle East Education Venture.



The college will launch its first programme in the academic year 2021-2022.



The new college will be the core of the university city project that Iskan Oman is planning to establish in a phased manner in the Special Economic Zone at Duqm, following its usufruct agreement with the Sezad to develop an integrated academic city that will be built over an area of one million sq m featuring higher education colleges.



The masterplanning of the area, which will also include commercial, residential and hospitality zones, was completed by Iskan Investment and approved by Sezad.



At the first phase of the development, Iskan Investment entered into a sub- usufruct agreement with Middle East Education Venture LLC (MEEV) to develop a portion of land to establish a higher education college.



Sheikh Ahmed bin Sultan Al Yaqoubi, Vice Chairman of Iskan Investment Board of Directors, said that this project is one of the company's priorities, and added that Iskan focus on responsible investment when selecting projects to invest on.



The higher education college is the second investment for Iskan Investment at SEZD as it developed previously a healthcare facility that has been operational since 2017.



Iskan Investment was formed in 2008 with pension funds and corporations from Oman and Kuwait shareholders. Since its inauguration, Iskan Investment invested in establishing and developing a number of schools, real estate and healthcare facilities.



Dr Abdullah AL Sabahi, Chairman of MEEV, envisages working closely with the Ministry of higher Education, the Special Economic Zone Authority at Duqm (Sezad), and Iskan Investment to implement the proposed college in line with Omans 2040 Vision strategy.



He added that MEEV has the proven capabilities including experience, technology and the network required to implement successful educational projects, stating that MEEV believes that digital technology is the enabler of future universities. Therefore, it intends to implement the latest technology components and to develop its programs with a global outlook, with international, academic and research partnerships that will contribute towards enhancing experiences, sharing knowledge, and future skills as projected by the World Economic Forum.



MEEV also intends to establish centres for competence, a centre for marine science and a centre for logistics and renewable energy. The purpose of these centres is to promote research commercialization, build capacity and bring solutions to the social and industrial requirements.



MEEV said the planned college of higher education at Duqm will emulate the core values of Middle East College (MEC) of employability, sustainability and global harmony. Focus areas of the college will be to offer programs in the fields of management, technology, mechanical, chemical and petrochemical Engineering.



Alongside focusing on employability, MEC focuses on fostering partnerships with international institutes of academic prominence like Coventry University and Wolverhampton University in the UK and Breda University of applied sciences in the Netherlands to enhance students learning.



MEC said it was granted full accreditation in March 2020 by the Oman Academic Accreditation (OAAA), receiving a high criterion rating of 3 for Teaching Quality and research output, making it the only education institution in Oman to receive a top rating for the two criteria.  TradeArabia News Service
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We're well into the fall semester, though what that looks like depends on where a student lives.

For the students at schools in counties in the state's most restrictive COVID-19 reopening tier, classes are required to be online for now. That's the result of a July 17 announcement from Governor Gavin Newsom.

But in that announcement, there was a small footnote that could allow some elementary schools to reopen before all schools can. Here it is in full:

A waiver of this criteria may be granted by the local health officer for elementary schools to open for in-person instruction. A waiver may only be granted if one is requested by the superintendent (or equivalent for charter or private schools), in consultation with labor, parent and community organizations. Local health officers must review local community epidemiological data, consider other public health interventions, and consult with CDPH when considering a waiver request.

It described a process where elementary schools with safety plans can apply for waivers to reopen their campuses, even if their county was still on the state's COVID-19 watchlist.

On August 28, the state got rid of the watchlist, and replaced it with a tiered system. Still, similar rules apply. Schools in the purple ("Widespread") tier can't reopen their campuses for in-person instruction without a waiver. Once a county moves to the red tier ("Substantial") and remains there for two weeks, schools can welcome students back in-person - if they follow the state's school reopening guidance.

Long story short: the waivers only apply to approved elementary schools, in part because the state believes distance learning is especially challenging for young learners. The district -- or school leadership in the case of charter and private schools -- has to get approval from the local health officer. And the local health officer has to consult with the California Department of Public Health as part of the process.

A few weeks later, the California Department of Public Health laid out how that would work. And it added a big caveat:

CDPH recommends that schools within jurisdictions with 14-day case rates more than two times the threshold to be on the County Monitoring List (>200 cases/100,000 population) should not be considered for a waiver to re-open in-person instruction.

So, given all of this, which schools and districts are actually applying for these waivers in Southern California?

Initially, Los Angeles County did not consider waiver applications, citing guidance welcoming small "cohorts" of students - like students with special needs, english language learners, and vulnerable youth - back to campus. Meanwhile in Orange County, the Health Care Agency received more than 130 applications from mostly private, independent, or faith-based schools.

We made a map of applicants we know about through public records requests, lists provided by county health authorities, and individual tips from readers and listeners (that we corroborated). If you click on a school, you can learn more about what type of school it is and the documents it submitted for consideration.

Below that -- we look at each individual county's process and plan for considering the waivers.

If you know of a school or district that has applied that we do not yet have marked on this map, please let us know.

We'll continue to update this post and the maps as we learn more about the waiver process. If you have information you'd like to share with us, you can email reporter Carla Javier.

ORANGE COUNTY

As of September 22, waivers are no longer required to open K-12 schools in Orange County because the county was able to remain in the state's second-most restrictive reopening tier for more than two weeks.

But when waivers were required,, Newsom said because of its size and diversity, Orange County was a "perfect poster child for exactly the kind of nuance that needs to be considered as it relates to ... waiver strategy."

Initially, then-Acting Health Officer Chau told reporters he was accepting applications, but not approving them due a past glitch with the state's data reporting system.

The county did end up approving the waivers starting on Aug. 18.

The map above reflects the applications received by the Health Care Agency as of September 1. Dark green markers indicate schools that have been approved by both county and state public health officials. As part of the process for applying for a waiver in Orange County, the local education agency applying must post its own copy of its waiver application on its website. So if you go to the map above and click on an Orange County school, you can learn more about each school and read completed waiver applications and safety plans.

As we noted above, more than 100 of the applicants interested in waivers from the Orange County Health Care Agency are private, independent, or faith-based schools.

Los Alamitos Unified was the only public school district approved by both Orange County and the state for a waiver. It reopened its elementary schools on September 8.

The county's largest school district - Capistrano Unified - applied for but was denied a waiver. In the denial, the county Health Care Agency cited low support from the teachers' union. Teachers, in turn, had expressed concerns about the district's reopening plan.

County Health Officer received confirmation from @CAPublicHealth that #OC is on track to enter into Red Tier on Sept. 8. Providing we meet Red Tier metrics at that time, there will be a 14-day wait for all K-12 schools to be eligible for reopening, which could happen on Sept. 22.  OC Health Care Agency (@ochealth) September 1, 2020

LOS ANGELES COUNTY

The L.A. County Department of Public Health began accepting waiver applications on October 5.

But unlike neighboring counties, L.A. County is only accepting waivers to restart in-person classes for pre-K through second grade students. Third graders and older, for the most part, still have to learn from home.

From our summary of the process (which you can read in full here):

There are some important caveats for those seeking a waiver from the rules that prevent schools from holding in-person classes: only 30 schools will be granted waivers in any week, and the county will try to serve the students with the most needs first.

Public health officials are supposed to prioritize applications from schools with more low-income students, measured by the percentage of students who are eligible for free and reduced price meals.

"We're hoping that if we work in close partnership with the entire school community, we can be successful in reopening schools for our youngest students and our students of highest need without significantly increasing community transmission of COVID-19," Department of Public Health director Barbara Ferrer said.

According to a County Department of Public Health spokesperson, every school that obtains a waiver and reopens will be subject to at least one site visit. Schools that aren't following the county's protocols when reopening can be cited, fined, or even closed.

In late October, LA Public Health modified the process slightly: while schools were initially required by the county to provide letters of support from parents and teachers, the process now just requires "consultation" with these groups. California State PTA had suggested that parents do not sign letters of support, citing "potential liability," and some school administrators worried that requiring staff support made it more challenging for public schools with unionized teachers to obtain those letters.

Previously, the L.A. County Department of Public Health had announced it would not grant reopening waivers until the county case rate is below the threshold set by the state Department of Public Health (200 cases per 100,000 residents).

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announces that, for now, it will NOT consider requests for waivers to reopen elementary schools.



Why? Look at the guidance from the California Department of Public Health 



LACDPH says case rate is currently 355 per 100,000 pic.twitter.com/pJqNP8kQI4  Carla Javier (@carlamjavier) August 4, 2020

L.A. county schools are also allowed to welcome back small groups of students - like students with special needs and who are learning English. County health officials had said that the general waiver application process to reopen entire elementary schools would not begin until the county could "monitor the implementation of this effort to safely get students needing specialized in school services back at school."

Public Health Highlights Infection Control and Distancing to Prevent COVID-19 Spread as Sectors Reopen -

Seven New Deaths and 472 New Positive Cases of Confirmed #COVID19 in Los Angeles County. View https://t.co/swRrhmNxO0 for more, pic.twitter.com/qpfxDaGAqj  LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) October 5, 2020

LA Public Health Director Ferrer told the Board of Supervisors at their Oct. 27 meeting that more than 1000 schools have reopened for these specialized services. As of late October, schools are allowed to bring back up to 25% of their enrollment for this in-person support. Ferrer said there have been "small numbers of cases" associated with these limited school reopenings and added that, "with only two exceptions, there are no outbreaks."

RIVERSIDE COUNTY

Riverside County started accepting waiver applications on Aug. 24.

"Although we're still finding new cases of COVID-19, our case rate has dropped enough where we can consider elementary school waivers," Riverside County Public Health Officer Cameron Kaiser wrote in a press release. "However, the waiver process won't be a rubber stamp, and elementary schools will be required to publicly demonstrate they have the pieces in place to operate safely or they won't be approved."

The application for consideration emphasizes that if the county's case rate is higher than 200 cases per 100,000, then the county will not consider applications until that case rate drops to below that threshold.

Riverside County's application also asks applicants specific questions about plans for testing staff, and what the school would do if a staff member or student tested positive for COVID-19. It also asks for details about how students will be grouped into small cohorts.

County health officials are posting both the applicants and the contents of their applications online.

In late September, Riverside County had moved into the red or second-most restrictive tier of the state's reopening framework. But on Oct. 20, the county moved back to the purple, or most restrictive, tier. As a result, schools that had already reopened could remain open, but schools that hadn't yet reopened for in-person instruction must get an approved waiver first.

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY

County health officials are updating an ongoing list of schools with pending, approved, and denied applications.

"To support a safe opening, the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health (DPH) will consider each community represented by schools requesting a waiver and exercise due caution in issuing approvals," the department says on its website. "DPH will approve waivers every 1-2 weeks as a way to fully consider the impacts before issuing additional approvals in a particular community."

VENTURA COUNTY

Ventura County moved into the red tier of the state's reopening framework on October 6. Because it remained there for more than two weeks straight, schools are allowed to reopen when ready, without having to go through the waiver process.

The Ventura County Health Care Agency began accepting waiver applications on Aug. 19.

"This was a difficult decision. I recognize there are reasons not to open our Health Department to requests for waivers, but we got to the point where I feel the benefits outweigh the risks," Ventura County Public Health Officer Robert Levin wrote in a statement. "Research shows that our youngest children derive significant benefits from in-person interaction with their teachers and with one another in the school setting."

Levin emphasized that the waivers would "not be a done deal" and that all schools will be expected to meet the county's framework for reopening schools, including physical distancing, face coverings, and testing plans and protocols.

The county's ongoing list of applicants shows that public health officials have been asking schools to revise their plans before being granted approvals.

UPDATE: Oct. 27, 2020: This post and map have been updated with modifications to Los Angeles County's waiver application process, and to reflect which counties still require reopening waivers.

UPDATE: Oct. 6, 2020: This post and map have been updated with Los Angeles County's waiver application process.

READ MORE:
A California appeals court's decision could soon make it harder for Amazon to skirt responsibility for unsafe products sold on its platform.

On Thursday, the California Fourth District Court of Appeals ruled that Amazon can be held liable for damages caused by a defective replacement laptop battery that caught fire and gave a woman third-degree burns. The woman, Angela Bolger, alleges she bought the laptop battery from a third-party seller, Lenoge Technology HK Ltd., on Amazon's marketplace.

The ruling deals a major blow to Amazon, which has for years successfully fought off lawsuits that try to place liability on the company for faulty products sold through its site that cause injury and property damage.

"Consumers across the nation will feel the impact of this," said Jeremy Robinson, an attorney for Bolger.

An Amazon spokesperson told CNBC in a statement issued on Friday: "The court's decision was wrongly decided and is contrary to well-established law in California and around the country that service providers are not liable for third party products they do not make or sell. We will appeal this decision."

Amazon's sprawling marketplace, which hosts millions of third-party sellers, now accounts for approximately 60% of the company's e-commerce sales. While the marketplace has helped Amazon bring in record revenue, it has also proven to host counterfeit, unsafe and even expired goods. The company has previously said it invests hundreds of millions of dollars per year to ensure products sold are safe and compliant.

Amazon has long maintained it's only the conduit between buyers and sellers on its marketplace and that it's not involved in the sourcing or distribution of products sold by third-party sellers, removing it from liability. It's been a successful defense for Amazon in the past, including in a 2018 case concerning the purchase of a faulty hoverboard that exploded and burned down an Amazon shopper's house in Tennessee.

The company still faces several ongoing product liability cases in state and federal courts across the country.

In Bolger's case, the court ruled that Amazon placed itself in "the chain of distribution" of the faulty laptop battery by, among other things, storing the product in its warehouses, receiving payment and shipping the product, as well as setting "the terms of its relationship" with the third-party seller and demanding "substantial fees on each purchase."

"Whatever term we use to describe Amazon's role, be it 'retailer,' 'distributor,' or merely 'facilitator,' it was pivotal in bringing the product here to the consumer," the court said. "Under established principles of strict liability, Amazon should be held liable if a product sold through its website turns out to be defective."

The court said Amazon also can't be shielded from liability through Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a law from the 1990s that protects online platforms from being held responsible for content their users post on their sites.

WATCH: What it would really take for Walmart to catch Amazon in e-commerce
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Popcorn Indiana said its launching a new consumer advertising campaign to highlight its new flavors.

The Cleveland-based company last month launched the flavors of Kettlecorn, Black & White Drizzlecorn, Movie Theater Butter and Aged White Cheddar.

The company said its Cleveland-based advertising agency, Falls, has launched a new campaign to promote the flavors.

Read the full story on cleveland.coms sister site, Cleveland Business Journal.

Get the best in local business news sent straight to your inbox with the Cleveland Business Journal. Free to sign up.
Bill Gates has been super vocal about how the United States has been handling the coronavirus pandemic. With more than 5 million confirmed cases in the U.S., the Microsoft co-founder has been making calls for the government and businessmen alike to ensure that everyone will have access to COVID-19 treatment and vaccine.

He was once the world's richest, he left his roles in the tech giant and shifted his passion and efforts to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation sending help and funding to various causes. In the on-going epidemic, Gates has donated more than $1 billion to vaccine research, where $100 million is allocated for coronavirus vaccine.

In 2015, Gates warned the public that war is not the world's worst calamity. He said in his TED talk that it would be a virus that we are not ready for.

Earlier this month, Gates spoke with WIRED editor Steven Levy about the country's coronavirus response, testing, and vaccine development and treatments. He also said that there were three instances when he warned that a pandemic will hit the world. Gates also noted that the coronavirus pandemic has caused an "economic hardship not seen in many generations" across the world.

He mentioned that while he is disappointed about how the government handles the health crisis, the government is doing well on testing and vaccines. Despite the economic damage, Gates is optimistic that rich nations could end the pandemic by the end of 2021 while pushing to alleviate it across the globe by 2022.

Read also: Bill Gates Warns the Next Crisis Could Be Five Times as Deadly as COVID-19 Pandemic

Which treatment does he prefer?

During the interview, Gates was asked on which treatment he would ask for in case he got infected with COVID-19. In a quick response, he said Remdesivir, although dexamethasone is a fairly cheap drug.

"I don't want special treatment," Bill noted if he will be hospitalized because of COVID-19. Since other treatments and vaccines would still require some months to produce, he believes it would be best to go with what is currently available: Remdesivir and dexamethasone.

With regards to the face mask, he said he only uses "a pretty ugly normal mask" that he changes daily. "Maybe I should get a designer mask or something creative, but I just use this surgical-looking mask," he added.

Meanwhile, the American billionaire also said that the pandemic has limited his travels. However, he is enjoying the time when he could work with his kids around. "The pandemic sadly is less painful for those who were better off before the pandemic," he said.

The road to the cheapest vaccine

However, the philanthropist is concerned about the cost of how these jabs are being produced, which will surely not be affordable. Yet, he vows to produce a vaccine that would cost as low as $3 when he donated $150 million to the Serum Institute to produce 100 million shots.

Gates has already spent $4 billion on the vaccine development effort called Gavi. He shared that he is focused on the vaccines that developing countries can afford like those being developed by Novavax and AstraZeneca.

Gates set a "ceiling price" for these vaccines. He is using his own money, billions of it to be able to distribute it as cheaply as possible through a tested supply chain. In the case of Serum, it will produce jabs for India and 91 other developing countries.

Read also: Remdesivir Vaccine Works! Mel Gibson Became First Actor to Heal from COVID-19 Using Drug

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Written by CJ Robles

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Decisions about whether to reopen schools during the coronavirus pandemic are naturally fraught, given the many potentially conflicting needs that are involved: the health of pupils and teachers; the need for education and socialization; and economic and mental-health imperatives for parents to be able to work without simultaneously caring for their kids, Fortune writes in the article Masks, small classes, and outdoor lessons: How 5 countries in Europe are reopening schools.

In some countries, such as the U.S., the calculus is complicated by the fact that COVID-19 transmission remains widespread in communities. In Europe, where infection rates are now far lowerthough not yet entirely under controlthe flattened curve has allowed schools to reopen more freely over the past few months. Here's how that's gone in five European countriesand you will notice the same themes recurring everywhere, to varying degrees.

Germany

Some German schools partially reopened in the spring, but it is only now, after the summer break, that schools are fully reopening across the country. Under Germany's federal system, each state has its own timing for the summer break, and the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomeraniawhich has had Germany's lowest infection rateslast week became the first to fully reopen its schools. Berlin, Brandenburg, Schleswig-Holstein, and North Rhine-Westphalia are following suit this week. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's early experience was not particularly heartening. By the end of that first week back, two schools had to be closed due to infectionsa teacher in one school, a pupil in the other. There's a big debate around whether kids should have to wear masks at school. In Schleswig-Holstein, doing so is not compulsory. In Berlin and Brandenburg it is, though only in corridors, canteens, and stairwells. In North Rhine-Westphalia, masks will be compulsory in the classroom, toobut only until the end of August. Germany's federal education minister, Anja Karliczek, would simply prefer everyone to wear masks in school buildings.

Sweden

Schools never closed in Sweden, nor did they substantially change their rules. This created an opportunity to collect data on how COVID-19 might spread in schools under such circumstancesbut such data was never collected. Anders Tegnell, Sweden's top virologist, maintains that the decision to keep Swedish schools and day-care centers open did not have much bearing on infection rates. He has also warned that opening schools only to close them again, due to resurgences in infections, would be "disastrous" for trust in public authorities.

U.K.

Scottish schools are set to reopen Tuesday, with the authorities noting that just 0.8% of Scottish cases have involved people under the age of 15. Schools are encouraged to ventilate rooms as much as possible, and to quarantine returned library books for three days. Social distancing is not required for kids in primary schools, but older children might be discouraged from physical contact. Many Welsh schools reopened at the end of June, making classes smaller and staggering them so only a third (at most) of pupils are present at any one time. All schools are supposed to open fully in early or mid-September. However, Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford has warned that local flare-ups could lead to school closures. As for England and Northern Ireland, Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants schools fully open in September. In June, his government began a phased reopening of schools but had to change its mind due to staff shortages and the spatial implications of trying to organize smaller classes. A study published last week in The Lancet predicted that the reopening of schools in September would have to be accompanied by widespread coronavirus testing, quarantine, and contact-tracing measuresotherwise a second wave would probably appear, peaking in December.

Italy

Italy was unusual in keeping all schools closed after its initial lockdown ended, though it was of course hit very badly by the pandemic early on. Now, it plans to reopen schools on Sept. 14. Classes will need to be smaller to allow for social distancing50,000 temporary teaching staff are supposedly going to be brought onboard to make this possible, with federal funding, and some school districts are literally sawing desks apart so children won't need to be too close to one another. Students and teachers will have to wear masks (and the latter will need to wear face shields, too). There will also be a big push to hold lessons outdoors where possible, or take classes to theaters and museums.

France

France started reopening schools in May, on a voluntary basis. Dozens of potentially school-linked infections quickly appeared, leading to many urgent school closures, but the government said the length of incubation made it likely that the infections took place before the schools opened their doors. Following weeks of gradual reopening, the return to French schools began in earnest in late June, after President Emmanuel Macron said it was "obligatory." There were no social distancing rules for kindergarten children, a one-meter rule for primary schools, and a mask mandate for older children in cases where social distancing was not possible. However, this compulsory schooling lasted only a couple of weeks, as France's two-month school summer holidays kicked in at the start of July. That means September will be the time to assess how things are going.
The Carlsbad City Council voted 4-1 Tuesday to support a request for an additional six-month delay before the countys regional planning agency chooses a course for the restoration of the Buena Vista Lagoon.

This is not going to hold a project up, said Mayor Matt Hall. I see more upside to the continuance than a downside.

Located at the boundary between Oceanside and Carlsbad, Southern Californias only freshwater lagoon is slowly filling with weeds and sediment. Ways to clean it up have been discussed for decades, so far with no resolution.

Friday, that could change, when the San Diego Association of Governments board of directors is scheduled to consider a staff recommendation to approve whats known as the saltwater alternative.

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The SANDAG hearing already has been postponed several times. It was first scheduled in January, but was delayed then to further study the comments and requests of landowners near the lagoon who oppose the saltwater proposal.

The saltwater plan calls for the removal of the weir, a low dam near the beach, that has kept the lagoon filled with freshwater several feet above sea level since the 1940s. That would leave a saltwater marsh with a meandering channel that ebbs and flows with the ocean tides, much like the San Elijo Lagoon at the border of Solana Beach and Encinitas.

Numerous government agencies and nonprofit environmental groups support the saltwater plan because it would do the most to restore and protect a type of coastal habitat that has been largely lost to development in Southern California.

Another option studied was a hybrid proposal that would move the weir to the Interstate 5 crossing at the middle of the lagoon, making it half freshwater and half saltwater. Also considered were ways to restore the freshwater lagoon with the weir in place, or to do nothing.

The Carlsbad council voted unanimously last November to support the saltwater alternative.

Property owners who control the weir and the outer portion of the lagoon have long opposed the weirs removal. They stepped up their efforts after SANDAG released a final environmental impact report last year that showed saltwater to be the preferred alternative.

We want an open body of water and not a trickle, said Scott Sterling, a member of the Buena Vista Lagoon Foundation board of directors.

Removing the weir would be a desecration of the lagoon, Sterling told the council Tuesday, and would launch huge and expensive litigation.

Other property owners said the change would ruin their views, lower their property values, and reduce the abundance of bird species at the lagoon.

The hybrid (alternative) appears to be better for everyone, said Jim Petronella of the Save the Fresh Water Buena Vista Lagoon Association, a group of homeowners associations formed to fight the saltwater plan. The hybrid would have the best of both worlds, he said.

Petronella said state and federal agencies are unfairly biased toward the saltwater plan because it could be eligible for environmental mitigation money from regional transportation projects such as widening Interstate 5 and double-tracking the coastal railroad.

Joan Herskowitz of the Buena Vista Audubon Society, opposed the delay. The Audubon Society has a nature center at the edge of the lagoon and supports the saltwater plan.

What is so compelling or new that would warrant such an action? she asked.

The hybrid plan has been thoroughly analyzed and does not meet the goals, Herskowitz said, adding that it has few advantages and all the negative aspects of the freshwater and saltwater plans.

With the weir in the middle, the eastern half of the lagoon would have poor water circulation and would quickly fill with sediment, she said.

Supporters of the saltwater alternative say it would have the most benefits for everyone. It would reduce mosquitoes, improve water circulation, and lessen the chances of flooding.

A majority of the council members said more time could lead to a compromise with the property owners.

Councilwoman Cori Schumacher cast the only no vote, pointing out that further delays could lessen the chance of funding for the project, which may be eligible as a mitigation project for the Interstate 5 widening already underway south of Palomar Airport Road.

A project needs to be shovel ready, meaning fully planned and permitted, to qualify for mitigation money, she said.

SANDAG took over as the lead agency in 2012 after the state Department of Fish and Wildlife was unable to get all the parties involved to reach an agreement.

philip.diehl@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @phildiehl
Doctors' handwriting being incomprehensible to a layman is a stereotype that is as old as the profession itself. For the longest time, doctors have been the butt of jokes for their 'indecipherable' handwriting. Many times people have found themselves staring at a doctor's prescription for hours trying to decipher it. The Orissa High court has had enough of this and decided to change things up a bit.

Expressing anguish over 'indecipherable' handwritings of doctors, Orissa HC has advised doctors working in the state's public hospitals and private healthcare facilities to write the name of medicines in capital letters or in a legible manner. The person reading the prescription should easily be able to understand the medicine name, doses, strength and also how many times it has to be taken.

Orissa HC made this observation while granting bail to Krushna Pada Mandal, who was the primary accused in a Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, case.

Justice SK Panigrahi said that the physician community should make an effort to write prescriptions in a manner that is easily understandable.

"While there could be some good justifications for sloppy handwriting (by doctors) due to heavy work pressure, long working hours, writer's cramp and due to adverse the patient-doctor ratio in the country at large and also in Odisha, the medical professionals should protect themselves by exercising this basic care and caution from the looming threat of allegations of medical negligence. Perhaps, the capital letters could ensure proper visibility to the prescriptions and will remove the guesswork and related inconveniences. The digital era could also throw open several options to make prescriptions and the diagnosis more patient-friendly," Justice Panigrahi said.

Mandal had requested bail to take care of his wife who is suffering from severe health complications. The court was attempting to verify Mandal's wife's documentation but it found them to be illegible. "The documents were far beyond the comprehension of any common man or even for the court. Such illegible handwriting in medical records has the propensity to have adverse medico-legal implications," the order said.Also Read: Aurobindo Pharma stock falls over 6% post Q1 earnings; check what brokerages say

Also Read: PM Modi launches faceless tax assessment: How it will benefit taxpayers
Meanwhile, net income attributable to shareholders came in at $1.2 billion  down 42% compared to last years $2 billion during the same period. Property and casualty estimated claims from COVID-19 came in at $750 million.

Despite the gloom, CEO Mario Greco was keen to point to strong growth across commercial insurance gross written premiums as an indicator that the group is still well positioned.

The first half of 2020 has been an unprecedented period with unforeseeable events ranging from a global pandemic and recession, to civil unrest and a higher rate of natural catastrophes, he said.

Our business developed well in the first six months of the year in spite of the uncertainties.

Our commercial business reported strong growth following improvements to the portfolio mix in recent years, and is positioned to further benefit from the improved pricing environment. We continue to expand our digital offering, whose growth contributed to the resilience of our retail business. We launched Zurich WellCare to serve demand for health and wellbeing services, and plan further steps this year to accelerate the digital transformation.

While our operating environment changes, our goals are the same  we remain confident in the strength of our business, our strategy, and our ability to adapt to changing needs.

Overall, the companys P&C combined ratio stood at 99.8% - thats up from last years H1 2019 figure of 95.1%. Gross written premiums in property and casualty were up 4% on a like-for-like basis.

Meanwhile, the Farmers business also saw a series of falls. Gross written premiums across the Farmers Exchanges were down 3% from $10,458 million in H1 2019 to $10,103 million in H1 2020 and the combined ratio climbed from 100% to 101.6%. Business operating profit for Farmers was down 10% from $866 million to $779 million. Again, COVID-19 took its toll.

Gross written premiums of the Farmers Exchanges grew 0.2% at an underlying level, before COVID-19 premium credits and an adjustment to previously booked gross premiums related to lower expected volumes of commercial rideshare business following shelter-in-place orders by US state governments, it said in its statement. The Farmers Exchanges combined ratio increased 1.6pts to 101.6% mainly driven by a 1.8pts increase in catastrophe losses.

It noted that the slump in business operating profit could largely be attributed to around $300 million in premium credits to customers as well as higher operating expenses.
More than half of men and women in New Jersey politics and government say theyve experienced sexual harassment  with elected officials cited most often as the ones responsible for lewd comments, inappropriate touching and other sexual misconduct, according to a newly-released survey.

The New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault, a statewide advocacy group, conducted the anonymous survey as part of a larger effort to find ways to combat what some women describe as a culture of sexism, misogyny and assault in state and local politics.

The 27-question survey was answered between January and April by 508 people with ties to the New Jersey Statehouse, politics and government, the group said. About 78% of those who responded were women, including some who revealed past sexual harassment and assault they had never reported to authorities.

This report lays bare that we have a major issue with misogyny and harassment in New Jersey government and politics, said Patricia Teffenhart, the coalitions executive director.

Were calling on our leaders now: stop excusing bad behavior. Make changes today that can help prevent violence in the future. The data is clear  business as usual can no longer be accepted, she added.

Among the findings:

 About 57% of those surveyed said they had experienced harassment while working in New Jersey politics and government. Women were far more likely to say they were targeted, with 64% saying they had been harassed, compared to 28% of men.

 The most common types of harassment cited were verbal remarks of a sexual nature (23%), followed by sexist or misogynistic comments (22%) and unwanted touching (15%). About 3% of those responding to the survey said they had been raped or sexually assaulted.

 Elected officials were cited as alleged harassers in 22% of the cases, topping the list of occupations cited in the survey. The people who said they were harassed by elected officials the most were fellow politicians. The other occupations cited the most as harassers were partisan political operatives (13%), staff of elected officials (12%) and registered lobbyists (9%).

 Only 1% of those surveyed said they reported their harassment or sexual assault to police or a government agency. Of those who didnt file a report, 18% said it was because they feared retaliation, 17% said they didnt think reporting would help and 15% said they feared public or social backlash. Overwhelmingly, those surveyed said they didnt know how or where to report harassment.

The report did not name any of the alleged sexual harassers or identify those making the accusations in the survey.

However, the report did include some of their comments, which included both those who said they were harassed and others who said people were exaggerating the problems.

Among the quotes from the respondents:

 Its the whole culture, its the boys club, its constantly feeling excluded... I dont know how to get them to change if they cant see what theyre doing as wrong.

 Men rule the industry. Learn from history. Women should be seen and not heard. Short skirts still get the job done at the Statehouse.

 If I (had reported) anything, my boss would have just said it was consensual because I did not stop him, but it cannot be consensual when one is an employer and the other is an employee. He had all the power, the name, the position  so I kept quiet.

 This survey and entire narrative is a fallacy and a farce. Many of these women are ruining mens lives and careers based on hearsay, and that is unacceptable.

NJCASA plans to hold a panel discussion at 7 p.m. Thursday via a Zoom video meeting featuring women in New Jersey politics discussing the report. Those scheduled to speak include Katie Brennan, chief of staff of the New Jersey Housing Mortgage and Finance Agency.

Brennan recently settled a $1 million lawsuit against the state and Gov. Phil Murphys campaign after she alleged she was raped by a campaign staffer in 2017 while she was a volunteer on the campaign. Brennan, whose share of the settlement went to charity, said her case was mishandled.

Her allegations led to legislative hearings and helped spark a larger discussion about how women are treated in the Statehouse and New Jersey politics.

Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, founded the Workgroup on Harassment, Sexual Assault and Misogyny in New Jersey Politics in January to look into ways to change policies and address problems with the role of women in government.

The workgroup, which includes Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, was created in response to an NJ Advance Media report on widespread sexual harassment in local and state politics. The story, which ran Dec. 29, included the accounts of more than 20 women who had been sexually assaulted and harassed in state politics and government. None reported the harassment or assault to authorities because most said they feared it would jeopardize their careers.

Weinbergs workgroup has held multiple public hearings where women testified about sexual harassment and abuse in government and politics, including a group of former female inmates who spoke about allegations of widespread sexual abuse by corrections officers at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Hunterdon County.

The workgroup is preparing to release its own report on its findings and recommendations for changes in New Jersey politics and government.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com.

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com.

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The Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC) and the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) have urged politicians to ensure that they embark on clean campaigns devoid of insults and unsubstantiated claims towards the December 7 elections.



They also asked them to let peace be the hallmark of their campaigns as they criss-crossed the country to canvass for votes.



The President of the GPCC, Reverend Professor Paul Frimpong Manso, who is also the General Superintendent of Assemblies of God, Ghana, said political messages ought to be factual such that they could be substantiated, defended and justified.



Whatever you put in the public domain will be interpreted by history and your ideology. Your messages must be packaged such that distortions will be minimal. Politics is a game we do to the glory of God. We must also promote peace so that the people you seek to help will not suffer, he said.



Rev. Prof. Frimpong-Manso was speaking during a courtesy call on the GPCC and the CCG by the Flag bearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), former President John Dramani Mahama, to officially introduce his running mate, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, to the clergy.



Event

The event was attended by some bigwigs of the NDC as well as leaders of the Christian community. They included the National Chairman of the NDC, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo; the Campaign Manager of the NDC, Professor Joshua Alabi; and some NDC Members of Parliament such as Dr Zanetor Agyemang-Rawlings, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Mr Richard Quashigah and Mr Sam George.



Among representatives of the clergy were the Chairman of the Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye; the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church of Ghana and the Chairman of the CCG, Most Rev. Dr Paul Kwame Boafo, and the Apostle General of the Royal House International, Rt Rev. Sam Korankye Ankrah.



Ready to serve

Former President Mahama described his running mate as a God-fearing woman who understands the challenges of the country and is ready to serve.



Professor Opoku-Agyemang is God-fearing, a woman of unquestionable integrity, hardworking, and a results-oriented person. She has carved a niche for herself as a distinguished scholar in Ghana, on the African continent and across the world.



If you listened to her maiden address, you will find that she has a remarkable appreciation of our struggles as a nation and what it will take for us to attain the highest pedestal of human and physical development that we are capable of as a country, he said.



Mr Mahama said the NDC was ready to chart a new path of prosperity, inclusiveness and sustainable development for the country.



According to him, team John and Jane was the best answer to resolving what he described as the myriad of challenges facing the country.



Together with her as my Vice-President, God willing, we shall, under the $10 billion #TheBigPush Infrastructural Plan, complete the 200 Community day secondary schools we were building and many other projects that the current government has abandoned for the benefit of Ghanaians, the former President said.



Appreciation

For her part, Prof. Opoku-Agyemang lauded Mr Mahama for choosing her as his running mate, adding: I see it as an act of faith, courage and trust.



Prof. Opoku-Agyemang, a former Minister of Education and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, was selected by the former President as his running mate in July this year, ending many months of speculations as to who he was considering for the position.

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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By PTI

THANE: The police have arrested the main accused in the killing of 'matka' king Jignesh Thakkar, who was gunned down by four men last month in Maharashtra's Thane district, an official said on Thursday.

The Thane city police nabbed Dharmesh Shah alias Nannu in Gujarat on Wednesday evening and the accused will be brought to the city, the official said.

Shah had allegedly hatched the conspiracy to kill Thakkar alias Muniya, who was gunned down by four assailants at his office in Kalyan town on July 31, he said.

Earlier, the probe team had arrested the prime accused's brother Dhanraj Shah, local drug peddler Amjad Pathan and Jaipal alias Japan, who had shot the victim.
NASHVILLE - The mayor of Tennessees capital city says he plans to roll back restrictions that have shuttered bars, allowing them to reopen starting Monday with strict limits in place.

Nashville Mayor John Cooper said Thursday that bars in the popular tourist destination could soon reopen to a maximum of 25 people if social distancing is possible at those levels.

Restaurants and bars will have to close by 10:30 p.m. and enforcement teams will be patrolling businesses to see whether they are complying with the various requirements, Cooper said.

The mayor said Nashvilles hospitality industry has been especially hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, particularly small neighbourhood bars and restaurants. Still, he said he hopes that a well-managed bar or restaurant will be better than a backyard party of 25 people, which he said probably will have a more relaxed atmosphere.

We should adjust our response where we safely can, based on the best public health information available, to help businesses survive, Cooper said.

Cooper in early July announced a rollback of Nashvilles reopening, including an order for bars to close again due to the heightened spread of the virus. Then in late July, Cooper moved to require restaurants, restaurants that have turned into bars during the pandemic and other businesses that serve alcohol to close by 10 p.m.

Meanwhile, two schools in Chattanooga have been closed after someone tested positive for COVID-19 at each school, officials said.

The Hamilton School District said the Chattanooga School for the Arts & Sciences and Loftis Middle School will be closed for cleaning Thursday and Friday, news outlets reported. School officials did not say whether it was students, teachers or staff who tested positive for the virus at each school.

The district resumed in-person classes this week under a hybrid schedule for the first time since the virus outbreak struck in March.

Nearly 65 school districts have started the school year as of Aug. 7, with the majority of them starting in-person classes, The Tennessean reported. At least 39 confirmed COVID-19 cases connected to schools have already been reported, according to the newspaper.

Williamson County Schools, Coffee County Schools and Blount County Schools, have already closed schools or altered schedules.

In Putnam County, more than 80 students and staff were quarantined after a student at Cookeville High School tested positive for COVID-19.

___

Follow AP coverage of the pandemic at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak.
New Delhi:

A special National Investigative Agency Court on Tuesday convicted Indian Mujahideen member Yasin Bhatkal and 3 others for the 2013 Hyderabad twin blast case. The punishment will be announced on December 19.



It is first conviction of Indian Mujahideen cadre ever.



The court had framed charges against Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal, Pakistani national Zia-ur-Rahman alias Waqas, Asadullah Akhtar alias Haddi, Tahaseen Akhtar alias Monu and Aijaz Sheikh, who are at present lodged in the Cherlapally Prison.



Indian Mujahideen founder Riyaz Bhatkal, the prime accused in the case, is absconding. The case was split up against him.



In February 21, 2013, twin blasts near Konark and Venkatadiri theatres in Dilsukhnagar had killed at least 18 people and injured 131.



The accused were tried under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, and other relevant acts including IPC.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Responding to recent murders on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, Montana's U.S. senators are asking the FBI to and Bureau of Indian Affairs to do more to investigate and communicate with victims families and local governments.

The Wednesday letters from Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines follow a tight-lipped FBI response to an apparent homicide in broad daylight that was recorded in a residential neighborhood near Lame Deer and posted to Facebook. A message circulated with the post read: this was a couple hours ago. People are saying that they couldnt get the cops to show up. Those guys ended up fighting and they killed him right there in broad daylight on the street in Lame Deer.

The video was taken down after it was widely circulated.

The FBI declined to offer any details about the apparent murder or the victim, other than to say a murder was being investigated, when contacted by Lee Montana Newspapers on Tuesday.

Local Sheriff Allen Fulton, who is also the deputy coroner of Rosebud County, said he too was unable to get federal agents to respond.
Sharks have a reputation for being heartless killers, but at least one species forms long-lasting friendships, scientists have discovered.

Grey reef sharks are swift, large-eyed predators that frequent coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

They often head out to the open water at night to hunt. But during the day, they return to the same spot on their reef, congregating in clusters of up to 20 individuals.

To study this social behavior, marine biologists at Florida International University tagged 41 grey reef sharks near the Palmyra Atoll, a remote Pacific island more than 1,000 miles from the coast of Hawaii.

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Researchers at Florida International University tagged 41 grey reef sharks near the Palmyra Atoll and found the agile predators formed tight-knight groups that last for years

The tags included acoustic transmitters that could identify individual sharks. Dozens of receivers placed throughout the area enabled the team to recognize any other tagged shark that came within 1,000 feet, according to New Scientist.

Over the four years of the study - the life of the transmitters batteries - they found the sharks formed incredibly stable groups.

Despite the presence of some 8,000 grey reef sharks around the atoll, the tagged fish rarely strayed into other cliques.

They also frequented the same section of reef, year after year, according to a report published this week in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

While grey reef sharks swim out to the open water at night, they return to the same section of reef during the day - and rarely leave their clique. Such 'friendships' are rare in the animal kingdom, and almost unheard of among sharks

Its not clear how the grey reef sharks identify other individuals in their group or why they form such strong bonds. They spend their nights in the open sea, where researchers' transmitters can't record their interactions

We dont think of sharks as social animals, but they do have social groups, Yannis Papastamatiou, lead author and head of the universitys Predator Ecology and Conservation Lab, told New Scientist.

They form these sort of spatially structured social groups where they hang out with the same individuals over multiple years.

Papastamatiou described the relationships as that of associates.

They are not friends in the sense of having any emotional bond with each other, he said.

Its not clear how the sharks identify each other or why they form such strong bonds.

Their nocturnal expeditions happen in the open sea, too far for the team's transmitters to record.

But its possible that, by working as a group, they improve their chances of finding ample prey.

Regardless, such long-term associations are rare in the animal kingdom, and almost unheard of among sharks.

Grey reef sharks' numbers are dwindling, the result of commercial fishing for their fins. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified them as near threatened.

Grey reef sharks are unusual in other respects, too: Of the more than 500 shark species in the world, theyre one of only a small percentage known to exhibit threat behavior, warning that theyre preparing to attack.

Despite their size - about six feet long - their aggression allows them to dominate other larger sharks in the area.

Theyve even been known to attack humans.

But like many types of shark, grey reef sharks are in serious decline: They are sought after for their fins, which are used in shark fin soup.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified them as near threatened.

Their dwindling numbers could have serious repercussions for the delicate coral ecosystems they inhabit.

Last year scientists fitted underwater cameras on more than 370 reefs, attaching bait to lure nearby reef sharks.

On nearly one in five reefs, no sharks were spotted, the BBC reported.
Medical staff prepare take a COVID-19 test from a visitor to a drive through community-based assessment centre in Christchurch, New Zealand. (AP)

A fresh outbreak of coronavirus in New Zealand is due to a quarantine breach, the countrys deputy prime minister has suggested.

Coronavirus cases in Auckland have grown to 17, while officials said the number is likely to increase following more than 100 days without any cases of local transmission.

Speaking on ABC TV, Winston Peters said the quarantine theory was put to him via a very reliable New Zealand journalist.

He said: I think, when that comes out very shortly, in a matter of maybe less than a day, well find out that was the case.

New Zealand's deputy PM believes a quarantine facility breach is the 'most likely' reason behind a fresh outbreak of coronavirus. (AP)

He added: I think, as an experienced politician and as a lawyer, that the moment I found out that this strain is not unique to my country, it had to go to a point of entry either by sea, by air, or in quarantine facilities.

And the quarantine facility is the one I think is the most likely.

Freight theory

While Peters suggested the outbreak was down to a quarantine breach, health officials also raised the possibility that the virus had arrived in New Zealand via freight, given one of the infected people works at Americold food cold-storage facility in Auckland.

The facility is now being swabbed to check if it was a possible source of the infections.

Director-general of health Ashley Bloomfield said: We do know from studies overseas that actually, the virus can survive in some refrigerated environments for quite some time.

Bloomfield said he expected that, sooner or later, the new cases would be linked to somebody who had arrived in the country with an infection or a worker at a quarantine facility, airport or maritime port.

He added: At the moment we haven't established a direct connection. But as we find each case and do that thorough interview and investigation, that will help."

Lockdown extension

A lockdown in Auckland, designed to extinguish the outbreak, could be extended well beyond an initial three days.

Auckland was moved to alert level 3 on Wednesday, meaning that non-essential workers are required to stay home and bars, restaurants and most businesses are shut.

Story continues

A coronavirus news alert is displayed on a mobile phone in Christchurch, New Zealand. (AP)

The rest of the country has moved to level 2, requiring social distancing.

The government is due to make a decision on Friday on whether to extend Auckland's lockdown, which seems increasingly likely given the new cases.

Outbreak beginnings

The latest 13 cases could all be linked through work and family to the initial four cases, meaning there is no evidence yet of a wider community outbreak, according to health officials.

The outbreak was found after a man in his 50s went to his doctor on Monday with symptoms and was swabbed twice, testing positive both times. Three more people in his household tested positive later.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks at a news conference in Wellington about the coronavirus outbreak. (AP)

Until Tuesday, the only known cases of the virus in New Zealand were 22 travellers held in quarantine after returning from abroad.

New Zealand has been praised globally for its virus response and got rid of the virus by imposing a strict lockdown in late March when only about 100 people had tested positive for the disease, stopping its spread.

Coronavirus: what happened today

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By Express News Service

COIMBATORE: There are those who demand that the forest department chase away crop-raiding wild elephants. And then there are the villagers of Kandhavayal near Sirumugai in Coimbatore.

A group of tribal people in Kandhavayal are following the practice of worshipping the elephant god for over a century.

People believe that the elephants will not damage their crops if they worship the idol set up at the Bagavathy Amman Temple in the village.

While the Bagavathy Amman remains the main deity of the tribals and is set up to face the east, the elephant idol has been set up to face the north where the forest is located.

Amasai alias M Chinnu, who owns two acres of land, told The New Indian Express that it is not just the people of Kandhavayal, but also people from nearby Dhimmaryampalayam and Sirumugai who come with their crops to the temple and dedicate their harvest to the elephant idol.

ALSO READ: COVID-19 lockdown brings about behavioural change in zoo animals

They usually pray that the elephant god should stay away from their area since Kandhavayal and the neighbouring areas were paddy fields earlier.

"Our ancestors told us that unless human beings disturb elephants, the animal will not hurt anyone. Elephants are intelligent animals and can easily be made to obey human words and return to the forest whenever we request the idol," says Chinnu.

R Shiva Kumar, another villager, said the elephant idol was made from a single stone weighing over a tonne and it was set up on the two-layer slab stone by digging an eight-feet hole in the earth.

"The public used to gather and perform special poojas during Amavasai. A kumbhabhishekam was also performed at the Bagavathi Amman temple four years ago," he said.

It is not just in Kandhavayal. Tribal people from Panapatti village near Anaikatti were

also offering prayers before a stone elephant idol during Sivarathri and in the Tamil month of Purtassi.
By Laman Ismayilova

The State Tourism Agency and the Azerbaijan Tourism Bureau have lauched a joint project.

The main goal of "REAL Vatan" project is to show the potential of domestic tourism in Azerbaijan and promote the existing local tourism opportunities.

The project aired on Real TV channel provided insight into Gadabay region its majestic nature, rich culture and history.

With its wide range of natural treasures,Gadabay has plenty to show off.

The region is home to a plethora of astounding natural attractions, historical monuments that are sprinkled all over the region.

Gadabay is surrounded with mountain forests and poppy fields. Near Gadabay there is Slavyanka village, which is famous for its famous water sources Narzan, Mor-Mor, Chaldash, etc.

Akhinja, Zayam and Shamkir are the largest rivers in Gadabay. Here you can breathe the fresh air and enjoy the great outdoors near at river coast.

Shahzada is a place you must visit in Gadabay. The 18-20 height meters ice waterfall will cool your body in a hot summer day.

Spectacular forest meadows in midlands, broad-leaved forests, subalpine and alpine meadows at the top of mountains occupy the greatest territory of region.

There are four emerald forests in the region: Govdu, Godekdere, Gamish and Shamlig.

The most highest heights are: Goshabulag (3549 m), Godzhadagh (2,217 m) and Garaarkhadzh (3,549 m).

Temperature of July is ranged from +10 C to +20 C, of January - from -2 C to -10 C.

Monuments in Gadabay region are an integral part of the Azerbaijani culture, known here as Gadabay-Khojaly culture.

Here one can enjoy Cycpoles structures of the end of bronze period of time, Boyuk-gala forstress, towers of Galakend-galasi (16thI century), Giz-galasi (another name Namerd - gala, 9th century), arched bridge of 19th century.

Koroglu Castle related to the 18th century is a grandiose showplace of Gadabay region. The castles walls are one meter thick and the monument has a strategic location.

Beyukgala fortress, located in the territory of Soyudlu village, which belongs to the iron age, is included in the list of monuments of world importance. The region also attracts attention with countless caves, ancient Albanian churches and temples. Each of these temples is an archaeological monument of the Bronze Age.

Gadabay is also rich in underground resources such as gold, uranium, copper and other mineral resources. Goldfield in Soyudlu was explored by the Siemens brothers until arrival of Red Army soldiers in 1920.

As the administrative unit Gadabay was originated on August 8, 1930 under the name of Rustam Aliyev. In 1938, it was renamed to Gadabay region.

From historic castles and eye-catching landscapes Gadabay is a wonderful site to behold nature in all its beauty.

You'll be rewarded with unforgettable impressions, a profound sense of relaxation and a feeling of being at one with nature.

--

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
In all of the managed service providers that New England has to offer, VoDaVi Technologies stands as a shining example of excellence.

VoDaVi Technologies has been named as one of the worlds premier managed service providers and one of the top MSPs in New England on the prestigious 2020 annual Channel Futures MSP 501 rankings.

For the 13th year, MSPs from around the globe completed an exhaustive survey and application this spring to self-report product offerings, annual total and recurring revenues, profits, revenue mix, growth opportunities and company 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 VoDaVi Technologies to the 2020 MSP 501.

Its an honor to be recognized by Channel Futures as part of the 2020 MSP 501 rankings, and debut as one of the most elite Managed Services Provider worldwide, said Amy Friel, VoDaVi President and CEO. VoDaVi takes pride in helping our clients use technology and forward thinking to achieve business outcomes, exceed expectations and deliver exceptional experiences. VoDaVis ranking on the 2020 MSP 501 is a testament to our continued success in serving as an IT business partner that our clients trust.

VoDaVi specializes in all facets of technology to ensure that our clients have the guidance, coverage and support they need to meet their business technology challenges. Clients know that VoDaVis Managed Services bring all their IT support services and infrastructure management assets together in one place with one view. Our Always There approach reinforces a pledge made by the founders to provide 24x7x365 Monitoring and emergency Support at no extra cost which ensures our clients are back-stopped by the best support team which allows clients to focus on whats truly important - their business.

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.

These benchmarks are what local businesses should examine when choosing a managed service provider with the experience, skill set, business knowledge and defined strategy to help them succeed in this fast-changing digital landscape, says Kris Blackmon, Senior Content Director, Channel Partners and Channel Futures. In all of the managed service providers that New England has to offer, VoDaVi Technologies stands as a shining example of excellence.

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 Partners and Channel Futures 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 linchpin to dozens of programs and initiatives.

The complete 2020 MSP 501 list is available at Channel Futures.

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 VoDaVi Technologies

A Women-owned Business Enterprise (WBE) with more than 35 years of combined experience, VoDaVi offers a variety of Business Technology Solutions to small and midsize businesses, school systems and non-profit organizations throughout New England and beyond. Services include, Managed and Professional IT Services, Voice Over IP (VoIP), Video Conferencing, Wireless Networks, Network Security, and Cloud Solutions. VoDaVis team of experts implement the technology solutions that will launch your business into the future. Additional services include Consulting, Design, Engineering, and Project Management including implementation services to reach clients business goals. VoDaVi strives to maintain 99.999% up time and maintains a 100% customer satisfaction rate. VoDaVi has partnered with strategic technology providers, Aruba, HPE, SonicWall, Dell, Cisco and several others in order to provide clients with high quality products and services. For more information and to see our full catalog of offerings please visit http://www.VoDaViTechnologies.com.

CONTACT:

Amy Friel

President and CEO

VoDaVi Technologies

Amy.Friel@VoDaViTechnologies.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


CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The NZ dollar declined against its major opponents in the European session on Thursday, as a political deadlock over the next coronavirus aid package dented risk appetite.



Republicans and Democrats remain divided over additional stimulus, with President Donald Trump saying that a deal is 'not going to happen.'



House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democrats and the Trump administration are 'miles apart' on a new fiscal plan, with little prospect of any new negotiations bearing fruit in the near future.



Investors await the latest U.S. jobless claims data later in the day for more indications about the state of the world's largest economy.



Data from Statistics New Zealand showed that New Zealand food prices rose 4.2 percent on year in July - up from 4.1 percent in June.



On a monthly basis, food prices were up a seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent, 1.2 percent unadjusted.



The kiwi edged lower to 0.6557 against the greenback and 69.99 against the yen, from its prior highs of 0.6599 and 70.44, respectively. The next possible support for the kiwi is seen around 0.62 against the greenback and 67.5 against the yen.



The kiwi depreciated to near a 3-month low of 1.8056 against the euro, down from a high of 1.7892 set in the previous session. The kiwi is likely test support around the 1.85 area.



Final data from Destatis showed that German consumer prices fell in July, as initially estimated, mainly due to the reduction in the value added tax.



The consumer price index fell 0.1 percent in July, after a 0.9 percent rise in June, as initially estimated.



The kiwi touched a day's low of 1.0922 against the aussie, reversing from a high of 1.0877 hit at 5:00 pm ET. If the kiwi falls further, 1.12 is likely seen as its next support level.



Looking ahead, U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended August 8 and import and export prices for July are due in the New York session.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 07:42:06|Editor: huaxia

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A man works at a garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Aug. 12, 2020. Bangladesh's July export income was over 44 percent higher than that in June, meaning the country's export sector is limping back to normalcy after suffering serious blows owing to COVID-19 impacts. Of the total earnings, the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data showed the country's income from ready-made garment items, including knitwear and woven, stood at 3.24 billion U.S. dollars. (Xinhua)
August 13 marks the late actor Sridevis birth anniversary. Sridevi died at the age of 54 in 2018, while attending a family wedding in Dubai. Her daughter, Janhvi Kapoor, made her acting debut just a few months later.

Janhvi in an interview to The Times of India ahead of her first film Dhadaks release had said that Sridevi never visited her on the sets, but gave one piece of valuable advice. My mother never came on the sets of the movie, Janhvi confessed. When she saw the rushes, she was very happy. But she advised me to not put makeup in the second half.

Janhvi in an interview to Vogue had said that Sridevi never wanted her to join the film industry. She was more relaxed about Khushi getting into films. She thought I was naive, that I wasnt thick-skinned enough. She wanted us to live a more relaxed life. She loved what she did but you know it was intense, Janhvi said.

Also read: Janhvi Kapoor defends Gunjan Saxena biopic against backlash: No reason for us to be apologetic

She was very technical about it, Janhvi told Vogue about her mothers reaction to watching a few scenes from Dhadak. The first thing she told me was the things I needed to improveshe felt the mascara was smudged and it really bothered her. The second half has to be different, she told me, You cant wear anything on your face. Thats all she told me but she was happy.

Janhvis second feature film, Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, was released on Wednesday on Netflix. Between Dhadak and Gunjan Saxena, the actor had also appeared in director Zoya Akhtars short, in the anthology film Ghost Stories.

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WASHINGTON - The Trump administration is scrapping limits on methane leaks, allowing oil and gas companies to decide how much of the potent greenhouse gas can escape into the atmosphere from wells, pipelines and storage tanks.

The new rules, issued by the Office of Management and Budget on Thursday, effectively rescind the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to regulate methane, the largest component of natural gas. Although it dissipates faster than carbon dioxide, methane is estimated to be at least 25 times and as much as 80 times more potent in terms of trapping heat in the atmosphere.

The administration said methane would now be regulated under the Clean Air Act like other volatile compounds, but the rules governing those smog-forming compounds are comparatively weak.

EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler announced the new rules in Pittsburgh, in a battleground state that has the most extensive shale gas resources in the country.

"EPA has been working hard to fulfill President Trump's promise to cut burdensome and ineffective regulations for our domestic energy industry," EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in a press release.

"...Today's regulatory changes remove redundant paperwork, align with the Clean Air Act, and allow companies the flexibility to satisfy leak-control requirements by complying with equivalent state rules."

The current regulations date to 2016 and are among environmental protections crafted by the Obama administration that President Donald Trump has systematically reversed.

The Trump administration has sought since 2019 to eliminate methane limitations because many of the small- and medium-sized companies in the oil and gas business - among the president's ardent supporters - want to reduce the cost of complying with regulation. The American Petroleum Institute and the Independent Petroleum Association of America said their members could still choose whether or not to further reduce emissions.

A handful of the biggest oil and gas companies, meanwhile, supported the Obama-era rules because they meant the companies could capture - and sell - methane that would otherwise escape into the atmosphere. Those companies said they would continue those practices, even if they are no longer required by the government.

Environmental groups and some lawmakers denounced the administration's move.

"I can't think of a worse policy decision for the American environment and the global climate risk," Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said in an interview. King, who helped found the bipartisan Senate Climate Solutions Caucus, said capturing methane emissions could be done at "a modest cost for a gigantic benefit."

Former vice president Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has pledged "on day one" to require "aggressive methane pollution limits for new and existing oil and gas operations."

The Natural Resources Defense Council said Thursday that it will launch a legal challenge. "We will see EPA in court," said David Doniger, head of climate policy at the NRDC.

Scientists have projected that the world needs to cut greenhouse gas emissions nearly in half by mid-century to avert catastrophic effects from global warming. According to the EPA, methane accounted for more than 10% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from human activities in 2017. Nearly a third of those emissions were generated by the natural gas and petroleum industry.

But more recent research has shown that methane emissions are about 60% higher than what the EPA has previously stated, according to the Environmental Defense Fund, which has been measuring those emissions.

"What the administration is doing is fundamentally flawed," EDF President Fred Krupp said in an interview. "It ignores the facts."

Capturing methane is more cost effective than originally estimated, and many states are moving ahead with their own methane emission guidelines, he said.

A senior EPA official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that "the notion that this regulatory act lacks a scientific basis is straight up dishonest."

Mustafa Santiago Ali, vice president of the National Wildlife Foundation, said the decision by the Trump administration will disproportionately affect minority communities.

"More than 6 million African-Americans live in the 91 counties with oil refineries, and over one million African Americans live within a half mile of an oil and gas facility," he said in a statement. "So while this rule hurts all of us, it will disproportionately impact Black, Hispanic and Indigenous communities, again putting those Americans most impacted by environmental racism at risk of dying prematurely from air pollution. This is another example of how this administration creates sacrifice zones across our country."

Methane concentrations in the atmosphere have been rising since the industrial revolution - they are now 150% higher than they were in the year 1750, according to the Global Carbon Project, growing from around 700 to over 1,850 parts per billion.

The rate of increase has been particularly sharp over the past roughly 15 years. Atmospheric methane levels began a rapid rise in 2007. In 2019 alone, atmospheric concentrations of methane increased by 10 parts per billion, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. That was the fourth biggest increase in the past three decades.

The source of all that gas is unclear. Many suspect that the growth in oil and natural gas drilling brought on by the fracking revolution is playing a key role in the increase in atmospheric methane since 2007. Another major source is agriculture, including cattle and other ruminant animals, and flooded rice fields. Scientists have been struggling to sort out the relative role of each contributor.

But the oil patch is a likely suspect. Since 2007, the amount of drilling for shale oil and gas in the United States has exploded. Because shale wells produce most of their gas in 18 to 24 months, thousands upon thousands of new wells are needed just to keep production level.

Robert Howarth, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Cornell University, says his research shows that shale gas development in North America alone has been responsible for one third of the total increase in global methane emissions over the past year. He also says that methane has been responsible for about a quarter of global warming in recent decades.

The Independent Petroleum Association of America, which before the Trump administration had been a lobbying client of now-Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, says on its website that "operators have every incentive to capture and sell as much of this product as possible" and that "it doesn't take top-down mandates from Washington, D.C." to recognize the benefits of gas drilling.

IPAA's executive vice president of government relations, Lee Fuller, said that the changes will help smaller oil and gas companies that are fighting for survival during the economic downturn and resulting oil glut.

"Those small businesses would be the people who would be served well by changes because it would allow them to keep in operation and not be pressed to shut down because of the regulatory cost," he said.

Frank Macchiarola, API's senior vice president of policy, economics and regulatory affairs, said "our industry sees this as important for environmental stewardship as well as for business." He said "capturing methane emissions is in our interest because ultimately we're going to provide for American families and consumers."

But the Trump move eliminates regulations limiting methane on pipelines and storage facilities in between processing plants and consumers, the NRDC's Doniger said. It reduces the frequency of important monitoring from quarterly to twice a year. And it allows the EPA to expand the number of low-production wells - which produce the equivalent of 15 barrels a day of oil - that are exempt from certain regulations, Doniger added.

The world's biggest oil companies, however, have already pledged to cut methane emissions.

"BP believes methane should be directly regulated by the EPA and opposes today's decision by the Administration," said David Lawler, BP's chairman and president of the company's American operations. "The direct federal regulation of methane emissions is a critical step to protecting the environment and keeping the gas in our pipes in order to provide it to the market."

A BP spokesman, Jason Ryan, said the London-based company would continue plans to install monitoring equipment throughout BP's international and U.S. operations by 2023. Once it collects a reliable count of emissions, it will slash those emissions by half, Ryan said.

Exxon Mobil, which signed a set of "Methane Guiding Principles," says it has cut emissions by 20% since 2016. Chevron has tied executive compensation to reductions in methane emissions.

In March 2019, Royal Dutch Shell's head of U.S. operations, Gretchen Watkins, urged the Trump administration to tighten instead of loosen regulation of methane emissions.

"It is a big part of the climate problem and frankly we can do more," Watkins said in an interview with Reuters at IHS Markit's CERAWeek conference in Houston in 2019. "We don't usually tell governments how to do their job but we're ready to break with that and say, 'Actually, we want to tell you how to do your job,' " she said.

- - -

The Washington Post's Desmond Butler and Chris Mooney contributed to this report.
Mumbai:

Since the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (Gatt) came into being in 1948, which eventually paved way for the WTO in January 1995, the share of China's exports soared to 14.2% in 2015 from a paltry 0.9% 67 years ago, while that of the US nosedived to 9.2% from 21.6%.

In absolute terms, China's export earnings zoomed to USD 2.27 trillion in 2015 from a non-consequential USD 530 million 67 years ago, says India Ratings in a report, quoting the World Trade Organisation (WTO) numbers.

The report by its analyst Abhash Sharma, however, does not offer the comparative numbers for the US or any other country.

India, too, slipped in the global trade sweepstakes. From a 2.2% share in the global trade in 1948, it's down to 1.7% in 2015 and has always been under 1% in between. India's third best figure was 1.3% in 1963.

Similarly, China's exports to the country rose manifold to USD 62 billion in 2016 from USD 7 billion in 2005.

In fact, the US never saw its export share increase from 1948 as it has been steadily falling. Its second best peak was in 1963 when it had an export share of 14.6%.

Similar sorry story was that of Britain, whose share of global trade fell like ninepins - from a robust 11.3% in 1948 to just 2.9% in 2015.

These numbers assume importance as the Communist China -- which has become the world's factory over the past three decades -- has completed 15 years as a WTO member on December 10 and is set to get the market economy status (MES) as per the trade body's membership rules.

The only three other countries that have improved their exports share are Germany, Japan and the Netherlands, the report said.

While the share of Germany jumped from 1.4% in 1948 to 8.3% in 2015, that of Japan, which was the second largest economy till 2011, improved to 3.9% from 0.4% during this time while its peak of 9.8% was in 1993 and 6.8% in 2003.

Similarly, the Netherlands' share rose from 2% to 3.5% during this period. Germany had a peak share of 11.7% in 1973.

Sharma, in the report, warned that an MES status for Beijing, which currently has only a non-market economy status, will be highly detrimental to the commodity driven economies and sectors.

Region-wise, Europe and Asia saw a rise in their share, whereas North America, South & Central America and Africa lost out massively.

While the share of Europe rose to 37.3% in 2015 from 35.1% in 1948, that of Asia had the maximum jump - from 14% to 34.2% in 2015.

Within Asia, share of the Middle East more than doubled - from 2 per cent in 1948 to 5.3% - thanks to the oil.

As against this, the share of North America nearly halved to 14.4% in 2015 from 28.1% 67 years ago, while that of South & Central America dipped to a third -- from 11.3% to 3.4%.

Similarly, the trade share of Africa came crashing down from 7.3% to 2.4%.

Sharma warns that China getting the MES status would be a big risk to commodity-driven markets and sectors like iron & steel, chemicals, ceramics and tyres, the items which enjoy heavy state subsidy in the Communist nation. He notes these sectors are among those which have benefited by the anti-dumping duties in the past.

As a subsidy-driven manufacturing helped China yank everybody's trade, it had to face the maximum number of anti-dumping duty cases.

According to Sharma, as much as 35% of the entire anti-dumping cases are against Beijing, with 541 of the 1,009 such matters being filed against the Middle Kingdom as of 2015.

New Delhi alone has the maximum number of unfair trade practises cases against Beijing, accounting for 35% of the total cases. As per the rules governing China's accession to the WTO, the Communist giant would get the market economy status on completion of 15 years of membership.

Since December 10, 2001, when Beijing became a WTO member, China has been treated as a non-market economy based on terms of its membership of the trade body.

As per the report, the MES status means that China's cost of production and sale price (within China) need to be considered by importing countries, while ascertaining if the dumping of goods is taking place, which was optional hitherto.

Though the MES status should be automatic as per the membership rule, it is easier said than done as even though not providing MES is not an option for WTO members. Many countries argue that MES should not be given to the world's second largest economy.

The MES status would give Beijing's competitors less opportunity to initiate anti-dumping measures on Chinese exports, thus pushing up exports from that country further and threatening commodity-linked sectors.

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Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story

Netflix

The first season of this true-crime anthology series was an engrossing affair with terrific performances from Connie Britton and Eric Bana. This new season, starring the underrated Amanda Peet and the rarely spotted Christian Slater, starts out looking like it's going to flip the script, as they say in Hollywood. It's the 1980s, and the first thing that leaps out about Peet is that she can really rock some big hair, some blue eyeshadow, and a mom jean. The second thing is that it's her character, California woman Betty Broderick, who looks like being the villain. Almost right away we see that Betty has become unhinged by the fact that her husband, lawyer Dan (Slater), has left her and taken the kids. She won't sign the divorce papers, even though her lawyer has flown down from LA to San Diego to drive her to Dan's lawyer's office to do so. Just minutes of TV time later, police are hauling Betty away in a straitjacket in front of her appalled children after she deliberately, if somewhat gingerly, crashed her car into Dan's new house.

Amanda Peet in Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story.

Did police really carry straitjackets around in the boots of their cars in the '80s? If so, that's an interesting piece of period detail. And period detail is something in which this season's production and wardrobe designers really excel. The clothes, hair, make-up and furniture are exquisitely '80s, but in an unobtrusive way that doesn't cram Walkmans and leg warmers and MTV into every scene. The series also excels when it comes to filling in the sad back story that brought Betty to her breaking point. And for that, it could hardly have found a better fit than Peet, who never seems to land the roles that would make her a bigger name, but whose performance here is versatile, captivating and achingly vulnerable. Some of the back story, though, plays out in earlier decades, where Betty is played by Riverdale's Tiera Skovbye and the eminently detestable Dan by Chris Mason, decked out in the hair and glasses of a young Stephen King. The drama around the shocking crime at the centre of it all might have been enough to carry things on its own, but the series also gives viewers a lot more to chew over - not least the kinds of psychological abuse that never end up in a courtroom.

Jim Gaffigan: Pale Tourist

Amazon Prime Video
Investigators urge detention of Russian businessman in embezzlement case to be extended

 flickr.com/ Ilya Schurov

17:27 13/08/2020

MOSCOW, August 13 (RAPSI)  The Moscow City Court will hear a motion of investigators demanding to extend detention of businessman Vasily Boiko-Veliky in the Credit-Express bank embezzlement case for three months on August 17, lawyer Igor Zuber has told RAPSI.

Investigators have asked the court to prolong the defendants extension until November 19.

According to the Investigative Committee, other defendants in the case along with the businessman are bank director Alla Kabanova, chief accountant Maria Antonova and four other employees of Credit-Express Anastasia Novotnaya, Egor Pikhtin, Elena Chuyeva and Natalya Tsipinova.

They have allegedly embezzled over 180 million rubles ($2.8 million) and $929,000. Investigators have detected 31 counts of embezzlement, the statement reads.

Moreover, investigators are checking facts of withdrawal of assets by granting unsecured and loss loans to legal entities, according to the news release.

Boiko-Veliky pleads not guilty.
The family of a corrections officer stabbed to death by a neighbor is asking for police protection after their address was posted in the comments section of a recent social media post made by the man charged in the killing.

Zachary T. Latham, 18, is charged with aggravated manslaughter in the May 4 stabbing death of William T. Durham Sr., 52.

The Durham family said Latham harassed them repeatedly in the weeks before the killing and accused their neighbor of luring Durham Sr. into the fatal brawl.

Lathams troubling behavior has resumed since his pre-trial release from jail, according to Durham family attorney Diane Ruberton.

A Durham family friend who has been vocal about the case said Latham has been harassing him via social media.

The Durhams home address was revealed in the comments section of one of Lathams TikTok posts, but the identity of the poster remains unknown, Ruberton said. It wasnt posted by Lathams account.

While the post in question didnt pertain to the case, Latham has repeatedly engaged with commenters talking about the case  including those who support him and those who condemn him for the killing.

When a commenter on another of his videos questioned why he needs a public defender when he drives fancy cars, Latham responded, Why waste 50k when I have video proof? I could damn near represent myself lol

After being called a murderer by another commenter, he responded, I have licensed fire arm carriers in my house If my intent was murder they all would have died. He walked in my house with 4 people after I warned him.

After learning that their address had been posted, the victims wife, Catherine, sought help.

We have reported that to the prosecutors office and asked them to ensure that there are extra patrols and that Vineland Police were aware, Ruberton said this week.

Police have since confirmed to the family they are increasing patrols in the area, she added.

The Durhams would like to see the person responsible for posting their address identified.

Were not sure who the person is, Ruberton said. The prosecutor has the ability to subpoena the account to find out. Thats what we would like to see happen.

Zachary T. Latham, 18, of Vineland, is charged with aggravated manslaughter.

The family has noticed increased traffic in front of their house since their address was posted, Ruberton said. A car stopped in front of the home recently and the driver sat there for a while, only driving off when Catherine Durham came outside with her phone and began recording, the attorney said. Family members have also received several recent phone call hangups in which the caller says nothing.

While Latham hasnt directly targeted the Durhams in his recent posts, they wonder if some of those commenting in support of him are the defendant himself using a bogus profile, or if he is asking others to weigh in, Ruberton said.

Trouble began in April when Catherine Durham told Latham to slow down as he sped on the street they share in a Vineland neighborhood. He recorded the encounter and posted it to TikTok in the first of a series of videos targeting the family. In one post, Latham promised to reveal the Durhams home address if a video received a million views, according to the familys attorneys, who said he also encouraged others to ride by the home and rev their engines.

They described another video, posted a week before the killing, in which Latham is seen holding a gun. He commented on that post that this is how you handle neighbors, the Durham familys lawyers said, adding that this video has since been removed.

Lathams continued comments on the case shows his state of mind, Ruberton said.

Most people, if they are charged with aggravated manslaughter, even if they believe they have a valid defense, would want to keep quiet and have their day in court, but not him, Ruberton said. He just keeps going on social media and antagonizing people.

Ruberton also questioned why Latham hasnt removed the comment with the address. The family has reached out to TikTok for help.

Durham family friend Mike Gallagher, who has been outspoken about the case and has been monitoring Lathams online activities since his release, said Latham has been harassing him.

Latham sent him a message through Instagram in July saying Why do you keep stalking my IG story nothing else better to do? Another was simply LMFAO, while a third message was a kiss emoji, said Gallagher, who is a vice president with PBA Local 105, the union that represented Durham.

Latham also posted a screenshot of Gallaghers Instagram page on his own page with the message, When the guy who lied about you to the media stalks your story. That post included Gallaghers name and photo. He said Latham also called him a crude term in another post.

While he has not responded to Lathams taunts, Gallagher said he contacted Vineland Police and the county prosecutors office to report the behavior.

Hes trying to terrorize me like hes terrorizing the Durham family, Gallagher said. I am very concerned about his actions, because the last time he acted out there was a murder. Hes not showing any remorse for his actions and actually hes back to his old ways of posting on Instagram and TikTok without any cares.

Gallagher organized fundraisers for the family and expressed disbelief when Latham was released from jail.

His harassment of me is not going to deter me from being supportive of the family, Gallagher said.

Lathams public defender did not respond to a request for comment on the claims.

The defendants recent TikTok posts were made in Florida, Ruberton said, where they believe he is staying.

She said his movements raise concerns.

In my opinion, the fact that he has so quickly left the state would cause concern that he may not come back to the state for court, Ruberton said.

While he would normally report to criminal case management in person on a regular basis, his pre-trial check-ins are being done remotely because of pandemic precautions taken by the courts.

Lathams release order doesnt prevent him from traveling out of state or from using social media, a court official confirmed, adding that the prosecutors office has the right to file a motion to revoke his release.

Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae declined to comment on those issues.

The encounter that ended in Durhams death began outside the Latham home, in front of the garage, and continued into the garage. Following a confrontation moments earlier in front of the Durham home, Durham Sr. and his two sons came to the Latham house. Latham, who had armed himself with a taser and knives, warned the Durhams to leave. The Durhams, who were unarmed, ignored the warning and a fight ensued. Two of Lathams friends joined the fray as Lathams wife recorded with her phone.

Attorneys for the Durhams argue that the Lathams were seeking TikTok fame by recording their interactions with the Durhams and say the accused should be charged with murder. Catherine Durham and her sons were both charged in the brawl, though no charges were filed against Lathams friends.

Latham has maintained that he was defending himself, that the Durhams were the aggressors and that he was the victim.

He is next due in court Sept. 3 for a pre-indictment conference.

The Durhams recently file a notice of intent to sue Vineland, saying they repeatedly reported issues about Latham to the police, but no action was taken.

PBA Local 105 Vice President Mike Gallagher presents Catherine Durham with a shadow box honoring her late husband, William T. Durham Sr.

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Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.
With triple-digit temperatures in the forecast this week, one San Antonio resort's water park pass could be coming just in time.

Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa, located on the Far West Side, now offers day passes Monday through Thursday.

Both the general day pass and cabana pass grant access to the resort's water park, which features a two-story water slide and a 950-foot lazy river modeled after the Guadalupe River.

READ ALSO: Colorado columnist says Texans fleeing COVID-19 make him want to 'Forget the Alamo!'

"We are excited to offer day pass options to our beautiful Hill Country resort," said Joe Herman, the resort's director of spa and recreation. "The day pass options allow local guests to enjoy all of the benefits of a resort getaway without having to stay overnight.

"As day passes are limited each day based on the resorts occupancy, they provide a great way to escape the Texas heat while having plenty of space to keep a safe social distance from others."

The general day pass costs $75 per person, while the cabana pass  which includes water park access for up to six people  costs $600. Each cabana has a television, refrigerator and lounge chairs. Food and cocktails are available poolside, according to a release.

The pool and cabanas are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort & Spa resumed operations on May 21 after shutting down amid the coronavirus pandemic. The resort has limited capacity at its restaurants, pools and lazy river.
MBABANE - Eswatinis Limkokwing University of Creative Technology (LUCT) is offering up to 50 per cent scholarships discount to its first-year, 2020 intake students.

This is in addition to a flexible, fees payment-plan that is already in place. The 50 per cent scholarship discount will only be given to qualifying first-year self-sponsored students, who were unable to get a government scholarship.

This was revealed by LUCT Public Relations Officer Lucky Mathonsi. He said the offer runs simultaneously with a 30 per cent discount on tuition fees, which would only be given to currently registered self-sponsored students who pay the full tuition-fee amount upfront.

Limkokwings annual tuition fee is E19 500 and this means the qualifying first year students will only pay E9 750, which is 50 per cent of the annual tuition fee.

Slashed

The already registered students will have E5 850 slashed from the annual tuition fee and they would only pay E13 650. Mathonsi said the universitys decision to offer partial scholarships complemented its efforts to provide quality education while positioning itself as the number one creativity and innovation tertiary institution in Eswatini.

He said globally, Limkokwing University was committed to increasing access to tertiary education for the youth, and as a result, the Founder of the university, Emeritus Tan Sri Dato Sri Paduka Limkokwing, found it fitting to give out scholarships to selected groups of students who were unable to get government sponsorship.

Mathonsi added that it was not just Eswatini that benefitted from this kind gesture, but all the LUCT institutions across the continent. He also mentioned that Limkokwing University had in the past given scholarships worth millions to people with disabilities, the creative industry and the media fraternity.

The flexible payment-plan offered by the university allows self-sponsored students to pay tuition fees in instalments, which has made it easier for sponsors and parents of self-sponsored students to pay for their childrens education. The 30 per cent and 50 per cent partial scholarships (discount) from the university will further lighten this responsibility and bring qualifying students closer to the reality of enrolling for a tertiary qualification, he said.

Failed

In an interview with Tony Maseko from Mbabane, whose child failed to acquire government scholarship but received a letter of admission from LUCT, he expressed joy over the kind gesture by the university. The father of three said the institutions scholarships could not come at a better time when everyone, one way or the other, had been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the worlds economy was on its knees.

I am at a loss for words. My son wants to pursue a course in Events Management and after failing to acquire a government scholarship, there seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel. However, now that the tuition fees have been slashed by half, I will do everything in my power to ensure that he enrols at the university and pursues his dreams, Maseko said.

Gugulethu Mabaso also shared the same sentiments. She said she had been paying for her sons fees from last year as he would be doing his second year this academic year.

Cutting the fees by 30 per cent goes a long way, one can never ask for more. We are thankful to the institution for finding it fit to meet us halfway, especially in the COVID-19 era. We are forever grateful, she said.

Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Education and Training Bertram Stewart said nothing had been formally communicated to them on the slashed tuition fees hence he declined to comment.

Broke

The University of Eswatini (UNESWA), which made headlines in local publications recently for being finacially challenged and downgrading to junk status, also has, in its regulations, a fees payment plan that seeks to give parents/guardians whose children are self-sponsored, some form of relief in that they can pay the fees in extended instalments.

UNESWA Registrar Dr Salebona Simelane said they were pretty flexible in that regard.

We offer 40 per cent of the overall tuition fee upon the registration and after two or three months, parents can then pay the other instalment and the payment unfolds in that pattern, he said.
DECATUR, Neb. -- Sometimes it takes an outsider's view to really appreciate what you have.

That's not to say members of the Decatur Museum's board of directors didn't already appreciate the A.B. Fuller House, which houses the museum. They'd spent thousands of dollars and volunteer hours to restore the oldest house in town, built in 1875 by one of Decatur's earliest movers and shakers.

"We were enjoying it, keeping it open and having presentations about history," museum board president Jane Judt said.

Judt and other board members knew the Fuller House's place in Decatur's history. When David Calease, of History Nebraska's State Historic Preservation Office, found out about it, he encouraged the museum board to pursue getting it added to the National Register of Historic Places.

After hours spent compiling records, taking photos and gathering details prior to filing the final draft of the application in May, Judt learned in July that the Fuller House had been named to the National Register.

"I was elated," Judt said. "It means a lot for Decatur. There are no other buildings in Decatur that are on the register."

That it came to be listed happened by chance.

Calease had called Judt in spring 2019 to talk about the historical significance of Decatur's city hall. During their conversation, Judt mentioned the Fuller House, and Calease's interest was piqued. When he came to the next museum board meeting, he took a look at the house.

"He started taking pictures right away," Judt said.

The next day, he emailed her an application for the Historic Register, an honor board members all were familiar with but had never considered for their own gem.

"Prior to that, we really hadn't thought about it," said Judt, a 1970 Decatur High School graduate and retired pharmacist who had moved back to Decatur.

It was a lot of work to complete the application, but that was easy when compared with the job the board faced after buying the then-vacant house at 400 W. Eighth St. in 2006 for $8,000. The cupola at the top had been removed decades earlier because of rot. A leaky roof led to plaster damage upstairs. A previous owner in the 1960s had turned the second floor into a separate living unit.

The exterior may have been familiar, but Mr. Fuller himself might have had a hard time recognizing the interior of what was probably one of the town's most extravagant homes when built.

According to history provided by Judt, Azariah Bemis Fuller came to Decatur, one of Nebraska's earliest settlements, in the 1850s, followed by his wife and children a year later. He bought the Brown Hotel, which stood next door to the lot where the house would be built. He built his house in 1875 in the Italianate style, which Calease said was typical for prominent and successful politicians and business people at that time.

The same year he built his home, the hotel burned down. In addition to the hotel business, Fuller operated a sawmill on the Iowa side of the Missouri River and dabbled in a mining company. He also built one of the town's earliest school buildings.

Fuller died in 1898, inside the house, Judt believes.

The house was passed down to family members and then went through a series of owners. Judt said no Fuller relatives remain in the area.

During planning for events to mark the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition through the area in 2003, committee members set a long-term goal of establishing a museum. One of the committee members knew the Fuller House's owner, they began talking, and, wouldn't you know it, Decatur soon had a home for its first museum.

With just a single photo of the house's exterior to guide the restoration, the museum volunteers went to work. Old outlines on the floor showed where walls had previously been, and old newspaper stories detailed improvements over the years. They looked at other old houses to get an idea how the interior would have appeared.

All the while, local residents began donating historical items to fill the museum, which opened on the first floor in 2008. The second floor opened in 2010.

It's been a slow summer for the museum, which has been open only by appointment because of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the new historical designation in place, the museum will get some additional exposure.

"We hope once the pandemic is resolved that it will encourage more visitors to come," Judt said.

Though 145 years old, the house is still a sight to see. Bricks, all made in a Decatur kiln, remain neat and clean. Many of the original windows are still intact. The columns and second-floor sun porch give the house a stately air.

"The citizens of Decatur are proud of the place," Judt said.

As they should be.

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School districts developing their plans for reopening for the new academic year should find ways to offer as man outdoor activities as possible, from classes to recess and lunchtime, the nations top infectious disease expert recommended in an online discussion Thursday.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, who heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also suggested in his Facebook Live chat with Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo that, on school buses, windows should remain open and students wear their masks as much as possible.

Get as much outdoors as you can. If you look at the superspreader events that have occurred, theyre almost always inside, he said, citing major outbreaks at nursing homes, meatpacking warehouses, prisons and weddings and other social events.

And when asked by Raimondo what his recommendation would be for reopening schools, Fauci said states shouldnt take an all-or-nothing approach.

Communities with low virus levels should be allowed to open for in-person classes, while those with higher case counts should focus on remote learning until the rate declines, he said.

If you want to open schools, do what you need to do, Fauci said. Close the bars. Wear your masks. Because when you do that, you will bring the infections down.

Fauci, who has, at times, found himself at odds with Republican President Donald Trumps response to the coronavirus pandemic, also praised Rhode Islands efforts to keep its virus caseload relatively low.

You are starting from a very good place, he said, noting Rhode Island is considered among the lowest-risk states, with a positive infection rate of less than 5% for the virus.

Raimondo, a Democrat, on Wednesday delayed the start of school in Rhode Island from Aug. 31 to Sept. 14 as virus cases continue to rise in the state and elsewhere.

More than 1,000 people have died in Rhode Island from COVID-19, and the state has had more than 20,000 positive cases of the virus since the pandemic started.

In an online discussion hosted by Brown University last week, Fauci urged states to take quick action to stamp out even slight upticks in COVID-19 cases.

He also said hes cautiously optimistic a COVID-19 vaccine could be developed soon, but acknowledged the chances it would be highly effective are not great.

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
Canadas overall COVID-19 numbers might be headed in the right direction  downward  but outside the nations borders, the virus continues to spread, in some places at an accelerated rate.

And recent local novel coronavirus cases highlight the dangers outside Canadas pandemic bubble, says Niagaras top public health official.

Both of the two new COVID-19 cases confirmed Wednesday are residents of other countries who came to Canada for work purposes, says Dr. Mustafa Hirji, Niagaras acting medical officer of health.

The pair have been in Canada for just over two weeks and were exposed to the virus in their home countries, Hirji said, although they did not exhibit symptoms until they arrived in Niagara. They are now in isolation after testing positive.

Last week a Niagara resident who took a vacation abroad, disregarding federal travel advisories, contracted the virus.

The cases are the most recent international travel cases in Niagara, which Hirji said shows how risky it currently is to venture beyond Canadas borders.

The federal government has put those advisories into place for a reason, said Hirji. In many countries, the numbers are rising and the risk is much higher than it is here in Canada.

Hirji said some people who are tired with pandemic restrictions are taking advantage of discounts offered by airlines hungry for customers to travel overseas. But with cases on the rise around the world, the risk of contracting the virus and bringing it home is far greater than vacationing in Canada.

While Canadas numbers are comparatively low, other nations are already seeing the start of the second wave of infections and, in some cases, it is worse than the initial wave that started four months ago.

Australia, for example, recorded the most COVID-19 related deaths in a single day Wednesday and is seeing a surge in cases and hospitalizations.

Israel, Hirji said, reopened its economy and social activity too fast and too broadly and is now in the midst of a second serious COVID-19 wave.

Spain, an early adaptor of mandatory face coverings in public spaces, is also suffering from a serious second round of infections.

The United States is not really in a second wave because they havent even got through their first wave yet, Hirji said.

In both Spain and Israel, people pounced on the relaxing of pandemic restrictions, flocking to nightclubs and beaches, triggering the greater spread of the virus.

Hirji said some people may have mistakenly believed that masks were enough to halt the spread of the virus and gave up on the two most effective ways to limit transmission  physical distancing and hand washing.

However, Hirji said a serious second wave in Niagara is not an inevitability. Aside from avoiding international travel, he said residents need to continue to distance, wash their hands and wear masks.

He also said Ontario is not as wide open as Israel or Spain. While Stage 3 has allowed more businesses to open, those that tend to attract crowds are closed for the foreseeable future.

Nightclubs and bars cannot open as nightclubs and bars because the province has determined the close contacts in those environments are too risky, he said. Those types of measures are putting us in a better position.

Wednesdays two cases brings Niagaras historical total of COVID-19 infections to 904, with 39 of them currently active. There is currently one person being treated for COVID-19 at the St. Catharines hospital. At least 64 Niagara residents with the virus have died since the pandemic began.
Borowiecka, whose decision to go public with her story helped kick-start the Polish reckoning, was euphoric when she learned of Glodzs replacement. She forwarded several emails she had sent to the Vatican in the past two years seeking his removal and accusing him of having covered up for predator priests and having discredited victims.
Norway further tightened rules on foreign travel as the country seeks to stem a resurgence in the spread of the coronavirus.

The Nordic country extended a general advice against non-essential travel to October 1, and added a handful of European nations including Iceland and Poland to its red list, meaning travellers from these countries are subject to quarantine on return. It even included parts of Denmark, which was the first country it relaxed restrictions to earlier this year.

Norway also prolonged a ban on cruise ships in its ports by a week after an outbreak on a Hurtigruten Group AS vessel this summer, it said in a statement on Wednesday.

The tightening comes as Norway has seen a relative spike in Covid-19 cases over the past weeks. Part of that has been linked to travel abroad, and the government also warned this week against an alarming trend among young people amid back-to-school parties for university students.

Other countries added to Norways red list were Cyprus, Malta and the Netherlands, as well as more regions in neighbouring Sweden.

(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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A pair of three-quarter $39 tights from Target Australia designed with 'hidden' pockets on the thigh and back waistband are flying off shelves across the country.

The Lycra Infinity tights have received hundreds of positive five-star reviews online and on social media from happy customers who say the pants feel 'amazing' and 'so comfortable' to wear while exercising or lounging about.

Customers can also choose to purchase the full length black lycra tights for $45 each, which are just as popular.

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The Lycra Infinity tights have received hundreds of positive five-star reviews online and on social media from happy customers who say the pants feel 'amazing' and 'so comfortable' to wear

The tights are designed with 'hidden' pockets on the thigh and back waistband (pictured), which is ideal to store phones and keys

Enhanced with 'Lycra Black' technology, the mid-rise fitness tights provide stretch and comfort while also creating shape.

The handy side pockets are ideal to store phones in while the back pocket is perfect for keys.

The fabric is also designed to wick moisture away to ensure the body stays dry.

The fabric is also designed to wick moisture away to ensure the body stays dry

'I've bought so many different brands of gym leggings, cheapies, average priced and expensive, and good old target leggings have been my absolute favourite!' one woman wrote on the Target website.

'The quality, fit and life in them far exceeds leggings that have cost over $100.'

'I'm really happy with the quality, comfort and fit of these tights! I wore them for a streamed workout today and was really pleased with the flexibility and the fabric quality,' another woman said.

A third said: 'So comfortable even though they pull you in and smooth you out ironing out all those bumpy bits, the material used will not show through when bending.'

Others highly recommended the product and said the tights are a 'true to size' fit but often runs large.

Suzette Cohen, Business Manager for womenswear at Target, said range was introduced as more of a performance based tight to cater for the higher intensity work

'We think customers are loving our infinity tights because they are comfortable for everyday activities as well as higher intensity workouts,' said Suzette Cohen, Business Manager for womenswear at Target

Suzette Cohen, Business Manager for womenswear at Target, said the lycra range was introduced as more of a performance based tight to cater for higher intensity work.

'We think customers are loving our infinity tights because they are comfortable for everyday activities as well as higher intensity workouts,' she said.

'Through online reviews we know our customers love the built in hidden pockets on the thigh and back waistband for their phone and keys.

'At Target we are able to apply some of the best quality attributes in the activewear market and make it affordable for our customers.'

Although the tights first landed in stores in September 2019, the recent surge in sales is deemed to have arisen due to lifestyle changes among customers

Due to the product's popularity, several stores have sold out of the tights but are expected to receive additional stock

Although the tights first landed in stores in September 2019, the recent surge in sales is deemed to have arisen due to lifestyle changes among customers.

This most likely occurred due to a combination of factors  such as isolation or working from home during the coronavirus crisis, an increase in the loungewear trend and social media influencers normalising wearing tights in everyday scenarios.

Due to the product's popularity, several stores have sold out of the tights in certain sizes but are expecting to receive additional stock.
Bishop Isaac Owusu Bempah has described president Akufo-Addos magnificent walk when he was invited to take the oath of office in 2017 as that of a chosen king



According to Bishop Bempah, he knew Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will be a better leader right from the way he honourably maneuvered his footsteps during the event.



When Nana Addo was being sworn in, his steps alone was significant. Immediately his name was being mentioned he got up to fix his kente properly. I was sitting close to him that day at the Independence Square so I stretched my big eyes widely to take a careful look at him. Immediately he started walking, I knew he was going to rule the country well. The way he walked majestically with honour and style shows he was going to be a better president, Rev Owusu Bempah told Adom Otchere.



Comparing Akufo-Addos steps to that of former president John Dramani Mahama, Owusu Bempah said the former presidents walk at similar events proved he was not meant for the position.



Ill differentiate those who can handle the job from those who cant. (For) Mahamas first step, immediately his name was mentioned during his swearing in ceremony proved that he was not the right person, he established.



He added that president Akufo-Addo should be honoured historically for being one of Ghanas greatest presidents.



He was born to be a leader and he has the leadership qualities. God custom-made him for this job. If Ghanaians will be really faithful, President Akufo-Addos name should be written in the countrys history books, he maintained.



Watch the video below from 1hour 34 minuites onwards





Source: ghanaweb.com









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Donald Trump Mike Pence vs Joe Bien Kamala Harris us election 2020 policies compare - AFP

With Joe Biden announcing that Kamala Harris will join him on the Democratic presidential ticket this November, the 2020 presidential campaign is finally in full swing.

Mr Biden hopes the California senator offers the best chance of beating Donald Trump on November 3 with her rare ability to appeal to a wide voter base and her strong record serving on the Senate Intelligence committee.

Mr Trump has given no indication that he is considering replacing Mike Pence, his Vice President, on the Republican ballot this year, meaning we now know the full bill of the two presidential candidates' tickets.

With the full-line up finally unveiled, attention has turned to how the Democratic and Republican pairings match up.

Mr Biden and Ms Harris will be formally nominated as the presidential and vice presidential candidates at the Democratic Convention next week, while Mr Trump and Mr Pence will accept their nominations a week later at the Republican Convention.

But the first real test will be during the presidential debates, when the American public will finally see the political opponents face each other on the debate stage.

There are currently three presidential debates scheduled, beginning in September. One vice presidential debate has been scheduled between Mr Pence and Ms Harris in Utah on October 7.

So how do the candidates match up? We analyse the strengths and weaknesses of each politician.

Joe Biden

The election campaign is now in full swing - AFP

Strengths: Mr Biden is a centrist Democrat who can appeal to former Obama voters who turned to Mr Trump in 2016 and polls show he is more trusted on issues such as handling the coronavirus than Mr Trump. Americans of all stripes say Mr Biden is the candidate who can unite the country at a time of major divisions.

Weaknesses: Mr Biden's age - he is 77 - has caused concern among voters who fear he may struggle to cope with the demands of the Oval Office. This concern has been exacerbated by his long track record of making gaffes. Republicans are poised to exploit these verbal trip-ups, while Mr Trump has already begun sharing clips of Mr Biden's gaffes to question his mental acuity.

Story continues

Read more: When is the US election 2020, and what are the key swing states?

Donald Trump

Donald Trump has the advantage of being the incumbent preside t - AP

Strengths: Mr Trump has unshakeable loyalty from a core base of supporters, with more than a third of the country consistently supporting him, and showed in 2016 he can come from behind in the polls to claim victory. Polls show Americans trust Mr Trump with the economy more than Mr Biden, a key issue for many voters. The president also enjoys the advantage of being the incumbent which gives him the opportunity to use the White House as a backdrop for major announcements in the coming weeks.

Weaknesses: Mr Trump's great political strength - his ability to draw huge crowds to campaign rallies - has been hampered by lockdown-restrictions because of the coronavirus. Amid criticism of his handling of the pandemic, Mr Trump has a challenge to hold onto older and suburban voters who have been hit hard by the virus.

Mike Pence

Mike Pence is tied to criticism of the White House's coronavirus strategy - AP

Strengths: Mr Pence, a conservative Christian, proved crucial to Mr Trump's efforts to win the backing of Evangelical Christian voters in 2016, a feat he hopes to repeat this November. Mr Pence has been a strong advocate for nominating conservative judges and prioritising religious freedom over the last four years, issues likely to secure the support of conservatives.

Weaknesses: As the face of the White House coronavirus response, Mr Pence is inevitably tied to criticism of the government's handling of the pandemic and the country's huge death toll.

Kamala Harris

Strengths: Ms Harris is a skilled campaigner with the ability to energise crowds through her passionate stump speeches. Her centrist policies and record as a prosecutor make her difficult to paint as a radical Democrat who is weak on crime - the Trump campaign's favoured line of attack. As a biracial woman, Ms Harris is well placed to enact the sweeping changes many Americans have called for in the wake of the summer's racial inequality protests.

Weaknesses: Ms Harris' early demise in the Democratic presidential race suggests she lacks the ability to bring in big dollar donations - something that will be crucial to the two campaigns in the coming weeks. Ms Harris has flip-flopped on issues dear to the liberal wing of her party such a universal healthcare system and received an enthusiastic reception from young progressive voters whose support could prove crucial in November.

Read more: Who is Kamala Harris, Joe Biden's VP choice?
As the occupation of a Caledonia land development stretches into its fourth week, 180 buyers are wondering what will become of their newly purchased McKenzie Meadows homes.

They are very concerned, said William Liske, vice-president and chief legal officer for Losani Homes, the Stoney Creek-based real estate developer managing the site. Buying a home is one of the most important decisions people can make. This is especially so now when our homes are the only place we can feel truly safe from the pandemic.

The McKenzie Meadows housing development, which was rebranded as the McKenzie after it was purchased by Foxgate Developments  a joint venture between Losani Homes and Ballantry Homes  in 2015, will have up to 229 homes priced in the $300,000 to $600,000 range.

More than three-quarters of the homes  a mix of townhouses and detached homes  were sold pre-construction.

We will continue to use all lawful means to help the buyers receive their homes without further delay, he said.

Liske said 40 homes  10 single-detached and 30 townhouses  were scheduled to close this fall, and buyers were expecting to start moving in.

I deeply apologize to them, Skyler Williams of Six Nations told The Spectator Sunday. Because for us, its not about evicting anybody.

The OPP have asked the developer to refrain from trying to access the site, Liske said.

We are hoping to review any damages when we can, he said.

Liske said development plans were circulated in the normal course in 2003 and again in 2016, followed by consultation with Six Nations leadership.

The consultation and negotiations with respect to an agreement took place over the course of about a year from the spring of 2018 until the spring of 2019 when the agreements were signed between the developer Foxgate and the Six Nations elected council, he said.

Six Nations is governed by an elected council and a council of hereditary clanmothers and chiefs, with influence from other groups.

Ballantry Homes, a Markham-based developer, is building a much larger subdivision on the east side of McKenzie Road, Liske said.

Williams said it is important to stand up for land before building happens.

Its not OK that the government feels they can give permits to massive corporations to come in and develop tracts of land that its been proven they have no deed or legal land sale over, he said. Weve done all of the research, and the government and the county know all of this information. Yet they continue to give approvals to massive building corporations that want to come in and take advantage of all of it.

Allison Gowling, a local historian and author of a biography on former Haldimand-Norfolk MPP James Noble Allan, said he doesnt feel residents should suffer from the extremism of some Six Nations groups.

I dont see why people who are three, four, five, six generations removed should be held accountable for the sins of our forefathers, he said.

Gowling, who has lived in Haldimand County all his life, said he understands the occupiers motives, but doesnt agree with their methods.

I sympathize with whats going on, but they just cant hold an entire community hostage  people who have nothing to do with how the present situation got to where it was, he said.

Gowling said the provincial and federal governments need to step up and intervene.

Trudeau, for all his truth and reconciliation, whats he done? he said. The federal government, theyve got to fast track things.

Craig Grice, a former Caledonia councillor and longtime resident, said the McKenzie Meadows land dispute recalls memories of the Douglas Creek Estates protests nearly 15 years ago.

I know no one wants to go back to those issues again, he said.

In 2006, Six Nations activists took over the subdivision not far from McKenzie Meadows in one of the longest standoffs in Canadian history.

Grice, who served as a councillor during the Douglas Creek Estates dispute, said residents have a better understanding of the complex issues surrounding land claims, but are frustrated that political bodies  Indigenous and non-Indigenous  cant seem to find solutions.

Its hard to get a consensus ... how to go about settling that issue of land claims, he said.

Grice said road closures have not only caused inconvenience, but also concerns around safety as traffic, including transport trucks, that would normally use main arteries like Highway 6 has been diverted to side roads.

Protesters set up blockades in the area after the OPP forcibly removed the Six Nations group occupying the McKenzie land development Aug. 5.

That was the reaction of a community that has been jailed and traumatized by over 100 years of intergenerational trauma, Williams said. We will not abide the violence being perpetrated on our people.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-14 02:01:59|Editor: huaxia

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DAMASCUS, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. forces sent 40 truckloads of military gears into Syria from neighboring Iraq on Thursday, state news agency SANA reported.

The trucks, escorted by U.S. military vehicles when they entered from an illegal crossing between Iraq and Syria, reached the "illegal" U.S. bases in the countryside of the northeastern province of Hasakah.

Thousands of truckloads of U.S. military gears have entered Syria through the illegal crossings on the Syria-Iraq border over the past months, said SANA.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the entry of the U.S. military gears into Syria on Thursday.

It said the shipment is the second to enter the war-torn country in August alone.

On Aug. 5, the U.S. brought in 30 truckloads of logistic and military equipment from its bases in Iraq to the countryside of Hasakah. Enditem
Bipasha Recalls Her Kissing Scene With Madhavan

Bipasha told Spotboye, "As an actor, such scenes are terrifying for me. Like when I had to kiss R Madhvan who is a very dear friend of mine in Jodi Breakers, I had a mini cardiac arrest one day before. I was like what to do? Oh please! And my friends Rocky and Diya were travelling with me."

'I'm A Walking Talking Mess'

Bipasha further added, "They were like Bips, it's Madhvan you know him. He is your friend and I said that is the bigger problem, it's Maddy. And after I shot for the scene you can't imagine how much everyone laughed including Maddy. I am a walking talking mess before intimate scenes. I am actually very entertaining for everyone on sets."

Bipasha Gears Up For Her Next Release, Dangerous

Bipasha and her actor-husband Karan Singh Grover, are gearing up for their first release after wedding i.e., Dangerous. The web series will release on MX Player.

Speaking about shooting intimate scenes with Karan, Bipasha said that one of the advantages of acting opposite her spouse is that shooting intimate scenes is easier for her.

Bipasha On Intimate Scenes

Bipasha also revealed how she makes her intimate scenes so convincing on the silver screen, and said that it's her face and personality which adds sex appeal to those scenes.

"I don't think anything happening there is actually doing work or creating any magic," said Bipasha.
(Photo : Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Marine biologists from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) have discovered several new species in Panama's Coiba National Park, including new genera and a new species of shrimp.

The team was led by STRI postdoctoral fellow Matthieu Leray, together with two zoologists and STRI research associates Arthur Anker and Paulo Pachelle. The zoologists are both based in Brazil and specialize in identifying decapod crustaceans - shrimps, hermit crabs, crabs, and lobsters.



Strianassa lerayi and More Discoveries

One of the new species discovered in Coiba National Park is a mud shrimp in the Laomediidae family, Strianassa Ierayi. Anker chose the name in honor of both the Smithsonian in Panama, as well as his friendship with Leray.

The first part of its generic name is from the abbreviation of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, STRI. Meanwhile, the latter part was borrowed from a close relative, the morphologically similar genus Axianassa. "Anassa" is derived from the old Greek word for "queen." Therefore, Strianassa roughly translates to "Queen of STRI."

Leray said that Anker was able to identify one new shrimp species, as well as three new genera of the sea creature after a week of collecting in Coiba National Park, located in Panama's southwestern coast. "This is a phenomenal contribution to our knowledge of just one group of organisms," Leray added. "We are in the process of identifying what we found and will announce more new species soon."

The new mud shrimp was found under a rock while snorkeling in the waters inside the Panamanian protected zone. According to the researchers, the only known specimen was found a few kilometers from the latest Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute facility on the island.



Coiba Shrimps Described by Anker

Aside from the Strianassa Ierayi, the STRI team in Coiba discovered other species of shrimp since 2019, also described by Arthur Anker:

Unesconia coibensis

A new genus for palaemonid shrimps, Unesconia, was established to accommodate the "peculiar, small, presumably sponge-associated species" that is the Unesconia coibensis. Several specimens of the new sponge-like shrimp were found in the shallow waters in the Coiba archipelago. The genus name, Unesconia, is taken from UNESCO, who declared Coiba a World Heritage Site back in 2005.

Pachelpheus pachyacanthus

A new genus was also established to accommodate the new alpheid shrimp, Pachelpheus pachyacanthus. Specimens for the new burrow-dwelling shrimp were discovered in the Las Perlas Archipelago, as well as in the Panamanian Pacific coast. The genus was named after Anker's friend and collaborator, Paulo Pachelle. In the description report for the new species, Anker listed thirteen main morphological traits of the new genus.

Triacanthoneus blanca

Another species of alpheid shrimps also found in the waters of Panama. The species name was taken from the name of Blanca Figueroa, a former postdoctoral member in STRI, under Aaron O'Dea's laboratory team.



"We are thrilled by the potential of our newest research station on Coibita," said Oris Sanjur, STRI acting director. He noted that the easter Pacific remains mostly unexplored. To bring more zoologists, marine biologists, and taxonomists to Panama, Bocas del Toro Research Station director Rachel Collin has started a program called "Training in Tropical Taxonomy."

Sanjur noted: "In the past ten years, they have identified more than 75 new species, many of which are only found in Panama."

To have a glimpse of the largely unexplored flora and fauna in Panama, check out the STRI BioBlitz video below:
France and Italy were two of the early coronavirus epicenters, but thanks to aggressive containment measures, both countries have flattened the curve. Technology providers stepped up in a variety of ways to support government and healthcare officials in their efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus, delivering cloud-based solutions to improve collaboration, maintain patient care, and relieve overworked staff.

For example, the rapid growth in cases in France created an urgent need for emergency management personnel to identify people who had potentially been infected with COVID-19 and match them with available resources. Equipment was in short supply and many healthcare professionals were isolated at home, so a cloud-based solution was needed to provide the fastest possible results.

Applisoins , a logistics solution originally developed for use on the French island of Reunion, was adapted for use by COVID-19 patients and caregivers in less than three weeks. People who think they might be stricken with COVID-19 can use the free service to make an appointment with a healthcare professional with just a few clicks. Providers can quickly respond with their readiness to accept patients.

The pandemic also created a need to provide services to healthcare professionals themselves who were working around the clock. Happytal helps healthcare organizations improve the patient experience as well as healthcare professionals quality of life at work. The company, which provides its services to more than 400 French hospitals, partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to build a new app for healthcare workers in just five days. The Happyheros application relieves hospital workers from day-to-day tasks like grocery shopping, laundry, and even ordering taxis. The service expanded to more than 35,000 users across 15 hospital groups in just four weeks.

The speed and scale enabled by cloud-based services also played a key role in supporting COVID-19 efforts in Italy. For example, Italian software company Exprivia partnered with SRIM, the Italian Society of Medical Radiology, and AWS to deliver eRIS, a collaborative platform that enables radiologists to share and comment upon results of x-rays and CT scans, enabling them to better understand the progress of the disease. Machine learning will soon be applied to identify likely candidates based upon common characteristics.

The Italian region of Lombardy accounted for nearly half the countrys coronavirus death toll. Building on foundational work at Milan State University, Link-up created an application in less than a week that helps healthcare staff track positive and suspected positive coronavirus patients after discharge from the hospital. This enables follow-up medical treatment to be offered at home. The COD19.it platform lets healthcare providers check patient vitals such as temperature and respiration rate, offer help, and log progress through to recovery. High-level updates are shared in real-time dynamic dashboards with regional authorities tracking progress against the disease. The result: Better intelligence about the spread of the disease across the entire region.

These four examples clearly demonstrate how Amazon Partner Network (APN) partners are helping to ensure that residents and caregivers can access critical services and information in times of crisis.

Learn more.
The spread of the novel coronavirus is changing summer traditions in Japan, with new forms of seasonal events emerging thanks to digital technologies.

Fireworks events and summer festivals are increasingly going digital. A service enables users to make a virtual visit to their ancestors graves.

The 2020 Sumida River Fireworks Festival, slated for July 11, was canceled in the 43rd year of the event, which draws nearly one million visitors annually.

But videos of fireworks in past festivals are projected onto windows of the observatory of the Tokyo Skytree tower, which stands near the venue of the fireworks event.

At the observatory 350 meters above the ground, visitors can see 360-degree views of fireworks in a special service until the end of this month.

An official of the towers management company expressed hope that the fireworks festival, originally an event to drive away bad illnesses, will be held next year.

Omatsuri Japan, a Tokyo-based company promoting regional revitalization through festivals, will hold an online event Saturday to allow participants to experience eight festivals, including dance festivals Awa Odori in the western city of Tokushima and Kiryu Yagibushi in the eastern prefecture of Gunma.

It will give dance lessons in cooperation with the organizers of the festivals and sell local food and sake through online platforms so participants can enjoy a festive mood.

Online festivals may appeal to those who do not like crowded places, not only to elderly people and parents with small children.
Police in North Texas arrested a mother and father Saturday after discovering the body of their one-week-old baby boy hidden in a five-gallon bucket of tar.

Roland, 42, and Donna Grabowski, 41, are charged with child abandonment and tampering with evidence, with more charges anticipated as Collin County Sheriff's Department investigate the death of their child.

Roland, a registered sex offender, and his wife are said to have told detectives 'numerous lies' when they attempted to check on the welfare of the baby.

The Princeton couple claim they awoke on the morning of July 29 to find baby Micah had died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in their bed.

Roland, 42, and Donna Grabowski, 41, are charged with child abandonment and tampering with evidence after the body of their one-week-old son Micah was found hidden in a bucket of tar at their home in Texas Saturday. The couple claims the baby died on July 29 of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome but they initially lied and claimed the baby was with friends

They then made the decision to hide his body and the baby's death was not reported to police, according to authorities.

'They took the child and wrapped him in a blanket and submerged him into a five gallon bucket of tar and put him in a shed behind the residence,' Sheriff Jim Skinner told WFAA.

'I've been in this business over 30 years and I've seen a lot of crazy things but this is the first time I've found a dead infant in a bucket of tar...and hopefully the last.'

An autopsy is being conducted by the Collin County Medical Examiner to determine Micah's cause of death.

The sheriff's office were initially called to the Grabowskis' home at 9100 block of Highridge Road on Saturday morning after reports of 'suspicious circumstances' and the potential death of a child that had not been reported to police.

They found the home empty but tracked the couple down in Dallas using cell phone records.

The couple initially refused to cooperate with authorities about the whereabouts of their baby.

According to the arrest warrant, the couple lied to sheriffs, claiming baby Micah was staying with friends.

Cell phone records show they made attempts to convince a friend to allow them to use their child as a ruse to trick cops into thinking that their own baby was safe.

Police were called to this home at 9100 block of Highridge Road, Princeton, on Saturday after reports of 'suspicious circumstances' and the potential death of a child not reported to police

Detectives found the home empty but tracked the Grabowskis to Dallas later that day

'I need you to say your baby is ours. Quick in and out. They just need to see,' one of their texts read.

Donna Grabowski also attempted to lie about where the baby was born.

She told detectives that Micah was born at Medical Center of McKinney but the hospital had no record of the mother or any live birth.

'There was an attempt to deceive us as to what had happened and the whereabouts of their child Micah,' Sherroff Skinner said.

'It's tragic and its sad enough every time we have the death of an infant but its absolutely reprehensible when you lie and you deceive investigators as to the location of the body.'

Collin County Sheriff Jim Skinner called their actions in hiding the baby's body 'reprehensible'

After the initial police interview, the Grabaowskis were arrested and charged with Abandoning or Endangering a Child, a 2nd degree felony.

Following their arrest, they allegedly admitted their child died but they had not reported it to authorities.

A search warrant was secured for their home where the remains of the baby were finally found.

Investigators found the body of Micah Grabowski submerged in a bucket of tar in a shed behind the home.

Roland Grabowski is listed on the Texas Sex Offenders registry. He is considered high risk and must register for life

Roland Grabowski has been charged with Abandoning or Endangering a Child, Abuse of Corpse and Tampering With or Fabricating Physical Evidence and is being held on an $925,000 bond.

Donna Grabowski is charged with Abandoning or Endangering a Child, Abuse of Corpse, and two counts of Tampering With or Fabricating Physical Evidence. Her bond was set at $1,075,000.

They are both being held in the Collin County Detention Facility.

The sheriff's office say they anticipate further felony charges.

Roland Grabowski is listed on the Texas Sex Offenders registry after being convicted in 2008 of sexual assault of a child and aggravated sexual assault of a child.

His victims were 12 and 14 years old and the offenses took place in September 1995 and October 1996, according to Dallas News.

He was sentenced to two years in prison and released in May 2009 but arrested again in June 2010 when he failed to register as a sex offender.

When he later registered at an address in Garland, police went to verify the address but found it was vacant.

He was sentenced to five years in prison in 2011 for these offenses.

Grabowski is considered high risk and must register for life.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the US would consider the possibility of introducing sanctions against Belarus due to the current events in the republic, TASS reported.

"Oh, Im sure well look at each of these things, and the important thing to note is the criteria. What is it that we believe that we can do, not just the United States unilaterally, but in a multilateral way to deliver good outcomes for the Belarusian people, whether that turns out to be sanctions or turns out to be making decisions about product deliveries? Those are all things that are yet to be determined," Pompeo said in an interview with RFE/RL published on the US State Departments website.

"Were going to have to work through that," the US secretary of state said in response to the question on the possible changes made to the US-Belarus relations, namely in relation to the deliveries of US oil to Belarus and the dispatching the US ambassador to Minsk. "As you said, we were incredibly troubled by the election and deeply disappointed that it wasnt more free and more fair. Weve seen this behavior before, and we regret that this is how its transpired. Then weve watched the violence and the aftermath, peaceful protesters being treated in ways that are inconsistent with how they should be treated," he said.

"We havent settled out what the appropriate response is, but I can tell you this: Well work with our European friends, our freedom-loving friends here who are equally concerned about what took place. We want good outcomes for the Belarusian people and well take actions consistent with that," Pompeo concluded.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday unveiled countrys first charter of taxpayers rights and duties and evoked a national appeal ahead of 74th Independence Day by asking citizens to introspect the fact that only 15 million in a population of 1.3 billion Indians actually pay income-tax.

PM said taxation reforms in last six years are centred on three concepts -- seamless, painless and faceless  that have reduced complexities, cut tax rates and decreased number of litigations. It made the system more transparent, better compliant and trusting taxpayers, which helped in raising the number of income-tax return filers by 25 million. Currently, there are about 70 million income-tax returns filers.

This is a big increase. But we cannot ignore the fact that this [growth] is minuscule in a country of 130 crore. In such a large country, out of 130 crore only 1.5 crore friends deposit income-tax, he said while launching the Transparent Taxation- Honouring the Honest platform through video conferencing on Thursday. According to the finance ministry officials, the gap between total number of return filers (70 million) and actual taxpayers (15 million) is mainly because most of the people file zero tax returns.

Also read: What is faceless tax assessment? All you need to know

He asked citizens to introspect and appealed those who could afford to pay tax. Our introspection is necessary for Atmnirbhar Bharat [Self-reliant India]... Its 15 August after two days, remember those martyrs who sacrificed for Independence, then you will realise -- yes, I should also contribute something, he said in Hindi.

Experts said the taxation system is still complicated and intimidating that dissuades people to voluntarily come under its net. The system of giving targets of revenue collection to officers must change, said Daksha Bakshi, head of international tax at law firm Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas.

We are yet to see measures for more tax payers to come forward. Perhaps measures of how people are going to be scrutinised on the basis of various information reports and transactions related data that the department has gathered needs to be made public for people to understand and assess the risk they face if they did not voluntarily come forward. Those who come forward voluntarily need to be pardoned for past lapses and not be persecuted, she said.

Also read: Painless, seamless, faceless: PM Modi says reforms will change how we pay taxes

PM Modi said there is a remarkable change in the approach of the income-tax department, which is increasingly becoming taxpayer-friendly and the platform  Honouring the Honest -- is the testimony. This platform consists of major reforms such as faceless assessment, faceless appeal and taxpayers charters. The faceless assessment and the taxpayers charter have been implemented from today, while the facility for faceless appeal will be available to the people of the country from 25 September, which is the birth anniversary of Deen Dayal Upadhyay ji, he said.

While technology-driven faceless assessment system aims to end overreach by officials, the charter defines rights and responsibilities of taxpayers. According to the charter, the income-tax department is committed to provide prompt, courteous and professional assistance to the taxpayer. The department shall treat every taxpayer as honest unless there is a reason to believe otherwise, the charter said.

According to the charter, the income-tax department shall collect correct amount of tax, respect privacy of the taxpayer, maintain confidentiality, reduce cost of compliance and publish standard for service delivery in a periodic manner. It also expects taxpayers to honestly disclose information, respond in time, pay taxes in a timely manner and keep themselves aware of compliance obligations.

In her budget speech on February 1, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had mentined about a taxpayers charter as part of ease of living. We wish to enshrine in the statutes a taxpayer charter through this budget. Our government would like to reassure taxpayers that we remain committed to taking measures so that our citizens are free from harassment of any kind, she had said.

The faceless tax assessment system is, however, not new. It was first proposed by the Prime Minister in 2017 and received its mention in the first budget of finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 5, 2019. The system was subsequently launched on October 7, 2019. Under the system random selection of tax cases are done through artificial Intelligence and machine learning, with a reduced discretion or no human interface from the income-tax department.

The objective of the faceless assessment is to completely eliminate physical contact between the taxpayer and the taxman to make tax administration objective, transparent and corruption free. The system works under National Assessment Center (NeAC) headquartered in Delhi and eight Regional Assessment Centers (ReAC) located in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Pune, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

PM Modi said, Now, the tax system is turning faceless, but it promises fairness and fearlessness to the taxpayer. This will end the era of jaan pehchan (familiarity) in getting tax scrutiny and notices settled.

He said faceless assessment, faceless appeal and taxpayers charter are making the taxation system people-centric and public friendly, and the proposed faceless appeal aims at ease of compliance.

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) president Uday Kotak said, A policy-driven governance based on digital interface minimises grey areas, eliminates discretion and promotes transparency and certainty. The governments strong governance agenda instils confidence among Indian industry and will empower the taxpayer, provide a transparent system and honour honest taxpayers.

Experts want the government, particularly to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to focus on immediate issues such as refunds and timely disposal of pending matters.

These [the platform] are significant announcements from an Indian taxation perspective. However, having said this, it is expected that an overhauling of the tax department is also on the way and it is expected that the tax authorities would also ensure their deliveries within time, SR Patnaik, partner and head of taxation at law firm Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas said.

Sudhir Kapadia, national tax leader at consultancy firm EY India said the launch of the platform will go a long way in ensuring ease of tax compliance for law abiding taxpayers. As an immediate relief, it would be highly desirable if CBDT instructs release of all pending refunds to companies as quite a few companies are left with no choice but to consider approaching courts to expedite their refunds in these pandemic induced stressful business environment.

Bakshi hoped that the charter will be implemented in letter and spirit. A lot needs to be done to streamline the issues faced by non- residents who invest in India and who are partnering for business in India. They need to have tax certainty. Almost every transaction of large amount ends up in litigation. If India wants to benefit from China plus one policy, taxation of non residents needs to undergo fundamental change, she said.
Hong Kong police raid pro-democracy newspaper on the day press freedom died Media tycoon Jimmy Lai and 9 others arrested Monday on charges of 'collusion with foreign forces'

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Media tycoon Jimmy Lai and other top executives of Hong Kongs largest pro-democracy daily newspaper, Apple Daily, were arrested during a police raid under the new national security law on Monday morning over accusations of collusion with foreign forces.

In addition to the arrests, police reportedly confiscated documents and searched the Apple Daily newsroom for multiple hours. Staff livestreamed the raid.

The raid involved several hundreds of officers, according to a statement released by Apple Daily. The newspaper has often been critical of the Chinese and Hong Kong governments.

The Hong Kong Police Force have blatantly bypassed the law and abused their power, despite claims about acting according to the rules, the Apple Daily statement argues. They have, for instance, ignored the limitation of the search warrant and rifled through news materials, as well as restricting press members from reporting and obstructing a news organization from operating.

The statement stresses that in the face of the illegal, unreasonable and barbaric tactics, the staff of the newspaper will remain fearless and continue speaking the truth amid persecution.

Hong Kong Police claimed in a statement that nine men and one woman between the ages of 23 and 72 were arrested Monday on suspicion of breaches of the national security law, which went into effect this summer.

The offenses include collusion with a foreign country/external elements to endanger national security.

On Tuesday, Hong Kong Police explained on Twitter that it executed a court-issued warrant and searched multiple locations, including the offices of a media organisation, to gather evidence for alleged breaches of the national security law.

According to The Guardian, Apple Daily staffs videos show officers searching through boxes of documents, some of which were confiscated. The United Kingdom-based news outlet also reports that police barred international news organizations such as Reuters, Agence France-Presse and the Associated Press from attending a press conference related to the search.

The Hong Kong Police claim that the raid was part of a [l]awful and rightful criminal investigation and added that the officers involved in the raid avoided journalistic materials.

With respect for press freedom, #HKPolice facilitated reporting work at scene and made a pilot arrangement to allow 15 media organisations (print, TV & radio) to enter the cordoned area to conduct live coverage for higher transparency, the statement reads. Accompanied by the staff, investigators were mindful of avoiding journalistic materials. Its an open and transparent process being live streamed to the world. Regardless of ones background, were duty-bound to enforce the law. Offenders are to be brought to justice.

Lais two sons were released on bail Tuesday. According to The South China Morning Post, 39-year-old Ian Lai Yiu-yan left the Tseung Kwan O Police Station around 7:30 p.m. His older brother, 42-year-old Timothy Lai Kin-yang, was released from the Cheung Sha Wan Police Station around 10 p.m.

According to a Tuesday evening report from the Hong Kong-based newspaper, Lai was yet to be released from the Mong Kok Police Station and his legal representatives were seen leaving the police station just before 9:30 p.m. A police source told the outlet that those arrested would possibly be released on bail one by one.

The new national security law has faced scrutiny worldwide as controversial actions towards pro-democracy advocates have not been uncommon under it.

The law states that the freedom of speech and press are protected, but police action has seemingly contradicted that claim, Apple Daily argued in its statement.

Beijings national security law for Hong Kong claims to guarantee residents freedom of speech, of the press and of publication, but the authorities actions have proved otherwise, Apple Dailys statement said. Raiding a news institution is a severe attack on press freedom and should not be tolerated in a civilized society.

Lai, the most prominent person arrested on Monday who also holds U.K. citizenship, could face three to 10 years in prison. He could even face life in prison if his alleged crimes are deemed of a grave nature, according to The Guardian.

Lai is the founder of the Apple Dailys publishing company, Next Digital, and also the founder of the Asian clothing brand Giordano. He is one of the leading voices in Hong Kongs pro-democracy camp.

Since the raid, shares of Next Digital have soared as investors have poured into the stock to show their solidarity with the organization.

Unrelated to the newspaper, pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow was also arrested under the new law, bringing the total to 10 pro-democracy advocates who were arrested Monday.

I think you can say that [Monday] is the day press freedom officially died, and it didnt die a natural death, Keith Richberg, the head of Hong Kong Universitys media school, told Radio Television Hong Kong. It was killed by Beijing, [Hong Kong Chief Executive] Carrie Lam and Hong Kong police.

Mondays events followed the Hong Kong governments decision last month to delay the parliamentary election set for September as anger grows toward the current government.

Critics have accused the government of using the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to prevent people from voting. Last month, authorities in Hong Kong banned 12 pro-democracy candidates from running in the elections.

Earlier this month, six arrest warrants were issued for pro-democracy advocates who have voiced opposition towards the communist rule  Nathan Law, Wayne Chan Ka-Kui, Honcques Laus, Samuel Chu, Simon Cheng and Ray Wong Toi-Yeung  on accusations of violating the national security law.

In 1997, China agreed on a one country, two systems arrangement to allow certain freedoms for Hong Kong when it received the city back from British control.

The security law undercuts this promised autonomy as a special administrative region, which is set to expire in 2047.

"With this law being superior to all local law and the Basic Law (Hong Kong's constitution) itself, there is no avenue to challenge the vague definitions of the four crimes in the law as violating basic rights," Michael C. Davis of the Washington D.C.-based think tank the Woodrow Wilson Center told NPR. "Now people take their rights subject to the interest of the state."

On Twitter Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo explained that he is deeply troubled by reports of Lais arrest. He called the national security law draconian and further proof that the Chinese Communist Party has eviscerated Hong Kongs freedoms and eroded the rights of its people.

After the approval of the national security law, U.S. President Donald Trump signed legislation in July to impose sanctions on Chinese officials, businesses, banks and other entities that are involved in extinguishing Hong Kong's freedom.

China has since closed a consulate in Houston as relations between the two countries is becoming increasingly strained.

On Monday, China sanctioned Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Marco Rubio of Florida and Josh Hawley of Missouri among eight other U.S. politicians who have spoken out against the new law national security law.

"Last month #China banned me. Today they sanctioned me. I don't want to be paranoid but I am starting to think they don't like me, Rubio tweeted on Monday.

Hawley also responded to the sanctions via Twitter on Monday.

"China is sanctioning me in retaliation for speaking out against #ChineseCommunistParty and defending America's interests. Retaliate all you want. I'm not backing down, Hawley tweeted.
One of Australias most important strategic allies, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, is "interested in attracting investment from whomever has the most cash and the fewest conditions" to achieve his domestic economic goals, according to a landmark new book by Lowy Institute analyst Ben Bland.

And for now "that is the Chinese, who are building roads, bridges, power stations, and ports across Indonesia, in addition to the high-profile JakartaBandung rail link".

Indonesia's Joko Widodo addressed the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra in February. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

Bland, a former foreign correspondent in Jakarta, Hong Kong and Hanoi for the Financial Times, has written the first English-language biography of Joko and it delivers a hard-headed assessment of the leader's priorities at a time of growing tensions between the US, China and south-east Asian nations over the South China Sea.

In a warning that will reverberate from Canberra to Washington, Bland writes that western leaders are "desperate for new partners in Asia to help it push back against Xi Jinping's China. Jokowi [the president's nickname], however, has no time for great-power politics".
Industry Update

Appointment

13 August 2020

Elizabeth Redmond

Promoted Chief Accounting Officer

At Choice Hotels International Inc. in Washington D.C. Metro Area

Elizabeth Redmond has been promoted to chief accounting officer, where she will be responsible for the company's financial reporting requirements and transforming several of the company's critical functions, including corporate accounting, domestic and international accounting operations, financial reporting and accounting policy, and real estate accounting. Across her 13-year tenure at Choice, Redmond has been instrumental in the company's success through leading enterprise-wide process reengineering efforts, implementing new complex accounting standards and improving internal control structures and procedures. Redmond joined the company in 2007 and has held various key roles in the finance department, most recently serving as vice president of financial reporting and accounting.

Choice Hotels International, Inc. Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) is one of the largest lodging franchisors in the world. With more than 7,100 hotels, representing nearly 600,000 rooms, in over 40 countries and territories as of June 30, 2020, the Choice family of hotel brands provide business and leisure travelers with a range of high-quality lodging options from limited service to full-service hotels in the upscale, midscale, extended-stay and economy segments. more information

Recent Appointments at Choice Nick Bosworth - Director of Marketing, Brand and Loyalty 14 January 2022  Nick Bosworth has joined Choice Hotels EMEA from Accor where he held a global brand leadership role for the premium Accor hotel brand Movenpick. Before the acquisition of the brand by Accor, Nick led the Brand, market ing, CRM, loyalty and PR activities for Movenpick Hotels & Resorts, and has held strategic marketing roles with IHG and Worldhotels. read more

Donna Vieira - Board of Directors 22 July 2021  Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH), one of the world's largest lodging franchisors, has appointed Donna Vieira to its board of directors. Vieira is executive vice president and chief commercial officer at Sallie Mae where she oversees the company's top line revenue growth, credit, pricing and loss mitigation, as well as products, sales, marketing, customer and digital experience, and business development. read more
The groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the planned Ram temple in Ayodhya on August 5 created quite a stir. Congress leaders joined in the chorus. National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners congratulated the Hindu brethren. So did Ram Vilas Paswan who has had strong moorings in social justice movements.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, however, spent the day in aerial survey of his state's flood-ravaged districts. His Twitter timeline reflects pictures of Janata Dal (United) leaders overseeing relief and rescue operations in Khagaria and elsewhere. Almost oblivious of the developments in Ayodhya.

Nitish Kumars ability to seek the Bharatiya Janata Party's support and yet maintain an arm's length from its ally has been the hallmark of his politics. One may even call it a mantra to survive in a polity which had all the ingredients to go bipolar between saffron brotherhood on one side and Lalu Prasad Yadavs Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on the other.

Bihar was the first state to pass a resolution against the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) last year, opening the floodgates for other states to follow suit. He supported demonetisation, yet did not join in the union council of ministers after being offered fewer than expected berths.

Kumar, with his hop, skip and jump, brings in a unique quality to the state's politics, as did the Indian socialists of yore who were equally compatible to an alliance with the Jana Sangh and the communists. Nitish Kumar can change sides to tilt the balance of power and votes from one end of the spectrum to the other. He displayed it successfully in the previous assembly polls. The upcoming elections this year pose a stiffer challenge and the JD(U) leaders seem to be preparing for the denouement well in advance.

Nitish Kumar's endeavours in Bihar for long have also been helped by the BJPs inability to develop strong local leadership. The current party dispensation in Delhi wants to change all this. The promotion of Sanjay Jaiswal who comes from the same caste group as Sushil Modi is a testimony to that. Nityanand Rai and Giriraj Singh are also seen as strong proponents, bringing the BJP out of the shadows of the JD(U).

Under Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani, the BJP had an unwritten agreement with regional allies. The party would aim to rule at the Centre while friendly partners would lead the government in states. That equation has changed since 2014. The party is not dependent on allies at the Centre. In states, its ambitious and aggressive leadership is seeking a larger share and supremacy.

In Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena was relegated to junior partner when Uddhav Thackray decided to seek greener pastures. In Punjab, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has had its moments of discomfort with the BJP. In Bihar, Nitish Kumar displayed his ability to damage the BJP by walking away with his vote share from the NDA alliance to help Lalu return to power.

The BJPs rapprochement with the JD(U) was also expedited to deny a non-Congress leader from the Hindu heartland to rally around forces for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

In the upcoming assembly elections in Bihar, the equations and stakes have altered. The contest will be both within and outside the ruling NDA. Within the NDA during seat-sharing talks, because he who contests more seats has a higher probability of winning more, and to emerge as the single-largest party. Thus, the formula to accommodate smaller NDA allies from the quota earmarked for the JD(U) and BJP is the first hurdle in this steeple chase.

The 2015 election in the state threw up an assembly where any two parties of the three key players, JD(U), RJD and BJP, could come together to form the government. The JD(U) and RJD had a pre-poll alliance, so Nitish Kumar was sworn in as the chief minister. A couple of years later he decided to join hands with the BJP and remained at the helm.

Lalu conceded chief ministership to Nitish despite the RJD emerging as the single-largest party. The two parties parted ways because the one with more MLAs in the assembly wanted to dominate, or at least create an impression of being in control.

Would Nitish Kumar be comfortable leading an NDA alliance where the BJP has more MLAs than the JD(U)? With Lalu, he clearly wasnt.

Which is why this election in Bihar is so much about the race to emerge as the single-largest party in the alliance and the state assembly.
As Vietnam is grappling with the continued impacts of COVID-19, many companies are preparing plans to sail through the tough times.

Comapnies prepare plans to navigate their workforce through the crisis while maintaining business performance.



330 human resources (HR) specialists shared COVID-19 contingency plans with Adecco Vietnam in its latest survey in May. Most respondents were at manager or director level, working at multinational companies in Vietnam, 77 per cent of whom filled out the questionnaires completely.

According to the survey, 93 per cent of companies financial performance has been affected by COVID-19. Among those, 43 per cent were severely impacted businesses seeing revenue declining by 21-40 per cent. The top three industries with revenue negatively struck by COVID-19 are food and beverage (47 per cent), real estate (56 per cent), and manufacturing (44 per cent).

Alongside declining revenue and business activities, many companies face tough decisions on their labour force, including employee layoffs or salary reduction. 30 per cent of businesses reduce the number of employees by 1-20 per cent and 16 per cent of businesses must cut headcount by 21-40 per cent.

The media sector encounters a severe setback on employees with 46 per cent businesses reducing up to 20 per cent of their employees. More seriously, 7.69 per cent even terminated the contracts of over 60 per cent of their labour force. Also struggling with paying salaries, 38 per cent of media companies reduced wages by 21-40 per cent.

On a brighter note, while there are no positive signs regarding revenue in supply chain and logistics, up to 62 per cent of companies in this sector maintain their workforce and only 7.69 per cent of companies suffer 21-40 per cent layoffs. Other sectors where most companies did not let go of employees are IT (55 per cent) and finance and insurance (54 per cent).

For further risk mitigation, 58 per cent of companies choose to freeze hiring, especially large enterprises (75 per cent) rather than SMEs (50-56 per cent roughly). Other labour cost reduction initiatives include postponing salary, incentive and performance review (37 per cent), cancelling internship programmes (28 per cent), reducing working hours (26 per cent), requiring temporary unpaid leave (16.5 per cent), suspending permanent contract extensions (12.46 per cent). When making those decisions, 69 per cent of companies collaborated or negotiated with their employees in advance rather than acted unilaterally.

In estimation, 31 per cent of businesses expect to recover within the next 3 months, and the rebound period will take longer from 3-6 months for the other 29 per cent. 8 per cent of companies will not get back to normal until next year.

This urges companies to be responsive, resilient, and resourceful under such unique circumstances. During this time, the behaviours being most important from the manager role are collaboration, problem-solving, and adaptability. Following are empathy and supportive attitude and keeping staff engaged with company values and culture.

Andree Mangels, general director of Adecco Vietnam stated that, "Given the recent unfortunate increase of COVID-19 cases in Vietnam, leading some cities to return to social distancing and remote working, its a unique opportunity for managers to re-think their leadership approach. High EQ is now the gold standard for leaders through this potentially stressful period. We recommend to invest time into deep listening combined with the ability to minimise quick judgment and refraining from providing only advice. Promoting a culture of compassion and caring will help keep your people motivated, engaged, and productive.

In addition, companies are increasingly going digital. In terms of employees expectations, 46 per cent of survey respondents prefer companies to provide constant updates on business performance and upcoming plan. 39 per cent of them also want their company to work on solutions for similar crises in the future. IT investment and digital working are also highlighted in the survey to facilitate the digital future of work.

Last but not least, the pandemic raises the need for acquiring new skills and flexible working. Approximately seven in 10 HR leaders said problem-solving and self-discipline are two new skills HR leaders are looking for in future candidates. Moreover, big corporates also highly appreciate talent with resilience and the ability to lead through digital transformation.

In Vietnam, HR professionals are staying ahead of the curve with 56 per cent confirming that reskilling or upskilling employees on new ways of working are their top priority in the next three months. They also focus on boosting employee engagement (54 per cent) and accelerating remote working policies (36 per cent). VIR

Thanh Van

Business plans thrown into turmoil amid COVID-19 spike Dang Thanh Nga, 40, in Ha Noi called 10 sewers back to work for her garment factory just a few days ago as orders increased last week.
Pupils will return to school later this month (PA)

Northern Ireland's largest teaching union has dismissed the latest guidance for returning to schools as "entirely unrealistic and unfair".

The cool reception came as the Education Minister Peter Weir published updated guidance on how schools should plan for the new school day.

Revised from previous proposals set out in June, the guidance has used advice from Northern Irelands Chief Medical and Scientific Officers as well as the UK governments advisory body SAGE.

Recommendations include:

Staggered arrival times and pick up times at school gates

Face coverings are 'strongly encouraged' for activities involving large numbers of staff or pupils in an enclosed space

2m social distancing between adults and as "far as practicable" between adults and pupils

Use of 'protective bubbles' and increased hygiene measures

A one-way system in school buildings

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The NASUWT has now raised concerns the guidance will increase workloads for teachers and that schools have not been given enough time to prepare.

In a statement Mr Weir said his aim has always been to support a full time return to classrooms for all pupils where appropriate.

This latest guidance takes into account the Executives agreement of August 6 that the requirement for strict social distancing between children may be relaxed in the presence of other mitigations, Mr Weir said.

In many ways, it reinforces practices we have all become accustomed to, promoting regular hygiene practices on arrival at schools and throughout the school day, and the application of the catch it, bin it, kill it principles.

He added that the current social distancing guidance of two metres must be followed between adults in the education sector.

Read More

The guidance is part of the Restart Programme, which was developed by the Department of Education, school leaders and key partners.

Engagement with managing authorities, trade unions and sectoral support bodies has also been in place since March and will continue.

Minister Weir continued: I have at all times recognised the stresses felt by teachers, parents and pupils due to the ongoing disruption and uncertainty regarding the future.

That is why I would urge all in our society to continue to play their part in addressing the challenges posed by Covid-19.

This includes keeping students away from schools with any Covid-19 symptoms including a high temperature, persistent cough or a loss of smell or taste

Minister Weir said that in circumstances where strict social distancing is not possible, measures like the use of protective bubbles, decreased interaction and movement around schools must be followed.

He said this flexible approach had been a success in other countries and would allow the maximum opportunity for face-to-face teaching, but that the advice would remain agile to reflect public health advice.

Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWTs General Secretary, commented: It is entirely unfair and unrealistic to expect schools to be able to respond effectively to this guidance with just one week before they are due to open fully to all students.

Given the commitment to reopen schools fully for the start of the autumn term, Ministers must now commit the resources that will be needed to enable schools to implement the guidance and to reopen safely.

He added that employers must ensure that the health and safety of pupils and staff remained paramount.

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Justin McCamphill, NASUWT National Official for Northern Ireland, said: It is now abundantly clear that returning without the guarantee of social distancing will increase workload burdens for school principals and teachers. Without social distancing schools will have to implement more mitigating measures not fewer.

The NASUWT reminds schools that they must consult with NASUWT school representatives in developing reopening plans while ensuring that these plans do not erode teachers contractual conditions.

The NASUWT will monitor the situation closely in every school. The Union has written to every employing authority, advising them of their legal obligations to their employees, reserving our members legal rights and entitlements and setting out the actions we expect them to take to safeguard the health and welfare of staff.
University News

Established by Carolyn Brehm 96 MBA, founder and CEO of Brehm Global Ventures, and former ambassador Richard Boucher, the speaker series endeavors to bring leaders in the world of diplomacy, international affairs, political science, and national security to the University community. By Renee Chmiel, Office of Marketing and Communications

Ambassador Barbara Bodine recently spoke to the University community via Zoom.

Sanduni Muhandiramge 22 was looking forward to a recent talk by former Ambassador Barbara Bodine because she is interested in learning firsthand about what a career in foreign service entails. She, particularly, wanted to learn about the skills necessary to succeed in the field.

My favorite part about the lecture was Ambassador Bodine herself, she said. Her integrity and knowledge inspired me to act upon the same values of justice and humanity. As a national security major, with a concentration in intelligence analysis, I hope that I am also able to preserve and expand cultural relationships within our global society.

Muhandiramge was one of the many students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends who listened to Ambassador Bodines recent talk, which was held via Zoom. It kicked off the Brehm-Boucher Speaker Series: Making Policy in an Uncertain World, which is sponsored by Carolyn Brehm 96 MBA, founder and CEO of Brehm Global Ventures, an organization that provides advice on global government relations and public policy strategies, and her husband, Richard Boucher, who served as the United States ambassador to Cyprus from 1996 to 1999.

The notion is to talk about the volatile world we live in through lens of practitioners in fields such as national security, said Brehm, a member of the Universitys Board of Governors. Its important to learn through storytelling how they navigated opportunities and challenges and what this meant for how they achieved success in their career. Ambassador Bodine has a lot of great stories to tell.

'She really has an enormous amount of experience'

Currently a distinguished professor in the practice of diplomacy and director of the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, Ambassador Bodine spent more than 30 years in the U.S. Foreign Service before retiring. Her service focused primarily on issues in the Arabian Peninsula and the greater Persian Gulf, specifically, U.S. bilateral and regional policy, strategic security issues, counterterrorism, and governance and reform. She has served in countries such as Yemen, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

Its not a question of getting out of your comfort zone, she said. I like to think of it as expanding your comfort zone. Its learning how to take on the crisis, find your role, and determine what can you do to take care of yourself and the situation, and make the situation better. To me, thats resilience  owning who you are regardless of whats happening and taking ownership of the situation and trying to find that place where you can do something about it.

"The notion is to talk about the volatile world we live in through the lens of practitioners in fields such as national security." Ambassador Barbara Bodine

A first-generation college student, Ambassador Bodine told students that her own path was not traditional. While studying abroad in Hong Kong as a junior, she discovered she liked living abroad and immersing herself in other cultures. She was interested in a career in foreign service because she wanted to make a difference by being in a position to directly affect policy and problem solving.

She really has an enormous amount of experience, said Boucher. Shes shown an incredible amount of resilience dealing with these events.

This is a great opportunity for students

A collaboration between the Universitys national security, international affairs, and political science departments, the speaker series, which was created by Chris Haynes, Ph.D., will bring the world of diplomacy, international affairs, and national security to prospective, incoming, and current University of New Haven students. At least once per month, senior foreign affairs and public policy practitioners from the government, private sector, and humanitarian/civil society will discuss how their careers evolved, how they dealt with unanticipated events, solved problems, and what they learned along the way.

Ambassador Barbara Bodine.

Speakers connect with the University community in an interactive discussion via Zoom, enabling students to ask questions. The events will be held on campus when the coronavirus pandemic allows.

Douglas Gordon 21, an international development and diplomacy major, enjoyed listening to Ambassador Bodines talk, and he says he appreciated the opportunity to learn about her experiences.

This is a great opportunity for students because being able to listen to professionals who have made a career doing what many University students wish to do in the future is incredibly valuable, said Gordon, who is minoring in political science and national security. Having the opportunity to ask them questions about the field is amazing because the answers can be really revealing.

To learn more about the Brehm-Boucher Speaker Series, please visit the Universitys Model United Nations program website. The next speaker will be Lieutenant Colonel Ryan Bulger, Commander of 1st Squadron, 3d Cavalry Regiment. He will speak to the University community virtually on Thursday, Aug 13 at 4 p.m.
(Newser)  K9s are off the job for now in Salt Lake City after police footage showed a dog repeatedly biting a Black man kneeling on the ground with his hands up. Lawyers for Jeffrey Ryans, 36, say the April 24 attack left him with leg gashes that looked like they were caused by a chainsaw as well as nerve and tendon damage that required multiple expensive surgeries. Police had arrived at the home of Ryans' wife early in the morning. In body-camera footage shared by NBC News, Ryans is seen standing behind a gate in the backyard as an officer tells him he's not authorized to be there. "I live here," he responds, with his hands up, adding he's getting ready for work. Officer Nickolas Pearce and a K9 then approach from behind. "Get on the ground or youre going to get bit," Pearce says. Ryans takes a knee but soon screams in pain. "Why are you biting me?"

story continues below

The dog continues to lunge at him over the course of 45 seconds. Pearce is heard saying "hit" and "good boy," per NBC. Ryans was eventually arrested on suspicion of violating a protective order. His lawyers, Gabriel White and Dan Garner, say Ryans' wife secured the order last year following non-violent disagreements but then allowed Ryans to return home, believing the order was lifted. Ryans suspects someone outside the home heard an argument and called 911, per the Salt Lake Tribune. "I am disturbed by what I saw in that video, frustrated by how the situation was handled, and am committed to working to ensure neither happen again," says Mayor Erin Mendenhall. Police said Wednesday that the K9 program is suspended pending review and Pearce is on administrative leave pending an external investigation. But White questions the timing. They've "had all of these facts for months and months and months," he tells the Tribune. (Read more excessive force stories.)
GUJCET 2020 will be conducted on 24 August. The exam was earlier scheduled to be held on 22 August but has been postponed in light of the Ganesh Chaturthi and Samvatsari festivals

Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSEB) has released the Gujarat Common Entrance Test (GUJCET) 2020 admit card today on its website gujcet.gsebht.in.

According to a report by Careers 360, the board in a notification announced that the admit card, or hall ticket, for the entrance test will be available from 6 pm onward. To download the admit card, the candidates will have to log in to the website using their registered mobile number/ email address and application number/date of birth.

A report by The Times of India said the GSEB in its notification has stated that the GUJCET admit cards which had been issued on 16 March will no longer stand valid.

Candidates will, therefore, have to download the fresh admit cards that will be released today.

GUJCET is an annual state level entrance examination conducted by Admission Committee for Professional Courses (ACPC).

The admit card will have details of the exam date, time, address of the test centre and other important information. Along with the hall ticket, candidates will have to take their photo identity proofs on the day of the examination.

GUJCET 2020 will be conducted on 24 August. The exam was earlier scheduled to be held on 22 August but has been postponed in light of the Ganesh Chaturthi and Samvatsari festivals.

Over 1.25 lakh applicants have registered for the GUJCET 2020 of which more than 49,000 have applied for medical stream and over 75,000 have registered for non-medical stream.

The entrance examination is conducted for admissions to engineering and pharmacy courses in Gujarat. It tests candidates knowledge of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics for engineering courses and Physics, Chemistry and Biology for pharmacy courses.

To attempt Physics and Chemistry, candidates will be getting 120 minutes and to answer Mathematics or Biology section, one hour is allotted.

There are 40 questions from each subject and each question carry one mark. GUJCET takes place in three mediums  Hindi, English and Gujarati.

Steps to download GUJCET Admit Card 2020:

Step 1: Go to website- gujcet.gseb.org

Step 2: Key in your registered mobile number or email ID and date of birth or application number and other login credentials

Step 3: Press on 'Search Hall Ticket' button

Step 4: The admit card will be displayed on the screen.
Australian supermodel Jordan Barrett is not just a pretty face, he's also a philanthropist.

The 23-year-old has a strong passion for wildlife conservation and thrown his support behind the Lion Recovery Fund.

Jordan, who has modelled for the likes of Balmain and Versace, appears in a new campaign clip for the granting initiative.

'It's for a great cause': Male supermodel Jordan Barrett has voiced his support for lion conservation projects in Africa this week and has urged fans to donate

The Lion Recovery Fund aims to support conservation groups in Africa and offer financial aid to help save the kings of the jungle.

It was created by the Wildlife Conservation Network in partnership with The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation.

'It's for a great cause especially in these times,' Jordan told Daily Mail Australia this week of the cause.

Doing his part: Jordan has a strong passion for wildlife conservation and has thrown his support behind the Lion Recovery Fund

One to get behind: The Lion Recovery Fund aims to support conservation groups in Africa and offer financial aid to help save the kings of the jungle

'It's really needed to protect the rangers on the ground in Africa and conversation networks' employees affected by COVID-19, from losing their jobs.'

In a clip promoting the Lion Recovery Fund, Jordan is seen talking to field experts on the Skeleton Coast in Namibia, in Southern Africa.

He also urged fans to donate when he shared the clip on Instagram.

In a clip promoting the Lion Recovery Fund, Jordan is seen talking to field experts on the Skeleton Coast in Namibia, in Southern Africa

'The LRF has removed over 40 thousand snares. Snares from lion habitats, trained 639 rangers across Africa,' Jordan said.

'Join me in supporting the Lion Recovery Fund community and stop the extinction of lions.'

Jordan has a strong passion for wildlife conservation and has previously supported efforts for elephant conservation.

Passionate: Jordan has a strong passion for wildlife conservation and has previously supported efforts for elephant conservation

The handsome blonde rose to fame in from the tender age of 14, and is now one of the world's top male supermodels and a leading Australian export.

The chiseled hunk has modelled for the likes of Versace and Balmain, and his art project Sedated will soon be releasing merchandise and sustainable clothing.

Jordan was scouted in his teens and also has a keen interest in acting.
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Inc. Media revealed yesterday that Hawke Media placed at number 1,508 on its annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies. The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economy's most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses. Intuit, Zappos, Under Armour, Microsoft, Patagonia, and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000.

"I'm so thankful for our team that works so hard to continue to drive the growth and success of the company I love, even during this crazy time," says Hawke Media Founder and CEO Erik Huberman. "It's because of them that we can celebrate today!"

Not only have the companies on the 2020 Inc. 5000 been very competitive within their markets, but the list as a whole shows staggering growth compared with prior lists as well. The 2020 Inc. 5000 achieved an incredible three-year average growth of over 500 percent and a median rate of 165 percent. The Inc. 5000's aggregate revenue was $209 billion in 2019, accounting for over one million jobs during the past three years.

Since Huberman and Co-founder Tony Delmercado started the company six years ago, Hawke Media has grown from seven employees to over 150. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, it has adjusted its business model seamlessly to become a fully remote companyalmost overnight. With the goal of eventually opening small, WeWork-meets-Soho House offices all over the country, the company has recently expanded its recruitment nationwide.

"The companies on this year's Inc. 5000 come from nearly every realm of business," says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. "From health and software to media and hospitality, the 2020 list proves that no matter the sector, incredible growth is based on the foundations of tenacity and opportunism."

The 2020 Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2016 and 2019. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2016. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at www.inc.com/inc5000 .

About Hawke Media

Hawke Media is an award-winning marketing consultancy based in Los Angeles, California. It offers custom, data-driven marketing strategies to businesses of all sizes, offering its services on a month-to-month, a la carte basis. Founded in 2014, it continues to be the fastest-growing marketing consultancy in the nation and has serviced such clients as Verizon, Red Bull, Tamara Mellon, and more.

For more information, please visit hawkemedia.com .

About Inc. Media

The world's most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States, and the global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent.

For more information, please visit inc.com .

Contact:

Ally Spiroff, Public Relations Manager

(414) 491-2185

[email protected]

SOURCE Hawke Media

Related Links

http://www.hawkemedia.com


The number of Americans applying for state unemployment benefits fell below 1 million for the first time since the pandemic began in March, suggesting the economic recovery is gaining some traction amid a deceleration in coronavirus infections.

Initial jobless claims in regular state programs fell by 228,000 to 963,000 in the week ended Aug. 8, Labor Department data showed Thursday. Continuing claims -- the total number of Americans claiming ongoing benefits in state programs -- decreased to 15.5 million in the week ended Aug. 1, the lowest since early April.

U.S. stocks were mixed at the open, a day after the S&P 500 benchmark closed within 0.2% of its all-time high. Economists were expecting initial claims of 1.1 million and continuing claims of 15.8 million, based on median estimates. Both figures remain well above the highs reached during the last economic downturn.

The bigger-than-expected drops in claims follow an ebbing in new coronavirus cases, underlining how important controlling the virus is to an economy that remains well below pre-crisis measures in most respects. The decline potentially supports the argument by some businesses and Republicans that the $600 supplemental weekly jobless benefit -- which expired in July -- was keeping people from returning to work. That could reduce the pressure on the White House and lawmakers to agree on a new stimulus package.

At the same time, other high-frequency indicators, such as credit-card spending, show a gradual or stalled economic rebound. With unemployment above 10% in July, the labor market still faces challenges including a high level of virus cases and widespread business closures and bankruptcies, as well as online learning that's forcing Americans to take care of their children at home.

"It's clear that the pace of layoffs is beginning to moderate, but it's still an enormous number of people filing for unemployment insurance benefits," said Ryan Sweet, head of monetary policy research at Moody's Analytics. "One concern for both the job market and the broader economy is the lack of urgency in passing another round of fiscal stimulus. The economy needs more fiscal stimulus."

"The favorable direction of travel still leaves the job market well short of a healthy destination," Bloomberg economist Andrew Husby wrote in a note. "Flows out of employment are consistent with the deepest post-warrecessions. The effects of shadow joblessness -- labor force exits -- and long-term unemployment will persist for an extended period."

The latest declines in initial claims spanned states where coronavirus cases had bloomed in prior weeks, such as California and Florida, as well as New York, where counts have remained low. On an unadjusted basis, initial claims had already dropped below 1 million the prior week, and last week fell about 156,000 to 832,000.

President Donald Trump last weekend authorized the payment of $300 a week in federal aid to unemployed Americans, smaller than the $600 benefit that expired in July -- and limited by funds that could run out within two months.

States can choose to bolster that $300 with additional $100, but the Labor Department clarified on Wednesday that the $100 can consist of regular benefits already paid by states. The legality and effectiveness of the move, along with a four-month deferral of payroll taxes, remains unclear.

In addition to applications for benefits in regular state programs, states reported 488,622 initial claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, or PUA, in the week ended Aug. 8. That's the federal program offering jobless benefits to those who don't qualify for the state program, such as the self-employed and gig workers.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs decreased to 28.3 million in the week ended July 25, though this figure likely still reflects states' overcounts of reported PUA continued claims. Still, it's the lowest in almost three months.
"Latinas in Aviation", a new book by Fig Factor Media Publishing, presents 22 authors in the aerospace and aviation fields sharing their personal stories of achievements, struggles and challenges. "Aviation for me has become the true testament of my dedication to my dreams, and therefore the elevation of other dreams in the community."

Latinas have made strong and powerful inroads in many industries throughout the world. However, they are a rare breed in the aviation and aerospace fields.

According to the International Society of Women Airline Pilots July 2020 Worldwide Female Airline Pilot Numbers by Region report, the total percentage of female pilots in the United States is only 5.27%. Within this group, Latinas are most likely in the minority.

To celebrate the achievements and contributions of Latinas in these fields, Fig Factor Media Publishing is making history by launching its newest work: Latinas in Aviation. The book, which will be virtually launched at 10 a.m. CST Aug. 15 on Facebook Live and be available on Amazon that same day, presents for the first time 22 authors who share their personal stories filled with achievements, struggles and challenges. The books preface is written by Evelyn Miralles, one of the books authors and the former chief principal engineer for the Virtual Reality Laboratory, an astronaut training facility at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The following authors are:



Jacqueline Camacho, JJR Marketing and Fig Factor Media Publishing CEO

Graciela Tiscareno, U.S. Air Force Veteran/CEO of Gracefully Global Group, LLC;

Olga Custodio, retired USAFR Lieutenant Colonel and American Airlines captain

Jackie Pulido, Airbus 320 captain and flight instructor

Andrea Palacios, captain of Embraer 190 for Conviasa Airlines

Jessika Hernandez, JW Aviation flight instructor

M. Elena Alvarez, transformation manager at Airbus Defence & Space

Maria Laskowski, multinational account manager for Aeromexico

Lizbeth Alvarado, air traffic controller at OHare International Airport

Susana Ibarra Caceres, first officer for Kuwait Airways

Jeannette Collazo, aspiring aviator and president of Lurdez Consulting Group, Inc.

Jacqueline Prences, internationally-certified pilot and owner of Neveria Michoacana LLC

Ana Uribe-Ruiz, co-president of the Bay Area Chapter of Women in Aviation International

Amanda Grace Colon, aircraft mechanic and accident investigator

Daniela Carabajal, corporate pilot

Melissa Montiel, first officer for Skywest Airlines

Paula Gomez, first officer for Copa Airlines

Castalia Serna, deputy commissioner for Concessions & Customer Service at Chicago Dept. Of Aviation

Yasmine Aru Arab, ATP flight instructor

Linda Pauwels, American Airlines captain B787 and air check man

Sandra Granados, lead flight technician for Gary Jet Center/Boeing Exec. Flight Operations

The launch will present a range of dynamic speakers that include veterans, new graduates, pilots as well as aviation administrators, military and civilians and some of the authorsall with a unique passion for aviation and its impact on our world.

Ruiz, who oversaw this impressive and inspirational book project, shares a similar affinity with these authors for aviation.

"Aviation for me has become the true testament of my dedication to my dreams, and therefore the elevation of other dreams in the community, she said.

Authors such as retired USAFR Lieutenant Colonel and American Airlines Captain Olga Custodio inspire readers and set the stage for the next generation of Latinas who look to the sky with a dream.

Writing about her experience, she said: I could never have imagined I would become the first Latina U.S. military pilot and first Latina American Airlines pilot.

One hundred percent of the proceeds from book sales will go directly to the #Pilotina scholarship which was created to help young Latinas with dreams of entering the aviation and aerospace industry.

To experience this exciting book launch, register by visiting this link: https://bit.ly/LatinainAviationBookLaunch.

To get your copy of the book,https://bit.ly/LatinasinAviation

For information about Fig Factor Media, visit http://www.figfactormedia.com.

About Fig Factor Media:

Fig Factor Media Publishing is an international publishing company with a "beeping" heart. Fig Factor Media has helped many authors achieve and support their dream of impacting their communities in the United States, Mexico and Europe. Fig Factor Media is the official publisher of Today's Inspired Latina. For information, visit http://www.figfactormedia.com. ###
Tender offer acceptance of 47% did not reach minimum threshold of 66.67%

QIAGEN Supervisory Board and Managing Board respect the views of shareholders

Focus on execution with strong outlook for 2020 and 2021, QIAGEN to continue strategy of creating value through Sample to Insight portfolio for growing molecular testing needs

QIAGEN to move forward with full acquisition of NeuMoDx, adding versatile integrated molecular testing platforms to portfolio and gaining access to U.S. and other markets

Ongoing commitment to support global response to coronavirus pandemic

QIAGEN N.V. (NYSE: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) today announced that it will continue to execute its successful growth strategy aiming to create significant value for shareholders and other stakeholders after the voluntary public takeover offer by Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (NYSE: TMO) did not achieve the minimum 66.67% acceptance threshold from QIAGEN shareholders.

A total of 47% of the outstanding QIAGEN shares were tendered into the offer of EUR 43.00 per share at the expiry of the Acceptance Period on Monday, August 10, 2020, at Midnight Frankfurt time 18:00 New York time. The amended business combination agreement has been terminated due to the acceptance threshold not having been met.

"We respect the decision of our shareholders and will now continue to execute our strategy to deliver growth and create greater value with our Sample to Insight portfolio that addresses growing molecular testing needs in the life sciences and molecular diagnostics," said Dr. Hakan, Bjorklund, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of QIAGEN N.V.

"The magnitude and duration of the global coronavirus pandemic have proven the increasingly critical importance of molecular testing to society. QIAGEN's business prospects have improved significantly, as shown in our performance for the first half of 2020 and the strong outlook for the rest of this year and for 2021," said Thierry Bernard, Chief Executive Officer of QIAGEN N.V. "In light of the outcome, we will also move forward with our plans to fully acquire NeuMoDx, Inc., which is growing fast thanks to its unique offering of molecular diagnostic testing platforms along with a solution for coronavirus testing and an expanding range of assays in Europe, the U.S. and rest of the world. Our employees have demonstrated resilience and deep expertise in meeting the challenges of the pandemic, and will continue to play an essential role in building QIAGEN as a unique and differentiated leader in molecular testing through a commitment to execution on our goals."

Roland Sackers, Chief Financial Officer of QIAGEN N.V., added: "QIAGEN is moving forward from a position of strength with robust growth prospects, anchored by a differentiated portfolio and multiple new product launches in the pipeline. As we focus on greater value creation, QIAGEN builds on a disciplined capital allocation policy anchored by a healthy balance sheet to support investments into our business along with a commitment to increasing returns to shareholders."

In line with its long-term growth strategy, QIAGEN intends to continue implementing initiatives to accelerate the growth of its Sample to Insight portfolio, delivering efficiency and effectiveness, increasing the value of QIAGEN as an employer of choice and enhancing customer experience.

QIAGEN's growth strategy is anchored on these commercial initiatives:

Support global response to the coronavirus pandemic: QIAGEN employees around the world are fully mobilized to address the urgent demand for testing solutions needed in the global response to the coronavirus pandemic. Sales growth of 14% in constant currency terms for the first half of 2020 reflected the significant demand for these products, supporting the outlook for growth trends in the second half of 2020 continuing into 2021. QIAGEN's initiatives focus on building the most comprehensive portfolio of solutions for COVID-19 testing. These include ramping up production of viral RNA extraction for use on QIAGEN's QIAcube, QIAsymphony and EZ1 platforms as well as third-party instruments; building up a range of PCR tests on the QIAstat-Dx and NeuMoDx systems that enable COVID-19 detection while analyzing samples at the same time for other respiratory infections; and delivering universal next-generation sequencing (NGS) solutions for use with any sequencer, in particular gene panels integrated with bioinformatics for analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. QIAGEN is also scaling up production capacity for reagents sold to other companies for use in their own COVID-19 tests. New QIAGEN products in accelerated development include a serology test (assessing the body's immune response to the coronavirus via antibodies) and a rapid antigen test (detection of an active coronavirus infection), planned for launch in the second half of 2020.

Strengthen excellence in sample technologies: QIAGEN plans to build on its market and technology leadership in sample technologies, a wide range of solutions to extract nucleic acids from biological samples. QIAGEN continues to roll out innovative sample technologies for liquid biopsies, sample and library preparation for next-generation sequencing (NGS) and metagenomics applications. Development initiatives include new products in response to the coronavirus pandemic, as well as innovations for customers in areas such as research, clinical healthcare and forensics that include new applications based on 96-well plates.

Extend leadership in tuberculosis (TB) detection: Amid predictions that tuberculosis will make a resurgence due to the global disruption to testing initiatives, QIAGEN is implementing a strategy to accelerate the adoption of QuantiFERON-TB in the fight against this pandemic disease. TB is estimated to kill more than 1.5 million people annually. Sales in the first half of 2020 were disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, but experienced accelerating trends in regions where quarantines and lockdown measures have been eased. QIAGEN's highly flexible laboratory automation solutions for QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus anchored by partnerships with DiaSorin, Hamilton and Tecan are supporting the conversion from tuberculin skin tests to modern blood-based technology. Additionally, QIAGEN is advancing plans for the launch of QuantiFERON-TB Access (QFT Access), a new version of the gold-standard TB detection test dedicated and tailored to the needs of low-resource settings with a high disease burden of TB.

Accelerate commercialization of NeuMoDx and QIAstat-Dx systems: QIAGEN intends to move forward with the acquisition of the remaining 80.1% stake in NeuMoDx Molecular, Inc. that it currently does not own. This transaction, which requires customary regulatory approvals and clearances, is expected to be completed for a purchase price of approximately $234 million. QIAGEN expects NeuMoDx to provide significant sales contributions in the future based on its differentiation as a rapid, integrated PCR-based platform that offers a dedicated COVID-19 test as well as an expanding menu of tests for other infectious diseases, such as a new multiplex test combining analysis for influenza, RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) and the SARS-CoV-2 virus, expected to be launched in the second half of 2020. QIAGEN currently does not consolidate in its financial statements the results of operations of NeuMoDx Molecular, Inc. Additional details on this proposed acquisition are planned to be disclosed when QIAGEN reports results for the third quarter and first nine months of 2020.

Additionally, QIAGEN plans to accelerate initiatives to support the expansion of the QIAstat-Dx syndromic testing platform, in particular initiatives to make significant investments to increase production capacity for system cartridges at sites in Hilden, Germany, and Barcelona, Spain, as well as expand the menu of tests on this platform for use in detecting various diseases.

Enter digital PCR market with QIAcuity launch: Among the leading new product launches in development is QIAGEN's differentiated entry into digital PCR, a fast-growing market in genomic research. QIAcuity is a series of differentiated new platforms designed to make this technology more accessible and attractive to Life Sciences laboratories worldwide. QIAGEN has a growing pipeline of over 1,500 customer leads, and has increased production capacity in light of higher-than-expected demand.

About QIAGEN

QIAGEN N.V., a Netherlands-based holding company, is the leading global provider of Sample to Insight solutions that enable customers to gain valuable molecular insights from samples containing the building blocks of life. Our sample technologies isolate and process DNA, RNA and proteins from blood, tissue and other materials. Assay technologies make these biomolecules visible and ready for analysis. Bioinformatics software and knowledge bases interpret data to report relevant, actionable insights. Automation solutions tie these together in seamless and cost-effective workflows. QIAGEN provides solutions to more than 500,000 customers around the world in Molecular Diagnostics (human healthcare) and Life Sciences (academia, pharma R&D and industrial applications, primarily forensics). As of June 30, 2020, QIAGEN employed more than 5,200 people in over 35 locations worldwide. Further information can be found at http://www.qiagen.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. To the extent that any of the statements contained herein relating to QIAGEN's outlook, products, launches, pipeline, regulatory submissions, collaborations, markets, strategy, employees, taxes or operating results; QIAGEN's plans to continue its growth strategy and the execution of its strategy; QIAGEN's commitment to support the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic; QIAGEN's ability to address molecular testing needs in the life sciences and molecular diagnostics; the magnitude and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic; QIAGEN's ability to increase its value through its growth strategy and initiatives; QIAGEN's commercial initiatives, including initiatives to support the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to strengthen its leadership in sample technologies, to further its leadership in tuberculosis detection, to accelerate commercialization of the QIAstat-Dx and NeuMoDx systems, and to enter the digital PCR market with the QIAcuity launch; impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on QIAGEN's business; and the proposed acquisition of NeuMoDx and the potential benefits of such acquisition; are forward-looking, such statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that involve a number of uncertainties and risks. Such uncertainties and risks include, but are not limited to, risks associated with the breadth and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic; the availability of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the demand for our products and other aspects of our business; management of growth and international operations (including the effects of currency fluctuations, regulatory processes and dependence on logistics); variability of operating results and allocations between customer classes; the commercial development of markets for our products to customers in academia, pharma, applied testing and molecular diagnostics; changing relationships with customers, suppliers and strategic partners; competition; rapid or unexpected changes in technologies; fluctuations in demand for QIAGEN's products (including fluctuations due to general economic conditions, the level and timing of customers' funding, budgets and other factors); our ability to obtain regulatory approval of our products; difficulties in successfully adapting QIAGEN's products to integrated solutions and producing such products; the ability of QIAGEN to identify and develop new products and to differentiate and protect our products from competitors' products; market acceptance of QIAGEN's new products and the integration of acquired technologies and businesses; actions of governments, global or regional economic developments, weather or transportation delays, natural disasters, political or public health crises, or other force majeure events; as well as the possibility that expected benefits related to recent or pending acquisitions, including the pending acquisition of NeuMoDx, may not materialize as expected; and the other factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" contained in Item 3 of our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F. For further information, please refer to the discussions in reports that QIAGEN has filed with, or furnished to, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Additional Information and Where to Find It

This communication is for informational purposes only and is neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell any ordinary shares of QIAGEN or any other securities, nor is it a substitute for the tender offer materials that Thermo Fisher or its acquisition subsidiary file with the SEC and publish in Germany. The terms and conditions of the tender offer are published in, and the offer to purchase ordinary shares of QIAGEN is made only pursuant to, the offer document as permitted for publication by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt fur Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht) and related offer materials prepared by Thermo Fisher and its acquisition subsidiary, including the amendment of the offer. The offer document and related offer materials have been published in Germany and filed with the SEC in a tender offer statement on Schedule TO on May 18, 2020, as amended from time to time. The amendment of the offer has been published in Germany and filed with the SEC in an amendment to the tender offer statement on Schedule TO on July 17, 2020. QIAGEN has filed a solicitation/recommendation statement on Schedule 14D-9 with the SEC with respect to the tender offer on May 18, 2020, as amended from time to time; in addition, QIAGEN has published a document combining the recommendation statement pursuant to Sec. 27 of the German Securities Acquisition and Takeover Act (Wertpapiererwerbs- und Ubernahmegesetz, "WpUG") and the position statement (gemotiveerde standpuntbepaling) pursuant to Section 18 and appendix G of the Dutch Decree on Public Takeovers (Besluit Openbare Biedingen). In addition, on July 22, 2020, QIAGEN has published a supplement to the solicitation/recommendation statement, which QIAGEN filed with an amendment to its solicitation/recommendation statement on Schedule 14D-9 with the SEC. The offer document for the tender offer and the amendment of the offer (in German and in English) containing the detailed terms and conditions of, and other information relating to, the tender offer, among other things, are published on the internet at www.thermofisher.com.

Acceptance of the tender offer by shareholders that are resident outside Germany and the United States may be subject to further legal requirements. With respect to the acceptance of the tender offer outside Germany and the United States, no responsibility is assumed for the compliance with such legal requirements applicable in the respective jurisdiction.

THE TENDER OFFER MATERIALS (INCLUDING THE OFFER DOCUMENT, A RELATED LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL AND CERTAIN OTHER TENDER OFFER DOCUMENTS), THE SOLICITATION RECOMMENDATION STATEMENT ON SCHEDULE 14D-9 AND QIAGEN'S RECOMMENDATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SEC. 27 WPUG AND POSITION STATEMENT (GEMOTIVEERDE STANDPUNTBEPALING) PURSUANT TO SECTION 18 AND APPENDIX G OF THE DUTCH DECREE ON PUBLIC TAKEOVERS (BESLUIT OPENBARE BIEDINGEN), AS THEY MAY BE AMENDED FROM TIME TO TIME, CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. INVESTORS AND SHAREHOLDERS OF QIAGEN ARE URGED TO READ THESE DOCUMENTS CAREFULLY BECAUSE THEY, AND NOT THIS DOCUMENT, GOVERN THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE TENDER OFFER, AND BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION THAT SUCH PERSONS SHOULD CONSIDER BEFORE MAKING ANY DECISION REGARDING TENDERING THEIR ORDINARY SHARES.

The tender offer materials, including the offer document, the amendment of the offer and the related letter of transmittal and certain other tender offer documents, and the solicitation/recommendation statement, the supplemental solicitation/recommendation statement and other documents filed with the SEC by Thermo Fisher or QIAGEN, may be obtained free of charge at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or at QIAGEN's website at www.qiagen.com or by contacting QIAGEN's investor relations department at 240-686-2222 or at Thermo Fisher's website at www.thermofisher.com or by contacting Thermo Fisher's investor relations department at 781-622-1111. In addition, Thermo Fisher's tender offer statement and other documents filed with the SEC are available at https://ir.thermofisher.com/investors. Furthermore, copies of the offer document and the amendment of the offer are also available free of charge by contacting D.F. King Co., Inc., Thermo Fisher's information agent for the tender offer.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200813005453/en/

Contacts:

QIAGEN

Investor Relations

John Gilardi

+49 2103 29 11711

Phoebe Loh

+49 2103 29 11457

e-mail: ir@QIAGEN.com

Public Relations

Thomas Theuringer

+49 2103 29 11826

Robert Reitze

+49 2103 29 11676

e-mail: pr@QIAGEN.com
Across the United States this summer, restaurants and bars, reeling from mandatory lockdowns and steep financial declines, opened their doors to customers, thousands of whom had been craving deep bowls of farro, frothy margaritas and juicy burgers smothered in glistening onions.

But the short-term gains have led to broader losses. Data from states and cities show that many community outbreaks of the coronavirus this summer have centered on restaurants and bars, often the largest settings to infect Americans.

It is unclear what percentage of workers transmitted the virus among themselves, or to patrons or whether customers brought in the virus. But the clusters are worrisome to health officials because many restaurant and bar employees across the country are in their 20s and can carry the virus home and possibly seed household transmissions, which have soared in recent weeks through the Sun Belt and the West. (New York Times)

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Biden and Harris make 1st appearance as historic Democratic ticket (ABC News)

Trump and allies struggle to find a focused attack on Harris (Washington Post)

Harris VP pick draws mixed reviews and some anxiety from progressives (NBC News)

House Democrats demand Postal Service chief roll back changes ahead of Election Day (NBC News)

National news

24 77th night of Portland protests returns to downtown Justice Center

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Energy Department proposes showerhead standards rollback after Trump complains (The Hill)

Midwest derecho devastates Iowa corn crop. Satellite imagery shows damage (Washington Post)

Portland protests return downtown as police use tear gas during overnight riot Wednesday (oregonlive.com)

Air Force helicopter struck by bullet while flying over Virginia (CBS News)

Salt Lake City officer suspended after ordering K-9 to attack Black man (CBS News)

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World news

Belarus says police detained about 700 protesters overnight https://t.co/bYWhXsCqDf pic.twitter.com/GJKIwa2JiP  Reuters (@Reuters) August 13, 2020

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UK crashes into deepest recession of any major economy (CNN)

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3 killed in southern India in clashes over Facebook post (Washington Post)

Japan says concerns over Hong Kong growing, after activist Agnes Chow arrested (Reuters)

Taiwan says discussing purchase of U.S. mines, cruise missiles (Reuters)
New Delhi, Aug 13 : Out of seven companies who were in the race to get contract to construct the new Parliament building, three have been selected to submit online financial bids, the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) said.

Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Shapoorji Pallonji & Company Private Limited and Tata Projects Limited are eligible to submit online financial bids to get the contract for the construction of new Parliament House.

The new Parliament building will be built on plot number 118 of Parliament House State here. It will be constructed under the Central Vista Re-Development project.

As per Appendix Letter No. 23 of CPWD dated August 10, a total of seven pre-eligibility tenders were received, which were opened on July 14 and were scrutinised as per the initial conditions of eligibility. Based on the evaluation and scrutiny of the documents, the central agency selected three companies which could submit financial bids.

ITD Cementation India Limited and NCC Limited are among the four companies which out of the race of getting the contract for the construction of new Parliament building.

The proposed new building of Parliament will be a two-storey building with a basement and a ground. The new Parliament building will be ready by 2022, when India will celebrate the 75th anniversary of independence.

The Delhi Development Authority approved the change in the use of land for the Cental Vista Re-Development project, so that the completion of the construction of the new building of Parliament as well as other projects of the Central Vista Project can be done faster.
Drivers of electric cars (EVs) in County Derry have urged the Stormont Executive to take steps to improve the charging network in the area.

Along with drivers of internal combustion engine (ICE) cars using EV charge points as makeshift parking bays, EV drivers listed poor maintenance of the existing network as a major problem.

Phil Gordon, a Donegal resident who works at Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry, said the majority of the citys charge points are not functioning.

Its been slowly falling apart for years and nobody is doing anything about it. It was developed around 2010-11, he told the County Derry Post.

I got my EV in 2015 and at that point, in Derry alone there were seven standard chargers and one rapid. At the minute there are only two of the slow chargers left working.

There one on Carlisle Road has been broken for as long as I can remember. There is one in the Diamond that has been out of order for about 6 or 8 months.

Weve been told by eCars that its beyond repair, they cant fix it and there is no plan to replace it. The north west in general has been very badly served by eCars for a long time.

You look at how many there are in Belfast. Its the biggest city and it has four or five rapid chargers. Derry is the second biggest city in the country and its only ever had one.

A map showing EV charge points across County Derry.

Responsibility for the network across the island of Ireland lies with eCars, a specific section of Electricity Supply Board (ESB).

The company began charging last year for the use of its rapid chargers in the Republic of Ireland and further pricing for standard network charging points came into effect yesterday.

ESB have said they hope to be able to replace broken chargers, but that planning issues are causing a delay.

In County Derry, there are 28 chargers in total each with two charge points. Of these 23 are working correctly and our systems indicate recent usage, a spokesperson said.

There are, however, a number of chargers in Derry City which have faults which cannot be resolved, and new chargers are required.

This is due to the age of the equipment and that they are no longer supported by the original charger manufacturer.

In addition, one charger was removed at the train station due to building works and which is due to be reinstated in coming months by the building contractor.

ESB ecars has plans to replace a section of the existing Standard AC network in Northern Ireland including in Derry.

There are a number of planning issues which need to be resolved first and work is on-going with relevant stakeholders in relation to it at present.

It is hoped that these issues can be overcome with a view to beginning to replace chargers in the coming months.

At present, it is free to charge an electric car using the Northern Ireland network, something EV driver Ronan McElholm feels leaves the system open to abuse.

Theyre free, and this is half the problem. When you get something that is free, its subject to abuse, he said.

There is a lot of funding from the government in the Republic, but added to that is the fact youre now having to pay for it and it makes things easier.

Its not a fortune to charge your car. Its only slightly more than the day-time rate. It keeps the freeloaders away because its now cheaper to charge at home than on the network.

While the lack of maintenance on the network has caused problems, EV drivers are also having to contend with ICE drivers using the charge points as parking bays.

A lot of places, theyll put a charger in but dont enforce the parking, so people park an ordinary car in it because its a handy space and they leave it there, said Phil Gordon

There is no punishment for that. In Derry City, you will get a ticket if youre parked in an EV charging bay, but a in lot of places, thats not enforced.

Its ridiculous. They call it ICE-ing. Internal Combustion Engine. If theyve parked an ordinary car in your place, youve been iced. Its such a common problem theres a term for it.

You wouldnt park a car at a petrol pump and walk off and leave it. Thats the equivalent.

Ronan McElholm regularly travels from Derry to Belfast and Dublin for work, and has encountered the problem on numerous occasions.

It causes a problem. I was going to Belfast, finding an abandoned car on a charger with no way of knowing when this person is coming back, he said.

Ive never had any issues with the rapid charger on the Glenshane, for example, apart from non-electric cars parking in it. One day there was a van parked and left there for three hours.

Once you hit five oclock, non-electric cars just park in it, which is an incredibly selfish thing for anyone to do.

They can get a ticket for it, but once the traffic wardens go home, there is no one to ticket you, because the police say its not their responsibility.

In the Republic, they are upgrading all the street chargers to rapid chargers, which is a good thing, but unless there is proper policing on it, people just pull in and park.

It needs a change to legislation and the police need powers to ticket cars parked on them.

DfI Minister Nichola Mallon arriving for work in her EV.

The political lag caused by Stormonts two-year period of stalemate has resulted in a backlog across all departments which has delayed any upgrade to the EV charging network.

Department for Infrastructure (DfI) Minister Nichola Mallon raised eyebrows when she arrived in an EV on the day Stormont returned in January.

That was a show. People like myself have tried to contact her to get something done about it and they just dont reply. All talk and no substance, said Phil Gordon.

When I got my first Leaf in 2015, there were only about 4,000-odd cars in the whole of the Republic of Ireland. Now there are about 10,000 in the south and 4-5,000 in the north.

The users are there, but bureaucracy and red tape has left it way down the list of priorities to get the network to a functional level.

They really would need to get their finger out, added Ronan McElholm.

They certainly do need to get things moving with regards to legislation. The complete charge network needs and overhaul and massive funding.

As an electric car user, Im prepare to pay for it like it is in the Republic. Theyve really started to upgrade the network there in the last few years, but you can see a big difference.

The UK government has committed to banning the sale of petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles from 2035.

The DfI have said they are engaging with the UK Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) to determine how to meet this challenge.

A DfI spokesperson said: The Department provides advice and guidance in relation to electric vehicles, working closely with OLEV.

The Department is working to identify actions to support the decarbonisation of transport including how best to support the uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles to the Northern Ireland market.

The Minister has engaged with the DAERA Minister to begin working collaboratively to promote the use of electric vehicles and specifically to improve the charge point network in Northern Ireland.

She is committed to exploring all options and new solutions to enhance the charge point infrastructure, improve lives and tackle the climate emergency.

The DfI continues to closely monitor funding opportunities for the installation of additional charge point infrastructure.

We will work with commercial providers to ensure that the installation of any additional charge point infrastructure remains fit for purpose commensurate with growth.
This article, Avatar: The Last Airbender creators depart live-action Netflix show, originally appeared on CNET.com.

Netflix's live-action adaptation of beloved animated show Avatar: The Last Airbender has lost the show's original creators. Michael Dante DiMartino said Wednesday that he and Bryan Konietzko decided to leave the show's development team in June after two years of work on the project due to creative differences.

"Netflix said that it was committed to honoring our vision for this retelling and to supporting us on creating the series," DiMartino said in a blog post. "Unfortunately, things did not go as we had hoped."

Leaving the project "was necessary for my happiness and creative integrity," he said, adding the situation is frustrating and disappointing. "I realized I couldn't control the creative direction of the series, but I could control how I responded."

DiMartino said while the Netflix show has the potential to turn out well and people might enjoy it, "whatever version ends up on-screen, it will not be what Bryan and I had envisioned or intended to make."

Read more: Every streaming service ranked: Disney Plus vs. Netflix vs. Amazon Prime vs. Peacock vs. Hulu

Netflix announced in 2018 that it would be rebooting Avatar: The Last Airbender as a live-action series, with original co-creators DiMartino and Konietzko on board. There's no word yet on a cast or launch date.

"We have complete respect and admiration for Michael and Bryan and the story that they created in the Avatar animated series," a Netflix spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "Although they have chosen to depart the live-action project, we are confident in the creative team and their adaptation."

The series is moving forward without the two.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Netflix -- though typically known for giving creators more artistic freedom than traditional studios -- isn't immune to creative differences. Netflix's rank of studio executives is leaner than elsewhere in Hollywood, and the company is known for being more light-handed with "notes," the revisions and suggestions that are often sent to creators from execs while a production is in motion. But the company has parted ways with creators before: Ava DuVernay left a Netflix documentary about the musician Prince last year, for example, and reports of differences with Marvel plagued some of Netflix's Defenders series.

You can watch the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender and its sequel Avatar: The Legend of Korra on Netflix now.
Plymouth, IN (46563)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this morning will become overcast during the afternoon. Morning high of 32F with temps falling to near 20. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 16F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 22:37:21|Editor: huaxia

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DHAKA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- The floods triggered by heavy seasonal rains and onrush of water in parts of Bangladesh has killed at least 212 since June 30, authorities said Thursday.

According to the daily flood report of the country's Health Emergency Operation Centre and Control Room on Thursday, most victims have drowned but some died in snake bites and lightning in the flood-hit areas.

Another daily disaster situation report prepared by the country's National Disaster Response Coordination Center (NDRCC) under the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief said over 5 million people have been affected by the floods while thousands of families were forced to flee home.

Local TV reports showed widespread damage to habitation, crops, roads and highways across vast swathes of the country due to the flooding.

According to the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC), water levels in different rivers of the country may rise again by the end of this month and may continue to rise till mid-September, leading to fresh flooding in some areas.

Millions of people in Bangladesh, criss-crossed by hundreds of rivers, suffer from flooding as the low-lying country experiences seasonal floods every year during the June-September monsoon when rivers that feed into the Bay of Bengal burst their banks. Enditem
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday termed the transfer of the case related to Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death to the Central Bureau of Investigation as "illegal".

Photograph: ANI Photo

He also said that the everyone, including the family of Rajput, should remain quiet for some time and let the Mumbai Police conclude their investigation in the actor's death case.

Rajput was found hanging in his Bandra apartment on June 14.

The Mumbai Police had registered an Accidental Death Report and a probe is underway in the case.

Rajput's father K K Singh had on July 25 lodged a complaint with the Bihar police against his son's rumoured girlfriend and actress Rhea Chakraborty and her family members accusing them of abetting the late actor's suicide.

The CBI recently took over investigation into the case and re-registered the Patna police FIR related to alleged criminal conspiracy and abetment to suicide against Chakraborty and her family members.

Talking to reporters, Raut said, "The incident (Rajput's death) took place in Mumbai. The FIR was filed in Patna and the Bihar government recommended a CBI probe. The Centre immediately agreed. This is illegal. The case is now technically with the CBI."

"The Mumbai Police is investigating the case and if there is anything else to probe, the CBI can do it," he said.

Raut said, "Bring Mossad and KGB too. There is nothing to hide. We are not opposing the CBI. When the Mumbai Police is already on the job, what will the CBI do?"

Law and order is a state subject, the Sena MP said, adding that the state government has filed a caveat in the apex court saying that the decision for a CBI probe was encroachment on the state's powers and federal structure.

To a question on Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar's public snub of his grandnephew Parth Pawar, who had demanded a CBI probe into the case, Raut said the former Union minister was a senior and experienced leader and there was no need for anybody to bother about his comment.

"The matter is restricted to the Pawar family and NCP. Pawar being the head, reprimanded him. When none from the party or family is commenting, why is the media bothered?" he asked.

A political comment by Parth was given a political reply, Raut said.

The NCP supremo had on Wednesday said that he attaches "absolutely no importance" to his grandnephew's demand for a CBI probe into Rajput's death and termed him as "immature".

Replying to another question, Raut said state tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray had nothing to do with the case.

"Only a section of the media is reporting like that. Unless you bring in well-known names and families, you cant create a sensation," he alleged.

"Everyone, including Sushant' family should be quiet for some time and allow the Mumbai Police carry out the probe to get justice for him," the Sena leader said.

Raut said that there was no point in the criticism that Aaditya Thackeray had no merit to head the committee that has been appointed by the Maharashtra government to recommend names for the Padma awards.

"Who will decide who has got merit or not? Aaditya is a cabinet minister," he said.
President Donald Trump with Vice President Mike Pence and Kellyanne Conway as they participate in "Kids First: Getting Americas Children Safely Back to School" event at the White House, on Aug. 12, 2020. (Doug Mills/The New York Times via Getty Images)

White House Calls on Congress to Appropriate $105 Billion to Assist Safe Reopening of Schools

The Trump administration is calling on Congress to appropriate $105 billion to provide financial assistance and incentives to help states reopen schools.

Of the $105 billion, $70 billion is intended for K-12 schools, the White House announced.

Vice President Mike Pence said that the administration is calling on Congress to authorize $105 billion to ensure that states have the resources to safely reopen schools.

We believe that we can safely reopen our schools. We know that its best for our kids. We dont want them fall behind, academically, Pence said at an open discussion at the White House on Wednesday. But also, we dont want our kids to miss out on the counseling that they receive, special needs services, as well as all the nutrition programs that are available just at our schools.

President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence as they participate in Kids First: Getting Americas Children Safely Back to School event at the White House in Washington, on Aug. 12, 2020. (Doug Mills/The New York Times-Pool/Getty Images)

The open discussion at the White House, called Kids First: Getting Americas Children Safely Back to School, was attended by Trump, Pence, counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway, Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, as well as a group of 10 parents, teachers, and health experts from across the country.

Attendees spoke in support of reopening schools and raised several concerns over the potential negative consequences of children not having the option to have in-person learning. They also talked about how best to reopen schools safely.

DeVos told attendees: Students and their families cant be held captive to other peoples fears or agendas. We have got to ensure that families and parents have options that are going to work for their child and their childrens education.

Pence said that giving the choice for parents and students wishing to return to schools for in-person learning is not just a priority for the well-being of the students, but also important for working families.

Only about 20 percent of single parents are able to telework. And so, to open up America again, weve got to open up Americas schools. To put America back to work, weve got [to put] our kids back in the classroom, he said.

Vice President Mike Pence and President Donald Trump attend the Getting Americas Children Safely Back to School event in the State Room of the White House in Washington, on Aug. 12, 2020. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)

So far, the Trump administration has provided $13 billion in federal funding that states can use under the CARES Act to support a safe reopening for K-12 education.

White House adviser Kellyanne Conway said that an official from Health and Human Services (HHS) told her that only 4 percent of the funds has been tapped into.

They can use that to help them with the temperature checks, with the testinghowever they wish to use it, Conway noted of the funding. So we would really implore those states and those local school districts to take advantage of the money that [the Trump administration] and others have already secured in a bipartisan fashion.

Overall, we know that the risk is low for kids in contracting and being hospitalized and, of course, the worst possible outcome, dying from COVID-19, Conway said. But the risk is very high if theyre locked down indefinitely.

Counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway speaks during the Getting Americas Children Safely Back to School event at the White House in Washington, on Aug. 12, 2020. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)

Addressing why the risk is very high in the case of an indefinite lockdown, Conway said, The lack of digital assets was very obvious for many of our students; the lack of nutrition; the lack of social and emotional and mental well-being and development.

But also, we heard from many school administrators and teachers: Theyre concerned because roughly one out of five child abuse cases are detected in schools. So we have to also think about all that we dont know and all that is being lost for these children by keeping them locked down indefinitely.

She pointed out that a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that about 65 percent of parents were concerned that their children will fall behind socially and emotionally if they dont return to school.

Schoolteacher Aurora Chen hands belongings left behind before schools were shut down to a student who just graduated at Yung Wing School P.S. 124 in New York City on June 29, 2020. (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

The White House said in a statement that the unintended consequences of keeping schools closed could damage our childrens education for years to come and hinder our nations economic comeback.

Cancelling in-person classes and allowing only virtual learning disproportionally harms the education of lower income children, the statement continued. During school closures in the spring, students math progress in low-income zip codes decreased by roughly 50 percent and students in middle-income zip codes fell by a third.

An analysis by consulting firm McKinsey found that if in-person classes dont resume until January 2021, Hispanic, black, and low-income students will lose 9.2, 10.3, and 12.4 months of learning, respectively.

A father helps his daughter with a new mask she received during a graduation ceremony for her Pre-K class in front of Bradford School in Jersey City, N.J., on June 10, 2020. (Seth Wenig/AP)

Later on Wednesday, Trump announced eight new White House general recommendations for the reopening of schools (pdf), as well as six recommendations to protect high-risk teachers and students.

The recommendations also give high-risk teachers and students, as well as students who live with high-risk adults, the option to choose distance education instead.

We believe many school districts can now reopen safely, provided they implement mitigation measures and health protocols to protect families, protect teachers, and to protect students, Trump said in a statement.

Trump has been calling on Congress to pass the School Choice Now Act, introduced by Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), to give families the power to choose their own education setting.

Id like to see the money follow the student, Trump said.

Were having a hard time with the Democrats, he added. They want the money to follow the union, to be honest. Its very simple: Give it to the union. But the fact isGive it to dues. Because the union people are fantastic people in there, but the people that run the union, its disgraceful, and the dues that they charge the teachers. And thats what its all about.

I would like the money to follow the student. And this way, you can make your own choice if the school is closed, Trump said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in late July released guidelines to help schools identify and protect high-risk teachers and students, prevent the spread of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, and engage in safe in-person education.

Read More CDC Releases Guidelines Strongly in Favor of School Reopenings
TDT | Manama

Bahrain Polytechnic Resources and Information Affairs deputy CEO Shaikh Ali bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa, accompanied by Academic Affairs deputy CEO Dr Reem Ahmed Albuainain, visited Bahrain Polytechnics on-campus entry test site to monitor the progress of the examination process for the academic year 2020/2021, which is being conducted virtually.

Shaikh Ali directed Bahrain Polytechnics Registry Directorate to provide all necessary facilities that would provide a suitable environment for students to enable them to submit their exams comfortably, and to cooperate in responding to all students inquiries and find solutions to any obstacles.

Dr Albuainain indicated that about 2,000 out of 4,000 applicants have conducted the entry tests in mathematics and English virtually, which are the required to enter Bahrain Polytechnic for the next academic year.
FILE PHOTO: Passengers from international flights arrive at Heathrow Airport, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), London, Britain

By William James

LONDON (Reuters) - The United Kingdom will impose a 14-day quarantine on all arrivals from France on Saturday because COVID-19 infection rates there are too high, transport minister Grant Shapps said on Thursday.

The government, wary of a second wave of the novel coronavirus, also added the Netherlands, Malta and three other countries to its quarantine list. Spain and Belgium have already been added in recent weeks.

"Data shows we need to remove France, the Netherlands, Monaco, Malta, Turks & Caicos & Aruba from our list of #coronavirus Travel Corridors to keep infection rates DOWN," Shapps said on Twitter.

"If you arrive in the UK after 0400 Saturday from these destinations, you will need to self-isolate for 14 days."

The French Foreign Ministry gave no immediate reaction.

France reported more than 2,500 new COVID-19 infections for the second day in a row on Thursday, levels last seen in mid-April when the country was in the middle of one of Europe's strictest lockdowns.

The reimposition of quarantine conditions is hitting Britons' favourite holiday destinations in the middle of summer and as the travel industry fights for survival.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said his government would be ruthless when it came to imposing fresh restrictions on arrivals because of the danger of importing fresh cases of the virus.

That approach is in contrast to earlier this year when the government was criticised for being too slow to lock down at the beginning of the pandemic when many cases are thought to have arrived from holidaymakers returning from Italy. The UK's quarantine policy began in June.

For UK holidaymakers, France is the second most-visited country behind Spain. France is the second biggest market for tourists coming into the UK, behind the United States.

(Additional reporting by Sarah Young in London and Mathieu Rosemain in Paris; editing by Kate Holton and Grant McCool)
ALONE has highlighted the need for an established and regulated home care sector in Ireland to support older people to age at home for as long as they wish.

The organisation which supports older people believes that the lack of governance within the home care sector has had an ongoing negative impact on home care workers, that has now been heightened by the Covid-19 pandemic.

They contend that change is needed to ensure that home care workers are correctly protected, paid and trained going forward.

The home care sector has suffered as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, with many home care workers losing pay during the pandemic despite the fact that the HSE agreed to pay providers who had to take time off work to self-isolate.

During the height of the pandemic, many older people cancelled their home care services to prevent coming into contact with a carrier of the virus. Some older people also chose to pause care services during this time, due to the risks incurred from care providers going from house to house.

In addition to this, many home care workers suffered a loss of income while self-isolating after coming into contact with a positive case of Covid-19, which resulted in some care workers experiencing additional financial pressure. ALONE believe that increased supports are needed for home care workers in order for them to continue the valuable service they provide.

Before the pandemic, waiting lists for Home Care supports were continuing to lengthen and in many instances, lists were not being maintained. The Home Care Coalition note that the shortfall in home care provision is resulting in delayed discharges from hospital settings and are impacting on waiting times in Accident and Emergency departments.

The Coalition is aware of and is working to support the Department of Health in the development of a statutory scheme to be introduced in 2021, however, the current pandemic will not grant this time and action is needed now. A home care packages allocation needs to be transparent while observing the allotment of hours required to provide an older person with an adequate and quality service.

ALONE believe that there needs to be a greater variety of practical supports available to older people in order to allow them to live independently at home. Many older people require the traditional home-help with household tasks such as preparing meals, housework and grocery shopping in order to stay living at home and remain independent. However, ALONE have found that for many people, the issue is that home care solely relates to personal care and does not extend to practical household services. Auxiliary support services such as Meals On Wheels have also been scaled back due to governance requirements on small groups.

Although many older people have now reinstated their home care services, there are still individuals who have found themselves without home care services and are not receiving an adequate level of support. ALONE have been in touch with many older people regarding issues with home care, and the organisations support line has received a number of calls from older people in relation to lapses in home care services. An older lady named Jane*, who has now enlisted the help of ALONE, had the same carer for 12 years but had her pulled at the start of the pandemic; the carer is yet to be reinstated. Jane is really missing her carer and finding it difficult both on a social and practical level not having her call in daily.

Sean Moynihan, CEO of ALONE, said, Quite a few of our older people put their Home Support on hold at the height of lockdown due to fears of infection, or because they had family members available to provide the care. Since then, most requests for reinstatement have been successful, but there are still a number of older people who are struggling without the right level of support.

In order to rectify this, we are encouraging Government to establish a regulated home care sector to ensure that every older person is receiving the necessary levels of support to age at home safely and securely.

There are recurring issues with the lack of hours and type of assistance offered by HSE, and often the success of the application for home support depends on the Public Health Nurse in some areas. We owe it to our older people to provide them with a consistent level of high-quality service which is tailored to their specific needs in order for them to flourish independently in their own homes, he continued.

Since March, ALONEs Support Line has received in excess of 29,515 calls for support. ALONE staff and volunteers have made more than 155,267 calls to older people who needed support, and provided more than 23,104 units of practical support, including collecting groceries and prescriptions. ALONE is providing ongoing support to more than 14,183 older people who require support for difficulties with loneliness, health, finance, housing, accessing services, Covid-19 and other challenges.

ALONE is encouraging older people who need advice to call ALONE on, 0818 222 024 from 8am-8pm, seven days a week. Contact ALONE on 0818 222 024 if you have concerns about your wellbeing, or the wellbeing of an older person you know. Further information can be found on alone.ie.
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MARIGOT:---The health situation on the island is becoming increasingly worrying. The ARS currently lists 41 active cases since July 17, as much as in the period from March 1 to May 29 Sint Maarten registers 129 active cases over the same period of time.

The very large increase in COVID-19 cases on the island reminds us that the virus is present and is circulating. One death registered on the French side and two on the Dutch side in less than two weeks.

The screening campaign in partnership with Red Cross continues. It's important to continue being screened with or without symptoms. In this context, 653 samples were carried out on volunteers for a total of 2858 tests since the beginning of the epidemic.

Movement restriction measures can be implemented to combat the epidemic.

The new conditions of entry into Saint Martin since Sint Maarten established on July 31, 2020, aim to control the epidemic. However, cross-border travel without compelling professional or health grounds remains numerous. This behavior must stop. As a reminder, the return on French is only possible upon presentation of a certificate issued by the Prefecture or a form C issued by the Government of Sint Maarten or the KPSM. Any offender will be rebuked.

In order to stem the spread of the virus on our island, more restrictive measures could be implemented in the coming weeks. Inter-island travels (to Guadeloupe and Martinique) may be subject to compelling reasons and a negative PCR test carried out 72 hours before departure. People gatherings, already limited, could be further reduced.

The implementation of these measures depends on the evolution of the number of cases. Thus, the greatest vigilance must be observed by the entire population. We remind you that respect for barrier gestures and wearing masks are essential in the fight against the virus.

The goal is to avoid reaching the capacity limits of our healthcare system.

Population health is the only argument that must guide our decisions.
Added that young black men were 'hugely tangled up' in criminal justice system

Dame Cressida said allegations were not 'helpful' labels for the force

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick has denied that her force is institutionally racist, stating it adopts a zero tolerance approach to the issue.

Britain's most senior police officer told Channel 4 News today that allegations around racism in the Met were not 'helpful' labels for the force.

Meanwhile, on the issue of racism, Dame Cressida said: 'We have zero tolerance of racist behaviour within the Met. Just last week somebody was sacked for racist conduct. And everybody knows that is the case.

'We embraced the challenge, if you like, that was set for us 20 years ago by Sir William Macpherson in the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry in which he came up with a definition of institutional racism.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick has denied that her force is institutionally racist, stating it adopts a zero tolerance approach to the issue

'I was the person charged with implementing the recommendations and I'm very proud of what we did. I think we've come a very, very, very long way.'

The police chief said she regularly looked for signs of bias in the way the force operated, and that she was 'horrified' to discover that black, Asian and minority ethnic staff in the Met were twice as likely to find themselves in a misconduct process.

Meanwhile, Dame Cressida said she also cared 'deeply' about the investigation into Mr Lawrence's death.

The 18-year-old was murdered by racists in Eltham, south east London in April 1993.

Dame Cressida said she also cared 'deeply' about the investigation into Mr Lawrence's death, and the case would continue to be reviewed every two years for new evidence

Two of the 18-year-old's killers, Gary Dobson and David Norris, were jailed for murder in 2012, but three remain at large.

She said the investigation would be reviewed every two years to see if there was any further evidence to pursue.

'I don't want to hold out false hopes, but it seems to me extremely likely if you look forward, that at some stage we will not be in an inactive phase (of the investigation),' Dame Cressida said.

On the issue of police stop and search, she said young black men were 'hugely disproportionately stabbed and killed' and 'hugely tangled up' in the criminal justice system.

On the issue of police stop and search, she said young black men were 'hugely disproportionately stabbed and killed' and 'hugely tangled up' in the criminal justice system. Pictured: Dame Cressida with Doreen Lawrence

She said police carry out stop and searches in high violence areas to ensure knives were taken off the street, with 4,500 weapons removed last year.

During the wide-ranging interview, Dame Cressida was also asked about the investigation surrounding American paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and the Duke of York's alleged involvement in the case.

She said the focus of the investigation was 'clearly' in America, but added the Met would assist US authorities should it be required 'at any stage'.

'The locus and focus of any investigation in relation to Jeffrey Epstein for example is clearly in America,' she said.

'If the Americans need our assistance at any stage, then we will give them that.'

Epstein killed himself last August before facing trial on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.

One of Epstein's victims, Virginia Giuffre, who claims she was trafficked by the financier, alleges Andrew had sex with her on three separate occasions, including when she was 17, still a minor under US law.

The duke categorically denies he had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Ms Giuffre.

The interview was due to be aired at 7pm on Channel 4 News.
Zimbabwe says there is no political crisis in the country contrary to some remarks by opposition parties, civic society organizations and several members of the ruling African National Congress of South Africa.

In a statement to set the record straight, Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said Zimbabweans should also note that South African envoys  Dr. Sydney Mufamadi, Baleka Mbete and Advocate Ngoako Ramatlhodi  sent to the country last Monday by President Cyril Ramaphosa were President Emmerson Mnangagwas guests.

These envoys were sent by His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa to his counterpart, His Excellency, President ED Mnangagwa. This was at the peer to peer level of brotherly Heads of State of two sister nations that enjoy excellent diplomatic bilateral relations. The envoys brought in their message which was duly delivered to the host President. In return they received a briefing from President ED Mnangagwa. The reciprocal messages are the property of the respective leaders and it is their prerogative as to how they can be handled or disseminated.

It important that we refute press claims of a crisis in Zimbabwe. Crisis in diplomacy has specific and defined circumstances if that go beyond day to day banter. It is common knowledge that there is no Zimbabwean issue before the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security. Neither is there one such issue before the SADC Summit. Definitely there is no such issue before the continental body, the African Union.

Mutsvangwa said remarks attributed to the opposition and some members of the ANC that there is a crisis in Zimbabwe are misleading.

South African domestic politics can be alllowed to be spirited. Even then neither comments from some figures in the ruling party nor irate remarks from its opposition ranks should be taken as the basis of creating perceptions or attributions of crisis in other nations. All said there is no crisis in Zimbabwe which needs external intervention under established international treaties and conventions.

She said the disgruntled opposition was causing havoc in the country following the 2018 harmonized elections won by Zanu PF.

The position of Zimbabwe is that there is a domestic opposition which lost elections in 2018. Prior to voting day it had threatened then declared that it will not accept any result other than that which declared them winners. Otherwise they were going to ensure that the country is ungovernable. All subsequent events thereafter are a manifestation of this threat.

The subjective opinions be they from third part political entities, diplomatic circles are not the proper guide in the conduct of diplomacy among sovereignty and friendly nations.

However, the opposition MDC Alliance, many civic society organizations and individuals are crying foul over alleged human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. They claim that people are being arbitrarily arrested following an anti-corruption protest, which was blocked by state security agents on July 31.

ANC members  Lindiwe Zulu, Acie Magashule and others  maintain that there is a crisis in Zimbabwe as most of its citizens have been reduced to beggars and laborers in South Africa due to difficult social, economic and political situation back home.
Announcement of Periodic Review: Moody's announces completion of a periodic review of ratings of Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC

Global Credit Research - 13 Aug 2020

Limassol, August 13, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") has completed a periodic review of the ratings of Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC and other ratings that are associated with the same analytical unit. The review was conducted through a portfolio review in which Moody's reassessed the appropriateness of the ratings in the context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. The review did not involve a rating committee. Since 1 January 2019, Moody's practice has been to issue a press release following each periodic review to announce its completion.

This publication does not announce a credit rating action and is not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is likely in the near future. Credit ratings and outlook/review status cannot be changed in a portfolio review and hence are not impacted by this announcement. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history.

Key rating considerations are summarized below.

Dubai Islamic Bank's (DIB) A3 long-term Issuer ratings are derived from the bank's ba2 standalone baseline credit assessment (BCA) and a five notch systemic support uplift based on Moody's view of a very high likelihood of government support from United Arab Emirates (rated Aa2), in case of need.

DIB's ba2 BCA reflects the bank's solid profitability, deposit-funded balance sheet, and healthy liquidity reserves. These strengths are moderated by Moody's expectation of downside pressure on the bank's solvency in the 12-18 months on the back of lower oil prices, reduced investor confidence and the coronavirus-induced disruption.

Story continues

This document summarizes Moody's view as of the publication date and will not be updated until the next periodic review announcement, which will incorporate material changes in credit circumstances (if any) during the intervening period.

The principal methodology used for this review was Banks Methodology published in November 2019. Please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.

This announcement applies only to EU rated and EU endorsed ratings. Non EU rated and non EU endorsed ratings may be referenced above to the extent necessary, if they are part of the same analytical unit.

This publication does not announce a credit rating action. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history.

Constantinos Kypreos Senior Vice President Financial Institutions Group Moody's Investors Service Cyprus Ltd. Porto Bello Building 1, Siafi Street, 3042 Limassol PO Box 53205 Limassol CY 3301 Cyprus JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454 Sean Marion MD - Financial Institutions Financial Institutions Group JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454 Releasing Office: Moody's Investors Service Cyprus Ltd. Porto Bello Building 1, Siafi Street, 3042 Limassol PO Box 53205 Limassol CY 3301 Cyprus JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454

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Despite tourism bringing in $80.3 billion dollars in visitor spending in 2018, second only to oil, the Texas Economic Development and Tourism Office has reported an 86 percent drop this year, resulting from the novel coronavirus. While the global travel industry is experiencing more than 500,000 industry-wide furloughs and layoffs, the Beaumont CVB is going all in, betting on themselves by adding key personnel with three new hires this month. "The audience and messaging may have changed, but interest hasn't feigned, and tourism is still one of our largest economic drivers. We need to strike while the iron is hot," Lokey continues.

Monitz, a Chicago native and Denver resident for 10+ years, had never lived anywhere that was not within 40 minutes of a major airport. And yet last month, she packed up everything and moved to Beaumont, a small town in Southeast Texas. "I see this as an opportunity to bring a fresh perspective, build upon the attractions and blueprint that's already in place, and create events that show the community and visitors the area through new eyes. I know they're open to crazy, out of the box ideas to showcase their unique Cajun-Texan culture." Monitz said.

In a time that has dramatically changed the tourism industry, small-town southern hospitality means something, and people are looking for a less crowded, more off-the-grid getaway. "I felt like a part of the community after just one visit," Monitz said. "It is going to take some time getting used to, but I am up for the challenge and excited to start this new chapter as a Texan."

SOURCE City of Beaumont - CVB
Instead of returning to normal after the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada should adopt a health-care system that focuses on prevention and the social determinants of health. Credit: Pixabay, Canva

COVID-19 has placed a spotlight on the inequities of Canada's current "curative" health-care system and the problems associated with viewing health policy in isolation from social factors.

Post-COVID, we should not "go back to normal." Instead, we should push for a health-care system that values prevention and acknowledges that all policy is health policy.

We need to ensure that we address all factors that can produce and maintain health, not just help people once they're sick. To best address population health, there needs to be a balance between preventive and curative measures, equitable access to social services, policies that emphasize the social determinants of health and a move away from the "sickness care system."

What was normal? Curative health care

The curative approach to health care focuses on curing and treating the individual once they have been diagnosed with an ailment. The Canada Health Act defines "health" narrowly, and only ensures that "medically necessary" services are provided.

Aside from being reactive, there is no firm definition of what constitutes a medically necessary service, and what is deemed medically necessary can change depending on the context in which it is provided. Services deemed not medically necessary include prescription medications, optometry, dental care and physiotherapy, among others. Even further removed from the medically necessary definition are social determinants of health, including safe housing, income security and an adequate social safety net.

With the curative approach it's impossible to have a population that is well, since that was never the goal of the system. There is also an argument that the curative approach to health care does more harm than good, as evidenced by medical errors, negative pharmaceutical interactions and the medicalization of everyday life experiences.

The curative approach focuses on disease in the individual, rather than looking at social aspects and proximate factors that may impact the disease. Now, with COVID-19, there is no cure for the disease and so the curative approach already falls short.

Where normal failed

The advice given to the Canadian public as the best way to stop the spread of COVID-19 is to stay home whenever possible, and wash their hands frequently. Although this may sound like good advice, it cannot be practiced by all Canadians equally.

Social determinants of health include things like gender, race, education, childhood experiences, physical environment, employment, income, healthy habits, access to medical care and social supports. Credit: Pixabay, Canva

Canadians are told to stay home as much as possible. But what if they don't have a home? Do they take a chance on a homeless shelter, where overcrowding is inevitable? Although on the surface, this may seem like a housing policy issue, a labor policy issue or an economic policy issue, it is truly a public health policy issue.

The privilege of owning a home is highlighted by the federal government, which allowed for mortgage payments to be deferred for eligible homeowners while no similar policy was put in place to defer rent payments. Instead, that decision is left to the individual landlords, and negatively impacts those with a lower socioeconomic status.

Further, access to clean water is not available to all Canadians, as 61 Indigenous communities across the country are under boil-water advisories. Evidently, access to social determinants of health are not equally distributed.

At the federal level, short-term financial measures have been put in place to help Canadians stay afloat, such as the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). With more than three million Canadians out of work, COVID-19 has highlighted how precariously many Canadians were living.

While these economic efforts may be useful right now, they're merely Band-Aid solutions that are unlikely to have any lasting impact on the social determinants of health. Like the curative health system, they are reactive, not proactive; curative, not preventive. That means many of the factors that contribute to the spread of COVID-19 cannot be effectively managed because there's no adequate social safety net in place.

Creating a new normal

When health and economic systems are in disarray, there's no better time to reconstruct from the bottom up. There is no doubt that a preventive approach to health care would not only lead to a healthier population and more equitable access to social services, it would also be less expensive than our current system in the long term.

As the largest chunk of GDP is spent on health care, shifting money to other policy areas that influence the social determinants of health will require major restructuring. Because we have a federal health system, change often occurs slowly and large-scale reform rarely occurs at all. This is demonstrated by Canada's lack of a national pharmacare program, mental health strategy and national home-care program, despite them all having been discussed for the last several decades.

In response to COVID-19, every Canadian province declared a state of emergency, and so it wasn't deemed necessary by the federal government to invoke the Emergencies Act. However, invoking the act may have been an opportune time to expand the definition of medically necessary services and pass sweeping health reform measures, such as national health programs, without pushback from the provinces.

Health policy should be all-encompassing and consider the bidirectional relationship between upstream (preventive) and downstream (curative) measures, and it should be analyzed in the context of social determinants of health, including gender, race, education and socioeconomic factors.

Canada should seize the opportunity for collaboration between the provinces and among government, private sector and community groups. Now is the time for integrative policies over reactive measures; public programs over privatization; and embracing preventive measures to avert illness. Now is the time for change. We should never go back to "normal."

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Linkedin Ardila Syakriah and Sausan Atika (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, August 14 2020

Jakarta is reaching a critical point in its fight against COVID-19 as it sees rising hospitalization of COVID-19 patients, prompting concerns that it would have to increase its healthcare capacity and reimpose stricter curbs.

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said in a press release on Thursday that 65 percent of 4,456 isolation beds and 67 percent of 483 intensive care unit (ICU) beds designated for COVID-19 patients were now occupied.

In the past two weeks, there has been a trend of increasing isolation and ICU room [occupation] in Jakarta. [...] The [occupancy rates] have varied over a month, ranging from 40 to 50 percent in July, Anies said.

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A new report by an election observer group, YIAGA Africa, has highlighted some challenges as well as vices that marred Saturdays bye-election into the Nasarawa State House of Assembly.

These challenges, it said, could affect the coming governorship election in Edo State if ignored.

The bye-election, according to the report, underscores the complexity of safeguarding public health and electoral integrity.

Nigerias electoral umpire, INEC, conducted the bye-election on Saturday in Nasarawa Central following the death of the member representing Nasarawa Central constituency at the state House of Assembly, Suleiman Adamu (APC), on April 30.

It was conducted in 44 polling units across seven wards in Nasarawa Local Government Area (LGA) with a total of 71,919 registered voters.

The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ismail Danbaba, won the election. He scored 7,475 to defeat Bage Nuhu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who got 4,608 votes.

The report

YIAGA Africa said despite low voter turnout, technological challenges, and non-compliance with some public health guidelines, the election was peaceful with no incident of violence and security agencies maintained professional conduct throughout the election.

The voters were commended for participating despite the logistical hiccups that resulted in the late commencement of voting in several polling units and the risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

While INEC took some measures to follow COVID-19 health guidelines including providing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) like face masks, hand gloves, thermometer for temperature checks and hand sanitisers at all observed polling units and sanitising all voters fingers before reading their fingerprints with the Smart Card Reader, INEC experienced challenges maintaining physical distance between voters and ensuring that all voters wore face masks/coverings while at the polls.

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In addition to massive vote buying, political parties provided facemasks and handwashing equipment at the polling units to lure voters to cast their votes.

It is evident that INEC and other health institutions will need to take measures based on lessons learned from this election to guarantee the enforcement of health safety guidelines during subsequent elections amidst COVID-19, particularly for the upcoming off-cycle governorship elections in Edo and Ondo, part of the report read.

The group said while electoral technology can enhance electoral transparency, it also has the potential to undermine the credibility of elections and decrease voter participation if the tools and systems are not tested, verified and deployed in line with Open Election Data principles coupled with adequate public sensitisation on their functionality and efficiency.

Also, electoral technology such as the Smart Card Readers and electronic tablets may also disenfranchise voters and trigger violence if they do not function properly or polling officials are not adequately trained on how to operate them.

Major Findings

* The report said there was transparency in the transmission of results and public access to polling units results improved with the introduction of the INEC Results Viewing (IReV) platform.

This innovation enhanced the transparency of the process as polling officials uploaded images of polling unit level results onto the portal. As of 4 pm on election day, results from two polling units were uploaded for public viewing. By 10:20 pm, results from all of the 44 polling units were uploaded onto the platform.

But Yiaga Africa observed some polling officials breached this guideline and uploaded the images at the ward collation center and some polling officials alluded to inadequate training on Android tablet usage.

The group reported delays in the commencement of accreditation and voting in several polling units due to the failure of the newly introduced tablets to recapture voters facial identity.

According to the report, with the closure of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic, polling officials encountered difficulty in securing tables and chairs for polling units set up resulting in delays despite the early arrival of polling officials.

 Political parties, candidates, and politicians still engaged in and abetted vote-buying in the full glare of the public and security personnel.

The secrecy of the ballot was severely compromised by party agents who interfered with the voting process and engaged in vote-buying and voting by proxy. Votes traded between N500 and N1,000 across polling units observed, especially in PU 004, UNG Mallam, PU 005, and PU 006 Angwan Dutse.

* There was non-compliance with health safety guidelines by polling officials and voters. And voters were allowed into the inner queue without facemasks and physical distancing in all polling units.

* There was low voter turnout and Yiaga Africa observers observed a high turnout of women voters compared to male voters in the polling units visited.

Recommendations

Recommendations were made for INEC, the National Assembly and security agencies.

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The group urged INEC to collaborate with security agencies to enforce all health safety guidelines particularly those regarding wearing of facemasks/covering and maintaining physical distance between voters.

It also said INEC should ensure technological tools and devices are configured, tested, and fully charged before deployment on election day. Polling officials should be adequately trained on new technological tools ahead of election day to ensure effective management of elections.

INEC should scale the INEC Results Viewing (IReV) portal to all subsequent elections. In doing so, the Commission should ensure election results conform to open election data principles such as timeliness, granularity, analysable, accessible etc.

Maintain regular engagement with stakeholders and share adequate information on new policies and guidelines ahead of election day. And continue to review its voting processes to allow voters to cast ballots without interference and intimidation

INEC should also liaise with state governments and school authorities to ensure access to tables and chairs in schools to facilitate polling unit set up during elections.

Yiaga Africa urged the National Assembly to accelerate the consideration of electoral amendment bills and ensure their quick passage. This, it said, will confer legality on laudable innovations introduced by INEC and upscale the electoral results viewing to an election results collation and transmission portal.

Security agencies were tasked to support INEC in enforcing COVID-19 safety guidelines during elections as well as arrest individuals involved in vote trading and disruptive behavior during elections. And also maintain professionalism and impartiality in managing election security.

The bye-election signals a leap in our quest to ensure transparency of election results management. Yiaga Africa is concerned with the challenges of conducting a governorship election while adhering to the COVID-19 guidelines.

Clearly, the Nasarawa bye-election underscores the complexity of conducting elections amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. INEC must ensure effective enforcement of all COVID-19 guidelines ahead of and during the upcoming off-cycle governorship elections in Edo and Ondo. Achieving this will require the support and collaboration of all stakeholders, especially the voters, political parties, and their supporters.
President Donald Trump said in a surprise announcement Thursday that Israel and the United Arab Emirates had agreed to normalize relations and that, as part of the deal, Israel would not annex parts of the West Bank it currently occupies.

"Israel and the United Arab Emirates will fully normalize their diplomatic relations," Trump said, surrounded by aides in the Oval Office. "They will exchange embassies and ambassadors and begin cooperation across the board and on a broad range of areas including tourism, education, healthcare, trade and security."

In a joint statement, Trump, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the UAE's ruler, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, said that the "historic diplomatic breakthrough will advance peace in the Middle East region."

PHOTO: This combination of pictures shows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem and Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed. (AFP via Getty Images)

Delegations from Israel and the UAE "will meet in the coming weeks to sign bilateral agreements regarding investment, tourism, direct flights, security, telecommunications, technology, energy, healthcare, culture, the environment, the establishment of reciprocal embassies, and other areas of mutual benefit," the leaders said in the statement, released Thursday morning.

"Now that the ice has been broken, I expect more Arab and Muslim countries will follow the United Arab Emirates' lead," Trump said.

While the president lauded the deal as a "peace agreement," the UAE stopped short of using that terminology and instead emphasized the fact that Israel had committed to not annex parts of the West Bank. Netanyahu had been contemplating doing so in recent months, using a peace proposal released by the White House earlier this year to support the move -- which had drawn condemnation across the world.

MORE: President Trump unveils Middle East peace plan embraced by Israel, rejected by Palestinians

In his first comment on the agreement, Prince Mohammed wrote on Twitter that "an agreement was reached to stop further Israeli annexation of Palestinian territories."

Story continues

"The UAE and Israel also agreed to cooperation and setting a roadmap towards establishing a bilateral relationship," the crown prince added.

PHOTO: President Donald Trump smiles in the Oval Office at the White House, Aug. 13, 2020. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

But later Thursday, Netanyahu referred to Israel's annexation plans as temporarily paused. Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner declined to say what "temporary" meant.

"Somewhere between a long time and a short time," Kushner, whom the president had tasked with solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said, when asked by a reporter at the White House.

Israel has formal diplomatic ties with just two other Arab countries, Egypt and Jordan, with which it signed peace treaties in 1979 and 1994, respectively.

But it has also come to cooperate in recent years with Gulf Arab states, including the UAE -- unofficially -- in large part on security matters related to what they view as a shared enemy in Iran.

Palestinian leaders, meanwhile, have pushed Arab and Muslim states to hold off normalizing ties with Israel until the Jewish state resolves its conflict with the Palestinian people. They called Thursday's announcement a "betrayal" by the UAE.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called an emergency meeting to discuss the announcement, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

PHOTO: President Donald Trump welcomes Crown Prince Shaikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan of United Arab Emirates, for a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, on May 15, 2017 in Washington, D.C. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images, FILE)

A spokesman for Abbas, Nabil Abu Rdeneh, said that the agreement amounted to "treason" and that it should be retracted, according to the Associated Press. Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, said the deal was a stabbing in the back of our people," according to the AP.

Trump's top national security adviser, Robert O'Brien, said the president "has not forgotten" the Palestinians, but Kushner said "a lot of people in the region are seeing that we can't wait for the Palestinian leadership to try and resolve this."

"Every country is going to do what's in their best interest, whats in the region's best interest, and we have big problems in the world and we can't be stuck in the past," Kushner said. "We have to be moving forward."

In their joint statement Thursday, Trump, Netanyahu and Prince Mohammed said Israel and the UAE would "immediately expand and accelerate cooperation regarding the treatment of and the development of a vaccine for the coronavirus."

MORE: Timing of Mideast peace plan rollout appears designed to contrast with impeachment trial: ANALYSIS

At the White House, Trump called the agreement "historic" and said it would be called the Abraham Accord, which the U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, explained was intended to signal "the potential for unity" among Muslims, Jews and Christians.

"I wanted it to be called the Donald J. Trump Accord, but I didn't think the press would understand that, Trump said to laughter from his aides. "So, I didn't do that."

Asked if he supported Israel annexing Palestinian land, Trump said "we're talking to Israel about that right now," without elaborating. Later, asked during a news conference how long Israel would suspend its annexation plan, Trump deferred to Friedman, who was sitting nearby.

"How long that takes, I can't tell you, but thats -- we prioritize peace over the sovereignty movement," he said. "But it's not off the table, it's just something that will be deferred until we give peace every single chance.

Trump promised "an official signing at the White House over the next few weeks," later saying he thought it would happen within three weeks.

Such a ceremony, if it happened, would come just a couple months before the Nov. 3 vote in which Americans render a verdict on whether Trump should have a second term as president.

Trump has long pitched himself as a dealmaker, but in three and a half years as president has overseen few major international agreements.

His proposal for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, which he unveiled in January, was immediately rejected by the Palestinians and has yet to produce any movement.

On Thursday, Kushner, who oversaw the development of that plan, said he did not know when such a deal could be reached.

"I don't know if it will happen tomorrow," Kushner said. "I dont know if itll happen next month. I dont know if itll happen next year. But at some point, we always learn with deals that theres a thing called gravity."

But announcing the Israel-UAE agreement, Trump's aides lavished him with praise.

"It wouldn't surprise me if the President is eventually nominated for a Nobel Prize," the president's top national security adviser, Robert O'Brien, told reporters Thursday. "Today's work is an example of why he would be rightly considered and should be a front-runner for the Nobel Peace Prize."

ABC News' Nasser Atta contributed reporting from Jerusalem.

Israel, UAE agree to normalize ties in what Trump calls 'historic' agreement originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Scholars, faith leaders sign Philadelphia Statement supporting civil debate, rejecting 'cancel culture'

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A group of scholars and faith leaders, including prominent Southern Baptists like Albert Mohler and Russell Moore, have signed a statement supporting discourse and opposing cancel culture.

Known as the Philadelphia Statement and made public Tuesday, dozens of individuals from different religious and academic backgrounds have signed the declaration.

The statement denounces the existence of social media mobs, cancel culture, and campus speech policing as a threat to the freedom of expression and overall public discourse.

Truly open discoursethe debates, exchange of ideas, and arguments on which the health and flourishing of a democratic republic crucially dependis increasingly rare, reads the statement.

If we seek a brighter future, we must relearn a fundamental truth: Our liberty and our happiness depend upon the maintenance of a public culture in which freedom and civility coexistwhere people can disagree robustly, even fiercely, yet treat each other as human beingsand, indeed, as fellow citizensnot mortal enemies.

It warns that any society which allows people to be shamed or intimidated into self-censorship of their ideas and considered judgments will not survive for long.

As Americans, we desire a flourishing, open marketplace of ideas, knowing that it is the fairest and most effective way to separate falsehood from truth.

Accordingly, dissenting and unpopular voicesbe they of the left or the rightmust be afforded the opportunity to be heard. They have often guided our society toward more just positions, which is why Frederick Douglass said freedom of speech is the great moral renovator of society and government.

Signatories include Russell Moore, president of the SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission; Albert Mohler Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky; Ayaan Hirsi Ali, research fellow at the Hoover Institution and founder of the AHA Foundation; Robert P. George, professor of jurisprudence at Princeton University; Robert Shibley, executive director of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education; Rabbi Pesach Lerner, president of the Coalition for Jewish Values; and Nina Shea, director of the Center for Religious Freedom at the Hudson Institute, among others.

According to Merriam-Webster, cancel culture is aimed at boycotting or demanding the censorship of another person, usually a public figure, for past controversial statements or actions.

The dictionary website traces the term back to the #MeToo movement and African-American twitter users, who wanted to cut support to celebrities who had committed past wrongs.

There is a performative aspect to canceling, one that (it could be argued) paradoxically amplifies that which it seeks to squelch, if only for the moment, notes the dictionary website.

To cancel someone publicly often requires broadcasting that act, which then makes the target of ones canceling a subject of attention. The objective behind canceling is often to deny that attention, so that the person loses cultural cachet.

In July, Harpers Magazine published an open letter signed by over 150 writers, journalists, academics, and other public figures denouncing modern curbs on free speech.

Titled A Letter on Justice and Open Debate, notable signatories included Gloria Steinem, Noam Chomsky, J.K. Rowling, Malcolm Gladwell, and Margaret Atwood.

The way to defeat bad ideas is by exposure, argument, and persuasion, not by trying to silence or wish them away. We refuse any false choice between justice and freedom, which cannot exist without each other, stated the letter.

We need to preserve the possibility of good-faith disagreement without dire professional consequences. If we wont defend the very thing on which our work depends, we shouldnt expect the public or the state to defend it for us."
Respected actor Don Hany (East West 101, Offspring) is about to appear on Neighbours in a classic soap switcheroo, replacing Tim Robards in the role of billionaire businessman Pierce Greyson.

Robards was due to scheduled to finish filming with the show in Melbourne next month. But due to COVID-19 regulations and travel restrictions, he has wrapped early to return to Sydney to be with his wife, Anna Heinrich, as they prepare for the arrival of their first child.

Hany will assume the character for his final weeks on air.

Tim Robards final episode will air on Monday, 19 October with Hany to become Pierce from Friday, 23 October.

Tim Robards said: I would like to thank the amazing cast, crew, Fremantle and Network 10 for the incredible opportunity to play Pierce Greyson. I have absolutely loved my time on the show and will miss it immensely.

I made the gut wrenching decision to depart Neighbours early as my responsibilities as a husband and father have to take precedence. If Ive learnt anything in this pandemic its that the health and wellbeing of my family has to come first.

Don Hany said: Im thrilled to have been invited to be part of a show that is part of Australian television history. Ive never done the show before, so its all new and Im so happy to be here.

Its a testament to the resilience of Neighbours that its still running at a time like this.

Executive Producer, Jason Herbison said: With COVID-19 restrictions continuing to limit movement and with the risk of Tim potentially not being able to travel, we all felt that in these astonishing times, Tim should return home to Sydney to be with his wife Anna ahead of the impending birth of their first child.

We thank Tim for his passion for Neighbours and wish him and Anna every happiness as they embark on parenthood.

Its not the first time Neighbours has seen roles replaced temporarily including Michala Banas replacing Kym Valentine in the role of Libby, and various other recasting for the roles of Scott Robinson, Lucy Robinson, Jack Scully amongst others.
Uganda today was hit by a nationwide power outage whose cause is not yet known, the state-run power generation company said.

The Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) said in a statement that investigations are underway to determine the cause of the power blackout.

We are experiencing a nationwide total blackout. Investigations are ongoing to determine the cause and restore as fast as possible, said the statement.

Umeme Limited, the countrys main electricity distribution company, said it is working with other stakeholders to restore power supply in the East African country.

We are working with UETCL and all stakeholders to have power restored as soon as possible. All inconveniences caused are regretted, it said in a tweet.

The country has lately been experiencing nationwide power outages, with the recent being on June 21.

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WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Thursday rebuffed the Republican Party and allowed a consent decree to go forward so that Rhode Island voters during the coronavirus pandemic could cast mail-in ballots without in-person witness verification.

It was the first time the justices had agreed to a pandemic-related voter relief effort. But they explained in a short, unsigned order that state officials had agreed to relax the rules, and the change already had been implemented during the June primary.

Unlike "similar cases where a state defends its own law, here the state election officials support the challenged decree, and no state official has expressed opposition," the order said. "Under these circumstances, the applicants lack a cognizable interest in the state's ability to enforce its duly enacted laws."

The vote was not announced, but Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch noted that they would have granted the stay requested by the Republican National Committee and the state Republican Party.

Thursday's ruling comes as President Donald Trump, who is trailing his Democratic challenger in nationwide polls, continues to impugn mail-in voting. He and his political allies have said it is susceptible to large-scale fraud, though there is scant evidence to suggest that is true.

Throughout the coronavirus crisis, when dealing with cases involving voting, prison conditions and gatherings such as religious services, the court has consistently sided with local officials rather than those who sought court relief.

Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. laid out his reasoning for that in one of the cases brought by a church objecting to California's pandemic restrictions.

Local officials "should not be subject to second-guessing by an 'unelected federal judiciary,' which lacks the background, competence, and expertise to assess public health and is not accountable to the people," he wrote, quoting a court precedent.

Rhode Island requires voters mailing their ballots to sign them in front of two witnesses or a notary. But Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo suspended that requirement for the June primary because of worries that it would expose voters to the virus.

This summer, the legislature failed to reach agreement on a bill that would extend that accommodation to elections in September and November. Groups including Common Cause, the League of Women Voters and the American Civil Liberties Union sued, and state officials agreed in a consent decree not to enforce the witness requirement.

Then Republicans sued. They said the state had a history of fraud involving mail-in voting, and that state officials must use the political, not judicial, process to make changes.

"The problems with federal courts enjoining valid state laws on the eve of elections do not go away just because some state defendants like the injunction," wrote Thomas McCarthy, a lawyer for the Republicans. "A federal court has no power to enter a consent judgment that enjoins a state law unless that law is likely unconstitutional."

The Republican request to the Supreme Court came after a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit denied the GOP's challenge to U.S. District Court Judge Mary McElroy's decision to allow the consent decree.

"The consent decree reflects the considered judgment of Rhode Island election officials that, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, voters should not have to face a choice between their health and their fundamental right to vote," the groups suing for the change told the Supreme Court.

Since the witness requirement was not used in the June primary, the Supreme Court's order said, "many Rhode Island voters may well" believe it is not required for future elections.

John Marion, executive director, Common Cause Rhode Island, said the organization is "thrilled that the Supreme Court agreed not to stay the consent decree. Because of this order hundreds of thousands of Rhode Island voters will be able to safely cast their ballots without risking their health."

The case is Republican National Committee v. Common Cause.

Rhode Island is one of two states with such extensive witness requirements. The other is Alabama. The Supreme Court put on hold a judicial order granting similar relief in that state, where state officials had defended its need.
Slamming the Centre over the draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) 2020, Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi on August 13 said the government must stop dismantling Indias environmental regulations.

The draft EIA notification, which involves the procedure of issuing environmental clearances to various projects, was issued by the Environment Ministry in March and public suggestions were invited.

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. The draft EIAs critics claim it rewards environmental offenders, puts short-term profits of big business over interests of future generations and limits public participation in environmental decision-making.

Also read: Opinion | Scrapping EIA 2020 not enough to save India

In an article published in The Hindu, Gandhi has urged the central government to withdraw the draft EIA 2020 notification. What is essential is widespread public consultation to shape a national agenda that will place India at the forefront of the battle against global warming and pandemics, Gandhi said.

Terming the draft EIA as disastrous, Gandhi said the novel coronavirus pandemic should have made the government reflect and reconsider its environmental and public health governance. However, she said, the Environment Ministry is handing out clearances during the lockdown without proper public consultations.

Gandhi said that among other provisions of the draft EIA, giving a clean chit to polluters violating environmental regulations through ex-post-facto approvals will unleash unprecedented devastation on our environment.

Also read: Rahul Gandhi says EIA draft must be withdrawn to stop 'loot of the nation'

In the scathing piece, Gandhi said that it was apparent that a Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party government would be destructive to Indias environment going by Mr. Modis track record in Gujarat as Chief Minister.

During the 2014 election campaign, Mr. Modi slandered the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government and the Environment Ministry for being an impediment to the nations growth, she added. But, she said, From the very start, the government has desperately sought to project an image of Ease of Doing Business to the world, mindless of consequences. It formed multiple committees, diluted laws and regulations across the board, and opened up vast tracts of forest land to a select few in the private sector.

On August 10, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar had said, "We have received thousands of suggestions which we welcome. We will consider those suggestions. Then take a call and come out with the final draft. So people jumping just on the draft is not a fair practice."

"Those who want to now protest, during their regime took many of the big decisions without consultations. It is unnecessary and premature. I have mentioned it in my letter to (Congress leader and former Union minister) Jairam Ramesh," the minister told reporters.
New Delhi: Even as Congress on Thursday (August 13) revoked the suspension of Bhanwarlal Sharma and Vishvendra Singh, two MLAs who had rebelled against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, the BJP has decided to move a motion of no confidence in Rajasthan Assembly against the Gehlot government.

Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria told reporters in Jaipur that the decision to this effect was taken in a BJP legislature party meeting on Thursday.

Kataria said, "We are bringing a no-confidence motion tomorrow in the Assembly along with our allies," adding that the proposal was being finalised.

Kataria said even though the political crisis in the Congress has been resolved, all is still not good in that party as "one is going to the east and the other to the west". Notably, the BJP and its ally Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) have a total of 75 MLAs.

The Congress on Thursday, however, revoked the suspension of Bhanwarlal Sharma and Vishvendra Singh, two MLAs who had rebelled against the Ashok Gehlot government.

These legislators were suspended from the party's primary membership last month over their alleged involvement in a "conspiracy" to topple the Congress government in the state.

The decision to revoke the suspension of the two MLAs follows a patch-up between the Ashok Gehlot and his sacked deputy Sachin Pilot after the intervention of the party's top leadership in Delhi.

Last month, Congress leader Sachin Pilot had openly rebelled against Chief Minister Gehlot along with 18 other party MLAs. He was then sacked as deputy chief minister and the party's Rajasthan chief.

Earlier on Monday, the Congress had said the crisis in Rajasthan was a "closed chapter" and all MLAs supporting its government will work towards strengthening the state government and fighting COVID-19 and economic calamities.
A man who ran a human trafficking operation in parts of central and southeastern Pennsylvania was sentenced Thursday to a minimum of 55-and-a-half years in prison.

Barry Charles Schiff, 52, whose sentencing was delayed several times since March, had remained in custody at Lancaster County Prison while he awaited sentencing. Kenneth James Crowell, 35, his partner, was sentenced to a minimum of 39 years in prison in March.

Both men were convicted in November 2017.

Authorities, who began investigating suspicious web advertisements known to be associated with sex trafficking, discovered the two men ran a prostitution and human trafficking operation in Lancaster, Montgomery, Philadelphia, and York counties. Undercover Troopers, who work for the Pennsylvania State Police, Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Special Investigations Unit, began investigating the operation in April 2017.

Members of the special unit reached out to the ads and connected with several women asking for help.

Crowell and Schiff ran the corrupt organization involved in the human trafficking of young women for the commercial sex trade, a statewide grand jury concluded. Authorities said both men recruited young women: Crowell posted advertisements and communicated with customers; and Schiff used drugs to lure women into prostitution.

Throughout the eight-day trial, a handful of women provided the court with victim impact statements.

Authorities said they supported the brave women who detailed the unimaginable harm these defendants caused, said Corporal Gregg Kravitshy of the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Thanks to their courage, and with the support of our law enforcement partners, we were able to deliver justice for the victims of this sex trafficking operation.

The men were convicted of the following charges:

Kenneth James Crowell

Corrupt Organizations (1 Count)

Conspiracy, Corrupt Organizations (1 Count)

Trafficking in Individuals (6 Counts)

Involuntary Servitude (4 Counts)

Conspiracy, Involuntary Servitude (1 Count)

Promoting Prostitution (2 Counts)

Criminal use of Communication Facility (1 Count)

Conspiracy-Trafficking in Individuals (1 Count)

Barry Charles Schiff

Corrupt Organizations (1 Count)

Conspiracy, Corrupt Organizations (1 Count)

Trafficking in Individuals (5 Counts)

Involuntary Servitude (3 Counts)

Conspiracy, Involuntary Servitude (1 Count)

Promoting Prostitution (2 Counts)

Criminal use of Communication Facility (1 Count)

Conspiracy-Trafficking in Individuals (1 Count)

Manufacture, Delivery, or Possession with intent to deliver or manufacture of a controlled substance (1 Count)

READ MORE

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A military compound, underground infrastructure, observation posts among those targeted by the Israeli army in Gaza.

Israel again attacked Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip on Thursday in response to what it said were continued launches of explosive balloons from the Palestinian territory.

Dozens of helium balloons laden with incendiary material have been deployed in recent days in a bid to pressure Israel to ease its blockade of the Gaza Strip and allow new economic projects. Israel also said it will stop shipments of fuel into Gaza in response.

Israel, which cites security threats from Hamas for its land and naval blockade, earlier retaliated by closing the Strips main commercial crossing and striking Hamas military facilities with warplanes, attack helicopters and tanks.

The Israeli army said in a statement on Thursday it struck a military compound, underground infrastructure and observation posts inside Gaza. Hamass naval force was also hit, it said.

The attack was carried out in response to balloons with explosives and incendiary balloons from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory in the past week  We hold Hamas responsible, the Israeli army said.

Reports from Gaza said the latest attacks hit sites in Rafah to the south and Beit Hanoun in the north.

A Gaza security source told the AFP news agency that Israeli warplanes carried out several air attacks on Hamas sites. The attacks caused severe damage to some infrastructure and damage to citizens homes, but no one was hurt.





An Israeli warplane fired a missile that landed in a school run by the UN refugee agency (UNRWA) in al-Shati refugee camp, western Gaza city, said a Palestinian security source who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The missile did not explode but caused damage to the building. The source added the school had been closed. It was unclear if anyone was injured in the strike.

Hamas denounced the latest attacks on Thursday.

These aggressive policies aim to exacerbate the crises our people in Gaza are enduring to paralyse their daily life and to disrupt the efforts of combating coronavirus amid international and regional silence, Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesperson for Hamas, said in a statement.

The air raids were reportedly the most intense response Israel has launched in the recent round of escalations.

Balloon-borne devices





Explosives tied to balloons and kites first emerged as a weapon in Gaza during protests in 2018, when the makeshift devices drifted across the border daily, causing thousands of fires on Israeli farms and in communities.

Israeli authorities said since Tuesday dozens of balloon-borne devices launched into southern Israel have ignited more than 80 fires.

In response to those first two incidents, Israel closed its Karem Abu Salem, known as Kerem Shalom to Israelis, goods crossing with the Gaza Strip.

Hamas denounced the closure, saying it was aggressive, and Israel bears all consequences and repercussions. The move showed Israels insistence on laying siege to Gaza, Hamas said, warning it could cause further worsening of the humanitarian situation in the territory.

Escalating the measures on Thursday, Defence Minister Benny Gantz ordered a halt to fuel imports into Gaza in light of the continued launching of incendiary balloons from the Strip towards Israel, the defence ministry said in a statement.

Barhoum called the measure a grave act of aggression that aims to worsen the crisis of our people in the blockaded Strip. The Mediterranean coastal enclave relies on Israel for most of its fuel and gas.

Bargaining tool

The Palestinian territory has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007. The Gaza Strip has a population of two million, more than half of whom live in poverty, according to the World Bank.

Hamas and Israel have fought three wars since 2008. Despite a truce last year backed by the United Nations, Egypt and Qatar, the two sides clash sporadically.





Palestinian analysts say cross-border fire from Gaza is often used as a bargaining tool to secure Israels greenlight for the entry of Qatari financial aid into the territory.

The ceasefire followed a deadly surge in violence and was to see Israel allow new development projects, including an industrial zone and a hospital.

Hamas has accused Israel of not fully complying with the deal. Israel, which deems Hamas a terrorist organisation, shuns direct negotiations and has never publicly acknowledged the truce.

On Wednesday, Israel reduced the area where it permits Palestinians to fish from 24km (15 miles) to 13km (eight miles), calling it a response to the balloon launches.
Maha Vajiralongkorn urges order and peace in the country as he swears in a new cabinet of Prime Minister Prayuth.

Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn has called for order and peace in the country but stayed silent about the recent anti-government student protests that have urged reforms of the powerful monarchy, as he swore in a new cabinet of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha.

The ceremony on Wednesday marked the kings first public appearance since the nearly unprecedented calls in two student-led protests for curbing the new powers King Vajiralongkorn has amassed since taking the throne after the death of his father in 2016.

The king, as head of state, gave his blessing to the new cabinet members, wishing good health and wisdom to have the strength to perform your duties according to your oaths.

He also expressed a desire for the happiness of the people, happiness of the public and for order and peace.

He did not publicly acknowledge the student protests, some of which defied lese majeste laws against insulting the monarchy that carry a maximum 15-year prison sentence.

Among the six new cabinet members are veteran banking executive Predee Daochai as finance minister and Supattanapong Punmeechaow as energy minister [Thailand Royal Household Bureau/Handout via Reuters]

Wednesdays swearing-in of the new cabinet members follows the resignation last month of six ministers under Prayuth, amid governing party internal disputes as the government faces the growing protest movement.

Among the six new cabinet members are veteran banking executive Predee Daochai as finance minister and Supattanapong Punmeechaow as energy minister.

The student protesters, calling for reforms of the monarchy, have also demanded that Prayuths government resign.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Prayuth had said the thousands of student protesters went too far after some issued a 10-point call for reform of the monarchy, which is considered semi-divine in the countrys conservative culture.

The students new demands included a reversal of a 2019 order that transferred two army units to the kings personal command, and a 2017 law that gave him full control of the crowns extensive property holdings.

It also urged the king to refrain from endorsing any military takeover in the future.

While the monarchy has refrained from taking more aggressive response, there have been reports it asked several media companies to remove any mention of the demands listed by the students.

So far, there have also been no protest leaders charged under the lese majeste laws, though two key leaders were arrested on charges including sedition and violating coronavirus regulations on large gatherings before being released on bail.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 21:24:16|Editor: huaxia

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MAPUTO, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 500 Mozambicans repatriated by South African authorities have returned to their home country, Mozambique's national radio station RM reported on Thursday.

This is the sixth group of returnees following the tightening up of COVID-19 prevention measures in South Africa, according to the report.

Most of them were in detention centers on the outskirts of Johannesburg after they were identified as illegal immigrants by authorities, said the report.

"In the operation, Mozambican citizens were transported in eight buses and four light vehicles, provided by the South African government," Maputo provincial health director Daniel Chemane told RM.

Chemane said all the repatriated citizens had been screened for the novel coronavirus.

The Maputo provincial health director said that conditions are being created for returnees to comply with the 14-day mandatory quarantine in their homes.

Since April, 1,381 Mozambicans have been repatriated by South Africa as the country tightened prevention measures against COVID-19. Enditem
SELBYVILLE, Del., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new Global Market Insights Inc., report, the automotive coatings market was estimated at $21 billion in 2019 and anticipated to surpass an overall valuation of more than $30 billion by 2026, registering a CAGR of 5% from 2020 to 2026. The report offers highly detailed market estimations & size analysis, significant investment pockets, prominent winning strategies, opportunities & drivers, shifting market trends, and competitive scenarios.

Global Market Insights Inc.

The automotive coatings market outlook is anticipated to grow at a tremendous pace owing to rapidly rising vehicle customization trends as well as the increasing demand for more economical solutions when it comes to vehicle coatings. Additionally, rising trends towards better sustainability and increasing adoption of electrical vehicles would further foster demand for high-performance solvent-based coatings.

Request Sample Report: https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/107

With respect to the product, the electrocoat segment is anticipated to record growth at a CAGR of more than 5% through the forecast time period owing to the ongoing rapid technological advancements within the automotive sector and rising demand for more advanced solutions.

Key reasons for automotive coatings market growth:

Rising adoption of electric vehicles and sustainable coating solutions. Increasing vehicle customization trend. The surging trend of secondary automobile adoption across the APAC.

2026 forecasts anticipate the 'primer' segment to dominate industry growth:

Based on the product, the primer segment is projected to surpass a $4 billion valuation by the end of the analysis timeframe. The growth is ascribed to rising high-performance coatings demand. Primer coatings are highly compatible with light and heavy commercial vehicles. Several industry players are increasingly investing within the primer solutions segment, which offers the dual benefits of both a minimalistic matte finish and high protection against rust & stress, which would stimulate the automotive coatings market demand.

APAC and Europe to lead global industry growth in terms of revenue:

The Asia Pacific market is expected to record a CAGR of more than 5% through the forecast timeframe due to the rising disposable income levels in the region and increasing consumer inclination towards owning a secondary vehicle. Regional consumers are rapidly shifting towards high-performance as well as luxury vehicles. Moreover, elevated spending power and increasing adoption of vehicle customizations would further augment the automotive coatings market share.

Meanwhile, according to industry forecasts, Europe is projected to surpass a valuation of $5 billion by the end of the analysis timeframe due to the rising adoption of sustainable solutions and the ongoing shift towards electrical vehicles.

Request a customization of this report: https://www.gminsights.com/roc/107

Leading market players:

Prominent industry players in the automotive coatings industry include AkzoNobel, BASF, Nippon, KCC Paints, Solvay, and Eastman Chemical Company. They have incorporated several strategies including partnership, expansion, collaboration, joint ventures, and others to heighten their stand in the industry.

Related Reports:

Intumescent Coatings Future Business Strategies and Revenue Impact Analysis - 2026

UV Curable Resins Market Business Strategies and Competitive Analysis - 2026

Waterborne Coatings Market Future Business Strategies and Competitive Analysis - 2024

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Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/8/2020 (524 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Is Premier Brian Pallister having his Larry Vaughn moment?

Cinephiles know Vaughn was the mayor of the fictional town of Amity, an island community that served as the setting for Steven Spielberg's 1975 classic film, Jaws. Vaughn spends the first half of the film ignoring the concerns of police chief Martin Brody, who is convinced an enormous Great White shark has descended upon the idyllic tourist trap.

Vaughn won't, or perhaps can't, believe the shark is real, largely because of what it would mean to the local economy. "Im only trying to say that Amity is a summer town," Vaughn tells the chief. "We need summer dollars."

Larry Vaughn, portrayed by actor Murray Hamilton, above, is the mayor of Amity Island in the 1975 film Jaws and its sequel, Jaws 2.

Nearly a half-century after his name was carved into the annals of American pop culture, Larry Vaughn has made a comeback as a meme used to attack political leaders who delayed or demurred their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

United States President Donald Trump, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and a host of lesser-knowns have been sarcastically likened to the fictional Amity mayor.

Now, the Manitoba premier appears to be adding his name to the list.

Addressing reporters Wednesday in Brandon, where his PC caucus and cabinet have come for meetings, Pallister employed classic Vaughnian rationale to dismiss calls for more economic and social restrictions in the Wheat City, which is the scene of a significant COVID-19 outbreak. And to justify his decision to spend $250,000 on a public awareness campaign to encourage Manitobans to restart the provincial economy.

#RestartMB  featuring the slogan "ready, safe, grow"  is already appearing on billboards, TV and social media. The wisdom of launching a public campaign of this kind  at this time, in this place  is yet another deafening example of the premier's growing tone deafness.

(MATT GOERZEN/THE BRANDON SUN) Manitoba premier Brian Pallister was in Brandon Tuesday to formally kick off the provincial government's #RestartManitoba campaign.

It is not the kind of information Manitobans need now. The Brandon outbreak and increasing cases in other areas of Manitoba are pretty clear evidence some people are starting to stray from best public health practices. Ten new cases in Winnipeg reported Wednesday have been traced to "travel and close contacts"  yet another example of returning travellers not isolating adequately.

Faced with much bigger, more pressing needs, it's a questionable use of public money. This is, after all, a government that has drastically underspent on most of its economic support programs and failed to loosen eligibility or change focus to help get more money into the hands of financially-strapped individuals and businesses.

Ask the average small businessperson in Manitoba  most of whom have been begging the Pallister government for funds to help pay for protective equipment needed for reopening  what they think of $250,000 squandered on billboards. It's not going out on much of a limb to say this expenditure will be extremely unpopular.

Remarkably, there was some evidence Pallister came to the same conclusions about the inherent flaws in the timing of #RestartMB around about the time he walked in front of the microphone to address reporters in Brandon.

The premier looked decidedly sheepish when asked about the wisdom of launching a campaign encouraging Manitobans to re-engage with the economy in a city starting to lock itself down until the current outbreak is controlled.

Pallister's attempt to pivot the story was short on enthusiasm, but long on intellectual dishonesty.

The premier claimed #RestartMB was actually a "health and wellness" campaign designed to remind Manitobans to continue social distancing, practicing hand hygiene and isolating if they feel sick. "A major part of this ad campaign is to make sure we're educating and reminding people of the fundamentals."

It can be reported, after several scans of the news conference recording on YouTube, the premier kept a straight face as he uttered that tortured rationalization.

#RestartMB does mention the word "safe," but it does not contain any other direct or indirect message about public health measures. This is a "get out there and start spending your money" campaign  a message on a collision course with the better instincts of Manitobans.

Dan Lett | Not for Attribution A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world that is sent every Tuesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

This is the same premier who tried to drop an aggressive Phase 4 reopening plan on the province, only to have it swatted away by tens of thousands of Manitobans who knew it was too much, too soon. Clearly, there were no lessons learned.

Increasingly, we are seeing a strong disconnect between Manitoba's response and the best practices in other jurisdictions that have fought off a much bigger COVID-19 presence.

The most striking example of this disconnect can be seen in New Zealand. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern this week invoked a three-day stay-at-home order for the city of Auckland. Her decision came when, after more than 100 days without community transmission, four new cases were registered.

Ardern's strategy largely reflects an inescapable reality of pandemics: if you wait until the number of infections is large to lock everyone down, you've not only waited too long, when all is said and done, you'll be inextricably linked to one of the most infamous dithering politicians of all time.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca
United Nations, Aug 13 : Permission was being delayed for a UN team to board a derelict tanker off the coast of Yemen, which threatens to leak more than 1 million barrels of oil, a spokesman said.

"The Ansar Allah (Houthi) authorities have recently come back to us with a range of technical follow-up questions, which we have answered," Xinhua news agency quoted Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, as saying on Wednesday.

"We hope that the authorities will authorize the mission right away." The tanker called Safer has not been maintained for five years, UN Environment Programme Executive Director Inger Andersen told the UN Security Council last month and warned that if there is a spill, it will directly affect millions of people in Yemen and destroy entire ecosystems for decades.

Dujarric cited recent ecological disasters in Lebanon and Mauritius as reasons for early approval: the thousands of tons of ammonium nitrate left unsafe for years in a Beirut warehouse before exploding August 4, devastating the port; and the Japanese bulk carrier grounded for weeks on the Mauritius coast now leaking oil.

"That risk cannot be overstated," the spokesman told a virtual press briefing.

"We are happy to provide, and have been providing, any technical information required, and we want to keep working with everyone to get this done as quickly as possible." He said the rebels in control of the area first indicated on July 5 that they would allow an inspection and emergency repair team to board the floating oil storage and offloading vessel.

An official UN request was sent on July 14.

Since then the Houthis have requested additional information on the team and its operations, said the spokesman.
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Another 18 people have died of Covid-19 in England but no-one else has died of the illness in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, officials revealed today.

Scotland today marked four full weeks without a single death from coronavirus north of the border, according to its official government statistics.

The daily death toll published by the Department of Health today takes the total number of those who have died within 28 days of being diagnosed with coronavirus in the UK to 41,347 - up from 41,329 yesterday. Of these deaths, 36,713 have occurred in England alone.

Today's update comes amid confusion over how many people have actually died of the coronavirus, with ministers now counting deaths in six different ways.

Officials yesterday revised the overall count following an urgent review, knocking off around 5,000 victims who died at least 28 days after testing positive for the virus. It took yesterday's official death toll to 41,329, with 20 deaths recorded on Wednesday.

But the Department of Health still publishes the original count that includes anyone who has ever tested positive and died, with the overall number of victims under this method standing at around 46,000, with 77 deaths registered yesterday. This data is currently unavailable for today.

A third count will be kept by Public Health England, along with records by statistical bodies in each country and also measures of 'excess' deaths. Totals now range from 41,000 to almost 66,000.

In other developments to the coronavirus crisis in Britain today:

A-level students were left in limbo as their teachers scrambled to appeal against tens of thousands of 'unfair' downgraded results released just three weeks before the university deadline;

British holidaymakers in France could be spared quarantine for now despite a surge in coronavirus cases  but the Netherlands and Malta are facing tougher UK curbs;

Coronavirus kills around 1.23 per cent of all infected patients, according to a major study that estimated around 3.4million people in England may have been infected with Covid-19;

Russia's leading respiratory doctor has quit over 'gross violations' of medical ethics that rushed through Vladimir Putin's coronavirus Sputnik V vaccine;

The NHS Test and Trace smartphone app is being re-launched using technology made by Apple and Google, with a second round of trials on the Isle of Wight and in the London borough of Newham;

More than 1.85million people were waiting longer than 18 weeks for routine hospital treatment in England in June in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic  the highest number since records began in 2007.

Officials yesterday revised the overall count following an urgent review, knocking off around 5,000 victims who died at least 28 days after testing positive for the virus. It took the official death toll to 41,329. But the Department of Health still publishes the original count that includes anyone who has ever tested positive and died, with the overall number of victims under this method standing at around 46,000. A third count will be kept by Public Health England, along with records by statistical bodies in each country and also measures of 'excess' deaths. Totals now range from 41,000 to almost 66,000

HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE REALLY DIED FROM COVID-19 IN THE UK? Department of Health (no cut-off): 46,706 Department of Health's latest death count for all settings stands at 46,706. The daily data does not represent how many Covid-19 patients died within the last 24 hours  it is only how many fatalities have been reported and registered with the authorities. It also only takes into account patients who have ever tested positive for the virus, as opposed to deaths suspected to be down to the coronavirus. The method came under scrutiny because it meant someone who once had Covid-19 and then recovered would be counted, even if they were hit by a bus or were in a car crash months later. Department of Health (28-day cut off): 41,329 If someone died 28 days after testing positive for Covid-19, they wouldn't be classed as a coronavirus death under this measure. This means that many victims who recovered and died of unrelated causes are not included. Public Health England (60-day cut off): 45,038 This method will count a Covid-19 death as anyone who died with in 60 days of a positive result. It will be published once a week. It leaves room for those who may have died several weeks after getting infected, considering some patients may be in hospital for a long time before they eventually die of the disease. However, it also means some people who tested positive for the virus, recovered, and then died a while later of different causes will be picked up. Public Health England said the 60-day cut off is better than 28 days because some patients suffer long term Covid-19 symptoms after appearing to recover, and cannot be missed out from the tally if they do not die in the immediate month after their diagnosis. NHS England: 29,444 NHS England is the only statistical body to keep a rolling tally of how many patients have died of coronavirus in hospitals. Statistics show 29,444 patients have died after testing positive for Covid-19 in hospitals across England. National statistical bodies: 56,846 Data compiled by the statistical bodies of each of the home nations show 56,846 people died of either confirmed or suspected Covid-19 across the UK by the end of May. The Office for National Statistics yesterday confirmed that 51,779 people in England and Wales died with confirmed or suspected Covid-19 by July 31. The number of coronavirus deaths was 854 by the same day in Northern Ireland, according to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). National Records Scotland  which collects statistics north of the border  said 4,213 people had died across the country by June 22. Their tallies are always 10 days behind the Department of Health (DH) because they wait until as many fatalities as possible for each date have been counted, to avoid having to revise their statistics. Excess deaths: 65,278 The total number of excess deaths is at least 65,000. Excess deaths are considered to be a more accurate measure of the number of people killed by the pandemic because they include a broader spectrum of victims. As well as including people who may have died with Covid-19 without ever being tested, the data also shows how many more people died because their medical treatment was postponed, for example, or who didn't or couldn't get to hospital when they were seriously ill. Data from England and Wales shows there has been an extra 59,324 deaths between March 15 and June 12, as well as 4,953 in Scotland between March 2 and June 22 and 1,001 in Northern Ireland between March 28 and June 26. Advertisement

Today's NHS data  which is a separate measure by its own accord because it only takes into account deaths in hospitals in England  shows 13 more people between the ages of 49 and 90 died between July 18 and August 12.

Five of the victims died in the North East of England, five in the North West, two in the Midlands and one in London.

Ministers now count coronavirus deaths in six different ways  including the NHS England tally  following an urgent review into how fatalities were calculated.

Health chiefs last night unveiled two new measures of recording Covid-19 victims.

One of the measures only counts a death as being down to coronavirus if they die within four weeks of testing positive for the disease and stands at 41,329. The other has a cut-off of 60 days (45,038).

The methods are in addition to the original government calculation (46,706), which sparked fury after top academics found it meant no-one in England could ever technically recover. Coronavirus patients would be counted as a victim, even if they were hit by a bus months after beating the disease.

National statistical bodies collect the other two tallies, including one that adds up to 56,842 because it tots up all confirmed and suspected deaths in each of the home nations.

The other calculates excess deaths, or how many more people died than expected over a certain time-frame (60,000). They are considered the most accurate way of analysing how many people have really died in an outbreak.

Each tally gives a different perspective as health officials said there is no correct way of counting Covid-19 deaths.

Some experts welcomed the 'sensible' switch to the 'headline' 28-day count, which brought England in line with the rest of the UK and shaved 5,400 off the government count.

Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter, a statistician at Cambridge University, said he felt 'sorry for everyone' amid the confusion of the true tally.

The UK Government had recorded 46,706 deaths in during the pandemic up to yesterday, when the results of a inquiry finally came to light.

The initial method, from Public Health England (PHE) counted people as victims if they die of any cause any time after testing positive for Covid-19.

Survivors would never be considered truly recovered from the disease and it would have meant every single person that has ever tested positive (313,798) would have shown up in the death tally eventually.

The flaw, discovered by Dr Yoon Loke, a pharmacologist at the University of East Anglia, and Oxford University's Professor Carl Heneghan, prompted Health Secretary Matt Hancock to order a review last month.

The academics said the method is likely why the daily fatality tolls have not dropped as quickly in England as elsewhere, because Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland  which have been seen zero daily deaths for weeks  use a 28-day cut off.

Officials said it slashed almost 5,400 deaths off the total for England, therefore yesterday lowering the UK total to 41,329. It now stands at 41,347.

Most of the deaths come off the tallies for June, July and August.

For example, under the old PHE system, 2,086 deaths were reported in England in July by date of death, with the 28 days cut off this number is 574  nearly a quarter of what was previously reported, Professor Heneghan pointed out.

Although scientists welcomed the new way of counting deaths, the damage caused by the original counting method, used for more than five months, has left a sour taste.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4 today, Sir David said: 'People have been watching this daily figure and havent realised how ridiculous it is.

'This will make a difference but it doesnt make a difference to the fact we have done very badly and there has been a very large number of deaths.

'I also would say thought that people are on the whole rather too cautious rather too fearful and the communication hasnt helped in that, particularly thats why the current communication of the risks of deaths at the moment is so vital.'

Professor Spiegelhalter noted there were around five ways of counting Covid-19 deaths now, but did not list them himself.

He said: 'I do feel sorry for everyone... it is very confusing.'

Professor Karol Sikora, a cancer specialist and dean at the University of Buckingham medical school, said the old system had inflated numbers 'for weeks'.

It comes after a major study today suggested the coronavirus  scientifically called SARS-CoV-2  kills around 1.23 per cent of all infected patients. Scientists say 3.4million people in England may have been infected with Covid-19 according to a major study  ten-fold higher than the official UK tally

HOW DEADLY IS COVID-19? Coronavirus kills around 1.23 per cent of all infected patients, according to a major study. Scientists say 3.4million people in England may have been infected with Covid-19 according to a major study  ten-fold higher than the official UK tally. Imperial College London experts have carried out a mass coronavirus surveillance study, involving more than 100,000 volunteers who used home testing kits to check for antibodies, which reveal if someone has previously been infected. The programme suggested around six per cent of England's population had already been infected with Covid-19 by July 13. If this estimate was true, it suggests the coronavirus kills around 1.23 per cent of all cases  based on data suggesting around 42,000 people have died in England. By contrast, seasonal flu has a death rate of around 0.1 per cent. The figure is twice as high as the World Health Organization's most recent mortality rate estimate of 0.6 per cent. Antibody surveillance studies have produced wildly different results across the world, ranging from as low as 0.25 per cent to 1.4 per cent. Department of Health data shows only 313,798 cases have been diagnosed since the outbreak began. But hundreds of thousands of infected Brits were not tested during the height of the crisis, either because of a lack of swabs or because they never had any of the tell-tale symptoms. Counting how many people who have coronavirus antibodies is, therefore, the most accurate way of calculating how much of the population has already been infected. Advertisement

He wrote on Twitter: 'These figures have been so influential, I'm angry at the way they've been handled.'

The COVID 19 Actuaries Response Group, a group of actuaries, epidemiologists and longevity specialists, said the new 28-day cut off made the death toll even more inaccurate than before.

Member John Roberts, a longevity consultant actuary, told MailOnline: 'The total previously understated the Covid-19 deaths, by omitting many deaths that occurred during the peak in April and early May, so this change has made the discrepancy larger.

'PHE figures, used for official reporting, understated deaths during the first two months, as a positive test was needed to include a death in the figures  and remember that during that period there was limited testing capacity.

'Testing capacity has grown substantially, and the potential for a significant period of time between a positive test and subsequent death has increased. This has led to the PHE method...overstating death counts in recent months.

'The change announced yesterday seeks to deal with the recent overstatement, and in doing so reduces the total number of deaths by around 5,000.

'However, while this does remove the current overstatement, the total figure is now lower, and thus further away from the true position since the pandemic started.'

It comes after a major study today suggested the coronavirus  scientifically called SARS-CoV-2  kills around 1.23 per cent of all infected patients.

Scientists say 3.4million people in England may have been infected with Covid-19 according to the research  an estimate that is ten-fold higher than the official UK tally.

Imperial College London experts have carried out a mass coronavirus surveillance study, involving more than 100,000 volunteers who used home testing kits to check for antibodies, which reveal if someone has previously been infected.

The programme suggested around six per cent of England's population had already been infected with Covid-19 by July 13.

If this estimate was true, it suggests the coronavirus kills around 1.23 per cent of all cases  based on data suggesting around 42,000 people have died in England. By contrast, seasonal flu has a death rate of around 0.1 per cent.

The figure is twice as high as the World Health Organization's most recent mortality rate estimate of 0.6 per cent. Antibody surveillance studies have produced wildly different results across the world, ranging from as low as 0.25 per cent to 1.4 per cent.

Department of Health data shows only 313,798 cases have been diagnosed since the outbreak began. But hundreds of thousands of infected Brits were not tested during the height of the crisis, either because of a lack of swabs or because they never had any of the tell-tale symptoms.

Counting how many people who have coronavirus antibodies is, therefore, the most accurate way of calculating how much of the population has already been infected.

In other developments today, British holidaymakers in France could be spared quarantine for now despite a surge in coronavirus cases.

A review due to be completed today is expected to keep France on the list of countries that are exempted from the UK's 14-day isolation rules.

However, the Netherlands and Malta are at risk of being taken off the roll call of safe destinations, as they have worse rates.

Speculation has been mounting about quarantine exemptions being scrapped as infections rise across much of Europe.

Hundreds of thousands of Britons are either on holiday in France or planning to go there, but yesterday it recorded more than 2,500 cases - a record since lockdown was eased.

The country appears to be perilously close to the yardstick of 20 cases per 100,000 population in a seven-day period.

But ministers are believed to be prepared to hold off on restrictions when changes are announced today, with the situation kept under close observation.
MINSK Anti-government protesters freed from a detention centre in the Belarusian capital Minsk spoke on Thursday of having suffered beatings, cramped conditions and starvation rations.

As the European Union prepares to consider possible sanctions against the Belarusian authorities over a crackdown on demonstrators angry over what they believe was a rigged presidential election on Sunday, some protesters walked free from the Okrestina detention facility.

Sergei, one of the freed detainees, said there had been 28 people in a cell that would normally hold five. Prisoners took turns to sleep, he said, and were given a single loaf of bread to share out over two days.

They did not beat me in the cell, they took me out of the cell and beat me there," said Sergei, who declined to give his last name.

Reuters could not independently verify his or other accounts and a spokeswoman for the interior ministry declined to comment.

Election officials have declared Alexander Lukashenko, the veteran incumbent, as the winner. But protesters say he swindled the election which they say was actually won by opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.

Lukashenko has described protesters as criminals and unemployed trouble-makers and said anyone breaking the law will be punished severely.

Vartan Grigoryan, another freed detainee, had traces of severe beatings on his face.

I was seized, beaten, taken to prison and beaten again. After that, I felt bad and was taken to the hospital by ambulance."

Lyudmila, a patient in a nearby hospital, said she could hear the protesters suffering.

We hear screams every night, terrible screams, for a very long time. It was especially scary yesterday, with people screaming so loudly that it seemed people were being beating very close to us 

Another freed detainee, 34-year-old Ilya, told Reuters of the raw aggression exhibited by prison guards.

If someone in the cell started being noisy or shouting, they were taken down to this corridor as an example and beaten half to death so that everyone could hear."

(additional reporting by Alexander Marrow in Moscow; Writing by Andrew Osborn, Editing by Angus MacSwan)

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
Time to reimagine, reform local policing

The time has come for the citizens of the Fredericksburg region to reimagine the duties and responsibilities of our local law enforcement agencies. Local communities must become more familiar with the composition of their departments, and have continuing contact with our sheriffs and chiefs of police.

Policing must become a community effort. We must seek the cooperation of our local departments to identify their structural and operational procedures.

For example: What are the desired characteristics of a likely candidate for the job of police officer/sheriffs deputy? Whats the psychological profile of an acceptable candidate?

Do they recruit former military special ops soldiers as candidates? Are cadets trained on negotiations, interpersonal and de-escalation skills? Are they investigated for potential involvement in extremist and/or terrorist groups?

Whats the departments policy on the use of force, up to and including the use of chokeholds and deadly force?
In June 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the dismissal with prejudice of a qui tam suit against Trinity Health in North Dakota. The suit, brought by Rafik Benaissa, MD, a former surgeon with Trinity Health, alleged that certain physician compensation arrangements at the hospital violated the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and Stark Law and that Trinity Health violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by submitting false and/or fraudulent claims to the United States.

Benaissa alleged that Trinity paid five of its highest-earning physicians above fair market value by compensating them at levels that were not justified by their personal productivity; the high compensation generated practice losses for Trinity, absent taking into account the physicians downstream referrals to the health system; and as a result of the physicians compensation methodology, they performed unnecessary surgeries to inflate their compensation. Benaissa also alleged that Trinity did not renew his contract because he complained about the allegedly unnecessary surgeries.

According to Benaissa, the compensation arrangements violated the AKS and Stark Law, and further, that any claims submitted by Trinity to federal health care programs for the procedures performed by the physician violated the FCA. He also alleged that Trinitys refusal to renew his contract violated the anti-retaliation provisisions found in the FCA.

After the United States declined to get involved in the qui tam suit, Trinity filed a Motion to Dismiss, which was granted in the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota. The District Court found that because Benaissa did not identify representative examples of false claims submitted by Trinity, nor did he exhibit any direct connection to or personal knowledge of Trinitys billing practice, he did not satisfy Rule 9(b), which requires that false claims must be presented to the government. The District Court also found that Benaissas complaints about clinical decisions made by other surgeons (including whether the procedures were necessary) did not amount to protected activity under the FCA because his complaints did not make reference to fraud or improper billing by Trinity.

Benaissa appealed the dismissal, conceding that while he did not allege representative examples of false claims submitted for payment or approval, such an inference can be made because roughly 29% of Trinitys annual revenue came from Medicare reimbursements and that any claims submitted for services performed by the five physicians identified in the complaint would be tainted by the alleged AKS and Stark violations, it was more likely than not that Trinity submitted at least some such claims to the government.

The Eighth Circuit, though, disagreed with that argument and upheld the dismissal, finding that such a general inference theory does not satisfy the Rule 9(b) particularity requirement for an FCA violation. The Eighth Circuit also found that as a trauma surgeon, Benaissa did not have firsthand knowledge of Trinitys billing practices and that he did not plead details about Trinitys billing practices which would indicate a reliable basis for knowledge regarding the submission of fraudulent claims.
ATHENS, Ga., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Zaxby's, the fast-casual restaurant known for its chicken fingers, wings and signature sauces, is offering brand fans some love with fried chicken and crinkle fries scented candles and citrus vinaigrette bath bombs as part of its "Peace, Harmony, Chicken" Zensation rollout. The custom "relaxation packs" will be free to claim while supplies last via https://bit.ly/ZensationRelaxation on Saturday, August 15, which just happens to be National Relaxation Day.

To celebrate National Relaxation Day, Zaxby's is offering brand fans some love with chicken-themed relaxation packs, because the path to enlightenment leads to Zensation. Inhale Zaxby's hand-breaded chicken. Exhale Harmony. Find your bliss with the Zensation.

"We wanted to have a little fun with Zensation this year," said Zaxby's CMO Joel Bulger. "These are trying times, so we're promoting peace, harmony and chicken with some soothing, on-brand freebies. We hope it puts a smile on people's faces and helps them relax and destress."

The relaxation packs include a Zaxby's Citrus Vinaigrette Bath Bomb and a sleep mask in addition to two scented candles: one that smells like fried chicken and one that smells like Zaxby's fan-favorite crinkle fries. The limited-edition bespoke goodie boxes will be mailed out on a first-come, first-served basis to fans who submit their information online via the above link on National Relaxation Day.

Zaxby's recently brought back its popular Zensation Fillet Sandwich and Zensation Zalad for a limited time only. The Zensation Zalad is made to order with hand-breaded Chicken Fingerz, freshly chopped mixed greens, red cabbage, carrots and crispy wonton strips, all topped with Asian slaw and drizzled with a honey sesame teriyaki glaze, starting at $7.99. The Zensation Zalad is served with Citrus Vinaigrette dressing and a vegetable eggroll.

First introduced last year and back by popular demand, the Zensation Fillet Sandwich, featuring Zaxby's hand-breaded fillet, is topped with crunchy Asian slaw, crispy wontons and served with Citrus Vinaigrette on Texas toast. The sandwich is also available as part of a meal with crinkle fries, a vegetable eggroll and a 22-ounce drink, starting at $7.99.

Zaxby's Zensation Fillet Sandwich and Zalad are available via drive-thru, delivery and curbside pick-up at participating locations while supplies last. Delivery prices and fees may vary. Zaxby's dining rooms adhere to health and safety guidelines and are reopening pursuant to local, state and federal requirements.

About Zaxby's

Founded by childhood friends Zach McLeroy and Tony Townley in 1990, Zaxby's is committed to serving delicious chicken fingers, wings, sandwiches and salads in a fun, offbeat atmosphere where customers are considered friends. Zaxby's has grown to more than 900 locations in 17 states and is headquartered in Athens, Georgia. For more information, visit zaxbys.com or zaxbysfranchising.com.

Media Contact:

Jordan Vines

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Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Reports said that Agarwal is asymptomatic and had met with Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and the NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on Thursday.

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The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board had begun preparations of the resumption of the Yatra months in advance. The temple premises are being regularly sanitised and all the norms amid the COVID-19 pandemic are in place to welcome pilgrims.

Nearly five months after the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Yatra was suspended as a precautionary measure amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Jammu and Kashmir administration announced that the Yatra would be resumed on 16 August.

"That apart, the state govt (Maharashtra) avers that the next academic session must begin in the interest of students, while, at the same time, contending that the final examinations should be cancelled and degrees can be awarded without such examinations even though such a step would irreparably damage the future of students. Such contentions by the state govt are clearly therefore meritless, the UGC said in its reply to the affidavit filed by Maharashtra earlier.

The UGC said the 6 July guidelines are based on the recommendations of experts and have been made after due deliberation and it is wrong to claim that it will not be possible to conduct the final examinations in terms of the guidelines.

The UGC has told the Supreme Court that final examination is a "crucial step" in the academic career of a student and the state government cannot say that its 6 July directive, asking universities and colleges to conduct final year examinations by 30 September amid the COVID-19 pandemic, was "not binding".

According to a bulletin issued by the state health department, the toll rose to 484, while the tally soared to 94,459, with 31,567 active cases.

Bihar claimed to have conducted a record number of over one lakh COVID-19 tests in the past 24 hours, during which 10 more patients succumbed to the virus and 3,906 fresh cases were reported.

"In pursuance of the ''test, track and treat'' strategy, India is geared up to reach the testing capacity of 10 lakh tests per day," the ministry said.

A record 8,30,391 samples were tested on Wednesday in the country.

With tests of over 8 lakh COVID-19 samples, India tested the highest the number of samples for the coronavirus disease, said the health ministry on Thursday. This took the cumulative testing figure in India to 2,68,45,688 crore.

The chief medical officer of Lucknow, RP Singh said that Rs 10,000 will be charged for isolation beds including supportive care and oxygen for COVID-19 patients while, Rs 15,000 for ICU without need for ventilaor care and Rs 18,000 for ICU with ventilator care.

"The COVID-19 tally in the country rises to 24,61,191 including 6,61,595 active cases, 17,51,556 discharged/migrated and 48,040 deaths," said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

India registered 64,553 fresh COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours, taking the cumulative figure to 24,61,191 on Friday, said the health ministry. At least 1,007 more deaths take the COVID-19 toll in the country to 48,040.

Preliminary results of Phase 1 clinical trials show that Bharat Biotech-ICMR's coronavirus vaccine 'Covaxin' is safe to use, reported India Today on Friday. Phase 1 of the human trials in most centres chosen for Covaxin trials have concluded.

The COVID-19 toll in India has risen to 48,040 after 1,007 more patients succumbed to the highly-contagious disease, the health ministry said on Friday.

With 1,921 new COVID-19 cases in Telangana, the total climbed to 88,396 on Friday, said state health department. Nine more deaths have take the COVID-19 toll to 674.

India's COVID-19 cases crossed 24 lakh on Friday after 64,553 people tested positive for the contagious disease in a day, and the recoveries rose to over 17 lakh, the health ministry said.

"The total number of positive cases in the state stands at 54,630, including 16,353 active cases, 37,900 recovered cases and 324 deaths till date," said the Odisha Health Department.

After 1,977 more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Odisha, the total climbed to 54,630, said the state health department on Friday. Ten more deaths in the state took the COVID-19 toll to 324.

Of the total, there are 1,334 active cases, 2,449 recovered cases and 17 deaths till date, said the state health department.

Himachal Pradesh registered 20 fresh COVID-19 infections, taking the total to 3,836 on Friday. Fourteen more patients have recovered taking the cumulative figure to 2,449, said the state health department.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi demanded that the government clearly define an inclusive and equitable vaccine access policy to ensure its affordability and fair distribution.

The COVID-19 toll has reached 106 after four more patients succumbed to the contagious disease, said the health ministry.

Puducherry recorded 6,995 COVID-19 infections on Friday after 328 more individuals tested positive for the novel coronavirus. With 181 cured patients, the union territory registered a total of 4,009 recoveries.

"Experts have opined that during the months of August and September we may witness a surge in COVID-19 cases. We may report between 10,000 to 20,000 cases per day," she said in a video campaign urging the youth to join the "COVID Brigade" to halt the pandemic spread.

Kerala is likely to witness a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases in the months of August and September with daily infections expected to touch between 10,000 to 20,000, State Health Minister KK Shailaja said.

Reports said that Agarwal is asymptomatic and had had a meeting with Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and the NITI Aayog CEO on Thursday.

Union health ministry joint secretary Lav Agarwal on Friday tweeted that he had tested positive for coronavirus.

979 new COVID-19 cases and 47 deaths were reported in Mumbai on Friday. Total number of cases now at 1,28,550 including 1,01,861 recovered/discharged cases, 19,354 active cases and 7,035 deaths, the BMC said.

Of the total, there are 1,334 active cases, 2,449 recovered cases and 17 deaths till date, said the state health department.

Himachal Pradesh registered 20 fresh COVID-19 infections, taking the total to 3,836 on Friday. Fourteen more patients have recovered taking the cumulative figure to 2,449, said the state health department.

The Maharashtra Police has said that 147 policemen were found COVID-19 positive in the last 24 hours in Maharashtra, taking the tally of cops affected with disease so far to 11,920. The police also said that there were 2,227 active cases and 9,569 recoveries while 124 policemen had succumbed to the disease so far.

India will be one of the COVID-19 vaccine-producing nations. It needs a clearly-defined, inclusive & equitable vaccine access strategy ensuring availability, affordability & fair distribution. GOI must do it now.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi demanded that the government clearly define an inclusive and equitable vaccine access policy to ensure its affordability and fair distribution.

The COVID-19 toll has reached 106 after four more patients succumbed to the contagious disease, said the health ministry.

Puducherry recorded 6,995 COVID-19 infections on Friday after 328 more individuals tested positive for the novel coronavirus. With 181 cured patients, the union territory registered a total of 4,009 recoveries.

"Experts have opined that during the months of August and September we may witness a surge in COVID-19 cases. We may report between 10,000 to 20,000 cases per day," she said in a video campaign urging the youth to join the "COVID Brigade" to halt the pandemic spread.

Kerala is likely to witness a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases in the months of August and September with daily infections expected to touch between 10,000 to 20,000, State Health Minister KK Shailaja said.

"I also thank all the doctors and paramedical staff of Medanta Hospital who helped me in fighting Corona infection and who are treating me," he added.

"Today my corona test report has come negative. I thank God and at the moment I express my heartfelt gratitude to all those who have blessed me and my family by wishing me well. Will stay in home isolation for a few more days on the advice of doctors," he said.

The minister in a tweet thanked all those who wished for his recovery.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said that he has tested negative for COVID-19 and he will stay in home isolation for a few more days on the advice of doctors. Shah tested positive for coronavirus on 2 August and was under treatment in Medanta Hospital, Gurugram.

"He is currently being treated by a set of doctors and his haemodynamic and clinical parameters are being closely monitored," India Today reported.

A bulletin released by the hospital said that he has been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and is on life support. The bulletin added that his condition worsened on the night of 13 August.

The health of playback singer SP Balasubrahmanyam, who had tested positive for coronavirus earlier in August, is critical and he is on life support, reports said on Friday.

"For a country so vast and diverse with high population density, meeting this challenge requires super-human efforts," the president said.

He said it is very reassuring to note that the central government, while anticipating the tremendous challenge, responded effectively and well in time.

"All corona warriors deserve high praise," Kovind said in his televised address.

In his address to the nation on the eve of the 74th Independence Day, the president complimented the COVID warriors and said the nation is indebted to doctors, nurses and other health workers who have been continuously on the forefront of the country's fight against this virus.

President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday appreciated the "super-human efforts" in containing the magnitude of the coronavirus pandemic in the country and said these are "worth emulating" by the wider world.

Dear All,Just to inform that I have tested positive for Covid 19 and initiating home isolation as per guidelines. Requesting all my friends, colleagues for self monitoring. Contact tracing will be done by Health Team. Hoping to see everyone soon.

Reports said that Agarwal is asymptomatic and had had a meeting with Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and the NITI Aayog CEO on Thursday.

Union health ministry joint secretary Lav Agarwal on Friday tweeted that he had tested positive for coronavirus.

979 new COVID-19 cases and 47 deaths were reported in Mumbai on Friday. Total number of cases now at 1,28,550 including 1,01,861 recovered/discharged cases, 19,354 active cases and 7,035 deaths, the BMC said.

Coronavirus LATEST Updates: Reports said that Agarwal is asymptomatic and had met with Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and the NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on Thursday.

The Maharashtra Police has said that 147 policemen were found COVID-19 positive in the past 24 hours, taking the overall count in the state to 11,920

India's COVID-19 cases crossed 24 lakh on Friday after 64,553 people tested positive in a day, and the recoveries rose to over 17 lakh, the health ministry said.

The COVID-19 toll in India due to the coronavirus pandemic has risen to 48,040, the health ministry said.

With tests of over 8 lakh COVID-19 samples, India tested the highest the number of samples for the coronavirus disease, said the health ministry on Thursday.

With a record single-day increase of 66,999 cases, India's COVID-19 tally mounted to 23,96,637 on Thursday, while the number of patients who have recovered from the disease surged to 16,95,982.

The recovery rate in the country is now 70.77 percent, according to the Union health ministry.

The death toll due to COVID-19 climbed to 47,033 with 942 people succumbing to the disease in the last 24 hours, health ministry data updated at 8 am showed.

The case fatality rate in the country has declined to 1.96 percent.

There are 6,53,622 active COVID-19 cases in the country presently, which account for 27.27 percent of its total caseload.

India has registered a record high of 8,30,391 tests conducted for detection of the coronavirus infection in 24 hours on Wednesday, as a result of which the cumulative testing as on date has jumped to 2,68,45,688 crore.

Head of Ram temple trust tests positive for COVID-19

The head of the Ram temple trust, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das (80), has tested positive for COVID-19, officials said on Thursday.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken detailed information on the health condition of Das, a senior government official said.

On 5 August, Das shared the dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat at the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Active cases at only 27.27 percent, says govt

According to health ministry, "record high" recoveries have led to a decline in the "actual caseload" of the country, which is the number of active cases, and currently is only 27.27 per cent of the total cases.

The number of recoveries from COVID-19 exceeded active cases by more than 10 lakh.

There are 6,53,622 active cases of the coronavirus infection in the country, according to the health ministry data updated at 8 am.

"With the increasing number of recoveries, the recovery rate has risen to 70.77 per cent, while the mortality among COVID-19 patients has further regressed to 1.96 per cent, and is steadily declining," the ministry said.

The focussed and collaborative efforts of the Centre, states and union territories along with the support of lakhs of frontline workers have ensured the successful implementation of testing aggressively, tracking comprehensively and treating efficiently through an array of measures, including supervised home isolation, and effective clinical management of severe and critical patients, it said.

Coronavirus curve 'frightening, not flattening': Rahul Gandhi

Notwithstanding the government's claims, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked the government over rising COVID-19 cases, saying the coronavirus curve is "frightening, not flattening".

His attack came on a day India recorded a record single-day increase of 66,999 cases, taking its COVID-19 tally to 23,96,637.

Gandhi also posted a graph of daily cases being recorded by the US, Brazil and India  the three worst hit nations in terms of caseload.

"Corona curve  Frightening not Flattening," Gandhi said.

Taking a swipe at the prime minister over his remarks that India is in a better position compared with other countries, the former Congress chief tweeted in Hindi, "If this is the prime minister's ''more stable situation'', then what would one call ''deteriorated situation''?"

State-wise figures

Of the 942 fresh deaths, 344 were reported from Maharashtra, 119 from Tamil Nadu, 112 from Karnataka, 93 from Andhra Pradesh, 54 each from Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, 39 from Punjab, 18 from Gujarat, 15 from Madhya Pradesh, 14 from Delhi and 11 each from Telangana and Rajasthan.

Nine fatalities were reported from Odisha, eight from Jammu and Kashmir, six each from Assam and Kerala, five each from Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Puducherry, four from Uttarakhand, three each in Bihar, Goa and Haryana and one case was recorded in Tripura.

Of the total 47,033 deaths, Maharashtra has reported the highest number of 18,650, followed by Tamil Nadu (5,278), Delhi (4,153), Karnataka (3,510), Gujarat (2,713), Andhra Pradesh (2,296), Uttar Pradesh (2,230), West Bengal (2,203) and Madhya Pradesh (1,048).

So far, 822 people have died of COVID-19 in Rajasthan, 675 in Punjab, 665 in Telangana, 503 in Haryana, 498 in Jammu and Kashmir, 416 in Bihar, 305 in Odisha, 197 in Jharkhand, 161 in Assam, 140 in Uttarakhand and 126 in Kerala.

Chhattisgarh has registered 109 COVID-19 deaths, Puducherry 96, Goa 89, Tripura 44, Chandigarh 26, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands 21, Himachal Pradesh 18, Manipur 12, Ladakh nine, Nagaland eight, Meghalaya six, Arunachal Pradesh three, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu two and Sikkim one.

TB vaccination linked with significantly improved COVID-19 outcomes: Study

A tuberculosis vaccine administered during the past 15 years is associated with significantly improved COVID-19 outcomes, especially in young adults, according to a new study.

The researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, analysed the correlation between the Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine for tuberculosis and COVID-19 outcomes.

The study, published in the journal Vaccines, found that BCG regimes are associated with better COVID-19 outcomes, both in reducing infection rates and death rates per million, especially for people aged 24 or younger who had received the vaccination in the last 15 years.

There was no effect among older adults who had received the BCG vaccine, the researchers said.

Many countries have stopped inoculating their entire population, but some still use BCG widely, they said.

"Our findings suggest exploring BCG vaccine protocols in the context of the current pandemic could be worthwhile," said Nadav Rappoport from BGU.

"A growing number of clinical trials for testing the efficacy of BCG vaccination have been initiated, Rappoport said.

The researchers analysed data from 55 countries with populations of more than three million people, which comprise some 63 percent of the world's population.

3-day old baby dies shortly after swab collection in Tripura

A three-day-old boy died shortly after a swab was inserted into his nostril for a COVID-19 test at a state-run hospital and he started bleeding, prompting the Tripura government to order an inquiry into the incident.

The baby was born to a coronavirus positive woman in Agartala Government Medical College Hospital and doctors decided to test him for COVID-19.

Director of Tripura Health Services, Subhashish Debbarma, said, "A departmental inquiry was ordered. A three-member team formed to probe the matter was asked to submit its report within three days."

The deceased's mother Papiya Pal Saha said that her son was healthy till swab samples were collected from his nose on Wednesday and he died shortly after that.

"I told the doctors that he was bleeding profusely. They assured me that he would be alright but my child died before my eyes," she said.

Additional Chief Secretary SK Rakesh, who is in-charge of the health department, said, "The infant's death may not be related to the collection of swab sample. We are waiting for autopsy reports."

Earlier, on 2 August, a two-day-old girl child succumbed to COVID-19 in the same hospital.

With inputs from PTI
(Publishers note: this was the winning essay in the seventh grade division of a contest hosted by the Sweetwater County Historical Museum.)

Over 150 years ago on Dec. 10, 1869 arguably one of the most memorable moments in history was put into action. Leaders in Wyoming granted women to vote and hold power in law making and office. This simple action pioneered equality for women across the United States. One woman in womans rights history that I would like to focus on is Ester Hobart Morris. According to the U.S. National Park Service, Morris was born on August 8th, 1814 in Tioga Coun...
A group of maskless coronavirus carousers laid siege to an MTA bus in New York over the weekend, taking over the public transport vehicle for an impromptu  and illegal  hookah dance party.

The horde of revelers descended on the #7239 bus in Maspeth, Queens, in the early hours of Sunday morning as the driver was pulling out of the Grand Avenue Depot at 3:35am.

The bus, which had no passengers on board at the time, found itself blocked by double-parked cars as it attempted to exit the depot.

When the operator got out from the bus to ask the drivers of the cars to move, dozens of people suddenly swarmed the vehicle, rushing past the driver in a stampede as he watched on helplessly.

Scroll down for video

The horde of revelers descended on the #7239 bus in Maspeth, Queens, in the early hours of Sunday morning as the driver was pulling out of the Grand Avenue Depot at 3:35am

Dozens of people suddenly swarmed the vehicle, rushing past the driver in a stampede as he watched on helplessly

The crowd then indulged in thirty minutes of partying inside the bus, complete with thumping music, animated dance moves and even nudity  but masks or social distancing protocol were nowhere to be seen.

In footage of the incident, revelers are seen sharing hookah pipes back and forth and dancing within inches of one another, without face coverings, in the cramped confines an improvised dancefloor on a city bus only has to offer.

Several of those in attendance also stripped down naked as others are seen twerking in the background.

Officials say the group violated multiple health and safety laws and as promptly as they got on bus, and also endangered the driver.

This group not only put themselves at risk, based on the fact that no one was wearing a mask, but more important to me, they put my bus operator at risk, MTA Bus President Craig Cipriano told Gothamist.

Bus operators are out there moving the citythey've been doing so since March. In this egregious situation, theyre crowded in there, no one was wearing masks and it's important to keep that in mind as we take the next step in working with law enforcement..

In footage of the incident, revelers are seen dancing within inches of one another, without face coverings, in the cramped confines an improvised dancefloor on a city bus only has to offer

In a violation of coronavirus protocol, none of the partygoers are wearing masks ans are seen sharing hookah pipes back and forth and

Several of those in attendance also stripped down naked as others are seen twerking in the background. NYPD is now investigating the incident

Officials say the group violated multiple health and safety laws and as promptly as they got on bus, and also endangered the driver

The driver was not injured and the bus did not sustain any property damage, but it did have to be disinfected.

By the time a supervisor arrived within 30 minutes, the crowd had run off, the MTA said.

The partygoers uploaded a number of photos and videos of their escapades to social media, which have since gone viral on a number of platforms.

The MTA is now working with the NYPD to help identify the culprits.

That rambunctious crowd put the bus operator and themselves at risk when they violated multiple health and safety laws and rules by taking over a bus for mask-less smoking and lewd activities without regard to social distancing, the MTA said in a statement.

An internal review is underway and the bus was later fully disinfected.
Using a variety of sources, Stacker breaks down each candidates position and history on the most important issues of the day.
Board member Joseph Hailpern said he was contacted by six local parents who had issues with the policy, some of whom explicitly expressed that it prioritized students of color over their own children. At least two of those parents said they reached out to him because he is the only white man on the board and they assumed he would share their sentiments, he said.
Lifetime series Marrying Millions showcases Black couple Rodney Foster and Desiry Hall

I asked Google what the term was for when people stop and gawk at traffic accidents. This phenomenon is called rubbernecking. I then asked why  when this happens  it feels like time slows down? Here is Googles explanation: The mind is focused and we feel alert. This bodily situation increases the chance of survival when we have to defend ourselves or have to quickly run away from danger. Because the body and mind are in a mode of extreme speed, it seems like what is happening outside in the world then slows down.

This is the feeling that I had while viewing Lifetimes series Marrying Millions, which has returned for season two, on Wednesdays, at 10 pm ET/PT.

Five new couples join the series with returning favorites Bill and Brianna from Dallas and Gentille and Brian from Las Vegas. This series is from the creators of 90 Day Fiance. Here, in Marrying Millions, the series follows relationships where one partner is incredibly wealthy and the other is definitively not, leading the couple to face intense scrutiny from family and friends and questions about whether its true loveor true love of the money and lavish lifestyles.

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Here is where the gawking (for me) begins. Where one member is rolling in money and privilege and the other member is definitively not which frankly gave me a brain freeze.

In the press release the series creators wrote this: While these love stories may sound like modern-day fairytales, they are not without major challenges as the couples must try to bridge their vast differences and fit into each other worlds.

For the record, before I push into a brief description of three couples that are featured, I never thought (not, even once) that there was a fairytale aspect to the pairings. The confusion is designed to cause conversation. I believe this is what makes Marrying Millions a success. Its an equivalent (for me) of watching a car crash on the side of the road.

Ill share three examples to try and make my point. The first couple is from Dallas, TX, Bill, and Brianna (RETURNING COUPLE). Bill is 61 years old. He founded and currently runs a commercial real estate company with investments in the billions. Hes been divorced, twice, before he met Brianna, 22, at a popular restaurant in Dallas where Brianna was a hostess. Lets do the math. Hes 61 and a billionaire. Shes 22 and a hostess. There is an almost 40-year age gap. Do you remember the dialogue from the popular film Ghost?  Molly You in danger girl, thats what blazed in my head when I watched their exchange. Eventually, Brianna will become 23, then 24, and so forth and so on, and I suspect, too old for billionaire Bill.

The second couple is Rick (68) and Erica (23). Shes from small town, Springfield, Illinois, and he lives aboard his yacht in Miami Beach. Here there is a 45-year age gap. The two met through social media, and after liking some of her photos, moved quickly to ask her to live with him on his yacht.

Then, there is the African-American couple, Rodney (Foster) and Desiry (Hall) from Washington, DC, and Los Angeles, CA.

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Rodney is a multi-millionaire who makes his money in the wine industry. Desiry, a former police officer, works for a non-profit. But with Rodney living outside Washington, DC, and Desiry residing in Los Angeles, their relationship has its share of challenges, including the fact that they have kept their relationship a secret.

Ive had an opportunity to speak with Rodney and Desiry, but before you venture to read the brief Q&A please push into the link below, and do take a peek into their relationship and watch these clips. There seems to be an elephant in the room and for me, I wrestled with asking it.

VIEW CLIPS:

https://aenetworks.box.com/s/8tw5gfzgg0rzo85618sayg1d0czg0xeb

https://aenetworks.box.com/s/9olfqkotvp609g5ciqgk7z66va41wlr1

The internet has speculated that Rodney is a homosexual and that their relationship is manufactured for the show.

Here is what Rodney and Desiry from Washington, DC, and Los Angeles, CA, had to share about being on Lifetimes Marrying Millions (on Wednesdays, at 10 pm ET/PT) had to share about the show.

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL: Hello  Desiry Hall.

DESIRY HALL: Hello, Lapacazo.

RODNEY FOSTER: Hello, Lapacazo

LAS: (pause) Oh. Wait. Is this Desiry. Im confused.

RF: No. Im Rodney.

LAS: (pause) You are Rodney?

RF: Yes.

DH: This is Desiry.

LAS: (pause). Okay, let me start with you, Desiry. Its very courageous of you both  I think  to open your lives to a reality television series. Do you agree? What made you step into this?

DH: I wanted to really push Rodney to the core of where our relationship was headed. I felt like if I asked him to come on the show, that he is heading in the same direction that I was. Which is marriage. So, we talked about marriage. So, I thought if he comes on this show, hes serious. If not, then I know that I am wasting my time.

LAS: And how does this end for you?

DH: (pregnant pause) I cant say. You have to watch the show.

LAS: Indeed. Correct me if I am wrong, you are divorced?

DH: (pause) Yes. I am divorced. Ive been married twice before. Marriage is not easy.

LAS: No.

DH: [Marriage] . it takes work. Ive tried my best to tell Rodney that because Ive had that experience under my belt and I just know what it takes a marriage to work. Marriage is about compromise. You have to be selfless.

LAS: True.

DH: Women know what they want. You go after what you want.

LAS: And compromise.

DH: Yes. There is a lot of compromise in our relationship. We try to come to a point where we respect each others space.

LAS: Rodney. You are silent.

RF: No. I just answered you (laughter). We try to come to a point where we respect each other space.

LAS: Oh. My gosh, I thought I was talking with Desiry.

RF: No. That was me.

Lifetimes series Marrying Millions, which has returned for season two, on Wednesdays, at 10 pm ET/PT.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
While companies race to produce a safe, effective vaccine for the novel coronavirus, a crucial question remains: Will enough people take it to make a difference?

Early statistics are grim.

Only about one-third of Americans say they'd be very likely to get a vaccine to prevent COVID-19, according to a poll released last month  virtually unchanged since the spring.

More people said they would get it if the vaccine were free, and others said they would sign on if there was a second wave of infections  a sign that while many Americans are hesitant about a vaccine, their opinions aren't set in stone.

But convincing them that getting a vaccine is a good idea will take effort and money. And so far, no federal dollars have been set aside for vaccine education.

Peter Pitts oversaw the Food and Drug Administration's public outreach programs during the George W. Bush administration. Back then, as now, there was no budget.

"It was all bully pulpit stuff, and that only goes so far," said Pitts, now president and co-founder of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, a New York-based nonpartisan think tank.

Now we're in a global crisis, and funding and attention is urgent, he said. "As far as I can tell, there's no strategy on the federal or state or local levels to educate the public relative the value of a COVID vaccine specifically, or to vaccines just in general."

Two decades ago, the Human Genome Project  a $3 billion effort to map every gene  set aside 3% to 5% of its budget for public communication, said Emily Brunson, a medical anthropologist at Texas State University. She'd like to see the same thing done with COVID-19 vaccine development.

She and other advocates fear that if the work doesn't start soon, it'll be too late. A vaccine is likely to receive federal approval as soon as later this year.

Causes for hesitancy vary widely

Not everyone is hesitant for the same reasons.

Story continues

People of color often have been treated poorly by the medical establishment, so they have good reason to be distrustful, said Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, an infectious disease specialist at Brigham and Women's and Massachusetts General hospitals in Boston.

Ojikutu said she's confident in the vaccine development process because of her own knowledge of the system and some of the people involved. But others will need to be convinced. "I'm concerned whether or not communities of color are going to take it," she said.

Latinos, for instance, may be afraid of authority because of the administration's aggressive immigration policies. They also often hold essential jobs with inflexible hours, which may make it challenging for them to get a vaccine even if they want one.

Different strategies will be needed to address different causes of vaccine hesitancy, said Monica Schoch-Spana, who with Brunson co-chaired a Working Group on Readying Populations for COVID-19 Vaccines that recently produced a white paper.

People concerned about safety will need reassurance; people of color will need to be engaged in a process that builds trust; and people worried about government overreach will need to be heard, said Schoch-Spana, a senior scholar with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

More research will also be needed to fully appreciate this hesitation, said Lois Privor-Dumm, a senior research associate with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and an expert in vaccine introduction.

"Understanding and respecting what people believe and what is important to them is really crucial," she said.

Then there are those who won't like any vaccine, regardless of how it was developed or what officials say.

Pitts, the former FDA official, said such anti-vaxxers shouldn't be allowed to control the public discussion around vaccines. "They are a threat to themselves, their families, their neighbors and their communities," he said.

Early signals from feds may have hurt

The administration made a mistake emphasizing speed when it announced federal funding for vaccine development, vaccine advocates said. Calling the project "Operation Warp Speed" suggested to many people that it would prioritize speed over safety.

"This issue of speed is not sitting well within Black communities," Ojikutu said, suggesting the title "Operation Safe Recovery" instead.

"Everyone wants a resolution to this devastating pandemic," Ojikutu said. "But in communities that have heightened mistrust towards systems, you have to focus in on how you will protect them, not on how you will develop something quickly. The piece of this that is so critical is safety."

In recent weeks, the National Institutes of Health's Dr. Anthony Fauci and other leaders of the government's vaccine development effort have repeatedly said safety is their top priority.

But first impressions linger.

"My concern is that there's be a great deal of pressure on whoever developed and tested the vaccine to get it out as quickly as possible," said Jeffrey Freed, a 59-year-old information technology consultant from Charlotte, North Carolina. "If it takes four years to do it right, then that's what we have to do."

Freed said he's not opposed to vaccines, he just wants to be convinced the science behind one is solid. Once he is and his doctor gives him the all-clear, Freed said he'll be more than willing to get a shot.

Living alone and working from home for months has left him as ready as everyone else for the coronavirus outbreak to end. "I want out," he said.

President Donald Trump and Operation Warp Speed may also have created unrealistic expectations, said Sandra Crouse Quinn, a professor and chair of the department of family science at the University of Maryland.

Unless trials go perfectly, Quinn doesn't believe a vaccine will be ready before the end of the year, as the president has promised, and even if there is one, it won't reach the average citizen for months. But by creating this expectation, Trump may be setting people up for disappointment  and potentially disillusionment in the process.

"Operation Warp Speed is raising doubts about safety and cutting corners," she said.

Concrete steps to take

Who delivers a pro-vaccine message will be important, Ojikutu said. If African Americans don't see people who look like them talking about getting vaccinated, they'll be far less likely to take that step themselves, she said.

She suggests enlisting Black community leaders, faith leaders and health care providers  "people who have a vested interest in caring for people"  in efforts to inform the public about COVID-19 vaccines.

It's not a matter of rebuilding Black confidence in vaccines, she said, because there's so little to begin with. But done right, a COVID-19 vaccination campaign could help build public faith in other vaccines.

Dr. LaTasha Perkins

It would be great to have Black doctors recommending vaccines, but only 2% of all doctors in the U.S. are African-American, said Dr. LaTasha Perkins, a family physician and assistant professor at Georgetown University School of Medicine.

Still, role models are essential, as is Black participation in clinical trials that will determine whether a vaccine is safe and effective.

"If you can show that the vaccine works for us, works in us and that we were part of the process, that will build trust," Perkins said.

One way to remove people's hesitancy about vaccines is to make it easy to get them, said Privor-Dumm, at Johns Hopkins. Vaccines should be low-cost or free, and given out at convenient times and locations, she said.

Someone who has to miss work to get a shot  or even two, as most of the vaccines under development will require  will be much more hesitant about a vaccine than someone who can get one for free, close to home at a time that works, she said.

It's also crucial to counter misinformation with accurate data about an eventual COVID-19 vaccine. There are so many myths right now "it's mind-boggling," said Theresa Horner, chair of the public health department at St. Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania.

"Information that can help alleviate that and provide honest answers and truths, it will certainly serve the United States well in trying to eradicate this (virus)," she said.

The bottom line is that the pandemic can't end without a vaccine that the majority of Americans are willing to take, said Dr. Lindsey Baden, director of infectious disease clinical research at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

"If we have a successful vaccine and (only)half the people take it, we've failed."

Contact Weintraub at kweintraub@usatoday.

Health and patient safety coverage at USA TODAY is made possible in part by a grant from the Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation and Competition in Healthcare. The Masimo Foundation does not provide editorial input.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID vaccine: Why a vaccination is key to ending coronavirus pandemic
Tribune Publishing Company, which owns some of the most storied newspapers in American journalism, said Wednesday that it is closing the newsrooms at five of them, including The Morning Call in Allentown.

The company said the newspapers  the other four are the New York Daily News, The Capital Gazette in Maryland, the Orlando Sentinel in Florida and the Carroll County Times in Maryland  will continue to be published with employees working from home as they have been during the coronavirus pandemic.

Employees were told they would be working at home until at least January 2021.

As we progress through the pandemic and as needs change, we will reconsider our need for physical offices, a spokesperson for the Chicago-based company, Max Reinsdorf, said via email. We will keep employees informed of decisions as they are made.

The Morning Call reported Wednesday night on its website that it has called Sixth and Linden streets in downtown Allentown its home since 1920. Its approximately 100 employees will have until Sept. 15 to retrieve their personal belongings, and it remains unclear if Tribune intends to find another office for those employees or continue to have them work from home, according to the report.

The Daily News, once the newspaper with the largest circulation in the country, has been in financial trouble for years and was sold to The Tribune Publishing Company for $1 in 2017 by New York real estate developer and media mogul Mortimer B. Zuckerman. The new owner cut the newsroom staff in half.

Its offices at 4 New York Plaza in Manhattan will be formally closed as of Wednesday and staff will be given until Oct. 30 to retrieve personal items, a human resources executive at The Daily News said in a letter to employees obtained by The Associated Press.

With no clear path forward in terms of returning to work, and as the company evaluates its real estate needs in light of health and economic conditions brought about by the pandemic, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close the office, said Reinsdorf, referring to The Daily News in a statement about the newsroom closures.

The Capital Gazette in Marylands capital moved to its current newsroom about a year after the June 2018 mass shooting in which a gunman who had a history of harassing the newspapers journalists killed five employees. Before that, for nearly a year, the newspapers staff worked in a temporary newsroom at the University of Marylands Capital News Service bureau in Annapolis.

In a June 8 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Tribune Publishing said it had withheld three months of rent payments for a majority of its facilities and requested rent relief from the lessors in various forms, including lease terminations, the Orlando Sentinel reported Wednesday.

The Tribune Publishing Company also publishes the Chicago Tribune, The Baltimore Sun, Virginias Daily Press and The Virginian-Pilot, and the Hartford Courant.
LARKSPUR, Calif., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Mosaic NetworX LLC, a leading global network aggregator to multi-location businesses, and Southern Cross Cable Network, the premier sub-sea cable operator with capacity between Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii, and mainland U.S., today announced a strategic partnership where Mosaic NetworX is the exclusive North American-based direct distributor of capacity.

Under the terms of the agreement, Mosaic will provide direct connectivity to Southern Cross' global, sub-sea capacity services, targeting hyper-scale, gaming, and enterprise customers in North America.

This is a historic deal for both companies and represents the first time either company has entered an agreement solely designed to accelerate revenue growth in North America.

"Mosaic NetworX will be feet on the ground in the U.S. market and help Southern Cross better serve U.S.-based customers. We have chosen Mosaic as an experienced and successful wholesaler with a 14-year track record of success with a deep list of key clients. This will help Southern Cross reach market sectors not currently served by the Southern Cross Cable eco-system of submarine fibre optic cable," said Laurie Miller, CEO of Southern Cross Cable Network. "We have chosen Mosaic as our exclusive U.S.-based distribution partner based on their lineage of continual growth, reputational strength and customer service excellence."

"Southern Cross has a long and celebrated history as the premier provider of sub-sea capacity between the northern and southern hemispheres," said Matt Hiles, COO at Mosaic NetworX. "This agreement further solidifies Mosaic's position as a leading global network aggregator and infrastructure provider, and we are super excited to bring SX capacity directly to the hyper-scale and enterprise marketplace in North America."

About Southern Cross

Southern Cross Cable Network provides fast, direct, and secure international bandwidth from Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii to the heart of the Internet in the USA. The Southern Cross Cable Network comprises two submarine communications cables with the new Southern Cross NEXT route due to be complete early 2022. Southern Cross provides high-speed, low-latency, resilient international connections to the U.S. West Coast, where global Internet hubs are located. Southern Cross Cable Network has offices in Bermuda, Sydney, Auckland and Wellington. For more information, visit Southern Cross at https://www.southerncrosscables.com.

About Mosaic NetworX LLC

Mosaic NetworX is a U.S.-based Communications Service Provider (CSP) specializing Digital Transformation (DX) for global enterprises. Mosaic NetworX offers a comprehensive set of ultra-high capacity transport services, as well as services for the submarine fibre optic telecommunication system industry, including turnkey project management, financial and technical due diligence, engineering and implementation and market and technical studies. For more information about Mosaic NetworX, visit https://www.mosaicnetworx.com or send an email to: [email protected]

Contacts

Southern Cross Cable Network

Laurie Miller, President & CEO

+64 21 414 031, [email protected]

Mosaic NetworX LLC

Matt Hiles, Chief Operating Officer

[email protected]

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SOURCE Mosaic NetworX LLC
They become less cautious because they think there is a cyber-enabled veneer that protects them, said one law enforcement official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. Theyre not really trying to hide what theyre doing; they are in fact very open.
The outbreak of 11 COVID-19 infections in a group of GTA families who visited Deerhurst Resort in Muskoka underscores the risks of ignoring public health guidelines  especially keeping to social circles of the same 10 people, Ontarios chief medical officer says.

You cant say Well, its a holiday and we just slip, we let the standards slide. Thats not acceptable, Dr. David Williams told a briefing Thursday as the province reported 78 new infections with the virus, a number he said was artificially low because of a snag in compiling numbers from Toronto.

Williams urged anyone who thinks that they might have been in contact with an infected person to avoid travel. If youre positive, dont go, he added. If you have signs and symptoms, dont go.

Several members of the Deerhurst group of about 30 people also visited the nearby Three Guys and a Stove restaurant in Huntsville. The popular eatery has temporarily closed as a precaution until results of tests on the staff are known, likely in time for the weekend.

Its the cost of doing business in a pandemic, said owner Jeff Suddaby.

The closure of the dining spot on Hwy 60  a high-traffic route that leads to Algonquin Park a half-hour drive to the east  prompted Williams to rebuke the unidentified visitors, who did not show symptoms or test positive until returning home from their getaway on the August long weekend.

Some people were less than responsible and conscientious in handling things, he noted.

Williams warned that this is how COVID-19 cases could fan out across the province from a tourist area that thousands of people are passing through, as well as posing a danger to residents of the Huntsville area.

I understand those ones at those gatherings were not exercising the six-foot distancing. They probably werent in the same social circle, Williams said. Respect those local people ... we do not want to spread infections up in that area in any way at all, at any time.

The medical officer of health for Simcoe-Muskoka said he was notified by local health officials in the GTA of the 11 infections among the visitors and has not been informed of any related new cases since last weekend.

There was a certain amount of mixing (among the 30 visitors) that led to transmission, Dr. Charles Gardner told the Star in an interview. We are continuing the investigation.

Gardner noted one server from Three Guys and a Stove is self-isolating and praised the restaurant for going public and temporarily closing even though if had not been ordered to do so. It reflects well on them, he said.

With half the residents of Muskoka being seasonal and some being tested for COVID-19, Gardner said he is pressing the province to provide details to the health unit on positive cases because notifications go back to their home health units in Toronto and elsewhere.

Williams said his office has been getting reports of visitors from abroad and residents returning from overseas who are violating the 14-day quarantine requirement and going to social gatherings.

We should say, if someone shows up, You shouldnt be here, he said.

Health officials are eager to continue the downward trend in cases as schools prepare to reopen in September.

Of Ontarios 34 public health units, 19 reported no new cases in Ministry of Health figures released Thursday that were based on data received at 4 p.m. the previous day. Nine had fewer than five new cases with the largest increases being in Peel with 19, Ottawa with 10, Windsor-Essex with nine and Middlesex-London with six.

There were 43 people in hospital with COVID-19 across the province, a decrease of six, with 20 of those patients in intensive care and 10 of them on ventilators. At the peak of the first wave, there were more than 1,200 Ontarians who required hospitalization for the highly contagious virus at the same time.

Williams said the University Health Network, which includes Toronto General and Toronto Western hospitals, had no coronavirus cases as of Thursday morning, freeing up more space for patients with other medical conditions and those waiting for elective surgeries that were postponed because of the pandemic. He called that a remarkable milestone.

Ontarios case numbers contrast favourably with neighbouring Michigan, which reported 1,121 new infections Thursday, the highest since May 14. That state has had more than 90,000 confirmed cases and almost 6,300 deaths.

A Star compilation of data from Ontario health units at 5 p.m. Thursday found 96 new confirmed and suspected cases in the previous 24 hours, although that number nets out to 72 after Toronto removed 24 previously reported cases. Ontario has now had 42,451 cases since late January. There were four more deaths reported, raising the toll to 2,829 people.

The Ministry of Health reported 891 active cases across the province, a decline of 99 as more people who tested positive for COVID-19 were considered to be recovered.
Buenos Aires, Aug 13 : Argentina's mortality rate for COVID-19 patients aged over 60 years rose to 10.5 per cent, the Ministry of Health warned.

This figure is far higher than the average mortality rate nationwide, which is 1.9 per cent, Carla Vizzotti, the Health Ministry's health access secretary, told the media on Wednesday.

COVID-19's mortality rate rises in direct correlation with the patient's age, as well as any pre-existing conditions, Xinhua news agency reported citing the Secretary as saying.

Compared with other countries with a similar number of cases, Vizzotti said the differences between Argentina and those countries are that their outbreaks occurred in a very short period of time and they have stronger health systems.

Since detecting its first COVID-19 case on March 3, Argentina has reported 268,574 cases of infection and 5,213 deaths so far.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Kylie Jenner Brought Back the Bedazzled Trend While Breaking Travel Rules in Turks and Caicos

She celebrated her 23rd birthday for the second time.

Kylie Jenner is currently in Turks and Caicos for her 23rd birthday, despite nonessential travel bans in California. This was Jenner's second celebration and also her second bedazzled birthday dress. On Instagram, she posted a photo of herself wearing a Balmain multi-colored jewel dress, basically telling her followers that bedazzling is about to enter the 2020 conversation.

"thank you my love @olivier_rousteing for the most perfect bday dress," she wrote in the caption.

Based on her Instagram story and posts it seems as though Jenner traveled with her daughter Stormi. She posted a photo of the two of them standing in the ocean wearing white dresses with the caption "no place i'd rather be."

RELATED: Kylie Jenner Celebrates Her Birthday with a New Bob

On Jenner's actual birthday, she wore a corset dress with a custom Swarovski Crystal "23" written out in roman numerals. She also had a matching temporary tattoo.

The Kardashian and Jenner family has not exactly followed the rules for traveling and distancing in the last few months of the COVID-19 pandemic. In June, Kendall and Kylie traveled to Utah for a vacation, and Kim, Kourtney, and Khloe have all spent time at Kim's house in Wyoming.
From todays Advance: Headline: After police shooting, hundreds loot Chicago stores.

From story: Police Superintendent David Brown told reporters that a Sunday afternoon shooting of the man who had opened fire on officers

Looks more like a Suspects Attack on Police Somehow Leads to Further Mayhem.

Why what looks to be such a glaring mischaracterization of the stated facts?

(Jack Gordon is a West Brighton resident.)
The UK began trials of a new smartphone app on Thursday designed to track COVID-19 infections within the community, with versions also available in Indian languages such as Punjabi, Gujarati, Bangla and Urdu in order to reach ethnicities not well-versed in English.

The new app is part of the UK's National Health Service (NHS) Test and Trace service Test and Trace programme and is being overseen by Indian-origin techie Randeep Sidhu as Head of Product.

The new application, dubbed a state-of-the-art app that is safe, simple and secure, will begin trials this week among residents on the Isle of Wight region on the south coast of England and among NHS volunteer responders across England before expanding to the London borough of Newham.

A UK-wide roll-out is expected later this year by which time it will also be available in at least six other languages with the aim of encouraging a large number of people to download it.

We've worked with tech companies, international partners, privacy and medical experts to develop an app that is simple to use, secure and will help keep the country safe, said UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

It's essential we get the country moving again so people can get back to doing what they love. Our statistics show more people with symptoms are getting tested and NHS Test and Trace reaches the vast majority of people testing positive, and their contacts, he said.

The app is expected to further enhance the current volunteer-backed test and trace system and will build on the feedback from an earlier version of an NHS app, which was also trialled on the Isle of Wight.

The new version is designed to work alongside traditional contact tracing services and testing, to help people understand if they are at risk of infection so they can take appropriate action.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said that it uses the latest in security technology and is designed with user privacy in mind, so it tracks the virus and not people.

It's really important that we make it as easy as possible for everyone to engage with NHS Test and Trace," said Dido Harding, Executive Chair of the NHS Test and Trace Programme.

"By launching an app that supports our integrated, localised approach to NHS Test and Trace, anyone with a smartphone will be able to find out if they are at risk of having caught the virus, quickly and easily order a test, and access the right guidance and advice, said Harding.

There is no silver bullet when it comes to tackling The app is a great step forward and will complement all of the work we are doing with local areas across the country to reach more people in their communities and work towards our vision of helping more people get back to the most normal life possible at the lowest risk, she said.

The NHS Test and Trace programme said it has worked closely with major tech companies, including Google and Apple, and teams in countries across the world such as Germany using similar apps.

Simon Thompson, Managing Director of the NHS Test and Trace App, said the new app will be like having NHS Test and Trace in your pocket.

NHS Test and Trace is vital to controlling the spread of and this app is designed to give people maximum freedom at minimum risk," Thompson said.

"We have worked with some of the most innovative organisations in the world, such as Apple, Google, scientists from the Alan Turing Institute and Oxford University and governments across the world to come up with a state-of-the-art product which works to protect people everyday, he said.

The app comes with a range of enhanced features aimed at reducing personal and public risk from Covid-19, including an alert system letting users know the level of risk in their postcode district, a QR code check-in option to warn users if they have recently visited a venue where they may have come into contact with someone who later tests positive with COVID-19 and a symptoms tracker.

The designers behind the app stress that it is designed to the highest standards of data privacy and data security and will not track individuals or hold personal information such as name, address or date of birth.

As a direct result of our incredible, collective effort an improved app has been developed and now, we along with others are being asked to help test this app once again, said Dave Stewart, Council Leader of Isle of Wight where an earlier version of an NHS app was trialled.

We know that Newham has seen some of the most significant impacts of Covid-19 due to the health inequalities and vulnerabilities in our communities, said Rokhsana Fiaz, the Mayor of Newham a diverse area of east London with a large ethnic minority population.

With its easy to use features, the app will be available in different languages and comes with the assurance that personal data stays with the user so that people's privacy is protected, she said.

The new app comes as the DHSC released the latest statistics from the tenth week of its NHS Test and Trace operation, which shows that the service has reached more than a quarter of a million people since the service launched.

(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.)
CALGARY, Alberta, Aug. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Painted Pony Energy Ltd. (Painted Pony or the Corporation) (TSX: PONY) announces second quarter 2020 financial and operating results.



HIGHLIGHTS

Announced an agreement to be acquired by Canadian Natural Resources Limited for $0.69 per share, representing a 30% premium to the 20-day volume weighted average price of $0.53 per share at the time of the announcement on Monday, August 10, 2020;



Averaged daily production of 305,058 Mcfe/d (50,843 boe/d) during the second quarter of 2020 compared to 293,868 Mcfe/d (48,978 boe/d) during the second quarter of 2019, and;



Produced average daily liquids of 4,396 bbls/d during the second quarter of 2020, which was 22% higher than liquids production of 3,594 bbls/d during the first quarter of 2020, and compares to second quarter 2019 liquids production of 4,508 bbls/d.

SECOND QUARTER 2020 FINANCIAL & OPERATING RESULTS

Production

Painted Ponys average daily production increased 4% to 305,058 Mcfe/d (50,843 boe/d) during the second quarter of 2020, compared to 293,868 Mcfe/d (48,978 boe/d) during the second quarter of 2019. Second quarter 2020 average daily production volumes consisted of 91% natural gas and 9% NGLs compared to the same levels during the second quarter of 2019. During the second quarter of 2020, Painted Ponys NGLs production increased 22% to 4,396 boe/d, from 3,594 boe/d during the first quarter of 2020, with the increase due to the recently commissioned third-party deep-cut facility at Townsend to which Painted Pony received access.

Capital Expenditures

Painted Ponys capital program for the second quarter of 2020 was approximately $5 million, including approximately $4 million for drilling and completion costs. Painted Pony drilled 7 (1.75 net) Montney wells during the second quarter of 2020.

Pricing and Adjusted Funds Flow from Operations

Painted Ponys realized commodity price of $2.12 per Mcf represents a 7% premium to the AECO daily (5A) benchmark price of $1.99 per Mcf during the second quarter of 2020. Painted Ponys operating netback of ($0.09) per Mcfe during the second quarter of 2020 declined in comparison to the operating netback of $1.26 per Mcfe during the second quarter of 2019. Painted Ponys adjusted funds flow from (used in) operations during the second quarter of 2020 was $(14) million, compared to $9 million during the second quarter of 2019. This decline was the result of a 55% reduction in realized NGL pricing to $20.48 per bbl during the second quarter of 2020 compared to $45.57 per bbl during the second quarter of 2019, realized losses on risk management contracts, increased capital facility fees and higher transportation costs resulting from contracted capacity on the recently constructed North Montney Mainline. Stronger natural gas pricing at Station 2 and AECO were offset by lower NYMEX prices which reached a 31 year low of US$1.63/MMBtu during June of 2020. The risk management contracts were impacted by the reduced basis between NYMEX natural gas pricing and domestic natural gas hubs. The change in capital facility fees was the result of modifications to finance lease obligations, with a corresponding decrease in finance lease expense.

Liquidity, Future Operations and Arrangement Agreement

As at June 30, 2020, the Corporation had a working capital deficiency of $180.7 million. During the three months ended June 30, 2020, the Corporation had incurred a net loss of $33.5 million and cash flows used in operations were $8.3 million. Included in the working capital deficiency is bank debt of $148.4 million due on May 11, 2021 and in addition, the Corporation has convertible debentures of $50 million which mature on August 23, 2021. The Corporation's syndicated credit facilities consist of available credit facilities of $325 million. The available facilities are provided by a syndicate of financial institutions and include a $275 million extendable revolving facility and a $50 million operating facility. The Corporation also has a $22 million unsecured letter of credit facility backstopped by Export Development Canada ("EDC"). As the current maturity date of the credit facilities is May 11, 2021, the bank debt has been classified as a current liability at June 30, 2020.

On July 31, 2020, subject to certain reporting requirements and spending limits, the Corporation's banking syndicate agreed to extend the date for completion of the annual borrowing base redetermination to August 31, 2020. Any redetermination of the borrowing base is effective immediately, and if the borrowing base is reduced, any shortfall is due immediately. The available lending limits are based on the syndicate's sole interpretation of the Company's reserves, future commodity prices and costs. No assurance can be provided that the amount of the facilities will not be adjusted on August 31, 2020, or that the Company will be able to further renew or extend or replace the current facilities on terms that are favorable to the Corporation. Should the Corporation be unable to extend the maturity date of the credit facilities, it could result in a default under the terms of the credit agreement and lenders would have the right, but not the obligation, to demand immediate repayment of all amounts drawn on the credit facilities and would result in defaults under both the Convertible Debenture Indenture and the Senior Note Trust Indenture. The Corporation's ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon the Corporation's ability to maintain the credit facilities at or above amounts currently drawn and its ability to renew the credit facilities prior to the repayment/maturity date. There can be no assurances that the facilities will be renewed, or additional sources of funding will be available for the Corporation. These matters cause material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt on the Corporation's ability to continue as a going concern.

The Corporation and its lenders continue to work towards a long-term solution on the facilities and the overall liquidity of the Corporation. In this regard, after reviewing the Corporation's current circumstances and all available proposals, on August 10, 2020, the Corporation entered into a definitive arrangement agreement (the "Arrangement Agreement") pursuant to which Canadian Natural Resources Limited (the "Purchaser") has agreed to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Corporation for cash consideration of $0.69 per share (the "Transaction"). The Purchaser will assume the Corporation's net debt as estimated upon closing. The Transaction is subject to various closing conditions, including court approval, the required approval by the Corporation's securityholders and certain regulatory approvals, including approval under the Competition Act (Canada). Closing of the Transaction is anticipated to occur in early October 2020 upon satisfaction of all conditions precedent, including approval under the Competition Act (Canada). The Arrangement Agreement provides for a non-completion fee of $20.0 million payable by the Corporation if the transaction is terminated under certain circumstances.

For additional information concerning Painted Ponys second quarter 2020 financial and operating results, including Financial Statements and the full Management Discussion and Analysis, please visit https://paintedpony.ca/investors/financial-reports/default.aspx or www.sedar.com .

FINANCIAL AND OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS





Three months ended June 30,

Six months ended June 30, ($ millions, except per share and shares outstanding) 2020 2019 2020 2019 Financial Natural gas and natural gas liquids revenue(1) 61.9 59.1 135.9 166.8 Cash flows from (used in) operating activities (8.3 ) 22.3 12.6 76.0 Per share - basic(2)(4) (0.05 ) 0.14 0.08 0.47 Per share - diluted(3)(4) (0.05 ) 0.13 0.07 0.45 Adjusted funds flow from (used in) operations(5) (13.6 ) 9.1 (8.3 ) 55.6 Per share - basic(2)(5) (0.08 ) 0.06 (0.05 ) 0.35 Per share - diluted(3)(5) (0.08 ) 0.05 (0.05 ) 0.33 Net loss and comprehensive loss - basic and diluted (33.5 ) (14.7 ) (315.6 ) (17.3 ) Per share - basic and diluted(2)(3) (0.21 ) (0.09 ) (1.96 ) (0.11 ) Cash capital expenditures 5.3 15.3 26.2 52.2 Working capital (deficiency)(6) (180.7 ) (20.5 ) (180.7 ) (20.5 ) Bank debt 148.4 134.8 148.4 134.8 Senior notes 145.6 143.9 145.6 143.9 Convertible debentures - liability 48.2 46.8 48.2 46.8 Net debt(7) 359.4 344.2 359.4 344.2 Total assets 1,099.3 2,013.4 1,099.3 2,013.4 Shares outstanding (millions) 161.0 161.0 161.0 161.0 Basic weighted-average shares (millions) 161.0 161.0 161.0 161.0 Fully diluted weighted-average shares (millions) 169.9 169.9 169.9 169.9 Operational Daily production volumes Natural gas (MMcf/d) 278.7 266.8 288.0 283.4 Natural gas liquids (bbls/d) 4,396 4,508 3,995 4,430 Total (MMcfe/d) 305.1 293.9 312.0 310.0 Total (boe/d) 50,843 48,978 51,992 51,669 Realized commodity prices before financial risk management contracts Natural gas ($/Mcf) 2.12 1.66 2.21 2.50 Natural gas liquids ($/bbl) 20.48 45.57 27.46 48.31 Total ($/Mcfe) 2.23 2.21 2.39 2.97 Operating netbacks ($/Mcfe)(8) (0.09 ) 1.26 0.38 1.88 Corporate netbacks ($/Mcfe)(8) (0.14 ) 0.72 0.18 1.36

1. Before royalties.

2. Basic per share information is calculated on the basis of the weighted average number of shares outstanding in the period.

3. Diluted per share information reflects the potential dilutive effect of stock options and convertible debentures.

4. Cash flows from (used in) operating activities per share (basic and diluted), are non-GAAP measures calculated by dividing cash flows from (used in) operating activities by the weighted average of basic or diluted shares outstanding in the period. See "Non-GAAP Measures".

5. Adjusted funds flow from (used in) operations and adjusted funds flow from (used in) operations per share (basic and diluted) are non-GAAP measures used to represent cash flow from (used in) operating activities before the effects of changes in non-cash working capital and decommissioning expenditures. Adjusted funds flow from (used in) operations per share is calculated by dividing adjusted funds flow from (used in) operations by the weighted average number of basic or diluted shares outstanding in the period. See Non-GAAP Measures.

6. Working capital (deficiency) is a non-GAAP measure calculated as current assets less current liabilities. See Non-GAAP Measures.

7. Net debt is a non-GAAP measure calculated as bank debt, senior notes, the liability portion of convertible debentures, and working capital deficiency, adjusted for the net current portion of fair value of risk management contracts and current portion of the finance lease obligation. See Non-GAAP Measures.

8. Operating netbacks and corporate netbacks are non-GAAP measures. Operating netbacks are calculated on a per unit basis as natural gas and natural gas liquids revenues, adjusted for realized gains or losses on risk management contracts, less royalties, operating expenses and transportation expenses. Corporate netbacks are calculated as operating netbacks less finance lease expense per unit. See Non-GAAP Measures and Operating Netbacks and Corporate Netbacks.

DEFINITIONS AND ADVISORIES

Currency: All amounts referred to in this press release are stated in Canadian dollars unless otherwise specified.

Boe Conversions: Barrel of oil equivalent ("boe") amounts have been calculated by using the conversion ratio of six thousand cubic feet (6 Mcf) of natural gas to one barrel of oil (1 bbl). Boe amounts may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A boe conversion ratio of 6 Mcf to 1 bbl is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead. Given that the value ratio based on the current price of oil as compared to natural gas is significantly different from the energy equivalent of 6:1, utilizing a conversion on a 6:1 basis may be misleading as an indication of value.

Mcfe Conversions: Thousands of cubic feet of gas equivalent ("Mcfe") amounts have been calculated by using the conversion ratio of one barrel of oil (1 bbl) to six thousand cubic feet (6 Mcf) of natural gas. Mcfe amounts may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A conversion ratio of 1 bbl to 6 Mcf is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead. Given that the value ratio based on the current price of natural gas as compared to oil is significantly different from the energy equivalent of 1:6, utilizing a conversion on a 1:6 basis may be misleading as an indication of value.

Forward-Looking Information: This press release contains certain forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information relates to future events or future performance and is based upon the Corporation's current internal expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and beliefs. All information other than historical fact is forward-looking information. Words such as "plan", "expect", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words that indicate events or conditions may occur are intended to identify forward-looking information. In particular, this press release contains forward looking information relating to on-stream timing for new wells, including expected on-stream timing for the eight-well pad on the South Townsend block, cost reductions, including in relation to cost structure improvements at the AltaGas Townsend Facility and reduced transportation obligations on both Enbridge T-North and TC Energy Corporations North Montney Mainline pipelines, reductions in take-or-pay obligations and capital facility fees relating to the AltaGas Townsend Facility, expectations regarding firm transportation obligations on the North Montney Mainline and the anticipated timing of the closing of the Transaction. In addition, the Companys ability to continue as a going concern involves significant judgment and is dependent on, among other things, its ability to maintain the credit facilities at or above amounts currently drawn and its ability to renew the credit facilities prior to the repayment/maturity date and the anticipated timing of the closing of the Transaction.

Forward-looking information is based on certain expectations and assumptions including but not limited to future commodity prices, currency exchange rates, interest rates, royalty rates, tax rates; the state of the economy and the exploration and production business; the economic and political environment in which the Corporation operates; the regulatory framework; anticipated timing and results of capital expenditures; the sufficiency of budgeted capital expenditures to carry out planned operations; operating, transportation, marketing and general and administrative costs; drilling success, production rates, future capital expenditures, the availability of labor and services, the ability of the Corporation and the Purchaser to receive, in a timely manner, the necessary securityholder, court, regulatory and other third-party approvals, including but not limited to competition approvals, and the ability of the parties to satisfy, in a timely manner, the other conditions to closing the Transaction. With respect to future wells, a key assumption is the validity of geological and technical interpretations performed by the Corporation's technical staff, which indicate that commercially economic volumes can be recovered from the Corporation's lands. Estimates as to average annual production assume that no material unexpected outages occur in the infrastructure that the Corporation relies upon to produce its wells, that existing wells continue to meet production expectations and that future wells scheduled to come on production in the remainder of 2020 meet timing and production rate expectations.

Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations on which they are based will occur. Although the Corporation's management believes that the expectations in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. As a consequence, actual results may differ materially from those anticipated.

Forward-looking information necessarily involves both known and unknown risks associated with oil and gas exploration, production, transportation and marketing. There are risks associated with the uncertainty of geological and technical data, operational risks, risks associated with drilling and completions, environmental risks, risks of the change in government regulation of the oil and gas industry, risks associated with competition from others for scarce resources and risks associated with general economic conditions affecting the Corporation's ability to access sufficient capital. Other factors that could cause results or event to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things: the ability of the Corporation to continue as a going concern, public health crises & economic downturn, liquidity risks, general economic conditions and normal business uncertainty, the ability of the Company to successfully implement its business initiatives and whether such business initiatives will yield the expected benefits, changes in laws, rules and regulations applicable to the Company, failure to satisfy any conditions to closing the Transaction, and the emergence of a superior proposal or the failure to obtain securityholder approval which may result in termination of the Arrangement Agreement. The foregoing list of risk factors is not exhaustive and other factors could also adversely affect our results. Additional information on these and other risk factors that could affect operational or financial results are included in the Corporation's most recent MD&A, Annual Information Form and in other reports filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities.

The forward-looking statements in this news release should not be interpreted as providing a full assessment or reflection of the unprecedented impacts of the recent COVID-19 pandemic ("COVID-19") and the resulting indirect global and regional economic impacts.

Forward-looking information is based on estimates and opinions of management at the time the information is presented. The Corporation is not under any duty to update the forward-looking information after the date of this press release to revise such information to actual results or to changes in the Corporation's plans or expectations, except as required by applicable securities laws.

Non-GAAP Measures: This press release makes reference to the terms adjusted funds flow from operations, adjusted funds flow from operations per share, working capital deficiency, net debt, operating netbacks and "corporate netbacks", which do not have standardized meanings prescribed by IFRS and therefore may not be comparable with the calculation of similar measures presented by other issuers.

Management uses adjusted funds flow from operations to analyze operating performance and considers adjusted funds flow from operations to be a key measure as it demonstrates the Corporations ability to generate the cash necessary to fund future capital investment and to repay debt. Adjusted funds flow from operations denotes cash flow from operating activities before the effects of changes in non-cash working capital and decommissioning expenditures. Adjusted funds flow from operations per share is calculated using the basic and diluted weighted average number of shares for the period. These terms should not be considered alternatives to, or more meaningful than, cash flows from operating activities as determined in accordance with IFRS as an indicator of the Corporations performance. Management uses working capital deficiency and net debt as useful supplemental measures of the liquidity of the Corporation. Working capital deficiency is calculated as current assets less current liabilities. Net debt is calculated as bank debt, senior notes, liability portion of convertible debentures, and working capital (deficiency), adjusted for the net current portion of fair value of risk management contracts and current portion of finance lease obligation. "Operating netback" and "corporate netback" are used as a supplemental measure of the Corporation's profitability relative to commodity prices. Operating netback is calculated on a per unit basis as natural gas and natural gas liquids revenues, adjusted for realized gains or losses on risk management contracts, less royalties, operating expenses and transportation costs. Corporate netback is calculated on a per unit basis as operating netback per unit less finance lease expense per unit. These terms should not be considered alternatives to, or more meaningful than net income (loss) and comprehensive income (loss) as determined in accordance with IFRS. For a reconciliation of these measures to the most directly comparable measure calculated in accordance with IFRS, and further information about these measures, see disclosure under Non-GAAP Measures in the Corporations most recent MD&A.

Management of the Corporation believes these measures are useful supplemental measures of the net position of current assets and current liabilities of the Corporation and the profitability relative to commodity prices. Readers are cautioned, however, that these measures should not be construed as alternatives to other terms such as current and long-term debt or comprehensive income determined in accordance with IFRS as measures of performance. The Corporation's method of calculating these non-GAAP measures may differ from other companies, and accordingly, may not be comparable to similar measures used by other entities. Please see the "Non-GAAP Measures" section of the Corporation's management's discussion and analysis of the financial results of the Corporation for the period ended June 30, 2020.

ABOUT PAINTED PONY

Painted Pony is a publicly-traded natural gas company based in Western Canada. The Corporation is primarily focused on the development of natural gas and natural gas liquids from the Montney formation in northeast British Columbia. Painted Ponys common shares trade on the TSX under the symbol PONY.

Contact Information:

Patrick R. Ward

President and Chief Executive Officer





Stuart W. Jaggard

Chief Financial Officer





Jason W. Fleury

Director, Investor Relations

(403) 776-3261

(403) 475-0440

1-866-975-0440 toll free

ir@paintedpony.ca

www.paintedpony.ca




I ts traditional in business and diplomacy for negotiators to bring their opposite numbers a token gift.

Unilever has a lovely trick of presenting a jar of Marmite with the deal-makers name on the label.

Diageo has been known to present a personalised bottle of Johnnie Walker.

It seems Washington DCs trade officials feel no such social compunction.

For, at a time when we are trying to thrash out a US-UK trade deal for our mutual harmony after Brexit, they today refused to offer us the token of a relaxation on their outrageous tariffs on Scotch whisky.

The US slapped a 25% levy on Scotch last October. Since then, exports of the liquor from Diageo and smaller producers have slumped by nearly a third.

It is costing British jobs, tax revenues and profits. Not to mention pricing millions of innocent Americans out of one of lifes greatest pleasures.

The Americans did this in retaliation for a battle were not even part of  its never-ending trade spat with the EU.

Europe, you see, slapped 25% tarriffs on American whiskeys a couple of years ago.

Today, were told by Liz Truss, America has backed off from imposing similar tariffs on UK beer and gin  a concession for which the Trade Secretary expects plaudits.

She also trumpeted her success in getting tariffs on shortbread biscuits removed.

Sorry, but this is an insult, not a concession.

Scotch  unlike shortbread  is one of the UKs biggest exports. Octobers tariffs have already cost 300 million in lost sales.

If the US is serious about building bridges in our trade talks, it must cut us some slack.

Otherwise, it looks like our newly small, independent nation is liable to being pushed around at whim by bigger powers  the ball of wool to their cat.

Perish the thought.
A home cook from Melbourne has revealed how he made delicious Italian calzone in his air fryer while locked down at home during the coronavirus pandemic, and how you can too.

Cam posted on Facebook, where he explained you can make the classic Italian dish with just a few ingredients and few hours to spare.

'Sweet and savoury calzone in the 3.2 litre air fryer,' he wrote online.

A home cook from Melbourne has revealed how he made delicious Italian calzone in his air fryer while locked down at home during the coronavirus pandemic (the results pictured)

Cam explained you can make the classic Italian dish with just a few ingredients and a day to spare (the process pictured)

'14 minutes at 180C, turn halfway through.'

To make Cam's calzone, he said you should get your hands on some pizza dough such as the ready-made Laucke pizza dough kit from Coles.

Then, just mix the ingredients with some water and yeast and then roll out a portion of the dough so it's flat and you can add whatever your desired fillings are.

'We used pizza sauce, ham, zucchini and fresh mozzarella,' Cam said.

'Place all of the fillings inside it, fold the dough over, pinch it and spray with oil.'

Once you've put what you want inside the calzone, Cam said all you need to do is pop it inside the air fryer for 14 minutes at 180 degrees.

'Turn it at the seven-minute mark to ensure the base is cooked as well,' Cam said.

He added that he also made a sweet dessert calzone with chocolate drops and banana, which was just as delicious.

Calzone is a traditional Italian dish that originated in Naples in the 18th century.

A typical calzone is made from salted bread dough, baked in an oven and is stuffed with salami, ham or vegetables, mozzarella, ricotta and Parmesan or pecorino cheese, as well as an egg.

How to make Calzone in the air fryer INGREDIENTS Cam shared how you can make his calzone in the air fryer (pictured) Laucke Pizza dough Water Yeast Pizza sauce Mozzarella Ham Zucchini Chocolate drops Banana METHOD 1. Mix the ingredients from the pizza dough kit with water and yeast. 2. Roll the dough out until its flat. 3. Add all of your desired contents for sweet and savoury calzone. 4. Fold over the Calzone, pinch and spray it with extra Virgin olive oil. 5. Pop it into the air fryer for 14 minutes at 180C. 6. Turn around the seven-minute mark to ensure that the base is cooked well. 7. Serve hot with a side salad for savoury or ice cream for sweet. Source: Facebook Advertisement

You can also make sweet Calzone with chocolate drops and banana (pictured)

Hundreds who saw the simple recipe on Facebook were impressed with the results.

Many said they couldn't wait to try it for themselves and their families.

'This is a great idea, I'd love to try it,' one woman posted.

'How good do these look, I could eat them for every meal,' another person added.

Previously, a home cook shared how to make the much-loved pizza pockets in your air fryer (pictured before)

Previously, a home cook shared how to make the much-loved pizza pockets in your air fryer.

Louise, from Western Australia, cooked the homemade rolls filled with cheese, ham and tomato paste in an air fryer, with the help of her mini chef - her toddler boy.

To make the dough, she used Greek yoghurt and self raising flour - and she filled them with the cheese, tomato paste and ham filling.

'Mix dough together, separate into equal parts. Roll flat, add filling. Close dough into a ball shape. Cook on 180 for about 10 to 15 minutes [in the air dryer],' she said.

Louise, from Western Australia, cooked the homemade rolls filled with cheese, ham and tomato paste in an air fryer, with the help of her mini chef - her toddler boy (pictured after)

Many were quick to compliment the woman for sharing her easy recipe, while others said pizza pockets are the perfect snack to make with the kids during the coronavirus isolation.

'Isolation wouldn't be so bad with these,' one mother said.

A second said: 'It's great to get kids involved in the kitchen (with supervision) and even if its not the greatest u still praise them - oh and eat it.'

Another mother said she made her own pizza pockets filling them with pizza sauce, shredded chicken and cheese.
Patna's Bankipore Maidan, a silent witness to some of the landmark events in the country's history, was renamed in the honour of Mahatma Gandhi after his assassination and before the first anniversary of Independence Day in 1948.

According to archival documents, the sprawling oval-shaped ground, now famously known as 'Gandhi Maidan' which has been the venue of I-Day celebrations in the state since independence, was earlier called 'Bankipore Maidan' or 'Patna Lawn'.

According to the rare private collection of the Jalan family of the legendary Quila House here, the name Gandhi Maidan was used in the official invitation cards printed for the celebrations of the first anniversary of India's independence on August 15, 1948.

Aditya Jalan, 43, the current scion of the family, said he accidentally found a rare I-Day invitation card addressed to his great grandfather Dewan Bahadur Radha Krishna Jalan, while going through his family archives.

"Gandhiji was assassinated on January 30, 1948 and the first anniversary of I-Day was on August 15 the same year. While going through our huge family archives, I came across two different invitation cards, one from 1945 which mentions the venue as 'Bankipore Maidan', while the other from 1948, which says 'Gandhi Maidan,'" Jalan told PTI.

This indicates that the iconic ground was known as Bankipore Maidan during British rule and was rechristened before the first I-Day celebrations that year, he said.

The invitation issued by the Patna administration has embossed letters and reads, "The District Magistrate, Patna requests the pleasure of Dewan Bahadur Radha Krishna Jalan's presence at Gandhi Maidan, Bankipore on Sunday the 15th Aug at 9 am when H.E. The Governor of Bihar will perform the flag-hoisting ceremony and take the salute from a combined military, police and home-guard parade on the occasion of the first anniversary of Independence Day".

According to a senior official of the Bihar State Archives, the request to rename the ground as Gandhi Maidan was made by a school teacher from Muzaffarpur in north Bihar, soon after his assassination.

"As per the records in our archives, a teacher from Muzaffarpur district had sent a letter to the government authorities, requesting to rename the Bankipore Maidan in honour of Gandhi who had been martyred in January 1948. He had suggested to use Gandhi lawn, Gandhi Park, or Mahatma Gandhi Maidan and various other combinations, but insisted it carried Bapu's name," the official told PTI.

Radha Krishna Jalan, a well-known and well-travelled businessman, was also a passionate collector and his private collection formed the Jalan Museum, one of the largest house museums in Asia endowed with some of the rarest artefacts, including a four-poster bed of Napoleon III and a dinner set of King George III.

He was also an archivist and collected invitation cards, pamphlets and other objects very meticulously, which today are "like rare gems", his great grandson said.

"The rare archives, which I am arranging now, is not only helping us tell the story of our family but also of Patna and of Bihar. We are planning to share such rare snippets in a story format on a new Facebook page we are launching on August 15 called 'Planet Patna Patter'," said Jalan, a businessman.

In an invite dated February 18, 1945, issued in the name of his grandfather Hiralal Jalan, the ground has been mentioned as 'Bankipore Maidan'. The invite was from the District Soldiers', Sailors' & Airmen's Board, Patna.

During the colonial period, the Bankipore Maidan hosted many key events including the royal durbar of the then Prince of Wales Edward VIII in 1921 during his Patna visit, many major exhibitions, and has been a witness to Gandhi's prayer meetings as well as speeches delivered by Subhas Chandra Bose and other freedom fighters.

In December 1938, the Bankiore Maidan, hosted Muhammad Ali Jinnah, whose fiery speech against Congress at the?26th Annual Session of the All-India Muslim League had, lifted the fortunes of his Muslim League party.?

Post-independence, it has been the nerve centre of political rallies and the voice of socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan or 'JP' boomed there during the 'Total Revolution' or 'Sampoorna Kranti' movement in 1974.

It is also the preferred venue for hosting many cultural events and state programmes including Bihar Diwas and hoisting of the tricolour on Independence Day and Republic Day.

The Maidan was developed by then Patna Commissioner Metcalfe in the early decades of 19th century. It was previously also used as a race course during the British time.

Jalan said the residents of old Patna still refer to Patna as Bankipore, the city's civil station established by the British, adding, the over 150-year-old Bankipore Club near the Maidan is still called so.

Many old-timers refer to the Maidan as 'Lawn' and an old mosque near the verdant ground still uses the name 'Lawn ki Masjid'.
On another volatile day, the Nifty50 erased gains in late morning deals and closed flat with a negative bias on August 13, though the broader markets outperformed the benchmark index. The Nifty midcap index was up 1.57 percent and smallcap gained 0.75 percent.

The Nifty closed below its opening levels and hence formed a bearish candle that resembled the Doji indecisive formation.

A Doji candle indicates there is some indecisiveness among the bulls and the bears and bounce were being sold in the absence of follow-up buying interest.

Given the rangebound trade for around a week, the market could be waiting for firm directions on either side, hence traders should be cautious, experts say.

As the Nifty seems to be in a no-trade zone, traders should wait for a breakout in either direction, Mazhar Mohammad, Chief Strategist  Technical Research & Trading Advisory at Chartviewindia.in told Moneycontrol.

The bulls seem to be in a strong position and major correction is unlikely, as volatility has been falling, experts say. India VIX fell by 1.31 percent at 20.56 levels.

The Nifty50 opened higher at 11,334.85 and hit an intraday high of 11,359.30 but wiped out the gains in late morning deals to hit the day's low of 11,269.95 in afternoon. The index settled at 11,300.50, down eight points.

The Nifty50 continued to be listless as the trading range remained 90 points. Albeit technical picture on oscillator front continues to remain mixed, fresh sell signals on lower time frame charts are being witnessed," Mohammad said.

The weakness in the price chart and slowing momentum on the RSI chart, which was developing a negative divergence with a lower top, was favouring the bears, he said.

Contraction of the Bollinger Bands on the daily chart was also hinting a breakout in the Nifty, which should pave the way for swift move in either direction, he said.

"While weakness will be confirmed on a close below 11,242 levels, strength shall resume on a strong close, with wide intraday trading range above 11,322 levels. On such strength, a higher target towards 11,450 can be expected. A breakdown below 11,242 can set the tone for a swift downswing, with eventual target placed around 10,882 levels," he added.

Options data indicated that the lower end of the trading range shifted higher. The Nifty could witness an immediate trading range of 11,100-11,500 against 11,000-11,500 in the previous session.

Maximum Put open interest was seen at 11,000 followed by 10,500 strike, while maximum Call open interest was at 11,500 followed by 12,000 strike. Minor Call writing was witnessed at 11,500 strike followed by 11,700 strike while Put writing was seen at 10,600 then 11,000 strike.

The Bank Nifty opened higher at 22,395.20 and hit a day's high of 22,439.95 but failed to hold above 22,400 zone and drifted lower to 22,139.60. It remained consolidated for most part of the session with selling pressure at bounce.

The index fell 67.70 points to close at 22,196.30 and formed a bearish candle similar to a Dark Cloud Cover on the daily scale.

"Mechanical indicators are still holding their bullish crossover but require follow-up buying to confirm the next momentum, else this bounce could take a pause for consolidative move," Chandan Taparia, Vice President | Analyst-Derivatives at Motilal Oswal Financial Services told Moneycontrol.

The index will have to stay above 22,000 zone to move towards 22,500 then 22,750. On the downside, immediate support is seen at 21,750 then 21,500, he added.

Taparia said positive setup was seen in Ashok Leyland, BHEL, Tata Power, PVR, Tata Motors, L&T, Tata Consumer Products, Hindalco, BEL, Motherson Sumi, Titan, Godrej Consumer Products, TVS Motor, Voltas, Jubilant Foodworks, Hero Motocorp, and Balkrishna Industries while weak structure was seen in ACC, Biocon, Shree Cement and Kotak Mahindra Bank.
Scranton, PA (18503)

Today

Mostly sunny skies this morning will become overcast during the afternoon. High around 40F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy with snow developing after midnight. Low 24F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 70%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.
Actor Sushant Singh Rajputs father KK Singh told Supreme Court on Thursday that his attempts to talk to Sushant were thwarted by his girlfriend, Rhea Chakraborty. Singh was represented at the court by his lawyer, Vikas Singh.

During Sushant Singh Rajputs lifetime, the fathers attempt to talk to him on telephone from Patna was thwarted by accused persons. It could have saved his sons life, KK Singh wrote in his reply submitted to the SC.

KK Singh had lodged an FIR against Rhea under charges of abetment to suicide in Patna in July. Rhea had filed a petition with the Supreme Court, seeking the transfer of FIR to Mumbai. She had said that transfer of investigation to the CBI at the behest of Bihar Police was without the states jurisdiction in the case.

The Bihar Government and Rhea have filed their written submissions in the top court on the actors plea seeking transfer of the FIR to Mumbai.It is submitted that the investigations in Bihar are totally illegal and such illegal proceedings cannot be transferred to CBI in the present manner by way of illegal executive orders. The Petitioner has no objection if the transfer of investigation to CBI is done in exercise of powers conferred upon this Court under Article 142 of the Constitution of India.

Otherwise, the present transfer from Bihar Police to CBI as is done is totally without jurisdiction and contrary to law.

Also read: KGF Chapter 2 producer says Sanjay Dutt will finish shoot after 3 months once his treatment is over

The apex court had on August 11 reserved its order on Rheas plea and asked the parties concerned to file their written submissions by Thursday. Rhea dealt with the legal provisions and said her transfer plea was maintainable.

Rajput, 34, was found dead in his apartment in suburban Bandra in Mumbai on June 14 and since then Mumbai Police has been probing the case.

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Family album: A one-year-old Kamala Harris being held by her Jamaica-born father Donald Harris in 1965. Photo: Kamala Harris campaign via AP

To succeed in the cut-throat politics of San Francisco requires two things: a relentless work ethic and incredible schmoozing ability. Kamala Harris has plenty of both, resulting in a spectacular rise one insider described as unmatched since Barack Obama.

"I've known her all my life," says Aaron Peskin, a childhood friend and San Francisco city councillor who went to the same kindergarten and primary school as Ms Harris in the Sixties.

"We don't always agree, we've had profound disagreements, but I do believe that this is a human being who can bridge multiple worlds."

Such praise is common among the governing classes of San Francisco and its neighbouring cities, where the political spectrum runs from moderate Democrat to radical socialist, and where Ms Harris made her name by carefully weaving between the two.

Expand Close Baby Kamala being fed by her Indian-born mother Shyamala Gopalan Harris. Photo: Kamala Harris campaign via AP / Facebook

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Whatsapp Baby Kamala being fed by her Indian-born mother Shyamala Gopalan Harris. Photo: Kamala Harris campaign via AP

Most have nothing but good things to say about her - and also describe her as a consummate politician adept at building alliances and charming big money donors.

Yet Ms Harris's time as a prosecutor, district attorney and later attorney general of California has embittered many on the Left, including leaders of the Black Lives Matter protests that have raged across the state.

For them, she stands accused of about the worst possible charge during this reckoning with America's ugly history of police racism and brutality: being a "cop".

Those are cracks that Donald Trump will eagerly try to exploit.

Ms Harris was born in Oakland in 1964, a city with a strong black community widely known as the birthplace of the Black Panthers, and went to school in neighbouring Berkeley, famous for its starring role in the Sixties student movement.

Mr Peskin describes their neighbourhood as a "polyglot, hugely diverse milieu where notions of racism and sexism did not exist" and where families strove for and achieved the American Dream.

But Ms Harris's childhood was not untouched by America's divisions. She was ferried to her 95pc white school as part of the US's controversial "busing" programme, designed to end desegregation. Berkeley was the first city to join voluntarily.

That history provided one of the Democratic primary's most dramatic moments when she confronted Joe Biden over his historic opposition to the scheme.

It was there, too, that her meteoric career began as a lawyer. She had a vision of how criminal justice had to change even then, according to John Whitehurst, an Oakland-based Democratic political consultant.

"Because she's so well-connected, everyone assumes that she was a creature of politics," he says, "not a political hack that ended up being district attorney. She used politics to achieve her goal in law enforcement."

In 1990, she became Alameda's assistant district attorney. When she ran for district attorney in San Francisco in 2003, she was an outsider facing an incumbent whose family had helped run the city for 50 years.

Her platform combined Left-wing ideas (eschewing the death penalty, defending medical marijuana, declining to pursue jail time for marijuana possession offences) with tough rhetoric on violent crime.

The campaign was acrimonious, but she won, becoming the golden city's first black chief prosecutor.

The victories continued from there: in 2011, she rose to become the attorney general of California, before finally becoming a senator in the national Congress in 2017.

Colleagues from that time describe her as meticulous and detail-oriented.

And as for Ms Harris's other great skill, schmoozing the rich, she cut her teeth in the historical centre for the old money of America's West Coast.

"She burst on the scene, and absolutely enchanted an element of San Francisco society that would not otherwise be engaged in something like the district attorney's race," says Dale Carlson, a veteran San Francisco PR man and lobbyist.

"The financial support that they have provided to her has been quite exceptional."

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
Maharashtra Police personnel, who has been at the frontline battling the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, is bearing the brunt of the viral outbreak, as three more succumbed to the contagion on Wednesday.

So far, 124 Maharashtra Police personnel has died of Covid-19, as three personnel passed away on two consecutive days of Tuesday and Wednesday.

Besides, the state police reported 381 fresh Covid-19 cases on Wednesday.

Click here for full Covid-19 coverage

Shankar Gaju Kadam (57), the head constable from Tardeo local arms (LA) division, died of Covid-19 on Monday in Punes Sahayadri Super Specialty Hospital, where he was admitted two days ago.

Kadam had comorbidities such as diabetes and hypertension, said Mohan Dahikar, deputy commissioner of police, (DCP), Tardeo LA, Mumbai Police.

Kadam, who was exempted from daily reporting to duty due to his advanced age, belonged to Maharashtras Satara district and is survived by his wife and son.

Constable Pradeep Tanaji Patil (34) from Maharashtras Sangli district died of the viral infection on Wednesday and is survived by his wife.

He was on leave since August 3 due to personal work.

On Monday, he was admitted to a hospital after he had complained of breathlessness.

Patil was a sincere, dedicated, and disciplined policeman. We are all shocked by his untimely death, said Niraj Ubale, inspector of Kupwad police station, where he was posted.

Gajanand Tayade (52), head constable in Buldhana, also died of the contagion on Wednesday. He had comorbid conditions such as blood pressure and diabetes.

Initially, he was taken at a private healthcare facility in Buldhana after he had tested Covid-19 positive on July 27.

Later, he was moved to Ghati hospital in Aurangabad after his health condition had worsened until he breathed his last on Wednesday, said Pradeep Salunkhe, inspector, Buldhana City police.

Tayades two sons --- aged 16 and 18, respectively --- has also tested Covid-19 positive, while his wifes report is not yet available, Salunkhe added.

So far, 11,773 Maharashtra Police personnel has tested Covid-19 positive, of which 9,416 have recovered from their viral infection and 2,233 are still active cases.

Meanwhile, the two investigating officers (IOs) from Mumbais Bandra police station, who is probing the case of actor Sushant Singh Rajputs death by suicide on July 14, has also tested Covid-19 positive.

In the past two days, nine officers from the police station have found to have contracted SARS-CoV-2, which causes the viral disease.

Last Saturday, five officers from the police station were found Covid-19 positive following rapid antigen detection (RAD) tests.

Later on Monday, another four officers were also found to be infected.
A passenger wearing protective gear and a mask waits in line at an airline counter at Tianhe airport in Wuhan, in central China's Hubei Province, on May 23, 2020. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

Chinese Citizen Files New Lawsuit Against Authorities Seeking COVID-19 Damages

The second known person in China to sue the Beijing regime over its mishandling of the COVID-19 outbreak has filed a new lawsuit after his original legal case was thrown out by a lower court in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

Zhang Hai says the Wuhan Intermediate Peoples Court has failed to act in accordance with the law. It only informed me by phone that my case was rejected, according to Chinese human rights news website Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch (CRLW). Hes a resident of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province and the city where the CCP virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, first emerged late last year.

He said that when the court called him on June 17, he demanded a formal document to explain why the court rejected his case. According to Article 51 of Chinas amended Administrative Procedure Law, which took effect in May 2015, courts are required to issue a document with an explanation when turning down cases. But the court refused, instead telling him to look up Chinese laws himself.

Then, I shall follow the usual protocol by filing my lawsuit at a higher court, he said. I want to see how the courts deal with my cases, whether they can safeguard citizens litigation rights.

Zhang sent his new complaint documents via local postal service to the Higher Peoples Court in Hubei Province on Aug. 12, according to the CRLW.

Read More Victims of CCP Virus in China Begin Lawsuits to Hold Regime Accountable

He filed his initial lawsuit at the Wuhan Intermediate Peoples Court on June 10, seeking compensation of 2 million yuan (about $286,730) from Chinese authorities, alleging that the governments decision to cover up information about the outbreak caused his fathers death, from COVID-19 complications.

He named three government entities as defendants: the Wuhan city government, the Hubei provincial government, and the General Hospital of Central Theater Command in Wuhan.

After Zhangs father suffered a bone fracture in Shenzhen city, he drove his father to Wuhan, where the family is originally from, to seek treatment on Jan. 17. His father was admitted to the hospital for surgery.

While the operation was successful, Zhang said his father developed a fever and tested positive for the virus on Jan. 30. His father died on Feb. 1.

Zhang said he wouldnt have driven his father to Wuhan if he had known that the outbreak was so severe.

According to CRLW, Zhang filed a legal document to prosecutor offices in Wuhan and Hubei, as well as the Higher Peoples Court in Hubei, asking them to take legal action for the Wuhan Intermediate Peoples Courts rejection.

I want the entire society to see how courts of different levels deal with legal cases, whether they would give me a chance to present my case. I am not afraid of losing the case, but others are afraid of me bringing up my case, Zhang said, according to CRLW.

He only heard back from the provincial prosecutors office, which sent him a text message confirming that the office had received his document.

Since filing his original lawsuit, Zhang said he and his family have been harassed, and local police have shown up unannounced at his residence.

Lu Miaoqing, a lawyer based in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, expressed hope to CRLW that the Higher Peoples Court in Hubei would comply with the law and safeguard Zhangs right to litigation.

Lu is a member of the COVID-19 Compensation Legal Advisory Group, a consultancy group formed in March by two dozen lawyers and rights advocates in China and Chinese dissidents in the United States. The group offers legal advice for victims in China who seek compensation and redress from Chinese authorities in connection to the outbreak.

The CCP virus originated from the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019 and authorities went to great lengths to cover up the outbreak, silencing whistleblower doctors and not initially disclosing that the virus could be transmitted among people.

Zhang wasnt the first to have his case thrown out by the Wuhan Intermediate Peoples Court without explanation. Late last month, a Wuhan resident surnamed Xu also got a call from the court rejecting her complaint filed against the municipal government.

Xu claimed that her fathers death due to COVID-19 was a direct result of the municipal governments negligence in handling the outbreak.
Its official: A statue of 15th-century explorer Christopher Columbus is not going back to the downtown park where it stood for 63 years.

Crews used a forklift to remove the bronze statue from Columbus Park last month after it had been vandalized with red paint resembling blood.

At the time, officials said they wanted to clean and restore the statue before handing it over to the Christopher Columbus Italian Society, which originally donated it to the city. But it was obvious even then that the explorers banishment from the park was permanent.

On Thursday, the City Council formally approved the change, voting unanimously to return the life-size likeness to the Italian Society and to rename the park Piazza Italia Park.

Columbus was long honored as the European discoverer of the New World but has been widely reassessed as a violent colonizer who slaughtered Native Americans.

This is about understanding that for one group, the monument was a symbol of pain, and for the other a symbol of heritage and place in their community, District 1 Councilman Roberto Trevino said.

The statue, created by sculptor Armando Dattelli, had stood in the park since 1957. Dattelli depicted the Genoese sea captain in a fur-lined cloak, belt and tights, holding a scroll in his right hand and a globe in his left. A medallion with a cross hung from Columbus neck.

Now Playing: People protesting the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer chant and wave signs at San Antonio police officers in Alamo Plaza Saturday, May 30, 2020. Video: Express-News

Trevino, the Italian Society and indigenous groups struck a deal to remove the statue and rename the park after protests over the killing of George Floyd swept San Antonio and the rest of the country in June.

Bob Owen /San Antonio Express-News

Floyd, an unarmed African American, died in May in police custody in Minneapolis. Cellphone cameras captured a white officer kneeling on Floyds neck for nearly nine minutes while the handcuffed suspect cried out repeatedly: I cant breathe.

During the Floyd protests, similar statues, including those depicting slaveholders and key figures in the Confederacy, were vandalized or destroyed in cities across the country.

Before San Antonios Columbus statue could be removed, it was splattered with red paint. Later, dozens of protesters who wanted the monument torn down confronted armed counterprotesters who favored keeping Columbus on a pedestal.

It should not have taken a pandemic and much-needed period of self-reflection as a country for us to grasp the need to empower and celebrate the diversity of heritage that make up this beautiful city, Trevino said.

Not everyone was impressed by the councils actions Thursday, for differing reasons.

Jennifer Falcon, communications coordinator for the Indigenous Environmental Network, a grassroots environmental justice organization, called the removal of the statue and the renaming of the park a performative act of solidarity that the city wouldnt have undertaken if not for the protests.

Falcon, a member of the Assiniboine Sioux nation, is a former chief of staff for City Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales.

She pointed out that the council is set to approve a proposed $8 million increase in the Police Department budget for 2020-21 despite calls from protesters to defund the police and redirect the money to housing, health care and other social services.

Falcon pushed council members to abolish Columbus Day and rename it Indigenous Peoples Day.

This statue does represent racism and revisionist history, Falcon said. But we still have so much work to do beyond this statue.

Michael Knuffke, a conservative activist and founder of the San Antonio Family Association, deplored the statues removal.

Erasing history is not the solution, Knuffke said.

District 3 Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran supported the move.

Its not about erasing history, Viagran said. Its about telling the truth about history.

In addition to renaming the park, Trevino said, the city would begin the legal process to rename nearby Columbus Street.

Joshua Fechter is a staff writer covering San Antonio government and politics. To read more from Joshua, become a subscriber. jfechter@express-news.net | Twitter: @JFreports
Howie Rosemans tendency to wheel-and-deal during training camp could help the Eagles improve the depth at a few weak spots on their roster this summer.

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As Philly Voices Jimmy Kempski noted earlier this week, Roseman typically makes at least one mid-training camp trade every year. Last offseason, Roseman made two deals: he dealt guard Ryan Bates to the Buffalo Bills for defensive end Eli Harold and traded defensive tackle Bruce Hector to the Arizona Cardinals for safety Rudy Ford.

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Roseman has a knack for finding value in player-for-player swaps. Last September, Roseman traded safety Johnathan Cyprien and a seventh-round pick to the Atlanta Falcons for linebacker Duke Riley and a sixth-round pick. Riley became a special teams captain, and the sixth-round pick netted veteran wide receiver Marquise Goodwin and rookie offensive tackle Prince Tega-Wanogho. While Goodwin opted out of his first season in Philadelphia, the return for Cyprien and the seventh-round pick was pretty favorable for Roseman and the Eagles.

If Roseman keeps an eye on the trade block over the next month, he could pull off a similar player-for-player swap during the summer.

Here are three player-for-player deals that make sense for the Eagles and their potential trade partners:

1. Eagles trade CB Rasul Douglas to Jaguars for WR Keelan Cole

The Eagles have a boatload of cornerbacks fighting for roster spots this summer. While Douglas is competing for a starting job after working with Darius Slay all offseason, the Eagles want their secondary to be positionless and versatile. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz has been adamant in the past about Douglas lack of versatility, so it might make sense to ship him off to a fresh start.

Meanwhile, in Jacksonville, Cole has been buried on the depth chart for the past two summers. The former standout undrafted free agent is playing on a second-round restricted tender but could still use more opportunities to shine elsewhere. Cole has the speed the Eagles have been looking for at the wide receiver position, and his experience makes him intriguing for a depth chart that is limited to DeSean Jackson, Greg Ward and a bunch of prospects.

2. Eagles trade CB Sidney Jones to the Panthers for WR Curtis Samuel

Jones worked the entire offseason to reinvent himself. Even with that reworked offseason plan, Jones still only has an outside shot of winning a starting job. Like Douglas, Jones has been a disappointment as a Day 2 pick. If Jones isnt able to beat out Avonte Maddox for the No. 2 cornerback job, the Eagles might as well try to get value for him entering the final year of his rookie deal.

In Carolina, Samuel is said to be part of the Panthers plans on offense. However, their lack of proven players in the secondary could be improved by adding a veteran to the mix. If the Panthers are willing to part with Samuel, an offensive Swiss Army knife, the Eagles should jump at the chance to swap 2017 second-round picks. Jones could benefit from a change of scenery, while Samuel would have a shot at a long-term future in Philadelphia.

3. Eagles trade DT Anthony Rush to the Patriots for RB Rex Burkhead

The Eagles could use some veteran support in their offensive backfield this season. While Miles Sanders, Boston Scott and Corey Clement are capable of leading the rotation, adding a proven talent to the group would provide some insurance in case injuries or coronavirus impact the depth chart. The Eagles are stacked at defensive tackle, and while Rush showed plenty of promise last season, the team also has notable undrafted rookie Raequan Williams to develop for the future.

The Patriots are light on defensive tackle depth entering the thick of training camp. However, they still have a plethora of running backs, especially after adding Lamar Miller to the packed bunch this week. With Burkheads role seemingly decreasing every season in New England, perhaps Bill Belichick could look to add some value on defense by shipping away the veteran running back. Burkhead would fit in well with the Eagles offense, as he is a three-tool back. He could provide insurance for Sanders, while also entering the mix as a change-of-pace and third-down specialist. He would also be an asset on special teams.

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Cars queue at the Victorian border near a police checkpoint in Albury, Australia on July 8, 2020. (David Gray/Getty Images)

Border-Closed States in Australia May Have to Prop up Tourism Businesses

States and territories that keep their borders shut longer than needed could be forced to prop up tourism businesses that suffer the consequences.

Federal Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham said travel restrictions should be proportionate to the risks of COVID-19 across different jurisdictions.

All the states are making fair judgments across the board, he told ABC radio on Aug 13.

But if we get to a point where some states choose to keep their border restrictions in place longer than even reasonable health advice would suggest, well then those states need to stump up and also help to support the tourism industry.

Senator Birmingham said the federal government had pumped billions of dollars worth of assistance into tourism businesses and their employees, with JobKeeper wage subsidies available until the end of March.

If the states are going to cripple their markets even further than is necessary, then they should be helping out too, he said.

Senator Birmingham acknowledged the situation in Victoria was dire, but questioned why Western Australia was refusing to accept visitors from South Australia, where infections are almost non-existent.

He is also perplexed about the Northern Territory floating the possibility of an 18-month lockout.

South Australia will soon introduce tighter border controls.

From next Friday, people who live close to the border will only be allowed into the state if they have essential reasons for travel.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said he understood the response and would try to ensure the restrictions were as workable as possible.

Andrews is also working with the NSW and Queensland premiers on ensuring agricultural products and essential supplies can flow seamlessly across state borders.

Daniel McCulloch in Canberra
It looks like ByteDance is talks with a lot of companies these days, trying to sell their popular TikTok app before it gets completely banned from major markets. Earlier this month, Microsoft was reportedly in talks with ByteDance to purchase TikToks global operations, and now, Reliance is also in talks to invest in TikToks India operations.

TikTok was banned from operating in India by the Government on June 29th, citing security concerns over TikToks data collection practices. TikTok and its owner, Bytedance, denied all of these concerns, claiming that they followed all data regulations laws. The situation for TikTok became worse when the US Government banned all US transactions with ByteDance after September 20th.

According to the report, TikToks India operation is valued at nearly $3 Billion and Reliance has been looking to strike a deal with ByteDance. It is unclear whether Reliance is looking to acquire a partial stake in TikTok or acquire the complete India division. In case a deal does work out between the two parties, there is a chance of the Indian Government repeal its ban of TikTok.

Source
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Three people, including the driver, have been pronounced dead at the scene after a passenger train derailed Wednesday in Scotland, Britain, British Transport Police (BTP) said.



Divisional Chief Superintendent for Scotland Eddie Wylie said: "This is a tragic incident...We remain on scene alongside our emergency service colleagues, and a major incident operation has been underway."

"We will be working closely alongside the Rail Accident Investigation Branch and the Office of Rail and Road to establish the full circumstances of how the train came to derail," he said.

Wylie added that "all passengers have been accounted for". Six people have been taken to hospital to be treated for injuries, which are not believed to be serious, according to a statement by the BTP.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has described the derailment as an "extremely serious incident".

The BBC reported earlier that smoke can be seen at the scene. About 30 emergency vehicles, including an air ambulance, are at the scene.

The BTP said its officers had been called to the scene in Aberdeenshire Wednesday morning, where the train has derailed.

"Officers were called to the scene at 9.43 a.m. (0843 GMT) and remain there alongside paramedics and the fire brigade," it added.

Local media said the incident took place at Carmont near Stonehaven as torrential rain and thunderstorms caused flooding and travel disruption across many parts of central and eastern Scotland.

Sturgeon said the derailment had happened in "a very difficult location for emergency services to access."

The BBC reported the train, travelling from Aberdeen to Glasgow, was made up of two locomotives and four carriages, and it is understood that the front locomotive and three passenger carriages have left the track and are now sitting on an embankment.

Network Rail Scotland, the company which looks after the rail infrastructure in Britain, said they were "working alongside the emergency services to respond to an incident involving a train near Stonehaven."

"It is too early to confirm the exact nature and severity of the incident and more details will be made available once known," said the company.

It revealed that the railway line between Aberdeen and Dundee was upgraded in a 9-million-pound (11.7 million-U.S. dollar) project last year.


By Richard Pennington





Hardly a day goes by without my opening The Korea Times or one of Seoul's other newspapers and finding a story or two about this country's most distressing problemour low birth rate and its long-term demographic implications.



As much as I value old folks, the truth is that we need more babies! I live and work near Gangnam Station, and kids are so few here that when one of them walks down the street, I practically stop and stare. If children are our future, what kind of future are we going to have in light of this dearth of youngsters?



The statistics are, or should be, familiar to all of us. The fertility rate is now 0.92 children per woman, well below the 2.1 needed to maintain a stable population. Almost 52 million people live in Korea, a number that is expected to peak in four years and then begin to decline. There were about 303,000 births in 2019, a more than 50 percent drop from 2000. The number of marriages last year also fell to a new low239,200. These figures bode ill for Korea.



A summary of how we got here is as follows. Almost as soon as he seized power in 1961, Park Chung-hee began emphasizing a reduction in the birth rate (more than six per woman at the time). Parents were encouraged to have just two children, or better yet one. A high birth rate equated with poverty, and escaping personal and national poverty was a widely agreed-upon goal.



Park's policy had dramatic results, as the birth rate fell to 3.5 in 1975, to 1.59 in 1990, to 1.08 in 2005 and to the aforementioned 0.92 today. It is ironic that this steep reduction in the number of births aided the country's economic development and yet is the cause of our rather daunting future prospects.



A number of pronatalist initiatives (such as subsidized childcare leave, free nurseries, government-trained baby sitters and cash stipends) have been tried over the last 20 years in an effort to bring more Korean kiddos into the world, but they have proven as futile as they were expensive.



Misery loves company, and we have lots of company. Hong Kong, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, Moldova, China, Cyprus, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Ukraine and other countries are dealing with much the same problem. One of those surely caught your attention: China, long the most populous nation on earth. Indeed, China's one-child policy implemented in 1979 has proven a bit too successful.



If even China is gradually running out of people, this must be a global problem. (The world's population is expected to top out at 9.7 billion in the 2060s and fall to 8.8 billion at the end of this century.) Demographers, social scientists and people at the United Nations' Department of Economic and Social Affairs are struggling to come to grips with the decline in the number of babies being born and its ramifications.



"Most of the world is transitioning into natural population decline," said Dr. Christopher Murray of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. "Jaw-dropping" is the term he uses to describe how at least 23 countriesSouth Korea among themare expected to see their population more than halve by 2100.



Nations that resist the idea of massive immigration will come to realize they have no choice. Minds and borders will be opened gradually. Migratory outflows and inflows will happen on a scale we could not conceive of before.



A couple of countries in our "neighborhood" might seem to be good candidates for sending much-needed workersVietnam and the Philippines. They have high birth rates, right? Yes, but not like in earlier times. The former is now 2.04, and the latter 2.55.



The time fast approaches when countries will actually compete for immigrants. There is and will continue to be one region that has a surplus, and I refer to sub-Saharan Africa. If we do not know about Angola, Niger, Mali, Uganda, Zambia, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Malawi, Somalia, Congo, Mozambique, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Chad, Tanzania, Cameroon, Guinea, Benin and others, perhaps we should.



Although in most cases African birth rates are declining, it's only slightly and they are so far above our numbers that the solution is clear enough. Two-thirds of the world's population growth in the next 30 years will derive from countries south of the Sahara Desert.



The bleak scenario for my adopted homeland might be affected by one other eventualitythat is, the reunification of North and South Korea. The DPRK's birth rate has also plummeted, but just to 1.90, still double that of here. They have more babies, children and teenagers than we do. Not only that, they're Korean. At any rate, societal reorganization here and around the world in the coming decades is a virtual certainty.





Richard Pennington (raput76@gmail.com), a native of Texas in the U.S., works as an editor at a law firm in southern Seoul. He has written 22 nonfiction books, including "Travels of an American-Korean, 2008-2013." He is the director of an NGO, the Committee to Bring Jikji Back to Korea.


Russia's leading respiratory doctor has quit over 'gross violations' of medical ethics that rushed through Putin's coronavirus 'vaccine'.

Professor Alexander Chuchalin quit the Russian health ministry's ethics council after making a fierce attack on the new Sputnik V drug ahead of the body approving its registration.

Amid deep scepticism among Western experts over the drug, it appears that Chuchalin sought and failed to block its registration on 'safety' grounds before quitting the ethics council.

He specifically accused the two leading medics involved in its development of flouting medical ethics in rushing the vaccine into production.

Dr Chucalin said: 'I am depressed by the position of some of our scientists who make irresponsible statements about ready-made vaccines'

Dr Chuchalin named Prof Alexander Gintsburg, director of the Gamaleya Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology, and Prof Sergey Borisevich, a medical colonel and Russian army's top virologist.

The two men were the leading academics behind the new 'world-beating' vaccine.

Chuchalin allegedly asked them: 'Have you passed all the necessary paths approved by Russian Federation legislation and the international scientific community? Not!

'This job has not been done. Thus, one of the ethical principles of medicine has been grossly violated - to do no harm.'

He stressed: 'I am depressed by the position of some of our scientists who make irresponsible statements about ready-made vaccines.'

Although specific reasons for his resignation were not given, in an interview with journal Nauka i Zhizn (Science and Life) shortly before he quit, Chuchalin warned: 'In the case of a drug or vaccine, we, as ethical reviewers, would like to understand, first of all, how safe it is for humans.

'Safety always comes first. How to evaluate it? The vaccines that are being created today have never been used in humans, and we cannot predict how a person will tolerate it.

Putin said one of his daughters had been given the vaccine and had suffered no side effects worse than a high temperature. 'She's feeling well and has a high number of antibodies,' he boasted

Professor Alexander Gintsburg, head of Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology (left) and Sergey Borisevich, chief virologist of the Armed Forces (right). The two men were the leading academics behind the new 'world-beating' vaccine

Chucalin, who created the Russian Research Institute of Pulmonology, and is head of the Department of Hospital Therapy, at the Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, added: 'It is impossible to determine this without weighing all the scientific facts.

'Therefore, our number one task is to extract scientific data based on evidence-based medicine in order to understand that the action performed by scientists will not harm a person.'

Chuchalin said it is vital to know 'the effect of the vaccine in the longer term', adding that 'the fact is that there are a number of biological substances that do not manifest themselves immediately, but only after a year or two.'

With Russia also preparing other vaccines to tackle Covid-19, he warned: 'Those vaccines that are now being developed by many of our research centres, the criteria for their safety can only be of a short-term nature.

'But the safety criteria for a vaccine must also be long-term and this becomes clear only with long-term observation - at least two years.'

And one of Russia's leading virologists has even warned that the vaccine could increase the spread of Covid-19.

In a separate attack on the vaccine, Prof Alexander Chepurnov said the 'danger exists' of 'increasing the disease with the wrong design of the vaccine'.

Chepurnov is former head of the laboratory for specially hazardous diseases at Vector Institute in Siberia which is also involved in developing vaccines for coronavirus.

He warned: 'Time is needed.antibodies are different. In some situations - and for coronavirus, this is already known - the infection intensifies with some antibodies. It should be known which antibodies the vaccine produces.'

In a separate attack on the vaccine, Prof Alexander Chepurnov said the 'danger exists' of 'increasing the disease with the wrong design of the vaccine'

But the vaccine creators had not published scientific articles on the vaccine, he said.

They need to explain the level of neutralisation, and details of doses and 'whether it develops or not the ability to increase infection by antibodies'.

While this is not done 'it is impossible to talk about the release of a vaccine', he said.

Another leading scientist Vladimir Chekhonin, vice president of the Russian Academy of Sciences, claimed Russia was flouting the Nuremberg Code on human experimentation and the country's own laws in human clinical research involved in Covid-19 vaccine testing.

He expressed concern about the use of serving military personnel as recipients of the vaccine.

Vladimir Chekhonin, vice president of the Russian Academy of Sciences, claimed Russia was flouting the Nuremberg Code on human experimentation

'We cannot conduct experiments on humans,' said the respected immunologist.

'This is a gross violation of the international Nuremberg Code. We are just making fools of ourselves with this early vaccine that can bring us a lot of trouble.'

Scientists 'do not have the ethical right to speak to society and defiantly drip the vaccine into their nose or inject it into other places.'

Vaccine makers though insist all those taking part in tests were volunteers, including troops serving in the army.

Russia has made the vaccine race a matter of national prestige and has named the product 'Sputnik V' after the former Soviet space satellites, prompting fears that safety will be compromised for the sake of Russia's image.

IT has made clear that additional research is needed for administering the vaccine those aged over 60, and for now only those aged between 18-60 will be allowed the drug.

The chief executive of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev hit out at attacks from abroad on the new vaccine.

'Attacks are coming only from the West, the US and Europe,' he said.

'We are confident that we have the most effective and reliable vaccine in the world, and I am ready to clarify that.

'Accordingly, we are under attack because our rivals understand it perfectly well and they are fearful of Russia's strong position on the global vaccine market.'

Medical workers in protective gear prepare to draw blood from volunteers participating in a trial of a coronavirus vaccine at the Budenko Main Military Hospital outside Moscow

The expected price on the foreign market is $10 for two doses.

Documentation linked to the vaccine said it was registered after tests on only 38 healthy adult volunteers.

However it is now said it was tested on double this number - 76 - at two institutions  the Moscow-based Sechenov University and the Defence Ministry's Burdenko Main Military Clinical Hospital.

It is unclear why the documentation linked to Sputnik V used the figure 38. Of the 76, around half are believed to have been serving military personnel who took part 'voluntarily'.

Putin said one of his daughters had been given the vaccine and had suffered no side effects worse than a high temperature.

'She's feeling well and has a high number of antibodies,' he boasted.

Although Putin did not specify which of his daughters was given the drug, Otkrytie Media reported it was Ekaterina - known as Katerina - Tikhonova.

She had the vaccination at a very early stage of its development, it was claimed.

There was no official confirmation that she was the vaccine's recipient.

Katerina, 33, uses the surname of her maternal grandmother, which for many years hid her identity as Putin's daughter. She has gone from being a high-kicking dancer to spearhead a major new Russian artificial intelligence initiative.

Putin said one of his daughters Maria (left) and Katerina (right) had been injected with a coronavirus vaccine. Reports in Russia say it was the younger Katerina who was inoculated

Katerina came to prominence with her spectacular 'boogle woogle' Acrobatic Rock'n'roll performances in dance competitions and holds a doctorate from prestigious Moscow State University.

She was formerly married to Russia's youngest billionaire Kirill Shamalov, 38.

The couple were reported to have divorced after which he wed glamorous socialite Zhanna Volkova, in her 30s.

Her elder sister Maria, 35, uses the surname Vorontsova, has a career in medical research and is an expert on dwarfism, according to reports.

She is believed to be married to a Dutch businessman with whom she has a family, making Putin a grandfather.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (L) in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on April 30, 2020. (Doug Mills/The New York Times/Pool/Getty Images)

New Jersey Governor Says Schools, Colleges to Reopen For In-Person Learning

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) on Aug. 12 announced he will soon sign an executive order officially clearing public and private schoolspre-K through 12th gradecolleges, and universities to reopen for in-person learning in the fall.

We have held ongoing discussions with the leaders throughout our higher education system and we believe they are ready for this step, Murphy said Wednesday.

The governor said the decision on whether to implement in-person or remote learning, or a mixed approach, rested with the states nearly 600 public school districts as well as charter, parochial, and other institutions.

Murphy said that if New Jersey schools wish to begin the academic year online-only, school districts must be able to prove to the state that they are unable to safely resume in-person learning, and set a date for a return to school.

There has to be a rationale associated with not opening at least in hybrid, Murphy told reporters at a press briefing. Theres got to be a reason for it.

School districts must meet certain health and safety standards put in place by the New Jersey Department of Education in order to begin offering in-person learning for the upcoming academic year, Murphy said, noting that they would be able to resubmit reopening plans to the department.

Districts that cannot meet all the health and safety standards for safe in-person instruction will begin their school year in an all-remote fashion, the governor said. Public school districts will need to spell out their plans for satisfying these unmet standards and a date by which they anticipate the ability to resume in-person instruction.

Among the factors the state education department will consider as valid reasons to allow a district to resume the academic year remotely, are poor ventilation, space constraints making it impossible to enforce social distancing measures, a lack of personal protective equipment, or other serious health concerns, Politico reported.

The governor last week said that all students will be required to wear masks while inside school buildings in the state.

Murphys announcement marks a shift from remarks as recent as last week, when he said that the states public schools will reopen in some capacity for the coming academic year.

Speaking at a White House event on schools Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence cited recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that strongly favors a return to the classroom this fall.

We believe that we can safely reopen our schools. We know that its best for our kids. We dont want them fall behind, academically, Pence said. But also, we dont want our kids to miss out on the counseling that they receive, special needs services, as well as all the nutrition programs that are available just at our schools.

The latest CDC guidance, updated late last month, notes the importance of reopening Americas schools this fall. It states that that based on the best available evidence, the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus poses relatively low risks to school-aged children.

Citing its own figures, the agency said that as of July 17, children and adolescents under 18 years old in the United States account for less than 0.1 percent of COVID-19-related deaths and under 7 percent of CCP virus cases.

Further, the CDC said, there are few reports of children being the primary drivers of the spread of COVID-19the disease caused by the CCP virusin schools, or in the community.

Trump said later on Wednesday that his administration will provide up to 125 million reusable masks to schools nationwide.

All schools should be making plans to resume in-person classes as soon as possible, the president said.

Reuters contributed to this report.
By Eli Walsh

Bay City News Foundation

Four Bay Area public defenders are collaborating to seek the release of non-violent inmates from San Quentin State Prison, where a coronavirus outbreak has claimed 25 lives, a top lawyer in the San Francisco Public Defender's office said Wednesday.

Danielle Harris, managing attorney of the San Francisco Public Defender's Office, said conditions at San Quentin violate the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

"What we're asking the Marin court to acknowledge is the (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation) is at least deliberately indifferent to the lives and well-being of the people inside (San Quentin)," Harris said during a virtual news conference hosted by Oakland's Ella Baker Center for Human Rights.

Harris said public defenders in Marin, Santa Clara and Alameda counties support filing writs of habeas corpus for San Quentin inmates, and at least 44 writs have been filed with the Marin County Superior Court.

The prison had no documented cases of COVID-19 until shortly after the May 30 transfer of approximately 120 people from the California Institution for Men in Chino, which had roughly 500 active cases at the time and had reported 13 deaths.

Since then, the virus has infected more people at San Quentin than at any other state prison. As of Wednesday, the CDCR has tallied 2,232 cases and 25 deaths at San Quentin. The Chino facility, meanwhile, has had 1,103 cases and 19 deaths.

"People who are incarcerated are especially vulnerable to COVID due to the overcrowding of state prisons," said Dr. Neeta Thakur, a pulmonologist and critical care physician at the University of California at San Francisco. "As a result, (they) are currently experiencing infection rates 580 percent greater than the general public."

CDCR officials and Gov. Gavin Newsom have repeatedly said they intend to "decompress" the population at San Quentin and the prison system in general by granting early release to certain non-violent offenders to prevent further coronavirus outbreaks.

Newsom said in June that the state had identified about 3,500 inmates - based on whether they were within 180 days of their scheduled release, whether they were a sex offender or had a history of domestic violence and other factors - who were candidates for early release due to the pandemic.

CDCR officials have also touted the steps the agency has taken to bolster health and safety by routinely cleaning facilities and installing hand sanitizing stations.

Harris invoked the words of former U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Brennan, who wrote in 1963 that "habeas corpus has time and again played a central role in national crises."

"Unfortunately, we are in crisis again," Harris said. "The law now requires the court to step in ... to prevent further carnage."

Copyright  2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
Virtual roundtable discuses environmental justice and its relationship to ethnic media outlets

On Friday, several ethnic media leaders and environmental justice advocates met for the Tzunu Strategies organized Justicia Verde virtual roundtable to discuss environmental issues that impact communities of color.

The panel pinpointed environmental issues that impacted minority communities and different ways ethnic media outlets could cover these various issues.

The discussion was lead and moderated by Gladys Limon, the executive director of the California Environmental Justice Alliance, an organization focused on policy solutions to correct environmental issues.

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Marie Choi, the communications director of the Asian Pacific Environmental Network explained that the most pressing points when it comes to environmental issues is climate justice.

Were actually needing to completely reimagine how we do disaster response, were already seeing that with the pandemic, Choi said.

Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economys Policy Advocate, Lucia Marquez added that other climate justice issues such as fires, mudslides and extreme heat are also areas of concern.

I think the pandemic might not be a climate disaster but its a version of a disaster thats hitting our community and again its these front line [environmental justice] communities of color that are experiencing the worst conditions, Marquez said. Our state agencies, our local governments are not responding to the community needs the way they really should.

Minority workers make up a large portion of workers in essential, close contact jobs according to Tara ONeill Hayes report, The Outsized Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic on Minority Communities. American Public Media Research Lab found that as of August 4, 1 in 1,250 Black Americans have died of COVID-19, and Black Americans experience twice as high mortality rates than White and Asian Americans.

I think moving forward were going to look more into the interconnectedness of COVID-19 and how that has related to the climate change issue especially as we know the travel industry and just how what started off as a disease that came from other countries from a privileged issue has affected our community and the working class, said Christina Oriel, the managing editor of Asian Journal.

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Ingrid Brostrom, the assistant director of the Center on Race, Poverty and Environment noted that tokenism is a common issue when collaborating with media outlets on environmental justice stories. I cant tell you how many times I get approached saying give us the name of a resident who will say this this is the photo-op that we want, can you create it for us?

Brostrom went on to say that in some sense, were a shield for the residents from these kinds of superficial victim stories and we try to be conscious of avoiding that.

Choi said that reporters often want to frame stories focusing on environmental concerns as victim stories and would prefer that they also mention how to fix these issues.

We want to include our stories, and we [also] have an analysis and we have solutions, Choi said.

Regina Wilson, executive director of the California Black Media said that shes deeply rooted in ensuring that African American communities control their own narrative and making sure that we give protection to those media outlets to control what is happening, whats being said in their community.

When it comes to climate justice, she said that not everyone is afforded the privilege of being completely environmentally conscious. Wilson said that in order to create a dialogue between media outlets and environmental advocates, they have to mention the realities that some working minorities face.

Everybody cant afford a Tesla, everybody cant afford a Prius or what have you and so, what happens is, I believe the groups, the environmental justice groups, the folks that are leading these conversations, need to figure out how they come along, Wilson said.

Brostrom said that while there is still some confusion on what environmental justice is, there is a growing understanding that it covers multiple facets of living. Theres been an increasing recognition that environmental justice encompasses so much; its not simply about the toxic site next door, its about affordable housing, its about quality of your job, infrastructure, it encompasses it all.

Gabriel Lerner, editor in chief of La Opinion, a Spanish-language publication in Los Angeles, said that environmental advocates should reach out to news outlets to have their stories told.

Be in touch with us. Let us know what youre about, what youre fighting for, what are the topics, Lerner said. We will happily talk to you and have a conversation and let you know what are our priorities, which are the Latino community and the area that we serve.
Buddhism goes way back  so far back, in fact, that were still examining important evidence of just how far back it goes. Take the exhibit above, which may look like nothing more than a collection of faded scraps with writing on them. In fact, theyre pieces of the laboriously and carefully unrolled and scanned Gandhara Scroll, which, having originally been written about two millennia ago, ranks as one of the oldest Buddhist manuscripts currently known. You can read the scrolls story at the blog of the Library of Congress, the institution that possesses it and only last year was able to put it online for all to see.

The scroll originated in Gandhara, an ancient Buddhist kindgom located in what is today the northern border areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan, writes the Librarys Neely Tucker. Surviving manuscripts from the Gandharan realm are rare; only a few hundred are known to still exist. That realm was under the rule of numerous kings and dynasties, including Alexander the Great, the Mauryan emperor Ashoka and the Kushan emperor Kanishka I, and for a time became a major seat of Buddhist art, architecture and learning. One of the regions most notable characteristics is the Hellenistic style of its Buddhist sculptures, including figures of the Buddha with wavy hair, defined facial features, and contoured robes reminiscent of Greco-Roman deities.





Written in the Gandhari variant of Sanskrit, the Bahubuddha Sutra or Many Buddhas Sutra, as this scroll has been called, constitutes part of the much larger Mahavastu, or Great Story, a biography of the Buddha and his past lives. Here Tucker draws from the scholarship of Richard G. Salomon, emeritus professor of Sanskrit and Buddhist studies at the University of Washington, another institution that holds a piece of the Gandharan Buddhist texts. Many more reside at the British Library, which acquired them in 1994. The Library of Congress bought its Gandhara Scroll from a British dealer more recently, in 2003, and it arrived in what Tucker describes as an ordinary pen case, accompanied by a handwritten note: Extremely fragile, do not open unless necessary.'

So began several years of thought and planning to devise a treatment strategy, an effort that at one point saw the Librarys conservator practicing her unrolling technique on a dried-up cigar  an item that only approximates the difficulty of working with a compacted birch bark scroll. Then came gradual humidification over a few days, careful unrolling by hand with precision tools on a sheet of inert glass, followed by placing another sheet of glass on top once the scroll was completely unrolled, a dramatic and silent affair described in greater detail by Atlas Obscuras Sabrina Imbler.

The result was six large fragments and more than 100 smaller ones, together constituting roughly 80 percent of the scrolls original text. You can see all those fragments of the Gandhara Scroll, scanned in high resolution, at the Library of Congress web site. This will naturally be a more edifying experience if, like Salomon, you happen to be able to read Gandhari. Even if you cant, theres something to be felt in the experience of simply beholding a 2,000 year old text composed on birch bark through the digital medium on which we do most of our reading here in the 21st century  where interest in Buddhism shows no signs of waning.

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Based in Seoul, Colin Marshall writes and broadcasts on cities, language, and culture. His projects include the book The Stateless City: a Walk through 21st-Century Los Angeles and the video series The City in Cinema. Follow him on Twitter at @colinmarshall, on Facebook, or on Instagram.
Huawei is on the verge of releasing a new MateBook X, just six months on from unveiling the current model in Barcelona. The new edition will arrive on August 19 with a 3K display and impossibly-thin display bezels. The device will weigh considerably less than its predecessor too.

Working For Notebookcheck Are you a techie who knows how to write? Then join our Team! English native speakers welcome! News Writer (AUS/NZL based) - Details here

Only a few months have passed since we reviewed the MateBook X, but the company is already gearing up to release a new model. We have been fans of the MateBook X line in recent years, mainly on account of its stylish design, its good battery life and the inclusion of the MateDock 2 on this year's model.

A teaser published by Huawei on its Weibo channel suggests that the company has overhauled the design of the MateBook X, though. We are only going off one promotional image, but the upcoming MateBook X looks thinner than its current model. Its port selection has also been revised, with Huawei dropping one USB Type-C port from the left-hand side of the device. The device would appear to be too thin to have a USB Type-A port as the current model does.

Huawei has, according to Sparrows News, stated that the MateBook X would come in a variety of sizes. Additionally, the device will have a 3K display housed in a "metal-frameless design". The display apparently will have such thin bezels that it will appear as if it is floating, but that remains to be seen.
HILO, Hawaii (AP)  Prosecutors must reorganize their case against a man accused in a fatal shooting on the Big Island after two witnesses refused to testify.

Acting on advice from their attorneys, Sharina Pavao and Christian Alameda invoked their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination Friday at a preliminary hearing for Eric Fontes Jr., who is charged with murder in the death of 59-year-old Barton Bumatay.

Authorities say Bumatay was shot twice in the head at his home in a Puna subdivision early New Year's Day. His dismembered body was found Jan. 23 in two separate locations in the neighborhood.

Court documents say Alameda and another witness, Shannon Souza, told police that 34-year-old Fontes had forced them at gunpoint to help dispose of Bumatay's body. The state had planned to call Souza to the stand Friday, but he did not have an attorney at the time.

Pavao told police Fontes had bragged about the killing and making Alameda and Souza chop up the body, according to the documents.

Deputy Prosecutor Kevin Hashizaki said he was not surprised by the witnesses' decision not to testify, as they and Souza have not been offered immunity in exchange for their testimony.

"That is something our office is going to have to look at in terms of the risk and reward," said Hashizaki. "We just need to be sure that they are not involved in any way in the homicide if we offer them any sort of immunity."

The state's case will depend on how it can work with the witnesses' attorneys, Hashizaki said.

Cody Frenz, Fontes' attorney, declined to comment Friday.

___

Information from: Hawaii Tribune-Herald, http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/
A Longford publican has slammed government chiefs over their continued veto on the re-opening of licensed premises and claimed a growing number of so-called 'rogue' traders are undermining the industry's long term future.

Andy Byrne said he was growing increasingly frustrated over a situation which has seen his Longford town establishment, together which hundreds more closed for the past five months.

He also explained how the impasse meant tough decisions on whether to re-open and possibly take out a food license was becoming ever more nearer in order to make his own business viable again.

"It's coming to decision day for me," he told the Leader.

"We (publicans) have got limited assistance from government by way of a re-start grant and it's a far cry from what our loss of earnings are and it's not nearly enough to cover our everyday expenses."

Mr Byrne's remarks come hot on the heels of growing scepticism within the vintners sector that they will be allowed to re-open at the end of the month due to recent spikes in Covid cases.

Some 3,500 pubs employing 25,000 people have been ordered to stay shut after the reopening was delayed two times in three weeks, having most recently been put back from August 10.

Mr Byrne went a step further by insisting those holding the legislative power within the confines of Leinster House had little or no faith in publicans' ability to cope with stringent health and safety protocols if given the green light to re-open.

He said the dilemma was also being exacerbated by a growing number of so-called rogue traders who were doing little to help legitimate license holders in their quest to re-emerge from a five month hiatus.

"Publicans of all people are used to dealing with the public and are probably more qualified than most to police their business as well as run them in a proper and safe manner," he said.

"But the Government have more or less told us that we are not capable of running our own businesses responsibly. It's an attitude which has not been helped by the fact there are a few rogue traders in every county in Ireland who are flouting the guidelines with seemingly little or no consequences."

Mr Bryne is the second Longford publican to speak out on the difficulties engulfing the industry after fellow publican Eddie Valentine issued his own take on affairs yesterday.

ALSO READ: Longford's pub industry could re-open in weeks, says local publican

He said while it was his personal view pubs that don't serve food may be given the green light to re-open at the end of August, ongoing speculation and conjecture over those plans was not helping license holders.
Freeman-Wilson and Reardon said that while Harris was attacked during presidential debates for her position as prosecutor, voters should realize that as a prosecutor she had to enforce the law. While public opinion may change, laws, like those around marijuana, take longer to shift and laws have to be upheld, Reardon said.
The OPEC+ panels will not be discussing next week any revisions of the ongoing production cut pact and are not expected to make any major decisions to tweak the deal, Russias Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday.

The volatile oil market and the highly uncertain trajectory of global demand recovery has forced the OPEC+ group to have the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) hold meetings every month until the end of 2020, instead of ahead of every full OPEC+ meeting only.

The meetings of the Joint Technical Committee (JTC) will and the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) for August are scheduled for August 17 and August 18, respectively, OPEC said in its July meeting at which it noted that market conditions and conformity levels were improving.

The JMMC meeting will likely be held on August 19, a day later than originally planned, Russias news agency TASS quoted Novak as saying.

No one has put forward any sudden proposals for changes or additional proposals regarding the cuts, Novak said.

As of August 1, the OPEC+ group  led by Saudi Arabia and Russia  is easing the record collective cut of 9.7 million bpd to 7.7 million bpd.

I think that our long-term planning has shown that the right decisions were taken and that the market is now more or less stabilized, the Russian minister said. Related: Iran Seizes Oil Tanker In Strait Of Hormuz

We are seeing a gradual rebalancing of the market, Novak noted.

The OPEC+ panel meetings next week come as growing concerns about the lasting impact of the coronavirus pandemic has prompted OPEC and the International Energy Agency (IEA) to revise down their oil demand projections for this year, acknowledging that COVID-19 would impact oil demand more than previously thought. Due to the coronavirus shock to the global economy, the worlds oil demand is expected to drop by 9.1 million bpd in 2020  a larger demand loss than OPEC had estimated just a month ago, the cartel said on Wednesday.

On Thursday, the IEA downgraded its oil demand forecast for this year by 140,000 bpd from last months projection. This was the first downgrade in several months, reflecting the stalling of mobility as the number of Covid-19 cases remains high, and weakness in the aviation sector, the IEA said.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Ltd (JSPL) on Thursday said it has started supplying head hardened (HH) rail to Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) for the Kolkata Metro's Joka-Esplanade corridor.

HH rails are used in high-speed freight corridors and metro rail projects.

In a statement, said the company was selected by RVNL after a bidding process to supply 3,000 tonnes of HH rails for rail tracks.

It added that has started the supply of 1080 HH rails to RVNL for the completion of Kolkata Metro's Joka-Esplanade corridor in West Bengal. So far, it has supplied 1,300 tonnes of 1080-grade HH rails to RVNL, and the remaining 1,700 tonne rail will be made available within a week, the company said.

The company's Managing Director V R Sharma said, "We thank RVNL, Indian Railways, IRCON, and Research Design and Standard Organisation (RDSO) for extending their cooperation and trust in JSPL's quality."



is the only player in India manufacturing HH rails. The company's rail mill at its Raigarh plant has a capacity to produce over 30,000 tonnes of such rails per month.

The firm further said that "earlier, metro rail corporations and western dedicated freight corridors used to import head hardened rails for construction of high-speed tracks from Japan and Europe".

Trains can run on these tracks at a speed of up to 250 km per hour.

(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.)
In the wake of the food delivery app, Zomato, announcing a 10-day 'period leave' for its female employees, social media has been divided over the necessity of such a move in an organisation.

"There shouldnt be any shame or stigma attached to applying for a period leave," Zomato chief executive Deepinder Goyal said announcing their new leave policy.

In a country like India, menstruation is still a taboo. The debates around the issue of gender diversity have always been a whisper, never really finding its implementation on pen and papers.

And now the 'period leave' has also left netizens divided. Both men and women on social media threw in their opinions as to why 'period leave' would lead to discrimination. Meanwhile, many women explained why 'period leave' is a step towards strengthening biological discrimination, and why these leaves cannot be incorporated within sick leave.

Now while we don't really know why women need to explain the need for 'period leave', because really, it's that obvious. But this is the world we live in. So here they are.

A doctor put down a thread on Twitter highlighting the many difficulties women go through when they have to show up at work while experiencing excruciating period pain. She also explained that period pain is different for different women and one speaking for all only does more injustice to the other.

Dr Kamna Kakkar tweeted, "Who needs period leaves? Meet Ms. ABCD. She has endometriosis. Suffers from unimaginable pain during her periods. She pops pain killers like candy. We've seen her hide her tears in shame after being labelled 'attention seeker' for asking for sudden leaves on duty."

Who needs period leaves? Meet Ms. ABCD. She has endometriosis. Suffers from unimaginable pain during her periods. She pops pain killers like candy. We've seen her hide her tears in shame after being labelled 'attention seeker' for asking for sudden leaves on duty.  Dr. Kamna Kakkar (@drkamnakakkar) August 12, 2020

The logic of 'but women can use sick leaves' is a complete fail.

This is my monthly routine and the least the company I toil for can give me are #periodleaves. https://t.co/13ipqFM4HJ  Elina  (@LawyerInBaking) August 12, 2020

I really don't get the logic behind "but women can use sick leaves. Period leaves will stigmatize periods" 1. If women use sick leaves for periods, what will they do when they fall ill otherwise? 2. Aren't you stigmatizing periods by not acknowledging that they require leaves?  Ugly Feminist  (@ThisisLLN) August 9, 2020

Period leaves are just a hoax? The joke is on you.

For all those who think period leaves are just a hoax, or will create gender inequality read through this thread. There are so many period related complications that are not listed, btw meet me, I catch cold and get my nose blocked every month during periods.f https://t.co/4satRAF6qt  Rice plate k muh k (@JasoosMohtarma_) August 12, 2020

Period pain is real and horrible for many women out there. If someone doesn't need to take these leaves it's their choice but to say that they shouldn't exist or to judge someone on taking these leaves is just awful. https://t.co/vfCP6Jyqeq  Khushi (@Khushi__14) August 11, 2020

Ok, lets do this. Period leaves #Thread Three dimensions of period leaves - physiological, human resource management (including diversity), inclusion. Most debates and opinions around are mixing up all three. Lets try teasing them apart. 1/n  Supriya Sharma (@susharmaa) August 13, 2020

The argument against period leaves is based on such capitalistic notions of work; that the amount of time you put in is equal to your productivity and good quality work. A literal one-day off shouldnt be made to seem like it would make a woman, or even a man, less employable.  Radhika Roy (@royradhika7) August 12, 2020

I don't take leaves to rest during 25+ days of heavy periods because I use all my leaves while helping my father. I literally cry in pain while working. Don't you men/women with regular/painless periods talk about how women should be 'used to it'. Help make this better for us.  Aishwarya Parikh (@aishparikh) August 10, 2020

I disagree! its a biological process that is not same for everyone. offering this leave doesn't mean to say woman are considered less powerful. problem would have been if it was made mandatory for all companies. then they could start discriminating against women while hiring. https://t.co/1YgkYAIhyi  An Open Letter  (@AnOpenLetter001) August 11, 2020

To all those who think #periodleaves will only discriminate against women since it's a man's world & it's an impractical solution to a woman's 'small' problem of monthly bleeding: "Don't change women to fit the world; change the world to fit women." -Gloria Steinam  Surabhi (@i_surabh) August 10, 2020

No one woman should speak for all women. Yep, that's right.

This is a really important thread. I have had close friends with all of these challenges - and worse. Women who fainted because of unbearable pain; threw up non-stop for days; etc. No one woman should presume to speak for all women to deny the necessity of period leaves https://t.co/mWg2y1LZzP  Harini Nagendra (@HariniNagendra) August 12, 2020

As someone who has had to take so many leaves on account of my periods that I would exhaust my sick leaves and actually lose PAY over it, I strongly disagree. Telling me to suck it up and work through the pain (and fainting and extreme discomfort) is downright unfair https://t.co/XUALg9OWMz   (@tanyaaornot) August 11, 2020

Period leaves sound Godsend- My first days are mostly spent doubled in pain, exhaustion and nausea, and trying to be productive that time SUCKS. But how much will my employability/promotability (inevitably) suffer because of my gender, then? Is it worth it? I honestly don't know.  Jo (@ho_ann_panic) August 11, 2020

It's imperative to understand that thriving for a gender-sensitive work set up isn't identical with weak femininity or strengthening the roots of gender discrimination.

Meanwhile, drawing inspiration from Zomato's new stigma-combating-initiative, a Surat-based firm has declared 12 days period leave per year for its female staff.

Way to go!
In its invoking of a phony state of emergency to ram through an $8.1 billion weapons deal that included precision-guided missiles (PGMs) for Saudi Arabia in May of last year, the US State Department did not fully assess risks and implement mitigation measures to reduce civilian casualties and legal concerns associated with the transfer of PGMs, a report released Tuesday by the departments Office of Inspector General charged.

The emergency was declared by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on May 24, 2019 as a means of circumventing congressional opposition to arms sales to the Saudi monarchy and the United Arab Emirates. Pompeo claimed at the time that the weapons were needed urgently to deter Iranian aggression.

Saudi airstrike in Yemen (Credit: Saba)

The report, requested by the Democratic-controlled House Foreign Affairs Committee, came amid fresh reports from Yemen of atrocities caused by US-supplied Saudi warplanes and munitions.

At least nine children were among 20 killed in an August 6 Saudi airstrike against a four-vehicle civilian convoy in northern Yemen. A local health official said that the majority of the dead were women and children, as were seven others who were critically wounded.

The UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, Lise Grande, said the attack came as the victims were traveling by road. She added, Like all senseless acts of violence against civilians, this is shocking and completely, totally unacceptable.

The British charity Save the Children also confirmed the civilian casualties. In less than a month at least 17 children have lost their lives as a result of indiscriminate attacks in Yemen, said Xavier Joubert, the charitys director in Yemen.

On July 14, the UN reported another airstrike in Yemens Hajjah province that killed seven children, some as young as two years old.

According to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), the US-backed, Saudi-led war against Yemen has killed over 100,000 people since it began in 2015. The Saudi bombing campaign would be impossible without US weapons and logistical support, which has included targeting intelligence as well as aerial refueling for Saudi warplanes.

The devastating impact of the estimated 257,000 Saudi airstrikes has been compounded by a naval blockade mounted by the UAE with US naval support for the express purpose of starving the Yemeni population into submission. Many thousands more Yemenis, including at least 75,000 children under the age of five, have died of starvation, while the worst cholera epidemic in modern history has infected 1.2 million. Fully half of Yemens 28 million people are living on the brink of starvation.

The US State Department held a press briefing the day before the OIGs report was released, claiming that the big takeaway was that the report confirmed that the State Department and Pompeo acted in complete accordance of the law and found no wrongdoing in the administrations exercise of the emergency authorities.

This claim was echoed by Pompeo at a press conference in Prague Wednesday. We did everything by the book, he said. I am proud of the work that my team did. We got a really good outcome. We prevented the loss of lives. He failed to specify which lives he had in mind. Clearly they were not those of the thousands killed by US munitions in Yemen.

The OIG report does not exonerate Pompeo. It states at the outset that it did not make any assessment of the policy decisions underlying the arms transfers and the associated emergency. It notes that the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) of 1976 merely requires that the executive branch declare that an emergency exists, which requires that the sale be made immediately in the national security interests of the United States in order to override Congress.

The publicly released report was heavily redacted, with the acting Inspector General Diana Shaw invoking in a cover letter executive branch confidentiality interests, including executive privilege.

In addition to its indictment of the State Department for failing to concern itself with the civilian casualties caused by the weapons being fast-tracked to the House of Saud, an unredacted copy of the OIGs report leaked to the media also provides a timeline that makes clear the claim of an emergency was entirely fraudulent. It establishes that discussion on the use of the AECA emergency clause began nearly two months before it was actually invoked, and that when the reports findings were issued to the State Department, just $20 million of the billions of dollars in arms sales involved had been implemented.

Far from Washington having to rush weapons to a beleaguered ally, the emergency declaration was made for the dual purposes of fueling the US war buildup against Iran and safeguarding the billions of dollars in profits from Saudi arms sales accruing to Raytheon and other major US weapons manufacturers.

Congressional opposition to arms sales to the Saudi monarchical regime increased in the wake of the October 2018 assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, a dissident journalist and former regime insider, who was killed and dismembered at the Saudi embassy in Istanbul, Turkey.

The Democrats profession of concern over the Saudi atrocities carried out with US weaponry in Yemen was belated, to say the least. American arms sales to Riyadh soared under the administration of Barack Obama, which provided the Saudi military with cluster bombs, fighter jets, white phosphorus, targeting lists, midair refueling and around-the-clock maintenance, without which the slaughter of Yemenis would have been impossible.

In any case, for Washington and both US capitalist parties, Yemen and its US-backed war crimes are merely a sideshow in the greater game of struggle for hegemony over the energy-rich Middle East.

The drive to war against Iran has not been blunted by the exponential spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the US and internationally. On the contrary, the crisis which it has unleashed has only intensified American militarism, which provides a means of directing uncontrollable domestic tension outward.

Washingtons determination to effect regime change in Iran has only escalated in the face of Beijings cementing last month a far-reaching agreement with Tehran, providing $400 billion of investments in Irans oil, gas and transport sectors, in exchange for cheap oil supplies. In addition to Chinese investments in other sectors, it will allow China to deploy up to 5,000 troops to protect its interests in Iran.

The danger of a US war against Iran, made plain with Washingtons drone assassination at Baghdads international airport on January 3 of Gen. Qassem Suleimani, one of the most senior officials in the Iranian government, is bound up with US preparations for war against nuclear-armed China and Russia and the threat of a nuclear holocaust.

This threat can be answered only through the political mobilization of the international working class in struggle against war and its source, the capitalist profit system.
Actor Kareena Kapoor Khans father, Randhir Kapoor, has expressed his happiness at the news of her pregnancy. Kareena and her husband, Saif Ali Khan, on Wednesday confirmed that they were expecting their second child.

Randhir told Mumbai Mirror, I am absolutely delighted, I have been telling Kareena for so long that Taimur needs a brother or sister to play with. We are all very happy and we pray, its a healthy, happy child. Earlier, Saif and Kareena had said in a statement, We are very pleased to announce that we are expecting an addition to our family !! Thank you to all our well-wishers for all their love and support.

The couple, who tied the knot in 2012, have one child, son Taimur Ali Khan, who was born in 2016. Saif has two children from an earlier marriage to actor Amrita Singh -- daughter Sara Ali Khan and son Ibrahim Ali Khan.

Saifs sister, Soha, took to Instagram to congratulate him on the news. Sharing a picture of the actor, she called him quadfather. Ibrahim reacted to the post with a fire emoji, and wrote, Abba. Riddhima Kapoor Sahni and Rhea Kapoor also took to social media to extend their best wishes to the couple. Speaking about the possibility of having a second child, Kareena had said in 2018, Two more years.

Also read: Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan confirm they are expecting second child: Thank you to all our well wishers

Kareena will next be seen opposite Aamir Khan in Laal Singh Chaddha, the official remake of Hollywood hit Forrest Gump. Aamir recently travelled to Turkey to resume shooting for the film. Saif, meanwhile, will be seen in an Amazon Prime Video series centred on New Delhi politics.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  New Mexico is now meeting its targets for coronavirus contact tracing  the time it takes to isolate someone who tests positive  after a dramatic turnaround over the past month.

The improvement means the state has now cleared almost every standard it set as necessary before reopening more of the economy.

All the gating criteria are coming down nicely, Human Services Secretary David Scrase said in an interview Wednesday. Were really on the verge of being a green state again.

Indeed, New Mexico is now averaging 179 new coronavirus cases a day  pushing the states seven-day rolling average to its lowest point since late June, according to a Journal analysis.

Contact tracing, however, had remained a trouble spot in recent weeks even as the number of new infections fell, hospitals maintained adequate medical supplies and the state exceeded its goals for testing capacity.

The state Department of Health estimates that it now takes only 22 hours to ensure someone is isolated after a positive test  four times faster than a month ago, when the median time was 96 hours.

And quarantining an infected persons contacts now takes about 29 hours, down from 144 hours in mid-July.

The speed of New Mexicos contact tracing  for the first time  now falls within the goals set by the state. The target is 24 hours for self-isolation and 36 hours for quarantining contacts.

Only one of the states reopening criteria is still outstanding  the average number of new coronavirus cases detected each day by testing. State health officials havent set a specific standard yet, listing the goal as to be determined.

But New Mexico is improving by that calculation, too. The states seven-day rolling average of new cases plunged 46% in a two-week period, from 330 cases on average in late July to 179 on Wednesday.

The falling case total has helped accelerate the contact tracing by reducing the number of people who must be reached by state health employees.

In a written statement, David Morgan, a spokesman for the Department of Health, said increased staffing levels are also a factor. The state has about 400 staffers trained to do contact tracing, with about 200 of them dedicated full-time to making contact tracing calls to people.

They are paid through funding the state receives from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A job posting on the state website Wednesday advertised pay of $16 to $28 an hour for temporary positions.

The department continues to scale up staffing, Morgan said, to ensure ample staff to meet the demands of contact tracing, as well as the continued assessment of capacity against demand to ensure proper staffing levels.

Spike in Lea County

New Mexico reported just two additional virus deaths Wednesday, or half the recent average of four deaths a day over the past week.

The two deaths reported Wednesday  both older men from McKinley County with underlying health conditions  pushed the statewide death toll to 695 residents.

The state also recorded 180 new virus cases, moving the daily average for the past week to 179.

Lea County, in southeastern New Mexico, however, continued to endure a spike in cases, with 35 new infections reported Wednesday, or four more than were reported in Bernalillo County, which has over 10 times the population.

Dona Ana County cases also remained high, leading the state with 37 cases.

The state has now confirmed 22,816 cases of the virus out of 644,823 tests, for a positivity rate of 3.5%. But the rate has fallen recently, with just 2.6% of tests in a recent seven-day period coming back positive.

The number of tests administered has also fallen a bit as hospitals focus their supplies on people with virus symptoms, not just anyone who wants a test. An average of about 7,070 tests are being done per day now, far above the states target of 5,000 tests a day but a few hundred fewer than was typical earlier this month.

Reopening schools

The signs of improvement come as Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams administration considers whether to allow a partial reopening of public schools after Labor Day. Students this week began online learning, a practice the governor said she expects to last through at least Sept. 8.

State officials have broached the idea of allowing elementary school students to return to school on some days after that, depending on the spread and prevalence of the virus. Older students would be phased in after the younger ones.

Even if the governor permits the partial reopening of schools, districts would have the option of continuing online learning.

Scrase, a physician and key adviser to Lujan Grisham, said New Mexico needs more data before determining whether its safe to reopen some schools. The spread of the virus, he said, can grow quickly.

Its too early to tell, Scrase said. Weve seen changes in the direction of the curve take place in a weeks period of time.

The Lujan Grisham administration also faces pressure  especially from Republican legislators and many business owners  to relax public health regulations that have banned indoor dining at restaurants and limited a variety of other businesses to partial capacity.

The states public health order is scheduled to expire Aug. 28, although the Department of Health may revise or extend it before then.
Emily Ratajkowski has been enjoying a getaway to the Hamptons with husband Sebastian Bear-McClard and their dog Colombo.

But the Inamorata founder is keeping busy during their family vacation, promoting her swimwear brand.

She set pulses racing Wednesday, as she flaunted her taut figure in a brown Inamorata string bikini, which she modeled for the brand's Instagram.

Bikini babe: Emily Ratajkowski set pulses racing Wednesday, as she flaunted her taut figure in a brown Inamorata string bikini, which she modeled for the brand's Instagram

The 29-year-old posed against a pillar at her vacation home for the post, which was captioned: 'Itsy bitsy bikini.'

She's been promoting her collection with several trips to the beach and other summer outings with Bear-McClard, 39.

Ratajkowski previously took a gorgeous drive, sharing a video of Colombo poking his head out of the backseat window.

She later enjoyed a sunset yacht ride with friends, posting some videos of the serene view from the water.

Beach days: She's been promoting her collection with several trips to the beach and other summer outings with husband Sebastian Bear-McClard, 39

Out for a drive: Ratajkowski previously took a gorgeous drive, sharing a video of Colombo poking his head out of the backseat window

Yacht goals: She later enjoyed a sunset yacht ride with friends, posting some videos of the serene view from the water

It comes after she and Bear-McClard spent the majority of their quarantine in their Los Angeles home.

They caught a flight out of JFK in April, shortly after the CDC issued an advisory, asking 'residents of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut to refrain from non-essential domestic travel for 14 days effective immediately.'

She previously told British GQ: 'You know, [my husband and I] have been a little bit on the fence. My parents are in California, but as we know the responsible thing is to not travel right now.

'But eventually we would like to make it out there just because, well, New York is the epicenter, although my bodega is still open. I live in Tribeca and it is already very quiet.'

Ratajkowski and her hubby returned to the Big Apple back in June, as they were spotted arriving at JFK.
VILNIUS, Lithuania Lithuania on Thursday designated the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group as a terrorist organization and issued a 10-year ban on all individuals related to the Iran-backed group from entering the Baltic nations territory.

After receiving valuable information from our foreign partners, we can assume that Hezbollah is functioning on the principles of terrorist organization, Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius said.

Linkevicius added, without elaborating, that some persons with the Iran-backed organization also pose threat to Lithuanias national security.

Hezbollah emerged as a ragtag guerrilla group in the 1980s, funded by Iran to battle Israeli troops occupying southern Lebanon. A protracted guerrilla war, characterized by roadside bombs and sniper attacks, eventually forced Israel to withdraw in May 2000. With the exception of an inconclusive, monthlong war in 2006, the volatile frontier has largely remained calm.

The U.S. and Israel, along with Britain, Germany, the Arab League and Gulf Arab states have also designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. The European Union has only designated the groups military wing as terrorist, in the aftermath of an attack on a tourist bus in Bulgaria in 2012.

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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Linkedin Moch. Fiqih Prawira Adjie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 13 2020

The State Palace has given an assurance that the change in the status of Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) employees to civil servants will not affect the antigraft bodys independence despite concerns from critics.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's administration recently issued Government Regulation No. 41/2020 on the status changes, a regulation mandated by the controversial revision to the KPK Law, which stipulates that all previously independent employees of the agency would become civil servants, giving a two-year transition period to implement the change.

Presidential expert staff member Dini Shanti Purwono said the regulation would not reduce the KPKs independence, citing Article 3 of the revised law, which stipulates that the KPK would remain independent and free from any external powers.

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President Donald Trump fanned the flames of yet another 'birther' conspiracy theory by telling White House reporters Thursday that he had 'no idea' if Kamala Harris was eligible to be vice president.

The president added that the Republican lawyer who wrote a Newsweek op-ed pushing that claim 'is a very highly qualified, very talented lawyer.'

Right-wing law professor John C. Eastman wrote an editorial Wednesday that argued that because Harris' parents weren't citizens when she was born in 1964 in Oakland, California then she might not fit the definition of eligibility under the U.S. Constitution.

A number of Constitutional experts said that was flat-out false and Harris' defenders called it racist.

President Donald Trump said he has 'no idea' if Kamala Harris is eligible to be vice president, adding that an op-ed that suggested she wasn't was written by a 'very highly qualified, very talented lawyer'

A Newsweek op-ed argued that Kamala Harris (pictured) may not be eligible to be vice president because her parents weren't U.S. citizens when she was born in California in 1964. One prominent law professor called the editorial 'racist nonsense'

Kamala Harris is pictured with her mother Shyamala Gopalan (left), who was born in India, and her father Donald Harris (right), who was born in Jamaica

Georgetown University Law Center professor Josh Chafetz told FactCheck.org Eastman's op-ed was nothing but 'racist nonsense.'

Eastman had run for California attorney general in 2010, the same year as Harris, but was beaten in the GOP primary, while she won the race.

John C. Eastman wrote a controversial editorial for Newsweek that suggested Kamala Harris wasn't eligible to run for VP. The op-ed was widely viewed as racist and untrue

But a tweet sharing the editorial was retweeted by the Trump campaign's Senior Legal Advisor Jenna Ellis.

'It's an open question, and one I think Harris should answer so the American people know for sure she is eligible,' Ellis later told ABC News.

A spokesperson for the Trump campaign never answered DailyMail.com's inquiry on whether the campaign backed Ellis' statement.

At the Thursday briefing, Trump was asked by a reporter whether he could 'definitively say' Harris was eligible since she was a 'anchor baby,' a negative term for immigrants who have children in the U.S. so that they can achieve citizenship.

'So I just heard that. I heard it today. That she doesn't meet the requirements and by the way the lawyer that wrote that piece is a very highly qualified, very talented lawyer,' the president answered. 'I have no idea if that's right.'

'I would have assumed the Democrats would have checked that out before she gets chosen to run for vice president,' Trump went on, adding that the unfounded claims were 'very serious.'

He then asked the reporter to explain what Harris' problem was.

'You're saying that, they're saying that she doesn't qualify because she wasn't born in this country?' Trump asked.

The journalist replied explaining that Harris' parents were born abroad and weren't citizens at the time of her birth in the U.S.

'I don't know about it, I just heard about it, I'll take a look,' Trump said.

His comments echoed the sentiments he pushed about President Barack Obama, the country's first black president.

Businessman Trump was one of the most prominent voices to push the 'birther' conspiracy about Obama, doing so in early April 2011.

Trump, who was mulling taking on Obama in the 2012 election, made a number of bogus claims including that Obama's 'certificate of live birth' was not an actual 'birth certificate.'

The president was trying to push the racist narrative that Obama was born in Africa, where his black father was from.

Obama countered at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in late April by jokingly showing the audience his 'official birth video' - the opening scenes of Disney's 'The Lion King.'

But days earlier, in a move that showed Obama took the political threat seriously, the White House released the president's long form birth certificate.

It wasn't until Trump was running in 2016 that he admitted that Obama was born in the United States - though he also claimed, falsely, that it was Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign that started the 'birther' conspiracy theory to begin with.

Harris is the second person of color to appear on a major party's presidential ballot and the second Democratic politician in recent years that Republicans have tried to suggest was born outside the U.S.
Thousands of homeowners are obsessing over a stylish bed from IKEA that allows you to hang plants and fairy lights from its wooden frame, describing it as a 'beautiful' addition to any bedroom.

The GJORA bed from the Swedish homewares store costs just $559, but looks like designer products worth more than four times the price.

Many have said since they added the bed to their bedroom, their space now feels like a 'jungle retreat'.

Thousands of homeowners are obsessing over a stylish bed from IKEA that allows you to hang plants and fairy lights from its wooden frame (pictured)

The GJORA bed (pictured) from the Scandi homewares store costs just $559, but looks like designer products worth more than four times the price

Hundreds who own the bed have shown off photos on Instagram of how they have styled it with eucalyptus, pot plants, lights, decorations and even wisteria.

The bed easily becomes the focal point of any room its in, thanks to the impressive birch frame.

Reviews on the IKEA website are similarly glowing, and it has a four and a half star rating.

'I bought this bed a year ago,' one person posted.

'I fell in love with the unique design, raw timber texture and the height. It's incredibly sturdy - not even a hint of a creak or a wobble.'

Hundreds who own the bed have shown off photos on Instagram of how they have styled it with eucalyptus, pot plants, lights, decorations and even wisteria (right)

The reviewer added: 'It's currently the centrepiece of our bedroom - we have string lights draped over the head frame'.

She said they have moved house since buying the bed too, and had no issues with disassembly and re-assembling it in a new location.

Others online have said they have used the head frame to hang jackets and items they know they'll need the next day.

Reviews on the IKEA website are similarly glowing, and the bed (pictured) has an impressive four-star rating

On the IKEA website, their design experts explained that the GJORA bed (pictured) is 'what you make of it', as you can have the low end at the top or the bottom of the bed

On the IKEA website, their design experts explained that the GJORA bed is 'what you make of it'.

'Use the low end as a headboard or the other way around,' their team posted.

'Hang your outfits or hang fabric to create a room divider - or let it stand on its own in the middle of the room.

Owners of the bed will need to buy a mattress and bedding separately.
A new rideshare program could be coming to Indianapolis, thanks to entrepreneur Sam Smith.

When Smith, an Indianapolis native, founded Smiths Enterprises and Global Network two decades ago, his goal was to help those in need. Smith wanted to bring the rideshare service TRYP to Indianapolis before the COVID-19 pandemic began, as it would help individuals and nonprofits. Now, with economic troubles looming for many, Smith says its more important than ever.

Everyone needs money right now, Smith said. This is an easy way to make some money and help people in the process.

Smith said TRYP would be a competitor to larger rideshare companies, such as Uber and Lyft, and would help provide potential drivers and nonprofits with a source of extra income.

TRYP, which is currently only available in a few cities around the country, has a monthly fee of $39. However, if drivers refer three or more drivers, they no longer have to pay the fee and they earn 100% of the ride fare, according to the companys mission statement.

My main goal is empowering people, and giving people the opportunity to work, Smith said. I believe in giving people a hand up, not a handout.

Nonprofit organizations can also take advantage of the service, and Smith said he wants TRYP to help bring the community together by connecting individuals in need with nonprofits. TRYP isnt only a rideshare service; the company is expanding to help with grocery delivery and helping people get to and from job interviews. Smith said he specifically wants to help Hoosiers who have fallen on hard times, as well as veterans and military families.

Smith describes helping people as his duty as a Christian.

Basically, as Christians, we should help feed the hungry and provide different things for people, Smith said. I have this opportunity, and I feel obligated to help. TRYP can help pastors, get people to churches, and help businesses and the community work together.

To bring TRYP to Indianapolis, Smith needs at least 3,000 drivers signed up.

This opportunity is available to those that can see the vision, Smith said. This is a ground floor opportunity.

Contact staff writer Breanna Cooper at 317-762-7848. Follow her on Twitter @BreannaNCooper.

Want to drive?

For more information on how to sign up to drive for TRYP, contact Sam Smith at 317-253-7158.

Tryp
China's civil aviation regulator has announced that an Etihad Airways' Abu Dhabi-Shanghai flight, a China Eastern Airlines' Manila-Shanghai flight, and a SriLankan Airlines' Colombo-Shanghai flight, would be suspended after several passengers tested positive for COVID-19 on recent flights.



Six passengers tested positive on an Etihad Airways' EY862 flight on Aug. 3, while there were six positive cases on a China Eastern Airlines' MU212 flight on Aug. 5, and there were 23 positive cases on a SriLankan Airlines' UL866 flight on Aug. 7, according to a statement posted on Wednesday on the website of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

The decision was made on Tuesday.

The suspension of Etihad Airways and China Eastern Airlines' flights will last for one week, starting on Aug. 17, while flights of SriLankan Airlines will be suspended for four weeks.

To further contain the spread of COVID-19, a reward and suspension mechanism was introduced by the CAAC on June 4.

According to the CAAC policy, if all inbound passengers on an airline test negative for the novel coronavirus for three weeks in a row, the operating airline will be allowed to increase its number of flights to two per week.

If the number of passengers testing positive reaches five, the airline's flights will be suspended for a week. The suspension will last for four weeks if the number of passengers testing positive reaches 10.

The CAAC also said that the airlines are not allowed to transfer the original quota for EY862, MU212, and UL866 to other routes.
A court has heard how a drink driver drove to Limavady PSNI station and refused to leave the building

A court has heard how a drink driver drove to Limavady PSNI station and refused to leave the building.

At Londonderry Magistrates Court yesterday, Richard Craig (44), a shop manager from Forest Drive in Ballykelly, admitted driving with excess alcohol on May 17. A PPS solicitor told District Judge Barney McElholm that Craig drove his BMW to the PSNI's Connell Street station in Limavady. Because of his slurred speech he was breathalysed and found to be over the legal limit.

Mr McElholm said driving to the station "was not the most intelligent thing to do".

Solicitor Peter Jack said Craig had refused to leave the reception area as he'd received a threatening phone call at home earlier on the same day in which the caller accused him of being "a tout" and said he had "five hours to get out".

"He then panicked and foolishly and stupidly took the decision to drive to the police station in Limavady. He did so to seek protection and help but instead he ended up getting arrested and is now before the court.

"He has a relevant record going back 23 years. He is a shop manager and the loss of his licence will have catastrophic consequences for him," Mr Jack said.

Craig was fined 150 and disqualified from driving for 12 months.
Three more staff members at the warehouse facility in New Zealand have tested positive to coronavirus.

The new infections at Americold, a cold storage facility in Auckland, come after another employee tested positive for virus on Tuesday, taking the cluster total to four.

There were 13 new community transmitted cases announced on Thursday, all of which have been linked back to the original Auckland family cluster.

Americold managing director Richard Winnall told the New Zealand Herald there was still a lot people awaiting test results.

'It's not good. There's a lot of anxiety and concern.'

The facility is at the centre of the investigation looking into how four people became infected with virus after the country recorded 102 days without community transmission.

A nurse prepares to test people at a Covid-19 testing facility in Eden Terrace in Auckland in Thursday

The new infections at Americold (pictured), a cold storage facility in Auckland, come after another employee tested positive for virus on Tuesday, taking the cluster total to four

The workplace is set to undergo testing for COVID-19 amid fears the virus survived on refrigerated freight sent from overseas and then spread to staff.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made the drastic move to force New Zealand back into lockdown on Wednesday after four new COVID-19 cases emerged.

Health experts are still trying to figure out how the cluster began as it seemed the country had eliminated the virus.

They are using genome sequencing - looking at the genetic material, or DNA, of an organism - to track the source of the infection.

One of China's top epidemiologists Wu Xunyou warned the virus could survive up to three months on frozen food packaging, adding credence to the theory about New Zealand's new cases.

He issued the warning in June, after the virus was transmitted on chopping boards used for imported salmon.

Police question drivers as they head in and out of Auckland on SH1 north of Wellsford on Wednesday (pictured) amid new Stage Three lockdown

'We do know from studies overseas that, actually, the virus can survive in some refrigerated environments for quite some time,' director general of health Ashley Bloomfield said on Wednesday.

'We start by looking at all the options and ruling then out, and that's the position we're in at the moment.'

Testing has not shown the virus can survive on the frozen food itself.

The race is on to track the source as the number of cases continues to grow, with a student at Mt Albert Grammar School testing positive for the disease on Thursday.

The government has been scrambling to control the outbreak, they are rushing to test about 50,000 people by the end of the week to stop the virus from spreading further throughout the community.

Two women wearing face masks and carrying toilet paper walk on a street in downtown Auckland, New Zealand (pictured on Wednesday night)

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made the drastic move to force New Zealand back into lockdown on Wednesday after four new COVID-19 cases emerged

Auckland, the city with the largest population, was placed under Stage Three lockdown on Wednesday while testing got under way.

The move has forced families to stay-at-home for 72 hours.

The rest of the country was placed under Stage Two restrictions - mandating social distancing and limits on the size of gatherings.

All aged care facilities will close their doors to everyone but staff from Wednesday to keep those residents safe.

'This is tough for people, but it's necessary. We need to protect the most vulnerable,' Ms Ardern said.

A police officer wearing a mask gets his morning coffee from The Store in Kohimarama as Auckland wakes to a return to Stage Three lockdown (pictured on Thursday)

Jo Fahey gets her morning coffee at The Store in Kohimarama as Auckland wakes to a return to level three lockdown on Thursday

Ms Ardern also urged residents in Auckland to wear a mask or face covering when out in public.

'If you are in Auckland, please cover your face if you leave home - masks or a bandanna is fine,' she said.

The new outbreak has baffled authorities who were certain the country had eliminated the virus.

New Zealanders had been enjoying the return of their usual freedoms after an autumn lockdown proved effective in eliminating the deadly virus.

On Tuesday night, they were told those freedoms would be put on hold.
The Tema-Akosombo Railway Project is progressing steadily with 70 per cent of construction works done.



Out of the 97.625 Kilometer railway line expected to be completed by July 2021, 93 Kilometers of formation just below the subgrade level had been done, 65 kilometers of Skelton Tracks had been laid and 138 out of 156 structure culverts and bridges had been completed.



In addition, 200,000 steel-reinforced concrete sleepers - produced in the country, had been casted with many others being produced.



On the Volta Lake, where a 300-metre rail bridge at Ogoli, near Juapong in the North Tongu District was currently under construction, some 18 out of 30 pile foundations had been completed and a few others were being worked on.



The Railway Project is part of the Tema-Mpakadan railway under the Ghana-Burkina inter connectivity railways project which is being constructed by AFCONS Infrastructure Limited, an Indian construction company.



The Ghana News Agency (GNA) made these observations during a monitoring and verification visit to the railway construction sites with officials of Penplusbytes and the Ghana Railway Development Authority (GRDA).



The visit, which was a validation of citizens reports on governments assurances under the Connecting Citizens to Parliament II project being implemented by Penplusbytes with technical support from OSIWA, afforded the team the opportunity to assess at first hand, the veracity of aggregated claims and feedback sent on digital platforms by citizens.



Mr Jeremiah Sam, Deputy Director, Programmes, Penplusbytes, addressing the media said, the visit was testament of the contribution of new media and digital tools to entrench citizens participation in governance and providing an easy and impactful avenue for expanding the democratic space.



What we seek to do is use technology to assist the Committee on Government Assurances (CGA) to enable citizens to be a part of the legislative process and further play an effective oversight role by engaging them on various government assurances using new digital tools,  he said.



He observed that the claims by citizens in the construction communities, corroborated what the team had observed as work was ongoing impressively and said the outcome of the visit would form part of a policy brief to be generated and passed on to the CGA ahead of their own monitoring visits after which a final report would serve as evidence.



Maame Yaa Agyaa Ayensu, Corporate Affairs Manager, Ghana Railway Development Authority, said the project which was anticipated to be completed by close of August 2020 has had to delayed as a result of some unexpected challenges including the Covid-19 pandemic which affected some 82 workers of the construction company.



She said the encroachment of Railway Company lands was a major challenge, adding that appropriate compensations had been duly paid to affected land owners.



She said the Railway Redevelopment Projects was 70 per cent freight and 30 per cent passenger mix and would go a long way to accelerate the country's socio-economic growth.



As part of the 30 per cent of the project to be completed, she said, some stations would be constructed, including a freight terminal at Tema Harbour to facilitate the transportation of goods inland .





Mr Gupta Asim, Head of Legal, AFCONS Infrastructure Limited, told the GNA that with progress of work so far, the project would be completed in March, four months ahead of the originally scheduled date.

Source: GNA









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Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 08:39:04|Editor: huaxia

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CANBERRA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Deputy Chief Medical Officer (CMO) has described suggestions that authorities were unprepared for COVID-19 outbreaks in aged care as "insulting."

Nick Coatsworth told reporters on Wednesday afternoon that suggestions that Australia's response to the virus in aged care facilities has been futile were insulting to every Australian who has been affected by the virus.

His comments were in response to geriatrician Joseph Ibrahim, who told the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety on Wednesday that aged care residents have been treated like 'second-class citizens' during the pandemic.

"In my opinion, hundreds of residents are and will die prematurely because people have failed to act," Ibrahim said, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Coatsworth strongly rebuffed Ibrahim's testimony to the commission, saying that sweeping changes to society were introduced across Australia to protect the elderly.

"The assertion that there was an attitude of futility towards death in residential aged care in Australia is frankly insulting to the entire Australian community who locked down to prevent deaths amongst our most vulnerable," he said.

"There were many words used in the royal commission witness statements today that perhaps don't reflect the totality of the Government's response, both at federal and state level, to preventing deaths in aged care."

Authorities on Wednesday confirmed 21 new deaths from COVID-19 in Australia, all of which were in Victoria, taking the national death toll to 352 and Victoria's to 267.

A statement from the Department of Health and Human Services in Victoria said on Wednesday that "16 of the 21 new deaths are linked to known outbreaks in aged care facilities."

Brendan Murphy, who served as Australia's Chief Medical Officer from 2016 until June and commenced as the Secretary of the Department of Health in July, also gave evidence at the royal commission on Wednesday, refuting allegations that the government did not have a pandemic plan for aged care.

However, he did acknowledge that mandatory use of face masks in aged care in Victoria should have been introduced sooner.

"In hindsight, you could have implemented that earlier, absolutely," he said.

"The situation in Victoria changed very, very rapidly in July." Enditem
Michelle O'Neill has predicted that a successful vote for a united Ireland will happen in the next 10 years.

The deputy First Minister also said the "reckless" actions of the UK Government over Brexit could persuade more people to vote for Irish unity.

Her comments were made in an interview on the Guardian Weekly Politics Podcast.

She also discussed the death of John Hume, growing up in Co Tyrone during the Troubles, being inspired to enter politics by the Good Friday Agreement, and her relationship with First Minister Arlene Foster.

Ms O'Neill said the "blatant disregard" shown by the government over Brexit had opened up the discussion on Irish unity, including for unionists.

"I can tell you this, in my whole lifetime I have never witnessed the level of conversation that is now under way," she said.

"But also the Boris Johnson strategy in terms of Covid-19. We would have lost a lot more people to Covid-19 had the Assembly here not had the ability to take its own path."

She continued: "Now is the time to plan for unity and to start to put the facts on the table. Let people understand what does an all-Ireland health service look like, what does an all-Ireland education system look like.

"We now need to put that information out for all to see and let them make an informed choice, because I believe we are now in a decade of opportunity and I believe in the next number of years, certainly before the end of this decade, we will have voted for a united Ireland."

She added that both British and Irish identity would be "cherished equally," but that many would vote in a border poll to return to the European Union.

"So for a lot of people in this decade we have in front of us, they're going to be considering which union they wish to be part of and the EU have offered us a route back in," she said. "So for some people it may not be about Britishness versus Irishness, it may be about do they value their European citizenship. I think that's going to be a very interesting debate."

Born in 1977, she spoke of growing up in a happy home with her parents and younger brother, but how the conflict around her became normalised.

She recalled one of her earliest memories was of soldiers raiding the family home.

On the passing of John Hume, she said it marked "the start of the end of an era".

Ms O'Neill described "a very good, constructive" working relationship with Mrs Foster, adding: "I've been quite pleased with the work that we've been able to do and the relationship we've been able to build for the betterment of the people that we serve."

Asked if Mrs Foster was tough to get on with, she said: "We all have our own personality traits don't we, but I think Arlene and I have been able to strike quite a good working relationship where we've been able to have quite constructive conversations which is necessary as we work together as joint head of government."
Muntinlupa City (CNN Philippines, August 14)  Cellphones, laptop and tablet computers, pocket wifis, and other mobile accessories were among those destroyed by the Bureau of Corrections in Muntinlupa City on Thursday.

Bureau of Corrections and Philippine National Police personnel watched as 3,817 cellphones, 101 pocket wifi units, 41 tablets, and seven laptops were smashed and ran over by an excavator. Also destroyed were over 2,072 tobacco bars, 1,014 hand-rolled cigarettes, and 98 cigarette sticks, in addition to countless bladed weapons.

Also destroyed were 29 mobile phone signal boosters, 11 power banks, four smart watches, seven digital weighing scales, two defective digital cameras, eight units of PlayStation Portables, and 12 DVD players.

Corrections Spokesperson Gabriel Chaclag said the gadgets were confiscated from 2015 to November 2019 from both inmates and visitors inside the New Bilibid Prison. It was part of the agencys anti-contraband campaign, he said.

Wala po tayong exact estimate dahil iba iba naman po yung brand tsaka medyo may kalumaan na rin yung iba. Pero, ang importante po dito ay 'yung estimate ng destruction na kanyang ginagawa pag ginamit ito sa illegal transactions sa labas, Chaclag told reporters.

[TRANSLATION: We do not have an exact estimate (about the cost of these items) because they are composed of different brands and some are quite dated. The important thing, however, is how much damage these gadgets can bring if used by prisoners for illegal transactions outside.]

Just imagine," Chaclag said, "isang cellphone lang, pag ginamit sa illegal transaction sa drugs, ilang buhay ang masisira. Imagine that, 3,817 cellphones  whether keypad or digital. Ganun din yung effect nun pag ginamit ng illegal drug personalities pag ginamit sa illegal transactions sa labas.

[TRANSLATION: Just imagine, if one cellphone is used in illegal drug transactions, many lives will be destroyed. Imagine that, 3,817 cellphones  whether its keypad-type or digital  its the same effect when drug personalities use them for outside transactions.]

Netizens on Twitter reacted to the BuCors move.

User @willow2469 said the gadgets should have instead be given to public schools for their use.

@no_707ss, meanwhile felt that the destruction of the gadgets was a waste, saying donating the gadgets should have been the agencys chance to help.

User @oatmeal_krunch, meanwhile, flouted the idea of reformatting the gadgets so students can use them instead.

When asked about these suggestions by netizens, Chaclag said these have been considered. However, he pointed out that it is better to show the public that nothing can be gained from things that have been used for illegal activities.

Napag-isipan na po natin yan at pinakamabuti pa rin na ipakita sa taong bayan na wala tayong mapapala sa mga bagay na galing sa illegal na gawain," Chaclag said. "Ipakita natin na seryoso tayo sa ating campaign against illegal activities.

"Hindi rin tayo sigurado na malinis yung mga gadgets at gumagana, he added.

[TRANSLATION: Weve thought about it but its still best to show the public that we couldnt benefit from items used in illegal activities. Lets show the public that we are serious in our campaign against illegal activities. Were not even sure if these gadgets are clean or still working.]

The gadgets were confiscated by various offices inside the Bilibid, such as the NBP Superintendents Offices, Overseers Office, Commander of the Guards, Intelligence and Investigation Division, and the BuCor SWAT team.

They were turned over to the investigation section for safekeeping, and corresponding investigation reports about the items have been concluded, the BuCor said.

The smuggling of prohibited items inside the Bilibid has been a perennial problem, according to Chaclag, admitting that it is a challenge to police the entire NBP compound.

Yung security camp mismo, nine hectares. How about the other camps?" he said. "Hindi mo talaga mababantayan yung the whole perimeter. When were here last time, nung nag-ikot tayo ng buong perimeter ng maximum security prison ay nakita ninyo kung gaano kadali ang magbato ng kontrabando sa loob.

[TRANSLATION: The main security camp is nine hectares. How about the other camps? You cannot fully guard the entire perimeter. When we toured the maximum security prison last time, you saw how easy it is to throw contraband inside.]

Despite this, Chaclag said the corrections bureau will sustain and intensify operations against illegal contraband inside the Bilibid and in all corrections facilities nationwide.
Popularly known as AmithWorldWide, Amith Boteju is not just a renowned international rapper but also a record producer, entrepreneur and songwriter. It was in middle school, in America, that Amith Boteju, a Sri Lankan-American rapper first got introduced to hip-hop influences. It was partly because the African-American culture that indulged him just like one of their own. The fact that embracing the hip-hop community also helped him learn more about being a minority community member in America fascinated Amith and made him feel at home in the country that was so far foreign to him. Studying hip-hop during his school years not only encouraged Amith to cut through the language barriers, which had impeded his social confidence thus far, but it also helped him to chart his own journey through life towards a career of a hip-hop artist. At a time when other Sri Lankan kids wanted to become doctors, engineers and lawyers, Amith started discovering his destiny through music, for which he had immense talent.

Originally born in Sri Lanka, it was Amiths grandmother who was instrumental in bringing the family over to America, with the hope of a better life. So during the 90s, he along with his family shifted to the US to survive the Sri Lankan civil unrest.

Over the years, as Amith graduated from high school, dropped out of college and began working on his music, he continued to build relationships, first in life and later on in music. Today, he is friends with artists and business executives like Ne-Yo, Swizz Beatz and Mark Pitts. With a vast network of professionals whom he is in touch with, Amiths life traverses easily through different planes like brand promotion, trade, diplomacy. His debut in the music industry was the single Money Long in 2019, after which, in 2020, he was asked by international rapper Akon to join his team of performers.

Amiths entry into the music world may have been unannounced but his association with international rap star Akon, earlier this year, didnt stay unnoticed for long. After devoting years of hard work, perseverance and consistency to his art, Amith was noticed by Akon, who gave him a chance to be a part of his domestic tour through the country.

His charming demeanor attracts a wide range of people into his network and with its help, he has vowed to improve the lives of less fortunate Sri Lankans, who could not make the move like his family, to better shores. Overcome with grief over the civil war that ravaged Sri Lanka for years and destroyed life and economy of his homeland, Amith is keen to use his contacts to create a better future for Sri Lankans.

Amith is basically a go-getter in life who loves to create opportunities for himself, be it making music or signing a business deal. From supporting new technologies to improve lives around the world to helming major music concert deals, Amiths capabilities are multi-faceted. Apart from being the quintessential American celebrity, Amith also takes his role as a philanthropist very seriously. His entrepreneurial abilities are reflected in his fashion line, Born in Sri Lanka in L.A. Today this brand is not just a trend-setting one but also one that has made the Americans aware of his motherland.

Disclaimer: This is a company press release. No HT journalist was involved in the creation of this content.
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In early March, U.S. health officials had a stark warning for older Americans: You are more at risk for complications if you contract Covid-19, so avoid leaving your home. For Medicare's 62.5 million beneficiaries  the majority of whom are 65 or older and more likely to use medical services  this was more than an inconvenience or new threat. It meant needing to see a doctor could pose a dangerous choice. Enter telehealth. As communities worked to stem the spread of the coronavirus through temporary business shutdowns and stay-at-home orders, lawmakers and regulators loosened policies to make remote health care through Medicare more broadly available during the public emergency.

Whether via video chat, a telephone call or other remote technology, telemedicine usage among Medicare beneficiaries spiked from pre-pandemic levels: At least 10 million Medicare beneficiaries have used telehealth since early March, according to a spokesperson for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Before then, there were roughly 13,000 appointments weekly. More from Personal Finance:

'Super savers' make these sacrifices to help reach goals

Parents turn to 'learning pods.' Here's what that can cost

If you adopt a pet, be prepared for the cost "I think it's pretty clear that the expansion in telehealth services was a very appropriate and successful response to the pandemic," said Juliette Cubanski, deputy director for the Kaiser Family Foundation's program on Medicare policy. "It was probably a lifesaver for people who took advantage of it, or it let them continue to get care." Yet as Congress and regulators consider making the temporary expansion in telehealth permanent, patient advocates are hoping they don't move too quickly. "We have data about increased utilization, but we don't know much about the beneficiary's experience and what's working and what isn't," said Lindsey Copeland, federal policy director for the Medicare Rights Center, an advocacy group. Among the issues that policymakers would need to address are quality of care, the cost to beneficiaries and the services that are sensible for coverage.

"Using it for all circumstances and all services, as we've seen generally through the pandemic, might not be the best possible way forward from both a program cost perspective or beneficiary cost perspective," Cubanski said. By the looks of it, most telehealth experiences have been positive among Medicare beneficiaries. Among those enrolled in an Advantage Plan, 91% reported favorable experiences with telehealth and 78% would use it again, according to a survey by the Better Medicare Alliance. Similarly, an informal poll done in an 8,000-member Facebook Medicare group hosted by insurance agency Boomer Benefits showed that most respondents who had used telehealth liked the arrangement  often with the caveat that it wouldn't work for every medical issue encountered. Others questioned whether the cost should be the same as an in-person visit. Debbie, a 65-year-old Medicare beneficiary living near Middletown, Delaware, used telehealth  a face-to-face video on her smartphone  to get treatment for a bout of poison ivy. For reasons that include the nurse practitioner's inability to see the allergic reaction in detail over video, she said she was unimpressed.

I don't think anyone thinks telehealth would replace in-person 100%. But there's a strong feeling that there is a role for telehealth visits. Allyson Schwartz president and CEO of the Better Medicare Alliance

"I don't like it," said Debbie, whose last name is not being used for privacy reasons. "Even if you can see each other [on the screen], it's not the same as seeing someone in person." Prior to the pandemic, telehealth already was on a path toward broader usage within Medicare. However, it was generally limited to rural areas, with restrictions on where the remote visit could take place and which providers were allowed to offer such care. During the public health emergency, beneficiaries can be in their own home, and the menu of services and providers that qualify was greatly expanded, ranging from emergency department visits to group psychotherapy to radiation treatment management. In Congress, there are several bills addressing telehealth expansion. The HEALS Act  introduced in the Senate as the Republican version of the next coronavirus relief package  includes a provision that would make the regulatory waivers permanent through the end of 2021. The Trump administration also is pushing for some permanency in telehealth usage with Medicare.
PR Newswire

Brand trust has become a key success factor for businesses in all sectors. One major concern impacting trust is privacy. Consequently, companies that invest in privacy gain significant competitive advantages. They see improved customer loyalty and substantially speed up their sales process1) because customers have fewer concerns. On the other hand, 87 percent of respondents in one study said that they would not do business with a company if they had concerns about its security practices2).
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-13 05:25:40|Editor: huaxia

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JERUSALEM, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Israel's Ministry of Health reported 17 new coronavirus death cases on Wednesday, bringing the death toll from the virus to 639.

This is the highest daily rise of deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic in Israel in late February, as the previous record was 15, registered on Aug. 4.

The ministry also reported 1,558 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of cases to 88,151.

The number of patients in serious condition decreased from 375 to 369, out of 762 patients currently hospitalized.

The number of recoveries rose to 62,109, with 2,029 new recoveries, while the number of active cases dropped to 25,403.

Earlier on Wednesday, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a meeting with the ministers of education, health and finance, as well as the head of the National Security Council, on the opening of the school year.

"We are doing everything so that the school year opens on Sept. 1. This is the target date," Netanyahu said in a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office.

"We also make sure that there will be all of the means, and financial, material and organizational resources to do this, which is important to all citizens of Israel," he added. Enditem
Seven foreigners have been fined under a decision of Vice Chairman of the Peoples Committee of the central province of Thua Thien  Hue Nguyen Van Phuong on August 12 for gambling through the internet.

Each of the seven are fined 20 million VND (about 900 USD), and they have to leave Vietnam for their home.

Each of the seven were fined 20 million VND (about 900 USD), and they had to leave Vietnam for their home.

Initial investigation shows that the seven, aged between 20 and 43, who had legally entered Vietnam organised gambling through the internet. They use desktop computers and smart phones to gamble online with foreigners.

The money in the gambling was paid in the Chinese currency through electronic accounts opened at Chinas Agribank, and this amounted to about 37 billion VND, according to the provincial police./.VNA
The Michigan Department of Corrections is battling coronavirus outbreaks that have infected hundreds of prisoners at two facilities and spiked the statewide case numbers on Tuesday.

Almost 400 prisoners at the Muskegon Correctional Facility have tested positive for coronavirus, as well as 32 inmates at Newberry Correctional Facility in the Upper Peninsula.

Eight staffers at the Muskegon and four at Newberry also have tested positive.

Coronavirus outbreak at Muskegon prison increases to more than 150 inmates

Its the biggest outbreak in the state correctional system since the spring, said Chris Gautz, MDOC spokesman.

On Tuesday, the daily coronavirus report from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported 796 new cases statewide, the highest number since July. Of those 796 cases, 181 involved the Michigan Department of Corrections.

The inmate cases also spiked Michigans positivity rate on coronavirus diagnostic tests, which rose to 4.4% in Tuesdays report, the highest percentage since the end of May.

Were still trying to do contact tracing to figure out the source of the outbreaks, Gautz said. But because of the ban on visitors, it seems likely the virus was inadvertently introduced into the facilities by staff.

Were continuing to work with our staff to make sure theyre tested, and were continuing to do vigorous screening of employees as they enter the facilities, Gautz said. But in many of these cases, staff can have it and not even know it.

Likewise, he said, roughly two-thirds of the prisoners who are testing positive are asymptomic, and most of the others are having mild symptoms.

One inmate has hospitalized briefly, Gautz said, but thankfully, none are in the hospital right now.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 4,312 inmates and 429 MDOC staff have tested positive for the virus. Three staffers and 68 inmates have died of the virus.

COVID-19 PREVENTION TIPS:

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

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

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

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued executive orders requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nosewhile in public indoor and crowded outdoor spaces. See an explanation of what that means here.

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

For more data on COVID-19 in Michigan, visit https://www.mlive.com/coronavirus/data/.

Read more on MLive:

Michigan shoppers improve mask compliance, based on MLive survey of 41 stores

Story of a coronavirus long-hauler: Five months after getting infected, still struggling to recover

How the first week of school went inside a Michigan elementary

Jim Harbaughs last-ditch effort to save college football: This virus can be controlled

What do Michigan teachers fear most about in-person learning? The students sitting in their classrooms
A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a member of the far-right group the Proud Boys from Washington state, for allegedly violating the terms of his probation.

Tusitala Toese, 24, of Vancouver, Washington, rose to prominence in extremist circles in recent years by clashing with Antifa members during protests against white supremacy and police brutality in the Pacific Northwest.

Court records show that the 6-foot-4, 265-pound Toese, ironically nicknamed 'Tiny,' was spotted in Seattle in June in an area that had been taken over by Black Lives Matter protesters and dubbed the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest, or the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone.

Wanted: Right-wing extremist Tusitala Toese, 24, had a warrant issued for his arrest on Friday for allegedly violating the terms of his probation. He could face a year in jail

Toese, who has become notorious for clashing from anti-fascists, has been accused of assaulting a man near Seattle's Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (pictured in July)

Under the terms of his probation, Toese was not permitted to be in Seattle or take part in civil unrest

Toese was involved in an assault on a man near the area and did not get permission from his probation officers to travel to Seattle, reported KOMO News.

He was later arrested on a warrant and placed under house arrest with GPS monitoring, but Toese allegedly failed to abide by the terms of his supervised release.

Last Friday, a new warrant was issued for Toese's arrest after his supervising officer, Heather Fowler, recommended that a judge revoke his probation and sentence him to a year in jail for crossing state lines without permission and taking part in civil unrest.

The Samoan Toese, who has been associated with the Proud Boys, which is a documented hate group, as well as the Vancouver-based extremist group Patriot Prayer, gained attention in the past for fighting in Portland during political protests and fled the Pacific Northwest after being indicted on felony assault charges.

In January, Toese pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge stemming from a June 2018 incident that left Portland protester Ted Ledwith with 'stitches and a concussion.' Prosecutors dismissed a felony assault charge as part of Toeses plea deal.

Toese, who is Samoan, rose to prominence in extremist circles in recent years by clashing with Antifa members (pictured left in California in 2017 wrapped in a Trump/Pence banner, and right at a protest in Portland in 2018)

Under his parole agreement, he was to stay home in Vancouver, wear an ankle monitor, check in with his probation officer on a regular basis, and avoid traveling out of Clark County without permission, or attending any protests in Multnomah County in neighboring Oregon.

But according to Toese's Fowler, he has repeatedly violated those terms by failing to charge his GPS device or report his whereabouts to her, skipping a scheduled meeting with her on July 30 and traveling to places where he was not permitted to be, reported Willamette Week.

According to court records, the violations started in mid-June when the probation officer started getting emails and calls saying that Toese had assaulted a man near Seattle's CHAZ, or CHOP, area.

Toese, a member of both the Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer far-right groups, has been on probation stemming from a 2018 assault in Portland (pictured in January 2018 yelling at an Antifa activist during another protest in Portland)

He spent a night in jail before being fitted with the GPS device and ordered to be on house arrest, with exceptions made only for work, medical appointments and meeting with his lawyer.

But before losing its charge, his ankle monitor allegedly indicated that Toese had traveled outside Clark County and visited a pub in late July.

'Mr. Toese has continued to ignore his supervision requirements. By refusing to report, failing to charge his GPS and not providing any information in regards to where he is staying, Mr. Toese is making himself unavailable for supervision,' his probation officer said in a statement to the court.
Police have have arrested an alleged rapist after the victim posted a detailed account of her ordeal on social media.

The victim from the Jakarta Metropolitan Area, in Indonesia, posted CCTV images of the suspect alongside information about the alleged rape on her Instagram account on Friday.

It has almost been a year for me to finally take up the courage to talk about this event that has been haunting me until this day, she wrote on her account.

I would not have done this if the police would have taken action, but by law I do not have enough evidence to put this f***er into jail so all I can do is expose him, she continued.

The victim posted CCTV images of the suspect alongside a detailed information of the alleged rape on her Instagram account. Source:RealPress/Australscope

According to the young woman, the suspect broke into her house on August 13, 2019 when she was still asleep and beat her several times with what she thought was a piece of metal.

I was bleeding from my head and lying almost unconscious on the floor with several bad bruises from my head to my shoulders, she wrote.

He told me to stay quiet

After pleading with the suspect not to kill her, she noticed he had a knife.

He told me to stay quiet and proceeded to sexually assault me (yes, the r word), she wrote in her post.

The suspect took her mobile phone and fled the house.

The young woman waited until she felt safe enough to raise the alarm before making a police report and undergoing an examination at hospital.

The victim claims that same day the suspect sent her messages first trying to apologise, then once again threatening me because he let me live, she wrote.

She claims he also sent her direct messages on social media asking her Is your belly big yet?

CCTV captured the alleged suspect fleeing the scene. Source: RealPress/Australscope

The victim was originally told by police that there was not enough evidence to arrest the suspect at the time of the ordeal, but since her post has gone viral, authorities have now arrested a man.

He has been captured, South Tangerang police chief Imam Setiawan confirmed.

The man has reportedly been charged with rape and theft which are punishable by up to 12 and nine years in jail respectively.

Story continues

- with Australscope

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au

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.
COVID-19 infection rate appears to be stabilizing in S. Africa: health minister

The COVID-19 infection rate appears to be stabilizing in South Africa as fewer and fewer daily confirmed cases were reported, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Wednesday.

The minister, however, cautioned against drawing any conclusions from the significant decline in the daily COVID-19 infection rate.

As of Tuesday, South Africa reported a total of 566,109 confirmed cases, 2,511 of which reported in the previous 24 hours.

For several days, daily confirmed cases in the country have hovered around 3,000, compared with about 10,000 a week ago.

The recovery rate has also gone up to 75 percent.

The good news was encouraging but it doesn't mean South Africans can let their guard down, Mkhize said in his update about the country's response to the pandemic.

He urged South Africans to continue observing health regulations such as wearing masks, keeping social distance and washing hands with soap or sanitizer.

Mkhize indicated that the lockdown regulations might be further relaxed to ramp up economic activities.

He said the National Command Council is discussing different suggestions and proposals in this regard.

Also on Wednesday, the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to end the hard lockdown, including the "irrational" bans on tobacco and alcohol.

The tourism industry, schools, and borders need to be fully opened, the curfew lifted, and the state of disaster ended, the party said in a statement.

"South Africa's daily COVID-19 infection rate is declining, taking pressure off our public health system," DA leader John Steenhuisen said.

While South Africans should all continue to adhere to safety protocols like wearing masks, they need to pick up the pieces and start to rebuild their shattered economy, which has lost over a trillion rand (about 56.8 billion U.S. dollars) and three million jobs due to the lockdown, which was enforced on March 27, Steenhuisen said.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday said it would deploy no fewer than 20,000 ad-hoc staff for the conduct of the forthcoming Edo governorship election scheduled for September 19.

Bolade Eyinla, the Technical Advisor to INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, said this during a virtual meeting with journalists in Edo organised by the International Press Council (IPC)on the role of journalists in Edo election.

Mr Eyinla said the recruitment of the 20, 000 ad-hoc staff would be done through INECs portal which he said had been opened.

He said the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members serving in the state would constitute a larger percentage of the number, adding that the remaining number would be selected from the INEC ad-hoc recruitment portal.

The youth corps members will constitute the larger percentage because they will be deployed mostly as presiding officers. The online recruitment is essentially to create a data base of election workers toward the conduct of election.

Also ongoing is the training of all security personnel to be deployed for the election. INEC has also come up with a code of conduct and rules of engagement for the security agencies.

The code of conduct and rules of engagement will be distributed to all the security personnel deployed for the election to guide them properly.

Mr Eyinla added that the commission had designed an election policy within the context of the conduct of election in a pandemic.

We are aware that as at today, Edo has 2,399 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and recorded a total of 100 deaths.

So with these statistics from the NCDC, INEC has come up with a policy book with strict adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures and guidelines on the election so that everyone including the media can be guided.

The number of registered voters in Edo remains 2, 210,534, the number of PVCs collected is 1,735,910, while the number of uncollected PVCs is 483,868.

The uncollected PVCs have been deposited with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for safe keeping so that nobody can have access to them.

INEC is going to be conducting elections in 2, 627 polling units in the 192 wards in Edo, he said.

Mr Eyinla also explained that 14 political parties had presented candidates for the forthcoming Edo governorship election.

He said 12 of the political parties presented male candidates while two presented female governorship candidates.

He said the commission had already deployed non sensitive materials for the election while the sensitive materials would arrive the CBN two days to the election for deployment in local government areas and polling units.

He said the commission will post election results on the viewing portal from various polling units.

It is not anything near what we call electronic transmission of results. The portal was created to bring results recorded on form EC8 and pasted at the various polling units.

It is that same result pasted at the various polling units that INEC will upload to the portal for everybody to see, he added.

Mr Eyinla urged the electorate to make good use of the portal, adding that it would help clear their doubts where necessary.

(NAN)
Kim Zolciak is in for one bumpy ride as she goes on a once-in-a-lifetime cross country road trip with her family in season eight of Don't Be Tardy.

Antics ensue as Kim, 42, her husband Kroy Biermann, 34, and all six of their children cram themselves inside an RV and travel from their home in Atlanta, Georgia, to Los Angeles, California.

In a new trailer for the upcoming eighth season, Kroy explains just how excited he is to make some unforgettable memories with their children.

Windy road ahead: Kim Zolciak is in for one bumpy ride as she goes on a once-in-a-lifetime cross country road trip with her family in season eight of Don't Be Tardy

Hit her limit: 'I'm dying inside, I don't know what to say,' Kim says as she wipes away tears

'I want our kids to see something together as a family, where they're like, "I'll never forget that,"' Kroy explains in a confessional with his wife.

A road trip, however, is far from Kim's definition of a fun vacation.

'A vacation to me is like gorgeous, bright sunshine, on a crystal white sand beach,' Kim explained.

In between horse back riding and taking old-timey photos, the family even explore America's most haunted house together.

Once-in-a-lifetime: Kroy Biermann is looking forward to all of the memories the family will be making together

Not her idea of fun: For Kim, a vacation means heading to the beach

Giddy up: Zolciak musters a smile during a horseback riding adventure

Boo! In creepy, black-and-white footage, the women scream as they make their way around the haunted house

In creepy, black-and-white footage, the women scream as they make their way around the ghostly house.

But that wasn't the only scare the family had during their trip.

At one point, their RV breaks down, forcing the family to push it across the street.

All of this traveling seems too much for Kim, who tearfully confides in Kroy just how much she has been struggling.

Strike a pose: The Biermanns partake in an old-timey photo shoot

Push! The adults push their broken-down RV across the parking lot

'I'm dying inside, I don't know what to say,' Kim says as she wipes away tears.

Back in a confessional, Kroy is determined to make this summer one the family will never forget.

'We need to make this summer the best one yet,' he tells his wife. 'We can do this!'

Though Kim seems apprehensive, there still was plenty of fun to be had by the entire family.

Not very family friendly: Kim scolds her girls as they pass the time with a suggestive photo shoot

Let's hit the road! Though Kim seems apprehensive, there still was plenty of fun to be had by the entire family

She needs her space: Understandably, being cooped up with her family 24/7 has gotten to Kim

Kim is then seen screaming in delight as she goes down a slide with her little ones.

However, she expresses her disapproval as her eldest daughters, Brielle and Ariana, partake is some PG-13 fun.

As the girls pass the time with a suggestive photo shoot, Kim can be heard yelling in the background, 'You hear that? That's God, he's pissed!'

Understandably, being cooped up with her family 24/7 has gotten to Kim.

'I need to get some more wine,' she says dryly after scenes of the crazy family antics flash by.

Season eight of Don't Be Tardy will premiere on October 6 10/9c on Bravo.
Recent volatility in the stock market combined with people spending more time at home has created a golden age for financial news.

Inc. Magazine has ranked MarketBeat No. 2296 on its 39th annual Inc. 5000 list, an exclusive ranking of the fastest-growing privately-held companies in the United States. 2020 marked the 5th year that MarketBeat has been included on the Inc. 5000 list, giving the company a coveted Hall of Fame distinction. The list is a celebration of the lifeblood of the American economy  Americas independent entrepreneurs. MarketBeat joins Fit My Feet, VRC Metal Systems, Weisser Distributing and other powerful South Dakota firms featured on this years list.

Inc.s rankings are based off three-year revenue growth, indicating that MarketBeat has had consistent year-over-year growth since it first qualified for the list in 2015. MarketBeat had three-year revenue growth of 182%, making it the 2nd fastest growing company in South Dakota in 2020.

MarketBeats growth continues despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. While COVID-19 caused some temporary disruptions with our advertisers in March and April, website traffic and email sign-ups are at an all time high, said Matt Paulson, Founder and CEO of MarketBeat. Recent volatility in the stock market combined with people spending more time at home has created a golden age for financial news.

MarketBeat has added two new positions since the onset of COVID-19, bucking the trend of layoffs and economic disruption. We have been fortunate enough to be able to expand our team to better serve our growing audience, Paulson added. The company expects to surpass $10 million in top-line revenue during the calendar year of 2020.

The 2020 Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2016 to 2019. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2016. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. The minimum revenue required for 2016 is $100,000; the minimum for 2019 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Companies on the Inc. 500 are featured in Inc.'s September issue.
For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL  August 13, 2020  Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include JD.com Inc. JD, Agilent Technologies Inc. A, Nordson Corp. NDSN, Deere & Co. DE and Dollar General Corp. DG.

Here are highlights from Wednesdays Analyst Blog:

Buy 5 Large-Cap Stocks Ahead of Earnings This Month

We are in the last round of the coronavirus-stricken second-quarter 2020 earnings season. The results are rather disappointing so far, in line with expectations as lockdowns were in place for the maximum part of last quarter.

However, expectations for second-quarter earnings as a whole, have improved to some extent from what they were at the beginning of the reporting cycle. Meanwhile, five large-cap (market capital > $10 billion) companies are set to beat earnings estimates this month.

Q2 Earnings Expectations Improve to Some Extent

As of Aug 7, 445 S&P 500 members reported second-quarter 2020 earnings results. Total earnings of these companies are down 34.8% from the same period last year on 10.9% lower revenues. Of the total, 80.2% surpassed EPS estimates and 63.1% outpaced revenue estimates.

Overall, second-quarter earnings for the S&P 500 Index are projected to be down 34.9% year over year on 9.3% lower revenues. This is an improvement over a year-over-year decline of 44.8% in earnings on 10.7% lower revenues. Notably, first-quarter earnings of companies on the S&P 500 Index were down 13.5% on 1.4% higher revenues. (Read More: Making Sense of the Earnings Picture)

Our Top Picks

We have narrowed down our search to five large-cap stocks slated to report earnings results this month. Each of these stocks carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and has a positive Earnings ESP. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Story continues

Our research shows that for stocks with the combination of a Zacks Rank #3 or better and a positive Earnings ESP, the chance of an earnings beat is as high as 70%. These stocks are expected to soar after earnings release. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before theyre reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

JD.com Inc.operates as an e-commerce company and retail infrastructure service provider in the People's Republic of China. It operates in two segments, JD Retail and New Businesses. The company has an Earnings ESP of +13.79%.

JD.com has an expected earnings growth rate of 20.2% for the current year. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 114%, on average. The company will release its earnings report on Aug 17, before the opening bell.

Agilent Technologies Inc.is an original equipment manufacturer of a broad-based portfolio of test and measurement products serving multiple end markets. The company has an Earnings ESP of +5%.

Agilent Technologies has an expected earnings growth rate of 0.3% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.3% over the last 30 days. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 7.9%, on average. The company will release its earnings on Aug 18, after the closing bell.

Nordson Corp. engineers, manufactures, and markets products and systems to dispense, apply, and control adhesives, coatings, polymers, sealants, biomaterials, and other fluids worldwide.

The company has an Earnings ESP of +6.06% for third-quarter fiscal 2020 (ended July). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Nordson's current-year earnings has improved 0.4% over the last 30 days. The company will release its earnings report on Aug 19, after the closing bell.

Deere & Co. manufactures and distributes farm equipment worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The company has an Earnings ESP of +4.64% for third-quarter fiscal 2020 (ended July).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Deere's current-year earnings has improved 2.3% over the last 30 days. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 11%, on average. The company will release its earnings report on Aug 21, before the opening bell.

Dollar General Corp. is one of the largest discount retailers in the United States. It trades in low-priced merchandise typically $10 or less offering a wide consumable items, seasonal items, home products and apparel. The company has an Earnings ESP of +2.90% for second-quarter fiscal 2020 (ended July).

Dollar General has an expected earnings growth rate of 32% for the current year (ending January 2021). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.5% over the last 30 days. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 16.9%, on average. The company will come up with its earnings report on Aug 27, before the opening bell.

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Exro Technologies is pleased to welcome Gary Mar as a new Advisory Board Member

Previous Minister for the Government of Alberta joins Exro Advisory Board

Deep experience in government and business

Expand the reach of Exro's Technology with energy and innovation in a more sustainable future and development with net zero initiatives

CALGARY, AB / ACCESSWIRE / August 13, 2020 / Exro Technologies Inc. (CSE:XRO)(OTCQB:EXROF), a leading technology company which has developed a new class of power electronics for powertrains, is pleased to announce that Gary Mar, an accomplished and respected leader in government and business, has joined the Exro Business Advisory Board ("Advisory Board"). Mar will provide guidance as Exro develops its technology into the marketplace and innovates solutions to support Net Zero Initiatives globally.

Mar has broad experience in government having served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in the Province of Alberta from 1993-2007. During his time as an elected official, Gary held several Cabinet portfolios: Community Development; Health and Wellness; Education; Environment; and International and Intergovernmental Relations. Gary subsequently served as President and CEO of the Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC), the national trade association representing the service, supply, and manufacturing sectors within the upstream petroleum industry.

Mar was named President and CEO of the Canada West Foundation (CWF) in April 2020 and established expertise in key policy areas including: natural resources; trade and investment; and human capital. Gary brings deep experience in both government and business to Exro, where he will support our efforts to make an impact in the energy sector with Net Zero opportunities and environmental sustainability.

"I am thrilled to join the Business Advisory Board and the team at Exro", said Gary Mar. "I've been a champion of Alberta and its interests globally for many years and I see a great opportunity for Exro Technologies. I believe I can help to push the impact of this technology forward to expand our reach in energy and innovation in a more sustainable future."

"As we continue to grow our position and develop our presence in the market, I'm very excited to have Gary join us with his broad global expertise," commented Sue Ozdemir, CEO of Exro. "I'm confident his insight will help us accelerate the impact of Exro's technology in the global marketplace."

About Exro Technologies Inc.

Exro is a Clean Tech company that has developed a new class of control technology for electric powertrains. Exro's advanced motor control technology, our "Coil Driver", expands the capabilities of electric motors and powertrains. The Coil Driver enables two separate torque profiles within a given motor. The first is calibrated for low speed and high torque, while the second provides expanded operation at high speed. The ability to change configuration allows efficiency optimization for each operating mode, resulting in overall reductions in energy consumption. The controller automatically and seamlessly selects the appropriate configuration in real time so that torque demand and efficiency are optimized.

The limitations of traditional electric machines and power technology are becoming more evident. In many increasingly prominent applications, traditional methods cannot meet the required performance. This means either oversizing the equipment, adding additional motors, or implementing heavy mechanical geared solutions. Exro offers a new solution for system optimization through implementation of its technology which can yield the following results: increased drive cycle efficiency, reduced system volume, reduced weight, expanded torque and speed capabilities. Exro allows the application to achieve more with less energy consumed.

For more information visit our website at www.exro.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Sue Ozdemir, Chief Executive Officer

CONTACT INFORMATION

Canada: Jake Bouma

VP of Investor Relations

604-317-3936

United States: Vic Allgeier

TTC Group Inc.

646-841-4220

Email: info@exro.com

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (together, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Generally, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as "plans", "expects", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates", "believes" or variations of such words, or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators, that could cause actual results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing these forward-looking statements are reasonable based upon the information currently available to management as of the date hereof, actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. Readers are therefore cautioned not to place undue reliance on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed times frames or at all. Except where required by applicable law, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS NEWS RELEASE.

SOURCE: Exro Technologies Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/601511/Gary-Mar-President-and-CEO-of-the-Canada-West-Foundation-Joins-Exro-Business-Advisory-Board
A -level results day is today, Thursday, August 13, with students across the country waiting to see how they fared.

This year A-level results are being awarded differently, as the coronavirus pandemic shut down many schools for much of the year.

Teachers gave marks based on predicted grades, which were then assessed by a moderator based on the past exam results both of the school and the student.

But when can students get their hands on their A-level results this morning? Here's what you need to know...

Students across the UK will be receiving their A-Level results this week. / Getty

What time does UCAS open?

UCAS, the organisation that links students with universities, will give students hoping to go on to higher education an idea of their results.

The Track system that UCAS runs will update automatically at about 8am on Thursday to show students if their university of choice has accepted them based on their grades.

Schools should have told students already if they are getting their grades by email or in the post, or in person at school.

If students are going into school to get their results, their school may have set up a staggered system for students to arrive, to help enforce social distancing rules.

Some schools have even banned parents from coming too, to keep numbers down and reduce the risk of infection.

And the usual scenes of students celebrating their grades are also unlikely this year.

Students doing an exam in a previous year / PA

What if you did worse than expected?

Exams regulator Ofqual has barred individual students from appealing for academic reasons - but schools can appeal on behalf of students if they get a very different pattern of grades to results in previous years.

But Ofqual added that students should contact the university they had a conditional offer for if they lose their place if grades are lower than expected. That university might offer them an alternative course, which is called a changed course offer.

Otherwise students can go through clearing and UCAS will provide one-on-one help to people looking to find a place this way.

On Tuesday ministers granted England pupils the right to use mock exam results if they are unhappy with their grades calculated by moderators.

There have also been warnings that next summer's exams will be delayed so students can catch up on lost revision time.

Students can also retake exams in the autumn if they are unhappy with their results - but this could make it difficult to go to university, as fewer institutions offer courses that start in January.

And exam results could end up changing. More than 124,000 Scottish exam results that were originally downgraded by moderators were restored to teachers' original predictions, the Scottish government said on Tuesday, after accusations of unfairness.
India has offered USD 1 Million assistance to Antigua and Barbuda to help them battle the pandemic coronavirus by supplying COVID-19 aid. The main aim of the assistance extended by India is to improve the medical facilities and capacities of Antigua and Barbuda to fight the novel coronavirus.

The Indian High Commission in Guyana tweeted on 7 August, "HC @drkjsrini virtually handed over life-saving medical supplies, PPE equipment, ventilators etc to Hon @gastonbrowne PM #AntiguaBarbuda under Indian assistance of US$1 mn to combat #COVID19,"

READ | India Extends $1 Million Medical Aid To North Korea For WHO's Anti-tuberculosis Mission

India extends medical assistance to Antigua & Barbuda

This is not the first time that India has provided assistance to countries during vulnerable times. In a similar incident, India had offered USD 1 Million to every Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country. There are in total 20 developing countries in the group of CARICOM. The Indian High Commission issued a statement to Guyana on Friday saying, "This assistance of USD 1 million from India will be used for improving health infrastructure in Antigua and Barbuda, for procurement of life-saving medical supplies and equipment like ventilators, etc."

The medical supplies which were sent under this assistance including ventilators, full cover goggles, disposable gowns, face shields, surgical gloves and examination gloves have already reached their specified destinations. In the earlier months of COVID-19 pandemic, the government of India had sent 10,000 hydroxychloroquine tablets as a gesture of goodwill and support in tough times to the Government of Antigua and Barbuda to combat COVID-19. The country also extended $1 Million medical aid assistance to North Korea as well for the WHO's Anti-Tuberculosis Mission.

The medical supplies along with medicines were handed over to the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne by the Indian High Commission KJ Srinivasa.

The High Commission said, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda's proposal for assistance and collaboration named 'Strengthening national Health capacities and reducing socioeconomic and human development negative impacts of COVID19 crisis in Antigua and Barbuda' was processed under India-UNDP Fund managed by United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) and the guidelines of the Sustainable Development Goal.

READ | Beirut Blast: India To Extend Assistance To Lebanon; Seeks Damage Assessment In Explosion

(with inputs ANI)
On July 1st, 2020, the Secretary-General of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), Dr. Nasser Kamel, participated in an international conference discussing the future of Europe. The event under the name FROM VICTORY DAY TO CORONA DISARRAY: 75 YEARS OF EUROPE'S COLLECTIVE SECURITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEM was held at the historic setting of the eldest worlds Diplomatic Academy, that of Vienna, Austria. This gathering was organised by four partners; the International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES), Media Platform Modern Diplomacy, European Perspectives Scientific Journal, and Action Platform Culture for Peace, with the support of the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna.

In his highly absorbing keynote, Secretary General Dr. Kamel described the impact of the C-19 event as only amplifying the old issues and long-standing challenges within the Euro-Mediterranean theater. To this end, Excellency especially focused on the economic and environmental challenges faced by the Euro-MED. He recommended that sustainability and resilience should be at the core of the post-C-19 recovery, and gave an important piece of advice to European policymakers: if Europe is to become a global power, a positive engagement with its neighborhood  both east and south  will be of paramount importance. Hostilities and confrontation should be replaced by a decisive cooperation on the common future project. And such a project should include all EU/Europe neighbors without prejudices.

Reflecting on the global impact of C-19, Excellency Kamel stated that the pandemic has pushed the world to a new era, and that the repercussions of this crisis will be extremely far-reaching  not least in terms of economic activity, which is set to dramatically decrease at the global level. As for the Euro-Mediterranean more specifically, the UfMs Secretary General noted that the regions existing elements of fragility  most notably the high levels of inequality and the pressing climate change emergency  are set to worsen as a result of the pandemic. To counter the ensuing negative effects, Dr. Kamel advised, resilience must be built through a holistic approach that promotes at the same time an environmental, social, and economic recovery throughout the whole Euro-Mediterranean region.

Secretary General Kamel also touched upon the economic impact of the C-19 in the Euro-Mediterranean region. This impact  he noted  has been markedly uneven, as countries that were more dependent on Asian supply chains, for instance, have been hit harder and faster than others. Starting from this observation, the UfMs Secretary General delved into the debate about the current economic model and its typical long supply chains. While refusing frontal attacks to globalization as an outdated concept, Dr. Kamel suggested that Euro-Mediterranean countries should increase their resilience and work better to ensure the solidity of their supply chains  for instance though what he called a proximization, or regionalization, of these chains. On this issue he noted the UfM Secretariat is currently working with relevant partners, including the OECD, as to explore the potential to create regional supply chains  hoping that this could lead to tangible development gains on both shores of the Mediterranean.

Besides the oft-discussed economic issues, the Secretary Generals contribution also sought to highlight the importance of environmental considerations, which risk slipping at the bottom of the agenda in times of economic crisis. Dr. Kamel stressed that the climate crisis is a reality that the Euro-Mediterranean region must inevitably face. A report developed by a large group of scientists from several different countries, supported by both the UfM and the United Nations Environment Programme, has highlighted that the impact of climate change in the Euro-Mediterranean is set to be particularly significant  just to quote one statistic, the region is warming 20% faster than the rest of the world. Hence, Secretary General Kamel stressed, the regions post-pandemic recovery must be more sustainable  more green, blue, and circular  with a focus on enhancing the resilience of societies on both shores of the Mediterranean.

In his concluding remarks, Mr. Kamel decided to stress the interconnectedness of the Euro-Mediterranean region. The European continent is tightly linked to its neighborhood, he noted, both to the east and to the south. Hence, the future of Europe as a relevant economic, political, and geopolitical power depends on how proactive and engaging it will be with its immediate neighborhood  Dr, Kamel said. As for Europe to be prosperous, its neighborhood should be resilient, mindful of the environment, and more economically integrated. At the UfM  Secretary-General assured audience  that is the aim that everyone is hoping, and working, for.

In order to make the gathering more meaningful, the four implementing partners along with many participants have decided to turn this event  a July conference into a lasting process. Named  Vienna Process: Common Future  One Europe, this initiative was largely welcomed as the right foundational step towards a longer-term projection that seeks to establish a permanent forum of periodic gatherings as a space for reflection on the common future by guarding the fundamentals of our European past.

As stated in the closing statement: past the Brexit the EU Europe becomes smaller and more fragile, while the non-EU Europe grows more detached and disenfranchised. The prone wish of the organisers and participants is to reverse that trend.

To this end, the partners are already announced preparing the follow up event in Geneva for early October (to honour the 75th anniversary of the San Francisco Conference). Similar call for a conference comes from Barcelona, Spain which was a birthplace of the EUs Barcelona Process on detrimental; the strategic Euro-MED dialogue.

About the author:

Guido Lanfranchi is an international affairs specialist based in Den Haag. He studied at the Dutch Leiden University and Sciences Po Paris, and working with the Council of the European Union in Brussels. His research focuses on the EU, Euro-MED and Africa.
Others underscored the wisdom of picking a candidate with a war chest and name recognition in a state where whoever inherits the seat will soon have to run for re-election in two years  someone, for example, like Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis who is wealthy and an experienced fund-raiser, or U.S. Representative Adam Schiff, the House Intelligence Committee chairman from Burbank who led the impeachment proceedings against President Trump and has 2.4 million Twitter followers.

It would be an honor to be considered, said Mr. Padilla, an MIT graduate who is a longtime friend and was an early endorser of Mr. Newsom. But, he added, his main priority right now as secretary of state is ensuring that the most consequential election of our lifetime is accessible, secure, and safe.

Obviously you never rule out anything in politics, said Mr. Khanna. But, he said, he is happy in my current role in Congress and I think we learned from Hillary Clinton in 2016 that measuring the drapes to future jobs before you win is a major error.

For the next 83 days, I have one thing on my mind, Congresswoman Bass told MSNBC on Wednesday. But after that? Well see. Ill keep all my options open.

First lets elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, Mr. Becerra, the state attorney general, said on Thursday. After that, there will be lots of great candidates for Gov. Newsom to consider.

For California, the pick has far-reaching implications. The state has spent the past four years as a bastion of presidential resistance, filing or joining nearly 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration, and burnishing its reputation as the countrys most liberal state on issues like immigration, climate change and consumer protection. With Ms. Harris in the VP role the state would not have to play defense.

And for the short term at least, while Senator Dianne Feinstein, 87, remains in office, the potential clout of Ms. Feinsteins seniority, along with House Speaker Nancy Pelosis leadership position and Ms. Harris as an ally in the White House could open a new front for California priorities and ideas.
When the Tea Party emerged in early 2009, many commentators mocked the idea that it could ever achieve political power, calling it a display of hysteria by frothing right-wingers. Former Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., famously refused to engage with a conspiracy theorist who confronted him, saying it would be like trying to argue with a dining room table. Republican Party leaders took it more seriously, but they, too, seemed to think that they could harness its energy without indulging its more extreme elements.
Greece has asked Israeli leaders to lobby the Trump administration to take a stronger position in an intensifying dispute with Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Behind the scenes: Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias arrived in Israel for a short visit today. He asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi to speak with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and urge the U.S. to intervene more forcefully, Israeli officials briefed on the visit tell me.

The big picture: Turkey has sent a ship  along with military vessels  to explore for oil and gas in areas which Greece and Cyprus consider part of their exclusive maritime zones.

Turkey's claim to the areas are part of a deal it struck with Libya's embattled government, which it is supporting militarily in an ongoing civil war. The deal's legitimacy has been widely questioned.

France has emphatically backed Greece and Cyprus, with President Emmanuel Macron offering military support yesterday and dispatching ships and aircraft to the region.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is attempting to mediate. She spoke today with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The U.S. has had minimal involvement, but Pompeo will meet Dendias tomorrow in Vienna to discuss the crisis.

In the room: Dendias showed his Israeli counterparts maps of the areas where Turkish ships are operating.

He expressed concern over America's absence in the dispute, and stressed that the Trump administration needs to come back to the region," the Israeli officials say.

Whats next: The foreign ministers of the EU member states are also set to convene tomorrow for an emergency session about the crisis.
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Editors note : Russia has said this week it had approved a COVID-19 vaccine for generic use, firstly in medics. That announcement has triggered a debate on the efficacy and safety of the drug, amid allegations that it had undergone less than two months of human testing.

The following article was first published on Thursday in Vietnamese in Tuoi Tre Daily, under the byline of Vo Xuan Son, a local medical doctor. Tuoi Tre News translated the article into English.

One does not need to be a doctor or work in the medical field to understand that a vaccine is the only way to save this world from the cruel novel coronavirus.

A large number of pharmaceutical companies and research groups around the world are scrambling to find a shot as early as they can.

UK and U.S. scientists, with support from their governments, seem to be in the lead in the vaccine research. However, they think that a vaccine cannot be ready for widespread use by the second half of 2021.

In this context, Russia has announced that it had approved a COVID-19 vaccine and would administer it to medical workers.

This is great news if the vaccine has been thoroughly tested and proves effective. If the Russian jab is safe, the world will soon be protected against the new coronavirus.

Russia is an advanced country in terms of science. In physiology, the nation had such world-renowned names as Ivan Petrovich Pavlov and Gavriil Abramovich Ilizarov.

So it is possible that Russia already started researching a coronavirus vaccine in the very early days and thus could become the first in the world to produce one. Russia names the vaccine Sputnik-V in order to remind the world they were the first to enter outer space, with the launch of the Sputnik 1 satellite.

But many people, scientists, and even the World Health Organization still cast doubt on the Sputnik-V inoculation, as they have yet to see data on its efficacy and safety, as per global scientific standards.

Russia might have silently done thorough vaccine research but the world has not seen it to date.

The Russians are trying to rapidly suppress the outbreak in their country, salvaging an ailing economy.

Russia may not want to export the vaccine and what they may really want is the governments approval of its use. Nevertheless, many have wondered whether the Sputnik-V satellite is being launched faster than it shoud be, for reasons other than science?

Science would naturally be linked to politics whenever it is related to government. As we all know, politics is never reliable. Russian people have voted to let President Vladimir Putin run for more terms. Moreover, the way Russia labels its vaccine signifies the countrys aspiration for leading the world, after those forgotten years.

Under this circumstance, the public has every reason to question if the Sputnik-V has been carefully tested and to envision a political race in the production of COVID-19 vaccines. It takes time to answer this question.

The world pins its hope on scientists who are trying their best to produce a vaccine against the novel coronavirus. But doubt is necessary to keep science on track.

Humankind longs urgently for a vaccine, effective and safe, to be manufactured as soon as possible. The human race does not need doses made out of a political race that can lead to unpredictable consequences.
A retired University of Manitoba music professor who was accused of sexual assault, bullying and harassment has won a payout from his former employer.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 13/8/2020 (523 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A retired University of Manitoba music professor who was accused of sexual assault, bullying and harassment has won a payout from his former employer.

Steve Kirby filed a union grievance against the U of M five months after he left his tenured position in June 2017. Details of his grievance havent been publicly released, but he claimed the university violated his privacy  and an arbitrator agreed.

In an Aug. 5 decision, labour arbitrator Arne Peltz ruled Kirby was entitled to $286,000 in damages from the U of M. In his decision, which followed two days of confidential mediation between both parties, Peltz wrote he was prepared to order Kirby be re-instated to his U of M job, but that Kirby declined.

The decision states the university and Kirby "remain bound to adhere to confidentiality going forward." U of M spokesman John Danakas referenced that part of the arbitrators ruling in declining to comment Thursday.

Kirby couldnt be reached, and the University of Manitoba Faculty Association didnt respond to requests for comment on the arbitrators decision. The Free Press also reached out to lawyers who handled the case on both sides, but did not receive any response.

Kirby retired around the same time a woman went to police claiming Kirby sexually assaulted her while she was his 19-year-old student beginning in 2014. He was arrested and charged in June 2018, and less than a year later the criminal charge was stayed  dropped after reviewing the case and considering "the views of the complainant," the Crown prosecutor said at the time.

The University of Manitoba conducted an internal investigation into Kirbys behaviour after students reported experiencing harassment and bullying from the acclaimed jazz musician, and found the allegations had merit.

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University president David Barnard later apologized publicly to any student who had experienced "such inappropriate behaviour," referring in general to allegations of sexual harassment or assault without specifically mentioning Kirby.

Barnard also expressed regret about a letter of employment the U of M issued to Kirby after he left his job. The letter "included an outline of activities and achievements, that, though factual, could be construed as supportive. The inclusion of this material was a mistake that must not be repeated," Barnard said in September 2018.

Kirby, now 64, was fired from his subsequent position at Bostons Berklee College of Music after the allegations against him came to light.

News of those allegations against Kirby prompted the U of M to publicly announce that five other faculty members were also being investigated for misconduct, and forced the university to grapple with its own response to reports of misconduct and sexual violence on campus. In September 2019, U of M announced it would set up a sexual-violence resource centre and ban intimate relationships between students and staff.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @thatkatiemay
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / August 12, 2020 / Victory Resources Corporation (CSE:VR)(FWB:VR61)(OTC PINK:VRCFF) ("Victory" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the closing of the first tranche of its previous announced non-brokered common share unit financing. The Corporation raised gross proceeds of $1,571,050 through the sale of 20,947,332 equity units. The placement consists of units priced at $0.075 each, with each unit consisting of one share and one warrant exercisable for 2 years from closing at an exercise price of $0.10. After this issue, the Company will have 40,272,415 shares issued and outstanding.

Securities issued on this closing shall be subject to resale restrictions to December 13, 2020. A total of $28,615 and 610,453 finders' warrants were issued to two finders on this transaction. The finders' warrants are on the same terms as the warrants forming part of the units. Insiders participated in respect to 186,666 units.

The Corporation intends to use the proceeds for general working capital, acquisitions and a work program on the Company's existing exploration B.C. property and any additional properties the Company may acquire.

For further information, please contact:

Ivy Lu

Investor Relations

David Lane, President

Telephone: +1 (236) 317 2822\

E-mail: IR@victoryresourcescorp.com

About Victory Resources Corporation

VICTORY RESOURCES CORPORATION (CSE: VR) is a publicly traded diversified investment corporation with mineral interests in North America. The company is also currently seeking other exploration opportunities, preferably in Canada.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding future financial position, business strategy, use of proceeds, corporate vision, proposed acquisitions, partnerships, joint-ventures and strategic alliances and co-operations, budgets, cost and plans and objectives of or involving the Company. Such forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to management. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "predicts", "intends", "targets", "aims", "anticipates" or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases or may be identified by statements to the effect that certain actions "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. A number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause the actual results or performance to materially differ from any future results or performance expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of the Company including, but not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions and dependence upon regulatory approvals. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. The Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by securities laws.

SOURCE: Victory Resources Corporation

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/601498/Victory-Resources-Announces-Closing-of-the-First-Tranche-of-Common-Share-Unit-Non-Brokered-Private-Placement
Chile faced one of the regions fiercest coronavirus outbreaks, but rates have declined over the last two months.

Chile will lift one of the worlds longest quarantines on Monday, moving the capital Santiagos central business district and adjoining Central Station to a transitional stage under a Step by Step reopening.

This is a very important announcement for us and one that gives us great satisfaction, Health Minister Enrique Paris told a news conference in Santiago on Wednesday.

Chile has faced one of Latin Americas fiercest coronavirus outbreaks, at one stage, ranking only behind Qatar globally in cases per head of population, but case and fatality rates have declined steadily during the last two months.

Santiago Mayor Felipe Alessandri said the reopening did not give carte blanche to citizens, who should remain indoors whenever possible, wear masks in public and wash their hands.

People may leave their homes on weekdays without the previously required police permissions, and meet in small groups, while businesses can gradually reopen.

Cemetery workers carry the coffin of a man who died of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), during his funeral in Colina area, Santiago, Chile [File: Ivan Alvarado/Reuters]

The centre of Santiago has a large, multicultural and floating population and contains the presidential palace, government ministries, many businesses and transport hubs. It has been under strict lockdown for 143 days since March 26, shortly after Chiles first coronavirus case was confirmed. Central Station followed a month later.

The government started to reopen the capital city two weeks ago by lifting the lockdown in the suburbs to the east and south.

It has been more cautious about reopening Santiagos densely populated centre, particularly the Alameda central thoroughfare and Plaza Italia, where massive and often violent social protests started in October against inequality.

Smaller, scattered protests against deepening poverty and inequality have sprung up despite the lockdown.
Omniplex Cinemas have announced something that could only happen in 2020  theyre doing Christmas in August.

The cinema chain who has 33 cinemas across the country, including in Dundalk, will be pulling out the Christmas trees, cranking up the Christmas tunes, and of course bringing everyones favourite Christmas classics to the big screen.

Home Alone, Die Hard, Elf, Love Actually and Frozen 2 are all on the slate for one day only on Saturday the 22nd of August. Adult tickets are 8 and Children are 5 and every ticket purchased for Christmas shows will include a donation of 1 to Barnardos Childrens Charity.

Mark Anderson, Director of Omniplex Cinemas, said: Its been a tough year so far for everyone, and we just want to have one magical day that you can tell a funny story about in years to come- let 2020 be the year your local cinema did Christmas 4 months early. Were also very proud to be supporting Barnardos NI and Barnardos Ireland Childrens Charity with this event who need fundraising help more than ever to support families in our local communities.

Every year Barnardos Ireland and Barnardos NI work with over 30,000 children and families across the island of Ireland.

Christmas is a special time for children, but for many vulnerable children it can be a difficult time. By supporting Christmas in August, not only are people creating wonderful childhood memories, and recalling their own, but they are also supporting Barnardos to help create lasting and happy childhood memories for vulnerable children throughout Ireland, Suzanne Connolly, CEO Barnardos Ireland.

We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who is supporting the Omniplex Christmas in August campaign, as by doing so you are helping us make sure that vulnerable children are safe, supported and cared for - at Christmas and all year round. Michele Janes, Head of Barnardos Northern Ireland

Since re-opening in July 2020, Omniplex have implemented an extensive strategy to ensure guests can enjoy a safe cinema trip including dynamic in-cinema seat separation, hand sanitizing stations, rigorous cleaning regimes and Perspex at appropriate touchpoints.
NCP MP Supriya Sule on Thursday met Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and her cousin Ajit Pawar at the state secretariat 'Mantralaya' in Mumbai.

The meeting between the two NCP leaders took place a day after party chief Sharad Pawar censured publicly his grandnephew and Ajit Pawar's son, Parth, over seeking CBI probe into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

Sule, however, said she met the deputy chief minister in connection with public works in her Lok Sabha constituency, Baramati.

"I met Dada (as Ajit Pawar is popularly known) in connection with works in my Lok Sabha constituency," she said after the 15-minute meeting.

Sharad Pawar had said on Wednesday that he gave "absolutely no importance" to Parth Pawar's demand of CBI probe into Rajput's death, and also termed his grandnephew as "immature".

The public censure set tongues wagging in Maharashtra's political circles. The NCP chief also said that he had full faith in the Mumbai Police but he will not oppose if someone still wanted the Central agency to investigate the case.

Hours after Sharad Pawar's remarks, Ajit Pawar met his uncle at the former's residence.
HOUSTON, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The valuation process is now more efficient than ever, thanks to the launch of Market Valuation Services' latest software, Fully Loaded Asset Report Evaluator (FLARE). FLARE's innovative software helps financial institutions expedite valuation services with improved accuracy, to help increase their bottom line.

The software uses a library of data and sophisticated algorithms to produce quick valuations in less time than a traditional bank valuation, and it does so free from human bias. It meets the standards of Interagency Appraisal Guidelines (IAG) and is available for use across all 50 states.

FLARE's system allows clients to address common issues stemming from traditional bank valuation methods, including slower result times, cost-effectiveness, reliability and biased results caused by human-based judgment.

The company could not be more excited to announce FLARE's arrival, said M. Ryan Moore, CSO of Market Valuation Services.

"We believe we will be able to better cater to the needs of banks and credit unions with FLARE and offer them something new that they can be eager to use right away," Moore said.

"Even one bias discrepancy can affect residential real estate transactions in big ways," Moore added. "We are excited to offer a solution that streamlines the process and helps ensure all parties feel confident in the resulting valuation."

For more information, or to view a sample report, visit mvsvc.com/flare.

ABOUT MARKET VALUATION SERVICES

A privately held corporation founded in 2010, Market Valuation Services is a leading appraisal management company (AMC) with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. The company caters to customers across the nation with fast, efficient and accurate AMC services. The team brings a boutique experience to customers, while offering customizable appraisal management solutions. For more information, visit mvsvc.com.

Director of Public Relations

Design At Work

832.200.8236

[email protected]

SOURCE Market Valuation Services

Related Links

https://www.mvsvc.com/


This is the first relaxation of rules since Trump signed a proclamation on 22 June suspending the entry of non-immigrant visa categories like the H-1B and L1 visas till the end of the year

Washington: The Donald Trump administration has relaxed some rules for H-1B visa holders by allowing them to enter the United States if they are returning to the same jobs they had prior to the proclamation of the visa ban.

The US Department of State advisory said dependents (spouses and children) will also be allowed to travel along with primary visa holders.

"Travel by applicants seeking to resume ongoing employment in the United States in the same position with the same employer and visa classification," the state department advisory said.

The administration also allowed travel by technical specialists, senior-level managers, and other workers who hold H-1B visas and their travel is necessary to facilitate the immediate and continued economic recovery of the United States.

On 22 June, the Donald Trump had signed a proclamation till the end of the year in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The administration also allowed travel of visa holders who are working as public health or healthcare professional, or researcher to alleviate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, or to conduct ongoing medical research in an area with a substantial public health benefit.

"Travel supported by a request from a US government agency or entity to meet critical US foreign policy objectives or to satisfy treaty or contractual obligations. This would include individuals, identified by the Department of Defense or another US government agency, performing research, providing IT support/services, or engaging other similar projects essential to a US government agency," the advisory stated.
On October 9th, Tarrant County College and Texas A&M University School of Law are hosting their first mock trial geared toward nursing students, which will now take place virtually with the support of Magna Legal Services.

The mock trial program is designed to help students understand the legal responsibilities of healthcare workers, malpractice cases and other legal implications of the nursing practice. Viewers will watch the case unfold as a nurse takes the stand and the prosecution and defense present their arguments.

The mock was originally planned as an in-person event, but due to COVID-19, will now be held virtually. Magna Legal Services, an end-to-end litigation support company, will be contributing its expertise and resources to host the event live using its virtual platform. The unforeseen pandemic has cancelled classes and disrupted education throughout the nation. We are proud to sponsor this event and help ensure the nurses of tomorrow are properly prepared for their careers and ready to start caring for their communities, stated Peter Hecht, Magna Partner & EVP of Sales.

Fully understanding the legal implications of their practice is extremely important for healthcare workers. Because mock trials give invaluable insight into the legal aspects of nursing, Tarrant County College (TCC) would previously finance their students to attend mock trials hosted by other schools. To make this opportunity further accessible to all of their students, TCC decided to host their own annual mock trials, starting with the October 9th event.

Texas A&M University (TAMU) School of Law joined TCC in hosting the mock trial, contributing their resources, expertise and esteemed personnel. Their law students, specifically those interested in health law, are encouraged to attend the mock trial.

Jim Mullen, RN, JD will play the nurse on trial, prosecuted by Colleen Carboy, RN, JD and defended by Kathleen Kearney, RN, JD. Expert witnesses include Nancy Roper Wilson, RN, JD and Patricia Blair, RN, JD. Justice Lee Gabriel will preside over the mock.

Magna Legal Services has been hosting virtual mock trials for over a decade, with even greater popularity following the start of COVID-19. TCCs mock trial will be held on the Magna LegalVision platform, with Magnas trial presentation consultants managing exhibit display and annotations and handling back-end tech support.

Whether its a trial, hearing, arbitration, mediation or deposition, the Magna LegalVision platform has the flexibility to mimic any in-person proceeding, except with all the added benefits of going virtual said Andrew Lunanuova, Magnas Director of Audio, Video and Virtual Services.

Hosting the event remotely will allow for social distancing and a larger audience capacity. Virtual proceedings also prove for increased viewer attention and understanding due to:



Greater exhibit visibility All exhibits and demonstratives will be displayed directly in front of each attendee on their devices, ensuring they can see and hear everything. In contrast, exhibits for in-person trials are usually displayed on TVs and format boards, where distance and other factors can hinder visibility.

Enhanced annotation Magnas virtual platform allows for seamless, real-time annotating, like highlighting and blow-ups, which will improve viewer understanding.

Speaker view The virtual platform allows each attendee to have a front-view of each speaker, rather than the side or back-view they would normally have at an in-person trial.

Speaker identification Viewers can better follow along with the presentation because all speaker names are clearly visible throughout the events duration.

The Tarrant County College & Texas A&M University Law School mock trial plans to bring in over 500 attendees including first-year TCC nursing students, TCC faculty and TAMU students focusing on health law.

To learn more about virtual proceedings and mock trials, visit MagnaLS.com.
In Chicago, Latinos have been disproportionately affected by the virus. According to the citys most recent data, there have been more than 24,580 confirmed coronavirus cases among Latinos, more than any other racial or ethnic group. There have been, however, more than 12,000 confirmed COVID-19 instances in which the persons race is unknown.
The uptick in the number of coronavirus cases in Delhi in the last week has resulted in a heightened demand for hospital beds. The occupancy of Covid-19 beds in hospitals in the national capital, which was below 3,000 on July 30 and remained the same till August 5, breached the 3,000-mark.

According to a Times of India report, data put out by the Delhi government between August 6 and August 12 revealed that the occupancy of Covid-19 beds was between 3,024 and 3,351. Delhi reported 1,113 new coronavirus cases pushing the caseload to over 1.48 lakh, while the death toll has increased to 4,153, authorities said on Wednesday. The total number of cases stands at 1,48,504.

Dr Suresh Kumar, director of Lok Nayak hospital, told the publication that till last week, they were seeing daily admissions of around 20-30 patients. But on Wednesday, the hospital saw 43 Covid-19 patients being admitted, Kumar added.

Meanwhile, doctors at Sir Ganga Ram, Indraprastha Apollo and Max hospitals have also said that the pattern holds true. "There is a significant increase in new admissions due to Covid-19. Many of the patients are also from other states, for example, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, one of the doctors at Apollo hospital was quoted as saying.

The report, citing the figures released by Delhi's health department, noted that on Wednesday, of the 13,963 Covid-19 beds, 24%, i.e.,3,351, were in use. The occupancy rate of Covid Care Centres and Covid Health Centres was at 7% and 32%, respectively.

At Lok Nayak hospital, 336 patients infected with novel coronavirus are admitted, while AIIMS Delhi has 142 Covid-19 patients. Physicians at AIIMS Delhi told ToI that there has been a significant rise in admissions due to coronavirus in the last three-four days.

Another cause of concern may be the spike in demand for ICU beds, both with and without ventilator support. There are 1,235 Covid-19 beds with ventilators in Delhi, out of which, 415 (34%) were occupied on Wednesday, data revealed. Of the 881 Covid-19 beds sans ventilators, 34%, i.e., 297, were in use.

Doctors emphasised on the need for people to adhere to social distancing norms and wear masks when they step out in order to avoid worsening of the situation.
Quran 18:54  We have explained in detail in this Quran, for the benefit of mankind, every kind of similitude: but man is, in most things, contentious.

The 550-page book entitled Commentary (Tafsir) on Quran by Imam Warith Deen Mohammed is scheduled for release in September, published by WORDS-MAKE-PEOPLE Inc. A team of African American Muslims from around the United States, under the leadership of Imam Nasir Ahmad of Miami, have compiled this historical collection of tafsirs (Quranic commentaries) as given by the late Imam Warith Deen Mohammed; Wallace, the son of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

Imam W. Deen Mohammed succeeded his father as the leader of the Nation of Islam in 1975 and he led the largest indigenous group of Muslim Americans until his passing in September 2008. Now his students have compiled from his 30-plus years of commenting on the Quran this new hardbound publication.

Very many African American Muslims greatly welcome this publication, seeing it as a return home to a great legacy that was stolen from Africans by the evils of American slavery. Often Imam Mohammed quoted the great African American theologian Dr. C. Eric Lincoln, who said he believes strongly that there is an Islamic genetic memory in Black people. Building upon Dr. Lincolns beliefs, Imam Warith (Wallace) Mohammed said, Thats why you have an interest in Islam, many of you; not all of you. Thats why you are happy when you become Muslim and you cant wait until you learn Islam. You dont mind that inside your body the genes are shouting, Im back again where I was before; in Islam.

This publication is historical. The Commentary (Tafsir) on Quran by Imam Warith Deen Mohammed is the first Quranic publication produced by African American Muslims that is based on the Quran itself, specifically for learning the deep insights into the Quran. It is a book written for all people of all faith traditions. There is something good for everyone in this commentary of selected verses from the Quran.

An excerpt of the book, explaining an important portion of the Muslim daily prayer that is recited in Arabic, reads:

Then you say, As salaamu alainaa wa alaa ibaadullaahi saliheen, Peace be on us because of you and on the righteous servants of G_d. Alainaa, arent we the righteous servants of G_d? Why do we say, Wa alaa ibaadullaahis saliheen (and on the righteous servants of G_d)? It is because there are righteous servants out there among the Christians, among the Jews and other people and we wish them peace, too. Isnt that beautiful? When you really know what you are practicing, it is salvation. It is beauty. It is what will make us comfortable with other good people all around the world and make them comfortable with us. If you just take them my commentary, it will open up the world to you. People wont fear you. They will love you.

Imam Warith (Wallace Deen) spent his 33-year leadership uniting and reconciling the human family. His commentary on the Quran  while strongly maintaining traditional Islamic values  connects scriptural language from various faiths, namely the scripture of Jews and Christians.

Another excerpt that relates to Chapter 30 verse 30 of the Quran reads:

It is said that if a Muslim does not believe in Christ Jesus, he is not truly a Muslim. He is ignorant of his own identity, because to believe in Jesus Christ is to believe in yourself. It is to believe in the possibility for your own self if G_d puts His Spirit and His Word into you. You should be able to become Christ-natured and we agree in that. But we do not call it Christ nature. We call it fitraa, the original life pattern and discipline that G_d established in creating human beings for them to evolve into it, to hunger for it, to struggle and work hard for it, until you arrive there.

The Commentary (Tafsir) on Quran by Imam Warith Deen Mohammed is coming to you soon via all the major book outlets and at your local masjid (mosque) for $45 (wholesale price TBA). At this time we ask for your supportive prayers for the success of this historical African American Muslim publication. Ameen!

Michael Mikal Saahir is the resident Imam of Nur-Allah Islamic Center. He can be reached at nur-allah@att.net or at 317 753-3754.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-12 16:29:23|Editor: huaxia

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The medical unit of Chinese peacekeeping forces, working with the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon, on Monday donated medical equipment and medicines to Marjeyoun town in southern Lebanon.
By PTI

COLOMBO: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday congratulated Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and premier Mahinda Rajapaksa on their party's resounding electoral success and expressed confidence that bilateral ties will be further strengthened.

In a letter addressed to the two Rajapaksa brothers, Modi pointed out that he looks forward to working with them, including for the recovery and revitalisation of the bilateral economies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Wednesday, Sri Lanka's new Cabinet, including four members of the powerful Rajapaksa family, took oath with President Gotabaya retaining the key defence ministry while the finance portfolio went to newly-elected Prime Minister Mahinda after their party won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections last week.

The President administered the oath of office to the 28-member Cabinet.

Taking to Twitter, India's High Commission said: Together for development! PM @narendramodi wrote to @GotabayaR & @PresRajapaksa.

He congratulated them on resounding electoral success of @PodujanaParty. PM Shri Modi also congratulated @PresRajapaksa on being sworn in as PM of #SriLanka.

PM Shri Modi expressed confidence that #India-#SriLanka relationship will be further strengthened.

He pointed out that he looks forward to working with @GotabayaR and @PresRajapaksa, including for recovery and revitalisation of our economies in the wake of #COVID19 pandemic, it said in another tweet.

The Mahinda Rajapaksa-led Sri Lanka People's Party (SLPP) won a landslide victory in the parliamentary elections held last week that allowed the influential family to consolidate power for the next five years.

The SLPP won a record 145 seats in the 225-member Parliament.

Sri Lanka was one of the very few Asian countries apart from Singapore to hold general elections in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
Mohammad Yaqoob was undergoing treatment at SKIMS hospital for past six days breathed his last early this morning, a police official said

Srinagar: A civilian, who was injured in a ceasefire violation by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control in Tangdhar sector of Jammu and Kashmir last week, died at a hospital on Thursday, police said.

Mohammad Yaqoob Mir, who was undergoing treatment at the SKIMS hospital for the past six days, breathed his last early this morning, a police official said.

He said Mir was one of the six people injured in the Pakistani firing in Tangdhar sector on August 7.
Hryvnia strengthens to UAH 27.53 to U.S. dollar on Aug 13

10:55, 13.08.20 10461

The official forex rate against the euro for Thursday is fixed at UAH 32.40 per euro.
The India Meteorological



Department has issued an 'orange alert' with a forecast of very heavy in eight districts of till Friday morning.

Monsoon has been active in many parts of the state, IMD Bhopal centre's senior meteorologist G D Mishra said on Thursday.

Some isolated places in Chhindwara, Balaghat, Betul, Harda, Khandwa, Alirajpur, Jhabua and Dhar districts are likely to receive very heavy till Friday morning, the official said.

Besides, there is a 'yellow warning' of heavy in 15 districts- Anooppur, Dindori, Chattarpur, Sehore, Rajgarh, Hoshangabad, Burhanpur, Khargone, Barwani, Dewas, Agar, Shivpuri, Datia, Morena and Sheopur,Mishra said.

An orange alert means the authorities should "be prepared", while a yellow warning asks them to "be updated".

According to IMD, downpour in the range of 64.5 mm and 115.5 mm is considered 'heavy rainfall', while that between 115.6 mm and 204.4 mm is termed 'very heavy rainfall'.

In the last 24 hours, Satna district received 132.6 mm rainfall, Rewa district received 42.4 mm downpour, while Tikamgarh recorded 41 mm rain, Mishra said.

(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.)
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The nonprofit Consumer Watchdog today endorsed the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), Proposition 24, as a major step forward to enshrine the privacy rights of Californians and safeguard it from legislative assault, add key new protections, and introduce a tough European privacy regime to California.

"Under Prop 24, a consumer can limit the use of their sensitive information to stop Uber from profiling them based on race, stop Spotify from utilizing their precise geo-location and prevent Facebook from using their sexual orientation, health status or religion in its algorithms," said Carmen Balber, Consumer Watchdog's executive director. "In addition, Californians won't have to worry about the legislature repealing key privacy rights, will have stronger rights to personally enforce privacy laws and will have the protection of a well-staffed and funded European-style privacy commission to protect their rights."

Consumer Watchdog pointed to the huge benefits for consumers from Prop 24:

Since the enactment of the landmark California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in 2018, 18 bills in the California legislature have sought to directly amend the law and 6 would have eviscerated its major provisions. Many more statehouse assaults are expected from the wealthy industries opposed to the law. The CPRA enshrines Californians' new privacy rights so that legislative amendments can only "further its purposes" and be more privacy protective. A body of case law developed under legislative assaults on insurance reform Prop 103 makes clear that "furthering the purposes" allows for the addition of pro-consumer protections but not changes that undo the purpose of the law.

Consumers can opt out of the use of sensitive personal information  such as race, religion, health status, sexual orientation, precise geo-location, genetic disposition  by companies, a key addition to existing protections under the CCPA that only allows consumers to prevent the information from being sold by a company.

Individuals' private right of enforcement when a data breach occurs is enhanced by taking away the provision in current law that gives companies 30 days to fix the data breach before being liable. Email and password are added to categories of data under which an individual can hold the company accountable for breach.

Significant new privacy rights will be available to Californians  including the right to data correction, purpose limitation, storage limits, and data minimization  in line with the protections provided in Europe under the GDPR. Californians' protections would be sufficient for the state to gain "adequacy" under European law to give the state a leg up in fast track commerce with the European Union, assuming the US and EU resolve the national security aspects of privacy laws currently under discussion.

A European Union style privacy commission will be funded to enforce the law. The commission must develop expansive new privacy rules for consumers: For instance, a right to know meaningful information about the logic behind Google's automated targeting algorithms and behind the information they see popping up in their Facebook feed.

Consumer Watchdog noted that opponents of the law have misrepresented or misinterpreted its provisions.

Prop 24 takes away the ability of companies to retaliate against consumers by charging more, if they remove "Do Not Sell" pop-ups in favor of respecting a "Do Not Track" signal.

Some opponents complain that Prop 24 relieves websites of the responsibility to post a "Do Not Sell" notice. In fact, Prop 24 gives companies the choice between a) posting the notice and being able to discriminate against consumers who exercise their rights (current law); or b) not posting the notice, and agreeing not to discriminate against consumers who exercise their rights. All companies will still have to respect a "Do Not Sell" signal sent by a consumer through a browser or app, but if a company chooses not to post the "Do Not Sell" notice, then it is barred from retaliating against the consumer for making the "Do Not Sell" choice by charging more or throttling back speed. This ability for companies to retaliate against consumers for making the "Do Not Sell" choice has been a chief complaint against the existing CCPA, and its elimination for some companies is a substantive gain under Prop 24.

Prop 24 creates an inviolable floor for privacy protections, allowing only legislative changes that would increase, not reduce, people's privacy.

Some opponents mistakenly claim Prop 24 will prevent the legislature from enacting more generous privacy laws.

Prop 24's stated intent is "to further protect consumers' rights, including the constitutional right of privacy" and warns that "the Legislature considered many bills in 2019 to amend the [California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018], some of which would have significantly weakened it. Unless California voters take action, the hard-fought rights consumers have won could be undermined by future legislation." The measure states that "Rather than diluting privacy rights, California should strengthen them over time."

Prop 24 also states: "The provisions of this Act may be amended after its approval by the voters by a statute that is passed by a vote of a majority of the members of each house of the Legislature and signed by the Governor, provided that such amendments are consistent with and further the purpose and intent of this Act as set forth in Section 3 . . .

As Berkeley law professor David Carrillo writes, "This statement of intent unambiguously sets the floor and creates a one-way ratchet: the legislature can only amend this initiative by increasing privacy protections. Some opponents of Proposition 24 apparently argue that a legislative amendment of the law must satisfy everysection of the law for it to be valid. That misstates the standard described above, and there is little danger a future court will use that approach." His full article explaining the case law that supports his position can be found here: http://scocablog.com/how-california-lives-with-two-legislatures/

Prop 24 adds needed detail to definitions to increase privacy protections overall and make the law consistent with European standards and US law.

Some opponents mistakenly claim definitional changes under Prop 24 weaken the law. The definitions taken overall strengthen the law, making it easier to use and conforming several definitions with European Union and US constitutional standards. For example, the definition of service provider has been amended to prevent a service provider from combining data it collects from different clients, an issue the CCPA is silent on. Standards related to "public availability" were altered to conform to constitutional lawyers' understanding that information consumers put into public use themselves cannot be protected constitutionally.

7 Ways The CPRA Better Protects Californians

When your email and password are breached, consumers can sue the company at fault directly. Your personal health condition can no longer be used against you or used at all by companies if you choose to opt out of its use. The algorithms that dictate what we see in our Facebook feed or what ads we receive in our Google searches will no longer be allowed to use our most sensitive information  like race, sexual orientation, or genetic history  when we don't want them to. A one touch "do not track" setting on a browser or app can prevent a company that doesn't display "A Do Not Sell" sign on its website from selling our private information and using our most sensitive information at all, and unlike current law, it will have no ability to penalize us for that choice. Hate groups will no longer be able to buy data that track those who seek abortions to clinics to terrorize them, or find people to target them based on their sexual orientation, because such sensitive data will not be allowed to be used if consumers opt out. When a consumers' information is breached because a company was negligent it can be sued immediately. Data brokers and tech companies will not have the ability to use their cash-clout to weaken privacy standards in the legislature.

SOURCE Consumer Watchdog

Related Links

http://www.consumerwatchdog.org


A heritage-listed lodge in the Gold Coast hinterland will begin reopening to guests next month, almost a year to the day it was devastated by bushfires.

Binna Burra Lodge had already reopened partial trading for day visitors at one of its cafes before COVID-19 restrictions clamped down again.

Queensland's treasured Binna Burra Lodge before and after a bushfire gutted the rainforest retreat in September 2019. Credit:Binna Burra Lodge

Bookings were then taken for some of its lodges and campsites as restrictions began to wind back in June, with the Binna Burra Kitchen open from July.

Under the lodge's roadmap to reopening published last week, it revealed visitors could return to the Grooms Cottage cafe from September 1, along with its Sky Lodge accommodation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on Ukrainian citizens to refrain from traveling to Belarus due to the difficult political situation in the country.

He told this to journalists during his visit to the Boryspil intensive care hospital on Thursday, August 13, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"The situation in Belarus is very difficult now. We went through it in Ukraine. I really want to see no deaths, no casualties there and I want the authorities to find a dialogue with their society. So far we have seen that the situation there is difficult, unstable, serious. I would advise Ukrainians now to refrain from traveling to Belarus because of difficult cases, because our people have been detained, until the situation gets more or less stable there," Zelensky said.

He recalled that according to the latest data, three Ukrainian citizens were detained and illegally held in Belarus. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry is working with the Belarusian authorities to identify and release all Ukrainian citizens detained during the recent protests as soon as possible, he said.

"The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has already contacted the Belarusian side. Three of our citizens were detained there. Negotiations are underway. We insist that our citizens be returned to Ukraine," Zelensky said.

op
Many Black Chicagoans have had negative experiences when seeking medical care: times a doctor didnt believe them, dismissed their concerns or didnt fully explain their options. When racial bias occurs in medicine, it can have devastating consequences for patients, and may be one factor leading to worse health outcomes for Black people, such as higher rates of deaths from COVID-19, experts say.
Spring ISD families will see notable updates to the student code of conduct this year as the district prepares to start school during the pandemic.

The Spring ISD school board met virtually Tuesday, Aug. 11, to approve revisions to the 2020-2021 code of conduct, including the addition of COVID-related requirements such as wearing masks and social distancing on campuses.

Spring, Klein superintendents outline back-to-school plans: Northwest Houston area school leaders discuss the fall semester and coronavirus

Superintendent Rodney Watson said school would be starting on Monday, Aug. 17, with online-only instruction for the first four weeks due to the pandemic.

Last Thursday night, we did get a sneak peek at our curriculum and all of the great work that our curriculum team and teachers have been working to develop for our families, Watson said. So, were excited to be able to offer that to all of our students starting on Monday.

Director of Student Affairs Thomas Graham said one of the key changes includes how the code of conduct would be distributed this year. Instead of physical copies, families can access the document electronically via the district website. A paper copy can be requested from the Department of Student Affairs at 281-891-6193.

Because we have online registration this year, students and parents will be able to acknowledge that they have downloaded and reviewed the student code of conduct throughout the online registration process, Graham said.

On HoustonChronicle.com: COVID's true toll in Texas is higher than reported, data shows

Graham said once school starts the district will have administrators who will go through the student code of conduct with students and added that once students are back on campus, theyll review the information again.

Students will be able to sign the second page of the student code of conduct as indication that they have reviewed it and it will be stored on the campus for campus record, Graham said.

Graham said the districts COVID-19 procedures and protocols include items that each student is expected to adhere to, as well as items that students shall not do related to COVID-19.

According to the districts student code of conduct revisions outline, students must wear personal protective equipment including masks and/or face shields and follow six-feet social distancing protocols. Equipment cannot display profanity, abusive or disruptive materials.

The outline states that not wearing PPE will count as a dress code violation and that students will be disciplined in agreement with the guidelines listed in the student code of conduct.

Students are not allowed to try to remove the masks of other students or deliberately intrude in someone elses social distance perimeter.

Students must wash their hands with soap for at least 20 seconds after using the restroom or when blowing their nose, coughing or sneezing. They must also cover their mouth and nose with a tissue when sneezing or coughing  tossing used tissues in a garbage can or designated receptacle  or use the inside of their elbow.

Trying to cause infections with coughing, sneezing, spitting or expelling any form of bodily fluids or secretions onto another student or staff member is prohibited. If a student deliberately coughs, sneezes, spits or expels bodily fluids onto another person, it may be considered assault. A campus administrator will be notified and remove students to examine the incident, and their parents will be alerted. Disciplinary action will be taken based on the act at a suitable level based on the student code of conduct guidelines.

In addition to the COVID-19 protocols, Graham said vaping pens and devices were added to the list of banned tobacco products in the student code of conduct based off information, feedback and conversations with campus administrators.

Trustee Justine Durant said its important for parents to realize that critical changes have been made to this years student code of conduct.

A lot of them are necessary, precautionary and to ensure safety and so I just want to make sure no parent is caught off guard, Durant said.

Graham said this years the student code of conduct signature will be part of the online registration process.

So, for parents to actually fulfill the registration process online theyll have to acknowledge that theyve downloaded that particular copy and reviewed it, Graham said.

Chief Academic Officer Khechara Bradford said as students will be at home for the first four weeks instruction, the district will be talking with parents and frequently communicating the code of conduct from the start of the school year.

Our goal is to begin Aug. 17 with every student having a device and access, Bradford said. So, really removing any barriers to students having technology access but then also posting (the code of conduct) and having it as part of our beginning of the year routines, procedures and expectations.

Watson said the district plans to continue seeking parent feedback and offering opportunities for them to share with us their experiences with what were developing.

alvaro.montano@chron.com
People hold up signs outside Austin Police Department after a vigil for Garrett Foster, a Black Lives Matter protester who was shot dead after allegedly brandishing his firearm at a driver, in Austin ,Texas, on July 26, 2020. (Sergio Flores/Getty Images)

Austin Approves Cutting $150 Million From Police Department Budget

The Austin City Council on Thursday slashed close to $150 million from the citys police department budget, after calls to defund the police from Black Lives Matter activists.

We did this in response to overwhelming and unprecedented community input. This is truly the peoples budget, Councilwoman Natasha Harper-Madison wrote in a social media statement after the vote.

Councilman Gregorio Casar said the council voted to reduce the police departments budget and reinvest the money into our communitys safety and well-being.

He referenced Black Lives Matter activists as a driving force behind the defunding approval.

Councilman Jimmy Flannigan told residents in a blog post that the departments budget has nearly doubled in the past 10 years while the citys population has grown by 30 percent.

The department also represents the largest part of the citys tax-supported general fund by a wide margina gigantic bureaucracy that has reached unsustainable levels. Also more than double is the number of officer service calls where there was no report at all, as well as the over 90% of building alarms where officers responded that were just false alarms, he wrote.

City councilmembers in Austin are officially nonpartisan.

Austin was the 11th most populous city in the nation as of 2016, according to U.S. Census data.

The vote reduced the Austin Police Departments budget from $434 million to $290 million, or by 33 percent.

The defunding came in three parts: cutting funding directly by axing some cadet classes and overtime, which reduced funding by approximately $20 million; moving some functions to outside the department, including the 911 call center, which cut about $80 million; and creating a safety fund that will divert nearly $50 million from the department toward alternative forms of public safety and community support, according to the City Council.

Austin Police Chief Brian Manley speaks to reporters in Round Rock, Texas, on March 21, 2018. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

City Manager Spencer Cronk said in a statement that the budget takes us forward as a city but warned that well have to come back and make adjustments, not only because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but because of our desire to truly reimagine public safety.

The Austin Police Department didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Austin Police Association, a police union, said before the vote that the budget proposals continue to become more ridiculous and unsafe for Austinites.

They are going to ignore the majority who do not want the police defunded. The community will need help @ the Capitol, the group said in a statement.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott also decried the move, writing in a statement: Austins decision puts the brave men and women of the Austin Police Department and their families at greater risk, and paves the way for lawlessness.

According to the governor, the state Department of Public Safety will help protect Austin, the state capitol.

A number of cities have opted in recent months to slash funding for police agencies.

Seattle lawmakers on Monday cut nearly $4 million from the citys police department, prompting the resignation of the police chief. The Los Angeles City Council last month approved cutting $150 million to the LAPD. The New York City City Council around the same time slashed some $1 billion from the citys police agency. And the Portland City Council in June approved cutting at least $15 million from the citys police bureau.
An international task force, including two University of Massachusetts Amherst computer scientists, concludes in new research that mobile health (mHealth) technologies are a viable option to monitor COVID-19 patients at home and predict which ones will need medical intervention.

The technologies - including wearable sensors, electronic patient-reported data and digital contact tracing - also could be used to monitor and predict coronavirus exposure in people presumed to be free of infection, providing information that could help prioritize diagnostic testing.

The 60-member panel, with members from Australia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland and across the U.S., was led by Harvard Medical School associate professor Paolo Bonato, director of the Motion Analysis Lab at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston. UMass Amherst task force members Sunghoon Ivan Lee and Tauhidur Rahman, both assistant professors in the College of Information and Computer Sciences, focused their review on mobile health sensors, their area of expertise.

The team's study, "Can mHealth Technology Help Mitigate the Effects of the COVID 19 Pandemic?" was published Wednesday in the IEEE Open Journal of Engineering in Medicine and Biology.

"To be able to activate a diverse group of experts with such a singular focus speaks to the commitment the entire research and science community has in addressing this pandemic," Bonato says. "Our goal is to quickly get important findings into the hands of the clinical community so we continue to build effective interventions."

The task force brought together researchers and experts from a range of fields, including computer science, biomedical engineering, medicine and health sciences. "A large number of researchers and experts around the world dedicated months of efforts to carefully reviewing technologies in eight different areas," Lee says.

"I hope that the paper will enable current and future researchers to understand the complex problems and the limitations and potential solutions of these state-of-the-art mobile health systems," Rahman adds.

The task force review found that smartphone applications enabling self-reports and wearable sensors enabling physiological data collection could be used to monitor clinical workers and detect early signs of an outbreak in hospital or healthcare settings.

Similarly, in the community, early detection of COVID-19 cases could be achieved by building on research that showed it is possible to predict influenza-like illness rates, as well as COVID-19 epidemic trends, by using wearable sensors to capture heart rate and sleep duration, among other data.

Lee and Rahman, inventors of mobile health sensors themselves, reviewed 27 commercially available remote monitoring technologies that could be immediately used in clinical practices to help patients and frontline healthcare workers monitor symptoms of COVID-19.

"We carefully investigated whether the technologies could 'monitor' a number of obvious indicators and symptoms of COVID-19 and whether any clearance or certification from health authorities was needed," Lee says. "We considered ease of use and integration flexibility with existing hospital electronic systems. Then we identified 12 examples of technologies that could potentially be used to monitor patients and healthcare workers."

Bonato says additional research will help expand the understanding of how best to use and develop the technologies. "The better data and tracking we can collect using mHealth technologies can help public health experts understand the scope and spread of this virus and, most importantly, hopefully help more people get the care they need earlier," he says.

The paper concludes, "When combined with diagnostic and immune status testing, mHealth technology could be a valuable tool to help mitigate, if not prevent, the next surge of COVID-19 cases."

###
The owners of a popular Friendswood bar have been arrested during an investigation after police say they allegedly overserved patrons, according to a release from the Friendswood Police Department.

Police say the Friends Pub located at 2407 W. Parkwood Avenue has been linked to several DWI arrests and a series of disturbances over recent weeks. Friendswood Police Chief Bob Wieners told KPRC about a third of the department's DWI arrests made in July have been linked to patrons at the pub.

The bar has stayed open in defiance of Gov. Greg Abbott's mandate to close down bars for the second time in an effort to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus. Under Abbott's order, bars and establishments that receive more than 51 percent of their gross receipts from the sale of alcoholic beverages must not operate at this time.

A large sign strewn across the front of the bar reads, "WE REFUSE TO SHUT DOWN. Please support your local business." One of the owners, Kobra Ghorbani, 41, who goes by Kay, said in a post made to the bar's Facebook page that the business sells more food than alcohol and therefore they are able to remain open. The owners have claimed they feel they are being targeted for choosing to remain open.

'COME AND TAKE IT': Pasadena bar openly defies Abbott's order with 'Texas Bars Fight Back Rally'

"Some people are not aware that we aren't just a bar, we're also a restaurant where families come to eat and we have the proper permits to remain open," Ghorbani said in the post. "They were angry thinking we were breaking the COVID protocol rules and staying open."

Ghorbani added she and her husband, Fred Rahdar, 62, have felt harassed by Friendswood Police, alleging officers frequently wait for their patrons to leave in the bar's parking lot.

Friendswood Police attempted to conduct a bar check and inspection at the establishment on August 3. Police said Ghorbani allegedly refused to allow the officer to complete the inspection. Rahdar was also accused of refusing to allow police to complete an inspection and both were subsequently arrested and charged with inspection refusal/interference.

Police allege an officer sustained "a serious hand injury" while trying to arrest Rahdar. Additional charges are pending.

Ghorbani said her business has taken a 75 percent hit since the pandemic began and that they plan to remain open.

On HoustonChronicle.com: 'Blood in the water': Squeezed by shutdowns, Houstons bar owners are on the rocks

"It is unjust and unfair the way we've been treated by our local authorities with whom we've always backed, supported and cared for," Ghorbani said in the post. "I don't know how much longer I can survive to be in business."

Friendswood Police said in mid-March that the pub would be closely monitored and reported to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission following a string of "out-of-control disturbances" there. Rahdar previously told Chron.com he disagreed with what police were saying about the disturbances and said after more than a decade in Friendswood, his bar has always been known "as a really good neighborhood bar."

A person who sells alcohol to an intoxicated person and is found to be criminally negligent could receive up to a 1,000 fine or up to a year in jail.

"It is critical for establishments that sell alcoholic beverages to take steps to avoid overserving for the safety of everyone who use public roadways," the release stated. "All of us have the right to be safe from the extreme dangers imposed upon motorists by intoxicated drivers. And, those who profit from the selling of alcoholic beverages are expected to exert the greatest effort to prevent drunk driving."

rebecca.hennes@chron.com
| By Mary Therese Phelan

In Shira Devorahs first semester in the Master of Science in Nursing Clinical Nurse Leader option at the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) last spring, disappointment was not a planned part of the curriculum.

Some University of Maryland School of Nursing students have returned for hands-on learning in simulation labs.

That was before March 21, when clinical placement guidelines were put into place at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) in response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Under the guidelines, all in-person experiential learning activities with patients and clients were halted and converted to virtual activities, and distance simulation was encouraged.

While understanding the need for such policies, Devorah said she felt like she was missing out on one of the most valuable aspects of her education: learning in a clinical setting.

Thankfully, the disappointment was short-lived.

Herculean efforts by UMSON faculty, staff, and partner institutions have resulted in reopening the doors to experiential learning. By the start of UMSONs summer semester, with a host of safety protocols in place, Devorah and her classmates were participating in face-to-face simulation and in clinical experiences at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Additional students will participate in hands-on learning as of the fall semester.

"For my summer semester, its actually really cool because we had half virtual learning and we had four days of clinical experience, she said. So, it wasnt as many clinical days as we would have expected, but we got to at least go twice for each class we were in. Those days were really special. Theyre a full day of what you expect nursing school to be like.

While participating in clinicals, students do not have any contact with any COVID-19 positive patients. In addition, the school has worked to ensure that students have appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), supplied by UMSON and participating partner health care institutions. Students have had to be fit tested to make sure their PPE fits them properly, and they have also learned donning and doffing techniques to make sure they can safely put on and take off the equipment.

Returning students to experiential learning in a safe manner has been a priority for UMSON, said Larry Fillian, MEd, associate dean for student and academic services.

Nursing education has to be hands on. You cant do it from a distance, at least at these levels, he said, adding that the return to clinical instruction could not have been accomplished without the strong partnerships the school maintains with area health care institutions. During clinical experiences, students shadow clinical instructors and participate in patient care under the supervision of a faculty member.

The vast majority of students, just like nurses everywhere, have been wanting to jump in and get going, Fillian added.

Safety First at Simulation Labs

Students also have returned to in-person instruction in UMSONs Debra L. Spunt Clinical Simulation Labs, which have reopened with adherence to strict safety protocols, said Amy L. Daniels, PhD 18, MS 12, BSN 89, RN, CHSE, assistant professor and director of the Clinical Simulation Labs.

UMSON has coordinated extensively with UMBs Office of Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) regarding protocols for cleaning the simulation labs between each session and with the Office of Facilities and Operations to map out the number of people who are permitted in an area at a time and to determine the proper PPE for that specific space, Daniels said.

UMSON is prioritizing in-person activities that cannot be done virtually and is making use of some virtual simulated activities that capture the same objectives as some of the face-to-face, small-group simulation.

"But they cant do hands-on skills virtually, Daniels said. Theres been a lot of shuffling of prioritization and working with the faculty to identify what we should do on campus versus what can be done elsewhere.

In the spring, with the quick transition to distance learning, students were participating in alternative activities to obtain clinical hours within two to three weeks, Daniels said. To plan for the return to in-person simulation in early June, UMSON faculty, EHS, and facilities workers spent two weeks preparing the rooms and ensuring they had the proper PPE supplies on hand. About 130 students returned to the sim labs over the summer, in groups of no more than three at a time. The five-week session provided UMSON faculty with an opportunity to implement new procedures and use student evaluations to improve the experience when more students return in the fall, Daniels said.

The students really appreciated the efforts to return to hands-on activities at the school and felt like it was time well spent, Daniels said. Not only were students excited to participate in in-person learning, they also were excited to see people who are colleagues, she said. "When they came in you wanted to just run down the hall and give them a big hug and say, Welcome back, but you couldnt.

The evaluation results indicate that the measures implemented helped students feel safe.

Patient Simulation Remains Virtual, Effective

Students have also been able to return to experiential learning through virtual standardized patient (SP) simulation, allowing them to gain clinical experience through a variety of communication-based and physical exam simulations at a time when such instruction at partner health care institutions is on hold due to the pandemic.

An SP is highly trained to simulate a patient and to provide a learner with the experience of practicing clinical scenarios before taking on a clinical role. With the implementation of virtual learning, the Standardized Patient Program (SPP), an UMSON collaboration with the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), worked with faculty to ensure that virtual SP learning would still be an effective method of teaching and assessment. After nearly five months of remote SP simulation, the department continues to create numerous positive virtual experiences for students, faculty, and SPs.

"The clinical skills part of it and the clinical reasoning were a little more challenging, especially when you talk about doing a physical exam, said Nancy Culpepper, director of the SPP. But we worked closely with faculty to put guides together on how to verbalize a clinical exam.

The SPP has also supported students at UMSOM, the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy (UMSOP), and the University of Maryland School of Social Work (UMSSW) via virtual simulation, Culpepper said. UMSOM and UMSOP students participated in virtual end-of-semester clinical exams just as they would have in person. Each UMSOM and UMSOP student met with three different SPs and performed the encounters via teleconferencing. UMSON and UMSSW students have participated in virtual simulations involving difficult discussions, including end-of-life conversations with Doctor of Nursing Practice students and behavior modification exchanges with simulated social work clients.
The Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency at the Presidency, Dr Eric Oduro Osae, has called on various institutions in the country to make available the needed resources to their internal auditors to enable them to carry out their mandate effectively.



That, according to him, would reposition internal auditors to be able to carry out their work well and help fight corruption in the country.



He made the call at a meeting with heads of internal auditors for the three Northern Regions in Tamale on Monday to acquaint himself with the challenges in their work.



Fighting corruption



Dr Oduro, who expressed sadness about the financial embezzlement at public offices, noted that when the internal auditors were well-resourced, they could prevent misapplication of public funds.



He was optimistic that internal auditors would after the meeting be repositioned and rebranded in their work to ensure that management of various institutions would listen to them.



He indicated that Ghana could not develop without the internal auditors and advised them to improve the quality of their reports in their various institutions so as to gain respect from their superiors.



Commendation



The Northern Regional Director for the Internal Audit Agency, Mr Ali Suleman, thanked the director general for the visit and indicated that the service would see a change after the restructuring exercise.



"Like I said, we are very grateful for the director general's visit. This is the first time we are seeing a director general in Tamale", he said.



Some of the participants who spoke to the Daily Graphic expressed gratitude to the agency for the restructuring and called on the director general to always visit the regions to help strengthen their work.









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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Dairy cooperative Dale Farm has reported a 'solid' years performance for the financial year ending March 2020.

The Northern Irish co-op said group operating profit was reported at 12.2m, down from 14.3m the previous year.

Group profit before tax was 9.8m, down from 12m the previous year and EBITDA was 19.3m, down from 20.9m.

Overall group turnover was reported at 504.5m, down from 509m the previous financial year.

Speaking on the business performance, Dale Farm Group chief executive Nick Whelan welcomed the figures against the backdrop of 'weather-related challenges'.

Throughout 2019/20, sales in a number of our product areas were negatively impacted by weather conditions," he said.

"Our solid performance, despite these headwinds, is the combined result of continued investment, excellent customer partnerships and a team of hard-working, dedicated people in every part of our business."

Mr Whelan said the firm's portfolio of dairy products in retail and foodservice across the UK as well as global exports 'performed well'.

"Milk volumes and milk quality in the year were relatively strong, provided to the cooperative through a network of over 1,300 local dairy farmers," he added.

"Our award-winning cheddar cheese continues to perform particularly well within the own brand, foodservice and branded sectors in both the domestic market and worldwide.

Looking to the year ahead, Nick Whelan added that the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic was having a 'significant effect' on the business and its dairy farmer suppliers.

"I am, however, confident in the talent and resilience of our people, the strength of our business model and the quality of the products we make," he said.
Aaron Brady has been found guilty of the capital murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe during an armed robbery seven years ago.

It was the prosecution's case that Brady (29) fired the fatal shot during the raid at Lordship credit union in Dundalk, Co Louth, on January 25, 2013.

He denied this and claimed he was moving laundered diesel waste cubes at a yard in south Armagh at the time.

However, following a 28-week trial, the jury of seven women and five men returned guilty verdicts on counts of capital murder and robbery.

The longest murder trial in the history of the State began on January 27 and sat for 118 days, during which 139 witnesses were called to give evidence, including the accused.

The defence had made several applications to discharge the jury, citing the delay over the Covid-19 pandemic and the interruption of a key witness' testimony, but these were refused by trial judge Mr Justice Michael White.

Ambushed

Brady, of New Road, Cross- maglen, Co Armagh, now faces the mandatory 40-year prison sentence after being convicted of capital murder.

Det Gda Donohoe (41), a married father-of-two, was on an armed cash escort when the convoy was ambushed by a five-man gang as they prepared to leave the credit union.

The detective had stepped out of his unmarked Toyota Avensis after the car park exit was blocked by a Volkswagen Passat when, without warning, he was shot in the head at point-blank range.

He was the 87th member of An Garda Siochana to die in the line of duty.

The raid was carried out in 58 seconds and netted the gang 7,000, while 27,000 was left behind.

The prosecution said the robbery must have been carried out by a local gang - they had border accents and know- ledge of the rural getaway roads used and were motivated by money.

The prosecution had relied on what they said was "overwhelmingly" circumstantial evidence, tied together with the admissions of the accused and wrapped in a litany of lies, to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Brady shot Det Gda Donohoe.

The Passat used in the robbery had been stolen from Clogherhead during a 'creeper' burglary three nights before the murder.

There was expert evidence given that a distinctive BMW 5 Series with a metallic wrapped roof captured on CCTV close to the burglary that night was very similar to a BMW belonging to Brady's best friend, Suspect A.

The prosecution said there was a silent period on both of the men's phones at this time, indicating that they were in each other's company when the getaway car was stolen.

Mobile phones belonging to the accused and three other suspects were also inactive during the same period an hour before and after the murder.

Prosecutor Lorcan Staines SC described this as an "extraordinary unusual and unlucky coincidence".

Brady was described as a "skilled and practised liar".

He admitted he lied when giving an account of his movements to Inspector John Moroney the day after the murder, and again 10 days later when he made a voluntary statement to Det Gda Jim McGovern and Det Insp Mark Phillips.

Brady had claimed he lied because he was trying to hide the fact he was moving laundered diesel waste, but the prosecution said it was to hide his involvement in the murder.

They said these lies continued when Brady got into the witness box of the Central Criminal Court.

Over the course of five days, he denied any involvement in the murder and described key prosecution witness Daniel Cahill as a "psychopath" and a "pathological liar".

Under cross-examination by lead prosecution counsel Brendan Grehan SC, Brady claimed he had been a victim of a campaign by An Garda Siochana and the media.

The jury heard that within weeks of the robbery, Brady and three other suspects left Ireland and travelled to "far-flung corners of the world".

The accused settled in the Woodlawn area of the Bronx, New York, where he "wore the shooting of Det Gda Adrian Donohoe like a badge of honour".

There was damning evidence from two witnesses living in the US, who told the court they heard Brady make admissions.

Molly Staunton, an American citizen, said she was in Brady's apartment when he was "ranting" about having "murdered a cop" in Ireland.

While appearing via video link, her evidence was interrupted by a friend, who told her to "put a stop to it" and "no more testimony" before the live feed cut off.

Mr Justice Michael White gave the jury a warning about her evidence.

Daniel Cahill, a barman who worked in the Bronx, told the trial of three interactions he had with Brady, during which the accused said he had shot a guard in Ireland.

One incident happened after the accused was punched in a bar fight, another while he was drinking on his own in a pub saying he had nightmares about the shooting and a third was in an apartment where Brady bragged about the murder.

Mr Cahill told the court these admissions happened between 2015 and 2016 in the Bronx and that on each occasion Brady said he had shot a garda.

Cooperation

During the trial, the court heard Mr Cahill was out of residency status in the US and was waiting to apply for a green card, having married an American citizen.

Homeland Security agent Mary Ann Wade, who detained the witness last year before he gave his statement, gave evidence that Mr Cahill was not made any offers for his co- operation.

A letter of scope provided to her by her employer limited the evidence she could give in a foreign court.

The prosecution contended that, if all of the evidence against Brady was "a lie, bad luck and strange circumstances", it would be "some string of unfortunate events" for him.

It was the defence's case that the accused was at a diesel laundering yard 21km away from Lordship credit union at the time of the robbery.

In the end, the jury took just over 20 hours to find Brady guilty of robbery and of the capital murder of Det Gda Donohoe.
Trumps TikTok order would take effect next month but it is unclear what it means for the apps 100 million US users.

TikTok and its United States employees are planning to take President Donald Trumps administration to court over his sweeping order to ban the popular video app, according to a lawyer preparing one of the lawsuits.

The employees legal challenge to Trumps executive order will be separate from a pending lawsuit from the company that owns the app, though both will argue that the order is unconstitutional, said Mike Godwin, an internet policy lawyer representing the employees.

Trump last week ordered sweeping but vague bans on dealings with the Chinese owners of TikTok and messaging app WeChat, saying they are a threat to US national security, foreign policy and the economy. The TikTok order would take effect in September, but it remains unclear what it will mean for the apps 100 million US users, many of them teenagers or young adults who use it to post and watch short-form videos.

It is also unclear if it will make it illegal for TikTok to pay its roughly 1,500 workers in the US, which is why some of them came to Godwin for help, he said. The order would prohibit any transaction by any person with TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance.





Employees correctly recognise that their jobs are in danger and their payment is in danger right now, Godwin said.

TikTok did not return multiple requests for comment this week. It said in a statement on Friday that it was shocked by the recent Executive Order, which was issued without any due process.

The Fifth and 14th Amendments to the US Constitution safeguard life, liberty and property from arbitrary government action lacking due process of law.

Microsoft is in talks to buy parts of TikTok, in a potential sale that is being forced under Trumps threat of a ban.

TikTok said it spent nearly a year trying to engage in good faith with the US government to address its concerns.

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, the companys statement said.

President Donald Trump has signed a pair of executive orders banning US residents from doing business with the Chinese-owned TikTok and WeChat apps [File: Ivan Abreu/Bloomberg]

The White House did not immediately return a request for comment on Thursday on the pending challenges.

Godwin said he was retained by Patrick Ryan, who joined TikTok from Google earlier this year as a technical program manager. Ryan posted a public fundraising pitch on GoFundMe this week to raise money for lawyers who can fight this unconstitutional taking.

This is unprecedented, Ryan wrote. And its frankly really uncool.





Unlike other Chinese tech companies targeted by Trump, such as telecom giant Huawei, TikToks widespread popularity among Americans adds a layer of complexity to its legal and political challenges. The looming ban has annoyed TikTok users, some of them Trump supporters like Pam Graef of Metairie, Louisiana.

The 53-year-old fitness instructor found nearly instant TikTok fame after downloading the app this summer and posting a video of herself dancing frenetically in a kitchen as someone pretending to be her embarrassed daughter shouts that she is doing it wrong. The video has nearly 3.5 million views.

I dont want it to be banned. Its just a blast, Graef said. Its a way for me to promote my virtual training and virtual classes.

She said Trump will not lose her vote over this, but she does not understand all the fuss about the apps Chinese ownership. What are they gaining by spying on us? Graef said. Were just doing stupid videos and having fun.

The company said last week the way it collects data is typical for thousands of mobile apps. We have made clear that TikTok has never shared user data with the Chinese government, nor censored content at its request, it said.

Godwin said the employees legal challenge will be focused on worker rights, not on the national security claims underlying Trumps order.

The civil rights lawyer, known in early internet culture for coining Godwins law, which posits that all online debates will eventually devolve into the use of Nazi analogies, said employees cannot afford to wait.

We have to proceed very quickly, he said on Thursday. If we wait around for the order to be enforced, which it will be on September 20, then the workers will lose their chances to be paid.
OLD SAYBROOK  The Friends of North Cove is working to protect and restore the habitat of North Cove and surrounding salt marshes, channels and tidal pools by removing invasive phragmites from these areas that serve as a natural habitat for birds and other wildlife to nest and feed.

Organizers are calling on the community to join this initiative by donating to a crowdfunding campaign or volunteering in the effort, according to a press release. All donations will be doubled by Sustainable CTs Community Match Fund, which is an innovative funding resource for public, community-led sustainability projects.

If the campaign reaches its $8,924.25 goal by the Sept. 30 deadline, the project will receive a matching grant from Sustainable CT, an initiative of Eastern Connecticut State Universitys Institute for Sustainable Energy.

Already, 3,150 has been pledged by 10 people.

The work to protect and restore this vital habitat is so important in Old Saybrook and the region, project organizers from Friends of North Cove said in the news release. Phragmites are an invasive plant that has grown to dominate the landscape in the salt marshes around North Cove.

If left untouched, it will eventually choke out the native plants, the statement continued. These phragmites are spreading rapidly, and will soon narrow the channels and tidal pools, and make them impassable for birds and fish and other wildlife. They will virtually destroy this natural habitat for many species.

Penny Rezendes, president of Friends of North Cove, said the idea is to preserve the for generations to come.

The process began in March 2019 and is being funded in part through a grant from the Community Foundation of Middlesex County/Janvrin Fund, Town of Old Saybrook and generous community members, the release said. All work will be done under the direction and approval of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The process includes selectively treating and mowing the phragmites.

Sustainable CT is an initiative that inspires, supports and recognizes sustainability action by towns and cities statewide. Its Community Match Fund  supported by the Smart Seed Fund, Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation and the Connecticut Green Bank  provides a dollar-for-dollar match to donations raised from the community, doubling local investment in projects.

Through the Community Match Fund, we aim to put residents at the forefront of creating positive, impactful change, Abe Hilding-Salorio, community outreach manager for Sustainable CT, said in a prepared statement. Match Fund projects are community led and community funded, demonstrating the power of people working together to make change in their communities.
A 42-year-old Chinese man identified as Charlie Peng, alleged to be the kingpin of the racket, has been detained

New Delhi: The Income Tax Department on Wednesday continued its raids against some Chinese individuals and their local associates in connection with its probe into a Rs 1,000 crore worth cross-border money laundering racket using shell or dubious firms, officials said.

The department, official sources said, has seized a number of documents and computer peripherals and has recovered about Rs 60 to 70 lakh cash from multiple premises in the Delhi-NCR region till now.

The tax sleuths raided at least two dozen premises in Delhi, Gurgaon and Ghaziabad on Tuesday as part of the action under which it covered the Chinese, some of their Indian associates and bank officials, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had said in a statement.N

The department is questioning several people and is in the process to freeze a number of bank accounts linked to the accused and some dubious companies floated and operated by them, the sources said.

The department has detained a 42-year-old Chinese man, identified as Charlie Peng, alleged to be the kingpin of the racket and few other nationals of that country on work visa in India are on its radar.

Charlie is allegedly holding a fake Indian passport and officials said he created a "web of sham companies to launder hawala funds to and from China" in the past two-three years. They said his front or showcase business was import and export of medical and electronic goods and some other items.

Charlie, the sources said, was arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police in September, 2018 on charges of fraud and forgery and was allegedly running an illegal money changer. It is alleged that Peng got a fake Indian passport from Manipur after marrying a woman from that state.

The tax officials have shared the information of alleged possession of fake Indian passport with police authorities who are expected to book the Chinese man for violation of the Passport Act.

Meanwhile, when asked for a reaction on the raids, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman in Beijing said he was not aware of the details.

"But I can tell you that the Chinese government requires Chinese companies to observe international rules, local laws and regulations, while doing business overseas," he said. "We are committed to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and nationals," the spokesperson said.

The CBDT in its statement, without taking any names, had said that the "subsidiary of Chinese company and its related concerns have taken over Rs 100 crore bogus advances from shell entities for opening businesses of retail showrooms in India".

It said the searches were launched based on "credible inputs that a few Chinese individuals and their Indian associates were involved in money laundering and hawala transactions through a series of shell entities."

"Search action revealed that at the behest of Chinese individuals, more than 40 bank accounts were created in various dummy entities, entering into credits of more than Rs 1,000 crore over the period," the CBDT had said.

"Incriminating documents of hawala transactions and money laundering with active involvement of bank employees and Chartered Accountants have been found as a result of the search action," it said.

Evidences of foreign hawala transactions involving Hong Kong and US dollars have also been unearthed, the CBDT said. India recently banned 59 Chinese apps in the aftermath of a continuing stand-off between the militaries of the two countries in Ladakh.

New Delhi has also amended the General Financial Rules, 2017, imposing restrictions on public procurement from bidders of countries that share a land border with India, a move that will directly affect Chinese entities.
NEWS PROVIDED BY

Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights

Aug. 13, 2020



NEW YORK, Aug. 13, 2020 /Christian Newswire/ -- Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the problem Sen. Kamala Harris will have with Catholics:

Once Catholic voters learn more about Kamala Harris' positions on an array of moral issues, Joe Biden's vice presidential pick will have a hard time winning them over.

To begin with, Harris has tainted herself with the brush of anti-Catholicism. In 2018, she sought to stop a Trump nominee for a seat on the federal bench simply because he was Catholic. In doing so, she invoked a religious test for the bench, a patently unconstitutional act.

Here is how I characterized the Catholic League's effort to help the nominee for a federal district job; my remarks were published in the Catholic League's 2019 Year in Review. "We were among the first to come to bat for [Brian] Buescher, and our effort paid off. After much haggling, he was seated on the court in August [2019]."

The day after Christmas, 2018, I unloaded on Harris for questioning the suitability of Buescher for the job. His offense? His affiliation with the Knights of Columbus. She objected to his membership in the Knights because it is pro-life. Of course it isit is a Catholic entity. In short, her real target was the Catholic Church.

Her craving for abortion rights is so strong that in 2019 she bludgeoned pro-life activist David Daleiden for his undercover video work showing how abortion operatives harvest and sell aborted fetal organs. Unlike the American people, the vast majority of whom want restrictions on abortion, Harris insists there should be none. She led the fight against a 20-week abortion ban.

Last September, following a Democratic presidential candidate debate, Harris criticized ABC panelists for not asking about abortion. The debate, she said, "was three hours long and not one question about abortion or reproductive rights." She is so pro-abortion that in 2015, in her capacity as California's Attorney General, she sought to cripple crisis pregnancy centers with draconian regulations. She was sued and lost in the Supreme Court three years later.

Catholics will be delighted to know that Harris is a co-sponsor of "The Equality Act," legislation that would effectively gut Catholic hospitals. As the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said, it would put freedom of speech, belief, and thought "at risk," thus vitiating conscience rights. It would also disable the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act, making mince meat out of religious liberty.

Harris' passion for gay rights led her to become the keynote speaker at the 2017 Human Rights Campaign dinner, the prominent homosexual entity. She thrilled the crowd, saying, "Together we'll fight when Planned Parenthood clinics are being threatened to shut down." The audience was ecstatic when she boasted that she "felt patriotic when on Valentine's weekend in 2004, I performed marriages of gay couples at San Francisco Hall."

What about men who think they are women, and vice versa? She's fine with that. Do they belong in the military? Sure. What about biological males who think they are girls competing against real girls in girls' sports? She loves it.

Harris' persona is something to keep an eye on. She will fight to the end of the earth to keep black kids trapped in public schools, denying them the same school choice options she has exercised. Yet her stepchildren attended an elite private school in Los Angeles, Wildwood School, that costs about $44,000 a year. She made sure not to stick them in a public school.

If this shows her classist streak, her penchant for believing any sexual allegation made against men shows her sexist side. When Supreme Court nominee Bret Kavanaugh testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Harris said about Christine Blasey Ford's accusations, "I believe her." That was before Kavanaugh testified. A year later, after Ford's tale was blown wide open, Harris tweeted that Kavanaugh "lied."

Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax is another man whom Harris smeared. When he was charged with sexual assault, she immediately labeled it a "credible account." The accusation died on the vine. He still has his job.

More seriously, when her running mate was charged with sexual assault last year, Harris said of his accusers, "I believe them and I respect them being able to tell their story and having the courage to do it." She has never taken that back. Does she still believe Biden is a predator? If she hasn't changed her mind, what does that make her?

Finally, Harris supports reparations for African Americans. That would not include her: her father is Jamaican and her mother was born in India. So she wouldn't get a dime. But she would have to fork up lots of cash. Why? As her father disclosedhe is a Stanford University professorone of her ancestors, Hamilton Brown, was a slave owner.

In fairness, then, if the average American has to pay X amount for slavery, Harris should at least have to pay 10X. Isn't this what redistributive justice is all about? Catholics need to know.
Vietnam has yet to initiate plans to purchase a newly announced vaccine against the Covid-19 virus produced by Russia pending confirmation on its safety and effectiveness, according to a Vietnamese health official.

Illustrative image

Dr. Do Tuan Dat, director of the Company for Vaccine and Biological Production No.1 (VABIOTEC) under the Ministry of Health, said Russia is poised to launch its manufactured vaccine known as Sputnik V, the first of its kind worldwide, although it has yet to release any scientific data relating to testing.

Russia has not published scientific research into the vaccine, therefore we have no reference data as well as an assessment of its effectiveness, Dr. Dat told Lao Dong (Labour) Daily for its August 13 issue.

According to the director, every vaccine must pass through all stages of clinical trials in an effort to assess its safety and effectiveness before being put into circulation. Despite these stringent procedures, all the data relating to the first COVID-19 vaccine is being kept by Russia, with global experts unable to judge how safe and effective the vaccine is scientifically.

Asked if Vietnam has plans to import the vaccine from Russia, Dr. Dat affirmed that Vietnam has yet to mention it.

For a vaccine, it is imperative to know how it is before we can make a decision on whether or not to import it, Dr. Dat said, adding that, Once the vaccine research is widely published, with good results of course, we will consider the next step of importing it and registering for circulation in Vietnam.

Dr. Dat also stated that many countries are now in a race against time to manufacture a new COVID-19 vaccine, with mass production set to prove a significant challenge for manufacturers.

We have so far kept a close watch on global research results in order to come up with next steps before conducting the clinical trial phase. We are not aiming to lead the race, but to be proactive in manufacturing the vaccine appropriately.

At present a total of four Vietnamese companies, including VABIOTEC, have registered to research and develop a COVID-19 vaccine locally, with a candidate vaccine poised to begin human trials later this year.

Providing that the testing stage process runs smoothly, the Made-in-Vietnam vaccine to combat the COVID-19 is expected to be commercially marketed in late 2021.

The Covid-19 virus first reoccurred in the central city of Da Nang in late July. The latest outbreak has since spread to 15 cities and provinces nationwide with 421 new cases confirmed, including 18 fatalities. VOV/Lao Dong

'Made in Vietnam' COVID-19 vaccines set to begin human trials later this year Following four COVID-19 vaccine research and development units recently enjoying positive results, 'Made in Vietnam' COVID-19 vaccines are poised to begin human trials later this year, according to the Ministry of Health.
Mr. Kirsch was married for 65 years to the former Joan Levin, an art historian with whom he used computer analysis to study the works of artists including Richard Diebenkorn and Joan Miro as well as cave art and petroglyphs around the world. They were longtime residents of Clarksburg, Md., before they moved to Portland.
200W fast charging may arrive sooner than you think, at least according to a new rumor. This information comes from a well-known Chinese tipster, Digital Chat Station.

200W fast charging to arrive sooner than you think, as early as next year

He shared the information via his official Twitter account. The source has a good track record when it comes to leaks, and this is really interesting. He claims that 200W fast charging may arrive to smartphones next year.

This year, weve seen several companies announce 100W-120W charging. Qualcomm introduced 100W+ Quick Charge 5, while OPPO announced its own proprietary tech which can charge at 120W. Several other companies did the same.

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That being said, 100W-120W charging is crazy fast, needless to say. It can charge up a 4,500mAh battery is around 20 minutes, depending on what technology were talking about.

That being said, not many of you expect 200W fast charging to launch anytime soon, right? I mean, 100W charging just arrived, and its faster than we could have hoped for.

If 100W charging is so fast, can imagine what 200W charging will bring to the table. Well, such charging could, theoretically, be able to fully charge a 4,000mAh battery in about 10 minutes.

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Quick Charge 5 charges two smaller batteries at 50W

The thing is, we can see it happen. 100W charging basically charges two different batteries at 50W. So, if manufacturers end up including four different batteries, and tweaked the tech a bit, this could be doable.

So, each of those four batteries would charge at 50W. Its not that simple, though, of course. Theres a lot more that goes into it. If youd like to know more about Qualcomms Quick Charge 5, our post from earlier today explains Quick Charge 5 in the Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra.

Now, Digital Chat Station did not mention any company when talking about 200W charging. OPPO and Vivo are the usual suspects, and so is Qualcomm, of course.

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Chances are that one of those companies will be the first to announce 200W charging. In Qualcomms case, itll probably be Quick Charge 6.

So, we can expect it to arrive next year, but we dont know when exactly, though. If I had to guess, Id say that itll arrive in the second half of the year.

Wireless charging will probably get even faster in 2021 as well. Its plenty fast at the moment, as OPPO managed to offer 65W fast wireless charging. The company may be able to push things even further, though.
PM Narendra Modi (File image)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 13 launched the Transparent Taxation, Honoring the Honest platform to further its initiative to reform direct taxes in India.

The platform is aimed at bringing more transparency in official communication through the newly-introduced Document Identification Number (DIN).

PM Modi said the ongoing structural reforms have "reached new heights today" and that the 'Transparent Taxation - Honoring the Honest' platform will "have faceless assessments, faceless appeal and taxpayer charter."

"Faceless appeal will be applicable from September 25, while faceless assessment and taxpayer charter will come into place from today itself," PM Modi added.

Follow LIVE updates of PM Narendra Modi's address here

The taxpayers' charter and faceless assessment are the next phases of direct tax reforms aimed at easing compliance and rewarding honest taxpayers as the government looks to rebuild the pandemic-hit economy.

Faceless assessment, which does not require taxpayers to visit any office or meet any official, and taxpayers' charter will be implemented August 13. The faceless appeal will come into force from September 25, PM Modi announced.

The prime minister said honouring the honest taxpayer will help in nation building and that the platforms launch was another step towards minimum government, maximum governance.

In Pictures | Direct tax reforms: PM Modis Transparent Taxation initiative to honour the honest taxpayer

PM Modi said that a complex tax system leads to low compliance and thus, the aim is to have clear laws and less compliance burden for taxpayers. He added that the government was trying to create a seamless, faceless and painless tax system.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches the platform for Transparent Taxation  Honoring The Honest pic.twitter.com/vrXHPASMcs

 ANI (@ANI) August 13, 2020

The Income Tax Department will use technology to handle scrutiny through random allocation of cases, PM Modi said.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, "Today is the landmark day in the history of the taxation administration. The launch will bring certainty of information."
A failed asylum seeker used two fake identities to create a veil of deceit so he could live in the UK illegally for 20 years, a court heard.

Ali Hussain Karim, 47, should have been sent back to Iraq after he fled Saddam Husseins regime and arrived in Britain in 1999.

But instead he set up two false identities with passports and driving licences under the fake names to help him evade deportation. By the time police caught up with him in June this year, he had lived here for so long he was deemed a naturalised UK citizen.

Officers discovered him living under the name Hawre Hasan Raza in a 150,000 terraced house in Crumpsall, Manchester.

At the time of his arrest Karim had three passports  an Iraqi and a UK passport under Raza along with an Iraqi passport in his own name.

But he was charged by police under his first fake identity, Kamal Monsour. Inquiries revealed that UK civil servants had fielded multiple inquiries from Karim for driving licences, passports and immigration claims under various names since 1999.

At Manchester Crown Court on Tuesday, Karim was jailed for 14 months after he admitted immigration fraud. He will be deported after completing his sentence.

Ali Hussain Karim, 47 (pictured), a failed asylum seeker, should have been sent back to Iraq after he fled Saddam Husseins regime and arrived in Britain in 1999. Instead, he set up false identities and evaded deportation until June this year when police caught up with him

Judge Timothy Smith told him: You were lucky to remain here illegally for as long as you did as you masked your identity in a veil of deceit. The court heard Karim arrived in the UK in 1999 and claimed asylum under the false name Monsour.

The following year he also claimed asylum under his Raza fake identity.

His application as Monsour was refused in 2002 as he had already applied for asylum in Germany so he was deported.

But he made his way back to the UK and again applied for indefinite leave to remain as Raza in 2004.

Over the next five years, he sent more immigration applications and appeals until he was approved to stay as a naturalised citizen as Raza in 2009. But Karim also wanted to establish his right to remain under his Monsour identity. The Home Office refused his right to remain in the UK as Monsour and his appeal was dismissed in 2016.

However, he wasnt kicked out and it was only two years later  when he applied for settlement protection as Monsour  that preparations began for his deportation.

Craig MacGregor, prosecuting, said: False identities in both names would be used to fraudulently obtain driving permissions.

Richard Orme, defending, said his client was sorry but did it only because he was desperate to stay in the UK.

He said Karim was simply trying to escape the Saddam regime which killed his father and added: He was clambering for the things we take for granted.
OTTAWAInfrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna said Thursday that new measures must be taken to protect Canadian politicians from threatening behaviour.

Her comments come after police launched an investigation this week into an incident at her constituency office, as well as reports that two other Ottawa-area politicians also faced threats recently.

McKenna, who has spoken out in the past about being a target, said shes heard from many politicians who have experienced similar incidents, some never reported publicly.

Its not just about me. Theres been some attention to incidents involving me, but Ive heard from so many women, from so many men, and its really worrying, she said after a funding announcement in Ottawa.

We need to reflect on this and take action so we can all do our jobs.

Earlier this week, a police investigation was launched after someone yelled obscenities at a member of McKennas staff, with the footage posted to social media.

After being told the constituency office in downtown Ottawa was closed due to COVID-19, the individual yells expletives and insults at the employee about McKenna and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

In the aftermath of the 2019 election, vulgar and sexist graffiti had been spray-painted across the front of her campaign office.

During that campaign, she had also spoken to The Canadian Press about how what had started as anonymous online abuse had escalated into in-person verbal assaults, sometimes requiring her to have a security detail. That level of protection is not usually provided to cabinet ministers.

According to data from the RCMP, first reported by the Toronto Star, there has been an increase in the number of threats made against the prime minister and cabinet when compared to last year.

The RCMP say from January to July 2019, protective policing opened 100 investigations into threats, while from January to July 2020 there have been approximately 130 launched.

Following the incident at McKennas office, Lisa MacLeod, a member of the Ontario legislature for an Ottawa riding and provincial cabinet minister, gave an interview on local radio condemning the abuse.

She then received threats of her own, her spokesperson confirmed Thursday.

Minister MacLeod is once again receiving police protection due to both threatening emails and an unexplained mischievous incident to her personal vehicle in Ottawa, Derek Rowland said in an email.

In March of 2019, a woman was charged with making threats against MacLeod, and she was given a police detail, during controversy around changes to the provinces autism strategy. She was in charge of that file at the time.

Last week, Laura Dudas, an Ottawa city councillor, had a rock hurled through a window of her home while her family was asleep.

While I cannot speak to the motivations of the person behind this disturbing act, it comes as the latest in a string of acts targeting my role as a woman in politics, she said in a statement posted to social media Thursday.

There are too many reports of women politicians being the recipients of vicious online abuse, derogatory comments about their gender, and when online vitriol spills into the real world, violent physical attacks. This has to stop.

Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, the first woman to ever hold that post, said while shes never received threats at the same level as McKenna, she has been subject to negative comments online.

She said while she doesnt physically fear for her own safety, she thinks a light has to be shone on how much abuse is heaped upon politicians.

Whats happening to McKenna though, she said, is both inexplicable and unacceptable.

How can we still have this type of behaviour in 2020? I dont get it, she said.
ATHENS, Greece - Greeces prime minister warmly thanked France Thursday for boosting its military presence in the eastern Mediterranean, where Greek and Turkish warships are closely shadowing each other over a Turkish energy exploration bid in waters Athens claims as its own.

Meanwhile, Turkey accused Greece and the island nation of Cyprus of encroaching on its rights in the Mediterranean and vowed to defend its interests in the region  but also called for dialogue to resolve the dispute.

The Greek Defence Ministry said the French frigate Lafayette and the helicopter carrier Tonnerre held joint exercises with four Greek frigates Thursday in the Mediterranean Sea, including in areas Turkey is exploring. Two French Rafale fighter jets made a stop on the Greek island of Crete after an exercise in Cyprus.

The mounting tension follows Turkeys deployment of a seismic research vessel, escorted by warships, into waters between Crete and Cyprus to prospect for potential offshore gas and oil, following similar discoveries elsewhere in the region.

Greece claims part of the area covers its own continental shelf and has demanded that the Turkish ships withdraw. Turkey counters that its entitled to conduct research there. Greece placed its military on alert, and sent warships to the area off Turkeys southern coast.

The French Defence Ministry said Frances military presence affirms the countrys attachment to free movement, maritime safety and respect for international law in the Mediterranean Sea.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis tweeted that French President Emmanuel Macron was a true friend of Greece and also a fervent protector of European values and international law.

In Ankara, and later in talks with European officials, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated a call for dialogue.

The path for a solution in the eastern Mediterranean is dialogue and negotiation, Erdogan said during an address to his ruling partys officials. A formula based on a win-win solution that protects the rights of all can be found if we act with common sense and reason.

Greeces attitude in the Aegean and the Mediterranean is malicious, Erdogan said, adding that the Greek island on which Athens bases its continental shelf claim is located just 2 kilometres (1.25 miles) from the Turkish coast and 580 kilometres (360 miles) from the Greek mainland.

Erdogan said: We dont have designs on anyones rights, but we wont let any country take away our rights.

He also accused France of provoking Greece and Cyprus into taking wrongful steps.

Erdogan also spoke on the phone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has previously interceded to ease similar tensions between Turkey and Greece, and with EU Council President Charles Michel. Merkel and Michel also spoke on the phone with the Greek prime minister.

The Turkish leader later delivered a speech during which he warned of a high price to be paid for any attack on the research vessel Oruc Reis, and he suggested that Turkey had already responded to an incident.

We have said, Do not attack our Oruc Reis. If you do, you will pay a heavy price. And today, they got their first response, Erdogan said.

Turkish officials did not immediately respond to requests for clarification on the presidents comment. Greek officials said they were not aware of an incident.

Later Thursday, Greeces Foreign Ministry issued a statement concerning the Turkish claims, saying Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias would brief his EU colleagues Friday during an emergency Foreign Affairs Council session on the true events during recent days concerning operational incidents in the area.

Frances Macron announced following a phone call with Mitsotakis late Wednesday that he decided to temporarily reinforce the French military presence in the eastern Mediterranean in the coming days, in co-operation with European partners including Greece.

Greeces NATO and European Union ally France is the EUs biggest military power. Complicating matters, Turkey  Greeces historic regional rival  is also a NATO member but has poor relations with France.

In a televised statement Wednesday, Mitsotakis warned of the risk of an accident in the patch of sea where the Greek and Turkish warships are gathered.

In such a case, responsibility lies upon the one who gives rise to these circumstances, he said. He added that Greece was not averse to even the toughest dialogue, but that dialogue becomes irrelevant in a climate of tension and provocation.

We will never be the ones to escalate the situation. Yet, self-restraint is only one aspect of our power, Mitsotakis said. No provocation will ... go unanswered.

On Thursday, Dendias visited Israel for talks on the matter, as well as on a project between Israel, Greece and Cyprus to transport Israeli gas from offshore reserves through an undersea pipeline to Italy.

The foreign minister said that during meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign MInister Gabi Ashkenazi, he made it clear that Turkeys illicit behaviour poses a threat to all countries in our region - a threat to security and stability.

Netanyahu said Greece and Israel enjoy shared interests.

Obviously, we view gravely any aggression by anyone, including Turkey, in the eastern Mediterranean, Netanyahu said.

Dendias is due to meet U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Vienna on Friday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu held calls with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and several EU foreign ministers ahead of Fridays emergency EU meeting that will discuss the situation in the eastern Mediterranean.

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades on Thursday urged Turkey to take its case to the international court of Justice at The Hague, or to accept arbitration. What would they have to lose if, as they claim, theyre acting on the basis of international law? he said.

Anastasiades said there is no doubt that Turkey is in breach of the United Nations Charter and that its actions are contrary to international law.

Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christoulides tweeted Thursday that Israels Ashkenazi communicated with him to reiterate Israels support and solidarity in the face of escalating aggression in Cyprus maritime zones.

___

Fraser reported from Ankara. Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus, and Joseph Krauss in Jerusalem contributed to this story.

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KYIV. Aug 13 (Interfax-Ukraine)  Five political parties could enter Kyiv City Council if the local elections were held in the near future, according to the results of a survey of electoral sentiments in Kyiv conducted by Active Group in August, which were presented at a press conference hosted by Interfax-Ukraine on Thursday.

A total of 16.5% respondents said they were ready to support the Udar Party, 15.3%  Servant of the People, 14.7%  European Solidarity, 7.2%  Opposition Platform - For Life, 5.8%  Palchevsky's Peremoha (Victory) Party, 4.8%  Batkivschyna Party, 4.3%  Party of Shariy. The rest of political forces would not pass the 4% threshold, including Svoboda with 3.4%, Holos with 2.6% and the Radical Party of Oleh Liashko with 1%.

At the same time, among the citizens, who will go to polling stations and have decided for whom to cast their ballots, 20.1% support Udar, 18.7%  Servant of the People, 17.9%  European Solidarity, 8.8%  Opposition Platform - For Life, 7.1%  Palchevsky's Peremoha (Victory) Party, 5.8%  Batkivschyna, 5.3%  Party of Shariy, 4.1%  Svoboda, 3.2%  Holos, 2.5%  Yednist (Unity).

The parties Strength and Honor, Ridna Krayina (Native Country) and Liashko's Radical Party would get 1.9%, 1.6% and 1.2% of votes, respectively.

Some 15.7% respondents have not decided whom to support, and 2.3% said they would not go to polling stations.

The Opposition Platform - For Life party has the highest anti-rating in Kyiv: to the question "Which of the political forces you would never vote for at the election to the city council?" 15.9% respondents named Opposition Platform - For Life. A total of 12.7% would never vote for Servant of the People, 12.3%  for European Solidarity, 11.5%  Udar, 9.1%  for Radical Party, 8.5%  for Party of Shariy, 7.8%  for Batkivschyna.

Some 6.4% of respondents said they would never support Holos, 5.6%  Svoboda, 2.8%  for each Yednist (Unity) and Palchevsky's Peremoha (Victory) Party.

Strength and Honor would never get votes of 1.6% of respondents, Ridna Krayina (Native Country)  of 1.3%, Democratic Alliance  of 1%, Civil Position and Power of People  of 0.7% each, other parties  of 3%. Some 32.1% said they could not answer the question. A total of 3.8% respondents said they would not go to polling stations.

The poll, which was conducted in Kyiv on August 1-2, 2020, covered 1,204 respondents using the method of individual interviewing. The poll's margin of error does not exceed 2.8%.
DUBLIN, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Self-Heating Food Packaging - Global Market Outlook (2019-2027)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The Global Self-Heating Food Packaging market accounted for $60.35 million in 2019 and is expected to reach $89.16 million by 2027 growing at a CAGR of 5.0% during the forecast period. Rising need for instant heated food and expansion of food & beverages industry in Europe are propelling market growth. However, the high cost of these food packages is hampering the growth of the market.



Self-heating food packaging is a type of packaging which can heat food contained without external heating sources or power. Packets normally utilize an exothermic chemical reaction. These packages are regularly used to prepare main courses such as meat dishes, which are more palatable when hot.



Based on the end-user, the beverages segment is going to have a lucrative growth during the forecast period as end-users choose cans and bottles for the packaging of liquid products such as soups, tea, and coffee. By geography, Asia Pacific is going to have a lucrative growth during the forecast period due to the rising trend of convenient foods among consumers coupled with the rise in the disposable income of the population in the region.



Some of the key players profiled in the Self-Heating Food Packaging Market include The 42 Degrees Company, Tempra Technology Inc, ScaldoPack, Luxfer Magtech Inc., HeatGen, LLC, and Heat Food & Drink Ltd.



What the report offers:

Market share assessments for the regional and country-level segments

Strategic recommendations for the new entrants

Covers Market data for the years 2018, 2019, 2020, 2024 and 2027

Market Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations)

Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations

Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends

Company Profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments

Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancements

Key Topics Covered:



1 Executive Summary



2 Preface

2.1 Abstract

2.2 Stake Holders

2.3 Research Scope

2.4 Research Methodology

2.4.1 Data Mining

2.4.2 Data Analysis

2.4.3 Data Validation

2.4.4 Research Approach

2.5 Research Sources

2.5.1 Primary Research Sources

2.5.2 Secondary Research Sources

2.5.3 Assumptions



3 Market Trend Analysis

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Drivers

3.3 Restraints

3.4 Opportunities

3.5 Threats

3.6 End User Analysis

3.7 Emerging Markets

3.8 Impact of Covid-19



4 Porters Five Force Analysis

4.1 Bargaining power of suppliers

4.2 Bargaining power of buyers

4.3 Threat of substitutes

4.4 Threat of new entrants

4.5 Competitive rivalry



5 Global Self-Heating Food Packaging Market, By Packaging Type

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Pouches

5.3 Packs

5.4 Containers

5.5 Cans

5.6 Bottles

5.7 Bags



6 Global Self-Heating Food Packaging Market, By Distribution Channel

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Wholesalers

6.3 Supermarkets & Hypermarkets

6.4 Retail Stores

6.5 Online Channels



7 Global Self-Heating Food Packaging Market, By End User

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Food

7.2.1 Ready-to-eat food

7.2.2 On-the-go

7.2.3 Noodles

7.2.4 Meat

7.2.5 Confectionery

7.2.6 Baby Food

7.3 Beverages

7.3.1 Tea & Coffee

7.3.2 Soups



8 Global Self-Heating Food Packaging Market, By Geography

8.1 Introduction

8.2 North America

8.2.1 US

8.2.2 Canada

8.2.3 Mexico

8.3 Europe

8.3.1 Germany

8.3.2 UK

8.3.3 Italy

8.3.4 France

8.3.5 Spain

8.3.6 Rest of Europe

8.4 Asia Pacific

8.4.1 Japan

8.4.2 China

8.4.3 India

8.4.4 Australia

8.4.5 New Zealand

8.4.6 South Korea

8.4.7 Rest of Asia Pacific

8.5 South America

8.5.1 Argentina

8.5.2 Brazil

8.5.3 Chile

8.5.4 Rest of South America

8.6 Middle East & Africa

8.6.1 Saudi Arabia

8.6.2 UAE

8.6.3 Qatar

8.6.4 South Africa

8.6.5 Rest of Middle East & Africa



9 Key Developments

9.1 Agreements, Partnerships, Collaborations and Joint Ventures

9.2 Acquisitions & Mergers

9.3 New Product Launch

9.4 Expansions

9.5 Other Key Strategies



10 Company Profiling

10.1 The 42 Degrees Company

10.2 Tempra Technology Inc

10.3 ScaldoPack

10.4 Luxfer Magtech Inc.

10.5 HeatGen, LLC

10.6 Heat Food & Drink Ltd



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/2aqq9e

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The 19th year of the Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce Youth Leadership program kicked off with 10 seniors attending a daylong leadership retreat before the start of their academic school year. The students, selected in an application process, represent Bradley Central, Cleveland and Walker Valley High Schools and Tennessee Christian Preparatory School.

The Youth Leadership program encompasses eight months and gives the students opportunities to learn about the local economy, heritage and tourism, city and county government and services, and health and human services.

This is a very different year for the Youth Leadership Program due to the pandemic we are all dealing with, Sherry Crye, youth leadership coordinator, said about the 2020-21 class. We had selected 26 students to be in the class but due to some new protocols by the school systems, we made the decision to only have the seniors complete the program this year. I am sure we will still face several challenges during the year, but we will try to have the best program we can for these ten senior students. This program will open their eyes to where their future could be and how they can lead.

Following a presentation by Chad Fromm, Northwestern Mutual and a member of the 2006-07 class, entitled, From the Pit to the PalaceLeadership Lessons from Joseph, the students were involved in activities that focused on getting to know each other, team building, critical thinking, creativity and competition. The young leaders also reviewed different leadership qualities discussed in Ed Geretys book Combinations -Opening the Door to Student Leadership, which was required reading prior to the retreat.

The 2020-21 Youth Leadership class will participate in a service project for Habitat for Humanity of Cleveland that will include a challenge for each school to raise funds for the local organization and an investment of sweat equity by working on a Habitat house or in the Habitat ReStore.

Members of 2020-21 Youth Leadership class from Bradley Central High School are Kelsey Carmen and Cole Haney. Representing Cleveland High School are Brayden Conn, Truman Hale and Jackson Ritzhaupt. Representing Tennessee Christian Preparatory School is Lillian Laman. Youth leaders from Walker Valley High School are Melody McRee, Connor Solsbee, Sidney Starr and Jia Weathersby.


Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-14 01:06:06|Editor: huaxia

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DAMASCUS, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- A total of 120 Syrian opposition fighters have recently been sent to Libya by Turkey to join the UN-backed Libyan government's fight against the eastern-based army, a war monitor reported on Thursday.

The opposition fighters were sent from rebel-held areas in northern Syria to Turkey first before they were dispatched to Libya, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Britain-based watchdog group said 17,420 Syrian rebels have so far been sent from Syria to Libya through Turkey. It added that 6,000 of them were sent back to Syria after their contracts ended.

The Turkey-backed rebels opened four centers in the northern Syrian city of Afrin to recruit fighters to be sent to Libya. Enditem
Dubai:

Amidst deteriorating India-Pakistan relations, leading political leaders and top journalists representing both the nations met in Dubai while claiming that a "candid and consistent" dialogue was the only means to improve relations.

The fifth round of 'Pakistan-India Legislators and Public Officials Dialogue' was held on Sunday and facilitated by Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT).

Under the leadership of Mani Shankar Aiyar, former MP and union minister, delegates from India included MLAs from Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana.

Some prominent journalists from India also attended the event.

The topics on the agenda were the role of media in improving relations between Pakistan and India and how to positively take forward the 'Fight Poverty' agenda.

The participants underscored that while media can play a role in positively influencing ties between the two countries, the essential responsibility to chart a course in this regard remains with elected leadership in both India and Pakistan.

Also Read: Sartaj Aziz to visit India, says good opportunity to defuse Indo-Pak tension

"It was also recognised, at the outset, that while dialogue is the only way forward for two countries to improve relations, candid and consistent dialogue aimed at conflict resolution can only take place when the two states recognize and address the issues such as those included in the Composite Dialogue 1997 and the Comprehensive Dialogue 2015," a statement said.

The participants observed that in inter-State relationships, due consideration, courtesy and diplomatic protocol must be observed.

And media should be given access without hindrance to cover all such events.

They recalled the earlier Joint Communique of March 10, 2016 that urged media in both countries about objective and professional reporting, upholding the core values of journalism and avoiding sensationalism and negative hype.

Participants highlighted the continuing issue of inability of news organisations in India and Pakistan to appoint reporters in each other's countries.

They underscored that lack of access for media to locations in the other country and obstacles in obtaining visas for journalists of both countries remain key issues hampering an informed portrayal of each country.

Participants highlighted that the phenomenal growth in new digital media has enormous potential for positive engagement between Pakistani and Indian citizens.

Noting that resolution of disputes between Pakistan and India can free-up resources for poverty alleviation, the participants stressed that poverty offers a critical challenge for both countries which should share successful policies and practices in alleviating it.

Tensions have been running high between India and Pakistan at the LoC and got escalated after the cross border terror attack on an army base in Nagrota in Jammu.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
The US State Department said its No. 3 diplomat will head to Lebanon on Thursday and stress the urgent need for Lebanon to embrace fundamental reform, in the aftermath of a devastating warehouse blast that killed 172 people and injured thousands.

In planned meetings with political leaders, civil society, and youth groups, Undersecretary for Political Affairs David Hale will also underscore Americas willingness to support any government that is genuinely committed to and acting upon such a reform agenda, the agency said in a statement.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United Arab Emirates and Israel have agreed to establish full diplomatic ties as part of a deal to halt the annexation of occupied land sought by the Palestinians for their future state.

The announcement makes the UAE the first Gulf Arab state to do so and only the third Arab nation to have active diplomatic ties to Israel.

President Donald Trump tweeted a statement from the countries, acknowledging the deal.

The recognition grants a rare diplomatic win to Trump ahead of the November election as his efforts to see an end to the war in Afghanistan have yet to come to fruition while efforts to bring peace between Israel and the Palestinians have made no headway.

For Israel, the announcement comes after years of boasting by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that his government enjoys closer ties to Arab nations than publicly acknowledged. Netanyahu has sought to build settlements on lands sought by the Palestinians and embraced a Trump proposal that would allow him to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank while granting Palestinians limited autonomy in other areas.

For the UAE, home to skyscraper-studded Dubai and the rolling, oil-rich sand dunes of Abu Dhabi, it further burnishes its international campaign to be seen as a beacon of tolerance in the Middle East despite being governed by autocratic rulers. It also puts the UAE out first in a regional recognition race among neighboring Gulf Arab states.

And for the Palestinians, who long have relied on Arab backing in their struggle for independence, the announcement marked both a win and setback. While Thursdays deal halts Israeli annexation plans, the Palestinians have repeatedly urged Arab governments not to normalize relations with Israel until a peace agreement establishing an independent Palestinian state is reached.

A joint statement from the U.S., the UAE and Israel was issued immediately after Trumps tweet. It said delegations would meet in the coming weeks to sign deals on direct flights, security, telecommunications, energy, tourism and health care. The two countries also will partner on fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

Opening direct ties between two of the Middle Easts most dynamic societies and advanced economics will transform the region by spurring economic growth, enhancing technological innovation and forging closer people-to-people relations, said the statement by Trump, Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the day-to-day ruler of the UAE. It said the leaders had a three-way call discussing the deal.

Among Arab nations, only Egypt and Jordan have active diplomatic ties with Israel. Egypt made a peace deal with Israel in 1979, followed by Jordan in 1994. Mauritania recognized Israel in 1999, but later ended relations in 2009 over the Israels war in Gaza at the time.

In addition to Trump, the main U.S. mediators for agreement were the presidents senior advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner, special Mideast envoy Avi Berkowitz and David Friedman, the U.S. ambassador to Israel.

The UAE is a U.S.-allied federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula. Formed in 1971, the country like other Arab nations at the time did not recognize Israel over its occupation of land home to the Palestinians.

Arab oil is not dearer than Arab blood, the UAEs founding ruler, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, once pronounced when agreeing to an oil boycott over U.S. military support to Israel in the 1973 Mideast war.

The UAE relied on white-collar Palestinians in creating its nation. Over time, it maintained its stance that Israel allow the creation of a Palestinian state on land it seized in the 1967 war.

But in recent years, ties between Gulf Arab nations and Israel have quietly grown, in part over their shared enmity of Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Prince Mohammed also shares Israels distrust of Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and the militant group Hamas that holds the Gaza Strip.

It remains unclear what prompted Israel and the UAE to make the announcement now. In June, the United Arab Emirates ambassador to the U.S. warned in an Israeli newspaper op-ed that Israels planned annexing the Jordan Valley and other parts of the occupied West Bank would upend Israels efforts to improve ties with Arab nations.

The agreement gives Netanyahu a domestic boost at a time when Israels shaky coalition government is plagued by infighting and facing the possibility of early elections in the coming months. Netanyahu has seen his popularity plummet as the country grapples with a renewed coronavirus outbreak and skyrocketing unemployment as the result of earlier lockdown measures.

Netanyahu also delivered a valuable diplomatic achievement to his good friend, Trump, ahead of U.S. elections.

Still, by dropping the annexation plan Netanyahu may be hedging his bets ahead of a possible change in the White House. Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, has made clear that he would oppose any moves by Israel to unilaterally redraw the Mideast map and annex lands sought by the Palestinians.

Netanyahu also risked criticism inside his own hard-line Likud Party, whose members strongly supported annexation. Netanyahu appears to be betting that Likud members and the small, but influential settler movement will agree the peace agreement delivers more benefits than unilateral annexation. Opinion polls have shown that annexation is not a high priority for the vast majority of the Israeli public.

Abandoning its annexation plan changes little on the ground. Israel already holds overall control of the West Bank and continues to expand its settlements there, while granting the Palestinians autonomy in a series of disconnected enclaves. Some 500,000 Israelis now live in the rapidly expanding West Bank settlements.

Next year, Israel will take part in the UAEs delayed Expo 2020, the worlds fair being hosted by Dubai. A secret synagogue also draws practicing Jews in Dubai. The UAE also has announced plans to build the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi, which will house a mosque, a church and a synagogue.

Israelis traveling with Western passports routinely enter the UAE without a problem, though one still cant make a phone call between the two countries. Israelis also work in Dubais gold and diamond trade as well.

Emirati officials also have allowed Israeli officials to visit and the Israeli national anthem was played after an athlete won gold in an Abu Dhabi judo tournament. Israel also has a small mission representing its interests at the International Renewable Energy Agency in Abu Dhabi.

___

Lee reported from Bled, Slovenia, and Federman reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press reporter Aamer Madhani 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
A 41-year-old father and his young daughter have been killed in a horrific head-on crash with a bus.

The Tasmanian father and daughter's sedan collided with the bus on Algona Road at about 8.30am on Thursday in Kingston, south of Hobart.

Police Inspector Jason Elmer said witnesses rushed to the pair's aid but both died at the scene.

'There was certainly a very severe impact between the bus and the sedan involved,' he said.

A 41-year-old Tasmanian father and his young daughter were killed when their sedan collided head-on with a bus on Algona Road in Kingston (pictured), south of Hobart

'It was a traumatic scene and for people to come forward and help. We appreciate the assistance that was provided.'

The driver of the private bus, which had no passengers, was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

One other driver who was caught up in the smash was transported for assessment.

The road, which police said was busy at the time of the crash, remained closed for much of the day before reopening at 6pm.
Lebanon's parliament on Thursday approved a two-week state of emergency in Beirut, declared after last week's gigantic portside explosion, giving the army greater powers to suppress resurgent protests.

Top diplomats jetted in to show solidarity and contribute to the massive ongoing aid effort, but also to weigh in on political developments following a blast widely blamed on state corruption.

A senior US envoy said the FBI would join the probe into the colossal blast that killed 171 people, injured thousands and reignited street protests demanding the ouster of the entire political elite.

Dozens of demonstrators shouted as lawmakers arrived at parliament to ratify the emergency measure, but protesters, outnumbered by security forces, failed to block the MPs' cars.

Lebanese are furious at a political leadership that allowed a massive shipment of ammonium nitrate fertiliser, a powerful explosive, to languish for years in a port warehouse despite repeated safety warnings.

"You have destroyed us! Leave!" demanded one social media post, calling for more street protests.

An AFP investigation found that right up until the eve of the blast, officials had exchanged warnings over the cargo, but did nothing -- despite experts' warnings it could cause a major disaster.

Prime Minister Hassan Diab and his cabinet resigned Monday, but he still leads a transitional administration.

The state of emergency approved by parliament allows the army to close down assembly points and prohibit gatherings deemed threats to national security.

The move has worried Lebanon's 10-month-old anti-government protest movement, which had faded amid the coronavirus pandemic and deepening economic hardship, but had returned to the streets in force since the August 4 disaster.

- FBI joins probe -

Human Rights Watch said it was "very concerned" the state of emergency would serve "as a pretext to crack down on protests and snuff out the very legitimate grievances of a large segment of the Lebanese population".

Story continues

A military official said the now formalised state of emergency would place all security forces under the command of the army, which would oversee the "post-explosion phase".

The official, who asked not to be named because he is not authorised to speak on the issue, stressed that it would not lead to "a crackdown" on civil freedoms.

"We support the right to peaceful protest, even during a state of emergency," he said.

More than a week after the massive explosion, rescuers on Thursday retrieved the body of a young man who was at the wheel of his car which sunk in the Beirut harbour, the army said.

The blast has renewed calls from Lebanon's international partners for long-overdue reforms to the political system and to shore up the deeply indebted economy.

US envoy David Hale, who arrived in Beirut Thursday for a three-day visit, announced that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) would join the probe into the blast.

"The FBI will soon join Lebanese and international investigators, at the invitation of the Lebanese, in order to help answer questions that I know everyone has about the circumstances that led up to this explosion," he told reporters during a tour of a damaged area near the port.

Calls had been growing in Lebanon for an international and independent investigation, an option President Michel Aoun has so far ruled out.

French and other foreign investigators had already been working at the blast site but their findings were overseen centrally by the Lebanese state's top security echelon.

- Political deadlock -

Hale is due to meet some of the country's top officials on Friday, as is French Defence Florence Parly, who also arrived on Thursday.

Both of them made a point of showing that the aid their countries is offering is being delivered directly to non-government groups on the ground, largely bypassing Lebanon's toxic political institutions.

The Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif of US arch-rival Iran also arrived late Thursday in Beirut, the official National News Agency said, and his office in Tehran said he too would be meeting Lebanese officials on Friday.

Zarif will discuss developments after the blast as well as Iranian aid to Lebanon, the Iranian foreign ministry said, without specifying which officials he would meet.

Aoun and his allies from the Iran-backed Shiite movement Hezbollah have made it clear they saw the international solidarity generated by the port disaster as an opportunity to break out of their diplomatic isolation.

Officials did not appear to be making rapid progress toward naming a new cabinet, a process which could take months.

Parliament speaker Nabih Berri called on authorities "to speed up the process of forming a cabinet" able to spearhead reforms.

The international community is pushing for an administration made up of independents who could win the support of protesters, as well as representatives of top political parties, to deter them from obstructing the government's work, a Western diplomatic source told AFP.

But feedback so far from Lebanon's top political players "has not been encouraging" with many of them dismissing pressure from the street, the source said.

tgg/jmm-ho/hkb/par
Former Wirecard AG executive Jan Marsalek was added to Interpols red notice list, sparking a worldwide manhunt for one of the executives allegedly at the center of a multibillion-euro accounting scandal at the fintech company

The move alerts police worldwide that Germany wants help to track down the former manager as part of the criminal probe into the firms meltdown.

Marsalek has been at large since Wirecards woes escalated in June. The former chief operating officer was fired after the company disclosed about 80% of its net cash was missing from its balance sheet. He is one of the prime suspects of the criminal probe by Munich prosecutors.

Former Chief Executive Officer Markus Braun and two other former officials were arrested in July as prosecutors said the company knew about massive losses as early as 2015. They and Marsalek conspired to obtain about 3.2 billion euros ($3.7 billion) in fraudulent loans, allegedly inflating the books with fake assets to make the company appear more attractive to investors, clients and lenders, according to prosecutors.

German media has reported that Marsalek fled to Belarus and may be still there or in Russia.

A red notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and arrest a person pending extradition.

Photograph: Interpol website shows Jan Marsalek details. Source: Interpol/Bloomberg.

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Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.
Dozens more vulnerable men and women will be able to stay at Siloam Mission and use the non-profits services to transition to a more permanent living arrangement.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 13/8/2020 (524 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Dozens more vulnerable men and women will be able to stay at Siloam Mission and use the non-profits services to transition to a more permanent living arrangement.

The organization officially opened the Buhler Centre, the newest expansion to its property, on Wednesday. The 54,000-square-foot expansion holds 43 new shelter beds, including a separate area for women to sleep. Because of COVID-19 safety measures, Siloam Mission is accepting 112 clients overnight, but the shelter has capacity for 153.

"We need the space," said Jim Bell, Siloam Missions CEO. "Were bursting at the seams... Shelter beds during the course of the winter months, and year-round, really, were at capacity every night."

The womens space is filled with beds separated by cubicle-like quarters.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Jim Bell, CEO of Siloam Mission, talks to the media as Siloam Mission celebrates its grand opening of the new Buhler Centre with expanded shelter, health centre and other services in a new facility with a separate womens area.

"Some of the most vulnerable... Are women in our community," Bell said. "At the outset of this project, (we) wanted to devote a number of beds to women in the community that needed safe and secure space."

Off of this space are rooms with more beds which can be used for men and/or women, depending on the need. There are also transitional beds for folks newly experiencing homelessness.

"The beds are important, dont get me wrong, but this is about transition," Bell said. "We want to be able to help people... with a bed, with a meal. We also want to get on with transition."

With the expansion, Siloam Mission has more space for its health centre, its spiritual care services and its employment readiness program. There are computers in the Buhler Centres main lobby where clients can search for apartments or catch up on news. Theres a wall lined with eight washers and dryers for folks to clean their clothes, and four showers nearby for those who need to wash themselves during the day. A gym in the basement is complete with treadmills, a bench press and an exercise bike. A storage room is filled with products, like dish sets and bedding, for clients to take with them to new homes.

Volunteers have more space to sort food and clothing donations  two different rooms, in fact. Before, volunteers were in a cramped space with low ceilings trying to organize everything. Now, theres a large room solely for sorting through clothing items. There are windows, and the ceiling is high enough for people over six feet tall to stand up straight. A separate section of the basement holds the food  boxes labelled with everything from "parsley" to "baby cereal" are stacked by an industrial-sized fridge and freezer.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS One of the new sleeping spaces for clients of Siloam. All sleeping spaces are distanced with some not being used for safety.

The shelters new kitchen opened in October 2017. It has a capacity of more than 400 people, compared to the 150 Siloam Missions old kitchen could fit.

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The new centre is named for Bonnie and John Buhler, who donated $3 million to the non-profits expansion.

"That was the No. 1 kick-start," Bell said, adding that the contribution was the most significant in Siloam Missions history.

The federal and provincial governments jointly invested $3 million, and another $2.2 million came from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. The City of Winnipeg also donated to the Buhler Centre, as did private and corporate groups. The money went into Siloam Missions Make Room Capital Campaign, which was launched in August 2017. In May, the non-profit reached its $19-million campaign goal.

"I think wed all prefer your services werent required," Mayor Brian Bowman said in a video message during Siloam Missions Buhler Centre opening ceremony. "However, our city needs the work you do right now more than ever."

Next, Siloam Mission is working to build 20 housing recovery units on the third floor of its old building. The units are meant to bridge the gap for people coming out of addictions treatment who dont have a home to return to. The provincial government has given a $500,000 grant for the project, and Siloam Mission is accepting donations. The units are expected to open in the spring of 2021.

gabrielle.piche@freepress.mb.ca
When it comes to news, consumers today are bombarded with a variety of sources, from TV channels to social media. But amid cable news outlets with partisan hosts, and Twitter and Facebook posts of questionable accuracy, is there space for another kind of national newscast?

Joe Donlon thinks there is. Longtime Portlanders will recognize his name, because of Donlons tenure with Portlands KGW-TV. After joining the NBC affiliate in 1997, Donlon moved to Chicago in early 2018 for what he called a dream job, working at WGN-TV in the nations third-biggest television market.

Now, Donlons preparing for an even bigger move, though hell still be in Chicago. Starting in September, Donlon will be helping launch News Nation, a new, nationwide primetime news broadcast from WGN America, the national cable network. Donlon and Marni Hughes will be lead weekday anchors on the three-hour newscast, which is scheduled to air from 8-11 p.m. ET.

During primetime programs on CNN, MSNBC and the Fox News Channel, viewers often hear politically partisan opinions, with generally progressive views coming from MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, for example, and conservative takes coming from Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity.

The cable space is occupied by a lot of opinion and talk, Donlon says in a phone interview. If you want to sit around and watch people talk about the president, there are lots of options. But thats not what were going to do."

Instead, Donlon says, News Nation is aiming to occupy the center lane, if you will. This is going to be a fact-driven show, without opinion. In that way, Donlon says, Its almost like a throwback show, its old school, and I think its getting a lot of attention because thats unusual in the primetime space.

WGN America is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which owns local TV stations around the country, including KOIN-TV, the Portland CBS affiliate. News Nation is designed to incorporate reports from the more than 5,000 journalists in TV newsrooms around the country.

Donlon hopes that News Nation will provide an opportunity for the country to get to know itself again. There are a lot of great local stories across this country that never bubble up to the national level, whether its severe weather, or breaking news. A show like News Nation can provide a platform for those stories, Donlon says, in addition to local stories that are getting national attention, as with the recent protests in Portland.

In contrast to the cable news primetime shows, News Nation wont be examining current issues through any political filter, Donlon says.

I dont want someone to tell me how to think, just tell me the news, Donlon says. We know what were biting off here. Were taking on some of the giants in cable news, and some of the biggest names in cable news. I will admit, a lot of viewers are looking for affirmation, not information.

At the same time, Donlon says, he believes there are viewers who may watch CNN, MSNBC or Fox News, but are also willing to sample what other channels report. I think that bodes well for us, he says. Were going to stick to the facts, and let people make up their own minds.

When he was asked to be a lead anchor for News Nation, Donlon says, It was an opportunity I didnt want to miss. But at the same time, I could have stayed at WGN for another 10 years, and been happy doing local news only. The thought was, how long will this last? What if it doesnt work, and they pull the plug on it?

But, Donlon says, when he thought back to taking the leap fro Portland to Chicago, joining News Nation seemed like another risk worth taking. Other big factors were being able to stay in the WGN family.

You could say that Im giving up one of the best local news jobs in the country to roll the dice on this thing, Donlon says. But he decided he couldnt pass up the chance to, as he says, launch a nationwide primetime newscast from the ground up.

Donlon looks back at his time in Portland with affection. I really thought I would retire there, says the 57-year-old. I never saw this coming. I never thought I needed to make it to the network level to feel like my career had been a success, but getting this opportunity is an honor. The magnitude of this is not lost on me.

News Nation launches Sept. 1 on WGN America. The show is scheduled to air from 8-11 p.m. ET. Go to the News Nation website, https://wgnamerica.com/news-nation/ to see where to find the WGN America channel on your cable or satellite system.

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-- Kristi Turnquist

kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist

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Your trusted online secretary at-home may not be as trustworthy as you think it is. Amazon's Alexa has recently been told as a new target for hackers' newest scheme. They will pose as Amazon personnel, email a link to the system, and have all the info that Alexa has in-store about you. Yup, hackers can do it.





Alexa warning: How to make sure you're not being hacked

As reported via Express UK, something is lurking on your dearest Alexa.

Security researchers from Check Point revealed a newly found flaw in the Amazon voice command system. The attack targets all more than 200 million Alexa users on Amazon Echo devices.

The hacking process is simple: make Alexa talk your personal data to hackers. Researchers said that threat actors input a vulnerability code inside the Echo system.

To clarify, the hacking won't access your Amazon Echo or Alexa recordings. So, that's safe.

The problem, however, starts when hackers send an email posing as Amazon. When the user clicks the email with a certain link, it will be redirected to allow Alexa's system to talk about your personal data such as home addresses, contact numbers, online accounts, or even bank history details.

"Our findings show that certain Amazon/Alexa subdomains were vulnerable to Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) misconfiguration and Cross-Site Scripting. Using the XSS, we were able to get the CSRF token and perform actions on the victim's behalf," said Check Point.

The complete list is as follows:

Access the target's personal information, like banking data history, usernames for online accounts, phone numbers, and home address

Extract and listen to voice recordings from previous requests to Alexa

Silently install skills onto the target's Alexa account to enable new features

View the complete list of Alexa skills already associated with the target's account

Silently remove an installed skill to stop it working

Amazon has not yet released a statement on the potential security threat on Alexa users. However, Express UK said that the company already fixed the issues.

Can your Amazon's Alexa be hacked

Just like other devices, Amazon's Echo is also capable of being hacked by malicious threat actors.

Last year, Forbes reported that Amazon Alexa could even be hacked within 100 meters, using a laser. 'Light commands' is one of the most common hacking techniques made by actors.

The light can transmit the same signal coming from the microphones and used it to mimicked the voice with the laser beam.

"It's just the sort of vulnerability that designers, even those with great threat models, don't think about. It just goes to show that the threat can evolve, and so should your threat model," said Professor Alan Woodward, a security expert from the University of Surrey.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Jamie Pancho

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Queensland researchers have found that patients who received a cellular immunotherapy for the deadly brain cancer glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) in a clinical trial on average survived longer than would have been expected without the treatment.

The team also found the treatment was safe and identified clues that will help them improve it in future.

The results of the phase I clinical trial have been published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

GBM is the most common malignant brain tumour in adults. It is a particularly aggressive cancer that usually recurs quickly after treatment. Patients survive an average of 14-17 months after diagnosis.

The cellular immunotherapy was developed by the head of QIMR Berghofer's Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development, Professor Rajiv Khanna AO, and his team.

It was tested in a phase I (safety) clinical trial of 25 patients at Briz Brain and Spine in collaboration with neurosurgeon Professor David Walker.

Professor Khanna said the patients were given the immunotherapy as a supplementary treatment after receiving surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation.

"At the end of this clinical trial, 10 patients were still alive and five of those still had no signs of their cancer recurring," Professor Khanna said.

"The 25 patients who received the treatment survived for an average of 21 months. This is an improvement on the current survival rates.

"The results were even better in the 20 patients who received the immunotherapy before their tumours had recurred. Those patients survived for an average of 23 months, which is six to nine months better than we would have expected without this treatment.

"Considering GBM is a highly deadly cancer, these are very promising results."

Neurosurgeon Professor David Walker said the trial had confirmed the treatment was safe for use in GBM patients.

"None of the patients experienced any adverse effects from the immunotherapy, which gives us confidence in progressing further clinical trials," Professor Walker said.

"We have previously conducted another clinical trial where we gave this treatment to patients after their GBM had already recurred following initial treatment.

"While that earlier trial prolonged survival, in this trial, we were excited to see that some patients who received the immunotherapy earlier, before recurrence, had further improvements in survival.

"Brain cancer survival rates have hardly changed in decades. This trial gives us hope that we might be on the cusp of changing that."

The cellular immunotherapies are produced by taking blood samples from patients and 'turbo-charging' their immune cells, known as T cells, in the laboratory to recognise and destroy the cytomegalovirus (CMV), which is present in the tumour cells.

Professor Khanna said they found the patients who survived had better T cell immunity to the cytomegalovirus.

"The treatment each patient received was produced with their own immune cells.

"We did a genomic analysis of each patient's immunotherapy and found that patients with certain gene signatures inside their immune cells had better results.

"This is important because it tells us what improves the quality of these cellular immunotherapies and lets us know what markers we should be looking for in patients' cells.

"It also opens the door to producing cellular immunotherapies using healthy donor immune cells that contain those gene signatures."

Queensland's Deputy Premier and Minister for Health, Steven Miles, has welcomed the promising results.

"Brain cancers are usually aggressive and have poor survival outcomes, so any new treatment that prolongs patients' lives is very welcome," Mr Miles said.

"It is great to see Queensland's medical research institute working at the global forefront of research into immunotherapy."

As a next step, the team hopes to conduct another clinical trial combining the cellular immunotherapies with other forms of immunotherapy.

The cellular immunotherapies were produced at QIMR Berghofer's specialist cell manufacturing facility, Q-Gen Cell Therapeutics.

Explore further New immunotherapy improves MS symptoms

More information: Corey Smith et al. Autologous CMVspecific T cells are a safe adjuvant immunotherapy for primary glioblastoma multiforme, Journal of Clinical Investigation (2020). Journal information: Journal of Clinical Investigation Corey Smith et al. Autologous CMVspecific T cells are a safe adjuvant immunotherapy for primary glioblastoma multiforme,(2020). DOI: 10.1172/JCI138649

Provided by QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute
WuXi AppTec Second-Quarter 2020 Results

Revenue Up 29.4% YoY to RMB4,044 Million

Net Profit Attributable to Owners of the Company Up 111.0% YoY to RMB1,414 Million

Diluted EPS Up 110.3% YoY to RMB0.61

Adjusted Non-IFRS Net Profit Attributable to Owners of the Company Up 43.1% YoY to RMB942 Million

Adjusted Diluted Non-IFRS EPS Up 46.4% YoY to RMB0.41

WuXi AppTec's Results for the First-Half of 2020

Revenue Up 22.7% YoY to RMB7,231 Million

Net Profit Attributable to Owners of the Company Up 62.5% YoY to RMB1,717 Million

Diluted EPS Up 60.9% YoY to RMB0.74

Adjusted Non-IFRS Net Profit Attributable to Owners of the Company Up 28.9% YoY to RMB1,519 Million

Adjusted Diluted Non-IFRS EPS Up 29.4% YoY to RMB0.66

SHANGHAI, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- WuXi AppTec Co., Ltd. (stock code: 603259.SH / 2359.HK), a company that provides a broad portfolio of R&D and manufacturing services that enable companies in the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device industries worldwide to advance discoveries and deliver groundbreaking treatments to patients, is pleased to announce its reviewed financial results for the first half of 2020 (Reporting Period).

This document serves purely as a summary and is not intended to provide a complete representation of the relevant matters. For further information, please refer to the 2020 first half report and relevant announcements published on the websites of the Shanghai Stock Exchange (www.sse.com.cn) and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (www.hkexnews.hk), and the designated media for dissemination of relevant information. Investors are advised to exercise caution and be aware of the investment risks in dealing in the shares of the Company.

All financials disclosed in this press release are prepared based on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

Second Quarter 2020 Financial Highlights

Revenue grew 29.4% YoY to RMB4,044 million . Our laboratories and manufacturing facilities in China resumed full operations and were met with an increased demand from overseas customers. Consequently, we achieved strong revenue growth in the second quarter, driven by robust demand, increase in capacity utilization and efficient operations.

- Our China-based laboratory services realized revenue of RMB2,060 million , representing a YoY growth of 31.5%.

- Our CDMO/CMO services realized revenue of RMB1,314 million , representing a YoY growth of 43.9%.

- Our U.S.-based laboratory services realized revenue of RMB394 million , representing a YoY growth of 0.7%.

- Our clinical research and other CRO services realized revenue of RMB271 million , representing a YoY growth of 7.4%.

. Our laboratories and manufacturing facilities in resumed full operations and were met with an increased demand from overseas customers. Consequently, we achieved strong revenue growth in the second quarter, driven by robust demand, increase in capacity utilization and efficient operations. - Our China-based laboratory services realized revenue of , representing a YoY growth of 31.5%. - Our CDMO/CMO services realized revenue of , representing a YoY growth of 43.9%. - Our U.S.-based laboratory services realized revenue of , representing a YoY growth of 0.7%. - Our clinical research and other CRO services realized revenue of , representing a YoY growth of 7.4%. IFRS gross profit grew 27.1% YoY to RMB1,562 million . Gross profit margin was 38.6%, lower than the 39.3% achieved in the same period last year [1] , mainly because of: (1) the impact of COVID-19 on our U.S.-based laboratory services and clinical research services business, and (2) an increase in share-based compensation expenses.

. Gross profit margin was 38.6%, lower than the 39.3% achieved in the same period last year , mainly because of: (1) the impact of COVID-19 on our U.S.-based laboratory services and clinical research services business, and (2) an increase in share-based compensation expenses. Non-IFRS gross profit grew 31.6% YoY to RMB1,694 million . Non-IFRS gross profit margin was 41.6% compared to 40.9% for the same period in 2019 and increased significantly compared with First Quarter 2020, mainly because: (1) our China -based laboratory services and CDMO/CMO services segments resumed at full operating capacity and secured more projects from overseas customers, offsetting the impact of COVID-19 on our U.S.-based laboratory services and clinical research services; and (2) we continued to gain efficiency through increased capacity utilization and efficient operations.

. Non-IFRS gross profit margin was 41.6% compared to 40.9% for the same period in 2019 and increased significantly compared with First Quarter 2020, mainly because: (1) our -based laboratory services and CDMO/CMO services segments resumed at full operating capacity and secured more projects from overseas customers, offsetting the impact of COVID-19 on our U.S.-based laboratory services and clinical research services; and (2) we continued to gain efficiency through increased capacity utilization and efficient operations. EBITDA grew 79.6% YoY to RMB1,854 million .

. Adjusted EBITDA grew 22.7% YoY to RMB1,415 million .

. Net profit attributable to owners of the Company grew 111.0% YoY to RMB1,414 million . Fair value gain of our investment portfolio increased from RMB134 million in the second quarter of 2019 to RMB1,044 million in the same period this year.

. Fair value gain of our investment portfolio increased from in the second quarter of 2019 to in the same period this year. Adjusted Non-IFRS net profit attributable to owners of the Company grew 43.1% YoY to RMB942 million . The growth rate significantly accelerated compared with that of First-Quarter 2020.

. The growth rate significantly accelerated compared with that of First-Quarter 2020. Diluted Non-IFRS EPS increased by 110.3% versus the same period last year and adjusted diluted Non-IFRS EPS increased by 46.4%.[2]

[1] If prepared under Accounting Standard for Business Enterprises of PRC, the gross profit grew 27.7% YoY to RMB1,570 million. Gross profit margin was 38.8%, lower than the 39.4% achieved in the same period last year. [2] Three months ended June 30, 2019 and three months ended June 30, 2020, we had a fully-diluted weighted average share count of 2,284 million and 2,302 million ordinary shares, respectively.

First Half of 2020 Financial Highlights

Revenue grew 22.7% YoY to RMB7,231 million , attributable to the timely implementation of our Business Continuity Plan, as well as the strong growth of our China -based laboratory services and CDMO/CMO services in response to the increased demand from our overseas customers.

- Our China-based laboratory services realized revenue of RMB3,780 million , representing a YoY growth of 26.5%.

- Our CDMO/CMO services realized revenue of RMB2,162 million , representing a YoY growth of 25.8%.

- Our U.S.-based laboratory services realized revenue of RMB782 million , representing a YoY growth of 10.1%.

- Our clinical research and other CRO services realized revenue of RMB500 million , representing a YoY growth of 5.9%.

, attributable to the timely implementation of our Business Continuity Plan, as well as the strong growth of our -based laboratory services and CDMO/CMO services in response to the increased demand from our overseas customers. - Our China-based laboratory services realized revenue of , representing a YoY growth of 26.5%. - Our CDMO/CMO services realized revenue of , representing a YoY growth of 25.8%. - Our U.S.-based laboratory services realized revenue of , representing a YoY growth of 10.1%. - Our clinical research and other CRO services realized revenue of , representing a YoY growth of 5.9%. IFRS gross profit grew 16.4% YoY to RMB2,659 million . Gross profit margin was 36.8%, lower than the 38.7% achieved in the same period last year [3] , mainly because of: (1) the impact of COVID-19 on our China -based laboratory services (Q1), U.S.-based laboratory services (Q2) and clinical research services (Q1 & Q2) business; and (2) an increase in share-based compensation expenses.

. Gross profit margin was 36.8%, lower than the 38.7% achieved in the same period last year , mainly because of: (1) the impact of COVID-19 on our -based laboratory services (Q1), U.S.-based laboratory services (Q2) and clinical research services (Q1 & Q2) business; and (2) an increase in share-based compensation expenses. Non-IFRS gross profit grew 21.7% YoY to RMB2,918 million . Non-IFRS gross profit margin was 40.1%, compared to 40.4% during the same period in 2019. We implemented our Business Continuity Plan early on and were successful in mitigating the negative impact of COVID-19 on our business. Our Non-IFRS gross profit margin was largely in line with that of the First Half 2019.

. Non-IFRS gross profit margin was 40.1%, compared to 40.4% during the same period in 2019. We implemented our Business Continuity Plan early on and were successful in mitigating the negative impact of COVID-19 on our business. Our Non-IFRS gross profit margin was largely in line with that of the First Half 2019. EBITDA grew 47.9% YoY to RMB2,600 million .

. Adjusted EBITDA grew 20.7% YoY to RMB2,450 million .

. Net profit attributable to owners of the Company grew 62.5% YoY to RMB1,717 million . Fair value gain of our investment portfolio increased from RMB55 million loss in the first half of 2019 to RMB939 million gain in the same period this year.

. Fair value gain of our investment portfolio increased from loss in the first half of 2019 to gain in the same period this year. Adjusted Non-IFRS net profit attributable to owners of the Company grew 28.9% YoY to RMB1,519 million .

. Diluted IFRS EPS increased by 60.9% versus the same period last year and adjusted diluted Non-IFRS EPS increased by 29.4%.[4]

[3] If prepared under Accounting Standard for Business Enterprises of PRC, the gross profit grew 16.7% YoY to RMB2,668 million. Gross profit margin was 36.9%, lower than the 38.8% achieved in the same period last year. [4] Six months ended June 30, 2019 and six months ended June 30, 2020, we had a fully-diluted weighted average share count of 2,284 million and 2,301 million ordinary shares, respectively.

First Half 2020 Business Highlights

During the reporting period, we added about 600 new customers, increasing our active customer count to more than 4,000. Our "long-tail" strategy and "Follow the Customer/Follow the Project/Follow the Molecule" business model continued to perform very well.

- Our global platform continued to enable innovation worldwide. During the reporting period, our overseas customers contributed RMB5,546 million revenue, representing a YoY growth of 22.3%. Our China customers contributed RMB1,686 million revenue, representing a YoY growth of 23.9%.

- We continued to expand our customer base and retain existing customers. During the reporting period, our existing customers contributed RMB6,831 million revenue, representing a YoY growth of 22.5%. Our newly added customers contributed RMB401 million revenue, representing a YoY growth of 26.7%.

- We continued to execute our "long-tail" strategy and increased our support to large global pharmaceutical companies. During the reporting period, our global "long-tail" customers and China -based customers contributed RMB4,926 million revenue, representing a YoY growth of 28.7%. The top 20 global pharmaceutical companies contributed RMB2,305 million revenue, representing a YoY growth of 11.6%.

-We continued to increase customer conversion and enhance synergies across our platform. During the reporting period, customers using services from more than one of our business units contributed RMB6,151 million revenue, representing a YoY growth of 31.8%.

- Our global platform continued to enable innovation worldwide. During the reporting period, our overseas customers contributed revenue, representing a YoY growth of 22.3%. Our customers contributed revenue, representing a YoY growth of 23.9%. - We continued to expand our customer base and retain existing customers. During the reporting period, our existing customers contributed revenue, representing a YoY growth of 22.5%. Our newly added customers contributed revenue, representing a YoY growth of 26.7%. - We continued to execute our "long-tail" strategy and increased our support to large global pharmaceutical companies. During the reporting period, our global "long-tail" customers and -based customers contributed revenue, representing a YoY growth of 28.7%. The top 20 global pharmaceutical companies contributed million revenue, representing a YoY growth of 11.6%. -We continued to increase customer conversion and enhance synergies across our platform. During the reporting period, customers using services from more than one of our business units contributed revenue, representing a YoY growth of 31.8%. In small molecule drug discovery services, leveraging our large-scale and experienced global small molecule chemical drug research and development teams, we continued to assist global customers in discovering pre-clinical drug candidates and patent applications, with multiple research papers published in leading scientific journals.

We anticipated the industry trend early on and empowered our global customers with cutting-edge technology. To highlight a few examples, we offered:

- New mechanism of actions (MOA): our PROTAC platform maintained strong momentum, enabling over 40 biotech customers and resulting in revenue growth of over 23%.

- New modalities: we further strengthened our oligonucleotide and peptide drug discovery and development capabilities in our China -based laboratory services, providing services to over 1,000 oligonucleotide and peptide projects, including library synthesis, custom synthesis, modification, route development, and kg scale non-GMP manufacturing.

- New mechanism of actions (MOA): our PROTAC platform maintained strong momentum, enabling over 40 biotech customers and resulting in revenue growth of over 23%. - New modalities: we further strengthened our oligonucleotide and peptide drug discovery and development capabilities in our -based laboratory services, providing services to over 1,000 oligonucleotide and peptide projects, including library synthesis, custom synthesis, modification, route development, and kg scale non-GMP manufacturing. With the comprehensive integration of our DNA-encoded library (DEL), protein production and structure-based drug design capabilities, our Target-to-Hit platform enabled over 300 customers globally, creating incremental business opportunities for our downstream business units.

In our success-based drug discovery service unit, we submitted IND filings for 13 new chemical entities (NCE) for our customers and obtained 9 CTAs. As of June 30, 2020 , we have cumulatively submitted 98 NCE IND filings with the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for our customers and obtained 66 CTAs. As of June 30, 2020 , there is 1 project in Phase III clinical trial, 8 projects in Phase II clinical trials, and 54 projects in Phase I clinical trials.

, we have cumulatively submitted 98 NCE IND filings with the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for our customers and obtained 66 CTAs. As of , there is 1 project in Phase III clinical trial, 8 projects in Phase II clinical trials, and 54 projects in Phase I clinical trials. Our safety assessment services achieved very strong growth due to a surge in customer demand and increased capacity.

We leveraged our platform to prepare and facilitate submissions of our customers' IND packages through our WuXi IND (WIND) service. During the reporting period, we signed 50 integrated WIND packages with our customers, helping many of our global and China -based customers submit their IND packages and obtain clinical trial approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Electronic Common Technical Document (eCTD) format.

-based customers submit their IND packages and obtain clinical trial approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Electronic Common Technical Document (eCTD) format. We added over 260 new molecules into our small molecule CDMO/CMO services pipeline. In addition, our "Follow the Molecule" strategy resulted in 5 new commercial projects. We provided CDMO services to over 1,100 active projects, including 42 projects in Phase III clinical trials, and we provided commercial manufacturing services for 26 approved drugs. In serving China -based customers, we have 26 Marketing Authorization Holder (MAH) projects in progress, including 4 commercial projects.

-based customers, we have 26 Marketing Authorization Holder (MAH) projects in progress, including 4 commercial projects. Our cell and gene therapies CDMO services enabled customers globally. During the reporting period:

- Our laboratories and facilities in the U.S. provided services for 31 clinical stage projects, including 22 projects in Phase I clinical trials and 9 projects in Phase II/III clinical trials. In July 2020 , we signed a late-phase manufacturing contract with a customer for its allogeneic cell therapy product, which is currently undergoing FDA priority review. As more of our customers enter late stage development in 2021, we expect our capacity utilization rate to further increase.

- Our laboratories and facilities in China added more customers and projects. In addition, we entered into a long-term partnership with our first customer for a commercial manufacturing project.

- Our laboratories and facilities in the U.S. provided services for 31 clinical stage projects, including 22 projects in Phase I clinical trials and 9 projects in Phase II/III clinical trials. In , we signed a late-phase manufacturing contract with a customer for its allogeneic cell therapy product, which is currently undergoing FDA priority review. As more of our customers enter late stage development in 2021, we expect our capacity utilization rate to further increase. - Our laboratories and facilities in added more customers and projects. In addition, we entered into a long-term partnership with our first customer for a commercial manufacturing project. Our clinical research services continued to enable customers in China and the U.S. During the reporting period:

- Our clinical development team provided services to more than 130 projects for our clients in China and the U.S. and completed the registration trials for 5 products.

and the U.S. During the reporting period: - Our clinical development team provided services to more than 130 projects for our clients in and the U.S. and completed the registration trials for 5 products. Our site management organization (SMO) team assisted in the market approval of 12 products for our customers, including the approval of a surgical implant for the treatment of glaucoma based on real world evidence in China .

. First Half 2020 capabilities enhancement and capacities expansion:

- In January 2020 , we started construction of a new drug product development and production facility at our CDMO subsidiary STA's Wuxi site. This facility will not only improve the development and production capacity of solid dosages, but will also be capable of sterile drug product development, clinical trial material production and commercial scale manufacturing.

- Our high-potency active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing facility, large-scale oligonucleotide API manufacturing facility and large-scale peptide API manufacturing facility in Changzhou, China began operations , supporting the process R&D and manufacture of small molecules, as well as oligonucleotide and peptide APIs from preclinical to commercial.

- Our Philadelphia cell and gene therapies facility expanded its service capabilities by offering a fully integrated adeno-associated virus (AAV) Vector Suspension Platform and a fully integrated Closed Process CAR-T Cell Therapy Platform, which will help our customers accelerate the timeline for cell and gene therapy development, manufacturing and release.

- Our Wuxi City cell therapy CDMO facility began operations , providing services to multiple customers. We launched our AAV adherent manufacturing platform and started to build an AAV Vector Suspension Platform in China .

- In July 2020 , our newly-built Chengdu research and development center began operations .

Management Comment

Dr. Ge Li, Chairman and CEO of WuXi AppTec, said, "We achieved strong growth in the first half of 2020, in spite of the impact of COVID-19 on our China-based laboratory services in the first quarter, U.S.-based laboratory services in the second quarter, and clinical research services. Our revenue grew 22.7% year-over-year to RMB7,231 million and our adjusted Non-IFRS net profit grew 28.9% year-over-year to RMB1,519 million. Strong performance from our China-based laboratory services and CDMO/CMO services mitigated any challenges faced by our U.S.-based laboratory services and clinical research services."

"Our global enabling platform and 'Follow the Customer/Follow the Project/Follow the Molecule' strategy continued to perform very well. China-based laboratory services and CDMO/CMO services resumed full operations and achieved robust growth, attributable to increased business opportunities and improved utilization and efficiency. Our U.S.-based laboratory services, clinical research and other CRO services segments, although severely impacted by COVID-19, still realized revenue growth and our backlog continued to improve quarter-over-quarter. In regard to the Company's financial position, in August 2020 we completed the placing of new H shares, receiving approximately HK$7.29 billion in net proceeds, providing the Company with a strong balance sheet for investments, business expansion and potential M&A."

Dr. Ge Li concluded, "2020 has been a year full of challenges and opportunities. We achieved solid growth in the first half of 2020 as a result of the combined efforts of all our employees and support from our customers globally. We are determined to navigate through the challenges posed by COVID-19 in partnership with our global customers, and are committed to working alongside our customers and partners in the global healthcare community to keep the R&D and manufacturing engine humming. The fundamentals of our business remain very strong and we expect to deliver a strong second half. Looking ahead, we will continue to focus on enabling our global partners and doing the right thing for patients in order to realize our vision that 'every drug can be made and every disease can be treated.'"

Reconciliation of Non-IFRS and Adjusted Non-IFRS Net Profit Attributable to Owners of the Company[5]

RMB Million Three

months

ended June

30, 2020 Three

months

ended June

30, 2019 Six

months

ended June

30, 2020 Six

months

ended June

30, 2019 Profit Attributable to the

owners of the Company 1,414.1 670.3 1,717.2 1,056.8 Add:







Share-based

compensation expenses 158.7 31.0 275.3 62.7 Convertible bonds

issuance expenses 1.3 - 2.5 - Fair value loss from

derivative component of

convertible bonds 502.1 - 486.8 - Foreign exchange

related (gains)/losses 36.1 (18.0) 20.3 81.3 Amortization of

acquired intangible assets

from merge and acquisition 8.8 7.1 17.6 12.4 Non-IFRS Net Profit

Attributable to the Owners

of the Company 2,121.1 690.3 2,519.6 1,213.2 Add:







Realized and

unrealized gains from

venture investments (1,184.3) (45.6) (1,013.2) (54.7) Realized and

unrealized share of losses

of joint ventures 5.6 14.0 12.4 20.2 Adjusted Non-IFRS net

profit attributable to the

owners of the Company 942.4 658.6 1,518.7 1,178.7

[5] If the sum of the data below is inconsistent with the total, it is caused by rounding.

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Profit or Loss[6]

RMB million Three

months

ended June

30, 2020 Three

months

ended June

30, 2019 Six

months

ended June

30, 2020 Six

months

ended June

30, 2019 YoY

Change











Revenue 4,043.9 3,124.9 7,231.4 5,894.4 22.7% Cost of services (2,482.1) (1,896.5) (4,572.8) (3,610.8) 26.6% Gross profit 1,561.9 1,228.4 2,658.6 2,283.6 16.4% Other income 76.0 65.2 128.0 124.9 2.5% Other gains and

losses 701.5 238.1 721.8 (22.5) NA Impairment losses

under expected credit

losses (ECL) model,

net of reversal (12.1) 0.7 (8.1) (1.2) 601.5% Selling and

marketing expenses (155.3) (103.7) (274.5) (208.5) 31.6% Administrative

expenses (459.0) (370.3) (829.3) (671.2) 23.5% Research and

development expenses (207.5) (131.9) (333.4) (243.6) 36.9% Operating Profit 1,505.5 926.5 2,063.1 1,261.4 63.5% Share of profits

(losses) of associates 59.1 (114.3) (17.9) 73.0 -124.5% Share of losses of

joint ventures (5.6) (13.9) (12.4) (20.2) -38.6% Finance costs (52.8) (20.1) (110.8) (32.8) 238.3% Profit before tax 1,506.1 778.1 1,922.0 1,281.5 50.0% Income tax expense (83.8) (86.7) (194.5) (176.5) 10.2% Profit for the period 1,422.4 691.4 1,727.5 1,105.0 56.3%











Attributable to:









Owners of the

Company 1,414.1 670.3 1,717.2 1,056.8 62.5% Non-controlling

interests 8.3 21.1 10.3 48.2 -78.6%

1,422.4 691.4 1,727.5 1,105.0 56.3%

[6] If the sum of the data below is inconsistent with the total, it is caused by rounding.

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Profit or Loss (continued)[7]

RMB Three

months

ended June

30, 2020 Three

months

ended June

30, 2019 Six

months

ended June

30, 2020 Six

months

ended June

30, 2019 YoY

Change











Weighted

average number

of ordinary

shares for the

purpose of

calculating

(express in

shares)









 Basic 2,284,251,336 2,281,010,674 2,283,360,465 2,280,549,699 0.1%  Diluted 2,301,825,513 2,283,904,160 2,300,934,641 2,283,904,162 0.7%











Earnings per

share attributable

to ordinary equity

holders of the

parent

(expressed in

RMB per share)[8]









 Basic 0.61 0.29 0.75 0.46 63.0%  Diluted 0.61 0.29 0.74 0.46 60.9%

[7] If the sum of the data below is inconsistent with the total, it is caused by rounding. [8] In June 2020, pursuant e shareholders' general meeting, the Company issued 4 shares for every 10 shares

of the Company by way of capitalization of reserve. In accordance with the regulations of the China Securities

Regulatory Commission, the Company has adjusted the basic earnings per share and diluted earnings per

share for the comparative period according to the 2019 Profit Distribution Plan.

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Financial Position[9]

RMB million Jun 30, December 31,

2020 2019





Non-Current Assets



Property, plant and equipment 8,170.1 7,666.0 Right of use assets 1,524.1 1,564.4 Biological assets 402.0 360.3 Goodwill 1,369.3 1,362.2 Other intangible assets 486.7 495.9 Interest in associates 857.5 768.3 Interest in joint ventures 47.6 25.2 Deferred tax assets 307.6 262.2 Financial assets at fair value through

profit or loss (FVTPL) 5,762.5 4,009.1 Other non-current assets 578.3 62.4 Amount Due from Related Parties 0.2 0.2

19,505.9 16,576.1





Current Assets



Inventories 1,690.5 1,208.3 Contract costs 140.4 180.2 Biological assets 362.9 354.0 Amounts due from related parties 15.8 13.3 Trade and other receivables 4,033.9 3,555.9 Contract assets 454.7 379.4 Income tax recoverable 1.3 6.3 Financial assets at FVTPL 1,804.8 1,701.6 Derivative financial instruments 13.3 36.8 Pledged bank deposits 3.4 4.0 Bank balances and cash 2,848.5 5,223.3

11,369.5 12,663.0





Total Assets 30,875.4 29,239.1

[9] If the sum of the data below is inconsistent with the total, it is caused by rounding.

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Financial Position (continued)[10]

RMB million Jun 30, 2020 December 31, 2019





Current Liabilities



Trade and other payables 3,238.5 3,392.8 Amounts due to related parties 20.4 24.8 Derivative financial instruments 55.6 86.4 Contract liabilities 1,244.6 897.1 Borrowings 1,787.0 1,809.9 Income tax payables 254.5 261.4 Financial liabilities at FVTPL 43.7 19.5 Lease liabilities 162.8 142.5

6,807.0 6,634.4





Non-Current Liabilities



Borrowings 557.7 762.4 Deferred tax liabilities 211.9 231.1 Deferred income 660.4 667.4 Lease liabilities 1,065.9 1,104.7 Convertible bonds-debt component 1,937.6 1,874.9 Convertible bonds-embedded derivative

component 789.2 298.0 Financial liabilities at FVTPL - 24.7 Other long-term liabilities 192.5 231.8 Total Non-Current Liabilities 5,415.2 5,195.0





Total Liabilities 12,222.3 11,829.4





Net Assets 18,653.1 17,409.7





Capital and Reserves



Share capital 2,311.6 1,651.1 Reserves 16,220.9 15,661.1 Equity attributable to owners of the

Company 18,532.5 17,312.3 Non-controlling interests 120.7 97.5 Total Equity 18,653.1 17,409.7

[10] If the sum of the data below is inconsistent with the total, it is caused by rounding.

About WuXi AppTec

WuXi AppTec provides a broad portfolio of R&D and manufacturing services that enable companies in the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device industries worldwide to advance discoveries and deliver groundbreaking treatments to patients. As an innovation-driven and customer-focused company, WuXi AppTec helps our partners improve the productivity of advancing healthcare products through cost-effective and efficient solutions. With industry-leading capabilities such as R&D and manufacturing for small molecule drugs, cell and gene therapies, and testing for medical devices, WuXi AppTec's open-access platform is enabling more than 4,000 collaborators from over 30 countries to improve the health of those in need  and to realize our vision that "every drug can be made and every disease can be treated." Please visit: http://www.wuxiapptec.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain certain "forward-looking statements" which are not historical facts, but instead are predictions about future events based on our beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to our management. Although we believe that our predictions are reasonable, future events are inherently uncertain and our forward-looking statements may turn out to be incorrect. Our forward-looking statements are subject to risks relating to, among other things, the ability of our service offerings to compete effectively, our ability to meet timelines for the expansion of our service offerings, our ability to protect our clients' intellectual property, unforeseeable international tension, competition, the impact of emergencies and other force majeure. Our forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required by applicable law or listing rules. Accordingly, you are strongly cautioned that reliance on any forward-looking statements involves known and unknown risks and uncertainties. All forward-looking statements contained herein are qualified by reference to the cautionary statements set forth in this section. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release and are based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of this date, and we do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.

Non-IFRS Financial Measures

We provide Non-IFRS gross profit, exclude the impact in revenue and cost from effective hedge accounting, share-based compensation expenses and amortization of intangible assets acquired in business combinations, and Non-IFRS net profit attributable to owners of the Company, which exclude share-based compensation expenses, listing expenses and issuance expenses of convertible bonds, fair value gain or loss from derivative component of convertible bonds, foreign exchange-related gains or losses and amortization of intangible assets acquired in business combinations. We also provide adjusted Non-IFRS net profit attributable to owners of the Company and earnings per share, which further exclude realized and unrealized gains or losses from our venture investments and joint ventures. We further provide EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA. Neither of above is required by, or presented in accordance with IFRS. We believe that the adjusted financial measures used in this press release are useful for understanding and assessing our core business performance and operating trends, and we believe that management and investors may benefit from referring to these adjusted financial measures in assessing our financial performance by eliminating the impact of certain unusual, non-recurring, non-cash and non-operating items that we do not consider indicative of the performance of our core business. Such Non-IFRS financial measures, the management of the Company believes, is widely accepted and adopted in the industry the Company is operating in. However, the presentation of these adjusted Non-IFRS financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with IFRS. You should not view adjusted results on a stand-alone basis or as a substitute for results under IFRS, or as being comparable to results reported or forecasted by other companies.

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A senior employee at the University of Manitoba mismanaged funds and might have directed others to follow suit, according to an internal investigation by the university.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 13/8/2020 (523 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A senior employee at the University of Manitoba mismanaged funds and might have directed others to follow suit, according to an internal investigation by the university.

The Winnipeg-based institution recently published details of its investigation in its Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblower Protection) Act report for the 2019-20 fiscal year. The name of the employee in question isn't revealed in the document, nor is the department they work in.

According to the report, someone filed a disclosure to university officials about the employee in the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2019, and ending March 31, 2020. The university acted on the disclosure, the report says.

"The investigation concluded that wrongdoing has occurred with respect to the purchase of goods and services, conflict of interest, and mismanagement and misuse of funds," the report states. "There were also findings that the employee directed other persons to commit wrongdoing."

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The university reported its findings to the Office of the Auditor General of Manitoba. Provincial officials confirmed the office is looking into the case.

"We are aware of some financial irregularities at University of Manitoba and are considering a potential audit," deputy auditor general Tyson Shtykalo told the Free Press in an email. "I cannot provide additional details at this time."

The university's report noted the investigation revealed internal control weaknesses relating to the use of discretionary funds, the non-purchase order invoice process, and the monitoring of spending patterns of expense claim submissions.

This requires "corrective attention," the report states.

The review also recommended the vice-president (administration) conduct further analysis of the internal control issues identified. The university accepted the recommendation, the report says.

gabrielle.piche@freepress.mb.ca
Former chief parliamentary secretary Navjot Kaur Sidhu on Wednesday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for loan waiver to farmers with less than five-acre landholding.

In a letter written to PM Modi, a copy of which she shared on Twitter, the wife of former Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu said that rising cost, dip in income and increased incidences of indebtedness among small and marginal farmers manifested in a spate of suicides over the year.

'Responsibility of Union government'

I believe it is the responsibility of the Union government to waive farm loans, she wrote. "Small farmers having less than 5 acres of land should be given free power or subsidised power to give them more access to irrigation facilities," she added.

Farmers of Punjab who feed us are protesting on the roads in pandemic because they are at a stage where their survival matters more than their life. You have been blessed with a PM chair , please be compassionate sir. @PMOIndia @RahulGandhi @WithPGV pic.twitter.com/KjuevAHUag  DR NAVJOT SIDHU (@DrDrnavjotsidhu) August 12, 2020

In her letter, the Congress leader pointed out that Madhya Pradesh does not fall under the specialised zone for Basmati cultivation and it was for this reason that the State was not included in the indigenous area of basmati cultivation India.

'China will be equally benefitted'

"Madhya Pradesh's move is a direct violation of the GI tagging procedure and laws. Any attempt to breach the GI tagging areas will not only hit the status of aromatic basmati cultivation in India's specialised areas but will also negate the purpose of GI tagging regulation in the Indian context," Sidhu wrote.

READ | Shivraj Chouhan seeks GI tag for Madhya Pradeshs Basmati rice; meets Union agriculture minister

"Inclusion of Madhya Pradesh into GI list of Basmati will hurt India globally and Pakistan will grab the opportunity to start sowing Basmati all across the country. China will be equally benefitted. The issue is bigger than the loss to one state, it will be a loss to Basmati brand," she added.

READ | Basmati GI tagging: Shivraj Chouhan slams Punjab CM Amarinder Singh over letter to PM Modi

Madhya Pradesh government has been pushing for the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for basmati rice. Madhya Pradeshs demand has already been rejected once. The state applied for getting the GI tag for basmati cultivation in 2017-18. However, the Registrar of Geographical Indications (RGI) rejected it. After that, the state appealed for the same in Madras Court but was unable to get relief.

READ | Punjab CM requests PM Modi not to allow GI tagging of MP Basmati, worries advantage to Pak

Earlier, Punjab CM had asked PM Modi to maintain the status quo on GI tagging for basmati amid the concerns over giving an advantage to Pakistan. Apart from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Western Uttar Pradesh and select districts of Jammu and Kashmir have GI tagging for basmati. The MP government has sought 13 of its districts for the same.

READ | Jammu farmers demand GI certification for Basmati rice, days after saffron was issued tag

(With agency inputs)
Two neighbouring countries, Niger and Benin, currently owe Nigeria a total of N1.2 billion for electricity supplied, the presidency has said.

Garba Shehu, President Muhammadu Buharis spokesperson, said this in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr Shehu said Niger owes only USD 16 million and Benin, USD 4 million, adding up to the Naira equivalent of about N1.2bn.

The spokesperson was reacting to a report by Punch newspaper whose figure, he said, was inaccurate.

He said the latest figure was arrived at after the countries paid most of their debts.

As of the last review in 2019, the amount of indebtedness to all three customers stood at $69 million, subsequent upon which several payments were made to NBET. Much of this has been repaid by the debtor nations, he said.

In his statement, Mr Shehu also tried to explain why Nigeria was supplying electricity to its neighbouring countries.

Power exported to Niger, Benin and Togo based on Multilateral Energy Sales Agreement with the Government of Nigeria is on the basis that they would not dam the waters that feed our major power plants in Kainji, Shiroro and Jebba.

Many Nigerians have criticised the export of electricity by Nigeria that is not able to meet the electricity needs of its population, with millions living in darkness daily.

Read Mr Shehus full statement below.

It is most disappointing that sensationalism has dominated the thinking and ethos of institutions that citizens look up to with trust, confidence and reliability. Monday edition of the Punch checks all the boxes in terms of an abject failure to honour these time-tested traditions with its news piece: NIGERIA EXPORTS USD81.48bn ELECTRICITY ON CREDIT AS COUNTRYS BLACKOUT PERSISTS, is to say the least, hyperbolic and terribly misleading.

Apart from the fact that the figure quoted is far from accurate, out-dated and therefore not reflective of the current reality, the overall cost of power generated and sold by Nigeria in the period covered by report is not anywhere close to what was mentioned by the paper.

The actual cost of electricity generated within the said timeframe (2018-2019) by all the electricity generation companies in Nigeria was about N1.2 trillion ($4 billion).

Over 90% of the electricity generated was distributed and consumed by consumers across the 11 electricity distribution companies in the country.

Power exported to Niger, Benin and Togo based on Multilateral Energy Sales Agreement with the Government of Nigeria is on the basis that they would not dam the waters that feed our major power plants in Kainji, Shiroro and Jebba.

As of the last review in 2019, the amount of indebtedness to all three customers stood at $69 million, subsequent upon which several payments were made to NBET. Much of this has been repaid by the debtor nations.

As of today, Niger owes only USD 16 million and Benin, USD 4 million, adding up to the Naira equivalent of about N1.2bn.

The essence of said bilateral agreements, by which we give them power and they do not build dams on the River Niger means that Nigeria and her brotherly neighbours had avoided the unfolding situation of the Nile River between the sovereign states of Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt.

In the future, we advise the newspaper to seek clarity from the market operator which is the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN. This process of fact checking only improves your standing in the public arena.
Indian Ocean accident could hint at future challenges for the Arctic, where warming seas open up new shipping routes.

It is a ship captains worst nightmare  the sickening crash and the ear-splitting, grinding crescendo as your vessel runs up on a reef. Such was the fate of the MV Wakashio, as it ran aground in Mauritius in the Indian Ocean on July 25.

No human lives were lost but the environmental consequences have been devastating, as heavy fuel oil seeped into the pristine, species-rich waters of a protected marine park, with unspoiled coral reefs and mangrove forests.

This accident illuminates all too clearly a debate that is going on thousands of kilometres away, as a warming ocean opens up new shipping routes in the Arctic.

Awaiting orders

It is not clear why the MV Wakashio crashed aground. Nagashiki Shipping, the vessels owners, have thrown up a protective firewall around the incident but sooner or later we will learn whether this was human error.

You can check the ships voyage history online, and it is evident she had been standing by, off the coast of Mauritius for some days, probably awaiting orders. The MV Wakashio is a bulk carrier  it is thought it was returning from China to Brazil after delivering a cargo of iron ore.

So it was the ships fuel, not its cargo, that caused the damage. Imagine the consequences had this incident involved a fully loaded oil tanker.

Protected sanctuary

Most of the fuel oil has now been pumped off the ship, but not before 1,000 tonnes had spilled out.

This is a relatively small amount, roughly equivalent to 7,000 barrels of oil. By comparison, the Deepwater Horizon disaster threw out 3.19 million barrels.

Nevertheless, the effect on marine life is cataclysmic. Aerial images show huge stretches of crystal-clear sea stained an inky black.

Thousands of species around the pristine lagoons are at risk of drowning in a sea of pollution, with dire consequences for Mauritiuss economy, food security and health, said Happy Khambule, Greenpeace Africas senior climate and energy campaign manager.

Shipping route

Mauritius is a key port of call for ships crossing the western Indian Ocean. According to Mongabay, this area is an innocent passage, a maritime designation that lets ships pass through a countrys territorial waters even if it is not docking there.

This is apparently the third ship to run aground in five years in Mauritian seas. And for years environmentalists have flagged the dangers posed by shipping near ecologically fragile areas.





Arctic threat

Nowhere is the danger more apparent than in the Arctic. Oil spills in these remote, hostile waters are notoriously harder to deal with than in other seas. Logistics are challenging, to say the least, the window of opportunity to attempt the clean up is limited by the short summer season, oil gets trapped under the ice, and the list goes on.

And, of course, this is where all manner of biodiversity lives, from whales and polar bears to walruses and microscopic life at the ice edge. Imagine a polar bear trying to swim through a great slick of spilled oil. The possibility grows every day the sea ice retreats.

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The Clean Arctic Alliance (CAA) has been campaigning for the ban of the use of heavy fuel oil in the Arctic, saying as sea ice continues to melt away Arctic waters are becoming increasingly navigable to vessels and the potential for accidents grows.

The spill in Mauritius demonstrates the limitations of response operations to cope with heavy fuel oil spills even in relatively favourable conditions, said Dave Walsh of the CAA.

It underlines the need for the shipping industry to move away from powering vessels with fuels which pollute the air when they are burned and the ocean when there is an accident.

Heavy fuel oil has already been banned in Antarctic waters, where commercial shipping routes are few and far between. Given recent experience in the Indian Ocean, it would seem that ban should extend at the very least to the northern polar extreme as well.

Or as Walsh said: What has happened in Mauritius is not an isolated incident, but part of a pattern of unacceptable behaviour by an industry that routinely puts commercial considerations ahead of safety and the environment.

Put simply, the shipping industry must find a way towards an exit from the age of dirty fossil fuel-powered shipping.

Your environment round-up

1. 4,000-year-old ice shelf crumbling in Canada: The Milne Ice Shelf is the last remaining ice shelf in Canada, and 43 percent had broken off at the end of July.

2. Jellyfish in the canals of Venice: Lockdown and the lack of tourists in Venice have given Jellyfish a chance to roam, and that may be due to their ability to adapt to change in ocean environments.

3. Elephants vs Farmers: To avoid human-elephant conflicts, farmers in Kenya and India have come up with humane ways of keeping elephants away, including beehive fences and warning systems.

4. The birds that dont migrate: Big-brained birds are not the only ones who survive in extreme temperatures; researchers noticed that the ones with big guts do too by eating difficult-to-digest foods to survive winter.

5. Lockdown cant fix global warming: Lockdowns will have little lasting impact on global warming but researchers state that countries adopting a green stimulus package can possibly cut the rising temperatures in half by 2050.

The final word
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-14 01:14:05|Editor: huaxia

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ANKARA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Thursday held a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel amid mounting tensions in Eastern Mediterranean over exploration of energy reserves.

Erdogan told Merkel that Turkey believes in solving problems in the Eastern Mediterranean in the framework of international law based on dialogue and equity, said a statement by Turkey's Presidential Communications Directorate.

They also discussed regional developments and evaluated steps to enhance bilateral relations, said the statement.

Earlier in the day, Erdogan said he was planning to hold phone conversations with Merkel and President of the European Council Charles Michel ahead of the EU's extraordinary foreign ministers' meeting on Friday.

The EU's Foreign Affairs Council will discuss recent tensions between Greece and Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean after Ankara sent a vessel and its warships for seismic research in the region where Athens claims continental rights.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also held phone conversations with his Hungarian, Lithuanian and Bulgarian counterparts on Thursday, and with EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, foreign ministers of Estonia and Finland on Wednesday after Greece asked for an emergency meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council to discuss the issue. Enditem
In picking California Sen. Kamala Harris to join the Democrats' 2020 presidential ticket, Joe Biden has shown that, unlike the man currently holding the job he seeks, he's not afraid of strong women.

It would have been disappointing but understandable if Biden had dismissed the highly qualified Harris as his running mate. She had also sought the nomination, and during the course of the primary she harshly criticized Biden's position on busing to integrate schools and other racial justice issues. Before one CNN debate, Biden quipped, "Go easy on me, kid." She didn't. That's not Harris' style. She's been a prosecutor for most of her professional life, not a therapist.

For this, Biden aides reportedly tried to block her selection as vice president, suggesting she lacked sufficient loyalty and deference and had too much ambition to make a good sidekick. And if Biden won, critics warned, she might spend most of her time in the West Wing preparing to run for president. That's an absurd reason to reject a candidate. The vice presidential spot has always been seen as a launching pad for the presidency. It's not like veeps have a whole lot else to do.

Besides, isn't ambition something you want in a leader? Or is that a trait admirable only in men? Indeed, Harris is ambitious. She had to be to overcome the obstacles she faced as both a woman and a person of color (her mother is from India and her father is Jamaican). And Harris didn't just advance, she pioneered. She is the state's first Black district attorney, the first woman to serve as California's attorney general and the second Black woman to serve as a U.S. senator.

Now, she's the first woman of color to join the Democratic presidential ticket.

As Biden heads into the most consequential president election in modern history, he sees what we see: Harris has a lot to offer the campaign and the ticket beyond being a symbol.

For one thing, Harris brings an unusual blend of social justice progressiveness and law-and-order conservatism. She has a long career of fighting to protect the downtrodden and looking for ways to reform the criminal justice system while still locking up plenty of the proverbial bad guys. She's gone after for-profit colleges and the mortgage industry when they preyed upon her constituents. She's outspoken (at least when she wants to be) on issues she cares about, will not be cowed by bullying, and is not afraid of being seen as overly aggressive, which can be a career killer for women. Just ask Hillary Clinton.

Her debating skills are not in doubt, as Biden well knows from personal experience. After seeing her recent exchange with Senate colleague John Cornyn, R-Texas, over a police reform bill, we look forward to watching Harris go head to head with Vice President Mike Pence in the fall.

As any elected official with a long record of service, Harris has had missteps along with the successes. She pushed some policies as a prosecutor that were harmful, such as her wrong-headed if well-intended campaign to curtail truancy, which fell particularly hard on low-income families and communities of color. (In her defense, Harris saw chronic truancy as a theft of a child's future prosperity.) The offices she led sometimes made the wrong decisions in specific cases.

Our chief criticism of her over the years has been her aversion to taking firm positions on controversial topics, including some that should have been in her wheelhouse when she was attorney general. For example, when California voters were considering a major criminal justice reform initiative in 2014 to reduce certain nonviolent felonies to misdemeanors, Harris refused to take a stand on it or distance herself from the law enforcement community's fear-mongering. The initiative passed anyway.

That tendency carried on to some extent in the presidential primary campaign, when Harris took safe and seemingly malleable stances on some major issues, such as enacting Medicare for all and allowing felons to vote. That's not a deal breaker for a vice presidential nominee, but presidential candidates must be clear on their positions. Win or lose in November, Harris has at least four years to get that right.

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Establishing diplomatic ties between Israel and Washington's West Asia allies, including the wealthy conservative monarchies, is a key goal of Donald Trump's strategy in the region

Dubai: Israel and the UAE agreed on Thursday to normalise relations in a landmark US-brokered deal under which the Jewish state would halt further annexation of Palestinian territory.

The agreement, first announced by US president Donald Trump on Twitter, will see Israel halt its plan to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank, according to the UAE.

It would make the United Arab Emirates only the third Arab country Israel has diplomatic relations with after its peace deals with Egypt and Jordan.

Establishing diplomatic ties between Israel and Washington's West Asia allies, including the wealthy conservative monarchies, is a key goal of Trump's strategy in the region.

The controversial Trump plan, unveiled in January, offered a path for Israel to annex territory and Jewish West Bank settlements, communities considered illegal under international law.

"HUGE breakthrough" Trump tweeted Thursday, calling it a "Historic Peace Agreement between our two GREAT friends".

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was a "historic day" in response to Trump's tweets about the deal.

He will address Israeli TV audiences in an address at 5 pm (GMT).

Israel agreed "to stop further... annexation of Palestinian territories" under the plan to normalise relations, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi tweeted following Trump's bombshell.

"During a call with President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, an agreement was reached to stop further Israeli annexation of Palestinian territories," Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan wrote on his verified Twitter account.

'Expanding ties'

However Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which runs the coastal Gaza Strip, quickly said the agreement "does not serve the Palestinian cause".

Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, president of Egypt, which signed a treaty with Israel in 1979 to opposition from across the Arab world, praised the new deal and said he hoped it would bring "peace" to the Middle East.

Trump suggested to reporters that more diplomatic breakthroughs between Israel and Arab countries in the region were expected but gave no further details.

"Things are happening that I can't talk about," he said.

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo described it as "a historic day and a significant step forward for peace in the Middle East".

"The United States hopes that this brave step will be the first in a series of agreements that ends 72 years of hostilities in the region," Pompeo said.

The agreement would be signed at the White House at a future date, Pompeo said.

In a joint statement, Trump, Netanyahu and Prince Mohammed said they had spoken on Thursday "and agreed to the full normalisation of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates".

Israeli and UAE delegations will meet in the coming weeks to sign bilateral agreements regarding investment, tourism, direct flights, security and the establishment of reciprocal embassies, they said.

"At the request of President Trump with the support of the United Arab Emirates, Israel will suspend declaring sovereignty over areas outlined in the President's Vision for Peace and focus its efforts now on expanding ties with other countries in the Arab and Muslim world," the statement said.

"The United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates are confident that additional diplomatic breakthroughs with other nations are possible, and will work together to achieve this goal," it added.
Jason Johnson predicted months ago that Kamala Harris would be Joe Bidens running mate. Johnson, a professor at Morgan State University and a political contributor at MSNBC, has been watching the California senator closely since he saw her speak at the progressive Netroots Nation convention in 2018. Now that Harris is officially the vice presidential nominee, Johnson joined me on Thursdays episode of What Next to discuss what she brings to the Biden ticket, what we can expect from her as VP, and what challenges shell face in the runup to November. Our conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

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Mary Harris: Theres been a lot of time between that moment in 2018, when you saw this Kamala Harris emerge that you hadnt seen before, and now. Like, a whole presidential primary. Did she deliver on that promise you saw?

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Jason Johnson: Her campaign didnt. The person I saw at Netroots was exciting and dynamic and had eked out a policy space for herself that I hadnt seen from anybody else. The campaign that she ran unfortunately didnt properly address the legitimate concerns and criticisms about her criminal justice record. Some of the attacks on Sen. Harris are bad-faith attacks. I think also, lets be perfectly honest, this is an African American woman who was attorney general of California. There was no way in heck she was gonna be able to run as a radical progressive. She was never going to get elected that way. So youd have to look at what she did within the structure, what she was doing.

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I dont think her campaign made that case well. I dont think her campaign addressed these issues. I dont think her campaign had enough African American validators already in the holster when she ran, and then she was scrambling to get them after the campaign started. And I think that was a mistake.

The thing about Harris is she appeals very strongly to a certain strand of the African American community.

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Who is that?

I think she does very well with supervoters. People who were already inclined to vote and who were already engaged in the process see Sen. Harris and theyre like, About darn time. The Democratic Party is listening to us. Good. Those people are all excited. But for the people who arent super engaged  most of them werent Harris supporters during the primary. They werent particularly moved by her one way or another. And those people need to be talked to. Those people need to be engaged.

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Yeah, its this interesting difference between whos pulling the levers of power and donating the most money and whos voting.

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This is cynical, but for example, Sen. Harris is announced as the VPhuge fundraising day. You have the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority telling people to donate. So its gonna be this initial boost. What I also know is that these sorts of things are planned in advancethe campaign has large numbers of bungled voters and donors across the country. Its like, OK, the moment we announce the VP, youre going to give cash because we need to make it look like the new VP pick is going to galvanize the voters. So we gotta be honest about how this is set up.

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Im so glad you brought up the sorority. Can you talk about it a little bit?

If youre Black and youre a professional at a certain level, you know a lot of people who are AKAs or Deltas or Thetas or anything else like that. African American sororities are much stronger and more consistent groups than white sororitiesits just an objective fact. You dont usually see 35-year-old white women who are Tri-Delts still wearing their colors, but you can go to Congress and see 80-year-old African American women dressed in all red or dressed in pink and green because theyre either Deltas or AKAs or Thetas. So these organizations are very, very strong, very good for raising money, very good for supporting people, and that will play a role.

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But just as Ive said before, Sen. Harris is a member of AKA. Thats not every sorority, and that represents a certain kind of Black people. HBCUs have tiers just like predominately white institutions. Theres a big difference in going to Howard or graduating from Spelman and Morehouse and graduating from Bowie State or Jackson State or TCU or FAMU. We cant just assume that because shes a graduate of Howard  everybody in an HBCU is in favor of Sen. Harris. If that was the case, she would have stayed in the race longer.

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The New York Times ran this op-ed, before all this, where the author was arguing in favor of Kamala Harris. She talked about how vice presidents can be ticket balancers or ticket complementers. A balancer is someone who brings a different perspective and signals to a constituency youre not bringing on on your own that they should vote for you, and a complementer mostly shores up the brand of the presidential candidate. The author made the case that Kamala Harris is a ticket balancer. I wonder if youd agree with that.

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Oh, not at all. Shes not a ticket balancer or a ticket complementer. Both she and Joe Biden aregiven where our politics are nowcentrist or center-left Democrats, so she doesnt balance anything. She doesnt complement him in any particular way because Joe Bidens brand is pretty stable. You know, Donald Trump lived this grotesque, hedonistic life, and so getting Mike Pence, whos an ultraconservative Christian, was a balance.  John McCain seemed out of touch and he was considered a RINO, so getting the red-meat Republicanness of Sarah Palin was a balance. Thats not whats going on here. Joe Biden is running in one of the most unique and dangerous campaign environments weve ever had. Shes not a balancer. Shes competent.

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Harris has a background and a lifestyle a lot like Barack Obama. Its not the story of most Black people in this country.  Jason Johnson

Are there ways that she might push this presidency, if it happens, left or in a different directionplaces where they do differentiate in some way?

I dont think shes going to push it left. Harris strength is, as attorney general of California, she was responsible for a bigger staff than the White House staff, and her most important job is somebody who knows the law, whos done these hearings where shes held peoples feet to the fire. Her job is going to be to go through this entire administration with a microscope, a fine-toothed comb, and get rid of all of the Trumpists, the white nationalists, and the maniacs and the incompetents that Trump has put into officeand come up with the rules and the laws and the statutes that we need to put in place to make sure that nothing like this ever happens again. I mean, there are so many statutes and so many rules and norms about American government that were never encoded in law. We just assumed that was the case because we thought a decent person would have the job, or we thought that another branch wouldve held them in check, and weve seen that thats not whats happening now.

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I dont think thats a left or right move because Harris and Biden are running on a campaign of competence, and part of her competence will be rebuilding a government thats been destroyed.

What are Harris challenges in reaching out to Black voters? Because she really did not win the Black vote as a primary candidate.

Her challenge is that lots of people never found her to be particularly authentic. They dont find her believable and connectable in the way that they do, say, a Michelle Obama or a Maxine Waters or even a Val Demings. You know, Sen. Harris has a background and a lifestyleits a lot like Barack Obama. Its not the story of most Black people in this country. Most Black people in America arent biracial who are raised in Kansas and Hawaii. [Obama] had to do a lot of work. But you know who did the most work? Michelle Obama. She was his ultimate validator. In South Carolina, when people were like, I dont know if I trust this guy, it was his Black wife, who went to Princeton from the South Side of Chicago, who went down there and said: Hey, church moms, hes good. Hes a good husband and a wonderful father, and by the way, he listens to Jay-Z.

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Sen. Harris doesnt have that. [Her husband] Doug Emhoff is a great guy. He seems like the nicest cul-de-sac neighbor you could ever have. But Doug Emhoff is not the person that youre going to send to central Georgia to talk to a bunch of working-class Black people. So her challenge is going to beas it was during the primaryfinding validators who are local who can say, This is gonna be a Black woman in the White House who feels your pain, who understands your needs and is going to prioritize the things that you want prioritized. That will always be her challenge.

Listen to the full episode using the player below, or subscribe to What Next on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 08/12/2020



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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 insists he never physically or sexually assaulted anyone and claims the protective order his wife Karine Martins filed against him contains false allegations.Paul took to his Instagram Stories on Monday with his side of the story after Karine made an array of shocking allegations in her protective order against Paul, the father of her son Pierre."It truley [sic] breaks my heart it has come to this. I have bent over backwards. I found work. Got a new home. A new car. Let her buy anything she wanted. I did the cooking, cleaning, laundry and took care of Pierre," Paul wrote."I have never in my life physically or sexually assaulted anyone."Paul has previously repeatedly claimed Karine has mental health issues, and he reiterated those allegations in the Instagram Story message to his followers."I have made motions to the court for Karine to get mental help. I have had to double up on my therapy to cope with this madness," Paul wrote."Her motion against me with false allegations is for a 3 year restraining order against me and both my children. Alimony and child support. But I can not see her or my children at all."Also in his posting, Paul defended his previous arrests, trying to justify how he has allegedly never physically or assaulted a woman."My previous domestic violence violation, I was arrested over a very well written message that she could come get her stuff," Paul explained."The other arrest was because I let my ex live with me because she had nowhere else to go. She called the police to get me arrested and get all my stuff but the officer that night saw through the BS and arrested her also. Same ex has since messaged me to hang [out] and babysit her kid, which I declined. Now here I am."Paul and Karine had a huge fight in which the police were called in late July. Paul threatened to file for full custody of Pierre and accused Karine of having cheated on him and violated a Child Protective Services case against her.Paul subsequently claimed on his Instagram Stories Karine went "missing" and "took off" with their son Pierre, and then he revealed July 31 that Karine had filed a "full restraining order" against him."I'm not allowed to be around her or my son, within 500 feet of them at all," Paul reportedly said on Instagram, sharing photos of the alleged order.Karine -- who announced she was pregnant with the couple's second child in May -- then confirmed in early August that she had left Paul and obtained an emergency protective order against him.Karine said she wasn't "missing" but needed to be "rescued from an environment" that was no longer healthy for her and her child, adding on Instagram, "Relationships are hard and sometimes it just can't be fixed anymore."Karine's protective order included claims Paul had physically assaulted her, sexually assaulted her, and prevented her doctor from prescribing birth control to her.In the emergency protection order application Paul had shared on social media, Karine claimed Paul "forcefully rapes me," "hold[s] my Green Card and all my documents," monitors her phone, uses cameras 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 birth control to her."On multiples occasions in the past 3 weeks the respondent pushed me, grab my breast squ[ee]zing and twisting, hurting me, pushing me to the floor, covering my mouth. He force his penis into my mouth and forcefully rapes me. If I refuse he throws things, he yells, or he threat[ens] to call police," Karine wrote in the handwritten two-page application."He currently hold[s] my Green Card and all my documents. I am not allowed to leave the house, he monitor[s] my phone, he [has] cameras around the house and he can see through his phone who arrives and who leaves. He threat[ens] take out son Pierre away if I ever leave. He forced me to drink alcohol by threat[ing] me so I drunk some so he calm down."Karine continued, with the help of a language translator, "He is constantly on social media making videos of me against my will saying I am crazy, saying I have mental illness. Recently he called [Child Protective Services] and told [them] I was always drunk, aggressive, and abusive to him.""He post on social media [that] I have [cheated with] several [men] even knowing that he [has] cameras around the house and I can't leave. I have no access to money for my son or myself.""I went to the doctor to try [and] get contraceptive," she wrote. "In the doctor's office he said 'no' because I would be doing an abortion. The doctor explained the contraceptive was only for preventing [pregnancy] and I would not get pregnant [but] Paul said 'no' and took me home."According to her application, Paul also refused to let her return home to Brazil but she feared she still wouldn't be safe in her native country."I came to U.S. to visit my in-laws and now he [does] not let me go back. We got married in Brazil, not in U.S.," she wrote. "When I ask to go back to me family he threat[ens] [to] take my son away.""I am terrified he will hurt me or hurt my son because I runned away from him and I am even afraid to go back to Brazil now because He Can go to Brazil and hurt us."Karine ended her application by stating she was also afraid of Paul's mother Mary and wanted no contact with any of his family or friends."I have my family in Brazil but I don't feel that law enforcement will protect me from him there," she wrote. "I am afraid of him and his mother because his mother knows and sees what he does and she refused [to] report her son. I have witnessed him threat[en] and being violent with his own mother.""I do not want any contact with or his mother, his friends or family. I do not want them close, I am afraid of them hurt[ing] my son for revenge."Karine and Paul have had an extremely volatile relationship since even before they wed, and Karine has repeatedly previously announced plans to divorce Paul only to have the couple later reconcile.Paul and Karine currently star on the fifth season of : Happily Ever After?, which airs Sunday nights at 8PM ET/PT on TLC.Want more news? Click here to visit our webpage!
By the end of the 2020 campaign, president-in-waiting Kamala Harris will have been transformed into the greatest exemplar of judicious centrism and political level-headedness in American history.

Kamala Harris comes from the middle-of-the-road, moderate wing of the Democratic Party claims George Stephanopoulos. Though the New York Times was the first to call Joe Bidens running mate a pragmatic moderate, CNN concurred, as did a reporter on CNBC, who noted that that Harris is widely considered a moderate Democrat. The Associated Press claims that she was picked for her centrist record. A writer for New York magazine wonders if progressives will ever be able to find it in their hearts to forgive Harriss moderation. David Byler at the Washington Post ratchets it up by declaring Harris is a small-c conservative. (Drew Holden has a running inventory of this trend.)

Professional political analysts marveled at the alleged incongruity of the dueling GOP accusations that Harris was both a hardcore left-winger and a cop, as if the use of state force is somehow alien to progressive ideological aims. I have news for you: Nearly every policy Harris supports will entail compelling Americans to participate.

According to GovTrack, Harriss record in the Senate, in fact, is more liberal than that of self-proclaimed democratic socialist Bernie Sanders. Harris was, apparently, least likely of all Democratic senators to join in any bipartisan bills. Then again, we dont really need a tracker to inform us that Harris has taken a host of positions that sit well outside the traditional political agendas  outside even traditional Democratic Party agendas. Is there a single issue in which Harris has not staked out a stance to the left of Barack Obama?

Now, obviously, everyone operates under the notion that the Democratic Party has a historical imperative to evolve leftward. Even considering this trajectory, there is no compelling case to be made that Harris is a moderate in either her political manner or her ideological disposition. As the National Review editors noted, Harris is at best a moderate autocrat. She is, by her own account, an anti-constitutionalist. Literally laughing at the Constitution as a restraint of political power is just the start. Setting aside her long record of investigatory and prosecutorial abuses in California  including against ideological opponents  Harris will likely be first candidate on a major presidential ticket to support gun confiscation and the creation of a gun registry. At one point, Harris promised to ban private health insurance. She supports ending all restrictions on state-funded abortion. She supports banning all fossil fuels within a decade. She supports the partisan packing of courts, in an effort to corrode checks and balances of American governance. And she has promised to pursue a number of these policies by circumventing the legislative branch if Congress doesnt take orders from her.

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And the same reporters who take every mangled Trumpian assertion hyperliterally will treat Harris contentions and positions neither seriously nor literally.

None of this is new. You might recall that when there seemed to be a chance that Sanders might capture the Democratic presidential nomination, columnists began whipping up thinkpieces to worries about his radicalism, wondering about his conservatism and other imaginary qualities of the Vermont senator.

Similar effort dominated Barack Obamas run for the White House, even though the future president told us that he planned to fundamentally change the nation. And after Democrats lost Congress from 2010 to 2014, the inability of Obama to move forward with his agenda was quickly framed as evidence of his moderation. Obama was always going to go as far left as was politically feasible  for instance, in his fight with moderate Blue Dogs on Obamacare  which is not exactly the same as having restrained aims.

Now, theres a strong argument to make that neither side is really captivated by the thought of centrism anymore. And we are all aware of the numerous arguments against Donald Trumps candidacy. Though temperamentally the president isnt anything approaching a small-c conservative, his policy aims are well within the centrist tradition. Trump is a largely unideological populist, whose views on trade, spending, the border, and foreign policy  and a host of other major issues  are well within the mainstream. By any standard, he is more of a centrist than Kamala Harris.

Why isnt his agenda ever framed that way? Well, because the center of American politics will always be wherever the Democratic Partys nominees happen to stand.

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Olivia Welsh and her mother Alex react after receiving A-Level results at Lewes Old Grammar School in Lewes, United Kingdom, on Aug. 13, 2020. (Andrew Hasson/Getty Images)

Delight and Complaints Over Calculated Grades as CCP Virus Disrupts UK Exam Results

Hundreds of thousands of UK teenagers got their A-level exam results on Thursday despite not having sat any summer term exams, which were canceled due to the CCP virus pandemic.

The grading system, based on mock exams and teachers rankings, has produced higher grades than expected for some A-level students, with a 2.4 percent increase in students getting grade As in England.

The grading and standardization process has met with criticism from teaching leaders, however, who have complained that it has not been fair to many students receiving lower than expected grades.

While there has been an overall increase in top grades, we are very concerned that this disguises a great deal of volatility among the results at school and student level, Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said in a statement.

Teachers had followed the guidance and made every effort to submit accurate data about students, he said, but had given the ASCL heartbreaking feedback about resulting grades that had been pulled down and were utterly unfair and unfathomable.

He called for an urgent review of the situation by the government and exam regulator Ofqual, and warned against them simply digging in their heels and insisting all is well.

Calculated Grades

Following a government announcement in March, a contingency system to award calculated grades was devised by Ofqual working with exam boards.

The system was developed to ensure fair results for students whose exams were canceled due to school and college closures during the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic.

A student nervously waits to discover her university options after receiving her A-level results at City Academy, Hackney, in London on Aug. 13, 2020. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

In the new system (pdf), students are awarded estimated grades calculated by using teacher assessments and the result of mock exams, the routine practice exams that were taken before the lockdown.

Teachers were asked to submit a centre assessed grade (CAG) for each student based on his or her prior performance in school or college.

A standardization process by Ofqual was then undertaken before grades were finally awarded.

Figures released by Ofqual (pdf) show nearly 40 percent of the 700,000 grades submitted by teachers were downgraded by the standardization algorithm by at least one grade. Around 2.2 percent were raised.

Student Reaction

Thursdays exam results could be accessed online, but many students chose to go into school to get their results with friends.

One of those, Phillip, an 18-year-old A-level student at Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, London, said he was happy to have achieved the four A*s he had hoped for and is set to study engineering at Cambridge University.

He said that some of his friends, however, didnt get the grades they thought they deserved.

According to his teachers, downgrading had been an issue this year, and grade distribution had not been comparable to the last two or three years, Phillip said.

Its a tough one, he told The Epoch Times.

Even if you sit the exams and you make a couple of mistakes you might not get the grades you want because of a grade boundaryyou might get an A instead of an A*.

At the end of the day, there is no 100 percent accurate way of gauging how good a student actually is at their subject.

Despite lower than expected grades, universities, however, were being very lenient with many of his friends, he said, who were still accepted by their first choice of university.

Criticism

A survey by the Sixth Form Colleges Association said that 96 percent of sixth form college heads reported that the grades students received were lower or much lower than the CAGs given by teachers. Some said up to two-thirds of the grades were downgraded.

Bill Watkin, chief executive of the association, said in a statement that the survey shows that the calculation of grades is flawed and unreliable and has disadvantaged many children.

He called for the system to be scrapped as a failed experiment and for grades to be based purely on the CAGs submitted by teachers.

The grading has also met with criticism from Labour politicians.

Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, wrote in a tweet: Something has obviously gone horribly wrong with this years exam results.

The Government needs to urgently rethink. We need to guarantee the right to individual appeals, the fee for appeals waived and nothing to be ruled out, including the U-turn that was forced on the Scottish Government.

The Government needs to urgently rethink. We need to guarantee the right to individual appeals, the fee for appeals waived and nothing to be ruled out, including the u-turn that was forced on the Scottish Government last week.  Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) August 13, 2020

The Ofqual grading system operates in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland only.

Scotland had a different system, and, following public pressure, around 75,000 disputed grades for Scottish students were upgraded last week.

Appeals Process

The government have built in a triple-lock appeals process for those students who are unhappy with their results.

Students could accept their calculated grade, appeal to receive a valid mock result, or sit autumn exams to ensure the achievements of young people are recognized, the Department for Education said in a media statement published on Wednesday.

No one wanted to cancel examsthey are the best form of assessment, but the disruption caused by Covid-19 meant they were not possible, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said.

A petition started by West London A-level student Curtis Parfitt-Ford has gained over 35,000 signatures by 5:45 p.m. calling on Boris Johnson to immediately fix the algorithm used to calculate the grades, which Parfitt-Ford says is flawed.

For a lot of pupils, the algorithm doesnt even consider what our own teachers predicted wed get. There isnt a proper appeals process. Worst of all, pupils from poorer schools, with lower results historically, are due to get automatically marked down by the software, he says in the petition on Change.org
EAST HAMPTON  The cleanup of recurring pond scum on the surface of Lake Pocotopaug, a two-decade-long effort to clean the water for safe recreation, was recently halted midway through the project as a result of a state permitting issue.

The need for the permit came to light after 50 percent of the work was done, when an executive member of the Conservation-Lake Commission brought the issue to the attention of the state Department of Energy Environmental Protection.

Remediation efforts, usually launched in June, began about five weeks ago, said Commission Vice Chairman Joe Carbonell, who was notified July 31 that BioBlast work was to begin Aug. 3. He knew, however, that permission was required for a town to use any substance that is used to treat state waters and he notified DEEP.

Carbonell said he had been contacted by residents curious about seeing people in boats dumping material into the lake.

The DEEP issued a cease-and-desist order Aug. 5. They should, Carbonell said. If its illegal, and they dont have it on record, and youre not telling the state labs that monitor water quality whats happening, youre breaking the law.

The work had begun because the town has been attacking the problem with a two-pronged approach of installing aeration systems as well as contracting with EverBlue Lakes of Michigan to treat the bacteria. The application has been successful throughout the nation, according to Wesley Jenks, a member of the commission.

Commonly referred to as blue green algae, which looks similar to moss, the material in the lake is actually cyanobacteria, with the potential to produce toxins that are harmful to people, wildlife and fish in bodies of water without sufficient aeration, according to the DEEP.

The algae has shut down the Pocotopaug for recreational purposes over the last several years.

Weve visually seen a huge change in the lake compared to the last 20 years. Its been really successful so far, Jenks said of the treatment.

The biological treatment that EverBlue uses is an integral part in combating the blue/green algae, which now gives the lake a brownish-green appearance. Even though this product hasnt been used in a public lake here, theyve used it in 20 other lakes around the country, Jenks said.

The BioBlast cuts off food supply to the bacteria with a noncaustic enzyme, according to Town Manager David Cox.

A majority of the approximately 800 homeowners on the 512-acre lake, as well as residents and Pocotopaug advocates, support the plan, Jenks said. However, concerns have been raised by two members of the commission who worry about possible harmful effects of the bacteria treatment.

Aeration, which has been ongoing, is not the issue, Cox said. It uses air to stir the lake so it gets air all the way through the water column to the bottom. That is the cause of some of our problems.

Officials made a concerted effort to find out from DEEP whether a permit is required, and reached personnel in one of its divisions, the town manager said. Another agency they contacted did not reply, so they consulted the DEEP website. It said a local permit through Inland Wetlands is sufficient, Cox said.

The lake commission made diligent efforts with DEEP to find out if this was something that needed to be permitted, Jenks said. We have a strong paper trail that none was needed.

Peter Zawisza, chairman of the lake commission, is dissatisfied with the procedure the town used to investigate whether permitting was needed. Theyre doing something that hasnt been done in Connecticut.

When he and Carbonell asked the developer whats in BioBlast, they were told its proprietary information because the product is patent pending.

Youre putting chemicals into a public recreational area. The public should have the right to know whats going into the water, whether its patented or not, said Zawisza, who worked in the industry for years.

The same thing they use had a material data sheet attached to it, whether it was a cleaning solvent, a paint, anything, the chairman said.

The EverBlue contractor immediately stopped work when DEEP ordered it, Cox, who received information about which application to fill out Tuesday, and said its not directly related to what were doing.

Were in a situation where, whether this is a new product to them or its a different type of activity the department has not dealt with before, Im not sure. They dont seem to have an on-point permit for what were doing, the manager said.

Meanwhile, because he alerted DEEP, Carbonell said hes been accosted with negative comments on Facebook, which he considers slander.

People have been blatantly attacking me on social media, making very nasty comments, innuendos, saying all of a sudden Im not for something and Im against it. Which Im not. Just follow the procedures, said Carbonell, who is worried about children and his family swimming in the lake.

Carbonell said based on information he has investigated online, his is concerned about the potential impact on people and wildlife.

Dennis Jenks, who lives on the waterfront, said he and his son, Wesley Jenks, conducted research on EverBlue, calling a number of towns with similar demographics and use the contractor, to find out how well the process went. One-hundred percent were in favor of it. They couldnt speak highly enough.

The lake is in the best condition in at least the last 10 years, Dennis Jenks said. Its an unbelievably good program  just phenomenal.

This is something we should be shouting from the rooftops, said Bob Yenker, a member of a coalition of approximately 17 people who got together last year to provide information and support to the town. Recent efforts have allowed the lake to heal itself, he said.

Yenker took in the view from his dock recently. Gosh. I could see the bottom of the lake, which I havent been able to do in many years.

Im still very optimistic well get the permit quickly, Wesley Jenks said.

Theres a small window left for treatment to be conducted, which must be complete by the end of August before the cooler weather lowers the waters temperature and the algae disappears.

Theres a lot of activity on Facebook and among people who were seeing really positive things coming out of this work, Cox said. Were looking very good for having an entire season on the lake, something weve not been able to enjoy for years.
The Defence Headquarters said the Armed Forces and all relevant security agencies are leaving nothing to chance on the warning by the United State of America on the infiltration of Al-Qaeda and ISIS into the country.

The Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, John Enenche, a major general, said this at the updates briefing on military operations across the country on Thursday in Abuja.

The U.S. had said Al-Qaeda and ISIS were looking to make an inroad into Southern Nigeria and that Al-Qaeda had started penetrating the north-western part of the country.

The Commander of the U.S. special operations command, Africa, Dagvin Anderson, made the claim in a digital briefing last week.

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Mr Enenche, however, reiterated the determination of the military to put all measures in place to be ahead of the challenge.

Sequel to the warning by U.S. AFRICOM that extremists have begun deploying several strategies to silently re-establish themselves across some regions in Africa including the West Africa sub region, the Armed Forces of Nigeria and all the relevant security agencies is leaving nothing to chance.

Consequently, actions in place in this regard are being reviewed to handle this all important intelligence appropriately, he said.

Mr Enenche said the military was aware of the operation, adding that terrorism as a global thing has no boundaries.

He said the security agencies in the country had been working and they would deal with the situation accordingly, noting that it is possible that the terrorists might be changing their mode of operations or tactic.

I can assure you that the collective efforts of the entire security agencies in the country including the general public is going to help us in addressing the situation.

I am directed to assure the general public that this is not a one off but continuous effort as it were to ensure that the security agencies are ahead of this evolving security challenge, he said.

He said the Military High Command commended all the gallant troops of the Armed Forces and personnel of other security agencies for the feat recorded in various operations across the country.

Troops are further encouraged to remain determined and sustain the tempo in curtailing the activities of terrorists, armed bandits and other criminals.

The High Command of the Armed Forces also reassures the general public of its unwavering commitment to securing the country for all human activities to strive.

Members of the general public are, as always, enjoined to continue providing timely information on the activities of criminals in their various localities to the nearest military and other security agencies location for prompt and effective action, he said.

Director of Defence Information, Maj.-Gen. John Enenche (L) addressing newsmen during the Monthly Defence Headquarters News Conference in Abuja in Friday (29/9/17). 05280/29/9/2017/Johnson Udeani/BJO/NAN

Mr Enenche also denied the allegation that the troops in Baga were indulging in other activities other than fighting the war, stressing that the allegation was unfounded and baseless.

The attention of the Defence Headquarters was drawn to the alleged activities of troops in Baga, regarding dealings in livestock and farming.

In line with military procedures, it was investigated and found to be baseless, he said.

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Joe Barrera, Ph.D, is the former director of the Ethnic Studies Program at UCCS. He is a combat veteran of the Vietnam War and teaches U.S. Military History, American Literature and U.S. Southwest History.
1. Yes. Too many kids are staying home. They need a virtual learning option to keep up.

2. Yes. Teachers are out sick and subs cant handle the load. Online learning is needed.

3. No. Its too late in the school year to make a wholesale switch in teaching platforms.

4.No. Many parents arent in a position to stay home while their kids learn virtually.

5. Unsure. It may seem like a good idea from a health standpoint, but it has shortcomings.

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A divide among Iran's conservatives casts doubt whether a victory in the May 2021 election is within their reach, despite their overwhelming majority at the Iranian parliament and the fact that many of the institutions that affect the election and its results are also held by conservatives.

Despite their differences and infightings, the conservative camp has historically enjoyed wholehearted support from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Conservatives would be met with little resistance in the vetting process by the conservative-held Guardian Council, and have generally been treated favorably by powerful institutions including the seminaries and the armed forces.

So, why regardless of all the advantages, are Iranian conservatives unsure about the prospects of winning the election?

Iranian conservatives thrived as a relatively same-minded camp until 2005, when ultraconservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the election for the first time. The emergence of Iranian neo-cons around Ahmadinejad ignited divides that shattered the image of unified conservatives, challenging their status as Irans most important pillar of power.

During the second term of office of Ahmadinejad from 2009  2013, new groups emerged within the conservative camp, particularly with the emergence of Paydari Front. Since 2013, conservatives have not been able to unite under any leadership, and the partys status as a unified group seems ultimately altered.

Conservatives won the latest election in Iran, the Majles election of February 2020, with the reformist and moderate parties edged out partly because of their own weaknesses, and also due to the intervention of the Guardian Council, which refused to endorse the qualifications of most eligible reformist and moderate figures who wanted to run for the Majles.

Mohammad Reza Taraqqi, a leading member of the Islamic Coalition Party, one of the most prominent conservative parties of Iran, spoke to pro-reform news website Fararu in July 2020, claiming, "Without a consensus among them, conservatives do not have any chance for success."

According to Taraqi, the political system would approve of any "young revolutionary presidential candidate," but for voters, "it is important which group is putting forward the candidate's name."

Conservative political activist Hossein Kanani-Moqaddam described the conservative camp as divided into "wings" or "factions, telling Fararu, "One single faction cannot hold the next government. We need a political coalition of all factions to run the affairs of the state."

"Based on experience, unilateralism has always created problems in domestic politics, he added.

The current Majles reflects a more-or-less accurate image of the political combination in Iran: a conservative majority with many well-known political figures, plus a very small minority of proreform and independents who inevitably have to join one of conservative groups in the Majles if they want to have a say in political affairs.

And yet, traditional conservatives at the Majles are overshadowed by the tremendous influence of Paydari members who are said to be secretly supporting Ahmadinejad and other conservatives who declare their affiliation to the political line of former President Ahmadinejad more prominently, as well as the new conservative faces who gather around Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf.

The latest major vote at the Majles, for the head of the State Auditing Organization on July 22, showed the real weight of the combination of the first two groups that managed to elect Paydari figure Mehrdad Bazrpash. In the same voting, they elected another like-minded conservative, Alireza Zakani, as the head of the Males Research Center.

Statistically speaking, Iran's next president could come from the saner camp. But what worries both conservatives and neo-cons alike about the next presidential election is that the president will be elected by the people, and not by the members of political groups whose behavior is controlled by strongmen and influencers within the parliament.

As conservative analyst Amir Mohebbian claimed in a July 29 interview, "There is no longer an entity as the conservative camp. There are various groups with varying readings of the concept of conservatism. These readings are so different with each other that they cannot be thought of as the ideas of one group or several groups under one umbrella."

"We have conservatives who have common enemies, but at the same time the enmity among themselves is no less than the hostility between conservatives and other groups, Mohebbian added, a grave foreshadowing of the problems that may await the party in the future.
A worker working on a footpath outside the Chinese Consulate in Belfast on July 24, 2020. (Courtesy of Martin McBurney)

China Invokes Diplomatic Immunity in Belfast Planning Dispute

Chinas consul general in Belfast cannot be held legally accountable for ignoring planning rules due to diplomatic immunity, a High Court judge has ruled.

Belfast council was denied a court injunction in June to prevent construction works at the listed building in a conservation area that houses the Chinese consulate.

The council had sought the injunction after receiving a complaint in February from local residents that a wall was being built around the buildings perimeter without planning permission.

In her recently published ruling (pdf), Justice McBride said Consul General Madame Zhang Meifang, who had ordered the construction works, was immune to prosecution because the works were not commissioned for her personally.

A worker working on a footpath outside the Chinese consulate in Belfast on July 24, 2020. (Courtesy of Martin McBurney)

I consider  that the works that have been commissioned by the respondent [Zhang] are being done by her on behalf of the Chinese State, McBride said.

Accordingly, it is my view that immunity applies and therefore I find that the respondent enjoys immunity.

It would be beating the air to issue an injunction, which would be unenforceable, she said.

Responsibility to Follow the Law

In her ruling, Judge McBride emphasized the responsibilities of those who enjoy immunity to respect the law.

Without prejudice to their privileges and immunities, it is the duty of all persons enjoying such privileges and immunities to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving state, she wrote, quoting from a February email sent to Zhangs solicitors urging the consulate to apply for planning permission.

No one could enter the Chinese consulate and arrest Zhang even if she breached a court order, McBride said, but that did not mean that Zhang had acted lawfully.

It is important to stress that diplomatic immunity does not mean the person is not acting unlawfully. It just means that she is immune from the jurisdiction of this court, she said.

There was at least an arguable case that the consulate was illegally ignoring planning regulations, she said.

Local Concerns

The Chinese consulate has come under strong criticism from people living in the conservation area.

Local resident Martin McBurney, who had asked to be added to the injunction petition, criticized the conduct of the consul general.

Workers installing anti-climb railings at the Chinese Consulate in Belfast on July 28, 2020. (Courtesy of Martin McBurney)

Regardless of the diplomatic immunity issue, the Chinese Consular Madame Zhang has shown total disrespect for their neighbors and the neighborhood that is located on a conservation area, he told The Epoch Times in an email.

The consulate have ignored the planning laws for the conservation area and the concerns of the local residents.

By ignoring residents, the Chinese consulate has done huge harm to community relations, he said.

The behavior of the consulate is no more than just bully boy tactics.

McBurney was not added to the injunction petition because the court ruled that the injunction itself could not be granted due to Zhangs diplomatic immunity.

Dispute

The council had previously issued a temporary stop notice, a tree protection order, and a listed building enforcement notice to stop the building works, but all appeared to be ignored.

There were ongoing works at the site which were in breach of planning legislation. These works attracted a significant number of complaints from local residents and elected representatives, a Belfast City Council spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email.

The consulate asserted diplomatic immunity in respect of the works and the council was working with the consulate to try to resolve residents concerns. When that was not possible, and works remained ongoing, the council had no option but to apply for an injunction in order to safeguard the protected building, trees, and conservation area.

After talks broke down, the disputed works, which were to include an almost 10-foot-high boundary wall, widening of a vehicle entrance and the addition of a new pedestrian entrance, anti-climb devices, and a new security pavilion, appeared to recommence.

According to the judgment, on June 21 a new screen was erected around the consulate premises making it difficult, if not impossible to see what works were going on at the premises.

The consulate has throughout maintained that it does not recognize the jurisdiction of the UK courts and that it has diplomatic immunity.

The Nuclear Option

In concluding her judgment, McBride referred to the nuclear option mentioned by the councils solicitor.

That option is where the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs can withdraw permission for a building to be used as consular premises.

This would be a very serious consequence and a reason for Zhang to re-engage in discussions with the council, McBride said.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers speaks during a virtual event in Madison, Wis., on July 30, 2020. (Wisconsin Department of Health Services via the AP)

Wisconsin State Agency Tells Employees to Wear Masks for Online Meetings

A state agency in Wisconsin is requiring employees to wear masks during virtual meetings.

Wear your mask, even if you are home, to participate in a virtual meeting that involves being seensuch as on Zoom or another video-conferencing platformby non-DNR staff, Preston Cole, head of the Department of Natural Resources, wrote in an email to employees last month, an agency spokeswoman confirmed to The Epoch Times.

Set the safety example which shows you as a DNR public service employee care about the safety and health of others, Cole added.

The spokeswoman said in an email: Weve asked of our employees to wear a mask while video conferencing with external partners to set a good example during this pandemic. Wisconsin is a state with significant community spread. By making the effort to wear a mask when publicly conferencing with our external partners we are creating a very visual reminder to all that wearing a mask in a public setting helps prevent the spread of COVID-19.

We also ask staff to wear masks when on externally facing calls because, taken out of context, a screenshot of a staff person or high ranking department official, if not properly attributed, could be misinterpreted to suggest that state employees are not properly following the Governors directive.

Masks are displayed in a store window in Elkhorn, Wis., on May 15, 2020. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, in late July ordered people in the state to wear masks in public indoor settings.

According to the executive order, every individual five years old or older must wear a face covering if both of the following apply: The individual is indoors or in an enclosed space, other than at a private residence and another person or persons who are not members of individuals household or living unit are present in the same room or enclosed space.

When two mayors in Florida in July recommended people wear masks at home, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) spokesman declined to endorse the recommendation.

To reduce the spread of COVID-19, CDC recommends that people wear cloth face coverings in public settings when around people outside of their household, especially when other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, the spokesman told The Epoch Times in an email.

People who know or think they might have COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, should wear masks, including in their home, the CDC says on its website.

Dr. Scott Atlas, President Donald Trumps new COVID-19 adviser, said during an appearance on Fox News Tucker Carlson Tonight that wearing a mask in certain settings is a rational policy. But policies like the one from Wisconsins DNR stem from a massive amount of fear, bordering on hysteria, he said.

And this is a real problem, because public policy is supposed to be taking into consideration not just stopping COVID-19 at all costs, but understanding the impact on people of what you do and what you say.
Actors Ayushmann Khurrana and Farhan Akhtar among others took to social media to welcome a verdict by Supreme Court of India giving daughters equal rights to inheritance of ancestral property. They called it a landmark decision.

A three-judge bench ruled that the 2005 law, which amended the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, to say a daughter would have the same rights as the son, would also apply irrespective of whether she was born before or after the amendment.

Welcoming the decision, Ayushmann wrote in his Instagram stories, The Supreme Court on Tuesday held that daughters, like sons, have an equal birthright to inherit ancestral property and the amendment to the Hindi Succession Act, 1956 will have retrospective effect. A big step, a necessary step and I welcome this verdict wholeheartedly.

Calling it a great day for gender equality, Farhan Akhtar said: In a landmark decision, Supreme Court ensures the unconditional right of a daughter to her parents property. It gives daughters inheritance right to the parental property by birth. A great day in the march for gender equality.

In a landmark decision, Supreme Court ensures the unconditional right of a daughter to her parents property. It gives daughters inheritance right to the parental property by birth. A great day in the march for gender equality.   Farhan Akhtar (@FarOutAkhtar) August 12, 2020

Actor Shraddha Kapoor too welcomed the decision. She took to Instagram stories with a clipping of the judgement, saying: About time #Equality.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday held that daughters have coparcenary rights on the property of their parents even if the latter died before the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 came into force.

A bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Arun Mishra, said that a daughter is entitled to equal property rights under the amended Hindu Succession Act and that the law would have retrospective effects.

(With ANI inputs)

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On Saturday, Stamford police officers were assigned to a local march, which proceeded from Home Depot to the Stamford police station. Most participants, out of about 50 or so in attendance, were there to exercise their First Amendment right to peaceably assemble.

Unfortunately, a small group of others came with a vastly different purpose, to be destructive and render harm that neither the Constitution nor the laws of Connecticut condone.

It has therefore been deeply disturbing to watch, as the ACLU of Connecticut targets the women and men of our law enforcement community with attacks, while openly cheering those engaged in street theater, stopping traffic, disrupting Stamford businesses and making the jobs of their hard-working employees more difficult.

Law enforcement officers work every day to protect the people and merchants in this city, in close partnership with community groups, dedicated to securing every individuals right to live in safety. After months of local and state leaders in Hartford casting shame and blame on all police officers for simply enforcing the laws put in place by those very legislatures in our state and city, where do we go from here?

While the majority of people who attend any rally or public event come to peacefully express their opinions on an issue, more than a few out-of-town agitators and bullies have lately joined events across Connecticut, intending to create disruption, while announcing their political agendas of obstruction in advance.

There is a word for this: Premeditated. This past weekend, nine Stamford officers were injured and one required surgery. Some were actually called out by name by the instigators. Their posts on social media promoted planned activities, including calls to antagonize officers assigned to the scene. Indeed, four of the six  or 66 percent  arrested for breach of peace, and interfering with the police, are NOT from Stamford.

Does our mayor have anything to say about what police officers in his city are confronting? Do members of the Stamford Board of Representatives stand united or against our officers? The silence from the Government Center is deafening.

Can this city afford to allow the professional lobbying and election year political agenda of the defund the police movement, and the resulting unfortunate disruptions to the peace weve seen in cities such as New York, next derail decades of Stamfords own economic growth and progress?

Lets only hope that policy leaders in our city and state have not made up their minds to truly throw caution and public safety to the wind. Your silence on this critical matter is a tacit endorsement of this form of violence on our community.

Stamford simply cant afford to replicate what has happened in the Big Apple, where lawlessness and hostility to public safety has emptied the city of residents and businesses, who fear an unabated spread of violence.

Investigator David OMeara currently serves as vice president of the Stamford Police Association. He is a nine-year veteran of the Stamford Police Department, and works in the Bureau of Criminal Investigations.
Biman to operate flight to Kuala Lumpur from Aug 18

UNB, Dhaka :

Biman Bangladesh Airlines is set to operate direct flights from Dhaka to Kuala Lumpur commercially from August 18.

The Kuala Lumpur-Dhaka flight will be operated two days in a week- on Tuesday and Friday while Kuala Lumpur-Dhaka route on Wednesday and Saturday, said a press release of Biman.

The necessary conditions and information will be available on Biman Bangladesh Airlines website.
New York has the worst economic outlook of any state in the US, according to a recent ranking that comes as thousands flee the Big Apple amid escalating crime and chaos.

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) published its 13th annual Rich States, Poor States ranking on Wednesday. The researchers looked at issues such as taxation and the economic competitiveness of the state.

The economic outlook rating state gross domestic product, absolute domestic migration and non-farm payroll employment.

Utah, for the 13th year running, was top of the ranking and New York, for the sixth year in a row, was last.

The future of New York City, one of if not the largest city economy in America, is becoming decreasingly appetizing for the rich thanks to a series of decisions by officials.

Since March, Mayor Bill de Blasio has stripped the NYPD of $1billion and moved 13,000 homeless people into hotels around the city.

He has waved off wealthy New Yorkers who fled at the height of the pandemic to avoid getting COVID-19, and says they will be replaced, seemingly paying no heed to the gaping tax deficit they will leave if they pull their money permanently out of the city.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, by contrast, is begging them to stay to keep the city afloat.

These are the rankings for economic outlook which measures is based on state gross domestic product, absolute domestic migration and non-farm payroll employment

New York has been ranked the worst state in the nation for its economic outlook

The state was hard hit by COVID-19 and protests (pictured), and its economy is suffering

Stores which were already struggling due to the pandemic shut due to protests

New York was the global epicenter of the pandemic for an agonizing month during which, at its most intense, close to 1,000 people across the state were dying every day.

The lock-down was among the strictest in the country, putting bars and restaurants out of business for 11 weeks.

The reopening has been just as painful for many businesses.

Gyms, for example, are still not allowed to welcome customers back. Restaurants and bars that are only allowed to serve people outside are facing strict restrictions which forces them to sell food with alcohol and close their doors by 10pm at the start of the week.

All of it is creating a mass exodus of New Yorkers which is having a woeful effect on the city and state's economic outlook.

'One of the ultimate measures of whether a state is successful or not is, are people voting with their feet towards that state or away from that state,' said Jonathan Williams, one of the report's authors.

'Of course we've seen some big trend lines over the years now by changes in federal policy such as the limitation to state and local tax or SALT deduction that has put pressure on high-tax states and has driven migration away from states like New York.

'We've recently seen these trends accelerate.'

New York is suffering from a lack of tourism, too, as cultural institutions are closed

A vandalized bank is seen in the Greenwich Village area of Manhattan on May 31

Another, economist Stephen Moore, added: 'You're seeing a migration of people out of these high-tax states.

'It's really putting a stress on the budgets in states like New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Rhode Island.'

The other states in the bottom five were Vermont, New Jersey, Illinois and California.

Phil Scott of Vermont is the only Republican governor of the five.

Phil Murphy of New Jersey; J.B. Pritzker of Illinois; Gavin Newsom of California and Andrew Cuomo of New York are all Democrats.

At the top end of the scale, the governors of Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Indiana are all Republicans.

Only the governor of fifth-best North Carolina, Roy Cooper, is a Democrat.

Cuomo on August 3 acknowledged that the state, and in particular New York City, was in trouble.

Between March 1 and May 1, some five per cent of New Yorkers fled town. Crime is soaring in the city, with 1,000 people shot already this year and homicide up 50 per cent.

Homeless encampments have cropped up in several areas of Manhattan, to the distress and annoyance of residents.

Homeless people have taken to living along a stretch of Chelsea's streets in Manhattan

Upper West Side residents are complaining about homeless people, pictured on August 7

The Guardian Angels perform a night patrol of the Upper West Side on August 10

Homeless people were spotted drinking in the Upper West Side and urinating publicly

Cuomo said he was begging people to return to New York City from their second-home retreats so they can pay taxes to help offset the state's growing coronavirus-related revenue shortfall.

'I literally talk to people all day long who are now in their Hamptons house who also lived here, or in their Hudson Valley house, or in their Connecticut weekend house, and I say: "You got to come back! We'll go to dinner! I'll buy you a drink! Come over, I'll cook!"

'They're not coming back right now.

'And you know what else they're thinking? "If I stay there, I'll pay a lower income tax," because they don't pay the New York City surcharge.'

He noted that the wealthiest one per cent of New York's population picks up roughly 50 per cent of the state's tax burden.

The plea comes amid dimming hopes that the federal government's next COVID-19 relief package will contain any additional aid for struggling state and local governments.

If additional dollars don't come to New York on top of waning revenue streams, Cuomo and other state officials have said the hit could translate to 20 per cent cuts to health, education and local governments' annual budget.

Donald Trump's Executive Order on COVID relief, which sees unemployment benefits topped up by an additional $400 a week, with the states paying $100 of it, has been greeted with anger by struggling state governors.

States, unlike federal entities, must balance their budgets.
Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria on Thursday asked air warriors at a frontline base in Western Command to maintain the "highest standards of readiness" in view of the border row with China in eastern Ladakh, officials said.

IMAGE: Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria flies MiG-21 Bison during a visit to a fighter squadron at a frontline airbase. Photograph: @IAF_MCC/Twitter

The Western Command looks after the aerial defence of the sensitive Ladakh sector as well as various other parts of North India.

The Chief of Air Staff also flew a Mig 21 Bison jet at the airbase, and carried out a comprehensive review of the operational preparedness of the IAF in the region, the officials said.

The Indian Air Force has kept almost all its air bases under the Western Command at a "very high level of readiness" in view of the over three-month border row with China in eastern Ladakh.

"The Chief of Air Staff urged the air warriors to maintain the highest standards of readiness," the IAF said in a statement without naming the airbase he visited.

It said the Chief of Air Staff reviewed the operational preparedness of the base and interacted with air warriors serving on the frontlines during the day-long visit.

The statement said he also appreciated their efforts in preserving the IAF's combat potential during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria also flew a sortie on a Mig 21 Bison.

The Mig-21 Bison is a single engine and single seater multirole fighter aircraft of Russian origin which was the backbone of the IAF for several decades. The Mig 21s played a major role in the 1971 Indo-Pak War.

Last week, Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Harjit Singh Arora visited a number of air bases along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh to take stock of the IAF's operational preparedness in the region.

Air Marshal Singh also visited the strategically crucial air base in Daulat Beg Oldie, known as one of the world's highest airstrip. The airbase is situated at an altitude of 16,600 feet.

In June, Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria made a quiet visit to Ladakh and Srinagar air bases to review the IAF's overall preparedness.

In the last two months, the IAF deployed almost all its frontline fighter jets like Sukhoi 30 MKI, Jaguar and Mirage 2000 aircraft in the key frontier air bases in eastern Ladakh and elsewhere along the LAC.

The IAF has been carrying out night time combat air patrols over the eastern Ladakh region in an apparent message to China that it was ready to deal with any eventualities in the mountainous region.

The IAF has also deployed Apache attack choppers as well as Chinook heavy-lift helicopters to transport troops to various forward locations in eastern Ladakh.
By Sonya Herrera

San Jose Spotlight

Members of Alpha Omicron Pi at San Jose State University are demanding the sorority lower its dues and eliminate "empty bed fees" to provide relief to less-advantaged students during the economic downturn triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.

The university's Delta Sigma chapter of Alpha Omicron Pi organized a news conference Wednesday to address concerns about the house at 408 S. Eighth St. owned by the fraternity's headquarters. Typically, about 28 women would occupy the home, with two to four students sharing a single bedroom.

"Because of the pandemic, they're not allowed to set foot in the house," said Madison Marchi, a member of Alpha Omicron Pi. "However, they're still holding us liable to pay up to $2,500 in (annual) fees in order to support the house."

All sorority members pay $694 annually in chapter dues, according to member Katy Jenson. Those who live outside the Eighth Street house pay about $2,500 in yearly "development" fees to help sustain the home, while students living in the home pay $10,396 annually in rent.

"The issue of finances does not come without addressing the systemic oppressions of our institutions, including this very organization," said Erica Lizarrago, a student at San Jose State and sorority member. "So long as they don't address this, colleges, universities and Greek communities will remain primarily white."

Lizarrago said the fraternity headquarters is not clear with students on how it spends the money, adding levying these charges against students from low-income families during a time of growing unemployment is unconscionable.

"I do not come from a trust fund; I do not come from generational wealth," said Lizarrago. "I come from a descending line of fruit pickers who have given their life to the very ground I stand upon today."

According to a statement issued by the chapter, 58 percent of its members identify as people of color and 49 percent are low-income. In addition, 73 percent have become unemployed due to the government shutdown order.

The San Jose State chapter of Alpha Omicron Pi issued demands to the executive leadership in Tennessee: allow members to break their housing contracts, reduce membership dues, and improve financial accessibility and transparency over how dues and fees are spent.

Leadership said in a written response the costs of operating the house outweigh the amount collected in rent. During a meeting with the San Jose State chapter on Monday, a member of the executive team called the chapter a "poor investment."

"During the conversation there was a statement about the chapter operating at a significant annual net loss," the leadership statement said. "This statement was taken out of context and used as the basis of the campaign. At no time were members of AOII nor the Delta Sigma Chapter called a 'poor investment.'"

The national headquarters pledged to remove the consideration of "legacies" -- family members -- in its recruitment and said it would hold a financial transparency meeting next week to explain how dues are spent.

Rev. Jeff Moore, president of the Silicon Valley chapter of the NAACP, spoke at the news conference and said his organization would keep a close eye on the Tennessee headquarters' handling of the matter.

"Though we have no evidence thus far that race is a factor in the situation, we will be looking into it," Moore said. "We understand that the corporation is directed by all white women in the state of Tennessee."

Moore said the NAACP would make sure officials at San Jose State, including Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Patrick Day, would be held responsible for the mistreatment of students.

"I will be going to City Hall and to the County Board of Supervisors immediately to support these students," Moore said. "This mistreatment, or maltreatment, or racist behavior of people from out of state (toward) people of color from in our state can not be tolerated."

Contact Sonya Herrera at sonya.m.herrera@gmail.com or follow @SMHsoftware on Twitter.

Copyright  2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
Justin Hartley's first ex wife Lindsay Korman-Hartley recently praised the actor amid ongoing revelations about his bitter breakup with Chrishell Stause.

But the Selling Sunset star didn't seem too happy about Lindsay getting involved.

The 39-year-old shared a message to her Instagram stories on Wednesday writing 'Women who build each other up are my tribe.'

Build each other up: Chrishell Stause shared a message to her Instagram stories on Wednesday writing 'Women who build each other up are my tribe,' after her ex Justin Hartley's first ex wife defended him amid cheating allegations (Stause pictured in 2019)

Chrishell made the statement about appreciating supportive women as she shared a text post that read 'be the woman who fixes another woman's crown without telling the world it was crooked.'

Her post comes after she liked a tweet that suggested the This Is Us actor, 43, could have been unfaithful, leading Lindsay, 42, to defend their mutual ex.

The All My Children actress called her former love a 'solid man' who is a 'devoted father' in a Tuesday Instagram post.

Lindsay, who was with Justin from 2003 to 2012 and shares a 16-year-old daughter with the actor, said she was embracing 'positivity' in the post, telling her 47.8k followers: 'In a day when social media should be used for positivity an inspiration towards movement in an honest and deserving way, I'd like to join, by highlighting my appreciation for my family.

Crowned: Chrishell made the statement about appreciating supportive women as she shared a text post that read 'be the woman who fixes another woman's crown without telling the world it was crooked'

On good terms: Her post comes after she liked a tweet that suggested the This Is Us actor, 43, could have been unfaithful, leading Lindsay, 42, to defend their mutual ex (Lindsay pictured in 2016)

'Today, I appreciate my ex-husband Justin for not only being [an] exemplification of a solid man but for being my dear friend and devoted father to our daughter. Simply put: for being family.'

It continued: 'We derive our own opinion of people by experiencing life and time together, and we do our best to hold dear the ones that maintain consistent kindness, love and generosity.'

Lindsay's message concluded: 'No matter what conflicts Justin and I had in the past, I appreciate what we have today and I am thankful for the family we have built.'

Cheating? Hartley's defense of her ex comes while Justin and Chrishell's breakup continues to play out in public (Justin and Chrishell seen in 2017 )

Positive spin: Lindsay said she was embracing 'positivity' as she shared the post with her 47.8k followers

Exes and ohs: Lindsay was with Justin from 2003 to 2012 and shares a 16-year-old daughter with the actor. They're seen in 2006 above

Hartley's defense of her ex comes while Justin and Chrishell's breakup continues to play out in public.

Stause recently liked several tweets that claimed Justin had cheated on her, allegedly with new girlfriend Sofia Pernas.

The most eyebrow-raising like was for a fan who wrote: '@justinhartley filmed a movie in Canada at the same time his new gf @SofiaPernas was filming the summer before they split. The timing seems like he probably cheated on @Chrishell7 and took a cowards way out to avoid spousal support and gaslight her.'

The reality star did not stop there as she also liked a tweet from the site Blind Gossip from December which included claims that a celebrity couple had recently split after he fell in love with another woman.

Interesting: Though she has not said it directly Chrishell, 39, has been liking tweets which hint that Justin, 43, was cheating including this one from a user named @Concernedsoap

Proof: Chrishell is seen under the list of likes

However there are two sides to every story as a source close to Hartley told Us Weekly on Wednesday that the accusations are not true and that he began dating 31-year-old actress and former friend to Chrishell, Sofia Pernas earlier this year as the divorce was filed in November 2019.

Their insider added: 'He didn't even start talking to Sofia until the spring of 2020.'

Back In May, Hartley and Pernas were photographed sharing a kiss in Los Angeles just six months after filing for divorce from his wife in November.

The new season of Stause's Selling Sunset has been peppered with revelations about her divorce.

Fans had gone wild watching the episode where Chrishell reveals to her costar Mary Fitzgerald that the Passions actor sent the bad news on text message, explaining: 'He text me that we were filed,' she said, adding: 'Forty-five minutes later, the world knew.'

Bad news: Stause tearfully revealed how she first found out that her husband Justin Hartley was filing for divorce, after he sent her the news via a text message on her hit reality show

Stause went on: 'I talked to him right after because I thought that must be a joke. But that was kind of the end of the communication.'

'When I found out, I was minutes before leaving the house for work so I immediately just grabbed a few things and I just got out of there as fast as I could," the former soap star said.

'I don't think I really knew where I was going or what I was going to do, but I just had to leave.'

'I'm just kind of in shock with it all,' the former daytime TV star added through tears.
After I-T raids on SP leaders, petitioner questions Centre for not sending Mulayam & Akhilesh to jail

Mulayam tried to convince Aparna Yadav not to join BJP: SP chief Akhilesh

Mulayam Singh Yadavs condition stable

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Lucknow, Aug 13: The health condition of Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was admitted to a hospital here last week, is under control, the medical facility said on Wednesday.

Yadav was admitted to Medanta Hospital here on Friday following an infection in the urinary tract. He was tested for COVID-19 and was found negative.

"He (Mulayam Singh Yadav) is stable, and treatment is going on. He has not completely recovered. His condition is under control," Medanta Hospital Director Dr Rakesh Kapoor told PTI.

Pranab Mukherjee's doctor who treated him in 2007, says he suffered head injury in mishap

Kapoor had earlier said that the 80-year-old SP leader also underwent ultrasound, blood and urine tests.

PM Modi launches platform for 'Transparent taxation-Honouring the Honest' | Oneindia News

SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary had said on Saturday that party chief Akhilesh Yadav and his wife Dimple Yadav had visited the hospital on Friday night to enquire about Mulayam Singh Yadav's condition.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Thursday, August 13, 2020, 10:50 [IST]
(Bloomberg) -- At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, contact tracing was considered the best hope for getting people back to offices and schools safely without a vaccine. The tech industry was optimistic that apps would provide a faster, more effective alternative to the usual painstaking human process of calling and interviewing the networks of infected people to figure out possible sources of exposure.

It hasnt worked out that way. All efforts in the U.S. are so nascent that Citizen, known for location-based crime alerts, on Thursday launched a feature called SafePass that its already calling the largest private contact-tracing network, with only 700,000 people testing its product.

The app allows users to upload their health status every day, then updates them on how many people they have walked past who are also using the product. If someone in the network is infected, that person will be immediately notified, as will the other SafePass users their phone pinged. SafePass will provide a map and time of the possible infection, and ask users if they think they were exposed. If so, Citizen will send them an at-home Covid-19 test for no charge.

On Citizen, users can also create a list of friends whose names and health status they will be able to see whenever they want, to help decide whether its safe to hang out.

We are basically building a Covid social network right now, Andrew Frame, Citizens chief executive officer, said in an interview. He imagines people will ask their contacts to use the app for a few days before attempting a vacation or event together. Everyone in the world wants to see their friends and they want to ask them, Have you been tested? What are your symptoms? Have you been safe? All those questions can be answered by SafePass, he said.

Contact tracing works best when the rate of infection in a community is small, and someone can easily pinpoint the source of their exposure. In many U.S. communities, the benefits have waned with rising numbers of Covid-19 cases. Americans who are most vulnerable to the illness live in low-income communities with high-density housing, and are the least likely to have access to their own smartphones.

Story continues

Citizen said its working with the government in Stockton, California -- a city particularly hard-hit by the coronavirus -- and will be aiming for more partnerships with municipalities and businesses. But so far, in the U.S. and other countries, voluntary apps havent seen enough adoption to become effective.

Alphabet Inc.s Google and Apple Inc. worked together on a system allowing governments to build contract-tracing apps. The program faced a series of problems, with some countries saying privacy controls blocked them from collecting crucial data to tracking the virus spread. By the end of July, 16 regions and countries around the world had launched an app built on top of the system, Google said. The state of Virginia earlier this month launched the first app in the U.S. based on the Google-Apple system.

Privacy could be a barrier for Citizen, too. The app stores its users Bluetooth location data for 30 days, so that they can accurately notify them about possible infections. Users who get a Covid-19 test through the Safepass system will have their results automatically uploaded to all contacts. Friends on the app may find out about someones positive result before they do. Thats by design, because stopping the spread is a matter of urgency, Frame said.

Weve had almost no requests for the ability to hide their positive status, he said. Theres no shame whatsoever in getting Covid, and a lot of people are getting Covid. Its not their fault. This thing is sweeping through America.

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

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Critical theory is not biblical justice, it locates evil in the wrong place: Tim Keller explains

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Acclaimed theologian Tim Keller recently addressed the issue of critical theory which has become popularized in some Christian circles.

In a lengthy essay published at Life in The Gospel, the former pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan articulated the differences in the many theories of justice presently swirling in culture, including postmodernism.

"There have never been stronger calls for justice than those we are hearing today. But seldom do those issuing the calls acknowledge that currently there are competing visions of justice, often at sharp variance, and that none of them have achieved anything like a cultural consensus, not even in a single country like the U.S. It is overconfident to assume that everyone will adopt your view of justice, rather than some other, merely because you say so," Keller wrote.

Though the Bible established a comprehensive vision for justice, because of the failures of some contemporary Christians to see the work of justice as part of their vocation as followers of Jesus, secular models for justice have gained ground and are distorting Christian faith and practice.

Central to understanding what is truly just is sharing a common understanding of what it means to be human and why we were created.

"The secular view is that human beings are just here through chance. We are not here for any purpose at all. But if that is the case then there is no good way to argue coherently on secular premises and beliefs about the world that any particular behavior is wrong and unjust. Human rights are based on nothing more than that some people feel they are important."

Yet Scripture depicts the human world as a profoundly inter-related community and as such, those who are godly must live for the strengthening of the community, he continued, noting that this extends to how people deal with their wealth.

"To treat all of your profits and assets as individualistically yours is mistaken. Because God owns all your wealth (you are just a steward of it), the community has some claim on it. Nevertheless, it is not to be confiscated. You are to acknowledge the claim and voluntarily be radically generous. This view of property does not fit well with either a capitalist or a socialist economy," he explained.

The theologian extensively unpacked postmodern critical theory which has taken off in some quarters of evangelicalism. Resistance to critical theory has in part fueled the formation and launch earlier this year of a new network of theological conservatives within the Southern Baptist Convention who insist that the theory is diametrically opposed to the Gospel.

He elaborated that postmodernism is incoherent and that it holds that the explanation of every unequal outcome in power, wealth, and well being are never the result of individual actions or to cultural differences or to differences in human abilities, but only structural, systemic injustices in society. In this view, truth is impossible to know outside of its relationship to power.

"If all truth-claims and justice-agendas are socially constructed to maintain power, then why arent the claims and agendas of the adherents of this view subject to the same critique? Why are the postmodern justice advocates claims that 'This is oppression' unquestionably, morally right, while all other moral claims are mere social constructs? And if everyone is blinded by class-consciousness and social location, why arent they? Intersectionality claims oppressed people see things clearly  but why would they if social forces make us wholly what we are and control how we understand reality?" he offered.

"The Postmodern account of justice has no good answers for these questions. You cannot insist that all morality is culturally constructed and relative and then claim that your moral claims are not. This is not a flaw that only Christians can see, and this may therefore be a fatal flaw for the entire theory," Keller said.

Postmodern critical theory also holds that any evil is instilled in humans by society and any pathology can then be fixed by revamping social policy.

"But biblically we know we are complex beings  socially (both individual and social creatures made in the image of a Three-in-One God), morally (both sinful and fallen, yet valuable in the image of God), and constitutionally (we are equally soul-spirit and body). The reasons for evil and for unjust outcomes in life are multiple and complex," he said.

"The Bible teaches that sin is pervasive and universal. We are each members of a race or nationality that contains much unique common grace to contribute to the world. But every culture also comes with particular sinful idolatries. No race or people group is inherently more sinful than others. But in this postmodern view of justice groups are assigned higher or lower moral value depending on their power, and some groups are denied any redeeming characteristics at all. To see whole races as more sinful and evil than other races leads to things like the Holocaust."

The distinctly secular theory of justice locates evil in the wrong place, he added, seeing all injustice as occurring on a human level, demonizing human being instead of recognizing evil forces  "the world, the flesh, the devil" operating in every human being (Ephesians 6:12).

"Adherents of this view also end up being utopian  they see themselves as saviors rather than recognizing that only a true, divine Savior will be able to finally bring in justice. When dealing with injustice we do confront human sin, but in addition 'we wrestle not [merely] with flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12),'" he said.
DAYTON, Ohio, Aug. 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Dayton Power & Light Company (DP&L), a subsidiary of The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES), announces new extended payment options to assist customers experiencing financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We care about our customers and the Miami Valley and recognize the ongoing challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic," said Lisa Krueger, president of the AES U.S. strategic business unit. "On our website we provide information on resources available to those customers experiencing financial hardship. Customers who have fallen behind on paying their electricity bills may choose an extended payment plan that meets their needs."

In mid-March, DP&L suspended disconnections for nonpayment as well as late-payment fees and credit card fees to provide the reliable electric service customers needed throughout the state's stay-at-home order and beyond.

Extended payment options

Customers experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19 can sign up now for an extended payment plan by using self-service options either by phone through our automated system at 800-433-8500 or online at dpandl.com/onelessworry. Residential customers can select from 6, 9 and a new 12-month extended pay agreement, while business customers can extend payments up to 6 months.

DP&L is contacting customers with overdue account balances by email and postcards delivered by the U.S Postal Service, additionally customers may receive an automated call outlining our payment options. Customers who are unable to self-serve can call a service specialist who will help them with their plan. DP&L representatives are available at 800-433-8500 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Expanded assistance options

Customers evaluating which extended payment option works best for them should first see if they qualify for other assistance programs, such as United Way of the Greater Dayton Area Help Link 2-1-1, Miami Valley Community Action Partnership, or Income-Qualified Programs.

What customers can expect as DP&L returns to standard business operations

With the relief provided by the extended payment plans, DP&L will return to standard billing practices starting with the end of the suspension of disconnections on September 1 .

. For those customers with overdue account balances who have not signed up for a payment plan, disconnection notifications will begin on August 17 with actual disconnections taking place September 1 , consistent with timing of other Ohio electric utilities. DP&L will ensure safe practices that include social distancing and wearing masks in addition to offering contactless payment options during the personal notice on the day of disconnect.

with actual disconnections taking place , consistent with timing of other electric utilities. DP&L will ensure safe practices that include social distancing and wearing masks in addition to offering contactless payment options during the personal notice on the day of disconnect. Late fees will resume at the same time as disconnections notices on August 17 . DP&L will not assess late fees on accounts that are currently on pay agreements.

. DP&L will not assess late fees on accounts that are currently on pay agreements. DP&L will continue to waive credit cards fees for customers on pay agreements that make payments electronically by the terms of the 12-month payment plan or through November 2021 .

Additional Information on Expanded Assistance Options

DP&L's COVID-19 webpage includes a list of available resources during the pandemic, such as detailed payment and billing options, assistance options, energy efficiency programs and government programs that can benefit small businesses. Visit dpandl.com/update for timely updates about changes we are making to help all customers.

About The Dayton Power and Light Company

The Dayton Power and Light Company is the principal subsidiary of DPL Inc. (DPL), a regional energy provider and an AES company. DPL's primary subsidiaries include The Dayton Power and Light Company. The Dayton Power and Light Company, a regulated electric utility, provides service to over 527,000 customers in West Central Ohio. For more information about the company, please visit www.dplinc.com. Connect with DP&L at www.twitter.com/dpltoday, www.linkedin.com/company/dayton-power-and-light, and at www.facebook.com/DPLToday.

About AES

The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES) is a Fortune 500 global power company. We provide affordable, sustainable energy to 14 countries through our diverse portfolio of distribution businesses as well as thermal and renewable generation facilities. Our workforce is committed to operational excellence and meeting the world's changing power needs. Our 2019 revenues were $10 billion and we own and manage $34 billion in total assets. To learn more, please visit www.aes.com. Follow AES on Twitter @TheAESCorp.

SOURCE Dayton Power and Light

Related Links

http://www.dpandl.com


The website (https:// CollegeCentral.com/flcjobs ) makes it both FREE and easy for all employerslarge and small, public and privateto register just once and then post an unlimited number of jobs to Florida's state colleges, community colleges and technical college students and alumni! This is an extraordinarily useful resource for employers hiring in today's climate, even with temporarily closed or restricted campuses, and students accessing career services from home.

Employers posting jobs today can simultaneously reach tens of thousands of job seekers from Atlantic Technical College, Broward College, Cape Coral Technical College, Florida SouthWestern State College, Fort Myers Technical College, Hillsborough Community College, Indian River State College, Lake Technical College, Lake-Sumter State College, Lively Technical College, Lorenzo Walker Technical College, McFatter Technical College, Sheridan Technical College, South Florida State College, Southeastern College, and St. Johns River State College.

According to Fortin Jean-Pierre, District Director, Career Services, at Broward College, named one of the Top Ten Community Colleges in the Nation by the Aspen Institute, "The new Florida Colleges Jobs Consortium will make it very easy for employers to register once, post as many jobs as they wish, and reach qualified job candidates across Florida."

Carmen Kimpson, Manager, Career Resource Center, Brandon Campus at Hillsborough Community College stated, "Employers often have job opportunities at multiple locations across the state. Formerly, there were no simple solutions. But now, the Consortium offers a user-friendly, streamlined resource to access top talent with a single registration. Our graduates have the skills Florida employers need and they're ready and willing to move directly into the workforce."

Steven Perry, Employment Service Specialist, McFatter Technical College, said, "Florida's emerging technically trained workforce is funded by Floridians to specifically meet the state's needs. And now, they finally have an easy path for our state's employers to hire and retain local community and technical college talent!"

George Brownett, Career Transitions Specialist at St. Johns River State College added, "The power of our Consortium's combined undergraduate reach in Florida is massive and it will continue to expand as additional colleges join in. The Consortium will deliver our state's employers a diverse mix of students and alumni that are highly skilled and motivated to jump right into our workforce!"

Scott Schnappauf, Career Advisor, Lorenzo Walker Technical College stated, "The majority of our graduates are hired in-state and our Consortium's colleges focus on providing the skills needed for them to move directly into the workforce. We also reskill adults in Florida to re-enter the workforce and add value to our state."

"Our Consortium's colleges provide great value and contribute directly to Florida's economic growth," stated Robert Hampton, Director, Career Development, South Florida State College. "We're all excited about the potential of the Consortium and expect many employers to take advantage of it!"

According to Joy Miller, CCN's Career Services Central (CSC) National Sales Manager, "The Consortium is launching at a time when employers need to target timely job postings in response to COVID-19 and now, business reopenings. Organizations are looking to hire college students and alumni willing and able to jump in to meet their state's, regions', or cities' specific hiring conditions. Florida's community and technical colleges are well positioned to help their state's economy rebound fast and to quickly fill the state's hiring needs in an era of rapid economic and technological change."

CCN's Career Services Central is the exclusive online career office management platform for career centers at all schools participating in the Consortium. Joy Miller sums it up: "Community and technical colleges can have a great impact on the state's economy. The Florida Colleges Jobs Consortium website allows employers to easily recruit the state's home-grown entry-level talent by removing as many barriers as possible and simplifying the hiring process. This is especially critical given the added current complications of closed campuses and remote learning."

Statistics show that approximately 430,000 students attend Florida state, community, and technical colleges.*

* "Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System," National Center for Education Statistics, accessed August 12, 2020, https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/use-the-data.

About College Central Network

Founded in 1997, College Central Network (CCN) has over 23 years of experience connecting employers with qualified emerging talent candidates. More than one million employers have already registered to utilize the Network to post jobs and recruit students and alumni for entry-level jobs.

CollegeCentral.com is absolutely free for any student enrolled at a U.S. college; alumnus/a of a U.S. college; community resident taking classes at a U.S. college; or student attending one of our partner high schools. To learn more, visit: CollegeCentral.com.

About Career Services Central

Career Services Central (CSC) is CCN's intuitive and affordable career office management platform that works on any device and is trusted by hundreds of institutions and organizations across the U.S.

Thousands of career professionals use CSC daily to manage the entire career process for students, alumni, and community residents attending CSC-powered institutions, including appointments, career advice and job searching, resumes, career portfolios, experiential learning, on-campus recruiting, career events, and job fairs. To learn more, visit: CareerServicesCentral.com.

CONTACT:

Barbara Anderson

800-442-3614

[email protected]

SOURCE College Central Network

Related Links

https://www.collegecentral.com


Many have endorsed virtual care for its economic and accessibility advantages. This helps our most vulnerable populations. But virtual care cannot come at the cost of strong patient-physician relationships.

In an era when technology increasingly caters to our needs, we must not approach medicine as we would ordering toiletries online. Some may wish it to be so, but health is not something that can be commodified. Medicine is fundamentally personal, and that means the therapeutic relationship can impact our health.

Unfortunately, some elements of virtual care encourage consumerism. This can create a split between the patient and the person.

A perennial complaint of patients is that they feel unheard by their physicians. At times, this is justified. But sometimes it is because of a relational disconnect. We are unlikely to feel heard if we think our physician dismisses us as a person. Yet that level of care is difficult to communicate with a stranger over video. Many patients feel uncared for unless their physician listens to their heart, even when clinically irrelevant.

Conversely, from the physicians perspective, if you feel your patients respect your time and expertise as a person, you are less likely to feel like a medication vending machine. This in turn can mitigate the major issue of burnout.

Shifting to a system that further relies on quick dispensations exacerbates the impersonal and bureaucratic state of medicine. But we are not patrons and customer service agents. A strong physician-patient relationship shapes how we perceive our interactions.

Within their exchanges, physicians share heartbreaking news and patients divulge their deepest anxieties. Compassionate body language and a physical presence can make all the difference. But an emphasis on efficiency and cutting costs may tempt us to do this virtually.

Human health cannot be reduced to biochemistry, where medications can simply titrate various blood levels. This narrow stance toward medicine turns patients into machines and physicians into mechanics.

While robots do not suffer, we do. We grieve and we wonder about how illness will affect us and our families. Our existential concerns cannot be measured in terms of efficiency. We must be wary of a personal encounter becoming a mechanical transaction.

The virtual check-in is sensible for minor issues. Encumbered systems benefit from streamlining. We have seen advantages of walk-in clinics and their accessibility. But walk-in medicine suffers from difficult follow-up and the lack of an ongoing history with the patient to contextualize new concerns.

Similar worries exist for virtual care. But some physical contact and a prior relationship make online interactions healthier.

In promoting virtual care, we must recognize how technology shapes our perception of medicine. Expanding our use of innovative technology is critical. But we cannot lose the personal touch in medicine.
Mumbai, Aug 13 : The ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) heaved a collective sigh of relief as a key ally Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) weathered what turned out to be a storm in a teacup.

Speaking on behalf of one of the leading political families late on Wednesday, state NCP President Jayant Patil assured that "there are no issues within the Pawar family".

It came hours after the family patriarch and NCP President Sharad Pawar, 79, had publicly scorned his 30-year-old grandnephew Parth Pawar on a couple of issues.

The son of Sharad Pawar's nephew and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Parth had recently demanded a CBI probe into the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput and heralded the Ram Temple ceremony in Ayodhya on August 5, terming it as a "civilizational awakening for Bharat" in a letter and signing off with "Jai Shree Ram".

Late on Wednesday evening, the Pawar clan went into a huddle with Sharad Pawar, his daughter Supriya Sule and nephew Ajit Pawar to hammer out any misgivings arising out of the family patriarch's comments on Parth.

"Ajit Pawar is not at all unhappy. Pawar Saheb is the head of the NCP and his family, he has every right to suggest, instruct, guide and order on any issue," Patil declared after the meeting.

Patil also said that everyone has a freedom to express his/her views, but if he (Parth) had said anything, he claimed he was not aware of it, nor will any explanation be sought from Parth.

In an unprecedented outburst, Sharad Pawar on Wednesday openly snubbed Parth when mediapersons queried him on the latter's statements.

"His statements are not worth even a nickel. He is immature. We do not give much importance to it," said Sharad Pawar.

"I have 100 pecent faith in the Maharashtra Police. I have known them, and even the Mumbai Police, for 50 years. They are making a detailed probe. Even after that if someone wants a CBI probe then I won't oppose them," Pawar Sr. said, fully backing the state police force.

Pawar Sr.'s statement took political circles by shock and awe amid speculation of cracks emerging in the clan, briefly unnerving the other MVA partners, the Shiv Sena-Congress.

The unexpected eruption from Pawar Sr. -- who is never known to speak on family issues publicly -- was all the more stunning as he had not reacted so harshly even when Ajit Pawar had joined hands with Bharatiya Janata Party's Devendra Fadnavis to form a two-man, 80-hour long government in November 2019.

Not surprisingly, BJP leader Nitesh Rane prodded Parth with loaded tweets, saying: "I am repeating -- You're a long-race horse. Don't stop, friend." However, Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis was more diplomatic by labeling it as a "family issue", though he welcomed Parth's demand for a CBI probe in the Sushant matter.

The other two MVA allies -- Sena and Congress -- did not react and looked the other way as the NCP quickly sorted out the issue.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka on Thursday promised a full review of how the citys police division in April handled the death of Ashely Moore, a 26-year-old Black transgender woman.

Moore was found with no pulse outside the Newark YMCA on April 1 around 4 a.m., according to a police report. While police say her death was a suicide, advocates within the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community cast doubt on that determination and raised concerns with how her case was handled.
Kamala Harris discusses her Jamaican, Indian roots in first campaign event with Biden in Delaware

Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic US Presidential nominee, and his new running mate Kamala Harris held their first campaign event together in Delaware.

Harris also zeroed in on President Trump when discussing why the US leads the world with the most Covid-19 infections. Photo courtesy: Twitter/@ingelecevra

Biden named Harris as his vice presidential pick yesterday, making the California senator the first Black and South Asian American woman to run on a major political party's presidential ticket.

The candidates wore masks and maintained physical distance during their speeches.

Harris, ahead of Democratic Convention next week, urged Americans to vote. "We need a mandate that proves that the past few years do not represent who we are or who we aspire to be," she said.

During her speech, she discussed the importance of family in her life and alluded to her Jamaican-Indian roots, talking about how her parents met while protesting for civil rights in Oakland in the 1960s.

"My mother and father, they came from opposite sides of the world to arrive in America. One from India and the other from Jamaica in search of a world-class education. But what brought them together was the civil rights movement of the 1960s. And that's how they met as students in the streets of Oakland marching and shouting for this thing called justice in a struggle that continues today," she said.

The California senator said her parents would bring her to protests as a little girl "strapped tightly in my stroller".

Harris also zeroed in on President Trump when discussing why the US leads the world with the most Covid-19 infections.

"His refusal to get testing up and running, his flip-flopping on social distancing and wearing masks. His delusional belief that he knows better than the experts. All of that is reason and the reason that an American dies of Covid-19 every 80 seconds," Harris said regarding Trump.

The candidates wore masks and maintained physical distance during their speeches. Photo courtesy: Twitter/@lucybluebird

She claimed Trump "inherited the longest economic expansion in history from Barack Obama and Joe Biden" and "ran it straight into the ground."

"Because of Trump's failures of leadership our economy has taken one of the biggest hits out of all the major industrialised nations with an unemployment rate that has tripled as of today," the senator from California said.

Biden called Harris "the right person" for the role of vice president and said her story is "America's story". He described Harris as "a child of immigrants" who "knows personally how immigrant families enrich our country as well as the challenges of what it means to grow up Black and Indian-American in the United States of America".
Representative image (PTI)

The Ministry of Labour and Employment is likely to propose significant relaxation in the eligibility criteria for seeking unemployment benefits under the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) scheme. The proposal aims to enhance the quantum of benefits to 50 percent of last drawn wages and extend the support period by three months.

The Labour Ministry also proposes to do away with the condition that the benefit can be availed only once in a lifetime.

If cleared, the move will benefit over 32 million ESIC subscribers if they ever find themselves unemployed. The proposal will be presented before the corporation meeting on August 20, The Economic Times reported.

The idea has the backing of the Prime Ministers Office. "The proposal has been presented to the PMO last week and will now be tabled in the corporation meeting scheduled next week," one of the officials told ET.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.

Track this LIVE blog for all the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic

The plan is to double the insured amount to 50 percent of the last drawn salary and extend the tenure of benefit from three months to six months.

The proposal also mentions reducing the minimum work requirement of two years to 78 days and allowing multiple withdrawals under the scheme subject to certain conditions.

The Atal Beema Vyakti Kalyan Yojana is a scheme that provides unemployment insurance to workers who have subscribed to the Employees State Insurance (ESI) scheme. Under the Yojana, the government provides 25 percent of the monthly salary as unemployment benefit for three months.

However, workers should have been a subscriber of the ESIC for at least two years to get the unemployment benefit, and this can be availed only once in a lifetime.

The ESI is a self-financing health insurance scheme for formal sector workers in India. It is managed by the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC).

Meanwhile, India's unemployment rate in June fell to 11 percent from 23.5 percent in May, according to data released by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) as economic activities resumed after the government eased coronavirus pandemic lockdown restrictions.
An unexplained death within the inner circle of Togo's military is posing a challenge to the authorities in a tightly-ruled country where for nearly 60 years the army has been the cornerstone of power.

Lieutenant Colonel Bitala Madjoulba, commander of the elite 1st Rapid Intervention Battalion, was found dead in his office in a military base on May 4, the day after President Faure Gnassingbe was sworn in for his fourth term.

An autopsy found that the 51-year-old, a fervent Gnassingbe supporter whose unit helped to crush mass protests in 2017 and 2018, died of a bullet wound.

But the investigators, who are being overseen by Security Minister General Damehame Yark, have been tightlipped, breaking their silence on July 13 to say Togo had asked France to provide "technical help."

In the dearth of information, speculation has ballooned that Madjoulba was murdered -- there is no indication that a weapon was found nearby, pointing to possible suicide -- and local media have suggested divisions within the military, "a settling of scores."

The investigation "is a hot potato," said David Dosseh, spokesman for an umbrella group of citizens' groups called Togo Citizens' Front Upstanding, or FCTD in its French initials.

"There have been enough incidents in the past to show that in Togo, investigations are opened without people knowing what happens afterwards," he said.

One theory, he said, is that "several figures who are close to the regime could be called into question" if investigators pushed their work to its conclusion.

A source close to the investigation told AFP, "All you have to know is that the commission of inquiry is doing its job".

"The victim's body is in the morgue, if there is any need (of it) for the inquiry," the source said.

The ministry is already overseeing several other inquiries touching on high-profile deaths linked to the security forces -- and some cases date back years.

One concerns a 12-year-old boy who was shot dead during a demonstration in April 2013, and another concerns a young man killed in February 2017 during a spontaneous protest about fuel price rises. More recently, investigations have been opened into the deaths of two young men in Lome in April and May.

Anger

Gnassingbe took over in 2005 from his father, General Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled the impoverished West African state with a rod of iron for 38 years.

The younger Gnassingbe was returned to office in February after elections marked by accusations of fraud and an amendment to the constitution enabling him to bid for two extra terms. He was also granted lifelong immunity from prosecution.

Togo. By Kun TIAN (AFP)

Residents of the dead colonel's home village in Siou, more than 500 kilometres (300 miles) north of the capital Lome, have staged several protests to demand transparency on his death.

"This murder concerns everyone, regardless of our political orientation," said Komi Edoh, a pastor who is president of the Martin Luther King Movement (MMLK), a local rights group.

Nathaniel Olympio, head of the opposition Party of the Togolese, said the affair highlighted "flaws" in the state institutions.

"When someone murders a senior officer in his office, inside a military camp, it shows that the state is unable to guarantee the safety of its officers where they work."

Three local rights groups in May urged Madjoulba's family to file a lawsuit against the state of Togo, a move that was followed in July by a request for the UN's Human Rights Council, an inter-governmental body based in Geneva, to intervene.

The request was filed on behalf of one of the colonel's relatives by an association of three lawyers, said Mawaba Songue Balouki, a Togolese lawyer based in the southern French city of Marseille.

"We are asking the United Nations' Human Rights Council to invite the state of Togo to provide details on this issue, because so far it's been a complete blackout," she said.
GREENSBORO  A Guilford County Schools nutrition worker tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week, the district confirmed Wednesday.

Chief of Staff Nora Carr said the worker attended a small in-kitchen training at a school on Monday, before testing positive for the virus.

She said the county health department contacted co-workers who were potentially exposed. Those workers, as well as the one who tested positive, will need clearance from the health department or their health care provider before they can come back to work, she said.

She declined to identify the school in this case but said the district would likely disclose that information in a case of wider spread.

Potential exposure to the virus has led the district to send some employees home on several occasions since schools closed to in-person classes in March because of COVID-19, Carr said.

This particular case arose just before many district staff were set to return to work on Wednesday. And it comes at a time when the Guilford County Association of Educators and some school board members were raising concerns about requiring teachers to conduct remote learning from the school buildings.
Yves here. Its a shame, but also revealing, that the Democrats have ignored the need to protect the Post Officer from privatizing grifters until the pandemic made vote by mail important. What about public utility dont you understand?

By Jake Johnson, staff writer at Common Dreams. Originally published at Common Dreams

Declaring that Congress must act swiftly to stop the Trump administrations deliberate sabotage of the U.S. Postal Service ahead of the November elections, House Democrats on Wednesday unveiled legislation that would reverse Postmaster General Louis DeJoys disruptive new policies and prevent additional changes at the agency until the end of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sponsored by House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), the Delivering for America Act (pdf) would bar USPS leadership from implementing or approving any change to the operations or the level of service provided by the Postal Service from those in effect on January 1, 2020, that would impede prompt reliable, and efficient services.

Specifically, the legislation would prohibit:

Any change in the nature of postal services which will generally affect service on a nationwide or substantially nationwide basis;

Any revision of service standards;

Any closure or consolidation any post office or reduction of facility hours;

Any prohibition on payments of overtime pay to Postal Service officers or employees;

Any change that would prevent the Postal Service from meeting its service standards or cause a decline in measurements of performance relative to those service standards;

Any change that would have the effect of delaying mail, allowing for the non-delivery of mail to a delivery route, or increasing the volume of undelivered mail.

Our Postal Service should not become an instrument of partisan politics, but instead must be protected as a neutral, independent entity that focuses on one thing and one thing onlydelivering the mail, Maloney said in a statement. Millions of people rely on the Postal Service every day to communicate, to access critical medications, and to vote.

At this juncture in our nations history, when the number of Americans voting by mail for this presidential election is expected to more than double from the last, Congress must protect the right of all eligible citizens to have their vote counted, Maloney added. A once-in-a-century pandemic is no time to enact changes that threaten service reliability and transparency.

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), a House Oversight Committee member and co-sponsor of the new bill, tweeted that Congress must stop the Trump administrations deliberate sabotage to disrupt mail service in the leadup to November elections.

During talks with the Trump administration over a broad Covid-19 relief package, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) demanded the reversal of DeJoys policies barring overtime and prohibiting postal workers from sorting mail ahead of their morning deliveries.

But the relief negotiations collapsed last week, leaving the postmaster generals policies in place and the USPS without desperately needed emergency funding.

The Delivering for America Act comes as DeJoya major Republican donor to President Donald Trumpis facing a Senate investigation and growing calls to step down over his sweeping policy changes, which have resulted in major mail backlogsnationwide and sparked concerns about the timely delivery of mail-in ballots in November.

Postal workers have also blamed DeJoys new policies for drastic reductions in Post Office hours and removal of mail sorting equipment at USPS facilities across the country.

In a statement Wednesday, Connolly said Postmaster General DeJoy could better use his time by shelving his reorganization plan and instead imploring Republicans and the president to provide the Postal Service the financial resources needed to ensure a smooth process of mail-in ballots for the November election.
On the 9th of August 1956, courageous women of South Africa decided they had experienced enough oppression and exclusion in the economy, which subjected them to living in abject poverty. Seeing how the dignity of their fathers, husbands and sons was undermined through the forced carrying of passes through the discriminatory laws of the then undemocratic legal systems, they took it upon themselves to march and face the daily challenge upfront, led by struggle heroines and activists such as Sophie de Bruyn, Gertrude Shope, and many others.

Bonani Madikizela, research manager, Water Research Commission

Socio-economic infrastructure development

Understanding the green economy

provides social and economic benefits for current and future generations, by contributing to food security, poverty eradication, livelihoods, income, employment, health, safety, wellbeing, equity, and political stability;



restores, protects, and maintains the biodiversity, productivity, resilience, core functions, and intrinsic value of ecosystems  the natural capital upon which the economic prosperity depends; and



is based on circular material flows, clean technologies, and renewable energy, to secure economic and social stability over time, while keeping within the limits of one planet.

Balanced approach

Environmental health is critical

Green job creation

This was a struggle for women's emancipation which continues even today, 26 years into our democracy. Currently, unemployment estimated at hovering above 30% and is only getting worse since the country was in recession before the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in even more job losses and job insecurity. Globally, it appears that women and the youth are bearing the brunt of job losses. Small women-owned businesses are extremely vulnerable to restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the virus. The knock-on effect is worst in communities, particularly in peri-urban and rural areas. The chances that these businesses will be resurrected post Covid-19 are limited without undergoing expensive transformation to adapt to the new normal. It is indeed encouraging that South Africa and other countries across the globe have renewed their commitments towards a green economic recovery which, amongst others, targets youth and women.The economic recovery and reconstruction plan puts emphasis on socio-economic infrastructure development, which includes water. South Africa has already allocated about 98% of its water supply and is moving towards surpassing the available water supply by an estimated 17% in 2030. Noting that there is no economic development that can flourish without relying on the guaranteed supply of water and of acceptable quality fit for use, job creation efforts are facing a huge challenge, perhaps worse than the energy crisis we currently experience! It is for this reason that the economies around the world are looking for opportunities within the green economy - characterised by resource recovery or circular economy principles. This is sometimes called a regenerative economy which is based on zero waste generation by design. Zero waste indirectly means cleaner water will be left in the environment that continues to support, directly and indirectly, business and society. The mainstreaming of a green economy in the countrys economic development, legislation and politics must become more urgent than ever before. In fact, the UNEP, through the World Economic Forum Webinar (July 2020), states that if we have discovered anything from the Covid-19 crisis, it is the pertinence and importance of understanding what it is that we humans have done to nature, lets take this crisis as an opportunity to recover the economy in a sustainable way.So, what is this green economy concept and how is it different from sustainable development that is commonly quoted in literature? The United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) defines the green economy as an economy that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities or, simply put, one that is low in carbon footprints, resource efficient and socially inclusive (UNEP, 2011). This is regarded as a sustainable and equitable economy that:Our National Water Act (NWA) was founded on the basis of sustainable development and monitoring of the nations water resources quality. This includes all water resources, from high-lying source areas to the estuaries, including groundwater. The NWA was the first Act to recognise the environment not only as the source of water, but gave a right to it to be allocated a share of the water budget or simply an ecological reserve along with that of human needs. It also gave protection to strategic priority water needs, such as for power generation and water in country-shared catchments.Sustainable development demanded that developments are not executed at the expense of the water needs of humans and the environment, therefore a balanced approach that ensures no degradation of water resources beyond the agreed threshold. There are many other legislations, such as National Environmental Management Act that provides overall protection to the environment, as per Department of Environment Forestry and Fisheries' mandate. Above these laws, is the Constitution which provides for a clean environment as a human right. All these principles are against ecosystem degradation. There is no universal green economy approach, but rather based on the philosophy that prioritises the environment and implementation of environmental sensitive developments that do not compromise our natural capital or healthy ecosystems.Currently, there are several new concepts, such as circular and donut economics and many others, including ecological infrastructure, nature-based solutions and ecosystem-based adaptation among others that can assist us in achieving these sustainability goals. The Water Research Commission has developed tools and know-how in almost all of these domains to ensure a greener future where nature and society can co-exist. While sustainable development is not a new call, Covid-19 seems to have reminded the global community about water security and reasons why environmental health is critical and must be central to developmental efforts, hence a focus on economic recovery that includes the untapped opportunities associated with green economic principles. In recognition of the economic developments and societal dependence on nature, the UN in 2019 called for a decade to be dedicated to Restoration of Ecosystems (2021-2030). This supports several Sustainable Development Goals that call for restoration of the landscapes (specifically SDGs: 6, 13, 14 and 15). Healthy ecosystems are the foundation on which the economy and society depend.In South Africa, the limited water resources (from mountain areas to the ocean), on which the economy depends are all degraded well beyond 65% and the situation is worsened by climate change and the uncontrollable spread of highly thirsty alien and invasive plants as well as uncoordinated settlements. Again, as in 1956, brave women and youth are taking it upon themselves to start small businesses where they convert water pollution challenges (be it water hyacinth, siltation, salt harvesting, plastics, etc.) into green job creation opportunities. These small businesses are on their growth path with a great future as they also provide nature-based solutions  they require all the support that they can get. SMMEs are critical employers and flexible, therefore can drive a viable green economy, but need to be initially resourced. It is critical that detailed investigations, development and demonstration of viable business propositions are done.The Water Research Commission, in partnership with other green innovative organisations, has and continues to produce guiding tools on how to generate green jobs in water management, sanitation and agriculture. The degradation is certainly centred more around anthropogenic activities within natural planetary cycles, which means the solutions must be founded around peoples appreciation and recognition of the value of the natural resources or capital. When this natural capital is degraded to the tipping point or beyond the threshold, the services it used to provide decline or even stop. While it is accepted by policy-makers, the private sector and society that water is life, in a socio-ecological systems complex these stakeholders very often do not adequately invest in the sustainable management of these resources until disastrous crises, such as droughts and floods, strike. Prevention of further degradation of our water resources is in our hands.
The family of Breonna Taylor said on Thursday they expect charges to be filed 'sooner rather than later' against the officers who shot her dead in her apartment in March.

But the family's lawyer said they were 'not going to wait forever' after learning that the state's Attorney General is still conducting witness interviews and waiting on ballistics reports from the FBI, 150 days after the killing.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump and co-counsel Lonita Baker stood outside the Kentucky federal courthouse with Breonna's mother Tamika Palmer and her aunt Bianca Austin to discuss meetings they had had with city officials and prosecutors.

The family met with Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer to discuss the case on Wednesday.

Crump said that following the meeting, he expected charges to be filed against the three plainsclothes officers who shot dead Breonna inside her home while carrying out a no-knock search warrant.

Crump also urged Mayor Fischer to take more action and be aggressive in his pursuit of justice.

Attorney Ben Crump (center left) appeared with co-counsel Lonita Baker (center right), Breonna' aunt Bianca Austin (far left) and mother Tamika Palmer (right) outside the Kentucky federal courthouse for a press conference about Breonna Taylor

'We do expect charges to be filed sooner rather than later for those responsible for the death and the execution of Breonna Taylor,' Crump said.

'There's always a fork in the road. Mayor Fischer can take the road that has commonly been taken in America where there's two justice systems: one for Black America and one for White America.

'Or he can take the road less traveled that I have seen in many cases across America. And that is to fight for equal justice for every citizen in the United States of America, especially here in Louisville, Kentucky.'

Co-counsel Baker revealed that Kentucky AG Cameron was still waiting for additional information regarding the case before making a final decision.

'He did not divulge any of the details of the investigation, but said he is waiting on ballistics from the FBI, as well as re-interviewing some witnesses that they may have already spoken to,' said Baker.

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron is still waiting on ballistics from the FBI and re-interviewing witnesses in Breonna's case. Pictured: Signs are held up showing Breonna Taylor during a rally in her honor on the steps of the Kentucky State Capitol

Lonta Baker (center): 'We do want this resolved quickly and accurately so that Ms. Palmer and the family can get some answers as it relates to the murder of Breonna Taylor'

She shared Crump's sentiment that they hoped to see charges filed against the Louisville police officers relatively soon.

'It is our position that we're not going to wait forever,' said Baker.

'We do want this resolved quickly and accurately so that Ms. Palmer and the family can get some answers as it relates to the murder of Breonna Taylor.'

She added that AG Cameron does not have a set timeline for when charges will be filed.

Crump added: 'We lost two months while we were letting them try to figure out how to justify the unjustifiable. And so now we're waiting for a ballistics test over 150 days later?

'That should have been something that was seized upon the minute they saw this innocent black woman lying dead in her apartment.

'What we have to do is admit the wrongs that took place and try to address them so it doesn't happen again.'

Breonna Taylor (pictured) was shot dead by three plainsclothes officers with the Louisville Metro Police Department on Marc 13 while in bed

On March 13, 26-year-old EMT Breonna was shot dead inside her apartment on Springfield Avenue during a no-knock search warrant at her home.

She and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were asleep when three plainsclothes officers burst into the apartment around 1am.

Louisville police have claimed that they identified themselves before entering the property using a battering ram, but Breonna's family and neighbor's dispute this.

They said police never identified themselves during the incident and that Walker, who was legally allowed to have a firearm, opened fire at officers because he believed they were getting robbed.

Officers fired back at the couple and shot Breonna eight times.

The warrant to search her home was in connection with a suspect who did not live there and no drugs were found.

Police executed a no-knock search warrant at Breonna's (left and right) home over suspicions of drugs, but found nothing

Walker was charged with first-degree assault and attempted murder of a police officer after Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly was hit in the leg during the incident, but the charges were later dropped.

Mattingly was accompanied by officers Brett Hankinson and Myles Cosgrove.

Hankinson was fired for violating Louisville Metro Police Department's policies by blindly firing 10 rounds into Breonna's home. Mattingly and Cosgrove were placed on administrative leave.

None of the officers involved have been arrested yet and that fact continues to fuel a series of Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the country.

Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly (left), Officer Brett Hankinson (center) and Officer Myles Cosgrove (right) were involved in Breonna's death in March

After the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on Memorial Day, Black Lives Matter protests fighting police brutality and racial injustice have gripped the nation.

At the press conference, Crump noted that it had been 150 days since Breonna was killed.

'As we sit here over 150 days later after this tragedy that should have never happened, attorney Baker and I met with Mayor Fisher and the city attorney's office,' he said.

'We had a very positive, productive conversation about how we try to work together to rebuild this city beyond getting justice, in a criminal matter, for Breonna Taylor.'

Crump added that they 'held no punches back' with Mayor Fischer.

'Mayor Fischer is not just the leader of Louisville, Kentucky, he also acts as the current president of the United States Conference of Mayors. So whatever actions that he takes not only sends a message to Louisville, Kentucky but it sends a message to all the cities across America,' Crump said.

'We challenged him to make sure he is courageous and responsible in trying to lead his city out of this tragedy. Not only as legacy for his adminstration, not only as legacy for his city, but as legacy for Breonna Taylor,' he said.

'He has that power and we want him to rise to the occasion. So, [Baker and I] about he deals with protesters. Lets make sure we look at what happened in other cities across America who have dealt with similar, unnecessary, unjustifiable and senseless killing of black people by police.'

At the time of the shooting, Breonna (center) had been asleep in bed with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker (left)

Pictured: a billboard purchased by Oprah urges Americans to demand justice in the killing of Breonna Taylor

Crump then pointed to Minneapolis, where officers Derek Chauvin, J Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao were 'immediately' fired after Floyd's death.

He mentioned Atlanta, where Mayor Kiesha Lance Bottoms called for Officer Garrett Rolfe's termination after he shot dead Rayshard Brooks.

In Louisville, 'we do know that if you lie in your job, thats grounds for termination,' said Crump.

'We know that the police officer lied on that probable cause affidavit to entice the judge to sign the the no-knock warrant that led to execution of Breonna Taylor.'

He asked that the city officials work towards Breonna's case with the fervor.

Crump suggested the city officials understand why people are so emotional about Breonna's case as residents continue to protest into August.

'I hope mayor Fischer will see the potential in that young citizen in Louisville and not treat him like a criminal and not add to overwhelmed criminal justice system in Louisville,' said Crump.

'So lets look for future John Lewis in those protesters,' said Crump.

Pictured: A ground mural depicting a portrait of Breonna Taylor is seen at Chambers Park in Annapolis, Maryland

Pictured: A person holds a sign as people gather following the death of Breonna Taylor and other Black Americans in to police brutality

Bianca Austin, Breonna's aunt, said that 'its been 150 days, but it still feels like March 13.'

'It never gets any easier. We have faith in the city they will do the right thing. I want everyone to continue be out here on the streets to help us  you dont have to be a protester to help.'

Bianca added that the Louisville community doesn't 'need anymore names.'

'Get involved in out community. I'm asking our community leaders to step up. There's a lot of us. There's a church on every corner. We need to take our city back. We don't need anymore names. We don't need anymore Breonna Taylors'

Tamika Palmer (center): There definitely shouldn't ever be another Breonna Taylor anywhere. It's definitely bigger than Breonna.

'Its time for change. As we reflect the 150 days since Breonna was murdered, we have gotten a lot accomplished but there is still a lot to be done and I expect the city to step up, were tired.'

Crump added that he hoped 150 days doesn't transform into 200.

Finally, Tamika Palmer encouraged the scores of Americans who have rallied behind Breonna and her family to not give up.

'150 days, five months. Every day is still March 13. Its still a lot of work to do. At this point its bigger than Breonna, bigger than just black lives, its about bridging the gap between us and police.

'There definitely shouldn't ever be another Breonna Taylor anywhere,' said Tamika as she began to cry. 'It's definitely bigger than Breonna.'
Actor Ankita Lokhande has thrown her weight behind Sushant Singh Rajputs sister Shweta Singh Kirti after she requessted for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation into the death of the late actor. Retweeting the latest picture of Shweta, she said how they would get justice.

She wrote on Twitter: We will find the truth and get justice di . #worriors4SSR #JusiceForSushant #Truthwins. Shweta had earlier posted a picture of herself holding a placard which read: I am sister of Sushant Singh Rajput & I request for #CBIForSSR. As caption she wrote: Its time we find the truth and get justice. Please help our family and the whole world to know what the truth and find closure, otherwise we will never be able to live a peaceful life!!#CBIForSSR Raise your voice and demand #JusticeForSushantSinghRajput #WarriorsForSSR.

Shweta later released a video too asking for an unbiased investigation into the matter. Sharing it, she wrote: We stand together as a nation for CBI Enquiry! Demanding an unbiased investigation is our right and we expect nothing but the truth to come out. #CBIForSSR #Warriors4SSR.

Meanwhile, in the latest turn of events in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case, actor Rhea Chakraborty and the Bihar government filed their written submissions in the Supreme Court on Thursday on Chakrabortys plea seeking to transfer an FIR lodged against her in Patna in connection with actor Sushant Singh Rajputs death to Mumbai.

Seeking the dismissal of Chakrabortys petition, the Bihar government, in its written submissions filed through advocate Keshav Mohan, said, No impediment would deserve to be allowed to come in the way of CBI to undertake and complete the investigation expeditiously. In her written submission, Chakraborty said the transfer of the probe to the CBI at the behest of the Bihar police was without jurisdiction.

Also read: Alia Bhatts Sadak 2 the most disliked trailer on YouTube amid nepotism debate, fans demand justice for Sushant Singh Rajput

The apex court had, on August 11, reserved its order on Chakrabortys plea and asked the parties concerned to file their written submissions by Thursday.

Sushant (34) was found dead on June 14 and since then, the Mumbai police is probing the case. Sushants father Krishna Kishore Singh had lodged an FIR in Patna against Chakraborty and others, accusing them of abetting the actors suicide.

(With PTI inputs)

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The Bauchi State Government on Wednesday dissolved the caretaker committees of the 20 local government areas of the state.

The News Agency of Nigerian (NAN) reports that the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) has scheduled local government elections for September 17 in the state.

A statement by the Secretary to the State Government, Mohammed Baba, said the dissolution was with immediate effect and aimed at providing a level playing ground for contestants.

He added that the dissolution was in compliance with guidelines issued by the State Independent Electoral Commission, for the provision of 30 days notice by all candidates, who wish to participate in the election.

Mr Baba said that in this respect, the state governor, Bala Mohammed, has approved the dissolution of the committees with immediate effect.

The SSG directed all the outgoing caretakers to hand over to their councils Heads of Administration.

He quoted the governor as commending them for their meritorious service and wishing them well in their future endeavours. (NAN)
The soldier [in me] was very real, the actor recalled of his youth, and now at times the soldier is still there. But I began to love my community, love myself, love where I come from. And then the fights different: Youre now fighting for them. But the quest from Point A to Point B and back for Atticus  and Majors himself  is never free of potholes.
Israeli PM says there is no change in his plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank despite a deal with the UAE.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he agreed to delay annexation in the occupied West Bank as part of a normalisation deal with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but the plans remain on the table.

Israel and the UAE agreed on Thursday to normalise diplomatic ties in a landmark deal  brokered by the United States  according to which Tel Aviv had pledged to halt annexation of Palestinian lands.

A joint statement issued by the three nations said Israel will suspend declaring sovereignty over the occupied West Bank areas.

However, in a television address after US President Donald Trumps announcement of the deal, Netanyahu said he had only agreed to delay the annexation, and that he would never give up our rights to our land.

There is no change to my plan to extend sovereignty, our sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, in full coordination with the United States, Netanyahu said in Jerusalem, using the biblical name for the occupied West Bank.





Meanwhile, a tweet by the UAEs leader indicated the Gulf state viewed Israels annexation plans as being off the table.

An agreement was reached to stop further Israeli annexation of Palestinian territories, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan posted on Twitter.

UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash told a media briefing that most countries will see this as a bold step to secure a two-state solution, allowing time for negotiations.

During a call with President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, an agreement was reached to stop further Israeli annexation of Palestinian territories. The UAE and Israel also agreed to cooperation and setting a roadmap towards establishing a bilateral relationship.     (@MohamedBinZayed) August 13, 2020

Israel claims the occupied West Bank territory as part of the historic homeland of the Jewish people.

As outlined in Trumps controversial Middle East proposal unveiled in January, Israel plans to annex roughly 30 percent of the occupied West Bank.

Trumps proposal had triggered global outcry and threats of retaliation against Israel, including from the European Union.

Palestinians reject Israel-UAE deal

While Netanyahu hailed a new era between Israel and the Arab world following the deal with the UAE, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas voiced his strong rejection and condemnation and called for an emergency meeting of the Arab League.

In a statement, Abbas called the deal an aggression against the Palestinian people and a betrayal of their cause, including their claim to Jerusalem as a capital of their future state.

Hamas, the group that controls the besieged Gaza Strip, rejected the Israel-UAE pact as a reward for the Israeli occupation and crimes and said it does not serve the Palestinian people.

The Palestinian foreign ministry said it has recalled its ambassador to the UAE in response to the deal, The Associated Press reported late on Thursday.
Princess Diana would have got Prince Harry and Prince William together and 'made them work through their issues', Finding Freedom author Omid Scobie claims.

According to the British journalist, the late royal was keen on 'transparency' and would have defended William, 38, and Harry, 35, and his 'treatment within the royal family'.

Speaking to ET Online, the author said that the 'bond of brotherhood is extremely important to Harry', and predicted that the siblings will get back on track.

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Princess Diana (seen left in 1989) would have got Prince Harry and Prince William together and 'made them work through their issues', Finding Freedom author Omid Scobie claims

He said: 'Diana definitely would've got Harry and William together and made them work through their issues'.

'I think transparency was always something really important to Diana, and it's something we haven't seen a lot of in the recent months or the past few years with Harry and their treatment of them within the royal family,'

'Diana would've stood up for them and she would've seen the position they were in mirrors some of the challenges that she faced within the institution too, but I think one thing we have to remember with Harry and William's relationship today is it's not over.'

According to the British journalist, the late royal was keen on 'transparency' and would have defended William, 38, and Harry, 35, seen in 2018 with Meghan and Kate and his 'treatment within the royal family'

Last week a royal expert has recalled how Prince Harry once told him that he 'resents' the misconception that his older brother Prince William is the 'sensible' royal sibling.

Royal commentator and journalist Duncan Larcombe remembered meeting Harry, now 35, for a drink in 2008 after the results of the inquest into the death of his mother, the late Princess Diana, were published.

The British writer told Ok! magazine that he spotted the first signs of 'unresolved anger' Harry was harbouring, over his lack of control over his own destiny and what was being said about his mother.

According to the expert, Harry has 'never been able to shake his discomfort at not being 'normal', and how his public image has been portrayed compared to that of his brother, 38, despite him 'often offering William advice'.

Royal commentator and journalist Duncan Larcombe remembered meeting Harry, now 35, for a drink in 2008 after the results of the inquest into the death of his mother, the late Princess Diana, were published (William and Harry seen in 2018 at St James' Palace)

Royal commentator Duncan Larcombe told the publication how he met Harry for a drink after the results of the inquest into his mother's death were published 12 years ago.

He said: 'Harry was absolutely furious that his father's advisors had put out a statement. That was a sign to me that he has an inbuilt, unresolved anger about having no control of what's said. This desire to control his own destiny has always been there.'

He added: 'Harry has never been able to shake that resentment of not feeling normal either. It's a shame that no one has said to him, 'Your brother wants what's best for you.'

'Harry once told me that he really resents the perception that William's the sensible one while he's the loose cannon. He said there were times when it was actually Harry giving William advice.'

According to the expert, Harry has 'never been able to shake his discomfort at not being 'normal', and how his public image has been portrayed compared to that of his brother, 38 (William, Harry, Meghan and Kate are seen in 2018 at Westminster Abbey)

In new royal biography Finding Freedom, authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand lay bare the rumoured rift between the Princes.

Kate and Prince William are currently staying at Amner Hall in Norfolk with Prince William and the couple's children Prince George, seven, Princess Charlotte, five, and Prince Louis, two.

Finding Freedom is already an Amazon bestseller after topping the site's UK-list last week

Meanwhile, Meghan and Prince Harry are living in a Santa Barbara home in Los Angeles with their son Archie, one.

The authors detail how Kate 'did little to bridge the divide' with Meghan, while sources have said that the Duchess of Cambridge had 'definitely sided with her husband.

Reports of a rift first surfaced amid reports that William told Harry he should 'take things slowly' with Meghan, before rumours arose that Kate told Meghan what her flower girls should be wearing for her 2018 wedding to Harry.

The reports intensified when the Sussexes moved out of their Kensington Palace abode, where the Cambridges are based, to Windsor Castle.

Speaking about the new book - which describes the brothers' conversations as 'stilted'- this week, royal author Andrew Morton called the divide between Prince Harry and Prince William 'just a very sad situation', explaining that the duo have now 'gone their separate ways.'
"Kansas City Media is LAME ... Not ALL Media but some. Several days ago I contacted a local political tv reporter and a local public radio journalist to give them an opportunity to have a newsworthy scoop concerning the historical aspect of the VP selection, neither white male responded. I reached out to African American SISTER on radio and a SISTER print journalist, both responded. Earlier today I SHARED on KPRS that Senator Kamala Harris was NOT the FIRST Black Women to have her name placed in nomination for a political party. In 1952, Charlotta Amanda Spears Bass name was placed into nomination at the Progressive Political Party's Convention by Actor and Freedom Fighter, Paul Robeson . . ."

Kamala Harris isn't the first Black woman to run for VP. Meet Charlotta Bass. More than half a century before Sen. Kamala D. Harris was named Joe Biden's running mate Tuesday, another Black woman from California took the stage at a Chicago convention to make a momentous declaration. "This is a historic moment in American political life," the journalist and political activist Charlotta Bass told the crowd.

'A bill has come due': Kamala Harris' rise and the decades of Black women before her In the late 1990s, Stacey Abrams faced a decision. Abrams was working on a master's in public policy at the University of Texas-Austin, gleaning all that she could learn from Rep. Barbara Jordan of Texas, the first Black woman elected to Congress by a former Confederate state.

Before Kamala Harris became Biden's running mate, Shirley Chisholm and other Black women aimed for the White House U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, the American daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, is Joe Biden's choice for vice president. If Biden wins in November, Harris would break three centuries-old barriers to become the nation's first female vice president, first Black vice president and first Black female vice president.

If Kamala Harris is of Asian descent, why does the press label her 'Black?' - Poynter It is common journalistic practice to note pioneering facts about prominent public figures. But how accurate and how relevant are such labels? This article was originally published on February 10, 2004. When Kamala Harris was elected as San Francisco's district attorney in December, local press accounts made special mention that she was the "first black woman" to win that high office.

Here's a really worthwhile note that offers a glimpse at local leaders wanting to set the record straight and maybe revealing a bit of skepticism about the MSM narrative . . .A fact check share from one of our favorite former council members from the 3rd District who continually demonstratesattention to detail . . .Further reading from a diverse selection of resources . . .Developing . . .
Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site.

An outrageous conspiracy theory vilifying a political candidate. A meme encouraging shots of bleach to fend off COVID-19. An official-looking post falsely announcing that your polling place has moved.

Lies like these seethe on the social media platforms, from Facebook to YouTube to Twitter, where Americans increasingly get their news and information.

These companies say they want to limit dangerous falsehoods while also protecting free speech. But the platforms rules on misinformation vary widely. And their policies are often confusing, unclear, or contradictory, according to Bill Fitzgerald, a privacy and technology researcher in CRs Digital Lab.

That makes it hard to know what to expect on each platform, and to choose where to go for important information. Its also difficult to demand that companies enforce their rules fairly when you cant even figure out what those rules are supposed to be.

To help sort this all out, Consumer Reports analyzed misinformation policies from the countrys biggest social media platforms. (We also considered public statements by executives.) We focused on the most dangerous types of falsehoods, including misinformation on the coronavirus and on how to vote. Our findings are summarized here.

Which platforms allow false information

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allowed

sometimes

prohibited

As you can see, most of the platforms dont have a blanket rule against posting false material, but they do ban certain kinds of misinformation. Some allow specific types of false claims. Others only sometimes allow a type of false post, depending on details such as the level of danger it may pose. And when it comes to a few issues, a platform may ban all misinformation. (You can click on any icon in the chart for more information.)

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We provide more detail below on how platforms handle common categories of misinformation, from vague conspiracy theories to outright lies about the coronavirus or when polling places are open. Weve grouped Facebook and Instagram because they share a rulebook.

In some cases, companies treat various types of users differently. Facebook and Twitter give world leaders more leeway than ordinary users to post misleading information, at least on some topics, arguing that a leaders opinions are inherently newsworthy.

Advertisers face the strictest rules on almost every platform. Twitter says it doesnt allow ads that are false, deceptive, misleading, defamatory or libelous. Snapchat says that ads cant be false or misleading, and Reddit ads need to be truthful, non-deceptive, and defensible, according to the company. (As CR found earlier this year, it can be easy to get even dangerous health ads approved.)

We shared our results with the social media platforms, and most agreed with what we found. Pinterest disputed our determination, reflected in the charts, that it knowingly allows some misinformation. The company tells CR it bans misinformation of any kind, but its published policies state that it removes only posts that are determined to have the potential to cause harm to users or the public. A Reddit spokesperson said that misinformation on voting is banned, but thats not included in a published policy.

Snapchats written policies say the company allows some false information in cases where the content is newsworthy. But in a statement to CR, Jennifer Stout, Snapchats vice president for global public policy, stated that the newsworthiness carve-out does not apply to misinformation about health issues and voting, or to manipulated media. Those would always be against the rules. Snap disputes CRs determination that certain types of political and social misinformation would be allowed on the platform.

Separately, weve prepared a guide to using the companies settings to fine-tune what appears in your social feeds, avoiding hate speech, violent images, and hoaxesor simply tuning out political posts, if you prefer to get your news elsewhere.

We hope that laying all this out will strengthen the consumers voice in shaping social media policies on misinformation, and insisting on better, fairer enforcement.

Politics and Social Issues

Which platforms allow false information





about politics and social issues

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Companies are largely hands-off when it comes to falsehoods about a broad range of political and social issues. Examples range from a photo of a young Donald Trump flanked by his parents in KKK garb (its Photoshopped); to allegations that a hacked Democratic National Committee server is hidden in Ukraine (its a hoax); to claims that George Floyd, whose killing by Minneapolis police sparked nationwide Black Lives Matter protests, is a crisis actor whos still alive (thats untrue, of course).

Social networks generally let people post this sort of thing, although since the 2016 election they say theyve cracked down on coordinated disinformation campaigns.

But platforms may take actions short of deleting a misleading post. Both Facebook and Twitter label some posts as suspect, with links to more reliable information. They may also bury misleading posts deeper in users search results and news feeds. In those cases, you can still find the false information if you go looking for it.

This halfway approachflag and downrank, but dont deletehas advantages, says Bridget Barrett, a policy researcher at the University of North Carolina who led a recent study of social media misinformation policies that helped inform CRs own research. It feels more honest about the fact that this is complicated, she says.

Health and Medicine

Which platforms allow false information





about health issues

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Misinformation on the coronavirus has been tightly restricted since dangerous falsehoods about the virus swept through social networks starting in early 2020.

Facebook said in May that it had already removed hundreds of thousands of posts and put warning labels on about 50 million posts that violated its coronavirus policies. Click on a coronavirus post that Facebook later takes down, and later you might see a big link to a mythbusting page appear at the top of your newsfeed.

From my perspective, the [policies] that have been most effective . . . are the ones that are hyper-focused, says Jevin West, director of the Center for an Informed Public at the University of Washington.

Twitter and Facebook recently took down posts showing a news clip where President Donald Trump said that children are almost immune to COVID-19 (not true), but plenty of coronavirus-related misinformation still slips through the cracks.

The nonprofit advocacy group Avaaz found dozens of egregious examples of coronavirus misinformation on Facebook that lacked a warning labelincluding some posts pushing information that had previously been flagged as misleading.

Other health-related falsehoods are allowed to proliferate on YouTube, Twitter, and Reddit, though the companies sometimes bury them behind trustworthy sources. Some platforms ban this content, which can include endorsements of fake miracle cures or anti-vaccination conspiracy theories.

All the platforms we studied have also taken up a new trick to promote safe, authoritative information on COVID-19: Try searching for coronavirus on any major network, and youll see a special box at the top of your results with links to the Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization, or credible news organizations. These results can take up several pages, and similar links have been rolled out for other hot-button issues like voting and suicide prevention.

Voting and the Census

Which platforms allow false information





about voting and the census

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prohibited

Most social media companies say they have little tolerance for baldly misleading posts about how to vote or to participate in the U.S. Census. Examples would include giving out the wrong hours for a polling place or claiming that people can cast a vote for president online, which they cant.

However, this is an area where Twitter has diverging rules for world leaders and the rest of us. In the spring, Trump tweeted, falsely, that California was sending mail-in ballots to anyone living in the state, no matter who they are or how they got there and that mail-in ballots would inevitably lead to widespread abuses. Twitter added a link explaining that only registered voters received the ballots and that theres no evidence linking voting-by-mail to widespread voter fraud.

An average user tweeting the same message may have found their tweet deleted instead. On the other hand, the company took no action at all on more recent tweets by Trump making similar claimsincluding one post in which he floated the idea that the 2020 election would be so flawed it should be postponed.

Twitter has used similar labels for politicians overseas, including in Brazil.

In June, Facebook began adding links to an official government page on voting to every post from a presidential candidate or federal official that mentions votingwhether or not its false. CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post that the decision stemmed from the difficulty of judging [the veracity of posts] at scale.

Critics say the policy erodes an important distinction between lies and legitimate political speech. The same message from Facebook has been added both to unfounded claims that the upcoming election would be rigged and to straightforward posts from candidates asking for votes.

Deepfakes and Manipulated Video

Which platforms allow





manipulated media and deepfakes

CLOSE

Facebook/Instagram Facebook/

Instagram

YouTube

Twitter

Pinterest

Reddit

Snapchat

WhatsApp

TikTok

allowed

sometimes

prohibited

Social media companies are still figuring out how to deal with deepfakesa new breed of hyper-convincing fake images, audio, and video made possible by fast-developing AI technology. With deepfakes, its becoming possible to create a synthetic clip of anyone saying whatever you want them to.

YouTube and Twitter say they will take down particularly dangerous deepfakesimagine a convincing video of a world leader declaring war, or a powerful CEO reporting false sales numbersbut will leave others alone.

Those platforms also ban videos edited with conventional techniques to mislead people. These videos are far more widespread than deepfakes. This month, YouTube and Twitter both removed a video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that was slowed down and edited to make it seem that shed been slurring her words, as though intoxicated. (Similar manipulated videos of Pelosi have spread widely in the past.)

By contrast, Facebook placed a partly false label on the video.

In another example of companies different approaches, Twitter labeled a video Trump tweeted as manipulated because it included a fake CNN banner and headline. Facebook left the video untouched. (Both companies ended up taking the video down for copyright infringement.)

Misinformation experts say we should expect more of these simple video edits, sometimes called cheapfakes, to test the policies put in place by the platforms.

Making the Call on Misinformation

Social media companies use a combination of human teams and computer algorithms to hunt for misinformation. But most companies say little about how they balance the human touch with automated moderation.

The social networks say they have to rely on artificial intelligence because of the unending tidal wave of posts they deal with every day. Many thousands of people work as content moderators for Facebookbut their workload is enormous: In 2017, the most recent data point available, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook was reviewing more than 100 million posts a month.

Facebook says that 99 percent of the violent and graphic content that it removes is flagged by algorithmsditto for 97.7 percent of the posts related to suicide and self-injury, and 88.8 percent of hate speech, according to the most recent data. Of course, these numbers dont include the posts that Facebook doesnt catch.

Automated moderation is much more likely to make mistakes than people are, computing experts say. Machine learning cant do it, and its not even close, says UWs West, who teaches courses on AI. Humor and sarcasm often slip through machines grasp, for example.

That helps explain why social media companies are often accused of leaving up posts that should come downand deleting posts that shouldnt. Journalists and researchers have turned up rampant examples of voting misinformation, falsehoods about Black Lives Matter protests, and conspiracy theories about vaccines.

Many social activists have complained about being put in Facebook jail, having their accounts being suspended for discussing racism, even while some blatantly racist posts are left untouched.

In some cases, what actually happens doesnt match up with the stated policy, says Nathalie Marechal, senior policy analyst at Ranking Digital Rights, a nonprofit that grades tech companies on factors including their privacy and content moderation practices. We urgently need more transparency from companies about enforcement.

Experts in the field say that consumer pressure could lead the platforms to do more. In July, hundreds of advertisers pulled ads from Facebook, following popular outcry against lax policies toward hate speech and misinformation. In recent months, Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, and Facebook have all thrown dangerous conspiracy theorists off their platforms.

When social media is so intrinsic to how society works, citizens should have some say on what those policies are, West says. We are consumers of these major platforms that we dont necessarily pay forbut we could still make choices with where we spend our time.





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Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. CR does not endorse products or services, and does not accept advertising. Copyright  2020, Consumer Reports, Inc.
Atlanta lawyer Amol Naik was surprised by his emotional reaction to Joe Bidens selection of Kamala Harris as his running mate.

Its not that Harris will be the first Black woman to be a major partys vice presidential nominee; its that she will be the first Indian American.

I have just been moved by it in a way that I didnt expect, said Naik, whose parents immigrated from India to North Carolina. Its just really a remarkable thing that this could happen. It gives you a lot of faith in the country.

The California senators ascent to the top tier of American politics drew an outpouring of pride among Indian Americans, a growing force in Democratic politics. They could reward Biden and Harris with crucial votes in the handful of states that will decide the election, along with a surge of campaign donations.

Youre going to see a lot of that being uncorked in the next few months, said Karthick Ramakrishnan, a University of California, Riverside public policy professor.

Historic breakthroughs have been a constant in Harris 17 years in politics. She was the first Black woman to hold every office she has won  San Francisco district attorney, state attorney general and U.S. senator from California. With the United States in the midst of a historic reckoning with systemic racism after George Floyd died when a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck, her status as the first Black woman tapped as a major vice presidential nominee has generated enormous media attention.

Less remarked upon has been Harris distinction as the first Indian American to reach all of those positions. But Naik was one of many who saw Bidens choice of Harris as a watershed cultural moment for the nations 4.5 million Indian Americans.

It wasnt that long ago when Indian Americans were not at all part of the American mainstream, said Naik, who has worked in Georgia Democratic politics. Thats now happened. We have Sanjay Gupta on CNN. We have (comedian) Aziz Ansari  people everyone knows. That was not the case in the 1990s when I was growing up.

Television director Kabir Akhtar wrote Tuesday on Twitter that it was incredible to see an IndianAmerican on the ticket. a whole generation of us felt like outsiders in our country growing up. so happy for all the young women and POC in our country who can see someone who looks like them on the presidential ticket.

Harris is the daughter of two immigrants, a key aspect of her biography as she and Biden work to unseat President Donald Trump. A core part of Trumps political identity is his anti-immigrant agenda.

Harris rarely speaks publicly about her father, Donald Harris, a Jamaican-born economist who taught at Stanford University.

But she often talks about her late mother, breast cancer researcher Shyamala Gopalan, who moved from India to California in the late 1950s to study at the University of California, Berkeley.

This January 1970 photo provided by the Kamala Harris campaign shows her, left, with her sister, Maya, and mother, Shyamala, outside their apartment in Berkeley, Calif., after her parents' separation. (Kamala Harris campaign via AP)AP

In an interview in June on a Los Angeles Times podcast, Asian Enough, Harris said her mother was conscious of race when raising her and her sister, Maya, in racially segregated Berkeley in the 1960s and 70s.

She knew that in America, her daughters would be treated, for better or worse, as Black women and Black children, and she raised us with a sense of pride about who we were, who we are, Harris said. But it was never to the exclusion of always being very proud and very active in terms of our Indian culture as well.

We grew up in the Black community and learned that you could cook okra with mustard seeds  or with dried shrimp and spicy sausages, Harris said with a laugh.

The Harris sisters visited their grandparents in Chennai, in southeastern India, a number of times when they were growing up. The media in India covered Bidens selection of Harris widely on Wednesday. In a Times of India story headlined One of Our Own, her uncle Gopalan Balachandran was quoted saying, She likes India, she likes Indian music, but she likes jazz.

Photos of Kamala Harris' grandparents, Rajam and P.V. Gopalan, on display in their son G. Balachandran's house in New Delhi. (Shashank Bengali/Los Angeles Times/TNS)TNS

A Hindustan Times editorial on Wednesday said Harris represents the political pinnacle of the Indian-American communitys meteoric rise in the United States.

Also getting coverage in India was Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson losing his cool when a guest, Democratic lawyer Richard F. Goodstein, asked him to show Harris respect by pronouncing her first name correctly. Her name, which means lotus in Sanskrit, is pronounced Comma-la, as Harris has explained.

So Im disrespecting her by mispronouncing her name unintentionally, Carlson snapped. So it begins. Youre not allowed to criticize ka-MAH-la Harris, or KAM-ah-la Harris, or whatever.

Republicans quickly sought to undercut Harris support among Indian Americans. Harmeet Dhillon, a San Francisco lawyer who is national co-chair of Women for Trump, told Fox News that Harris was a shape-shifter who doesnt have any true center or any true roots.

This is going to be a little brutal, but the reputation she has among the Indian American community is shes Indian American at an Indian American-thrown fundraiser, and thats it, said Dhillon, a Republican National Committee member for California. She forgets her heritage in every other way.

Trump has made a play for Indian American votes, placing social media ads touting his friendship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and holding a Houston rally last year with the controversial leader that attracted tens of thousands.

But Indian Americans, who are among the nations most highly educated and affluent ethnic groups, lean strongly Democratic, UC Riversides Ramakrishnan said. Surveys have found they tend to favor universal health care, gun control and higher taxes on the wealthy, he said, and they are turned off by Trumps nativist rhetoric.

Its the social exclusion that keeps them in the Democratic Party, he said. Theyre very sensitive to racial discrimination.

If the presidential election is close, Indian Americans could also be pivotal in states that will tip the election to Biden or Trump. There are roughly 87,000 eligible to vote in Florida; 61,000 in Pennsylvania; 57,000 in Georgia; 45,000 in Michigan; and 36,000 in North Carolina.

By Michael Finnegan, Los Angeles Times (TNS)

More:

Who is Kamala Harris husband? Potential second man works as lawyer, advocate for justice

How Joe Biden chose Kamala Harris as his running mate for 2020 presidential race

Condemn, discuss, repeat: Students of color say Pa.s state universities fail to address campus racism
Just two days before Independence Day, security forces busted a terrorist hideout during search operation at Awantipora in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday (August 13).

The terrorist hideout was busted by security forces during cordon and search operation in Barsoo village of Awantipora. A police officer told Zee News that search operation is being carried out by a joint team of Jammu and Kashmir Police and Army.

Based on the credible input at about presence of terrorists of proscribed outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba in the forest area of Badroo Barsoo, Awantipora police along with 50RR and 130 BN CRPF launched a search in the said forest area.

Police sources said that several incriminating materials, including 1918 AK 47 rounds, two hand grenades, one Ubgl thrower, four Ubgl grenades, half a bag of ammonium nitrate like substance, five gelatin sticks and crude pipe bomb. Security forces have also recovered Rs 5400, food items, utensils, gas stoves, gas cylinder and other materials from the hideout.

Police have registered a case in this regard and further investigations is on. Security forces are keeping a strict vigil in Kashmir ahead of the Independence Day and every tipoff related to terrorists is being taken very seriously.

On August 7, security forces had busted a terrorist hideout in the Shashitar forested area in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

A joint operation was launched by Army and J&K Police in Shashitar forested area (Dingi Cheer) in the Poonch district after receiving specific intelligence inputs about the terrorist hideout in the area.

During the operation, a terrorist hideout was busted in the remote Shashitar forested area, ( Dingi Cheer), in Poonch. With this successful operation, the security forces have foiled the nefarious designs of Pakistan-backed terror groups to disrupt peace and create disturbance in the area.

During the operation, the security forces recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition, including two AK- 47 rifles and four magazines.
New Zealand's latest lockdown is set to cost the economy $440million a week but that figure could grow if the outbreak worsens, economists have warned.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made the drastic move to force New Zealand back into lockdown on Wednesday after four new COVID-19 cases emerged.

The shutdown is expected to last until midnight Friday but the number of cases are continuing to rise, sparking fears the nation could be hit by a second wave.

There have been 13 new cases detected in the past 24 hours, all of which have links back to a storage facility believed to be at the heart of the outbreak.

Economists are now predicting the lockdown could continue for weeks, with the government expected to take a cautious approach.

Modelling from the ASB economics team shows the cost of the lockdown would spiral if the measures have to be increased.

If the entire country is plunged back into Level Four lockdown - the most severe response - about $1.6billion will be wiped from the economy each week, modelling shows.

Economists predict about 28 per cent of Auckland's workforce - roughly 250,00 jobs - cannot operate under Level Three.

People queue outside a supermarket in Henderson, Auckland, on Wednesday after restrictions were reintroduced (pictured)

A notice of closure is displayed at an entrance to the ASB Waterfront Theatre during a lockdown imposed due to the coronavirus in Auckland

'Our estimates suggest a modest impact on New Zealand's GDP, but this could easily grow,' ASB senior economist Mark Smith told the New Zealand Herald.

'The more severe and long-lasting the outbreak, and the more difficult to contain it, the larger the subsequent economic disruption and likely cost.'

Ms Ardern used a staggered approach to the lockdown this time around, placing Auckland under Stage Three lockdown for 72 hours and the rest of the country under Stage Two restrictions.

But given Auckland's significant economic weight, the economy will still take a hit, Mr Smith said.

Auckland has the country's largest population, accounts for about 38 per cent of the country's GDP and about 33 per cent of employment.

As a result the current lockdown is expected to wipe $439million a week from the economy, but if the outbreak escalates and Auckland must be placed under Level Four restrictions the cost jumps to $712million.

A police officer wearing a mask gets his morning coffee from The Store in Kohimarama as Auckland wakes to a return to Stage Three lockdown (pictured on Thursday)

Police question drivers as they head in and out of Auckland on SH1 north of Wellsford on Wednesday (pictured) amid new Stage Three lockdown

During the first lockdown in March, which was one of the harshest in the world and lasted 51 days, spending plunged and unemployment rose.

But the economy was showing signs of recovery.

New Zealanders had spent two month enjoying the return of their usual freedoms when Ms Adern reintroduced the extreme measures after after four after new four COVID-19 cases emerged.

How the lockdown will impact New Zealand's economy: Auckland under Level Three/New Zealand under Level Two: $439million a week Auckland under Level Four/New Zealand under Level Three: $712million a week Nationwide Level Two: $166million a week Nationwide Level Three: $885million a week Nationwide Level Four: $1.6billion a week Advertisement

Since then, another four probable cases - and one confirmed in a high school student - have been found.

Three more staff members at the facility also tested positive for the virus on Thursday, taking the workplace cluster to four.

Health experts are still trying to figure out the cluster began after 102 days without a single case of community transmission.

They are using genome sequencing - looking at the genetic material, or DNA, of an organism - to track the source of the infection.

The government has been scrambling to control the outbreak, they are rushing to test about 50,000 people by the end of the week to stop the virus from spreading further throughout the community.

All aged care facilities will close their doors to everyone but staff from Wednesday to keep those residents safe.

'This is tough for people, but it's necessary. We need to protect the most vulnerable,' Ms Ardern said.

Ms Ardern also urged residents in Auckland to wear a mask or face covering when out in public.

'If you are in Auckland, please cover your face if you leave home - masks or a bandanna is fine,' she said.

The new outbreak has baffled authorities who were certain the country had eliminated the virus.

The Prime Minister announced during a press conference on Wednesday morning that the main weapon in her government's response would be testing.

'We are taking a rapid response to break the chain of transmission through contact tracing, testing and the gathering of information,' she told reporters.

Dr Bloomfield said action needed to be swift to avoid a horror second outbreak being witnessed in other countries around the world.

'So, we have seen in other countries, and jurisdictions, like in Victoria, in Hong Kong and in Vietnam, where a resurgence occurs that it is incredibly important to act early.'
FILM

The Metamorphosis of Birds

Melbourne International Film Festival

Portuguese artist Catarina Vasconcelos weaves clan memories and natural imagery into a slow, magical essay about motherhood, growing up and bereavement in successive generations of her family.

A scene from The Metamorphosis of Birds

Vasconcelos was 17 when her mother died. The mystery of loss brought her closer to her father Jacinto, whose own mother Beatriz had died at 57 after raising six children, while his father Henrique, a naval officer, was at sea.

In Vasconcelos' imagination, Beatriz is identified with trees, their family maid Zulmira with birds and Henrique with the ocean, while she herself is drawn to mountains.
Over three years, the far-right conspiracy theory QAnon has spread from the outskirts of the internet into the mainstream. And by next year, it will most likely make its way into Congress: A QAnon supporter is almost sure to be elected after winning a Republican House primary runoff in Georgia this week.

Its a remarkable rise for a group that believes in, among other things, a ring of Satan-worshiping, child-trafficking criminals led by prominent Democrats. We spoke with our colleague Kevin Roose, who has covered QAnon extensively, to get a sense of how the movement expanded its reach.

Social media platforms are a big part of it. Its still very fringe in terms of its ideology, but not in terms of its scale, Kevin said. Weve seen QAnon Facebook groups swell to hundreds of thousands of members, and they are routinely driving conversations on social media.

This week, NBC News reported that an internal Facebook investigation found thousands of QAnon-supporting groups and pages with millions of members and followers. Twitter permanently suspended thousands of accounts associated with the movement last month. And TikTok has blocked searches for QAnon-related hashtags.
The first Indy Author Awards event wasnt meant to be an exclusive celebration of Black authors, but thats what it turned into after only Black authors submitted their work for consideration.

Eight authors will be recognized at 5 p.m. Aug. 16 on the Canal Walk outside of the Indiana History Center, 450 W. Ohio St. Guests are invited to attend as long as they wear masks and practice social distancing.

The idea behind the awards, hosted by Marguerite Press, is to help give a boost of confidence to local authors. The eight authors represent eight different categories, ranging from self-help to Christian nonfiction.

I wanted to really encourage them and spotlight them locally in front of a hometown crowd, said Delores Thornton, founder and president of Marguerite Press.

This is the first time Denise Hill will get an award for her work. Shes being recognized in the suspense category for her fiction novel, The Window, which features a young girl who dreams of getting out of her neighborhood thats plagued by poverty to study astrophysics at Michigan State University.

Hill said she realized how much she enjoys writing when she entered two essay contests when she was 14 and won trips to Toronto and Washington. She was inspired as an adult to pick up writing again after reading books by African American female authors.

I could come up with something like that, she thought to herself, so I just started writing.

Hills first book was published in 2014. She mostly writes romance novels but also enjoys thrillers, mysteries and science fiction.

Gloria Lewis-Vaughn won first place in the Christian nonfiction category for Cost of the Oil: Becoming Authentically Alive in the Presence of God.

Lewis-Vaughn said she and her sisters have always liked writing poetry, and she even remembers some parts of the first poem she wrote in fourth grade  called Cowboy at the Rodeo.

As a pastor, Lewis-Vaughn sees books as another medium to do ministry. Cost of Oil is about her journey to learn the cost of anointing oil, Lewis-Vaughn said, which she believes is a universal lesson for anyone.

It means the world to me, Lewis-Vaughn said of the recognition, because that was a work that I prayed over each and every step of the way, each and every page. To have it validated just confirms that my prayers were answered.

Mira Cassidy will be recognized in the general nonfiction category for her book, Bounce Back from Tragedy, which is about five women facing life-altering decisions.

Cassidy kept a journal as a child and enjoyed writing. She went back to college in 2015 and took writing courses, which was an aha moment. Cassidy started writing poetry and short stories and realized this is what she wants to do for the rest of her life.

Everything just came into place, she said.

Cassidys ultimate goal is to one day be on The New York Times Best Sellers list.

Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick at 317-762-7853. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick.

INDY AUTHOR AWARDS

Eight local Black authors will be recognized at the Indy Author Awards. Guests are invited to attend but must wear a mask and practice social distancing.

 When: 5 p.m. Aug. 16

 Where: Outside of the Indiana History Center, 450 W. Ohio St.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday in Abuja pledged to spend more on infrastructure across the country, focusing on finishing projects delivered by local contractors and technology that create jobs for thousands of Nigerians.

The president made the pledge at the virtual inauguration of the new headquarters building of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

He said the iconic 17-storey building, known as the Nigerian Content Tower, with the full complements of a 10megawatts Power Plant and 1000-seater Conference Centre, reflects his administrations drive to provide infrastructure across the country to attract investments, create jobs and eradicate poverty.

He said: With the commissioning of this project, I want to highlight that we have put in place a landmark of reference in the Niger Delta to reflect long lasting legacies that signpost the years of oil and gas exploitation and I assure you that there is more to come, he said.

Mr Buhari noted with delight that thousands of direct and indirect jobs were created during the execution of the project in addition to the various business opportunities.

This commissioning brings to the fore the importance of local content in all activities of our national life especially with the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic.

I believe strongly in local production and patronage of our goods and services as one of the surest ways to empower our citizens and give them viable opportunities to excel in their chosen professions and business endeavours.

That is why two of the Executive Orders issued under our government are related to enforcing local content in public procurement and contracts to further replicate the successes being realized in the oil and gas industry.

Local Content and Self Reliance are key principles of the recently approved 2.3 trillion Naira National Economic Sustainability Plan.

The plan is aimed at the promotion of local production, local services, local innovation, and the use of local materials, he said.

Mr Buhari commended the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, the Chairman and members of the Governing Council, as well as the management and staff of the Nigerian Content Board for the achievement.

The President said, The edifice we are commissioning today is a befitting birthday gift as you mark your 10th-year anniversary as a regulator and developer of local content in the oil and gas industry.

I am also pleased that this project has been delivered by local contractors supported by other local engineering and project consultants. We must all be proud that we finished what we started.

I want to thank you for being part of this historic moment even as I use this opportunity to thank the people of Bayelsa and congratulate them as the proud host of this landmark project in the heart of the Niger Delta.

The president directed the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources to inaugurate the NCDMB Conference Centre, 10MW Power Plant and the 1000-seater Conference Centre on his behalf.

Goodwill messages were delivered by the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, AGIP, and Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State.

(NAN)
It was reported recently that Salman Khan came back to Mumbai from Panvel amid the coronavirus pandemic to shoot for the promo of upcoming season of Bigg Boss. He was seen leaving Mehboob Studios in his white Range Rover on Monday night and now his first picture from the sets of BB 14 has surfaced.

Designer Ashley Rebello shared a back shot of Salman on the sets where he can be seen wearing a stylish black jacket as he sits on a chair, waiting to be called on for shooting the BB 14 promo. Take a look.

Meanwhile, reports are doing the rounds that BB 14 promo may launch on August 15. The show is said to begin in September and reports have claimed that Salman may shoot this season from his Panvel farmhouse with a separate team there.

Needless to say, anticipation is running high to see who the faces will be on the show this year. It is said that strict safety measures have been put in place to keep the participants entering the house out of danger amid the coronavirus pandemic. Social distancing may become a theme in the show this season.

Check out a promo of BB 14 that was launched by Colors TV earlier.

Are you excited for BB 14 to launch soon?
Summit Church to meet in homes for rest of 2020 due to COVID-19: JD Greear explains why

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The Summit Church, a Southern Baptist congregation in Durham, North Carolina, whose pastor is the denomination's president, won't be holding services for the remainder of the year due to COVID-19. Instead, they will be hosting small home-based gatherings in a push toward making disciples.

In recently posted guidelines on its website, the church noted that the central idea "is to equip you to be the church in your homes, in your communities, and online in order for you to continue being disciple-making disciples. So even when you cant come to church, you can still be the church."

Greear said he believes the shift toward home-based gatherings amid the pandemic is rooted in loving one's neighbor.

"In North Carolina, our state has done a good job of respecting the First Amendment right of churches," Greear told The Christian Post. "We've also learned from other churches exercising responsibility in the decisions they are making in regards to their own gatherings. Our church has used state guidelines to inform our decisions in order to protect our congregation and the public at large as we see this as the best way to love our neighbor and be a good witness to our community.

"The message we seek to send to our congregation and to our community is that, even when we are unable to gather as a large church on the weekend, the Summit Church is not 'closed' because the church exists everywhere the members of the church live," Greear said. "Jesus taught us to love our neighbors as ourselves and to love God with all of our being. He commanded us to make disciples.

"We can and will continue to do that by how we live our lives in the community throughout the week, even if we are meeting in small gatherings in homes utilizing online resources on the weekend," he added. "We're focused on serving others, making disciples, and demonstrating the love Christ has for others during this pandemic."

When asked what precipitated the decision to shift to home-based small gatherings and whether this is this something Summit and the SBC as a whole will expand after the pandemic passes, the North Carolina pastor said they are adjusting their thinking as to what they consider "normal." Instead of waiting for what they have previously known as normal to return, the church has decided to focus on being the church in this new reality and reiterated the emphasis they're placing on disciple-making.



"This doesn't mean we don't miss gathering together as a larger community for worship and teaching, and we do hope to be able to enjoy those opportunities again soon," Greear explained. "But we do see this as an opportunity to send our members, through smaller gatherings, from their homes, into the relationships they have with their neighbors and into the communities in which they live, to be The Summit Church throughout the week, to grow as disciples, to disciple one another."

The novel coronavirus led to church closures and forced congregations across the United States to meet online. Some churches continue to hold online-only services while others have opted to reopen.

"We believe this could be a great time of growth and ministry for our church. When this pandemic is over and we are praying it will end soon, we believe we'll have a more equipped and practiced movement of disciple-making disciples, ready to live on mission individually even when we can gather corporately again," Greear added.
The districts current $33 million contract with the Chicago Police Department expires this month. CPSs new proposed budget, also on the agenda for the next Board meeting, would cut the spending for officers by more than half, in part because the district will stop paying for mobile school patrols and because schools will continue remote learning until at least November. In defending the use of police in schools, CPS and city officials have emphasized the power given to LSCs, while others have argued that its a false choice when schools arent given alternatives for spending the money that covers officers.
FILIPINO entrepreneurs are encouraged to tap the Latin America (LatAm) market, a US$5.3 trillion economy with over 600 million consumers, as they diversify their markets to increase exports given the economic slowdown brought about by the pandemic.

This area is roughly about the size or slightly smaller than our Association of Southeast Asian consumer market. Its a rapidly growing market and it has a very fast (rising) middle class. Obviously because especially at this time, we would like to really be able to diversify our export markets, Department of Trade and Industry-Export Marketing Bureau director Senen Perlada said in a webinar.

Perlada said the top export markets in North and South America are Mexico (comprising 60 percent of the countrys total exports), Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Panama and Paraguay.

He said electronics make up 66 percent of the countrys merchandise exports to LatAm while carrageenan is also a big item.

So basically its electronics but there is a lot that we can do in terms of non-electronics exports to LatAm. What about food? This is a sector that is a mutual interest to the two countries. Our number one food export to LatAm is desiccated coconut. Again, not surprising because actually the Philippines supplies roughly 80 percent of desiccated coconut to the rest of the world, he said, also citing fresh and processed food, including fish and lobsters.

Perlada said the Philippines also aims to pursue export opportunities in higher value electronics products; motor vehicle parts; design-driven products such as homestyle, furniture and holiday decor; fashion accessories and jewelry; personal care products; organic products; and wines and spirits.

Especially during this time of the pandemic where good for me products, products that promote well-being and boost the immune system, are really experiencing very high demand, he added. / PHILEXPORT NEWS AND FEATURES
Ukraine calls on the Belarusian authorities to release Ukrainian human rights activists and journalists Kostiantyn Reutsky and Yevhen Vasylyev who were illegally detained in Minsk.

Ukraine appeals to the authorities of the Republic of Belarus to release as soon as possible Ukrainian human rights activists and journalists Kostiantyn Reutsky and Yevhen Vasylyev, who were illegally detained in Minsk, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak has said, the Presidents press service informs.

Belarusian law enforcement officers detained Ukrainian citizens Kostiantyn Reutsky and Yevhen Vasylyev without any legal grounds, he noted.

"According to the Ukrainian side, they did not violate any laws of the Republic of Belarus, did not take part in any riots or mass actions, and did not have prohibited items or materials. Human rights activists visited Belarus solely to obtain reliable information about what was happening there and to comment on the recent events in Minsk for the Ukrainian media. Freedom of speech and freedom of movement are basic democratic principles that are respected throughout the world. Their violation is inadmissible," Yermak said.

The Head of the Office of the President said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine makes every effort through the Ukrainian diplomatic mission to quickly identify and release all Ukrainian citizens detained during the recent events.

He also said that Ukraine highly values good neighborly relations with the Republic of Belarus.

"We are much more than just neighbors. We have always been good friends and partners," Andriy Yermak said.

As reported, Ukrainian citizens Kostiantyn Reutsky and Yevhen Vasylyev were detained in Minsk at about 17:00 on August 12.

The presidential election was held in Belarus on August 9. According to preliminary results announced by the Central Election Commission, incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko garnered 80.23% of the vote, while opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya got 9.90%.

On the night of Monday, August 10, protests against election fraud began in Belarusian cities. Security forces brutally dispersed the protesters with rubber bullets, stun grenades, and water cannons. About 6,000 people have been detained since the protests began. At least 250 people have been hospitalized.

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya was forced to leave Belarus. Currently, she stays in Lithuania.

ol
The inquiry into the Victorian government's response to the coronavirus pandemic has shed light on how the state's transport authorities are preparing for the return of commuters when restrictions start to ease.

Speaking at the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee on Thursday, Minister for Transport Jacinta Allan said Melburnians would emerge from the pandemic with vastly different travel needs.

Minister for Transport Infrastructure Jacinta Allan. Credit:Joe Armao

At the moment, she said, the city's public transport was operating at about 8 per cent of capacity compared to before the pandemic.

Metropolitan trains are at about 8 per cent capacity, trams at 7 per cent and regional trains at 6 per cent.
We remember Larry and Vicki Freda, and their son, John. One family.



John was a proud Jersey product all the way. He had a creative soul, loving to write, draw, and work on art projects. He was an avid reader & movie buff. John was funny, thoughtful, intelligent, & introspective. pic.twitter.com/OsWUv7Cjsb  Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) August 12, 2020

A New Jersey couple who was married for 62 years died from the coronavirus, just hours apart and just two days after losing their son to the virus.

Larry and Vicki Freda, and their son John Freda, died at the end of April, obituaries say. Gov. Phil Murphy honored the family at his Wednesday afternoon press conference, recognizing them for their contributions to New Jersey.

Larry and Vicki, both Newark natives, raised their family in Fairfield. In death, as in life, they were inseparable, an obituary for Vicki reads.

Vicki Freda held a number of roles at the Township of Fairfield Municipal Building, before retiring as the executive secretary to the mayor in 2007.

She was incredibly creative, and a den mother in the Cub Scouts for each of her three sons, Murphy said.

Larry Freda, an Army veteran who was stationed in Europe, worked for the former Pabst Blue Ribbon Brewery in Newark for 24 years. He ended his career as a custodian at West Essex Regional High School.

Everyone knew him for his humor and smile, Murphy said.

In their final years, they were full-time grandparents to their six grandsons, obituaries say. Both enjoyed spending time with friends around Fairfield, and making trips to casinos, obituaries say.

Their son John was 52 years old. A licensed optician, John enjoyed social media memes and making art projects with figurines.

John was a proud Jersey product all the way, Murphy said of John. He had a creative soul, loving to write, draw, and work on art projects. He was an avid reader & movie buff.

John is survived by his three sons and two brothers.

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.
A 50-year-old Wynnum man has been charged over a spate of suspicious fires in the inner-Brisbane suburb of Highgate Hill on Wednesday night.

Emergency services were called to Franklin Street about 9.30pm to reports of a house fire, which was put out. But a short time later police were called to another fire on the same street at a house that was damaged extensively.

The rear of a brick unit complex on Hampstead Road, Highgate Hill, about a 20 minute walk from Franklin Street where the first fires were. Credit:Tony Moore.

A third fire was then reported at a unit complex on Hampstead Road, with cars parked beneath the building on fire.

Police said they would allege the man was responsible for the three fires and a fourth fire at a Boundary Road address in West End, where debris was set alight which spread to a nearby bin.
CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Gordon Brush was recognized as a "Featured Business" by Industry Business Council. The Council shone its "Business Spotlight" on Gordon Brush for its commitment to keeping its manufacturing in the City of Industry.

"I am truly honored to receive this recognition from the City of Industry," said Ken Rakusin, president & CEO, Gordon Brush.

Gordon Brush is Proud To Be An American Manufacturer. "I made a commitment to build and grow my business in this city because contributing to the American economy is near-and-dear to my heart," further proclaimed Rakusin. "Moreover, and perhaps most importantly," added Rakusin, "are my over 200 valued, long-tenured, skilled employees and their families, most of which live in or adjacent to Industry."

About Gordon Brush:

Gordon Brush Mfg. Co., Inc., an ISO 9001: 2015 certified company, has a rich history as an American brush manufacturer. Founded in 1951, Gordon Brush includes two brands whose origin dates to 1855 and 1897. The company consists of 12 brands that operate out of its 250,000 square foot manufacturing facilities in Mississippi and California. Gordon Brush manufactures over 17,000 different types of stock and custom brushes with over 3,500 ready for same day shipment.

Gordon Brush is the 2018 recipient of the Made: In America Award and the 2019 recipient of the Armed Forces Award from Made In America.com.

Company President and CEO, Ken Rakusin, was presented with a special Congressional Recognition Award for his commitment to American manufacturing from House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and local Congresswomen, Grace Napolitano. Mr. Rakusin was also the recipient of the 2019 Patriot Award from Made In America.com and honored as an American Made Hero by American Made Heroes.com.

About The City of Industry:

The City of Industry, incorporated in 1957, is an area of approximately 12.5 square miles in the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles County. The City is strategically located within the Los Angeles metropolitan area and is devoted primarily to the development of light manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution facilities.

Learn more at: https://www.gordonbrush.com/ and https://www.industrybusinesscouncil.org/resources-directory/media/business-spotlight

VIDEO: https://vimeo.com/441387645

Media Only Contact:

Alan Schechter

323-450-2748

[email protected]

PHOTO: https://www.send2press.com/300dpi/18-0905s2p-gbrush-award-300dpi.jpg

Caption: (L) Congresswoman Grace Napolitano (CA-32); (R) Ken Rakusin, President & CEO.

This release was issued through Send2Press, a unit of Neotrope. For more information, visit Send2Press Newswire at https://www.Send2Press.com

SOURCE Gordon Brush Mfg. Co., Inc.

Related Links

https://www.gordonbrush.com


Faith and community are key to combating white supremacy, according to various interfaith leaders who spoke in two virtual events Wednesday.

Both events, which featured local faith-leaders from various religions, focused on the experiences of those individuals over the weekend of Aug. 12, 2017 and the work that has been done since.

Praying With Our Feet: Religious Activists Remember the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, featured a panel of clergy who worked to combat the white supremacist views espoused at 2017 rally.

Moderated by Jalane Schmidt, an associate professor of religious studies at the University of Virginia, the panelists spoke candidly about their experiences and how the rally challenged and strengthened their belief.

Rabbi Rachel Schmelkin, who served as associate rabbi for Charlottesvilles Congregation Beth Israel from 2016 to 2020, said the rally served as a wake-up call for her and other members of the Jewish faith that it was important to actively combat white supremacy.

I really had a deep sense deep within me that ignoring white supremacists and neo-Nazis was not an acceptable response to what was about to occur, she said. I think ... Jews know all too well that uncontested fascists quickly turns deadly.

Don Gathers, a deacon at First Baptist Church, said that the training he underwent prior to the rally was heavy and instilled in him the fact that someone could die at the rally. After the rally was broken up by police as it devolved into violence, counterprotester Heather Heyer was killed when white supremacist James Alex Fields drove his car into a crowd on Fourth Street.

Above all, Gathers said, he learned to use nonviolence to combat hate.

The teachings of civil disobedience through nonviolence, to not respond to the evilness thats presented in front of you, thats the difficulty we continue to face, he said. Being able to bear all that hatred as it presents itself but still trying to speak to a soul that dwells within, thats where the true dichotomy of man presents itself.

For Grace Aheron, a graduate of UVas Religious Studies Department and communications director for Showing Up for Racial Justice, her work preparing for the rally taught her that activism is a lot more than just showing up for a day or two.

As a member of the Christian faith, Aheron said she has tried to model her life after Jesus, whose life she said was a lot more than miracles and glamour, but also a strong emotional component that helps sustain justice movements.

When I think about ... my spiritual disciplines of training that I learned that summer, some of it was learning how to be in principled conflict with people, it was learning how to say sorry and mean it and stay in relationships, she said. It was learning how to be accountable for my actions and hold my friends accountable for their actions because we want to be growing together.

Just prior to Praying With Our Feet, another virtual interfaith event touched on similar topics via a video service.

Hosted by the Charlottesville Clergy Collective, the service featured more than 30 leaders from seven faiths reflecting on 2017 and efforts to remove Confederate statues.

The approximately 40-minute long video highlighted several local voices, including Apostle Sarah Kelly, a pastor at Faith, Hope, Love International Healing & Deliverance Center, who grew up in a racially segregated Charlottesville.

Growing up, Kelly said she would have to walk past what was then Lee Park in order to reach the Paramount Theater. Each time she and her family passed she said they were harassed by white people in the park, the same park that Black residents were not allowed to visit.

We would have to pass Lee Park where there was more than likely gatherings of white people and in those white gatherings there was always someone mocking us, taunting us as we would go by, she said. It was a very frightening place to go by.

Tom A. Gutherz, a senior rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel, shared his experiences and the experiences of his congregation during the rally weekend.

Gutherz said he and many of the older members of the congregation  some of whom are survivors of the Holocaust  were shocked to see young people openly spouting anti-Semitic phrases theyd heard decades ago in Germany.

Historically, Jewish people have been a common target for people looking to other their neighbors and replace them, Gutherz said. The idea of us and them needs to end, he said, and he invited viewers to move past ideas of division.

Reject this lie that sets up so-called true Americans versus foreign invaders, that imagines a noble race and culture  call it Aryan or white or western or whatever  versus allegedly inferior races and religions and cultures, he said. Reject this form of thinking and resist it even as it speaks loudly in some corners of our society and even as it is cynically manipulated to divide us.

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Residents walk past charred remains of vehicles vandalised by a mob over a social media post, allegedly by a relative of a Congress MLA, in Bengaluru. (PTI)

New Delhi: Seeking to fish in troubled waters, Pakistan on Wednesday lodged a "strong protest" with India through the Indian High Commission in Islamabad on the riots on Tuesday night in Karnatakas Capital Bengaluru over a controversial social media post.

Islamabad called on the Indian Government to investigate the incident and take immediate action against the perpetrators of religious hatred and to ensure the safety, security and well-being of the minority communities, particularly Muslims in India.

The move follows Pakistans failed attempts to raise the Kashmir issue in the Islamic world and its reported fissures with Saudi Arabia.

In a statement, Islamabad said, Pakistan lodges strong protest with India on the derogatory social media post ... Pakistan has conveyed its strong condemnation to the Indian High Commission in Islamabad ... . Pakistan claimed that the offensive post against Islam ... reflects the rising Islamophobia and targeting of the minority communities in India, alleging that the police instead of preventing this hate crime ... used brute force (and) killed at least three protesters ... .

Pakistan said, The rising incidents of religious hate crime in India are a direct and inescapable consequence of the RSS-BJP combines extremist ideology of Hindutva. The incident has been viewed with concern and the civil society in Pakistan has called for justice for the minority Muslim community in India.

Islamabad further said, Pakistan has called upon the Government of India to investigate the incident and take immediate action against the perpetrators of religious hatred. The Government of India has also been called upon to ensure the safety, security and well-being of the minority communities, particularly Muslims, and take steps to ensure prevention of hate speech and hate crimes against Islam and protection of religious rights of Muslims.

Pakistan added, The international community, the United Nations and relevant international organisations should play their role against the rising tide of Islamophobia in India and ensure practical steps for the protection and religious rights of minorities in India.
WATERLOO REGION  Police are warning people of a rash of scams that have drained thousands of dollars from dozens of victims.

Most of the incidents involve internet fraud in which victims have transferred funds but never receive a product. Waterloo Regional Police said theyve had 113 such reports since mid-March; last year, there were 66 cases in the same time frame.

Online buy and sell scams in the region have netted fraudsters nearly $44,000 since January. Other types of fraud have involved pets, vehicles and gift cards. For example, victims have received emails from someone posing as their employer, asking them to purchase gift cards and provide PIN activation numbers.

In one case, a victim sent about $3,000 in the expectation of receiving a kitten that never materialized, having paid extra for additional costs. Another person lost $19,500 after trying to purchase a vehicle online.

Police urge people to do their homework before sending money. Dont provide personal information, resist pressure tactics, and trust your instincts. Try to verify the sellers identity, or purchase from known suppliers. When in doubt, contact police or someone you trust.

When meeting a stranger to buy or sell something, meet in daylight in a public space with cameras  that can include a police detachment. Watch out for a last-minute location change. Bring a friend, and call police if something seems suspicious.

Victims who have suffered a financial loss can report online at www.wrps.on.ca/onlinereporting or by calling 519-570-9777. You can also contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or online at www.antifraudcentre.ca.
Britain and France have agreed to beef up efforts to stop migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats, as concern grows in London over the numbers of migrants entering British waters from France.

Following talks Tuesday in Paris, British immigration minister Chris Philp said that Britain and France were working on a new operational plan that would make the Channel route unviable for "illegal migrants" in a bid to cut off smuggler networks.

We have reaffirmed our unshakeable shared commitment to making sure this route of crossing the channel is made unviable," Philp said in a statement after meeting with French officials.

Britain has been looking for ways to address illegal immigration including taking the fingerprints of migrants caught crossing the Channel, after a surge in numbers arriving from France by sea.

The talks between the two countries came after days of loaded statements between the two nations with one British minister imploring France to take back its "illegal migrants", amid accusations the French were not doing enough to prevent and deter people from crossing the Channel.

Crossings unnecessary

Philp on Tuesday conceded that the French were doing a great deal of work and had intercepted more than 1,000 people attempting to reach England this year.

"It's quite clear more needs to be done and that is exactly what this new comprehensive action plan that we are working on will aim to do," Philp said.

Amid favourable weather conditions over the past few days, smugglers have stepped up efforts to encourage people to make the journey in dinghies and other vessels.

Philp described the crossings as "totally unnecessary" given that France is a safe country and blamed "ruthless criminal gangs" for putting lives at risk.

More than 650 migrants have arrived so far in August according to media reports, including 235 in a single day at the beginning of the month.

Philp said French authorities had committed to appointing a commander to take responsibility for combating Channel crossings, in a move that mirrors the UK government's recent appointment of former Royal Marine Dan O'Mahoney as "clandestine Channel threat commander".

Controversy

Alarm is growing over the UK's hardline stance towards migrants, which at one point included bringing in the navy to discourage refugees and migrants from seeking sanctuary.

"It is a declaration of war," Natacha Bouchart, mayor of the northern port town of Calais told France 3 TV.

"Instead of improving their reception of refugees, they're trying to give lessons and make the people of Calais bear the brunt of this longstanding situation," Bouchart said.

Migrants have long used northern France as a launching point to get to Britain, either in trucks through the Channel Tunnel or on ferries.

As that has become more difficult amid tighter security measures, increasing numbers have turned to small boats organised by people smugglers.

Humanitarian groups have also urged London to consider bolstering or creating safe and legal routes to the UK for asylum seekers to reduce the number of people risking their lives at sea.

Many of them come from some of the poorest and most conflict-torn zones in the world, having travelled from the Middle East, Africa or Asia.
Nathalie Bondil was ousted on 13 July by the museums board of directors, which cited disturbing reports from staff members about a toxic workplace atmosphere. The dismissal followed an investigation into the employee allegations that the board commissioned from a consulting firm.  The Art Newspaper
President Akufo-Addo has been described by the Director of the Centre for European Studies of the University of Ghana, Prof Ransford Gyampo as a master politician who has been able to keep his opponents close by and not at arms length.



He based his comment on the fact that since the inception of Akufo-Addo government in 2016, former President Jerry John Rawlings known for his maverick character and "boom" speeches targeted at his successors, has suddenly gone mute.



As a master politician if you are able to identify your opponent and find ways and means of keeping your opponent at bay, they will find it difficult to oppose you in public; and will censure you in secret. It is possible that Nana Akufo-Addo is doing that and that is why Rawlings is almost literally in bed with him, he said.



Speaking on Okay FMs 'Ade Akye Abia' Morning Show, Prof Gyampo asserted that ever since the NPP won power, most of Jerry Rawlings' utterances appear to favour the Akufo-Addo led administration.



He believed most of the former President's innuendos favour the Akufo-Addo government more than the opposition NDC.



If I compare his relationship with the current Akufo-Addo government to the J.A Kufours era where he used to heavily criticise the government, there is a vast difference because he does not speak against Akufo-Addo government and it could well be that President Akufo-Addo is being a master politician . . . a master politician is one who is able to bring his political opponents closer to him."



Prof Gyampo mentioned that, when you are given power, you have the right to ignore the opposition and you have the right to also work with the opposition such that they would not worry you. One of the things that J.A Kuffour used to do in his era is that even people within his party that he knew were his key competitors, he appointed them because he knew that if he did not do that they will worry him. It is just that he could not do that with Rawlings.



Prof Gyampo, however, warned the NDC to ensure that they either court Rawlings to their fold or not provoke him into speaking against the NDC if they are looking for power in the upcoming elections.



He fears that the introduction of Prof Ahwoi's book will deepen the cracks in the NDC as Rawlings is not happy.



Watch Video Below





Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com









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Indian-American Muslims and Sikhs here have hailed the selection of Senator Kamala Harris as the Democratic party's vice-presidental candidate, calling it a remarkable success for the entire community.

Democratic party's presidential candidate Joe Biden on Tuesday picked Harris as his running mate, recognising the crucial role Black voters could play in his determined bid to defeat President Donald Trump in the US presidential election.

The 55-year-old California senator, whose father is from Jamaica and mother an Indian, becomes just the third woman to be selected as the vice president on a major party ticket.

Then-Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in 2008 and New York Representative Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 were the other two.

In a statement, the Association of Indian Muslims of America (AIM) congratulated Harris on her nomination and lauded the Indian-American community for its extraordinary success in the face of tough competition in US in just about five decades.

Kaleem Kawaja, the executive director of AIM, expressed joy at the remarkable high success of a second generation Indian-American in becoming a candidate for the second highest public office in America.

Harris is the daughter of Prof Shyamala Gopalan, a cancer biologist, who was from Chennai, India, and had emigrated to US in 1965.

Welcoming the addition of Harris to the Democratic presidential ticket, Dr Rajwant Singh, chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education and Senior Adviser to National Sikh Campaign, said that it is a great step for such as major party to add someone from the minorities for the national office in America.

It means a great to deal to blacks, women and to all immigrants," he said.

We are thankful to both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for reminding Americans about the 8th anniversary of the shooting at Sikh Gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, just a few days ago. We need more of our political leaders to be forthcoming on these critical issues of gun violence and hate crimes facing America," Singh said.

Harris being on the national ticket opens the door for many people from all minority communities to aspire to lead this great nation, Singh added.

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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A popular Zimbabwean journalist appears in court but is told the public cannot hear his testimony.

A journalist in Zimbabwe accused of mobilising anti-government protests has been barred from publicly testifying about his harsh prison conditions.

Hopewell Chinono was arrested last month.

He says he is being denied adequate food and clothing.

Al Jazeeras Haru Mutasa reports from Harare, Zimbabwe.
A former Buca Di Beppo location in Wynnewood that closed in 2013 and is now a pediatric clinic. U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, whose district includes the site, wants to know why the chain was listed in government records as receiving a forgivable loan worth up to $10 million to save jobs at a store this year. Read more

When the Trump administration released the results of its much-touted anti-virus loan program last month, it said a loan of at least $5 million had saved 500 jobs at an Italian restaurant on Lancaster Avenue in Wynnewood. The trouble was, Buca di Beppo had shut down seven years earlier.

Now an area congresswoman is demanding that the Small Business Administration explain the mistake in the data for Payroll Protection Plan loans.

According to the SBAs data, a PPP loan saved 500 Buca di Beppo jobs in my district that do not exist, U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, a Democrat, wrote the agency. It is important that we conduct thorough oversight of the funds that have already been dispersed so that future funds can be fairly and effectively distributed.

In letters sent Monday, Scanlon called for investigations into how the loan under the PPP came to be linked in government data to the long-shuttered restaurant in her district thats now the site of a pediatric clinic. She sent the letters to the SBA; to the restaurant chains parent, Earl Enterprises of Orlando, Fla.; and to PNC Financial Services Group, the Pittsburgh-based bank that originated the loan.

In fact, the chain has said, money from an award of $5 million to $10 million and from another similar loan  that one listed for an operating restaurant in Columbus, Ohio  had been tapped to pay salaries across its 75 locations nationwide. Its restaurant at 260 E. Lancaster Ave. closed in the first week of 2013.

Scanlon is serving a first full term in the U.S. House in a district that includes all of Delaware County and parts of Montgomery County and South Philadelphia. She wrote the letters after The Inquirer brought the erroneous Buca di Beppo loan information to light in July in its coverage of errors, mischaracterizations, and omissions within data released on the $659 billion PPP program.

The program, which lawmakers passed in haste during the spring to help firms with 500 or fewer workers weather the coronavirus pandemic, absolves recipients from repaying their loans if at least 60% of the money goes to payroll expenses.

Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin initially rebuffed calls from advocacy groups and lawmakers to disclose who was getting money for months after the programs authorization, even though such information had been routinely shared about similar loans by past administrations.

When Mnuchin reversed course and the data were finally disclosed, the administration broke with past practice by not fully identifying awardees and by not specifying all loan amounts. The precise amount of Buca Di Beppos loan has not been disclosed.

Mnuchin cast the data at the time of its release as showing that the program had supported more than 51 million jobs, with more than a quarter of the funds reaching low- and moderate-income communities.

But assertions about the programs impact were quickly undermined by complaints from purported loan recipients about the accuracy of the data, while other records were found to be demonstrably false.

In one glitch that affected Philadelphia-area loans with far greater frequency than those in the nation as a whole, thousands of records had blank spaces where numbers of retained jobs are supposed to be or had a zero in those fields, wrongly suggesting the recipients hadnt used the money to save a single job.

Other errors concerned firms that said they never completed loan applications, but are listed as getting millions of dollars. In still others, recipients including Philadelphia restaurant magnate Michael Schulson said the records misstated their actual loan amounts.

It was only after repeated bipartisan congressional requests and Freedom of Information Act requests by journalists that the SBA agreed to disclose PPP loan information  only to reveal a litany of concerning discrepancies in the data provided, Scanlon wrote in her letter to the SBA.

Scanlon requested that the agency work with Buca Restaurants Inc. and PNC to correct the aforementioned inaccuracy, work with lenders to correct additional inaccuracies, and investigate any instances of loans that list addresses unrelated to the borrowers places of business.

Buca di Beppo spokesperson Amy Sadowsky said the chain was investigating why the defunct Wynnewood location was listed on the loan records and would discuss the issue with Scanlons office Monday. PNC spokesperson Jason Beyersdorfer said the bank was also researching the matter.

The SBA did not respond to messages seeking comment.
T he Scotch Whisky industry hit out today after a 25% tariff on single malt exports to the US was retained.

The move was introduced by the US last year as part of a long-running feud over state aid for the plane maker Airbus - which the US claims received illegal EU subsidies.

Since the tariffs came in exports of single malt to the US have plummeted by 30% and the industry suffered losses that total 300 million.

Karen Betts, chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association, accused the UK Government of being inexplicably slow in tackling the issue and called for negotiations to be accelerated.

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss visited the US last week to talk to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

Lighthizer said last night that shortbread would no longer face tariffs.

Truss has pledged to step up efforts to persuade the US to lift punitive tariffs imposed on UK goods such as single malt whisky.

I am pleased that the US has not applied these additional tariffs, and welcome the decision to lift tariffs on shortbread, she said in a statement.

However, the announcement does not address tariffs that already exist on goods like single malt Scotch whisky.

These tariffs damage industry and livelihoods on both sides of the Atlantic and are in nobodys interests. I am therefore stepping up talks with the US to remove them as soon as possible.

The UK left the European Union in January but is now in an 11-month period, known as the transition, that keeps the UK bound to the EU's rules and treaties.

The UK is currently in the process of drawing up a trade deal with the US.
Smoke rises from a burnt area of land a the Xingu Indigenous Park, Mato Grosso state, Brazil, on 6 August 2020: AFP/Getty

Brazils president Jair Bolsonaro has insisted there are no fires in the Amazon rainforest, calling evidence produced by his own government showing thousands of blazes a lie.

The right-wing populist has long resisted evidence showing the worlds largest rainforest is being burnt - with logging and farming believed to be behind much of the destruction.

Brazils national space research agency Inpe has said fires across August reached a nine-year high in 2019, with researchers expecting the scale of the blazes to be even worse this year.

More than 10,000 fires have been recorded in the first 10 days of August, up 17 per cent per cent from the same period a year ago, according to the agency.

However in a speech to South American leaders Mr Bolsonaro said foreign representatives who travelled to the farthest flung cities in the region would see no evidence of the fires.

"They won't find any spot of fire, nor a quarter of a hectare deforested," Mr Bolsonaro told a meeting of members of the Leticia Pact, an agreement between Amazon countries to protect the rainforest. "This story that the Amazon is going up in flames is a lie and we must combat it with true numbers.

He went on to suggest that, as the Amazon was a wet forest, it does not catch fire - and claimed media and foreign governments were presenting a false narrative around the natural wonder.

Experts say that fires are not a natural phenomenon in the rainforest, but are usually man-made in order to clear deforested land for pasture.

Earlier this month analysis by advocacy group Greenpeace Brazil said it had recorded a total of 6,803 fires in the Amazon rainforest last month, compared to 5,318 in the same month of 2019.

Its a terrible sign, Ane Alencar, science director at Brazils Amazon Environmental Research Institute told Reuters.

We can expect that August will already be a difficult month and September will be worse yet.

Additional reporting by agencies

Read more

Number of fires more than doubles in Brazilian wetlands
The suspended traditional rulers of Anambra on Thursday said they did not commit any wrong to warrant their suspension by the state government.

The monarchs stated this at a joint press conference addressed by the Igwe of Nawfia, Chioke Nwankwo, in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the traditional rulers were suspended on Tuesday for allegedly travelling out of the state without governments approval.

The 12 monarchs had travelled to Abuja for an official engagement.

A letter announcing the suspension of the 12 traditional rulers for one year, was signed by Greg Obi, Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Community Affairs.

It said the action was taken because they travelled outside the state without governments approval.

But Mr Nwankwo, at the press conference, said the monarchs travelled to Abuia to thank President Mohammadu Buhari for the good things he had been doing for the South-East Zone.

The visit was to thank Buhari for the appointment of notable Igbo sons and daughters into important positions since he became President.

Is this an offence? The Second Niger bridge had been presented as an impossible task by previous administrations, but it is now becoming a reality under his watch as it is nearing completion. We appreciated him for this.

We know that the project is very dear to our hearts because it is key to boosting business activities between the people of the South East and the entire country. Where did we go wrong here?

READ ALSO:

The Enugu-Onitsha expressway that the Buhari administration is rehabilitating is another magnificent reason why we went to thank the President.

The Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway rehabilitation that the government has also embarked on, is another reason why we took the step. These projects have been pipe dreams and had been elusive during past administrations.

They have given the entire South Eastern people concerns. As Royal Fathers who are custodians of all our heritage, we felt that it was incumbent on us to express our appreciation to the president and to urge him to do more for the zone.

Where have we committed a crime in these laudable efforts? On what ground is the Igwe and the state government angry with us?

Mr Nwankwo said what the suspended traditional rulers had done was in exercise of their fundamental human rights, emphasising that no one can take that from us.

Freedom of speech, freedom of movements are all enshrined in our constitution and grand norms. Any attempt against these amounts to muzzling the traditional institutions and we cannot accept that.

He described the state governments claim that the suspended traditional rulers did not obtain permission from the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs before the visit as a lame reason.

Is there anywhere in our laws where freedom of movements by anyone is restricted within or outside the country? he asked.

Mr Nwankwo said the Anambra government had no constitution of its own and there was no known law in the country stopping traditional rulers from having free movement.

We are not ashamed to be associated with the great Prince Arthur Eze, who has been a major succour to the poor masses of Anambra and has emancipated many of them from economic bondage.

As traditional rulers, if we come together to visit the President or associate with Prince Eze, is it an offense? There is no known law against this.

He said what the Anambra state governor had done was an attempt to intimidate the traditional institution.

(NAN)

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By Kim Yeon-ji





On my third day working at the Independent Evaluation Unit (IEU) of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), I found myself supporting my director at a GCF board meeting in Geneva. The GCF is the United Nations' biggest climate fund and is based in Songdo.



As a newcomer, my first time at the board meeting was quite nerve-racking. During a short break, I remained in the meeting room to take care of some urgent tasks. My director left the room and then completely surprised me by returning with a cup of water for me to drink.



That instant, I was awestruck. I should have gone out to bring water to her, not have her bring water to me! I quickly blamed myself for not having done so, but it soon became evident that my director saw it as something she could do for her team members.



One of her favorite sayings is that she is "sitting on the shoulders of giants" and that the only thing she can take credit for is the job of having put together a great team of talented and dedicated individuals. In essence, she calls all her team members "giants" regardless of their rank or title.



Even when I offered to help carry her wheeled suitcase to the meeting venue, she said no need and walked out the hotel door briskly with her laptop and suitcase. I was again awestruck when she called for a meeting in which she rehearsed her presentation and asked the IEU team to be "brutal" in giving our feedback so that she could be well prepared for the board meeting.



Having a boss who asks the staff to be "brutal" in giving comments was rather new to me (and I had worked for different U.N. agencies and Korean entities before the GCF). I actively participated in this exercise with many questions for my director, and she was indeed well prepared for the board meeting and thanked us all for our feedback afterwards.



The image of my boss bringing water and asking for tough feedback was juxtaposed with the image of "superiors" prevalent in other more hierarchical workplaces around the world, including those in Korea.



A few years ago, a Korean politician returning from overseas travel was seen pushing his wheeled suitcase to his assistant without even looking at the person. The video went viral at that time and was quickly dubbed as the "no-look passing" incident.



While such attitudes are changing surely and gradually, it is still very much the norm in Korea for those in more senior positions to look at other team members in junior positions as subordinates. The "no-look pass" incident mentioned above stirred up a big debate about the excessive emphasis on protocol.



Growing up in Korea, the notion that those who are younger and less experienced have less to offer was widely accepted. It was an unwritten rule that young people should keep quiet and listen to the adults in the room.



As a result, this mindset often left less space for engagement and debate. For instance, it was unthinkable to raise my hand and ask questions at school because we were told to simply jot down what the teacher was writing on the blackboard.



For this reason, I was pleasantly surprised to see my former supervisors at the U.N. climate change secretariat in Germany calling everyone, including the interns, "colleagues" with respect and recognition.



Also, when I joined the IEU of the GCF earlier this year, my director again surprised me by saying that the team does not have an "organi-gram" of hierarchy but a horizontal "mentor-gram." The IEU's mentor-gram shows who mentors who on the team, and asks the mentors to "make the mentees shine and grow."



Amy Edmondson, in her book "The Fearless Organization," talks about how important it is to create a work culture where it is safe to express ideas, ask questions and admit mistakes in today's knowledge economy.



I do think that my current team has a culture of psychological safety: My thoughts and ideas are valued at work, and I feel I can achieve greater things. Work has never been so much fun and empowering, thanks to an exceptional team culture that values and nudges everyone to excel.



When working for different entities, including government agencies and media, in the early years of my career, I lived with constant fear  fear that I might say or do something stupid in the eyes of my superiors and get crushed for such behavior.



But because now I do not need to be afraid of sharing my ideas and asking questions, less energy is spent on worrying about things, and I get to focus more on trying new things and delivering quality work.



My current workplace is a safe place for testing new ideas  which Dartmouth professor Sydney Finkelstein also says is an attribute of firms and organizations led by "super bosses." One day, I hope to be a "super boss" myself leading a fearless and horizontal organization where ideas and questions are welcome, and all team members are treated with respect and appreciation.





Kim Yeon-ji (yjkim@gcfund.org) is a communications and editing associate at the Independent Evaluation Unit, the Green Climate Fund.








Brussels :

EU regulators have fined Japanese electronics giants Sony, Panasonic and Sanyo a total of 166 million euros (USD 176 million) for colluding on prices for rechargeable batteries.

The European Commission, the EUs executive arm, said the three companies coordinated prices and exchanged sensitive information between 2004 and 2007 on rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.

South Koreas Samsung also participated in the cartel, but was not fined as it had revealed the existence of the cartel to the commission.

Millions of Europeans use laptops, mobile phones and power tools that run on rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, the EUs competition chief Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

Todays decision sanctions four rechargeable battery producers whose collusion affected the prices of a number of goods sold to European consumers, she added.

All the companies had agreed to their responsibility in the case and had accepted the fines, the commission said.

Sanyo, which is now owned by Panasonic, received the biggest fine of 97 million euros.

The commission slapped Panasonic with a fine of 39.9 million euros and Sony with 29.8 million euros
By Philip Giraldi

The Establishment explanation for what occurred in Beiruts port on August 5th is that the horrific series of explosions that killed hundreds, injured thousands and left hundreds of thousands homeless was a terrible accident that came about due to a multi-faceted failure by Lebanons corrupt and incompetent government. Or at least that is the prevalent narrative in the international media, but a more critical examination of what took place is a bit like peeling an onion only to discover that there are layers and layers of alternative possibilities that just might place the catastrophe in a broader context.

The story, which is generally being accepted, is that a Russian-leased but Moldovan flagged ship the Rhosus carrying nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate from Batumi in Georgia to Mozambique wound up unexpectedly in Beiruts port in November 2013 due to a leak in the hull and mechanical problems. It was then impounded and blocked from exiting due to alleged general unseaworthiness as well as its inability to pay disputed debts and docking fees. The dangerous cargo was offloaded and stored in a Hanger number 12 in the port a year later. Ammonium nitrate can be used to make fertilizer but it also can also be used in explosives. The two ton fertilizer bomb used to destroy the federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995 killing 168 people was, for example, primarily ammonium nitrate.

The ship and cargo, which was supposedly destined for a Mozambican company that produced commercial explosives, was then de facto abandoned by its lessee and sat in the port with its Russian captain and three Ukrainian crewmen while the issue was being largely ignored by the Lebanese government. The crew were basically being held as hostages by the port authorities, unable to leave the ship and, it was claimed, frequently on the verge of starvation. They were eventually released and allowed to fly home in 2014 while the Rhosus itself, emptied of its cargo, reportedly sank in an unused corner of the port in 2018.

Both the crew and the port authorities were aware of how dangerous the offloaded cargo was, but the Lebanese government, which was having its own problems, did nothing to address the issue. Shafik Merhi, director of the Lebanese Customs Authority, wrote to government officials no less than six times between 2014 and 2017 requesting urgent steps be taken to secure the explosives, but he received no response.

The first explosion may have been started by a welder or even a smoker who somehow ignited fireworks or possibly even a storage site for munitions which then somehow caused the ammonium nitrate to explode. The second explosion has already been described as the largest ever that did not involve a nuclear weapon, though some have been suggesting that it did indeed involve an Israeli tactical nuke. If there is any residual radiation at the site surely that possibility will again be raised.

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The blast devastated the port and the surrounding residential area and was felt as far as 120 miles away in Cyprus. Grain silos near the explosion were heavily damage, destroying an estimated 80% of the countrys grain supply at a time when there is already widespread hunger due to a deepening economic crisis that has produced many bankruptcies, a failure of health services and sharply declining standards of living. The problems have all been exacerbated by U.S. unilaterally imposed sanctions and Israeli meddling.

The narrative that the explosion had been a horrible accident was almost immediately widely accepted, but President Donald Trump was quick to describe it as an attack, saying Ive met with some of our great generals and they just seem to feel that . . . this was not some kind of a manufacturing explosion type of event. They seem to think it was an attack. It was a bomb of some kind. However, the Defense Department subsequently refused to confirm Trumps speculation and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper observed that Most believe that it was an accident.

Others also had some problems with the narrative. A cui bono? who benefits analysis inevitably suggests that Israel, which has been increasing its pressure both on Lebanon and particularly on Hezbollah recently, might well consider a totally wrecked Lebanese economy to be a gift insofar as that would increase political turmoil and could produce a reaction against Hezbollah. Israel is heavily involved in destabilizing neighboring Syria as well as Iran and has been specifically targeting Hezbollah as the connecting link in the frequently touted Shia land bridge extending from Iran to the Lebanese Mediterranean coast.

To be sure Israel has officially expressed shock and has denied any connection with the blast. Its top government officials and Foreign Ministry have offered their condolences. It has even sought to send humanitarian aid to assist in the recovery, but, of course what governments say and do does not necessarily mean anything if there is a hidden agenda or policy. When governments say one thing and do another thing secretly, they frequently hide their actions, a practice which is described using the intelligence expression plausible denial.

Israel has not hesitated to attack Lebanon in the past, inflicting enormous damage on the countrys infrastructure and killing thousands of civilians during two major incursions and an actual occupation in 1982 and 2006. Over the past year, Israeli warplanes have flown repeatedly into Lebanese airspace to attack Syrian and alleged Iranian positions and has also staged ground attacks along the border. There has been considerable speculation that war between the two states is coming, particularly as it is widely believed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs a war as a distraction from the many scandals that he has been associated with.

Lebanese party of government Hezbollah, which is by invitation using its military wing to help Damascus, has become increasingly an Israeli target of choice as it is seen as an Iranian proxy. If indeed it was storing weapons at the port they might plausibly have been identified for destruction by Israel, but reliable sources in Lebanon insist that Hezbollah had no access to the area. Beyond that, at the end of July the Israeli defense minister specifically threatened to destroy Lebanese infrastructure. As the port of Beirut is the country keys economic lifeline, it constitutes the primary infrastructure target.

Israel is known to have numerous intelligence agents operating in Lebanon, so it has the means to get into the port and set off an explosive intended either to ignite the ammonium nitrate or destroy Hezbollah weapons, if they actually exist. That would avoid having to send a bomber or a missile to do the job, though some have claimed that one video of the bombing shows an incoming missile.

Israel has long espoused the so-called Dahiya Doctrine, named after a suburb of Beirut that was devastated by the Israel Defense Forces in 1982-3. It endorses the employment of maximum lethal force against civilians and infrastructure to teach the enemy a lesson. It has been used in both Lebanon and more recently in Gaza with Operation Cast Lead and Operation Protective Edge.

Several observers of developments in the Middle East believe that Israel did in fact arrange for the explosion. Shortly after the blast a general in the Lebanese Army stated that the explosion had been caused by a tactical nuclear device intended to bring down the Lebanese government and ignite a civil war with Hezbollah. Indeed, aerial photography shows an enormous crater, at least several hundred yards across. American anti-Zionist Richard Silverstein also blamed Israel, writing on his Tikun Olam blog that A confidential highly-informed Israeli source has told me that Israel caused the massive explosion at the Beirut port earlier today [when] Israel targeted a Hezbollah weapons depot at the port and planned to destroy it with an explosive device. Tragically, Israeli intelligence did not perform due diligence on their target It is, of course, unconscionable that Israeli agents did not determine everything about their target including what was in its immediate vicinity. The tragedy Israel has wreaked is a war crime of immense magnitude.

Silverstein clearly has a good high-level source in Israel but the information he obtains has sometimes been challenged. Some believe that he is being fed information that the Israeli government wishes to make public without having to admit to anything. If that is true in this case, the Israelis might want to be sending a message to the Lebanese and to Hezbollah, suggesting that the second explosion had not been intended and warning them against retaliation that would escalate the fighting. It would also warn Hezbollah that Israel is willing and able to strike anywhere in Lebanon and it might also turn ordinary Lebanese against Hezbollah because the suggestion would be that its actions had invited a devastating attack from Israel.

There have also been suggestions that something had to be done to the ammonium nitrate to make it explode like it did. Ammonium nitrate is not an explosive by itself, but serves as an oxidiser, drawing oxygen to a fire and making it rage faster and further. British security specialist Robert Emerson is speculating that the ammonium nitrate got something added to it accidentally, possibly oil or some other flammable compound. Ammonium nitrate smoke is more yellow, this is rather red. An investigation would ascertain if that is the case and where contamination took place.

Other speculation is perhaps more sinister with a local journalist in Beirut claiming that security-agency sources revealed a routine check three months ago that discovered military-grade explosives together with tons of the chemical in Hanger 12 while a former U.S. Central Intelligence Agency officer, Robert Baer, told CNN that certain aspects of the explosion suggest the combustion of military-grade material along with the ammonium nitrate.

One of the better-quality videos of the explosions would appear to show a first explosion that might consist of fireworks or munitions going off followed by the huge explosion of the ammonium nitrate, which would more-or-less support the emerging standard narrative. Beirut residents, who have been demonstrating against the government since the incident, seem mostly to believe that it was no more than an accident due to bureaucratic incompetence. But that does not rule out that it was an inside job carried out covertly by the Israelis to weaken Lebanon and its arch-foe Hezbollah. If recent history has anything to teach us it is that whatever actually happened, the cover-up will begin right away. Likely no one will be punished in Lebanon and no one will seriously look into a possible Israeli role. The real losers will be the people of Lebanon who have lost their lives and homes in a horrific incident that never should have occurred.

Philip M. Giraldi, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest, a 501(c)3 tax deductible educational foundation (Federal ID Number #52-1739023) that seeks a more interests-based U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Website is https://councilforthenationalinterest.org, address is P.O. Box 2157, Purcellville VA 20134 and its email is inform@cnionline.org.
The Bachelor viewers have accused Zoe-Clare McDonald of 'using the discrimination card' against one of the few women of colour on the show, Areeba Emmanuel.

On Wednesday's episode, a tearful Zoe-Clare said she was being unfairly targeted because of her red hair by 25-year-old Areeba, who is of Pakistani descent.

However, fans of the show blasted the 'privileged' sales manager for 'complaining to a person of colour about being oppressed for having red hair'.

'Tone-deaf!' Bachelor fans have accused Zoe-Clare McDonald (left) of 'using the discrimination card' against one of the few women of colour on the show, Areeba Emmanuel (right)

Zoe-Clare's meltdown began when Areeba interrupted her conversation with Locklan 'Locky' Gilbert at the first cocktail party.

After blasting Areeba for her 'inappropriate' actions, she told producers she was being mistreated because of the colour of her hair.

Viewers were not exactly impressed, with one tweeting: 'Zoe-Clare complaining to one of the only POC in the house about being oppressed for having red hair is just... so... incredibly tone-deaf.'

Another added: 'Imagine thinking the token POC in the house is attacking you because you're the minority redhead.'

Oppressed minority? On Wednesday's episode, a tearful Zoe-Clare said she was being unfairly targeted because of her red hair by 25-year-old Areeba, who is of Pakistani descent

'You're oppressed as a token redhead?' Fans of the show blasted 'privileged' Zoe-Clare for 'complaining to a person of colour about being oppressed for having red hair'

Someone else wrote: 'Is she actually trying to play the discrimination card to the only POC on the show? Okay then.'

Another added: 'When the whitest girl in the pack is trying to use the discrimination card when she was interrupted by a person of colour.'

A similar tweet read: 'Zoe, a white girl, is claiming discrimination for being a redhead against Areeba, a POC. Is this what privilege looks like? I'm so confused?'

Fuming: Zoe-Clare's meltdown began when Areeba interrupted her date with Locklan 'Locky' Gilbert during the premiere episode

Meanwhile, Areeba seemed unfazed by the dramatic confrontation as she chowed down on a sandwich while the fiery redhead screamed at her.

Her 'savage' blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment was praised by viewers, who commended her for keeping her composure during the showdown.

Zoe-Clare had gone into a rage after Areeba interrupted her discussion with Locky.

Just wants to eat: Areeba appeared wholly unfazed by the dramatic confrontation as she chowed down on a sandwich while the fiery redhead screamed at her

Rattled by Areeba's actions, Zoe-Clare couldn't resist giving her a piece of her mind during the cocktail party, saying: 'I just want to say what you did was really inappropriate, and it was not okay!'

Despite Zoe-Clare labelling her a 'moll', a giggling Areeba thanked her for her 'feedback' and continued enjoying her sandwich.

The moment had viewers rolling over in laughter, with one tweeting: 'Areeba having a sandwich while Zoe Clare talks is a massive vibe.'

'Let me girl eat!' Areeba's 'savage' blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment was praised by viewers, who commended her for keeping her composure during the showdown

Another added: 'Queen Areeba just sitting there laughing and eating her sandwich.'

Someone else tweeted: 'Zoe-Clare you did NOT just make Areeba put away her sandwich, let my girl EAT.'

Viewers continued to watch with disbelief as Zoe came to the conclusion that the other women didn't like her because of her hair colour.

Not happy: Zoe-Clare went into a rage after Areeba interrupted her discussion with Locky

'What you did was inappropriate': Rattled by Areeba's actions, Zoe-Clare couldn't resist giving her a piece of her mind during the cocktail party

Other priorities: Despite Zoe-Clare labelling her a 'moll', a giggling Areeba thanked her for her 'feedback' and continued enjoying her sandwich

She said: 'I'm the only redhead in the whole entire house... The only colours are blonde or brunette, and then there's me. I think that's exactly why Areeba is targeting me. It's the red hair. It's just... it's not appropriate.

'What's wrong with a ranga? Yeah. Do you want me to dye my hair every 10 seconds because you don't like my colour? I'm so sorry, but this is natural, guys. It's not going anywhere.'

Her tearful monologue confused many viewers because nobody had mentioned the colour of her hair.

Later in the episode, Zoe-Clare became 'ill' and was forced to skip the inaugural rose ceremony. Daily Mail Australia understands she was simply very drunk.
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Linkedin -- (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 13, 2020 13:19 524 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066dba193 1 Business Shopee,export,small-and-medium-enterprises,SMEs,ASEAN,Malaysia,Singapore Free

E-commerce Shopee has partnered with 20,000 small and medium-sized merchants to export locally produced goods to neighboring Malaysia and Singapore, the company announced on Wednesday.

Shopee Indonesia public policy and government relations head Radityo Triatmojo said the platform promoted Indonesian products to Asian markets during the 2020 ASEAN Online Sales Day on Aug. 8.

Our export efforts are part of Shopees Kreasi Nusantara program, which aims to market and export the products of Indonesian small and medium enterprises [SME] to Asian markets, he said during an online press briefing.

Earlier this year, the company announced it planned to expand its business by exporting 1 million locally made products to the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam by year-end.

The plan came after Shopee reported having exported more than 5,000 Indonesian products to Malaysia and Singapore last year.

However, since the Philippines recently entered an economic recession, we need to put the expansion plan on hold, Radityo said.

The Philippines saw its first recession in 29 years as the economy contracted 16.5 percent annually in the second quarter.

A recession is characterized by an annual contraction in two consecutive quarters.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a wave of economic contractions and recessions in various countries as the outbreak paralyzes business activities and disrupts supply chains.

Indonesia also saw 5.32 percent economic contraction in the second quarter, as household consumption and investment crunched.

Among the most hardest-hit businesses during the pandemic are SMEs, which account for more than half of the economy, as they lose demand and access to financing.

Shopee has launched online training programs to help SMEs go online through its platform, training more than 40,000 merchants nationwide so far, including those in remote areas.

Going online is not enough, SME owners need to be trained in using online platforms and they need to make sure that their products meet e-commerce standards, Cooperatives and SME Ministry production and marketing undersecretary Victoria Simanungkalit said during the 2020 ASEAN Online Sales Day.

"This is where training is needed. (eyc)
Earlier this year, my college students and I joined our chaplain and a graduate student in traveling to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.

The insensitive treatment many attendees gave the terrors that the museum was trying to educate people about are being repeated in a new way: weaponizing the Holocaust against any mask mandates, social distancing or other health regulations designed to combat the deadly spread of COVID-19.

Amazingly, some of their targets are Jewish.

About two weeks ago, a couple went into a Minnesota Walmart with swastika masks over their faces. The Minnesota GOP apologized this month for a Washaba Country Republican Party meme comparing mask mandates to Jews having to wear yellow stars.

Earlier in July, a Kansas paper published a cartoon depicting (Kansas Gov. Laura) Kelly in a mask emblazoned with a Star of David, before a scene appearing to show Jewish people being deported to Nazi concentration camps, wrote Business Insider. The caption adds: Lockdown Laura says: Put on your mask  and step onto the cattle car. Thankfully, the Kansas paper took it down, but after it became a national story.

Its just one of many cases where critics of lockdowns and restrictions designed to save lives are likening such health policies of mask wearing and limiting indoor gatherings to the slaughter of more than 6 million Jews using the most brutal of methods.

In mid-April, Colorados first Jewish governor had to answer questions on whether his response to the coronavirus was akin to Draconian policies of Nazi Germany. As Matt Shuham reported in Talking Points Memo, Gov. Polis responds to accusations that his stay-at-home order is akin to Nazism: As a Jewish-American who lost family in the Holocaust, Im offended by any comparison to Nazism. We act to save lives; the exact opposite of the slaughter of 6 million, even tearing up that someone would even make such an odious comparison to target him.

In May, Carlie Porterfield with Forbes reported, The Auschwitz Memorial Museum criticized Illinois residents who used Nazi slogans to protest the states coronavirus lockdown orders  not the first time its happened at such a rally  calling it a symptom of moral [and] intellectual degeneration.

Porterfield added a woman was photographed carrying a sign bearing the words Arbeit Macht Frei, JB, apparently referring to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who comes from a prominent Jewish family. A Southern politician made a similar analogy in July: masks = Holocaust.

We can attribute this ignorant behavior to a lack of knowledge about the Holocaust itself. NBC News reported how a school principal emailed a parent saying not everyone believes the Holocaust happened, and he couldnt say if it is a factual, historical event, as his rationale for his policy on not requiring it to be taught in an area where many Holocaust survivors live. South Carolina originally left it off the schools teaching curriculums original draft because department officials wanted to broaden education standards, as Newsweek reported. The State noted that the Holocaust was not mentioned in the 124-page history guidelines report.

Such ignorance is fueling these incorrect Holocaust analogies which are not only painfully callous to the real victims and their descendants, but are encouraging people to engage in reckless health behavior which could harm themselves, family, and others they meet.

John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu.
Total Server Solutions, the first hyper-converged, VMware multicloud provider specifically built to serve the mid-market, was presented with Atlanta Business Chronicles Pacesetter Award on August 3, 2020. The annual award ranked the company as one of 2020s top 100 fast-growing private companies in the metro area. This is the third year in a row the company has placed for this prestigious award.

Receiving this award for the third year in a row is a major accomplishment for us, said CEO Gary Simat. Over the past year weve continued to manage and optimize our customers environments on our multicloud platform, which is the very core of why TSS was founded. Our growth this year is a result of our deepened expertise in VMware and Veeam solutions allowing us to expand our partnerships with clients.

To be eligible for the award, the Atlanta Business Chronicle requires the metro Atlanta company to have experienced a 50% growth in sales over the past two years and earned a revenue between $1 million and $300 million in 2019. The publication uses a weighted index to allow it to compare the growth of different-sized companies against each other.

Our team is Atlanta-based so we are especially proud to be honored in our home town, commented Ryan DiRocco, CTO of Total Server Solutions. The team has been shifting to a more strategic delivery model to achieve last years growth and we are looking to continue our trend in 2020.

Total Server Solutions ranked 89th on the list of 100, accompanied by other notable businesses. Other notable awards in the last year for Total Server Solutions have included Deloittes Technology Fast 500, ACG Georgia Fast 40, Inc. 5000, and VPN Hosting Provider of the Year.

About Total Server Solutions

Total Server Solutions is a Cloud Solutions Provider specializing in VMware environments for the Mid-Market. From Private Clouds to Managed Hyperscale, the TSS cloud portfolio is complemented by a robust data protection and security offering to build strategic multiclouds and hybrid clouds for growing businesses across the globe. Learn more or view our 20+ locations at TotalServerSolutions.com.
Ramallah, Aug 13 : Palestinian authorities have lifted the weekly lockdown and eased the tight precautionary measures imposed in the West Bank to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This was decided by Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye during a meeting with the highest Palestinian emergency commission, Ibrahim Milhem, the Palestinian government spokesman, told the media here on Wednesday.

"The meeting included the chiefs of security apparatuses and the governors of the West Bank's districts and discussed the measures of coexisting with coronavirus amid a significant stable rate of infections," said the spokesman.

The government will now allow all economic activities on weekends with public health safety measures in place, he said.

Milhem also said that the government would allow Friday prayers in public squares, but they have to take all preventive measures such as social distancing and wearing facemasks and gloves.

However, he said that the government would keep wedding and mourning halls closed and ban all other kinds of popular indoor gatherings to avoid any new infections.

Milhem noted that the government would close areas with new infections in villages, refugee camps, and cities, where governors, in partnership with various ministries and security bodies, would declare a lockdown.

Earlier on Wednesday, Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila said that 57.3 per cent infected cases had recovered, and the rate of deaths remained at 0.6 per cent.

The total number of coronavirus cases in Palestine currently stands at 19,594, with 114 deaths.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Eight months after an open revolt by Ajit Pawar (now the deputy chief minister), the Pawar family is again facing the same question, is all well? This time, because of Ajit Pawars son Parth.

A day after Pawar called his grand-nephew (Parth) immature and said he doesnt give a damn about what the latter says, three meetings were held, including one on Thursday evening.

Parth had demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into Sushant Singh Rajputs death case a few days ago, following which Pawar on Wednesday said, We give no importance to what my grand-nephew (Parth Pawar) says. He is immature. Rajput was found dead at his Mumbai apartment on June 14.

It is yet unclear how Ajit is reacting to the public rebuke for his son as he chose not to talk to the media. But there were rumours that Parth was upset and may take a decision, which was refuted by senior NCP leaders. Parth reached Silver Oak, Pawars residence at south Mumbai, on Thursday evening to meet the NCP chief and his daughter Supriya Sule. The meeting went on for more than two hours. Parth avoided speaking with the media after coming out. NCP insiders said Sule had called Parth home. We are expecting all issues would have been resolved. His decision to meet the NCP chief indicates a positive development, said an NCP leader.

Before that, Sule met Ajit at his Mantralaya office on Thursday afternoon. The meeting between the cousins lasted an hour.

State NCP chief Jayant Patil, considered as close aide of Pawar, said neither Parth nor Ajit is upset and Sule went to meet the latter to discuss development works of her parliamentary constituency. Who said Parth is upset? Being a grandfather, he (NCP chief) has all the authority to say or suggest something. Do we get upset when a father figure in the family says something, Patil asked reporters. I dont see any intention.

Before that, a meeting was also held at Pawars residence on Thursday evening where Sule, Ajit and state NCP chief Jayant Patil were present.

Patil denied any discussion on Parth at the meet too. It was a scheduled meeting. We had discussions on several issues. The party allows everyone to express their views. He (Parth) may have said something that Im not aware of. There was no discussion on Parths statements, also no clarification will be sought from him, he said. NCP insiders said Pawar is certainly unhappy, but by ridiculing his grand-nephew publicly, he has also given a clear message to all leaders that any deviation from the party line will not be tolerated.

This is the first time the veteran leader has slammed a family member publicly. Pawar saheb made the statement as the party president. He should have raised the issue on the party forum before going public, said an NCP insider.

Senior NCP leader and food and civil supplies minister Chhagan Bhujbal too said that no one in the family was upset and Pawar only said that Parth was new. The family is united, everything is fine and we are also members of the same family. No one is upset, not even Ajit dada (Ajit Pawar), Bhujbal said.

Political experts feel Pawar wants to end Parths habit of speaking out of turn on policy matters. It doesnt appear that Parths statements had anything to do with Ajit, said Prakash Bal.

The Pawar family has seen an open revolt by Ajit and a few other NCP lawmakers only last November. They had got together with the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and had hurriedly cobbled together a government. Former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had taken the oath as the chief minister, while Ajit too was sworn in as the deputy chief minister, but returned to the party as most NCP legislators, who were loyal to the party chief, refused to side with the rebel faction and the government barely lasted for 80 hours. A month later, Ajit Pawar was sworn in again on the same position in the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government.

Parth had contested last years Lok Sabha election from Maval constituency in western Maharashtra against the wishes of the NCP chief. He was not in favour of Parth contesting the general polls, but surrendered to the pressure from the family and declared his withdrawal from the electoral fray, saying only two members from the family should contest polls at a time. Pawar was preparing to contest from Madha parliamentary constituency at that time. However, Parth lost the parliamentary election to sitting Shiv Sena MP Shrirang Barne.

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Spending an hour outside in the heat Wednesday with her four children and husband at Kesher Israel Congregation in Harrisburg was worth it to teach them a life lesson, said Uptown resident Sarah Steinhauer.

A community vigil took place outside the synagogue at 2500 N. Third Street only two days after two swastikas had been painted on the buildings main entrance doors. Dozens of residents from different faith backgrounds attended the event to show their support.

Its nice to see that theres a swift response to hate, Steinhauer said after the vigil. What we told our children is that there was an act of hate and were coming together to respond, too, with an act of love. And, thats us coming together to show that.

Rabbi Elisha Friedman, of Kesher Israel, was joined by other faith leaders as well as Harrisburg Police Commissioner Tom Carter, state Rep. Patty Kim, and others.

I think this was really a statement that this community made, Friedman said. I think everyone here is representing the larger group. Theres a pandemic. Its a hot day. Its hard to get out; not everyone wants to get in the car and drive. I think everyone here is just representing a tenfold of people, who feel just as strongly about not wanting to see this happening.

The community vigil is a step toward removing and eradicating hatred from the world, he added. When speaking to the group, Carter backed up Friedmans statement with: Love will drive out the hate.

What I see here, I see love, he said. It took some cowards under the shield of night time to paint a swastika up here, two of them, a hate symbol. But what it did, it didnt drive a fork in any of our hearts, it brought us together because Harrisburg is together and were all about love. I dont care what denomination you are, I dont care what you come from, where you come from, but tonight and tomorrow, and every day after, Harrisburg will be about love and we will come together, and we will stand together in solidarity when something like this happens. If it could happen here it could happen anywhere else.

The number of people who attended the vigil outweighed the number of individuals who painted the swastikas, Carter said, which is another sign that the behavior of a few is unacceptable.

Urgently addressing the meaning of the property defacing is vital, said Tameka Hatcher, the education outreach coordinator for the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission.

Whats important for us to know is that incidents such as this do not happen in isolation and they start a pattern of escalation, she said. And, so while they are done to cause us to feel fearful within our neighborhoods, the residents in the neighborhoods, the people who go to these houses of faith, be is Kesher Israel, be it Goodwin Memorial, it is designed to drive division and a wedge between us and we will not allow it to happen. Whats important to note is that symbolism matters, and the symbol like the swastika, which was painted on this synagogue, has the same significance to the Jewish community that the Confederate Flag has to the African American community.

Anti-Semitic incidents surpassed record levels last year.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, 2,107 hate crimes were committed against Jewish people nationwide in 2019. According to the organizations annual survey that is the highest number since the ADL began tallying hate crimes in 1979.

The Harrisburg Police are currently investigating this criminal act, and ask anyone with information to contact them at 717-558-6900.

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